Cooking with Lévana – Part 4 – Recipes!

Lévana has again allowed us to share 2 recipes with our readers.

Zucchini and Fennel Soup

Hot, creamy, delicious!

1/3 cup olive oil
4 large leeks, sliced
8 cloves garlic
6 ribs celery, peeled
Heads and leaves of 3 large fennel bulbs (save some leaves for garnish)
3 large yellow zucchini, cut in large chunks
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 tablespoon anise or fennel seeds
2 quarts water
2 cups dry white wine
Salt to taste
4 cups milk or non-dairy milk
Pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a wide heavy pot. In a food processor, coarsely grind the leeks, garlic and celery. Add to the skillet and sauté until translucent. Add all but the last 2 ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and cook, covered 30 minutes. Add the milk and pepper and bring to just below boiling point. Cream the soup with an immersion blender. Adjust the texture and seasonings. Serve hot or chilled, topped with fennel leaves or you may sprinkle some celery over the soup.

Chicken Breasts with Artichokes and Carrots

Butterfly thinning the chicken cutlets

First the layer of chicken...

1/3 cup olive oil
1 large onion, choped
8 chicken cutlets, pounded medium thin, thoroughly dry
Flour
2 good pinches saffron
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 cups water
Ground pepper to taste
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1/2 cup good quality sliced pitted olives
6 very thin carrots, cut into inch sections
1 pound artichoke hearts (whole) or bottoms (quartered)
1/3 cup lemon juice

...and then all the ingredients.

Heat the oil in a very large skillet. Add the onion and sauté 2-3 minutes. Roll the cutlets in flour, shaking out excess. Add to the skillet and sauté 2-3 minutes on each side. Add all but last ingredient and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook covered 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and cook another 2 minutes. Serve hot. Room temperature OK.

Enjoy!!

CS

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Cooking with Lévana – Part 3 – The Rush of the Rustic

Cooking with Lévana – Part 2 – Recipes!

Cooking with Lévana – Part 1

Lévana’s Recipe

Baking Challah for Shabbos?

[Daniel Ronay, baker extraordinaire, shares with us his recipes for both water and egg challahs. Photos by Daniel Ronay. CS]

Dough Formulation

Bread in its simplest form, requires four ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt. Any other specialty breads can have ingredients added to enhance the flavor, color, softness retention, etc.

There are 2 main mixing methods I’ll tell you about. The 1st and easiest procedure used by bakers and homemakers alike, called the Straight Dough Method. The straight dough method is a single step process in which all the ingredients are mixed in a single batch. The dough is bulk fermented and can vary from 1-4 hours depending on conditions.

The 2nd method is called the Sponge and Dough. With the sponge and dough method, the major fermentation is done with a preferment called ,“the sponge”, in which normally 50-70% of the total dough flour is fermented as the preferment stage. Bulk fermentation can be 4 -6 hours, then the dough stage. Advantages of this method compared to straight dough: slightly lower yeast levels, yields bread with better flavor, optimum volume. The disadvantage, however, is its longer processing time in comparison.

Water Challah

16 oz or 454 grams – Water
.75 oz or 21 grams –  Fresh yeast
28 oz or 794 grams – High Gluten Flour
.5 oz or 14 grams –  Salt
.13oz or 4 grams –  Malt Syrup (optional for crust color slight taste)
.5oz or 14 grams – Sugar
.5oz or 14 grams – Shortening or oil

Total weight 2 pounds 14 ounces

Mix about 10-12 min. Ferment @ 80 F. for 90 min. Make up 2 loaves Bake in 425 F. with steam. Easy way to make steam is put ice cubes in a pan on bottom of oven when you first start out.

Egg Challah

1.1 oz or 31 grams – Fresh Yeast
8oz or 227 grams – Water
3 0z or 85 grams – Sugar
.56 oz or 16 grams – Salt
4 oz or 112 grams – Oil
5 oz or 148 grams – Eggs
28oz or 794 grams – Eggs

Mix to development ferment @ 80 F. for 60-80 min Make up to 2-3 loaves proof for approx 45 min bake at 350F.

Daniel Ronay

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Flourless Chocolate Cake

Cooking with Lévana – Part 3 – The Rush of the Rustic

I think from now on I’m going to have to refer to the history of my taste buds and cooking experience as BCL and ACL. Before Cooking with Lévana, I was a quick, shelved or frozen, white flour, white sugar, margarine toting, powder smoking spice kind of gal. I’d bend to the will of the dish….whatever it took to make it taste good…as long as it was easy, standardized and accessible, I was there. Rosemary or thyme were my occasional exotic additions. I avoided shopping till the cupboard was nearly bare – only then stocking up on the shelf life ‘big easyz’ frozen over canned, fresh produce reserved for guests and/or lichvod Shabbos. I’d bring home the symmetric little dried herbs that pour forth from large holed plastic dispensers, meat and chicken over fish, and whatever was on sale that might creatively fit the menu in some form or fashion. Healthy meant replacing vegetable oil with canola or extra light virgin olive oil and using sea salt instead of kosher salt. Even when I used fresh garlic or onions, I would sprinkle some of the magic elixir vita bottled powder just to make sure it had enough flavor. Oh, I can just hear Lévana’s horrified gasps in response to this confession, as she feverishly prays for my culinary soul’s redemption.

Lévana opening last night's cooking session

OK… OK don’t worry, all you brilliantly talented kitchen foodistas out there, I’m learning. Last night’s feast included a whole exotic array of new flavors to my unexposed palate. Fennel, saffron, turmeric (OK once or twice) and haricot verts (don’t worry it’s just lovely skinny green beans), agave and grey salt. As before, Lévana’s gift for blending natural healthy ingredients in a quick uncomplicated way to create delicious, good tasting, good for you dishes is nothing short of Merlin magical. Tonight, Monet’s color palette was resurrected, as Lévana paid close attention to the color scheme and blending of the evening’s Spring fresh offerings. The menu included Chicken Breasts with Artichoke and Carrot, Zucchini and Fennel Soup, Haricots Verts, Roasted Peppers and Heirloom Tomato salad with Grey Salt, Herbed Yukon Fingerlings and Plum Granola Tart.

The cut Heirloom tomato wedges

Lévana likes to start out with the dessert prep while hands and surfaces are fresh, clean and residual free. Preparing the pie dough, Lévana talked about the perks of gluten free living and how the wide variety of healthy grain flours such as millet, granola, buckwheat, cornmeal, quinoa, chick peas, et al,  are readily available as substitutes for white flour. As she spoke about nutrition she quipped; “There is no idea regarding nutrition that I have not thought of. It’s my life’s work! I’ve found the very best way to do it, and this is it! I’m not a chef, nor a sous chef, I’m a housewife who wants to do the best job possible…simple, simple, simple.”

While preparing the Zucchini Fennel Soup, Lévana explained her choice of yellow zucchini squash over the green colored ones.  “Don’t throw off the color scheme. There is a color scheme in cooking…the yellow zucchini goes better with the colors of the fennel and leeks…light with light…” The soup was earthy and delicious. The flavors subtle and soothing, the licorice taste of the fennel blended well with its pale chartreuse partners.

Chicken Breast with Artichoke and Carrots platter

In preparing the Chicken Breasts with Artichokes, as well as the Haricots Verts salad, Levana did advocate for the frozen packages for these items, although she took the time to show us how to prepare a fresh artichoke.  She makes it look so easy…

The colorful Spring salad with its rich green colors, festively adorned with the reds and oranges of the tomatoes and peppers was tangy and flavorful; the chicken tender, rustic and delicious. CS, the potato lover, found the spuds scrumptious!

The Plum Granola Tart looked like a still life in a classic renaissance painting, its taste – especially the cassis custard – was fit for a king. What it did to my palate was reminiscent me of a fine dessert wine, a wine that starts tart and sweet but ends with delightful, slight hint of dryness.

Plum Granola Tart

Lévana uses what she describes as assertive ingredients.  “The very best ingredients don’t need enhancement, they are like that perfect little black dress…add a string of pearls and you’re good to go…it’s fully stated.”  And so was our evening, perfectly stated and sated.  Thanks again Lévana for a delightful night out.

SYR

Tasting Tabor Wines

Last evening the Israeli Wine Lovers Club met to taste 8 wines produced by Israel’s Tabor Winery.

Kfar Tabor was founded over 100 in the heart of Galilee by Baron de Rothschild. As most communities of the times it too was an agricultural settlement but primarily dedicated to its vineyards. Soon they became grape suppliers to Israel’s leading wineries. In 1997, four local families decided to start their own winery using Kfar Tabor’s fruit, by 2005 they were producing 300,000 bottles a year, with 40,000 going to markets around the world.

Last night's selection

Tabor produces three wine series:
Galil – The youngest series of Tabor Winery. This series is based on 100% of each variety, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Chardonnay.
Adama – This series takes you on a sensual journey to the slopes of Mount Tabor. The vineyard takes advantage of its close proximity to chalk, volcanic and Terra Rosa soils and bubbling natural springs that supply its water.
Mes’ha – This is the crown jewel of Tabor’s wine series. produced from carefully chosen hand-harvested clusters of grapes grown in our top-quality vineyards. Due to the selective harvesting, only a small quantity of wine is produced each time and not every year does the wine get released, giving expression only to the cream of the crop, thanks to winemaker Arye Nesher’s “terroir” approach to winemaking. In the search for perfection, the wines in this series are produced only under maximum conditions.

Tal Cohen speaking on Tabor Wines

Tal Cohen, had a 12 year career in the Marketing Department of Coca Cola-Israel (Tabor Winery‘s current owners), prior to coming to the US. Last evening she introduced each wine at the tasting. I found her charming, witty and very knowledgeable thus ensuring everyone had a great time while enjoying good wines.

The wines selected for this tasting were:

Galil Chardonnay 2009 – Light, fruity.

Galil Sauvignon Blanc 2009 – Flavorful and pleasing

Adama Sauvignon Blank 2009 – Chalk Soil – Pleasant and light, well balanced, far more complex than the preceding selections. It would make a great wine for a warm summer day.

Galil Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 – Oaked for four months, it shows shows soft tannins integrating nicely with a light cedar note, opening with an appealing note of mint on the nose, then yielding to red currant, red berry and citrus peel notes.

Adama Chalk Soil Merlot 2008 – Intensely dark garnet in color, opens with a rich mineral and black fruit nose, with gentle tannins on a medium- to full-bodied frame. It opens in the glass to reveal currant, plum and licorice notes and finishes with a generous hint of espresso.

Adama Volcanic Soil Merlot 2006 – Aged for 12 months in French oak it has a dark garnet color, medium to full-bodied, with a sweet, almost jammy raspberry nose that goes on to show spicy plums, cherries and blackberries, complemented nicely by spicy cedar note, with fruits and tannins rising on the finish.

Adama Volcanic Soil Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 – Deep garnet, medium to full-bodied with hints of white pepper and vanilla from the oak in which it aged. On the nose and palate traditional currant and blackberry fruits, those matched by notes of citrus peel, flinty minerals and, on the generous finish, hints of licorice and espresso. The Wine Spectator awarded it an 89 rating.

Adama Terra Rosa Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 – Medium- to full-bodied, with soft tannins, hints of spicy wood and vanilla and mouth-coating tannins settling down nicely. Showing currant, blackberry and generous earthy minerals along with Mediterranean herbs. Round and generous.

Mes’ha Shiraz/Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 – Aged for 18 months in oak, this wine – Tabor’s pride – deep-garnet, medium to full-bodied wine with tannins and spicy wood integrating and opening to reveal black currant, berry and plum fruits on a background of spicy wood and Mediterranean herbs. Generous, well balanced and long. Daniel Rogov and Robert Parker each awarded it a 90 rating.

The evening ended with a Tabor Wine, not currently available in the US, Tabor Pninim Lavan – From the gewürztraminer grape, it differs greatly from other products of the same grape in that is far more robust. It isn’t merely a dessert wine like other gewürztraminer based wines. It is a sparkling wine, delightfully fruity but it ends in a dry note. For me it is a perfect wine, a perfect refreshment drink, for a hot lazy Sunday afternoon.

I found Tal Cohen charming, witty and very knowledgeable as she directed the evening, ensuring everyone had a great time while enjoying good wines. Once again, Avi Ashman – founder and President of the Israeli Wine Lovers Club – has put together another superb evening of wine, cheese and fruit.

CS

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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

Scotch, Bourbon, Cigars…

This past Tuesday I attended Kosher Wine Society‘s event at the Roger Smith Hotel, on Lexington Avenue, in Manhattan. Aron Ritter, the Society’s president and founder celebrated his 30th birthday, this event was held in the Solarium, a roof balcony. The view was nice, the potables more than memorable.

Aron Ritter, the birthday boy

The event featured some rare but superb scotches, great bourbons and – for the smokers – some good cigars.

Superb selections!

I started with the Usquaebach [pronounced whisk-ay-bay] ‘Premium Blend’ Flagon. It consists of an 85% single malt blend and 15% grain whiskey. With a fruity nose carrying a vanilla sweetness, it runs to a grassy, herbal freshness. The very smooth rich palate is balanced with ample spiciness. The sweet character lingers on in the finish with Caribbean spices. Unusual in character and richness, definitely the best I ever tasted!

I followed with Usquaebach 15YO Pure Malt. Very nice, very smooth!

A partial view of the crowd

After some photo shooting and pleasant conversation I had some Glenmorangie 10 year old. It’s long been my favorite, it has an enigmatic aroma, delicate but very noticeable, sweet but with a strong hint of dryness, young yet oaky. On the palate it combines an oaky taste, a complex toastiness to the barley, with the lightest hint of smoke. I find it uncompromising from the first sniff to the last sip. Why else would it have been my favorite?

After some more photography and comparing notes on the scotches I went back for the bourbons. I always liked Blanton’s Single Barrel, it won a Siver Medal at the 2008 SAN FRANCISCO WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITION. The taste has a masterful start with powerful dry vanilla notes in perfect harmony with hints of honey and strong caramel. The long, creamy caramel holds the fort until some late soft peppers arrive to spice things up. Smooth, superb selection!

I ended the evening with the Eagle Rare 10 Year Old, Single Barrel, Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Honey-colored with aromas of toasted wheat bread and hints of tobacco, opening up to almond butter, melon and lanolin. On the palate it is oily and toasty with flavors of cereal grains and oak. The finish is long and sweet with a little spice.

From the ledge, looking around

An event I’ll long remember, I will definitely be back!

CS

Cooking with Lévana – Part 1

Every Monday evening at Lincoln Square Synagogue in Manhattan (200 Amsterdam Ave – at 69th Street – New York, NY 10023), Lévana Kirschenbaum holds a cooking class, dubbed by most as “Dinner and a Show.” CS and I were privileged to attend last night’s special Yom Haatzmaut demo: Beyond Milk & Honey: Israeli Street Foods.

The menu for the evening was: Spicy Bean Soup, Chraimi Fish, Minted Lamb Kebobs, Spicy Eggplant Salad, Hummus-Tehina, Israeli Salad, and Makrod (a semolina/date pastry); all made and served up, to 25 people, in the space of two and a half hours. Experiencing Lévana’s cooking class means experiencing Lévana.  One doesn’t need to ask her about her particular philosophy of good cooking; the woman walks the talk of it!

While preparing the Spicy Bean Soup made with large lima beans, cilantro and cayenne pepper (which on principle sounded unappealing to me; wooow, was I in for a surprise!!), someone asked about the pot she was using, and someone else mentioned the use of garlic powder. Lévana recommended 18-10 stainless steel pots and pans, stating that her pot was made in China, quipping “there’s no room for politics in cooking!” Regarding garlic, she told us about someone who asked if they ran out of garlic powder could they use real garlic? ” Never settle for powder when you can get the real thing”, she replied, as she whacked a clove using the edge of her palm against the flat of her knife, demonstrating how easy it was to prepare a clove. “When should one look for a substitute?  Only when the real ingredient is unavailable. You can find garlic anytime anywhere  in the world. We’ve got so many choices, garlic in oil, minced, bottled, etc. Just because something is there doesn’t mean it’s good…..ersatz (artificial or inferior substitute or imitation) is so plentiful in so many forms, we think the imitation is real!”

Hot, steamy, aromatic!

Truth be told, the rich aromatic scent of  fresh herbs on her cooking table awaiting deployment, enhanced every dish Lévana prepared. Her use of market fresh healthy ingredients along with her quick prep techniques, easy humor, mastery of her trade and generous spirit of sharing her knowledge with others, made the evening delightful. Preparing the eggplants for grilling, she opted to lightly spray the eggplant slices top and bottom with oil . “Remember you’re the boss. Don’t let the eggplants boss you around. Don’t be afraid of them.”  Yet, she insisted on a full half cup of oil for the soup. “If there’s no oil, there’s no emulsion.”  Considering, however, that the pot yielded 25 decent sized portions, that was a very small amount of oil. A true creative chemist in the kitchen, Lévana cooks her magical eupeptic dishes mixing  wit, instincts, ingenuity,  inventiveness, along with her many years of experience. It’s almost like the ingredients bend to her will, bringing out their tastiest characteristics to serve the Queen of masterful combinations.  The soup by the way was incredible. The combined ingredients illuminated by the addition of home made pickled lemon, lit my palate with its explosion of  fresh tangy tastes, The lima beans, tomatoes, onions, cilantro and fresh garlic all combined for a delicious harmony of flavors.

We can’t cover all of the dishes in the space of this post, but here are few further highlights. Lévana included some standard and not so standard ingredients for her Israeli Salad, creatively using the pulse feature of her food processor as a  time saver –  combining the celery, cucumbers, scallions, radishes and parsley; she hand chopped the tomatoes and lettuces, one could never tell in the finished product that any short cuts were taken.

Preparing the sauce for the Chraimi fish

Cooking the sauce with two layers of fish on top.

I’m not a big fish lover, but that Chraimi Fish was savory delicious.One of the regular attendees told us she loves it so much that she makes a fresh batch every week… CS, a carnivore to the core, will tell you that as far he is concerned, the Minted Lamb Kebob (recipe to follow) was the evening’s real pièce de résistance. The exotic flavoring of the extra lean ground lamb was delicious and went perfectly with the Sliced Grilled Eggplant. The Chummus was nothing short of spectacular. Write us if you want Lévana’s recipe.

Sliced grilled eggplant

Levana describes herself as a a reverse chic kind of a person.  Her food is earthy and terrific, prepared simply- as low tech as possible.  But the woman herself is an articulate worldly person, well informed,  generous and a techie twitterer to boot.  Her days are filled with cooking for others and countless good deeds, so we heard from her devoted groupies.  They are a  tight loving group who acquired a love of cooking through experiencing Lévana’s warmth, good humor, talented free-reign creative fun cooking style and healing psychology delivered through the medium of food. Group regulars find the class absolutely addictive, having missed important meetings to be there each and every week.  It’s their fun night out, as they learn that cooking can indeed be a fun experience and not a drudgery. Many feel more empowered in the kitchen and love Lévana’s uncomplicated style and generous funny nature.  They’ve all learned to cook healthier recipes (with faster prep!) packed with fresh healthy ingredients, eager to replicate the recipes at home and experiment with variations.

All in all it was a fun evening spent with a really nice group of people. Considering the upcoming courses, we will certainly be back for sure …you know, she is kind of addictive…

SYR

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Lévana’s Recipe

Brunch and Limmud

Yesterday – Sunday, the 18th of April – at Talia’s Steakhouse, [668 Amsterdam Avenue (between 92nd & 93rd Streets) New York; NY 10025; Telephone: 212.580.3770] Rabbi Yaakov Spivak spoke on the opening paragraph of Pirkey Avos and tied it in with today’s relationship between Israel and the US.

Rabbi Yaakov Spivak making a point...

Talking about the nature of the Spiritual World, Rabbi Spivak said: “The World To Come is a world of Chessed, kindness and concern for others. As much as Joseph’s brothers’ act of selling him may have been justified in the eye’s of some of the commentaries, the Zohar tells us that their souls were reincarnated into the ten great Rabbis of Rabbi Akiva’s time [tortured and murdered by the Romans], so that martyrdom would free them from what they did. Betrayal is the ultimate anti-Chessed act! That is why the sight of eighty percent of American Jews’ uninformed support for the White House’s attempt to restrict Israel from building in Jerusalem is so distressing.”

A partial view of the audience (of all ages) listening intently. Effie Nagar - Talia's owner, in blue shirt - sits against the back wall.

The food was quite good and fairly priced. What made it all the more attractive, however, was the 50% discount for anyone who attended Rabbi Spivak’s lecture. This lecture series will become a regular Sunday event starting on Lag Ba’Omer, which falls – this year – on May the 2nd.

Talia's Steakhouse's Executive Chef Executive Victor Naim and his Sous-Chef

Chef Victor, Talia’s new Executive Chef, combines 30 years of culinary experience with a passion and dedication that drives him to find the freshest and finest ingredients for the creation of his gastronomic delights.

CS

This Week’s Upcoming Events

Sunday, April 18th

Talia’s Steakhouse

(668 Amsterdam Avenue -between 92nd & 93rd Streets• New York, NY 10025 • MAP
Phone: (212) 580-3770)

Today, Brunch with Rabbi Yaakov Spivak. Starts at 12:00pm sharp. Come to Learn and get a 50% discount on your meal!

Monday, April 19th

Beyond Milk and Honey: Israeli Street Foods

Dinner and a Show with the incomparable Levana. Mention you saw it on The Kosher Scene and get a discount on your ticket.

Tuesday, April 20th

Kosher Wine Society

Enjoy a selection of premier Scotch, Bourbon and Cigars from Cigar Inn

We will be tasting three exclusive malt whiskeys

Usquaebach ‘Premium Blend’ Flagon
Usquaebach 15YO Pure Malt
Usquaebach Reserve

and three select Bourbons

Buffalo Trace
Eagle Rare 10 year old
Blantons

Tuesday, April 20th – 7:30 PM-9:30 PM

Roger Smith Hotel
501 Lexington Ave, Penthouse — New York, NY 10017

Thursday, April 22

Israeli Wine Lovers Club

Featuring wines from the Tabor Winery.

Check the links above and don’t forget to mention you first saw it at The Kosher Scene.
I’ll be at all four events, hope to meet you there!

CS

Kosher Wine Society

Aron Ritter started the Kosher Wine Society in 2005. KWS has, since then, risen to become synonymous with the best kosher wine workshops presenting potables from around the world, expert speakers and food and wine pairings.

I spoke to Aron Ritter, the Society’s President, this week. I found him very knowledgeable and with a tremendous ability to not take himself too seriously. So many wine experts these days consider themselves well above the average human, it’s refreshing to find one that is down to earth, one who just loves what he does without any pretentious airs.

This coming Tuesday, to celebrate Aron’s 30th birthday, the Society is having a tasting featuring three exclusive Single Malt Whiskeys and three Bourbons.

Enjoy a selection of premier Scotch, Bourbon and Cigars from Cigar Inn

We will be tasting three exclusive malt whiskeys

Usquaebach ‘Premium Blend’ Flagon
Usquaebach 15YO Pure Malt
Usquaebach Reserve

and three select Bourbons

Buffalo Trace
Eagle Rare 10 year old
Blantons

Tuesday, April 20th – 7:30 PM-9:30 PM

Roger Smith Hotel
501 Lexington Ave, Penthouse — New York, NY 10017

Basic Members $50.00

*Special for Aron’s Birthday
Drinkers & Tasters Members get 2 Tickets for $42.50
*Special pricing is limited to the first fifteen members that sign up.

To register click here or call 646-484-WINE

Most publications rave about Usquaebach whiskeys, I will have to taste and decide how well deserved their reputation may be. I’ve tasted Blanton’s Single Barrel Bourbon and find it surprisingly smooth for a bourbon. I can’t wait to wish Aron a Happy Birthday and enjoy the evening’s tastings. See you all there!

CS