Nothing Like Matzah Brei!

Crossposted on me-ander

What's your most reliable, filling Passover food staple?

For us it's the classic "Ashkenaz" Matzah Brei. I just made a nice big one for my husband to take to work. It's a day's worth of food for him. It's one dish we can't live without on Pesach. OK, this isn't diet food, and I doubt if I'll eat one this year. I'm not planning on traveling, so I can make my usual low carb goodies.



Matzah Brei is easy, simple to make and includes ingredients and equipment everyone (and if you don't have, they're worth buying) has at home:

• matzah
• eggs
• water (milk optional)
• margarine or oil for frying
• something sweet to spread on it, honey or jam (optional)

The necessary equipment:

• a large bowl
• a spoon
• covered frying pan (you can cover with a plate or foil)
• spatula (or knife and spoon used in tandem)

Yes, that's it.

• take a few matzot and break them up in a large bowl
• add some water, half way unless you want milk, too, then the combination should be half way up the matzah
• add eggs, at least one per matzah
• mix
• let sit for awhile, so the liquids can be absorbed by the matzot
• heat oil/margarine in the frying pan
• spoon the mixture onto the hot, greased pan
• lower the heat and cover
• when you can see that the top is cooked/solid/not eggy-runny, then turn over and cover
• wait a minute and turn off the flame and let it sit for at least five minutes
• That's it!
  
  

My Pesach Present

My son-in-law saw this for sale and knew he had to buy one. He and my daughter decided that it was just perfect for me. It's a well-made wooden cutting board, constructed like a "table." Underneath is a "bowl." It's for cutting salad.

The ironic thing is that a number of years ago, I also saw one of those and bought it... for my mother.

Non-Gebrokts Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
10 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
3/4 cup boiling water
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of a nine-inch springform pan. Line the bottom of the pan with a round of parchment paper and butter the paper.
Place both chocolates and the sugar in a food processor and process until finely ground. Pour the boiling water through the feed tube and process for 10-15 seconds until the chocolate is completely melted. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the work bowl. Add the butter and process until incorporated.
Add the eggs and vanilla and process until the mixture is smooth creamy, about eight seconds. Scrape the chocolate batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.
Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for 55-60 minutes, until the edges of the cake are puffy and the center is just set. Cool the cake in the pan set on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least three hours or until ready to serve.

pesach recipes!

Do you have a GREAT Pesach recipe you want to share?

Post them here!

Chicken Soup Tips

I've been making chicken soup for a few years now, and have a few tips to making a soup go from good to amazing. Now, everytime I come home I have to make a batch for my mother which she freezes for the next few weeks, until I come home again.

1. Cook it overnight. The bones from the chicken with disintegrate, and between that and the marrow, you will get a superb taste. It will require very little salt as it comes naturally from the marrow.

2. Use the white Vidalia onions. They are naturally sweeter and less pungent. Once again you will not have to add sugar or any other sweetener to the soup. (You may have to depending how sweet it end up being, and I suggest using honey)

3. I don't know why I do it, this is the mesorah I have from a friends mother who makes it better than I do, but cook the onion with the peel on.

3. Dill, parsley, salt, and pepper only. The beauty is in simplicity of taste. (on a side note, the same for spicing a chulent, only simple spices)

Kosher Cooking Carnival!

I'm so glad to be part of this month's Kosher Cooking Carnival! (and I've never been so hungry in my life after looking at all of your sites!)

So, here goes!

Shabbos

I know it's Friday, and maybe you've already done all your Shabbos cooking. But if you still need some ideas about what to serve, read What's for Shabbos by Shorty.

Need some good wine for Kiddush? Make your own! Make Easy and Quick Homemade Wine. How to Make Cheap Wine at Home? posted at Thoughtfully Vikram....

Dish up these yummy Fish Croquettes for Shabbat as a great gefilte fish alternative over at West Bank Mama.

You should definitely try making Eggplant Caponata. It's a great side dish posted by Ilana-Davita.

Did your chicken soup boil over today? Yisrael Medad presents Back to Basics: Chicken Soup so that you'll get it right next time.

Or maybe you're tired of having the same soup every week? At Blog d'Elisson, the Mistress of Sarcasm cooked up a delish Split Pea and Sweet Potato Soup.

And for dessert, your whole family will beg for second slices of Clementine cake by Bowl of Plenty.

If you love chulent, you will definitely love this recipe for Vegetarian kishke brought to you by Our Shiputzim: A Work In Progress.

When Shabbos is over, who actually wants to cook? Read Creative Cooking Using Leftovers: Chicken Casserole A Mother in Israel posted at A Mother in Israel.

Pesach

Pesach is just around the corner! Make your annual countdown to the cleandown a little less stressed - read the amazing Batya's Painless Pesach Preparations And No-Starch Meatloaf .

At Beneath the Wings, Ricki's Mom talks about the new Recipe Book she bought for Pesach. Looks like she wasn't too happy with her purchase... (makes me wonder which book she bought...)

Learn

More interested in the History Channel than the Food Network? Read History of Cooking Cooking History History of Cooking .

Learn about the Acai Berry - Common Questions Answered. Apparently it's got some great health benefits!

Healthy Cooking

Think you can't eat healthy? Yes You Can! Get tips for healthy eating at Healthy Kosher Eating With Chana.

You should also definitely read The Vegetarian Activist & The Vegetarian Chassid: A Conversation In The Vegetable Garden – Part I posted at A Simple Jew. (deep down, we'd all love to be vegetarians, wouldn't we?)

Cheap eats

With the economy looking as bleak as ever (ok, I am hopeful that it will turn soon, but in the meantime, I gotta budget!), you might want to head over to the Culinary School Guide, where you will find links to the Top 100 Blogs for the Frugal Gourmet.

Random thoughts

The king of random thoughts, Yisrael Medad, talks about various topics you might find interesting (I certainly do!).
In Pork, Jews and One Jew , someone asks about making pork roast for Jewish friends.

And in Does This Sound Kosher To You?, Mr. Medad discusses the kosher-ness of kosher salt. Apparently there's a new 'Christian salt' on the market right now... (it's alright, we Jews love competition)

I like Israeli Salad

For the past few weeks I have been experimenting with creating the perfect salad. What is a Friday night without a nice salad full of freshly chopped vegetables? and What is life without a little rabbit food?

The best type of salad is one that you have all the necessary ingredients for. What good is a fancy recipe if you don't have any of the things you will need? That is why I recommend making a salad with things you have and not things you will have to search a million stores just to find. However, there are a few things that are essential when making an Israeli salad: cucumbers and tomatoes. Once you have those two things, the rest is metaphorical icing on the cake.

This is the recipe that I used most recently for a nice tasting Israeli salad.

3 medium tomatoes
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
2 cucumbers (not those small ones, the nice size ones: you don't want it to be totally tomato)
1 medium onion

Peel the cucumbers. De-seed tomatoes and peppers. Chop the all the vegetables into small pieces. (For instructions on how to cut vegetables into small pieces watch this video.)Mix in a big salad bowl.

Once you have chopped all the vegetables it is now time to create a salad dressing. Personally I am a big fan of the Italian style dressing. But if you are one of those types that don't like much dressing, just add some lemon juice, salt, and black pepper.

Otherwise:

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chopped garlic

Mix all the above ingredients together until your hand goes numb. Then pour in 1/2 cup olive oil and continue to mix with your other hand. Seal in some sort of sealable container and shake until frothy.

Pour as much dressing as you want over the salad.

Enjoy.

Serves: Depends on appetite of individual eating.

The Kosher Cooking Carnival

First of all, here's the new logo for the Kosher Cooking Carnival. Graphics are by Pesky Settler. And here's the link to the latest one. The next one will be hosted by Kosher Cuisine's very own Material Maidel. Please send in any suitable posts you write or see via blog carnival. And if you'd like to host an edition, please let me know shilohmuse at yahoo dot com

Shavua Tov!

Red Cabbage Salad

I love salads with red cabbage in them.  An added benefit is the fact that if you make them for Friday night, the leftovers can still be served Shabbos morning.

The dressing for this particular salad is a bit different from the standard.

Sorry, I don't have a picture but I like to dress it right before serving and I usually serve it on Shabbos ;)

Enjoy!

Salad:

2 Bags Red Cabbage

1/2 cup Pine Nuts

1/4 cup Sesame Seeds

2 cups Chinese Noodles

Dressing:

1 cup Oil

1/4 cup Vinegar

2 Cloves Garlic (I personally love garlic, but sometimes go easy on this amount...)

2 Tbsp. Peanut Butter

1/2 cup Sugar

Dash of Salt and Pepper

Candied Dates

I made this recipe back in January for a Middle Eastern-inspired potluck and then again for TuB'Shvat. They are very simple to make and I'm told that even non-date eaters like these dates.

The first batch consisted of organic Deglet Noor Dates and the second batch consisted of organic Golden Zahidi Dates and Deglet Noor Dates. I got both types on sale at the local grocery store after Christmas when they were discounting all the dried and candied fruits normally used for fruit cake. Each pound only cost me $1. Of course, you're welcome to use any dates that you prefer or are easily obtainable.

The candied almonds come about in the recipe as a way to use up leftover honey and they are quite delicious too.

Candied Dates
& Candied Almonds

1 pound whole dates
Whole almonds [the amount will vary]
1 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup almond meal
gluten-free cooking spray

Line a cookie sheet with wax paper then lightly spray the wax paper with the cooking spray. Set aside. Using a paring knife make an incision on one of the long sides of the date. Gently open the date and remove the pit. If some of the inner skin comes out as well, that's fine. If all the inner skin is loose, remove it. If the inner skin has orange discoloration on it, discard the date because it won't taste right*. If the interior has a gritty substance suspended in a string-like formation, discard the date because something was living in it. Once the pit removed, insert a single whole almond and close up the date. Repeat until all the dates are done.

Place the honey in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. The honey will boil up and create a foam. if there are particles on the foam, scrape them off the top and discard. Stir the honey frequently. Once to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the vanilla extract then remove the honey from the heat. Place 3 to 4 of the dates into the honey mixture using a slotted spoon. Swirl the dates gently in the honey to coat all sides. Remove the dates one at a time with the slotted spoon, drain off excess honey into the saucepan then place the dates on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat until all the dates have been coated in honey. There may be leftover honey and to use it up, I like to dip whole almonds into the honey - one at a time - then place them on the prepared cookie sheet to make candied almonds.

Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours so the honey can set. The dates will still be extremely sticky to the touch. Once the refrigeration is complete, sprinkle half of the almond meal onto a serving tray or plate. Remove the dates from the cookie sheet gently as to not break them apart and place them on the serving tray. [For the candied almonds, I like to dip the almonds in finely shredded unsweetened coconut before placing them on the serving tray.] Once all the dates are on the serving tray, sprinkle the remaining almond meal over them. [The almond meal helps keep the dates from sticking to the tray, etc. along with adding additional texture and flavor.]

Serve or wrap the tray in plastic wrap to store. They are fine at room temperature for up to two days. After that, they will need to be refrigerated.

*When I was living overseas in the Middle East, I encountered several dates that had orange discoloration on the inner skin. I was told that the dates caught a cold during the growing process. When a date catches a cold, the way it grows and the flavor it should develop changes. How the flavor changes varies depending on the type of date but typically dates that catch colds are not eaten. I rarely see dates grown in the USA with this "condition" but it is quite common in dates that are grown in the Middle East.

All of the dates I used with this recipe [so far] were cold-free but several had things living in them at one point. Out of a whole pound [about 30 to 35 dates], I discarded 5 or 6 dates because of grit and strings.