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Recipe for Garlic Ginger Basil Salmon with a YouTube Video
Monday, August 3rd, 2009I made this Garlic Ginger Basil Salmon tonight… yum! It was good! The recipe comes from the YouTube video below.
I used:
1/2 pound Salmon
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
3 Cloves Garlic
1 to 2 Tablespoons Ginger
1/4 to 1/3 cup Brown Sugar ( I eyed it – it depends if you like a more or less sweet sauce)
3/4 to 1 cup Water
5 Basil Leaves finely chopped
(In the video they added Chile sauce to the sauce mixture.
I left it out since my son doesn’t like anything too spicy.)Finely chop the garlic and ginger and then mix them with the brown sugar, rice vinegar and water.
Heat pan on medium low. Add vegetable oil to coat. Add salmon. Cook salmon half way through – about 4minutes. Then flip and cook the rest of the way through – about another 4 minutes.
Add the sauce and chopped basil. Heat till the sauce is warm and serve.
You can watch how to make this recipe in the video below from Food Wishes…
I think I might try this recipe out with tofu next.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
PS My son and I loved this recipe. My husband, who is a salty person, thought the sauce was a little too sweet (though he doesn’t eat fish – so he only tasted the sauce. I must say the sauce is superb with the salmon!)
PSS Tip on the video for buying salmon: make sure to ask for a center piece and specifically not the tail.
Recipe for Savory Matzo Brei
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009Matzo brei means fried matzo in Yiddish. The traditional way to make it is with a lot of matzo – you generally use equal eggs to matzo. Jewish people eat it around Passover. Savory Matzo Brei is salty. There’s a different recipe for Sweet Matzo Brei.
You can put whatever you like into savory matzo brei. Here are some suggestions: fry up any of the following first: chopped onions, green or red peppers, mushrooms, or other vegetables that you might put into a normal omelet. You can also add cheese and/or herbs to savory matzo brei. If you’re using cheese, I’d recommend Swiss or cheddar cheese – but use whatever you and your family like.
Here’s how you make Savory Matzo Brei:
Recipe for Savory Matzo Brei
3 Eggs
3 Matzo
1 Tablespoon Milk
Salt and Pepper to Taste1) Fry up any vegetables you want to use in a little oil or butter, until lightly brown and soft. Set aside.
1) Soak matzo in water for a minute or two to soften (no longer than that). Take the matzo out of the water.
2) Break matzo into small pieces with your hands.
3) In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the milk (like you would for scrambled eggs). Add salt and pepper and stir. Then stir the egg mixture in with the matzos.
4) Put pan with vegetables back on medium heat heat. Then add the egg mixture. Break up like you would scrambled eggs while frying.
5) Add small cubes of cheese if you’re using cheese.
When it’s firm (not liquidy), it’s ready to eat.
Bon appetit!
Mama Lisa
PS If you’d like to try something different, check out my recipe for Matzo Omelet.
Recipe for Matzoh Omelet
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
I’ll give the recipe here for a matzo omelet. It’s inspired by the dish called Matzo brei. There’s a little story behind this and I’ll tell it in a moment. Matzo brei means fried matzo. The traditional way to make it is with a lot of matzo – you generally use equal eggs to matzo. Jewish people eat it around Passover. A matzo omelet is different, it’s an omelet with matzo in it – more egg less matzo!
A few years ago, my mother-in-law was explaining matzo brei to me. I suppose I misunderstood her explanation. I went home and made a traditional omelet for my husband with matzo in it. I made it using a little matzo per egg. It turns out that he loved it! I made him omelets like that for years, thinking I was cooking authentic Jewish food. My bad! I wasn’t. I had come up with a new invention: a matzo omelet. It wasn’t until this year, when my sister-in-law taught me the real way to make matzo brei, that I learnt the difference. I personally prefer the matzo omelet to the savory matzo brei.
So let’s get to the recipe! I’ll start by saying the you can put whatever you like into the matzo omelet. Here are some suggestions: fry up any of the following first: chopped onions, green or red peppers, mushrooms, or other vegetables that you might put into a normal omelet. You can also add cheese to the matzo omelet. I’d recommend Swiss or cheddar cheese – use whatever you and your family like.
Here’s the basic recipe for the matzo omelette:
Matzo Omelet
3 Eggs
1 Matzo
1/4 c. Milk
Salt and Pepper to Taste1) Melt butter in a frying pan, fry up any vegetables you want to use on medium heat. When they’re soft and lightly brown, turn off the heat and set aside.
2) Beat the eggs with a fork. Add the milk, salt and pepper and stir again.
3) Break up the matzo into bite sized pieces and put into the egg mixture.
4) Stir the matzo in the with eggs
5) Put the frying pan with the vegetables back on medium heat and add the egg mixture.
6) Once the omelet starts to get firm you can add cheese to half of the pan.
7) Once the cheese starts to melt, and the omelet gets less liquidy, you can flip half of the omelet over the other half. I flipped it and cut it in half to help it cook more quickly. You may need to lower the heat if the bottom starts to cook too quickly.
8) You can flip the omelet again after a couple of minutes, make sure the inside gets cooked. Once the eggs are firm on the inside, you’re ready to eat it!
Bon appetit!
Mama Lisa
PS I used whole milk for the omelet because we had it in our fridge for another recipe. I don’t normally use whole milk, but 1%. The whole milk gave the omelet a more custardy taste. More yummy, though more fattening. Interesting to know as a cook!
Next: Recipe for Savory Matzo Brei
Recipe for Sweet Matzo Brei
Monday, April 13th, 2009
Matzo Brei means fried matzo in Yiddish. This is a good dish to make near Passover. That’s when most Jewish people eat it. I’d suggest trying it even if you’re not Jewish. Here’s one good reason: Matzoh is always on sale around Passover and there’s tons of it in the store. How can you not buy a box?
After you buy your box of matzo, I’ll tell you two things you can do with it! You can made Sweet Matzo Brei or Savory Matzo Brei. Don’t go away – don’t be fearful! If you like sweet things, you’ll like Sweet Matzo Brei. I was suspicious about it for years. I KID YOU NOT! I would never in a million years have put matzo, with eggs and syrup. But man, this is good. If you like pancakes or French toast with syrup, you’ll like it. If you don’t, then try the savory way (which I’ll explain how to do in my next post). My savory way is different from everyone else’s. Mine is like a matzo omelet. Sounds a bit strange, yes! But it’s actually very good. That one I have been making for years.
So, let’s get to it!
You can choose how much you’d like to make depending on the number of people eating. The key to making Sweet Matzah Brei is to use one egg per matzo. We used 10 eggs and ten matzohs for 3 adults, 2 big teenage boys with hearty appetites and 2 young girls (one six and one eight year old). Using that as a general rule, it would be about 1 to 1 1/2 matzo per person for a serving size, depending upon how hungry the people are and how much they like to eat.
Recipe for Sweet Matzo Brei
What you need:
1 Egg per Matzo
Milk (1 teaspoon per egg)
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Butter for Frying
Maple Syrup1) Soak matzo in water for a minute or two to soften (no longer than that). Take the matzo out of the water.
2) Break matzo into small pieces with your hands.
3) In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the milk (like you would for scrambled eggs). Add a dash or two of cinnamon and nutmeg and stir. Then stir the egg mixture in with the matzos.
4) Melt a slab of butter in a frying pan (enough to coat the bottom of the pan). Add egg mixture. Break up like you would like scrambled eggs while frying on medium heat.
Serve with maple syrup – yum!
Many thanks to Dale Durdunas for teaching me this great recipe!
Next: Recipe for Savory Matzo Brei and a Matzo Omelet!
Recipe for Spaghetti Squash with Pasta
Monday, February 23rd, 2009Spaghetti Squash with Pasta is a great dish to make in the Winter – since it involves baking the squash – it heats up the house. Squash is also inexpensive and easy to find in the North East U.S. in the Winter, making it an ideal cold weather staple.
This is an easy dish to make. Here’s what you’ll need:
1 Spaghetti Squash
1 pound Pasta (we use whole wheat)
Parmesan Cheese to Taste
Butter to Taste (we use about 1-2 Tablespoons)
Salt and Pepper to TasteHere’s what you do:
Preheat oven to 375F.
-Place squash on baking dish and bake for about 45 minutes – turning it every 15 minutes. It’s done when a fork easily goes through the skin.
-Meanwhile, boil water and cook the pasta – timing it to be ready around when the squash is done. When the pasta is ready, drain it.
-When the squash is done, cut it in half. Spoon out the seeds and discard.
-Spoon out the good flesh of the squash, breaking it up a little.
-Mix the squash with the pasta, a slab of butter, salt and pepper and parmesan cheese. (Or any sauce that will support pasta.)Bon appetit!
Many thanks to Kimberly Marrero for teaching me this recipe. We’ve made it just about every week this Winter!
Mama Lisa
UPDATE: Corrine Lewack wrote to me about this recipe: “Yum.. I’ve even used tomato sauce and parmesan cheese on top of the spaghetti squash only.. good for those of us who need carb control!” -Thanks for the tip Corrine! I’m going to try this the next time I make a pot of tomato sauce! -Lisa
PS I usually try to bake another vegetable while I have the oven on (to save on electricity): either another type of squash (like acorn or butternut squash) or eggplant to make Baba Ganouj for another day.
Torrin Soup for Newlyweds, From the Occitan Region of Southern France
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009Guest blogger, Monique Palomares works with me on Mama Lisa’s World en français. Monique grew up speaking the Occitan language in southern France. Occitan was the language spoken by the troubadours – largely in southern France – but also in parts of Spain and Italy.
Last week, Monique wrote about an Occitan Wedding Custom and Song from France. The custom revolves around a soup called Torrin, that’s given to the newlyweds. Here’s the recipe from Monique…
Recipe for Torrin Soup for Newlyweds
(Serves 4)Ingredients
A large spoonful of goose or duck fat (or oil)
5 or 6 garlic cloves
A spoonful of flour
2 eggs
Salt & Pepper
Vinegar
(I usually use wine or balsamic vinegar but it’s just a dash of it so I suppose you can use any.)1. Boil 4 to 6 cups of water in a pot.
2. Put the fat in a large frying pan and slowly fry the garlic, but don’t allow it to brown. Add the flour, stirring it quickly.
3. Pour in the boiling water. Add salt and pepper. Allow to boil for 15 min.
4. Separate the egg yolks and whites. Beat the yolks with a dribble of vinegar.
5. After 15 minutes, pour the egg whites into the garlic/flour mixture and stir quickly. Lower the flame. Add the yolks, stir and DO NOT allow to boil (or the yolks will coagulate and you’ll have yellow threads instead of a beautiful yellow broth).
Torrin Soup can be served with croutons or thin slices of bread.
In some areas they cook it with equal amounts of onions and garlic, then they sprinkle grated Swiss cheese on top and broil it in the oven.
My mother used to cook it. She’d use oil, not goose fat. She used peanut or sunflower oil, but you can use olive oil or any frying oil. The “genuine” recipe is with goose or duck fat. My mother also added vermicelli in step three, after the water started to boil again. Then came the egg whites and the yolks. But we didn’t serve it with bread, the vermicelli would be enough carbohydrates! We called it “Soupe à l’œuf” – “Soup with egg”.
“Torrin” is a word from the South-West.
-Monique
Great Recipe for Leek Tart
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008I made a leek tart yesterday. My family all agreed (with the exception of my 7 year old daughter who doesn’t like leeks), that it was the best tart we’ve ever had!
Leek Tart Recipe
3 Leeks
1 Onion
Olive Oil (for sauteing)
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
Ready-made Pie CrustPreheat the oven to 400 F.
Clean the leeks and trim off the ends. Slice up into thin pieces. Chop onion into small pieces. Saute leeks and onions in olive oil until soft and golden.
Grease a tart pan with butter. Roll out the ready made crust and fit firmly into the tart pan going up the sides of the pan.
Beat the eggs and mix in the milk. Mix in half the Gruyere and the leek onion mixture. Stir well. Pour onto top of crust. Spread the rest of the Gruyere over the top of the mixture.
Bake for about 30 minutes, until golden brown.
How to Make Pumpkin Tart
Wednesday, November 26th, 2008
This recipe is from Monique from France. She gave two versions: one for a dinner tart, the other, a dessert tart.
Monique used a banana squash pumpkin in France.
In the US, I’d recommend using a small pie pumpkin for this recipe. (Or if you’re tight for time you can use a can of plain pumpkin puree.)
First you have to cut, cook and peel the pumpkin to get it in a cooked pureed form.
You cut off the top of the pumpkin and then cut it in half vertically. Then you scoop out the seeds and pulp. (You can keep the seeds and bake them at a low temperature later to make roasted pumpkin seeds.)
Then you can cook it in a steamer on the stovetop until it’s soft. Or you can cook it in the microwave in a covered dish in about two inches of water – until soft – about 15 to 30 minutes. (It’s okay if you need to slice up the pumpkin a bit to fit into the pot.)
Once the pumpkin is soft, allow it to drain. Then you can peel it and puree it.
Add three eggs and ½ to 1 cup of a dairy product – Monique used Greek yogurt but you can use cream or milk (though milk makes the result more watery).
At this point, the recipe varies, depending upon whether you’re making a dessert tart or a dinner tart. Here are instructions for both.
For a Dessert Tart: Add sugar to taste (or any sweetener that can resist heat), a large handful of raisins and powdered ginger, cinnamon or Chinese five-spice powder.
Monique lines a tart pan with a ready-to-use pie crust. Optionally, you can spread a couple of tablespoonfuls of prune or chestnut spread over the crust. Then she pours in the pumpkin mixture and bakes it for half an hour or so in a 400°F oven. Allow to cool.
For a Dinner Tart: Monique adds two cloves of crushed garlic, salt and pepper. She lines a tart pan with a layer of ready-for-use crust and pours in the pumpkin mixture. Then she sprinkles with Swiss cheese on top before baking. You can also make dinner tarts with butternut squash instead of pumpkin. Bake at 400°F for about 30 minutes.
Many thanks to Monique from Mama Lisa’s World en français for sharing this recipe with us!
-Lisa
UPDATE: I made the dessert version of this tart the other day. I didn’t use the prune or chestnut spread (since they’re hard to find in the US). I did use canned pumpkin, milk, eggs, cinnamon, sugar and raisins, following the directions for the dessert tart above.
We liked it better chilled – it tasted a lot like a pumpkin pie – but thinner and subtler. -Lisa
The Dreydl Song and an Easy Way to Make Potato Latkes for Hanukah
Thursday, December 6th, 2007Mark Bittman at the NY Times makes an alternative to latkes that’s called potato nik. He learned it from his grandmother. It’s easy and that’s the point! You simply use your favorite potato pancake recipe (click the link to see mine). Instead of cooking them individually, Mark cooks them as one large pancake. He coats the bottom of the pan with oil and pours in the latke batter. Once one side is cooked, he slides it out onto a plate, and covers it with another plate. Then he turns it over and slides it back into the pan to cook the other side. Once it’s done, voila! It’s ready to be eaten. Much quicker than individual pancakes. You can watch Mark prepare his Potato Nik to see how it’s done.
Serve latkes with sour cream and/or apple sauce. I’d recommend trying my recipe for homemade applesauce to have with it. Yum!
If you’d like to teach your kids a Hanukah song here’s a link to The Dreydl Song and the rules for the Dreydl Game.
-Mama Lisa
A Meatloaf Frankenstein You Can Make for Halloween
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007You can use your favorite meatloaf or meatball recipe for this. The important part is to shape it into a Frankenstein like in the photo below. The “stitches” are made of slivers of black olives and the eyes are put in after Frankie comes out of the oven. They’re simply slices of green olives with pimentos in them.
This shows how you can use your imagination to make holiday food more fun for children and adults alike.
-Mama Lisa
Many thanks to Diane and Dawn Yannucci and Jackie Walsh for the scary dinner!
Recipe for Ashe Mast – A White Persian Stew
Wednesday, July 18th, 2007My neighbor brought me a sampling of a very popular Persian soup called Ashe Mast. I found it to be interesting and different. It’s the type of food my family enjoys, as they like chick peas, beans, rice and yogurt. I’ll definitely be adding it to the repertoire of meals I make.
Ashe means soup and Mast means yogurt. So Ashe Mast literally translates to Yogurt Soup.
Here’s the recipe! (You can add or subtract yogurt, depending on whether you want more of a soup, or a stew.)
Recipe for Ashe Mast
1 bunch Parsley
1 bunch Cilantro
1 medium Onion
2 bunches of Scallions
3 medium Potatoes
1/2 cup Rice
1 1/2 cup Water
1 can Garbanzo Beans (16 oz.)
1 can White Beans (16 oz.)
Salt and Pepper
Plain Whole Milk Yogurt (8-16 oz.)Wash the parsley and cilantro, take out the stems and coarsely chop the leaves. Wash and chop the onion and scallions and cube the potatoes.
Sauté the onion in a little oil until soft. Add water and rice and stir. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat and cook for 15 minutes. Add the greens, potatoes and beans. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook slowly until the potatoes are cooked through (about 15-20 minutes), stirring occasionally.
After the rice and potatoes are cooked, take of the heat for a moment. The ingredients should be warm (not hot) and it’s better if the yogurt has been left out of the fridge for a while, so that when added it doesn’t curdle. Add yogurt and gradually heat up the entire mixture and serve.
Many thanks to Ginger Levanti and Frida for the recipe! If anyone would like to share a recipe, I always like to try new dishes. Please feel free to comment below or email me.
-Mama Lisa
My Mom’s Recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day
Wednesday, March 15th, 2006
Corned Beef and Cabbage is a very traditional meal that Irish Americans eat for St. Patrick’s Day.
I’m one-eighth Irish. My great grandmother came from Ireland. The tradition of eating Corned Beef and Cabbage was passed down through the family to my Mom. Here’s Mom’s delicious, and easy, recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage.
We like to serve it with Mustard, Boiled Potatoes, Rye Bread and/or Irish Soda Bread, and Ale. Some people like it with Prepared Horseradish.
Recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned Beef (3-4 pounds)
Fresh Cabbage1) Clean corned beef by rinsing it under cold water.
2) Place in large pot and cover meat with cold water.
3) Bring to a boil. Then cover and simmer.
4) Cook for 2-3 hours, until tender when pierced with a fork.
5) Meanwhile, to prepare the cabbage, take off and discard its outer leaves.
6) Rinse cabbage well under water.
7) Remove any imperfections from the cabbage.
8) Cut cabbage into 4ths or 8ths, depending on the size of cabbage pieces you prefer.
9) Once the meat is done, remove it from the water. Place cabbage in the same water and bring to a boil. Then let it simmer for about 10 to 20 minutes, depending upon how wilted or firm you like your cabbage.
(Some people prefer to cook the cabbage with the corned beef during the last 10-20 minutes of cooking the meat.)
10) Drain the cabbage and cover to keep it warm.
11) Slice the corned beef in thin slices, against the grain.Enjoy!
Thanks for the recipe Mom!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day and Top of the Morning to You All!
Lisa
Non Alcoholic Cheese Fondue – A Holiday Day Treat for your Kids
Sunday, February 12th, 2006My kids love this cheese fondue recipe. It’s nice to make this for Valentine’s Day dinner, to make it a special meal for them. Here’s the recipe for Non-Alcoholic Cheese Fondue…
Non Alcoholic Cheese Fondue
1 pound Swiss* cheese
2 cloves of Garlic
3 T. All-Purpose Flour
2 T. Butter
1 1/2 cups Milk
½ T. Lemon Juice
1/8 tsp. ground Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
*You can mix Swiss and Gruyere for a stronger taste. Some people prefer Cheddar.Dippers – Italian or French Bread cut into about 1 ¼ to 1 ½ inch pieces is a must! We also like thin sausage cut into bite sized pieces. If you’d like you can serve slices of apple on the side.
Peel garlic and slice the cloves in half the long way so the most inner surface is showing. Rub a heavy saucepan with two halves of the garlic for flavoring. Rub the fondue pot with the other two garlic halves.
Grate the cheese and mix with 1 T. of the flour.
Melt the butter in saucepan over medium-low heat. Add rest of flour. Stir well till smooth. Add about ½ cup of milk and stir till smooth. Slowly add the rest of the milk, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens to about the consistency of light cream. Add a handful of cheese and keep stirring. Let the cheese melt and then add another handful and stir until it melts. Repeat the process until all the cheese is melted.
Once all the cheese has been added and the mixture is smooth, you can stir in the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Finally, add the lemon juice. Stir well till the mixture is smooth once again.
Light the sterno and add cheese mixture to the fondue pot. Eat immediately! Spear bread and dunk in fondue and enjoy. Scrape the bottom of the pot with whatever you’re dipping from time to time to keep it from burning.
Bon Appétit!
Lisa
Candlemas and Crêpes… a Recipe and a Song
Tuesday, January 31st, 2006In yesterday’s blog entry, I talked about the importance of crêpes for Candlemas (Groundhog Day in the U.S.) I also gave the lyrics to a French song about Candlemas.
Here’s another song from France about eating crêpes, in French, with an English translation, and a midi. After that you’ll find a recipe for making basic crêpes, with a couple of suggestions about what to fill them with.
A Midi of Quand on fait des crêp’s chez nous – When We Make Crêpes at Our House
Quand on fait des crêp’s chez nous
Quand on fait des crêp’s chez nous, ma mèr’ vous invite
Quand on fait des crêp’s chez nous, ell’ vous invite tous
Un’ pour toi, un’ pour moi, un’ pour mon p’tit frèr’ François
Un’ pour toi, un’ pour moi, un’ pour tous les trois.When We Make Crêpes at Our House
When we make crêpes at our house, my mom invites you
When we make crêpes at our house, she invites you all
One for you, one for me, one for my little brother Francois
One for you, one for me, one for all three of us.Here’s a basic recipe for crêpes…
Basic Crêpe Recipe (makes about 8 crepes)
1 c. Flour*
2 Eggs
1 ¼ c. Milk
2 T. Butter, Melted (unsalted butter can be used for dessert crêpes)
¼ t. Salt for dinner crêpes (only a pinch of salt for dessert crêpes)
1 T. Sugar (for dessert crêpes only)
Butter or oil for cooking*For Buckwheat crêpes use ½ c. flour and ½ c. buckwheat flour instead of 1 c. flour
You can either mix all ingredients in a blender, food processor or with a whisk till smooth. It’s best to let the batter sit for ½ hour before cooking. You can add a little more milk or a little water if you find the batter is too thick.
Use a skillet that’s about 6 – 8″ in diameter. (I used an 8″ pan and got 8 fairly large crêpes.) Put about ½ to 1 teaspoon of butter in the bottom of the pan, enough to coat it. Melt on medium high heat.
Pour in about 2-3 T. batter and tilt or gently swirl the pan so that the batter covers the whole bottom of the skillet. Cook on one side until golden brown. Flip. Cook the other side till it starts to become golden, which should happen quickly, and remove from heat. Repeat this process until you’ve used all the batter.
If you’re going to store the crêpes in the fridge, you can put wax paper between them to keep them from sticking together .
Btw – Most people end up throwing out the first crêpe or two the first time they make them.
Here are some different ways to fold the crêpes…
(Always put the better-looking side of the crêpe on the outside.)1) Rolled – Put filling on one end of the crêpe and roll it up, sort of like a cigar. (You may eat them this way by hand – usually good with a thin filling.)
2) Folded in Half – Put filling on one side and fold over in half (usually eaten with a fork)
3) Folded in Threes – Put filling in middle of crêpe, fold the left third side over and then the right side over. (Usually eaten with a fork.)
4) Folded in Fours – Just like folding in threes, but then also fold over the bottom and top (can be eaten by hand.)
5) Folded as a Triangle – Put filling on half of crêpe and fold the crêpe over in half, then fold in half again.
6) Layered – Put filling on whole crêpe, put another crêpe on top – you can keep layering as long as you want! This would usually be done with thinner fillings.
7) Folded like a Burrito – Put filling in middle, fold over two opposite ends about 1 inch, and roll over the crêpe starting at the side, till it’s completly rolled up.Here are Some Ideas for Crêpe Fillings:
Savory Crêpes (or Dinner Crêpes)
Ham and Gruyere or Swiss Cheese Crêpes – Cube ham and fry, place in crêpe with shredded cheese and place in warm oven, at 300 F, to melt. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Cover if needed to prevent the crêpes from drying out. (A variation is to make this with chopped tomatoes.)
Mushrooms and Swiss Cheese – Sautee mushrooms in a little butter. Place in crêpe and top with cheese. Fold crepe and place in warm oven, at 300 F, to melt cheese. This will take about 10-15 minutes. Cover if needed to prevent the crêpes from drying out. (A variation is to make this with chopped tomatoes.)
Spinach and Goat Cheese – Sautee spinach. Spread goat cheese on crêpe, top with spinach and fold.
***
Dessert Crêpes (some of these could be good for breakfast too!)
Apple Cinnamon and Walnut Crêpes – Sautee chopped apples and walnuts in a little butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Scoop mixture onto crêpe and fold.
Lemon and Powered Sugar Crêpes – Sprinkle confectioners sugar on crêpe and squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on top. Fold and eat!
Your Favorite Jam Crêpes – Simply smear the crêpe with jelly, fold over or roll and top with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
Nutella and Whipped Cream Crêpe – Spread nutella on crêpe, top with a dollop of whipped cream and fold up.
Banana and Nutella Crêpes – Spread nutella on crepe, and top with thinly sliced bananas. Fold crêpe and enjoy!
Sugared Crêpes – Sprinkle crêpe with sugar and fold or roll up. These work well if you want to eat them by hand.
Ice Cream Crêpe – Put vanilla ice cream on crêpe, some hot chocolate syrup and whipped cream and fold it up.
Hot Fudge and Strawberry Crêpes – Clean and slice strawberries and place on crêpe, cover with hot fudge and a dollop of whip cream. Fold and enjoy!
You can see that your imagination is the only limit when it comes to making crêpes!
Bon Appétit!
Lisa
Many thanks to Monique of Mama Lisa’s World en français for sending me the song, the midi, for help with the translation and for some delicious suggestions for crêpe fillings!
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World France page for more French children’s songs with their English translations and…
Mama Lisa’s World en français for children’s songs around the world with their French translations.
Recipe for Cheese Fondue
Sunday, January 1st, 2006Every year my husband and I make a delicious Cheese Fondue for New Year’s Eve. Years ago we realized that, after the November/December holiday craze, we’re very happy staying home, making a special meal. When my son was little we would start cooking after he went to bed and have a nice romantic evening.
The year our son was five, it was the eve of the year 2000, and we just had to keep him up for the event. Since then he’s become part of the celebration and so has our four year old daughter. (We make a separate, non alcoholic fondue pot for the kids. It’s delicious too!) We also added going outside at midnight and banging pots and pans, which is the highlight of our son’s night!
Here’s the recipe we like. You can add the brandy or leave it out depending upon your personal preference. It’s excellent either way. We like to dunk 1 ½ inch cubes of Italian bread and 1 inch pieces of thin sausage. The combination is great together!
Cheese Fondue
1 pound mixture of Swiss Cheese (I prefer a mixture of Gruyere and Swiss)
1 cup White Wine (I use Chablis)
1 T. Lemon Juice
2 cloves Garlic
1 ½ T. Flour
Nutmeg
Salt
Pepper
3 T. Brandy or Kirsch (optional)Slice the cloves of garlic in half the long way so the most inner surface is showing. Rub a heavy saucepan with two halves of the garlic for flavoring. Rub the fondue pot with the other two garlic halves.
Grate the cheese and mix with the flour.
Place the wine and the lemon juice in the saucepan over a low heat. Once bubbles start rising to the surface, add a handful of cheese. At this point you can raise the heat to medium. Stir constantly. If the mixture starts boiling, lower the flame.
Once the cheese melts, you can add another handful and so on until all the cheese has been added and is melted.
Add a dash of salt and 2 dashes each of pepper and nutmeg. Mix well. Stir in brandy or kirsch.
Quickly pour mixture into fondue pot and place over Sterno. Eat immediately! Spear bread or sausage with fondue fork, occasionally scraping bottom of pan with bread to keep the bottom from burning. If the cheese starts bubbling, lower flame.
Just beware! If you’re adding the brandy it can go to your head! Over the years, a couple of our guests have passed out on our couch from this meal. But maybe that was when we were younger and added more brandy to our cheese fondue than we do nowadays!
Bon Appétit!
Lisa
Recipe for Baked Camembert from France
Thursday, December 29th, 2005After reading my entry about Baked Brie, Monique from France wrote me…
We bake Camembert in embers or hot ashes, but we don’t bake Brie this way.
To bake a Camembert, you’d want to chose one that’s not too soft, yet not too hard (we say “plaster-like”) with a wooden box. One for 4 or 5 people who are not too hungry.
You open the box, unwrap it and put a little thyme, rosemary or savory between the paper and the cheese. Then wrap it up again and put the wooden box under the hot ashes. Or else you can wrap it up with tinfoil and put it in the embers.
You leave it in till you think the inside’s melted, depending on the heat. Then you unwrap it, cut the top off and everybody dips in a piece of bread (French bread with hard crust, for sure) in the melted cheese, eats it, takes another piece of bread, etc… You generally run short of cheese first!
I know there are more “civilized” recipes with each person served some grilled camembert with salad and baked potatoes. But I like this one better cause everybody helps him/herself from the same box. It’s more fun!
Many thanks to Monique of Mama Lisa’s World en français for this recipe.
Recipe for Potato Pancakes or Latkes
Wednesday, December 28th, 2005“Latkes” is the Yiddish word for pancakes (usually potato pancakes). Jewish people eat latkes for Hanukkah because of the oil they’re fried in.
It symbolizes the miracle of the oil: A little over 2000 years ago, the Jewish people were besieged by a Greek army. Many were barricaded in the Temple of Jerusalem, trying desperately to protect it. They only had a small amount of oil, yet it lasted for eight days and nights. (Another Hanukkah tradition is that candles on the Menorah are lit for 8 days, one for each of the eight nights the oil lasted.)
I’ve made latkes using different recipes over the years, and they usually taste about the same. The main difference in how a latke tastes is in the frying and storing. It’s important to keep the temperature of the oil fairly high while cooking. This keeps the latkes from absorbing all the oil. They turn out crispier this way too.
Baking potatoes are best to use since they’re starchier. The starchiness holds the pancake together better while frying.
Recipe for Potato Latkes
2 to 2 ½ pounds Baking Potatoes
1 Yellow Onion (optional, but recommended)
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
¼ cup Flour or Matzoh Meal
1 t. Salt (or more to taste)
Pepper to taste
Vegetable or Olive Oil for fryingClean the potatoes, cutting out any imperfections. Grate potatoes and onions. (If your eyes can’t take grating the onions, you can finely chop them. Also, to save time you can grate it all in a food processor.) Put both in colander. Strain out all liquid, pressing down with a clean towel or squeeze it with your hands. Place mixture in bowl and combine with remaining ingredients.
Pour ¼ inch of oil into skillet and heat over medium-high heat. You’ll know the oil is hot enough if , when you put a very small amount of the mixture in, it sizzles.
Spoon potato mixture into the skillet and flatten with spatula, making about 3-4 inch pancakes. Fry latkes until golden brown to brown on bottom and flip. Turn down heat a little if needed to prevent burning, but not too much or the pancakes will turn out soggy.
Once pancakes are golden brown on each side, drain on a double paper towel and gently blot the top with paper towels too.
Do not stack the latkes. That will make them soggy too! You can put them on a cookie sheet in a single layer in a low oven to keep them warm.
Serve them with homemade applesauce for a real treat!
Many thanks to Diane Schindelheim for teaching me the art of cooking latkes!
Happy Hanukkah!
Lisa
UPDATE: Check out my instructions for Potato Nik which you make as one large potato pancake to save time.
![image_thumb[14]](http://www.mamalisa.com/images/blog/image-thumb141.png "image_thumb[14]")
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