Passover Chocolate: Matzel Toff! Premium Confections

Posted in Passover

Jamie speaks with Abigail Hendel Levy, co-founder and CEO of Matzel Toff!, makers of a gourmet confection featuring matzah covered in delectable toffee and dipped in the highest quality chocolate.

By: JAMIE GELLER

I have to say, I’ve never had such a yummy treat made with matzah of all things. What inspired Matzel Toff!?

My co-founder, Phillip, made toffee-chocolate-matzah as a boy, inspired by a treat his paternal grandmother, Bubbie Edith, used to make. He fine-tuned his recipe in graduate school. In 2006, I started making toffee-chocolate-matzah and had the vision for Matzel Toff! A year later, we started the company together. This year we partnered with Streit’s. If Bubbie Edith were alive today, she’d be shepping nachas (proud) to see that so many people are enjoying her delicious Passover-inspired treat.

Wow, what a great story. There are so many kosher-for-Passover chocolates and chocolate-covered matzahs on the market that you’d think the holiday was all about candy. How is Matzel Toff! different?

We’re a premium, gourmet product. Matzel Toff! uses the finest ingredients available and our product is much more delicious and certainly more hip than anything else available today. We’re so excited to give people a new gourmet option for the Passover holiday. We also love making a scrumptious matzah treat for people to enjoy year-round.

It is clear that Matzel Toff! is dedicated to quality. What kind of process does it take to make the chocolate-covered toffee matzahs? Are they handmade or machine-made?

Everything is done by hand, except the chocolate enrobing. The process is very labor intensive, but well worth the effort.

You have a number of different varieties of Matzel Toff! each one more yummy than the next. What is the difference between the parve and milk chocolate varieties?

The parve variety contains no dairy products and is only available for Passover, so buy them while you can get them! Our year-round varieties—”Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt” and “Milk Chocolate”—are dairy because we use butter in the toffee. The cooking process is the same for all the varieties, just the ingredients are slightly different.

The Matzel Toff! packaging is adorable! It’s such a hip, retro style. Tell me about it.

Yes, we’re really proud of the new gift box packaging for this Passover. We wanted to give matzah a makeover on the inside with our delicious products and on the outside with our fun, festive packaging. It makes a perfect Passover gift to bring to a seder or to send to friends.

How cool is it that you were featured on national TV last year!?! How did you get onto the Martha Stewart Show?

It was very cool and a great way to kick off our first Passover sales. We got onto the show because Martha loved our product and because we were very persistent (and charming!). We are working on some other great press and national TV spots for this year, so wish us luck. And, of course, we’ll keep you posted!

Go to the Kosher.com Ultimate Passover Guide

Go to Kosher.com for all your Passover Shopping

- JAMIE GELLER is a best selling author (Quick and Kosher Recipes from the Bride Who Knew Nothing, 2007), an internationally syndicated food and lifestyle columnist, an award-winning television producer, a motivational speaker, and the host of popular Internet cooking shows “Quick & Kosher” and “Simply Kosher.” – Read more…

Countdown to Passover Tip #4: Establish A Passover Center

Posted in Countdown to Passover 2010

Believe it or not, now is the time to start your Passover cleaning. That way you can set aside a chametz-free area to store all your Passover purchases.

Tip #4: According to Professional Organizer, Rivka Slatkin, now that your Passover meat order is in, you’ve cleared out your closets of old clothes and you’ve started your Passover clothes shopping, the next step in preparing for Passover is to start  cleaning. This first phase of Passover cleaning begins in the living and storage areas—bedrooms, guest rooms, closets, etc. Clean the upstairs rooms from back to front starting with the closets and storage centers in each bedroom, such as drawers and bureaus. This way you can be certain that these areas are chometz free and they can potentially be used to store items as you clean other rooms in the house.

Recipe #4: Un-Stuffed Cabbage Soup

This hearty beef soup classic is a real crowd-pleaser. One note, though, this is a sweet recipe. If you like things more savory, use a less sugar and/or add a teaspoon of black pepper for some kick.

Remember to come back tomorrow for tip #5 and another recipe.

For more detailed plans on how to make Pesach Perfectly Organized, please visit www.Jewish-life-organized.com and take a look at the Yom Tov Perfectly Organized Collection, written by Rivka Slatkin, Professional Organizer.

Go to the Kosher.com Ultimate Passover Guide

Go to Kosher.com for all your Passover Shopping

And the winners of the Hamantaschen Giveaway are…

Posted in Contests and Promotions

Kosher.com would like to thank everyone who participated in our Hamantaschen Giveaway last month.  In the spirit of Purim we gave our favorite bloggers dee-lish tins of irresistible, chocolate-covered Hamantaschen from Kosher.com to giveaway to their readers.

The rules were simple – The bloggers post the contest on their blog or on Twitter and their readers must leave a comment with a link to Kosher.com. Easy right?

And the winners are:

M.J. – Bronx, NY
Elisheva – Jacksonville, FL
Pat – Charlemont, MA
Melissa -Toronto, ON
Rabbi Josh – NY, NY
Jessica – Elizabeth, NJ

Please be sure to check out some of our favorite blogs!

Kosher Cookbook
Primetime Parenting
In Our Grandmothers’ Kitchens
The Kosher Foodies
Kosher Eye
Jewish Treats

And don’t forget to follow Kosher.com on Twitter!

Countdown to Passover Tip 3: Start Shopping for Clothes Now

Posted in Countdown to Passover 2010

Now is the time to shop for new clothes for Passover 2010.

Tip #3: If your Passover meat order is in and you’ve cleared out your closets, according to Professional Organizer Rivka Slatkin the next step in preparing for Passover is to create clothing size charts for yourself and your family members and then start hitting the sales. Shopping for clothing now will save you money and the headache of rushing around in the days before the seders.

Now for my recipe.

Recipe #3: Classic Chicken Soup

This recipe is remarkably easy to make and tremendously satisfying. Besides, no Passover seder is complete without a little chicken soup!

Remember to come back for tip 4 and another recipe tomorrow.

For more detailed plans on how to make Pesach Perfectly Organized, please visit www.Jewish-life-organized.com and take a look at the Yom Tov Perfectly Organized Collection, written by Rivka Slatkin, Professional Organizer.

Go to the Kosher.com Ultimate Passover Guide

Go to Kosher.com for all your Passover Shopping

Matzo or Matzah? Passover is All About the Crumbly Stuff

Posted in Passover

Passover is here again. Eight days of unleavened fun starring everyone’s favorite flatbread, matzo!

A little schmear of this, a little spread of that. Try some chopped liver, or finish your charoset. And the rest is a yummy balancing act as we try to eat an open faced matzo sandwich or squish a food of choice between two pieces of the crumbly matzo.

Yes, it’s that time of year again, when we rejoice in our ancestor’s hasty retreat from Egypt and do without leavened products for the whole Pesach holiday.

You say matzo, I say matzah, but you can also write matzoh, matza or any other combination of similarly sounding letters. And whether it is plain matzo, whole wheat, spelt, machine-made square or handmade shmura round, it all pretty much crumbles the same way. But how much do we really know about why we eat these flat “breads?”

Well, most people know the Passover story. No time to let the traditional bread rise, so a quick throwing together of the main ingredients instead: Ladies and gentleman, introducing … matzo! On one hand, eating matzo reminds us of our deliverance from a formidable adversary (Mr. Pharaoh—booh!) and getting out of Egypt. But, like many other Jewish celebrations (think wedding), we are not only rejoicing, but must also be reminded to remember our suffering and remain humble, lest we forget what it was like to be slaves. Some folks refer to matzo as the “bread of affliction” because it represents our suffering as slaves, or as lechem oni, “poor man’s bread” in Hebrew.

As Rabbi Pinchas Stolper of the Orthodox Union writes: “Bread is the staff of life, but matzah is the most basic bread, the simplest food made by man. Matzah involves the amalgamation of the three most basic elements which define civilized man; grain, water and fire. Matzah is a food which man makes and bakes, no external element beyond flour and water defines or influences its form.”

The commandment to eat this unleavened bread states that Jews must eat matzo prepared from one of the five types of grain. Most folks know about wheat and many now recognize and enjoy spelt, barley, oat and rye (attention gluten-intolerant or celiac disease sufferers, these are still no-nos; they don’t contain wheat, but they do have gluten). Apart from matzo form, these grains are NOT permitted during Passover. Remember guys, it is only eight days! (Seven if you go to live in Israel ….!)

Matzo will not be considered Kosher, or acceptable for Passover use, if the “dough” is not put in the oven before 18 minutes has elapsed. Leave the mixture longer than that and it will start to rise and bye-bye matzo. Some matzo connoisseurs eat special shmura (“watched” or guarded from the Hebrew word “to guard”) matzo, which is made from grain that has been supervised, watched, guarded—the whole shebang—from the time it was harvested in order to make sure that absolutely no additional moisture contaminates the grain.

However you slice it (Don’t even try!), matzo is representative of everything we have come to know, love and yes, admit it, often just tolerate during the annual, Passover celebration (listen, no one said redemption was going to be easy). And if we didn’t have our matzo, we wouldn’t have a need for those cute, table-crumb-sweeper things and dried fruit to ease our tortured insides!

Matzo pizza anyone?

Go to the Kosher.com Ultimate Passover Guide

Go to Kosher.com for all your Passover Shopping

DIY Kosher: Fresh Fruit Topiary for Your Passover Seder Table

Posted in Passover

After all that cleaning and cooking, why leave your seder table looking  drab? Easy-to-make fresh fruit topiaries are perfect centerpieces.

By: FELISA BILLET

Topiaries are multi-dimensional “mini trees” fashioned from flowers, fruits and greenery. These gorgeous centerpieces herald spring in all its beauty while adding a unique touch of elegance to the Passover seder.

Topiary, the art of ornamental gardening, dates back to the 18th century. Often found in colonial and Victorian decor, it is easy to re-create with Styrofoam, real or dried greenery, fruit and flowers. Lemons, limes, oranges, apples and pomegranates work especially well, although use whatever you feel will look best on your table.

As the holiday progresses, keep your topiary alive by exchanging the fruit for flowers and other decorative touches.

Materials:

A large decorative vase with a round opening
2 floral moss blocks or Styrofoam balls, spray painted green
1 2-foot thin round wooden pole, spray painted green
Willow vine sprays
Spanish moss in the color of your choice
Box of U-pins
10-20 green hydrangeas, depending on the topiary’s size
Green floral wire
Green floral tape
Various pieces of fruit, such as 20 lemons or limes, 10 oranges or apples, and smaller accenting fruit and nuts such as purple grapes, cranberries, strawberries, chestnuts;
12 inch wooded sticks, such as shish kabob skewers
Box of toothpicks

How To:

1. Choose your decorative vase in proportion to the size of the floral moss blocks or Styrofoam balls. Cut the moss block or Styrofoam to fit the inside of the pot. If needed, tape it in.
2. Choose your wooden pole so that the height of the “tree” will be 2-1/2 times the height of the pot. Insert the stick into the foam in the pot to make a hole for the “trunk,” and remove the stick.
3. Tuck Spanish moss into the pot to cover the moss block or Styrofoam, and fasten it down with U-pins. Stick some of the hydrangea on the moss to add color and texture to the base of the “tree.”
4. Insert the stick in the original hole in the now-covered moss block or Styrofoam. Glue, if necessary. Place the second moss block or Styrofoam on top of the stick to make a hole and then remove.
5. Working in concentric circles from the top of the moss block or Styrofoam, attach pieces of willow vine sprays, using floral wire to secure the vine sprays in place.
6. After half the foam is covered with greenery, attach the foam on top of the stick and completely cover the rest of the ball. Stick in hydrangeas to enhance the topiary ball shape. Embellish the stick with vine sprays, moss, and using floral wire, secure the remaining hydrangea, if desired
7. Bring the topiary comes to life by adding the fruit. Cut all but four or five of the fruits in half and attach the whole and uncut fruit to wooden skewers. Arrange the cut fruits, cut side down, around the upper portion of the topiary by carefully pushing each stick into the moss. Place the uncut fruit around the perimeter of the base of the topiary by carefully pushing the sticks into the moss.
8. Attach the accenting fruit to toothpicks (strawberries work well with lemons, purple grapes with green apples, blue berries with limes) and arrange them all over the topiary by carefully pushing the toothpicks into the moss.

Note:

To increase the life of the fruit, choose slightly under ripe pieces and store the topiary in a dry place, as moisture will cause the fruit to decay faster. The fruit should stay fresh for 4-5 days, depending on the type (oranges will last longer than berries) and the quality at the time of purchase. When the fruit needs to be changed, gently twist the U-pins free and pull out the fruit. Replace with new fruit or change the look by adding flowers. The willow vine sprays do not need to be changed, as they will dry in place.

Go to the Kosher.com Ultimate Passover Guide

Go to Kosher.com for all your Passover Shopping

Author Bio:

- FELISA BILLET is a freelance journalist. Her work has appeared in newspapers and magazines, including USA Today, Jewish Action, American Jewish Spirit, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Pregnancy, and My Midwest. Felisa is at work on a cookbook, The DIY Kitchen, which explains how to make supermarket staples from the comfort of home. She is a mom of three kids and lives in South Florida. – Read more…

Nutritious, Delicious & Kosher: Pass Over the White Stuff this Passover

Posted in Passover

White foods abound on Passover but you can now choose many whole grain Passover alternatives.

By: BONNIE TAUB DIX, MA, RD, CDN

No one made matzo balls like my sister Elaine. There are knaidlach that look like golf balls and others that look like tennis balls, but hers resembled basketballs … but they were light and fluffy and your spoon sailed right through them. Although my sister is no longer with us, the memory of those matzo balls will stay with me forever.

And when I think of Passover, I also think of the color white. White matzo balls, white matzo, white mashed potatoes, white eggs, white cake flour, white-ish matzo meal … see a theme here? But I do think times are changing.  Last year I was thrilled to find spelt and whole wheat matzo, whole wheat matzo farfel and whole wheat matzo meal. Although not every recipe will welcome whole grains wholeheartedly, you can take small steps to make big changes. I’ll admit that my attempt at making whole wheat mazto balls didn’t go over very well, but I did get several requests for a repeat performance of my whole wheat matzo lasagna.

This Passover recipe is easy to throw together and it’s great as a muffin or a side dish. My kids calls these “Healthy Muffins,” so in our house, the name kind of stuck. They’re a symphony of delicious tastes in concert with a wealth of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals—you’ll make them all year through.

Recipe: Bonnie’s Healthy Passover Muffins

Go to the Kosher.com Ultimate Passover Guide

Go to Kosher.com for all your Passover Shopping

Author Bio:

- BONNIE TAUB-DIX, MA, RD, CDN authors Kosher.com’s “Nutritious, Delicious and Kosher: Tips for Healthy Kosher Living and Eating,” providing nutritional insight to site visitors/users. She is a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and Director and Owner of BTD Nutrition Consultants with offices on Long Island and in New York City. She is also a specialist in behavior and lifestyle modification, nutritional psychotherapy, obesity and weight management. – Read more…

Countdown to Passover Tip 2: Getting Your Closets in Order

Posted in Countdown to Passover 2010

Cleaning for Passover can be a chore, but when you take an organized approach to Passover prep things are much less hectic.

Tip #2: If you’ve already ordered meat for Passover, the next step, according to Professional Organizer Rivka Slatkin, is to organize and clean out your closets. You need to decide whether you’ll be doing a thorough Passover cleaning or tackling a complete overhaul. Nonetheless, if you can devote some time to streamlining what clothing fits and what doesn’t, you will have a head start on the next step: shopping for yourself and the family to make sure you have new Passover outfits and shoes that fit.

Recipe #2: Sweet and Sour Salmon

This is another of my favorite Passover fish dishes. If you can’t find kosher for Passover red pepper flakes, just leave them out.

Remember to check back for Tip #3

Go to the Kosher.com Ultimate Passover Guide

Go to Kosher.com for all your Passover Shopping

For more detailed plans on how to make Pesach Perfectly Organized, please visit www.Jewish-life-organized.com and take a look at the Yom Tov Perfectly Organized Collection, written by Rivka Slatkin, Professional Organizer.

Passover on a Budget: 6 Tips for Stylish, Sophisticated Seders

Posted in Passover

Though many Passover hosts and hostesses feel enslaved by intense holiday preparations, here’s how you can create a stylish and sophisticated Passover seder with ease.

By: FELISA BILLET

The Centerpieces

When the Passover table is crammed with wine bottles, glasses, seder plates and boxes of matzo, finding the right centerpiece can be tricky.

Susie Fishbein, author of the Kosher By Design series, suggests using topiaries because they provide height without obstructing the view.

“Topiaries do not die so you can start with white roses in the arrangement for the seders and switch to lemons or strawberries for the end of the holiday,” says Fishbein.

For large tables, scattering clusters of flowers in bud vases add color without the bulkiness (or expense!) of a formal arrangement.

Budget Tip:

Opt for vibrant colored tablecloths with patterned textures and choose simple flowers within variations of two colors that contrast with the tablecloth. As long as the flowers are in the color scheme, inexpensive ones will do the trick.

The Setting

An extraordinary setting can have a dramatic effect. For those lucky to live in a warm climate consider setting the seder table outdoors. Hang Chinese lanterns and string lights for a dazzling effect. Play with the lighting by positioning standing lamps from your living room at the ends of the table to contrast with outdoors.

If the seder will take place inside, enhance the mood by using comfortable arm chairs, low couches or recliners imported from the living room.

Budget Tip:

Reuse illuminated sukkah decorations to enhance the backdrop of your Passover seder.

The Menu

Choosing the right food to serve at the seder is just as important as the beautiful table on which it is presented.  Determining appetizers, entrees and side dishes that meet your budget can be overwhelming.

Instead of making seven different courses, prepare simple dishes that show you put in time and effort. Don’t feel like you have to serve meat, fish and chicken.

Whatever budget-friendly dishes you choose, opt for ones that can be prepared in advance so you can enjoy the seder. Ideas include a Mediterranean Passover fattoush salad that just needs to be dressed before serving or horseradish-crusted salmon that can be plated ahead of time.

Budget Tip:

Appreciate the elegance of chicken bottoms. As long as this low-cost entrée is prepared well and tastes delicious, no one will notice that there isn’t an expensive cut of meat on the menu.

Personal Touches

When guests feel at home, an average seder is turned into a glorious one. By placing individual mini-seder plates at each setting, guests will have the essentials at their finger tips. Find out in advance if any of your guests are allergic to wheat; purchase oat or spelt  matzo for them. This thoughtful gesture goes a long way.

As you prepare for the holiday, shop with the seder in mind. Guests remember personal touches like decorating napkins with inexpensive stretchy plastic frogs or placing glass swizzle sticks with emblems of the Ten Plagues in each goblet.

Creative place cards that double as mementos will further enhance the seder. To make individual book marks with guests’ name, decorate felt strips with ribbon and beads and write each guest’s name with fabric paint. Place the bookmarks in a hagadah at every place setting in order for guests to know where they are sitting.

Budget Tip:

Besides dollar store finds, discount websites sell party knickknacks at low prices. Shop in advance so you qualify for “free shipping” deals from internet party sites like Oriental Trading.

Bringing it all Together

Most importantly, the hostess should feel relaxed on the night of the seder. Consider putting aside money in your Passover budget to spend on an important purchase that will help you enjoy the seder with a smile.

Think of it as a long-term Passover investment. Instead of spending on expensive ingredients, use the money saved to buy a food processor so your Passover cooking will be a breeze. Who can enjoy the seder after peeling 10 pounds of potatoes by hand?

Or, if you are expecting a large crowd, use the money to hire help with cleaning pre-holiday or during the seder and other food preparation.

Whatever you choose, remember, you deserve it!

Budget Tip:

Ditch paper tablecloths and plastic dishes and invest in reusable items like a gorgeous easy-to-wash tablecloth and real dishes.

Recipes:

Passover Fattoush Salad

Horseradish-Crusted Salmon Fillets

Go to the Kosher.com Ultimate Passover Guide

Go to Kosher.com for all your Passover Shopping

Author Bio:

- FELISA BILLET is a freelance journalist. Her work has appeared in newspapers and magazines, including USA Today, Jewish Action, American Jewish Spirit, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Pregnancy, and My Midwest. Felisa is at work on a cookbook, The DIY Kitchen, which explains how to make supermarket staples from the comfort of home. She is a mom of three kids and lives in South Florida. – Read more…

Kosher Cooking in Season: The 1 Ingredient for a Perfect Passover

Posted in Kashrut, Passover, The Kosher Way

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is kosher and delicious for Passover and every other day of the year

By: LAURA FRANKEL

One sure sign that spring has sprung is the plethora of Passover products that start appearing on grocery store shelves. Each year I look forward to checking out what new foodstuffs have been invented. Usually these products are meant to counterfeit their non-Passover counterparts. Each year I hold my own personal contest to see what the strangest and most Passover-y thing will be. Last year I was thrilled and simultaneously disgusted by Passover soy sauce. I saved the bottle and put it in my cabinet just to remind myself of how scary things sometimes are in the world of food.

Well, that soy sauce is so last year. I found something that trumps all the ersatz foods out there. The new crop of Passover substitutes includes a product called Mac & Cheez. There is neither Mac (pasta) even of the Passover kind nor is there any cheese or Cheez. The product is pareve and the pasta is made from tapioca. It is nutritionally empty; there is not one vitamin in it. I bought a box and put it right next to my soy sauce and there it shall stay as a reminder of how bad faux food can get.

On the other hand, there is something really great that we can use for Passover. It is delicious, all natural, minimally processed available at just about every supermarket in the country. I’m talking about extra virgin olive oil. According to the OU (Orthodox Union), all extra virgin olive oil is kosher all year round and that includes Passover. So, the savvy Passover shopper is buying great olive oil this year.

Olive oil is the fruit oil obtained from the olive. Commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, soaps and fuel for lamps, olive oil is grown and used throughout the world but especially in the Mediterranean.

Olive oil is produced by grinding or crushing and extracting the oil. A green olive produces bitter oil and an overripe olive produces rancid oil. For great extra virgin olive oil it is essential to have olives that are perfectly ripened.

Purchasing olive oil and knowing how to use it can be confusing. Add to that, the kashrut factor and it is no wonder that consumers and home cooks are bewildered by the array of products on supermarket and specialty market shelves.

Using Olive Oil

Here is a summary of olive oils and their uses:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

This oil comes from virgin oil production only and contains no more than 0.8% acidity. Extra virgin olive oil accounts for less than 10% of oil in many oil producing countries. The superior fruity flavor makes this oil best used for vinaigrettes, drizzling on soups and pastas for added richness and a fruity taste for dipping breads and vegetables. Extra virgin olive oil does not require hashgacha or supervision from a kosher authority (even for Pesach) as it is cold pressed.

Virgin Olive Oil

This only comes from virgin oil production only and has an acidity less than 2%. This oil is best used for sautéing and for making vinaigrettes. It is generally not as expensive as the extra virgin olive oil but has a good taste. Virgin olive oil requires kosher supervision to be considered kosher.

Pure Olive Oil

Oils labeled as Pure olive oil or Olive oil are usually a blend of refined and virgin production oil. This oil is perfect for sautéing. It does not have a strong flavor and can be used for making aiolis and cooking. Pure olive oil requires kosher supervision to be considered kosher.

Extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality olive oil. It is typically more expensive than other olive oils. Extra virgin olive oil is not typically recommended for high heat cooking. Every oil has its smoke point. A smoke point refers to the heat temperature at which the oil begins to break down and degrade. An oil that is above its smoke point not only has nutritional and flavor degradation but can also reach a flash point where combustion can occur. You can observe this when you have a very hot pan and hot oil and food are added to the pan and they produce a bluish and acrid smelling smoke or worse yet, catch fire.

Extra virgin olive oil has a very low smoke point of 375. I use my best extra virgin olive oil for making vinaigrettes, adding luxurious fruity flavor to pasta dishes, garnishing foods and dipping breads. When I am high heat sautéing or frying, I tend to reach for pure olive oil or a different type of oil.

Buying Olive Oil

Extra virgin olive oil has a long list of health benefits from reducing coronary artery disease, cholesterol regulation and possibly reducing risk of certain cancers. This makes the decision for using extra virgin olive oil a no-brainer.

The bigger decision is which oil to buy. Most of the world’s extra virgin olive oil comes from the southern Mediterranean countries. I favor an organic, unfiltered Spanish oil. I also like estate grown products as I know that a farmer fretted over the olives and the weather. Many mass produced oils are made not from a single source or farm and the flavor can be uneven and harsh.

When cooking for Passover and for every meal, I recommend whole, natural ingredients. I never go to the dark side of cooking with products that are loaded with laboratory made ingredients and faux flavors or colors. For this holiday and everyday—let’s keep it real.

Recipes:

Poached Halibut in Olive Oil

Parsley sauce with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Chocolate Mousse with Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Go to the Kosher.com Ultimate Passover Guide

Go to Kosher.com for all your Passover Shopping

Author Bio:

- LAURA FRANKEL is the former chef and founder of the Shallots restaurants. Frankel has training and extensive experience in both savory and pastry kitchens. After Frankel had a family and began maintaining a kosher home she found that there was nowhere in Chicago serving the quality of food that she knew she could offer. She opened her first restaurant in 1999 offering kosher fine dining with a produce-driven menu. Frankel opened Shallots NY in 2000 in midtown Manhattan. – Read more…