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.