Nut Meringues with strawberry topping

NUT MERINGUES WITH STRAWBERRIES

Adapted from Linda Amster, The New York Times Passover Cookbook

serves 6

I needed a flourless dessert recipe for Passover, and this was perfect.  But it would be great at any time of the year as a light dessert.

The pine nuts add a lovely flavor to the meringues, though I'd suggest mentioning their presence to guests to be sure they notice.  Given the price of pine nuts, you could try substituting chopped pecans or walnuts.

nut meringues

2 large egg whites

1/2 t. vanilla

1/2 cup minus 1/2 T. sugar

1/2 cup pine nuts (left whole)

1.     Preheat the oven to 225F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.     In a mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy.  Add the vanilla and continue beating.

3.     When the whites are forming peaks, add the sugar, about 1 T. at a time, beating constantly.  When the whites are stiff and smooth, fold in the nuts.

4.     Drop the meringue off a large spoon onto the parchment paper-covered baking sheet, making six large circles of meringue.  Using the back of a spoon, press down in the center of each circle to shape each meringue into a "nest" for the strawberries.

5.     Bake for 1 hour.  If the meringues begin to take on color, turn off the oven and let the meringues remain in the oven until dry.

6.     After the meringues have cooled a bit, remove them from the paper with a spatula, and let cool further on a cooling rack.

7.     If making more than a day in advance, you can store in an airtight container until ready to use.

I served the meringues with a strawberry/orange mixture recommended in the cookbook, given below.  But the next time, I'll try the strawberries with honey-balsamic sauce, given below that.

STRAWBERRY/ORANGE TOPPING

1 lb. strawberries, hulled and sliced

2 large navel oranges

2 T. orange-flavored liqueur (Triple Sec, Sabra, etc.)

2 t. orange zest

2 T. sugar

pinch of cinnamon

1.     Put the sliced strawberries in a large bowl. 

2.     Zest one of the oranges and set aside the zest. 

3.     Peel the oranges, cut out the sections, and cut each section in half (or leave whole if desired).  Add oranges to strawberries and then squeeze the orange juice into the bowl.

4.     Just before serving, add the orange zest and a dusting of cinnamon.

5.     Put one meringue on each plate and top with strawberry/orange mixture.

STRAWBERRIES WITH  HONEY-BALSAMIC SAUCE

adapted from a Cooking Light recipe: http://www.cookinglight.com/entertaining/holidays-occasions/strawberry-desserts/strawberry-topped-pavlovas-honey-balsamic-sauce-dessert-recipe

1 lb. strawberries, hulled and sliced

1-1/2 T. sugar

1/2 c. balsamic vinegar

2" piece cinnamon stick

2 T. honey

Combine the strawberries and sugar; chill.

Bring the balsamic vinegar and cinnamon stick to a boil.  Cook until syrupy and reduced in half (about 5-6 minutes). Remove from heat, discard the cinnamon, and add the honey.

Put the strawberries on top of the meringues, and then drizzle about 2 t. of sauce over each serving.

Parsley salad

It's difficult to think about parsley as the main ingredient in a dish rather than a garnish, but it's great as the star of this salad.  The kalamata olives help too :-)

PARSLEY SALAD

adapted from http://greek.food.com/recipe/parsley-salad-171941

serves 4-6

Best served on same day it's made, but also fine the next day.

4 oz flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped roughly (about 2 bunches) (curly parsley is also fine)

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

1 cup chopped tomato (I use cherry tomatoes, quartered)

1 T. lemon juice

1 T. balsamic vinegar

1/2 T. olive oil

1/2 t. sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1 hard-boiled egg, sliced

1.     Toss together the parsley, onions, garlic, olives and tomatoes.

2.     In a separate small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Pour over salad and toss.

3.     Put in a serving bowl and place egg slices on top.

Pickled Salmon

This weekend we had some guests for dinner.  David prepared the main course of roasted chicken with roasted potatoes, onions and carrots.  That left me to have fun with the sides:  pickled salmon for an hors d'oeuvre, parsley salad to accompany the main course, and meringues topped with strawberries for dessert.  Here's the first of my three recipes.

pickled Salmon

Adapted from Joan Nathan, The Jewish Holiday Kitchen

serves 6

This is like pickled herring, but with salmon, which makes it into an elegant (if messy) hors d'oeuvre.  Serve on plates and have napkins handy.  Note that the fish needs to marinate for 3-4 days before serving, and the marinade needs to cool before putting it over the fish, so you'll need to plan ahead. Otherwise, the recipe couldn't be simpler.

1 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup water

3  T. sugar

1 T. kosher salt

1 pound salmon fillet, skin and bones removed (see below about removing the skin)

1 t. mixed pickling spices

3 bay leaves

1 white or yellow onion, sliced about 1/4" thick, rings separated

When serving:  matzah, crackers, or rye bread, butter, sliced cucumbers

1.     Bring the vinegar, water, sugar, and salt to a boil.  Let this mixture cool completely.

2.     Cut the salmon into small pieces (about 1" x 1").

3.     In a non-metallic container (can be ceramic, glass, or plastic), put down a layer of salmon pieces, then a sprinkling of pickling spices and bay leaves, and a layer of onions.  Repeat with another layer.  (If you're doubling the recipe, just continue with layers until you've used all the ingredients.)  Pour the cooled marinade over the fish.  Cover the container and refrigerate for 3-4 days.

4.     Serve the salmon with the onions on matzah, crackers, or rye bread.  You might want to butter the crackers, and a sliced cucumber on the bottom is also nice.  The original recipe recommended a sour cream dressing on top, but I like it without, and it's already pretty messy to eat this!

Removing the skin from the salmon: I used to struggle with taking the skin off the salmon, but then thought to search on YouTube.  Voilà--It turns out to be quite easy!  Here are a couple of videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhbHnXcyNSI (this includes instructions on removing the pin bones)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h38TqmAhwMg

Toffee bars

I recently had these toffee bars at my friend Susan's house, and I made sure to take the recipe home with me--these are delicious, and extremely simple to make.  I am always happy to find a cookie or cake recipe that starts out with melted butter rather than having to beat the butter until soft--so much easier.  I made these last night for the Oneg Shabbat at Temple, and they disappeared quickly.  Next time I'll make a double batch!

TOFFEE BARS

adapted from Alice Medrich's Cookies and Brownies

Shortbread

8 T. unsalted butter

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

1 t. vanilla

1/8 t. salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

Topping

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, or 6 oz. semi-sweet or dark chocolate cut into small pieces

1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (or almonds or walnuts)

Use 8-inch square pan, lined on the bottom and all 4 sides with parchment paper (foil might work also).  Toast the nuts in a sauté pan for a few minutes, or in the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

BASE:  Melt the butter in a medium saucepan.  Remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar, vanilla, and salt.  Add the flour and mix until just incorporated. Press the dough into the bottom of the baking pan.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until well-browned at the edges and golden brown in the center. 

topping:  Sprinkle the hot crust with the chocolate and return to the oven for 1-2 minutes, or just until the chocolate softens.  Remove the pan from the oven and spread the chocolate evenly with the back of a spoon.  Sprinkle the nuts over the chocolate and press them down gently into the chocolate.  Set on a rack to cool.  Lift the edges of the liner to transfer to a cutting board.  Use a sharp knife to cut into 16 or more squares.  

Steamed Salmon with Snow Peas

For the last several years, I've purchased superb salmon from Sitka Salmon Shares. This salmon is so good that most of the time, I just steam, bake, or pan-fry it and spend my cooking time on the sides.  But last night I tried this recipe and we really enjoyed it.  The fish is perked up a bit with ginger, garlic, and a little sauce, and the snow peas and orange were really nice companions for it.  I have upped the amounts of ginger, garlic, and lime juice from the original recipe.

Sitka Salmon has expanded significantly this year, and in 2017 will be delivering everywhere in the Midwest and some places beyond.  They're working on a map for the website.  Until that's up, here's what you have to do to find out if they sell to your area: Click on "Join now," put something in the cart, and that will take you to a page where you put in your state and zipcode, to see if they will deliver to you.

steamed salmon with snow peas

adapted from The Flat Belly Diet, by Lisa Vaccariello

4 servings

1 to 1-1/2 lbs. salmon fillets, cut into four pieces

2 t. grated fresh ginger

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. freshly squeezed lime juice

2 t. reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 t. toasted sesame oil

12-16 oz. snow peas

1 cup diced avocado

4 oranges, cut into eighths

Rub the salmon fillets with the ginger and garlic.  Coat a steamer basket with nonstick cooking spray and lay the fillets in the basket.  (I use this kind of steamer basket.)

In a saucepan, bring 1-2" of water to a boil.  (I use a 3-qt sauté pan with straight sides, something like this.)  Put the steamer basket in the saucepan and cover.  Steam for 8 minutes.

While the fish is steaming, whisk together in a small bowl the lime juice, soy sauce, oil, and scallions.  Set aside.

After the salmon has cooked for 8 minutes, put the snow peas on top and cover.   Cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the snow peas are crisp/tender and the salmon is opaque.

Spoon the snow peas onto four plates, making a bed for the salmon.  Put on the salmon, sprinkle with the diced avocado, and then drizzle with the reserved sauce.  Serve the cut-up orange as a side dish.

392 calories

A Holiday Breakfast--Norwegian Pancakes with Orange Sauce

Although we don't observe Christmas as a religious holiday, my husband and I take advantage of the peacefulness of a necessarily unscheduled day (no appointments! no errands!) to enjoy a couple of special meals.  I make a once-a-year breakfast, and he makes a lovely dinner.

We first had this breakfast in the early 1970s, when we shared a house with the recipe's originator, our fellow Stanford graduate student, Kristin Mann.  "Kristin's Orange Sauce" lives on in our household these 40+ years later!  The pancake recipe is from The Settlement Cookbook.  The batter for Norwegian pancakes is the same as for French pancakes (crepes), just made in a larger (10") skillet and served flat rather than rolled.

NORWEGIAN PANCAKES

serves 3 (quantity for serving 2 in parentheses)

1 cup (2/3 cup) flour
1/2 t. (1/3 t.) salt
1-1/2 cup (1 cup) milk (skim is fine)
3 eggs (2 eggs), well beaten

• I beat up the batter in a 4-cup measuring cup, and then pour the batter into the skillet from there.
• Beat eggs.  Add milk and salt and beat together.  Sift flour and salt, add to milk-egg mixture, and beat all together very well.  (I use a stick blender.)  Batter should be as thick as heavy cream.  (Add a little more flour is it seems too thin.)
• Heat a 10" skillet.  Grease lightly with butter.  Pour in a little batter, tilt pan back and forth so batter will spread all over the bottom.  When dry on top and browned on the bottom, flip and brown on the other side.
• As pancakes are done, pile on a plate and keep warm in an oven set at 175 degrees.
• To serve, put a few pancakes on each plate and top with orange sauce.

KRISTIN'S ORANGE SAUCE

serves 3

1/2 stick (4 oz) butter 

2 T. brown sugar

juice of 1/2 of a juicy orange

2 t. brandy

Melt butter in a small saucepan.  Add brown sugar and stir until it is dissolved.  Add orange juice and let it bubble a bit.  Add brandy and cook until the alcohol taste is gone--a couple of minutes.