From “The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy” by Paula Shoyer. Copyright © 2010, Brandeis University Press.

Makes 80 candies

21 ounces parve semisweet or bittersweet chocolate
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups parve whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup whole, shelled, raw, unsalted pistachio nuts
 
Place a piece of plastic wrap, about 13 inches long, on the counter and smooth out the creases. Tear off another piece of plastic the same size and place on top of the first to form a T-shape. Try hard to make sure each piece of plastic is smooth. Place the “T” of plastic inside a loaf pan and press the plastic into all the sides and corners. Wrap the hanging plastic around the outside of your pan.
 
Break the chocolate into pieces and melt either on the stovetop or in the microwave. Whisk in the vanilla. In a small saucepan, or in a bowl in the microwave, heat the cream and sugar until it boils. Stir the cream. Don’t worry if it is lumpy.
 
Add the cream to the melted chocolate in four parts, whisking vigorously after each addition until the mixture is completely smooth. Stir in the pistachio nuts. Let cool for five minutes. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a silicone spatula. Cover the top with a new piece of plastic and place in the freezer for two hours or overnight.
 
To serve, unwrap the loaf and use a sharp knife to cut it into one-inch slices and then cut each slice into one-inch squares. Store loaf in the freezer for up to three months and slice as needed.

From “The New Jewish Table: Modern Seasonal Recipes for Traditional Dishes” by Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray. Copyright © 2012 by the author and reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Press, LLC.

Makes 4 cups

Todd: Even though quinoa is a South American grain, we love to use it as you would Mediterranean grains, like farro or couscous. It’s a grain that you don’t see enough of on menus and tables in my opinion. It has a wonderful, nutty taste and it is gluten free, which is something for which we are getting more and more requests at our restaurants. The red wine vinaigrette (store any extra in the fridge; it will last for weeks and is good to have on hand for quick salads) complements the sweetness of the figs, a favorite fruit of mine from my Italian cooking background.

12 dried figs
2 cups quinoa
4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
2 scallions, thinly sliced crosswise including part of the green (2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon salt
Sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper

Soak the figs. Place the figs in a medium heatproof bowl. Add boiling water to cover; set aside until plump.

Cook the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa in water and drain. Combine the quinoa and stock in a medium saucepan. Bring to boiling over high heat; lower the heat to low, cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed—about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and fluff with a fork.

Mix the salad. Drain the figs in a colander; transfer to a cutting board and cut into quarters. Pour ½ cup of the Red Wine Vinaigrette over the quinoa and toss to mix. Add the figs, pine nuts, scallions, mint, lemon zest, salt, and pepper; toss to mix. Taste the salad and add more salt or pepper if you wish.


Red Wine Vinaigrette
Place 3/4 cup reduced red wine, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 large egg yolk, 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard, and 1 1/2 teaspoons honey in a blender. Pulse to combine and then slowly drizzle in 1 cup canola oil and 1 cup olive oil, pulsing every so often to combine; run the blender for 30 seconds to fully emulsify. Transfer to a storage jar; season with salt and pepper to taste. (This vinaigrette will keep for two weeks in the refrigerator.)

Makes one 9 or 10-inch cake, 12 to 16 servings

From “The Kosher Baker: Over 160 Dairy-free Recipes from Traditional to Trendy” by Paula Shoyer. Copyright © 2010, Brandeis University Press.

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) parve margarine

16 ounces parve semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

6 large eggs, separated

1 teaspoon parve unsweetened cocoa

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup parve whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Take a 9- to 10-inch spring form pan, trace the bottom onto a piece of parchment, and cut out. Cover the top of the pan bottom with aluminum foil, and then wrap the excess foil under the bottom. Attach the pan sides to the bottom, lock in place, and then unwrap the foil and wrap it up and around the sides of the pan. Rub one tablespoon of the margarine around the bottom and sides of the pan. Place the parchment circle in the bottom of the pan and grease with some of the margarine. Grease the sides of the pan as well.

Place the chocolate and remaining margarine in a heatproof bowl over simmering water (or use a double boiler) and stir often until melted. Remove from heat and add the egg yolks and cocoa and beat with an electric mixer for one minute until thick.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with a hand-held or stand electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Turn the speed down to low, add the sugar a little at a time and, once all the sugar is added, turn the speed up to high for 1 minute. Fold the stiff egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Pour 2/3 of this batter into the prepared pan (reserve the other 1/3 for the mousse). Place the pan in a large roasting pan with sides higher than two inches. Place the roasting pan and cake on the middle rack of the oven. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan, around the cake pan, to reach halfway up the sides of the cake pan.

Bake for 40 minutes. Remove the cake pan from the water bath (leaving the roasting pan with water in the oven to cool enough to remove it safely) and let the cake cool in the pan.

While the cake is baking, prepare the mousse. In a bowl, whip the cream with an electric mixer on high speed until stiff and fold into the reserved batter. Mix well. Place in the refrigerator until the cake cools.

When the cake has cooled, spoon the mousse on top of the cake layer and try to smooth the top as much as possible with a silicone spatula. Place in the refrigerator eight hours or overnight.

To remove the sides of the cake pan, heat a sharp knife and run it all around the cake. Open the spring and remove the sides of the pan. Use a spatula to separate the parchment circle from the foil and slide the parchment and cake onto a serving plate. Store the cake in the refrigerator and then place in the freezer one hour before serving to help you cut perfect slices. Store covered in plastic in the refrigerator for up to three days or freeze up to three months.