Chocolate Babka

I wish I knew something about the Purim celebrations that my parents experienced during their childhood.  They were both from observant families so it is hard to imagine that the holiday was not marked in some way.  On top of which my mother’s aunt owned the bakery in Mogielnica.  Did she prepare Hamantaschen or some other local pastry for the holiday?  What was the filling?  Poppy I assume,  but I will never know.  What I do know is that with only one week to go, I am without a plan as I have decided not to make Hamantaschen this year.

Last week I found myself in a situation where I had to come up with a dessert at the last minute.  Without having planned it in advance, I took part of my challah dough and made a chocolate Babka.  It turned out great and since it was my first attempt, I was pleasantly surprised.  One can only hope that inspiration will come to the rescue, but in the meantime chocolate Babka anyone?  Chag Sameach.

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Babka

Your favorite challah recipe or mine.   I used half the dough to prepare two Challot and half to prepare two Babkas.

Filling for one Babka
1 stick sweet butter or pareve margarine, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 pound semi-sweet chocolate
Pinch of salt
1 Tb cinnamon

Egg wash (optional)
1 egg
2 teaspoons milk, water or soy milk
1 Tb sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coarsely chop bar of chocolate, then finish chopping in food processor till fine.  Add salt, sugar and cinnamon and mix for a few seconds.  Add butter or margarine and mix in by pulsing.

Grease a round pan well.  After dough doubled in size, punch down and roll into a large rectangle.  This takes some time and patience.  Make sure your surface is well floured so dough doesn’t stick.  Make it as thin and long as you can.

Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough.  Starting from the long side, roll dough as tightly as possible.   Place in pan and let rise for about 30 minutes.   Mix egg with milk or water and brush on top.  Sprinkle with a Tablespoon of sugar mixed with a Tsp of cinnamon.  Bake for about 30 minutes and cool on rack.

Enjoy,

Irene

 

 

 

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Susan’s Mini Corn Muffins

The stoop was not just an architectural feature of many of the buildings in The Bronx, it was much more than that.  In addition to flanking the entryway to the building , it was the place to linger, to hang out and have what my older son refers to as a “stop and chat.”  It even served as a destination because plans were often made to meet up with friends at “the stoop”  The boys played stoop ball and the girls used the same pink Spalding ball to play “A my name,” a children’s game where you continuously bounced the ball and turned your leg over the ball on the word that contained the letter of the alphabet that was being emphasized.   i.e. A my name is Anita and my husband’s name is Al, we come from Alabama and we sell Apples.  It wasn’t until about 7 years ago on a trip to Brooklyn when I bought several “spaldines” and discovered that we had mispronounced Spalding all these years.

My friend Saul likes to make fun of the days I spent hanging out at the stoop but to this day I smile when I am in NYC and see that kids and adults are still doing it.  After spending those hot summer days lingering around the stoop I would go upstairs and have an ice-cold glass of milk with an afternoon snack.  If my mother were here, she would tell you that had the milk been out of the fridge and on the counter for more than one minute, I would refuse to drink it.  The snacks?  My favorite were, iced brownies with walnuts, black and white cookies, Chinese cookies, or a corn muffin split in half and lathered in butter.   The stoops are in The Bronx and I am in L.A. , but the corn muffins are in the kitchen, hot and fresh from the oven, and the milk is still in the fridge.

 

Susan’s Mini Corn Muffins

2 cups yellow cornmeal

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tb baking powder

2 tsp salt

2/3 cup oil

2 eggs

2 cups milk

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients.  Combine oil, eggs, and milk in a small bowl, and add to dry ingredients till just combined.  Grease mini muffin tins well and fill to the top.  Bake for about 8 minutes using a convection oven or about 10 minutes in a conventional oven.  Makes 24 muffins.

Enjoy,

Irene

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

This is a post from last Thanksgiving but some of you are new to Bamitbach and I wanted to introduce you to my standard dessert for the holiday.  I have been in NYC for the last five days and have had many wonderful experiences, meals, and moments.  I am thankful that I was able to spend the days leading up to Thanksgiving with all of my children as well as my sister and brother-in-law.  I look forward to being home and celebrating with the family and friends who can join us, but I am equally happy knowing that those who can’t join us are, thankfully, in good hands.   Happy Thanksgiving.

 

 

November 2010

My sister recalls that I came home from Kindergarten and told my mother that I wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving.  At that point my parents and sister would have been living in the United States for about seven years,  and were open to the idea of celebrating this “American” holiday.  That was the beginning of a new tradition for our family, Thanksgiving dinner.

I remember my mother roasting a turkey, prepared the same way she prepared roast chicken for Shabbat, with lots of garlic, salt and pepper.  She made candied sweet potatoes, a dish she learned from my cousin’s housekeeper Edith, and a delicious stuffing made with challah, mushrooms, celery, carrots and caramelized onions.  It was sort of an Eastern European Thanksgiving dinner.  No guests, no fanfare, no cornucopia, but I always found it special and meaningful.

As a child of immigrants, the Thanksgiving narrative of people who came to America searching for religious freedom always resonated with me.  As a child of survivors, I understood that my family had much to be thankful for.  It was not a story from a textbook, it was the story of my family.  America welcomed them and gave them a fresh start, shelter, the ability to live openly and proudly as Jews, and a place to put down roots and watch their families grow and flourish.  For each of those reasons, and more, I will always be thankful.

Our Thanksgiving dinner is very traditional, given some dietary restrictions.  We have mulled cider, Turkey, stuffing, corn bread, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie and our favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

3 1/2 cups flour

3 cups sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup oil

2/3 cup water

2 cups canned pumpkin

1 12 oz. pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips, tossed with 1 tbsp flour

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Combine eggs with oil, water and pumpkin and mix well. Stir into dry ingredients.  Fold chocolate chips in to batter.  Divide mixture among three greased loaf pans.  Bake at 350 for one hour or until toothpick inserted into loaf comes out dry.

Enjoy,

Irene

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Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

It all comes down to a few essentials.  I don’t think many people are waiting for the roasted Brussel sprouts (even when they are beautifully presented on the stalk) or the cranberry chutney, and some people don’t really like turkey.  For me it is the dressing (we don’t stuff), the sweet potatoes and the corn bread.  Like most things in my life, you can eliminate the extras and find that there are just a few things that really count.  Family, friends and food.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes for Thanksgiving.  Also some photos taken last year in and around Blue Hill at Stone Barns to  help you get in the mood.

Almost any type of sweet potato dish works, I don’t think I have ever tried a recipe that I didn’t like.

I often boil the sweet potatoes in their jackets till soft, mash with some brown sugar and a little bit of margarine and then place in a baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour.  Today I tried oven baked sweet potato fries.  Good for a small crowd.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

5 Sweet Potatoes, cut into thin long slices

3-4 Tbsp olive oil

Salt, pepper and garlic salt to taste.

Toss together and bake on a parchment covered cookie sheet at 450 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.  Serves 4-5

Shira’s Corn Pone

We bought a bread cookbook in Amish country when Shira was a little girl.  She makes this recipe for Thanksgiving dinner every year.  It’s great for dinner and cut in half, toasted and served with butter the next morning!!!!

1 c. sugar

1/2 cup butter or  pareve margarine

2 eggs

1  1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal

1  1/2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups milk or non-dairy creamer

Cream together margarine and sugar.  Add beaten eggs and mix well.  In a bowl, sift cornmeal with flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour and milk alternately to batter.  Pour into greased and floured 9x 13 baking dish.  Bake at 450″ for 30-35 minutes.  I  think the texture is better if made the day before.  Serves 8-10

Pumpkin Bread, a yearly traditional dessert.  This recipe has spread far and wide and I love that!  Click on the link for the recipe.

Manya’s Mushroom Stuffing

1 1/2 lbs. brown mushrooms or a combination of mushrooms
2 large onions
2 large carrots
2 stalks celery
4 eggs, beaten
1 large Challah,  crust removed.
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
2-3 tbsp vegetable oil

Dice onions and sauté in olive oil over low flame until a rich golden color, this can take up to 30 minutes.
Dice carrots and celery and add to onions and sauté for about ten minutes until tender.  Raise heat slightly, add sliced mushrooms and cook an extra 15 minutes.  Allow to cool and place in large mixing bowl.
Remove crust and run challah under warm water until soft.  Then squeeze challah and add to mushroom mixture.  Add beaten eggs, salt and pepper.
Prepare 9×13 pan by adding 2-3 Tbsp oil, make sure bottom and sides are well-greased and place in 350 degree oven for several minutes.  Take out and immediately pour in stuffing  mixture.  Brush with olive oil.

Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until golden brown.  Serves 6-8

Please send in your family favorites to share!

Enjoy,

Irene

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Gingerbread Cake

When we were growing up, it seemed that someone was always dropping in to visit with my mother.  They would sit at the kitchen table and talk, usually over a cup of coffee.  My mom’s closest friend, Fanny, would nibble on a spoonful of  jam instead of  a cookie.  Our lifestyle is not really conducive to dropping in on friends in such a casual way,  and so I was thrilled when my friend Lori came by last Sunday afternoon with a warm cake,  just out of the oven, and a book that she knew I would love.  We sat and chatted, and I was reminded of what we have lost in the shuffle of our busy schedules.  I miss dropping in on friends and I miss having friends drop in on us, but the sad part of the story occurred to me afterwards,  and that was that I never even offered her a cup of coffee.

Lori sent me the recipe along with a little explanation.

The recipe is called “Gingerybread” and is adapted (by me) from a lovely little breakfast/brunch cookbook from the Grant Corner Inn, a bed and breakfast located in a 106 year old Victorian house in Sante Fe, New Mexico.  It makes a large 10 x 14 inch cake that can easily serve more than 12 people.

Gingerybread

1 cup butter

1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup dark molasses

1 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

2 TBSP strong coffee

1 3/4 boiling water

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 3/4 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped candied ginger

Preheat oven to 325 and grease a 10 x 14 inch baking pan.

Cream shortening and sugar until fluffy.  Blend in eggs, coffee, vanilla, molasses and honey.  Stir in boiling water and set aside.

In a medium bowl sift together dry ingredients and then mix into liquids, blending well.

Fold in candied ginger. Bake at 325 for about 45 minutes or till top springs back when touched.

PS – The cookbook states that this recipe is similar to the way gingerbread is made in Scotland – dark and substantial.  My adaption was to omit the zest of an orange and substitute vanilla and coffee for 2 TBSP of brandy.

Note: This cake would be perfect for the holidays as an alternative to honey cake.  Lori halved the recipe without a problem and is experimenting with oil to make a pareve version.

Enjoy,

Irene

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

My sister recalls that I came home from Kindergarten and told my mother that I wanted to celebrate Thanksgiving.  At that point my parents and sister would have been living in the United States for about seven years,  and were open to the idea of celebrating this “American” holiday.  That was the beginning of a new tradition for our family, Thanksgiving dinner.

I remember my mother roasting a turkey, prepared the same way she prepared roast chicken for Shabbat, with lots of garlic, salt and pepper.  She made candied sweet potatoes, a dish she learned from my cousin’s housekeeper Edith, and a delicious stuffing made with challah, mushrooms, celery, carrots and caramelized onions.  It was sort of an Eastern European Thanksgiving dinner.  No guests, no fanfare, no cornucopia, but I always found it special and meaningful.

As a child of immigrants, the Thanksgiving narrative of people who came to America searching for religious freedom always resonated with me.  As a child of survivors, I understood that my family had much to be thankful for.  It was not a story from a textbook, it was the story of my family.  America welcomed them and gave them a fresh start, shelter, the ability to live openly and proudly as Jews, and a place to put down roots and watch their families grow and flourish.  For each of those reasons, and more, I will always be thankful.

Our Thanksgiving dinner is very traditional, given some dietary restrictions.  We have mulled cider, Turkey, stuffing, corn bread, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie and our favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

3 1/2 cups flour

3 cups sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp allspice

1 1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs, beaten

1 cup oil

2/3 cup water

2 cups canned pumpkin

1 12 oz. pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips, tossed with 1 tbsp flour

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Combine eggs with oil, water and pumpkin and mix well. Stir into dry ingredients.  Fold chocolate chips in to batter.  Divide mixture among three greased loaf pans.  Bake at 350 for one hour or until toothpick inserted into loaf comes out dry.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Enjoy,

Irene

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Kahk

It’s the Sunday morning before Rosh Hashana and Norm and I have been busy in the kitchen all morning.  Norm is baking bagels and baguettes, experimenting with new recipes.  Schav borscht is cooking on the stove, just because there is still so much sorrel in the garden.  I have dough rising for challot, and I just made a batch of Kahk.  Yesterday I spent the morning looking through three of my favorite Jewish cookbooks.  I loved reading about the Sephardic traditions for incorporating specific foods into the Rosh Hashana meal, mainly fruits and vegetables filled with seeds, a symbol of fertility and abundance.  Inspired, I decided to make Kahk, a dry, savory, biscuit topped with sesame seeds.  Here is to a bountiful New Year!

This recipe is adapted from Claudia Roden’s The Book of Jewish Food.

1 Tbs instant yeast

1 cup warm water

pinch of sugar

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 Tbs anise seed

1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs vegetable oil

1 egg, lightly beaten

sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place parchment paper on two cookie sheets.

Proof yeast in about 1/3 of cup of warm water with the pinch of sugar.  In a large bowl, combine flour with salt, cumin, and anise seed.  Add the oil and blend into flour.  Add yeast mixture and remaining water to flour and knead till you are able to form a ball. Add additional water a little at a time, as needed.  Knead for several minutes and then place in oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise for about one hour.  Punch down dough. Take a walnut size piece of dough and roll between the palm of your hands till you have a 4″ strand.  Form a circle and pinch ends together. Repeat till you use all the dough.  Brush kahk with a beaten egg and dip into a bowl of sesame seeds.  Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or till golden.

Yield 30 Kahk

Enjoy,

Irene

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Kreplach

Matzoh Balls are for Passover, Kreplach are for Rosh Hashana.  That’s our family tradition.  For those of you who spent part of today trying to get a head start on the holidays, here is what we prepared in our kitchen.  Chicken soup, two kinds of Challot and Kreplach.

Kreplach

Cooked soup chicken ( I used 5 of the thighs from the pot of chicken soup)

2 medium onions, finely chopped

3 Tbs oil

4 Tbs chicken soup

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Saute onions in oil over low flame till golden brown.  Chop the soup chicken by hand in a wooden bowl, using a hackmesser.  Add sauteed onions, salt and pepper, and 3 Tbs chicken soup. Mix well.

Place 1 tsp chicken mixture into center of each wonton skin. Dip your finger in water and wet the outer edge of each skin before sealing the kreplach to create a better seal.

Place the kreplach on a cookie sheet and freeze.  When frozen, remove from sheet and place in freezer bag.  On the day you plan to serve the kreplach, line a cookie sheet with wax paper, separate kreplach on sheet and allow to defrost. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil.  Drop kreplach in, a few at a time,  for about two minutes.  Remove with slotted spoon and place  2-3 in the bottom of each soup bowl and set aside. When you are ready to serve, add piping hot chicken soup to bowl.

Alternative preparation: Norm fried some up (see above) and froze them. They just need to thaw out and sit in the hot soup for a few minutes.

Yield: 40 Kreplach

Here is a photo and a link to the King Arthur Four Recipe for this challah.  We tested one out last week and loved it!

Harvest Apple Challah

Shana Tovah,

Irene

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Baking Day

I was anticipating a lazy Sunday morning but when I woke up and made my way into the kitchen I found Norm busy baking. Other than an excercise class that I took, we have spent half the day in the kitchen. I couldn’t resist sharing some photos of the fruits of our labor. Hope you enjoy them!

Irene

Letting the baguettes rise

Fini!

Boule bread baking in pot

Great job Norm!

Crusty Rolls

New batch of blueberry buns

Blueberry Turnover

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Bialys

This is the first Father’s Day since my father, Harry Graf, passed away.  It feels strange despite the fact that in recent years he was not well enough to really enjoy the celebrations.  He never knew his father and I often wondered what it must have been like for him to grow up without one.  I never asked.  What was most remarkable about my father was his resilience.  He survived his service in the Polish army and he survived the Holocaust. After the war, he and my mother moved to France where they faced a new language and culture.  Five years later, with my sister in tow, they moved to the United States and settled in New York where I was born.  My father had to learn yet another language and adapt to a new country once again.  Determined to have a better life, he studied English and eventually become a stock broker.  Anyone who ever met my father knows that he would shake your hand and then would tell you to “squeeze.”  That word had so much meaning for him.  It stood for strength, determination and a belief that one must live life to the fullest, to squeeze out every drop that you can.  On July 2, 2010 we will have his unveiling and  ”squeeze” will be inscribed on his gravestone. May he rest in peace.

One thing that my husband and father had  in common was that they both had Sunday rituals that revolved around the family. When I was growing up my father always made steak and fries on Sundays.  It was his day to cook and it was a treat.  Norm, my husband, has always made Sunday breakfast for our family.  When the children were young, he prepared eggs, hash browns, french toast or pancakes. Now that our children are grown and out of the house, Norm has developed a new Sunday ritual.  He bakes.  He has taken a class with famed artisanal baker Peter Reinhardt and is very serious about his new hobby.  We no longer have big hearty breakfasts but we have bialys, bagels, challahs, artisanal breads, and hazelnut flutes. Both of these men nurtured their families by cooking for them. What a wonderful legacy.

So Happy Father’s Day to all of you and especially to the men who take the time to cook for their family and friends.

Adapted from Peter Reinhardt’s Lean Dough Recipe.

Bialys

2  1/4 cups warm water
2 tsp instant  yeast
3 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
5 1/3 cups bread flour
Flour for dusting
Oil for greasing bowl

Topping:
1 whole onion, minced
2 teaspoons poppy seeds (optional)
1 Tbsp bread crumbs
1 pinch salt

Place minced onion in a bowl and leave on counter for about 30 minutes.  Combine with remaining topping ingredients and set aside.

Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl.  Add warm water and mix thoroughly until dough is formed and comes away from the sides of the bowl.  Allow to rest for five minutes.  Place dough on a floured surface and knead gently for about four minutes. Dough will be sticky.

Shape the dough into a ball and place in a large oiled bowl and turn to coat.  Cover and refrigerate overnight or up to four days.

Take dough out of refrigerator and divide into 16 equal portions, and roll into balls. Gently flatten each ball  into a 3  1/2 inch circle, spacing evenly on a cookie sheet with oiled parchment paper.  Cover with tea towels and allow to rise until puffy, about one hour.

With wet hands, make an indentation in the center of each bialy, leaving a 1″  edge. Then flatten center of bialy with a moistened shot glass by pressing in a circular motion.  Place about 1 tsp of the topping into the hole and press down slightly.

Cover with cloths and allow to rise for another half hour.  Preheat oven to 450°F and bake bialys for 15 to 20 minutes, rotating cookie sheets after 10 minutes.  Bialys are golden on top and crusty on bottom when finished.

Makes 16 Bialys.

Norm’s inspiration to try Bialys came from Mimi Sheraton’s book “The Bialy Eaters: The Story of a Bread and a Lost World”

Enjoy,

Irene

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