Very Berry Vegan Latkes (recipe, pareve)

Very Berry Vegan Latkes P Yield: 10-12

These are delicious for everyone but especially wonderful for those who are vegan and /or gluten intolerant!
Ingredients
1 cup frozen blueberries-defrosted and drained
1 cup frozen strawberries-defrosted, diced and drained
One 6 ounce banana-peeled and diced
1/3 cup coconut flakes (mine were sweetened)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Vegan margarine
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Non-stick frying pan
Slotted spoon
Spatula
Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon margarine in frying pan over medium heat. Drop about 2 tablespoons of berry mixture from slotted spoon into pan. Press down lightly. Depending on the size of your pan, don’t cook more than four or five latkes at a time. Let them fry until you see the mixture browning on the bottom. This takes a few minutes. Slip a spatula underneath them carefully (they are somewhat fragile) and flip them over to the other side. You may need to use a small spoon to help you balance them as they flip. Fry on the other side and then gently place them on a paper towel to drain.
3. Carefully, lift latkes on to a serving dish. Serve them with cinnamon sugar and plain yogurt, or vanilla ice cream.

Coffee Cocktails with a Heering Twist for Chanukah or Anytime!

        

 Cherry Herring, though a specialty liqueur made in Denmark, has become an iconic Jewish drink found at synagogue kiddushes everywhere across all denominations.  With the 2010 launch of Cherry Heering's "little sister" Coffee Heering, the brand took a turn in a more modern and culinarily creative direction.  If you're looking to try something new for your dairy Chanukah feasts, these twists on Irish Coffee will certainly offer your crowd a dessert treat that will pair beautifully with the holiday's traditional fried desserts.

Heering Coffee Egg Cream 

2 Tbsp Chocolate Syrup

2 oz Heering Coffee Liqueur

3/4 cup cold milk

3/4 cup cold seltzer

In a 12-ounce glass, stir together chocolate syrup, Heering coffee liqueur, and milk. Top with seltzer and stir. Serve immediately with straw. 

Heering Coffee Latte

                

1.5 oz Coffee Heering Liqueur

6-8 oz steamed milk, may use skim

Chocolate shavings, for garnish

 

Pour Coffee Heering into a 6-8 ox mug or glass and add Steamed Milk

Garnish with chocolate shavings

In case you want to run out and get your own bottle of Heering for your Chanukah entertaining, here is a link to a list of places in the New York Metro Area in which you can buy a bottle.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding (recipe, pareve)

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding P Serves: 12

This dessert has all the richness of cream without  a drop in it. Fresh roasted and pureed pumpkin mixed with coconut milk, eggs, spices and chocolate chips produces a delicious, rich, chocolaty dessert. Make it in a baking dish or in muffin cups for individual bread puddings. Perfect for Thanksgiving or any time of year.

Prep time: 20 minutes  Baking time: 30-45 min.
Ingredients
5 cups crusty bread-cut into cubes (I used leftover challah)
1 stick pareve margarine-diced
1 ½ cups pureed pumpkin
¾ cup coconut milk
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
2 eggs + 2 yolks
1 cup pareve chocolate chips
Non dairy baking spray
Equipment
2 mixing bowls
8 inch square glass baking pan
Directions

Preheat oven: 350 F. Spray baking pan.

Toss bread cubes with diced margarine in mixing bowl. Set aside.

Whisk together all remaining ingredients except for chocolate chips in another mixing bowl.  Stir in chips. Combine bread cubes and margarine with liquid mixture and pour into baking pan. Place in preheated oven and bake 30-35 minutes or until the bread pudding has puffed and browned. It is delicious when served warm or cold.

Try an Apricot Glazed Turkey for Thanksgiving! (recipe, meat)

Squeezing the herbed margarine under the skin of the turkey not only gives it flavor but also keeps it moist. Anything you put on top of the skin only flavors the skin but makes it look amazing. Happy Thanksgiving!

APRICOT GLAZED TURKEY M SERVES: 12-16

It’s exotic, delicious, beautiful and moist. What more could you ask of a turkey dinner?

Ingredients                   

20-22 pound turkey               

¾ cup pareve margarine- softened       

1 tablespoon each: dried thyme, sage       

1 bunch each: fresh thyme, sage           

1½ teaspoons ground black pepper       

1 cup apricot nectar               

1 cup apricot preserves

1 tablespoon honey

4 inches fresh gingerroot

6 cups chicken broth (fresh or boxed low salt)

½ cup flour

Equipment

large turkey roaster with non stick rack

large pastry brush

heavy duty foil

large saucepan

strainer

Directions

Clean turkey thoroughly. Rub turkey cavity with ½ teaspoon pepper. Place 3 sprigs fresh thyme and 3 sprigs of fresh sage in turkey cavity. Pat turkey dry. Set aside. Preheat oven to: 400 F.

Mix soft margarine with remaining herbs. With your hands (plastic gloves are useful here), spread half this mixture under the skin of the turkey breast- pushing through the membrane as you go. Spread remaining mixture over outside of turkey.  Place turkey on rack in roasting pan. Place meat thermometer in thickest part of turkey. Roast turkey 30 minutes.

Reduce oven to: 325 F. Roast turkey 1½ hours more, basting every 20 minutes.

Tent turkey with foil. Roast 1 hour longer and then remove foil.

While turkey is roasting, peel and mince ginger. Add ginger with nectar, preserves, and honey to saucepan (or melt in microwave) and melt over low heat. Brush glaze generously over entire turkey. Roast 40-50 minutes more, brushing turkey every 10 minutes or so with more glaze. Turkey is done when thermometer reads 180 F. and juices run clear. Cool slightly. Carefully remove turkey from rack (Save pan drippings.) and place on platter. Tent with foil until serving or carving time.

Gravy: Pour off most of the fat. Sprinkle flour over remaining drippings and stir until a paste has formed. Pour chicken broth slowly over mixture and stir briskly to make gravy. Strain into saucepan. Serve gravy hot with turkey.

Note: The neck and the gizzard usually come with the turkey. I simmer them both with a medium onion and then peel off any skin or fat remaining before I scrape the neck meat and mince the gizzard before adding them to the gravy. Save them (uncooked) for making stock or soup if you don’t want to add them to the gravy,

Meatless Monday: White Bean Soup (recipe, pareve)

White Bean Soup P Serves: 10

This soup is so full of flavor and so satisfying that you could just add some fabulous bread and make it a meal!
Ingredients
3 medium onions
5 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
2 ounces dried porcini mushrooms-soaked in ½ cup water
1 pound dried white beans-soaked according to package directions and drained
4 cups vegetable broth
3 ½ cups water
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 large branches rosemary
2 bay leaves
Equipment
Large soup pot with cover
Directions

Peel and quarter onions. Slice thinly. Peel garlic cloves and mince them.

Heat olive oil in soup pot over medium flame. Add onions and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent.

Slice large porcinis. Leave the small ones whole. Add mushrooms and soaking liquid to onions and stir once. Add remaining ingredients. Stir well. Bring soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover pot and simmer for 45-60 minutes or until beans are soft. Remove rosemary branches and bay leaves. Taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.  Serve hot.

Lemon Bars (recipe, pareve)

LEMON BARS P YIELD: ABOUT 24

They’re tart, they’re creamy and there’s no dairy!

Prep time: Crust- 15 min.  Chilling time- 30 min.  Baking time: 20-25 min.

Filling- 15 min.  Baking time: 20-25 min.  Cooling time- 30-45 min.

Ingredients – CRUST           

1 ¾ cups flour

¼ cup cornstarch                               

¾ teaspoon salt                   

2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar             

12 tablespoons non-dairy margarine             

Ingredients- FILLING

4 eggs

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/3  cups sugar

4 large lemons

1/3 cup water/non-dairy milk/coconut milk

Pinch salt

Equipment

13x9x2-glass baking dish

Non-dairy baking spray

Baking parchment

Electric food processor

Medium mixing bowl

Whisk

Microplane/grater

Juicer

Cooling rack

Directions

Spray baking pan. Line with parchment paper long enough to hang over the sides of pan. Spray paper. Add an additional piece of parchment paper in the opposite direction so that it overhangs the other sides.

Crust: Place steel knife in bowl of food processor. Pour flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch and salt to bowl. Pulse three or four seconds. Add margarine and pulse ten to twelve seconds more or until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Scrape mixture into lined baking dish and press firmly with your fingers to form an even layer of dough that comes up about ½ inch around the sides of pan. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Preheat oven to: 350 F.

Bake crust about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Filling: While crust is baking, grate two lemons into mixing bowl. Squeeze juice from these lemons. Add as much juice from remaining lemons as necessary to yield 2/3 cup strained lemon juice.

Add eggs, sugar and flour to mixing bowl and whisk until well blended. Add lemon juice, salt and water/non-dairy milk/coconut milk and mix thoroughly. Reduce oven to: 325 F.

Pour filling mixture onto warm crust. Bake about 20 minutes or until filling feels set when touched lightly with finger tip. Cool on rack 30-45 minutes.

Grip sides of parchment and lift baked lemon bars onto cutting board. Fold paper down from all four sides. Cut into small squares or rectangles. Clean knife in between slices if necessary. Cover lemon bars with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving.

NOTE: Substitute some lime juice and grated lime rind for the lemon juice and rind. The lime juice adds a unique flavor while the lime rind adds a speckled look to the top of the bars. If you don’t like the green spots, sprinkle the top with confectioners’ sugar right before serving.

Meatless Monday: Tofu Bourguignon (recipe, pareve)

Tofu Bourguignon P Serves: 2

This is a delicious vegetarian rendition of the traditional Boeuf Bourguignon .

Ingredients

4 ounces white mushrooms

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 ½ cups dry red wine

2 cups vegetable broth

4 ounces fresh pearl onions (peeled) or frozen white onions-defrosted

1 ½-2 cups diced tofu

1 bay leaf                       

1 large garlic clove- pressed

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon crushed thyme

½ teaspoon crushed marjoram

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons non-dairy margarine

4 tablespoons flour

Equipment

Medium skillet

Small saucepan

Slotted spoon

Whisk

Directions

Wipe mushrooms clean. Cut the smaller ones in quarters and the larger ones in eighths. Heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium high heat in skillet. Add mushrooms. Toss quickly so that they brown lightly. Remove mushrooms from pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Leave any mushroom liquid in the pan.

Add remaining ½ cup wine, 1cup vegetable broth, bay leaf, garlic, tomato paste, thyme, marjoram, salt, pepper and onions to skillet. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add mushrooms and diced tofu to skillet and mix gently.

You may feel that you have enough gravy already and can skip this last step but please don’t. The paste you are about to make to thicken the simmered wine and vegetable broth gives the sauce a beautiful sheen and extra level of flavor.

Pour remaining wine and vegetable broth in a saucepan. Stir well. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes. Cream margarine and flour together.  Whisk it into liquid stirring vigorously until sauce has thickened. Pour over mushrooms, onions and tofu and mix well. Sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve tofu bourguignon with rice or noodles.

Note: This recipe gets even better when prepared one or two days in advance.