Category: Recipes

Spice-Crusted Chicken

There is no one on this earth that cannot make this recipe. It’s that easy. Well maybe not no one – you’ve got to have an oven, chicken, and a few basic spices. If you’ve got that, and you’ve never cooked anything other than eggs in your life, you can do this.

This has to be my #1 go-to recipe for a quick weekday dinner. It’s got tons of flavor with minimal effort, and it pleases even the most discriminating palette. I like to make this recipe when I’m cooking dinner for our local Bikur Cholim because I’m pretty sure anyone who will eat chicken will eat it.

What makes this chicken so good? Well for one, it’s baked in it’s skin, keeping the chicken nice and moist. Baking it on a high temperature (400 degrees), with the help of some olive oil, makes the skin super crispy, and all those spices get toasted to perfection.

Here’s the best part. If you’re on one of those low-carb or no-sugar diets like atkins or south beach, you can make yourself a super flavorful dinner without store-bought BBQ sauce that is so full of carbs. If you are watching your fat intake as well, don’t eat the skin, but feel free to scrape off the yummy spices and spread it on your chicken. If dieting is not on your agenda, go ahead and sop up all the drippings from the bottom of the pan, they are seriously delicious!

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Busy in Brooklyn Lightens Up

At least for this week! :) After all that cheesecake, lasagna and blintzes, I think we all need to lighten up our menu’s just a bit. My husband decided to join the diet bandwagon as well, and I wanted to make him feel good about it. I figured for his first day of dieting, I would treat him to a special dinner. But not just any dinner. A dinner that would show him that you can have your fast food and eat it too!

This was my plan – make his favorite fast food, have it look delicious, taste even better, and keep it lighter than the deep-fried version!

The Steak Santiago sandwich from Subsational is among my husband’s favorites. It includes rib steak with lettuce, tomato, onion and their spicy mayo. To lighten this up, I made an open-face sandwich on a half of a whole wheat baguette with lean sandwich steak, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and sauteed onions. I whipped up some easy garlic mayo with a lowfat canola variety.

Next, onto the fries. Of course fried anything was out of the question. And I had to give the potatoes the boot as well. Instead, I roasted some butternut squash fries with some chili powder and smoked paprika. They came out delicious.

Finally, just for fun I had to throw in a few chicken nuggets. I dipped a few pieces of chicken breasts into light olive oil and flavored corn flake crumbs and baked until crispy (about 15 minutes at 400 degrees – 8 minutes on one side, 5 on the other).

Needless to say, my husband was more than satisfied with this lightened up version of his favorite fast food. Of course I won’t be doing this regularly, but it’s good to know that our favorite comfort foods can still be eaten, albeit on special occasions, and a little on the lighter side!

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Strawberry Rhubarb Soup


Strawberries and rhubarb are as fresh and delightful as the spring air they herald. They pair wonderfully in recipes and add a burst of color as well as tang. The natural sweetness of the strawberries lends itself well to rhubarb’s tartness for a perfect balance of flavors.

While many people opt for a creamy potato leek soup, or a cheesy french onion soup for their dairy Shavuous meal, I like to take advantage of the fresh seasonal fruits for a cold and refreshing fruit soup. Think about it – you’ve got steaming lasagna coming, and lots of rich and creamy cheesecake for dessert, who needs another heavy plate of soup? This light and refreshing soup makes the perfect starter.

NOTE: the leaves of a rhubarb plant contain oxalic acid and can be toxic. While many stores sell the stalks already trimmed, make sure all the leaves are removed before using.

With minor tweaking, you can also use this recipe as an ice cream sauce or compote, see below for details.

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Easy Paper Napkin Roses


Shavuous is one of my favorite holidays. The beautiful spring weather, the creamy cheesecakes for dessert, and of course all the pretty flowers that adorn our yom tov tables. It’s really a treat to be able to go all out and pick out a beautiful bouquet. You can’t go wrong regardless of what you choose – classic roses, bright tulips, elegant orchids, or exotic anthuriums; you are sure to find something to suit your taste and match your table-scape.

If you really want to up the ante, placing flowers at each place setting makes your table feel like an intimate garden. You can do this in a few ways:

1. Place bud vases alongside each cup with a single fresh flower.
2. Make or purchase floral napkin rings.
3. Use dishes, paper plates, napkins or cups with a floral pattern.
4. Incorporate floral themes into your meal (for ex., cut cheesecake brownies with a flower cookie cutter).
5. Make my pretty paper napkin roses, and place in a see-through cup at each place setting!

These napkin roses are extremely easy to make. You don’t have to prepare them in advance, amid all the hustle and bustle of Erev Yom Tov. Because they are so simple, you can give them to your children to do. They’ll feel so special knowing that they played an integral part in the Yom Tov Seudah!

I found this original creation from Martha Stewart. She uses cloth napkins to prepare the roses, and while pretty, I am sure that most of you do not have cloth napkins in both green and pink/red. It is also hard to fit 2 cloth napkins into a glass – believe me, I tried! Instead, I decided to try her idea using paper napkins, and as you can see, it worked wonders! I almost felt as if I was looking at REAL roses, they are that beautiful! Go ahead and make them with whatever colors you fancy – roses bloom in all different colors of the rainbow. You will sit at your Yom Tov Tish and feel as if you are in a magnificent garden.

What you’ll need:

12 7/8 x 12 7/8 2 ply napkins in green for leaves
12 7/8 x 12 7/8 2 ply napkins in the color of your choice (I like classic red) for roses
glass or hard plastic cups

How to:

1. Open green napkin.
2. Fold green napkin in half on the diagonal.
3. Fold in half again, on the diagonal.
4. Open red napkin.
5. Fold in half, on the diagonal.
6. Fold tip of triangle down to the center of the longest side.
7. Fold in half, lengthwise.
REPEAT STEPS 4-7 (with an additional red napkin, so that you have 2 folded napkins)
8. Roll first napkin from either end, not too tight, but not too loose either.
9. Take first rolled napkin and place on second unrolled napkin, and continue rolling the second napkin around the first one (you need to do this because the rose will be too narrow otherwise and won’t look authentic).
To complete your rose, just push up from the center of the bottom of the napkin.
10. Place rose on the short side of the green napkin.
11. Fold the green napkin over on the diagonal, covering the rose.
12. Place in a vase, folding the leaves over the edges.

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Savory {& Sweet} Cheese Balls


I was first introduced to the idea of cheese balls from Nechama Cohen’s cookbook, Enlitened Kosher Cooking. She makes a version using farmer cheese and 5% cheese for a lighter variation than the classic cream cheese. I made this for shavuous in the past, and as delicious as it is, it is even prettier to look at. If you are looking for that wow factor at your yontif table, you should definitely consider making these.

There are hundreds of cheese ball recipes out there, and the truth is, you don’t really need a recipe at all. All you have to do is start with the main ingredient: creamy cheese. Then, mix in whatever filling you’d like. I had some leftover sundried tomato olive tapenade, so I mixed a few tablespoons of that in. Think of the kind of cream cheese they have at bagel shops or get creative with original concoctions.

Here are some suggestions:

SAVORY CHEESE BALLS:

Cheese:
cream cheese
goat cheese
farmer cheese
blue cheese
Roquefort cheese

Fillings:
cheddar cheese
scallions/chives
olives
sundried tomatoes
jalapeno
pimientos
chillies
craisins

Condiment/Spices:
soy sauce
worcestershire sauce
horseradish
wasabi
ginger
basil
mustard
lemon
rosemary
thyme
hot sauce
packets of mixed herb seasonings

To incorporate the filling, bring your cream cheese to room temperature. Mix in the fillings and spices and stir to combine. Refrigerate your mixture for a few hours so the flavors have a chance to meld and the cheese can firm up again. In the meantime, prepare your toppings.

Toppings:
sesame seeds
poppy seeds
caraway seeds
zaatar
minced dried garlic flakes
minced dried onion flakes
parsley
dill
granola
chopped walnuts
chopped pecans
chopped pistachios
slivered almonds
crushed wasabi peas
scallions or chives
smoked paprika

Remove the cream cheese from the fridge after you’ve allowed it to set. Form balls and roll in desired toppings. You can refrigerate again until ready to serve. If you serving these at your yontif meal, I recommend preparing the filling in advance and rolling it in the topping before serving.

Serve with assorted crackers and sliced cucumbers.

SWEET CHEESE BALLS:

While savory cheese balls make a great appetizer, sweet ones serve as a great dessert and also work well when served with cheese latkes and pancakes.

Fillings:
coconut
raisins
crushed pineapple
dried fruit
canned pumpkin
strawberries
maraschino cherries
pomegranate seeds
chocolate chips

Condiment/Spices:
nutmeg
cinnamon
vanilla
coffee
melted chocolate
confectioners sugar
dulce de leche
flavored jams

Toppings:
pretzels
sprinkles
powdered sugar
cinnamon-sugar
shredded coconut
Oreo cookie crumbs
graham crackers crumbs
chopped peanuts
chopped pecans
chopped chocolate
cookies
cocoa
granola
cereal

Prepare as above. Serve with sliced fruit, pancakes, waffles, cheese latkes or blintzes!

As you can see, the ideas are endless! Use your creativity to come up with sweet or savory flavor combinations that you love.

Check out my friend Chanie’s post for decadent cream cheese truffles(essentially sweet cheese balls dipped in chocolate). They look delicious!

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