Salmon Under Fur Coat

Over the summer a friend of ours from Russia brought the above dish as a contribution to our BBQ. Traditionally, it's "Selyodka Pod Shuboy" or "herring under fur coat". However, in this case our friend thought the American palate would be better pleased by "smoked salmon under fur coat". It was delicious, with carrots, potatoes, beets and mayo making this a superb summer salad. Try this recipe to make it yourself.

Secret Ingredient - Sour Cream in Pasta Sauce

Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper pasta with spicy mushroom eggplant sour cream sauce.

I started out thinking I would make a stir-fry. Then I remembered I had Trader Joe's lemon pepper pappardelle so I decided to make an olive oil sauce. After sauteing the mushrooms, eggplant, onion and garlic and adding spices, butter and olive oil, the dish looked like it would be so good with some cream. While I didn't have any regular heavy cream, I noticed there was a small container of sour cream left over from our last nacho-fest. Hmmm... will this work?! I started off adding just a bit of sour cream and after tasting it to ensure that it wasn't ruining the dish, I added in the rest (probably about 1/2 cup total). This turned out to be a great dish, mostly because of the sour cream and the terrific pasta - another winner from TJ's.

The sauce in formation.

Amy's Lasagna and Peach/Blueberry Cobbler

Lasagna - the finished product.

First, the sauce.



The filling, with mushrooms.



Ready for dinner!

Amy's Lasagna

1 lb. Ground beef or turkey OR chicken, cooked and cut into strips or cubes (or use thinly sliced eggplant, squash or zucchini to make vegetarian lasagna)

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves (or more) garlic, minced

2 cup mushrooms (any variety), divided (if desired)

1 can stewed tomatoes

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1-2 cups tomato sauce, more if you like it juicy

2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed

1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

9 dried lasagna noodles

2 beaten eggs

1 2 lb. Container of ricotta cheese (regular or part skim)

1 10-oz. Package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained

3 cups mozzarella cheese

1 cup parmesan cheese (the fresher kind in the dairy case)

Make sauce by cooking onion, meat, 1 cup mushrooms (if desired) and garlic in a large frying pan. If you are using a lower grade cut of meat, strain the fat. Stir in stewed tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, tomato sauce, basil and oregano. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. At the same time, cook the noodles for 10-12 minutes or until tender but still firm. Drain them and rinse with cold water. Set aside. For filling sautee the remaining 1 cup mushrooms in oil or butter. Combine the eggs, ricotta, spinach, sauteed mushrooms and ¼ cup of the parmesan. Put a couple of tablespoons of the sauce mixture in the bottom of a deep rectangular baking dish or divide to make several smaller dishes. Layer three of the noodles on top, followed by 1/3 of the filling, 1/3 of the sauce mixture and 1/3 of the mozzarella and the remaining parmesan. Repeat until all 9 noodles are used up. Allow for a generous layer of cheese on top. Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes or until the cheese bubbles and browns. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before baking.

Fruit Cobbler

Ever since my mom suggested it when we were in the mountains, I have been making summer fruit cobblers using this recipe. You can use any combination of fruits you like, but I am partial to peach blueberry. I cut the sugar in the fruit by half (only 1/2 cup instead of a full cup) and add several teaspoons of vanilla to the batter. Also, I use regular flour and add about 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder (instead of the self-rising flour). It's great by itself or with ice cream!

Boiling the fruit.



The cakey cobbler.



Yum! Ready to eat.

Lamb of Leg

Ready to roast!

For the UUCA Passover seder, I made roasted leg of lamb for my side dish. I used this recipe, although I smeared a mustard garlic aioli instead of the grainy mustard. I ended up having to cook it quite a bit longer than the recipe specified, although I turned down the temperature after the hour was up. The flavor turned out great and it was fun sticking the garlic and rosemary into the meat.

Passover 2009

Matzoh - what it's all about!

Seder plate.

I attended two Passover seders this year, one at the home of a family friend and the other at the UUCA. I was lucky enough to recite the Four Questions in Hebrew at both events! The dinner prepared by family friends was truly delicious, especially the lamb and the homemade macaroons (recipe below).

Gefilte fish, ordered from a local Jewish deli.

Joanne's fabulous matzoh ball soup.

Lamb with spinach and brussels sprouts.



Passover cake with berries and whipped cream.

Homemade almond macaroons.

Sephardic-Style Macaroons
From The New York Times Passover Cookbook - adapted from Eva Capsouto

3 cups (15 oz) blanched almonds
1 cup sugar
3 large egg whites
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

If necessary blanche the almonds by putting them in boiling water for 2 minutes. Remove, drain and peel. When cool, grind them in a food processor. Preheat the oven to 325. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, mix the ground almonds, sugar and egg whites. Drop from a teaspoon onto the cookie sheets, leaving 1/2 inch between macaroons. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until light brown. Dust with confectioners' sugar when cool. Makes two dozen macaroons.

Red Snapper - a healthy and delicious recipe

From my Grandma Sarah, I learned how to make this delicious sauce that is tasty over any fish or on chicken as well. Chop 1 green pepper, 1/2 onion, and as much garlic as you'd like (I used about 10 cloves) and combine with a can of diced or stewed tomatoes (or chopped fresh tomatoes if they're in season) and sautee over medium heat in a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add sun dried tomatoes if desired as well as salt, pepper and any other spice you'd like to try. Arrange the fish in a baking dish (I always put aluminum foil in first to avoid a messy cleanup) and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over fish and bake at 350 until the fish is cooked. The length of time will depend a lot on the thickness of your fish. For this red snapper, which was quite thick (bought frozen from Trader Joe's), it took about 40 minutes. I served this with quinoa and it turned out well. Somehow I neglected to take a photo of the finished product. Just think of the second photo on top of the first!

Red snapper fillets, defrosted and sprinkled with pepper and sea salt.

Sauce for the snapper.

Roasted Corn and Spinach Soup - with a kick!

I've had a bag of Trader Joe's fire roasted corn sitting in my freezer for awhile, so I decided to put it to use in a soup. It turned out really well, although the green color may be off-putting to some. I really only added the spinach to increase the nutrient factor and it would probably be just as tasty (albeit not as healthy) without it! I did not measure the spices so try a small amount and then add more. I ended up making it spicier than I realized with the cayenne pepper, but I love spicy food so it was all good. I also wanted to add a few cloves of garlic, but I didn't have any on hand. I will certainly add in the fresh garlic next time I make this.

Amy's Roasted Corn and Spinach Soup

olive oil to coat the bottom of a soup pot or dutch oven

1 medium white or yellow onion, roughly chopped

1 bag Trader Joe's fire roasted corn (frozen)

10 baby carrots

1 bag fresh spinach (mine was also Trader Joe's brand)

1/2 cup milk

water

salt and pepper to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

few shakes of garlic powder

2 tablespoons honey

Cook the onion in the olive oil until tender. Add the corn and stir until corn is no longer frozen. Add carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the milk and enough water to cover the vegetables. I did not measure the water but I used very little. You can always add more water so don't overdo it. You can use all milk or no milk if you'd like to make it vegan. Add the spinach and stir until it cooks down into the mixture. Add salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, honey and other spices to taste. Here I would have added whole garlic cloves, peeled and ends chopped off if I'd had any around. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Cool. If desired, put in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Enjoy!