We have a baby foodie in the house! He’s older than 6 months, which means we are thinking about food. And although right now he survives only on breastmilk and single veggies, pretty soon he’ll be sharing family meals with us. Which is why when he was born I had to buy Tyler Florence’s new baby food cookbook Start Fresh. First of all, Tyler Florence is awesome. Second of all, I love people’s takes on what babies should eat. He thinks baby’s first food should be baby carrots (the real kind, not the cut and bleached processed kind).

At around 9-12 months, babies can really start eating what the family is eating, only a little differently. Tyler recommends cooking one meal, and pureeing some for baby’s portion. Thing is, this recipe looked so great that I had to try it even before Richie was able to eat this kind of food! So I altered the recipe for our tastes just a bit, and alas our dinner was a delicious family-friendly meal. I will remember it when it’s time for Richie to be eating meats and many different veggies.

When I saw this recipe, I really wanted to use a pressure cooker to make it. First of all, it’s super fast that way, and secondly, the recipe was created for a pressure cooker. Alas, I don’t have this kitchen gadget! Though I think it might be useful for really quick weekday meals. And I think they are super safe now, so I wouldn’t blow up the kitchen, even if I tried to. I had to settle on using my Le Creuset, which isn’t really settling at all because I love that pot. It turned out great, and I actually just left it simmering on the stove on Sunday and reheated it for dinner the next night. That’s a quick dinner.

Oh, and another great thing about this baby/family-friendly recipe is that it basically requires no steps. Just brown the meat and throw everything in the pot. Cover. Simmer. That’s it. Can’t get any easier than that.

Short Ribs with Apples and Roots, adapted from Tyler Florence:
Serves 4 grown ups or 8 kids

Ingredients:

• 1 pound beef short ribs (bone in)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste (but not so much salt – this is for baby!)
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut in half (or 6 baby carrots)
• 2 medium parsnips, scrubbed and sliced into the same shape as the carrots (1/2 inch thick and in half if long)
• 1 beet, cut into wedges (Tyler uses a golden beet. I used a regular red one)
• 1 Rome apple, cut into wedges, seeds removed
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 cup apple juice

Directions:

1. Season the ribs with a little bit of salt and pepper.

2. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the ribs and brown, about 5 minutes on each side.

3. Add the carrots, parsnips, beet, apple, rosemary, stock, and apple juice. Cover and cook on medium heat for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is tender and falling off the bone and the vegetables are soft.

4. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

5. For adults, serve the meat and veggies with some of the liquid spooned over. For kids, transfer to food processor and pulse on and off, adding some of the cooking liquid, until at desired consistency. Eat your meal at the table together!

Short Ribs with Apples and Root Veggies is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

I love Yemenite soup. Lucky for me, I live pretty close to David’s and I can order it in any time. But like any foodie, I had to try to make it myself. The first time I tried, it was a major fail. It was too thin, not meaty enough, and I really just wouldn’t share the recipe. Fast forward a few months, and someone told me that the Taste cookbook had a great recipe, and I knew that I needed to find someone with a copy and look at the recipe. And I did. I changed the recipe just a bit, and prepped all the ingredients. Much to my surprise, the soup was SO easy to make! Except for the spice mix, but that was Zeke’s job.

As you can see, the hawaiij took a little bit of prep. We couldn’t find ground cardamom, so Zeke bought whole pods and spent some time peeling them and then mashing them with our trusty mortar and pestle. it worked out, and now next time we make Yemenite soup, we’ll have it ready. It’ll be super easy.

Basically you just throw the ingredients in a pot and let it boil for hours. It results in a thick, meaty soup/stew. Okay, it’s not the same as David’s. It’s definitely not as thick. But the flavor is definitely there. And I got to serve it with one of my favorite things, fresh cilantro; they don’t do that at David’s.

Yemenite Soup, adapted from Taste

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound flanken
• 6 cups chicken stock
• ½ tablespoon hawaiij*
• ¼ teaspoon curry powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• A pinch of chili powder
• Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 large tomato
• 2 onions, peeled
• ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 5-8 whole garlic cloves, peeled
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• 2 idaho potatoes, peeled and cut in half

Directions:

1. Place flanken in a large pot and add the stock. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 20 minutes.
Skim the foam from the top.
2. Add spices.
3. Cut an X on the tomato and add it to the pot.
4. Add the onion, cilantro, garlic and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 2 hours.
6. Add the potatoes and simmer another hour.

**To make ½ cup Hawaiij spice mix, mix together 5 tablespoons cumin, 2 tablespoons ground cardamom, 5 teaspoons black pepper, 3 teaspoons turmeric, and 2 teaspoons ground coriander.

Yemenite Soup is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

Want the taste of Chinese food in your very own kitchen? This beef and broccoli dish really tastes like Chinese food! And there’s no MSG. And you can make it with brown rice and not charge $1 extra. I just wish I had a wok, because that would make cooking this dish extra fun. Try it even if you don’t have one. Cast iron works wonders. So do dutch ovens. No, but seriously. This meal was super easy to make. I can’t actually take credit for it, either. After prepping all the ingredients and starting to brown the meat (prepping is key in a dish like this – so prep everything before you start, even if you don’t have a tired/hungry/cranky baby!), Richie started crying. He was ready for dinner. And that meant that I couldn’t slave over a hot stove and sear meat. So I put Zeke in charge on dinner. He was a champ (thanks, husband!) and really cooked dinner for us that night. And it was tasty. And pretty healthy, too.

So next time I’ll remember to slice the meat instead of being a bit lazy and buying the pre-cubed meat from the butcher. I think that as my only mistake. And while the original recipe called for shallots, I only had regular onions – I don’t think it made such a big difference in overall taste in the dish (this is starting to be a popular occurrence in this house).

Oh, and broccoli. Don’t throw the stems away! Just shave them, cut them into strips, and cook alongside the rest. It’s really the tastiest part. Sure, they don’t look as pretty, but they’re less bitter than the flowery part. And they are bug-less, so some people only eat the stems as it is (the kosher Chinese place in Manalapan?). I eat both, but I like having both stems and flowers for the contrast and uber-broccoli-ness of the dish. Mmm.

Beef and Broccoli (Chinese food style!) Adapted from Chef and Home:

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces beef filet, sliced (this is important! I cubed it and it was a little tough)
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons flavorless oil
• 3 tablespoons diced onion (about ½ small white onion)
• 3 tablespoons diced garlic
• 4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 ounce ginger, cut into long strips
• 3 cups broccoli, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used more, an entire bunch. I really like broccoli)
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 ½ cups rice, cooked

Directions:

1. Heat a cast iron pan, wok, or Le Creuset over high heat
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper
3. Place beef in pan and seat on one side for 3 minutes.
4. Flip and sear on the other side for 3 minutes.
5. Remove from pan and set aside.
6. Lower the heat to medium and oil to the pan and sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes., stirring occasionally
7. Add the scallions and ginger. Stir fry for an addition 2 minutes.
8. Add the broccoli, beef stock, and balsamic.
9. Cover, turn the heat to high, and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Add the cooked beef to the broccoli and sauté for an addition 2 minutes.
11. Serve over rice.

Beef and Broccoli is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

Shana Tova!

When Resident Magazine asked us to share some holiday recipes with them, we knew we wanted to share some traditional Sephardic Jewish food, as opposed to the better known matzah ball soups. Here’s a dish that we’ve been eating for Rosh Hashana forever.

Black eyed peas are eaten during the new year to bring prosperity. In the Southern United States, they’re usually served with ham, but that tradition was probably adapted from Sephardi Jews; we stew our loubia with kosher meat.

Also for Rosh Hashana, Leek Ejjeh.

Black Eyed Peas with Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground meat (beef, lamb or veal would all work)
• 1/3 cup rice (soaked for 30 minutes)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 onion, grated
• olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 lb. dried black eyed peas, soaked and drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• water, as needed
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. mix together the rice, ground meat, oil, allspice, cinnamon, salt, pepper and onion to make hashu. set aside.
2. heat a pan over medium heat, coat the bottom in oil and saute the garlic for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
3. fry the hashu in the garlic, browning evenly
4. add the peas, tomatoes, lemon juice, cumin and salt. mix well, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour. if it dries out, add water as needed.
5. serve with rice.

PS, sorry for the lack of photos. Did you make this? Send us your picture and we’ll add it to the post!

Loubia, or Black-Eyed Peas with Meatballs is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

Now with an updated picture! Don’t hesitate to make this delicious meal for Shabbat.

Kibbe cherry is a traditional Friday night dish. Usually we serve it in a pretty bowl, but we couldn’t take the picture on Shabbat, so this is the picture you’re stuck with! Don’t worry, it tastes a lot better than it looks in this picture, we promise!

Not only is it one of our favorite ways to prepare kibbe, it’s also ridiculously easy. Unless you don’t have kibbe in your freezer, then you’re in trouble, or just stuck in the kitchen rolling the balls for a while. Besides the onion, there’s no slicing (and no pitting, ’cause we’re using canned cherries here). Plus, it’s a one-pot dish! Just make some rice and a salad, and you have an easy weeknight meal. Make about 10 other dishes, and you have a perfect dish for Shabbat dinner! Many people make one giant kibbe roll instead of the little balls, but we like this way better.

Kibbe Cherry, adapted from Deal Delights 2:

Ingredients:

• A few glugs of olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• About 20 kibbes
• 1 15-ounce can cherries
• 3 tablespoons oot
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 cup prunes (optional)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oil on medium heat and add onions and kibbe until onions are soft and kibbes are browned, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until all the flavors mix together and the cherries and prunes are soft.

3. Serve over rice.

Kibbe Cherry is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

Turkey is something that we usually only ate when we had a lot of company for Shabbat dinner. And in that case, we’d roast a whole turkey with celery, carrots, onions, and spices. It was good, and really the only way I knew how to eat turkey. Stephanie and I used to baste it every so often, and then when it was hot, but cool enough to handle, carve it. I never actually ate turkey at the dinner table because I’d pick at it while carving. Oh, we also had turkey on Thanksgiving. But this was not made in our house, so I had no idea how it was made.

Well, the other day I was at the butcher looking for some Shabbat dinner inspiration, and I saw that they had a turkey leg and thigh – what a good thing to make instead of a roast chicken (although that dish IS amazingly delicious), especially when I’m only feeding two people.

This is an easy dish that I whipped up and threw in the oven on a very tiring Friday after work. When it was finished, I took a nap. I woke up, carved it, and threw it in the oven to heat up right before candles. It was a perfect quick main dish. And the onions I cooked it in were scrumptious mixed with rice and peas.

Roasted Turkey Leg and Thigh, serves 2:

Ingredients:

• 1 turkey leg and thigh
• 1 onion, sliced thin
• 1 carrot, cut into rounds
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• About 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place the onion, carrot, and garlic cloves in the bottom of a small roasting pan or Pyrex. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil. Then add salt and pepper and mix around.

3. Place turkey on top of the veggies.

4. Pat dry, then cover with a tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of the turkey and be generous! There aren’t any spices in this recipe, so it needs the seasoning.

5. Place in oven, uncovered, for 1 hour (start checking at 50 minutes) until skin is browned and bubbly. Depending on the size of your turkey, it will take shorter or longer than this.

6. Remove from oven and cover loosely with foil for 15 minutes.

7. Carve slices from the thigh and serve the leg whole or in pieces. Enjoy!

Roasted Turkey Leg is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

If you’re making meat for Shabbat lunch and want an easy and light dish, look no further than this mustard chicken salad. Yeah, I know, people will probably go crazier over the chulent you made, but this dish is simple, refreshing, and did I mention simple? You can serve it on top of a bed of romaine, like I did, or arugula, like Ina did. Or you can shred the chicken and cut the veggies a bit smaller and serve this in sandwiches, my favorite way to eat chicken salad. No matter how you do it, it’s a great Shabbat lunch. This recipe is from Ina’s newest cookbook How Easy Is That? I happen to really like that book, even though I really did not want to purchase it. Not because I don’t like Ina, but because I got it at Sur La Table, so of course I paid full price for it instead of probably half that on Amazon or at Borders. But we were tricked into buying it so that Ina could sign it, of course! It was a book signing, after all, not just a meet and greet, like we thought it might be. And no, she didn’t have any Barefoot Contessa postcards for us that she’d sign. And she didn’t even write our names! But we walked out with cookbooks and a horrible picture of me, Steph, Paulette, and Ina. And I actually really like the cookbook, so I guess it was worth it.

Anyway, every time I look through one of Ina’s cookbooks, I find another recipe that I want to try. Almost all the recipes are bookmarked (of course, the seafood and blue cheese ones are not). This one was one that I skipped over a few times, and then decided it was interesting and I had to give it a try. What better time to do that than when Zeke and I were staying home alone for Shabbat? This and some deli meat, and we had a perfect lunch for two.

The day after making this salad, I actually saw Ina make it on TV! The recipes were pretty different. And the recipe that’s online is different than the one on the show. And mine’s a little different than all three of them. So basically this is a very adaptable recipe, don’t worry if you don’t have all the ingredients you need and make some swaps based on your own tastes. I don’t love tarragon, and definitely wasn’t going to buy tarragon vinegar just for this recipe, so that was out. I am not drinking wine right now, so I did not want to open up a bottle just for the little bit in the recipe online, so I just used white wine vinegar. And I added some dried oregano because I like how oregano tastes with chicken and thought it needed some herbiness.

Mustard Chicken Salad, adapted from Ina Garden

• 2 chicken breasts, bone in and skin on.
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups broccoli florets or broccolini florets
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon spicy mustard
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place the chicken on a sheet pan and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

3. Roast the chicken for 40 minutes, until just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

4. Meanwhile, cook the broccoli florets in boiling water for one minute, then drain and shock in a bowl of ice water till cook. Drain well.

5. Make the dressing: Whisk together the mayo, mustards, vinegar, 2 teaspoons of salt, a teaspoon of pepper, and the oregano. Reserve some dressing because you can always add more – you can’t take it away and too much mayo in chicken salad is gross!

6. Dice the chicken into bite-size pieces (or shred).

7. Add the broccoli, chicken, and tomatoes to the dressing and combine. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to combine.

8. Serve cold or at room temperature. Taste for seasoning before serving. I like to sprinkle the top with salt and pepper before eating.

Mustard Chicken Salad is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

Hamburgers are the ultimate comfort food. Especially a nice, big, juicy burger with either guacamole on top. I don’t eat ketchup or mustard, so I often try to get more flavor out of the actual burger. That means better meat, and flavors added into that meat. Which is why when I saw Alex Guarnaschelli make hamburgers with brisket, the cut Pat LaFrieda claimed is the best for hamburgers, I knew I had to try it.

So what if we can’t eat cheeseburgers? That doesn’t mean that kosher burgers aren’t delicious! Caramelized onions are another good topping for burgers. And I prefer eating them on challah rolls – they’re WAY better than hamburger buns!

The real reason I made these delicious brisket hamburgers? I wanted to try out my newest kitchen toy, the KitchenAid food grinder attachment. Yes, I ground my own meat. It wasn’t so difficult, but if you decide to do it yourself, make sure you follow all food safety guidelines you know of. And you will have to wash your hands about 400 times. When I left the butcher with a $40 brisket, I was in a state of shock. But at the end of the day, I realized I made 13 BIG hamburgers (4 ounces each) and one little teeny burger (okay, about 2 ounces), so each burger only cost me about $3 to make. That’s cheaper than any burger I can buy. And tastes better!

Brisket Burgers, recipe adapted from Alex Guarnaschelli:

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• Glug of olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 4 pounds beef brisket, ground (I used the coarser setting on my grinder)
• 1/2 cup toasted breadcrumbs (I just processed an end of a loaf for a few seconds)
• 1/2 cup prepared mayonnaise

Directions:

1. Combine carrots, celery, and onion in a food processor and process until you have a fine paste.

2. In a skillet, add the oil. When hot, add the processed veggies. Add some salt and cook until tender and caramelized, about ten minutes. Then, pour onto plate and flatten to cool.

3. In a large bowl, mix the ground brisket with the mayonnaise, breadcrumbs, and vegetables. Add a pinch of salt. Mix together (I used my hands!)

4. Form the meat into patties, about 4 ounces each. They should be 1/3 inch thick and about the size of a hamburger bun.

5. At this point, you can freeze the ones you don’t want to cook right away. To eat them, continue:

6. Place the patties on the grill (or grill pan, or cast iron skillet) and cook on one side for four minutes. Then, turn over and cook on the other side for 2 more minutes for rare to medium rare. 4 minutes for well.

7. Serve with toasted challah roll (or bun) and your favorite burger toppings.

Brisket Hamburgers is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

I’m pretty obsessed with my Crock Pot right now. I love to come home to the smell of a slow-cooked meal and to not have to cook dinner when I come home. It’s win-win. It’s pretty amazing how everything I make in there turns out delicious. I don’t even have to cook meat in it, vegetable stews work great, too. I always tell myself I will use it more often, then go through a slow cooker phase, and then put it away and leave it there for a couple of months. I hope this phase lasts longer!

I’ve been making a lot of stews to eat over rice lately, and I was in a pasta mood, so I decided to cook up a tomato sauce to serve on top of spaghetti, though it would be equally delicious with rice.

Flanken is the perfect meat  for a slow cooker (duh, chulent!), but this would be great with regular short ribs and maybe even chopped meat.

…8 hours later:

Slow Cooker Tomato and Meat Sauce
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound flanken
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 3 gloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 14-oz. cans chopped tomatoes
• 3 stems fresh oregano
• 1 lb pasta
• salt, pepper and olive oil

Directions:

1. Generously salt and pepper the meat. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a pan and brown the meat (in batches if necessary). Remove to slow cooker.
2. Throw the rest of the ingredients (except for the pasta!) into the slow cooker and set to low for 8 hours.
3. Discard the bones (the meat should slide right off).
4. Trim the fat off the top. Take out the meat, shred, and add back into the pot.
5. Cook a box of pasta according to instructions.
6. Put the sauce into a large bowl. Put the pasta in the bowl, mix and serve!

Tell us, what’s your favorite crock pot recipe? Inspire us to keep ours on the counter!

Slow Cooker Meat and Tomato Sauce is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

Lachmagine is a classic mazza, a “small bite” Syrian Jews often eat before dinner. It’s kind of like a mini pizza, but instead of sauce and cheese we put tamarind and meat on it. It’s a staple in many homes on Shabbat and holidays.

Making these is a little bit time consuming. I mean, it makes around 60 (I made exactly 62) lachmagine, and you have to cut them each out, top with the meat, and flatten. So it’s a good thing these freeze well. Pop them in the freezer and then whip them up as part of a weekday meal. Or make them, freeze them, and cook them for your Shabbat company.

Lahamagine (meat pies), adapted from red Deal Delights:

For the Dough:

• 4 cups flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons (1/2 packet) active dry yeast dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons oil (optional)

For the Meat Filling

• 2 pounds raw ground beef
• 2 grated onions, drained
• 1/2 can tomato paste
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup temerhindi (or a little more, depending on how strong the flavor is)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

1. Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Add dissolved yeast and mix well. Add oil and mix again.

2. Gradually add remaining water, kneading until a soft dough is formed.

3. Cover with a clean towel and let rest in a warm place for one hour.

4. Make filling: Mix all filling ingredients together.

5. Split the dough into four equal pieces. Roll out one part of the dough as thin as possible and cut out small circles, about 3-4 inches in diameter.

6. Place all the circles on baking trays that you brushed with oil.

7. Spread a heaping tablespoon of meat filling onto each dough, making sure you spread it all the way to the edge. It will look like a lot, but it shrinks as it cooks! Press down the meat firmly so it sticks to the dough.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

9. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

10. Freeze the ones you’re not gonna eat immediately!

Lachmagine is a post from: The Kosher Foodies