Cinnamon Rugelach

Anyone else around here need some comforting this week?

I don't know about you, but what with the earthquake, the hurricane, and my children being stricken by hives, digestive issues, and nasty viruses, it's been a rather trying week for me.

No complaining from this gal, though.

Funny how these sorts of experiences make you thankful for the small things in life.

I'm glad that our power is back (only 24 hours without it) and that we have running water and (mostly) unspoiled food.

I'm glad that my children are healing (slowly) and that school is starting next week. We'll be back to normal in no time.

And I'm glad we have wonderful treats like these to comfort us and nourish us and keep us happy.

Cinnamon Rugelach, adapted from Culinary Creations
Makes about 2 dozen cookies


DOUGH:
3 cups flour (more or less!)
1 1/2 sticks margarine
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (use extract if you don't have sugar)
a dash of salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast (1/2 a packet)
1/2 cup orange juice

FILLING:
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
oil or margarine
egg yolk, for a wash
Turbinado sugar, optional

First, make the dough. Combine all the ingredients in a stand mixer. Add more flour if needed, till the dough is smooth and not too sticky.

Let the dough rise for about an hour, till doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 350*.

Split the dough into four even pieces. Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Roll one of the pieces of dough into a large circle. Spread it evenly with some oil or margarine. Sprinkle with about 1/4 of the cinnamon-sugar mix, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Use a knife to cut the dough into triangles, pizza style.

Starting from the outside, roll each of the triangles inward to create a traditional rugela shape. Lay the rugelach on a baking sheet, leaving a little room for rising.

Repeat the process with the remaining pieces of dough.

Beat the egg yolk with a bit of water to make a wash. Brush the rugelach with the egg wash and then sprinkle with the Turbinado sugar, if you're using it. (It'll create a little sparkle and a nice crunch.)

Bake for about 25 minutes, till golden. Cool on racks and serve within 2-3 days. (Or freeze them and defrost at room temperature when you're ready to eat them. They freeze beautifully.)

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Moroccan Meat Cigars

Here I sit, less than 24 hours before Shabbos, remembering the wonderful meat cigars we had last week. They were crisp. They were perfectly seasoned. And, best of all, they were lovingly shaped and filled by my almost-twelve-year-old daughters.

Alas, it's not looking too good for us this week. The evening got off to a rocky start with a trip to the pediatrician (for an injury that happened three weeks ago: BAD MOMMY), followed by a long drawn out trip to the pharmacy, and a fit thrown by a not-so-eager-to-get-to-bed child in her terrible twos.

I headed to the kitchen for a cooking therapy session, only to find a broken oven. There went my hopes for rugelach, fruit crisp, and homemade challah.

But at least we have the memories. The fond memories.

And the photos.

Oh. And the recipe.

Moroccan Meat Cigars
makes about two dozen cigars

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced super fine
1 lb. chopped meat
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon allspice
dash of cayenne
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup water
salt, to taste
a package of filo dough
about 1/4 cup olive oil, for brushing

Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and saute over medium heat, till golden. Be sure not to burn it.

Add the meat and cook for a few minutes, stirring, till the meat is browning. Add the spices, water and lemon juice. Cover the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring from time to time, till the meat is cooked through and no longer raw.

Uncover the pan and increase the heat a bit. Cook until all the excess liquid is gone, but be sure not to let the meat burn.

Cool the meat slightly and transfer it to a food processor. Pulse for a minute or two, till the meat is chopped fine, but NOT pureed into a paste. You want it to have some texture, but no chunks.

Now, preheat your oven to 350* and start assembling your cigars. Unroll the filo sheets and use a kitchen scissors to cut the stack of filo sheets into three stacks of rectangles. You'll have about 50 rectangles.  (My sheets were 13x18; I cut them into 13x6 rectangles.) NOTE: You'll only use about 1/2 the dough. Find another use for the rest.

Lay out one thin filo rectangle and brush it with olive oil. Place about a tablespoon of the filling onto the edge of ONE filo rectangle. Leave at least 1/2 inch around the edges.

Fold in the long sides so they come up over the meat filling just a bit.

Roll the filo - starting with the edge closest to the meat - to make a nice neat cigar. 

Brush the tops of the cigars with some more olive oil. 

Bake for about 25 minutes, till crispy and lightly browned. Serve fresh, or set aside for a few hours and reheat in a 325* oven for about 10 minutes. (I'm told that these freeze well but haven't tried it myself. 24 cigars was just the right amount for us hungry peeps.) 

For a vegetarian version, click here. (Use Google Translate to get the recipe in English!) 

Linking this up to Weekend Bloggy Reading and Real Food Digest. 

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Roasted Zucchini and Eggplant Salad (Guest Post)

Today, I'm delighted to be a guest on Kosher on a Budget. Mara Strom, the super talented blogger who authors and runs this wonderful site, is my hero. She saves me money, entertains me, and makes me very happy.

This recipe makes the most of an ingredient that isn't particularly glamorous but is seasonal and fresh in New Jersey now. Roasting zucchini - along with eggplant, tomatoes, and aromatics - brings out wonderful flavors that I never knew were there.

Please visit Kosher on a Budget for the complete recipe and some more photos!

Linking this up to Fit and Fabulous Fridays and Ultimate Recipe Swap. 

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Marinated Zucchini Salad

I'm vacationing this week - mostly at home, with little getaways here and there - so I'll keep this post simple.

This recipe screams summer. It doesn't require an oven or even a stove. It's cool and refreshing, and uses just a few basic seasonal ingredients.

I hope you make it and enjoy it as much as we did.

Marinated Zucchini Salad
Serves 4-6

3 medium sized zucchinis
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Juice of ½ lemon
1 scallion, white and light green part only, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

First, peel the zucchini and then julienne it into very thin matchsticks. Use a mandoline if you have one; if you use a knife, cut the pieces as thin as you can. They need to be really thin to get ‘cooked’ by the marinade.

Mix the oil, salt, lemon juice and scallions in with the zucchini. Let it sit at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or in the fridge for up to 24.

When you’re ready to serve, stir in the mint. This dish works well at room temperature or cold. It’s great as leftovers too, if you have any.

Linking this up to What's in Season, Real Food Wednesday, Ultimate Recipe Swap, and Pennywise Platter Thursday. 

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Linzer Cookies

It isn't every day that you get to leave your kids for the night and spend an evening out on the town with your mom. It isn't every day that you get to sit on the beach for hours reading and sunbathing without being interrupted every ten minutes for drinks, buckets, diapers, and sunblock.

No complaints. Not a one. I love every moment with my family and wouldn't trade it in for the world. But suffice it to say that spending an overnight away from the kids - with my wonderful mother - was a treat. A welcome treat.

So when my mother came to my house for the weekend following our getaway, these cookies were our special treat for her. I know they're not ordinary. But they're a wonderful special occasion cookie that never disappoints.

My daughter Sarah shaping the cookies. 

Linzer Cookies, adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
Makes about 20 cookies


3/4 pound butter or margarine, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup excellent raspberry preserves

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the butter and sugar till just combined. Add the vanilla and mix briefly.

Into a separate large bowl, sift the flour and salt. (Yes. You really have to sift the flour for this recipe if you want a delicate cookie.) Add the sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture.

Mix on low speed for about 2 minutes until the dough JUST starts to come together. Don't overmix or it'll start creaming. Don't undermix or you'll have crumbly dough.

Dump the dough onto a nice large piece of saran wrap and flatten it out. Wrap it up and chill for at least 1/2 hour or up to 24 hours.

When you're ready to bake the dough, remove it from the fridge. Cut it in half and roll each half about 1/4 inch thick. Cut it into rounds (for traditional shaped linzers) or into whatever pretty shapes you have handy. Use a 1-inch circle cutter to cut a hole right in the center of HALF your shapes.

Lay all the cookies onto parchment lined cookie sheets and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350*.

Bake the cookies for 20-25 minutes, until the edges are beginning to brown.

Allow the cookies to cool. If you're going to use them shortly, just set them aside till you're ready to fill them. Or, freeze them for up to a month.

When you're ready to fill the cookies, simple spread a thin layer of raspberry jam on the flat side of the solid shapes. Top with the cut-out cookies. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve.

Linking this up to Weekend Bloggy Reading. 

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Pizzadillas (or Dinner in a Pinch)

It's official. I have over-extended myself. Between my family, my (very) full time job, and my passion for cooking and blogging, I sometimes feel like a rubber-band being pulled in a million directions.

One of my missions this summer is to simplify. Breakfasts, lunches and dinners, but also food shopping, laundry and wardrobes. We don't need fresh meat every week, and we can make do without a complete stock of tomatoes. A sandwich or slice of toast is just fine for breakfast, and an omelette makes a perfectly respectable dinner.

This dish (if you can call it that) was tonight's inspiration. The kids wolfed it up, and - served with a platter of fresh cut veggies - it made for a satisfying and nutritious meal.

Pizzadillas (my creation, named by 11-year-old Sarah)
Serves 2-4, depending how hungry you are!


4 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup tomato sauce
shredded cheese

Preheat the oven to 400*. Put the tortillas on a baking sheet and spoon about 2 tablespoons of sauce onto each tortilla. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the tortillas and bake for about 10 minutes, till the cheese is bubbling.

Serve immediately.

Linking this up to Pennywise Platter Thursday.

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Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp (Baking with Dorie)

There's an unspoken rule about desserts in my household. It goes like this: Don't Serve Anything Without Chocolate.

I don't dare serve fruit desserts to my children for fear of being stoned. There is a certain truth to their arguments. When you're eating dessert, you want decadence. Richness. Amazingness.

I love fruit. Very much. But I'll admit that it is rarely decadent. So how did I get away with making this here crisp as a dessert? Simple. I made it on an ordinary weeknight, when the kids don't feel they are 'entitled' to dessert. (I NEVER serve dessert during the week with the exception of birthdays.)

With that mind-set, my children were the very willing consumers of this lovely crisp. And I learned that a fruit desserts is a great way to add some fun to an ordinary week!

Strawberry Rhubarb Double Crisp, adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours
The original recipe calls for more sugar than this, but I found it overly sweet. My kids, on the other hand, were perfectly happy with the original quantities. Use a full cup of sugar in the filling (instead of 3/4) if you want a sweeter version. I also substituted pecans for the walnuts, and fresh grated ginger for crystallized and ground ginger. 

TOPPING AND CRUST
1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
Pinch of salt
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 stick butter, melted

FILLING
5 stalks rhubarb, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
3 cups (about 12 ounces) strawberries, hulled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350*.

Now, make the topping and crust. Mix together all of the TOPPING AND CRUST  ingredients besides the butter. Add the melted butter and then use a fork to stir the ingredients will well combined.

Spoon half of the mixture into a round pie plate and pat it down to form a crust.

Next, make the filling. Spread the rhubarb over the crust in the pan. Dissolve the cornstarch in water and set it aside.

Combine the strawberries, sugar and ginger in a medium pot and heat gently, over medium-low heat. As it heats up, use a fork or potato masher to gently mash the berries and release some of their juices. When the mixture comes to a full boil, pour in the dissolved cornstarch and stir with a whisk while returning to a boil. Let the mixture cook for just a couple of minutes till it's thick and the cornstarch is well combined. Stir in the vanilla.

Pour the berry mixture over the rhubarb as evenly as you can. Scatter the remaining TOPPING AND CRUST mix evenly over the filling.

Bake for about an hour, until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling. Cool for at least 15 minutes, or longer. (The crisp is also wonderful as leftovers. We enjoyed ours all week!)

Linking this up to Weekend Bloggy Reading, Yummy Mummy, Bizzy Bakes, Sweet Tooth Friday, and Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms.

Read my fellow bloggers' posts over at Baking with Dorie! 

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