Food Editor's Note:

Food Editor’s Note: I love this lasagna! Its title in Norene’s cookbook is Luscious Lasagna, and the name couldn’t be more apt. The other great thing about this dish is how healthy it is for a lasagna, chock full of all kinds of vegetables. You can make the sauce on one occasion and refrigerate or freeze it until you are ready to assemble the lasagna. This is a great dish for a family dinner or informal get-together with friends. Prepare it in advance, but cook it just before serving - it will be puffed and golden and smell heavenly.

Food Editor's Note:

This is a delicious dessert when you want something different, dramatic, and not too heavy. The combination of crisp crust, sweet-tart filling, and airy meringue is truly a satisfying combination. Judy’s version is very reliable - the filling sets up beautifully and the meringue is just the right consistency. You will need to make this dessert at least eight hours in advance, but the actual preparation time is less than an hour if you use a store-bought pie crust that you bake at home. This is a winner!

Food Editor's Notes:
 
If you are looking for a unique dairy dessert, this is it!  The creation of Israeli chefs Tsachi and Linda Buchester, it has been widely copied both in Israel and Europe, but we have yet to see it at restaurants in the United States.  It is similar to an ice cream, cold and creamy with a distinct flavor of sesame.  If you enjoy halvah, tahini, and the like, you will enjoy this dessert.  Even those who don't appreciate halvah, like my son, will delight in the cold creaminess of this unusually-flavored frozen confection.  Just call it "Israeli Frozen Parfait," serve it with a few bright-colored berries and some whipped cream, and it will be a big hit!
 
This recipe says to serve the parfait in slices.  You will have to use a knife to loosen the parfait from the sides of a pan, and a small knife or flexible spatula to remove it.  Or, as suggested in a similar recipe in Joan Nathan's book The Foods of Israel Today, spoon it into glass parfait cups and drizzle it with a little amaretto, kirsch, or the brandy of your choice.  You can also toast one cup of roughly chopped nuts, fold half into the parfait before freezing, and sprinkle the other half on top when serving.  This is a great dessert for company – although it takes about an hour to make, it will be done well ahead of time, leaving you free for other tasks or pleasures.  Enjoy!

This is a fun summer dessert that appeals to both kids and adults. The sandwiches can be made in advance and stored in the freezer, wrapped individually, or assembled just before eating. My husband David makes an open-faced sandwich for himself as a summertime bed-time snack, just by scooping a tablespoon of vanilla ice cream onto a home-made chocolate chip cookie. They are very hard to resist!

The following recipe is best if made with either Vidalia onions (when in season) or large, yellow Bermuda onions. It’s fun to serve this soup in individual ovenproof crock-pots. I like to top it off with melted Gruyere, but any variety of Swiss cheese works well. This recipe is relatively fast to prepare even though it has so many ingredients … just be prepared for teary eyes!

Food Editor's Notes:

Onion soup is typically prepared with beef broth. As the laws of kashruth do not permit meat and dairy products to be eaten together, I have substituted vegetable broth for the beef broth. I use the vegetable broth recipe from The New Basics Cookbook (by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins, Workman Publishing, 1989). It is rich and flavorful, low in salt, and substitutes easily in any recipe calling for chicken or beef stock. Because it has lots of pepper in it already, I do not add the ground pepper called for in the soup recipe, except at the end to taste. My family loves this soup, especially my 8-year-old, who will eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack!