Eli's Cheesecake

It’s cheesecake season. Whatever the reason: Shavuot, Mother’s Day, graduation, upcoming pool or patio party, Father’s Day and so on.

So last week I handed out my very special recipe for cheesecake. 

Which got a terrific response and one particularly nice one for me from Eli’s Cheesecake in Chicago, Illinois, which I became familiar with many years ago when I was at college at Northwestern University.

When the good folks at Eli’s read my blog and saw how I was bragging that my cheesecake recipe is unsurpassed, they offered to send me one of theirs to compare.

So here’s the deal.

My cheesecake is smooth, creamy, dense and tangy. I mix in freshly grated orange and lemon peel to infuse it with a refreshing citrus flavor.

Eli’s cheesecake is smooth, creamy, dense and tangy, pleasantly sweet and spiked with rich vanilla. 

It’s the old apples-oranges thing. They are too different to compare.

If you like baking your own, try my recipe. If you’re looking for scrumptious bakery-bought cheesecake, order one (or more) from Eli’s. In addition to plain vanilla there’s lots of other flavors including gluten-free versions as well as chocolate, salted caramel, turtle, cappuccino, blood orange, key lime and more (including sampler packs that include several flavors together).

Either way, you can’t go wrong, especially now. Cheesecake season. Whatever the reason.

Shakshuka

I like breakfast but don’t usually get the opportunity to eat the kind I would like (unless I am on vacation). I mean not only delicious food that takes more than 40 seconds to put together but also more time to sit and enjoy the meal, the surroundings and hopefully good company. Or maybe read a newspaper, enjoy the scenery.

Stuff like that.

So what I do is make breakfast for dinner, when there’s more time to relax and actually enjoy what I’m eating. When I can sit down at the table and use real dishes, not stand at the sink scooping yogurt from a plastic container.

And when I say breakfast for dinner I don’t mean cheerios and milk or a doughnut and coffee or frozen waffles.

I mean something like shakshuka. Peppers and eggs. An Israeli specialty made with sauteed tomatoes, onions and lots of red hot chili pepper. After this “salsa” cooks and softens you break eggs on top, cover the pan a little longer until the eggs are steamed done. I like this dish sprinkled with salt and zatar (a Middle Eastern spice blend). I love when the egg yolks are still runny and the rich, dark yellow liquid oozes into those hot vegetables.

Perfection. Rich and hot. Feisty. Filling.

Perfection. For breakfast, lunch, brunch or dinner.

Shakshuka

1/4 cup olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped

2 small habanero or other chili peppers, deseeded and minced

1 large garlic clove, minced

6–8 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh basil

1 tablespoon lemon juice

8 large eggs

3/4 teaspoon zatar

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and habanero peppers. Cook for 4–5 minutes or until softened slightly. Add the garlic and cook briefly. Add the tomatoes, basil, and lemon juice, stir, cover the pan, turn the heat to low and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until vegetables are very soft and saucelike. Crack the eggs into a small bowl one at a time then transfer each one next to the other over the vegetables. Cover the pan and cook for 4–5 minutes or until the eggs are set but yolks are still slightly runny. Sprinkle with zatar. Serve each person 2 eggs and some of the vegetables.

Makes 4 servings.

Angel Food Cake

My mother used to say that eating Angel Food Cake was like eating a sponge. A dry sponge at that.

She had this way of sneering by raising her upper lip up almost into her nose that, to this day, years since she passed away, when I think of it and picture her, still makes me howl with laughter.

Anyway, she made that face when she mentioned Angel Food Cake. Which she refused to eat. My mother was a baker and insisted there were better baked goodies to feast upon.

At some point I was asked to write about Angel Food Cake for a newspaper column. This was a dilemma, because I had never tasted it homemade, so I didn’t actually know what the goal was. I had tasted Angel Food Cake in my college dorm cafeteria and had to agree with my mother on this one. It was like a sponge.

The packaged Angel Food Cakes at the supermarket didn’t look any better, so I never bought one. And I didn’t want to spend any money on an expensive bakery version because what if it was as awful as I expected? 

So, I tested several recipes and experimented.

I was pleasantly surprised by the result. Very pleasantly surprised. 

Angel Food Cake is not rich or dense like, say, a chocolate cake or a marshmallow-frosted coconut cake. 

Nope. It is the opposite. It is light, soft, ethereal. The kind of confection that’s perfect on a summer day or after a big meal when you want a bit of sweet but not something that will make you weighed down like you swallowed a boulder.

And this is the bonus: Angel Food Cake is dairy free and fat free. No butter, margarine, oil, egg yolks, milk, cream, yogurt or sour cream in this cake. 

Best of all, it tastes good. I make it with vanilla and almond extracts and sometimes with orange extract and freshly grated orange peel. I’ve made it chocolate flavored too. 

There are special pans for Angel Food Cake, but you don’t actually need one. I don’t have one — I make mine in a bundt pan. The reason for the special pan is that the cake must cool upside down (because you do not grease the pan and the cake would stick otherwise) and has “feet” for this purpose. I place the baked cake upside down on the neck of a glass (do NOT use plastic or it will melt) bottle. It works just fine as you can see in the photos.

Here is my recipe with variations. I think even my mother would like it.

Angel Food Cake

1 cup cake flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups egg whites at room temperature (about 10-12 eggs)

1-1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Sift the cake flour, half the sugar and the salt together three times. Set aside. Whip the egg whites until they are foamy in an electric mixer set on medium-high. Gradually add the cream of tartar and whip until the mixture stands in soft peaks. Gradually add the remaining sugar and whip until the mixture stands in stiff, glossy peaks. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Fold in the flour mixture in thirds, carefully incorporating the dry ingredients. Pour the batter into an ungreased 10” tube pan or angel cake pan. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the cake is puffy, golden brown and a cake tester, inserted into the center, comes out clean. Remove from the oven and place the cake upside down, either with the cake pan legs or by inverting the cake over a tall glass bottle. When the cake is cool, loosen the edges with the tip of a sharp knife, then invert and gently shake the pan over a cake plate. Makes one cake

Variations:

Chocolate: substitute 3/4 cup cake flour plus 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Orange: add 1 teaspoon orange extract and 2 tablespoons grated fresh orange peel to the batter with the extracts

Mother's Day Baked Apples

I know Moms are supposed to love when their kids make stuff like Nutella-marshmallow-banana sandwiches for them on Mother’s Day.

But I’m not one of them.

Food this sweet might appeal to kids but honestly, I don’t think I could get through two bites of it, even for pretend that I thought it was the best breakfast anyone ever made me.

Ok. Call me grumpy.

But my kids must have known because I never got a Nutella-marshmallow-banana sandwich for breakfast on Mother’s Day.

I really really really prefer much simpler foods that won’t send me into a sugar frenzy.

Like Baked Apples.

If someone made these for me I would be very grateful. On Mother’s Day or any other time.

Mother's Day Baked Apples

4 large baking apples

half a lemon

1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries

2 tablespoons finely chopped almonds or hazelnuts

4 tablespoons honey or maple syrup

1 cup orange juice, apple juice or cider

cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter or solid coconut oil, cut into 4 pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the apples, remove the cores and seeds, leaving about 1/2-inch on the bottom. Peel the apples halfway down from the stem end on top. Rub the cut surfaces with the cut side of the lemon. Put the apples in a baking dish. In a small bowl, mix the raisins, nuts, one tablespoon of the honey or maple syrup and 3-4 tablespoons of the juice. Stuff this mixture into the apple hollows. Pour the remaining honey and the remaining juice over the apples. Sprinkle the apples lightly with cinnamon. Dot the tops with butter. Bake the apples for about 45 minutes, basting occasionally with the pan juices, or until the apples are tender. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 4

New York Cheesecake

This is my no-better-than-this-one cheesecake.

Honest.

I have tasted all sorts. Plain, chocolate, gloppy-cherry-topped, graham cracker crusted, pumpkin-infused, brandy-spiked, caramel swirled. Sara Lee’s, Lindy’s, Eli’s, Junior’s.

Not that I spend my life eating cheesecake. In fact, cheesecake is a rare item at our house because, let’s face it, there are enough calories in one slice for an entire meal.

Nope. Cheesecake is reserved for special occasions, like Shavuot (which begins at sundown May 14 this year). It’s tradition to eat dairy on this holiday, and cheesecake has always been the most popular holiday dessert.

As far as I’m concerned, because cheesecake is such a rarity in my life, it has to be worthy. Worthy of a celebration. Worth adding all those calories to my day.

This one is.

Honest.

New York Cheesecake

• 1-1/2 teaspoons butter or margarine
• 1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately)
• 1-1/2 pounds cream cheese (3-8 ounce packages)
• freshly grated peel of one small orange
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/3 cup dairy sour cream or unflavored yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the butter on the bottom and sides of a 9” springform pan. Sprinkle the inside of the pan with the graham cracker crumbs. Shake the pan to coat the bottom and sides of the pan completely. Beat the cream cheese, orange peel and lemon peel together in the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese has softened and is smooth. Gradually add the vanilla, cream and sugar and beat for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs one at a time, beating them in after each addition. Stir in the sour cream. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Prepare a bain-marie, that is, place the springform pan inside a larger pan. Fill the larger pan with enough hot water to come at least 1-inch up the sides of the baking dish. Bake for 70-75 minutes or until the top of the cake is lightly browned. Remove the springform pan from the larger pan and let the cake cool in the springform pan. When the cake has reached room temperature, refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or until it is thoroughly chilled. Remove the sides of the pan to serve the cake. Slices best using a knife that has been inserted into very hot water. Makes one

Dukkah Crusted Chicken

Dukkah is the new goat cheese. Or maybe the new kale chips or sun-dried tomatoes.

What I mean is, dukkah is the “new” culinary discovery, the rage. It’s hot!

I’ve been reading about dukkah in lots of places recently, like the Huffington Post and New York Times. I’ve even written about it myself — for the Connecticut Post and as a guest blogger for my Kosher Connection colleague Yosef Silver’s blog, This American Bite.

I’m always amused and amazed at trends, culinary or otherwise. Like the 1980’s cabbage patch doll craze. And I mean craze. When the dolls were in short supply, parents and grandparents scrambled in a frenzy to buy them and paid all sorts of scalper prices for them. 

My Dad waited on line outside Macy’s for over four hours so he could get these dolls for my daughters.

Four hours.

But he got them.

Today would have been his birthday, so, good for you Dad, such a good father and grandfather, and Happy Birthday.

But back to trends …

Culinary trends can be just as energizing and quick to catch on. Suddenly everyone wants a taste of whatever it is that’s “new.” Like goat cheese, first imported from France in the 1980s. It caught on like a California wildfire. The French had always eaten goat cheese, so it really wasn’t new. But it was for us Americans, who take it for granted now.

Same with sun-dried tomatoes, another biggie from the late 1970s, long known in Italy, but a “new” trend here.

And now there’s dukkah. It isn’t “new” either. It’s a traditional, well-loved spice blend popular in Egypt and in other parts of the Middle East. But it’s fairly new for us. 

Dukkah is a blend of nuts, seeds and spices. The recipe is incredibly flexible, like any spice blend. It’s typically used as a dipping mixture for pita bread (or other flatbread that you dip in olive oil first). But I use dukkah to season fish, meat, poultry and vegetables.

Because dukkah is so flavorful, you need just a small amount for seasoning, (I sprinkle about one tablespoon’s worth over a cut up chicken). It’s much too bold for use as a coating (like for fried fish or boneless chicken breasts). But you can mix in a couple of tablespoons to perk up plain bread crumbs.

I don’t know if dukkah is one of those hot food trends that’s here to stay (like hoisin sauce) or not (think blackened fish).

Whether or not, it is good, interesting and worth a taste. Here’s my recipe. Store unused portions in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator. Nuts get rancid quickly, especially in the warm weather.

Dukkah Crusted Chicken

Dukkah

1/4 cup shelled pistachios

1/4 cup whole hazelnuts

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Place the pistachios and hazelnuts in an unoiled pan and cook over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Add the sesame seeds and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the ingredients are lightly toasted. Remove the pan from the heat and place the pas aside to cool. Place the mixture in a food processor or spice grinder and process until finely chopped. Mix in the coriander, cumin, salt, pepper and paprika. Makes just under one cup

Seared Cod with Cauliflower, Pine Nuts, Capers and Raisins

I’ve been cooking a lot of cauliflower dishes recently. The heads in my local stores have been so firm and fresh looking that I keep buying them and then of course have to cook and eat them while they are still so perfect. 

This Seared Cod and Cauliflower dish was our dinner recently. A sort of all-in-one-pan meal. So easy!

The creamy color was a lovely monochromatic sort of thing, but I added fresh parsley to give it a highlight of green.

Cod can be mild and tasteless. Cauliflower can be robust — I didn’t want it to overwhelm the fish. The toasty-tasting pine nuts (pignolis) and sweet raisins gave the dish a good balance and mix of flavors. 

Seared Cod with Cauliflower, Pine Nuts, Capers and Raisins

1/2 small head of cauliflower, cut into small florets

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 to 2 pounds cod, cut into 4 pieces 

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

1/4 cup pine nuts 

2 tablespoons drained small capers

2 tablespoons golden raisins

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Cook the cauliflower in simmering water over high heat for about 4 minutes or until just tender. Drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan large enough to hold the cod pieces and vegetables. Add the fish, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom. Turn the fish over. Add the butter and let it melt. After it has melted, place the cauliflower, pine nuts, capers and raisins in the pan and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the nuts are toasted, the fish is golden brown on the second side and the cauliflower has crisped. Pour the wine vinegar over the fish. Spoon equal amounts of fish, cauliflower and the other ingredients onto dinner plates, sprinkle with parsley and serve. Makes 4 servings

Frisee aux Lardons

Kosher Frisee aux Lardons? Sounds like an oxymoron. Because this dish is based on lardons! which are crusty little fried pieces of pork fat.

Definitely not kosher.

However. Frisee aux Lardons using Facon (a new product from Jack’s Gourmet) definitely is.

No one sent me any free Facon. No one asked me to use it.

I just tasted it and knew it was meant for big things.

Like this Frisee aux Lardons, which essentially is this lovely, light, springlike salad comprised of cooked bacon, poached egg and a light dressing that uses the rendered meat fat instead of salad oil.

Do try it.

Frisee aux Lardons

2 heads frisee

6-8 ounces Facon, cut up

4 poached eggs

5 tablespoons white wine vinegar or lemon juice

2 teaspoons light brown sugar

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Wash and dry the lettuce leaves and divide the greens among 4 plates. Cut the Facon into dice and cook in a saute pan over low-medium heat for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently, or until the pieces are crispy and golden brown. Scatter the pieces over the frisee. Set the pan aside. Place a poached egg on top of each salad. Add the wine vinegar and brown sugar to the pan. Cook over high heat briefly while whisking the pan drippings, vinegar and brown sugar together. Immediately pour over the frisee. Makes 4 servings

Chocolate Roll with Jam and Strawberries

So you think chocolate is delicious?

Okay, I grant you: chocolate is delicious.

But in my opinion, the most delicious thing in these photos isn’t the dessert, it’s the kid. My grandson, age 2-3/4.

Here he is putting the final touches on a chocolate roll cake. I prepared the batter. He licked the bowl.

These photos are proof of how easy it is to cook with children, even one who is 2-3/4. Remy was able to spread the strawberry jam on the baked cake. I sliced the strawberries. He placed them over the jam. 

He did a pretty good job don’t you think?

We rolled the cake together and plopped it onto a big serving dish.

Okay, the cake has some cracks in the surface. That sometimes happens to rolled cakes. So we covered it up somewhat: I held the strainer filled with confectioner’s sugar and he tapped it with a spoon, causing the white sprinkles to come down like snow and give a nice finish to our work.

No one cared that the cake didn’t look perfect. The time we had together was perfect.

Delicious.

You can do it with a kid in your life using my recipe. It would be a good Mother’s Day project. 

Chocolate Roll with Jam and Strawberries

6 ounces semisweet chocolate

3 tablespoons cold, strong coffee or orange juice

5 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup strawberry jam

1 pint strawberries, sliced 

confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 15-1/2”x10-1/2” jelly roll pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, leaving several inches hanging over each of the short edges. Lightly grease the portion of the paper that fits inside the pan. Melt the chocolate and coffee together in the top part of a double boiler (or a bowl that fits into a saucepan) set over barely simmering water. Mix the ingredients well and remove the top part of the pan from the heat. Let cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed (or use a hand mixer), beat the egg yolks, sugar, salt and vanilla extract together for 3-4 minutes or until the mixture is thick and pale. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and blend it in thoroughly. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they stand in stiff peaks. Mix about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold the remaining whites into the chocolate mixture until the mixture has an even color. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it to make it even. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven. Cover it with a slightly dampened kitchen towel. Let cool. Loosen the cake by pulling the overlapping ends of parchment paper. Invert the cake onto a clean sheet of parchment paper or kitchen towel (use the towel if you will be filling the roll later; keep the cake rolled inside the towel and set it aside, then unroll the cake to proceed).

Spread the jam evenly over the top of the cake. Top with the strawberries. Roll the cake starting on the long side. Place on a serving platter, seam side down. Dust (using a strainer) with confectioner’s sugar. Makes 8-10 servings

Grilled Asparagus with Ponzu Sauce

Grilled Asparagus with Ponzu Sauce

When you can go into a supermarket any day, any time of year and find practically everything you need or desire — like peaches in December or apples in June — it’s easy to forget that there’s such a thing as seasonal food.

Yes, there are a few foods that still invite yearning, as you wait for them to be ready at a precise time. You can’t force shad to spawn whenever you want them to, so shad lovers like me have to wait to buy the fish around May or June. And I have yet to see a pumpkin for sale in July.

But even for the stuff you can buy whenever, there is an actual season where it is available locally. And that seasonal, local food is infinitely better. A tasty break from the transported foods from afar.

Locally grown asparagus is just about beginning its season in many parts of the U.S. So if you like asparagus, now is the time to buy and savor it. Local, seasonal asparagus is like no other. The spears are more tender and delicate tasting than the others.

Also, it’s Earth Day. If it’s sunny out where you are and you have a grill, celebrate the call for eating local products when you can by grilling a bunch of asparagus. Or use a grill pan or an oven broiler. No matter.

Here’s a recipe for Grilled Asparagus with Ponzu Sauce. It’s an easy recipe and you can skip the Ponzu Sauce if you like, because plain old grilled asparagus is fine too. You can save leftover Ponzu Sauce in the fridge for a few weeks.

Grilled Asparagus with Ponzu Sauce:

6 tablespoons Ponzu Sauce

2 pounds asparagus

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt to taste

Ponzu Sauce:

1/2 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup lime juice

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated

1 serrano chile, deseeded and chopped

2 scallions, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

Make the Ponzu Sauce and let it rest for at least one hour. Preheat an outdoor grill or indoor grill pan (or oven broiler). Wash and trim the asparagus and dry the stalks on paper towels. Rub the olive oil over the asparagus. Grill the asparagus for 6-8 minutes, or until they are tender, turning them occasionally and brushing with the Ponzu Sauce. Makes 4-6 servings

To make the Ponzu Sauce: place the orange juice, lemon juice, lime juice, soy sauce and rice vinegar in a bowl. Add the ginger, chili pepper, scallions and coriander. Mix well and let rest for one hour or more before using. Makes about 1-3/4 cups