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Something magical happened today. To me, to my kitchen, to my culinary universe. It happened, and now I want to share it with you.
I should back up and tell you that I am a regular reader of several food blogs out there. I subscribe to them and any time they update, I'm there to check it out. And lately, due to the Passover holiday, several food bloggers were posting recipes for chocolate caramel matzo, or chocolate toffee matzo. It sounded tasty, but I didn't really think twice about it.
Then today I went out to lunch with my husband, and the bakery in the restaurant we went to was giving out samples of their own chocolate caramel matzo. I ate a sample and I almost burst with happiness. The saltiness, the crunch, the rich caramel and chocolate - it was sheer perfection in a small bite-sized piece. It was, in a word, delicious.
As soon as I got off work today I had to make it. So I checked out some of those food blogs that were posting it, and set about making it. And it was magical. The house smells of caramel. My taste buds are singing. If there is any of this stuff left, I'm going to take it to the Easter/Passover festivities to share with my family on Sunday. Who knew you could turn a boring old matzo cracker into something delectable? It's magic.
You may have had chocolate covered matzo before, but just wait until you try this.
Chocolate Caramel Matzo
adapted from Smitten Kitchen
INGREDIENTS:
4+ sheets matzo
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a half sheet pan with foil, then parchment paper. Place the sheets of matzo in a single layer to cover all of the pan. You will need to break up 2 of them to fill up the spaces and so that they all fit.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar, stirring frequently. When it comes to a boil, let it bubble for three minutes, stirring well. Remove from heat and add 1/2 teaspoon salt and the vanilla.
3. Pour the caramel sauce evenly over the matzo on the sheet pan. Spread with a silicon spatula right away, as it will start to solidify. Try to create a thin, even layer over all the matzo. It doesn't have to be perfect.
4. Bake for 15 minutes. Keep an eye on it, and if it starts to burn then reduce heat to 325.
5. Remove from oven and distribute the chocolate chips fairly evenly over the hot caramel matzo. Let sit for 5 minutes, then use an offset spatula to spread out the melted chocolate to create an even layer.
6. Sprinkle with remaining salt (or slightly less, whatever floats your boat). Let cool completely, then break up into more manageable pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Yes, these are gluttonous. And yes, these are fabulous. Enjoy!
Some time in the early 90's, my entire family, along with most of southern California, became obsessed with Chinese chicken salad. We first had it at California Pizza Kitchen, and we were shocked and delighted by its spiciness, tanginess, and the intensity of the scallions and cilantro. Fastforward to the present day, and Chinese chicken salad is on virtually every menu. We're used to it.
Well here we have a home made version that is refreshing, crunchy, and incorporates all the beautiful aspects of the popular menu item without loads of sodium and unwanted additives. It comes from the pages of Stonewall Kitchen Favorites, with a few of my own tweaks. Ironic, isn't it, that a California staple based on Chinese influences came out of a New England cookbook? Maybe not. Trends travel quickly, after all, and this is hardly a new concept.
This can be served over a bed of greens, in a wrap, or (my personal favorite) in a warmed-up whole wheat pita as a chicken salad sandwich of sorts. Feel free to adjust quantities - if you want it a little more limey, go for the whole lime instead of half. Throw in other vegetables, like jicama, bean sprouts, or cucumber. Add some chili peppers for more spice. The Asian pulled chicken salad is your oyster. Or something like that.
Asian Pulled Chicken Salad
adapted from Stonewall Kitchen Favorites
serves 2 (or 1 if you're really hungry)
INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 cups low sodium chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 large boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in half
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
4 scallions, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces and then into matchsticks
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into matchsticks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon EVOO
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (1/2 a juicy lime)
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
handful fresh cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring chicken stock, bay leaf, and 1 teaspoon pepper to a simmer over high heat in a small-medium skillet. Place the chicken pieces in the simmering liquid and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 6 minutes at a bare simmer, carefully flip the chicken, and cook for 6 minutes more, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from stock and set aside to cool. Save the stock for another use. Discard bay leaf.
2. Use your hands to shred the cooled chicken into thin 1-inch-long strands (like peeling string cheese). Put chicken in a medium bowl and add ginger, scallions, red pepper, carrots, and peanuts. Toss.
3. Add lime juice, EVOO, sesame oil, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, and toss gently to combine. Serve cold or at room temperature.
I highly recommend the pita pocket option - it was delicious! This isn't good date night food, as you'll have scallion breath after dinner. But it tastes so good that I think it's worth it. Enjoy!
Our enjoyment of asparagus season continues. Here it takes the form of a delicious, refreshing soup. And I'd like to make a (strong) recommendation - that you make this soup and serve it alongside its best friend, the grilled cheese sandwich. (April is Grilled Cheese month, as you may know).
This soup is velvety, flavorful, with a hint of lemon and a strong dose of asparagus. You can almost feel the nutrients seeping into you. In a good way.
Asparagus Soup
adapted from Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook
serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and chopped into 2-inch pieces
leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme
14 oz. low sodium vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
DIRECTIONS:
1. Melt butter in a heavy soup pot or Dutch oven. Add onion and saute for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add asparagus and thyme and stir to coat with the butter. Add broth and bring to a simmer.
2. Cook until asparagus is tender, about 5 minutes. Puree in batches in a blender, or use an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the lemon zest sprinkled over the top.
Don't forget the grilled cheese! Although I suppose something classy like crostini or fresh crusty bread would be good too. Enjoy.
Some meals are almost as much about presentation as taste. This meal requires certain visual elements in order to be fully appreciated. The ribbons of pasta and vegetables intermingle so that you have a generally uniform look, and it becomes quite beautiful. I was going to just use a whole wheat pasta that I already had on hand, but in the end I went out of my way to get egg pappardelle, and I'm glad I did. (If whole wheat pappardelle exists, they don't carry it at Pavillions or at Trader Joe's. But if you find it, please, use it!)
The overall flavor of this dish is subtly sweet, with a hint of licorice from the tarragon and a nutty crunch here and there from the toasted walnuts. The flavors come together on your tongue in a really delightful way. Simple though this dish is, you can definitely fool your palate into thinking it's a lot more complex.
Speaking of complex. I am a fan of probably-unnecessary kitchen gadgets, I will admit - and this is the perfect recipe for digging out your mandoline if you have one. It makes the slicing of the carrots, zucchini and onion infinitely more manageable. If you don't have one, you can use a sturdy vegetable peeler to thinly slice the zucchini and carrots into ribbons.
Vegetable Ribbon Pasta
adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray
serves 4
INGREDIENTS
8 oz. pappardelle pasta
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into thin ribbons
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
1 medium-large zucchini, halved crosswise and thinly sliced lengthwise
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and finely chopped
DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Cook the pasta until just al dente, about 7 or 8 minutes. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of the starchy cooking liquid.
2. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and carrots, season with salt and pepper, and cook for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until carrots are crisp-tender and onions are softened.
3. Add zucchini, cream and milk and cook, stirring, until the liquid begins to bubble. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and continue to cook until sauce is thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in tarragon.
4. Add the pasta, reserved cooking water, and walnuts to the skillet and toss to coat everything evenly. Serve.
This meal is a slightly more elegant and interesting version of your typical pasta and veggies. Enjoy!
I can't claim to feel much nostalgia for meatloaf. We never ate it in my family when I was growing up. In fact, I tried it for the first time in high school, and that was in a restaurant when a friend ordered it and let me taste it. So I won't lie to you and say it reminds me of home, or brings a flood of fuzzy memories.
I will say, however, that I find it intriguing. And admittedly, the typical meatloaf is not that appetizing to me - ground beef and bread mixed up and formed into a loaf-like shape? No thanks. But if you take Ellie Krieger's recipe, which is made with ground turkey, whole grains, red bell pepper and other delicious flavorings, well now you have my attention.
I tweaked the recipe a little bit and what resulted was a tasty bit of home. Whose home, I'm not sure. But it just tasted comforting and delicious, without being too gut-busting and heavy. We ate ours with some roasted broccoli (roasted with smashed garlic cloves, EVOO, and a bit of salt - delicious!) and enjoyed it immensely. The turkey is moist and flavorful, and the tomato sauce and shallot on top are the show-stealers.
Turkey Meatloaf
adapted from Ellie Krieger's The Food You Crave
serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons quick cooking oats
1/4 cup skim milk
1 shallot (1/2 thinly sliced, 1/2 finely chopped)
1 1/4 pounds extra lean ground turkey
1/2 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
pinch salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup canned all natural tomato sauce
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a small bowl, combine oats and milk and set aside to let soak while you chop and prepare the other ingredients, at least 3 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine turkey, oatmeal mixture, chopped half of the shallot, bell pepper, egg, Worcestershire, ketchup, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix just until well combined - you'll probably need to use your hands.
4. Transfer the mixture to a pyrex (or similar) baking dish and shape into a loaf shape, about 2 inches high. Pour tomato sauce over the meatloaf and sprinkle with sliced shallot.
5. Bake until cooked through, about an hour. An instant read thermometer inserted into the middle should read 160. Let rest for a few minutes before slicing.
Whether this is something that reminds you of home or not, enjoy!
These cookies are a work of art. They taste absolutely phenomenal, and there isn't a single ingredient in them that should inspire guilt. Nothing refined, nothing artificial, nothing animal-based. It seems impossible that something so flawless can taste so good.
I found the basis for this recipe on my very favorite food blog of all, 101cookbooks. Heidi comes up with the most incredible, wholesome vegetarian food. I own her cookbook, I visit her blog daily (or whenever she updates it), yet somehow this is the first recipe of hers I've ever actually tried. I changed it up a bit, but I would never have even dreamed it up without her blog. Heidi, I salute you.
I highly recommend you make these cookies this weekend, and keep them around to snack on. Healthy though they may be, they are still sweet, and they are still cookies - so be warned. They are dangerous. Especially when you make them bite-sized like I did.
Carrot Coconut Cookies
adapted from 101cookbooks.com
makes 2 dozen +
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats 1/4 cup chopped pecans 1 cup shredded carrots (about 2 or 3 medium carrots)
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup real maple syrup 1/4 cup neutral vegetable oil
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375, and line two cookie sheets with silpat liners or parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and oats. Add carrots, coconut, and pecans, and mix.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together maple syrup, oil, applesauce, and ginger. Add to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
4. Drop cookie batter by level tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets, leaving an inch or two between each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until golden.
I waited about four seconds before tasting one. Ha, that's funny. One.
Enjoy!
I bought chicken breasts this week with a plan. But as the week wore on, a serious craving for chicken piccata began to set in, and the other plan was tossed aside. The piccata was just too powerful.
Chicken piccata is a very reliable dish to order in just about any Italian restaurant, as it's pretty hard to screw up. Some places put a bread crumb batter and then pan fry it, which makes it a bit too heavy in my opinion. The perfect piccata should be gently dredged in flour (preferably whole wheat!) and then sauteed in a relatively modest amount of extra virgin olive oil and butter. Then you can make a beautiful pan sauce that is tangy, light, and buttery all at the same time. It's a beautiful thing.
We had ours with some fresh spinach sauteed in wine and garlic. It was a pretty fantastic meal, for something I threw together in about 15 minutes. Yes, I dare to toot my own culinary horn.
Chicken Piccata
adapted from Giada de Laurentiis' Everyday Italian
serves 2
INGREDIENTS:
1 large skinless, boneless chicken breast, butterflied and then halved
pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper
a few tablespoons of flour, for dredging
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon EVOO
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon drained capers
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
DIRECTIONS:
1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper, and lightly dredge in flour, shaking off the excess.
2. Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in the tablespoon of EVOO in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is melted and sizzling, add the chicken. Cook just until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Remove chicken with tongs and set aside on a plate.
3. Add broth, wine, lemon juice and capers to the pan, whisking to incorporate the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil (if it isn't already boiling), and then add the chicken to the sauce and simmer until just cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.
4. Using tongs, transfer chicken to serving plates. Add remaining tablespoon of butter to the skillet and whisk until melted and incorporated in the sauce. Pour the sauce over the chicken, and garnish with parsley.
You can always count on Italian food to satisfy. This would also be great with pasta, or any roasted veggie. Enjoy!
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