Author: chanie

Spanakopita Bourekas

It’s mashup time! I think my favorite part of being a food blogger is being able to play around with recipes and coming up with my own twists on things. I love mashing things up. What’s a mashup? Well, it’s when I take a traditional food and I fuse it with another cuisine or concept to create a hybrid sort of recipe. It would probably be easier if I showed you.

Take these pecan pie lace cookies that I made for Thanksgivukkah back in 2013 (gosh, was that really three whole years ago?!). Since Thanksgiving and Chanukah came out on the same night (which only happens in a gazillion years btw), I decided to fuse a Thanksgiving concept: pecan pie, with a traditional Jewish pastry: lace cookies, or, florentines. Florentines are traditionally made with almonds, but I used pecans, and to up the Chanukah ante, I drizzled the cookies with Chanukah symbols and filled them with raspberry jam. That, my friends, is a mashup.

Of course I’ve got plenty of other Chanukah mashups on the blog, like these poutine latkes, a twist on the classic Canadian dish of gravy and cheese smothered french fries (yes, I went there). Then there was my falafel latkes, or falatkes, a fusion of the Israeli staple and the classic potato latke, which I took to another level with the sabich. And finally, the droolworthy donut milkshake and potato latke funnel cakes that have been blowing up feeds everywhere. Told you I loved mashups :)

So Chanukah is upon us, and I really wanted to mashup a Greek staple with a typical Jewish food. Traditional spanakopita is a spinach feta pie made with a filo (or phyllo) crust. Filo is notoriously difficult to work with, since it is paper thin and tears easily, so I decided to turn the pie into the perfect hand-held appetizer: bourekas. With lots of Chanukah parties on our calendar, this makes a great finger food for the table!

Bourekas are a family favorite and not just because they are uber delicious, with all the flaky layers of buttery dough. It’s because they are so. freakin. easy. Truth be told, I was originally going to make spanakopita rugelach, but I’ve been feeling out of sorts this week and the idea of working on a savory cheese dough was just off the table. So I thought about what I could use to make these super easy and semi-homemade, and I went to that beloved ingredient that makes party planning so much easier – the puff pastry. Oh how I love thee.

I always keep puff pastry in the freezer because it makes the most impressive danish pastry in no time, it’s a must-have for my kids favorite deli roll, it makes an easy topping for pot pie, and the quickest impressive fruit tart. I also love it for cream horns, pinwheels, bite-size bundles, and even hamantaschen!

I’m all about finger food at my Chanukah party, so I hope this post gave you some “food for thought” for your Chanukah menu planning! For more great Chanukah recipes, check out the index!

Happy Chanukah! Happy Chrismukkah! Happy Donut Day! And yes, Happy Birthday and Anniversary to me!! (I was born and got married on the 5th night!)

Spanakopita Bourekas

1 pkg mini puff pastry squares, thawed
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed
7 oz. feta cheese
1 shallot, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/8 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 eggs, divided
sesame seeds, for garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the shallot and garlic and saute under fragrant. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the spinach and add it to the skillet. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper and saute until heated through. Set aside to cool.

Once the mixture has cooled, add the feta, one egg and lemon juice. Place a tablespoon of filling onto each puff pastry square and fold closed, pressing the dough so that it sticks together without any openings.

Mix the remaining egg with a tablespoon of water and brush on the puff pastry. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the pan and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until puffed and golden.

VARIATION: for a creamier filling, add some ricotta to the mixture. You can also add some fresh herbs, such as dill, parsley or mint, or a mixer.

FREEZER OPTION: These bourekas can be prepared in advance and frozen before baking. To bake, put the frozen bourekas on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees until puffed and golden.

YIELD: Approximately 32 mini bourekas.

Related Recipes:

spinach papardelle with feta and fried poached egg
harissa whipped feta with zaatar eggplant chips
summer tomato feta salad
roasted eggplant parmesan with feta
spinach and spaghetti squash shakshuka

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Donut Milkshakes

OMG OMG OMG OMG!! Should I even talk right now or do these insane milk shakes just do it for you?! Chanukah is coming and on Chanukah we DONT. COUNT. CALORIES. Ok????? And because we don’t count calories, I had to put a holiday spin on one of the huge food trends right now – over the top milkshakes! I don’t know if you’ve seen these gazillion-calorie monstrosities but they are insane. Milkshakes topped with pieces of cake and candy, with more candy glued to the glass and just tons of junk everywhere.

It says a lot about the state of our health when restaurants are actually serving that stuff, and when people are actually ordering it, but for these 8 DAYS, we are going to have some crazy fun, donut milkshakes included. Believe me, I would never make this stuff on a regular day. Not even my birthday. But my birthday is on Chanukah so YAAAAYYYY!! I’ve put together two variations, based on the two most popular Chanukah donuts – custard donuts with chocolate glaze and jelly filled donuts with powdered sugar. Of course nowadays you can find a bunch of other flavors, but these are the classics we grew up on. Milkshakes are about nostalgia too, especially for me, as we had a real milkshake machine growing up. Not a blender. A milkshake machine. It came with a stainless steel cup that you hooked onto this machine. A stick with a blade would break up the mixture and you had a real frothy milkshake! My brother would take it out on Saturday nights and make himself a huge shake with his pizza. Memories! And who can forget being young and biting into a huge jelly or custard donut and licking out the filling with your tongue? These shakes mix the best of both worlds and I hope they bring up some fun childhood memories for you too!

 

Jelly Donut Milkshake

1 cup ice
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup milk
splash of vanilla
2 heaping spoonfuls of raspberry jam
powdered donuts, licorice and white chocolate covered pretzels, for topping

Method:

Place the ice, ice cream, milk and vanilla in a blender and blend until creamy. Add the raspberry jam to a glass and pour the milkshake over it. Top with whipped cream, powdered donuts, licorice and pretzels. Enjoy!

Chocolate Custard Milkshake

1 cup ice
1/2 cup chocolate ice cream
2 tbsp chocolate syrup
1/2 cup milk
2 heaping spoonfuls of custard
whipped cream
chocolate donuts, chocolate chanukah gelt and chocolate bars for topping

Method:

Place the ice, ice cream, chocolate syrup and milk in a blender and blend until creamy. Add the custard to your serving cup and drizzle chocolate syrup around the inside. Top with whipped cream, chocolate donuts, chocolate gelt and chocolate bars. Enjoy!

for custard:

3 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
5 egg yolks
5 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla

Place the milk and sugar into a saucepan and heat until sugar dissolves and milk is scalded. In the meantime, whisk the egg yolks until fluffy and add in the cornstarch. Continue to whisk until all the starch is incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Slowly pour the milk into the eggs, whisking continuously as you warm the egg mixture with the milk. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan and continue to whisk over medium heat until the cream begins thicken and boil. Whisk in vanilla and set the cream aside to cool. Refrigerate until set.

VARIATION: use store-bought vanilla pudding.

 

Related Recipes:

jelly ring donuts
deconstructed jelly donut pancakes

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Holiday Gifts for Foodies

1. Instant Pot, 7-in-1 Pressure cooker
The instant pot is the latest trend that makes everyday meals super quick and easy! Use it as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, steamer and more!
2. Joule sous vide by Chefsteps
Chefsteps is taking sous vide cooking to the next level with their sleek new immersion circulator. You can use the Chefsteps app to connect to Joule via wifi for super simple operation. It even works with Amazon Alexa! The shoulder steak that I made this week was really easy to set up, and it came out incredible soft and tender.
3. Whisk necklace
With the whisk in my logo, I’ve got a thing for this handy kitchen tool. It’s super cute in jewelry form too!
4. Aromasong gourmet dead sea salt gift set
I fell in love with these salts at Kosherfest this year. Grind their “dilly garlic” salt over a cucumber slice and you’ve got an instant pickle!
5. white marble swivel-top salt cellar
I found this stunner on The Chef’s Wife Instastory and I had to have it! It’s super heavy and large, the photo does not do it justice!
6.  bronzed french press
If I was into french pressing my coffee, I would so buy this beauty. But I’m still using good old fashioned instant espresso, sans machine. Shhhh!!
7. Savannah Bee Company honey gift set
I tasted Savannah Bee’s collection of whipped honey at Kosherfest this year and I was hooked! The lemon is my fave!
8. slate cheese markers
Loving these slate markers to go with my slate cheese board!
9. dumpling maker
Dumplings are so hot these days, and this gadget makes dumpling-making super easy.
10. Paderno 3-blade Spiralizer
I’ve been a fan of spiralizing for years and I always recommend the Paderno. It’s lightweight, easy to use and super fun! Don’t waste your money on the 4-blade though.
11. personalized tablet or iphone holder
I bought this as a gift for my friend Melinda and had it personalized with the name of her blog, Kitchen-Tested. It was the perfect gift for her newly renovated kitchen and looks spectacular on her kitchen counter! I kinda wanted to buy it for myself after seeing it in person, but I think I’ll have to upgrade my kitchen first!
12. Staub cast iron vertical roaster
If you’re a fan of my bundt pan chicken, this cast iron roaster takes it to the next level. With sides that are even lower than a bundt pan, you get crispy skin all around.
13. Isidre salt and pepper shakers with tray
I couldn’t help but pick up this adorable set on a recent Anthropologie shopping spree. I don’t even use them, they’re looking super cute on my fireplace mantel!
14. Breaking Bread by Uri Scheft
The recipes in this new release, from the owner of Breads bakery, will have you drooling! Uri shares the recipe of his famous babka, plus other staples like challah, shakshuka foccacia and rugelach.
15. Shun chef knife
Loving this beautiful knife! Now who wants to buy it for me?
16. multi vegetable chopper
Last year for my birthday, my husband bought me 35 small gifts, this chopper included. My kids are huge fans of Israeli salad, and this makes it super easy to make. I use it almost daily! I love that it has 2 sizes for chopping – extra small (just how we like our salsas and Israeli salad) and a bit larger, great for beets and mango!

What are some of your favorite foodie gifts? Share them with me in the comments below!

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Please NOTE: This post contains affiliate links which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through the links above goes to help support the BIB blog!

Potato Latke Funnel Cakes

Yay!!!!! Chanukah, the festival of donuts, potato latkes and all things fried is upon us, and I couldn’t be happier!! I was lucky enough to be born on the festival of fattening foods…uh…I mean….lights, so all the more reason to allow myself to really s.p.l.u.r.g.e.

I even got married on my birthday so between my anniversary, my birthday, and the holiday, it’s an eight day food fest with no restrictions. I’m not a big fryer during the year so when Chanukah comes around, I break out the gallon-sized canola oil and get to it.

I love all the donut making and latke topping, but I especially love to make other fun fried food that I don’t get around to enjoying otherwise. Like fried oreos, fried ice cream and funnel cakes! I also go savory with fried lasagna strips, zucchini chips and even beer battered salami! When I said I go all out, I meant it! (just ask my scale after the eight days are up!)

I’ve had some really fun latke ideas over the past few years, including my poutine latkes that landed me on the front page of The Wall Street Journal and my viral falafel latkes which turned into the ultimate sabich. I had to up the ante this year, and and what better way than fusing two of my favorite Chanukah indulgences – latkes and funnel cakes!

If you’ve never had a funnel cake, I’m sorry. It’s basically a thick pancake dough that’s piped into hot oil for a crispy sweet fried dough that gets covered in powdered sugar. It’s. so. good. I decided to go savory with the same concept by incorporating mashed potatoes and ranch seasoning into the dough. It was a really good idea. Just try it and you’ll see!

The potato dough takes a little getting used to, so I suggest practicing with a few mini cakes at first. But once you get the hang of it, you’ll be banging out potato latke funnel cakes like no-ones business! Just try not to eat the whole batch before your company arrives. They’re especially good straight out of the fryer!

This recipe was actually my first time working with ranch seasoning and I am hooked! Where has this addictive stuff been my entire life? Potatoes and ranch make such a perfect pairing, I can’t believe I’ve been eating chips without it until now.

If you can’t get your hands on one of these packets, just season up your potatoes to taste with the spices of your choice. My Greek yogurt ranch dip can give you some ideas!

I’m working on some other fun Chanukah recipes including a donut that you can drink (you’ll see!) and a super addictive twist on pb&j. Chanukah here we come!

What are your favorite deep fried foods to make for the holiday? I’d love to hear! Share them with me in the comments below.

In the meantime, get your stretchy skirts ready and stack up on that canola oil. You’re gonna need it!

Oh, and do yourself a favor and set your scale back 5 lbs, will you?

Potato Latke Funnel Cakes

2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped (3 large potatoes)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp flour
1 packet Lipton ranch seasoning, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
canola oil, for frying
1 1/2 cups sour cream or Greek yogurt
grated parmesan cheese, for garnish

Method:

Cook the potatoes in a pot of salted water until fork-tender. Drain well and add to a bowl. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or puree with a food mill. Add egg, milk, flour and 1 tbsp of the ranch seasoning (reserve the remainder for the dip). Mix the batter until all the ingredients are incorporated and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a skillet to 350 degrees. Fill a Ziploc or piping bag with mashed potatoes and pipe the batter into the hot oil in an overlapping spiral. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Make sure not the flip the funnel cakes until they have fully crisped up. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Dust with parmesan cheese and serve hot.

For the dip, add the remainder of the seasoning packet to the sour cream and mix to incorporate. Serve with potato latke funnel cakes.


This post was sponsored by Lipton Kosher. All opinions are my own. 

Related Recipes:

sabich latkes
falafel latkes
poutine latkes
confetti latkes
butternut squash latkes

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Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing

I’ve been loving playing around with Instagram stories these days. It lets me post a step by step cooking tutorial and it’s just. so. fun! Last night I made Asian soup bowls with a richly flavored broth and a variety of vegetables for a make-you-own bowl dinner. I posted a play by play on my stories and the feedback was amazing!

I made these stuffed acorn squashes last Friday, using some of my leftover bacon-wrapped turkey from Thanksgiving. I posted a story as I made them and I got lots of requests for a formal written recipe. I managed a quick photoshoot, even though it was a hectic Friday and do I even need an explanation? I mean just look at these?!

I really love the idea of making this after Thanksgiving with some leftover turkey, but if you don’t have any, just leave it out and keep it vegan. With or without the turkey, this is a beautiful side dish that’s perfect for the fall, winter, holidays or just a weeknight cozy dinner. I put a poached egg over some leftover rice and lemme tell you….sooooo good!

Acorn Squash with Wild Rice Stuffing

3 acorn squashes
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 medium red onion, peeled and diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
10oz. cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and sliced
1 box Near East long grain and wild rice pilaf, cooked according to package directions
1 3.5oz bag roasted chestnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup leftover diced turkey (optional)
1/2 cup vegetable stock (increase to 1 cup if using turkey)
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Method:

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the acorn squash in half lengthwise and remove the seeds. Place cut-side up on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tbsp of olive oil.  Sprinkle brown sugar over the squash halves and season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender and caramelized around the edges, about 40 minutes.

Add the remaining olive oil to a saute pan and saute the onion and celery until deeply caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper, and continue to saute until all the water evaporates and mushrooms caramelize. Add the rice, roasted chestnuts and diced turkey (if using) and stir to combine. Add the stock and cook the mixture until all the liquid is absorbed, stirring every few minutes. Add the dried cranberries.

Divide the rice stuffing among the roasted squash halves and serve.

VARIATION: I made this using some of my leftover kosher beef bacon-wrapped turkey, and I added some of the bacon to the dish as well. If you wish to do do so (it adds a nice smoky and crispy element), just crisp up your favorite variety and stir in the stuffing before serving (don’t add it during cooking or it will get soggy).


Related Recipes:

apple and sausage stuffed butternut squash
za’atar roasted kabocha squash with silan
turkey roulade with five minute stuffing
unstuffed mushrooms

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