Get Bottles of Organic Milk Straight To Your Door!

  
   When I saw the Organic Milk Corp site, I was sure that I entered into
 a retro style dream of fresh milk arriving at my door, in glass bottles no less!
Who doesn't dream about milk that comes from dairies in the area, milk that
 actually spoils if we don't drink it in a few days, and a feeling that you are going back to days of innocence?
Funnily enough, just days before, I read an article about this trend of milk delivery in the InStyle Magazine.
So there are many more daires that deliver in different parts of the country.
The Organic Milk Corp services North Jersey and its sources are great dairies in NY and PA.
They also have eggs, other dairy products and meat. They also hold kosher dairy products.
http://www.organicmilkcorp.com/

What's For Friday? Sandwich Heaven!

  I am in the mood for something comforting, tasty and very informal. Something that I can eat with my closest friends and family and not care if it's dripping all over my chin.

On the other hand, that doesn't mean that I want to eat less than gourmet food.

    Sandwiches... They are making such a huge buzz lately in foodie world.

I don't know about you, but for me anything that is put between two pieces of bread tastes much better.

The bread of course, has to be great quality, but what should we put in between?

A big trend these days is to re-define old classics.

   I am thinking about a turkey breast sandwich where the turkey is home made and not cut at the deli counter, the mayo is superb, and the crunch is planned to bring it to the next level.

   Also, I'm a big fan of tuna sandwiches, but instead of the stuff from the can, let's poach it (or a salmon), in olive oil and re-tell the story of a great sandwich.

   Finally I am going really wild with a steak and pate sandwich that pulls all the stops.

So you see, I'm actually cheating. It's labor. Not too hard though, and the result is so worth it.

Note: My camera betryed me, so I found an image that is close to what I made. But mine was nicer...

Turkey and pickled onions sandwich with honeyed mayonnaise: (makes 4)

2 ciabatta breads, sliced horizontally into a top and bottom.

Pickle the onions:

2 red onions, sliced

1 cup cider vinegar

1 tsp salt

Blanch the onions: put the slices into boiling water for 1 minute and cool them in a bowl with ice and cold water. Drain.

Then, return the onion to the pan with the cider vinegar and the salt. Add water to just barely cover the onions. Bring to boil, and simmer the onions for 1 minute.

Pour the onions and the liquid into a glass jar and chill. Can be kept for weeks in the fridge and is great with steaks. The onions turn into a beautiful pink.

Roast the turkey breast:

1 breast of turkey on the bone

½ teaspoon of smoked paprika

½ teaspoon salt

1 tsp good steak seasoning

¼ teaspoon chili

3 tablespoons oil

preheat the oven 400F.

Mix the oil with all the spices and rub the turkey well from all sides.

Put the turkey on a roasting pan and roast for

Let rest covered for 15 minutes.

Take the turkey breast meat off the bone, and slice thinly.

Prepare the mayonnaise: ( yields about 2 cups)

2 large egg yokes ROOM TEMPRATURE

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

11/2 cups canola oil

11/2 tablespoons honey

1. Using a food processor, whisk together: yokes, mustard and salt until combined well.
2. Add about ½ cup of oil drop by drop until the mixture thickens and is glossy. Add the vinegar.
   Next, add the remaining oil in a thin,slow stream while the processor is running all the time. The oil has to absorb in the paste.
3. When the mayonnaise is done, add the honey and mix well.

Assembly: (from bottom to top)

Bottom of the ciabatta- smear with mayonnaise

turkey slices

pickled onions

mayonnaise on top part of bread. Cover the sandwiches. Slice each ciabatta in half.

Tuna and sunny side up egg with red cabbage coleslaw sandwich:

French Baguette, halved diagonally and horizontally.

Pickled jalapeno, sliced

Butter, 2 tbs

Poach the tuna in olive oil:

2 piece of tuna steaks.

About a cup olive oil.

Salt and pepper

one clove of garlic, pealed and smashed

1) Pat the tuna dry and sprinkle salt and pepper pro chef way.

2) Heat the oil on medium heat with the garlic in it.When the oil is hot but not bubbling, let the garlic stay in the oil until you can smell it. Take it out and discard.

3) Put the fish into the oil. Add more oil until fish is covered if necessary. Poach on medium- low heat for about 3 minutes until the fish is almost cooked through.

4) Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Leave about 2 tbs oil and discard the rest.

Make the red cabbage Coleslaw:

4 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced

4 scallion greens, thinly sliced

1 small carrot, grated

1 tbs olive oil

¼ cup white or red wine vinegar

2 tbs sugar

Salt and pepper to taste, about ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper.

1) In a large bowl combine the vegetables.

2) In the microwave, put a a microwave safe bowl with the oil, vinegar and sugar. Heat for 45 seconds so the sugar dissolves well in the mixture.

3) Pour over the vegetables, add the salt and pepper. Mix well. Let stand in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

   Taste, and correct the seasoning if necessary.

Sunny side up eggs:

4 eggs

2 tbs “tuna oil” drippings

Salt and pepper to taste

heat the oil in a non stick pan, when it's really hot, crack the eggs into it. Cook so the white is solid but leave the yoke runny. Sprinkle salt and pepper. Remove from pan and place on top of the tuna fish in the sandwich.

Toast the baguette.

Smear with butter.

Assembly: (From bottom to top )

Baguette, toasted

butter

tuna

egg

pickled jalapeno

coleslaw

Buttered baguette.

Steak and duck pate with caramelized onions and feta/chives cheese spread sandwich:

2 ciabatta bread, halved horizontally, brushed with olive oil and toasted

Duck pate- D'Artanian Mouse Troufe is very recommended

Prepare the caramelized onion and prunes:

5 prunes+ 1 cup of warm water

2 large vidalia onions, sliced into long slices (half the onion and then slice)

olive oil

1 tsp sugar

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

1) Soak the prunes in the warm water for 30 minutes. Drain.

2) Use enough olive oil to coat a large frying pan, let it warm and then put in the onions and prunes. Stir to coat with oil and flatten so that there will be maximum contact of the mixture with the pan. Saute for 10 minutes, stirring all the time.

3) After 10 minutes, sprinkle with some salt and the sugar and lower the heat and saute for 25 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The onions need to brown but not burn so let them fry but with a watchful eye. If you feel they are on the verge of burning, add more oil.

4) Add the balsamic vinegar, mix well and cook for 5 more minutes.

Prepare the steak:

1 Skirt steak

1 tbs Demarera sugar

3 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp ketchup

2 tbs canola oil

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

1) Marinade: In a zip lock, mix the soy sauce, ketchup, balsamic vinegar and oil. Put the steak in and let it marinade for at least 1 hour.

2) After an hour, take out of the refrigerator, bring to room temperature, and grill until medium rare or thermometer registers 130F. Let rest 5 minutes and slice thinly against the grain.

Make the feta-chives Spread:

½ cup crème freche

chives- 1 tsp thinly chopped

¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Mix well. Use food processor to mix very well.

Assembly: (bottom to top)

ciabatta

spread

steak slices

pate

onion and prune jam

spread over ciabatta

                                                               Caramelized onions

How To Salt Your Food Like a Pro & What's For Friday?

   My first ah-ha moment on the importance of salt in cooking was in cooking school.

Chef Anne Burrell ( Secrets of a Restaurant Chef/ Iron Chef), our instructor for that module, was supervising the way I made mushroom soup.

I put what seemed to me like a good amount of salt, and tasted it. It seemed OK to me. She tasted the soup, and said: “Add more salt, it's not enough”. Hesitantly I added a few more grains. To me, it was salty enough, and I didn't want to ruin the soup and become an object of scrutiny for the rest of the day. “No, put MUCH MORE!” Said chef Anne, a hint of impatience creeping into her voice. (She had zero tolerance for cowards).

As she saw the dumb look on my face, she understood that I am clueless. She took the salt, added what seemed to me like a huge amount, mixed well and said: “NOW, taste it”.

 I took a spoonful. To my surprise, the soup was not salty at all! But it did suddenly have the distinct taste of mushrooms that was missing a few minutes ago!

   That was the first time I understood what every chef kept telling us: Salt is a conductor of flavor and not only a flavor by itself.

Salting one-on-one:

   Here is something that a lot of home cooks don't know about using all purpose salt: The grains of salt are functioning as small sponges that absorb the juices of the food and transfer them to our taste buds.

That's why the salt needs to be evenly distributed over every ingredient that goes into the pan: You don't want the meat to be salted but to miss on the flavors of the onion and vegetables that are cooking with it.

 In order for that rule to exist, chefs use mostly kosher salt. Kosher salt is less salty than other kinds of salt, That way, a large amount of salt grains can be distributed safely over the food without creating the “pretzel effect”. One could also use a great all purpose sea salt such as Fleur De Sel.

   I highly recommend that you try and salt every ingredient instead of adding salt at the end. You might add too much salt in the beginning, but after you will master this change in your cooking, the food you've been cooking for years will taste much better.

   The way to salt an even amount over the food is to sprinkle it from above, a bit higher than you would normally do. Meat, poultry and fish should be seasoned from both sides prior to their entry into the pan.

So What's for Friday?

The recipes for this Friday dinner are all about salt with it's different functions.

Since we are talking so much about salt, I can't ignore the classic recipe of roasting in a salt crust. Here, salt is used as a shell, to be thrown away

Usually this recipe is intended for fish but I would like to give you a recipe for beef tenderloin. You can use kosher salt or rock salt. The result is very succulent because all the juices of the beef remain in the salt shell, and actually cook it. The result, surprisingly, is not salty at all.

Herb crusted beef tenderloin:

The outside of the beef will be seasoned enough-don't add salt.

11/2 Lbs beef tenderloin roast

11/2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups kosher salt or rock salt

2 bay leaves broken to pieces

1 tablespoon rosemary, finely chopped

2 teaspoons black pepper

½ cup water

Preheat the oven to 425F.

1. Brown the roast , in a skillet, using the olive oil until brown from all sides. About 2 minutes from each side.
2. Mix together the salt, herbs and the water until it resembles wet sand.
3. Pat the salt mixture on the top and sides of the beef so it covers it completely and tightly.
4. Roast in the middle rack for 25-30 minutes for medium-rare.
5. Let the beef stand 5 minutes. Break the shell, and remove. Slice the meat into ½ inch slices.

Potatoes with vinegar and sea salt

The salt is used as all purpose salt, and therefore the potatoes and the water need to be salted generously.(I loved the Maldon sea salt with this recipe)

3Lbs small Yukon Gold potatoes or any other boiling potato

21/2 tablespoons cider vinegar

2 tablespoons tarragon, finely chopped

11/2 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

6 cups of water + 2 tablespoons sea salt to boil the potatoes in. The water should taste like sea salt.

1. cover the potatoes with salted water. Simmer for about 12 minutes. Drain.
2. While still warm, stir in the vinegar, tarragon and the sea salt. Let stand for 5 minutes and add the olive oil. Toss together.

Smoked sea salt brownies:

8 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 cup unsalted butter/ 2 sticks

5 eggs

3 cups sugar

¼ teaspoon smoked sea salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

1-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon sea salt such as Fleur De Sel or Maldon

2-1/2 cups chopped pecan, toasted

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan.

1. Melt chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat; set aside.
2. In a mixer, beat eggs, sugar, and vanilla at high speed for 10 minutes.
3. Blend in chocolate mixture, flour and smoked salt until just mixed. Stir in the nuts.
4. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly and sparingly the sea salt on top of the batter surface.
5. Bake brownies for 35-40 minutes. (I like to under cook them a bit). Cool and frost if desired, but that is not necessary.

SALT! What About It?

“ Salt is born of the purest of parents: the sun and the sea”(Pythagoras 580 BC – 500BC).

Today I'm going to talk  about salt. This common ingredient has turned out to be very sophisticated, up to the point that being a salt expert is a profession by itself called “Selmelier”, a term based on the word “ Somelier”, a waiter that consults about wine.

There are so many varieties with different functions: for cooking (all purpose salt), baking, salad and for garnish (finishing salt). From the classic Fleur De Sell to smoked salt and red salt.

I use, in my home kitchen, kosher salt, and sea salt from the Dead Sea, as my main go-to salts. I decided to check out some of the more exotic ones, and also some other quality all-purpose sea salts, to see if there is a difference, and more importantly if you can taste it.

I checked out the on-line store, The Meadow, that specializes in different kinds of salts. You can find that this store's sets are intended for beginners and for chefs and professionals.

In the name of experiment, I purchased the beginner's set. It has 6 different kinds of finishing salt, and when I got it today I was definitely intrigued.

My kids and their friend were hovering around so I invited them to taste with me.

I already knew the first two salts but it was great to compare them to each other. The first one was Sel Gris, originated from China. It was crunchy and well-balanced.

Then we moved to a French classic, Fleur De Sel de Guerande. The grains are much tinier, it melts well, and it's much saltier than the former.

The Maldon was a salt that none of us really cared for, large crystals, and nothing to write home about. It's origin is from Essex, England.

Next, we tasted The Black Diamond. It was black, had the texture and a burned flavor of flakes of coal, which is exactly what it's mixed with, and should be really dramatic on potato dishes or fish- anything light in color. It's a fun salt. I bet you that if you put it on baked potatoes, you will get a refined reminiscent of bonfire potatoes.

Molokai Red is originated from Hawaii. It's red, has small grains, melts well and is mixed with clay. Thus it had an after taste which is indeed earthy.

Last but not least came the Kauai Guava smoked salt. This salt is derived from the sea water of Kauai that is afterward smoked using Guava wood. This salt got our attention! It has a definite smoky flavor. A comparison to bacon was made. Let me tell you, all my kosher readers: I think we found a gourmet solution to replace this naughty ingredient. I couldn't help but think about my next chocolate brownies and how they will enjoy this smoky addition.

If you are as curious as I am to try new flavors, this is such a fun way to do so. Everyone who came by to my house was so open to try and analyze the flavor. It was a spontaneous tasting party. The next set I am getting is the one that has salt infused with truffle, sugar maple smoked, and vanilla infused.

I can't wait to try more sets from this company. The owner, Mark Bitterman, an acclaimed selmelier, also wrote a book, Salted: A Manifesto on The World's Most Essential Mineral With Recipes.

http://www.amazon.com/Salted-Manifesto-Essential-Mineral-Recipes/dp/1580082629/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1299435589&sr=1-1

Next blog: I am going to explain how to salt your food correctly, which salts to use, and how to salt just like a professional chef.

The Healing Power of Friendship

  

  A short while ago, as a result of a stupid accident, I found myself with a broken leg, after surgery,and having to deal with the reality of being unable to move too much.

  As my neurotic usual self, I would probably move from crying to being really nasty to my poor husband and then crying again. But because we have two kids and I would still like to remain married in two months, I had to create a frame of mind that will keep me sane in the weeks to come.

I decided to accept the situation and deal with every hour at a time instead of learning about all of what's going to happen ahead. So far so good but honestly, what keeps my head up is the warmth of my friends.

  I am a friendly person and I have an optimistic view about people. Howoever, the amount of caring that my friends have shown me was like this huge lesson about the wonderful people out there.

  My friends are busy: they have jobs, children and zero available time. Yet, they found it for me. From phone calls to visits in snow storms to just coming by with a treat to make me happy.

  And the food they came with could have fed a whole village. More than food to my stomach it was food to my soul. I felt that since they could not wave a wand and take away the broken leg, they baked, cooked, shopped, conversed, bought pants to go over my cast, and more than anything were there for me, willing to step out of their comfort zone.

  My dear friends, In the midst of a very miserable time, I feel so blessed! And it's all because of you.

I am thanking each and every one of you for caring -each person in their unique way and ability.

  I would like to give you a fragment of the recipes for food that my beloved friends prepared for me.

It was delicious, and if you will make it with the love that they made it with, you will for sure make food that will be significant to anyone who eats from it.

Cheese or spinach puffs (aka in Hebrew – Burekas): (This recipe comes from my friend E. A busy career woman who had time to come with her husband in the midst of a snow storm, just to bring us an amazing dinner.)

2 pkgs Pillsbury puff pastry dough (each sheet cut into 9 squares about 3”x3”). She usually gets the “Mazor’s” brand at a kosher/middle-eastern store.

For the cheese filling (for 2 pkgs of dough):

2 cups thinly shredded cheese (I prefer the Italian mix or Mexican mix)

1 cup feta cheese

1 egg

1 tsp Salt

¼ tsp pepper

For a Spinach filling (for 2 pkgs of dough):

2 pkgs frozen chopped spinach thawed and squeesed

1 cup feta cheese

1 egg

1 tsp Salt

¼ tsp pepper

Other types of fillings:

Sautéd mushrooms, onions and garlic, meat & spices

For the top:

1 whipped egg (you can use a fork to whip the egg)

Sesame seeds

Heat your oven to 350F

1)Mix the filling ingredients.

2) Put a tsp full of mixture in each square, close on a diagonal and press the 2 open

sides together with a fork. Brush with egg, sprinkle sesame seeds.

3) Bake on a cookie sheet layered with parchment paper at for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

T is my friend who brings smiles to every room. When she cooks for you , you know you're covered for the whole week!

Green beans in a garlic sauce:

1 LB green beans, edges trimmed.

3 coves of garlic, thinly chopped

Chopped almonds

salt & pepper to taste

2 Tbs olive oil

In a large saute pan heat the oil and the garlic. Add the beans and the spices, and saute until still firm but not raw, for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the almonds over the beans.

H is a dear friend who proved to be a true one. With tact and grace she is willing to do everything to put a smile on my face.

Chicken with mushroom sauce:

8 pieces of chicken- thighs, drumsticks or both

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 medium onion, diced

Mini Portabella mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, whole

Paprika & Pepper

1) Sprinkle a generous amount of salt, pepper, paprika In the oil, saute the chicken until browned.Transfer the chicken to a plate and add the onion. Saute, until tender and add the garlic cloves. Cook for another 1 minute. Add the mushrooms, salt and saute until the mushrooms are tender.

2) Put the chicken on the “bed” of mushroom,onions. Add the chicken broth. Bring to boil and lower to simmer. Cook for 45 minutes.

3) Take the chicken out and continue to cook the liquid and vegetables until it's about half the amount. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and mix it in. ( If you're kosher, don't be stressed- you can mix into the vegetables some flour and then bring to boil and concentrate while mixing well. You will get a thick gravy instead of a sauce.)

S is a new friend, but she is such a delight. I'm happy to see her every time she comes. And she does not come empty handed- the woman is a master in soup making.

S's red lentil soup:

½ onion, thinly chopped

3 cups red lentils

1 smoked sausage of your choice, diced into 1/4” cubes.

2 tbs olive oil

½ tsp cumin

6 cups of water

salt and pepper to taste

1) In a large pot, saute the onion in the olive oil , until tender. Sprinkle some salt over the onions.

2) Add the sausage and saute for another 2 minutes.

3) Add the lentils and more salt, plus pepper and cumin, and the water. Bring to boil and lower to simmer. Cook for 45 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.