Birthday Dinner For My Wife

Birthday Dinner For My Wife

Rib Steak Topped with Roasted Red and White Pearl Onions 

And a Red Wine and Apple Cider Vinegar  Reduction

Shallot and "Bacon" Risotto

Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake for Dessert

On days like this I know why I never went to work at a restaurant.  This meal was a challenge to do on my own.   To get all the elements timed correctly was nearly impossible.  At my wife's request I made her risotto.  This was the first time I had ever made risotto, and it is a bit of a pain.  I stood there stirring and stirring and adding stock and adding stock.  I would have added some other flavors or vegetables to the risotto but to say my wife is unadventurous would be an understatement.  The "bacon" I used was beef fry from Romanian Kosher Sausage Company, as were the steaks.  Of course I almost forgot the green beans, and needed to hold the steaks for a while I finished them and of course they slightly overcooked.  The cake was a bit spongy for my liking, but I never claimed to be a baker.  Even though it was not perfect, overall the dinner was tasty.  Man I wish I had full crew.  Maybe next year we'll just go out.

Football and Soft Pretzel with an Old Friend

I know it has been a while since i wrote.  I was busy with finals and my brother-in-law's wedding.  A little while ago I had the chance to watch football and bake with an old acquaintance Tiki Krakowski.  She has an awesome food blog: Hungry Souls.  We were looking at different things to make and due to my lack of baking equipment we ended up making Alton Brown's soft pretzels.  Tiki and I have very different approaches to food.  While I am much more calculated and scientific she cooks with much for warmth and love.  What makes it more surprising is she does much more baking than I do, which is generally much more exact, while I am do more cooking which is much more about touch and feel.

Alton Brown's Homemade Soft Pretzels (taken from Foodnetwork.com and retyped by Tiki)

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 package active dry yeast

22 ounces all-purpose flour, about 4 1/2 cups

2 ounces unsalted butter, melted (we used margarine. I say, if you can use butter, for God's sake, use butter)

Vegetable oil, for pan

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Salt

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, sugar and salt. Pour the yeast on top of the water. Let sit for about 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and butter. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on low until just combined. Raise the speed to medium. Knead until smooth and pulling away from the side of the bowl, about 5 minutes.

2. Remove the dough from the bowl. Clean it, grease it, and return the dough to the bowl. Cover and let sit in a warm place for about 50 minutes to an hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and brush with oil. In a large pot, bring the ten cups of water and baking soda to a boil.

4. Meanwhile, dump the dough out on to a lightly oiled surface, and divide it into eight pieces. Roll each piece into a 24-inch rope. Shape each rope into a U and then twist the two end of the rope and press them into the bottom of the U to make a pretzel shape.

5.  Place the pretzels, one by one, into the water for 30 seconds- to a minute. Remove from water. Place on baking sheet and brush with the egg yolk. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for 12-14 minutes until golden. Let cool for at least 5 minutes.  Eat with or without mustard.

Taking a poll:I am making a spinach and feta pizza, should I put mozzarella on it also?

Taking a poll: I am making a spinach and feta pizza, should I put mozzarella on it also?

Burger on the Week: A Very Earthy Burger

Burger on the Week: A Very Earthy Burger

I was in the mood something very earthy.  Here is the breakdown:
Top of a basic white burger bun toasted
Ketchup
Sauteed Onions and Mushrooms
Spicy Pickles from The Pickle Guys in Brooklyn
1/2 lb Beef Patty Season With Fresh Ground Black Pepper
Sauteed Spinach
Olive Tapenade
The Bottom of the Bun

I served it with some basic roasted sweet potato wedges.

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Pecans

Maple Roasted Brussels Sprouts

With Pecans

Inspire by This American Bite's Yosef Silver's recipe: Maple, Balsamic & Lemon Brussels Sprouts.  Yosef's recipe reminded me that I had a couple of pounds of Brussels spouts in the fridge that I needed to do something with.  I liked his idea of using maple, but I only had maple sugar, not maple syrup and I added some pecans for crunch.

Recipe:

2 lbs Brussels Sprouts Trimmed and Quartered

Olive Oil -Enough to lightly coat your sheet pan

1 Cup of Pecans

3 Tbsp of Maple Sugar

Kosher Salt and Pepper to Taste

Cover a sheet pan with aluminum foil and a thin layer of olive oil.  Put the pan in the oven and heat it to 400F.  Once the oven is up to temprature remove the pan.  Spread the Brussels sprouts out on the hot pan and sprinkle the pecans on top.  Season with the maple sugar, salt and pepper.  Roast until brussles sprouts are tender and start to brown about 10 minutes on each side.

First Look at Soul Surfing Pizza

First Look at Soul Surfing Pizza

First Look at Soul Surfing Pizza

I went into Soul Surfing Pizza this past Saturday night with my wife.  They are in the old Malibu Pizza location, and stuck with the same decor, although it does seem to be a new owner. They are still in soft open mode, although they are open to the public.  

Two weeks prior I had taken a couple of pizzas out from there and what happy with the pizza, but was hoping they would be a little more organized by this week. It took over ten minutes before a waitress came to take our order.  Generally wait times were long, which I will chalk up to the fact that they are still working out the kinks.  At that point they did not yet have menus, so you had to try and remember the types of pizzas they have as the waitress rattled them off.  It appears as if their specialty is using all sorts of fake meats on their pizzas and in their soups. The waitress mentioned that they finally got fries but their fryer was broken. 

My wife and I both started with soups, she got the cream of potato with "bacon" and I got the Italian wedding "meatball" soup.   My wife's soup came without the bacon, which was brought later but was cold, rubbery, and was way too salty.  The potato soup itself was decent.  The wedding soup on the other hand was thin and bland and had two tiny meatballs. 

The star of this place is their pizza.  We ordered 12" 1/2 five cheese, 1/2 Hawaiian barbeque chicken, which was delicious.  The crust is wonderfully thin and crunchy, the sauces where flavorful, and the topping combinations are well thought out.  I only have a few small complaints about the pizza. When I asked what the five cheeses were on the five cheese pizza I was told by the waitress it was secret, which I think was just a cover up for the fact that she did not know.  They don't have anything smaller than 12" which is in my opinion a little large for one person, but perfect for two. Finally pizza by the slice would be nice, especially if they hope to attract families with children.  

My early assessment of Soul Surfing Pizza is that it has potential once they get their act together.  Once they have menus and work out their service issues, this could be a great new Saturday night spot.  My suggestion is give them until after the New Year to work out the kinks, bring a friend, and skip the soup, because here it is all about the pizza.  Look for a full review of this place sometime after it is no longer in a soft open mode.

Duck Fat Roasted Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes

Duck Fat Roasted Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes

Duck Fat Roasted Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes

Recipe:

2 lbs of multicolored fingerling or marble potatoes

3 tablespoons of duck fat

1 tablespoon dried or fresh rosemary

Salt to taste

Add potatoes to a pot of cold, salted water.  Cook on high until just soft enough that you can easily insert a paring knife. While the potatoes are boiling, heat a cast iron skillet in a 400 F oven.  Once the potatoes are soft, drain and set aside. Take the skillet out of the oven and add the duck fat.  It should melt almost instantly.   Add the potatoes, rosemary, and salt, and toss to coat.  Put the potatoes in the oven, and roast for 20 minutes or until the potatoes start to brown.

Sufganiot (Donuts)

I am not much of a baker, but good thing my wife is.  See her guest post below:

Sufganiot (Donuts)

Guest Post by Ronit Peikes

Sufganiot, or donuts, are a classic Chanukah treat. Traditionally, sufganiot are filled with jelly, custard, caramel cream or chocolate cream. In an effort to engage the kids in a fun activity at a rainy day, I decided to embark on making homemade sufganiot with the kids. We made them smaller, more like mini donut balls, using the recipe below. The original recipe is from

www.challahcrumbs.com

Mini Donuts:

3.5 cups all purpose flour

2 Tbsp yeast

4 heaping Tbsp sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup milk

6 Tbsp butter, softened

Oil for frying

**I made the donuts non-dairy, so I used soy milk in place of milk and margerine instead of butter. I also made a half recipe, as the full recipe said it would make about 45 donuts and our family of four definitely didn't need that many. A half recipe made about 22 donuts.

Mix all ingredients and set aside to rise for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, shape dough into ping-pong sized balls and allow to rise for another hour. **I found the dough to be very sticky, so we used some flour to help form the dough balls.

While dough is rising, prepare chocolate glaze: melt together 4.5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, 3/4 c rich's whip, and 1 Tbsp margerine. Set aside to cool.

Heat oil in a large pot until hot but not popping. Fry a few balls at a time for about 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown. Set aside to paper-towel lined cookie sheet to cool and then dip in toppings. I prepared three toppings options: cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, and chocolate glaze with different sprinkles to dip in afterwards.

The kids really enjoyed being involved in every part of the process except the actual frying. And they liked eating them even more!

Chanukah Sameach!

Potato and Fennel Latkes Fried in Duck Fat With Chinese Five Spice Apple Sauce

Potato and Fennel Latkes Fried in Duck Fat

With Chinese Five Spice Apple Sauce

Potato and Fennel Latkes Fried in Duck Fat

Duck fat is what I like to refer to as the “Cadillac of Schmaltz.”  In the hierarchy of fats, I am told that it ranks higher then bacon fat. (Not that I would know personally.)  It provides a richness that cannot be reproduced by other fats.  The fennel, with its strong licorice flavor, acts to balance the richness from the duck fat and give some more character to the latke.

I shred my potatoes as opposed to grinding them for a more rustic texture and look, likely because that is how my mother makes hers.

Recipe:

·         6 medium russet potatoes

·         3 large eggs, beaten

·         1 fennel bulb, top and bottom removed

·         1 cup all-purpose flour

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         Duck fat for frying

Makes approximately 18 medium-sized latkes.

Peel the potatoes and shred them along with the fennel in a food processor or with a box grater.   Transfer the shredded potatoes and fennel to a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, salt, and pepper ad mix thoroughly with your hands.  Add 2 tablespoons of duck fat to your pan, and heat it over medium heat until it is hot.  Form palm-sized patties from the latke mixture and fry until golden brown on one side, and then flip and fry on the other side.  Remove from frying pan to a paper-towel lined plate to cool briefly.  Serve hot.

Chinese Five Spice Apple Sauce

For my apple sauce I modified Alton Brown’s “10 Minute Apple Sauce” recipe.   Chinese five spice powder is a spice blend consisting of cinnamon, powdered star anise and anise seed, powdered ginger and ground cloves.  The anise compliments the fennel in the latkes.

Recipe:

• 2 Michigan Red, 2 Granny Smith, and 2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled cored, and quartered (Original recipe called for 3 Golden Delicious apples and 3 Fuji Apples but I like a little more variety)
• 1 cup apple juice (Original recipe called for unfiltered apple juice but I used what I had in the house)
• 2 tablespoons rum (Original recipe called for cognac or brandy, but again I used what I had in the house)
• 2 tablespoons margarine (Original recipe called for butter, but I needed to keep it non-dairy)
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder (Original recipe called for ground cinnamon but I wanted something with a little more character)

This recipe is super simple.  Combine all ingredients in a microwave safe container, cover loosely, and microwave on high until the apples are soft, about 10 minutes (Your microwave may vary).  Then using an immersion blender, sometimes known as a stick blender, puree until desired consistency. 

Makes about 6 cups, depending on the size of your apples.

Related Post: A Trio of Latkes

Stop by the other blogs and check out these Chanukah Themed Recipes:

Latkes:

Jamie from Joy of Kosher made Zucchini Latkes with Tzatziki

Daniel from Peikes Cookbook made Potato and Fennel Latkes Fried in Duck Fat With Chinese Five Spice Apple Sauce

Susan from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen made Squash and Potato Latkes

Samantha from The Little Ferraro Kitchen made Ruby Red Beet Latkes with Cumin

Nechamah from TIforOA Food Ideas made Healthy Oatmeal Latkes

Liz from The Lemon Bowl made Traditional Potato Latkes

Yosef from This American Bite made Latkes & Brisket on Rye

Melanie from From Fast Food to Fresh Food made (I Can't Believe They're Crispy!) Baked Latkes

Laura from Mother Would Know made Three Variations of Sweet and Savory Latkes

Sarah from Crispy Bits and Burnt Ends made Kimchee Latkes

Shulie from Food Wanderings made Baked Panko Sweet Potato Leek Latkes

Donuts and Desserts:

Miriam from Overtime Cook made Shortcut Cannoli with Chocolate Mousse Filling

Leah from Cook Kosher made 5 Minute Donuts

Estee from The Kosher Scoop made Tropical Fruit Fritters

Melinda from Kitchen-Tested made Sweet Steamed Buns

Amy from What Jew Wanna Eat made Homemade Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Gelt

Avidan from Baking It Up As I Go Along made Orange Olive Oil Cake

Tali from More Quiche Please made Glazed Chocolate Donut Holes

Amital from Organized Jewish Home made Mom's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Princess Lea from The Frumanista made Túrógombóc

Stephanie and Jessica from The Kosher Foodies made Beignets

Gigi from Gigi's Kitchen made Bunuelos: Mini Powdered Cheese Donuts

Esther from Esther O Designs made Edible Menorahs

Patti from No Bacon Here made Hanukkah Oreo Balls

Shoshana from Couldn't Be Parve made Churros con Chocolate

Shaindy from My Happily Hectic Life made Inside Out Apple Crisp

Eve from Gluten Free Nosh made Gluten-Free Hanukkah Sugar Cookies

The Gluten Free maven made Gluten Free Vegan Cake Donuts

Amy from Baking and Mistaking made Mini Cream-Filled French Beignets

Sarah from Food, Words, Photos made Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Victoria from Itsy Bitsy Balebusta made Pure Vanilla Donuts

Vicky and Ruth from May I Have That Recipe made Dulce de Leche and Eggnog cream filled mini sufganiot

Dena from Oh You Cook made Poached Pears in Pomegranate Sauce

Michele from Kosher Treif Cooking made Tiramisu Cheessecake

Sharon from FashionIsha made Sparkly Chanukah Cookies

Appetizers, Soups, Sauces, Drinks and other Hanukkah Food:

Laura from Pragmatic Attic made Caramel Spice Applesauce

Jessie from Bread and Butter made Honey Spiced Hanukkah Martini

G6 from Guess Who's Coming 2 Dinner made Sweet Potato Leek Soup

Claire from I Love Soup made Sweet Potato, Coconut & Lemongrass Soup

Jennifer from Juanita's Cocina made Kugel

Liz from Kosher Like Me made Ready, Stuff Roll!

Shelley from The Kosher Home made Hanukkah Crafts and Printables

Thank You!!! We have hit 12,000 hits lifetime.

I just want to take a minute to thank my readers.  When I started this blog, I did not know if anyone would ever read it.  As of today I have over 12,000 hits.  This blog would not matter without you guys.  Please let me know how I can improve this blog.  What do you want to see more of? What do you want to see less of?  Feel free to be brutally honest.  In return I ask one thing, please share this blog with your friends, via Facebook, Twitter, other social media outlets, and word of mouth.  I have big plans for my humble little blog, but I cannot do it without you guys.  Please feel free to sign up for updates via email or subscribe to the blog, and please comment on posts.  I love to hear from you guys.

Thanks,

Daniel Peikes