Mmm Mmmm Minestrone

When I hosted my first Shabbos dinner in NYC, I also decided to have a soup course. (Because that's what you do when it's 90 degrees outside, right?) The truth was, I had made some really good Beef Minestrone soup a few days earlier for dinner and had, like, half the pot leftover. So I figured having 10 people over was a good way to use up some leftovers!

This minestrone soup and I go way back. Back when I was dating a certain ex-boyfriend, I was visiting him for the weekend and we went to friends of his for Shabbos dinner. They served minestrone soup that was really good and that my ex really liked, so we asked for the recipe. We didn't end up getting it, but later that weekend, my ex asked if I could maybe figure it out and make it for us for dinner. We went to the grocery store, I haphazardly threw some things into a cart, and then tried my luck back at his apartment. It came out perfectly - so hearty and thick and beefy, but still really healthy-tasting and satisfying. I've made it several times over the last few years, and every time I make it, I remember how much I like it!

Fast forward to last week: I knew that, after eating the soup for a few nights during the week, I wouldnt have enough to feed 10 people at Shabbos dinner. Also, when you refrigerate and then re-heat the soup, the noodles absorb a ton of the liquid. So I sauteed up some more veggies, added some more tomatoes, broth, and pasta, and I had a full pot of soup again - it was a never-ending pot of soup! My suggestions for making more soup are at the end of the recipe. Also, I added WAY too many noodles, so I'm cutting the noodles way down in this version of the recipe. But hey, if you like pasta, add as much as you'd like!

Beef Minestrone Soup
serves Unlimited

3 tbsp. oil
1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, quartered, and thinly sliced
2 zucchinis, halved and sliced
1 can of small white beans (or any combination of beans), drained
1 28-oz. can of crushed tomatos
6 cups beef broth, divided
6 oz. mini shell pasta (or mini bowties)
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a stock pot over medium heat, brown the ground beef in the oil until it is fully cooked.
2. Add the onion, carrot, and zucchini and sautee until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the beans and heat until warmed through.
3. Add the crushed tomatoes and 4 cups of beef broth and bring to a boil.
4. Pour in the pasta, and allow the soup to cook at a rapid simmer until pasta is soft and soup is thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
5. Add the additional 2 cups of broth. Season to taste.

*To make the soup stretch and feed 10 more:
2 tbsp. oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 zucchini, halved and sliced
1 carrot, peeled, quartered, and sliced
1/2 can small white beans (or any variety), drained
1 15-oz. can of crushed or diced tomatoes
5 cups beef broth
3 oz. mini shell pasta (or mini bowties)
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat the already-made soup on a low heat until warm.
2. In a separate pot, heat the oil and sautee the onion, zucchini, and carrot on medium heat until soft. Add the beans and heat through.
3. Add the tomatoes and 3 cups of beef broth and bring to a full boil. Add the additional pasta and cook at a rapid simmer until the pasta is soft.
4. Add the fresh soup to the re-heated soup and add any remaining broth until it's the consistency that you like. (Note: keeping the soup on the stove thickens it, so keep some broth handy to thin it out as needed.) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken ala NYC

Greetings from New York! Well, I did it - I made the big move to the big city! It's been a crazy few weeks - wrapping up things at my old job in Baltimore (and taking part in 3 MAJOR events right before my last day!), packing up 5 years worth of cooking equipment, clothing, shoes, and stuff, and moving to Manhattan on Erev Shavuos - talk about great timing! But it all worked out great and I'm all settled in and have already hosted a meal at my place!

I intended to have Shabbos dinner this past week with, like, 3 friends. Well, that snowballed into a 10-person meal....and I didn't even have a table or chairs! Luckily, I decided to buy a folding table on Friday afternoon, and we scrounged around the building for a couple extra folding chairs. Crisis averted, and I had a great time with old and new friends.

I decided to make a chicken dish that I actually came up with and made once in Baltimore before I left, but I tweaked it a little. I have to say, this is one of my favorite dishes I've come up with so far! It was so delicious, the chicken was so moist, the sauce was so flavorful, and I got a ton of compliments on it - and you will too! It's sort of a take on my Manischewitz cook-off entry chicken, except that the base of the sauce is mushrooms instead of shallots, and it's a creamier sauce because of the roux that you create with the flour and the oil. This is also a great way to stretch a buck (always helpful when you're paying NYC rent!) because I got 10 portions of chicken (PLUS 2 leftover pieces) out of just 6 chicken breasts, since I cut them into smaller pieces after I pound them out. If you try anything I've blogged about, try this one - you won't regret it!

Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce
serves 10

2 lb. chicken breasts (6 medium sized)
1 cup + 2 tbsp. flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. oil
1/2 cup white wine, divided
1 large shallot or 1 small onion, chopped
2 pints sliced mushrooms (I used a combo of button and criminis)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
salt, pepper

1. Pound the chicken breasts thin using a meat mallot (or heavy-bottomed pan or rolling pin) in between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Cut them into 2-3 pieces.
2. Season the 1 cup flour with salt and pepper on a plate or in a shallow dish. Lightly dredge the thin chicken breasts in the seasoned flour.
3. Heat the 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Pan fry the chicken breasts in the oil until browned, about 5 minutes on each side. Place the chicken on a paper towel-lined plate.
4. Discard some of the remaining oil so there's only a thin layer left in the pan. Add the white wine and scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Reduce the wine by half.
5. Add the remaining 2 tbsp. of oil and turn the heat down to medium. Add the shallots and sweat them for 2 minutes until translucent. Add the mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes, or until they've reduced in size and are golden.
6. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of wine and again scrape the bottom of the pan. Cook out the wine.
6. Sprinkle in the remaining 2 tbsp. of flour and allow to cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken stock slowly and bring the sauce to a bubble.
7. Reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to simmer and the mushroom flavor to infuse the sauce for 5 minutes. Season to taste AFTER the sauce is at the right consistency. (If you season it before it reduces and thickens, it could get too salty.)
8. Arrange the chicken on a serving plate. Pour the sauce over the chicken and allow to sit for at least an hour (on the warm stove or in a warm (200 degree) oven).

Appled to a Crisp

Oh, Pesach.....I actually love it. Why? Well, aside from getting to spend time with my family over the course of many days of yuntif (and many many many meals) and getting almost 2 weeks off from work (this is THE reason I work in Jewish education....just kidding), I get to really put my chef's hat on and challenge myself to create food that tastes really good - that you may actually want to eat when it's NOT Pesach, too! My Quinoa and Cheese from a couple days ago is one of those recipes that I can already see myself making throughout the year, when I need a good side dish to bring to a milchig Shabbos meal (or, hello, Shavuos coming up!).

For the final days of Pesach, you still need something a little bit sweet....but after almost a week of matzah and butter (preferably Breakstones) with salt, matzah and cream cheese, matzah and jelly, matzah pizza, matzah lasagna, etc. we all wanted something a little bit lighter. When I think "light," I think fruit. You all know that lemon is my #1 favorite flavor, but cinnamon is a close second, and apple-cinnamon is a winning combo in my book. My mom started to briefly mention something that one of our neighbors made, where she baked apples that had been sprinkled with chopped nuts and had a cinnamon stick somewhere in there....and then inspiration struck (cue the gospel choir): why not make individual apple crisps....like, actually take a whole apple, coat it with a crisp topping, and bake it like I do with a normal baked apple? I did just that: made a really simple crisp topping, packed it around apples that I had peeled and cored, and then filled the apples with raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The apples got soft on the inside, the outside got crispy, and the gooey caramel filling was perfect. Try this one - just substitute flour during the year for the cake meal. Trust me on this one!

Crisped Apples

4 apples
1 stick margarine, divided
2/3 cup cake meal
1 cup ground almonds
1 cup brown sugar, divided
2 tsp. cinnamon, divided
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup water

1. Peel the apples. Cut the tops and bottoms off of each apple, so that they are flat on top and can stand sturdily. Using a paring knife and/or a spoon, remove the cores from each apple so that there is a clean "tunnel".
2. In a small microwaveable bowl, melt 4 tbsp. of margarine. Add the cake meal, ground almonds, 2/3 cup of brown sugar, and 1 tsp. of cinnamon and mix to make a semi-wet and crumbly mixture.
3. Pack about a quarter of the mixture onto each apple, coating the apples evenly, but not too thickly with the crumb topping so that they apples are completely covered. Place the apples standing up in an 8x8 inch greased dish.
4. Place a spoonful of raisins inside each apple "tunnel," as well as a generous sprinkle of brown sugar and cinnamon. Put the remaining raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon in the dish in the middle of all the apples. 
 5. Cut the remaining 4 tbsp. of margarine into small pieces and put one piece in the middle of each apple. Place the other pieces along the dish on top of any sugar or raisins that you sprinkled in. (Top the apples with any remaining crumb mixture.)
6. Pour the water along the base of the dish and bake the apples at 425 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the apples are soft and the crumb topping gets crispy. Check the apples after 30 minutes to see if they are done or to check if you need to add additional water, so that the caramel doesn't burn.

Don't Pass-over Quinoa and Cheese!

Okay, I admit, I've been pretty terrible about updating this blog in the last few weeks. But, in my defense, the last few weeks have been a little bit insane for me. First, I had the Manischewitz cook-off in NYC (which I didn't win...more on that in a minute). Then, unfortunately, my grandmother passed away, so I was home for a while with my family. Then, less than a week after shiva ended, Pesach came. And, in the middle of all this craziness, I made the decision to leave Baltimore and I applied to, interviewed for, was offered, and accepted a new job in New York City, which I will be starting in less than 2 months. It's been a whirlwind!

So, about the cook-off - I had a blast. I really did. I went in with no expectation of winning, which really allowed me to relax and enjoy myself and just have fun with it. I loved pretending like I was on the Food Network, and having all the cameras and interviewers in my face was really exhilarating! I think I may need to make the winning dish for myself....because I was so busy that whole day that I didn't even get to try any of the other contestants' dishes!!

Anyway, back to Pesach. So I love experimenting with Pesach food and making it...well...edible :-) Desserts are my thing, in particular, and this year I made tiramisu, chocolate trifle, key lime pie, peach-blueberry cobbler, mandel bread, and chocolate chunk cookies. All were delish, thankyouverymuch :-) But i wanted to experiment with something savory. I decided to go to my old stand-by - mac and cheese. Of course, I can't do macaroni noodles (and I refuse to go anywhere near Pesadik pasta...ick), but I do love to try new recipes with quinoa.....and then it came to me: Quinoa and Cheese! Made a little quinoa, sauteed some veggies, made a quick little cheese sauce (using potato starch instead of flour in the roux) and voila - I think it came out pretty good! You be the judge.....

Quinoa and Cheese

1 1/2 cups quinoa
3 cups water
4 tbsp. margarine, divided
1 red pepper, finely diced
1/2 white onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped button mushrooms
2 tbsp. potato starch
2 cups skim milk
8 slices American cheese (or  6 oz. any shredded cheese, like cheddar)
salt, pepper
3/4 cup matzo meal

1. Put quinoa and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover, and cook 10-15 minutes, or until quinoa is fluffed and all water is absorbed. Transfer cooked quinoa into a mixing bowl.
2. Melt 2 tsbp. of margarine in the same pot. Add veggies and sautee until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.
3. Add potato starch to veggies and stir until absorbed.
4. Add milk slowly, whisking as you pour. Increase heat to medium-high and bring the milk to a bubble. Let it simmer for a few minutes, until it thickens.
5. Turn heat off. Add cheese to cream sauce and stir to melt. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Pour cheese sauce over cooked quinoa and mix thoroughly. Taste and season as needed.
7. Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 inch baking dish.
8. Melt remaining 2 tbsp. of margarine in a small bowl in the microwave until melted. Add matzo meal and toss to coat. Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the quinoa and cheese.
9. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Increase oven heat to broil, and broil for 5 minutes or until the top gets browned and the cheese begins to bubble.

Who knew??

Well, I'll admit it: I've been a little slow lately with updating recipes. But, forgive me. I was in Europe for almost two weeks with my roommate (London, Paris, and Amsterdam were amazing....oui oui!) and it's just been a slow cooking month for me. BUT, I have some big news (if you haven't already heard)....

I'm going to be in a cook-off! That's right! I submitted the very first recipe that I blogged about, my Shallot Smothered Chicken, to the 5th Annual Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-off...and I'm one of the 5 finalists! I actually got word of this while I was in Paris...I turned on my phone after Shabbos, and I had a message from Manischewitz telling me the good news! I kind of freaked out, haha. I called my parents' house - knowing that it was still Shabbos back home - and left them a message, hoping that they were home to hear it!

I still laugh every time I think about it, but the truth is - I'm a little nervous! Jacques Pepin is one of the judges - and he's legendary! That's kind of scary!

Also scary....I hadn't cooked the dish a single time between the time I made it up and blogged about it and the time that I learned I'd be in the cook-off! Don't worry, I've been practicing in the last few weeks :-)

Anyway, the cook-off is on March 31 in New York City....please come and cheer me on if you're in the area! More information is available on the Manischewitz website. I'll keep you posted on how I do. Until  then....wish me luck!!

Gratin Greatness

My father likes to joke that a meal with my mom's family is never complete without at least four starches on the table. He's kinda right....between the challah, some sort of matzah ball/kreplach in the soup, rice (usually to go with meatballs), a potato dish of some sort, and maybe even a pasta salad or noodle dish, we pretty much have the starch food group covered.

I love carbs.....might even consider myself an addict. Give me a box of pasta and I'm a happy girl. I'm totally trying to curb this starch love of mine, but once in a while, you just need a good bowl of mac-and-cheese. Or creamy risotto (which I've been making from scratch for 2 weeks now....yum!). Or anything with bread. Dr. Atkins and I would have never gotten along. But what can I say? For me, comfort food = starch. Starch = comfort food. I think there's a mathematical property that that follows.

Last week was one of those weeks when I just needed something creamy and carb-y. When my friend invited me for Shabbos lunch and asked for a side dish, I had potatoes on the brain. This particular friend happens to make a great Potato Gratin, but his is a milchig dish. So, I decided to make a pareve version to bring to his house for my contribution. And what can I say? Carbs haven't failed me yet!

(Cook's note: I decided to make this dish with pareve chicken soup in a carton because I thought that there would be vegetarians at this meal - it's actually called "No-Chicken Soup" from the Imagine soup brand. But if you're only serving carnivores, go ahead and use real chicken broth. I also didn't peel the potatoes out of sheer laziness....full discretion here, friends. Also, I had a lot of time when I got home from work, so I actually slow-cooked the onions on a very low heat for an hour till they were golden and caramelized - I just stirred them every 5-10 minutes. But if you're more pressed for time, just cook them over medium or medium-high heat, but be sure to watch them carefully.)

Potato and Caramelized Onion Gratin

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 stick of margarine, divided
1/4 cup flour
2 cups pareve chicken broth
2 cups pareve coffee creamer
1 spring rosemary
3 sprigs thyme
salt
pepper
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
3 1/2 lbs. of yukon gold potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup flavored breadcrumbs

1. In a large pan, heat the oil over low heat. Add the onions and cook for 1 hour, or until caramelized, stirring every 5-10 minutes. (See Cook's Note above for alternative method)
2. In a small pot, melt 1/2 stick (4 tbsp.) of margarine over medium-high heat. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add chicken stock and creamer and bring mixture to a simmer.
3. Add the rosemary and thyme and continue to simmer for 15 minutes, until mixture thickens slightly. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
4. In a greased 9x13 inch baking dish, layer 1/3 of the potatoes in a flat, even layer. Spread half of the caramelized onions on top. Add another 1/3 of the potatoes, followed by the remaining onions. Top with a flat layer of the remaining potatoes.
5. Remove the thyme and rosemary sprigs from the chicken stock/creamer mixture. Ladle it over the potatoes, pressing down to make sure it reaches all the way to the bottom. (Allow it to sit for 5 minutes to make sure it gets to the bottom, if possible. It will look soup-y; this is a good thing. The potatoes will absorb most of the liquid.)
6. In a small bowl, melt the remaining 1/2 stick of margarine. Toss the bread crumbs with the margarine and sprinkle liberally over the potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and the dish is bubbling.