Feed Your Soul

New Site - Please join me at my new address

2013-04-09T16:52:00.002-05:00

Thank you to all of your for being so supportive of me on my blogging journey. This is a truly amazing journey. I have met so many wonderful and helpful people as well as so many people passionate about food. You all make this experience so worth doing.

Please join my at my new site and it would be awesome if you subscribe again:

Feed Your Soul Too

As a tease for tomorrow, I am starting with Jumbo Meatballs

Italian Dressing using fat free Greek Yogurt

2013-04-08T21:00:00.000-05:00

A salad is a very necessary part of an Italian dinner. Most of this dinner I made choices to limit the fat. This dressing was no exception. I love a creamy dressing. Who doesn't? But at home for sure, I try to make healthier choices. I do cheat some when I go out but when I can control what goes in to the recipe, I have no excuse not to make better choices.

This recipe is the best recipe I have made yet using Fat free Greek yogurt. So definitely try this one.

Directions:

6 Tablespoon Fat free Greek yogurt
1 Cup Olive oil
1 Teaspoon Oregano
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon dried chives
1 Teaspoon Garlic powder
6 Tablespoon Red wine vinagar
2 Tablespoon Grated Parmasean cheese
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Black pepper

Preparation Directions:

Put all ingredients in a jar and shake until creamy and well mixed

Italian Bread Rolls

2013-04-07T21:07:00.000-05:00

The more I learn about cooking or maybe the more experience I have, the easier it becomes to pull a whole meal together. But the success of a meal comes with the planning. I am very into themes so the meal has to make sense from beginning to end.

I had planned on spaghetti marinara with meatballs. So of course my bread had to be Italian Bread. I wanted to make these like they are in the restaurants - the long rolls. I think I did that but you might say mine were on steroids.

I got the soft inside and the crusty exterior. You spritz the bread 3 times in the early stages of the baking to get the hard crust.

Ingredients
2 cups water, lukewarm
1 3/4 ounces cake yeast
5 3/4 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 egg white, lightly beaten (I mistakenly added an egg white to the flour mixture)

Directions
Place the water and yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer and allow the yeast to bloom for about 5 minutes. Using a dough hook attachment, add the flour and sugar to the water and mix on low speed until a dough starts to form. Drizzle the oil and salt into the dough and beat on medium speed for 8 to 10 minutes, or until a smooth, firm, elastic dough is formed.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and spray the dough with a thin coating of cooking spray with flour. Wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to proof in a warm corner for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. Remove the plastic wrap, punch down and flatten the rounded dough with your knuckles. Roll the dough up tightly with your palms. Keep rolling until you get an even log from end to end. The dough should be elongated and oval-shaped, with tapered and rounded (not pointed) ends.

Preheat the oven lined with a pizza stone to 425 degrees F. Alternately, an inverted baking sheet may be used in place of a pizza stone.

Place the dough on a baker's peel heavily dusted with semolina flour, or cornmeal, or alternately on an inverted baking sheet. Allow the dough to proof, loosely covered with a damp towel, for 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. Brush the dough with the egg white. This quantity of flour makes to loaves.

Spray the dough generously with water from a water bottle and place in the oven on the baking stone. Immediately close the oven and bake for 3 minutes. Open the oven door and spray the dough again with the water bottle. Close the oven door and bake for an additional 3 minutes before spraying the dough for a third time (the spraying of the dough will ensure a crisp golden brown crust). Bake the dough for 30 more minutes, or until a hollow thud is heard when the bread is whacked on the bottom. Allow the bread to cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!

Tri-vegetables with Broccoli, mushroom and onions

2013-04-06T20:19:00.000-05:00

For my Passover meal I decided to totally throw together a vegetable dish that I made up. I have talked about this before but I love to let my mind wander and see what recipe ideas it can come up with. I think of ideas all the time but when I need a recipe to round out a meal, I open my consciousness to what comes in. For those of you that meditate, this is a meditation concept - a Zen approach.

In this vision, I came up with the idea of merging 3 vegetables all cooked in different ways. The broccoli was broiled to create a sort of char on it. The onions were caramelized and the mushrooms were prepared in a reduction of Marsala and red wine.

Recipe

Tri-vegetables - Broccoli, Mushroom & Onions:

Ingredients:

1 head broccoli
1 large onion
2 packages of fresh mushrooms (earthier the better)
1 - 2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Kosher salt
2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup Marsala
1/2 cup of red wine

Directions:

Place the broccoli on a baking rack and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt. Put in an oven on a rack set 3/4 to the top of your oven and broil on low for 6 - 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a saute pan with the oil and cook your onions on a very low heat until they turn a nice caramel color. About 1/2 way through the process.

In a separate saute pan, pour in the Marsala wine and reduce by 1/2.

Add in the red wine and repeat.

Then, add the mushrooms and cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated.

Combine all 3 vegetables and heat in a 250 degree oven to make sure they are served warm. Enjoy!

Matzah Meal "breaded" Chicken

2013-04-05T18:25:00.000-05:00

For those of different faiths and that may not have been reading prior posts, one of the main restrictions during the 8 days of Passover is no eating bread. My family loves the Chicken Milanese that I have made. I thought I would try the same concept but use Matzah Meal. Normally, when breading chicken, you set up a dredging station with beaten eggs, flour and breadcrumbs. This recipe had to eliminate the flour and used the Matzah Meal in lieu of the breadcrumbs.

As you will see from the picture, the result was incredibly close. My critical assessment is that the chicken was not as moist as normal. I think that the Matzah Meal is not as moist as normal breadcrumbs. So I would try to cook the chicken on high heat in the saute pan and finish the cooking process in the oven.

Recipe
Matzah Meal Chicken:
Ingredients:

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups Matzah Meal
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp each oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne
1/4 cup canola oil

Directions:
Slice the chicken breasts in half horizontally. Then, pound the halves to about 1/4" of thickness. In 2 separate bowls, beat the eggs into 1 bowl, and add the Matzah Meal and spices into the other bowl. Heat the canola oil on medium high heat. Dredge the chicken breasts in the egg mixture, shaking off excess. Then, drop in the Matzah Meal and cover both sides of the breast well. Place gently into the pan. Saute 3 minutes per side. Move to a cooling rack to let the excess oil drip off. Finish browning all the chicken breasts. Finish by cooking in a 275 degree oven for approximately 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Friday Five - Fish Addition

2013-04-05T13:31:00.000-05:00

On Friday nights at my house, we try to cook a nice dinner for Shabbat when we are all home together. We will often cook fish. So this is a post centered around fish recipes and an ode to Shabbat.

The first idea is a Crispy Pan-fried fish from Food Swoon.

The next dish adds noodles to shrimp and is created by Season With Spice.

How about some Spice crusted Salmon from Mangoes and Palm Trees.

Next we will try Avocado Risotto with Beer Butter Shrimp from the Beeroness.

Showing the versatility of fish, try this Smoked Salmon Handrolls with Wakame Salad from Wild Greens and Sardines.

I finish this post with Linguini with Sauteed Shrimp from SkinnyTaste.com.

Asparagus Frittata

2013-04-04T19:20:00.000-05:00

The egg is so versatile. For my steady readers, you know one of my son's was home from College. He has been on a kick to learn to cook. One of the things he has been learning is to make all preparations of the egg. In a recent post, he learned how to poach an egg. So this idea was one of the last of the common preparations - the frittata.

This should have been a great learning experience for him but his Skype rang and it was his girlfriend calling from South Africa. Lesson over but all good. We will have to try this lesson again on another day.

Recipe
Asparagus Frittata:
Ingredients:

9 eggs
8 spears of small asparagus
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp canola oil
1/3 of a red pepper
1/4 of a green pepper
1/2 package of mushrooms
1/4 of a yellow onion diced
1 tsp each smoked paprika, garlic, salt and pepper
1/4 cup skim milk
1/2 cup of shredded Colby jack cheese

Directions:

Drizzle the asparagus with the olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for approximately 6 minutes. I cut the spears in half or so and saved the tops for decorating at the end and diced the ends. Meanwhile, in a frittata pan, heat the oil and all the vegetables and spices and cook for 5 minutes. I diced 1/4 of the red pepper and left 6 pieces in long slices and separated the slices after cooking. Beat the eggs and the milk. Add the eggs to the vegetables and cook until it is mostly set. Add most of the cheese and the diced asparagus and cook for another minute. Top with the remaining cheese, the asparagus spears and the sliced red peppers and move to a 350 degree oven. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Pizza

2013-04-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Are there recipe ideas that you have seen that you think can't be any good? Feel free to share some comments on examples. This is one of those ideas that can't be good, can it? It was still Passover and typically we try making pizza on top of Matzah. It is a very poor substitute but we try to convince ourselves that it is actually pretty good.

Which brings me to this post of Cauliflower Pizza. How can cauliflower get firm enough to act as a crust? Well you have to try it. It works quite well. After eating it, I love this idea. I am not going to stop eating pizza with real dough but this is a great alternative for Passover or if you eat gluten free.

Recipe
Cauliflower Pizza (adapted from Detoxinista):

Ingredients

2 heads of cauliflower
2 egg, beaten
6 oz soft goat cheese (chevre), softened
2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 - 4 oz of pizza sauce
1/2 cup of Italian cheese mix
2 oz of mozzarella

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400F.
To make the cauliflower rice, pulse batches of raw cauliflower florets in a food processor, until a rice-like texture is achieved. Do not over fill the Cuisnart. Smaller batches enable the whole cauliflower to get riced.

Fill a large pot with water, and bring it to a boil. Add the “rice” and cover; let it cook for about 4-5 minutes. Drain into a fine-mesh strainer.
Once you’ve strained the rice, transfer it to a clean, thin dishtowel. Wrap up the steamed rice in the dishtowel, twist it up, then SQUEEZE all the excess moisture out! You will be surprised at how much moisture you can squeeze out. When you think you have squeezed out all the moisture, let the cauliflower rest in the towel for a few minutes. Now go back and squeeze again. Almost all of the moisture should now be removed.
In a large bowl, mix up your strained rice, beaten egg, goat cheese, and spices. Mix well with your hands.
Press the dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Keep the dough about ⅓” thick, and make the edges a little higher for a “crust” effect, if you like.

Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400F. The crust should be firm, and golden brown when finished. In retrospect, I should have cooked my crust even longer.

Add your tomato sauce first and then the cheeses. Return the pizza to the 400F oven, and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, just until the cheese is hot and bubbly. Enjoy!

Tuesday's Tip - Empty Nesters

2013-04-03T15:42:00.000-05:00

For me, the issue is more about how I feel or rather I can't quite get my head around the feelings that I have. That is, as a man, I think the change is much more about our egos. I do not feel that I am old or do not want to feel that I am that old. So having my kids all but out of the house - I am not ready for it.

I thought I would deal with a very personal and difficult topic for my Tuesday Tip. We have 2 kids in college and our last child will be going off to college in the fall. This is relevant now because all the acceptances (and a few rejections) are coming in. Now, I take a very spiritual perspective on things and I am very happy to see my kids grow, mature and have such wonderful life experiences that College brings. With that said, both my wife and I look at this change with a bit of remorse but no regrets. We each loved being parents and having kids in the house.

It will be quieter in our house and we will ultimately adjust. For my wife, while I cannot fully appreciate her feelings on this subject, I get that this phase of her life was defined mostly by being a mom. Motherhood is in the DNA of being a woman. This phase is over. But we can all sense, understand the loss one must feel over the change in her role.

I know this is not coming out as coherent as I would like it to. The emotions are raw. This is happening to me now. I am trying to sort out how I feel about this. The thought that comes up most often is that I am not ready for this phase. Why do I have this feeling?

I then went to the internet to see what was written about this subject. This first article I came across was from Oprah is actually quite insightful. This is no coincidence that this is the first article I cam across. It is what I needed. The suggestions seem obvious but the point that rings true for me that the issue is about losing my identity. Really, the same point I attributed to my wife. I have associated my adult life with being a father. I married fairly early and had kids fairly early. Makes sense to me now. My role as a father won't change, just the way in which my day to day life as father exists will change.

Please share your experiences with me if you care too - moms and dads.

Oprah

Chicken Marbella

2013-04-02T18:52:00.000-05:00

In addition to the Emeril's brisket I served for Passover, I also served this chicken dish for those at the dinner who only eat white meat. This is a very traditional Mediterranean dish. I did a fair bit of research to find this recipe. What I did this year that I had not necessarily done before is that I Googled and kept looking at different recipes until I found one that I thought would be a winner.

This dish has really unique flavors. It combines prunes, olives, capers and their juices. Then, the chicken sits in the braising liquid for a long while. You get the sweetness of the prunes, the saltiness of the capers and the brininess of the olives. The longer this sits, the better.

Ingredients:

4 chickens, 2 1/2 pounds each, quartered
1 head of garlic, peeled and finely pureed
1/4 cup dried oregano
coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives
1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice
6 bay leaves
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup Italian parsley or fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped

Directions:

In a large bowl combine chicken quarters, garlic, oregano, pepper and coarse salt to taste, vinegar, olive oil, prunes, olives, capers and juice, and bay leaves. Cover and let marinate, refrigerate for at leat a few hours and overnight if you plan ahead. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large, shallow baking pans and spoon marinade over it evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.

Bake for 50 minutes, basting frequently with pan juices. I prepared mine a day ahead so the chicken sat in the braising liquid for an extra day. The day I planned to serve, I place in a 275 degree oven for 15 minutes. Then, I moved it to another oven set at 225 degrees for another 30 minutes.

With a slotted spoon transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices. Pass remaining pan juices in a sauceboat.

Corned Beef Hash with Poached Eggs

2013-04-01T19:05:00.000-05:00

As I have written, like Lent, Passover involves a restriction. There are more technical food restrictions but the one most people try to uphold is restraining from eating bread. The religious story is that the Israelites did not have time to let their bread rise before the left Egypt. A more spiritual perspective on the bread restriction is that the bread represents are desire as humans to want physical things. The restriction helps us let go of our desires for the physical, and therefore, connect to more spiritual realms.

Because of the no bread rule, we need to find alternative foods, especially at lunch time. We eat a lot of grilled sandwiches in our household. So at Passover time, we tend to eat a lot of breakfast foods for lunch and dinner. My wife said she felt like corned beef. My older son who is learning to cook wanted to try to make a poached egg. Pretty classic combination, poached eggs on corned beef hash.

Recipe
Corned Beef Hash with Poached Eggs:
Ingredients:

4 lb corned beef (already pickled)
2 tbsp canola oil
3 baking potatoes
2 eggs
1 tsp each salt, pepper and smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tbsp vinegar

Directions:

Put the corned beef in a pot of boiling water and cook for 3+ hours. Once it is done, let it cool for 10 - 15 minutes. Then cut it in a thick dice. Also, cut the potatoes into a rough dice as well. Meanwhile, heat an iron skillet on medium high. When it is hot, add the oil and get it very hot. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 - 15 minutes to get both a nice browning but also to soften them up. Add the seasonings after the first 2 minutes. Stir the potatoes well so they get covered on all sides. Add the corned beef and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes or so. You want to get a real nice crisp on the corned beef.

Shortly before the corned beef hash is done, fill a high sided pan with water and bring to just before a boil. Add the vinegar and then crack and drop the eggs in the almost boiling water. Cook for about 3 minutes. Plate with the corned beef hash on the bottom and topped with the poached eggs. Enjoy!

Emeril's Passover Brisket

2013-03-31T20:46:00.001-05:00

Besides the religious and spiritual significance of the Passover holiday, it is the one holiday that food is used specifically as a tool. Therefore, many a family has its traditional foods and memories around these foods. Changing the recipes can cause quite a storm.

I made this recipe last year and it was a big hit. Who knew Emeril was Jewish. Alright, maybe he's not. The really cool thing about cooking is bringing in different influences to traditional dishes or dishes you know well. As most of you know, I love the influences of Cajun and Mexican recipes. This recipe adds just a hint of Cajun spice to pretty traditional ingredients and preparation.

The slow cooking makes for a tender result. The meat sits in the spice braising liquid for hours enabling the brisket to pick up really nice flavor.

Ingredients
8 to 10 pound brisket
10 Garlic cloves
1 quart beef stock (unsalted or low salt)
3 large onions, sliced
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons Emeril's Original Essence
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup ketchup
1 cup chili sauce
1 cup brown sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Using a sharp knife make slits in the brisket and stuff with the garlic. Place brisket in a baking dish and brown ona ll sides, Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Add enough beef stock to dish to come up 1 inch on sides, cover with foil and bake one hour.

While brisket is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium high heat and saute onions in vegetable oil, stirring occasionally, until caramelized. Set aside.

Remove brisket from oven after one hour and add caramelized onions. Combine all remaining ingredients and then add to onions and brisket, Cover and continue to bake until very tender, almost falling apart, another 2 to 3 hours. Remove brisket to a carving board and slice across the grain. Add the sliced brisket back to the dish and continue cooking for at least another hours. Now the brisket should be falling apart. Reserve the cooking liquid and pour over sliced brisket. I made my brisket two days ahead. So the meat sat in the liquid picking up even more flavor. I reheated the meat for an hour at 275 degrees and finished warming at 225 degrees for another hour plus. Enjoy!

Leslie's Cookies full Post with Recipe

2013-03-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

This is one of those recipes that is famous within the family. No one can make these as good as my sister-in-law Leslie. So why try?

I have grown up eating a dessert almost every day of my life. My Mom was a wonderful baker and my wife is an awesome baker. I am a lucky guy. Now I have a little battle with age and a waistline that I have to watch - bummer! All that means is that I don't have a dessert every day anymore. A small concession.

Giving a little preview of the result, the responses were pretty darn favorable. I used a mixer to make these. I was told, after the fact, that Leslie mixes these by hand. You have to be strong to do that. Bottom line is if you have a great recipe, the result is destined to be good.

Recipe
Leslie's Chocolate Cookies:

Ingredients:

2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp kosher salt
3 cups flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 small heath bars cut in 1/3's (I stuffed some of the cookies with these bars)

Directions:

First, cream the butter and sugar in your mixer. Next, add the

eggs one at a time, the vanilla and salt. Do not over mix. Then, add the flour one cup at a time. With the last cup of flour, add the baking soda. Finish, by adding the chips. Take a small ice cream scoop and place the cookie dough on a baking tray sprayed with vegetable flour oil spray. Stuff the Heath bars in to the middle of the cookies. Push all the way down in to the bottom of the cookie. Put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before baking.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes at 350 degrees. The cookies are done when the edges brown and the cookie is just turning brown.

Let cool for 10 - 15 minutes after the cookies come out of the oven, then move to a cooling rack. Enjoy!

Friday Five - Eggs an ode to Easter

2013-03-29T11:23:00.001-05:00

In a little play on the food most associated with Easter, I offer up an all egg post. The incredible edilble egg is so versatile. So let's see all the different ways it can be used.

Let's start with the traditional Decorated Eggs from La Receta de la Felicidad.

We all think of eggs for breakfast. These Herbed Baked Eggs from the Inquiring Chef are just beautiful.

How about a quiche. Not just any quiche but a gluten free quiche. This Two Bite Spinach Quiche from Gluten Free Canteen.

My regulars know I love Southern food. Let's try this Southern Style Fried Eggs from Bite This Goodie.

Moving to a lunch offering, how about this Burmese Golden Egg Curry from Girl Cooks World.

Moving to the dessert phase, these Traditional Chocolate Covered Nutella Eggs from The Messy Baker.

Chocolate Covered Matzah

2013-03-28T19:21:00.004-05:00

The biggest difficulty with keeping Passover is the abstaining from bread for 8 days. I am one of the few that actually likes Matzah so it is not so difficult for me. I also like it because it is a religiously imposed Atkins diet - no carbs.

Which brings me to the recipe of this post - chocolate covered matzah. The other challenge with the food on this holiday is you don't realize how many desserts use flour until you can't use flour in your recipes. So how does one use leftover matzah? Make it into a dessert. I had some leftover chocolate ganache. All one needs to do is warm up the ganache a little and drizzle as much as you wish over the matzah.

Recipe
Chocolate Covered Matzah:
Ingredients:

4 pieces matzah
For the chocolate Bailey’s ganache filling:
8 ounces milk chocolate chips
2/3 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Bailey’s Irish cream

Directions:

To make the ganache filling, place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until simmering, then pour it over the chocolate. Let sit for one minute and then whisk until smooth. Add the butter and Bailey’s Irish Cream and stir until combined. Set aside to let the ganache cool until it is thick enough.

While still runny, pour over the individual pieces of matzah. Start pouring from the middle of the matzah and let it work it's way out to the sides. Enjoy!

Roasted Spring Vegetables

2013-03-27T20:31:00.000-05:00

I am learning to try more and more things and that includes vegetables. Now, I am pretty good with eating most things but I do not like radishes. So I was going to do a simple roast on some vegetables and wanted them to colorful on the plate. My base was asparagus. I had the green. Then some carrots with the tops on. Then some mushrooms for a 3rd color. You know what would round out these colors? Red. Hence, the radishes. I got to tell you, they were awesome. Covered with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted. They were totally transformed.

I can't wait to try Brussel sprouts!? Eating Brussel sprouts is one childhood memory that I would like to erase. Maybe I can erase it the easy way. Check back in with me and we will see.

Ingredients:

1 lb asparagus (small spears)
1 lb mushrooms (the earthier the better)
1 bunch of carrots
12 radishes
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Arrange the vegetables, minus the mushrooms on a baking sheet. Cover with the oil. Mix them with your hands to get them all covered well with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put in a 450 degree oven for 20 minutes. After 12 minutes add the mushrooms on the tray and repeat the oil, salt and pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Scallion Potato Pancakes with Matzah Meal

2013-03-26T20:53:00.000-05:00

This is the first year that I have a little experience behind me as I approach a holiday with food as the main component. The Jewish Holiday of Passover is centered around a meal known as the Seder. This is quite a feast. There are specific foods that are part of the meal service representing the affliction of the Jews. There are many items that are traditionally served at this meal. One of those foods is the Potatoe Pancake. The amazing thing is this is one of those foods that you eat and wonder why you don't have it more often. This is not hard to make. The one ingredient unique to this potatoe dish is Matzah meal. At Passover, Jews do not eat leavened bread. So Matzah meal is substituted. I would argue that this dish is made better with the Matzah meal than using flour.

Scallion Potato Pancakes

Ingredients

6 scallions, light green and white part only, thinly sliced
4 large eggs
10 red and Yokon potatoes, peeled and cut in half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons matzo meal
Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Puree the scallions and eggs together in a food processor fitted with the metal blade until they are smooth and fluffy. Add the potatoes and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped but still retains some texture. Add the salt, pepper and matzo meal and quickly process to combine. Do not over process.
Heat ¾ inch of oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium high heat.
Take a 1/4 cup measure and place the batter in the skillet. Do not overcrowd. Fry the pancakes until they are golden brown on one side, about 3 - 4 minutes, then turn them and brown the other side, about 3 more minutes. They should be golden brown.
Transfer the pancakes to a cooling tray and let them drain. Allow the excess oil to drain. Enjoy!

Leslie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2013-03-25T07:21:00.000-05:00

I am happy to be doing a guest post for my good friend Tara over at Noshing with the Nolands. If you have not seen her blog, you really need to stop by. Her recipes are great. Her style is amazing. And in this case, if you want the coveted recipe for these cookies, you will only find it there.

This is one of those recipes that is famous within the family. No one can make these as good as my sister-in-law Leslie. So why try?

I have grown up eating a dessert almost every day of my life. My Mom was a wonderful baker and my wife is an awesome baker. I am a lucky guy. Now I have a little battle with age and a waistline that I have to watch - bummer! All that means is that I don't have a dessert every day anymore. A small concession.

Giving a little preview of the result, the responses were pretty darn favorable. I used a mixer to make these. I was told, after the fact, that Leslie mixes these by hand. You have to be strong to do that. Bottom line is if you have a great recipe, the result is destined to be good.

Recipe
Leslie's Chocolate Cookies:
Go to Noshing with the Nolands for the recipe.

Chile Spiced Ribs

2013-03-24T21:24:00.000-05:00

This past weekend as you have read, I prepared a number of Seder dishes. But I wanted to try some non-traditional dishes. Braising short ribs, is not on the face of it, an elegant preparation and dish. I would say, though, that these beef short ribs were so tasty, so tender, so beautiful on the bone. The slow cooking cooked out all the fat and left just the meat on the bone with the bone exposed. It kind of looked like when fancy restaurants french cut bones cleaning off the end of the bone.

If I do this recipe again, and I will, I will leave the seeds in the dried chiles to add even more spice to the ribs. I even added the rehydrating liquid which was a nice touch but not enough zing.

Ingredients:

8 dried New Mexico chiles

4 garlic cloves

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

5 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons ground coriander

5 lbs beef short ribs

1 large onion, thinly sliced

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Directions:

Toast chiles in a dry large skillet over medium heat until slightly puffed and lightly darkened on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove from skillet; let cool. Stem chiles and halve lengthwise; discard seeds. (Next time, I would leave the seeds in. It was not too hot). Place into a pot of boiling water. Make sure the chiles are fully immersed. Let chiles stand until soft, about 20 minutes. Drain. Reserve chile water.

Combine chiles, garlic, lemon juice, oil, salt and coriander in a food processor; purée until marinade is smooth. Toss short ribs and onion with marinade in a shallow baking dish; cover dish and chill ribs for at least 2 hours. If I had time, I would let them sit overnight.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Transfer onion, short ribs, and marinade to a large heavy pot. Add broth. Bring to a boil on stove-top and cover pot. Transfer to oven and braise ribs for 2 hours. Add the reserved chile liquid and cook for another hour.

I had prepared these one day ahead. So the next day, I simply continued the braising and the warming on the stove top for another hour. The ribs were so tender. Enjoy!

Chicken Schnitzel ala Holstein

2013-03-23T19:14:00.000-05:00

This recipe truly was made in about 15 minutes. That does not mean it was just thrown together. I worked a full day and got home roughly at 6pm. I needed, wanted to make a new recipe/post for the Shine Supper Club monthly recipe club. I left work a little early to make sure I had time to cook the recipe and still take pictures while there was light. Thank goodness for daylight savings time.

I can make breaded chicken in my sleep. This month, the request was for a recipe with eggs. The breading has eggs in it to make it stick. But that was not enough eggs. What is this, Iron Chef America? I am not saying I am anywhere near that good. I am just saying that I thought this recipe took advantage of the special ingredient by adding a fried egg to the Milanese/Schnitzel.

Recipe
Chicken Schnitzel ala Holstein:
Ingredients:

3 Chicken breasts
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup bread crumbs
4 eggs
3 tbsp canola oil

Directions:

Since I was rushing, I did not even add salt, pepper, spice which you should do. Beat 2 eggs in a mixing bowl. Add the flour and the bread crumbs to two separate bowls. Heat 2 tbsp canola oil on medium high heat. Meanwhile, slice the chicken breasts in half crosswise so they are a little thinner. Pound each breast a little bit to break up the connective tissue leaving them a good 1/2" thick.

Take the breasts through the dredging stations, flour, egg wash and then the bread crumbs. Place in the pan and cook 2 - 3 minutes per side. It will take 2 sequences if using one pan. Turn your oven on to 265 - 275 degrees. Place the breasts on a baking tray and bake for another 10 minutes. This method of a quick fry and finish the cooking in the oven leaves the breasts super moist. Enjoy!

Faux Grilled Monterrey Jack Cheese & Avocado

2013-03-22T17:50:00.000-05:00

This sandwich tasted awesome. However, it was so messy. The faux Monterrey Jack velveeta cheese is too melty ultimately for a sandwich. But it was gooey good. I used the Old fashioned white bread I made and as you can see it browned perfectly. We also had made some guacamole. What a nice complement to the cheese. The flavor combination is definitely worth trying to recreate again.

Ingredients:

3 - 4 slices of the cheese
2 pieces of bread
2 - 3 spoonfuls of gaucamole
butter for the griddle surface

Directions:

Heat the griddle to 325 degrees. Spread the guacamole on the bottom piece of bread and top with the cheese. Take the stick of butter and rub it on the griddle surface. Next, start the sandwich cheese side down on the griddle. Cook for 3 minutes or so and then flip. Cover with a top and cook for another 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Friday Five - Easter addition

2013-03-22T12:36:00.000-05:00

The best thing about holidays are all the traditons centered around them. In this post, I offer up some fabulous recipes and ideas in advance of Easter. I hope you enjoy and try some of these recipes out.

We begin this cultural journey around the dinner table with these Deviled Eggs from Jelly Toast.

If you are going to do a brunch, how about a Phyllo Egg Brunch Casserole from Girl Versus Dough?

Or, how about these Roasted Asparagus Caprese Melts with a Balsamic Reduction and a Fried Egg from Half Baked Harvest.

I know I am not exactly sharing a rounded meal but these recipes look really good. So next I present this Martha Stewart's Asparagus Custard Tart from Virtually Homemade.

Time to move to the sweets. Our first offering is these Cadbury Creme Egg Pull apart Sweet Rolls from Chocolate Moosey.

Now these are a fun idea - Peeps Magician's Hat Marshmellow Bites from Not Your Momma's Cookie.

Faux Monterrey Jack Velveeta Cheese with Banana Rings

2013-03-21T19:14:00.002-05:00

I so loved the faux velveeta cheese I made last week, I wanted to try it again using a different cheese this time. I had Monterrey Jack in the fridge. How about complementing the cheese with a little bit of spice! An idea was born - add in banana rings. This was truly a good idea.

What I did learn was that this cheese really does take on the melting properties of Velveeta so it is not sturdy enough for sandwiches when melted. It is perfect for mixing on pasta or the like.

Ingredients

2 Tbs. water
3 tsp. powdered gelatin
1 cup + 4 Tbs. whole milk
24 oz. Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
2 Tbs. milk powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cream of tartar
a bunch of banana rings

Instructions

Line a very small loaf pan (I used my bread loaf pan) with plastic wrap. Line it up the sides because you will fold the plastic wrap over the cheese to set in the fridge.

Combine the water and gelatin powder in a small bowl and set aside.

Heat the milk on in a small saucepan over medium high heat and once it bubbles, remove from heat.

Meanwhile, place the cheese, milk powder, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse the ingredients together a 3 - 4 times just to mix the ingredients evenly.

Pour the warm milk into a measuring cup to make for easier pouring. Turn the food processor on and slowly begin to pour the hot milk through the feed tube. Once all milk has been added, add the gelatin mixture to the food processor (the gelatin will be hard from sitting).

Continue processing the cheese for at least 2 minutes. You want a very smooth consistency for the cheese. Stop once in the process to scrape down the sides to capture all the cheese.

Pour the cheese mix into the prepared loaf pan and spread into an even layer throughout the pan. Add in as many banana rings as you dare. I used a spatula to get the top as smooth as I could. I then pressed 3 more banana rings into the top of the loaf. Wrap the excess plastic wrap over the cheese, ensuring that all of the cheese is covered.

Refrigerate the cheese for at least 3 hours, or overnight, until it is chilled and set firm. Slice cheese and use as desired.

Braised Lamb Shoulder with sage

2013-03-20T19:33:00.002-05:00

This weekend was the chance to try out some Passover recipes. I wanted to make some recipes that people still had time to use this upcoming Monday/Tuesday. But I wanted to try some less traditional main dishes. So I Googled Passover recipes and tried a number that I found on line. This was a slow roasted Lamb shoulder. I have traditionally had problems with the tougher cuts of meat but I think I have finally learned that you cannot almost over cook tougher cuts of meat.

I bought the shoulder at Whole Foods and I do think there is something to be said for starting with a good piece of meat. All innuendos aside, the slow cooking through braising keeps the meat moist and tender.

Recipe
Slow Cooked Lamb with Sage:
Ingredients:

1 shoulder of young lamb
4 carrots
2 stalks of celery
4 red onions
4 splashes olive oil
3 squashed garlic cloves
12 sage leaves
8 peppercorns
1 1/4 cups red wine
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Heat a flameproof casserole dish with a splash of olive oil and brown the shoulder on all sides. Take it out, throw away the cooking fat, wipe the casserole dish clean, and put it back on the heat with an additional splash of olive oil.

Put in half the vegetables and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring. Add 3 squashed garlic cloves, 12 sage leaves, and 8 peppercorns, mix well, and return the shoulder of lamb to the casserole dish.

Pour in 1 1/4 cups of red wine and reduce by half. Then add 1 1/4 cups of chicken stock, cover the casserole dish with a lid, and put in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, basting the shoulder from time to time.

Take out the casserole dish. Remove the shoulder, wrap it in aluminium foil, and keep warm. Keep the casserole dish on hand.

Spicy Potatoes

2013-03-19T19:35:00.001-05:00

This past Sunday, I decided to try a bunch of Passover recipes a week in advance of the Holiday. Partially, to see if there was one recipe I would want to use for the Seder but more to try a few recipes that I probably would not serve because they would not appeal to everyone. This dish, however, is a winner. It is simple but so tasty and in no way is limited to a Passover meal. This is a year round recipe.

This is also a very quick recipe to prepare so you can pull it out in a pinch. Simply slice some red and Yukon potatoes, mix your spices, pour some oil in a bowl and rub the potatoes. Cook and you got it.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 large Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, sliced into 1/2-inch slices, ends discarded

3 large red potatoes, unpeeled, sliced into 1/2-inch slices, ends discarded

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Fresh rosemary sprigs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Cover a large jelly-roll pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, salt, and cayenne. Set aside.

Place all the sliced potatoes into a large mixing bowl.

Pour the oil into the spice mixture bowl. Mix well and pour over the potatoes. Mix them well and make sure that all the potatoes are covered with the spice oil mixture. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Roast the potatoes, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Season with a sprinkle of salt. Enjoy!