Cooking 101: Baked Salmon and a few side dishes…

You know how everyone has a staple dish or recipe?! It’s a wham-bam-thank-you-m’am kind of culinary creation that is quick, easy and perhaps even healthy!? The one recipe that you could cook with your eyes closed (although not recommended or endorsed by Braude’s Bites).

For those who need a bit of Cooking 101, this is one of the first recipes that I usually share with the “culinary challenged”.

My mother has been baking this dish for years so I give credit, where credit is due.
Without further adieu, I present:

Baked Salmon:

Ingredients:
Salmon Fillet

Mayonnaise

Paprika
Garlic Powder

Instructions:
1. Wash fish under water and pat dry.

2. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on the top of the fish

3. Sprinkle a bit of paprika and onion powder

4. Bake in your toaster oven or in the oven at 350 F for 15 minutes (Put your oven fan on so that you don’t stink up your kitchen)

5. Feel free to broil the fish for the last 1-2 minutes to get a crusty flake on top (be careful not to burn your fish)

This dish goes well with these easy side dishes:

Sautéed Kale (inspired by the recipe from the restaurant Westvill in NYC)

1. Clean kale and pat dry
2. Chop the kale like it was lettuce
3. Add 1 chopped shallots with 1 tbsp of olive oil to frying pan
4. Heat on low until onions are transparent (be very careful when heating oil!)
5. Add kale and ½ cup of white wine, dash of salt and pepper
6. Cover lid on pan until the kale is cooked
   
   

Baked Potato

1. Wash and scrub potato
2. Stab potato repeatedly with a fork
3. Place in microwave for 10 minutes on high
   
   

Roasted Asparagus

1. Clean asparagus
2. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp oil and a dash of salt and pepper
3. Put asparagus on a roasting pan for 15 minutes at 350
   
   

Steamed Asparagus

1. Clean asparagus
2. Insert asparagus in a Pyrex dish
3. Fill Pyrex dish with a centimeter of water
4. Cover Pyrex with saran wrap and microwave for 6 minutes
5. Careful of steam when removing saran wrap
6. Remove asparagus from water
7. Upon serving, sprinkle with salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice
   
   

Roasted Veggies

1. Slice and clean all veggies (Ideas: mushrooms, onions, peppers, baby carrots, beets, parsnip)
2. Put on a baking sheet and drizzle with 4 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 2 tbsp of Italian seasoning and a dash of salt and pepper
3. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350

Keep in mind that bikini season is on its way.

Also please note that Sherri has been a tad occupied feeding this lil guy, meet Justin -formerly known as Junior. He isn't into solids just yet but he has exhibited behavior of wanting to eat everything. Future Braude's Bites Guinea Pig.

Enjoy.
Chef Cara

Bye Bye Big Apple

Live from the burbs in New Jersey – it’s the Sparaga/Braude family BBQ . With more than 100 sq ft of kitchen, Sherri and I tag teamed the “situation” under the supervision of Mom. Everyone pitched in, including Leebo who managed the BBQ and even Chip who did the groceries. Guests included the Boidmans in check with Lilly and the Kos from Atlanta.

The menu included: Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, Geneve’s Moroccan Chicken, Second Helpings Coleslaw, Barefoot Contessa’s Corn Salad and Sherri’s Berry Crumble. The Corn Salad was the top contender with five star reviews from all. Basil, our favorite herb, makes this salad very summery! The berry crumble always gets rave reviews and is always fun with vanilla bean ice cream.



Barefoot Contessa Fresh Corn Salad

Ingredients:

5 cobs of Corn (substitution: 2 cans of corn)

½ cup Basil, cut into Ribbons

½ cup diced Red Onion

3 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar

3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

½ tsp Sea Salt

½ tsp Ground Pepper

We kicked off the salad by tossing the corn on the grill for 10-15 minutes; each cob was wrapped in tinfoil and seasoned with salt, pepper and oil. It’s best to soak the corn in water for a few hours prior to the BBQ so that they don’t burn. If you’re looking to skip a step – you can cook the corn in boiling water on the stove top or use corn from the can. Once the corn is cool, shuck it into a large bowl and add all remaining ingredients. Serve salad cold or at room temperature.



Chef Cara

A Tribute to our Bubby Lucy and her Legendary Cookies

Sherri and I both agreed that it was time that Braude’s Bites was a representation of both the Braude Sister’s culinary skills (even if one of us now goes by the married name Sparaga) . I couldn’t be more honored to have my first post be a tribute to our Bubby Lucy who passed away this month at the age of 93. Our Bubby was known for her love of traveling, her sewing and mending skills, her sense of style, her beauty, her sweet tooth and best known worldwide by her famous White Meringue Chocolate Chip cookies that we referred to as “Bubby Lucy’s Cookies”.

Although these cookies have been a staple in our household for years, it was only a few weeks ago that I made my first batch. This recipe only has four ingredients and takes very little preparation time, but I caution all bakers that this particular cookie recipe needs to be followed exactly in order to achieve the right coloring and shape.

Bubby Lucy’s Cookies
Yields approximatley 22 cookies

2 Egg Whites

½ cup of Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

1 cup of Chocolate Chips

1. Preheat the oven for 260 F.

2. Separate Egg Whites and leave them out so that they attain room temperature. Using a mix master (small bowel), Beat the eggs on high.

3. As the egg whites become frothy you gradually add the sugar and then the vanilla. You beat it for approximately 5-7 minutes, until you obtain peaks. The batter is ready when the peaks hold their form.

4. Fold the chocolate chips in by hand.

5. Using two cookie sheets, cover them both with parchment paper and drop cookies with a regular spoon.

6. Bake the cookies for 40 minutes at 265 F. Turn off the oven and leave the cookies in the oven for an hour, so that they become dry.

I highly recommend sampling a cookie as soon as they come out of the oven! These cookies have a great shelf life in the pantry, our mother always has these on hand for guest (that’s if our father doesn’t discover them before the guests arrive). It should also be noted that they are also low fat in comparison to other traditional cookies.

We’ll miss our bubby, but her legacy will live on with this recipe.

Cara

Photo taken on January 12th, 2008

A Rite of Passage

If you're a Jewish Canadian and your mother liked to cook, chances are that some time after you left home, your mom gave you a trio of cookbooks by Norene Gilletz. When I was little, I always saw my mom cooking from "Second Helpings" and "The Pleasures of Your Processor". As I got older, Norene came out with "Microways" and "Meal- Lean- I Yumm" to adapt to changing technologies and health and wellness! During the holidays, my mom always made a sweet and creamy dressing from her book, "The Pleasures of Your Processor". As I prepare to bring salad over to my thanksgiving feast at my mother-in-law's in Long Island, I made this dressing. Note: This dressing is NOT LOW FAT!!

Sweet & Spicy French Dressing (yields 2 3/4 cups dressing)
From: The Pleasures of Your Processor by Norene Gilletz

2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 tbsp salt (I use Kosher)
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 cup oil (I use extra virgin)
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

Peel garlic & drop it through the feed tube on your food processor with machine running. Process until minced. Scrape down the bowl, add remaining ingredients and process 25-30 seconds until blended and creamy.

Do not freeze. This dressing keeps 2 months in the fridge in a tightly closed jar.

Feasting Before the Fast

Before the Yom Kippur fast on Sunday night, Lee and I hosted a feast for 3 of our close friends, Mark, Naomi and Dave....all lonely Canadians who couldn't make it back home for this 24 hour holiday.

One of the highlights of the feast was my mom's sweet and sour meatballs. I grew up with these meatballs and am delighted to keep the family tradition going! These meatballs exemplify "comfort food" at its very best and they are served to accolades everytime!

Mom's Sweet and Sour Meat Balls (serves 6)

2 lbs minced meat
2 eggs
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp fresh garlic
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp bread crumbs
20 oz tin tomato juice
1 cup or less of ketchup
1/2 cup or less of sugar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine meat, eggs, seasonings, water and breadcrumbs and mix well/ Form tiny balls. Combine remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to boil. Add meatballs one by one. Once you have covered the bottom of the saucepan with the first layer of meatballs, make sure the first meatballs are greyish and do not burn before adding the rest of the meatballs to the pot. Cover and simmer for 1 hr and 15 minutes. Remove cover and simmer 15 minutes longer.

I cook the meatballs in a dutch oven and put them in the fridge after I finish making them. They're perfect for the holidays cause they can be made in advance. An hour before you're ready to entertain, simmer them on the stovetop.

The rest of the menu was walnut and panko crusted chicken, kasha and bowties and caramelized butternut squash. For dessert, we enjoyed Ina Garten's fabulous apple crostata...I also enjoyed it last night...again :) and chewy peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from another blogger at the Canadian Baker!

Mama's Meat sauce: In Honor of Italia!

Growing up, I looked forward to the nights when my mom make spaghetti and meat sauce for dinner, it was the best! In honor of Italy's World Cup victory this evening, I decided to celebrate by making mama's meat sauce! When Lee took his first bite (with 7 more to follow over the stove in about 10 seconds), he said: "this meatsauce make ah mama proud !!" and that I could "proudly serve this to his friend, Tommy Cosenza"...that is a compliment!

This recipe has no exact measurements. I usually feel glued to my cookbook, following it to the tee! Creativity rewards itself with this dish. I don't even know where the recipe comes from, but it doesn't matter, it's MAMA's ! If you have a dutch oven, this is a perfect recipe to use it for.

Lisa Braude's Meat Sauce

2 lb minced meat
mushrooms, 2 yellow onions, 1 red pepper
1 can crushed tomatoes (14 oz can)
1 can tomato sauce (small tin of Hunt's)
1 small can tomato paste
2 cloves garlic
crushed peppers or cayenne (whatever you prefer, less than an 1/8 tsp)
paprika
s&p

1. Brown vegetables & garlic
2. Break up minced meat and add. Toss around until meat loses pink color.
3. Add paprika, salt and pepper and crushed peppers
4. Add tins of tomatoes, sauce and paste. Stir.
5. Cover pot & let simmer for an hour.

After watching Giada this week, I learned the way to boil noodles properly.
1. Bring water with some salt to a boil
2. Add pasta with a bit of olive oil (so noodles don't clump together)
3. Cook until al dente

*I use whole wheat linguini on a regular night. For entertaining, whip out the white pasta !!