Tag: Holiday

Cinco de Mayo Fiesta Round-Up and Blog Hop

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Simple guacamole recipe

With Cinco de Mayo just over a week away, I thought I’d throw a little Cinco de Mayo fiesta here on my blog. Although the holiday (which translates to the fifth of May) technically memorializes the victory of Mexicans over French at the 1862 Battle of Puebla, it has become by and large an American holiday to celebrate Mexican and Mexican-American heritage and culture. Whatever your reason for celebrating, I will never turn down an excuse to eat good Mexican food and honor their beautiful culture. Here are some of my favorite Mexican-inspired dishes from the archives, and I’d love for you to link up your Cinco de Mayo fare at the blog hop below!

Continue reading “Cinco de Mayo Fiesta Round-Up and Blog Hop” →

Matzo Ball Soup

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Homemade Matzo Ball Soup

Matzo ball soup may be one of the most quintessential Jewish recipes, but growing up in New York you didn’t have to be Jewish – and it didn’t have to be Passover – for you to consider this classic dish comfort food. Living in Israel Passover takes on new meaning as all chametz, or leavened foods, are cleared from supermarket shelves and restaurant menus. Even a week before the holiday begins, the chip aisle was replaced with matzo, matzo meal, and more matzo. Passover begins this Friday, but I started craving matzo ball soup weeks ago, and have been buying matzo just to snack on. Apparently I’m weird like that. Continue reading “Matzo Ball Soup” →

Pollo Fritto per Chanuka

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Our Italian Jewish Hanukkah
Our Italian Jewish Hanukkah

Christmas may have come and gone (did you have a nice holiday?), but there’s still two days of Hanukkah left! If you’re tired of latkes and sufganiyot (as if that could happen), allow me to suggest a few recipes from the Italian Jewish canon. Italian Jews make up one of the world’s oldest Jewish communities, combining two great culinary traditions. After doing a good bit of research for an article in the Jew and the Carrot (check it out here), I learned that while Hanukkah traditions vary by region, one dish is universal throughout the country: Pollo Fritto per Chanuka, or Fried Chicken for Hanukkah. Continue reading “Pollo Fritto per Chanuka” →

Precipizi and a Holiday Blog Hop

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Precipizi, an Italian Jewish Hanukkah treat
Precipizi, an Italian Jewish Hanukkah treat

Can you believe that we’re midway through Hanukkah and that tomorrow is Christmas Eve? It’s wonderful to be home in New York celebrating the holidays with friends and family. My husband and I are fortunate enough to celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, and so get the best of both traditions.  In honor of my Italian heritage, this year I did a bit of research into how Italian Jews celebrate Hanukkah for an article in the Jew and the Carrot (check it out here). And so I was introduced to Hanukkah Precipizi, which is similar to the struffoli that is also popular around Christmas time in Italy. Hanukkah is all about fried food, a celebration of oil in all its glory, and these certainly fit the bill. Continue reading “Precipizi and a Holiday Blog Hop” →

Guest Post: Gingerbread Cake

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Gingerbread Cake
Gingerbread Cake with Chocolate Glaze

I was so thrilled when Shannon from the wonderful Malaysian food blog Just as Delish asked me to do a guest post for her. I adore her healthy, internationally inspired recipes for everything from Green Curry Chicken to Beef Tagine, and from ginger tea to homemade sweetened condensed milk. She specifically asked for an American Christmas recipe, since Malaysians do not typically celebrate the holiday. Unlike Thanksgiving, with its traditional menu of turkey and pumpkin pie, Christmas is a little more personal and each family has their own traditions, especially for the savory course. My family eats sausage and peppers and a filet mignon roast, but we’re the only ones I know who do. Dessert, however, has more common flavors to draw on. Continue reading “Guest Post: Gingerbread Cake” →

Friday Shout-Out and Blog Hop: Thanksgiving

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This is the shout-out and blog hop I’ve been waiting for: Thanksgiving! (Also, I realize it’s Saturday…sorry about that). Like many of you, Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday of the year. It’s crisp fall weather, making a grocery list with my father, and getting odds and ends the day before. Thanksgiving is sleeping in and catching just the tail end of the Macy’s parade, scrambled eggs, and the smell of turkey roasting. It’s stuffing (Pepperidge Farm) and buttery mashed potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce – from a can, with ridges (I brought real cranberry sauce once and it didn’t go over nearly as well). Dessert is Entenmann’s pumpkin pie and ice cream. Continue reading “Friday Shout-Out and Blog Hop: Thanksgiving” →

Applesauce Cake with Pomegranate Glaze for Rosh Hashanah

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The celebrations for Rosh Hashanah, or Jewish New Year, begin tonight. This year we’ll miss having dinner with my family and the in-laws, ringing in the new year together (yes, both sides of the family celebrate together – how cute is that?). Instead we’ll be in Israel, enjoying a small potluck feast with our friends, who become the closest thing to family in a foreign place. I developed this recipe for parve Applesauce Cake with Pomegranate Glaze for the Jew and the Carrot this year and loved it so much that I’m making it again to bring to Rosh Hashanah dinner. Please check out the original article (full of fun facts and information) on the Jew and the Carrot! Continue reading “Applesauce Cake with Pomegranate Glaze for Rosh Hashanah” →