SP Squared or Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

Ready to go into the oven

SP Squared?  I don't know why I named it that since I suspect the "math" doesn't work, but it was an appealing name for an appealing main course.  (I guess it is more like SP Doubled, but where is the pizzaz in that?) Plus, since it doesn't use lamb, it is probably more technically a cottage pie.  But I say pshaw to all that.  All of my testers have asked for this recipe. 






Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie
Serves 4-6

2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and boiled
3 Tbs. oil, divided, plus additional for greasing pan
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, divided
1 tsp. paprika, divided
1 tsp. salt, divided
1 tsp. ground black pepper, divided
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 finely chopped jalapeño (seeded if desired)
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cumin 
20 oz. ground turkey
1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a deep, 8” x 8” square baking pan. Mash sweet potatoes with 1 Tbs. oil, 1/4 tsp. of paprika, 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Slowly stir in stock until potatoes are creamy. Mix in 1/4 cup cilantro. Set aside.

Heat 2 Tbs. oil in large skillet, add onion, sauté until golden, add garlic, sauté until light brown. Add jalapeno, carrots, celery and red bell pepper and sauté until vegetables are beginning to soften. Add 1/4 tsp. paprika, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and cumin. Sauté for a minute and add ground turkey, breaking up any clumps, and sauté until browned. Add in tomatoes and 1/4 cup cilantro. Stir well and sauté until meat is cooked through. Layer the meat and vegetables in the greased pan, top with mashed sweet potatoes. Smooth top of potatoes and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tsp. of paprika. Bake until heated through and slightly browned, about 1 hour.

------------------
This recipe first appeared in my j weekly column.

Vote for the Culinary Website/Blog You Like Best

Historically, I've posted the links for several food blogging polls.  This one is from the International Association of Culinary Professionals and it is the ballot for the People's Choice award with the website urls, not live links, I'm sorry to say.  Since I don't have the relationship with IACP that I had with the other contest, I'm not reposting the links, but I urge you to check out some of these food blogs and add them to your daily information diet. Then vote for your favorite.

My Review of Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking with Slow Cooker Shredded Beef and Honey Mustard Chicken Recipes

Leah Schapira’s new cookbook, Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking: Ordinary Ingredients, Extraordinary Meals (Artscroll/Shaar Press) features kosher versions of contemporary American favorites. The book is now in its second printing after selling out its first printing of 13,000 in about a month.  Of course, you need not follow the Jewish dietary laws to enjoy her recipes.

Schapira, a food journalist specializing in kosher food, is co-founder of the popular website and recipe forum Cook Kosher . Her specialty is creating recipes that reflect current culinary trends and translating them into kosher to easy-to-make, easy-to-source dishes perfect for holiday, Friday night or even weeknight dinners. Recipe inspirations range from Mexican, Asian, Italian, Middle Eastern as well as traditional Eastern European Jewish influences and American favorites. Almost all ingredients are available from regular supermarkets.

There are lots of color photos illustrating the recipes. Small photos are used in the table of contents and to show recommended side dishes for some recipes, design features I found helpful and appealing. The recipes are clearly written, often give alternatives in preparation or ingredients, and are for the most part fuss free. When a recipe requires more technique (such as making and baking pizza), Schapira gives very detailed instructions (with photos). I especially liked her “traditional” chapter where she gives some fresh takes on symbolic foods for Shabbat and holiday dinners ranging from Beet Leaf Patties for Rosh Hashanah to Square Donuts for Chanukah.

The recipes below are from Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking: Ordinary Ingredients, Extraordinary Meals by Leah Schapira/November 2011 (www.artscroll.com/freshandeasy). I have adapted them very slightly for space and to reflect my experience.  This article and the recipes first appeared in my column in the j weekly and the recipes are used with permission.

I made the shredded beef and served it as a main course over potatoes. Serving it that way instead of as a sandwich reduced the serving size to four from eight. I have also made this dish very succesfully in a pressure cooker. Schapira’s version of the honey mustard chicken is accompanied by a photo of the dish cooked with the peppers but the recipe itself leaves the type and amount of vegetables up to the user. I liked the idea of the peppers and included them in my version.

Shredded Beef
From Fresh &  Easy Kosher Cooking
Serves 8

2 lb. boneless chuck roast
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 onion, sliced
2 Tbs. onion soup mix
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup light beer
8 buns or club rolls
Toppings as desired (such as sliced red onion, sliced tomatoes, lettuce leaves, etc.)

Place meat into the slow cooker. Top with brown sugar onion slices, soup mix and garlic. Pour ketchup and beer over meat. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 5 hours. Remove the meat. Strain the liquid from the slow cooker; discard solids. Reserve liquid. Use two forks to shred the meat, discarding any large pieces of fat. Place shredded meat back into cooker and pour half the strained liquid over it. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 20-30 minutes. Serve in buns or rolls with desired toppings.

Honey-Mustard Chicken
From Fresh & Easy Kosher Cooking
Serves 3-4

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
3-4 Tbs. oil
2 large onions, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2” strips, optional
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/2” strips, optional
3 Tbs. honey
3 Tbs. soy sauce
3 Tbs. mustard

Cut chicken into 2” strips of even thickness. Season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Add vegetables if using. Add honey, mustard and soy sauce. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until sauce reduces. (If chicken is cooked through before the sauce is reduced as much as you would like, remove the chicken from the pan, keep warm, and add back in after the sauce has thickened.) Serve over orzo or rice.
--------------------------------------
photo credit:  Artscroll.com

Lentil Stuffed Peppers, Near Eastern Bean Stew & Killer Garlic Sauce for Purim or Any Time (Plus They Are Vegan)

Queen Esther is probably the most famous Jewish vegan. That’s because she is said to have only eaten beans, lentils and similar foods while she was in King Ahasuerus’ court in order to observe Jewish dietary law.

Even if you are not celebrating Purim, these recipes are delicious, but for Purim they would be very special. The stew features pomegranate molasses for a sweet-tart flavor that is a traditional component of Purim foods to recognize the threat and redemption the Jews of Persia experienced. The stuffed peppers fulfill the tradition of having foods with a filling to recognize the many hidden intrigues and twists and turns of the Megillah (or the telling of the story of Esther).

Pomegranate molasses is available in Middle Eastern and other markets. For the lentil-stuffed peppers, the tomato and garlic sauce play together very nicely, but you can skip the garlic sauce if you’d like. If the garlic sauce flavor is too strong for you, stir in some regular or non-dairy yogurt to taste.

Lentil-Stuffed Peppers with Two Sauces
Serves 4-6

I like the lentil-bulgur stuffing piled into a pita and drizzled with garlic sauce if you are not up to making the full recipe!

8 medium-large red bell peppers
2 Tbs. oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 cup chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup dried brown or green lentils
2 1/2 to 3 cups of vegetable stock
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 cups (packed) chopped chard
1-15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup cooked bulgur or couscous
1 recipe tomato sauce (below)
1 recipe garlic sauce (below)

Cut tops and a thin slice off the bottom of the peppers to level, reserve. Core peppers. Place in dish with 1/2 cup water in bottom. Microwave on high for 5-8 minutes, until the peppers are tender. Drain. Chop scraps and tops and reserve.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add onions and garlic, sauté until golden. Add carrots, celery and chopped bell pepper. Sauté 2 minutes. Stir in lentils. Add 2 1/2 cups of stock. Stir in spices. Bring to simmer, stirring occasionally. After 10 minutes, add chard. Stir. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes until lentils are cooked, adding more stock if needed. Stir in tomatoes and bulgur. Stuff bell peppers. Spoon tomato sauce atop peppers. Bake 50 minutes. Drizzle each pepper with about a tsp. of the garlic sauce. Heat and pass remaining tomato sauce.

Tomato sauce: Combine 16 oz. tomato sauce with 1 Tbs. olive oil, 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1/2 tsp. sugar and salt and pepper to taste.

Garlic sauce: Combine 20 cloves of garlic (peeled), 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1/3 cup olive oil in a blender. Blend until creamy. You'll only need a few tbs. for the peppers, store the rest in a sealed container in the fridge for other uses. It will add zip and zing to almost everything.

Near Eastern Bean Stew
Serves 4

2 Tbs. oil
2 cups chopped leeks (white and light green parts)
2 Tbs. plus 1 Tbs. minced garlic
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups chopped turnips
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 cups chopped eggplant
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
1 1/2 to 2 cups vegetable stock
1-15 oz. can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses
1/4 cup minced fresh dill
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 Tbs. minced fresh mint

Heat oil in a large, oven-proof pot over medium high heat. Sauté leeks and 2 Tbs. garlic sauté until light brown. Add carrots, turnips, red bell pepper and eggplant. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add spices and 1 1/2 cups of stock. Stir well. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Add beans. Stir well. Cover and keep at a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetable are cooked through, adding more stock if needed. Dish should be moist but not soupy. Stir in pomegranate molasses and dill. Have broiler heated. Combine 1 Tbs. garlic with breadcrumbs and mint. Scatter across the top of stew. Place under broiler until top is browned.
-----------------------------
A version of this article first appeared in j. weekly

Revisionist Meat Loaf. It's What's for Dinner -- Stuffed Cabbage Meat Loaf and Spanish Kale and Olive Meat Loaf

Stuffed Cabbage Meat Loaf

Meat loaf. Just saying those words seems to conjure a remembrance of a specific meat loaf recipe for most people. For many folks it’s family food, not something special for company, but meat loaf is too good to not get a chance to shine, so here are two untraditional meat loaf recipes to try.

The Stuffed Cabbage Meat Loaf started with my memories of my Eastern European Jewish grandmother’s meat loaf and her stuffed cabbage. In her honor, the meat loaf has a hard-boiled egg core, a cabbage wrapping and a sweet and sour tomato sauce to top it off. This is a good recipe to use with low-fat ground beef, since the cabbage keeps the meat loaf moist.

The Spanish Kale and Olive Meat Loaf features Iberian seasonings and pimento-stuffed olives.

Stuffed Cabbage Meat Loaf
Serves 6-8

6 large, green cabbage leaves
Oil spray
1 1/4 lbs. ground beef
1 cup matzo meal
1 egg, beaten
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes with liquid
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground dried oregano
1/8 tsp. paprika
2 hardboiled eggs, shelled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Immerse leaves in pot of boiling water, cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook 4-5 minutes until the leaves are pliable. Drain. Spray large baking dish with the oil spray. Lay 2 largest cabbage leaves stem end to stem end in the center of the baking dish. Set aside.

Combine meat, matzo meal, beaten egg, tomatoes with liquid, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano and paprika. Mound half into an 8”x4” loaf in the middle of the 2 cabbage leaves. Press hard-boiled eggs into loaf end to end. Mound remaining meat on top. Drape 2-3 cabbage leaves over top of meat loaf, filling in gaps with remaining leaves. Fold up cabbage leaves from underneath to enclose. Spray top with oil spray. Bake, spraying cabbage with oil if it begins to dry out or get too brown, for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, until firm to the touch and cooked through. Let sit 20 minutes before serving. Serve with sauce (below).

Sweet and Sour Sauce: Plump 1/2 cup raisins in hot water for 20 minutes, drain. In a small pan combine raisins with 15 oz. can tomato sauce, 1 Tbs. brown sugar, 1/4 tsp. dried ground ginger, 1/8 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. ground black pepper and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Taste, adding sugar or vinegar as needed.

Spanish Kale and Olive Meat Loaf
Serves 6

2 Tbs. oil plus additional for greasing pan
1/2 cup chopped red onion
4 tsp. minced garlic
2 cups chopped kale or chard
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbs. tomato paste
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup bread crumbs
10 queen-size, pimento-stuffed green olives, cut into fourths

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 Tbs. oil in pan. Sauté onions and garlic until lightly browned. Add kale, red pepper, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Sauté until cooked. Oil an 8.5” x 4.5” loaf pan. Combine kale mixture with beef, tomato paste, eggs, bread crumbs, and olives. Put into loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until firm to the touch and cooked through. Let sit 20 minutes before serving.

----------------------------
Originally featured in j weekly.  Also featured on About.com's Eastern European food guide.

Photos at an Exhibition Inspire White Bean, Kale and Cauliflower Salads with North African Flavors

The photography show that inspired these recipes is over now, but the San Francisco Jewish Community Center's "Harissa, Honey & Hyssop: Photos of North African Food" featured the colorful and evocative the work of Nelli Sheffer, an Israeli who specializes in food photography.

The show appealed to me not just for the vivid portrayal of the food but for the life and feeling that seemed to emanate from the people in the photos with the grilled corn, roast lamb and other foods featured in Sheffer’s photographs.  (To see info on this exhibit, please go the JCC's Katz Gallery site. To read a write up about the exhibit with some photos, please see this jweekly article. For Sheffer's site, go here.)

I’ve recreated some of the North African flavors of the exhibition in several cooked vegetable salads, a feature of many of the cuisines of the region.

Briefly cooking the kale in the Kale Salad and Garlic Salad with Lemon helps tame its assertiveness. The cauliflower salad uses the Tunisian condiment harissa in the dressing. Harissa, a chili-garlic paste, is available in many supermarkets and in specialty stores. If you would like to make your own, here’s my recipe. The white bean dish features radishes and carrots, frequent ingredients in Moroccan salads.

 

Kale Salad with Garlic
Serve s 4-6

1 large or 2 small bunches of Tuscan kale (also known as dino or black kale)
1-2 tsp. minced garlic
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp., packed, minced lemon zest
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. paprika
1 tomato, chopped into 1/4” pieces

Remove tough bottom stems from kale. You should have about 12 oz. of leaves. Immerse in boiling water. Return to boil. Cover and cook kale for 2 minutes. Kale should be pliable and somewhat tender. Immediately remove from pot, rinse with cold water and drain well. Pat leaves dry with paper towels.

Blotting, rolling and slicing kale

Stack 6-8 leaves. Roll from tip of leaf to stem. Gently squeeze bundle to remove any excess water. Slice into 1/4” strips. Repeat with remainder of kale. Place in large bowl, tossing to untangle kale strips. Dry again with paper towels if there is a lot of moisture.

Combine garlic, juice, zest, oil, cumin, sugar, salt, pepper and paprika. Mix well and toss with kale strips. Garnish with chopped tomato. Serve at room temperature.

Cauliflower Salad with Harissa
Serves 4-6

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. harissa (Tunisian chili-garlic paste)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt plus additional if needed
1 medium cauliflower
1/2 cup 1/4" chunks of red onion
3 Tbs. finely chopped fresh mint
3 tsps., packed, minced lemon zest

Mix juice, harissa, oil and 1/4 tsp. salt. Set aside. Core cauliflower and cut into 1 and 1/2” florets. Steam over boiling water for 4-6 minutes until tender but not cooked through. Immediately toss with harissa mixture and red onion. Mix in mint and lemon zest. Taste and add additional salt if needed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

White Bean Salad with Radishes and Carrots
Serves 4-6

1 and 3/4 cups cooked white kidney beans, rinsed and drained (15 oz. can)
1 cup 1/4" cubes of red bell pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (white and light green part only)
1/4 cup 1/8” pieces of red radish
1 cup 1/4" chunks of carrot
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. salt plus additional if needed
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbs. finely chopped parsley

Combine beans, red bell, green onions, radish pieces and carrot chunks. Mix lemon juice, 1/8 tsp. of salt, paprika, cumin, garlic and olive oil. Combine with beans and vegetables. Stir in parsley. Taste, adding more salt if needed. Serve at room temperature.
---------------------------
A version of this post appeared in the j. weekly.

Happy New Year to the Trees - Celebrate Tu B'Shevat with Fruit, Nuts and These Recipes

Cherry and Carob Cookies

Many Jews have become more aware of Tu B’Shevat, the New Year for trees, as the practice of celebrating the holiday with Seders and special meals has become more widespread.

Tu B’Shevat begins at sunset on February 7th and continues until nightfall the next day. The holiday was used to set the age of fruit trees for taxes and other purposes. There are several food customs associated with it. One is to eat a new fruit of the season. Another focuses on consuming the “Seven Species,” foods mentioned in the Torah as being special products of Israel – wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. Some also include other fruits and nuts mentioned elsewhere in the Torah or associated with Israel.

The Seder was created in the 16th century and includes fruits that have several distinct characteristics: an inedible covering (such as citrus, pomegranates and pineapples), fruits with edible coverings but large pits (such as cherries, olives and carob), and completely edible fruits or ones that only have very small seeds (such as grapes).

Some of these Tu B’Shevat traditions are reflected in the following recipes.

Chicken with Olives and Tangerines
Serves 6

Fennel, squash, olives and tangerines combine to create a great dish for company or every day.  The idea came from having made some Moroccan orange and olive salads and really liking that flavor combo but only having Satsumas in the house when I created this.

1 1/2 cups seedless tangerine sections (such as Satsuma)
2 Tbs. grape seed or olive oil
2 lbs. boneless chicken thighs cut in 1 1/2” strips
2 cups of chopped onion
2 tsp. finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 cups chopped fennel bulb
1 1/2 cups chopped red bell pepper
1 1/2 cups of 1” cubes of butternut squash
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup pitted Kalamata olives
2 Tbs. finely chopped fennel fronds, optional

Remove any excess white pith or strings from the tangerine sections. Set aside. Heat oil in large fry or sauté pan over medium high heat. Brown chicken strips, remove. Add onion and garlic, sauté until golden. Add fennel, red bell pepper and squash. Sauté 2 minutes. Add water, stir well, cover. Lower heat to medium and let steam, stirring occasionally and adding more water as needed (do not let the pan go dry), until squash is almost cooked through. Remove lid, raise heat to medium high. Add cinnamon, pepper, salt and browned chicken and sauté until chicken is almost cooked through. Add olives and tangerines. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until chicken is done. Garnish with chopped fennel fronds if desired. Serve on top of cooked bulgur, couscous or barley.

Cherry and Carob Cookies
Makes about 24-30 cookies

These delicious, cake-like cookies are vegan. The carob adds a fruity note, but you could substitute chocolate chips if you'd prefer. Dried cranberries can also be substituted for the dried tart cherries. The cookies are very fragile when warm, plus they taste better when cool, so be sure to let them cool completely before eating.

1 cup non-hydrogenated shortening, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened plain applesauce
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup apple juice
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup carob chips
1/2 cup dried tart, pitted cherries (or dried cranberries)
1/2 cup dried, unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup walnut pieces
Oil spray

Using an electric mixer, cream shortening and sugar. Stir in applesauce, vanilla and juice. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. With mixer on medium speed, pour a third of the flour mixture into the shortening one and mix until well combined. Repeat with remaining flour mixture. Stir in carob, cherries, coconut and walnuts. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray cookie pans with oil spray. Roll batter into 1 1/2" balls. Place on greased baking sheets leaving about 2” space between cookies. Bake until cookies are golden with lightly browned edges, 15-17 minutes. Let cool on baking pans for 3 minutes and then move to cooling rack. Let cool completely before eating.

Pomegranate Juice Squares with Pineapple Chunks
Serves 4

Don't skip serving with the pineapple chunks, they are what makes the dish "come together." Canned pineapple chunks work fine for this recipe.

1 cup white grape juice
1 cup fresh pomegranate juice, cold
2 envelopes Kolatin brand unflavored kosher gelatin (see note below)
8 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained, OR 2/3 cup of 1/2” chunks of fresh pineapple
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds, optional

Heat white grape juice to a boil and keep at a simmer. Place cold pomegranate juice in bowl. Sprinkle gelatin on top, let stand 1 minute. Add hot juice and mix thoroughly until gelatin has dissolved. Pour into 8” x 8” pan. Cover and put in refrigerator until firm (4 hours). Cut into 1” squares. Combine the juice squares with the pineapple in individual dishes just before serving. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds if using. (Note: If using a different brand of gelatin, follow package directions on how to mix with liquids.)
--------------------
A version of this first appeared as an article the j. weekly.
Other posts on the holiday feature information on pomegranates and recipes for barley-olive tabbouleh salad, pomengranate fish and carob fruit nut bars.

Super Treats for the Super Bowl

Inspired by About.com's Eastern European Food Guide featuring one of my recipes (for stuffed cabbage meat loaf ),* as Super Bowl fare, I thought I would create a wrap up of recipes I think would be good choices for Super Bowl or similar get-togethers.

Here are some of my picks from past posts:

For a different dip try my Pumpkin Hummus
For a little something healthy offer up some Broccoli Slaw
Try these hot dog toppings, including a lentil chili (which would make a great stand-alone dish as well. The other toppings are tomato-onions and homemade relish. Try with my oven-roasted fries.
No one will ask where's the beef when they try these three lighter sandwiches - egg salad, smoked salmon and goat cheese with olives.
Try my version of street tacos with turkey carnitas
Potato knishes make great hand held food
Go for a  Spanish tortilla (a kind of sturdy omelet easy to cut into appetizer pieces) with a secret ingredient - potato chips
Try a five-way Cincinnati Chili
Think about having a soup bar - check out my soup listings for some ideas
My choice are Vietnamese Spring Rolls wrapped in rice paper or even lettuce - pre made or do it yourself - with shrimp or vegetarian
----------------
*Note: that meat loaf recipe has not appeared in Blog Appetit yet, though. In addition to about.com, you can find it on line j. weekly. Update: 2/21/12 - that recipe is now posted on Blog Appetit.

Ohs of Joy -- Really Good Bagels Made at Home by Normal (Well, Pretty Normal) Folks Who Know From Good Bagels

Baked plain, salt and sesame seed bagels

There are a couple of ways to approach making homemade bagels.

The first is to be determined to make great, nay legendary, bagels better than one can get locally (unless locally is near a renown bagel making bakery), using techniques perfected by bagel makers of yore (specifically Bagel Makers Union 338).

The other way is just get a bunch of friends together to enjoy the process, bake some bagels and enjoy a nice brunch.



A group of friends, Gary and I opted to be social bagel makers and had a grand time doing it. We tested two recipes. One, quite frankly, made great pretzels. Which would have been fine except we were making bagels. The other made great tasting bagels. The crust wasn’t as shiny or crisp as we might like in an ideal world, but was more than good enough. The insides, oh my, but the insides. These bagels shone with inner beauty. The bite was pleasantly chewy with just the right amount of resistance; the taste was clean with just the right amount of tang. Spread with cream cheese, slathered with butter, encumbered with lox, cucumbers, tomatoes and onions, these bagels added to the experience. 

The recipe for bagels that turned out to make a good pretzel (seriously, we were dipping the baked rings into salt and mustard) offered us ease, a quick rise (40 minutes), a dunk in boiling water and a 20 minute bake. I had the dough ready to go when our friends arrived ready to roll (or poke) the bagel dough in shape. The payoff was dense, hard bagels.

The other recipe I made the night before including shaping the bagels. They were kept in the fridge overnight and then boiled and baked the next morning. This is the batch we were in ecstasy about.

Basically I didn’t find making these bagels that complicated. You just had to follow the steps. Here are some tips based on my bagel making experience.

• Prepare to hand knead unless you have a truly heavy duty mixer. Bagel dough is stiff. It wants you to beat it up, so don’t feel guilty about pushing it around. Prepare to knead for at least 10 minutes. Think of it as working off the calories just eating one of these beauties is going to cost you. Since this dough is so stiff, be aware that if you are contemplating multiplying the recipe you’ll need forearms like Popeye and hands like a masseuse to knead more than one batch concurrently.

Teen friend's artwork from bagel party

• Recognize you are not a professional baker – you will make mistakes, but they will be delicious. I used oiled parchment paper to line the first batch’s baking trays (which some recipes recommended). I should have used cornmeal. My golden brown, perfectly round bagels stuck like an s.o.b. (son of a bagel) to that paper. What could we do? We left them on their parchment paper until the guests had arrived and could ooh and ahh over their supposed perfection. Then Gary sliced them off with a bread knife. 


• Give your bagels a good poke. Before we attempted this I read recipe after recipe and sought out photos and videos on how to shape the bagels. When I finally got down to actually shaping them I threw out all by notions of rolling out perfect rings and went for the ball and poke technique described in the recipe. Even the kids (ages 4-13) were able to shape great looking bagels. (Again, recognize you do not have your bagel making union card, so whatever gets the job done is fine, especially if you are a social bagel baker. Ignore this advice if you are attempting legendary bagels, this advice would then be heresy to you.)

• Be patient. The dough takes time to come together and absorb all that flour. It takes time to knead, shape and rise again. Boiling and baking really didn’t take that long, but you should wait until the hot bagels have cooled a bit so you can properly taste them (not to mention avoid burning hands and or tongue).

• Be skimpy with your toppings. Sprinkle perhaps a tablespoon or two of sesame seeds, poppy seeds or kosher salt over the top of your bagels. Too much will overpower the bagels. Respect the heritage of the plain bagel and the limitations of the home kitchen and do not attempt an asiago-cranberry-garlic-everything bagel. This is an abomination as per my official bagel religion. If you are an unbeliever, add your chocolate chips, but be prepared when you meet your bagel maker to answer for such transgressions.

What I would do different? I think I would play around with the boiling time (make it a bit longer) and maybe add some malt syrup to the boiling water to see if I could get a smoother, shinier crust with a tad more toothiness. (Some add an egg glaze before baking the bagels to replicate this crust, but I resisted that technique for purist reasons.) I would have used cornmeal on the baking tray (maybe with the parchment) so that the bagels wouldn’t have glued themselves to the paper and have had to be surgically removed.

I don’t like to repost other bloggers' recipes without permission and to be honest my Really Good Bagels recipe is not that different than the one posted by The Fresh Loaf blog and forum (the author who in turn adapted it from the book The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.)  Thanks to Floyd Mann, the genius behind The Fresh Loaf, for his permission to reprint his recipe. The recipe is included at the bottom of this post, or you can click here  to see it instead.

Here are the changes I made to The Fresh Loaf recipe to create my Really Good Bagels:

Sponge:
The water should be lukewarm (hot tap water).

Dough:
I used the malt syrup. This is easy to find at Whole Foods and other natural foods groceries.

Shaping and forming:
I cut into pieces slightly smaller than Fresh Loaf did – about 4.25 ounces, resulting in 13 bagels (a baker’s dozen) and 1 mini. Using a scale really helped for this process. If you don’t have one, just try to get your dough pieces as even as possible.
 

Boiling bagels before baking

 
After rolling each dough piece into a ball and letting rest for 20 minutes I used the ball and poke method Fresh Loaf did, which is basically poking your thumb through the center of each roll and then, keeping your thumb in the middle, turning the dough to smooth and even out the dough ring. Make your hole about an inch or more in diameter to resist the forces of an overnight rising and subsequent baking and remain a hole.

Boiling and Baking:



I added the baking soda to the water and boiled the bagels about 1 1/2-2 minutes on each side.
I baked them for about 10 minutes total at 500 degrees (I did not adjust the heat down as Fresh Loaf does).

Below is The Fresh Loaf's bagel recipe, reprinted with permission.

Yikes - Sorry

I am more behind in keeping up the blog than normal, but I promise to catch up soon.
In the meantime, I have written a few recipe concepts over at my all vegan all the time blog, Dish it Up Vegan.  Please click over there to see some of what I've been eating.