Category: Recipes

Strawberry Banana Yogurt Parfait with Homemade Granola


With Shabbos out on the early side these days, I’m always looking for ideas of something light (and milchigs!) to eat. I decided to go with a yogurt parfait tonight, with some homemade granola. This recipe is absolutely delicious and healthy! It’s slightly sweet, with just a bit of saltiness and oh so crunchy! A couple of years ago, I was in the supermarket looking for a good granola to buy. They seemed to be carrying a new Israeli variety, but I didn’t understand all of the ingredients. My (then) boss’s sister, who speaks fluent hebrew, was there, so I asked her to translate. Instead, she told me she had the perfect granola recipe, and emailed it to me later that day. It’s been my go-to recipe ever since! (Thanks Rikal!)

Homemade Granola

2 c old fashioned oats
1/2 c sliced or slivered almonds
1/4 c light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2-3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c raisins (optional)

Set your oven to 350F. Mix everything besides for the almonds and raisins together. Mix thoroughly, breaking up the brown sugar as you go. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread the mix on the cookie sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes until just past golden brown, stirring every 5 or 10 minutes to prevent burning. Toast the almonds separately and let them cool down. Mix the almonds, raisins, and granola together. Cool the granola in dry open air on the same cookie sheet to crisp up. Store in an airtight container.

Serve with yogurt and fruit (vanilla or flavored with strawberries, blueberries, pomegranates…anything goes!)

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Gefilte Fish 3 Ways


Gefilte Fish comes in stiff competition with cholent as #1 on the Jewish food list. We all make it. Most of us like it. But gone are the days when we have to scale our own carp to prepare it (maybe just on Pesach!). While I do make salmon, tilapia and flounder on occasion, gefilte fish is a Shabbos staple at my house. So I like to get creative with the preparation, both in preparing, and in plating. This is my most popular way of serving, and I always get the oohs and aahs from my guests when I set it on the table. You need two different types of preparations to plate this way. I am posting three different recipes for your choosing.


Bread Crumb Recipe:
This one is our favorite! (thanks to my cousin Chana Kaplan for the recipe)

1 roll sweet Gefilte fish
2 tbsp mayo
plain or flavored bread crumbs

Method:

Remove gefilte fish from the packaging. The easiest way to remove the wax paper is to rinse it with cold water for a few seconds. This will soften the paper just enough so that you can twist, unwrap and remove the paper easily. Brush the gefilte fish with mayo and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 75-90 minutes (depending how you like it, the longer you bake it, the more dried out it will be).

Take Note: When you bake the fish this way (uncovered, in the oven), towards the end, the fish will start to expand. It looks like it’s blowing up! This is just about when you should take it out. The air will come out of it when you remove it from the oven. It will become slightly free-formed. Maybe not the prettiest, but my family enjoys this preparation the best!

Asian Style Recipe:

1 roll sweet gefilte fish
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
Freunds mixed pack roasted sesame seeds (I used to roast them myself until I found this genius product!)

Method:

Prepare gefilte fish as above, however, brush with soy/honey mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds instead. Bake uncovered, at 350 for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

Another variation of this is to brush it with teriyaki sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Marinara Recipe:

1 roll sweet gefilte fish
1 jar Marinara sauce of your choice

Method:

Remove gefilte fish from packaging and wax paper, as instructed above. Pour 1/2 jar Marinara sauce over fish. Bake, covered, at 350 for 1 1/2-2 hours.

Dipping Sauces:

For dipping, I use chrein, horseradish sauce, wasabi sauce, and leftover marinara sauce from the pan. If you are not making the marinara fish, you can mix up a quick Russian dressing of mayo and ketchup.

To plate:

Slice fish evenly. Spread each type of fish on separate sides of a square serving dish. Prepare 4 mini l’chaim cups with dipping sauces and set between the fish. Place mini mousse spoons in the cups for serving.

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Spinach Rotini Pasta

Like most kids, my girls are pretty picky eaters. I have to drown their food in ketchup to get them to eat it. But this recipe is so pretty and delicious, they ate it down to the last drop. To make it more fun, I used corkscrew pasta (also known as Rotini), and taking a que from the Sandra Lee semi-homemade philosophy, I used frozen garlic cubes and spinach, making this dish come together in no-time! So go ahead, serve it to your kiddies. No ketchup required.

Take Note:

The frozen garlic cubes offer a milder taste to the dish than their fresh counterparts. If you’re making this for adults only (or your kids like the taste of lotsa fresh garlic) go ahead and use the real thing. I would recommend cutting down to 2-3 cloves.

I’ve also opted for extra light olive oil because of the mild flavor. However, if you like the full-bodied fruitiness of traditional olive oil, go ahead and use that instead.

I like to top my pasta with just a sprinkle of toasted bread crumbs. This adds texture and crunch to the dish and takes it over the top. If you don’t like the sound of it, just go ahead and leave it out.

Spinach Pasta

1 box Rotini pasta
1 10oz. box frozen chopped spinach
4-5 frozen garlic cubes
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
extra light olive oil
1/8 cup breadcrumbs, optional

Method:

In a frying pan, drizzle some olive oil and add the garlic cubes. Turn the fire on medium, allowing the garlic cubes to melt as the oil heats up (if you throw the cubes into hot oil, the oil will splatter in every direction and the garlic will burn). Stir the cloves until fully melted and slighly cooked.

Remove the foil from the box of spinach and microwave for about 6 minutes until thawed. If the spinach is hot, wait for it to cool and squeeze the water out in batches, using your hands (I wear gloves for this). Add the spinach to the pan and saute, mixing with the garlic until full incorporated. Add more oil if needed. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta, but not thoroughly, leaving a bit of water. Return the pasta to the pot, and add the spinach mixture. Stir well until the spinach is well incorporated. If the pasta is slightly dry, add a bit more oil. Adjust seasonings if needed.

To toast the breadcrumbs, add them to the frying pan that you used to saute the garlic and spinach. This will infuse it with some of the garlic flavor. Stir on a medium flame, taking care that the breadcrumbs do not burn. Remove from pan when they have reached desired doneness, as they will continue to brown if left in the pan.

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Cowboy Cookies


We decided to throw together a quick Game Night on Motzei Shabbat with the family. I told everyone they could bring something. As for myself, I whipped up a quick batch of cowboy cookies a’ la Martha Stewart. This recipe is chock full of flavor, using chocolate, coconut, pecans and oats. I’m not the biggest coconut fan, but in these, they offer an added chewiness that’s worth it. Why are they called Cowboy Cookies? The origin is unclear, but the cookies do seem hearty enough for the Wild West. As for game night, the girls won by a landslide!


Cowboy Cookies
(Yields 3-4 dozen cookies)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened (I used 1 tub of Smart Balance Light)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats (not instant or quick-cooking)
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4-inch chunks (I used 1 cup of chocolate chips)
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup pecans (3 ounces)
Vegetable-oil cooking spray

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread pecans in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in oven, tossing occasionally, until darkened and fragrant, 10 to 13 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. Into a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream butter and both sugars until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans, and coconut until just combined. (Dough can be covered with plastic and refrigerated up to 3 days.)

Coat baking sheets with cooking spray; line with parchment, and spray parchment. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice-cream scoop or a tablespoon, drop dough onto prepared sheets, about 3 inches apart.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until edges of cookies begin to brown, 16 to 18 minutes. Transfer sheets to wire racks to cool 5 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored up to 3 days at room temperature in airtight containers.

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Poached Pears

I was watching Anne Burrell on the Food Network the other day. Now don’t get me wrong, the girl can cook, but, my G-d! she sounds like she is in a hot and heavy relationship with food! If you’ve ever watched her, you know EXACTLY what I mean (hello, darling!)! But the food looks good, I’ve got to hand it to her. I was really inspired by the beautiful poached pears she made for dessert. The ruby color, offset by the mascarpone cheese was just gorgeous. So I decided to make it for dessert for Shabbat dinner this past week, and it was a real hit. While her recipe gave me the goods I needed to learn to make poached pears, I did not follow it, and came up with my own version instead.

Poached Pears

6 Bosc pears, peeled (see note)
1 bottle dry red wine, such as Merlot
1 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
3 strips of lemon zest (use big strips for easy removal)
juice of 1 lemon
Coconut sorbet
Angel Flake sweetened coconut, toasted

In a large saucepan combine the wine, sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest and juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the pears and simmer until the pears are cooked through, about 25 to 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool in the poaching liquid.

Before serving, remove the pears from their poaching liquid. Simmer the liquid until reduced by half and slightly thickened. (Discard the lemon zest and cinammon sticks).

Arrange a few pear quarters on the plate. Top it with a scoop of coconut sorbet. Spinkle with toasted coconut flakes and drizzle with reduced poaching liquid.

To toast coconut in the oven, spread shredded coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to make sure that the coconut browns evenly.

NOTE: For a striking presentation, serve the pears whole with the stem intact. You will need to cook them in batches (so that they can be completely submerged in the wine), otherwise, you can cut them in quarters, as pictured.

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