Author: chanie

Chanukah Cookies


It has a become a tradition in my home to bake Chanukah cookies during the month of Kislev. My kids love to take turns adding the ingredients to the bowl, mixing it up, rolling out the dough, cutting out the shapes, and most of all – decorating the cookies! I have to be careful though, if I turn my head, they’re bound to stuff a handful of sprinkles down their throat! We had a blast making these, and even more fun eating them. They are delightfully crisp, sweet and altogether perfect! Put some in a pretty box, tie with bakery twine and decorate with a draidel – it makes the perfect hostess gift for your next Chanukah party!

Mary’s Sugar Cookies
Betty Crocker’s Cookie Book

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cream of tartar

Method:

Beat powdered sugar and butter until combined. Stir in vanilla, almond extract and egg. Add flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Press dough together to form a ball. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Heat oven to 375. Roll out pieces of the dough to about 1/8″ thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out cookie shapes. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and decorate with sprinkles or sugar. Bake for8-10 minutes or until light brown.

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Cheese Latkes with Raspberry Sauce

If you follow my blog, you know that I’m not much of a baker. You also know that I’m working hard to stick to my diet plan. Which might explain why I’m not about to post a recipe for delicious, chewy, deep-fried jelly donuts or crunchy golden potato latkes. Instead, I decided to whip up a sort of deconstructed jelly donut in the form of cheese latkes with raspberry sauce. These fun mini cottage cheese pancakes are reminiscent of the classic chanukah treat with just a few less calories. Fry them up nice and golden, dust with powdered sugar, and don’t forget the whip cream!

Cheese Latkes
adapted from the Spice & Spirit Cookbook

3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 8 oz. container ricotta or cottage cheese (drain, if needed)
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
canola oil, butter, for frying

Method:

Mix all ingredients besides for oil until smooth. Heat up a skillet and grease with butter or oil. Add batter 1 tbsp at a time and fry until golden on both sides. Continue with remaining batter, adding additional oil or butter, as needed.

Serve with raspberry sauce, whip cream and a side of maple syrup.

Raspberry Sauce

1 bag frozen raspberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water or raspberry liquor
1 tsp lemon zest

Method:

Add all ingredients to a pot and simmer over medium heat until raspberries are soft and fall apart when mashed with a spoon, about 10 minutes. Add to a blender and puree. Pour the raspberry mixture through a cheesecloth and squeeze out juice. Chill. Serve over pancakes or ice cream.

Alternatively, pipe some raspberry jam in the center of the latkes and dust with powdered sugar to resemble jelly donuts!

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Draidel Snowglobe

Who doesn’t love Chanukah? We get to eat fried foods, unwrap presents, eat pockets full of chocolate change and gample on draidel games. For me, Chanukah is UBER special because it’s my birthday, my anniversary, and the anniversary of my son’s bris. I know, I know, I lose out on the presents, but the truth is, it doesn’t really matter. Chanukah makes me realize just how blessed I am and that is good enough for me!

Nothing evokes the spirit of the holidays more than snowglobes. But try and find one that doesn’t include a reindeer, evergreen or snowman – pretty impossible. This year, I decided to make my own Chanukah creation. It was inspired by the landmark dreidel that sits in front of the Jewish Children’s Museum in Brooklyn (if you haven’t gone yet, you must take your kids there for Chanukah!).

You’ll be surprised just how easy it is to make your own snowglobe. Go ahead and include whatever figurine you’d like. A menorah would work really well too.

What you’ll need:

A resealable glass jar (slightly bigger than your figurine)
draidel, menorah, or other holiday figurine
glass tile or cork
white glitter
glycerin (available at drugstores)
ribbon
glue gun

How to:

1. Start by removing the paper wrapping from your jar. Goo gone works well to remove the sticky stuff. Wash the inside of the jar and set aside.
2. Turn the lid over, makes sure it’s clean and dry. Using a glue gun, glue a glass or ceramic tile, cork, or anything waterproof, to the center of the lid. This will be the base for your figurine to stand on. (Without it, part of the figurine will be covered by the lid).
3. Glue your figurine to the base. To glue the draidel on a slant, set the draidel on it’s side and starting from underneath the base, begin adding glue. As the glue dries, add more and more glue until the draidel has a firm glob of glue to rest on. Make sure the gimmel side is facing up :)
4. Add a tbsp or so of white glitter to your jar (you can always add more later, you don’t want to overdo it at first).
5. Fill jar with water.
6. Add a few drops of glycerin to the water. This will help the glitter fall slowly so that it resembles a snowfall.
7. Insert the figurine upside down and screw the lid tightly closed.* Check to see if the jar needs more water, glitter, or glycerin. Adjust, if needed.
8. Glue ribbon around the jar cover and tie into a bow.
9. Turn upside down and shake. Now let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow.

* If you can’t get the lid to seal tightly enough, you can seal around the edges with silicone.

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Green Guacamole

I’m embarrassed to tell you how old I was when I first ate avocado. I was scared to try it for the longest time. But once I did, I was hooked. It’s buttery taste and creamy texture lends itself well to a variety of applications from breads and salads to desserts and pastries. Avocados don’t just taste good, they’re good for you too! They’re rich in healthy monounsaturated fat, folate, potassium, as well as many vitamins. As for me, I’m catching up on lost time. This guacamole is just one preparation that I enjoy!

Green Guacamole

2 avocados
1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced
1 jalapeno, seeds and veins removed, minced
1 scallion, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
cilantro, optional
chips, for serving

Method:

Peel and diced 1 avocado. Add to a bowl and mash. Peel and dice the second avocado and add to the bowl without mashing. Add peppers, jalapeno, scallions, olive oil, lime and salt and mix to combine. Add chopped fresh cilantro, if desired (I’m not a fan of cilantro so I leave it out, but it is a classic accompaniment to guacamole, so if you like it, go ahead and put it in!) Serve with chips.

NOTE: If jalapenos are too hot for your taste, use a long hot green pepper instead.

TIP: Always wear gloves when deseeding a chile pepper as capsaicin (the chemical that gives peppers their heat) can stick to your hands. Since capsaicin is only found in the seeds and veins, you can control the heat factor by eliminating some, or all, of the seeds.

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Sea Bass en Papillote

En Papillote is French for “in parchment.” It is a popular method of baking fish by steaming it inside a folded pouch. Since the fish cooks in its own juices, all the flavors are concentrated, resulting in a light and tasty product. Typically, parchment paper is used to seal in the moisture, but foil can also work.

Classic en papillote preparation is done by folding the parchment paper over the fish and then sealing the edges by folding the parchment tightly all around. An assortment of vegetables is usually added, along with citrus and fresh herbs. You can experiment with different types of fish (whole or fileted) and veggies to suit your taste.

Sea Bass en Papillote

1 filet of sea bass (or any white fish)
1 bunch fresh dill
1 lemon
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
extra virgin olive oil
dry white wine
salt and pepper
parchment paper

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut a rectangular piece of parchment paper and fold it along the center. Rinse sea bass and pat dry. Place fish on one side of the parchment and season with salt and pepper. Top with fresh dill and lemon slices. Place red pepper slices closely around the fish. Drizzle peppers and fish with olive oil and a splash of wine and finish with a touch of salt and pepper. Fold the parchment over the fish and starting from either corner, begin sealing the pouch by twisting or folding the parchment all around. Place the pouch inside a pan and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for several minutes. Open the parchment (careful of the hot steam) and serve!

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