Apricot Chicken

Tried this for the first time today. It's DELICIOUS!!

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds boneless chicken breast, cut in cubes (about 2x1 inches each - ok, their not REALLY cubes:)
Salt and pepper
1 large onion, chopped - VARIATION: For faster, easier, cleaner cooking, you can liberally use onion powder instead.
2 tablespoons cider or white wine vinegar - I used the Cider vinegar since I couldn't find any kosher white wine vinegar.
12 dried pitted apricots, chopped in two
2 cups chicken soup
1 jar (15.25 oz) apricot preserves - I used the Smucker Low Sugar.
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley, for garnish - Optional. I didn't bother.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and chicken. Season with salt and pepper (if using onion powder instead of an onion, add onion powder at this time as well). Lightly brown the chicken a few minutes on each side, add onions (if not using onion powder). Cook 5 minutes. Add vinegar to the pan and let it evaporate. Add apricots and stock. When stock comes to a bubble, add preserves and stir to combine. Cover pan, reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce thickens. Serve chicken over rice pilaf, wild rice, or plain rice! Use this easy broccoli recipe for a side veggie.

Split Pea Soup! YUM!!

Ever go to a restaurant, order Split Pea Soup, and wonder how they make it and why it's smooth? I did, and I found a great recipe, which I have tailored a bit. Here, I will share it with you:

INGREDIENTS
Light olive oil (enough to cover bottom of a large pot)
2 medium-large onions
1 bag (16 oz) baby carrots
1 bunch celery (use all but the middle stalks, and be sure to cut off both ends)
1 cup yellow split peas
1 cup green split peas
8 cups water

DIRECTIONS
throw all the veggies in the food processor. Process well.
In a large pot, over medium heat, heat olive oil. Cook onion, carrot, celery for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in yellow and green split peas, and water. Season with some pareve chicken soup mix (if you want a meat soup, use 8 cups chicken broth instead), salt (go easy on the salt - you can always add some later), pepper, Mrs. Dash (or any salt-substitute seasoning), garlic powder, and a sprinkling of basil. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 2 1/2 hours, stirring frequently. Puree until smooth in food processor. Return to pot, heat through, and serve.

You are going to love this!!

Carrot kugel-My mom's recipe

4-5 middle sized carrots
2 cups of flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar
3 eggs
2 tablespoon. baking powder
2/3 c. orange juice
3 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. cinnamon

-Shred the carrots

-Put all the ingredients in a food processor.

-Pour the mix into a baking pan

-Bake for at 350 for 45 mins

Yerushalmi Kugel

Ever go to the kosher market or deli and buy a Yerushalmi kugel because it looks good, but then you get it home, taste it, and it has no taste? That's because it's harder to make than other kugels since you have to caramelize the sugar (that means melting it in a pan until it liquifies and turns medium brown) and most restaurants don't take the time to do this. Instead they use brown sugar, and never enough of it.

Anyway, this Shabbos is Shabbos Mevarchim HaChodesh (Elul, people!), and there is a tradition, at least in Israel, to eat Yerushalmi Kugel on Shabbos Mevarchim (don't ask me why; I have no idea - I just love the kugel! Maybe it has something to do with the sweetness of this kugel and asking for a sweet month...). In any case, here's my mom's recipe, which is one I've never had to tweak because it's perfect just as it is...:)

Yerushalmi Kugel

What you'll need:

1 package of fine (really thin) noodles - cook slightly salted in water
Sugar
Oil (I use canola oil)
Salt and Pepper
Eggs

While noodles cook, caramelize sugar in pan - enough sugar to cover surface of a large pan - on a Medium/Low flame. You might want to start the sugar about five or ten minutes before you start the noodles. To caramelize sugar, stir often. It will begin to liquify. Make sure ALL the sugar is melted. 

When noodles are done, strain in colander, rinse and strain again.

Put in bowl and add:
1/2 cup oil
Pepper to taste
1/2 cup white sugar
Pinch of salt (or more, to taste, but don't overdo it)
Mix all these together BEFORE pouring in the caramelized sugar)
Caramelized sugar (pour slowly, mix while pouring the caramelized sugar - You might want to consider an extra set of hands for this step)
6 eggs - The eggs ABSOLUTELY have to in AFTER the caramelized sugar, otherwise you'll end up cooking the eggs and they won't do the kugel any good as an omelette...:)

Mix it all up (this isn't easy and may need two hands - the caramelized sugar begins to harden immediately, so you need to mix QUICKLY!), pour in pan, cover, bake on for about 1 hour 350. Half hour before it's done, uncover to let the kugel brown on top. This kugel is REALLY delicious, so try not to eat it all up before Shabbos!! :)

Have a wonderful, "G'bentchte" Chodesh!! And a Great Shabbos!!!

Pastrami flavored ribs

Let me start off by saying that this dish is not a classic Sephardi dish. I can recall some of the females in family preparing this on some occasions but to be honest with you, I do not know from where this recipe originates from.

Most of you are probably familiar with the hot pastrami served at kosher delis in NY. The pastrami flavor we are trying to imitate here is much spicier. The name pastırma is Turkish, and comes from "bastırma et" 'pressed meat'. The pastrami served in the Middle East has cumin paste that is used as a coating for the pastrami and this past is called çemen (lit. 'fenugreek') prepared with crushed cumin, fenugreek, garlic, and red paprika, or red pepper or paprika paste.

Pastrami flavored ribs for four people:

Igredients:

8 lamb ribs (make sure the ribs are cut off from each other vertically, like in the photo above)

For the çemen

1,5 tablespoons of crushed cumin
1,5 tablespoons of grinded fenugreek
fresh garlic, 4 cloves, mashed
1,5 tablespoons of red pepper (not sweet pepper)
or
you can grind 2 semi hot red paprikas instead

2 spoons of olive oil

8-10 skinned little potatoes to go along with the ribs

How to:

Flatten the lamb ribs with a meat hammer.

Poke little holes into the ribs with a toothpick. Mix the cemen ingredients in a little bowl and then pour it onto the ribs. Rub the ribs with the cemen ingredients. Make sure you really rub it in. Let the meat marinate for 4-5 hours. The longer the meat marinates the better it tastes.

Put the ribs in a clay pot.

Add half a glass of water into pot and if add the 8-10 skinned little potatoes in it. Cover the pot. Let it cook in the oven for 30-45 mins, at 400 degrees. Check the water level in the pot for every fifteen minutes, the water helps the meat and the potatoes to cook so don't let it all evaporate, add 100 ml to the pot if necessary.

Beta avon.