Sheilah Kaufman
The Art Of No Fuss Cooking...
As a prolific cookbook author, culinary lecturer and instructor, our Guest Chef, Sheilah Kaufman, could not stop at just one special dish that celebrates the September harvest. Instead she used the bounty of early fall to construct a three-course meal that not only features the fresh produce of the day but also toasts the New Year holiday of her own Jewish heritage. However, this Rosh Hashanah feast really works for anyone who enjoys entertaining but does not have time to spend hours in the kitchen preparing for guests. Each dish not only shows off Sheilah’s creativity, but also her focus on eloquent dishes with little fuss.
Sheilah has made a career out of bringing the flavors of the world into the kitchens of home chefs with some 25 cookbooks that run a global gamut of cuisines, including French, Mexican, Turkish, Mediterranean and Kosher. For more than 38 years, her ability to teach all forms of cooking with humor and ease has created a loyal following of cooking hobbyists who sell out her culinary classes from Anchorage to Miami, quicker than it takes to fill a soup ladle! A complete list of Chef Sheilah Kaufman’s cookbooks, as well as her lecture engagements and cooking classes around the country can be found on her web site, www.cookingwithsheilah.com.
Besides her national cooking class itinerary, Sheilah is also a popular lecturer as an expert on Mediterranean cooking as well as Jewish culinary history and traditions. She has been a guest speaker at the Smithsonian, Montgomery College and the Jewish Museum of Montreal. She has also written for numerous magazines and papers including The Washington Post, Baltimore Sun and the Vegetarian Times. Currently, she is the food editor of Jewish Women International's (JWI) new website www.jwmag.org.
Anyone who has attended one of Sheilah’s lectures or experienced her cooking classes would agree that the same endearing and straightforward persona of hers would be chiming in right about now, saying: “OK, enough about me, can we please get on to my fabulous recipes?” And so we shall…
While celebrating a Jewish tradition with a chicken soup first course may seem to be supporting an overused stereotype, there is nothing ordinary about this recipe. Using the first hard squash and new crop potatoes of the fall season, accented by an ancient spice mix and cilantro, Sheilah offers two options for the preparation of this soup; leaving in all the veggies (minus onions, parsley, cilantro) to create a mildly hearty soup, or straining out the veggies entirely to create a light and flavorful starter.
Do not be scared off by the concept of Sheilah’s main course of rockfish fillets, veggies and olives in parchment paper. This dish takes about an hour to produce from beginning to end and that includes forty minutes waiting for the cipolline onions to roast in the oven. This recipe embodies Chef Sheilah’s focus on easy elegance.
While an apple dessert in the fall is nothing new, here’s one with a French name that is longer than its prep time, especially if one uses Melissa’s crepes and doesn’t actually pick the apples. Again, a dish slathered in style (and meringue) that can be made ahead of time with only minutes of preparation in the kitchen just before presentation.
Through the years, Sheilah has been a loyal fan of Melissa’s fresh and processed-from-fresh produce lines. Many of the company’s seasonal offerings have been featured in recipes and articles that Sheilah has written for some of the most well-known food publications in the country. While she says that she needs no recognition for simply choosing Melissa’s ingredients for her classes and demonstrations because the products offer her the quality that she requires, we still very much appreciate her support. Keep on cookin’ Sheilah!
The potatoes used in Sheilah’s chicken soup recipe were provided by Desert Ridge Farm, one of Melissa’s most valued suppliers.
