I’m still not sick of using my dutch oven, and decided to braise some meat in them. I chose short ribs, a meat that can hold up more than two hours of cooking. This is a delicious dish for Friday night, but if you’re up for it, it’s easy enough to impress some friends with or make it for a special weeknight.
Yogurt is SO expensive at the grocery store, especially the individual-sized ones, and I like to eat it every day. Many brands are also full of high fructose corn syrup. Yuck. I decided to try and make my own, and have been doing it for a while. There are a lot of different ways to do it, including using a yogurt maker – I don’t have one of those, and really don’t have room in the kitchen for it. Some people use the oven and set it to 120 degrees, but my oven doesn’t go that low. I use a cooler, and it works like magic.
I often try to make granola bars, only to find myself with granola in the end. After watching Ina Garten so easily make granola bars for her friends, I decided to try it out again. I added dried fruits and flax seeds to her basic recipe, and omitted the nuts so I could bring them into school (nut-free) and snack on them while there.
I ended up with 17 granola bars. There should have been 18, but one completely crumbled. I had it with milk the next morning. These granola bars were pretty easy to make. I cut them after a few hours and wrapped each one in wax paper. I then stuck them in zip-top baggies and stored half on the counter and half in the freezer.
Next time I think I’ll lower the sweetness and add some chocolate chips.
The Food Network website recommended that I try Ellie Krieger’s portobello lasagna rollups. These were very easy to make kosher – they are vegetarian, anyway. I didn’t use portobellos, just because they were kind of expensive. You can use any mushrooms, but I like the baby bellos, and they weren’t much more expensive than the white button variety. Continue reading
It’s a tradition to eat round challah during the holidays to symbolize a repetitive cycle – the end of an old one and the beginning of a new one. Usually people add some sweetness to the challah with raisins, and instead of dipping it in salt, as we dip it in sugar (or honey). I skipped the raisins – a lot of my guests don’t like raisins – but made sure to use plenty of sugar.
This challah was definitely a special one. I’ve been practicing the six-strand braid and got really good at it, but have never braided a round one. It came out really pretty. I also made it dairy, since we were having dairy for the second day of rosh hashanah. Instead of the usual oil and water, I used milk and butter, which I thought would add a delicious flavor. Continue reading
We waited all summer, and now the fig tree in our backyard is finally producing some delicious fruit! Aside from eating figs for breakfast and snacks throughout the day, I decided to incorporate them into dinner. Now we’ve eaten salad with figs in it for the past three nights.
Ricotta cheese is really very easy to make. It’s also really expensive at the supermarket. I decided to give homemade a try, and the result was soft and creamy, a perfect filling for my manicotti dinner!
Basically, all you have to do is heat milk. I chose whole milk because that’s what I had, but you can use any – skim, heavy cream, or a combination.
Do not let the mixture boil.
When it is just before the boiling point, add a teaspoon of acid. I used lemon juice, but you can just as easily use vinegar. Watch the curds and whey separate (it’s very cool!). Let the mixture sit for a while and then drain it in a cheesecloth (or paper towel) lined sieve.
As annoying as Rachael Ray is, a lot of her recipes are delicious and easy. After watching her make toasted ravioli, I decided to try it on my own, with a few tweaks. Rachael used fresh herbs and made a delicious looking roasted red pepper dipping sauce. I was pretty lazy and used only what I had on hand, so stuck with the seasoned breadcrumbs and jarred marinara sauce. They still turned out delicious.
We just got a new barbecue! Obviously we had to have burgers and steaks for dinner the day it came. I knew we would be eating tons of meat, so I decided to make a light pasta salad to accompany the meal.
Last night my husband and I went to the Yankee game; It was my first time at the new Yankee Stadium, and I was excited to try the kosher food, which is provided by Ouri’s Caterers from Brooklyn (I’m pretty sure they provide food for Citi Field, too). There are five kosher food stands at Yankee Stadium. We visited three.
kashrut certification
