Events for the Week of February 27 Through March 5

Once again we have some great events. It all started last evening with Lipa‘s free concert at Pomegranate,

Monday, February 28th

Meet and Greet Susie Fishbein

Meet, Greet and Join Celebrity Chef, award winning cookbook author Susie Fishbein for a Cooking Demonstration Series at Pomegranate (1507 Coney Island Avenue – corner of Avenue L – Brooklyn, New York 11230; Tel: 718.951.7112). She will be demonstrating fish cooking techniques:

Cod

• Miso Glazed Cod
• Cod, Potatoes and Sun dried Tomatoes

Snapper

• Blackened Red Snapper
• Snapper in Parchment

The demo will start at 11:30am

Lévana’s Dinner and a Show

This week it will be held in Lévana’s house at: 210 West 101st Street, Apartment 9L (in Manhattan, between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway). The subject of tonight’s class will be: THE LEAN LATIN FEAST. She will demonstrate the following:

• Tilapia with green tomato sauce
• Spicy pumpkin corn soup
• Chicken breasts with chipotle sauce
• Cabbage, cucumber and jicama salad with “yogurt” cilantro sauce
• Café con leche pots de crème
• Sangria

The Demo runs from 7:00 to 9:00 followed by dinner, classes cost $45.00 for one session, $120.00 for 3 sessions or $200.00 for 5 sessions and a signed cookbook. Make your reservations at: http://www.levanacooks.com/kosher-cooking-classes/weekly-classes/

Our Next Internet Radio Guest is…

Tammy Cohen of 18 Restaurant was our guest this past Wednesday. Here is the audio file of that broadcast, in case you missed it.

This week’s guest (on Wednesday, February 23rd) will be Rabbi Yaakov Spivak, we will talk about various inyonim concerning Purim. Rabbi Spivak, a native of Atlanta Georgia, received his ordination from Baltimore’s Ner Yisroel Yeshiva. He holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Loyola College, and is a nationally known newspaper columnist, as well as a radio and TV commentator and a never tiring community activist.

Rabbi Yaakov Spivak, host of a very popular radio show (on the New York airwaves) on Torah with an occasional dose of politics

As Rosh Kollel of Kollel Ayshel Avraham in Monsey, NY, he has seen his musmochim occupy positions in Jewish communities across the world. As Executive Director of EMES he’s known throughout the world for his successful efforts in combating missionaries and specifically those who called themselves Jews for Jesus. This group, particularly, regards him as their nemesis. He is the founder of Jewish Radio Network, where we broadcast.

We will be discussing some of the parallels between the narrative in Megillas Esther and today’s situation between Israel (world Jewry) and the leaders of Iran, as well some interesting Purim customs from around the world.

Just listen in, gentle reader, at 8:00pm on Wednesday, February 23rd, on Jewish Radio Network. Enter the site and click on the red “here” under the white “Radio,” then wait about 30 to 90 seconds for the application to start streaming.

CS

This Week’s Events

This is a great week! If you like food, if you like wine these events are tailor made for you:

Tuesday, February 22nd

Kosher Food & Wine Experience 2011

Tomorrow’s the event of the year!

As always, the star of the show is the food and wine on offer. This year over 300 wines from all over the world will be available from wineries including Herzog, Yatir, Castel, Capcanes, Elvi, Goose Bay and more! In addition, Royal Wine will be launching some new wines at KFWE2011 including the Herzog Special Edition Chalk Hill Warnecke Vineyard 2008, the Oak Knoll Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and a new line of Gamla Reserves. Additionally, the wines of Alexander Winery in Israel will be making their debut in the United States market.

Guests will also be able to taste delicious food from some of the top rated kosher restaurants and caterers in the Tri-State area. “This is an opportunity to try some exceptional wines and great food, we don’t hold anything back,” said Mr. Landsman, “KFWE is our gift to our customers. We want to give people a chance to try the wines they are hesitant to buy, the special occasion wines they read about or see in the store.” Another benefit of this event is its proximity to Passover, giving people the opportunity to trywines that they would like to feature at their Seders.

A notable addition to the event this year will be the attendance of celebrity cookbook authors/food personalities Joan Nathan, Jamie Geller, Suzy Fishbein, Lévana Kirschenbaum and Jeff Nathan who will all be available to discuss food and wine pairing and their newest books.

KFWE 2011 will take place on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 at 6:30pm at Pier 60 – Chelsea Piers, NYC. For more information on the 2011 Kosher Food & Wine Experience or to order tickets, please visit: http://www.kfwe2011.com .

Don’t forget to enter KSCENE10, as your discount code, when you buy your ticket(s).

Wednesday, February 23rd

Israel Wine Lovers featuring: Barkan Winery

9 Interesting Wines, 2 Great Winemakers and 1 Amazing Evening with Barkan Winery

Nanoosh Hummus Bar

Who’s hosting? Avi Ashman, Raphael Sutton
Price: $36.00 per person
Where? Nanoosh Hummus Bar
171 Madison Avenue New York, NY
When? 7:00pm

Barkan, with vineyards all across Israel, is the second largest winery in the country.  The winemaking team’s quest to produce a variety of quality wines results in Barkan making all of the right moves (including large financial investments) to continue improvements in their vineyards and in the winery. You can always count on Barkan, and it’s Boutique winery Segal, to release quite a few interesting wines.

We are honored that Irit Boxer and Yotam Sharon, two of Barkan’s winemakers, will be with us and present a selected wine list that demonstrates the great quality of their craftsmanship.  This tasting is a MUST and we promise a fun night!!  Where else can you taste two styles of Pinotage (never tasted that grape yet? you have to…) and the effect of 100 meter (300 feet) height difference on Cabernet Sauvignon’s flavor?  Other great wines will be explored as well…

All wines and foods, during the tasting, are Kosher.

Israel Wine Lovers meets at the back of Nanoosh and brings their own food, their own wines, since Nanoosh is not under ANY kosher supervision!!!

CS

This Evening’s Internet Radio Show…

Last week we interviewed Chef Jack Silberstein from Jack’s Gourmet Kosher. You can hear that broadcast here.

This evening’s guest will be Tammy Cohen. Mrs. Cohen does marketing for various restaurants including Prime Grill, Solo. Tammy and her husband Sidney are currently partners with Chef Haim Dadi (formerly of Mr. Broadway) and some investors in 18 Restaurant (240 E 81st St, New York NY10065; Tel: 212.517.2400).

About 3 years ago Tammy Cohen started her own consulting business, Tammy Cohen Marketing and Consulting DBA JADE Marketing, her clients span across various industries, with entrepreneurs who want to get their product, service or business name and information out. She started out with traditional marketing methods, but in this information age she quickly adapted to the new worlds of email marketing and social media marketing.

It was precisely her knowledge of marketing and marketing research that were instrumental in the Cohens locating their restaurant in the Upper East Side as soon as the premises of the former Turquoise Restaurant became available and Tammy spotted a niche open for a glatt kosher eatery that offered deli, grill, sushi and big salads. Nothing of this nature existed on the upper east side in both a pleasing environment and at sharp and reasonable pricing.  18 Restaurant has fine tuned both their sushi and main menus since their opening reflecting what has worked with their customers and what has not. Over the past months they’ve have added a beautiful sushi bar and an extraordinary sushi chef who came to them from NOBU. He is known for amazing sauces and presentation and prides himself on creativity. Another addition to the restaurant was receiving our liquor license which brought in a whole new level of business.

Tammy will talk to us on the specific challenges of operating a fine kosher restaurant in today’s economy.

Just listen in, gentle reader, at 8:00pm on Wednesday, February 16th, on Jewish Radio Network. Enter the site and click on the red “here” under the white “Radio,” then wait about 30 to 90 seconds for the application to start streaming.

CS

For Your Superbowl Party…

If you are hosting a Superbowl Party, you can either have the wife or yourself slave away preparing a meal, or you can save the aggravation and get a great price on delicious Indian fare:

If you are already watching the games and are hosting a party, why not do so with minimum patchke, with delicious Indian cuisine and with maximum enjoyment?

Shalom Bombay

Say Namaste as you enter Shalom Bombay (344 Lexington Avenue – between 39th and 40th – New York, NY 10016 – Tel: 212.922.0224 – Fax: 212.922.0124) this exotic Indian adventure.  Above your head flows the Ganges – the life force of a nation. The environment is earthy with touches of scrolled ironwork wall pieces, and the tables are set simply- as all guests are welcomed with an introductory taste of a dish called Papri Chaat, complements of the house.

Papri Chaat

It consists of crispy crackers served with chopped potatoes, onions, parve sour cream and tamarind sauce – served cold. Mildly spicy and flavorful, it set the stage for the rest rest of the meal.

SYR and I washed and sampled their breads. SYR adored the warm, fresh from the oven Tandoori Paratha bread (a multi-layered flat whole wheat bread), while I had their just baked Onion Kulcha. Both were superb!

SYR chose a Chicken Tikka Masala, while I had their Tawa Chicken. Hers was made with barbecued chicken cooked in tomatoes and onion. Very flavorful, a bit spicey, but definitely interesting.

Tawa Chicken

Having grown up in Uruguay, I am more used to spicy food and my Chicken Tawa came with boneless pieces of chicken served with onion, bell peppers and spices. I liked it!!

We then shared their Vegetable Pakoras…

Vegetable Pakoras

…an assortment of deep-fried spinach, eggplant, cauliflower and potatoes. Frankly, cauliflower was never a favorite of mine, yet… fresh deep fried is just so good when it’s done right.

We segued with their Mixed Kabab Tandoori Platter…

Mixed Kebab Tandoori Platter

It comes with an assortment of lamb, beef and chicken kababs marinated and roasted in a clay oven. We both found the various meats flavorful, tender  and wonderfully spiced.

SYR enjoyed a 2009 Herzog Selection, Chateneuf Rouge. A semi sweet, mildly fruity but dry enough wine that amply complimented her dishes. I had the 2007 Galilee Hills Segal Fusion (with 60% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Franc and 20% Sauvignon Blanc), with a somewhat smoky undercurrent and lots of fruitiness, I found it a perfect companion to these spicy foods.

We both finished our meals with their exotic desserts, SYR had the Rice Pudding, served with almonds, pistachios and raisins, which she found unusually tasty. I had the Moong Daal Fudge dessert – mashed lentils cooked with sugar and nuts – it was just sweet enough without being overpowering.  Kind of likea sweet version of kishka- nice and very tasty, I wish it had been a bit creamier though.

It was a great meal, coupled with good wines and great decor. We just have to come back for more, but next time I plan to have some of their Indian beers. I hear the Kingfisher is unusually tasty, spicy… just made for these type of food!

Don’t wait for monsoon season to try this superb gastronomic delight; it’s sure to become a fast favorite when you’re ready to curry favor with family and friends or spice up your evening out.

CS

18 Restaurant

Eighteen ‘s marketing team has an innate business sense predicated by one important rule of the game; know your  customers’ tastes and quickly adapt accordingly. Just open three weeks,  18 is taking off like gang-busters. Inheriting a great restaurant design modified with red accents, its managing team created an upscale, sophisticated 21st century deli, with a few marvelous twists.  They’ve hired a terrific sushi chef from Salt Lake City, who creates one mouth-watering roll after another. Chef Haim Dadi, the main chef,  flips so many fat burgers-to-go, it’s making Popeye’s Wimpy cry (it’s the quality of the meat, baby! They buy top-of-the-line.).  Chef Haim kept the best of the Moroccan-Israeli fare, kept the great fish and salads, and offers a great assortment of grilled steak entrees.

Located where Turquoise used to be, 18 Restaurant (240 E 81st St, New York NY10065; Tel: 212.517.2400), opened its doors barely three weeks ago. We felt a welcoming warmth as soon as we walked in…

...a partial view

We sat on a corner next to the turquoise wall that once made the late Turquoise so distinctive. SYR and I started the meal with their Salt Lake City Sushi Roll.

Salt Lake City Roll, colorful, delicious!

It came with tuna, avocado, cucumber, tempura crumbs, soy glaze and a spicy masago. Neither, SYR nor I have been great fans of sushi BUT this roll was amazing!

We both followed with the Yemenite Soup with Meat.

Yemenite Meat Soup

It comes with potatoes, carrots and meat, its aroma and taste linger on for quite a while. This is a new favorite of mine!

Next we shared a large Israeli Combination Platter consisting of hummus, babaganush, Turkish salad and tahini, we dipped our Morrocan Cigars and the baguettes in it for new combinations of rich flavors. Their delectable Israeli Salad with chopped cucumber, tomato w/parsley, lemon and olive oil proved that fancy ingredients are not always necessary to create wholesome, delicious salads but… freshness is!

Next, SYR had the Eighteen’s Beef Burger, 8 ozs topped with mushroom and sitting on a bed of fried onions inside a brioche bun. It came with sides of a sliced sour pickle and French fries. It looked great, and tasted superb. It was obvious why this particular dish is one of their bestsellers.

I followed with Romanian Tenderloin Steak, it came with fresh grilled peppers and superb Yukon gold mashed potatoes.

Romanian Tenderloin

As I’ve said before, I grew up in Uruguay where steak was an almost daily dinner staple, I know steaks!  This one was tender, very juicy and full of flavor. Even my mother couldn’t have made it any better!

Whatever you do, don’t miss their Yemenite meat soup.  It’s delicioussssssssss! The portions are generous, the prices more than reasonable. What more can you ask?!?

CS

La Carne Grill

Enticed by the glowing review this restaurant garnered in 2007 in The Jewish Press, a 2007 mention in The New York Blueprint, a nice review and slide show in New York Magazine and quite a few others – along the same vein – we couldn’t wait to try Eddie Allaham’s eatery. Knowing Eddie was one of the original owners and the creator of Prime Grill’s concept, made our mouths water in anticipation of visiting La Carne Grill (340 Lexington Ave; New York, NY 10016; 212.490.7172). Daniel Ronay (whom readers of our blog have met before, came along this time in place of SYR who couldn’t make it).

The main dining area...

Daniel started the meal with Crispy Sweatbreads, they came with an olive tapenade and mustard aoili. He described them as nicely crispy and flavorful without being overpowering.

I opted for the Garlic Baby Artichokes, which consists of sauteed baby artichoke, drizzled with sweet garlic sauce.

Garlic Baby Artichokes

I am a potato lover and had I eaten these blindfolded, I would have thought – based merely on the taste – that I was savoring some very buttery potatoes… superbly done!

We each followed the appetizer with a sushi rolls (who would have believed, less than six month ago, that I would EVER touch fish based sushi?!?!?).

Daniel had the Red Dragon Roll, a spicy tuna roll with wonton crisps on top. He liked the nice contrast between the roll texture and the chipped wonton crisps. Though it came in a nicely sized portion, Danny said he could continue eating more and more of it.

I had the colorful Rainbow Roll, a california roll with tuna, salmon, yellowtail and white fish. An artistically presented dish, did not taste fishy at all, a wonderful amalgam where each ingredient was subtle enough to allow the others to shine through to create a wonderful, perfect, combination of flavors. We each washed it down with a delightful 2007 Herzog Chardonnay.

For the main dish, he continued to a delicious Beef Wellington. It came with a grilled filet mignon with asparagus, garlic demi sauce and mushroom duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry.

Beef Wellington

While he’s not normally a fan of Beef Wellington, he felt he would order this particular version again. He found the meat tender, juicy, perfectly cooked with a nice shade of of light pink in the center. What made it so different was the delicate sauce of ground mushrooms with a touch of lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. Daniel couldn’t stop raving about it!

I ordered a Filet Mignon, which came with a black trumpet (mushrooms) brandy cream sauce  (delicious!!!!) and French fries. Tender and juicy, superbly cooked to medium state. I paired it with a 2006 Benyamina The Cave. This blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot, aged in a three hundred year old cave in the heart of the Carmel mountains and the Filet… ah, a marriage made in heaven!

We finished this royal repast with an excellent pareve capuccino and a Blueberry Cheesecake…

.

Delicious pareve cheesecake

It was hard to believe, there was no real cheese inside. Delicate but full of flavor, even without the blueberry it would still have been outstanding.

We were pleased to see that La Carne Grill does not rest on its past laurels, Chef Angel Ramirez and his stuff worked hard to produce their very best still. There is no question I must bring SYR soon, I know she’ll love it!

CS

Tiberias

Comfortable, relaxed, upscale, delicious… Those words barely describe this brand new eatery in Midtown Manhattan. Tiberias (45 East 34th Street; NY, NY 10016; Tel: 212.481.4222). is under OK supervision, its fare is cholov Yisroel dairy. SYR and I went there yesterday at mid afternoon, less than a week after it opened. It may be brand new but, the two Steinhart brothers have been working in and managing restaurants for the last five years, in spite of their very young ages. This is the realization of their dream, a dream of having a unique restaurant with something different than the standard offerings. If this is how they started, it will not just be a dream!

A partial view of Tiberias Restaurant

SYR started the meal with the Stuffed Mushrooms, stuffed  with fresh vegetables topped with mozzarella and doused in cream sauce.

5 button mushrooms, stuffed with vegetables, topped with mozarella, doused in cream sauce.

She found it very flavorful, each ingredient combined for a delicious, perfect, appetizer.

I had the Gravalax. Homemade smoked salmon with potato crustini and cucumber salad with dill and mustard,  subtly flavored and very good to the palate.

We then shared the Special of the Day, Pasta del Sol. It consisted of penne with cream sauce and cherry tomato culis, topped with a nicely sized grilled Atlantic salmon.

Considering it was a hot, humid day SYR accompanied the meal with a Lime & Srawberry Smoothie, made from freshly squeezed lime juice, a bit of lemon zest,  fresh strawberries and crushed ice. It looked great and tasted even better. I had the Coffee Slim Shake (it’s sugar free, but you wouldn’t believe it from that great taste!), it came with ice cream, skim milk and was topped with cocoa powder. On the table next to us, a young lady was feasting on an interesting looking Affogato de Gelato, her expression told us it must have tasted heavenly. She explained to us that she’s enjoyed it here before, it consists of a large scoop of sugar free vanilla ice cream, in a boiling shot of espresso served in a martini glass…

We ended the meal with their Jack Daniels Cheese Cake, this is a Mozart type cheese cake with 2% percent of Jack Daniels whiskey. It tasted superb  and looked great, served with three ice cream scoops, some whipped cream and fresh strawberries.

Jack Daniels Cheese Cake

SYR had a Torino Hot Chocolate, gourmet hot chocolate with a partially submerged milk chocolate bar… buonissimo, ottimo!!! I had their Cappuccino, an espresso with steamed milk topped with foam, made from Italy’s famed Danesi Gold Beans…. subtly sweet with a pinch of brown sugar, artistically presented.

Tiberias Cappuccino

A great experience in a brand new eatery with a nice ambiance; as SYR puts it, NO-GUILT DELISH! This definitely calls for an encore…

CS

Cooking with Lévana – Part 2 – Recipes!

As we promised, here are 2 recipes Lévana has graciously allowed us to share with our readers.

Minted Lamb Kebobs

Ingredients

1 medium onion, quatered
4 large cloves garlic
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, including stems
1 bunch mint, leaves only
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon paprika
Good pinch cayenne, or more, to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 pounds extra lean ground beef, or extra lean ground lamb, or a combination.

Directions

Prepare the grill or preheat the broiler. Finely grind the onion, garlic, parsley and a mint in a food processor (pulse: do not let mixture get watery). Transfer to a bowl and add the cumin, paprika, cayenne, pepper and beef.

Form logs about 1″ in diameter and about 4″ long. Thread on wet wooden skewers. or on metal skewers. Broil 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve hot. Serve 2 to 3 skewers per guest.

Makrod: Semolina Date Pastries

I have always rather neglected this wonderful treat, as the traditional preparation requires frying, my nemesis: I don’t think I have more than a handful of fried dishes in my whole repertoire. But I tweaked the recipe to do my bidding as a baked, not fried, treat, and the result is scrumptious! I have streamlined it further by shaping it as bars. Sephardi flavors at their best! Gluten-free: Use GF flour and GF semolina.

Preparing Makrod

Ingredients

Dough

3 eggs
1 cup oil
3 cups flour
2 cups farina or semolina
1 tablespoon baking powder
A little water as needed

Filling:

1 pound pitted chopped dates
1 1/2 cups very hot water
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger
1 teaspoon cloves
Peel of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons orange flower water

Topping:

1 1/2 cups honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all the dough ingredients thoroughly, and knead it on a board for just a minute or two, adding a little water if necessary to obtain a smooth dough. Set aside.

Process all the filling ingredients in a food processor, using the pulse button to avoid splattering, until smooth. Divide the dough in half. On a lightly floured board, roll each piece into a rectangle 1/2 inch thick, about 11 inches wide and 14 inches long. Transfer onto a well-greased cookie sheet with straight sides (don’t worry if it doesn’t cover the whole surface). Cover the dough evenly with the filling. Repeat with the remaining dough, and place gently over the filling (it’s OK if it breaks, just patch it). Bake about 40 minutes, or a little longer, until golden. Immediately pour the honey evenly over the whole pastry. Let it cool, then cut it in bars or squares.

–)xoOox(–

This coming Monday, April the 26th, Lévana’s “Dinner and a Show” at Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan (200 Amsterdam Ave – at 69th Street – New York, NY 10023) will be: Seasonal Spring Bounty. As she describes it:

Winter is over and wonderful vibrant food colors and fragrances are upon us in every food display: cheer up and enjoy them while they last! Life would be more meaningful to all of us if we respected the seasons more, with the specific gift each season has to offer! This menu is 100% gluten-free, naturally and effortlessly!

I will be demonstrating:

Lemon chicken breasts with artichoke and carrot

Zucchini and fennel soup

Haricots verts, roasted peppers and heirloom tomato salad with grey salt

Herbed yukon fingerlings

Plum granola tart

Click here to register and view other upcoming classes

Remember to mention The Kosher Scene and you’ll get a discount.

Lévana with some of the class regulars, flanked by members of her staff

SYR and I will be there, hope you will too. You won’t regret it!

CS