Crunchy Chicken

Having a severe milk allergy, I am super duper careful with what goes into my mouth. After having seen dairy potato chips in bags of pareve chips on more than one occasion, I stopped eating potato chips a good number of years ago. A few years ago when I was in Israel I discovered that they have potato chips that are made in a dairy free facility - and I quickly made friends with the potato chips. So of all weird things to bring home from Israel (or to have friends bring home for me), I bring pretty red bags of Osem potato chips.

I recently found that one of the bags of chips seemed to have gone through a lot of trauma and all the chips were crushed. Today I decided to put that bag of chips to good work and did a little experiment. I opened up the bag, poured the chips into a dish and worked on crushing those oily, salty bits of potato even further. Once they were sufficiently crushed I used them to coat tonight's shnitzel.  Turns out that the potato chips make a delicious and super crunchy chicken coating! So whether you are trying to finish off chips left from a party, or simply are looking for a dinner with a good crunch, I am sure this chicken will please your family.

Crunchy Chicken


Chicken breast - cut into strips
Eggs
Garlic powder
Onion powderPotato chips
Oil


Preheat oven to 400.
Prepare chicken strips and place in a bowl. Beat eggs with a fork and pour into the bowl which has the chicken. Sprinkle in some garlic powder and onion powder. Mix the chicken so that all pieces are coated with the egg. Pour potato chips into a dish and crush. Pour some oil into a glass baking dish (or jelly roll pan), and tilt the dish so that it is coated with the oil. Dip chicken into the crushed potato chips and make sure the chicken is totally coated. Place chicken strips in the dish in a single layer - do not overcrowd. Place in oven and let bake - when the chicken looks crispy it is time to flip the pieces of chicken over. When the second side looks crispy they are done. If your pieces are not too thick they can be ready within 15 minutes (sometimes less!).
Serve with ketchup or your favorite dip.

Honey-Soy Sauce Salmon

Last week my hubby and I went on a little date to paint pottery. (If you have ever been to my kitchen you know that I love painting bowls and plates to use in my kitchen - so much so that I don't really have any space left for new additions to the collection!) As I do each time I paint pottery, I picked out my piece, placed it on the table and then did a little staring at it, trying to visualize what I could do with the plain white plate.

Yesterday I rinsed the salmon fillets we were going to have for dinner and then placed them in a glass dish. The next thing I knew I found myself staring at the fish as if it were a blank canvas, trying to decide how to  "design" our dinner. It occurred to me then that at times cooking feels like an art. When I paint I need to decide on colors, shapes and shades. When I cook I need to choose flavors and textures. After contemplating my salmon for a few minutes I gathered some honey, soy sauce, fresh garlic, black pepper, lime juice and ground ginger. I mixed it all together and a short while later we had a great salmon dish.

(Sorry this time I didn't really measure anything, so here is my best guess.)

Honey-Soy Sauce Salmon

Salmon fillets

a few tablespoons honey

a few tablespoons soy sauce

a few cloves of garlic - minced

a few sprinkles of black pepper

a few sprinkles of ground ginger

a splash of lime juice

Pre heat oven to 385. Rinse and place salmon in a glass baking dish. Mix remaining ingredients together in a bowl. Pour mixture over the salmon. Take a spoon and spoon some more of the sauce onto the fish. Place in oven uncovered and bake for about 15-20 minutes. When the salmon is cooked it will flake easily with a fork. Spoon additional sauce from the dish onto the fish and serve.

Cornflake Crumb Coated Shnitzel

If you are a mother, then you are probably like most moms I know. I imagine that when it comes to cooking dinner you want to create something that is quick and easy, delicious, healthy - AND something your children will eat.

Luckily for me, my two kids are pretty healthy eaters (though one day my son Shalom announced that I must give him candy because he hadn't any had yet that day - I must've missed the memo stating that giving your kids candy every day is a must). For the most part they will eat lots of fruits and veggies which makes me quite happy. The tricky part with my kids is usually the protein part of dinner. Hamburgers have to be made a specific way, meatballs need to be a certain texture, salmon needs to be pretty pink and not have too much "stuff" on it, and chicken needs to be prepared in a few tried and true fashions.

When it comes to "shnitzel" I usually end up making what my kids refer to as chicken nuggets - though I can tell you they do not resemble chicken nuggets I've seen at any eatery. When I was in high school in Montreal, my aunt made fried "shnitzel" for Shabbat almost every single week. My aunt is an awesome cook, but I will say that the shnitzel was certainly a favorite.

When I got married and became the cook in my family, I thought about frying shnitzel - but to be honest, I don't have all that much patience for standing in front of a frying pan and turning each and every piece. I decided to try and duplicate the shnitzel - but without using a frying pan.

I quickly taught myself that the coated shnitzel can be oven fried and can be super delicious.  Every time I make these "chicken nuggets" they are finished off to the last drop!

Sooo..if you are like me and don't want to spend all that time frying your shnitzel - here's how to make it!

Cornflake Crumb Coated Shnitzel


Chicken breast - cut into strips
Eggs
Cornflake crumbs
Salt
Garlic
Oil


Preheat oven to 400.
Prepare chicken strips and place in a bowl. Beat eggs with a fork and pour into the bowl which has the chicken. Mix the chicken so that all pieces are coated with the egg. Pour cornflake crumbs into a dish and mix in some salt and garlic powder (feel free to use other spices - I just know this is how my kids will eat it). Pour some oil into a glass baking dish (or jelly roll pan), and tilt the dish so that it is coated with the oil. Dip chicken into the cornflake crumb mixture and make sure the chicken is totally coated. Place chicken strips in the dish in a single layer - do not overcrowd. Place in oven and let bake - when the chicken looks crispy it is time to flip the pieces of chicken over. When the second side looks crispy they are done. If your pieces are not too thick they can be ready within 15 minutes (sometimes less!).
Serve with ketchup or your favorite dip.


Some notes:
Of course you can make these in foil pans - I have just found that the chicken is more crispy when baked in glass or on jelly roll pans.
If you need to use racks in your oven - make sure to flip the trays in the middle - the chicken will get crispier when cooked on the top rack.

Mushroom-Onion Tomato Sauce

Onions, mushrooms, spices and tomato sauce were sizzling in my frying pan. Within minutes a mouthwatering aroma filled my house. Mushky stopped her homework (understandable) and Shalom put down the Wii remote (not so understandable) and came bounding into the kitchen asking, "Mommy, what smells soooo delicious?" I let them know that it was a new sauce I was trying out.  

The funny thing about the sauce is that at first it wasn't intended to be a sauce at all. We were just going to have sauteed mushrooms and onions to top our pasta. Watching the onions and mushrooms dance in the frying pan I had a feeling they might enjoy the company of some tomato sauce - which it turns out they thoroughly did. 

At dinner we finally tasted the new sauce and it was amazing! In the end Shalom decided that he wasn't going to try it, while Mushky pronounced that it was super yummy and gobbled it all up.

The Mushroom-Onion Tomato Sauce was served over ditalini and was accompanied by salmon baked with dill, pan seared green beans and a garden salad.

Mushroom-Onion Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium Vidalia onion

8 medium button mushrooms

1 can Hunt's tomato sauce

Garlic powder

Oregano

Black pepper

Salt

Sugar (or Splenda)

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium-high (more towards high). Dice the onion and mushrooms and add to the frying pan. Sprinkle with garlic powder, oregano, black pepper and salt. Stir frequently and allow the mushrooms and onions to get soft. Add one can Hunt's plain tomato sauce. Sprinkle in some sugar (I used Splenda). Continue to mix frequently. After it has boiled for a few minutes, lower the flame to low and allow the sauce to continue to cook for about 10 minutes - it will begin to reduce and get somewhat thicker.

Remove sauce from pan and serve over pasta.

Enjoy!

Purim: A Holiday of Light and Joy

About 6 weeks ago I stood at the Kotel together with my Birthright "Mishpuche" (family). We gathered in a circle and sang and danced as we welcomed in Shabbat. We sang "Am Yisrael Chai" - the nation of Israel is alive! As we were singing, I was filled with pride as I realized what an incredible miracle it is to proclaim these words.

Throughout history many a wicked person has tried to put out the fire in the souls of the Jewish people - and each time G-d has allowed light to prevail over darkness- Am Yisrael Chai!! We are alive and we are well.

Just one week before the joyous holiday of Purim, the Jewish world was rocked with the horrible news coming out of Israel. Five holy souls from our family had been coldly extinguished. While the majority of us have never met the Fogel family (may their blood be avenged), we cried together with their family, we cried together as a Jewish family.

Amidst the sadness and pain, we have Purim just around the corner. Purim is a time for us to be joyful and filled with happiness. It is a time for us to remember that although the wicked Haman tried to annihilate us 2,363 years ago, we are still here to tell the tale. We are still here to celebrate the many miracles which transpired during the Purim story - and throughout our long history. We are still here to show those who wish to destroy us that G-d will never let that happen. Am Yisrael Chai!

As Purim draws near we must be thankful to Hashem for all of the wonders He has shown us, and must know that as dark as it may seem, good times are on their way.  We must fill the world with joy and happiness and of course goodness and kindness. We must do our best to fill the world with light and ultimately push away the darkness.  Grab a Hamentash and wear a funny costume! Say Am Yisrael Chai and celebrate Purim like never before!

After spending 10 glorious days in Israel, my father and I decided that this year Chabad of Tidewater would throw an Israeli themed Purim party! Why not join us and enjoy authentic Israeli food (and plenty of Hamentashen and L'chaims too!) and dance to great Israeli music! Don't forget to bring your children too - there will be plenty of entertainment for the kids! Children will get balloons created by Ryan the Balloon Guy, do some cool crafts and play a super fun game - and all children in costume will be entered to win a Toys R Us giftcard! (Sunday, March 20 ~ 5:30 PM at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Downtown Norfolk - you can RSVP at www.ChabadofTidewater.com)

Don't live in Tidewater?  You can visit www.chabad.org to find a Purim celebration near you.


Being that this is a food blog, this post would not be complete without a great recipe for Hamentash! Happy baking and I hope to see you at the grand Purim party!

Hamentashen

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp. vanilla extract

5 cups flour

2 tsps. baking powder.

Filling of your choice

Preheat oven to 350

Grease cookie sheet.

Beat eggs and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. 

Roll out dough, cut out circles and fill with fillling of your choice. 

Fold in dough to create Hamentashen (3 corners)

Brush corners with water and pinch together. 

Bake for 20 minutes.

Roasted Peppers

This may seem strange to some, but I love vegetables.  Veggies of all varieties seem to make their way into my meals on a very regular basis. Vegetables make appearances in my salads, soups and sauces - and often time they perform solo - being the single ingredient in a dish.

Red, yellow and orange peppers are frequent visitors to my kitchen (I'm not a great fan of their cousins the green peppers).
These beautiful and sweet peppers make their way into many of my salads (they are a great way to add color), and into my vegetable pasta sauce.  I sauté them and add them to pasta and rice and even use them in vegetable soups.

My favorite way to eat these colorful peppers is simply to roast them. When roasted with herbs and spices in a very hot oven, the peppers get soft and crisp. They begin to taste sweet and tangy. Roasted peppers are a delicious side for your dinner or can be a tasty add in to a salad. It is incredible to me how such a simple recipe can produce such a delightful dish.

Roasted Colored Peppers

Red, yellow and orange bell peppers
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Garlic
Fresh basil

Preheat oven to 425. Wash peppers and slice into strips. Place peppers in a glass dish or on a cookie sheet (with sides is best). Drizzle peppers with olive oil, salt, pepper garlic and chopped basil. Mix well. Make sure that the peppers are pretty much only in one layer - this will make sure that they really get roasted. Place peppers in the oven (preferably the top rack) and allow to roast.  I like mine to be well done - this takes between 20-30 minutes.

Enjoy!