Shavuot Tartines

Counting the Omer, One Tartine at a Time

Today’s recipe is really a list: 49 different delicious, chometzdik, sustaining, take-it-along open sandwiches. Called tartines, they are an emanation of medieval peasant food in which a meal would be served atop a slice of bread so as to be eaten while on foot. I thought about making quail, the other culinary miracle performed for those desert wanderers, but then, not many of us have quail in the freezer. If you do, please send us a photo of those little delicacies, and my chef’s hat is off to you.

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Kugel and Bhajee

Passover Potato Recipes: Kugelettes and Bhajee

Today’s offering,  Ashkenazi potato kuglettes and traditional Indian bhajee, has been inspired by Tania, a lawyer by trade, who cooks out of her kitchen in Pittsburgh, and with whom I share an interfaith (Jewish-Muslim) connection. Fortunately, potatoes are in most of our pantries, and what we do with them tells us a great deal about our ethnicities, religious traditions, customs, economic status and diets. Potatoes are nutritive, starchy, ubiquitous tubers that grow almost anywhere there is healthy soil. You can buy seed potatoes and grow them in deep containers on your terrace, plant plots this spring in your yard or buy them at the grocery store or farmer’s market. You can find them in any color—red, pink, purple, brown and, most commonly in the United States, yellow and white. They also come in palates of...

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Recipes from a Quarantined Cook | Chicken Soup Two Ways

Welcome to “A Momentary Kitchen”—a moment of something (Jewish and foody) to do with your loved ones in these uncertain times. Come in, grab a stool and some tea, kibitz and cook. Each recipe has been chosen for children 10 and over (under 10, please cook with a grownup!) and each will offer variations for dietary needs and palette. Every recipe will take less than 30 minutes to prepare and less than three hours to cook. Chicken soup needs no introduction. When I was a girl in Hebrew School,  we were instructed to imagine what manna tasted like to the early Israelites. I fantasized about green pepper pizza and chicken soup with my Aunt Mildred’s matzoh balls. Thirty years later, Aunt Mildred confessed that she got her matzah-ball recipe from the side of a box, but her...

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Recipe: Bumuelos In Red Wine Sauce

Here's another great Hanukkah recipe.  Jews of Spanish origin developed bumuelos or buñuelos—fritters or pancakes fried in olive oil and dipped in honey or sugar syrup or sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar—as sweet Hanukkah treats.  Here's a modern take on the Sephardi classic! BUMUELOS IN RED WINE  SAUCE Makes about 14-15 (Serve 2-3 per portion) For the Bumuelos: 1 cup water ½ cup butter Pinch salt 2 teaspoons sugar 1 ½ cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour 4 eggs Canola oil for frying For the Red Wine Sauce: 2 cups sugar ⅔ cup dry red wine 2 cinnamon sticks 4 whole cloves Prepare the Red Wine sauce first: Mix the ingredients together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the syrup thickens to the consistency of honey. Keep warm....

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Recipe: Sweet Potato Latkes with Spiced Maple Syrup

With Hanukkah approaching fast, people everywhere are getting excited to dine on treats such as latkes and Sufganiyot (jelly-filled doughnuts).  But after eight days, those delicious dishes can get tiresome.  This year, why not try out a little variation? According to Phyllis Glazer, modern takes on traditional foods are becoming all the rage in Israel (check out her article on the history of latkes in the current issue of Moment here!).  Here is one of our favorites: Sweet Potato Latkes with Spiced Maple Syrup Makes 10-12  (4-6 servings) For the Latkes: 1 pound sweet potatoes 2 eggs ½  teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon baking powder ¼  cup matzah meal Pinch salt Pinch white pepper 2-4 tablespoons light olive oil for frying For the sauce: 1 cup real maple syrup ½  teaspoon grated fresh ginger ¼  teaspoon ground nutmeg Pinch of ground cloves ...

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