Saturday, September 25, 2010

Hanukkah Cooking Traditions

By Owen Jones

Whether you are sincerely looking for chances to explore new cultures or you are Jewish seeking appetizing recipes and cooking tips, you have come to the right place to get some of the basics. For as long as there have been family traditions, eating good food at special events and during holy times has been a part of the merriment.

Unfortunately, that appetizing food cannot be enjoyed unless someone goes to the trouble of actually preparing it. If you are looking for some tasty treats to do with the Hanukkah celebrations or just want to get a taste of what other cultures do during their religious or cultural celebrations there are lots of great foodstuffs you could be cooking for this particular holiday.

Oil is imperative in the celebration of Hanukkah and, as a result, many of the foodstuffs that are part of Hanukkah celebrations are prepared in oil. One popular favorite is Latkes, which are a kind of potato pancake that is deep-fried. Another popular favorite is fried lamb chops. The lamb is breaded and then fried much like many Americans fry chicken. Once again oil is used in the cooking of the meal.

If you are looking for something more like finger food or a snack, you might consider deep-fried ricotta balls, fried zucchini, fried onion rings and fried mozzarella are appetizing savory fried tid-bits for the season of light. Of course, fried food is not the only thing that is eaten during this 8-day celebration, but it does play a vital part in the menu and in the celebrations.

Even the sweet treats for this celebration include a few fried goodies. There are apple fritters and raspberry dough nuts and lots of other luscious fried foods for you to snack on. If you like something a little sinful to eat during this delightful celebration you might like to try blintzes in your favorite flavor. There are many to pick from and their recipes can be found easily online.

If you would like to include something a little healthier in your cuisine, then you might like to include an Israeli salad, stewed white beans, and baked aubergines and peppers. These meals provide the opportunity to have something that is not either fried or sweet to assist weight watchers, who always have a problem during festive seasons no matter which religion they observe.

Other Hanukkah favorites include scrumptious dishes such as cheese gelt coins, loukoumades, vegetable kugel, and brisket. Once again the recipes for these dishes are very extensively accessible online and in books on Jewish cooking and traditions.

To make things go a little more efficiently cook as much food as possible well in advance and store items away quickly in order to stop them going stale. Enlist the assistance of children and other family members when needed to move things along by taking turns preparing food.

You should also make an effort to keep the preparations as straightforward as possible to avoid delays and stress. This is a time of the year that is meant to be committed to celebration not to trying to cook tons of food. The good news is that with all that deep fried food, it is unlikely that you will find these dishes too difficult to prepare. Good luck and have fun exploring the world of cooking for Hanukkah.

About the Author:
Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with the 2 quart crock pot. If you have an interest in cooking or crock pots, please go over to our website now at Large Crock Pots

Always interesting to learn other cooking traditions,
Chef Brian

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Monday, September 20, 2010

Easy Dishes That Would Make A Delicious Appetizer

By Angela Stewart

There's nothing that sets off a meal better than a good appetizer. There are a lot of appetizers that you could start with, but the easiest and most common has to be the soup. There are just an endless variety of different soups that can be made.

Why not try something a little different when it comes to making soup as your appetizer?

First up, why not take your Butternut squash soup and add a little Apple flavor to it. No more traditional Butternut squash taste, you now get a distinctive healthy, fruity taste to your soup.

Cream of Broccoli soup has long been a favorite of mine, and I would imagine many others too, but if you were to add some croutons and melted cheese into the pot, just think of the different tastes that would then be found. The creamy soup and croutons with a gorgeous melted cheese influence, totally inspiring!

Potato soup with a difference is nice. The difference is that you could use a potato nugget in your soup to give it a crispy feel. Add a little seasoning of your choice to a Golden brown Potato nugget and really taste the difference.

Everybody likes to try pumpkin soup, but again why not tweak it a little bit by making bisque; or how about a gazpacho for a change?

If you have a little time on your hands why not try putting some turkey dumplings in with your Cream of Turkey soup? It may take longer than usual to make but the result will be fantastic to taste.

It doesn't hurt you to try different things with your soup recipes; just try your own little variations, and see what you come up with; you never know you just might actually enjoy them!

About the Author:
Refer to more educational articles penned by this author covering products such as youth soccer uniforms and youth soccer nets.

Have a happy appy!
Chef Brian
Cooking Tips

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