Entrée

Latkes

  • 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
  • 1 med onion
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ cup flour
  • oil for frying

Peel potatoes and shred. Promptly place in water to barely cover. Peel onion and shred, add to potatoes. Drain mixture, then place in towel and squeeze out excess liquid. Place potato/onion mixture into bowl, add flour and toss to combine. Beat eggs with salt, then add to potato/onion mixture. Using generous spoonfuls of the mix, fry in hot oil until crisp on each side. Hold completed latkes in warm oven while frying the remainder.

Course: 

Recipe type: 

Lukchen Kugel

Serves 18

  • 16 oz low-fat cottage cheese
  • 16 oz sour cream
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 5 eggs, beaten
  • ½ cup butter, melted
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 1 pkg (12 oz) egg noodles, cooked, rinsed, and drained
  • 1 Tbsp cinnamon sugar

Stir together cottage cheese, sour cream, sugar, eggs, butter and vanilla. Combine with noodles and put into 13X9 baking pan. Dust with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350°F for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until center is set.

250 calories, 12g fat, 8g protein, 27g carbohydrate, 1g fiber per serving.

Course: 

Recipe type: 

Macaroni and Cheese

Serves 2 (multiply recipe to serve more)

  • ¼ pound macaroni
  • ¼ pound (1 cup) shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • ¼ tsp salt

Cook macaroni according to package instructions. Meanwhile, prepare the cheese sauce:

Heat the milk in the microwave for 1 minute per cup to warm it (this step is optional, but it speeds the rest of the recipe). Melt the butter, add the flour and cook over medium heat briefly until the flour is partially cooked (but do not let it brown). Add the milk, cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring all the while, until the mixture starts bubbling and thickens. Take off the heat, mix in the cheese, and let it stand until the cheese melts. Mix again until well- combined, add salt to taste, and combine with the drained, cooked macaroni.

Course: 

Recipe type: 

Manhattan Seafood Chowder

  • ½ fennel bulb
  • 1 medium red onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 parsnips
  • 1 red pepper
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 6 slices of bacon chopped in small pieces
  • 3 ounces of chopped chorizo sausage
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 large shallot finely chopped
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • ¾ cup white wine
  • 3 cups tomato juice
  • 3 cups fish stock (or chicken stock if you prefer)
  • 3 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tsp fresh thyme
  • 2 tsp marjoram
  • Salt and pepper to season
  • 1 ½ to 2 pounds of seafood of your choice, cut into bite sized pieces
  • 3 chopped Roma tomatoes

Chop vegetables (fennel, onion, carrots, parsnips, red pepper and celery) into bite-sized pieces. Toss the vegetables in 3 tbsp olive oil, season in salt and pepper and bake in a single layer on a cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes at 375° F or until the vegetables are slightly browned and fork tender. Turn the vegetables once during cooking.

In a sauté pan, cook to crisp the bacon, add chorizo near the end. Drain off the fat and deglaze the pan with some of the soup stock and add to the soup pot when adding the bacon and sausage.

In a large pot sauté garlic and shallot in olive oil. Add wine, boil gently until reduce to about half the volume. Add the roasted vegetables along with previously cooked bacon and sausage. Add rest of the ingredients (except for the seafood and Roma tomatoes). Simmer very gently for 20-30 minutes before adding seafood and Roma tomatoes. Simmer gently for another 5-10 minutes until the seafood is done.

Any combination of shrimp, salmon, halibut, cod, mussels, clams all work well. Remove bay leaf. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh chopped Italian parsley or dill. Personally, if I am adding shrimp and scallops, I prefer to pan sear these separately and add them to the chowder bowls when serving.

Course: 

Recipe type: 

Maple Bourbon Spare Ribs

Makes 2½ cups marinade

  • 1 cup pure maple syrup
  • ½ cup bourbon
  • ½ cup vinegar (mix balsamic and regular)
  • ½ cup grapefruit juice
  • 1 Tbsp grated grapefruit zest
  • 1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • ¼ cup soy sauce
  • ½ tsp Mapeline
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke
  • spare ribs

Combine all. Marinate 6–8 hours. Drain (reserve marinade).

Set reserved marinade in a large pan (it will foam up a lot at first) and simmer while the ribs cook. By the end of the whole process, the marinade will be thick when cooled.

Bake ribs dry (covered in foil) for at least 45 minutes at 325°F. Drain fat, then bake uncovered for at least 45 more minutes, basting frequently. Serve with remaining marinade as sauce.

Alternatively, you can finish the ribs (after the dry baking) on a covered grill, with hickory chips for more smoke flavoring. Brush with marinade during last few minutes only.

Course: 

Recipe type: 

Meat Loaf

serves 6

  • 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
  • ½ onion, chopped
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 6 oz. can V-8 juice
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup oatmeal (see note)

Mix all ingredients well with clean hands. Put in a loaf pan and shape as loaf of bread. Bake in pre-heated 375°F oven for about 1 hour 20 minutes.

Note: use quick-cooking oatmeal. Can substitute for oatmeal: bread crumbs, matzoh crumbs, or saltine cracker crumbs.

Course: 

Recipe type: 

Minestrone

Serves 8

  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 2 cups chopped celery
  • 5 carrots, sliced
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 4 cups tomato sauce
  • 2 Tbsp red wine
  • 1 cup canned kidney beans, drained
  • 1 (15 ounce) can green beans
  • 2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
  • 3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
  • 1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
  • 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • ½ cup seashell pasta
  • 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Over medium-low heat in a large pot, heat olive oil and sauté garlic for 2–3 minutes. Add onion and sauté for 4–5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, sauté for 1–2 minutes.

Add chicken broth, water, tomato sauce, and red wine, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 40 minutes.

Cook pasta in separate pan according to package directions, and drain.

Place 2 Tbsp cooked pasta into each serving bowl. Ladle soup on top and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Note: the fresh herbs make a huge difference in this dish. Dry is a poor substitute.

Course: 

Recipe type: 

Moo Shoo Pork in Tortillas

Serves 4

  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vegetable oil
  • 1 pound pork loin
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 16 ounces broccoli cole slaw mix
  • 1 ounce dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and drained
  • 10 ounces mushrooms, sliced
  • 10 ounces cabbage, shredded
  • 3 green onions, sliced
  • 12 flour tortillas
  • hoisin sauce
  • ⅓ cup soy sauce
  • 1/8 cup dry sherry
  • 1 ⅓ tsp fresh ginger, grated
  • ⅔ tsp sugar

Make stir fry sauce with soy, sherry, ginger, and sugar.

Stem and thinly slice shiitake mushrooms.

Toss pork with cornstarch in medium bowl. Heat large deep skillet or wok over high heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil and heat until shimmering. Add pork to skillet and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 3–4 minutes. With slotted spoon, transfer to clean bowl.

Add remaining 1 tsp oil to skillet. Add garlic and cook 15 seconds. Add vegetables and stir fry sauce to skillet. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender-crisp, 5 minutes. Return pork to skillet and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle with green onions. Makes 8 cups.

Heat tortillas, serve mixture on tortillas that have hoisin sauce on them.

(Can use coleslaw mix instead of shredded cabbage.)

Per serving: 926 calories, 24g fat, 38g protein, 137g carbohydrate, 10g fiber, 2.5g sodium.

Course: 

Recipe type: 

Mussels with Fennel and Tomato

Serves 4

  • ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 5 large cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 bulb fennel (with some fronds), halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 medium carrots, very thinly sliced
  • salt
  • pepper
  • ¼ cup dry vermouth
  • 1 28-oz can diced plum tomatoes
  • 2 tsp fresh tarragon, roughly chopped
  • 2 pounds mussels

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pan (e. g., chicken fryer) over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and fennel; cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add the carrots, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook another 4 minutes. Add the vermouth, boil down the wine, then add the tomatoes and tarragon. Cover the pot and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse the mussels, remove the beards (if any), and discard any that do not close after being handled. Also discard broken-open ones. Once the vegetables are tender, turn the heat to high, add the mussels, and steam 3 to 5 minutes, or until most of the mussels have opened. About half-way through, remove to the serving bowl the ones that have already opened. Once done, move all the mussels (discard the unopened ones) to the serving bowl, along with the sauce. Serve with bread.

Per serving: 425 calories, 19 g fat, 30 g carbohydrates, 30 g protein, 6 g fiber.

Course: 

Recipe type: 

Pages

Subscribe to Entrée