Category: Food

Cookies for Purim

Sadie2 Comments

I’m going to be honest with you.  I’m Jewish, and I’m not always thrilled with the ethnic and holiday food that comes with that territory(Exhibit A: Gefilte Fish).  And actually the Jewish side of my family spends more time worrying about important things like the Mets, and doesn’t spend much time recreating the classics in the kitchen.  Have you ever heard the joke:

What do Jewish women make best?

Reservations

My grandmother in a nut shell.  Perhaps that’s why I tend to be sort of a free agent when it comes to family ethnic food.  I grew up with a lot more Italian, and classic American food than the Eastern European/Israeli dishes of my ancestors.

I can probably count the Jewish food that I find eatable on one hand: latkes (duh), Challah bread, Matzah ball soup, Charoset, and Hamantaschen.

Hamantaschen is a cookie made for Purim, which was last week.  They are simple and fantastic.  They always remind me of pre-school at my temple when we dressed up in costumes for Purim, and ate hamantaschen like there was no tomorrow.  It’s similar to a mild, soft shortbread with jam.  Martha Stewart posted a recipe for it last week, so I thought I would get into the Purim spirit and give them a try.

Hamantaschen

Yields about 2 dozen(maybe less if you make them big), from Martha

Ingredients

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/2 lemon juice and zest
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • fruit preserves for filling

Method

  1. Mix together eggs and sugar.
  2. Add oil, lemon zest and juice, and vanilla.
  3. Combine flour with baking powder and add gradually to wet mixture.
  4. Allow dough to chill for an hour or overnight.
  5. Preheat oven to 350.  Roll out dough and use about a 3 inch circle cookie cutter to cut the cookies.  Place the circles on parchment lined baking sheets.  Put a small amount of preserves in the middle of each circle.  Paint the perimeter of the circle with a little water. Fold three sides of the circle into the center to form a triangle with a view of the preserves in the middle.  Make sure the joints are joined.
  6. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.  Remove when slightly golden brown, allow to cool.  The preserves will be hot and bubbly when it comes out of the oven, you want to make sure the cookies set a little before you move them around too much.  Otherwise it’s a hot mess, literally. I used mixed berry preserves on half, and apricot preserves on the other half.

(I sent these to my grandparents, because I know my grandmother isn’t making them…)

Peanut Butter Bliss

CarrieLeave a comment

One of my greatest vices (besides Gin and Tonics) is anything peanut butter. I simply cannot resist this creamy condiment. I love a slathering of peanut butter on top of a fresh slice of french toast brioche or even on top of vanilla bean ice cream. There is an unlimited amount of uses for peanut butter and I’m sure you could share quite a few with us as well. I’m going to share one of my most favorite uses and that is rich, delicious peanut butter frosting. Just mix up 2 cups of powdered sugar, one stick of butter, a heaping scoop of peanut butter (you can always add more to taste) and a splash of milk. Add the milk a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. Then enjoy! I made these cakelets (what I like to call finger food cake slices) for my church coffee hour tomorrow.

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No Fuss No Knead Bread

SadieLeave a comment

I’ve always found the concept of baking bread at home intimidating.  For me, bread was always one of those items that you buy from the store (like Carrie’s bakery).  Every once in a while it’s interesting to take something that you are used to buying pre-made or packaged from the grocery store, and create it at home just so you get a feel for the process.  After hearing about this recipe from the a family friend I decided to try the no knead bread recipe that Mark Bittman raves about in the New York Times.  Frankly, it could not be easier.  The hardest part is probably remembering to budget time for the dough to rise.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour (I use a combination of AP and whole wheat)
  • 1/4 tsp instant yeast
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • dutch oven or pyrex pot to bake it in

Method

1. Combine the dry ingredients.  Add the water and mix until the dough comes together.

2. Put dough in a bowl, cover with plastic, and allow to rise for 12-24 hours.  The longer the better.

4. Dump it out and fold over itself once or twice.  Then cover loosley with plastic and let rest for 15 minutes.

5.  Dump dough out onto a floured surface and fold each of the four sides into the middle.  Make sure the dough is covered in flour and place seam side down on a kitchen towel.  Cover with another towel and allow to rise and double in size for about 2 hours.

6.  Place your dutch oven in the oven about 45 minutes until the dough is ready, and preheat oven to 500.

7. Place dough seam side up in dutch oven.

8. Bake for 30 minutes at 500 degrees with lid on.

Isn't it pretty?

9.  Take lid off and bake for 15 more minutes until bread is golden brown.  Then remove from oven and allow to cool.

The family friend who turned me onto this recipe told me that she’s tried any number of alterations and the bread comes out great every time.  She has added various combinations of honey, herbs, and nuts, as well as used smaller glass pans to bake the bread.  It’s such a fun project to keep track of the rising, and it would be great recipe to experiment with!