The BEST Hamantashen

Happy Purim!

We all just love Hamantashen and we only make this to enjoy once a year during the Jewish Holiday Purim.   These are delicious little trangle shaped pastries filled with anything you like.  The most traditional fillings are Prune, Poppy Seed and Apricot jam but anything really goes!  So fill them with any topping you like!  Favorites in my house are Strawberry, Raspberry and Fig jam and as you can imagine Nutella is a big hit!

When we were still living in NJ we would go every year to our Chabad's Hamantash Bake and this is the BEST recipe from our Rabbi's wife, Malky.  If you still haven't found the perfect Hamantashen recipe, look no further!  You will not be disappointed.

I'm excited for the kids to make this with me again this year!

Ingredients:

3 Eggs
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
3/4 Oil (vegetable or canola)
1/4 Cup Orange Juice
3 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla
3 Teaspoons baking powder
5-5 1/2 Cups Flour

Preparation:

In a large bowl beat eggs and sugar together until combined.  Add oil, vanilla and orange juice and mix until incorporated.  Next add baking powder and just enough flour until you form a dough that is not sticky.  Keep extra flour on hand and you can always add more if needed.   (dough can be made ahead, formed into a flat disc, wrapped in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours if needed)

On a floured surface, using a floured rolling pin, roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thickness.  Use a circle cookie cutter or you can kick it "Old School" like I do and use the top of a glass to cut out as many circles as you can from your dough.

To form your Hamantashen place about 1/2 teaspoon of your filling in the center of your circle of dough and pinch or fold your dough into a triangle.  Please see diagram below:

Bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes until the dough is slightly brown on the bottom of pastry.

*Flavors show: Fig, Apricot, Strawberry, Lemon and Chocolate.

How to Fold a Hamantashen:

Marshmallow Snowmen Stirrers

How cute are these little guys?  My kids are obsessed with hot chocolate lately so I thought it would be fun to dress up their mugs as an activity one day after school.   These cute marshmallow stirrers are so easy to make and the kids can definitely help.  They would also be cute to have pre-made for a holiday party as a stirrer or just a yummy little winter treat.

Ingredients:

Wooden skewers

Large marshmallows

Rolo chocolate candy for hat (or any small round chocolate candy. i.e; junior mints etc.)

Orange fruit slices (or any orange gummy candy that can be cut to look like a carrot)

White icing/frosting (very small amount for glue to adhere the nose)

Black writing gel

Preparation:

First put 1 marshmallow onto the skewer, next add half a marshmallow for the head.  If you squeeze the marshmallow a little you can get it to be slightly smaller than body.  Last add the Rolo for the hat.   Cut your orange candy slices into small triangles for the nose.  You can adhere the nose with a tiny bit of white icing.   Use the black writing gel to make eye and 3 buttons down the body.   I found my gel was coming out too fast and making huge blobs so I put a blob of writing gel on a paper plate and then using the pointy side of another skewer I dipped it in the black gel and then used that to add my eyes and buttons.

If when all is said and done and you don't feel like making these from scratch you could always buy these adorable peep snowmen at a the grocery store which are really cute too!  Please let us know if you try these.  We would LOVE to see pics of your little snowmen on our Facebook page ;)  Just click the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/EverydaySistersBlog

Heart Shaped Cupcakes (using a regular round cupcake pan)

 

Happy Valentine's Day!!

 

I wanted to make some Valentine's Day cupcakes to donate to my children's school PTA Valentine's Day Bake Sale.   I have seen this technique around Pinterest and other Food blogs but have never tried it myself.  This is so simple and they come out adorable with no special tools or cupcake tins.  All you need is 24 marbles or large round glass beads, two regular round cupcake pans and 24 cupcake liners and you are all set.  You can of course make your favorite cupcake and frosting recipes but in a pinch a boxed mix and canned frosting works out great!

 

Ingredients:

 

Cake batter, prepared (any flavor you like)

1 container frosting, any flavor/color

2- 12 cupcake pans

24 cupcake liners

24 marble or large round glass beads

sprinkles or decorations optional

 

Preparation:

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.  Prepare cake batter according to box directions or recipe.   Pour batter about 1/2 - 2/3 full and then carefully place a marble between pan and cupcake liners to make indentation (as seen in picture below).  I have also placed marbles in-between pan and liners before pouring in batter.  I think this might be easier and you will not accidently overfill liners although either way will work.  Bake cupcakes for 20-23 minutes.  Cool completely on rack before frosting.  Now you can be creative and frost and decorate your cupcakes anyway you like.

 

Line

 

 

 

Irish Soda Bread

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY

I have a "thing" for Irish Soda bread.....maybe it's the Jewish girl in me ;).  I love this recipe.  I made it last year and I thought it was delicious. I hope you'll try it too.

Ingredients:

4 to 4 1/2 cups flour

2 Tbsp sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 Tbsp butter

1 cup raisins

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 3/4 cups buttermilk

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425°. Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl.  Using your (clean) fingers (or two knives or a pastry cutter), work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse meal, then add in the raisins.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk to well and mix in with a wooden spoon until dough is too stiff to stir. Dust hands with a little flour, then gently knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball. If the dough is too sticky to work with, add in a little more flour. Do not over-knead! Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf. Note that the dough will be a little sticky, and quite shaggy (a little like a shortcake biscuit dough). You want to work it just enough so that the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together. Shaggy is good. If you over-knead, the bread will end up tough.  Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased cast-iron skillet or a baking sheet (it will flatten out a bit in the pan or on the baking sheet). Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" shape. The purpose of the scoring is to help heat get into the center of the dough while it cooks. Transfer to oven and bake until bread is golden and bottom sounds hollow when tapped, about 35-45 minutes. (If you use a cast iron pan, it may take a little longer as it takes longer for the pan to heat up than a baking sheet.) Check for doneness also by inserting a long, thin skewer into the center. If it comes out clean, it's done.

Slow Cooker Applesauce

Every year for our annual Chanukah get together I always make the applesauce. For years I have been making a microwave version from one of the Silver Palette Cookbooks. It is pretty easy but has a whole cup of sugar in it so I really wanted to try to find one that has less sugar since the apples are pretty sweet as it is and no one needs the extra sugar. After searching a few blogs I found this one from skinnytaste.com that you make in the slow cooker. It is sooo easy. The hardest part is peeling the apples. I altered it slightly because it said to cook for 6 hours on low and I found after 3 1/2 - 4 hours it was done. I also added a little water to the pot, about 1/2 cup because I was worried the apples might burn without any liquid. It was really delicious and my whole house smelled of warm apples and cinnamon!

Ingredients:

8 medium apples ( I used 4 Granny Smith and 4 Gala but any combination would work)

1 strip of lemon peel

1 tsp of fresh lemon juice

3 inch cinnamon stick

5 tsp light brown sugar (unpacked)

1/2 C water

Preparation:

Peel, core, and slice the apples. Place them in the slow cooker. Add the cinnamon stick, lemon peel, lemon juice, brown sugar and water.

Set slow cooker to low and cook for 4-6 hours. Stir occassionally, apples will slowly become delicious applesauce. Remove cinnamon stick and lemon peel. Use and immersion blender to blend until smooth or if you prefer a chunky sauce, leave sauce intact.

Makes about 3 cups.

Easy Saucy Brisket

Our family loves a good brisket! We are always trying new ways to make it. This recipe comes from my Mom and seems to be the new family favorite.

Ingredients:

4-5 lb first cut brisket

olive oil

1/2 C ketchup

1/2 C bottled bbq sauce

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 C apple cider vinegar

1/2 C duck sauce

1 envelope onion soup mix

1/2 C water

3-4 bay leaves

Preparation:

Brush oil on meat and sear on all sides to seal in juices. Place in a 3 qt. roasting pan. Combine ketchup, bbq sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, duck sauce, onion soup mix with water. Spread sauce over brisket and place bay leaves around the pan.

Bake uncovered for about 2 hours or until tender.

Cool. Cut meat into thin slices and return to pan, cover with foil and cook another 1/2 hour.

Before serving remove bay leaves from sauce.

Charoset

Charoset is a sweet, dark-colored, chunky paste made of fruits and nuts served primarily during the Passover Seder. Its color and texture are meant to recall the mortar with which the Israelites bonded bricks when they were enslaved in Ancient Egypt The word "charoset" comes from the Hebrew word cheres  "clay." It is quite tasty and can be made many different ways.  When I was little we used only apples, walnuts and sweet red wine to make the charoset...very basic.  Theses days we add a bunch of different dried fruits to jazz it up a bit.  You can used any dried fruit that you like and it would taste fantastic.  

Ingredients:

3 apples, chopped 1 cup finely chopped walnuts 1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped 1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 1/2 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons lemon juice 1/2 cup sweet red wine

Preparation:

Place the apples, cherries, apricots and walnuts into a large bowl. Sprinkle cinnamon over the apples. Stir in the honey, lemon juice and wine. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until serving.

Carrot Souflee

This is a new Passover recipe that I tried this year.  I wanted to make our usual Carrot Souflee but I didn't have all the right ingredients so I found a recipe with the ingredients I did have on hand and of  course tweeked it a bit.  Everyone really loved it, especially my Dad.

Ingredients:

1 lb fresh carrots, boiled until soft
3 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1/3 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons matzoh meal
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 stick margarine, melted

Topping:
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons margarine, melted
1 cup chopped walnuts (I used sliced almonds)
Preparation:

Place carrots and egg yolks into food processor & puree. Add next 5 ingredients and process until smooth. Whip egg whites in a separate bowl and fold into carrot mixture.  Bake in greased casserole dish at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Meanwhile mix brown sugar, melted margarine and chopped nuts in a small bowl and set aside.  After 40 minutes remove souflee from the oven add topping and bake for 5-10 minutes more.

Can be made a day in advance.

Guest Blogger Mondays....Homemade Horseradish by Marni

GUEST BLOGGER of the week 

Marni

About Marni: I am married and a stay at home mom.  My daughter Grace is 8 yrs old.  I love to cook and entertain.  I am also an avid scrapbooker.  I have friends over to scrapbook all the time and always make my own appetizers and snacks for my guests.  I love to try new recipes and get new ideas for holiday cooking. 

Homemade Horseradish

I was just married and hosting my first Passover Sedar.  I wanted to make my grandparents proud.  So what was a good little Jewish girl to do?  So, I decided to make homemade horseradish.  Oye!  What was I thinking?! Well, I have to say it went over very well, and I think I made them proud!  :).  Now I am happy to say I have started a new tradition and I am really looking forward to passing it down to my Gracie girl!

Good luck and Happy Passover!

I make enough for the year.  It goes  well in bbq sauce and when making your own shrimp cocktail sauce too. :)

PS If you have a sinus problem well, you will be cleared for that day!  :)

Advisory:  When making, be near a open window! 

Ingredients:

2 cups peeled and cubed Fresh horseradish root
1 1/2 cups of white vinegar
2 tablespoons of sugar
dash of salt
dash of white pepper

Preparation:
Put cubed horseradish chunks in the food processor (shredding disc) and shred.
Then after shredded, use the steel blade and pulse until you get the consistency you like.
Remove the horseradish into a bowl then add vinegar and S/P.  Jar and refrigerate.

Hamentashen

Happy Purim

I have tried many many different recipes for hamentashen which is the traditional cookie eaten on the holiday of Purim. I finally found a very good one on the internet and they are a big hit with the whole family.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

5 1/2 cups flour

Preparation:

Beat eggs well. Add oil and sugar, beating well. Beat in vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add flour until a dough forms. Chill dough for at least an hour. May be chilled overnight bit let it sit out a while so it is not so cold. The dough will be easier to work with. Roll the dough onto a floured board. Cut into 3 inch rounds using the top of a glass. Dough should be about 1/4 " thick.

Place a heaping teaspoon of filling in the center. Some good fillings are apricot jam, strawberry jam, nutella, chocolate chips, Solo poppyseed filling, and prune butter.

Take a little water and wet the outside edge of the circle. Draw up the sides to form a triangle and pich the corners closed. Place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.

Everyday Thanksgiving

Since we started this blog in January I didn't want to wait another whole year to document Thanksgiving which is many of our favorite holiday.  We all get together the day before Thanksgiving at Susan's house to drink wine, enjoy eachother's company and of course cook.  (IN THAT ORDER).

The wine has been poured so let's get started.........

The Menu

Pomegranite Cosmopolotians

Spiceds Mixed Nuts

Crudite with Hummus

Butternut Squash Soup

Pumpkin Muffins

Goat Cheese & Carmelized Onion Crostini

Turkey and Herbed Gravy

Traditional Stuffing (Mom's Stuffing)

Cornbread & Chestnut Stuffing

Cranberry Strawberry Compote

Cranberry Jello Mold

Roasted Root Vegetables

Cauliflower and Parsnip Puree

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Mashe Sweet Potatoes with Mini Marshmallows

String Beans with Almonds

Pecan Pumpkin Pie with Whipped Cream

Chocolate Chip Meringue Bars

Cranberry Pistaschio Biscotti

Mixed Berries with Mango and Figs

Susan

Karen

Nanci

No picture of me.....which was fine by me because I had a very unfortunate hair coloring incident so I would've deleted any pictures of me anyway!

The Table

Kids Table Center Piece

(totally edible)

 

My Sisters