This Evening’s Radio Show, Yesterday’s Superb Lunch

If you missed last evening’s very informative show: A Conversation with Menachem Lubinsky, you can hear it here.

Yesterday Alessandra Rovati (from dinnerinvenice.com), Esti Berkowitz (from primetimeparenting.com), Geilah Hocherman (author of upcoming cookbook The Kosher Revolution), Kim Amzallag (from Kosher Inspired/Mishpacha Magazine), Suzannah Raff (from koshershopaholic.com) and yours truly met at Chef Lévana Kirschenbaum‘s (from levanacooks.com) place.

We started the session with an incredible Moroccan lunch feast prepared by Lévana, of course. It consisted of:

• Cold avocado cucumber soup
• Spicy olive lemon salad
• Celery remoulade
• Moroccan tomato salad
• Hummus-Tehina with za’atar
• Lamb-stuffed artichoke bottoms
• Chicken roasted in dry spice rub
• Chicken Pastilla
• Hot and sweet parsnips
• Potato, tomato and olive tajine

For dessert she made us:

• Spicy nut truffles
• Date nut roll
• Chocolate “salami”
• Chocolate espresso bark
• Coconut cookies
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Quick halvah

After the meal we started our discussion, Suzannah Raff put it on video (she will have it up on YouTube soon!), while I taped it for this evening’s radio show. After such a rich, healthy, scrumptious meal you can bet our discussion was lively, entertaining, informative.

The topic of our discussion was Healthy and Delicious versus Delicious at any Cost. This pretaped show will air it this evening at 8:00pm (Eastern Time) on BlogTalkRadio. Please tune us in this evening, we’ll be wait’n for ya!

CS

Internet Radio Broadcast and a Recipe

Last week we were plagued by some faulty equipment and technical problems during our live broadcast from Nargila Grill (1599 York Avenue – between 84 and 85th Streets on Manahattan’s Upper East Side). Today I did a makeup broadcast where I summarized what everyone said during the discussion we had on the Jewish cuisine, as a record of our history, dispersion and culture.

Our group consisted of Alessandra Rovati (dinnerinvenice.com), Geila Hocherman (kosherrevolution.com), Kim Amzallag (Kosher Inspired/Mishpacha Magazine) Levana Kirschenbaum (levanacooks.com), Marlene Mamiye (thejewishhostess.com) and Suzannah Raff (koshershopaholic.wordpress.com/)

Palov - Photo by: Kim Amzallag

After some mild and spicy salads, hummus, and more we were served palov – a Bukharian rice and beef dish. It was delicious but I couldn’t get the restaurant to share its recipe, so I was forced to go online to search for it. Here’s what I found on about.com:

Bukharian Rice – Plov

My 12-year-old son, who is by far our family’s pickiest eater, came home from his friend’s house singing praises about this amazing rice dish. The song went something like this, “It was the most delicious dinner I have ever eaten in my whole life!” Of course I immediately called Ilanit for the recipe. I was happy to discover he was talking about a rice, chicken, vegetable combination prepared in one pot. Without further ado, enjoy Ilanit’s Bukharian Rice recipe.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 onions, chopped
• 6 carrots, grated thick
• 5 Tablespoons oil (enough to cover bottom of pot)
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 2-3 pounds (1-1.5 kilo) boneless chicken breast, cut into small bite-size squares
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 1/2 cups rice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt rice
• 3 1/2 cups boiling water (enough to cover the rice by 1/2 inch or 1 cm)

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pot. Add onions, and then carrots. Stir in the sugar. Cook until the onions are translucent.
2. Lay the chicken on top of the onions and carrots. Don’t stir in order to maintain a layer of vegetables and a distinct layer of meat. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken. Cook the chicken, gently turning the pieces over in the middle, until the chicken turns white.
3. Add rice on top of the chicken. Don’t stir because the layers of vegetables and chicken should remain undisturbed, but distribute the rice evenly over the chicken. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add boiling water. Turn the heat down to low and cover.
4. After about 15 minutes, scrap down the sides and poke a few holes through the rice to the bottom of the pot with the handle of a wooden spoon. Cover and cook for another 15-25 minutes, until the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender.
5. Serve in reverse order of the layers. Put the rice, then the chicken, then the vegetables onto the plates.Yields: 6-8 servings.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy. We did!

CS

This Week’s Events

Lévana Kirschenbaum’s Dinner and a Show

Monday, March 28th
MOROCCAN STREET FOODS
This is as plebeian as our glorious Moroccan food gets, and even then it’s a complete feast, as always! Gluten-free to boot!

• Chick pea soup
• Chakshuka on white beans
• Schwarma
• Carrot Swiss chard salad
• Toasted vermicelli with olive oil, almonds and honey

The Cooking 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/

Location: Levana’s home – 210 West 101st Street. #9L (Between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway)

Chef David Kolotkin at De Gustibus

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 | 1 – 3:30 PM
Join The Prime Grill’s David Kolotkin as this charming chef guides us through kosher cooking. The Prime Grill, which serves New American cuisine with accents from Asia, the Mediterranean and beyond, is one of the most sophisticated kosher restaurants in the City. With David’s guidance, you will create an interesting and dynamic feast of contemporary kosher fare.

Location
Venue: De Gustibus Cooking School
Homepage:  http://www.degustibusnyc.com
Street: 151 West 34th Street, 8th Floor
ZIP: 10001
City: New York

The cooking school is located on the 8th floor of Macy’s Herald Square on the 7th Avenue side of the building. You can enter the store at 151 West 34th Street and take the passenger elevators to the 8th floor, De Gustibus is located between the coat/bathing suit department and Human Resources in the employee section of the store.

Call 212-239-1652 or e-mail them at info@degustibusnyc.com for more information.

Both are great culinary experiences. We hope to see you at both events, gentle reader.

CS

Pardes Restaurant

Pardes Restaurant‘s Chef/Owner, Moshe Wendel, opened this new eatery on October the 24th (497 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11217; Tel: 718.797.3880), barely three weeks ago. Chef Moshe’s culinary talents and passion for food, along with the friendly enthusiasm of his tight-knit staff result in a successful venture. Through the years, he carefully and methodically honed his skills. Starting out as a dishwasher at age 16, he climbed through the ranks through various prestigious establishments such as Philadelphia’s celebrated Django restaurant. Moshe and his wife Shana became ba’alei tshuvah, and rushed back east to cook for Mosaica and Mike’s Bistro. He opened Basil as Executive Chef, stayed there for a short while, and is now fulfilling his own dream of owning a top kosher restaurant.

Small, warm, very welcoming

Moshe had a clear vision for Pardes. Located in an area filled with art galleries, bookstores, fashion shops and assorted eateries featuring every kind of cuisine, Pardes became an extension of the chic, upscale, urban cool mix. My companion (SYR could not make it this time) and I got there at around 3:00pm,  Lunch to Dinner transition time…

I ordered the Home Made Bouquerones [house cured white anchovies], with Red Pepper, Caper Berries, Arugula, Lemon Dressing.

Home Made Bouquerones with Arugula

With a hint of spiciness and ample richness of flavor, the well appointed dish was a perfect intro to the rest of the meal.

My companion chose the Tuna Crudo, with Porcini Popcorn,  Arugula and Corn Coulis. She found it beautiful to look at and extremely flavorful.

Nile Perch, Poached in Hazelnut Garlic Broth, “Risotto” of White Asparagus, Granny Smith Salad was my next choice. Again… the unusual mix of seasonal flavors were refreshing & delightful! My companion opted for the Saffron Linguine, Mojama, Almonds & Chiles. A spicey delectable mix of flavors, nicely presented.

Next we both had their Spicey-Smokey Chicken “Wings”, Red Pepper Saffron Vinaigrette, Tomato salad with Herbs, Preserved Lemon, Green olive and Jalapeno…

Close-up of one of the Spicy-Smoked Chicken "Wings" With red Pepper-Saffron Vinaigrette

Check this out!  A real treat for the taste buds!  We were instructed to place the meat into our mouths and then press the spice filled pipette releasing the wonderful burst of flavours… Pretty outrageous!

For the mains we shared both the Pizza of Beef Tongue Confi, With 24 Hour Roasted Tomato and Fresh Basil….

Pizza Beef Tongue Confi

…and the Short Ribs & Broccoli Rabe Lasagne.  The meat Pizza tasted sinfully delicious; the thin crust and beef tongue confi made the cheese topped pizzas, I’m used to, almost irrelevant. The Short Ribs Lasagne, was unusually tasty but had a rather limp presentation compared to the other dishes we sampled.

For dessert, we had the (“Manna” Bee Pollen Dusted Angel Food, Quince, Honey Ice Cream, Sugared Almonds and Olive Oil Cake, Chocolate Flan, Espresso Flavored Marron Glaces) all quite tasty – even gifted – although presentation was lack-luster. All in all, we were treated to an outstanding meal and each of us gave it two big thumbs up! In a lesser restaurant we might even have praised the minor negatives we encountered here.

Next time I’ll order from their ample beer selection, as well.

I was very gratified to see our favorite Chef, Lévana, shares our overall view after going to Pardes the evening after we did.

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

Beyond Milk and Honey: Israeli Street Foods

Lévana Kirschenbaum, from levanacooks.com is presenting another delicious “dinner and a show” this coming Monday, as a fitting end to Israel’s independence Day. As Levana’s site tells it:

BEYOND MILK AND HONEY: ISRAELI STREET FOODS GLUTEN FREE

Let’s celebrate the end of Israeli Independence Day together, simply and in style, and with loads of Sephardi Ta’am! Who knew Israeli salad could be so much more distinguished than the bland cucumber-onion-and-tomato hash that arrive with every falafel order? And yes, you can find gluten-free pita!

Spicy bean soup; Chraimi fish; minted lamb kebobs; spicy eggplant salad; hummus-tehina; Israeli salad; makrod (date almond pastries)

What? You haven’t heard about Lévana’s cooking demos before? Haven’t you missed the legendary Lévana’s Restaurant? Now you can again enjoy her food while learning some of her cooking secrets! Her food is naturally delicious. As her site explains it:

Our new cooking class demo schedule is chock-full of exciting, fun, and super-natural menus! See how easy it is to prepare delicious nutritious meals within a reasonable budget. Enjoy learning practical shortcuts to gourmet cooking. Impress your friends with your culinary skills, exerting much less effort while doing the real thing than you previously have while settling for mediocre store bought stuff! It’s dinner and a show! Once you try it, you will return repeatedly, just as the rest of the big Lévana Cooking Demo extended family does!

Gluten-Free: While I find it totally unnecessary (and frankly a little silly) to put the whole nation on a gluten-free diet, I think it is very useful to try whenever possible to offer gluten-free options to our celiac friends: You will be mighty pleased to see I have done just that, without even going out of my way!

Whole grains, seasonings and natural sweeteners: This health nut cooks only with whole grains and natural unprocessed sweeteners, experimenting with the whole gamut. As a result all the dishes I demonstrate are natural, much lower in gluten, and much leaner than their “white” and commercial counterparts; needless to say, they are also much lower in sodium as well.

International flavors: Around the world of seasonings and cooking techniques without even going through security, so come hungry, keep your shoes on and enjoy!

~Lévana

CLASS INFO

All cooking demos are from 7 to 9 pm at Lincoln Square Synagogue.
200 Amsterdam Avenue @69th Street. 2nd Floor
Class is followed by dinner and book signing so come hungry!

Come watch Lévana as she demonstrates, step-by-step, just how easy it can be to prepare a nutritious gourmet meal. Lévana takes her students through the creation of an entire memorable meal and serves it at the end of class for all to enjoy. She shares many stories, preparation tips, kitchen tools and exotic ingredient sources. You will not be getting your hands dirty, but the classes are definitely interactive!

Each student receives a full recipe booklet detailing each dish. When you attend Lévana’s class, you get so much more than just recipes. You’ll get the full benefit of Lévana’s experience and recipe development. Unlike a recipe in a cookbook, you will have seen the finished product and tasted each dish before you even consider making it yourself.

Class Fees:
$45 / class
$25 — attending for dinner only
$35 — child class fee (ages 12 and under)

$10 off — when you bring a new friend to class (you will get your refund in class!)

I hope to meet you there!

Mention The Kosher Scene and you’ll get a
$10 discount on your class fee!

CS