Apple Crisp

Here's another dessert for you!  This is a great dessert to bring to someone's house as a gift, especially if you put it in a nice baking dish they can keep after everyone eats it all up!  But don't forget the ice cream!!!

Apple Crisp

For the Crumb Topping:

1 stick unsalted butter or margarine, melted

1 cup flour

1/2 cup oatmeal

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark is fine)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Apple Filling:

5 apples, peeled and sliced thinly (Use any kind of apple or try a variety)

2 lemons, juiced

4 tablespoons sugar (You can mix white and brown sugar for this if you'd like, and feel free to add more sugar if you want the apples to be sweeter.)

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. To make the crumble, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork until pea-sized balls form, set aside.  This can be done ahead of time. Place crumble topping in an airtight container and left in the fridge until you are ready to bake the apple crisp.

Place sliced apples in a bowl and pour half of the lemon juice over the apples to prevent discoloration.  Prepare the rest of the ingredients and pour over apple slices.  Using clean hands mix the contents of the bowl so that the apples are equally coated with all ingredients.  Pour apples into a baking dish and cover with the crumb topping. Bake apple crisp for about an hour or until the apples are fork tender and the crisp is golden brown around the edges. 

NOTE: You can use this recipe with any type of fruit crisp.  Try berry, pear, peach, plum, the options are endless!  If you like raisins try adding some in with the apples.  Or combine pears and apples together. Or apple and cranberries. You get what I mean I hope.  Enjoy!

French Onion Soup

I recently purchased a bunch of these porcelain soup bowls at Sur La Table.  I was thinking I'd try to make French Onion Soup in them with the broiled cheese and all!  I've never made onion soup before so I went to one of my favorite sites, TasteSpotting, and searched through a whole lot of onion soup recipes.  Some called for beef stock others used veal stock.  Some used white wine and some used brandy, cognac, or sherry.  I really just kind of made up my own recipe. So here it is!!

French Onion Soup
(serves 4)


3 large white onions, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
10 sprigs of fresh thyme, tied together using one of the sprigs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup dry sherry
3/4 cup dry white wine
4 1/2 cups water or stock of your choice. (If using water you will need to add 3 tablespoons Osem Chicken Consomme or 3 bouillon cubes)
To top the soup: (optional)
French baguette, sliced on the bias
1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese

Place first 6 ingredients together in a large soup pot.  Turn heat to medium-high and saute onions for about an hour, mixing every now and then.  The onions will turn a dark golden brown color.

Add the sherry and white wine to the pot and de-glaze.  Use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the pot. Let boil for about 15 minutes.

 Now add the water or stock, if using water add the chicken consomme now as well.  Using a pair of tongs take out the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.  Stir and let boil for another 30 minutes.

Place soup in containers until ready to serve.  You can freeze soup up to 6 months.  

When ready to serve, place warmed up soup into 4 oven-safe bowls.  Bake slices of baguette, sprinkled with some olive oil in the oven at 375 degrees until crisp and golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.  Place toasted bread on top of soup and sprinkle it with cheese. Broil soup in the oven until cheese is golden brown and melty, about 5 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is so simple, and only requires 3 ingredients!!  Do you believe it??  You should!!  I've made this soup for a long time now...I think it's my friend's favorite soup that I make.  You can bet that if they know I have just made a batch I can expect a few people to schlep all the way to the Upper East Side of NYC to have some.  It's really healthy and low in calories.  I figured out the calorie count per cup, and it came out to about 243 calories.  This recipe makes about 11 cups of soup.

Butternut Squash Soup
(makes about 11 cups)

1 large onion, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 (20 oz.) packages of peeled and cut up butternut squash or 2-3 whole butternut squashes, cut into large chunks
4 tablespoons of Osem Chicken Consomme or 4 chicken flavored bouillon cubes
water (enough to cover the squash in the pot)

Saute the chopped onion and salt with the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat, about 10 minutes or until soft.  Add the two packages of butternut squash and then fill the pot with water until the squash is just covered.  Add the 4 tablespoons of chicken consomme and stir.  Let pot come to a boil and then simmer on medium heat for about 40 minutes.  When the squash becomes soft and mushy, turn the heat off and use an immersion hand blender to puree the soup in the pot.  Sprinkle with chopped chives, cilantro, or parsley (if you desire some greens) and serve. Enjoy!!

NOTE: If you want a thinner soup, add more water to the pot after it has been pureed. You might need to adjust the amount of salt to taste.  If you want a thicker soup, add another package of squash to the pot and let boil with the rest of it. Also you might need to adjust the salt.

I was able to fill all these containers and then still have a good portion for lunch tomorrow!

Pistachio Cake

This recipe is very much like the Easiest Chocolate Cake I made a few weeks back.  Which by the way got rave reviews from the people I baked it for.  I am baking this recipe for the same people, we'll see what they think!!  I tasted it and it's moist, a nice green color, and deliciously nutty!! If you love pistachios you will be sure to love this one!!!

Pistachio Cake or Muffins

1 box Classic Yellow Cake mix

8 oz. whole shelled pistachios, grounded. (Be sure to reserve 1/2 cup for decoration on top of the frosting)

3 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 1/3 cup water

1 package Pistachio Flavor JELL-O (not prepared)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Put aside 1/2 cup of the ground nuts aside for later. Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl, whisk to combine well, and pour into a loaf pan, muffin tins, etc.  Bake until a cake tester comes out clean and golden brown.

I made 24 mini muffins, and still had left over batter for a 9x9 inch brownie pan. I cooked the mini muffins for 25 minutes and the cake for about 40 minutes. I frosted the mini muffins with Vanilla Bean Frosting.  The frosting is made with confectioner's sugar and Earth Balance Natural Shortening, it's like a vegan version of butter for baking. (Make sure to get the green package, the other one contains salt.) 

I am not frosting them yet, because I want it to be fresh, but here is the recipe for the Vanilla Bean Frosting.  It can be made vegan if you use non-dairy soy milk and vegan natural shortening!!

Vanilla Bean Frosting

2 cups confectioner's sugar (if you want a really sweet icing add more sugar, to taste)

1 cup butter OR Earth Balance Natural Shortening (at room temp.)

1 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste (OR vanilla extract w/the beans of a vanilla bean scraped out)

1 tablespoon milk or soy milk (can be vanilla flavored)

Blend ingredients together and frost cupcakes just before serving.  Sprinkle some ground pistachios on top! (You should have about 1/2 cup leftover from the cake recipe!)

Easiest Chocolate Cake

This is a recipe my mom always makes when she's short for time and wants to serve something homemade, or shall I say semi homemade!  It's super easy, and you can make the recipe in a loaf pan, bundt pan, or cupcakes.  Obviously the cooking time will vary.

Easiest Chocolate Cake
1 box Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake Mix + Ingredients to prepare cake mix (eggs, oil, water)
1 box Jello Pudding, Chocolate Flavor
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray loaf pan (or whatever you choose to use) with non-stick spray.  Follow the back of the cake mix to prepare batter. Add, vanilla and pudding package to the batter.  Mix well.  If you choose to make the cake even more chocolatey, add chocolate chips now and mix with a spoon till well incorporated.

Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.  Lower oven to 325 degrees and bake another 20 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

If you use any other pan, see back of cake mix bow for baking times.  A bundt pan should take about 50 minutes or so.

Enjoy!!

Safta's Apple Cake

Safta means grandma in Hebrew.  This is a recipe that has been in my family since I was little.  My grandma used to make it all the time, and I actually never liked it as a young child.  Now my grandma lives in Florida, so my cousin and mom have continued the tradition of making this cake. It's a family favorite for sure!!  I have gotten to like it as I've grown older, and now I am sharing it with you!  Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Safta's Apple Cake
For the Dough:
2 sticks softened margarine (If you are Kosher make sure it's the Fleischman's Pareve Margarine)
3/4 cups sugar
1/2 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 egg
2 cups + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined into a dough.
Spread half of the dough on the bottom of a well greased spring form pan (could be square or round).  To help spread the dough, grease your hands with non-stick cooking spray or vegetable oil to prevent the dough from sticking all over.  Try to make the bottom cake layer as even as possible.  Place the spring form pan and dough mixture in the food processor in the fridge while you prepare the apple filling.

For the Apple Filling:

4-5 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and grated using the food processor

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1/4 cup flour, OR graham cracker crumbs, OR bread crumbs (to absorb apple juices while baking)

Use the food processor, fitted with a grating blade, grate the apples.  Place grated apples in a bowl along with sugar, lemon juice, flour, and cinnamon.  Mix until well coated.  Use your hands to squeeze out the juice from the apples and place on top of bottom dough layer.  Repeat this step until all the grated apples are evenly spread in the spring form pan.  

Get the dough from the fridge and with greased hands, spread the rest of the dough on top of the apples. Use a fork to poke holes in the cake to allow the steam escape while cooking. You can also use a knife to monogram the cake, like I did (see photo below) when I made this cake for a friend.   

Sprinkle top layer generously with sugar.  Place in oven and bake for about an hour or until golden brown.  Let cool slightly before taking a knife to loosen the edges of the cake from the pan.  Open spring form pan and use large spatula or knife to loosen bottom and slide onto serving platter.  Serve at room temperature, slice, and enjoy. 

Note: If there are leftovers the cake should be refrigerated.

A monogrammed cake makes a great gift to bring to someone's house for dinner!

Chicken Pot Pie

So it seems as though everywhere I turn I am hearing about Chicken Pot Pie. It's been all over the Food Network. Ina's making lobster pot pie, Big Daddy's making Pot Pie Soup, The Neely's are doing it too, even my friend Hilary's mom has been making it....what's all the hype???? So I decided to see for myself what this dish is all about. My version is kosher and made with a puff pastry top. This is going to be my first time making the dish as well as eating it! I'll let you know how it goes...So here's my recipe, Enjoy!

Elia's Version of Chicken Pot Pie (makes five 10 oz ramekins)

2 breasts cooked chicken cut into bite-size pieces (I got help from the store and bought rotisserie chicken)

1 cup frozen peas and carrots

1 cup shelled edamame

2 stalks of celery cut thinly

1 large onion roughly chopped

6 tablespoons olive oil

5 tablespoons flour

1 cup roasted and fully cooked potatoes cut into bite-size pieces (I am using fingerling potatoes, but any will do)

2 cups chicken stock and 2 bouillon cubes

2 teaspoons chopped rosemary (for sprinkling on top of pastry)

kosher salt and pepper to taste

1 egg mixed with splash of water (egg wash)

1 sheet thawed frozen puff pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm, it's Pareve!)

1. Roast the potatoes on baking sheet with 3 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper.

2. Saute the onions and celery in 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large non-stick skillet until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Add the flour to the pan and stir constantly for about 2 minutes.

3. Slowly add the chicken stock and stir well until thick.

4. At this point stir in the cooked potatoes, peas, edamame, carrots, rosemary, and chicken. Turn off the heat and stir until all components are mixed evenly.

5. Spoon the mixture into ramekins.

6. Measure a circle 1/2 inch larger than the ramekin of puff pastry for the cover. With a pastry brush, brush the egg wash along the rim and sides of the ramekins. Place the puff pastry round on top of the ramekin and pinch to sides. Brush with egg wash and cut a slit into the pastry. Sprinkle with kosher salt and rosemary.

7. Place ramekins on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes until pastry is golden brown. Let stand for about 5 minutes.

9. ENJOY!!!!

Here's my friend Stacey enjoying my pot pie. Nothing says comfort more than chicken pot pie after a long day of work! I think she liked it....