Well, the holidays are officially upon us. Even though I am steeped in food on the regular, I am still waaaaaaay behind in my holiday preparations. I haven’t even menu planned. Blargh!! I do this to myself every. single. year. I invite a ton of people over because I LOVE LOVE LOVE hosting but then I end up all stressed out the day of first night dinner because I’m running around trying to get sh*t done. It also doesn’t help that I have a strict 8:30pm bedtime (I work full time and have 2 kids. I’m in survival mode here, people) so there’s no staying up super late and doing tons of baking for me. Nope, I’d rather just woman up and deal with it come the day of the holiday. The good news, however, is that I know a few people in food with some amazing food blogs so inspiration is but a click and an hour of web-surfing away. The other bit of good news is that I’ve been writing for a lovely website called, InterfaithFamily.com, an organization whose mission is to support interfaith families exploring Jewish life. I’ve written several posts for them over the couple months so I thought I’d get organized and give you a look-see. I also had the IMMENSE pleasure of writing a guest post for Chanie at Busy in Brooklyn. All links will be posted below! I hope you get some inspiration for your holidays or your daily meal-planning. Shanah Tovah!
Traditions. I’ve been thinking a lot about traditions lately. My husband and I don’t really have a lot of traditions. We’ve been together for five years and married for three and I feel strongly that that’s long enough to have some actual traditions but we just don’t have any. I would assume that part of the reason for this is because in the 5 years we have been together and 3 years of marriage, we’ve lived in a number of cities (Jerusalem, Ann Arbor, and Miami). We haven’t actually been anywhere long enough to set up shop and cultivate some serious traditions. I often read or hear about families who have long-standing traditions of this or that and it sounds really, really nice. I’d like to get me some of those traditions, if you please?
Kids: The eat for 2 minutes and play for 2 hours.
One tradition we won’t drop: Mommy and Siona photo shoot on Thanksgiving (this was last year’s).
Six adults and one child ate all that delicious, homemade grub.
The closest thing my husband and I have come to an actual tradition is hosting Thanksgiving. We have hosted every Thanksgiving we’ve had since moving to Miami in December of 2010; all two of them. Each year we’ve had our dear friends (and fellow food-lovers), Adam and Francine (check out her yummy food blog here) and their son, Matan come for dinner and this year is no exception. I have such amazingly fond memories of our Miami Thanksgivings that now, with this impending LA move on the horizon, I feel that what was to become a tradition will be bittersweet this year. Our Miami Thanksgiving is precious. It’s ballsy to say, but no grandparents are allowed. It’s just my our urban family and, now that my husband’s brother and his family have moved here, siblings. But that’s it. We drink beers, we eat A LOT and let the kids run wild. I have no doubts that this year will not disappoint.
Composing the Masterpiece
Who needs bread?
Well folks, I think it’s safe to say that the “Thanksgivukkah” horse is dead. It is so very, very dead. But just in case it isn’t quite dead yet, I went ahead and accepted my own challenge of creating the ultimate Thanksgivukkah sandwich. Actually, because I’m a glutton for punishment, I made TWO Thanksgivukkah sandwiches; one to be created using all those glorious leftovers from your Thanksgiving dinner and the other as a beautiful dessert/breakfast/side dish. I had posted the question on the Jewhungry Facebook page of whether or not a sandwich with latkes as the ‘bun’ was too much but, come on, if you like Jewhungry on Facebook chances are, you are all in favor of a sandwich that has latkes for a bun (and chances are, we would get along swimmingly).
For the sake of my own sanity, I did not roast an entire turkey from scratch nor did I make a batch of my mom’s stuffing recipe. Instead, I used turkey tenderloin and organic, kosher instant stuffing. The savory sandwich was, in a word, ridconulous. It tasted so so good. And because I started making them at 7am on Sunday morning, my husband, baby daughter and I ate them for brunch at 11am. This was a true labor of love. This month’s Kosher Connection round-up theme was “Thanksgivukkah” and well, what better way to mash-up your Thanksgiving turkey and your Chanukkah latke than an actual mash-up . . . on your plate and in your belly. Enjoy!
Tradition latke recipe found here
Turkey tenderloins
3 Tbsp olive oil
Rubbed sage
Garlic powder
Thyme
Pepper
Stuffing – either homemade or instant will work (you decide)
1/4 Cup mayonnaise
3 Tbsp Canned jellied cranberry sauce w/whole cranberry chunks
1/2 lemon, juiced
Green leaf lettuce
Gravy (for the sake of my sanity and this recipe, I used instant vegetarian gravy)
How?
(I’m assuming you already having stuffing ready for sandwich-making. This recipe does not include a stuffing recipe but there are PLENTY out there so feel free to Google).
Before you start with the latkes, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and set aside. Wash and dry your turkey tenderloins. Lay side-by-side on the tin foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle the tenderloins with olive oil and the dry spices listed above. Using a basting brush, brush the olive oil and spices so that they are evenly dispersed on the turkey. Put in oven and roast for 25 – 30 minutes or until juices run clear. Once finished, set aside.
Find the method for the traditional savory latke recipe here.
Once you have completed making all your latkes, set to the side an start mixing your cranberry aioli. Combine mayonnaise, cranberry jelly and lemon juice into a bowl and whisk until well combined. Add more cranberry or mayo for your liking.
For assembly: My husband and I are big believers in the even-spread and the importance of the art of layering a sandwich (have i mentioned that we are of nerd-like quality?). Therefore, I recommend the following for composing your latke sandwich:
Latke Side One: Cranberry aioli and stuffing
Latke Side Two: Small leaf of lettuce, turkey, gravy
Lay side one onto side two and go. To. Town.
And just in case you have room for dessert . . .
Cinnamon Sweet Potato and Apple Latke Sandwich with Chocolate Gelt and Coconut Milk Whipped Cream {Latke recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen}
Ingredients:
Find coconut milk whipped cream ingredients and method here.
(Makes 8 – 10 latkes)
3 Medium sweet potatoes
2 large, tart, and firm apples such as Granny Smiths
1 Tbsp lemon juice
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 large eggs
Sunflower oil
Dark chocolate gelt
How:
First, set up a large bowl of ice water in the sink. You will pour the shredded sweet potatoes and apples in the ice bath immediately after shredding.
Peel and core apples and sweet potatoes. Using the large holes of a box grater or in a food processor, shred the apples and sweet potatoes (they can be done in the same bowl). Transfer to the ice bath so as to prevent browning. Let soak for a few minutes while you clean out your food processor. Next, transfer to a clean dishtowel or cheesecloth sling and wring out as much juice as you can.
Transfer grated sweet potato and apple mixture to a medium bowl and toss with lemon juice. In a small dish, whisk flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder and toss with the sweet potatoes and apples, coating them evenly. Whisk eggs in this small dish until lightly beaten and stir into sweet potato-apple-lemon-flour mixture.
Add sunflower oil to a large frying pan that reaches a depth of 1/8 inch. Heat slowly over medium to about 365 degrees F. Scoop mixture out with large kitchen spoon (usually I loose the spoon after a while and just get in there with my hands). Squeeze the mixture firmly in your palm over an empty dish to remove any excess liquid. (If you squeezed the potatoes out thoroughly in the cloth, you may not have much excess liquid to squeeze out). Shape the sweet potato/apple mixture into a tightly compacted disk.
Place the disk carefully into the hot oil. Latkes can break apart at this point, they’re very delicate. If you can get them into the hot oil in one piece, chances are they will stick together – frying them is like the “glue” that holds them together. It takes a gentle touch, and it may take you some practice to get the “feel” for it.
The oil should sizzle, but not pop when the latke hits it; if the oil jumps wildly or smokes, it is too hot. If it only bubbles weakly, the oil is not hot enough. Use the first latke to test the oil temperature, and don’t fry a whole batch until the temperature is right.
Continue shaping the latkes in this way, using 2 tablespoons of mixture for each latke. Fry in batches of 4-5 latkes at a time (no more than that – don’t crowd the pan) for 2-3 minutes per side until brown and crispy. Remove the latkes from the frying pan and let oil soak on paper towel.
For Assembly of Sandwich:
Place a chocolate gelt coin on each latke. Top with a dollop of whipped cream and either eat separately or place one on top of the other and, I don’t mean to be redundant, go. To. Town.
This month’s theme for our Kosher Connection round-up is, as stated above, the best thing I ever ate. This one was a doozie for me. There’s so much associated with taste. It goes beyond the texture, the flavor combination, the exotic-ness of the dish. For me, it also has so much to do with positive memory. I remember the first time I had a hot wing. I remember mom coming home from dinner and giving me her leftover for me to taste even though I was supposed to be going to bed. I remember sitting at the kitchen counter and taking my first bite and the subsequent burning sensation of my lips and tanginess on my tongue. I remember thinking, “I need to eat this ALL THE TIME”. I also remember the first time I had real Italian drinking chocolate while living in Milan in the summer of 1999 (I was supposed to be there to model but come on, who puts the modeling capital of the world in Italy for crying out loud!? More on that in a future post). I remember the first time I had real Italian espresso and chocolate croissant (again, seriously, if we’re not supposed to eat then put the fashion capital of the world in like, I don’t know, NOT Italy). I was living abroad for the first time, trying all the food I came into contact with—-tasting freedom and fresh, Italian cooking. It was heaven. The first time I took a sip of that drinking chocolate I thought to myself, “Yes. Just, yes.”
You can see it in my 19 year-old eyes. I want a chocolate croissant and I want it now! P.S. There was some serious air-brushing that went on here
So for this round-up, I didn’t go complicated. Instead, I went with a memory of a dish that was rich, creamy, delicious; all my favorites. It combines my love of cheese, garlic and chicken—but kosher, of course. This dish also sprung to mind because the memories associated with it are pretty yummy as well. In 2001 I was a senior in college. My boyfriend was studying abroad to get his Master’s degree, I was living in the dorm next door to some dudes who decided it would be OK to have band practice in their room at 11PM at night and I was itchin’ to get out of college. I went to college in a small town in the middle of Ohio called The College of Wooster. By the time I was a senior I believe there were roughly 1700 students on campus. So yes, 3 years into that kind of smallness and you’re ready to get. My senior year started out about 2 weeks before 9/11. Everything that happened on that fateful day pretty much set the tone for the rest of my senior year. We felt isolated and alone in the middle of nowhere Ohio. We were partly chomping at the bit to get out of there and partly terrified to see what the ‘real world’ was like. I was blessed to have a wonderful and loving group of girl friends, thank Gd, who did everything together. One very cold winter day, our little group piled in our cars and headed to our girl, Kristen’s mom’s house. Kristen lived the quintessential Ohio life. She grew up on a farm and her neighbors, who were miles down the dirt road, were mostly her relatives. It was a far cry from the suburban Atlanta neighborhood I grew up in. Anyway, the plan was to get away for a bit and have a taste of home. I remember that during this time I was especially feeling anxious and scared about the future so a little time at home, even someone else’s home, was exactly what I needed. The minute we walked in the front door, I didn’t want to leave. The place smelled like everything ‘home’ should smell like. For dinner that night, Kristen’s mom served us a classic “the college kids are coming to dinner” meal of stuffed chicken breast. It was breaded, baked and stuffed with cream cheese and spinach. Now, this was during my ‘BK’ years—-Before Kosher, so please don’t freak out here. The following recipe includes Tofutti cream cheese. Anyway, the point is that though it wasn’t culinary genius, it was perfection. It was warmth and home and love served on an ooey, gooey plate.
The college crew. I’m fairly confident I’m wearing overalls in this picture. #2002
Cooking the Greens
Chicken Breast Stuffed with Tofutti Cream ‘Cheese’, Spinach and Zucchini
Ingredients:
3 Chicken breasts, pounded flat
3 TBSP of Coconut Oil
1 Small yellow onion, diced
3 Cloves garlic OR 1 shallot, diced
1 Zucchini, diced
1 Big handful of spinach
1/2 Cup of Toffuti cream cheese
Handful of fresh dill and thyme, washed and cut small to be incorporated into cream cheese for added flavor
Additional Supplies:
Poultry twine
or
Toothpicks
Stuffing the Flattened Chicken
How:
Put boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a large Ziploc freezer bag and seal it up tight. Using a mallet (or in my case the bottom of another cooking pan), pound those little breasts down until about 1/2 inch thick. The thinner the better (but not too thin that the stuffing would seep through). Once flattened, put to the side. Using a large, deep skillet, about 2 -3 inches at the sides, heat your coconut oil on a medium high level. Add your onions and sautee until transclucent, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and sautee for another minute. Next, add your zucchini and sautee until just beginning to brown. Finally, add your fresh spinach (you can use frozen as well just make sure everything else has browned by now as the moisture in the frozen spinach will stop the browning process). Spinach wilts quickly so make sure not to overcook. Add your spices while sauteeing and adjust to your liking. Once spinach is nice and bright green and incorporated into the rest of the vegetables, turn the heat off. At this point, add the toffuti cream cheese and herb mix to the pan and stir all together until you’ve got a nice, creamy mixture of cream cheese, herbs and vegetables. Once that’s combined, dish out into a separate bowl and clean your pan out to be used to cook the chicken (why do MORE dishes, right?).
Lay out chicken breasts on a flat surface. Place a heaping spoonful of the cream cheese mixture onto a little left of the middle of each piece of chicken. If you put it right in the middle, it’ll make the ‘sandwiching’ of the chicken a bit difficult. Next, fold the chicken in half so that the cream cheese mixture is sandwiched between the same chicken (see image above). Take your poultry twine and wrap the chicken up tight like a nice little chicken present so that the filling stays in while cooking (you can also use a toothpick at the ends of the chicken to hold it together but then it should be roasted). After you’ve done that with all three, put 2 more TBSP of coconut oil into the pan at a medium high level. Add the chicken to the pan and let brown on each side about 7 – 8 minutes or until the chicken juices run clean and enjoy.
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