Jewish Holiday Cooking: Calling all Matzoh Brie Recipes

Hag Sameach! Happy Passover! And in honor of Passover, Mom has written a Passover post on the blog section of her website, Food Talk with Jayne. This time, her post is on Matzoh Brie and Minas, the Sephardi alternative. And, once again, she's holding a contest and asking for your ideas and recipes! Savory, sweet, whatever. All are welcome and the winner gets a copy of her book, Jewish Holiday Cooking. Good luck!

To send in a Matzoh Brie or Mina recipe, write it up in the contact form on Mom's site, or else write it up on your own blog and send her an e-mail linking to your post. Or leave the link to your post in the comments section here and I'll be sure it gets to her. Happy cooking!

For more information on Jewish Holiday Cooking, see here.

To get started on your matzoh brie and minas, here are some recipes.

Links to other delicious-sounding kosher-for-Passover recipes:

• Pecan Meringue Cookies from Simply Recipes
• a post about Kosher-for-Passover Coke from Fresh Approach Cooking
• Almond and Orange Cake with Orange Pomegranate Compote from Taste of Pace

Jarret de boeuf braise

Today's dish is another one inspired by an early post, this one Braised Veal Shank with Thyme, the second dish I ever published. But, when I made this last week, I realized I had no thyme. And the beef shanks at Whole Foods looked far more appetizing than the veal. So I adapted the recipe in another ways and here you have it.

I must say, especially since I haven't had much time to cook lately, this was far and above the best meal I'd made in a long while. The meat was tender and flavorful, rich but not overbearingly so. The addition of Chinese five-spice powder (my new favorite spice blend) added a wonderful hint of sweetness. Finally, this is the kind of dish you can prepare, put on the stove and then leave to cook while you do any number of other things. These days, that is a perfect dish indeed.

Jarret de boeuf braise

• 1/8 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/8 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1/8 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 2 beef shanks
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons olive oil
• all-purpose flour, as needed
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 F. Rub 1/8 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, oregano and five-spice powder on all sides of beef shanks. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-high heat in an oven-proof pot big enough to hold shanks in one layer. Pour a small handful of flour onto a plate. Dip each side of each piece of beef into the flour. Shake off the excess and place the shank into the pot. Turn the heat down to medium and brown the beef, about 3 minutes per side. When done, transfer beef to a plate.

Add the rest of the olive oil to the pot. Add the onion, carrots, bay leaf and remaining salt, pepper, oregano and five-spice powder. Cook for 12 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan every so often to prevent sticking. Add the beef on top and cover everything with chicken broth. Put the pot into the oven (preferably covered to keep it from drying out) for 1 hour, 10 minutes. Place 1 shank on each plate and cover in sauce and veggies. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Links to other delicious-sounding recipes that use beef shanks:

• Borscht from Simply Recipes

Aloyau de boeuf au reblochon

March 29 was a very exciting day--my blog's third birthday! That's right, ladies and gents, on March 29, 2005, I wrote my very first post--Filet de boeuf au livarot. I had a beautiful wheel of livarot that we had brought back with us from a weekend away in Bayeux and, not wanting to just eat it plain, I got to thinking about what to do with it. Luckily, I came up with the Rib-Eye steaks au livarot, which became a signature dish and which launched this blog.

Rewind five months. I was living alone in Paris; the Boy was still in the States. And I wasn't living in a chic one-bedroom near Place du Chatelet; I was in a chambre de bonne in the 15th, at the far corner of the city. My cooking equipment consisted of a hot plate and a microwave. I hadn't found a butcher or fishmonger and, frankly, felt silly making elaborate meals just for me. Instead, I made a lot of frittatas, simple pastas and lentils cooked with everything but the kitchen sink. I also bought a fair amount of already-prepared food.

But I dearly missed good food, even more so because I was living in Paris, where I was constantly surrounded by some of the most delectable foods I'd ever witnessed. One lonely evening, I stumbled upon my first food blog, Chocolate & Zucchini, and was instantly addicted. Every night after that, as I sat eating my lonely dinner, I stared at my computer screen, devouring whatever delicacy Clotilde had whipped up that night. And little by little, my own meals started becoming more enlightened. They were still simple, but now there were herbs and I began experimenting with vegetables and other products I'd never encountered before.

Fast-forward back to March, 2005: the Boy had joined me in Paris and we had an adorable une piece on Rue St-Denis, just off Place du Chatelet. There was an oven and a stove and, for the first time, I was responsible not just for my meals but for the Boy's as well. This new responsibility made me ever-more creative and, as I started created new recipes and more-or-less reteaching myself how to cook as I faced new ingredients and measuring systems, I began wondering how to record all this wonderful creations. So, late on the night of March 29, when the Boy was in China with his family, I created this food blog.

I know there have been lapses, and a lot has changed since that night, and, really, I never dreamed I would have kept this fascination with cooking and creating so long after leaving Paris. But, apparently, I have and I am sure that this has a lot to do with you, my readers. So open up a bottle of wine (we enjoyed a Cabernet Sauvignon) and enjoy this recreation of the first dish I ever shared with you, adapted, as it must be, for my New York circumstances. Enjoy and A votre sante. Here's to many more!

Aloyau de boeuf au reblochon

• 1 tablespoon + 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 top sirloin steaks
• 3 cloves garlic + 3 cloves, chopped finely
• 1/2 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon + 2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly ground
• 1/2 teaspoon + 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 3/4 cup low-fat milk
• 1/4 wheel reblochon cheese, cut in chunks
• 2 teaspoons piment d'espelette
• 3 stalks italian parsley, chopped finely

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a pan over medium heat. Mash three cloves garlic with 1/2 teaspoon each: salt, pepper and five-spice. Rub mixture all over both sides of steaks. Raise flame under pan to high and sear steaks 3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan, place steaks on a plate and place plate in a turned-off oven to rest.

Turn the heat down to low and add the onion and the chopped garlic to the pan. Cook gently about 6 minutes, stirring every so often. Turn heat back up to high and deglaze with water and apple cider, then cook another 3 minutes, until reduced by half. Turn heat back down to low and add milk, remaining tablespoon butter and cheese. Move everything around pan, ensuring the chunks of cheese are well-distributed and just beginning to melt. Also take this time to scrape up any bits of garlic and meat that may be stuck to the pan and will add another delicious dimension to the sauce. Add piment d'espelette and remaining salt, pepper and five-spice, as needed.

To serve: spoon sauce over steaks and top with parsley. The sauce also went wonderfully with some mustard greens I served alongside. Enjoy!

Links to other delicious-sounding steak recipes:

• Grilled Tri-Tip Steak with Bell Pepper Salsa from Simply Recipes

Purim Special

In honor of Purim, today's post is from a special guest blogger: Mom.

For Cleopatra, it may have been the milk and honey baths, or perhaps those rumored snacks of pickles. But for Esther, the heroine of the Purim story, it was the legumes, grains, nuts, and seeds she ate that kept the legendary queen beautiful. Actually, she stumbled on the beauty secret by accident: married to King Ahasuerus, Esther contented herself at his fabulous banquets with plain peas and beans because she would not eat the unkosher meat at her husband’s palace.

So while hamantaschen, those luscious little triangular filled pastries, get top billing at Purim, dishes featuring beans and grains, like kasha varnishkes (kasha mixed with noodles), play starring roles on the holiday table too.

This recipe is from my new book, Jewish Holiday Cooking: A Food Lover’s Treasury of Classics and Improvisations. This deconstructed kasha varnishkes features sliced portobellos, marinated and grilled to enhance their resemblance to meat. Instead of noodles, the pasta is orzo, cooked in broth so it is flavorful and very moist when combined with the dry, fluffy kasha.

Deconstructed Kasha Varnishkes (Kasha and Orzo with Grilled Portobello Mushrooms)

Yield: 6 servings

• 6 large Portobello Mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon Garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon Rosemary, chopped (to make the mushrooms even more meat- like; optional)
• 1 cup Orzo
• 4 cups Chicken Broth or Vegetable Stock
• 1 large Egg
• 1 cup Kasha, preferably coarse-grind
• Salt
• Black Pepper, freshly ground
• 3 cups Onions, chopped (3/4 pound)
• Olive Oil Schmaltz (I make a vegetarian version using olive oil and onions), Poultry Schmaltz (rendered chicken or duck fat), Butter, or Margarine, if needed
• Optional garnish: 2 to 3 tablespoons Parsley, chopped

Clean the Mushroom caps and stems with a damp paper towel. Carefully cut the stems off flush with the caps. Trim off the woody bottom section of the stems and discard. Chop the stems coarsely and set aside. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 2 teaspoons of the Garlic, 1 tablespoon of the Soy Sauce, the Lemon Juice, 2 teaspoons of the Oil, and the Rosemary, if using. Add the Mushroom caps, press out the air, and seal the bag. Let the caps marinate at room temperature, turning the bag over occasionally, until you are ready to broil them.

Soak the Orzo in a bowl of fresh cold water for about 5 minutes to remove some of the starch. Empty into a strainer, rinse, and drain. Bring 2 cups of the Broth to a boil, stir in the Orzo, and cook, covered, over low heat for 15 minutes until the Orzo is tender and all the liquid is absorbed. Keep warm and covered until ready to combine ingredients.

Preheat the broiler.

In a medium bowl, beat the Egg with a fork. Stir in the Kasha and mix until each grain is thoroughly coated. Heat the remaining 2 cups Broth to simmering. In a heavy lidded skillet with high sides or a wide heavy saucepan, toast the Kasha over medium heat, turning and breaking up the Kasha constantly until the Egg begins to dry and the grains separate, about 3 minutes. Add the hot Broth and Salt and Pepper to taste, cover, and simmer over very low heat until tender and all the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Keep covered and warm.

In a 10-inch heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the remaining Oil over medium-high heat and sauté the Onions, stirring, until they are deep golden brown. Season well with Salt and Pepper. Transfer the Onions to a large bowl. In the same skillet, sauté the reserved chopped Mushroom stems and remaining 1 teaspoon Garlic in the remaining 1 tablespoon Oil over high heat. Cook until the Mushroom edges are tinged with bronze. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon Soy Sauce and Pepper to taste and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes to marry the ingredients. Transfer to the bowl, keeping it covered and warm.

Arrange the Mushroom caps on a foil-lined broiler rack, and broil them, gill side down, about 4 inches from the heat, for about 5 minutes. Turn, baste with any juices (or spilled bits of Garlic), and broil for 5 to 6 minutes, or until tender and cooked through. Transfer the Mushrooms to a cutting board.

Add the cooked Orzo and Kasha to the Onions and Mushroom stems. Combine the ingredients well and season with Salt and Pepper, if needed. If dry, add a little Schmaltz, Butter, or Margarine.

To serve, spoon some of the Kasha-Orzo mixture onto each plate. Slice the Mushrooms on an angle and season to taste. Arrange the Mushroom slices decoratively over the Kasha mixture and nap with any accumulated Mushroom juices. If desired, sprinkle with chopped Parsley. Enjoy!

Links to other delicious-sounding Purim recipes:

• Poppy Seed Kolache from Simply Recipes

Petit gateaux complets delectables

I don't often bake cookies. But when I do, (unless I'm trying out a new recipe) I use the same basic cookie recipe, with whatever additions I have on-hand and suit my fancy that particular day (chocolate chips, dried fruit, nuts, etc.) And where did I find this particular recipe, you may ask? Was it in one of my myriad cookbooks? Nope. Is it an old family recipe, passed down through generations? No again. (There are actually precious few family cookie recipes. Perhaps something that needs to change, no?) Anyway, the source of my base recipe is completely unglamorous--the back of an Arm & Hammer Baking Soda box.

Needless to say, I've tweaked the recipe a bit over time, so that it's begun morphing into something new, though still recognizable. The key thing I never change is the amount of butter used--two sticks! I know this seems like a lot (and it is), especially in our fat-conscious society, but the cookies are unmatchably moist and delicious. Also, my feeling is, if you're going to indulge, it should be worth it.

That said, when I wanted to make these cookies, I realized, too late, that I was all out of All-Purpose Flour. What's a girl to do? After some serious thinking, I decided to try them with a mixture of Whole Wheat Flour and Matzo Cake Meal. They were truly wonderful, not tasting at all "healthy." I added a chopped up Michel Cluizel Dark Chocolate Bar to the mix, but they'd be equally tasty with raisins, nuts or whatever you heart desires. And because of all the butter, they were still wonderfully moist. Enjoy!

Petit gateaux complets delectables

• 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/4 cup Matzo Cake Meal
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• dash Kosher Salt
• 1 cup Unsalted Butter
• 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 3/4 cup Light Brown Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 Eggs
• 1 bar Dark Chocolate, chopped into chunks
• 1 cup Walnuts, chopped

Pre-heat oven to 375 F. In a small bowl, whisk together, Whole Wheat Flour, Matzo Cake Meal, Baking Soda and Salt until well combined. In a large bowl, beat Butter, Sugars and Vanilla with a wooden spoon until creamy. Add Eggs. Add dry ingredients a little at a time until all incorporated. Mix in Chocolate and Nuts. Drop rounded teaspoons of batter onto ungreased cookie sheets (there's so much butter in the dough, there's no need for extra on the cookie sheets). Bake 8 minutes, until a toothpick comes out dry. Enjoy!

Tarte de bacon, ciboules et port-salut

It seems that tarts are in the air! Coconut Chocolate Tarts are the theme for this month's Hay Hay it's Donna Day, as Barbara so kindly reminded us. And, no, this isn't my submission; my sweet tooth isn't that far gone! Unfortunately, I didn't have time to make a sweet tart; I had to get dinner on the table. But I was planning on making a spicy soup and wanted something comforting to accompany it. I wanted something exciting and easy to eat--both for our hands and our taste buds. In short, I wanted this tart.

I had stumbled across the recipe once while flipping through my small, oh-so-convenient copy of The Weekday Cook and filed it away for future use. Well, the day I had come and I, along with my frozen pie crust from Trader Joe's, was ready.

The tart was stupdendous. So marvelous, in fact, that I am writing about it even though I was certainly not planning to when I began cooking. But once the Boy saw it come out of the oven, he began snapping photos. And once he tasted it, he told me I had to write it up. No excuses. So, without further ado, here it is:

Tarte de bacon, ciboules et port-salut

• 6 slices Bacon, chopped
• 1 Pie Pastry, homemade or bought
• 6 Green Onions, sliced
• Dash Black Pepper, freshly ground (plus more to taste)
• Pinch Smoked Paprika (plus more to taste)
• 3 Eggs
• 1 1/2 cups Half-and-Half
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt, or to taste (this will depend on how salty your bacon and cheese are)
• 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, freshly ground
• 1/2 pound Port Salut Cheese, broked into rough chunks, rind removed

Preheat oven to 375. Cook Bacon in a skillet over medium-low heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon, leaving Bacon Grease in the pan. Place Pie Pastry in round 9-inch pan, pressing down on edges and sealing any cracks, sprinkle with Bacon. Add Green Onions, Black Pepper and Smoked Paprika to skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until Onions are tender, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to medium bowl. Add Eggs, Half-and-Half, Kosher Salt and Cinnamon; mix with a fork, beating slightly, until there are no white streaks from the Eggs. Sprinkle Port Salut Cheese on top of Bacon on crust. Pour Egg Mixture on top. Add up to 1/4 teaspoon more Black Pepper and/or Smoked Paprika. Place tart in oven. Bake 40 minutes. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Jewish Holiday Cooking: Calling all Hamantaschen Recipes

Before I start, a disclaimer: the book I'm discussing today, Jewish Holiday Cooking, is written by my Mom, Jayne Cohen, and will be her third book. As such, I am by no means an impartial judge and would not presume to write an actual review of the book. What I can do, however, is to recommend it to all of you and to promote it as best I can.

And that is exactly what I plan to do. I have tried the vast majority of the recipes in the book and they are all delicious. Some are taken from her first book, The Gefilte Variations, and others are new additions to her repertoire. Some are family recipes (I've shared two of them), others are international and still others are of her own invention. They are all kosher, but you certainly don't need to be Jewish to enjoy them. They are arranged by Jewish holiday, but, again, you can have most of them at any time; the holidays are the excuse to make them, not the requirement.

Where might you obtain a copy of this wonderful book for yourself, you might ask? Simple--from any online purveyors or at a *gasp* bookstore. Or, if you're lucky, you can win a copy. Over on the blog portion of her website, Food Talk with Jayne, Mom has written a post just in time for Purim on Hamantaschen, those wonderful triangular cookies filled with all sorts of yummy goodness. And she's calling for your favorite Hamantaschen recipes/filling suggestions. She will post the recipes and suggestions on her site and will send a free copy of Jewish Holiday Cooking to whomever sends in the best one. So get started, and good luck!

Jewish Holiday Cooking
To send in a Hamantaschen recipe, write it up in the Contact form on Mom's site, or else write it up on your own blog and send her an e-mail linking to your post. Or leave the link to your post in the comments section here and I'll be sure it gets to her. Happy baking!