Hey all my dear old Kosher
Everyday friends…remember me?!! I know
it’s been a while but I haven’t forgotten you!
Things have been a little crazy around here!! I’ve been collecting recipes and writing
volumes of articles (in my head of course) and the minute I sit down to write,
something comes up. My head hurts from all the articles rattling around in it
;-). Work has B”H been super busy, but
we all know that desserts spelled backwards is stressed – and making
sure that all my customers are happy is incredibly rewarding but making
desserts until all hours of the night is stressful!! Everyone is always saying that the way to
deal with stress is to make sure to take time for yourself. Get a manicure, go shopping, take a bath,
read a book, exercise. For better or for worse I often find comfort in
food. While that’s not too great for my
waistline (we can talk about that later!), good food can be
comforting.
Now I have been trying to eat
more foods that are gluten free (HOORAY!
I’m a GFE!!). Although I’m not
allergic to gluten, I find I do feel better when avoiding it. I was SO happy when my sample box came from Goldbaum’s. I wrote about Goldbaum’s a few months ago
when I met them at Kosherfest
2012. The Goldbaum’s Company makes awesome
gluten-free products, such as pasta, snacks, and even ice cream cones!! I’m not sure how they do it, but their
products are fabulous and taste almost like they’re gluten-filled! My go-to lunch lately has been Super Easy
Pasta & Cheese. Basically, it’s
a lunch that I toss into a skillet, go about my business, and poof, a warm,
comforting, cheesy, lunch is ready before I turn around. They only annoying part is having to wash the
skillet! Also in my Goldbaum’s survival
kit were some yummy crunchy snacks. They
are incredibly light but really crunchy!
My dear Mother in Law (KIH) a nutritionist and a GFE, was in town
this past week. I eagerly showed her my GFE loot and offered to share. She was excited about the pasta – it was
great, but less than excited about the snacks.
They are great for a quick crunch but a little lacking in nutritional
components. I guess that’s why they’re
called snacks! Anyway, it
was incredibly convenient to toss one of those bags of chips into my bag for a
quick grab-and-go snack. I’m also really
looking forward to trying the ice cream cones…I’m waiting until I’m having a
crisis that only an ice cream cone can
solve.
 |
| The Rutger's Chabad Dorm... it's HUGE!! |
This past week my dear son and I
took a day trip to visit Rutgers University in New Jersey where I”H he will be
going to school in the fall. The campus
is beautiful and the brand, spankin’-new Chabad dorm he’ll be staying in
(I”H!!) is GORGEOUS!! We didn’t have a
lot of time, as we flew in in the morning and flew out the same night, but we
did have time to grab a pizza and sushi dinner at Jerusalem
Pizza in Highland Park. The pizza
and sushi were excellent of course, but what struck me was a spiraled potato on
a skewer sitting on the counter. Yes, I
did ask permission to take a picture of it.
It was so cool!! A while
ago my girls and I experimented with making spiral
potatoes but we had a little trouble having them not clump together while
they were frying. The ingenious skewer
solved that whole problem! So, before
Shabbat we set to making our own version of Skewered Spiral Fries. It was SO MUCH FUN!! They are fabulous looking and evenly fried
due to the stick! I was a little
nervous that this stick might catch on fire, but it was fine in the oil. Whew! Thank goodness my friends at the local Fire
Department didn’t have to come visit!!
The spiral tool we used was an inexpensive little gadget that can be
bought at most kitchen supply stores, although some people even have a
fancy-shmancy spiral cutter that can be bought online. I have a few of the cheap ones, and if you
come into our kitchen while we’re spiraling fries you can watch us being
challenged to keep them all in one piece while cutting them. It’s not that easy!! I’ll tell you this – a little salt and these
fries are super delicious! Bonus
– they’re great for the GFE!!
I’ll add a few pictures of my
latest creations – just so you don’t feel left out of my chaos the past few
weeks. It’s never dull in the
Matten house – thank G-d!!!
Super
Easy Pasta & Cheese (Great for the GFE - Gluten Free Eater!)
Nonstick
vegetable spray
¾ cup milk
1 ½ cups
cooked Pasta (Goldbaums GFE!!)
3-4 slices
American cheese (I use the ones from the 3 lb brick), torn into large pieces
¼ teaspoon
fine sea salt (optional)
Preheat a
large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
Spray with non-stick vegetable spray.
Add milk, pasta and cheese. Warm,
stirring occasionally, until cheese is completely melted and the sauce is thick
and creamy. Sprinkle with sea salt. Enjoy!!
Skewered
Spiral Fries
Small red
potatoes
Canola oil
for frying
Spiral
cutter tool
Long skewers
Coarse sea
salt
Preheat the
oil over medium-high heat to 350° F. Using the spiral cutter tool, cut a potato
into one long spiral. Push a skewer all
the way through the center of the potato, opening up the spiral on the
skewer. Place into the hot oil
maintaining the 350° F temperature. Fry
the potato until crispy. Repeat with
remaining potatoes. Sprinkle the fries
with salt. Serve hot!
Lowfat, cholesterol free, sodium free,
gluten free, easy to digest!
(It's all right there on the label!)
Start with the basics...
Add the cheese...
(this really can't be much easier)
It's melting...
and melting...
and melting...
and melting...
SO creamy...and cheesy...
and OMG!!!
It's even pretty plated!
The super cheesy sauce is dripping...
She licked the platter clean!
Skewered Spiral Fries
A simple tool - be careful...it's sharp!
A perfect cut!
Skewered...
This oil is really hot!
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble...
SO crispy - wahoo!
Add the salt...
How fun is this??!!
Thanks Jerusalem Pizza in Highland Park, NJ!!
HEY!! No shnukering!!!
(OK, so maybe the little smusher pieces)
Just some stuff I've been up to...
GO HAWKS!!
And now for a little Matten humor
(you never know what dear daughter will draw on next!)
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.
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
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!
