Almost a recipe, but not quite.

One of my husband's favorite foods in the entire world is Yellow rice. I can put anything on top of it and he will gobble it all up (hes a bit of a "discerning" eater). Yellow rice is easy. dice and saute an onion in 3 tbls oil, stir in 1.5 cups of rice and toast it for a bit, then add in 2 c water, 1 tbls salt and 1/8 tsp saffron soaked in very hot water. Cook until it's done. that's not the recipe in the title, though. I decided I needed to do something with the leftover rice from Shabbat, and that saffron and soy sauce wouldn't be complimentary, as fried rice is my usual use for leftover rice. Instead, I followed my usual cooking pattern for fried rice and added ginger, coriander and cumin. It was pretty good. it still needs a sauce of some kind, and for the life of me I can't figure out what. until I do, it will remain not quite a recipe. Oh well.

Chicken Cholent

So, this will be a combo-post. it will answer a common question and give you a fantastic recipe. So, the Sabbath. Everyone wonders what we can and can't do. well, one thing you can't do is cook. So, we get all our food ready the day before, and keep it warm all the next day. This has led to the development of a special kind of dish, called cholent, that will stand up to long, low cooking. Traditional cholents are kind of like beef and bean stew, but my ear Husband and I designed one based on rice, which we never fail to get compliments on! nd it's probably the easiest recipe ever.

You will need
1-3 lb boneless chicken thighs (depending on how many you feed)
1.5 c uncooked Persian rice
1 large jar of spaghetti sauce
2 T salt
Tabasco sauce
Heat your cholent pot (heavy pot, at least 2 quarts) and toss chicken in to lightly brown for a few minues (it doesn't have to be fully cooked) Pour in rice and salt, then dump spaghetti sauce over it all. Add half a jar of water and several dashes of tabasco. put over low heat for 12 hours or more. can also be made in a crock-pot.

kitchen adventures

I'm a bit of a foodie. Seriously. I love to cook, bake, create, etc. I love all cooking TV shows, food network, etc. Gordon Ramsay is my favorite Chef, despite his potty mouth (or maybe because of it...). So, I thought I'd share 3 things (one each of ingredient, tool, and technique) I'd never be in the kitchen without and a recipe that incorporates them all.

1. Salt. I've only recently come to love and understand salt, but I can't emphasize how important it is. Especially in baked goods.

2. Parchment paper. this is the secret to all beautiful baked goods, and has changed my world. Use it for everything from cookies to bread to candy, and you'll never be disappointed by stuck food ever again.

3. Mise en Place: French for everything in place (roughly) Your experiences in the kitchen will be ever so much more enjoyable if you begin with everything you nee for the recipe in front of you, just like a cooking show. It also makes things move a lot faster, and saves you from having to "improvise" when you've run out of that thing you swore you had some of but now can't locate.

I also believe in simple foods, easy prep. things taste better if you on't have too much going on. so, my crowd pleasing PB balls to the rescue!

You will need:
3 T margarine
1 c Peanut butter (not natural, the heavy kind like Jif)
about 1 c powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
150 grams of coating chocolate or 1 pkg chocolate chips and 25 grams parafin

In a bowl, mix the PB, salt and Margarine. Slowly add the powdered sugar until you have a doughy consistency, like clay. Roll into 1 inch diameter balls. Melt chocolate over low heat in a small fry pan. place a large square of parchment paper over a standard cookie sheet and place near chocolate. a few balls at a time, add to the pan with chocolate, then fish out with a spoon and arrange on the parchment paper for cooling. for quick serving, place candy in the freezer. makes 3-4 dozen.
Pareve

East meets West, or Israel meets Italy

Pizza is a new universal, you can get it anywhere, even Africa. Iraelis LOVE pizza. For Kosher reasons, we don't put meat on it (Dairy and meat don't mix), but you can get it with all kinds of other things. I've tried Falafel pizza in NY, which sat like a rock in my stomach (like all falafel does), but I've been very curious about something I've only seen here in Israel. Corn pizza. No kidding. I've seen, or rather, smelled Tuna pizza, but there's no way I will eat something that smells that foul. Corn seemed unusual but do-able. So, since my parents are here, and my dad is as silly as I am, we got half a pizza with corn on it, just to see what it was like. Here's how it looked:
Here are the pre-eating reactions to the idea of Corn Pizza.
My Husband is clearly excited. And silly.
My father is clearly proud of himself. And also silly.
After eating, the reactions were mixed. My daughter was not impressed, but ate all of hers. She likes pizza, but doesn't seem particularly drawn to the corn aspect:

My dad was confused, clearly, from this picture:
But he didn't spit it out like Gordon Ramsay on Hell's Kitchen, so that's good. My husband was also indifferent. I believe his quote was "I wouldn't avoid it at a party, but neither would I seek it out." I Felt that it did little for me, and if I'm paying extra for a topping, it's going to be more cheese or olives or onions or something. Corn just isn't a stand out on pizza, it's just extra calories. Not too odd, but not something you'd find in the average Domino's either (although it is in the Domino's here)!

Balloons etc.

So, besides being a Rebitzin (rabbi's wife) I'm also a balloon artist. Not a very serious one, mind you, but I've been involved with the latex world for about 10 years. In America, that and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee and that's about it. Here in Israel, its a BIG deal. There are maybe 10 other people who do balloons on any kind of grand scale. (more than doggies and swords) in the WHOLE country. So, last Tuesday I bravely ventured out from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv where I met up with 2 other balloon guys and then drove to a place just outside Netanya. There ended up being 6 of us there, which was great fun. I wondered if it was going to be weird as I am the only one who was even remotely religious, but my fears were unfounded, as we could all relate on the balloon level. We all riffed on the theme of a coral reef, which was one guy's project for a photo shoot the next day. This was the result:

Cool, right? I made some of the coral and some of the bubbles. Seriously, most of the work is by a guy named Ori Livney. Google him, he's got some really cool videos and stuff available on the web, and he does amazing things with balloons. The other people who worked on this are Keren Friedman, Asi Cohen, Mishel Something-or-other, and Ori's SO Michal.






I also had a friend over last week to learn my mad bread-making skillz. She did this with minimal intervention from me:Good job, Nadine! Perfect Challot are the sign of an accomplished Jewish woman!
If you want the best Challah recipe ever, email me and I will send it your way.