Hosting can be overwhelming. I can plan everything to a t, but real life gets in the way and the results can be disappointing
Styling and Photography by Miriam (Pascal) Cohen
My cooking style is basic and traditional, with some interesting recipes, spices, and kitchen gadgets thrown in for variety. I come from a family of excellent and creative cooks, who serve as my inspiration.
Before I got married, I was an early intervention therapist in Monroe. I learned so much from the women there — they are devoted to their families and super geshikt. As a wedding gift, they put together a handwritten cookbook for me with their best personal recipes. My “Monroe cookbook,” as well as my sister Miriam (Pascal) Cohen’s Real Life Kosher Cooking and More Real Life Kosher Cooking (ArtScroll/Mesorah), are my go-to sources for recipes.
I have great Pesach cookbooks, but I also adapt some recipes that I know my family likes from my year-round repertoire. For example, I use my year-round French onion soup recipe, and for Pesach I bring it up a notch with the addition of marrow bones and flanken. Some of our favorite salads and dips can be adapted as well.
When hosting guests, I enjoy serving several courses; there’s always soup even during the daytime meals. I also like to put out a variety of desserts so we can linger at the table. Even on Pesach, nuts, chocolate, homemade sorbet, and ice cream are great. I also like to serve healthier options to accommodate everyone, like fruit (which I try to cut before the seudah) and apple compote, which is delicious served with slivered honey-glazed almonds.
Create a free account to keep reading.
