National Chocolate Chip Day?

I heard someone on the radio mention this morning that today is National Chocolate Chip Day. I looked it up later and some sites say chocolate chip day is May 15. But some say today.

It doesn’t matter, does it? I thought every day was chocolate chip day. Americans seem to have a special love for these tiny chunks of chopped up chocolate, Maybe because of the amazing popularity of chocolate chip cookies, which are a true American creation — by Ruth Wakefield at the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts, in 1930.

There are more recipes for Chocolate Chip Cookies than there are cacti in the desert. Here’s my version, (called Grand Finale Cookies) which you can find in my book, Hip Kosher, if you have a copy. 

I also throw quite a load of chocolate chips into this recipe for Banana Bread.

And lots of other recipes too.

I always thought of chocolate chips as a baking ingredient and so I store them with all the other baking stuff like flour and vanilla extract. I prefer Ghirardelli to the more popular brand; the chocolate is much better quality and tastes deeper and richer.

But my father used to add chocolate chips to hot cereal when I was a kid, as an inducement to eat breakfast. And My husband Ed thinks they are candy. There have been more than a few occasions on which he ate a bagful. Okay, maybe only half a bagful.

Chocolate chips are amazingly useful of course, beyond cookies and banana bread, or as a breakfast enhancement or TV candy. One good thing is that because they are already small, they melt easily, so you can use them for cooked dessert sauces and frostings without worrying that the chocolate will burn. 

One of the easiest chocolate chips recipes is this one, for “dipping sauce” or coating that you can use as a dip for strawberries, macaroons, cookies, candied orange peel and so on. So, so simple:

Chocolate Coating

1 cup chocolate chips

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

Melt the chips and vegetable shortening together in the top part of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir until well blended and remove from the heat. Makes about 3/4 cup

Salmon Fish Cakes

I understand why certain foods are associated with specific ethnic groups. Like spaghetti and marinara sauce, which may be an American favorite but its origin is Italian. Egg rolls are part of Chinese cuisine, crepes are French and so on.

What I don’t get is why Salmon Fish Cakes are thought of as Jewish food?

Or are they?

Okay, my Mom made them by mixing a can of red salmon (she was adamant that it had to be red, not pink, salmon) with eggs and matzo meal. And she did call them latkes (a Yiddish word for “patties”). But sometimes she made them with regular bread crumbs and called them croquettes.

Yet, every Jewish kid I knew (and those who are now grown up) had a mother who made them. And every non-Jewish kid (now adult) I knew didn’t.

Really, fish cakes are multi-ethnic. Non-ethnic. They’re just fish cakes. You can make them with almost any leftover fish, bind them with eggs and a starch (matzo meal or bread crumbs or mashed potatoes or corn meal, whatever), shape them into patties and fry them.

They are also a good way to use fish leftovers (or fish from scratch). They are easy to make, quick to cook. And they taste good whether hot, room temperature or cold.

What more could you ask of a summer meal?

Whatever your background, try Salmon Fish Cakes. You can eat them plain or in a sandwich with a thick slice of summer tomato and some mayo. Or serve them a bit fancier with some easy to make Horseradish Cream Sauce (recipe follows).

Salmon Fish Cakes

• 2 medium Yukon Gold or all-purpose potatoes
• 2 cups crumbled, cooked salmon
• 1 large egg
• 1 thick scallion, finely chopped, optional
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill, optional
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• matzo meal (or all-purpose flour)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks, cook them in boiling water for 12-15 minutes or until tender, drain and place the chunks in a bowl. Mash the chunks. Add the fish, egg, scallion, dill and some salt and pepper and mix the ingredients thoroughly. Shape portions of the mixture into 4 patties about 3/4-inch thick. Dredge the patties in some matzo meal to coat the surface. Heat the butter and vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, place the patties in the pan and cook for about 3 minutes per side or until crispy. Drain on paper towels.

Makes 4 servings

Horseradish Cream Sauce

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt, preferably Greek style
• 1 tablespoon prepared white horseradish
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Mix ingredients thoroughly.

Makes 1/2 cup

Peach and Date Chutney

I don’t like to waste food. I look for ways to use leftovers and things like bones and past-their-prime vegetables and cheese. In fact, my daughter Gillian has remarked about the gross-looking, overly-hard, sometimes-green-spotted cheddar that I add (I cut away the bad parts of course!) to the macaroni-and-cheese pot. 

Using up as much as possible is a must in this economy! It’s also better for the environment.

And it stimulates creativity. I think it’s fascinating to try to figure out what to do with fennel stalks and overly-soft strawberries and stuff like that.

I grew up in the “think of the poor starving children of Europe” generation, post World War II. Something our parents would say if we didn’t want to eat something.

And I had a friend who ate peach peel sandwiches for lunch. Because that’s all there was and her Mom, who used the fruit for other purposes, didn’t want to throw out anything.

So not wasting is in some ways, an honorable thing.

I recently read that restaurant chefs are also looking more closely at how they can use scraps. Like adding scraped corn cobs to flavor vegetable stock. Or braising wilted lettuce. A day or so later, a New York Times article spoke to the same issue.

Some of the ideas that I’ve put into place over the years include these: don’t throw out the greens that comes with beets and kohlrabi. Wash them and stir-fry with garlic and raisins. Use those fennel stalks, wilted vegetables, scrubbed peels and scraped corn cobs to make vegetable stock. Crustacean shells and/or fish heads and bones are also good for stock. Squeezed lemons and limes can be cut up and used as a flavorful bed for chicken, veal and pork roasts. Soft tomatoes make fine sauce. Green tomatoes taste terrific when breaded and fried. Make chutneys with fruit that’s gone too soft for eating out of hand. Like this one, which is a delicious accompaniment for grilled meat and poultry:

Peach and Date Chutney

• 3-1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or use 1 tablespoon chopped serrano or jalapeno)
• 5 pounds ripe peaches, nectarines and/or mango, peeled and cut up
• 1 green bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 1 cup raisins
• 4 ounces crystallized ginger
• 1/2 cup chopped dates

In a large saucepan, bring the brown sugar, cider vinegar, onions, garlic, lime juice, salt, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and cayenne pepper to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the peaches, bell pepper, raisins and ginger and simmer for 45 minutes. Add the dates and cook for another 15 minutes or until the mixture is very thick. Let cool. Refrigerate in jars or plastic containers (or preserve using a water bath according to manufacturer’s instructions).

Makes 6-7 cups

Quick Sally Lunn

If Republican House members really wanted to follow the Founding Fathers (not including John Quincy Adams of course) they would do as the Founding Fathers did: argue it out in a room while wearing thick wigs in an un-air conditioned room and NO PIZZA.

When matters got really hot and they were hungry, maybe something would get resolved?

And what’s with the pizza?

Hunker down and eat what the Founding Fathers ate!

What did they eat anyway? 

Oh, things like Beef and Kidney Pie, Turtle Soup, Baked Beans.

Maybe one of those dishes would help move things along? Unfortunately, the recipes take too long and we are running out of time.

Of course, Thomas Jefferson was famous for being the first to serve ice cream at the White House. That could cool things down. But I, for one, do not think it is responsible to give ice cream to children who are fighting.

So I suggest bread and water. 

Sally Lunn bread is a colonial American classic. It’s vaguely sweet and lusciously tender. In the old days people ate it as a snack with coffee or tea, more like a sweet bread or coffee cake. The traditional recipe is yeast-based but I have a good alternative quickbread Sally Lunn for you.

Serve this as a snack or at your next Tea Party. Not the political one.

Quick Sally Lunn

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup whole or lowfat milk

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel

ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Butter 2 8-inch square baking pans. Beat the butter and 6 tablespoons of the sugar together in an electric mixer set at medium speed for about 2 minutes or until well blended. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and milk together. Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture alternating with the egg mixture to the butter mixture until well blended. Stir in the lemon peel. Spoon the mixture equally into the two pans. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining sugar and a bit of cinnamon. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until puffed and golden brown. Makes 2

Dieting for the doctor's appointment Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange-Agave-Soy Marinade

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange-Agave-Soy Marinade

 Does anyone else diet for a couple of weeks before going to the doctor for a regular, annual-type checkup?

You know, so that the doctor doesn’t either yell at you or because you want him/her to be impressed that you aren’t overweight or too overweight?

I used to laugh at my husband because I would notice how is eating habits changed about 3-4 weeks before his doctor appointment. He didn’t actually say anything. It was sort of stealth dieting. But I caught on a few years ago and I started teasing him about it.

Until one of my daughters recently pointed out out that I do it too.

I confess. She was right.

Neither Ed nor I weigh too much for our age (according to the charts which I must say seem a lot more liberal than the ones they used to use). It’s just those couple or six extra pounds that seem to creep up on you during the year. 

That are so much more difficult to lose as you get older. Even when you work out 2-3 times a week like I do.

But there is that doctor’s appointment in a couple of weeks. So here comes the dieting, no longer a secret.

It’s really really difficult to diet when you are in my business — food writing — and you have to think about food all the time and test out recipes too, like for the article I just sent in for ice cream sundaes and sauce. Fortunately my next article includes recipes for fish salad and ceviche, which can be low low calorie as well as delicious.

In the mean time I can tell you that it is possible to eat good food that is easy to prepare, doesn’t take too much time to cook and still tastes very good. Like grilled fish, grilled turkey or chicken breasts. Try this recipe, even if you aren’t watching your weight. If you use an outdoor grill, preheat it to hot but cook the chicken over medium heat or indirect heat.

Btw, I am aware that agave, which was once highly touted as a low-glycemic ingredient is not any better than corn syrup or honey. So use any of these.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange-Agave-Soy Marinade

• 1/4 cup soy sauce

• 1/4 cup orange juice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon agave syrup or honey

• 1 tablespoon grated fresh orange peel

• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger

• 2 scallions, finely chopped

• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (or use 1 teaspoon finely chopped serrano or jalapeno pepper), optional

• 4 skinless and boneless chicken breasts

Combine the soy sauce, orange juice, olive oil, agave syrup, orange peel, ginger, scallions, garlic and hot pepper sauce in a deep dish. Immerse the chicken in the marinade, refrigerate and let rest for 1-4 hours, turning the breasts occasionally during that time if possible. Preheat an outdoor grill or oven broiler. Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill the breasts for 5-8 minutes per side, depending on thickness, turning the pieces occasionally, or until cooked through.

Makes 4 servings

Tomato, Herb and Cheese Omelet

It’s going to be cooler here today. Only 86 degrees instead of 100.

That’s supposed to mean the end of the heat wave. 

To me this sounds like politician speak, trying to get me to believe something that isn’t by using kinder, gentler words.

Harumph. 

86 is still too hot. For me anyway. Not cooking much. Omelet on the menu tonight. Buying some fresh bread to go with it.

Tomato, Herb and Cheese Omelet

5 large eggs

2 tablespoons milk

2 tablespoons mixed chopped herbs such as chives, parsley and thyme

2 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup halved grape tomatoes

1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Beat the eggs, milk and herbs together. Melt the butter in an omelet pan or frying pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the eggs. As the edges of the eggs begin to set, use a rigid spatula to push the edges toward the center of the pan wile tilting the pan to let uncooked portions move to the exposed surfaces. Keep pushing the eggs and tilting the pan until the eggs are almost set but still creamy and shiny. Spoon the tomatoes and cheese down the center of the eggs. Fold the omelet into halves or thirds. Slide out and serve. Makes 2 servings

Peach Crisp

It is amazingly comforting to consider hot soup and Thanksgiving turkey when it’s exhaustingly hot outside.

So this past weekend when the temperature hit about 100 degrees, I spent a lot of time indoors figuring out proposals for upcoming food articles for the MediaNews-Hearts newspapers I write for. We work way ahead of course so the foods I was thinking about were cold winter items like Shepherd’s Pie, Borscht and Braised Lamb Shanks. 

One of the dishes that always catches my attention when thinking about cool weather ahead is Apple Crisp. Maybe because apples are among the first culinary harbingers of a new season.

Apple Crisp was one of my Dad’s favorite, so my mother made it often during the fall and winter, starting in about October when the first good new crop apples came to market. I’d visit my parents and the first whiff of roasting fruit mixed with cinnamon welcomed me before my Dad even got to the door.

But of course I realized that I don’t have to wait for the apples to make this wonderful dessert. This is a terrific dish when made with peaches or nectarines. 

Here’s a recipe for a simple, easy version you can make with summer fruit. Use firm but ripe peaches, nectarines and/or plums and add blueberries or blackberries if you like. Serve it warm or at room temperature with cold ice cream. What a treat!

Peach Crisp

• 8 ripe peaches or nectarines
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the peaches, cut in half and remove the pit. Slice the peaches into a bowl and add the sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch and lemon juice. Mix and spoon the ingredients into a baking dish. In a second bowl, mix the brown sugar, oats and flour. Add the butter in chunks and work it into the dry ingredients with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spoon the oat mixture on top of the fruit. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Makes 6-8 servings

New York City Classes for Pregnant Women, New Moms: Back-To-Work Talk for New Moms in Brooklyn

amotherisborn:

Work and Life: A Workshop for Moms on Maternity Leave
Tuesday, July 26, 2-4:00 p.m., $60. Limited to 12, register: (718) 855-7808 or by email to zebulonk@earthlink.net

In this 2-hour workshop, we cover all the stuff you need to know but dread discussing:

• Finding and maintaining…