There are those who say that Dougie’s is passe… not what it used to be. But for those who get to chow in New York only now and then, it can really hit the spot…
I realize that everyone hip already knows all about Dougie’s, but still - I think it is appropriate to talk about our incredible meal.
In the Discussion area:
Emily O asks for help finding pareve recipes for authentic French pastries and ice cream. Read the post and respond!
(Not registered to use the discussion boards? It’s simple, all you need is an e-mail address: Sign up here)
But what about when that breakfast sandwich nixes the cheese and piles on the beef fry? Or when that delicious dessert comes after a meat meal?
The answer is a pareve biscuit, of course (and, in the latter case, non-dairy whipped topping). So, I cracked open my recently-purchased copy of Cook’s Illustrated’s The New Best Recipe to resequence their tried-and-true shortcake recipe. Switching butter with margarine (Earth Balance sticks, in fact) was an easy choice, but what of the half-and-half? In today’s experiment, I went with soy milk and two tablespoons of vegetable oil as my cream replacement. I don’t know if it’s related, but my dough seemed much stickier than it ought to have been, so I added more flour (than the 2 cups listed) to compensate.
Long story short, they turned out well for a first try: a bit crustier than a typical buttermilk biscuit, and not as thick (probably pressed the dough out too thin). They’re great warm, but we also enjoyed them after being refrigerated. In the future, I might try making them without sugar and instead with savory flavorings, like garlic and rosemary, as a main course accompaniment.
PAREVE SHORTCAKES / BISCUITS
Adjusted from The New Best Recipe, page 950
Makes 6 shortcakes
• 2 cups (10 oz.) all-purpose flour, plus more to dust work surface and biscuit cutter
• 5 Tbsp. (about 2 1/4 oz.) sugar
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt (omit if margarine is salted)
• 8 Tbsp. (one stick) cold unsalted pareve margarine, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp. pareve soy milk
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten
Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 425 degrees. In a food processor, pulse the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt (if required) to combine. Scatter the margarine pieces over and process until the mixture resembles coars meal, about fifteen 1-second pulses. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Mix the beaten egg with the soy milk and vegetable oil, and pour mixture into the flour mixture. Combine with a rubber spatula until large clumps form. Turn the mixture onto a floured work surface and lightly knead until it comes together.
Use your fingertips to pat the dough into a 9 by 6-inch rectangle about 3/4-inch thick, being careful not to overwork the dough. Flour a 2 3/4-inch biscuit cutter and cut out 6 dough rounds (KB note: used a 2-inch cutter and cut 12 rounds total, after combining scraps). Place the rounds 1 inch apart on a baking sheet, brush the tops with the beaten egg white, and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. (Dough rounds can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 hours before baking).
Bake until the shortcakes are golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let cakes cool.
Can a dish other than chulent survive the long cooking hours necessary to serve warm for Shabbos lunch? I’m not talking about warming food up on Shabbos - that’s easy enough. I’m looking for a recipe that gets put up before Shabbos. “Set it and forget it”, as the infomercial goes. My wife believes that such a recipe exists, but I’m skeptical. I’m convinced that ingredients of our traditional chulent recipe enable the long cooking times. I figure that the high-starch content insulates the chulent from moisture loss, and the fatty cuts of meat keep the meat from drying out. Our recent attempt with meatballs-in-sauce resulted in meatballs that would be called “dry and gravelly”, if I was feeling kind.
How about you? Do you have a recipe that you put up on Friday and serve for Shabbos lunch?
Nature’s Path has a new line of toaster pastries that taste just like Pop Tarts — as I remember them, anyway. Got ‘em in my local (Los Angeles) Trader Joe’s.
The Nature’s Path website lists three flavors — strawberry, blueberry, and apple-cinnamon — all available frosted or unfrosted, and all OU-Dairy, USDA Organic, and free of trans-fats.
No, it’s not a recipe for cooking Geeks…Sheesh.
For those of you who enjoyed my descent into Turducken Madness, or my description of cooking Beef Brisket for 12-hours - I just wanted to let you know that I’m working on more “food projects” to share with you. When the meat-free 9-days are upon us, I hope to write up my experiences with Plank Grilled Salmon and Grilled Pizza. When the summer is over, we can talk about Deep Fried Turkeys. Boiling oil and a propane burner can be such an exciting combination. 
In the meantime, I want to offer some interesting links for to those of you who appreciated my genius, back when I suggested that BBQ thermometers should have the ability to be monitored over the internet. (I’m actually 75% finished with an actual Internet-Connected BBQ Thermometer, and by the end of the summer, I’ll have a writeup - with another delicious kosher recipe, of course.) There’s almost always someone on the web who shares your passions, and Geek/Hacker/Cook is no exception. For your reading enjoyment:
Enjoy!
According to the New York Times, the next big thing is going to be tattooed fruit:
A new technology being used by produce distributors employs lasers to tattoo fruits and vegetables with their names, identifying numbers, countries of origin and other information that helps speed distribution. The marks are burned onto the outer layer of the skin and are visible to discerning consumers and befuddled cashiers alike.
…They are also visible to shomer Shabbat Jews, who may be wary of violating the melacha (prohibited work-like activity) of “erasing” on Shabbat by biting into or peeling such produce. As I recall, on Shabbat one may bite into a piece of cake that has writing on it, but one may not actually cut through the letters on the cake. This situation seems similar enough.
Not to give the rabbis any crazy ideas, but I can see easily some kind of ban being place on consuming these fruits and vegetables on Shabbat and yom tovim (festival days). And I’m not so sure I’d disagree with them, at least as much as it applies to cutting and peeling.
Any more info on this out there?
Cross-posted at Devarim.
The latest review from the fine folks at KosherCritic: Pikesville, MD’s Cafe 921…
Cafe 921 can definitely be considered a superior dining experience. Located in a renovated movie theater similar to the Senator Theater in Baltimore, the Pikes at Cafe 921 offers a quality meal without pressuring your budget. You might go just to grab a bite, but before you know it, the enticing smells will force you to add a few more items to your plate.
A good salami should have a little zest to its flavor and some spring to its texture. Rubashkin’s 12-ounce all-beef salami has neither. The texture is mushy and the flavor is mediocre. Choose Abeles & Heymann’s salami or cervelat instead for a much better experience.
The Jewish Ledger reports that Kosher Express, an OK-supervised Chinese restaurant, has opened in the Amity/Westville area of New Haven.
Sydney Perry, Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven executive director, added, “A vibrant Jewish community requires schools, a mikveh, synagogues and agencies which serve the elderly and the needy, a shochet and a mohel. And a kosher Chinese restaurant. With the advent of Kosher Express, which joins the kosher restaurants providing vegetarian delights, New Haven is clearly thriving. Every fortune cookie should say l’chaim.”
Kosher Express
132 Amity Road (Amity Plaza Shopping Center)
New Haven, CT
203-387-7889
Sun - Thurs: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Friday: 11 a.m. - one hour before candlelighting
Sat. night: open one and a half hours after sunset.
Alyssa Kaplan, Kosher Blog reader and proprietor of KosherGourmetMart.com, has sent in the following dispatch about the kosher products she encountered at the latest NASFT Fancy Food Show, which was held July 10-12 at the Javits Center in New York.
There are over 5,000 vendors displaying products here from all over the world. Before I went to the show, I narrowed the list down to 200 vendors that had kosher products and found even more products at the show. All items are currently available or will be rolled out in the coming months. Here are many of the new exciting products that I found and enjoyed.
My favorite vendor/product line was from Beyond Classics. They have a complete line of pasta sauces with flavors like…
Kosher Today reports this week that Kedem has bought the Kineret line of frozen kosher foods from Hain Celestial:
Kedem Identified as Buyer of Kineret from Hain Celestial
(Melville, LI) The buyer of the Kineret brand is Kedem Food Products International, it was announced last week. Kosher Today had reported the sale by the Hain Celestial Group (July 5, 2005) but did not disclose the buyer. Kineret produces such kosher ready-to-bake goods, frozen fish, latkes, and onion rings. Industry sources said that the sale made perfect sense as each company was moving in different directions. Hain Celestial was focusing on its core natural and organic brands while Kedem was steadily increasing its food lines and was now moving into frozen. The sources estimated Kineret’s annual sales at approximately $2.5 million, but the terms of the sale were not disclosed. “As we streamline our business with brand and SKU rationalizations, we are focusing on our core natural and organic brands and products. It is with mixed feelings that we sell the Kineret specialty kosher brand, even though the category is growing, since the Kineret brand was one of our first acquisitions,” commented Irwin D. Simon, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Hain Celestial Group. “I am pleased to see the Kineret brand sold to Kedem, an innovator in specialty brands, as they will bring Kineret and Kosherific to another level of success.” Kineret will be a major part of Kedem’s exhibit at Kosherfest.
In the discussion section:
Does anyone know where I can find pareve chocolate peanut butter cups? My son is going to camp and he takes his meds with those small Reese’s cups - if it’s a meat meal he can’t use them because they are dairy. HELP!
It’s turkey, so it’s gamier than chicken, and can stand to take a lot of seasoning. I used a dry rub of grated orange peel, dried rosemary, onion powder, and pepper before tossing them on the grill. Unlike beef, these guys need to be cooked through, so I used a lower temperature to ensure they didn’t get overcharred on the outside before being done inside.
The extra-lean thigh chops were moist and tasty, and we even enjoyed them cold the next day.
This week, I plan to try them again, prepared in the oven with Shake & Bake, like a pork chop. I’ll amend this post appropriately with the results.
Update: Shake & Baked them last night. Texture was nice, but the turkey’s taste was quite unplesant. I likened it to reheated turkey, which I can’t stand. (I’m sure Harold McGee has something to say about the chemical compounds created by reheating turkey meat) With enough ketchup and barbecue sauce, I managed to eat it. I guess I’ll stick to grilling.
My mother makes a great lasagna, and I’ve often tried to emulate it but with only moderate results. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve been very tasty, just always lacking something.
So, I’ve come to terms with the fact that no-boil lasagna noodles just don’t cut it. Both Barilla- and Prince-brand no-boil noodles are good in a pinch; if you have the time, though, boiling curly lasagna noodles is worth it for better texture and structure.
The right sauce is also critical. I’ve been happy with Barilla’s Italian Baking Sauce; great taste and widely available. When I have the opportunity, I pick up a big can of Frutta! Di Orto Marinara Sauce at Cirelli Foods; 6 lbs. 11 oz. of the chunky sauce will satisfy two hefty lasagnas.
Morningstar Farms Veggie Crumbles provide the final kick, imparting a meaty flavor and hearty texture to an otherwise limp pasta dish. Non-kosher diners think it’s ground beef, and kosher folks don’t suspect a thing.
And then we get to cheese. I’m a purist when it comes to cheese in a lasagna: ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella. No cottage cheese. No tofu. No muenster. Just simple ricotta, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and shredded mozzarella.
Put all that together, and you have a whopping 10 lb. of “Italian noodle kugel,” certainly more substantial than any back-of-the-box recipe.
TEN POUND LASAGNA
• 2 cups part skim ricotta
• 2 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 5 cups hearty tomato sauce
• 12 oz. (one bag) Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles
• 1 lb. curly lasagna noodles
• 1.5 lb. mozzarella, shredded
Boil lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Lay two connected sheets of paper towel over a baking sheet, and then place a single layer of noodles on towel. Cover with a sheet of wax paper, then another double sheet of paper towel. Repeat with remaining noodles, like photo above, and let cool until ready to use. If some noodles have ripped, that’s fine; use them to patch up gaps, or cut them up and eat them separately.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix ricotta with eggs, parsley, and grated Parmesan. Set aside.
Mix tomato sauce with veggie crumbles. Set aside.
Pour 1 1/2 cups sauce mixture in bottom of deep 9″ x 14″ pan. A disposable aluminum lasagna pan works admirably.
Cover with four lasagna noodles, overlapped slightly.
Spread half of ricotta mixture (approx. one cup) over noodles…
…then spread two cups sauce…
…and 1/3 of your shredded mozzarella. Repeat.
Add one more layer of noodles, two more cups sauce, and one more cup mozzarella. Sprinkle with additional Parmesan, if desired.
Wrap tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes.
Remove foil, bake for 15-20 minutes more, until cheese on top is lightly browned.
Remove from oven and let cool 20 minutes. Cut and serve, or let cool completely in refrigerator, cut into individual servings, wrap in aluminum foil, and freeze until desired.
From the Kosher Blog mailbag
I was recently in Long Island on business when on pure whim I stopped at a kosher deli and restaurant for lunch. My “PLT” was so tasty that I brought my colleagues back for dinner. For an appetizer we ordered something that had the word “derma” in it. It appeared to be pureed something - probably vegetables - in an oil or fat base, enclosed in a casing. I thought it tasted great! What was it?
Stuffed derma, also known as kishka (Slavic for “gut”), is traditionally a cow’s intestine stuffed with a mixture of grain, fat, and sometimes ground meat and vegetables. Nowadays, kishka is most commonly made with a synthetic casing, and when made at home, some people use chicken skin as a wrapping instead.
Typical filling recipes include flour, matza meal, salt, pepper, chicken or beef fat, grated carrots, and grated onions. It’s eaten plain, with sauce, or on top of the traditional Sabbath afternoon stew (called “cholent”).
What with moving house and all, I’ve been away from the computer for a couple weeks, and I apologize for the lessened activity on the blog. Of course, a special thanks is in order to sweinberger for his delicious look at smoked BBQ brisket last week.
Now that our kitchen and computer are set up once again, stay tuned for plenty of new postings. I’ll recap my search for perfect borekas, share some great recipes we enjoyed while being fed by friends during our move, report on a mysterious symbol you might see on cheeses in your local kosher market, take a look at how the Container Store can impact your kitchen (and your wallet), and reflect on a week of dining out in Boston while our home was inundated with boxes.
Plus, I’ll be adding a new category to the blog, “FAQ.” We receive many questions through the site, and we do our best to answer them thoroughly. Now, in addition to answering them by e-mail, we’ll post them publicly for all to benefit.
Can anyone please tell me if kosher "Nuoc Cham" aka Vietnamese "fish sauce" exists AT...
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