The Rosh Hashanah Roast Guide

The yontif roast can provoke anxiety in even the most experienced cook but my roast guide will help you put a fabulous feast on the table without too much drama. Here is my Ultimate Rosh Hashanah Roast Guide from Kosher.com!

Kitchen Tools For Roast Preparation: A good roast requires proper tools. Two items are essential: a fairly sturdy, shallow sided roasting pan and a digital meat thermometer. Useful but not essential is a good pair of tongs. All items are affordable and your investment will pay handsome returns.

Continue reading “Kitchen Tools For Roast Preparation” on Kosher.com.

Methods for Cooking the Perfect Holiday Roast: The formula for cooking meat is nearly foolproof: meat + heat + time = delicious. Tender cuts (steaks, chops, roasts) can tolerate higher heat for shorter periods; tougher cuts (briskets, chuck roasts, top of the rib) require lower heat, longer cooking times, and the addition of liquids.

Continue reading “Methods for Cooking the Perfect Holiday Roast” on Kosher.com.

Recommended Kosher.com Cuts for Your Holiday Roast: The head of the Kosher.com meat department, Danny and his master butchers have the answers to your meat questions. Here are their holiday roast recommendations.

Rosh Hashanah Recipes: Stuck for an idea? Here are some delicious roast options for your holiday table from our Kosher.com experts, writers, and chefs.

POSTED IN: Gourmet Kosher Cooking, Rosh Hashanah
TAGS: Kosher Recipes, Rosh Hashanah

0 comments.

Ask Jamie Geller – Frozen or Fancy?

Hi Jamie,

I seem to have a cooking problem. Before I got married, I used to cook lot of different types of foods and they came out pretty good. Now that I’m married, I’m afraid to cook. What should, or what can, I do? I stick with basic foods and frozen foods and rarely get fancy. I need to have confidence again knowing that what I make will taste very good. I want to learn how to prepare foods as you do….. PLEASE HELP ME JAMIE!

-G
Far Rockaway, NY

G,

Don’t despair. I understand your predicament all too well. It’s so easy to lose your confidence when you feel that you’re under pressure. I often feel a lot of pressure too. When we invite people for Shabbos, they sometimes make a big to do in anticipation of the meal. That’s how I know they didn’t read my book (about how I was the bride who knew nothing) — or they didn’t believe it.

Here’s what I suggest: take baby steps. Like anything else in life, take it slow. It’s very hard to go from frozen chicken nuggets and fries to five-star chef overnight. The best approach here is to take on some manageable foolproof recipes.

I’ll share with you my secret confidence-boosting weapon: it’s a meal from my first book, Quick & Kosher: Recipes From The Bride Who Knew Nothing, and I promise you can’t get this wrong. Drum roll… Duck Sauce Chicken (p.123), Herb-Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes (p.197), and Colorful Garden Salad (p.95).

Duck Sauce Chicken was the first hot chicken dinner I ever made, the easiest, and still my favorite. It’s only chicken and duck sauce. You don’t even have to measure; just pour the sauce until it generously coats all the chicken pieces. Bake it at 375˚ for about 1 hour or until the skin is golden brown. The secret to this recipe is the brand of duck sauce. Gold’s Cantonese Style Duck Sauce is the best and you can always use Gold’s Szechuan Style if you like a little spice.

Finish your meal with Colorful Garden Salad . The recipe calls for creamy pesto dressing, but I say – don’t overwhelm yourself. Skip the dressing and just serve your favorite store-bought dressing in a pretty cruet. (If you keep the bottles off the table, you’re already one step closer to the gourmet experience.) The beauty here is just layering different colored vegetables in a trifle bowl. EVERYONE oohs and ahhs over multicolored layers in a trifle bowl; don’t know why it’s so impressive and don’t really care. This is one dish that’s always a hit, without even turning on the oven.

Are you smiling yet?

There’s a great Amazing Savings near you on Central Avenue. Pop in there and grab a trifle bowl if you don’t already own one. It will come in SUPER handy over the course of your new cooking adventures.

G, listen to me. Don’t worry, you can do it. My story is all about overcoming what you think you can’t do. It’s all about fighting what you believe to be your nature. Your culinary path is not set – you are not doomed to walk the frozen food aisles forever. You just need some kitchen confidence. So start small. Easy recipes. One at a time. The whole meal doesn’t have to be from scratch. It’s ok if things are semi-homemade.

Leave a comment here and let us all know how you’re doing. Hatzlachah! If anyone had any other easy recipes or ideas for G leave a comment. Let’s help her out together.

POSTED IN: Ask Jamie Geller
TAGS: Chicken Recipes, Salads, Vegetables

0 comments.

Quick and Kosher: Meals in Minutes – A Sneak Peek

I am so super psyched about my new book Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes due out this Chanukah.  So much so that I just can’t hold it in any longer.  As a special gift I’d like to offer you (and all your friends – pass this blog post on!) a sneak peek at my Rosh Hashanah Meals in Minutes menu.

I tried my hardest to incorporate as many of the Rosh Hashanah simanin as possible into the menu.  Simanim are foods whose names suggest a variety of blessings for the New Year.  These include pomegranates, leeks, beets, dates, spinach, honey, apples and carrots – foods you may have been serving year round, but suddenly, they’re in the spotlight, laden with symbolic promises of good things to come.

So here is my super sweet Rosh Hashanah Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes menu with links to the full and complete recipes for 3 of my favorite holiday dishes.  We’ll start with a warm and comforting Leek Soup, the star of the show is a sweet and savory dish I like to call Chicken with Apples (serves 4).  Round out your meal with Roasted Beets and Spinach Salad with Pomegranate Dressing (serves 4) and finish it off with Carrot Cupcakes .

What are your favorite Rosh Hashanah recipes? Be sure to drop a line and let me know how you like these new freebies. Happy Sweet New Year!

POSTED IN: Quick & Kosher with Jamie Geller
TAGS: Chicken Recipes, Rosh Hashanah

4 comments.

Try a Cherimoya this Rosh Hashanah

Jamie, you ask, what’s a Cherimoya?

With an Armadillo-like exterior and velvety interior, the Cherimoya has been described as “deliciousness itself” by Mark Twain  - now that’s seriously sweet! A Cherimoya looks like an artichoke and tastes like a blend of pineapple, mango and papaya.

Why a Chermoya?

One tradition on Rosh Hashanah is to eat something “new,” something you haven’t eaten all year. For many of us, that means searching through the exotic fruit department to bring home a horned melon, dragon fruit, or some other rarity. But it’s not just the thrill of a new taste or texture. The object is to say the blessing Shehechiyanu, taking the time to thank G-d for keeping us alive and well enough to have this experience. Moreover, the very fact that we’ve sought out something new represents our deep-down desire to reinvent ourselves, to make ourselves better people in the coming year. Look at how Judaism elevates a squishy bite to a token of commitment!

How to eat a Cherimoya.

Cherimoya is one of the many new fruits we offer at Kosher.com. After receiving my monthly Quick & Kosher Bites email, my friend Ilya (who you will hear me talk about all the time!) sent me a note – to paraphrase – “love your picks, the cherimoya looks great, but how on earth do I eat it?” And thus was born this very blog post. So Ilya, this one’s for you.

You can test the ripeness of a Cherimoya like you would an Avocado, they are ready to eat when the skin is black-green in color and slightly soft to the touch (defined as giving in to soft pressure).

Slice the fruit in half or in wedges and scoop out the flesh with a spoon avoiding the seeds. To be very clear here – the skin and seeds of this funky fruit are definitely NOT EDIBLE, as in trust me, don’t try this at home. Store Cherimoyas at room temp to ripen and away from any strong sources of heat. Once ripened they stay good in the fridge for about two to four days.

Cherimoyas can be served chilled or at room temp – try them in their natural state as part of your Rosh Hahshanah Seder (funny enough adding a few drops of lime to the flesh of a cherimoya will enhance it’s sweetness) or add to smoothies or salads this New Year.

POSTED IN: Fruit Bites
TAGS: Fruits

0 comments.

What are Rosh Hashanah Simanim?

Now known as the Rosh Hashanah seder, the seder is a “program” run through at the start of a Rosh Hashanah meal, where we partake of a series of symbolic foods (the simanim) each followed by a specific blessing.

Simanim – literally means signs or indicators – that are meant to point the way to improved circumstances.

Observant Jews take this quite seriously, preceding their consumption of these foods on Rosh Hashanah with a specific, heartfelt prayer connected to the character of the food. For example, because a pomegranate is full of seeds, many people eat a pomegranate after saying, “May it be Your will, Hashem, our G-d and G-d of our forefathers, that our merits increase as [the seeds of] a pomegranate.” In other words, we’d like to maximize the “merits” (engendered by doing mitzvot) on our personal tally sheets. And what that really means is that we want to be worthy of G-d’s abundant blessings – and this necessitates focusing our minds on how to make ourselves worthy. Likewise, if you want to build a nice Jewish family, express that desire by eating fish after saying, “May it be your will Hashem, our G-d and G-d of our forefathers, that we be fruitful and multiply like fish.”

Some of the most fascinating simanim are based on word play. A generation ago, Jews in the Ukraine fed their children chicken livers on Rosh Hashanah because the Yiddish word for livers, leberlach is homophonous with leb ehrlich, “live honestly.” Typically Jewish, isn’t it? Even a kiddie snack is a lesson in ethics!

Honey Chicken	Sweet Carrot Salad	Baby Spinach and Portobello Mushroom Salad	Puff Pastry Apple Purses

Another tradition is to eat something “new,” something you haven’t eaten all year. For many of us, that means searching through the exotic fruit department to bring home kumquats, star fruit, or some other rarity. But it’s not just the thrill of a new taste or texture. The object is to say the blessing Shehechiyanu, taking the time to thank G-d for keeping us alive and well enough to have this experience. Moreover, the very fact that we’ve sought out something new represents our deep-down desire to reinvent ourselves, to make ourselves better people in the coming year. Look at how Judaism elevates a squishy bite to a token of commitment!

Colorful food customs like these come from every corner of the Diaspora, and I will give you a number of recipes that hearken back to those traditions. You’ll find that that as you set each of these special dishes on the table, the social dinner chatter will cease and a stimulating conversation will likely emerge. All of your prep work will have paid off, and you can present these foods to your family secure that you are providing them with physical and spiritual nourishment. What a delectable way to energize new beginnings!

POSTED IN: Quick & Kosher with Jamie Geller, Rosh Hashanah
TAGS: Rosh Hashanah

2 comments.

3 Ways to Amaze with Watermelon

What better way to enjoy the dog days of summer than with sweet and refreshing watermelon! There are so many interesting ways to serve up this juicy and refreshing fruit so the next time you’re pool side with your friends be sure to try one of these super-easy recipes.

Watermelon Mint Salad

Either cube watermelon or use a melon baller and toss with some fresh chopped mint and a squeeze of lemon and/or lime juice for a bit of a zing.  Fancy it up with slivered lemon rind.

Watermelon Summer Salad

Toss watermelon chunks with cubed feta cheese, Kalamata olives and your favorite salad greens.  Dress the salad with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and Kosher salt or with balsamic vinaigrette.  You can also try my favorite Quick & Kosher homemade balsamic dressing – but feel free to use light mayo, I do all the time.

Sweet and Sour Watermelon Juice

Remove the rind and watermelon seeds and place the flesh in a juicer or food processor until liquid.  Combine with as much fresh lime juice and ginger as you can handle for a cool cleansing elixir.

What’s your favorite thing to do with watermelon in the summer? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to share some of your ideas with my family.

POSTED IN: Great Tastes of Summer
TAGS: Fruits, Kosher Drink Recipes, Salads

0 comments.

Jamie Geller at the Hebrew Academy for Special Children

On Wednesday August 18th I had the absolute honor of doing my 2nd Hebrew Academy for Special Children (HASC) event. When Grant Silverstein, the Director of Special Projects and Alumni Relations at HASC called me to book an appearance to benefit Camp HASC, I immediately said yes!

I have chills and tears just writing this post knowing I can never accurately convey what Shani a 5 year Camp HASC counselor and division head shared with us.  She spoke about how the camp services campers from 3 to 73.  I had no clue as to how large a consumer group Camp HASC reaches.  I always imagined it was only children.  She spoke about a Shabbos evening where campers and counselors were singing and dancing with such excitement energy and love and how counselors put immobile campers on their shoulders.  She painted such an amazing picture of the last Shabbos at Camp HASC and told how the coming Shabbos for some campers will leave them in group homes that may not have the same ruach (spiritual excitement and energy) and joy that they experience at Camp.  My heart swells just to know how many special people dedicate their lives to working with special needs children and adults.  Shani explained there are 400 staff members to 300 campers.

The evening was an effort to raise money to continue the amazing programming that HASC offers. Grant is a master event planner.  The beauty, elegance, warmth and tone of the evening were perfection.  If I had to make a Bar Mitzvah I would call to see if he moonlights as a personal party planner!

Each sponsor received a signed copy of Quick & Kosher: Recipes From The Bride Who Knew Nothing, a CD of Simply Kosher the cooking shows I did with the OU (Orthodox Union), a 20% off Kosher.com coupon and will receive a signed copy of Quick & Kosher: Meals in Minutes in November when it becomes available.

The event was held in a beautiful home in the 5 Towns.  Helena generously donated her home, her fabulous kitchen and much else to make this event a success. I spoke about my life and how I went from non-kosher, non-religious TV Producer to Kosher cookbook author.  And then we got to the fun stuff, the food.

Amy, my new best friend.

We made Chilled Salmon with a Duet of Dipping Sauces, Asian Cabbage Salad with Garlic Sesame Dressing, Brisket in Wine Sauce (6lbs of brisket almost entirely polished by a group of women, now that’s what I am talking about!), and 2 desserts,  Puff Pastry Apple Purses and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Mousse Pie.  But I actually didn’t make it as a pie.  I poured the mousse into mini martini glasses and garnished each with a few chocolate chips – although someone gave me the great idea to use mini chocolate chips next time.  Of course if you are not of the Quick & Kosher ilk you can always go for chocolate ribbons or shavings.

When I say “I” I am actually using the term loosely.  At every event there is one person without whom we would all be hungry.  And my volunteer assistant was Amy. She made mousse, and apple purses, plated salmon and served.  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, Amy.  Grant said I would love you and I do!

Please visit the HASC website and donate  to this worthy cause, make sure you select the alumni department for your donation so they are able to track the proceeds of this event. If you would like to learn more feel free to contact Grant, he’s waiting to talk to you!

Grant Silverstein
Director, Special Projects & Alumni Relations
718.686.5920

POSTED IN: Jamie Geller's Appearances
TAGS: Jamie Geller

0 comments.

12 Kosher Beef Recipes – Summer Recipe Series Finale!

For six whole weeks Kosher.com and I have brought you our favorite summertime kosher  recipes. From drinks and salads to fish and chicken to some new kosher vegetarian recipes and these meaty faves to throw on the grill, we hope you found the time to relax this summer and enjoy a great meal.

But don’t worry! The recipes don’t stop now! In the next few weeks I’ll be bringing you my favorite recipe collections to help you survive the holidays! So don’t forget to join us here on the Kosher.com blog, on Twitter, and on Facebook to get all kinds of super easy and delicious recipes from my soon-to-be-released book, Quick & Kosher – Meals in Minutes!

So for now, here are last week’s kosher beef recipes!

Chili-Rubbed Steaks & Pan Salsa	Poblano & Skirt Steak Fajitas	Szechuan Braised Meatballs
Blueberry-Beef Burgers	Shish Kebab	Blue Ribbon Meatloaf
Check these out too! - Vietnamese-Style Beef & Noodle Broth - Asian Steak - Oriental Hamburgers - Quick & Kosher Teriyaki Skirt Steak - Con Carne Chili - Grilled Marinated Short Ribs

POSTED IN: Great Tastes of Summer
TAGS: Kosher Recipes, Summer Recipe Series

3 comments.

Tea Biscuit and Sorbet Tower Made with Sharon’s Sorbet

I featured Sharon’s Sorbet in my June Quick & Kosher Bites, but it may shock you to hear that their coconut sorbet once gave me one of the great scares of my life. It happened while I was recipe testing for my first book, Quick & Kosher  - Recipes From The Bride Who Knew Nothing. I was cooking up a storm, trying new ideas, and developing recipes. By the end of a day, I would have six or seven chicken dishes prepared, far more than Hubby and I could eat by ourselves. So I started handing out chicken and salads and desserts to my entire neighborhood – and it was great because I got tons of feedback. Now the scary part.

One Erev Shabbos, I gave my Tea Biscuit and Sorbet Tower, made with Sharon’s Coconut Sorbet, to a neighbor.

Of course, I kept some it for us too. At dessert time, I tasted it and went nuts. It was so good and so creamy that I was sure that the sorbet must have been dairy. I started freaking out, thinking that I had fed my neighbors a dairy dessert after a meat meal! I ran to the garbage to check the containers, but they were no longer there. So I ran over to my neighbors’ house to warn them, stop them, hoping they weren’t eating dessert yet. But I was too late – and with tears in my eyes, I explained that I had assumed that the sorbet must be pareve, but clearly, it must be dairy because… because… I mean, just taste it…. My neighbor calmed me down instantly. “Don’t worry,” she said, laughing, “Sharon’s Sorbet is always pareve.”

So go ahead – try them all and let me know your favorite flavor. And if you have any great sorbet recipes, please share them with me. It’s the perfect no-cook dessert – and it’s definitely pareve!

POSTED IN: Cool Bites
TAGS: Desserts, Parve Dessert

0 comments.

My Embarrassing Smart Fries Food Moment

What’s Your Most Embarrassing Food Moment?

Here’s mine, and I blush to tell it.

Last week, our product manager gave me a bunch of Smart Fries so I could try out the flavors in advance of my August Quick & Kosher Bites roundup. So I grab the bags, hop in the car, and begin my two-hour commute home. Now I never do this, but it was hot day and I decided that I’d feel cooler in a beret or a snood instead of the sheitel I was wearing. So I popped into a local store and bought something that was airy and comfortable, except that the way it hung down around my ears made me look like a medieval serf. The kind of thing I’d never wear in public, but hey, I’m just driving home.

Did I mention I hadn’t eaten lunch or dinner? So I rip open a bag of Smart Fries like a hungry animal, thinking I’ll try one, two, maybe three fries just to tide me over. Whoa! What a surprise. I thought they would taste like kid food, but I loved them. First, I tried Vinegar Splash. They were light, crisp, and salty. After salty, I needed sweet, so I tried Honey Mustard & Onion and it totally hit the mark. At the next red light, I rummaged around in the bag and found that I had Honey BBQ. Well, I just had to try those.

So I have three bags open and I’m pounding the Smart Fries with wild abandon. About 45 minutes into my trip, I hear an insistent series of beeps. I turn my head and see the CEO of Kosher.com coming up on my left. I’ve got a mouthful of fries, crumbs on my face, and an ugly shmatta on my head! I try to duck and hide my red face as he sails past, waving jovially.

I drove 20 miles an hour the rest of the trip home, careful not to catch up with him — so I could finish off those Smart Fries in peace.

What’s your most embarrassing food moment? You don’t have to use your real name here! Leave a comment and let’s get the discussion going. Please, don’t leave me all alone in this!

POSTED IN: Snack Bites
TAGS: Smart Fries, Snacks

0 comments.