July 30th, 2022|Categories: Cheesecakes, Dairy, Desserts, Desserts, Shavuot
The recipe for this showstopper cheesecake comes from Maida Heatter, aka “Queen of Cake”. She passed away in 2019 at the age of 102. A prodigiously gifted pastry chef and cookbook author, Maida Heatter wrote more than ten cookbooks, many of which are treasured baking resources that I refer to time and again. Her recipes are beautifully written, precise and […]
July 29th, 2022|Categories: Food Columns, Pasta, Rice, Grains, Vegetarian
My recipe for lasagna is vegetarian. I use spinach and mushrooms and part skim ricotta and mozzarella to make a lighter, healthier dish. With a rather lengthy list of ingredients and several components to the instructions, this is not a quick and easy recipe. Yet, no intricate techniques are required, and there is […]
July 24th, 2022|Categories: Appetizers, Breakfast/Brunch, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
I first sampled shakshouka during my travels in Israel. Widely popular in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions, it hails from Tunisia in North Africa. The word “shakshouka” is Arabic for ”all mixed up.”
Shakshouka in its most basic form is a toothsome dish of eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. You may be familiar with […]
July 20th, 2022|Categories: Appetizers, Meat and Poultry
Happy National Hot Dog Day! These challah dogs are always a huge hit. I get hot dog specials from my butcher, whip up a batch of my challah dough, roll handfuls of the dough into strands, wrap the strands around the hot dogs in a spiral, then bake till golden brown. The combination of thick, juicy hot dogs and […]
July 3rd, 2022|Categories: Cakes, Desserts, Food Columns, Fourth of July|
This flag cake was on the cover of the July 2011 issue of the Essex Fells Magazine. Perfect celebration cake for Fourth of July! […]
July 3rd, 2022|Categories: Cheesecakes, Dairy, Desserts, Fourth of July
Velvety smooth, rich and creamy, this cheesecake is divine. Its decadent taste and texture belie the fact that it is relatively easy to make. Cream cheese, sugar, eggs and cream are beaten together and then poured into a cake pan lined with a traditional graham cracker crumb crust. The cake is then baked in a water bath to ensure a custardy texture and smooth […]
July 3rd, 2022 |Categories: Desserts, Food Columns, Fourth of July|
Here are two creative, fun and tasty ideas for a July 4th dessert grand finale. Family and friends will want to participate in creating the red, white and blue balloon cups. They will enjoy rocking the blown up balloons in the candy melts and then, after placing the balloons for a brief stint in the freezer, they will perform the pièce de résistance by popping the balloons with a pin or other pointy object. The end result will be a beautifully formed tulip-shaped shell. I’ve also […]
July 1st, 2022|Categories: Appetizers, Breakfast/Brunch, Fourth of July, Vegetables, Vegetarian
It’s July! While we’re thinking in red, white and blue, we want to spend as little time as possible in the kitchen and to keep it cool. Here are a trio of appetizers in red, white and blue that are healthy, no bake and quick and easy to make. The fresh tomato and basil topping […]
June 27th, 2022|Categories: Cakes, Dairy, Desserts, Desserts, Ice Cream and Frozen Treats
My all time favorite cake to make during sultry summer months is Ice Cream Cake. Its main ingredient—ice cream—is America’s most loved dessert. An ice cream cake is no bake, easy to make, and you can prepare it weeks ahead of time and keep it in your freezer until ready to serve. With the wide variety of ice cream flavors […]
June 22nd, 2022|Categories: Appetizers, Breakfast/Brunch, Cooking Light, Side Dishes, Vegetarian
Here’s a healthy version of the traditional deep fat fried onion rings. These are dipped in egg whites instead of a rich batter, then they are baked instead of fried. They bake up crisp and golden and are almost as addictive as the original high calorie […]
June 17th, 2022|Categories: Vegetables, Vegetarian
I love ratatouille, a classic vegetable stew hailing from the Provencal region of southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. To make these colorful and healthy veggie stacks, I used many of the seasonal vegetables and flavorings you would find in a ratatouille—eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and onions, infused with olive oil […]
June 3rd, 2022|Categories: Cookies and Biscotti, Dairy, Desserts, Shavuot
Here’s another great dairy dessert option. There is no cooking or baking necessary for this simplified and enlightened version of the traditional cannoli recipe. You can make the pizzelle cannoli shells days ahead of time. Since the filling takes just minutes to whip together, make sure to fill the pizzelle cannoli right before serving so they retain their crispness. The contrast between the crisp pizzelle cannoli and the […]
June 2nd, 2022|Categories: Dairy, Shavuot, Vegetarian
Here’s another tasty dairy option for Shavuot. Ricotta gnocchi are the faster, easier, and, some would say, tastier counterpart to potato gnocchi. If you’ve avoided making pasta or gnocchi recipes because of elaborate instructions and techniques, you’re in for a treat with this recipe, which will give you the satisfaction of making a home made pasta-like dish from scratch in under half an hour. I like to serve the spinach ricotta gnocchi with […]
June 1st, 2022|Categories: Cakes, Cheesecakes, Dairy, Desserts, Shavuot
If you want a showstopper dairy dessert for Shavuot, this beauty fits the bill. The marbleized glaze does require a bit of technique. You can simplify the recipe by finishing the cake with a sprinkling of confectioner’s sugar or a simple chocolate […]
May 31st, 2022|Categories: Dairy, Shavuot, Vegetarian
The Jewish holiday Shavuot begins at sunset this Saturday, June 4, and ends at sunset Monday, June 6. Shavuot is also known as the Jewish Festival of Weeks and it commemorates the anniversary of the giving of the Torah. There are many traditions associated with this lovely holiday such as […]
May 9, 2022|Categories: Cooking Light, Fish, Food Columns, Salads, Vegetables|
A Salade Nicoise is a classic French composed salad. The salad has its origins in Nice, a city in the Provencal Region of southeastern France. Many of its ingredients such as tuna, tomatoes, green beans, olives, anchovies and capers are indigenous to the region. Because Salade Nicoise is composed and not chopped or tossed, its ingredients are arranged aesthetically and make for a lovely […]
Nanny’s Butter Streusel Cake
Since this was the cake that inspired my passion for baking and launched a thousand recipes, it is only fitting that I launch my website with Nanny Fela’s Butter Streusel Cake. My mom baked it often when I was growing up, and I could never resist plucking off the streusel, leaving behind a funny looking pockmarked cake. I could kick myself for not having had the presence of mind to get the recipe from […]