I love making lasagna for company. It’s not so easy, but it’s something that can be made ahead of time, making the day-of much easier to handle. This lasagna is a little different and “dressier” than the classic cheese-and-tomato-sauce or meat-and-tomato-sauce kind. Plus, it is a nice filling main dish! We all really enjoyed it, and I’m glad I made the entire box of lasagna noodles and made a little extra of this for the freezer. That’s right, lasagna is a great freezer food!I made this over the course of two days. The first morning, I washed, peeled, de-stemmed, sliced, and sauteed the mushrooms. I refrigerated them and waited until nighttime when Richie was sleeping to do the rest. That night, I made the bechamel and assembled the lasagna. I put it in the fridge. I took it out a few hours before dinner the next night, baked it for the regular amount of time, and voila, a no-fuss main dish for my dinner party.

Does anyone else peel their mushrooms? I don’t know why I do it, and I guess I don’t have to clean them if I do. I actually find it kind of fun to do, so maybe that’s why whenever I cook mushrooms I sit there peeling off the outer layer. Any thoughts on this?

Mushroom Lasagna, adapted from Ina Garten

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• Olive oil
• 12 lasagna noodles (3/4 pound)
• 4 cups whole milk
• 1 stock unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 pounds mushrooms (I used plain old white buttons)
• 1 cup shredded muenster cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles and cook according to package directions. Drain and lay each noodle out on a piece of wax paper so they don’t stick together.

3. Make the bechamel: Heat the milk either in a small pot or in the microwave.

4. Melt the stick of butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir constantly with a wooden spoon for one minute.

5. Pour the milk into the butter-flour mixture all at once and stir until combined.

6. Add 1 tablespoon salt, the pepper, and nutmeg. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon and then a whisk until thickened. Set aside.

7. Separate the mushrooms from the stems and discard the stems (or save them for mushroom broth!). Slice the caps into 1/4 inch thick slices.

8. Cook the mushrooms: Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saute pan. All half the mushrooms and sprinkle with salt. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and release some juices. Repeat with the remaining mushrooms.

9. (This is a step I didn’t do, and resulted in a watery lasagna, nothing like Ina’s picture: drain the mushrooms!)

10. Assemble the lasagna: Spread some sauce on the bottom of an 8x12x2 baking dish. Arrange a layer of noodles on top (3) then sauce, mushrooms, and cheese. Repeat two more times. Top with a final later of noodles and the sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.

11. Bake the lasagna for 45 minutes, until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbly and hot.

12. Allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Mushroom Lasagna is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

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

Can you tell that I like soup? It’s a warm, wintry way to add a vegetable to your dinner, and leftovers make the perfect lunch alongside a simple sandwich. Ever since I watched Mario Batali make broccoli soup (and it looked so easy!) I knew I had to try it. Someone recommended the recipe for broccoli soup from Chef at Home, thickened with oatmeal, and I knew I had to try it for a few reasons. 1. I never had soup thickened with oatmeal, and I wondered how it would taste, and if it would really make it thick enough (could’ve used more), 2. Oatmeal is good for milk production and it’s always nice to add it to dishes when I can, 3. We like finding gluten free recipes, and oats, unlike chunks of day-old bread, make this soup gluten free. Turns out, we like broccoli soup!

So it turns out that pictures of pureed soups are kind of ugly. Pictures of fresh veggies, on the other hand, are quite pretty. So I made the main picture both, to entice you to actually click on the recipe. And maybe you’ll then actually try it?

Also, I really like leeks. And this recipe called for leeks instead of onions, so I knew I should try it. Don’t forget to wash them really well so they don’t get your soup all sandy!

See this oatmeal? It’s basically indistinguishable in the soup. Makes it a tiny bit thick, and you can’t taste it. Next time I’m going to double to oats to make it a little thicker, and maybe the flavor will poke through that way. The broccoli starts out beautiful and green (see above photo), and after cooking and boiling for a while, turns this mushy brown. Normally I wouldn’t want my broccoli to be this color, but when making a soup, it’s just perfect! It’s soft and delicious, just the right texture and flavor for a winter soup.

The picture in the cookbook is way more green than my picture of the soup is. I don’t know how they got their broccoli to stay so bright. And it couldn’t have just been the lighting.

Broccoli soup, adapted from Chef at Home:

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 head leeks
• 4 stalks celery (leaves included), diced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 heads of broccoli florets (save the stems to roast or for veggie broth)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup oatmeal (like I said, I’d increase this to 2/3 cup)

Directions:

1. In a large pot, saute the leeks and celery in the oil until soft.

1. Add the broccoli florets and saute for about 10 minutes, until the edges just begin to turn brown

3. Add the broth to the pot and bring to a boil.

4. Once boiling, add the oatmeal.

5. Lower the heat and cover. Simmer for one hour. Let cool slightly.

6. Using an immersion blender (or a food processor, regular blender, food mill, or your preferred method of pureeing soups), puree. Reheat on the stove.

The book recommends garnishing with blue cheese. I don’t like blue cheese, but if you do, give it a try!

Broccoli Soup 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

I never realized how much I like split pea soup. And not just because it’s the easiest soup to make. Ever. Seriously. The. Easiest. Soup. Ever. Chopped onions optional. I really don’t even think I need to give you a recipe for this, because once you’ll read it, you’ll probably say, “That’s it?!” But when you make it, you might want to eat this soup a few times a week. Or not, but if you’re like me you’ll like the deliciousness paired with the yumminess, you’ll probably make it pretty often. Or, if you’re not like me and have endless time to cook dinner, you can try this soup anyway. Unless you don’t like soup. But who doesn’t like soup? Okay, fine. So that picture isn’t so appetizing looking. How can you make a green pile of mush look appetizing? Do you have a better picture of split pea soup? I should just take a picture of it every time I make it. Which is often. Because, you know, that screaming baby makes complicated meals a little more difficult.

So it has to simmer for a little while, but it’s still super easy. And if you have 45 minutes to just sit and wait for dinner to happen, or put the baby to sleep, you can make this. Mmmm…

Split Pea Soup:

Serves 2 (and can be multiplied to serve WAY more)

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cup split green peas, washed and picked over
• 3 cups chicken stock or veggie broth or water
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Saute the onions in a pot over medium heat, until translucent.

2. Raise heat to medium-high and put the split peas and stock and bring to a boil.

3. Turn to low, cover partially, and cook until the peas are soft, about 45 minutes

4. Blend with an immersion blender.

5. Serve it with grated cheese, croutons, toasted pine nuts, whatever you please…

Split Pea 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

When Stephanie sent me this recipe to try, I giggled. And then I knew I had to make it. Pea puree! I decided to make this on my next day off. It’s a perfect Thursday night dinner, in my opinion, and since I already had all the ingredients, except for the salmon, wouldn’t take much thinking (Yes, you should always have peas in your freezer). Also, good thing I live pretty close to a fish store. If I didn’t, who knows if this would have ended up on the menu. We loved this. The broth was lemony and fresh, and really added a nice flavor to the salmon. The pea puree was just delicious, and oh-so-easy. I love peas. They are delicious in a puree. The salmon was great dipped in the puree. Just a good combination altogether.

Does anyone else have the problem of a fishy smelling apartment for a few days after searing salmon? Because of this, I brought my skillet out to the barbecue and cooked it outside. It turned out pretty well, actually. Just hopefully next time it won’t be as cold.

The original recipe called for shallots. And while I love shallots, I just happened to have a bunch of leeks in my fridge, so I used those. Mild onion flavor is the purpose, and I got that through leeks. I’m sure it would work with any type of onion. Use whatever you have, it’s not a finicky recipe.

I know, it’s fuzzy. But you get the point. Throw things in a food processor and you’ll have a delicious puree. Just make sure the peas are defrosted, or the pea puree won’t end up smooth enough.

I definitely think I should make this next time I have company. Using a deep plate or shallow bowl, just spread the puree, use am entire side of salmon instead of pieces, and just pour the broth on top from a pretty silver bowl after bringing it to the table. Now that’s a dinner party.

Salmon in Lemon Broth with Pea Puree, adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

Serves 2, and can easily be multiplied

For the Lemon Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 leek, diced
• The juice of a lemon
• The zest of 1/2 lemon (zest before you juice!
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon dried mint leaves

For the Pea Puree:

• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed (1/2 a box)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 pink kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil

For the Salmon:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 (4 to 6-ounce) pieces salmon
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Make the lemon sauce: Add the oil and leeks into a small saucepan over medium heat. Saute until tender, about 7 minutes.
2. Add the lemon zest, juice, and broth.
3. Bring sauce to a simmer and cover, keeping warm over low heat.
4. Make the pea puree: In a food processor, combine the peas, mint, garlic, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth and combined.
5. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream.
6. Move to serving plate or onto individual plates and set aside.
7. Make the salmon: warm the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.
8. Season the salmon with salt and pepper.
9. Place salmon skin side down in the pan and sear until a crust forms, about 4 minutes.
10. Flip the salmon and continue cooking for about 3 more minutes (more or less depending on the thickness of the dish)
11. Assemble: Put the pea puree on the bottom of shallow dishes or plates. Place salmon on top of the pea puree and top with the lemon sauce

Salmon in Lemon Broth with Pea Puree is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

I love butternut squash soup! I love any butternut squash, actually. But the best way to eat it is definitely in soup.

Last year, we posted a recipe from Jamie Oliver. And while that sage-infused oil soup was amazing, and definitely a go-to recipe for me, I definitely have to change it up a little bit. Eating as much butternut squash soup as I do makes me need to experiment with different flavors and interesting ingredients. This is actually the first butternut squash soup recipe I have ever made, and it was years ago when I was still in high school.

I actually make this every now and then, and love the deep flavor the tomato and balsamic vinegar add. I don’t make it too often, though, because I’m usually not opening up a can of tomatoes just to use two. You can substitute some tomato paste or two fresh plum tomatoes if you want. I also usually don’t add sage to this recipe unless I already have it in my kitchen. I don’t miss it, though maybe next time I will fry the sage and make sage-infused oil, just like in Jamie Oliver’s Superb Butternut Squash Soup.

Butternut Squash Soup, adapted from Food Network:

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 medium canned plum tomatoes
• 1 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds), diced
• 4 cups vegetable broth, chicken stock, or water
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, one teaspoon of salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender, about 10-12 minutes.

2. Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the tomatoes, crushing them into the pot with your hands, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions are browned and the tomatoes break apart more.

3. Add the squash and the rest of the salt. Continue cooking, and stir occasionally, until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes.

4. Add the stock/broth/water. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, until the squash is soft.

5. Remove from heat and blend, either in a blender or food processor, or with an immersion blender.

6. Return to heat and add the balsamic vinegar, stir it in.

7. Serve with a touch of Parmesan cheese or sour cream, if desired.

Another Butternut Squash Soup Recipe is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

That’s right, I’m still grilling. Okay, fine, so I made this on my cast iron grill pan. But it still turned out awesome. It required more cooking time than the outdoor grill and set off my smoke detector more than once. I used all the ingredients from the original recipe but changed the quantities a lot. It’s also the type of recipe that you really don’t have to measure. Just wing it.

So the original recipe called for either soy sauce or balsamic vinegar. I think that means two completely different recipes! I never tried it with soy sauce, but I imagine it would be a totally different dish. I mean, soy sauce and balsamic vinegar just taste so different! They both sound good, but I just really like balsamic, so I choose to make this recipe with it. Maybe one day I’ll try the soy sauce.

This dish easily served two as a side dish. Make it alongside some grilled salmon or chicken for a great healthy meal. Mmmm, fresh bok choy is just so good!

Grilled Baby Bok Choy, adapted from here:

Ingredients:

• 3 heads baby bok choy (though you can easily use 4 or more)
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• A handful of chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat your grill pan over medium heat.

2. Soak the bok choy in cold water for ten minutes, making sure to get all the grit out. Rinse and spin dry (or pat dry with a towel).

3. While heads are soaking, heat oil over medium in a small frying pan and add the garlic, watching closely. Remove garlic when it begins to turn brown. Take pan off heat.

4. Cut off top leaves from the bok choy and set aside.

5. Cut the heads of the bok choy in half lengthwise.

6. Brush both sides of the bok choy with the garlic-infused olive oil. Sprinkle with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

7. Raise the heat on the grill pan to high.

8. Place bok choy cut side down on the  grill and cook for 10 minutes, until golden brown.

9. Turn heads over and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Cook for another 10 minutes.

10. Turn heads over one more time, cooking for another 5-10 minutes, until heads are fork tender.

11. Remember those tops of leaves you set aside? Chop them coarsely and add to the saute pan (with that oil – you won’t use all of it) and the walnuts. Cook for 2 minutes, until the leaves are wilted and the walnuts are toasted. Add the parsley.

12. Plate up the bok choy and sprinkle with the leaves/walnuts. Serve warm. Yum!

Grilled Baby Bok Choy is a post from: The Kosher Foodies

Your side dish can’t get easier than this. If you have pesto in your freezer (either store-bought or homemade will do?), then you can prep this dish in about five minutes. Have basil growing like a weed in your garden? Then it might take a bit longer to make, but it’s still pretty simple, and always a big hit.

Now when we decided to make these roasted tomatoes, we preheated the oven and waited for it to get hot enough. We had planned an entire menu with short cooking times and a variety of dishes based on the fact that our oven would work. Little did we know that because of the extreme heat there would be a brown out! So tomatoes that should have taken about 15 minutes to soften and caramelize took over an hour. Oops. Hey, they still turned out delicious. And we tried them again in ovens that actually worked; they were still a hit!

Pesto Roasted Tomatoes, adapted from Ina Garten:

Ingredients:

• 2 – 2 1/2 pounds large red tomatoes (we used Jersey tomatoes!)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup pesto
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (omit if you’re making this with a pareve meal, like we did)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

2. Core the tomatoes and slice them across/not through the stem into 1/2 inch thick slices.

3. Arrange slices on a baking sheet in a single layer.

4. Drizzle with olive oil.

5. Sprinkle the oregano, salt, and pepper.

6.Bake the tomatoes for 10 minutes.

7. Remove from oven and spread each slice with pesto. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if using.

8. Bake for another 7-10 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft (and if you put cheese, it is slightly browned).

9. Remove from oven and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature. Enjoy!

Pesto Roasted Tomatoes is a post from: The Kosher Foodies