3rd Annual Shavuos Contest!

We are proud to announce our 3rd Annual Shavuos Contest. Last year’s prize (a beautiful basket of cholov Yisroel N&K cheeses), went to Pessy Haskelevich in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn; the year before that Brachie S. from Lakewood took the top honors and also received a great selection of cholov Yisroel N&K cheeses. Both times Brigitte Mizrahi, from Anderson International Foods graciously supplied the prizes.

This year Brent Delman from The Cheese Guy.com is supplying the prize:

Photo by: Brent Delman, The Cheese Guy

Two winners will be selected and each will receive a basket consisting of: Italian Montaggio and Pecorino Romano, Pepper Jack, Mild Cheddar, Monterrey Jack and Aged Havarti as well as a jar of honey and a jar of Swiss Hero preserves. All cheeses are cholov Yisroel.

The last date for entries will be May 25th (the Friday prior to erev Shavuot which will start on Motzey Shabbat) at 12:00pm. We will choose the best dairy recipe using cheeses as one of the ingredients. We’ve had some great entries in the past, be creative and send us your best. Winners will be announced on June 4th, the first Monday following Shavuot.

You may enter multiple times if you believe you have more than one possible winning entry. We can’t wait to sample those recipes!

Please send us your recipes to:

kosherscene@gmail.com

CS

Upcoming Wine Events

Sunday, March 4th

Gotham’s 9th Annual Kosher Wine Extravaganza

Where:

West Side Institutional Synagogue – 120 West 76Street, New York, NY 10023

When:

VIP Tasting: 1:00pm – 2:00pm – $60.00 per attendee
VIP tickets are entitled to attend the whole show.
Part1: Join Chief Winemaker Shiki Rauchberger of Teperberg Winery for a wine tasting showcasing wines from his iconic winery.
Part 2: Join Costas Mouzuras in a short tasting featuring some new and old treasures.

Early Admittance: 2:00pm – 3:00pm – $40.00
Enjoy chocolate samplers from ChocolateWorksNYC.com.
Cheese tasting sponsored by Anderson International Foods.
Join Brigitte Mizrahi from AIFoods and taste a huge selection of cheeses.

Be adventurous and try our chocolate and wine pairings, our cheese and wine pairings and… YES! will also be presenting TISHBI’s Fruit and Wine Preserves. What a heavenly combination!

General admission: 3:00 – 6:00pm – $30.00 ($35.00 at the door)

What:
Over 300 wines from offering a panoramic view of Kosher wines in today’s market. Sample amazing wines from every major vineyard from Israel, France, Italy, Spain, South America, Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, United States and more at this annual Wine Extravaganza.

Taste and enjoy wines from wineries such as: Adar, Aldaz, Alexander, Baron Herzog, Barkan, Bartenura, Binyamina, Borgo Real, Bravdo, Capcanes, Carmel, Casa Da Corsa, Castell D’Olerodola, Chosen, Cordovero, Covenant, Dalton, Elvi, Domaine du Castel, Dovev, Drappier, Efrat, Ella Valley Vineyards, En Fuego, Five Stones, Flechas, Florenza, Gabriele, Gamla, Goose Bay, Guillermo, Gush Etzion, Harkham, Joseph River, K Wines, Kinneret, Lan Zur, Laurent Perrier, Luis de Sacy, Mony, Noah, Notte Italiana, Odem Mountain, D’Owyers, Or Haganuz, Pacifica, Psagot, Ramon, Rashi, Recanati, Segals, Shiloh, Tabor, Teal Lake, Teperberg, The Cave, Tierra Salvaje, Tishbi, Tzora, Vignobles David, Weinstock, Yatir, Yogev, exciting new wineries from France, and many many more.

Get your tickets at Gotham Wine & Liquors‘ website.

—-)OoO(—-

Sunday, March 11th

Where:
City Winery – 155 Varick Street, (between Spring and Vandam Streets) – New York, New York 10013

When:
2:00 to 5:00pm

What:
Over 100 of the best Kosher wines from around the world!

• Taste exciting new Kosher wines,  including the winners of The Jewish Week‘s recent Top 18 Kosher Wine Competition.
• Meet Kosher wine vintners, wine experts and local retailers
• Enjoy food from various leading NYC Kosher restaurants and food companies

 $35 in advance/$40 at the door

Pick up a free copy of  The Jewish Week‘s Kosher Wine Guide packed with great ideas for food pairings, as well as the Top 18 Kosher Wines in 8 categories, and more.

DO NOT MISS AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WILL NOT REPEAT ITSELF FOR ANOTHER YEAR!!!

SYR and I expect to attend both events, we’ll we meet you there?

CS

Live from Nargila!

The Kosher Scene Radio Show, this evening at 7:30pm (Eastern Time), will be transmitting live from Nargila Restaurant (1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10021; Tel: 212.535.3700). With us we’ll have: Alessandra Rovati from Dinner in Venice, Amy Chana from The Gluten Free Maven, Esti Berkowitz from Primetime Parenting, Kim Amzallag from Mishpacha Magazine, Marlene Mamiye from The Jewish Hostess and Suzanah Raff from The Kosher Shopaholic. Also with us, will be my dear friend Irving Schild, photographer extraordinaire, and possibly my coblogger SYR. We will talk with each of the mom-bloggers about the particular focus of their individual blogs, about the liberating effect of writing, the new contacts and interaction that have resulted, social media in general and – of course – food. We are all foodies, after all!

If you missed our last show on the Wednesday prior to Shavuos, you can hear the archived recording right here. Our guests included Moshe Vogel from Anderson International Foods in the first half hour and Kim Amzallag from Mishpacha/Kosher Inspired Magazine. In honor of Yom Yerushalayim we started the hour with the reading of a very short piece I wrote a few years back (which was reprinted on The Jerusalem Post and on Ynet.com). It was about the first Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day, commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem. I was there when the Old City – Ir Hatika became ours again…

Please listen to us this evening, from 7:30 to 8:30, on BlogTalkRadio/kosherscene, Call us on the air at: 714.333-3357 with your comments, questions or suggestions or join us at Nargila Restaurant (1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10021; Tel: 212.535.3700). We’ll keep the light on for ya!

CS

Internet Radio Show Tonight

Thanks to Sidney and Tammy Cohen  we did an incredible one hour show last week, live from 18 Restaurant (240 E 81st St, New York NY10065; Tel: 212.517.2400). Our guests lineup included: Gil Marks – author of Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, Chef Lévana Kirschenbaum – who spoke of her brand new cook book. Kim Amzallag from Kosher Inspired Magazine, Esti Berkowitz from the Prime Time Parenting blog and, of course, the incomparable Tammy Cohen . The food was great, the atmosphere just perfect and the place was packed.  We all loved it!

This evening, at 7:30 pm (Eastern Time), we will broadcasting again. You can listen to our show at BlogTalkRadio/kosherscene. We will start with a reading of a very short piece I wrote a few years back (which was reprinted on The Jerusalem Post and on Ynet.com) it’s about the first Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day, commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem. I was there when the Old City – Ir Hatika became ours again…

Then we’ll turn the conversation to Shavuos and dairy food with Brigitte Mizrahi and Moshe Vogel from Anderson International Foods (who manufacture the cholov Yisroel line of cheeses Natural & Kosher, and the non-cholov Yisroel brands Les Petites Fermieres and Organic and Kosher. We will follow with Kim Amzallag (whom I prerecorded yesterday afternoon), who will talk to us about the new Shavuos issue of Kosher Inspired and much more.

A tiny selection of Anderson International Foods' cheese offerings

Please tune us in this evening from 7:30pm t0 8:30pm, at: BlogTalkRadio/kosherscene. We have a very interesting program, geared to Shavuos (which is next week, starting Tuesday eve and continuing through Thursday night, the evening of the 7th through the 9th of June). We’ll be waiting for you!

CS

The World of Kosher Cheese – part 2b

Aside from Pomegranate‘s great selection of specialty cheeses, they have the biggest display of prepackaged cheeses I’ve seen anywhere.

Lots of choices!

From such small producers as Karen’s Bracha’s Cheese Co’s, Twisted Mozzarella with Zahatar; or Susan Gourmet’s selections of foreign styled cheeses to major producers such as Anderson International Foods cholov Yisroel Natural and Kosher line, their non-cholov Yisroel Les Petites Fermières to Fresh and Healthy, to Tnuva, you’ll find them all here.

Closeup of various cheese shelves

Sugar River Cheese Co.’s choices are among SYR’s favorite American made cheeses, Les Petites Fermières’ imported Camembert and Brie are her favorite imports. I’ve tried some of Fresh and Healthy‘s Capriccio collection and liked them all. The Cheese Guy also has some delicious cheeses but the company’s hechsherim vary by the cheese, be sure to check to make sure the individual hechsher is acceptable to you. Cholov is another company that produces an all time favorite like the Chevrai line of goat milk cheeses.

As a foodie, and expanding on Elizabeth Bland’s own blog, I could spend a whole day going and admiring the cheese choices with the same fervor, with the same passion, with the same delight with which I could through a museum filled with masterpieces! But… if you are a regular reader of this blog you already know that, of course.

Whether you are new to the world of cheese, whether you are connoisseur, whether you like raw milk, cow’s milk, or goat’s milk cheese, Pomegranate‘s got them all.

CS

The World of Kosher Cheese – Part 1

I, Vasco de CS – your intrepid kosher Conquistador – in an effort to bring all that’s kosher and great to The Kosher Scene, set about on an journey to find the variety of kosher cheeses available in New York City. Accompanied by Elizabeth Bland a world class cheese expert whom I interviewed last week, (you can hear the recording here) we toured the kosher cheese sections (on Monday afternoon)  sections at Zabar’s on Broadway and 80th – in Manhattan – and at Fairway on Broadway and 74th.

Interesting store with a big selection of kosher items

Ms. Bland’s encyclopedic knowledge of all things cheese was immediately evident as she explained  the various types of kosher cheese and hechsherim from around the world.

Two partial views of Zabar's Kosher Cheese showcase

There were selections from Israel, France, Spain, Italy, UK, New York State, Wisconsin, etc, etc….. She had tasted every one and had much to say about each. The rich selection was comprised of both cholov Yisroel and non cholov Yisroel types. Made from cow’s milk, goat milk, raw milk, some were very pungent, some were very sharp, some were mild in taste and smell.Elizabeth clarified some major differences amoungst the manufacturers, their aging processes along with those individual aged cheeses that require the halachic  six hours waiting time before eating meat. It was great to find certain cheese companies listed how long the individual cheese had been aged, unfortunately, this is not a universal practice, but it certainly should be! It would make it faaaar easier to determine whether one is required to wait six hours or not.

Elizabeth Bland holding up a cheese by one of her favorite manufacturers, Sugar River Cheese Co.

We then trekked six blocks south to Fairway. It was my first visit to Fairway (we don’t have one in Brooklyn) and while more crowded and with narrower isles than Zabar’s, I found the variety of foods abundant and the clientele diverse. They too had a great selection of kosher cheeses from around the world, and we discovered some that we hadn’t seen at Zabar’s and some were not present here.

There’s nothing like traveling with a seasoned navigator; my outing with Elizabeth was educational  and informative; we plan a follow up with a trip to Brooklyn’s Pomegranate to compare their cheese section with those we visited in the city.

CS

Elizabeth Bland’s post

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Les Petites Fermières Plus Organic and Kosher

Naturally Kosher

Les Petites Fermières plus Organic and Kosher

A small selection of Les Petite Fermieres and Organic And Kosher cheeses

I like cheeses, as does CS, I use them in cooking, I use them in sandwiches and even in between wines at wine tastings. Thus I was happy to find that Les Petites Fermières (distributed by Anderson International Foods in Mineola, NY), has an interesting collection of available cheeses and most can be found at supermarkets and kosher groceries throughout the US and Canada. Some of my favorites include Gouda, Fontina, Havarti and Havarti with Dill.

Gouda is a distinctively flavored cheese, first developed in Gouda (Netherlands), as it ages it develops a slight caramel like taste.

Fontina, like Gouda, is made from cow’s milk and it originated in Italy’s Valle d’Aosta. Today, however it is also made in the US, France, Denmark and Sweden. Les Petites Fermières’ selection is softer and creamier than its fully aged, darker, Italian sibling.

Havarti was first made in the mid 19th century in an experimental farm, just north of Copenhagen, Norway. It has a subtle flavor that makes it perfect for slicing, grilling or melting. I also like its sibling Havarti with Dill, which has a somewhat stronger yet delightful taste due to the herb.

When I want something sharper I go for their Cheddar or the Mediterranean Jack. Frankly, I found all of them delicious! I like a cheese omelette for breakfast, so I made one using various cheeses.

CS’ Simple Cheese Omelette

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup of Les Petites Fermières Chef’s Blend (natural cheddar and pizza style blend) Shredded Cheese
• 1 slice of Mozzarella
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Roland Oven Roasted Tomatoes (optional)

Preparation

1. Melt the butter in an 8” inch skillet, over a medium flame, until it starts sizzling. Tilt skillet until bottom is completely covered.
2. Drop in the two eggs and tilt the skillet to cover as much as much of it as possible.
3. Sprinkle the Chef’s Blend cheese on top of the eggs liberally. Within a few seconds it will melt.
4. With a spatula reach under the omelette and fold it over itself.
5. Immediately cover the top with slice of Mozarella.
6. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. I also added a couple of oven roasted tomatoes over of the Mozarella. Do not overcook.

Sometimes I also add other spices, when I mix the eggs, prior to folding them into the skillet. Delicious!

For those of you who prefer organic food, Anderson International Foods also distributes Organic and Kosher. If you love cheese you’ll notice the difference between organic and regular cheeses. I did and absolutely liked the difference.

SYR

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