Beignets + Chanukah Party + a Giveaway

Happy Hanukkah! You probably thought we were going to post a recipe for sufganiyot, but nope. We’ve made donuts for Hanukkah in the past, but maybe next year we’ll stuff them with hot jelly. This year, we’re going France/New Orleans-style.

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Double Pumpkin Biscotti

Can you believe tomorrow is already Thanksgiving!? It snuck up on me really quickly this year. Though I guess Christmas is already in the air here in New York, and on TV where I can’t avoid holiday shopping commercials.
We already shared a seasonally-appropriate meat main dish and a hearty fall vegetable with you this week, here’s a nice, light dessert to go with it.
Anyway, when Oh! Nuts asked if they could send me some dried fruits, nuts or seeds, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to make some Thanksgiving desserts. Thanksgiving = pumpkin, so I requested a pound of shelled pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds) and decided to bake some biscotti. Sometimes, especially after a day of eating heavy, starchy, meaty foods, it’s nice to have a light, crisp dessert.

Unstuffed Cabbage

We all stuffed something for our kosher connection challenge this month, like Jessica’s acorn squash, but I’m here to you to share something unstuffed with you.

I have stuffed many things in my kitchen-life: grape leaves, meatballs, zucchini, onions, etc. But never have I stuffed cabbage, and I think it’ll stay that way. I mean, this is so much easier, but you still get the same flavors. I guess the only thing lacking is the single-serving cabbages, but whatever, who needs portion control!?  Continue reading

Tokyo Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

Salad is usually more of a side dish or appetizer for us; it’s not a meal on its own. Whenever I pack salad to bring to lunch at work, I always end up hungry in the middle of the afternoon. Even if it has a hard-boiled egg in it! This salad is different. Like Jessica’s Salad Nicoise, it stands alone as an entree salad. It’s packed with protein and substance from the soba noodles and tofu, so it’s healthy, filling and delicious. Continue reading

Indian Chicken with Apricots

I once had a fight with a stranger on a New Jersey Transit train because I insisted I wasn’t Punjabi, and he thought I must have been. “I am from Punjab and all of the ladies there look like you!” He yelled at me. Well, sorry. He was quite adamant that we converse in Punjabi, too, a language that I do not speak. And we were getting along in English just fine (well, maybe not getting along, but communicating.)! Continue reading

Lamb and Leek Hotpot

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Hope all of you in Sandy’s path (like us!) are staying safe and have enough projects to entertain you on this second day at home! If you happen to have lamb, leeks and potatoes at home, I have a dinner idea for you:

This is becoming one of my favorite dishes. It takes too long to cook be a regular weeknight meal, but it’s all made in one pot (my Dutch oven), it can be made ahead and it’s definitely a special enough for a celebration. Don’t worry, it’s mostly waiting around in the oven time, so you can watch a movie while it cooks, you don’t have to sit in the kitchen all night.

Lamb is usually a treat for us, but it’s not expensive to buy shoulder chops or stew meat, and the long cooking time makes the meat super soft. Leeks are totally underrated. I don’t use them enough, even though they play a part in many of my favorite dishes, including this ginger fried rice. It’s called a lamb and leek hotpot, but potatoes also play a key role in it; they soak up all of the delicious lamb flavor and all of the leek juices. Mm, amazing!

I’ve actually never had or even heard of a hotpot before, but it’s basically lamb and vegetables, surrounded by potatoes. Thanks, Greedy Gourmet for introducing me to this delicious Lancashire pub grub!

Now, the first time I made this, I was smart and bought boneless meat. That’s what I thought I bought the second time around, until I got home and realized there were bones in my stew meat. Oops! Just as delicious, but a little more annoying to eat. Also, I didn’t bother peeling the potatoes, I was too lazy. And if you’re feeling lazy, you’re better off skipping the potato-peeling than the leek-frying! This is a crucial step. Do not skip it.

Your kitchen is about to smell so good!

Lamb and Leek (and Potato) Hotpot from Greedy Gourmet
Serves 6ish

Ingredients:

  • 6 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 leeks, trimmed and chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 1/2 to 2 lbs boneless lamb shoulder, cut into cubes
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 2 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 4 medium “waxy” potatoes (about 1 3/4 lbs) (I used yukon golds)
  • chopped thyme
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • salt and pepper

Directions:

  1. Heat about 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a Dutch oven or another pot that can go on the stove and in the oven. Add the leeks and onions, coat with oil, cover the pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Uncover, salt, remove the leeks and onions to a bowl and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, lightly coat the lamb with the flour. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the pot and brown the meat on all sides (in batches, if necessary) with the garlic, salt and pepper. Remove from pot and set aside.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350.
  4. Layer half the potatoes on the bottom of the pot. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Add half the leeks on top. Then add all of the meat, the rest of the leeks, and finally, arrange the rest of the potatoes nicely on top. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme, then pour in the broth and the wine.
  5. Turn the fire on, bring to a simmer, cover, and place in the oven to cook for about an hour and 50 minutes. Remove the lid, sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and cook for another 30 to 40 minutes. Serve immediately.

 

Ka’ik ib’Fisdok, or Pistachio Cookies

I love pistachios! I think they’re my favorite nut (besides Richie, teehee). So these cookies are great, because they don’t hide the pistachio flavor with almond extract, ick! Don’t get me wrong, I like almonds, too, but there’s something about almond extract that I don’t like. I can pick out the flavor in any recipe, and it’s almost always used as a flavoring in pistachio desserts.

This recipe uses orange blossom water instead, which is optional, and therefore I skipped it, because I didn’t have any. So the four-ingredient cookies turned into three-ingredients cookies! That’s right, three.

Did I mention they’re parve and gluten free? Well, they are! I frozen half, because that’s what I do, and while lots of cookies are best hot out of the oven, these shine when they’re cold out of the freezer.

Ka’ik ib’Fisdok, Pistachio Cookies from A Fistful of Lentils

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups shelled pistachios
  • 2 large egg whites
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons orange blossom water, to taste (optional)
  • 3/4 cup sugar

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
  2. Place the pistachios in a food processor and blend until finely ground
  3. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and then fold in the orange blossom water if using.
  4. Gently pour the sugar over the egg whites and fold with a wooden spoon. Add the pistachios and fold until fully incorporated.
  5. Scoop the “dough” onto the cookie sheet, leaving 1 inch in between. Bake for about 15 minutes.
  6. Allow to cool for 30 minutes before removing them from the sheet, or else they may break.

Apple Cake

This recipe is for a Rosh Hashana apple cake, but I made it a little too late for the holiday. Still, it’s fall, so we’re going to be eating a lot of apples. I have been using Food52 a lot for finding recipes, and I liked how this one was already parevified for me! I mean, it would be delicious with melted butter in place of the vegetable oil, don’t get me wrong, but I served it after a meat Shabbat dinner.

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Chicken Braised in Pomegranate + Blogger Party + a Giveaway!

Pomegranate is, by far, my favorite Rosh Hashana siman. For this main course, we substitute pomegranate juice for the fresh stuff and counter the tart flavor with honey to symbolize a sweet new year.chicken braised in pomegranate {the kosher foodies}

Happy new year, everyone! When Miriam emailed us to invite us to a Rosh Hashanah blogger’s party, I knew we had to attend. This year, we tested a delicious chicken recipe with pomegranate. Yum.  Continue reading

Moroccan-Style Salmon with Preserved Lemons and a Giveaway!

When Jessica got a copy of Levana Kirchenbaum’s book, The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen, she immediately sent me this recipe; she knew I’d been looking for ways to use up the meyer lemons I’d preserved this winter. I’ve been a lazy cook this summer, though, relying on old favorites and things that won’t heat up my apartment, so I didn’t make it as quickly as she thought I would.salmon with preserved lemon

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