For our brunch last Sunday I made Smoked Whitefish Salad.

I use very little mayo relative to the amount of fish so the rich flavor of the smoked fish really shines through.  You could even omit the mayonnaise altogether and simply add a little olive oil to the lemon juice.

The only thing challenging about this dish is deboning the smoked fish. 

In the past I usually did it in a trial and error fashion, and usually found myself picking out a lot of bones that I had missed making this a pretty time consuming process.

This time I went online and found this video which made things a lot easier.  I may need to practice a bit more, but I think I did a pretty good job.

I’m not telling how many times I had to replay the video, though!  Your reward for all your hard work is getting to nibble all the bits and pieces that you are not using.

I see he agrees with me…check it out!

Smoked Whitefish Salad (makes about 8 cups)

2   smoked whole whitefish ( 2-3 # each), skin and bones removed

3-4 stalks celery, finely diced

1/3 cup fresh dill, chopped

juice of 3 lemons

freshly ground black pepper to taste

3 heaping tablespoons mayonnaise (I use Hellman’s  canola oil mayo)

Debone the whitefish and place in a large bowl.

Add the diced celery, fresh chopped dill, mayonnaise, lemon juice and black pepper to the whitefish.  Mix gently with very clean hands to maintain good size pieces of fish and toss til thoroughly combined. 

Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with bagels,rye bread or pumpernickel.  Garnish with chopped fresh chives or fresh dill.

In addition to the Passover Lemon Cheesecake which I made this year I also took this Chocolate Sponge Cake Roll with Raspberries and Cream to the seder at our aunt’s home.

I am not a chocoholic by any means ( I usually prefer desserts without chocolate with a few exceptions), but i know that for many people it is not dessert if it’s not chocolate. So I always like to include something with chocolate when there are several desserts at a holiday meal.

This recipe is an adaptation of a lemon sponge cake roll I have made numerous times at Passover. (See the post from April 2011) .  

Instead of the lemon juice and zest I added cocoa powder and vanilla extract, filled it with some fresh raspberries and whipped cream, and covered it in with a chocolate frosting.

Passover Chocolate Sponge Cake Roll with Raspberries and Cream

(serves 8 to 10)

For the cake roll

1/2 cup sifted Passover cake meal

1/2 cup potato starch

6 eggs, separated

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line a 10”x 15” rimmed baking sheet with buttered parchment paper.

Sift together cake meal, potato starch, and cocoa powder and set aside.

 Beat the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and lemon colored. 

Gradually add the dry ingredients, stirring to make a thick batter.

Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff but not dry.  Fold very gently into the batter.

Turn into the prepared pan and bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  Test with cake tester, or press gently with finger to see if cake bounces back.

Remove from then oven and turn onto a lightly sugared towel.  Gently remove parchment paper. 

Roll up with the towel while warm and let cool completely on a rack.

When cool, carefully unroll and spread the whipped cream, dot with the raspberries.  Reroll and place onto serving plate.

Cover with the chocolate frosting.  Garnish with extra raspberries.

Whipped cream filling

1/2 cup heavy cream for whipping

1 tablespoon confectioners sugar

Whip cream and sugar with whisk attachment in an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. 

3/4 cup fresh raspberries, (sweetened with 1 tablespoon sugar, optional)

Chocolate frosting

1/3 cup butter, melted

2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

1 and 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 to 4 Tablespoons hot water

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled

Blend sugar with melted butter, vanilla, and chocolate.  Stir in hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until proper consistency.

This luscious lemon cheesecake is one of the desserts I took to the Seder at our aunt’s home last night.

The crust is made from ground almonds and matzo cake meal making it  perfect for Passover when flour is prohibited.  Its  sweet crunchiness complements the smooth lemony light filling.

Passover Lemon Cheesecake (Epicurious, Gourmet/ April 2008)

(8 to 10 servings)

Crust

3/4 cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted and cooled

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup matzo cake meal

14 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

Filling

3 (8 -ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Equipment

a 9-inch springform pan

To Make Crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle.

Pulse almonds, sugar, matzo cake meal, and salt in a food processor until finely ground.  Transfer to a bowl and stir in butter until combined well. 

Press onto bottom and 1 inch up the side of springform pan.  Bake until crust is firm and a shade darker, 12 to 15 minutes.  Cool crust completely in pan on a rack.

To Make Filling and Bake Cheesecake

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

Beat together cream cheese and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes.  Reduce speed to low and add eggs 1 at a time, mixing until incorporated.  Mix in zest and vanilla.

Put springform pan in a shallow baking pan and pour filling into cooled crust.  Bake until filling is set 1 and 1/2 inches from the edge but center is wobbly, 45 to 50 minutes (filling will set as it cools).

Transfer cake in pan to a rack and immediately run a knife around edge, then remove side of pan.  Cool completely, 2 to 3 hours.

Garnish with blackberries and lemon slices (optional)

Note:  Cheesecake can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, loosely covered.

Passover began last night with the ceremonial seder meal. 

We were invited to the home of my husband’s aunt whom he has been especially close to since he was old enough to walk, and whom I became close with since I first began dating my husband in high school.

At that time his aunt and uncle and cousins lived in the same town in which we grew up.

In the late 70’s, years  after we had married and  moved to Chicago they moved to Virginia where our aunt still lives today.

The amazing thing is we never know what lies ahead. 

In 1988 we found ourselves moving east after living in Chicago for 15 years.

We never could have predicted that one day we we would be living in  Maryland,  and  even more amazing that we would be living just 35 minutes (barring traffic /accidents/ construction on the beltway) from our wonderful aunt.

And now as our life takes another turn we find ourselves celebrating the last of many Passovers and other holidays and events we have shared with her and her family over these past 25 years.

Through all these years we have had a special relationship with our aunt who is now the matriarch of my husband’s family.

She is a special lady who wrote the book on how to age well. 

She is young at heart with an optimistic outlook, seemingly able to roll with any punches that life doles out. 

Her schedule of activities and social life would be challenging for many half her age.  Her sense of humor and lust for life are evident whenever you speak with her.

And did I mention that she is quite a looker, to boot?

She refers to herself and her significant other as the “oldest teenagers in their town”!

We have shared so much of our lives with her over these past years, and  it will be difficult to say good bye.

Once we are settled in our new home we know she will be one of our first visitors from the east coast and we will insist that she add a regular trip to San Luis Obispo to her yearly travel schedule.

We look forward to sharing many more good times with her in San Luis Obispo, and of course, we will be back east to see her regularly as well.

Preparing a seder is no small fete.  Although I love hosting the holidays, even I realized that with our upcoming move it was not to be.  We have begun packing, selling some furniture, and my house is slowly but surely deconstructing, a necessary, but very sad evil for me.

Anyway, I am far from being done cooking here so I enticed my aunt to allow me to bring several contributions to the meal, one of which was the traditional dish of apples, nuts, cinnamon and wine  known as Charoset, Charoseth, or Haroset.  

The Charoseth is symbolic of the bricks and mortar used by the Jewish slaves to build cities for the Pharaoh. 

It is one of the ceremonial foods on the Seder Plate.  During the service we partake of it on a piece of matzoh along with a little horseradish, representing  the sweetness of freedom and the bitterness of slavery.

 Although we usually eat Charoseth  once a year at Passover it is so delicious there’s no reason why we don’t eat it year round.  Here’s the simple recipe:

Charoseth (serves 8)  

1 cup chopped or diced  apples

1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds)

2 tablespoons honey or sugar

1/4 cup sweet red wine or grape juice

1/4 teaspoon (or more to taste) cinnamon

Mix chopped apples and chopped nuts.  Add remaining ingredients, and mix thoroughly. Serve with traditional Passover dinner.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!  Although we are not Irish this day will always be  one we celebrate because our oldest son was born on St. Patrick’s Day 1975 at 8:36 pm in Chicago. 

With our upcoming move on the horizon we are really looking forward to celebrating  birthdays with our sons once again since incredibly we will be living within a few hours of each after being on the opposite coast for so many years.

So in the  spirit of celebration of my first born son and St. Patrick’s Day I almost always prepare a dinner of corned beef and cabbage.

This year I decided to put a twist on this standard dish and roast the cabbage which is unimaginably delicious.  I also roasted the carrots, and made parsley potatoes to accompany the corned beef.

When the corned beef was tender after having simmered on the stove for several hours I placed it on a rack in a roasting pan, slathered it with a glaze of honey, whole grain mustard, Dijon mustard, and brown sugar. and roasted it at 350 degrees for about 20 more minutes .

It was one of the best St. Patrick’s Day dinners I’ve made, and we are looking forward to corned beef sandwiches tomorrow.

Roasted Cabbage

1 head cabbage, cored, and cut into 8 wedges.

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher Salt to taste

Freshly Cracked Black Pepper to taste

Place the cabbage wedges carefully on a rimmed baking sheet, and drizzle with the olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Turn the slices over carefully and season again with salt and pepper.

Roast in a preheated 450 degree oven for about 10 minutes until the edges begin to caramelize. 

Carefully turn the slices over and roast another 10 to 15 minutes until they are crispy and browned at the edge, but still have a bite to them. 

This is the dessert that ended our Valentine’s dinner this evening. 

Nothing too fancy,  just a few of my husband’s favorites…homemade rich chocolatey brownies cut into heart shapes, sharing the plate with pure vanilla ice cream blanketed with fresh ripe macerated strawberries.

Dinner was a mixed green salad, steamed lobster tails with drawn butter, pan seared T-Bone Steak, and baked potatoes all washed down with a delicious Cabernet Sauvignon.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

This Roasted Applesauce recipe I discovered last week when I was about to make applesauce to go with my latkes for a party I was hosting.

I had been cooking all day, and although I love my go to applesauce recipe, I was looking to avoid using the food mill, and started checking out some recipes online.

That is when I found this gem which comes from The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers. It is a no frills applesauce, absent the usual cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice, with just a bit of sugar added along with some salt. 

The apples are dotted with butter and roasted in a hot oven creating a sauce that is pure apple with just a hint of that caramelized flavor. 

A splash of apple cider vinegar (genius!) after smashing the apples a bit gives it just the kick it needs to perk up the flavor.

Here’s my new go to applesauce recipe…

Roasted Applesauce (The Zuni Cafe Cookbook, Judy Rodgers)

3 1/2 to 4 pounds apples (Rodgers uses crisp eating apples, like Sierra Beauties, Braeburns, Pippins, Golden Delicious or Galas)

(I used a combination of Braeburn and Jonagold)

Pinch of salt

Up to 2 teaspoons sugar, as needed

About 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

A splash of apple cider vinegar, as needed

1.  Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Peel, core, and quarter the apples.  Toss with a little salt, and unless they  are very sweet, a bit of sugar to taste.  If they are tart enough to make you squint, add the full measure of sugar.  Spread in a shallow baking dish that crowds the apples in a single layer.  Drape with slivers of butter, cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil, and bake until the apples start to soften, 15 to 30 minutes, depending on your apples.

3.  Uncover, raise the heat to 500 F, and return the pan to the oven. Leave the apples to dry out and color slightly, about 10 minutes.

4.  When the tips of the apples have become golden and the fruit is tender, scrape them into a bowl and stir int a chunky “mash.”  Season with salt and sugar to taste, then consider a splash of apple cider vinegar to brighten the flavor.   (Try a drop on a spoonful to see if you like it.)

Between Christmas and New Year’s most of us find ourselves snacking on the abundance of cookies, cakes, and candies, which throughout the rest of the year are not as easily within our reach. 

But during the holidays it seems even the diehard dieters give themselves a bit of a reprieve.  After all it’s the season of joy, and can anyone really say that sinking our teeth into some delectable treat has not brought us at the least a tiny bit of joy?

So as my way of spreading some of this delicious joy I present to you this easy recipe for the California Toffee Butter Crunch pictured above.

Now this is not a gourmet candy.  In fact, you can tweak it however you like but the actual recipe which I have been making for many years calls for good old Hershey milk chocolate bars, (yes, I said milk chocolate), and roasted and salted store bought almonds (yes, I said salted). 

Add to that a buttery toffee (yes, I said butter), and you have a candy so satisfying that, as the saying goes, “you can’t eat just one!”

I made a batch this past week to give as some gifts.  If wrapped well it can be frozen so you can make it in advance if you have the time.  I, of course made it at the last minute.

As soon as it is well chilled, you can break it up, wrap it in cellophane, put a ribbon on it and go spread a little joy.

California Toffee Butter Crunch

(adapted from The Best Specialties of the House …And More, North Suburban Guild of Children’s Memorial Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois)

2 cans (6 oz. each) roasted, salted almonds

12 (1.65 oz.) Hershey milk chocolate bars ( this time I used 10 of the larger King Size  bars, broken up)

1/2 lb. sweet butter (unsalted)

1 and 1/3 cups sugar

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

3 tablespoons water

Coarsely chop 1 can of nuts and set aside.  Finely chop the other.

Butter a 7 and 1/2 by 11 and 3/4-inch rimmed pan.  (If using the larger bars of chocolate use a larger (11 and 1/2 by 17-inch)  rimmed baking sheet).  Alternatively, you can line it with parchment paper.

Sprinkle with half of the finely chopped nuts.  Cover with half of the chocolate bars.

Melt butter in a large heavy saucepan.  Add sugar, corn syrup and water.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Using a candy thermometer, cook to 300 degrees. 

Quickly stir in the coarsely chopped nuts and pour over the chocolate bars.  Immediately cover with the remaining chocolate bars and sprinkle top with the rest of the finely-chopped nuts.

Take a large sheet of waxed paper and press gently so nuts will adhere.

Chill and break or cut into pieces.  Can be frozen.

These peppermint brownies are perfect for holiday entertaining.  I served them recently for dessert at my annual latke lunch I’ve been hosting for my aerobic dance class the past three years. 

It is a moist rich chocolatey brownie with a pronounced peppermint flavor.  Peppermint extract added to the batter along with the sugar that has been ground with peppermint tea leaves provides the pronounced peppermint flavor.

They are then covered in a smooth chocolate glaze and a bit of melted white chocolate is drizzled over them.  Using a toothpick or wooden skewer you  turn that glaze into a beautiful design, which is remarkably easy to do.  You really can’t mess them up! 

I searched for peppermint brownie recipes online and this one from Fine Cooking is the one that got my attention.  It was unanimous from my guests that these are winning brownies.  Add them to your holiday dessert list.  Here you go…

Peppermint Brownies (Fine Cooking, Greg Case, August, 2002)

Yields about 30 brownies

10 ounces (2 and 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, more for greasing the pan

10 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 teaspoons peppermint tea leaves (from about 2-tea bags)

2 cups granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons peppermint extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

4 and 1/2 ounce (1 cup) all-purpose flour

2 ounces semisweet chocolate

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

2 ounces white chocolate

Center a rack in the oven and heat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch baking pan, line it with parchment (the paper should extend at least an inch above the long sides to act  as handles for getting the brownies out), and butter the paper.

Put about 2 inches of water in a small pot and heat to a gentle simmer.  In a heatproof bowl set over the water, melt 8 ounces of the butter and 8 ounces of the unsweetened chocolate.  Be sure the water is hot but not boiling and that it doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl.

Stir occasionally with a heatproof spatula until the mixture is completely melted and uniform, 6 to 7 minutes.  Turn off the heat, but leave the bowl over the water.

In a food processor, finely grind the peppermint leaves with the sugar.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, peppermint extract, salt, and peppermint sugar until just combined.

Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture (reserve the pot of water for later).

Slowly add the flour, gently folding it in with a spatula, until incorporated.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a pick inserted into the center comes out almost clean (a few bits of batter should cling to the pick), 35 to 40 minutes.

Put the pan on a rack to cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.  Lift the paper lining to pull the brownies out of the pan.  Peel the paper off the brownies and put them on a cutting board.

To make the glaze, bring the pot of water back to a gentle simmer.  Set a heatproof bowl over the pot and add the semisweet chocolate, corn syrup, and the remaining 2 ounces each butter and unsweetened chocolate. 

Stir frequently with a heatproof spatula until the mixture is melted and smooth; set aside. 

Put the white chocolate in a separate heatproof bowl and set it over the water.  Stir frequently until it’s melted and smooth; remove it from the heat.

Spread the chocolate glaze over the cooled brownies in an even layer using a spatula.

Drizzle the white chocolate over the glaze in evenly distributed lines. 

Use a toothpick or a wooden skewer top drag the white chocolate into the glaze and make a marbleized pattern.

  Lift the cutting board and firmly tap it on the counter to settle the glaze.

Refrigerate until the glaze is set, at least 20 minutes and up to 12 hours.  Cut into 30 bars, about 2 inches square (a knife rinsed in hot water and then dried will cut more cleanly than a cold knife).

Keep well covered and serve at room temperature.

The classic fruitcake has been the brunt of many jokes.  The often ridiculed cake popular at Christmas is typically a heavy, dense, overly sweet cake laden with artificially colored candied green and red cherries as well as other fruits and nuts.  It has usually been soaked in rum or some other liqueur.

Supposedly, Johnny Carson poked fun at this holiday dessert on the Tonight Show years ago  when he said that there really is only one fruitcake that gets passed from family to family!

I must say I’m not a fan, and don’t know many who are except for my father-in-law who always seemed to enjoy a piece of fruitcake.  To this day I’m fairly certain it was the rum he really liked, and the cake was just the vehicle!

When I saw this recipe for a White Fruitcake in the Washington Post last week I decided this was a fruitcake I could love.

It is a recipe from the southern cook Nathalie Dupree.

One of her editors at Atlanta Magazine gave her this recipe years ago, after she revealed herself to be anti-fruitcake.  She fell in love with it.  “This one will be eaten, not re-gifted, ” she says.

I wholeheartedly agree.

This is a light cake loaded with dried apricots, crystallized ginger, golden raisins, toasted pecans and the zest of fresh orange and lemon.  I added some dried pineapple to the fruits called for, and was happy with the results.

Flavored with vanilla, almond and lemon extract the batter has a heavenly scent signalling the yumminess to come. 

Besides tasting delicious, it’s also pretty to look at…here’s the recipe…

White Fruitcake

(adapted from “Mastering the Art of Southern Cooking,” by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart)

MAKE AHEAD:  The cakes  can be tightly wrapped and stored at room temperature for 3 days or frozen for up to 4 months. 

Ingredients

2 and 1/2 cups golden raisins (I used only 2 cups of raisins)

1 cup dried apricots, cut into quarters (about 7 ounces)

1 cup chopped crystallized ginger

1/2 cup dried pineapple, cut into small pieces

2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose or cake flour (I used cake flour)

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

5 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 teaspoon pure lemon extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

2 cups chopped pecans, toasted and cooled (see Note)

Steps

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 250 degrees.  Spray two 4 and 1/2 -by-8 and 1/2-inch loaf pans with nonstick oil-and-flour spray.  Line with 2 pieces of parchment or waxed paper, one cut to the width of the pan and the other to the length of the pan plus 4 inches of overhang to use as handles to lift the loaf from the pan.

Toss the raisins, apricots, pineapple and ginger in 1/4 cup of flour until evenly coated.

Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces, add them to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on low speed until soft, about 3 minutes.  Increase the speed to medium and beat for 1 or 2 minutes, until the mixture looks like lightly whipped cream.

Reduce the speed to low and add the sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, gradually increasing the speed and beating until well whipped, 5 or 6 minutes. 

Combine the eggs and extracts in a small bowl, then add to the butter mixture in four additions, beating for 1 minute on medium-low speed after each addition. 

The mixture might look curdled, but all will be well.

Sift the remaining 2 and 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and salt onto a piece of waxed paper.  With the mixer on low speed, add half of the flour mixture to the batter, beat well, then add the remaining flour mixture and beat.

Once the flour is incorporated, use a flexible spatula to fold in the grated zests,

then the nuts, and dried fruit.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.  Tap each pan once against the counter to remove any air bubbles, and smooth the tops.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 and 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  (The cakes will be white and might give the appearance of being underbaked even though they are not.)

Transfer the pans to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. 

Carefully run a knife around the inside of the pans to loosen the cakes.  Use the parchment paper handles to remove the cakes from the pans and transfer them to the wire rack.  Remove the parchment or waxed paper and cool the cakes thoroughly.

Note:  to toast pecans, spread them on a baking sheet and place in a 350 degree oven, shaking the sheet occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes.  Watch carefully; nuts burn quickly.