I am always cynical when a cookbook promises recipes that will help a cook deliver dinner in less than 30 minutes. However, Jamie Geller’s new “Quick and Kosher: Meals in Minutes” does fast flawlessly. The 312-page book features amusing anecdotes, more than 215 recipes and 134 full-color photos to whet your appetite.
What I love about the book is the way it is organized into chapters: 20-minute meals (great salads and pastas); 40-minute meals (chicken sautés); 60-minute meals (stews); and holiday meals.
Geller also offers a useful section called “Your Tool Box” — kitchen gadgets such as oven-proof skillets that will expedite preparation.
This would make a great Chanukah gift for your favorite busy cook.
Lemon Dill Bowties with Salmon and Peas
20 minutes
Serves 6
1 lb. bowtie pasta
15 oz. canned salmon
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. lemon zest
3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs. chopped fresh dill
1⁄2 tsp. garlic powder
1⁄2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
Cook pasta according to package instructions and drain well. While pasta is cooking, drain salmon. Place salmon in a mixing bowl and remove any bones. Break into chunks. Add pasta and onion to salmon. Combine well by gently tossing. In a small bowl, prepare creamy lemon sauce by whisking together mayo, lemon zest, lemon juice, dill garlic powder and pepper. Pour sauce over salmon and pasta and toss gently. Add peas and toss gently to combine.
Chicken Marsala
40 minutes
Serves 4
1 cup flour
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄2 tsp. ground pepper
4 Tbs. olive oil, divided
2 cups sliced mushrooms
11⁄2 lbs. chicken cutlets, cut into 1⁄4-inch strips
1⁄2 cup Marsala wine
1⁄4 cup chicken broth
Combine flour, thyme, salt and pepper in shallow bowl. In 12-inch skillet, heat 2 Tbs. oil. Add mushrooms and cook 10 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Heat remaining oil. Dip chicken in flour mixture and place in hot oil. Do not crowd chicken in pan. Cook 5 minutes on all sides. Transfer to a platter and cover to keep warm with foil. Add wine to skillet, stirring up brown bits. Increase heat to high and continue cooking for 2 minutes. Stir in broth and cook another 3 minutes until sauce thickens. Return mushrooms to pan and heat through. Pour sauce over chicken.
Roasted Pears
45 minutes
Serves 6
6 pears
juice from 1⁄2 lemon
2⁄3 cup brown sugar
1⁄4 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 Tbs. cold butter
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 8-by-8-inch cake pan with butter. Peel pears. Halve them and use a melon-baller to remove cores. Rub lemon juice all over pears to prevent oxidation. Fit pears snugly in prepared baking dish. In small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon and butter until you have pea-sized crumbs. Sprinkle over pears and bake, covered with foil, for 30 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pears to serving plate. Pour cream into the hot baking dish, stirring to get up all the brown pieces. Pour sauce over pears and serve.
Louise Fiszer is a Palo Alto cooking teacher, author and the co-author of “Jewish Holiday Cooking.” Her columns alternate with those of Faith Kramer. Questions and recipe ideas can be sent to j. or to [email protected].