Rewind

SadieLeave a comment

At this time last year I loved listening to:

Two years ago I loved listening to:

Five years ago I loved listening to:

Ten years ago I loved listening to:

I think out of the years I looked at for this post, 2007 was definitely the best.  So many good songs!  I love putting some old school stuff on my workout mix just to keep it fresh!  It gives me total deja vu to listen to Bleeding Love, I can picture myself in my car driving on the NJ Turnpike and singing along!

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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