Passover Granola Bars

Here’s a great Passover treat to enjoy with your morning coffee, or to send with your kids for a school snack. The granola bars are very soft, and benefit from being refrigerated.

Passover Granola Bars

In a large bowl, mix together:

• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. butter
• 2/3 c. almond butter
• 2 tsp. almond extract

Stir in, and combine well:

• 3 c. matzo farfel
• 1/4 c. sesame seeds
• 1/4 c. sunflower seeds
• 2/3 c. slivered almonds
• 1 c. dried cherries

Press into a lightly greased 13″ x 9″ pan. Bake for 25 mins., or until lightly browned. While warm, lightly score into bars; cut through when cool. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Makes 24 3″ bars.

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Chopped Liver

Chopped Liver

• 1-1/4 pounds of chicken livers (about 3 cups)
• 2 large onions, sliced (doesn’t have to be pretty since they will be ground)
• 4 eggs, hard boiled
• 4-6 Tbs. schmaltz (chicken fat), or olive oil
• salt to taste

Render the chicken fat until the gribenes are golden brown. Remove the gribenes and set them aside. Set aside the rendered chicken fat.

If you have a lot of schmalz, use a tablespoon or two to saute the onions and livers. Cook until the onion is soft and the livers are cooked through.

Grind the livers, onions, gribines and eggs. Add 4 tablespoons of schmalts– and more if you like your chopped liver a little more moist. Season with salt. Refrigerate. Serve an a appetizer with matzo, or as a matzo sandwich.

Schmaltz. It adds a distinctive, rich flavor to the chopped liver.

These tasty bits are the gribenes. My grandfather Max loved them. If you don't eat them all, grind them in with the rest of the ingredients.

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Passover Teiglach Recipe

Our Teiglach is served on a pretty glass plate. The family helps themselves with their fingers, pulling apart the sweet, sticky pieces.

I just made this for the first time in over 20 years. My grandmother, Mollye, in her later years, would have me come over to help make the dough and to lift the pot to pour out the hot teiglach onto the board. The weirdest step in her process is when she would go to my grandfather’s liquor cabinet, take out a bottle of bourbon, pour a little into her hands and then pat down the board. I don’t understand it—yet I do continue the tradition.

Teiglach

for the dough, combine the following and knead just until smooth:

• 3 eggs
• 2 Tbs. oil
• 1 c. matzo cake meal
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. sugar

for the syrup:

• 1 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. honey
• 1 tsp. ginger
• 2 Tbs. water
• 1/2 c. chopped pecans

Combine the syrup ingredients in a medium-sized sauce pan (an oven-proof pot if you have one). Stir, and place over a medium heat to bring it to a slow boil.

Divide the dough into four parts. Roll each out, using a bit of cake meal as you would to flour a board, into 1/2″ diameter coils. Cut on an angle into 1/2″ pieces.

Turn on the oven to 375 degrees.

When the syrup has come to a low boil, drop in the dough bits, one by one. Stir very gently, or just shake the pot a little, to cover all of the pieces with syrup. Let them simmer for 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough bits into a baking dish (or leave in your oven-proof pot), and bake for 30 minutes, giving a gentle stir every 8-10 minutes.

Transfer to a wooden board which has been lightly patted down with whiskey. Let cool completely before placing in a covered dish. Serve on a pretty glass plate.

Form the dough into 1/2" coils, then cut into 1/2" pieces.

Boil the dough for 10 minutes to set their shape.

Give the dough a gentle stir every 8-10 minutes.

Pour the cooked teiglach out onto a board to cool--but first pat down the board with a little whiskey!

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Happy Purim

Wishing everyone a happy Purim next week, with a reminder to pick up a little bag of poppy seeds for this delicacy, which I’m re-posting from last year. Please click here.

And for the cookie-dough recipe, click here.

Chag sameach!

 

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Bagels

Do you have flour and yeast in the house? Have you got a little honey and salt? In less than an hour and a half, you could take fresh bagels out of your oven.

Bagels

• 2 c. warm water
• 1 Tbs. yeast (or just use a package if that’s what  you have)
• 2 Tbs. honey (or sugar)
• 6 c. flour (I use 2 c. whole wheat flour)
• 1 Tbs. salt

Toppings:

• poppy seeds
• sesame seeds
• dried onion
• fresh garlic, pressed
• sunflower seeds

1. Using your largest soup pot, put about a gallon of water on to boil. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix the dough: In a large bowl, or in your Kitchenaid, stir the yeast and honey into the water. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so, until foamy. Stir in the salt and as much flour as you need to make a kneadable dough. Knead for 10 minutes.

3. Make the bagel shapes: Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces. Coil each piece into a section about 7″ long and 1″ in diameter. Attach the ends, and then, with your hand inside the loop, roll the seam so that the shape is even. (Alternatively, make a fairly uniform ball shape, poke your thumb into the center, and then even out the bagel shape from there.)

4. Set the bagel shapes to rest for 5-10 minutes, while the water finishes boiling.

5. Grease 2 cookie sheets with a little butter or oil.

6. Boil the bagels: Place the bagels into the boiling water. They will expand in the water so only put in about four at a time. Boil for two minutes on a side. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water, letting as much water as possible drip off of them before placing the bagels onto your cookie sheet. Leave ample space around them—if they are touching then they’ll have soggy edges.

7. Sprinkle on the toppings of your choice, or make them plain.

8. Bake the bagels for 30 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Leave room for the bagels to expand in the boiling water.

What's for supper? Last night it was toasted bagels topped with pastrami and swiss, broiled until the cheesse melted. Doug topped his with brown mustard. Served with a side of pea pods and cucumber spears.

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Bialys

Bialys were once the life-bread of Bialystok, Poland. They resemble a bagel, although the hole does not go all the way through—the depression is usually filled with minced onions and poppy seeds. Also, bialys, unlike bagels, are not boiled prior to baking. A terrific read about the history of this special bread is The Bialy Eaters: The Story of a Bread and a Lost World, where the author, Mimi Sheraton, sets out to find an authentic bialy in Bialystok, only to find that nearly all of the original bakers are gone.

This also makes an exceptionally good pizza dough. After the first 2-hour rise, punch down, let rest for 10 minutes, then shape into pizza doughs.

Bialys (makes 16)

Proof the yeast, by mixing together the following, and letting sit about 5 minutes until foamy:

• 2 c. warm water
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 2-1/4 tsp. yeast (1 package)

Add and knead for 10 minutes:

• 1 Tbs. salt
• 5 c. bread flour (I use King Arthur’s in the blue bag)

Cover and let rise for 2 hours.

Punch down the dough, divide in half and roll into two 8″ long cylinders. Cut each into 8 pieces. Let them rest for a few minutes on a lightly floured board, while you prepare the filling.

Filling

Mix together the following:

• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. poppy seeds
• 1/2 tsp. salt (preferably course kosher salt)

Shape, fill and bake the bialys:

Grease two cookie sheets and sprinkle with cornmeal. Pat the pieces of dough into flattened rounds about 3-4″ in diameter, shaping slightly higher in the middle. Place them back on the cookie sheet, cover with a towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Using a small glass or jar that is 2″ in diameter, press a deep indentation into each bialy. The glass will probably stick to your dough, so you can grease it (just dip in lightly into your filling mixture) and flour it before pressing into the dough. Spoon 1/2 tsp. of filling into the indentation.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until just lightly browned. Do not let them get dark brown, since bialys are meant to be sliced and toasted before eating.

The flattened rounds of dough at the end of their rise.

Grease and flour a 2" glass, then press into the risen dough.

These are filled and ready for the oven.

Sliced and toasted. Bialys are good with butter, cream cheese, lox, jam, or...?

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If you’re a crispy, these are for you: Mandel Bread

This is a second posting of my family’s mandel bread recipe, baking them today from my new home in Virginia.

Mandel bread is another of those Jewish staples, something that you’ll often see at an oneg Shabbat (a social gathering after temple services) or for the high holidays. They are crisp, light, butter cookies, which are twice-baked; something like biscotti but much more delicate. The name comes from mandelbrot which means almond bread. While some bakers put almonds in their mandel bread, my mother was partial to pecans. This is her recipe. If you compare what follows to her recipe card, you’ll notice that I’ve increased the salt a bit, since Ruth used salted butter and I prefer unsalted for baking.

Mandel Bread

• 2 sticks butter
• 2 Tbs. Crisco
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 c. nuts
• 1 c. chocolate chips (optional)
• powdered sugar

Cream butter, shortening and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, then add to butter mixture. Stir in nuts and chips. Refrigerate dough for two hours or overnight. Divide into eight portions. Roll each into a 1″ diameter log, place on greased cookie sheet and slightly flatten. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 mins. Slice into 1/2″ slices, turn each onto its side, return to oven until toasted. Remove and flip over the slices, returning once more to the oven until toasted a light brown on all sides. Let cool before storing in an airtight container. If you want to by fancy, dust with powdered sugar right before serving.

On a damp day, my grandmother, Mollye, would leave them on the cookie sheets in the oven to cool, so that they would stay crisp.

Ruth Gordon's recipe card for mandel bread.

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Kreplach—what’s not to like?

These are best when served right from the pan, and plopped into a bowl of chicken soup.

My mom would make kreplach every Yom Kippur. I don’t think I’d tasted one in over 20 years, but in my mind I could TASTE them, and finally I broke down and made some. With thanks to Cousin Betty and sister Maralee for helping to jog my memory, since all I had was a scrawled note of my mother’s with the recipe for the dough.

Every culture has their dumplings: pierogi, gyoza, wonton. The Jews have their kreplach. The triangular kreplach from my mother’s kitchen are made with a dough that is part mashed potato and part noodle. For the frugal-minded cook, a little piece of a leftover roast is the basis for the filling. They are first boiled, then fried, and there is nothing better.

Fry these until they are nicely browned and crisp.

Kreplach (makes about 40)

For the filling, mix together:

• 1 c. cooked beef, loosely measured, then ground
• 1/3 c. grated raw onion
• 1-2 Tbs. oil, if your meat is very dry
• 1 egg
• 3/4 tsp. seasoned salt

For the dough:

• 1 egg
• 2/3 c. flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 medium potato, mashed

Put a large pot of salted water on the stove to boil.

Using a fork, beat the egg, mix in the flour and salt, then mash in the mashed potato. On a lightly floured board, knead the dough for about a minute, adding only a little more flour as necessary. Divide the dough into two halves. On your floured board, roll into a rectangle, about 8″ x 10″. Cut into 2″ squares. Place about a teaspoon of filling in the corner of each square. Put a little water into a small dish, dip your finger, and wet two adjacent edges of the dough square. Fold one half of the dough over to meet the wet edges, then press to seal well.

Continue filling and sealing all of the kreplach.

When the water has boiled, drop the kreplach, in batches, into the boiling water, lowering the temperature so that they cook at a low, easy boil. Boil for 5 minutes, then remove, using a slotted spoon, to a cookie sheet.

In a large, deep skillet or frying pan, pour in about 1/8″ of vegetable oil. When the oil is very hot, place the kreplach, again cooking them in batches. When they are browned turn them over to cook on the other side. Remove to drain onto a paper towel. Serve while very hot and crisp, with a bowl of homemade chicken soup.

Tomorrow you will eat a salad.

Gently boil for 5 minutes before frying.

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A sweet babka for a sweet new year

A babka is a yeast-dough coffee cake, usually filled with fruit and/or chocolate. My nana made a babka each year for Rosh Hashana, which she made as sweet as possible so that we would enjoy a sweet year. I remember her emptying out jars of jam (usually leftover Passover eingie, or maybe some plum jam), throwing in some extra sugar and cinnamon, plus a handful of nuts and raisins. In her honor, I made one for my family today, and filled it with a jar of tart cherry jam, some chocolate chips, cinnamon-sugar and a handful of slivered almonds. The fun in making this is that you can use whatever filling you like.

Ida’s Yeast Dough (click for a different babka idea)

• 2 sticks butter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 packs (4-1/2 tsp.) yeast
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• the finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon
• 1 c. milk
• 4 c. flour

Filling (or that of your choosing)

• 1 c. jam
• 1/3 c. sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 c. chocolate chips
• 1/4 c. raisins
• 1/3 c. nuts

Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, yeast, salt and lemon rind. Mix in 1 cup of flour, then slowly mix in the milk, and then the remainder of the flour. The dough will be sticky. Put a piece of wax paper on the counter and then flour liberally. Turn the dough out onto the floured wax paper and roll or pat into a large rectangle—approx. 15″ long. Add the filling ingredients, reserving a tablespoon or two of the sugar mixture, and then roll up the dough. Grease a tube pan (the kind with a removable bottom). Pick up the wax paper and transfer the dough into the tube pan. Don’t worry if it’s a little sloppy. Pat it around to make it even, then sprinkle with the reserved sugar mixture. Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour. Bake at 325 degrees for 60-70 minutes, until the top is slightly browned and a tooth pick comes out clean. Cool in the pan; remove to serve.

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Gluten-free, Dairy-free Challah

For the people I love who do not eat gluten, I think you’ll really enjoy this bread. This is the most unusual dough I’ve ever worked with. It is stretchy and very thin, and is very entertaining to watch rise and then gently flow over the lip of the bread pan. It got tremendous reviews at dinner last night.

In a large bowl in your mixer, combine and let sit until bubbly:

• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1 Tbs. yeast
• 1 c. warm water

Then add:

• 3 eggs + 1 egg yolk (save egg white for brushing top of loaf)
• 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
• 3 Tbs. olive oil

Stir in:

• 1-1/3 c. rice flour
• 1-1/4 c. tapioca flour
• 2 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. salt

Beat on high for 2 minutes. Cover and let rise for 1 hour, then beat again for another 2 minutes. Grease a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan with some olive oil, and flour it using rice flour. Transfer the dough into the pan, and let rise for 45 minutes.

Very gently brush the top of the dough with a mixture of:

• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbs. honey

Sprinkle with:

• poppy seeds or sesame seeds

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 mins. After about 15 minutes, when the top gets brown, loosely place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top to prevent burning.

 

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