Link-Ups – Busy in Brooklyn

I’m not even going to pretend to know anything about football. Sports is not exactly one of my hobbies. I do know, however, that Superbowl parties require party food – and that, my dear friends, is most certainly one of my hobbies. When it comes to finger food, I’m the party queen – and I’ve got lots of yummy ideas up my blogger sleeve!

We’ll start with my spicy roasted edamame or my roasted chickpeas, they’re perfect for nibbling and won’t pile on the pounds. My smoked paprika popcorn cauliflower is another favorite and if you must have your wings, my spicy ginger chicken wings are a sure crowd pleaser!

If you’re craving dip, try my chestnut hummus with baked pita chips, crispy baby artichokes with balsamic aioli, salami chips with dijon dipping sauce or good old pretzels with my raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip,

Now if you’re looking for something a little bit more, well, cheesy, have I got some ideas for you! It’s a good thing I teamed up with Natural & Kosher Cheese, purveyors of artisanal kosher cheese products, because I sure love my dairy! Here are some hearty game day recipes that’ll keep you going throughout the show!

} Natural & Kosher shredded cheddar adds cheesy goodness to my chili pie in jars,
} Natural & Kosher shredded mozzarella turns my malawach cheese pastries with zaatar, into a pizza-lovers dream.
} Natural & Kosher’s camembert or brie work wonders in my puff pastry brie bites with dried fruit & jam.
} Natural & Kosher’s aged parmesan can’t be missed in my zucchini parmesan chips,
} Natural & Kosher’s goat cheese makes the perfect garnish to my spinach & cheddar pesto crostini.

Of course, if you’re looking for something cheesy that’s still good for you – you’ve come to the right place. Yes, I know I might sound like a walking oxymoron but that’s just what I do. In my kitchen, healthy & nachos are not a contradiction as creamy cheddar sauce drips down a healthy dose of roasted veggies.

My Middle Eastern take on Mexican nachos will please even the purist of nacho fans. The harissa and cheddar make a perfect pair, creating a harmonious symphony of flavor, when drizzled over roasted cauliflower chips, marinated artichoke hearts, olives & roasted peppers. Note to yourselves: you may want to double the recipe!

Cauliflower Nachos

1 head cauliflower
olive oil
kosher salt
1 red pepper
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup feta, optional
harissa nacho cheese (recipe follows)

Method:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Separate the cauliflower into florets, taking care not to break them apart too much. Cut each floret into slices, 1/8″ thick. Lay the slices out on the baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt. Roast for 20-30 minutes, until browned and crispy.

While the cauliflower is roasting, place the pepper on a baking sheet and place in the oven along with the cauliflower. Roast the pepper until blistered all around, turning every 5 minutes or so. Remove the pepper from the oven and wrap in foil or place in a ziploc bag to steam for a few minutes. Unwrap the pepper and peel back the skin. Discard skin and seeds and slice the pepper into strips.

Arrange the cauliflower chips on a platter, top with artichokes, olives and red pepper strips. Garnish with scallions and feta, if desired. Drizzle with harissa cheddar cheese sauce.

NOTE: If you’d like the cauliflower chips to be very crispy, leave them to roast for an additional 10-20 minutes. Just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.

I’m a huge fan of the cabbage family. And I don’t mean those sweet little dolls that we used to get for birthday gifts. I mean all those crunchy veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage and savoy, among others. But it’s cauliflower and broccoli that really make me want to melt…some cheese. There’s just something about sharp creamy cheddar over the tender veggies that makes them so delectable! So, without further ado, I give you my harissa cheddar cheese sauce ! Drizzle it over nachos, use it for fondue or mix it into mac ‘n cheese – you can thank me later!

Harissa Cheddar Cheese Nacho Sauce

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded Natural & Kosher cheddar cheese
kosher salt, to taste
1-2 tsp harissa

Method:

In a saucepan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour until combined. Slowly add the milk, whisking to avoid clumps from forming. When the mixture has thickened, add the cheddar cheese and whisk until smooth and creamy. Season with salt and add harissa to taste.

This post was sponsored by Natural & Kosher Cheese. Follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Google+, or via their Blog

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Duchesse Sweet Potato Apples

On August 18, 2013March 24, 2014

by chanie

in Appetizer, Fruit, Link-Ups, Passover, Recipes, Rosh Hashanah, Shabbos, Side Dish

31 Comments

I was less than a week into culinary school (at the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts), when we dedicated an entire day to potatoes. An entire day. Let’s just say that if I was stranded on a dessert island, potatoes is all I would need.

One of the things we learned to make is duchesse potatoes. In culinary arts, duchesse refers to a classic French recipe for puréed potatoes that includes butter, egg yolks, nutmeg, salt and pepper. We piped the filling into scooped-out potato halves, formed some of it into crispy fried potato croquettes and experimented with the extra filling to make fried pear shapes. When I saw my culinary instructor stick a bay leaf and clove into the crispy breaded mound of potatoes, a light switch went off in my head and I knew I’d be making THESE for Rosh Hashanah.

And by these I mean the adorable duchesse sweet potato “apples” that you see here. Duchesse sweet potatoes are not as popular as their russet cousins, but they are just as delicious. One of the tricks I learned is to add instant mashed potato flakes to the filling to help it firm up and hold it’s shape. To stay true to the classic duchess recipe, I added a pinch of nutmeg, and subbed coconut oil for the butter, complementing the sweet potato flavor (and keeping it pareve). The addition of honey and sliced apple makes these the perfect dish to serve at your Rosh Hashanah meal.

Now since The Kosher Connection (a group of kosher food bloggers that I belong to) is so generous, they decided to do a link-up of APPLE recipes in honor of Rosh Hashanah. Below, you’ll find links to countless sweet apple recipes that are perfect to start off the New Year.

You can also check out these other BIB recipes that are perfect for Rosh Hashanah:

Cinnamon Infused Honey
Apple & Honey Tart
Pomegranate Coleslaw
Hassleback Sweet Potatoes with Apples
Honey Challah with Sweet Toppings
Rosh Hashanah Roast
Honey Cake with Caramelized Apples

Sending you all best wishes for a happy and healthy sweet New Year!

Duchesse Sweet Potatoes with Apples

3 small apples, cored and sliced into 1/2″ thick rounds
3 tbsp coconut oil, divided
1 tsp cinnamon
4 medium sweet potatoes
2 egg yolks
2 tbsp honey
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt, to taste
1/4 c instant mashed potato flakes
1 egg mixed with 1 tbsp water, for eggwash

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake sweet potatoes until soft and syrupy, about 1 hour. Set aside to cool.

Remove the flesh of the sweet potatoes and add to a bowl. Mix in egg yolks, 2 tbsp of coconut oil, honey, nutmeg, salt and instant mashed potato flakes. Add the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip.

Place the apple rounds on a parchment-lined baking sheet (you should have 9 rounds of equal size) and brush both sides lightly with remaining tbsp of coconut oil. Sprinkle the apples lightly with cinnamon.

Pipe the sweet potato filling onto the apples to form a round shape and brush lightly with eggwash. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until sweet potatoes are set and just starting to brown around the edges.

Place a clove and bay leaf in the center of each sweet potato mound to resemble an apple.

YIELDS: 9 duchesse sweet potato & apple mounds.

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Grilled Corn with Za’atar Garlic Butter

On July 21, 2013July 12, 2015

by chanie

in Appetizer, Link-Ups, Recipes, Side Dish, The Nine Days

23 Comments

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may have noticed that I am part of a group of kosher food bloggers called the Kosher Connection. Each month, we are challenged to put our own twist on a link-up theme. Over the past year, we’ve had:

July 2012: frozen desserts
August 2012: grilling
September 2012: honey
October 2012: root vegetables
November 2012: stuffing
December 2012: Chinese food
January 2013: miniatures
February 2013: home-made gifts
March 2013: Passover desserts
April 2013: The Best Thing I Ever Ate
May 2013: croutons
June 2013: cold soups

This month, we celebrate our one year anniversary as a group with a fun link-up – The Great Blog Swap. Each member of the Kosher Connection was issued a fellow KC member’s blog and challenged to create a recipe inspired by one on their site. My secret target blog is This American Bite.

This American Bite is a personal blog dedicated to whole food cooking with a passion for vegetarian and BBQ. Living in the Midwest with his wife an two children, Yosef Silver began This American Bite to share his passion for healthy kosher food. As a resident of Kansas City, Yosef brings his fresh approach to BBQ and has previously been a judge at the Annual Kosher BBQ Festival. This year, he plans to compete with his team, The Epicurean Bite. We wish him the best of luck!

Many of Yosef’s recipes are inspired by Middle Eastern cuisine, and za’atar is a spice you will find in a lot of his recipes. One such recipe is garlic, za’atar and olive oil stovetop popcorn.As an ode to Yosef’s Kansas City living, I decided to do a twist on his recipe by grilling fresh corn and smothering it in garlic & za’atar compound butter. I never imagined that the corn would come out so incredibly delicious. I have to say that it was literally one of the best things I have ever eaten! Garlic & za’atar compound butter is my new favorite combination, thanks to This American Bite!

First up, we’ve got the grilled corn. I couldn’t imagine doing a This American Bite blog swap without paying homage to his passion for barbecuing. I’m not exactly a BBQ aficionado, and on the day of my photo shoot, the weather here in Brooklyn topped off at 102 degrees. I wasn’t, shall we say, enthusiastic, about sweating over a hot grill. My reluctance turned to exuberance as soon as I took a bite out of the moist, barbecued corn. Grilling the corn in their husks keeps it deliciously moist while still imparting a smokey flavor.

Grilled Corn

Fresh corn in their husks
olive oil or compound butter

Method:

Remove the outer husks from the corn. Carefully peel back the remaining husks and remove the silk around the corn. Wrap the husks back around the corn and soak in water for 15 minutes. Remove the corn from the water and peel the husks back to grease the corn. Brush with olive oil or softened butter and close the husks up as tightly as possible.

Grease the grill with an oiled rag and set the heat to medium. Grill for approximately 30 minutes, rotating the corn every 5-10 minutes.

As I wrote in a recent post, I’m not that big on butter. Compound butter, is another story though. Who can resist a creamy flavored spread on top of warm crusty bread? Compound butter is simply butter mixed with other ingredients to create a flavorful spread. It can be sweet (strawberry butter is popularly served over pancakes) or savory (maitre D’hotel butter mixed with fresh parsley and lemon is a culinary favorite). I’ve tried quite a few flavors of compound butter in the past, and this za’atar and garlic version is by far, the best one I’ve ever had.

If you’re not familiar with za’atar, it’s a mixed herb and spice blend popular in the Middle East. Za’atar is primarily made up of sumac, thyme, oregano, sesame seeds and salt. The spice blend is widely available in supermarkets, but you can also find it on amazon.

Za’atar & Garlic Compound Butter

1/2 cup butter, softened (see note)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp za’atar
kosher salt, to taste

Method:

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine. Place the butter in the center of a sheet of parchment paper and roll it up tightly. Twist the sides of the parchment paper to create a log of butter. Freeze or refrigerate until ready to use.

NOTE: For pareve, you may substitute with margarine. I prefer Smart Balance Light trans-fat-free butter spread.

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Now that I’ve shared my “This American Bite” inspired recipe, lets get back to where we started – The Kosher Connection Anniversary. Aside from the great roundup of recipes in the link-up below, we’re also celebrating with a spectacular giveaway! The KC is giving away 2 Emile Henry products – a Bread Cloche valued at $130 and a 4.2 qt Dutch Oven valued at $170! Use the Rafflecopter below to win- you can enter up to 23 ways! Two winners will be chosen at random.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The contest winners will be contacted via email. They will have 48 hours to respond before other winners are chosen. This contest is open to United States residents over the age of 18

An InLinkz Link-up

Moscato, Honey & Vanilla Poached Apricots

On June 17, 2013March 24, 2014

by chanie

in Breakfast, Dessert, Fruit, Link-Ups, Passover, Recipes, Shabbos, Snacks, Soup

22 Comments

When the Kosher Connection team (a group of Kosher Food Bloggers that I belong to) decided on the theme of “cold soups” for this month’s Link-Up challenge, I was thrilled. I had made these poached apricots a few times already, and I knew I just had to share them. Granted, poached apricots in moscato, honey & vanilla bean syrup is a bit of a stretch for a soup, but I think we’re covered. Cold fruit soups are all the rage in the summer, and this elegant take on a fruit soup is the perfect way to celebrate apricots – summer’s sweet and tart bounty.

Fresh apricots are available from mid-June to mid-July and are best tree-ripened (it doesn’t ripen after it’s picked). Try to find them at your nearest farmers’ market for optimum flavor. Apricots should be purchased ripe or slightly under-ripe, yielding slightly to gentle touch.

Poaching is one of the best ways to prepare apricots, but they can also be grilled. The addition of honey helps to balance out the apricot’s tartness. Vanilla bean and Moscato wine add an amazing depth of flavor that complements the apricots perfectly. The syrup is so unique and flavorful, you’ll want to drink a cupful all by itself!

What is your favorite way to prepare apricots? Share your ideas with me in the comments below.

For more great cold soup recipes, check out the Kosher Connection Cold Soup Link-Up Challenge below! You can also view my recipe for cold strawberry rhubarb soup here.

Moscato, Honey & Vanilla Bean Poached Apricot

10 fresh apricots
2 cups Moscato wine
1 cup water
1/2 heaping cup honey
1/2 vanilla bean
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

Cut apricots in half and remove pits. Scrape the seeds off the vanilla bean and place the seeds and the bean in a pot. Add moscato, water, honey, and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to make sure the honey and vanilla bean seeds are incorporated throughout. Add the apricots and reduce to a simmer. Cook for approximately 5 minutes (depending on ripeness) until apricots are fork-tender. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the apricots from the pot. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook over high heat until it is thick and syrupy (reduced by half). Set the apricots and syrup aside to cool. Add to a jar and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with frozen yogurt and chopped nuts.

NOTE: If desired, you may gently remove the skins of the apricots after poaching. I prefer to leave them on as they are quite thin and don’t bother me.

VARIATION: To make apricot sauce, do not remove the apricots from the sauce. Instead, let the apricots continue to cook until they fall apart and the sauce begins to thicken. If you prefer to peel the apricots for the sauce, poach for a few minutes, remove and carefully take off the skins. Return to the pot and continue to cook until apricots fall apart and sauce thickens. Serve over ice cream or yogurt.