Rosh Hashanah Recipes 2015!

With the advent of the Hebrew month of Elul and shofar blowing every morning, it is clear that Rosh Hashanah is just a few weeks away.  We start to prepare the physical aspects of the Holiday, and work to uplift ourselves spiritually,.  We want everything to be special and meaningful for the New Year.  Our meals have particular significance, with Rosh Hashanah “simanim” foods such as beets, carrots, leeks, pomegranates, honey, round challahs, fish, and dates, just to name a few on our table.  In our efforts to elevate ourselves, we give special important characteristics to our foods.  After all “you are what you eat”!   By assigning spiritual attributes to our Rosh Hashanah foods we uplift our meals from the mundane to the holy.  We are saying that we recognize that our foods are not just sustenance, but have the ability to bring us closer to G-d.

I hope that these recipes will help uplift your Rosh Hashanah and the rest of your New Year!  Shanah Tova!!

Pomegranate and dried cherry glazed chicken skewers (20-24 skewers)

The blessing for pomegranates on Rosh Hashana is: “...sheyirbu zechuyotenu” may our merits be increased.

These skewers make a beautiful appetizer. I like to use the ridiculously red Torani pomegranate syrup which gives the skewers a beautiful red color.  It can be found in the liquor section of your local grocery store. If you can’t find it, you can also use any other pomegranate syrup in it’s place.

1 ½-2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts - around 3 breasts

2 cups pomegranate syrup (like Torani)

1 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon canola oil

½ cup dried cherries

24 7” long skewers

non-stick vegetable spray

additional dried cherries for garnish

Line a large baking sheet with foil.  Spray with non-stick vegetable spray.  Set aside

Remove the tenders from each chicken breast.  Set aside.  With a very sharp boning knife, slice the chicken breasts in half to give two very thin cutlets. Slice each half into 3 long strips.  Repeat with the remaining cutlets.  If the tenders are thick, slice them in half for 2 thin tenders. 

Thread the chicken onto the skewers.  Place into a large baking dish with at least 2” sides.  Pour the pomegranate syrup over the chicken and let marinate for 30-45 minutes, turning the chicken periodically.

Place the skewers on the prepared baking sheet, reserving the marinade.   Broil on medium, with the pan in the middle of the oven, until the chicken is cooked through but not dry.

While the chicken is baking, place the marinade in a 4 quart pot.  Add the cornstarch, soy sauce and canola oil.  Whisk until the cornstarch is completely blended.  Cook on medium-low heat until the sauce thickens.  Add the dried cherries.  Stir to combine.

When the chicken is cooked through, remove from oven and spoon sauce over them.  Serve warm with additional dried cherries as garnish.

Honeyed spiralized red/gold beet salad

The blessing for honey on Rosh Hashana is: “...shetichadesh aleynu shana tova umetuka” We should have a new good and sweet new year.  The blessing for beets on Rosh Hashana is: “...sheyistalku oyveinu” our adversaries should disappear.

I’m a kitchen gadget lover - but only useful kitchen gadgets!  The latest (and greatest) kitchen gadget to hit the market is the spiralizer.  It takes “boring” vegetables and makes them cool and pretty.  This salad will wow your guests with its taste and beauty.  If you don’t have a spiralizer you can julienne the beets instead.

2 medium yellow/golden beets

2 medium red beets

1/2 small onion thinly sliced

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 teaspoon dried parsley, or 1 tablespoon fresh parsley

Spiralize the gold beets into a medium bowl, then spiralize the red beets into a separate larger bowl.  Reserve the extra pieces from the spiralizer and set aside for the Beet Borscht. 

Add the onion and honey to the red beets.  Add the gold beets to the larger bowl and toss to combine.  Top with the dried parsley.  Serve room temperature or cold.

Fresh Beet Borscht

When I first started spiralizing beets, I ended up with the extra ends and middles. When you end up with extra beets...you make borscht!  I remember going to my Bubbies house as a young girl and sharing borscht “mit potatoes and sour cream” along with a “glezzle of teh”.  As I’m the only one of my immediate family members who has fond beet memories - this borscht will be all for me!!!

I added beet root powder to this recipe to give the borscht a more beety, borschty flavor.  You can purchase kosher beet root powder on amazon.com or at your local health food store.  If you can’t find it you can just omit it from the recipe.

2 large beets, sliced into 1 ½ by ¼ inch strips

remaining beet scraps from the spiralized beet salad cut into small strips

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons beet root powder (optional) - but give the borscht a more borschty flavor)

8-10 cups water (8 if not adding the beet root powder)

Combine all the ingredients into a large stock pot.  Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.  Cook for 1 hour.  Serve hot or cold, topped with boiled potatoes and/or sour cream.  Thanks Bubbie!!!

Honey and Cracked Rosemary Tri-Colored Roasted Carrots 

(1 pound)

The blessing on Rosh Hashanah for carrots is: “...”sheyikareh g’zar dinenu, v’yikru lifanechah zechuyoteinu” The decree of our sentence be torn up, and that our merits be proclaimed before You.

I recently found gorgeous multi-colored baby carrots in my local restaurant supply store.  I was grocery cart snooping (as always!) and the gentleman in the next aisle had them on his industrial sized cart. My first thought was  - ROSH HASHANA! I asked him where he had found them, then ran to grab my own 5 pound package.  Sadly, my package only had orange and yellow ones - there were only 2 package left and none with purple carrots.  Big. Sad. Face.  When I returned with my carrots, sad that I didn’t have the beautiful purple ones  - he gallantly offered to give me his!!! Thank you my fellow shopping hero.  I hope you have a happy and healthy New Year!

You can find multi-colored carrots at Trader-Joe’s and some grocery and fruit stores.

This recipe can be doubled or tripled or quadrupled etc.

1 pound tri-colored carrots

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 tablespoon wildflower honey

1 teaspoon cracked rosemary, or 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary chopped

salt and pepper to taste

non-stick vegetable spray

additional honey for drizzling

Preheat oven to 325℉ or 300℉ convection for a convection oven. 

Line a large baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick vegetable spray.  Set aside.

Scrub the carrots clean, then thoroughly dry them. Place them in a large bowl and toss with the oil and honey.  Arrange them on the prepared baking tray, making sure that they don’t overlap.  Sprinkle the rosemary, salt and pepper on the carrots.  Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the carrots.  Return the carrots to the oven and bake for an additional 15-30 minutes until the carrots are slightly browned and soft.

Remove the carrots from the oven and arrange on a serving tray.  Drizzle with additional honey before serving.

No-Bake Pomegranate Mousse Pie  (makes two 9” pies)

This is the perfect light and creamy ending to your huge Yom Tov meal. It’s quick to make, and doesn’t require precious oven time to prepare. Using ready-made graham cracker crusts also speeds up prep time so you have more time to spend with your family and guests!

• 2 9” ready-made graham cracker crust
• .3 ounce package Double Berry Jel Dessert 
• ½ cup Pomegranate Cranberry Juice Blend, cold or room temp (I use Langers)
• 4 cups whipping cream, divided
• Dried cranberries and/or fresh pomegranate seeds for garnish

Combine dessert jel and juice in a small bowl. Fill a small saucepan with 1 ½ inches of water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a very low simmer. Set the small bowl in the saucepan and stir until mix is completely dissolved in the juice and warm to the touch (not hot). Remove from the water and set aside.

Whip 2 cups of whipping cream until stiff peaks form. Add the Jel/juice mixture to the whipped cream and re-whip until stiff. Spoon into the ready-made graham cracker crusts. Smooth the top using an offset spatula.

Whip the remaining 2 cups of whipping cream. Spread or pipe decoratively on the top of the filling. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Slice and serve garnished with dried cranberries or fresh pomegranate seeds. Can be made in advance and frozen. Defrost slightly before serving.

Note: For an even bigger pomegranate flavor, add 2 teaspoons of pomegranate extract flavoring to the mousse.

 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,

JewishExponent.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!!

Grilled Lamb Kebobs

"New" Grilled Lamb Kebobs...
Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!!

For many years, our dear friends Rabbi Zev S. and Mrs. Andy S. used to come with their family to our house for the second day of Sukkot.  They came every year until Rabbi S. got a job as the Rabbi of a neighborhood Shul, and Rabbinical responsibilities kept them from our long standing Sukkot lunch.  Then when Rabbi S. finally left that job, the family made Aliya and it was too far to walk…

In order to “keep it interesting” and to avoid the S. family saying “She made that again!! We just had that last year!!!” I used to prepare the food of a different nationality every year.  That meant lot’s of different culinary themes to explore, and never the same meal twice!  It was a lot of fun going to the library and searching for cookbooks of each nationality, and then finding the traditional dishes from each country.  I also searched online, but there’s something about picking up a cookbook and getting a feel for the nuances of the culture through the collection of recipes and photographs of the food – all in one book.  We had Italian, French (yes I did make fries that year), American, Chinese, Mexican, and even Greek food one year – plus a few others, but it was so long ago I can’t even remember which ones they were! 

I have been thinking about those lunches a lot lately because I have had a huge craving for one of the dishes I made the “Greek” year – GRILLED LAMB KEBABS.  My subconscious has been stuck on that dish!  At least that’s what I thought it was stuck on.  Working from my recollection of the recipe, I went to the store and bought ground lamb.  When I went to go look for the actual kebob recipe in my computer recipe database, all I found was a recipe for Greek Lamb Kebabs – made with chunks of lamb…not ground lamb.  I was thoroughly confused – it wasn’t the recipe I remembered!  I then went to my recipe binder and continued to search for the recipe that was causing the mix-up.  I finally found the one I was looking for – except it was a recipe for ground chicken kebabs!  In my overworked brain I had somehow merged together two recipes and come up with a third alternative!!  They say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade…well, I had ground lamb – I was making ground lamb kebobs!!  I did my best to take the flavors from the Greek Kebobs I remembered so fondly and merge it with the properties of the chicken ones I had retrieved from my internal brain database.  I also remembered to soak the skewers so they didn’t go up in flames on the grill (I only needed to make that mistake once!).  They smelled great while grilling!  I can’t wait to satisfy that craving!!!  I’m sure once you try them, you’ll be craving more too!!

We miss you Rabbi Zev & Mrs. Andy S.!!

GRILLED LAMB KEBABS

2          pounds             ground lamb

2          cloves               garlic, crushed

¼         teaspoon          black pepper

½         teaspoon          ground cumin

½         teaspoon          oregano

1          teaspoon          crushed red pepper

1          tablespoon        parsley, finely chopped

1          large                 egg

16                                shish kebob skewers

                                    olive oil

Preheat the grill to medium heat.  If using wooden skewers, soak the skewers in water for at least 30 minutes before grilling.

In a large bowl, combine the ground lamb and spices.  Mix until spices are evenly distributed.  Mix in the egg until thoroughly combined.

Shape the lamb into a large log.  Divide the meat into 8 slices, then cut each slice in half, making 16 sections.  Roll each of the 16 sections into a “sausage” shape.   Take a soaked skewer and brush olive oil on the top half.  Slide the lamb “sausage” over the skewer.  Flatten slightly, and lightly coat with oil.  Set aside and repeat with remaining lamb “sausages”.

Place kebabs on the grill, and cook for 10 minutes.  Brush the kebobs with additional oil and flip. Grill for an additional 5 minutes until cooked through.  Serve warm.

 All the ingredients - 

don't forget to soak the skewers!

 After mixing the ingredients,

form them into a log.

 Cut the log into 16 pieces then

form them into sausages...

 Put them on skewers then flatten.

Then...it's grilling time!!!

 Grilled Lamb Kebobs - almost

like they have in Greece!!

(sort of...)

Look for additional information about Edible Experience Kosher Everyday at www.koshereveryday.com, aish.com,

 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!!