Thanksgiving Cooking with Gloria Kobrin, Part 2– Root Vegetable Casserole with Caramelized Onions

Here’s Gloria Kobrin again, demonstrating another vegetarian delight:

Root Vegetable Casserole with Caramelized Onions

Serves 10 to 12
Prep time: Root vegetables-60 minutes, Onions-40 minutes, Baking: 0 min
Equipment: 10 cup pot, large skillet, large mixing bowl, 10 cup casserole, large colander

Ingredients

•  3 pounds russet potatoes
• 1 pound turnips
• 2 pounds parsnips large
• 5 large onions 10 cup casserole
• 7 cloves garlic- peeled
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 medium bunch fresh thyme leaves
• 7 cups fresh/boxed vegetable broth
• 2 sticks non-dairy margarine-softened
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Spray casserole with olive oil.
2. Peel potatoes and parsnips. Cut them into 1½ inch pieces. Peel and cut turnips into ½ inch pieces. Put vegetables in pot with garlic. Tie thyme and bay leaf together and add to vegetables with stock. Bring to a boil. Cover pot and simmer about 40 minutes until vegetables are very soft. Cool slightly. Remove thyme-bay leaf bundle. Drain vegetables in a colander or lift vegetables out with a spider.. Transfer into large bowl. Mash vegetables with 1 stick margarine until blended yet chunky. Spoon into casserole. Set aside.
3. Peel and core onions. Slice thinly.
4. Melt remaining margarine in skillet over high heat. Add onions to skillet and sauté until onions are soft and golden brown- about 25 minutes. Spread onions evenly over smashed vegetables. Bake in 375 F oven until vegetables are very hot and onions have crisped.

Note: Completed casserole may be prepared one day in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before baking. To prepare for freezer: Spoon mashed vegetables into oven to table ware serving dish. Cool completely. Cover with waxed paper and foil and freeze. Defrost casserole the night before serving. Sauté onions and smother vegetable casserole with them on serving day. Serve hot!

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Thanksgiving Cooking with Gloria Kobrin, Part 1– Sweet Potato Casserole

Gloria Kobrin, author of Kosher Cookbook, an iphone/ipod app with over 300 step-by-step recipes, a shopping list generator and 52-week meal plans. She’s also a food blooger and is about launch a website (kosherbygloria.com) with more recipes, cooking tips and more. This past week I had the pleasure of taping her as she prepared easy yet delicious dishes for Thanksgiving. Here we present the first one of three:

Sweet Potato Casserole

Serves 18
Prep time: Boiling potatoes- 20-30 min. Mixing- 15 min. Baking- 45 min.
Equipment: Large pot, 6 quart oven to table casserole

Ingredients

• 6 pounds sweet potatoes
• 1 cup (tightly packed) + 6
• tablespoons dark brown sugar
• ¾ cup non-dairy margarine- melted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract*
• 3 cans mandarin oranges – drained
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Boil potatoes until very soft. Drain, cool slightly and peel. Place potatoes in large mixing bowl. Add 6 tablespoons margarine, 12 tablespoons brown sugar, and vanilla to potatoes. Whip ingredients together well by hand or in electric mixer. Fold in oranges. Spoon mixture into casserole and smooth over the top.
2. Preheat oven to: 375 F.
3. Mix together remaining margarine and brown sugar. Scatter chopped pecans over the top of casserole. Dribble sugar and margarine mixture over nuts. Bake 45 minutes or until piping hot.

* Cognac can be used in place of vanilla.

Note: Marshmallows can be used instead of nuts and brown sugar. Decorate the top of casserole with them during the last 15 minutes of baking.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Apple Tart

[Gloria Kobrin, who graced our internet broadcast on August 15th – just a few weeks ago – graciously agreed to share one of the recipes from her Kosher Cookbook app for iPhone and iPod. Gloria shares her recipes and cooking tips on her Kosher Cookbook page on Twitter.com/Koshercookbook, on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/KosherCookbookApp?ref=nf, and on her blog at: www.koshercookbook.blogspot.com. While this dessert can be enjoyed at any time, it acquires special significance during Rosh Hashana. CS]

Photo by: Gloria Kobrin

Serves 10-12

The sweetness of the apples and vanilla contrasted with the tart marmalade and Grand Marnier baked in a rich crust is spectacular. The extra hand work is worth it.

Ingredients

Crust

• ¼  pound pareve margarine
• ½  cup confectioner’s sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 tablespoons  ice water
• 1 ¼ cups flour

Apple Filling

• 8 large Golden Delicious apples
• ¼ pound pareve margarine
• One inch piece of fresh Vanilla bean
• ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar
• ½ cup tart orange marmalade
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier (see comment and substitute)
• 1 tablespoon water
• Optional: 3 ounces toasted sliced almonds

Equipment

• 11 inch flan ring (or quiche pan with removable bottom)
• Cookie sheet
• Baking parchment
• Electric food processor
• Large skillet
• Fine sieve
• Pastry brush

Directions

1. Line cookie sheet with baking parchment and place flan ring on top of it. Set aside.
2. Put flour and ½ cup sugar in bowl of processor with steel knife attached. Pulse a few seconds.
3. Cut ¼ pound margarine into slices and add them to bowl. Pulse again until mixture resembles crumbs.
4. Beat yolks with water.  Pour this mixture through feeding tube while the processor is running . Turn off processor when a ball of dough has formed. It will be quite soft.  Scrape all dough into the center of flan ring and press it around the ring and up the sides until you have formed a tart shell. Chill for one hour at least.
5. Prepare apples while crust is chilling. Peel, quarter and core 3 apples. Slice them paper thin by hand or in the processor.
6. Melt ¼ pound margarine in skillet. Slice the Vanilla bean in half but leave its spine intact. Add vanilla bean to melted margarine. Add sliced apples to pan and stir constantly until apples have browned. Press down on the vanilla bean to make sure that it has released all its seeds onto the apples. Remove vanilla bean.
7. Remove tart shell from refrigerator. Arrange sautéed apples in an even layer on the bottom of shell.
8. Preheat oven to: 400 F.
9. Peel, quarter, core and slice remaining apples thinly. Place these apples in consecutive layers on top of the sautéed ones. Keep layering apples until they are all used up.
10. Sift ¼ cup confectioner’s sugar over top of tart. Place tart in oven and bake for 45-60 minutes. Watch it carefully to be sure crust doesn’t burn. It will darken considerably.
11. Place apple tart on cooling rack. Melt marmalade with one tablespoon water (can be done in microwave).  Stir in Grand Marnier. Brush glaze gently over the top of the tart. Sprinkle with toasted almonds if desired.  Chill. Serve tart at room temperature.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Tomorrow Evening’s Radio Show – Judy Gruen

Our show, tomorrow evening – at 8:00pm  (Eastern Time), on BlogTalkRadio.com/kosherscene will feature – as our guest – Judy Gruen (A Conversation with Judy Gruen).

Who is she? Judy Gruen is an award-winning humor columnist, she’s published four books, and a self-described unrepentant chocoholic. Her laugh-out-loud funny essays as well as serious features appear regularly on Aish.com, as well as dozens of other media outlets, and her work has been anthologized in more than 10 books.

Her new book, Till We Eat Again: A Second Helping, is a true chronicle of her efforts to lose a measly 15 pounds in time for a college reunion, and is getting rave reviews.

Her humorous writings deal not only with the funny side of losing weight but she also dissects the subtle absurdities encountered in everyday life. You can read some of her columns at Judy Gruen’s OFF MY NOODLE, it will definitely prepare you for our conversation.

Meanwhile, in case you missed it, why not tune in to last week’s show with cookbook iphone and ipod app author Gloria Kobrin? Gloria not only cooks, and cooks well, she is also very involved in many community activities. You will enjoy listening to our talk.

Don’t forget to tune us in tomorrow evening, at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time) for A Conversation with Judy Gruen. We’ll be waiting for you!

CS

On Tonight’s Internet Radio Show: A Conversation with Gloria Kobrin

This evening at 8:00pm (Eastern Time), The Kosher Scene Radio Show will host Gloria Kobrin. Who is Gloria?

Gloria Kobrin, has been married for 40 years. As a mother of two, grandmother of two, she’s cooked her whole life for groups ranging from 4 to 100. She specializes in creating delicious gourmet food that is not only easy enough for the home cook to prepare but also happens to be Kosher. Mrs. Kobrin is the author of the Kosher Cookbook App for iPhone and iPod.

Gloria shares her recipes and cooking tips on her Kosher Cookbook page on Twitter.com/Koshercookbook, on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/KosherCookbookApp?ref=nf, and on her blog at: www.koshercookbook.blogspot.com.

Soon after Gloria married she, and a friend, began the Kosher Gourmet weekly column in the Jewish Week. She also taught a Lunch and Learn series of cooking classes at Yeshiva University, while – at the same time – selling boutique baked goods from her home: fruit tarts, candied nuts, and specialty birthday cakes.

Besides cooking, and baking, she’s been quite busy ghost writing poems and speeches for Bar Mitzvahs, weddings and miscellaneous celebrations. She has a certificate in translation (French to English) from NYU School of Continuing Education and is a trained mediator  for community issues and has additional training in family and divorce mediation.

We will be discussing not only her cooking and baking, but who she is as a person and as a proud Jew.

Meanwhile, in case you missed it please listen to our archived show with Menachem Lubinsky, the walking encyclopedia of kosher marketing and its history.

Please tune us this evening on BlogTalkRadio.com/kosherscene, at 8:00pm (Eastern Time), The Kosher Scene Radio Show will host Gloria Kobrin. We’ll be wait’n for ya!

CS