dairy Archives - Splash of Sherri

spinach and cheese pie

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Sherri

I have made over 300 spinach and cheese pies in my lifetime! This is just a rough estimate after some fast math. I wasn’t too surprised at that number, it’s a little more! It’s one of those recipes that’s not only a winner in my eyes, but also gets rave reviews from everyone who tries it – especially my family! If you have been to my house for brunch or Yom Kippur break-fast, chances are you’ve had it. If you invite me to brunch and ask me to bring something, this is what comes with me. It’s a lower calorie version of quiche but is rich and delicious with added cheesy goodness!. By using only egg whites it’s also lower in cholesterol, but you definitely don’t miss anything.

Spinach pie came into my life by way of my husband’s Aunt Cynthia. Whenever we would visit, the minute you stepped onto her porch you could smell it baking. It quickly became a favorite of mine and definitely a 10 with my family. With only 6 ingredients it comes together so quickly. I use store bought pie crust but if you want to bake yours from scratch, go for it. The pie is loaded with spinach or as Aunt Cynthia calls them, luscious greens, and that’s something I always have in my freezer. The only cooking is caramelizing the onions which takes about 35 to 40 minutes. Caramelized onions are my addition to the pie from the original recipe and they add a nice sweetness.

This recipe is a winner! It’s perfect for new cooks, super easy, a great vegetarian main dish, looks beautiful, freezes well and everyone loves it! Even the non-spinach fans enjoy it. It’s a family favorite any way you slice it – get it? Any way you slice it!!!!!! If you celebrate the Jewish holiday of Shavout* one of the customs is to eat dairy foods. My spinach and cheese pie will definitely be on my table tonight and I hope on yours! Enjoy!

if you don’t have pie shields (which I don’t) to protect the crust from burning,
cut thin strips of aluminum foil and crimp it around the pie.

ingredients
2 pre-baked 9” pie shells
2 (16 ounce) bags of frozen chopped spinach defrosted
2 large onions finely diced and sautéed
1 tablespoons olive oil (to sauté onions)
16 ounces low fat cottage cheese
8 egg whites from extra-large eggs (if using large eggs, use 10 egg whites)
1 cup shredded low-fat Swiss cheese (or regular if you like)
1 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese (or regular if you like)
Salt and pepper to taste (I use approximately 1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper)

directions
Into a large pan on medium heat, add onions and sauté in olive oil with a pinch of salt until golden (not brown) and then let them cool a little. This should take about 35 to 40 minutes.

Bake the pie shells according to directions on the package.

Take the defrosted the spinach and squeeze out any water. Drain in a strainer and press as much liquid out as possible. A cheesecloth works really well for this step. If you don’t have cheesecloth, paper towel will work as well. Place it in a large 5 quart bowl and set aside.

To the spinach, add the onion mixture and cheeses. In a separate bowl, add the egg whites and beat with a fork to break them up then add to the spinach mixture and stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly and divide evenly into the pre-baked pie shells.

Use aluminum foil to create a tent around the rim of the pie crust so it doesn’t burn. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the filling is set and firm in the center of the pie.

*Shavout is more than a holiday we eat a lot of dairy foods! For more information about the holiday of Shavout check out one of my favorite websites My Jewish Learning

incredible chocolate chip coffee cake

Posted on May 22, 2020 by Sherri

Recently I posted a photo of my mom’s incredible chocolate chip coffee cake on Instagram. I didn’t share the recipe at the time because I hadn’t taken many photos of it, then before I knew it, it was gone! So, I had to bake another one (tough job writing a food blog – right!). FYI… the name “coffee cake” implies it’s something to go with coffee, and just like that we are given permission to eat cake for breakfast! One thing I know for sure, my mom never needed an excuse to eat cake – or permission!

She made THE BEST chocolate chip coffee cake ever. It has a lot of cinnamon, it’s moist and delicious, decadent, loaded with a ridiculous amount of chocolate chips, and sour cream. It was something she always had in her freezer, ready for company and definitely her friends. They were all amazing ladies and bakers who definately ate a lot of coffee cake – of that I’m sure! She and her friends were always baking and exchanging recipes as if they were trading cards – they were adorable. My sisters and I lovingly referred to them as the Golden Girls, just like the sassy women of the tv show with the same name. Instead of cheesecake, their vice was coffee cake!

On the corner of the recipe card my mother wrote “incredible” and “everyone loves this”. She told me everyone wanted her coffee cake recipe but she wasn’t sure she wanted to share this one, she liked being a local celebrity and didn’t want to share the spotlight! My mom was so funny, and always right! I debated sharing it as well!

It’s just the right Maj Jong snack cake, something to bring to a neighbor or these days when your hair salon re-opens! It’s picture perfect for a brunch buffet, quick, easy, and very versatile. I’m so glad I baked this for myself on Mother’s Day. It brought my mom right into my kitchen where we enjoyed a cup of coffee and her delicious cake! Enjoy!

ingredients
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 ½ cups sour cream left out on the counter at the start of prep
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (or cake flour)
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt

the streusel filling and topping
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
½ cup brown sugar
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons cocoa powder (I use Hershey’s)
¼ teaspoon salt

important note before we get to the directions:
1. You have to cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy – that’s key. If you don’t have a mixer, use a whisk and get to work! 2. Sift the dry ingredients, it really makes a difference in the crumb and lightness of the cake. If using cake flour, skip this step.

directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. prepare with parchment and spray a 10”springform pan, or 10-inch tube pan (spray only) or two loaf pans, or a 9 x 13 rectangular pan*

for the streusel
Into a medium size bowl add the brown sugar, cinnamon, cocoa powder, salt and chopped pecans (if adding) mix together and set aside.

Divide the chocolate chips into two bowls, one containing one cup which will be added to the center of the cake, and in the other ½ cup which will be sprinkled on the top.

In a medium size bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the butter and sugar for 3 to 4 minutes, until light in color and fluffy. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed. Don’t overmix, it will deflate the batter.

Spread ½ the batter into the prepared pan and lightly spread it out with a spoon. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Scatter 1 cup of the chocolate chips on top. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel and chips on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes (depending on the pan size) or until a cake tester comes out clean. I break it down at the end of the recipe – see below

*My mom always made it as a cake in a 10” spring form cake pan which is how I like to do. But I have baked it in every pan listed below with great success. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate.

Prepare baking pans with cooking spray and line with parchment paper. Baking times vary per pan size but in all always test for doneness with a cake tester or wooden skewer

recipe notes:
I have baked this recipe in various sized pans,* tried it with low-fat and regular sour cream, with and without nuts, and recently with cake flour instead of all-purpose only because that’s all I could find in the grocery (p.s. it turned out AMAZING!). The cake is so rich and delicious I don’t notice that much difference between the regular and low-fat sour cream, so if you want to save some calories, go for it. But you decide and let me know what you think. The only change I made to her original is adding a little almond extract, because I love it, but feel free to omit for a more traditional cake.

optional pan sizes
10” spring form or cake pan lined with parchment on the bottom, sprayed with cooking spray bottom and sides – bake for 50 to 60 minutes
10” Tube pan spray with cooking oil – bake for 55 to 65 minutes – let it cool completely so it will still look pretty on top when you take it out.
2 (9”x5”) loaf pans sprayed with cooking spray bottom and sides – bake for 50 to 60 minutes – let it cool completely so it will still look pretty on top when you take it out.
3 aluminum throw away loaf pans (3.75 x 8) – bake for 35 to 40 minutes no parchment liner needed
9×13 rectangular cake pan, line the pan with parchment both vertically and horizontally leaving a little hanging over to make it easy to take out, spray with cooking spray – bake 40 to 45 minutes

incredible chocolate chip coffee cake ingredients

Deconstructed Cherry Almond Crumble – One of my Favorite Birthday Desserts!

Posted on July 7, 2019 by Sherri

My birthday is July 4^th and I’m a true Yankee Doodle Dandy! A real firecracker! That’s me. It should come as no surprise I like my birthday dessert to be a little more unconventional. This deconstructed cherry almond crumble – is one of my favorite birthday desserts and perfect for the summer.

A Crazy Hamantashen Milkshake

Posted on March 7, 2018 by Sherri

I hear you loud and clear… “Hey Sherri, Purim is over and I’m out buying matzo, what’s with you and the hamantashen already?” My answer… I still have about 10 pounds of hamantashen crumbs to reinvent! So why not make a crazy hamantashen milkshake? Last year was the hamantashen ice cream sandwich so this isn’t so crazy – right?

Now to answer the burning question, why all the crumbs, I first need to give you a little backstory. I’m a member of a Jewish culinary group called the P2G Culinary Connection. Over the past several weeks, we had been putting together Shaloch Manos baskets (gifts of food given during Purim) for holocaust survivors in our area. Of course hamantashen are the star of any basket, but with everyone’s busy schedules we didn’t have time to all get together and bake so it was my job to find a way to buy them.

I reached out to Lilly’s Baking Company in Brooklyn, NY. I have ordered from them in the past and know their baked goods are absolutely delicious. Living in Columbus, we often need a black and white or rainbow cookie fix and if you’re not a baker, Lilly’s is the perfect place to order from. They have been my go to since we moved here because everything they make is reminiscent of our favorite bakeries in New York. Needing a very large quantity, I was hoping they would be able to give us a big discount. I emailed them our intentions, and the amount we needed (around 460). What happened next was unexpected. One of the CEO’s wanted to support our mission by donating the product and the cost of shipping! I almost started to cry; the generosity was overwhelming.

Sadly, the shipping company didn’t do such a great job getting them to us. All 3 cases were severely damaged and while we were able to salvage about 80 of them, the balance was all broken. What Lilly’s did next was even more generous, they shipped out more the very next day overnight air. The new ones arrived perfectly intact; we placed them gingerly on top of each basket.

Now the question was what to do with all of the crumbs? I couldn’t just throw them away. Any good Jewish mother would never let something like that go to waste! Ideas were spinning through my head: strawberry shortcakes, magic bars, dirt cups, yogurt parfaits, a trifle, mini cheesecakes, the world was my oyster (or in this case – my hamantashen)! If you follow me on Instagram, you know I made amazing yogurt parfaits and cookie pops. Then it hit me – a hamantashen milkshake.

To quote my son, “Mom, only you would think of making a hamantashen cookie milkshake – it’s amazing and I can’t believe it tastes like hamantashen ice cream!” This was the grand finale of my week and was so amazingly good; I suggest you drink it until you can’t tell the difference between Mordechai and Haman! That’s what we did. With these words I say drink and Enjoy! This recipe makes 2 servings.

First make the chocolate ganache:
½ bag of semisweet chocolate chips (6 ounces)
3/8 cup of cream or half and half
pinch of kosher salt
dash of vanilla extract

Add the chocolate chips to a narrow bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, heat the cream until it just comes to a simmer. Pour over the chocolate and let it sit for about 3 minutes then whisk it together until smooth and shiny. Instead of making ganache (which I highly recommend) you can use a good quality hot fudge.

While the cream is heating, get all of your add-ins together. For me it was mini M&M’s, sprinkles, chocolate candies, KitKat bars, whipped cream of course, and one of my mini birthday cake hamantashen. Plus the crowning glory, a perfect Lilly’s hamantashen. You could also add pretzels, licorice, or other favorites you might have.

To assemble the glasses: take two tablespoons of the ganache and spread it inside the glass. Then, dip the rim into the ganache about 1” deep. Holding the glass over a cookie sheet or bowl to catch the overage, sprinkle with whatever adornments you want until it looks just right. If you want to stick things to the glass such as larger candies, you have to paint the candy with the ganache and hold it in place for a bit until it firms up.

Now for the shake: (this recipe makes 2 servings)
2 cups good quality vanilla ice cream plus an additional 2 scoops to float on top (one for each glass)
¾ cup of milk (any kind will work, I used 2%)
1 ½ cups hamantashen crumbs (including the filling pieces)

Blend together until well combined and pour into the glasses. Depending on the ice cream you use, and how thick you like your shakes, you may need more or less milk. Top each glass with one scoop of ice cream, add whipped cream, sprinkles and whatever treats you want to add. Then finish it off by topping it with a hamantashen. WARNING: These are addicting! Hamantashen lovers, BEWARE!

Grandma Pizza, We don’t have that in Columbus!

Posted on January 10, 2015 by Sherri

When my husband was scouting out the Columbus area for our move 12 years ago, he would call me and tell me what he found that was familiar to us. While he was busy researching the best school districts, I asked things like, do they have a Lord & Taylor there. Is there a Bloomingdales? And, oh, make sure you try the pizza I can’t move anywhere that doesn’t have good pizza! I have to be honest, the reports weren’t so promising.* That was coming from my husband who can eat almost anything. The best he came up with was California Pizza Kitchen. While I do enjoy their pizza, and sometimes crave their tricolore** salad pizza, it’s not New York Pizza!

How could this happen? A Brooklyn girl living someplace without good pizza, unheard of, unthinkable! Then I thought, if I learned to make it myself, I wouldn’t have to go without. So this began my journey on learning how to make the best tasting pizza I could! Pizza that would rival some of the best I’ve had in NY.

While still living in NY I purchased dough from my local pizza place just to get the hang of it. I bought a pizza stone and pizza wheel to cut the pizza. I was ready! From there, I researched cookbooks, cooking shows and asked an Italian neighbor of mine who made pizza regularly to help me. While this isn’t the first pizza I learned how to make, I wanted to share it first because it’s the easiest, absolutely delicious, and is made in a standard sheet pan. The ingredients are very simple and rustic. Most people are familiar with the round pizza, and square Sicilian, but the grandma pie is a whole different ballgame. Some people think it’s a thin Sicilian pie, but it’s not. The crust is almost like a thin focaccia and crispy on the bottom. It’s not so easy to find outside of Long Island where it originated. That is unless you go to Italy where someone’s grandmother makes it for you, hence the title Grandma Pizza.

So what exactly is a grandma pie? According to a Newsday article (Long Island newspaper) written by Erica Marcus…

“Variations abound, but the basic outlines are as follows: a thin layer of dough is stretched into an oiled, square “Sicilian” pan, topped sparingly with shredded mozzarella, crushed uncooked canned tomatoes, chopped garlic and olive oil, and baked until the top bubbles and the bottom is crisp.

[Michele] Scicolone [Manhattan resident, Italian food expert, and co-author of Pizza: Any Way You Slice It] observed that grandma pie sounded a lot like “pizza alla casalinga” (housewife-style pizza), “the kind of pizzas you’d get in Italy if you were invited to someone’s home.”

New Yorkers take their pizza seriously. If you would like to read the whole story, you can find it at this link:

http://long-island.newsday.com/restaurants/feed-me-1.812004/grandma-pizza-the-full-story-1.825269

So here it is, my version of Grandma Pizza adapted from Cooks Country…

Dough
1 1/2 cups bread flour (plus more for kneading)
3/4 cup warm water (105 to 110 degrees)
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3 tablespoons of olive oil

Recipe for the topping follows at the end.

For the dough: Coat a rimmed baking sheet (half sheet pan 18 x 13) with 2 tablespoons of good olive oil and set aside.

In a measuring cup add the warm water, sugar and yeast. Allow it to proof for about 5 minutes or until the yeast has activated and is foamy on top.

In a large bowl add the flour and salt. When the yeast is proofed, add the tablespoon of olive and stir into the flour mixture. If the dough feels too sticky, add a little more flour. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until soft, smooth and elastic about 5 to 7 minutes.

Transfer the dough to greased sheet pan and turn it to coat. Stretch dough to about a 12 by 8 inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 45 minutes to one hour. While the dough is rising, put the topping together.

Topping
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic minced fine (or more if you like garlic as much as I do!)
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (use a good quality mozzarella)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons fresh basil

Place tomatoes in a colander and drain well. I leave it draining about 30 minutes. Then combine tomatoes, oil and garlic in a bowl and stir well. That’s it for the sauce!

After it has doubled in size, stretch dough to the corners of the pan and let it rest for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, adjust your oven rack to the lowest position and the heat oven to 500 degrees. Now it’s time to assemble the pizza. Sprinkle the cheese over the dough leaving 1/2 inch border around the edges. Top with tomato mixture and then place in the oven. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and when you lift a corner of the crust you see it’s well browned underneath. Transfer to a wire rack to yield a crispy crust. Enjoy!

* 11 years later we have several really good pizza places here. Tomorrow I’m planning on doing a food crawl at a couple of them. One we love, the other we can’t wait to try. I’ve been told it’s the best pizza in Columbus. I’ll be the judge of that!

**tricolore is the name and spelling of the salad at CPK, this is not a misspelling on my behalf. It’s a caramelized Parmesan pizza crust (I get whole wheat) topped with spring salad mix, diced tomatoes and shaved Parmesan cheese with their homemade Dijon balsamic vinaigrette dressing. I highly recommend it, salad and a pizza all in one! Yum!