Category: Appetizer

Herbed Apple & Date Salad

I was lucky enough to spend the last week of the summer in Israel to join a close friend in celebrating a Bar Mitzvah (full itinerary to be posted after the Chagim!), but also for some inspiration for both my body (food!) and soul. What’s amazing about Israel is that you don’t have to seek those things out – they find you. Whether you’re going to the kotel for Friday night prayers, or taking a stroll through the shuk – beauty – in the form of soulful connections, culinary delights, Jerusalem stone, artisan creations, magical energy – surrounds you.

One such culinary delight that I found repeatedly in various forms – is this delicious herb salad. With loads of fresh parsley, crunchy celery, some kind of dried fruit (usually raisins) and nuts (often pecans or walnuts), the salad was simply dressed and so refreshing! I knew when I took my first bite that I needed to create a Rosh Hashanah version, and here it is!

Shana Tova! – to a SWEET New Year indeed.

Related Recipes:

holiday salad with apple & honey vinaigrette
pomegranate coleslaw
roasted beet salsa

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Roasted Baby Elote (Mexican Street Corn)

Welcome summer! After a crazy busy winter that flew by faster than I ever thought possible, it’s corn season – my favorite! There’s nothing quite like crispy corn on the cob, and I love it in all forms – raw, roasted, grilled, steamed, and even made into ice cream and pudding. Baby corn though? It doesn’t get much love.

But when I saw my friend Melinda roast it in the oven with some garlic salt, my imagination went wild! So I picked up a couple of bags at Trader Joes, and I made this lipsmacking dish that is inspired by Elote, or Mexican Street Corn. Traditionally, elote is grilled, rolled in a sour cream and mayo mixture that’s seasoned with chili powder, lime and cilantro, and then rolled in cotija cheese (similar to feta). Here, I roasted the baby corn with tajin chili lime seasoning, and made a light Greek yogurt sauce with cilantro, jalapeno, garlic and lime. I finished it with crumbled feta and cilantro and OMG it’s my new favorite dish!!

For the corn:

2 6oz. pkg fresh baby corn
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp tajin seasoning or chili lime spice
pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup crumbled feta
fresh cilantro, for garnish

For the crema
2 5.3oz containers Greek yogurt
juice and zest of 1/2 lime
1 cup cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno, seeds and veins removed
kosher salt, to taste

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spread the baby corn on a parchment lined baking sheet and toss with olive oil, tajin and salt. Roast for 25 minutes or until slightly charred.

While the corn is roasting, combine the crema ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.

Spread the crema on a platter and top with roasted corn, Finish with crumbled feta and cilantro.

Related Recipes:

grilled corn with za’atar garlic butter
watermelon corn salsa

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Instant Pot Barbacoa Beef

This week, my foodie friends and I decided to throw a dumpling party, where each attendee contributed another dumpling from around the world! You can watch a roundup here! I decided to go with tamales since I’ve always wanted to learn to make them the authentic way. First, I researched barbacoa recipes for the tamale filling (which you can also fill with beans, pulled chicken, cheese or veggies).

Barbacoa is actually the Spanish word for barbecue. It generally refers to meats over an open fire, but in Mexico, barbacoa evolved into a specific cooking style in which meat is slowly cooked in a pit dug into the ground, which is covered with agave leaves. Cooking the meat sealed in a pit steams the meat by sealing in the moisture while also imparting it with smoky flavor. Home cooks adapted barbacoa to the kitchen and converted it into braised beef, which works well in the Instant Pot or crockpot.

Barbacoa is typically made out of tougher cuts of meat, goat or lamb that require long, slow cooking times. Chuck roast, brisket and beef cheeks are common, but I used deckel because it’s a budget friendly with good marbeling. While tough, the meat breaks down into tender pulled beef in the Instant Pot.

The tamales were a huge hit at the party (full recipe coming soon), and I used my leftover meat to make pulled beef tacos for dinner the next night. I love that this recipe is spicy, savory and full of flavor, different from the sweet pulled beef I’m used to eating. Give it a try!

 


Related Recipes:

Blogoversary BBQ Brisket
easiest crockpot pulled beef
skirt steak tacos

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Cabbage Hamantasch Knish

I’ve been on quite the cruciferous kick these days, and I thought I’d have given up by now, but no! I’m having fun challenging myself to new cabbage creations, and thankfully my body loves cabbage as much as I do, so it works for me!

Growing up, my mom always made cabbage knishes for Shabbat and the holidays. She would sauté a bag of pre-shredded cabbage in some oil, season it with plenty of sugar, salt and pepper and stuff it into pockets of puff pastry. I love the addition of beef bacon here – plus a hint of mustard and maple and just a splash of vinegar to cut through it all makes the perfect filling.

Are you team sweet or savory hamantasch? Let me know in the comments below!

Related Recipes:

salami tarte tatin
corndog hamantaschen
savory hamantaschen trio

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Lacy Latkes Tips & Tricks!

I’ll admit that I’m the first one to trash up latkes and have fun with them, but really, nothing competes with the classic perfect latke – if you get them right! There’s an art to the perfect potato latke, and I like to call them LACY LATKES for the shards of potato that crunch up between your teeth like crispy potato sticks! So how do you make these little bites of heaven? Read on!

• Use russet potatoes, they’re perfectly starchy!
• Place your potatoes in water until ready to grate so they don’t brown.
• Prep all your ingredients so that you can work fast!
• Alternate your potato and onion when you grate them, it keeps the mixture white!
• Grate your potatoes from top to bottom (or sideways in the food processor) for longer strands of potato = lacy edges!
• Squeeze your potato/onion mixture as dry as you can! Squeeze into a bowl so you can reserve the starch.
• Once the starch settles to the bottom of the bowl, discard the remaining liquid, and add the starch back in to the latke mixture for extra crispiness!
• Use a heavy bottomed skillet or cast iron pan.
• Add a carrot to your oil, it will keep it clean!
• Use plenty of oil, and get it nice and hot before adding the batter.
• Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop out the batter and flatten it out with the bottom of the measuring cup, so the edges spread out.
• Don’t overcrowd your pan, give the latkes plenty of room so they don’t steam.
• Leave the latkes alone! Don’t touch and let them develop a good crust! Flip and give the other side some time too!
• If the latke mixture starts to get soggy, give it a squeeze before adding it to the pan.
• Place the latkes on a rack set over a baking sheet to keep them crispy.

So you’ve made the perfect latke, now how do you top them? I put a Questions box on Instagram and here are some of the fun toppings that came in!

Sweet Chili Sauce
Sugar! (who knew?!)
Applesauce MIXED with sour cream!
Sour cream mixed with horseradish
Ketchup (!!!!!)
Tuna & melted cheese a la tuna melt!
Spicy tuna and spicy mayo
Truffle aioli
Sour Cream, pickled onions, capers
Poached egg (yes please!)
Cheddar cheese sauce
Beef fry and coleslaw
Labneh with garlic, dried mint, olive oil, Aleppo pepper
Garlic Mayo and shredded BBQ chicken or pulled beef
Cranberry Sauce
Greek Yogurt, Lox, Dill
Pastrami and sautéed onion
Sriracha
Guacamole
Tzatziki
Ranch Dip
Caviar and creme fraiche

Other Latke Recipes:

crispy rice latkes
salami potato latkes
sabich latkes
falatkes (falafel latkes)
poutine latkes
confetti latkes
butternut squash latkes
cheese latkes

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