I am taking a break from cleaning, and about to start my cooking, but first I had to share my Seder Menus with you.
SEDER #1
Gefilte Fish (not homemade) served with horseradish
Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls (From the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook - only a few left)
Carrot Consomme for the vegetarian
Charoset #1 (Apples, nuts and wine)
Charoset #2 (Dates, raisins and nuts - recipe from Leslie Weitzman)
Orange Chicken (recipe from Kosher By Design - Passover)
Mushroom Lasagna (recipe from Eric Freeman-Poli)
Carrot Pudding (recipe from Simple Seders)
Roasted Potatoes
Fruit
Brownies
Mandelbrot
SEDER #2
Gefilte Fish (not homemade) served with horseradish
Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls (From the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook - only a few left)
Carrot Consomme for the vegetarian
Charoset #1 (Apples, nuts and wine)
Charoset #2 (Dates, raisins and nuts - recipe from Leslie Weitzman)
BBQ Chicken (Recipe from Carol Gerwin)
Mushroom Lasagna (recipe from Eric Freeman-Poli)
Side dish from a guest
Potato Puff (From the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook)
Tzimmes (recipe from Simple Seders)
Fruit from a guest
White Chocolate Matzoh
Flour less Chocolate Tart (from Kosher By Design - Passover)
Some other treats that I will be making will be chocolate covered matzoh and passover granola, both recipes available from the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook, but I acquired them from long time friends. I also will make Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chip Cookies for Passover.
Let me know which recipes you would like posted, and I will post them for you!
Gotta get back to my cleaning and cooking!
Saturday, April 12, 2014
Friday, April 4, 2014
Easy as Pie
Pies are not easy to make. But this one is, because it involves using a frozen crust (shhhh, did I just say that????).
Chocolate Chip Pie is like eating warm cookie dough in a pie shell.
1 nine inch pie crust (frozen), NOT BAKED
1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup of flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of chocolate chips.
Preheat oven to 325
Pour all ingredients into a bowl (except for the pie shell). Stir. Pour into pie shell. Put onto baking pan, and into oven for about 55 minutes.
Cool, but not all the way.
Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream!
Chocolate Chip Pie is like eating warm cookie dough in a pie shell.
1 nine inch pie crust (frozen), NOT BAKED
1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar (packed)
1/2 cup of flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup of chocolate chips.
Preheat oven to 325
Pour all ingredients into a bowl (except for the pie shell). Stir. Pour into pie shell. Put onto baking pan, and into oven for about 55 minutes.
Cool, but not all the way.
Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream!
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Spring has Sprung! NOT
Spring officially started the other day, and Purim is over, which means that it is time to think about Passover. . . . . designing the menu, purchasing the food and then the dreaded cleaning. I love spring. I love how it starts to warm up and I love seeing the little green stems shoot through the mud, after the snow has melted. (I am NOT even going to think about the possibility of a storm mid week in Boston.)
This year I am hosting BOTH Seders. The torch has been passed, and this working mom of two, is now hosting both nights. Driving to my parent's house is nice, however it means the kids get into bed late (since the grandparents live an hour away) and most years the dreaded state MCAS tests are given during Passover. This year, it means I get to invite friends and family and design the menus, which I like to do. To me, hosting Seder means you are now a Jewish adult.
I have designed the menu, thinking about all the things one needs to think about - everything is going to be meat, which means not a drop of dairy, including dessert. It means that I have to think of TWO vegetarian main dishes for the husband (that don't include dairy). Since I don't like red meat, it means two different chicken dishes. It also means, that I am cooking everything from the chicken soup to the dessert. I have the menu, and I have my grocery lists. Grocery list #1 contains all the items I need to buy at the local Kosher store (Kosher for Passover knishes, cheese, yogurt, chicken, shank bone). Grocery list #2 contains the items I can buy at the local grocery store (matzoh, chocolate treats, etc) and grocery list #3 contains the items I must buy the weekend before Passover (fruit, veggies, etc).
Then the weekend before I make my COOK list, which includes Mady's Chicken Soup and Matzoh balls, carrot consume (for the vegetarian), charoset (made with raisins and dates), chocolate chip cookies (Kosher for Passover), Kosher for Passover Granola (from the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook - only a very few remain before we are totally sold out), chocolate covered matzoh, mondelbret and a few other things. I make these things because homemade is better than store bought (yes, I have spoiled my family).
The thing that I find really hard is that once Seder is over, and the leftovers are gone, I have to cook again, and now that the kids are older, I am driving around town. Thursday at 6 PM is my carpool turn for Hebrew School pick up, so I had to buy three packages of over priced, not so great, cheese blintzes, so my husband can heat them up when he arrives home that Thursday. Homemade food is always better than frozen, but some nights there is no other choice.
So, while others are cleaning off bikes and storing skis, I will be cleaning and preparing for Passover.
This year I am hosting BOTH Seders. The torch has been passed, and this working mom of two, is now hosting both nights. Driving to my parent's house is nice, however it means the kids get into bed late (since the grandparents live an hour away) and most years the dreaded state MCAS tests are given during Passover. This year, it means I get to invite friends and family and design the menus, which I like to do. To me, hosting Seder means you are now a Jewish adult.
I have designed the menu, thinking about all the things one needs to think about - everything is going to be meat, which means not a drop of dairy, including dessert. It means that I have to think of TWO vegetarian main dishes for the husband (that don't include dairy). Since I don't like red meat, it means two different chicken dishes. It also means, that I am cooking everything from the chicken soup to the dessert. I have the menu, and I have my grocery lists. Grocery list #1 contains all the items I need to buy at the local Kosher store (Kosher for Passover knishes, cheese, yogurt, chicken, shank bone). Grocery list #2 contains the items I can buy at the local grocery store (matzoh, chocolate treats, etc) and grocery list #3 contains the items I must buy the weekend before Passover (fruit, veggies, etc).
Then the weekend before I make my COOK list, which includes Mady's Chicken Soup and Matzoh balls, carrot consume (for the vegetarian), charoset (made with raisins and dates), chocolate chip cookies (Kosher for Passover), Kosher for Passover Granola (from the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook - only a very few remain before we are totally sold out), chocolate covered matzoh, mondelbret and a few other things. I make these things because homemade is better than store bought (yes, I have spoiled my family).
The thing that I find really hard is that once Seder is over, and the leftovers are gone, I have to cook again, and now that the kids are older, I am driving around town. Thursday at 6 PM is my carpool turn for Hebrew School pick up, so I had to buy three packages of over priced, not so great, cheese blintzes, so my husband can heat them up when he arrives home that Thursday. Homemade food is always better than frozen, but some nights there is no other choice.
So, while others are cleaning off bikes and storing skis, I will be cleaning and preparing for Passover.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Potato Rosti
Another easy dinner!
Adapted from Veggie Planet
1 egg
1/4 cup white flour
2 medium russet potatoes (about one pound), peeled and grated (in the food processor)
1/3 cup grated Swiss Gruyere Cheese (in the food processor)
1/3 cup chopped onion (in the food processor)
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
In a large bowl, combine the egg and the flour. Add the potatoes, cheese, onion, and caraway seeds. Season with salt and pepper.
In a 9-11 inch non stick skillet, heat over medium high heat. Add half of the butter. Let it melt. Then add the potato mixture, and pat it down into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook for 10 minutes. Invert the rosti onto a plate. Add butter to pan, and let melt, and then slide rosti, cooked side up, into the pan. (I have a Frittata pan, so the pans lock together making flipping easy.)
Cook for another 10 minutes over medium to low heat.
Slide rosti onto cutting board, and slice into six slices.
Adapted from Veggie Planet
1 egg
1/4 cup white flour
2 medium russet potatoes (about one pound), peeled and grated (in the food processor)
1/3 cup grated Swiss Gruyere Cheese (in the food processor)
1/3 cup chopped onion (in the food processor)
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pepper
1 1/2 T unsalted butter
In a large bowl, combine the egg and the flour. Add the potatoes, cheese, onion, and caraway seeds. Season with salt and pepper.
In a 9-11 inch non stick skillet, heat over medium high heat. Add half of the butter. Let it melt. Then add the potato mixture, and pat it down into the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it cook for 10 minutes. Invert the rosti onto a plate. Add butter to pan, and let melt, and then slide rosti, cooked side up, into the pan. (I have a Frittata pan, so the pans lock together making flipping easy.)
Cook for another 10 minutes over medium to low heat.
Slide rosti onto cutting board, and slice into six slices.
Monday, March 10, 2014
Hamentashen season is here!
Hamentashen season is here! I made three batches - enough for treats for my office, Adam's office, our Purim baskets and of course US!
This generally works better if you make the dough the night before and refrigerate it overnight.
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil
2 ½ tsp vanilla extract
½ cup orange juice
5 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 TBS baking powder
1 cup fruit preserves, any flavor
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350˚. Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until light & fluffy. Stir in the oil, vanilla and orange juice. Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the batter to form a stiff dough. If dough is not stiff enough to roll out, stir in more flour. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough out to ¼ inch thickness. Cut into circles using a cookie cutter or the rim of a drinking glass. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets. Spoon about 2 tsp. of preserves into the center of each one. Pinch the edges to make 3 corners.
3. Bake for 12-15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet before removing to wire racks to cool completely.
Makes about 5-6 dozen cookies.
From the Temple Emanuel Sisterhood Cookbook
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Persian Chicken
A very yummy treat!
1 chicken cut in pieces
Marinade
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/4 t saffron powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c olive oil
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 lime juiced
Preheat oven to 350F
In small bowl combine the marinade ingredients. Rub the marinade on the chicken pieces.
Bake uncovered for one hour. After 45 minutes cover with foil to prevent a burn.
Chicken must be 160F.
1 chicken cut in pieces
Marinade
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1/4 t saffron powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c olive oil
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 lime juiced
Preheat oven to 350F
In small bowl combine the marinade ingredients. Rub the marinade on the chicken pieces.
Bake uncovered for one hour. After 45 minutes cover with foil to prevent a burn.
Chicken must be 160F.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Special Vacation Breakfast
Special breakfasts are rare in the house. On weekdays we eat a very quick bowl of cereal, and are out the door, with little clean up. On Sundays, when many people have brunch, we are shuttling kids back and forth from religious school. This past Sunday was the last day of February vacation which meant no religious school. Usually I make lemon scones or chocolate chip pancakes, but I decided to try something new to the kids - Mommy's Homemade French Toast made using Mommy's Homemade Challah!
Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 t. sugar
1/4 t salt
1 one pound challah, cut into 12 (1/2 inch thick) - do not use the ends
1/2 t double vanilla
Butter
Whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, salt and vanilla. Arrange challah in one layer on a baking pan. Pour egg-milk mixture into large baking pan, and soak the bread slices for four minutes per side.
Heat large griddle, and melt 1 T butter on the griddle over medium heat. Transfer as many slices of the challah onto the griddle and cook until golden brown (about a minute or two). Flip and cook again for about another minute. Remove and put on serving platter. Cook the remaining challah, while you eat the first batch. Serve with Vermont maple syrup.
Ingredients:
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 t. sugar
1/4 t salt
1 one pound challah, cut into 12 (1/2 inch thick) - do not use the ends
1/2 t double vanilla
Butter
Whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, salt and vanilla. Arrange challah in one layer on a baking pan. Pour egg-milk mixture into large baking pan, and soak the bread slices for four minutes per side.
Heat large griddle, and melt 1 T butter on the griddle over medium heat. Transfer as many slices of the challah onto the griddle and cook until golden brown (about a minute or two). Flip and cook again for about another minute. Remove and put on serving platter. Cook the remaining challah, while you eat the first batch. Serve with Vermont maple syrup.
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