Roasted Sweet Potato Hanukkah Coins

When Hanukkah comes most of us are cooking latkes or doughnuts, the holiday’s most typical goodies.

When we were kids, we also ate chocolate Hanukkah gelt, those awful tasting coin candies that are so cheap it makes you wonder whether there is actually any chocolate in them. NOTE  TO ALL: the kids still love those coins but for more discriminating palates, several companies are selling “gourmet gelt" — the real deal, premium chocolate coins.

I decided to take the coin idea in a different culinary direction this year.

On Hanukkah I will also serve sweet potato coins. Roasted, crispy, seasoned sweet potato circles.

Hanukkah gelt of a different sort.

This is one of the easiest recipes you will ever find. For Hanukkah for sure, but any time you need an easy side dish.
 

Roasted Sweet Potato Hanukkah Coins

• 2 long, narrow sweet potatoes
• olive oil
• sea salt
• ground cinnamon
• Aleppo pepper or cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Place the slices (not overlapping) of a parchment lined cookie sheet. Brush them on both sides with a thin film of olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, cinnamon and Aleppo pepper. Roast for 10 minutes. Turn the coins over. Roast for another 6-10 minutes or until crispy. 

Makes 4 servings

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Potato Galette with Caramelized Onions and Sincerely Brigitte Parsley and Chives Cheese

Latkes on Hanukkah? Of course! But cheese is also a Hanukkah tradition.

I’ve written about it before.

Why cheese?

Because of the role a woman named Judith, who lived in Judea, in biblical times. According to legend, the Syrian-Greek army was about to invade. Holofernes, the general of the enemy army, was smitten with Judith. So she agreed to dine with him and at that dinner she fed him lots and lots of cheese, which got him thirsty, so he drank lots and lots of wine, which made him sleepy. At long last he fell asleep and she cut off his head! Upon hearing that their leader had been killed, the enemy army fled instead.

So, cheese. To celebrate!

Good cheese is worth celebrating too. Like the ones from Sincerely Brigitte, which produces delicious cheeses with interesting flavors, like Jack with Parsley and Chives. Besides a good variety, Sincerely Brigitte cheeses have a lot more to offer. They are made without animal sourced rennet and starters. The milk comes from a small Wisconsin farm and is rBST-free. Also, the cheeses are kosher.  

I wanted to develop some good Hanukkah-cheese recipes and this Potato Galette with Parsley and Chives Cheese was a big winner at our house. Not just fabulously rich and tasty, but simple. 

AND you can make it ahead and pop it into the oven to complete the cooking a day or so later.

Perfect for Hanukkah. Or anytime really.

Potato Galette with Caramelized Onions and Sincerely Brigitte Parsley and Chives Cheese

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large or 2 medium Vidalia or other sweet onions, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
• 7-ounces Sincerely Brigitte Parsley and Chives Cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat one tablespoon of the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 minutes or until softened and golden brown. Remove the onions to a bowl to cool. In another bowl, mix the melted butter with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Brush a film of this mixture inside a baking pan about 11”x7” (or 10” round). Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin slices. Wipe the potatoes with paper towels to dry the surface. Place the potato slices in the bowl with the melted butter and olive oil and toss them around to coat them completely. Place a layer of potatoes in the pan, overlapping the slices. Top with some of the onions. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and some of the thyme or rosemary. Repeat layers two more times. Scatter the cheese on top. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.

Note: You can make these in individual ramekins; cooking time after you remove the cover will be shorter; check after 20 minutes.

Makes 6-8 servings

Yellow Split Pea Soup

Yellow Split Pea Soup

The best reason to freeze a smoked turkey carcass or buy a big smoked turkey drumstick.

So you can use it for this soup, and have a most comforting dish for dinner when it’s cold outside like today. Or when it’s rainy or snowy and you need something hot, filling, thick and nourishing, easy to prepare and good to eat.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

• 1 smoked turkey carcass (or use a smoked turkey drumstick)
• 10 cups water
• 1 pound dried yellow split peas
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 large carrots, chopped
• 2 large stalks celery, including leaves, chopped
• 2 medium parsnips, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Place the turkey in a soup pot and pour in the 10 cups of water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to a simmer and cook for 4-5 minutes, removing any scum as it rises to the surface. Add the peas, onions, carrots, celery, parsnips, parsley, allspice and some salt and pepper to taste. Cover the pan and cook for about 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until the peas are soft. Remove the turkey. Puree the soup in a food processor or with an immersion blender. If you wish, remove any meat from the turkey, chop it and add to the soup.

Makes 8-10 servings

Gluten Free Mexican Chocolate Cookies

Today is National Cookie Day. I actually had no idea about this, but I always think of December as a cookie baking month and, on a lark, Googled National Cookie Day. Voila!, there it was! Today!

Years ago I would bake dozens of different kinds of cookies in December to make up holiday gift baskets to give to the various editors I submitted articles to. But of course in recent years all my work goes in electronically. So, no “local” office to bring my work — or my cookies — to.

Still, I bake lots of cookies during December, to give to the mail carrier, the UPS delivery person, the women at the front desk at the hair salon I go to, my brother, and so on. Plus the stuff I need to freeze for when my family members come and feel in need of a treat.

Lately I’ve been working on gluten free cookies because I know so many people can’t eat wheat. These Mexican Chocolate Cookies are the newest in my holiday collection.

Gluten Free Mexican Chocolate Cookies

• 1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour 
• 3/4 cup almond flour 
• 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup brown sugar 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips 
• Sugar for dusting

In a bowl, mix together the gluten free flour, almond flour, oats, salt, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. Set aside. Place the butter, coconut oil and brown sugar in a large bowl (or bowl of an electric mixer) and beat the ingredients at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until well blended. Add the cocoa powder and beat for another minute, until well blended. Add the vanilla extract and blend it in. Add the gluten free flour mixture and blend it in. Add the chocolate chips and gently mix to distribute them throughout the dough. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a long log about 2-inches thick. Wrap the log and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Cut the log into slices about 3/8-inch thick. Place some of the slices on the parchment, leaving some space between each cookie. Sprinkle each cookie with sugar. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until crispy-looking.

Makes about 36 cookies

Banana-Chocolate Cake with Dried Cranberries

Banana Chocolate Cake with Dried Cranberries

Today is last time our local Hadassah chapter will be hosting a Tea for cancer patients and caregivers at Stamford Hospital. The women have been baking and serving hot tea and pastries for 5 years now — in fact today is our 5th Anniversary — to great festivity and much success. The patients, who have been undergoing chemo and other treatments have looked forward to our bi-weekly party. Their caregivers have also enjoyed the respite that this little get-together brings.

Unfortunately we have to stop. Fortunately, it is for a good reason. Stamford Hospital is in a building boom, growing into a modern, state-of-the-art facility. Construction is going on everywhere and there is simply too much confusion already for so many people to be bringing in tables and teapots and cakes and cookies.

We will be back. Afternoon Tea has meant too much to too many people over the last five years for us to give it up.

So, everyone, we’ll see you later, for sure.

This is the last cake for awhile.                                                                                                                                                                                                   

Banana-Chocolate Cake with Dried Cranberries

• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting the pan
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
• 1 cup sour cream, plain yogurt or kefir
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a (10-inch) 8-cup bundt pan. Mix the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon together in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed, beat the sugar and eggs for 2-3 minutes or until well blended. Add the vegetable oil and vanilla extract and beat for one minute or until thoroughly blended. Add the bananas and sour cream and beat them in. Add the flour mixture and beat until the batter is well blended. Fold in the cranberries. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a cake rack to cool completely.

Makes one cake, serving 12-16

Sweet Potatoes with Orange and Allspice

Last week I posted a recipe for sweet potatoes with date honey. But I realize that date honey is not one of those stock items most people have in their pantry. I have a couple of jars of it because I use it for all sorts of recipes, but for those who don’t, and don’t want to buy any, here’s an alternative sweet potato dish that’s easy and make-ahead, also not overly sweet. Nice side dish for Thanksgiving or as part of a vegetarian meal.

Sweet Potatoes with Orange and Allspice

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil, Earth Balance Buttery Spread or butter
• 1-1/2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel
• 3-4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (or substitute cinnamon or ground cloves)
• 1/2 cup orange juice (approximately)
• Salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes, prick the skin with the tines of a fork and roast them for 50-60 minutes or until tender. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the Earth Balance (or other), orange peel, sugar and allspice. Mix thoroughly to blend ingredients. Add some of the orange juice, using as much of it as necessary to mix the ingredients to the desired consistency. Season to taste with salt. Place in a casserole dish to reheat. Can be made completely ahead.

For marshmallow topping: reheat the casserole until completely heated through, cover with marshmallows and reheat for a few minutes to brown the top.

Makes 8 servings

Sweet Potatoes with Date Honey

One of my favorite food memories is my mother’s Thanksgiving sweet potatoes. She’d mix a stick of butter with plenty of brown sugar, get it hot and gooey and add a large can, juice and all, of cut up “yams.” It all got glossy and richly amber and was one of the ultra sweet treats we waited all year for.

Those days are gone forever. No one in my family wants the sugar overload.

Or the stick of butter.

We want the dish dairy-free.

No problem.

Sweet potatoes are naturally sweet. You don’t need much sweetener to make them taste good. I’ve experimented with lots of different options and this year I’m adding date honey. It isn’t actually honey — just has honey’s consistency. Sometimes it’s sold as date molasses or silan. 

Date honey has an intense flavor. Use just a small amount when you want to sweeten food. I pour a bit over plain yogurt for breakfast. I’ve added it to cake. Swirled some into the basting fluids for roasted chicken.  

It’s perfect for sweet potatoes.

Coconut oil adds a bit more of a sweet taste and you don’t need much to enrich this dish — 2 to 3 tablespoons instead of much more butter.

Besides the fact that it isn’t overly sweet, the other virtue of this sweet potato casserole recipe is that it contains only four ingredients (plus salt). And you can make it 2-3 days ahead (keep it in the fridge).

Yes, you can add marshmallows on top for the last several minutes of baking.

Sweet Potatoes with Date Honey

• 6 medium sweet potatoes
• 2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/4 cup date honey
• 1/2 cup orange or tangerine juice
• salt to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Scrub the potatoes and prick each with the tines of a fork. Roast the potatoes for about one hour or until tender. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh into a bowl. Add the coconut oil, date honey, juice and salt to taste. Mix to blend the ingredients thoroughly. 

Makes 8 servings

Grilled Ginger-Lemon Chicken Wings

They say that chicken soup is a cure for all ills, the “Jewish penicillin” that magically works to make you feel better. And studies have shown that hot soup actually can help you get over a cold quickly.

But some health issues are not so easily remedied. Like cancer and the effects of radiation and chemotherapy, which, unfortunately, a colleague of mine in the food writing world is facing now.

He is Gil Marks, renowned authority on Jewish cooking and food history, author of 5 cookbooks, founding editor of Kosher Gourmet Magazine and award-winner many times over, including a James Beard Foundation award for his book Olive Trees and Honey.

I have — and use — all his books.

I don’t know Gil personally but he is a giant in the world of Jewish and kosher cooking and I wish him well.

While I realize that no food is magic, I know that sometimes it can be a comfort, if not a cure. 

So what kinds of foods are comforting? What helps when you’re feeling ill, needy, upset, insecure, frightened?

Well, I suppose we all have our own list. For me, it’s chicken wings.

Chicken wings because when I am in need of comfort I want my mother and father, but I don’t have them anymore. So I remember that in the days before chicken parts were so readily available, my mother always gave me the wings from the whole chicken because she thought the wings were the tastiest, most tender part and that the children should have them. And I remember that my Dad, who would have loved to eat the wings, sacrificed them for his kids.

Chicken wings are like a gift of love and generosity from my parents. Treasured memories that I take comfort in when I need comfort.

Chicken wings, my favorite blanket, a good book and my specs. These help.

Wishing you well, Gil.    

Grilled Ginger-Lemon Chicken Wings

• 18 chicken wings
• 1/2 cup ginger preserves or marmalade, chopped if the pieces are large
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 medium scallions, chopped
• 2 medium cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• pinch or two cayenne pepper
• salt to taste

Preheat the oven broiler. Wipe the chicken wings dry and set them aside on a broiler pan, top side down. In a bowl, mix together the ginger preserves, lemon juice, scallions, garlic, lemon peel, coriander, cayenne pepper and salt. Brush the surface of each wing with some of the ginger mixture. Broil for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy. Remove the pan from the oven and turn the wings over. Brush with the remaining ginger mixture. Broil for another 10 minutes or until browned and crispy. Makes 18

NOTE: you can prepare these on an outdoor grill

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Honey Cashew Cranberry Pie from The Modern Kosher Kitchen

Pecan pie is among my favorite desserts but I never bake it because one of my kids is allergic to pecans.

No problem. Recipes like this one are very forgiving.

I’ve made the pie many times substituting different nuts, such as cashews, the kind used in the pie photo above, by Glenn Scott Photography.

This recipe is from the dessert chapter of my new book, The Modern Kosher Kitchen (see the second photo).

There were other changes I made to the standard pecan pie, though. You can too, to suit yourself. For example, I thought the usual corn syrup didn’t seem right with cashews, so I switched to honey.

I also added fresh cranberries to give it a spike of something tart to balance all that sweet.

It’s still basically pecan pie, isn’t it?

Here’s the recipe, just in time for Thanksgiving:                                              

Honey Cashew Cranberry Pie from The Modern Kosher Kitchen

• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons melted Earth Balance Buttery Spread or margarine
• 1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
• 1 cup chopped cashews
• 1 unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Preheat the oven the 350 degrees. Combine the honey, sugar, eggs, and melted fat in a bowl and whisk the ingredients until well blended. Stir in the flour, orange peel, salt, and vanilla extract and blend them in thoroughly. Stir in the cranberries and cashews. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the top is richly brown and crunchy.

Makes one pie serving 8 people

Roasted Turkey Half-Breast with Pineapple Glaze

The lovely image of a large and festive roasted Thanksgiving turkey is one thing. Actually cooking the turkey just right is another thing.

Lots of people, even some who are perfectly good home cooks and make delicious food, are sometimes afraid of roasting a whole turkey.

Here’s how I do it. We eat turkey throughout the year, so I change the basting fluids and seasonings whenever I cook one, but the method described in that blog post works whatever the seasonings. At least it has worked for us.

Turkey can also be easier if you roast separate parts. It’s a much better idea actually, especially if you have a small family or no one likes the white meat (or dark).

When I wish to roast a breast only, this is how I do it. As with a whole turkey, I change the basting fluids and seasonings often, but this recipe, which is vaguely sweet, with a refreshing acidic touch thanks to the pineapple juice, and a bit of heat because of the Sriracha, has been a winner at our house.

You can use the same seasonings for a whole turkey of course (double up on the glaze ingredients). In that case, add the glaze mixture later (after about 40 minutes).

Roasted Turkey Half-Breast with Pineapple Glaze

• 1-1/2 cups pineapple juice
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon Sambal or Sriracha
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• turkey half breast, about 3 pounds
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine the pineapple juice, vinegar, soy sauce, honey, Sambal, ginger, thyme, and garlic in a saucepan and whisk ingredients until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until thickened slightly and syrupy. Set aside to cool. Rinse and dry the turkey breast and place it skin side up in a roasting pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the pan in the oven and reduce the heat to 325 degrees. Roast for 20 minutes. Pour half the juice mixture over the turkey. Continue to roast for another 20 minutes. Pour the remainder of the juice mixture over the turkey. Continue to roast the turkey for another 20-35 minutes or until a meat thermometer placed in the thickest part of the breast measures 160°F, basting occasionally with the pan juices. Remove the turkey from the oven and let rest for about 15 minutes before carving. Serve with pan fluids.

Makes 4-6 servings.