Friday, April 7, 2017

Easter And Passover Catered Or Home Cooked?

Nothing beats a holiday with a table full of food and tradition especially the. Easter and Passover ones. With them comes the question of catered or home cooked? Would it better and easier on the home chef if the whole brunch or dinner was cooked? Or are family recipes important and vital in keeping up tradition?

Easter may be the easier dinner - especially in the States - to have catered. Every family has different traditions. Southern Italians and Greeks are the most traditional, cooking and baking foods and bread recipes that have been passed down for centuries.Everyone else usually just makes ham and a few sides.Some groceries such as Acme and Stop & Shop will work with you to create the perfect holiday dinner. They'll offer sliced ham and/or turkey along with sides such as potato  and macaroni salads along with throwing in a festive Easter cake.Easter brunch is always popular and there are shops and caterers who will bring in such brunch favorites as quiche, scrambled eggs and even French toast.Of course, all of this can be made at home and there is a lot of control as to the ingredients. If you don't want an elaborate Easter meal, then think of a German style one.It's a roast ham with do it yourself potato salad and handcrafted baked beans. All these are labor intensive but the homemade taste is worth it. Dessert can be a simple lamb, bunny or egg shaped cake, and again these can be baked on Holy Saturday.

Passover is a bit trickier because there are strict family traditions involved.  Some Kosher markets can cater the entire menu, creating even better versions of tsimme  - a sweet stew of carrots and dried fruit and charoset - the sweet paste of apples, cinnamon, and raisins, symbolizing the mortar used in building the pyramids. Many caterers will offer such traditonal dishes as kugel but with a hip twist such as broccoli and spinach added.The main courses could be an entire brisket or roast chicken or both if you're hosting a crowd. caterers can also supply chopped liver and gefilte fish too. yet there is something in making decades old family recipe too.Relatives may want the family version of charoset which is not only rich in flavor but also stories too. They also make want just your matzoh ball soup, because of the way you make the balls or because you add scallions for bite and color. Unlike Easter, Passover lasts  a week and you could easily cook one night and have the second night seder catered. It's up to you and what you can handle.

Catering or home cooked? What makes for a better holiday meal. It's up to you and what you want.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Hippie Food Gone Establishment

Just as boho defines fashion these days, it is also spreading into our cooking and eating habits too. Those natural seeds and grains along with fermented brews are becoming more mainstream than Twinkies and cheeseburgers.It's a definite trend but one with good and lasting results.

Christine Muhlke wrote about this in her article in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Ms. Muhlke ,a writer for Bon Appetit magazine, explored how food once thought of as "hippie" is becoming big in kitchens and tables all over the US. Like yoga, meditation,and the uber counterculture symbol, Birkenstocks, crunchy granola food  such as granola, itself, along with almond milk and kombucha tea are in more homes. Many have embraced the clean eating movement where kale reigns supreme and is included in almost every recipe. The question is why now. It could be that we're all tired of this technology and virtual reality and want something real eapecially in our eating t.Chef Geraldo Gonzalez, chef of the Manhattan eatery, LaLito, feel people may be moved to seek out the more restorative and "actual foods.They want the mouthfeel, aromas and flavors to connect them back to reality. His own recipes are what he terms "hippie Chicano" such as vegan chiccharrones and cucumber salad with brown mole vinaigrette.This is an alternative to all those bad foods such as meat dairy and starch, ingredients that cause brain fog according to Chef. Gonzalez

The "hippie" eating movement is also a backlash to the meat heavy, super-masculine style restaurants, according to another chef,Alissa Wagner, one of the owners of Manhattan's Dimes.Eating more natural and more green is a definite protest.Another reason she feels, is that diners are also more educated in how they eat and knowledgable about where their food comes from.Of course, restaurants are quick to jump on this trend. There is Tartine Manufactory in always food forward  San Francisco. It is a blend of roast beef sandwiches with green farro and roasted carrot salad.New York has just introduced abcV , created by Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten for the abc furniture and home goods store Its' menu hightlights organic all vegetable dishes such as a ramen noodle soup made with Meyer lemon and curry leaf boullion with pea shoots and beech mushrooms and spinach spaghetti with broccoli, and kale, Cookbooks are also featuring crunchy granola recipes. Such big names as Martha Stewart  and Wolfgang Puck are jumping on this trends with books devoted to healthier and more all natural cooking. The rock star of vegan restaurants, the famed Thug Kitchen is also coming out with another cookbook that makes eating quinoa and teff uber hip.

All this hippie eating has good benefits.We'll all hahve heathier bodies and habits if we go back to fermnted and whole grain foods. It's not just a trend but a way of life too.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

The Marriage Of Easter And Passover

Without Passover , there would be no Easter. Both holidays and holy days are linked , along with having much in common, Both are rich in symbolic foods that define them. There are savory and sweet , recipes that go back centuries and even millennia.

Famed chef and food writer, Yotam Ottolenghi, wrote about these entwined holidays in today's New York Times Food section.The similarities of the two Spring holidays struck him a couple of years ago when he and his then two year old son, Max, went on their first Easter egg hunt in London. The feeling of triumph of finding a chocolate egg was not unlike that of finding the afikoman - the piece of matzoh that is hidden during a seder and found by the children attending the dinner. He then saw similar symbolism with certain dishes. The English bake a simmel cake - a fragrant spice-laden fruit cake that always has twelve marzipan balls on it to represent Jesus and the eleven apostles -  not twelve because Judas is omitted. Chef. Ottolenghi compares the cake's fruit drenched crumb to his nonna's haroseth,, another symbol rich food. The paste, meant to symbolize the mortar the Jews used to build the pyramids also has dried fruit and dusted with spice, namely cinnamon. Both Jews and Christians also make lamb which signifies  Abraham's sacrificing his son and Christ sacrificing His Life.

The holidays can be entwined and Chef Ottolenghi writes of braiding the two together. He offers two recipes, One is truly Neopolitan, a casatiello, and would be better after Passover. This bread is a great way of using the leftovers from the Easter meal and is brought on many an Easter Monday picnic all over Southern Italy.It combines salami, Gruyere and parmesan cheeses baked together with hard boiled eggs.(you can use your Easter eggs for this). All of this is neatly contained in a hearty bread.The bread dough is rolled out and then the cubed salami and cheeses along with a paste made of parsley and basil are spread out on it. The bread is then rolled and baked in a tubed pan. You don't even need a picnic for it. It's just a nice Spring dinner or Sunday brunch. The second recipe is one for Passover (although it, too, can be made at any time of the year) This  is a flourless walnut cake with the walnuts being ground into a flour. They do require what Chef Ottolenghi call a pre-emptive drenching which can be in  floral or citrus sugar syrup for some kind of moisture. His favorite is a nutty liqueur such as amaretto to give the cake kick.It's decorated with freshly whipped cream and caramelized salted walnuts.

Passover and Easter  have been and will always be entwined. Their foods too, for all their differences will be that way too. Both can be made and used in observing the coming of Spring and new life.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Homemade Easter Sweets

Easter is a time of fun and treats. What would be more fun than making your own sweets and treats for the bunny's basket. Surprisingly it's easy to recreate such classics as jelly beans and  marshmallow chicks. along with chocolate eggs filled with surprises. It's not only a neat thing to do , but also helpful. Parents don;t have to worry about allergies. Everything is home made  under watchful eyes,

Jelly beans are one of the most classic and most recognizable of any Easter goody. The first thing you'll need is a jelly bean mold. These can be bought on Amazon or EBay (there's usually fifty-five hollows on each pan). The recipe is pretty straightforward. It's mixing one quarter of a cup of gelatin with one cup of water and two cups of white sugar.Cornstarch is also added along with a pinch of salt. The flavor comes from the half a cup of juice added. If you're adventurous , you may want to mix juice like orange and grape or make novelty beans like cranberry and fruit punch.It's then cooking all the sugars and water along with the gelatin which will give the beans body. If this may seem too much then think homemade Peeps. Creating them  does involve a lot of ingredients, such as egg whites. corn syrup and of course gelatin for body,It's basically making a syrup and blending it in with stiffened egg whites. It  will come out in sheets and has to set overnight. .Use chick shaped cookie cutters that have been dipped in cold water to cut out the familiar  shape. Dust with colored sugar and use melted chocolate to make the eyes,

Perugina eggs are known for their fun gifts tucked inside either milk or dark chocolate eggs.Again a big surprise is that you can create your own. Amazon sells the molds for the large eggs for about nine dollars. You do have to temper the chocolate before pouring it into the molds which have to be scrupulously clean before using. Tempering chocolate is nothing more than melting it. I'd recommend using those chocolate discs that Michael's sells as opposed to chocolate chips. This is a glossier chocolate that will have a  nice sheen to it when it's hardened. It's then coating the two sides of the mold and then "soldering" them together by first gently [placing them on a hot cookie sheet and then gently sticking them together. If you want to put a toy (Or a gift certificate for older kids) inside , wrap it in Saran wrap  and then seal. Let cool. You can ice it with buttercream icing or melted white chocolate.Coconut eggs are a big Easter treat. The basic recipe is like a variation of cream cheese frosting except a cup of flaked coconut is added. The candy is them shaped into eggs and frozen for two hours. It 's them melting either milk or dark chocolate chips and dipping the eggs into the melted chocolate.

Happiness is a basket of Easter goodies.Home made ones are even more special. Create some tasty treats for the bunny's basket this holiday - and save some beans and Peeps for yourself too!

Monday, April 3, 2017

Tates Cookies

Crisp cookies are always a treat . They have a satisfying bite and crackle along with a buttery crumb. If you can't there's always Tate's bake Shop. This famed Southampton, Long Island bakery is now sharing their treats in supermarkets around the New York Metro area.

Tates' Bakery was started in 1980 by Kathleen King was she was just eleven years old. She set up  card table at her parents' farmstead on the Southern fork of Long Island where she sold small batches of her signature chocolate chip cookies. Ten tears later the twenty-one year old Kathleen rented a space her mother had spotted and opened her first bakery. She named it Tate's after her dad and baked a slew of old-fashioned desserts from scratch. Tate's Bake Shop has been named the Hampton's Top bakery year after year.If you're lucky enough to visit the Hamptons , then stop at this bakery.It's a charming green clapboard house with paned bay windows and wrought iron tables and chairs in which to sit and enjoy Tate's products.it's right off the main road and near the town's  shopping area. Forget the fancy shops and twenty dollar tee shirts,  Go to Tates for a cupcake or brownie and coffee instead

Tates Cookies are phenomenal. Unfortunately I can only get their regular and gluten free chocolate chips and Ginger Zingers, a kind of ginger snaps. The chocolate chips are perfect, with a nice snap and crunch  and a crisp crumb. They taste exactly like the home made kind with a perfect taste marriage between butter and brown sugar.. The bakery has a wider variety and it is definitely a foodie destination. Ms. King and company bake such amazing cakes as old fashioned Red Velvet with cream cheese icing, chocolate with chocolate buttercream. Of course as with every bakery, there are magnificently iced cupcakes (see their website) in popular flavors as salted caramel and cookie dough along with their take on the Hostess cupcake called the Mostess. I wish that Tate's would mass produce their brownies and raspberry squares along with their chocolate and lemon tea loaves.

Tate's Chocolate Chips are a must try. These are the closest taste to homemade. Try them and see.

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Octopus Cupcakes

One of the latest trends this year is mixing seafood with sweets. It's a way of infusing those bad for you treats with brain food.Many home bakers will balk at it but once they'll change their minds once they  taste the brininess of the ocean married to chocolate or vanilla.It truly is a taste sensation.

For those who still question this, the answer is just ease into it. Start with fish sticks or fish fingers dipped in chocolate or caramel syrup. Yes, it's an eye opening departure  from tartar sauce and ketchup, but it is tasty. The sweetness reminds some of the fruity tasting duck sauce served in Chinese restaurants. (and let's face it - ketchup is just as sweet as well). Anther way of jumping into the sweet seafood craze is by adding a scant cup of flaked fish to any cake or cupcake batter. The mildest is cod, used in fishsticks.It is more delicate than the robust salmon and tuna. These would be great mixed in with chocolate.Of course one of the best combos is any flavor cake with octopus.It's so versatile that it can go with with every kind of cake flavor from Red Velvet to butter. Octopus cupcakes would be the perfect treat at any little boy birthday party. It contains cake with something icky - every kid's fantasy.

Seafood can even find its' way into fancy desserts such as croquembouche . These are tiny cream puffs piled on top of each other to create a tree. This is a time to really go crazy with the seafood -sweet trend. Try mackerel, It is a bit oily  but a squirt of lemon will make it more compatible to the rich vanilla pastry cream. For a sweet punch of color add the coral fleshed salmon.Yes, it's great in a chocolate or devils;' food cake.It is sublime and pretty when blended with a pale yellow cream For a surprise, try chopped shrimp  too. It has a nice meatiness that works well with the other textures.For larger cream puffs think the meatier monkfish and lobster.Pair with a creme caramel for a truly lush flavor and mouth feel. Monkfish and lobster are also good filling for eclairs too.It's a nice way of combining a posh dinner with an even posher dessert.Lobster can also go with that elegant French dessert pot du chocolat - a rich dark chocolate pudding enriched with egg yolks. A bit of lobster tail can even be used as a garnish on top.



If this seems a bit outrageous to you check today's date. Got you , foodies!😋😋😋

Friday, March 31, 2017

Happiness Is Breyer's Ice Cream

One of the best American ice cream's is Breyer's  Any Yank will tell you why he or she loves it..It's smooth and light , creamy and flavorful. Breyer's either be the perfect dessert or the most satisfying snack. Best of all it can be used in making many treats, ideal for the warm days ahead of us.

Breyer's is one of America's oldest food manufacturers starting right after the Civil War in 1866. William A Breyer started by hand cranking his creamy concoctions. It was made in the Philadelphia style, which had already been popular for a century. The Philly way eschews eggs, producing a lighter product and taste. It's more of a thick kind of ice milk as opposed to the eggy French style of ice cream.Breyer created different flavors right away, adding fruits, nuts and extracts, which are still being used today.He opened the first ice cream shop in 1882 and four more quickly followed. The rich mixture of whole cream and cane sugar. It was cranked in one store and delivered by a horse drawn carriage to the other three. By 1896 Breyer and his family set up the first ice cream factory as more and more people clamored for the icy treat. The Twentieth Century brought more sales to the company that topped millions, and was sold to grocery stores in New York City, Staten Island, Jersey City , Newark and even south to Washington D.C. The family sold it as early as 1926 to National Dairy Products Corporation. It has been bought and sold several times, from Kraft to Good Humor and finally to Unilever who make the ice cream in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. They now produce gluten and even sugar-free ice creams  for those with celiac disease.

Breyer's is one of my favorite ice creams, simply because of the light mouthfeel and taste. It's not a heavy , custardy feeling , like some other brands. It's good on it's own but that lightness helps to make sodas and sundaes airier too. One of my favorites is their coffee flavor. This is perfect in chocolate flavored soda (yes, there is one - and Stop & Shop makes it )along with making an excellent mochaccino sundae. This consists of two  plump scoops , drenched in chocolate syrup and covered in Reddi-Whip. Their fudge ripple is to die for, with the vanilla ice cream marbled with thick fudgy veins. My new favorite is the new Breyer's Blast that has chopped up Samoas,from the Girl scout cookie collection.Samoas on their own are more like candy, with their coating of chocolate, caramel and toasted coconut. This marriage has created a yummy, chewy but light coconut flavored ice cream, that I would love to put into a summery ice cream pie.Another must try are their Gelato Indulgences.My to try list has their lush chocolate caramel, that dripping with the last and decorated with decadent chocolate curls along with Tiramisu Gelato, that's made with marscapone cheese,espresso syrup and lady finger bits.

There's a reason why Breyer's is America's favorite ice cream. It is delicious and light, perfect for dessert or as a cool treat on a hot day. Try this classic , It's sure to be your classic ice cream go to after one spoonful