Tag: holiday

Shavuot Menu Roundup

With Shabbat going into Shavuot this year, I’ve updated this oldie-but-goodie Shavuot Menu roundup to include lots of other categories like stove-top only dishes, freezer-friendly dishes and lots more! I hope you find it useful and delicious :) You can also check out my dairy category or Shavuot category from the index for easy access!

Chag Sameach!

Classic Dairy Menu

tomato feta salad
cheese balls with assorted breads
pesto parmesan salmon
strawberry rhubarb soup or roasted tomato soup
spinach lasagna roll-ups or easy lasagna
cheese latkes or blintzes
classic cheesecake or easy no-bake cheesecake

Gourmet Dairy Menu

kani caeser salad with sriracha dressing
malawach cheese pastries or harissa whipped feta with eggplant chips
brie marsala pizza
spinach pappardelle with feta
goat cheese ice cream with moscato strawberry sauce

Light Dairy Menu

blueberry sweet potato granola salad or waldorf salad with yogurt dressing
roasted eggplant parmesan
pasta-free spinach manicotti, spaghetti squash baked ziti3-Cheese rollatini rose pie, or cheesy zoodle marinara
gluten-free parmesan zucchini sticks
moscato, honey, vanilla bean poached apricots

Pareve Menu

spinach matza ball minestrone soup
peach haricot vert salad
sushi burritos or sushi salad
fish tacos
chili pie in jars (use vegan cheese or leave it out)
peanut butter fudge ice cream pie

Stove-top Only Menu

Moroccan fish balls
corn, heirloom tomato and goat cheese salad with basil lime vinaigrette
zucchini parmesan chips
salmon pasta salad
spaghetti squash shakshuka
linguini lasagna or ravioli in pink sauce
torah cannoli or cornflake crunch ice cream

Freezer-Friendly Menu

broccoli parmesan poppers with Greek yogurt ranch dip
3-cheese brocolli pull-apart buns
pesto pinwheels
cheesy stuffed mini peppers
rosewater cheesecake mousse parfaits

Gourmet Meat Menu

sweet chili salmon with wasabi crust
rainbow slaw with poppyseed dressing
blueberry port duck with duck fat potatoes
or beer braised brisket over mashed potatoes
blanched asparagus with lemon vinaigrette
chocolate mousse or chocolate ganache tart

Light Meat Menu 

spinach strawberry salad with poppyseed dressing
roasted butternut squash soup
bundt pan rotisserie chicken or veal marsala bolognese
rice vermicelli
garlic green beans
blueberry apple crisp with vanilla ice cream


photo credit: bsinthekitchen blog

Dairy recipes from around the web

brocolli and cheese stuffed sole (can sub tilapia or flounder)
caeser salad parmesan cups
watermelon feta salad stacks (omit bacon!)
butternut squash kale lasagna
sweet potato goat cheese quiche
spinach and cheese phyllo pie
sour cream potato gratin
asparagus cheese tart (use any swiss cheese like gruyere)
cream of asparagus soup
cheesy kale potato kugel
sweet luckskin kugel
classic sambousek
fresh fruit sauces for blintzes
zucchini ravioli
cheesy pull-apart bread
Neapolitan zebra cheesecake


photo credit: savorysweetlife blog

Meat recipes from around the web

peach whiskey bbq chicken
braised chicken with golden beets and kale
maple mustard roasted chicken
chicken marsala (use coconut milk in place of heavy cream)
brisket in coffee brandy sauce
osso buco
beef bourguignon
eggplant and beef rollatini
shnitzel and sumac slaw

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{Falatkes} Falafel Latkes with Harissa Tahini

There really is no outdoing my poutine latkes from last year. The latkes went so viral, that I cooked them up for the Wall Street Journal and did a latke segment for The Meredith Vieira Show. HuffPost Canada went gaga over them and the rest is history.

I’m not one to rest on my laurels so I had to really blow it out of the water this year. It’s a good thing I had an entire year to think about it! I knew I wanted to go in the Israeli direction, because my food has been really influenced by the amazing flavors and spices of Israeli culture and cuisine. And what’s more quintessentially Israeli than falafel?

When falafel latkes, or as I coined them, FALATKES, came to me, I was beyond excited at the prospect of creating a beanless falafel dish! I prepared my batter, scooped it in the sizzling oil and my brain went crazy. Was I smelling latkes or was I smelling falafel?! I was smelling both!!

And then I took a bite of their crispy goodness and Oh. Em. Gee. I was eating potato latkes. And I was eating falafel. {MINDBLOWN} Poutine latkes – outdone.

If Chanukah wasn’t my favorite holiday before, it is now! Not only was I born on the fifth night, but I got married on my birthday and as I celebrate my 35th birthday, along with my 13th wedding Anniversary, I will be munching on this deeelicious fried goodness. It’s going to be a very happy birthday indeed!

Now, when you create the ultimate Chanukah latke, you have to top it with the ultimate sauce. Tahini is my jam so I made it my favorite way – with delicious spicy harissa mixed in for a deep, rich and spicy flavor. I am legit obsessed with Mina harissa that I tasted at Kosherfest just a couple of weeks ago. It’s spicy, but it’s also kind of sweet, which is never something I expected to find in a harissa. It’s got such a homey small-batch flavor, I just want to slather it on everything! And don’t even get me started on their shakshuka sauce. I can’t wait to create some amazing recipes with it!

If you’re a fan of harissa, don’t forget to try my harissa whipped feta with za’atar eggplant chips. They’re perfect for Chanukah, when it’s traditional to eat dairy foods. You can even fry up the za’atar chips to really get into the Chanukah mood. My confetti latkes with harissa sour cream are another favorite and if you want to go healthy, definitely go for my cauliflower nachos with harissa cheddar sauce. Told you I love harissa. Of course, if you’re looking for other fun Chanukah recipes, don’t forget to check out my Chanukah category, as well as the Chanukah section in my new RECIPE INDEX!  You’ll find amazing appetizers and desserts that are perfect for you Chanukah party.

In the meantime, here are some great tips for making the ultimate crispy latkes!

1- Make sure to squeeze out as much liquid as possible out of your potatoes and onions using a cheesecloth or kitchen towel.
2- Use little-to-no flour to bind the mixture. The potatoes natural starch is usually enough to keep it together.
2- When the batter sits, it tends to get liquidy, so make sure to squeeze out as much moisture as possible before frying.
3- Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out your batter. Pack the batter into the cup and place in the hot oil. Use the bottom of the cup to press down on the latkes, creating crisy, lacy edges.
4- Remove your latkes from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain, but immediately remove to a rack so the latkes stay nice and crisp.

Happy Frying!


This post was sponsored by Mina. All opinions are my own. View Mina’s amazing assortment of harissa and shakshuka sauce here or follow on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram

Related Recipes:

confetti latkes with harissa sour cream
harissa whipped feta with za’atar eggplant chips
cauliflower nachos with harissa cheddar sauce
falafel burgers

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Mexican Hot Chocolate Pecan Pie

It’s amazing how I’m becoming less and less into sweets. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love a good dessert. But sometimes I find the sugar so overly cloying. Like in pecan pie.

But with pecan pie being so traditional and all, I didn’t want to just cut it out of my life without at least trying. So try I did. And succeed, oh yes, I did!

Enter Mexican Hot Chocolate – the sweet and spicy rich chocolate drink with just the right amount of kick. I love how the bittersweet chocolate and chili balances out the sweetness in this pie. It totally works.

I’ve done this before with brownies, and it has become one of my most favorite recipes. My guests always ooh and ahh over my Duncan Hines fix, thinking I spent hours perfecting the best brownie recipe.

With pecan pie, it’s just the same. The filling is really fairly simple, and if you use a frozen pie crust like I did (insert-surprised-emoji-face-here), it’s as easy as 1-2-3.

This beauty is being gifted to Melinda of kitchen-tested for her pie bar tomorrow, which I will be lucky enough to be sampling from, after her crazy Thanksgiving feast! Sorry that I had to slice it open Mel!

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram for a play by play of Melinda’s incredible meal! Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh, and happy pie eating too :)

Related Recipes:

Mexican hot chocolate brownies
pecan pie lace cookies

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Purim Deviled Eggs

You probably never thought you’d hear a nice Jewish girl say this, but thank G-d for Easter! You see, I just wasn’t feeling Purim this year. I’ve been busier than ever (I think I should change my name to BUSIER in Brooklyn) and as hard as I tried, I couldn’t really come up with a fun food gift that wouldn’t break the bank.

Enter Target’s dollar section AKA my favorite place of all time! Since I couldn’t seem to come up with something, I decided to shop around and let the aisles do the talking. Well talk, they did! When I saw these adorable Easter egg crates, I knew exactly what I was going to make. Total cost: $1.

After I found the egg crates, I realized that I would need something to place them in – something nice and sturdy, that would hold them in place. Well, I didn’t have to look much further. A bit deeper in to the Target bargain bins, I found these square wooden boxes, which fit the crates just right. Total cost: $3.

Now all I needed was to fill the empty space next to the eggs, but what to put? Hmm, deviled eggs, deviled…hot…hot sauce! The perfect accompaniment to deviled eggs! So I did what any bargain hunter would do, on my way home from Target, I stopped by every little supermarket I could find and went straight for the condiment aisle. I tried all the bottles to see what would fit, until I scored the ultimate find! OU certified Louisiana hot sauce at 4 for $1. You got that right! FOUR whole bottles for one hundred pennies! The original price was $3.19 per bottle, but they were on special just this week! Talk about good timing!

I also scored this amazing copper beer bucket at Target for just $3 – a great addition to my growing props collection. And the plastic eggs that came with the egg cartons? My kids are gonna have a ball with those.

So, Target loot in hand, I went home and cooked up some 6 dozen eggs. Cooking in bulk always reminds me why I never want to go into the catering business. Peeling them was such a pain, and my house literally stunk like a chicken coop! Do you know what the secret to easy egg peeling is? Use old eggs. Seriously! The fresher the egg, the harder they are to peel. And do you think I remembered to buy eggs two weeks ago? NO. This girl, who knew the secret to easy-egg-peeling, bought FRESH eggs. I kid you not.


Now if you want to serve up deviled eggs vertical-style (stuffing them standing up instead of cutting them in half lengthwise), here’s what I learned: you need to slice off the top from the wide end of the egg. If you start from the narrow tip, you’re gonna lose half the egg before you reach enough of the yellow to be able to get it out. Once I sliced off the wide end, I squeezed gently on the whites and the yolk literally plops out. It even makes a “plopping” noise. Kind of funny!

Once I’ve separated my yolks from the whites, I go ahead and fill my food processor with the yolks, adding in some mayo, mustard, pickle relish, onion powder and salt. I give it a whirl and let it go until the mixture is nice and creamy. Then, I scoop the creamy filling into a ziploc bag and cut off the tip. I fill the whites with the yolks and top it with a bit of chopped green onion. Simple. Clean. And oh so yummy.

Deviled eggs, check. Egg cartons, check. Hot sauce, check.

Now the only thing left to do, was make a cute card – and it came to me just as I was putting the finishing touches on my crates. Why not use yellow and white card stock to make an egg-shaped card? I’m not a big fan of my handwriting so creating tags on the computer really works for me! Seriously, how cute are these?!

I hope you enjoyed my little peek into my family’s shalach manos! Wishing you and yours a truly EGGSELLENT PURIM!

If this post has induced a deviled eggs craving, I’ve got you covered! Check out this classic recipe, or try this pickled one!

And if you’d like to print your own Egg cards, download the template here (I reduced the size for the yolk portion of the card).

What did you make for shalach manos this year? Share your Purim ideas with me in the comments below!

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Beer Battered Salami Chips with Beer Mustard

Oh yes I did. I made SALAMI. ON. STEROIDS.

And I didn’t have much choice either. I mean, there’s pretty much no outdoing my drunken hasselback salami, so I had to go there. And by there I mean, the deep fryer.

Ever since I read about a not-so-well-known custom to eat salami on Purim (to commemorate the hanging of HAMAN…hanging….salami….get it?), I’ve been banging out salami recipes for the holiday. Truth be told, I have no idea if this is a real thing, or if I happened upon a practical joke, but regardless, this taking-salami-to-the-next-level challenge has been a blast.

And it’s so ironic because I literally hated salami growing up. My mom used to feed us salami sandwiches for lunch every Friday afternoon. She’d smear ketchup on rye and top it with thick slices of salami all wrapped up in a foil package so we could take it along as we played in the courtyard of our building. One at a time, we’d chuck those salami sandwiches down the incinerator, and my mom was none the wiser! Fast forward some 20+ years and here. I. am.

Now when I think about this recipe, I have to admit, it’s like the ultimate guy food. It’s got beer, salami and it’s fried. I mean, seriously, could you ask for anything more?

Apparently you can. Because, not only did I come up with the ultimate finger food, I even made a beer dipping sauce, just to take the whole Purim thing over the top. Because that’s the way I roll. Or hang, apparently.

I’ve never made mustard from scratch before so I was excited to give it a try. There’s something really interesting I discovered about mustard in this recipe creation process. When mustard is exposed to heat, it loses it’s potency. (Same goes for horseradish and wasabi by the way)! I learned this by trying the same mustard recipe two ways – one used a bit more beer so I reduced it over heat, and the other I blended in the food processor to thicken, using no heat. The results were astounding! The blended mustard is super hot, while the cooked mustard is mildly sweet with little heat. Pretty awesome, right?

When the crispy salami and beer mustard meet, it’s the ultimate marriage. And it’s not just any salami, by the way. I used my favorite brand, Abeles & Heymann, because after visiting their factory a few months ago, and watching the salami-making process with my own eyes, I know their salami is made with the highest quality ingredients from start to finish!

And I wouldn’t think of coating that salami in anything less than the perfect crispy batter – which is what you get from beer batter. It’s super light and crisp, and let’s not forget, easy! Beer batter is just flour and beer and that’s it. Because the salami is packed with flavor, I don’t add much else, but you can always add a pinch of cayenne for some heat, if you’d like.

Now that we have the ultimate party food, lets discuss the Jewish holiday of Purim for a second! The Purim celebration is based upon the biblical Book of Esther, which recounts the story of Queen Esther and how she saved the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of Haman (after whom the HAMANtasch is named). We celebrate with a festive feast (where these salami chips must make an appearance!), sending food gifts to family and friends, drinking until we don’t know the difference between the evil HAMAN and the righteous MOREDECHAI, and of course, dressing up as characters in the Purim story.

Growing up, Purim was always our favorite holiday, and you can imagine why. We got to dress up, deliver goodies to our friends and gorge on hamantaschen. As an adult, I love to put my own twist on the holiday with creative themes on my food gifts, fun twists on holiday cocktails and of course, crazy spins on salami!

If you live in Brooklyn, Queens or The Five Towns, be sure to check out my other salami recipe in the all new FYI Magazine! I’m so excited to join the team of FYI as the food editor, with a column for Fast & Fresh recipes as well as a Nutritious and Delicious section. This month, I’ve got a quick and easy salami quiche as well as a Persian twist on dried fruit truffles – perfect for your Purim feast or your Mishloach Manos.

Whether you choose to take on the Purim salami tradition or not, just remember to have fun and be joyous, because that’s what this holiday is all about! :) Happy Purim!

Salami making at the Abeles & Heymann factory with owner, Seth Levitt! This is the first and last time you will see me in a lab coat and hairnet ;)

This post is sponsored by Abeles & Heymann. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter

Other Salami Recipes:

drunken hasselback salami
baked salami chips with dijon dipping sauce

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