Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes. Photo by Dan Kacvinski Passover, the Festival of Freedom — also known as the Festival of Unleavened Bread — is celebrated for eight days. Over the centuries, Jewish cooks have produced a rich array of foods for the Passover holiday, and desserts are an especially important course of the meal. No leavened ingredients may be used, such as flour, grains, cornstarch, baking powder or baking soda. One…

The Thanksgiving holiday is the perfect time to invite family and friends to celebrate an American tradition with a home-cooked feast. The essential elements are turkey, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce and yams. And, of course, everyone looks forward to several delicious desserts. My mother was very proud of her very special veggie stuffing and used it for chicken as well as turkey. She mixed everything together and placed it in the bird…

Cooking up kids’ favorites can be delicious and nutritious Macaroni and Cheese. Photos by Dan Kacvinski. Food coordinated by Judy Zeidler Kids can be picky eaters, but there are several dishes that they always seem to enjoy. Among the dishes that seem to be popular from generation to generation: pizza, pasta, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly and grilled cheese. Too often, though, these meals are not filled with…

Shavuot marks an important religious event — the receiving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. In ancient times, Shavuot was also celebrated as a spring harvest holiday, featuring foods gathered from the fields. Today, the traditional dishes we serve combine dairy products, fruits, vegetables and grains. The produce available at local farmers’ markets inspires us to celebrate the holiday with a variety of recipes using the freshest ingredients. For…

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is a holiday full of hope and optimism as well as apples, honey and round challahs. Many of the traditional dishes that are served feature honey and apples to assure “a sweet new year.” It is said the custom of eating apples, a fruit whose fragrance is associated with the Garden of Eden, forecasts a New Year that will be smooth, sweet and well-rounded….