Tri-colored Penne with Arugula and Truffle Oil (recipe, dairy)

Tri-colored Penne with Arugula and Truffle Oil D Serves: 4-6

This is a great one course family meal.

Prep time: 20 min.  Baking time: 30-45 min.

INGREDIENTS                                                 

1 pound tri-colored penne                                  

1 stick unsalted butter                                        

1/3 cup flour                                                       

2 teaspoons dried mustard                                  

½ teaspoon black pepper

4 cups whole milk

3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

3-4 drops truffle oil- to taste

2 handfuls (about 2-3 ounces) baby arugula-washed and dried

1 cup panko

baking spray

EQUIPMENT

6 quart pot and colander

Large skillet

Wooden spoon

13x19x2 baking pan

DIRECTIONS

1.      Parboil penne according to package directions. Drain in colander. Rinse well with warm water and set aside.

2.      Preheat oven to: 375 F.

Melt butter in skillet over low heat. Mix flour with mustard and pepper and stir briskly into melted butter. Cook for two minutes. Slowly, pour milk into skillet and stir well until a white sauce has formed. Remove from heat and add grated cheese. Stir cheese into sauce until it has completely melted.

3.      Add truffle oil drop by drop. Taste after three drops. Add more if desired.

4.      Stir in arugula.

5.      Spray baking pan. Spoon penne mixture into pan. Sprinkle with crumbs. Bake 30-45 minutes until top has browned and cheese is bubbling over. Serve hot.

*Whole milk will make a creamier dish but 1% milk is delicious as well.

Meatless Monday: Zucchini and Feta Patties (recipe, dairy)

Zucchini and Feta Patties D Yield: about 18 patties

These are the lightest and most flavorful patties/latkes you will ever eat. Don’t skip squeezing the water out of the zucchini. You will be amazed at how much water comes out.  I’ve done it both ways.  The patties are much harder to form and fry if they are waterlogged. Follow the steps and you will be thrilled with the results. Although these patties are Turkish, I serve them for dinner with boiled potatoes mashed with olive oil, salt and pepper. They can be served for lunch with a big salad or as an appetizer/hors d’oeuvre with thick yogurt on the side.
Ingredients
3 medium zucchini
1 teaspoon salt
1 large onion
4 garlic cloves
½ cup olive oil
3 eggs
3 tablespoons flour
8 ounces feta cheese
½ teaspoon chili powder
1 small bunch each: dill, flat leaf parsley, mint
Freshly ground black pepper
Equipment
Electric food processor with shredder attachment
Colander
Large skillet
Slotted spoon
Directions

1. Wash zucchini and cut off the ends. Slice zucchini lengthwise and then in thirds cross wise. Insert zucchini into top of processor and shred.  Scrape shredded zucchini into colander. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and toss well. Let zucchini drain 15 minutes.
2. Peel and halve onion. Slice thinly. Scrape into a mixing bowl.
3. Peel and mince garlic. Add to onions.
4. Squeeze water out of shredded zucchini one handful at a time. Add to onions and garlic. Mix well.
5. Heat three tablespoons olive oil in skillet over medium-high flame. Add zucchini mixture and sauté until the vegetables start to brown. Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.
6. Beat three eggs in mixing bowl. Add flour and beat until smooth.
7. Dice or crumble feta and add to egg batter.
8. Chop herbs so that you have about one cup of each-without stems. You can change the proportions if you prefer one to another. Add to batter.
9. Remove zucchini mixture with a slotted spoon and add to batter. Stir thoroughly. Sprinkle with chili powder and freshly ground black pepper. Stir again. Taste. Add more chili powder and/or pepper to taste.
10. Pour a thin layer of olive oil in skillet. Heat over medium high flame. Drop zucchini batter by tablespoon for smaller ones, by wooden spoon for slightly larger ones. Brown on one side three or four minutes or until firm enough to flip and brown again on the other side. Add more oil as needed. Remove from skillet and drain on paper towels. Serve warm.

STRIPED BASS EN CROUTE (recipe, dairy)

 What a wonderful Shavuot lunch or dinner. As you can see, this recipe makes a spectacular presentation. Your guests will first feast with their eyes, then with their nose and finally with their mouth. Despite the many steps involved, this is not a difficult recipe to prepare as is if you leave yourself some time. If making and rolling dough isn't in the cards, use packaged dough. You can find it dairy and pareve. If cleaning leeks isn't your thing, chop up onions instead, Don't use the frozen chopped onions because they are too watery. Serve this fish with a beautiful salad and steamed asparagus and you will have a feast.

STRIPED BASS EN CROUTE D SERVES: 6

The cream cheese crust melts in your mouth and enhances the flavors of the bass, sautéed mushrooms and leeks.

Prep time: Dough: 10 min.  Chilling time: 120 min.  Fish: 15-20 min.

Leeks: 20-25 min.  Assembly: 20 min.  Baking time: 30-45 min.

        INGREDIENTS

        Dough

        8 ounces cream cheese- softened

        ½ pound sweet butter- softened

        2 cups flour

        ½ teaspoon salt

2 egg yolks

Fish & Filling

4 pounds striped bass/red snapper-

skinned and filleted

1 large shallot

¼ pound mushrooms

1 bunch Italian flat leaf parsley

1 cup vegetable broth

¼ cup vinegar

salt & pepper

2 small bunches leeks/1 large bunch-should yield 5-6                   cups sliced leeks

3 tablespoons sweet butter

¼ cup unseasoned breadcrumbs

Egg Glaze: 1 egg yolk beaten with 1-2 tablespoons water

EQUIPMENT

rolling pin

baking pan large enough to hold fish

cookie sheet

baking parchment

saucepan with cover

tin foil

baking spray

DIRECTIONS

1. Dough: You can mix this up in an electric food processor or by hand. Using a large fork, mix cream cheese and butter. Add flour and salt and mix well. Stir in yolks. When mixture is well blended, divide it into two balls- one slightly larger than the other. Dust each ball with flour, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two hours.
2. Cut leeks down the center and wash very well. Chop the white part coarsely. Save the green parts for decoration. Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add chopped leeks, stir well and cover. Cook leeks until they are soft and translucent- about 20 minutes. Stir often to make sure they don’t burn. Allow leeks to cool. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat oven to: 350 F. Spray baking pan.
4. Peel shallot and mince. You should have about ¼ cup. Scatter on bottom of baking pan.
5. Wipe off mushrooms and mince.
6. Wash parsley and mince enough to yield one half cup.
7. Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper. Lay fillets side by side over shallots in baking pan. Cover the fish with mushrooms and parsley. Pour vinegar and broth over all. Add just enough water to cover it.
8. Spray a large piece of foil and cover the baking pan with it. Poach fish in oven for about 10 minutes. DO NOT ALLOW LIQUID TO COME TO A BOIL. You should barely smell the fish as it is cooking. After 10 minutes, take pan out of the oven. Take the chopped mushrooms and parsley off  the fillets with a slotted spoon. Set aside. Carefully, lift fillets out of the cooking liquid and set aside to cool. Discard cooking liquid or save it for future fish stock.
9. Raise oven heat to: 400 F. Line cookie sheet with parchment
10. Remove dough from refrigerator. Roll out smaller ball of dough in an oblong fish shape directly on to the baking parchment. It should be large enough to hold the fillets. Sprinkle dough with bread crumbs. Carefully, lay one fillet on top of crumbs. Cover it with mushrooms, shallots, parsley and leeks. Lay the remaining fillet on top of vegetables.
11. Brush the edges of the bottom pastry with egg glaze.
12. Roll out the larger ball of dough to match the fish shape on a floured surface. Gently, lift dough and cover fish with it. Press the edges together all the way around. Trim off any excess dough and use for decorations. You can pinch off small pieces and attach them to the top piece of dough with a little egg glaze to create fish scales. Brush the entire fish en croute with egg glaze. Any designs you want to make with a sharp knife will show up through the egg glaze. Bake 30-45 minutes or until pastry has turn golden brown. Your kitchen will smell heavenly. Serve with a beautiful salad and colorful vegetable.

Meatless Monday: Eggplant Parmesan (Recipe, Dairy)

Eggplant Parmesan D Serves: 4

Roasting the eggplant makes this dish much lighter and less oily than what we’re used to. Serve with a tri-color salad.
Ingredients
2 large eggplants
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 pound whole milk mozzarella
½ cup grated parmesan
¼ cup bread crumbs
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Equipment
Large cookie sheet
Pastry brush
Baking pan-13x9x2
Directions

1. Preheat oven to: 450 F.
2. Pour a little oil in bottom of baking pan and spread it all over pan using a brush, paper towel or your fingers,
3. Peel eggplants and cut them lengthwise into  ¾-1 inch slices. Arrange slices in baking pan and roast for about 10 minutes or until they begin to brown. Brush the top of eggplant slices with olive oil and roast five minute longer. Slices should be soft enough to be easily punctured with a knife.  Sprinkle with a little sea salt and black pepper. Let slices cool a few minutes.
4. Cover bottom of baking pan with eggplant (no parchment or oil necessary). Spread about ¼ cup tomato sauce over each slice. Sprinkle with chopped basil and then with a ¼ inch slice of mozzarella and two teaspoons of grated parmesan. Repeat process until all the eggplant slices have been used. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs.
5. Bake at 375 F. until the top has puffed and browned- about 25 minutes. Serve hot.

Gloria Kobrin's Cream Cheese Cake: The Creamiest Yet Lightest Cheese Cake That You Will Ever Eat!

 

Cream Cheese Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ tablespoons sweet butter-softened
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (9+ crackers)
• 4 eggs
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 12 ounces cream cheese-softened
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• pinch of cream of tartar
• optional: 2 pints strawberries/blueberries
• 2/3 cup melted seedless strawberry, blackberry jam

EQUIPMENT

• 8 inch spring form pan*
• electric blender
• large mixing bowl
• electric beater
• pan large enough to hold 1 inch water and spring form pan
• small saucepan
• long spatula

DIRECTIONS

1. Spread butter thickly around sides of baking pan. Sprinkle sides of pan with crumbs by holding the pan at an angle and rotating it to receive crumbs. Pat remaining crumbs on the bottom of pan. Freeze pan for 30 minutes.
2. Separate eggs. Place egg whites in large mixing bowl and yolks in a small dish.
3. Pour cream into saucepan and heat over low flame.
4. While cream is heating, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg yolks, salt and vanilla in electric blender until mixture is smooth. Carefully touch cream with the tip of your finger. It should be very hot. Beat scalded cream into cream cheese mixture very slowly. Mixture will be thin.
5. Preheat oven to: 300 F.
6. Beat egg whites until foamy. Add pinch of cream of tartar and beat until stiff not dry. Fold whites into batter gently but thoroughly. Pour into spring form pan.
7. Pour enough boiling water (about 4 cups) in baking pan to reach one inch up the sides. Place filled spring form pan in water and bake 1 ½ hours. Cool 30 minutes before refrigerating for six hours.
8. Remove cake from refrigerator. Take a long spatula and press around the outside of the pan to loosen the cake from the sides; then push up the bottom of the pan and remove cake from ring. If a lot of crumbs remain on the pan instead of on the cake you can pat some extra graham crackers crumbs around it and no one will know. The bottom of the cake pan is another story. I find it easier to freeze the cake and remove the bottom of the pan after the cake has frozen. You can also leave the bottom on and cover it with berries.
9. Freezing advice: Freeze the cheese cake before you wrap it and you will preserve the smoothness of the cake. Conversely, remove the wrapping before you defrost it so you don’t put any dents in the cake.
10. To serve: You can serve the cheese cake plain and it will be delicious. To make a fabulous presentation cover it with strawberries or blueberries or a combination of both. Glaze the berries with melted seedless strawberry or blackberry jam and allow the jam to drip down the sides of the cake. It is stupendous!

* You can use a 9 inch spring form pan. The cake will be flatter but just as good.

Mac & Cheese with Steamed Spinach

	This Shabbat, I was lucky enough to be invited to dear friends for Friday night dinner. When I know that I don't have to prepare both meals for Shabbat, I often prefer to make a lighter dairy meal for Saturday's lunch. This Macaroni and Cheese, along with some soup and a Salad fit the bill perfectly! Mac & Cheese with Steamed Spinach INGREDIENTS 1 pound macaroni noodles 1 stick unsalted butter 1/3 cup flour 2 teaspoons dried mustard ½ teaspoon black pepper 4 cups whole milk 3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese 16 ounces baby spinach 1 cup Panko crumbs baking spray DIRECTIONS Parboil macaroni according to package directions. Drain in colander. Rinse well with warm water and set aside. Preheat oven to: 375 F. Melt butter in skillet over low heat. Mix flour with mustard and pepper and stir briskly into melted butter. Cook for two minutes. Slowly, pour milk into skillet and stir well until a white sauce has formed. Remove from heat and add grated cheese. Stir cheese into sauce until it has completely melted. Steam 1 pound of spinach. Drain well and stir into cheese sauce. Spray baking pan. Spoon macaroni and vegetables into pan. Sprinkle with crumbs. Bake 30-45 minutes until top has browned and cheese is bubbling over. Serve hot. *Whole milk will make a creamier dish but 1% milk is delicious as well.