Sunday, February 26, 2012

Brown Sugar Chicken and Levana's Tomato Turmeric Chicken

Brown Sugar Chicken...
They'll just inhale it - really!
This week we have the privilege of being invited out for lunch on Shabbat (HOORAY!!  It’s marching band time!).  That means that although I still had to cook for Shabbat, I didn’t have to make nearly as much food.   

In the interest of trying to take it a little easier this week (because I could!) I decided to make one of my family’s favorite chicken recipes: Brown Sugar Chicken.  I got the basic recipe from a friend of mine in passing in the grocery store, brown sugar and ketchup.  That’s it.  My friend bakes her chicken, but I found it comes out better with a thicker sauce if you make it in a large skillet.  I have two huge 12 inch skillets that each fit a chicken and a half, just enough for a Friday night Shabbat meal (my family really loves this chicken)!  This chicken is awesome with a caramelized sweet tomatoey sauce. It’s finger licking good!

Thanks Levana...it came
out great!
Also this week, I made my semi-weekly trip to the mega-produce store and found gorgeous tomatoes for 49¢ a pound!  These tomatoes were huge. Of course I bought them…how could I pass them up?   Now, one of dear husbands’ biggest beefs is that I buy too many tomatoes and don’t use them, and he ends up throwing away rotten tomatoes. It’s a legitimate beef, no one likes to waste food.  So when he saw my gorgeous tomatoes, he reminded me of the other 4 or 5 that I already had in the fridge (I thought I had used up all my tomatoes in the house - I had forgotten about the ones in the fridge).   I understand that this should be the biggest problem that anyone should have in their marriage, but I really wanted to make dear husband happy and use up the tomatoes.  So I went to my reliable facebook cooking sites and posted an SOS for tomato help.  Sure enough, wonderful Levana Kirschenbaum came to my rescue.  She recommended a super easy chicken recipe using most of the tomatoes, a little water, and seasoning the chicken with some turmeric, salt and pepper.  I was sold.  I took one of my 3 chickens that I had planned for the Brown Sugar Chicken (ok, so now there were only two Brown Sugar Chickens for Shabbat, but it was for a good cause), and made Levana’s Tomato and Turmeric Chicken.  I left out the water and salt (the kosher chicken was already pretty salty, and the tomatoes were pretty liquidy), browned the chicken, topped it with the spices and tomatoes, and it turned out great!  Dear husband was extremely happy that the tomatoes got used, and that he had fantastic chicken for Shabbat.  It was a win-win situation.  Thanks for your help Levana, I owe my marital harmony this week to you!

Announcing the first ever Purim 2012 Kosher Everyday recipe contest - you can win a $25 Visa gift card! Submit your favorite “It’s not as it seems” (V’nahafoch Hu) recipe on the Contest Page for your chance to win!  Hurry, the winner will be chosen on March 1, 2012 and will be featured in the March 4, 2012 Kosher Everyday blog!

Levana’s Tomato and Turmeric Chicken
1              tablespoon         olive oil
1                                       chicken, cut into 8 or 10 pieces, skin removed (optional)
2              cloves                garlic, crushed (or 2 frozen cubes)
1              tablespoon         turmeric              
½             teaspoon            pepper
5              large                  tomatoes, diced
Pat chicken pieces dry.  Heat oil in a large skillet or dutch oven.  Brown chicken, bone side up, then turn.  Sprinkle with turmeric then turn the chicken over again.  Sprinkle with pepper, then cover with tomatoes.  Cook over medium heat 30 minutes covered, 30 minutes uncovered, then 15 minutes uncovered on low.

Brown Sugar Chicken
This recipe is great when you make double or triple quantities – it’s fast and super easy!
1              tablespoon          olive oil
1                                        chicken, cut into 8 or 10 pieces
1              cup                     brown sugar
1              cup                     ketchup


Combine the brown sugar and ketchup in a medium bowl, stirring until smooth.  Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Brown the chicken on all sides.   Spoon sauce over the chicken, coating evenly.  Cook the chicken covered for 30 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes until cooked through, spooning with sauce periodically.  Serve warm spooning extra sauce over the chicken.


Levana's Tomato Turmeric Chicken:
Brown the chicken...
Add the spices...
it smells SO good!
sprinkle with pepper too...
These tomatoes were HUGE!
(and so gorgeous!)
There really is chicken under there...
The tomatoes reduced just like I hoped...
Levana was right - this chicken was great!

Brown Sugar Chicken:
Check out these complicated ingredients ;-)
Blend the ketchup & brown sugar...
Spoon it over the browned chicken...
Uncover after 30 minutes....
Cook uncovered for another 30 minutes and then...
HOORAY!  It's done!  
Don't blink, or there won't be any left for you to eat!

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,
aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,
The Chicago Tribune Syndication,
 or on Facebook at Edible 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 permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

Congratulations!
KosherEveryday is one of the finalists for the 
2011 CBS Most Valuable Blogger Awards!! 


Sunday, February 19, 2012

Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges & Chicken Leek Soup

Can you smell how good
this is?!!!
This week my daughter had a doctor’s appointment around a half hour away in a suburb of Chicago called Oak Park.  While walking back to the car, we noticed that there was a Penzey’s Spice store just down the street, and decided to take a short field trip to check it out.  We walked into the store and were blown-away by the number of spices in the store (and you’re thinking…What did you expect?  It’s a spice store!) The store didn’t just have your regular variety of spices, they had all kinds of unique and exotic spices as well (What did you expect?  It’s a spice store!).  They have sample jars of spices next to the shelves of the “for sale” jars, so you can actually smell the spices before buying them.  How fun is that?!!  My daughter and I spent at least half an hour walking around and smelling all the fabulous spices they have. Fantastic!  I also asked them about many of the spices they have in stock.  For example, why is it called cracked rosemary?  The reason is because the pieces of rosemary are actually broken into smaller pieces to make them better suited for using in certain dishes.  I did not know that.  I showed my daughter $82 jars of imported saffron and long Madagascar vanilla beans.  It was a great experience.  (Some people take their girls to the mall…we go spice shopping!  It’s all good!).  The sales ladies were incredibly helpful (and nice) too.  It turns out that the store also has catalog magazines with awesome recipes featuring their different spices.  We spent some time looking through them before we left, and ended up buying some wonderful spices with the intention of trying out some of the recipes for this Shabbat – Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges, and Chicken Leek Soup.  The fresh, high quality spices made all the difference.  Everyone that stopped by before Shabbat this week commented on how great my house smelled (and it wasn’t pine cleaner).  When I left the store I had taken the catalogs with me and signed up for the mailing list.  I can’t wait to see what other fragrant and fabulous spices are featured next.

Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges...
We need smell-o-vision!
This week was also Valentine’s Day.  In our house we don’t take it too seriously, but see it as an opportunity to get some great chocolate and creatively say “I love you”.  One year my husband actually wrote out the words: “I Love (a heart shape instead of the word) You” with Hershey’s miniature chocolates pasted to a poster board.  This year, in the interest of doing something totally unexpected, I made my husband a dozen corned beef roses.  The bouquet was hilarious, and my husband was extremely happy to be the recipient of such an unusual gift (he said he should have stopped eating them after the 8th rose!).  Regardless of whether it’s Valentine’s Day or not, I’m thankful for dear husband and “heart” him too!  Oh, and we also made sure to get him some super spicy ground pepper at Penzey’s…just to show how much we love him!

A dozen corned beef roses...
How romantic!!
Spiced Sweet Potato Wedges
Note: The original recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of oil per potato. I cut the recipe to 1 tablespoon for the whole recipe and then gave the potatoes a generous spray with non-stick vegetable spray.  They came out great with less fat.  For them to come out more browned though, you might need to add more oil.  I also doubled the recipe…four potatoes for Shabbat?  That many would be gone by people shnukering them before Shabbat even began!
4              large                   sweet potatoes
1              tablespoon          canola oil
1              teaspoon             thyme
1              teaspoon             cracked rosemary
¼             teaspoon             ground cumin
¼             teaspoon             pepper
¼             teaspoon             Kosher salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 375° F.
Peel and cut the potatoes into wedges.  Toss with the oil and spices.  Bake for 30-45 minutes, turning once halfway through baking.

Chicken Leek Soup
Note:  This is a great recipe for when you are short on time before Shabbat.  It takes minutes to make thanks to ready-made chicken stock, and it’s incredibly fragrant.  You can always use more chicken in this recipe if you like.  I also added more carrots, and you can add you favorite additional vegetables too.  I used 4 cups of low-sodium chicken stock and 2 cups of water instead of 6 cups of stock to reduce the sodium content of the soup.
1              pound                boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1              tablespoon         olive oil
4              cloves                minced garlic
¼ - 1       teaspoon            salt, to taste
1              small                  onion, coarsely diced
2              large                   leeks
½             pound                carrots, sliced
3              tablespoons        flour
6              cups                   chicken stock
1              tablespoon          parsley flakes
1              teaspoon             cracked rosemary
1              tablespoon          thyme

Prepare the leeks by cutting off the roots and the very base of the stalk.  Trim off the dark green top and pull off the tough outer leaves.  Slice them lengthwise down the middle and rinse out any grit under running water.  Once clean, chop as coarsely as you like.  Rinse the chicken thighs and pat dry, then cut into bite-sized pieces.

Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat.  Add the chicken, garlic, salt and pepper and stir frequently until the chicken is browned and thoroughly cooked, about 10 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.  Add a little more oil to the pot (if necessary).  Add the onion, leeks and carrots and cook about 5 minutes, stirring often.  Reduce heat to medium low, add the flour and stir to coat the veggies.  Add the stock and stir while it heats and thickens. Add the chicken and simmer for 10 minutes so the flavors blend.  Add the herbs and simmer another few minutes.  Prior to serving, check the flavor once more and add salt, pepper and extra herbs to your liking.

 Spiced Sweet Potato Wegdes:
All the healthy ingredients...
Peel, then cut the potatoes into wedges...
Add the spices then toss...
Put them in a pan & you're good to go!
Baked and delicious!!

Chicken Leek Soup:
All the ingredients....
Saute' the chicken & garlic...YUM!! 
When it's browned remove it from the pot...
Check out these gorgeous vegetables!
Saute' them in the large pot...
Add the stock and the spices...
It smells SO GOOD!!
Soups ready - perfect for Shabbat!!



Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,
aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,
The Chicago Tribune Syndication,
 or on Facebook at Edible 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 permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

Congratulations!
KosherEveryday is one of the finalists for the 
2011 CBS Most Valuable Blogger Awards!! 

Friday, February 17, 2012

Purim Contest 2012

Here's your chance to win a $25 Visa gift card! 

Purim is a time of turnabout, where nothing is as it seems.   For the first ever Kosher Everyday contest, submit your favorite “It’s not as it seems” (V’nahafoch Hu) recipe.  Some Kosher Everyday examples are last Purim’s Grilled Hamburger Cake, and Corned Beef Roses

The rules are simple: 
1. Share this page on facebook with the comment “I submitted a recipe on www.koshereveryday.com to win a $25 gift card.  You can too!”
2. Submit your favorite “It’s not as it seems” recipe as a comment below, or email it to me at sharon@koshereveryday.com 

Submissions must be entered by March 1, 2012. The winner will be announced and featured in my March 4, 2012 blog. 

Hurry!!  I can’t wait to see what you come up with!!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Hash Brown Potato Kugel

Who knew you could make
a kugel from ready-made
Hash Browns?
After my Hash Brown Potato Latke recipe appeared in the Chicago Tribune, I got an email from, and then spoke on the phone with, a representative of the Simply Potatoes Company thanking me for referencing their product in my article (so cool and so nice of them!).  I also got calls and emails from people asking me where they could buy the Simply Potatoes because after the article appeared the local stores were sold out – amazing!  Afterwards though, I had a bit of a problem.  I had bought so many packages of the hash brown potatoes that I had a few left over – there were only so many potato latkes my family could eat…regardless of how good they were!  Even my family has its limits.  So, I put my remaining two bags in the freezer with a non-binding commitment to the Simply Potatoes people that at some point in time I was going to make a Hash Brown Potato Kugel.  Just for the record, I do not get any kickbacks from the Simply Potatoes people (although I wouldn’t mind one LOL!).  I just really like using their product.

My Norene Gilletz version
of the Potato Kugel
To make my Hash Brown Potato Kugel I turned to my absolute all-time favorite potato kugel recipe. It’s from a cookbook written by one of my favorite authors, and I’ve been making this kugel recipe from The Pleasures of Your Processor by Norene Gilletz since I first got married.  In the past year I’ve actually gotten to know Noreen a little bit and she’s awesome, and so are her recipes.  Simple, but completely excellent.  Now that I have my newer, larger, freakishly powerful food processor I make huge batches of the potato kugel recipe (as long as I can get help peeling all those potatoes!).  When trying to plan this weeks’ menu I decided to go for it and make the Hash Brown Potato Kugel using my favorite basic potato kugel recipe but substituting the hash browns for the raw potatoes.  No guests this week, so no matter how the kugel turned out just my family would be the guinea-pigs.

In the end the kugel was incredibly easy to make.  I tossed all the ingredients into one big bowl, mixed it up, put it in a pan and baked it.  It doesn’t get much easier than that!  Compared to the “old-fashioned” ground potato version that I also made today, the Hash Brown Potato Kugel didn’t brown on top quite as nicely as the tried and true one – but it did have beautiful crispy edges.  I guess as you might expect, scratch is best but if you need a terrific shortcut – Simply Potatoes is the answer (is my case of Simply Potatoes in the mail yet?  Just kidding!).

Hash Brown Potato Kugel
2              packages             Simply Potatoes Hash Browns (1.25 pounds each)
1              large                    onion (or two medium/small), finely chopped (I use a food processor)
3              large                    eggs
¼             cup                      oil
¼             cup                      flour
1 ½          teaspoons            salt
¼             teaspoon             black pepper
                                           non-stick vegetable spray

Preheat oven to 350° F.  Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick vegetable spray.  Set aside.

Place all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix until thoroughly combined, then transfer to prepared baking dish.  Bake for 60 minutes until golden brown.

 All the ingredients....
 You've seen these Hash Browns before!
(All the ingredients mixed together)
 Put it in a pretty kugel pan then bake!
 Can't wait to eat it...and it was so easy to make!! 

 Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,
aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,
The Chicago Tribune Syndication,
 or on Facebook at Edible 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 permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

Congratulations!
KosherEveryday is one of the finalists for the 
2011 CBS Most Valuable Blogger Awards!! 





Sunday, February 5, 2012

Dried Fruit Soup

The perfect Tu B'Shvat Soup!!
Happy Birthday Trees!! On the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Shevat we celebrate Tu B’Shvat – the birthday of the trees.   We celebrate by eating fruits that grow on trees, preferably those that grow in Israel.   Since Tu B’Shvat generally falls out in the middle of winter it’s often difficult to get good fresh fruits - so we stick with dried dates, figs, raisins and boksor (A.K.A carob)…although we’re still trying to figure out if there’s another way to eat the boksor aside from just sucking on it!  I designated my large boys in charge of the Tu B’Shvat fruit this year and I think they came up with the idea of lots of dried fruits along with fruit smoothies.  I’m looking forward to being surprised! 

My contribution to Tu B’Shvat this year is one of my favorite summer soups – Dried Fruit Soup.  Made from healthy dried fruits then chilled, it’s perfect for a summer meal when you prefer a cold, refreshing soup.  This soup is also great for Tu B’Shvat and winter time when it’s hard to get good in season fresh fruit – the dried fruit works really well.  This recipe is also incredibly simple to make with just 4 ingredients, and if you have extra less than stellar looking fresh fruit in your refrigerator (like those apples that no one will eat) you can peel and dice the fruit and toss it in too.  Simmering the soup for an hour rehydrates the dried fruit and concentrates the flavors of the fruit and flavored gelatin, with no additional sugar required.  (I know there’s sugar in the gelatin – you don’t need to add more sugar!).  I like to garnish this soup with a little (read: a lot) whipped cream to add some creaminess to the soup, aside from the fact that the cream is pretty tool!  Topped with additional fruit as a garnish, you’re Tu B’Shvat soup is good to go!

I’d love to hear about your additions to this recipe – please keep me posted!

Happy Birthday Trees!

Dried Fruit Soup
12           cups                   water
24           ounces                dried fruit assortment
3              3 ounce              packages raspberry gelatin
1              tablespoon         lemon juice
                                         additional peeled and cut up fresh fruit (optional)
                                               
Place all the ingredients in a large stock pot.  Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 60 minutes.  Allow the soup to cool, then refrigerate for at least four hours until completely chilled.  Serve topped with optional whipped cream and additional fresh fruit if desired.

Note: For a less sweet soup use two packages of gelatin and 1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice.

All the ingredients...
 Add the fruit to the water...
(you can cut it up into smaller pieces if you like) 
 Add the gelatin - you can pick your 
favorite flavor!
 SO thick and pretty!
 Chill baby - then it's soup time!!

And the smoothies turned out great!!!  Thanks boys!!




Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com,
aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine,
The Chicago Tribune Syndication,
 or on Facebook at Edible 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 permission from Sharon Matten. Thank you!!

Congratulations!
KosherEveryday is one of the finalists for the 
2011 CBS Most Valuable Blogger Awards!!