Oh! You Cook!

Comfort Food Recap

2012-02-09T17:57:00.005-05:00

I've been on the west coast this past week, with another 1/2 week to go. TheDaughter, who I've mentioned a few times, had yet another surgery, this time (as she puts it) for a boobectomy. I've been hleping out with the cooking, cleaning and laundry-ing.

Reese, in rare moment of not peeing.

Especially the cleaning, as in up after their semi-new less-than-housebroken puppy. Long story about that, which you can read on theDaughter's own blog.

So with the exception of chocolate cake, which was written a few week's ago but with the magic of pre-scheduling posted just yesterday, nothing new has been created or adapted. Just reruns of comfort food. But isn't that how we all cook in real life? I bet you have at least 5 "go-to" recipes, and not a week goes by without making one of them (challah and roasted chicken don't count).

After a mastectomy, the ligaments between the muscles in former-boob and arm temporarily tighten up a bit, making certain arm movements painful. Those movements tend to match the knife-wielding necessary for comestible consumption. To maintain a smidgen of dignity for the patient, instead of cutting up her food into bite-sized pieces, the meals served are generally finger food or fork-friendly.

So with no time to take new photos, here are some comfort-foods I have been making and re-making over the last week and change. All are easy to make. Most are quick. And all are delicious.

Lazy lasagna. Only made with bow-tie pasta because the SoCal version of Try-n-Save didn't have the rotini or style of penne I wanted. Somehow the flavor was not affected by this critical change.

Kinda-Sorta Stroganoff. The only similarity to real stroganoff is (are?) the noodles. So quick to make, the meat sauce will be ready before the noodles are.

Chicken Satay Bites. I saved a couple of steps by coarsely shredding/chopping chicken, then left the hand blender in it's holster and just mished everything together before spooning it on pita points. Served alongside ...

... Edamame pods (after clicking, scroll down almost to the steak recipe).

Broiled Steak with Ponzu Sauce, served alongside ...

... rice with sesame seeds (scroll down to almost the edamame recipe). I used roasted white sesame seeds because the prettier black ones were not available within walking distance.

Tacos. Or, more accurately, tortilla chips topped with a browned ground beef mixed with taco seasoning. And by taco seasoning, I mean every mexican-style spice or the jar next to it in the spice rack because theDaughter insisted that she already had several packets of overpriced seasoning mix so I didn't buy any and of course there weren't any and I wish I stopped to write down spices and quantities because I pretty much nailed a clone. But I digress .... Topped with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and taco sauce, it was more like taco nachos. Or nacho tacos.

Chicken in Italian Dressing We cheated here, cutting up only theDaughter's share. Sue me.

Strawberry-mandarin orange gelatin. Make your favorite strawberry gelatin, following the recipe but using the juice drained from a can of mandarin orange segments to replace an equal amount of the water called for. Gently stir in mandarin oranges right after gelatin dissolves. TIP ALERT! Certain brands (such as Ko-Jel) will not firm up completely if you wait until the gelatin thickens a bit before adding fruit. If yours doesn't have this little problem, then wait a bit so that the segments are suspended in the gel instead of crowding the surface. The flavor isn't affected, but floating fruit looks oh so gosh-darn cute.

Rice pudding. I used real milk (dairy meal), omitting the almonds and almond extract and doubling the vanilla. I also didn't cook the rice quite long enough. That last step is totally optional.

Double Chocolate Brownie Pie. Actually theDaughter hates chocolate, but theSonInLaw and theHubby also were in need of pampering.

Pets pampered as well.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake - Crazy Cooking Challenge

2012-02-07T12:00:00.011-05:00

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "C", as in Crazy Cooking Challenge.

Mmmmm ... choc-lit!

Also as in Chocolate Cake. All us crazy cooking members were required to find a chocolate cake recipe from someone else's blog, then make and post about it. Chocolate is my weakness, especially when it is in cake form (and in any other form, but I digress) so choosing just one from so many delicious-looking recipes on the intertubes was especially difficult. I think I gained weight just reading them.

A long-time friend recently gave me her fancy bundt pan. Never having baked a cake in a bundt-type cake pan before, I wanted to find something to fill it with. So I made the executive decision to find a bundt-specific recipe I have no idea if any ol' cake batter can bake up fine and dandy in a bundt pan, but at least it helped to whittle down the long list of finalists.

I finally zeroed in on this recipe from Tracy at Shutterbean. Anyone who starts a recipe with, "Everyday between 2-3pm, my body craves chocolate cake" has to know chocolate. And cake. Mostly because she said so. And also because her lovely photos did a major part of the talking.

Tracy's recipe looked relatively easy, especially since it didn't require an electric mixer. And it was relatively easy to assemble. But I had a tiny little bit of a problem getting the finished product out of the pan, even with all that preparatory greasing and flouring. At the end of the stated baking time, the cake tested done, but was hinting at me that it might not be ready by not pulling away from the pan sides.

I should have taken this little bitty hint.

I should have baked it a little longer.

Oopsie!

Oh, well. Regardless of how it presented, it tasted great anyway. TheHubby devoured the larger chunks. I ate the crumbs because, as everyone knows, cake crumbs have no calories. It must be true because I heard about it in a chain email ...

What's better than chocolate cake? Chocolate cake with hot fudge!

Since only theHubby and I were sharing the cake, I didn't bother to make the glaze. Instead I simply heated up a bottle of Hershey's syrup and went to town.

This cake was delicious! I definitely will make it again at a future date. I might even make the accompanying glaze (see link below for Tracy's original recipe). But when baking time is over and the toothpick says it's done, I'm leaving the pan in the oven for at least 5 more minutes.

Chocolate Sour Cream Bundt Cake
from: shutterbean

serves 10

baking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 Tbl. for the pan

1/3 cup cocoa powder, plus
1Tbl. for the pan
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup water
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan with the baking spray.

A little ying-yang thing going on here.

TIP ALERT! To prevent unsightly white "dandruff" on a chocolate cake, whisk together the 1 tablespoon of flour with the 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder (and do this over the sink. Your counter will thank you).

Then flour pan with the cocoa-flour mixture. Tap pan over sink to remove excess mixture; set pan aside.

In a 1-quart saucepan, combine butter, remaining cocoa powder, salt, and water over medium heat. Cook, stirring, just until melted and combined. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Place remaining flour, sugar and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to blend.

Carefully add half of the chocolate mixture to dry ingredients.

Whisk until completely blended (it will be very thick).

Pour in remaining chocolate mixture and continue to whisk. It will fight you a bit; stir up from bottom as you go along.

Add eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition to completely incorporate before adding the next.

Whisk in sour cream and vanilla until smooth.

Pour mixture into prepared bundt pan and bake 40-45 minutes or until cake pulls away from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean.

Not done yet.

Do you see the cake pulling away from the sides? Neither do I.

Let fully-baked cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely.

Serve with chocolate syrup or with glaze.

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Disclaimer - because this recipe is part of an online cooking challenge, the linked recipes below might not be kosher.

Steak with Spicy Cilantro Sauce

2012-01-26T22:33:00.016-05:00

Here is a pretty quick recipe for a nice steak dinner. I used strip steaks, mostly because that's what I had on hand. Feel free to use another cut if you prefer.

I like my steak medium-moo.

If the weather outside is not 43F and rainy, go ahead and fire up the grill. That would be my preferred way of charring these beauties anyway.

To be fancy-schmancy, I packed rice into a small bowl, unmolded it then dusted with black sesame seeds. You can also use regular sesame seeds, but I like the color contrast. Remember, you also taste with your eyes.

Speaking of eyes, see those beans? They are green soybeans, aka edamame (eh-dah-MAH-may), a Japanese veggie treat. They have a mild not-even-close-to-a-soybeany taste. Edamame is so simple-easy to make you don't even need a recipe: eyeball a small handful of frozen edamame pods per person and drop into a saucepan of boiling water; cover and turn off heat. Then ignore for about10 minutes while you busy yourself elsewhere. Drain pods and serve hot, sprinkled with coarse or kosher salt (I took the photo before adding the salt). To eat, simply grab one end of a pod, then place other the end in your mouth. Close your teeth and slowly draw out the pod. The soybeans *pop* into your mouth. So much fun to play with your food!

Steaks with Spicy Cilantro Sauce
Yield: 4 servings

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbl. soy sauce, divided
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tsp. sugar
3 tsp. chopped garlic (bottled okay), divided
3 tsp. sesame oil, divided
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbl. vegetable oil
4 strip steaks
1/4 packed cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped (if some stems get mixed in it's okay)
1 Tbl. fresh lime juice (about 1/2 lime)

Crushed red pepper ... for steak that bites you back.

In a small bowl or cup add 1/4 cup soy sauce, sherry, sugar, 2 teaspoons garlic, 2 teaspoons sesame oil and crushed red pepper; mix until sugar is dissolved. Set aside for a moment.

Preheat broiler. Grease broiler pan with vegetable oil. Place steaks in a single layer on broiler pan. Brush with half the soy sauce mixture. Broil for about 5 minutes or until steaks char to your liking. Flip steaks, brush with remaining soy sauce mixture and continue to broil about 4-6 minutes for medium-rare.

I cheated and used frozen cilantro; messy but still tasty.

When steaks are done, remove from broiler, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in another small bowl or cup, mix together remaining soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil along with cilantro and lime juice.

Plate steaks. Divide cilantro sauce evenly over steaks. Serve with your favorite veggies.

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Chinese Rice Soup with Chicken (Congee) - Easy

2012-01-22T22:14:00.006-05:00

I made this very easy soup today in honor of the Chinese New Year of the dragon 4770, which starts this year on January 23.

Basic congee is simply rice and water, cooked for an hour or until it breaks up and thickens into an oatmeal-like consistency. To give it more flavor, many recipes call for cooking the rice in broth and kicking up the flavor with a little soy sauce, sherry and poultry or meat. Omit the dead animal and use veggie broth or more water for a vegan version.

Since the rice needs to cook for such a long time, I used canned chicken broth and leftover chicken to speed up the process a tad. If you prefer all scratch ingredients, first add a couple extra hours to the prep time, then make a batch of chicken soup before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

This version is easy, but even with canned broth it's not fast, so plan enough time to serve before Letterman comes on. It thickens up when cooled down -- if you make it the day before, add a half-cup water and/or broth when reheating or plan to eat with a knife and fork.

For more kosher Chinese recipes, please visit last year's recap.

Chinese Chicken Congee (Rice Soup) - Easy
Serves 4

2 (14 oz.) cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbl. dry sherry (optional)
2 tsp. soy sauce (or more to taste)
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded or thinly sliced
3 scallions, green parts thinly sliced or chopped (garnish)

Pour chicken broth and water into a 3 or 4-quart saucepan. Add rice and ground ginger. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until rice breaks up and soup thickens.

Add soy sauce, sherry (if using) and chicken. Taste and add more soy sauce if needed. Increase heat to medium for a few minutes to warm up chicken.

Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with scallions and serve hot.

Very good recipe tags: kosher, soup, easy, chicken, rice, chinese

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Lemon-Blueberry Tartlets - Improv Challenge

2012-01-19T07:00:00.009-05:00

I joined yet another challenge group! This one is the Improv Challenge, a monthly party hosted by Frugal Antics. For this party, everyone takes the same two assigned ingredients, and comes up with an original dish.

My contribution is (are?) Lemon-Blueberry Tartlets, mostly because the local Try-n-Save had a sale on blueberries and mini-tart shells. The base is exactly like lemon curd. Except without the egg yolks. And the butter.

Okay, it's nothing like lemon curd. The fat and calories are replaced by sour cream and speed. This is a fast recipe to bang out. But since it requires a tool considered exotic by my favorite non-cooks, I am not allowed to call it easy. But if you can handle a citrus zester without impaling yourself, then this dessert is a snap.

And very addicting. Do not sneak a taste before serving, or else the 12 tartlets with quickly become 6.

These tartlets prove that fast, easy (oops, somewhat easy) and delicious can live together harmoniously. I made a batch while cooking an easy dinner (spaghetti with spinach sauce) and the tartlets were finished before the pasta drained. Good thing, because I needed the colander for the blueberries. I really should go and buy another one. That bulls-eye super store had some really cute ones that look as if my big one was left out in the rain and shrunk ... but I digress ...

Lemon-Blueberry Tartlets
yield: 12 tarlets

lemon zest from 1 lemon, divided
1/3 cup sour cream (low-fat okay)
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1 1/2 Tbl. fresh lemon juice
24-36 blueberries (depending upon size)
2 Tbl. granulated sugar
1 pkg. (12 count) mini-phyllo cups, defrosted if frozen

Pick out 12 of the longest strands of lemon zest and set aside. Mince remaining zest, then add it to a small bowl along with sour cream, confectioner's sugar and lemon juice. Whisk to combine. If not assembling immediately, cover and chill up to one day.

Just before serving, rinse, drain and pat blueberries dry with a paper towel. Combine with granulated sugar and set aside a moment.

Spoon 1 teaspoon lemon mixture into each phyllo shell.

Top with 2-3 blueberries depending upon their sizes.

Top each filled shell with a strand of lemon zest. If you are more dexterous than I am, curl the strand of zest decoratively.

Serve immediately. Don't let them sit more than 15-30 minutes or the shells will absorb moisture from the filling and lose their crispness.

very good recipe tags: kosher, dessert, easy

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Disclaimer - because this recipe is part of an online cooking challenge, the linked recipes below might not be kosher.

Best. Apron. Ever!

2012-01-18T21:42:00.003-05:00

No recipe today. Just wanted to share an awesome gift I received.

A former classmate and co-worker visited me at work today. I last saw Jean a month or so ago when I did a work-related favor for her. To me it was small, but to her it was a major big deal. Fast-forward to today, when Jean walked up to the reference desk and plopped a gift bag in front of me as a belated thank-you.

Inside the gift bag was an apron. But not just an apron. Here I am later modeling it in the comfort of my kitchen:

Cujo Approved.

Yes, I always cook dinner in Jimmy Choo's.

"little black apron"

It's got a strand of pearls sewn right in. Mrs. Cleaver, eat your heart out! Thank you so much, Jean!

Chicken in Rosemary-Wine Sauce - Easy

2012-01-17T23:31:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I made baked chicken. The recipe came about because of an opened bottle of wine.

TheHubby and I shared a bottle of red wine with dinner last week. I re-corked the remainder and shoved it into the back of the fridge, forgetting about it until Monday, when I shifted items around to make room for groceries. The wine wasn't quite up to it's original flavor, but was deemed good enough to put the chicken in danger of a DUI. If it could find where I hid the car keys.

I only added a little salt, pepper and rosemary. Nothing complex, just a very nice and easy weekday dinner. If you prefer something a little more fancy-schmancy, remove the cooked chicken from its pan to a covered dish. Place pan over burners and bring sauce to a boil, scraping up tasty brown bits with a wooden spoon. Continue to boil for around 5-10 minutes until sauce is reduced and slightly thickened. Then plate chicken and spoon sauce over it.

The amount of wine isn't too critical; I had 3/4 cup left in the bottle so that's the amount I used. If you want to use only 1/2 cup and drink the rest, be my guest.

Chicken in Rosemary-Wine Sauce - Easy
Serves 4

1 Tbl. vegetable or olive oil
1 whole chicken, cut up into eighths or quarters
1 Tbl. fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
1 Tbl. dijon mustard
1/2 - 3/4 cup red wine

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease a rimmed 13 x 8 (or a little larger) baking pan with the oil. Place chicken pieces in pan in a single layer.

Finely chop or scissor rosemary and place in a small bowl. Combine with salt, pepper and mustard.

I stirred instead of whisked. Big mistake. You'll see why later.

Whisk in wine. Pour mixture over chicken. Place pan in oven and bake 45 minutes, or until chicken is nicely browned and juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife.

Those clumps are mustard. Don't be lazy -- dig out the whisk.

Divide chicken onto 4 dinner plates. Serve with your favorite veggie or two and serve hot.

Very Good Recipes tags: kosher, easy, chicken, dinner

Waffles of Really Good Greatness

2012-01-15T19:35:00.000-05:00

Schlepped into NYC on Thursday for my semi-annual check-up (trains and automobiles, no planes, although we did have to walk almost across the entire width of Manhattan island ... with all that traffic it's faster than a bus or cab). All my (remaining) parts were determined to be working correctly, so theHubby and I triumphantly schlepped back home to NJ. Unfortunately, some of the ~~junk~~ lunch we had along the way didn't quite agree with him so I figured a little comfort food for dinner was in order. I suggested waffles, to which theHubby said, "Why, not?" Which from him meant, "Oh, yes, PLEASE!"

I had recently found a nice new waffle recipe called Waffles of Insane Greatness from Shine Food, and was itching to try it, mostly because of its name. It substitutes corn starch for some of the regular ol' flour, taking several paragraphs to explain why this makes for awesome crispness. It also mentions that the recipe is fantastic for when your fridge "is running on empty," which by an amazing coincidence was the exact state my own fridge was in.

So I made breakfast for dinner, only slightly altering the order of ingredients, adding the sugar along with the dry ingredients instead of with the wet stuff. A combination of butter and oil was used, since there were only 2 tablespoons of butter in the fridge. Also, since I only keep buttermilk powder on hand, the powder went in with the sugar, and the reconstituting water along with its liquid brethren. The original says that whole milk can sub for the buttermilk, but I like the light tanginess that buttermilk normally gives to waffles and to pancakes.

The mixture was rather thin, and the resultant waffles were slightly thinner than my usual recipe, which might have been the result of using buttermilk powder rather than the real thing. Or it could have been because it was almost 7pm and everyone was starving so I only let the mixture rest for 15 minutes instead of the full 30. But theHubby declared them to be "not bad ... make it again," which roughly translates to, "Freakin' amazing, dude!" Because the waffles were not insanely great, I had to reluctantly downgrade the title, at least until I can try it again with real buttermilk.

Speakin' of freakin', waffles can also be served shmeared with jam. I mention this here because when we returned home, leaning against my door was a package containing a very nice-sized jar of strawberry-vanilla jam, tucked in with a few other items, from Freakin' Flamingo, a micro-batch jam company based in South Florida . It arrived barely 2 days after I was notified of the win, and only took 2 seconds after opening to dive in. A big shout-out to Renée and her yummy jams! Two disclaimers: 1) I was not paid for this endorsement, unless you count the freebies I won fair and square, and 2) the label does not have a hechsher.

But I digress ...

The original waffle recipe says that it yields four servings. That is true ... if you are serving them alongside other foods. I barely eeked out 3 servings of 4 small waffles each. If you are feeding true waffle-lovers, double the recipe. And use real buttermilk.

Waffles of Really Good Greatness
slightly adapted from Shine Food
Yield: 3 small servings

3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter (or a combination as I did)
1 egg
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Butter and pancake syrup (optional)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

Make a well in the center, then drop in buttermilk, vegetable oil and/or butter, egg and vanilla, whisking until completely incorporated, stirring up from bottom as you go.

Let batter sit for 30 minutes, 15 if you are in a hurry. The mixture will be slightly bubbly.

Heat waffle iron as per your waffle iron's directions. Pour in amount of waffle mixture as per your waffle iron's directions. Cook as per your waffle iron's directions or until browned to your liking.

Serve (preferably) immediately with butter and pancake syrup. If you'd rather serve everyone at once, place freshly cooked waffles in a single layer on a baking rack in a 200F oven.

Faux Pho - Crazy Cooking Challenge

2012-01-06T17:00:00.003-05:00

Happy new secular year! If you partied this past weekend, hope it was fun. To celebrate a little on the late side, I am participating in a different kind of party ...

... a Crazy Cooking Challenge party!. This one is a little different from that last online challenge I was in. Instead of having to make any dish from a blog chosen for me, participants must make a specific type of dish, but from any blog ... except from their own, of course.

And the Challenge recipe this month is: chicken-noodle soup! Gee, sounds like an easy no-brainer, right? After all, every Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel has a blog with recipes for Jewish penicillin. And except for quantities and a veggie or spice, every recipe is pretty much the same.

But I didn't want to do the same ... I wanted to do something different. So I went to look for different. And found it at Stephen Cooks, a blog dedicated to healthy cooking for diabetics (check out his site, he takes awesome photos!). But you definitely do not have to be diabetic to enjoy his recipes (or his photos). Such as his version of Pho Ga, a chicken noodle soup of the Vietnamese persuasion.

I did tweak the recipe here and there. Stephen's version uses fish sauce. I haven't been able to find a kosher version in my area, so I used soy sauce instead. I didn't have whole cloves or star anise in my spice drawer. Ground cloves and five-spice powder subbed quite adequately AND saved me a step ... not a bad trade-off with only a relatively minor taste reduction. In case I haven't mentioned it before, five-spice powder sounds exotic, but is a combination of ground star anise and several other spices (depending upon brand). It is used in Oriental cooking and is usually found in the baking/spice section of your favorite larger supermarket.

For this recipe, I recommend using low-sodium broth because canned broth usually contains more than a day's supply of NaCl. Taste before serving, and only then add a bit more soy sauce if needed. Bet you won't need or add.

Stephen's version also calls for poached chicken. I used leftover roasted chicken, which (in my mind) made up for the lack of toasted spices. Also, instead of rice sticks I used soba noodles, mostly because that's what was in my pantry. Soba is a Japanese product made of buckwheat, which despite its name isn't a wheat. But if you are gluten-intolerant, check the label because soba might still contain wheat flour (my package of soba is labeled as having 30% wheat flour).

Oh, one more change ... those ingredients I list as condiments? I made the executive decision to toss it all into every bowl, then pour the soup on top. In retrospect, it would probably have been more fun, and less faux, to let everyone customize their own soup.

The taste? WOWEE KAZOWEE! Definitely a keeper. It can be served as part of a meal, or as a meal in itself. We all had a grand time slurping up the noodles as they spilled over our spoons and dripped onto the table (and some laps). If you prefer less mess and more polite eatin', break the soba noodles in half before cooking. Thank you, Stephen, for posting such a delicious recipe!

Chicken Noodle Soup, Vietnamese-Style (Pho Ga)
Adapted from Stephen Cooks
Serves 6

1 small bunch fresh cilantro
1 medium or large onion, unpeeled
3" piece ginger root, unpeeled
1/2 tsp. five-spice powder
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
4 tsp. granulated sugar
3 Tbl. regular soy sauce
3 (14 oz.) cans chicken broth, low sodium preferred
1 banded bunch (from a 9 oz. package of 3) soba noodles
1/2 of a roasted chicken, skinned, boned and thinly sliced

1 cup fresh bean sprouts (or 1 can bean sprouts, drained)
1/4 of a small red onion, sliced very thin
1/2 lime, cut into wedges
Hoisin sauce
Hot chili sauce (such as sriracha)

Chop off root ends of cilantro. Separate leaves from stems. Set it all aside.

Hmmm ...should have roasted a few more minutes.

Preheat oven to 425F. Quarter onion. Place onions quarters and ginger on ungreased baking pan and place in oven. Roast until the veggies are nicely charred, about 30-40 minutes. Let cool down enough to handle, then remove and discard skins. Quarter ginger. Set aside for a moment.

Pour chicken broth into a 3-quart saucepan.

Drop in onion and ginger along with sugar, soy sauce, cloves, five-spice powder and cilantro stems. Stir a little, cover, then bring to a boil over medium or medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, covered, about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until veggies soften.

Meanwhile, in a 2-quart saucepan cook soba noodles according to package directions. Drain well and set aside.

When broth has finished cooking, strain through colander over large bowl. TIP ALERT! Do this step in sink to contain wayward spills. Discard veggies. They gave their lives for the soup.

Slowly pour broth back into original saucepan. Watch carefully as you pour. Much of the ground spices, never having really dissolved, should have settled on the bottom of the bowl. Discard that little bit of sludge.

Add sliced chicken to strained broth. Heat over medium heat just until soup returns to a simmer.


It's my way or the Pho way.

Divide noodles among 6 soup bowls. If you want to serve my way, top noodles evenly with bean sprouts, reserved cilantro leaves and red onion slices, and squeeze lime juice over each pile. I left out the hoisin and sriracha sauces, mostly because I forgot. Then ladle chicken and broth over noodle mixture and serve.

If you prefer the pho way, ladle chicken and broth over the noodles. Set bean sprouts, reserved cilantro leaves and red onion slices along with hoisin and sriracha sauces on the side and let everyone doctor their soup as desired.

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP Linky Party Code (January 7, 2012, 9am PST)
Disclaimer - because this recipe is part of an online cooking challenge, the linked recipes below might not be kosher.

New Year's Finger Food Recap

2011-12-29T21:55:00.001-05:00

This time I really mean it! I'm taking a few days off to give my typing fingers and toes a little rest. But before I do, here are a few easy dairy, meat and parve last-minute suggestions (in no particular order) for your New Year's parties:

Potato Latkes -- make them in advance. And a little smaller. Do not place on paper towels to absorb excess oil. Just lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet, freeze then bag 'em. Just before serving, pop (still frozen, but out of the bag) in a 350F oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve with apple sauce (parve), or with a dab of sour cream (dairy) and budget-blowing caviar. Don't say you've OD'ed on latkes during Chanukah. That's so last week.

Lazy Pizza (dairy) -- assemble a few hours in advance and store in fridge. Just before serving, pop in a 350F oven for 5-10 minutes or until cheese melts and becomes barely brown. Cut into quarters for dainty-ish servings.

Curried Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches (meat)

Caprese Skewers (dairy)

Sundried Tomato Basil Pesto Canapes (dairy)

Stuffed Dates with Almonds (dairy) -- make it easier by just shoving whole almonds into the cream cheese mixture, as shown in the center date.

Mahogany Wings (meat) -- If for some reason the wings overcook, serve them during the football game when no one will notice.

Chicken Satay Bites (meat) or Greek Chicken Skewers with Tzatziki Sauce (meat) -- sorry, no photos of either. But they are GREAT at a party. Have I ever lied to you?

Chicken Spring Rolls (meat) -- cut rolls into sushi-sized pieces.

Turkey Wraps with Cranberry Mayo (meat) -- let random relative make this ... you know the one, that person who has to hover over you in the kitchen while you do all the work while constantly asking "what can I do to help?" but you never let them before because they could burn water but can't possibly mess this one up, while you work on something else. Cut into pinwheels. You do this part, why take chances?

Syrian Beef Kabobs (meat) make mini-meatball version. Serve with toothpicks.

Bruschetta (parve) -- make topping the evening or morning of. Assemble just before serving.

Pickled Grapes (parve) -- make first to allow grapes to marinate. Then try not to eat then all while making everything else.

Guacamole, Black Bean Salsa and Pico de Gallo (all parve)

Baked Tortilla Chips (parve) -- to serve with the guacamole, Black Bean Salsa and Pico de Gallo

Hummus (parve) -- serve with pita triangles.

Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels -- after slaving over all the other recipes, make something really easy (dairy or parve, depending upon the chocolate). Or let kids make this. Of course then you have to clean up the counter, the floor, them, the dog ...

Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing (parve)

Traditional Chocolate Pudding (dairy) -- fill half of those shooter glasses you got for Chanukah and didn't know what to do with them.

Honey-Vanilla Pudding (dairy) -- for those commies who hate chocolate.Use the other half of those shooter glasses.

Mississippi Mud Cake (dairy/parve) an easy warm dessert. Tastes so much more better than it looks.

Gut shabbos, shabbat shalom and happy New Year!

Pretzel Frankfurter Rolls

2011-12-25T22:05:00.013-05:00

My new assignment this month as a member of the Secret Recipe Club, which I chose to accept, was to make a recipe from Comfy Cuisine and write about it. Patti has quite a number of mouth-watering recipes on her blog, but it didn't take long to zero in on her Pretzel Sandwich Rolls.

I first ate a roll of this type at a deli while visiting theDaughter. The idea of a frank in a soft pretzel roll sounded a bit strange, but she assured me that it was quite awesome and that I absolutely had to try it. Since theDaughter ordered a chicken sandwich, I was at first a bit suspicious, but she was right on the money. Awesome, totally! That's Valley Girl-speak for "extremely delicious!"

So when I saw Patti's recipe, I just had to make them ~~doggy-style~~ frank-friendly.

Don't those slashes look fancy-schmancy? Besides being pretty, there are real reasons for slashing the tops of breads. According to Epicurious and BreadSecrets, back in the day when bakers used communal ovens, they slashed their breads to identify them after baking. Eventually they discovered that slashing controls where the bread splits as it bakes and expands. Nowadays different bread types have specific slash patterns to control the direction and/or height of the oven rising.

Besides the shape, I made a couple other changes to Patti's version. Patti's calls for more water than I usually use for the same amount of flour, so I cut back a little, figuring that I could always add the water back later. More flour was needed anyway, so I adjusted the recipe below to reflect the new quantities. And since I was serving them with meat franks, the butter and half-and-half were replaced with olive oil and soy milk.

When I first shaped the rolls, they seemed rather small. Forgot that pesky little detail called rising. The 8 rolls each puffed up almost enough to cradle a whole salami. So the recipe yield has been upped to 10.

Oh, the most important part ... how could I forget? These rolls are delicious! Much better than those pasty-white regular hot dog rolls. The insides look like a golden Italian bread, but tastes like a sweet soft chewy pretzel. I bet this would also be great rolled out as pretzel bread sticks as well! I'll have to try that in the near future. Thanks for the recipe, Patti!

Pretzel Frankfurter Rolls
Adapted from: Comfy Cuisine
Yield: 10 frankfurter-bun rolls

1 pkg. dry yeast
1 1/2 cups barely warm water
1 Tbl. brown sugar
1 Tbl. honey
2 Tbl. soy milk (use half-and-half for a dairy version)
3 Tbl. olive oil (use butter for a dairy version), plus a little more for greasing bowl and baking sheet
1 tsp. table salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups bread flour, divided
3 Tbl. baking soda
2 qts. cool water
1 egg yolk, mixed with 1 Tbl. water
1 tsp. pretzel or kosher salt (or more to taste)
10 frankfurters (optional)

Stir together warm water, brown sugar and honey in a 2-cup measuring cup or bowl. Stir in yeast. Let stand until mixture foams up, about 5 minutes. Then stir in soy milk, olive oil and salt. Set aside.

Place 2 cups of flour into the large bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in yeast mixture. Using dough hook attachment, mix at low speed until incorporated.

Add additional flour 1/2 cup at a time until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl. This should take about 2 minutes.

Continue to run mixer at low speed for 5 more minutes. It will start to look a lot smoother.

Pour a small amount of oil down the inside of the mixing bowl. Scrape dough off hook. Roll dough into a ball and around side of bowl to coat both sides and dough ball with oil. Cover top of bowl with a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 90 minutes.

My dough gets proofed in the oven, so it only took about 75 minutes. Those two indentations are where I poked the dough to see if it was ready. Since the pokes stayed poked, it was.

Punch down dough, then shape into into 10 ropes about 1 by 5 inches. Place on lightly floured baking sheet. Cover loosely with towel.

Let rise about 30 minutes or until almost doubled.

Meanwhile, Preheat oven to 400F. Mix 2 quarts of water with baking soda in 3- to 4-quart pot and bring to a boil. Also while waiting, lightly grease a large baking sheet and set aside.

When rolls are ready, carefully drop one roll into the baking soda bath. Boil for 30 seconds, carefully turn the roll over and boil for another 30 seconds.

Carefully remove the roll from bath with a spatula and place on a prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining rolls. Then lightly brush rolls with egg mixture. Lightly sprinkle with pretzel salt. With a sharp, knife, slash the top of each roll a few times diagonally.

Place baking sheet into the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the rolls are a deep brown. Awesome!

Remove rolls to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

These pretzel rolls can be served as is alongside any meal, but I made 'em to hug hot dogs. Slice rolls lengthwise almost all the way through (like a regular hot dog bun). Pry open each roll and pop in a cooked hot dog. Serve immediately.

No, not that kind of hot dog!

Apple Sauce - Easy

2011-12-21T16:56:00.003-05:00

Potato latkes are great to eat naked (the latkes, not you ... hot oil is murder on skin), but they are even better accompanied with a condiment. There are many schools of thought on the subject. I've heard of some who use ketchup. I just recently saw a recipe with pear sauce. But the overwhelming majority have their latkes with either sour cream or apple sauce on the side.

I am of the apple sauce persuasion. And while anyone can open a jar of applesauce, the homemade stuff is just so much more better. It is so easy to make a batch that I whipped up a small batch while simultaneously frying my small latke batch. Make a small batch yourself just to test it out. Then double or triple it next time. And invite me over. Apple sauce is good year-round.

You can make this basic apple sauce recipe three different way: smooth, slightly chunky or super chunky. It all depends upon the apples you use. MacIntosh apples are tender and break down into mush. Granny Smith are crisp and retain their shape. For this recipe I used (surprise, surprise) Macs and Grannies (there's a joke in there somewhere). If you want to use other varieties you'll have to look them up yourself. I'm leaving to go walk the dog and work off all the latkes I have been "sampling" since yesterday.

Cinamon Apple Sauce - Easy
Yield: about 1 cup

4 apples (use tender varieties for smooth sauce, crisp for chunky, or a combination for the best of both worlds)
1/2 cup apple juice (optional)
1/2 cup water (use one cup if omitting apple juice)
1 Tbl. honey (use 2 tablespoons if omitting apple juice)
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice (optional)

Peel apples. Make a game out of it and see how long you can make a peel. Peeking out on the left side of the photo is youngSon's menorah. He first made it during for his first Chanukah in Hebrew school. He's now a freshman at college and taller than me. But I digress ....

When the grown-up in you returns, cut large chunks of apple from around the core. Discard core, then coarsely chop large chunks into smaller chunks, about 1/2 inch or so. No need to make chunks even sizes.

Place chopped apples into 1-quart saucepan. Pour in apple juice and/or water and honey. Stir in cinnamon. You can see by the bits of green that I was a little sloppy when peeling. Sue me.

Cook over medium heat until starts to boil, then turn down heat to medium-low.

Continue to simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until apples are softened to your liking and most of the liquid has been absorbed or evaporated. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in lemon juice.

Let cool slightly, then gently mash with a fork, if desired, until consistency is to your liking.

Serve warm or chilled, alongside latkes as an appetizer or by itself as dessert.

Very Good Recipes tags: kosher, dessert, easy

Potato Latkes

2011-12-20T23:37:00.006-05:00

I was not going to post a latke recipe. I really wasn't. Didn't think it was necessary. since there are so many MANY recipes for latkes "out there" and mine is no big deal.

So instead I planned to post a ~~rerun~~ recap of all the candy I made this season and start a well-deserved vacation from blogging. But yesterday I received an email from a friend, now a new Dear Reader, who implored me to post a latke recipe. Allow me to quote a bit of his request:

“I was just thinking about our upcoming Hannukah, and remembering the classical food for that holiday. I like to think of it as G-d's gift to our gastronomy, latkes. But you have no recipe in your blog for them. This is my request for such a recipe. I ♥ potatoes, and always have. Indeed, the very first word I said is potatolach, which is Yiddish for potatoes.”

How can I refuse such a lovely request?

My version of a latke recipe is pretty simple. Potatoes, egg, salt, flour and oil to fry them in. I usually add some onion as well, but after hand-grating the potatoes (my food processor is dairy and I was serving chicken alongside... gee, there's a certain holiday happening right now ... hint, hint!), I wasn't in the mood to grate another ~~knuckle~~ veggie as well. So I cheated, tossing in a little onion soup mix to the mix. Ya know, the latkes turned out great anyway!   Golden crispy on the outside, creamy yummyness on the inside. Sometimes I'm so impressed with the magic of cooking!

I made a small batch tonight since youngerSon won't be home until tomorrow. However, the recipe is easily doubled and tripled... if you use the grating or shredding attachment in your food processor. I don't recommend the blade attachment. It's too easy to create potato glue. My personal preference is the grating attachment and running the 'taters through twice.

Use a paper towel to help squeeze out the liquid from the grated potatoes. Some people might try to be "green" and use a cloth towel. I tried that once, which was once too many. Way too much potato clung to it for dear life (enough for a few latkes at least), refusing to let go, even in the wash later.

Serve with apple sauce (the latkes, not the towel). Preferably homemade.

Chanukah Sameach! Happy Chanukah to everyone! To my christian friends have a merry Christmas! And if there are any Pastafarians reading this, Happy Holiday!

Potato Latkes
Yield: about 10 latkes

2 large potatoes
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp. onion bouillon (optional)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt (optional if using bouillon)
vegetable oil, enough to cover bottom of skillet about 1/2 inch in depth.

Place a few paper towels on a plate. Set aside.

Peel and grate (or shred) potatoes into a 4-cup measuring cup or bowl.   You should have around 2 cups of grated potatoes.

Place in strainer and press with paper towel to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Return potatoes to cup (or bowl). You will have significantly less than 2 cups, depending upon the type of potatoes used. Add egg and flour. Optionally add bouillon and salt. Mix well.

Set large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Heat until hot enough to fry latkes. TIP ALERT! The oil will be hot enough when you dunk a corner of the spatula into the oil and tiny bubbles start to "boil" around it.

Plop large tablespoonfuls of potato mixture into the oil, gently pressing down on plops with the back of a spoon to flatten them. Be sure to not crowd the skillet to prevent the oil's temperature from dropping and to avoid one gigantic latke.

When the edges are golden brown (3-4 minutes), flip latkes.

Continue to cook another 3 minutes, or until golden brown.

Lift each latke and hold against side of skillet a few seconds to allow oil to drip off.

Then place cooked latkes in a single layer on paper towels. Cover with another paper towel to absorb excess oil. It keeps latkes warm while allowing steam to escape, preventing latkes from getting soggy. Repeat with remaining potato mixture.

Serve hot, with apple sauce on the side.

PS This recipe has been submitted to Real Food Digest.

Google Foodie - Guest Post

2011-12-19T21:35:00.004-05:00

My computer, despite anti-virus and anti-malware running 24/7, came down with a nasty new virus Friday afternoon, which took down most of my hard drive.

The good news? Yesterday I was able to reimage the hard drive from last week's full backup.

The bad news? Candy photos and other goodies updated this past week, including whatever I artfully edited to almost resemble more skilled photography -- *poof* gone.

The good news? In an unusual turn of events, I never got around to deleting the originals from my camera. Woo-hoo!

So while I spend the upcoming week confirming that my 'puter is indeed free of nasty virus bits, then reuploading and rephotoshopping said photos, in the meantime please welcome a very well-timed guest post from theDaughter, Sharon. In case I haven't mentioned it enough, Sharon works at Google, the most awesomest place in the entire universe. The soft swirl machine mentioned below is just one of many desserts and snacks provided free to Google staff. Along with lunch. And breakfast. And dinner (if Googlers ever have to work late, poor babies). Please read on and enjoy! And visit her blog afterwards. There's good stuff there, including 82% more dog photos.

--------------

My mom ever so subtly requested that I write a guest post about the wonderful food at Google Los Angeles, where I work. After weeks of what I'm calling research, I finally have enough material to write a comprehensive article.

I could have chosen the breakfast omelet bar, or the wood-fired pizza oven, or perhaps just the charcuterie to write about.

Or, in the best Googler fashion, I could instead complain about the absence of rainbow sprinkles. Yes, you read that right. There are two soft-serve machines, serving vanilla, chocolate, and two random flavors, all of which are made on-site daily. Cake cones and waffle cones. An array of chopped fresh fruits and nuts to adorn swirls of ice cream.

BUT NO RAINBOW SPRINKLES!

The daily random flavors range from basil to lemongrass, coconut, and ginger. Sadly, the lemongrass, coconut, and ginger was one flavor, so naturally I absolutely refused to try it. The basil, shockingly enough, tasted like basil. In fact, all the weird flavors tend to taste exactly like their ingredients predict.

Due to my bacon aversion, I stuck with just the maple. My less inhibited coworkers described the swirl as tasting like breakfast, when the syrup from the waffles wanders into the bacon territory of the plate.

Since I'm fairly sure I'm not a cow, the lemongrass was also avoided.

I was told the chocolate banana was quite good, but, for some reason, no one seemed eager to try the mango chile.

Both of these flavors were unusually light, so the swirl was surprisingly edible.

The peanut butter tasted like bizarrely cold peanut butter, but with the wrong texture. Also, there were no sprinkles.

Best. Flavors. Ever. And made with the real alcohols! The swirl was a magnificent Irish car bomb of delight. It would have been perfect if the chef's special that day hadn't been bacon-wrapped monkfish with black olive tampenade.

Now that you are thoroughly envious, I leave you with a picture of Reese and Zero. What do these two incredibly cute dogs have to do with anything? Why, they get to come to work with me and get treats from the kitchen staff.

Peanut Butter Truffles

2011-12-15T23:03:00.002-05:00

"Wow, Dena! You must have made a million different types of candy this year!"

No, and I told you a million times not to exaggerate. The actual number is about 14-ish, and I intend to share them all with you. Virtually, anyway, since virtually all of it is going to theHubby's clients. Any ~~dregs~~ leftovers will be shared with my co-workers. Assuming that, when youngerSon comes home from college next week in time for Chanukah, he doesn't eat them all. Sorry ...

Especially these peanut butter balls. Or, as I call 'em, nature's most perfect food. Peanut butter has lots of protein. Chocolate is heart-healthy. And calories in powdered sugar don't count if you eat quickly (or standing up ... I forget which).

I used smooth peanut butter because that's what is stocked in my house. Feel free to use crunchy if that's how you roll (truffles). Likewise, I prefer to use natural peanut butter in this recipe. Try experimenting with two separate batches of these truffles, one with "regular" and one with natural peanut butter and see which version you prefer. Then please invite me over for a tasting party. Yum!

While most of the chocolate-coated candy recipes I have posted use melting chocolate, for this one I employ parve chips instead since melting chocolate I have is dairy; this particular batch was destined for someone with a dairy allergy. Feel free to use melting chocolate if you prefer. Regardless, do *not* substitute butter or margarine in place of the shortening! The moisture content in butter and margarine will cause the chocolate to "seize" (turn into a lumpy gritty mess), which is not a good thing.

Oh, and if you con't completely enrobe the peanut butter and someone is rude enough to point out your "mistake," lift your head up high and proudly answer, "Truffles? Did I call these truffles? No, no ... these are Buckeyes!"

Peanut Butter Truffles
Yield: about 48 truffles

2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. salt (if peanut butter is salt-free)
2/3 cup peanut butter, natural preferred (smooth or crunchy)
1 (24 oz.) bag chocolate chips (I used parve chips), divided
4 Tbl. vegetable shortening, divided
1/4 cup coarsely chopped peanuts (optional)

Place wax paper onto medium-sized cookie sheet. Set aside.

Measure out the powdered sugar (TIP ALERT! If you pour the powdered sugar into a measuring cup placed in your sink, clean-up will be MUCH easier).

In a small mixer bowl, beat powdered sugar, salt (if using) and peanut butter with electric mixer at low speed until combined (to prevent sugar from coating entire kitchen). At this point mixture will look like a lot of pea-sized lumps.

Increase mixer speed to medium and continue beating for another 2 minutes, or until mixture comes together into a few large clumps.

Wet hands with cold water. Eyeball out teaspoon-sized amounts of mixture; shape into 48 balls (re-wet hands as necessary to prevent mixture from sticking to you instead of itself). The balls should be around 3/4-inch in diameter. Place on prepared cookie sheet without touching (each other). Place in refrigerator for a few minutes while preparing chocolate.

Pour half of the chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons of shortening in a microwave-safe 1-quart bowl. Microwave on full power for one minute. Stir, then continue to microwave for an additional 30 seconds. Stir; repeat if necessary until shortening and chocolate is completely melted and smooth.

Dipping forks, Dear Reader. Dear Reader, dipping forks.

Dip a peanut butter ball into the melted chocolate. Turn ball a few times to completely enrobe it, then tap on the inner edge of bowl to allow excess to drip off. Quickly slide truffle off fork onto prepared baking sheet.

After dipping 3-4 balls, sprinkle a tiny amount of chopped peanuts on top of truffles, if desired. Gently press nuts with a fingertipto assure adhering.

Repeat dipping with about half of remaining peanut butter balls. When chocolate runs low, add remaining chocolate and shortening; repeat melting instructions. Dip remaining balls and place on baking sheet.

Return baking sheet to fridge for a few minutes to firm up chocolate.

Store truffles in a tightly closed container in fridge for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.

Cinnamon and Sugar Almonds

2011-12-14T22:48:00.000-05:00

Time to go nuts ... for candied almonds. Or as we call it, almond crack. Be forewarned -- you will need to make two batches, one for gift-giving, and one for you if you make the "mistake" of testing a few before packing them up.

In the out-of-focus background is one of the gift trays I made. Several of these trays, along with 15 (!) 1-pound boxes of candy, will be divvied out to theHubby's clients as Chanukah or other holiday gifts. I'll show more photos eventually (this is called a teaser, to get you curious and to increase the odds of you visiting this blog more often. Hope it works ...).

Candied almonds are (is?) another confection where a silicon baking mat is much more mucho better than greased foil. I've made candied almonds on separate occasions using both, and boy, there's no comparison. With foil, the spatula scrapes along the foil, eventually shredding it, forcing you to pick out all those micro-shreds ... unless you prefer listing it as an ingredient. With a baking mat, the sugar gives the illusion of chemically bonding with the mat, but it all oh-so-easily rinses off later. One caveat: to avoid scratching the baking sheet, use a silicon or wooden spatula during the turning-and-lifting step.

Cinnamon and Sugar Almonds
slightly adapted from melskitchencafe
Yield: about 2 cups of candied almonds

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 egg white, room temperature
1 tsp. cold water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 (6 oz.) bags unsalted whole almonds

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place a silicon baking mat on a rimmed baking sheet. In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Set both aside.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, use electric mixer (preferably with a whisk attachment) to beat egg white until a stiff peak forms.

Add the water and vanilla; beat again until a stiff peak again forms.

Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in almonds.

After almonds are evenly coated with egg whites, fold in cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Pour the almonds onto prepared baking sheet, spreading them out into a single layer.

Bake for an hour, stirring and flipping almonds every 15 minutes.

Almonds are done when the coating looks dry and if you pick up an almond the coating is not sticky but hard and crunchy.

Cool completely. Store in a tightly closed container for up to a few days at room temperature, or in the fridge for up to a week.

Almond-Flavored Lollipops

2011-12-13T22:54:00.003-05:00

Ever wanted to make lollipops, but thought you needed a special mould to make them? Me, neither ... until I spotted this recipe. You can pour these lollipops freehand and they will pretty much self-form nice circles, with only a few less than perfect (as you can see above in the bottom lolly).

This is a recipe that (according to Oh! You Cook!, not an authoritative source) the silicon baking mat was invented for. The lollipops will *pop* off so easily, you will kiss yourself (or whoever gave one to you) for owning this miracle of a mat.

Despite the massive amount of Amaretto required (1/4 cup plus a little extra), the taste remains mild. I suggest not giving one to your favorite child. Not because of all that booze (almost all the alcohol boils off from the long boil-time and the small amount added after is equivalent to using extract), but because these babies are too good for the kiddies.

Almond-Flavored Lollipops
based on Leite's Culinaria
yield: 16 lollipops

1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon Amaretto (almond liqueur)
2 Tbl. cold water
3/4 cup sugar
3 Tbl. light corn syrup
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
16 lollipop sticks

Place a baking mat on a baking sheet. Set aside.

Over medium-high heat, mix together the 1/4 cup of Amaretto, the water, sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir until sugar dissolves completely.

When mixture comes to a boil, insert candy thermometer and continue to boil, without stirring, until the temperature reaches to 300F, about 12-15 minutes.

TIP ALERT! If you use a candy thermometer with a built-in alarm, set it for a degree or two less than the temp you need. That way, in case you have to wander off, you will be less likely to overcook the mixture.

Remove pan from the heat, and stir in remaining 1 teaspoon Amaretto. Working quickly, gently eyeball out about a 2-inch circle of syrup; immediately place a lollipop stick about halfway up and twist it around so that it’s fully covered in syrup. Repeat with remaining syrup and sticks.

Let cool completely. Don't cheat or you will end up with a lolly like this ...

... instead of this.

Gently peel up lollipops from mat. Store in a single layer between wax paper sheets in an airtight container.

Or wrap individually in small candy bags. Store at room temperature.

Chocolate-Coated Marshmallows - Easy

2011-12-12T23:23:00.001-05:00

Chocolate-dipped marshmallows, just like chocolate-dipped pretzels, are very easy treats to make with the kids. Unlike chocolate-dipped pretzels, though, it's a bit easy to squish the marshmallows, so caution them (the kids, not the 'mallows) to be gentle. Keep a washcloth or five handy because no matter how careful you are, someone is eventually gonna stick a hand into the melted chocolate.

Leave the silicone baking mat in the pantry drawer. No atomic heat is involved, except for nuking the chocolate.

If you prefer, substitute chocolate chips mixed with a couple tablespoons vegetable shortening for the melting chocolate.

As for the nuts, you will use very little if you buy them pre-chopped/sliced/slivered; so freeze leftovers for a future project. If you are nut-allergic but still want a showy result, sprinkle on a few shreds of coconut or jimmies. Or squiggle on some white chocolate for really fancy-schmancy results.

Chocolate-Coated Marshmallows
adapted from myrecipes
yield: 30 marshmallows

1/4 cup chopped pistachios or walnuts (or chopped, sliced or slivered almonds)
1/2 (12-14 oz.) bag melting chocolate
1 (8-10 oz). bag large marshmallows (proximately 30-40)

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Place pistachios in a small bowl. Set both aside.

Place chocolate in a microwave-safe 1-quart bowl. Microwave on full power for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Carefully holding one marshmallow on one end, dip into the chocolate, about a third of aways down. If your fingers graze the chocolate, you dipped too far.

Lift and twist the 'mallow to "release" it from the chocolate, then gently tap against inner rim of bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off.

Place 'mallow, dipped side up, on prepared baking sheet. After dipping 3-4 'mallows, sprinkle a pinch of chopped nuts on the top of each. Gently press on nuts for better adhering. Then repeat with remaining marshmallows.

Pop pan in fridge to allow chocolate to harden completely. Store in tightly covered container for up to a week, or frozen for up to 1 month. Allow to come to room temperature in container before serving.

Hmmm ... this one reminds me of someone ...

Peanut Brittle

2011-12-11T19:59:00.004-05:00

Peanut brittle is an old-fashion candy that is still popular today. According The Food Timeline, a real authoritative source for a change, recipes for candy made with groundnuts (as peanuts were then called) first appeared in 1847. The term brittle, however, wasn't used until almost 50 years later.

I have been using this peanut brittle recipe for almost 10 years.   It's more peanut than brittle. If you want something resembling the boxed stuff made who-knows-how-long-ago that you find at the supermarket, reduce the amount of peanuts by a half-cup.

Many recipes call for buttering a foil-lined baking sheet, which can result in a tasty but greasy brittle.   That is, unless you missed a spot while buttering. In which case you have peanut-and-foil brittle. Or as Snidely Whiplash puts it, "Curses! Foiled Again!".

Some recipes suggest blotting the brittle with paper towels to remove all that grease, but I have an even better suggestion (TIP ALERT!): invest in a silicone baking mat. No greasing, yet nothing, NUH-thing sticks to it. Cleanup is easy too. The only time I don't use a baking mat for heat-related candy is when it's in use for another heat-related candy.

Another important item is a candy thermometer.   The exact temperature necessary to achieve proper consistency from soft caramel up to brittle ... brittle, can be easily guesstimated by expert candy-makers who know how a few drops of boiling sugar react when dropped into cold water. I am not an expert candy-maker, and I bet you are not one either.

Old-Fashioned Peanut Brittle

based on: Bon Appetit

yield: about 1 pound

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/8 cup light corn syrup
3/8 cup dark corn syrup
1 Tbl. unsalted butter
2 cups salted roasted peanuts
1/2 Tbl. baking soda
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Place a silicone baking mat on a large rimmed baking sheet (or line large rimmed baking sheet with foil; grease foil with an additional tablespoon of butter). Set aside.

Stir sugar, water and both corn syrups together in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

Increase heat to high, insert candy thermometer and boil without stirring until thermometer reaches 260F, about 30-40 minutes, depending upon your stovetop's definition of "high heat."

Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in butter and peanuts.

Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until temperature reaches 295F, about 10-15 minutes.

Turn off heat and remove thermometer. Stir in baking soda and vanilla. Mixture will lighten and start to foam up.

Immediately pour onto prepared baking sheet. Mixture will continue to foam a bit; spread it out as best you can before it starts to harden.

Allow brittle to cool completely to room temperature. No cheating, unless you prefer folding your brittle.

Break brittle into pieces, sizes up to you (and the brittle). Store in airtight container at room temperature, up to 1 month.

May I please have some?

Sesame Candy

2011-12-08T23:00:00.000-05:00

Today is a recipe for a healthy candy. A healthier one, anyway. You might have seen honey-sesame bars in the natural or ethnic foods aisles. According to that middle-eastern repository of culinary knowledge, wikipedia, sesame seeds are high in vitamins and anti-oxidants. They can also help reduce blood cholesterol. Sesame candy also contains honey, containing trace amounts of essential nutrients. And lemon juice is just chock-full o'vitamin C. Wow! I feel healthier just thinking about eating this stuff!

Although most of the sesame seed products in the supermarket are in the middle-eastern aisles, they are not just a middle-eastern food item. Versions of sesame candy are available all around the world wherever sesame plants grow. Greece has Pastelli. Israeli has Sukariyot Sumsum. Puerto Rico's has dulce de ajonjoli. And India has Til Burfi, among others. Although each country uses its own unique ingredients and spices, the basic recipe is still the same.

This recipe is originally from Herbal Food. One-quarter of the white sesame seeds were replaced with black ones, mostly because I happened to have a jar of it in my pantry. It's not enough to affect the flavor, but it sure looks pretty. In any event, both kinds of seeds came pre-roasted (found in the oriental aisle ... my local Try-n-Save sure has lots of aisles ...). If you prefer to roast seeds yourself, heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add seeds then stir constantly just until seeds start to have brown tinges (about 2 minutes). Immediately remove from heat (they will continue to toast from residual heat).

As I have mentioned in previous posts, temperature is critical ... a few degrees off can result in sesame caramel. Not necessarily bad, but not what we are aiming for here.

Speaking of temperature, use a wooden spoon for stirring. If you insist on using a metal spoon, be sure to wear an oven mitt to avoid burning your dainty fingers. If you have a nylon spoon, check for it's maximum temperature resistance. Melted nylon or plastic might affect the flavor a tad.

Haven't mentioned it often enough, but my new favorite kitchen utensil is a silicon baking sheet. It is the greatest tool in the world for candy-making. No need for butter nor grease. It laughs at nuclear-hot molten candy. And, after several weeks of non-stop candy-making, I actually hear its laughter ... it's even louder than screaming tomatoes. But I digress ...

Sesame Seed Candy
Based on a recipe from Herbal Food

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 Tbl. water
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 cup white sesame seeds mixed with 1/4 cup black sesame seeds, or all white seeds

Set a silicone baking sheet on a large regular baking sheet. Alternatively, line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil; heavily spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine sugar, honey, water and lemon juice in a 2 quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir continuously, with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, then insert a candy thermometer. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with wooden spoon, until temperature reaches 300F, about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon, salt and sesame seeds.

Carefully pour molten candy onto prepared baking sheet.

Try to nudge ~~lava~~ candy into a rectangle shape for ease of cutting into uniform-sized pieces later. When cool enough to handle but still slightly warm (5-15 minutes, depending upon kitchen temperature), peel candy slab from pan and place on cutting board lined with wax paper.

Cut slab longways into inch-wide lengths, then cut crossway into bars, squares or diamond shapes (as shown). Occasionally peel candy slab and long lengths from wax paper to prevent permanent bonding. As it cools, it will lose its stickiness, but will be much more difficult to cut. Shattered candy doesn't lose its flavor, but it's not as pretty.

Allow candy to cool completely. Store at room temperature in single layers between wax paper in a tightly covered container for a week. For longer storage, freeze. Defrost, still in container to prevent condensation.

Ooh, shattered pieces scooted all the way out here!

Chocolate Dipped Pretzels - Easy

2011-12-07T00:04:00.005-05:00

Here is one of the first candy-type chocolates I ever made, and also one of the easiest. Since chocolate only needs heating not much past body temperature, it's a fun and safe treat to make with your kids.

If you are serving right away, simply melt chocolate chips or even a chocolate bar.. Otherwise you need to mix in a little vegetable shortening to make them room temperature-friendly.

I must admit that it took me many years to try this recipe. Chocolate and salt? Are you kidding? But it was a match made in ~~New Jersey~~ heaven! Salt cuts the sweetness of chocolate yet compliment each other.

To really gild the lily, decorate with white chocolate as I did. You can optional sprinkle on ground or chopped nuts, mini-chips or M&Ms while the chocolate is still soft. I've even seen melted caramels dripped on. Some people also use sprinkles (aka jimmies), but I don't like it that way so don't do it if you plan to share some with me. Thank you. Yes, I'm a big baby ... deal with it.

Since these babies will be included in gift trays, I used logs to fit better. Feel free to coat rods or any shape your prefer. Your mileage depends upon chocolate and pretzel shape used.

Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels - Easy
Yield: 30-40 logs

1/2 (12 oz) bag melting chocolate
1/2 lb. pretzel logs
1/4 cup white melting chocolate (optional)
1/2 cup mini chips, M&Ms and/or jimmies (optional)

Place wax paper on large baking sheet. Set aside.

Place chocolate in a microwave-safe 1 quart bowl. Microwave on full power for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Hold pretzel by one end. Dip other end into chocolate, almost all the way up, then tap on inner edge of bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip.

Carefully slide pretzel onto prepared baking sheet (to reduce puddling). Repeat with remaining pretzels. Reheat chocolate for 20 additional seconds if it starts to thicken up.

To decorate with white chocolate: place dipped pretzels in the fridge for about 10 minutes to firm up chocolate. Meanwhile, place white chocolate in pipping bag/bottle or small food-grade freezer bag (storage bags are too flimsy). Microwave at 30 seconds intervals until white chocolate starts to melt. Remove from microwave and massage bag/bottle until white chocolate is completely melted. Snip off a tiny corner of bag. Using a quick back-and-forth motion (or as I call it, wheeeee!) slowly squeeze bag/bottle to drizzle pretzels randomly.

I didn't do this, but before any of the chocolate dries you can also sprinkle with mini-chocolate chips, M&Ms and/or jimmies.

Slide baking sheet into fridge again to completely harden chocolate. TIP ALERT: scrape up excess white chocolate to use again.

Store dipped pretzels in tightly sealed container at cool room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate up to a week. Allow to come to room temperature (in sealed container to avoid condensation) before serving.

Very Good Recipes tags: kosher, dessert, easy, chocolate

Mounds Wannabees

2011-12-06T00:38:00.009-05:00

Chanukah is just around the corner. Luckily this year it falls later on in December (some years it hits mere days after Thanksgiving), which gives me a bit of time to start getting elbow-deep in chocolate.

Um ... isn't Chanukah food traditionally of the fried persuasion? Well, Dear Reader, it usually is. But I don't have the energy or equipment to mass-produce the amount of fried treats necessary to supply theHubby's bestest clients. Plus fried foods taste much better fresh; cold or reheated sufganiyot (fried dough balls filled with jelly or some other sugary substance) just don't quite make it. Unless you are in college and it's 2am. So I instead get elbow-deep in chocolate and other sugary confections over the course of several weeks. Then lovingly place the candy in boxes and on trays, carefully wrapping everything in ribbons and tying on bows. Then theHubby hand-delivers it all and gets all the compliments.

Over the next week or two I will be posting the recipes for this year's creations. I try not to make the same ones every year. Some get passed over (sorry, wrong holiday) so as not to bore me the recipients with the same ol' same ol'.

Others, such as Mounds Wannabees, are requested year after year. Because even non-coconut lovers like them. I used to follow a complex recipe with many ingredients, but last year I tripped over the one below over from Chow and embraced it with both (chocolate-covered) arms. It uses less ingredients and doesn't even need an electric mixer to whip up. It's really an Almond Joy clone, but I prefer them naked (of almonds, not clothes).

Since I can't seem to get the hang of tempering, the process of heating, cooling and heating the chocolate again to specific temperatures so that it will stay firm at room temperature, I cheat by using (chocolate snobs, now's the time to cover your eyes) melting candy, which solidifies all by itself, or plain ol' chocolate chips mixed with a little Crisco, depending upon the recipe and whether or not I run out of a particular type of chocolate.

You can use a standard fork to dip the bars into chocolate. I prefer to (TIP ALERT!) take a disposable fork and remove the inner 2 tines to create an easier-to-use dipping fork.

Mounds Wannabees
Based on chow.com
Yield: 50-60 mounds bars

1 (14 oz.) bag shredded sweetened coconut
8 1/2 Tbl. light corn syrup
1 (12-14 oz.) bag melting chocolate (dark or milk), divided

Line a large baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.

Add coconut and corn syrup to a food processor.

Pulse 8-10 times, or until corn syrup is evenly distributed and mixture clumps up.

Wet hands with cold water, then squeeze and shape a heaping teaspoon of coconut mixture into a compacted rounded-edge rectangle. You want it a little smaller than a normal-sized bar ... it will be larger after coating with chocolate. Continue to wet hands as necessary when coconut starts to stick to you instead of itself.

Set coconut bars on the baking sheet in a single layer (do not let them touch) and place in the fridge until firm, at least 10 minutes.

Pour 1/2 of the bag of chocolate into microwave-safe 1-quart bowl. Microwave at high power to 1 minute. Stir, then microcook again for 30 seconds. If necessary, microcook for an additional 30 seconds until chocolate is completely melted.

Remove coconut bars from fridge. With a dipping fork, dip a bar into chocolate, turning bar as necessary to make sure it is completely enrobed.

Lift bar up and tap fork several times on inner edge of bowl to allow excess chocolate to drip off.

Carefully slide bar off fork onto baking sheet. If chocolate starts to harden, reheat in microwave for 20 seconds, then stir and continue. After coating half the bars, return baking sheet to fridge to allow coating to harden. Eat or discard remaining chocolate (it probably has loose coconut mixed in and will not coat smoothly). Wash, then completely dry the bowl (moisture can possible ruin melted chocolate; it might be safer to have a second bowl handy). Repeat with remaining chocolate and coconut bars.

Store completely hardened bars in a tightly covered container or freezer bag at room temperature up to a day or two, in fridge up to a week or in freezer up to a month.

Allow bars to come to room temperature, still in container (to prevent moisture from forming on bars) before serving.

I Have Been Nominated for an Award!

2011-12-05T23:09:00.004-05:00

Joy of Kosher is sponsoring the Best of Kosher awards. And guess what, Dear Reader? I have been nominated in the kosher blog category. Woo-hoo! I am sooo honored!

Please vote for me! Visit Joy of Kosher (you might have to scroll down) to cast your vote. First prize is a mention in the Joy of Kosher magazine and blog, as well as my own personal web badge to display proudly on this site! Is that awesome or what? Thankyouthankyouthankyou!

Butternut Squash-Sweet Potato Soup

2011-12-01T22:58:00.001-05:00

Remember the leftover squash from my Butternut Squash with Mango soup? Last night I was in the mood for more of the same, but inconveniently didn't have a mango handy. But I did have a pile of sweet potatoes taking up valuable space in my fridge. And I do like sweet potato soup. So I thought instead of attempting a closer recreation the sweet potato soup from Tierra Sur restaurant at Hertzog Winery a month-ish ago.

Like Tierra Sur, the sweet potato matchsticks were cooked only a few minutes to retain their shape, then have then sit atop the other garnishes. Unlike Tierra Sur,I didn't think to cook the matchsticks separately from the soup, then add later as garnish. They migrated to the bottom of the bowls to keep the raisins company (by the way, why is it okay to "plate" dinner but not "bowl" soup? On second thought, that might be a bit messy ... but I digress.)

I added cinnamon along with the cumin and coriander to bring it closer to the restaurant's version. Cinnamon and sweet potato go together like ... sweet potato casserole. But without the marshmallow topping.

After (finally!) remembering the raisins, I was about to take photos of the result. However, my heart sank along with the raisins and sweet potato matchsticks ... my soup looked exactly like the version made last time :(.

But it tasted even better! :) Yay! So my effort was not in vain.

Butternut Squash-Sweet Potato Soup
based on A Veggie Adventure
Yield: 4 servings

1 Tbl. olive oil
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 large onion
1 butternut squash (or 2 cups frozen cubed butternut squash, defrosted)
1 large sweet potato
1 can (14 ozs) light coconut milk
2 cups vegetarian chicken broth
1 Tbl. brown sugar
1/2 lime, juiced (about 1 Tbl.)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper (or to taste)
2 Tbl. mango salsa (for garnish, optional), divided
1/4 cup golden raisins, divided

If using fresh squash, see how-to photos. Set aside.

Use a veggie peeler to strip sweet potato. Cut off about a 2 inch section; cut into matchsticks. Cube remaining sweet potato; set everything aside.

Heat a 3- or 4-quart saucepot over medium-high heat. When hot, add olive oil, wait 10 seconds, then, drop in ginger, cumin, coriander and cinnamon. Stir constantly for around 10-15 seconds or until fragrant.

Add chopped onion and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the edges start to brown.

Stir in butternut squash and sweet potato cubes. Saute, stirring occasionally for about another 5 minutes.

Stir in coconut milk, broth and brown sugar. Bring just to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a bare simmer, stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes, until sweet potato is easily pierced with a fork.

Remove pot from heat, then process soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Or let soup cool slightly, then carefully use a ladle to transfer soup to a food processor or blender; blend until smooth, then return to pot.

Stir in the lime juice, salt and pepper. Add sweet potato matchsticks. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Ladle soup into 4 bowls. Top with mango salsa and raisins, if desired. Serve hot.

London Broil with Balsamic Mustard Sauce - Easy

2011-11-28T07:45:00.007-05:00

It's that time again, Dear Reader, when I introduce to you another recipe, brought to you courtesy of the Secret Recipe Club. In case you missed last time, this where I make a recipe from a blog assigned to me by the SRC, while a another SRC member selects one of mine. Today is reveal day! Woo-hoo! Check out other members of the SRC found below today's post.

This month's chosen fellow blogger is Lindsay from Eat, Knit, Grow (can a female be a "fellow?" I thought "fellows" were guys, like in for he's a jolly good fellow. But I digress ...). Lindsay takes great photos of her creations. I bet all her recipes are delicious as well. Many of her recipes are either kosher-friendly or easily adaptable so I had many from which to choose.

Lindsay's original recipe is for Bison Flank Steak. While bison is a kosher animal, I had a beef London broil conveniently defrosting in the fridge so I went with that. For the same reason, I also swapped the red wine vinegar for red wine. The red pepper flakes were omitted simply because I forgot about them. Didn't miss them, so they were demoted to optional. If your idea of spicy is ketchup, keep them at optional as well.

The preferential cooking method is grilling. But when I made the steaks a couple week's ago, it would've taken about a week to get my grill to the proper temperature even if the November wind didn't keep blowing out the flame. So these steaks were instead electro-broiled in my nice warm kitchen. Come June, clones will be flamed-charred outdoors by a real flame.

Because ~~I forgot~~ of time constraints, marinating overnight became the few seconds it took brushing marinade on the meat and shoving the pan into the oven. The result, as you can see, was still outstanding. Consider this a fast and easy week-night meal. Thanks, Lindsay!

London Broil with Balsamic Mustard Sauce - Easy
based on Eat, Knit, Grow
Yield: 4 servings

1/4 cup red wine
2 Tbl. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbl. soy sauce (regular or reduced salt)
1 Tbl. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dijon mustard
2 tsp. chopped garlic (about 2 cloves; bottled okay)
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
2 London broil steak, about 1to 1 1/2 lbs. total

Preheat broiler. Mix all ingredients except steaks in a small bowl to create marinade.

Lightly oil a broiler pan or do like me where I crumple up foil, then slightly uncrumple so that peaks remain; use to line a rimmed pan (allows grease and other ick to fall safely away from the meat). Place steaks in a single layer on the foil/oiled pan. Brush liberally with marinade. Place pan on highest rack in oven.

Broil 4-6 minutes, or until browned and marinade just begins to char. Flip steaks. Brush on more marinade; discard any remaining. Broil for an additional 4-6 minutes for medium-rare or until cooked to your liking (if smoke starts to pour out your oven, the steaks might be ready).

Cover steaks and let stand 5 minutes (to allow juices to redistribute).

Slice steaks against the grain.

Divide among 4 plates and serve hot or warm. Serve with potatoes and/or your favorite veggies. Major YUM!

In the photo is parve "creamed" spinach (NOT from Lindsay's blog!). Let's just say the exotic spices called for were ~~YUCKY~~ not to my taste. Hopefully the next version will be sharable.

Disclaimer - because this recipe is part of an online cooking challenge, the linked recipes below might not be kosher.

Ay Too, Fay? Chesapeake Étouffée

2011-11-22T18:44:00.001-05:00

Chesapeake Étouffée -- is that a great name or what? Rachel from Coconut and Lime, who titled this dish, is just sooo creative! If she had called it crab stew, I would have totally bypassed it.

According that culinary expert, wikipedia, étouffée is a thick stew usually made with shellfish such as crawfish or shrimp. It can even be made with chicken. Rachel's recipe calls for crab meat and crab stock. My more kosher-friendly version uses "crab" surimi and onion bouillon, yet still is quite tasty.

Rachel's original also contains shallots. I am ashamed to admit that I wouldn't know a shallot if I tripped over it. So I did a fast check at Epicurious' food dictionary to discover that shallots are in the onion family, but more resembles garlic bulbs. On a side note, the Jersey shallot is also called a "false" shallot. Figures ...

In any event, I omitted the shallots, used onion bouillon and bumped up the garlic a tad. I also omitted the celery, only because I don't like celery in most foods, except for chicken soup. I used margarine for a parve meal; use butter if you prefer a dairy version.

This dish comes together pretty quickly. The étouffée was ready only a few minutes after rice cooked up. A great week-night meal.

I served this dinner to ~~wimps~~ cautious eaters, so I had to dial down the heat a lot. If you are more adventurous, feel free to bump the hot sauce up to 2 teaspoons and the cayenne to 1/2 teaspoon. I think next time I'll use a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes with chipotle peppers for a more smoky spicy taste.

Chesapeake Étouffée

Adapted from: Coconut and Lime
Yield: 4 servings

2 Tbl. margarine
1 Tbl. Old Bay seasoning
1/4 cup unbleached flour
2 tsp. chopped garlic (bottled okay)
1 1/2 cup onion bouillon
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. hot sauce (or to taste)
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme (or leaves from a few springs fresh)
1tsp. kosher salt
14 oz canned diced fire roasted tomatoes, drained
1 pkg. (16 ozs.) surimi, chunk style
leaves from 4 sprigs parsley, chopped
2 scallions, green part thinly sliced
Cooked rice, enough for your family

Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Add margarine, Old Bay and flour. Sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly, to cook the floury taste out. A roux such as this is usually cooked for 20 minutes until the mixture becomes a tasty brown, but with the Old Bay providing instant color, you can skip the longer cooking time.

Add the garlic and sauté another minute.

Pour in stock; and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring to prevent lumps when mixture thickens.

Add hot sauce, cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and salt.

Stir in tomatoes.

Coarsely chop crab surimi. Add it to the skillet along with parsley and scallions; gently combine.

Cook a few minutes or until the surimi is coated with sauce and warmed through. Oh, yum!

Divide cooked rice among 4 dinner plates. Ladle étouffée over rice.

Dessert Menu --Thanksgiving Ideas

2011-11-20T20:44:00.000-05:00

Everyone and their mother is posting Thanksgiving recipes. So in an effort to join the party yet be unique, I'm just going to post a list of perfect desserts. Because desserts are the most important part of Thanksgiving.

Not the turkey. Dessert. When you push yourself away from the table, kvetching about the vast quantities you consumed, are you patting your stomach while thinking, "Gee, that was the best turkey in the world"?

Noooo ... through that food coma haze, your brain is reliving all those vast quantities of desserts you ate, right after pleading, "No, no, really, I couldn't eat another bite ... ooh, pie ... well maybe just a sliver ..."

Ironically, this year I will only be making cookies. It seems that theNewlyweds scored grandstand tickets for the Macy*s Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, so I need to make something that can tolerate any weather conditions sitting mega-hours in an unheated car while we go freeze our respective tuchuses off wondering if Underdog is here.

So without further ado (because ado's can get really old), here are links to desserts Thanksgiving-ish:

No-Egg Parve Pumpkin Pie - Vegetarian Times has updated this classic recipe, but I like this one better.

Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing - pretend to end on a healthy note

Carrot Pudding - definitely not your bubbie's carrot kugel! Make with parve ingredients to serve after a fleishig feast.

Almond Couscous Pudding - If someone complains that couscous isn't traditional, point to the almonds on the green bean casserole and say you are just continuing a theme.

Almond Rice Pudding -1st cousin of Almond Couscous Pudding. Use dried cranberries to look more Thanksgiving-ish.

Chocolate Shooters - easier than pie. Serve in tall glasses to look fancy-schmancy.

Blueberry Cobbler Bars - if blueberries are taking up space in your freezer, make this easy dessert and reclaim that valuable space for Turkey Day leftovers.

Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cookies - proves that gluten-free and company cookies aren't mutually exclusive.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Indian-Style Carrot Pickle - Easy

2011-11-16T23:33:00.000-05:00

An interesting factoid about larger public libraries (such as where I work) is that non-profit groups can reserve and meet in our general purpose room. The nice groups leave the room as clean as they found it. The really nice group leave us leftovers from their catered lunches. One extremely lovely Indian club routinely leaves us enough food to feed two shifts. Except for one knowledgeable part-time librarian who works the 2nd shift, the rest of us dig in without knowing what any of the items are, except that they are totally vegetarian. And totally delicious!

One item that really blew me away was a spiced carrot dish, a condiment really. Knowledgeable Librarian said it is called Gajar Ka Achaar (carrot pickle). It is nothing like what we usually think of when we hear the word pickle. Unlike cucumber pickles, submerged in a vat of vinegary brine containing garlic, dill and pickling spices, carrot pickle (referred to in the singular) is coated in mustard or olive oil and mixed with ground mustard seeds, chili powder and other aromatic spices, then left in a glass jar in the sun to ripen.

While trolling the intertubes for a version I could reproduce, I came across Mordechai's Indian Carrot Pickle.

How could I pass up a recipe with a name like that?

The carrot pickle I sampled at the library had a couple different spices than Mordechai's (just like chicken soup, there are about a gazillion different recipes for carrot pickle), so I adjusted Mordechai's a tad to come up with this mash-up. Since I was afraid of leaving a food product in the sun (food poisoning doesn't usually play nice with my tummy), I marinated it in the fridge instead. Still needs a bit of tinkering, but edible enough to share with you, Dear Reader: something a little different for Thanksgiving. Woo-hoo!

The list of spices is long, but the directions are very easy -- pretty much just mix and marinate. The servings are small since Indian pickle is usually served as a condiment to other veggie dishes.

Note that curry leaves are NOT curry powder. It's easy to confuse the two because of similar names, but I have here an easy way to distinguish between the two:


Curry leaves.		Curry powder.

Indian-Style Carrot Pickle
Based on Mordechai's Indian Carrot Pickle
Yield: 6-8 servings

1/2 lb. baby carrots
3 cups water
1 Tbl. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. chili powder
pinch ground mace (optional)
1/4 tsp. tumeric
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. curry leaves (optional)
2 tsp. fennel seeds
1 Tbl. lemon juice

Boil water in a 2-quart saucepan; add carrots. Return to a boil and cook for 10 minutes. Drain and let the carrots dry completely.

Place carrots in a 1 quart bowl. Pour oil over carrots and turn carrots over a few times to coat.

Drop remaining ingredients on carrots.

Continue to turn to evenly coat with spice mixture. Cover bowl and refrigerate for at least a day. Two is even better. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Blueberry Cobbler Bars

2011-11-13T19:59:00.000-05:00

Here is a dessert that is so delicious you don't even need know how to store leftovers since there will be no leftovers. I made it parve since I was serving it after a chicken dinner (chicken piccata if you must ask, using the sauce in the veal version).

This is also great to serve at your next Hadassah meeting, or pretty much for any company (or for when the neighbor drops in). A little on the rich side, but I rationalize that skinless, boneless chicken made with just a touch of olive oil allows me to be a little naughty later on.

Use butter instead for a yummy dairy version. Cardamon, in case I haven't mentioned it before, is a sweet Indian spice. It harmonizes love-a-ly with cinnamon and nutmeg. Try it next time you bake an apple pie. If you can't find it in your local market, just bump up the cinnamon a tad.

Blueberry Cobbler Bars
Adapted from My Baking Addiction
Yield: 12 generous (family) or 20-24 polite company servings

4 cups blueberries
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

3/4 tsp. ground cardamon

1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted margarine, cut up
1 egg

1 Tbl. lemon zest
1 Tbl. cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch pan which parchment and lightly spray with cooking spray. Set aside.

If your blueberries are frozen, defrost by placing them in a colander and running cold water over them. Set aside to drain.

In the large mixing bowl of your mixer, add brown sugar, 1/2 cup of the granulated sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and the 3 spices. Run mixer on low until mixture is evenly distributed. Add butter and egg; mix at medium-low speed just until the dough becomes crumbly (if it looks almost done, it's done).

Pat half of dough into prepared pan (preferably with clean hands; it won't cook long enough to sterilize dough).

Bake for only five minutes. Dough will NOT be brown, or even remotely cooked through.

Remove pan from oven and allow to cool slightly (about 5 minutes).

While pan is cooling, in a small mixing bowl use a hand whisk to mix together remaining white sugar, lemon zest and cornstarch. Gently fold in blueberries.

Spread blueberry mixture evenly over the lightly baked dough.

Sprinkle remaining dough evenly over blueberries.

Bake for an additional 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Allow to cool slightly (at least 15 minutes), then cut into squares.

Gratuitous bad-angle photo of dog raising his paw in futile attempt to look cute enough to get a bar of his own.

Chicken Tikka Masala

2011-11-10T21:57:00.002-05:00

Here's a pretty easy recipe for a quick dinner. I would have listed it as easy, but according to a Dear Reader, if onion needs chopping, it ain't easy :\

Don't let the list of ingredients scare you -- just pull out every spice in your cabinet and you are all set ;-)

No, seriously, just measure out the spices and drop them all into a bowl. No "add spice to skillet, stir for 30 seconds, repeat 148 times until you can't remember what you are cooking" here, nosirree Bob! Start boiling up the water for the rice, by the time you are fluffing up the grains, the chicken is ready to serve.

Garam masala is a combination of many different Indian spices jammed into one convenient jar. I think every brand of the stuff has its own proprietary combination of aromatic spices. If you can't find any garam masala in your local Try-n-Save, substitute by adding an extra 1/2 tsp. of cinnamon along with 1/8 teaspoon of every other spice listed.

Chicken Tikka Masala
Adapted from: Foodista
Yield: 4 Servings

1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp. cardamon
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbl. paprika
1 large onion
2 Tbl. olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 lbs.), cut into 1 inch cubes
2 tsp. chopped garlic (bottled okay)
1 tsp. tomato paste
1 tomato chopped
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, or to taste
1/2 cup parve yogurt or sour cream
fresh cilantro (for garnish, optional)
cooked rice, enough for your family

In a small bowl mix the first nine ingredients (the dried spices) together. Chop onion. Set both aside.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add olive oil, wait 10 seconds, then add chopped onion. Saute until onion starts to brown, about 8-10 minutes.

Add the garlic and spices; stir for another minute.

Stir in the tomato paste. It will fight you a bit, then settle down.

Add the chopped tomato and water. Stir, then bring mixture to a simmer.

Add the chicken and stir to coat with sauce. Return mixture to simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low. Continue to simmer, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened, about 12 minutes. Taste and add salt, if needed.

Stir in parve yogurt.

Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.

Divide rice among 4 dinner plates. Ladle chicken and sauce over rice. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.

Butternut Squash Soup with Mango

2011-11-08T19:28:00.003-05:00

I have been slurping up ... I mean dining on butternut squash soup lately. Since it's in season, many restaurants have been featuring butternut squash soup, and I have accommodated them by indulging. My favorite version was served in the Tierra Sur restaurant at Hertzog Winery. Even TheHubby liked it, and he doesn't like butternut squash! I wish I could recreate it, but all I could discern, besides the squash, was the usual pumpkin-like spices.

So I tried this version from A veggie Adventure instead. It does not use cinnamon nor other pumpkin-ish spices; it has goodies which gives it more of an Indian flavor, including the not-so-secret ingredient mango. But it is so excellent that I decided to be thoughtful and share with you anyway, Dear Reader.

Tierra Sur garnished its soup with white raisins, which adds a light sweetness. When I made it, I didn't have raisins around to toss on, but I did find mango fruit sauce (masquerading as Louisiana Hot Sauce, leftover from Passover, don't ask) which despite its name added a bare hint of spiciness. I strongly suggest you use a real mango salsa instead, even if you have to buy it. I have listed it as an option in the ingredients list below.

Butternut Squash Soup with Mango
slightly adapted from A Veggie Adventure
Yield: 4 servings

1 Tbl. olive oil
1 tsp. ground ginger (or 1 Tbl. fresh grated ginger)
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1 large onion
1 butternut squash (or 2 cups frozen cubed butternut squash, defrosted)
1 whole mango
1 can (14 ozs) light coconut milk
2 cups vegetarian chicken broth
1 Tbl. brown sugar
1/2 lime, juiced (about 1 Tbl.)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper (or to taste)
2 Tbl. mango salsa (for garnish, optional), divided
1/4 cup golden raisins, divided

Use a vegetable peeler to remove skin of the squash.

Admire for a moment how the squash starts to "sweat."

Then, using a sharp knife, cut the squash in two pieces just barely below the neck. If the seeds aren't exposed in the bottom half (such as here), poke the center with a small spoon to break through.

Scrape, scoop and discard the innards.

Marvel at how much stuff you scrape out of such a small squash. Discard seeds and stringy "goop," then chop both halves into chunks around 1/2 to 1 inch.

The squash I bought yielded 6 cups. Your mileage may vary. Set aside 2 cups; freeze any excess for a future time.

Peel and chop the mango (visit my mango salsa page for a how-to) . Chop onion (see my Spicy Corn Soup if you need a how-to for that as well). Set both aside.

Heat a 3- or 4-quart saucepot over medium-high heat. When hot, add olive oil, wait 10 seconds, then, drop in ginger, cumin and coriander. Stir constantly for around 10-15 seconds or until fragrant.

Add chopped onion and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the edges start to brown.

Stir in butternut squash and mango, then saute, stirring occasionally until the squash starts to soften, about another 5 minutes.

Stir in coconut milk, broth and brown sugar. Bring just to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a bare simmer.

Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until squash is very soft, about 20 minutes.

Remove pot from heat, then process soup with an immersion blender until smooth. Or let soup cool slightly, then carefully use a ladle to transfer soup to a food processor or blender; blend until smooth.

Stir in the lime juice, salt and pepper.

Divide soup among 4 bowls, then top with mango salsa and raisins, if desired. Serve hot.

Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cookies

2011-11-07T15:32:00.003-05:00

Here is a gluten-free chocolate cookie that doesn't taste gluten-free. A parve cookie that doesn't taste parve. A Passover cookie recipe that doesn't taste pesadik. A flourless chocolate cookie recipe that ... well, you get the picture: a wonderfully delicious fudgy cookie created by Gretchen over at Kumquat.

Many people think it's way hard to separate egg whites from their yolks. If you have no separation anxiety, then these babies are trés easy to whip up ... because no whipping is needed! Leave your mixer in the garage.

No need for the whites to be at room temperature. Use eggs straight from the fridge if it suits you. No need to be upset if a little yolk accidentally drops into the mix since, unlike most egg white recipes, it won't affect the outcome.

I do need to warn you though .... the cookie "dough" tends to spread out a little ... and by a little I mean a LOT. Next time I plan to use one less egg white, or maybe smaller eggs.

Don't panic when the shiny tops start cracking. It's suppose to happen ... just part of their charm.

Oh, did I mention the taste? Dec-a-dent! A whisper of crisp on the outside, fudgy soft on the inside. On second thought, don't mention anything. Announce that you are testing a gluten-free or Passover cookie recipe. Then after everyone flees, keep the cookies all for yourself!

Flourless Chocolate Fudge Cookies
slightly adapted from: Kumquat
Yield: 12 large or 20 small cookies

3 cups confectioner's sugar, measured then sifted
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups semi-sweet non-dairy chocolate chips (for parve cookies)
4 large egg whites
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F. Line two cookie sheet (preferably non-rimmed) with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine sugar, cocoa , salt, and chocolate chips in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Drop in egg whites and vanilla; stir with a wooden spoon until well-combined, about a minute or two. It will first look like there's not enough liquid, but eventually it will all start to work together. Remember to scrape from the bottom so that all the dry ingredients are moistened.

Spoon batter (1 tablespoon for small cookies, 2 tablespoons for large) onto the first prepared cookie sheet. Try to leave 2 inches between each cookie. They look very thin and lumpy here, but will spread and puff up a tad during baking.

Bake 8 minutes for small, 12-14 minutes for large, or until tops are cracked and glossy. While the first pan of cookies is baking, spoon second set on remaining cookie sheet. Wait until first batch is baked and set on cooling rack before popping in second.

Cool for 1 minute, then slide cookies, still on parchment paper, onto cooling rack to cool completely. Then carefully peel parchment paper off cookies (easier than peeling cookie from parchment).

Don't cheat and attempt to remove cookies before they are completely cooled!

Store at room temperature in tightly closed container.

Tilapia in Orange-Wine Sauce - Easy

2011-11-03T22:03:00.003-04:00

One of the cool perks about working in a public library is the dumpster-diving.

Wait ... what did she say?

Lemme explain. Many books of varying age and condition are donated to my library. The Friends (short for The Friends of the Library, a volunteer group) take said books and, using a very complicated algorithm (their eyes, and sometimes smell) determine if said books can be added to the lending collection or sold in our semi-annual book sale. Books that are in bad shape (such as missing, ripped or defaced pages) or too old to even donate elsewhere are disposed of ; at that point library staff have last dibs. Essentially, dumpster-diving.

About a month ago, a slightly tattered Weight Watchers cookbook fell off the (book) truck.* One of the recipes was a orange-wine fish dish. Since my fridge contained tilapia on the verge of floundering, I decided to make that recipe that very evening. I've since "recycled" the cookbook, so I no longer can recall the exact fish used in the original recipe, but any mild-tasting fish can be used.

*Book Truck: library-speak for the book carts you see scattered about the library. Humorous wordplay ... the mark of a high-quality blog.

Tilapia in Orange-Wine Sauce - Easy
based on a recipe from Weight Watchers New 365 Day Menu Cookbook
yield: 4 servings

1 Tbl. butter, plus more to grease pan
4 Tilapia fillets (12-16 ozs.)
2 garlic cloves (or 2 tsp. bottled chopped garlic)
1/4 cup white wine (or any other light wine, such as rosé )
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. corn starch mixed with 2 Tbl. cold water
2 sprigs parsley (garnish)

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease a small rimmed baking sheet. Arrange fillets on sheet, overlapping thin edges, if any, to prevent their overcooking.

Heat butter in a small microwave-safe cup or bowl at full power for 30 seconds or until it softens (if it starts to melt a little that's okay). Stir in garlic.

Shmear mixture over fillets.

Pour wine over fillets ...

... followed by juice. Or the other way around. Or mix the two first, then pour. It's a free country.

Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until fillets start to brown (Tilapia is thin; if they are brown they are done). Move fillets to a covered dish; keep warm.

Carefully pour accumulated juices into a 1-quart saucepan. Heat mixture on medium-high until it starts to simmer.

Stir in corn starch mixture. Bring mixture to a boil.

Continue to boil until it thickens to your liking.

Plate fillets. Divide sauce over fish. Serve with a veggie or two.

Put away parsley that you forgot to use as a garnish. If desired, coarsely chop parsley next day and sprinkle on any leftovers you bring to work.

No-Bake Coconut and Walnut Fudge Brownies

2011-10-31T08:02:00.004-04:00

I recently joined The Secret Recipe Club, a fun round-robin where a blogger is assigned the job of making a recipe posted on a different blog, whose owner in turn makes something from a third blog, and so on. I was given the assignment of selecting a recipe from fearless homemaker, a blogger from Nashville and self-described "foodie, cocktail lover and entertaining enthusiast." From her lack of capital letters, I would guess that she's also a fan of e. e. cummings

I think having someone else select the assignment is a great idea, since it forces me to try a recipe out of my comfort zone. But for the same reason it is scary in more ways than one. Amy is much thinner, much younger and way cuter than I am. Not that I'm jealous or anything.

Of course not ...

Amy's blog is of the non-kosher persuasion, but when you read past about "succumbing to the cruel temptation that is bacon" I was relieved to read that she had been a vegetarian for 7 years. So it turns out the hardest part was wading through through all her recipes and selecting one for the Club post. I eventually decided to give ~~theHubby~~ me a gift and selected one of her brownies, a no-bake version.

These babies are held together by crushed chocolate wafer cookies, like the kind you have left after eating the filling out of an Oreo. Amy was nice enough to suggest a couple of more sanitary substitutes. But Famous Cookies don't have a hechsher, and the local Try-n-Save doesn't carry Newman's. But it did have what I hoped was an equivalent store-brand. However, it came in a 27oz. package, and the recipe called for 18 ozs (Quick! Where's the calculator?). Two-thirds of the package is 18 ounces ... so I need 2/3 of the total. Of course the cookies are sub-packed into 4 sections, not 3 so a little more calculating is necessary ... 13 cookies in a section, times 4 equals 54 total cookies. So two-thirds of 54 equals 36 cookies! Wow! My brain hurts!

Since 36 cookies won't fit in my processor at one time, I first dropped in 9 then hit the On button. Turns out 9 cookies equals 1 1/2 cups o'crumbs. So only 18 cookies, half of what I had originally calculated, creates the 3 cups called for in the recipes.

Unless I didn't grind the crumbs fine enough. In any event, remember, your mileage may vary.

TheHubby doesn't care for almonds, so aside from less cookies the only other change I made was to substitute walnuts for the almonds.

You can use wax paper or aluminum foil to line the pan, with plenty of overhang to grab and lift the brownies out. Do not use baking spray instead! Unless you want to eat brownies directly from the pan with a spoon.

After waiting patiently for several hours for the brownies to solidify, I eagerly took a bite. They are not quite like brownies, but more like soft Walnut Joys ... with a hint of crunchiness from the cookies. But definitely still tasty. Amy, thank you for posting your recipe!

No-Bake Coconut and Walnut Fudge Brownies
adapted from fearless homemaker

makes 16 small brownies

12 ozs. bittersweet chocolate, chopped or broken up

1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups finely ground chocolate wafer cookies (anywhere from 9 - 18 ozs, depending upon brand of cookies used)

2 cups plus 2 Tbl. sweetened shredded coconut, divided

1 cup plus 2 Tbl. chopped walnuts, divided

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Line a 9” square baking dish with plastic wrap or foil, leaving at least a 1” overhang on all sides. Set aside.

Heat chocolate and evaporated milk in a 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally ...

... until chocolate melts and is smooth. Do not let mixture come to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla.

Measure out 1/3 cup of mixture, preferable over something to catch drips. Set both aside.

Combine cookie crumbs, 2 cups coconut, 1 cup nuts, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

Pour in chocolate mixture; stir until combined.

Spread mixture evenly into dish. Spread reserved 1/3 cup chocolate over top.

Sprinkle remaining nuts and coconut evenly over top (I ~~forgot~~ didn't bother with the coconut garnish).

Refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Remove brownies from pan by lifting plastic wrap. Remove plastic, and cut into 16 brownies.

Food Blogger Music

2011-10-12T16:22:00.000-04:00

Jazz up your sukkah!

A Dear Reader forwarded this to me, mostly for its name. Food Blogger Music, an instrumental jazz piece by Dead Cat Bounce (a stock market term unrelated to felines). If you like jazz, you'll love it!

Nacho Run-of-the-Mill Buffalo Nachos

2011-10-10T20:37:00.001-04:00

I like your normal run-of-the-mill nachos.   Nothing exciting or special, just shredded cheddar on top of taco chips. When I have a burst of energy, I also toss on diced onion and salsa. That's pretty much it.

Then I stumbled over this recipe. This one calls for blue cheese, celery AND chicken. But taking into account all the strong flavors here, I figured I could drop the chicken and still have a successful snack. Also ditched the celery because it only belongs in chicken soup and tuna salad ... period.

I was especially looking forward to the blue cheese. I really like blue cheese. Cheddar, even extra sharp cheddar, doesn't have much of a bite unless you combine it with onion. Or salsa. Blue (or, to its friends: Bleu) bites back all by itself. Plus it was joined with scallions, which really kicks it up a quarter notch.

It was pretty darn good. Something different to serve in your sukkah. Or with a side of beer at your next football watching party.

I was only testing this recipe for myself, so I didn't bother with the sour cream or salsa. But if serving for guests, I would add a few tablespoons of at least the sour cream as garnish.

Buffalo Nachos
adapted from dinners for a year and beyond
serves 6-8

10-13 oz. bag of tortilla chip
2 tsp. hot sauce, or more to taste
2 cups shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
2-3 scallions, green parts chopped
1 medium tomato
sour cream or salsa, for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. You will need a 9 x12 inch (or so) rimmed baking pan, preferably one with low sides to allow better heat circulation. If it is not non-stick, line with parchment paper or aluminum foil.

Place tortilla chips on baking sheet, overlapping chips so if cheese melts off a top chip it will drip on one below it.Evenly sprinkle with cheddar cheese, followed by blue cheese.

Bake for 6 - 8 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Remove baking sheet from oven and evenly top with scallions and tomato. Optionally top with sour cream and salsa. Serve immediately.

Relevant Honeymoon Photos

2011-10-09T08:23:00.012-04:00

Last month we finally managed to marry theDaughter off! Those who know us know what was a long strange trip that was. It could have filled an entire reality show. But since we're not the Kardashians, you will have to settle for checking out her blog for details. The fact that she dedicated a post to me is purely coincidental to my mentioning it. Purely ...

Anyway, since this is a foodie blog, here are my favorite food photos ~~stolen~~ borrowed that honeymoon post. To get the full effect plus commentary, you'll have to visit her site. She writes much more better than I do. Also takes better photos than I do, even with a cell phone.

Not so angry birds carved from carrots and coconut.

Watermelon flower.

You still here? Okay, I'll entertain you with few more sentences, then go already!

You are probably asking yourself, what about wedding photos? Unfortunately there were no pockets in my gown to stash a camera, so I couldn't take any photos of The Big Event. And as of now I don't have permission to use anyone else's. Yet ...

.... so here's photo of dog food instead.

Moroccan Beets - Easy

2011-10-05T22:18:00.002-04:00

During my formative years, vegetables were served straight out of the can. They were never sullied by heat unless accidentally warmed from sitting next to the main course. I grew up thinking I hated vegetables. Turns out I only hated canned veggies served straight out of the can.

Especially canned beets. They were just Icky!
Fast forward to adulthood, where I eventually discovered fire, which eventually led to discovering that vegetables, even canned vegetables, taste much better if served warm.

Even canned beets.

The New York Times posted a decent selection of Rosh HaShana recipes on its website last week. One of the vegetable recipes included this very nice beet salad side-dish (and no, it's never explained why it's called Moroccan beets) made with roasted fresh beets. But since he main course didn't require using an oven, I figured why not use beets of the canned persuasion and knock an hour off the prep time as well?

My speedier version, using doctored canned beets (ironically at room temperature) will make a beet lover, or at least a beet tolerater, out of you.

Moroccan Beets - Easy
adapted from: The New York Times
Yield: 4 servings

2 Tbl. fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 of a lemon)
2 tsp. chopped garlic (bottled okay)
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
2 Tbl. olive oil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley.
2 cans (14.5 ozs. each) tiny whole beets, drained

In a 2 quart servning bowl, whisk together all ingredients except the parsley and beets.

Stir in parsley. Add beets and gently toss until evenly coated.

Let sit at least 1/2 hour at room temperature (up to 1 hour) for flavors to "marry." If making in advance, refrigerate, covered, up to 1 day. Remove from fridge 1/2 hour before serving;

Serve alongside your favorite entree. Try to avoid letting the beets touch anything else on the plate, unless you like the sight of pink rice. It's just icky.

A Different Kind of Halva - Carrot Pudding - Easy

2011-10-03T22:58:00.001-04:00

Quick! What's the first thing you think of when you hear "carrot pudding?" I usually picture a veggie side dish. Well, how about "halva?" Bet you think of that slab of sweetened ground sesame paste

Surprise! Halva (also spelled halvah or halwa) is a very international term, referring to any somewhat dense, sweetened dessert. According to Kitchen Daily, halva can be made with (depending upon the country) almost any type of grain, or as in this recipe, even no grain at all!

Gajar halva is an Indian carrot dessert that more resembles rice pudding. If you own a food processor or a bag o'shreds, this recipe is a snap to throw together. Even whipping out a vegetable peeler only uses up a couple minutes of your very valuable time.

The original recipe uses half-and-half. I cut the fat and calories by using regular evaporated milk. You can cut the fat/cals even more with skim evap. To make a vegan version, substitute almond or rice milk, and use margarine in place of the butter. The final result won't be quite as creamy, but still tasty.

Golden raisins are listed in the ingredients, but if you already have regular raisins, just use those.

Pistachios are more Indian-ish, plus their green hue really pops out against the orange background. But feel free to use almonds or omit them completely without hanging your head in shame.

Gajar halva (Carrot Pudding) - Easy
adapted from food.com
makes 4 family or 6 polite company servings

1 cup (packed) shredded carrots
1 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 Tbl. butter
1 tsp. ground cardamom, divided
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 cup pistachios

In a 2 quart-saucepan (to allow a larger cooking surface and to prevent splashing yourself while stirring), heat carrots and evaporated milk over medium heat until the mixture starts to simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching.

Lower heat to a bare simmer and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until almost all the milk is absorbed, about 30 minutes. As you can see in the photo above, there's a hint of liquid still visible.

Stir in the brown sugar, raisins, butter, cardamom and salt. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is of desired (pudding-like) consistency, about 10 minutes.

Garnish with pistachios or slivered almonds if desired.
Serve warm.

Parve (and Vegan) Almond Couscous Pudding

2011-10-01T23:08:00.003-04:00

While trying to come up wih a very simple parve dessert to follow a meat dinner, I vaguely recalled making a vegan rice pudding awhile back.. But since I was already serving rice along with the brisket, I didn't want to serve another rice dish, even if it's dessert. Then I remembered how I recently stocked up on couscous (sale + double coupons = woo-hoo!).

Couscous according to wikipedia, is made from semolina. Semolina, according to wikipedia, is made from wheat middlings. Wheat middlings, according to wikipedia, is made from stuff you don't really want to know about. In any event, couscous pretty much cooks itself-- the only thing you have to watch is the water boil. So I tweaked the rice pudding recipe ever-so slightly to come up with this slightly sweet version.

Some ingredients for certain recipes I measure, such a cake, where the wrong proportion of ingredients is the difference between cake and a doorstop. Here it's not quite as critical. Also, I sorta ran out of clean measuring cups. So I eyeballed the couscous and guestimated the raisins. After tasting the finished product, it was determined that while the couscous quantity was correct, more raisins were needed. The quantity below has been corrected.

I made this version with whole wheat couscous ~~because it was on sale~~ to be healthy, but plain works just as well.

Although this is almond pudding, I didn't feel it necessary to use almond extract, rather than the vanilla. But since it's a free country, use almond extract if you prefer.

Tip Alert! Rub a little bit of the margarine on the spoon before you measure the honey and it will easily slide into the saucepan.

Oh, and in answer to a previous question, you can substitute rice milk for the almond milk, and use pistachio nuts for the almonds (or omit them).

Parve/Vegan Almond Couscous Pudding
serves 4-6

2 cups almond milk (plain or vanilla)
1 Tbl. margarine
3 Tbl. honey
3/4 cup plain or whole-wheat couscous
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (1/ 4 tsp. if vanilla almond milk used)
Ground cinnamon (optional)
2 tablespoons sliced or slivered almonds (optional)

Heat almond milk, margarine and honey in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat until simmering.

Stir in couscous and raisins. Cover and turn off heat but leave pot on burner (for the residual heat). Let stand until almond milk has been absorbed, about 15 minutes.

Divide into dessert bowls. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and almonds, if desired. Serve immediately, or chill before serving. I myself prefer couscous pudding of the warm persuasion.

Happy 5772! Easy Rosh HaShana Recipes

2011-09-27T18:58:00.001-04:00

Shanah Tovah! In case you still haven't decided on what to serve for Rosh HaShana, here are a few suggestions. Every recipe in this post is easy to make. Even your most jaded guests will be so impressed they will think you spent days cooking up a storm.

Start off the meal with some traditional Apples and Honey Slices and dip some challah along with it!

In case you want to try something different: Watercress Soup

In case you are the more traditional type: Extremely Fast Chicken Soup

Honey-Mustard Chicken is delicious enough for everyday, yet elegant enough for a holiday dinner.

But nothing says elegance as tender Orange Cornish Hens.

Corn Pudding Casserole is like cornbread. But without the bread. And creamier

Carrots and honey go together like, um, Honeyed Carrots.

Yours guests will wonder when you had the time to grill as well when you bring out the Roasted Herbed Baby Eggplants

If you still have some honey left over, try Fruit Salad with Honey-Lime Dressing.

I lied. This Apple Caramel Cake is not in the easy category, but you will have so much free time left over after making the above recipes that you will have no problem making this.

Bwahahahahah! Okay ... so you don't have any of this thing called free time. Get someone to bring a honey cake ... or make this parve chocolate cake instead -- no mixer needed!

L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu! May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for a good year.

Honey-Mustard Chicken - Easy

2011-09-27T14:43:00.000-04:00

I made this recipe so long ago that I can't remember anything to blog about. But it's easy enough for a weeknight dinner, yet elegant and special enough to serve for Rosh HaShana.

Honey-Mustard Chicken - Easy
yield: 6servings

2 pkg. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (total of 6 breasts)
olive oil, for greasing
1/4 cup honey-mustard dressing

Preheat oven to 350F. Pound the chicken breasts to flatten and make even thickness.

Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Arrange breasts in a single layer. Brush honey-mustard dressing over the breasts. Try to brush more evenly that I did.

Bake breasts until golden brown, and when you cut into the middle of one the juices run clear and there is no pink remaining.

Individually plate the breasts. Serve hot with your favorite veggie or two Oh, yum!

Flanken with Wine and "Cream"

2011-09-27T14:25:00.000-04:00

I like traditional holiday dinners. The familiar smells and tastes of special meals served to special family. But sometimes I'm just chickened or brisketed out. So when I found The Pioneer Woman's recipe for short ribs, I almost plotzed with delight!

Flanken ... short ribs ... same difference. I thought each was a ribbon of ribs cut across the bones, about 4-5 or so little ribs in each length, as opposed to normal ribs, cut between each bone.
Until this week:

Lemme tell you, 2 per of these little things is just an h'ordeuvre. I think the butcher had a pile of tiny riblets to get rid himself of and had a bright idea to package and rename them. But since he was sold out of flanken, I bought 3 packages of this instead. The end result was still very good, as you will see in the photos later, but I think the presentation would be better with flanken ribs so flanken became the recipe name.

The original recipe roasts the mushrooms. I saw no reason to crank up the oven for one package of 'shrooms, so I sauteed them, similar to the way I made them for chicken marsala, except with just wine and a little pepper. The original cream, of course, had to go. I subbed with soy milk because that's all I had. If you have a better parve/vegan pseudo-cream, feel free to use it (just please let me know in the comments what you used so I can try it as well).

Serve optionally with rice. Which theHubby suggested just as we sat down to dinner.

Flanken with Wine and "Cream"
adapted from: The Pioneer Woman
Yield: 4 servings, 2 complete flanken ribs per person

8 flanken ribs (also known as short ribs)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (optional)
3/4 tsp. coarsely ground pepper, divided
3 Tbl.olive oil, divided
1 1/2 cup Marsala (or your favorite red) wine, divided
3 cups beef broth
2 large sprigs rosemary
2 Tbl. mustard (coarsely ground style)
1 cup soy milk
2 Tbl. capers
1 package (10-12 oz.) mushrooms (white or baby bella)

12 small rosemary sprigs for garnish (optional)
Cooked rice, enough for your family (optional)

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large heavy pot over high heat. Sprinkle flanken ribs on each side with salt (if desired) and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Sear ribs about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a covered dish; keep warm.

Remove leaves from rosemary stem; finely chop or scissor the rosemary, then add to the pot along with 1 cup wine and beef broth. Stir to combine over medium-high heat, scraping along the bottom to deglaze (brings up all those yucky-looking but delicious browned bits).

When broth mixture begins to boil, return flanken to the pot, reduce heat to low, then cover and keep at a bare simmer for 2 1/2 hours (boiling will make the meat tough).

Towards the end of the long simmer, the meat should be falling off the bone.

Remove flanken ribs to a clean covered dish. Stir in mustard, soy milk, and capers, then raise the heat and gently boil for 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened slightly to your liking. Return ribs to sauce; cover and shut off heat (but leave on burner) for a few minutes to finish the cooking by residual heat while you make the mushroom.

Cut the mushrooms into quarters. Add remaining olive oil to a small saute pan. Heat over medium-high heat, then add mushrooms (pan will look too full).

Carefully stir; after 5 minutes the mushroom will begin to shrink as they give up their liquid. Continue to stir frequently until the liquid evaporates, another 5-8 minutes.

When all the liquid is gone, add the remaining wine, sprinkle with remaining pepper, and continue stirring frequently for a few minutes until all the wine is absorbed. Remove from heat.

Place 2 flanken ribs on each plate. Divide mushrooms evenly over ribs. Garnish with rosemary sprigs, if desired. Optionally serve with rice.

Table Decorations - Easy

2011-09-12T20:46:00.002-04:00

I'm going to be a little busy this week since theDaugher is getting married this weekend, so this post, also the last of my shower picnic posts, will be a bit wordy.

As part of the shower festivities, the bridesmaids thought it would be a great idea to have all the attendees help make picnic decorations. But due to talents of varying degrees ranging from Martha Stewart-esque all the way down to those who tend to get more glue on their hands than on the projects and/or hurt themselves with anything sharp, I had my ~~glued~~ hands full looking for something simple.

Something where the materials are easily transportable..

Something that didn't require any glue. Scissors would still be okay ... theDaughter owned a few blunt-end scissors that couldn't hurt me much.

Something that didn't require any sewing.

I went looking through a library book of origami projects. I pride myself as a good origami-er since I have been banging out cranes AND fortune tellers (aka cootie-catchers) since my girl scout days, so basic origami vase covers seemed like a really good idea ... right up until I actually tried to make one.

Let's just say that a simple paper vase is way out of my league. :P

There was an easy project on (speaking of) Martha's site. Take a square of cloth, pull up corners around a plant, then tie everything in place with twine. Rustic, yet very cute and easy!

So the 'maids emailed the attendees to each bring a clean, emply soup or veggie can "for a fun project." Even theDaughter didn't know what was up. Tee-hee!

While I was figuring out how to pay for a pile of fabric or colorful handkerchiefs (no scissors even!), hoping the local dollar store carried something appropriate, one of the 'maids mentioned that she kept the excess fabric from when she had her dress cut down to size, at least enough for 15 vases. The other 'maids thought this was a brilliant idea!

I really wasn't sure there was really enough for that many vases (she wasn't that short), but at least I was saving mucho bucks. Turned out she wasn't exaggerating. With all the ruching (gathered fabric) on the dress, she had massive yards of 6 inch width fabric for us to use.

Since another 'maid was allergic to real flowers (which should make for an interesting walk down the aisle, but I digress), I made the executive decision to pick up artificial flowers at said local dollar store along with something to secure the fabric. Since we were already picking up paper goods in bright green (the closest we could get to one of the wedding colors), we purchased green curling ribbon.

Table Decorations
Yield: depends upon number and size of cans

Clean empty vegetable or soup cans
Fabric, in color of your choice
Curling ribbon in a contrasting color (or twine for a more rustic look)
Glue (optional)
Fake or real flowers
Anything on the ground to add to the flowers (optional)

Measure out length of fabric needed. Wrap fabric around each can, allowing for some overlap, then cut fabric.

Rewrap fabric around can, bottom end of fabric even with bottom of can. If fabric is taller than can, it will be dealt with later.

Tying one on

Wrap the ribbon or twine around and around, around half-way up can. Tie a bow, then leave ends long to hang decoratively. (Note to future self -- don't expect dollar store curling ribbon to, ya know, actually curl).

Fold any excess fabric over top into can. It should hold by itself. If you are not at a park, you can optionally glue excess fabric inside can-turned-vase.

The bride's vase

Cut or fold flower stems to fit vase. (Another note -- artificial flower stems are made of metal rods that could hold up a skyscraper; next time have a wire cutter handy).

Place flowers in vase. It's almost impossible to see here, but the fabric on this vase mimicked the ruching on the 'maid's dresses.

Awesome view overlooking harbor as well

If outdoors, optionally add anything on the ground that would look awesome next to flowers

As long as we had an extra can, we turned it into a cutlery holder.

Cheddar-carrot tea sandwiches with pesto

2011-09-08T21:33:00.004-04:00

I was perusing the intertubes one day and came upon a cheddar and pesto sandwich, which looked quite tasty. Not sure why I added carrot, except that a bag o'shredded carrot was "aging" in front of the cheddar. But it still needed something added because it was a bit dry.

Mayo! Eureka! Now I had an alternative for the veggies attending the shower picnic. You know, the picnic I have only mentioned once ... in every post ... for at least a week. Anyway, one of the picnic invitees needed an egg-free alternative. No biggie -- for her I replaced the mayo with some of the hummus I conveniently had on hand for the crudite dip.

This sandwich was a hit, even for the meat-eaters! Only 3 of the massive quantities (12) of petite triangles were left by dessert time.

Like several other picnic items, I used a ready-made product to speed up assembly, and this recipe is no exception -- purchased pesto. Whether your pesto is homemade or pre-made, this sandwich is a keeper.

Cheddar-carrot tea sandwiches with pesto
Yield: 4 servings (2 triangle quarters per person) as part of a tea or picnic, or 2 servings (4 quarters per person) as lunch

4 slices bread, white, whole wheat or a combination
4 ozs. cheddar cheese
3/4 packed cup shredded carrots
2 Tbl. pesto (ready-made okay)
2 Tbl. mayo (or hummus)

Spread pesto onto 2 of the bread slices.

Cut thin slices from the cheddar (the exact number will depend upon the size of the slices).

Top each pesto-covered bread slice with enough cheddar slices to cover to pesto. Follow with a small handful, (about 1/4 cup) of shredded carrots.

Spread mayo or hummus onto remaining bread slices and place on top of carrots.

For a tea or buffet, trim off edges, then cut each sandwich crossways into 4 small triangles. If you are serving immediately, separate and arrange triangles decoratively. If you are traveling, wrap sandwiches securely and keep cool until ready to serve.

Curried Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches

2011-09-07T23:04:00.003-04:00

A few posts ago, I mentioned attending afternoon tea with theDaughter and her bridesmaids as part of her wedding shower weekend. Among the way-too-many-items for us to ~~devour~~ nibble daintily was a curried chicken salad, served on a microscopic raisin bread round. Topped with a few drops of fruit preserves and a nut half, it was as cute as a button ... and almost as miniscule.

It looked like a pretty easy-ish thing to recreate at home. So I did. I think. Here's the Real Thing, centered between the egg salad and the lox, excuse me, smoked salmon:

... and here's my clone:

If you squint, the resemblance is frightening.

I finely diced the chicken because it was easier for me ... and because I don't have a working fleishig (meat) food processor. But to really duplicate the original, shred or process the cooked chicken. It'll taste the same, but look and mouth-feel fancier-schmancier.

Since it is, after all, curried chicken salad, I logically figured that curry would be the main spice (hey, I didn't go learnin' at that 'spensive college for nutin'). Probably also a little coriander and the usual salt and pepper as well.

As for the preserves, I mind-processed the following (stay with me here):

Curried food is from India.
England used to "own" India.
England invented the afternoon tea. Therefore, the preserves used must be Major Grey Chutney. Mango is the first ingredient; but if you already own a jar of peach preserves feel free to use that instead.

Regarding that big o'nut half gracing the original, I believe it is a walnut. But since I already had in my possession some pecans, I decided to go with that instead. Once again, use whatever you have handy ... your guests won't mind a bit.

Don't faint at the quantity of curry called for. Spices and flavors are usually kicked up a notch (or three) in order to capture flavor in a tiny bite. You can, instead, serve the chicken salad in regular-sized portions, with or without crust. In that case, cut back the amount of curry by a teaspoon or two.

By the way, why are rich people referred to as upper-crust when they are the ones who eat crustless sandwiches?

Curried Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches
Yield: 16 appetizer servings

1 chicken breast, cooked and chilled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
4 slices raisin-cinnamon bread
4 tsp. Major Grey's Chutney (or peach preserves)
16 pecan or walnut halves

Shred, process or finely chop chicken breast. Place in medium-sized bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise, curry, coriander, salt and pepper.

Stir curry mixture into the chicken until completely combined. If too dry, add another teaspoon of mayo. You want it to hold together without excess mayo oozing out.

Using a 1-1/2 inch biscuit cutter (or a small jar), cut out 4 rounds from each bread slice. Arrange on serving platter in a single layer.

Place a rounded tablespoon of chicken mixture on each slice. Top each with a 1/4 teaspoon of chutney, then gently press in a pecan half.

If not serving within an hour, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Remove from fridge about a half-hour before serving.