shain

This is a very classic recipe for cheesecake, which is often served in Shavuot holiday dinner. Makes enough for a 28cm (11") pan or two 20cm (8") pans (not a spring-form). 750ml fromage blanc (or any other soft, smooth, white and not too acidic fresh cheese, such as quarck or even ricotta) - 5% to 8% fat (not more, otherwise it will be to heavy) 200ml sour cream (reduced fat is accaptable) 6 eggs (size L) 220g sugar (about one full cup) 90g cornstrach (2/3 of a cup) 1-2 teaspoons of good vanilla extract Optionally, you may add some pre-saoked raisins (rum, brandy or ornage liquer are best, plain water also works) for topping (optional): 200ml sour cream 4-6 teaspoons of confectioners sugar (adjust by taste) optionally: 2-3 tablespoons of triple-sec (or cointreau or whatever liqueur you like. I can imagine creme de cassis being quite nice) Mix all topping ingredients together. Grease the pan well - bottom and sides. Place a pan or pot, with a few cups of water, on the bottom of the oven. Place a sheet pan in it's middle. Preheat to 170 dC (340 dF). Separate the eggs yolks from the whites (one by one, don't risk breaking a yolk into all the whites ). In a large bowl, mix the yolks, cheese, cream, starch, vanilla, half of the sugar, and the optional raisins. Using a mixer, whisk the egg whites until forming a foam. Gradually add remaining half of the sugar. Stop whisking when the egg foam is stable yet flexible (firm but not stiff peaks). Fold 1/3 of egg whites into the cheese mixture. Gently fold remaining foam until well combined. Do not over-mix as to not break the foam. Pour batter into greased pan and place onto the baking sheet, previously placed in the oven. The oven should be steamy from the pan at the bottom. Pour 2 cup of room-temp water onto the baking sheet, around the cake pan (you will now have two water baths - one around the cake and one bellow). Bake 10 minutes before reducing the oven thermostat to 140 dc (285 dF). The cake should have risen quite well by now. Continue baking for another 50 to 70 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the cakes middle should remain mist but clean. Remove from oven and let chill slightly. Spread cream cheese topping while the cake is lightly warm. Place the cake in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours before serving.

Cheesecake, with sour cream and triple-sec topping.

@Katie Meadow I love sabich, but sadly very few places in Israel serve good sabich, most are serve mostly falafel, with the sabich being an after thought menu item (since it uses many ingredients also used in falafel). You can easly know this if you see a bowl of sad, over-fried eggplants seating on the counter. A good place will fry them to order to lovely brown shade. Truth to be told, unlike flaafel, the best sabich is always home made. Here are some of my opinions about it: Eggs are a crucial ingredient in sabich, aside from being the protein source of the dish, their flavor is important. You should try to boil them less for a softer egg. I much prefer the eggs this way. I also think that using both tahini and hummus is redundant, I usually pick just one. No fresh cucumber in sabich for me, only tomato, onion, pickled cucumber and sometimes cabbage. I personally prefer to grill to eggplants, since I'm not a fan of fried eggplants in any form. If you like fried eggplants, then obviously, that's the proper way to go. A good pita bread should be soft, fresh and fluffy. Only grill it if it already lost it's softness (same rule as with bagels - a good and fresh one should not be toasted). Also, some people add french fries. Another thing, is that one can make some realy nice sabich salad: just mix or layer the ingredients and add toasted pita croutons. If you have an access to a mango tree, you can make a pretty good basic amba with only some unripe mango fruits, fenugreek seeds and turmeric.

Freekeh (lightly smoked green wheat), cooked risotto style. Flavored with bahart, stir-fried onion, garlic, smoked paprika, a little Parmesan cheese, thyme. Added stir fried zucchini, cooked dried peas and fresh (frozen) peas. Runny egg, poached in the stew. Finished with lemon, black pepper, sumac, more paprika and chives. Salad of raw zucchini, cherry tomatoes, parsley, olive oil, sumac and lemon juice.

Dinner was composed of the mid-week's leftovers: Cauliflower in marinara sauce (quite appropriately, cooked al-dente and crisp). Bell pepper and eggplant stew, with a touch of mint and smoked Tabasco. Wholemeal ptitim (aka Israeli couscous), with egg noodles, mild chili pepper and grated carrot. Served with extra black pepper. Some sliced cucumbers, kohlrabi and overripe (yet quite good) cherry tomatoes.

They come in various sizes, so I guess you can bake more then one in the larger version. My assumption, as that like with Neapolitan pizza, a very short baking time is desired, I think a maximum of 3 minutes is what I'll aim for, but it's only an assumption at this stage. Iv'e seen then sold online for 170-200 ILS (45-50 $US). A friend said she can probably find one for almost half the price in Umm al-Fahm's market. I tend to agree. I can reproduce an average supermarket pita in my regular oven, which is OK, but not worth the effort of making myself. To be honest, I don't think I'll be able to achieve a results as good as this bakery, but maybe I'll try for sport. I feel you about the commercial pita breads. I have never tried a pita outside of Israel, but I cringe to think of the stuff being commercially sold as bagels, baguettes, tortillas, etc. (and don't get me started on cheeses!) over here. Anyhow, I'm sure you would like the pita - no one can dislike a warm pillow of carbs I thought about the subject some more and concluded that the interior texture I'm looking for is very much like that of a ciabatta. 70-80% hydration, but perhaps not as strong of a flour, to get less chew.

@Anna N you spared me from some long explanation. As said, a picture is worth a thousand words (and a video?). Thanks! Anyhow, this type of oven was used in times when an home oven was expensive. It was used for anything that requires high temperatures, from baking breads to grilling meat. Wundertopf was used for cakes and such at lower temperatures. Today it lost it's popularity, but still considered a cheap and good tool for pita baking. High temperatures and moisture retainment are what makes it suitable.

@Thanks for the Crepes Imam bayildi is one tasty dish! I don't think I ever made it myself, but it's common in restaurants. By "oil from the jar", I assume you mean from the top of the tahini jar. If you are not into raw garlic I'll opt for sautéed rather then roasted, but both will be tasty. Not sure about dried. Also, I think the recipe should contain salt, you miss it for a reason. @rarerollingobject This looks delicious. I never had a sweet flavored with tahini and lemon, but it just seems so natural. I now think of a toast with tahini and lemon/orange marmalade. Might be an interesting variation on my goto combination with honey.

The specific pita pictured above indeed contains whole meal wheat as well as whole rye. The same bakery also makes white pita breads, which have a slightly softer texture. I prefer the wholemeal version flavor-wise, and find the texture difference very minute (which I think is very impressive, I have never seen such a soft whole meal bread). According to my experience, I agree that the dough used is more hydrated then usual, I'll assume 60-70%. It is sold covered in a notable dusting of flour, which I guess is used to allow handling of the stickier dough. It is not sourdough. It might contain a small amount of sugar (it's not as sweet as some other pita breads I've tasted). Crumb is showing the gloss which I relate to it being well gelatinized, it is gently chewy and melts in the mouth. The outside is, as said, quite soft. One thing I know from experience is that all pita breads are to be wrapped shortly after baking, while still very warm, and kept from the air at all times. 10 minutes of exposure are enough to dry any pita. I'll be delighted if I could manage to make such bread, either whole meal or white. I hope to get myself a mini pita oven. They are rarely sold those days, but I think it might be a step in right direction, as they were quite common for home baking about 30 years ago. On the left is another picture of the same pita breads. On the right an electric mini pita oven (source).

Well, when you grow up on it, it can't really get boring, I just switch the things I put it on... To me, it's like for an Italian growing tired of pasta. You can try adding some flavorings, garlic or parsley is a good starting point. Also, consider trying other tahini brands, I don't know what is available to you, but the spectrum of tahini flavors is quite astonishing IMO. I don't like to keep tahini that long, I find it develop some of flavor and I rather make a two days worth batch. This is especially true if you add garlic or parsley.

The problem is not with the pocket, it's with the texture of the bread itself. As with pizza, a lower temp means a longer bake which results and a drier and more chewy dough. Home ovens are also lacking the steam injector that is used in commercial bakeries. Just for compression, on the left is a (semi)random photo from Google (source) , showing an average pita. On the right is a pita from my favorite pita bakery. The difference in thickness and texture is quite visible. I don't think an home oven can compare with a dedicated one. But just in case someone knows how to get this kind of crumb, please do tell me! On another note, yesterdays lunch was a pasta bake with mushrooms, cream cheese and chives.

Light dinner: Tamagoyaki with wakame. Defrosted semi whole meal bread with sesame, aniseed, flax and orange peel. Lightly buttred with browned butter and lightly toasted (picture taken before. Don't want the bread to chill while taking pictures (: ).

Chocolate & orange crinkle cookies. With orange zest and tripel-sec. Slightly fudgy interior and a crisp crust.

@kayb Thank you very much. I'm afraid I haven't yet succeeded baking a pita as good as those I can by in the nearby bakery, so the one in the photo is from over there. The problem is that baking a good pita bread requires a very hot oven, much like Neapolitan pizza (there is much similarity, if you think about it). I want to buy a small home-use pizza oven (it's essentially a large aluminium put with a strong electric grill), in hope to get better results.

Grape flaugnarde (since a clafoutis must be made with cherries to be called so). Topped with toasted sliced almonds.

Part of tonight dinner. Basmati rice pilaf, with toasted coconut, dried cranberries, toasted almonds. Chopped vegetable salad, dressed in olive oil, lemon, slat and pepper. Dessert was a flaugnarde (in the desserts thread).

Sabich with grilled (as opposed to fried) eggplants, hard boiled eggs, chopped tomato, pickled cucumber, onion, tahini sauce, zchug, amba sauce, parsley and spices. All inside a warm, soft and fluffy pita bread. Apologies for bad photos.

OK, so Iv'e came up with a recipe for a biscuit with the texture I'm after. It's quick to make, peanuty, not too sweet and retains it's shape while baking. Next I'm going to need a good caramel filling recipe. I want one which will be not fluid, yet not too chewy. For now, it's also very tasty filled with jam. 100g peanut butter 75 g flour 40 g powdered sugar -Mix all together to form a crumbly dough 25-30 g water a touch of vanilla -Add and fold until forms an even dough -Roll thinly on a lightly floured surface (the dough is very nice to work with and needs not be chilled). -Roll around a lightly oiled wooden stick to form a cylinder. -Bake @170 dC until very dry and lightly colored. This is a picture of a biscuit badly rolled but still tasty.

Phyllo is amazingly easy to work with, nothing like puff pastry.

@Ann_T Those are beautiful pictures! This omelette look great.

Quick cooked shakshuka (as opposed to my usual slow cooked). Had a really good leftover tomato and bell pepper on hand (only one of each...), so I tough an almost no-cooked preparation will be appropriate (and also faster to make ). Two very soft eggs, mopped up with some re-crisped frozen challa bread. Yum.

Thank you, it's nice to know. Though in retrospect, I should have had looked it up...

@Deryn Thank you very much for the in depth response. Freeze drying is an amazing technique with vast potential and possibilities, and I'm always glad to read about it.

@Anna N First, you should determine how coarse is your bulgur chopped. It can range from very fine, which is slightly larger then couscous, to coarse, which is about half of the wheat berry. Remember that bulgur is already cooked, so you only need to hydrate it. But cooking can speed thing up. Fine couscous should not be cooked, only soaked in hot or cold liquid (try carrot juice!). The large one is better boiled, as it will take long time to soak. The larger types are very forgiving to any cooking method, you can boil it like pasta, steam it like rice or just soak overnight. Anyway, remember to wash it first, or you risk unpleasant papery flavor. My favorite bulgur dish is majadera, medium or large bulgur (or rice), with lentils, baharat spice mix, and caramelized onions. Served with yogurt. Also taboole salad.

Interesting thought, I would assume that the gluten "network" will hold after dried. On a second thought, I guess there should be no real difference between regular dried pasta and freeze-dried one. It might be interesting to FD ravioli and other stuffed pasta, where regular drying can't work. By the way, how does re-hydrated previously cooked and dried pasta compare to freshly cooked pasta?