There are so many variations that you can make on the basic latke, or potato cake. They can be baked instead of fried, but we really love the crispness that you can only get with pan frying. You don’t have to use tons of oil…just a smidge of olive oil will do the trick.
Potatoes can be joined by many other vegetables, and I suggest that you experiment to see what you like best, but try the basics first! Carrots, parsnips, green onions, squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, leeks, and many other veggies make good latke companions. Additionally, …read more

Oh how I love a heaping plateful of this savory goodness! This is one of my ultimate comfort foods, because I love the saltiness (helped by additional salt added at the table), the warmth, and the creamy deliciousness. Please, do not substitute olive or vegetable oil for the cooking butter!
I don’t care which holiday you’re celebrating or getting ready to celebrate: this is a great main dish to serve on a night when you’ve had no time for preparation.  Everyone has just walked in the door and everyone is starving! Set the kids up making toast for …read more

This is a great beef stew to have for Rosh Hashanah, when everything is to be round and/or sweet to start off the new year right. Shallots, thyme, butternut squash, and cranberries all help to make this a savory but slightly sweet stew. We like it anytime during the fall and winter.  So I thought I’d make it tonight to celebrate the first full day of Hanukkah!
Cooked in a crock pot, you’ve got a couple of alternatives for preparation: stew the squash for a long time and it will break down like tzimmes, making the broth thick and …read more

Last night was the first evening of this year’s Festival of Lights!
Image: RedKid.net

It starts next week, folks! So if you haven’t already planned the menu or you don’t even know where to start, it’s Epicurious to the rescue!
I love it: they’ve titled their guide 8 Delicious Days, and it includes recipes, complete menus, and how-to videos. What more could you want, other than a take-home chef to prepare it all for you

Photo by Lara Ferroni

Cooking Light has a fabulous basic recipe for Lemon curd. Maybe you don’t think lemon curd is anything to get excited about, but I sure do! It’s great stuff to serve with Strawberry shortcakes for a little taste twist, and Cooking Light also has a Lemon-Almond cake for Passover that uses the curd. It is often used as a topping for scones or English muffins, and can be used in making or topping various pies. I could easily eat it straight out of the bowl!!
Lemon Curd
Joan Nathan, Cooking Light, April 2008
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons grated lemon …read more

Don’t say yuck until you’ve tried them
Chopped Chicken Livers
1 lb chicken livers, drained
2 large onions, chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic, mashed
Olive oil
2 eggs, hard boiled
Salt and pepper
Saute the livers, onions, and garlic in oil until the livers are cooked completely through. Keep the heat down so that the vegetables don’t burn. Put all the ingredients into a food processor in batches, and process until it is a paste. Serve on salad or as a spread for matzo.
Charoset
2 tart apples
1/2 c walnuts (or almonds)
1/2 t cinnamon
1 T honey
1 T sweet Passover wine
Core the apples, but don’t peel. Chop …read more

Martha Stewart’s Cookies
Martha makes the best cookies, although some of her recipes are just too fiddly for me. This doesn’t happen to be one of the fiddly ones, though! Beautiful chocolate chip cookies that are made with matzo and matzo farfel meals. Good quality dark chocolate. Yum I love this book, and I highly recommend it. When it first hit our public library, I had to fight off a lot of people to even get a look at it!
Martha’s recipe is available on the Martha Stewart website. My only additional suggestion is that you chill the …read more

Spinach cheese bake is an excellent main dish, or can be served in smaller portions as a side dish with a large salad. It’s very tasty, and can be made with additional vegetables if you want to make it more hearty. Since it takes an hour to cook thoroughly, I’d suggest using thawed frozen spinach to save some prep time, and definitely make sure that all the veggies you decide to use have been pre-chopped during your once a week food prep time.
Spinach Cheese Bake
2 c cottage cheese
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded or crumbled
10 oz package of frozen …read more

This is too tasty to save just for Passover! Even though it takes some time to make, since you’ve got to prepare mashed potatoes beforehand, and then it needs to cook for about 45 minutes, the really good thing is that is keeps really well in the freezer. Yup! a make-ahead OAMC recipe for Passover and beyond!
Meat and Mashed Potato Pie
4 c mashed potatoes (3 good sized potatoes should do it)
Olive oil
Onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1-1/2 lb ground meat (beef, turkey, or chicken)
Salt and pepper
Paprika
1/2 c mushrooms, sliced
In a heavy skillet, saute the onion and garlic until soft. …read more