Last Chance to Vote!!!

Have you voted today in the Manischewitz "Happy Thanksgivukkah Recipe Contest?" I'd be so grateful if you voted for my Cranberry Orange Thanksgivukkah Rugelach!

There's a $1000 grand prize waiting for me, if all of you could please vote for me. The more the merrier for this party!

Just click here to vote, and then be sure to share with all your friends. Voting ends today!

Another Day, Another Vote!

Have you voted today in the Manischewitz "Happy Thanksgivukkah Recipe Contest?" I'd be so grateful if you voted for my Cranberry Orange Thanksgivukkah Rugelach!

There's a $1000 grand prize waiting for me, if all of you could please vote for me. The more the merrier for this party!

Just click here to vote, and then be sure to share with all your friends. Voting ends tomorrow!

Have You Voted Yet???

Have you voted today in the Manischewitz "Happy Thanksgivukkah Recipe Contest?" I'd be so grateful if you voted for my Cranberry Orange Thanksgivukkah Rugelach!

There's a $1000 grand prize waiting for me, if all of you could please vote for me. The more the merrier for this party!

Just click here to vote, and then be sure to share with all your friends. Voting continues each day (1 vote per person per day) until November 24.

Have You Voted for Me Today?

Have you voted today in the Manischewitz "Happy Thanksgivukkah Recipe Contest?" I'd be so grateful if you voted for my Cranberry Orange Thanksgivukkah Rugelach!

There's a $1000 grand prize waiting for me, if all of you could please vote for me. The more the merrier for this party!

Just click here to vote, and then be sure to share with all your friends. Voting continues each day (1 vote per person per day) until November 24.

Cranberry-Orange Thanksgivukkah Rugelach + A Voting Request

 

According to Wikipedia, rugelach [rug-uh-LUCK] are "a Jewish pastry of Ashkenazic (European) origin. Traditional rugelach are made in the form of a crescent by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling." Some are filled with chocolate, some with apricot, and they always seem to contain nuts. They're a bit like pastry, a bit like a cookie.

These are more cookie and less pastry, and I've varied the fruit filling because next Thursday is Thanksgivukkah - a mash-up of Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah - and Turkey Day flavors were warranted for the traditional Yiddishche treats.

Remember that Jewish "days" actually begin at sundown and then continue through the night and the day, ending at the next sundown. The first day of Hanukkah begins on the evening of Wednesday, November 27 and continues until sundown on Thursday, November 28. That means that it coincides with Thanksgiving!!! It's only happened once before, since Thanksgiving is a relatively new holiday; and it's not going to happen, by mathematicians' calculations, for another 70,000 years. Yup, 70,000! Thanksgivukkah is literally, truly, amazingly a once-in-a-lifetime holiday!!!

This calls for a celebration!

So for the next few posts, I'm taking traditional Jewish foods and putting a Thanksgiving-ish spin on them in honor of the holiday ... like with these rugelach filled with cranberries, which are also featured (very slightly tweaked) in the Manischewitz "Happy Thanksgivukkah Recipe Contest."

There's a $1000 grand prize waiting for me, if all of you could please vote for me and then share the link on Twitter or Facebook or email or even good ol'-fashioned word of mouth so your loved ones can help, too. 40% of the judging to determine finalists will be based upon votes, so the more the merrier for this party!

Just click here to vote, and then be sure to share with all your friends. Voting continues each day (1 vote per person per day) until November 24. There has been some mishigas with the site and with difficulties in voting; so if you have trouble, don't start schvitzing - I appreciate the thought! THANK YOU to everyone for your help - it's a mitzvah (good deed)!


Cranberry-Orange Rugelach

Filling:
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons orange marmalade

In a medium saucepan, toast the walnuts over medium-low heat just until fragrant; place into a small mixing bowl.

Add the cranberries, sugar, and water to the now-empty saucepan; bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium. Cook until mixture is very thick, stirring constantly and pressing down onto the cranberries to mash them. You should have 1 cup of filling; stir filling mixture and marmalade into the walnuts and set aside.

Dough:
1 cup butter-flavor shortening, at room temperature
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 325F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl, combine shortening and cream cheese; stir in egg and salt. Stir in sugar, then stir in flour - dough will be crumbly. Empty the dough onto the countertop and knead until it comes together. Divide dough into 4 portions.

Roll one portion at a time into a 12" circle on a lightly floured countertop. Spread with 1/4 of the cranberry mixture, spreading to within 1" of the outer edge.

Cut the dough into quarters, then cut each quarter into 4 equal portions to make 16 portions. One at a time, starting with the outer edge, roll a portion of dough towards the center to form a spiral. Place onto the prepared cookie sheet and repeat until the entire circle of dough has been rolled.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cookies are golden and feel set when pressed. Let cool on a rack. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

To finish the cookies, place a scant 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar into a large freezer baggie. Add two dozen cookies, shake to coat them in sugar, then remove them to a serving tray and repeat with remaining cookies.

Makes 64 cookies.

The Tale of the Failed Macaroons

Today is National Macaroon Day.  So, of course, I'd planned to make macaroons.  What else would you expect from someone who celebrates holidays for literary figures, religious events, food fests, and any other occasion that amuses me?

I had hoped to make airy and crisp macaroons, rather than the ones that are rounder and taller and softer (which are loaded with coconut, usually, rather than being primarily made of egg white).   According to Wikipedia: "A macaroon is a type of light, baked confection, described as either small cakes or meringue-like cookies depending on their consistency."  So I beat the egg whites, stirred in the flavorings, and baked away.

But instead of seeing delicate white cookies tinged with just a hint of golden color at the edges, holding their shape in lovely little circles, this is what I found when I took the macaroons out of the oven:

Groan ....

But I don't waste food - nope.  I don't throw things out, I simply re-purpose them.  I tell people all the time that if a recipe doesn't work out as intended - if a cake falls, if a pie doesn't cut nicely, whatever - simply toss some ice cream or whipped cream onto the still-delicious mess, rename it (trifle? crumble? parfait?), and move on as though this was what you'd intended!

And thus, my failed attempt at making Coconut Rum Macaroons turned into a beautiful fruit-laden Pavlova instead.

Pavlova is a dessert with a meringue base, topped with fruit and whipped cream.  There are several variations on its origins, but it is thought to have been named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova.  It is light, sweet, and utterly enticing.  It was a perfect way to put my pathetic little macaroons to a far more noble purpose.

And if I hadn't told you this little tale of failure and redemption, you'd have never known that even food bloggers, chefs, cookbook writers, and other culinary professionals have their bad days in the kitchen, too.

Coconut Rum Meringues

2 egg whites
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon dark rum
1/3 cup ground almonds
6  Manischewitz coconut macaroons, crumbled (2/3 cup crumbs), part of a lovely marketing gift sent for me to cook/bake with and sample

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or lightly greased foil.

In a large bowl, combine egg whites, sugar, and rum; beat for 3 minutes, until the consistency of paint.  (Not an enticing description, but an accurate one.)  Stir in the almonds and macaroon crumbs.

Place tablespoon-sized dollops of batter onto the prepared baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes, until the macaroons are set.  Let cool completely, then carefully peel from paper or foil.

Makes 21 macaroons.

To make Pavlova: Crumble 2-3 meringues into a bowl.  Top with whipped cream and chopped berries.

Chocolate Chip Macaroon Muffins

On National Chocolate Chip Day, the obvious choice would have been to make chocolate chip cookies.  Not that there's anything wrong with them!  But ....

I debated whether to celebrate with something exotic, say some spicy chocolate-chili concoction ... nah.  I wanted the rich simplicity of the chocolate chips to shine through.

And so I baked a variation on the cookies, and also added an extra sweet touch with crumbled coconut macaroons (a fabulous marketing gift from the Bender Hammerling Group, which handles public relations and marketing for several food producers, including Manischewitz).  As they say, it's the little things.  The topping takes these muffins beyond everyday breakfast food and they become a special treat.

If you'd like to celebrate today's festivities with other options, here are some more suggestions that showcase the glory of chocolate chips:

Krispy Kreme Chocolate Chip Cookies

Butterscotch Pretzel Brownies

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Scones

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hillary Clinton's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ricotta Cheese Pudding

Ginger Shortbread Cookies


Chocolate Chip Macaroon Muffins

1/3 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
6 Manischewitz coconut macaroons, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar.  Stir in egg and yogurt.  Stir in half-and-half and salt, then mix in flour and the baking powder.  Stir in chips, then divide batter among the lined muffin cups.  Sprinkle the crumbled macaroons over the tops of the muffins.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Gluten-Free Sweet 'n' Salty Mini Chocolate Cupcakes

Gluten-free products ain't what they used to be!  In the not so olden days, these items were fair-to-poor approximations of foods that those who can't eat gluten would endure simply to have some form of baked good.  But the situation has improved considerably, and there are lots of really great products that let you have your cake and eat it too!

Manischewitz has developed a number of new gluten-free products, including yellow and chocolate cake mixes; both include a foil baking dish and even a frosting packet for the sake of convenience.

I was very happy to receive an incredibly generous box of goodies to play with recently, a lovely marketing gift from the Bender Hammerling Group which handles public relations and marketing for several food producers.  This assortment also included several bags of Hawaiian Kettle Style Potato Chips, in addition to a sample of the above-mentioned chocolate cake mix.

Sweet and salty is a flavor combination which is always popular, so I wanted to somehow combine the cake mix and the potato chips ... not the Luau BBQ flavor, I admit!  But some combination was calling to me.

And so, I made mini chocolate cupcakes - entirely gluten-free - and topped them with a brown sugar and crushed potato chip streusel that offered flavor and texture contrasts.  Then, instead of just letting the frosting packet loiter on my pantry shelf, I thinned it with coffee to make a glaze.

Chocolate cake, but with a bit of flair!


Gluten-Free Sweet 'n' Salty Mini Chocolate Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 15-ounce package Manischewitz Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Streusel:
1 cup Hawaiian Kettle Style Original Flavor Potato Chips, crushed fine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Topping:
frosting packet included with cake mix
2 tablespoons freshly brewed coffee


Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup mini cupcake tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, stir together the cake mix, eggs and oil; beat until thoroughly mixed.  Fill each cupcake liner 2/3 full with the batter.

In a small bowl, combine the streusel ingredients. Place a heaping 1/4 teaspoon-ful into the center of each cupcake.

Bake cupcakes for 12 minutes until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean; let rest for 2 minutes, then remove from muffin tin and place on a rack.  Repeat with remaining batter and streusel.  Let cupcakes cool completely.

Combine frosting packet and coffee; mix thoroughly with a fork until smooth.  Drizzle over the cupcakes and let glaze set.

Makes 30 mini cupcakes.

Gluten-Free Pasta with a Gremolata Gratin

Pasta ... and pasta with a bread crumb topping, no less.  Heartbreaking, torturous temptation to someone who needs to eat a gluten-free diet.

And yet, this dish is entirely without gluten, thanks to nuts, garlic, cheese, parsley, and a couple of specialty ingredients from the thoughtful folks at Mishpacha and Manischewitz!  Manischewitz is now offering spiral- and shell-shaped gluten-free pastas, which were certified kosher for Passover and will also be available year-round; and Mishpacha, distributed by Manischewitz, has over a dozen new products including gluten-free bread crumbs.

I was very happy to receive an incredibly generous box of goodies to play with recently, a lovely marketing gift from the Bender Hammerling Group which handles public relations and marketing for a number of food producers.  And so, I decided that my first recipe showcasing these items should be a dish to offer comfort in a meal which is often verboten to many.  That items such as pasta and bread crumbs can be both gluten-free and delicious is a fabulous thing!

A gremolata is a topping of garlic, parsley, and lemon zest; a gratin is a dish topped with a browned bread crumb crust.  Combine them, and the bread crumbs and pistachios offer crunch while the parsley, garlic and lemon provide tremendous flavor.

So whether you need to be careful in eating a specialized diet, or you're trying to use up Passover products now that the holiday has ended, or you're just looking for a fabulous new way to prepare pasta, this recipe has it all!

Gluten-Free Pasta with a Gremolata Gratin

1 12-ounce package Manischewitz gluten-free pasta shells
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 very large garlic cloves, minced
zest of 1 lemon, finely minced
1/4 cup shelled pistachios, finely chopped
1/4 cup Mishpacha gluten-free coating crumbs
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh parsley
shredded Parmesan cheese, for serving

Bring 5 quarts of water to boil; add the shells and cook for 7-8 minutes until just done.

While pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet.  Add the garlic, lemon zest, pistachios, coating crumbs, and salt; cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant.  Remove from heat and stir in parsley.

When the pasta is done, drain it and return it to the saucepan; stir in the remaining oil.  Place onto a serving platter and top with the pistachio mixture.  Serve with Parmesan.

Serves 4-6.

Espresso Pudding Parfait

Rather than sponge cake made with matzah meal or plain ol' fruit or sesame seed candies, why not try a pudding for a special dessert during Passover?  Why not make something a bit luxurious, rather than feeling as though food is becoming a punishment with no access to breads, cupcakes, oatmeal, or other items - both decadent and mundane - that will suddenly seem miraculous on Saturday evening when they're permissible again after the holiday?

This rich, luscious dessert uses ricotta cheese, though I know that it can be difficult to find this particular ingredient with a hekhsher [HEK-sher], certifying that it's kosher for Passover.  Pureed cottage cheese would work just fine, if that's easier to acquire.  Or make this after the holiday ends, when you're still trying to use up leftover tins of macaroons.

The pudding isn't terribly sweet, so that it offers a nice contrast to the sugary cookies.  Layers of texture and layers of flavor ... this coffee-almond parfait is simple but beautiful.

Espresso Pudding and Macaroon Parfait

2 15-ounce containers part-skim ricotta cheese
4 tablespoons sugar
6 tablespoons prepared espresso, chilled

12 Manischewitz almond macaroons, crumbled

whipped cream, for serving

In a large bowl, whisk the ricotta to break it up a bit.  Whisk in the sugar and the espresso until smooth.

Fill 4 wine glasses one-third full with the ricotta mixture.  Divide half of the crumbled macaroons among the glasses.  Divide the remaining ricotta mixture among the glasses, then top with the remaining macaroon crumbs.  Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Makes 4 generous servings or 8 smaller ones.

Custard with Strawberry Sauce and Macaroons

I received a very nice email a couple of weeks ago from a gentleman named Stephen, asking me if I were at all interested in doing a product review of a new line of wines called flipflop:

The flipflop collection includes Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Moscato, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinot Noir. To learn more about the wines, you may visit the website at flipflopwines.com.

Well, we all know that I don't do product reviews. So I wrote back to Stephen and explained my policy: I'll happily try the wines, and even mention them when I write up a recipe that I've used them in, but I don't offer opinions in exchange for gifts because I don't ever want anyone to doubt my sincerity and think that I may have been swayed.

And he was so tickled that I would not only sample the wines and mention them, but also cook with them -- his best friend, it turned out upon continuing to email back-and-forth, is famed Las Vegas and San Francisco restauranteur/chef Hubert Keller, whose restaurants I've longed to visit -- that he offered to send me 4 bottles instead of the usual 2.

What's most entertaining is that I was communicating with Stephen at the very same time that I learned I'd won tickets to the (un)Corked wine tasting -- it was as though the universe was trying to tell me that I needed to learn more about wine, and provided the means to do so!

I had promised Stephen that I would cook with the wines, and that's precisely what I did -- for my special Passover dinner, no less. I made a main course with a wine-cheese sauce that will be tomorrow's post; and I put together a simple but elegant dessert with a hint of Pinot Grigio -- a light, fruity white wine -- in both the custard and the strawberry sauce.

I also topped the dessert off with a guilty pleasure that I can only get at Passover: Manischewitz almond macaroons.

Now, eating these is like eating M&Ms instead of Valrhona chocolate, for example -- I know this! They are not the light, airy, meringue-y macaroons that have been all the rage recently. Nope -- they are heavy and dense, and yet I love them. (Only the almond ones, though; the other flavors are all too dry.) I hang my head in shame as I type this, but I have been known to open and devour a can in one sitting, without sharing.

So, I took my sophisticated homemade custard and sauce and topped them with the crumbled store-bought cookies ... yes, I did. And you know what?

My dessert was fabulous! It was a perfect combination of simple, wholesome ingredients with a little bit of sweet sinfulness. It was also incredibly easy to make, only requiring planning to make it a day ahead. It was "lick the bowl" good, though I won't admit publicly whether I actually engaged in such boorish behavior!

The custard was luxurious and light, the strawberry sauce the perfect touch of Spring on an April day that brought a little bit of snow -- snow!!! -- to Ann Arbor. And the macaroons provided just the right texture in the midst of the creaminess.

Thank you, Stephen, for your generous contribution to my holiday dinner. I'll be doing more cooking with that wine, so stay tuned!

P.S.: If you haven't already fed my narcissistic ego, let me just remind you that Saveur is seeking nominees for the 2011 Best Food Blog Awards and the deadline is Friday! Any love you can show me by clicking on this link and nudging them in my direction would be most gratefully appreciated ... :)

Custard with Strawberry Sauce and Macaroons

Custard

2 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon white wine
1-1/2 cups half-and-half
pinch of salt

In the top of a double boiler, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and wine. Whisk in 3/4 cup half-and-half.

Turn heat to medium-high and heat 1" water in the bottom of the double boiler. Whisk the egg mixture constantly, until it starts to thicken and you can see traces of the whisk left in the custard (about 8-10 minutes); add the rest of the half-and-half and continue cooking and whisking for another 8-10 minutes.

When the custard is done, you'll be able to dip a spoon into it, run your finger down the middle of the coating, and the line will remain intact instead of having the sides bleed back together.


Place custard into a bowl, press plastic wrap against it to prevent it forming a skin, and refrigerate overnight.

Strawberry Sauce

6 large strawberries, chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons white wine

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat; press on the strawberries to help mash them. Cook the sauce until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Refrigerate until needed.

To complete the dessert

2 Manischewitz almond macaroons

Divide the custard among 4 dessert dishes or wine glasses; top each with a dollop of the strawberry sauce. Crumble half of a macaroon over each serving.

Serves 4.