Kosher Crockpot Herbed Chicken

I whipped this up for a Chicago themed Murder Mystery Party where one of my guests didn't like garlic. Tragic, I know, but it happens. I wanted a crockpot main dish with a nice sauce to put on pasta and a vaguely Italian-American flair without that most stereotypical of Italian spices.

• 6 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 medium onion
• 2 bell peppers (your choice of red, green, or yellow)
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes
• 3 tbsp oregano
• 3 tbsp thyme
• 2 tbsp basil
• 1 tbsp rosemary
• 1/2 tbsp marjoram
• 2 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Mix all of the spices, salt, and pepper together in a bowl.

Dice the onions into small pieces and pile them at the bottom of your crockpot. Trust me on this. If you put the meat straight on the bottom, the part touching the crockpot will end up tough and overcooked.

Sprinkle about 1/4 of the spice over the onions. Top them with a single layer of chicken. Now sprinkle half the remaining spice mix on top of the chicken. Add another layer, then add more spices - it's kind of like making an all meat lasagna at this point. If it looks like you'll need more than 2 layers of chicken, just make sure each layer gets a roughly equal amount of spicing.

Once your crockpot is full of onions and chicken, add the bell peppers. For this, I like them cut into large square pieces - perhaps 2 inches on a side. You're welcome to cut the peppers into strips if you prefer. Either way, spread them on top of the chicken. Now open the can of diced tomatoes and dump it on top of the whole mess.

Put the lid on your crockpot and turn it to "low" for 4 - 5 hours. Resist the urge to peek. When you take the chicken out, the breasts will probably fall into 2 - 3 pieces. You may have to be extra careful with the bottom ones. Oh, the juicyness.

If you're serving this with pasta, polenta, or rice, scoop the chicken out carefully, give the rest a good stir, and use it as a topping. Otherwise, I recommend a hearty bread to help soak everything up.

If you'd like a chunkier sauce, add another can of diced tomatoes after you remove the chicken. (I'd recommend a can of the basil, garlic, and oregeno spiced ones.) Stir well and use the sauce as a topping.

VARIATIONS

If you're making this for a seder meal, I recommend switching to bone-in chicken breasts with skin. They keep their form better when left overnight at a low heat. Rub a generous amount of the spice mix under the skin and coat the outside of the skin with the rest. Pile in as many breasts as you can squeeze into your crockpot. Shove the onions, tomatoes, and peppers in around the breasts. Set the crockpot at "keep warm" just before sundown and you should be in good shape for a hot meal at lunch the next day. I haven't tried this personally, so if you do, please let me know how it works out.

Unsurprisingly, I happen to believe this recipe would benefit greatly from 4 - 6 cloves of minced garlic.

A can of diced chile peppers added when you add the tomatoes could spice this up nicely as well.

Kosher Vegan Pan Fried Basil and Herb Carrots

These were a happy accident. I wanted to make some lightly pan fried fingerling potatoes as part of a Hanukkah dinner. Oh, yes. While the rest of the country is dressing their dogs up to have photos taken with Santa, I'm indulging in the sinful delights of fried foods. The festival of lights is my excuse to enjoy donuts for breakfast, latkes and applesauce for dinner, and delicious experiments with oil.

On a whim, I decided to peel some carrots and throw them in alongside some herbed heirloom potatoes. At the end of the meal, the incidental carrots had been eagerly consumed while the allegedly main course potatoes sat lonely and accusing on the plate, wondering why they weren't loved.

• 1 pound carrots
• 3 - 4 tbsp basil oil
• 1 tbsp Herbs de Provence
• 1 tsp salt

Peel the carrots and cut them into 1.5 - 2 inch chunks. If you cut them on a diagonal, you'll have more surface area. This means more of the carrots natural sugars will be caramelized by the heat. Caramelization means tasty goodness.

Bring 3 tbsp basil oil to a medium heat in a large, sturdy skillet. Add the salt and mix well. Now add the carrots and stir until they're well coated in oil. If they look a little dry, add another tbsp.

Now comes the easy yet boring part. Stir fry the carrots until they're cooked through. This should take about 15 minutes. You don't need to hover over them nonstop. Go ahead and give them a good stir 3 - 4 times while cooking, just enough to make sure none of the chunks end up with one side burned and the other side raw.

After fifteen minutes, you should start to see some browning, maybe even a couple of crispy edges. I've tried this recipe twice this week and found that letting them darken until they flirt with that line between highly caramalized and lightly burned, they come out downright cracktastic. Take a risk. Worst case scenario, you've wasted 20 minutes of your life and $1 in carrots. So, once your carrots are well cooked, add the Herbs de Provence. You can get this French spice mix in an adorable overpriced rustic pot at Williams Sonoma, or for less than $4 in an ordinary plastic jar from Amazon.com.

Sprinkle the spices over the carrots and mix thoroughly. Cook the carrots for another minute or so, then serve. In case you're wondering, adding herbs at the beginning of a high heat or frying process will result in burned herbs. If you think about it, herbs are just little leaves, and a tiny piece of leaf cooks pretty quickly. Don't burn your leaves. Adding them near the end lets you bring out the flavor via cooking before they end up unpleasantly charred.

If you don't happen to have any Herbs de Provence around, you can make a little homebrew using the following ingredients. If you like the mix, scale it up, put it in an old spice jar, and use it to season fish, chicken, or potatoes.

• 1/2 tsp rosemary
• 1/2 tsp marjoram
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp basil
• 1/2 tsp bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp sage
• 1/4 tsp lavender (optional)

Kosher Parve Sweet Honey Corn

To my surprise, a lot of people aren't entirely sure how to boil corn. It's okay. I knew how to make a good channa masala before I learned how to make basic tuna salad. We all have interesting little gaps in our kitchen skills. Pretend you're here looking for spice advice while you sneak a peek at the cooking instructions. I won't tell.

Most people love basic boiled corn on the cob slathered in butter. It's oh so delicious. However, if you're looking for a parve/vegetarian dish that, as an added bonus, won't smear your makeup while eating, give this variation a try.

6 ears yellow corn

6 tsp honey

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp kosher salt

Find a pot large enough to fit six ears of corn and a bunch of water. In an ideal world, this pot will have a lid. You may not live in an ideal world, though, so don't sweat it. Either way, fill the pot about half way with water and bring it to a boil. Throw in the corn. Now, if you have a lid, put it on top, turn the heat off, and wait 15 minutes. If you don't have a lid, turn the heat down to medium (just enough to keep the water boiling) and let it steam up your kitchen for 15 minutes.

Remove the corn from the water. How you do this is up to you. In an ideal world, a pair of tongs or super heat resistant silicone gloves might be involved. In my world, I usually use a couple of forks while doing the 'ow ow ow hot water just splashed my legs' dance. Do as I say, not as I do. Wouldn't it be better if we all lived in an ideal world?

Using your sturdiest knife, cut the corn from the cob. Now, you may be wondering why you nearly boiled your arm off when the grocery store sells perfectly good corn in cans. Trust me, the texture and flavor aren't even remotely the same. Fresh ingredients make a world of difference, and in the world of corn, it's like going from the inhospitable surface of a hostile, brackish world to the sweet warmth of a newly terraformed virgin planet.

Scoop your newly shorn corn kernels into a large bowl. Add the honey, garlic, and salt, then mix until everything is pretty evenly distributed. Serve warm. If you happen to have any leftover, add about 1 tsp water per cup of corn and it'll reheat pretty well in the microwave.

Variations:

I sometimes like to add 1/2 - 1 tsp paprika or cayenne to give this a little bit of a bite. The same quantity of freshly ground white pepper instead can also add a nice touch.

Kosher Vegan Thanksgiving Dressing

This hearty dressing makes a great vegetarian main course.

Home made bread cubes really aren't that hard to come by. If you pick up a baugette from the store, just leave it out overnight and it'll go rock hard. If you're well prepared, you can even cut it into chunks first. A baguette is easy, but this recipe works great with artisan breads. Go ahead and pick up that Rosemary and Basil Foccacia or Roasted Garlic Herb Bread. It'll add more flavor. Stay away from sweet breads, though. I'm not sure how this would turn out with Cinnamon Swirl Bagels or Blueberry Muffin Loaf.

• Roughly 7 - 8 cups of stale bread ripped into cubes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 granny smith apple
• 1 onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp sage
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp basil
• 1 tsp rosemary

Preheat your oven to 350.

Peel the apple and cut it into roughly 1 inch cubes. Now peel the onion and do the same thing. Ditto for the bell pepper. Most people put celery in their dressing, but I don't like it. Therefore, we're going to forgo sauteing the onion so it'll still give a little bit of crunch.

Now, in a large bowl, mix all the spices and 2 tbsp of the olive oil with the canned vegetable broth. If your broth has some frighteningly high sodium content, feel free to leave out the extra salt. You're mixing the spices with the broth to better distribute them into the bread. Otherwise, you risk ending up with a big bite of sage at one corner and an unseasoned chunk of dull bread at the other.

I happen to like my dressing moist. I didn't grow up with gravy, so the dressing had to be able to stand on its own. For a vegetarian recipe, this is extra important. If, however, you like your dressing a little drier, only use 3 cups of broth.

Now dump your breadcubes, onion, apple, and bell pepper into the broth. Mix until everything is pretty damp and well blended. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so. This should give the bread a chance to really soak up all the broth. This is especially important if you used a dense artisian bread, like foccacia or cibata.

Rub your remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the inside of a large cake pan (I recommend glass or pyrex, as dark pans are more likely to make the bottom and edges burn.) Press the dressing into the pan. Don't be afraid to squish it down a little. You don't want it too fluffy.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Check it with a fork. Now, this is the only tricky bit. Some people like their dressing a little runny and others like it bone dry. I err on the moist side. If in doubt, go ahead and scoop out a discrete fork full from near the middle. If it's not dry enough for you, let it bake for another 10 minutes. If you bake it too much longer than that, once it hits the table, it'll dry out tremendously. (So much you won't want to use it for leftovers, which is always the best part of the holiday for me.)

Kosher Dairy Super Simple Candied Yams

Last week I offered a fancy alternative to traditional candied yams. This week, I've been reminded that some people like tradition.

These are so simple I almost feel guilty calling this a recipe. There's something wrong with that, though. I learned how to make channa masala before I learned how to make a tuna sandwich because people assumed everyone knows how to do that.

There are a lot of simple foods out there which people love but don't have a clue how to make. Thus I present to you the easiest and most reliable recipe I've ever had for that holiday classic, candied yams. The great thing about these is, if you're a new cook, they're almost impossible to mess up. If you're new to cooking and want something to bring to a dairy meal without any fancy schmancy holiday stress, give these a try.

• 3 large sweet potatoes/yams
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 2 tsp salt

You new cooks will need a cake pan for this. If you don't own one, a disposable aluminum one from the store works great. Either way, bringing your own pan means you already have something to carry leftovers home in. Aren't you smart!

Back at your own place, well before festivities begin, preheat your oven to 400F. Peel the potatoes. Now comes the hard part - hack the potatoes into roughly 1/2 inch discs. Now, the thing about sweet potatoes and yams is that they're incredibly dense. Cutting them takes some muscle. If the only knife you own is a wobbly steak knife you stole from the cafeteria back in college, you might be in for some trouble. Try wrapping a washcloth around the handle to give you more leverage.

Once you've mightily sawed your discs, cut one stick of butter into 4 big chunks and put one at each corner of the pan. Now dump in all your hard fought sweet potato slices. Cut the second stick of butter into 4 pieces and scatter them on top of the yams. Dump the brown sugar pretty evenly over the whole mess.

Put the pan in the oven at 400 and bake for 45 minutes. Now, it'd be nice if all ovens were equal, but we know that's not the case. At 45 minutes, check and see if they're done. If you can stab all the way through one with a fork, you're good. If not, cook them for another 15 minutes.

The yams should now be swimming in a delicious concoction of sugar and butter. Try one. You'll like it. Now seal that pan tight with aluminum foil. That'll keep the heat and moisture in.

When you get to your host's for Thanksgiving, politely wait until the oven is empty for a bit and pop the pan inside (still safely sealed in foil) for about 10 minutes. This is just to warm the yams up. Don't worry about the temperature of the oven. Whatever your host's have it set at is just fine. Trust me.

VARIATIONS:

If you're feeling a little fancy, add 2 tsp of cinnamon along with the brown sugar.

If you're feeling a lot fancy, top the whole mess with kosher marshmallows. Politely wait your turn until the oven is empty, then pop your pan in there long enough for the yams to reheat a little and the marshmallows to brown - for me, about 8 - 10 minutes, but your mileage may vary. Ovens lose a lot of heat at Thanksgiving with all the opening and closing.

If you're impatient and your hosts happen to possess both a creme brulee torch and a sense of humor, feel free to amuse your fellow guests by piling on a thin layer of marshmallows and carefully setting them on fire browning them with the gentle flames. It's festive!

Kosher Parve Mashed Sweet Potatoes Stuffed in Oranges

These are a great presentation dish for a dinner of 8 or less. If you're having a dozen or more people over for Thanksgiving, they can turn into a hassle.

Ironically, the best oranges for stuffing are not the tastiest ones for seasoning. Pick big, fat navel oranges with as flat a bottom as you can find. They're just for cosmetics. The actual orange juice should come from whatever OJ you normally drink at home (I go for the pulp free Tropicana with extra calcium myself.)

The banana may seem like an odd addition, but it helps firm up the potatoes while also adding an extra hint of sweetness. Go on. Give it at try.

• 8 large, attractive navel oranges, roughly the same size
• 4 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 banana
• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
  Peel and boil the sweet potatoes until soft. Drain the potatoes. If you don't need the pot for other things (holidays can be hectic) just dump them back in. If you do, put them in a large bowl for mashing. Add the banana, cinnamon, oil, salt, and orange juice. Mash the whole mess until it's well blended. The oil is just there to act as food glue, helping hold all the other ingredients together.

  Give it a taste. Some people like their holiday potatoes sweeter. Feel free to double the cinnamon, add 1/4 cup of brown sugar, or, if they're still fairly firm, 1/4 cup more orange juice.

  Cut the tops of the oranges. Hollow out the insides with a spoon and throw away the pulp. The goal here is to keep the oranges as solid and presentable as possible. Once you have nice, hollow oranges, stuff them with the sweet potato mix. Top the mix with generous sprinkles of brown sugar.

  After stuffing the oranges, there should be enough remaining for leftovers. These reheat just fine in a microwave. If in doubt, add 1 tbsp water or OJ before nuking.

  If you're in a hurry or not interested in schmancy presentation food, just put the whole mashed mess in a bowl and top it with brown sugar.

  VARIATIONS

  A slightly tropical flair works well for these. Try substituting pineapple juice for the orange juice.

  If you're not afraid of the spice blends, a teaspoon of "pumpkin pie spice" adds some flavor.

  You can add some Kosher Marshmallows to the top as well, but keep in mind that while the marshamllows are parve, they're made from fish gelatin and therefore aren't vegan. If serving vegetarians, check to see if fish is permissible in their diet.

Kosher Parve Honey Lime Yams

This parve alternative to the usual butter drenched candied yams goes great with spicy foods. It's also lower in fat and calories, but that's just a bonus.

• 2 large yams or sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup honey
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp cayenne

Preheat your oven to 400F. Peel the yams and slice them into roughly 1/2 inch circles. The thinner you slice the yams, the faster they'll cook, but you don't want to slice them so thin you end up with slightly mushy yam fries.

Mix the honey, lime juice, salt, and cayenne in a bowl.

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. Dip each slice of yam into the honey/lime mix. Spread the yam slices in a single layer on the cookie sheet. Repeat on a second cookie sheet if you have more yam slices. Drizzle the remaining mix over the top of the yams. You don't want to take the easy route by layering the slices then drowning them in the mix because the honey will just pool between the slices and burn.

Bake at 400F for 30 minutes, or until the yams are tender.

Kosher Bourbon chicken with pan fried apples

I interrupt the flow of Thanksgiving themed recipes for something I threw together for guests last night. It was a great opportunity for me to break away from my usual fallbacks, as one of them detests both garlic and onions. Shocking, I know. I wanted to make something nice, but not intimidatingly fancy. More important, I wanted something I could cook mostly on autopilot while still hanging out with friends. Nothing is more dull than twiddling your fingers in the living room while someone else is cooking.

Really, this is just stir-fry using currently trendy western ingredients. You don't even have to keep a close eye on it - which is great for entertaining.

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Granny Smith apples
• 1/2 cup bourbon (or whatever whiskey/scotch you drink)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup parve margarine
• 2 tbsp Chinese Five spice
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Peel the apples and cut them into thin slices. Cut the chicken breasts into around 8 pieces, depending on the size of the breasts. Rub the chicken pieces with the Chinese Five Spice powder.

Melt the margarine on a medium-high heat in your largest skillet. Brown the chicken pieces for a couple of minutes. Add in the bourbon, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until you have a nice, thick liquid. Throw in the sliced apples and stir until they're well coated.

It should take around 15 minutes for the apples and chicken to fully cook. Stir from time to time to make sure everything is cooked evenly. You'll end up with a nice, creamy bourbon sauce. Feel free to add more five spice cinnamon, or delicious artery-clogging fat.

(Benecol, Earth Balance, and Fleishmans all make parve margarines that work decently in cooking.)

Kosher Parve Wasabi/Horseradish Mashed Potatoes

I find these wasabi/horseradish potatoes go great with beef dishes. Try them alongside a nicely peppered New York Strip Steak (with a bit of extra horseradish on the side for the meat.)

• 3 pounds potatoes
• 1 cup soy creamer OR 1 cup soy milk + 1 tbsp light vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tbsp horseradish - FRESH, NOT PREPARED! (Prepared horseradish often has dairy)
• 1/2 tbsp green wasabi paste
• 1 tsp fresh ground white pepper

I recommend peeling the potatoes. You can leave the skins on if you prefer, but I think the added texture distracts too much in this recipe. Skinned or not, boil and drain the potatoes then return them to their original pot. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl until smooth. This is just to ensure even distribution in the potatoes. You don't want to accidentally bite into a lump of pure wasabi. Add the mix to the pot of potatoes and mash until you reach your desired texture. I like mine a little lumpy, but you're welcome to get out a hand mixer if you prefer them uniformly smooth. If you'd like your potatoes a little creamier, add 1/4 cup soy creamer/soy milk. Don't add more sesame oil. It's more for flavor than texture.

If you want the flavor with a little less kick, cut the wasabi and horseradish in half and double the salt. If you're the type who loves the way horseradish clears your nostrils, go nuts with it. Or try adding a few cloves of garlic to enhance the flavor.

A note of caution - both prepared horseradish and some cheap wasabi pastes can be made with dairy. Please check the labels to be sure of what you're getting before you take anything home.

Kosher Parve Garlic Mashed Potatoes

In this age of excellent milk substitutes, parve mashed potatoes don't have to be mealy and dry. You can get that rich, creamy texture from nut milks.

In exchange for the texture, you're going to have to spice the potatoes up a little. Silk brand coffee creamer is a real joy in mashed potatoes, but there's no denying the heavy the nutty taste. I haven't been able to lay hands on Wildwood Organic's soy creamer, although I hear good things about it. 8th Continent soymilk tastes a lot more like the real thing (I especially love their light chocolate soymilk), but like most soymilks, is too low in fat to give the full, creamy mouthfeel. Regardless of which milk/creamer alternative you use, you'll want to disguise the flavor with spices. Luckily, those spices include garlic. You can never go wrong with garlic.

• 3 pounds potatoes
• 1 cup soy creamer OR 1 cup soy milk + 2 tbsp light vegetable oil (or parve margarine)
• 10 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh grated mixed peppercorns
• 1 tsp onion salt

Boil and drain the potatoes. It's entirely up to you whether or not to leave on the skins. Dump everything else in the pot you boiled your potatoes in and start mashing. Again, it's entirely up to you whether to stop while they're still a little lumpy or get out the hand mixer and blend them until smooth.

The stealth ingredient here is the onion salt. Somehow, the slightly acidic tang of it really covers any nutty soy flavor. If you can't get ahold of onion salt, try throwing the garlic, 1/2 cup of diced onion, and a tsp of oil into a blender until you have a nice, smooth paste. I'd add a couple extra cloves of garlic, too, since a few precious scraps will still be left in the blender. Add the paste to the pot of potatoes and blend as per the other directions.

Just as some people like their potatoes lumpy versus smooth or with bits of skin versus pure pulp, there are degrees of creamyness. If these are a little dry for your taste, try adding 1/4 cup creamer (or 1/4 cup milk + 1/2 tsp oil or 1 tsp parve margarine) until they reach your ideal texture.

Kosher Crockpot Turkey

Oh, yes. There's a chill in the air and a new Bon Appetit in my mailbox. It must be Christmas. Wait, no, that's not until after Halloween, right? I'm so confused. My local Walgreens has a display with a cheerful green faced witch sitting on Santa's lap.

But here at home, I can dwell on the best fall Holiday of them all - a secular one shared by all Americans (even if I see gobbler turkeys decorated with skull necklaces next to a bed of mistletoe). It's finally time for Thanksgiving.

I literally can't get enough of those seasonal foods - and not just because most of them are delightfully parve. Thanksgiving isn't just a one day event for me. It' s more like eight weeks of hearty fare indigenous to our continent. Try to imagine a world without potatoes, tomatoes, corn, pumpkin or turkey. Okay, you can stop now. If you think about it too long, you'll get the shakes.

I let my Mother-in-law handle the dramatic Presentation Turkey for Thanksgiving itself. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking you must spend ten hours carefully crafting a hand basted golden brown bird every time you want a little turkey. No, no, no. In fact, as long as you don't mind a little judicious slicing before you bring it to the table, no one needs to know how easy this fall-off-the-bone moist turkey really was.

• 1 four to six pound bone-in turkey breast, thawed
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 carrot
• 1 head garlic (or 3 - 4 tbsp minced from a can)
• 1 tbsp basil
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup water

Make sure you remove any neck, giblets, gravy packets, or other extras that come with your turkey breast. You don't want a greasy surprise later. Now mix the garlic, basil, salt, and olive oil into a thick paste. Loosen the turkey skin and rub the paste between the skin and the breast. Wipe any leftover on your fingers on the outside of the skin. Stuff one bay leaf on each side of the breast.

Roughly chop your onion and carrot. Honestly, if you don't plan on making any gravy or using the juices, you can skip this step. I think it makes the broth taste better. Put the turkey in the crockpot, stuff the chopped vegetables under the bone, and add the water.

Cook the turkey on low for 8 to 9 hours. I put it in before I go to work and come home to a great smelling dinner. The turkey will literally be falling off the bone at this point. Remove the largest chunks you can and let them cool before slicing. Add a couple tablespoons of the juices to keep it extra moist (or just bring a bowl of the drippings to the table and let people add their own.)

NOTE: If you can only get whole turkeys, this recipe works just as well. The only real problem is fitting the whole thing in your crockpot. If you have one of the huge ones, you're all set. If you have a normal sized crockpot, you can always chop off the legs (kids often enjoy helping with this part) and wings, save those for later, and throw the breast in a crockpot.

LAZY GRAVY: Add a cup of the cooked vegetables and two cups of the drippings/broth to a blender. You might want to add a few ice cubes first if your blender doesn't play nicely with hot liquids. Add in a teaspoon each of salt and fresh ground pepper, then blend until smooth. This will be a little thicker than broth, but not really as thick as gravy. If you'd like to thicken it up a little more, add 1 tsp of cornstarch to 1/2 cup cold water and blend until smooth. Once the cornstarch mix is smooth, add it to the gravy. Stir well and wait for it to cool a little more. That should give it some body.

Kosher Vegan Yellow Lentils with Whole Spices

I love lentils. This sometimes surprises me, because I grew up hating beans. In retrospect, it turns out I didn't like the spices. Discovering South Asian and Middle Eastern food opened up a whole new word of tasty goodness for me.

Since they both take time to make and always taste better the next day, I tend to make lentil dishes in large batches so I can leave a pot in the fridge and graze out of it all week long. This particular lentil dish is a nice sweet variation loosely based on something I recently enjoyed at a Turkish restaurant.

• 2 cups yellow lentils, soaked overnight
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 2 tbsp minced garlic (or 4 cloves)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 inch peeled and chopped ginger
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground white or mixed peppercorns
• 6 cups water

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the garlic, cinnamon stick, ginger, bay leaf, cloves, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir well, cooking the spices for 2 - 3 minutes. Trust me - this really brings out the flavor. You'll notice a real difference if you skip the step (although I've dumped spices in the pot without cooking them first in plenty of recipes and had the result turn out perfectly edible. But that's not what you want. You want mouth watering.)

Now add the chopped onion and apricots. Stir frequently, cooking 4 - 5 minutes, until the onions turn translucent. Once the onions are ready, you can finally add the water and lentils. Stir everything well, then bring it to a boil. Cover the pot and bring it down to a simmer. Let the lentils boil for a good hour.

Now you get to decide if you want them slightly soupy or thick enough to stand a spoon in. If you'd like a more soup like consistency, take it off the heat, fish out the bay leaf, cloves, and cinnamon stick, then serve. If you like your lentils thicker, take the lid off and continue cooking for another half hour - longer if you like your lentils really thick.

If you're feeling schmancy, let the lentils cool slightly, pick out the spices, and puree everything in a blender until it is nice and smooth. Personally, I like the mouthfeel of bits of onion and apricot (and, being honest here, I hate cleaning my blender).

Serve over rice or with naan.

VARIATIONS

Brown or red lentils don't need to be soaked overnight. If you're in a hurry, go ahead and use either of them. Red lentils hold up to to the sweetness of the apricots better, but they will fall apart faster, so you won't want to use the longer cooking time. You might also want to reduce the water by 1 cup. Brown lentils won't balance as well with the sweetness, but have a hearty solidity to them.

If you're feeling bold and daring, try substituting dried cranberries for the apricots.

If you'd like something a little mellower, try substituting diced dried apples for the apricots.

Kosher Greek Chicken and Potatoes

I'm on a crockpot kick right now. Crockpots are more than just an easy way to make shabbat meals. They're also great for weeknight dinners when I want to have something hot waiting for me the minute I get home from the gym.

For those of you who don't own a crockpot, they're dirt cheap (the low end starts around $15 these days) and incredibly easy to use. You put in the food. You put on the lid. You turn it on. That's all.

• 1 whole roaster chicken
• 1 pound baby new potatoes
• 3 tbsp oregano
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice (2 small lemons or one big one)
• 1 tsp kosher salt

Put the potatoes at the bottom of your crockpot. Mix the oregano, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt into a paste. Loosen the skin of the chicken and smear the paste underneath. Trust me - you want it under the skin instead of over it. The flavor difference is incredible.

Put the chicken on top of the potatoes. This way, the juices will drip down and season the spuds. If there isn't enough room in your crockpot, then put the chicken in first and stuff in as many potatoes as you can wherever they'll fit.

Cook on "low" for 4 - 6 hours. I usually make this at lunchtime and come home to a hot dinner. I've never tried making this before work and coming home to it in the evening, so I don't know how the meat will react to 8 - 9 hours of cooking time. I suspect it'll be fall-off-the-bone tender. If you try, please let me know.

Variations:

• Add 1 tsp minced garlic to the spice mix.
• If you have an open bottle of white wine, pour 1/2 cup over the top of the chicken after the chicken and potatoes are arranged in the crockpot. Always cook with what you drink.
• Slice up 1 white or yellow onion. Spread the potatoes at the bottom of the crockpot, add the onions on top of the potatoes, and the chicken on top of the onions.

Kosher Passover Irish Beef and Beer Stew

Impress the family next Passover with a "Guinness" stew. No kidding. I'm not much of a beer drinker, but I love using it as an ingredient. It does wonders for any kind of beef in a crockpot. All of Ramapo Valley Brewery's beers are kosher, but their award winning HB Brew is also kosher for Passover (and, incidentally, drinkable by people with celiac disease. Some days, I really love modernity.) The tricky part of this recipe is finding the kosher for passover spices. One alternative is to buy fresh, refrigerated spices. If you can't find anything more than salt and pepper, use them liberally and trust the beer to provide the rest of the flavor.

• 2 pounds stew beef
• 2 large onions
• 4 large carrots
• 4 medium potatoes
• 1 bottle kosher for passover beer
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (or honey)
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (or 2-3 cloves)
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup leftover mashed potatoes

Dice the onions, carrots, and potatoes into large chunks, at least two inches. Add them to the bottom of the crockpot. Next add the meat. On top of that, sprinkle all the sugar and spices. Top it all off with the bottle of beer.

Cook on "low" for six to eight hours. Don't worry about over cooking. If you throw this in the crockpot before leaving for work, it'll be fine if you get home nine or more hours later.

When ready to serve, add the cup of mashed potatoes. Without this, the liquid will be tasty, but the flavors won't stick as well. The potatoes thicken up the stew and bind the flavors together. Like most stews, this one is even tastier after sitting in the fridge overnight.

WARNING

Resist the urge to make this stew too busy. You'll see Guinness Beef Stew recipes with rosemary, basil, marjoram - pretty much any western European kitchen herb. Don't do it. The simpler you keep this recipe, the better it turns out.

FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR

You can substitute 1/4 cup cornstarch well blended with 1/2 cup cold water instead of mashed potatoes. Both perform the same function as thickening agents.