Category: Recipes

Asian Kani Bites

Ahhhh!!! I’m so so excited for this recipe, sponsored by one of my favorite brands, Kikkoman®! And that Yom Kippur is over, and we can all take a collective sigh of relief that the serious holidays are behind us, we’ve all been inscribed for a healthy, happy year, and on to the celebrations…Sukkot!

Sukkot has always been one of my favorite holidays! The weather is cool but not cold. There’s this wonderful spirit in the air, and we get to hang out with family and friends just eating, singing and rejoicing. I mean, does it get any better than that?


Sukkot is so special that I *almost* don’t mind getting back into the kitchen, again, because I get to make my Bubby’s cabbage soup, all sorts of mechshie (Syrian stuffed vegetables), my kofta stuffed dates (from Millennial Kosher) and of course, Torah cannoli for Simchat Torah!

I’ve talked a lot about the tradition of eating stuffed foods in honor of Sukkot. The tradition is symbolic of an abundant harvest season. Since the wheat is harvested in Israel during the fall, we stuff foods to symbolize our desire for an overflowing harvest. This is popularly done with stuffed cabbage, or holipches, which some say are also made to resemble the scrolls of a Torah.

I know it’s a bit of a stretch, but this year, I decided to do something new, and instead of stuffing a vegetable, I’m stuffing wonton cups with pulled kani aka surimi, or mock crab! Pulled beef has been in the spotlight for a while, and lets just say I’m bored of it. It’s been on every recipe menu, at every party and holiday meal, and it’s just so heavy! I wanted to lighten things up and kani is JUST THE THING.

I love that surimi is a fish that you don’t have to buy fresh, and I always have it in my freezer for Kani or sushi salad! My kids love my kani fried rice from my cookbook, and it’s an easy appetizer you can pull together when you have last minute guests. Which happens a lot on Sukkot by the way!

The great thing about this recipe is that it makes a lot, which is a must for holiday dishes, you can prep all the components ahead of time and just assemble before serving. If the wonton cups last that long ‘cuz they’re pretty addictive!

This recipe is also totally customizable – add whatever toppings you like, or stir the kani into linguini or fried rice instead of wonton cups. There are so many directions to go with this, and the Asian sauce works really well for stir fries too!

I love that Kikkoman has such a large selection of kosher ingredients, you can even buy a prepared sauce instead of making your own! A great trick for drizzling on sriracha or spicy mayo is to unscrew the Kikkoman cap and replace it with the cover of a squeeze bottle (see photo above!), it works wonders!

If you’re feeling extra fancy, try the pickled radishes,  you can even use onions, daikon or carrot instead!

Wishing you and yours a very happy Sukkot!

Asian Kani Bites
Yield: approximately 48 cups

12oz. wonton wrappers
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp Kikkoman Sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1″ piece of ginger, grated
1/4 cup Kikkoman Soy Sauce
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp Kikkoman Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2/3 cup water
16oz. surimi, shredded
12oz. frozen shelled edamame, thawed
3 tbsp black and white sesame seeds
2 small watermelon radishes, thinly sliced on a mandoline (pickled, if desired, see below)
fresh cilantro, for garnish
Kikkoman Sriracha Mayo, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat four 6-cup muffin tins with cooking spray.
Gently press 24 wrappers into the muffin tins, pressing and folding against the sides. Spray the wrappers with more cooking spray. Transfer the pans to the oven and bake until the wrappers are starting to turn golden brown and are crispy and bubbling, 8 to 9 minutes. Cool completely. Repeat with the remaining 24 wrappers.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 1 tbsp water to form a paste. Set aside.

Heat the sesame oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the garlic and ginger, stirring until fragrant, but not burned. Add the soy sauce, honey, sriracha, lime juice and water and bring to a simmer. Add the cornstarch mixture, stirring with a whisk to incorporate it into the sauce. Simmer until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the shredded surimi, tossing until evenly coated.

When ready to serve, fill the wonton cups with surimi, edamame, sesame seeds, radishes and cilantro. Drizzle with sriracha mayo.

NOTES: I am not a fan of cooking surimi as it takes on a spongey texture. To prep this recipe ahead of time, prepare the sauce and the shredded kani separately. Stir together before serving. It may be served cold, or you can heat the sauce and stir with room temperature kani. You can prepare the wontons ahead of time and store in a Ziploc bag or airtight container.

VARIATION: for a quick and easy version, use Kikkoman’s Sweet Soy Glaze instead of making your own.

Pickled Radishes

2 small watermelon radishes (or a few garden radishes), thinly sliced on a mandolin
1/2 cup Kikkoman Rice Vinegar (unseasoned)
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
pinch of red pepper flakes

Fill a glass jar with sliced radishes (halve, if necessary). Bring the vinegar, water, honey and salt to a boil. Remove from the heat, add red pepper flakes. Pour the brine over the radishes. Refrigerate until ready to use.

This post is sponsored by Kikkoman®.

Related Recipes:

kani salad
kani caesar salad with nori croutons
sushi salad
sushi salad II
sushi burrito

Post a Comment

Apple Honey Mustard Salmon

This recipe came to me last week when I was preparing my salmon and I’m so glad it did because it’s JUST. SO. PRETTY!! I definitely have a thing with decorating a side of salmon, and I love how the apples resemble fish scales!

I think a memory a lot of us have of Rosh Hashanah from our childhood is that moment when the fish head was brought to the table and WE. HAD. TO. EAT. IT.!! It always smelled awful and that fish eye just stared at us, as if to say, you killed me and now you’re going to have to eat me!!! I still have nightmares from those fish heads. Nightmares!!!

When people ask for recipes for the fish head, I usually just tell them that no recipe is going to make anyone want to eat it so just throw tons of lemon on it and stick it in the oven! Most of the fish stores have been storing the fish heads all year, so they’re definitely not fresh, and you can smell it a mile away. I don’t know what’s worse, the eyeball staring back at me or the smell coming out of it!

That’s the thing about fish that people don’t realize – it really should never smell like fish! It should smell like the ocean. If your fish smells fishy, it’s probably not fresh and it will probably taste fishy after you cook it. Moral of the story – BUY FRESH FISH. And don’t try and get fancy with your fish head ‘cuz nobody wants to eat it anyway.

But this here? This is the fish that you WANT to serve. It’s the dish that everyone is going to OOH and AHH over. And you’re going to be feel like a gourmet goddess for pulling it off. At least, until, we pass the fish head around!

May we all be blessed to be like the head, and not the tail this year!

 

Apple Honey Mustard Salmon

2 lb. side of salmon
1/3 c apricot jam
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tbsp Dijon
2 tbsp honey, plus more for drizzling
salt and pepper, to taste
1 red apple, seeded and thinly sliced
1 green apple, seeded and thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine the apricot jam, mustards, honey, salt and pepper. Brush the mixture generously over the salmon. Decorate the salmon by overlapping the apples, alternating between red and green until the salmon is covered. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice and honey. Bake, uncovered for 25 minutes, basting once with the pan juices during cooking.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

NOTE: I prefer this recipe served fresh, but if you want to prepare it a day ahead, you can serve the next day at room temperature (reheating cooked salmon tends to make it fishy and dry).

 

Related Recipes:

honey fish roasted salmon
salmon en croute with creamed leeks
honey sriracha salmon
honey mustard salmon

Post a Comment

Golden Milk Carrot & Apple Soup

I wait all summer to put on a granny sweater and whip up a warm mug of golden milk! The healthy drink, sometimes called Turmeric Tea, stems from India, where they add fresh turmeric to warm milk for it’s anti-inflammatory properties.

Golden milk is the Westernized version of the Ayurvedic drink, popularized by bloggers worldwide. The immune boosting drink usually includes:

coconut milk
black pepper
cinnamon
turmeric
ginger
raw honey

To get the most health benefits out of the tea, fresh and whole spices are used and the honey is added at the end, without heating. With curcumin from the turmeric, piperine from the black pepper, and MCT’s from the coconut milk, golden milk is said to improve memory, relieve joint pain, improve blood pressure, reduce LDL cholesterol and prevent cancer!

With Rosh Hashanah around the corner, I decided to incorporate my favorite winter drink into a Simanim-filled soup and the results were absolutely delicious! I think adding apples + apple cider to my soups is my new thing – a burst of apple in every bite!

Now I think the only thing better than the health benefits of Golden Milk is adding carrots – our parents always told us it was good for our eyesight, right? And don’t they say that an “Apple a day keeps the Dr. away?” Golden Milk just got an upgrade.

The New Year is looking extra sweet.

Golden Milk Carrot & Apple Soup
YIELD: approximately 10 cups

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large leek, white party only, thinly sliced (2 cups)
2 1/2 lbs. carrots, peeled, trimmed and roughly chopped
3 McIntosh apples, peeled and roughly chopped
4 c vegetable stock
2 c apple cider
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2” knob of fresh ginger, grated
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup coconut milk, plus more for garnish, optional
1-2 tbsp honey

Method:

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add the leeks and saute until softened. Add the carrots, apples, stock, cider, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, salt and pepper and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook until the carrots are soft, about 30 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender and add the coconut milk and honey, to taste (depending on sweetness). If the soup is too thick, add water, stock or more apple cider until desired consistency is reached.

To serve, swirl in coconut milk and add a drizzle of honey, freshly ground black pepper and a cinnamon stick, if desired.

NOTE: if you don’t like coconut or you have an allergy, leave it out and add more stock, cider or water.

This soup may be frozen.

Related Recipes:

curried carrot and sweet potato soup
roasted butternut squash, shallot and apple soup
cream of leek soup

Post a Comment

Sausage Galette with Apple Cider Onion Jam

It’s that time of year when my inbox gets flooded with Kosherfest invites and it really got me thinking about how far the kosher industry has come. I’m so thankful because having so many amazing kosher products on the market helps me do my job and get creative in the kitchen.

When my mom was growing up, there were the basics: kosher meat, kosher milk, pasta, tomato sauce, ketchup, mayo, canned fruits and veggies… the staples. There was candy and baked goods but nothing like what we have today! We are so fortunate to have so much at our disposal, and kosher cooking is easier and tastier than ever.

I’m especially thankful for kosher imports from around the world that make specialty products accessible. Do you remember when bloggers were making their own cookie butter, and finding a package of Lotus cookies was like striking gold? They’re now readily available in most kosher supermarkets, with kosher certification from Israel.

The newest Israeli import that I’m crushing over are the rolled pie doughs that come frozen, in both sweet and savory varieties. They make galettes and tarts a breeze, and I couldn’t be happier. When Abeles & Heymann released their newest sausage flavors of Bourbon Apple, Teriyaki Ginger and Andouille, I knew just what I was going to make, and LOOK. HOW. PRETTY!!!!

I love that Abeles & Heymann is constantly upping their game and their new sausage flavors are so exciting! I’m so honored to be a brand ambassador for them, because I truly love the quality and care that they put into their products. My family cannot tolerate any other hot dog and because they are so conscious of putting out healthier products, I don’t have to feel bad about feeding them to my family, because many are free of nitrates and other additives.

So lets talk tart — In honor of the upcoming holiday of Rosh Hashanah, I whipped up an easy apple mustard using prepared apple butter and cooked down the most lip-smacking apple cider onion jam that is about to be added to EVERYTHING! Make it and you’ll see!

If you’ve got any apple cider onion jam left, feel free to add it to grilled cheese with some sliced apples (if you make it pareve), mixed some into your holiday roast, smother it over chicken, squash or mix into rice. Or, just eat it by the spoonful cuz it’s THAT good.

As for the sausages, if you’re not up for a galette, you can slice them on the diagonal, sear them off and add to a charcuterie board. Wrap ’em in puff pastry for classic franks in blanks. Roast them with potatoes or peppers and onions for an easy sheet pan meal. Or just go classic in a hot dog bun, ‘cuz you can never go wrong with that!

Wishing you an easily prep for the holidays ahead, and a super sweet and delicious year!

Sausage Galette 

1 package Abeles & Heymann Bourbon Apple Sausages
1 savory pie crust (see note), thawed
2/3 cup pure Apple butter
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp caraway seeds, optional
1 cup arugula
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup apple cider onion jam (recipe follows)

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the sausages lengthwise in 4.

In a small bowl, combine the apple butter, whole grain mustard, dijon mustard and honey. Brush the mixture generously over the pie dough (reserve any remaining mustard for serving). Layer the sausages along the length of the dough, overlapping slightly. Fold the dough over to form a rustic galette.

Brush the dough with egg and sprinkle with caraway seeds, if desired. Bake until the dough is browned and crispy, approximately 30 minutes.

When ready to serve, dress the arugula with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Top the galette with the arugula and onion jam and serve with apple mustard.

NOTES: I used Madanot rolled savory pie dough. If you cannot find it, you may also use puff pastry, but you may need to divide it into two tarts since the puff pastry dough is smaller. Alternatively, you can use a frozen round pie crust, slice the sausages on the bias, overlap in a round pattern and form a round galette.

VARIATIONS: The flavors of Abeles & Heymann apple bourbon sausages pair well with the apple mustard and jam. If it is not available in your area, use any sausages of you choice, or substitute with beef fry or pulled beef.

You can substitute other jams such as a apricot or fig instead of the apple butter. Or use other seeds of your choice instead of caraway.

Apple Cider Onion Jam

2 tbsp olive oil
3 med-large red onions, thinly sliced
2 cups apple cider
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup honey
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and add the onions. Cook until the onions have softened and add in the apple cider, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, over medium heat until the cider is reduced and the mixture has thickened, 20-30 minutes. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

This post is sponsored by Abeles & Heymann.

Related Recipes:

sausage stuffed butternut squash with apples
salami tarte tatin
apple and honey galette

Post a Comment

Brownie Toppings & Ideas


I cannot actually believe that the summer has come and gone, I’m back in the city and school has begun! Is it just me, or does summer seem to go by faster when you get older?  It just flew right past me and here I am, at my computer, back to work.

I think I’m mostly shocked because all those projects I told myself I would tackle this summer did not happen, and as productive as I’d hoped to be, I kind of just let go! I was supposed to organize all my photos, go through my emails, file paperwork, start running again, drink more water… but I suppose that what New Years Resolutions are for, and we start early here!

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is just a few short weeks away, which means we are approaching a pretty busy holiday season. The Jewish New Year is followed by Yom Kippur, and then shortly after by Succot, which is a foodfest of epic proportions! There are lots of festive holiday meals, and meal planning is essential to make it through.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’m not a big planner when it comes to holiday prep, but the High Holidays are an exception. I usually make a double batch of my honey challah, a few loaves of honey cake, mini pumpkin pies for a crowd and Levana’s chocolate mousse to stock the freezer. It’s really the only way because there are simply so many meals and no time to cook them all!

So I’m here with a great dessert hack that will take you little time but wow your guests nonetheless. It involves a cheat in the form of Duncan Hines brownie mix, and even though I’m not usually one to use a prepared cake mix, I have to admit that their brownies really take the cake – pun intended! Even my mom admitted to me recently that she is never making her own brownies again because they’ve really nailed the perfect brownie.

Of course adding your own toppings changes everything and makes it your own. My favorite combo are the tahini swirled brownies (above), which I serve topped with vanilla ice cream, raw tahini, silan and a sprinkle of shredded halva. My guests can never get enough of it!

My kids are partial to my smores brownies, so I usually make make two pans, but when I saw this brownie pan with dividers,on Amazon, I realized I could do a bunch of toppings at once! It was just a fun project and my kids loved trying all the different flavors.

Of course, since we have a peanut allergy at home, I kept all these toppings nut free, but feel free to experiment however you’d like. Peanut butter swirled brownies would be epic too!

Lets bring on the holiday prep!

Brownie Toppings & Ideas

Start with Duncan Hines brownies or your favorite brownie mix. I prefer to follow instructions for the fudgy brownies and underbake it just a little.

To make an assortment of toppings as pictured, use a brownie pan with dividers, pour the batter into the pan (I doubled the recipe) and then place the divider into the pan. Add toppings of choice and bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Featured recipes:

black forest: cherry pie filling + dark chocolate squares
tahini: swirl in raw tahini + sesame seeds (halva optional)
oreo: top with crushed oreos
salted pretzel: top with pretzels and sea salt flakes, add melted caramel if desired.
granola: top with your favorite granola
smores: top with chocolate chips and crushed graham crackers. After baking, add marshmallows and broil until browned.
sweet and salty: top with crushed bugles or corn chips (I use Apropo, the Israel version of Bugles)
Lotus: swirl in melted cookie butter and top with crushed Lotus cookies

Other ideas:

funfetti: add colorful sprinkles
streusel: add your favorite streusel crumb
cheescake: swirl in your favorite cheesecake batter
cereal: add cheerios, corn flakes or your favorite cereal
chocolate chip cookie: add your chocolate chip cookie dough
pumpkin: swirl in pumpkin pie filling
coconut: add shredded coconut to the brownies and top with coconut flakes|
apple pie: top with apple pie filling and streusel crumbs

Related Recipes:

Mexican hot chocolate brownies
black bean brownies

Post a Comment