Deb's Delicacies - Shabbat and Chagim Menus and Ideas

The Search for Great Chocolate Bundt Cake

2011-08-08T08:32:00.003-04:00

The past few years, at the request of my special someone, my desserts have focused on chocolate. I've tried many recipes for chocolate pound cake and chocolate bundt cakes, but have never really been satisfied - until now. This shabbat I made an excellent, easy, naturally pareve chocolate bundt cake, which was annotated with weights, as well as measurements - HOORAH! I wish every recipe did that. Cooking is an art, baking is a science and requires accurate measurements to get consistent results. I'll write more about that later, but in the meanwhile

Deb's Chocolate Bundt Cake

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped as finely as you can

2.25 ounces dutched cocoa power (3/4 cup)

1 cup boiling water

2 cups packed brown sugar

8.75 ounces all purpose flour (1 3/4 cups)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or 1/2 vanilla 1/2 almond)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12 cup bundt pan with nonstick baking spray.

Put cocoa and chopped chocolate in bowl; pour boiling water over and let sit for 5 minutes. After five minutes, stir well until smooth. (note: Use real chocolate - not the baking bars that are more like chocolate flavored plastic)

Whisk together chocolate, sugar, eggs, vanilla and oil until very smooth; about two minute (can also be processed in food processor for one minute, but who wants to wash it!)

Sift flour, salt and baking soda. Add to chocolate mixture in two parts, whisking just until mixed. Most of the lumps should be gone, but do not overbeat.

Pour into prepared pan, bake 45 - 50 minutes, until cake test comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan ten minutes, then invert onto cooling rack.

Glaze or dust with confectioner sugar

enjoy!!!

Back to the Kitchen

2011-03-22T21:48:00.002-04:00

It's been a while. After many years of lots of entertaining and extensive meal planning, I needed a break; some time to consider interests and priorities. Please, don't think that since I'm posting again I've magically found the secrets to life. Nope. But I have begun to figure out that I should consider my action, and think about what I'm doing rather than operate on auto-pilot. And as much as I love cooking and entertaining, making one fewer side dish, or buying challah instead of making homemade in order to spend time with someone I love, is a better choice.

But this shabbat, this empty nester has the joy of cooking for a son home on school holiday and here's what we'll have

Friday Night

Homemade Challah

Chicken Soup with Noodles

Roast Chicken with Shallots

Roast Potatoes

Popcorn Cauliflower

Shabbat Lunch (with company)

Fettucine with Tomato Basil Crudo Salsa

Silver tip Teriyaki Roast

Honey Ginger chicken

Basmati Rice

Hot & spicy cabbage

Spinach Patties

Carrot Kugel

Mesclun Salad with Toasted Pecans

Surprise Cookies (mallomar-ish)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Meringues

Lemon Squares

And if I don't have time to make the challahs, or pecans don't get toasted so that there's less stress - that's ok!

Shabbat Shalom

Ironic Menu Planning

2010-09-05T10:11:00.006-04:00

You never know who or what will inspire you, and where the inspiration will take you...

A few weeks ago, when Rosh Hashana menus were far from my mind, a conversation at the Fairway kosher meat section with a man who regularly provides inspiration to so many people with his voice and spirit, gave me the inspiration to start planning for the holidays

We were talking recipes, and I told him about the grilled brisket that was this summer's "gotta have it"... He shared with me a recipe for a "meat" lasagna, using Morningstar crumbles - amused by the idea of making a "meat lasagna" for lunch one of the days of Rosh Hashana, I decided to continue the theme, and will be serving "crab" cakes for lunch the second day (my sister's recipe - I'll post it soon).

Never one to follow cooking recipes (versus baking recipes) very strictly, I combined the recipe Chazzan Yitzy sent me, with my regular spinach lasagna recipe, and took a little peek at the Ronzoni box recipe - to add a little authenticity -

Lasagna is a terrific holiday lunch meal - it reheats beautifully, and you can put it on the hotplate or in a low oven before you go to shul, have a tossed salad ready in the refrigerator, have the table set and when you get home from shul - IT'S ALL READY!!!! Considering how late lunch is after shul on Rosh Hashanah, after having received spiritual inspiration from Chazzan Yitzy (versus gustatory), this will be ready immediately and DELICIOUS!!!

Deb's "Meat" Lasagna

1 pound lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions

12 ounce bag Morningstar farm crumbles

2 jars good quality marinara sauce ( sometimes I make my own, but with a 3 day chag coming it was too much)

2 pounds part skim ricotta

1 pound mozzarella cheese - shredded

10 ounces package frozen spinach, defrosted - squeezed dry

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan

Stir crumbles into sauce. Combine well ricotta, 1/2 of the mozzarella, spinach and pepper. Ladle a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 pan. Lay down 3 or 4 noodles, overlapping slightly. Carefully spread half of cheese mixture in even layer over noodles. Sprinkle with 1/3 of remaining mozzarella cheese. Ladle over a generous amount of sauce. Place 3 or 4 more lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly. Carefully spread remaining cheese mixture. Sprinkle with another 1/3 of the mozzarella. Place 3 or 4 more lasagna noodles, overlapping slightly. Pour over remaining sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Bake about 1 hour.

Shavuot Confession

2010-05-11T14:31:00.002-04:00

Of the three major festivals, Shavuot is the least complicated to celebrate. No manic cleaning, no shlepping boxes, no building a hut and eating (or living) in the cold, and it only lasts two days. But from a cooking standpoint, Shavuot has never found it's way into my heart - I just don't do dairy!

An internet search for "passover recipes", will result in a trillion hits, but google Shavuot - and you'll get a trillion cheesecakes (and to tell the truth, cheesecake is cheesecake - it's all about the mix-ins)

But notwithstanding all my whining - I make terrific homemade blintzes, a killer oreo cheesecake and learned from a friend to make a phenomenal greek salad dressing.

This year, I'm hosting dinner the second night of shavuot and for once, rather than try to figure out a menu that's balanced, nutritious and delicious, I've decided to just have fun and make everyone's dairy favorites - and worry about calories and nutrition another time. So, my shavuot guests will be treated to the following:

Homemade Warm Cinnamon Challah - served with homemade strawberry whipped butter

Greek Salad

Spinach Lasagna

Cheese Blintzes

Macaroni & Cheese

Individual Mini Pizzas (with a topping bar - so I can make them for each person)

Oreo Cheesecake

Heath Bar Cookies

If they're not exhausted from all night learning the night before, they will be when they're done with this food!

Strawberry Spinach Salad - A Taste of Spring

2010-05-03T12:12:00.003-04:00

First course on Friday night is nearly always soup (and we all know the story why!). Shabbat lunch first courses run the gamut from meatballs to puff pastry things, or pasta, but when the weather warms up, I like to start the meal with a salad - gives people a few minutes to relax into the meal, but isn't overly filling.

This past shabbat I tried a new recipe - the seeds in the dressing, along with the toasted almonds gave a lovely crunch and the strawberries in the dressing had a tart, sweet, tangy flavor that woke up palates! Don't even bother to use a "fancier" vinegar - it will get lost!

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Dressing:

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablepoons grated shallot (use a microplane grater)

1/2 cup blanched slivered almonds - toasted

10 ounces baby spinach

12 ounces fresh strawberries, sliced

One day ahead of serving, put all dressing ingredients in cruet and shake well. Set aside to blend.

Immediately before serving, mix spinach, strawberries and almonds - shake dressing well, coat and toss!

Shabbat Menus

2010-04-30T09:45:00.002-04:00

Meals to make the the birthday celebration delicious! The lemon filled cake looks like it's going to be a real winner! Three layer lemon sponge filled with lemon curd and frosted with seven minute frosting - can't wait!!!!

Friday Night Dinner

Homemade Challah

Crispy Baked Wonton
Chicken Soup with Noodles

Roast Chicken
Teriyaki London Broil
Bok Choy Salad - Soy Sauce Green Beans
Roasted Potato Wedges - Corn Kugel

Lemon Filled Cake with Seafoam Frosting
Peanut Butter Brownies

Shabbat Lunch

Homemade Challah

Strawberry Spinach Salad
or Fruit Cup

Shnitzel - Adin Shnitzel Nuggets
Silver Tip Roast Beef
Oven Browned Potatoes
Israeli Salad - Bok Choy Salad
Peanut Butter Noodles
Carrot Kugel
GF Pasta - GF Corn Muffins

Frozen Chocolate Mousse Cake with GF "Oreo" Crust
GF Muddy Buddies - Oatmeal Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies - Peanut Butter Brownies

Deli Roll - Delicious!

2010-04-29T10:01:00.007-04:00

Though a bit more effort that a standard deli roll, a mashed potato deli roll is just delicious! The day before I planned to make the deli roll, I made mashed potatoes, but a little stiffer than usual didn't add salt - the deli meats were going to add the saltiness!

On a sheet of plastic wrap, cold mashed potatoes were rolled/patted into a rectangle, about a half inch thick. Mustard was lightly spread over the mashed potatoes, then thinly sliced deli meats layered on top - I used pastrami and salami - next time I'd use turkey and one other - it was a little too salty....

Using the plastic wrap, the potatoes/meat were wrapped up jelly-roll style

Next, a sheet of puff pastry was lightly rolled out so it was slightly larger than the potato/meat roll and rolled around the outside of the roll

The roll was then brushed with egg wash, sprinkled with sesame seeds and bake at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. I reheated it for shabbat lunch and it was delicious!

Cooking Class

2010-04-27T16:18:00.001-04:00

“MAKE YOUR SHABBAT/HOLIDAY SPECIAL” SERIES – Session 2

(Just in time for Shavuot)

NOT ONLY CHEESECAKE …

Baking Class

(for Adults & Teens)

with Debra Kamerman

Sunday May 16, 4:00-5:30 pm

Hebrew Institute of White Plains

20 Greenridge Avenue

White Plains, New York

Think you’ve got no time to bake?

Debra will also teach organization and time management skills to get it all done!

RSVP by May 10

For more information contact Meira Orentlicher

meiraoren@optonline.net or 831-7111

Deli Roll Dilemma

2010-04-13T14:08:00.002-04:00

Whether you make it with pizza dough, or puff pastry dough, deli roll is delicious. For the those of you who don't know, a deli roll is a rectangle of dough, spread with mustard, lined with different thinly sliced deli meats, rolled like a jelly roll and baked.

But...

More often than not, the dough that's rolled within the slices of meats doesn't really cook nicely - it stays soft, and I've had more than one occasion when it just seemed raw and sticky.

This week I'm going to try a different approach - I'll make stiff mashed potatoes - pat them into a rectangle shape, line with the sliced meat, roll, THEN cover with dough and bake...

I'll try to get pictures as I go along and let you know if it works!

Spinach Cheese Matzo Lasagna

2010-03-24T09:06:00.005-04:00

Published again! Click to find the article which includes Deb's Spinach Cheese Matzo Lasagna Recipe. I will make this ahead of time, and pop in the oven to warm before I leave for shul on Wednesday - yummmmm

Hope everyone's pesach planning, shopping and cleaning is going well!

Getting Organized for Pesach

2010-03-11T14:39:00.003-05:00

By planning the basics for all of your pesach meals ahead of time, you can get the shopping for all the staples in one trip.

This meal organizer will help you. It's what I used to create a framework for myself, making sure I wasn't duplicating too many dishes (other than matzah pizza), and from that framework, I can make shopping lists.

Spending a little time organizing before you go shopping will pay off!

Ban the Box!

2010-03-11T13:54:00.004-05:00

Last night I drove out to Monsey, dealt with horrible traffic on Route 59, and got a majority of my pesach shopping done.

You'll have to decide if it's fortunate or unfortunate, but I found no new "faux" products this year, along the lines of last year's "soy" sauce. Personally, I'm thrilled. While products like "soy" sauce, "noodles" and "pizza" mix certainly follow the letter of the law, they seem to detract from the spirit of pesach, which should be different than the rest of the year. Pesach can be an opportunity to detox your family from packaged goods and ridiculously expensive convenience foods that don't really save time, and add too much preservatives and junk to your diet.

This year, I bought only basic ingredients - matzoh meal, cake meal, potato starch, sugar, cocoa and bars of chocolate. OK, I'm not perfect, I bought two bags of potato chips too. I'm not suggesting that sweets have to be avoided, but is it really necessary to have 4 ounces of candy for $10!!!!

But with those basic ingredients and fresh fruits and vegetables, and nuts, you can have nutritious, palate pleasing foods that will cost less and be better for you that mixes.

It's 8 days! Embrace the differences and let those differences remind you why we were commanded to do this.

2010-03-11T13:54:00.001-05:00

Recipes by Request - Passover Mandelbrodt

2010-03-10T11:41:00.002-05:00

Different in texture and flavor than my regular mandelbrodt, but absolutely delicious!

Deb's Passover Mandelbrodt

1/2 cup oil

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups cake meal

6 tablespoons potato starch

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 cup mix-ins: any combination of raisins, chopped nuts, diced dried fruit

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients other than mix ins in large bowl of mixer. Beat until well combined. Mix in mix-ins. Spoon in long logs onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 45 minutes. While still hot, slice into 1/2 inch slices. Place cut side down on cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar. Bake an additional ten minutes.

Forget Lady Gaga - I'm Looking for my Passover Face!

2010-03-07T09:07:00.002-05:00

When pesach falls early (more about that later), I have a hard time gearing up for pesach, my favorite holiday. I need the seasonal visual cues to get excited about spring and passover approaching. We've had a tough snowy winter, and up until yesterday, I've found it impossible to find my "Pesach Face". Then - behold - the sun came out with a brightness that finally engaged my brain, and enough snow melted so that I could see the daffodil shoots sticking out of the ground - hallelujah!

After many years of making two seders, and more recently making only one seder, I've pretty much got the system down. The timing of the seders this year, and the fact that I'm hosting the second further simplifies things for me.

The first seder is Monday night. Most people will kasher their kitchens after shabbat, or on Sunday morning, but because I love to do a lot of baking for pesach, I always need a bit more time, so I will start kashering Wednesday night, finish Thursday night and by Friday after my half day of work, I will start cooking for pesach - I can do this because a wonderful friend (who won't kasher until Sunday) is having us for dinner Friday night, and we'll either go to the shul for the Shabbat HaGadol lunch, or have motzi on the porch, and eat a basic meal for shabbat lunch that is kosher l'pesach - after all, roast chicken and potatoes always work!

I will spend some time today finalizing my menus and starting lists -

As always - if you have any questions or need help, please comment or email.

Ladies & Gentlemen - start your engines!

Recipes By Request - Mandelbrodt

2010-03-07T08:38:00.003-05:00

Whether you call them biscotti, mandelbrodt, rusks or something else, they are delicious and satisfying treats. The "mix-ins" can be varied based on your mood or the contents of your pantry - and since mandelbrodt are dried out to begin with, they have a very long shelf life (assuming you can keep them on your shelf). I've been making the same recipe for mandelbrodt for many years. The mandelbrodt are light and crisp - not too dense, nor too crumbly - and have a coterie of devoted fans.

Deb's Mandelbrodt

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup mix ins - any combination of nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruits, raisins, craisins....

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat sugar and eggs until very light. Beat in oil, lemon juice and vanilla. Blend flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into egg mixture until well combined. Mix in "mix-ins".

Line two cookie sheet with parchment paper. Using half of dough on each cookie sheet, spoon dough into long strips. Bake 45 minutes. Immediately slice strips into 1/2 inch cookies. Place cookies cut side up back onto baking sheets, and put back into oven for 10 minutes to crisp up.

Recipes by Request - Broccoli Shiitake Kugel

2010-03-02T15:15:00.003-05:00

This is one of my favorite kugels... It's fresh tasting, good any temperature, light and can be made for pesach too!

Deb's Broccoli Shiitake Kugel

2 head broccoli

1 tablespoon oil

1 medium onion, diced fine

1 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and thinly sliced

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced

4 eggs

1/3 cup fine dry breadcrumbs (or matzoh meal)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut florets from broccoli. Peel stems and cut into small chunks. Boil broccoli florets and stems in salted water about 8 minutes, until just tender. Do not overcook. Drain well, and coarsely chop.

Heat the oil and saute the onions over medium heat until soft, but not browned. Add the mushrooms and cook and additional three minutes. Add mushroom mixture to broccoli. Add dill.

Lightly beat eggs and stir into vegetable mixture. Add breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. Spray either two 8 inch or one 9 x 13 pans with cooking spray, or lightly coat with oil. Fill with mixture. Bake about 40 minutes, until the kugel is firm when pressed in the center.

Chocolate Fudge Tart

2010-03-02T10:36:00.002-05:00

Deb's Chocolate Fudge Tart

1 1/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup margarine, cut into small chunks

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon ice water

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate

6 tablespoons margarine

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or substitute almond or orange)

Put flour and sugar in food processor and pulse once or twice to blend. Put margarine into food processor and pulse until the the mixture looks like course crumbs. Add egg yolk and ice water and pulse until dough forms moist clumps. Gather dough into ball, flatten into disk, cover with plastic wrap and chill at least one hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Press dough into 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom. Freeze 15 minutes. Prick dough all over with fork and bake 25 minutes.

While crust is baking, melt chocolate and margarine over double boiler. When melted, remove from heat and whisk in sugar and flour, then whisk in eggs one at a time and vanilla.

When crust comes out of oven, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees, pour filling into crust, and bake 20 minutes. Filling will still be soft in the center.

Barterers Unite!

2010-03-02T09:41:00.003-05:00

After extensive negotiations via a posting on facebook, this shabbat I will be bartering a deli roll for a dessert. We all love deli roll, but I never seem to get around to making it. One of my son's friend's mothers makes a phenomenal deli roll - and she loves my desserts, so it seems a natural! So rather than deciding on the desserts I will make for shabbat as an afterthought, I started my menu at the bottom of the page, by deciding what dessert I will be swapping for that deli roll. I wanted to give her a beautiful, delicious dessert, that was sufficiently easy to transport, but was more exciting than a batch of cookies - and I thought of the wonderful, rich chocolate fudge tart I make - so hopefully, the two fudge tarts I make this week will be enjoyed in two homes!

This shabbat we will have:

Homemade Challah

Chicken Soup with Kreplach and Noodles

Honey Mustard Chicken

Potato/Sweet Potato Torte

Saffron Rice

Broccoli Shiitake Kugel

Some kind of salad (I'll play it by ear, see what veggies look nice at the market)

Meringues (one of the guests favorites)

Chocolate Fudge Tart

Shabbat Lunch

Deli Roll

Israel Salad

Leftovers (of course!)

Pesach Posting to start next week!

Shabbat Shalom

Reese's Frozen Mousse Pie

2010-02-19T15:24:00.003-05:00

I wanted to make frozen chocolate mousse pie.

My son wanted frozen peanut butter mousse cake.

Solution: Frozen Reese's Pie!

A half recipe of Frozen Chocolate Mousse Cake

Either with that crust or a graham cracker crust (8 graham crackers, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup margarine - bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes)

Then beat another 4 ounces of pareve whip and when stiff, beat in 1/2 cup peanut butter - use to top the chocolate mousse and decorate with chocolate curls or shaved chocolate.

Trying Something New - Follow Up

2010-02-19T09:10:00.003-05:00

I made the Teriyaki Short Ribs last night - followed the recipe through the first cooking, except left out the lemongrass -

The little taste I took was amazing!!! I refrigerated the unstrained sauce and ribs separately, and the beef fat is now solid on top of the sauce, so I'll be able to easily lift it off, reduce, strain and enhance the sauce and have an incredible dish!

Worth it!!!!

Shabbat Shalom

Deb

Trying Something New

2010-02-18T10:48:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, life gets in the way of living and obligations take precedence over desires. That's what's been going on with me lately. I've been embroiled in day to day life, keeping the balls juggling in the air, trying very hard not to let too many drop. The only way I could manage all the extra balls that have been thrown my way lately is find one or two to drop- and one big one that I had to drop was entertaining. The past few Shabbatot have been quiet and guest free, which keeps me from my favorite pastime of hostessing, but is good in that affords me extra time to get everything else done. It also allows me to play with new recipes.

Last night I look in the freezer for a little inspiration, and found a package of flanken short ribs I picked up last month at Costco (by the way, kudos to them for the extensive, reasonably priced kosher meats!). In an attempt to satisfy the tastebuds of all who will be eating Friday night, I searched for a recipe with an asian flair - tonight I will make this recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/asian-style-braised-short-ribs-recipe/index.html

and this week's menu will be:

Friday Night Dinner

Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup

Asian Style Braised Short Ribs

Rotisserie Chicken - (my new mini oven has a rotisserie - I've been meaning to test it)

Rice Pilaf

Corn Kugel

Stir Fried Vegetables

Hamentashen (it's close enough!)

Chocolate Puff Pastry Rugelach

Shabbat Lunch

Leftovers from Friday night

Chulent

Cold Cut Sandwiches

Asian Cole Slaw

Shabbat shalom to all -

Menus for a Snowy Shabbat

2010-02-03T15:18:00.002-05:00

Excellent news! There's a major storm predicted for the New York area for this Shabbat! As much as kids prefer a snowstorm in the middle of the week, I prefer a Shabbat storm. Reason 1: my commute to work is only a half mile, so I'm expected to show up no matter what the weather. Reason 2: If the storm is so bad that my office is closed and I'm stuck at home, my hyperactive nature kicks into "project" mode - and I try to get through a ton of items from my ever expanding to do list. But, if Shabbat brings a snowstorm (preferably starting just as my Friday night guests return home), it makes my nice, warm house feel like a cocoon, and my inner-nag is quieted by snowy Shabbat peace.

Having just finished chairing my son's school's fundraising dinner, being about to start baking 1000 hamentashen for the shul (besides all the baking for my personal mishloach manot), and co-chairing the shul's fundraising dinner right before pesach, I had already been looking forward to a quiet, peaceful Shabbat - the only invited guests were those that fell into the "more like family than friends" category. Add that to the snow, two novels from the library, someone to snuggle with, and I'm in heaven!

Now, to plan menus that match the weather and mood, take into account that I still need to lose my vacation weight gain yet still make everyone else happy....

Friday Night Dinner

Deb's Challah

Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls

Ruth's Brisket

Honey Lemon Roasted Chicken with Roasted Root Vegetables

Cranberry Kugel

Popcorn Cauliflower

Braised Red Cabbage

Tossed Salad

Shabbat Lunch

Warm chicken and brisket sandwiches

Chulent

Israeli Salad

Desserts:

Lemon Bars, Oatmeal Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cookies (already in the freezer)

Desserts will be the beginning of "clear it out before pesach" - I have several batches of cookies and a bundt cake in the freezer.

I can't wait to wake up Shabbat morning to the snow softly falling, the chulent hot and bubbling, the newspapers and books calling, and naps for all!

Shabbat Shalom!

Deb

Hamentashen Recipe

2010-01-28T10:55:00.002-05:00

Last year, my shul chose "Home Made" as its theme for the Mishloach Manot baskets. Several of the "known bakers" (including me) were asked to contribute their time and effort. I assume based on taste (though it could just be that I was the only one who was willing) , my assignment was hamentashen - 900 of them! And though this year's theme is "Healthy Eating", I was asked to include my hamentashen again - only this year it's 1000 of them....

Wish me luck! After the dough is made, I can produce about 60 per hour - you do the math.

Deb’s Hamentashen

1 stick margarine

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

½ teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Jam or preserves

In an electric mixer, cream margarine and sugar at medium speed until well blended, about three minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Blend into margarine mixture until fully incorporated. Refrigerate dough at least one hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove dough from refrigerator and divide into three portions. Work with one portion of dough at a time leaving others in the refrigerator. Roll dough to ¼ inch thickness on a well floured board. Cut 2 to 2 ½ inch circles with a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter or glass. Place a spoonful of jam in the center of each circle and pinch up into triangles. Dough scraps can be rerolled.

Place hamentashen on cookie sheet, leaving room for expansion. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until just turning golden.

Makes about three dozen.

Recipe by Request - Hot and Spicy Cabbage

2010-01-11T12:17:00.002-05:00

This past shabbat's Friday night dinner was a wonderful meal - great friends, great food, and because of good organization, a simple clean up too - even with 15 people at the table.

The three new recipes I tried were all great successes (I know, my "rule" is to limit to one new recipe, but I made so many dishes, I figured I was safe). The new dishes (to be posted soon) were the honey lemon chicken, roasted squash and parsnips and peanut butter brownies.

But the requested recipe was for Hot & Spicy Cabbage - a simple, and delicious side dish/salad that can be served hot, room temperature or cold - can be made fresh or the day before - what more could you want from a recipe?!

Hot and Spicy Cabbage

3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 small onions, thinly sliced

8 ounces savoy cabbage, cut into thin shreds (about 1/2 head

4 carrots, thickly grated

1 teaspoon kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper (more ore less to taste)

juice of half lemon

In large pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add crushed red pepper and cumin seeds and stir for 15 seconds. Add onion, sprinkle with some of the salt and saute about one minute. Add the cabbage and carrots by handfuls, sprinkling with the rest of the salt, continually stirring and adding the vegetables. Once all the vegetables have been added, stir over heat until just wilted.

Remove vegetables from heat, add a few (or more) grinds of fresh black pepper, squeeze in the lemon juice, stir well and either serve, or serve at room temperature or cold the next day!

Makes about 8 servings

Note: Don't try to double this recipe - make two separate batches. The veggies won't cook quickly enough if there is too much in the pan.

Menu for a crowd

2010-01-05T09:54:00.003-05:00

Usually when I invite people for Shabbat dinner, some say yes and some say no. Sometimes I invite people for Shabbat dinner, and no one accepts. Then there are the weeks that everyone says yes, and my son decides to invite his friends to stay for Shabbat too! Those weeks require a little extra effort, a lot of organization, and end up both challenging and terrific fun! This is such a week, and I'm expecting somewhere between 14 and 18 people for Friday night dinner (we'll ignore the fact that my table only seats 16 - the teenagers will be more than happy to be relegated to the kitchen).

That large a crowd inspires me to make a few extra dishes, but I choose the dishes based not only on making delicious food that works well together and will look nice on the table, but specifically look for the ones that are easier and less time consuming recipes. (It also helped that I had cooked a brisket last week "for the freezer")

So this shabbat, we will be having:

Friday Night Menu

Homemade Challah

Chicken Soup with Noodles

Brisket

Honey Glazed Lemon Roast Chicken

Mesclun Salad with Honeyed Pecans and Balsamic Dressing

Hot and Spicy Cabbage

Spinach Patties Maple Syrup

Glazed Winter Squash and Parsnips

Roasted Red Potatoes

Basmati Rice

Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts

Oatmeal Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Truffles (tried to make them pareve - they're ok, but dairy is better!)

Chocolate Layer Cake with Seafoam Frosting

Shabbat Lunch

Challah

Chulent

Cold Cuts

Israeli Salad

Leftovers!

By doing a bit each night, it all gets done -

If you are curious to see my "to do" lists, send me an email...

Deb

Friday Night Menu - Fill in the blank

2010-01-03T09:07:00.002-05:00

I've received many requests to post menus - but in following the adage "if you give a man a fish, he has one meal, but if you teach him to fish.....", instead, this menu is my structure for a Friday night meal when I have a lot of company. When it's just family for shabbat, or one invited family, my menus can be more creative, but when the table is set for sixteen, it's best to stick with the basic structure, so that quantities and varieties are not an issue.

First Course:

Either: Salad with an added "fancy" or soup

Main Course:

Beef main dish

Chicken main dish

Sides:

Potato

Rice or Noodle

Hot Vegetable

Cold Vegetable or Salad

Dessert:

One "fancy" dessert

one cookie or smaller dessert

(one should be chocolate, one non-chocolate)

I follow this structure and there's always enough for each individual, no matter their eating idiosyncrasies.

When you're filling in the blanks, consider the colors of the foods, and the "strengths" of the flavors. Make sure to find something green or bright - not all beige foods (roast chicken, roast potatoes and eggplant salad will not really look great....) and making everything either super spicy or bland will also be boring for your guests!

As always, feel free to email with any questions!

Challah - FINAL POST!

2009-12-28T11:47:00.004-05:00

I got it. A little reading, a little tinkering and this shabbat's result elicited the comment "you got it, Mom!". That's about the highest praise I can receive.

We were happy with the taste of the recipe after my last adjustment, but the outer consistency was still a problem. As far as we're concerned, crusty is not a description for challah that we want to eat. So in an attempt to alleviate the overdone bottom problem, I put a pan of hot water under the baking challahs - and voila!

This recipe is simple, requires less than half an hour of "working" time, and if you think putting a home made meal in front of your family is satisfying, just see how satisfying it is to say "hamotzi" on challahs you've baked yourself.

Deb’s Challah

1 kilo (2.2 pounds) flour

2 Tablespoons active dry yeast

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

½ cup oil

¼ cup honey

2 cups warm (about 100 degrees) water

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a mixer, with the dough hook attached. Start the mixer on the lowest speed, and once all of the flour has been incorporated, turn it up to medium high speed and let the mixer go for ten minutes.

Put the prepared dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. The dough will be quite sticky. Place in a warm place (the counter near the pot of chicken soup lightly bubbling on the stove is an ideal spot) and let rise until doubled in bulk - about two hours. Lightly press down and let rise again for about an hour. Lightly press down again, then divide the dough into 3 or 4 equal portions, depending on whether you want 3 large or 4 medium challahs. Divide each portion into 3 portions, shape each into a long snake and braid.

Set shaped challahs onto parchment paper lined baking sheets, cover with a clean dish towel and let rise one more hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put a large jelly roll pan on the lowest baking rack and fill with boiling water once it's on the rack.

Brush challahs with beaten egg, and, if desired, sprinkle with poppy seeds, sesame seeds or salt.

Bake 30 minutes.

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

2009-12-17T11:14:00.002-05:00

I got a big "thumbs up" from my favorite celiac when I used this recipe to make dreidel shaped sugar cookies sprinkled with beautiful blue sugar for a family chanukah party. The dough was easy to roll, and the cookies tasted great.

GF Sugar Cookies

2/3 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

4 teaspoons milk (or GF pareve milk substitute)

2 cups GF flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

Cream together shortening, sugar and vanilla on medium speed for three minutes. Beat in egg and milk for one minute. Stir together flour, salt and xanthan gum. Stir into creamed mixture. Chill dough for one hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll dough about 1/4 inch thick (not too thin!). Use a little GF flour on rolling pin if needed. Cut with cookie cutters, decorate with sugar or sprinkles if desired. Bake 6 - 8 minutes.

Cool on rack.

Enjoy!

Fear of Frying

2009-12-04T10:09:00.001-05:00

How many times have you eaten a soggy, mushy latke? Or one that was burnt on the outside and raw on the inside? Or heated up frozen latkes because the idea of frying was just too much for you? Well, I can assure you that frying is not difficult, need not be messy, and once you’ve mastered it, you will never reach for a bag of Kineret latkes again.

Successful latke frying is not a secret, and will work if you follow these basic rules:

Quantity of Oil: There should be about three-quarters of an inch of oil in your frying pan. Really. Take a ruler and see how deep that is. If you fry at the correct temperature (keep reading), you will find that most of the oil will still be in the pan when you’re done. The oil should be deep enough to cook the entire bottom of the latke.

Temperature: If the oil is not hot enough, the latke batter will soak up lots of oil while frying but if the oil is too hot, the outside of the latkes will start to burn before the inside has had a chance to cook through. So how do you know if it’s hot enough? Test it! Generally, the burner should be on medium high, and you should give the oil sufficient time to heat up (about five minutes). When the surface of the oil starts to shimmer and seems to be sliding around, start testing.

Testing: Start testing by dropping one teaspoon of latke batter in the oil. The oil should bubble up around it, and the latke should seem to be nearly floating in the oil. The bottom should be browned in about four minutes, then flip and cook the other side, which should take three more minutes. If the test latke looks burnt, lower the heat, wait a few minutes for the oil to cool down a bit and test again. If the latke never browns well, turn the heat up a bit, wait a few minutes and test again.

Forming the Latkes: For each latke, stir the latke batter, and using a rounded serving spoon, scoop up some batter, lightly tap the spoon on the side of the bowl to compress the batter, and slide the “formed” latke into the oil. Don’t drop the batter into the oil!

Several latkes can be fried at the same time, but don’t overcrowd the pan; leave at least an inch in between the latkes as they’re frying. Don’t press on, push around, or otherwise disturb the latke until the edges look golden brown. Once the sides look golden brown, gently flip the latke. Using both a spatula and tongs will make it easier. Place the cooked latkes on paper towels to drain for a minute, and then put in a single layer in a 300 degree oven to keep warm (if they’re not eaten immediately). Once one batch is done, give the oil 30 seconds to reheat before starting again, and always start the next batch by stirring the batter.

Deb’s Latkes

2 1/2 pounds russet potatoes

1 small onions (or a larger one, to taste)

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

3 eggs

1/3 cup matzoh meal or potato starch

Oil

Cheesecloth or thin tea towel

In large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Peel or scrub potatoes and cut into quarters. Trim and peel onions and cut into quarters. With shredding blade of food processor, shred potatoes and onions. Using doubled layer of cheesecloth or tea towel, squeeze excess water out of potatoes/onions a few handfuls at a time. Add 2/3 of shredded potatoes/onions to eggs. Put the remaining 1/3 of the shredded potatoes/onions back into the food processor with the chopping blade and pulse a few times to lightly chop the potatoes. Add to the bowl with the eggs. Stir well. Add the salt, pepper and matzoh meal or potato starch. Allow to sit 15 minutes before frying.

Note: This recipe doubles well, but after frying the first half, start with fresh oil for frying.

Thanksgiving Wrap Up - Part 1

2009-11-27T06:34:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving was just lovely. Notwithstanding having to get up at 7 to start cooking, my time line worked perfectly (discussions about time lines to follow in later posts), and we sat down to a beautiful meal nearly on time - the oven roasted turkey took a bit longer than we thought, but the mini hot dogs kept people happy while waiting.

The grilled turkey was a bit of a challenge to start off. I used a drip pan as suggested, which caught fire from the grease drippings, so I took it out. What I finally found worked was to have indirect heat. The two outside burners were on medium, and the turkey was in the middle. The edges of the wings got a little overdone, but the skin was crisp, deep brown, slightly charred and the meat was moist and delicious. The grilled turkey is in the second and third pictures.

The last picture is of the oven roasted turkey, which came out perfectly!

I bought myself a gift this year - a small countertop oven. It's much bigger than a toaster, but neither so huge that there isn't room, nor so heavy, that I can't store it in the basement if I want, and that made preparation so much easier! With the turkey taking up most of the oven, all of the side dishes either had to be made on the stove, or made ahead and reheated once the turkey comes out of the oven.

Next week I will write about quantities, leftovers and timelines... For now, I'm going downstairs to put up chicken soup for a nice, quiet shabbat dinner - I'm making a simple meal to follow up the Thanksgiving excess - and will save the thanksgiving leftovers for a yummy shabbat lunch.

Shabbat Shalom and happy leftovers to all!

Thanksgiving Menu 2009

2009-11-17T10:34:00.002-05:00

Menus are not created in a vacuum. A holiday's menu is prepared by starting with menus with their notes from prior years, as well as all the notes hints, ideas and links I collect throughout the year. And though each holiday has it's required, traditional dishes, I always like to add one or two new dishes to keep it interesting. And just as I am always learning new recipes and techniques in the kitchen, I am also learning more about blogging.... please note that several of the dishes below have links to their recipes.

Enjoy and be thankful!

Portabella Mushroom Soup or Butternut Squash Soup served with

Corn Squash Muffins

Roasted Turkey õ Gravy

Barbequed Turkey

Sweet and Sour Tongue

Roasted Autumn Vegetables Vegetables õ Chestnut Stuffing

Grandma’s Sweet Potatoes õ Mashed Potatoes

Arugula Salad with Pomegranate and Toasted Walnuts

Harvest Bread

Cranberry Sauce õ Pickles and Olives

And they were all happy! Teriyaki Meatball Success

2009-11-15T17:28:00.006-05:00

Well readers, the title of this post says it all. Combining a few recipes and my own taste buds produced a batch of meatballs that are going to become a new standard! They're easy, you likely have the ingredients in your kitchen and everyone will love them!

Teriyaki Meatballs

1/3 cups Soy sauce

4 tbsp Sugar

1/3 cups water

1 Small onion, grated

1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated

2 lbs ground beef

2 cups Breadcrumbs

1 cups Brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 cups water

2 cups ketchup

1/3 cups White Vinegar

1/2 cups Soy sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine soy sauce, sugar, water, grated onion, and grated ginger. Allow to sit for 10 minutes. Combine with beef and bread crumbs. Roll into walnut sized meatballs.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in frying pan. Lightly brown meatballs.

Combine brown sugar, water, ketchup, vinegar and soy sauce. Pour over meatballs and bake about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice or noodles, or terrific as a first course.

Makes about 60 meatballs.

Shabbat Lunch - Aiming to please everyone

2009-11-12T10:41:00.002-05:00

There's an email joke that pops up in my inbox few months..

If, according to the Jewish calendar, the year is 5764, and, according to the Chinese calendar, the year is 5724, what did the Jews eat for forty years?

I'm not sure why, but Jews stereotypically love Chinese food. And stereotypes notwithstanding, the Jews I feed on a regular basis really love Chinese food, whether authentic from a restaurant or my homemade vaguely Asian inspired recipes.

This week I only need to prepare Shabbat lunch at home, though from an earlier post youknow I'm preparing Shabbat dinner for 100 at the shul. Because I will be in the shul kitchen most of the day Friday, and Shabbat is so early, I need to prep all the food for Shabbat tonight - and I'm not in a fancy mood. As I was considering a menu this morning, the wind was howling, the sky was grey and I only wanted to think of foods that we would find comforting. Then I thought of a recipe I saw earlier this week on kosher.com - Teriyaki Meatballs - and from that start, a menu came to life.

By the way, unless I have a lot of company for lunch, I've found it's much more enjoyable to do without a first course. By putting a wide variety of foods on the table, people can help themselves, there's no bouncing up and down after kiddush and motzi, and there's also less to clean up!

Shabbat Lunch

Teriyaki Meatballs

Soy Sauce Chicken

Jasmine Rice

Sauteed Mixed Vegetables

Sesame Eggplant Salad

Edamame with Dipping Sauce

Dessert will NOT be Asian inspired, but simply what the season is screaming "Apple Pie" and, as always, some kind of chocolate cookies.

Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbat Dinner for 100

2009-11-10T09:26:00.004-05:00

There's an old saying "If you want something done, ask a busy person" - which seems to be a saying about me. From my standpoint though, it's great that I can keep up with everything, that people know they can rely on me, and that my schedule stays busy. Relaxing is NOT my favorite activity (though with recent help, I'm learning).

To that end, in addition to chairing the high school dinner in January, co-chairing the shul dinner in March, hosting Thanksgiving (as a group effort), and taking one small trip in December and one long trip in January, I agreed to run a Friday night dinner at the shul. And being just a bit compulsive, I decided to help the shul out by preparing the appetizer, dessert and kid's meals to save money. The main course and side dishes are being delivered by Main Event (Thanks HannahLee!). So this is the menu for this Friday Night:

Appetizer:

Family Style on each table: Hummos, Pita, Pickles and Olives

Plated at each seat:

Mesclun Salad with Cranberries and Glazed Nuts with Vidalia Dressing

Served with one toast with Smoked Salmon and one toast with Bruschetta

Main Course:

Served Buffet Style

Fried chicken

Honey Orange Roasted Chicken

Yellow Rice Pilaf

Herb Roasted Potatoes

Melange of Steamed Vegetables

Dessert:

Brownies, Chocolate Chip Bars, Meringues

Kids:

Pasta with Sauce

Chicken Nuggets

French Fries

Steamed Broccoli

I hope all will enjoy - I baked the brownies and chocolate chip bars last night - great for building arm strength - I stirred and octet batch (that's 8!) of brownies, then a quadruple batch of chocolate chips. The meringues I'll bake fresh on Friday morning.

Shabbat Shalom!

Challah - Nearly got it!

2009-11-09T16:17:00.002-05:00

With many thanks to my reader Debbie, who commented on one of my challah posts with her Challah recipe, I made challah last week that came out great, and was just as simple as anything I'd tried earlier. I tweaked her recipe just a bit and will tweak the recipe one more time and make it a bit sweeter (my personal preference), but it was just terrific! I shaped the dough into two huge challahs, and a gang of teenagers ate 1 3/4 of them Friday night in addition to Chicken Soup, Roast Beef, etc etc etc

Deb’s Challah

1 kilo bread flour

2 tablespoons dried yeast,

3/4 c. sugar

1 tablespoon salt

3 eggs

2 cups warm water

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup honey

In mixer bowl, mix dry ingredients. Using dough hook, add eggs, water, oil and honey; blend well till smooth dough forms. Knead in mixer five minutes.

Turn dough into oiled bowl and turn over. Cover with clean dishcloth. Put in a warm spot in the kitchen and let rise four hours. Punch down, and let rise one hour. Punch down, shape into 2 large, 3 medium or 4 small challahs. Let rise one hour.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush challahs with egg wash, sprinkle with seeds.

Bake for 25-30 minutes till golden brown.

Chestnut Stuffing - with variations!

2009-11-05T09:27:00.002-05:00

Oh the questions! In the turkey? Outside the turkey? Stuffing? Dressing? Eggs? Sweet? Savory? The debate goes on and on! Stuffing is a dish that can be prepared an infinite number of ways, and for every recipe there are infinite variations.

Several years ago, I came across a recipe for stuffing to be made in a crockpot - that variation was new to me - and having been planning on serving fairly early in the day, having only one oven, and not being a fan of actually stuffing the turkey, I tried it - with much success! Over the years I have varied the "add-ins". The original recipe calls for mushrooms, but I have added crumbled cooked chestnuts, dried cranberries and combinations all with great success, as the basic recipe is terrific!

Deb's Crockpot Stuffing

1/4 cup oil

2 medium onions, diced

1 cup diced celery

12 ounces mushrooms, sliced

2/3 cup chopped parsley

2 teaspoons dried sage

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1 teaspoon dried thyme

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 package chestnuts, crumbled

1 1/4 cups broth

2 large egg

1 challah, torn in pieces, left out overnight to dry

Saute onions and celery in oil over medium heat until translucent, and just starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes. If using, add mushrooms and cook until all liquid evaporates. Lower heat and add parsley, sage, poultry seasoning, thyme, salt, pepper and chestnuts.

Put challah into crockpot. Stir in vegetable mixture. Whisk together broth and eggs and pour over challah/vegetable mixture and stir well.

Cook on high 1 hour then reduce heat to low for at least 4 hours - though it can stay in without drying out for up to 6 hours.

Corn Squash Muffins

2009-11-03T10:32:00.002-05:00

Last Shabbat, I tried out several new recipes - among them was Corn Squash Muffins. I accidentally bought the wrong ingredient, played with the recipe to compensate and came out with phenomenal results. Not only were the muffins moist, and not too heavy, when reheated for shabbat lunch, they got crisp and crunch on the outside and stayed moist and creamy on the inside -

There muffins will definitely be on my Thanksgiving table - and will be a frequent shabbat addition as well.

Corn Squash Muffins

1 cup cornmeal

1 1/4 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

1 12 ounce packages Southland prepared butternut squash (o-u pareve)

2 eggs

1 cup soy or almond milk (I love the Almond Breeze original unsweetened)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease (vegetable oil spray works) 18 medium or 12 large muffin cups. Stir together cornmeal, flour, sugar and baking powder in large bowl. Stir together squash, eggs, soy milk and oil until well blended. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Put batter into prepared muffins cups - bake 1/2 hour.

If baking ahead and you like them moist, leave in muffin cups to reheat. If you crisper sides and edges, allow to cool briefly in muffin cups, then pop out, and put on baking sheet to reheat.

Enjoy!!!!

New Recipes - Beating Boredom

2009-10-29T10:22:00.004-04:00

There are some weeks that I crave new recipes; the old beloved standbys get tossed aside and I scour through cookbooks, epicurious, and the pages and pages of printed out recipes for 'someday'. Well, this week is someday. Don't get me wrong - my family and guests will not have to suffer through a meal of all new recipes, but I found a few that seemed good (which are bolded below). It may seem like too much food, but when I get into that "something new" mood, I fill in with simple easy things that I know will be eaten even if the experiments are not!

This shabbat's dinner will be:

Chicken soup with noodles and potato kneidlach

Teriyaki Silver Tip Roast

Apricot Roast Chicken

Jerusalem Kugel (I know, it's traditional for lunch, but....)

Corn Squash Muffins (trying them out for Thanksgiving potential)

Soy Sauce Green Beans

Tossed Salad

Basmati Rice

Hasselback Potatoes

Cocoa Chiffon Cake

Coconut Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Rocky Road Bars

Shabbat lunch will be leftovers..... yummy roast beef sandwiches, etc etc etc

Successful new recipes will be posted next week!

Thanksgiving Prep Begins

2009-10-27T15:30:00.006-04:00

As much as each of the Jewish holiday has its own traditions, rituals and foods which I hold dear, the holiday which has the sweetest memories, traditions and rituals for me is Thanksgiving.

Growing up, my extended family plus many, many invited guests would start Thanksgiving morning at my paternal grandparents apartment on Central Park West, where we would be treated to a breakfast of Cracker Jack, giant gumdrops, cashews and chocolate turkeys. From the deep window seats which enclosed the radiators and toasted our legs, we would watch from our sixth floor view as the parade went by - the giant balloons seeming close enough to reach out and touch.

Other than my mother, my love of planning parties and meals and hostessing was inspired by my father's mother. From a very young age, my mother would put me on the train to Grand Central on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, my father would collect me at the platform and deliver me to my grandmother, were I would help her set up for the huge party the next day. Though I'm sure in the first few years of that special treat I was not very much help, I would watch and learn. Fifty or so people stayed after the parade for Thanksgiving Dinner, so most of the meal of was catered, though my grandmother's Thanksgiving specialty was Sweet and Sour Tongue. I'm not sure what it had to do with Thanksgiving, but it was delicious - for those of us sufficiently adventurous to try it - and it remains a family tradition.

Since my grandmother's passing, our parade watching is now on TV, but breakfast remains the treasured sweets and treats - though I'll likely make fresh biscuits early in the morning before the turkey goes in the oven.

Over the next two weeks, I'll post the menu as it evolves (a joint effort between my mother, my sister, my niece and myself), with hints, ideas and suggestions.

Keep checking in - or better yet - sign up as a blog follower so you'll never miss a posting!

Recipe by Request - Tzimmes

2009-10-15T11:16:00.002-04:00

Though I love my mother's recipe for carrot/matzoh ball tzimmes for pesach, and would never serve anything else at a seder, sometimes I like tzimmes that's heartier, and more of a main course. Though I've never thought of it before right now, this would work perfectly for a shabbat lunch out of the crockpot. Next time I have shabbat lunch guests - this will be on the menu in a version made out of the crockpot!

Tzimmes

3 tablespoons oil

2 pounds beef stew meat, dusted with flour

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks

1/2 cup prunes

1/2 cup dried apricots, cut into quarters

2 cups boiling water

1/4 cup honey (optional - if you like it very sweet)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in large, heavy, ovenproof pot. Brown meat in batches, making sure not to overcrowd meat. When brown, put aside in bowl. Sautee onions until lightly browned. Add in both kinds of potatoes, carrots, beef, prunes and apricots. Add water and honey if using. Combine well. Cover and bake 2 hours. Stir. Re-cover and bake one more hour.

Recipes by Request - Ruth's Brisket

2009-10-12T11:02:00.001-04:00

Though you can get a copy of this recipe as part of the article written about me last year, I've been asked to post the recipe here as well to simplify.

Ruth’s Brisket

5 lb. beef brisket

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 bottle red horseradish

2 onions, thinly sliced

1 pound carrots, thick julienne cut

2 celery stalks, in chunks

2 cups water or red wine

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large dutch oven over medium high heat. Liberally rub brisket on both sides with horseradish. When oil shimmers, sear brisket on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove brisket to large platter.

Without cleaning dutch oven, add 2 more tablespoons oil and sauté vegetables until onion begins to wilt. Remove vegetables to plate.

With Dutch oven still on medium high heat, add 2 cups water or red wine, scraping up all browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Then put brisket, with any accumulated juices into pot, with sautéed vegetables on top. Add water if necessary so there is liquid halfway up brisket.

Cook over low heat (or in 325 degree oven) for approximately 3 hours, until tender.

Best if made a day ahead of time, so meat can be sliced cold, and gravy can be degreased and cooked down to thicken a bit. Gravy can also be thickened by making a thin paste of potato starch and water and adding it a tablespoon at a time while gravy is warming.

Back to Shabbat As Usual (Do I hear sighs of relief)

2009-10-12T09:17:00.002-04:00

The 23 days from Rosh Hashanah to Simchat Torah can invoke at the same time both increased spiritual feelings and increased exhaustion as we celebrate the holidays with elaborate meals both as host and guest. Much planning and preparation is required, and for me at least, the diligence to not gain weight.

And yet, having come through over three weeks of cooking, cleaning and serving, the cool crisp weather beckons me to open my home again for shabbat this week, with thoughts of warm soups, foods and the joy of a warm oven on a cool night. But even though I will enjoy sharing a meal with friends, and preparing will be a joy, my thoughts for menu choices are all simple ones.

Here's what I think I'll make -

Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls

Roast Chicken and Potatoes

Salad (not sure which - this will probably be where I get fancy - adding some fruit and candied nuts)

Teriyaki Sauteed Vegetables

Spanish Rice

Dessert.... I'll think about it - post later in the week. I want this to be simple, so I'll probably make some kind of cookies -

And I think this shabbat will inaugurate "cholent season" -

Warm, cozy, filling..... This will certainly be a shabbat shalom!

Recipes By Request - Apple Crisp

2009-10-08T21:25:00.003-04:00

Here in the northeast U.S., serving a hot dessert for sukkot is always a big hit. By the time dessert comes to the table, the warm food from the main course has long since cooled off, but noses, fingers and toes are starting to get really chilly. My mother always served a blueberry apple crisp. It was a once a year treat, and if I sit still and think about it, I can see, smell and taste all of it's sweet tart deliciousness. With or without a counterpoint to the apples, an apple crisp is always welcomed at the end of a sukkot dinner. The topping for the fruit crisp can be made ahead of time and refrigerated for a few days, or even frozen for several months. Once you're going to the effort of putting together the topping, it's worth making a double or triple batch, and freezing containers of it. Then, whenever you have a craving for a crisp, by the time you've cut the apples, a container of topping will have had sufficient time to defrost, to be crumbled on top of the fruit and baked.

I've never been a fan of sticky sweet fruit, so I just cut fruit, put into a lightly greased pan and crumble the topping over. The grease for the pan is really to simplify cleanup, so if you're using a disposable pan that will be tossed, it's not even worth the bit of oil.

Apple Crisp

6 large apples, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch wedges - don't make the slices too thin or they'll turn into mush

Topping:

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 stick margarine (or butter)

Mix flour, sugar and cinnamon well. Cut in margarine with pastry blender until well mixed. Crumble over fruit. Bake at 375 degrees about 45 minutes.

Dairy Sukkot Dinner

2009-09-30T09:58:00.003-04:00

Though I usually keep my dairy holiday meals to Shavuot, since I am doing my larger entertaining motzei shabbat, I figured after two large meat meals, my guests might prefer a more relaxed, dairy meal. Likely we won't sit down to eat until around 8:30 or 9, to give me time to reheat and do last minute prep after shabbat. Dairy meal planning is a challenge to me, now add the complication of motzei shabbat, and the the need for warm dishes for sukkot... WHEW! This is what I came up with..

Lentil soup - served with a dollop of herbed sour cream on top

Eggplant Parmesan (made with baked eggplant, not fried)

Cheese & "Pizza" Bourekas

Corn Kugel - made dairy for once - will probably be incredible made with butter!

Challah Souffle

Roasted Asparagus

Greek Salad

Fudge Covered Brownie Cheesecake

Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

Mandelbrodt

The challah souffle can be prepped, then popped into the oven immediately after shabbat. For the apple crisp, I can pre-slice the apples, rinse them in lemon water, and keep in a bag in the refrigerator. The topping can be made ahead of time too. Then it's just got to be thrown in a buttered pan (ahhhh butter!) and put in the oven when we start making kiddush - by the time we're ready for dessert it will be bubbly on the bottom and crisp on top - just perfect with the vanilla ice cream melting on top.

Chag Sameach to all!

Recipes by Request - Frozen Peanut Butter Mousse Cake

2009-09-25T10:01:00.001-04:00

A reader, Gaby, has requested frozen dessert recipes - this one is absolutely delicious!

Frozen Peanut Butter Mousse Cake

Crust:

2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs or chocolate wafer crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

2 tbsp margarine, melted

Mousse:

1 3/4 cups pareve whipping cream

2 cups creamy peanut butter

2 (8 oz) tubs tofutti cream cheese, softened

2 cups confectioner's sugar

2 tbsp vanilla

Topping

½ cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts, chopped, to garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large bowl combine cookie crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and melted margarine. Press into 10 inch spring form pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool and set aside.

Beat whipping cream with mixer until stiff. Set aside.

In another mixing bowl, beat together peanut butter and tofutti cream cheese until smooth. Stir in confectioner's sugar and vanilla, mixing well. Gently fold in beaten whipping cream, a quarter at a time. Pour into baked crust. Freeze until set.

Melt chocolate chips and put in small zipper bag. Cut off corner and drizzle melted chocolate over frozen cake. Quickly sprinkle with chopped peanuts

Remove it from freezer about 30 minutes prior to serving.

Notes:

For smaller, easier to serve portions, double the crust recipe and make in 13 x 9 x 2 pan.

For easy melting of chocolate chips, put unmelted chips in zipper bag, press out air and seal well. Place in bowl in sink and run hot water over, squeezing chips around until melted and no hard bits of chocolate remain.

Recipes by Request - Meringues

2009-09-24T21:55:00.003-04:00

Certain recipes are so basic, and yet, each baker takes the same two or three ingredients and produces different results. One of the most basic cookie is a meringue. Consisting of just four ingredients, they can be light as air, hard as a rock, or, like I make them = crisp outside with marshmallowy sweetness inside - The tricks are to have patience when adding the sugar, and to only bake the meringues for about 20 minutes. The disadvantage to this method though is that they have limited shelf life - a day or two in warmer, more humid weather, a bit longer in the winter - but once you get the knack, you'll find they're so easy to make (and fat free!) that it's worth making a fresh batch when you want - the added bonus is that it's likely you always have the ingredients and they cost nearly nothing to make.

Deb's Meringues

2 egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar (or lemon juice)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 335 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Put egg whites and cream of tartar in mixing bowl with whip attachment. Start beating on slow speed. When egg whites are frothy, increase speed to high and begin adding the sugar about 2 tablespoons at a time, allowing a minute between addditions. When sugar is all incorporated and mixture is very thick and stiff beat in vanilla. Pipe into 1 to 2 inch mounds (or drop with spoon) onto prepared sheets. Bake 20 - 25 minutes.

Shana Tova to All

2009-09-17T10:16:00.002-04:00

I extend wishes of health, happiness, joy and peace to all in the coming year.

May the coming year bring each of us what we need. Differentiate your "needs" and "wants" then if your needs are taken care of, any "wants" you get are icing on the cake!

Shana Tovah U'metukah

Deb

Apple Walnut Cake

2009-09-16T12:30:00.002-04:00

The good news - this is a phenomenal recipe - easy, quick and delicious.

The bad news - even though it's a new recipe for Rosh Hashanah, we aready know how delicious it is because I didn't grease the pan well enough the first time I made it, and ended up distributing chunks of broken cake to friends and family.

Oh well! As my grandmother would have said "let that be the worst thing that happened to you today"

Apple Walnut Cake

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups canola oil

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoons baking soda

1 cups chopped walnuts

4 small or 3 large apples

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour WELL a bundt pan.

Put sugar and oil in the mixer bowl and beat well. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until creamy - about 3 minutes.

Stir together the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger and baking soda. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet.

Peel and coarsely dice the apples. Add diced apples and walnuts to batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake 75 to 85 minutes - until a toothpick tests clean. Allow to cool about 10 minutes, then invert onto rack to complete cooling.

Rosh Hashanah Menus - 2009/5770

2009-09-09T10:30:00.002-04:00

Friday Night Dinner (18 People)

Challah - Apples with Honey

Chicken Soup with Kreplach and/or Matzoh Balls

Brisket - Tangy Citrus Chicken Cranberry Kugel - Roasted Potatoes String Beans with Almonds Carrot Kugel - Spinach Loaf - Spinach Pear Salad with Honey Vinaigrette

Honey Cake - Autumn Apple Cake - Teiglach - Lemon Bars- Chocolate Dipped Honey Cookies Chocolate Coconut Chip Cookies - Candies and Dried Fruit - Coffee & Tea

Shabbat Lunch (4 people)

Challah with Honey

Cedar Planked Brisket - Leftover side dishes

Chocolate Cherry Cake

Recipes - if not already posted - available on request -

To all of my readers - Shanah Tovah Oo'metukah !

deb

Finally ! Organized for Rosh Hashana

2009-09-09T10:20:00.004-04:00

Weather-wise, this has been a moderate summer in the northeast. With the exception of about 10 days of humidity with relatively warm weather in late august, I never experience the complete malaise summer usually sets on me. And the last two week's weather has seemed more like early autumn than summer and, as you could see from my posts, reinvigorated my inner cook. This made for happy tummies, but it also means I've started none of the holiday cooking, and will now have some late night cooking sessions to catch up - which works for me - though I generally recommend a more organized approach (too cooking and everything!).

Anyway, I've now finalized my Rosh Hashanah menus for dinner and lunch the first day - The second night will be quiet and peaceful (and we'll probably be too full to do more than kiddush, motzi and sleep). We're invited to lunch out the second day - all in all an excellent combination!

Chocolate Cherry Crazy Cake

2009-09-04T18:14:00.009-04:00

All cooks have recipes that they can rely on for quick, easy, always-have-the-ingredients, recipes for every part of a meal - ways they can turn leftovers into YUMMMMMM (without the guests being the wiser), and three ingredients in the pantry into more please. Crazy Chocolate Cake - also known to many as Vegan Chocolate Cake, or Volcano Cake is such a recipe. Anyone who bakes even sometimes likely has the ingredients on hand, and from the first "Hmmmm, maybe I'd like a piece of chocolate cake after dinner" to the wonderful smells of chocolate cake baking takes under 10 minutes - and only dirties one spoon and one bowl - If you're really lazy, it can even be prepared right in the baking pan - though that's best left if the cake is for you, and not to be served to company.

I made a batch of Death By Chocolate Cookies for dessert this shabbat - a new recipe (I'll post another time), and was feeling kind of iffy about them . It was two hours before shabbat - everything else was ready (except the amazing brisket on the grill) - why, even the floor had been mopped - so I pulled out my Crazy Chocolate Cake recipe - but got creative - found a can of sweet black cherries - and used the cherry juice from the can for part of the water and cut up the cherries right in the can with a paring knife before stirring them into the batter. The topping was the real fun part though. I usually sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips on the cake as soon as it tests done and leave it in the oven one extra minute to melt the chips, which are then spread right on the cake - ta da - frosting. When I went to the pantry to pull out the chips, I noticed a bag of marshmallows - which got tossed on along with the chocolate chips - amazing topping.

So next time you've got 10 minutes - with our without the cherries and marshmallows!

Crazy Chocolate Cherry Cake

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
15 ounce can sweet black cherries, drained and cut up
2 cups liquid total - Juice from canned cherries plus water
about 1 cup marshmallows
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 13 x 9 baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing for overhang to lift cake from pan when cool and spray with PAM.

Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Pour in vanilla, vinegar, oil, cherry juice/water and stir until just mixed. Stir in cherries.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes. Remove from oven.

Sprinkle marshmallows and chocolate chips on top. Leave in oven one more minute. Remove from oven and let sit for two minutes. Swirl melted marshmallows and chocolate chips. Allow to cool. Cake can be lifted out of pan with aluminum foil, put on tray and aluminum foil from sides of cake peeled away.

Success - Amazing Barbecued Brisket

2009-09-04T18:01:00.004-04:00

This attempt was a huge success. Whole Foods had cedar planks. While the planks were soaking, I coated the brisket with a rub of brown sugar, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. The first picture is immediately after I put the planks and the brisket on the grill, the picture on the second is after about 2 hours and the picture on the bottom is the brisket all done - with one taste slice taken!

I flipped the brisket about every 45 minutes - It's tender and delicious - When I do it again, I'd use a sauce to finish it - but for a first attempt, I'm thrilled!

Shabbat Shalom

The brisket was on the planks on the grill for about 4 hours - and it taste amazing!!!

From Summer to Fall - Barbecue Brisket

2009-09-02T23:45:00.002-04:00

I usually think of brisket as a fall or winter food. Between pesach and rosh hashanah, I never think to serve brisket - the idea of the oven being on that long for one dish! I don't think so..... But I recently picked up a small piece of first cut brisket, about 3 pounds - and for this shabbat I'm going to try to put it on the barbecue, indirect heat, a few chunks of hardwood if I can find some , and let it go for four or five hours ("Texas" style)- I'm hopeful - and if it's any good, I'll post the method and some pictures of the results - I'll do a dry rub marinade Friday morning before I go to work, then when I get home at 12:30, the brisket will go on the grill - wish me luck!

Making the Most of the End of summer

2009-08-31T12:23:00.003-04:00

This shabbat will feature, among other things, a corn kugel - one of my favorite "two minutes to the oven - everyone loves it" recipes - but instead of the usual canned corn, I will use fresh, sweet corn, cooked fresh for the kugel. Even adding that step, which I'm sure will make the kugel even better, it's still simple as could be sure to be a favorite.

It's a particularly good winter recipe, as it gets even better as it sits in the low oven for hours, turing gold brown and crispy chewy at the edges..

Corn Kugel

2 tablespoons melted margarine

2 cans creamed corn

1 can corn kernels (or about 1 1/2 cups fresh cooked corn)

3/4 cup soy milk

3 eggs

1/2 cup flour

2 tablespoons sugar

Whisk together all ingredients. Pour into greased 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake at 375 degrees at least an hour.

Recipe by Request - Cranberry Kugel

2009-08-24T13:57:00.002-04:00

Cranberry Kugel

1 cup flour

1 cup oatmeal (1 minute)

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 stick margarine

1 can crushed pineapple

1 can whole berry cranberry sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour, oatmeal and brown suger in a bowl. Cut in margarine. Drain pineapple well and mix with cranberry sauce. Place half the dry mixture in the bottom of an 8x8 pan. Put the cranberry mixture on top. Spread the rest of the dry mixture over. Bake for 1 hour.

Recipe by Request - Spinach Loaf

2009-08-24T13:50:00.003-04:00

Spinach Loaf

6 10 ounces packages frozen chopped spinach

6 large russet potatoes

4 onions

8 tablespoons chicken fat or vegetable oil

Slice onions into half moon slivers and sautee in 6 tablespoons of oil slowly over low heat until golden brown. Take your time with this so they carmelize but don't burn.

Defrost spinach and squeeze out well - as dry as you can.

Peel potatoes and boil until tender. Put through ricer. If you don't have a ricer, mash until very smooth.

Combine potatoes, spinach and onions. Add salt and pepper to taste - I use about 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper.

Put in an ovenproof pan - smaller with high sides if you like lots of soft inside - larger and shallower if you like crunchy better -

Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

Bake at 375 for 1/2 hour until crisp on top.

Waste Not, Want Not..... Delicious Tabbouleh

2009-08-21T09:22:00.003-04:00

Wednesday or Thursday night (depending on how much cooking I'm planning to do for shabbat), I clean out the refrigerator, getting rid of the leftovers that are getting iffy to make room for all of the produce and fresh ingredients for the coming shabbat. Sometimes it results in a great "created from leftovers" dinner, sometimes it creates a very full garbage bag and sometimes it inspires a new dish.

Last night I found the leftover half bunches of dill and parsley from last week's chicken soup, still in very good condition ... what to do, what to do..... I could have made Herbed Summer Rice, but it really didn't go with everything else I was making. A quick look in the pantry and I had my answer - tabbouleh! Dill is not typical, but, why not? And I had plenty of dried mint, and lemons and cukes and scallions and, of course, a bag of bulgur! I pulled it together this morning - excellent result! I think this one is going to become a standard on the weeks I make chicken soup. Or the week after!

Deb's Dill Tabboulleh

1 cup bulgur

2 teaspoons salt (or less, to taste)

2 tablespoons dried mint

2 cups boiling water

1/2 bunch parsley, leaves only, chopped

1/2 bunch dill, stems removed, chopped

1 cucumbur, seeded and chopped

1 bunch scallions, chopped

3 lemons, juiced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Put bulgur, salt and mint in large bowl. Pour boiling water over and let sit for at least an hour until water is absorbed and bulgur is at room temperature. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Chill before serving. Makes about a quart.

Come in Peace... Leave in Peace Boachem l'shalom Tsetchem L'shalom

2009-08-19T11:33:00.002-04:00

This shabbat marks my younger son's return from a summer of work at camp and my older son's last shabbat home before leaving for college. Naturally, the menu must contain their favorite foods which have been, and will be, missed. While they each have some individual favorites, fortunately for me, some of their requests overlapped.

Friday Night

First Course: Sushi

Main Course & Sides: Meatballs in red sauce with pasta

Spicy Barbequed chicken

Tossed Salad

Popcorn Cauliflower

Corn Kugel

Grilled Vegetables

Shabbat Lunch

Leftovers from Friday night

plus...

Desserts

Oatmeal cookies, peanut butter & jelly cookies, chocolate chip cookies and drumroll please..... a six layer chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling and seafoam frosting - not really a great choice in this humidity, but a MUST have for this special shabbat.

Chocolate cake with seafoam frosting is a long time favorite - with lots of history attached. My boys will happily tell you about the time when, because of a broken top layer and an overabundance of frosting, the cake collapsed and ended up in a big mush in a bowl. Deemed too ugly to be served to company, it was happily devoured in big messy spoonfuls.

I guess I've been watching too much Alton Brown, because this week I've decided to challenge myself by splitting the three layers to make a six layer cake. The seafoam frosting is very soft, so I think a ganache filling will do a better job of keeping the layers intact.

Recipes and pictures to be posted Friday - no matter if it's beautiful and served on plate or becomes another memorable mistake!

Still Summer???

2009-08-14T09:42:00.002-04:00

I've never been a summer person. My usual organized, hyperactive self slows down, and the items on my perpetual to do lists don't get checked off with their usual regularity. My summer shabbat menus are a result of my more relaxed (lazy?) demeanor.

But by the middle of August, I'm getting tired of "summer foods". Combine that salad overload with the beginning of holiday meal planning, and I'm ready to reintroduce some cooked, hot foods to the menu. Could be my nice new air conditioner has something to do with it ;-)

This shabbat segues my menus from Summer to Fall, though I will continue with the "this is what I made, eat it at whatever meal you want" idea - Shabbat Lunch in the summer should be relaxed and easy.

Chicken Soup (yup, put it up at 7am!) with noodles

Grilled Steak and Chicken Cutlets

Egg Rolls

Basmati Rice (the extra cold rice will become fried rice on sunday)

Israeli Salad

Broccoli/Sun Dried Tomato Salad - (a new one - if it's good, I'll post it)

Sesame Eggplant Salad (another new one - ditto)

Corn (hey, even if I'm tired of summer, it's still soooo good)

Napa Cabbage Salad (shredded cabbage, cilantro leaves barely chopped, soy/toasted sesame oil/shriracha/honey dressing)

And last night I was feeling amazingly energetic, and in addition to getting the whole house cleaned, I baked. So for dessert we'll have

chocolate chip cookies, lemon bars and oatmeal cookies

Shabbat Shalom!

Better than the Bakery

2009-08-05T14:03:00.003-04:00

Deb's Delicacies will be taking orders again after Labor Day, with special items available for the High Holidays.

All items available for pickup or White Plains (and vicinity) local delivery.

Everything can be ordered for delivery by mail except for Frozen Mousse Cake and Meringues.

Mail Order payment by paypal - actual shipping prices apply.

Click here for Order Forms

Holiday Organization

2009-08-04T13:19:00.009-04:00

To simplify my dear readers' holiday organization, I am sharing this year's meal organization chart. This chart will be basis for grocery lists, timetables, and to do lists, all of which will make your chagim more pleasant by eliminating disorganization and last minute "but we're going to the Rabbi's house and I can't find a gift bag for the bottle of wine" hysteria. As the weeks progress, come back to find more useful hints and recipes.

Click on the link and you'll find the file.

Meal Organizer

Happy organization!

Blink - The summer is half over!

2009-07-31T11:46:00.003-04:00

Unbelievable! I blinked my eyes and the summer is half over. The act of turning the calendar page to August (a theoretical act of course, my calendar is computerized!) starts my brain racing towards the fast approaching holidays.

August is not too early to start planning, inviting and even getting a head start on some of the preparing. Because of the "clutter" of school starting, and the holidays right on top of each other, you can keep your frenzy to a minimum by starting your game plan now.

This year, the chagim mostly fall out on shabbat. This overlap can be viewed as a plus or minus, depending on your personal point of view. I see the minuses as having to prepare all the food for two days of chag ahead of time, with no last minute "chag cooking", and losing Sundays as errand days. On the plus side, fewer vacation days to use for chagim. It doesn't really matter whether it's a plus or a minus anyway, since it is!

My holiday organization goes something like this.....

I start off with a big sheet of paper (or a fresh document on the computer) and list (leaving spaces between each) every lunch and dinner of every holiday from Rosh Hashanah through Simchat Torah. The I fill in the annual traditions (things like...we always go to Aunt Bertha the first night of Sukkot). Next would be to consider who I want to invite for which meal, keeping in mind how late lunch will be after Rosh Hashana services (don't invite people with young kids), and that my shul generally has a terrific kiddush on sukkot (no one will be hungry!). As I go along, I jot down whether I think the meal will be meat or dairy.

Once invitations have been issued and accepted, meal planning begins. More about that next week.

Shabbat Shalom!

To Pound Or Not To Pound

2009-07-29T09:46:00.003-04:00

Chicken cutlets may be more expensive than chicken on the bone, but have almost no waste, are easy and quick to cook, and nearly everyone likes them. When they go on sale, I buy several family packs, spend time trimming them, separating the tenderloins, and packaging them in bags of four cutlets each before they go in the freezer. The tenderloins are packaged in larger bags (always with the amount written on it), to make chicken fingers when a big group of kids are coming over. This way, I can take out just the right amount from the freezer. The small packages defrost quickly, and even if I end up cooking a few more cutlets than are needed for one night's dinner, leftovers seems to magically disappear from the refridgerator overnight!

The decision whether to pound the cutlets thin or not depends on the recipe. Shnitzel - always pounded! That way the cutlets, once breaded, cook quickly and evenly and the chicken is cooked through as soon as the coating is crisp.

For grilled cutlets, whether or not to pound depends on how the cutlets will be eaten and when. If it's a large party and people are eating hot off the grill, it's best to pounds the cutlets, give a quick marinade and then they grill in just a minute or two on each side. For cutlets cooked before shabbat to eat warm for shabbat dinner or sliced and eaten for shabbat lunch, it's best to grill without pounding. Grill marinated, unpounded cutlets over a lower heat and they will stay moist and juicy, and can be sliced on the bias for sandwiches, shredded to be added to green salads or pasta salads, or simply eaten.

This past shabbat, I made a spicy marinade and the chicken was delish!

Spicy Grilled Chicken Cutlets

8 skinless, boneless chicken cutlets

Marinade:

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup lime juice

shredded zest from one lime

1 clove garlic, shredded or crushed

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine all marinade ingredients in a zipper bag and mix well. Add cutlets. Put in refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours. Grill over low or indirect heat.

Note: For shabbat lunch, we made sandwiches on whole wheat challah rolls spread lightly with mayonnaise, chicken sliced on the bias, arugula and fresh, ripe tomato slices - YUM

Honeydew Lime Soup - Spicy, Sweet and Tangy

2009-07-28T09:19:00.006-04:00

Since we had no company, I felt free to take liberties with new recipes last shabbat, using more new recipes than I would customarily tackle, and tinkering with the recipes right away. There were two great successes - one was was my variation on the Honeydew Lime Soup recipe I'd come across by making the spicy feature much more pronounced. The result was fantastic. This soup was cooling both by being cool, and by it's strong spice factor, which is known to increase sweating, thus cooling you down. It's quick, simple and delicious..

Honeydew Lime Soup

1 5-6 pound honeydew melon, cut into 1 inch chunks

2 teaspoons honey (omit if melon is super-sweet)

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

1/2 jalapeno

1/2 teaspoon salt

Extra cilantro leaves for garnish (whole or chopped)

In batches, puree all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Chill well and stir before serving. Garnish with either whole or chopped cilantro.

Quiet Summer Shabbat Menu

2009-07-23T12:24:00.002-04:00

Due to some minor kitchen uproar (a little project tends to turn into a big one....), no company this shabbat - but that's no reason not to eat delicious foods to celebrate shabbat. Of course being in the throws of hot, sticky weather, oven and stove use will be kept to a minimum! I will prepare several mains and side dishes, and we will pick and choose for dinner, lunch and seudat shlishit as the mood strikes...

This week I'm making:

Spicy Honeydew Lime Soup

Grilled Steak

Spicy Grilled Chicken Cutlets

Marinated Grilled Vegetables

Cole Slaw

Israeli Salad

Tomato Basil Pasta (see earlier post for recipe)

Grilled Potatoes

Herbed Summer Rice (see earlier post for recipe)

For dessert, I'll make Spiked Watermelon Salad with Mint and unless the humidity breaks, it will be one of the rare weeks where the bakery will get my business!

Shabbat Shalom and happy air conditioning to all!

Recipes By Request / Lessons Learned / Tapas Potatoes

2009-07-20T15:10:00.003-04:00

There is great satisfaction to a blogger to know your posts are being read - similar to a cook's satisfaction in being asked for a recipe. When a guest enjoys a meal I've prepared so much that s/he follows up with a phone call or note asking for a recipe - that's a fantastic thrill. And it's also a great thrill for me when readers post comments and ask for recipes.

Last week, a reader commented about a menu I'd posted years ago, requesting the recipes. It happens that I recall the menu well because I'd broken one of my cardinal rules of menu prep - no more than one new recipe per meal! The post/menu in question is http://shabbatandchagim.blogspot.com/2006/01/two-hour-prep-shabbat.html and both the soup and the salad were new recipes - that were both bombs!

The Tapas Potatoes - my variation on a recipe I read in Kosher by Design Entertains is always a big hit!

Debra's Tapas Potatoes

3 pounds red potatoes, divided

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 red onion, finely diced

4 cloves garlic, finely minced (or use microplane grater)

28 ounce can whole tomatoes in juice, drained and coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, divided

Juice of one lime

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or less, to taste)

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco (less or none to taste)

2 teaspoons salt

Peel potatoes and cut in 1/2 inch dice. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large skillet over medium high heat, saute 1/2 of the diced potatoes, stirring occasionally until browned on all sides. When potatoes are browned, and crispy, about 10-15 minutes, remove to a bowl and repeat with two more tablespoons of oil and the other half of the potatoes. Set all potatoes aside.

Bring skillet back to heat, add last tablespoons of oil. Saute onion until soft, add garlic, saute one more minute, stirring frequently. Add tomatoes, lime juice, cumin, crushed red pepper, Tabasco and salt. Bring to boil. Add potatoes, stir, cook uncovered fifteen minutes. Serve hot or room temperature.

Note: The spices are to my kids' tastes - super spicy! Adjust accordingly

Herbed Summer Rice

2009-07-17T11:14:00.002-04:00

Made a terrific rice recipe last shabbat - perfect for the summer with all the fresh herb flavors coming through - and also perfect since the stove is only on for 25 minutes! The rice was also delicious cold.

Herbed Summer Rice

1 vidalia onion, finely diced

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 1/2 cups basmati rice

2 1/2 cups water

2 teaspoons salt (or less to taste)

3 tablespoons chopped italian parsley

3 tablespoons chopped dill

1 tablespoon chopped tarragon

Sautee onion in over medium high heat for about five minutes, until soft, but not browned. Stir in rice, stirring around for about a minute. Turn heat to high, add water and salt. When water boils, stir, cover, turn heat to low and cook 20 minutes.

Turn off heat and let rice sit for 10 minutes. Stir in herbs.

Serve and enjoy.

Grilled Summer Salad

2009-07-10T11:13:00.004-04:00

I was once served a meal where every dish included the hostesses favorite summer ingredients - corn, zucchini, tomatoes and basil - in some way.

Browsing Epicurious this week, I came across a Zucchini Corn Salad recipe, with all raw ingredients - I thought it would be a good starting point - but made a few (ok a lot) changes.

Here's what I came up with:

Deb's Grilled Summer Salad

4 medium zucchini

2 ears corn

extra virgin olive oil

1 container grape tomatoes

Juice of 2 lemons

1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper (more or less to taste)

large handful basil leaves, cut into fine strips

Slice the zucchini lengthwise into 1/2 inch slices and brush with olive oil. Grill for 2 minutes on each side on preheated grill. Brush corn with olive oil and grill, turning to cook all sides, until cooked with light grill marks. Set zucchini and corn aside to cool.

When cool, cut zucchini intro 1/2 inch dice. Cut corn from cobs. Half grape tomatoes. Put all vegetables in large bowl. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper and mix well. Gently stir in basil. Toss and serve.

Summer Shabbats

2009-07-02T09:31:00.004-04:00

Like most people without central air conditioning, I hesitate turning on the oven in the summer. A cool evening will inspire me to bake lots of cookies and get them in the freezer, but regular shabbat meal planning revolves around the barbecue and lots of salads. While making salads frequently requires boiling some water (for the pasta, potatoes or rice), the stove and boiling water don't produce enough heat to bother me.

Unless company is coming, I prefer barbecuing several kinds of meat, making four or five salads, and serving both Friday night dinner and shabbat lunch as buffets, letting everyone pick at their favorites.

One of my favorite summer dishes is Fettuccine with Raw Tomato Basil Sauce. It's wonderful served fresh, with bright green strands of basil, and tomatoes that still have a bit of bite to them, and less elegant looking, but even yummier the next day when the fettuccine has had a chance to really absorb all the flavors.

Fettuccine with Raw Tomato Basil Sauce

1 pound fettuccine

1 bunch basil

6 ripe tomatoes (not overly ripe)

2 cloves garlic, crushed or microplaned (see 6/9/09 post) (more or less to taste)

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

Cook fettuccine according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, rinse basil very well, pat dry, stack the leaves and slice into very thin strips (referred to as chiffonade )

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Chiffonade/.

Dice the tomatoes into 1/4 inch pieces, making sure to reserve all the juices. The best way to do this is to put your cutting board inside a baking pan. Put tomatoes, basil and garlic in a large bowl. Add oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper (if using). Pour hot drained pasta over tomato mixture and gently toss together. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Ketchup Shocker

2009-06-29T13:06:00.003-04:00

Though this post has nothing specifically to do with Shabbat or Chagim- since ketchup is an ingredient we all use (and is nearly always kosher), I thought I'd pass this info along.

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/everydaycooking/family/ketchuptastetest

I check Epicurious.com's blogs every day and was totally shocked to see this ketchup taste test - the only time I've ever bought ketchup other than Heinz was for pesach - and stopped doing that years ago since my kids decided it was better to do without for a week than to use the awful pesach ketchup.

Gonna have to do a taste test of my own..... Ok, now that's the connection to Shabbat - in a few weeks when my son and I will both be home for shabbat, I'll make foods that are ketchup related - as an ingredient, and a dip .... Menu to follow

Third Time's the Charm

2009-06-11T22:36:00.003-04:00

Even though I was almost satisfied with the results of my last attempt at challah, when I started the process this week, I made several changes. First, I've given up on the food processor for mixing. Last time, the motor started to overheat, and so I switched to my mixer, which, after all, is really the machine for the job. The entire process was interspersed with a few other kitchen tasks tonight, including shabbat food and tonight's dinner.

Probably more significant though, is I've given up on the idea of the overnight rise. I'm not sure what I thought the benefit would be, but I've learned that the rise time is directly affected by temperature, so I can make the challah work around my schedule. The baking time is only a half hour, so it can be the last thing baked on a Thursday night, and can cool overnight on a rack (which is what the picture shows).

If this batch tastes as good as it looks, I'll post the recipe.

Post Shabbat Review..... The taste is good but the challah still has a cakier consistency than I want. I'm going to do some reading to see what gives bread the chew and pull that I'm going for. All that said though, if you have a good mixer or a good food processor, baking challah is simple, doesn't require a huge amount of time or effort and it's very satisfying to put homemade challah on the table!

It's All About the Product - Take 2

2009-06-09T11:47:00.002-04:00

The menus for this shabbat are all about my sons' favorties foods - Older son is home from Israel and it's younger son's last weekend home before camp.

Many of their favorite recipes call for chopped, minced or crushed garlic, and I've found that a microplane grater deals makes dealing with garlic a snap. Easy to use, easy to clean, no smelly hands! Leave the stem end on the garlic after you peel it for a handle.

The grater is also terrific for grated ginger, avoiding the stringy mess that can happen when you try to grate ginger on a box grater.

The microplane grater turns my sister's recipe for Spicy Noodles (with sesame oil, soy sauce, crushed garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper) into a 2 minute recipe - my favorite kind!

This shabbat's foods will include sushi (home made), gazpacho, cajun meatloaf, corn kugel and whatever else their hearts (and stomachs!) desire -

Kids Table, Feed Them First Or... ?

2009-05-19T15:03:00.002-04:00

It's been a long time since I entertained a large group for shabbat that included many small children. Kids can be a wonderful addition to the table or they can be a distraction - and its nearly impossible to know in advance whether the kids in question are best seated at a kids table in the dining room, fed first then allowed to go play, or some combination -

I'd love to get some feedback from parents with small children - Any thoughts or suggestions?

Challah - Take 2

2009-05-15T09:13:00.005-04:00

Trying again with the overnight challah recipe - this is actually the third time -

I've been keeping track of the recipe modifications, and though I haven't tasted this week's attempt yet, I think I'm getting closer. Research is needed to determine if now that I've switched to bread flour, and increased the flour in the recipe, if I should use more yeast - this week I had three cups of flour and 1 package of yeast. The finished results just don't seem to rise quite high enough - maybe I should try a longer first rise.

If you're a successful challah baker and can shed some light, please give me your thoughts.

Shabbat Shalom!

Post - taste note: Flavor is really there! Have the right amount of honey - the texture was a bit too dense though - going to try more yeast - or maybe as I thought on Thursday, a longer first rise

It's All About the Product!

2009-05-08T10:55:00.003-04:00

That was a piece of advice I got a few years ago, not about food, but the essence of the advice is that to do the job right, you need the right tools. The "product" in the advice I got (thanks Karen!) related to haircare, but this morning, I realized that I had been using the wrong "product" to cut bar cookies my whole life!

The right "product" to cut bar cookies is.... a pizza cutter! My fudgy chewy brownies, that are usually shaggy and messy when cut with a knife came out with perfect edges this morning - I used a pizza cutter held against a metal ruler for a straight edge - by the way, a washable sturdy ruler is also an inexpensive kitchen essential.

I really want to emphasize how terrific a pizza cutter is for cutting bar cookies - Last night I made Coconut Pecan Topped Brownies which usually are a complete disaster to cut. I made perfect beautiful bites, cutting with a pizza cutter against a metal ruler.

Sneak Peek at Summer

2009-04-30T09:15:00.004-04:00

The sudden hot weather this past weekend shifted my menu planning into summer mode, and even though the cooler weather came back, and chicken soup will make it onto the table one more shabbat, the dessert plans remained COLD!

The best compliment I ever received for this dessert was from a chocoholic friend. He was served a piece of this Frozen Chocolate Mousse Cake as a snack, and was shocked to find out it was pareve - and asks for it for a snack or dessert even when a dairy treat could be eaten. The pareve whipped cream has a less intense flavor than real dairy whipping cream, and lets the chocolate flavor shine through more clearly.

I've made this as a pie (using half of the recipe below), but this week, in honor of his 17th birthday, my younger son is having a group over for shabbat, so I doubled the recipe and made it in a 10" springform pan. Often I make a chocolate graham cracker crust, but this week, I noticed a package of Paskesz Cremeos (pareve "oreos") and made the crust with the Cremeos, and continued the theme with the decorations. In the past, I've decorated the top with chocolate curls.

This recipe is terrific, easy, and, assuming you can keep people away, can be made up to two weeks ahead of time.

Frozen Chocolate Mousse Cake with Oreo Crust

2 cups Fluff

1/2 cups pareve milk

9 oz Bittersweet or semisweet chocolate

12 pareve chocolate sandwich cookies

3 tablespoons pareve margarine

24 oz pareve whip cream

Melt chocolate, fluff and pareve milk in microwave by microwaving for one minute, then stirring, repeating as necessary. Allow to cool to room temperature.

In food processor, grind cookies and margarine until the cookies are fine crumbs and the margarine is uniformly incorporated. Press crust mixture into bottom and up sides of a ten inch springform pan.

When chocolate mixture has come to room temperature, beat whip cream until stiff. Gently fold in chocolate mixture.

Spoon mousse into pan over crust, smooth top, and decorate with extra whipped cream, chocolate curls, cookies, candies - have fun with this part!

Freeze at least 4 hours or up to two weeks before serving. Remove springform ring to serve. Can be served directly from the freezer.

Mimouna

2009-04-17T10:46:00.007-04:00

My younger son and I were invited to a Mimouna party at the Azoulay home - Mimouna is a sephardic tradition, celebrating the end of pesach ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimouna )- and what a wonderful celebration it was. There are traditional foods served, mofleta and birkooks. Mofleta is a delicious yeasted quick bread - it has to be quick since the preparation can't begin until pesach is over - The Azoulay women, looking beautiful in their traditional Moroccan clothing, made the dough starting with five pounds of flour, and spent hours lovingly rolling, flattening, and cooking the flat breads.

When we walked into the house at about 11pm, the intense smells of yeast and butter, after 8 days of matzah, were intoxicating. And the taste of the mofleta, coated with butter and honey was amazing. Bread in any form is a particular weakness for me, but warm, chewy yeasty bread after a week of matzah - sigh......

The table was set with traditional foods, and before I could even taste the mofleta, I had been handed a bowl of birkooks, a porridge made from tiny pasta, cooked in milk and butter, with a bit of salt, sprinkled with cinnamon - the flavors all combining into a wonderful creamy flavor. I had just spent several hours "un-pesach-ing" my own kitchen, and hadn't realized how hungry I was until this warm creamy porridge was there satisfying me!

I was told that all the foods on the table were traditional, and held significance - even the fish smoking a cigarette! The fish signifies life, common to many cultures, and the cigarette in its mouth indicated it was Moroccan!

The Uneaten Enigma

2009-04-13T10:54:00.004-04:00

If you're like me, and most hosts I know, the idea of having just enough food for your guests means you didn't prepare enough. So at this time of year, it's likely that your refrigerator is full of small, medium and large containers of various goodies - goodies that were acclaimed on their first serving and will be ignored on their second!

The best thing to do is purchase inexpensive freezable containers, and freeze single servings of all those yummy things. Even better is if you can find aluminum "tv dinner" trays. Don't even try to serve them as leftovers this week - put them away for a night when things are hectic, but a warm "fresh" meal will be welcome

And don't forget to label the containers - a brown mass of meatballs looks a lot like brisket when frozen!

Cari's Frogs

2009-04-08T10:59:00.004-04:00

When a friend came by on Sunday to pick up her Deb's Delicacies order, she told me that her kids make origami frogs to absorb the drops of wine spilled during the recitation of the plagues -

Today, she dropped them off - what a wonderful new tradition! Now I just have to figure out how to make them!

Thanks Cari, Molly & Arielle!

Organization Is Its Own Reward

2009-04-07T11:02:00.003-04:00

Early morning shopping trips, late nights waiting for the brisket to be done, weekends of working hard and keeping up with lists, lists and more lists have paid off - I have scheduled a manicure for my lunch hour today - and will be very careful to use rubber gloves tomorrow!

Being a good hostess is not only about the food on the table and the appearance of your home, but about the way you make your guests feel. If you've worked so hard that you are miserable, tired, cranky and feel a mess at your own seder, then you've done too much - and your guests will be uncomfortable.

Always make sure that in some way that is meaningul to you, you have taken care of yourself as well as you've taken care of your home, your family and your guests! For me, it's a manicure - for you, it could be a bubble bath - but in whatever way you can - be good to yourself!

The Table is Set

2009-04-05T20:15:00.005-04:00

The seder plate was my grandmother's

and the colorful items in the bowls are FROGS!

Pre Pesach Pics

2009-04-05T19:56:00.005-04:00

The effort of organizing and being your own taskmaster pays off! As planned, I kashered about 75% of the kitchen Friday before shab bat, and was able to finish about an hour after shabbat ended. By midnight, I had eight batches of almond brittle in the freezer.

This morning I was in the kitchen before 7, and got everything done on my list -

And the reason for 4 container of tzimmes - simple, one for the seder, one for my mother, one for my grandmother and one for the freezer for my son when he gets home from Israel.

Setting the Table

2009-04-02T09:48:00.003-04:00

I have made it a habit, not just for pesach, but for any holiday or shabbat, to set the table as early as I possibly can. Having the table festively set puts me in the right mood, and reminds me of the wonderful time that will be had, and why the effort in the kitchen is worth it.

If the thought of all those dishes after the seder is daunting, go with the nicest paper that's affordable - the selection is huge.

I use my mother's china, cloth napkins and pretty floral napkin rings which I use only for the seder. This year, I was inspired during a trip to Christmas Tree Shops and about a month ago, picked up some pretty planters and packets of herb seeds. I don't usually have a green thumb, but amazingly those little herbs actually grew - and the best grower was the parsley - so in addition to having 4 beautiful plants for a centerpiece, I have home grown parsley for Karpas.

Because a friend was gracious and invited us for Friday night dinner this week, I plan onhaving the kitchen half kashered before shabbat. Shabbat Lunch can be salad and cold cuts - so the oven and stove will be done (and lots of things packed) before shabbat. By the time I go to sleep Saturday night, the kitchen will be fully kashered.

In addition to doing LOTS of cooking and baking on Sunday, I will set the table - and as I cook into the night each night, the sense of gleeful anticipation will keep me going -

I'll post pictures of the herbs and table early next week.

The Seder Leading to the Seder

2009-04-01T10:35:00.004-04:00

For those of you who do not know, Seder means order. And in order to get to the seder without being either too tired to enjoy, or too stressed to speak, you have to plan ahead - and make an order of what you need to do when.

Once you've decided on your menu, sit with an extra copy and your calendar and decide what time slots you have available to cook. Take into account what can be made ahead and frozen.

The most important list, and the one you should make most carefully is your "to do" for the day of the seder - list everything that has to be done from warming the soup to putting up the hotpot for tea.

Try to think of yourself as your own assistant - and then keep yourself on track!

If anyone needs some help - post a comment with contact info, and I'd be happy to assist.

Seder From Scratch

2009-03-31T08:53:00.002-04:00

I had a terrific time last week being interviewed by reporter Linda Lombroso and videographer Angela Gaul -

Lots of recipes here....

Amazing Pesach Products

2009-03-26T23:17:00.004-04:00

I am amazed year after year by the kosher for passover faux products that manufacturers believe we can't live without for 8 days.... This year's shocking new product was found during my Monsey shopping trip - and was very timely considering the exchange of comments over the past few days on kosherblog.net

The ingredients are: Water, maltodextrin, sugar, spices and seasoning, onion, monosodium glutamate, salt, vegetable stabilizer, citric acid, caramel color , less than 1% sodium benzoate

So for those of you who don't speak "food chemicals", that would be water, sugar, salt, flavorings, color and preservatives -

How do you say happy passover in chinese???

Intermission from Passover Preparation

2009-03-20T10:55:00.003-04:00

I'm not entirely sure what overcame me, but last night I decided to try a food processor (easy!) challah recipe that I'd come across quite some time ago. I used to bake bread, challah & bagels a long time ago, but realized that the bakery really did a better job, and gave it up.

Anyway, it was a super simple recipe, no hand kneading required, and gave instructions for an overnight rise.

Here are the results - I'll let you know about the taste next week.

Shabbat shalom,

Deb

Pesach Prep - Step 3 - The Shopping Lists for This Year and Next Year

2009-03-14T17:23:00.004-04:00

In April, 2006 I wrote about the need to make your lists in advance, and to make separate lists for the separate stores - read that post as a reminder -

There's one more list that's essential to create, keep in a place you'll remember, and refer to from year to year - your "Buy / Don't Buy" list - a trick I learned from my mother. She posted the list on the inside of the pesach closet - it doesn't matter where you post it, so long as you remember to get it out about a month before pesach.

There are certain foods that can be saved from year to year. I save salt, vinegar, and spices (I know Julia Child would not approve, but come on...). So if I have leftover when I'm packing pesach away, that goes on the "Don't Buy". And if you have a ton of leftover... ummm..... sardines, or chocolate (ok, not possible, I understand), or you bought too much or too little matzoh meal, your Buy/Don't Buy list is the place to record notes like that. My list always has "8 yards contact paper" to remind me how much to buy - nothing's worse than having the kitchen nearly kashered at 2am - and finding out you're 3 yards short, or out of plastic sheeting to cover the table - or have no coffee filters to make coffee the next morning!

Next post - forget the seder of the seder - you need the seder of the cooking! Timelines and organization are key!

Israeli Orange Chicken

2009-03-12T15:12:00.002-04:00

2 whole chickens, 3 to 4 pounds each

4 navel oranges

1 1/2 cups orange juice

½ cup honey

3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

One or two days ahead:

Quarter one oranges. Put 2 quarters (with peels) inside each chicken cavity. Peel and coarsely chop the rest of the oranges. Stir together chopped oranges, orange juice, honey and ginger until well combined. Put each chicken inside a plastic bag, and pour half of the orange mixture inside each bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Seal bags tightly and put inside a bowl. Let marinate 1 to 2 days, turning bags occasionally.

Two hours before eating:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chickens and their marinade in a deep 13x9 roasting pan, breast down. Roast about one hour, turn over, roast about another hour. Chicken will turn dark brown.

Strain and degrease gravy, then reduce by half by simmering over medium heat. Serve on the side of chicken cut into pieces.

Note: This recipe is very forgiving if the first part of the seder goes longer than expected. The chicken will stay moist. If there's any leftover chicken, take it off the bones, warm in the gravy and serve over mashed potatoes.

The Menus

2009-03-12T10:03:00.003-04:00

I always type up and print many copies of the menu for a meal this extensive - a clean one gets posted on the kitchen bulletin board, and other copies can be used for checklists, notes, etc. I try to include everything that has to go on the table - so that nothing gets forgotten in last minute frenzy.

Seder Menu

Seder Plate

Charoset { Zeroah { Betzah { Maror { Chazeret

Salt Water

-----

Karpas

Boiled Potatoes { Parsley

-----

Hard Boiled Eggs

-----

Chicken Soup

Matzoh Balls { Soup Nuts

-----

Brisket

Israeli Orange Chicken

Sweet Vegetable Kugels { Israeli Salad { Roasted Asparagus

Roasted Potatoes { Mom’s Tzimmes

-----

Rothschild Cake { Black Forest Roll

Citrus Sponge Cake

Almond Macaroons { Almond Candy { Mandelbrodt

Berries { Melon { Tea and Coffee

Shabbat Lunch Menu

Tossed Salad with Smoked Salmon in Asparagus

Shnitzel Nuggets

Roast Beef

Stuffed Scalloped Potatoes

Red Cabbage Slaw

Israeli Salad

Orange Sweet Potatoes

Sponge Cake

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

Brownies

Almond Candy

Almond Macaroons

Fruit

Recipes to follow......

Pesach Prep - Earliest Steps

2009-03-11T09:30:00.004-04:00

Step One - Calendar

As always, I start Pesach preparations by looking at the calendar to determine when the holiday falls. This year, we have the pleasure of a three day chag, since the seders are Wednesday night and Thursday night, so we'll segue directly into shabbat.

I knew I was making the first seder and going out for the second. And it seems that as soon as the email blasts start regarding Mishloach Manot, the invitations start flying for Pesach, so I was invited out for Friday night and I invited my bf's family for shabbat lunch. So before I baked the first hamentashen, the "social schedule" was in place.

Step Two - Menus

Since I only make one seder, the menu has become fairly constant over the last few years, only changing side dishes depending on the number of people, and if I see something new that intrigues me. The shabbat lunch menu required a bit more thought, since so many of my shabbat lunch side dish standards are pasta based. Also, since one of the guests can't have gluten, pesach seemed a perfect opportunity to do an entirely GF meal - by the third day of pesach, everyone will have had their fill of matzoh meal laden kugels.

I'll post the menus shortly -

As always, if you have any questions, or would like menu or recipe advice - I'm happy to help - please post your question.

Deb

Deb's Delicacies Order Form

2009-03-06T10:23:00.001-05:00

Deb’s Delicacies Order Form

Customer:
Order Date:
Pick Up Date:

	# of Units	Price per Unit	Price
Chocolate Chip Cookies – no nuts		$8 / dozen
Chocolate Chip Cookies – with pecans or walnuts		$10 / dozen
Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies		$8 /dozen
Chewy Cinnamon Cookies		$8 / dozen
Oatmeal Sugar Cookies		$8 / dozen
Lemon Squares (8 x 8 pan – 16 squares )		$12 / batch
Brownies – no nuts (13 x 9 pan – 32 squares )		$20 / batch
Brownies –pecans or walnuts (13 x 9 pan – 32 squares )		$22 / batch
Rice Krispie Treats (13 x 9 pan – 32 squares )		$20 / batch
Bundt cake – Orange, Vanilla or Marble		$25 each
Bundt cake – Orange, Vanilla or Marble – Iced		$27 each
Frozen Peanut Butter Mousse Cake		$40 each
Optional Delivery		$5
Custom Item:
Total

Custom Items Available – Inquire for pricing and availability

Deb's Delicacies

2009-03-06T10:19:00.002-05:00

With apologies to those of you too far from White Plains - I've started a home baking/catering business...

The standard list of baked goods is just a start, but if you can request it, I can bake it!

I am also available for in-home catering, one-on-one cooking or homemaking classes.

Drugs, Chugs or Mugs? A Purim Dilemma

2009-03-03T15:55:00.002-05:00

Though I don't think of myself as a creative person outside of the kitchen, the past few years I've tried to come up with a theme for the mishloach manot baskets I send out - rather than just baking and loading the baskets up randomly. Last year, everything I baked had nuts or peanut butter, and I included a note "I must be NUTS to do this every year".

This year, probably because of all of the Valentine's Day goodies around, I had the idea to do something about kisses..... I thought of meringues (referred to in hebrew as neshikot - kisses), peanut butter cookies with hershey's kisses, and got a lip shaped cookie cutter - you get the idea...

Hershey's also has a products called Hugs - so the idea for hugs and kisses started... Then I got to Chugs & kisses - which would have included a Beer (get it? chugs!) - quickly vetoed by the kids and the bf. Of course the teens then suggested drugs & kisses (vetoed by me!)- but we've compromised on mugs & kisses -

So the final contents will be

A mug - filled with cocoa mix & tea bags

Meringues

Peanut butter cookies with Hershey's kisses

Surprise kiss cookies (actually hershey's hugs wrapped in dough)

rice krispie treats - cut out with the lip cookie cutters

Brownies - ditto on the cookie cutters

Mini bundt cakes decorated with x's and o's

and Hamentashen

Happy Purim everyone!!!!

Feeding Teenage Boys

2009-02-11T11:12:00.003-05:00

Last shabbat, my nearly 17 year old had a few friends for shabbat. I've watched this group of kids grow up, and it's a great pleasure - MUCH NACHAS - to see how they're turning into fine young men. Fine HUNGRY young men - I'm not big on buying prepared foods, or even using the bakery other than for challot, so I try to be very organized, make shopping lists ahead of time, and getting as much as possible in the freezer. Fortunately, I don't work Friday afternoons, so it all comes together...

Here's what they had...

Friday Night Dinner

Challah

Chicken Soup with Noodles

Honey Mustard Chicken

Meatballs in Sauce & Pasta

Spicy Roasted Potatoes, Corn Kugel

Tossed Salad, Stir Fry Broccoli

Shabbat Breakfast

Donuts, Bagels

Shabbat Lunch

Chulent

Spicy Noodles, Cranberry Kugel, Israeli Salad

Desserts

Peanut Butter Mousse Cake

Marble Pound Cake, Pumpkin Chip Cake

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies

Motzei Shabbat

Pizzadillas

They were happy!

In Transition

2009-02-10T16:52:00.002-05:00

I had almost completely forgotten about this blog, then a miracle happen... someone found it, read it, made a comment and reminded me -

I had forgotten how much pleasure I'd derived from posting, and had forgetten how much I enjoyed everything I did.

2 1/2 years later, I am a very different person - my appearance, outlook, and habits have changed drastically - all for the better! But my love of entertaining remains -

So I'm back!

Pretty Apples and Honey

2006-08-15T10:06:00.001-04:00

Young and old, apples dipped in honey is probably everyone's favorite rosh hashanah treat. What's very pretty, and saves honey being dripped on your tablecloth tooo much, is to give each person a small plate with their own little dish of honey and sliced apples. And if you don't have enough pretty little bowls for the honey, get lady apples (those little two inch things) and scoop out the top, and fill with honey....

Now decorate each plate with slices of apples and each guest has their own...

To avoid your apples turning brown, dip each cut slice into a bowl of water in which you've squeezed half a lemon. I promise, it works (personal note - yes Jon, acidulation is a word!)

My blessing to all for a happy new year.

Coming Soon

2006-08-15T10:04:00.000-04:00

My apologies to those of you who were actually reading this blog.... (all three of you, I suppose). It's been a rough summer for me, and I'll hopefully have something to tell you about in the late fall...

I'll just post one Rosh Hashanah idea, so you can start your thinking and planning....

Filling the Duncan Hines Void - Pareve Brownies!!!

2006-04-26T16:11:00.001-04:00

Very easy folks!

1 1/2 sticks margarine
3/4 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips or nuts (optional).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 baking pan (or use the disposable half sheet pans). In microwave, melt margarine. Stir in cocoa until well mixed. Stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Stir in flour and salt. Stir in chips or nuts if using.

Pour batter into pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.

Enjoy!