Wealth of kosher products soup up Passover recipes
A walk down the kosher aisle at the grocery store isn't what it used to be. Instead of one shelf filled with matzo meal and potato pancake mix, shelves nearly bow under the weight of products such as Manischewitz chicken broth, Kedeem Sparkling Juice and Gefen noodles.
No brand probably has more recognition than New Jersey-based Manischewitz. And no surprise -- the company has been around for 120 years.
If you haven't firmed up your Passover Seder menu yet, head to the company's Web site, manischewitz.com, for inspiration. Try Carrot and Ginger Soup, a finalist in the company's Simply Manischewitz cook-off, or Chocolate Torte With Honey Almond Cookie Crust from cookbook author Sarah Lasry.
While at the store, keep an eye out for the Manischewitz 120th Anniversary Tins. These commemorative tins come with 1 pound of Passover Matzo in stay-fresh inner packs but only 4,500 units (priced at $4.99) are available for Passover 2008. If you can't find it at the store, you can head to the Web site for a chance to win one.
Flayvor of Love? VH1 might not turn it into its next reality series, but celebrity chef Bobby Flay has embarked on a contest of his own.
Instead of looking for love on the other side of the grill, he's partnered with Columbia Crest Winery to find recipes that highlight ingredients indigenous to Washington state and that pair well with Columbia Crest wines.
The "Flayvors of Washington" contest challenges cooks and oenophiles to create an original recipe using ingredients such as potatoes and snap peas, mint and alfalfa, beef and oysters. The entries will be reviewed, and the top 10 recipes will be narrowed to a selection of five finalists. Flay and Food Network executive chef Robert Bleifer will then judge the top five recipes and select first-, second- and third-place winners.
The winner of the contest will head to New York City, where he or she will cook the winning dish with Flay and then have dinner (with Columbia Crest wines, of course) at one of his restaurants.
Entries must be received by midnight May 31. For details and to enter, head to foodnetwork.com/columbiacrest.
Pours of Portugal: Explore the wines of Portugal Thursday evening at Hotel Allegro, 171 W. Randolph St., Chicago.
More than 30 Portuguese wine producers will pour samples of their spirits from 5:30 to 8 p.m.; an array of light food will be offered. From 6 to 6:30 p.m., attendees can sharpen their knowledge of the country's grapes and regions at a seated seminar.
Organizers have suggested a $30-per-person donation at the door; all proceeds will benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
Get growing: Mary Rose Hoover from the Cucina Della Rosa Cooking School and the Pasquesi Home & Gardens center have teamed up to celebrate spring and the pleasures of cooking with fresh herbs.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the nursery, 990 W. Northwest Hwy., Barrington, Hoover will demonstrate recipes using fresh herbs. The event is free. (847) 389-5511.
Hoover will repeat the program from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 10 at Pasquesi Home & Gardens' Lake Bluff location, 975 North Shore Drive. (847) 615-2700.
Another top toque: I overlooked chef Guiseppe Tentori of Boka in Chicago when I wrote last week about Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chefs. Tentori joins Koren Grieveson of avec on the list of 10 chefs, making Chicago the only city to boast two honorees.