THE HEIMISHE ISSUE
* YOUR SOURCE FOR ALL THINGS KOSHER *
FALL 2014 | ISSUE 22
50+ NEW RECIPES! STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE:
UNIQUE HONEY CHALLAHS Classics Perfected & Updated: YAPCHIK, CHICKEN SOUP, SEVEN-LAYER CAKE & MORE
FRENCH-INSPIRED DESSERTS SUSHI SALADS: VEGAN OPTIONS 10 FOOD TRENDS FOR THE NEW YEAR HEALTHY AFTER SCHOOL SNACK & DINNER IDEAS
FOR , S U N E M HANAH S A H H ROS UKKOT S
KOSHER MEDIA NETWORK
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HT WEEKNEIGRS DINN
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Contents FALL 2014
CLICK For more exciting recipes and tips!
JoyofKosher.com/magazine
ADDITIONAL FEATURES 52 PRIVATE CHEFS The new way to eat out.
60 AGAR AGAR 62 SUSHI INSPIRATION The ultimate collection of sushi salads.
68 ASK LEVANA How-to guide: healthy eating.
78 HONEY SAVARIN 80 FRENCH TWISTS On Jewish desserts for the New Year.
86 WINEMAKER An in-depth look into family-owned wineries.
88 MENU GUIDE Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot and family dinners.
90 NEW-FRUIT DESSERT
COCKTAIL GUIDE: BY CHERYL RICH HEISLER Find cocktail pairings throughout this issue, speciďŹ cally designed to complement all your holiday meals. Cocktail 1: Sweet Apple Fizz, pg. 32 Cocktail 2: Canadian Compote, pg. 32 Cocktail 3: Grapefruit Granita, pg. 76 Sushi Salads p.62
8 LETTER FROM 10 GIFTS & GADGETS 12 TRAVEL Kosher in Switzerland
16 KOSHER CULTURE Baladi & Heimishe food. Gil Marks explores the origins of the basic spices and recipes of the Jewish home.
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20 CHALLAH COLUMN Honeyinspired Round Challahs make the perfect way to usher in the Jewish New Year. A step-bystep guide ensures that your challahs will come out ready to grace the cover of any magazine.
24 STUFFED CABBAGE Italian inspired. Perfect for dinner or Yom Tov, these traditional rolls get a Yom Tov makeover.
Cocktail 4: Mulling It Over, pg. 84
30 IN SEASON: CARROTS. Traditional carrot dishes with a twist.
35 GEFILTE FISH Fun Updates
40 CLASSIC+TWISTS ON CHICKEN SOUP
44 CHOLENT 4 WAYS 48 YAPCHIK 50 10 TRENDS FOR THE NEW YEAR
Canadian Compote Cocktail p.32
6. Preheat oven to 350°F. 7. In a small bowl, whisk together tahini, silan, and pinch of salt. 8. After the challah is done rising, roll out dough into a large rectangle, about ½-1-inch thick, on a lightly floured surface. The challah dough may need an extra dusting of flour to work with at this point. 9. Using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon, spread an even layer of the tahini-silan mixture all over the rolled-out dough.
Spread an even layer of the tahini-silan mixture all over the rolled-out dough.
10. Working quickly, start rolling up the dough toward you. Try and keep the roll relatively tight as you go. Pinch the end and tuck under when you finish. 11. Create a pinwheel shaped-challah by snaking the dough around and around in a circle around itself. When finished, tuck the end under the challah neatly and pinch lightly. This doesn't have to be perfect. 12. Place round challah on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper and allow to rise another 30-60 minutes. You can also place challah in a round pan. 13. Beat egg yolks with 1 teaspoon water. Brush liberally over challah. Combine salt, sugar, and cardamom in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over challah. 14. Bake for 26-27 minutes, or until middle looks like it has just set and the color is golden.
Working quickly, start rolling up the dough toward you.
Create a pinwheel shaped-challah by snaking the dough around and around in a circle.
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| CABBAGE |
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nd meat, u o gr ground veal d n , u po s d e ic iced sal 3 sl
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Stuffed Cabbage Serves: 4
MEATBALL FILLING
scallion in 1 tablespoon oil, 2-3 minutes. Add ½ cup Cook chopped cabbage. Cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat. ¼ lb. ground beef, ¼ pound ground veal, Add 3 slices salami (minced), 1 mashed potato, 1 egg, ½ teaspoon minced parsley, pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the rolls seam-side down on the Stuff. sauce, spooning some of the sauce on top. Cook, on
FOR THE SAUCE: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 garlic clove, whole 1 16-ounce can whole tomatoes, strained Pinch of salt and pepper to taste
stovetop, for about 30 minutes, covered, on low heat or in a preheated oven at 350 degrees.
make the sauce, heat 2 table Tospoons olive oil in a large sauté pan;
TIP: This filling makes awesome meatballs.
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add the garlic clove and cook until golden. Add the strained tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and cook for 20 minutes.
o, m t a t 1 po
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Holiday Guide
KITCHEN SURFING
Private Chef Sruli plating the oh-so-refreshing gazpacho.
PrivateChefs: Sea ba
ss gefi lte
The New Way to Eat Out SHIFRA KLEIN
A
s the kosher consumer’s palate and demands are increasing in sophistication, it is a no-brainer that the popular private chef service www.kitchensurfing.com has expanded to provide an array of chefs ready to service the kosher population to create an experience dreams are made of. An anniversary dinner prepared in the comfort of your own home, a birthday party cooking lesson where you and a group of friends get to taste everything (while learning trade secrets), a Shabbat meal, a sheva brachot; all with a variety of pricing options. To launch the kosher KitchenSurfing concept, a kosher supper club was planned. Supper clubs, underground restaurants of sorts, are a growing trend among foodies worldwide. The idea is to bring restaurant-quality food in a more social and
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intimate gathering. About 30 foodies and journalists came together at Yudah Schloss’ (head of the kosher division of www.kitchensurfing.com) Brooklyn loft to taste a spectacular 7-course tasting menu by two chefs (about 14 dishes). Those in attendance all agreed that having a taste of what the chefs can produce truly was the best way to introduce this modern dining experience. Most talked about dishes included the lamb chops with rhubarb agrodolce (Italian sweet and sour sauce) and the beef filet with a wine reduction. Inspired by our experience, we decided to try the process for ourselves, having you, the magazine reader, in mind. We wanted to provide a cooking lesson, taught by a talented kosher chef. We visited the site and emailed our specifications to the kosher KitchenSurfing team.
CLASSIC+TWISTS n icke r Ch Ch 40
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Avgolemeno Sou p
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ON CHICKEN SOUP JAMIE GELLER
CRYSTAL CLEAR CHICKEN SOUP WITH JULIENNED VEGETABLES AND ANGEL HAIR Serves: 24 Note: For optimum flavor and results, this soup has to be started the night before.
My grandparents Ma and Uputzi (which means “daddy” in Hungarian) made a phenomenally flavorful, golden, clear chicken soup. (My other grandparents, Grandma and Poppy, favored a dark, rich, earthy soup, with lots of chicken feet. Those scaly feet! They’ll never enter my kitchen.) For about eight years, I struggled, slightly crazed, to re-create that soup. I remember Ma serving it piping hot, along with paper-thin slices of raw daikon sprinkled with salt. We would dip them in our soup and purr. This wasn’t just a bowl of soup; it was an experience. But the actual soup recipe remained a mystery. Then one fine morning, as I was driving down I-95, talking to my sister on the phone (hands free!), she mentioned that Aunt Debbie actually had the recipe. Nearly drove off the road. Well, thank G-d for Aunt Debs, because I never would have gotten this right.There’s a green pepper and cauliflower in this chicken soup! Who knew? STOCK BASE 1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces (about 3½ pounds) 2 bone-in chicken breasts (about1½ pounds) 4 or 5 beef marrow bones (about 2 pounds) 5 medium carrots, quartered 2 large parsnips, quartered 2 small turnips, quartered 2 medium parsley roots, quartered, or sub in a combo of more parsnips and turnips 1 large green bell pepper, halved, ribs and seeds removed ½ head cauliflower, broken into florets
1. Place the chicken, marrow bones, carrots, parsnips, turnips, parsley roots, green pepper, cauliflower, onion, and 1 tablespoon of the salt in a 12-quart stockpot. Cover with 6 quarts cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim and discard the foam that forms at the top when it comes to a boil. 2. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons salt, the parsley, garlic, peppercorns, and allspice and return to a boil. Simmer, covered, over low heat for 1 hour. Remove the 4 chicken breasts and allow them to cool slightly. Remove the meat from the bones. Shred or chop the meat and store it in the fridge to serve in the soup or for another use. Return the bones to the pot. Continue simmering, covered, over low heat, for at least 2 hours more. 3. Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander lined with cheesecloth or a clean T-shirt.
1 3 20 7 20 4
large onion tablespoons kosher salt parsley sprigs garlic cloves black or white peppercorns whole allspice berries
SOUP 1 large zucchini, cut into ⅛ inch julienne 1 large carrot, peeled, cut into ⅛-inch julienne 1 large daikon, peeled, cut into ⅛-inch julienne 1 pound angel hair pasta, cooked and drained, at room temperature
Discard all the solids or save them for another use. Chill the broth overnight. 4. To serve the soup, remove the surface fat and pour the broth into a large pot. Bring to a simmer over low heat and cook until warm, 10 to 15 minutes. Add the zucchini, carrot, daikon, and the reserved chicken, if desired. Simmer 5 minutes to cook the vegetables and heat the chicken. Be careful to keep the soup over low heat; bringing the soup to a boil can make it cloudy. Season to taste with salt. 5. Place ¼ cup angel hair in each soup bowl and ladle the hot soup over the pasta. Serve immediately. 6. This soup can be frozen after the surface fat is removed. You can freeze the breast meat separately if you want to use it for other dishes.
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AGAR STEVEN WEINBERGER
odernist cooking methods are making waves in kosher kitchens! In previous columns I’ve discussed the sous vide method of cooking and the amazing thickening power of xanthan and guar gums. This time we’re going to reach deeper into the chef’s magic bag of tricks to bring out agar (aka agar-agar, kanten). Agar is a plant-based gelatin substitute derived from red algae. It is an off-white powder, available at well-stocked spice stores like Kalustyan’s in New York City, or online. It doesn’t require a hechsher. You might have seen Agar-Agar Flakes available at Whole Foods — don’t be tempted to use them. Agar flakes have different properties than agar powder, and won’t work properly in our recipes.
What differentiates agar from the unflavored gelatin available on the grocery shelves today is its physical properties: • Thermo-reversible — Liquids gelatinized with agar can be re-melted and poured again. • Heat-resistant — Agar gelatins are incredibly stable and won’t melt until reaching 176°F. That enables you to serve them warm if desired. Cold preparations won’t be harmed by a few hours out of the refrigerator. • Strength — Agar gelatins are much stronger than normal gelatins. It is easy to handle molded items and cut them into desired shapes. • Setting temperature — Agar gelatins set at about 104°F. This is much higher than normal gelatins and your finished product can be ready in as little as 15 minutes!
Before you go throwing out all your packets of unflavored gelatin in favor of agar, there is one less-desirable property of agar to mention — its brittleness. You don’t normally think of gelatins as being “brittle,” but in a textbook physics way they can be. When you take a spoonful of your favorite gelatin dessert, the dessert is soft and melts in your mouth, literally. Agar gelatins don’t melt in your mouth, as much as crumble. Which is why agar preparations are usually used in small amounts, unlike a heaping serving of Aunt Edna’s Jello Mold!
Steven Weinberger is a serious amateur chef who thrives on challenging recipes. He has competed multiple times at the ASBEE Kosher BBQ Championship in Memphis, Tennessee, as his alter-ego Fleish Gordon. No longer competing, he judges at Kosher BBQ events and wins pickle eating contests. http://FleishGordon.com/ 60
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Use any berry, such as blueberries or strawberries in place of raspberries.
Sushi Inspiration NAOMI ROSS
IF HANAYA YOHEI (1799–1858), the originator of modern-style sushi, caught a glimpse of the long-ranging love affair (dare I say “obsession”?) with sushi in the kosher world, what ever would be his reaction? Be it the unique mingling of umami flavors on the palate or the flavor-packing oomph this one-bite food can deliver, one thing is for sure: after more than two decades of consistent popularity in kosher venues, Jews still love sushi. Once thought of as the unattainable domain of sushi chefs and aficionados, making sushi at home has become more and more common over the years. Sushi-inspired dishes like Sushi Salad (recipe below) that are less technique-based than rolling sushi, yet capture its style and taste, have become widespread amongst home cooks. These can be a fun and easy treat, especially on Shabbat or holidays. Knowing a bit about the ingredients, though, is key for success.
Naomi Ross is a cooking instructor and food writer. She teaches classes throughout the tri-state area and writes articles connecting good cooking and Jewish inspiration. Visit her website – www.jewishcookingconcepts.com.
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RICE IS NICE Rice is important in sushi. Really important. What makes sushi rice sticky is the extra glutinous quality inherent in this Japanese short-grain variety. And the sticky factor is what holds your sushi together…so use only sushi rice. Be sure to rinse your grains a few times until the water runs clear – besides cleaning the grains, you are rinsing away excess starch produced when the rice is milled. Sticky sushi rice is great, but gluey sushi rice… not so much. While a rice cooker is not a necessity, if you enjoy rice often and like to make sushi, a good rice cooker can be an invaluable investment. I recommend going with a Japanese rice cooker (like Zojirushi).
GONE FISHIN’
Sa shi m
i Sa
lad w ith Vida lia-Soy Dressing
Sushi is all about and has always been about the fish. Originally, sushi wasn’t a dish. It was a mechanism for preserving fish in the days before refrigeration. Fish were packed in rice mixed with vinegar, which fermented the fish, thus preserving it (the rice was discarded afterwards). Today, sushi chefs in Japan are trained to know not only how to select and cut a huge array of fishes, but also which part of the fish is the FALL 2014
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