While my low-carb leanings have been mentioned here before, I actually love bread. I love eating bread (who doesn’t). I love baking bread. The quest for the perfect loaf of bread takes complete control of my kitchen, now and again. I have raised a sourdough culture for several months and I’ve considered building a brick-oven in my backyard on more than one occasion. Understandably, I was very excited to get my copy of Peter Reinhart’s Whole Grain Breads, from Ten Speed Press. The timing couldn’t be better - while I lost much weight with the help of Dr. Atkins, I have recently become a whole-foods, whole-grain kind of guy. The pendulum has gone full-swing.

In his latest offering, Mr. Reinhart delves into the world of whole-grain breads - it’s more complex that you might think. Great whole-grain breads require very different approaches than other breads. In the ninety pages (!) before the first recipe, everything you might ever need to know about whole-grain baking is presented. There’s a complete primer on the anatomy of grain and the chemistry of bread-baking. You’ll learn terms like biga, soaker and seed-culture. You’ll learn how to raise your own natural-yeast starter.

The recipes that follow are detailed, and illustrated with beautiful photography. They range from classic multi-grain breads to whole-grain cinnamon buns, whole-grain challahs to whole-wheat matzos, whole-grain brioche to multi-grain crackers. Every branch of bread baking is covered.

If you’re an avid bread-head like me, you’ll find this book an indispensable resource. I’m a loyal fan of Peter Reinhart - I own 4 of his books (Brother Juniper’s Bread Book, Crust and Crumb, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and American Pie). Mr. Reinhart has truly made a mission out of understanding bread and the process of creating it - I find his writing interesting and inspiring. If you’re new to bread baking you might find the process daunting - but hang in there. The results are well worth it.

More from Rabbi Avi Finegold. Cross-posted at jcarrot.org.

For many of you, having guests at a Shabbat meal means often juggling various dietary restrictions preferences that guests may bring to the table. Michael Pollan makes the interesting point that the French consider it improper to impose your diet onto your host, and yet how many of you can recall meals in which you were left with virtually nothing to eat as a result of your kashrut/vege- pesce- ovo- lacto- tarianism/ or any possible allergies. Peter Berley’s The Flexitarian Table may hopefully solve at least some of the issues.

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It’s not exactly what I was hoping I’d first use that line for, but why be picky? Here’s the cover:

And here’s the official description:

Best Recipes from the Jewish Blogosphere

These recipes from the Jewish blogosphere aren’t just the same old kugel. Pareve, milchig and fleischig selections range from “almost healthy” sufganiyot to “Eyes of Haman” Purim bread to instructions for successful kosher potlucks. All recipes include URLs for the original post, and links to other Jewish blogs are on the back page. Treat your friends and relatives to this unique inexpensive Hanukkah gift which they will appreciate long after the holiday is over.

So, you may be wondering, why didn’t I post this before Hanukkah? Well. . .it’s a long story. Anyway, you can still buy the book before Tu Bishvat! (What, you never heard of the ancient tradition of giving Tu Bishvat presents?) It’s only $4, and it includes a wonderful recipe for flourless honey pecan cake.

Click here to order.

(Cross-posted to Apikorsus)

I’m a serious carnivore. Meat for dinner at least 4 times a week (gasp!). Lost 60 pounds on a low-carb diet, eating eggs and beef-fry for breakfast at least once a week. Meat, meat, meat. So the Nine Days present somewhat of a culinary challenge. Generally I use the time to be creative. Yesterday I decided to conduct a little experiment with DynaSea’s mock shrimp.

I have used DynaSea’s mock-crab sticks before (in a great mock-crab-salad recipe) and of course had them in sushi-rolls, but I had never had the shrimp. I took a recipe for Spicy Grilled Shrimp from the new Grilling cookbook from the Culinary Institute of America (I’m working on a review) and substituted the mock-shrimp. A quick Asian Cucumber Salad on the side, and this was the result:

(Yes, the grilled scallions were just for effect. Turns out that they’re pretty good grilled.)

I think it looks pretty appetizing - don’t you? Unfortunately, it didn’t meet my taste-expectations. It wasn’t bad or anything - just blah. What went wrong? Firstly, mock-shrimp are not absorbent at all. They are sold as a fully-cooked product and soaked up none of the marinade. So I drizzled some leftover marinade over the finished product, improving them slightly. The larger problem was the consistency/taste of the shrimp. If I had to describe them in one word, I would say doughy. Are real shrimp like this? I imagine not. I kept thinking of gnocchi (or shliskes, if you’re in touch with your inner-Hungarian). Dense and doughy, they really didn’t convey a sense of seafood. They were more like a starchy side-dish then a main course. I’ve seen them given the cornklake-crumb/deep-fry treatment and served with cocktail sauce as a Kosher Shrimp Cocktail - I imagine they function more as a novel way to eat cocktail sauce than as a dish of their own. So much for that experiment.

I received Nancy Baggett’s All-American Cookie Book as a bridal shower gift, and it quickly became a favorite. The book is full of tempting recipes, entertaining cookie lore, and mouth-watering full-color photos. The first chapter, “How to Make Great Cookies Every Single Time,” has proven invaluable, and the first recipe I tried (called “Best-Ever Snickerdoodles”) made what are quite possibly the most delicious cookies I’ve ever tasted.

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It isn’t rational. I have more soup recipes than I would ever use in a winter, more cookie recipes than I could reasonably use in a year, and more pot roast recipes than I will probably use in a lifetime. And there are so many other recipe sources, from the internet to my mother. But then, I have an irrational love of books and an equally irrational love of food. Perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that I drool over the cookbook aisle in every bookstore I visit, and that, cheapskate though I am, I often can’t bring myself to leave without making a purchase.

Still, when I returned from the SBL/AAR conference with Great Vegetarian Dishes by Kurma dasa, “one of the Hare Krishna movement’s most celebrated chefs,”* I began to think that I might have a problem.

Then I read this article:

Sally LaRhette, 75, has over 3,000, and she’s not letting up anytime soon. In fact, one of the reasons she moved to her Natick home was for extra room to house her collection. Daniela Coleman, 38, of Jamaica Plain has 250 books in her kitchen and another 100 or so boxed up in her mother’s attic. Jane Kelly, 49, of Wayland, owns around 850. The 75 she uses most often are in the kitchen, hundreds fill a large bookcase in her office, and the remaining ones are stored in the basement.

While some may wonder how anyone could possibly need, want, or use this many volumes, food lovers admit to pangs of desire when roaming the cookbook section of a well-stocked bookstore.

As it turns out, I have a long way to go. Since I don’t have a “problem,” I guess it wouldn’t hurt to place an order at Amazon.com. I think I’ll get Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking, by Julia Sahni. And The New Best Recipe — Jabbett seemed to like that. And Myra Kornfield’s The Voluptuous Vegan (I’m enjoying The Healthy Hedonist). And maybe. . .
. . .maybe I should sleep on this. I am a cheapskate, after all.

(Cross-posted to Apikorsus Online)

*The book includes “over 240 recipes from around the world,” including a lokshen kugel recipe attributed to the author’s mother. Draw your own conclusions.

Manischewitz’s new chocolate-covered Tam Tams (akin to chocolate-covered pretzels) are making their debut in the Hub of the Universe, according to this article from today’s Herald.

The latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated includes a recipe for oven-smoked ribs, so, with a rack of Texas ribs in my freezer, I’ve decided to test if their technique is general-purpose enough to work with beef instead of pork.

The dry/wet spice rub was simple enough, but I had a bit of a snag finding the lapsang souchong tea leaves required for the oven-smoking process. Cook’s insists that Twining’s version of the tea is “widely available in supermarkets,” but both our largest (Shaw’s in Allston) and our fruitiest (Whole Foods in Brighton) didn’t have any to speak of.

Thankfully, it dawned on me that Peet’s Coffee and Tea sells (KSA-certified kosher) tea! A quick phone call confirmed they carry this odd variety, and a short drive and seven dollars later, I had a cannister of the stuff in hand. I’m not sure why anyone would want to drink tea that smells like burning tires, but it’ll sure make my ribs nice and smokey.

Stay tuned.

Joan Nathan, author of Jewish Cooking in America, The Jewish Holiday Kitchen, The Children’s Jewish Holiday Kitchen, The Jewish Holiday Baker, and The Foods of Israel Today, recently came out her first non-kosher cookbook, entitled The New American Cooking. It seems to be getting pretty good reviews.

The authors vary, but we all have a cookbook that we turn to again and again for simple powerhouse recipes. Forget how to make perfect hard-boiled eggs? From Julia Child’s Kitchen, page 81. Need a quick kasha varnishkes next Shabbos? The Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook, page 205. A recipe for creme anglaise? Larousse Gastronomique, page 390.

Setting Jewish recipes and obscure French preparations aside, and after testing several recipes with excellent results, I’ve supplanted my traditional tomes with the latest from the editors of Cook’s Illustrated, The New Best Recipe. The name doesn’t do the book justice. Not only does the NBR contain 1,000 scientifically tested recipes, but it also features product comparisons (maple syrups, chocolate chips, what-have-you) and general food preparation knowledge (slicing goat cheese, how to prepare vegetables for a crudite platter) that make it an indispensible cooking and entertaining guide. Illustrations, when provided, are clear and concise, and the narratives before each recipe provide valuable insight into the process that went into its development. The authors do not simply list how to prepare something; they instead share the subtleties of the ingredients and techniques involved which can be applied in countless other kitchen situations. (As an added bonus, it’s printed just down the street from where I sit — “America’s Test Kitchen” in Brookline, MA.)

I feel I haven’t even scratched the surface of this expansive resource, but the recipes I’ve attempted so far have all been such overwhelming successes that I’m confidant they speak for the entire volume. Here’s my progress so far:

OVEN FRIES
Soaking potato wedges briefly in hot tap water was the trick for crunchy, evenly browned fries.

PASTA PRIMAVERA
This dish came in handy when I needed a cheese-free vegetarian entree. The careful timing spelled out in the recipe assured perfectly cooked vegetables the creamy tomato sauce.

BEEF AND PEPPER LO MEIN
A few small changes for kashrut and the available ingredients in my pantry, and this was a quick and easy dinner.

ROAST TURKEY FOR A CROWD
This recipe saved the day when preparing for 14 Rosh Hashana dinner guests. My first attempt at a whole turkey, it was incredibly easy, very tasty, and they even recommended using a kosher bird!

BREAKFAST STRATA
This delicious combination of French bread, eggs, and cheese is an excellent way to serve several people at a brunch. If baked in a decorative gratin dish, it can go directly from the oven to the table. Leftovers were excellent cold, too.

FRENCH TOAST
I never thought my simple recipe of challah and beaten egg could be topped, but the science behind NBR’s French toast truly yields a superior product.

RICOTTA CALZONES
I had never made a calzone that wasn’t an utter disaster — puddles of cheese and tomato exploding out all sides of a doughy pocket — until this recipe. The use of ricotta as the foundation for all other filling additives provides safety and predictability — no huge air pockets between filling and upper crust, and no messes in the oven. They look professional, to boot.

CRISP CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
Another first: I had never made chocolate chip cookies as perfectly round and thoroughly consistent as these. They’re delicious and they look straight out of a bakery. Plus, NBR indicates an Israeli product (Tropical Source) as tester’s preferred chocolate chip brand.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
I’ve already covered the pareve conversion of this recipe on the blog — easy to make and easy to serve.

SUMMER BERRY PUDDING
It’s hard to believe how an unassuming combination of berries and challah can make such a tremendous dessert, with no baking required.

And of course, their foolproof hard-boiled eggs live up to their name. However, I do have one gripe. Many of their recipes end with “serve immediately.” Considering the majority of my cooking is done for Shabbat, I usually need recipes more like, “prepare in advance, then leave on a lukewarm stove for three hours before serving.” In striving for the “best recipe,” the folks at Cook’s Illustrated are willing to sacrifice convenience. It’s nice to have a compendium of perfect procedures, but the realities of everyday family cooking — where meals aren’t served on moment’s notice — need consideration.

That said, this book is still, hands-down, the best thirty-odd dollars I’ve spent in a long time.

When I got my review copy of this book, I wasn’t expecting much. To be honest, I didn’t expect to learn anything new. Why? Probably ego. I mean C’mon! I’ve got all of Steven Raichlen’s books, the Jamisons’ Smoke and Spice, Sublime Smoke and Born to Grill, Cook’s Illustrated The Best Recipe: Grilling and Barbecue - and half a dozen more. I look at barbecue books on the shelf all the time, and I’m rarely impressed. By the time I had gotten through Dr. BBQ’s (Ray Lampe) Big-Time Barbecue Cookbook, I had discovered a new favorite. (BTW, this being kosherblog, I feel obligated to point out that Steven Raichlen is Jewish and has written a Jewish Cookbook. Why does every review of a new Jewish cookbook express surprise that Jewish Cookery can be healthy? You’d think we were a nation of unhealthy slobs!)

There are 5 main sections in the book, dedicated to rubs, marinades and sauces, smoking, grilling, side dishes and recipes with leftovers. The leftovers section was a new one on me. I guess I don’t cook enough barbecue if I never had enough leftovers to make into something like Thai Brisket Salad or Spicy Smoked Chicken Frittata. (I guess I’m going to have to cook more barbecue.)

The smoking and grilling sections were filled with delicious sounding recipes - below you’ll find one I tried, and enjoyed greatly. I never heard of Alabama White Barbecue Sauce, but it turned out to be a great accompaniment to smoked turkey. If you’re afraid (like I was) of the combination of mayonnaise and meat - don’t be! I don’t think that White Barbecue Sauce would pair well with red meat, but it does wonders for poultry. $1000 Maple Bean Pie, in the side-dishes section scared me a little bit - but the other side-dishes sounded much better.

What separates this book from many others is the attitude. What comes across clearly in this book is the good doctor’s desire to promote good eating. While he does have suggestions and preferences, he stresses that there is no “one true way”, and encourages the reader to try their own variations. Ray Lampe is also a barbecuing champion, and his experience comes through in his writing. There may never be a kosher barbecue competition, but if there were, I’d be prepared.

Here’s Dr. BBQ’s recipe for Smoked Turkey Breast with Alabama White Barbecue Sauce. This turned out to be some of the juiciest smoked turkey I have ever had. Enjoy.

Alabama White Barbecue Sauce
1 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoons black pepper
1 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1 teaspoons salt

- Combine all ingredients.

Big Time Barbecue Rub
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (I used demerara sugar)
1/4 granulated brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
1 tablespoon granulated onion or onion powder
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne ppowder
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried cayenne
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

- Combine all ingredients.

Smoked Turkey Breast

1 boneless turkey breast (3-4 pounds), skin on
1 double batch Alabama White Barbecue Sauce
1 batch Big Time Barbecue Rub

1) Place the turkey breast in a zipper-lock bag. Pour half the sauce on it and seal. Refrigerate for a whole day, turning occasionally.
2) Prepare your cooker for indirect cooking at 275°.
3) Remove turkey breast from the bag and sprinkle liberally with rub. Put in in the cooker and cook to an nternal temperature of 160°. This should take about 2 to 3 hours.
4) Remove the breast from the cooker and wrap it in foil with another cup of the sauce. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
5) Slice and serve with the remaining sauce.

The Jewish Ledger reports that Kosher Express, an OK-supervised Chinese restaurant, has opened in the Amity/Westville area of New Haven.

Sydney Perry, Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven executive director, added, “A vibrant Jewish community requires schools, a mikveh, synagogues and agencies which serve the elderly and the needy, a shochet and a mohel. And a kosher Chinese restaurant. With the advent of Kosher Express, which joins the kosher restaurants providing vegetarian delights, New Haven is clearly thriving. Every fortune cookie should say l’chaim.”

Kosher Express
132 Amity Road (Amity Plaza Shopping Center)
New Haven, CT
203-387-7889

Sun - Thurs: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday: 11 a.m. - one hour before candlelighting
Sat. night: open one and a half hours after sunset.

Kosher Today reports this week that Kedem has bought the Kineret line of frozen kosher foods from Hain Celestial:

Kedem Identified as Buyer of Kineret from Hain Celestial
(Melville, LI) The buyer of the Kineret brand is Kedem Food Products International, it was announced last week. Kosher Today had reported the sale by the Hain Celestial Group (July 5, 2005) but did not disclose the buyer. Kineret produces such kosher ready-to-bake goods, frozen fish, latkes, and onion rings. Industry sources said that the sale made perfect sense as each company was moving in different directions. Hain Celestial was focusing on its core natural and organic brands while Kedem was steadily increasing its food lines and was now moving into frozen. The sources estimated Kineret’s annual sales at approximately $2.5 million, but the terms of the sale were not disclosed. “As we streamline our business with brand and SKU rationalizations, we are focusing on our core natural and organic brands and products. It is with mixed feelings that we sell the Kineret specialty kosher brand, even though the category is growing, since the Kineret brand was one of our first acquisitions,” commented Irwin D. Simon, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Hain Celestial Group. “I am pleased to see the Kineret brand sold to Kedem, an innovator in specialty brands, as they will bring Kineret and Kosherific to another level of success.” Kineret will be a major part of Kedem’s exhibit at Kosherfest.

Levana Kirschenbaum, author of Levana’s Table, will be giving a cooking class at Williams-Sonoma in The Shops at Columbus Circle on Thursday, March 17th. The Pesach seder oriented menu will include:

• Tilapia-stuffed Seabass with Watercress Horseradish Sauce
• Roasted Garlic and Artichoke Soup
• Lamb Shanks and Dried Fruit stew
• Roasted Asparagus
• Endive and Apple Salad with Walnut Dressing
• Almond Wine Cake with Strawberry Sauce

All ingredients and utensils will be strictly kosher. There will also be a cookbook signing. Class is from 6 to 8 pm. Fee is $60.00. You must register in advance: 212-823-9750 or contact Marlene at wscolumbuscircle@yahoo.com.

Also, check out http://www.levanacooks.com/ for more of Levana’s delectable cooking classes. The March 14th class will feature Israeli Street Food:

• Fish Chraimi
• Marinated Eggplant slices
• Falafel Balls with Hummus Tehina and Israeli Salad
• Za’atar-rubbed Mulaouach with Schug
• Spinach Borekas
• Rugelach

All the commonly available kosher fresh mozzarella products I’ve seen bear hekshers our family does not accept, so it was exciting to find a new choice from Gad Dairies of Israel. Their Baby Mozzarella is available at the Butcherie in a smallish reclosable plastic container, holding several miniature balls of fresh mozzarella in liquid. These bocconcini had a soft, slightly chewy texture, as was expected, but its very mild flavor was skewed by a hint of spice (something like cinnamon, oddly) which I could have done without.

This mozzarella is good for tossing in a hot bowl of pasta, stuffing into a calzone, cutting in half and placing on a pizza, or broiled on bruschetta. Or just make a snack out if it: mozzarella, extra virgin olive oil, and some fresh, chopped herbs.

Another nice thing about this product is its clearly written expiration date. The label spelled out fully the month of expiration, which is very important when dealing with non-American cheeses (i.e. does 4/9/04 mean April 9 or September 4). Such confusion has led to some unfortunate experiences with Danish blue cheese in my kitchen.

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire/ — A broad coalition of rabbis and certifying agencies involved in the supervision of kosher meat slaughter in the United States has reaffirmed the humaneness of kosher slaughter (schechita) in the wake of charges by a radical animal rights group. In an unprecedented statement, uniting diverse segments of the kosher community, the 12 signatories expressed concern that the recent publicity “may lead to misconceptions about the practices depicted on the videotape [released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals] and, more generally, about the shechita process itself.”

Full Press Release

Tonight on Food Network, at 9PM Eastern, “BBQ with Bobby Flay” will be profiling Jeff’s Gourmet Kosher Sausage of Los Angeles in a “BBQ Holiday” episode. If you miss it, it’ll also be on at the following times:

December 01, 2004 9:00 PM ET/PT
December 02, 2004 1:00 AM ET/PT
December 04, 2004 7:00 PM ET/PT
December 15, 2004 9:00 PM ET/PT
December 16, 2004 1:00 AM ET/PT

Hopefully, I’ll be able to put aside my fierce distaste of Flay’s smarm and tune in

Rajiv writes in to share that Wired Magazine’s current issue (Volume 12, Issue 11) “has an article on an engineer working for the
Star-K [Jonah Ottensoser] and how he works to certify appliances.”

It’s a good article (by Michael Erard), though he liberally uses superfluous godspeak: “… certifying that the movement of every electron in an appliance is sanctioned by God.”

If you’re interested in learning more, Ottensoser has an article published on the Star-K website about the “Sabbath Mode.” The Star-K also has detailed information about Sabbath-sensitive appliances, including purchasing advice.

Team Kosher receives several e-mails either requesting help locating products, with concerns about unusual heksherim, or just with random kosher thoughts. We most often respond quickly and thoroughly, but sometimes things fall through the cracks. In either case, the general public misses out on the question, its answer, and any ensuing e-mail discussion.

Now, there’s a better solution: The Kosher Blog Open Discussion site. Do the quick user registration (don’t worry, we’re not going to use your e-mail address for anything untoward), and then post away with all your random thoughts, questions, and answers if you have ‘em. Team Kosher will actively peruse the forums and chime in where appropriate.

If you have any trouble, please e-mail us.

A month before Pesach, Sarah and I picked up The New York Times Passover Cookbook at the Brookline Booksmith (clearance priced at $10, given its February 1999 publication date). Since we now “own” the Jewish holidays in our family, we had an opportunity to spice things up at the seder table — this book was a big help.

Many prominent chefs from the treyf world contribute Passover-sensitive recipes — i.e. Charlie Trotter’s carrot consomme, Paul Prudhomme’s veal roast, Wolfgang Puck’s nouveau gefilte fish. While many of the chef-inspired offerings are complicated, they resoundly put to rest complaints that there’s nothing “good” to eat on Pesach.

A big hit among our family and friends was the “Margarten Family’s Apple Kugel”: sliced apples layered with a whole-wheat matzah batter featuring ground walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon. Hands down the closest we’ve come to the taste of apple pie on Passover, and a side dish/dessert I’d feel comfortable serving year-round.

Another interesting dish we tried was an herb polenta made with matzo meal instead of corn meal. It was tasty and inventive, and given the leniences of yom tov cooking, we could serve it freshly fried at dinner.

The book also has many traditional recipes for Passover standards like charoset, chicken soup, and matzo balls. So, while I wouldn’t recommend packing your Molly Goldberg Jewish Cookbook away with the chametz next year, this cookbook can stand on its own as a comprehensive holiday source.