Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Bake-free pineapple flambe

I have no problems cooking enchiladas, turkey or lamb from scratch, but if you ask me to bake chocolate chip cookies I start to panic.
I was never much of a baker. At my first job out of college the women organized a cookie exchange every year. I purchased cranberries, flour and baking powder with the intentions of making delicious oatmeal cranberry cookies.
Unfortunately they were so hard you could barely bite through them and the bottoms were burned.
If I recall correctly, my cookies were almost untouched at the party.
Oh well.
That's why I am always on the prowl for desserts that involve little or no baking.
I was recently introduced to a wonderful dessert called Postre de Pina y Chile (spicy pineapple-rum flambe). Chef Amalia Damgaard (www.cookparty.com) presented it during a class entitled Latin Holiday Entertaining. She served it with fried cheese, which I don't do because I find that by the time guests get to the dessert they don't want to eat hunks of fried cheese. But if you plan to serve this dessert tapas style, then I suggest including the cheese. I'll post both recipes on Momentous Occasions.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

$3 macaroons

If you shop at Lunds or Byerly's you've probably noticed prices of their baked goods have almost doubled while the packaging shrunk.
I used to treat myself and my husband, the Chief Tasting Officer, to a package of the coconut macaroons for dessert. But once the price of the macaroons surpassed $4 and the packages became smaller, I stopped buying the dessert.
Haven't bought them in months. What I have done is learned to make macaroons at home. It is quite easy and much cheaper. A 7 oz bag of macaroons is $1.50 at Cub. You can find my macaroons recipe at Momentous Occasions by Natasha.
Happy baking.

Monday, December 15, 2008

It's all in the bread

The smell of fresh bread is intoxicating in Europe.
It wafts through the narrow streets, enticing passersby to enter bakeries and purchase fresh bread in the morning and afternoon. Europeans, especially the French, are obsessed with fresh baguettes and with good reason.
A loaf of bread costs only $1.50 there, which makes it an affordable luxury for anyone.
When my husband and I were in Barcelona this fall I felt as if I’d entered a special heaven where it was mandatory to sell affordable cheese breakfast pastries, croissants and demi-baguettes (half-loaves).
So why is bread so expensive here? Sometimes I feel the urge to hurl flour at the makers of bread products as I browse a store’s selection just to remind these folks that bread should be cheap. Sara Lee bread runs around $4 a loaf at the grocery store. And fresh bread, well you’re probably more likely to see a Keebler dwarf sitting atop chocolate chip cookies then you are inexpensive bread. Cub charges $3.99 for a 14 oz package of Ciabatta bread.
I am sure there’d be a European Yeast Revolt if they were suddenly forced to pay 3 Euros for a mediocre loaf of bread.
Thankfully there is a way out of this rather battered situation. Put on an apron and bake your own bread.
Readers rest assured: the image you have of a woman kneading dough and monitoring the bread rising for hours was left behind with black and white television.
A quality bread maker is a great way for a beginner to learn about baking.
I purchased a “Breadman” bread maker from Bed, Bath and Beyond for $60 two years ago. It is not a cheap investment, but once you realize you can make bread for roughly $1 a loaf it is well worth the price.
This kitchen tool comes with a recipe book for yummy breads such as French, honey banana whole wheat, rye and cinnamon raisin. As an added bonus not discussed in the manual -- it makes your home smell like a bakery in the morning.
All you need to do is place water, yeast, salt, flour and any other required ingredients in the bread maker and press start.
I’ve graduated to the next level of baking bread now that I purchased a copy of “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.” For those not familiar with the book, authors Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois (both of Minnesota) developed a method for bread baking that requires no kneading.
You simply mix ingredients in a large container and let the dough rise for two hours. Once the process is done you simply refrigerate the container and use the flour whenever you want to bake bread. It keeps in the fridge for two weeks!
The authors also use the steaming method to help the bread cook. You simply place a broiling pan under your bread and throw a cup of water in there. Half an hour later you’ll have a delicious loaf of bread and the added bonus of a nicely smelling home. Their recipes include mouthwatering olive oil bread roasted red pepper, Vermont cheddar bread and olive fougasse.So don’t be intimidated by that image of grandma wrestling dough with a rolling pin. This is America, where you can get inexpensive fresh bread with the touch of a button.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Jewish comfort food on a budget

One of the best comfort foods in Jewish cuisine is matza ball soup.
There’s nothing like the flavors of chicken, carrot and matzo to warm the soul on a cold winter day. Especially, if you live in Minnesota.
Two schools of thought exist in the world of matzo ball soup. Some people say the best soup can only be made from scratch, while others counter that Manischewitz Matzo Ball & Soup Mix is just as good.
I love stocking up on boxes of Manischewitz soup mix after Passover (they usually go on sale!) and make the soup using a fresh chicken stock to enhance the soup’s flavor.
If you’ve never had Jewish food before this is a perfect way to introduce your palate to the world of gefilte fish, kugel and latkes.
I’ve posted two recipes on Momentous Occasions, one for soup from scratch and the other with the help of a mix, for anyone to try.
Lechaim!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Kicked-up potato salad

Every respectable Russian woman offers a bowl of “Olivye” (pronounced oliv- yea) to dinner guests.
The French owner of a well-known restaurant in Moscow called Hermitage created this Russian potato salad. His name, Olivye, of course.
He guarded the recipe carefully, refusing to share it. It was his sues-chef who eventually revealed this recipe. The original dish calls for chicken, but Russian housewives usually substitute the meat with sliced baloney, ham or salami.
Critics say this substitution changes the flavor of the salad, but everyone agrees it tastes great either way.
I took this salad to our block party last year and walked away with an empty bowl. One neighbor even grabbed a Tupperware container and took some salad home for her Polish husband. He’ll love this, she said.
Find the recipe at Momentous Occasions.

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Ballad to childhood leftover rabbit

The first real pet I had as a child was a rabbit.
My father found it in the woods and brought it home.
Mys-Mys (pronounced moose-moose) had soft gray and white fur and an energetic personality. I was 6 and delighted to be the only girl with a pet rabbit among my friends.
He hopped around our Soviet-style apartment and heartily ate the lettuce my mother set on the floor.
No dog can beat that, I thought.
He lived with us for about two weeks. Then my parents announced he wasn’t doing well in an urban setting.
Mys-Mys needed the soft grass, pine trees and other animals to keep him company, I was told.
I was reluctant to give up my pet, but agreed I’d be satisfied if his life could be improved once he was in his natural habitat.
Days later the rabbit was gone.
I no longer had a pet that hopped around the apartment and ate lettuce leaves.
Thankfully, the mind of a 6-year-old is easily distracted. I barely mourned this loss and even ate a wonderful meal of braised rabbit with my family a few days later.
I’ve always enjoyed eating rabbit and in Russia the meal was considered a savory treat.
After all, this is a country where meat is simply meat. At a grocery store when you ask for meat, you get a hunk of meat.
“What kind of meat is this?” you might ask the woman on the other side of the counter.
“It is just meat,” she’ll bark back.
Russians back then were not picky when it came to good food because it was scarce.
I remember my father going to buy chicken at a farmer’s market. The rule was one chicken per person. He’d borrow the neighbors’ daughters and sons to stand in line with him so we’d have enough food for our family of four.
That’s why -- two decades later -- the braised rabbit dinner is fresh in my mind.
It wasn’t until years later that my mother informed me Mys-Mys was the guest of honor at that fine family dinner.
I admit I was appalled that my parents let me eat my pet. And then I understood he was no pet at all. My parents judiciously fed him lettuce and carrots in our apartment to fatten him up.
Those sneaky Russians!
I assure you I’d never do that, but I proudly serve rabbit to my family.After all, it conjures up some of my favorite childhood memories.

Click here for a braised rabbit recipe: http://tiny.cc/rabbit394

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Frugal Turkey Leftovers

By this point you’ve probably realized your jeans are a bit tighter, you can’t stand the smell of cranberry sauce and you’ll scream if you have to eat more leftover stuffing.
This can only mean one thing: the aftermath of Thanksgiving.
My husband and I spent the weekend with my parents, which meant this year I didn’t have to worry about turkey leftovers.
From past experience I’ve concluded there are three ways to use the remains.
1. Freeze the meat and bones and use in soup.
2. Make a turkey salad
3. Bake a turkey casserole.
All three are smart choices. I offer two recipes on Momentous Occasions for – one for my turkey salad and another for an unusual casserole.
Enjoy the short break from feasting and remember Chanukah and Christmas are in three weeks.