I love these types of recipes, to this day I am still a devoted rice krispie treats kind of girl.
We’ve lost two terrific people over the last few months, my Aunt Flo and Uncle Dick. This was my mothers’ older sister and brother-in-law. Uncle dick had pancreatic cancer and lost his fight a few months ago, his wife had Alzheimer’s which was bittersweet in the sense that as awful as the disease can be it turned out to be a blessing in disguise when the love of her life for the past 50 + years passed away (her memory of who he was to her had been gradually fading) so her sense of loss was lessened. Aunt Flo passed away Sunday April 13th leaving six children, 5 sons and 1 daughter, many grandchildren, nieces and nephews. My mother and I have some great memories of staying with them in California, that is where we both learned to love avocados it just seemed like they used them in everything.
They will be so dearly missed but the memories they have given us will live on forever.
California BLT
In Memory of Richard and Florence Leonard
12 bacon slices, cooked crisp, crumbled
1 1/4 c. cooked, cubed chicken or turkey
10 cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters
2 med. avocados, diced
2 c. shredded lettuce
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1/3 c. sour cream
4 pita breads (6" size) cut in half
1/2 c. Thousand Island dressing
Combine bacon, chicken, tomatoes, avocados and lettuce in a large bowl. Toss carefully with mayonnaise and sour cream until thoroughly mixed. Fill pitas with chicken mixture, spoon dressing over each.
Photo/Josie/Flickr
I’m surprised that I have made it this long without posting a recipe containing Bisquick. Between myself, family and friends not to mention the Bisquick box itself and several Bisquick cookbooks. I could probably post a couple of bisquick recipes a week without running out for years to come. Instead, I will go slow and pace myself and show fairness to all the other ingredients out there by giving them each a chance to shine.
V-8 Hamburg Pie
Bisquick Drop Biscuits (recipe on box)
1 lb. hamburger, browned
1 cup of onions, sautéed
1 (14 1/2 oz.) can of Italian stewed tomatoes
1 small can (6 oz.) of V-8 juice
Sauté onions in light oil on stove, add to browned hamburger in oblong (8 x 11 inch) casserole dish. Mix in can stewed tomatoes and can V-8 juice. Stir. Follow recipe for "Drop Biscuits" on Bisquick box. Take large spoon and drop amounts separately onto hamburger mixture. Spread gently with spoon or fork. Bake at 425 degrees for 30-45 minutes.
I was surfing the internet and came across this recipe and found it to be very intriguing. I have not made it yet but I just know that my curiosity is going to get the best of me before long and before you know it I’ll be running to the store to pick up the ingredients.
To all my blogger and non blogger friends out there, has anyone ever heard of, tasted or made this? If so I’d love to hear from you and find out more about it. I’m guessing that even with the unusual combinations of flavors or because of them that this could truly be a very delicious recipe.
Vegetable Dessert Tart
Tart Shell:
2 c. sifted flour
1 c. finely ground walnuts
1 c. butter, chilled
Filling:
2 c. chopped chard
1 c. golden raisins
1/4 c. honey
4 eggs, beaten lightly
2 c. grated zucchini
8 leaves fresh basil, chopped
8 leaves fresh mint, chopped
1/2 c. Chardonnay wine (any light wine)
Fresh strawberries, for garnish
Combine flour and nuts. Add butter, 2 tablespoons at a time, and mix well in food processor until dough forms a ball. Spread in a pie pan to a thickness of 1/8 inch and going 3/4 inch up the sides. Chill while making the filling.
Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl. Pour 1/2 in blender and puree. Combine with remaining ingredients and pour into shell. Bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until filling is set and inserted knife comes out clean. Cool in pan 30 minutes. Garnish with fresh strawberries.
I recently had the pleasure of reviewing a cookbook written by Judy Bart Kanigor. The book is called; “Cooking Jewish”. This book contains 532 recipes mixed with family stories and traditions that span the generations of the Rabinowitz family. The publishers and Judy herself felt that Noshtalgia shared the same sentiment when it came to the major role food plays in bringing people of all walks of life together.
While reading, I came to the realization that even though this book was based on the Rabinowitz family it could easily be speaking to the history of many families in many parts of the world. Cooking Jewish is a cookbook to be enjoyed like a fine novel while sitting in a comfortable chair, sipping a hot cup of tea, unlike most cookbooks that tend to be flip through. Even though I was drawn to so many of the recipes in this book there was one in particular that sparked many childhood memories. The recipe was for “Kichel” which in Yiddish literally means cookie. My mother loved Kichels so much that it became a ritual to purchase some almost every weekend from one of our local Jewish Deli's. My mother was a wonderful cook but could never master the art of baking, so each weekend we would go to the deli to buy some noodle kugel, chopped liver, pickled herring and a box of kichels. They were so light and sweet with the rich taste of eggs.
I encourage all to read this wonderful book, the perfect gift for family and friends.
Here is the recipe for “Egg Kichel” from Bunny Lauer
Featured in Cooking Jewish by Judy Bart Kanigor
1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
½ cup of vegetable oil
2 teaspoons of sugar
½ teaspoon of baking powder
½ cup cinnamon sugar for sprinkling (stir 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon into 1 cup of granulated sugar blend well).
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees; line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Blend the flour, eggs, oil, sugar and baking powder with an electric mixer, preferably with the paddle attached, on medium speed for 5 minutes. Drop the dough by the ½ teaspoon, 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the cookies liberally with cinnamon-sugar.
Bake on the center oven rack for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake until the cookies are puffed and brown, 15 minutes more.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet set on a wire rack.
Raise the heat to 400 degrees and repeat with the remaining dough. These are best eaten the day they are baked.
Have you been following any of the recent findings stating that the aroma and taste of peppermint can kill our cravings and possibly help us to cut down on our food intake? What about after dinner mints? Are they after dinner mints for a reason is the reason that once you eat the mint you no longer want food or does it suppress our appetites long enough to make it to breakfast without snacking somewhere in between. I guess that explains why there are no “Before Dinner Mints” we’d all starve to death. I was under the assumption that after dinner mints were strictly to refresh our breath after eating………but was there something of much greater significance to human kind lurking just beneath the surface.
So now I am wondering if by adding peppermint to all our chocolate, cheesecakes, cookies, ice creams and even our daily cup of coffee it will enable us to safely consume more because ultimately we’ll consume less…………………..something deep to ponder. Perhaps I better study this further by making and eating things containing peppermint and get to the bottom of this once and for all.
Super Moist Chocolate Peppermint Brownies
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 eggs
2/3 cup self rising flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (opt.)
1/2 cup of crushed peppermint candies to decorate the top or to mix in (this would normally be optional but adding more peppermint might just stop us from eating these brownies all together).
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter, sugar, vanilla and peppermint extract in a mixing bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating with mixer one minute, after each addition. In small mixer bowl, combine flour, cocoa and salt. Add to egg mixture and beat well. Fold in nuts, if desired. Pour into a well greased 9"x9"x2" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
The malted milk shake started in the 50’s. That’s when malt shops were the in place to hang out and be with your friends and listen to your favorite songs playing on the Jukebox. You could grab a burger and some fries wash it down with a malted, shake or float. The best part of the malted was getting to the bottom, where all the malt had settled and try to suck every last bit through the straw. Unfortunately malt shops have become a thing of the past but at least some of their delicious treats don’t have to be. Here’s a little tip try some of those syrups that they use for flavoring coffee; 
I use to go to an Italian Deli called “Rubino’s” on the weekends with my aunt and my grandmother. I loved the smells in that place;” Big hanging sharp provolone cheeses and salamis” filled the air with their strong biting aromas. My aunt Mimi would always get a chunk of extra sharp provolone, some Genoa salami and those wrinkly black olives. Throw in a crusty loaf of bread and some kind of fruit and we had lunch.
My grandmother on the other hand always had to get a couple pounds of their olive salad. She would make herself sick she would eat so much of it, it really was addictive.
My special treat waited at the checkout. At the end of each checkout they had big glass canisters with little boxes of Torrone (Italian nougat). They had vanilla, lemon and orange all with almonds. I would always get one of each. Those not only were great times, they were also very tasty times.
I like making olive salad myself these days, it’s easy, it keeps a long time, and you can vary the ingredients and seasoning to your liking, plus it make s a handy impressive snack to have for family and friends when they stop by. Goes great with an ice cold beer or a glass of wine.
Olive Salad
3 jars Green olives, drained (get at least one pimento stuffed)
1 pound Kalamata olives, pitted
1 can of ripe black olives
1 medium jar of roasted red peppers
5 to 6 med. cloves of garlic, minced
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 sm. head celery, chopped (leaves included)
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
3 tbsp. Italian seasoning, crushed
3/4 cup olive oil
¼ teaspoon of crushed red pepper
Does not need any salt
Mix all ingredients together and marinate at least 24 to 48 hours before serving.
Visiting my mother this week she started talking about Borscht. When she was growing up it was one of her favorites. Her little Russian grandmother (she was 4’6”tall, absolutely adorable) use to make it. My mother’s maternal grandparents escaped from Russia in a row boat during the war. When they got to this country they taught themselves English and worked long and hard hours to feed their family. It has been hard over the years trying to duplicate some of grandma’s recipes; she wasn’t big on writing things down she would just tell you what to put in. We are still trying to make a carrot cookie that she made that was very thin and very crisp, still with no success. Hopefully we will figure it out someday. But luckily we have had great success with her version of Borscht, it really is delicious hot or cold.
Grandma's Borscht
2 quarts beef stock
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup cabbage, finely chopped
1 cup potatoes, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes
put the beet juice from the can into the borscht
1 cup canned beets, diced
1 teaspoon vinegar
sour cream
In a large heavy pan, melt butter and lightly sauté cabbage, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion for approximately 5 minutes. Add beef stock. Add crushed tomatoes and beet juice to stock. Cover and simmer over low heat until vegetables are tender but not mushy. At this point, add the chopped beets and vinegar. Season well with salt and pepper and remove from heat before the beets begin to lose their color.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream
