Recipes – Page 38 – Busy in Brooklyn

I’m not much of an actual peanut person but peanut butter is my jam – and I definitely love the iconic sandwich. In fact, during my last pregnancy, I craved PB&J sandwiches for the first few months, and I secretly hoped it would immunize my baby against peanut allergies. Once my daughter was born though, that all went out the window because my house it peanut free, and you won’t find any bamba in the pantry.

A couple of years ago, when my now-5-year-old son was about 16 months old, I gave him a Larabar for snack, and a few bites in he broke out in hives all over his body. Having never dealt with food allergies with my other children, I wasn’t really familiar with such as extreme reaction, but I gave him Benadryl and he fell fast asleep. When I went to check on him, his lips had turned blue so I quickly called Hatzalah and he was rushed to the hospital, with a dose of epinephrine administered on the way. Thus began my journey as a mom of a child with life threatening food allergies.

Let me tell you – there is literally nothing more terrifying than watching your child struggle to breathe because of something they ate. I always try to use my platform to spread awareness because I know what it means to be that clueless parent who is lucky enough to be unfamiliar with food allergies. When my son turned three and started to wear a kippah, I partnered with iKippah to design the first ever ALLERGY KIPPAH to help keep young boys with food allergies safe. My son proudly wears his kippah and I know that in case of an emergency, his allergy and emergency information can all be found underneath.

So what has that got to do with TAHINUT CHEWS? Well, since my house is peanut free, but thankfully we are free of sesame allergies, TAHINI has become our new peanut butter. And the truth is, it’s a great stand in. The texture is pretty similar and pure raw tahini paste really does taste a bit like peanut butter too. I use it in recipes like my tahini muddy buddies, in place of peanut butter in Asian sauces, cakes and treats. The best part is, you don’t have to melt tahini, since it’s liquid at room temperature, so this recipe comes together in just minutes. And I love that I don’t have to forgo one of my all time favorite indulgences – Rice Krispies Peanut Chews!

Now if you’ve got a peanut AND a sesame allergy? I truly feel bad for you! I always say G-d was good to me by at least saving us from a sesame allergy because TAHINI IS LIFE. Although I’ve got you covered there as well – cookie butter works as a great alternative to peanut butter too!

Tahinut Chews

3 cups Rice Krispies
1/2 c tahini paste
1/2 c honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 c chocolate chips
1-2 tsp sesame seeds
Maldon salt, to taste

Method:

In a bowl, combine the Rice Krispies, tahini paste, honey, cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Stir until incorporated. Transfer the mixture to a small parchment-lined dish (I used an 8″ x 6.5″), and press down to pack firmly into the dish (it helps to cover the mixture with parchment paper and use your hands to smooth it out while you press down).

Melt the chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler and spread over the Rice Krispies in an even layer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and Maldon salt.

Refrigerate until firm, 1-2 hours, slice and serve.

NOTE: these are a bit on the salty side (just how I like them), adjust to your personal taste.

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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.