Photo: By Sifu Renka via flickr.

Sweet Potatoes, a New Way for Thanksgiving

by Chef Renee Marton

I’ve never been a fan of sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, although I know many people love them.

Here’s a sweet potato recipe that might just  make you dump that bag of marshmallows. It’s adapted from a recipe by June restaurant’s Chef Vuoc Long in Seattle. This recipe yields about 4 to 6 servings. It is a little more work than the traditional dish, but really worth the effort.

3 to 4 sweet potatoes (2 pounds after cooking)

2 eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

4 to 5 cups flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3 tablespoons minced shallot

2 to 2 1/2 cups brown chicken or turkey stock

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen pearl onions

½ cup butter

1/4 cup chopped parsley

¼ cup chopped mint

Boil potatoes in salty water until tender. Peel them. While still warm, mash them with salt and pepper, eggs, cheese, and enough flour to make pliable dough, which you roll out into a long cylindrical strip, about 1 inch in diameter.

Cut the strip into one inch pieces and blanch them in salted water until they float to the surface. Reserve them on a plate until you have finished blanching all the pieces of sweet potato dough.

In the meantime, melt the butter and olive oil in a wide saucepan. When butter is sizzling, add shallots. After one minute, add garlic and stir together. Then add dumplings and crisp them a little in the butter/oil mixture, shaking the pan so all sides heat up and crisp. Add the stock and bring to a simmer. Then add pearl onions and peas. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken the stock and create a “sauce.” When ready to serve, add parsley and mint. Taste for salt and pepper.

You can add strips of Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Related posts:

1. Recipe: Thanksgiving Squash Soup
2. Recipe: Roasted Autumn Vegetables for Thanksgiving
3. Thanksgiving Turkey Recipe Part II: From the Oven to the Table

By yogamam.co.uk via flickr.

Red, White and Blue Soup sounds kind of, well, trite when it comes to a July 4 recipe. But, really, this is a colorful and healthy sweet/tart starter for any July 4 meal, says Chef Renee. There are a lot of ingredients, but the prep couldn’t be easier. All you need is a knife, a cutting board and a blender, and you’re good to go.

July 4 Recipe: Red, White and Blue Soup

Yield: 6 servings

RED

Soup base:

1 red seedless watermelon, peeled and cubed.  Save all the juice.

½ cup grenadine

Juice and zest from 2 lemons

1 cup white grape juice

1 teaspoon white sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

Place all ingredients in a blender. Don’t fill blender more than halfway. Blend the mixture until it is fully liquefied. This will take 2-3 minutes.

Refrigerate for at least one hour and stir periodically.  The soup should taste sweet and tart.

WHITE

1 cup plain yogurt

1 tablespoon honey

1 lime, juice only

Mix all together and refrigerate for one hour.  Put into a squeeze bottle, or you can use a spoon to make dollops onto the soup when you serve it.

BLUE.  This is the “salsa” that will garnish the soup.

½ pint blackberries, coarsely chopped

1 pint blueberries, coarsely chopped

1 medium shallot, peeled, finely diced

3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

6 mint leaves, shredded into thin strips

1 teaspoon white sugar

pinch salt

pinch pepper

1 lemon, zest and juiced.

Mix all the ingredients of ‘Blue” together and wait an hour—keep at room temperature.

When ready to serve the soup, remove it and yogurt from the refrigerator 15 minutes ahead of when you plan to serve it.

Stir soup well, and pour into 6 chilled wide soup bowl.

If you are using a squeeze bottle, make a design on top of the soup, or with a spoon place a dollop of yogurt in center of soup.

Place a spoonful of blueberry “salsa” on top of yogurt.

Garnish each bowl of soup with a sprig of mint.

Related posts:

1. Recipe: Gazpacho for an End of Summer Soup Treat
2. Recipe: Thanksgiving Squash Soup
3. Recipe: Watermelon Cocktail and Feta Popcorn for July 4th

The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews contains an Italian-Ashkenazi matzoh ball soup.

Passover Italian-Ashkenazi Chicken-Matza Ball Soup

Italian matzoh ball soup??

This unusual recipe, combining the Sepharidic and Ashkenazi traditions—Italian and Ashkenazi Chicken-Matza Ball Soup—comes, says Chef Renee, from a wonderful cookbook called The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews, by Edda Servi Machlin, first published in 1981.

Explains Chef Renee Marton: “The recipe is a combination of Italian Passover soup and Ashkenazi matzoh ball soup, or as Machlin dubs it, ‘matza’ ball soup. I’ve added herbs, but otherwise it’s the original recipe.”

INGREDIENTS

1 boned chicken breast (2 halves)

3 eggs, slightly beaten

8 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

Dash white pepper

Dash nutmeg

¾ cup matzoh meal

1 bunch chives, finely chopped

1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped

METHOD

Grind or finely chop the chicken breast.  Combine eggs, ¼ cup broth, oil, salt, pepper and nutmeg.  Add matzoh meal, chives and ground chicken and mix well.  Set aside in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Bring the broth to a boil.  Shape the chicken mixture into 12 balls and drop directly into the boiling soup. When it comes to the second boil, lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer 20 minutes without removing the lid.  Add parsley.  Serve immediately.

Related posts:

1. Recipe: Thanksgiving Squash Soup
2. Passover is Coming–Dine In or Out?
3. July 4 Recipe: Red, White and Blue Soup

Rabbi Mints. A mitzvah for your mouth.

What does it take for a Rabbi and an ad man and an entrepreneur to create a new product? Ad man Richard Kirshenbaum, entrepreneur David Mitchell and Rabbi Adam Mintz (get it???) of Congregation Rayim Ahuvim in New York City launched kosher Rabbi Mints March 21 just in time for the Passover season with its heavy, pleasant-breath-defying foods.

The idea for Rabbi Mints sprang from a mitzvah.  It came about when Kirschenbaum and Mitchell were seated next to each other at a wedding at which Rabbi Mintz was officiating. When it was time for the groom to kiss the bride, Kirshenbaum joked, “Just in time for Rabbi Mints Kosher Mints.” Mitchell said, “That’s a funny joke, but a serious business idea.” Thus were Rabbi Mints born.

How do they taste?  Like Altoids. But if you want your mints kosher, then these will fit the bill.

Here’s where you can buy them on the Upper West Side:

Barney Greengrass

Fischer Bros Kosher Butcher

Carnegie Deli (midtown)

Related posts:

1. Passover: Chozen Ice Cream-A Lighter Finish to that Heavy Seder Meal
2. Upper West Side: Kosher Restaurant My Most Favorite Food Opens in Time for Passover
3. Jewish Food: Two New Programs at the JCC in Time for Hanukkah

Corned Beef and Cabbage by by Jeff Kubina via flickr.

“What’s more Irish than a traditional recipe for corned beef and cabbage?” asks Allrecipes.com. For St. Patrick’s Day, you can’t get more Irish than this hearty dish.

But according to 97 Orchard Street by Jane Ziegelman, corned beef and cabbage traveled to New York with the Dutch settlers. Many European countries developed their own variations. But the Irish dish, corned beef accompanied by cabbage, quickly became associated with the influx of Irish immigrants to the U.S.

More recently, Americans of many ethnic backgrounds have enjoyed corned beef and cabbage. I’m not Irish. Yet my mother prepared it every St. Patrick’s Day.

Here’s a recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Related posts:

1. Recipe: St. Patrick’s Day Marshmallows
2. Recipe: Potato Latkes for Hanukkah
3. Recipe for Father’s Day: Smoky Gazpacho Mario with Spicy Slim Jim Stirrer

Hamantaschen by by sierravalleygirl.

Purim or no Purim, hamantaschen are a bore. The traditional Jewish pastry is typically dry and flavorless—regardless of who bakes them—on the Upper West Side or elsewhere in New York. Yesterday, however, I became a partial convert at the Second Avenue Deli on 33rd between Lexington Ave. and Third. Their selection—prune, apricot, poppy seed, chocolate—was relatively moist, or at least not as dry as the desert Moses trekked across with the Israelites.

However, I realize there are lots of hamantaschen fans, especially on the Upper West Side. So, here’s a list of where to buy them:

Upper West Side

Hungarian Pastry Shop

My Most Favorite Foods

Silver Moon Bakery

William Greenberg Jr. Desserts

Zabars

Elsewhere in Manhattan

Russ and Daughters

Yonah Schimmel

Related posts:

1. Upper West Side: Zabar’s Jumps the High Holidays Gun
2. Where to Buy Potato Latkes for Hanukkah on the Upper West Side
3. Upper West Side: Zabar’s Gives Valentine’s Day a Jewish Twist

Especially in this down economy, restaurants are hungering for your business on Valentine’s Day. On the Upper West Side, there’s a bumper crop of places to go.

I personally would rather skip the whole hyped-up Valentine’s Day eating out thing and prepare a cozy dinner at home. Why brave the mobs at the restaurants, the often sub-par food, and the indifferent service?

But if eating out will make the  day special for you, here’s a list of some places to have romance and a meal on the Upper West Side and elsewhere.

It’s safe to assume that nearly every restaurant in the city will be having Valentine specials, Valentine desserts, Valentine prix fixes, etc., etc.

Upper West Side

Alouette This oldy but goody French bistro is offering a 4-course prix fixe (Open Table) for $60/person.

A Voce Columbus Circle $95 four-course tasting menu.

Big Daddy’s-UWS. If you can’t find a babysitter and need to drag the kids along (how romantic), this family friendly dinner is a good choice.

Isabella’s. Want Italian? This popular place across from the Museum of Natural History may be the ticket.

Telepan. Truffles and more for $78/person.

Elsewhere

Flex Mussels

The Harrison

Five Points

Porsena

Related posts:

1. Which Restaurants Are Open Christmas Day on the Upper West Side and Elsewhere in New York
2. 2009 Cooking Classes on Valentines Day
3. Upper West Side: Zabar’s Gives Valentine’s Day a Jewish Twist

By Food Thinkers via flickr.

Brunch on New Year’s Day is a must-do for lots of folks, especially when January 1 falls on a Saturday like it does this year.  There are a ton of choices on the Upper West Side and elsewhere in the city.

As for me, crawling out of bed to fight the mobs for a watered-down Bloody Mary is definitely not the way I want to start the new year. My blueberry pancake recipe is better than anyone’s, so why schlep?

But if you feel that brunch is part of the celebration, here’s a list of places open New Year’s Day, culled from Opentable. You can probably assume that your favorite brunch spot is open even if it isn’t listed here.

But call first. Too many hung over waiters sleeping in? Some places may decide to call it a day.

Upper West Side

Related posts:

1. Restaurants for Valentine’s Day on the Upper West Side and Elsewhere in New York
2. Which Restaurants Are Open Christmas Day on the Upper West Side and Elsewhere in New York
3. NEW YORK RESTAURANTS: Christmas, New Years Dining Options

Schrafft's Time's Square ice cream counter, New York, 1954. Library of Congress.

Yes, it’s holiday time, but just because it’s frigid outside, doesn’t mean a scoop of peppermint or eggnog ice cream isn’t in the Christmas or New Year’s spirit. You can warm things up by topping warm apple pie with ice cream, or draping a scoop or two of the frosty treat with hot fudge or caramel sauce.

Want to make homemade ice cream? Here are some recipes:

Peppermint Ice Cream Tastes Like Christmas – Food and Cooking

Eggnog Ice Cream Recipe | Simply Recipes

What to buy a selection of holiday flavors? Some shops to check out:

Il laboratorio del gelato cinnamon, eggnog, salted caramel

Ronnybrook Farm Ginger creme brulee

Emack and Bolio’s raspberry truffle

Serendipity Frozen hot chocolate; Cinnamon Fudge Sundae apple pie, caramel topping with whipped cream

The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory – Menu Chocolate Chocolate Chunk

Wondering if ice cream is a bona fide Christmas food?

Devotees of the 1946 Frank Capra classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, may remember the scene I
recount in Ice Cream: A Global History (Reaktion Books -Reaktion Books)due out in April.

Who can forget Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey dishing up chocolate ice cream to Mary at the local ice cream fountain as the young girl whispers, “George Bailey, I’ll love you till the day I die”?

Related posts:

1. Ice Cream Sandwich Recipe: Corn Ice Cream Makes this a Great Summer Treat. Plus, Where to Buy Ice Cream Sandwiches in New York
2. An All Ice Cream Dinner June 6 in New York
3. NEW YORK RESTAURANTS: Christmas, New Years Dining Options

Paule Caillat, owner of Promenades Gourmandes in Paris, and Rosa Jackson, owner Les Petits Farcis in Nice, will teach a series of four pre-Christmas workshop from December 16 through 19.

Paule’s workshops will focus on cheese and chocolate. In Rosa’s workshops, you will explore two ingredients more closely associated with southern France and the Mediterranean: saffron and honey. Dishes such as chicken bouillabaisse with saffron-scented rouille and pear tart with hazelnuts and lavender honey are on the menu.

Here’s the schedule, as well as a detailed menu for Christmas in Paris–All About Chocolate, below

Christmas in Paris-All about Cheese – 12/16/2010

Christmas in Paris- All about Chocolate – 12/17/2010

Christmas in Provence – Flavors of Provencal Honey! – 12/18/2010

Christmas in Provence – Flavors of French Saffron – 12/19/2010

Christmas in Paris–All About Chocolate

Date: Friday, December 17, 2010

Time: 6:30 – 10:30 PM

Cost: $155.00

Location: The Culinary Loft, 515 Broadway, Suite 5A, New York, NY 10012

Instructor: Paule Caillat, owner of the cooking school Promenades Gourmandes (www.promenadesgourmandes.com) in Paris.

~Menu~

Crispy Triangles of Duck Confit and Chocolate

Pork Tenderloin with Chocolate Sauce

Camembert, Dried Fruits and Crushed Cocoa Beans

A Surprise Chocolate Dessert!

To reserve, call The Culinary Loft at 212.431.7425.

Related posts:

1. Father’s Day: NY Beer and Chocolate Class
2. Where to Get Holiday Cupcakes, Gingerbread Houses and More at Upper West Side Bakeries
3. Holiday on the Hudson Celebration Tonight