Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Mars Bar kosher again - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews
Mars Bar kosher again - Israel Jewish Scene, Ynetnews: "LONDON - Animal products will not be used in Mars Bars, the British confectionary manufacturer MasterFoods stated on Sunday. "
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Sign the Petition - Make Lucky Charms halal/kosher Petition
"We suggest that you use kosher/halal marshmallows in Lucky Charms instead of what you currently use. Non-kosher and non-halal (known as “haraam” in Islam) marshmallows, the kind currently used in Lucky Charms, contain pork products. As you may be aware, both Muslims and Jewish people are not allowed to eat pork as it is considered bad in their respective religions. If you use kosher/halal marshmallows instead, you will appeal to more customers, including both Jewish people and Muslims. "Sign the petition to General Mills here to make Lucky Charms halal/kosher Petition
Monday, May 21, 2007
Recipes : Brisket : Food Network
Recipes : Brisket : Food Network: "Brisket From Food Network Kitchens
Show: How To Boil Water
Episode: Economically Delicious
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (3 1/2 pound) first-cut brisket, with 'fat cap' (do not trim)
3 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus for brisket
Freshly ground black pepper
6 medium yellow onions, cut into thin wedges with root end attached
1 1/2 cups sweet vermouth
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 medium carrots, peeled, and cut into thirds (14 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Heat the oil a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Season the brisket generously with the paprika, salt, and pepper. Place fat side down in the Dutch oven and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 to10 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.
Discard about half the fat, then add the onions and cook over medium heat until browned and tender, about 10 minutes. Pour in the vermouth and cook until reduced by about half. Nestle the brisket into the onions fat side up, add the broth; bring to a simmer and bake, covered, until the brisket is fork tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Uncover, scatter the carrots around the brisket and cook until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes more.
Transfer the brisket to a cutting board, cut the fat off the top and thinly slice the meat across the grain. Return the meat to the braising liquid and serve immediately or, cool to room temperature in the sauce, cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve reheat in the sauce.
Copyright (c) 2005 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved"
Red-Wine Braised Beef Brisket with Horseradish Sauce and Aunt Rifka's Flying Disks Recipe courtesy Sara Moulton
My husband Bill has been telling me about his Aunt Rifka and her asbestos hands for as long as we've known each other. He claims there was no pot so hot she couldn't pick it up barehanded. (This amazing ability seems just slightly less amazing to me since I went to cooking school and developed some heat resistance of my own.) He also used to brag about his aunt's delicious flying disks. I always wondered just what they heck they were and decided to find out when I started on this book. Rifka Silverberg Mellen was actually Bill's great aunt?his mother's mother's older sister. She and Uncle Peter lived upstairs from Esther and her folks in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, where the whole family flourished after fleeing Odessa in the first decade of the twentieth century. It turns out that Rifka's flying disks are nothing more exotic than matzo balls formed in silver-dollar-sized disks and served in brisket gravy instead of chicken soup. Contrary to the image called up by their Space Age sobriquet, flying disks are not exactly lighter than air. In truth, they are dense and heavy. It's more accurate (if considerably less glamorous) to call them sinkers, which is what Bill's Aunt Yetta called hers. Whatever. They're scrumptious.
For the Braised Brisket:
1 large head garlic, separated into cloves
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (4 to 5-pound) beef brisket, preferably the 2nd cut (also called the point cut)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
3 cups dry red wine (kosher)
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 dried bay leaves, preferably Turkish
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 quart chicken stock, preferably homemade
For the Horseradish Sauce:
1/2 cup finely grated fresh or drained prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Flying Disks:
1/4 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
4 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons pareve margarine, melted
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup matzo meal
To make the Brisket: preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Fill a small saucepan with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the garlic, bring back to a boil, and cook rapidly until slightly softened, about 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the garlic to a bowl of ice water. Peel when cool enough to handle.
Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large shallow dish or large platter. Add the brisket and turn to coat on all sides. Shake off the excess. Heat the oil in a large covered casserole or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add the brisket and cook, turning often, until well browned, about 6 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate or platter and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat. Stir in the onions and the peeled garlic. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Pour in the wine and stir to pick up any browned bits on the bottom of the casserole. Stir in the tomato paste and add the bay leaves and thyme. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cook rapidly, stirring often, until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Pour in the stock and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the brisket. Cover tightly with a piece of foil, then cover the pot with the lid. Transfer to the lower third of the oven and cook until a fork comes out easily when pierced, 3 to 4 hours.
To make the Horseradish Sauce: mix the horseradish, vinegar, mayonnaise, chives, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir well to blend and season with salt and pepper. You should have about 1 cup. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
To make the Disks: whisk the stock, eggs, and margarine together in a small bowl. Stir in the salt and matzo meal to form a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well-chilled, about 1 hour. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, use wet hands to form the dough into disks about 1 1/2 inches wide and 1/2-inch thick. You should have about 18 disks. Drop them into the boiling water and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the disks are puffy and cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes.
Transfer the brisket from the casserole to a cutting surface and cover loosely with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes. Gently skim the surface of the liquid in the casserole with a spoon to remove as much fat as possible. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Add the disks to the cooking liquid and cook on top of the stove over medium heat, covered, until they've turned dark and absorbed some of the sauce, about 10 minutes.
Thinly slice the brisket on an angle, cutting against the grain. Arrange the slices on a warmed serving platter or plate and spoon on some of the horseradish cream. Place the disks on the side and ladle on the pan gravy. Serve warm.
Note: A Brisket Primer: You can buy beef brisket 3 ways:
1. Whole with deckle (the deckle is a thin layer of meat with a lot of connective tissue and fat that lies on the underside of the brisket; it can be removed easily), weight in at 8 to 10 pounds. If you remove the deckle, the remaining piece of brisket weighs 7 to 8 pounds.
2. Flat cut, also known as the first cut or thin cut. This is the leanest of the possibilities and the most popular, and it usually weighs around 4 pounds.
3. Point cut, cheaper and fattier and than the flat cut, also 4 to 5 pounds.
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Yield: 8 servings
Show: How To Boil Water
Episode: Economically Delicious
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (3 1/2 pound) first-cut brisket, with 'fat cap' (do not trim)
3 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus for brisket
Freshly ground black pepper
6 medium yellow onions, cut into thin wedges with root end attached
1 1/2 cups sweet vermouth
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 medium carrots, peeled, and cut into thirds (14 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Heat the oil a large, heavy bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Season the brisket generously with the paprika, salt, and pepper. Place fat side down in the Dutch oven and cook until brown on all sides, about 8 to10 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate and set aside.
Discard about half the fat, then add the onions and cook over medium heat until browned and tender, about 10 minutes. Pour in the vermouth and cook until reduced by about half. Nestle the brisket into the onions fat side up, add the broth; bring to a simmer and bake, covered, until the brisket is fork tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Uncover, scatter the carrots around the brisket and cook until the carrots are tender, about 30 minutes more.
Transfer the brisket to a cutting board, cut the fat off the top and thinly slice the meat across the grain. Return the meat to the braising liquid and serve immediately or, cool to room temperature in the sauce, cover and refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve reheat in the sauce.
Copyright (c) 2005 Television Food Network, G.P., All Rights Reserved"
Red-Wine Braised Beef Brisket with Horseradish Sauce and Aunt Rifka's Flying Disks Recipe courtesy Sara Moulton
My husband Bill has been telling me about his Aunt Rifka and her asbestos hands for as long as we've known each other. He claims there was no pot so hot she couldn't pick it up barehanded. (This amazing ability seems just slightly less amazing to me since I went to cooking school and developed some heat resistance of my own.) He also used to brag about his aunt's delicious flying disks. I always wondered just what they heck they were and decided to find out when I started on this book. Rifka Silverberg Mellen was actually Bill's great aunt?his mother's mother's older sister. She and Uncle Peter lived upstairs from Esther and her folks in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, where the whole family flourished after fleeing Odessa in the first decade of the twentieth century. It turns out that Rifka's flying disks are nothing more exotic than matzo balls formed in silver-dollar-sized disks and served in brisket gravy instead of chicken soup. Contrary to the image called up by their Space Age sobriquet, flying disks are not exactly lighter than air. In truth, they are dense and heavy. It's more accurate (if considerably less glamorous) to call them sinkers, which is what Bill's Aunt Yetta called hers. Whatever. They're scrumptious.
For the Braised Brisket:
1 large head garlic, separated into cloves
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (4 to 5-pound) beef brisket, preferably the 2nd cut (also called the point cut)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
3 cups dry red wine (kosher)
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 dried bay leaves, preferably Turkish
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 quart chicken stock, preferably homemade
For the Horseradish Sauce:
1/2 cup finely grated fresh or drained prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Flying Disks:
1/4 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
4 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons pareve margarine, melted
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup matzo meal
To make the Brisket: preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Fill a small saucepan with water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the garlic, bring back to a boil, and cook rapidly until slightly softened, about 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the garlic to a bowl of ice water. Peel when cool enough to handle.
Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large shallow dish or large platter. Add the brisket and turn to coat on all sides. Shake off the excess. Heat the oil in a large covered casserole or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add the brisket and cook, turning often, until well browned, about 6 to 8 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate or platter and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat. Stir in the onions and the peeled garlic. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 10 minutes. Pour in the wine and stir to pick up any browned bits on the bottom of the casserole. Stir in the tomato paste and add the bay leaves and thyme. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cook rapidly, stirring often, until almost all the liquid has evaporated. Pour in the stock and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the brisket. Cover tightly with a piece of foil, then cover the pot with the lid. Transfer to the lower third of the oven and cook until a fork comes out easily when pierced, 3 to 4 hours.
To make the Horseradish Sauce: mix the horseradish, vinegar, mayonnaise, chives, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Stir well to blend and season with salt and pepper. You should have about 1 cup. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
To make the Disks: whisk the stock, eggs, and margarine together in a small bowl. Stir in the salt and matzo meal to form a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well-chilled, about 1 hour. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Working with 1 tablespoon of dough at a time, use wet hands to form the dough into disks about 1 1/2 inches wide and 1/2-inch thick. You should have about 18 disks. Drop them into the boiling water and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the disks are puffy and cooked through, 30 to 35 minutes.
Transfer the brisket from the casserole to a cutting surface and cover loosely with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes. Gently skim the surface of the liquid in the casserole with a spoon to remove as much fat as possible. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Add the disks to the cooking liquid and cook on top of the stove over medium heat, covered, until they've turned dark and absorbed some of the sauce, about 10 minutes.
Thinly slice the brisket on an angle, cutting against the grain. Arrange the slices on a warmed serving platter or plate and spoon on some of the horseradish cream. Place the disks on the side and ladle on the pan gravy. Serve warm.
Note: A Brisket Primer: You can buy beef brisket 3 ways:
1. Whole with deckle (the deckle is a thin layer of meat with a lot of connective tissue and fat that lies on the underside of the brisket; it can be removed easily), weight in at 8 to 10 pounds. If you remove the deckle, the remaining piece of brisket weighs 7 to 8 pounds.
2. Flat cut, also known as the first cut or thin cut. This is the leanest of the possibilities and the most popular, and it usually weighs around 4 pounds.
3. Point cut, cheaper and fattier and than the flat cut, also 4 to 5 pounds.
Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Yield: 8 servings
Recipe: Asparagus Frittata - New York Times
Recipe: Asparagus Frittata - New York Times: "May 16, 2007
Recipe: Asparagus Frittata
Adapted from Lidia Bastianich
Time: 20 minutes
3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2pound wild or very thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
1/4pound scallions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 eggs.
1. Put oil in 8- or 10-inch skillet over medium heat; when oil is hot, add asparagus and scallions, with some salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the asparagus are tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, beat eggs and season with salt and pepper. Stir them into asparagus and cook, stirring nearly constantly, until eggs form soft curds. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Yield: 2 servings."
Recipe: Asparagus Frittata
Adapted from Lidia Bastianich
Time: 20 minutes
3tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2pound wild or very thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
1/4pound scallions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 eggs.
1. Put oil in 8- or 10-inch skillet over medium heat; when oil is hot, add asparagus and scallions, with some salt and pepper. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the asparagus are tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, beat eggs and season with salt and pepper. Stir them into asparagus and cook, stirring nearly constantly, until eggs form soft curds. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Yield: 2 servings."
Some New Friends for the Humble Egg By MARK BITTMAN
Published: May 16, 2007
IF you grew up eating deviled eggs, they are probably a favorite comfort food, something you don’t think too hard about.
If, like me, you did not, they have an oddly exotic air and making them is a treat.
A surprising situation, indeed, for a stuffed hard-cooked egg.
Yet properly treated and with the right seasonings, these eggs are quite delicious. And when you become just a tiny bit more creative and adventurous, they can become almost wondrous.
“Deviling” an egg usually refers to seasoning the cooked yolk with mustard or anything else that is spicy but not necessarily hot. Then you add your favored flavorings.
In recent weeks I have cooked eggs with anchovies, herbs, spinach, salmon, curry, jalapeños, miso, olives, capers, pesto and feta, alone and in combination.
...The principle remains the same no matter what your add-ins are. Hard-cook a few eggs until the yolks are barely firm. Mash the yolks with chopped seasonings, your more substantial ingredients, the spices and mayonnaise.
Then stuff the mashed yolks back into the whites. You can use a pastry bag for this step. It not only makes for a pretty presentation but speeds the process if you’re doing dozens at once. But if you are doing only a few, a spoon works well enough.
A couple of words are in order about cooking eggs. One is that you should never subject an egg to a roiling boil. The other is that an egg should never be overcooked.
The best way to cook eggs is either by steeping or simmering.
Place the eggs in a pot of water, bring the water just to a boil, then immediately turn the heat off. Cover the pot and wait 9 minutes, 10 if the eggs are quite large.
Or, after the water comes to a full boil reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 7 or 8 minutes.
Plunge the just-cooked eggs into ice-cold water: the shock will help separate the shell from the egg.
When the eggs are cool enough to handle, start peeling. Halve the eggs and scoop out the yolks. They should be tender, almost creamy.
Then finish the dish as you like and proceed to enjoy one of the best comfort foods I know.
IF you grew up eating deviled eggs, they are probably a favorite comfort food, something you don’t think too hard about.
If, like me, you did not, they have an oddly exotic air and making them is a treat.
A surprising situation, indeed, for a stuffed hard-cooked egg.
Yet properly treated and with the right seasonings, these eggs are quite delicious. And when you become just a tiny bit more creative and adventurous, they can become almost wondrous.
“Deviling” an egg usually refers to seasoning the cooked yolk with mustard or anything else that is spicy but not necessarily hot. Then you add your favored flavorings.
In recent weeks I have cooked eggs with anchovies, herbs, spinach, salmon, curry, jalapeños, miso, olives, capers, pesto and feta, alone and in combination.
...The principle remains the same no matter what your add-ins are. Hard-cook a few eggs until the yolks are barely firm. Mash the yolks with chopped seasonings, your more substantial ingredients, the spices and mayonnaise.
Then stuff the mashed yolks back into the whites. You can use a pastry bag for this step. It not only makes for a pretty presentation but speeds the process if you’re doing dozens at once. But if you are doing only a few, a spoon works well enough.
A couple of words are in order about cooking eggs. One is that you should never subject an egg to a roiling boil. The other is that an egg should never be overcooked.
The best way to cook eggs is either by steeping or simmering.
Place the eggs in a pot of water, bring the water just to a boil, then immediately turn the heat off. Cover the pot and wait 9 minutes, 10 if the eggs are quite large.
Or, after the water comes to a full boil reduce the heat to a simmer and cook 7 or 8 minutes.
Plunge the just-cooked eggs into ice-cold water: the shock will help separate the shell from the egg.
When the eggs are cool enough to handle, start peeling. Halve the eggs and scoop out the yolks. They should be tender, almost creamy.
Then finish the dish as you like and proceed to enjoy one of the best comfort foods I know.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Friday, May 11, 2007
NASA - Mission Could Seek Out Spock's Home Planet
NASA - Mission Could Seek Out Spock's Home Planet: "Astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have recently concluded that the upcoming planet-finding mission, SIM PlanetQuest, would be able to detect an Earth-like planet around the star 40 Eridani, a planet familiar to 'Star Trek' fans as 'Vulcan.' 40 Eridani, a triple-star system 16 light-years from Earth, includes a red-orange K dwarf star slightly smaller and cooler than our sun. Vulcan is thought to orbit that dwarf star, called 40 Eridani A.Astronomers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory have recently concluded that the upcoming planet-finding mission, SIM PlanetQuest, would be able to detect an Earth-like planet around the star 40 Eridani, a planet familiar to 'Star Trek' fans as 'Vulcan.' 40 Eridani, a triple-star system 16 light-years from Earth, includes a red-orange K dwarf star slightly smaller and cooler than our sun. Vulcan is thought to orbit that dwarf star, called 40 Eridani A."
Thursday, May 10, 2007
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