Category: Purim

Beer Battered Salami Chips with Beer Mustard

Oh yes I did. I made SALAMI. ON. STEROIDS.

And I didn’t have much choice either. I mean, there’s pretty much no outdoing my drunken hasselback salami, so I had to go there. And by there I mean, the deep fryer.

Ever since I read about a not-so-well-known custom to eat salami on Purim (to commemorate the hanging of HAMAN…hanging….salami….get it?), I’ve been banging out salami recipes for the holiday. Truth be told, I have no idea if this is a real thing, or if I happened upon a practical joke, but regardless, this taking-salami-to-the-next-level challenge has been a blast.

And it’s so ironic because I literally hated salami growing up. My mom used to feed us salami sandwiches for lunch every Friday afternoon. She’d smear ketchup on rye and top it with thick slices of salami all wrapped up in a foil package so we could take it along as we played in the courtyard of our building. One at a time, we’d chuck those salami sandwiches down the incinerator, and my mom was none the wiser! Fast forward some 20+ years and here. I. am.

Now when I think about this recipe, I have to admit, it’s like the ultimate guy food. It’s got beer, salami and it’s fried. I mean, seriously, could you ask for anything more?

Apparently you can. Because, not only did I come up with the ultimate finger food, I even made a beer dipping sauce, just to take the whole Purim thing over the top. Because that’s the way I roll. Or hang, apparently.

I’ve never made mustard from scratch before so I was excited to give it a try. There’s something really interesting I discovered about mustard in this recipe creation process. When mustard is exposed to heat, it loses it’s potency. (Same goes for horseradish and wasabi by the way)! I learned this by trying the same mustard recipe two ways – one used a bit more beer so I reduced it over heat, and the other I blended in the food processor to thicken, using no heat. The results were astounding! The blended mustard is super hot, while the cooked mustard is mildly sweet with little heat. Pretty awesome, right?

When the crispy salami and beer mustard meet, it’s the ultimate marriage. And it’s not just any salami, by the way. I used my favorite brand, Abeles & Heymann, because after visiting their factory a few months ago, and watching the salami-making process with my own eyes, I know their salami is made with the highest quality ingredients from start to finish!

And I wouldn’t think of coating that salami in anything less than the perfect crispy batter – which is what you get from beer batter. It’s super light and crisp, and let’s not forget, easy! Beer batter is just flour and beer and that’s it. Because the salami is packed with flavor, I don’t add much else, but you can always add a pinch of cayenne for some heat, if you’d like.

Now that we have the ultimate party food, lets discuss the Jewish holiday of Purim for a second! The Purim celebration is based upon the biblical Book of Esther, which recounts the story of Queen Esther and how she saved the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of Haman (after whom the HAMANtasch is named). We celebrate with a festive feast (where these salami chips must make an appearance!), sending food gifts to family and friends, drinking until we don’t know the difference between the evil HAMAN and the righteous MOREDECHAI, and of course, dressing up as characters in the Purim story.

Growing up, Purim was always our favorite holiday, and you can imagine why. We got to dress up, deliver goodies to our friends and gorge on hamantaschen. As an adult, I love to put my own twist on the holiday with creative themes on my food gifts, fun twists on holiday cocktails and of course, crazy spins on salami!

If you live in Brooklyn, Queens or The Five Towns, be sure to check out my other salami recipe in the all new FYI Magazine! I’m so excited to join the team of FYI as the food editor, with a column for Fast & Fresh recipes as well as a Nutritious and Delicious section. This month, I’ve got a quick and easy salami quiche as well as a Persian twist on dried fruit truffles – perfect for your Purim feast or your Mishloach Manos.

Whether you choose to take on the Purim salami tradition or not, just remember to have fun and be joyous, because that’s what this holiday is all about! :) Happy Purim!

Beer Battered Salami Chips

1 16oz. Abeles & Heymann salami, sliced
1 cup all purpose flour
1 12oz. bottle of beer, ale preferred
pinch of salt

Method:

Add the flour and salt to a bowl and whisk to combine. Pour in the beer and stir until a thick batter forms. It should be a little thicker than pancake batter. You’ll need most of the bottle of beer (with about 1/2 cup left over).

Heat a few inches of oil in a saucepan to 350 degrees.

Dip the salami slices in the beer batter and place in the hot oil. Fry a few at a time until golden brown on one side, and then flip over to brown the other side. Remove with a slotted spoon or spider and drain on paper towels. To keep the salami chips crisp, remove from the paper towels and place on a rack.

Beer Mustard, Two Ways

1/2 cup yellow mustard seeds
1 12 oz. beer, ale preferred
3 tbsp mustard powder
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 heaping tbsp honey
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tsp salt

For sweet mustard, soak the mustard seeds in the beer overnight. Place the mustard seeds with the soaking liquid and all the remaining ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to break up the bubbles. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the mixture has reduced and thickened. Stir occasionally, so the mustard seeds don’t burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Be sure not to thicken the mustard too much as it will thicken more once cooled.

For spicy mustard (VERY SPICY!), soak the mustard seeds in 1 cup of beer (not the whole bottle) overnight. Place the mustard seeds with the soaking liquid and the remaining ingredients (excluding the leftover beer) in a food processor. Blend until the mustard seeds break down and the mixture thickens (it will thicken more in the fridge).

For either mustard, store in a glass jar in the fridge, giving it a few days for the flavors to meld and develop.

FOR A LIMITED TIME, GET 15% OFF YOUR ABELES & HEYMANN ONLINE ORDER USING COUPON CODE “BUSY”!

Salami making at the Abeles & Heymann factory with owner, Seth Levitt! This is the first and last time you will see me in a lab coat and hairnet ;)

This post is sponsored by Abeles & Heymann. Follow them on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter! 

Other Salami Recipes:

drunken hasselback salami
baked salami chips with dijon dipping sauce

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Raspberry Hamantaschen Hand Pies

I can’t believe the blogosphere is already awash with hamantaschen recipes. Is it just me or has this year literally flown by?!


Purim is one of my favorite holidays, and I’m sure it is for you too! Any holiday where we get to dress up in fun costumes, eat a nonsensical amount of candy and drink until we don’t know the difference between Haman and Mordechai is fine. by. me.

Purim is about JOY and FAMILY and TRADITION and I love to shake things up with fun and exciting recipes. Last year, my drunken hasselback salami went out all out viral and my Hamantini cocktail took a festive cookie to the next level. We can’t forget my sushi hamantaschen, baklava hamantaschen, mustache glasses, and other Purim fun, all easily accessible in my Purim column. There are some really great recipes coming up as well that I can’t wait to share with you!


As you can see, I love shaking things up, and whenever I get a chance to deconstruct a traditional holiday food, I take it and run! Hybrid recipes are my all time favorite and these hamantaschen hand pies are just the thing. If you’re not familiar with hand pies, they are basically a handheld pie made with a flaky pie crust and filled with fruit filling. They’re usually folded over into a semicircle shape, but are sometimes rectangular or even round. I’ve never seen triangular hand pies so I thought they’d make the perfect hamantasch!


My first batch was not as successfull as these beauties here. At first, I just made slits in the dough, ala classic pie, but they just looked like rustic hand pies, not hamantaschen. I troubleshooted and then these were born. And I couldn’t love them any more. They’re not only rustic and adorable, they taste AMAZING too. I think I even like them more than the traditional!


Would you believe that I’ve never made real, traditional hamantaschen? I was always scared away by those sob stories where the hamantaschen opened during baking and all the jam bled out. I also love the packaged store-bought variety that is full of additivies and junk. I mean it’s Purim after all. So if you’re gonna gorge on candy, you might as well eat a hamatasch. The real, margarine and preservative kind (so says the Paleo enthusiast lol).


While we’re on the topic of fun hamantasch recipes, here are some of my favorites from around the web: rainbow hamantaschen, funfetti hamataschen, fluffernutter hamantaschen, speculoos hamantaschen, smores hamantaschen, and halva hamantaschen. I also love the idea of savory hamantaschen, Bon Appetit‘s got a great variety from around the world.

What’s your favorite version? Share it with me in the comments below!


Raspberry Hamantaschen Hand Pies

1 recipe pie crust (recipe follows)
1 recipe raspberry pie filling (recipe follows)
1 egg + 1 tbsp water, for eggwash
demerara sugar, for sprinkling
glaze, recipe follows

Method:

Roll out the pie crust and cut out triangle shapes with a cookie cutter. Repeat until you’ve used up all the scraps of dough. Reserve half to be used for the top of the hamantaschen and half to be used for the bottom. Using the triangles that you reserved for the top, cut a tiny triangle in the center of each with a sharp knife.

Fill each of the triangles that you reserved for the bottom with about 1/2 teaspoon of raspberry pie filling. Brush the edges of the dough with water and top each one carefully with the triangles that you reserved for the top. Using a fork, press down all around the dough to seal. Brush with eggwash and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely and drizzle with glaze.

For Pie Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup ice water

Method:

Pulse the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add butter and continue to pulse until the mixture is the texture of a coarse meal. Add the water and blend until the dough comes together in clumps. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.

For Raspberry Pie Filling:
6 oz fresh raspberries
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp lemon
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water

Method:

Place the raspberries, sugar and lemon in a small saucepan. Dissolve the cornstarch in the water and add to the pot. Cook the mixture over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until raspberries are soft and the mixture has thickened. Set aside to cool.

NOTE: You may use frozen raspberries as well. If needed, add an additional teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in a tablespoon of water to thicken up the juices.

For Glaze:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
6 tsp milk or water
splash of vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together until the powdered sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is thick, but slightly runny.

VARIATION: Try the filling with other berries, or use canned pie filling or jam for a quick and easy substitute. For the drizzle, you may also use white or dark chocolate.



Related Recipes:

date and almond marzipan hamantaschen
baklava hamantaschen
sushi hamantaschen
savory hamantaschen trio
The Hamantini

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Drunken Hasselback Salami

I bet you’ve never heard of anything like drunken hasselback salami. Hasselback potatoes, maybe. What are they? Well back in the 1940’s, a dish of whole potatoes cut to resemble an accordion was first served at the Hasselbacken restaurant in Stockholm. Cutting the potatoes this way results in a soft and creamy interior with crisped and browned edges.

Hasselback potatoes have been popular ever since, most commonly served in a simple preparation of butter and salt. I put my own twist on these a while back, using sweet potatoes & apples for a sweet variation.

For Purim, I decided to really bring some hassel back with a sweet & savory combo of salami in an apricot-brand glaze. Since salami is a food that is traditionally hung to dry, many have a custom to eat it on Purim to commemorate the hanging of Haman.

There’s no question that this drunken hasselback salami will be the star of your Purim meal! I couldn’t resist adding some booze to the sauce to really take it over the top. Coming from a former salami-averter, trust me when I tell you that this stuff will please even the pickiest palate. Salami is NOT my thing, or I should say, WAS not my thing – until I ate this. My husband and kids gobbled it up, sopping up the extra sauce with the pulled salami chips.

The first time I tried to make hasselback potatoes, I inadvertently sliced all the way through so many times that my accordion potato morphed into a gratin. But after stumbling upon the coolest hasselback trick, I haven’t screwed up a single potato since! Simply place a chopstick on either side of the potato (or salami) and slice. The knife will stop cutting when it hits the chopstick for perfect accordions every time! How cool is that?

This finger-licking hasselback experiment has got my wheels turning. I’m already dreaming up lots of other accordion-style treats – stay tuned!

Drunken Hasselback Salami

16oz. salami
1/2 cup apricot jam
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard
3 tbsp brandy*
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add all ingredients besides for salami to a pot and whisk over medium heat until jam is melted and mixture begins to boil and thicken. Remove the wrapper from the salami and place on a cutting board with chopsticks on either side. Holding the salami down with one hand, slice into thin, even slices (don’t worry, the chopsticks will ensure that you don’t slice all the way through).

Generously brush the salami with the sauce, making sure to get in between all the slices. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, basting every 10-15 minutes, until the salami is browned and crispy around the edges. Serve warm with leftover sauce for dipping.

NOTE: You will notice that the salami will begin to turn and split open in a certain spot. When basting, split the salami open in different areas so it can brown evenly all over instead of just one spot.

*If you do not have brandy, you may use bourbon instead.

Related recipes:

hasselback sweet potatoes with apples
salami chips with dijon dipping sauce

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Terra Stix White Chocolate Bark


I can’t believe how the years have gone by so quickly. It feels like just yesterday that I was getting dressed up in my princess costume, hopping around town with my bag full of shalach manos. Now I’ve got my own little princesses in tow, and I’m the one doing the driving. Where oh where has all the time gone?

I have some great memories of my mother preparing Purim packages for family and friends. She’d often give out Boston Cream Pies from Schick’s Bakery with a bottle of wine, and I was all too happy to deliver it. I’d get a dollar here and a dollar there, and always an extra stash of candy to nosh on.

The Boston cream pies were always a huge hit, and a welcome change from the bags of pineapples and wine that filled everyones tables. When I was just married, I followed suit and made mini pies for everyone, with a side of chocolate dipped strawberries. That was a good one!

I wish I could remember all the cutesy ideas I’ve had over the years. And the not-so-cutesy ones too. One year, I decided to make candy apples (from the “Applebaums”) and it was a complete disaster! There was a burnt sugar and red food coloring all over the place, and the apples were so sticky, I could barely package them!

When it comes to homemade food gifts, chocolate bark takes the cake for the easiest one of all. But I couldn’t just make any boring old chocolate bark! While nuts and dried fruits are delicious, they’re fairly typical. Instead, I decided to combine sweet & salty flavors with milky white chocolate and colorful Terra Stix. The result is so gorgeous, it’s almost too pretty to eat. Except when you do, the combo is so good you don’t want to stop!

Terra Stix White Chocolate Bark

5 bars white chocolate (3.5oz each)
1 bag Terra Stix (or any root vegetable chips)

Method:

Over a double boiler, melt the chocolate and spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle generously with Terra Stix. Refrigerate the bark until set, about 30 minutes and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Other Food Gift Ideas & Recipes:

chocolate dipped pretzel rods
hummus & pita chips
“Shushan sushi salad”
Purim pretzels with raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip
milk & cookies
salami chips with dijon dipping sauce

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DIY Glitter Mustache Glasses

I’m just gaga for mustache crafts, I admit it! They’re just so. darn. cute. You might have seen my mustache straws or my crocheted coffee cup mustache cozy, other mustache crafts I adore.

Purim is the perfect time to celebrate with mustache mania. The holiday is all about dress up and diguises, so why not dress up your tablescape with these adorable mustache glasses? I love to use different shape glasses for visual impact, but feel free to do these on shot glasses or even disposable martini ones!

There are so many options and variations when it comes to a craft like this, so go with your style and dress these glasses up however you like! Colorful sharpies work (as a temporary option, they’ll wash off with soap and water), colorful glitter adds a fun touch or use the template to create photo props or mustache straws.

I have to give a shout out to the talented Abbey Wolin of Not2Shabbey. She gave me the brilliant idea of taping the template to the inside of the glass – how smart is that? No need to cut out the mustache or create a stencil, simply trace through the glass!

For more fun glitter projects, check out the gorgeous glitter wine bottle centerpieces we decorated at the JCreate Magazine Blogger Purim Party!

DIY Glitter Mustache Glasses

What you’ll need:

Assorted glass cups
Martha Stewart glass paint
Glitter
Mustache template
Scissors
Tape

How To:

Wash your cups and dry completely. Cut out the mustache design of your choice (you don’t need to cut out the whole shape – you’ll just be using it as a stencil to trace from). Tape the mustache template onto the inside of the glass, towards the top. Trace the mustache with the glass paint and fill it in with the paint completely. Sprinkle the glitter over the paint (I prefer to do this over a garbage can) and set aside to dry. Do not shake off the excess glitter!

Once the paint has completely dried (preferably overnight), gently remove the excess glitter with a dry cloth. Do not wash the glasses for a few days so the paint and glitter have time to fully set. Wash gently with mild soap and water, taking care not to scrape the glitter.

NOTE: For long term care, it is best to cure the paint by air curing for 21 days OR baking in an oven for 30 minutes (if oven safe) at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. You can read more about that here.

VARIATIONS: Use different color paint and glitter for a fun & colorful look.

DISPOSABLE OPTION: Use disposable plastic martini glasses and trace the mustaches with elmers glue (using the screw on cap). Top with glitter and throw away after the party. You can even have everyone make their own as an activity! For a quick and easy disposable option – forget the mess and use colorful sharpies!

OTHER MUSTACHE IDEAS: tape the mustaches to craft dowels and use as a fun photo prop or glue them to bendy straws.

Other Mustache Crafts:

mustache straws
crocheted coffee cup mustache cozy

Cocktail Recipes:

The Hamantini
whiskey cider
3 layer chocolate cake martini
Sangria

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