Cappucino Mandel Bread or Bust

So in preparation for the passover holidays I have been making desserts first, instead of my usual start the soup and the briskets. I have never made mandel bread. My mother always did and I am not sure if she did it for passover. For some reason I always thought it was too much work and the reality is I like Biscotti better. Well I like some biscotti, the really dry kind that you can break your teeth on, with a cup of tea or coffee. The plain kind with almonds. It must be the russian in me. Not the biscotti but the plain dry stuff with a!!! Most people are like give me anything as long as it is chocolate. While I like chocolate I am more of the lemon, fruit and spice girl. Also coffee flavoring and mocha but with dark chocolate. Not a milk chocolate person unless it is disguised with lots of caramel and nuts. Once again I digress. The first MandelBread I made was with lemon flavoring (lemon juice and zest) and almonds. It was made with oil so in kosher speak that makes it "Parve", which means you can have it with either milk or meat. In 2007 speak it means no trans fat!!! Before you jump up and down there are egss in it! Passover is all about eggs whenever possible I try to use egg whites but even with that the egg quota for a year is met in that week. The drying method for Mandelbread is the trickiest part. In the end I used another recipes drying method which works great. But it wasnt enough to try this out I had to come up with something new! Since there has always been this controversy over vanilla at Passover i tried coffee flavoring. I decided to make Cappucino MandelBread and they were good!!! Next time I will use more chocolate chunks and less coffee. Instead of lemon I flavored the dough with strong coffee and chunked up some good bittersweet chocolate. Once the loaves were sliced I dipped them in cinnamon sugar hence , coffee, chocolate and cinnamon sugar=Cappucino Mandelbread. The only bad part is that I ate way too many of them!! The good news is they keep great in the freezer and if they regain moisture you can dry them in a 250 degree oven and voila !!!! Recipe to follow in a separate Post since I cant figure out how to line this thing up correctly!!

The food network changed my life

I love watching the food network. I have been a cooking show junkie since the days of Julia Child on public television. So you can just imagine my joy at finding a station devoted to cooking shows. It was just about the time my kitchen renovation was complete and my new best friends kept me company all the time. I have to remember to turn them off or to mute and crank up the music occasionally. I have been watching Rachel Ray since before she became a household word. I thought, finally someone who understands me. I loved that Sara Moulten really taught you about food and cooking(but she is hardly on now). Then there is Giada with wonderfully bright, clean foods with full-bodied flavor easy to prepare and not loaded with fat. All the ways I love to cook. I didnt trust her at first, because she was too skinny to really love food. I guess she is just lucky. Wish I had her metabolism!! I think Paula Deen is a hoot and a real inspiration but her food is too fattening for me. Ina Garten has given me numerous helpful hints on how to ease preparation, I just wish she had more shows since they repeat so often. Even if you dont love cooking shows I am sure you would all love Tyler Florence. I have been wracking my brains to see how I could get him here for food 911. I loved him on How to Boil Water and I make his brined turkey breasts. They are great and I usually hate white meat turkey.

This next Recipe has become a weekly staple in our house and there is usually some in the freezer as well.

Indian Summer Turkey Chili-recipe is from Rachel Ray

* I have discovered that if you use the measurements instead of the palm of your hand it comes out too salty. So beware and adjust accordingly. I also use a little less Bar-b-Q sauce and I prefer regular over smokey but try it and see.
I use the frozen roasted corn from trader joes but I have also used regular frozen corn.
I also add a can of drained black beans for color, fiber and I like them!!

3 Tbl extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
2 1/2 LBs ground turkey or ground turkey breast, 2 pkgs
4 Tbl dark chili powder, 2 palm fulls
2 Tbl grill seasoning, 1 palm full
1 Tbl cumin, 1/2 palm full
2 Tbl Worcestershire sauce
1-3 Tbl hot sauce, medium to extra spicy
1 large onion, quartered
2 large peppers and color combo, i use red, or yellow chopped
1/2 bottle of beer about 1 cup (if i dont have beer i have use white grape juice and it was fine
1 14oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup smokey bar-b-q sauce (i use a little less and whatever i have)
2 cups corn kernels, optional, frozen i use frozen roasted corn kernels, i add couple of handfuls
* 1 can black beans, drained optional

Heat a pot over medium to medium high heat. Add olive oil, 3 turns of the pan, and the turkey meat. Season the meat with: chili powder, grill seasoning, cumin, Worcestershire and hot sauce. Break up the meat with the back of a wooden spoon into small crumbles.
Chop the onion, reserving 1/4 of it for topping the chili. Brown meat 5 minutes, then add onions and chopped peppers and cook 10 minutes more. Add beer and deglaze the pan, scraping up the drippings and cooking off the alcohol. Add tomato sauce and barbecue sauce and bring to a bubble. If using corn kernels add them now and the black beans if using. Let chili simmer 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings and heat level to your taste. Remove and serve.

Top with shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa chips etc.

Enjoy!!! This is so fast and easy and a total family favorite!!! Try the black beans they are good for you and I love the red (of the peppers), yellow(of the corn) and purple/black of the beans.

The Weekly Staples

So it's monday again and time to think about food for the week. Well I have my staples in the freezer and the pantry so I can prepare a few things on a moments notice. Everyone has the chicken staples boneless breasts, chicken breasts etc.... but I also keep turkey sausage (hot and sweet), and ground turkey (usually the 93% lean). In my pantry I always have tomato sauce(80z and 15 oz cans), diced tomatoes (extra lazy instead of mushing up plum tomatoes), and crushed tomatoes. On these days I can easily make two of the fam's favorites:
Turkey Chili and Farfalle with Sausage tomatoes and cream(not too much cream so dont freak out). I dont like heavy sauces or goopey, gluey stuff. It's been so long since I've eaten like that it might be ok going down but the aftermath isnt worth it.

I stopped buying magazines since they were taking over my house, but my mom gave me a subscription to Bon Appetit and they have this great section, Too Busy to cook. This recipe has become a favorite dish, I have modified the recipe to work for me and what I am willing to serve my family. They all love it and nobody knows the difference since they have never had it any other way.

Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream (6 servings I double the meat and get more)
(modified PW's way)

2 Tbl olive oil
2 Lbs Italian turkey sausage-(sweet) sometimes i use hot instead and skip the crushed peppers
casings removed - other times i use 1/2 hot and 1/2 sweet and skip the hot peppers
-if i have someone who doesnt like heat
1/2 tsp dried crushed red peppers
1 cup chopped onion ( u can use less if you dont like onion or shallots for a more mellow flavor)
3 garlic cloves minced
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes with puree
1/2 cup whipping cream ( i use half and half, even fat free and usually only a 1/4 of a cup)

1 Lb farfalle (bow-tie) pasta
1/2 cup chopped fresh basis

Grated Pecorino Romano cheese, or Parmigian or Locatelli

Bring large pot of water to boil while making the sauce. Salt the water until it tastes like the Sea after it boils and then cook the pasta al dente (firm to the bite) Drain reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

Remove sausage from casings.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium High heat ( I use a skillet with 2 inch sides so i can add the pasta to the pan). Add sausage and crushed red peppers, break sausage into chunks. Saute until no longer pink about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic and saute about 3-5 minutes more. Add tomatoes and cream Reduce heat to low and simmer until mixture thickens about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add pasta to the mixture and toss over medium heat. If mixture is dry add reserved pasta water a 1/4 cup at a time as needed. You can serve in the pan or transfer to a large bowl and top with chopped fresh basil. Pass grated cheese separately.

Serve with a simple salad and crusty bread and everyone is happy!!!

Brisket XI is beating the competition

Brisket number XI (11) was found on the internet and the source is the Kosher Gourmet Cookbook. They boil potatoes and put the whole thing back together once it has cooked with the boiled potatoes and meat. I dont do that. We like mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes. I have even made penne and cut the meat up and served it in a bowl with meat noodles and sauce for a leftover lunch.

I found this website last september when i was figuring out my Jewish New Years menu and couldnt stop laughing when I found this catalog of briskets all numbered 1-who knows. Most were the typical onion soup and something...cranberry sauce, bar-b-q sauce, orange juice. I really wanted to find something that might have a little more depth. You might ask, "how much time does this woman have"? At the time I had a lot. I was in a cast for 3 months and trying to figure out how I was going to do 2 nights of holiday, grocery shop and prep with a foot that kept swelling. Thank god I am tall with long legs, since that leg got put in the air wherever I was, such as grocery carts, shelves, countertops...etc

In addition, I knew I would be feeling the empty nest syndrome profoundly, and had ordered all the kids home (before the foot break) plus my sister and her husband were coming from abroad and I knew I would be in need of family. So a broken foot wasnt going to stop the holidays. After all if g-d figured I should break my foot at the airport taking my baby to college ( talk about severing the cord) and go with her anyway then I was going to go along with this test all the way. Therefore, it was time for some new brisket cause when the going gets tough, PW gets cooking.

Brisket Number 11-My Pops loves this one and he's been eating Brisket a long time!!
*unfortunately this one is not kosher for Passover if you are strict*

5lbs brisket (or 6)
2 Large onions, sliced
4 stalks celery, 1/2"slices
4 cloves garlic chopped
2 whole bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
paprika
1/3 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 Tablespoons molasses
8 oz of Chili Sauce (i use Heinz)
12 oz Beer
1/2 cup brown sugar

Pre-heat oven to 325 conventional oven (if using convection lower heat per your ovens instructions). Season the meat with salt and pepper(go easy on the salt or skip since there is soy sauce) and sear in an oven proof casserole or large pan, fat side down and then turn season and sear the other side. If you are not able to use the same pan to sear stovetop and then cook it in after searing place the meat in the heavy casserole or dutch oven and then add the following. You can put the veggies on the bottom, around or on top. Add to the casserole, onions, celery, garlic, bay leaves. Mix chili sauce, molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and mustard, and beer in a bowl or large measuring cup and pour over meat. If you need more liquid you can add the water. Cover tightly with tin foil and if you have a lid place that on top too. If not two tight wrappings of tin foil. Cook for 31/2 hours and check if fork tender take out if not leave in another 1/2 hour. If almost tender you can take it out and leave it covered for an hour and it will continue to cook. Take meat out and cool before slicing against (or across the grain) not with it or you will have a mess and tough meat. Separate gravy and let it cool so the fat will rise to the top. Discard the bay leaves. Skim the fat off the top and slice the meat. Either freeze or refrigerate separately at this point or lay the meat in the casserole pan and pour the sauce over, reheat and serve.

Enjoy!!!! This is a good one even I like it!

The Brisket Wars are on

I collect Brisket recipes not because it is my favorite food, which it isn't, but because I prepare all the Jewish Holidays ever since the torch was passed to me and my sister bolted for a foreign country. She's the oldest and I had always planned on being the princess, but she outsmarted me. Well she actually does all the work in her neck of the woods so we are both cooking, but I do two nights even though I swear every year I won't. Heck, it's tradition and who am I to tempt fate...

The family traditional brisket actually dates back only to my mother the naturally good cook. Her mother was not so good except for a few signature items which she left no recipes and we have unsuccessfully tried to recreate. My dads mom was not a cook. I hear stories that she made good gefillte fish but I don't think she was making it by the time I would have considered eating it. She did always have apples.

My mother never gave me an exact recipe but I will try and impart my interpretation in addition for those who keep kosher for Passover I do my own ketchup substitute. I don't use kosher meat so I guess I am already breaking the rules. I will embrace the term "kosher style".

Pre-heat oven to 325
5lbs Brisket ( I generally use first cut)
2-3 cups of red wine (good wine, Merlot, Cabernet etc)
1/2 cup ketchup
onions-lots (those were my mothers words) 1-2 large, 4 medium
enough for making a bed on the bottom of the pan
carrots-lots, i found that using regular carrots that you peel have more
flavor 4,5, 6 eyeball it
salt, pepper, paprika,parsley, thyme, bay leaf

I use a large roasting pan, or a dutch oven with a heavy lid or a roaster with a lid. It depends how much I am making.

Spray the meat with some oil or rub some on and then season with kosher salt and pepper. Sear the meat 5-10 minutes per side either in the pan you will use to cook it it or another heavy pan if you are going to bake it in a disposable roaster. Another option is to sear it under the broiler which is what my mother does.
While the meat sears slice the onions (you can use a food processor for this) and the carrots.

Make a bed of onions and carrots on the bottom of the pan and season with salt, pepper, thyme and parsley you can throw in two bay leaves at this time. (these are all dry spices not fresh since this thing will cook for hours.

Mix the ketchup and the wine together. Lay the meat fat side up on the bed of onions and carrots. Season the meat with thyme, parsley, paprika, liberally.Pour the wine and ketchup mixture over the meat.

I just learned something fun from Ina Garten the Barefoot Contessa, put a piece of parchment paper in between the meat and the tin foil you will use to tightly cover the pan. So meat is in the pan, place a piece of parchment paper loosely on top and then cover with tightly with heavy duty foil. I do this twice unless I am using a pan with a separate lid and then I use one wrapping of foil. Cook for 31/2 hours. You can check it at 3 hours and see if a fork comes out easily, but it could go 31/2 til 4. I try not to cook it til death since I usually make it 2 days ahead and re-heat it at 325-350 for 30- 45 minutes until heated through. I also make it way ahead and freeze the sliced meat wrapped tightly separate from the sauce which is also frozen.
Here is the potchky part. When the meat comes out of the oven if it is cooked til very tender take it out of the pan to cool before slicing . If you leave it in the pan and the sauce and covered it will keep on cooking and you could get a stringy mess. If it feels like it could cook a little longer you could let it cool in the pan but remember it will continue cooking and you have the reheating process to get it cooked some more. (brisket is trial and error and it is never exactly the same twice, but like the potatoes it should get to different degrees of yumminess not good vs bad!!)

Strain the gravy into a saucepan to separate the cooked carrots and the onions from the juice. Keep the veggies. Either use a fat separator or cool the gravy in the fridge to let the fat rise to the top so you can remove it.
For a thicker sauce Pour some gravy and add some of the onion and carrot mixture in a blender. Blend together and then pour this back into the rest of the gravy. You can decide how thick or thin you like your sauce. When the meat has cooled slice it against the grain into fairly thin slices. To reheat lay the slices in the pan and pour the sauce over the meat until it is covered. Heat until warmed through. It's up to you if you want to use the cooked carrots and onions with the meat. I usually dont though I have used them in a Matzo Kugel. Good flavor.

For Passover I substitute ketchup with:
8oz of tomato sauce
handful of brown sugar
2Tbl cider vinegar (i really just eyeball it)

In the heyday when everyone was around I made about 20lbs of this stuff.
It freezes well but works best if frozen with meat and sauce separated.

Hope you enjoy!!! Sweet and Sour and Bar-b-q recipes to follow.

Grocery shopping while starving is dangerous

My kids noticed that I didnt have much junk around anymore. Quite unusual for a household that in its heyday had a cupboard named "7-11".
Well, except for visits, the kids are gone and lets just say the metabolism isnt as fast as it used to be and considering that food is my life, the really bad stuff had to go. Well most of the time. Anyway my one weakness is icecream, but I am so used to lowfat milk and frozen yogurt that I cant really eat the premium stuff anymore, thank god for small favors. That does not go for chocolate...only the good stuff will do, and heck I am healthy, cause I was always a dark chocolate lover. I digress which is typical, so back to the ice cream. I love the edy's slow churned 1/2 the calories etc and i do try and portion control, well at least no more than 2 times the portion, but even then the caramel one is banned...no control there. Today they have all these American Idol flavors, so how much fun is that??? One of these fun flavors is, Yellow cake batter with frosting and sprinkles, well this intrigues me for many reasons. First the other day this local ice cream place has this low calorie machine stuff and some of the flavors are really good. My definition of really good is that when you are finished you are totally happy and not ready for the real stuff or random grazing. So for the last 2 days i have been eating White cake batter (which has an almond cake flavor) and Caramel swirled together. This stuff is 9 calories an ounce so party on!!!!
Okay so back to Edy's Yellow cake batter with frosting. So, this brought back memories of the kids who used to eat the most disgusting thing in my opinion. Canned Frosting with sprinkles and pretzel rods. My daughter tells me it is call "Spooey", I thought Ooey! They would dip the pretzels into the frosting etc...I stopped buying frosting when i read the calorie count and made them chocolate dipped pretzels instead. All natural right??? So I bought this ice cream since i have been in this cake batter ice cream bender and when i opened it up and it was slightly yellow with sprinkles and blue swirls. I knew sugar coma wasnt far behind so i mixed in some pretzels and boy oh boy it was gooooood!!!!! Super sweet, creamy and salty. I used thin little pretzel sticks but I am sure any kind would do. Thank you American Idol and Edy's this will surely be on the summer dessert list.

Those Potatoes will rise again

That meal really was cursed or maybe my daughter knew i was talking trash about her and i was punished..afterall it's been 3 days gotta let go. The good news is we might have a shot of recovery from insurance. Let's see if I can remember what I said about those potatoes my kids dream about... First things first grab one of those sheet pans, you know my best friends, or you could use a glass pyrex pan but i cant guarantee the browning factor and Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees (conventional oven) Potatoes any kind will do but I generally use red potatoes or yukon gold or baby white new potatoes or fingerlings or baby red potatoes even purple ones are fun. Mixing differnet kinds is really fun for a crowd. I will save sweet potatoes for another time since they require slightly different handling due to all that natural sugar. You can use a bowl or you can toss right on the pan. You can use your hands (cleaned of course) or a spoon, but you will need olive oil, coarse salt (i use kosher, sea salt) and fresh ground pepper or coarse ground pepper that you can purchase. Pour some oil over the potatoes to coat. Dont drown them in oil or they will steam and not roast. You want enough oil so the seasoning will stick. Liberally salt and pepper the potatoes. Those are the basics now comes the fun, you can add fresh chopped garlic or garlic powder, dried rosemary which we love(if you dont like it dont use it) paprika for color and cayenne for extra heat, but optional. You can use any types of seasoning and find your favorites. Just please stay away from the onion soup have you looked at what is in it???? How many potatoes to use? Well I usually double what normal people would eat for my family but if you have large potatoes i cut up one of those per person and then add a few extra since i cant help myself. Cut the potatoes approximately the same size so they cook evenly. In this case size does matter...the smaller the size the faster they will cook. 45-60 minutes unless they are really small and then just check them after 25 minutes. We like them fairly browned and crispy. Shake the pan or move them with a spatula after 25 minutes so they brown on all sides. I really love to use the small gourmet potatoes and fingerlings for company. You can wash them and leave the peel on (easier) or just peel around the middle and have the peel on the ends(fancy) and they are way more forgiving when they stay in the oven longer. No matter how crisp and spicy on the outside they will be soft and yummy on the inside. Even if you have leftovers they will get eaten. Cold, reheated on high in the oven, mixed with roasted veggies and blended with chicken stock for soup or the obvious made into hash browns, just remember season, season, season!!!! Even if you miss they are still good. These things are good to great never bad. The current favorite around here are the oven fries. Baked potatoes cut like steak fries tossed with regular oil or olive and coarse salt and pepper. Lay flat on cookie sheet Roast at 450 for 25 minutes and then flip roast 15-25 until brown and crispy. Serve with salad and flank steak and you will never miss burgers and trans fat. The thinner the fries the more they will crisp so whatever floats your boat. Yum, you could sprinkle them with cheese or serve them with turkey chili...hmmmm I promise to follow up with brisket and chicken soup. My family has two brisket camps..red wine base and bar-b-q/sweet and sour. I collect these recipes the way some people collect baseball cards.. I always make both kinds so everyone feels loved..

No Good meal goes unpunished

Well the first blog education by fire has occurred. I wrote a huge post about potatoes and it is lost. I will try and recreate tomorrow.. That meal really was cursed..

No Good Meal Goes Unpunished Cont....

Dinner was great, but was it my fault I didnt direct the handling of the luggage disaster???? Sunday afternoon was bad when the consequences were finally revealed. We'll never know, but everyone learned some valuable lessons...like what makes PW crazy... On the other hand maybe I should share the secrets of my soup, brisket and potatoes...

No Good Meal Goes Unpunished

Havent been cooking since Friday night but that just about did me in. Everyone talks about how great being an empty nester is but I miss these kids when they are gone. I have two that have finished the "college free for all/your driving me crazy phase". It's a blast having young adults around who are fun and have great conversations with you about their careers and lives. We'll get back to college child later... So I try and do my part and make sure we have the chance to gather round the table and catch up and bring back the old 5 at the dinner table memories. Unfortunately, we got a late start to fixing dinner and getting the last one from the airport. In order to stave off the hunger first there was the noshing of the hummus and the pretzel crisps followed by every jewish persons absolute favorite, the cocktail hot dogs. You tell them you have chicken soup with Matzo Balls, Brisket (2 kinds), Roasted Potatoes (2 kinds) and the obligatory vegetables and (skip the lettuce) some crazy lentil salad. Dinner of course is late since we were out visiting and the college kid came home during rush hour. Luckily, I had the meat and the soup already made. Turn the oven on get out those cookie sheets and the rest happens fast. What doesnt happen is the ability to deal with disasters. Like the destroyed luggage that came off the plane and the kids who dont think there is anything to deal with.

Cookie Sheets are my Best Friends

Love all sizes of these pans and for much more than cookies and brownies and bars. These pans can help you make wonderful quantities of food all in your oven and you can even cover them with tin foil for faster clean up. Though, when you want the best crisping invest in a little soaking time it's worth the extra deliciousness!!! I make everything on these pans but my family and friends are really disappointed if I don't have roasted potatoes on the menu. I dont know what the big deal is but everyone is always requesting them. Maybe I am just a heavy handed seasoner. Kosher salt, Coarse pepper, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, rosemary, olive oil at least that was 13 years ago. Today I infuse olive oil with chopped garlic and keep it around to season everything, but more about that later. Somehow something so simple as a potato crispy on the outside and soft on the inside can generate so much love. Keeps them all coming back for more. Next post will be all about those potatoes!!

Blogging 101

Today my son Adam helped me stop talking about what I am going to do and got me to sit down and do it!!!! So here we go the beginning of my cooking blog. A place to chat about my number one passion in life, besides my kids and hubby!! My brother and sister-in-law, husband and kids were going crazy about my incessant conversations about food and my takes on whatever was happening on the food network, new products at trader joe's etc. They are just happy to eat whatever I am cooking.
This winter has been all about soups, bistro food and mixing tons of flavor without all the fat. Of course that is to make room for the treats we all can't live without.

I look forward to sharing recipes and family stories and all the love that comes out of PW's most treasured kitchen.