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Sunday, October 16, 2011

No Gas = No Good Food

I was planning on making a delicious meal this weekend and adding another post to my blog, but our gas has been shut off in our apartment for the past 6 days due to a leak.  I never realized how much I use the stove/oven until now.  Hopefully it will be back on soon - otherwise the theme for my next post might have to be drinks, dinner, and dessert à la microwave!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

A Rosh Hashanah Dinner

I had a couple days off for Rosh Hashanah, so even though I am not Jewish, I was inspired to make some traditional Rosh Hashanah food.  I found that a lot of the food was simple to make, but very time-consuming.  So, if you decide to do any of these recipes, be sure to plan ahead!
Drink...
Pomegranate Sangria
*Recipe from The Shiksa In The Kitchen
This drink is not traditional for Rosh Hashanah, but it has a lot of holiday symbolism in it.  There is honey (in honor of a sweet new year), pomegranate (to symbolize a "new fruit" and the 613 Mitzvot because there are supposedly 613 seeds), grapes (a round fruit to represent the cyclical nature of the year), and apples (traditionally eaten with honey to symbolize a sweet new year).  Along with all the symbolism, it is really, really tasty too!
Ingredients:
(Serves 6-8)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1 pomegranate
  • 1 apple, cored and sliced thin
  • 12 oz. seedless grapes
  • 1 bottle red wine (syrah/shiraz works well)
  • 2 cups pure 100% pomegranate juice
  • 1 cup grape juice (I didn't want to buy two different juices, so I used Trader Joe's Triple Berry juice in place of the pomegranate and grape juices.  It is a blend of pomegranate, blueberry, and cranberry and worked really well.)
  • 1/4 cup brandy (I used cherry brandy)
  • 1/4 cup triple sec
 Directions:
  1. Pour the honey and ½ cup water into a small saucepan. 
  2. Heat over medium, stirring constantly, until the honey is completely dissolved into the water. Do not boil. 
  3. Remove from heat and allow to cool. This is your honey simple syrup.
  4. Seed the pomegranate.
  5. Place the pomegranate seeds, grapes, and apples in the bottom of a pitcher.
  6. Pour the entire bottle of wine into the pitcher.
  7. Add the juice, brandy, triple sec, and honey simple syrup to the pitcher. Stir to blend all the flavors together.
  8. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Stir again prior to serving. 
Dinner...
Brisket with Tzimmes
*Recipe from Epicurious
This is a really good recipe.  The meat is so tender it just falls apart.  Tzimmes is a traditional Jewish sweet stew with carrots, prunes, and other root vegetables.  But, once again, it cooks for a VERY long time, so prepare ahead!
Ingredients:
(Serves 4-5)
  • 1 (3- to 4-lb) brisket
  • 3/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 3/4 cup Sherry vinegar ( couldn't find this so I used red wine vinegar)
  • 1 lb carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 2-inch-long pieces (I just used baby carrots)
  • 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 medium regular potato, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 1/4 cups dried pitted prunes
Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  
  2. Pat brisket dry and rub all over with salt and pepper. 
  3. Heat oil in a heavy roasting pan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. 
  4. Brown brisket, starting with fat side down, on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. 
  5. Remove from heat, then add stock and vinegar to pan. 
  6. Cover pan tightly with heavy-duty foil and braise brisket in oven 2 hours. 
  7. Add carrots and potatoes to pan and braise, covered, 1 hour. 
  8. Add prunes and braise, covered, 30 minutes more. 
  9. Cool meat, uncovered, to room temperature, about 1 hour. 
  10. Chill, covered, at least 12 hours.
  11. Preheat oven to 350°F.  
  12. Transfer brisket to a cutting board and slice across the grain about 1/4 inch thick. 
  13. Return sliced meat to pan and reheat, covered with foil, until heated through, about 40 minutes. 
  14. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper, then arrange meat with tzimmes and sauce on a large platter. 
Challah Bread
*Recipe from Epicurious
This bread is okay, but takes a long time to make.  Even though it was a good experience making my own bread, I think I'll stick to store-bought Challah Bread in the future :)
Ingredients:
(Makes 1 Challah loaf)
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast (I followed the reviews I read and added more yeast to help it rise.  I used 1 1/2 tsp total)
  • About 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/8 cup warm water
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1/8 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/8 cup honey or 1/6 cup granulated sugar (I read reviews saying the bread wasn't sweet enough, so I used 1/8 cup of honey plus 2 tbs. sugar.)
Directions:
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast and 1/8 cup of the flour. 
  2. Whisk in the warm water until smooth. 
  3. Let the yeast mixture stand uncovered for 10 to 20 minutes, or until it begins to ferment and puff up slightly.
  4. Whisk 2 of the eggs, salt, oil, and honey or sugar into the puffed yeast mixture until the eggs are well incorporated and the salt has dissolved.
  5. With your hands or a wooden spoon, stir in the remaining flour all at once. 
  6. When the mixture is a shaggy ball, scrape it out onto your work surface and knead it until smooth, no more than 5 minutes. This dough is very firm and should feel almost like modeling clay. If the dough is too firm to knead easily, add a tablespoon or two of water to it; if it seems too wet, add a few tablespoons flour. (My dough never got firm like clay even though I added quite a bit more flour.  Mine was very sticky, but it still worked.) 
  7. Place the dough in a warm clean bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. 
  8. Let the dough sit until it has at least doubled in size, about 2 hours.  (I followed reviews and to help it rise I boiled a pot of water, placed the pot of hot water in the bottom of the oven and then with the oven turned off, put the dough on a rack above the hot water to keep it warm.) 
  9. Grease a large baking sheet.  
  10. Divide the dough into two portions.
  11. Twist and braid the dough together.
  12.  Cover the loaves well with plastic wrap.
  13. Let them sit until tripled in size, about 2 hours (I did the same trick with the hot water in the oven).  
  14. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
  15. Beat the remaining egg with a pinch of salt for glazing the bread.
  16. Brush the dough with the egg glaze.
  17. Bake rolls for about 15 to 20 minutes, until very well browned.
    Dough before 2nd rise

    Dough after 2nd rise

    Finished, baked dough
     
Dessert...
 Honey Cake
*Recipe from Smitten Kitchen
This cake is really good.  It is kind of like a spice cake.  I think it would be even better with ice cream or whipped cream.
Ingredients:
(Makes one loaf-sized cake)
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup warm coffee 
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/8 cup whiskey
  • Powdered sugar for dusting
Directions:
  1.  Preheat oven to 350°F. 
  2. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and allspice. 
  4. Make a well in the center, and add oil, honey, white sugar, brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, coffee, orange juice and whiskey.
  5. Using a strong wire whisk or in an electric mixer on slow speed, stir together well to make a thick, well-blended batter, making sure that no ingredients are stuck to the bottom.
  6. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
  7. Bake until cake tests done, that is, it springs back when you gently touch the cake center, about 45 to 55 minutes.
  8. Let cake stand fifteen minutes before removing from pan.
  9. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Shana Tova!

If you are like me and never made any of these foods before, enjoy, because they are delicious!  I learned a lot about Rosh Hashanah while making this meal and was able to eat some new food in the process, which is always a good thing!