Join Our Girl’s Night Out! Israeli Cooking Demo Feeds The Soul

Whether you’re looking for interesting new recipes for Rosh Hashanah or just want a fun Girl’s Night Out, join our Israeli cooking demo and tasting on September 10, 7-9 p.m., with Renee Chernin, an international speaker and author of the widely acclaimed Cooking for the King, Rosh Hashanah Edition.

Presented by The Jewish Women’s Society, this kosher food fest, called “Success in Elul,” is open to everyone in the community. Chernin promises to feed the soul with recipes like the sweet and crunchy Shana Tova salad, which she describes as a “one jewel toned salad that has become a holiday tradition and is so beautiful it can be the centerpiece for your Yom Tov table.” 

Chernin will show us how get the most out of cooking, both practically and spiritually, which makes her demos both exciting and educational.

“Every recipe in the book contains at least one of the ‘simanim’ special foods we eat at the beginning of the Rosh Hashanah meal. These foods hint to Hashem about the many ways we hope he will fulfill our prayers for a good year,” says Chernin, who is a writer, recipe developer, and creator of the popular cooking website, TheKosherChannel.com.

“I always share the Roasted Leek Pasta with Spinach Pesto, partly because women tell me they would not have made it unless they see the demo, then they make it all the time. It is an incredibly adaptable recipe.”

And, of course, no meal is complete without dessert.

“We’ll also make the oatmeal orange date bars, sweet without a lot of sugar and a good source of energy. Dates are one of the fruits for which the land of Israel is praised. The date palm itself is a symbol of grace and elegance and its fruit is naturally sweet, and these are core qualities of Jewish women throughout history,” says Chernin.

Many families make a Siman Seder for the first course on Rosh Hashanah. Simanim are a sort of “secret code” to Hashem about how we count on Him to provide many good things for us in the coming year, she explains.

“For many, the traditional simanim, such as beets, squash and cabbage are foods that do not seem special or appealing. These recipes dress up those mundane vegetables so they appeal not only to the eye, but are also a treat for your taste buds.”

Also pleasing to the eye and palate is the siman dip with beet chips, a clever way to serve two simanim at once. The ruby bright beet chips contrast beautifully with the creamy dip of pureed roasted butternut squash.

“So much time and energy poured into a 20 minute meal sapped any seeds of enthusiasm I may have had. To tackle that, I learned cooking techniques from food magazines and signed up for cooking classes. Once I gained confidence, my creative juices started to flow,” says Chernin, who travels the world teaching women the Jewish connection to cuisine.

Experimenting in the kitchen became a fun occasional activity. When her  family became Shabbat observant, cooking finally held meaning for her.  She and her husband made aliyah in 2007, and today they live in a 600-year old apartment in the Old City of Yerushalayim. They have two daughters and two grandchildren who live in Baltimore, and cooking is a significant part of their lives.

“There is a higher purpose everything we do–even  in the kitchen. This motivated me to provide beautiful meals to honor our holy days and the people around our table,” she says.

Chernin has rarely made a dish exactly the same way twice. It was when she started her own catering business that she began to write down her recipes. She tested and tweaked until each dish was perfectly balanced and easy to reproduce. Those recipes are the foundation of her first book, Cooking for the King, Winning Recipes for Shabbos and Yom Yov,”  published in 2013.

Chernin centers her work on the practical and inner lives of today’s Jewish woman. Her articles have appeared in Jewish Action Magazine, Aish.com, OU.org, Horizons Magazine, Israel National News, Israel Ahavas Yisrael Project Publications, Baltimore Jewish Times and the Deep South Jewish Voice.

“In my 20’s and 30’s I was both a feminist and culinary klutz,” who was originally from the Deep South and raised in a culturally Jewish and specifically Sephardic family. “The kitchen was just a place to make coffee. So how does one get from Alabama to Jerusalem, from kitchen aversion to writing a cookbook, from shunning to embracing the idea of being an hakeret habyait (mainstay of the Jewish home)? Well, come to the demo, and you’ll hear the rest of the story,” she says.

Spots are filling fast, so RSVP today by contacting Alana Minoff at  alanaminoff@gmail.com or 314-303-0861.

Tasting fee: $8 JWS Members, $12 JWRP participants and general public. Sponsorships in merit, in honor, or in memory also are available, starting at $54.

Whether you’re a balaboosta or a newbie in the kitchen, don’t miss this fun event and learn what the JWS is all about!

Created as an outgrowth of the JWRP experience, JWS is open to all women in the St Louis community who want to learn and grow together through ongoing classes, social events, leadership opportunities, home study groups, and hands-on resources that inspire them to enrich their lives by instilling Jewish values