Swisskaese

I know that some people in the states also fill them with a mixture of ricotta that has been smoothed in a food processor and sugar. Can you get Akkawi cheese in the States?

Hi Yettty, I recognised everything but the white thing in the right-hand corner and they are called the same thing here. I would agree that the middle one is some type of Knaffe. Elie, I have heard of the semolina version of Knaffe, but have never had it. I would be interested in seeing the recipe. Here is the third picture I took. I am not sure what happened to it in the previous reply.

We went to Jaffo today for a festival and couldn't resist stopping in a pastry shop. We also went to Abulafia's (a famous Jaffo institution for pita, pizza, burekas, etc.), but the picture didn't turn out. This is Knaffe. It is shredded pastry filled with cheese and covered in sugar syrup. It is served warm. It is gooey and yummy. These are various types of baklawa. And so are these. We shared a piece of walnut baklawa and a pistachio baklawa in the front of the second picture. We washed it down with fresh mango-pomegranate juice. We selected the combination of fruit.

Which is why I said Rubashkin ... ← Is that the brand name? I couldn't remember which brand she bought.

Sorry about the fuzzy pictures. We are still trying to get the hang of our digital camera. David made Marhapörkölt, which is a thicker version of gulyas. His Hungarian mother was very proud and I enjoyed the benefits of eating this wonderful meal. A few days later, we tested a recipe for David Leite. It is the same one that Elie made, Coffee Ice Cream with Warm Chocolate Ganache. All I can say is WOW! Unfortunately, I was unable to take pictures last night, but we went to a potluck dinner and brought Provencal Onion & Olive Tart and an Apple Gallette. There were no leftovers.

My mother makes them with smoked beef keilbasa.

Hi Elie, I had some homemade Kataiif a few weeks ago. They were wonderful. Just sweet enough. The clotted cream filling was not very sweet, which I prefer because the sugar syrup makes up for the unsweetened cream. What do you fill yours with? It was a party I went to before Ramadan and Hisham, the chef, also makes the most amazing cheese rolls with whole zatar leaves that he picks on the hills near his home. He also makes amazing Maklooba, but that is another thread all together. Take care, Michelle

We are going to a Pot-luck Shabbat Dinner at the Shul. It is dairy, so David is making a leek quiche and I am either making an Apple Gallette or a Chocolate-Crusted Plum Gallette.

I just stumbled across a very interesting fruitcake recipe. I am going to try this if I can find dried cherries and dried cranberries. Butternut Squash Fruit Cake

That is beautiful and it has my name already on it, so you can just put it in a box and ship it right over.

Swisskaese: Thanks for noticing my request! Specifically, I’m referring to the Tuscan shortbread cookies – not the butter cookies made from pasta frolla or the Umbrian fruit cake also known as torciglione. Any recipes in your files similar to those torciglioni made by Flambar's Pasticceria in Piemonte? And, yes, a pignoli version would be delightful. Gratefully, Lawrence ← Hi Lawrence, I sent an email to a friend of mine in Italy to see if he can find you a recipe. I will let you know when I hear from him. Take care, Michelle

Nice article Matthew.

Proportions on the parsnip/pear/cream? Sounds tempting. ← This is the one I make and it has parsnip, pear and cream. It was a big hit at Thanksgiving several years ago. Marbelized Root Vegetable Puree

Here is ingredients for pie crust for another one of his pies. It is for a 10-in pie crust. Pie Shell 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature 1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar 1 egg yolk 2 tablespoons ice water

That would be a Little Debbie Banana Twin and that is probably a whole other Southern topic.

Edited because my computer was misbehavin.

We have been slurping on chicken soup for the past two days. I am the one that usually makes the chicken soup, but my fiance decided he wanted to give it a try and I have to say that it is as good as mine. Tonight I made stuffed aubergine: Served with Casillero del Diablo Cabernet Sauvignon 2000

Dean Fearing's pecan pie is amazing: Dean Fearing's Pecan Pie

Before I started keeping Kosher, I made a White Lasagne. It is with chicken, bechamel and ricotta. It was always a hit a dinner parties: White Lasagna As for the reference to Tuscan Lasagne al Forno! Please excuse me, I am from the backwoods of Alabama and Lugano, Switzerland where Bolognese is just referred to as Ragu and Ragu' respectively. Truth be told, my mother makes the best Bolognese sauce I have ever had. We never used bottled sauce.

That is not a completely true statement. It depends on what region you are from. It is true to say that Tuscan lasagne al forno does not require ricotta. If you want to make a vegetarian lasagna that does not require ricotta, then you could make lasagne col pesto. Here is a recipe: Lasagne col Pesto

Hi Lawrence, Are you talking about the ones with rosemary and pinenuts?

Hi Rehovot, First of all, if it is post-dinner, then you have to assume that people have eaten a meat meal prior to coming to your home, so you need to serve something parve (non-dairy). First ask your group if the food has to be L'Mehedrin. If so, then you have to make sure that everything has a Bedatz Heksher. It is a little more complicated. I would suggest going to a nice bakery in Rehovot. I am not sure which ones are there, but my cousin lives there and I will be happy to call her and ask her for you. Ask the bakery to show you the parve desserts. I would suggest getting a strudel and some sort of dark chocolate parve dessert. Make sure that you have non-dairy creamer for the coffee and serve everything on paper plates. Buy juices and softdrinks. If it is Mehedrin, then PM me and I will send you my phone number and we can discuss what you should do. I live in Tel Aviv. Take care.

I made a variation of Chicken Paprikas served with jerusalem artichokes and asparagus.

I made the following for Shabbat: A improvised version of Hungarian Paprikas Jerusalem Artichokes Asparagus

Hi Bloviatrix, Here is the recipe: 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, julienned, divided in half 3 cloves garlic, sliced 4 pieces of chicken (legs, breast or thighs) 12 threads saffron 1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1/2 tsp of fresh ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste pinch ground cloves 2 bay leaves 2 cups water 1/4 cup honey 4 tablespoons pomegranate syrup Heat the 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or deep frying pan. Saute half of the onions with the garlic. Add the chicken. Steep the saffron threads in just enough hot water to cover. Brown the chicken, then add the spices (including the steeped saffron with its liquid), and water. Cover pot and simmer for about 25 minutes. Add the remaining onions, honey and pomegranate syrup. Cook for about 20 minutes on until sauce thickens. Remove bay leaves and serve.