A creamy cheesecake, especially topped with beautiful fruit, almost always delights everyone. Did you know that it became an essential Jewish classic decades ago? In the 1930s, Jewish bakers substituted a relatively new product—cream cheese—along with sour cream for the more-typical-at-the-time cottage cheese in their baked custards, and the New Read more
These hamantaschen are a love letter to Sicily, starring two iconic Sicilian ingredients—pine nuts and marzipan. The pine nuts particularly evoke the Jews of Sicily who called the island home going back more than 2000 years. When Arab conquerors introduced pine nuts—especially in combination with currants or raisins—Jews welcomed the Read more
Almond Kifli are delightful crescent-shaped sweets from Ashkenazi Jewish traditions, particularly in Hungary and Austria. They might remind you of recipes like snow balls or Mexican wedding cookies with their wonderfully crumbly and light texture and inviting white coat of confectioners’ sugar. This style of cookie has become popular across Read more
You might not normally think of cannoli for Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. But they are perfect, especially for this year’s confluence of these two beloved holidays. For Hanukkah, this classic Sicilian dessert neatly captures both the frying and dairy traditions in one package. For Thanksgiving, the filling takes beautifully to a Read more
Cranberry sauce moves from roast turkey side relish to pastry superstar in this rugelach recipe celebrating the delicious intersection of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah. I can’t think of a better use for that leftover cranberry sauce than to become a filling and glaze for rugelach. And although these make a beloved Read more
When apple season begins but it still feels like summer, a creamy sundae with sweet apples, caramel sauce, and my special cinnamon crunch brings it all together. This sweet concoction is out of the park with homemade caramel sauce and whipped cream BUT offers shortcuts so you can enjoy it Read more
The best package for summer’s luscious peaches might just be in the rustic Italian crostata. At peak peach season, there are many ways to turn the stone fruit into a dessert. But I’ve long thought the Italian idea—the free-form tart—topped them all. It satisfies my longing for pie and a Read more
Buricche are the Jewish-Italian version of pastry turnovers, known in Sephardic and Israeli cuisine as bourekas. Although most traditionally the fillings are savory, these days anything goes (pizza, anyone?) and my apple version shows off fall’s abundant fruit and warm spices. Stuffed foods like these (symbolizing plenty) also happen to Read more
These lemon bars do so many things right. Most important, they balance all the delightful contrasts in a good bar—soft, creamy filling and dense crust, sweetness and tartness, fruitiness and nuttiness. But they are also gluten-free and Passover-friendly, and sport a nutritious whole grain base. Thanks to quinoa flour, the Read more
Bourbon and especially bourbon salted caramel create quite a decadent hamantashen. But besides great flavor, bourbon has a Jewish connection—something I discovered while visiting the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Find the full story along with the brand-new recipe at Jewish Food Experience. I loved creating and eating this recipe, and here Read more
Come August, peaches are ready for their close up. The market bins overflow with the colorful, fragrant fruit, and I find it hard to resist their call. Just this week, I took home peaches almost as large as softballs and every bite was sweet and juicy. Although I love making Read more
A rustic but still decadent strawberry dessert for Mother’s Day? Shavuot? Just because? Yes, yes, and yes, please. Ever since seeing a photo last year of a strawberry cassata, a Sicilian-style ricotta cake, it’s been on my list to try. This year’s arrival of spring’s best strawberries motivated me to do it—to create my own Read more
Pumpkin and squash were historically favored by Italy’s Jews. You could find these fall fruits in soups, risottos, pastas, stews, fritters, and yes, even cake. I found recipes for Jewish-Italian pumpkin cakes, but decided to develop an updated version. We served samples of this during my talk in September about the culinary history of Italy’s Read more
The pound cake arose, sometime in the 18th century, as a cake of simplicity—originally one pound of each ingredient, flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. As recipes do, of course this one evolved, using modern ingredients like leaveners and glazes and adjusted to more manageable sizes for a household. Bakers Read more
There’s not much that’s truly simple about Passover cooking. I think that’s why a granita seemed like such an appealing addition to my playbook. This Sicilian frozen sweet is not only easy but also fresh and refreshing plus it requires just a few ingredients, looks beautiful, and is a versatile nondairy Read more