Tuna Burgers with Wasabi Mayo

Having spent most of last week in the hospital, having gone in to the ER on Monday for what I thought was simply dehydration only to find out it was more serious, having survived on Palace Caterers fare, occasionally interspersed with some truly delicious chicken soup and meat balls – prepared and given to me by the ladies of Bikur Cholim – I couldn’t wait to try out some new dishes (new for me, at least).

Although over the last few years, I’ve tried some fish and slowly changed my mind on their edibility, I have never become a fan. A notable exception – however – has been tuna ever since I first tried it at Levana’s home. Since it’s time for me to start cutting down on red meat – rather unfortunate for a lifelong hardcore carnivore – I thought I’d try some Tuna Burgers…

I found an interesting recipe in a paperback titled: Not Your Mother’s Weeknight Cooking, by best selling James Beard Award winning author, Beth Hensperger published in 2008 by Harvard Commons Press and adapted it.

Serves 4

Detail from photo by: Eksite Photography – photo between pages 118-119

Cooking Method: Stovetop
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: About 10 minutes

Ingredients

WASABI MAYO

• 3 green onions (white part and some of the green), cut in chunks
• One 1/2-inch chunk fresh ginger
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons wasabi sauce
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

TUNA

• 3 green onions (white part and some of the green)
• One 1 and1/2-inch chunk fresh ginger
• 1 1/4 lbs tuna steaks, dark spots trimmed away
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick)cold butter, cut into chunks (use margarine if you do not want a dairy version)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• Few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
• 4 round sesame seed-topped buns
• Butter lettuce leaves for serving

Directions

1. To make the mayo, in a food processor, add the green onions and ginger; pulse to finely chop. Add the soy sauce, wasabi sauce and mayonnaise. Process until smooth. Remove to a small bowl, cover and refrigerate until serving.
2. In the food processor, toss in the green onions and ginger; pulse to chop. Cut one-quarter of the tuna into  1/4-inch dice and place the rest in the food processor with the butter (or margarine); pulse to combine the butter and tuna; do not overprocess. Place in a bowl and add the diced tuna, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper.. Shape into 4 equal size patties.
3. Split the and toast the buns, set aside.
4. Preheat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Place the patties in the pan and brown quickly on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn over with a patula and brown the second side to the desired degree of doneness, about 3 to 4 minutes., leaving the center moist and reddish for medium-rare.
5. Slather the toasted buns on both sides with the wasabi mayo and top with butter lettuce leaves. Place the burgers o the buns and serve immediately.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!
CS

Italian Ice

From Country Italian, page 340; published by Publications International, Ltd., in 2001:

Photo from page 341

Ingredients

• 1 cup sweet or dry fruity white wine
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup lemon juice
• 2 egg whites

Directions

1. Place wine and water in small saucepan , add sugar. Cook over medium high heat until sugar has dissolved and syrup boils; stir frequently. Cover, boil 1 minute. Uncover, adjust heat to maintain simmer. Simmer  10 minutes without stirring. Remover from heat. Refrigerate 1 hour or until syrup is completely cool.
2. Stir lemon juice into cooled syrup. Pour  into 9-inch round cake pan. Freeze 1 hour.
3. Quickly stir mixture with fork breaking up ice crystals. Freeze 1 hour more or until firm but not solid. Meanwhile, place medium bowl in freezer to chill.
4. Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer at high speed until peaks form. Remove lemon ice mixture from cake pan to chilled bowl. Immediately beat ice with whisk or fork until smooth. Fold in egg whites, mix well. Spread egg mixture evenly into same cake pan. Freeze 30 minutes. immediately stir with fork, cover cake panwith foil, Freeze at least 2 hours or until firm.
5. To serve scoop Italian Ice into fluted champagne glasses or dessert dishes. Serve with berries. Garnish, if desired.

Makes 4 servings

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

The Prime Grill Cookbook

David Kolotkin, one of our favorite Chefs, has authored a new cookbook together with Prime Hospitality Co.’s CEO Joey Allaham. Some of Prime Grill‘s tastiest recipes are in this book, many of which SYR and I have tasted over the years, now everyone can make and enjoy them anytime they want!

The book starts out with a history of Prime Grill, photos of the original location and some of the kitchen crew. Then it has a section on Chef David, menus and a listing of potables. The recipe section is organized as follows:

• Hors d’Oeuvres
• Appetrizers
• Soups
• Salads
• Fish
• Meat
• Side Dishes
• Dessert
• Cooking Foundations
• Dressings and Sauces
• Rubs

It was hard to find just one favorite recipe to feature here, but after reviewing the book a few times I opted for this one:

Porcini Mushroom Soup

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra-light olive oil
• 2 cups onion, small dice
• 1/2 cup celery, small dice
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/2 cups defrosted frozen porcini mushrooms, rough chopped (reserve defrosted liquids)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 6 cups liquid (defrosted liquid + chicken stock to equal 6 cups)
• 2 cups pareve cream cheese
• 2 tbsp. salt
• 2 cups pareve cream cheese
• Caramelized onions (optional)

In a heavy gauge soup pot, heat extra-light olive oil and sweat the onions and celery until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic. Add the porcini mushrooms and stir in the flour and cook for another three to four minutes. Add the liquid slowly, working out any lumps from the flour and add salt. Once the liquid is combined bring to  a boil and immediately lower to a simmer in on low heat for a half hour, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add the pareve cream cheese and combine till smooth. Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool. Puree in a blender until smooth. Serve with croutons or a toasted piece of bread and garnish with caramelized onions.

Chef’s tip: Because you are working with roux, you want to add the water slowly, So that there are no lumps, use a whisk to ensure proper incorporation. In addition, because it is a thick soup, it should be stirred very frequently.

We’ve had this soup quite often as we ate both at Prime Grill and at Solo, we just can’t get enough of it!

Whether you want a recipe to impress the in-laws or your boss, whether you need something fast or you are looking for that special dish for a festive occasion, this is the cookbook for you!

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Chocolate Fruit Tartlets

Anyone who’s been reading this blog for any length of time knows I’m an unrepentant chocaholic, as it’s been a while since we posted a good recipe made with chocolate. Once again, I adopted one of my favorites from Jacqueline Bellefontaine‘s What’s Cooking, Chocolate:

Photo by: St John Asprey

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 2/3 cups margarine
• 3 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 2 – 3 tablespoons water
• 1 3/4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup mixed nuts toasted
• 12 ounces prepared fruit.
• 3 tablespoons apricot reserve or red currant jelly

Directions

1. Sift together the flour and unsweetened cocoa into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
2. Stir the sugar. Add just enough of the water to mix to a soft dough, approximately 1-2 tablespoons. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes.
3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface and use to line 4″ tartlet pans. Prick the dough with a fork and line the pie shells with a little crumpled foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 375 F, for 10 minutes.
4. Remove the foil and bake for a further 5-10 minutes, until the pastry is crisp. Place the pans on a wire rack to cool completely.
5. Melt the chocolate. Spread out the chopped nuts on a plate. Remove the the pie shells from the tin pans. Spread melted chocolate on the rims, then dip in the nuts. Let set.
6. Arrange the fruits in thye tartlet shells. Melt the apricot preserve or red currant jelly with the remaining 1 tablespoon of water and brush it over the fruit. Chill the tartlets until needed.

— VARIATION —

If desired, you can fill the cases with a little custard cream
before topping with the fruit. For a chocolate-flavored filling,
blend 8 ounces chocolate hazelnut  spread with 5 tablespoons of Rich  Whip

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Donuts, Donuts, Donuts – It’s Chanuka!

Tonight we lit the second Chanuka candle and what better way to celebrate than with our dear friend Geila Hocherman‘s (kosherrevolution.net) recipe for doughnuts?

© 2012 Geila Hocherman. All Rights Reserved
It’s Chanuka and Jewish tradition calls for oil fried dishes, such as latkes – potato pancakes; sufganyot – jelly-filled doughnuts and more. Jelly filled doughnuts never appealed to me, so here is my version of doughnuts.

(Videos to follow)

Makes 36 small donuts

• 2 ½ cups flour
• 1 packet of yeast
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• ¼ cup warm water
• ¾ cup milk – cow, soy, almond, and cashew…warmed
• 2 ½ tbsp. shortening- softened
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup sugar
• oil for frying

1.Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water with the 2 tablespoons of sugar. Mix well until there are no lumps, and let stand for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
2.In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 1 cup of the flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed, or stirring with a wooden spoon. Beat in remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough into a greased bowl, and cover. Set in a warm place to rise until double. ,(You can also put in in the refrigerator for a slow overnight rise. Just bring the dough to room temperature before continuing.) Dough is ready if you touch it, and the indention remains. About 1 hour.
3.Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and gently roll out to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a floured 3-inch cutter. * (See note) Let doughnuts sit out to rise again until double. Cover loosely with a cloth.
4.Heat oil in a deep fryer or large heavy skillet to 350 degrees F. Slide doughnuts into the hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Fry doughnuts on each side until golden brown. Remove from hot oil, to drain on a wire rack. Dip doughnuts into the glaze while still hot, and set onto wire racks to drain off excess. Keep a cookie sheet or tray under racks for easier clean up.

Optional glaze

• 2 cups
• Confectioner’s sugar
• 1-tablespoon corn syrup
• 2-4 tablespoons of water

1. Place sugar. Corn syrup and vanilla in a bowl and mix well. Add water 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Continue until you reach desired consistency.  It should be liquid but not runny.
2. Submerge doughnut half way, turn over, and place on a cooling rack to set

NOTE: At this point the formed doughnuts can be refrigerated overnight, brought to room temperature the next day, and then rise before baking.  You can also freeze them on a cookie sheet.

Geila

When we taped the video for this recipe at Geila’s kitchen I had the pleasure of tasting these doughnuts, I made them myself and served them this evening. I found them easy to make and utterly delicious!

CS

Caldo Verde

In this era when not only do we crave flavor, but value the health benefits of the various ingredients that make up that wonderful dish; in this wintertime when we look for foods that will warm us there is nothing better than a good hot soup.

We’ve adapted the following recipe from various sources to come up with our own kosher, nutritious, delicious version:

Photo from: http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/deborah/2009/01/sss_week_8_portuguese_caldo_ve_1.html

Caldo Verde is a traditional Portuguese soup, made mainly from kale and potatoes.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 medium russet potatoes or other floury baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks.
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound kale, leaves trimmed from the thick stems, rinsed and finely sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Put the potatoes in a saucepan with 8 cups water and add a little salt. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Mash the potatoes lightly with a fork, leaving them in the water.
2. Cook the kale in a pan of boiling water for 3 – 4 minutes. Drain and stir into the potato broth with the olive oil. Simmer for 1 – 2 minutes. Season to taste and serve hot.

–XoX–

Variation

Photo from: http://flavorsofbrazil.blogspot.com/2011/07/recipe-caldo-verde-take-one-caldo-verde.html

Ingredients

• 2 Jack’s Gourmet Mexican Style Chorizos, sliced

Directions

1. Heat up a small amount of olive oil over medium heat. Add chorizo slices and brown. Once browned remove and set aside.
2. Follow step 1 in the vegetarian version above.
3. Add the Jack’s Gourmet chorizo slices and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the kale and let cook until desired level of doneness.
4. Serve immediately.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Jayne Cohen’s Jewish Holiday Cooking

The Jewish calendar is filled with celebrations, each has its unique foods and traditions. What better way to celebrate than with columnist, blogger, cook author Jayne Cohen‘s Jewish Holiday Cooking? Ms. Cohen covers the spectrum of Jewish cooking around the world. Her dishes – though often traditional – include many a delightful surprise, an update in taste.

The recipes are peppered with quotes from the vast world of Jewish writing ranging from the Talmud to Nathan Englander, from Chaim Grade to Sholem Aleichem, from the Zohar to Shmuel Hanagid and more. It is obvious this is not just a cookbook, it is a paean to Judaism, its timeless spiritual and cultural values, with the recipes representing a way to celebrate it all.

As I browse through the pages, it is obvious the author loves many genres of books, her quotes, her references, her intros to the individual recipes, her writing in general becomes “unputdownable.” As you leaf through, as you read through, not only do you see yourself at the very locals she’s traveled but you can smell and taste as well. Written in the best tradition of M.F.K Fischer, Joseph Wechsberg, Hillaire du Berrier and Ruth Reichl, Ms. Cohen leaves you begging for more…

With Chanuka coming up in less than a month, what could be better than an interesting latke recipe to whet one’s appetite?

Garlic-Rosemary Potato Latkes

Pareve
Yield: About 4 servings

These exceptionally fragrant potato pancakes require no topping or sauce as adornment. They are perfect as is, ready to accompany any roasted or grilled chicken or meat.

Ingredients:

• About 1 1/2 pounds Yukon gold or 3 large russet (baking) potatoes, peeled
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon matzoh meal or unbleached all-purpose flour
• About 3/4 teaspoon salt
• About 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Olive oil, for frying
• Sea salt (optional)

Directions

1. Shred the potatoes, using the shredding disk in a food processor. (Don’t wash out the food processor–you’ll be using it again right away.) Transfer the potatoes to a colander or strainer and use your hands or a wooden spoon to press out as much moisture as possible.
2. Remove the shredding disk from the processor and replace with the steel blade. Return about one third of the shredded potatoes to the food processor. Add the garlic and rosemary and process, using the pulse motion, until roughly pureed. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the remaining potatoes, the egg, matzoh meal or flour, salt and pepper to taste, and the baking powder to the bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined. Let stand for 10 minutes to mingle the flavors.
3. In a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet (cast-iron is ideal), heat about 1/4 inch of oil over high heat until hot but not smoking. Drop 1/4 cup of the potato latke batter into the pan and flatten with a spatula. Repeat with more batter, cooking no more than 4 or 5 latkes at a time; crowding the pan will give you soggy latkes.
4. Regulate the heat carefully, reducing it to medium as the latkes fry until golden and crisp on the bottom, about 4 minutes. To prevent oil from splattering, use two spatulas (or a spatula and a large spoon) to turn the latkes carefully. Fry until crisp and golden on the other side.
5. It’s best to flip the latkes only once, so that they don’t absorb too much oil. So, before turning, lift the latkes slightly with the spatula to make sure the underside is crisp and brown.
6. As the latkes are done, transfer them to paper towels or untreated brown paper bags to drain.
7. Continue making latkes in the same manner until all the batter is used. If necessary, add more oil to the pan, but always allow the oil to get hot before frying a new batch.
8. Serve straightaway, sprinkled with a little coarse salt, if you’d like. Or if necessary, keep the latkes warm in a 200 degree F oven (arrange them in a single layer on a rack placed over an oven-proof platter or baking sheet) and serve when they are all ready to be brought to the table.

From Jewish Holiday Cooking: A Food Lover’s Treasury of Classics and Improvisations
by Jayne Cohen (print edition: Wiley 2008; e-book: 2012).
Visit jewishholidaycooking.com

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy! And… don’t forget to tune in this coming Wednesday at 10:00pm (Eastern Time) when we will be talking with Jayne Cohen; we’ll be waiting!

CS

Crispy Roasted Potato Wedges

[Reader Sarah Rosenberg, from Los Angeles, sent in this recipe and photo. I made it last evening and it actually was every bit as good as she said it would be! Why not send us your favorite recipes with an accompanying photo? We will print them if they are good. If you send in a recipe from a cookbook, please give us the title, the author’s name and – unless you took the photo – the photographer’s name as well. CS]

I often serve these potato wedges as a side dish  for Shabbat evening and everyone loves them; in fact, they can’t get enough of them. They go great with beef or poultry, but I’ve been known to have them as a main dish sometimes during the week.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin oil
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
• 7 or 8 small unpeeled Yukon Gold or red potatoes, scrubbed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
• Juice from 1 lemon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Chop the garlic finely and put in a large bowl. Add the oil, parsley and rosemary.
2. Cut the potatoes into 1 inch wide wedges.
3. Add the potatoes to the bowl and sprinkle with salt.
4. Toss to coat the potatoes with the oil mixture.
5. Spread the potatoes on a large baking sheet scraping the bowl of any extra oil and herbs. Arrange the potatoes with a flat side down. Roast until bottom is golden – about 25 minutes – turn with a metal spatula (some potatoes may stick, scrape them loose). Continue roasting until golden and crisp outside, but tender inside, about 15 minutes longer. Sprinkle with the lemon zest.
6. Put the potatoes in a serving bowl, make sure to scrape up all the herbs and zest. Add several squeezes of the juice over the top. Toss gently to distribute and serve hot.

You’ll like the aroma and you’ll love the taste!

Sarah Rosenberg

Summer Vegetable Soup with Pesto

Sure, we don’t eat meat during the Nine Days, but we still can have food that is nutritious and delicious!

From Pam Reiss‘ Soup – A Kosher Collection:

The soup itself is light on flavor-but serve bowls up with a dollup of the pesto on top and you’ll be amazed. You can add any vegetables you like-see what your garden has to offer.

Serves 6
Ingredients

Pesto

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves (freshly packed)
• 1-2 cloves garlic(1 tsp), crushed
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 5 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan Cheese

Soup

• 6 cups vegetable stock
• 1/2 small yellow onion, peeled and sliced into thin strips
• 1 small carrot, peeled, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/4-inch
• 5-6 small new potatoes, skin on, cut in half and sliced into 1/4 inch
• 1/4 lb button mushrooms, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/4 cup green beans, tips cut off, then cut on diagonal into pieces
• 3-4 spears asparagus, cut on diagonal into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 small zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and sliced into 1/4-inch half -circles
• 1 cup firmly packed spinach leaves (2 oz), cut into thin strips

FOR THE PESTO, place the basil, garlic, pine nuts, salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor. Puree for 30 seconds and then scrape down the sides. With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil and keep pureeing until you have a nice paste-don’t worry if it’s not liquified, you want to see a few small pieces of basil and garlic. Scrape this mixture into a bowl and mix in the Parmesan cheese. Cover and refrigerate.

For the soup, bring the stock to a boil in a covered pot over high heat. Add the onion, carrot, potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, asparagus and salt and pepper-reduce the heat and simmer gently for 7 minutes.

Add the zucchini and spinach and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve each bowl of soup with a large spoonful of pesto.

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy!

CS

Naomi Sugar from 365scoops.com

Our internet radio show this evening (at 8:00pm Eastern Time) will feature Naomi Sugar from 365scoops.com. There is a bit of background noise because we pre-taped it, yesterday lunchtime, at Tiberias Restaurant (45 East 34th Street; NY, NY 10016; Tel: 212.481.4222).

Naomi Sugar blogs at 365scoops.com, a blog dedicated to making and sharing her ice cream creations. 365scoops believes in good, old fashioned ice cream free of preservatives (and ingredients that you cannot pronounce!) Ms. Sugar uses only the best organic milks, creams, sugar and eggs, with a variety of flavors to create artisanal, custom-made flavors. When not blogging or developing new ice cream ideas, Naomi works for Project Sunshine and holds an MA in public health from Columbia University.

In her own words:

My last name is Sugar, and I am addicted to sugar.

That’s right.

I. Love. Sweets.

All things sweet, ice cream and cupcakes especially, but I do not discriminate against cookies, popsicles, brownies and cake.

Armed with a new found sense of free time (I recently completed my Master’s in Public Health) and an “old found” love of cooking all things sweet, I decided I should chronicle this exciting business venture. So, I took matters into my own hands and bought a three Cuisinart Ice Cream Makers (this one), began testing recipes, and soon enough, started selling these delicious creations!

About 365 Scoops

After returning from Argentina, one of the ice cream capitals of the world, I decided that we needed more deliciously creamy, silky and high quality ice cream here in NYC. This site is dedicated to sharing those recipes, and to ultimately achieving the goal of universal access to gourmet ice creams!

Here at 365scoops we believe in good, old fashioned ice cream free of preservatives (and ingredients that you cannot pronounce!) We mix only the best organic milks, creams, sugar and eggs, with a variety of unique flavors to create artesanal, custom-made ice cream. You want it? We’ll make it. Just ask.
**In addition, here is a link to an ice cream making workshop that I hosted in DC last month at Sixth & I Historic Synagogue http://www.ticketfly.com/event/117535/

While at Tiberias, Naomi had a Mushroom Panini (top), while I had my favorite… French Onion Soup with Crustini (bottom)

In case you missed it why don’t you listen to our show with Hirsh Eidlitz, for a fascinating look into the world of ancient Jewish books and manuscripts?

Meanwhile do not forget to tune us in, this evening at 8:00pm (Eastern Time) at BlogTalkRadio.com/Kosherscene, for an interesting, informative, entertaining conversation with Naomi Sugar from 365scoops.com. We’ll be wait’n for ya!

CS