Cooking My Books: The New Jewish Table {Book Review}

As a parent you want to teach your kids about traditions, but you also want to build on them and create your own. That is how I feel about recipes and cooking too. You need a place to start, familiar favorites that area  jumping off place for creation. And that is also how Judaism is for me – tradition, with individual interpretation to make things meaningful to you. 

Our new Jewish table! Rye for me, wheat for the hubby and little man.

I had the opportunity to receive a copy of The New Jewish Table, Modern Seasonal Recipes for Traditional Dishes by Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray for review back in the fall before our family expanded from 3 to 4. After trying to dive right into the bowl of matzo ball soup on the cover, I dove into the contents inside. Organized by season and type of meal, the book interweaves stories of family traditions, passed-down recipes and the evolution of them into the recipes in the books pages. The book is not strictly Kosher, but does indicate if a recipe is meat, dairy, or pareve with suggested substitutions. After a preface about the author’s relationships and background the book showcases recipes and the stories of their origins and evolution. By the end you feel as if you are a member of the authors’ extended family. The authors are owners of the Washington DC restaurant Equinox.

Included in the book are new takes on favorite dishes like chicken salad, matzo ball soup, kugel, and more. I love a good chicken salad sandwich. Ingredients need to be in the right balance and the chicken has to be the right texture. The authors include two great chicken salad recipes each with a little different twist. I started with a pulled chicken salad with cranberries and toasted cashews. According to Todd, the dish was a favorite at the White House and one of Equinox's signature items. I can see why! Using a whole poached chicken and then pulling it gives the chicken just the right texture. 

Piled onto two slices of good rye with a side of pickles and a Dr. Brown’s cream soda, this sandwich was deli-worthy!

I also used the recipe for Not Exactly Aunt Lil's Matzo Ball Soup, pictured on the book cover, for Passover this year. My grandmother passed along her matzo ball recipe, but her soup recipe hasn’t been written down yet. My mom tweaks her soup every time she makes it, much like I do. So I loved to read the journey this recipe took from Ellen's Aunt Lil to Equinox. The authors describe the soups evolution from "rustic, homey and satisfying"  to more refined and elevated to the next level for the book.

The addition of finely diced vegetables at the end (about 10 minutes of simmering at the end before adding and simmering noodles and chicken for 10 more minutes) gives me a solution to my lifelong dislike of cooked carrots in soup! The original vegetables are strained out, having given their flavor to the broth. The freshly added vegetables retain a slight crunch and all of their flavor.

This book is a great addition to the my cookbook collection. If you have a traditional with a twist streak, I recommend checking it out. The recipes offer a new interpretation of traditional dishes that make them a welcome addition to the table for holidays or everyday. Next on my to-make list are curried chicken salad with golden raisins and slivered almonds, Todd's deviled egg salad, and the Kassoffs' sweet noodle kugel. 

Starting a tradition, little man asked me to take a picture of his dinner!

Pulled Chicken Salad with Cranberries and Toasted Cashews
This is a signature item on their restaurant menu and the most popular lunch dish. 

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 whole poached chicken
1 cup mayo
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 cup minced red onion
1 cup minced celery
1/2 cup chopped toasted cashews
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Put the cranberries in a small bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside to soak while doing the next step.
Pull or cut the chicken from the bones pull into bite size pieces, shredding with your hands. Place in a large bowl.
Drain the cranberries with a strainer.
With a fork, mix the mayonnaise, olive oil, lemon juice, slat, and pepper in a small bowl. Add the onions, celery, cranberries, cashews and mayonnaise mixture to the bowl with the chicken; mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Mix in the parsley. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

Note: I omitted the onions and served the nuts on the side since we had a toddler dining with us. This allowed everyone to customize their sandwich to their liking. 

Book Info: 
The New Jewish Table, Modern Seasonal Recipes for Traditional Dishes
Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray 
Photos by Renee Comet (I met her at Eat Write Retreat!)
2013

I received a review copy of this book. All opinions are 100% mine and I was not compensated for this post. 

Maple...Chocolate...Matzo...Passover Deliciousness

Passover snuck up on me this year. Since early February, the Good Cook Doris house has been abuzz with the activity of a new baby in the house. We welcomed taste tester #2 and have been having a blast with big brother and little sister in the house. Thankfully she doesn't mind hanging out in the kitchen with mom, but she doesn't have the patience for long drawn out recipes. When the time came to prepare for our two Passover seders, I knew a few sacrifices would have to be made.

Instead of peeling the hard-boiled eggs, a sign of spring and new life, for our gefilte fish platter I decided to spend my few minutes in the kitchen making this:

Maple Matzo Crunch! I think that it was a wise decision to forgo the stress of peeling eggs for this crunchy, sweet, addictive matzo treat. If you have about 15-20 minutes you too can be enjoying this! Perfect for Passover and honestly anytime of the year. 

The maple flavor gives it a unique New England twist. Top with nuts or leave it plain - either way it won't last long. Note, use Kosher for Passover products according your level of observance.

Maple Matzo Crunch

Serves ?? (not too many people if you are home alone with this!)

5 matzos (you may need more) 
1 cup of butter
1 cup granulated maple sugar
1 tablespoon maple syrup (Grade A Dark Amber or Grade B)
2-4 oz. chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
1/4 cup toasted pecans (or your favorite nut), chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Line a baking sheet with foil and arrange matzo pieces in a single layer
In a medium saucepan, combine butter, maple sugar, and maple syrup
Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally with a heatproof spatula
Remove from heat and pour evenly over matzo
Bake maple covered matzo for 4 minutes
Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the matzo pieces
Return to oven for 1-2 minutes, until chocolate is melted (the chips will still hold their shape)
Using a spatula, spread the chocolate on the matzo, creating a smooth layer
Sprinkle toasted nuts on top of the chocolate, if using
Allow to cool completely and break into smaller pieces
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator

Chag Sameach!

Breakfast for Dinner? Yes, Please! {Book Review}

I love breakfast food. When presented with the option to order breakfast at a restaurant, I usually take it no matter what time it is. It really isn't fair that breakfast gets hurried over, rushed, and forgotten about so often. In our house we have breakfast for dinner (or lunch) at least once a week. No need to relegate breakfast foods to the morning!

For the past few months I've been making recipes from a new cookbook called Breakfast for Dinner by Lindsay Landis and Taylor Hackbarth. They write about their culinary adventures on the blog Love and Olive Oil. I received a review copy of their book from Quirk Books and from the moment I opened it I was excited to get cooking. Breakfast can be savory or sweet and I have a preference for the savory side. Because the recipes are geared for dinner, this book includes many savory recipes. I immediately picked a few to try - three the first week I had the book and quite a few since!

The recipes I have tried have been easy to follow and most importantly result in delicious dishes. My test for whether or not I would by a cookbook is how many recipes I would realistically make. With the exception of foods we don't cook at our house (shellfish and pork) we would eat almost all of the other recipes in this book. And the pictures are so nice that I find myself flipping through the book while I sit on the couch (although it does make me really hungry).

The recipes we have made so far include:

Chicken and Biscuit Waffles (made a few times!)

I love biscuits, fried chicken, and waffles. This is a perfect combination of all three. I keep mixing up the sides and toppings for this one. First way: side of spicy apple sauce, and salad with lemon-honey dressing. Second way: drizzled with habanero-infused maple syrup and a side of sauteed apples with cinnamon. With a base of chicken and biscuit waffles, the topping combinations are really endless!

Bonus? This fried chicken method means delicious fried chicken anytime - with or without the waffles! Same for biscuit waffles, when the craving hits I am now ready!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Glazed Banana Bread Bundt Cake

With a few bananas and a bundt pan, you can turn out a decadent dessert treat. This recipe uses my favorite flavor combination of chocolate and bananas. For an extra sweet twist, I made the glaze using chocolate peanut butter (plus, somehow no chocolate chips on hand).

Just like the authors' family recipe, my Aunt Patti's banana bread is always full of chocolate chips. This won't replace hers as a favorite but I can report that this cake did not stick around very long at our house.

Goat Cheese Monte Cristos

The idea of the Monte Cristo has always intrigued me. However I've only encountered them with ham. I was excited to find a recipe for a Monte Cristo that I would eat. Who wouldn't love a sandwich with creamy goat cheese, pepper jelly, and roasted turkey? I decided to make this on a whim and didn't have all the ingredients that the recipe called for but this was still great! We sandwiched fig jam, turkey and goat cheese between slices of whole wheat bread and cooked it up according to the recipe. The result was a flavorful take on the Monte Cristo!

All three recipes were kid-approved by our resident 2 year-old diner. Our little taste tester now gets excited when the waffle maker comes out - even if he calls them "awfuls" half the time. And even though he ate the sandwich in his own unique was as shown below, I know he liked it!

I received a complementary copy of this book for review. I was not obligated to post and received no other compensation. My love of chicken and waffles and banana, chocolate, and peanut butter is real and honest. Ask anyone who knows me! 

How Do You #LoveAvocado? There are so many ways!

{This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Hass Avocado Board. }


Every Saturday after breakfast, I gather up my cookbooks along with a pen and paper to make my weekly grocery list. Whenever I ask my 2 year old son what we should buy at the store he always answer the exact same way without fail, “avocados and apples.” Those are the first things we see when we get into the produce section, but I am always happy to oblige. These days the little guy is loving avocado – with a spoon, mixed into chili, on sandwiches, and more. I don’t mind because over 75% of the fat in an avocado is unsaturated. Avocados are so versatile and can be used in so many different cuisines and ways. Avocados have long been a part of my diet. The rich, creamy flavor makes them feel like an indulgence even though they are a good fat.

Some of my Favorite Ways to use Avocados: 

• Delicious guacamole on top of Chili Cheddar Potato Skins

• Diced atop my take on a Corn Tamale 

• As a key ingredient in Taco Night
• Cut in half, topped with hot sauce and either a little plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.
• Spread on warm toasty bread and topped with smoked salt. 
• Blended with tomatillos, lime juice, and cilantro – used to top eggs, tacos, chili, soups, and more! 

Why are avocados so good? 
Avocados are nutrient-dense and have less than 1 gram of sugar per 1 ounce serving. Since they are sodium and cholesterol free, they fit right in to my goal to feed my family a well-balanced diet. What are your favorite ways to eat avocados as part of a healthy lifestyle?


Sweepstakes

#LoveAvocado and have an inspiring story about getting your loved ones to add fresh avocado to their diet? Enter for a chance to win for yourself and to share avocados with someone you love.

Prizes include:
• 1 of 4 prize packs including $100 and fresh Hass Avocados delivered to your door
• Plus an additional package of fresh Hass Avocados delivered to someone you love


Recipe Contest
Discover a new favorite recipe and vote today for your favorite avocado recipe! 

I’m excited to explore more ways to incorporate avocados into my cooking . I’d love to hear how you incorporate them in yours! Follow along the Love One Today™   fun on Twitter and Instagram with the #LoveAvocado hashtag.

{This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Hass Avocado Board.}

A Holiday Meal Stuffed with Flavor and Fun - Turducken!

Every so often an opportunity to try something new comes your way and you just have to say yes. That is how we ended up sitting around the table with friends, explaining to a two year old that a Turducken would probably say, “gobble-quack-a-doodle-doo!”

We laughed, ate, and pondered what this hybrid creature would really be like thanks to Echelon Foods, makers of the boneless Turducken Premium Roast we were eating. Our festive post-Thanksgiving meal was rounded out with my grandmother’s famous dressing, steamed green beans, sweet potatoes, and cranberry orange relish. We also finished with a batch of fudgy chocolate brownies for good measure. We were lucky to be joined for dinner by my brother (in town for the weekend) and our friends Eric and Kate. Kate missed out on one  of our first blog dinner parties and we were happy she could be a part of this one!

I’ve talked about my brother before; he has his own competition barbecue smoker and team and loves to cook all things meat. But a Turducken has never made its way into his smoker, oven, or grill. He was given the task of preparing the Turducken for our meal. The roast had been defrosting for 3-4 days and was ready to cook. It came pre-seasoned and ready to roast, but in my family we always like to doctor things up our own way. He added some oranges and onions to the roasting pan.

The Turducken went into the oven according to the website directions for an approximately 7 hour slow roast at 220 degrees.  Our chicken-apple sausage stuffed Turducken roast was around 6 pounds and needed those 7 hours to get to the right internal temperature. We wanted to be sure it was cooked through because we didn’t want to poison our guests (or me, the pregnant host!). My brother did the initial cooking on Friday and on Saturday we reheated the Turducken for dinner. To make sure it was cooked through we reheated for about an hour and then gave the slices a quick dip in a pan of hot chicken broth.

This ensured that it was hot and thoroughly heated through. One note for next time – cover the Turducken at the beginning of cooking time to get the temperature up more quickly.

Kind of looks like it is smiling at me...

Everyone had a generous slice – including the two year old. The roast could have served 8-10 as part of a large meal. There was a lot of meat! We didn’t know what to expect but all enjoyed the experience! The slices were mostly turkey, followed by stuffing, then duck, then the least amount of chicken.

The meat was surprisingly moist even after all that cooking. The stuffing was more of a bread-mush with sausage flavor more than a distinguishable stuffing (very tasty though). The hubby thought the duck would be tough but that wasn’t the case. Next time I think we would probably wipe off some of the pre-seasoning and add our own spice rub. There was something in there that wasn't my favorite flavor. However it couldn’t have been easier to prepare as is – defrost, roast according to the detailed web instructions, slice, and eat!

We had a blast trying out the Turducken and are glad that we had the chance to do so. Luckily if we get another craving we know that our local Stop & Shop has them in stock. Check the website for outlets in your area (US & Canada).

I will leave you with a Turducken haiku from the hubby:

Three birds all at once 

It's a full house of poultry 

Sliced like bread, yummy.

Little guy and mommy checking out the Turducken heating up

Gobble-quack-a-doodle-doo!


I received a complimentary Turducken from Echelon Foods. I was not required to review the product and did not receive any other compensation. All opinions are 100% honest.

Seta's Cafe: Market Favorite turned Restaurant

Back in 2010 I had the deliciously good fortune to discover Seta's Mediterranean Cuisine at the Copley Square Farmers Market. It happened to be her first day at the market and everything I tried was fantastic. Seta was so lovely and I had a great time talking with her (article here). Over the past three years I have enjoyed talking with Seta, tasting her carefully crafted dishes, and watching her business continue to boom. 

Just a few years after starting her prepared food business Seta has realized her next goal - a space of her own open last month! Her cheery light-filled Seta's Cafe is located on bustling Belmont Street in Belmont, MA. 

The Armenian-Mediterranean menu is framed on the wall and the counter opens to the kitchen, busy with activity. Smells of garlic and grilled meats filled the air during my early lunchtime visit and tempting treats filled the display case next to the register. 

On a recommendation from the chef herself, I opted for the grilled lamb plate ($17). Every dish is made to order and after a short wait a sizzling plate arrived with my lunch. Enough for two people, the lamb plate included two generous skewers of tender lamb, bulghur pilaf, grilled tomato, grilled onion, and piaz (parsley, onion, sumac, aleppo pepper). 

The portion was generous enough for two people. The lamb was perfectly cooked and the piaz was a perfectly complement. The combination of savory sumac with a little kick from the aleppo was the perfect complement. Even seemingly basic salad was dressed with a tangy vinaigrette that brought it to another level. The meal is served with housemade lavash to either roll the meat or sop up the vinaigrette from the plate. 

Here is a close up look at the piaz - finely chopped parsley, red onions, and delicious sumac and aleppo pepper combination.

Ordering just one thing was just too hard. For dinner I took home half the lamb plate along with a chopped salad with added falafel along with baba ganoush. 

My first trip to Seta's new place was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to get back in there to try out the rest of the menu - especially brunch. If you find yourself in the area, don't miss out on a visit to Seta's Cafe.