Guest: Nina Glick

On this special episode we pay tribute to Canada’s Jewish Julia Child, Norene Gilletz who passed away last month. She leaves us with an amazing Jewish food legacy. She published 12 cookbooks, has a huge following on Nornene’s Kitchen (her facebook page) and she shares recipes and stories on her website.

Please join me as I talk with Nina Glick, a close friend of Norene Gilletz, as she tells us about this very special lady.

Norene Gilletz

Guest: Alana Newhouse

Photo Credit: MIchelle Ishay

I love the book, and I think you will too. It’s full of history, stories and of course, recipes! Imagine deciding to compile a book of the 100 Most Jewish Foods! Where would you start? How would you decide what foods didn’t qualify? My guest for this episode is Alana Newhouse, editor of this book and editor-in-chief of Tablet Magazine. Alana and I talk about the book, of course. She gives us a behind-the-scenes view of how it all came together. We even manage to have a few minutes to talk about Tablet, the contemporary on-line Jewish Magazine that covers news, events, arts and of course, food. I hope you enjoy the episode.

Guest: Chef Laura Frankel​

I couldn’t think of a better way to begin 2020 on The Big Schmear than with the topic of Marijuana and Jewish food. So many states have now legalized recreational pot that it seemed a timely topic.  I went to my go-to expert on all things kosher in the kitchen, Chef Laura Frankel and she even provided two recipes for this episode. In honor of The Big Schmear we now have a recipe for Mixed Green Olive-Cannabis Schmear AND Chicken Soup with Potza Balls. So have a listen to the episode and then, if marijuana is legal where you live, try one of these edible cannabis recipes and let me know what you think.

Guests: Eugenia Moliner & Denis Azabagic

I took a bit of a jaunt off topic to introduce you to the musicians of Cavatina Duo- the theme music for The Big Schmear. i think you’ll enjoy meeting them and hearing about their story behind the music. I hope you enjoy the episode.

Happy Hanukkah and I’ll be back with some fun surprises in 2020!

Guest: Naomi Nachman

There is this iconic cafe in Skokie, IL. It’s called Emma’s and it’s a favorite place for those wanting a great selection of Kosher food from bagels and lox to wraps and soups. And this is where I caught up with Naomi Nachman. Just off the plane from NY, she was in Chicago for a private food event she was heading up.  Naomi has more energy than you can imagine. After Chicago she was heading back to NY to attend Kosherfest. And if you don’t know about Kosherfest please check out my episode when I attended back in 2017. It’s really something else.