Monthly Archives: March 2013

The New Gefilte Fish – Gluten Free

Unfortunately this year I was unable to meet my family for Passover because I was filming all day. I really wanted to make a nice dinner for me and Jay. Since I decided to do it all last minute and in the crazy snow storm I had to resort to the local Asian Market. It’s not like I can get the jarred stuff I grew up on because it is filled with gluten. For the first time I decide to go at it on my own and make Gefilte Fish my way. I kicked it up a step and was presently surprised at the outcome.

Ingredients:

1 Pound Salmon Steak

1 Pound Swia Fish

1 Salmon Head Chopped (I know gross but it was it is)

2 Pieces Gluten Free Matzo

2 Tbs Sugar

1 Egg

1 Tbs Salt

½ Tbs Pepper

2 Carrots Dices

1 Onion Dices

¼ Red Wine

½ Cup Fresh Parsley Diced

1/3 Cup Corn Meal

1 Tbs Garlic Powder

1 Tbs Onion Powder

1 Tbs Paprika

The first step is to get the broth going. Place the cuts up head in the pot with about 3 QT Water. Bring to boil and add half the onion, one carrot, half the sugar, half the parsley and half the salt. Let it boil for a few minutes then lower to a simmer and cover leaving a crack. Let the sauce continue to simmer while you assemble the mixture. If you lucky to have a fish guy grind the fish for you that whould be great but otherwise cut it in to chunks (remove the bones) and place in food processor. Place all the ground meat in a big bowl. Now in another pan soften the remaining carrot, onion and parsley in red wine with remain salt and pepper. Cook down for a few mixtures until soft and then add mixture to food processor and blend well. Add the gluten free matzo to the food processor and blend together with the wine and onion mix. Place the carrot mixture in all on the bowl with the fish, along with the egg, onion powder, garlic powder, corn meal and remaining sugar. Mix it all by hand well. It should come together nicely but place in fridge for a few minutes is your would like it to be firmer.

Return to the broth and make sure it had reduced a little bit. Strain out everything in the broth and RESEVE the liquid. Place the liquid back in the pot with and of the carrots or onions. Bring it back to a simmer. Now take the fish mixture and make the small football shapes patties one by one and place gently in liquid. Hint: Working with wet hands makes this a lot easier. Place the lid back on the pot and simmer low for 15-20 minutes. Taste the liquid as go and spice if needed. The patties will float so you will need to gently turn them every few minutes. When done remove fish and extra carrots and place in a large low container. Pour liquid on top of fish and chill in fridge for a few hours. After about 8 hours liquid will firm into a jelly consistence.

Serve with horseradish in a bowl with a little broth and some fresh parsley. Enjoy

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Carrot Kugel – Gluten Free

I loved noodle kugel as kids. Something about a sweet side dish alway gets me. Since gluten free noodles do not bake well and are something I try to avoid I came up with a much healthier, guilt free version. Filled with only good stuff you will be happy to watch your family gobble this one up.

Ingredients –

1 Peel Sweet Potato

2 Carrots

1 Apple

1/3 Cup White Raisins

2 Eggs

2 Pieces Gluten Free Matzo

1 Tsp Cinnamon

1 Tbs Honey* Optional

1/2 Tbs Lemon Zest

1 Tbs Fresh Lemon Juice

Start by grating potato, carrot and apple all into a large bowl. Add lemon juice and mix well to help keep bright color. Add cinnamon, zest, raisins, eggs. Add honey if you want to make it sweet but no needed. Mix well. Place Matzo in a food processor and grind into crumbs. Add matzo to mix and combine well. Place mix in a sprayed baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for an hour. I cooked it uncovered for the first 30 minutes and then covered it for the remaining 30 minutes. Cooking time will depend a little on the height of the dish you are using so make sure to watch. Serve in nice slices or square either cold or warm. Enjoy!

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Sicilian Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are starting to appear on menu’s again. Not the same my mom made but crazy new combinations of flavors. I was planning on have people over and needed some fun easy to eat finger foods.

Ingredients:

1 Dozen Hard Boiled Eggs

1 Tbs Capper’s

15 Green Olives Diced

1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt

1 Tbs Paprika + More for Garnish

1/4 Chopped Fresh Parsley

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp pepper

1 Tbs Honey* Optional

1 Tbs Mustard

Start by slicing eggs in half. Place all the whites on a platter and all the yolks in a bowl or container. Add all the remaining ingredients to the yolks and mix with a hand held food processor or a mixer. Place mixture in a well sealed plastic bag and chill in the fridge for 2 hours. When your ready to serve, cut the tip of the bag in one corner and pipe the mixture into each egg white making a peak. Place all the eggs on a platter and garnish with parsley and paprika for color. Enjoy!

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Edamame Guacamole

I was asked to make a healthy guacamole recipe for on online clip and I had never even heard of. Edamame is packed with good vitamins and protein. The texture is more chunky then regular avocado guacamole but if would prefer it more smooth add a small amount of yogurt or oil. Super simple and totally worth a try!

Ingredients:

2 Cup Edamame
Juice of 1 Lime
1 tap Salt
1 Chopped Tomato
1/4 Cup Chopped Cilantro

Throw everything in a food processor and blend very well. Adding oil or yogurt will create a smoother consistence.

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Heroset

I grew up eating this stuff by the bucket. Being from upstate New York I have a true love for apples in any form. Heroset is a Jewish apple dish created as a sweet spread for Matzo. Its crunchy, sweet, nutty and spiced to perfection. And I was really happy to find some amazing gluten free Matzo to go with it.

Ingredients:

5 Diced green apples with peel on (or use your favorite apple)
1/2 Tbs Cinnamon
2 Tbs Honey
2 Tbs Brown Sugar
Juice of One Lemon
1/2 Cup Red Wine
1 Cup Walnut

Dice up all the apples into small chunks and place in a big bowl with lemon juice. Mix together so that all the apples are coated well with lemon. Now I placed about 1/4 of the mix at a time into a food processor and crushed it up a bit more but this step depends on preference. Some people like larger chunks and other like it very fine. Once your done with apples add walnuts to the food processor and crush. Add nuts to the bowl of apples and add all the remaining ingredients. Combine everything together and serve with Matzo.

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Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is truly a power ingredient. Full of protein and all the good stuff. Alone it is nutty, fluffy and full of life but when combines in a number of recipes the result is outstanding. I made this recipe on Saturday at Sweet Christine’s Bakery and everyone lived it.

Ingredients:

4 Cups Cooked Quinoa
1 Cup Chopped Parsley
2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes
1 Bell Pepper Diced
1 Cucumber Seeded and Diced
1/2 Cup Olives
2/3 Cup Feta Crumbled
1 Lemon
Pinch of Salt and Pepper
1 Tbs Honey (optional)
1 Tbs Olive Oil
2 Tsp Oregano

Start by making the dressing in a large bowl. Whisk together the juice of one lemon, salt, pepper, oregano and honey. Then add diced pepper, cucumber, olives, parsley, tomatoes sliced and parsley. Mix together well. Now add quinoa and toss together well. Let it all sit for a minute so the dressing is absorbed. Last, add feta and enjoy.

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Demo Recipes and the News

Last week I was at William Sonoma in center city doing a fun demo. The wonderful folks at Greensgrow Farm gave me a great mix of goodies to use and I came up with a great recipe you can find below. They had white sweet potatoes and beets in season and I made a great little spring inspired dish of roasted potatoes, my famous pesto and a blend of beets and ricotta cheese.

The goal of this demo was to market a Cooking Class I will be teaching in May. Here more info:

Topic: Undercover Gluten-Free: Vietnamese Cuisine

Winner of NBC’s “Next Local TV Chef” competition Chef Laura Hahn will reveal gluten-free techniques! Vietnamese Food is full of fresh new flavors and is a great cuisine to learn for spring and summer cooking. In two hours you will learn how to create an entire Vietnamese meal at home for friends and family. The class will make using rice papers, rice noodles and grape leaves easy. Discover new ingredients that are surprisingly gluten free.

Recipes will include summer rolls, sauces, stuffed grape leaves and rice pudding!

Location: Greensgrow Community Kitchen at St Michael’s Lutheran Church: 2139 East Cumberland Street

They have 15 tickets remaining. Click Here to grab a spot

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As for the recipe I created at the demo. Everyone loved it!!! A great dish for any event!!!

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Ingredients:

2 Large White Sweet Potatoes

3 Tbs Pesto (my famous recipe can be found in a recent blog)

3 Tbs Butter

1/2 Tbs Garlic Powder

1/2 Tbs Onion Powder

2 tsp Salt (separated)

1 tsp Pepper

1 Cup Ricotta

3 Roasted Beets

Start by boiling potatoes for 10 minutes. Remove them, dry well and then cut into even bit size chunks. Toss in a bowl with garlic powder, onion powder, 1 tsp salt and pepper. Throw into a large pan with butter and pan fry until they begin to brown about 5 minutes. Now toss onto baking sheet and roast at 450 degrees for a few more minute. Watch the potatoes so they don’t burn. You may want to give them a toss after a few minutes of broiling. Once potatoes are nice and golden remove and allow to cool. Place into a large bowl and toss with pesto.

For the cheese you first want to slice and peel the beets. Place them in a blend and whip up. You may need a splash of milk to get it going. Then add the ricotta cheese and 1 tsp salt. Remove from blender and place in the fridge to help firm up.

Now just plate the potatoes with a nice scoop of cheese next to it. I like to add a little extra dab of pesto to go with it.

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Low Cal Protein Bar

I have wrote about my granola bars in the past but Since I make them every week I am always changing them around. I made a new one with week and they came out so great I wanted to share. Plus this one could be made nut free if needed.

Ingredients:
2 Cups Rice Crispy Cereal

1 1/2 Cup Old Fashion Oat Meal (gluten free)

1/2 Cup White Raisins

3 Tbs Peanut Butter

2 Tbs Honey

2 eggs

4 Tbs Splenda / Sugar * Optional

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp sal

1/3 Cup Dry Skim Milk

In one bowl mix peanut butter and honey and heat in microwave for a few second to loosen. After it cools add vanilla, salt and sugar then mix well and put it aside. In a larger bowl and oatmeal and fruit. Return to the first bowl with peanut butter and mix in eggs well then add this liquid mix to the dry bowl and continue mixing. Finally, add the rice cereal to the mix and mix everything together well. Press mixture into a square baking well greased baking dish and cook for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown. Allow to cool and then cut into bars. Enjoy!!!!

Forgot the Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Soup

Well the other day I made a bunch of cooked sweet potatoes and made sure to leave some extra to make a creamy hearty soup. Well…. lunch time came around and I blame this on my blood sugar running low but I got everything together to make an amazing pot of soup and I completely forgot the sweet potato. It was so ridiculous that I did not realize it until Jay asked what was for lunch and I started to say African Sweet Potato Soup and I just start to laugh because I opened the fridge and found the wonderful orange chunks of potato still in the fridge. Figures… But regardless this soup was amazing.

Ingredients –

4 Tbs Peanut Butter

3 Cups Crushed Tomatoes

3/4 Cup Water

1/4 Cup Fresh Chopped Parsley

1/4 Cup Fresh Chopped Cilantro

2 Celery Stalks Chopped Fine

1 Carrot Diced

1 Tbs Honey (Optional)

1/4 Milk

1/2 Tbs Onion Powder

1 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Salt

1 Tsp Chili Powder

1/2 Tbs Mombasa Spice (African Blend)

Start by sautéing celery, carrots with onion, pepper, salt, chili powder and Mombasa spice. After a few minutes add tomatoes, honey, peanut butter, water, cilantro and parsley. Once simmering add peanut butter and mix well. Let simmer for 10 minutes and then add milk and condensed milk. Continue to cook low for another 5-10 minutes until desired consistence is reached. Serve hot with a nice salad.

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