Chocolate Challah

A chocolate twist on an old standard

If you're a baker-at-heart who loves to play around with fancy measuring spoons and flour sifters, you may want to shield your eyes from this recipe. We'll admit it: this one's more for the folks who are better at buying food than making it, which is totally ok, especially when you're talking about candy bars and delicious breads. What it lacks in technique, it makes up for in sheer Turducken-style ingenuity. And caramel.

Recipe provided by Yosef I. Abramowitz:

Put two Milky Way bars in the middle of whatever favorite challah-dough recipe you like. Packaged, prepared frozen challahs, like those sold at many supermarkets, work well. Defrost and slice them down the middle lengthwise to make an opening in which to put the chocolate.

Bake. Serve warm.

If the Milky Way Challah is already baked and cooled off, it can be microwaved for 60 seconds before Shabbat candle-lighting and motzi, the blessing over the challah.

If you need a classic challah recipe, try this one.  

Matzah Balls

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Sinkers or floaters? That was the question always asked of Grandma Minnie's kneidels [matzah balls] at the first seder. Would her always delicious matzah balls sink to the bottom of her wonderfully rich chicken soup, or would they float delicately over the surface. The answer to the question was never certain; some years they sank with a slightly chewy texture and other years they floated with a melt-in-your-mouth lightness. What causes the difference? It comes from the ratio of eggs to matzah meal and the amount of air whipped into the eggs. Too much oil added to the mix will make them sink, as will removing the cover while they cook.

Some of you may like "floaters" and others may like "sinkers." Below you will find some of my favorite matzah ball recipes and some that have been sent or given to me over the years.

Continue here several wonderful recipes and helpful hints on making your perfect knaidel.

Roasted Chicken

In theory we would love to imagine and create new menus with fresh ingredients and ideas every week for Shabbat. But the fact is, it's really not so easy! Shabbat comes around exactly once a week, never soon enough, but always sooner than expected. This versatile recipe for roast chicken is the sort of meal you can either throw together in a pinch or re-invent with every chicken you make.

This version is autumnal, but you can substitute in any vegetables and spices that you like. Zucchini or other summer squash, peppers, any winter squash, mushrooms, celery, carrots, even brussels sprouts are all good options depending on what you have on hand and what's in season. And feel free to experiment with herbs, either dry or fresh. The only mandatory item is the chicken.

Chicken is often the center of the Shabbat dinner, and with good reason. For generations Jews have been making variations of this recipe to serve to their families on Friday nights. Both simple and adaptable, this recipe is a staple in Jewish kitchens around the world.

Do yourself a favor--always keep a chicken in the freezer. If your pantry, fridge, and cupboards are basically bare, you can still make a whole meal out of that chicken.

Continue reading.