An Enticing Podcast Celebrating Jewish Arts, Culture & History!
Our Latest Episode
Loaves of Torah: Exploring the Jewish Year through Challah
Happy New Year! I hope your New Year celebration was meaningful and joyous. I'm looking forward to all the audio adventures we will be on together in 5785. I already have great guests on-board with stories to share that I know you'll enjoy. This brings me to our first...
Beth Schenker, Host & Executive Producer
The Big Schmear conversations are with prominent chefs, musicians, authors, visual artists and more talking about their passion for Jewish life.
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Reach out anytime with comments, feedback and special requests to beth@thebigschmear.com.
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Our Episodes
Feasting and Fasting: The History and Ethics of Jewish Food (#43)
Guest: Dr. Aaron S. Gross I couldn't resist searching out more information on this new book Feasting and Fasting! I hope you'll find my conversation with Dr. Aaron S. Gross, co-editor as intriguing as I did. The book delves into Jewish food as a key component to...
Fall is for Foraging Mushrooms (#42)
Guest: Maxim D. Shrayer Are you thinking about seasonal menus for fall? Don't forget to include mushrooms on your search. After listening to my conversation with Maxim D. Shrayer you'll find yourself hunting in your favorite grocery store for some not so common...
Holiday Fast Food (#41)
Guest: Chef Laura Frankel Chef Laura Frankel and I talk about holiday food prep and planning for Yom Kippur. She shares some great ideas that will be helpful for menu selection through break-the-fast. We even get a chance to talk about Chef's favorite holiday, Sukkot.
Jewish Food Through an Ethiopian Lens (#40)
Guest: Zenash and her granddaughter Nebbe I'm at Ras Dashen, a wonderful cozy Ethiopian restaurant in my own neighborhood in Chicago. I'm talking with owner and chef Zenash and her granddaughter Nebbe. She tells an amazing story of how she comes to Chicago and starts...
What’s Up with The Big Schmear? (#39)
A brief word from Beth Hi Fellow Big Schmear listeners! I can't believe the summer is coming to a close so soon and it's already time to start thinking about the holidays. AND, I've been doing just that. I've got some interesting episodes planned that I think you are...
Kosher Food Coming Your Way from the Balkans (#38)
Guest: Rabbi Yisroel Finman While on a dream vacation in Greece I got a call about a Kosher food company focused on bringing kosher food from the Balkans to the US and Israel and around the world. What a crazy coincidence. Once back home I decided to follow up on that...
An Israeli Perspective on Food Diplomacy (#37)
Guest: Moran Birman, Consul for Public Diplomacy, Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest On this episode you'll meet Moran Birman, Consul for Public Diplomacy with the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest. I met Moran a little over a year ago when he...
Cheesecake Time with the Iconic Eli’s Cheesecake (#36)
Guest: Marc & Maureen Schulman I've heard about Eli's Cheesecake for years, and not because I live in Chicago. When I knew Shavout was coming up I thought it would be the perfect time to see if I could get an interview with Marc Schulman, President of Eli's...
Our Latest Recipes
Chef Laura Frankel’s Mujadara
The Lebanese classic dish gets a make-over as a vegan side with crispy shallots, garlic chips and sauteed Swiss Chard. Mujadarah is one of the oldest recorded recipes, with versions being dated as early as 1200. Without meat, it was a medieval Arab dish commonly...