Marinated Mushrooms

Before the pandemic I would sometimes buy nibbles from the salad bar at the supermarket — stuff I could serve with drinks before dinner when we had people over.

I no longer feel comfortable doing that, especially after seeing a video my daughter sent me of a guy in a store using a ladle to taste some soup and then putting the ladle back into the container!

Aaaaaaarrgh!!!

I can make my own marinated mushrooms, et. al. In fact the ones I make using this recipe are better than anything similar I ever bought anywhere.

There’s no going back for me. These take 15 minutes tops to prepare.

Marinated Mushrooms

• 8 ounces common white mushrooms

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

• 1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 tablespoon wine vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• pinch or two of Aleppo pepper or crushed red pepper, optional

Clean the mushrooms and cut them into bite size pieces. Bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the mushrooms, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain the mushrooms and place them in a bowl. Add the red onion, garlic and parsley and toss the ingredients. Pour in the olive oil, wine vinegar and season with oregano, salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients and let them marinate for at least 2 hours before serving. Best served at room temperature.

Makes 6-8 hors d’oeuvre servings

The Benefits of Buttermilk: Summer Buttermilk Soup

Buttermilk makes you beautiful.

So they say.

I once read that Mark Antony fell in love with Cleopatra because she had silky, radiant skin -- thanks to baths in buttermilk. And that Scarlett O’Hara apparently used buttermilk on her face to get rid of her freckles.

Me? Silky and radiant? Not lately (if ever).

Also I have too many freckles to even contemplate rubbing them out. Also, I think freckles are cute.

So no, for me buttermilk isn’t about its beauty functions.

It’s about food.

No surprise there, right?

You heard it here: buttermilk makes a lot of food better, more delicious, more perfect in texture.

Buttermilk makes one of the tastiest, most satisfying, most thirst-quenching drinks (lassis).

It adds a whole new dimension to ordinary cole slaw.

Want moist, tender muffins, scones and pancakes? Make them with buttermilk. Ditto Cake! Pie! Even pudding!

And especially, at this time of year: make satisfyingly creamy, low-fat, low-calorie summer soups like this one, based on cucumbers.

Cold Cucumber-Buttermilk Soup

• 2 medium cucumbers

• salt

• 1 stalk celery, peeled and chopped

• 2 scallions, chopped

• 1 clove garlic

• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh chili pepper, optional

• 1 cup buttermilk

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

• Aleppo pepper (or use freshly ground black pepper)

Peel the cucumbers, slice them in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Sprinkle the cucumbers with salt and let them stand for 30 minutes. Wipe the cucumbers with paper towels. Chop the cucumbers into coarse chunks and place in a blender or food processor. Add the celery, scallions, garlic and chili pepper, if used, and process to mince them. Add the buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice, parsley and dill (use a large bowl and whisk if your blender or processor isn’t large enough) and process until well blended. Season to taste with salt and either Aleppo or black pepper. Chill thoroughly before serving.

Makes 4-6 servings

Korean Style Gochujang Chicken Wings

My husband doesn’t conform to the Hollywood version of the Father’s Day grill master. I do the cooking, including anything made on the outdoor BBQ grill.

He eats.

Fortunately, he eats whatever I serve and loves whatever I cook.

He does have favorites, of course: any kind of Chinese food is in first place. Followed by specialties of several other Asian cuisines such as Korean and Indian. He also loves Jewish deli and Texas Brisket.

So this weekend he’s getting these wings, Korean in origin, made with Gochujang sauce. If you keep a kosher kitchen, check out @koreankosher (Koko brand), which manufactures several kosher Korean ingredients, including a really delicious Gochujang sauce.

I usually bake these but they come out just fine on the grill also, so take your choice.

Korean Style gochujang chicken wings

• 3 pounds chicken wings

• 1/3 cup Gochujang sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil

• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh ginger

• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped

• 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 1 large scallion, chopped, for garnish

• white sesame seeds for garnish

Preheat an outdoor grill or oven broiler. Wash and dry the wings and separate the parts In a large bowl, combine the Gochujang, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame seed oil, ginger and garlic and mix the ingredients to blend them thoroughly. Set aside. Pour the vegetable oil over the wing parts and toss to coat all the pieces. Grill the wings, turning once, for about 8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Brush the wings with some of the sauce, and cook for about 12-15 minutes, brushing with more of the sauce, until the wings are crispy and fully cooked. Sprinkle with the scallion and white sesame seeds.

If you don’t have a grill: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Eliminate the vegetable oil. Place the wings in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss to coat the pieces evenly. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Turn the wings over and bake for another 15 minutes or until the wings are crispy.

Makes 6-8 servings

Marinated Avocados

Here’s a simple, easy-to-prepare, inexpensive nibble that’s terrific with cocktails or just for sitting around on a summer afternoon. Or for watching the Superbowl. Or as a first bite for break-the-fast.

It’s so easy to make stuff like this. I’m done relying on supermarket salads bars.

Marinated Avocados

• 2 ripe Haas avocados

• 1 medium clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped red onion

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Peel the avocados and cut the flesh into bite size pieces. Place the pieces in a bowl. Add the garlic, red onion and parsley and toss the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Pour in the olive oil and one tablespoon lemon juice; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Taste and add more lemon juice if desired. Let marinate for at least one hour. Best served at room temperature.

Makes 8 hors d’oeuvre servings

Butternut Squash Salad with Feta Cheese and Pepitas

This is the time of year (where I live, anyway) where one day it can be winter: cold, windy and snowy. OR spring: warm, sunny, go-for-a-walk weather.

This salad reflects the season: some roasted winter squash with young, tender greens in a salad that’s light, a first course to a spring meal.

Butternut Squash salad with Feta Cheese and Pepitas

• 1 medium butternut squash

• 2-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

• kosher salt

• Aleppo pepper or cayenne (optional)

• 2 cups packed baby spinach or other greens

• 5-6 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese

• 4-5 tablespoons pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and stringy flesh. Peel off the skin with a vegetable peeler. Slice the squash into 1/2-inch slices. Place the slices on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Coat the slices on both sides using one tablespoon of the olive oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and Aleppo pepper if desired. Bake the squash for 15 minutes. Turn the slices over. Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the squash from the oven. Place equal amounts of the spinach leaves on each of four serving plates. Place equal amounts of squash slices on top. Sprinkle with equal amounts of feta cheese and pepitas. Mix the remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons of olive oil with the white wine vinegar. Sprinkle over the salad. Serve at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings

Romanian Cheese Turnovers (Placinta cu Branza)

This has been a year like no other, but, in an effort to make New Year’s weekend somewhat normal (and with hopes that 2021 will be much better!), the cousins who always spend New Year’s with us have agreed to self-isolate, take Covid tests and so on, and if the tests are negative, they will come and stay with us for a few days!!!

I am so looking forward to that!

Our New Year’s Eve celebration is always an hors d’oeuvre fest. We start at about noon, have a few nibbles. A few hours later we have more nibbles and then at about 7:00-8:00 p.m. our final round. Dessert is much later, maybe 10:00 or 11:00 p.m.

We are doing the same thing this year. TRADITION!

The company and the food style will help us all feel … normal. If only for the long weekend.

I make some classics every year. Gougeres. Stuffed mushrooms. Matbucha. Chicken wings.

This year I am adding these mini-cheese turnovers. The filling is classic — my grandmother (my visiting cousin’s grandma as well) made a similar cheese mixture and wrapped it up in phyllo dough, as I also have many times. But puff pastry is easier to work with and every bit as delicious. We have eaten several of these as I worked to finalize the recipe. The New Year’s stash is safely stored away in my freezer.

Romanian Cheese TUrnovers (Placinta cu Branza)

• 1-1/4 cups crumbled feta cheese

• 1 7.5 ounce package farmer cheese (about one cup)(or use dry curd cottage cheese)

• 1/4 cup sour cream

• 1 large egg

• 2 medium scallions, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry*

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the feta cheese, farmer cheese, sour cream, egg, scallion and dill in a mixing bowl and mix together until the mixture is uniform and the ingredients evenly distributed. Roll one sheet of the puff pastry into a 12”x 12” or 13”x13”square. Cut out 9 or 16 squares. Place equal amounts of cheese filling in the center of each. Wet two sides of each square lightly with some water. Fold the dry sides of the dough in half over the filling to meet the wet sides and to form triangles. Press the ends to seal the dough tightly. Press the edges with the tines of a fork to seal the sides completely. Place the pieces on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 18 or 32

*You can make this as strudel, using buttered phyllo leaves

Greens with Figs and Roasted Hazelnuts

I find it incredibly sad that Ed and I will not be able to host our annual Break-the-Fast. Our group has been gathering together for what seems like forever, and unlike all the other holidays which we celebrate with family, our Yom Kippur break-the-fast included friends from our synagogue and community, people who got together, just for this occasion.

I can’t even remember when we started.

Decades ago.

Not everyone who came had fasted, but we had all done something — skipped breakfast or not had carbs or not had coffee — that reminded us to be mindful about the joy and meaning behind celebrating the new year as well as looking back on what had happened the year before, who we needed to be better to, what we needed to be better at. The Break-the-fast marked a real beginning.

But now we can’t begin because the end of what has brought us to this place doesn’t seem anywhere in sight.

Virtual break-the-fast just doesn’t cut it for me.

I will miss the food too. Our meal is always vegetarian/dairy. No fish because my daughter is allergic. Our must-haves have always been mujadarah, eggplant-mashed potato gratin, my friend Susan’s kugel, a giant challah. And much more, with some changes over the years.

Dessert of course.

But this year it’s just the two of us, so dinner will be salad and roasted salmon.

But ——— even with all the trials and tribulations of the past year as well as the health concerns and social unrest that continue into 5781, I try to be grateful. For my family, friends, my life.

As for food? It will be different this one year. Fortunately, fresh figs are now available! (But only for a short time — one of those get-them-while-you-can items.) Ed and I both love them and I’ve already made several recipes using both green and black figs.

But this salad is the fig dish I’ll be serving post Yom Kippur. It’s easy, festive enough for a holiday meal and easy on the stomach after not eating for a while.

Greens with Figs and Roasted Hazelnuts

• 6 fresh figs

• 2 tablespoons olive oil plus extra for coating the figs

• 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped hazelnuts

• 3 packed cups mixed soft greens such as spinach, frisee, Bibb lettuce, washed and dried

• 2-3 teaspoons white wine vinegar

• salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Parmesan cheese

Preheat an outdoor grill or oven broiler. Brush the figs with a thin film of olive oil and cut them in half. Place them, flesh side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Broil for about 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove the figs and set them aside. OR: grill them on an outdoor grill. Place the hazelnuts on the baking sheet and broil them for a minute or two to toast them lightly (or bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 5-6 minutes). Remove the nuts and set aside. Place the greens in a bowl. Pour in the 2 tablespoons olive oil and toss to coat the leaves. Add 2 teaspoons wine vinegar and toss, taste and add the additional vinegar if desired. Add the figs and nuts, toss, taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Grate or shave Parmesan cheese over the greens and serve.

Makes 2 servings

Garden Fresh Salsa (Pico de Gallo)

Last year my garden was like a jungle, loaded with tomatoes, zucchinis, eggplants, peppers and other stuff.

This year —-meh. Tomatoes not so plentiful (but delicious), I got two measly zucchinis, didn’t grow eggplants. The collard leaves were eaten up by roving outsiders. We managed one good bunch of kale.

The chili peppers though! They gave their all. We have plenty of them, all perfect.

So I decided to make homemade salsa.

I used peppers, tomatoes and scallions, all from my garden. I didn’t have cilantro, so I used the small green leaves from what I thought was a parsley plant but it turned out to be celery.

The avocado — store bought, and I know it isn’t a usual addition to Pico de Gallo, but I added some anyway and it gave a lovely, mellowing flavor and creamy texture.

Garden Fresh Salsa

• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped

• 2-3 scallions, chopped

• 2 small chili peppers, deseeded and chopped

• 1 small (or 1/2 large) avocado, chopped*

• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, parsley or celery leaves

• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• salt to taste

Place the tomatoes, scallions, chili peppers, avocado, cilantro and garlic in a bowl. Pour the olive oil over the vegetables and toss the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add the lime join, toss again and let rest for at least one hour. Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed.

*You can make this a day ahead. If so, add the avocado an hour before serving rather than at the same time as the other ingredients.

Smoked Salmon and Cottage Cheese Pie

Last week I made the ideal dish.

By that I mean it is light and easy to eat during the scorching days of summer.

It’s meatless, so perfect for the Nine Days and any other time we don’t want to eat the usual meat-two-veggie or salad dinner.

I got to use up leftovers and bits of this and that (smoked salmon, cottage cheese, cream cheese).

It served as dinner and also as hors d’oeuvre — I rewarmed the leftover portion and cut it into bite-size pieces for some socially distanced company.

You can use any leftover fish. I happened to have smoked salmon, so that’s what I used.

Smoked Salmon and Cottage Cheese Pie

• 1 tablespoon butter

• 1 large shallot, chopped

• 1 partially baked pie crust

• 3-4 ounces smoked salmon, chopped

• 2 tablespoons cream cheese

• 4 large eggs

• 1 cup cottage cheese

• 1 cup half and half

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the butter in a small frying pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks bubbly, add the shallot and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Spoon the shallot onto the bottom of the partially baked pie crust. Scatter the salmon pieces on top. Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and scatter them on top. In a bowl, beat the eggs, cottage cheese, half and half, dill and salt together until well mixed. Pour into the pie crust. Bake the pie for about 45 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and the custard has set.

Makes 4-6 servings

Potlagela

I know I am not alone in in thinking I want “my old life back” —— seeing my kids and grandkids, giving them a hug. Seeing family and friends without having to sit at least six feet away, always outside. Going out for dinner. Going to the opera.

All that.

I’ve managed to find ways that help me through this stressful time. One of them is making foods that remind me of “the good old days.”

So I’ve baked some Apple Brown Bettys, because they remind me of my parents (z”l), who once lived nearby. It was my Dad’s favorite dessert, my Mom made it often and there was always some left for me when I’d visit, at least twice a week. (Apple Brown Betty is also good for socially distanced company because you can bake the ingredients in individual ramekins.)

Almond Crusted Chicken Nuggets have been on my menu recently because they remind me of my very special cousin and lifelong friend, Leslie. She and her husband Neil spend every New Year’s weekend with us and I always serve these for hors d’oeuvre. (Another winner for social distancing!)

There’s always a reason to make my grandma’s award-winning challah, so that’s nothing new in my house.

BUT, my other grandma used to make potlagela, a Romanian specialty. I hated this dish when I was a youngster but last year, when I grew my own eggplants, I decided to give her recipe a try and realized how delicious this dish is. That revelation also brought back some terrific memories.

SO, here it is. My Grandma Hoffman’s version of Potlagela. She used vegetable oil, but I prefer olive oil. Either will work. She also cooked her eggplant right on top of the cooktop burner, so if you have a gas burner, you can do it that way too. OR, you can cook it on an outdoor grill, which I’ve done many times.

This dip is so perfect for summer. Especially perfect for eating outdoors socially distanced because you can serve it in separate bowls for other people.

Serve with pita or bagel chips.

Potlagela

• 1 large eggplant

• 1-2 scallions or one shallot or small onion

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tomato, chopped, optional

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash the surface of the eggplant, then wipe it dry. Coat the surface with a thin film of olive oil. Prick the skin in a few places with the tines of a fork. Place the eggplant on a baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, turning the eggplant once or twice during the cooking. Remove the eggplant from the oven. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and stem and place the flesh in a bowl. Mash the eggplant with the back of a fork. Add the scallion, garlic, optional tomato and olive oil and mix the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add the lemon juice and mix again. Season to taste with salt and pepper; sprinkle with some parsley.

Makes 4 servings