Mom’s Date-Nut Bread

Why was old-fashioned Date-Nut Bread baked in a round pan?

Yesterday, when I posted about my cousin’s Date-Nut Bread, I mentioned that her mother and mine made this stuff inside a coffee can or other, smaller cans. And then I remembered that even the commercial loaves were cylindrical, so the slices came out round.

Why was that?

When you make Banana Bread or Lemon-Cranberry Bread it’s usually in a loaf pan. I use a bundt pan for a big recipe.

Anyone know why Date-Nut Breads are cylindrical?

Anyway, I also mentioned yesterday that my mother had a great recipe for Date-Nut Bread. I searched my files and — I found it! This bread was sooooooo delicious. She made me sandwiches using this as the bread and a layer of cream cheese in the middle. Oh, do I wish I had some right now.

Although my mother baked Date-Nut Bread in a one-pound coffee can the batter also fits nicely inside a standard 9”x5”x3” loaf pan. It is a terrific snack for anytime, and makes a perfect treat for Tu B’Shevat.

Mom’s Date-Nut Bread

• 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup chopped dates
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 2 tablespoons melted butter, margarine or vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons Madeira, Port or Sherry wine
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup boiling water
• cream cheese, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9’x5”x3” loaf pan (or a one-pound coffee can). Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a bowl. Add the raisins, dates and nuts and toss the ingredients to coat the fruit with the flour mixture. In another bowl, combine the melted butter, Madeira and egg. Pour the boiling water into the fruit-flour mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the egg mixture and blend it in thoroughly. Spoon the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack to cool completely. Slice and serve plain or with cream cheese.

Makes one loaf

Marlene's Date-Nut Bread

If your mother baked Date-Nut Bread when you were a kid you’re probably over “that certain age.” Not that I’m sure what that age is, but I am at it, for sure and so is my second-cousin Marlene, who lives in Haifa, Israel.

Both our mothers (who were first-cousins) made Date-Nut Bread and it wasn’t a dessert. It was for “just in case company comes.” Or for school lunch sandwiches, 2 slices smeared with a fat layer of cream cheese.

I have no idea why Date-Nut Bread fell out of favor. Just one of those 20th century popular things that came and went like Jello Mold and Beef Wellington.

I never baked one for my children, which is too bad, because after my cousin sent me the recipe and I thought about the sandwiches from the old days, I remembered how delicious those lunches were.

My mother always baked Date-Nut Bread in a coffee can. Marlene uses smaller cans. She baked up a batch for Tu B’Shevat, which falls this year next Wednesday, February 8th. It is customary on this minor Jewish holiday to cook and eat foods that contain one or more of the Seven Species that were abundant in Israel in biblical times. 

Like dates.

Which makes old-fashioned Date-Nut Bread perfect for this holiday. Or anytime really.

Marlene says that her recipe began with one in The Elegant But Easy Cookbook by Marian Fox Burros and Lois Levine. I don’t have a copy of that book, but Marlene has also changed the recipe somewhat. Here it is as she gave it to me, with changes noted in the ingredient list.

I’ll have to scout out my Mom’s recipe and compare it. 

Date-Nut Bread

1 large orange

boiling water

2 tablespoons shortening or melted margarine or vegetable oil

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, beaten

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped dates (or use one full cup)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (leave out if using 1 cup chopped dates)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9”x5”x3” loaf pan. Grate the peel of an orange into a bowl. Squeeze the juice from the orange into a measuring cup and add enough boiling water to make one cup. Pour into the bowl with the peel. Stir in the shortening, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar and stir until the shortening has melted. Beat in the egg. Add the flour and stir to blend ingredients. Fold in the dates and nuts. Spoon the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. If you use round cans, add batter to the halfway mark and time the bread according to the can size. Makes one loaf

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

If desserts were football, who would win the Superbowl: brownies or chocolate chip cookies? 

Brownies seduce you from the first dizzying perfume they give off as they bake to the last caress of tender crumbs on your lips. They are edible magnets of melted chocolate mixed with just enough ingredients to give them some form. Brownies are winners for sure. 

But chocolate chip cookies! Mmmm. Buttery and tender, with a compelling crisp edge and oozy half-melted, half-firm chocolate melting on your tongue. Aren’t they the champions of all cookies, outshining all others? The classic you call on when you want to be on top of your game?

At a bake sale, which outsells the other, brownies or chocolate chip cookies?

If you serve either or both, brownies or chocolate chip cookies, are any left over and if so, which ones?

Maybe it’s time to find out. Serve both on Superbowl Sunday. Or on Valentine’s Day. Or anytime. Here’s a recipe for Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies. But there’s another recipe for classic fudge brownies here and click on the link above for a recipe for the best chocolate chip cookies ever. 

Then let me know which won.

Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped nuts

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch baking pan. Put the chocolate and butter together in the top part of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Stir 3 to 4 minutes or until the chocolate has melted. When the butter and chocolate have melted and are blended, stir in 2 cups sugar and 3 eggs. Whisk ingredients thoroughly.

Add the flour, salt, nuts and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and stir in the ingredients with a large wooden spoon. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla until thoroughly blended. Place blobs of the cream cheese mixture over the top of the chocolate batter. Cut through the cheese, making swirls and designs with the chocolate.

Bake about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool. Cut into bars with a sharp knife dipped into hot water. Refrigerate brownies. Makes 32 to 40 brownies.

So which wins the Superbowl of desserts, brownies or chocolate chip cookies?

Chutney Cheese Dip

Do women watch the Superbowl?

Well I can’t speak for all women of course but yes, I do. And so does my sister-in-law Eileen. Ed and I go to her and my brother Jeff’s house on Superbowl Sunday and the four of us yell at the TV and eat a lot of things we don’t ordinarily eat, just like a lot of other people across the country.

I once hosted a Superbowl day at our house and invited several friends and some family. A few of the women were sort of disappointed that I hadn’t scheduled an alternative activity for when the men were watching the game. 

Is this the usual? I have loved watching football ever since I went to a Big 10 college and even though my alma mater, Northwestern, was usually the worst team in the league, it was still great fun on a Saturday afternoon to go to a game and cheer the team on.

Anyway, I don’t have to worry anymore about who watches the game or not since I am the guest now. But if you are having people over for Superbowl, or really any other time, and you need a good dip, try this one. Men and women will both enjoy it and it’s perfect with chips, crackers or crudites.

Chutney Cheese Dip

• 3 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/2 cup finely grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter at room temperature
• 1/4 cup chopped mango chutney
• 1/4 cup ground nuts such as almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• dairy sour cream, plain yogurt or milk if needed

Mix the cream cheese, cheddar cheese, blue cheese, butter, chutney, nuts, curry powder and cayenne pepper by hand or in a food processor. Blend thoroughly until the ingredients are a uniform color. For a creamier dip blend in some sour cream, yogurt or milk. Use as a dip with chips or crudites.

Makes about 1-1/2 cups

Banana-Coconut Bread

What to do with leftover bananas?

I’ve become an expert at that. Because I love to buy bananas. I love how they look, especially when they are light yellow with green tips so I know they are firm inside and perfectly sweet. I never buy any that are dark yellow or that have brown freckles.

I used to love to eat bananas too. Plain or with sour cream or yogurt. And especially, in Banana Cream Pie, which I can only fantasize about now.

Because I became allergic to bananas.

How is it possible to be allergic to bananas?

I don’t know but I am.

So now I can only buy them, and gaze upon them longingly and hope that my husband Ed will eat them, which he does, but never as many as I buy. There are always leftovers.

I now have more recipes for Banana Bread than anyone and I am working on some for Banana Muffins.

If you have leftover bananas, try this recipe. It makes a good snack, or dessert (maybe add ice cream or fudge sauce). 

Banana-Coconut Bread

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup butter 

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup orange or ginger marmalade or apricot jam

3 large very ripe bananas

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup packaged coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan (about 8 cups). Mix the flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until well blended. Add the marmalade and bananas and blend them in thoroughly. Beat in the eggs. Add the flour mixture and blend it in thoroughly. Fold in the coconut. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cake rack to cool completely. Makes one bread serving 12-16

My Mom’s Chicken Soup

Chicken Soup is the electric blanket of food. You turn it on, heat it up, get yourself a bowlful and you feel warm and snuggly all over. Quickly.

Could there be something, anything better on a cold or dark, gloomy, wintry, rainy day?

It isn’t particularly cold here today in Connecticut. But it is dark, gloomy, wintry and rainy. 

Time to make Chicken Soup from my mother’s wonderful recipe. She would always make this soup on dark, gloomy, wintry, rainy days. Here is her recipe:

My Mom’s Chicken Soup

1 large whole chicken

 water

4 carrots, peeled

3 stalks celery, peeled

1 medium parsnip, peeled

1 large onion, left whole but peeled

small bunch of fresh dill

1 tablespoon salt, or salt to taste

6-8 whole black peppercorns

Wash the chicken inside and out, remove pinfeathers and hairs and place it in a soup pot. Pour enough water in the pot to cover the chicken by 1-inch. Bring the liquid to a boil, lower the heat and for the next several minutes, remove any scum that rises to the surface. Add the carrots, celery, parsnip, onion, dill, salt and peppercorns. Cover the pan partially and simmer the soup for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until the chicken meat is very soft when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Pour the soup through a strainer or colander into a large bowl or a second pot. Set the chicken and vegetables aside. Remove the fat from the surface of the liquid with a spoon or fat-skimming tool or by patting paper towels on the surface. For best results, refrigerate the strained soup; when it is cold, the fat will rise to the surface and harden and you can scoop it off. (Refrigerate the vegetables and the chicken separately.) Serve the soup plain or with the vegetables (cut them up) and chicken (remove the meat from the bones and cut it up). Makes 8 servings

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

Notice all the blueberries in the market? Boxes and boxes of them! The bins are overflowing.

That’s probably because more blueberries are being grown these days, according to this article in the Fruit Growers News. And that’s because blueberries are more popular than ever, probably because of their reputation as a healthy food.

That’s good. That blueberries are healthy. Because they are so good, especially when they’re slightly tart. Mmmm, I remember many a summer night when my Mom served me blueberries and sour cream (sprinkled with sugar) for dinner. Haven’t had that in years. These days it’s more like blueberries and plain, non-fat Greek style yogurt. No fat. And surely no sugar. 

But during winter it’s more likely that I’ll use blueberries in pancakes. Or even better, muffins, which I can freeze and then have one whenever I want.

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter

2 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole or 2% milk

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease 10-12 muffin tin cups. Melt the butter and set aside to cool. Mix the flour, sugar, lemon peel, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Stir to combine ingredients thoroughly. In a second bowl mix the milk, egg, egg yolk and melted butter and stir to combine ingredients throughly. Stir in the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and mix just to combine ingredients (it will be very thick). Fold in the blueberries. Spoon into the muffin tins, about 2/3 the way up. Bake for 20-23 minutes or until browned and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Makes 10-12

Dark Chocolate Brownies

Can you eat just one piece of chocolate? My brother Jeff can. He eats one piece every day. He says it satisfies his craving, that he doesn’t need more than his little daily nibble.

This is quite a statement coming from someone who can’t hold back at all when it comes to bread. 

But I am sure Jeff will be thrilled to know about this article, which speaks to the benefits of chocolate, specifically dark, bittersweet chocolate. 

It sounds almost too good to be true. But, at least according to what I read here, there’s evidence that dark chocolate fights cancer, heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure. It has antioxidants and flavanoids that fight free radicals and may protect us from aging too quickly and from Alzheimer’s disease. And it also may help improve your vision.

Holy cow! Get me some of this stuff now!

My mother always said my brother Jeff was smart.

Of course the article does say not to overdo the chocolate thing. Be more like Jeff. Just a small portion each day.

So maybe just one piece of these brownies every day? (Freeze the leftovers)

Btw, these would be nice for Valentine’s Day. Or anytime, really.

Dark Chocolate Brownies

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate

8 ounces unsalted butter

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chopped nuts or semisweet chocolate chips, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking dish. Melt the chocolate and butter together in the top part of a double boiler set over barely simmering water. Stir, remove the top part of the pan from the heat and let cool. Beat the eggs and sugar together in a mixer at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is thick and pale. Add the chocolate mixture and vanilla extract and blend them in thoroughly. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt, add to the batter and blend thoroughly. Fold in the nuts or chocolate chips, if used. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out with a few crumbs clinging. Let cool and cut.

Makes 16-20 pieces

Pearly Meatballs

I always need hors d’oeuvre recipes because I entertain a lot. Most of the people who come over are really really familiar with the ones I repeat over and over (because no matter how much they like to try new foods, they are like most people and also want the favorites).

So I make a new recipe or two each time I have company. Experiments mostly, so my friends and family can be “test subjects” for a thumbs up or down.

But recently one of my daughters said “hey Mom, can I have your recipe for Pearly Meatballs?” And I realized I haven’t made these in YEARS! And they are so good, everyone loves them. I had stopped making them because well, frankly, they seemed old hat. But now that we haven’t had them in so long they seem fresh and I am remembering how much everyone looked forward to these.

I learned about Pearly Meatballs from the famous Florence Lin, Chinese cookbook author and teacher, who I met long ago at the China Institute. I tweaked her recipe here and there to suit our family. These meatballs are perfect for Chinese New Year (starting tonight) but also for the Superbowl on February 5th.

Pearly Meatballs

2/3 cup glutinous rice

4 large dried shiitake mushrooms

2 medium scallions, coarsely chopped

6 water chestnuts, coarsely chopped

1 slice fresh ginger, peeled, about 1/2-inch thick, cut coarsely

1 pound ground turkey (or veal but NOT beef or lamb)

1 large egg

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon rice wine

1/2 teaspoon sugar

white vinegar

chili-flavored oil

Place the rice in a large bowl, cover with cold water and let soak for 2 hours. Drain and set aside. Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 10-15 minutes or until soft. Drain, rinse, cut the mushrooms coarsely, and place in a food processor. Add the scallions, water chestnuts and ginger. Process until finely chopped (alternatively, chop the vegetables with a cleaver or chef’s knife).

Combine the meat, egg, soy sauce, salt, rice wine, sugar and chopped vegetables in a bowl. Shape the mixture into balls about 1-/14 to 1-1/2-inches in diameter (wet, cold hands make this easier). Place the drained rice on a plate. Roll each of the meatballs in the rice to coat the outside. 

Place the rice-coated meatballs in a steamer. Bring the water in the steamer to a simmer. Steam for 30-35 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through and the rice is soft.

Serve with vinegar and chili-flavored oil. Makes about 24

Chicken with Peanuts, Kung Pao Gai Ding

There’s an old joke about Jews and Chinese food. A Chinese man is speaking to a Jewish man and says, “so if your culture is over 5000 years old and ours is over 4000 years old where did your people eat for a thousand years?”

Such is the devotion of Jewish people to Chinese food.

Back in the day, young Jewish couples who became engaged would eat Chinese food on a Saturday night date. Jewish families ate Chinese food out together on Sunday afternoon.

But even now, the connection between Jewish people and Chinese food is the stuff of humor. Like when Elena Kagan was being questioned before her appointment to the Supreme Court and when asked where she was on Christmas Day she said “You know, like all Jews, I was probably at a Chinese restaurant.” 

So on Chinese New Year (4710, celebration begins in the evening, January 22nd) it is not unthinkable that Jewish people might want to eat some Chinese food as a sort of celebration (any excuse really).

Here’s one of my favorite recipes:

Chicken with Peanuts

sauce:

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine, other rice wine or white wine

• 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

• 2 teaspoons water

• the chicken:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

• 1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

• 4-6 dry red whole chili peppers

• 4 large scallions, chopped

• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger

• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts (may be salted)

Mix the soy sauce, rice wine, vinegar, kosher salt and sesame seed oil in a small bowl and set aside.

Mix the 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl and set aside.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and place in a bowl. Add the 1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch and mix thoroughly to coat all the chicken pieces and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a wok or stirfry pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and stirfry for 2-3 minutes or until all the pieces are white. Dish out the chicken and set aside.

Heat the remaining tablespoon vegetable oil in the wok. Add the chili peppers and cook briefly until they turn dark. Add the scallion, ginger and chicken to the pan and stirfry briefly to distribute the ingredients evenly. Stir the sauce and pour it into the pan. Stirfry for about a minute. Add the peanuts and mix them in evenly. Stir the cornstarch mixture and pour it into the pan. Stirfry until the sauce has thickened. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings