Challah Apple Rolls for Rosh Hashanah

L'Shanah Tovah ~ for a good year.  Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.  To celebrate, we eat apples and honey, in hopes of a sweet and happy year to come.  Last year, I attempted to make Apple Stuffed Challah.  Unfortunately, I overworked the dough, and the challah came out tough, doughy and undercooked.  Luckily, it looked gorgeous, and my family appreciated my efforts regardless.


This year, I was inspired by a Saveur Magazine recipe for Challot (Challah Knots).  I still wanted to add apples to the recipe, and considered a few options.  And then a miracle happened - I'm not even joking.  I got an invitation from Jamie Peha to sit-in on her radio show - Table Talk Radio.  You're going to have to check out the site later to see what happened.  For now, let's just say that I returned home after a fun one-hour show with a box of apples and an assignment.


I went ahead and used the ingredients for the dough, as written in Saveur, but changed some of the methodology, directions and the final few steps in the directions.  I added caramelized apples, and created apple rolls, instead of challah knots.  And finally, instead of baking these delights in a single baking pan, I used my trusted muffin tin pan.  

Star Fine Foods Olive Oil Tasting at Cantinetta

I didn't discover olive oil until my early twenties.  Growing up, the choice of oil was sunflower. This dark, golden yellow, aromatic, and rich oil made from sunflower seeds was used left and right to dress tomato and cucumber salads, fry potatoes with onions, and drizzle on top of shredded beets with lots of garlic, walnuts and prunes.  For cooking, vegetable oil was the staple, butter, just like olive oil, was pretty much missing from my daily diet.  I never heard the sizzle of butter in a hot pan, or smelled the grassy notes of olive oil, nor did I swirl a chunk of crusty bread in olive oil and balsamic vinegar to soak up its goodness.

My first taste of olive oil left something to be desired; I was not used to the aftertaste, but I was determined to make it my friend and an ally in the kitchen.  Since then, I grew to love olive oil and appreciate its benefits and use olive oil pretty much exclusively.  I was very excited when I got an invitation from Dana of Dana Treat to attend an olive oil tasting at Cantinetta sponsored by Star Fine Foods.  For the evening, Star Fine Foods partnered with Emran Chowdhury, the executive chef at the restaurant, to create a fantastic four-course menu to showcase different varieties of olive oil.

Chocolate Truffles with a Kick of Cayenne and Himalayan Pink Salt

In just a few hours, I'll be attending a culinary potluck to celebrate Mark Bitterman's new book Salted: A Manifest on the World's Most Essential Mineral, with Recipes.  As a guest, I will be contributing a recipe that showcases the importance of salt.  This task made me think of one of my favorite childhood fairy tales.

In the story, a father asks each one of his daughters how much they love him.  When the youngest daughter compares her love for her father to her love for salt, she is banished from the family.  I can't exactly remember what happens next, but I'm sure there are countless bland dishes and recipes that follow and the father finally realizes just how much his daughter really loves him.

Moving on, when thinking about my contribution, for some reason, truffles came immediately to mind.  I took the basic recipe and decided to add a touch of vanilla and a kick from cayenne pepper.  Dusted with Himalayan Pink salt, these little round delights are as beautiful, decadent, and special, as they are delicious.  You might want to double the amount of cayenne pepper if you want them extra spicy.

Lemongrass and Ginger Panna Cotta with Mango Chutney

I can't recall the first time I tried panna cotta, the Italian dessert that translates to cooked cream. I do, however, remember the first time I fell in love with panna cotta.  Of all the places to fall in love, my was in the test kitchen of Cuisine at home magazine in Des Moines, IA where I worked for 4 months.  We were cooking a sit down meal for the lucky winners of a fundraiser, and dessert was panna cotta with a fruit compote.  Oh how sweet it was!  Thank you to my favorite Cuisiners, and especially to Sue Hoss!

Panna cotta is a deceivingly simple and light dessert.  In reality, it is quite easy to make, but it is rich in flavor and calories.  This year, I made my first panna cotta, based on the recipe from Cuisine at home magazine - I added lemon grass and ginger, slightly changed the methodology, and quickly cooked mango chutney.  This Lemongrass and Ginger Panna Cotta was part of the 30th Birthday Celebration dinner MangoTomato and I cooked for our dear friend Lera.

Breakfast Recipe for Squash and Corn Cakes with Crema

I grew up eating zucchini cakes in the summer time.  I was too young to make them myself, so I ended up watching either my parents or my grandmother shred the zucchini, squeeze and drain any excess liquid, and then mix the cake batter with flour and egg.  They fried these cakes in sunflower oil and served them up with a dollop of sour cream.

This is an updated, grown up version of my childhood favorite.  I add crunch and sweetness to these cakes with raw sweet corn.  Cilantro and lime zest are also mixed into the batter for a Southwestern flare.  Instead of plain sour cream, I make my own version of crema - Mexican sour cream.  It is thinner than the traditional sour cream and slightly sour
 - you can achieve this with a simple addition of lime juice.

Move Over Crock Pot, There's a New Machine in Town - Sous Vide

A few days ago, I entered the world of Sous Vide.  If you ever watched an episode of Top Chef, or any other prestigious food competition, you might have heard the term "sous vide" and perhaps know a little bit about it.  Here's is your chance to learn more information and see the expansive variety of food that can be sous vide.

Let's start from the beginning.  This was yet another food community event at Myra's sponsored by Sous Vide Supreme (a local Seattle company) with guest Chef Sharone Hakman (as seen on Master Chef).

Like many cooking terms, the term sous vide is French and is translated to "under vacuum."  The food is vacuum packed in heavy-duty food grade plastic bags and then submerged in water and cooked under controlled temperature.  Thus, the ability to set it, and forget it (as the time goes by, the temperature continues to be constant, thus the food does not overcook or dry out), which might be reminiscent to a crock pot, but the differences probably stop here.

 

What better way to really understand the sous vide process and its benefits than to taste the food!?  We were in for a treat: the 6 course tasting menu, plus the Wild Hibiscus Spritzer to start.

Spanish Potato Salad Recipe

I am a big fan of potatoes.  Fried, baked, roasted, mashed, whipped, scalloped, in a hash, in a soup, and even steamed, I honestly can't imagine my life without them.  My love for potatoes is limitless - I love the starchy, large Idaho potatoes, the delicate fingerling, especially the purple and the red, and the sweet potatoes (but only in savory application).

If you are a mom, you know that you shouldn't admit to having a favorite child...but secretly, you might have one, right?  Similarly, I would hate to admit my favorite way to eat potatoes, but I do love potato salad!  Growing up, I had the Russian potato salad, which I should be sharing with you soon.  Once in America, I became a fan of the All American Summer Potato Picnic Salad.  But the potato salad love does not stop there!  This time around, my love of potatoes takes us to Spain.

What makes this version Spanish are the ingredients: paprika, Sherry vinegar, Spanish olive oil, capers, and roasted piquillo peppers.

Saying "I Care" with a Food Care Packet

I must admit, as of lately, life has been interesting.  Interesting, both in the Webster definition of the word and in my definition.  If you know me well enough, you should know what I mean by interesting.  It's been interesting by definition, by default, by circumstances, by choice and by chance.  Lots of changes took place, and hopefully more, positive and uplifting changes are coming!

Meanwhile, I've had moments of doubt, frustration,  and sometimes sadness.  Rather than keeping it completely to myself, I chose to share my feelings with friends and family and ask for help.  Somehow, they chose to ignore my pleas for cash (shocking!) but when I asked for food, they listened!

Soon enough, I had a box at my door from my sister, aka MangoTomato.