A Talk with Chaya Rivka Zwolinski

Our guest on BlogTalkRadio.com/kosherscene this evening at 10:00 pm (Eastern Time) will be Chaya Rivka Zwolinski. She blogs at healthyjewishcooking.com.  You may want to call in with any questions or comments at 714.333.3357.

Her blog isn’t just about traditional Jewish food recipes (there are many of those around!); she asks “Why is it that so many traditional Jewish foods are loaded with fat, salt, sugar and other ingredients best eaten in small quantities (or not at all)?”

She tells us about her own transition to healthy food, after she developed an ulcer at the age of 24, “I did an elaborate apache Tango with eating and cooking healthy. But the back and forth was helpful. It lead to me broadening my concept of eating right. It made me question why the Macro world (filled with plenty of Jews, by the way), was filled with frowning, ultra-serious, unhappy people, perpetually sneering at anyone different from them, that I began to rethink the whole trip.”

She is a ghostwriter, editor, and has doctored several books, as well as numerous ope-eds articles. Chaya Rivka writes for, both, adults and children and she’s trained/coached and edited a couple best-selling authors.

Photo by: Chaya Rivka Zwolinski, from her blog: HealthyJewishCooking.Wordpress.Com

Meanwhile, in case you missed it last week, please listen to our archived show with Susie Fishbein. It was a fun and informative broadcast you wouldn’t want to miss!

Don’t forget to tune us in this evening for a fascinating talk at 10:00 pm (Eastern Time) with Chaya Rivka Zwolinski. We will talk about food, Chaya’s life journey and chassidus from the Bratzlav perspective. Don’t forget to call in with questions or comments at: 714.333.3357. We’ll be waiting for you!

CS

Roast Turkey

CS is making a Roast Turkey with Maple-Mustard Glaze from Susie Fishbein‘s – just published – Kosher by Design – Cooking Coach (page 152). Since we will be eating at his place I can take it easy for a change, nevertheless I thought I’d share a favorite, easy recipe, I’ve made many a time over the years:

Photo by Chani U.

Serves 10
Total cooking time 3 hours and 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, halved
• 13 pounds oven ready turkey, giblets removed and cavity wiped clean
• 2 1/2 tablespoons margarine, softened
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place the onion in the turkey’s body cavity with salt and pepper. Tie the turkey legs with string at the top of the drumsticks.
2. Place bird in a large roasting pound, rub all over with the softened margarine and season the outside of the turkey with your choice of spices and seasoning. Add the vegetable oil to the pan
3. Cover the prepared bird loosely with foil and roast in a preheated 375 F. oven, basting periodically. Remove the foil for at least 40 minutes to allow the turkey to brown and scatter the chopped thyme over it. Check the turkey is cooked by inserting a skewer or fork into one of the legs. If the juices come out clear, the bird is ready.
4. Transfer the turkey to a a large dish, cover with clean foil and let it rest for about 20 minutes before carving.
5. Arrange the turkey on a warmed serving platter and serve with your choice of vegetables.

My guests always loved this dish, I know you will as well!

SYR

A Conversation with Susie Fishbein

Tonight on Blogtalkradio we will be speaking with Susie Fishbein, at 10:00pm (Eastern Time). Susie is the author of the Kosher by Design cookbook series. As she celebrates the 10th anniversary of the first book’s appearance she just published her eagerly awaited eighth title (Kosher By Design- Cooking Coach).

Susie Fishbein has been the featured celebrity guest on cruise ships as well as at week-long culinary adventures in Israel and Italy. She’s been profiled in The New York Times and CNN. The Forward has named her one of the 50 most influential Jews in America.

She was an honored guest at the White House in recognition of the National Jewish Heritage Month, she has taught at Macy‘s De Gustibus School of Cooking and has been a guest on dozens of network TV and radio shows. She’s also been featured at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival at Disneyworld

Meanwhile, in case you missed it, why not listen to last week’s show with award winning cookbook author Jayne Cohen?

Please don’t forget to tune us in, this evening at 10:00pm (Eastern Time). We’ll be wait’n for ya!

CS

Kosher By Design Cooking Coach

Mark van Doren once said: “A good teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.” Susie Fishbein – that quintessential teacher – is looking to wean devoted Kosher by Design cooks, off the book and onto self-actualization in the kitchen with her new cookbook “Kosher by Design Cooking Coach.”

Cover Used by permission: ArtScroll Shaar Press

With over 400 full-color pictures by the talented John Uher, 10 pictorial coaching sections and a cross referenced index of 120 new recipes, this 8th title in ArtScroll‘s Kosher by Design series, imparts essential skills, techniques, tips and tools to help us excel in the kitchen. Cooking Coach includes sections on essential kitchen equipment, why 3 culinary knives will do the trick, key tips on buying and preparing fish, meat, chicken and side dishes, and my favorite, an easy to follow playbook of recipe variations that help stretch the budget without being mealtime boring or left-over repetitive.

The lay out is so picture laden and easy on the eye it could pass for an idiot’s guide to the kitchen were it not for its elegant descriptive content. I think what we all love about Susie most and what’s made her series such an enormous success, is her ability to deliver fool-proof recipes that are delicious and make us look like culinary heroes to our family and friends. In this latest cookbook, Susie wants to up the ante and move her loyal audience beyond the written recipe, teaching us essential skills to help us develop, discover and explore our own creative cooking abilities beyond the text and within our own selves; the ultimate gift of a true teacher.

From the book, page 184:

Bulgogi

Used by permission: ArtScroll Shaar Press

Photo by: John Uher, on page 185

Yield: 4 – 6 servings

Bulgogi is Korea’s most famous street food. It is also served in homes and restaurants, prepared on tabletop hibachi-style grills.

The key to this dish is slicing the meat paperr thin so it absorbs all the flavors of the marinade and cooks quickly. If you freeze the meat for 30-45 minutes out of it packaging in a piece of foil or parchment, it will be much easier to slice nicely.

• 8 cloves fresh garlic, sliced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce **
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 1/2 pounds filet split, cut into paper thin 1/16 inch slices
• 1 head Bibb or Boston lettuce, separated into leaves.

Dipping Sauce

• 1 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1/2 teaspoon roasted or toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1. In a medium bowl mix the garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and cayenne. Add the sliced steak. Toss and stir to separate the slices and make sure they are well coated. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 15-20 minutes.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove the meat from the marinade and discard any remaining marinade. Sear the meat, in a single layer, allowing room between slices, you may need to do this in batches. If so, wipe out the pan between each batch and heat a bit more. oil. Don’t move the meat around. Get some good caramelization and then, using tongs, turn each slice over and repeat on the second side, 3-5 minutes in total cooking time.
3. Roll 1/2 cup meat in a Bibb lettuce leaf. Repeat until all the meat is rolled. Transfer to a plate or a platter.
4. In a small bowl, prepare the the clipping sauce. Whisk together the soy sauce, honey , ginger, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes.

** True Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies. If the kosher certification mark stands alone, then the percentage of anchovies is less than 1.6% of the whole product. Many rabbinical authorities say that this is okay to use with meat. If the kosher certification is on the label has a fish notation next to it, the level exceeds 1.6%; do not use it in meat dishes.

Page 27,  in the Playbook section, lists what you can do with the leftovers of the above recipe:

Make a tasty ASIAN BEEF SOUP with your leftovers: In a soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil. Add 1 sliced onion, 10 sliced shiitake mushrooms, and 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger. Sauté until the mushrooms and onion sare wilted. Add 6 cups chicken stock.  1/4 cup shredded carrots, a handful of pea pods, and 1 thinly sliced stalk bok choy. Bring to a simmer; cook for 10 minutes. Mix in 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon roasted sesame oil, and 1 teaspoon sriracha chilli sauce. Chop the leftover bulgogi and add to the pot along with 2 scallions thinly sliced on the diagonal.

Enjoy, enjoy!

SYR

Kosher by Design Cooking Coach Book Signing

It’s always interesting to see how fame re-frames a person.  This past Tuesday eve – on the tenth anniversary of Susie Fishbein’s first book of her wildly successful Kosher by Design (published by ARTSCROLL) – the launching of her 8th cookbook (Cooking Coach) took place at Pomegranate Supermarket.

Photos by: Photos by Tibor Tóth

Gavriel Sanders introducing Susie Fishbein..

Susie, fresh from a summer cooking tour of Tuscany, is as gracious, unpretentious and down to earth as ever.  Amazingly, she still has that warm, approachable ‘everywoman’ in the kitchen, poised well within a comfort zone honed by years of test and taste experimentation and exploration of ingredients prepping meals for family and friends. Her early training as a teacher who inspired fourth graders to harness the essential techniques and tools beyond the blackboard factoids through cementing experiences, was very much in evidence now as chef extraordinaire. Susie seeks to achieve similar goals for her avid fans in cooking coach; “My true job is to free people from cookbooks and the written word to become more intuitive cooks”

Susie, in action!

As Albert Einstein once said: “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”   Susie ‘s latest features easy to follow step by step pictorial Game Plan covering essential equipment, stocking one’s kitchen and key essentials for prep and cooking of meat & poultry, fish, salads & soups from appetizers through desserts. Cooking Coach has a well-organized Playbook detailing creative makeovers for yesterday’s leftovers to new alternate dishes bearing but a dash of resemblance.

Fellow bloggers and members of the press sampled Playbook in action as Susie demoed onstage; ground turkey sautéed with frozen spinach transformed into three wonderful fresh dishes: Turkey Taco Eggrolls, Turkey Stuffed Mushrooms and a terrific pasta penne dish using Pomegranate’s own Marinara Sauce.

Turkey Taco Eggrolls

Gavriel Sanders, Artscrtoll‘s publicist for the Kosher by Design series, mc’d and fielded questions from the audience, delivering a seamless media event. Pomegranate was the perfect host and venue for this private media reception.

Susie Fishbein and her dad, at the book signing

Susie signed copies of the complimentary Kosher by Design Cooking Coach that the evening’s participants received in their swag bag along with complementary products from Pomegranate.  A full review of Susie’s new cookbook will be featured here next week along with a recipe. Thanks to Susie Fishbein and Pomegranate for a most delightful evening and an exciting new cookbook to reach for, until we intuitively ‘get it’ and need but reach within.

SYR

And Tomorrow Night’s Radio Show Guest Will Be…

Last week we had a very interesting and informative show with OSEM USA‘s President Izzet Ozdogan. The guest called in late due to circumstances beyond his control, but we still managed to get 20 minutes of the company’s history and how Israel’s own history impacted on it. We spoke about their exciting new kosher for Passover products and some of the company’s all year round iconic products. If you missed it, you can hear the show right here (scroll down that page to: On Demand Episodes).

This coming Wednesday, The Kosher Scene Show’s guest will be Paula Shoyer. She appeared on our original radio show and you can still hear the archived interview. A 1996 graduate of the Ritz Escoffier Ecole de Gastronomie Française in Paris, Paula Shoyer owns Paula’s Parisian Pastries Cooking School in the Washington, DC. area. She recipe tested and edited Susie Fishbein‘s Kosher By Design Entertains and Kosher By Design Kids In The Kitchen. Paula is also the author of the brand new book The Kosher Baker. Not only is this a beautiful tome, the attention to detail in its execution, the direction given in the recipes, make its publication an unparalleled event among kosher cookbooks.

This time, Chef Paula will talk to us about Pessach baking, we hope you will listen to what promises to be an informative, entertaining and mouthwatering show. Please tune us in, at 8:00pm Eastern Time tomorrow evening, Wednesday, the 30th of March. We’ll be expecting you, gentle reader. Give it a try, you’ll like it!

CS

The Week’s Events

Monday, March 14

Photo by: ArtScroll

11:30 am

Location:

Pomegranate Supermarket (1507 Coney island Avenue – Corner of Avenue L – Tel: 718.951.7112)

Who:

Susie Fishbein

Subject:

Cooking Demonstration: Fish (last part of series)

• Poached Salmon with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
• Tuna Teriyaki with Radish Salad
• Green Tea Poached Cod

Free!

———-)xnOnx(———-

7:00 pm

Location:

210 West 101st Street, Apartment 9L (in Manhattan, between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway)

Who:

Lévana Kirschenbaum

Subject:

Lévana’s Dinner and a Show

THE VEGETARIAN INDIAN FEAST GLUTEN-FREE – Lévana will demonstrate the following dishes:

• Corn hot and sour soup
• Aloo gobi
• Vegetable pancakes in ghee
• Jasmine rice
• Apricot chutney
• Yogurt raita
• Mango lassi
• Carrot nut pudding

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/

CS

Cooking With Class — Susie Fishbein at Pomegranate Supermarket

Pomegranate Supermarket has been running a cooking demo series called Cooking with Class. Their guest Chef, this past Monday, was award winning cookbook author Susie Fishbein. In a friendly and entertaining manner, she demonstrated three fish dishes.

• Miso Glazed Cod
• Blackened Tilapia or Red Snapper
• Sole en Papillote

Answering a question from the audience...

She explained how to ensure that the fish, whether filleted or whole, is absolutely fresh as that would guarantee a non fish smelling or fish tasting dish. After each dish was done (and all three were done in minutes!), samples were given out for the audience to savor. Those of you who have been following these pages for a while, know that I’m not a fish fan (until just over a year ago I’d always refused to get near a fish dish). On Monday,  like the rest of the audience, I savored these delicious finned creatures… because they neither smelled nor tasted fishy!

Now, get ready to taste it!

Of the dishes demonstrated, my favorite was the second one and Mrs. Fishbein graciously agreed to share the recipe.

Blackened Tilapia or Red Snapper

This dish is an authentic Cajun, mouth-on-fire delicacy. Blackened refers to the spices, not the lack of cooking prowess. If you are worried about the heat, only coat one side of the fish with the spice mixture, although it will still be hot. I like to make a batch of the spices and keep them in a baby food jar so that dinner preparation on this dish (it’s also great on thinly pounded chicken breast) is a snap. If you have a cast iron skillet, it is the way to go. If not, use a nonstick frying pan and get it very hot as well. Warn your guests, pour a big pitcher of ice water and enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 4 (6 ozs) tilapia or red snapper fillets
• 4 medium fresh tomatoes, each cut in half, trimmed tops so they seat flat
• oregano
• sour cream

Directions

1. Spray a large frying pan or well-seasoned cast iron skillet with nonstick cooking spray. In a flat plate combine the onion powder, garlic powder, cayenne, white pepper, paprika, thyme, oregano and basil. Mix well.
2. Dredge each fillet in the melted butter, then coat with the spice mixture in one or both sides. reserve the melted butter.
3. If using a cast-iron skillet, get it very hot. If not, heat the frying pan over medium -high heat until very hot but not smoking.
4. Carefully place the fillets in the skillet and sear about 3-5 minutes or until blackened. Pour 1 tablespoon of reserved melted butter on each fillet. Flip the fish over and pour 1 tablespoon of of melted butter over each fillet and blacken the other side, about 2-3 minutes. If you only spiced one side the second side won’t get black, just cook the fish through until it’s done. Remove fish to dinner plates.
5. Brush the tomato halves with the melted butter and sprinkle with oregano. sear the tomatoes in the frying pan about 3 minutes or until soft. Flip the other side and cook 1-2 minutes longer.
6. Serve each fillet with a big dollop of sour cream and two tomato halves.

Yield: 4 servings

The finished dish, as seen on one of the two giant TV screens

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

Mrs. Fishbein will be back at Pomegranate on Tuesday, March 8, to demonstrate how to cook Grouper and Mahi Mahi and again on Monday, March 14 to demo her techniques for Halibut. Can’t wait to learn from her!

CS

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/

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