Busy in Brooklyn – Page 61 – Modernizing traditional food, one dish at a time.

I can’t believe how time is flying and my little munchkin is already 2 months old. And you know what that means? It means that it’s back to life, back to reality. Time to wrap up these guest blog posts with a big finish from my pal Whitney Fisch from Jewhungry. Back when I actually had time to read blogs, Jewhungry was one that I actually READ. Whit has lots to say about food, parenting, and believe it or not, her husband is a real life marine biologist (I thought that only existed in a Seinfeld episode)! Whitney’s chocolate love muffins are a staple in my home, and if you make them, they will be in yours too. Welcome Whitney!

I am so honored to be on this beautiful website! I have been a fan of Chanie and her work for years! I’m doubly excited to be on here while she’s at home, loving on her new baby girl. Hurray!

The recipe I’ve got for ya’ll today is one of those that, once assembled and enjoyed, you think to yourself, “ahhhh, the secret is most definitely in the sauce!” I have been a fan of salads since I was a kid. Truly. My grandfather used to love to take my brother and I out for lunch when we would visit our grandparents in Louisville, KY. He would take us all over town and my go-to order as a spritely 7 year-old was salad. I’m not sure what calls to me in a salad. Maybe it’s the fact that the toppings can be endless. Maybe it’s the crisp freshness of the lettuce itself or the variations one can make on the same thing. I can’t really pinpoint what the one thing is that I truly love about salad other than the dressing. Good Lord, gimme all the dressing. I remember reading Michelle Bernstein’s cookbook, Cuisine a Latina, in which she unabashedly proclaims that she LOVES drenching her salads in dressing. That’s my kinda lady! And therefore, for you today, I have a simply beautiful Fall Farmer’s Market salad in which I actually did, in fact, get all the ingredients from the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. It’s a beautiful salad regardless of dressing but the pesto vinaigrette really takes it up a notch, if you ask me. I also like to use this dressing as a dip for french fries or polenta fries. That’s the great thing about salad dressing . . . it goes with everything!

Fall Farmer’s Market Salad

4 carrots, sliced in half, length-wise
1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
4 cloves of roasted garlic, (directions for this below)
1 1/2 cup of mixed green lettuce
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1/8 cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
pesto vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place carrots and broccoli in a large bowl and toss with 1/8 cup olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place on roasting pan, making sure not to overlap, and roast for roughly 20 – 30 minutes. I like my veggies to be blackened so keep an eye on yours if you like yours a little less roasty and toasty.
Directions for Roasting Garlic Cloves:

To roast the garlic cloves, place garlic cloves on tin foil. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil. Wrap the tin foil tightly around the garlic and the oil so it does not drip out. Place on your veggie roasting pan and place in the over for 20 minutes or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

To assemble the salad, artfully place your mixed greens on a large plate. Top with your roasted vegetables and garlic. Drizzles on dressing and top with pomegranate seeds. Enjoy!

Pesto Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup basil
1/4 cup curly kale, de-stemmed
1 garlic clove
(optional) 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 walnuts or 3 tbsp pine nuts
1/8 cup honey
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Method:

Place all ingredients, up to the olive oil, into a blender. Turn blender on and gradually add the olive oil in an continuous stream until it is smooth and full incorporated into the dressing. Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference. For best flavor, use immediately or store in the refrigerator in a tightly-closed container for up to 3 days.

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Roasted Smashed Potatoes with Leeks

On September 15, 2016September 15, 2016

by chanie

7 Comments

Food blogging has taken me to some truly amazing places (front cover of The Wall Street journal, anyone?), but none as priceless as some of the friendships I’ve made through the process. Melinda of Kitchen-Tested has become my “lets-pig-out-at-this-restaurant” buddy, my recipe idea sounding board, my support coach (“You can do this Chanie!”) but most of all, my friend (awwwww….can I grab you a tissue Mel?). So, aside from being an amazing chef (her desserts are so impressive, she should open a bakery), Melinda is totally fearless in the kitchen. She comes up with the craziest stuff you’ve ever seen [like bagel, lox and cream cheese hamantaschen! pecan pie bacon (kosher bacon) and falafel mozzarella sticks!] but she also knows how to keep it simple with down-home-delicious-recipes [like puff pastry potato roses, classic red velvet cake and Texas-style dry rub brisket). I’m honored to have Melinda guest post for me today, and I hope you enjoy her Rosh-Hashanah inspired recipe! Welcome Mel!

Today is a great day because I get to write a recipe for Busy in Brooklyn! Hi, I’m Melinda Strauss and my blog is Kitchen-Tested.com. Ever heard of me??? Basically, you all want to be me today! Chanie is one of the coolest people I know and her masterful recipes blow me away EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Chanie loves tahini, cookie butter, marzipan and long walks on the beach. But really, Chanie loves her family and that’s why I’m here on her blog. She recently gave birth to the most beautiful baby girl and all I can say is “Mazal Tov…now move to Long Island!!!” Oh, did I say that out loud? Seriously, my dream is for Chanie to become Busy in The Five Towns so she can live closer to me and I can babysit while she takes naps and maybe goes out for those long walks on the beach.

So about this recipe…sure, you can eat mashed potatoes or you can eat roasted potatoes but why not get a bit of both in every bite? I love this recipe because it’s a one-pan-wonder packed with crazy amounts of flavor. The potatoes are steamed in the oven then smashed, drizzled with tons of olive oil and garlic and roasted with leeks. I love how the leeks get super crunchy in the oven and act as added texture for the potatoes, which are soft in the center and crispy around the edges. The fun thing about this recipe is that you can add any of your favorite spices to the potatoes and you can even throw some fresh whole garlic in the pan. Go nuts and make these roasted smashed potatoes your own!

Roasted Smashed Potatoes with Leeks

1 pound baby red potatoes
1 cup water
1 large leek, only white part sliced thinly (green tops discarded)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
fresh parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place potatoes on a sheet pan, pour water in pan and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain any remaining water from the pan and set the potatoes aside for 10 minutes.
Stir together the olive oil and minced garlic. Add the leeks to the pan then drizzle the potatoes and leeks with 3 tablespoons of the garlic oil to coat all sides.
Space the potatoes out evenly in the pan and smash each one down with a potato smasher, the back of a heavy cup or the palm of your hand. Flatten the potatoes to around 1/2 inch thick. Don’t worry if some break apart. Each potato will smash in a unique way.
Drizzle the potatoes with the remaining oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the potatoes and leeks for 30-40 minutes, until golden brown and crispy around the edges. Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve.

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Apple & Honey Galette

On September 6, 2016September 7, 2016

by chanie

9 Comments

Few things truly blow me away in the foodie world nowadays. After five years of blogging, I’ve come to see it (almost) all. But this guy right here? This guy is something to ~~write home~~ blog about. I don’t remember when I met Eitan Bernath for the first time, but I do remember watching him on Chopped. This kid isn’t just impressive because he had the confidence to go on national TV as a kosher cook and compete against other kids his age. He’s impressive because he took that experience and turned it into a passionate career, all the while attending Yeshiva and doing all the things that kids do at his age. Besides for running a blog, making appearances and doing cooking demos, Eitan somehow managed to teach himself food photography, and I am blown away! I hope that my kids have even half of his passion, drive and determination someday. Eitan, it’s such a pleasure to have you guest post on my blog, welcome!

P.S. Check out Eitan’s interview with me here!

Hey Guys! My name is Eitan Bernath. I am a teen chef from Teaneck, New Jersey. I am so excited to be guest posting on Chanie’s blog while she’s enjoying time with her new baby. You may know me as the Jewish kid who appeared on “Chopped” on the Food Network, a little over 2 years ago. Now at 14 I have a full career as a recipe developer, food photographer, chef and foodie personality in the culinary world. Check out my food blog, CookWithChefEitan.com where I post new fun recipes every Sunday.

Chanie is a legend in the kosher food blogging world and was one of the people who inspired me to start my blog. I am a big fan of many of her recipes. One of my favorites is her Drunken Hasselback Salami. It is awesome! If you haven’t tried it yet, then you clearly are living under a rock! It’s so cool to be guest posting on her blog today! Thank you Chanie!

I am sharing with all of you my Apple Galette recipe. Pie dough has always intimidated me for some reason. As someone who tends to stick to the culinary side of the field, I don’t bake often. But after taking the pastry class at ICC this past summer, I have begun to experiment more in the kitchen with baking.

So a few weeks ago I randomly decided to attempt to make pie dough. After letting it chill in the fridge, I rolled out the dough and filled it with a filling of sliced apples, honey, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. I baked it off in the oven and waited for it to finished baking. (Now I’m a 14 year old in the 21st century. I don’t really know what patience is and the pie filled the entire house with with a warm, delicious smell. So that was like the longest hour of my life!)

I took it out of the oven, cut myself a slice, and tried it. It was the BEST pie I had ever had in my life! The dough was perfectly flaky. The filling perfectly sweet. It was perfect! My first attempt at pie dough was a success! I will definitely be making many more pies! Comment below and let me know about your first time making pie.

This Apple Galette recipe is perfect for Rosh Hashanah and even for the rest of the upcoming Chagim. It’s great for breakfast, warmed up with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream or even anytime of the day. Also, I definitely suggest drizzling your slice with even more honey. Because, can you really ever have too much honey? Enjoy!

Apple & Honey Galette

5 apples, peeled and sliced ⅛ inch thick
½ cup brown sugar, plus more for sprinkling
2 tbsp honey, plus more for drizzling
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1 recipe pie dough (recipe follows)
1 egg, lightly beaten

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400. In a large bowl combine the apples, brown sugar, honey, butter, and cinnamon and set aside. Roll out one of the disks of dough into a circle until it’s about 1/8th of an inch thick. Place on a greased or parchment paper lined baking sheet.

Transfer half of the apple filling in the center of the dough, leaving about 2 inches on the edges. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling, but leave a center of exposed filling. Brush the dough with the egg wash then sprinkle with some more cinnamon sugar. Using a piece of tin foil, cover the open middle part of filling so that only the dough is exposed. Bake covered at 400 for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, lower the temperature to 350 and continue baking for another 10 minutes. Remove the tin foil and continue baking for 20 minutes and then remove from the oven. Repeat with the other disk of pie dough to create a second galette.

Serve warm with ice cream and an extra drizzle of honey (optional).

Pie Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 sticks of cold butter, cut into ½ inch cubes
1 egg
⅓ cup ice cold water

Method:

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut the butter into the flour with your hands. You want the butter to be the size of peas.

In a small bowl combine the water and egg. Pour the the mixture into the flour and mix until it just comes together.

Split the dough into 2 equal pieces and wrap in plastic wrap. Place them in the fridge for at least an hour before using.

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Spicy Roasted Carrot Fries

On September 1, 2016September 6, 2016

by chanie

19 Comments

It’s been such a pleasure having some of my favorite peeps guest post on my blog the past few weeks! I think the part I appreciate the most is how they all put so much thought into making something that was so ME. Amy made shakshuka which is one of my favorite foods. Sina made Paleo cookies ‘cuz I’m a Paleo enthusiast who could eat cookies at every meal. Melissa made a deconstructed bakba (that went crazy viral!) ‘cuz I’m all about putting my fun twist on traditional foods. And Miriam whipped out her spiralizer because as many of you know, it’s my favorite kitchen gadget!

I’m sure most of you already know Miriam, the famous blogger from one of the most popular blogs out there – Overtime Cook. If you live in a far off country without internet, and you haven’t yet made it to her blog [in which case, why would you be reading this? But lets not get technical here ;)], you’ve probably seen her amazing cookbook, Something Sweet. Whenever I’m looking for a dessert on the weekend, or a treat for my guests, that’s the cookbook I go to – hands down. And whatever I make is always a winner! Besides being an awesome baker, Miriam likes to create simple healthy dishes and I’m so grateful that she’s sharing one of them with you today!

Welcome Miriam!

Hey Busy in Brooklyn readers! I’m so excited to be guest posting here while Chanie enjoys some special time with her gorgeous new baby! My name is Miriam Pascal, and you might know me from my blog, Overtime Cook, or from my cookbook, Something Sweet. And although my cookbook is all about desserts, I love to make simple and easy real food recipes as well, which brings me to these curly carrot fries.

When I was wracking my brains, trying to think of a good recipe to share here on Chanie’s blog, I immediately thought of a recipe using a spiralizer. I think we all know how much Chanie likes to use one – right?! Well one of the great benefits of a spiralizer, aside from the ability to make zoodles and other spaghetti shaped veggies, is the ability to make super-fun curly shapes out of potatoes or veggies.

Did you grow up on those frozen curly fries? I know I did. These Curly Carrot Fries are a perfect way to enjoy that nostalgic memory without all the extra calories. They’re baked, not fried, plus they’re made out of carrot instead of potatoes. Oh, and did I mention the blend of savory and sweet flavors thanks to the spice mix?

I should warn you that you might want to double this recipe….or else the whole tray might get noshed on before you even get to the table!

Pssst… I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but Rosh Hashanah is closer than you want to think, so put these carrots on your menu!

Spicy Roasted Carrot Fries

6 medium carrots, peeled
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
Prepared tahini sauce, optional, for dipping

Method:

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Use a spiralizer to cut carrots into curly “spaghetti” shapes and place into a bowl. Cut the leftover cores into thin strips and add to bowl. Add oil, salt, garlic, cumin, chili and cinnamon to the bowl. Toss until all carrots are fully coated.

Spread carrots over the prepared baking sheet and bake at 425 for 35-45 minutes, until the carrots are starting to brown and turn crispy. Serve hot, with tahini, if using.

Plan Ahead: These are best straight from the oven, but can be reheated just like they cooked – flat on a cookie sheet, uncovered. They’re also really good served at room temperature.

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Chocolate Meltaway Cake

On August 24, 2016September 6, 2016

by chanie

83 Comments

You know those insane 3-tier cakes that you see at fancy birthday parties or weddings (like these)? Well Melissa of Lil’ Miss Cakes is one of the bakers that makes those beautiful creations and I’m super stoked to have her guest post on my blog today! This whole guest blogging thing is so exciting for me because I get to introduce you to some of my all time favorite blogger friends and Melissa is one of them. I love how she posts accessible recipes for us non-professionals (like these stained glass cookies or these pumpkin chai hamantaschen). She’s really bringing it today with her twist on a yeasted babka or kokosh cake. I love me some babka, but the only time I ever make it is when I have leftover challah dough (and I don’t bake challah very often). Enter Melissa’s babka hack and you can be making a no-yeast chocolate meltaway anytime. I can’t wait to try it!

Welcome Melissa!

one of Melissa’s beautiful cakes

Hey hey! I’m Melissa of Lil’ Miss Cakes. Over on my site I kind of do it all. I share my creative cakes, share delicious and dairy-free dessert recipes, and I also design and sell custom cookie cutters. I love Chanie and her blog, she is super talented. Her food photography is stunning and her recipes are spot on, I can always find the perfect family friendly recipe to whip up for dinner. I’m so happy that the blogging world has brought us together and I’m so excited to share a recipe here with you! Thank you so much, Chanie for allowing me to guest post and congrats on your daughter, she is gorgeous! Sit back, relax, and enjoy her!

Since we all don’t always have lots of time to bake, I like to come up with impressive desserts that don’t take all day in the kitchen. I had been craving a chocolate babka/kokosh cake for a long time, but making a yeast dough is too time consuming, and doesn’t always turn out well. I needed a cake that I can mix up and bake quickly, as soon as the mood strikes. It had to be fudgy and super chocolatey, with easy to find ingredients. This cake does it all! It looks really impressive, but whips up in no time. There are a few dishes to wash, but you won’t be waiting for dough to rise all day long. There is no rolling out dough, twisting, shaping, second rising. None of that. Just mix, add to the pan, and bake. The cake is moist and tender, the chocolate is oozes everywhere, and the crumbs give the perfect amount of crunch. The best part of it all, this recipe is pareve, but I bet you won’t be able to tell!

Chocolate Meltaway Cake

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup dairy free sour cream or unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Chocolate Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup margarine, melted or oil

Crumb Topping:
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla sugar
2 Tbs. oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 inch square or round cake pan with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix on low to combine. Then add the eggs, sour cream, soy milk, oil, and vanilla. Mix to combine. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Mix up the chocolate topping. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and margarine. Dollop the chocolate all over the cake batter and then using a knife or a spatula, to swirl/spread the chocolate and cake together.

Mix up the crumb topping. In a small bowl mix the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, and oil. Stir until large crumbs form. Sprinkle the crumbs all over the top of the cake. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cake is set and the edges are slightly brown.

Related Recipes:

Melissa’s cinnamon roll cake

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