Category: Meat & Poultry

Cranberry Apple Braised Chicken


And just like that, summer is over. I’m starting to smell that fresh, crisp fall air and the nights have that slight chill that wraps me like a warm sweater. If I’m honest, I don’t hate the winter at all, but I’ll sure miss the carefree spirit of summer and the smell of freshly cut grass.

I’m excited for the fall flavors that are making their way into the supermarkets. Pumpkins, persimmon and pomegranates are just a few of my favorite things and I can’t wait to see the seasonal produce on the shelves!

It’s a bit early for cranberry season, but you can easily use frozen cranberries in this recipe. The tartness of the berries are a great contrast to the sweetness of the apples and honey, and they make for the most luscious sauce that you’ll want to smother all over rice or noodles. Considering the popularity of my tart pomegranate roast, I think this chicken will be a winner as well!

Serve with a side of sweet tzimmes and braised leeks and you’ve got a simanim-filled entree worthy of your holiday table.

Cranberry Apple Braised Chicken

1 chicken, quartered (skin-on)
1 tbsp grapeseed or other neutral flavored oil
salt and pepper, to taste
2 fuji apples, cut into eights
2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup port or sweet red wine
heaping 1/3 cup honey
a few sprigs of thyme

Method:

Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a dutch oven or oven-safe pot to medium-high heat and add the oil. Sear the chicken on both sides until browned. Add the wine, honey, apples, cranberries and thyme and season everything with salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, allowing the alcohol to cook off for a minute or two and transfer the pot, covered, to a 350 degree oven. Bake the chicken for 1 1/2 hours.

Related Recipes:

turkey meatballs with red wine cranberry marinara
cranberry sriracha green beans
honey roasted za’atar chicken with dried fruit
duchesse sweet potato apples

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Asian Lettuce Wraps

Summer has officially begun! Last week, we made the 3  hour trek to the Catskills in Upstate New York where we spend our summer. I’m more of a city gal myself, but the city heat is unbearable, so I welcome the cool mountain air, rolling hills, grass and trees (something we majorly lack in Brooklyn)! The ten weeks we spend here fill my kids with vitality like a tank fills with gas. The long summer days spent carefree in the the outdoors are life’s best medicine, and I’m so thankful I get to give it to them.

As for me, some of my best memories are the ones I spent in the bungalow colony as a child. I love waking up to the smell of the mountains, and when I sit outside sipping my coffee and listening to the birds sing their song, it’s like pure heaven. But I can do without the endless laundry (they change like four times a day!), constant meals (all the swimming and biking makes them ravenous), and not seeing my husband the whole week (someone’s got to pay for all the food and laundry detergent we go through lol!).

I’m not really sure how much I’ll be able to keep up my blogging from here. I didn’t bring any props with me and I’m keeping things simple in the kitchen. But I did bring my camera and I loved the challenge of putting together a summer recipe without all of my fancy ingredients and food styling stuff. It’s also a learning experience working with different natural light, so I was happy to prepare these simple summer wraps and blog about them. Otherwise, I’ll be keeping things light around here, and probably blogging a lot less than usual. But I hope you’ll all be taking a break too!

Wishing you a light, healthy and refreshing summer!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

2 lbs dark meat turkey
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp fresh grated ginger
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp grapeseed oil (or other neutral flavored oil)
2 tbsp soy sauce.
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp sriracha plus more for garnish
kosher salt, to taste
Boston lettuce
optional toppings: carrot sticks, radish, scallions

Method:

Heat the sesame and grapeseed oil in a skillet and add the ginger and garlic. Saute until fragrant but not browned. Add the ground turkey and season with salt. Cook over medium heat, breaking it up as it cooks, until the turkey is crumbled and no longer pink. Add the soy sauce, lime juice and sriracha and stir to incorporate.

Divide the turkey among lettuce cups and top with carrot sticks, sliced radish and scallions. Finish with sriracha.

NOTE: to make these Paleo/Whole30, use coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and substitute hot sauce for the sriracha.

If desired, you may pickle the carrots and/or radishes as follows:

OPTIONAL PICKLES
julienned carrots, sliced radishes, sliced cucumbers
1 cup rice vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt

Bring the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a boil. Remove from the heat. Add veggies and set aside to cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.


Related Recipes:

quinoa pad thai
curried chicken lettuce wraps

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Mongolian Beef

It’s been hard getting back into the blogging groove lately. I surprised myself when I kept things going so consistently ever since baby #5 came last July, but those days of sleeping babies are long gone, and my little rascal is crawling around putting every last tiny speck and crumb into her mouth.


I also lost my cleaning help (of 6 years!)  recently, which any mom knows is the single most important thing to help us keep our sanity. I mean, who do you think did the dishes after every cookfest I had in the kitchen? I mean, I love to cook, but I don’t love to clean up after myself. ;) Yes, my friends. That is my dirty little secret.

People always ask me, “How do you do what you do?” and the truth is, I’d never be able to do it without help! I always say – somethings got to give. Having five kids is a full time job in and of itself, so how I manage recipe testing, blogging, cooking classes and photography work boils down to this – I can’t do it all. I’m not very active in the gazillion whatsapp groups I belong to. I went off Facebook. I cut down on volunteer work (and send a donation instead!) and I have, ahem – had, cleaning help.

Luckily, this recipe was photographed and tested months ago, and I love saving things like these in the archives for those stressful times when I don’t have time to work on new recipes. I had made it for dinner one night and it came together super fast with little fuss. Who doesn’t love recipes like that?!

With summer coming and school coming to an end, we all need those quick and easy stir fries that we can throw together at the last minute. I hope you all enjoy this one as much as we did!

Mongolian Beef

1 lb pepper steak (see note)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp grapeseed or other neutral flavored oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cloves garlic, minced
small knob of ginger, peeled and very finely julienned
1/2 red chili pepper, thinly sliced (remove veins and seeds for less heat)
1/2 c stock
1/3 c hoison sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method:

Heat a large wok or skillet over medium-high heat and add the sesame and grapeseed oils. Stir fry the meat until brown, seasoning it with salt and pepper (I prefer to do this in two batches). Remove the meat from the pan and discard any liquid. Add more oil, if needed, and saute the garlic, ginger and chili pepper until fragrant. Add the stock, hoison sauce, brown sugar and soy sauce and bring to a boil.

In a small bowl mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of water to dissolve. Add the mixture the pan and simmer until the sauce thickens. Return the meat to the pan and stir to coat the meat in the sauce.

Serve the meat over rice with sliced scallions and sesame seeds for garnish.

NOTE: Kosher pepper steak is thinly sliced steak that is usually used for stir fry. Many butchers cut their pepper steak from different parts of the steer. Depending on where the pepper steak is cut from, it can be very tender or it can be very tough. Many people assume that it is the way they are cooking it, but it has to do with the quality of the meat and where it is cut from. For instance, meat that is cut from the top of the rib will be pretty tough, and meat this is cut from the filet split (a smaller cut from a minute steak roast) will be tender. Pepper steak that is tender will be soft and easy to chew after a quick stir fry, however meat that is tough will be rubbery and will require a long braise to break it down and tenderize. For this recipe, I recommend purchasing a tender cut of pepper steak because of the quick preparation. For a more in-depth explanation of kosher cuts and cooking methods, read this guide.

Related Recipes:

pepper steak with plum sauce
soy and ginger glazed sugar snap peas

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Perfect for Pesach Giveaway

It’s different when you see a new cookbook on the shelf that you’ve never heard of before, and when you’ve actually watch that baby grow from the very beginning. You see, Naomi Nachman is a good friend, and with her friendly and outgoing personality, anyone that meets her (or follows her on social media @naominachman!) feels the same. Naomi has been open about her cookbook journey from the very beginning, and I was lucky enough to spend a day getting a behind-the-scenes look at some of the recipe development and food photography for this book. I even tested some of the recipes in the book for Naomi so it’s hard to be biased! Instead, I’m just going to share about the book, rather than reviewing it, because honestly, do you all really need my critique here?

Perfect for Pesach is exactly what it sounds like – perfect. for. Pesach. Except the recipes really work for all year round – especially for those of us who eat mostly gluten free, and those who honor strict Pesach customs that don’t allow us to use any store bought processed ingredients. I love that the book has a range of healthy and indulgent recipes, from how to make zoodles and cauliflower fried rice, to pastrami meatballs (recipe below) and fudgy chocolate bundt cake. Looking at the beautiful photography (thanks to the talented Miriam Pascal of overtimecook) it’s hard to believe that these recipes are truly kosher for Passover (hello lemon curd trifles)!

If you’re going to want to buy a Pesach cookbook, it should probably be from someone who spent two decades catering Pesach meals for clients with individual needs and requirements. Naomi shares make-ahead tips and well as freezer suggestions that are super helpful as well as cooks tip and year-round notes on most of the recipes. The cookbook has a really nice range of flavors – from Syrian inspired cauliflower crust lachmagine (you know I’m making that!) to Hawaiian poke (recipe below) and tequila lime chicken to herb crusted lamb shops. Of course you’ll also find traditional favorites like matbucha, salad nicoise, gravlax, Pesach cholent, chocolate mousse and so much more.

As for me, I’ve got the quinoa hummus, chimichurri coleslaw, maple glazed rack of ribs and frozen red wine strawberry mousse bookmarked.

Of course I’m giving away a copy of Perfect for Passover, so see the details below to enter!

As part of this Pesach giveaway, I’m also giving away a copy of Duby’s Pesach Lists which includes:

• Tips on making Pesach for the first time
• Cleaning checklists
• Shopping Lists
• Budgeting Tips
• Menu and calendar templates
• Last minute reminders
• Printable labels for your Passover cabinets
• Games / Activities / Discussion ideas to make your Seder more fun

You can read more about it on dubyspesachlists.com.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

To enter the giveaway to win a copy of Perfect for Pesach + a copy of Dobys Pesach Lists:

1. Leave a comment below letting me know your favorite Pesach dish.
2. For an extra entry, leave a comment on the giveaway post on Facebook or Instagram sharing what you love most about Pesach.

Giveaway is open to U.S. residents (for international entries, prize can only be shipped in the U.S.). Winner will be chosen at random at 10:00 AM EST on Monday, April 3rd, 2017.

SAMPLE RECIPES:

Pastrami Meatballs

2 pounds ground beef
6 ounces pastrami, very finely chopped
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon dried oregano

Sauce
2 (32-ounce) jars marinara sauce
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
juice of 2 lemons (about ½ cup)
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 (14-ounces) can whole berry cranberry sauce

Prepare the meatballs: Mix together all meatball ingredients in a large bowl until combined. Set aside.

Prepare the sauce: In a large saucepan, stir together marinara sauce, water, sugar, lemon juice, tomato paste, and cranberry sauce. Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Roll the meat mixture into balls approximately the size of golf balls. Carefully drop balls into boiling sauce. Reduce heat to low; simmer for approximately 1 hour 30 minutes.

Cook Tips
• If there’s any leftover sauce, freeze it and use it to make meatballs a second time!
• You can also use this meat mixture to form patties and grill them as burgers.

Hawaiian Poke
Reprinted with permission from ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications

1½ pounds sushi grade salmon fillet, cubed
½ pound sushi grade tuna fillet, cubed
½ cup lemon juice
½ cup lime juice
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
½ medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 mango, diced (optional)
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Combine salmon, tuna, lemon juice, lime juice, jalapeño, olive oil, salt, pepper, and onion in a medium bowl. Marinate, covered, in refrigerator for 2 hours.
Just before serving, add avocado and mango, if using, to the fish mixture; sprinkle with cilantro. Serve immediately.

Cook’s Tip
• Because the fish is served raw, be sure to use very fresh fish that was purchased that day.
• Prepare the marinade a day ahead of time. Marinate the fish the day you’re serving it.

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Zoodle Bolognese + Spaghetti Sloppy Joes
and How I Mastered Dinner

This might seem hard to believe considering that I run a food blog, give cooking class, develop recipes for brands and raise my brood of five, but the truth is, I’m pretty unorganized. Especially when it comes to dinner. I don’t have a monthly eating plan, let alone a weekly one. I pretty much look into the fridge and freezer in the morning and decide what to make. If there aren’t really options, I go to the store. And that happens more often than I’d like to admit. Until recently.

I might not be the type of person to plan my menus in advance, but I finally realized that just because I don’t plan exactly what I’m making, it doesn’t mean that I can’t create a framework to help me narrow down the choices. A lot of mom’s get overwhelmed by the thought of making dinner, but that’s because there are a gazillion things you can make, so it’s just so hard to choose. Should you make meat or chicken? What type of meat or chicken? What about side dishes? And picky kids? I get it, believe me I do. And I FINALLY figured it out.

For starters, I created a basic guideline for the week, and it goes something like this:

Leftover Sunday: leftovers! If there are none, BBQ or eat out.
Meatless Monday: vegan or vegetarian dishes.
Beef (Taco) Tuesday: easy beef tacos or any beef recipe.
Chicken Wednesday: any recipe using boneless or bone-in chicken.
Dairy Thursday: the kids favorite day of the week!
Friday: Shabbat Dinner (always changing but I repeat a few basic staples)
Sandwich Saturday: kids choice of sandwiches or wraps

This general guideline helped me narrow down the choices so that instead of there being a gazillion ideas to choose from, I stick to a specific structure for each day. Of course nothing is set in stone, so if we decide to take the kids out to eat on Sunday, we’ll have leftovers on Monday, or if I make a vegetarian taco skillet (we love Trader Joes soy beef crumbles) on Monday, I’ll switch up chicken Wednesdays with taco Tuesdays. The point is to balance out the days so you have enough variety without being overwhelmed with options.

To narrow things down further, here are some options for each day to give you some ideas. Obviously this is based on what my kids like (they are not big on vegetables!), but I always try to serve a protein, carb and veggie. Many times that veggie is Israeli salad, because that’s their favorite, but I always put some veggies on the table, even if it’s just my hubby and I who end up eating it.

As a food blogger and recipe developer, I’m constantly working on new recipes which I feed to my family. You can follow my stories on Instagram for lots of exciting ideas.

MEATLESS MONDAYS:

Make your own sushi, sushi rice bowls, sushi burritos or sushi salad. Baked salmon, seared tuna or ceviche on the side.
fish tacos
fried fish sandwiches
tuna pasta salad or salmon pasta salad and fruit smoothies
vegan taco skillet
falafel with all the fixings
soup and salad
tofu stir fry with pasta
lentil sloppy joes
chickpea curry
vegetarian chili with cornbread

BEEF (TACO) TUESDAYS:

beef tacos (with Ortega seasoning packet or my homemade mix)
beef fajitas
beef noodle stir fry
pepper steak in plum sauce
Mongolian beef (recipe coming soon)
meaty soup with fresh pita or baguettes (Bubby’s cabbage soup, smoked turkey split pea, fire roasted tomato rice stoup, crockpot mushroom barley soup)
london broil and mashed potatoes
meatballs and rice
spaghetti sloppy joes and zoodle bolognese for adults
kofta kebabs
pulled beef tacos or sandwiches

CHICKEN WEDNESDAYS:

pineapple chicken and rice
spicy garlic chicken and rice vermicelli
breaded honey chicken with Israeli couscous
grilled chicken shawarma bar
Pad Thai
chicken fajitas
pargiot bowls
shnitzel salad or sandwiches
bundt pan rotisserie chicken with roasted potatoes
Asian chicken soup with ramen

DAIRY THURSDAYS: (usually served with fruit smoothies and/or Caesar salad)

lasagna
baked ziti
breakfast for dinner (pancakes, french toast or waffles with yogurt, granola and fruit)
ravioli in pink sauce
cheesy minestrone
stuffed shells
cheesy pull apart buns
pita pizza

FRIDAY NIGHT STAPLES (SHABBAT DINNER):
Shabbat dinner changes weekly, depending on guests etc., but here are some weekly staples

baked gefilte fish with breadcrumbs or fried patties
Israeli salad
hummus and tahini
chicken soup (or spinach matza ball minestrone, or Asian chicken soup)
bundt pan rotisserie chicken (our favorite basic, but we often change this up)
deli roll

SANDWICH SATURDAYS:

tuna sandwiches
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
turkey sandwiches
hummus sandwiches
mayo and tomato sandwiches
cream cheese sandwiches
grilled cheese sandwiches
quesadillas

I hope this basic guideline helps you manage your dinner schedule, and I plan to fill in the links that are missing as I post them! Feel free to write up your own favorite options for each day of the week, to make things easier for you. If you have any kid-friendly recipes that are a staple in your family, please share in the comments so we can add it our rotation too!

This bolognese recipe is a staple in my house, because I can serve the kids their kid-friendly version with spaghetti sloppy joes, and serve my husband the lightened up version with zoodles. I eat a bit of both! ;) The zoodle version makes the perfect Chol Hamoed dinner for Pesach, so make sure to add it to your menu!

Bolognese

1 small onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 14.5oz. can diced tomatoes
1 15oz. can tomato sauce
½ tsp dried basil
½ tsp oregano
½ tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Sauté onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Add ground beef and
cook until browned. Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and spices.
Simmer until thickened. Serve over zoodles.

VARIATION: for a quick and easy bolognese, see the recipe below.

Zoodles

1 large zucchini
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
Special Equipment: julienne peeler or spiralizer

Method:

Using a julienne peeler, peel the zucchini all around until you reach
the center where the seeds are. Save that for soup. If using a spiralizer,
cut the large zucchini into 3 and working one piece at a time, spiralize to create noodles.

Heat oil in a wok or large skillet and saute the zoodles over high heat for 1­-2 minutes,
until  tender­-crisp. Season with salt and pepper.

NOTE: zoodles tend to get watery fairly quickly so it is best to saute them
right before serving.

Spaghetti Sloppy Joes

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 jar marinara sauce
1 box spaghetti or linguini
baked beans and/or corn on the cob

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and cook the beef until crumbly and browned. Add the marinara sauce and bring to a simmer.

Cook the spaghetti (or pasta of your choice) according to package directions. Drain. Mix with bolognese sauce and serve with baked beans and/or corn on the cob.

#eatingfortheinsta!

Related Recipes:

stuffed cabbage bolognese
veal marsala bolognese with turnip noodles
spaghetti squash bolognese 
cheesy zoodle marinara
zoodle shakshuka

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