Courses: Entrees It's been an unusually cold winter with this "polar vortex". I wanted to make a delicious Friday night Shabbat dinner that would be warm and comforting. One of my friends highly recommended this unique sounding chicken dish from the highly touted new cookbook by Yotam Ottlenghi and Sami Tamimi, called Jerusalem (published by Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA). 
First a word about the cookbook: Jerusalem is a beautiful and lovely foray into the world of Middle Eastern cooking. Ottolenghi and Tamimi are Jewish Israeli and Arab Israeli chefs who co-own a restaurant in London, England. They use ingredients that are fragrant, wholesome, fresh, and soooo delicious. This chicken dish came out looking exactly like the photo in their cookbook and was a huge hit! Perfect for a cold winter night! I also recommend Ottolenghi's earlier published cookbook, Plenty (vegetables of all kinds). It makes me want to stay in the kitchen and cook for days. Who wants to join me!?!
Courses: Soups & Salads Cuisines: Vegetables / Vegetarian
I set out to create a soup full of tomato flavour, perfect for a wintery day. By combining lots of ripe Roma tomatoes, rich sundried Italian tomatoes and a can of organic fire-roasted whole tomatoes, I was able to ramp-up the flavour and create a full-bodied and delicious soup.
I have two secret ingredients that always add that little extra touch to my soups: some lemon juice to add a little brightness, and a touch of maple syrup to round out the flavours and add a little more body and richness. (Just be careful to add both in small amounts at a time and: taste, taste, taste!)
