What We're Cooking for Shabbos: 2007 -

[Pam R]

It wasn't you! This happens with this topic - it'll pick up again.

And I'll take a second and request that any great recipes get posted to RecipeGullet so that they don't get buried in the middle of a long topic. Thanks!

[CapnCook]

Starters:

Challah

Mediterranean salads

Fish course:

Spicy gefilte fish (went over so well last week, I thought I'd make it again)

Soup:

Chicken soup

Salad course:

Mixed greens with walnuts and sweet maple dressing

Main course:

Parve Scalloped potatoes

Chicken diabolo

Slow roasted garlic tomatoes

Dessert:

VERY ripe pineapple, OR

poached pears (undecided as of yet...depends how much work I have

[scubadoo97]

Staying real basic since my Greek themed dinner was not appreciated by some of the picky eaters in my extended family .

Grilled flank and flat iron steaks to be sliced thin and served with tortillas, salsa, mole, rice, plantains and salad.

[Swisskaese]

Shabbat Shalom everyone!

We are having:

Hungarian goulash

Polenta

Steamed broccoli

Spiced Apple Cake

Red wine

[Gifted Gourmet]

So far this morning, one might conclude that I am (almost) now a vegetarian .. not so! Have yet to saute the chicken for schnitzel ...

Polish sausage (Rubashkin) in a mushroom barley soup

fruited baby carrots in honey wine sauce: apricots, cranberries, orange zest,big California raisins ...

Roasted aspargus with sea salt ..

zucchini sauteed in olive oil, sea salt,garlic, tomato sauce

Will add some fettucini and olives to this zucchini dish later ...

mixed greens dinner salad with red endives, wine vinaigrette

while my cooking may not be improving, my photographs are looking somewhat better .. at least to me ...

now ... dessert looks like it may be the new blood oranges and blueberries that I bought yesterday .. husband will chime in (whining) "where are the baked goods you always make for Shabbat?" .. he says that this mitzvah, baked goods, is in the Torah .. I have yet to locate it though ...

Shabbat shalom everyone!

[Swisskaese]

now ... dessert looks like it may be the new blood oranges and blueberries that I bought yesterday .. husband will chime in (whining) "where are the baked goods you always make for Shabbat?" .. he says that this mitzvah, baked goods, is in the Torah .. I have yet to locate it though ...

Shabbat shalom everyone!

←

Looks delicious. I will be right over.

I will trade you one Apple Spice Cake with Calvados for your blood oranges and blueberries.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Okay, Michelle, here is the updated Shabbat meal ...

The fruit ...

The chicken schnitzel

The turkey breast ready for the oven with its smoked paprika coating

The roses for Shabbat which my husband brings home every week without fail ...

Edited January 26, 2007 by Gifted Gourmet (log)

[shellfishfiend]

Gifted Gourmet,

That is one of the most beautiful pictures of fruit I have ever seen. I don't know if it is the quality of the fruit or the photographer, but it makes me think I can almost taste it.

[Miriam Kresh]

Miriam Kresh, can you please give the recipe of your challah?

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Sorry for the delayed answer, Anna. Here at any event is the challah recipe (only 2 eggs, guys...)

Potato Water Challas

2 medium-sized loaves

1 1/2 cups of cooking water from boiling potatoes, warm. It won't hurt if some potato residue from cooking slips into the water; just make sure there are no big chunks. Of if there are, mash them up well with a fork.

1 cube of fresh yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup sugar. You may increase this to 1/2 cup if you like your challah sweet; we like ours just off-sweet.

1 Tblsp. salt

5-6 cups of flour (The amount will vary, as American vs. Israeli flours absorb water differently.)

1 egg for gilding the loaves

poppy or sesame seeds, about 1 1/2 Tblsp.

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm potato water.

2. Mix in the olive oil and the eggs.

3. Add the sugar.

4. Mix in some flour, about 2 cups.

5. Add the salt.

6. Slowly add the rest of the flour as you mix and knead, till a slightly sticky dough is obtained. I don't want the traditional flexible dough, I want it just a little tacky. Knead 10 minutes.

7. Dust your work surface with flour and sit your dough on it for 10 minutes or so, while you wash and dry the mixing bowl and do something else.

8. After the dough has rested the 10 or 15 minutes, knead it again for a few minutes, covering your hands with flour if necessary, to keep it manageable.

9. Drop some olive oil into your washed and dried mixing bowl; place your dough into it and turn it over a few times to coat it with oil.

10. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for an hour.

11. I've started folding and stretching the dough rather than re-kneading at this point; it works well. So either knock the dough back and re-knead briefly, or fold and stretch it as I do.

12. Cut the dough into 2 parts. Make your two braided loaves, handling the dough as lightly as possible. (See *Confession, below.)

13. Allow the loaves to rise 1/2 hour. Meantime, have the oven pre-heating to 350 F, 180 C.

14. Beat up the 3rd egg and gild the loaves with it. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, or both.

15. Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the baking tray around in the oven and bake a further 15 minutes. Turn the loaves upside down and continue baking for 10 minutes - if the bottoms are underbaked. The timing, again, will vary, with your oven and your particular circs. The main thing of course is to have the loaves baked through, rich and golden brown, all over. So keep your eye on the bread as it bakes and take notes for the next time.

Remove from the oven immediately and cook the loaves on a rack. This potato-based bread stays has excellent flavor and a just-moist-enough, fine crumb that stays fresh for days.

*Confession: I find that making 3 boule-shaped loaves instead of 2 medium-sized challas results in less wasted bread at the end of Shabbat. And making 3 round loaves will make lechem mishneh for the two main Shabbat meals. When we have seudat shlishit, we supplement with a pitta for that purpose. But then we have become a small family. If we have guests, I make a recipe-and-a-half or double it. Sometimes I triple it and freeze the extra. I would rather have a smallish boule than a smallish challah: small slices of braided challah look stingy to me, while with a round loaf, the slices still look handsome.

Miriam

edited while I drool over Melissa's pictures...

Edited January 27, 2007 by Miriam Kresh (log)

[Anna Skigin]

Thank you, Miriam! Next week my parents-in-law want to come for Shabbat, and I'll defenitely try that recipe.

[Miriam Kresh]

Great, Anna! I posted the recipe to RecipeGullet just now, as well, minus the whispered confession.

Miriam

[bloviatrix]

This week's dinner was a joint effort between me and Blovie -

Mushroom barley soup

Chicken with honey and saffron

roasted peppers and carrots

corn souffle

He's really been wonderful with helping on Friday. I'm looking forward to shabbat starting later because it gives me more time to do things when I get home.

[CapnCook]

This week's menu:

Smoked salmon rolls (capers, lemon wedges, etc.)

Meditteranean salads

Challah

Chinese Chicken Soup

Spicy Olive & Artichoke Chicken

Garlic Whole wheat pasta

Steamed vegetables (not sure what)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Fresh fruit salad

[Swisskaese]

In observance of Tu B'Shvat, I am making the following:

Challah with dried fruits and nuts (figs, raisins, dried cherries, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, apricots and walnuts)

Sali Jardaloo Murgi, Gujarati-Parsi chicken dish with apricots and straw potatoes

Tsoont Vaangan, Kashmiri eggplant and apple dish

Brown basmati rice

Spinach

Nigvzis Torti, Georgian Walnut and Raisin Torte

Red wine

Plant a tree.

Edited February 2, 2007 by Swisskaese (log)

[Pan]

[...]Tsoont Vaangan, Kashmiri eggplant and apple dish[...]

←

My mother used to make that. It's great!

Gut Shabbos and Gut Yomtov!

[Miriam Kresh]

Sometimes I think I'm crazy...been cooking since yesterday for this Shabbat Tu B'Shvat.

Menu for tonight:

Challah

Moroccan fish, courtesy of my married daughter

Chicken soup

all kinds of dried fruit on a platter

3 kinds of olives

Warm, salted almonds and cashews - the almonds because of the connection with Tu B'Shvat, which is when almond trees in Israel are said to start flowering - and cashews just because I had them.

Pomelo, for Shechechiyanu

Turkey tajine with apricots and chestnuts (another Shechechiyanu)

Barley pilaf with sauteed mushrooms and onions

Steamed green beans

Strawberry/tangerine swirl sorbet

Wines: white mead, a merlot rose I made last year, plain merlot, a wine based on dried fruit I made last year at this time. Small cups - or we'll have to get someone to come and scrape us all off the floor with a spatula.

For tomorrow:

Challah

Choumous, za'atar, matbucha

"Red chicken" - chicken baked in a thick sweet-and-sour sauce with tomato paste and red wine, plenty of garlic and ginger, balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, bay leaf, soy sauce, cumin, s&p.

Majadra

Plain white rice for those who prefer

Stuffed mallow leaves, following the thread on springtime party food

This week's tossed green salad will feature sprigs of chickweed among the pedestrian lettuce, tomato and sliced cucumber.

Any leftover green beans get a vinaigrette and toasted almonds.

Sorbet and oatmeal cookies

Wine, for anyone who still wants.

[Swisskaese]

Miriam,

David and I are coming to your house!

Sounds delicious.

[Swisskaese]

And here are the rest of the pictures from our Tu B'shvat Shabbat:

Sali Jardaloo Murgi, Gujarati-Parsi chicken dish with apricots and straw potatoes

Tsoont Vaangan, Kashmiri eggplant and apple dish

Brown basmati rice

Spinach

The whole meal plated:

Nigvzis Torti, Georgian Walnut and Raisin Torte

We had white wine which was a better match. A Wurtembuerger Kerner 2004.

Edited February 2, 2007 by Swisskaese (log)

[Miriam Kresh]

Michelle,

Waddya need me for?! Any leftovers? I'm coming to you!

The white mead seems to have been drunk up already, so I substituted a wine I wouldn't identify till everyone had sipped some and said they liked it: pea pod wine. It was clear, sweet, and has a nutty flavor. I made it out of curiosity a year ago and am surprised at how good it is. Then I realized that I hadn't included a pomegranate anywhere, so I brought out a bottle of pomegranate wine I bought in a specialized winery last time I was up north. Didn't like it that much; sweet and sour and probably best to save for cooking. The other wines, my last year's Merlot and its second-run rose, were pretty good, if I say so myself, as shouldn't.

We were quite, ah, merry. And ate a lot. Ooof. Now I'm going on a diet.

Miriam

[CapnCook]

Well, I'm afraid I'm not doing anything too spectacular for shabbat this week because my husband just had his wisdom teeth pulled out and can't eat, let alone appreciate, anything right now.

I have been curious to try a couple shabbos recipes though, and here's what I had in mind:

1. Blending mayonnaise, scallions and silken tofu to make a shabbos lunch dip.

2. Blending mayonnaise, stuffed olives and silken tofu to make another shabbos lunch dip.

Oh..and I also made spicy thai chicken thighs in my crockpot yesterday. I saved a few thighs and will be eating them with some brown rice and lime wedges over shabbos.

That's about all I have to report!

[Swisskaese]

We are also having a simple Shabbat meal:

Pumpkin Gnocchi with a fresh tomato sauce

Steamed broccoli

Roasted cauliflower

Shabat Shalom everyone!

Edited February 9, 2007 by Swisskaese (log)

[Miriam Kresh]

Ah, green peas are in season, a yearly event even shorter than apricot's. When those apricots appear, I fill the kitchen up with preserves, tarts, and most of all, apricot wine. (singing) Apricot wine, mighty fine/gotta run and fetch/ that little bottle of mine... I am reminded of an old song my Dad used to sing: "Michigan water/tastes like cherry wine/I said cherry wine/Mississippi water/tastes like turpentine..." OK, hit me over the head, I'm feeling relaxed and foolish because all my cooking is done and it's still 2 hours before candle-lighting time.

Shabbos:

Challah.

Chicken soup.

Garlic/soy sauce/ketchup chicken roasted over sliced red potatoes, onions and string beans which cooked in olive oil, white wine and a little thyme. Ketchup is very low-class, I know...but don't care.

Sangiovese. That's it for tonight - we're only 3 people this Shabbos. Now you know why I'm so before-hand.

Shabbos day:

Challa and Soup

Moroccan fish as taught by my consuegra, with onions, whole cloves of garlic, sliced red peppers, and plenty of cilantro (I added some white wine), s&p. Simmer together in a wide, shallow frying pan till a thickish sauce forms; add sliced white fish - Nile perch usually - cover and simmer together for an hour or so, over a very low flame with a flame tamer. Eat hot or cold. We'll have it cold.

Shnitzels marinated in soy sauce and hawaj, the dipped in egg, then flour&bread crumbs& sesame seed, and baked.

Rice

Big mixed salad

Roasted peppers, olives, choumous. Don't know which wine. The Merlot rose would be good.

They'd better put up with that.

Shabbat shalom to all... and Michelle, please tell us how you made the pumpkin gnocchi.

Miriam

[Swisskaese]

Shabbat shalom to all... and Michelle, please tell us how you made the pumpkin gnocchi.

Miriam

←

I will post the recipe tomorrow night. It is very easy.

[bloviatrix]

No cooking for me - we were invited out for both dinner last night and lunch today. But, I picked up a new bottle of wine that I had never seen before. It was Yogev Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz blend. The wine needed to open up a bit, but it was quite nice.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Tonight the theme is "Traditions" ... and yes, Tevye will join us!

Traditional Jewish chicken soup with noodles

Marinated fennel, cucumber, red pepper, carrot salad

Southern traditonal yellow squash, onion, cornbread casserole

Oven roasted potatoes

Lamb chops grilled with garlic

Presidents Day traditional cherry pie

Challah and red wine .. verrrry traditional!

Shabbat shalom to everyone!

Shabbat meals ... most recent first ...