Summer is officially here in Florida. Temperatures have been in the mid nineties for the past few weeks, and all I can think of is yummy cold desserts. Last month’s Bon Appetit was all about Italy, and had a gelato recipe that looked simple enough. Continue reading
recipes
141 posts
This recipe has a lot of components, but don’t let that fool you into thinking that it’s difficult.
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I could say that the impetus for a meal of stuffed artichokes was because spring has finally sprung in Vermont. But I would be fibbing.
Sure it’s great to see grass after a ridiculously long winter, but the reason for this spring-like meal was just the fact that I was craving anything that wasn’t meat. (I go through periodical vegetarian phases.) And although I don’t make stuffed artichokes very often, I thought they would be a perfect fix for my “no chicken, no pork” craving.
When I’ve made these before, I’ve normally stuck to a stuffing of Panko breadcrumbs, parmesan and thyme. This time though, I decided to add seven green olives to the stuffing. And even though the artichokes were fantastic, I did have one complaint. I didn’t use enough of the new ingredient. I can’t stress this enough, green olives in stuffed artichokes are amazing.
“There are two kinds of people: those who think there are two kinds of people and those who are smart enough to know better.” -Tom Robbins
Deviled Eggs
This recipe is for one dozen eggs (some don’t make it to the table because they fall apart when peeling the shells off, or get eaten).
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By DahlELama and The_Obvious
The two of us have lots in common: we both continue to love The Office long after everyone else has given up on it, we both revere our KitchenAid mixers, and we both think we’re better than everyone else at Scrabble. But for all our similarities, there will always be one huge difference between us: our backgrounds.
However, good friends and natural-born educators that we are, we’ve always made sure to try to teach each other a little bit more about where we come from. For instance, I, Dahl, taught T_O about the Sabbath, and he now he tries to get me to bail on it every Friday. And I, T_O Ochocinco taught Dahl about Easter and egg hunts, and she promptly invited herself to my family’s annual holiday celebration. Eventually, we discovered that our cultures do have one major thing in common: a reverence of balls.
The_Obvious
Like any good little Catholic kid, I was dragged to church every Sunday. Through all the mumbling of prayers, mouthing of words to hymns when the priest saw me not singing, and making paper footballs out of dollars destined for the collection plate, there was one motivating factor that made it all worth it: meatballs. Going to my grandparents’ house was a post-church tradition, and one that I enjoyed very much. The smell of the impending feast hit you as soon as you got to the front door and the star of the show were the meatballs. My grandma would keep a watchful eye over the pot as family members filed in. There were always a few sauceless ones set aside just for me. (I eventually grew out of my disdain for sauce and graduated from white to regular pizza, much to the relief of my mom.) Food and family were synonymous growing up and Sunday meatballs were very much an important part of that. Not long ago, I went to a restaurant that only served meatballs, and felt a pang of guilt and betrayal for eating anybody else’s but grandma’s.
I gave Grandma Obvious a call asking if I could have her recipe, which like most family favorites is not written down anywhere. I’m afraid the answer I received won’t be very useful to anyone though as the measurements she rattled off included: “2-3 pounds”, “some”, “a few”, and “a generous amount.” What I can tell you is that there is mixed chopped meat (veal, beef, and pork), egg, milk, bread crumbs, and parmigiano cheese. She fries the meatballs so they get a nice brown crust and finishes them in the oven. Noticeably absent is garlic and onion, so yes, this is not a spicy meatball. I suppose that’s relatively controversial as far as meatball recipes go, but with any comfort food, your first food memory tends to be what you prefer.
DahlELama
Unfortunately, because I’m an observant Jew who keeps kosher, both the pork and the combination of meat and dairy products make those lovely balls off limits to me. (But I would not turn my nose up at an all-beef kosher version; just throwing that out there.) Fortunately, we Jews have our own special balls which are 100% kosher. I speak, of course, of matzoh malls!
Like T_O, my grandmother was quite skilled in the kitchen, and although the 7,000-mile distance between us meant I only had her cooking a handful of times in my life, one of my favorite things that my father brought back to our American kitchen from her Czech-turned-Israeli one was her matzoh ball recipe. One of the great debates of the kosher kitchen is whether matzoh balls should be dense or fluffy, and my grandmother’s were as dense as can be. For a recipe for fluffier matzoh balls (and chicken soup to go with them), see TackyTick’s Passover post. For my grandmother’s matzoh balls, see below:
Savta’s Matzoh Balls
4 eggs
1 c. matzoh meal
1/2 c. oil
1/2 tsp. salt
boiling chicken soup/stock/broth/whatever (basically, whatever liquid you’ll be serving them in should be prepared first)
Mix all ingredients until smooth. Place in refrigerator for one hour (or freeze for 20 minutes). Roll into balls about an inch in diameter and drop into pot of boiling chicken liquid-of-choice. Cook partially covered for 40 minutes.
If you’re feeling ambitious and artsy, you can also try giving your matzoh balls some color using spinach, turmeric, or tomato.
So those are our favorite balls; tell us about yours in the comments!
DahlELama and The_Obvious are parents to two adorable chicks named Nuggets and General Tso, who are currently living with a foster mother in Connecticut. The chicks were taken away following a traumatic incident involving The_Obvious and some brutally decapitated Peeps.
This recipe has been passed around my family for years. It is our go-to date night recipe, which means that all of my cousins have made this dish for boys that they were trying to impress. This is crazy, seeing as there is a TON of onion in this recipe, and the cream sauce is not necessarily light, making everyone feel like beached whales after the meal. SEXY. I will say that many men have fallen prey to the charms of this recipe, just not on the night of the date.
Cheese Tortellini With Green Apple Cream Sauce
Serves 4 (easy to halve)
Prep time: Approx. 15 minutes
Cook time: Approx. 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 lb cheese tortellini
- ¼ lb diced ham
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 stick butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ½ Granny Smith apple, grated
- 1 tablespoon flour
- ¼ cup brandy
- ground black pepper to taste
- pinch of nutmeg
- Zantac, 75 mg.
Directions
Take 1 Zantac. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir together to create a paste. Add onion and apple, and saute for about 4 minutes. Add brandy, and cook for 3 minutes. Add cream, cheese, ham, pepper, and nutmeg. Turn heat to medium-low and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes. Serve over cooked tortellini. If you have leftovers, it is best to re-heat them over the stove. If you microwave them, the sauce tends to separate, which means you’ll be left with a whole bunch of butter on the top.
Please share your favorite “date night” recipes below. If you have any funny anecdotes dealing with dating and your cooking, I would love to hear those as well!
Photos courtesy of scottfeldstein and cbransto.
The first time I had chicken marsala was at our friend’s wedding rehearsal dinner in 2006. It was delicious, and I’ve craved it occasionally since then. But, I’ve never made it, mainly because I never think to buy marsala wine. But, then I read that dry vermouth can be swapped out for the marsala. And guess what? I just happened to have a bottle of vermouth languishing on top of our refrigerator.
Marsala normally has mushrooms, but I don’t like them and the dish was so incredibly rich that I can’t imagine how it could have had any more flavor. Seriously.
Chicken Marsala With Vermouth
Olive oil
2 ounces of pancetta
2 sliced shallots
4 thin chicken breasts
Flour for dredging the chicken
Pepper
2 teaspoons of paprika
1 cup of vermouth
5 tablespoons of heavy cream (don’t substitute half and half, trust me on this)
Parsley
Saute the pancetta in a tablespoon of olive oil. When it’s browned, drain it on paper towels.
Saute the shallots in the pancetta drippings and set them aside.
Add more olive oil to the pan and heat it until a drop of flour sizzles in pan. While the oil heats, thoroughly mix together the pepper, paprika and flour. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture. Fry the chicken in the olive oil, approximately 7 minutes a side. (I like a lot of color on my chicken especially when making a pan sauce, so this is only a guide.)
When the chicken is done, drain it on a paper towel. Turn the heat off, and add the vermouth to deglaze the pan.
Turn the heat back on low, and add the cream. Then add the chicken and shallots into the pan, reheat the chicken and serve over your starch of choice.
I served the chicken and sauce over couscous, because I am madly in love with couscous right now.
Then I added chopped parsley, for contrast: cold against hot, light against the rich cream sauce. And it was incredible – the salty pancetta, the crisp chicken, the creamy vermouth sauce, the shallots, the parsley, the couscous. When my husband came home I was sated. I couldn’t even eat more than half of the piece of chicken.
Which raises the question, “If you make a dish with bacon and heavy cream but can only eat a portion of it, is it really that bad for you?”
Some of you may hear me sing the never-ending praises of my favorite kitchen tool on a regular basis. It is a gift to newcomers and experts alike. It does not discriminate. It could care less if you know your amuse bouche from your ass; if you can shop, chop and read, you’re good to go. See, the magic pot only has four settings; off, warm, low and, of course, high (for those in a hurry). But, its capabilities are seemingly endless. Who knew you could make good lasagna in a slow cooker?
Some helpful tips for using and abusing this ’70s culinary masterpiece:
1. If the recipe calls for veggies, I try to add them as late as possible to preserve the nutritional content. If you want to get fancy, you can blanch the vegetables before adding, but this seems to defeat the “one pot” philosophy.
2. If you are increasing/decreasing the size of the recipe, don’t forget to alter the time accordingly. You laugh, but no one likes brown mush (I learned from experience).
3. Dry beans contain phytohaemagglutinin. I have no idea what this is, but it’s toxic, so all dry beans MUST be pre-boiled for ten minutes before adding them to the recipe. You don’t want to poison the dinner guests. Although, if you do, this appears to be the way to go.
4. Remove all fat and skin from any meat in your recipe. The fat melts and, trust me, it’s not pretty nor does it taste good.
For more helpful hints, this is a great site.
Now, for the GOOD part….. Recipes!
This is one of my favorites and is also very simple.
Soy Braised Chicken
Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 10m | Total Time: 8hr 00m
Ingredients:
2 medium onions, sliced
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 bay leaf
black pepper
8 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs (about 1 3/4 pounds)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 large head bok choy, cut into 1-inch strips
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Directions:
In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the onions, garlic, vinegar, soy sauce, brown sugar, bay leaf, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Place the chicken on top and sprinkle with the paprika.
Cook, covered, until the chicken and onions are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours (this will shorten total cooking time).
Twenty minutes before serving, cook the rice according to the package directions.
Ten minutes before serving, if the slow cooker is on the low setting, turn it to high. Gently fold the bok choy into the chicken and cook, covered, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Serve with the rice and sprinkle with the scallions.
This recipe for beef tacos is just, well, yummy! I added guacamole and home made salsa to the agenda and eliminated the sour cream. Also, chipotles in adobo sauce have a distinct smoky flavor. If this is not your thing, you can substitute green chiles or fire roasted ones and add some red or green salsa.
Chipotle Beef Tacos
Serves 6| Hands-On Time: 30m | Total Time: 8hr 30m
Ingredients:
3 pounds beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotles in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 bay leaves
kosher salt
4 cups thinly sliced cabbage (about 1/3 medium cabbage)
4 radishes, halved and thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
12 6-inch corn tortillas
sour cream, pickled jalapeño peppers, and hot sauce, for serving.
Directions:
In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, toss together the beef, onion, garlic, chipotles, oregano, bay leaves, and 1 teaspoon salt.
Cover and cook until the beef is very tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 3 ½ to 4 hours (this will shorten total cooking time).
Twenty minutes before serving, heat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, radishes, cilantro, lime juice, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Wrap the tortillas in foil and bake until warm, 5 to 10 minutes.
Transfer the beef to a medium bowl (reserve the cooking liquid) and shred, using 2 forks. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl with the beef and toss to combine.
Fill the tortillas with the beef and slaw. Serve with the sour cream, jalapeños, hot sauce, and salsa.
And lastly, a little something apple.
Apple Brown Betty (Crocker)
Ingredients:
3 cups apples – peeled, cored and diced
10 slices bread, cubed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
Directions:
Place apples into the crock of a slow cooker. In a medium bowl, toss together the bread cubes, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and brown sugar (you can also add nuts here). Place on top of the apples and drizzle with melted butter. Cover and cook on Low for 3 hours, or until apples are tender.
Top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
PLEASE share your favorite slow cooker recipes in the comments!
ALSO, here are some great links…..
RealSimple– A great selection!
One for every day of the year– (LCL- Did you bless me with this link?)
Great Vegan recipes– You don’t need to be a carnivore to enjoy the Pot!
Happy CrockPotting, people!
Recipes/photos courtesy of RealSimple.com and Allrecipes.com
One week from today, my home will be filling up with the smells of Seder dinner. Chicken soup will be simmering on the stove. Brisket will be roasting in the oven. The food processor will be chopping up apples and walnuts. My husband will be snacking on macaroons.
What is a Seder Dinner?
The Seder dinner is a tradition for the first night, or for some people the first two nights, of Passover. Seder, which is a Hebrew word meaning order, is an evening of rituals, such as eating matzo and bitter herbs, drinking four cups of wine (many of us have adapted that ritual to four sips), telling the story of Exodus and eating the Seder meal.
During the Seder, and the following eight days of Passover, we remember the Exodus when our ancestors escaped from being slaves in Egypt. We eat matzo and refrain from eating other grains because our ancestors did not have time to let their bread rise. We eat bitter herbs to remember the bitterness in their lives. We eat charoset to remember the mortar they used to build the pyramids.
What Is Not Eaten?
I could write an entire post on what is or is not kosher for Passover. This is the quick overview.
The foods that can not be eaten on Passover are called chametz: wheat, spelt, oats, barley, and rye. Many Jewish people of European descent, including me, also do not eat kitniyot: corn, rice, legumes and some seeds. The reason? The quick answer is we deny ourselves foods our ancestors were not able to eat during the Exodus and the only food containing grain we eat is matzo. Matzo is unleavened bread, almost like a large cracker, made from only flour and water and baked for less than 18 minutes. Matzo can be ground into matzo meal to be used in many recipes during Passover. A fine matzo meal is similar to a course flour, while a course matzo meal is similar to bread crumbs. There are a few reasons many of us refrain from eating kitniyot, but it is basically to prevent accidentally eating chametz.
Many Jewish people who do not keep regularly keep kosher follow the general rules of Kashrut, dietary law, during Passover. That means we do not eat pork or other meat from animals with cloven hooves that chew their cud. We do not mix meat and dairy. We only eat seafood that has fins and scales, which means we do not eat shellfish. This website has a good overview.
Some Traditional Recipes
I am sharing with you a few of my favorite traditional Passover recipes. I’ll be making these and many other foods for my Seder dinner. Please share your own favorites in the comments. Maybe you can help me decide what side dish is missing from my menu.
My Mom’s Chicken Soup
Whether you are making this soup for Passover or just everyday enjoyment, the recipe depends on using kosher chickens. Kosher chickens are soaked and salted before packaging and that makes a significant difference in the taste.
Makes 12 cups of soup
- 2 kosher chickens, each 3 lbs plus, cut into quarters (include the neck and any organs – they will add lots of flavor)
- About 14 cups water
- 3 large carrots, cleaned and cut in thirds
- 1 large white turnip, cleaned not peeled; cut in half
- 1 large parsnip. cleaned
- 4 stalks celery, each cut in half
- 1 whole onion, peeled
- 3 leeks
- 1-1/2 bunch parsley
- 1 -1/2 bunch dill
- Salt to taste (about 2 teaspoons to one tablespoon)
Clean chicken thoroughly. Cut away excess fat and discard. Pour boiling water over chickens prior to putting in pot. Put chickens in a large stock pot and pour water up to about ¼ of an inch over the chickens. Bring to a boil and skim off fat and scum during the first 10 minutes of boiling. Lower heat to allow stock to simmer. After one hour, remove about half the chicken. (This chicken will make great chicken salad, the chicken that cooks the whole time will have lost most its flavor.) Add carrots, white turnip and parsnip. Bring back to boil, lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes before adding celery, onion and leeks. Bring to a boil once again, lower heat and simmer for another 10 minutes before adding parsley and dill. Bring to a boil for a final time and simmer for 30 minutes.
Strain the soup before serving so you have a clear broth. I strain it from the ladle as I pour each bowl. In my family, we serve the soup with one large matzo ball and a piece of carrot. Some people like to shred some of the chicken and add it to the soup. As a child, it was a treat to get the neck or the gizzards.
For the matzo balls, my mother always told me there is no better recipe than the recipe on the side of the box of Manischewitz matzo meal. We are a family that believes matzo balls should float, not sink.
Charoset
Adapted from The Complete Passover Cookbook, Frances R. AvRutick
- 4 apples, cored and cut into 1 inch chunks (many people peel the apples, but why cut away all that fiber?)
- 1 cup chopped or ground walnuts
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 6 teaspoons kosher red wine or grape juice
Put all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until very finely chopped. Ideally, the charoset should resemble a chunky mortar, as it should remind us of the mortars used to build the Egyptian pyramids. Some people prefer a chunkier charoset.
Charoset is my favorite Passover food. Every Passover, I wonder why I don’t make charoset throughout the year. It is simple and delicious. But I know that, in my heart, I want to keep charoset special so I only allow myself the cinnamon apple goodness during the eight days of Passover.
Coconut Macaroons
This recipe is adapted from Alton Brown’s Toasty Coconut Macaroons.
- 4 large egg whites
- A pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 8 ounces unsweetened coconut
- 12 oz semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips
- 1 oz vegetable shortening
Bring eggs to room temperature. Whip eggs, a pinch of salt and vanilla until they stiffen. Add sugar in three parts and continue to whip until very stiff. Fold in the coconut, being very careful not to over mix. You want to keep the mixture as light and fluffy as possible.
Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop batter onto paper using a teaspoon. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, checking periodically to makes sure they do not burn. You want a nice golden color on the top, but the cookie won’t be too firm.
In a double broiler, or a metal bowl over a pot of about 2 inches slightly bowling water, melt the chocolate chips with the shortening. Dip the cookies in the chocolate so the chocolate covers about half the cookie and let dry on parchment paper.
(Special thanks to DahlELama for making sure this Reform Penguin didn’t make any mistakes)
