In a Nutshell

Yapchik Remake

I recently made a yapchik that was so easy because I didn't do anything to the meat first. I made the typical potato kugel batter, threw in some bone-in flanken, drizzled oil on top, covered tightly, and baked at 200–225°F (90–105°C) overnight and then some. It was delish! (If you want a crust, first bake at 400°F/200°C for an hour, then cover tightly and proceed as above. You can’t go wrong!)

—Faigy Grossman

Just Sayin’

What’s one product or ingredient that you feel there’s no real substitution for in Israel? What products sub well?

I have a few, but here are two for starters!

I miss the variety of low-fat shredded hard cheeses, such as Muenster, mozzarella, etc. There’s a large variety of sliced cheese available nowadays, even one that’s low fat, but not in shredded form. What I do is buy the 9% low-fat variety in slice form, roll it up, and cut it into pieces that resemble shredded.

Caramel chips (and other flavored chips) are hard to find. If it’s a cake or bars, you can add some (pareve) caramel cream to give it the right flavor. Not the same, but good in a pinch.

—Brynie Greisman

Review It!

Kitchen Fave

This is not new, but I really rely on a good electric knife sharpener like the Presto 08800 EverSharp Electric Knife Sharpener, which I bought in July 2013 and has served me well ever since.

—Michal Frischman

Reader Feedback

My best Erev Shabbos timesaver is doubling whatever cake or cookie batter recipe I make. I bake half of it on Erev Shabbos, then freeze the other half. On a busy Friday when I don’t have time to bake, I just take my cake batter out of the freezer, defrost, and bake. The cake batter rises beautifully — even though it was frozen — and this way we can have a fresh cake with half the amount of time (and mess!) spent in the kitchen.

—Ilana Kedar, Ramat Beit Shemesh

FT, Help me!

Are there any products you can buy to make the fastest ever dessert?

Frozen chocolate chip cookie dough, graham cracker crusts, and custard cream.

—Rivky Kleiman

Ok, Quick:

What’s your favorite cookie flavor?

I have parallel favorites. There’s the loaded chocolate chip cookie made with browned butter that has bits of toffee and pretzels in it for the perfect sweet-savory combination. Then there’s the Moroccan rifat cookies that are a cross between a cracker and a tea cookie; just-sweet and studded with anise seeds. I’ll take either or both any day.

—Sina Mizrahi

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 774)