Warm Winter Soup

I guess the warm weather couldn't last. It was December, after all, and I do live in Connecticut.

I did appreciate it though, the unseasonal temperature in the 60s. And I suppose if I wanted that sort of thing all year round I could move to California or Arizona or Florida. 

But I never will. I am a Connecticut woman with a penchant for spending lots of time in New York City.

So I'll get used to the cold and, in addition to the silk undergarments I just bought to wear for when I'm outside and it's freezing, I'll make myself some soup to help keep me warm.

This is the kind of soup I make all the time. The ingredients depend on what I have in the house, but there's always a package or two of dried soup mix, plus onions and carrots and a few ingredients such as dried split peas and barley.

You can add lots to this recipe: parsnips, other whole grains, dried lima beans or red kidney beans. You can also add fresh vegetables at the end of the process (give them time to soften): peas, broccoli, cut up green beans. 

But this is one for cold winter weather, for sure. And look how easy it is to prepare!

Warm Winter Soup

• 1 6-ounce package dried soup mix (I used Manischewitz Lima Bean and Barley mix)
• 3 pounds marrow bones
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried green split peas
• 1/2 cup pearled barley
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the soup mix, bones, carrots, onions, split peas, barley and salt and pepper to taste in a soup pot. Pour in enough water to cover the ingredients by at least one inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for at least 2 hours, or until the soup is thick. 

Makes about 6 servings

Soup for When you are Sick

Everyone knows you're supposed to have chicken soup when you're sick. 

However, recently, when I had a cold that lingered and lingered and really needed soup I didn't feel like going out to buy a chicken. Or peel carrots. Or rinse the fresh dill.

I didn't feel like doing much of anything frankly, but I did want homemade soup.

So I made some from what I had in the house.

It was an amazing dish. Hearty, tasty, nourishing. Also EASY. 

I did feel much better the next day.

The recipe is extremely forgiving, so here it is with a bunch of ways you can vary the recipe depending on what you have in your house.

Freeze some for the next time you don't feel great and need some soup. Or want some wonderful, thick and filling dish for dinner.

Soup for When you are Sick

• 3-4 meaty marrow bones
• water
• one package of bean soup mix or vegetable soup mix (I used Manischewitz but any is fine)
• one large onion, chopped or sliced
• one cup of split peas (green or yellow)
• 3/4 cup lentils
• 1/2 cup any whole grain (such as farro, barley, wheatberries, kamut)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the bones in a pot, cover with water (about 8-10 cups) and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and skim the stuff that comes to the top for about 10 minutes. Add the whole package of soup mix, the onion, split peas, lentils and whole grain, plus salt and pepper to taste. Partially cover the pan and simmer for hours, stirring occasionally, until the dried vegetables are very soft. I sometimes add more water if the soup is too thick.

Additions:

• 3 carrots, sliced
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 4-6 soaked and chopped dried shiitake mushrooms, coarsely cut
• Frozen corn kernels and/or lima beans (add about 1/2 hour before soup is done)
• Whatever else you like (I sometimes add chicken bones in addition to meat bones)

Makes about 6 servings of soup (you have to fight over the bones or make it with 6 bones)

Remembering my Dad

I'm remembering my Dad today. Remembering the hugs and the "I love yous."

Missing him always but especially on this day, his 20th yahrzeit.

This was one of his favorite desserts.

william vail's favorite Apple Brown Betty

•  4-5 pie apples such as Granny Smiths, Rhode Island Greenings or Golden Delicious
• 1-1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 cups diced homestyle white bread
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Peel the apples and remove the cores. Cut the apples into bite sized pieces. Pour the lemon juice over the apples and place them in a baking dish. Combine the bread dice, brown sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a bowl. Toss the ingredients to distribute the ingredients evenly. Place the bread mixture on top of the apples. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and crusty. Let cool slightly, but best when served warm.

Makes 4 servings

Chicken Fricassee, the Un-Brisket Choice for Rosh Hashanah

Chicken Fricassee

My friends are always surprised that I don't usually serve brisket on Rosh Hashanah. In fact, they used to tell me it is heresy. Everyone knows that brisket is the big, big, popular, festive and impressive-looking main course for the New Year! So they ask -- how come it's not what I do?

Well, my grandma always made turkey. So did my mother. So I guess turkey is the tradition in our family and I just follow suit.

But I have to confess, after all the teasing I've gotten over the years I began to think that turkey was kind of strange and that I was doing something bizarre.

Until recently.

Because I read an article by Joan Nathan in Tablet about this very thing. 

She said that before the Civil War, brisket was not the usual Rosh Hashanah specialty, and that it was only after refrigerated trains could carry meat more quickly and easily across the country that this big hunk of meat became a holiday specialty. Before that, she said, Jewish home cooks might prepare dishes such as chicken fricassee for the occasion.

YESYESYES!

It conjured up glorious memories of my mother's (and grandmother's) chicken fricassee. Did they serve that also during the holidays? I don't remember. All I know is that after I read the article I went out and bought the necessary items for chicken fricassee and made a big batch. I was going to freeze it in portions for the holidays but my daughter Gillian and her kids came for a surprise visit and my fricassee was cooling down before the big freeze.

We ate it for dinner. At first Gillian was reluctant because she and my other daughter, Meredith, refused to eat chicken fricassee when they were girls. "Too soft!" "Too wet!"

They used to make fun of me for loving it.

But that's what I had in the fridge the day of the surprise visit so that's what we ate for dinner that night.

Guess what? Gillian loved it! And said she changed her mind.

Tastes do change over the years.

That's why people eat brisket for Rosh Hashanah now, rather than fricassee. And for some terrific ideas about preparing the best brisket ever, click here.

But maybe it's time to reconsider Chicken Fricassee for the holidays? I will offer it as an option when my family comes.

Chicken Fricassee

• 16-20 ounces chopped beef, veal, turkey or a combination
• 1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs or matzo meal
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 12 chicken wings, cut into sections
• 3 medium onions, sliced
• 1 pound chicken gizzards
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 cups water, approximately
• 4 medium all purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks, optional
• 4 carrots, cut into chunks, optional
• 10 ounces coarsely cut mushrooms, optional

In a large bowl, combine the chopped meat, bread crumbs and egg and mix thoroughly. Shape the meat mixture into 1-1/2 inch balls and set aside. Pour the vegetable oil into a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook the meatballs for 6-8 minutes, turning them occasionally, or until lightly browned on all sides. Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside. Add the wings and cook them for 6-8 minutes, turning them occasionally, or until lightly browned. Remove the wings from the pan and set aside. Add the onions and gizzards to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes or until golden and softened. Return the wings and meatballs to the pan. Sprinkle the ingredients with the paprika, salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients gently to season the meats evenly. Pour in 1-1/2 cups water. Turn the heat to low, cover the pan and cook for 35-40 minutes. Add the optional ingredients if desired, cover the pan and cook an additional 50-60 minutes. Check the pan occasionally and turn the ingredients gently. Check fluid levels and add more water if needed.

Makes 8 servings

Sticky Curry Wings

What's your favorite part of the chicken?

For me it's always been the wings. I was never one of those kids who liked holding a drumstick and eating off that big bone. First of all it seemed like the drumstick had too much meat on it for a little kid to handle.

Second, my mother always told me that wing meat is the softest and sweetest and therefore the best.

So that was that.

She was right. 

I love chicken wings. Any kind. Baked, fried, grilled. 

Here's a new favorite: curry seasoned and honey-sticky. You can bake these. Or grill them for a 4th of July feast.

Honey-Curry Sticky Wings

• 24-30 chicken wings
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 1 large clove garlic, minced
• salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Wash and dry the wings and place them on a parchment-paper lined cookie sheet. In a small saucepan, combine the honey, Dijon mustard, olive oil, curry powder, garlic powder and salt to taste. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cook for one minute, stirring to blend the ingredients thoroughly and remove from the heat. Brush the tops of the wings with some of the honey mixture. Bake the wings for 10 minutes. Turn the wings over, brush with more of the honey mixture and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the wings over again, brush with the remaining honey mixture and bake for 5-10 minutes or until the wings are golden brown and crispy looking. OR: grill the wings, turning them occasionally and brushing with the honey mixture. 

Makes 4 servings

Baked Potato

What do you eat when you're feeling sad or emotionally wrecked or furious at the world?

I grew up in a family in which, whenever there was a crisis of some sort, the grownups would say "how can you eat at a time like this?!"

But I'm an eater and, in fact, when I am feeling like life is closing in, I want to eat more than ever, fill myself with food and just keep pecking away like a chicken in a barnyard.

People talk about comfort foods. You know, the foods that supposedly make you feel better.

So what is that food, that one thing that I want the most when I'm at a low point? I've thought about it, that's for sure.

Do I want my Mom's Mac n' Cheese?

Actually, I would rather have my Mom, thank you.

Ditto, my Mom's Apple Pie and Chicken Soup.

Popcorn helps, but isn't sustaining.

Ditto Li-Lac chocolate's Butter Crunch. 

Actually, what I want is the very simplest of foods. What helps me most is a plain baked potato.

Russet-Idaho. Organic. Crunchy crusted. Faint metallic taste to the flesh.

This is food so basic and sustaining, so wonderful that, IMHO, it needs just a bit of butter, salt and pepper. Skip the sour cream. No chives. No cheese.

Keep it simple. 

I just ate one. I might have another later.

So easy to make perfectly:

Baked Potato

• 4 organic Idaho, russet type potatoes
• 1/4 cup butter
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes. When the oven reaches 400 degrees, place the potatoes in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Pierce each potato with the tip of a sharp knife. Continue to bake for another 45 minutes or until the outside is crusty and the inside is tender (pierce the flesh with the tip of a sharp knife). 

Makes 4 servings

Baked Pound Sweet Apples

I discovered a new apple. New for me anyway. It’s called Pound Sweet (a/k/a Pumpkin Sweet) and it’s actually a very old heritage apple first known in Connecticut in the early 1800s.

I’d never heard of this one, but at Clarkdale Fruit Farm in Deerfield, Massachusetts, where I drove recently to buy my yearly supply of Rhode Island Greening apples for pies (my Connecticut source didn’t have any this year) they pointed them out and so I bought a bagful.

Turns out (as they told me at the farm) that Pound Sweet are not the best eating-out-of-hand apple — they’re mild tasting and not especially tart/acidic — but they are terrific for baking.

So I baked some. They certainly hold their shape very well and don’t become as mushy as some apple varieties. I found that baking them also took slightly longer than the more usual Romes and Cortlands do.

But the result was really good. If you can find a bunch of Pound Sweets, wonderful, but of course this recipe will be fine when made with any baking apple (if you use other varieties, do not cover and bake for the 10 minutes suggested).

Baked Pound Sweet Apples

4 large Pound Sweet baking apples (or use any baking apple)

half a lemon

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup dried cranberries

3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

2 teaspoons coconut oil

1 cup mango juice 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the apples and remove the core with an apple corer or small knife, leaving about 1/2” of the core on the bottom. Peel the apples halfway down from the top and rub the peeled surfaces with the cut side of the lemon. Put the apples in a baking dish.  Mix the raisins and cranberries and stuff them into the apple hollows. Sprinkle the apples with the cinnamon sugar. Place 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil on each apple top. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 15 minutes. Pour the juice over the apples. Bake for another 40-45 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices, or until the apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings

Caprese Salad Grilled Cheese

Someone should build a monument to the grilled cheese sandwich.

Say what you will about burgers or hot dogs, I don’t think any other dish is as well loved as this one. We should preserve one in a time capsule and send it to another universe so whoever eventually gets it will know how good the food is here.

Anyone old kind of grilled cheese sandwich will do. The plain old classic works: cheddar or American cheese on white bread. But few would argue the merit of variations.

Like this one: caprese salad grilled cheese panini made with fresh mozzarella cheese, ripe red tomatoes, fragrant basil and fruity olive oil inside a crusty hunk of ciabatta, fried to a crisp in a little butter.

It’s the perfect light lunch or supper, weekend brunch dish. Excellent choice for Shavuot, the “cheese” holiday.                                                                                                                                                                                 

Caprese Salad Grilled Cheese    

•   ciabatta bread (or 2 slices sourdough bread)

• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 3-1/2 to 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced

• 3-4 slices fresh tomato

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

• 2 teaspoons butter

Cut the bread to make two sandwich size slices from the loaf. Brush or spoon one teaspoon olive oil on each bread slice. Place the cheese on one of the bread slices. Place the tomato slices on top of the cheese. Scatter the basil on top. Cover with the second bread slice. Melt half the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, place the sandwich in the pan. Weight down the sandwich (use a large pan with a saucepan or cans inside; or use a panini grill). Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the bottom slice of bread is crusty and brown. Lift the sandwich using a rigid spatula. Add the remaining butter to the pan. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the sandwich, uncooked side down. Replace the weights. Cook for another 3 minutes or until the bottom is crusty and brown and the cheese is melted.

Makes one sandwich

Challah for a Special Event and Special Person

Challah

This coming weekend is my grand daughter’s bat mitzvah.

In addition to being a rather wonderful person, she is my first grandchild and named for my father, so she’s always had a special hold on my heart.

Her mother, my daughter Meredith, asked me to bake the challah for the celebration.

I find myself inexpressibly moved by this request.

I really can’t say anything more, so I’ll just give you the challah recipe. It’s already been posted on this blog, but never before has it seemed this delicious.

Challah

• 2 packages active dry yeast

• 1/2 cup warm water (105-110 degrees)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 8 cups all purpose flour, approximately

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 5 large eggs

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1-1/2 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees)

• 1 teaspoon water

• poppy seeds or sesame seeds, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar and a pinch of flour. Stir, set aside and let rest for 5 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly. In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine 7-1/2 cups flour with the remaining sugar and salt. In a small bowl, mix 4 of the eggs, the vegetable oil and the lukewarm water. Add to the flour mixture. Add the yeast mixture. Blend ingredients thoroughly. Using the kneading hook, knead for 4-5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary to make sure the dough is not sticky. NOTE: you can make this dough in a food processor (halve the recipe). Cover the bowl of dough and put it in a warm place to rise for about 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch down the dough, cover the bowl and let rise again for about 30 minutes or until doubled. Remove the dough to a floured surface. Cut dough in 6 or 12 pieces depending on whether you are making one large or two smaller loaves. Make long strands out of the pieces. Braid the strands. Place the braided dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Beat the last egg with the tsp. of water. Brush this over the surface of the bread. Sprinkle with seeds if desired. Let rise again for 30 minutes. Bake for about 35-40 minutes for large loaf, about 28-30 minutes for smaller ones (they should be firm and golden brown).

Braiding a 6-strand Challah:

Place 6 strands of dough on a floured board. Press the strands on the top to seal them together. Now:

1. Take the strand on the far right all the way over to the left

2. Former far left all the way over to the right

3. The now far left into the middle

4. Second from right to the far left

5. The now far right into the middle

6. Second from left to far right

7. Now far left into the middle

Repeat 4-7 until the strands are used up. Press the strands to seal the bottom of the loaf.

Salmon, Potato and Spinach Patties

Salmon, Potato and Spinach Patties (Croquettes, Latkes)

It’s funny how despite the years that pass and the changes we all make to our diets, there are some foods we never give up. For me, one of those dishes is salmon latkes. Ed won’t eat them. This is a solo thing.

Salmon latkes were also my Mom’s favorite go-to dish (red canned salmon, she insisted). She made them for herself. My Dad didn’t wouldn’t eat them. 

When April comes I think about salmon latkes more because it’s the month my mom passed away and yahrzeits always conjure memories, don’t they?

So I have been thinking salmon latkes lately.

Unlike my mom, I can’t let a recipe go without thinking about how I could change it. How many salmon latke variations can I create?

Well, not as many as banana bread, but when you’ve got leftover (or canned) salmon, there’s a lot you can do with it. 

Here’s the latest version. It’s a good dish for Passover either to replace gefilte fish as a fish course at a Seder, or for lunch or even dinner (make larger burger-type patties).                                                                                                                                 

Salmon, Potato and Spinach Patties (Croquettes, Latkes)

• 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes

• 12 ounces cooked salmon

• 1 cup packed baby spinach leaves, washed, dried and coarsely chopped

• 2 large eggs

• 1/2 cup matzo meal

• 2 chopped scallions

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1/4 cup matzo meal

• vegetable oil

Peel the potatoes, cut them into chunks and cook them in lightly salted boiling water for about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and place in a bowl. Mash the potatoes with a fork. Add the salmon and spinach and mix the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add the eggs, 1/2-cup matzo meal, scallions, lemon juice, parsley, cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. Mix the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Shape the mixture into 16-20 small patties. Press the patties into the remaining 1/4-cup matzo meal, to coat both sides. Heat about 1/4-inch vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the patties for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown and crispy. Serve 2 patties per person.

Makes 8-10 first course servings