Julie Hession, semifinalist winner, with her Rib Eye Steak with Marsala Mushroom Sauce.

“While the other kids were playing house, I was playing restaurant,” Evan Levy of Danville, Calif., recalled. He was one of the semifinalists in the Second Annual Simply Manischewitz Cook-Off western regional competition held Dec. 20 at the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco.

Lucky me – I was one of the judges!

“I started very young – I went to Mom’s cooking school,” Levy said. “My mother went back to work when I was in the 10th grade. I made myself in charge of dinner. I have two sisters and a brother, but I was the one with the fewest activities, so I did the cooking.”

Even today Levy mans the kitchen. “My wife is a wonderful cook,” he said, “but she says she’s better off doing the dishes!”

Three semifinal events were held in Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Ten contestants in each area, selected from thousands of entrants, had one hour to prepare and serve their original recipes, each using at least one Manischewitz product and containing no more than eight ingredients.

Levy’s Southwestern Potato Kugel was one of two winning entries, garnering him a free trip to New York for the finals to be held on Feb. 27. After that date, go to www.manischewitz.com to see the grand prize winner, who will take home a $25,000 prize package, including a GE Profile kitchen, cash and more.    

Black beans, green chiles, corn, cheese, chili powder – all mixed with Manischewitz Potato Kugel Mix. This is a kugel with pizzazz! Though more of a pilaf than a kugel, it makes a unique and tasty side dish.

I asked Levy what inspired him to create the dish. “Potato kugel has always been a comfort food for my family,” he said. “I wanted to update it, make a new and improved version.”

Over 200 onlookers attended the event, free to the public, which included a kosher lunch and a first-hand look at the contestants as they donned their aprons and used their allotted hour to produce their dishes and wow the judges.

“I thought it was really fun,” Levy said, “especially the reactions from these elderly ladies surrounding me. They couldn’t believe black beans could be in a kugel!”

The other winning semifinalist was Julie Hession of Las Vegas, for her rib eye steak with Marsala Mushroom Sauce.

“This is the first cooking contest I ever entered,” she said. “I cook all the time – it’s my passion! If my friends need help with a recipe, they come to me.”

Early in the competition, Hession was thrown a curve, but handled it with finesse. “The original recipe called for tenderloin steaks, but the kosher butcher sent these huge rib eyes,” she recalled. “No problem. The recipe is so simple and versatile, you can interchange any cut of steak. You can even use it for chicken or fish.”

The rib eyes worked well, she said. “I’ve cooked with rib eyes before. They’ve got a little bit more marbling. I knew they were going to have to sit for the judging, so it worked to my benefit. I looked at it as a very real world experience. You have to roll with the punches when you don’t get what you need. Sometimes the best results come from improvising.”

There was a real sense of camaraderie among the contestants, Hession noted. “Everyone wanted to win, but we were all very supportive of each other. I had so much fun. It was definitely an adrenaline rush competing doing something you love to do.”

Brian Malarky, one of this season’s finalists on Bravo TV’s Top Chef series, served as MC. This chef-owner of Oceanaire Seafood Room in the Gaslamp district of San Diego worked the room, questioning the chefs and the judges, who were served the entries according to the kosher laws: dairy dishes first, then pareve and finally meat, all on paper plates with new plastic utensils provided for each dish.

“This is the largest kosher competition in the country,” said David Rossi, vice-president of marketing for Manischewitz and the RAB Food Group. “We have the highest level of kashrut happening here.”

All ingredients, utensils and equipment were provided to the contestants under strict rabbinical supervision, including koshered GE ranges.

Besides the two winning entries, other dishes included San Francisco Salmon Cakes, Easy Matzo Ball Dumplings Stuffed with Portobello Mushrooms, Crusted White Fish, Dapper Red Snapper Parchment Paper Packets, Raspberry Glazed Tilapia, Poblano Stuffed Chicken, Lamb Chops with Twist of Rosemary, and Grilled Lamb Kebabs with Apricot-Hoisin Glaze.

Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of Cooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family (Workman Publishing) and can be found on the web at www.cookingjewish.com.

4 large eggs, slightly beaten
4 cups water
2 boxes Manischewitz potato pancake mix
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans (8 oz. each) mild green chiles, drained
1 can (15 oz.) corn, drained
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 tbsp. chili powder
6 tbsp. canola oil, divided

Preheat oven to 425. Combine eggs and water in a large bowl. Stir in Manischewitz Potato Pancake Mix and let mixture stand for 5 minutes to thicken.

Add beans, chiles, corn, 11/4  cups of the cheese and the chili powder and stir to combine.

Spread 3 tbsp. of the oil in a 91/2×11-in. glass baking dish. Pour in kugel mixture and spread the remaining 3 tbsp. oil on top.

Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle the kugel with the remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Continue baking until crisp and golden, 5 to 10 minutes more.

 Garnish individual pieces with fresh cilantro, salsa and sour cream.

2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1/3 cup minced shallots (3 to 4)
3 tbsp. Manischewitz balsamic vinegar
11/2 cups canned Manischewitz all-natural ready-to-serve beef broth
11/2 tsp. Manischewitz brisket and steak seasoning
salt and black pepper
4 beef ribeyes (6 oz. each, 1 in. thick)

Combine sliced mushrooms and flour in a medium bowl and toss well to coat.

Combine Marsala, shallots and balsamic vinegar in a medium skillet. Bring mixture to a boil and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add beef broth to skillet and cook for 1 minute.

Add mushroom mixture to skillet and stir to mix. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture has thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Cover saucepan and keep sauce warm over very low heat while you prepare the steaks.

In a small bowl, mix Brisket and Steak Seasoning with 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper. Rub seasoning mixture evenly over steak. Heat a non-stick skillet (or grill pan if preferred) over medium-high heat. Add steaks and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Serve steaks with Marsala mushroom sauce.

6 chicken breasts, boned
2 tsp. salt
black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. Manischewitz extra virgin olive oil
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1/4 cup Manischewitz balsamic vinegar
1 cup Manischewitz all-natural ready-to-serve chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 jar Manischewitz cherry preserves
flat leaf parsley, for garnish

Pat-dry chicken and season with salt and pepper.

In a heavy skillet, heat olive oil. Sauté seasoned chicken until browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove chicken.

Add onions to skillet and sauté until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add vinegar and reduce to just a couple of tablespoons. Add wine and broth, bring heat to high and reduce by half. Add cherry preserves and cook for an additional 5 minutes until the sauce is thick. Return chicken to pan to heat through while spooning sauce over chicken. Serve hot. Serves 6.

1 box Manischewitz falafel mix
1 jar Manischewitz hummus
2 tbsp. Manischewitz extra virgin olive oil
1 cucumber
4 oz. black olives, thinly sliced
4 oz. stuffed green olives, thinly sliced
1 tomato, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. dried or chopped fresh oregano
salt
pepper
 

Pre-heat a broiler on high. Mix falafel per package directions. Season hummus with salt and pepper to taste.

Coat round pizza pan with half of the olive oil. Spread falafel mixture 1/2- to 3/4-in. thick on the pizza pan and brush top with the remaining olive oil. Place the falafel under the broiler for 3 minutes. Turn and broil for another 2 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Top “pizza” crust with hummus mixture spreading evenly over the crust. Top with thin slices of cucumber, then the cut tomato and olives. Sprinkle oregano evenly on top. Cut into 8-16 wedges and serve at room temperature.