Other People's Parties: Non-Dairy Creamer May Change My Life

I went to my first Orthodox bar mitzvah last weekend. It was my first Orthodox anything, come to think of it. While I didn’t pay much attention in temple (since the women and men sit separately and I didn’t have Fiance--a more religious Jew than I--beside me to explain what was going on), I paid great attention to the food.

I seldom keep Kosher, so I didn't have high hopes for the Kosher meal ahead. But as it turns out, Kosher food isn’t so bad! Everything served was actually pretty good. Especially the desserts, which I’ll get to in a later post.

Friday night was Shabbat (or Shabbos) dinner, and we started with pea soup. When it arrived, I gingerly dipped into the slimy green substance and braced myself for the worst. I was confused and pleasantly surprised when it tasted delicious. Quite possibly the best pea soup I’ve ever had, smooth and spiked with chives and mint. Fiance and I looked at each other to confirm: “There’s definitely cream in this.” Since Kosher laws restrict serving meat and milk in the same meal, we anticipated a main course of fish.

You can imagine my surprise when, after a yummy, thoughtfully arranged iceberg lettuce salad garnished with pecans and cranberries, this stuffed chicken breast came out as the main course:

Kosher stuffed Chicken

Fiance and I raised our eyebrows at each other and I immediately sought out the chef to ask what was in the pea soup. Non-dairy creamer, he told me. Genius! This trick will certainly come in handy when my Kosher conscience nags around the holidays or a more pious mood strikes Fiance around dinnertime. Non-dairy creamer just may change my life.

Even better? This recipe couldn't be easier.