Category: Appetizer

Sweet Pepper Burgers

Unless you’re the type of person who has all their Pesach food cooked in advance, most people are pretty sick of cooking by the time Chol Hamoed comes around. Quick and easy dinners are a must!  This simple recipe is a nice change from the standard chicken & potato fare, and works for lunch or dinner. The burgers can be broiled, grilled or pan-fried, and seasoned according to your Pesach pantry. If you use ketchup or spices, feel free to add some. In my case, I need to peel the peppers, but the sweetness it adds to the burgers makes the effort worthwhile.

 

Sweet Pepper Burgers

2 lbs ground beef
1 cup mixed colored peppers, diced
1 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 eggs
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix gently to combine. Scoop out palm-sized portions of meat and shape into patties. Place on a baking sheet lined with foil and broil on high for approximately 7 minutes on the first side and 5 minutes on the opposite side. Drain on paper towels. Alternatively, you may cook the burgers on the grill.

TIP: Always mix the beef gently and pack the burgers lightly as squeezing the meat results in tough, rubbery burgers.

NOTE: I like to switch to a clean cookie sheet when I turn the burgers over so that they don’t cook in the fat that was released from the first round of broiling.

1 year ago: mock chopped liver

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French Fried Chicken Nuggets

I would imagine there are about as many Pesach minhagim as there are recipes. Each family has their own book of standards and mine is no different. Thankfully, my husband’s family grew up similar to mine so I don’t have to go eating shmaltz or anything! I always considered myself lucky that my family wasn’t that strict, but I guess compared to some people they are. Basically, we use nut oil, peel all fruits & veggies, use liquid sugar and salt (no other spices). The only processed foods that we buy are orange juice, chocolate, potato chips and lady fingers.

On the days leading up to Pesach, once the kitchen has already been cleaned, my mom likes to use many of the processed kosher for Pesach (non-gebroks) products in her cooking. This way, we don’t feel like we are eating Pesach food too early, and we don’t have to eat pizza out of a plastic bag on the front stoop. The following recipe is great for those who use processed ingredients on Pesach, and for those who only eat it before. The instant mashed potato flakes form a crust on the chicken that tastes similar to french fries. It also reminds me of tater tots.

 

French Fried Chicken Nuggets

1 pkg chicken breasts
2 cups instant mashed potato flakes
2 eggs
onion powder, to taste
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
oil, for frying

Method:

Trim chicken cutlets and cut into bite sized pieces. Set up a dredging station with separate plates of chicken, whisked eggs and potato flakes. Season the potato flakes with onion powder, salt and pepper. With tongs, dip the chicken into the eggs and then the flakes. Place in a pan of sizzling hot oil. Fry on each side until golden. Place on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

1 year ago: breaded gefilte fish patties

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Salami Chips with Dijon Dipping Sauce

Funny story. When I was growing up, my mother used to prepare salami sandwiches for my siblings and I every Friday afternoon. She would pack up our sandwiches, and we’d take them to the courtyard of our building to eat lunch. Little did she know, each week we’d head straight for our building’s incinerator and throw our sandwiches down the chute.

I tried to eat those sandwiches, I really did. But those hard white pieces in the salami just made me gag. Fast forward quite a number of years and I’m a married woman. I’m in the supermarket with my husband and he wants to buy, you guessed it, salami. I explain to him that in no uncertain terms am I going to put that stuff into my mouth. But he promises me that his preparation is so delicious, even I will eat it.

So we head home, and true to his word, my husband whips up sauteed salami that is not only swallowable, it’s pretty good. I mean, I’m not about to go crazy over it, it’s still salami, but I can see where some might enjoy it.

Now fast forward quite a few more years, and that same sweet husband who whipped me up a dinner of sauteed salami, bought me some amazing food magazines for Shabbos (I’ll take that over flowers any day!). Among them is the Real Simple magazine and it has a recipe for salami chips. Sounds intriguing. So I whip up a batch according to the magazine’s directions and they come out disgusting. Absolutely, horrendous. I play around with the cooking time and the oven temperature, and finally, after countless batches, I get it right!

Interestingly enough, I have read that salami is often eaten on Purim to commemorate the hanging of Haman (salami is also hung). Salami chips would make for a unique and tasty shalach manos, or, you can serve them up as an appetizer at your Purim seudah.

 

Salami Chips with Dijon Dipping Sauce

sliced salami (see note)
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup apricot jam
1/4 tsp tarragon

Method:

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Place salami slices on a baking sheet and bake until crispy, about 25 minutes. When you see the salami begin to curl up around the edges, watch them carefully to make sure they don’t burn. As soon as you remove the salami from the oven, dab them with paper towels to remove some of the rendered fat from the top. Then, drain them again on paper towels.

Alternatively, you can make the salami chips in the microwave. Place salami slices between sheets of paper towel. Microwave for approximately 40 seconds, or until crispy.

For dipping sauce, melt the apricot jam in the microwave or on the stovetop. Crush the tarragon between your fingers. In a bowl, mix the mayo, mustard, apricot jam and tarragon. Serve alongside salami chips.

NOTE: To make salami chips, the salami needs to be thinly sliced and uniform.  You can purchase presliced salami from your deli counter, but I like to buy it whole and slice it myself. The only way to achieve this without an electric meat slicer is by using a mandolin. However, since the salami is soft, it bends as you try to slice it. My solution for this is to freeze the salami for several hours until it is almost completely frozen. Then slice it on the mandoline as you would a cucumber. You’ll get perfect, uniform slices every time.

VARIATION: For sweet and salty salami chips, combine 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar and 1 tablespoon water and melt in the microwave or on the stovetop. Pour sugar mixture over baked salami chips and stir gently to combine. Return chips to the oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes at 350 degrees.

1 year ago: chocolate dipped pretzel rods

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Sushi Hamantaschen (Onigiri)

Anyone who reads my blog knows that I’m just not that big a baker. So when Purim comes around, I’m not about to make my own hamantaschen. The bakery stuff is good enough for me. I still like to get into the Purim spirit, so coming up with something that has three corners (reminiscent of Haman’s three-cornered hat) is a must. Last year, I made these puff pastry ones, filled with sauteed spinach, cabbage, and pumpkin fillings. This year, I knew I had to step it up.

Sushi has become a staple (read: obsession) in many Jewish homes. You can find sushi bars at most kosher restaurants, groceries, and even pizza shops. We Jews just can’t seem to get enough. So what better way to celebrate Purim, and enjoy everyone’s favorite food than with these adorable sushi hamantaschen.

It turns out that triangular shaped sushi is not my own creation. It’s a popular street food in Japan, named Onigiri, meaning “rice ball”. Onigiri can be made by hand, or using a rice mold. Either way you do it, these adorable hamantaschen are sure to be the talk of your Purim seudah table.

Onigiri can be stuffed with all different sorts of fillings including vegetables, fish, or meat. Fill them with whatever suits your fancy, or take some inspiration from your favorite sushi spot.

Onigiri Filling Ideas:

scrambled eggs
pickled vegetables
pickles
guacamole
portobello mushrooms
umeboshi (pickled plums, Eden makes a kosher version)
marinated tofu
tuna
lox
mock crab
flaked salmon
caviar
hot dogs
meatballs
chicken nuggets
gingery chicken
diced cold cuts

Sushi Hamantaschen (Onigiri)

3 cups warm cooked sushi rice
nori, cut into 1″-1 1/2″ strips
fillings of choice
toasted sesame seeds

Method:

Using a rice mold:

Rinse your rice mold with water and fill halfway with sushi rice. With wet hands, make a little indent in the center. Add filling (if you’re using a filling that has a lot of liquid, like pickled vegetables, squeeze out the liquid or the rice will get too wet and fall apart). Cover the filling with more sushi rice, but dont stuff it. Cover the rice mold with the lid and press down. If you cant press down all the way, you have used too much rice. If you press down too easily (there should be gentle pressure needed), you have put too little rice. Remove the lid, invert the mold, and press down on the “button” to release.

Measure the width around the sides of your onigiri and cut nori strips a little bit bigger than its width (the nori shrinks a little once it forms to the rice). Wrap the nori around the sides of your onigiri. If needed, you can seal the nori where it meets by dabbing it with a little bit of water.

To make hamantaschen out of the onigiri: Using a piece of paper that is slightly bigger than your onigiri, cut out a triangle shape in the center. Place the paper over your onigir, centering the triangle over your rice and sprinkle sesame seeds over the cut-out.

Alternatively, you can roll the sides of you onigiri in sesame seeds and cut your nori into triangles for the center.

NOTE: Rice molds are available at asian markets as well as on amazon.com. If you purchase the pink one pictured, be sure to remove the pink “buttons” that are snapped into the lid, otherwise they will make an indentation in your onigiri.

Hand-made Onigiri:

Wet your hands to keep the sushi rice from sticking to them. Spread a palmful (or less, depending on how big you want the onigiri to be) of warm sushi rice into one hand. Place the filling in the center. Fold up the rice around the filling and pack the rice tightly with both hands into a triangular shape. Continue as above.

Onigiri can also be made by hand using plastic wrap to help mold the rice into shape. Place a piece of saran-wrap over a bowl and put a palmful of sushi rice in it. Place the filling in the center. Gather up the saran-wrap around the rice and twist at the top to seal the rice inside. Gently mold the rice into a triangular shape and remove the plastic wrap.


image credit: www.seriouseats.com

Filling Recipes:

Pickled Vegetables

shredded carrots
sliced cucumbers
sliced radishes
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt

Method:

Bring the water, vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Add vegetables to a jar and pour pickling brine over them. They should be completely covered. Marinate in the refrigerator for a minimum of 8 hours. Keeps for 2 weeks.

Wasabi Tuna

1 can tuna
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Gold’s wasabi sauce
1 tbsp mayo

Method:

Drain tuna and remove from can. Flake lightly with a fork. Add soy sauce, wasabi sauce and mayo.

Asian Guacamole

1 avocado, cubed
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or pickled ginger, diced
1 tsp sriracha
salt, to taste

Method:

Lightly mash a few cubes of avocado, leaving the rest in cubes. Mix with scallions, lime, vinegar, ginger, sriracha and salt.

Accompaniments:

soy sauce, Gold’s wasabi sauce, pickled ginger, spicy mayo

Spicy Mayo

1/4 cup mayo
1 tbsp sriracha
1 tsp lemon juice

Method:

Mix well until incorporated.

1 year ago: Savory Puff Pastry Hamantaschen

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Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash

It’s been almost a week since my last post, and I just couldn’t push off blogging any longer. I know a week doesn’t sound like much, but I know myself. If I go for a week, I’ll go for two, maybe three, and before you know it, It’ll be a month without blogging.

And I have reasons too. For one, I’ve been working on Purim recipes. More importantly, my internet connection has been out of whack lately. I’ll be just in the middle of pinning an amazing recipe onto my drooling board on Pinterest when my internet goes down on me. Up and down, and up and down. And you know what the embarrassing part it is? My husband is a computer technician. But you know how it goes. The shoemakers kids and their shoes. That’s me.

So now that I’ve braved my unreliable connection (my cable has gone down about 10 times since I started working on this post), let’s get to why you’re really all here. The food.

This is one of those recipes that I dreamed up one night…literally. Does anyone else develop recipes in their sleep, or am I the only crazy one? The worst part is, I usually forget them once I wake up, but this time, it stuck with me. Maybe that’s because it’s not that complicated, and there aren’t that many ingredients.  Jack’s Gourmet sweet Italian sausages are so full of flavor, you just don’t need to add much for the recipe to sing.

OK people, I’m gonna be honest here. We’re talking full disclosure. I haven’t blogged because I’m too busy on Pinterest. I’m obsessed. If you haven’t checked it out yet, go to http://www.pinterest.com/busyinbrooklyn and follow me!

 

Stuffed Roasted Butternut Squash

2 small butternut squashes
2 Jacks Gourmet sweet italian sausages, finely diced
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced
2 tbsp pure maple syrup
3 tbsp brown sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

Place butternut squashes on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees until it pierces easily with a fork, about 1 hour. Saute the sausage for a few minutes until it has browned and rendered some of its fat. Remove the sausage from the pan, but leave the drippings. Add the apples and saute until softened. Add maple syrup and continue to saute until golden and caramelized. Return the sausage to the pan and mix into the apples.

When the squash is ready, leave it to cool for several minutes. Cut it in half, lengthwise, and remove the pits. Scoop out most of the flesh, leaving about 1/2″ of squash all around. Add squash pulp, brown sugar, salt and pepper to the pan and mix to combine (dont overstir the squash, you want it to be lumpy). Lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Return the squash to the oven and bake, uncovered, until browned around the edges, about 15 minutes.

1 year ago: organic oven baked sweet potatoes

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