For
some time now I had in my head that I wanted to make a brownie that
involved halva, that delicious Middle Eastern sesame confection. I
researched. I pondered.And then when I got a jar of the brand-new Soomsoom Foods Tehina, I knew it was my sign to go for it. What I loved about using this particular sesame paste was the super smooth consistency, easy pour-ability and also the fantastic plastic container. Much less messy or tricky to open than the metal cans!
I used this recipe for Nutella Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies from Lovin’ in the Oven as the inspiration for my recipe.
While I chose to sprinkle the halva pieces on top of the brownies, you could also mix them into the brownie batter itself, or make a double batch of the brownies and do a layer of brownie filled with the tahini-cream cheese filling. The possibilities are endless.
Want to make this “semi-homemade” or pareve? Use some tried-and-true store-bought brownie mix and mix as directed. Add 1/4 cup chocolate chips to batter, and sprinkle 1/2 cup crumbled halva on top for another variation.
Continue reading.
Ingredients
This recipe has been adapted by 
One
of Israel’s well-known traditions is “the great trip to the East” that
young adults take after completing their army service—whether it’s to
“find themselves” in ashrams, lie on the beach in Goa, or smoke weed all
day far from their parents’ observing eyes. This tradition is one of
the reasons Israelis think they know all about India (the other being
the fact that Israelis think they know all about everything). But many
Israelis don’t know that Jews have a history in India that dates back to
antiquity.
This
is getting big - in Boston, anyway. Last week we took a look at
Thanksgivukkah, November's unusual calendar alignment of Thanksgiving
and Hanukkah, via Kitchen Kibitz: a new Jewish cuisine pop-up that's
throwing an early celebration on November 10. But we've just scratched
the surface of what's turning into quite a craze. Not only has Boston's
Combined Jewish Philanthropies launched an entire website dedicated to
the day, but it includes a new (hilarious) video with Mayor Menino
promising that November 28 will be proclaimed "Thanksgivukkah Day" in
Boston. As they say in the comments section: First!
The
delicious combinations are endless between the fall flavors of
Thanksgiving and the extravagance of Hanukkah, which begin this year on
the same day.
Einat
Admony is gearing up for a busy autumn. The Tel Aviv native and
longtime New York-based chef already runs two bustling eateries: Taïm, a
celebrated Greenwich Village falafel restaurant with a partner food
truck, and a Middle Eastern trattoria in SoHo called Balaboosta, which
does wonderful things like top-grilled lamb chops with Persian lime
sauce, and nestle-fried olives in a pool of creamy labneh.
Jamie
Geller has been described as the “kosher Rachael Ray” because of her
propensity for crafting approachable, get-me-out-of-the-kitchen-quickly
recipes. But the similarities don’t end there: Like the woman who made
30-minute meals a major brand, Geller has created a large media
presence, albeit in the kosher world. She founded and is chief creative
officer of Kosher Media Network, which includes JoyofKosher.com and Joy
of Kosher With Jamie Geller magazine (which merged with Bitayavon last
year), as well as JDeal and JBlasts—two Jewish-centric sites her company
acquired—plus JGives, BuyIsraelWeek, and MetroImma. She has sold close
to 60,000 cookbooks and counts 30,000 subscribers to the magazine.
Ashkenazic
coffee cake, most often made with sour cream, is a dish with a history
going back to 17th century Eastern Europe. Recipes for this pastry have
changed over time. Though the original Jewish coffee cakes called for
coffee as one of the main ingredients, today most such cakes are perfect
partners for a hot cop of joe, but are totally caffeine-free.
Sauteed Cabbage - Serves 6
I
have never met a homemade challah I didn't like. There is something
undeniably cozy and inviting about warm, fresh bread on the Shabbat
table. Few other tastes can rival this.
While
chickpeas--with their tiny stature and unassuming flavor--maintain a
humble persona, their significance throughout history commands serious
respect. One of the earliest plants to be domesticated for human use,
chickpeas were first planted along with wheat, barley, lentils, and
other ancient grains and legumes in the Fertile Crescent some 10-12,000
years ago. Fittingly, chickpeas have long been a staple of Middle
Eastern cuisine, found in everything from stews and savory pies to
fritters to spreads
It
happens like clockwork. Here in Connecticut, Rosh Hashanah is
generally warm and sunny and by Yom Kippur the nights are downright
chilly.
Usually,
the sight of a root vegetable other than potatoes sends my kids running
and screaming from the kitchen. But the beet claims a special place in
our house whenever I make borscht.
The
burger was created by harvesting stem cells from a portion of cow
shoulder muscle that were multiplied in petri dishes to form tiny strips
of muscle fiber. About 20,000 of the strips were needed to create the
five-ounce burger, which was financed partially by Google founder Sergey
Brin and unveiled by Mark Post of Maastricht University in the
Netherlands.
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. 
The
scent of barbecue brings a flood of memories rushing back to me… memories of
family and friends, some now departed, and the fun we had at my great uncle’s
cattle ranch in the rolling hills of San Luis Obispo, CA. I have farmers on both
sides of my family, and my childhood was full of Santa Maria-style barbecue
cookouts. Uncle Dennis and his friends would stand over a huge iron oak-filled
fire pit, slowly smoking the meat till it was tender and perfectly done. Aunt
Pauline would make vats of ranch beans and salad. She’d spread French bread with
copious amounts of garlic butter. Just before the meal, Uncle Dennis would throw
the bread onto the fire pit till it soaked up the smoky oak flavor and grill
marks were seared in. With the scent of garlic bread and barbecue in the air,
we’d dig into the feast. 
Like Justice Potter Stewart, I cannot definitively say
what constitutes food porn, but I know it when I see it. Food porn isn’t erotic
in a traditional romantic sense (Although South Park aired a 2010 episode about
it in which Randy gets a little too involved with the Food Network). Rather,
it’s the glamorization of food with images—and thanks to Instagram and other
social networking platforms, it’s become a colloquial phrase. Capitalizing on
that trend are two 24-year-old University of Colorado grads with their new
website, MrFoodPorn. 
Crunch Topping: 
This fruit dessert is a wonderful alternative to apple crisp. Made with fresh plums it is sure to wow your guests.
I
like to say that baking is chemistry, and gluten-free baking is a science. 
I can’t remember the day I became aware of herring. It
would be like remembering the moment I knew there were such things as trees or
hands. Nor can I pinpoint the first time I took note of my father’s Saturday
morning herring routine. But I do know that by the age of consciousness, I could
expect Saturday mornings to unfold this way: My father would get dressed, go
downstairs, open the refrigerator door, take out a shallow plastic container,
and carefully open the lid to remove three or four pieces of pink, shimmering,
oily herring, which would slide and wriggle onto his plate as if they’d just
been plucked from chilly waters off Scandinavia. And just as consistent as my
father’s routine was the way my mother, my siblings, and I would react: with a
combination of horror, disgust, and mimed gestures of gagging. 
I can remember passing through the Hasidic
neighborhood of Me'a She'arim in Jerusalem as a teenager and first seeing the
mahogany-brown wedges of Yerushalmi (Jerusalem) Kugel. 
In all my years living in and visiting Israel, I never
tired of the crisp, freshly breaded and fried cutlets known as schnitzel.
Adapted by immigrants from the classic Viennese Wiener Schnitzel made with veal,
the Israeli version originally featured turkey, which was much more plentiful at
the onset of the Jewish State than beef, or even chicken.