In Shul this Shabbat we read my
all-time favorite Torah Portion – Balak.
I love the fact that there is a talking donkey in this portion,
and good triumphs over evil. Just to
recap, Balak King of Moav, hires the non-Jewish prophet Bilam to curse the
Jews. If the Jews are cursed then Balak
just might be able to defeat them. Balak
figures that Bilam must have the inside track with G-d because he’s a prophet,
and who better to curse G-d’s chosen people that someone who has a direct
line? Well things don’t work out quite
like Balak planned. On his way to curse
the Jewish People the donkey that Bilam is riding on suddenly stops in its
tracks. No matter how many times Bilam
hits it, the donkey won’t move. What
Bilam doesn’t know, is that he can’t see the Angel blocking the path – but the
donkey can see it! After being hit three times by Bilam, the Donkey actually
turns around and speaks to Bilam!! This wasn’t just any everyday donkey,
but a very special one. There were seven
“Wonders of the World” that were created on the last day of Creation…one of
those “wonders” was Bilam’s Donkey. This
special donkey was formed with the express purpose of speaking to Bilam and
warning him away from his goal. Of
course, in the end Bilam is unable to curse the Jews, and instead ends up
giving them a beautiful blessing – foiling Balak’s plan. I love that ending!!
As you all know by now, I have
been spending a lot of time going to minyan. In the Shemoneh Esreh prayer, which we
say at least once during every service, the last paragraph is the “Elokai
Nitzor” tefilah (prayer). Here we
ask G-d to guard us from speaking badly, to keep us from reacting to those that
curse us, and to nullify the evil wishes of those that would want bad things to
happen to us – “Elokai nitzor lishoni merah…v’limkallai nafshi tidom…vichol
hachoshvim alai raah, mehara hafer atzatam…”
As cheesy as it may seem, the
story of Bilam and his talking donkey, and the “Elokai Nitzor”, speak to
me as a “recipe” for how to lead our lives (not too preachy, huh?). The bottom line is that we must have faith
and continue to pray to G-d to help us against those that would wish us
harm. With G-d’s help a curse can even
become a blessing. The truth is,
sometimes we are so immersed in our situations that we can’t see the obvious –
even a donkey can see what we can’t or refuse to see!!
Happy Birthday America!! |
Given that (whew!), I’m going to bless
you with a fun summertime recipe for Hamburger Cupcakes with Twice Baked
Potato Frosting. These are
incredibly entertaining, conversation-starters, really yummy and similar
to the Grilled
Hamburger Cake, they are frosted with mashed potatoes. Whipped eggs lighten the recipe, with onions
and grated carrots adding extra flavor. Unlike
Balak’s half-baked plan for defeating the Israelites, these awesome “cupcakes”
are twice baked – making them super delicious!! I recommend warning your
family and guests though – these are so pretty, even a donkey might
not be able to tell the difference between these Hamburger Cupcakes with
Twice Baked Potato Frosting and the ones you serve for dessert!!
Don't forget to check out my latest summertime recipes on aish.com!!
Hamburger Cupcakes with Twice
Baked Potato Frosting (gluten-free)
- 2
pounds lean ground beef, room temperature
- 3 large
eggs, room temperature, separated
- 1
medium onion, finely diced
- 1 clove
garlic crushed, or one frozen garlic cube defrosted
- ¼ cup carrots, finely shredded
- ¼
teaspoon black pepper
- pinch
salt
- foil
lined cupcake cups
- mashed
potatoes
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Place foil lined cupcake cups on
a baking sheet. Set aside.
Place the ground beef in a large
bowl. Break up any large pieces of
meat. In a large mixing bowl, whip the
egg yolks until tripled in volume and pale yellow – around 3 minutes. Fold the yolks into the ground beef, mixing
until just combined. Fold in the onions,
carrots and pepper. Set the meat mixture
aside.
In a clean dry mixing bowl, with
clean dry beaters, whip the whites with the salt until stiff but not dry. Carefully fold into the meat mixture, being
careful not to stir too vigorously. When
the mixture is completely combined, spoon into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 30 minutes.
Place the potatoes into a pastry
bag (if using) and pipe the potatoes onto the baked meat muffins. If not using a pastry bag, spoon the potatoes
onto the tops of the baked meat muffins.
Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the oven onto medium broil, and broil
the muffins for 5 minutes until the tops are browned. Best served warm, but these are good cold
too!
Finely chopped onion & grated carrots....
Creamy, yellow egg yolks...
Room temperature ground beef...
(I always double this recipe!)
Fold the yolks into the beef...
(Note the cool blue gloves)
Add the onions, carrots & pepper...
Whip those whites...
Carefully fold them into the beef...
Who would think you could describe beef
as light and airy???
Into the foil muffin cups...
Then into the oven for 30 minutes...
While we're waiting...
It's mashed potato time!
Mix in the eggs & onions...
Get it ready in a BIG piping bag...
When the hamburger cupcakes come out,
pipe the potatoes on top...
Into the oven they go again...
Bake, then broil...
SO PRETTY!!!
Kosher
Everyday is dedicated to the memory of my father
Dr.
Theodore Saltzberg - Tuvia Ben Nachum Z”L
May
his memory be for a blessing - Yihi zichro baruch.
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Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,
aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,
The Chicago Tribune Syndication,
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Experience by Sharon
Matten.
These recipes are for sole, personal use of visitors to Sharon Matten
-Edible Experience Kosher Everyday. Edible Experience Kosher Everyday recipes
are for your enjoyment but are not to be posted or reprinted without express
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Loved you intro , and how you find inspiration from the parsha, though I need to know what's fun about a talking donkey ?:)
ReplyDeleteThis must be one of the most original, unusual cupcakes creations I've ever seen, a real "out of the box" idea and one I hope to try next time we have guest over.