Spinach Feta Cheese Pie

Several couples I know, fellow food-bloggers, have recently had babies, one just a day or so before Mother’s Day. I’m sure their families and the friends who live close by to them will lend a hand. Life is always so hectic and emotional after a baby is born and new moms and dads can always use extra help.

In our family we have tried to anticipate a birth by a few weeks and get together to cook foods that can be packed into containers and stored in the freezer, so that cooking dinner won’t be another something to do during the first week or so after the baby is born when everyone is tired.

We’ve made carrot soup and something we call "green soup" because most of the time — but not all — we use dried green split peas and the liquid part looks sort of green. We’ve cooked baked ziti and our famous, family, tried-and-true butter cookies. And more.

But the favorite is always Spinach Pie. We make a dairy version with feta cheese and a non-dairy version using sauteed mushrooms. This dish freezes well, it’s easy to defrost and pop into the oven (we freeze the pies before baking them). Spinach pie is suitable for lunch or dinner or even as a side dish.

If someone in your life has had a baby recently, why not give them a break and cook some food for them?

Here’s the family Spinach Pie recipe, dairy version:  

SPINACH FETA CHEESE PIE

2 10-ounce packages frozen whole leaf spinach, thawed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 large eggs

8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill

freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 sheets phyllo dough

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as possible and set aside. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the spinach and mix well. Remove the pan from the heat. Add the eggs, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, dill and pepper. Mix well and place in a baking dish. Top with 4 layers of phyllo dough each brushed with melted butter. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 4-8 servings (as main course or side dish)

Challah for a Special Event and Special Person

Challah

This coming weekend is my grand daughter’s bat mitzvah.

In addition to being a rather wonderful person, she is my first grandchild and named for my father, so she’s always had a special hold on my heart.

Her mother, my daughter Meredith, asked me to bake the challah for the celebration.

I find myself inexpressibly moved by this request.

I really can’t say anything more, so I’ll just give you the challah recipe. It’s already been posted on this blog, but never before has it seemed this delicious.

Challah

• 2 packages active dry yeast

• 1/2 cup warm water (105-110 degrees)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 8 cups all purpose flour, approximately

• 1 tablespoon salt

• 5 large eggs

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1-1/2 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees)

• 1 teaspoon water

• poppy seeds or sesame seeds, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar and a pinch of flour. Stir, set aside and let rest for 5 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly. In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine 7-1/2 cups flour with the remaining sugar and salt. In a small bowl, mix 4 of the eggs, the vegetable oil and the lukewarm water. Add to the flour mixture. Add the yeast mixture. Blend ingredients thoroughly. Using the kneading hook, knead for 4-5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour as necessary to make sure the dough is not sticky. NOTE: you can make this dough in a food processor (halve the recipe). Cover the bowl of dough and put it in a warm place to rise for about 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch down the dough, cover the bowl and let rise again for about 30 minutes or until doubled. Remove the dough to a floured surface. Cut dough in 6 or 12 pieces depending on whether you are making one large or two smaller loaves. Make long strands out of the pieces. Braid the strands. Place the braided dough on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Beat the last egg with the tsp. of water. Brush this over the surface of the bread. Sprinkle with seeds if desired. Let rise again for 30 minutes. Bake for about 35-40 minutes for large loaf, about 28-30 minutes for smaller ones (they should be firm and golden brown).

Braiding a 6-strand Challah:

Place 6 strands of dough on a floured board. Press the strands on the top to seal them together. Now:

1. Take the strand on the far right all the way over to the left

2. Former far left all the way over to the right

3. The now far left into the middle

4. Second from right to the far left

5. The now far right into the middle

6. Second from left to far right

7. Now far left into the middle

Repeat 4-7 until the strands are used up. Press the strands to seal the bottom of the loaf.

Matzo Farfel Fattoush

Every year I buy a kitchen’s worth of Passover ingredients and most of it gets eaten, except for the matzo farfel. I know you can use matzo farfel for stuffing, matzo brei, granola and other foods. But I don’t. A few family members like it cooked like oatmeal, for breakfast, but that’s about it. So I always have a lot left over.

Last year I decided to experiment a bit and see how I could use matzo farfel to advantage.

Fattoush, a light and refreshing salad, was a big winner. 

The word fattoush means “crumbled bread” in Arabic and the salad is pretty basic — seasonal vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumber and greens mixed with toasted flat bread.

During the year it’s a good way to use up stale bread. During Passover, matzo farfel is perfect.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Matzo Farfel Fattoush

• 2 cups matzo farfel
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cups shredded Romaine lettuce (6-8 large leaves)
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium cucumber, chopped
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 medium red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 2-3 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped mint
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the farfel on a baking sheet. Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil over the farfel and toss, coating all the pieces. Bake for about 15 minutes, tossing the farfel occasionally, or until it is lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool. Place the lettuce shreds, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, bell pepper, scallions, parsley and mint in a bowl. Mix the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil and the lemon juice together. Pour the dressing over the salad, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and toss the ingredients. Add the toasted farfel, toss again and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings

Tomato Salad with Herb-infused Croutons and Goat Cheese

Tomato Salad with Herb Infused Croutons and Goat Cheese

Why would anyone make homemade croutons when there are so many packaged varieties to buy?

For me it’s because the store-bought ones I’ve tried are oversalted, over garlicked, overgreased and hard as rocks.

And I trust my own instincts about whether my leftover bread is stale but still fresh enough to be useful rather than some commercial firm’s where they’re looking to get every penny’s worth.

Besides, croutons are incredibly easy to cook and they are so versatile and tasty you can feel like a genius after you make a batch and use them for some recipe or other. And also because you can use almost any kind of bread, any kind of cooking fat, any kind of seasoning, depending on which recipe you will be adding them to.

For example — I make basil-infused croutons for fresh tomato soup, chipotle seasoned croutons for pea soup. I prefer traditional garlic and herb croutons for Caesar Salad.

I’ve also made buttery cheese-croutons, which are wonderful as toppers for vegetable casseroles and have even stuffed some into an omelet when I was at a loss for some other ingredient. I’ve made a variety of croutons with fresh herbs to use as a bed for stirfried vegetables.

There’s no end to the possibilities.

Croutons are supposed to be the crispy, luxurious, contrasting crunch and flavor your tongue savors as it tosses around soft lettuce leaves or buttery avocado or tangy salad dressing. The hard-as-rocks kind from the package are always too distracting. 

Tomato Salad with Herb-infused Croutons and Goat Cheese

• 4 slices 3/4-inch thick Italian bread

• 1-1/2 tablespoons butter

• 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 large clove garlic, sliced

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

• 2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

• 1/2 cup crumbled goat or feta cheese

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil

• 2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Trim the crusts from the bread and cut the pieces into small cubes. Heat the butter and olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, add the garlic slices and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the garlic slices turn lightly brown. Remove and discard the garlic. Add the bread cubes, basil and thyme, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat all the pieces. Place the cubes on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the cubes are crispy and golden. Set aside. Place the tomatoes, avocado, goat cheese, red onion and croutons and toss ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk 3 tablespoons olive oil and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar and pour over the salad. Toss and taste, adding more olive oil or vinegar as needed. Let rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 2-4 servings

Potato Latkes

What do you do when you have finished preparing potato latkes for a Hanukkah party and you’re sitting in your family room watching TV and your husband comes in with a handful of the latkes you just made and says “I’m taking a down payment on our Hanukkah party on Saturday night.”

And you’ve cleaned up the kitchen and everything and you thought you were done with latkes and the entire house smells from fried so you had to make a kitchen bouquet (1/4 cloves, 3 broken cinnamon sticks, tablespoon or so cardamom pods, orange peel, water) so that anyone who comes to the house even the next day (like the UPS delivery man or the guy who is coming to repair the oven) isn’t blasted with stale fried smell?

Why, you get up the next day and make more latkes. Otherwise there won’t be enough. Because I know what happens when people see potato latkes. You can’t eat just one.

And so I did.

These:

Potato Latkes

• 4 large peeled baking potatoes

• 1 large onion

• 2 large eggs

• 3 tablespoons potato starch

• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• vegetable oil for frying

Shred the potatoes and onion in a food processor. Squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible (I put portions of the shreds in a kitchen towel and squeeze until they are practically dry). Place the shreds in a bowl. Immediately mix the eggs in (this helps keep the potatoes from browning). Add the potato starch, salt, pepper and baking powder. Heat about 1/4” vegetable oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat. Shape latkes by hand, squeezing liquid out if there is any, and place them in the hot oil, leaving space between each one so that they brown well and become crispy (if they are too close they will “steam” and become soggy). Press down on the latkes to keep them evenly shaped. Fry for 2-3 minutes per side or until the pancakes are golden brown and crispy. Drain on paper towels. Makes 12-15

Lemon Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Lemon Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Pancakes? Oh yes! Who doesn’t love them?

But who cooks them at your house?

My Dad was the pancake maker in ours. I can close my eyes now all these years later and still see my mother’s face as she surveyed the mess he made. Flour puffs here and there. Drops of grease from melted butter on the floor. Batter on the counter. A crusted pancake turner in the sink.

But wow, those were some great pancakes. Puffy, thick and soft with a bit of a crispy edge. Gobs of butter on top melting into the surface. Syrup of course.

No redeeming nutritional value, but oh, what a big deal for the Memory Box.

Pancakes are always welcome I think, any time of year and also for any meal, breakfast, lunch or dinner.

So I am going to make some for Hanukkah. A recipe from my book, Hip Kosher, for Lemon-Cottage Cheese pancakes. Almost everyone knows that it is traditional to eat fried foods during this holiday. Less well known is that cheese is traditional too. So I’ve combined fried plus cheese plus memory in these, light, fluffy pancakes. There’s some protein and they are vaguely sweet, with good flavor from the lemon, so syrup isn’t really needed. Fried? Yes, but just in a small amount of butter on a griddle, not a whole lot of deep-dry fat.

Lemon Cottage Cheese Pancakes (from Hip Kosher)

1-1/3 cups dry curd cottage cheese, pot cheese, or farmer cheese
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
1-1/2 tablespoons finely grated fresh lemon peel
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Butter for the griddle

Combine the cottage cheese, eggs, milk and lemon peel in a bowl. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and mix to combine ingredients. Heat a griddle over medium heat and add a small amount of butter. When the butter has melted and looks foamy, working in batches, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook the pancakes for about 2 minutes per side, or until they are golden brown, adding more butter to the pan as necessary.

Makes 4 servings.

The Kugel to End all Kugels

This is the kugel to end all kugels.

I mean it. I am a kugel-eating expert, if only because when I grew up my grandmother and mom made salty kugel stuffed with mushrooms and onions and it was only when I was grown, married and with kids that I had my first taste of this. That taste was a transforming moment.

My friend Susan brought this dish to my annual Break-the-fast (she got the recipe from her friend Linda and I don’t know where Linda got it).

For years after that I have tasted more kugels than you could possibly imagine (including those hard, dried up things they sell in some supermarkets) always trying to surpass that moment of culinary discovery. 

I was even a judge once in a kugel contest.

I have made some wonderful kugels since then. But this is still my favorite. I always ask Susan to make an extra one so there will be leftovers. I pack pieces of it in my freezer so I can have a little treat whenever.

Don’t even think about the calories. Just enjoy.

Susan/Linda’s Sweet Noodle Kugel

      1 12-ounce package egg noodles

      1 8-ounce package cream cheese at room temperature

      1/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

      1 cup sugar

      2 cups dairy sour cream

      6 large eggs

      1 teaspoon cinnamon

      1 cup raisins, optional

      2 cups crushed frosted flakes or corn flakes

      4 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the noodles in slightly salted water until al dente (not soft). Drain and set aside. In an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until thoroughly blended and softened. Beat in the sugar until well blended. Add the sour cream and blend thoroughly. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in the cinnamon and raisins, if used. Pour the mixture into the noodles and toss to coat them completely. Place in a baking dish. Combine the frosted flakes and melted butter and sprinkle on top of the noodles. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is crispy. 

Makes 8 servings  

Baked Apples with Raisins, Honey, Orange and Pistachios

Baked Apples with Raisins, Honey, Orange and Pistachioos

It’s apples and honey time. First, because those two ingredients are delicious symbols of Rosh Hashanah, which starts at sundown next Sunday.

But also because new crop apples are just beginning their season, and after months and months of mealy, dry, tasteless supermarket apples, we can finally find some that taste fresh, juicy and wonderful. Like maybe the kind that tempted Eve. 

And also because September is National Honey Month. Honey, too, is in a high season right now, especially in the Northeast.

So I was delighted to read an article in The Huffington Post that said honey has health benefits.

That means I am going to be terrifically healthy. I have several jars of honey in my pantry. That I keep replenishing because, well, I use a lot of honey.

Honey is so, so good, right from my fingers, as I scoop the remnants that remain on the outside as I close up the jar.

It also tastes really good poured onto ice cream, cereal and pancakes.

And it’s an incredibly useful ingredient in recipes for dessert, like honey cake and also in savory foods — like mixing it with apple juice to baste a turkey.

Honey as healthy?

Well, that’s just an added bonus.

When I read the article and it mentioned using honey to help with night time coughs I thought about where I had heard that before.

Oh yeah. My Mom. Ages ago, when I was a little girl and had a cold and she mixed honey into tea.

Some things never change, nor should they.

Here’s an old recipe that I can now say is healthy because it has honey. Also, fresh, new crop apples.

It’s also a wonderful treat for Rosh Hashanah or any other holiday or any day in the week.

BAKED APPLES WITH RAISINS, HONEY, ORANGE AND PISTACHIOS

• 4 large baking apples

• 6 tablespoons golden raisins

• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios

• 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 6 tablespoons honey

• 1/2 cup orange juice

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into 4 pieces (or use coconut oil)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Wash the apples and remove the cores, leaving about one-half inch at the bottom. Peel the apples about halfway down from the top. Place the apples in a baking dish. Mix the raisins, pistachios, orange peel, ginger, cinnamon, 3 tablespoons honey and 3 tablespoons orange juice in a small bowl. Spoon equal amounts of this mixture into the hollowed apple cores. Combine the remaining honey, juice and water and pour over the apples. Dot the tops with butter. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the apples are tender, basting occasionally with the pan juices.

Makes 4 servings

Milk and Honey White Bread

Milk and Honey Bread

Sometimes I’m just bored with all food. It frequently happens after a summer’s worth of grilling and when roasting a turkey or making a hearty stew doesn’t seem right yet.

Also, the tomatoes are coming in now. Real tomatoes. Red, red ones. Aromatic, juicy, sweet, oozing seeds tomatoes. Late August tomatoes.

Then, for dinner, at least one night, I can make tomato sandwiches. Nothing special. I have no need for $40 olive oil or rare, aged Balsamic vinegar. No chili pepper additions. No teriyaki or hummus. No fusion version.

Just white bread, mayo and sliced tomatoes.

Nothing more. Life is sweet.

Packaged (not soft white) or bakery white bread will do. But if you like to bake and have a few moments, here’s a recipe for a spectacular bread that measures up to a good tomato.

Milk and Honey White Bread

• 1 package active dry yeast

• 1/4 cup warm water (105-110 degrees)

• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

• 4 cups all purpose flour, approximately

• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt

• 2 large eggs

• 2 tablespoons softened butter or vegetable oil

• 3/4 cup warm milk

• 2 tablespoons honey

In a small bowl, mix the yeast, water, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon flour. Stir, set aside and let rest for 5 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly. In a bowl of an electric mixer, combine the remaining flour and salt. Add the eggs, butter, milk and honey. Add the yeast mixture. Blend ingredients thoroughly, then knead using the kneading hook, for 4-5 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic (or knead by hand for about 10 minutes). Add more flour as necessary to keep the dough from being sticky. (Dough may be made in a food processor). Cover the bowl of dough and put it in a warm place to rise for about 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch down the dough, cover the bowl and let rise again for about 30 minutes or until doubled. Lightly oil a 9” loaf pan. Place the dough in the pan. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for about 25 minutes or until firm and golden brown.

Makes one

Corn fritters

Do you ever daydream about foods you haven’t had in a long time?

Like the fried chicken you used to eat but you don’t now because it’s too fattening, too fatty and too messy to make?

Or Mac n’ Cheese the way your Grandma made it, but it doesn’t taste the same since she’s gone?

Or the original Bonomo’s Turkish Taffy that doesn’t taste anything like it used to so you don’t bother?

One of the foods I think about more than occasionally is my Mom’s Corn Fritters. Crispy outside, soft and puffy within, and loaded with corn. Great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. With a little real maple syrup.

It’s an indulgence, to be sure, so I don’t make them too often. But I just had to have some yesterday. I had been thinking about them, mostly because I had some corn left over from a few extra cobs I cooked over the weekend.

So I made some. I changed one important ingredient though. I switched from dairy milk to coconut milk. UNSWEETENED refrigerator case coconut milk (not canned).

The fritters were vaguely sweeter, but every bit as wonderful, delicate, crispy-edged and perfect. I think Mom would approve.

CORN FRITTERS

2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1 large egg

1 cup coconut milk (or use regular, whole milk)

2 cups cooked corn kernels (about 4 ears of corn)

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1-1/4 teaspoons salt (or to taste)

margarine/butter/vegetable oil for frying

maple syrup, optional

Melt the butter and set it aside to cool. In a bowl, beat the egg and coconut milk together. Stir in the cooled melted butter and the corn kernels. In a second bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt; add this to the corn mixture and stir ingredients gently to blend them together. Heat enough margarine, butter and/or vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat. When the fat has melted and looks foamy (or the vegetable oil is hot), drop the corn batter by the 1/4-cupful. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the bottom has browned. Flip the pancakes and cook for another 2 minutes or until the second side is brown. Serve with maple syrup if desired.

Makes 6-8 servings