Hosting
Mouth-Watering Regional Recipes from Hosts Around the World
By Ziva Sholin, MHWOW Program Coordinator
*Books flight*
“I grew up in Southern New Jersey, and a little known fact about the town of Hammonton, a town over from where we lived, is that it is the self-proclaimed blueberry capital of the world. I remember when I was small my grandparents coming down from Brooklyn and us all going to a local farm to pick blueberries. I was deemed the master picker, though I don’t actually think I was very efficient at it, or at least, I’m not now. In any case, the recipe that comes to mind when I think about blueberries is this one for Blueberry Pie with Cornmeal Crust and Lemon Cream. What I love about this recipe is that the cornmeal crust provides some depth of flavor to contrast with the sweetness of the berries, and the lemon cream provides some richness and tartness. All together it makes for a great blueberry experience.”
Check out Joelle’s favorite recipe for this delicious dessert here and invite me over if you make it!
“My husband grew up in the Midwest, where the rule is to not plant before Mother’s Day, because one last burst of winter might take out your plants. So it was really fun when we lived in Los Angeles, which doesn’t believe in winter, that we harvested our first tomatoes on Mother’s Day (meaning we planted well before that). We (he) grew SO MANY tomatoes in the California sunshine, I needed to find ways to use them all up. One good option on a scorching hot summer day in our air conditioning-challenged house was caprese salad: warm tomato flavor without committing the sin of turning on the oven or stove. Of course, our local grocery store was much more likely to have queso fresco than fresh mozzarella. The flavors were so good on their own, I skipped the basil and balsamic, making this a two-ingredient recipe:
Cut tomatoes and queso fresco into approximately equal shapes and quantity (we did little cubes to go with our halved cherry tomatoes). Combine in a bowl and devour.”
“I always eat it for Thanksgiving because I’m vegetarian. It’s a very easy dish to “set and forget” as your prepping other things for a holiday or Shabbat dinner. I get:
16 oz of tater tots (frozen)
8 oz of sour cream
1 package of frozen peas
2 cups of cheese
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
You mix them all together and put in a 16×9 casserole dish and cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.”
“Kubana is a Yemenite breakfast pastry, similar to monkey bread. I learned to make kubana from my Savta. Savta learned from her mother, a Yemenite refugee. I’m on the phone with my mom or Savta every time I make it. This winter I was on the phone with my mom for the two hours it took to roll a batch.”
Adam’s recipe is a family secret but if you want to recreate it at home, check out at a recipe here.
“Donair is like shawarma but…. totally different. It has “donair sauce” on “donair meat” in a pita with onions and tomatoes. It’s typically hallal but not kosher (there’s condensed milk in the sauce). Anyhow, it’s kind of like going for a beer after a Passover Seder, it’s wrong but when you’re young you do it. So “young” Jews would go to Friday services, go downtown to the bars afterwards, and finish a Friday night with a donair. It’s also only made and sold in Atlantic Canada, primarily Halifax.”
Sara said she’s never made it, but if you want to taste it yourself, try this recipe at home!
“The most typical dish from my country is asado (it’s like a barbecue). In my family, we eat it almost every Sunday. It’s the occasion when all the family meets. As I am a vegetarian, we prepare both, meat and vegetables.”
Here’s Carla’s favorite Argentine Asado recipe and step-by-step guide to making the dish!
If you try any of these recipes, email us at withoutwalls@memglobal.org and let us know how they turned out!
Blueberry Pie with Cornmeal Crust and Lemon Cream from Hammonton, New Jersey by Joelle Abramowitz
“I grew up in Southern New Jersey, and a little known fact about the town of Hammonton, a town over from where we lived, is that it is the self-proclaimed blueberry capital of the world. I remember when I was small my grandparents coming down from Brooklyn and us all going to a local farm to pick blueberries. I was deemed the master picker, though I don’t actually think I was very efficient at it, or at least, I’m not now. In any case, the recipe that comes to mind when I think about blueberries is this one for Blueberry Pie with Cornmeal Crust and Lemon Cream. What I love about this recipe is that the cornmeal crust provides some depth of flavor to contrast with the sweetness of the berries, and the lemon cream provides some richness and tartness. All together it makes for a great blueberry experience.”
Check out Joelle’s favorite recipe for this delicious dessert here and invite me over if you make it!
Van Nuys Caprese from Los Angeles, California by Ariella Rohr
“My husband grew up in the Midwest, where the rule is to not plant before Mother’s Day, because one last burst of winter might take out your plants. So it was really fun when we lived in Los Angeles, which doesn’t believe in winter, that we harvested our first tomatoes on Mother’s Day (meaning we planted well before that). We (he) grew SO MANY tomatoes in the California sunshine, I needed to find ways to use them all up. One good option on a scorching hot summer day in our air conditioning-challenged house was caprese salad: warm tomato flavor without committing the sin of turning on the oven or stove. Of course, our local grocery store was much more likely to have queso fresco than fresh mozzarella. The flavors were so good on their own, I skipped the basil and balsamic, making this a two-ingredient recipe:
Cut tomatoes and queso fresco into approximately equal shapes and quantity (we did little cubes to go with our halved cherry tomatoes). Combine in a bowl and devour.”
Tater Tot Casserole from Des Moines, Iowa by Bevin Fritz-Waters
“I always eat it for Thanksgiving because I’m vegetarian. It’s a very easy dish to “set and forget” as your prepping other things for a holiday or Shabbat dinner. I get:
16 oz of tater tots (frozen)
8 oz of sour cream
1 package of frozen peas
2 cups of cheese
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
You mix them all together and put in a 16×9 casserole dish and cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.”
Kubana from Yemen by Adam Engel
“Kubana is a Yemenite breakfast pastry, similar to monkey bread. I learned to make kubana from my Savta. Savta learned from her mother, a Yemenite refugee. I’m on the phone with my mom or Savta every time I make it. This winter I was on the phone with my mom for the two hours it took to roll a batch.”
Adam’s recipe is a family secret but if you want to recreate it at home, check out at a recipe here.
Donair from Halifax, Nova Scotia by Sara Lawlor
“Donair is like shawarma but…. totally different. It has “donair sauce” on “donair meat” in a pita with onions and tomatoes. It’s typically hallal but not kosher (there’s condensed milk in the sauce). Anyhow, it’s kind of like going for a beer after a Passover Seder, it’s wrong but when you’re young you do it. So “young” Jews would go to Friday services, go downtown to the bars afterwards, and finish a Friday night with a donair. It’s also only made and sold in Atlantic Canada, primarily Halifax.”
Sara said she’s never made it, but if you want to taste it yourself, try this recipe at home!
Asado from Rosario, Argentina by Carla Chernomordik
“The most typical dish from my country is asado (it’s like a barbecue). In my family, we eat it almost every Sunday. It’s the occasion when all the family meets. As I am a vegetarian, we prepare both, meat and vegetables.”
Here’s Carla’s favorite Argentine Asado recipe and step-by-step guide to making the dish!
If you try any of these recipes, email us at withoutwalls@memglobal.org and let us know how they turned out!