meatballs with a mushroom sauce

meatballs in a mushroom sauce

a delicious savoury version, this one is for mushroom lovers. any type of mushrooms can be used, either sliced or whole. this recipes is cooked entirely stovetop in a dutch oven type pot.

ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
garlic and onion powder, if wanted
1 egg
1/3 - 1/2 c matzo meal or breadcrumbs

1 or 2 pkgs mushrooms, sliced or whole
1 large onion
1/2 pkg onion soup mix (optional)
1 c chicken stock (soup)
1/3 c white wine or manischewitz or extra soup stock
salt, pepper, sugar to taste

method:

mix together the salt and pepper, egg and meat.

add the breadcrumbs or matzo meal and mix well.

with wet hands, make small meatballs and set on a plate.

slice the mushrooms or keep them whole. chop the onion.

in a dutch oven, add the onion and meatballs with a little oil.

brown them.

add the mushrooms and cook until softened (about 10 minutes or so).

add the soup mix (if using), stock and wine if using. mix well and taste. add extra salt, pepper and sugar, if necessary.

cover the pot and cook for about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours over low heat. stir from time to time.

the sauce should be reduced to a nice consistency.

(sorry deleted final pictures!! grrr)

enjoy!

holiday chicken

lemon honey chicken

a very simple dish to prepare with few ingredients, this one is great for rosh hashanah when many of the dishes we eat are on the sweeter side. while the recipe can be made without coating the chicken, it is 100 times better if you take the time to do it.

ingredients:

1 chicken, cut into serving pieces
1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder and onion powder
1 egg
1 1/2 c matzo meal or dry bread crumbs

1/2 c honey
rind of 1 large lemon, cut in big strips w/ peeler
juice of 1/2 lemon or whole lemon

method:

• in a large ziploc type bag, mix together the flour with the spices;
• place the matzo meal or breadcrumbs in another ziploc or on a plate;
• beat the egg in a large bowl and set aside;
• add the chicken pieces to the ziploc with the flour, close it up and coat well. remove to a plate;
• add the chicken pieces (washed and dried off) one or two at a time to the egg and coat them well;
• add the chicken one or two at a time to the bread crumbs or matzo meal and coat completely. remove to a plate as you do it;
• heat a large fry pan or dutch oven with about 1/4 inch of oil and fry the pieces over medium heat until they are somewhat browned. it will take about 10 minutes or so. remove them to a plate with paper towel. they will not be cooked at this point;
• preheat the oven to 350F;
• zest the lemon with a potato peeler into large strips; cut the strips into 1/2 inch pieces;
• place the chicken in a pyrex and scatter the lemon zest all around;
• drizzle the honey all over the chicken pieces and then the juice from the lemon (either half of the lemon or the whole lemon -- your choice).

bake for about 40 to 50 minutes uncovered.

enjoy!

holiday soup additions

here are two soup additions which can be used for the upcoming month of jewish holidays. of course, you don't have to be jewish to try them!

eier lokshen

leiber knaidlach

"jewish" chicken soup (recipe and a "how-to")

knaidlach of a different kind

these knaidlach (dumplings/balls) are another type old world soup addition which are quite different from the everyday matzo meal one. they cook up the same way regular knaidlach do but include chopped liver and mashed potatoes.

here is a recipe for chopped liver, if you want to make your own. easier than you think :)

if you're looking for everyday knaidlach, check here.

leiber (liver) knaidlach

the following knaidlach are great for using up that extra chopped liver you may have laying around for the holidays or the sabbath and make for a nice change from the everyday type matzo ball. more of an adult taste, think about using these as an "extra" and serve one per person along side regular knaidlach.

makes about 7 (more if made smaller)

ingredients:

1/2 c packed chopped liver
1 large (idaho) potato
1/2 c matzo meal or bread crumbs
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 - 2 tbsp chopped parsley

method:

take one large (idaho type) potato and boil it in its skin.

once fully cooked, remove it and when warm enough to handle, remove skin.

mash well with a fork. measure out a 1/2 cup.

in a bowl, add the egg with the mashed potatoes. mix well.

add the matzo meal (or bread crumbs).

add the chopped liver, salt, pepper, spices, and parsley.

mix all together and let sit 10 minutes to firm up.

with wet hands, form knaidlach the size you like. i usually make about 7 from this recipe.

drop them in boiling water. they will fall to the bottom.

cover the pot and over medium low heat, cook for 25 minutes. do not open pot to check.

after removing the lid, they will have expanded considerably and should be floating at the top of the pot. they will sink to the bottom shortly afterwards.

remove and serve in soup.

enjoy!

it's just not always about matzo balls........

traditionally, matzo balls and chicken soup are always partners in crime when it comes to jewish holidays and the sabbath — well .... almost always, that is.

depending on family tradition, and sometimes, time of year (i.e. passover), the following soup addition will show up in many a bowl of steaming golden yellow chicken soup. humbly made from eggs and a bit of water and flour, these cute little rolled up "noodles", or lokshen as they are called in yiddish, make for a nice presentation, besides tasting wonderful.


eier lokshen • egg noodles for soup

these can be served anytime of the year and can be made in advance and kept in the fridge until serving time when they are added to individual bowls of hot soup.

makes 2 to 3 bletlach ("leaves") per egg

ingredients:

1 tbsp matzo cake meal or regular flour
3 - 4 tbsp very cold water
1 egg
salt to taste
1/2 tsp oil (opt but helpful for stopping them not stick)

increase recipe (quantities) as required

method:

add flour and COLD water (start with 3 tbsp) in a bowl and mix well with a whisk. no lumps allowed!

add the egg, oil and some salt and mix well until perfectly smooth.

heat a nonstick fry pan and grease it lightly with a paper towel. keep the paper towel aside to reuse it.

take a small amount (a few tablespoons) and quickly add it and spread it around the pan to make a bletl (round leaf).

cook the bletl until it looks dry on top. it should cook quite quickly.

flip it over and cook for another 1 or 2 minutes until lightly coloured.

place the bletl on a plate and finish make all of them, stacking each on top of one another.

take each bletl on a flat surface (like a chopping board) and roll each it up very tightly.

cut it into small rounds, about 1/2 inch thick.

serve in soup (don't unroll them!).

enjoy!

honey and spice and everything nice

these small, lightly-spiced, honey cookies are actually called gâteaux (gatt-oh). such baked goods are often made and served at rosh hashanah, especially when they contain honey — an integral ingredient in many of the foods we eat at this time of year.

they are very easy to make and let you be as creative as you want when it comes to dressing them up and are even a good project to make with children. of course, if you choose not to spend time embellishing, they can always just be baked plain.

you can freeze these small "cakes" a few days before the holidays, or any time of the year, and take them out as needed. one nice thing about these cookies is that they are not overly sweet at all and only mildly spiced — enough to please almost everyone.

to gild the lily, so to speak, the plain ones or almond-coated versions are sometimes dipped in a honey syrup. if doing this, then make your syrup with 1:1 proportions and quickly dip each and let dry.


petits gâteaux au miel

makes approx. 30

ingredients:

3 eggs
3 1/2 tbsp honey
6 tbsp sugar

1/2 c oil

2 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 c oil

1 egg yolk + 2 tsp water

sprinkles of your choice
regular or coarse sugar
sliced almonds

or 1:1 honey dip -- mix equal honey and water and boil 2 minutes.

method:

preheat oven to 325 F.

in a large bowl, place the eggs, honey and sugar together. measure out the oil and set aside.

in another bowl, place the dry ingredients together and mix them.


blend the egg mixture well with a mixer. add the oil in a stream and mix until completely incorporated.

now add 1 cup of the dry ingredients and blend with the mixer.

add the rest by hand with a wooden spoon.

the mixture will be somewhat sticky and very soft.

line baking trays with silicone paper (parchment) or foil. if using foil, you MUST lightly oil the sheet.

oil your hands and pull out pieces of dough about the size of tablespoon. roll them into marbles. remember they will almost double in size so don't make them too large.

place them on the sheet with space in between (about 2 inches).


if using sprinkles:

then grab one of the balls and dip it in sprinkles. place them sprinkle side up back on the baking sheet.


if using sliced almonds:

make your egg wash and paint all the balls of dough with the egg. take several almonds and push them on the balls of dough. place as many as you can.

repaint the balls of dough with eggwash and then sprinkle sugar over them.

do not press down on either of the types you make.

bake for about 15 minutes only. remove to a cooling tray.

the almond coated cookies (or plain ones) can also be quickly dipped in a 1:1 honey syrup. you cannot do it with the sprinkles as they will "bleed". let them sit to dry on a baking rack.

the interior will be soft and almost cake-like, hence gâteau.

enjoy!

open sesame!

the following sesame cookies which we call bizcochos are extremely tender and highly addictive. they are mildly flavoured with vanilla, sesame seeds and aniseeds and sometimes orange flower water.

they will stay at their ultimate best for only about 3 or 4 days, so either freeze them or feed family and friends!


bizcochos de sésamo

this recipe makes quite a few, so you may want to cut it in half. if you do, just use 1 1/2 eggs. use the half egg for something else. do not use two whole eggs.

makes ~ 60 + (for full recipe)

ingredients:

500 gr flour (125 g = 1 c, so about 4 cups)
3 eggs
250 g sugar (200 g = 1 c, so about 1 1/4 cups)
25 cl vegetable oil (a little less than 8 oz/1 c)
1/8 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder (11 g or 1 pkg levure alsa)
2 pkg vanilla sugar
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp (or less) aniseeds

pinch of salt

to coat:

1 pkg vanilla sugar
3 tbsp sesame seeds

oil to coat hands or orange flower water

method:

preheat oven to 350F.

in a large bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar and then add the oil and salt.

in another bowl, mix together to blend the flour, baking powder, pinch of salt, vanilla sugars and sesame and aniseeds.

add the dry to the wet and blend well.

the mixture will be sticky but workable.

in a small bowl, mix the 3 tbsp of sesame seeds with the vanilla sugar.

prepare baking sheets with parchment paper or greased foil.

grease your hands with either oil or orange flower water. take pieces of dough about the size of a tablespoon and roll into a ball. regrease or rewater hands as necessary.

press each ball into the the sesame seed mix and place on the sheets with space. they will expand.

bake for about 15 minutes or only until lighly browned.

remove and let cool for 2 minutes. let cool completely on a rack.

enjoy!