After all the sweetness on which we indulge while welcoming the New Year, I was ready for something savory. This dish —barely creamy mushroom and onion with dots of sharp blue cheese encased in a warm, pillowy roll made from hallah dough — is simply delicious. I served it as a side with fish for Shabbat dinner. It would be great for brunch or a dairy lunch or dinner in the Sukkah. Hag Sameah!
This Kugel dish is based on a recipe in a family cookbook published by the nursery school in which my oldest was about to enroll. It was a gift from a family friend whose daughters attended the school. As a relatively new immigrant from Israel, the book was a good introduction to American Jewish cuisine. This dish is delicious for Yom Kippur break fast, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, or any weekend brunch. The adjustments I made over the years to the original recipe reflect my preference for lower fat dairy products, for the nutritious blueberry, and my dislike for wasteful cooking. The original recipe calls for 16 oz. noodles. In my neck of the woods, you’d find noodles in only 12 oz. packaging. What am I going to do with the left over 8 oz. noodles? When I think about it, Steve Martin comes to mind, as the father of the bride who goes berserk in the supermarket isle when the buns in a package outnumber the burgers in one pack. I adjusted the other ingredients so I can use 2 full packages (24 oz.) of noodles. Unless I need to serve a crowd, I like to bake this dish in several smaller size pans and freeze. The 9”x9” is a perfect size for a family of 4-6. It helps with portion control.
I just finished mixing dough from four Voilà! Hallah Traditional mixes. Tomorrow is going to be busy, so I decided to prepare the dough and let it rise overnight in the refrigerator. I like working in the quiet of the night. But, just when I began, thunder started roaring outside. The storm was quite angry. I was startled few times by booming thunder and, every time, I prayed the storm will pass us without an electrical outage. At least not until I am done with mixing the dough. So far so good. Other than the faint roll of a sporadic thunder in the distance, it is drizzling quietly outside. I am glad for any bit of rain we get now. The grass is parched; the leaves on the trees are already changing their color. The drought is bringing the bambis to the front yard more than anytime I can recall. I can’t tell who’s been eating the potted tomatoes on the porch. Sometime I suspect the baby deer; other times I blame the chipmunks. It’s disappointed to see the petunias eaten, the tomatoes gone, or some other plant dug out. But I figure we have to share; they must not have much to graze on in the park. Besides, it’s the price of encroaching on their natural habitat. Short of building a high fence around the yard, there is no way to stop them. I guess some may say there is, but it’s not an option in our neck of the woods. Back to Hallah.
Perfect for a leisurely Sunday brunch. Remember the orange-almond swirl Hallah I wrote about in my last post? Well, I kept what was left from the loaf in the refrigerator, thinking it would make a heavenly bread pudding. It turned out it will end up as a French toast. Baked French toast. So easy to make! And the aroma! An out of this world blend of sweet orange, vanilla, cinnamon and smidge of nutmeg. Yum!
I would live on bread alone because I love any type of bread as long as it is fresh! Who doesn’t? A person cannot live on bread alone (Deuteronomy 8:3)? Well, I’d like to take issue with that. The reality is that I deal with a host of contingencies, but for which I probably would have. Worried about our waistline, most of us limit bread consumption. We are concerned that if we start eating bread, chances are we won’t stop. If I ever allowed myself, I would have a meal consisting of fresh bread only. With butter. Or, dipped in good quality olive oil. I’d top it off with Hallah toast smeared with butter, a layer of jelly, jam, or marmalade. Or a drizzle of honey that spells ‘I love Hallah!’ After all, it is the queen of all breads. Last Friday, I prepared two Voila! Hallah Traditional recipes. Half of the dough I braided into a 6-strand loaf of Hallah. With the other half, I went in a completely different direction. You can use any Challah recipe. Or, do it with either of our other Hallah mixes—Wholey Wheat or Simply Spelt.
Instead of dividing into small portions for braiding, I flattened the dough and stretched it into a large rectangle. I then spread some homemade orange peel marmalade all over dough (about ½ cup), drizzled some date molasses (about ¼ cup), which is totally optional and could also be substituted by maple syrup. I finished with a generous sprinkle of sliced almonds (about 1/3 cup). I then rolled the dough jellyroll-style, placed in a bread pan, applied egg wash and baked (after the rising).
My daughter asked last night for a special birthday breakfast for this morning. In anticipation of the usual Monday morning rush, compounded with a 9 am appointment, I knew I needed to have prepared last night whichever batter I was going to use in the morning. But back late from a Bar Mitzvah last night, I was too tired to start whipping something from scratch. As necessity is the mother of all ingenuity, I had one of those sweet aha! moments. I decided to use my very own versatile mix (more about this will be coming very soon) to make a pan bread my mom used to make for us, which we all devoured and asked for more. I had never made this dish, though I always looked forward for the day I will tackle it, deconstruct it and come up with a recipe that could be duplicated. My mom does mot follow recipes—she is a bit-of-this-a-handful-of-that kind of cook. So this dish was left to be as a sweet childhood memory. Until this morning. Referred to as ‘galoob,’ which means to turn over, it is a traditional Yemenite pan fried pita-like bread. It looks like a thick, large pancake, but denser. After it is cooked, you tear it into large bite-size pieces, pour samna (ghee, or clarified butter) all over, sprinkle with sugar or drizzle honey, mix and serve while hot. When my youngest came into the kitchen, he crinkled his nose at the strange odor — the clarified butter. As a child, I found it offensive to my hyper sensitive nose. The flavor, though, is something else altogether. They, too, devoured it and asked for more. I know my mom will be pleased they did.
Fish on the grill, sort of. I used a cast iron pan because I can’t find my wire fish basket and anyway, every time I grill fish just on the grids a lot of it falls through and down into the great ash beyond. Besides, cleaning a pan is a whole lot easier than cleaning the grids and/or the wire basket.
I had set out to buy and grill some tuna but saw a beautiful, thick chunk of wild halibut at the fish store and couldn’t resist it.
You don’t need anything fancy when you grill fish. I just gave it a coat of olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, put it in the pan, closed the cover (the grill was hot). About 5 minutes later I turned the fish and gave it another 5 minutes. While the fish was cooking I made an almost instant salsa to go with it. This sauce would go with almost any plain grilled or broiled fish (or baked or sauteed). I have served this with grilled chicken breasts too.
Quickie Cooked Salsa
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small serrano pepper, deseeded and chopped, optional
2 large tomatoes, chopped
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and pepper, if used and cook for another minute. Add the tomato and basil and cook for about 4 minutes or until soft. Serve as a bed for grilled fish or chicken. Makes about 2 cups
Halibut- my favorite! Goes so well with a light tomato sauce. I also use the cast iron for this kind of dish. Haven’t had it in a while. You just inspired me to make it:)
