If you have been in the holiday candy aisle of any store, you’ve probably seen chocolate gelt—chocolate disks wrapped in foil to look like coins, usually in a mesh bag.  These candies are a fun part of Hanukkah. The word gelt means “money” in the Yiddish language, and at Hanukkah, children traditionally received coins as a gift.  Coins are needed to play dreidel, a game traditionally associated with Hanukkah.  A dreidel is a top with four sides, and each side has a Hebrew letter on it.  Dreidel is a game of chance played with at least two people.  In addition to a dreidel, each player needs 15 coins (at my house we use Cheerios, but...

Tags: chocolate, Cookie, sugar cookie dough, bake, celebration, chanukkah, dreidel, gelt, hanukkah, Jill Bloomfield

Whether you spend your weeks clocking in long hours at work, schlepping the kids to and from soccer practice, or both, the days just seem to fly exhaustingly by.  Throw keeping the house clean and getting dinner on the table at a reasonable hour and one thing is certain—time is at a premium.  I am always looking for ways to make my life easier; I like to use that extra time I free up doing things I enjoy.  Sounds good, right? Having written a cookbook on Jewish foods and traditions, most people are surprised when I admit that I dread making latkes, the fancy ...

Tags: chanukkah, easy, fry, hanukkah, holidays, Jill Bloomfield, Julienne Potatoes, latkes, oil

As autumn days grow shorter and night falls earlier, the comfort of a cozy home and a warm dinner makes the transition into winter easier.  One way I keep my demeanor cheery in winter is by making plans for entertaining.  With Hanukkah just around the corner, I have been experimenting with recipes for gifts from the kitchen.  I have been working on making my infused oil recipe even better, as I love giving this gift to family and friends, especially for Hanukkah.  The Hanukkah story tells about how a small amount of oil miraculously burned for eight days in the Temple when the Maccabees reclaimed it.  To me, the gift of flavored oil is the perfect way...

Tags: bloomfield, breadad, chanukkah, flavored, food safety, gift, hanukkah, herb, holidays, infused, jill, menorah, oil