Cooking For Your Seder

Summary

All Of It: Cooking For Your Seder – Detailed Summary

Episode Title: Cooking For Your Seder
Host: Alison Stewart
Guest: Jake Cohen, Cookbook Author
Release Date: April 11, 2025
Duration: Approximately 22 minutes
Location: WNYC Studios

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Introduction to the Episode

Alison Stewart welcomes listeners to “All Of It,” WNYC’s show dedicated to exploring culture and its consumers. In this episode, Alison focuses on preparing for Passover, specifically guiding listeners through cooking for the Seder meal. She introduces Jake Cohen, a cookbook author and self-described modern mensch, known for his works Jewish and Aikudnash. The episode aims to infuse traditional Passover dishes with creativity and flavor, making the holiday meals both meaningful and enjoyable.

Personal Reflections on Passover

Jake Cohen shares his personal connection to Passover, reflecting on his childhood in Queens:

"I grew up in the city in Queens and I had two working parents and that was not very conducive for family dinners and really gathering around the table. And these holidays, especially the two nights of Passover, were really the moments in which the entire family stopped. There was this focus on abundance and food and really gathering every single person at the table over a huge meal."
(01:26)

Symbolism of Food in Passover

Alison highlights the symbolic nature of food in Jewish traditions, particularly during Passover:

"Passover uses matzah to symbolize hardship around Hanukkah. Oily food is symbolic as well."
(01:50)

Jake Cohen elaborates on how these traditions shape his culinary practices:

"I think my love of cooking is all through, like its use as a vessel for connection. And when we look at Jewish ritual and these holidays, it takes it one step further where it's not only connecting with those you love, but then using it as a conduit for conversations."
(02:05)

Cooking Tips for Seder Meals

Matzo Balls Preparation

Alison prompts Jake to share his expertise on matzo balls, a staple in Passover meals.

Jake Cohen offers practical advice:

"You want to use seltzer in the matzo balls. It keeps them nice and fluffy."
(09:07)

He further explains the process:

"Cook your balls in a separate pot. Never in the broth because it'll make it cloudy. Let them cool completely in that pot of water, then refrigerate until ready to use."
(04:53)

Brisket Perfection

Discussing brisket, Jake emphasizes low and slow cooking:

"You want to have it braised low and slow. Nothing higher than 325 degrees Fahrenheit. It should take between three and four hours, depending on the size."
(09:34)

He advises letting the brisket cool completely before slicing against the grain to achieve the desired pull-apart texture:

"Slice it against the grain because you're gonna see the striations of the meat. You want to cut against it so that you have these beautiful pull apart slices."
(10:37)

Call-In Segment: Interactive Cooking Support

Listeners call in with specific Passover cooking questions, all adeptly addressed by Jake Cohen.

Ariel from Greenpoint: Storing Matzo Balls

Ariel seeks advice on preparing matzo balls ahead of time:

"I'm trying to make the matzo balls ahead of time and then just drop them in the soup when it's time to eat. And I'm not really sure, like, how to store them from now till then."
(04:32)

Jake Cohen responds with detailed storage instructions:

"Cook your balls in a separate pot, let them cool completely in the pot of water, then refrigerate. Reheat on the stove before adding to the soup."
(04:56)

Laura from Tarrytown: Italian Passover Traditions

Laura shares her unique Italian Jewish Passover dishes:

"Instead of gefilte fish, we do a fish galantine, which is a striped bass steamed with spices and then molded with the broth."
(07:41)
"For desserts, we have scudellini, a custard made with diamonds, sugar, and eggs, and pizzarella romane, made with matzo, cocoa, pinoli, nuts, and raisins."
(08:36)

Erica from Harlem: Chicken Soup Secrets

Erica reveals a family secret for superior chicken soup:

"You need an old chicken, a pullet chicken, not a young one, to make great chicken soup. And use schmaltz in the matzo balls along with seltzer."
(08:46)

Jake Cohen affirms her tips:

"Yeah, 100%. Always seltzer."
(09:07)

Paul Adam from East Village: Simplified Seder Plans

Paul describes his minimalist Seder:

"We're having a very small, quaint, minuscule Seder with just me and my family. We're having fish and celebrating a small second night."
(14:35)

Rebecca from Englewood: Solving Masa Farfel Challenges

Rebecca seeks solutions for Masa Farfel:

"Jake, do you have a solution for Masa Farfel?"
(15:43)

Jake Cohen suggests creative uses:

"Treat it like Thanksgiving stuffing. Add caramelized onions, mushrooms, herbs, lemon, and some liquid to keep it moist without making it mushy."
(16:54)

Gabby from Kerhonkson: Bringing Desserts to Seder

Gabby discusses her dessert preparations:

"I'm making almond flour brownies every year for the Seder."
(17:02)

A listener asks for dessert suggestions:

"I'm planning on bringing a flourless chocolate cake. Is there a main or side dish I should be bringing?"
(17:50)

Jake Cohen offers multiple dessert ideas:

"Matzo brittle, flourless cakes enhanced with sumac for acidity, and roasted root vegetables like Brussels sprouts with date syrup are excellent options."
(20:02)

Creative Dessert Ideas

Jake emphasizes creativity in desserts:

"I add sumac to my flourless chocolate cake to add acidity, which pairs beautifully with chocolate."
(20:02)
"Merengue-based desserts like meringue cookies or layered almond cakes are great for Passover."
(20:02)

He also highlights kid-friendly options:

"Let kids decorate matzo brittle with rainbow sprinkles and crushed potato chips for a fun, festive treat."
(21:14)

Final Cooking Tips and Personal Reflections

Jake shares his excitement about the upcoming Seder:

"I'm excited about gathering my family, my roommate's family, some friends that don't have a place to go. It really becomes this just like mix match of the people I love in my life."
(21:45)

Conclusion

Alison Stewart wraps up the episode by acknowledging Jake Cohen’s contributions and teasing his upcoming cookbook release in September. The episode successfully blends traditional Passover cooking with modern twists, providing listeners with practical tips, creative ideas, and heartfelt insights to enhance their Seder celebrations.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Jake Cohen on Family Gatherings:

  "These holidays... were really the moments in which the entire family stopped... focusing on abundance and food."
  (01:26)

• On Cooking as Connection:

  "Using it as a conduit for conversations... food as a beautiful representation of... freedom and striving for a better world."
  (02:05)

• Matzo Ball Essentials:

  "Dill is the most important ingredient in any chicken soup and any matzo ball."
  (06:50)

• Brisket Perfecting:

  "Cook it low and slow... let it chill overnight... slice against the grain for pull apartness."
  (10:37)

• Creative Desserts:

  "Sumac... adds acidity, brightening up everything... meringue-based desserts are great."
  (20:02)

---

This comprehensive summary encapsulates the essence of the “Cooking For Your Seder” episode, providing listeners with valuable insights and actionable tips for their Passover preparations.

Transcript

[Progressive Insurance]

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[Jake Cohen]

Listener supported WNYC Studios.

[Alison Stewart]

This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Alison Stewart. Tomorrow night is the first night of Passover. Families all over our area and all over the world will begin preparing their seders, spicing their broths, balling their matzo meal, tenderizing their briskets, practicing the four questions that begin, why is this night different from other nights? We will leave a liturgical answers to that question to Judaica scholars. But if you want this Passover to be tastier than other Passovers, we have you covered. We're talking about what to cook for your Seder meals, how to give some of your old favorites a little extra pizazz. Joining me now, please welcome cookbook author and self described modern mensch, Jake Cohen, author of Jewish and Aikudnash. It's so nice to see you, Jake.

[Jake Cohen]

It's a pleasure to be back.

[Alison Stewart]

When you were a kid, what did Passover mean to you?

[Jake Cohen]

It really was. I grew up in the city in Queens and I had two working parents and that was not very conducive for family dinners and really gathering around the table. And these holidays, especially the two nights of Passover, were really the moments in which the entire family stopped. There was this focus on abundance and food and really gathering every single person at the table over a huge meal.

[Alison Stewart]

Food is often symbolic in Jewish traditions. Passover uses matzah to symbolize hardship around Hanukkah. Oily food is symbol as well. Have you thought about Jewish traditions in your life and how they've helped shape the food and the role of cooking in your life?

[Jake Cohen]

Yeah, really. I think my love of cooking is all through, like its use as a vessel for connection. And when we look at Jewish ritual and these holidays, it takes it one step further where it's not only connecting with those you love, but then using it as a conduit for conversations. Passover is obviously this incredible opportunity to gather everyone in your life, talk about the value of freedom, the hardships of oppression, and how we all need to strive for a better, freer world and to have food be that beautiful representation of that. It's the best starting point.

[Alison Stewart]

Listeners, what are you cooking for Passovers? Our lines are open. 21-22-433 WNYC 212-433-9692. We want to hear about your favorite holiday recipes for the seder table or inventive ways that you use matzah. Or maybe you've got a kid friendly recipe or you can share it with all of us. 2124-3396-9221-2433, wnyc. Oh, our phone lines are filling up while we get those all ready to go. You have a new cookbook coming? Yes, in September called Dinner Party Animal.

[Jake Cohen]

Yes.

[Alison Stewart]

I love the name.

[Jake Cohen]

Thank you.

[Alison Stewart]

I'll have you on when that comes on. What does it look like to infuse your party animalness into a tradition or a vibe that could be somewhat solemn?

[Jake Cohen]

You know, I think both, like, you can really hold both truths at the same time. Where we're gathering over really, like, hard times. It's a hard world, and that's never gonna change. And we still have this call to find connection, this call to find beauty, this call to find peace, even throughout that. So to be able to create even just one evening of solace where you're able to be with your family, create nods to the difficulties in this world, but also create the gratitude around a meal shared with those you love, that's even better. Obviously, people get very stressed, which is why I love coming on and just, like, having people throw in their questions. Cause I got. I got you.

[Alison Stewart]

I got you.

[Jake Cohen]

And that's why, like, the new book, it's all dinner party menus with, like, your grocery list, your timeline, everything, so everyone can just, like, take a breath and relax. Cause, like, cooking should be fun, right?

[Alison Stewart]

Putting on the calendar for September. Let's talk to Ariel, who is calling in from Greenpoint. Thanks for making the call. What do you have to say, Ariel?

[Ariel]

Hi. I'm hosting, like, a pre Seder Seder here tonight for 20 people, and I'm trying to, like, make the matzo balls ahead of time and then just, like, drop them in the soup when it's time to eat. And I'm not really sure, like, how to store them from, like, now till then.

[Jake Cohen]

Oh, I got it.

[Ariel]

Keep them, like, fluffy and airy. Yeah.

[Jake Cohen]

Yes. All right, so here's the deal. Whether you cook them now or in a little bit, what I always do, cook your balls in a separate pot. Never in the broth because it'll make it cloudy. And then you let them cool completely in that pot of water. And then you truly can just put the lid on and pop it into the fridge. If you have the space. If not, you can also transfer it to a Tupperware. When you do that, you want to use that cooking water. It's going to be cloudy and gross, but it is, like, what you want to make sure that your balls don't dry out. That's not cursing, but you get. You get the gist. And then you get to reheat it just right in the pot on the stove and pop them right into your soup. So if you do it literally a couple hours in advance, you can just keep it on the stove and let it come to room temp. It's not going to be crazy or really have, like, intense food safety concerns. If you're going to do it anything more than a few hours, then, yeah, pop in the fridge.

[Alison Stewart]

What is the right size of the matzo ball?

[Jake Cohen]

Yes. Great question. To me, about a third of a cup raw. Of your batter. Yes. Because then they, like, pop up in the oven. I mean, the oven in the pot. So really, the big issue is, is that you want to be having one bowl. That satiates you two if you're feeling crazy wild. But anything that's gonna be too big, we're just getting to, like, comical deli culture.

[Alison Stewart]

Do you ever. Are you a believer in adding anything to the matzo ball to make it a little, you know, have a little pizzazz?

[Jake Cohen]

Yes. All right. Well, obviously, it's like the classic is schmaltz. If you're using schmaltz and you're doing the right thing, sometimes it could be difficult for people to find or have. Though I also say make your chicken soup first, and when you chill it, you could skim off the fat from the top and use that for your matzo balls. I love tons of dill. Tons of dill is, like, the most important thing. I think dill is the most important ingredient in any chicken soup and any matzo ball.

[Alison Stewart]

I wish somebody could see, because you're like, dill is the thing. Your neck is going. Your shoulders are going.

[Jake Cohen]

Truly. And when people are like, oh, I don't like dill. There was a. There was a guy I went on a date with once. He's like, oh, yeah, I hate dill. Done. Goodbye. Swipe over. Exactly. So, yeah, I would say dill I do have in the new. There are new matzo balls in the upcoming book, and I really kind of play around with infusing a lot more flavor with, like, garlic.

[Alison Stewart]

My guest is Jake Cohen, food fluencer and cookbook author. He is helping us out with our Passover Cooking. What are you cooking for? Pass. Open. Pass over. Our lines are open. 2124-3396-9221-2433. WNYC. Or you can hit us up on our socials at all of it. Wnyc. Let's go to Laura, who's calling in from Tarrytown. Hi, Laura, thanks for calling, all of it. Hey, what's up?

[Laura]

Well, thanks for taking my call. Well, I'm cooking an Italian Passover meal from Italian Jewish tradition. So I'll give you just a couple of things that are special. One, instead of gefilte fish, we do a fish galantine, which is a striped bass steamed with spices and then molded with the broth. And then two desserts that are called scudellini, which is from Libourno, my city in Italy. It's a custard made with diamonds, sugar, and eggs. You have to cook in very special ways. Shouldn't boil and shouldn't make a frittata with it, but just the cream. And pizzarella romane, which is also another dish from Rome. A dessert then made with matzo, cocoa, pinoli, nuts, and raisins. And then you fry it and put honey on top. So those are the special things.

[Alison Stewart]

That sounds special to me. I appreciate you calling. Let's talk to Erica, who I think is in Harlem. Hey, Erica, thanks for calling, all of it.

[Erica]

Hi, how are you doing?

[Alison Stewart]

Great.

[Erica]

So I have a big secret that I learned from my nana Molly, 40 years ago, is that you need a pullet chicken. You need an old chicken to make great chicken soup. Not a young chicken, but a pullet. You can get it at a kosher butcher, but it has to be an old chicken. And the schmaltz in the matzo balls and also seltzer in the matzo balls.

[Jake Cohen]

Yes.

[Erica]

If you need water, can make them nice and fluffy.

[Jake Cohen]

Always seltzer.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you for the tip. Is she right?

[Jake Cohen]

Yeah, 100%. 100% about all of it.

[Alison Stewart]

All right, let's get into making brisket.

[Jake Cohen]

Mine's literally in the oven right now. I leave here and I go home, and it's in the oven waiting for me.

[Alison Stewart]

What is the key to making your brisket? So it just has that pull apartness to it, really.

[Jake Cohen]

And again, everyone wants the get rich quick ski to be like. Like, what's the secret? Really, it's about the cook time. You want to have it braised low and slow. Nothing higher than 325 degrees Fahrenheit. And it really should be taking somewhere between three and four hours, depending on the size of your brisket. Again, that's for like a five to six pound brisket. People be like, oh yeah, I took your recipe, but I used a 1 1/2 pound brisket and it fell apart. I'm like, yeah, because you cooked it much longer, you do the fork test. So after about like three hours for that size brisket, you put in a fork and really it should go in and come out easily without a ton of resistance. Then the most important part is you let it cool completely. And then I chill it overnight whole and slice it against the grain because you're gonna see the striations of the meat. You want to cut against it so that you have these beautiful pull apart slices. But when you do it whole, everything really sticks together. It reheats in the sauce very easily and, and it has that beautiful pull apart quality. You try to carve it hot, it's gonna fall apart.

[Alison Stewart]

Ah, day before, who would have thought?

[Jake Cohen]

And it's already done. That way you're done. All you gotta do is reheat it.

[Alison Stewart]

I'm glad we're doing this today. Here's a question for you. I'm a goy who knows my way around a pot roast, but I've been wanting to cook an old fashioned brisket like my Jewish neighbors might enjoy. What's a good resource for me? How to learn to do that from scratch if I don't have a bubby of my own.

[Jake Cohen]

Oh my God, I'm. I'm your guy. I would say, like, that's the, the thing that I love the most. The thing that I find is like, probably the biggest reward to the work that I do is seeing how people absorb these recipes and they become part of their own family's traditions now. So I have like these two recipes. In my first book I have a French onion brisket. And in my last book I have this brisket that's focused on like hardcore umami flavors. So it's roasted mushrooms with balsamic and lots of like tomatoes. And really you just get to have fun with it. You get to do whatever you want. I would say play around with different recipes. Keep it very similar to a pot roast. It's not that different. It's just a different cut of meat and occasionally like different aromatics. We're definitely very allium heavy in Jewish cooking, so lots of onions.

[Alison Stewart]

My guest is Jake Cohen. We are talking about Passover cooking. Getting ready for your seder. Do you have questions for Jake Cohen or you want to tell us what you are Making at this moment, Our number is 2124-3396-9221-2433 W NYC. You can call in and join us on air or you can text that number. We've got more calls coming in. I wanted to ask you about, essentially about the matzo.

[Jake Cohen]

Yeah.

[Alison Stewart]

Is there an upside to making for yourself the ground matzah or do you just.

[Jake Cohen]

Is store bought okay for like matzo meal? Because there are two things. Yes. Because making your own matzah, it's a whole thing has to be 18 minutes from like when the water touches the flour to coming out of the oven. It's a fun thing to do with kids, like I did in Hebrew school. It's something that everyone loves to do at some point. Don't be a hero. Matzo meal, however. Oh my God. My grandmother, I have this video of her and she's just going on this tangent about like, why would anyone buy matzo meal? You just put it in the food processor and you make it yourself and it's cheaper so you could do it either way. There is no one is better, one is worse.

[Alison Stewart]

It's just one extra step for the uninitiated. What are the rules around flour, grains, et cetera?

[Jake Cohen]

Yes. Oh my God. I mean there's so many. Because then the thing is we can't have leavened bread. So really there is no flour products. But also know there's this other group of things of grains that are or items that are similar to grain called kidney oat, which depending on if you are Mizrahi or Sephardic versus Ashkenazi, the Mizrahi and Sephardic communities are okay with kidney oat, which include rice, beans, legumes, a lot of things that Ashkenazi's also don't eat. So that means we're not having rice, we're not having beans, we're not having corn, we're not having soy. So no soy sauce. No. There are just so many little things that you just don't think about. Like, oh, oh, mustard. Oh, well, no, mustard seeds are kidney, can't have mustard. And you just, you forget. I would say the high level thing that I always love to remind people is that this is a restrictive diet for a week to really allow us to constantly be thinking about what is the meaning of Passover. So oftentimes people are looking to just recreate the same things we eat normally, but make it kosher for Passover. And to me that's such a loophole. That's the exact same as, like, I'm a vegan, but I've created the fake bacon and the this and the that, and it's like, yeah, that's great. But it's also taking away from the core of why we're doing this.

[Alison Stewart]

Let's talk to Paul Adam, who is calling in from the East Village. Hi, Paul Adam. Thanks for calling all of it.

[Paul Adam]

Yeah, hi. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it. Allison and Pesach Sameach. Happy Passover. I'm prepping the place as we speak. Yeah, I'm prepping. I'm prepping the place as we speak. Actually, I'm still. I have yet to burn the Chametz. That's one of my favorite parts of Passover. Honestly. Burning, you burn all the remaining. All the remaining leavened wheat and grain products. The day. The day before Passover, I'm going to my Rabbi Seder the first night. But traditionally, you're supposed to have two seders. And my family and I are having a very small, quaint, minuscule. I didn't really care, honestly, this year, because I just. I just wanted to have, like, I needed to have a Seder. And we're having fish, and we're just celebrating with me and my family a very small second night.

[Jake Cohen]

I love that.

[Alison Stewart]

That's lovely. Thank you so much for calling in. Let's talk to Rebecca from Englewood, New Jersey. Hey, Rebecca, thanks for making the time to call, all of it. I understand you have a question for Jake.

[Rebecca]

Yes, thank you for taking my call. Jake, do you have a solution for Masa Farfel?

[Jake Cohen]

Is there any way you've ever done it where it's good? That's a great question.

[Alison Stewart]

Okay, first of all, explain.

[Jake Cohen]

Yeah, yeah. It's like a little. It's like almost like the soup crackers of matzah. And typically, again, it can be done in a couple of different variations. How I've always had them is my aunt would do this Passover chicken, apricot chicken, which is just like you make a. Like a stuffing with the matzo farfel and stuff it into chicken, and then cover it in mayo and apricot jam, and you throw it in the oven, and it's delicious to me. Matzo farfel. The same thing with all matzo. It's such a blank canvas. So it has to do with the preparation and the seasoning. If you really, like, build up the flavor. Caramelized onions, mushrooms, herbs, lemon. It's going to soak it all up. And then the most important thing is it's like you need to add in some liquid so it's not dry, but not too much, or else it becomes mush. So think of, like, really just a nice in between of, like, treat it like you're making your Thanksgiving stuffing.

[Alison Stewart]

Good luck. Let's talk to Gabby from Kerhonkson in the Hudson Valley. Hey, Gabby. How are you?

[Gabby]

Hey, Allison. Jake. Nice to speak to you.

[Alison Stewart]

Nice to speak to you.

[Gabby]

So I am actually cooking my brisket as we speak. Perhaps you hear it sizzling. And I'm hosting nine people for our Seder on Sunday night. And my other favorite thing to make are almond flour brownies, which I make every year for the Seder.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, congratulations on cooking a great meal.

[Jake Cohen]

There you go. I love brownies, and they're such an easy dessert to make. Kosher for Passover.

[Alison Stewart]

Well, this is interesting because someone wrote to us, says, I'm going to a Seder on Sunday. I'm not Jewish. Haven't been to Seder in a long time. I'm planning on bringing a flourless chocolate cake for dessert, but is there a main or side dish I should be bringing? Help.

[Jake Cohen]

What do you think? And this is where I'm gonna say it depends on where you're going. Because as someone like, I like to be in control of the menu. And I have people bring desserts. Some people want help throughout the entire meal where they just wanna make the brisket and the soup, and they want all the vegetable sides just helped made by their friends and family. So ask. And then once you get that far, it's, like, amazing. If they want you to do dessert, flowers, chocolate cakes. Amazing. Also, I'm a big lover of matzo brittle. Very easy dessert. I make it all the time. You need to make a quick butterscotch that you bake with matzah, and then cover it with chocolate and whatever toppings you like. And it's one of those things where kids love it, adults love it, everyone loves it. And you can make it, like, long in advance, which is a great type of dessert. And then vegetable sides. You can't go wrong with, really, just about anything roasted. I typically do, like, root vegetables roasted with date syrup, and that just becomes this beautiful sweet and salty side that people go crazy for.

[Alison Stewart]

Ooh. Like, what kind of vegetables?

[Jake Cohen]

Oh, definitely Brussels sprouts. Brussels sprouts are, like, the go to. And then from there, it's like, I love. I also do a ton of, like, just roasted asparagus. Same deal with the apricot preserves. Little sweet, little tang.

[Alison Stewart]

I love the dates. Yeah, that's a Great idea. Let's talk to Nina, who's calling in from Freeport. Hey, Nina, thanks for calling all of it.

[Rebecca]

Hi. Well, I just finished making my pined lock, and what I do is I sculpt them. Some of them I make into bricks, and some of them I make into faces so that you have a face staring up at you from your. From your plate. And occasionally I will make little pyramids. And today what I did was I also tried. I took some of the carrot from the soup, and I hid them in the middle of some of the kneaderloch.

[Jake Cohen]

I love that.

[Alison Stewart]

All right. From the black girl sitting in the chair across.

[Jake Cohen]

It's Yiddish. It's the Yiddish term for matzo balls.

[Alison Stewart]

Thank you.

[Jake Cohen]

Incredible. Incredible. I love. I love the. I love the creativity.

[Alison Stewart]

What are some desserts you can bring? You've mentioned the chocolate flourless chocolate cake. What are some other desserts, people?

[Jake Cohen]

And I'll say, like, so the one that I do, and the thing that makes it so good is I add sumac to my flourless chocolate cake, and it's like, because it's just a dry ground berry, doesn't really add flavor, but adds acidity. And I find that it pairs with chocolate so beautifully. And it just makes. In the same way that we add espresso powder in brownie recipes, sumac does the exact same thing by adding acidity. It just brightens up everything. It's one of my favorite things. Anything that is leavened by meringue. So meringue cookies, but also just like, flourless cakes or sponges that really are just based on anything that kind of uses whipped egg whites to give it some lift. I have this insane layered almond cake from my first book, which because it's a response to the fact that so many people end up with a birthday during Passover and they never get to have a birthday cake. So I made a kosher for Passover birthday cakes for people. And then I would say one of the more popular recipes for my first book is Hajibada, which are these Iraqi almond cookies. They're made with just a few ingredients. Almond flour, egg whites, a little rose water, and sugar. And they just are so chewy, delicious, and very easy.

[Alison Stewart]

What if you have little guys running around, you want to put them to work? Where can I put them? In the kitchen. That's a good recipe for them.

[Jake Cohen]

I would say something like that because I would like. The matzo brittle is amazing for. For decorating. I wouldn't get them involved with hot butterscotch, but once you have the chocolate spread to have them decorate it. Oh my God, they have so much fun. Cause then you could do one of the combinations that I love is rainbow sprinkles and crushed potato chips. And that has become like a really fun, kid friendly dessert for Passover.

[Alison Stewart]

So what are you excited to prepare?

[Jake Cohen]

I got my brisket in the oven. I already made my chicken soup. I gotta make the matzo balls tonight and get all the veg ready. And it's just what I'm really excited about is gathering my family, my roommate's family, some friends that don't have a place to go. It really becomes this just like mix match of the people I love in my life.

[Alison Stewart]

Jake Cohen, his new cookbook is coming out in September. We'll see you then for sure. Thank you so much for helping us out with Passover.

[Jake Cohen]

My pleasure.

[Ira Flatow]

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