ON THE TENTH DAY OF HANUKKAH, MY TRUE LOVE MADE FOR ME……

Okay, we know that Hanukkah is only eight days long, but this was a special occasion.  We had driven down to Tampa to visit with Marilyn and Jerry, who were staying with Jamie for New Year’s.  Jamie loves brisket and latkes, so Sherry brought all the proper cooking materials to make the meal.  Cooking in a strange kitchen is always a challenge, and although the kitchen was new and modern, having familiar surroundings helps.  Also helps that brisket is a staple of Southern cooking, so it's always available in the markets.   

The brisket took longer than usual, but slow cooking made it come out sweet, tender and with a very rich gravy.

BRISKET

1 6 lb flat beef brisket

2 onions, chopped

3 heads of garlic, peeled and separated into cloves (or a jar of pre-peeled garlic cloves)

4 jars Heinz Chili Sauce

24 oz RC Cola

1-2 Tbsp. paprika

1 lb. baby carrots

In a large ceramic baking dish with cover, add the onions, garlic, brisket, Chili Sauce, paprika and RC Cola.  Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours, then add the carrots and continue to cook 1 additional hour, or until the brisket is tender (may take longer). 

Take out the brisket, and slice into pieces against the grain.  Reduce the heat to 250 degrees, add the brisket back to the baking dish, and leave in oven for 30-45 minutes.  Then remove and serve.

LATKES

The recipe can be found in an earlier post.

THE BEST LATKES - BECAUSE SHERRY MADE THEM!

Ahh, latkes, the Hanukkah gift that keeps on giving!  We celebrated the holiday with Sherry’s Best of the Best latkes last night.  Easy to make, delicious to eat.  What a combination.

INGREDIENTS

8-10 russet potatoes, washed and cut into 2 inch chunks (unpeeled)

2-3 onions, roughly chopped into quarters

2 eggs

Kosher salt

Flour, to thicken

Canola oil, for frying

In a food processor, add the onions and potatoes in batches, then add the eggs, and run the processor until everything is fairly chopped, not pureed.  Once you are done, pour the mixture into a colander set over a large bowl, and let drain.

Once drained, in a bowl add the potato/onion/egg mixture, some kosher salt and flour, and mix until you have moist but thickened batter.  Heat the oil in the pan until hot, then add the batter in 2-3 inch spoonfuls, flattening down.  Fry until browned on one side, then turn over and cook until browned. Place latkes on 4-10 layers of paper towels to soak up any excess oil (of which there will be plenty).

Serve with applesauce and sour cream, or with sour cream and applesauce.

If you have an electric frying pan, that seems to make the latkes come out evenly cooked.  Otherwise, use a large frying pan.

CHICKEN IN GREEN SAUCE AND SPANISH-MEXICAN RICE

GREEN SAUCE AND SPANISH-MEXICAN RICE

Years ago, Sherry and I had dinner at Sol Azteca in Boston, and had the Shrimp in Green Sauce, which we loved.  Later, I would make up the sauce at home, so that we could eat it more regularly.  Some time later, we went back to the restaurant to have the Shrimp dish, and it tasted bland compared to our home-made version!

We hadn’t made the sauce for a while, and decided to have it over thinly sliced and grilled boneless chicken breast.  Sherry made up a Spanish-Mexican rice accompaniment, using peppers and caramelized onions.  Simply put, a yummy dish, with one caveat:  the garlic in the sauce will last twenty-four hours after eating!!  This is not necessarily a bad thing.

RICE

1 cup brown rice

2 cups water

1/2 onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1/2 Tsp. each cumin, oregano and paprika

Bring water and rice to a boil in saucepan, then reduce to simmer and cook, 30 minutes, or until all water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, sauté onion in olive oil until well browned, about 15-20 minutes.  Add pepper and cook until pepper is soft.  Mix in spices, then add mixture to cooked rice and stir well.

GREEN SAUCE

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

4 tomatillos, washed and quartered

4 garlic cloves, peeled and quartered

1 jalapeno, seeded and sliced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix all in blender.  Let stand for 1 hour to allow flavors to develop.

Pour sauce over grilled chicken, shrimp or meat (we used chicken).  Breath Mints optional.

PIZZA PIZZA

We had a nice day on Sunday, hiking at the Latta Plantation Nature Preserve and Equestrian Center.  Because the Panthers were playing at home, no one except for a few horsepeople were out on the trails.  The trails meander through woods and by the river, and other than having to look down while walking most of the time, it’s a lovely place to explore.  They offer places to kayak, or to fish for large-mouthed bass, so we will probably go back and fish one day. 

After the hike, we decided to FINALLY make pizza at home.  We hadn’t had the chance to use our pizza stones before, but time was short so we cheated on the crust and purchased a whole wheat crust from Trader Joe’s.  It rolled out very nicely, and Sherry came up, as usual, with some creative toppings.

RECIPE

Whole wheat crust from Trader Joe’s

Tomato sauce on the crust

First Half

12 large shrimp, sautéed in olive oil with chopped garlic, then chopped

½ onion, grilled and cut into 1 inch pieces

Feta cheese, crumbled

Second Half

4 pieces grilled eggplant

Pesto

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

4 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rub a light layer of olive oil over the stone.  Sprinkle with corn meal.
3. Roll out the crust per instructions, to fit the pizza stone.
4. Spread a layer of tomato sauce over the crust.
5. Add the toppings.

Bake 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Serve hot.

Ess Ess Mein Kindt!

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There are only a few perfect dishes, that once you’ve tried them, you can’t ever have another one made by anyone else.  Sherry’s version of her mother’s Mundel Bread is one of those dishes.  This Holy Grail is given each year as a Hanukkah present to the deserving, and it’s a special gift.  When you make this dish, follow your heart, not the measurements.

ROSE WEINER’S MUNDEL BREAD

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs

1 cup Spry

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking powder

Flour, enough to thicken (about 2 cups), more or less

Raisins

Chopped walnuts

Bake at 350 degrees until done.  

CREATIVE LEFTOVERS

What do you do when you have lots of leftovers and you are going away for Thanksgiving?  You combine all the different ingredients to make one wonderful meal. ALL THESE RECIPES WERE SHERRY'S IDEA.  I'm just the poster!!!

We had two mini pumpkins left over from our Pumpkin Risotto adventure, two chicken breasts from the Chicken Soup, and a lot of the roasted garlic from Sherry’s Brisket (prepared when Marilyn and Jerry had visited last week).  We decided to make a Pumpkin Polenta (rather than Pumpkin Gnocchi, which we will try another time) and Chicken with Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onions.  I found a recipe that called for rendering bacon, and then cooking the ingredients in the bacon fat.  Instead, I poured out the fat and used olive oil instead.  The smoky taste still remained, and with smoked paprika added, the result was “tasty”.

Creamy Pumpkin Polenta

4 strips thick cut bacon, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup pumpkin puree (or the juice of two mini pumpkins)

1 cup whole milk

2 1/2 cups chicken broth (I used the broth from the soup I made)

1 cup polenta (yellow corn meal)

1 cup shredded cheese, any kind (I used Italian 4-chees blend, because it was in the refrigerator)

Creamy Pumpkin Polenta

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat cook the bacon until it is crisp.  Remove the bacon from the pan, and drain the fat.

Still over medium heat add the olive oil.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.  Add the paprika, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.    Add the pumpkin puree and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly darker in color, about 2 minutes.

Whisk in the milk to the corn meal.  Add chicken broth to the pot and once it comes to a boil slowly whisk in the polenta.  Cook, stirring constantly, for 8-10 minutes, or until the polenta thickens.  If the polenta seems stiff add a little more milk. Reduce the heat to medium low.

Stir in the shredded cheese until thoroughly melted.  Pour the polenta into a serving dish and garnish with the crisp bacon.  Serve hot.

SHERRY'S CHICKEN BREASTS WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND ROASTED GARLIC

This recipe used pre-cooked chicken breasts.  You can bake chicken breasts, and then follow this recipe.

In a saucepan, sauté ½ chopped red onion and ½ chopped yellow onion (or 1 chopped yellow onion) in olive oil until caramelized, about 5-10 minutes.  Add 10 cloves of roasted garlic, ½ tsp each of paprika, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne, and stir until combined.  Add ¼ cup chicken broth, and cook until reduced by half. 

Pour over chicken breasts and serve.

SOUP SOUP, BEAUTIFUL SOUP!!

It was a rainy day, and everyone seems to be fighting the sniffles, so it became Chicken Soup day.  Sherry's recipe is simple and superb.  If only all recipes were this talented!!!

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, giblets removed, rinsed
1 large onion, peeled
1/2 package baby carrots
water to cover chicken
1-2 Tbsp. Sherry's Secret Bouillon

1.  Salt the chicken with Kosher salt for 5 minutes, then rinse off.
2.  Put chicken, onion and carrots in large pot.  Add water to cover.  Add Sherry's Secret Bouillon.
3.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to rolling boil.  Cover and cook for 1 hour.
4.  Remove chicken.  Can be added to the soup or used for another meal.
5.  Serve with small pasta for adding to the soup (Pastina, Orzo, Bubbela)

Doesn't get much better than this!