My mom and I love to make this soup with brown lentils, as they are stronger flavored and hold their shape after being cooked. You can blend the soup after it’s done, but for us it’s all about the texture. We use beef stock but feel free to use vegetarian or chicken stock instead. Extra yummy, if you serve the soup with homemade croutons and some fried curry onion rings as garnish.

Ingredients:

For the soup:

2 tbsp. of olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

1 large carrot, finely diced

1 leek, white part only, cleaned and finely chopped

350g (1½ cup) brown lentils, washed and drained

2L Beef/Chicken/Vegetable stock

1 lime

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

For garnish:

1 tbsp. of olive oil

2 onions, sliced in rings

½ tsp. mild curry powder

6 slices of old bread

olive oil to drizzle over the croutons

garlic/garlic salt

Preparation:

For the soup heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the finely chopped onions and gently fry without coloring for 10 minutes or until softened.

Then add the carrot, celery and leek, again gently fry without coloring. Add the lentils, mix all ingredients gently and pour in your stock. Bring to boil and once boiling reduce the heat, simmer covered for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

When lentils are soft, stir in the cumin, lime, salt and pepper.

While the soup is simmering, preheat the oven to 175 degrees C. or 350 degrees F. Slice each bread slice into cubes and sprinkle with olive oil and if you like, garlic or garlic salt. Place on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until cubes are dried. Keep an eye on them while bake to make sure they don’t burn.

When you are about to serve the soup, fry the onions in olive oil and season with curry powder. Pour the ready soup into the serving dish, add the fried onions, croutons and enjoy!

This post was submitted by Gefiltefest.

375g ready-rolled puff pastry
Flour for dusting
1 tbsp vegetable oil
8 tbsp raspberry conserve
4 tbsp ground almonds
4 medium bramley (cooking) apples
170g raisins or sultanas
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp beaten egg
Icing sugar for dusting

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Cut the sheet of pastry in half widthways. On a lightly floured surface or a large piece of baking paper, roll one half out into a 30cm x 40cm rectangle – the pastry will get very thin.
2. Lightly brush the pastry with half the oil, leaving a 2.5cm border. Using a palette knife, spread 4 tbsp of the conserve within the border and sprinkle 2 tbsp of the ground almonds over the top.
3. Peel and grate the apples into a colander, then squeeze out as much juice as you can. Spread half over the pastry, making sure the apple is evenly spread, followed by half the raisins or sultanas and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
4. Carefully roll from the long edge of the pastry to form a log. Turn so the seal is underneath, then tuck the ends under and brush all over with the beaten egg. Transfer to a lined baking sheet, then repeat with the remaining pastry and ingredients.
5. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until golden and puffed up. Leave to cool on a wire rack. When cold, sprinkle with some icing sugar, then cut into slices. Eat and enjoy.

michael&grandma.jpg (691 KB)

This post was submitted by Gefiltefest.

I make 12 apple pies every year and then, as the months go by, eat them down when company comes or my grandson Zev who eats almost nothing but likes my apple pie so of course there’s some for him when he visits.

So now I have one pie left, which we will have this week because I just called Blue Jay and put in my order for this year.

When I called them last week they weren’t sure they would have the apples this year because of all the rain and hurricanes, especially Hurricane Irene. Ohmyohmyohmy, that sounded like terrible news at the time and I actually began to think about other apples I could bake into a pie.

But they told me to call back in a day or so and sure enough, when I did they told me that they have some! So I am in luck.

I never did decide on what apples I would have used.

Anyway, my Mom made apple pie every year too. Her sister, my Aunt Beck, made apple cake. And, you know, sisters will be sisters. They loved each other lots but they had this kind of apple-baking rivalry come September, when the new apples came out. They each not-so-secretly let everyone in the family know that the pie or cake was much better than the cake or pie.

And so it went. I liked both, but, being daughter to the pie baker, I learned to bake the pie.

My mother was the one who clued me into the Rhode Island Greening apples. And she showed me how to make the dough and how to cut the butter and shortening into the flour so the crust would be crumbly and how not to add too much liquid because that makes the dough rubbery. She also taught me how to roll the dough gently, so it would be tender. “Don’t murder the dough!,” she used to caution.

Her apple pies were the best of the best and I use her recipe, so, well, I don’t want to brag but —- everyone says mine are the best of the best.

Here’s the recipe., You might not be able to find Rhode Island Greening apples. So you’re on your own here. If you use a sweeter apple, cut back on the sugar.

Originally published in Kitchen Vignettes.

Ingredients:

crust:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon peel, optional

1/2 cup cold butter

1/3 cup cold vegetable shortening

4-6 tablespoons cold milk, juice, water or melted ice cream

apple filling

1 tablespoon butter

Apple Filling:

3 pounds pie apples (Rhode Island Greenings, Granny Smith, Gravenstein, Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Idared, Stayman, Winesap, Baldwin, Jonagold, Braeburn

1/2 cup sugar, approximately

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preparation:

To make the crust: Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon peel, if used, in a large bowl. Cut the butter and shortening into chunks and add the chunks to the flour mixture. Work the fat into the flour mixture until the ingredients resemble crumbs (use your hands, a pastry blender or the pulse feature of a food processor). Add the liquid, using only enough to gather pastry into a soft ball of dough (start with 4 tablespoons). Cut the dough in half and flatten each half to make a disk shape. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it stand at least 30 minutes.

To make apple filling: Peel and core the apples then cut them into slices. Place the slices in a bowl. Add the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and flour and toss the ingredients to coat the apple slices evenly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly flour a pastry board or clean work surface. With a rolling pin, roll one half of the dough on the floured surface into a circle about 1/8-inch thick, making sure the circle is larger than the pie pan by about 1 inch. Place the dough in a 9” or 10” pie pan. Pour the apple filling into the pastry-lined pan. Cut the butter into small pieces and place on top of the filling. Roll out the remaining dough and place it over the filling. Gently press the bottom and top crusts together along the flared edge of the pie pan. For a fluted rim, press your thumb and index finger against the outside of the rim, or crimp it with the tines of a fork or the blunt side of a knife. Cut steam vents in the top crust with the tip of a sharp knife or the tines of a fork. Bake the pie for 50-60 minutes or until golden brown.

This post was submitted by ronnievfein.

Somewhere along the way, great-grandma Mabel decided that drinking alcohol was a sin against God and man. She became a leading prohibitionist, and played a role in the criminalization of alcohol by the passing of the 18th amendment, which banned the sale and transportation of alcohol.

Mabel was very polite, proper and proud in the traditional Victorian manner. She was a woman of her time period and lived in accordance with strict Victorian traditions. She would often remark that “politeness is to do and say the kindest things in the kindest way.”

A prolific writer and poet. Her essay “The Gods Give Us Everything Through Toil” is my personal favorite and is found below.

————————————————————————————————————————-

THE VALEDICTORY

May 24th 1900.

Miss Mabel Dove was the valedictorian of the evening. She is a girl of striking intellectuality,

and the delivery of her address was harmonious with its fine conception. Her voice was pure,

vibrant and penetrating, being heard with the greatest ease. Her subject was an odd one; “The

God’s Sell Us Everything For Toil,” and she spoke as follows:

“The Gods Sell Us Everything For Toil”

The subject of the rewards of toil and perseverance is by no means a new one. Many of us have heard it discussed from earliest childhood, but with none the less force it remains a vital practical truth, and will as long as man has the aspirations and will to attain them.

Tis the continued, steady effort that wins where superior advantages without determination and perseverance ignominiously fail. For “A falling drop at last will cave a stone.” It is not the mere drop which wears the stone away, for the insignificant globule by a single fall would wear off a particle almost too infinitesimally small to conceive: but it is the constant falling that finally caves the stone.

Since the command went forth, as the primal pair left the gates of Eden, that man should eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, toil has been the price which the children of earth have paid for aught desirable that they have obtained. Each has been subject to the same law, and as there has been no royal path to knowledge, likewise only labor’s high way has led to eminence and success in all vocations of life. Perseverance, indefatigable energy and labor have been the cause of which honor and success were the effects. Someone has said that “successful men owe more to their perseverance that’s to their natural powers, their friends, or to the favorable circumstance around them.” Thus the masterly achievements of Julius Caesar were not the inevitable consequences of fated genius; they were the fruits of arduous and incessant exertion coupled, to be sure, with talent and ambition. Such a combination was an open sesame to fortune’s door. “Genius unexerted, is no more genius then a bushel of acorns is a forest of oaks.” So if the genius of Michael Angelo had not been united with strenuous effort, the world would have been less rich, for the immortal masterpieces of sculpture which now ennoble the world of art, would have remained rough and senseless blocks of marble. The shining jewels buried deep in the earth’s dark bosom, are brought to light only by the repeated blows of the miner’s faithful pick. So the priceless gems of truth may lie in the perpetual darkness, concealed from our view, unless we, by dint of toil and sedulous effort, exhume the crude stone and polish it into a radiant gem that shall be meant to shine upon the brow of posterity.

The eminent Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, from his long experiences in training boys said, “That the difference between one boy and another was not so much in talent as in energy and determination.” And truly, history abounds with examples of men who have reached their goal only because they willed it and worked for it. It is said when Disraeli, the great English Prime Minister, delivered his first speech in parliament, he made a dismal failure, and was mercilessly laughed at and derided. Stung by the ridicule, he exclaimed, “You laugh at me now, but the time will come when you will hear me.” And by patient industry, he verified his prediction. He forthwith set resolutely to work correcting his faults, studied assiduously and practiced untiringly till he had mastered the art of oratory. Then those who had once laughed at him now acknowledged his power and sat spell bound under his eloquence. Thus have man by tireless application accomplished marvels.

The numberless modern improvements and inventions which furnish us comforts and conveniences, we thoughtless enjoy, forgetful of the cost at which they were procured at a cost of years of diligent study, painstaking effort and toil. Likewise, the advancement in learning and science is the result of careful research, of concentrated thought and persistent application. But success has not been attained in a day, nor yet in a year, but only by many days and many years of faithful and repeated action. But each year is composed of fleeting moments. Verily, life is made up of littles – of seeming trifles that insensibly form the warp and woof of our characters.

How we treat these small things, the flying moments, the little opportunities – how we live each day – will determine their influence on our lives, for “our days and yesterdays are the blocks with which we build.” He who appreciates the value of time, and fills his odd moments with study, or with the pursuit of some high purpose will, at length find himself rich on the possession of a well-stored and cultured mind, or happy in the accomplishment of some darling project. After the distinguished statesman Edmund Burke had finished one of his first eloquent speeches in the English parliament, his brother, speaking at the end of a thoughtful reverie, said, “I have been wondering how Ned has contrived to monopolize all the talent of the family: but then I remember when were at play, he was always at work.”

The sad mistake of idly dreaming of fame and longing for greatness is made by man who might achieve it if they only set about it with the invincible determination to win. Without that, it will not come for, “Tis not in mortals to command success: let us do more – deserve it!” Again, many who wish for success are unwilling to battle against adverse circumstance and thinking effort useless, ignobly succumb to unfavorable conditions. Some of the most illustrious characters of history have been those who have risen and achieved great things against difficulties seemingly almost insuperable. Opposition has not baffled them – nay it seemed rather to strengthen their power of resistance. Though it is indeed true that the individual is influenced by circumstances, he need not be enthralled by them. I like the verse in which this thought is thus expressed:

Why become a slave of chance

Why be crushed by circumstance?

Rise above it and advance

Over all adversity.

You’re a king and can create

For yourself your own estate,

You are master of your fate, You are free.”

Free. Yes free! Free, with all the grand future before us. It is our – ours to make or to mar. Ah! If men whose powers have been only the mediocre talents that we possess, have risen to greatness, have bettered the world and left to posterity a goodly heritage -is these, I say have risen, why, or why cannot we, the children of the fairer morn, the heirs of grander possibilities, make the world a little better or a little brighter for our having lived! It lies with us! Cassius voiced it truly when he said, “Men at sometime are master of their fate; the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”

Tis little at best we can do. Newton after spending years in patient toil and giving to the world of science inestimable acquisitions, felt that what he had achieved was like a few shells cathered from the beach while the great ocean of truth lay unexplored before him. But we many not all be great. History may not blazon our names and deeds to be read of future generations. But at least, we can all labor to live, to have rich, abundant lives, to be – not underlings, but to rise to the full stature of god-like race, striving unceasingly for that which is best, rising “by stepping-stones of our dead selves, to high things.”

But still the moments come and go in their flight, they bring us many things, sorrow as well as joy, partings as well as glad meetings. The moment just now approaching bring a parting of the ways, and as valedictorian for the class of 1900 – long live the Century Class. I must now linger to say a few words of farewell. It seems sad that now in our last glad moment of triumphant happiness we must pause to dash away a tear – tears of sorrow that we who have for many terms, together have trodden the thorny path toward knowledge, must now separate, most of us to go diverging ways, some to other schools of learning, others to the broader schools of practical experience. But as we go, it will be with pleasant memories of the years spent within these college halls, and with that preparation that shall help us to make our way through the world.

During our time of preparing, I trust that we have learned at least some of the lessons that our faithful and earnest preceptors have wished us to master – lessons not always found in textbooks, but suggestive of the life without these scholastic walls which is calling us to action in its busy field. During our stay here, friendship’s silver thread has been woven from heart to heart and both teachers and fellow-students have become endeared to us, and in years to come, we may look back upon these quiet days spent in study, and be refreshed. Tonight itself will soon be but a memory today be yesterday.

In the golden dawn of tomorrow, duty awaits us, and ours will be the honor if we walk in her ways. Vast are the spheres for our labor, vaster our responsibilities. Let us act worthily of our day, not lying down in ignoble, but acting a brave part in lifting heavenward our fellowmen.

“Build thee more stately mansions, O my Soul.

As the swift, seasons roll!

Leave they low-vaulted past! .

Let each new temple, nobler then the last,

Shut thee from heaven with a dome more fast,

Till thou at length are free,

Leaving thine outgrown shell by life unresting sea!”

Mabel Isabel Dove

May 24th, 1900.

1795_718797741423_4879_a.jpg (6 KB)

This post was submitted by JRRothstein.

But what makes him even more American is the fact that he came from somewhere else. Sergio was born to a Spanish mother and Cuban father in Spain. His father had always dreamed of coming to the United States and, so dedicated was he to fulfilling this chosen destiny, that my father-in-law gave up 2 years of his life in a Cuban work camp before he was permitted to leave his country. Shortly after Sergio was born, his father’s papers came in, and off they moved to relocate in a foreign land (and, I imagine, the even more foreign town of Sugar Land).

Sergio became a naturalized citizen in 1991, an experience that plays out every day in the United States. So even though he is 100% American, he is also (as he jokingly adds) “50% Cuban and 50% Spanish”. As such, he has access to the authentic recipes of his abuela‘s kitchen, passed down orally through his mother.

Among the favorites is her recipe for paella. Paella is one of those dishes that, after you have made it yourself, you will wonder why you pay an arm and a leg for it in the restaurants. While a bit labor-intensive (you constantly have to monitor the paella to make sure the rice is cooking evenly), a good paella is relatively simple and cheap to make. Also, because of the novelty and communalism of it (truly a “family style” dish), it is great for dinner parties.

Ingredients:

1 regular white or yellow onion, diced
6 whole cloves of garlic, unpeeled
1/2 large red bell pepper, 1/2 of which is cut into thin strips, the other 1/2 diced
1 1/2 cups paella rice (or short-grained rice in a pinch)
1/4 pound chorizo (or your favorite sausage or ham), diced in 1/2 inch cubes
1 pound of seafood comprising:mussels and/or clams (in shell) and calamari
1 pound of shrimps (in shell with the heads, the larger the better)
a few threads of saffron
olive oil
salt, pepper and sugar, to taste

Preparation:

1. Place 3/4 pound of shrimp in 5 1/2 cups of water and, after reaching a rolling boil for 3 minutes, reduce to low-medium heat and allow to cook for 30 minutes (shrimp broth).

2. Cover bottom of paella pan in thin layer of olive oil, at medium-high heat.
3. Cook 1/4 pound chorizo just enough to render fat.
4. Once pan is hot, place 6 garlic cloves (still in their peels) in olive oil and remove when thoroughly browned.
5. Place 1 diced onion and and 1/4 red bell pepper, diced, and stir. Once onion is translucent, add calamari and continue to stir.
7. Add 1 1/2 cups paella rice, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper and a generous pinch of sugar and continue to stir.
8. Remove shrimp from pot, remove the heads from the shrimp, deshell, devein and cut the shrimp into small morsels and mix with rice.
9. Add 1 cup of shrimp broth and 3-5 threads of saffron, and continue to stir until boiling.
10. As liquid boils off, continue to add 2 more cups of shrimp broth.
11. Boil for 5 minutes, covered (heavy or tripled-folded aluminum foil works well), and then lower heat to medium-low.
12. Leave for 10 minutes, covered.
13. Add remaining 2 cups shrimp broth slowly as it absorbed by the rice.
14. Arrange mussels/clams, shrimp (with heads) and 1/4 red bell pepper, sliced, on top.
15. Allow to cook for 5 more minutes, covered.
16. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes, covered.

Notes

Paella does require a large, flat-bottomed pan for cooking the rice evenly- the key to a good paella. This does not necessarily mean you must go out and buy a paella pan (although if you cook it frequently enough, it is well worth it, as a paella pan can be used for plenty of other dishes), you can always ad lib and/or make smaller quantities.

Because paella rice must be cooked evenly, most stoves are not ideal to evenly distribute heat across your big-bottomed pan. A grill (charcoal or gas) is a great solution. Just be sure to pay close attention to your rice- it cooks quickly on the grill! Otherwise, turn on all burners to cover as much surface area as possible and rotate the pan to distribute heat evenly.

Fresh seafood (vs. frozen) really makes a big difference.

If you can’t find shrimp with their heads on, substitute chicken broth for shrimp broth and substitute more seafood or chicken for the shrimp.

This post was submitted by GambasandGrits.

Ingredients:

Crust:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ cup butter
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
½ cup finely chopped walnuts

Filling:
3 eggs
1 cup grated mozzarella or Swiss cheese
¾ cup sour cream
½ cup finely chopped onions
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ tsp salt
2.5 oz. (213 g) can of salmon, drained and flaked

Preparation:

1. For crust: Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Stir in Cheddar cheese and nuts. Set aside half the mixture for the topping and press the remaining mixture into the bottom of a well-greased 9-inch round Pyrex dish. Refrigerate until chilled.
2. For filling: Beat eggs in a bowl. Then blend in grated cheese, sour cream, onions, mayonnaise and salt. Fold in salmon. Pour salmon mixture into prepared pie shell and sprinkle reserved flour mixture on top.
3. Bake at 375° F for 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.

VARIATION: I sometimes substitute the onions in the filling for finely chopped chives. It adds a beautiful color.

1323570492.jpg (33 KB)

This post was submitted by KosherScoop.

Ingredients:

Swedish Meat Ball Mixture:

2 lbs ground pork
1 lb ground veal
1/2 yellow onion
10 springs parsley
2 oz. Utah honey
Kosher salt/ pepper to taste
2 whole eggs
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

Lingonberry Sauce:

8 oz. of lingonberry jam
3 cups veal demi-glaze (can be found in specialty food stores)
3/4 cup heavy cream
*Combine all ingredients, simmer and reduce until sauce has a nappe consistency.

Preparation:

Small dice the yellow onion, pick parsley leaves from stems and finely chop.
Combine all ingredients together, mix thoroughly and place in refrigeration to rest overnight.
Roll mixture into 1 inch uniform meatballs. Place meatballs, evenly spaced, on a non-stick sheet pan.
Cook at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and place in lingonberry sauce.
Serve & Enjoy!

This post was submitted by ChefZane.

“Better you should call your Aunt Sara,” said my mother, phoning long-distance from Florida, and would I please hurry with the questions, even with Sprint it’s no bargain.

“What are you trying to tell me?” I asked. “I’m not sure I want to hear this.”

“I’m telling you I got the blintz recipe from books way back, one of those Jewish cookbooks, Mrs. Somebody’s cookbook, the woman on television and movies.”

“You’re talking about Molly Goldberg. You’re telling me your famous blintz recipe came from CBS?”

“Not totally. I got a lot of fine points from your Aunt Sara, too.”

“I thought the recipe was handed down, generation to generation. You learn from your mother and I learn from my mother and so on.”

My mother paused.

“Your grandmother, you know, was not such a great cook.”

I called my Aunt Sara in California. I’m sure that if a blintz recipe had been part of the family, the relatives wouldn’t have scattered like this.

Sara refused to take credit.

“Your mother was really the blintz expert,” she said. “When we traded recipes, she had the one for the blintz and I had the one for the chopped liver.”

“I don’t care about chopped liver,” I said, my face as red as borscht. “Just tell me this: Did you or did you not give my mother her recipe for blintzes.”

“Not me,” she said. “I’m too lazy and blintzes are a pain in the neck. Your mother was always the best.”

I got my mother back on the phone. I was blunt.

“If you want me to visit over the holidays, you give me your blintz recipe right now.”

That got her. She read me the recipe.

It sounded simple enough, but the filling called for pot cheese.

“What’s pot cheese?” I asked.

“Your grandmother used pot cheese,” she said. “She used pot cheese for everything.”

“I thought you said she was a lousy cook.”

“Don’t talk about your grandmother that way.”

“Okay,” I said, “where do I get pot cheese?”

“You go into a Jewish delicatessen and ask for pot cheese where they sell the chopped herring and the chopped liver.”

I should make something clear. There is no chopped liver in a blintz, no matter how many times it comes up.

“If you don’t want to use pot cheese,” said my mother, “use farmer cheese.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Better you should ask your Uncle Lenny. He was in the cheese business his whole life.”

I called my Uncle Lenny in New Jersey, where he worked thirty-two years for Axelrod’s Dairy Products. He said pot cheese was like cottage cheese only drier. He said farmer cheese was richer in butterfat than either one.

“The best blintz,” said Lenny, “is made by mixing farmer cheese and pot cheese.”

“Farmer cheese and cream cheese,” said Sara, who, as it turned out, had made many a blintz after all.

“You shouldn’t use cream cheese,” said Lenny.

“Cream cheese is good,” said my mother.

I love my family. We’re very close.

I experimented with all possible blintz permutations, except the ones calling for pot cheese. Nobody in any store I went to had ever heard of pot cheese. Here’s my recipe.

For the filling: Mix one-half pound of farmer cheese, one-half pound of dry-curd cottage cheese, one eight-ounce package of cream cheese, one egg yolk, four tablespoons of sugar, and a pinch of salt. This is perfect for a breakfast blintz. For a dessert blintz, use five tablespoons of sugar instead of four, and add one-quarter teaspoon of vanilla extract.

For the crepe batter: Beat one cup of liquid (half milk, half water) with three eggs, a pinch of salt, and a tablespoon of melted butter. Add one cup of flour and mix until very smooth. If lumps remain, strain. The batter should have the thickness of cream. I cook my crepes in an eight-inch aluminum frying pan over medium-high heat. Coat the bottom of the pan very lightly with butter before making each one. Pour about three tablespoons of batter into the hot pan and swirl until it’s spread evenly. The crepes should be very thin.

It takes practice to pour just enough batter to make a thin crepe. I cheat. Working quickly, I pour in more batter than I need, swirl it around the pan to cover the bottom, then pour the excess batter back into the bowl. This is fast and easy but leaves a little batter tail on your otherwise round crepe. Cut off the tail.

Cook one side of the crepe only. Then turn it over, onto a paper towel, cooked side up. This entire cooking procedure is very fast, less than a minute from pouring the batter into the pan to flipping out the crepe.

Now you must assemble your blintz. Spoon a generous dollop of filling onto the cooked side of the crepe, slightly below center. Fold the bottom up and over the filling. Fold the two opposite sides up and over the filling. Fold the top down and over the filling, creating a neat little rectangular package. The uncooked side of the crepe is facing out.

Melt butter in a large skillet. Brown the blintzes slowly, cooking the seamed side first. This seals your blintz package closed. Serve immediately, topped with sour cream.

“Never just plain sour cream,” said Aunt Sara, who had a lot to say about blintzes for somebody who only made chopped liver. “Slice strawberries into the sour cream. That’s very gourmet.”

The recipe serves a lot of people, but I cannot say how many. The thing about blintzes is that you eat and eat until you don’t feel so good.

And what do you do if you don’t feel so good?

You call your mother, of course.

This post was submitted by AlanRichman.

As a kid, my Succot memories in chilly Seattle always existed around my Savtah’s incredible cooking and her recipes are still in full-swing today. For years, I’ve been making her cous cous, tongue, meringues, ice cream and more! But until this year, I never tackled two of my favorite recipes that my Savtah made every Succot: Cabbage Borscht and Oxtail Soup. Making these recipes in my own home has brought back so many sweet memories I know you will love these hearty stews as much as I always have.

When most people hear the word “borscht,” they might run the other way but this cabbage borscht is like nothing you’ve ever tasted! Meat falling off the bone, brown sugar for added sweetness and cabbage cooked for hours in a rich tomato broth. I’ve never seen anyone turn away my Savtah’s cabbage borscht. In fact, most people even go back for seconds! I know I always do.

Note: If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can use a regular large pot for these stews. You’ll just need a lot more cooking time on the stove.

Originally published in Kitchen Tested.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. short ribs
1 lbs. flanken
1 small onion, sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup water
46 oz. bottle tomato juice
1 14.5 can whole tomatoes
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 large cabbage, shredded
1 tsp baking soda

Preparation

In the bottom of a pressure cooker, heat the olive oil then add the onion, short ribs and flanken and brown on all sides. Should take around 10 minutes.

Add the water, close the pressure cooker and cook for 20 minutes. When the pressure comes down, refrigerate the meat for 2-3 hours or freeze for 1 hour. The fat will congeal on the top of the meat and you can skim it off before continuing the process.

Add the tomato juice and bring to a boil.

Add the sugar, lemon juice and cabbage. Then add the baking soda, stir quickly and let it foam up.

Place the cover on the pressure cooker and cook for 25 minutes.

Once the pressure comes down, take off the cover and continue boiling the soup for 1 hour or more.

Just keep cooking the soup until the meat is falling off the bone.

Note: if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can make this soup in a regular pot. Just boil the soup for 3-4 hours.

This post was submitted by Kitchen Tested.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. beef oxtail
6-8 marrow bones
1 package frozen mixed vegetables
2 large carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 parsnip, chopped
1 turnip, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 bunch fresh dill
1/2 cup barley
1/4 cup split peas
1/4 cup elbow macaroni
2 potatoes
2 Tbsp onion soup mix
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Preparation

:

In a pressure cooker, place the frozen mixed vegetables, carrots, celery, parsnip, turnip, onion, parsley and dill.
Rinse the barley and split peas and add to the pressure cooker.
Add all remaining ingredients and cover with water. Close the pressure cooker.
Bring water to a boil (should take around 20 minutes) then cook for 15 minutes.

Note: if you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can make this soup in a regular pot. Just boil the soup for 1-2 hours.

Pressure-Cooker-Soups-Oxtail-Soup.jpg (101 KB)

This post was submitted by Kitchen Tested.