Cooking Inspired Part 1

I've been using this cookbook a lot lately, even though it isn't so new so I decided to do another review.

This cookbook is a compilation of recipes from kosherscoop.com. Most, if not all, of the recipes are posted there. Most of the recipes are from Estee Kafra who has an annoying habit of using double negatives, but there are other contributors as well. Unless I say a recipe is from someone else, you can assume it's Estee's.

I love Estee's simple cooking philosophy (most of her recipe are easy and delicious, some are also healthful) and found a lot of recipes in this book that I liked. I own Estee's 2 other book and use them pretty regularly.

The cookbook is really gorgeous. There's a beautiful photo for almost every recipe (and AFAIK Estee does all the pictures herself), the book is the perfect size- not too big to be bulky on the kitchen counter or not fit on your bookshelf, but not too small that it's hard to read. It comes with a bookmark which I LOVE. The pages in the book are thick and glossy and the pages generally stay put when you turn them and don't turn back.

1. Introduction-
A page telling you about kosherscoop
Estee explains why she wrote the cookbook
Estee explains different cooking techniques
A cookbook key

2. Appetizers
The empanadas looked like they would be yummy. I like my mom's recipe so never tried them.
The bistro mushroom salad looks like a yummy salad to make for yom tov (mushrooms cooked in wine with sauted baby bok choy and pastrami over romaine with a balsamic dressing). I made a lazy version of the recipe once and it was yummy. The dressing does have some sugar in it.
Savory mushroom squares- puff pastry dough topped with caramelized onions and goat cheese sauteed mushrooms. For sure tastes heavenly, but I probably will never make it because of my aversion to puff pastry.
The section has a lot of options for dips also. Dips don't interest me so I skipped them, but they're there.

3. Brunch- Estee has a lot of great options here.
Eggs:
"Diet" roasted vegetable shakshouka- basically a mostly egg white omelette with veggies and tomato sauce. Estee seems to be a low carb dieters.
Egg "muffins"- basically scrambled eggs with veggies baked in muffins tins
Inspired quiche- It looked good but I have a recipe that's delicious that doesn't use any mayo, while Estee's recipe does.
Granola- There were 2 options, they're probably good, but I love the recipe I currently use so won't be trying them. (Granola is an awesome yogurt topping BTW)
Sheet pan pizza- Estee gives 2 dough options ww or white. She also offers a standard pizza topping or a white cheese topping. She spikes up the pizza sauce with some seasonings. I like her ideas and maybe one day will try them.
Busy mom Creamy pasta sauce- Estee gives a basic recipe for a tomato cream sauce that can be mixed up in minutes. It doesn't call for heavy cream (and I love that most or all of Estee's recipes avoid heavy cream). It makes a nice amount and the leftovers can be frozen!!!
Zucchini parmigiana- Eggplant parmesan with zucchini instead. The zucchini is fried. I wonder how it'll taste baked. I find this recipe interesting since I dislike eggplant (or think I do) but love zucchini. (Chai Frishman)
GF Roasted vegetable lasagna- a lasagna with lots of added veggies, rice flour noodles and a ricotta/feta/mozzarella cheese filling. The veggie roasting part is putting me off from making this recipe. I would probably use regular lasgna noodles if I ever make this. (Daphna Rabonovitch)
Four cheese and mushroom lasgna- I would love someone to make this for me, but the hard to find ingredients and many steps turn me off from making it myself. (Daphna Rabonovitch)

4. Breads- a lot of her bread recipes call for seeds to be added in or call for interesting flours.
Water challah- very similar to Reb. Kanievsky's recipe
Gluten free oat challah- I am not GF, but there's a hamotzi challah option for GF eaters that can tolerate oats. (Sharon Matten)
Honey quinoa rolls- these are part ww and can be made dairy. It doesn't call for any white sugar or any weird ingredients (besides quinoa). it sounds like it would taste good.

5. Soup- Estee doesn't believe in soup mix although she sometimes offers it as an option in parenthesis
My family favorite soup- This soup is so easy and tasty and is full of veggies! I made it today and got a HUGE pot (I froze some). It's really, really good and calls for very basic veggies (carrots, celery, onion or leek, peas).
Squash pears soup- butternut squash with pears, cinnamon and milk/coconut milk. The flavor profile sounds similar to the sweet potato soup that I adore from the Secret Restaurant Recipes cookbook. I want to try this.
Mushroom barley soup- Levana adds lots of veggies (turnip+ parsnip which I usually don't see in mushroom barley soup + the usual onion, garlic, mushroom, carrots, celery) to her soup and even offers a GF option. She adds thyme, bay leaves and dill for flavor which is also not so usual. (Levana Kirshenbaum)
Creamy Carrot and Parsnip soup- Garlic, leeks, parsnips, carrots and coconut milk with some spices.

6. Salad- Estee is not very into lettuce based salad.
Spinach, mandarin and almond salad- If I would be bothered again to check spinach, I would probably give this salad a go. It calls for fresh baby spinach/red onion/bell pepper/grated carrot/craisins/canned oranges (I would probably use fresh) and slivered almonds. Dressing is olive oil/honey/vinegar/orange juice/dijon mustard (BTW orange juice is AWESOME in salad dressing). (Norene Giletz)
Sweet and salty salad- spinach/sweet potato (roasted with maple syrup)/feta/parsley. There isn't much of a dressing on this salad. If I would make it, I would skip the maple syrup- sweet potatoes are sweet enough IMO.
Pan-roasted pear and goat cheese salad-A patchke of a salad that I would love for someone to make for me (you need to make 2 bowls+ a frying pan dirty). (Shani Malka)
Summer salad- easy seasonal summer salad made with oranges/romaine/radicchio/scallions/goat cheese/granola (doesn't sound very summery to me...but it probably tastes good...). Dressing is super simple- just orange juice and sesame oil- I must try that dressing ASAP.
Winter salad- romaine/apple/grapes/walnuts/feta (grapes are more summer than winter to me but wtvr...). Dressing is mayo/maple syrup/white wine vinegar/sugar. If I make this salad, I'll be using a different dressing, the one the recipe calls for is too sweet.
Asian Pasta salad- Spaghetti with a lot of veggies. You can easily use ww pasta for this since the soy sauce/honey/sesame oil/garlic dressing hides the darker color and masks the ww flavor. I made this and it came out great. I loved that it calls for so many different veggies. I used ww pasta so this recipe and no one even realized.
Quinoa Pilaf- sounds easy and tasty. My only complaint is that it calls for a bit of sugar along (and it already has craisins in it...)
Whole wheat pasta salad with tomatoes and feta- It's basically ww pasta with roasted tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, basil and feta.  I made this a few times, it's yummy and easy.
Creamy pasta salad- peas/pasta/ricotta/lemon/olive oil/garlic
Asian purple cabbage salad- cabbage/peas/scallions/water chesnuts/almonds dressing with olive oil/vinegar/honey/soy sauce
Classic french vinaigrette- this recipe is virtually identical to my go to salad dressing that I came up with. It's an easy and tasty dressing. I love that it doesn't use any sugar or mayo. (Daphna Rabonovitch)

To purchase  this cookbook on Amazon click here. This cookbook is available in a Kindle version which you can read FREE if you have Kindle Unlimited (which Amazon allows you to try free for the first 30 days).
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Recipe Testing: Gorgeous Green Beans (The Best of the Family Table)

 Here's a link to the recipe I tested: http://kosherscoop.com/2014/12/gorgeous-green-beans/

These green beans are super yummy. I already made them 3 times! I've made similar recipes before, but they don't compare to these. The apricots add a whole new dimension of flavor.

Variation to make life simpler: I tossed all the ingredients together on a baking sheet and baked them in the oven on 400 instead of making them on the stove. I made them on the stove and in the oven and it easier and yummier in the oven.

These green are heavenly!

To buy the cookbook this recipe is from on amazon click here.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Recipe Testing: Hot Pretzel Rolls (The Best of The Family Table)

1. Hot Pretzel Rolls- They aren't really rolls, more like homemade hot pretzels. It looks yummy though. (Faigy and Chanie)
I made the pretzel rolls- I 1/4 the recipe and got 4 pretzels (small ones though). I used 1/2 whole wheat flour. I needed to add more water since the dough was dry, so next time I'll start with even less flour. It wasn't messy, but maybe it's because I didn't make so many.
They didn't come out pretty, but they tasted good :)
I think I will be trying these again by Mishloach Manos (maybe as a hot dog bun instead of rolls).

Fresh Hot Pretzels

To buy the cookbook this recipe is from on amazon click here.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Recipe Testing: Secret Restaurant Recipes

In addition to reviewing the fabulous cookbooks in my collection, I will also be reviewing recipes that I tested from the cookbooks that I reviewed (I will try to post pictures as well).

Recipes I tested and loved from Kosher Restaurant Recipes:
Sesame chicken (pg. 148- Kosher Chinese Express)
I've been to Kosher Chinese Express before and have enjoyed their sesame chicken. This recipe tastes almost exactly like it. I didn't double fry the chicken and used the lite soy sauce the recipe called for instead of making the a brown sauce like the restaurant does (Leah and Victoria explain how it's made in the sidebar). It was a bit of a patchke because of the frying. I like that it didn't call for nearly as much sugar as most sesame chicken recipes do (maybe because it's authentic).

Sweet potato soup with meatballs (Citron and Rose- pg. 72)
This soup recipe was worth the price of the entire cookbook IMO. It's very easy, fairly health and tastes heavenly. I made this soup twice so far; I doubled the recipe the 2nd time I made it and froze some of it. It froze very well. The soup also tastes amazing topped with some grated cheese. If you make it with cheese, you can skip the meatballs and then the recipe is even simpler.

Here's a picture of the soup that I made:

To purchase the cookbook these recipes are from on Amazon click here,
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Best of the Family Table Part 2

6. Soups- Soups- Most were heavy on soup mixes so I skipped them.
What I liked:
Hearty Mushroom Barley- It calls for leftover shabbos roast/cholent meat and the 1 T. of soup mix can easily be replaced with 1 c. of leftover chicken soup. Great way to repurpose leftovers. (Chanie)
Butternut Basil soup- butternut squash/carrots/zucchini/onion/garlic with some herbs. Cook until soft and then blend. Sounds easy!
End of chapter features menu suggestions for winter
7. Poultry- Many recipes heavily relied on added sugar (Chicken does NOT need ¾ c. of sugar plus honey- REALLY!!!!). I did find a few that I liked. There weren't many chicken recipes that were fried which I also thought was good.
What I liked:
Saucy Onion Chicken- So easy and sounds like it'll be yummy. Saute onion until golden, put in baking pan with chicken, spices, honey or apricot jam and soy sauce/teriyaki sauce. Bake. (Rachel Ginsberg)
Breaded Chili Chicken- Dip chicken drumsticks into a honey/chili sauce mixture and then bread/corn flake crumbs. Bake. Sounds like it'll attract hot-sauce-loving boys. (Brynie)
Balsamic Grilled Chicken- Cutlets marinated in balsamic vinegar and some spices. Easy, light and no added sugar! (IME men/boys don't love Balsamic vinegar so it's more of a girl's dish to me) (Brynie)
Crispy Chicken Nuggets with Mustard Dipping Sauce- Chicken nuggets marinated in soy milk/vinegar (I'm guessing it's a parve sub for buttermilk??) and then breadcrumbs. The nuggets are baked (+1). There's a honey mustard dipping sauce which you could leave out if you want. (Brynie)
Spicy Sesame Chicken- Chicken cutlets marinated with soy sauce and spices and then breaded and baked(!!!) There's a sweet apricot dipping sauce that you may or may not want to make (ketchup works too!). (Rivky)
Zesty Chicken Saute- Chicken cutlets marinated with some spices and then sauted with onions and some light seasoning. Sounds like a good dinner to make when you have no time. (Faigy)
Menu suggestions for Shabbos
8. Meat- Same problem as with poultry with many recipes using tons of sugar. The recipes that don't call for added sugar, use wine which I don't use much in cooking so no specific recipe appealed to me from this section. Estee Kafra has a burger recipe in this section that looks good but it was also printed in Cooking Inspired. It looks good but couldn't they have put a new recipe?
There's a bit about cholent in the end of this section if you like reading about that.
Menu suggestions for Tishrei
9. Sides- I basically skip any side that adds oil/mayo/sugar or any sort of white flour crust to good, yummy veggies. There still were some creative sides that fit my criteria.
Gorgeous Green Beans- Frozen green beans with sesame oil/almonds/garlic/teriyaki sauce. I've seen similar recipes but this one is a bit different and I want to try it. (Chanie) Here's a link to the recipe: http://kosherscoop.com/2014/12/gorgeous-green-beans/ (Chanie)
You can read more about this recipe (and see a photo) here.
Colorful couscous- Israeli couscous with roasted beets and some seasoning. The picture looks good! (Esther)
Nutty Noodles- Spaghetti with vegetables and an asian style peanut sauce. Looks like it's up my alley. (Faigy and Chanie)
Stir Fried Rice- Great way to use up leftover rice. Basically rice, veggies, eggs and seasoning- like all other stir fried rice recipes.
Menu suggestions for supper
10. Dairy- Heavy on the crusts and pastas like most frum dairy recipe are.
Pistachio Pasta- pasta tossed with pistachios, olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, scallions and parmesan cheese. Sounds like umami on a plate (I would probably add mushrooms too!) (Rivky)
Spinach Pasta Bake- A sorta ziti with shells instead of ziti, some spinach thrown in and eggs instead of cottage/ricotta cheese. Looked interesting. KBD teens had a similar recipe.
Menu Suggestions for Chanukah.
11. Baking- What I liked: there are some "lighter" options with applesauce subbed for some of the oil and whole wheat flour for some of the white flour. I think unsweetened applesauce is better than refined oils, personally, so I was glad to see some recipes like that.
What I didn't like: A lot of recipes called for rich's whip or margarine which are big no nos to me. Estee Kafra also has another recycled recipe here :(
Recipes I want to try:
Marble cake- 100% whole wheat and uses some apple sauce instead of some of the oil. The glaze uses oil instead of margarine. It sounds like a yummy cake. (Brynie)
Almond Cake Deluxe- This cake is similar to the marble cake. It is topped with an almond streusel and then an orange glaze (that I would personally skip). Uses ww flour and no margarine. (Brynie)
Double Chocolate Pecan Muffins- Brynie sells these. They're ww with very little oil. The title sounds so unhealthy, but the recipe only calls for 1/4 c. of sugar (for 9 muffins). You can top them with a pecan streusel or skip it to make it more of a breakfast food.
Joy Devar has a parve fudge recipe that looks interesting.
Gala Two Tone Cookies- Two-toned Milchig cookies that just have a gorgeous presentation. The picture of it made me not turn the page. You can make them spiral, striped or checkerboard. (Esther)
Menu Suggestions to send to a Simcha

12. Desserts- Many relied on whips/margarine or were major patchkeing. If I could pick something for someone to make me, I would have a hard time choosing but there isn't anything I personally really want to make.
One recipe that looks good and easy:
Chocolate peanut chew- peanut butter/chocolate chips/corn syrup/rice krispies/water/peanuts. This is used as a base for more elaborate desserts, but if I were in the mood for an easy unhealthy dessert, I would make this plain.
Menu suggestions for junior tasters

13. Dairy Desserts- Cheesecakes/cheese balls/cheese danishes etc. Again nothing that I personally wanted to try, but if someone offered to make me something from that section, I would have a lot to choose from :D
Menu suggestions for Shavuos

To buy this cookbook on amazon click here.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Best of the Family Table Part 1

The Best of the Family Table is a compilation of recipes from Mishpacha's Family Table recipe insert. Many of the recipes featured in this book are also available on Kosherscoop.com. This cookbook is fairly new, maybe a few weeks old. I haven't tried many recipes from it yet. When I did try a recipe, it will be bolded in the review.

Contributors include:
Brynie Greisman- Many of the recipes I liked are from her. She's one of the main writers for the Family Table, I think. She lives in Yerushalayim and has a catering business. She tries to healthify recipes up, which I really like and many of her recipes aren't complicated- 2 points for Brynie!
Estee Kafra- There weren't many recipes from her in the book and the ones that were included were already printed in Cooking Inspired. I was disappointed to see that.
Chanie and Faigy- They were the editors of Dining In Again. A lot of their recipes had soup mix/mayo/lots of sugar, but they had nice ideas
Rivky Kleiman- Editor of the Bais Yaakov cookbook. I don't have the cookbook in front of me and don't remember off hand what her recipes were like.
Esther- She has an online craft store and blog. She lives in Lakewood.
Joy Devor- She was Jamie Geller's recipe tester for her first book. She has a private catering company. I found her recipe to be more interesting and not "heimish" at all.
Clara Fatal- She writes for the Israeli version of Mishpacha's Family Table (I think it's called Teimot or something I have to check...) Most of her recipes used Israeli ingredients (ex. 2.2 lb. of flour, Israeli soft white cheese etc.) There weren't a lot of recipes from her though. She seems to be the Efrat Libroind of the Mishpacha.
Tami Phillip and Sara Wasserman- Also from the Hebrew Mishpacha. I don't remember any of their recipe off the top of my head so there probably weren't that many from them.
Devoiry Ginsberg- She was co-editor of the Silver Spoon with Leah Schapira.
Sarah Faygie- She was originally a freelance writer about health and wellness until she was picked up by Mishpacha. She lives in Atlanta

At the end of every section theres 2-4 pieces of writing about food or cooking that sort of relates to that section (ex. the bread section has an article about Hafrashas Challah)  or just some useful kitchen info (how to tell when fruit is ripe, differences between cuts of meat etc.)
There is also a 2 page spread of menu suggestions for a chag/occasion at the end of every section.

Cookbook is divided into several sections
1.Meet the chef- I introduced them to you a little but the book has more info. The chefs are also asked a bunch of questions like what are their best kept kitchen secret, favorite/least favorite food etc.
2. Breads and Spreads
What I liked: Brynie has a great whole wheat challah recipe that uses enough flour for Hafrashas Challah and can be made 100% whole wheat. I really want to try it.
Hot Pretzel Rolls- They aren't really rolls, more like homemade hot pretzels. It looks yummy though. (Faigy and Chanie)
Check out the review for the recipe here.
What didn't interest me: The dips- I'm just not a big dipper and they just seem like unnecessary work for me.
Edible Canape Spoons- If you're the type that likes to patchke, you'll like this. This 'recipe' shows you how to make edible spoons from wonton wrappers. There are optional fillings and I feel the same way about fillings as I do about dips. (Devoiry)
3.Appetizers
What I liked: Savory Chicken Skewers with Berry Salad- This could probably be made into a full meal. You marinate cutlets and then skewer and grill them. You serve them on top of a salad with romaine, kiwi, pomegranate, craisins and oranges. The dressing calls berry flavored tea to bring out the berriness in the salad. Only issue I have with this recipe is that the dressing calls for 1/4 c, of sugar. It seems to serve a lot of people though. (Rivky)
What I didn't care for: Many of the recipe calls for puffed pastry/wonton wrappers that automatically rule out a recipe for me. I also didn't like that some recipe called for a lot of sugar- it's an appetizer not a dessert.
End of chapter includes menu suggestion for sheva brachos (from the whole cookbook not just appetizers)
4. Fish
I'm not a big fish eater but a lot of the recipes did look yummy. My main complaint was about all that added sugar (you will be hearing this from me again and again and again :) ) 
What I liked: Grilled salmon with Mango Avocado Salsa- Salmon is grilled with a mixture of olive oil and maple syrup,served with a mango avocado salsa and topped with an orange hollandaise sauce (Devoiry)
Teriyaki Salmon Chunks with Zesty Mushrooms- Salmon is marinated in a teriyaki marinade, skewered, grilled and served with mushrooms that were stir fried with onion/garlic/soy sauce. (Tami- one of the Israeli ladies)
Orange Fish Fillets- White fish baked in an orange flavored sauce. Looks easy and yummy. (Rivky)
End of chapter includes menu suggestion for Purim.
5. Salads- most of the dressings featured a lot of sugar or mayo- both ingredients that I try to avoid in salad
What I liked: Flatbread salad- salad with romaine/cherry tomatoes/cucumbers/flatbread crackers (which I personally would skip but wtvr)
Dressing is made from garlic/sugar (only a tablespoon though for 6-8 servings)/oil/mustard/soy sauce/vinegar. (Brynie) Includes suggestion on how to 'lighten' up the dressing.
Honeycomb Crunch Salad- Dressing made from lemon juice/honey/mustard. Salad made with romaine/pear/pomegranate seeds/orange slices/sugar snap peas. It's topped with the sugary crunch (literally it calls for sugar, honey AND corn syrup). If you want to cut the sugar, skip the crunch. (Faygie and Chanie)
Marinated Chickpea Salad- a very basic salad with basic vegetables and a basic dressing most people have on hand always. Can be thrown together in minutes. (Chanie)
London Broil Mushroom Salad- Salad is similar to the flatbread salad except that it contains mushroom and is topped with slices of grilled London broil. It also has no flat bread. (Chanie)
Rainbow Quinoa Salad- quinoa with colored peppers/pine nuts/ craisins/black beans/parsley. Dressing calls for vinegar/garlic/honey or sugar and some spices. Sounds basic and easy. (Sarah Faygie)
Blueberry Salad- One of those yummy salads that have fruit and nuts. The dressing is milchig and among other things calls for blueberries and vanilla yogurt (Shavuos maybe??) (Faygie and Chanie)
Soy Glazed Portobello Mushrooms- I love mushrooms and this is just a basic balsamic/soy sauce/sesame oil glaze (Rivky)
End of chapter includes suggestions for summer

To buy this cookbook on amazon click here.

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Secret Restaurant Recipes

Secret Restaurant Recipes by Victoria Dwek and Leah Schapira is a fairly new cookbook featuring recipes from kosher restaurants (simplified for the home cook when necessary). I love the idea of the cookbook but was worried that the recipes would be too difficult or time consuming.

Unlike the other cookbooks by Leah and Victoria, this cookbook is hardcover. The layout is nice and very similar to their previous cookbooks. There is a beautiful photo with every recipe.

More about the book:
Most of the mains are fried. As a somewhat health conscious person, this bothered me, but it IS restaurant food. One restaurant puts red 40 in their corn beef recipe to make it more appealing, which really turned me off.

Most of the parve desserts heavily featured whip or non dairy creamer. Again, not surprising, but annoying for me. One day when I have lots of spare time, perhaps I will try subbing coconut milk in those recipes and see how it goes. Many of the recipes also call for egg yolks (not one or two either) and I hate having to use up the whites so for now I'm skipping them.

I loved the salad section and wanted to taste almost every salad featured. Unfortunately for me, I don't usually have the patience to roast some veggies and dice up some raw ones to make a salad. The dairy recipes also were very appealing to me.

There are a few hard to find ingredients used, but the kosher groceries will probably have them in stock pretty soon (ex. sun dried tomato paste, porcini mushroom powder). Victoria and Leah have a two page spread in the beginning of the book about the secret ingredients in a chef's pantry.

Each recipe features the name of the restaurant its from, the restaurant's location. the name of the chef and a short piece about the restaurant. It was interesting to read about the background of so many different kosher restaurants.

Check out the recipes I tested from this cookbook here.

To purchase the cookbook on Amazon click here,
Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.

Welcome!

I am a kosher cookbook junkie and have shelves full of cookbooks.

I decided to share the wealth by reviewing my favorite cookbooks on this blog. I will also try to feature recipe reviews from my cookbook collection as well. If there's a specific cookbook or recipe you would like featured, please feel free to leave a comment.