Matzoh and Herbs de Provence chicken?

So for Friday dinner I made... matzao chicken! I just replaced the panko with matzoh meal. It cooks fairly quickly. Put it under the broiler at about 400 and it's done when you're finished getting everything in order. It's super quick, but seems like you placed much more effort into a nice meal than in reality.

About a cup of matzoh meal (I used whole grain)
2 tablespoons of herbes de Provence
egg (to brush the chicken)
and done

I did a side of roasted asparagus and carrots (see pesach menu)

Mmm. Yummy.

Pesach

 

So my first seder went. There was, as predicted, a lot of stumbling and fumbling. The food turned out great. No major mishaps. I ended up getting into the mind of, olive oil, salt and pepper and an herb as a total fall back. The salmon was great. I surprisingly didn't over cook it. And it was nice and moist. I didn't just brush it with olive oil, I bathed it. There are a few things I would do differently like pay closer attention to some directions instead of making up fixes as I went along. And not getting my table stuck in the hallway and needing to take off the legs... yeah.... The popovers, which were the total toss up of the night were great! And the veggie kugle was tasty. Below is the menu and a few photos of the table. I forgot to take pictures of the food before candle lighting.

Pesach Menu 2011 / 5771

-Roasted carrots and asparagus -

Cut the bases off the asparagus ( you want the tips and the tender parts of the stalks) peeled and cut carrots into biteable strips, ideally about the same width as your asparagus (to even out the cooking time)...  I brushed olive oil over them and lightly salted, then generously sprinkled freshly ground pepper over them and drizzle with lemon juice.

-Rosemary roasted potatoes-*

Ingredients

3 pounds baby Yukon Gold potatoes

1/3 cup olive oil

4 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary (divided)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Slice the bottom off each potato and cut crosswise at 1/8-inch intervals, cutting to within 1/4 inch of the bottom. (You can place the potato on a large spoon so the edges of the spoon prevent you from slicing completely through the potato.)

Place the potatoes in a large bowl, add the olive oil, salt and pepper and 1 tablespoon of the rosemary and toss well, working the salt mixture in between the slices. Arrange the potatoes on a sheet pan cut side up.

Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes, until they are tender and golden and crisp on top

-Rosemary Salmon-

Ingredients

1 lemon, thinly sliced
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 salmon fillets, bones and skin removed
coarse salt to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Arrange half the lemon slices in a single layer in a baking dish. Layer with 2 sprigs rosemary, and top with salmon fillets. Sprinkle salmon with salt, layer with remaining rosemary sprigs, and top with remaining lemon slices. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until fish is easily flaked with a fork.

-Charoset, apple and pear-*

-6 fuji apples

-3 ripe pears

-11/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

1-3 tlbs honey (I tended toward 3)

2-4 tlbs sweet kiddush wine ( I used Manischewitz concord grape)

chop, chop mix and done. Next year I think I will add cinnamon.

-Matzoh Popovers-*

3 cups water

1 cup vegetable oil

1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup cake meal

2 cups matzo meal (I used whole grain)

12 large eggs

Directions

1) Put the water, oil, salt, and sugar in a saucepan, and bring to a boil.

2) Remove the mixture from the heat. Stir in the cake meal, then the matzoh meal; the dough will be very stiff. Transfer it to a mixing bowl, and set it aside to cool to lukewarm, about 1 hour.

3) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Use shortening or non-stick vegetable oil spray to grease a standard muffin tin; a standard 6-cup popover pan; or a 12-cup mini-popover pan.

4) Crack the eggs into a large measuring cup. With your mixer running, gradually pour the unbeaten eggs into the lukewarm batter. Beat till smooth; scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and beat till smooth again.

5) Scoop the stiff batter into the prepared pan, filling the cups about 3/4 full. You'll need to bake in batches; this recipe will make 28 muffin-size popovers; 15 standard popovers; or 30 mini-popovers.

6) Place the pan in the center of the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 325°F, and bake for an additional 35 minutes (for the muffin-pan popovers); 40 minutes (for the standard popovers); or 25 minutes (for the mini-popovers). Popovers should be a medium-golden brown. To check if they're done, pull one out of the pan and break it open; the interior should be mildly moist, but not soggy.

7) Remove the popovers from the oven, and tilt them in the pan to cool.

Yield: 15 to 30 popovers, depending on size.

-Miriam’s Cabbage-*

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Total Time: 80 minutes
Ingredients:

1 medium red cabbage, coarsely shredded

1 large onion, coarsely diced

2 green apples with peel , chopped

1-2 Tbsp. oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

salt and white pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Saute cabbage, onion, and apple in oil until somewhat softened (about 10 minutes).
2. Add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Simmer covered for one hour

-Honey cake-
mix

-Roasted Eggs-

-hard-boil eggs
-peel
- place on cookie sheet
 -brush with olive oil, salt, pepper
 -put in oven with veggies and wait until the edges get golden brown.

-Veggie Kugle-

from Debbie

Serves 6-8 and makes 24 muffins

1 cup grated raw apple                  1 teaspoon salt

1 cup grated raw sweet potato       1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup grated raw carrot                  1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup matzah meal                         1 teaspoon nutmeg

½ cup margarine, melted         ½ cup sugar (optional) (I do it with the sugar)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 10-inch casserole or muffin tins. (I usually use a corning baking dish.)
2. Mix all ingredients together well.
3. Pour into the baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake 45 minutes. If using muffin tins, bake 30 minutes.
4. Raise oven to 350 degrees, remove cover, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Slice and eat hot as a vegetable with meat.

Note: A food processor makes this recipe effortless. Yes, baking soda, a pure product and not a leavening agent, can be used at Passover.

-Strawberry Coconut Macaroon Pie-

I used a prepared kosher for Passover coconut macaroon pie crust 

 I happened to find at the grocery store, and then used my favorite tart filling and topped it off with halved strawberries. (about half to two thirds of a larger carton)

            Things to note, while you do not need to refrigerate… I made it the night before and well. About a third of my strawberries molded and I had to replace them with fresh ones… so while super easy to make ahead of time and quick… stick it in the fridge.

Filling:

-8oz of cold marscapone cheese. (you can buy little tubs of this amount… they keep for a long time so I often keep two in the fridge)

-3/4 cup heavy cream (whipping cream)

-1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar

-1 tsp vanilla extract (I love vanilla, so I’m a tad heavy handed there)

put all in a bowl, and beat until stiff peaks form.  Pour into crust. (If using this in a freshly baked crust.. wait until it has cooled otherwise you get a runny mess, that will reset if you put it in the freezer for a bit.) Top with berries.

Challah back!

Challah!

So I will be going back to the recipe I have used previously. This one called for vanilla and I was not a fan, I just wasn't a fan in general. The bread was a little spongy, probably not cooked all the way, but I was in a race against the clock. Otherwise it was fine, just not my taste preference. I'm a little disappointed the egg wash didn't turn out as well.

I had forgotten how hard 4 strand braiding is... really hard. I think I have done it once or twice before, and this recipe was more sticky than the one I used previously.

I'm almost done getting the kitchen pesadik, just have to clean the fridge, freezer and wash the floors. I swear whoever was in my apartment before me never cleaned the cabinets, among other things. Then onto dusting and regular house cleaning all while prepping the cooking for Monday. So much to do. No one told me that cleaning, like doing a deep clean, is hard on my back. But I should have guessed when I was getting a full body workout for like 6 hours. Yep, I cleaned the kitchen for 6 hours and I'm not done. At least it will be very clean for the rest of the year. I only burned one finger and exploded one Pyrex bowl!. Ok, to be fair to make a microwave kosher you put a bowl or cup in it and keep it going until all the water has been evaporated. I didn't watch it after setting it for 15 minutes and then.. grabbed it with a damp towel... which resulted in.. boom. No more bowl.

Challah!

When I was kneading my dough I was remembering the time I made challah before. This happens to be my second attempt at making it. The first did not go do well. I killed my yeast. Like as in not rising, not eating, not doing anything, dough did not rise at all, dead. It tasted good... sort of.

This time I actually proofed my yeasties. Thank god. They were hungry little organisms. I tried a new recipe this time, and am excited because it has a suggestion do to a slow rise in the refrigerator the night before and then throw it in the oven Friday early evening. Perfect! Get home from work braid it and chuck the sucker in the oven and make the rest of dinner and have fresh bread. Perfect for people who have no lives outside of work such as myself.

I decided on the menu for Pesach. One thing to note; it's going to be a parve/dairy dinner since we have a vegetarian.

-rosemary roasted potatoes

-rosemary salmon

-Charoset (apple and pear) 

-matzoh popovers
-Miriam's Cabbage

-Roasted carrots and asparagus

-Honey cake

-Strawberry marscapone cream pie with a coconut macaroon shell (pie shell was a total impulse by at the store and I had to figure out how to fill it...

-Veggie kugle from Debbie

-Parve Matzoh Ball soup (my friend is making and bringing this)

The eggs for roasting are all hardboiled and now I need to get as much prepped as I can on Sunday... Monday is getting really really close...

Dinner!

Hosted my first larger dinner. I'd say it was a success. The fish was a little over done, but not terrible. Still moist. I poached it before frying and glazing with the sauce in Mirin, sweet saki, and water. Turned out great. And pie is always good. Mmm pie. The wine was good. There was a good variety of whites and some new kinds which I have not tried before.

I love ginger halibut. I ended up putting in a little more red pepper flakes and ginger than the sauce called for, and I also doubled it. I will post it tomorrow, as I am just too tired to get up and get the card where I have it written down. Udon noodles are the way to go.

Challah is going to be prepped tomorrow night for Friday evening baking and then there is going to be a lot of pre Pesach cooking, well and cleaning this weekend. Oh boy. I'll be stumbling through a seder on Monday, yikes. It may be BYOH, bring your own haggadah. Ha, we'll see how this goes.

To all my KLP's out there, good luck with the pre chametz ban cleaning.

We ate the fish too quickly to take photos, but here's everything else :)

Back in Action!

So the beginning of the year was not conducive to either cooking or blogging. I had a back relapse, swine flu, and am now getting over a twice broken toe. (pun intended.) 

So my sister came to visit and we ended up cooking a lovely meal of lamb chops, roasted asparagus, carrots, and my forte, garlic mashed potatoes with parmesan. For you new readers, I have an unnatural love of potatoes, and dairy. Salad, bread, and wine were included in the meal.



I also had the fortune/misfortune? of accidentally purchasing three bags, or 12 pounds of oranges. Yep, thought I was buying three oranges, not three bags. I love oranges, but one person can only eat so many. So I dangerously logged on to the Macy's website looking for a hand juicer, found one with and an attached class cup! When I went to get it, it was not at Macy's, but in addition to having a sale on juicers, they had a 30% off all home items in addition. So I walked away with the Cuisinart Citrus Juicer. Seriously amazing. 

I finally got around to juicing my heart's content today. 1, 3 lb bag yields about a pitcher of juice. Look at the difference from store bought! And it tastes amazing too! I'm going to have to host brunch at my apartment this summer complete with fresh orange juice.


Upcoming cooking is bread, and it is my turn to host dinner for a dinner club with a few friends. On the menu is:


-Romaine and spinach salad with apples and candied pecans
-Ginger Glazed Halibut with noodles-Roasted Carrots and Asparagus
-Apple Pie 


Yep... Three bags