Tag: Kosher

Mrs. Cohen’s Kosher for Passover Cookies

Mrs. Cohen’s Kosher for Passover Cookies

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from the Koppelman Family archives

About the Recipe

This recipe comes from Mrs. Cohen – not my mother (though she makes them every year), my Aunt Harriet’s mother. See, my mother was a Koppelman who married a Cohen, and Aunt Harriet was a Cohen who married a Koppelman. Every year we would gather at Mr. and Mrs. Cohen’s house (AH’s mom and dad) and sit around a huge table for our Passover Seder. As we cousins grew up, the Cohens were less and less an extended arm of the family, and more another set of grandparents.

Every year, Mrs. Cohen made these cookies.

There’s not a ton to really love about kosher for Passover baking in general, but wow are these cookies delish. They’re kind of like a snickerdoodle crossed with an oatmeal raisin cookie, but with matzah instead of flour and oats. The recipe has been passed from Mrs. Cohen to Mrs. Cohen to Mrs. Rabiner-Cohen (me!) and I can’t wait to pass it down to my son one day.

A few quick notes on changes and adaptations – you can use the dried fruit of your choice in this. I used the Trader Joe’s Berry Blend this time around, and the variety of flavor seems promising. My mom swore by golden raisins. Mrs. Cohen’s original was regular raisins. Any nut is fine in this as well. I prefer walnuts, my mom is more of an almond gal.

Quick tip: Use a metal tablespoon or scoop to shape the cookies. They’re very, very sticky and just get worse and worse if you try to do it with your hands. Chag Sameach!

For more of my family recipes, click here!

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

2 cups matzah meal
2 cups matzah farfel
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup white raisins
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2-1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
5 eggs
2 tsp. orange juice

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients. Beat in eggs, oil, and orange juice. Drop by the teaspoon or tablespoon, or roll in hands. Place on very greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350*F for 15-20 min.

Potato Pancakes No. 2

Potato Pancakes No. 2

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from Tempting Kosher Dishes from the B. Manichewitz Co. (1930)

About the Recipe

It’s wintertime holiday season, which means it’s time for some latkes! And who better to give Becky and I a perfect latke recipe, than the Manichewitz Company? This is a basic, excellent recipe and hit the latke craving spot just right. Since it’s not Passover, we subbed in flour for the matzoh meal which worked just fine. We also splurged a little bit and fried it up in schmaltz, and I’m not going to lie – it’s divine!

Pro tip: To keep your oil / fat from going wonky and getting brown and burnt, stick a mini carrot or part of a full carrot in your pan. It sounds odd, but it really does keep everything tasting great.

For more recipes from my Weekend at Becky’s click here!

About the book

This book is cool for a number of reasons. We’ll start with the book itself. This is the third edition of the 1930 book and comes with one half in English, and the other half in Yiddish. We can imagine that at that time Yiddish may have still been spoken in the home. As the unifying language of the Jewish people, it was guaranteed that whether you were a recent immigrant or first generation American, you were able to enjoy all of the recipes. (Author’s Note: an earlier version of this blog incorrectly described the language as Hebrew.)

Now the history of this particular book. It belonged originally to Becky’s namesake – the original Rebecca, and her great-grandmother on her mother’s side. She was born in 1891 in Poland, and lived in Brooklyn according to her naturalization record, dated April 18th, 1939 on Ancestry. It’s just so cool that this book has made it 2 generations down the line.

About the glassware

It’s only fitting that a family book should have its recipe plated on a family plate. This plain, lovely white dish came from Becky’s Dassie (grandma), and was passed down to enjoy in her kitchen. We don’t know much about it, but it’s pretty and it does an outstanding job as a latke platter.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

5 or 6 grated raw potatoes (about 3 cups)
1 grated onion
2 eggs
3/4 cup Manischewitz’s Matzo Meal
1 T salt
1/2 t pepper

Directions:

Drain off most of the liquid from the grated potatoes, then mix them with the other ingredients. Drop by tablespoonfuls into deep fat heated to 375*. Fry until golden brown. Makes 10-12 pancakes.

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Potato Kugel (Meat)

Potato Kugel (Meat)

by Andi Cohen-Rabiner ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

A Recipe from Grandma’s Kosher Recipes (1968)

About the Recipe

The same way that every Italian family has its own red sauce, every Jewish family has its own kugel recipe. Full disclosure – this is not my family’s recipe, but it is really freaking good.

This is the kind of recipe that could be adapted for any occasion. Do you need it to go with a kosher milk meal? Just use oil instead of smaltz. Do you need it to be kosher for Passover? Substitute the flour for potato starch or a very fine matzo meal and you’re set! This versatile dish is perfect for every table.

For more recipes from my Weekend at Becky’s click here!

About the book

This book belonged to my great-aunt Martha on my mom’s side of the family. It came to Becky by way of her mom. How it got into Becky’s mom’s hands? No idea. But there we go.

Dinners with Aunt Martha and Grandma Koppelman (Abigail or Gail to those who knew her) were full of warmth and joy. Making this dish and smelling the potatoes and smaltz as it cooked brought me back to Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Salisbury, MD.

Two days ago was Grandma’s yartzeit (anniversary of her death). While she passed away 4 years ago, she’s still present in every family meal and gathering. To the Holt sisters in heaven – Abigail, Edith, & Martha – we remember you.

About the glassware

We made the kugel in a vintage Pyrex 232 lasagna pan. It’s one of those great dishes that was passed from person to person and ultimately mother to daughter and no one can quite remember where in the family it came from.

The Recipe!

Ingredients:

5 potatoes
1 onion
salt & pepper
3 T smaltz (chicken fat) or oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup oil for pan

Directions:

Grate potatoes and 1 onion, add salt and pepper, melt chicken fat and add, beat eggs and add, then flour. Mix well. Pour oil in bottom of pan and pour kugel in. Bake 1 hour or until brown at 375*F. Serve hot.

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