Kosher cooking can be quick: See for yourself here
Jamie Geller firmly believes kosher cooking need not be time consuming.
And she makes a good case for it in her cookbook "Quick & Kosher" (2007, Feldheim Publishers, $34.99). None of the more than 160 recipes in this beautifully photographed book requires more than 15 minutes active time.
Geller's recipes are straightforward and simple to follow, and they clearly alert the reader to what is involved in each recipe, listing times for any required prep, cooking or chilling.
However, her preparation estimates are a bit on the conservative side. When Associated Press writers tested Speedy Coq Au Vin it took almost 25 minutes to prepare, rather than the 8 minutes advertised. Still, it's fast and easy. Try it for yourself.
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Ask your butcher to cut a 3½ pound chicken into 8 pieces. (That saves a bunch of time right there.) Rinse and pat dry the pieces and arrange in a 9-by-13-inch baking pan coated lightly with cooking spray.
Arrange 8 small white onions and 16 small white button mushrooms around the chicken. Pour ¾ cup red wine over the chicken and vegetables. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon fresh chopped parsley, 2 teaspoons crumbled dry thyme and ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper over the chicken and vegetables, then drizzle everything with ¿ cup melted butter. Tuck 2 dried bay leaves into the liquid and bake, uncovered, for 1 hour 15 minutes. Serves four.
Latke lore: How did potato pancakes become so connected to the Hanukkah celebration? Find out at 10 a.m. Saturday as longtime food writer and Daily Herald correspondent Leah Zeldes discusses latkes at Kendall College, 900 North Branch Street, Chicago.
The program, presented by the Chicago Foodways Roundtable, costs $3; parking is free. Latkes will be available for sampling.
Reserve a seat by calling (847) 432-8255, or e-mail chicago.foodways.roundtable@gmail.com.
Tackling tuna: Watch as expert carvers reduce a 400-pound bluefin tuna to sashimi from noon to 1 p.m. Saturday at Mitsuwa Marketplace, 100 E. Algonquin Road, Arlington Heights.
Tuna typically gets carved up immediately after being caught so people never get a chance to see a whole fish at the store. But Mitsuwa Marketplace, a Japanese-based grocery store, made special arrangements to fly in a fresh, never-frozen bluefin tuna specifically for this event at its only Midwest store. Expert carvers from New York are flying in for the free demonstration.
At the end of the demonstration, fresh tuna will be available for purchase. For more details, call the store at (847) 956-6699.
Contact Food Editor DeborahPankey at (847) 427-4524; atfood@dailyherald.com; or c/o DailyHerald, P.O. Box 280, ArlingtonHeights, IL 60006.