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Mother’s Day 2.0 – Baking Chocolate Babka!

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Sherri

My mother wasn’t big on what she called Hallmark holidays. She believed that everyday should be mother’s day, just as much as she believed everyday should be children’s day and father’s day for that matter. If you think about it, she was right. Why celebrate someone you love only one day a year? Aren’t they special everyday? Do we need a card company to remind us to be nice to our mothers? I’m not suggesting bringing your mother flowers everyday, or making her breakfast in bed in every spare moment, and having dinners out every Sunday, but when you really think about it, it’s not that difficult just to do something nice for those we love.

What does this have to do with babka? Well, everything. I don’t like gifts on “mother’s day” – flowers yes, gifts not so much. I like spending time with my family; that’s my gift. This past Sunday, not the “official mother’s day” was my mother’s day. My son Ethan titled it Mother’s Day 2.0 – an upgraded version so to speak! We didn’t all sit down to breakfast together, I wasn’t served breakfast in bed, and yes, I did the dishes! What made it my day was that everyone did something with me and planned a day for us to be together. This started with making babka with my older son Jarred. I’m pretty sure he will be the one to carry on the family recipes and for that I’m extremely glad.

Babka is an Eastern European sweet yeast bread that is classified as a coffee cake. If you live in the northeast or you’re a Seinfeld fan you know there are 2 kinds of babka – a chocolate babka and a cinnamon babka. Check out this clip from Seinfeld with Jerry and Elaine, it’s truly a classic! Chocolate babka is the more popular of the two. In the show, they describe the cinnamon babka as the lesser babka, which in all honesty I don’t necessarily agree with. Chocolate is my favorite so we decided to try that one first. I have always thought it was difficult to make – turns out, the toughest part is waiting for the dough to rise! My friend Marcy makes babka all the time and now I know why! So here’s the recipe and be patient; enjoy a nice cup of coffee while you’re waiting.

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Recipe for the Yeast Dough (makes two 8″ loaves)

1/4 cup warm water plus 1 teaspoon sugar (around 110 degrees)
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast (or 2 packages)
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt (I used pink sea salt)
1 stick butter melted
2 extra large eggs (at room temperature)*
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg for the egg wash (this will be brushed on before the streusel is added)

*eggs should always be room temperature when baking. You can put them in warm water for about 5 minutes if you forget to take them out ahead of time. Doing this will help the eggs blend well with the room temperature butter.

In a measuring cup add 1/4 warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar. Sprinkle in the yeast and stir. Set aside for about 5 minutes until the yeast has bubbled and created a foam on top.

While the yeast is blooming you can put the dough together. In a medium size mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients and stir with a fork to combine. In a separate bowl mix the eggs, butter and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry including the yeast. I kneaded the dough in the bowl for just a couple of minutes to combine. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm spot to rise until double in size (about 1 hour or maybe a little more).

While the dough is rising, put together the filling and streusel topping below.

Chocolate Filling

1 stick butter softened (not melted)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt

2/3 cup good quality mini chocolate chips

In a small bowl, sift the cocoa into the sugar and salt. Mix in the butter until well blended, cover and set aside. The chips will be sprinkled on top of the filling. Please note: If the mixture is too soft, put it in the fridge to firm up. It should be the consistency of easy to spread peanut butter.

Streusel Topping

1/3 cup butter melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or almond extract)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a small bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together. Add the melted butter and extract, stir with a fork until combined and crumbs form. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Once the dough is doubled in size, punch it down, take it out of the bowl and place on a well floured surface. Split the dough into two pieces using a knife or dough scraper. Make sure you have enough flour on the board so that when you roll out the dough it doesn’t stick. Roll out one piece of dough into an 8″ x 12″ rectangle, it should be about 1/8″ thick.

With a spatula, spread 1/2 the chocolate filling mixture and then sprinkle 1/3 of the miniature chips on top.

Starting at the bottom edge, roll the dough into a tight log. There are many ways to form a babka, you can fold the log in half and twist it, you can cut it into pieces and place them on top of each other, or even make it like monkey bread. For my first time out, I thought simple was best and kept it in a log. Place the log into an 8″ x 4″ aluminum loaf pan that has been buttered generously or sprayed with canola oil. Repeat this process with the second piece of dough. Now they are ready for their second rising. Place plastic wrap on top and place in a warm place for another hour or more.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees with your baking rack in the center of the oven. After the second rising it should be almost double in size. Now it’s ready to brush with egg wash, do this very lightly as you don’t want them to deflate. Sprinkle each with 1/2 the streusel mixture and place in preheated oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until lightly brown on top. If they are browning too much, place a piece of foil on top.

How to Caramelize Onions

Posted on May 14, 2014 by Sherri

Caramelized onions (also called smothered or fried onions) are a favorite in our family. My nephew loves them on a turkey burger (as do I) and my son Ethan loves them on anything – even pizza! They are great to top a burger or fish, the base for so many recipes, and the type of onions you need for a LEO (lox, eggs, and onions) or my mothers famous potatoes, eggs and onions! If you have never tried them, you must. When the onions cook down they release all of their natural sugars and become soft, silky and sweet.

I found this recipe in the Arthur Schwartz cookbook Jewish Home Cooking a few years ago and have been using it ever since. It makes it very simple and works well every time. I modified it a little as per how I make them according to his recipe. Caramelized onions are a part of so many of my recipes that it’s a must to include in my blog. This is a guide on how to make them so adjust the amounts according to each individual recipe. Enjoy!

SONY DSC — **This is what they look like when they get into their olive oil bath getting ready for a shvitz*!**

First either chop or slice the onions according to the recipe instructions that call for caramelized onions. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a covered skillet or sauté pan. You can use any oil you like, just make sure it has a high smoke point such as: olive, canola, safflower, sunflower, grape-seed, or vegetable. There is a new oil out on the market I’m in love with… avocado oil, but it’s too expensive to fry onions in! I always use olive oil, choosing it for heart health and the taste.

Use a pan large enough to comfortably hold the onions. A 10-inch pan will hold up to 2 pounds of onions or 6 cups (that’s about 3 to 4 really large onions) and will require about 3 tablespoons of oil. Heat the oil over medium high heat.

Add the onions and toss in the hot oil; cover the pan, decrease the heat to medium and let the onions sweat for 10 minutes, tossing them every 5 minutes. After about 10 to 15 minutes, you can add in 3 cloves of minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Original smothered onions do not have garlic added, I just like the taste but you can omit if you’d prefer. Stir and cover for 5 minutes. Uncover the pan and stir the onions, they will have begun to brown.

Increase the heat to medium-high and continue to fry the onions uncovered for at least 20 minutes more for browned onions. Continue to stir the onions every 5 minutes as they cook, scraping up the bits on the bottom of the pan. (It’s good to use a straight-edged wooden spoon or spatula for this.) The onions may need more frequent stirring as they brown. If you like them darker cook for another 5 to 10 minutes. At this point you can add a pinch of black pepper and a pinch of salt. They can be stored in the refrigerator, tightly covered for a couple of weeks.

It may seem like a lot of work, but it’s not really. Like with anything you’re cooking on the stove top, you have to keep an eye on it and stir occasionally. Total cooking time is about 35 – 40 minutes but they can be cooking while you are doing other things, or made ahead.

Here they are getting all sweet and golden brown. They are great now but can brown a little longer. — **Now they are about 1/4 of the volume you started with. They are sweet and golden brown. Depending on the recipe, you can stop here or cook them a little longer if you want them to brown more.**

*What is a shvitz you ask? It is the Yiddish word meaning to sweat. It is used interchangeably with how you feel when you’re hot, or if you want to take a steam bath! Right now it’s so hot in my house I’m going to turn the thermostat down before I shvitz to death!

Popovers with Strawberry Butter

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Sherri

How lucky can a girl get when her husband and son wake up early on Mother’s day to make delicious popovers? Pretty lucky, especially since I love popovers. I wouldn’t say they are my favorite breakfast, but they’re right up there with the best of them. Growing up, my mother would take my sister and I to Neiman Marcus department store for lunch. That’s where I ate my first popover. They were served with softened butter and warm jam, it was such a treat to go there for a ladies lunch and have them. When my sister Rochelle came to visit us in Florida we always went there for lunch, she loved it. For days after my mother would talk about their delicious popovers; they’re so crusty yet soft inside, how do they get that way, they must be difficult to make. Then one day we decided to make them. I was taking home economics in high school and there was a recipe for popovers in the cookbook I had. Imagine, a plain old Betty Crocker cookbook could have such a fantastic recipe. It was only 5 ingredients and we thought how easy is that, let’s try it? Turns out, they were easy and so delicious. They became our special occasion breakfast. For my birthday this past summer, my son’s Jarred and Ethan made them for me on my birthday for breakfast. I’m glad they remembered to make them for me today as well. As my mother always said, everyday is mother’s day so enjoy yours with this special treat!

2 large or extra-large eggs*
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk at room temperature
1 tablespoon butter melted (plus extra to grease the muffin tins)
½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Generously butter 6 muffin tins or six 5 ounce custard cups and set aside on a cookie sheet.

In a blender or with a mixer blend the eggs, milk, butter and salt. Blend just until mixed. Add the flour and blend on low just until smooth. Do not over beat.

Fill muffin tins ¾ full or if using custard cups about ½ full and bake for 20 minutes then lower the temperature to 400 degrees and bake about 10 to 15 minutes longer or until a deep golden brown. Keep an eye on them. If they get too brown on top, cover lightly with foil. Immediately remove from cups and serve.

You can serve them with butter or your favorite jam. Another delicious way to enjoy them is by making your own strawberry butter. There are a few recipes out there that add confectioner sugar to the butter and jam mixture. I find that too sweet and make it the way a restaurant in NYC taught me (coincidentally it was my first mother’s day). We went to a restaurant called Coconut Grill on the upper east side of Manhattan. Jarred was only about one month old and we were so tired we couldn’t even remember when we ate last. They put a basket of Irish soda bread on the table with a little cup of strawberry butter. It was the most delicious thing I ever tasted. The waiter was so nice he gave us the recipe.

1/2 pound (1 stick) of unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup strawberry jam (or your favorite jam, berry jams work the best)

With a hand mixer whip the butter until smooth. Add the jam and incorporate just till mixed lightly. It’s okay if the butter has streaks of jam. It couldn’t be any easier then that!

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I took a bunch of photos of my son while mixing the batter but found out I didn’t have a chip in my camera! How ridiculous is that? UGH! So here is the beautiful finished product. Crisp and golden on the outside and soft and moist on the inside. So yummy!

*I always bake with extra-large eggs. Subbing large will work fine too.

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Celebrate with fish tacos!

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Sherri

So, I’m a day late and a dollar short. Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. Usually that means my boys come home from school and tell me they have to bake something for Spanish class. Oh, and did I mention they usually need it the next day! So being the girl scout that I am and always prepared, I generally have all the ingredients to make any variety of food (well most foods anyway)! The good news is that my boys help out, especially since we always make desserts. Jarred genuinely likes to cook and Ethan likes to lick the bowl!

This year as May 5th approached I asked my younger son Ethan what he wanted to bring in to school. He said the teacher didn’t ask the class for anything – I was shocked yet at the same time being in the throws of baseball season very relieved. Over the past 6 years I have been in my kitchen making: Mexican wedding cookies, horchata or Arroz con leche (rice pudding), flan (Mexican custard), dulce de leche (caramel), churros, oh and let’s not forget to send in Mexican hot chocolate, and cafe con leche to wash it all down! Last year I made bridagderos (a chocolate candy that is a cross between fudge and a truffle) stay tuned for that recipe, it’s delicious although technically wasn’t considered Spanish for the class since it’s Brazilian! As you can see, I’m not the grab a bag of chips and salsa to bring in kind of mom! This year I was planning to make paletas (frozen popsicles) that I saw on the Food Network. I might just have to make those sometime this summer.

Since it is a baseball night, I had to make a fast dinner so I decided to prepare a make your own taco or burrito bar. Being short on time, I purchased flour tortillas, guacamole and cuban black beans from Trader Joe. They have the best homemade flour tortillas! Salsa is another story entirely and I should probably have a post dedicated the the brands I have tried. So for tonight, any jar of salsa you have in your house will be great – remember, short on time.

To set up the buffet, you’ll need a main protein (in my case grilled tilapia) toppings of your choice, shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole, rice, corn, black beans, tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

For the recipes… roasted corn and onions, grilled tilapia, brown rice.

Taco Spiced Tilapia
3 to 4 tilapia filets (account for 1 piece of fish per person)
Penzey’s taco seasoning (or brand of your choice)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Put a non-stick grill pan on the stove top on medium heat. Meanwhile prepare the fish. Rub both sides with olive oil and sprinkle the top with taco seasoning. When the pan is hot, place the fish seasoned side down. Sprinkle the other side with a little more seasoning. Grill until done about 5 minutes a side depending on how thick your fish is.

Roasted Corn Recipe

There is a restaurant in NYC called Canyon Road. They make a roasted corn dish that is to die for. In the summer, I roast my own corn on the grill but for a nice shortcut, Trader Joe has roasted corn in the freezer section. How easy is that? It’s made with caramelized onions and very deliscious, I hope you like it.

one onion finely diced
4 garlic cloves minced
1/2 bag frozen roasted corn from you guessed it… Trader Joe!
salt and pepper to taste (I used 1/2 teaspoon of each)

In a large skillet heat 2 tbs. olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook over medium to low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes until they are nice and caramelized. Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes then add the corn. Cook until the corn is hot, add salt and pepper to taste.

Chipotle Restaurant Style Rice
2 cups of water
1 cup brown rice
1 small shallot diced fine
2 tablespoons dried cilantro or parsely (or combination)
2 teaspoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons zesty lemon seasoning
1 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning (no salt added)

In a 2 quart saucepan add the water and bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, add the rice and the rest of the ingredients and stir. Cover and cook as directed on the package.

Ole!

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica…

Cinco de Mayo, ( Spanish: “Fifth of May”) , also known as the Anniversary of the Battle of Puebla, national holiday in Mexico in honor of a military victory in 1862 over the French forces of Napoleon III. When in 1861 Mexico declared a temporary moratorium on the repayment of foreign debts, English, Spanish, and French troops invaded the country.

Tomato Soup and Roasted Garlic Grilled Cheese Sandwiches with Surprise Croutons

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Sherri

Is there anything more comforting then a warm bowl of soup on a cold winter day? Apparently, a warm bowl of soup on a cold spring day! This winter seems to be cutting into spring big time and quite frankly I’m getting a little tired of it, as are most people. The only good thing about it is that it lengthens the time we can enjoy a nice hot bowl of soup. And, since it rains in Ohio 10 to 14 days a month on average, soup is a big go-to for me. I will probably add a subtitle “soups” at some point because I do make quite a few of them. Throughout the fall and winter I make chicken soup almost every week. Then there is vegetable soup, carrot and parsnip soup, butternut squash soup, lentil soup, split pea soup, potato leek, onion soup, hot and sour soup (shout out to my sister-in-law Barbara for that one), velvet chicken and corn soup, mushroom barley soup, and in the summer, gazpacho and chilled fruit soups! Tonight it was so cold, it felt like a tomato soup kind of night. Since I had a loaf of roasted garlic bread in the house, what better to go along side than a delicious gooey grilled cheese? This recipe is loosely based on Barefoot Contessa’s easy tomato soup & grilled cheese croutons (how clever is that?) but with a Splash of Sherri and much less fat! This recipe makes 4 to 6 servings.

2 sweet onions diced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves of garlic peeled and minced
4 cups vegetable stock (store bought is fine for this)
2 (28 ounce) cans San Marzano tomatoes
1 pint cherry tomatoes or any mix of fresh tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons sea salt (season to taste)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper (season to taste)

Grilled cheese recipe follows at the end

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash a pint of tomatoes, core and cut in half. Place on a small baking sheet and drizzle with one tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt, toss to coat. Roast in the oven for about 20 minute or until the tomatoes start to have a nice light charred look to them. I roasted a pint of mini heirloom tomatoes in my toaster oven. They added such a wonderful flavor to the soup. If you can find them, I highly recommend them.

Meanwhile, in a large pot heat 2 tbs. olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook over medium to low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes until they are nice and caramelized.* Add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, stir in the vegetable stock, can of tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, bay leaf, sugar, salt and pepper.. Bring the soup to a light boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes. Use and immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.

* I use the Arthur Schwartz method of caramelizing onions. After you place them in the pot, cover them for 10 minutes stirring every 3 minutes or so. Then uncover them and cook another 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally, until they become nice and golden brown. See my post on how to caramelize onions in my favorite things category.

Grilled cheese sandwiches for 3 people plus one extra to cut into croutons:

8 slices Roasted garlic bread sliced into 1/2 inch slices (or the bread of your choice)
1 cup good quality lowfat cheddar cheese shredded
olive oil to brush the bread

Heat a griddle or panini pan. Place 4 slices of bread on a cutting board and lightly brush with olive oil. Usually grilled cheese is made by buttering the bread but I prefer the taste of olive oil and it’s healthier. Place them oiled side down in the pan. Top each slice with 1/4 cup of cheese. Place remaining slices of bread on top and lightly brush with olive oil.

Grill the sandwiches for about 4 minutes a side, or until nicely browned. Place on a cutting board and allow them to rest for about a minute before slicing in half. Slice 3 of the sandwiches in half. The extra sandwich, cut into 1 inch cubes and place in a bowl to be used as croutons. Enjoy!