Author: chanie

Apple & Honey Tart


You’ll never believe how easy this beautiful tart is to make. It only requires 4 ingredients, and the dough isn’t even homemade!  The secret to this scrumptious dessert is puff pastry. I’m a huge fan of puff pastry because as most of you already know, I don’t like to bake, and it comes already prepared in the freezer section of every supermarket. I’ve been known to sneak puff pastry into just about any recipe that calls for a dough, even rugelach and hamantaschen!


Truth be told, I can’t take all the credit for this simple, elegant and delicious dessert. Last year, my wonderful sister-in-laws decided to treat me out to a fun evening at the Kosher Culinary Institute for my birthday. It was a special “date night” class, so my husband joined me in preparing a gourmet meal together with a few other couples. We really enjoyed the evening and I’m sorry to say that I don’t remember exactly what was on the menu. What I do remember is making spaetzle from scratch, whipping up cherry clafoutis for dessert, and what was a mere afterthought of the chef – a version of this apple tart.

For other sweet puff pastry ideas, check out Dina’s apple turnovers or my sweet potato bourekas on kosherstreet.

 

Apple & Honey Tart

1-2 crispy sweet apples, cored and thinly sliced (unpeeled)
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1/2 cup honey
1/2 lemon
powdered sugar, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Unfold puff pastry sheet and cut it in half down the center (don’t worry about the creases from the folding, they will disappear during baking). Place the halves on a greased cookie sheet.

Add honey to a microwave-proof bowl and heat in the microwave until warm, about 20 seconds. Brush the puff pastry with the warm honey. Mix the apple slices with lemon juice and place them along the length of the puff pastry, overlapping over each other. Brush the apples with additional honey (warm the honey again, if necessary). Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until pastry has puffed up and is golden brown around the edges.

Drizzle with additional honey and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

This tart cannot be frozen (the apples will turn soggy) but it may be prepared in advance. Just warm it in the oven to crisp up the pastry before serving.

NOTE: Don’t worry if some of the honey syrup leaks off the puff pastry during baking. It will actually help caramelize the puff pastry around the edges. Just remove the puff pastry to a cooling rack as soon as you take it out of the oven.

TIP: Always make sure your puff pastry is cold otherwise it may become difficult to handle. If the dough becomes sticky, just return it to the fridge so that it can firm up again.

VARIATION: Try this tart with other fruits like sliced pears or peaches, or for a delicious dairy option, spread some goat cheese on the puff pastry, and top with figs and honey.

 

1 year ago: honey cake with caramelized apples

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Musical Beds

I noticed I’ve been neglecting the “coping” category for some time now. I guess that’s a good thing. It means I’m handling things. But not today. Today I need your help with a little something I like to call musical beds.

I’m sure you are all familiar with the game of musical chairs. Well in my case, the chairs are beds and the music is the sound of children’s cries in the middle of the night.

Let me explain.

After a long, hard day of taking care of house and home, tending to the needs of my kids, and maybe squeezing in some blogging time {if I’m lucky}, I want nothing more than to crawl into my comfy bed and get a good night’s sleep.

But as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, more often than not, things don’t go exactly as planned.

Take last night for instance. After completing our bedtime routine of bathing, storytime, and some soft music, I was hoping for a quiet night as my cold had gotten increasingly worse throughout the day. But my son would not have it. Try as I might to get him quiet, he just screamed and screamed. So I took him out of his crib and put him in my husband’s bed. I thought I had it all figured out. My husband would tip toe in late from his work meeting, and quietly transfer him to his crib.

Give or take an hour or two, my oldest daughter ran straight into my bed mumbling something about monsters and a bad dream. So I let her stay. Until she started poking and prodding me from all sides.

By this point, I suspected that my cold had turned into a full blown sinus infection and I needed some rest. So I did what any desperate mother would do. I went into her bed. After about 20 minutes of twisting and turning, my husband came home and tried to move my son over to his crib as gently as possible. But being the light sleeper that he is, he woke up and started bawling. You know that full on desperate cry that tugs at a mother’s hearstrings? (and wakes up the whole house, including the tenants?) It was that kind of cry. I couldn’t take him with me into my daughter’s bed because it’s too small for both of us, so I helped her sleepwalk back to her bed and went back into mine, taking my baby with me.

And then the middle one woke up. That’s right. I said the middle one. As my bed was occupied, and more importantly, since my husband could sleep through a four alarm fire, I sent her to his bed.

I don’t know what time it was by then, but I had gone through an entire box of tissues, and I was at my wit’s end. Not only was I terribly congested, I was achingly tired. I rolled myself up on the corner of my bed (so my little prince could have ample room to move around without kicking me), barely sleeping a few short hours.

When my husband left early for work, I climbed into his bed so that I could try and get a little more sleep until the kids woke up. It wasn’t long before they were crawling in next to me to tell me about their terrible night of nightmares and sleep walking!

In all seriousness, I appeal to all the young Mama’s out there. How do you keep your kids in their beds at night? I can’t really let my son (the major culprit in this game of musical beds) cry it out because I have tenants upstairs.

So I’m all ears. Please. Help. A. Tired. Mother. Get. Some. ZZZZZ’s.

And now for the coping part.

I may not have had sleep last night. And I may still be congested with an earache, throat-ache and headache. But I still had to take my oldest to school (her first day in 1st grade, talk about butterflies! [me, not her!]), drop my son off at playgroup (thank G-d for those few quiet hours), and start my round of pickups at 12, then 1 and then 2.

To get through the day, I sat down to a steaming hot cup of chamomile tea with honey and a splash of milk (no, I’m not English, but I like me some milk in my tea!) I throw in a little mandelbread for good measure, and I take a few minutes to breath in the peace and quiet.

It also helps to drink from adorable tea cups. I love this set from Ikea!

How do you like your tea?

1 year ago: candy sushi

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Pomegranate Coleslaw


Welcome to the first ever Jewish Holiday Blog Party, hosted by Jessie of Taste and Miriam of Overtime Cook, and sponsored by Kitchen Aid! As you may know, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year is coming up, and Jewish bloggers from all over the world are celebrating with all kinds of twists on traditional Rosh Hashanah foods.

This is the first of hopefully many exciting Holiday Blog Parties, so if you would like to join in the fun, please email holidayblogparties@gmail.com.

For the blog party this year, I decided to make a nontraditional salad that incorporates a lot of the sweet Rosh Hashanah foods that are eaten on the holiday. With pomegranate seeds, apples and honey, this coleslaw makes the perfect quick, healthy and refreshing side dish for your holiday meal.

For more sweet and delicious holiday recipes including my famous honey cake with caramelized apples and my Rosh Hashanah roast,  make sure to check out my new Rosh Hashanah category.

And don’t forget to check out my step by step instructions for how to deseed a pomegranate!


Stop by and check out some of these amazing Rosh Hashanah themed recipes on the following blogs:

Challah and Bread:
Marlene of The Jewish Hostess made Apple Challah
Amanda of The Challah Blog made Pomegranate Challah
Shelly of The Kosher Home made Apple, Honey and Pomegranate Challah!

Sides, Salads and Starters: 

Sarah of Food, Words, Photos made Tzimmes (Rosh Hashanah Carrots)
Tali of More Quiche, Please made Roasted Beets and Butternut Squash
Roberta and Lois of Kosher Eye made Simanim Salad
Chanie of Busy In Brooklyn made Pomegranate Coleslaw
Rivki of Life in the Married Lane made Super Salad
Hannah of Cooking Manager made Beets Marinated with Ginger and Garlic
Sina of The Kosher Spoon made Pomegranate, Almond and Raisin Couscous
Shulie of Food Wanderings made Rosh Hashanah Salad
Hindy of Confident Cook-Hesitant Baker made Warm Roasted Beets with Farro
Sarah of Kosher Street made Sweet Potato Apple Tzimmes

Main Dishes:

Jessie of Taste made Smoked Salmon
Samantha of The Little Ferraro Kitchen made Chicken with Dates
Michele of Kosher Treif Cooking made Coconut Chicken w/ dipping sauces
Melinda of Kitchen Tested made Key Lime Glazed Duck
Stephanie & Jessica of The Kosher Foodies made Pom Braised Chicken
Liz of The Lemon Bowl made Beef Brisket
Estee of Anyone Interested? made Easy Breezy 5 Minute Brisket

Desserts and Drinks:

Miriam of Overtime Cook made Mini Apples and Honey Tarts
Laura of Pragmatic Attic made Fresh Ginger Honey Cake
Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen made Honey Caramel Apple Galette
Danielle of Hugs and Cookies xoxo made The World’s Best Rugelach
Amy of What Jew Wanna Eat made an Apple and Honey Cocktail
Nick of The Baking Process made Apple and Date Honey Squares
Lisa of The Monday Morning Cooking Club made Honey Cake 2 Ways
Leah of Cook Kosher made Pomegranate Ice Cream
Nossi of The Kosher Gastronome made Pareve Key Lime Caramel Cheesecake

Have you entered our giveaway for The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen cookbook? To enter, click here!

For additional entries, you may click over to the other participating blogs in the Rosh Hashanah blog party as they are also giving away a copy.

Pomegranate Coleslaw

1 14oz. bag coleslaw
1 Granny Smith apple, julienned
2 scallions, sliced
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds (how to deseed a pomegranate)
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp whole grain mustard (with mustard seeds)
salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Combine coleslaw, apple matchsticks, pomegranate seeds and scallions. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, honey and mustard. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

NOTE: If you have a custom not to use vinegar on Rosh Hashanah, you may substitute with lemon juice.

VARIATION: For sweeter coleslaw, increase honey by 1-2 tbsp and add chopped pitted dates.

1 year ago: chicken pastrami roulade

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The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen
{Recipes, Review & Giveaway}


Levana Kirschenbaum, author of The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen, is a cook after my own heart. She likes to cook healthy food, with minimal ingredients, in a short span of time. That’s not to say that this cookbook is filled with quick-fix dinners. It certainly is not. While it may include 15 variations of 3-ingredient chicken dishes (which I’m thrilled about!), it’s also got plenty of gourmet recipes that require an array of flavorful ingredients.

With an on emphasis on healthy, whole, minimally processed ingredients, Levana still manages to pull out delicious dishes that require little more than fresh produce, herbs and spices. Even her decadent desserts maintain a healthy perspective, without requiring a trip to the health food store for specialized ingredients.

The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen is extremely thorough. I now understand why Levana refers to it as her magnum opus, a comprehensive compilation of her life’s work. In the first chapter, “The Pantry”, Levana guides you in the building your pantry, making each and every recipe look so easy. From dressings to jams and sauces to liquors, this chapter lacks for nothing. While titled “Edible Gifts to Yourself and Beyond”, I find this section to be Levana’s gift to the reader. What greater gift is there to a cook than to be able to learn many of the basic recipes required to build a dish?

The cookbook continues with Soups, Salads, Fish, Poultry/Meat, Vegetable Dishes, Grains/Pasta, Breakfast/Brunch, Breads and finally Desserts. While the recipes mostly stay true to Levana’s Morrocan roots, her dishes span the globe, including internationally-inspired recipes like creole chicken with rice, pad thai, cucumber raita chai and tilapia nicoise en papillotte, among many others.

I love Levana’s addition of suggested menu’s, including feasts by cuisine (Moroccan, French, Italian, Israeli, Asian, Latin and Indian), dietary preferences (dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan) as well as themed menu’s (salads, chocolate, kids). You’ll also find three separate indexes – standard, gluten free and passover.

The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen has a little something for everyone. As for me, I’m looking forward to making the Kabocha sweet potato soup, baked snapper with raisins and pine nuts, chicken with apples, millet fritters, blueberry scones and Indian sweet potato pudding.

If I could critique anything about this cookbook, it would only be to say that I would appreciate more beautiful pictures!

Busy In Brooklyn is happy to be giving away a copy of The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen!

To Enter:

1. Share your favorite Rosh Hashana food/recipe in the comments below.
2. “Like” Busy In Brooklyn on Facebook!

Winner will be selected at random on September 13th, 2012.

BONUS ROSH HASHANAH RECIPES
from The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hot & Sweet Parsnips

1 dozen very thin parsnips, peeled and left whole (settle for 5–6 larger ones, peeled and quartered lengthwise)
2 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons sugar or Sucanat
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or less to taste
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients in a wide heavy pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes, or a drop longer, until the parsnips are tender and the liquids in the pot have thickened. Pour the sauce over the parsnips. Serve hot or at room temperature. Makes 8 servings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roasted Salmon with Maple Glaze

1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon cracked pepper, or less to taste
1 whole side salmon, about 3. pounds, skin off, bones out, trimmed

Preheat the oven to 500F. Mix all but last ingredient in a bowl. Place the salmon skin side up in a baking pan just large enough to fit it snugly in one layer (if you have empty spaces, the liquids will burn). Pour the sauce evenly over the fish. Bake 18 minutes, or a minute or two longer, until the fish is tender but firm to the touch. Transfer to a platter and pour the cooking juices over the  fish. Serve hot, or at room temperature. Makes 8 main course servings, or a dozen ample first course servings. 

Recipes & photos excerpted with Permission from The Whole Foods Kosher Kitchen Cookbook By Levana Kirshenbaum www.levanacooks.com

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The Pardes Tasting Menu Experience

I live in Brooklyn, NY (hence the blog name:)), so I’m just a short ride away from the famous kosher restaurant, Pardes. I’ve been there quite a few times with my husband, but never for the tasting menu. Although I love to cook (and eat), I’m not the most adventurous eater. I’m more of a steak and potatoes kind of girl. When I go to Pardes, I usually order the beef cheek pizza or the Pardes signature burger & fries (with the most amazing, lip-smacking red wine ketchup!). So when my cousin suggested that we go to Pardes for the tasting menu, I was a little hesitant. Sweetbreads (the thymus gland) are not exactly my thing.

<<Funny story actually. My husband and I were once at an upscale restaurant in Manhattan. I forget where. When he saw sweetbreads on the menu, he thought they were, well, sweet breads, so he ordered it. You can imagine how that worked out.>>

So back to Pardes, I decided to take my cousin up on her offer to challenge myself to a truly gourmet eating experience. I promised myself I would try everything that was served to me, regardless of the animal it came from (or the part of the animal!) It’s a good thing I made that promise because I might have left hungry otherwise. Not only did I have sweetbreads (which I enjoyed immensely), but I also sampled ox heart, marrow tartare, goat and tongue, among other things.

I’m not even going to pretend to understand the complexity of Chef Moshe Wendel’s dishes. There is no mistaking that he is a culinary genius. All I know is, although I may not be familiar with all of his unique ingredients and combinations, we still speak the universal language of good food, and that I understand.

What I find so refreshing about Pardes is that each and every time you go, you’re in for a unique experience. Chef Wendel is constantly changing up the menu, and his dishes are not ones that you’ll find anywhere. In these days of Pinterest and social media, it seems like everyone is making another version of someone elses dish, but Chef Wendel’s dishes are all his own – one hundred percent. His ability to marry unique flavors and to present dishes that are as beautiful on the eye as they are on the palate are a testament to his amazing talents.

And that’s not all.

Living in New York, and being a real foodie, you can imagine just how many restaurants I’ve been to. Most of the time, if the food is good, the dessert isn’t. There is only so much hot chocolate souffle that I am willing to eat. But not at Pardes. The same oomph and charisma that is put into each and every dish, is put into the dessert menu – and that’s without having a pastry chef. Is there anything that this Chef can’t do? The desserts are so whimsical and delicious, it’s worth a trip JUST for their ice cream. Well, maybe that, and an order of fries with their glorious ketchup…or the smoked paprika popcorn…or the heirloom tomato soup…or the…

PARDES TASTING MENU 8/22/12
click on pictures for an enlarged view

1. Smoked paprika popcorn
We came a few minutes early to our reservation, and since the Chef serves all the tasting menu patrons at the same time, they gave us some complimentary popcorn while we waited. Smoked. Paprika. Popcorn. It’s lick-your-finger kind of good.
2.Tuna tartare with salmon roe, edible flowers, ginger, grapefruit and tomato water broth.
An OK start to our meal. The components of this dish did not seem to come together (especially the tomato water), but each was nice on it’s own. My least favorite of the night.
3. Heirloom tomato salad, crispy salmon skin, seabeans, rouille (saffron mayonnaise)
Light and lovely. The salmon skin chip was super crunchy with no fishy aftertaste. And the seabeans were so fresh and delicious!
4. Hamachi, pepper jam, pistachio powder
While I was hoping for a cooked fish option, the hamachi did not disappoint. However, the pepper jam was the real standout, with sweet tomato-y goodness.
5. Taramasolata (fish roe dip) with bread crumbs, green beans, baby celery, pink olive
My first taste of taramasolata – creamy and surprisingly un-fishy. I loved the briny pink olive sauce, toasted breadcrumbs and the crunchy green beans.
6. Palate cleanser: sorbet trio, canteloupe, wheatgrass and coffee
Each sorbet was delicious in it’s own right but the wheatgrass was definitely the winner here. It was so clean, crisp and refreshing.
7. Heirloom tomato soup with barley bacon and basil oil
My favorite dish of the entire meal. Velvety soup with smoky bacon barley bits and droplets of basil oil – I’m coming back for more!
8. Terrine of goat, simple green salad, pickled onion
I’ve never tasted goat before and I’m glad I tried it at Pardes. It was tender and flavorful with a lovely texture.
9. Sweetbreads, smoked chicken skin, creamy leeks, mushroom/miso puree, saffron seaweed jus
I’ve always been afraid to eat sweetbreads, but I promised myself I’d try everything. I’m glad I did, they were quite good. And the crispy smoked chicken skin? yum!
10. Tongue with onion rings and mustard mayo
The chef sent us this course as a bonus, I’m not sure why. Our server mentioned something about the wait. I wasn’t about to complain – melt-in-your mouth tongue and crispy onion rings? who could ask for more? And that mustard mayo was the perfect complement to the dish.
11. Ox heart, japanese white turnip, rodebach/prune reduction, mustard/juniper pickle, baby celery
The surprise of the night. Who would have thought that ox heart would be so delicious? This dish was plated so beautifully and the sauces were equally superb.
12. Tartares of marrow and rib eye, hazelnut, trumpet royale, cepe vinegar, black garlic
Believe it or not, this was my first time eating beef tartare, and boy have I been missing out. Full of fresh flavor. The marrow tartare, on the other hand, was not as successful. To me, it was like eating a spoonful of fat (which some people, like my Mom, might enjoy). Although I did appreciate the creative use of the marrow bone (as a breadstick holder).
13. Duck, hibiscus vinegar, sorrel, zucchini puree, orange
Both the duck breast and leg were served in this dish and they were both perfectly cooked. The sorrel and orange added a bright, citrus note that complemented the duck really well. The zucchini puree was not as enjoyable. I found the texture to be kind of pasty.
14. “Green egg & lamb” pistou provencal, seasonal greens in garlic broth, lamb shoulder confit, poached egg
I loved poached eggs, on anything, so I was kind of dissapointed when this dish turned out to be super spicy. And I like spicy food. But this was borderline mouth-on-fire.
15. Ice cream sandwich with flowers, orange blossom and rosewater semifreddo, various plums
Perfection on a plate. I wanted to lick that semifreddo off the dish!
16. Hazelnut financier, hazelnut parfait, candied hazelnuts, fresh and pickled blueberries, blueberry sauce and sorbet
This dessert was nice and I really appreciated the four different preparations of the blueberries. I must admit though, I had my heart set on the peach crumble with maple bacon walnut ice cream! There’s always next time!

DRINKS:
Sangria with cinnamon, anise, banana, mango
With hints of banana, this sangria was surprisingly light and refreshing.
Lake Placid Ubu Ale – deep red English strong ale, chocolate malty goodness that packs a serious wallop for its drinkability.
Smooth and delicious, but a tad too bitter for my taste.

Pardes Restaurant
497 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 797-3880
menu
Tasting Menu, approximately 10 courses, $110 p/p + taxes & tip, reservations required

1 year ago: peanut butter fudge ice cream pie

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