S'mores Brownies

I have a family friend who will almost always bring her famous "brownie s'mores" to a party.  And they go like hot cakes.  Seriously delicious.  She very nicely shared her recipe with me and I saw how insanely simple they were to make (ie make boxed brownie mix, before it's done cooking pull it out, add marshmallows and chocolate chips, finish cooking then add graham crackers, cut and eat).  I have made them on more than one occasion since she shared this with me (uh, don't kill me for sharing this, Nancy!).  So when it was decided that this month's What's Baking theme was going to be Variations of S'mores, I knew I wanted to tackle brownie s'mores, but I wanted to think outside of "the box".

I was invited to a barbecue at a dear friend''s house earlier this month and I knew this would be the perfect treat to bring as my contribution to the meal.  They keep kosher as well, so I knew I would need to make these parve.  I asked around to some blogger friends and after reviewing a few dairy-free brownie recipes I settled on one from Cathy's Kitchen Journey.  Except when I went to make it I didn't have time to get the espresso powder, so I essentially made the recipe she adapted from (I left out the nuts in case of allergies as well).  Though I realized toddlers were going to be eating these so I should probably omit it anyway otherwise you probably didn't want to be around these little ones come bedtime!

The intended date this post was to go live was actually ON National S'more Day, however I decided to do a second try and adjust how I assembled the brownies.  You see, I had originally made them using kosher mini marshmallows, which I had chopped to try to make them a little gooey-er (for whatever reason I find them never get as gooey as non-kosher marshmallows).  They tasted good, but a guest at the party had commented that she couldn't eat them because she's vegetarian (and therefore couldn't eat the fish gelatin). She mentioned that if I had used Fluff she could have eaten it, as it does not have any gelatin.  A light went off in my head.  This was the perfect substitution in the brownies!  So, thankfully my nephew was having a birthday last weekend, so I quickly offered to bring some brownies to share with the guests.

my first attempt

The final result is delicious and definitely something that I will be making again.  It really isn't much harder than baking brownies out of a box!


Brownie S'mores (adapted from AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa power
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup vegetable oil, divided
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature 
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
8oz  (approx) Fluff
3 large rectangles graham crackers

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 9x13in pan.
- In a large bowl, stir together the cocoa powder and baking soda.  Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and boiling water.  Mix until well blended and thickened.
- Stir in the sugar, eggs (one at a time) and remaining 1/3 cup oil.
- Add the flour, vanilla, and salt.  Mix just until the flour is blended in.
- Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30min.
- While it's baking, put the graham crackers in the food processor (breaking into smaller pieces as you put them in).  Pulse until they are a fine crumble.
- Remove the pan from the oven (do not turn the oven off!).
- Spoon Fluff over the brownies, letting it sit approx 1 minute before spreading (it's much easier to spread after it's melted a bit).
- Sprinkle the graham cracker dust over the marshmallows, gently pressing down to help it stick to the Fluff.
- Bake an additional 5-7 min.
- Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf

This month's theme for What's Baking is "Baking with Garlic".  My mind immediately went to garlic knots or garlic breadsticks or even a delicious garlic rosemary bread I found online.  But I wanted to think outside the box.  Plus, I eat enough bread as it is, did I really need that much extra bread in my house??  Of course my answer would still have been YES!! But, alas, I had nowhere to add it to my menu plan, plus I needed a side dish to my Shabbat chicken dinner.

Then I remembered a delicious rice pilaf I had made a few years back and realized I had never shared it here!  I don't remember how I first came across this exact recipe, but it is from my dear friend Jessica's blog.

Rice pilaf is rice cooked in stock (and not, as one contestant on Top Chef a few seasons ago thought, rice with 'a lot of stuff in it").  And this baked version uses some stock at the beginning and adds more partway through cooking.  I made a small adjustment to make this dish appropriate for a meat meal, then satisfied my own garlic craving by adding extra garlic.  The original recipe called for crushed garlic only, but just wait until you get the smooth deliciousness of a cooked garlic chunk.  It is like a little bite of heaven.  I had first made this back when coconut oil was becoming a thing so I used that as a parve substitute for butter and think that it really adds to the flavor of this dish.

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else made this month.  Garlic just might be my favorite ingredient to use!

Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf (slightly adapted from Sunny Side Up)

Ingredients
2 Tbsp coconut oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 garlic cloves halved, quartered or roughly chopped
1 cup brown rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided  **use vegetable broth if you want to make this a parve dish
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375
- Melt the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and rice and cook for approx 3 minutes, or until the garlic starts to turn golden brown.
- Add 1 cup of broth, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.  Transfer the rice, garlic and broth to a casserole dish with a tight fitting lid or use two sheets of foil to seal a deep dish.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven and stir in the rest of the broth (1 1/2 cups).
- Re-cover the dish and continue baking for 45 minutes.

Quinoa with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes, and Spinach

Did you know that quinoa is Kosher for Passover?  Well, it is!  This was a welcome fact as I set about menu planning.  Aside from veggies there aren't many other sides that don't involve some sort of matzah/matzah meal/etc so quinoa is a nice break from that.

Last summer I decided to add more quinoa to our diet and started looking for good recipes.  I came upon this one on MyRecipes.com in my search and it wasn't until the second or third time I made it that I noticed the author was Mary Ellen from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations, a friend of mine from an online community.  I made a few small adjustments (most importantly was making it a parve side) and have made it several times since.  Quinoa is considered a "superfood" because of its health benefits so I should probably make it more often than I do.

The red pepper flakes add a nice kick to it, though I think if you don't want the heat (or if you have a little mouth to feed that doesn't like too much spice) it could be left out and would still make a delicious dish.

 

Quinoa with Roasted Garlic, Tomatoes, and Spinach (slightly adapted from Mary Ellen's Cooking Creations)

Ingredients
1 bulb of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil, plus a drizzle more
small shallot, chopped
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (leave out if you don't want the heat)
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa
1 tbsp dry white wine
1 cup low sodium vegetable stock
1/2 cup spinach, sliced into thin strips
6-10 cherry tomatoes, halved

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Cut the top off of the bulb of garlic, exposing the cloves.  Place bulb on foil, drizzle with olive oil, then wrap the foil around the bulb, making a little pouch.
- Put the foil pouch in the oven and roast for 1 hour.  Set aside to cool (opening the packet after approx 5 min).
- As the garlic cools, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add shallots and red pepper flakes, stir and cool 1 minute.
- Add quinoa and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add wine and stir constantly until the liquid is absorbed.
- Stir in broth.  Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until liquid is absorbed.
- Remove from heat.
- Squeeze the pulp from the roasted garlic into the quinoa, discarding the skins.
- Add the tomatoes and spinach to the quinoa and stir.
- Serve immediately.

Passover Apple Cake

I hate to show up to my grandmother's house for a seder empty handed.  I knew I was bringing gefitle fish to my in-laws the next night but that's my grandmother's specialty so I had to come up with another idea.  Dessert is usually my go-to but during Passover you have to be careful what you make since many options come out dry or tasteless.  In an effort to try new things this year, I turned to my copy of Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking.

In this book there is a gorgeous photo of a slice of apple cake.  It looks nice and cakey and delicious. Plus it was parve, which is always a good thing.  So I set out to recreate that cake.  Following his recipe I didn't exactly get the cake in the picture, but what I did end up with was absolutely delicious!  I adjusted the recipe a bit as I went since the original called for 5 apples, sliced.  I put half this amount in the middle of the cake then went to put the other half on top.  After getting 2 layers of apple slices and still having one and a half apples left (plus the batter didn't cover the first apple section) I realized this was just way too much.  I think that my adjustment will help get a better ratio of apple to cake.

The cake was incredibly moist and delicious.  Most of it was finished at the seder, and the leftovers that we divided up amongst a few of us didn't last long.  I'll be sure to make this again next year!

Passover Apple Cake (slightly adapted from Arther Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking)

Ingredients
Topping:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg

Cake:
3 large eggs
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil (cottonseed oil during Passover)
3/4 cup cake meal
3 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 in slices (preferably Golden Delicious apples)
1/3 cup raisins (optional)

Directions
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly oil an 8 inch square glass baking dish.
- In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, with an handheld mixer, beat the eggs on medium speed until well mixed.
- Beat in the sugar 2tbsp at a time, beating until the mixture is thick and foamy.
- Beat in the oil, adding it in a steady stream.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then using the spatula stir in the cake meal, blending well.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle half of the topping over the batter.  Top with half of the apple slices and all of the raisins (if using).
- Scrape the remaining batter over the apples, spreading it out to cover the apples evenly.  Arrange the remaining apple slices on top of the batter.  Sprinkle the remaining topping mixture over the apples.
- Bake for 1 hour 15min, until the topping has begun to carmelize.
- Let the cake cool in the baking dish for several hours before slicing and serving.

Challah

This month's theme for What's Baking is Baking Bread.  I was excited to cross something off my bucket list - challah.  I had always had in mind to make it but had never made the time to actually do it.  As it was, I didn't even find the time to make it for Shabbat, I ended up making it on a Wednesday!

I looked up recipes from a few sources and noticed that the techniques were different in each.  Some were instructions on how to knead the entire thing by hand, some (like the one I ended up using) use an electric mixer.  Some had several long rising periods, others had much less rising time.  Then they all ended with different ways to present it - a round loaf, a few small loaves, a simple braid or an intricate one.

I think that challah is going to be one of those things that take time to perfect your craft.  The end result of the recipe below came out a bit more dense than I usually like in my challahs.  And my braid was a bit uneven.  Don't get me wrong, it's still delicious, but I will definitely be futzing around with this one and trying alternate recipes to get the perfect airy challah.

Someone was too excited to eat the challah to wait for me to take the picture

This Shabbat is going to be a little extra special with homemade challah on the table.  And this weekend we will most definitely be enjoying some challah french toast for breakfast!

Challah (slightly adapted from Arthur Schwartz's Jewish Home Cooking)

Ingredients
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (no more than 110 degrees F)
1/3 cup sugar plus 1 tsp for the egg wash
4 1/2 cups bread flour plus more for flouring the board
3 eggs plus 1 more for the egg wash
1/4 cup peanut or canola oil
2 tsp salt

Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the yeast and the water on low speed.  Mix for a minute or so to dissolve the yeast.
- Add 1/3 cup sugar and mix again for a few seconds, then add 1/2 cup flour and mix again.
- Add 3 eggs.  Increase the speed slightly and mix again.  Once the eggs are well incorporated, add 1 more cup of flour.  On medium-low speed, work in the flour (scraping side of the bowl as needed), then add the oil and salt.
- Turn off the machine and add 3 cups of the remaining flour (a total of 4 1/2 cups).  Starting slow and working up to a medium speed, continue to work the flour into the dough, shutting the machine off once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Let the machine knead the dough for 10-15 minutes, making sure to turn off the machine every few minutes to scrape down the sides of the bowl and/or to give the motor a rest (it can overheat while working this dense a dough).  If it is still sticking to the sides of the bowl after a few minutes, add a little more flour (one tablespoon at a time).  In the end, the dough should be firm, smooth, elastic and only slightly sticky.
- Put the dough into a large, oiled bowl, turning to completely coat it with oil.  Cover with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel and let rise until tripled in volume (1 1/2 to 2 hours).
 - Punch down the dough and prepare it for it's final shape:
***for a braided loaf: cut the dough into equal strands (as many as you want to work with).  Place the strands on a floured board, cover with a clean dish towel and let rise for 30 minutes.  Braid the dough (pinching the ends together) and place the loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
***for a round loaf: form the dough into 1 long rope and coil the rope into a road loaf on a floured board.  Cover with a clean dish towel and let rise 30 minutes.  Place the loaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Make an egg wash by beating 1 egg and 1 tsp sugar in a small bowl.  Brush the surface of the loaf with the wash, making sure to glaze the crevices between strands.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes.  To test for doneness, tap the bottom of the loaf with your fingers.  It should sound hollow.  Transfer to a rack to cool thoroughly before slicing and serving.

Split Pea soup

When the forecast for this week revealed a major snow storm, I knew immediately that I wanted to add soup to my menu.  That's the proper way to spend a snow day, right?!  Thankfully the storm wasn't as bad as predicted (we got 6 or so inches, not the predicted 2'+) but it was the perfect amount of snow to cause a snow day for my husband, we didn't have to worry about losing power, and we were able to get out and go sledding in the afternoon!

My husband's favorite soup is split pea.  But he can't order it many places, as a lot of restaurants put ham in it.  When I originally had the idea to make this soup for him a few months ago, I found this one from The Inventive Vegetarian, a site I've used before, so I trusted it would be good.  I made one or two slight changes to make it more to my liking, but otherwise this was the perfect recipe!  The soup itself is parve, though we added sourdough parmesan croutons which made this batch dairy once it was served.

I will advise to get the carrots, celery and parsley chopped first and put aside (they are added all at once so you can put them all together in a bowl) and not rinse the peas until just before putting them into the pot, as they will harden and become one big split pea clump if they have time to dry after rinsing.

This was a nice, cozy lunch that we ate while we looked out on the winter wonderland outside.

Split Pea Soup (slightly adapted from The Inventive Vegetarian)

Ingredients
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp olive oil
3 small (or 2 medium/large) garlic cloves, diced
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups sliced celery
1 lb (2.5 cups) dried green split peas, picked over and rinsed
8 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 bunch parsley, rough chopped
salt & pepper to taste
croutons, for garnish (optional)

Directions
- Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add the onion to the hot oil and saute for a few minutes, until they begin to soften.  Add garlic and saute for another minute.
- Add the carrots, celery, peas, herbs, stock, and water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Stirring occasionally, let it simmer for 90 minutes, partially covered.
- Salt & pepper to taste (keep in mind how salty the croutons you might be adding are).  Remove the bay leaves.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until well combined but still a little chunky.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with croutons, if desired.

Salmon-Tuna Twists

When guests over for lunch I am usually not creative and end up serving deli sandwiches or tuna fish.  For some reason I just don't want to be bothered with preparing a meal in the middle of the day.  But when I invited my parents over a few weeks ago I decided to not slack off and actually make something for them (though, admittedly, I did serve them prepared leftovers as a side to this meal).

I recently rediscovered The Kosher Palette, so I looked there to find something simple but delicious to make.  I came across a recipe that intrigued me:  Salmon-Tuna Twists.  It uses canned fish and while my go to sushi order usually includes salmon rolls and tuna rolls, I never thought to combine the fishes in one dish, especially not combining them in canned form, which I use separately ALL. THE. TIME.  After looking over their recipe I decided to experiment with it a little bit.  For starters, they only used 3oz of each fish, but the cans are 6oz and what was I going to do with the half cans left?!  I played with the other ingredients and added an idea or two of my own and am very happy with the results.

The best part is, these can either be large enough to be a main dish, or they can be served as part of a meal (such as brunch or as an appetizer) in smaller form.  When I hosted my in-laws for brunch a week after making this for my own parents I made these again slightly smaller and again it went over very well.

Salmon-Tuna Twists (adapted from The Kosher Palette)

Ingredients
6oz can of tuna in water, drained
6oz can of salmon, drained
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp white horseradish, drained
1 tsp paprika
1 package frozen puff pastry, thawed

Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In medium mixing bowl, combine tuna and salmon.  Chop with fork until large chunks are all broken down.
- Add mayonnaise, onion garlic, lemon juice, horseradish, and paprika.  Stir until well combined.
- On lightly floured surface, roll pastry sheet.  Cut to desired size (for larger twists, cut each sheet into quarters, for smaller twists cut into eighths).
- Spoon salmon-tuna mixture into center of each square.  fold two diagonal corners into center and press together.
- Place twists on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes (the larger twists will need longer than smaller twists).

Teiglach

G'mar tov!

I hope you all had a sweet Rosh Hashanah.  Ours was filled with family, friends, and food.  Lots and lots of food.  Especially being eaten by my one year old.  This kid packs it away and I have no idea where he puts it all since he's so small!  But now we know he likes matzah balls, gefilte fish and kasha.  He hasn't voiced his opinion on my gefilte fish vs my grandmother's, though.  He seems to enjoy them both equally.

As I was preparing for the holiday I knew I wanted to bring something to my grandparents'.  I have brought honey cake in the past but wanted to do something a little different this year.  So I turned to my trusty Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking for ideas.  Everything in their Rosh Hashanah section looked better then the last but the one that jumped out at me was teiglach.  I'd heard of teiglach before but had never had it.  It is basically hard dough balls covered in a honey mixture.  What's not to like about that?!  And this recipe calls for ground ginger which adds a nice kick.

The end result tasted great and was a hit with my family.  In the future I may try to make the dough balls a little bigger but I like that it's a bite size dessert that easy to share.  I didn't get fancy with my plating this time since I had to be able to transport it.  Next time I would try to put the balls in more of a shaped tower.

I wish all a happy new year and may you have an easy fast.

Teiglach (from A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking)

Ingredients
Dough:
3 eggs
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour + more for dusting

Honey Syrup:
3/4 cup honey
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground ginger
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and lightly smear with vegetable oil or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, sugar and salt.
- Blend in the flour to make a very soft dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board, adding just enough flour, if necessary, to make it easy to roll.
- With your hands, roll the dough into long ropes, about 1/2 inch wide.
- Pinch or cut off 1/2 inch pieces (I used my pizza cutter for quick and easy cutting).  Place all the little pieces on the prepared cookie sheet.
- Bake, shaking the sheet occasionally, until the dough pieces puff and are golden brown (15-20 min).

- Once the dough is baked, make the syrup: In a saucepan, heat the honey and sugar together and boil very gently for 3-5 min until just amber colored.
- Lower the heat, then stir in the ginger, walnuts, and the baked puffs, tossing to coat them.
- Spread the mixture out onto a lightly greased baking sheet (using wet hands or a spatula) or arrange the teiglach in a tower formation.
- Sprinkle with coconut.
- Allow it to cool and harden (leave out or you could put it in the freezer for 30 min).
- This is a sticky dessert, so either pull off pieces to eat or you can use 2 spoons to take a section.

Phyllo Confetti Tilapia

Now that my son is a year old and eating table foods, I have been looking for some good dinners that seem pretty easy to make and aren't too far out there.  Thankfully we have been blessed with a child who is not a picky eater.  This kid will basically eat anything we put in front of him, which lets us eat a wider range of food while trying to feed him what we are eating.

Over the weekend my husband and I were trading off watching the baby (or should I say, watching our toddler?!) as we tried to be a little productive, so I looked for a dinner with only a small amount of hands-on work.  This recipe had already jumped out at me because every ingredient is more delicious than the last.  Plus we had an overabundance of tomatoes thanks to our CSA share.  We also got to use our fresh parsley we are growing on our deck, which I always love incorporating into our meals.  The one change we made is that the original recipe calls for halibut.  They had it at our local store but it was about $26/lb due to overfishing, so in an effort to not spend an insane amount of money on a homemade meal we opted to use tilapia which is a comparable fish but about 1/5 of the price.

The end result was so good.  The honey mustard added a nice punch of flavor while the phyllo dough added some much needed crunch.  And our son loved the fish (which we took the phyllo dough off of).  He finished a huge piece!

Even reheated this was delicious.  I plan on adding this to our usual rotation.

 

 

Phyllo Confetti Tilapia (slightly adapted from Kosher By Design: Short on Time)

Ingredients
olive oil cooking spray
1 roll phyllo dough, thawed
6 6-8oz tilapia filets
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp whole grain honey mustard
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 pts grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced

Directions
- preheat oven to 375 degrees
- spray baking dish with olive oil spray
- take roll of phyllo dough, remove from the outer plastic bag.  Keeping it in a roll, use a serrated knife to cut 2in off the end.  (return rest of roll to fridge/freezer for another use)
- gently remove inner plastic sheet.  Re-roll the phyllo dough and, with a serrated knife, shred the dough into thin strips.  Fluff out the strips with your hands
- season the fish fillets with salt and pepper
- place fillets in the prepared baking dish
- spread an even layer of honey mustard on each piece
- arrange the shreds of phyllo dough in a pile over each fillet.  Sprinkle with parsley
- generously spray the olive oil spray over the fish
- toss the tomatoes with the extra virgin olive oil and minced garlic.  Add to the baking dish.
- Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 min, depending on thickness of the fish, until the phyllo is a light golden brown and the fish is white and slightly firm to the touch.
- transfer to plates or a platter.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

Can you believe it's almost September?  Where did the summer go?!  I know I have been MIA for most of this past year, but I thank you all for bearing with me.  There are some exciting things happening in my life right now - my little guy just turned 1 this past week, and as of a few weeks ago I am officially a stay-at-home mom.  What does that mean for you?  Well, hopefully I'll use my "extra" time (nap time and those few moments where he actually entertains himself without stirring up some trouble) to cook more and blog more!  If you've stuck with me during my crazy past year and a half (moving, new baby, etc) I assure you that I will be blogging more often now.

 

A few months ago What's Baking announced the theme of "Baking your Heritage", which ended up being sidelined for the summer produce theme back in June.  My original thought was to bake my own challah, which I've been wanting to do for a while.  But when the theme came back for this month's challenge I wanted to go a little crazier.  So I looked through a few of my Jewish cookbooks and had an "aha" moment.  What's more Jewish than bagels???!  I excitedly bought the few ingredients I needed (I had to replenish my whole wheat flour and buy bread flour and yeast, everything else was already in my pantry) and set aside a rare child-free morning to tackle this challenge.

It was surprisingly easy to make bagels.  I broke out the dough hook of my mixer to knead the bread which I think helped a lot (though you don't need to knead for as long, my mixer started smoking after 5 minutes!).  These were so simple that I think I'll try again with other kinds of bagels as well.  What I especially love about them is that I can make them whatever size I want.  We love bagels but try not to have them too often since the ones we buy at the local bagel store are approximately the size of my face (ok, I'm exaggerating - they are the size of my one year old's face).  So having these slightly smaller homemade ones are great to have on hand.  I ended up with 11 bagels of varying sizes so we'll have a few over the next day or so and can freeze the rest to enjoy in the future.

 

 

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bagels (slightly adapted from A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking by Marcy Goldman)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 tsp dry yeast
pinch of white sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour (use white whole wheat for a lighter texture)
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour, plus more as needed
1 cup plumped dark raisins
1 egg white, beaten

for the kettle water:
6 qts boiling water
2 tbsp. brown sugar


Directions
- In a large bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and white sugar.  Let the mixture stand for a few minutes to allow the yeast to swell and dissolve.
- Whisk in the oil, honey, and brown sugar, stirring to blend.
- Stir in the whole wheat flour, cinnamon, and salt.  Blend well.
- Add 3 cups of bread flour and knead for 10-12 minutes, adding more flour as needed to make a firm but smooth dough (***with my stand mixer I only kneaded the dough for about 7 minutes and didn't need any additional flour).  Let dough rest for 5-10 minutes.
- While the dough rests, heat a small bowl of water (enough to cover raisins).  When water is hot, add in raisins and let them sit for a few minutes.
- Knead or press the raisins into the dough.
- Please the dough on a work surface and cover with a clean tea towel or plastic bag, and allow it to rest for 10 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 8-12 portions (depending on desired size of bagels).  Form each portion into a rope about 10 inches long.  Form the ropes into bagels, sealing the ends by using wet fingers to press together, then roll on the work surface.
- Let the bagels rise about 20 minutes until they appear a little puffy.
- While the bagels rise, bring 6 qts of water with brown sugar added to a boil.
- preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once the water is boiling and bagels are puffy, place a few bagels at a time in the boiling water.
- As the bagels come to the surface, flip them over and cook for another minute.
- Remove the bagels to the baking sheet and let them dry briefly.
- Brush each bagel with the beaten egg white for extra shine.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and reduce the heat to 425.
- Bake (turning once midway) until the bagels are medium- or golden-brown, 18-22 minutes.

Cornmeal-Crusted Flounder Sandwich with Tarter Sauce

I enjoy fast food as much as the next person, though I have never been a fan of hamburgers.  When I want a fast food fix my usual meal is a Filet-o-Fish from McDonald's.  My husband is not a big fast food person but he enjoys a good fish sandwich.  Whenever we go see the Mets play at Citifield, our go-to meal is a flounder sandwich from Catch of the Day.  When I came across this recipe in a cookbook I knew that I wanted to try this out since it would probably be 100x healthier than getting a fish sandwich at any of these places.

Not only was the fish delicious (and less greasy than their fast food counter part) but the homemade tarter sauce was surprisingly tasty.  When I get my fish sandwiches when I'm out I normally add ketchup to the usual tarter sauce.  This combo of flavors was so good as is that I actually have mixed this sauce up and added it to deli sandwiches since I made this dish.

These were so ridiculously easy to make that I'll definitely be making them again soon.  Even reheating some leftover fish tasted great!

Cornmeal-Crusted Flounder with Tarter Sauce (from Kosher by Design: Short on Time)

Ingredients
6 large flounder or sole filets
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, lightly beaten with 2 tbsp water
1 cup ground yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more if needed (***I used grapeseed oil, as it has a higher heat tolerance)
1 cup mayonaise
2 sour pickles, very finely chopped
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce

Directions
- cut each filet on either side of the spine and remove the spine; you will be left with 2 long pieces of flounder from each filet
- season both sides of each piece of fish with salt and pepper
- arrange 3 bowls on your work surface (I find it easiest to use deep dishes like a pie dish for this)
- place the flour in one bowl, the beaten egg in the second bowl, and the cornmeal in the third bowl.
- take the fish, one piece at a time.  Dip it into the flour; shaking off the excess.  Dip it into the egg; shaking off the excess, and then dip it into the cornmeal; shaking off the excess.  Repeat with the remaining 11 pieces.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the fish in a single layer, working in batches if necessary.  Cook for 4 minutes per side, or until a crisp crust forms and the fish is slightly firm to the touch.  Remove to a plate or platter.  If you are doing this in batches you will need more oil.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tarter sauce:  In a small bowl whisk together the mayonnaise, pickles, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.
- Serve the fish on rolls with the tarter sauce.

Summer Vegetable Chili

One of our absolute favorite meals to make at our house is three bean chili.  But when the weather turns warmer, it just seems a bit too hearty for a summer dish.  Don't take me wrong, we still make it in hot weather from time to time, but when I saw this recipe for Summer Vegetable Chili in this month's Food Network Magazine, I knew it would be a good alternative to try out.

It takes less than an hour to make (and goes quicker if you have two of you in the kitchen chopping the veggies) and tasted delicious.  Our market didn't have fire-roasted frozen corn, just the regular kind, but I thought it tasted delicious and the corn was maybe my favorite part, so I don't think I was missing anything.  Not to say I won't try it with fire-roasted eventually if I find it elsewhere, but I don't think it makes or breaks the meal if you have regular corn instead.  Also, if you leave off the cheese and sour cream there's no dairy in this, which is always a nice option.

As per our usual chili tradition, we ate it with tortilla chips, though the original recipe says to have it with a side of warmed corn tortillas.  Maybe you're supposed to rip them up and dip them?  I wouldn't think you'd make a burrito out of it, so not sure how that would work, but I guess it's personal preference.

Summer Vegetable Chili (from Food Network Magazine)

Ingredients
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 poblano chili pepper, seeded and diced
2 portobello mushroom caps, chopped
2 cups frozen corn (preferably fire-roasted), thawed
2 14oz cans no-salt-added pinto beans
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, and/or fresh cilantro for topping (optional)

Directions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add all but a few tablespoons of the chopped red onion.  Stir in the garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion  begins to soften, about 3 min.
- Add the poblano, mushrooms and corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender, about 3 more minutes.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, 1 1/2 cups water and /2 tsp each salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then stir and reduce the heat to medium.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the chili is thick, about 20 min.  Season with salt and pepper.
- Divide the chili among bowls.  Top with the cheese, sour cream and/or cilantro; sprinkle with the reserved red onion.

Matzah Meal Pancakes

Every year during Passover I try to not stock up on boxes of the mixes you can buy to make pretty much anything.  I like making things from scratch, if possible.  So I turned to a packet of family recipes that I was given at my bridal shower.  My aunt had given this packet to my cousin (her niece)at her bridal shower back in the 90's, so when my shower came around the cousin made sure to pass it along to me.  Of course, to give proper credit I have to remind myself who these were originally typed up for ("Mom" is actually Aunty Barbara and "Uncle Steve" is really my dad).  Though I also have insider info of knowing that this recipe for matzah meal pancakes, which is credited to my dad is actually a recipe from his mother (different sides of the family, so my cousin wouldn't know who my grandma is necessarily).

I grew up eating these pancakes, though I had forgotten all about them until I saw this recipe and asked my dad to clarify something.  When he mentioned what he puts on his pancakes (a sprinkle of sugar) memories of eating them as a child came rushing back to me.  This was my first attempt at making them and they ended up coming out pretty good!  They're not quite as fluffy as non-Passover pancakes, but they're not too dense, and they don't taste as fake as the stuff from the box.

My only complaint is that it only made 9 pancakes, so after my husband and I split a batch we were still a bit hungry.  But I definitely plan on making these again next year.  With a little maple syrup on them...delicious!

Matzah Meal Pancakes  (my grandmother's recipe)

Ingredients
3 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup matah meal
1/2 cup water

Directions
- mix yolks gently in small bowl
- in a medium bowl, beat egg whites until "fluffy" (they should be bubbly and forming soft peaks, not hard like a meringue)
- in a small bowl mix matzah meal, salt, and water.
- mix matzah meal mixture into the yolks.
- fold into the egg whites.
- fry on greased skillet or griddle.

Decadent Fudge Brownies with Glossy Fudge Frosting

It's Passover again!  I'm trying to expand my Passover repertoire this year (and not make so many things from boxed mixes), so I cracked open A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking which I had received as a Chanukah gift from my husband's aunt and uncle.  Many recipes looked delicious, but this one really stood out to me.  Brownies that were Kosher for Passover and tasted good???  What??!!  So I decided to give them a whirl.

Boy am I glad I did!  They really are decadent, and everything about them is delicious, down to the mocha frosting (the recipe says you can use either water or coffee, I highly recommend using the coffee!).  To be honest, these were some of the best brownies I've had, Passover or not.  I think I may even break this out at other points of the year!  Maybe I should stock up on Passover cake meal.....

And the best part?  This month's theme for What's Baking is "sprinkles", so these qualify for my submission there, too.  Though regular sprinkles have corn starch, so I used the sugar crystal type.

Decadent Fudge Brownies with Glossy Fudge Frosting


Ingredients

for the brownies:
2 cups white or brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter or unsalted Passover margarine, melted and cooled
3 eggs
1 tablespoon brewed coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/4 tsp salt
1 scant cup matzah cake meal

for the frosting:
2/3 cup water or brewed coffee
7 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter or Passover margarine, softened


Directions
- preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- lightly grease a 7-by-10 inch rectangular baking pan, a 9-inch square pan, or an 8 or 9 inch springform pan.
- in a bowl, mix the sugar into the melted butter, then the eggs, coffee, cocoa, salt, and cake meal.
- spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 25 min.  Do not overbake.  The brownies should be set and seem dry to the touch, but there should not be a crust around the sides.
- Cool in the pan

For the frosting:
- heat the water or coffee in a small saucepan.
- as it comes to a boil, reduce the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate.
- remove the pan from the stove and stir until the chocolate is thoroughly melted.
- cool in the refrigerator for about 30 min.
- whisk in the softened butter or margarine and spread the frosting on top of the cooled brownies.
- let frosting set
- cut into squares (or wedges if using a round pan)

Flourless Raspberry Souffle

A few weeks ago my husband and I went down to Atlantic City to see a cooking demonstration by Geoffrey Zakarian.  It's no secret we're huge fans of Chopped, so if we have a chance to see a judge in person, we're there.  And another thing we don't usually pass up is a good excuse to go to Atlantic City!  The demonstration was a lot of fun.  Chef Zakarian showed us how to make a hamburger (apparently if you mash it too much and add things to the meat, it's a meatball, not a burger....who knew?!) with a side of coleslaw, plus a dessert of raspberry souffle.

Souffle is one of those things that I never attempted because I had heard how hard it was to make it, and all the superstitions about how easy it is to make the souffle fall (making loud noises, opening the oven, etc).  But the way he demonstrated it, he kept saying how easy it is, even showing that you can open the oven, let the souffle sit there before putting it in the oven, etc.  So, I decided to attempt making this dessert for Valentine's Day, and the results were a success!

The demonstration itself was a lot of fun.  For some reason Bobby Flay's mother was there and sitting a few rows ahead of me.  The audience could ask questions, so I asked him about the weird ingredients in the Chopped baskets (they had to eat lamb testicles...ick!).  One woman asked the best way to cut onions without crying (the answer?  "have your boyfriend do it") and there was also an older Italian woman there with her American daughter who asked questions, but then answered them herself like she was testing Chef Zakarian.  It was a lot of fun.

The souffle made a lovely dessert for a special dinner, and honestly was so easy and so yummy, I'm definitely going to make it again.  It's also a good dessert to make when you have folks over for dinner because it's sure to impress!

Flourless Raspberry Souffle (as printed in Geoffrey Zakarian's Town/Country)

Ingredients
for the puree:
4 6oz containers fresh raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
for the souffles:
butter, for greasing the souffle dishes (**to make this parve, use vegetable shortening)
1 cup sugar
18 large egg whites
confectioners' sugar, for garnish


Directions
- Set aside 36 raspberries for garnish.  Place the remaining raspberries, 6 tbsp of the sugar, and the lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat and cook until the fruit is very soft (15 to 20 min).  Remove the raspberries from the heat and allow them to cool to room temperature.  Puree the berries in a blender (or use an immersion blender, stirring, then transfer them to a bowl.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Prepare six 8oz ramekins (**though if you have a different size, it's ok to use what you have) by generously buttering them on the inside and then coating the butter lining with 2 tbsp of the sugar.  Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment on low speed.  Whip the whites until they form soft peaks, then gradually begin adding the remaining sugar.  Continue whipping until the egg whites form stiff, glossy peaks.
- Remove the egg whites from the mixer and gradually fold in 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups of raspberry puree in thirds, taking care to not over fold (if you like an airy, lighter-flavored souffle, add the lesser amount of the puree; if you prefer a more intense fruit flavor, add the greater amount).  Reserve any remaining puree.  Using a pastry bag with the large plain tip, pipe the souffle mixture into the ramekins, swirling it so each souffle has a peak like a soft ice cream cone.  (Alternatively, just spoon the mixture into the ramekins, filling them not quite to the top).  Stud the peaks of the souffles with the reserved raspberries.
- Place the souffles in the oven immediately and bake until puffed and golden, about 15 min.  The center of the souffle should still be soft.  Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately, garnished with any leftover raspberry puree.

Zucchini Pancakes

I am excited to participate in this month's Blogger's Choice swap.  This is when you're assigned a blog of another participant and you get to choose from their entire blog what you want to make.  One requirement of participating in this swap is to have 50 recipes posted.  At the time of sign-up, I had 51 (the number has gone up since due to my recent posts).  I may not participate in this swap every month, but I'm sure every other month or so I'll want to do it.  I mean, I make things from the other ladies on the What's Cooking board's blog all the time, so why not make my own blog post about those recipes?!  The blog I was assigned was Simple Gourmet Cooking.  Dawn has lots of delicious recipes, but which one to choose?  I jokingly thought to myself 'well, she was just assigned my poached flounder, I could just re-post that!', but obviously that wasn't a realistic thought.  She recently posted a yummy looking apple cider doughnuts, and I've been meaning to use my new doughnut pan, but we've had a lot of sweets lately.  Then I found it.....zucchini pancakes!

Even in her post she says that she knows it sounds a bit weird - her husband gave her major side-eye for mentioning she was going to make this.  But honestly, my husband and I enjoy zucchini so much that we were all for trying this recipe out!

Making them was super easy, though I made a few minor adjustments (making it the way she post they came out a bit greasy to me, so I added a step to remove some of this grease).  And honestly, these are a good substitute for veggie kugel.


And check out Eva's posting of my hamentashen   This is why I love these swaps, someone who was born in Taiwan tries out a traditionally Jewish treat!

Zucchini Pancakes (slightly adapted from Simple Gourmet Cooking)

Ingredients 2 medium zucchini (about 3/4 lb)
2 tbsp grated onion
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
8 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
butter and vegetable oil (to make parve, use oil only)

Directions
- Grate the zucchini into a bowl using the large grating side of a box grater.
- Stir in the onion and eggs
- Stir in flour, baking powder, salt and pepper.  If the batter is too thin and/or liquidy, add more flour as needed.
- Heat a large (10-12 inch) skillet over medium heat and melt 1/2 tbsp of butter and 1/2 tbsp of oil together in the pan.  When the butter is hot but not smoking, lower the heat to medium low and drop heaping soup spoons of batter into the pan.
- Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes on each side, until browned.  Remove and put on paper towels to soak up extra grease.
- Wipe out the pan with a dry paper towel, add more butter and oil to the pan, and continue to fry until all the batter is used.
- If needed, put on a sheet pan and heat in oven at 300 degrees to keep warm.

Sole with Thyme

My go-to white fish is usually flounder.  Whether it's making my poached flounder or just popping it in the oven with a little lemon juice and paprika.  But sometimes it's nice to change things up and try something new.  When we decided to have some friends over for dinner while their kitchen was under renovation, I flipped through The Silver Spoon and decided to try out this recipe for Sole with Thyme.

It's a very simple recipe and came out very tasty.  Though the one thing that I would change is that the recipe says "keep in a cool place until ready to serve".  We did, and ended up eating it at room temperature.  While it still tasted good, I think that it would have been a little better if it was warm.

Sole with Thyme (from The Silver Spoon)

Ingredients
4 sole, cleaned, trimmed, and skinned
1/2 - 2/3 cup olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
juice of 1/2 lemon, strained
3 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
salt
white pepper

Directions
- Place the fish in a large pan, add water to cover and a pinch of salt, and bring just to a boil, then lower the heat and poach until tender.  Drain and place on a serving dish.  Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice.
- Put the thyme leaves, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper in a bowl and gradually stir in the olive oil.
- Spoon the thyme sauce over the dish and keep in a cool place until ready to serve (***I personally think it would be better served warm)

Soy-Glazed Salmon

My husband and I aren't huge meat eaters.  We'll maybe have chicken once a week, but that's about it.  So to get our proteins we try to eat fish at least once a week as well.  Salmon is very healthy (filled with Omega-3, etc) and it tastes delicious, so we eat it often in our household.

I'm always looking for a new way to jazz up our salmon.  When I first picked up Food Network Magazine last July, the Weeknight Meal section jumped out at me.  Not only because they were simple, quick dinners, but also because it included this recipe for soy-glazed salmon.  Yum!  The dish also included a cucumber-avocado salad, which we made the first time (see the picture below), but weren't thrilled with, so when we've made the meal since we substitute other sides.  This time we made some rice pilaf w/almonds as well as roasted brussels sprouts.

It's an easy way to make a delicious meal.  Make sure you load on the soy glaze so you can really taste it after it cooks!

Soy-Glazed Salmon (slightly adapted from Food Network Magazine, July/August 2012)

Ingredients
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp cornstarch
4 6-oz salmon filets
1/2 tsp olive oil
Kosher salt

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Rub the fish filets all over with the oil and season lightly with salt.  Place the fish in a baking dish and back for 5 min.
- Mix the honey, soy sauce and cornstarch in a small microwavable bowl.  Microwave until just simmering (30-40 seconds).  Be careful of it boiling over.
- Remove the salmon from the oven and brush with the honey-soy sauce mixture.
- Return the fish to the oven and continue baking until just cooked through (approx 7-9 minutes)

Zucchini Bread

I think I've mentioned on here that I love the show Top Chef.  When I heard that Gail Simmons had written the book Talking with My Mouth Full, I knew I wanted to read it.  The book was so interesting that I ended up finishing it within a few days.  The best part of the book?  The recipes she shares at the end!

Due to my newfound love of zucchini, I was immediately drawn to the recipe that Gail shares of her mother's zucchini bread.  The recipe makes 2 loaves, but I opted to make one big loaf and then two mini loaves.  My husband and I ate the larger loaf over the week after I made it, then I brought one mini loaf to my office where it was devoured (ok, not going to lie, I ate some of this one in addition to the one at home, this was so good!!) and then we froze the final loaf.  To freeze it, I wrapped it in clingwrap and then in foil.  When we wanted to serve the frozen loaf, I took it out of the freezer earlier that day, removed the foil and let it thaw out in the clingwrap.  A few hours later it was just as moist and delicious as it was when I first made it!

Zucchini Bread (recipe from the Gail Simmons book Talking With My Mouth Full)

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini, drained
1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts
1 cup raisins

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Brush two standard loaf pans with softened butter
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.  Set aside.
- In another large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with a fork until frothy.  Add the sugar, oil and vanilla extract, stirring well to combine.  Stir in the zucchini, then add the flour mixture, walnuts and rasins.
- Using a rubber spatula, fold ingredients until just combined.  Do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared loaf pans.  Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (about 45 min).
- Let the bread cool in the pans on a wire rack.  When they are cool enough to handle, run a knife around the edges of the pans, invert and release the loaves.  

Brisket and Non-Dairy Cornbread

One of my best friends and I get together every other week or so for lunch since we work a few blocks from each other, but we try to get together with our husbands as well every month or so.  It's nice because while she and I are sorority sisters who have known each other for 10 years now, we've become friends with each other's husband and the two guys have become friends as well.  To a point where our husbands argue that we're their friends.  Anyway, we had the two of them over for dinner the other night.  I knew when we invited them that my meal would have to be either meat or parve since my friend is allergic to dairy.  Fine with me, that meant I could break out my nice china for the meal! But what to make?

A few weeks ago, during Hurricane Sandy, my husband and I were at one of my other best friend's home to recharge our phones, check work e-mails and generally just warm up while we had no power.  My friend invited us to stay for dinner, and from the yummy aroma in the air, we couldn't resist accepting the invitation.  She served the most delectable brisket.  Of course I had to ask her for the recipe!  This was the perfect thing for our dinner party.

Thankfully I was planning on being home for most of the day of this dinner.  The brisket cooks low and slow - 250 degrees for 7 hours.  For sides I made a dairy-free cornbread, roasted potatoes and steamed greenbeans.    It actually lead to a pretty relaxing day.  I made the cornbread in the morning, put the brisket it, put the potatoes in the oven when the brisket came out to rest and then steamed the beans.  I served a black bean hummus when they first arrived and then a salad.  Dessert was a zucchini bread, which I will blog about later this week.  All in all, I think it was a pretty successful dinner party!

Brisket (very slightly adapted from Food.com)

Ingredients 

1 beef brisket (estimate 1/2 lb per person)
garlic salt
onion salt
celery salt
3 ounces liquid smoke
Worcestershire sauce
1 bottle barbecue sauce

Directions 
- Trim fat from brisket.
- Sprinkle meat liberally with all the salts.
- Line a baking pan with enough foil to seal over the meat.
- Put meat on foil lined pan and pour the whole bottle of liquid smoke over the meat.
- Seal the foil and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day drain the meat and sprinkle with worcestershire sauce.
- Cover with the foil.
- Bake 6 hours in a 250 degree oven.
- Open foil and pour on the whole bottle of barbecue sauce and bake 1 hour longer.
- let rest for 30 min before serving


Dairy-Free Cornbread (recipe from Whole Foods)

Ingredients 
1 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 
1 1/2 cup flour
6 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup plain soy milk or rice milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup corn oil

Directions

- Preheat oven to 400°F. Oil a (9-inch) square baking pan and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a second large bowl, whisk together soy milk, eggs and oil. Add milk mixture to cornmeal mixture and stir until just combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.