Facon Wrapped Fingerling Potatoes

The crockpot isn’t only for cholent anymore! There is something about a slow cooked dish, there is something about its taste, that is scrumptiously unequaled! The following recipe and photo was sent us by reader Esti Bernstein, from Oak Park, MI. I tried it, not only was it easy to prepare, it was really delicious.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb Fingerling potatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 lb Jack’s Gourmet Facon slices, cut crosswise into halves
• 1/4 cup chicken stock *

DIRECTIONS

1. Toss potatoes with oil, thyme, pepper and paprika in a large bowl. Wrap the facon halves tightly around each potato
2. In a large skillet heated up over a medium fire, add the potatoes and reduce heat to medium-low. Once browned and the facon becomes tight around the potatoes, put in the crockpot, add the broth and set on HIGH for three hours. Once finished, serve immediately.

—)0(—

* chicken stock

Yield: 16 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 1 small bunch (about 1/2 oz) Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 pound hen, cleaned and cut into four pieces
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 3 celery stalks
• 1 large carrot
• 4 bay leaves
• 12 black peppercorns
• 4 cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the celery and peppercorns on a piece of cheesecloth, then using kitchen string, tie the ends of the cheesecloth together to make a bag.
2. Place 16 cups water in a large pot. Add all other ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 4 hours, skimming the surface occasionally to catch and discard the residue and foam. Add extra water to the broth, making sure the original level of broth is maintained throughout.
4. Drain the stock through a strainer discarding the vegetables and reserving the flesh for further use in other recipes.

The chicken stock can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen up to 30 days.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

 

 

Irving’s Barbecued Burgers

After officiating as Rabbi at the Hudson Valley Resort and Spa on Shabbos Nachamu – for Flakey Jake‘s program I spent a few days with my dear friends Irving and Regina Schild (check here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and many more), at their summer home, on Pennsylvania’s bucolic Lake Wallenpaupack and stayed there until last evening.

Looking down at the lake, from the living room window… The boat dock to the left belongs to the Schilds…

The osprey has landed! The osprey has landed! – One of the youngest local denizens just got back from flight training, with its parents, as a smaller sibling looks on…

Is it posing for a formal portrait, or begging me to throw it a bite?

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon canola oil

Scrumptiously delicious, tender and juicy!

Directions

1. Slightly saute the chopped onion in canola oil, until just transparent.
2. Mix all the ingredients well, by hand; avoid over-mixing. With a light touch form 6 patties no more than one inch thick each.
3. Brush the grill and coat with oil. Grilled the burgers directly over the the heat for 6 to 7 minutes for medium-done (about 150 F, on an instant read thermometer, and slightly pink in the center). Flip once.
4. Serve while hot.

The aroma and the taste were just undescribable with mere words!

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!!

CS

An Azerbaijani Grill

This past Friday, very early in the morning, I left for Shabbat – with friends – to their Eagle Lake summer home in the Poconos. This community is located about 20 minutes out of Scranton, PA., next to man-made Eagle Lake. It was a very beautiful day, perfect for barbecuing. Since we had just arrived, done some shopping, and were getting ready for Shabbat there was little time to properly marinade the meat. My hosts put me in charge of barbecuing; after checking out the pantry to see what was available and checking the refrigerator to see what kind of meat, I decided to make a rub. The meat turned out to be 3 lbs of a nice London Broil, they wanted it very spicy I was told.

Considering the limited choices I picked:

I ended up using more than 1 bottle of some of these…

CS Fast and Spicy Meat Rub

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (for a superb aroma)
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground Lemon Pepper 
• 1 teaspoon Steakhouse Onion Burger
• 1 teaspoon Magic Salt Free Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
• 1 teaspoon Meat Magic

Directions

1. Mix well and the above quantities will yield enough rub for one skewer of pieces of meat

This is a interesting Azerbaijani style barbecue. It sits very low and the skewers are inserted on 5 sets of parallel grooves.

I cut up the meat into 2 inch cubes, each cube was then rubbed with the above mixture, put on a skewer and barbecued for about 7 minutes (having turned the skewers once at the 3.5 minute mark). Each skewer had 8 pieces of meat.

The first 5 out of the 7 skewers of meat I barbecued.

Between the three adults and two preteens there was nothing left!

The meat came out juicy, spicy but flavorful, and very aromatic. Shabbos day and Sunday rained non stop, but even then we ate all the meals outside in the wooden 12 ft by 12 ft gazebo, the windows were covered with mesh and plastic to keep the insects. On motzey Shabbos the temperature went down to 49F, I guess the mountains – 120 miles out of Brooklyn – are a different world. In fact, my Brooklyn allergies did not affect me even once during the three days in the Poconnos!

We saw quite a few deer throughout, and on Sunday as we were leaving back to New York we even managed to see another visitor by the community’s garbage containers…

A black baby bear, busy foraging through the garbage bags, seemingly unconcerned about the five golf cart and two vans filled with humans, armed with cameras and iPhones, surrounding him.

I wonder how far Mamma Bear was…

CS

Hearty Winter Broth

It’s snowing this morning and while it’s considerably warmer than the last days, one still needs some good winter comfort food…

This time I found the soup in Simply Soup, published in 2007 by Love Food in the UK. The following recipe appears on page 47:

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 1 lb lean neck of lamb
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 2 leeks, sliced
• 4 cups vegetable stock *
• 1 bay leaf
• sprigs of fresh parsley
• 2 oz pearl barley
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large, heavy-bottom saucepan and add the pieces of lamb, turning the seal and brown on both sides. Lift the lamb out of the pan and set aside until ready the use.
2. Add the onion, carrots, and leeks to the saucepan and cook gently for 3 minutes.
3. Return the lamb to the saucepan and add the vegetable stock, bay leaf, parsley and pearl barley to the saucepan. Bring the mixture in the pan to a boil, then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 -2 hours.
4. Discard the parsley sprigs. Left the pieces of lamb from the broth and allow them to cool slightly. Remove the bones and any fat and chop the meat. Return the lamb to the broth and reheat gently. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

It is advisable to prepare this soup a day ahead, then let it cool, cover and refrigetrate overnight. When ready to serve, remove and discard the layer of fat from the surface and reheat the soup gently. Ladle into warmed bowls and serve immediately.

* Vegetable Stock

Yield: 8 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons sunflower or corn oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped leek
• 2/3 cup finely chopped carrots
• 4 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup finely chopped fennel
• 1 small tomato, finely chopped
• 10 cups water
• 1 bouquet garni

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and leek and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the remaining vegetables, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the water and bouquet garni, bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes,
2. Strain the stock into a bowl, let cool, cover and store in the refrigerator. use immediately or freeze in portions for up to 3 months.

Enjoy, gentle reader, I tried it last evening and it was a perfect finish for a cold day!

CS

Moroccan Casserole

[Reader Ester Azouline, from LA, sent us the recipe and photo below. She adapted this recipe from The One Dish Bible. I made it last night and found it deliciously filling. CS]

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 lb lamb, cut into 1″ cubes
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 can (about 14 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 medium unpeeled red potatoes, cut into 1/2″ pieces
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2″ pieces
• 1 cup frozen lima beans, thawed and drained
• 3/4 cup sliced carrots
• Pita bread

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add lamb and onion; cook intil lamb is browned on all sides, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle flour over meat mixture. Stir until flour has absorbed the juices. Cook an additional 2 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes with juice, water, ginger, cumin, cinnamon, sugar, salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to quart casserole, bake 30 minutes.
4. Stir in potatoes, sweet potato, lima beans, green beans and carrots. Cover; bake 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Serve with warm pita bread.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

Esther Assouline

Stuffed Veal Breast

[Walter Potenza – straordinario Chef Italiano – has once again graciously agreed to share a recipe with us. It follows his original, except for one change to make it kosher. CS]

Photo by: Chef Walter Potenza

Stuffing:

• 1/3 cup fresh Italian parsley, washed and chopped
• 4-6 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Hungarian paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups Italian style bread crumbs
• 1/3 teaspoon oregano flakes
• 1/3 teaspoon basil flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• pinch of powdered sage or Bell Seasoning
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds (pareve/vegan)*
• 1/4 cup black oil cured olives, pitted and finely chopped

Directions:

1. Pour olive oil into a medium bowl. Add herbs, chopped garlic, and other stuffing ingredients except bread crumbs and cheese.
2. Allow to sit 10 minutes to infuse the herbs.
3. Stir in the cheese and bread crumbs. Mixture should be a consistency which allows you to make a smooth round ball out of the stuffing which doesn’t break apart and yet it should not be too liquid to hold this shape.
4. If mixture is too dry, stir in a few tablespoons of hot water or chicken broth at a time until you’ve reached the right consistency.
5. If mixture is too liquid, add a few tablespoons of bread crumbs.

Preparing the Veal:

• 1 4-5 lb veal breast with pocket
• olive oil spray
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• paprika
• salt
• pepper

1. Have the butcher make a large pocket in the side of a 4-5 lb veal breast. Rinse the veal and dry. Open the pocket and pat on the stuffing, with the largest portion in the center. Close the pocket with wooden toothpicks, tie shut with kitchen twine, or simply leave as is.
2. Brush or spray the veal breast thoroughly with olive oil spray. Sprinkle with with a light coating of garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, pepper.
3. Roast at 300°F degrees for 2 1/2 to 3 hours, or until tender and juice no longer runs pink, spraying every 45 minutes or so with olive oil spray.
4. It’s better to slightly undercook this than to overcook, because if the veal is overcooked it will become tough and dry. If you suspect the veal is nearly cooked but hasn’t browned yet, spray with olive oil one last time, turn up the heat to 375°F and finish it for 10-15 minutes to brown.
5. Sprinkle with a light dusting of paprika down the center and garnish with minced fresh Italian parsley.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

* Daya Mozzarella Style Shreds (pareve/vegan)

This product is dairy, lactose and casein free, gluten and soy free, cholesterol free. It melts and stretches.

Walter Potenza

Coconut Lamb With Rice

[Adina H, from Providence in Rhode Island, sent us the following easy to prepare, hearty dish. and the close up photo. CS]

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 3/4 lb lamb, diced
• 6 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
• 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

1. Cook lamb and tomatoes in a large frying pan over medium heat for 2 minutes.
2. Pour in coconut milk.
3. Cover and cook for 30-40 minutes until lamb is tender.
4. Drain well and set aside.
5. Add the cilantro.
6. Serve hot on a bed of rice.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy. I did!

CS

Ground Beef With Potato Topping

It’s cold out there and we can all use some comfort food, I adapted the following recipe (to make it kosher) from 1 Ground Beef, 100 Meals, I used the cookbook’s photo on page 99

Ingredients

• 1 lb 7 oz potatoes cut into chunks
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 lb 2 oz ground beef
• 1 2/3 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1 1/4 cup hot beef stock*
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 1/4 cup Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds (pareve/vegan)**
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the potatoes in a large pan of salted boiling water for 20-25 minutes, until tender but not falling apart.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan. Add the onion, garlic, and carrots. Cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, until the onion softens. Increase the heat to medium, add the ground beef  and cook, stirring frequently, and breaking it up with a wooden spoon, for 8 to 10 minutes, until evenly browned.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, pour in the stock and stir the sugar and the soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 400 F. drain the potatoes, return to the pan, and mash well, then stir in three quarters of the cheese.
5. Spoon the meat mixture into an ovenproof dish and spread the mased potatoes over the top to cover the meat. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. serve immediately.

*Beef Stock

Yield: 8 cups

Ingredients

• 6 lb beef soup bones
• 1 large onion
• 3 large carrots
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 stalks celery, including some leaves
• 1 large tomato
• 1/2 cup chopped parsnip
• 1 medium potato
• 8 whole black peppercorns
• 4 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 cloves garlic
• 12 cups water

Directions (from allrecipes.com)

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Trim root end off onion. Slice or quarter the onion, peel and all. Scrub carrots and chop into 1″ chunks. In a large shallow roasting pan, place soup bones, onion, and carrots. Bake, uncovered, about 30 minutes or until the bones are well browned, turning occasionally.
3. Drain off fat. Place the browned bones, onion, and carrots in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Pour 1/2 cup water into the roasting pan and rinse. Pour this liquid into soup pot.
4. Scrub the potato and chop it into chunks, peel and all. Chop the celery stalks into thirds. Add celery, tomato, parsnip, potato, peppercorns, parsley (including stems), bay leaf, salt, thyme, and garlic to the pot. Pour in the 12 cups of water.
5. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 5 hours. Strain stock. Discard meat, vegetables, and seasonings.
6. To clarify stock for clear soup: In order to remove solid flecks that are too small to be strained out with cheesecloth, combine 1/4 cup cold water, 1 egg white, and 1 crushed eggshell. Add to strained stock. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Strain again through a sieve lined with cheesecloth.

**Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds (pareve/vegan)

Ingredients (as listed on package)

• Filtered Water
• tapioca flour
• non-GMO expeller pressed canola and/or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil
• coconut oil
• pea protein
• salt,
• vegan natural flavors
• inactive yeast
• vegetable glycerin
• xantham gum
• citric acid (for flavor)
• titanium dioxide (a naturally occurring mineral)

Made in a plant free of animal ingredients, milk, soy, egg, peanuts and tree nuts (excluding coconut). The Orthodox Union provides the kosher certification.

 

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy. I did!

CS

Ground Beef and “Swiss Cheese” Pizza

Sounds absolutely treif doesn’t it?!? Well, now you can make it kosher and delicious! With some of the new products on the market and this recipe you can actually make make this pizza and be strictly kosher!

Pizza Dough

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
2. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour.
3. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Roll out to a 10″ circle.

Pizza topping

Ingredients

• olive oil, for brushing and drizzling
• 6 oz ground beef
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 roasted red peeper, in oil, drenched and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 4 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 oz Daiya Swiss Style Slices*
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

• Put the ground beef, onion, garlic and cumin in a nonstick skillet, cook over medium heat stirring frequently and breaking up the ground beef with a wooden spoon, for about 8 minutes, or until evenly browned.
• Stir in in the roasted pepper and basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Once the pizza dough is ready, cover with the ground beef mixture. Top with “Swiss Cheese Slices” and drizzle with oil. Bake at 425 F. in a preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until the crust is crispy. Serve hot.

*Daiya Swiss Style Slices

It is kosher pareve certified by the Orthodox Union. It melts and stretches; it’s lactose, casein, gluten, soy and cholesterol free!

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy. I found it delicious!

CS

Cooking with Dr. Alan Broner – Fast & Easy Chili

[My good friend and dentist, Dr. Alan Broner, has graciously agreed to let me tape him and share his easy to prepare Chili dish. CS]

Fast and Easy Chili

Ingredients

• 1 box Jack’s Gourmet Chorizo patties
• 1 large onion diced
• 1 Bell pepper diced
• 1 can of Kidney beans (or beans of your choice)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• canola oil for sauteing

Directions

1. Sweat the onions then the peppers in the canola oil until translucent, remove to another dish.
2. Saute the chorizo patties as you break them apart in the pan until cooked through.
3. Return the sauteed veggies to the pan with the chorizo.
4. Add the diced tomatoes, beans and and tomato sauce and bring up to temperature.
5. Serve with taco chips.

One of the advantages of doing food demonstration videos is that I get to taste the results… Though there were no rare, exotic, ingredients, though everything in this recipe is a common item you’d find in almost every home, the result was a truly delicious chili!

Enjoy, gentle reader enjoy!

CS