Meat & Poultry – Page 13 – Busy in Brooklyn

Y’all know I’m not really one for traditional dishes, but if there’s any time where tradition plays an essential role, it’s Passover, or Pesach. The Passover seder is all about the rituals that we observe each year – from preparing our homes and making them chometz-free (free of any leavened grains), to eating matza and morror (bitter herbs), drinking four cups of wine, hiding the afikomen and reciting the Haggadah. It’s all about, as Fiddler-on-the-Roof used to say, TRADISHUN!

Because this holiday has always been about creating special memories with family, I’m all about the simple kosher-for-Passover foods that my mom prepared each year. On the eve of Passover, we would all wash up with soap, put on some aprons and get to work peeling and chopping veggies for her classic Pesach dishes.

We’d fill mason jars with ratatouille, mock chopped liver, cucumber salad and vinaigrette (a salad of cooked beets, carrots, potatoes and red onion) and each meal over Passover, we’d dig a little deeper into the jars, until they were finished. Somehow, we never got bored of eating the same dishes over and over again because that’s what the holiday was all about.

This ratatouille dish is not quite the same as my mom used to make (since she did not use any processed ingredients like spices or tomato paste!), but it’s definitely inspired by the Passover dish of my youth.

Ratatouille Roast Chicken

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs (pargiot)
1 medium eggplant, diced small
1 medium zucchini, diced small
1 red pepper, diced small
1 red onion, diced small
1 heaping cup grape tomatoes
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
5 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
fresh basil, for garnish

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, zucchini, pepper, onion, tomatoes, garlic, tomato paste, olive oil, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate the ingredients.

Place the chicken thighs on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper. Spread ratatouille mixture over the chicken. Bake, uncovered, for one hour, stirring the vegetables occasionally. Garnish with fresh basil.

Serve warm with mashed potatoes, quinoa or rice.

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Arayes: Kofta Pita Pockets

On March 7, 2019July 29, 2019

by chanie

in Appetizer, Dinner, Meat & Poultry, Purim, Recipes, Shabbos

13 Comments

I love how today’s food trends have made Middle Eastern food so popular. Otherwise, I probably never would have heard of sabich, or hawaij, or arayes.

So what are they? Arayes are native to Lebanon, where they stuff kofta, a spiced beef or lamb mixture, into pita pockets and grill them. Yes, it’s as good as it’s sounds.

What I love even more than traditional arayes, is that chef’s have been creating their own adaptation of the classic for a fun twist. A local restaurant had fish arayes on the menu last week, and I’ve been seeing lots of other variations of the traditional filling as well.

While I’m usually one for turning tradition on it’s head, I loved my classic recipe so much that I went with it. But I did spare you the annoying blogger habit of calling anything with 3 corners hamantaschen, because frankly, they are not. Although in the festive Purim spirit, they are triangular, and they really do make the perfect Purim party appetizer.

Speaking of Purim party appetizers, I love to put out of bunch of finger food for my Purim feast every year because everyone is so busy coming and going, there’s hyper kids all over the place and probably a bunch of adult drunks too – so no one really wants a formal meal. Finger food makes the perfect spread and arayes are just the thing.

Some other great party appetizers that I’ve done in the past include:

drunken hasselback salami
pulled beef tacos
hummus bassar
breaded honey drumsticks
hot dog eggrolls
potato borekas
franks in blanks
chicken wings
charcuterie board
roasted sweet potatoes with gooey pecans (recipe in Millennial Kosher)
lachmagine pizza (recipe in Millennial Kosher)

Enjoy!

Arayes Pita Pockets
YIELD: approximately 24 pita pockets

1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup packed parsley
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef (not lean) or ground lamb
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup pine nuts, optional
6 pitas
1/3 cup olive oil
prepared tahini, for serving

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add the onion, garlic and parsley to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until chopped. Add the mixture to a mixing bowl with the beef, cumin, allspice, salt, pepper and pine nuts (if using). Gently stir the mixture to incorporate all the ingredients.

Cut the pitas in half and fill each pocket with about 1/4 cup of the meat mixture, flattening it out so it fills the pita evenly. Cut the pita halves into quarters and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Brush both sides of the pita with olive oil and bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Serve warm with tahini, for dipping.

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Salami Tarte Tatin

On February 26, 2019July 29, 2019

by chanie

in Appetizer, Brunch, Meat & Poultry, Purim, Recipes, Shabbos, Side Dish

4 Comments

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!
S-A-L-A-M-I T-A-R-T-E T-A-T-I-N!!!!!!!

OK I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so excited about a recipe!!! Salami time AKA Purim, AKA the Busy In Brooklyn yearly salami tradition is here and YAYYYYYY!!

I love that the young girl who used to throw her weekly salami sandwiches down the incinerator chute is now known for her salami trash-ups! My friend recently said to me, “You know Chanie, no one is every going to look at salami without thinking of you”, and I’m OK with it. In fact I’m all over it. Because becoming known for a particular ingredient means I’m doing a good job as a blogger and that my friends, is my jam (also job, but yes, jam!).

So… why in the world am I so excited? Well I’ll tell you. If you’re not well versed in French pastry, you might not be familiar with the classic dessert, TARTE TATIN, an upside-down pastry in which fruit is caramelized in butter and sugar as it bakes under a blanket of puff pastry. Fancy pastry chef’s make their own, but most recipes call for the store-bought variety which means only one thing – QUICK & EASY.

But still, WHY am I so excited??? Well traditional tarte tatin uses fruit as it’s base, and you even might find some unique recipes for vegetable-based tarts, but you have never found a SALAMI tarte tatin and I, my friends, think it’s pretty genius. And I’m a pretty hard sell.

Whats more than the salami is the bourbon caramel that the salami bathes in as it cooks down. Yes, you got that right. Bourbon. Caramel. And although I abhor margarine, there was no winning here because coconut oil + salami is a no go, so I caved. And I’m ok with it. I mean the puff pastry is virtually all margarine anyway, so whats another few tablespoons, amiright?

It’s hard to keep up with myself with this salami thing and I was worried about how I’d one-up my previous recipes. The now infamous drunken hasselback salami is sold at virtually every kosher deli stand, and salami babka has made it around the world, so coming up with something new was quite daunting. But I’d said I hashtag #nailedit on this one.

I’m also crushing on the photos of this recipe, which is why I’m doing a lot of salami rambling aka filler content :) But in case you’re still scratching your head on this whole salami thing – it’s a BUSY IN BROOKLYN Purim tradition that I started a couple of years ago on the blog, after reading about a custom to eat salami on Purim, since it’s hung, like HAMAN. Cute, right??

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Happy almost-Purim!

Salami Tarte Tatin

1-2 14oz. Abeles & Heymann salamis, sliced 1/4″ thick
1/2 stick margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup bourbon
1/2 tsp salt
1 sheet puff pastry sheet, thawed in the refrigerator
whole grain mustard, for serving

Method:

Remove the puff pastry from the fridge and roll it out to the same width as you skillet. Using a knife, trim the puff pastry into a round shape to roughly fit the size of your skillet. Return to the fridge.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a cast iron (or oven-safe) skillet, melt the margarine and brown sugar, whisking as it cooks so the mixture combines into a caramel. Add the salt and bourbon and continue stirring until the mixture is thick and bubbly. Add the salami slices, overlapping them slightly to form a pattern (you may need more or less depending on the size of your pan and how you lay them out). Cover the salami with the puff pastry and tuck in the sides, if needed, with a spatula.

Transfer the tarte to the oven and bake for 35 minutes, until the puff pastry is puffed and golden.

Place a large plate over the skillet and flip it over.

Serve warm with mustard.

NOTE: this pastry is best served fresh as the dough can get soggy from the syrup as it it sits.

VARIATION: for a sweet and spicy caramel, add a spoonful of mustard to the caramel.

This post is sponsored by Abeles & Heymann.

Other Salami Recipes:

last year: salami potato latkes
two years ago: salami babka
three years ago: salami quiche
four years ago: beer battered salami chips with beer mustard
five years ago: drunken hasselback salami
six years ago: salami chips

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ChimiChicken

On February 11, 2019July 29, 2019

by chanie

in Diet, Dinner, Meat & Poultry, Recipes, Shabbos

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Lemony Orzo Soup with Meatballs

On December 17, 2018July 29, 2019

by chanie

in Dinner, Main Dish, Meat & Poultry, Recipes, Soup, Stews

3 Comments

Hello, hello my fellow winter bunnies. It’s officially cold out, even the snow has made an appearance this week. I find winter pretty depressing tbh, and if it was up to me, I’d stay indoors snuggling under my covers until Spring!

The only thing that really gets me through winter is my down coat, fingerless gloves (so I can answer my DM’S!), some uplifting music, and hearty soups. That last one is mandatory.

I’ve never been that much of a soup person because it’s just ANOTHER thing to make for dinner, but I’ve found that my kids really love a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter night, and if you play your culinary cards right – it doesn’t have to be that extra thing at dinner, it can actually BE dinner.

To turn your soup into a one pot meal, follow these basic guidelines:

1. include a protein: chicken, shredded beef, meatballs, smoked turkey, tofu
3. include grains: pasta (orzo, couscous, ramen), farro, barley, quinoa, rice
2. include vegetables: endless options!

If you’re feeling like you need a little somethin somethin on the side, make a salad or serve with fresh baguettes or pita for dipping!

Hoping this hearty soup keeps you warm all winter long!

Lemony Orzo Soup with Meatballs

For the meatballs:

1.25 lbs. ground chicken
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

In a medium bowl, combine all the ingredients besides for the oil. Mix and form into mini meatballs. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat, add the oil and and brown the meatballs. Remove from the pot as you prepare them and set aside.

For the soup:

1 medium onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
1 large zucchini, diced small
8 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
Juice of 2 lemons
salt and pepper, to taste
1 c orzo
2 handfuls of spinach

Method:

Add the onion and garlic to the same pot that you browned the meatballs in (add additional olive oil, if necessary). Saute until translucent. Add the carrots, celery and zucchini and continue to saute until softened. Add the stock, bay leaves and lemon juice and bring to a simmer. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.Add the meatballs and orzo and cook until the orzo is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the spinach leaves and serve.

Other hearty winter soups:

crockpot mushroom barley stoup
spinach matzo ball minestrone soup
smoky split pea soup with thyme dumplings
cream of chicken soup in bread bowls

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Category: Meat & Poultry

Ratatouille Roast Chicken

Arayes: Kofta Pita Pockets

Salami Tarte Tatin

ChimiChicken

Lemony Orzo Soup with Meatballs