Making the Most of the End of summer

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

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

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

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

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???

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

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

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!