Grandma's Famous Brisket

As the end of March nears... my mind is focused on one thing and one thing only. What's that you say? The smell of fresh flowers? No....The smell of my Grandma Selma's brisket bubbling in the oven. Every family has their own  Jewish Brisket recipe under lock & key usually only willing to spare a few details.. ketchup, French Onion Dip mix... 

My Grandma & I :)

Check out my Grandma's Famous Brisket recipe below.. your taste buds may never be the same

BRISKET RECIPE

4 lb. brisket (remove fat) 

2 cans Manischewitz Tomato w/ mushroom sauce in the can

1 small can button mushrooms or fresh

1 lg. onion

3 carrots peeled and sliced 

2 cloves crushed garlic

1/2 cup dark and heavy kosher wine

1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar to taste

slice onion and layer on bottom of foil or glass rectangular baking dish

salt and pepper brisket

place on top of onions, fat side up

mix rest of ingredients together and pour over brisket

place button mushrooms arounds the meat

cover w/ foil and seal tightly

roast for 3 1/2 hours or so

remove meat from sauce 

cool then thinly slice meat

if hard, slice meat back in and cook until soft

cover again and add more sauce if it dries up (make sure meat is in gravy or it will dry up)

(Better to cook a day or two before-and reheat the day of)

cook until meat is fall apart tender 

**you can add water or another can of tomato sauce if you want it more soupy

Can you tell my grandma wrote this recipe? A little bit of this-a little bit of that. 

Tofu-Alfredo Sauce

who doesn't love alfredo sauce? are you with me people? I re-created this heavy, butter & fat laden sauce with lighter ingredients. Serve over your favorite pasta or protein!


Ingredients
1 package of Na-Soya Extra Firm Tofu-diced 
1 cup of Milk (regular or soy -unsweetened)
1/2 onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, sliced 
2 tbsp Lemon Juice 

1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 tsp onion powder 

Olive Oil
Fresh Parsley & Basil (if you don't have dried will work here too)
Lots of S&P

This is my creation! Seared Scallops + Cod
 over Gluten Free Spaghetti topped with Tofu-Alfredo Sauce

Directions
1-Sautee onions & garlic in a pan until translucent
2- Blend all ingredients together in a high-powered blender (I used my Vitamix)
3-Blend for about 5 minutes until sauce is smooth
4-Heat on stove + serve!



Richie Rating: 2 exuberant thumbs (he wishes he had more thumbs)

Guilt-Free Fudgey Brownies

These Black Bean brownies will trick even the biggest sweets-lovers in your life! 
*Blender required

Ingredients:
1 can of black beans, strained, drained & rinsed well
2 eggs
1/4 cup of coconut milk [or regular milk]
1/2 cup of instant oats
1/4 cup of flour [gf or regular]
1/2 tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 cup sugar 
2 heaping tbsp of cocoa powder

1/2 cup of chocolate chips 

Directions:
1. Blend ALL ingredients EXCEPT for Chocolate Chips in the blender
2. Mix in Chocolate Chips
3. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes

Optional Toppings:
Nutella and or walnuts will do the trick :)

Enjoy tricking your family & friends with these delicious brownies!

That's so Quiche

Carmelized Onion & Pear Ricotta Quiche

'This quiche makes you wanna grab your pesche'-Rich

Put this quiche together for a quick brunch or to make and eat throughout the week. 

Ingredients
1 pear sliced
1/2 yellow onion, sliced 
1/2 cup of whole-milk ricotta cheese, [fresh is best]
1/4 cup pecorino romano 
6 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup milk
2 tbsp rosemary
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions
Pre-Heat oven to 350
1. Beat eggs 
2. Add milk, pecorino & ricotta
3. In a hot saute pan (add EVOO) saute onion, pear & sage until translucent 
4. Combine egg & onion mixture in a pie pan
5. *Optional-GF pie crust [Pilsbury sells one]-Brown in oven first at 350 for 15 minutes
6. Pour all ingredients into to a greased pie pan
7. Add additional sliced pears into a star shape for garnish
8. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until quiche is brown, puffy & cooked through

I've been slackin' mac & cheese!

Things have been pretty hectic & I have not had much time to post any of my delicious creations. Last night, I got home late from work. I was SO tempted to order out but since I had spent a pretty penny on groceries this past week, I forced myself to whip something up. The weather has been getting cooler in NYC & I thought some lightened up mac & cheese would do the trick!

Baked Figgy Mac & Cheese 

nom nom nom

Ingredients:
1 cup sharp cheddar (cubed)
2 slices muenster cheese (or whatever cheese you please!)
2 tbsp flour
1/2 onion chopped 
1/2 cup GF bread crumbs
1 box of GF pasta (elbows or shells)
1 egg-beaten 
2 cups 1% milk
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp mustard 
S&P
Cinnamon or Nutmeg
Paprika
CRP-Crushed Red Pepper [baby]

Optional Additions
1 package of frozen spinach, thawed & drained
1 zucchini-chopped 
1/4 cup dried figs-chopped [salty, sweet :) ]

Directions
1- Boil salted water & cook pasta to al-dente
2- While pasta is cooking, in a small pot on medium heat saute onion, butter, mustard, & flour
3- Once onions are translucent, add the milk, paprika and S&P to taste & stir
4- Slowly add beaten egg while whisking
5- Slowly stir in 3/4 cup of cheese, 1/4 cup at a time [the cheese will melt quickly]
6. Combine [zucchini, fig & spinach], al dente pasta, & cheese mixture into casserole dish
7- Mix all ingredients together
8- Top with GF breadcrumbs & CRP
9- Cook in oven at 350 for approx. 35 minutes until bubbly

*recipe generously adapted from Alton Brown's Mac & Cheese Recipe 

Fall-Apart Pork Tenderloin

Growing up in a Jewish household we never really ate pork growing up except for the occasional ham sandwich. But since I began dating my Italian boyfriend a few years ago, he's slowly introduced me to the deliciousness & appeal of all pork products. I am not a huge chicken lover myself-so this has been a welcome ingredient in my kitchen!

This recipe came about after being sick for a couple of days. I knew I needed to make something for dinner but wanted to make it easy on myself. I am shocked at how tender & delicious this pork turned out!

How gorgeous are these colorful carrots from Trader Joes?
No judgment on my ancient crock pot!

Ingredients:
1 3-4 lb. pork loin
1 tbsp of salt
1 tbsp of pepper
1/2 tbsp of crushed red pepper
1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
2 white potatoes, cubed
2 sweet potatoes, cubed
Sprinkle of cinnamon
3 tbsp of honey

Directions:
Place all ingredients in the crock pot. Pork loin should be submerged or half submerged (floating) in cooking liquid. Place crock pot on low for 6-9 hours or 3-4 hours on high.
Remove pork from the crockpot & shred on a cutting board. Place shredded pork back in crockpot w/ liquid in order to let it soak up all the yummy juices.

Serve over rice or polenta. Or with more veggies

*Leftovers can be used to make tacos, pulled pork sandwiches, or enchiladas?! The possibilities are endless!

Cheesy Enchilada Bake

This chicken enchilada bake is easy to make, layer-layer-layer, is low-fat, gluten free & super-cheesy delicious!

Ingredients:
1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 tomato, diced 
1 package shredded taco cheese
1 can black or red beans
Bunch of cilantro
1 can of chipotle adobo sauce [or homemade Saucey]
2 chicken breasts, boiled & shredded 
10-12 corn tortillas

Tortilla party

First layer!

Directions
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Place corn tortillas on rack for 5-6 minutes [flipping sides in between] to crisp them up
3. Cut tortillas in half, ladle sauce at bottom of casserole dish, layer tortillas on top
4. Next layer: beans, peppers, cilantro, onion, chicken
5. Top with a generous amount of shredded cheese
6. Continue layers-2-3 more times
7. Last layer-top with more cheese & remainder of sauce
8. Bake in oven 25-30 minutes covered in aluminum foil
9. Remove foil & bake for an additional 10 minutes.

My sous-chef gives this recipe two-thumbs up

¡buen provecho!