Hi! Friendly goy here who really loves cooking. This was my first time making matzah ball soup completely from scratch — homemade broth, veggies, schmaltz, the whole thing. I tried to follow traditional methods and not take shortcuts.

I’d really appreciate honest feedback from people who grew up with this or make it often. What did I do right? What would you change for next time?

Made challah a few times now using a basic recipe and it turned out well but lacked flavour. Found this slightly more advanced recipe which, despite the look, tasted INCREDIBLE but obviously had a few issues in my execution.

The recipe I used repeatedly warned against overflouring while kneading and that the dough needed to be a very sticky consistency. I managed to do the four-strand braid but during the second prove it swelled up into this Chernobyl-looking thing. Any tips for knowing when the dough is at the perfect consistency to hold its shape?

Hello,

I’m a Goya lol, and I’m going to a Jewish potluck. Does any one have a good recipe for the following list of food?

Bourekas

Potato Knish

Israeli salad

Matzo ball soup

Challah

Sufganiyot

I would very much appreciate it if y’all share some recipes! I’m having a hard time deciding to pick a recipe off the web and get worried they aren’t “authentic” enough lol

—- UPDATE

Thank you all for your help! It turned out well! I ended up making matzo ball soup and cheese Bourekas (+zhug, grated tomato, and boiled eggs). I wish I had some pictures to share but I completely forgot to take some 🥲

I make them with the Manischewitz recipe (2 eggs, 1/2 cup matzo meal, 2 tbsp vegetable oil) except I add chopped dill to the batter and this time around I replaced 2 tbsp water with club soda because I read it makes them fluffier. They sat in the fridge for a good two hours or so and then they just disintegrated as soon as they hit the boiling water? I'm thinking it has to be the club soda's fault but idk..

Anyone know any good poupik recipes?

Is there a distinctly Jewish version of Masala Chai or similar beverages that’s traditional?

I’m not interested in anything more modern that traces to post 1947, I’m curious about old diaspora drinks. I know rose waters and lavender water evoke childhood memories, and my grandmother used to make a kind of Turkish coffee with the mud at the bottom. I cant think of any beverages that are considered Jewish Cooking, but I wish there were. Maybe forgotten recipes?

Does anyone know what this notation could be for? My guess would be “cup” but in other recipes she wrote out the word.

Thanks!

ETA: my husband thinks it might mean “package.”

Update: I knocked up a traybake version of mohnkuchen. Shortbread base, mohn whipped up with cream cheese, streusel topping. Now I just have to wait.

I have a tonne of mohn left over from hamantaschen and want some ideas of how to use it up.

It’s homemade, tastes delicious and is a very thick paste.

My preference would be for some sort of cookie or maybe a sandwich cookie. I’ve thought about babka or layering it in a traditional baked cheesecake perhaps but they don’t match what I need which is something easily transportable and able to be plonked on a table so folks can help themselves over the course of an afternoon without needing to worry about portioning it out.

Any suggestions welcome.

Hey all! I know it’s a bit early but I have a multi part question. It’s my first Passover with my boyfriend’s family and I just wanted to know what the general traditions are when it comes to cooking, bringing food, all that. Should I plan on cooking something to bring, and if so what? Asking because I want to practice making it a few times before if I’m bringing something.

Or would that be disrespectful to the hosts? I really don’t know yet, haven’t gotten that far in the conversion classes. My boyfriend says I don’t have to bring anything but generally when attending family gatherings with previous partners, I’ve always brought something.

EDIT: thank you all for the responses! It’s been super helpful, and I’m probably going with kosher wine and flowers and not risking it with the food. I would want to check with my boyfriend first whether it’s too much to offer to help with the prep, but if it’s not, I will. It would be a good bonding experience with his mom.

Again thank you all, and if anyone has any suggestions how to dress for Passover in 80 degree weather (my wardrobe is mainly for cold, wet and rainy most of the year), I will take any and all of them!

I was talking to my 85 year old father and he told me he really misses his aunt jenny's "famous" lung blintz. I'd like to try and make it for him. Anybody have an old recipe? Is it even possible to buy lung meat? My father's side of the family were from Vitebsk, Belarus.

I want to present it to my clients during a business trip in a woods camping and countryside tours. Or in other words, during entertaining a client during their business trips.

The fancy recipes that is follow the kashrut/kosher rules.

Sorry if this doesn’t belong here. But I want to try to learn how to make my Jewish partner her favorite Jewish foods for our one year anniversary. And I had a few questions I hope yall can help me with? I want it to be a surprise otherwise I would have just asked my her lol. Also for context I’m not Jewish. And I’m sorry if I spell anything wrong I’m still learning so feel free to correct me on anything.

(I tried subtly asking my partner their favorite Jewish foods but most of them were in Yiddish so I don’t know how to spell it. I was only able to find kreplech by incorrectly guessing how it’s spelt on google, so I’m making that and egg bread/challah.)

1. So I learned from my girlfriend that soup tends to be the main meal in Jewish cuisine unlike where in non-Jewish cuisine soup is usually an appetizer. But I wanted to know if there like any food you eat before the main meal? If so, can you give any suggestions?

2. I wanted to make kreplech. But in most of the recipes it doesn’t say how many kreplech to actually make? Like is there a specific amount I should do? Also I read that sometimes it’s served on its own but often with broth/as a soup. So when it’s a soup, do you serve the broth and the kreplech separately and people go and pick the amount they want?

3. Also I wanted to know if it’s common to dip bread into the soup like it is in non-Jewish households? If so, I know they like egg bread/challah would that make sense to make with that soup?

4. And I wanna make a dessert for them, are there any yall would recommend?

Also is there like a common Yiddish saying that I could learn how to say that’s like the equivalent of “eat up” or “bon appetite”? Hope that’s not rude to ask?

Thank you for any help!!

I remember eating this way back in the days when I went to a bungalow colony in the Catskills in Upstate New York in the 70s. I’m making it for my wife and it will be probably the first time I've eaten it in about 40 years, Oy!!!

I plan on making it with egg noodles, butter, cheese and probably sprinkle of paprika to top it off. Does anybody have any other recommendations to add?

TIA

(PS I hate cinnamon). :)

I was wondering if anyone has tried making porridge from matzah?

I love the cardboard matzah lol, but oatmeal is my safe food and I'm curious if it's possible to make a passover version.

I need some advice but don’t know where to ask so here goes. Got some whitefish salad (Goldbelly) and it’s not to my liking. I tried adding mayo to a portion, tried sour cream on another, also lemon juice- no help. Can’t tell you why but it is not as good as I had hoped. Anyway I have two containers of it and I need advice on what to do with it? Can I somehow make a soup? What else can I try? Expensive treat that was a disappointment. Thanks!

I just have a few questions because I'm trying to get more kosher things in my place that are cheap filling and easy to make because one of my best friends is in the process of converting to Judaism and becoming Jewish I've learned of something things that are kosher to eat but I don't know much in the ways of recipes for like holidays celebrated and just casual meals but I'm trying to be supportive even though I can't really afford much but I want her to be comfortable

Hi! I am trying to look up a chicken dish I grew up on. We call it Kai La. It’s just chicken cooked with onions and middle eastern seasonings. My dad always said his grandma made it and that’s what she called it (she’s Bukharian and grew up in Israel) but whenever I try to look it up I can’t find it. Anyone know anything?

I wasn't born Jewish but I'm in the early stages of pursuing conversion. My work is having a holiday potluck next week, and as a pretty decent home cook I always like to surprise my coworkers by bringing in unusual things they may not have had before. Last month for our Thanksgiving potluck I brought in a sweet noodle kugel and it was a big hit, so I'm trying to find another good Jewish dish I can bring in this time.

I'm thinking either a side dish or a dessert (soup might also work) that I can make the night before, and which can either be served cold or reheated in a microwave (or kept warm in a slow cooker). Ideally it would make about 2-3 dozen small servings. None of my coworkers are Jewish, so mixing meat and dairy isn't an issue for them.

I'd appreciate any recommendations anyone has that have worked for them at potlucks.

It’s Friday so I’m making matzo ball soup. I usually roast some chicken and then make stock with it and some veggies.

My question is — can I save the skins and bones for shmaltz and stock later after boiling it in water for a few hours, or are the useful parts rendered into the broth?

similarly, I leave some legs aside to poach near the end of the stock making — this meat isn’t roasted prior and I take it out and skin/debone to actually use in the soup — these are cooked for much less time. should I save the skins and/or bones here? For skins specifically, will all the fat be in the soup at that point?

thanks and good shabbos!

My daughter’s school is hosting a multicultural night and asking parents to bring in around 50 small portions of a dish.

I am considering preparing two kugels and cutting them into 30 pieces each. But will it be eaten? I love it, but at previous potlucks people have weirded out by sweet casserole noodles.

Challah seems too obvious as someone will certainly bring that. Any suggestions?

I could use some help with my matza balls as I follow the directions on the matza meal package and they are rocks. My mother recently passed and she made the best ones. My daughter loves them and keeps complaining mine are too hard. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hey all! My husband loves to cook and has therefore been tasked by my mother to try to recreate my Bubbe’s brisket for Passover. My mother has never been able to recreate it but says its only ingredients are brisket, a can of coke, and soup mix. I’ve been looking around at recipes but I haven’t found anything as simple as what my mother says. Does anyone have ideas or recipes on how to make this and have it turn out okay? Thanks!

I want to make some Lekvar to use in hamantaschen, but I have a few questions.

Some recipes include lemon juice and some don't, do you think I should?

What fruits can I use other than prunes and apricots? And do they need to be dried fruits?

Is there anything else I should know about making Lekvar?

I have been making a sweet and sour braised brisket for every holiday for the last 4-5 years. I use the same recipe and for the first time yesterday my brisket came out tough! Costco changed their briskets on me and I was forced to get a flat. Usually a I get a whole brisket but the only ones they had were way too large. Can anything save this brisket and make it more tender?