apple and honey challah
This month has came and has now almost gone and I’ve missed it entirely. It’s a shame, because September is my second favorite but less of a shame than it would be if I am still saying the same about October, which is my actual favorite. Nevertheless, I put my foot down and decided I absolutely, unequivocally would not let this month go without at least making you an apple honey challah. Due to my innate gift for impeccable timing (ha), I got the idea for this about two days after the High Holidays ended last year. So, for the better part of 12 months, I’ve plotted this spin on traditional challah and am still about six hours late on it. Typical. Honey challahs are surprisingly easy — you simply swap sugar for honey, and you can increase it for a stronger honey flavor. Friday 9/30 Do you live near NYC? Apple and Honey Challah One tip: If you measure your oil in your 1/3 cup measuring cup first, and then your honey, the honey will slide right out. Makes 1 round woven challah
potato pancakes, even better
It wouldn’tbeHanukah if I didn’t refresh my favorite, dead-simple potato pancake recipe. But it wouldn’t make for a very interesting story if I told the same one every year; in fact, I think they get better with each try because I continue to tweak them ever so much. This year, after finally making peace with my cast frying pan (coincidentally, over an “apple latke”) I cooked them in there, and will use no other pan for them as long as I live. In an ongoing, obsessive effort to create latkes that look precisely like the flying spaghetti monster/tiny piles of rope mops, I again attempted to create the longest strands of potato possible by placing them sideways in the feed tube of the food processor — the food processor not only saves a ton of time, it creates coarser, more visible strands. Next, I at last retired the sieve-pressing for a cheesecloth-squeezing. Finally, if you think that latkes are just for Hanukkah, with all due respect, you’re totally missing out. Or an appetizer.
crispy potato roast
I fell for a photo this week. It was on marthastewart.com and it looked like an accordion, or maybe a Slinky, of thinly sliced, crisped potatoes and my brain computed this as CHIPS. POTATO CHIPS MASQUERADING AS GROWN-UP SIDE DISH. Plus, I was looking for a gratin alternative for potatoes for my family’s Seder on Monday night and this fit the bill perfectly. If you have a mandoline, the prep on this is remarkably simple. The results are stunning, and it tastes, just as I had hoped and dreamed, half like potato chips and half like a fragrant potato roast. One year ago: Blue Cheese Scallion Drop BiscuitsTwo years ago: Pasta with Favas, Tomatoes and SausageThree years ago: Almond Cake with Strawberry-Rhubarb CompoteFour years ago: Black Bean Confetti Salad Crispy Potato Roast Adapted from Martha Stewart About the baking dish: My dish in the first photo is on the small side because I discovered that I’d only bought 2/3 of the potatoes I needed and scaled the recipe down.
Homemade Ricotta
Cook to Cook: Rinsing the pot with cold water before pouring in the milk will save you some serious cleanup! The reserved liquid whey can go into soups, stews and curries, and be used to cook pasta and rice. It will keep refrigerated up to 3 days. Keeps up to 3 days, covered, in the refrigerator. 1. 2. 3. What to Do with Homemade Ricotta: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Turkish Carrots and Lentils with Herbs
This shows just how delicious frugality can be. Ingredients 1/4 cup olive oil1 onion, in thin crescent moon shapes4 garlic cloves, thinly chopped1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed1/4-1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes1/2 cup green or Puy lentils6 large carrots, sliced2 tablespoons tomato paste2 teaspoons superfine sugar1 1/4 cups vegetable stock or waterSalt and pepper2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, parsley, or dillGood squeeze of lemon juiceExtra-virgin olive oil, to serve Instructions 1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion until soft and pale gold. 2. 3. also try… Moroccan spiced carrots: Heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil in a heavy saucepan and sauté 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and 1 fresh red chile, seeded and shredded, until the garlic is pale gold. Uzbeki carrots: Cook 1 lb carrots (in batons or chunks) in water until tender, then drain.
