Where to Find Me on The Web -- Guest Posts at A Great Good Place for Books, Will Write for Food, More

Coffee lovers were whipped into a frenzy by this and I learned a lesson

Lately, in addition to working on my food and recipe columns for the j, Northern California's Jewish Resource, I have had two guest posts.

The first was on the blog of  food writing teacher, mentor and friend Dianne Jacob, where I wrote about the challenges of creating recipes during the early days of the COVID-19 stay in place orders, when grocery shelves were often bare and home pantries in survival mode.  It includes the lessons I learned by being an internet trend follower (including the dalgona coffee pictured above.)

The second was in support of one of my favorite independent bookstores, Oakland's wonderful  A Great Good Place for Books (they ship, too). Owner Kathleen Caldwell and staff are always helpful, supportive and knowledgeable and I wanted to do what I could to help. This post also had a coronavirus angle, suggesting folks get Andrea Nguyen's excellent Vietnamese Food Any Day for a break from SIP comfort food and carbs. In VFAD, Nguyen follows in her mother's footsteps (food steps?) and shows how to resource classic and new Vietnamese recipes from local supermarkets. The post has a few photos of the dishes I made from the book.

Oh, and if you'd like to know more about the best iced coffee I ever made, see my article/post at the j for instructions and variations on dalgona or whipped coffee.  Key tip, you can NOT sub out the instant coffee. And wear an apron, it gets messy.

For more of my regular recipe columns from the j, you can find them on my j author page. They appear in print every other week and are released online shortly before or after publication.  Make the j your home for globally inspired Jewish recipes. Plus, if you ever have a question about the recipe, email me at the address at the bottom of the post, and I'll try to help you out.

The Ultimate Comfort Food -- Chocolate Sandwich Cookie (Oreo) Kugel for Your Inner (or Actual) Child

When Stay in Place began a few months ago I did a column for my j., Northern California's Jewish Resource featuring comfort food kugels, Kugels are pretty much comfort food by definition --warm, fragrant and fulling.

Kugels have their roots in Eastern European (Ashkenazi) Jewish tradition. They are casseroles and can be made with cheese or other dairy products, noodles, potatoes, matzoh, meat (but not with the milk) and more. My j column featured cereal milk kugel made with fruit-flavored cereal, a colorful and flavorful treat for one's actual or inner child.

This recipe sparked a renewed interest in my Chocolate Cookie Kugel which I decided to revisit and revise. First change for a SIP household of two, cutting the size. A full-size kugel was just too much, so I halved the recipe. I'm happy to report the recipe halves well (and leftovers store well for up to a week airtight in the fridge). Other minor tweaks include adding the cookie crumb topping. Enjoy.

(Oh, and believe or not, it's really not too sweet but it is rich and a small serving is usually very satisfying. The cookies undergo a kind of magical alteration when cooking and pretty much absorb the filling.)

Updated Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Kugel 

Serves 12

Halves well – 6-8 servings

The works with any chocolate sandwich cookie with filling -- if using ones with a flavored filling, maybe switch to vanilla extract for the almond. It really doesn't matter if you use generic or brand name Oreo-style cookies.

3 Tbs. unsalted butter melted, divided

30 chocolate sandwich cookies (approx.)

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

8 oz. sour cream

1 cup milk

4 eggs, beaten

1 tsp. almond extract

3 Tbs. sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chocolate sandwich cookies, cut or crumbled into bits

Whipped cream or additional sour cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly brush 1 tsp. of the melted butter inside a 9×13-inch baking pan. Cover bottom with cookies, breaking some in half to fill in any large gaps.

Mash softened cream cheese with sour cream until smooth. Add remaining butter, milk, eggs, almond extract, sugar and salt. Beat until smooth.

Pour mixture over cookies. Scatter chocolate chips evenly over top. Place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Rotate pan. Scatter cookie crumbs over top. Bake for additional 15-25 minutes until custard top is firm and puffy and pulling away from sides of pan. Let sit for 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature topped with  dollops of whipped or sour cream if desired.

The photos show dollops of sour cream topped with additional, larger bits of chopped cookie as garnish.

See all my j cooking columns (published every other week) for more recipes. My earlier version of this recipe is also available on the blog along with some chocolate blintzes.

Don't Pass Over These Passover Recipes -- A Round Up of Pesach Dishes from Column and Blog and Soup to Nuts

A variety of harosets celebrates the diversity of the Jewish food ways

It's that time of year again -- the time of year where families and friends gather around and ask the four questions -- what can I eat, why can't I eat that, when do we eat (said during the Seder) and how did I eat so much?

Seder Plate

Joking aside, it's a time of special meals and special ingredients and restrictions.  The recipes featured below follow general Ashkenazi traditions of no rice, beans, corn or other kitniyot, which are traditionally eaten by some Sephardic and Mizrachi Jews (and now by some Conservative Jews). If the recipes include processed foods such as tomato sauce they are available certified for Passover and are available on line if not locally.

Many of these recipes are from my j., The Jewish News of Northern California column, others are from Blog Appetit. Some are suitable for Seder, others for every day cooking, some work for both.  Enjoy.

Chicken Soup, Matzah Balls

Appetizers and Starters
Eggplant Garlic, Eggplant Almond and Roasted Vegetable Dips
Vegan Matzah Balls
Horseradish Stuffed Eggs
Baked Gefilte Fish with Beet-Horseradish Topping
Bitter Herbs Salad
Zucchini Fritters
Levana Kirschenbaum's Moroccan Fish Soup
Gluten Free Chicken Almond Dumplings for Soup
Matzah Balls with Fresh Herbs
Matzah Balls 101
Chicken Soup 101

Main Courses

Unstuffed Cabbage Casserole (with ground beef)
Caramelized Balsamic Chicken
Paula Shoyer's Brisket and Roast Salmon

Paula Shoyer's Roast Salmon

Vegan and Gluten Free Moussaka with Two Sauces
 Saucy Eggplant Bake
Zucchini-Matzah Meal Crust Pizza and Oven Frittata with Peppers and Greens
Salmon Steamed in Foil
Grilled Lamb (note: many Ashkenazi do not eat lamb for Seder while many other Jews regard it as an important component of the Seder table.)
Lamb Stew with Tomatoes, Peppers and Dill
Gluten Free Chicken Vegetable Tagine with Quinoa
Cauliflower Matzah Bake, Apple and Vegetable Cobbler

Strawberry Chocolate Pudding

Desserts
Lemon Ice and Strawberry Chocolate Pudding
Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies
Baked  Matzah Dessert
Tzimmes Cookies and Cake
Jeff Nathan's Poached Apricots with Lemon and Thyme
Almond Brittle
Lemon Pistachio Bars


Other

Custard Matzah Brei

Matzah Granola and Pesach Crepes
Haroset Matzah Fry
Quinoa Berry Muffins
Sweet Potatoes with Pineapple, Moroccan Carrot Salad
Custard Matzah Brei
Passover Potato Gnocchi
Four Haroset Recipes from Around the World
One More Haroset Recipe

Savory Bites and California Mandelbrot for Purim

Pepper jelly makes these more of an appetizer than a dessert.

Purim has many food traditions associated with it.  Among them is the custom of giving friends and relatives a gift basket of food known as mishloach manot.  The giver is ensuring the recipient has enough food for a Purim feast.  Another Purim tradition is to donate to the poor, and some have combined the two traditions into food drives and donations to food banks.

The recipes below were designed to be made for a Purim basket, or even just made ahead for a Purim party.  The crispy Lemon-Olive Oil Mandelbrot cookies stand up to a dunking in tea or even a bit of sweet wine. Be sure to label the Spicy Hamantaschen Bites, an appetizer twist on the traditional Purim cookie, so your recipient knows this treat has some heat.

Hamantaschen are said to resemble the evil Haman's hat and are usually filled with jam, prune butter or poppy seeds. Filled or "hidden" foods are also a  Purim tradition since there is so many secrets in the Purim story. For more on the Purim story and a recipe for the sweeter, traditional hamantaschen, see my post here.

California Mandelbrot with Lemon and Olive Oil

Makes about 24

Oil spray

2 eggs

2/3 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. lemon oil

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 Tbs. grated, minced lemon zest

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 2/3 cup flour, plus extra

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup blanched, sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Use spray to grease two baking sheets.   In a mixer bowl, combine eggs and sugar on high speed until pale yellow and thickened.  Stir in lemon oil, almond extract, lemon zest and olive oil.

In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.  With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the egg and sugar mixture in three batches, making sure each batch is combined before adding the next.  Beat at medium speed until smooth, stir in the almonds (dough will be stiff).  Sprinkle flour on work surface.  Dough will be sticky so oil or wet hands.  Shape dough into two loaves, each about 10” long, 1 ½” wide and 1” tall.  Using spatula if needed, transfer to center of prepared pans.  Pat back into shape.

Bake 25 minutes or until golden and top crust has small cracks.  Let cool slightly.  Transfer loaves to cutting board and cut into 3/4" slices.  Lay slices flat side down on pans, return to hot oven and bake 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool on rack.  Mandelbrot will crisp as it cools.

Spicy Hamantaschen Bites

Makes 22-24

2 cups flour, plus extra

2 tsp. baking powder

2 Tbs. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 lb. margarine or butter (1 stick), at room temperature and cut in small pieces

2 eggs, beaten

About 1/4 cup strained jalapeño or other pepper jelly

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and pepper in large bowl.  With a pastry blender or two forks, cut in margarine until about the size of lentils.  Mix in eggs. Mix until it forms a ball, using hands to knead together if needed. Sprinkle flour on work surface and roll out dough 1/4“ thick.  Cut into circles with a round cookie cutter or small glass about 2 ½” to 2 ¾” in diameter.  Gather scraps and reroll them and cut out additional circles.

Fill the center of each circle with 1/2 tsp. jelly.  (Do not overfill.) Push up 3 sides to form triangles, firmly pinching so the cookies will maintain their shape during baking.  Bake for 25-30 minutes.  Remove cookies and cool on rack.

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This article first appeared in a slightly different form in the J, the Jewish News of Northern California.

Give a Fig - With Recipes for Lamb with Figs, Hot Chocolate Fig Sauce (with Sea Salt) and a Frozen Fig-Banana Dessert

I like figs - dried, fresh and cooked. Fresh they are juicy and earthy. Dried they are little nuggets of complex sweetness. Cooked they bring color and flavor to a dish.

I enjoy creating recipes with them for both this blog and my Jewish food column in the J weekly.  Seeing fresh figs in the farmers' market or produce store sets my imagination racing about new recipes I can develop and ways I can find to eat these.

It doesn't have to be a fresh fig either to get me going.  The first time I had fig jam slathered over cheese (try a creamy blue or a soft goat cheese) on a whole wheat biscuit-style cracker was a revelation.  Dried figs are like candy in my house to eat out of hand or create confections.

Figs are in season right now in California, which means my fig radar is going full blast.  For more about the types of fresh figs, tips and recipes using figs in recipes and more, check out the California Fig Advisory Board's website.

In honor of the board's upcoming California Fig Fest in Fresno, CA later this month (August 15), I thought I would share some of my recent fig recipes using fresh figs, dried figs and a wowser of a hot chocolate sauce with fig jam and sea salt. To see my recipe for pistachio fig tart with a honey glaze click here. For my fig almond tart in a cornmeal olive oil crust click here.

In the Jewish-Christian tradition, figs symbolize endurance, peace and fruitfulness. Adam and Eve clothed their nakedness with fig leaves. Early scholars ascribed medicinal value to the fig, which is biologically a flower rather than a true fruit. Today, California grows almost 98 percent of the U.S. crop of figs. Worldwide, Turkey is the number one grower of figs. Egypt, Iran, Morocco, Syria and Greece are also major growers. 

For the Lamb with Figs below, I used black mission figs, but brown turkey figs would also work. Sample before buying since figs’ intensity and sweetness vary.

The Hot Chocolate Fig Sauce with Sea Salt can be made in advance, refrigerated and gently reheated. Use non-dairy ingredients for a vegan sauce. Bananas give the vegan Fig-Banana Frozen Dessert a surprisingly creamy texture.

In the Pink -- Pucker Up for Rhubarb: Recipes for Borscht And Buckwheat Blintzes with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Rhubarb Beet Borscht

I'm still seeing lots of rhubarb on the shelves of my supermarkets and produce stores here in California, which seems late in the season for these purplish red and green-tinged stalks.

I hope you have access to lots of fresh rhubarb where you live, but if you don't you can use frozen rhubarb available in many some  groceries, natural foods and specialty markets, and on line (no need to defrost for the recipes below, but defrost and drain first if using in baking.) That makes me think of buying some stalks, cutting in pieces and freezing them myself so I can have the tart goodness of rhubarb throughout the year.

My memories of this astringent ingredient are sweet, not sour. My Grandma Clara used to stew me up a batch of rhubarb harvested from a neighbor's field. 

The plant's stalks cook up pink.  Often strawberries or sugar are added to tame its astringency. In the borscht, I combine rhubarb's tartness with beets' sweetness. If serving cold, you may need additional seasoning.  I like to serve the soup cold at parties as "shooters" in shot glasses topped with a swirl of yogurt and sprinkle of minced dill or mint as an appetizer.

Buckwheat is from the same botanical family as rhubarb and blintzes made with the flour are an earthy complement to the tangy Strawberry Rhubarb Compote. The blintz wrappers are very versatile and can be used with a variety of fillings. Try the compote on top of cheesecake or ice cream.

Since your rhubarb may be more or less astringent than mine, taste as you add sugar since you may need more or less than I've indicated in the recipes.

Be sure to discard any rhubarb leaves as they contain toxic compounds.

Rhubarb Beet Borscht

Serves 6-8

1 1/2 lbs. beet roots, trimmed

8 cups vegetable stock or broth

2 Tbs. chopped garlic

1 lb. fresh rhubarb stalks, trimmed

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground white pepper

1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

1/2 tsp. sugar or more as needed

1/2 tsp. lemon juice or more as needed

Garnishes (see below)

Thinly peel beet roots. Cut into 1/4" dice (4 cups). Bring stock to simmer. Add beets and garlic. Simmer 15 minutes until beets have begun to soften. Slice rhubarb into 1/4" pieces (3 cups). Add rhubarb, salt, pepper, and cardamom to soup. Simmer until rhubarb is falling part and beets are completely soft, 30-40 minutes. Taste. Add sugar and or lemon juice to balance taste sweet-tart. Cool and puree half in blender or with immersion blender and return to pot. Serve warm with garnish(es) or chill. If serving cold, taste and correct seasoning before garnishing.

Garnishes: Chose from one or more: sour cream or yogurt; sliced hard-boiled eggs; sliced, boiled potatoes, and minced fresh dill or mint.

Creative Commons license see below

Buckwheat Blintzes with Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Makes 10-12

4 Tbs. melted butter, divided

1 recipe Buckwheat Blintz Crepe Batter (see below)

1 recipe Blintz Filling (see below)

1 recipe Strawberry Rhubarb Compote (see below)

1 Tbs. butter

Melt 3 Tbs. butter. Heat 8" omelet, fry or crepe pan over medium heat. Brush lightly with melted butter.  When sizzling, lift pan up and pour in 1/4 cup batter, swirling to coat bottom evenly. Return to heat.  Cook for 1 minute or until the top of the crepe is set and bottom is light brown or has brown spots. Turn out on a clean dishcloth. Repeat until batter is done, reapplying the melted butter before each crepe.

Lay browned side down. Place 2 Tbs. of filling in middle, leaving about a 1" margin at top and bottom of crepe. Fold top over filling, then fold bottom over. Fold one side over, then the other. Repeat with remaining crepes. Melt 1 Tbs. butter in a large fry pan over medium heat.  Fry in batches for 2 minutes on each side. Serve topped with compote.

Buckwheat Blintz Crepe Batter: Combine in a blender 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup buckwheat flour, 1 cup milk, 1/2 cup cold water, 2 eggs, 2 Tbs. oil and 1/4 tsp. salt. Blend on high until well mixed, then for 20 seconds.  Let sit for 1 hour and blend again.

Blintz Filling: Combine 2 cups ricotta cheese, 1 beaten egg, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Mix well.

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote:  Simmer 1 cup thinly sliced rhubarb with 1/2 cup of orange juice until just soft. Add 2 cups quartered strawberries, 1 Tbs. lemon juice and 2 Tbs. sugar.  Simmer until strawberries are just cooked. Chill. Use at room temperature.

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Photo credits: Soup: Blog Appetit; Rhubarb, By RhubarbFarmer (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Another version of this post appeared in the j weekly.  

Skip Cookies this Purim, Go For the Hammered Taschen: Specialty Holiday Cocktails Help Adults Drown out Haman

Shushan Sunset and Sunrise.  I can't tell the difference, so be careful.

While dressing up, acting out Purimshpiels (Purim plays), making noise and listening to the story of how Queen Esther and Mordecai defeated Haman are for all ages, one holiday tradition is strictly for adults – drinking alcohol. Various sources advise us to imbibe until we cannot distinguish the difference between a curse on the evil vizier Haman’s name and a blessing on the Jewish hero Mordecai’s.

Some do suggest drinking only a little bit more than you usually do or indulging only enough to fall asleep since when you are asleep you can’t hear the difference between the two names.

These days moderation and designated drivers are advised, but many of us still take a sip or several to celebrate the Jewish victory, perhaps from a bottle of schnapps or whiskey after the Megillah reading. These cocktails are a little fancier. Think of them as your tipples in Purim costumes.

Two of the drinks are named after the ancient Persian city of Shushan to mark the extra day of fighting that walled city endured. The Shushan Sunrise is non-alcoholic and uses grenadine syrup, a pomegranate flavored sugar syrup available in liquor stores and other markets. The Shushan Sunset features pomegranate liqueur. Both were made with fresh lemonade from the supermarket’s refrigerator section.

Pomegranate liqueur is also featured in the Queen Esther champagne cocktail. Crown Queen Esther by dipping the rim of a champagne flute in lemon juice and then in sugar or powdered sugar before mixing the cocktail.

Vashti’s Venom has a bit of a bite from the bourbon, a bit of sweetness from the cherry cola and a bit of sharpness from the vermouth, giving the drink qualities I imagine Vashti must have had to attract and anger a king. Substitute cola for cherry cola if desired.

The popular apricot jam-filled hamantaschen cookies were the inspiration for the Hammered Taschen. Cookie crumbs on the glass rim and apricot nectar help recreate the flavor of the three-cornered pastry, an Ashkenazi favorite for the holiday.

Shushan Sunrise (Non-Alcoholic)
Serves 1

Ice
1 Tbs. plus 2 tsp. grenadine syrup
1 cup lemonade, chilled
Mint leaf, optional

Fill 12 oz. glass with ice. Pour 1 Tbs. grenadine syrup over ice. Add lemonade. Stir. Drizzle remaining syrup over top. (Do not stir.) Garnish with mint leaf if desired.

Shushan Sunset
Serves 1

Ice
1 Tbs. plus 1 tsp. pomegranate liqueur
1 cup lemonade, chilled
Mint leaf, optional

Fill 12 oz. class with ice. Pour 1 Tbs. of the liqueur over ice. Add lemonade. Stir. Drizzle remaining liqueur over top. (Do not stir.) Garnish with mint leaf if desired.

The Hammered Taschen

The Hammered Taschen

Serves 1

2 vanilla wafers
1 Tbs. lime juice plus extra for rim
1 Tbs. triple sec
1 Tbs. peach schnapps
2 Tbs. vodka
3 Tbs. apricot nectar
Ice

Crush cookies into a very fine powder. Dip rim of chilled martini or other cocktail glass in lime juice and then in cookie powder. Set aside. Combine 1 Tbs. lime juice with the triple sec, peach schnapps, vodka and apricot nectar in cocktail shaker. Fill with ice. Shake well and strain into prepared glass.

Queen Esther
Serves 1

1 tsp. pomegranate liqueur
Brut champagne or sparkling wine, chilled
3-4 pomegranate seeds, optional

Pour liquor in bottom of chilled champagne flute. Fill glass with champagne. Float seeds on top as garnish if desired.

Vashti’s Venom
Serves 1

Ice
1 Tbs. bourbon
1 tsp. sweet (red) vermouth
1 cup cherry cola, chilled
Maraschino cherry, optional

Fill 12 oz. class with ice. Pour bourbon and vermouth in glass. Stir. Add cherry cola. Stir gently. Garnish with maraschino cherry if desired.



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This originally appeared in the j weekly.  Plus the cocktails were field-tested at a very fun adults only cocktail party.

Say It with Roses -- Valentine's Day Chocolate Rose Berry Cake

Roses are the traditional symbol of love. This Valentine's Day continue the theme with this rich, dense (and gluten-free) chocolate cake featuring rose water. Brands vary in strength so you'll need to taste as you go. Rose water adds a subtle floral taste, but If it is not available the recipe works fine without it. 

Chocolate Rose Berry Cake

Serves 8-12

1/2 cup butter plus extra for pan

10 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

6 eggs, divided

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup ground almond flour

1 cup raspberry jam

1/2 to 1 tsp. rose water 

3 tbs. confectioners sugar

Whipped cream topping, optional (see below)

Raspberries for garnish, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 9" springform pan with butter. Line bottom with parchment and grease. Cut 1/2 cup butter and chocolate into pieces and melt, stirring occasionally until smooth. Separate four of the eggs and whip whites until stiff peaks form. In a separate bowl beat yolks and remaining eggs with sugar, vanilla, cocoa and almond flour until smooth. Working in batches fold in chocolate. Gently fold in egg whites in batches. Pour into pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until top is firm and springs back to the touch. (Cake will be wet inside). Let cool in pan, remove sides, invert on plate and remove bottom of pan and paper.

Stir jam with 1/2 tsp. of rose water. Taste. Add additional as needed. Once cake is completely cool, use a serrated knife to horizontally cut in half. Spread top of bottom layer with jam, place second layer on top cut side down. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar. Spread with whipped cream topping and decorate with raspberries.

Whipped Cream Topping: Whip 1/2 pint heavy cream with 2 Tbs. sugar and 1/2 tsp. (or to taste) rose water until soft peaks form.

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This recipe first appeared in the j weekly.  

Note: Because it contains no flour the cake may be suitable for Passover if you leave out the confectioners sugar and use products verified for Passover use.

Ice Cream for Breakfast -- Make Every Day a Sundae (Or at Least on February7)

Try an ice cream taco for breakfast

Ice Cream for Breakfast is this Saturday, February 7.

My friend Jan introduced me to this wonderful celebration a few years ago and I've since been determined to spread the word. (For more info on this celebration of the sweet and icy, click here.

I'm in Vietnam far from my home kitchen and not able to whip up new creations, so I thought I'd post links to some of my previously posted ice cream creations that might be adapted for breakfast.

Enjoy!

Here's some recipes to try from my j weekly column and Blog Appetit

Ice cream sandwiches and tacos
Chocolate (or other flavor) waffle ice cream sandwiches
Ice cream cake (add some chopped bananas)
Strawberry shake (made with ice cream)

You can also make a fruit, granola and ice cream parfait, or top some pancakes with ice cream and maple syrup, or ....

Let's be honest, you don't really need recipes for this!  If you want more ice cream or sorbet inspired, please search this blog, I have lots of frozen treat recipes for you!

Spiced Lamb or Lox Pizza Made on the Grill

Making a grilled pizza is fast and delicious.  This one is dairy free.

How did a nice Jewish girl with roots in Iraq, India and China become an expert on grilling pizzas? Dianne Jacob did it by making every one of the more than 75 recipes repeatedly in Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas (DK Publishing), her cookbook on the topic with Chef Craig W. Priebe.

Jacob is a Mizrachi Jew whose family traces its lineage back to first Iraq and then India before settling in Shanghai.  Her parents immigrated to Canada after World War II.  She doesn't recall eating pizza before she was an adult.  Jacob, who lives in Oakland, also never did much grilling before working on the cookbook, but working on the cookbook made her a fan.

 “Grilled pizza isn't about being perfect; it is not about have the exact shape, it’s rustic,” she said.  “You don’t need a pizza stone or any special equipment.”

You also don’t need a grill.  You can make also make these pizzas on an indoor grill, grill pan or skillet. To do so, preheat until hot, brush with oil and cook until crust is golden brown.  You can also use commercially available dough or crusts or sturdy flat breads instead of homemade dough.

Turn the extra tomato sauce into a classic pizza by brushing the top of a grilled crust with 1 Tbs. olive, dusting with 1 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese, 1 cup of the sauce and 1-2 cups of shredded cheese(s) of your choice.  Finish on the grill as directed below.

All recipes below adapted with permission from Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas by Craig W. Priebe with Dianne Jacob.  

The Millennium

Makes 1-12” pizza

1 grilled crust (see recipe)

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 Tbs. plus 1 Tbs. tahini

1 cup tomato sauce (see below)

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onions

12 pitted Kalamata olives, halved

Spiced Lamb (see below)

1 Tbs. pomegranate molasses

Brush the grilled side of the crust with oil.  Drizzle 1 Tbs. of tahini and drop spoonfuls of tomato sauce on top.  Add onions, garlic olives, and Spiced Lamb.  Drizzle with remaining tahini and pomegranate molasses.  Cook as directed in Grilled Crust recipe.

Tomato Sauce:  Chop 1 small clove garlic and 8 large fresh basil leaves until fine.  Mix with 1 1/2 lbs. diced, cored tomatoes (or use 2-14.5 cans, drained). Mix in 2 Tbs. tomato paste, 1 tsp. kosher salt, 3/4 tsp. ground black pepper and 1/2 tsp. sugar.  Stir well.  Add more tomato paste if watery.  Chill for an hour. Makes 2 cups.

Spiced Lamb: Brown 8 oz. ground lamb.  Stir in 1 tsp. dried oregano, 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, 1/4 tsp. ground allspice, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper, 1 minced garlic clove and 2 Tbs. red wine vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Variation: Sprinkle on crumbled feta cheese to taste after you drizzle on the pomegranate molasses.

The Ballard Lox

Makes 1-12” pizza

1 grilled pizza crust (see recipe)

2 Tbs. olive oil, divided

1 Tbs. grated Parmesan

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

1/2 cup shredded Fontina

4 cups roughly chopped arugula

1 lemon, halved

6 oz. thinly sliced smoked salmon

10 small cherry tomatoes, halved and seasoned with salt and pepper, optional

Freshly ground black pepper, optional

Brush grilled side of crust with 1 Tbs. of oil.  Sprinkle with Parmesan, mozzarella and Fontina cheese. 

Place remaining oil in large skillet, heat on high.  Add arugula and squeeze lemon over it.  Toss greens just long enough to wilt.  Immediately transfer to pizza in small clumps.  Roll salmon slices into small bundles and place atop arugula.  Cook as directed in Grilled Pizza Crust recipe. Garnish with tomatoes and black pepper.

Grilled Pizza Crust

Makes 2 Crusts

Basic Dough (see below)

Flour as needed

Cornmeal as needed

When dough is ready to use, punch down dough. Lightly flour work surface.  Flatten dough to about 1” thick. Cut in half with a knife. Put one piece in center of floured space. Sprinkle a little flour on top.  Roll out to a rough circle about 12” in diameter and 1/8” thick. Sprinkle with fine layer of flour. 

Flip a cookie sheet so bottom is up.  Sprinkle generously with cornmeal so dough with not stick.  Pick up crust with two hands and fold in half. Transfer to back of cookie sheet and unfold, stretching out again if needed.  Repeat with second crust (or refrigerate for up to 3 days).

Preheat charcoal or gas grill until medium heat or medium high (about 400 degrees) according to manufacturer’s directions.  Using tongs transfer crust from cookie sheet. If it folds over itself, quickly spread open.  The dough should take about 3 minutes to cook.  Bubbles should form on top.  Don’t check until dough begins to firm up.  Lift underside. It should be golden brown with grill marks.  Bits of char add flavor.

Using tongs and or spatula return crust to back of cookie sheet. Flip so grilled side is up.  Add toppings.  Shift grill to indirect heat. Slide pizza onto side without coals or flames.  Grill for about 5-8 minutes. Move pizza around grill if necessary. Slide pizza onto cutting board. Cut and serve immediately

Basic Dough: Add 1 packet dry yeast (2 1/4 tsps.) and 1/2 tsp. sugar to 3/4 cup warm water. Stir until yeast dissolves. Let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes) to make sure yeast is active.  Stir together 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour, 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, 1 tsp. kosher salt and 2 Tbs. cornmeal in a large bowl. Mix in yeasted water and 2 Tbs. olive oil.  Mix well with a strong spoon.  Lightly flour a clean, dry work surface.  Form a ball of dough and knead for 8 minutes until smooth.  Add only enough flour to prevent it from sticking.  Add 1/4 tsp. olive oil in a medium bowl.  Place dough in bowl and turn to coat in oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in draft-free, warm place for 2 hours until it almost doubles in size.  Chill dough in bowl for 1 hour or overnight in refrigerator.

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A version of this post first appeared in the j weekly.  October is National Pizza Month so celebrate with a homemade pizza!

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake from Dairy Made Easy

My mini bundt cake version of the cake

I often get feedback on the recipes I share in my j weekly  newspaper column.  Lately people have been raving the most about this Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake recipe.  Irony is that it is not my recipe, but written by the authors of the cookbook I was reviewing.

It was one of the recipes I featured from a new cookbook called Dairy Made Easy: Triple Tested Recipes for Every Day by Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek. The book offers contemporary dishes including soups, pizzas, pasta, sandwiches and desserts. It includes lots of helpful tips on cooking with cheese.

The recipe recommends a spring form or bundt pan, but I made my version in mini-bundt pans which was great for eating some now and freezing some for later.  Depending on the size of the mini bundt pans, the recipe will make 6-8 mini bundt cakes (each cake serves 2 or so folks). Baking time for the mini bundts is about 40-50 minutes.

For more on the cookbook, go to http://www.artscroll.com/Products/DMEP.html.  To read my piece in the j with two additional recipes (for Roasted Vegetable Pasta and Pomegranate and Apple Salad with Creamy Parmesan), click here.

Recipe below from Dairy Made Easy by Leah Schapira and Victoria Dwek. Reprinted with permission from the copyright holders: ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications.

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Cake
Serves 12

1 cup sour cream (do not use vegan, low fat or fat free)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup    butter
1 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar
2              eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups flour
10 oz.      chocolate chips
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 10” inch tube or bundt pan. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and baking soda. Sour cream should bubble and expand. Set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and 1 cup sugar. Beat until light and creamy. Add eggs and extracts. Add baking powder and half the flour. Add sour cream mixture, then remaining flour. Beat until just combined. Do not overmix.

Combine chips, walnuts, cinnamon, and remaining sugar. Sprinkle some of the chocolate-nut mixture into the pan. Add half the batter over it, then half of the remaining chocolate-nut mixture. Add remaining batter. Top cake with remaining chocolate-nut mixture. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until top is firm and crispy. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
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FYI: Since this was originally written for a mainstream media publication, the j weekly, no disclaimer is needed as per FTC regulations.

How to Find my j. Weekly Columns and More (Including Playing Jewish Geography in the Produce Aisle)

For the last five years, I have had a regular Jewish cooking column every other week at the j weekly, a print and on line publication based in San Francisco and covering the Bay area and northern California.

It is a joy to work with my editors and the publication and I get a lot of opportunity to speak to Bay area groups about Jewish food, especially some of its international roots and traditions because of my connection to the j.  I also get to talk to and share recipes with some pretty amazing folks from home cooks to restaurant owners to cookbook authors as part of the research for my j. pieces.

I also get recognized a bit, usually in the supermarket and usually in the produce aisle.  Folks will stop me and we will play "I know I know you, I just don't know how" for a bit and then it will finally dawn on me that we really don't know each other and they have just seen the photo the j prints alongside my column (see photo at left.  The j uses a cropped version of it).

I'll ask if they subscribe to the j.  Then I'll ask if they read the recipes.  If they say yes but still don't have a clue, I'll ask if they ever cut out the recipe columns and hang on the fridge. Bingo. My face is staring down at them as they work in the kitchen and I've become so familiar it seems like I'm an old friend.  

An encounter like this makes my day, to say the least.

I do often get questions from non-subscribers (you really should subscribe, it's a great paper.  For a free four week subscription to the j, click here and be sure to let them know Faith sent you!) out-of-area readers and those who have misplaced their clipped out columns how to find my recipes and other writing on the j. website. 

The easiest way to find a relatively current column is to go to my author archive at the j at

http://www.jweekly.com/article/author/959/faith/ for the last five or six months worth.  If it's longer ago than that, check out the paper's cook archives at http://www.jweekly.com/cook/archives/ and select the appropriate year.  The archives also feature the work of my co-columnist Josie A. G. Shapiro, and the columnists that came before us.

One of the great resources the j (formerly the Jewish Bulletin) offers is the recipe index where you can search my and others' recipes by ingredient (use keyword sort), holiday (use category sort), etc. 

Try it out at  http://www.jweekly.com/search/recipes/

I am always reaching out to folks with ideas for columns and recipes (I especially like to feature locals with a foodie connection, long-time family recipes, or cuisine expertise but always with some sort of Jewish connection).  If you have an idea or question for me - leave a comment on this post or email me at clickblogappetit AT gmail DOT com.

Low-Hanging Fruit --- Backyard Plums, Over-The-Fence Loquats and a Plum Clafoutis Recipe

Our neighbor's loquats

I cook, I don't garden.  I know with some bloggers you get a kind of two for one.  Not here, you don't.  To be honest, this column is about our accidental fruit.

We don't really do anything for the plums, they just grow and drop. The plums are about the size and color of a cherry tomato and they are sweet-tart. They are too small to do too much with so we occasionally snack on them, but usually they feed the birds. What I really love about them is the early Spring blooms, pale pink and white and just lovely.

The loquat branches drop over our side fence. The loquats taste like an apricot crossed with a lychee with a firmer texture and a slightly astringent skin. There is not a lot of flesh on each fruit.  Inside are two large seeds.  We don't get too many of these, since after all the tree is on the other side of the fence.

Unlike the plums, they are freestones so they are easier to eat or use in recipes.  The fruit bruises easily and you rarely see it commercially available.  I've had a great loquat vinegar (by Lulu, I think), other than that I don't know of any processed foods using them.

I have a soft spot for loquats because my sons attended a preschool with a loquat tree in the yard and they would come home splattered with loquat juice thrilled by the experience of picking and eating them.

Backyard plums swaying in breeze

If you are not fussy about pitting them, the plums would work well in a clafoutis,  just warn folks to watch for pits. Try this recipe, which is egg and dairy free, and which first appeared in the j weekly.  If you have small,  hard to pit plums like the ones at left, leave them whole and warn eaters to be aware.

The clafoutis (pronounced without the final s) recipe is very adaptable and can be made with any other fruit.  I frequently use cherries (easiest if you skip the pitting) or berries.

It's a nice brunch dish or dessert on it's own or try serving it with ice cream and or whipped cream (vegan or not).

Plum Clafoutis

Serves 6

2 Tbs. oil, plus extra for greasing pan

1 lb. fresh Italian prune plums or other small, sweet plums (about 20)

1 cup flour

3 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup unflavored, unsweetened almond milk

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8” x 12” baking pan. Halve and pit the prunes and place evenly, cut side up, on bottom of prepared baking pan.

Stir together flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in small bowl. In large bowl mix eggs, almond milk, almond extract and vanilla extract until well combined. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg one, whisking well until very smooth. Pour over plums. Bake for 50-60 minutes until firm and golden.  Let cool slightly before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

A Little Something Sweet -- Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Kugel (Kind of a Baked Custard Pudding) and Chocolate Blintzes (Plus a Bonus Chocolate Blintz Souffle Recipe)

Chocolate Blintz

I'm offering up something sweet to make up for my not posting in way too long -- some sweet dessert or brunch recipes both featuring chocolate.

Most folks know kugel as a (usually sweet) baked noodle pudding.  When I decided to give it a chocolate make over I started by making my own chocolate noodles.  They were a lot of work (especially since I no longer own a pasta machine) and while they tasted okay the texture in the kugel  can be best described as leaden.  As I searched my pantry and local grocery shelves for other options I tried various chocolate wafers and cookies.  Oreos (well actually Safeway's generic Tuxedo cookie variation) worked wonderfully and surprisingly were not too sweet and the crème-filled sandwich cookies held up well to the batter and baking. 

The Chocolate Blintzes feature a cocoa-based crepe and a ricotta filling laced with milk chocolate chips. I wanted to try the blintzes with a layer of Nutella (or other hazelnut-chocolate spread) on the crepe before adding the ricotta filling but I never got around to trying it that way. They were just too delectable this way. 

I did turn some of the leftover blintzes into a Chocolate Blintz Souffle.  If you want to try something similar see the note after Chocolate Blintzes recipe.

Chocolate Sandwich Cookie Kugel

Serves 12

3 Tbs. unsalted butter melted, divided
About 30 chocolate sandwich cookies
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
8 oz. sour cream
1 cup milk
4 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. almond extract
3 Tbs. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly brush 1 tsp. of the melted butter inside a 9”x13” baking pan. Cover bottom with cookies, breaking some in half to fill in any large gaps.

Mash softened cream cheese with sour cream until smooth. Add remaining butter, milk, eggs, almond extract, sugar and salt. Beat until smooth.

Pour mixture over cookies. Scatter 1/2 cup of chocolate chips evenly over top. Place in oven. Bake for 30 minutes. Rotate pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon then scatter remaining chips over top. Bake for additional 15-25 minutes until custard top is firm and puffy and pulling away from sides of pan. Let sit for 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature topped with whipped cream if desired.

Chocolate Blintzes
Makes 12

12 chocolate blintz crepes (see below)
1 recipe of blintz filling (see below)
1 Tbs. unsalted butter, divided
2-3 Tbs. powdered sugar
1/4 cup sour cream (or whipped cream)
12 strawberries, sliced

Lay crepe cooked side down on work surface. Place 2 Tbs. of filling in the middle, leaving about an inch margin at top and bottom of crepe. Fold top over filling then bottom. Fold one side over. Lightly moisten inside edge of last side to help seal. Fold side over crepe. Repeat. Heat large fry pan over medium high heat. Add 1 tsp. butter. When melted, place first batch of blintzes seam side down in hot pan. Fry for about 2 minutes until beginning to darken. Flip and fry other side. Remove from pan, add additional butter as needed and fry remaining blintzes in batches. Serve warm sprinkled with powdered sugar, a dollop of sour cream and sliced strawberries.

Blintz Crepes:  Add to blender 1 1/4 cups milk, 1/2 cup cold water, 1 cup flour, 1/4 tsp. salt, 2 Tbs. baking cocoa, 2 Tbs. sugar,  1 tsp. vanilla extract, 2 Tbs. melted unsalted butter and 2 eggs. Blend until smooth. Melt 1 Tbs. butter. Heat 8” crepe, omelet or fry pan over medium heat. Brush lightly with melted butter. With pan off the heat, pour 1/4 cup batter in center of pan. Swirl pan to distribute batter evenly. Fry on one side until top is set and bottom has darkened. Remove with spatula. Place cooked side down on dishtowel. Repeat, adding butter as needed. (Recipe makes a few extra.)

Blintz Filling:  Mix 2 cups ricotta cheese with 1 beaten egg and 1/2 tsp. almond extract until smooth. Stir in 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest, 1 Tbs. sugar and 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips.

Keep reading for turning the blintzes into a soufflé.

South Indian Inspired Fish Cakes and Coconut-Cilantro Chutney Make Tasty Connection to Kerala's Jewish Past

(I'm just back from my travels in India --Mumbai, Delhi, Cochin, Jaipur and more-- and plan lots of posts and photos on the trip, what I ate and what I experienced. I'm still working on those. In the meantime here's a little "taste" to get you started -- a column I wrote for the j. weekly about an exhibit about Jews in South India that inspired some recipes.)

In the display case was a brightly painted and gilded Torah ark, familiar yet exotic beyond anything I could imagine a Jewish artifact being. Nearby was an unadorned metal hanging oil menorah, simple, plain and worn. To me the two illustrated the breadth of life as a Jew in southern India. They were part of The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life’s exhibit about Jews in Kerala. The exhibit, at the collection’s Berkeley gallery, inspired me to play with some of the flavors and ingredients favored by Jews and others in that region. 

For both recipes, be sure to use finely shredded, unsweetened dried coconut. Seed the jalapeños to lessen their heat. Serve the Kerala Flavor Fish Cakes as a first course or light entrée.

Kerala Flavor Fish Cakes

Decoration from Kerala synagogue

Makes 8 cakes

4 cloves garlic
4 green onions (scallions) white and green parts, cut in thirds
1 small jalapeño, roughly chopped, seeded if desired
1” square of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 lb. boneless, skinless red snapper fillets, cut in large chunks, cold
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbs. dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut
4 Tbs. refined coconut oil
Coconut-Cilantro Chutney (see recipe)
1 cup fresh, chopped tomatoes

Combine garlic, green onions, jalapeño and ginger in food processor. Pulse until chopped, stopping to scrape down sides of container as needed. With motor running, add chunks of fish one by one until very finely chopped and fully incorporating the vegetables. Open lid, scrape down sides as needed, add coriander, cumin, cardamom, salt, pepper, eggs and coconut shreds. Close lid and pulse until combined. Open lid, scrape down and make sure everything is well mixed.

Wet hands with cold water. Shape fish into patties 2 1/2” in diameter and 1/2” thick. Heat coconut oil in a large, heavy fry pan over medium high heat until a bit of the fish dropped in bubbles on all sides. Add fish cakes, working in batches in necessary. Fry for two minutes on each side on medium high. Lower heat to medium and fry an additional minute on each side. Fish cakes should be browned, firm to the touch and cooked through. Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot, warm or room temperature topped with Coconut-Cilantro Chutney and tomatoes. Pass extra chutney.

Coconut-Cilantro Chutney
Makes about 2 cups

1 cup dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup plus 1/2 cup water
1 small chopped jalapeño, roughly chopped, seeded if desired
1 cup roughly cut cilantro leaves, packed
1/4 cup roughly cut mint leaves, packed
1 tsp. finely chopped ginger
2 Tbs. tamarind concentrate or paste (or use 2 Tbs. lemon juice)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar

Combine the coconut with 1/2 cup water and let sit for 5 minutes. Put 2 Tbs. of remaining water in bottom of blender jar. Add jalapeño, cilantro, mint, and ginger. Blend until finely chopped. Add soaked coconut (do not drain), tamarind, salt and sugar, blend again until ingredients are almost pureed, adding remaining water in batches as needed to help ingredients blend. You may need to stop the blender and scrape down the sides or mix contents and then replace the lid and restart the blender several times. Taste and correct seasoning. Stir before serving. Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to a few days.

Pumpkin Hummus Redux -- Putting This Hummus in a Pumpkin Shell Does Very Well for Thanksgiving

I love this recipe for pumpkin hummus.  It's perfect for Thanksgiving.* It's easy.  It's tasty.  It is always well received.  I've included it in recipe demos, I shared it in my j weekly column and here in Blog Appetit.

Despite how much I love this recipe, I couldn't resist tinkering.  First I thought it would do very well in a pumpkin.  Which it did -- just look at the beauty above.  Then I amped the taste by adding about 1 tsp. of smoked paprika to the hummus when I added the pumpkin puree.

Other changes:  I made sure the za'atar mix had plenty of time to soften in the olive oil before blending half into the pumpkin hummus.  I drizzled about a third of what was left over the top of the dip and drizzled the rest in batches as the top layers of the dip were consumed.

I also garnished the spread with roasted pumpkin seeds saved from when I cleaned the squash out to make the dip container.  I cleaned, rinsed and dried the seeds and then roasted with lots of sea salt and smoked paprika on a well oiled tray in 325 degree oven, turning occasionally to make sure seeds were coated on both sides, for about 20-25 minutes.

Here's the original recipe including the smoked paprika addition above. The version shown in the pumpkin is a double recipe which I served with jicama sticks and thin, toasted slices of a pretzel baguette.

Pumpkin Hummus with Za’atar Drizzle Makes 8 appetizer servings

7-8 oz. container of unflavored hummus
1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin puree (do not use canned pumpkin pie filling)
1 tsp. smoke paprika
 2 Tbs. za’atar seasoning mix (or use 5 tsp. ground oregano, 1⁄4 tsp. of cumin and 1 tsp. sesame seeds)
1/4 cup olive oil
6-8 flatbreads or pita breads

Mix hummus with pumpkin puree and paprika. In a separate bowl, combine za’atar with olive oil and stir well. Heat flatbreads or pitas in dry fry pan or griddle until warm and toasted. Either serve as a topped flatbread or dip. To serve as a flatbread, spread the pumpkin hummus on the bread, drizzle with za’atar mix and cut into triangles. To serve as a dip, stir half of the za’atar into the hummus until just combined and you can still see “streaks” of the herb oil mixture. Drizzle the remainder on top of the pumpkin hummus. Cut the warmed breads into triangles and serve with dip.
*It's also lovely for Halloween or Day of the Dead parties, or really any time!