Beef tonque with pink horseradish sauce

Beef tongue with pink horseradish sauce
Many years ago it was a delicatessen in any table, especially Jewish one. We used to eat beef tongue only (exclusively) for Holidays. It goes very well with any veggie salad.
1 beef tongue
Salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon pink horseradish
Pink horseradish is available in all Russian stores, if you can not find, please add a 1/2 teaspoon of tomato paste to regular horseradish.
Place the tongue in a soup pot with the salt, and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until the outer skin begins to peel off, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Peel off the thick outer skin, cut, and serve.
Mix mayonnaise, mustard, and horseradish and serve along with tongue.

Вареный говяжий язык с розовым соусом.
1 говяжий язык
соль по вкусу
2-3 столовых ложки майонеза
1 чайная ложка горчицы
1 чайная ложка розового хрена (если нет, то добавить 1/2 чайной ложки томатной пасты к белому хрену.)
Положить язык в глубокую суповую кастрюлю, добавить воды, чтобы покрывала язык, закипятить и варить до того момента пока внешняя шкурка не будет легко отделяться, приблизительно 2 &1/2 - 3 часа. Готовый язык, вынуть из кастрюли, очистить от внешней кожуры, дать остыть, нарезать на порционные куски и подать с розовым соусом.
Для соуса смешать майонез. горчицу и хрен.

Fresh Cherry Gallette

Fresh Cherry Galette

Makes 4 portions.
1/2 package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury) - 1 disk
3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 1/2 cups pitted fresh cherries (about 1 1/4 pounds)
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
Preheat oven to 400F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Unroll pie dough onto parchment, and roll to a 12 1/2-inch circle. combine 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, stirring wuth a whisk. Sprinkle cornstarch mixture over the dough, leaving 2-inch border.
Combine cherries, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, rind, and juice; toss well to coat. Arrainge cherry mixture over dough, leaving a 2-inch border. Fold dough border over cherries, pressing gently to seal (dough will only partially cover cherries). Brush edges of dough with buttermilk. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar over cherries and edges of dough. Bake at 400F for 25 minutes ot until dough is browned and juices are bubbly. Remove from oven; cool on pan at least 20 minutes.

Французская галета с черешней или вишней

На 4 порции

Галета - французский термин, обозначающий любой круглый,плоский торт,выпеченный не в форме,а на противне. тесто может быть дрожжевым или простым пресным, как в данном случае. Галета может быть сладкой или острой, с начинкой из джема, орехов,мяса или сыра,а также фруктов...Это довольно грубоватые на вид торты подают во Франции в деревенских бистро и на фермах к ужину.

1 диск теста из пакета с замороженным тестом для пая (фирма Pillsbury)
3 столовых ложки сахара
1 1/2 чайной ложки кукурузного крахмала
3 1/2 чашки черешни или вишни без косточек
1/2 чайной ложки свежей лимонной цедры
2 чайные ложки лимонного сока
1 1/2 столовыe ложки кефира
1 столовая ложка крупного сахара (turbinado)
Нагреть духовку до 400Ф.

Приготовить лист пергаментной бумаги. На него положить и развернуть тесто. Раскатать тесто в круг диаметром около 25-30 см., присыпав стол и тесто небольшим количеством муки. В небольшой миске перемешать 1 столовую ложки сахара и 1 1/2 чайных ложек кукурузного крахмала. Посыпать смесью тесто, оставляя от края 4-5 см на бордюр. Добавить в вишню 2 столовых ложки сахара, цедру и лимонный сок. Перемешать и выложить на тесто, оставляя 4-5 см на бордюр. Завернуть края теста, частично покрыв вишню. Смазать край кефиром и посыпать крыпным сахаром. Выпекать в духовке 25 минут. Вынуть из духовки и остудить в течении 20 минут.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light

Cashew Curry Shrimp Salad

Cashew Curry Shrimp Salad

This recipe adapted from magazine "Diabetes & you", summer 2012, available at all Walgreen stores. Yiddishe mama is diabetic type II. Moreover she does not like shrimps. she was so skeptical about my attempt to make the salad, but... She loves it.  Can of shoestring potatoes is available in any American supermarket in snaking aisle. It's a quite fulfilling salad, therefore you can not eat too much of it. It's good for family brunch or potluck.  

Curry Dressing
1/2 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemons juice
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Salad
1 cup frozen sweet peas
1 package (12 oz) frozen cook deveined peeled shrimp, thawed, drained, tails shells removed
2 medium stalks celery, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red onion, finely shopped (my addition)
1 1/4 cups shoestring potatoes
1/2 cup cashew halves
1 head Belgian endive (optional)

In a small bowl, mix all dressing ingredients.
Cook and drain peas as directed on a bag. Rinse with a cold water; drain. In medium bowl, place shrimp, celery, onion and peas. Add dressing, toss to coat. Cover; refrigerate at least 2 hours to blend flavors.
Just before serving, gently stir shoestring potatoes and cashews into shrimp mixture. Arrange endive leaves, pointed ends out, around edge of medium serving platter. Spoon shrimp mixture into center of platter.

Caprese Salad

Caprese Salad

It's a quick and classical Italian dish, which I make often in a summer after work. I'm  the biggest fan of mozzarella and ricotta cheese and use them a lot in my cooking. I think, it's a good addition to our very Americanized menu. I wish all of you to use such great Italian ingredients in your cooking.
Serves 4

6 large ripe tomatoes ( I used cherry tomatoes)
4 balls mozzarella
Bunch of fresh bazil
Good quality olive oil
Fine sea salt
Freshly groupd black pepper
Good quality balsamic vinegar

Slice tomatoes nice and thing, and do the same with the cheese. Arrange on a large serving dish. Rip the basil leaves (I shopped nicely) and sprinkle them on top of tomatoes and cheese. Drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the salad, and season with a bit of salt and black pepper.
I mixed the salad to bring all flavors together.

Салат-каприз

Это быстрый и полезный итальянский салат, который я делаю после работы. С моцареллой и рикоттой я познакомилась в Америке. Много лет тому назад в Советском Союзе об этих сырах никто ничего не знал. Теперь уже не представляю свою кухню без этих сыров. Я даже делаю тесто для пирожков с яблоками из рикотты.  Надеюсь, что Вы будете использовать это сыры на Вашей кухне.

На 4 порции
6 больших спелых помидор
4 средней величине шарика свежей моцареллы
Небольчой пучок базилика
Оливковое мало
Морская соль
Черный перец
Бальзамический уксус

Порезать помидоры на тонкие полукольца (я брала маленькие помидоры). Тоже сделать с сыром. Положить помидоры и сыр на тарелку. Мелко нарезать базилик и посыпать сверху. Посыпать солью и перцем и побрызгать оливковым маслом и уксусом. Дать постоять. Я перемешала все вместе, чтобы салат почился сочным.
Recipe adapted from "LA Cucina Italiana" magazine.

Fish in aspic

Fish in aspic (Ryba Zalivnaya)

It's a very old and very traditional Yiddish dish. It was made by my mom according to a recipe from her mother-in-law Ronya.

1 (6-lb) whole bass fish (with skin), gutted and cleaned, head and tail left intact. If you don't have a long pan for cooking, cut into a big pieces (see the picture).
1 large onion, cut into thing round slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 small red beets, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch round pieces
cold water
2 bay leaves
1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Salt to taste
1 package of gelatin (2 1/2 teaspoons (7g) unflavored gelatine)
3-4 fresh parsley sprigs for decoration

Wash bass inside and out and sprinkle inside with salt.

Pour olive oil on a frying pan. Heat the skillet on high until the oil is very hot but not smoking. Add half of the onions all at once and reduce the heat to low-medium low. Using a spatula, turn (toss) the onions so that all the pieces get some oil on them. Continue to turn the onions with the spatula about every 2 to 3 minutes. Cook until onion is translucent. Remove the onions, turn off the heat and cool a little bit.

Place second half of the onions, carrots, and beets on the bottom of the pan. Add fried onions, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Place fish pieces on a top of vegetables. Add water enough to cover all pieces. Bring to boil, partially covered, over the high heat. Check for salt and pepper (Add as need it.) Reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Pour 1 cup of broth through a sieve into a small bowl. Add gelatin and mix very well.

Lift fish pieces out of broth and drain well, then transfer to a large long shallow fish plate and chill for 10-15 minutes. Pour gelatine mixture over the fish. If it's not enough to cover all fish use liquid from the pan. Use carrots and parsley to decorate a dish. Chill fish, uncovered. Put in refrigerator for several hours. Take out before serving.

Cooking class with Michael Natkin

I was invited to a book presentation with Michael Natkin, who is an author of new vegetarian cookbook "Herbivoracius". He was in Minneapolis on June 6, 2012. I really like his book full of new ideas and recipes. In a near future, I will try some of his recipes and, hope, to post on my blog. His book is the excellent resource for learning and experimenting. Moreover, all of his recipes are absolutely healthy. In our time it's quit important. I hope, some of you will express interest to his book and read through.

Cooking class with Zehorit

As I promised, yesterday I went to a community cooking class. The class was offered by local branch of AISH with a tremendous help of  local chef Zehorit Heilicher. First of all, I have to thank you all organizers, who worked tirelessly to put together this delicious event, which is quite rare in our community. For a second, I would like to share with all of you some recipes from this event. The recipes were created by Zehorit Heilicher specially for the event and, believe me, they are delicious and very healthy. All recipes use only kosher ingredients. I hope, you will enjoy them as I did. I wish we would have more delicious events like this one. Definitely we need a cooking class for Jewish men.

Tomato-Eggplant Platter
Serves 6-8
3 slender eggplants, sliced into 1/4" circles
8 large tomato, sliced the same
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
In a large frying pan heat 1/4 cup olive oil. Lightly fry each slice of eggplant until golden brown. Place on paper towel covered plate to cool. Repeat with the rest of eggplant slices, adding more oil as needed. On a non-reactive platter, place slices of eggplant interchanging them with tomato slices. Whisk together vinegar, olive oil and chopped garlic. Season slices with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle over tomato and eggplant slices. Serve at room temperature with thin baguette slices.

White bean & sage "Hummus"
Serves 6
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (save liquid)
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium garlic cloves, diced
2 tablespoons fresh sage, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper
In a large saute pan, heat olive oil then cook onions until translucent over medium high heat. Add garlic and saute until fragnant; add beans and sage then season with salt ans pepper. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook beans, stirring often, for 5 more minutes. Take beans off heat and set aside to cool.
Place cooled beans, onion and sage in a food processor. Add lemon juice. Puree beans until smooth and creamy, taste and adjust seasoning. (if too thick, add some of reserved canned liquid).

Herb & dried fruit couscous pilaf
Serves 6
1 package couscous
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped fime
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped fine
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped fine
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
Salt and pepper
Optional 1 medium sweet red pepper - diced small
1 medium sweet yellow pepper, diced small
1/2 cup currants, blueberries or cherries
1/2 cup dried cherries, cut in half
1/2 cup minced scallions
Dressing
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar or apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
In a medium frying pan over medium heat, combine olive oil, garlic and herbs and cook until fragrant. taste the herbs and then season with salt & pepper.
Turn off the heat, add currants, cherries and scallions and toss gently to combine. Prepare couscous according to package directions and then fluff with a fork into a large bowl. Add the herb mixture and stir gently. Whisk together dressing ingredients and pour over couscous, mixing gently to combine.
Taste couscous and season with salt ans pepper if needed. This couscous is best served cold or at room temperature and is wonderful for a picnic.

Mixed greens salad with hearts of palm and avocado in lemony dressing
Serves 6-8
6 cups mixed greens
2 cups hearts of palm, sliced 1/3" think
1/2 medium red oniln, sliced thinly
2 medium avocados, peeled and sectioned
1/2 cups candied pecans (optional)
Vinaigrette
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
 1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 tablespoon olive oil
Whisk all ingredients of vinaigrette except the olive oil. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil while whisking continuously. Taste the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper as needed.
Place avocado sections and the heart of palms in a medium bowl and gently coat with a tablespoon of vinaigrette. Combine greens and onion slices in a large bowl and then top with avocado and hearts of palm mixture. Sprinkle with candied pecans on top and serve immediately. For another variation try adding blue cheese crumbles to the salad.

white bean pate

Old-fashioned country style white bean pate.

Many people ask me what we used to each when we live back in Ukraine many years ago. It's not easy to describe in a couple words our menu. Living in America, we still make some of the traditional dishes. One of them is a white bean pate. It's old-fashioned, tasty, and fulfilling. Living in Ukraine many years ago we did not have a variety of ingridients which are available in western supermarkets and farmer's markets. Moreover, in many cases fresh fruits and vegetable were available for only short period of time. We used to make a big bowl of white bean pate and eat with meat, fish, salad or even shmear on bread. Yes, it's an old-fashioned, but that we used to make and eat many years ago. Nowadays, most of Jewish women  make much lighter version of this dish and enjoy only as a appetizer. Many years ago, we did not have a canned white beans, we used to make pate from raw white beans.  We soaked beans in a large bowl with cold water for overnight.  In the morning, we simmered beans for another 1  to 1 & 1/2 hours.  It was a long process, but the dish is really tasty. My mam asked me to blog about such old dish, so I did.

1 medium to large size white onion, chopped
1 tablespoon shmaltz
2 medium size potatoes, cook it in its skin
1 large carrot, cooked it in its skin (you can cook together with potatoes)
2 cups canned white beans, drained
2 eggs, hard-boiled
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice
salt, pepper to taste

Melt the schmaltz in a heavy skillet and sauté first half of the onions until just browned. Pour the onion into a mixing bowl of food processor. Add second half of onions.
Peel off potatoes and carrot.  Add potatoes, carrot, white beans, eggs, and lemon juice into mixing bowl of food processor, and puree until almost smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer pate to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Enjoy!

Традиционный паштет из белой фасоли.

1 большая луковица, мелко порезанная
1 столовая ложка куриного жира
2 небольших картофелины, сваренных в кожуре
1 большая морковка, сваренная в кожуре
2 чашки консервированной белой фасоли, воду отцедить
2 круто-сваренных яйца
2-3 чайных ложек лимонного сока
соль и перец по вкусу

Растопить куриный жир на горячей сковороде. Добавить половину нарезанного лука и пожарить до золотисто-коричневого цвета. Переложить лук в чашку кухонного комбайна. Добавить оставшийся лук. Очистить от кожуры картофель и морковку. Положить в чашку кухонного комбайна картофель, морковку, белую фасоль, яйца и полить лимонным соком. Включить кухонный комбайн и прокрутить до того момента, пока почти не образуется пюре. Вынуть смесь из чашки кухонного комбайна, выложить в глубокую посуду. Поперчить и посолить. Накрыть и поставить в холодильник.