Perfect Pappardelle

Oh how I wish I had taken a picture of our glorious meal!

Sunday night I was flipping through Bon Appetite, and wondering what I was going to cook for dinner.....i knew it would be something pasta related, since i try to cook a couple of vegetarian meals a week, and one of them is generally pasta meal.

So, long story short I came upon a recipe for fresh pappardellle pasta...(a long flat noodle) which looked easy...so I took a big gulp and decided to try.

(Back story: about 4 years ago, Haim and I decided to try to make pasta...it was a really difficult royal disaster. Shortly thereafter, my mom gifted us a pasta attachment for my mixer, but I was so scared from the first attempt that I never used it)

So, Haim was playing with Noah, and Maya and I began the recipe...it was easy and fun and wonderful and you could probably do the whole thing by hand, though a pasta attachment or machine will make it MUCH easier.

It was so yummy we just ate it (and it was A LOT of pasta) with salt and olive oil.

Here is the recipe which I halved, and modified a bit in the mixing...Also, it's a great recipe to do with kids...simple measuring, counting, mixing and kneading without too much mess. (Alone, the recipe will take about 5 minutes to mix, 5 to knead, and 20 or so to form the actual pasta....with kids, it might take hours!)

Fresh Pappardelle

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

3 T water

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 t salt

Mix salt and flour in a medium bowl. Make a well and add eggs, yolks, and water. Mix with a wooden spoon, until fairly thoroughly mixed....though there might be some crumbly bits at the bottom. Add more water if necessary to moisten a bit, though this dough should not be very wet or sticky. Place dough on floured counter and knead until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap (or put into an airtight container if you want to skip the plastic wrap) and let rest 45 minutes.

Unwrap and divide into 4 parts, but keep unused parts wrapped while you work.

Place each quarter on the counter and flatten to a 3 inch wide rectangle. Run through the pasta machine at the thickest setting several times, then change increase thinness setting and run through the machine several more times. Repeat until the pasta is about 1/16 inch thin. (this part would be cumbersome, but totally doable with a rolling pin, as long as you ensure that the pasta does not stick to your pin or the work surface. As you are rolling the pasta (by hand or machine) if it becomes too long to work with, cut in half, so that you are never working with more than 14-18 inches length.

Once your pasta is the desired thickness and length, set it aside to let it dry about 30 minutes, and then either cut into strips by hand or run through the noodle cutter on your machine. The pasta can be cooked immediately in well salted boiling water, or dried a bit more and chilled until ready to cook.

Lamb and Eggplant Tagine

Getting ready for a multi cultural potluck....and I can't believe that I've never posted this recipe. It's one of my favorites, and I've even modified/ simplified it as well.

It's originally from the book Fresh Moroccan, but since I can't stand extra steps in the kitchen, or big messes, I've changed it a bit to simplify!

Eggplant and Lamb Tagine (for 4-6)

1 1/2 lbs lamb for stewing

1 large eggplant (or 2 medium)

1 large can whole tomatoes

olive oil

3-4 T water

pinch safron

1/2 t ground ginger

1/4 t ground coriander

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 t paprika (hot if you have the option between hot and sweet)

1/2 t tumeric

3/4 t ground cumin

1T chopped cilantro

1T chopped parsley

1/2 t sugar

1T lemon juice

Rub the lamb generously with salt (though do not over salt it) and let stand for 5 minutes in a small to medium pan with a lid. Add 1/2 t olive oil to the meat (unless there is a lot of fat trimmed from the meat, then you can just throw a small piece of fat in the pot) and cook about 1 minute on medium-high heat. Add the safron, ginger and coriander and stir well. Add water and simmer 1 hour, covered. (Check periodically that there is still a touch of water in the pan, if not, add more.)

Cut eggplant into 3/4 inch thick rounds and brush both sides with oil. Broil on low on cookie sheet, once the first side is browned and softened, flip to cook the other side. Remove from oven and place the eggplant in a bowl. Mash the lemon juice into the eggplant.

Drain and crush tomatoes by hand, reserving juice if you want to use later for tomato soup or sauce, ect...( If I double the lamb recipe I make a quick soup for 4 with garlic, 1 stalk celery, 1 onion, 1 carrot, a bay leaf and white pepper....yum!)

Place drained, crushed tomatoes in small to medium pot with garlic and a pinch of salt. Simmer about 1 minute and add paprika. Continue cooking until most of the juice has evaporated, then add turmeric, cumin, 1 t oil, cilantro, parsley and sugar. Cook until thickened.

Assemble the dish by placing the meat and juices on the bottom, next the eggplant, and finally the tomato. This can be in the same pot as used for cooking the lamb, or in a glass dish or bowl so that you can see the layers. Let simmer on the stove or cook low in the oven for at least 1 hour or up to 5 hours.

This is really yummy served over rice or couscous, and also freezes great.

Carmines Bread Pudding...the lazy way

We have a thing for Carmine's...it's a family style restaurant in NY, near to my aunt's house on the Upper West Side and we really like the food there. I had my 21st birthday there, and whenever Lynn comes, she brings meatballs down to my dad...so I guess it's a family thing. For Thanksgiving we couldn't find a Pecan Pie that we all agreed on, so I got the recipe for Carmine's bread pudding (they have a cookbook) and made it. YUM. However, since I'm lazy in the kitchen, I like to cut corners. Here is my version of the recipe, which skips the "individually toast and butter each slice of bread" part. Though if you have the time and desire, go for it! Everything else is the same....and if you want to switch it up a bit you can always substitute dried cherries for raisins...think of the bread as a blank canvas and go crazy! Also, I use my home made challa bread, but the original recipe calls for rustic bread.



Carmine's Chocolate Bread Pudding

• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 7 large eggs
• 3 cups heavy (whipping) cream
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar
  
• tablespoons pure vanilla extract
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  
• 2 pounds day-old challa bread
  
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  
• whipped cream or ice cream (optional, for serving)
  

In a small bowl, cover raisins with hot water and soak them for until needed. (Alternately, microwave the raisins and water until the water boils) Drain and set aside (the raisins can soak while you make the custard).

To make the custard, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside.

Trim crust from bread and cut bread into 4-by-2-inch rectangles about 3/4 inch thick.

TO MAKE BREAD PUDDING:
Snugly line the bottom of a covered oven safe dish (or a loaf pan) with bread. Scatter a quarter of raisins and a quarter of the chocolate chips over the bread. Top with another layer of bread slices. Keep layering the pudding until there you have no more layers (generally 3-4 layers) and all the raisins, chocolate and bread are used. The top layer should be raisins and chocolate.

Melt the butter and mix into the custard (though it will sort of rise to the top and coagulate, when it comes into contact with the cool milk...yuo could probably leave the butter out too, though I've never tested it)

Gently pour the custard over the pudding so that it sinks down to the bottom and covers the top of the pudding. With the back of a spoon or spatula, press down on the bread to compact the pudding and distribute the custard.

Cover your dish (or cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil) and refrigerate at least 2 hours or for up to 12 hours. (You can also freeze pretty successfully at this stage)

WHEN READY TO BAKE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Put a deep roasting pan, large enough to hold the dish easily, on the rack. (If you have used a loaf pan covered with foil and plastic wrap, remove the foil and plastic wrap from the bread pudding. Discard plastic wrap and replace foil over the pan.) Set the loaf pan in the roasting pan and add enough hot water to the roasting pan to come half to three-quarters of the way up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake pudding about 1 1/2 hours or until a skewer poked through the foil comes out clean. (If it's not clean, return pudding to the oven and recheck every 15 minutes). Remove foil and allow to cool for 1 hour before serving.

TO SERVE:
Invert a serving platter over the pudding and, holding the platter in place over the loaf pan, turn it upside down to release the pudding onto the platter. Immediately turn the pudding upright. Serve slices with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.


*Note: the recipe says that it serves 6-10...I think it easily serves 12...it's really rich. Sometimes I cut the recipe in half (using 4 eggs) and bake it in a smaller dish...it then makes about 5 cups. It could also be cute baked in individual ramekins or mugs.

Holiday Treats

I spent the night making some last-minute gifts for friends...Haim has been happily taste testing as well!

Carmel Corn

Makes 8 cups

Ingredients
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 6 quarts popped corn (sift out unpopped kernels)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• your favorite nuts (pecans, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, cashews….)

Directions
1.In large saucepan, boil sugar, butter, syrup and salt for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

2.Add soda and stir well.

3.Pour over popcorn and nuts.

4.Spread on cookie sheet.

5.Bake 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring at 15 minute intervals.

6.Remove from oven and cool until solid.

7.Store in covered container to keep crisp.

Carmel Pecan Clusters

Makes 12

Ingredients
• 1 cup pecan halves (3 1/4 ounces)
• 12 soft caramel-candy cubes
• 1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into 12 pieces (1/2 inch each)

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange pecans in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven (leave oven on); set aside 36 pecans on baking sheet. Finely chop remaining pecans (for about 1/4 cup); set aside.

2.When pecans are cool enough to handle, make 12 clusters by arranging 2 pecans vertically, side by side, below 1 pecan placed horizontally. The clusters should be arranged on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat or parchment. Gently flatten each caramel; place 1 on top of each cluster. Bake clusters 5 minutes. Remove from oven (leave oven on).

3.Place 1 piece of chocolate on top of each cluster. Return to oven; bake until chocolate begins to melt, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from oven. With the back of a spoon, gently spread chocolate over caramel without completely covering it.

4.Sprinkle clusters with reserved chopped pecans. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Chocolate Apricots

Ingredients
• equal weight measure dried Turkish apricots and chopped dark chocolate
• foil candy wrappers


Directions
1.Microwave chocolate in a glass bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring vigorously with a rubber spatula and scraping down sides in between, until just melted (chocolate should be no warmer than 86 degrees).

2.Dip each apricot in chocolate, coating evenly. Transfer to wire racks set over parchment paper; let stand until set.

3.Transfer apricots to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until firm, at least 25 minutes. Wrap in foil wrappers. Can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.
Turned out beautiful, but I might try this with tempered chocolate next time and see if it does any better...maybe I can leave it unrefrigerated then.

White Chocolate Clusters

Makes 20

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups assorted dried fruits and toasted nuts, (choose among raisins, cherries, cranberries, chopped apricots, almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, and macadamia nuts)
• 1 package (12 ounces) white-chocolate chips

Directions
1.Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. In a small bowl, combine dried fruits and nuts.

2.Heat white-chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until just smooth. Do not overheat or the consistency of the "chocolate" will alter and be ruined.

3.Drop level tablespoons of melted chocolate onto prepared sheet, 2 inches apart. Mound fruit-nut mixture on top, pressing in gently. Refrigerate until set, 15 to 20 minutes.

English Toffee

Makes about 3 pounds

Ingredients
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan and foil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 cups toasted (about 8 ounces) almonds, chopped
• 12oz good quality chocolate (milk or dark), tempered

Directions
1.Butter a 12-by-18-inch baking pan. Cover two large cutting boards or cardboard pieces with parchment paper. Set aside.

2.In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, corn syrup, and 3 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, stir in 1 cup almonds, and pour out into prepared pan, spreading the mixture with the back of a spoon to fill the pan.

3.Before candy hardens, but when it is firm enough to handle, turn it out onto parchment-lined board. Allow to cool completely.

4.Wipe the surface of candy with a damp paper towel to remove excess butter, and allow to dry.

5. Temper the chocolate using a double boiler. Heat 5/6 of the chocolate to 118F, while stirring. Remove from heat and stir in remaining chocolate. Stir continuously until chocolate temperature drops to 84F, and then reheat to 90F and use immediately.

6.Using a small offset spatula, quickly spread half the tempered chocolate over candy. Scatter 1/2 cup of the remaining almonds over chocolate. Cover with parchment paper, and place second cutting board on paper. Turn candy over onto second surface. Remove top board and paper, quickly spread candy with remaining chocolate, and scatter with the remaining 1/2 cup almonds. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set chocolate.

7.Break candy into 2-inch pieces. The candy may be stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 1 week; use parchment paper to separate layers.

ENJOY!

ps: all of these treats can be given in inexpensive reusable glass jars or tins.

Hanukkah

This was Maya's first real Hanukkah, and I wanted to make it special for her. Last year we were traveling and it was barely marked, and the prior years she was really too young to remember it. Each day I tried to have a special Hanukkah book, activity or craft for her, and the holiday was a lot of fun for everyone. We had several special dinners with friends, small gifts of books, stickers and puppets (plus gifts from grandma and grandpa), a holiday party with the homeschool group, and a Hanukkah party in the house for a couple of friends.

Janice gave Maya a kit for making her own menorah candles, a lovely and fun craft, and we also had a lot of success at the party with decorating construction paper cones and filling the finished result with chocolate "gelt." It made me realize that I need to incorporate more craft and art opportunities into Maya's activities.

We also made latkes and sufganiyot a couple of times...the latke recipe is an old family recipe, that I brought back to it's original form with hand grated potatoes, rather than the food processed ones that my grandma has been doing for the last 30 or so years. (Much better texture!)

POTATO LATKES
(1 potato makes about 4 playing card size latkes)
For every 4 medium sized idaho potatoes add 2 Tbs all purpose flour and 2 eggs

Wash (you do not need to peel) and grate your potatoes, and squeeze out liquid. Add appropriate amount of eggs and flour, as well as salt and white pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly, but do not over-mix.

Heat a generous amount of crisco in a (preferably non-stick) pan to a medium-high heat. If the fat is smoking, the heat is too high.

Once hot, spoon pancakes into your pan...I prefer silver dollar sized ones, though my family has always made them playing card sized.

When they are crispy golden brown flip them. When the second side is cooked drain on paper towel and serve immediately with apple sauce and sour cream.

SUFGANIOT

Ingredients

• 1 package(s) active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon(s) granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup(s) granulated sugar
• 3 3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup(s) whole milk
• 6 tablespoon(s) margarine, melted and cooled, substitute butter
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) ground nutmeg
• 2 large eggs
• 4 cup(s) vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 cup(s) seedless red raspberry jelly, substitute other favorite jelly
• Confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

In large bowl, mix yeast, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F); let stand until yeast mixture foams, about 5 minutes.

With wooden spoon, stir flour, milk, margarine, salt, nutmeg, eggs, and remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar into yeast mixture until evenly blended (dough will be very sticky). Cover bowl with clean cloth towel, and let dough rise in warm place (80 to 85 degrees F) until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

With floured hands, punch down dough. Turn dough onto heavily floured surface; let rest 10 minutes. With floured hands, pat dough 1/2-inch thick. With floured 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible. Place rounds, about 2 inches apart, on lightly floured cookie sheets. Gently press trimmings together; press and cut as above. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat until temperature reaches 375 degrees F on deep-fry thermometer. With wide metal spatula, carefully place 2 or 3 doughnuts in hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes, turning over once. With large slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to wire racks lined with paper towels to drain; repeat with remaining dough.

When doughnuts are cool enough to handle, with small sharp knife, pierce doughnuts from 1 side almost to opposite side. Place jelly in decorating bag fitted with 1/4-inch round tip. Squeeze small amount of jelly into each doughnut through slit. Cool doughnuts completely on wire rack. Sprinkle doughnuts with confectioners' sugar to serve.

Pancake Breakfast

We've really been enjoying these pancakes from scratch. I found the recipe on-line and am in love! these are also great with berries or chocolate chips mixed in.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Lemon Bars!

On Monday night Haim and I had a date night...something that we try to do fairly often, but usually consists of Maya sleeping out, and us watching TV together...It's hard (actually you just have to be creative) to do a budget date night, but it's nice to do something out of the ordinary. In the morning I had told Haim that I wanted to do something (actually anything) besides sit and watch TV together, as a gentle warning that he not get all wrapped up in the garage conversion project that he's been working on.

Haim picked me up from yoga in the evening, and we went for an "early bird" pizza at a restaurant we both enjoy...(even though I had dinner prepared at home). We sat outside to enjoy the wonderful breeze and weather which the recent (and now gone) cold-front had brought. After dinner, we came home and took a walk over to Hollywood Blvd and around the circle. While walking, we came upon a new fudge shop, and we went inside for a peak. Haim was the proverbial "kid-in-a-candy-shop." His eyes were giant as he took in all of the beautiful candies and treats. I also discovered that Haim had never before tasted fudge or caramel. He had both, and enjoyed them immensely, but it got me thinking of other typically American treats that he had never experienced.

Last night Maya and I made Lemon Bars. They were really nice to make with her, because she could do most of it with supervision rather than assistance...she got to get her hands messy and had fun pressing the crust into the pan and mixing the lemon topping....and the bars were a delicious hit!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, 1/3 cup of confectioners' sugar, and butter until butter is in very small crumbs. Press into the bottom of a 11x7 inch pan.
2. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and lightly browned. While the crust is baking, whisk together the eggs, 2/3 cup of confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Just before the crust is done, stir in the baking powder. Pour over the crust while it is hot, and return to the oven.
3. Bake for another 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until set. Dust with remaining confectioners' sugar when cool.

Delicious weather....and cookies

We've had the first cold spell (thank g-d) of the season...and I was really hoping that the change in weather would also bring about the birth...oh well, guess the baby's not "fully cooked" yet! However, I did take the opportunity to do some extra cooking today. Maya and I made black & white cookies...she's been into them lately, and they were really easy!

I used the following recipe from Gourmet, which made about 5 cookies, though teh recipe said it would make 8. I might make them a touch smaller (though oversized is good for these cookies) and make sure they are a bit flatter on the pan before heading into the oven, since they do puff quite a bit while cooking.

For cookies

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg

For icings

• 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 to 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.

Make icings while cookies chill:
Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.

Ice cookies:
Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.

Another "relaxing" Saturday

My parents are in Montana, so we've been keeping an extra eye on grandma while they are away. Last night she spent the night to join us for Shabbatt dinner. At 3am (the usual time I seem to wake up from the pregnancy anyway) I woke up to grandma coughing...a lot. Not terribly surprising, since she's been recovering from a cold...but it went on for an hour, resulting in fever, chills, and a lot of "unproductive" retching over the toilet. She finally fell back to sleep at 4, and I did the same at 5:45.
Around 6:30 Haim and I woke up from lots of chicken squawking. At first we thought that they had escaped into the front yard...but after a dash to the front and the back, we realized that they were having a stand-off with a hawk who was a touch smaller than them. He flew off, we fed the chickens and went back to sleep for an hour.
I woke up and prepared some ricotta pancakes...thankfully, because the day has never really calmed since then! Exciting events include a garbage truck exploding a tire in front of our house just after Maya woke up, Haim and I running back and forth between rental properties, and a very confused grandma waking up believing it was Monday. Luckily a yummy, protein packed breakfast helped us set the tone for the day!

Ricotta Pancakes
(the original recipe says this is enough for 2 servings, but I think it is enough for 6 small to medium eaters, especially with fresh fruit served on the side)

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 or 2 handfuls fresh or frozen mixed berries (if you like)
  
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• Butter, for griddle

Preheat a nonstick griddle.

Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, and then combine in dry ingredients. Add butter to hot pan, and pour silver dollar size pancakes. Cook on both sides until light golden brown. Repeat until no batter remains. We like to top this with a touch of maple syrup, but they are delicious plain too.

Enjoy!