Zimtsterne Cookies

When you see the first twinkle of stars in the night sky, the Yom Kippur fast is over.

You take your fist sips of that long awaited coffee, and with it …. Zimtsterne.

German star cookies. To remind you that we celebrate a new year, new beginnings, being with loved ones. Sweet. Lovely. Gluten-free too.

Zimtsterne

• 3 large egg whites

• 1-1/4 cups sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• one pound finely chopped almonds or hazelnuts, approximately

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon peel

• confectioners sugar**

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.

Beat the egg whites until they stand in soft peaks. Continue to beat the whites, gradually increasing the speed and gradually adding all the sugar and salt, for 6-8 minutes or until they whites stand in glossy, stiff peaks. Remove about 3/4 to one cup of this mixture to a small bowl and set it aside.**

In another bowl, combine the nuts, cinnamon and lemon peel. Fold the nut mixture into the egg white mixture in the bowl until it is uniform in color. Spoon the mixture onto parchment paper and flatten the “dough” sightly. Let stand for about 15 minutes. Place another piece of parchment paper on top. Roll the dough about 1/2-inch thick. Remove the top piece of parchment paper. One at a time, cut out star shapes from the dough (the dough is sticky and difficult to work with). Place each star on the parchment paper on the cookie sheet.

When all the stars are cut, use the reserved sugar mixture and spread on top of each star.  Let rest for 60 minutes.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes.

Makes about 42

**you can skip this meringue coat and bake the cookies uncoated (in this case, do not set aside the 3/4 cup meringue. You might need about 1/2 cup more ground nuts to make the dough less sticky). When they are baked and cooled, mix about 1/2 cup confectioners sugar with enough water to make a paste and use a small spoon to cover the cookies with the sugar paste. Let dry and serve.

Sauteed Cauliflower with Scallions, Aleppo Pepper and Mint

Need a quick side dish for a holiday dinner? Or any old time?

Try this cauliflower recipe. Just a few ingredients, lots of flavor. You can eat it hot or at room temperature (if you want to make it ahead).

Aleppo pepper is a hint smoky. Substitute crushed red pepper or smoked paprika instead.                                                                                                                              

Sauteed Cauliflower with Scallions, Aleppo Pepper and Mint

• One head cauliflower

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 4 medium scallions, chopped

• 1 large clove garlic, chopped

• 1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

• salt to taste

• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Wash and trim the cauliflower and cut it into bite size pieces. Place the pieces into a saucepan, add 1 cup water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pan and cook the pieces for 3-5 minutes or until barely tender. Drain and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the cauliflower pieces, scallion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes or until well browned. Sprinkle with Aleppo pepper and salt, toss the ingredients for 30 seconds or so, then  place the contents of the pan into a serving dish. Sprinkle with mint and serve.

Makes 4 servings

Plum Cake with Oat Streusel

Plum Torte with Oat Streusel 

It wouldn’t be the Jewish High Holiday season if you didn’t see at least one recipe for Plum Torte.

I suppose it’s because the holidays come at around the same time as the harvest for those small, dark purple Italian prune plums and what could be better than dessert made with the newest, freshest, soon-to-disappear seasonal fruit? (Although the torte recipe is so versatile that my niece Rachel Vail, renowned children’s book author, once made it with pears.)

I’ve made several versions over the years, including the NYTimes recipe and my Aunt Beck’s famous apple cake made with plums.

This year I’m baking a new variation for the holidays. If Plum Torte is so delicious, can’t it be even better — and lovelier looking — with a streusel top?

Yes!

Here it is:

PLUM CAKE WITH OAT STREUSEL

CAKE: 

• Streusel (recipe below)

• 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel

• 2 large eggs

• 1 cup milk

• 12 Italian prune plums, pitted and sliced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the streusel and set it aside. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange peel in the bowl of an electric mixer. In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk and melted butter. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ones and beat for about one minute, until smooth. Turn the batter into the prepared cake pan. Top with the plum slices. Cover with the streusel. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove the outer ring from the pan and let the cake cool completely.

Makes one cake serving 8 people

STREUSEL:

• 1/2 cup rolled oats

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

• 1/8 teaspoon salt

• 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Mix the oats, flour, brown sugar and salt in a bowl. Add the butter and work it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Plain Old Roasted Chicken

Some people think chicken is boring and unexciting, but I disagree, especially when it comes to a whole roasted chicken.

To me, a large roasted chicken coming out of the oven, crispy-skinned and glistening, fragrant with the aromas of a happy family dinner, is so impressive, so festive, that I always serve it during the Jewish High Holidays. 

And can I tell you the other benefits?

Chicken is extraordinarily versatile. You can season it so many ways that you will never run out of ideas. Spice it with Baharat or sprinkle it with fresh chopped rosemary. Or just salt and pepper. Drizzle it with Balsamic vinegar and a bit of orange peel. Baste it with orange juice or wine or chicken stock. Give it some heat with jalapeno peppers or harissa or make it sweet and mild by cooking it with apples and honey.

I could go on, except I need to tell you that making roasted chicken is EASY.

Here’s the proof:      

Roasted Chicken

• 1 roasting chicken, 5-6 pounds
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• garlic powder and paprika, optional
• ras el hanout, baharat, garam masala, harissa, chopped fresh herbs to taste, optional
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups chicken stock, white wine or juice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove any pinfeathers and extra flesh and fat from the chicken. Take out the package of giblets inside the cavity (you may save these pieces for stock, except for the liver, or roast them along with the chicken). Brush the olive oil all over the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and optional seasonings. Place the chicken breast side down on a rack placed inside a roasting pan. Roast for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees. Roast the chicken for 15 minutes. Pour the stock (wine or juice) over the chicken and roast for another 15 minutes. Turn the chicken breast side up. Roast the chicken, basting occasionally, for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken, or until the chicken is cooked through (a meat thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the breast registers 160 degrees or 165 degrees in the thickest part of the thigh). Remove the chicken to a carving board and let rest for 15 minutes before carving. Serve with pan juices (you may strain the pan fluids if desired, and/or reduce them to desired thickness by boiling the fluids in a small saucepan over high heat).

Makes 6 servings

Carrots with Pomegranate Molasses Glaze

For me, the sight of the first autumn pomegranates isn’t a culinary experience so much as an emotional one. I picture my mother, young and beautiful, opening the door because my great uncle, my feter, has come to visit. He adored my mother —and she adored him — and I think he walked all the distance from his synagogue to our house, just to see her.

He came bearing gifts for us kids, my two brothers and me: root beer lollypops with pretzel-like twisted handles.

And pomegranates.

My brothers and I would peel off the thick pomegranate shell, bite off chunks of the glossy seeds and swish them around in our mouths. We downed the tangy juice and spit out the pits, phtoo, phtoo, phtoo to see whose went farthest. My mother rolled her eyes back in mock exasperation.

I can’t look at a pomegranate without thinking of my mother’s Uncle Mendel (she called him Max).

I haven’t actually eaten a pomegranate in quite a long time. These days the closest I’ve come is pomegranate juice, because it’s so healthy, and pomegranate molasses, because it’s so deliciously tangy and so useful. Like as a glaze for carrots, which I am going to serve as a side dish for Rosh Hashanah.

But I also bought a whole pomegranate yesterday and will feast on it like in the old days, when I was a kid and my mother was still with us and feter used to visit.

Now, if only I could find me some root beer lollypops.

Carrots with Pomegranate Molasses Glaze

2 pounds carrots

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

salt, freshly ground black pepper, cinnamon, ground cumin, cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Peel the carrots and cut them into strips (about 3-inches long, 3/8-inch wide). Place the strips on the parchment paper. Pour the coconut oil and vegetable oil over the carrots and toss to coat the carrots completely. Sprinkle the carrots lightly with salt, black pepper,  cinnamon, cumin and cayenne pepper. Toss again.

Roast the carrots for 15-18 minutes, stirring the strips 2-3 times. Pour the pomegranate molasses over the carrots and toss to coat them. Roast the carrots for another 6-8 minutes, stirring once or twice, or until tender and glazed. Place the strips in a serving bowl, sprinkle with mint and serve.

Makes 8 servings

An InLinkz Link-up

Texas Style Brisket with Apricot Honey Glaze

Texas Style Brisket with Apricot Honey Glaze

If you’re a kid, September means school.

If you’re a tree, September means gold and red leaves.

If you’re Jewish, September means brisket.

That’s because Rosh Hashanah is in September and although I haven’t done an actual, scientific study, there’s little doubt in my mind that brisket is the most popular dinner entree for Rosh Hashanah.

Everyone’s grandma has a special family recipe, but even though the seasonings may be different from family to family and some versions are sweeter than others and some include vegetables while others don’t, Rosh Hashanah Ashkenazi-style brisket is typically braised in lots of liquid and served with pan gravy.

Unfortunately my family won’t eat braised brisket and pan gravy.

When I prepare brisket, it’s always barbecued, more like Texas-style. I have some relatives in Texas, so I guess it’s okay. 

The meat is slooooow-cooked first, so it’s soft. But then it’s crisped up on the grill (or roasted in a hot oven or under a broiler), so it gets those gorgeous, crunchy, blackened burnt ends that are slightly chewy and lusciously sticky. 

Texas-style brisket with Apricot/Honey Barbecue Glaze. It’s what’s for Rosh Hashanah.                                                       

Texas Style Brisket with Apricot Honey Glaze:

Brisket:

• whole brisket of beef (about 8-10 pounds)

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 2 large onions, sliced

Barbecue Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 small chili pepper, deseeded and chopped

• 2 cups ketchup

• 1/2 cup apricot jam

• 1/2 cup cold brewed coffee

• 1/4 cup honey 

• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

• 2/3 cup brown sugar

• pinch of ground cloves
  
  To make the brisket: Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Place the meat in a large roasting pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired. Scatter the onions on top. Cover the pan tightly. Bake for 7-8 hours or until the meat is soft and tender. Remove the meat and onions. Puree the onions and pan juices to use for gravy over mashed potatoes (or noodles, other starches). Let the meat cool. Trim any large pieces of fat that have not melted. Set aside.

NOTE: you can make this with a smaller chunk of meat (cooking time shorter).

About a half hour before serving, remove the meat from the refrigerator and place it in a large roasting pan. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Slather some of the barbecue sauce over the meat and roast for about 15-20 minutes, turning the meat once and brushing it occasionally with more of the sauce (you will probably use a little more than half the amount of sauce). Slice and serve. OR: broil the brisket or reheat on a preheated outdoor grill.

Makes 10-12 servings

To make the barbecue sauce: Pour the olive oil into a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and pepper and cook for about 2 minutes to soften them slightly. Add the ketchup, jam, coffee, honey, cider vinegar, brown sugar and cloves and stir to blend them. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 12-15 minutes or until thick.

Date Honey Cake

I’ve fallen in love with Date Honey. Actually it isn’t honey, the kind made by bees, but a syrup made from dates. It’s thick (though not as thick as bee honey) and robust (but not as strong as molasses) and gloriously sweet, (though not overpowering).

I’ve used it on/in so many foods that I’ve had to order a few more jars (there are several brands online; I haven’t seen any in my local supermarkets). I like it best on plain yogurt, though some of the official “tasters” in my life said it was best over ice cream.

Beyond how delicious it tastes, I’ve also learned that in the bible, when it talks of honey, it means date honey, not bee honey (in most cases).

I love learning stuff like this.

All of this means that this year, I am making my Aunt Belle’s family-famous honey cake using date honey. Not that Aunt Belle’s cake isn’t still a big winner; just that Date Honey Cake is something new and I want to share it with my family and friends.

Date Honey Cake is not as heavy as regular honey cake, a fact that might be appealing to those who complain that Honey Cake is too dense.

Here’s the recipe:

Date Honey Cake

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel

1 cup date honey

1/2 cup cold, strong coffee

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

1/3 cup sugar

sliced almonds, optional

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease a 9” x 5” loaf pan. Line the pan with parchment paper, then lightly grease the paper. Set the pan aside. Mix the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and orange peel together into a bowl. Set aside. Mix the date honey, coffee and vegetable oil together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer set at medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar for 2-3 minutes or until well blended. Stir in the honey mixture and blend it in thoroughly. Add the flour mixture and blend it in thoroughly. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Scatter some sliced almonds on top if desired. Bake for about 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert onto a cake rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 servings

Plum Torte

Food connects people. When we eat dinner together as a family or we invite guests over to share a meal. When we eat food from cultures that are different from our own or when we make food available to those who are hungry.

For me it is also a way to connect to cancer patients and their caregivers. Every second week our local Hadassah group holds a formal afternoon tea at Stamford Hospital. I’ve written about it before. Although I’ve never actually been to one of these teas nor met any of the people who eat what I’ve donated, I do know that those who are ill and undergoing treatment — as well as the friends and family who are there with them — appreciate our efforts.

A patient undergoing chemotherapy once mentioned that the banana bread I sent one day was the first thing that tasted good to him in weeks. I’ve thought about him a lot, hope he’s well, enjoying food again. It felt good that the banana bread seemed special to him.

This baking has become a way for me to reach out and offer what I could. There is no other way I can think of to help.

The season of Jewish Holidays — Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur finished, Sukkot upon us — is a time of reflection and introspection, a time to think about our place in the world and the meaning in our lives. It underscores for me the need to continue baking, to continue connecting with the patients and caregivers.

This is what I am sending this week.

Plum Torte

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 large eggs

• 15 prune plums, pit removed, quartered

• one tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes or until creamy and well blended. Add the flour, baking powder, lemon peel and salt and mix briefly to blend ingredients slightly. Add the eggs and beat at medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Spoon the batter into the prepared springform pan. Arrange the plum quarters on top, pressing them slightly into the batter. Sprinkle the cake with the cinnamon sugar. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until browned, set and crispy. Let cool.

Makes 8 servings

Mandelbrot

See these slices of Mandelbrot? I offered one to a friend of mine who is Italian-American and he said “I love biscotti. Thanks!”

And of course he was right. Mandelbrot is the Jewish version of biscotti: cookies (or biscuits) that have been baked twice. First you bake the sweet dough in the form of a low cake and when it is finished baking and cools, you slice the loaf and toast the slices until they’re dry and crispy.

In my family we prefer the slices soft, so I serve Mandelbrot after only one baking, which means they actually aren’t exactly bi-scotti. But they are really good. At your house you can do it either way of course.

Mandelbrot (like biscotti) can be plain or be swirled with chocolate or contain chopped nuts and/or fruit. This is our favorite family version. 

It freezes well in case you want to make some in advance.

Mandelbrot

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine

• 1 cup sugar

• 3 large eggs

• 2-1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 tablespoon brandy or apple juice

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

• 1/3 cup cut up candied cherries

• 1/3 cup chocolate chips

• 1/3 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of a mixer set at medium speed for about 2 minutes or until creamy and well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add 2-1/2 cups of the flour, baking powder, brandy, almond extract and salt and beat at medium speed until the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Blend in the remaining flour if the pastry is very sticky. Fold in the nuts, cherries, chocolate chips and raisins. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into thirds and shape each piece into an oval loaf about 1-1/2 to 2 inches thick. Place the loaves on the cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve sliced, as is, or toast the slices for extra crispness.

Makes 3 loaves. 

NOTE: sometimes I cut the dough in half, rather than thirds, to make larger loaves/slices. These need a few more minutes of baking time.

Purple Plum Crisp

To me, small purple plums mean autumn. I always associate them with September, when the bins in the supermarkets fill with these and the first leaves on the trees begin to yellow out. When Rosh Hashanah is near and Jewish cooks everywhere in America are planning to bake a holiday Plum Cake.

There are plums all summer long of course. Red ones, black ones, green ones. But Italian prune plums, small and purple, are always the last, a harbinger that the season is about to change.

But it’s only August now! Is everything just rushing by for me?

Is it rushing by for you?

Or are these plums here early because of the weather?

Or maybe we’re just lucky.

Whatever the reason, I caught the first binful a few days ago and bought myself several pounds of these. They’re the best plums to bake with because they’re not as sweet as eating-out-of-hand kinds and besides, they are freestone, which means the pit comes out easily, so they’re a cinch to cook with. And, of course, you can do a whole lot with them beyond Plum Cake, although that recipe is always part of my fall repertoire.

Here’s my first recipe of the next season, a fragrant Plum Crisp. 

Purple Plum Crisp

• 2 pounds Italian prune plums
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons minute tapioca
• crust:
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup bran flakes or raisin bran flakes
• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash and dry the plums, cut them in half and remove the pits. Slice the plums into smaller pieces. Mix the plums with the sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and tapioca. Place the fruit mixture into a baking dish and set aside.

To make the crust: Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. Crush the bran flakes slightly and put them in a bowl. Add the oats, nuts, brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and toss ingredients to distribute them evenly. Pour in the melted butter. Mix until the dry the ingredients are covered with the melted butter. Place the cereal mixture over the fruit. Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the crust is crispy and golden brown.

Makes 6-8 servings