Category: Recipes

Cranberry Oat Bars

Why is it that so many people have leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving. I  LOVE cranberry sauce. I can eat it by the spoonful. Is it just me?

Not really a fan of the traditional cranberry sauce recipes with a cup of sugar though. They’re too sweet for my taste, and I don’t want to mask the amazing tartness of the cranberries!

So I cook my cranberry sauce down in red wine, or pomegranate juice, or even apple cider, and I sweeten it with maple syrup or honey, to taste, and THAT, my friends, is how you make cranberry sauce that doesn’t get relegated to the back of the fridge with the tzimmes. IfyouknowwhatImean!

But IF, if you make bomb cranberry sauce and you still have some leftover – well then cranberry oat bars it is. And the pecans add just the perfect amount of buttery nuttiness to top it off for the perfect post-Thanksgiving breakfast.

I mean, how. GOOD. does. that. look?
You know you want it.

Happy Thanksgiving y’all!!

Cranberry Oat Bars

2 c all purpose flour
1 c almond flour (see note)
1 ½ c quick oats
1 c granulated sugar
1/4 c dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
1 egg
1 cup flavorless oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 c chopped pecans
1 recipe maple cider cranberry sauce or mulled wine cranberry sauce

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flours, oats, sugars, baking powder and salt; whisk to incorporate. In a small bowl, combine egg, oil, and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry
ingredients, mixing until a dough forms.
3. Remove half of the mixture into a bowl and add the pecans. Reserve for topping. a
4. Press the remaining batter into a parchment lined quarter baking sheet or a 9×13 pan.
5. Spread cranberry sauce over the bars (if the sauce is watery, cook in a pot until thickened); top with pecan crumble.
6. Bake for 30 minutes or until browned. Cool completely; cut into squares.

VARIATION: use canned jellied cranberry sauce in place of homemade, or any jam of your choice.

NOTE: if you don’t have almond flour, you may use an additional cup of all purpose flour.

Related Recipes:

pumpkin pancakes with cranberry syrup
pecan pie lace cookies with raspberry filling
gingerbread truffles

Post a Comment

Chanukah Gift Guide

I’m so excited to share my tops favorites for Chanukah gifting this year! Check out this list and my Amazon Chanukah Gift Shop for even more ideas!

1// Toveedo is a video streaming service that offers a wide variety of educational and fun entertainment for kids in a safe, ad-free space.
From new releases, to your favorite classics, and exclusive originals, there’s always something new to discover.
Stream Toveedo on a computer, Smart TV and our award winning APP! $99.99/year purchase

2//Izzy is a video streaming service that offers 200+ hours of Israeli movies, shows, and documentaries from anywhere in the world. I’m always plugging my favorite Israeli series and now you can stream many of them from anywhere! $4.49 a month or $59.99 a year purchase

3// The Spice House is a purveyor of the finest spices, herbs, blends, and extracts. I visited their flagship store on one of the stops of my book tour and I’m hooked! Be sure to shop their KOSHER section as the entire site is not certified. Some favorites include: back of the yards blend, allepo pepper, chipotle garlic bbq blend, gateway to the North blend Purchase a gift card.

4// ArtscrollPrint is one of my favorite companies to work with because they can take your vision, no matter what it is, and put it into print! And if you don’t have a vision, they’ll help you create one! They’re now offering an array of personalized stationary at affordable prices that make the perfect Chanukah gift! $24.95. purchase

5// Raaka Chocolate I’ve been obsessed with their unique chocolate blends ever since visiting their Brooklyn factory last year! I signed up for their monthly subscription service and look forward to their creative seasonal (limited edition!) flavors. $24.95/month. purchase. (under Natural Food Certifiers kosher supervision)

6// NakiRadio is the first wifi radio player streaming only pre-approved Jewish channels. Their programming includes live streaming channels and library options you can select and play at will. My kids listen to the Jewish bedtime stories every night and we are hooked! $99-$199 purchase

7// Kid in the Kitchen 100 Recipes and Tips for Young Home Cooks by Melissa Clark. I loved that this cookbook really teaches kids to cook without cooking kid food! I even learned a thing or two and I wanted to make EVERYTHING. $20 purchase

8// Seed & Mill I practically jumped through the roof when Seed & Mill offered a special edition kosher package for the holidays! It includes their raspberry, dark chocolate and pistachio halva, plus Raaka’s tahini swirl and gingersnap chocolate for the season. $50 purchase (please note not everything on their site is kosher certified).

9// NoCrumbsLeft Pottery Collection if you haven’t tried Terri’s marinated onions yet, you don’t know what you’re missing! They became so popular, she created a handmade bowl to with the recipe, which turned into a large collection of beautiful pottery in an array of colors and styles. $48 purchase

10// Fleishigs I can’t get enough of this magazine! It’s the best of Bon Appetit and all your favorite food magazines – except it’s all kosher! Their modern, creative and fun approach to kosher food is so refreshing, plus they help demystify all the cuts of kosher meat which is truly educational and eye opening. Worth every penny! Use code BIB to get 25% off newstand rates (only $49.50/year). purchase

11// World Market Smock my all time favorite apron. It’s comfy, has a big pocket and just looks awesome. $19.99 purchase

12// Bistro Tile S&P Shakers I am obsessed with this entire line from Anthropologie, and have purchased this set over and over again as gifts! $18 purchase

13// Truffle Oil Gift Set if you’re a truffle lover, this set is for you! Certified kosher by KLBD. $34.95 purchase

14// Cashmere Scented Candle most of us are fans of Zara clothes, but did you know that they sell the most beautiful home stuff too? It’s one of my favorite places to shop for props and their line of candles are especially amazing. .$35.90 purchase

15// YesChef I first learned of YesChef when Chef Erez Komarovsky, whom I so admire, shot a series for them. YesChef offers exclusive online video cooking classes where you can discover the secrets, techniques and dishes of the best chefs. $9/month purchase

16// Dinner Done the rockstar group of women from the popular site Between Carpools brings the best of their site (and more!) to their new cookbook, which is expertly designed with beautiful photographs and quick and easy dinners for the busy mom. $31.30 purchase

Thanksgiving Grazing Board

Thanksgiving 2020 is upon us and it’s looking different than usual. Many aren’t able to celebrate with family and the traditional Thanksgiving feast seems excessive for small groups and gatherings.

But it’s still Thanksgiving. And as hard as this year has been, just being here means there is what to be thankful for. Even if that means we don’t get to feast with family. Or we’re feasting over Zoom with a turkey sandwich.

So we adapt. And if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s how to do that. We do the best we can. One day at a time. We do with what we have. And who we have.

This year Thanksgiving might mean putting out a snacking board and playing a game of Kahoot over Zoom. And that is more than ok. We can all celebrate something. Somehow.

This board was inspired by Abeles & Heymann all new cabanossi that come in natural kosher casings in both regular and spicy flavors! The mini’s are super fun, just warm them up for a few minutes at 350 degrees to give that casing some extra snap!

Wishing you and yours a very festive and Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Grazing Board

Abeles & Heymann assorted cabanossi
candied pecans
roasted cashews
grapes
capers
roasted chestnuts
corn muffins (bake in mini muffin tins)

Roasted Green Beans

1.5 lbs. green beans
2 tbsp olive oil
Trader Joes everything but the leftovers seasoning, to taste
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread green beans on a baking sheet and mix with olive oil and seasoning. Roast for 15 minutes.

Variation: use herbs de provence or dried herbs in place of Trader Joes spice.

Maple Cider Cranberry Sauce

1 12oz. bag fresh cranberries, rinsed
3 cinnamon sticks
3 strips orange zest
4 peppercorns
3 cloves
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup maple syrup

Add cinnamon sticks, orange zest, peppercorns and cloves to a spice bag, or create your own using a piece of cheesecloth (just tie the corners together).

Place spice bag, cider and maple syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove spice bag. Add cranberries and return to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, until cranberries burst and the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and rest until completely cooled. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Related Recipes:

stuffed dates with chestnut cream
baklava pumpkin pie
acorn squash with wild rice stuffing
cookie butter pumpkin pie
Mexican hot chocolate pecan pie

Post a Comment

Bubby’s Marble Cake

I think about my Bubby a lot this time of year. Oh how I miss her. 

On the eve of Yom Kippur, just as we finished the first pre-fast meal, we’d walk over to her house to ask for a piece of lekach, or honey cake. This custom was instituted as a means of asking for something, in case it had been decreed that during the year one would need to resort to a handout from others, the decree would be satisfied with the asking for honey cake.

(Bubby’s recipe cards for Marble Cake)

One by one, my siblings and I would walk over to Bubby and whisper in yiddish, “Biteh ken ich huben lekach“, or “Please can I have a piece of honey cake”. We didn’t speak yiddish from home, but it was customary to ask in the yiddish language, and Bubby would wait patiently until we said it before handing us a piece wrapped in a white napkin. She would bless us with a myriad of blessings for the year, kissing our foreheads as the line to retrieve her cake wrapped in blessings continued to grow with cousins, aunts and uncles.

When my Zaidy was still alive, we were lucky enough to be blessed by his holy hands, as he cried and patted us on on the forehead in the way only he knew how.

On Sukkos, our house was permeated with the smell of Bubby’s stuffed cabbage and there was nothing like it. Her secret was adding ketchup to the meat mixture to keep it soft, sweet and juicy. And it was the BEST.

But really, Bubby was known for her cakes, and when my mom was growing up, she would always come home to a freshly baked cake after school each day. There was Bubby’s chocolate cake, her honey cake, blueberry pie cake, and of course, her marble cake. And I’m so proud to share a little piece of her with you all as I think of her this holiday season.

Chag Sameach!

Bubby’s Marble Cake

2 cups sugar
1 cup neutral flavored oil
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup water
2 tbsp dutch process cocoa powder

Method:

Grease a 9×13 inch pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla (you can do this by hand or with a mixer). In a second bowl, combine the flour and the baking powder. Slowly add the flour mixture and water to the wet ingredients, alternating between them until incorporated.

Pour 2/3rds of the cake batter into the pan. Add cocoa powder to the remaining batter in your mixing bowl. Add dollops of the chocolate mixture to the vanilla batter in the pan and use a knife to swirl it to create a marbleized effect.

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Related Recipes:

Bubby’s challah kugel
Bubby’s cabbage soup with flanken

Post a Comment

Charcuterie Stuffed Figs

Leftovers! We all have a love/hate relationship with day-old food that we’ve already eaten. I mean we had it once, we enjoyed it, now why have it again, right?

Sunday night is usually our leftovers day because of all the food we have from Shabbosfest. I tend to repurpose the leftovers and find a new, fun way to serve them, because lets face it, the kids will turn their noses at it otherwise! It’s kind of a competition to me and I love to have fun with it – but we never touch it after the weekend.

Mondays is meatless in our house, and Tuesdays is for tacos (duh), which basically means anything with ground beef. Wednesdays I tend to make chicken, but it’s also the day that I’ll go through the fridge and see if there are any leftover ingredients that are going bad before I do my Thursday restock for Shabbat. If I have fruits on the fringe, I’ll know to make a fruit crisp for dessert and if my veggies are not quite crisp enough for salad, then there’s something with roasted veg on the menu.

This week, when I had leftover deli meat, and a couple of fresh figs, I came up with this sweet and salty appetizer – because that combo is my JAM! I won’t say how many I ate but it was many. And I could have probably eaten the whole tray in one sitting.

 

Charcuterie Stuffed Figs

15 fresh figs
2 cups chopped deli meat (see note)
1 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard, plus more for garnish
1 tsp honey
pickled jalapenos, for garnish (recipe follows)

Method:

Trim the tips of the figs to remove the stems. Cut an X shape into each fig, as if you are cutting it into quarters, leaving the bottom intact. Set aside.

Add deli meat to a cold saucepan and saute over medium heat until the meat releases some of it’s fat, 6-8 minutes. Add the mustard seeds and toast for 1 minute. Add brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard and honey and stir until the meat is coated.

Stuff the figs the charcuterie mixture and top with pickled jalapenos and dijon mustard.

NOTE: use whatever deli meat you have on hand. I used a combination of smoked turkey and salami.

Pickled Jalapenos

4 jalapenos, thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Add the jalapenos to a mason jar. In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar and salt. Pour the hot brine over the jalapenos. Cool and store in the fridge for up to one month.

Related Recipes:

halva and ricotta stuffed figs
orange cardamom malabi with drunken figs

Post a Comment