Middle Eastern Empanada (Sambusac)

Chef Einat Admony, known as the ultimate balaboosta (meaning "perfect housewife" in Yiddish) is the James Beard-nominated chef and owner of Balaboosta, the fine dining Middle Eastern and Israeli restaurant, and the beloved fast casual falafel chain, Taïm. Admony is a pillar of the international Israeli cooking community. Her food tells an intricate story of strong immigrant roots and living the American Dream. Having grownup in Tel Aviv, she served as a cook in the Israeli Army before traveling Europe to work in kitchens, and eventually landing in New York City as an ambitious young chef. After 15+ years leading the New York culinary scene and establishing multiple restaurants, Admony continues to innovate and inspire with elevated yet comforting homestyle cooking from her childhood. Admony is a two-time champion and competitor of Food Network’s Chopped and Throwdown! with Bobby Flay, respectively. She has been featured by The New York Times, Bon Appetit, HuffPost, Forbes, among many others. Admony has authored two cookbooks with Artisan Books: Balaboosta (2013) and Shuk (2019). In 2014, she was a recipient of the Great Immigrants award from Carnegie Corporation of New York for exemplary contributions to American life. Outside of leading several expanding food businesses, Admony can be found at home in Brooklyn or at her country house in the Hudson Valley, cooking for her two children, Liam and Mika, her husband and business partner, Stefan Nafziger, and a steady stream of dinner party guests.

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