I have and continue to prepare many items from the book, but one that has stood out over all these years is a simple cucumber salad that Jeff included on page 24 and he noted that its origins are from Israel. Jeff also mentions that this salad has a flavor very close to what New York Jews call a “new pickle.”

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The origins of this dish in the U.S. lead back to Creole heritage, as the word ‘okra’ is also known as quibombo in Spanish, and gombo in French. Slaves from West Africa introduced okra to the Caribbean and U.S. most likely in the 1700’s, and then the Creoles in Louisiana learned to thicken soups with okra (gumbo) which is now the essential ingredient in Creole Gumbo.

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The beer adds moisture in addition to flavor during the slow grill roasting process, and if wood chips are added a nice smoke flavor also imparts the most wonderful tasting chicken.

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This recipe utilizes creamed fat-free cottage cheese and 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, the substitutions with using the lower fat dairy products does not take away from the ultimate flavor and texture of the cheesecake. In fact, I processed the cottage cheese in the food processor for several minutes until it was silky smooth. This pumpkin cheesecake recipe is perfect for the fall flavor menus starting to make their appearances around North America’s kitchens this time of year.

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I was eyeing a few minutes before the butcher pointed out the “roast” meats section. Roasting anything larger than 5 to 7 pounds requires a larger pan….err…pot!

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