Sweet Summer Fruit Tea

Fruit gone soft,

sun streaming in,

throats got a tickle,

fruit tea I begin.

One raspberry sachet,

heat it up and steep.

The fruits gone soft,

gonna use it on a leap.

Plum's red and juicy,

knife cuts right through.

Textures a tad mealy,

don't let it get ya blue. 

The flavor is prime, 

and so are the peaches.

I threw one in too,

cut it up in tiny pieces.

I use my favorite tool,

it goes zen-zen, zen-zen.

Buzz it all together:

A forced infusion.

Tea is not food,

so strain out the pieces.

What's left will be smooth,

fruity and delicious.

Add a pinch of salt,

and give it a stir.

Take a taste! Go ahead.

Give it a whir.

Gently sweet, is 

what I typically go for.

Add some sugar

two teaspoons...or a little more..

Spin the tart nectar

glossy bubbles congregate atop

Refreshing ambrosia

you'll want every last drop.

Still a little warm,

maybe you like it that way.

Add a little ice,

and share if you may.

Amounts:

• 2 quarts of water
• 1 sachet of raspberry tea (or any other flavor)
• 1 plum
• 1 peach
• 3 teaspoons of sugar
• pinch of salt
• handful of ice

Missing My Israeli Favorites

Israeli Salad All Day, Every Day!

One of the first things I discovered about Israeli food culture is that salad is most certainly a staple for every meal. The typical salad served contains cucumbers and tomatoes (the most perfectly ripe and tender tomatoes I’ve ever had the fortune of trying) and is lightly dressed. While I extended my trip, I stayed with the family of one of the Israeli soldiers that joined our trip, Nitzan, and I was sure to watch carefully as his cordial mother made this classic dish. I made this refreshing salad for a family barbeque and here’s the recipe for your enjoyment!

Yield: 10, ½ cup servings

Tools: large mixing bowl, cutting board, chef knife, measuring spoons

Ingredients:

·         2 cucumbers, 1 in. julienne

·         1 red pepper, diced

·         ¾ cup red cabbage, chopped

·         ½ each red and/or white onion, diced

·         4 plum tomatoes, diced

·         ½ lemon’s juice

·         1 lime’s juice

·         ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

·         ½ tsp. black pepper

·         1 tsp. salt

Method of Preparation:

1.      Cut vegetables as directed above, the julienne should be 1”x1/8”x1/8”. Dice and chop should be ¼” cubes.

2.      Mix everything together and enjoy!

Cherry Chocolate Chip Pistachio Halva Bread Pudding

A popular Israeli treat is Halva, a sweet sesame and sugar paste. It can come in a variety of flavors, mostly plain, chocolate, or vanilla. More exotic flavors can be found at the shook markets. I had to haggle a bit to get three delicious flavors of this scrumptious delicacy. I purchased about ½ pound of the finest triple chocolate, espresso, and pistachio halva. For this recipe below I used the pistachio because my family can’t keep their hands off the other two!

Also, I can’t let you go on to make this recipe without the knowledge that my chocolate chip halva bread pudding past a taste test from about 400 Israeli IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers, and 50 Taglit Birthright travelers and staff. I could not have made that happen without the help of my new friends Molly (Check out her dumpling blog!), Sonia, Andrew, Sabrina, Jacob, Sari, Jenna, and Erez. 

Yield: 24-28 servings

Tools: 13”x9” pan, pan spray, serrated knife, cutting board, mixing bowls, whisk or stationary mixer with a whip

Ingredients:

1 loaf	490 grams	Challah or Brioche
5 each	260 grams	Eggs
1 1/3  cup	250 grams	Sugar
1 cup	230 grams	Cream
3 ¼ cup	850 grams	Milk
1 1/3 cup	225 grams	Pistachio (or plain) Halva
1 ½ cup	250 grams	Chocolate Chips
¾ cup	100 grams	Dried Cherries
¼ cup	30 grams	Pistachios, roasted, salted, hulled

Method of Preparation:

1.      Preheat oven to 375^oF. Grease pan. Hull pistachios. Measure out all ingredients. 

2.      Cube challah/brioche into 1” square pieces.

3.      Place in pan and toast for 30 minutes, stirring pieces every ten minutes until all pieces are dried out and toasted golden. Remove from oven and set oven to 325^oF.

4.      Whisk together eggs and sugar, then add cream and milk and whisk for 5 minutes or until smooth and no egg lumps. Set aside.

5.      Crumble halva into pea size pieces, sprinkle evenly over toasted bread. Agitate the pieces a little to get them to fall slightly in between the bread cubes.

6.      Add the chocolate chips and dried cherries, and move the pieces of bread so they fall a bit as well.  Make sure there are no large pockets of chocolate, cherries, or halva.

7.      Pour custard batter over bread and press the bread into the liquid so that it is absorbed.

8.      Sprinkle pistachios on top.

9.      Allow to sit 10 to 20 minutes until batter is well absorbed by the bread.

10.  Bake at 325^oF for about 1 hour or until the pudding is set and is not runny in the center.

11.  Remove from oven when ready, allow to cool slightly, cover with foil until ready to serve.

12.  IF there are any leftovers J Refrigerate for up to 4 days!

Joe's Ginger NYC "Soupy" Dumplings

Guest Post for Molly Yeh’s Dumpling Blog

Okay, so what happens when you take a naive pastry student and place her smack dab in the middle of Manhattan for 3 days? Crickets… Well I’ll tell you because that is exactly what I did, with due reason of course. I'm pretty good at a little something called pastry, it’s a kind of weird talent or knack of mine that I cannot explain and prevented me from pursuing my parent’s dream of my becoming a doctor. Note to all: If you have the grades and the book smarts (aka. nerd, like myself) try your best not to disappoint your Jewish mother’s dreams or she will throw a few tantrums and lecture about how you better marry a jewish doctor or lawyer, not a chef. Well I must say it was quite lovely delivering the news that I will be staging at Per Se, arguably one of the best restaurants in the country, definitely on the east coast! Though she had no idea what Per Se was or that a stage was a production based interview and not a Broadway performance, my mother was able to grasp that it was kind of a big deal and for a lapse of time forgot that her little angel would be roaming around the big bad city for a few days.

Equipped with a box of chocolate chip cookies from one of the freshman classes I TA’d for at Johnson &Wales, I began my trip via Megabus to NYC where I’d stay at my friend Nick’s apartment for the duration of my time in the big apple. The bus dropped me off at 28^th and 7^th, the middle of busy Manhattan on a Saturday afternoon. I know I looked like a lost outsider as I bounded for my suitcase from below the bus before some stranger swiped it! I proceeded to turn in circles to find which street was next up, left, right, so confused. A lovely stranger assisted me with directions and asked for some change or monetary donation. The moment of truth! Will the naïve, clumsy chef give the needy some change and reveal to the entire city the exact location of her wallet? My friends would certainly be proud because I told the nice man that I had no cash on me but I would be happy to give him some cookies! Yes, you read correctly, the first thing I did in New York City was trade chocolate chip cookies made with couverture for directions, and guess what? I kept doing that as I proceeded to get lost on the Manhattan Subway System for two hours before finding my friend Nick’s apartment on 71 Broadway, not 71^st and Broadway. Whoops! Well needless to say, Nick and his roommates were lucky to get half a box of cookies.

Back at the apartment, I attempted to explain my mission for the next three days to the boys residing there: Eat my way through the city at restaurants and cafes recommended by my chef instructors and wise friends. Crickets… similar to the crisp, crunchy, crack of a kosher dill pickle, Nick’s roommate Eamon bites into a raw potato with salt. What did I just walk into? In a city where the food is everything, at least in my view, these college guys have moved past ramen and straight to raw, starchy vegetables! I tried this culinary abomination and was surprised to find that it was in fact edible, but lacking all flavors any normal human should desire. In a food world brimming with modernist cuisine I could see brunoise raw potatoes in some strange salad, they do have a unique crunch, but these guys were in dire need of a food revolution.

               

Our first stop was Joe’s Ginger for dumplings. Eric, a fellow TA and good friend of mine, told me I had to try these “soupy” dumplings in Chinatown and he recommended Joe’s Ginger. It didn’t look all that special amongst the array of Chinese restaurants. But all around us were Chinese New Year festivities so generally everything besides the confetti covered streets was lackluster. The place was packed so that was my indication we hit the jackpot and were in for something good. Because we had many more restaurants to covet, we decided just to order these renowned soupy dumplings for the table. In a jiffy the steamer was brought to our table and beneath the lid were the little pockets of heaven. As we took our first bites, everyone’s face grimaced then smiled because after the squirt of hot, oily soup shoots in your mouth you get to the warm meatball in the center. I try to slurp the last bit of soup out of dumpling and then eat the tender shell that encapsulated it. Mmmm…so savory, umami, delicious! After one bite I knew I’d have to get the recipe someday. I am so glad I am going to Israel on the Birthright trip because I have now met who I presume to be the Dumpling Queen, Molly Yeh and I believe she is willing to share her tasty dumpling recipes:
http://mynameisyeh.com/

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed my guest post. Big shout out to Molly Yeh!

The S'more Competition the Better

What could be better than camping in the great outdoors? Camping at a Barbeque Cookout Competition in a beautiful park on a hot, sunny weekend! With a slight breeze to cool you down from the blazing sun and raging smokers lined up for acres, there really is no better way to spend a Friday and Saturday.

For the past few weeks, I have been lending a hand to the Ribs Within BBQ Team (Ribswithin.com). I have also had some fun working on grilled desserts for the Friday evening dessert competitions. We have been very successful (won third place twice!!) with the Deconstructed S’more Cheesecake Parfait and I would like to share the recipes for each of the unique, complementary components. They create a flavor experience as if you were toasting the marshmallows fireside at every bite.

As always measurements are in volume and grahams! Haha pun definitely intended.

Smoked Cheesecake

This simple, stable, rich cheesecake recipe is an absolute staple for your recipe box. The batter can be mixed in advance and refrigerated but is easy enough to whip up in a jiffy.

Yield: 1, 4” thick, 9” cheesecake; 36 cheesecake cupcakes; or 1, 3” thick, 13”x9” cheesecake

Tools: stand or hand mixer, rubber scraper

Ingredients:

4, 8 oz packages	1816 grams	Cream Cheese
2 cups	400 grams	Granulated Sugar or Brown Sugar
¼ cup + 2 Tbsp.	60 grams	Cornstarch
4 each	200 grams	Eggs
1 tsp.	5 grams	Vanilla Extract
1 2/3 cup	363 grams	Heavy Cream
2 tsp.	1 tsp.	Smoked Salt (optional)

1.      Preheat oven/grill to 325^oF. Spray pan with non-stick cooking spray.

2.      Measure or scale ingredients out.

3.      Using the paddle attachment, mix cream to soften and smooth out lumps, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides often.

4.      Mix together sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.

5.      Add sugar mixture, cream together until soft and smooth, about 5 minutes.

6.      Add eggs one at a time, mixing on medium speed until emulsified before adding the next, about 30 seconds each.

7.      On low speed slowly stream in vanilla and cream, mix until cheesecake batter is uniform, about 3 minutes.

8.      Pour batter into prepared pan. Place on grill*, such as a Weber and close lid, but allow it to vent for airflow. A small piece of applewood to create a more intense smoky flavor.

*It is important to use some mechanism to block direct heat such as a stone above the coals or double/triple panning the cheesecake.

Spicy Ganache

This adds a velvety, hot kick to the parfait.

Yield: 1 cup or  205 grams

Tools: large pot, wooden spoon or rubber scraper, wire whisk, small bowl

Ingredients:

1/2 cup	100 grams	Semisweet, chopped
1/3 cup	100 grams	Heavy Cream
1  Tbsp.	2 grams	Chili Powder
1 tsp	1 tsp.	White Pepper Powder
pinch	pinch	Salt

1.      Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl.

2.      Bring remaining ingredients to a simmer, remove from heat, pour over chocolate.

3.      Allow to sit 30 seconds, stir or whisk until smooth. Refrigerate ½ hour or until semisoft.

4.      When ready to use, heat until room temperature.

*Darker chocolates mask spicy flavors so if you switch to chocolates with less percent cocoa such as milk or white chocolate, not only will your ganache be too soft, but the filling will be too spicy.

Graham Cracker Brittle

This brittle recipe is great with graham crackers but also can be poured over saltines, cookies, or even matzo! Sometimes, I even put chocolate chips on top of the hot, freshly poured brittle and allow it to melt, creating a super tasty chocolate brittle bark.

Yield: 1 cup or 270 grams

Tools: Sauté pan, 7” round foil dish or 3”x6” foil loaf pan

Ingredients:

¼ cup	113 grams	Butter
½ cup	120 grams	Brown Sugar
2 rectangle pieces	31 grams	Graham Cracker, crushed
½ tsp.	½ tsp.	Ribs Within Rub 4 All

1.      Spray a foil loaf pan with non-stick pan spray.

2.      Sprinkle graham crackers and Rub 4 All onto bottom of pan.

3.      Cook butter and brown sugar in a medium sauté pan for 1 minute or until desired caramelization.

4.      Pour over graham crackers and allow to set overnight, do not press, jerk, or move brittle pan because agitation will cause it to crystallize.

5.      When set, pulverize into pea size pieces.

Wingin’ It! Graham Cracker Crumble

For this easy crumble simply put crushed graham cracker and granulated sugar in a sauté pan, about a 2:1 ratio. Heat on medium high until the sugar caramelizes, gently move the crumble about the pan with a silicon or heat resistant rubber scraper.

Wingin’ It! Graham Cracker Whiskey Sauce

For this boozy sauce, you start with the same method as the crumble above but the graham crackers should be crushed finely. With about 2 Tbsp. of fine crumble in the pan, heat on medium with about 2 tsp. of heavy cream, whisking until it resembles the texture of a roux (pasty). You may need to add another tsp. of heavy cream to get the crumble to soften. Remove from heat. Add cream until it is the viscosity of a creamy soup. Then add 1-2 oz. of whiskey (I use Southern Comfort because it’s sweet), and stir until combined. You can add a little brown sugar or Sugar in the Raw syrup to sweeten the sauce and add body. Simply put, you can doctor this sauce to your liking by adjusting the amount of cream, whiskey, and sugar.

Meringue

This is a simple recipe for a common meringue.

Yield: Enough!

Tools: Stand mixer or hand mixer with whip attachment, small bowl

Ingredients:

3 each	100 grams	Egg Whites
½ cup	100 grams	Granulated Sugar

1.      Make sure bowl is clean and grease free or the meringue will not whip to full volume.

2.      Whip whites on high speed until frothy, then move to medium speed and begin to reign in the sugar (sprinkle in a slow rate) until it is all incorporated.

3.      Whip until meringue has a stiff peak (once you stop the machine and take the whip out).

*Do not make this too far ahead in advance, after about 5 minutes, the meringue begins to get crumbly. Overnight the egg whites get soggy.

Bringing it All Together

 Combine the crumble and brittle; make sure the pieces are no larger than a pea. In a 4 oz. dessert dish, put 2 tsp. of crumble. Pipe a thin line of spicy ganache around the edges and spiraled to the center. Then, put 1 ½ ounce of cheesecake, spread to the sides of the pan. Sprinkle 2 tsp. of crumble followed by spicy ganache in the same manner as before. Make sure the layers are even across the dish. Put another ½ oz. or 1 Tbsp. of cheesecake, spread to the sides again. Using a small, tapered spatula, put meringue into remainder of the dish and spread it so that the meringue is flush with the top edge of the dish. Don’t bother cleaning off the edges, simply rim them with the finer pieces of the crumble. Pipe spicy ganache in a zig-zag across the dish and put 1 tsp. of graham cracker whiskey sauce in a dollop right in the center. Put 1 tsp. of crumble on top of the whiskey sauce. Garnish with a nice delicate chocolate garnish (Directions for the leaf garnish follow, sorry for the chocolaty mess in the photos).

1. Work on parchment on a flat surface (or if your desperate like me, press n' seal covered mini cutting boards).

2. Put a leaf shaped dollop of chocolate.

 3. Place chocolate comb in the center of the leaf. 

 4. Comb the chocolate out and around so that the "veins" of the leave curve out and back up towards the top of the leaf.

 5. Repeat for opposite side but be sure to leave a little chocolate un-combed in the center to maintain structure of the garnish. 

 6. use the flat edge of the comb to pull the outer vein up and around to form a leaf tip as shown in the next few pictures.

 7. Repeat for other side. After filling your space with several leaves, freeze them and gently remove them from the paper/plastic when you are ready.