Welcome to The Kosher Chef!

Well, it's about time. I've gone and done it. I've finally created a blog. Yes, yes, I know, I'm a little late onto the scene. But after coming up with all these creative new recipes, I decided I should start sharing them and giving back to the wonderful world of cooks on the internet.

What to expect? Mostly new recipes as I try them out or invent them; maybe some commentary on kosher food in NYC. I'll also post links to interesting recipes I find or try out. My favorite source for recipes online is www.recipezaar.com. As I learn better presentation and photography skills, hopefully you'll see yummy-looking photos of my food too.

What's my cooking style? I love cooking exotic dishes, especially Moroccan food (though I try out lots of different nationalities). I also am a fan of taking everyday foods and making them taste great. I also have a sweet tooth, so I often put honey, sugar, syrup, etc. in my dishes. I also like a bit of kick to my food, so just be aware that the spicy ingredients can be removed or substituted.

That brings me to another point about my cooking style - I'm a big fan of removals/additions/substitutions to recipes. I see it as a way to take someone else's recipe and personalize it. If I see a good-looking non-kosher recipe, I'll just drop the bacon, or leave the cheese out of the chicken. A lot of people focus on following recipes exactly - to them I say, that's great if you're working in a restaurant (which I have sort of done...but more on that later :) ) because it promotes consistency - but when you're making food for your friends or for Shabbat - being exactly consistent isn't too critical (the exception is baking - I will actually measure stuff out if I'm baking!). In fact, I take pride in the fact that even if I write a recipe, I'll never make it exactly the same way twice.

That's also why you'll see me listing spices and maybe other ingredients in recipes with no amount - to me, I just eyeball it - whatever looks good is how much you put in! That's one good step to personalizing recipes and making them your own. This can be a hard concept to grasp for beginner chefs - I admit, I too insisted on amounts when I first started cooking. But eventually you get comfortable with your ingredients, with your kitchen, and you can loosen up a bit, play around and have fun!

So, once again, welcome to The Kosher Chef - home of personalized, delicious kosher cooking - I hope you enjoy!