Geila Hocherman is the author of the new cookbook, Kosher Revolution. She attended La Varenne and has received certificates from Paris’s Cordon Bleu and Manhattan’s Peter Kump’s Cooking School, now the Institute of Culinary Education. She was gourmet food buyer for Bloomingdales, worked as a private kosher caterer, and was a prep-cook at the Food Network. She has also contributed to the former kosher-cooking site, bfruitfull.com.
What is the Kosher Revolution?
Kosher revolution is your passport to unlimited kosher cooking, giving you the tools to make any dish Kosher without compromise. Kosher Revolution is a new way of thinking about kosher cooking that removes constraints while still observing kosher practice.
What are your favorite substitutions for making a dairy dish parve?
That depends on whether the dish is sweet or savory. For savory I prefer neutral flavored nut milks, eggs, flavored oils or mayonnaise. For sweet I will lean toward a sweeter finish nut mulk, swiss meringue and again eggs in various forms for thickening.
All us foodies are enjoying the tastes of other cuisines and cultures and you share many in your book, what is your favorite cuisine?
While there are many fabulous Asian recipes in the book they are not from one culture. Of the European cultures my personal preference always runs to Italian. There are many Italian recipes in the book that go both ways, dairy and meat. My favorite is the linguine with roasted vegetables that I finish with a pareve parmesan. I find Italian food with its quality ingredients and simpler techniques well-suited for home cooks.
What is your earliest memory of cooking?
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What is your favorite food?
Anything chocolate. The lava cakes, chocolate hazelnut souffle roll, and chocolate challah recipes in the book can attest to that.
What is your least favorite food?
It’s a tie between lima beans and black-eyed peas, with succotash coming in at a close 3rd place. None of these are in the book.
What is your most memorable cooking experience?
There are two. When I was seven, I set the kitchen on fire trying to make matzo brei for my little brother. In college, I would make shabbat dinner for a raucous crowd of 10-12 and a deafening silence would fall when I would bring out the chicken veronique–with grapes and mushrooms, page 95: The only sounds were the clinking of cutlery on plates and moans of pleasure.
What advice do you have for the busy home cook?
1. prepare as many elements of a dish in advance.
2. have a well stocked freezer and pantry.
3. Plan your menu carefully. Not every dish should be a star, only one complicated dish per meal.
What will be on your Thanksgiving table next week?
Coconut-Ginger squash soup, pg 61; high-heat roast turkey with port gravy and apple, cranberry and sausage stuffing, pg 86; glazed brussel sprouts with chestnuts, pg 139; roasted fingerling potatoes pg ; ratatouille hash pg 132; maple pecan pie, pg 170.
Where will the Kosher Revolution go to next?
I would like to update the holidays while retaining the traditions. I am aiming for a lighter, healthier, more sophisticated versions of the classics.
Enjoy these recipes as a sampling of what you can find in my book.
***GIVEAWAY*** You can win your very own copy of Kosher Revolution by Geila Hocherman. In the comments below, please tell us what’s on your kosher Thanksgiving menu. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older, and must be US residents. Contest ends December 2 2011 at 9 am EST. One winner will be picked by online randomizer from qualifying comments.
THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
We had Turkey, Cornbread Casserole, Cranberry Sauce, Green Beans, Sweet Potatoes, and stuffing.
Turkey with cornbread dressing, creamed potatoes, steamed green beans, sweet potato souffle, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie is on our menu.
The turkey!
We’ll have a turkey, and all the usual fixings
We are pretty traditional so its going to be turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, veggies.
Turkey and Stuffing!
We do a Thanksgiving Shabbos. Baked Gefilte fish with Schug and Mayo, Terra Chip Salad was requested by a special guest. Carrot-parsnip Soup with deep fried parsnip chips for garnish, Lovely Orange glazed Turkey (I drape a cheesecloth soaked in the orange juice/oil margarine marinade over the Turkey, which helps to keep the turkey basted and very moist. (Hot) Sausage stuffing, cranberry sauce, apple crisp, roasted sage potatoes and crunchy green beans with almond pesto. Pumpkin pudding cake for dessert and fruit tray with pineapple and kiwi. Wallah!
turkey cooked in a rotisserie, yummy, salad, sweet potatoes cooked in real maple syrup, green beans, stuffing roasted beets, mashed potatoes.
We had the traditional turkey and the traditional potato kugel and corn flake/challah stuffing. Then since my son has decided he doesn’t like turkey a piece of chicken. Sweet potatoes, green salad, carrots from turkey, pumpkin pie.
Among the fixins we had Turkey, meatballs, sweet potatoes, and this combo of mashed potatoes and mashed cauliflower that my mom made. Of course I am partial to the desserts since that was my contribution to the meal. Apple crisp, Pecan Pie, Blueberry pie, Brownies, Cappucino Mousse pie…all so yummy!
Turkey, stuffing, garlic potatoes, and apple pie.
smoked duck, gluten free sage dressing, steamed broccoli, large salad, Flourless chocolate cake, gluten free Chex mix
We had turkey, garlic mash potatoes, corn on the cob, sweet potato pie with marshmallows on top, canned cranberry sauce. nothing left but the carcass for the yummy turkey soup!
We started off Thanksgiving by watching my youngest daughter run in a local Turkey Trot for charity. Then it was back home to prepare and eat our turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts and mushroom stuffing, along with pecan pie, apple pie and chocolate chip pound cake. We started our feasting with chicken wings, guacamole, hummus and chips and football games on TV. While we were only 5 adults and my 2 year old granddaughter for Thanksgiving, we added 2 more adults to our Shabbat dinner. We also added chicken soup, mazel balls and alphabet noodles, lemon chicken and lemon sauce, and sauteed mushrooms with spinach, and the piece de resistance, turkey shaped challah! Leftover turkey sandwiches were eaten on my homemade artisan bread over Shabbat!
ha ha, “pareve parmesan”, we’d be lucky to get parmesan, forget about the parve one.
We had pumpkin sweet potato soup, with sweet potato knaidlach. With a big salad and fresh home made bread, it was a wonderful meal. There’s just the two of us, and I’m vegetarian, so we decided our major time of Thanksgiving this year would be during Sukkot!
Since I’m vegan and kosher, I have to bring most everything I want to eat! This year I made a delicious butternut squash casserole with white beans, roasted chestnuts, and carmelized onions; vegan stuffing; and vegan sage gravy. Yum!!
Turkey, whole wheat stuffing with walnut and sage, gravey, green beans and I think sweet potatoes with marshmellow fluff (can not get kosher marshmellows near me). Oh, and parve pumpkin pie for desert.
No one here is really excited about turkey so I splurged and bought two rib roasts and will offer with them au juis or with my super duper horseradish sauce which can only be made with fresh horseradish. When I was a teen I worked for a neighbor lady who had a catering service in her basement which she kept kosher as well as her household and she told me that if you make this horseradish sauce with prepared horseradish you will be cursed for life. I think she was just pretending at least I hope so. Ha! Ha!
We were 16 for Thanksgiving (and 10 for Shabbat dinner!). The menu was: Sweet potato and almond soup; tossed salad; smoked turkey with orange ginger sauce; bread stuffing (dressing) with Andouille sausage, dried cranberries, and apple; Brussels sprouts poppers; chive biscuits; cranberry-mixed berry sauce; sweet potato pie with spiced whipped topping; pecan pie; and a triple-layer dark chocolate cake for my husband’s birthday.
Turkey, out-of-the-turkey-stuffing, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, lentils, rice, edamame salad, homemade cranberry sauce
Turkey (baked in a Reynold’s turkey bag – yum!), cranberry pineapple sauce, sweet potatoes with marshmallows and pineapple, challah kugel with mushrooms, peppers and onions
My family prefers very “meat and potatoes” types of dishes, so I can never venture too far away from the traditional meal. I try to put my own little twists on things each year. I made a spinach, walnut, craisin and pear salad with a creamy maple dressing, butternut squash/apple soup, shallot and thyme roasted turkey, stuffing with veal/apple/nut sausage with apples and craisins, cranberry pear relish, maple roasted sweet potatoes, roasted brussels sprouts with balsamic vinegar, and pumpkin bread pudding for dessert. We were 10 adults, and there was only enough turkey left over for one meal!
Cooked the whole meal: butternut squash soup with rosemary, chive biscuits, cornbread, turkey, cranberry sauce with strawberries, maple glazed sweet potatoes, green beans w/ carmelized red onions, fresh green salad, and of course, pumpkin pie for dessert and gingerbread cookies
lucky for me I was only in charge of dessert – Pumpkin pie and orange mocha pecan pie!
I have a sweet potato cornbread stuffing on my Kosher menu!
We drove 3 hours each way to bring Thanksgiving dinner to my mom. I made yeast pumpkin bread, brown & wild rice with cranberries, walnuts & onions, roasted cauliflower & broccoli, baked winter squash, high temperature roast turkey, and cranberry-apple sauce. My husband, mother, aunt, and cousin all raved about the meal.
I am making smoked brisket, pumpkin muffins, and cranberry sauce, others are making turkey, chicken, stuffing, pumpkin pie bars, chocolate cake, sweet potato casserole with marshmallows and cornflake crunch, green beans, and I’m not sure what else because I’m not hosting this year.
turkey, brussel sprouts with chestnuts, stuffin’ muffins,cranberry mustard sauce, carrot ginger soup, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole with marshmallow topping (thanks joyofkosher.com!), and cranberry pie for dessert. Oh, and of course some yummy apple cider to drink!
I’m making a roasted honey-glazed turkey (your recipe, except without your dressing), dressing, gravy, glazed carrots, roasted spicy sweet potatoes and butternut squash, mashed potatoes, (plain) green beans…and I’m still thinking about the biscuits. We’ll have dessert much later in the evening, and it’ll be chocolate pudding.
We’ll make a traditional stuffed turkey, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, green beans almondine, fruity cranberry sauce, and of course, pumpkin pie. Also trying something new this year – pumpkin ice cream (pareve) from the JOK website!
We’ll have a turkey, and all the usual fixings. In my family we always starts with winter crudite and artichoke dip, then later have dinner. That’s the best part! We’re also switching up dessert this year to have “apple pie a la mode” without the crust, and pumpkin puddings.
Turkey, Baked Acorn squash, Strawberry-cranberry sauce, sauteed bok choy and mushrooms, grilled asparagus.
My Israeli husband doesn’t “get” Thanksgiving so we have to have brisket too.
Starting with chazzers in blankets (Dad’s visiting – it’s his favorite), turkey with artichoke stuffing, cranberry-kumquat relish, sauteed cabbage and apples, mashed potatoes, pear-cranberry crumble, and a dessert to be named later.
The usual traditional dishes. I am using a home grown chicken to make roasted chicken stock to use for my gravy and stuffing this year. I tried a new apple cake for Rosh Hashanah and it was so good my family asked me to make it for Thanksgiving so that is new this year. But what I cannot wait for are the wonderful turkey sandwiches with leftover turkey. So good for breakfast with hot coffee.
There will be turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, apfulkuchen (homemade apple pie/cake), and some other awesome dessert. Yum!
There will be turkey and stuffing and meatballs for sure- yum!