| Almond Pound Cake |
[Jan. 16th, 2007|10:23 am] |
Adapted from Rosie's Cookbook.
1 cup sliced almonds
2.5 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
.5 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter
3 teaspoons almond extract
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
Apricot Jam
Mascarpone
Preheat oven to 350. Grease and sugar a 10-inch spring form pan, and spread 1/4 cups of the almonds on the bottom.
Cream butter, sugar, and extracts until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time.
In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients.
Add the flour mixture to the butter alternating with the sour cream. Stir in remaining almonds.
Pour batter into prepared pan, pushing it up the sides so that it is lower in the middle (this is so that it bakes flat rather than rounded on top).
Bake for 60 minutes or so until a knife/toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
When the cake is cool, slice it in half and spread with a mixture of apricot jam and mascarpone (to taste). Serve bottom side up so the sliced almonds are showing, and glaze (I melted some amaretto, apricot jam, and sugar together in a saucepan and brushed it on top). |
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| cholent |
[Sep. 24th, 2006|03:41 pm] |
I made cholent for Rosh Hashanah, it's one of these dishes that was commonly made for the sabbath because you put it in the oven the day before and took it out for dinner without having to cook. I made something way simpler than most of the recipes I read online, and I told my mom about it and she was shocked at how complicated it was compared to what she's done, which is just to put the veggies in whole...maybe I'll try that way next time, but still:
Thursday Night:
-Put 2 cups beans to soak; I used a combination of cranberry, great northern, and garbanzo beans.
Friday Morning:
-In a deep oven proof pot, saute an onion and when translucent add a clove of crushed garlic and a tablespoon brown sugar
-Cube 2-3 potatoes and 2 carrots, dice 2 tomatos
-Add veggies, beans, and 3/4 cup barley to the onions, as well as salt and pepper and a little bit of corriander, nutmeg, and cumin
-Fill with water to cover plus a few cups
-Nestle some whole eggs (washed) and some dough made of oil, salt, pepper, and flour into the cholent
-Place in 200 degree oven
Check midday if it needs more water; don't stir. This is a good time to taste for seasoning because if it needs more salt, you can mix this into the additional water that you pour over, without disturbing the stew.
Remove eggs and peal and slice to serve on the side. You can also remove and slice the dough balls.
I served this with challah, glazed carrots, green beans, and of course apples, honey, and wine. L'shana tova! |
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| peach crisp |
[Sep. 21st, 2006|09:03 am] |
Ok, so I always make this without really following a recipe, which is too bad because sometimes it comes out great but I don't remember how I did it, and sometimes it comes out mushy or dry and I don't know how to prevent making the same mistake next time. Yesterday it came out perfect! So here is my *guess* as to what I did:
Preheat oven to 400
Cube 4 firm but sweet peaches (or nectarines, or really any fruit you want); I cut them into about 9 wedges and then in half lengthwise
Toss with 1/2 inch ginger, grated
In a separate bowl, mix
-2/3 cup flour
-1/2 cup granulated sugar
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-1/3 cup oats
-pinch ginger & cloves
Cut in one stick of butter with a pastry knife, and springle/pat this in on top of the peaches.
Bake for 40 minutes or so - depends how mushy the peaches are to begin with. They should not be mushy, but the top should have some color. |
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| grandma's 85th birthday |
[Sep. 4th, 2006|01:16 pm] |
The menu for grandma's birthday was
Salate de Vinete (romanian version of babaganoush)
Grilled Leg of Lamb
Rice Pilaf
Cucumber Salad
Sauteed Zucchini
Strawberry Torte
In addition to Grandma and Grandpa, Paul and Steve and Nancy came over. And Maya came over for dessert.
Salate de Vinete - "Eggplant Salad"
-Prick 2 largish purple eggplants and place on a oiled piece of foil in a 350 oven for about a half an hour.
-Scoop insides out without mixing in the charred skin. Use something stainless steel for this because otherwise the flesh will discolor
-Let the eggplant cool - it will let a lot of water out! pour this off
-using a wooden spoon or paddle, "chop" the eggplant flesh just to separate all the fibers. Don't use a real knife because you want to keep the seeds in tact.
-stirring with a (non corrosive) whisk or fork, add 1/2 a cup to 1 cup olive oil in a slow stream (not extra virgin, which has too strong a flavor). You want it to be silky and glossy
-add juice from 1 lemon, salt, pepper, and minced onions to taste
-serve with bread
Butterflied Leg of Lamb
-mix 1/3 cup honey, 1/3 cup soy sauce, 4 cloves garlic (crushed), 1.5 inches fresh ginger, grated
-marinate lamb for several hours, turning occasionally
-grill or broil for 15 - 20 minutes depending on size
Rice Pilaf
(I'll add this recipe later, I think it's typed up on my computer in boston...)
Cucumber Salad
Yum! fresh picked cucumbers from the garden! We just did thinly sliced cucumbers with thinly sliced onions. What I hadn't done before is that you add 1/4 cup vinegar and then fill the bowl with water, so it's not as strong. Plus add lots of salt because the cucumbers will absorb it.
Strawberry Torte
-Preheat oven to 350; line a donut shaped pan (with straight sides rather than bundt) with waxed paper, then grease and flour.
-Whip until soft peaks form:
--6 egg whites
--2T water
--Pinch salt
--1/2 cup sugar (added gradually)
-Mom says you can just fold the rest of these ingredients individually, but i mixed them together separately first and then folded in:
--6 yolks
--3/4 cup sugar
--1 1/3 cup flour
--rind from one lemon
--1/4 cup lemon juice
-Bake for ~35 minutes, cool for 10, remove from pan and let cool all the way. slice into 3 layers
-Beat 2 cups heavy cream, add 2pts strawberries that have been diced and tossed with 1/4 cup currant jelly (this can masticate for a while, then drain and save the juice)
-soak layers in juice, then fill and top with strawberry whipped cream. |
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| Candied Walnuts #2 |
[Jun. 18th, 2006|06:15 pm] |
We're making a salad with mixed greens, apples, craisins, goat cheese, and these candied walnuts (very different from the ones previously described in this lj) from epicurious:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 cup walnuts (about 3 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray. Combine walnuts and all remaining ingredients in medium bowl; toss to coat. Spread nut mixture on prepared baking sheet (some nuts may clump together). Bake until nuts are deep golden and sugar mixture is bubbling, stirring occasionally to break up clumps, about 15 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheet. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store in airtight container.)
Makes 1 cup.
Bon Appétit
December 2000 |
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| passover |
[Apr. 16th, 2006|12:36 pm] |
Mmm, so much good passover food! and so much good company; we had 10 people over on friday night,squeezed into our bizzarely arranged living room (we don't have a big table, so two coffee tables, our kitchen table, and another end table were pieced together, I'll try to get a photo up.)
The menu included:
Charoset
Matzoh Ball Soup
"Salade de Boeuf"
Carrots
Turkey with Dried Fruit dressing
Potato Kugel
Brownies
Strawberry Torte.
Some of the recipes are below...
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CHAROSET
Ooh, I really didn't use much of a recipe at all...but here's my guess...
Core and quarter 6 apples and chop in the cuisinart. Chop 1 or 1.5 cups walnuts (I do this by hand). Mix together with 3-4 t cinnamon and 1/2 cup manischewitz.
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MATZAH BALLS
We cook these separately from the broth, and then when serving spoon some matzoh balls and some chicken soup. Any chicken broth is fine...but it makes a big difference (that is, tastes much more jewish/passovery) if you use parsnips in addition to standard celery, onion, and carrots. Also I'd stir in some parsley at the end.
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 c water
salt (about 1/2t), pepper
1 c matzah meal (if you use extra large eggs, add another 2T)
1/2 stick margarine, melted
Mix ingredients in order indicated above.
Let sit in refrigerator overnight (at least several hours)
Make matzah balls about one and a half inches in diameter, roll between
(wet) palms (or use scoop, but try to compact a little)
Drop into boiling salted water and cook about 1/2 hour
For Passover I double the recipe, and that's enough, with
plenty leftovers, for about 15 people.
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SALADE DE BOEUF
Ok, we have always made this with chicken, not beef, but for some reason still use this name. Oh well. Also, the ratio is so so totally flexible. We do double duty making the matzoh ball soup broth by boiling a chicken with the vegetables for this recipe.
Ingredients
3 medium potatoes, boiled or baked, cubed
3/4 cup peas
4 carrots, boiled
1 Parsnip
3 boiled eggs, cubed
3 pickled cucumbers, cubed very fine
1and 1/2 cup cubed boiled chicken
2 tsp. prepared mustard
3 tbsp. mayonnaise
Salt, pepper to taste
Mix it all well. Taste it and correct seasoning.
********************************************
TURKEY WITH FRUIT DRESSING
We had an 11 lb bird. possibly way too much, there are so many leftovers! Anyway, first you mix the stuffing:
3 large apples, in cubes/chunks of about 3/4 inch - quarter and core, then cut each quarter in 2 then 3
2 large oranges, peeled, cut up
2 medium onions, same
12 oz (or less) each dried prunes and dried apricots, cut in smaller pieces, maybe quarter and then one or two more cuts across
Stuff as much as you want/can into the turkey cavities. Brush the turkey all over with this basting sauce:
Mix about 10 oz concentrated orange juice, 1/2 c olive oil, 1/3 c brandy, 2t dried tarragon, 2t dried basil, 1t ground cardamom, 1t salt, ground pepper.
Put the rest of the stuffing in a casserole with some of the basting liquid and put this in the oven for the last hour of baking.
Loosely cover the turkey with foil since the sugar in the dressing will make it brown; baste every 20 or 30 minutes or so. Roast the turkey at 425 for twenty minutes, then drop to 350 for about 3 hours or so.
***************************************************
POTATO KUGEL
6 medium sized white potatoes(2 1/2 pounds)
1 large onion
1 large carrot
1/4 cup matzo meal
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Pare vegetables and put through a meat grinder, using the fine blade.
Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly. Pour into a well-greased
1 1/2 quart baking dish. Bake in a moderate oven (375 F) about one hour
or until top is browned and crisp at the edges. Serves 6 to 8.
*************************************
FUDGE BROWNIES
Just wonderful even when it is not Passover — fudgy, dense, delicious.
Another "most requested" recipe.
2 cups granulated or brown sugar
1 cup ( 2 sticks) unsalted butter or unsalted Passover margarine,
melted and cooled
3 eggs
1 tablespoon brewed coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 scant cup matzoh cake meal
1/2 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 7 by 10-inch rectangular
baking pan, a 9-inch square pan, or an 8- or 9-inch springform pan.
In a bowl, mix the sugar into the melted butter, then the eggs,
coffee, cocoa, salt, cake meal, and toasted walnuts, if using.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes.
Do not overbake. The brownies should be set and seem dry to the touch,
but there should not be a crust around the sides. Cool in the pan. Cut
into squares or (if baked in a round pan) into wedges.
Makes 30 squares. |
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| soda bread |
[Mar. 25th, 2006|02:38 pm] |
Sharon and I made Irish soda bread for st. pat's day, it came out great. We also made corned beef and cabbage and colcannon, and Marissa and Carrie brought stew and cupcakes with suprise baileys cream filling. mmm.
Irish Soda Bread
(we doubled the recipe)
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 cups all purpose flour
5 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons butter, chilled, cut into cubes
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup raisins (we used a combination of currents and golden raisins. In ireland they use "sultanas" but I don't know what the difference is between this and raisins...just bigger I think.)
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 8-inch-diameter cake pan with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub in until coarse meal forms. Make well in center of flour mixture. Add buttermilk. Gradually stir dry ingredients into milk to blend. Mix in raisins.
Using floured hands, shape dough into ball. Transfer to prepared pan and flatten slightly (dough will not come to edges of pan). Sprinkle dough with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
Bake bread until brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes. Transfer to rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Makes 1 loaf. |
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| oatmeal popovers |
[Dec. 25th, 2005|03:58 pm] |
One of my favorite breakfasts that maya, rebecca and I often used to make on sunday mornings. Admittedly it was a bit redundant since we were having yorkshire pudding for dinner, but no matter...This is enough for 3-4 people because they are very light and it wouldn't be hard for me to eat 4 but I can live with just 3. On the other hand, it could be different with boys...
Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 T butter, melted
1/3 cup rolled oats, coarsely ground in a food processor
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Butter the custard cups or muffin tins. Mix the eggs, milk, butter, oatmeal, flour, and salt until well blended. Half fill the prepared pan with the batter and set them in a cold oven. Turn the heat to 450 and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350 and bake 10-15 minutes more, until round and golden. Serve hot with butter and jam.
(actually recipe recommends placing jam in the bottom of the muffin tins before baking, but I think it's easier and better--and much easier to clean--if you just serve with the jam) |
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| Christmas Dinner |
[Dec. 25th, 2005|03:30 pm] |
The menu for christmas eve dinner last night was:
Roast Beef
Yorkshire Pudding
Mashed Butternut Squash
Baby Bok-Choi
Salad
Yule Log
2003 Kenwood Zinfandel
For 7 people we had 2.3 lbs of bottom round, rubbed with salt, pepper, mustard, and rosemary. It was in the oven at 400 for about an hour; we like it fairly rare meaning internal temperature should be around 120 to 130.
For the yorkshire pudding, place 1/4 cup butter (or better yet, hot beef drippings) in a 9x13 glass dish and place in a 400 degree oven until melted. Mix in a blender 2 cups flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 1/2 cups milk, and 3 eggs. Pour this into the hot pan and into the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 and cook for another 10-15 minutes until puffy; serve right away (preferably drowned in juice from the roast beef!).
For the yule log, preheat the oven to 375 and get a jelly roll pan ready by greasing, waxed-papering, and greasing the waxed paper. Beat 4 egg yolks with 3/4 cup sugar and add 1 tsp vanilla; in a separate bowl mix (sift) 3/4 cup cake flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt. Add to egg yolks. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold in. Spread in the pan and bake for about 12 minutes. Cool a few minutes and then roll in a tea cloth sprinkled with powdered sugar until cool. For filling/frosting, leave 3 T cocoa nd 1 T sugar to soak in 1.5 cups cream for fifteen minutes, then whip until stiff, stirring in a tablespoon of rum at the end. Unroll the cake and spread with a mixture of 2 T rum, 1 T milk, the zest of 1 lemon and 2 T sugar. Spread a layer of whipped cream and then roll the cake back up; spread the rest of the cream on top. |
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| stollen |
[Dec. 25th, 2005|03:23 pm] |
This has been our Christmas morning tradition for the past 3 years. That's also about how long it's been since we've had stockings or exchanged gifts but this stuff is so good that I hardly miss that...
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cardammom
1/2 tsp mace or nutmeg
1/2 c butter
1 c cottage cheese
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 t almond extract
2 tbsp rum
1 1/4 c currants, raisins, dried apricots, candied/fresh lemon peel
3/4 c blanched almonds
Cut butter into dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients, dried fruit and almonds, and mix into dry. Knead a little, spread into a ~10 inch round and fold so top layer is smaller than bottom. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 about 45 minutes. Cool about an hour (or 2-3 days).
Serve with scrambled eggs, coffee and OJ.
Merry Christmas! |
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