Choose Your Own Giveaway!

Posted on June 9, 2014 by miriamp

Here at ArtScroll, we have so many exciting new releases. Too many, in fact, to choose just one title for our next giveaway! So instead…we’ll let you pick!

Which new title from ArtScroll would you like to win?

1) GPS: By Yaakov Shain and Avi Fishoff – Fun and authentic Torah, GPS takes the thought provoking and brilliant concepts of the Nesivos Shalom and “translates” them intocontemporary terms.

2) 48: By Rabbi Nachman Seltzer – People are following our Sages 48 ways to incorporate Torah into our lives. These are their stories.

3) Maran Harav Ovadia: By Rabbi Yehuda Heimowitz – An authoritative biography detailing the life of one of the great Torah leaders of our times.

4) Look What My Parents Give Me: By Sara Ginsburg – Teach your children the importance of respecting what their parents do through fun rhymes and cute illustrations.

5) Positive Word Power for Teens: By Chana Nestlebaum – Set up for daily study, this latest project from the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation teaches teens the power of their words.

6) Imagine If: by Rabbi Zeegel – Imagine if Hashem hadn’t made the world so perfect. Imagine if you could teach your children important lessons through hilarious rhymes and adorable illustrations.

Giveaway is over.

To enter the giveaway:

~~Comment on this post letting us know which of these new titles you would like to win.~~

~~Want another chance to win? Enter the contest on Facebook too!~~

**Giveaway ends on Monday, June 16th at 11:59 pm eastern time. Prize can be shipped within the USA. Winner will be notified via email. Valid email address must be provided to claim prize. Limit one entry per person on the blog and an additional entry per person is available on Facebook.

ArtScroll’s June Sale – 20% off all books!

Posted on June 2, 2014 by miriamp

Exciting news! Today marks the start of ArtScroll’s June Sale! From now through June 24th, we’re offering a 20% discount on all of our books! That’s right – any book you want from ArtScroll.com is now 20% off!

Take a look at some of our new releases – now available at 20% off!

Maran Harav Ovadia by Rabbi Yehuda Heimowitz – Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef met with world leaders and politicians, as well as humble Jews seeking guidance and advice. He was the author of numerous seforim, the Sefardic Chief Rabbi of Israel…and the leader who revitalized the Sefardic community. This comprehensive biography allows a glimpse into one of the greatest rabbinical leaders of the last 100 years.

Living Kiddush Hashem by Rabbi Shraga Freedman – What exactly is a Kiddush Hashem? How do we sanctify Hashem’s name? This groundbreaking new volume presents practical strategies for making Kiddush Hashem an essential component of our lives.

Positive Word Power for Teens – Written especially for teenage readers, this fantastic new book will teach you the impact of the words you use and encourage kindness and sensitivity.

48 By Rabbi Nachman Seltzer – Our sages teach us 48 ways to make the Torah a part of us. 48 presents incredible true stories for each of these ways, told in the entertaining and education style of Rabbi Nachman Seltzer.

Touched by Their Faith by Rabbi Yechiel Spero – Uniquely touching and inspiring, tens out thousands of people have been inspired by Rabbi Spero’s stories. In his newest collection, we are treated to a wealth of stories that will uplift and encourage your faith.

Upwards by Shami Reinman – this incredible story of a woman’s journey through illness and her spiritual triumph over a dreaded illness has touched the lives of all who read it.

This is just a small sampling of over 1800 titles available from ArtScroll – all at 20% off! Click here to shop.

Shavuos Cooking Made Easy!

Posted on May 26, 2014 by miriamp

The latest release in our Made Easy cookbook series, Dairy Made Easy, is just in time to help you prepare your dairy meals for shavuos. To help you get started, we’ve prepared a sample menu, compiled from all four Made Easy cookbooks.

You can print the PDFs by clicking the links below, or you can scroll down for image files of the recipes. Make sure to read our helpful tips from the authors and the handy make-ahead and freezer guide!

Menu (Click the links for a downloadable PDF):

Avocado Cigars

Pomegranate and Apple Salad with Creamy Parmesan Dressing

Roasted Tomato and Eggplant Soup

Penne Rosa

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Make ahead and freezer friendly food guide:

Many of the recipes in Dairy Made Easy can be made ahead, making your Yom Tov prep much easier. Here is a list of make-ahead tips and instructions.

Many appetizers that get fried such as Arancini Balls (page 28) and Broccoli Spring Rolls (page 30) can be prepared ahead and frozen, then fried fresh.

Pizza doughs, such as the Bistro Style Pizza Dough (page 70) and the 30 minute Thin Crust Pizza Dough (page 72) can be prepared ahead and frozen, then defrosted before using.

For the Roasted Veggie Galete (page 36), let it thaw completely before rewarming. If you try to reheat it straight from the freezer, the dough will thaw much faster than the veggies.

Herbed Pull Apart Bread (page 79) can be prepared completely and frozen. Reheat before serving.

Many blended soups, such as the Cauliflower and Lemon soup (page 50) and the Broccoli Cheddar soup (page 46) freeze nicely.

To prepare the Baked Roasted Veggie Pasta (page 94) ahead, make each component separately and reheat them together just before serving.

Pasta sauces (see chapter on pasta, starting on page 82) can be frozen up to a month. Cook the pasta fresh, and warm up together with the sauce.

All desserts in Dairy Made Easy (other than Peanut Butter Crème Brule) can be frozen fully prepared.

Three Cheese Quiche (page 34) can be frozen after baking and reheated just before serving.

Calsones (page 90) freeze nicely. When you defrost them, leave uncovered for a crunchy dish, or cover it while reheating for a softer dish.

Salad dressings can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the fridge.

Holiday Cooking Tips from Leah and Victoria:

There will be enough pastries to go around. Instead, prepare and serve a couple of (easy-to-make-ahead) frozen desserts. Shavuos signals the beginning of summer, and everyone will be appreciative when you bring refreshing treats out from the freezer. I’m making Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream (from Dairy Made Easy) in little mason jars and Rice Krispie Ice Cream Sandwiches (from Kids Cooking Made Easy) for the kids. – Victoria Dwek

Even if you’ll be preparing your meals fresh, get as many components as you can out of the way in advance. For example, prepare your salad dressings in advance. Balance your menu with items you can prep ahead, like Arancini balls (fry fresh!) and quick to assemble sides like cauliflower garlic bites. – Leah Schapira

Print or Share the Recipe Cards:

Click here to buy Dairy Made Easy

Click here for the entire Made Easy Series

Coming Tuesday, May 27th: Maran Harav Ovadia

Posted on May 19, 2014 by miriamp

He had a mind big enough to master all of Torah.

A spirit big enough to lead his people.

And a heart big enough to contain all of Klal Yisrael.

Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef זצ״ל was the unique and revered gaon and posek who brought hundreds of thousands under the banner of Torah. In this authoritative biography, read how the son of a humble grocer became the “Maran” who transformed
his era.

The highly anticipated biography of Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef is due in stores on Tuesday, May 27th.

Click here for book details and to preorder your copy.

Dairy Made Easy: Exclusive Author Interview + Giveaway!

Posted on May 5, 2014 by miriamp

Here in the ArtScroll offices, we are so excited about our newest cookbook release, Dairy Made Easy! For weeks now, we’ve been drooling over the mouthwatering images in the book, and discussing which recipes we’re craving for supper. Now that the book has finally been released, we are excited to share it with all of our readers!

We took a few minutes to sit down with the authors to discuss their newest book.

Scroll past the interview for your chance to win a copy! Winner has been announced!

Interview with Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek:

Q: What is your favorite recipe in Dairy Made Easy?

Leah: My favorite definitely needs to be the Sweet Chili Fries and the pizza. Oh, I also love the Arancini and the Grilled Avocado Sandwich. Did you say one favorite?

Victoria: I have to pick a dessert. The Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream gets served the most often at my table because it works well as either dairy or parve. But my personal favorite? The Tres Leches Cake. I can usually resist cake. Not that one.

Q: Can you tell us any funny or interesting stories that happened while you were working on Dairy Made Easy?

Victoria: My brother and sister-in-law told me that they used to go to a restaurant in Brooklyn NY, just to order the ziti, which they said was the best ziti ever. I was so curious. What could be so special about ziti? Since the restaurant closed down awhile ago, I had to network to find out who had owned it. Then, network some more to get his phone number, along with the former chef’s phone number. I called Chef John constantly. He’d usually ignore my call and send it to voicemail. When he finally picked up and I asked if he could share his ziti recipe, he said, “What? Something so simple? How about a nice fish?” No!! I wanted that ziti. When he finally shared it (after I called him a few dozen more times), and I made it, I wasn’t in love. And my brother and I figured out that it must have been his secret sauce that made it so good.

Q: Can you tell us more about the process of testing/developing the recipes?

Leah: We tend to forget those exhausting days of our lives! Otherwise we wouldn’t write more books. Kidding aside, we live in fear that the recipes aren’t foolproof enough, so we re-test and retest until we can make each recipe in our sleep and until our families don’t want to eat it even one more time (that’s what neighbors are for).

Q: What made you decide to write a book of dairy recipes?

Leah: When we asked random friends and woman what they cook for dairy dinners, they all said the same thing: baked ziti. We realized we all (us included) wanted more options.

There are so many times during the year that we are stumped for new dairy recipe ideas … daily breakfast and lunch, luncheons and brunches, dairy dinners, Shavuos, the Nine Days, shalosh seudos, and Motza’ei Shabbos.

Q: Were there any recipes that were left out of the book? Why?

Leah: Painfully, we had to cut out lots of desserts. After all, it’s a diary book and not a dessert book. When we realized that to balance out the book we couldn’t include more than a dozen sweet things, we almost convinced ourselves that cheese buns are a breakfast item so that we would be able to include more desserts in the book (alas, the cheese buns are back in the dairy book’s dessert section).

Victoria: I still miss those vanilla molten cakes. I’m a vanilla fan and Leah is a chocolate fan, so I couldn’t win that battle. I would only let Leah cut them if she promised me we’d include them in another book.

Q: Last question: what’s next?

Leah: Our next book is almost ready and we’re in love with it: Secret Restaurant Recipes. We gathered a collection of recipes from kosher restaurants all over the world. Name your favorite restaurant and we’ve got a secret restaurant recipe from them.

Victoria: It’s so fascinating to learn what techniques and ingredients chefs use to prepare their most popular dishes. The recipes are very different than what we’d ever think of…and so awesome!

Leah: As for our next after that, we’re open to ideas. Suggest our next cookbook topic and it may just be the one we write!

Click here to order your copy of Dairy Made Easy.

Click here for the entire Made Easy Cookbook Series.

Congrats to Shaindy on winning Dairy Made Easy!

To enter the giveaway:

Comment on this post telling us: what is your favorite dairy dish? OR Tell us what topic you’d like the next made easy cookbook to be on!

**Giveaway ends on Thursday, May 8th at 11:59 pm eastern time. Prize can be shipped within the USA. Winner will be notified via email. Valid email address must be provided to claim prize. Limit one entry per person.

Upwards: Learning Appreciation

Posted on April 8, 2014 by miriamp

If you’re looking for reading material for Pesach, look no further than Upwards, by Shami Reinman – the personal account of a woman’s battle with Parkinson’s that will give you a whole new level of appreciate for everything you have in life.

You would think that reading the personal account of a woman in her 50’s struggle with Parkinson’s disease would be down, depressing, sad. You might be right in most cases, but not so with Upwards.

Upwards is the first-person account of Shami Reinman, a vibrant and energetic woman in her 50’s – a bubby, teacher, wife and mother. She’s fun, funny and full of life – just the kind of person everyone wants as a friend. Then the unthinkable happens, and Mrs. Reinman’s world is turned upside down. As the author takes us through her journey from Diagnosis, to acceptance, to struggling with her own body – the overwhelming feeling is appreciation.

Yes. Appreciation.

When did I last appreciate my ability to wake up in the morning and get dressed – by myself? When was the last time that I stopped and thought about the gift of being able to speak loudly and clearly, and be understood by those around me? How often to I think about the blessing of being able to drive a car, climb a flight of stairs? Did I ever feel appreciation for my ability to chew, swallow and eat? Who really takes the time to appreciate that their body is not their own worst enemy?

Reading about Shami Reinman and her struggles, reading about how she faces her challenges with optimism, it carries through to the reader. In her words:

“I accept whatever Hashem sends me, and I am grateful for every day that I have. I’ll take each day as it comes.”

-Shami Reinman, Upwards (page 276)

Click here for book details and exclusive online savings.

Weekly Learning Download: Haggadah And The Answer Is

Posted on March 27, 2014 by miriamp

The Question: How Do You Make Your Seder Dynamic, Lively, and Spirited? The Answer Is… The Pesach Haggadah: The Answer Is…

Interactive: To have participants ask good questions. And get great answers.

This Pesach, we’ve got more than 300 questions – and over 1,000 answers! – for Seder night, guaranteed to make your Seder table a particularly lively and dynamic place. They’re all here, in The Pesach Haggadah: The Answer Is…

The Pesach Haggadah: The Answer Is… was a major bestseller in its original Hebrew, and for good reason. This engrossing and unusual Haggadah takes us through every facet of the Seder and the Pesach story by asking questions and offering answers from more than two hundred commentators

For our weekly learning download, we are sharing a sample chapter from this popular new Haggadah.

Click here to view and download a sample chapter from The Pesach Haggadah: The Answer is.

Click here to purchase this Haggadah with an exclusive online discount.

Free Passover Recipe Cards Download!

Posted on March 26, 2014 by miriamp

If you’ve started to think about your menu for Passover, we’re here to help! ArtScroll’s three hit Pesach cookbooks all contain a wide variety of mouthwatering recipes that will enhance your pesach meals.

To give you a “taste” of our recipes, we’re sharing free recipe cards that you can download and print. (Scroll down for a high resolution PDF.)

You can also download the files here:

—-> Click here to download the recipe cards for easy printing: Pesach Recipe Cards

—-> Click here to download the recipe cards in a convenient recipe box size: Pesach Recipe Cards 3×5

About the books:

A Taste of Pesach is the newest cookbook in our Passover selection. Featuring over 160 tried and true recipes, this book has a recipe for every palate and every occasion! Click here to purchase A Taste of Pesach.

Passover Made Easy puts the “wow” factor in Pesach food, presenting innovative and exciting recipes that you won’t believe are Kosher for Passover! Click here to purchase Passover Made Easy.

Passover by Design by best-selling author Susie Fishbein combines previous Kosher By Design favorites that have been tweaked for Passover with a selection of brand-new recipes to make your Pesach cooking elegantly simple. Click here to purchase Passover By Design.

Readers Write: My Father, My Mother and Me + Giveaway!

Posted on March 24, 2014 by miriamp

Readers from all over the world have been raving about our new book, My Father, My Mother and Me. Below are some of their comments. If you would like to share your thoughts on this book, or any ArtScroll title that has made an impression on you, email blog@artscroll.com and it might be featured on The Official ArtScroll Blog!

Scroll to the end of the post for a giveaway!

Giveaway is over! The winner is: Sarah W!

A reader from Israel shares:

“I would like to describe my experience with My Father, My Mother and Me. because I want more people to buy it. I did not buy this book to improve my relationship with my mother or with my mother in law. In fact, I didn’t buy it at all. Someone bought it for me, because she knew I was having real serious issues with my in-laws. You know—things that typically just go on without resolution.

Amazingly, as I read, something shifted in my attitude. It wasn’t because a particular story inspired me. It was just the whole idea of this book. l these years, I was looking at how I was right and how my in-laws were wrong. Even though I saw certain areas where I realized they were right and I was wrong, I had a hard time acting respectfully about them.

So what happened?

After reading the book, I realized that even if they are wrong and I am right, I should be focusing on my responsibilities, on how I could become better. I realized that I should daven more to be able to honor my in-laws, my parents, and to respect them and their needs.

My mindset changed a lot, in a lot of ways. I realized that because of my new attitude, I am talking to my in-laws—and talking to my husband about them—in a different way. I thought, “Wow! What a little book can do!”

I wanted to share this because I feel that everyone should read My Father, My Mother and Me. “

Gitty writes about how much she enjoyed this book:

“I highly recommend the book My Father, My Mother and Me. It has opened up my eyes (pokeach ivrim) to the halachos of Kibud Av V’Eim. It gave me a whole new perspective on the way that I view my relationship with my parents. Baruch Hashem, I have already been able to put the halachas I’ve learned from this book into practice. Aside from being inspirational and educational, this is a highly entertaining book that I had fun reading – I don’t know any time that I ever said that about a halacha sefer.

Yasher Koach!”

Reader Chani writes about how this book impacted her life:

“I picked up a copy of My Father, My Mother and Me over shabbos, and I spent some time reading it. I found it to be life changing.

My father has never forgiven me for becoming a Baalas Teshuva. Every time that I see him he makes fun of my “lifestyle” and puts down Kollel. He makes sure to let me know that if I didn’t have the extra expenses of being a frum Jew, I could live the “good” life (cruises, restaurants, etc).

After spending a few hours with him, the only thing I usually want to do is run out the door. This week, as I was visiting him, I started thinking about the stories that I had read in the book. I took a look around me and realized that his apartment was in terrible shape. The mitzvah of Kibbud Av includes cleaning and feeding my father, not just visiting him. Despite my tremendous desire to leave, I spent a long time cleaning his bathroom and kitchen and taking out numerous bags of garbage. Because of the many stories that I read about ways of taking care of parents, I realized that this is something that I should want to do, not look for excuses to get out of it.

The most remarkable thing is not that I did it, but how I felt about doing it. In the past when I helped him I was full of resentment for the way that he treats me. This time I left feeling good and empowered. This was not about helping my father; it was about doing what Hashem wants.“

Click here to purchase the book with exclusive online savings

GIVEAWAY!

For your chance to win a copy of My Father, My Mother and Me just comment below and tell us which ArtScroll titles have greatly impacted your life. (You can also email your thoughts to blog@artscroll.com and it may be featured here. All entries must be via comment on this post.)

**Giveaway ends on Thursday, March 27th at 11:59 eastern time. Prize can be shipped within the USA. Winner will be notified via email. Valid email address must be provided to claim prize. Limit one entry per person.

Which new title from ArtScroll would you like to win?

Giveaway is over.

To enter the giveaway:

Exciting news! Today marks the start of ArtScroll’s June Sale! From now through June 24th, we’re offering a 20% discount on all of our books! That’s right – any book you want from ArtScroll.com is now 20% off!

This is just a small sampling of over 1800 titles available from ArtScroll – all at 20% off! Click here to shop.

The latest release in our Made Easy cookbook series, Dairy Made Easy, is just in time to help you prepare your dairy meals for shavuos. To help you get started, we’ve prepared a sample menu, compiled from all four Made Easy cookbooks.

You can print the PDFs by clicking the links below, or you can scroll down for image files of the recipes. Make sure to read our helpful tips from the authors and the handy make-ahead and freezer guide!

Menu (Click the links for a downloadable PDF):

Make ahead and freezer friendly food guide:

Holiday Cooking Tips from Leah and Victoria:

Print or Share the Recipe Cards:

The highly anticipated biography of Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef is due in stores on Tuesday, May 27th.

Scroll past the interview for your chance to win a copy! Winner has been announced!

Congrats to Shaindy on winning Dairy Made Easy!

To enter the giveaway:

To enter the giveaway:

The Question: How Do You Make Your Seder Dynamic, Lively, and Spirited? The Answer Is… The Pesach Haggadah: The Answer Is…