Category: Shabbos

Kani Caesar Salad with Nori Croutons

When the Kosher Connection team decided on “croutons” as the link-up theme for May, I was so excited to finally try out a recipe that I’ve been dreaming of developing for months now. Truth be told, I am not the biggest nori fan. I mean, I wouldn’t eat the stuff if it didn’t hold my sushi together. It’s got that fishy quality about it that’s just kind of, well, stinky. But you know what? when you use it to top off a kani caesar salad, it just sorta, goes.

Talking about dislikes, I used to have a serious aversion to surimi, those orange-colored mock crab sticks. But after I tasted this salad at my cousin’s house a few months back, I was hooked. You see, it’s all a matter of how you serve it. Pulling the kani apart into shreds and coating it in a spicy sriracha dressing takes it from what-is-this-spongy-orange-stuff-in-my-california-roll to what’s-in-this-amazing-salad?! Seriously people, kani salad has changed my outlook on surimi forever.

So that’s sorta how this happened. At first, I came up with the brilliant concept of a nori-flavored crouton. But who would want to eat a nori crouton on a standard lettuce salad? I knew I had to incorporate some kind of seafood to bring the whole sushi concept together, but it also had to have greens to hold up the whole croutons thing. Alas, I figured I would do a take on a salmon-caesar salad with a Japanese-inspired recipe. This Kani Caesar Salad combines the classic Caesar concept with the awesomeness of kani salad, with nori croutons and a sriracha caesar dressing to round it out. If you think this salad looks good, just wait until you taste the dressing. It’s got an amazing depth of flavor from the anchovies that is only made better by the Asian hot sauce, it’s heat  balanced by the addition of sweet rice vinegar.

So, if you’re looking to wow your guests with a nontraditional twist on a classic Caesar salad, give this Kani Caesar Salad with nori croutons a try. And don’t forget to check out the Kosher Connection Link-Up below for more fun & creative twists on croutons!

Kani Caeser Salad with Nori Croutons

2 heads romaine lettuce
1/2 package surimi (8 mock crab sticks)
6 oz. leftover bread, cut into cubes
2 sheets nori seaweed
1/4 c. neutral-flavored oil, such as canola
sriracha caesar dressing (recipe follows)

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place nori sheets in the food processor and process until a dust forms. Place bread and nori into a large mixing bowl and drizzle with oil. Toss the croutons to coat with the nori dust. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until croutons are golden and toasted.

To prepare the salad, wash and dry romaine lettuce. Chop or tear the lettuce to desired size and place in a salad bowl. Pull the surimi sticks apart into shreds and spread over lettuce. Drizzle with dressing and garnish with nori croutons.

Sriracha Caesar Dressing:

2 cloves garlic
3-6 anchovy fillets
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp sriracha
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup canola oil

Method:

Add everything except for oil to the food processor. Turn the food processor on and slowly pour in the oil until a creamy dressing forms. Add more oil, if needed, to reach desired consistency.

NOTE: anchovies are what gives Caesar salad dressing it’s unique salty/umami flavor. If you’re scared away, start with 1 or 2. Alternatively, you can add a few shakes of fish sauce.

1 year ago: cream of leek soup
2 years ago: home-made fish sticks

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Sweet Hawaiian Chicken

Sometimes I’m so busy dreaming up new dishes to wow you all, that I forget about the oldie but goody recipes like this one. This sweet and delicious chicken is a recipe I grew up eating. My mother has been making it for years, and it’s just one of those dishes that’s a keeper. The pineapple and maraschino topping provide a lovely garnish, making this the perfect chicken dish to serve over the holidays or at your next party.

If you’ve got leftover pineapple, try this delicious tropical smoothie for dessert!

Sweet Hawaiian Chicken

8 chicken quarters, skin on
1 can pineapple rings
1 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
Maraschino cherries

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain the juice from the can of pineapple rings into a bowl. Whisk in the ketchup and brown sugar. Place the chicken skin-side up in a baking dish and top  with a slice of pineapple and a maraschino cherry. Pour the sauce over the chicken and bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover, baste with the sauce, and bake for an additional 30 minutes, basting every 10 minutes.

1 year ago: rice pilaf
2 years ago: pretty perfection, headbands in a pinch!

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Rainbow Slaw with Poppy-Seed Dressing

I wish I could take credit for this awesome salad combo, but the truth is, I ate a variation of it at Glatt Ala Carte restaurant in Brooklyn last year. The very following Shabbat, I recreated it at home, and I’ve been making it ever since. There’s just something about the colorful julienned vegetables paired with sweet and tart apples, chewy craisins and crunchy honey glazed pecans that just screams spring. It’s light, refreshing, not overly sweet, and incredibly satisfying.


One of the things that I love most about this recipe is the julienned vegetables. There’s just something about the texture that makes it more palatable. And I get to use my favorite tool of all time – the julienne peeler. It makes preparing homemade slaw so quick and easy, you’ll never have to pull out your hand grater again! My favorite julienne peeler is made by OXO. If you don’t have one, you can buy it here.

I used to wonder if my whole julienne obsession was just me, so I did a little experiment. I made my waldorf salad 2 weeks in a row, using the exact same ingredients. One week, I diced the apples into cubes, the way it’s classically done. The next week, I julienned them into thin strips for a more refined presentation. The results were crystal clear. The julienned salad got rave reviews and was finished down to the last drop. The chunkier cubed salad was eaten, but with not much ado, and I had leftovers.


Rounding out the salad is this delicious poppy seed dressing. The honey helps to thicken it so that it emulsifies into a creamy dressing. Make sure to whisk vigorously (or shake in a container) right before serving, to keep the emulsion from breaking.

Sweet & Crunchy Slaw

1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 zucchini, julienned (do not peel)
1 yellow squash, julienned (do not peel)
1/2 red onion, sliced thinly into 1/2 rings
1/2 granny smith apple, cored, quartered and sliced thinly
1/2 fuji or honeycrisp apple, cored, quartered, and sliced thinly
1/4 cup craisins
1/4 cup honey glazed pecans

Poppy Seed Dressing

1/2 cup extra light olive oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp poppy seeds
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

In a bowl, combine the dressing ingredients and whisk vigorously until emulsified. In a separate bowl, combine the carrots, zucchini, squash, and onion. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat. Gently fold in the apples, and garnish with craisins and pecans.

NOTE: To get an easy and consistent julienne, I prefer to use a julienne peeler, as pictured above. It works just like a standard peeler, except it cuts what you’re peeling into thin strips. To julienne with the peeler, just peel around the vegetable a few times, until you start to reach the center. Discard or save the remainder for vegetable soup. If you do not have a julienne peeler, you may julienne your veggies by hand. Simply cut off the top and bottom of the vegetable. Then, square off the sides so that you have a 4-sided rectangle. Slice thinly into vertical slices. Stack the slices on top of each other and cut into strips.

1 year ago: pineapple chicken & BBQ jalepeno pizza
2 years ago: 1-2-3 decadent molten chocolate chip cakes

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Teriyaki Salmon

I’m not one of those people who has an encyclopedia of recipes in their head. In fact, no matter how many times I seem to make a recipe, I still won’t remember it by heart. I guess that’s why I usually resort to making things up from scratch. I’m just too lazy to pull out my cookbooks and look them up! And between me and you, I always have to look up my own recipes on my blog to remember how to make them.

Every now and then though, a recipe will stick with me. Like those few phone numbers that you never forget. Or your kids birthdays that you almost always remember (don’t you just love when the doctor asks you their birthdate and you mumble and stammer, trying to remember it?!) My Caesar salad dressing is one of those recipes. And then there’s this one. Yup, that’s about it.

This awesome, super easy teriyaki salmon recipe was given to me about 10 years ago by my boss at an antique silver company I worked at. That was way before I had any interest in food, and all I wanted were quick and easy recipes to make for my new husband that wouldn’t set my kitchen on fire. It was easy to remember because it called for equal parts ketchup, OJ, brown sugar and teriyaki sauce. You just make more for more fish, and less for less fish. Pretty easy to remember, even for someone like me!

So if you’re looking for a quick weeknight dinner, or a side of salmon for your Shabbat guests, give this recipe a try. I promise you won’t forget it! ;)

Teriyaki Salmon

6 slices salmon fillet
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce*
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, orange juice and teriyaki sauce. Brush over salmon and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

NOTE: Do not use a prepared teriyaki sauce/marinade, only plain bottled teriyaki sauce such as La Choy brand.

1 year ago: pumpkin banana bread
2 years ago: salmon cakes with lemon caper yogurt sauce

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Pickled Deviled Eggs


With Valentines Day here, it seems like all my foodie feeds are covered in hearts and pink desserts of all kinds. But what about us non-bakers? Isn’t there anything pretty and pink for us to make? Well it just so happens, there is. Beets are a great way to turn savory foods into pink or purple edible eye-candy that’s perfect for parties of any kind. Think pink pasta, purple pancakes or these gorgeous ombre deviled eggs!

So if you really want to up the ante at your next party or cozy Valentines dinner, do away with traditional (ie: boring) deviled eggs, and give these gorgeous little pickled ones a try. The pink ombre ring comes from brining the eggs in beet juice – a simple task with a huge wow factor. Ombre isn’t just for 7 layer dye-filled cakes anymore!


With Purim just around the corner, I love to plan my menu around interesting unexpected dishes to maximize on the Purim spirit. Last year, I made these salami chips. This year, these pickled deviled eggs will be making an entrance. Of course I also do a twist on traditional hamantaschen like these puff pastry ones, last year’s sushi onigiri, and this years…well, you’ll just have to wait on that one…the surprise is coming up next week!

1 24 oz. jar borscht or beet juice
1/2-1 cup apple cider vinegar*
7 hard-boiled eggs, cooled and peeled (how to hard boil eggs)
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ teaspoon onion powder
1 heaping tablespoon yellow mustard
salt and pepper, to taste
scallions or chives, for garnish

Directions

In a container big enough to hold the eggs, add the borscht and vinegar. Add eggs, making sure that they are completely covered in the pickling juice. Add more borscht or water, if needed. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours, or up to 2 days. Remove the eggs from the liquid and cut in half lengthwise. Gently remove the yolks and place them in a bowl. Set the whites aside on a serving platter. Mash the yolks well with a fork and add mayonnaise, mustard, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Spoon the yolk filling into a ziploc bag, cut off the tip and pipe the filing into the egg whites. (You may also use a pastry bag with a star tip). Garnish with chives.

*You can control the strength of the pickled flavor by using more or less vinegar. 1/2 cup will give you a subtle pickled taste. Continue to increase up to 1 cup for a stronger pickled flavor.

1 year ago: stuffed roasted butternut squash
2 years ago: quick & easy chocolate rugelach

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