Rosh Hashanah Dinner Menu – Happy New Year

This past Monday I made (with some help) a large and super tasty meal for my very first Rosh Hashanah Dinner. I may not be Jewish, but my guy is and we thought to make a nice meal for several of our friends, one couple whose wedding we had just gone to days before. So to keep the festivities going from their new wedding bliss, my guy and I sought out to create one heck of a meal.

I learned a lot including adding a few new dishes and appetizers to my arsenal of recipes, all of which came out wonderfully. I share them with you here. One thing that I found most interesting what that you eat certain foods to help start the new year sweetly – so that it is sweeter than the previous year. I am all for that. And certain foods are quite traditional as well such as pumpkin, pomegranates, honey, whole fish, just to name a few. Let me share with you some of the reasons as to why you eat these foods and the thoughts behind them.

By eating a head of a fish…yes, you make a large whole fish is “to help represent being ahead for the new year, and not ‘be’ the tail for the new year”…thankfully my guy’s brother is making this one..2) eating a new fruit or apple with honey, so help bring in sweetness to the new year and that your new year will be sweeter than the last year…3) also foods such as beets, pumpkins, spinach, dates, pomegranates.

One particular cool thing about the pomegranates is that they supposedly contain 613 seeds. Thus, Jews display their desire to fulfill God’s 613 mitzvoth (commandments from the Torah) by eating the pomegranate. ok I did not know that…

I will provide all the recipes in a separate post.

So our party menu is the following:

• Sliced apples dipped in honey (the honey was from a local farm and was incredible!) to start (tradition I’m told) all said with a beginning prayer for the meal/feast.
  
• Clear chicken soupwith special spices
• Spinach patties and leak with ground beef patties (new to me, my guy and I made these – and they were fantastic! You make them the night before and serve them up cold.
• Whole fish served in a creamy super light sauce with chopped tomatoes (will have to ask my guy’s brother for the recipe – it was amazing and looked incredibly pretty)
• Super Salad which resembles a Greek salad with fresh feta cheese, cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, red onions, parsley, tomatoes with only fresh lemon juice and olive oil. This was mostly all vegetables and very little lettuce at all.
• homemade hummus – (already posted)
• homemade tortilla chips and toasted pita bread
• cilantro pesto (posted)
• zahatar and olive oil for bread dipping (posted)
• cilantro bean salad (my dish – posted)
• honey glazed carrots
• steamed green beans with then toasted almonds, garlic and drizzled olive oil (posted)
• Cilantro Basmati Rice (posted)
• A huge Roasted rib eye roast (posted)
• Yorkshire pudding and homemade horseradish sauce (ok this is totally me, but heck, give this wasp girl a break – lol)
• pumpkin pie and pecan pie from scratch
• Honey Cake (very traditional and kosher as well)
• then the usual wine, coffee lattes, turkish coffee, etc.

This was followed by followed by two days of cleaning…was it worth it all?… You betcha! You could tell everyone was so impressed (always love that factor, I admit!) – the food was super tasty, beautiful looking and was enjoyed by all…as it turns out, I did have left overs and have been making some interesting new dishes which I will share in another post….Chef Maven

Happy New Year!

Bruschetta Ala Leah Recipe with Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

Since basil and tomato season is upon us, I share with you my bright and zesty version of bruschetta – which includes balsamic vinegar – made it this way for years and has always been loved by all – This is also great as a marinade or fresh pasta sauce (cold or hot) I make this for parties as it is always a big hit with the fresh melted mozzarella and fresh basil and garlic. Ciao Bella!

Ingredients:

1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
12 or more leaves of fresh basil
3 medium on the vine tomatoes or 4-5 plum tomatoes
1 good teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
2 shakes of dried crushed red pepper flakes
Juice of one lemon
3-5 garlic cloves
1-2 teaspoons white sugar
1 good loaf of Italian bread, sliced thin
1/2 pound or more of fresh mozzarella cheese (please use the fresh stuff, ok?)
1 large cookie sheet
1 med bowl to mix ‘dressing in’
1 potato masher

Directions:

This ‘dressing’ is one of those that is great to throw over pasta, marinate steaks and chicken in for the grill, etc. as it keeps for 2 weeks in a sealed container in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature before using.
Also this ‘dressing’ gets stronger in its garlic flavor as the ingredients meld – so start with three garlic cloves or less if you want it less garlicky.
Though I like to have my bruschetta bite me in my mozzarella if you know what I mean… ok here we go…enough of my yapping….
Minced garlic and add to bowl, add salt, fresh cracked pepper, dried crushed red pepper and lemon juice.
Pile rinsed fresh basil leaves upon each other and roll them up like a cigar. Slice (chiffonade) the basil then cut lengthwise once and throw into bowl.
Take half of your tomatoes and slice up as small as possible. I do not mind the seeds or juices – in fact you want as much as the fresh tomato juices as you can.
With potato masher, mash up your ingredients to ‘pulverize’ and mash your tomatoes and garlic with the basil. The added salt helps this process.
Add vinegar and white sugar and stir.
Add remaining tomatoes sliced as small as you can muster, add all seeds and juices to the mix.
Slowly pour and add the olive oil, stirring all the while to create an emulsion as best as you can.
Set aside – taste test if you like – yummers, yes?!
I like to let my ‘dressing’ set out covered on the counter an hour at least before using so that the garlic really comes out. – If using as a marinade for later, simply seal and place into fridge until you are ready to use.
***Back to bruschetta – slice your Italian bread into 1/2 inch slices on the diagonal.
Put slices onto cookie sheet and place in oven to brown on one side – say at 350 for 5 minutes – then flip bread and toast the other side till light brown.
Slice fresh mozzarella and place slices onto toast – place back into oven and let melt for another 5 minutes just before it starts to bubble.
Put toast with melted mozzarella onto serving plates or platter.
Spoon ‘dressing’ on top over melted cheese and Perfecta Bruschetta ala Leah is served, ready to be gobbled up!

Leahs Ole Chicken Quesadillas Recipe

Make this for lunch, dinner or apps – super quick and always liked by all. Another great recipes for ‘what to do with leftovers’ easy dish – can be ‘cooked’ in skillet, oven, grilled – you name it. I particularly loved the caramelized onions with the goat cheese and mozzarella with the fresh homemade salsa on the inside of this crispy quesadilla all done on one skillet – less mess!

Ingredients:

Cooking time includes time needed to caramelize onions.
1 onion halved, then sliced thin.
1 cup cooked chicken cut up into bite sizes.
4 slices of fresh mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup or more of crumbled goat cheese
You can easily substitute your favorite cheese here of course.
Little olive oil and butter
salt & pepper
1/2 cup salsa – I used ‘Leahs oh so sexy salsa’ (posted) which is a very bright tasting salsa filled with fresh sweet bell peppers and lime juice and drained it of its juices slightly.
1 skillet large enough to handle 8-9 inch quesadilla

Directions:

Halve and skin good size onion, then slice thin strips.
Place sliced onions in skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a little of butter, sprinkle with salt. This will be the most time consuming part of the entire dish.
You will want to cook the onions slowly on a medium-low heat to allow the natural sugars to come out from the onions, moving them around in the pan every so often – you want to allow them to caramelize and get gently browned and ’soggy’ so to speak. Once cooked, take out of skillet and set aside.
While onions are cooking, start to assemble your quesadillas.
***Note You can either keep them in a round shape then fold over to have a half circle, or pile two together like a sandwich and cook them as a circle – either way – you can stuff more in them if they are compiled as a circle.
Keep in mind to put cheeses on the outside layers, so that the cheeses melt easier.
For example, I added the ingredients in this order: crumbled goat cheese, then some chicken, cooked onions, then some salsa, added a little salt and pepper, then some strips of the fresh mozzarella then folded the quesadilla over to create a half circle.
**To Cook them in same skillet: heat back skillet, add a little butter, and place quesadilla in – let brown on one side, then with spatula, carefully flip over and allow to cook on the other side. This took maybe 7 minutes total time, if that.
**To bake in oven: Placed on parchment paper lined cookie sheet, place quesadilla in preheated oven at 375 and let bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese has melted.
**To Grill: I would suggest using the ‘circled’ method of creating your quesadillas, then place them on the upper shelf of your grill. Turn over after 4 minutes – maybe less and allow to cook on the other side.
Serve up at once with a dollop of sour cream if you wish or added salsa. If making them for apps, slice them up with a pizza cutter for that ‘easy picker-upper with one hand way’ of eating them!
Enjoy Leah’s Ole Chicken Quesadillas!

How to Make Leah’s Perfect Pork Pot Stickers Recipe

I made these last night, and ended up having to make more with the remaining filling, we went through them that quick – We were all so surprised at how close they tasted to our local great Chinese Restaurant’s version.

My version is quick and easy – get the kids involved in this one for assembly. After boiling your pot stickers, you can throw them into chicken broth for wonton soup or do a quick pan fry to brown or serve them up once boiled with the perfect dipping sauce (recipe included below) which is what we did.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground pork
3 scallions minced
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tablespoons sherry ( I used red cabernet wine with excellent results)
1-2 tablespoons apple cider or rice vinegar
1-2 tablespoons red chili sesame oil
3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
fresh wonton wrappers at room temperature
large pot with boiling water
small bowl with cold water
bowl to make and mix filling in
waxed paper sprayed with pam or wet with water to keep prepared wontons not sticking until ready to boil
***For Perfect Dipping Sauce:
2 scallions minced super fine
2 tablespoons low -sodium soy sauce
4 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1-2 tablespoons red chili sesame oil

Directions:

Takes a little time in the assembly of your wontons, but it is so worth the little effort involved.
In a large pot, put about 6 or more cups of water and put on stove to boil. Add a little of olive oil to pot to help pot stickers from sticking once boiling.
In small bowl, add all sauce ingredients and set aside.
In another small bowl, add very cold water and set aside.
In making your pot stickers filling, add chopped pork meat and all remaining ingredients:3 minced scallions, 4 minced garlic cloves, sherry or red wine, vinegar, red chili sesame oil, teriyaki sauce, and soy sauce.
Mix with hand or wooden spoon to all ingredients are well mixed.
Take a wonton wrapper, dipping hands and fingers into cold water in small bowl, and ‘wet’ edges of wonton wrapper.
Take a teaspoon or smaller amount and place into the center of the wonton wrapper.
Fold one side of wonton to other side making a triangle, then press edges well. Then gather corners all together to make a package, squeezing edges slightly and place aside on waxed paper until all pot stickers have been prepared.
Throw them into the boiling water and let boil for at least 12 minutes. Stir them after one minute to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Stir once or twice during boiling process turning them over so all sides are cooked.
Drain slightly and serve with dipping sauce.
You can also serve these up in chicken broth for your own wonton soup with some added sliced scallions OR pan fry them up to have your very own pan fried dumplings.