Average Betty makes Idaho mashed potato pops

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My friend and fellow food blogger Average Betty features my Idaho mashed potato pops in her most recent video recipe. I love her variations: She makes a Jalapeno Popper Pop with pepper jack cheese and bacon, and a Garlic Parmesan Pop with garlic powder and grated parmesan cheese.

Click the video above to watch her make these easy and completely delicious Idaho potato snacks. Isn't she adorable?

The genius of The Fresh 20 meal planning service

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The first time I met Melissa Lanz, founder of The Fresh 20 meal planning service, she challenged me to change the way I thought about writing this blog.

"I don't know why food bloggers are giving away all this great content," she said. "Content is valuable. People will pay money for it. I don't know about you, but I want to make money."

I can't remember exactly which other members of Food Bloggers Los Angeles were there that day. And I don't know whether those words have stuck in their heads the way they've stuck in mine.

I hope so.

In 2011 Melissa gave a presentation at the International Food Blogger Conference in Santa Monica on how to make money from a food blog outside of advertising. She talked at breakneck speed for 20 minutes and threw out idea after idea that most of us in the audience either had never considered or assumed we weren't qualified to execute.

It was the most inspiring presentation about food blogging I've ever heard.

At our March 2013 Food Bloggers Los Angeles meeting, I explained to the group how Melissa inspired me to package 30 of my recipes into my first ebook (Soups and Stews: Delicious Recipes for Chilly Days, available on Amazon.com for Kindle and on Booktango.com in other formats).

It's no surprise to me that The Fresh 20 is taking over the food world by saving weekday family dinners. The concept is brilliant: You buy 20 fresh ingredients, keep your pantry stocked with basics, and get five nights of dinner recipes that are delicious, economical, healthy and gorgeous.

It's also no surprise that The Fresh 20 Cookbook, which comes out in April 2013, will be featured on national talk shows, in national magazines, and on countless websites and blogs.

Melissa planned all of this from day one. She didn't start a blog and see where it took her, like I did. She looked around, found a gap, made a product to fill it, and charged money for it.

I love a woman who gets stuff done.

Melissa, if you're reading this - I am so happy for you and so proud of you. Thank you for inspiring and pushing me to find ways to make money doing what I love.

More from The Fresh 20

Enter The Fresh 20 Great Pantry Giveaway to win 20 essential pantry ingredients plus top kitchen appliances

Pre-order The Fresh 20 Cookbook

Sign up for The Fresh 20 meal plans (available in gluten-free or vegetarian as well)

How to plan the perfect Girlfriend Getaway

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Patti, Erika and Dorothy at Hofsas House, Carmel-by-the-Sea

Husbands are great, but sometimes this girl just needs some girlfriend time.

Which is why I jumped at the opportunity to hit the road for a Girlfriend Getaway with two of my best food blogger pals: Patti Londre of Worth the Whisk and Dorothy Reinhold of Shockingly Delicious.

Thanks to the generosity (and PR-savvy) of Carrie, the third-generation owner of Hofsas House, the three of us drove up the California coast and spent three jam-packed days and two ultra-cozy nights in Carmel-by-the-Sea.

We were wined and dined. We unwound and de-stressed. We shopped 'til we dropped. We hiked up and down the hills of Carmel village. We plopped our middle-aged butts in the sand and soaked in the glorious winter sunshine.

Soaking in the winter sunshine at the beach in Carmel-by-the-Sea

And we talked. And talked. And talked some more. I don't think we got even the teensiest bit tired of each other.

We had the perfect Girlfriend Getaway, and you can too. Here's the magic formula:

Pick the right girlfriends. Patti, Dorothy and I have known each other about three years. (Well, technically Dorothy and I have known each other longer, because our kids went to preschool together, but we didn't really get to be friends until we connected as food bloggers.) We know each other, but it's not like we've got decades of history or inside jokes that might make someone feel left out. We're still learning about each other's pasts. That made three days of nonstop conversation easy and fun. We also have similar temperaments: no-nonsense, up for anything, willing to lead or follow.

Toasting to a delicious dinner at Fandango in Pacific Grove

Make it a road trip. Car trips are so much more relaxed. You don't need to make your stuff fit into a carry-on bag. You can stop where you want and go anywhere once you get there. And it's okay if you accumulate treasures (very important - see below). Of course, this requires having someone willing to drive, which I always am. I like to drive. 

Enjoy the journey and stop along the way. It's about five and a half hours from my house in Santa Monica to Carmel-by-the-Sea. On the way up we jumped off the road in Buellton for an early lunch at Pea Soup Andersen's, a California road trip institution, and then again in San Luis Obispo to explore the pretty-in-pink Madonna Inn. On the way down we sacrificed speed for beauty by spending an hour on Carmel Valley Road, a glorious two-lane highway where I wouldn't have been surprised to see a "happy cow" California cheese commercial in progress. Getting there and back was certainly more than half the fun.

The dining room at Pea Soup Andersen's in Buellton

You'll find Hap-pea and Pea-wee at the bottom of every bowl of pea soup at Pea Soup Andersen's 

The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, pink and girly all year round

The bar at the Madonna Inn

We stopped to watch the seals along Monterey's 17-Mile Drive

Stay at a place that feels like home. Chain hotels are for business trips. A Girlfriend Getaway deserves a hotel with personality. Hofsas House, a big pink lodge built down the side of a hill over looking the Pacific, was the perfect home base for our trip. They serve breakfast in the tiny lobby, which means you start every day chatting with the proprietors about your plans. My room was cozy and comfortable; lighting up the Duraflame log in my private fireplace in the evening relaxed me instantly. We had separate rooms, but if you're into the slumber party thing, Hofsas House has many rooms big enough to share.

My room at Hofsas House had a king bed, a fireplace, a kitchenette, and a glorious ocean view

Spring for Hofsas House's wine and cheese package so you can sip while you watch the sun set over the Pacific

Eat well, drink well. Patti, Dorothy and I love food - we know that, you know that, and the wise PR folks who arranged this trip knew that. They showed us the best of the area. We had terrific tapas at Mundaka in Carmel-by-the-Sea, elegant Continental fare at Fandango in Pacific Grove, and a delicious farewell lunch at Jacks Restaurant in the Portola Hotel & Spa at Monterey Bay. We also tagged along on Carmel Food Tours' three-hour culinary exploration of Carmel-by-the-Sea, during which guide Staci shared local Carmel history as she led us through tastings of cheese, wine, charcuterie, chocolate, olive oil, vinegar, pizza and pasta at local shops and restaurants.  

Bouillabaisse at Fandango in Pacific Grove

Staci leading the Carmel Food Tour

Sharon at The Bountiful Basket led us through a tasting of olive oils and infused vinegars

The selection at The Cheese Shop in Carmel

Fresh sea bass from Monterey Bay at Jacks

Spinach gnocchi at Casanova, considered the most romantic restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea

Don't get up too early and don't go to bed too late. You don't want your Girlfriend Getaway to feel like work. For me, being awake at either dawn or midnight feels like work. I'm old. Your mileage may vary.

Play to your strengths. I drove and navigated. Patti suggested pit stops. Dorothy took notes. We all took pictures. 

A tiled balcony in Carmel-by-the-Sea

Look for treasures. Okay, that's code for "shopping." Trip souvenirs always have a story attached, which makes them extra-special.

The embroidered pashmina I almost bought (but didn't) 

Patti digging for gold in the garden at Pink Trash & Treasures in Buellton

My favorite trip souvenir: A big bracelet from Pink Trash

Push your conversational boundaries. We got into everything you'd expect middle-aged girlfriends to get into. Husbands. Children. Aging parents. Wild college years, how we met our husbands, how we lost our virginity (um, not in that order). With true girlfriends, nothing is off-limits.  

Indulge each other's whims and pass no judgment. We ate fast food tacos on the road because Patti had free coupons. We lingered in a shop over a teal blue pashmina because I couldn't decide whether I had to have it. Patti let Dorothy have the front seat in the minivan to keep car sickness at bay. And no one complained when the winding valley road I chose added an hour and a half to the drive home.

Spend part of your Girlfriend Getaway planning the next one. Once you find a good Girlfriend Getaway team, the possibilities are endless. Will our next road trip take us to San Diego? Palm Springs? Santa Barbara? Solvang? Big Bear? San Francisco? Stay tuned....

Tree huggers

Thanks to Carrie at Hofsas House, Chef Brandon at Mundaka, Fandango, Staci at Carmel Food Tours, Chef Jason at Jacks Restaurant, and all the lovely people of Carmel, Monterey and everywhere in between for a wonderful Girlfriend Getaway!

Happy birthday to In Erika's Kitchen, and pate brisee

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Celebrating the 4th "blogiversary" of In Erika's Kitchen with quiche, muffins and my good friend Sarah

I've been writing this blog for four years now.

A lot has happened in four years. My kids have gone from little to bigger. I went back to work after eight years of full-time parenting. There have been conference calls, meetings, business trips, school plays, youth orchestra concerts, playdates, family vacations, projects, dinner parties, birthday parties.

There have been good days and bad days. Good months, bad months.

Through it all, I have written my blog. It's been the one constant through four years of personal and familial shifting sands.

Two or three or four times a week, I've sat at this computer and put together pictures, words and recipes into stories to share with you. Two or three or four times a week, I've created something that had a beginning, a middle, and an end, and then I've pushed a button and sent it off into the universe. Done.

I think my blog has kept me sane.

An early-morning blog birthday breakfast with Sarah

My friend Sarah came over today for an early breakfast. The sun was up, but barely. Early morning is one of the few times two working moms can take an hour to catch up and celebrate.

Sarah brought pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. She found the recipe on my blog and has been making them for her family for years. She adjusts the recipe to suit her family's tastes: less sugar, not quite as much nutmeg, only a pinch of cloves. They taste like the ones I make, but not quite. I love that she's made my recipe her own. Her version might be even better than mine.

Sarah often makes my pumpkin chocolate chip muffins for her family

I made quiche. I am still trying to get over my fear of pie crust; if anyone can help with that, it's Clemence Gossett, owner of The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories in Santa Monica, whom I met early on in my blogging career. Clemence tutored me in cake decorating when I was chosen to decorate cakes with Kelly Ripa, Buddy "The Cake Boss" Valastro, and a dozen other bloggers in 2010. She is the best baking teacher I know because she demands imprecision - unusual for a baker. She wants you to understand the concepts, work by feel, get over your fears.

A few weeks ago Clemence was the featured chef at a dinner put on by Your Local Hive, a slow food group here in Los Angeles. She fed us tarts and quiche and puff pastry, and she showed us how to make a traditional pate brisee, or flaky crust. Three cups of flour, three sticks of butter. She uses California-grown and -milled flour, and only Straus Family Creamery butter. A dribble of ice water and it's done. The pastry should have visible lumps of butter - that's what makes it flaky. "Disorganized chaos," she calls it (as opposed to puff pastry, "organized chaos").

Four years of blogging - who knew I had so much to say? :)

Clemence rubbed the butter into the flour by hand at the demo, but my hands are hot - this, it turns out, is why I always have trouble with pastry. My choice is either to soak my hands in ice water before making pie crust, or to use the food processor. I chose the machine. A few quick pulses to break up the butter in the flour, a few dollops of ice water, and done. I gathered the dough into a disk, wrapped it in plastic, put it in the refrigerator to rest.

Then the quiche. Rolled the dough out, put it in a pie plate, filled it with roasted cherry tomatoes, goat cheese and a drizzle of kale pesto. Mixed eggs, egg yolks, cream and milk for the custard, poured it over, baked at 375. A truly French quiche emerged. I got the crust just right: flaky, tender, with color. Clemence hates undercooked pastry and would be proud.

Four years. I've learned a lot in four years. I've met wonderful people in four years - including all of you, who enrich my days and motivate me to keep writing. I'm grateful for that, so grateful.

What will the next four years bring? I can't wait to find out.

National Blogging Day of Remembrance

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15 ways to use empty glass jars for October Unprocessed

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I chose the most visible place I could find for my October Unprocessed sticker - my handbag!

This year, for the first time, I decided to take the Eating Rules October Unprocessed challenge. No processed foods for a month. I haven't been perfect, but I've definitely been more aware of what's in the food I put in my mouth. And that's really the point.

Along with all the great recipes and food essays, the October Unprocessed series includes a "tips and tricks" track. My guest post listing 15 ways to use empty glass jars is up now - please do click over and take a look!

How to build a community: Food Bloggers Los Angeles

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Food Bloggers Los Angeles, May 2012 (photo: James Abke)

When I started this blog in 2008, it was just me and my keyboard. I enjoyed writing, got into the rhythm of blogging, but I was lonely. I only had a few readers and wasn't sure how to get more. I ran into technical roadblocks daily. I had lots of questions and no one to ask.

Then I went to my first food blogging conference and discovered that I was by no means alone. Though it had been invisible to me, the food blogging community already existed. The conference drew hundreds (!) of food bloggers, including a decent-sized group from greater Los Angeles - most of whom had never met each other in person before. Twitter friends are great, but I longed for food blogging friends in real life.

When Patti Londre (the voice behind Worth the Whisk and owner of Camp Blogaway) and I decided to start Food Bloggers Los Angeles - FBLA for short - neither of us was sure where it would go. But we both sensed that the food blogging journey we were on would be more interesting with friends along.

Patti and I networked like crazy, spread the word and arranged monthly meetings. The group grew from a handful to a dozen to a small army. We invaded each other's dining rooms for potlucks. We drew on each other's expertise for discussions on SEO, Google Analytics, how to work with PR people, traffic-building strategies. We threw in community service projects and the occasional food crawl. And some months we skipped meetings and had plain old parties instead. Because, as it turns out, we really enjoy each other's company.

Patti Londre of Worth the Whisk and Gisele Perez of Pain Perdu at Trufflepalooza 2011 (photo: James Gierman)

FBLA continues to grow. New members show up at each meeting. We are an open-door group; anyone is welcome, including PR people, local chefs and restaurant owners, and food companies. Blogger-friendly brands send samples and treats to our meetings, and we're grateful for those relationships. Best of all, we've made friends, good friends, who understand and appreciate the obsession we all share.

But here's the kicker: The amount of concrete progress each of us has made as bloggers because of FBLA is equally staggering. Collectively, the members of FBLA have:

• Gained inbound links and drastically increased our organic search rankings as a result of photographing and writing about each other's potluck contributions.
• Grown our traffic and audiences significantly because of the help and advice we've gotten at meetings.
• Improved our photography, writing, editing and technical skills.
• Appeared in newspapers, in magazines, on the radio and on TV. 
• Gotten paying work as food writers, recipe developers, chefs, caterers, cooking instructors, video hosts, web developers and social media professionals.  

I know I'd be in a very different place were it not for the support, wisdom and generosity of FBLA. Thank you, friends. I look forward to sharing many more years of obsession with you.

Just do it

Bloggers: Are you thinking you might want to start a group like this in your area? You should, whether you blog about food, kids, cars, stocks or hamsters. Here are a few pieces of advice.

1. Don't wait for someone else to do it. Guess what - they probably won't. If having a community is important to you, take the reins. It's neither difficult nor extremely time-consuming. It just takes a little organization and the willingness to be bossy.

2. Make a schedule and stick to it. We do something every month. It took us a while to figure out what worked best for everyone given work schedules, family commitments and L.A. traffic. We mostly meet on Saturday or Sunday mornings, when the majority of members seem to be able to come.

3. Change up your location. This is particularly important for us given the sprawl of Los Angeles. We alternate neighborhoods because no one is truly centrally located.

4. Yes, your house/apartment is big enough. The point is being together. No one is expecting the Martha Stewart treatment. Get over it. If you don't own enough dishes or flatware and don't want to use disposable, have everyone bring his or her own. Think how interesting the photos will be!

5. Take advantage of each other's strengths. Create opportunities for those with particular skills or knowledge to share with the group. You won't believe how much you'll learn.

6. Write about each other. Post summaries of interesting discussions. Interview or profile fellow members. Guest post for each other. Do round-ups around a theme or holiday. You'll get interesting content, and you'll each reach the others' audiences. 

7. Make friends with the media. Invite a local newspaper reporter or radio producer to your meetings. Your local paper might find a taco crawl with a bunch of food bloggers extremely interesting. Start with the reporter who covers your topic and invite him or her to come as a guest (or a guest speaker). Once you've got a relationship, coverage may follow. Remember, most newspapers, magazines, and radio and TV stations have blogs too. They're always looking for interesting community items.

8. Support each other. It's not a contest. The better you all do, the better each of you does.

9. Throw the doors open. I've had bloggers roll their eyes when I tell them we welcome PR people and brands to our meetings. I don't see the point of exclusivity. We're all in this together, trying to figure out how food bloggers fit into the world of professional media. We've all got a lot to gain from building strong relationships. Also, FBLA's food brand friends have been integral to the success mentioned above.

10. See number 1.

Are you ready to build your community? Just do it. You'll be glad you invested the time and effort.


Got questions? Need more advice on building your own community? Leave a comment below....

Celebrating Potato Lovers' Month with Idaho potatoes: Valentine's Day potato beet galette recipe

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Potato and beet galette (photo courtesy of Idaho Potato Commission)

There are certain people in my life to whom I try very hard to say yes. Patti Londre of Worth the Whisk is one of those people. Every time Patti has brought me along for whatever ride she's on at that moment, good things have happened. Camp Blogaway. A winter weekend in the Hamptons (she ended up going to Paris instead, but I still got my trip to the beach). A speaking opportunity in San Diego. When Patti says jump, I jump.

That's how I ended up dressed in pink with a bunch of food bloggers on a sunny December afternoon, pretending it was Valentine's Day. The Idaho Potato Commission brought us together to celebrate Potato Lovers' Month, share some delicious potato recipes and mug for the camera. Five bloggers, five spectacular potato recipes, ABBA on the iPod - we had a grand time. The end result was a tabloid-sized page newspapers can grab and use for their Valentine's Day recipe coverage. See me drinking soup out of the ladle?

If you see this in your local newspaper, come back and let me know, okay?

I always think pink for Valentine's Day, so I made an Idaho potato and beet galette. It's super easy, very healthy and simply gorgeous. Scroll down for the recipe, and try out the rest of the group's potato creations too - they were all delicious.

• Western Shepherd's Pie from Worth the Whisk
• Romesco Fingerling Potato Salad from A Communal Table
• Potato-Asiago Cheese Muffins with Herbes de Provence from Cooking on the Weekends
• Cream of Potato and Poblano Soup from Nibbles and Feasts

print recipe

Potato and beet galette

by Erika Kerekes February-6-2012

Thinly sliced potatoes and beets bake up crisp on the outside and creamy-tender in the middle. If you can't find fresh rosemary, try a few pinches of dried oregano or thyme.

Ingredients

• 2 large Idaho russet potatoes
• 1 large or 2 small red beets
• 4 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 6 Tbsp parmesan or Romano cheese, finely grated, divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Wash and peel the potatoes. Using a mandoline slicer or knife, cut into rounds about 1/8-inch thick.Wash and peel the beet(s). Slice the same way as the potatoes, but put into a second bowl. (Keep the potatoes and beets separate to keep the beets' color from staining the potato slices for a prettier finished product.)Heat a large, heavy ovenproof skillet on medium-high. When the skillet is hot, add 2 Tbsp olive oil and use a pastry brush to coat the sides.Begin to build the galette in the hot skillet by layering potato slices in overlapping circles until the bottom of the pan is covered. When the first layer is done, sprinkle with a little chopped rosemary, salt and pepper, and 2 Tbsp grated cheese. Continue with the second layer, this time overlapping alternating slices of potato and beet. Save big, uniform slices for the third and final layer. (Getting the pan hot before putting in the vegetables helps crisp the bottom.) Sprinkle with more rosemary, salt, pepper, and another 2 Tbsp grated cheese. Continue layering the potatoes and beets until all are used. Add remaining rosemary and grated cheese. Drizzle the top of the galette with remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil.Cover the pan with aluminum foil, pressing it tightly onto the vegetables. Turn the heat to medium and cook on the stovetop about 10 minutes. You should hear the bottom of the galette sizzling; if not, turn up the heat slightly.Remove foil and place skillet in the hot oven. Bake uncovered about 40 to 55 minutes, until the top of the galette is browned, the edges are crisp, and the vegetables are cooked through (test by inserting the tip of a small knife straight down - you should feel no resistance).When thoroughly cooked, remove from the oven and let sit 5 minutes. Using a heat-proof spatula, loosen the galette from the pan. Slide it onto a cutting board and slice into wedges. Serve immediately.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour Total time: 1 hour 15 mins Yield: 6-8 servings

January is Superfoods Month in my kitchen

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It's January 1, the first day of 2012, and it's time to make New Year's resolutions. Every year I vow to lose weight, exercise more, yell less, stop using the treadmill as a closet, keep my desk neat. Most years I make progress, then backslide, then drop the whole thing in frustration. I know I'm not alone. 

This year I'm trying to think about things differently. I want to get healthier. I want to feel better. If those things come with a few less pounds, great. But even if not, I want to take steps in the right direction.

For the past few months I've been meeting with health and nutrition coach Rachael Pontillo of Holistically Haute Wellness. We're working on incremental changes to my diet, exercise habits, and overall approach to life and stress. "Incremental" is the important word in that last sentence. I don't do well with "always" and "never" rules. My goal is to create some new, healthier habits that will crowd out some of the old, less healthy habits over time.

With Rachael's guidance, I've been adjusting my diet, including more greens, more water, less animal protein, less wheat, and more whole grains. I look for nutritional powerhouse foods: kale, quinoa, nuts, cabbage, squash, avocado, mushrooms. Creating new habits is hard - but I'm determined.

I'm declaring January Superfoods Month here In Erika's Kitchen. All month I'll post recipes for the healthy, nutritionally sound foods I want to eat more of. And I'm doing this with the help of many friends - some food bloggers, some not - who will be guest posting and sharing their favorite "superfoods" recipes. Stay tuned.

Got a "superfoods" recipe you'd like to share in a guest post during Superfoods Month? Email me at ekerekes [at] yahoo [dot] com - the more, the better!

Feel free to grab this badge if you're posting about Superfoods on your own blog!

 

NEW: Browse all recipes In Erika's Kitchen

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I've finally compiled a full list of all the recipes here In Erika's Kitchen. You've always been able to search by keywords or click on one of the words in the "Find It" tag cloud. Now you can also browse through a complete categorized list by clicking on "recipe index" under the green banner at the top of each page.

In case you're wondering, I created my recipe index by hand. No fancy whiz-bang apps helping out here. Just me, going post by post back through the archives, cutting and pasting each recipe title into the categories in which it belongs.

The recipes are divided thus:

• Appetizers
• Beans
• Beef
• Bread
• Cheese
• Cake
• Chocolate
• Cookies
• Drinks
• Eggs
• Fish and shellfish
• Fruit
• Muffins and biscuits
• Pasta
• Pie
• Pizza
• Pork
• Potatoes
• Poultry - chicken, turkey, duck
• Rice
• Salad
• Sauces - dips, spreads, dressings
• Sides
• Snacks
• Soup
• Truffles
• Vegetables
• Vegetarian

I learned something very interesting about my food tendencies during this project. Guess which categories had the most entries? Not the sweet stuff (cake, cookies, chocolate, pie). And not my weaknesses (pasta, rice, potatoes, bread). And not the proteins, either.

Yes, the fattest categories in my index are fruit and vegetables. Does that make In Erika's Kitchen a health food blog? Not exactly. But it does reflect my style of cooking and eating.

Note to self for 2012: Post more chocolate, chicken and pizza recipes!

Rosh Hashanah with The Shiksa

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Tori Avey, the Shiksa in the Kitchen

I've been on back-to-back business trips for the past few weeks, which means I've had zero time to get started on (or even think about) cooking for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the upcoming Jewish high holidays. To get me in the mood, I asked Tori Avey, who writes the wonderful blog The Shiksa in the Kitchen, about her high holiday habits. Tori, who converted to Judaism in 2010, describes herself as a culinary historian, and her blog explores both the past and present of Jewish cooking.

For those of you who know no Yiddish, shiksa means "non-Jewish woman" in Yiddish, and often it's a term slung around with claws - as in, "Why are the most eligible Jewish men always attracted to the shiksas?" (Which they are.)

Erika: Tori, who hosts your Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holiday meals? What's your routine through the two holidays? 

Tori: My family and I host the Rosh Hashanah meal, unless we’re in Israel or out of town. That’s actually how I got my nickname “The Shiksa in the Kitchen” — I started cooking our Rosh Hashanah and Passover meals close to 10 years ago, long before I converted to Judaism. My annual Passover meal has close to 50 guests! Rosh Hashanah is a bit smaller, usually around 30. Cooking for that many guests is tough, but I’ve found a few ways to make things easier. A week before the meal, I create a “holiday game plan.” The game plan includes my menu, the recipes I’ll be using, grocery list, cooking times, what time I should start cooking each item, and how much of everything I’ll need. I also have a list of the items we need for the blessings. I try to cook certain food items ahead of time, things that do better after a night in the fridge (brisket, certain marinated salads). I start two days before the holiday so I have a jump start on everything. The more I can prepare in advance, the more I’ll enjoy the actual holiday and spend time with my family and friends! 

Yom Kippur is a very quiet day in our home. We usually don’t have guests and we keep the break fast meal very simple. This year we’ll be breaking fast with our friends from Israel, who will be in town with us, so that will be fun. 

E: Do you cook the same things each year for the high holidays, or do you try to change things up from year to year? 

T: I try to change things up every year, but there are certain dishes that are expected. I always make matzo ball soup — that’s a given for both Rosh Hashanah and Passover. Brisket is also on the menu, but I tend to change the type of brisket that I’m serving from year to year. This year, I’ll be serving brisket with a pomegranate molasses marinade because I’m currently obsessed with homemade pomegranate molasses. I’ll be posting the recipe for that next week.

Tori's Honey Apple Cake, a traditional Rosh Hashanah sweet

E: What's your signature Rosh Hashanah dish? 

T: My Honey Apple Cake. Everybody loves it! It’s full of moisture and flavor from the shredded apples, and it’s dairy free! It also happens to be very pretty. I make it as a Bundt cake, dust it with powdered sugar, and decorate it with drizzled white frosting. 

E: Challah: Do you bake your own? Raisins or no raisins? 

T: I love baking my own! It wouldn’t feel like a holiday without the smell of freshly baked challah in the air. The round challah is my favorite. I usually make a few with raisins and a few without. I like to make the round shape using the Linked Loops method on my challah braiding blog. So pretty! 

E: Do your non-Jewish relatives join you for the high holidays? What do they think of the whole thing? 

T: Yes! They love it. My mom often helps me in the kitchen. She’s my partner in crime. I think I was destined to become Jewish, even though I wasn’t born that way… when my mom married my dad, she walked down the aisle to “Sunrise, Sunset” from Fiddler on the Roof. A hint of things to come, perhaps? 

E: What traditions did you inherit from your husband's family, and which did you develop on your own after you married? 

T: My husband was born in Israel; he’s half Ashkenazi (Russian Jewish) and half Sephardic (Israeli Jewish). His mom’s Jewish family goes back at least six generations in Haifa, Israel. Because of the two different Jewish backgrounds in our family, we cook what I like to call “Ashkephardic” style, blending Ashkenazi and Sephardic cooking traditions to inspire new flavors. Ashkenazi food is rich, comforting, stick-to-your ribs…brisket, cholent, gefilte fish. Sephardic food is Mediterranean/Middle Eastern/Spanish inspired. It’s all kosher, but the flavors are so diverse. It’s really fun to merge the two cuisines. For example, our family cholent recipe has an Ashkenazic base (meat, potatoes, barley, beans), but we spice it with Sephardic spices (cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne) and we add eggs, which is a North African tradition that we picked up in Israel. 

I’ve been cooking since I was a child; my mom taught me our family recipe for egg noodles when I was 8 years old. In college, we used to have a “Tori Cooks Night” where all my USC friends would gather and I’d cook dinner for everybody. But I never went to culinary school, and I’m certainly not a “trained” chef in the traditional sense. After I met my husband, I wanted to learn to cook the foods he grew up with. Jewish food fascinated and inspired me. I enlisted the help of family members and friends to teach me their favorite family recipes and cooking methods. As I became more confident in the kitchen, I started experimenting on my own and combining flavors to create new recipes. I also studied vintage and antique cookbooks to find out how things were done “way back then.” I’m a food history nerd. 

Nowadays, a lot of what I do in the kitchen is improvised — if something makes sense in my imagination, I throw it together to see if it works. It doesn’t always. I’ve had a few notorious flops (like a terrible pumpkin soup for Thanksgiving a few years ago…yikes!). But if it turns out yummy, more than likely it ends up on my blog. I only share recipes that I really, really love.

E: Which Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur food do you most look forward to? 

T: Okay, I know this might sound so boring, but the Rosh Hashanah food I most look forward to is matzo ball soup. I guess technically that’s a Passover food, but we eat it every Rosh Hashanah, too. I bind the matzo balls with schmaltz and mix in some fresh dill. I slow cook the chicken all day long with vegetables, seasonings, and nutmeg to make a really flavorful stock. The chicken falls off the bone when you take it out of the broth, it’s so tender. Then at the end of cooking, I mix some fresh dill into the broth for an extra burst of flavor. Holy moly. It’s the best! 

For Yom Kippur, we usually break the fast with a dairy meal, so it’s all about a fresh toasted sesame bagel with thinly sliced lox and whipped cream cheese. Doesn’t get any better than that!!

How to blog for your personal brand: 9 rules for raising your profile

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I've met scores of bloggers over the past few years who love to write, wish they could make money writing, and don't know how to make that happen. If that's you, keep reading. And if that's someone you know, please feel free to pass this post on. 

This week I spoke at a conference in San Diego called Women Create Media: Empowering Writers in the Digital Age. My topic, which I shared with Patti Londre (owner of Camp Blogaway and Worth the Whisk): "How your blog informs your brand."

The morning's sessions tended toward the inspirational and emotional, but Patti and I were all about business. Your blog can be your resume, your portfolio, your public face to the world. You can use your blog to make a name for yourself, build a personal brand, and get paying work as a writer, editor, consultant, recipe developer, photographer. But it doesn't just happen. You have to make it happen.

I realized as I was preparing for this presentation that I've followed some basic rules over the past two and a half years, and I'm proud of the results. I can't promise you fame and fortune if you follow these rules - but I can promise you that potential employers and clients will take you more seriously.

Erika's 9 rules for blogging with purpose


1. Create excellent content. This may seem obvious, but lots of bloggers give themselves permission to be sloppy. I do not think it's okay to post stuff half-baked. You never know how a potential employer or client will find you - it could be your most recent post, or it could be something from months or years ago. Make sure that wherever on your blog a visitor lands, she's seeing your very best.

2. Pick an angle and stick with it. You want people to read your title and your tag line and know exactly who you are and what you do. You want them to be able to describe you in one sentence. Why? So that potential clients notice and remember you among the crowds of food/mommy/etc. bloggers. If you can package yourself well, clients will assume you can do the same for them.

3. Be consistent. Don't disappear for a month and then write four posts in one week. It makes you look flaky. If the client sees that you ignore your own brand for weeks at a time, she might be more wary of trusting you with hers.

4. Be professional. If you want people to pay you to write, then write cleanly - no typos, no grammatical mistakes, no lazy constructions or run-on sentences. If you want people to hire you to develop recipes, make sure every recipe you post works. If I'm a brand manager looking for a freelance writer to help me with my website and I see typos or careless errors on your blog, guess what? I'm moving on. There are lots of writers out there - I'm going to hire one who'll make my life easier by turning in clean copy.

5. Think strategically. When an opportunity comes your way, make the most of it. There's always a way to turn a lucky break into a stepping stone.

Here's an example: In 2010 I was fortunate to be chosen by Foodbuzz to decorate cakes with Kelly Ripa and Buddy "The Cake Boss" Valastro. I knew the event would be getting a lot of attention, and I wanted to find a way to use it to boost traffic to my blog.

The collective mind of Food Bloggers Los Angeles (more on that in a minute) came up with a great idea: Write a themed post every day for a month leading up to the event to generate excitement and create search-engine-friendly content. I took private lessons with a local baker in fondant and buttercream, listed facts about ovarian cancer (the event raised money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund), shopped for makeup to get ready for the video cameras, decorated cupcakes, piped chocolate - and blogged about it all. In every post I mentioned Foodbuzz, Electrolux (the sponsor), Kelly Ripa, and the OCRF.

It was hard work. But my blog traffic took a big jump that month and never dipped. And when I got to the event in New York, every single person from the PR agency and Electrolux knew who I was and had read my posts. Did that series lead directly to money? Maybe not. But it went a long way toward putting In Erika's Kitchen on the food blogging map.

6. Make friends. The better people know you, the more likely they'll be to help you, support you, and even hire you. Online relationships are fine, but nothing replaces face-to-face time. That's why we go to blogging conferences. And that's why Patti and I founded FBLA.

Every month our group of Los Angeles-area food bloggers gets together to learn from (and cook for) each other. Members share their expertise with the group - we've had sessions on SEO, Google Analytics, working with PR agencies, brand-building, photography and more. We write about each other's food, which helps all of us expand our audiences. We've fed each other paying work, helped each other get mentioned in newspapers and magazines, and pulled each other up the learning curve. And we've become really good friends along the way. We've been meeting for almost two years and in that time every single one of us has seen tangible growth and success. By the way, we include reporters, PR reps, local chefs, food companies, and just about any other member of the local food and restaurant community. Relationships are key.

7. Ask for what you want and don't sell yourself short. Your voice is important, your audience is desirable, and your time is worth money. When someone asks you to write for free and promises you fantastic exposure in exchange, think hard about whether you're really likely to get something concrete out of it (traffic, recognition, connections, a reference, a portfolio piece). If yes, then do it. But if you feel like it's something you should be paid to do, then ask. I say something like "Thanks so much, but I'm only taking paid writing assignments right now - is there any funding available for this project?" Sometimes there is, sometimes there isn't. The worst they can say is no.

8. Be patient, but not complacent. It can take months or even years to get significant traction as a blogger. It's not likely to happen overnight. Have patience. But don't just sit there waiting for things to happen. Do something. My M.O.: Strategize, plan, act, assess, repeat.

9. Prioritize. Figure out what's really important to you and make decisions accordingly. My personal guideline: Real life comes first whenever possible. If it's a choice between blogging and cuddling my kids, my kids win (most of the time).

What else belongs on this list? I'd love to hear your ideas - leave a comment below....