Rugelach

Presentation is everything, until you eat them

One Rugelah, many rugelach. The suffix lach (pronounced with a guttural h at the end) indicates a Yiddish plural. In the case of these small cream cheese filled cookies, one is never enough. Also a note of clarification for all the people who have fallen in love with the sweet greasy confection offered in the bakeries of Israel- these are different. The Israeli version is parve, meaning it contains no dairy (or for that matter meat) and uses a fair amount of oil and sugar to attain its hyper-palatable state. The down side is that after a few hours the Israeli ones taste like congealed grease. The best way to eat those is on the way home from the market.

These are less chocolate croissant, and more of a rolled cookie. They keep well and could even be frozen (if you manage to keep them that long). This recipe comes down on my mother’s side of the family. It was scribbled in her grandmother’s copy of the settlement cookbook in her own long hand. When my mother operated a bakery in Salt Lake City (yes, Jews in Utah) she sold these by the dozens to Jew and Gentile alike.

When I went to look these up in Joan Nathan’s cookbook she asserted that the cream cheese dough recipe was a product of the marketing department at Philadelphia Cream Cheese. The earliest published version turned up in a cookbook written in 1950 and its provenance was given as coming from the wife of pianist Arthur Rubinstein, Nela.

While all of that may be true, and this recipe is very similar to the one that Joan Nathan offers, it still is a bit of a family heirloom and having a chance to make these with my mother over Thanksgiving was great.

A word of caution, these contain almost nothing that is good for you (well, possibly the nuts) and they turn out to be mildly addictive. I found myself idly snacking on them if I left the cookie tin to close by, or even if I was just wandering through the kitchen.

Recipe after the break

Cheesey Latkes

Cheesy Latkes

So my contribution to the various latke recipes for an interesting Channukah feast is cheese-infused latkes.  These are a more savory dairy infused potato pancakes that turn out crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. They come out with a classic latke texture with lots of flavor. I used mozzarella cheese but I definitely will try again with a cheddar. Put in a mild cheese like mozzarella or for extreme cheese lovers use a more distinct cheese like feta or even maybe brie…. but choose wisely because there’s only 8 days of chanukkah!

Some latke making notes… I used the Israeli version of Russet potatoes. I highly recommend these as they have a pretty high starch content which will cut down on the need for flour and keep your pancakes together. Shred the potatoes only when you’re ready to fry them up and immediately squeeze out the water. Or if you wanna ditch the dairy just omit the cheese and they’ll still come out delicious.

Some frying tips: I added garlic to the oil to give it some extra flavor, but you can omit this if you’re not a fan garlic, but I like this because it adds a lot of flavor and lets you know when the oil’s ready. Test the heat of the oil by adding a little of the latke mixture, if it starts to sizzle immediately the oil’s ready. Don’t overcrowd the pan! 3-4 at a time is enough. Let the oil come back to room temperature in between batches. I highly recommend heeding this last tip as it ensures perfect latkes every batch.

Click on to get the recipe…

Jerusalem Pretzels

Yummy pretzels. Dup in mustard, oil, hummus, or whatever else you may fancy...

When I think of pretzels, I think of a Sunday afternoon at the ballpark, with a hot dog in one hand and a pretzel in the other. The pretzel is really scrumptious, though not so nutrious. I’d bet though, you have no idea why it is called a pretzel or why they are usually in that shape…

The pretzel was “invented” in 610AD in southern France/northern Italy. The folded section symbolizes a child’s folded arms during prayer and the three different section symbolize the Trinity. Pretzels, or Pretiola in Latin as they were originally called, were given by monks to children who did well is Bible school. Over the next few centuries the Pretiola migrated to Germany and became the “Pretzel.”

So what does this have to do with Jerusalem (aka Jewish) Pretzels? To be honest, I have no idea. In doing research, I could not find the historical origins of the Jerusalem Pretzel. I found the recipe in Janna Gur’s cookbook, and have eaten them many times in the Old City. She claims post-the-Jews-regaining-Jerusalem, the Jews discoverd that their Arab friends had a tasty treat. Jeruslaem Pretzels, though, are shaped in an oval, presumably because the Arabs and Jews knew the historical roots of the “normal” pretzel. Also, in my research, I discovered the beigeleh, which in Yiddish would mean little bagel. It looks similar to me, but not quite the same. So in sum, pretzels taste good, so just eat them!

Today, I tried making this recipe using weights instead of volumes (ie, 500g and not 1/2 cup). It worked really well, and I recommend it, but I will include the volumes in case you don’t have a scale. So the pretzels are fairly easy to make, but the true ones use no salt and plenty of yeast. They can be enjoyed alone, dipped on olive oil, or even zatar. They are coated with generous amounts of sesame seeds. I recommend eating them immediately; or once they are cooled, freeze them in a ziplock bag and they can be reheated at 350F in the oven.

Recipe…

Apple Latkes

Apple latkes with powdered sugar and greek yogurt

and just for Ari… latkes:  DESSERT STYLE!

I love latkes, really I just love fried potatoes and latkes give me the excuse, at least once a year, to eat massive quantities of fried potatoes.  It got me thinking though, why stop at dinner with the latkes? Much like French (pomme de terre), the Hebrew word for potato (tapuach adama) translates as “apple of the earth”. This led me to the the brilliant idea to use apples to make a sweet dessert latke. Turns out it was such a brilliant idea that many, many, people have had this idea in the past and I even found a couple recipes for them.   Claudia Rodan has a recipe in her cookbook, but they are really just battered and deep-fried pieces of apples. They sound delicious but not really what I was after. Joan Nathan has a good base recipe and all of the internet recipes seem to be based on hers.  As usual, she screws around to have both parvre and dairy options. It also has  so much added flour that it calls for additional liquid in the form of milk or orange juice. The only reason for flour is to compensate for the lack of starch that potatoes would normally supply to the mix. This got me thinking on other starches to bring to the table and I remembered that Cooks Illustrated recommends tapioca starch for fruit pies because it has no flavor and a very smooth consistency. I ventured on over to 99 Ranch and found a bag tapioca starch for 89 cents.  Right next to it was a small bag of rice flour for 79 cents. I picked that up as well because rice flour often has a nice light crunchy texture when fried. I used a combo of granny smith for tartness and braeburn apples for sweetness. With all of these components I came up with the following recipe and it is delicious. This makes about a dozen latkes.

Latkes, In ‘n’ Out style

A 1x1, aka the regular Cheese-latke

Do you live in California, Nevada, Arizona or Utah? Do you know how to get a double-double animal style? If not, you might want to check out this regional fast food. Now, what would happen if the good folks at In ‘n’ Out were of the Hebrew persuasion rather than the decidedly Christian bent?

Well then there might be latkes on the secret menu. Since they aren’t going to make them, I will. I started off with the same potato they use, the Kennebec. Prized for its large size, thin skin and its flavor. They also slice very easily which is a bonus when you have to reduce them for use in latkes.

I decided to keep these simple, plain to the point of boring to highlight these potatoes and their crisp texture. Upon consulting several cookbooks I learned that another key is to rinse the potatoes of their excess starch with hot water and then allow the potatoes to drain so that you reduce the amount of water that ultimately goes into the fat. I also disposed with any notion of going “light” and fried them in a 1/2 inch of oil in the bottom of a dutch oven.

Recipe after the break

Israeli Couscous… Thanksgiving Style

Thanksgiving Cran-Pistachio Couscous

What more can I say about couscous other than it is delicious and hearty. It is available in both large and small grains; even though both are available here in Israel, in the US “Israeli Couscous” refers to dishes using the large variety.  This starchy dish is so versatile it’s a good idea to always have a pack or two stored away in the cabinet.  I like the small grains as a side under vegetables but prefer the larger kind as there’s more potential to spice it up and add really whatever you like to it.

Usually my Thanksgiving has a pretty Israeli flair to it even when I’m at home. This year I was able to throw together a last minute dinner for my favorite holiday of the year and took the opportunity to run with the Israeli theme. So one of my side dishes was this cranberry pistachio couscous and added subtle autumn harvesty spicing.

for the recipe….

pumpkin kugel (souffle style)

how does one combine traditional thanksgiving flavors with a jewish food flare? pumpkin kugel.

i was lucky enough to cook this week with my brother and mom, and even more lucky to use all of my parent’s fancy cooking accessories and appliances: a souffle dish, egg white folder spatula, super high-tech egg beater and all clad pans. cooking has instantly become SO much more fun. and pretty. while kugel is generally a dish served during the high holidays and passover, it has endless potential in flavor combinations that can make it appropriate for any time of year. example: t-giving :)

as we brainstormed the ingredients to include in a pumpkin kugel, my mom resurrected my bubbe’s trusty cookbook: the complete american-jewish cookbook by the homemakers research institute. it’s clearly really old. the recipe following is a riff on their egg souffle.

Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Once again I am asking the question “is this Jewish?” I don’t know. Carrot Cake recipes appear in a number of my Jewish cookbook, but not one of them indicates why its Jewish.  A google search on the origins of carrot cake brings up tons of myths and stories but the only thing people seem to be able to agree on is that the version most of us are familiar with, did not become popularized in the United States until the 1960’s. It may have become a popular Jewish dessert because without frosting it can be made parve. One thing I know for sure is that I love it with cream cheese frosting and Jews definitely know what to do with cream cheese.  I was hosting a Big Game party (Go Bears!) and wanted a dessert that was easy to serve and I could decorate with a little blue and gold, and cupcakes fit the bill.  Not one of the recipes I looked at had baking time for cupcakes so  I had to keep a pretty close eye on the first batch. Overall it was pretty easy and my friends‘ 3 year old daughter said they were beautiful and kept opening the fridge all night to make sure they were still there.

Bourekas ver 1.0

Would you care for a snack?

Remember that show, the one about nothing? Well it was very flattered in Israel by a knock-off version whose name I cannot recall and is presently eluding my web searches. In it the Kramer character goes to a new bourekas bakery in his neighborhood (it all takes place in Tel Aviv) and is shocked to discover that the baker has disrupted the unwritten rule of fillings and shapes. For instance a potato boureka is always a rectangle, a triangle is always cheese, a pizza filling is a cylinder, while spinach filled resembles a pastry knot. One can picture the physical reaction of this character as he bites into a triangle shaped boureka and discovers that it is filled with spinach!

I was equally shocked to discover this past week that there are several different doughs that can be used to make this tasty little treats since all of the Israeli versions are made with the same flaky pastry dough. Much like the knish, there are regional variants in dough and filling across the Jewish communities of the near east and south eastern Europe. From Marrakesh to Salonika these small filled pies were popular additions to party menus. The word itself comes from the Turkish word for pie.

I decided to try a traditional Turkish recipe that Claudia Roden offers and filled them with a salmon, onion and cheese filling.

Recipe after the break

“chello” and challah french toast

as amiee put it, i am also quite *delighted* to join the heathen-jewish-foodie-blogging team!

ah, cooking. as dafna can attest, cooking and i have not always been the best of friends–i.e. trips to the supermarket spent wandering for far too long and failed recipes gathering dew in our fridge were the norm after moving out of the dorms. but after a remedial cook book crafted by momma schneider and lots of practice, it has become my go-to stress relief and secret tool for bringing together all of my favorite people. in the last year my jewish cooking has evolved quite a bit. when i moved to nyc a year and half ago my living situation lent itself to lots of recipe sharing. picture this: twelve jews picked to live in a house, work together and have their lives taped! okay, not that last part…but i did find myself in one of the most religious neighborhoods in brooklyn (aka: midwood) sharing food with 11 other young jewish activists with a huge array of cooking expertise. though i’ve moved a bit north to prospect heights and my overt jewish inspiration has decreased, (not to mention the quantity in which i have to cook) i nonetheless retained a diverse database of jewish food.  good times.

okay, enough with introductions. shall we get cookin’?!

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to honor the shabbat tradition in my crazy, over-crowded house, i want to share with you our favorite: challah french toast. yes, i am claiming this as a jewish food despite its availability at almost any nyc brunch spot. who else would have leftover challah lying around on a sunday morning? challah is asking to be french toast: it’s sweet, it’s fluffy, and it toasts wonderfully. i had the pleasure of cooking with a friend today, and she shared her favorite proportions of the ingredients you will see below…

i started with amiee’s wonderful challah recipe and changed it a bit by using whole wheat flower.

six strand style