In a Nutshell:

How I Season Steak

First I pat the steak dry. I drizzle with a nice amount of olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper, some garlic powder, a bit of Montreal steak spice, mushroom umami seasoning from Trader Joe’s if I have it on hand, a healthy amount of dry parsley and rosemary, and last but not least, a squirt of mustard, whichever kind is in my fridge. I rub it all in with a gloved hand, then turn the steak over and repeat the process.

—Sima Kazarnovsky

FT, Help Me!!

How do you dress salads if you don’t know what time you’ll be eating? And how do you prep them so it’s not so much work on Yom Tov morning?

I always make a quadruple batch of my dressings, so they’re always on hand at any time. Usually I put the salad together in the morning and toss it right before I serve it. If it’s a kale or cabbage salad, I’ll dress it before I go to shul in the morning, since kale and cabbage need a little more marinating time. Otherwise, everything is dressed right before I serve it.

—Naomi Nachman

Restaurant Rave

I just had the opportunity to enjoy a fantastic dinner with friends at a relatively new dairy restaurant, Sugo, located in the Lakewood/Toms River area. The star of the show was their finger-lickin’ artisanal barbecue pizza called “The Cookout.” The name says it all!

—Chavi Feldman

Reader Feedback

I loved your cholent issue! Thank you to Miriam (Pascal) Cohen for her kishka recipe. It was delicious, better than the store-bought one! Since I’m cooking for only two, I quartered the recipe. And a small Crock-pot for two is a given. I’ve used one for the last 20 years, since my kids left the nest.

I was wondering, though, why nobody mentioned cholent spice. That’s all I use to spice my cholent (Prima is the best), with a squirt of hot sauce and ketchup.

—S. Katz

Just Sayin’

What’s your Shavuos repeat dish?

It wouldn’t be Shavuos without my Bubby’s cheese blintzes. I try to host a kiddush for my extended family on Shavuos, and there’s nothing like this taste of nostalgia. Here’s the filling recipe: 1 lb (450 g) farmer cheese, ¹⁄₂ cup sugar, 1 whole egg + 1 egg yolk, 1 Tbsp vanilla sugar, and zest of 1 lemon. Please, please do NOT skip the lemon zest!

—Faigy Grossmann

Ok, Quick:

What’s your long-term energy snack?

We make date balls by putting a dozen Medjool dates, two cups of pecans, some hemp and flax seeds, a little peanut butter and cocoa, and almond milk in a food processor. Roll them into balls and coat with coconut flakes. Healthy candy!

—Barbara Bensoussan

(Originally featured in Family Table, Issue 844)