Lox and Cream Cheese Dip/Spread

It’s almost new year’s weekend, so I’ve been cooking for our annual New Year’s Eve hors d’oeuvres fest (storing a lot of stuff in the freezer).

These are some of the items I’ll serve at various times during the day: Marinated Mushrooms (a cinch to make); Potato-Carrot Latkes; Romanian Cheese turnovers; Scallion Cakes; Almond Chicken Nuggets; Hot Dog en Croute, and some others, plus a couple of dips, like hummus.

This Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese dip is a definite for our smoked fish hour. It’s amazingly easy to put together, so if you need something last minute, this is for you.

Lox and Cream Cheese Dip/SPREAD

• 4 ounces smoked salmon

• 1 cup cream cheese (8 ounces)

• 1/3 cup dairy sour cream

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 2 chopped scallions

Chop the smoked salmon into small pieces and set aside. Cut the cream cheese into chunks and place in a food processor. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, dill and scallions. Process on pulse until the ingredients are relatively smooth and well blended. Add the smoked salmon, pulse a few more times to distribute the pieces evenly.

Makes 1-1/2 cups

Garden Fresh Salsa (Pico de Gallo)

Last year my garden was like a jungle, loaded with tomatoes, zucchinis, eggplants, peppers and other stuff.

This year —-meh. Tomatoes not so plentiful (but delicious), I got two measly zucchinis, didn’t grow eggplants. The collard leaves were eaten up by roving outsiders. We managed one good bunch of kale.

The chili peppers though! They gave their all. We have plenty of them, all perfect.

So I decided to make homemade salsa.

I used peppers, tomatoes and scallions, all from my garden. I didn’t have cilantro, so I used the small green leaves from what I thought was a parsley plant but it turned out to be celery.

The avocado — store bought, and I know it isn’t a usual addition to Pico de Gallo, but I added some anyway and it gave a lovely, mellowing flavor and creamy texture.

Garden Fresh Salsa

• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped

• 2-3 scallions, chopped

• 2 small chili peppers, deseeded and chopped

• 1 small (or 1/2 large) avocado, chopped*

• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, parsley or celery leaves

• 1 large clove garlic, finely chopped

• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lime juice

• salt to taste

Place the tomatoes, scallions, chili peppers, avocado, cilantro and garlic in a bowl. Pour the olive oil over the vegetables and toss the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add the lime join, toss again and let rest for at least one hour. Taste for seasoning and add salt as needed.

*You can make this a day ahead. If so, add the avocado an hour before serving rather than at the same time as the other ingredients.

Potlagela

I know I am not alone in in thinking I want “my old life back” —— seeing my kids and grandkids, giving them a hug. Seeing family and friends without having to sit at least six feet away, always outside. Going out for dinner. Going to the opera.

All that.

I’ve managed to find ways that help me through this stressful time. One of them is making foods that remind me of “the good old days.”

So I’ve baked some Apple Brown Bettys, because they remind me of my parents (z”l), who once lived nearby. It was my Dad’s favorite dessert, my Mom made it often and there was always some left for me when I’d visit, at least twice a week. (Apple Brown Betty is also good for socially distanced company because you can bake the ingredients in individual ramekins.)

Almond Crusted Chicken Nuggets have been on my menu recently because they remind me of my very special cousin and lifelong friend, Leslie. She and her husband Neil spend every New Year’s weekend with us and I always serve these for hors d’oeuvre. (Another winner for social distancing!)

There’s always a reason to make my grandma’s award-winning challah, so that’s nothing new in my house.

BUT, my other grandma used to make potlagela, a Romanian specialty. I hated this dish when I was a youngster but last year, when I grew my own eggplants, I decided to give her recipe a try and realized how delicious this dish is. That revelation also brought back some terrific memories.

SO, here it is. My Grandma Hoffman’s version of Potlagela. She used vegetable oil, but I prefer olive oil. Either will work. She also cooked her eggplant right on top of the cooktop burner, so if you have a gas burner, you can do it that way too. OR, you can cook it on an outdoor grill, which I’ve done many times.

This dip is so perfect for summer. Especially perfect for eating outdoors socially distanced because you can serve it in separate bowls for other people.

Serve with pita or bagel chips.

Potlagela

• 1 large eggplant

• 1-2 scallions or one shallot or small onion

• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

• 1 tomato, chopped, optional

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash the surface of the eggplant, then wipe it dry. Coat the surface with a thin film of olive oil. Prick the skin in a few places with the tines of a fork. Place the eggplant on a baking sheet and roast for about 25 minutes, turning the eggplant once or twice during the cooking. Remove the eggplant from the oven. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and stem and place the flesh in a bowl. Mash the eggplant with the back of a fork. Add the scallion, garlic, optional tomato and olive oil and mix the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add the lemon juice and mix again. Season to taste with salt and pepper; sprinkle with some parsley.

Makes 4 servings

Tzatziki

In my last post I mentioned that my New Year’s get-together is an all-day, all-hors d’oeuvre event. A dairy fest and, several hours later, a meat-fest followed, several hours later by dessert.

Some of the tidbits I serve are homemade, some not, some fancy, others plain, some elaborate, some easy.

This one is amazingly easy and you can to make it ahead, in fact, you have to make it ahead. It’s refreshing, looks pretty and fits in perfectly with some of the other stuff I’m thinking of serving: Herbed Feta Cheese with Sundried Tomatoes and Olives, Smoked Salmon and Asparagus Rollups, Herb and Cheese Gougeres (Choux Puffs), Fresh Tomato Puff Pastry Pizzas.

Happy New Year everyone.

Tzatziki (Cacik)

• 3 cups thick, Greek style non-fat yogurt

• 3 medium cucumbers

• 1 large clove garlic, minced

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice

• 1 tablespoons olive oil

Place a double layer of cheesecloth in a strainer. Spoon the yogurt into the lined strainer and set it over a bowl. Let rest in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Place the yogurt in a bowl (discard the liquid that has accumulated in the bowl). Peel the cucumbers and cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop and discard the seeds. Grate the cucumber in a food processor or by hand. Strain the cucumber through a sieve, pressing down to extract as much liquid as possible. When the yogurt is ready, stir in the cucumbers, garlic, mint, dill, salt, lemon juice and olive oil.  Stir to blend all the ingredients thoroughly. 

Makes about 4 cups, serving 10-12 people.

Best Hummus Ever

Best hummus ever?

That’s what everyone told me Wednesday night at our Break-the-fast. They said it was the best hummus they ever tasted. Also the best texture; smooth but with some graininess; moist but not pasty.

Maybe they were all just hungry? And hummus is the first nibble of food they consumed in 24 hours, the initial tidbit to prepare the stomach before eating dinner?

But I kept it out even during dinner and by the end of the night it was gone, gone gone. Several people took a bit more to eat with the Mujadarah, Spinach Pie, Kugel, chopped salad and egg salad.

So, here’s the recipe. Try it yourself and let me know what you think. 

Btw, hummus stuffed cherry tomatoes is a good treat for Sukkot. 

HUMMUS WITH ZATAR

• 15 ounce can chickpeas

• 2 large cloves garlic

• 1/4 cup tahini

• 1/4 cup lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon zatar

Drain the chickpeas but reserve the liquid. Place the chickpeas in a food processor. Cut the garlic into smaller chunks and add to the food processor. Add the tahini, lemon juice,   olive oil, parsley, paprika, salt and zatar. Process to combine ingredients into a rough puree. Continue to process while adding some of the reserved liquid though the feed tube until the mixture reaches the desired consistency (approximately 3-6 tablespoons).

Makes about 1-1/2 cups