Pam R

Yo, Chris. What did you do with the steaks? I keep it simple. Kosher salt, black pepper. I won't turn down some mushrooms sauteed with garlic.

Welcome to the eG Forums CapnCook. Your menu sounds delicious. More information on the Chinese Chicken Soup please.

Bruce, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed your blog. Thanks! One quick question for you - Has Mrs. Crab's being on WW influenced what you cook and how you shop - or is she on her own?

Most of the chocolate rugelach I've had use cocoa, sugar and butter/margarine. You just make a paste and spread it on. I would try it with a paste, and then sprinkle some grated chocolate over it before cutting and rolling.

My favorite, completely vegetarian soup, is Carrot Dill (which I may have talked about before - I'm not sure). Saute 1 part sliced onions in olive oil with salt and pepper until soft. Add 2 parts carrots, peeled and sliced and cover with vegetable stock. Simmer until soft, puree, and add a lot of chopped Dill. That's it. It has an amazing buttery flavour, but uses no butter.

We used to make a lot of Lemon Napoleon Cakes for pastry tables (even in the restaurant when it was open). For some reason it wasn't a problem to cut them - I'm trying to remember why. We also used a serrated knife - dipped in hot water and wiped clean. I also think it's important to let it sit in the cooler to set up long enough before trying to cut it. Yes, some of the puff will soften a bit, but if the puff layers are thick enough, it's not a problem.

Oy, do I have thoughts! There are a few things to keep in mind - if you are under kosher supervision, then everything you bake in the bakery must be kosher. You can't use equipment for kosher items that has been used with non-kosher items. As well, you need to discuss whether or not this will be a 'dairy' bakery or a 'parve' bakery. If they want Challah and rye bread, then I would assume that they want it to be parve (no dairy products allowed) so that it can be eaten with a meat meal. It depends on the levels of the kashrut in the community and what they want - they may very well allow you to bake both dairy and parve items in the same ovens - but they may not. They may have issues with you being open, or in the kitchen working on Saturday. There are lots of topics around about traditional Jewish baking and other foods - as well as topics about kashrut. I'd suggest taking a look at some of them. Kosher baking is easy to do, but you need to understand all of the laws and make sure you're on the same page as the people you're dealing with. I have to run, but I'm happy to answer questions on Kosher issues - as I'm sure many others are. This could be a really exciting opportunity for you - good luck!

My father's entire repertoire (age 70): Salami and Eggs (only at Passover - otherwise you're on your own) Chicken Soup Chopped Liver French Fries The Best Garlic Brisket He doesn't even know how to BBQ. I think it's a sign of the times. He grew up on a farm where the 'men' were out in the fields and his mother was in the kitchen churning her own butter. When they moved to the city, his mother had all these conveniences at her finger tips (you know, she could buy butter) so there was no need for him to help out. Other than a year away at university, he went from my Baba's house to living with my mother - and she did the cooking. He's very good at peeling vegetables for you, but the dishes he makes on his own are very limited.

Welcome to the eGullet Forums tillie baker. Check out this post on the last page that shows the results of baking it in a bread pan (with another inverted on top, I believe). Several of us have tried using rye and other flours in our bread - to mixed results (you'll have to go through the topic to find them...). I used 1 cup of rye to 2 cups of white bread flour - enjoyed the bread, but it was a little heavy. The caraway seeds I added were great though. Good luck.

One of my favorite things is a kugle made with egg noodles AND button mushrooms. High-heat roasted mushrooms that were tossed in a little olive oil, garlic, S&P - fantastic.

Button mushrooms. Remember them? I think they're underappreciated - these days it's all about the morel, oyster, lobster, etc.

Michelle - the chicken sounds really good. What kind of seasoning do you use? It is soooooo cold here. I don't want to scare anybody, but when I woke up this morning it was -37 degrees not factoring in the wind. So for tonight, I'm making a big pot of soup with barley, marrow bones, flanken and lots of vegetable. Challah to mop up the bowls. Shabbat Shalom!

Miriam - my comments were based on things that I've observed in the store. I respect your point of view, I just wanted to point out that there were other views. I also have several customers (that I know of) who keep kosher only because it's important to the person they've married. It makes things easier for them, I guess. In the store I stock fake crab and scallops - and have had several requests for fake shrimp. The crab is very popular (I think it's mostly for sushi). Of course I sell tofu sour cream, cream cheese, cheese slices, parve margarine (5-6 varieties) and parve soup bases. I have not received a single request for fake bacon. And I don't stock any fake bacon items (though some of those bissli flavours come close ). But, I sell a lot of beef fry - so maybe that fills the void.

A market we haven't really discussed for kosher imitation items, but one I see all the time, is the newly religious and those that have converted. These are people who embrace kashrut more than they did in their past lives and don't want to give up what they've always enjoyed. Now, the imitation items don't generally taste like the real thing (I mean, really) - but they taste enough like the real thing that people will settle for them.

That's the best advice there is. We've done this with each of our kitchens and it really is the best way to figure out what you have room for and where you should put things.

Jack, I wouldn't say sometimes. It's very political and very costly.

I couldn't agree with you more - but of course, there are others who don't. A couple of years ago I was doing a cooking demo in Toronto to promote my cookbook. It was at a large grocery store that had a massive kosher section with a kosher butcher and a kitchen where they were preparing kosher foods. The place was under the supervision of COR - Canada's most prevalent hechsher. An employee was given a shopping list for me and gathered everything together. It was the first demo in their kosher teaching kitchen - so they didn't even have salt and pepper. The rabbi arrived and was going through everything and didn't like one of the products. I can't remember what it was, but I remember looking at the label and saying something like "It's under OU - how can it not be acceptable??". He wouldn't let me use it - we had to find an alternative. There will always be groups who don't accept certain hechshers - even OU. There are few people who won't buy COR here (in Winnipeg) - but there is still a group who would prefer it if I brought my chicken in from Montreal (under Montreal Kosher) than from Toronto. And some who won't buy any chicken unless it's slaughtered under Lubavitch supervision.

My experiences are very different. I've used suppliers over the years (still do on occasion) and more often than not, ingredients are less expensive at a wholesale club or even the grocery store. Randi, I can't really think of suggestions that haven't already been offered up to you. We used to do a weekly dinner at a seniors residence and the food for the local (kosher) meals on wheels - but we had more money to work with and fewer restrictions. The only things I can think to add at the moment are meatballs (chicken, beef, pork, a combo.) in a variety of sauces - and something like a kielbasa or other sausage (sorry for my ignorance of non-kosher meat prices, but I'm assuming this would work) cooked up with a bunch of onions and peppers. Good luck!

While the tofutti ice cream involves the same issue, I think we'd be better off talking about items that would actually be used together. An everyday occurrence in Jewish homes (orthodox or not) around the world would be parve margarine (coffee creamer, sour cream, etc.) used and served with a meat meal. I don't personally know of any orthodox Jews who won't eat parve margarine or use coffee creamer - unless they don't want to eat the product itself - but not because of kashrut.

Not quite. No matter what level of kashrut you observe, it would be hard to find somebody who keeps kosher who thinks bacon or scallops are allowed. Absolutely. It's all up to each individual - and often up to an individual's rabbi. I have no problem with the fake foods - well, most of them. I don't think they violate the law at all. Kosher foods are kosher - certain fish, no matter in what shape, are kosher (though the fake shrimp tastes mostly of iodine).

While you're at it Lucy, could you please tell me how you get your mashed potato pancakes to look like that (maybe in the latke topic). Mine always fall apart and never get that golden brown crust on them.

It's Omnitsky's (started in Winnipeg). I sell Prigat as well, but none of my suppliers are bringing in lemonana. If you see it, find out where they're getting it!

Catherine, you're right. The grape tomatoes aren't always good. I was at the grocery store this morning - the grape tomatoes looked terrible. I bought some strawberry tomatoes instead - there are from Mexico (I think the sign said Dole - but I'm not sure). Their size also makes them just a little bit better for sandwich making.

I pick the dough up by the parchment, then the whole thing goes in the pot - parchment and any extra flour included. No mess.

Suzy, thanks for taking the time to blog during a hectic holiday week. My mother has a life-long dream of going to Hawaii. She has a big birthday next year, and my parents have a big anniversary. When I mentioned having a party, she told me that she didn't want one - she wants the family to go to Hawaii together. I've shown her some of your fabulous pictures - and it's made her want to go even more. ("Can we go a year early?" "No, mom.") I'm surprised that there isn't more Jewish deli available - considering the number of snowbirds. (Potential business for me? ) What exactly is mochi dough?