Sundays with Marlena Spieler-A Sof! :(

"Jewish Menu" for Oak Cafe at American River College....that was fun! Thanks Teresa Urkofsky for asking me to do it!
It was great to spend the day with Marlena and her aunt Estelle at our house...and the matzo ball soup was fantastic! Thanks to Chris Macias and Heather (photographer) from The Bee.
Going to Shankari's the following week was fantastic....she and Raj were super host and hostess!!
We had fun wagging our tongues...and I had fun making one of Marlena's recipes with beef tongue...probably my biggest challenge from her book. We loved it!
Kibbutzing in our lovely Sari's...thanks Shankari!!!
Cooking from Jewish Cooking on tv was da bomb. Seems like a long time ago!

So..it is finished. Came in like a Lion, went out like a Lamb...speaking of lamb, it sounds good. Think I'll make some!

Thanks to my co-blogger buddies, Shankari and Eileen. It's been quite a ride! :) Our first post was Sunday November 8th, 2009. Cooking and blogging our way through her book was fun most of the time, challenging at times, and a wonderful learning experience! Getting to know you two better was priceless.

Thanks to Marlena Spieler for being gracious and encouraging during this project. It was appreciated more than you will ever know. I learned soooo much. A sheynen dank.

Thanks to Greg Sabin for his support and to Ann Martin Rolke for hers as well. To my blog maker and editor, Lori Hahn. Without her, I would have been up shit creek often. Last but certainly not least, thanks to my husband Dave for making all of her wonderful bread recipes.

Some things I'll keep making: Zchug, Harissa, Brik a'leouf, Matzo Ball Soup, Latkes, Fragrant Beet Soup with Lamb Kubbeh, Marinated Herrings, Whitefish Salad....well, so many really.

Mazel Tov to us!

**[Monday with Marica will be posted later on this week....but will be back on schedule next Monday....I want to leave this post up a few more days. It deserves to be left up a bit longer]

Sundays with Marlena Spieler-- Putting the schnit back in Schnitzel

Salt, pepper, and lemon juice on the pounded-out chicken breasts
The dredging station..I just do the egg and then the flour/matzo meal blend.
After dredging, I put them on a rack, over a cookie sheet, and let them set up for 15 min.
I fry in a blend of olive and canola oil...be sure to drain on and blot with paper towels after!
I simply served with a small red baker with sour cream and Marlena's sweet and sour cuke salad...which I think Eileen is making or has already made. It is perfect with this. Sweet and sour red cabbage would be great too!


Schnitzel was originally made using veal and pork. Apparently Jewish folk appreciate the turkey variety. I love schnitzel..any way, any how. I decided to use chicken though..because I had these fabulous chicken breasts from Corti Brothers. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients: Serves Four

4 boneless turkey or chicken breast fillets, pounded to about 1/4 " thick each
juice of one lemon..or maybe a bit more :)
2 chopped garlic cloves
6 TBS all purpose flour
1/2 cup matzo meal
1 tsp paprika (I used hot paprika)
1 TBS water
2 eggs..blended lightly
a mixture of canola and olive oil for shallow frying (see photo)
salt and freshly ground black pepper (for the dredge and for on top of the uncooked meat)
lemon wedges to serve (lemon makes all the difference squeezed over top)

1. Lay each fillet between wax paper or inside of a large ziplock bag and pound to flatten. Use a rolling pin or the smooth end of a meat mallet. If the chicken falls apart..."glue" it back on with a tap or two.

2. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and lemon juice over the pounded fillets.

3. Arrange two shallow dishes for dredging. One with the blended eggs and one with the mixture of flour and matzo meal...I also added the hot paprika to this mixture. (my DIL gave me that dredging set, which includes three, ...came from Pampered Chef).

4. Dip each fillet into the eggs and then over to the dredge. You'll have to work quickly..make sure to press the dredging mixture into the fillet.

5. Then put fillet's on a drying rack..to kind of "set up" before frying. Not for too long.

6. Heat pan with oil mixture...when you can see little bubbles on the bottom, you are ready to fry! Be very careful when adding fillet's to hot oil. As they fried, I used a spatula to sort of push the hot oil on top of the meat..so it cooked the top almost as it cooked the bottom. The color should be golden brown...not dark brown! Watch the heat. A heavy cast iron pan would be perfect for this. Again...hot oil so be careful. It doesn't take long to cook at all.

7. Be sure to put a clean towel or paper towels down on surface and lay cooked fillet on top...then blot to get most of the oil off. You will probably have to cook one or two at a time. You can leave the prepared schnitzel in the oven on 175 degrees until the others are done.

Enjoy! Be sure and check out the Jewish Cooking project blogger's out to see what they cooked for Sunday with Marlena.... Just the Two of us and Sacramento Spice. I know it will be delish.

Sundays with Marlena Spieler-The Menu

Chocolate Babka
Linzertorte with housemade ice cream
So they left out the Z-Koont is a good name too.
The Menu
House made pickles!
Zchug, sweet/sour cucumber salad with flatbread and baba ghanoush
Matzo Ball Soup
Brik A'louef with stuffed courgettes and housemade harissa. It was served standing up between the courgettes! You try cooking an egg over easy that you cannot see! The salmon inside was also delightful. Thanks Gayle!!
Brisket with cabbage and kishke...perfect!


Photo's of the "Jewish Menu" from Oak Cafe at American River College's Culinary Arts Program courtesy of Judith R. Scott.

Last week, my adaptation of Marlena Spieler's recipes were featured. My husband and I...with his parents went to lunch there on Friday. It was a fantastic and delicious presentation. The students "kicked ass" on the menu. So very gourmet! Yes....Gourmet Jewish Food! My thanks to Teresa Urkofsky for asking me to present a menu. I was verklempt! From so much pleasure, one could plotz! {the desserts were inspired by Clarrisa Hyman}

Check out my blogger pals for their take on Jewish Cooking this week! Go to Just the Two of Us and Sacramento Spice.

Sundays with Marlena Spieler-Ashkenazi Gefilte Fish

Well..you just aren't cooking from Jewish Cooking if you don't get your cuisinart dirty at least a few times while making a recipe! I have loved every single recipe I've made from her book..so far. Well...

Gefilte Fish. It just sounds bad. Sorry. I hear that one must acquire a taste for it. I am not there yet but I know that many people love it sooo much. Gefilte means "stuffed" and back in the day this mixture was stuffed back into the fish before cooking it. My cats went crazy for it!!

I used whitefish and cod fillets

Ingredients: Serves 4

2 1/4 lbs of a mixture of fish fillets (carp, white, cod, haddock, yellow pike)
2 eggs
1/2 cup of cold water
3 tbsp med matzo meal
2 tsp sugar
fish stock to simmer balls in
4 small onions
2 carrots
1-2 pinches of ground cinnamon, salt, and freshly ground pepper.

**common to serve horseradish and beetroot along with this meal

1. Salt fish fillets on a plate and let chill for an hour. After, rinse fish in cool water and add to food processor and blend until ground,.

2. Put that fish into a bowl and add the eggs and mix...gradually add the water. Stir in the matzo meal, then the sugar and seasonings. Beat until light and fluffy...Chill for an hour.

3. Take about a tbsp of the mixture..with wet hands and roll into balls.

4. Bring a lg pot of fish stock to a boil (I bought mine) and then reduce to a simmer and add the fish balls. Simmer for about one hour. If necessary, add more water to the pot to keep balls covered.

5. Add the onions, carrots, cinnamon and a little extra sugar and simmer uncovered for 45-60 minutes.

6. Leave fish to cool slightly then remove from the pot. Serve them warm or cold with the beetroot/horseradish.

Be sure to check out my blogger buddies offerings for Sunday with Marlena Spieler at Just the Two of Us and Sacramento Spice.

Holishkes...or stuffed cabbage rolls

I posted this before we officially began cooking and blogging our way through Marlena Spieler's Jewish Cooking cookbook. I've had several people ask me to publish the recipe. I actually had it here at one time...but I was lazy and just took photos of the recipe and uploaded them. WRONG! Below the photos is my adaptation of the recipe.

Just before I poured the chopped tomatoes over.

Ahhh....after.
So we have sliced onions and chopped onions...and 5 minced garlic cloves.
I used two kinds of cabbage...blanched each and pulled leaves off for rolling meat mixture in.
I also used some beet greens...because I could. Not in original recipe.
This is how I roll.


Ingredients:

2 lbs of lean ground beef (could use lamb or mixture of both)
3 -4 oz of long grain rice (not cooked)
4 med. onions, two chopped and two sliced
6 finely chopped garlic cloves (could make it less if you don't like garlic so much)
2 lightly beaten lg eggs
2 - 3 TBS water
2 large heads of cabbage ( I used one plain white and one napa cabbage)
*note: if you don't want to boil the heads, put them in the freezer for no less than 24 hours. Take them out about an hour before you start making the holishkes. The leaves will peel off.
2 14 oz cans of tomatoes...chopped
1/3 TBS sugar
1/3 TBS white wine vinegar (or apple cider or rice wine vinegar)
1/2 TBS fresh lemon juice..save some wedges to put on the plate for serving
pinch of ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Okay..put the ground meat, chopped onions, rice, garlic, salt and pepper into bowl. Mush together with your impeccably clean hands. Add the water to the two beaten eggs and combine. Chill...you and the mixture.

2. Cut the core from the cabbage...or get as much out as you can. Have a large pot of boiling water at the ready..unless you froze the cabbage. Blanch the cabbage for about 2 - 3 minutes. Take out with big tongs....and a big spoon. Let cool slightly and then gently peel leaves off. You will have to re-submerge to get more layers off. Any cabbage that is left over, just chop roughly and add to pan for cooking! Preheat that oven to 325 degrees.

3. Form the beef mixture into ovals or eggs shapes. Don't overwork the mixture...that makes em tough. Same for meatballs! Wrap each one in a cabbage leaf...like you are putting a diaper on. Make sure the mixture is completely enclosed. Keep going. I also used some blanched beet greens that I had saved..just scooched em in there with the cabbage leaves.

4. In a large oven-proof pan or dish (I sprayed mine with Pam), lay the rolls side by side and then layer with the onions. To the tomatoes, add the cinnamon, sugar, vinegar and lemon juice and then slosh that over the entire top. Add a bit more salt and pepper. Cover and bake for 2 hours. Baste during cooking time...at least twice, with the tomato mixture. If I recall, I think I also poured over a bit of low sodium V-8 juice..adjusted seasonings. I don't know why I did that...except that I cannot follow a recipe for the life of me!

5. After two hours, uncover and let cook for another 30 - 60 minutes. You don't want the cabbage to melt away.

Enjoy! This is something my mom made for us all the time.

She used to freeze it and send it (packed in dry ice) to my Aunt Kitty in Illinois! I actually froze it solid once and sent it to Dave here in Sacramento. At the time, I had no idea how hot it gets in Sacramento in April. Dave came home and as soon as he got out of his truck he could smell the stuff on his doorstep. Needless to say...he didn't eat it.

If you want to ship, insure the trip...dry ice!

Sundays with Marlena Spieler-Onion Rolls and Hearty Salads

Beetroot with Fresh Mint-refreshing!
Tunisian Potato and Olive Salad...lusty!
We wait for the dough to rise...it smells heavenly
Top with more onion and poppy seeds and wait for another rise......
Ah...they are out of the oven. When I tasted one, I wanted a bierock! I wanted to stuff the inside with whatever they put in those bierocks. Sauerkraut, ground beef...???? These rolls rock! They are huge...great for a sandwich..where in the hell is the pastrami and mustard? Get me a sour pickle please.

Recipes below:

Onion Rolls [happily made by my sweet husband, Dave]

Ingredients: makes 12 - 14 rolls

1 TBS dry active yeast
1 TBS sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
2 TBS veggie oil
2 eggs lightly beaten
4 to 4 1/2 cups bread flour (see how dough feels..not too sticky)
2 onions chopped very finely
1 tsp poppy seeds

Mix together the yeast sugar and water in a mixer or food processor with a dough hook or dough blade. Sprinkle this mixture with a little dough then cover and leave for about 10 min or until bubbles appear on the surface.

Beat 1 tsp of salt, oil and one of the eggs into the mixture then gradually add the rest of the flour and then knead in mixer for about 8 minutes or so until the dough leaves the sides of the bowl. If dough is still sticky..add a bit more flour.

Lightly oil a bowl and place the dough in it and turn to coat. cover with dishtowel and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours or until it doubles.

turn dough out onto floured area and punch down...then knead for 4 minutes and then knead half of the onions into the dough. Form dough into egg-sized balls and then press down till about 1/2 inch thick. Put parchment paper on baking sheet and then place rolls on sheet. make sure they have room to rise.

Lightly beat the last egg and add about a TBS of water and a pinch of salt. push a slight indentation into each roll and then brush with the egg mixture. Sprinkle the remaining onions over rolls and then a bit of poppy seed over each one. Leave to rise again...don't cover..about 45 more minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls for about 20 minutes..or until golden brown. Serve hot with a hearty salad or two ...and I would use some butter or cream cheese..some lox too! Oh, and some pickles.

Tunisian Potato and Olive Salad

Ingredients: Serves 4-6

8 large new potatoes
large pinch of salt
large pinch of sugar
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 or 2 TBS vinegar...I used rice wine vinegar but you can choose your own
large pinch of ground cumin or cumin seeds ...I used some toasted and ground cumin
pinch of hot paprika or cayenne..to taste
3 or 4 TBS of extra virgin olive oil
3 TBS of chopped fresh cilantro or chopped fresh parsley
10 - 15 dry-fleshed black Mediterranean olives (I didn't have any..so used Greek Kalamata..but a dry more wrinkled variety would be even better...which I guess is why Marlena suggests it).

Chop the potatoes into chunks and boil until just tender. Add the salt and sugar into the boiling water. Reduce and simmer until a knife slides easily into the potatoes. Don't overcook! About 10 minutes is all it takes. Drain into colander and leave to cool a bit.

Slice potatoes thinner if you like, then sprinkle the garlic, vinegar, cumin, and paprika or cayenne over the salad. Add the olive oil over the top and then the cilantro and olives. Mix gently and then chill.

Beetroot with Fresh Mint

Ingredients: Serves 4

4-6 cooked beets, medium (or buy them vacuum-packed at Trader Joe's)
2 tsp sugar
1 - 2 TBS decent balsamic vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 TBS of extra virgin olive oil
1 small bunch of mint leaves, rolled up and then cut crosswise very thinly
salt to taste
fresh ground pepper to taste

*you can make it Tunisian by adding harissa to taste and use cilantro instead of mint
*you can make it Ashkenazi by adding some finely chopped onion and some dill instead of the mint.

So our wonderful adventure continues...cooking thru Jewish Cooking by Marlena Spieler and learning all about their/my culture through food. Please be sure and check out my blogger buddies, Eileen at Just the Two of Us and Shankari at Sacramento Spice to see what they are offering up today!

Your feedback helps us. Don't be shy. My blogger buddy in Missouri made the onion rolls too..check out A Fridge Full of Food..and nothing to eat.

Monday Musings about Sundays with Marlena Spieler

It is Monday, right?

I was looking back through my archives last night and found this post about making one of Julia Child's signature dishes. We were celebrating Dave's birthday and had just seen the movie, Julie and Julia. I just watched it again this a.m. and it meant so much more to me this time around...now that the cooking through and blogging about Jewish Cooking has been going on for about two months now.

I stole the idea straight from Julie Powell..and she knows it. She has been very kind about it..thankfully. Sure, ours has the whole Jewish theme going on...but I admire Marlena Spieler as much as she did Julia Child. We've had our 15 minutes of "fame" and that may be all we ever get. The most important things for me have already happened:

1. I actually met Marlena Spieler...and later she was cooking in my very own kitchen. We had corresponded for three years and I really only hoped to meet her one day but I never imagined she'd be in my house. I was floating the entire day...but I didn't gush all over her, or her aunt. I wish Julie Powell could have experienced that with Julia Child...I really do.

2. I am learning more about my heritage..thru cooking which was my goal when I began this project. My blogger pals have their own reasons for getting on board. It has brought me the fondest memories and smells of my mother's cooking.... and it has been sweet. When Marlena said something to the effect of, "this smells like a Jewish kitchen"....well, I was verklempt. Seriously.

3. I have corresponded, briefly, with Julie Powell. I actually asked if she'd go take a look at our blogs and give her feedback. She did.. and I really appreciate that so much. I really like her...pick up her new book, "Cleaving" and don't be a prude. Please.

4. I have been "introduced" to some of Marlena's wonderful friends, via Facebook. She is so loved, so admired. She deserves it too. What a heart she has! Her friends, turns out, do too. Go figure.

So, it has happened. Nirvana.

Keep checking back on Sundays for our offerings from Jewish Cooking. In the mean time, I think I'll offer up some recipes from some of her other cookbooks. Why not? That's how I roll.

Blessings to my co-bloggers Eileen and Shankari