Nana’s Carrot Mold

November 15, 2011

Author: Julie Frankel

Ingredients:

3 sticks of butter softened

1 cup(s) firmly packed graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup(s) or as much as is needed to coat inside of mold

1 1/2 Teaspoons

3 Teaspoons

2 Tablespoons

2 Tablespoons

1 tablespoon grated

1 tablespoon grated

1/2 cup(s) 4-6 large carrots

3 1/4 Cup(s)s

1/2 teaspoon

3/4 teaspoon

3/4 teaspoon

1 cooked

Preparation:

Generously butter a large ring mold and sprinkle all over with graham cracker crumbs.

Cream 3 sticks softened butter and add:

1 cup dark brown sugar

3 eggs.

1 1/2 teas. baking soda

3 teas. baking powder

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablesp. orange juice

1 tablesp. of grated rind of lemon

1 tablesp. of grated rind of orange

3 1/2cups grated carrots

3 1/4 flour

1 1/2 teas. salt

3/4 teas. cinnamon

3/4 teas. nutmeg.

Batter will be stiff. Fill mold. Bake in preheated 350 oven for one hour or until it has risen and feels dry.

Take knife around edges and turn upside down to un-mold.

Fill center with cooked, frozen peas.

This can be frozen unbaked and then brought to room temp.

Tsimmes

December 10, 2012

Author: Ronna Dell Valle and Sharon Mason

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. carrots, peeled and slice thick or use bags of baby carrots

1 (24 oz.) pkg. of pitted prunes

2 yams or sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in large cubes or very thick slices

1/4 cup OJ

1 Tbsp. Parve Margarine

1 cup water

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cloves

Preparation:

Saute carrots in margarine in covered saucepan for 15 minutes. Add everything else and bring to a boil. Place in a baking dish and bake, covered (use aluminum foil), at 350 degrees, stirring and basting with the liquid until done (carrots & yams are soft and the liquid is “syrupy” in consistency).

Gvetch

December 27, 2012

Author: Ronna Dell Valle and Sharon Mason

My mother-in-law, of blessed memory, came to live with Reuben and myself when we had been married a year. She was a dear, sweet woman and we got along famously. She worked, as did I, until our first daughter was born a year later. Mom graciously offered her services as babysitter and we got to go out frequently. This particular Sunday, Mom suggested that she make us Sunday dinner. She made what I later learned was Gvetch. I was very angry with her. “Mom, why did you wait until you were living with us three years before making this delicious dish? I’m angry with you for not having made it long before this day.” Mom received this recipe from a Romanian lady; but, I think it is from the Middle East.

Ingredients:

1 medium size eggplant, peeled, sliced and cut into one inch cubes

1 cup rice

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup diced onions

4 ribs celery cut into one inch pieces

4 carrots, peeled and diced

1 cup water

1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted, at room temperature

Preparation:

Place all ingredients, except peas, into a roasting pan and mix together. Bake in a 350 degree oven for one hour or until ingredients are soft. Mix every twenty minutes to prevent rice from sticking to the pan. You may need to add a bit more boiling water when stirring the dish if it seems to be too dry. Add defrosted peas before serving the dish. May be used as a main dish with a salad or used as a side dish with meat, chicken or fish. Salt and pepper to your own taste. Enjoy!!

Bubbie Esther’s Chanukah Lasagna

June 20, 2012

Author: Dina Mann

My Bubbie has a Chanukah party every year. She has five daughters, 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren, so this is one of the few times when all of us get together and re-connect, as we usually see the whole gang only at family simchas, happy occasions. Every year Bubbie tries new things like Persian rices or Greek pies, but the lasagna is a staple that’s chocked full of veggies and sweet like my Bubbaloo!

Ingredients:

1 box of lasagna

1 container frozen spinach

1 zucchini

2 Carrots

1 large ricotta container

2 packs of shredded mozzarella

2 eggs

1 cup(s) sugar

salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

2 bottles of tomato sauce

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚.

2. Chop veggies and sauté in large pan and season with salt, pepper and garlic. ( Feel free to swap out these veggies for other such as summer squash, broccoli, peppers, onion…)

3. Bring water to a boil and cook lasagna noodles until mildly cooked. I prefer a little al’ dente as the noodles continue to cook in the oven.

4. In a large bowl, mix ricotta, eggs, sugar and 1 and 1/3 bags of mozzarella. Reserve the remainder of the mozzarella.

5. When veggies are cooked add to cheese mixture.

6. Pour sauce on bottom pan, layer with noodles, add cheese/veggie layer, layer with noodles, add sauce, layer with noodles, add cheese/veggie layer and top off with reserved mozzarella.

7. Bake at 350˚ for an hour and half.

8. Enjoy!

Yetta’s Turkey Burgers

August 21, 2012

Author:Larry Gast

My mother’s parents used to have the family over for dinner quite a bit. My grandmother, Yetta, would cook. She didn’t seem to love cooking. When referring to food, she said ‘diet, ‘fattening’ and ‘bad for you’ a lot. Yetta made us food because we had to eat. I don’t remember a lot of the dishes she served. I remember salad – generally big pieces of wet iceberg lettuce, big chunks of tomato and probably some kind of oil. 

I remember rolls, likely purchased from Dierberg’s, the local grocery store with an in-house bakery. I also remember turkey burgers. I ate a lot of them. They were fine. They were just seasoned enough. They were browned in a pan. I remember chunks of onion in them fondly. When I learned about the Beyond Bubbie project, I thought about what I’d make. And looking back at Yetta’s cooking, this is what I remember. So I called her and got her recipe. The instructions below are pretty true to her approach (she said eggs were optional; she didn’t use carrot.) I liked making these. They are simple, filling, and can be riffed on endlessly. I served it with some beet horseradish from The Gefilteria. When it was cold, I mixed in some sambal. Enjoy.

2 Cup(s)s Ground Turkey (I used Dipaola’s from the green market in New York)

1 Carrot grated

1/2 Onion grated or diced

1.5 Teaspoons Salt

1/2 teaspoon Pepper

4 Tablespoons Bread crumbs

2 Tablespoons Olive oil Add more to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

Heat a cast iron skillet or a pan with canola oil to a decent level of heat. Meanwhile, make patties, trying to make each one the same size. Make patties somewhat flat to encourage even cooking.

Grill burgers til slightly to decently brown. Serve with greens, horseradish, sriracha, olive oil, and/or anything else.

Aunt Pat’s Brisket (my updated version, based on Grandma Sadie’s original recipe)

February 11, 2014

Author: Pattie Weiss Levy

From NiceJewishMom.com

Ingredients:

1 kosher brisket of beef (4 to 10 pounds)

2 to 3 large yellow onions, sliced

3 or 4 cloves garlic

2 16-ounce jars tomato sauce

2 cans or 3 cups beef broth

olive oil (or canola oil) – approx. 2 tablespoons

a few white potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces

1 tablespoon sugar (approx.)

optional:

a few carrots, peeled and sliced

a cup or so of string beans

Preparation:

Heat oil in large pan (preferably a frying pan or deep pot for which you have a lid).

Sautee garlic and onions until yellow and slightly softened. Push onions to sides of pan, put meat in center and sear on high until well browned all over.

Add approximately equal amounts of tomato sauce and beef broth to pot. Stir to combine well.

Add several cut up potatoes, as well as the string beans and sliced carrots, if desired. The latter vegetables are totally optional, but the potatoes help thicken the gravy.

Cover the pan and reduce heat so that the gravy simmers. Cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours, turning the meat occasionally so that both sides cook evenly. Remove meat from pan and slice THIN* against the grain. Stir a tablespoon or so of sugar into sauce. Then return meat to pan and cook for about 45 minutes more.

*Note: The thinner you slice it, the more tender it tends to be! 

Lumpia, Filipino Egg Rolls

December 27, 2012

Author: Czara Thrusta

From pigpartsandbeer.com

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 lb lean ground pork

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, sliced

1/2 lb green beans, julienned

2 carrots, julienned

1 Tbsp. soy sauce (optional)

15 lumpia wrappers, square or round

Salt to taste

Preparation: Heat oil in skillet and saute garlic and onions until tender. Add pork and saute until browned. Add vegetables and cook until tender, yet crisp, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat. Season with soy sauce. When mixture is cool, add bean sprouts. Salt to taste.

To assemble lumpia: Carefully separate wrappers. To prevent them from drying out, cover unused wrappers with a moist paper towel. Lay one wrapper on clean surface. Place about 2-3 tablespoons of the filling near the edge closest to you. Roll edge towards the middle. Fold in both sides and continue rolling. Moisten opposite edge with water to seal. Repeat with other wrappers. Lumpia can be frozen until ready to use.

Deep fry at 350 degrees until golden brown, about 3-5 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels.

Ruth’s Kreplach

February 1, 2013

Author: Mo Rocca

Grandmother and math teacher Ruth Teig teaches Mo Rocca how to make classic Jewish cuisine on My Grandmother’s Ravioli. On the menu is kreplach (or Jewish ravioli.) Ruth surprises Mo with a large live Carp in her bathtub to teach him how generations of Jews in Europe would keep their fish fresh before the invention of refrigeration. Mo also gets to taste Ruth’s magical coffee cake that she uses as currency to feed household workmen and to allows her to skip to the front of long lines at the DMV.

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 2lbs Boneless Chuck or Brisket

• 1 bottle of dry red wine

• 1 large onion chopped plus 3 large onions sliced

• 2 carrots chopped

• 2 celery stalks chopped

• canola oil

• salt and pepper to taste

Dough:

• 3 cups flour

• 4 large eggs

Preparation:

1. Place the meat, the chopped onion, carrots and celery in a large dutch oven. Add the bottle of red Wine and cook in a 375 degree oven until meat is fork tender. This should take about 1-2 hours. Let cool.

2. In a large skillet, over a medium flame, sauté the 3 sliced onions in canola oil until they are completely caramelized. remove from heat and let cool.

3. Chop cooled meat into large pieces that will fit into the spout of a meat grinder. Using a meat grinder, alternate grinding the meat and the caramelized onions until it has all been ground together. taste mixture and if necessary, adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.

4. Place all of the flour and the eggs in a food processor and let it run until it forms a dough.

5. Remove the dough from the food processor, cover it with a dry dishtowel, and let it rest on the counter for a half hour.

6. While the dough is resting, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once it’s come to a boil, lower the flame so the water is simmering.

7. Cut the dough in quarters. Leaving the other sections covered, take one of the sections and on a well-floured board roll it out until it’s approximately 1/4” thick.

8. Using a knife, cut the dough into approximately 2” squares.

9. Place a teaspoon of filling onto the center of each piece of dough.

10. Wet the sides of the dough with water and fold the dough corner to corner crimping the dough together with your fingers to form a triangle.

11. Join the two ends together like a little ring, as with tortellini or wontons. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

12. To cook the kreplach, in small batches place them carefully into the pot of simmering water. when they rise to the top of the water cook for another 5 minutes.

13. When the kreplach are cooked, remove with a strainer and place them in a bowl with a little bit of oil. This will prevent them from sticking together.

14. Serve in chicken soup, as a side dish, or put them in a 350 degree oven until they get crisp and brown around the edges.

Joan Nathan’s Mother-in-Law’s Gefilte Fish

February 1, 2013

Author: Joan Nathan

The gefilte fish in Joseph Wechsberg’s mouthwatering description is unfortunately a dish of the past. Today, most people buy frozen or bottled brands. Good cooks, however, insist on preparing the homemade variety for Friday night and the holidays. My late mother-in-law, Peshka Gerson, made it twice a year, at Passover and Rosh Hashanah. She used her mother’s recipe, handed down orally, from Zamosc, Poland. Her only concession to modernity was making individual patties rather than stuffing the filling back into the skin as described by Wechsberg. In addition, her filling was less elaborate. Years ago, when I asked Peshka for her recipe, two of her sisters-in-law were present. They all agreed that the rule of thumb is one pound of fat fish to one pound of thin. They also preferred the Polish custom of adding a little sugar. (Lithuanians say sugar is added to freshen already unfresh fish. Needless to say, Lithuanians do not add sugar to their gefilte fish.) Peshka, Chuma, and Rushka disagreed, however, on the seasonings. Chuma insisted on more salt, and Rushka explained that a little almond extract would do the trick. They both took me aside, promising to show me the “real” way to make gefilte fish. I have used their two suggestions as variations on Peshka’s basic recipe. Make your fish Lithuanian or Polish, with sugar or without, but just remember—it’s the carrots and horseradish that really count! I have been making this recipe since the mid-1970s. The only difference is that I cook the fish for twenty minutes. My mother-in-law cooked it for two hours!

Ingredients:

Fish:

• 3 pounds carp (meat)

• 1 1/2 pounds whitefish, pickerel, or rockfish (meat)

• 1 1/2 pounds yellow pike or buffel (meat)

• 6 onions

• 2 tablespoons salt, or to taste

• 6 eggs

• 3 tablespoons sugar

• 1 /2–1 cup matzah meal

• 3/4 cup water

• 1 teaspoon almond extract or 1/4 cup ground almonds (optional)

• 1 1/4 teaspoons pepper

• Horseradish (bottled or fresh)

Stock:

• 4 stalks celery, cut in 4-inch slices

• 3 onions, sliced

• 6 carrots, sliced on the bias

• 8 cups water, or enough to cover bones with 1 inch to spare (use less rather than more)

• Bones of fish (and heads, if desired)

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 1/2 tablespoon freshly ground pepper

• 1 tablespoon sugar

Preparation:

1. Place all the stock ingredients in a large kettle with a cover. Bring to a boil, then partially cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. While waiting for the pot to boil, begin preparing the fish.

2. In a wooden bowl, add to the ground-up fish all the other ingredients listed under Fish, carefully chopping very fine and blending. You can also use the grinder on a mixer. Wet your hands and form the fish into fat, oval-shaped patties, carefully sliding each into the simmering stock.

3. Simmer over a low flame slowly for 20 to 30 minutes or for 2 hours. Allow to cool in the pot and carefully remove all the patties, placing them on a platter.

After the fish has been removed, strain off the cooking liquid. This stock should then gel when chilled; if it does not, simply add a package of unflavored gelatin, following instructions on the package.

4. Serve the chilled gefilte fish with the jellied fish stock, horseradish, and of course the carrots.

Mother’s Chicken Escarole Soup with Matzo Balls

July 16, 2012

Author: Joan Nathan

My ninety-eight year old plus mother loves order and hates chaos. She is precise and unwavering about everything – the way she runs her family, her house, her kitchen. And for her, there is only one way to prepare for holidays: she cooks a week, two weeks, sometimes a month ahead, freezing the rugelach, the chicken, the plum pies, but never, never the matzo balls.

Just before she turned 90, my mother switched from using a whole chicken, to chicken legs in her chicken soup because she finds more flavor in the legs, and besides, the legs are often on special in her supermarket. From an Italian restaurant in Providence, she learned to swirl in escarole at the last minute, before she adds her matzo balls.

Ingredients:

6 whole chicken legs

20 Cups water

2 celery stalks sliced into 2 inch chunks

2 whole carrots cut into 2 inch chunks

1 large onion peeled and quartered

1 parsnip cut into 2 inch chunks

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

8 Ounces escarole

Matzo Balls

3 Tablespoons chicken fat or vegetable oil

6 Large eggs, separated well beated

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 3/4 Cup(s)s matzo meal

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

12 Cup(s)s water

Preparation:

To Make the Soup:

1. Put the water in a soup pot, add the chicken legs and bring the water to a boil Simmer slowly for 2 hours, uncovered, skimming off the fat and foam as they rise to the top of the soup.

2. After 2 hours, add the celery, carrots, onion, parsnip, dill and parsley. Continue cooking slowly, uncovered, for another hour.

3. Set a strainer over a large bowl and strain the soup. Season it to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate the soup, covered, overnight.

4. The next day peel off the layer of fat that has formed on the soup’s surface. Bring the soup to a boil in a large pot (or freeze it for another day). Before serving, swirl in the escarole and add the matzo balls (recipe follows), cooking for a few minutes.

To Make the Matzo Balls:

1. In a medium bowl, mix the chicken fat or vegetable oil with the eggs, salt, nutmeg, matzo meal and parsley. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

2. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Take the matzo mix out of the refrigerator and, after dipping your hands into a bowl of cold water, gently form balls the size of large walnuts. Add salt to the water, and drop in the balls. Simmer slowly, covered, for about 20 minutes, remove from water with a slotted spoon, and add to the soup.

Shiitake Mushroom and Barley Soup

December 26, 2012

Author: Akasha Richmond

Akasha is a self-trained chef and artisan-style baker who has been cater­ing events in Los Angeles and other parts of the coun­try for over twenty years. She began her pro­fes­sional career at the Golden Temple, a now defunct but once pop­u­lar veg­e­tar­ian restau­rant in Los Angeles. It was in this kitchen that Akasha dis­cov­ered her pas­sion for mak­ing deli­cious dishes with good-for-you ingre­di­ents. After the Golden Temple she became Michael Jackson’s per­sonal and con­cert tour chef. AKASHA is her first restau­rant ven­ture, the result of a vision she has had for many years.

Her cook­book HOLLYWOOD DISH includes tales of Hollywood’s 100-year pas­sion for organic foods and healthy lifestyles and sto­ries of her favorite cook­ing expe­ri­ences: mak­ing hol­i­day din­ners for Billy Bob Thornton, cater­ing par­ties for Pierce Brosnan, pro­duc­ing events at the Sundance Film Festival, and work­ing as a pri­vate chef for Barbra Streisand.

She lends her time and exper­tise to groups such as Share Our Strength, Environmental Media Association, Common Threads and Pediatric Aids. She has appeared on The Food Network (The Best Thing I Ever Ate), Access Hollywood, Entertainment Tonight, Planet Green, and nation­wide news programs.

Ingredients:

2 cups water

2 ounces dried porcini or other dried mushroom

1 tablespoon butter or olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 large or 2 small shallots, finely chopped

2 leeks, pale green and white parts only, cleaned, and finely chopped

8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stems wiped clean, trimmed and sliced

2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

1 large carrot, diced

1 large parsnip, diced

1/2 cup whole barley

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Kosher salt to taste

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Chopped flat leaf parsley, for garnish

Preparation:

Bring the water to a boil in a 1-quart saucepan. Add the porcini mushrooms, turn off the heat and cover.

Let sit for 20 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft. Drain, reserving the liquid, and finely chop the mushrooms.

Heat the butter in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, shallots, and salt. Cook for

about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent and fragrant. Lower the heat to medium, add the

leeks, and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the shiitakes and the soaked porcini and cook another 5-8

minutes, stirring often, until the mushrooms are well cooked.

Add the stock, celery, carrots, parsnips, barley, bay leaf, and thyme. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook for one hour or until the barley is tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the chopped parsley.

Ida Richman’s Poor Man Soup

February 6, 2013

Author: Alan Richman 

Ingredients:

• Two six-ounce packages Manischewitz or Streit’s Split Pea Soup Mix (Beware of other brands, the ones where the peas are not finely cut and don’t get soft enough.)

• Four or five beef shin bones, 1-2 inches thick, with marrow

• Two medium yellow onions, grated

• Two medium carrots, grated

Preparation:

1. Bring nine cups of water to a boil. (The Manischewitz recipe calls for 5 cups for a six-ounce package. The Streit’s recipe calls for 4 cups for an identical six-ounce package. If you were adding only the ingredients of the packages, Streit’s would be more right than Manischewitz. But you’ve got more going into the pot, so up it a little.)

2. Add the peas. Stir.

(Each package comes with a little cellophane packet of seasonings. They are to Jewish soup what MSG is to Chinese food. The Streit’s directions call for the contents to be added after 45 minutes of cooking, 15 minutes before the soup is done. Manischewitz says to add the contents during the last 10 minutes of cooking. I can’t believe my mother was that patient. My guess she added them at the start. Here’s what I do. After about a half-hour, I add the seasonings, but not all of them. It’s too much. If you think the soup needs more salt or pepper, add to taste. Anyway, an hour isn’t nearly long enough to cook this soup. It requires two hours, minimum.)

3.Add the soup bones, the grated onion, the grated carrots. Stir well. Cover. Lower temperature to simmer.

4.After about an hour, if you’re hungry, remove the bones. Dig out the marrow. Serve on white toast, with coarse salt. After the bones have cooled, give them to your dog.

5. Eat the soup when the peas are dissolved and the broth is creamy, about two hours, sometimes more. Stir well before serving.

This post was submitted by Alan Richman. (His mother, Ida, is second from left in the photo.)

Pressure Cooker Stew for Sukkot: Oxtail Soup

April 9, 2013

Author: Kitchen Tested

Originally published in Kitchen Tested.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. beef oxtail

6-8 marrow bones

1 package frozen mixed vegetables

2 large carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 parsnip, chopped

1 turnip, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 bunch fresh parsley

1 bunch fresh dill

1/2 cup barley

1/4 cup split peas

1/4 cup elbow macaroni

2 potatoes

2 Tbsp onion soup mix

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

Preparation:

In a pressure cooker, place the frozen mixed vegetables, carrots, celery, parsnip, turnip, onion, parsley and dill.

Rinse the barley and split peas and add to the pressure cooker.

Add all remaining ingredients and cover with water. Close the pressure cooker.

Bring water to a boil (should take around 20 minutes) then cook for 15 minutes.

Note: if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can make this soup in a regular pot. Just boil the soup for 1-2 hours.

Lentil Soup

June 11, 2013

Author: Gefiltefest

This gorgeous soup can be traced all the way back to the Old Testament. In Genesis 25:29-34 you can read how Jacob’s brother, Esau, sold his birthright as oldest son to his younger brother, merely for a bowl of Lentil Soup! So yes, this soup is truly delicious and comforting. Whether you should sell your birthright for it? Well, I will let you decide on that.

My mom and I love to make this soup with brown lentils, as they are stronger flavored and hold their shape after being cooked. You can blend the soup after it’s done, but for us it’s all about the texture. We use beef stock but feel free to use vegetarian or chicken stock instead. Extra yummy, if you serve the soup with homemade croutons and some fried curry onion rings as garnish.

Ingredients:

For the soup:

2 tbsp. of olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

1 large carrot, finely diced

1 leek, white part only, cleaned and finely chopped

350g (1½ cup) brown lentils, washed and drained

2L Beef/Chicken/Vegetable stock

1 lime

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

For garnish:

1 tbsp. of olive oil

2 onions, sliced in rings

½ tsp. mild curry powder

6 slices of old bread

olive oil to drizzle over the croutons

garlic/garlic salt

Preparation:
For the soup heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the finely chopped onions and gently fry without coloring for 10 minutes or until softened.

Then add the carrot, celery and leek, again gently fry without coloring. Add the lentils, mix all ingredients gently and pour in your stock. Bring to boil and once boiling reduce the heat, simmer covered for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

When lentils are soft, stir in the cumin, lime, salt and pepper.

While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. or 350 degrees F. Slice each bread slice into cubes and sprinkle with olive oil and if you like, garlic or garlic salt. Place on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until cubes are dried. Keep an eye on them while bake to make sure they don’t burn.

When you are about to serve the soup, fry the onions in olive oil and season with curry powder. Pour the ready soup into the serving dish, add the fried onions, croutons and enjoy!

21st Century Cholent

March 6, 2014

Author: Fran Kolin

This is the original “stick to your ribs” meal, a traditional shabbos lunch that cooks before sundown on Friday until lunchtime on Saturday. Real old-world goodness!

Ingredients:

1 bag of baby potatoes

1lb flank steak or brisket, cubed

Fried onions

1 bag of baby carrots

Kishke

1tbsp chopped garlic

Red kidney beans

Black beans

Small white beans

Preparation:

Use the largest pan or pot that can go in your oven, Layer the ingredients in the order written. Add water to the top. Put uncovered into 350 degree oven. Cover after 2-3 hours. Lower oven to 250 degrees for another 8 hours. Add water as necessary to “mush up” texture. (Or put in the oven in the morning – for that night- at 325 degrees all day.)

Posted in Soups and Stews  

Tags: black beans, carrots, garlic, kidney beans, kishke, onions, potatoes, shabbos, steak,white beans

Vegan Derma (Kishka)

July 28, 2014

Author: Jeff Bennett

Ingredients:

Matzah meal (2 cups)

Oil (1 cup)

Celery (3 cups)

Carrots (3 cups)

Onion (1 cup)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients and put on aluminum foil.

roll into a cylinder (don’t let the ends squeeze out of the foil)

Bake 400 degrees for 45 minutes

Posted in Side Dishes

Tags: carrots, celery, Derma, kishka, matzah meal, oil, onion, vegan

Beef Barley Soup with a Secret

April 4, 2014

Author: Liz

My grandmother, Bertha Scher, was a believer in the slow sauté. Chopped onions and garlic, sautéed over the lowest flame, still releases the familiar memories of so much of the food she joyfully prepared for 8 grandkids. We all loved the sweetness and depth of flavor in her cooking and of course, never gave it much thought.

It occurs to me, now, that she teased it out with another kitchen basic. This common and distinctly American condiment added a toasty honey hue (yup, she knew about eye appeal, too) to countless bowls of her veggie soup and equally irresistible potted meatballs.

The secret ingredient was ketchup.

And while Nanny may have knowingly reached for ketchup for a little zest and tang, I rarely do. But, anticipating yet another snowfall last week, I channeled her slightly sweet and perfectly uncomplicated cooking with this easy, long simmered, beef barley soup. I am sure she would have loved this “bowl of health”.

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

6 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

one pound beef flanken, chopped or stew meat (not too lean)

8 oz. white, organic, mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced

1 cup pearl barley, rinsed

1 cup homemade beef or chicken stock

10-12 cups beef or veggie broth (organic, preferably)

3 Tb. ketchup

a generous handful of fresh dill, chopped

salt and pepper

Preparation:

Sautee onion and garlic, 7-10 mins.

Add beef and brown.

Throw all ingredients into slow cooker, stir to combine and simmer on low for 8 hours. Alternatively, simmer, covered, on stove top for 2 hours.

Enjoy this rich and old fashioned soup on a freezing winter day!

Tips: The best dishes use homemade chicken, beef or vegetable broth. I keep a container for each, clearly labeled, in my freezer. When I have leftover gravy from roasted chicken or cooking liquid from wokked or steamed vegetables, I cool it and add it to the appropriate container. These long simmered gravies serve as rich, complex bases for winter soups.

Posted in Soups and Stews

Tags: barley, Beef, carrots, celery, grandparents, ketchup, Mushrooms, Soup

Stoll Family Matzo Ball Soup

May 2, 2014  

Author: Craig Stoll

Although matzo ball soup is traditionally served on Passover, my mother makes it for every holiday the whole family spends together. Quantities are perhaps more than you’ll need, but my mother never feels that there is enough unless we have copious amounts of leftovers.

Ingredients:

2 gallons flavorful chicken stock

1 large 4 lbs chicken

2 lbs additional chicken necks and backs

10 black peppercorns

2-3 bay leaves

1 garlic head split in half

3 sprigs thyme

3 sprigs parsley

Kosher salt

5 medium carrots

1 medium onion

from 2 heads celery- pale inner hearts and leaves

1 cup toasted, halved walnuts

11⁄2 cups matzo meal

6 eggs, slightly beaten

6 Tbsp chicken broth

6 Tbsp chicken fat “schmaltz” (reserved from the top of the broth)

Salt

2 Tbsp chopped curly parsley

1 Tbsp dill, chopped

Kosher salt

Preparation:

In a large stockpot, combine the first eight ingredients. Add a small amount of salt. Bring to a boil and immediately turn down to a simmer. Skim the top once with a ladle and discard. Simmer for about 21⁄2 hours or until the chicken is falling apart. While the soup is simmering, peel the carrots, cut in half lengthwise and slice into 1⁄4” thick half moons. Set aside. Pull the leaves off of the celery hearts and set aside. Slice the stalks of celery on a bias, 1⁄4” thick. Combine with the carrot and set aside. Peel the onion and cut in half from root to tip. Slice in half again and slice the quarters 1/8” thick. Combine with the carrots and celery.

Using a ladle, skim as much fat as possible off the top of the soup and refrigerate. Using a combination of a skimmer and tongs, gently remove the chicken from the pot. Place on a platter to cool. Strain the soup through a fine sieve, pour back into the pot, and allow to cool before refrigerating overnight.

Pull the skin off of the chicken. Pull the meat off of the bones. By hand, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces along the grain of the meat. The chicken should fit on a soup spoon. Discard the sinew, veins and cartilage. Pack the chicken meat tightly in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

The next day, remove the soup and the reserved chicken fat from the refrigerator. With a soup spoon, scrape the fat off of the top of the soup and combine with previously reserved fat. Allow fat to warm but not liquefy in the vicinity of the stove. Remove two quarts of stock from the pot and bring to a simmer in a wide pot. Skim the foam and fat from the top. Check and adjust the salt if necessary.

Pour the matzo meal into a large mixing bowl. Add the salt and whisk together well. Combine eggs, “schmaltz” and cool chicken broth. Mix until the batter just comes together. The batter should be stiff enough to just form a ball but it will be somewhat difficult to work with. A loose batter is part of the secret to light, fluffy matzo balls. Refrigerate mix for 20 minutes.

Fill a small bowl with cool tap water. Dip your hands in to wet them. Grasp a walnut in one hand and then scoop up enough batter to form a 1” ball. Form a ball around the walnut and gently drop into the simmering soup. Repeat, wetting your hands as necessary until you have four or five matzo balls in the pot. Simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the balls have fluffed-up and float. You may have to sacrifice one in order to test the doneness. (You can then use the same timing for subsequent batches.) When cut in half, the matzo ball will be moist all the way to the center- there will not be an undercooked core around the walnut in the center. When done, transfer the cooked matzo balls to a large platter. Keep covered between batches.

While the matzo balls are cooking, add the cut vegetables to the other pot of soup and cook until soft. When done, add the chicken and the matzo balls. Simmer until both the chicken and the matzo balls are heated-through. Add the parsley and dill, simmer five more minutes and serve.

Pareve Veggie Soup

July 28, 2014

Author: Roslyn Pearl

Ingredients:

Can of tomatoes

Sauteed onions

Garlic

other veggies (Carrots, celery, dried beans)

Directions:

Cook for 4 hours on small light

Grandma Fela's Real Jewish Chicken Soup

June 16, 2014

Author: Linda Cohn

Grandma showed me this recipe directly. The real Jewish penicillin is the marrow bone. It’s what makes you better when you’re sick. Watcher her with her spoon with small holes skim off the froth and discard.

Ingredients:

Onion (whole), discard after water

Celery, chopped

Parsnip, whole, discard after

Chicken, Kosher

Carrots, chopped

Bone marrow, Kosher

Salt and pepper

Pinch of sugar at the end

Preparation:

Put all ingredients in boiling water for 20 minutes.

Boil, then simmer for 40 minutes.

Take off froth and discard

For serving w/ Matzah Balls next day

(Separate broth into pitcher) and skim off schmaltz – discard and put rest of ingredients back in.