Holiday Goodies

If you peek into the kitchens of most observant Jews you will see a double sink. Don’t ask me how over 2,000 years Jews took “don’t cook a calf in its mother’s milk” and created a set of rules that necessitates at least two sets of dishes, crockpots, and strainers, but there you have it.  Meat and dairy products are kept strictly apart under Jewish dietary law.  To ensure that never the twain shall meet, usually one side of the sink will be dedicated to dairy dishes and the other to utensils used for meat.  And that’s where you can learn a lot about how a family likes to eat. 

One of my closest friends uses both sides for dairy.  She likes meat, but she doesn’t like to cook it.  My grandparents only had one sink.  Let’s just say that once my grandmother proudly waved a single spoon in front of my newly married mother’s face shouting proudly “See!  I do have dairy dishes!” Being ever so balanced, my sink usually has a few dishes stacked in both sides.

For the holidays I'm serving chocolate mini-candy bars at home and giving them as gifts. They're a lot of fun to make. They taste great and look so cool.

For everyone who doesn't have the time, I am making them to sell.  If you don't live in the LA area, I can mail them to you.  You can email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

MAKING THEM AT HOME

To make chocolates requires a few specialized tools, some of which may already be in your kitchen.

A double boiler or two saucepans that can fit together, a Silpat or nonstick sheet, and a silicone spatula are the basics. If you want to make individual chocolates, you will also have to invest in hard plastic or silicone molds sold in restaurant supply and some kitchen supply stores. 

Be prepared to do a lot of tasting in pursuit of a chocolate you like. What you need to find is chocolate sold in bulk, not chocolate bars that are designed to be consumed like candy bars. Once you find a chocolate you like, start thinking about flavors and nuts.

Making the juciest bone-in, whole holiday ham is easier than you think. It all starts with the ham itself. I'll admit, I am a bit a ham snob. It has to be quality and it HAS to be bone-in. Now, almost five years ago, I wrote about a making a Baked Ham with Rum and Coke Glaze. It is an amazing recipe using a smaller ham, but still bone-in. Please tell me you have stopped buying the pre-sliced spiral ham. If you haven't, call me and I'll talk you off the ledge, or I'll talk to your family member who's still doing it.

Anyway, I have to admit I am so, so lucky to have one of the most quality places to buy meat. This particular bone-in, whole ham is from Carlton Farms, my local go-to place for all things meat. To all of my local friends, these hams are the best I have ever tasted. No exaggeration. And no one is paying me say that. My mom, who has been cooking hams for YEARS visits and can't believe how lovely these turn out. A good ham requires little intervention.

My point is, you have to start with an excellent ham, to get the best and juiciest flavor. And don't be afraid of the carving, it's not hard. This particular ham weighed in at 19.5 pounds. It would, without a doubt, feed 20-25 people, or better yet, a smaller crowd with lots of leftovers.

As each time zone in the world welcomed the new millennium, twelve people in a little flat in San Francisco celebrated with a unique dining experience.

The New Year’s Eve feast began at 4pm Pacific Time with long-life noodles and caviar tarts, as Sonja, her husband Dave and their guests joined a few billion people who were still partying in Asia and Russia.

Then, every hour on the hour, wherever it was midnight, they served assorted bite-sized cuisine indigenous to countries where the 21st century had just begun.