Chocolate Cheesecake Strawberries

When faced with the challenge of creating a gluten-free, kosher-for-Passover dessert, I can't help but let out a long sigh...no, make that groan. Creating a kosher-for-Passover dessert is enough of a challenge already, throw in gluten-free and I'm out the door! Because I was only asked to bring two additions to our quickie Passover meal this year with my dad, my Zhada (who is celiac), and I, I figured I would have to at least give it a shot as opposed to sneaking off to buy a pre-made dessert...and possibly pass it off as my own. My history with making gluten-free baked goods hasn't exactly been a pleasant one, with cakes that refuse to rise and maintain moisture, not to mention my frustration at the many different ingredients you need to make a tasty gluten-free baked good, and the high cost at which many of them are sold. I decided to bypass baking all together and create a fresh and relatively healthy dessert that I knew my family and I would enjoy. 

My Chocolate Cheesecake Strawberries are incredibly simple, easy to transport, gluten-free, kosher-for-Passover, adorable, and last but certainly not least, delicious and wildly addictive! The sweet strawberries are complimented perfectly with the tangy and creamy mascarpone cheese surprise filling, with the light dip of chocolate and toasted pecans tying the dessert together. My favourite part of this dessert? Seeing my Zhada's reaction as I brought the strawberries out, and watching him happily devour two in next to no time at all. 

Ingredients:

about 1 lb strawberries

4 oz. mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp vanilla 

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

about 1/3 cup pecans, lightly toasted and chopped

Directions:

1. Remove hull from strawberries, and carefully cut a slightly larger hole inside of strawberry.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together mascarpone with icing sugar. Add lemon zest and vanilla and mix to combine. 
3. Scoop mascarpone mixture into a piping bag and carefully pipe into the centre of the strawberries.  Refrigerate for at least a half hour, to allow filling to set.
4. In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips at medium heat. Put the chopped nuts in a small bowl next to the chocolate.
5. Carefully dip the end of the strawberry into the chocolate and then immediately into the chopped nuts. Place, chocolate side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining strawberries. Chill for at least another half hour to allow chocolate to set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to enjoy! They will keep for up to 2 days. 

Listening To:

Mount Kimbie - Made To Stray

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Passover Dishes

Tomorrow marks the first night of Passover, which means goodbye to leavened breads and hello to matzo meal. It can be stressful planning a meal with restrictions such as no leavened breads, no mixing milk and meat, and no pork, so I have provided some of my family's Passover friendly recipes to help you and your family celebrate in the most delicious way possible!

The Seder Plate

A must have at every Passover meal.

The Seder Plate is essential in carrying out a complete Passover service (and essential if you want to eat any dinner!)

Carrot Tsimmis

This delicious side dish is a traditional Passover dish in my family.

These sweet and sticky carrots enveloped in a honey sauce are sure to get every kid at the table eating all of their vegetables.

Basic Potato Latkes

What's a Passover dinner without potato latkes?

This is the most basic recipe for potato latkes you will find, allowing you to experiment with different types of flavours of applesauce. These taste great with my Blueberry-Applesauce.

Perfect Potato latkes

With the addition of matzo meal and baking powder (acceptable in most kosher homes) these golden potato latkes hold together beautifully with their crispy exterior and warm and soft interior.

Homemade Applesauce

Potato latkes are the best part of any Passover Seder, but what really makes these golden little pancakes so special is their topping. Sweet with a hint of orange and cinnamon, this homemade applesauce is incredibly easy to whip up!

Roasted Applesauce

For a richer-flavoured applesauce try roasting the apples. The slow roasting process intensifies all of the flavours creating an extra special potato latke topper.

Blueberry-Applesauce

Try something new this Passover and toss some fresh blueberries into your regular applesauce mix. Their tangy flavour adds a real punch to my Basic Potato Latkes.

Green Salad

With so many other things on your mind during Passover, it's nice to have a simple salad recipe to turn to. This is a very basic, yet delicious green salad to serve as a side at your Seder.

Balsamic-Glazed Green Beens and Shallots

A great option for passover, these crunchy and flavourful beens can easily be made kosher for passover when substituting olive oil instead of butter.

Potato and Leek Soup

Soups are a fantastic option for Passover as you can easily make them in advance, and simply reheat when ready to serve to your guests. Substitute olive oil instead of butter to make this kosher for Passover.

Carrot and Mango Salad with Honey Roasted Peanuts

This is a delicious salad that is incredibly simple and can easily be made a day in advance. How great that one of my favourite salad recipes is already kosher for Passover!

Cheaters Handbook Matzo Ball Soup

It's easy to add your own personality to a boxed Matzo Ball Soup mix. Check out my easy tips here!

Veal Brisket

A delicious and hearty entree that will be sure to wow all of your Seder guests.

Chocolate Caramel Matzo

My all-time favourite Passover dish.

These sweet and crispy treats are the perfect light finale to any Passover Seder. I promise you your family will be asking for these over and over again.

Listening To: Caffeinated Consciousness - TV on the Radio

Carrot and Mango Salad with Honey Roasted Peanuts

Boy oh boy is it ever hard to stay healthy working at a pastry shop. This is especially true when you, being your economical self, try and bring in homemade lunches to work. Let me tell u a simple homemade turkey sandwich looks pretty sad next to a freshly baked ham and cheese croissant. So I've been looking for tasty and healthy dishes that will allow me to feel satisfied throughout my shift at work, are quick to prepare, and can transport easily. So when my mum brought home the recipe for Carrot and Mango Salad with Honey Lime Dressing from Food Network Canada's Just One Bite, I knew I had found my solution! This salad tasted amazing! I couldn't get enough of the incredible combination of the coarse textured carrots, the sweet and juicy mango, and crunchy sweet and salty peanuts, all topped off with a mouth-puckering honey and lime dressing! This is one salad that will be coming with me to work often! Sorry salad, I appreciate you coming to work with me, but I'm keeping the pay check!

Note: Just One Bite's recipe calls for raisins....but I just wasn't into that. But if you're a raisin fan, go on and add 'em! I also used honey roasted peanuts instead of dry roasted to tie in the honey in the dressing.

Ingredients:

3 large carrots

1 mango, peeled and diced

1/2 cup green onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

1 tsp grated lime zest

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tbsp liquid honey

1/4 cup olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Using a cheese grater or a food processor fitted with the grater attachment, coarsely grate carrots into large bowl.

2. Add the mango, green onion, peanuts and cilantro to carrots.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together lime zest, lime juice, and honey. While continuing to whisk, slowly drizzle in the olive oil.

4. Pour dressing over salad, toss, taste, and season with salt and pepper.

Listening To:

The Arcade Fire - No Cars Go

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(Going to the concert tomorrow!!)

Perfecting Potato Latkes

This past wednesday my friends and I got together for a super casual Chrismukkah get together to eat latkes and look over all of our pictures from Cuba (you may see the below holiday post for one photo). I was the one in charge of the latke making and was on a mission to perfect them! The last and only time I have ever made latkes was this past Passover. My Passover latkes tasted amazing, but I found the process of making them a bit painful. I got very frustrated frying the latkes for Passover because I was having trouble keeping the shreds of potato together, the latkes just kept falling apart in the beginning. It took me a really long time to get the hang of it, and by that point I already had a number of broken latkes. So for our Chrismukkah latkes, I turned to Williams Sonoma to help me out.

Williams Sonoma has a recipe for Perfect Potato Latkes that sounded well...perfect! I gave the recipe a try and what do you know, perfection! I changed the recipe slightly, using their ingredients as a guideline. My recipe serves more people which I thought was important for holiday season. It's always better to have more food than too little during the holidays, and come on, who doesn't love leftovers?

Note: If you do not have a food processor or the shredding disk attachment, you may shred your potatoes using a cheese grater.

Note: You can easily make this recipe Passover friendly by substituting matzo meal for the flour.

Tip: Rinsing the potatoes in water removes excess starch, which allows for more successful frying.

Tip: You may serve immediately, but you can just as easily make your latkes a day ahead and reheat in the oven upon serving time.

Tip: Serve your latkes with my Homemade Applesauce.

Ingredients:

4 large russet potatoes, peeled

2 - 2 1/2 small onions, peeled and quartered

3 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp olive oil

3 1/2 tbsp flour (or matzo meal if making for Passover)

1 tsp baking powder

salt and pepper, to taste

vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

1. Insert the shredding disk attachment into food processor. Cut potatoes into chunks to fit the feed tube. Insert potato chunks into feed tube and pulse to grate.

2. Pour shredded potatoes into a colander on top of a large bowl or a salad spinner and cover with water to rinse for about 5-10 minutes. Drain very well.

3. Insert onion chunks into feed tube and pulse to grate.

4. Pour well drained potato shreds into a large bowl and mix in the shredded onion.

5. Add the eggs, olive oil, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper, and stir until well combined.

6. Line a baking sheet with paper towels. In a large nonstick fry pan or griddle over medium high heat, pour vegetable oil to a depth of 1/8 inch.

7. When oil sizzles when lightly splashed with a bit of cold water (be careful doing this), working in batches, scoop the potato mixture with a large spoon and place onto oil. Flatten out and shape with the back of the spoon. Fry, turning once, until golden brown, 3-5 minutes per side.

8. Place the fried latkes on the lined baking sheet to drain off excess oil. Makes about 25 medium sized latkes.

Passover Feast: P6 Chocolate Caramel Matzo

As much as I love the entire Passover meal and enjoy spending time with my family for the occasion, I have to admit that my absolute favourite part of Passover is Chocolate Caramel Matzo!!!! I could eat this dessert all year round it's so good! It is also very simple, and the perfect light dessert after that humongous meal!

Ingredients:
4 sheets of matzo

1 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2-2 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1.  Place sheet of foil wrap on a large cookie sheet.

2.  Place 4 whole pieces of matzo on foil.

3.  In a pot, melt butter and brown sugar whisk until the texture of caramel.

4.  Pour caramel mixture over all the matzo.

5.  Bake at 350º for 8 minutes.

6.  Drop chocolate chips over matzo immediately after removing from oven and spread it evenly over the carmel with a knife or spatula.

7.  Chill in fridge for at least 1 hour. Break into pieces and serve! 

Photography by Ruzan Orkestar

Passover Feast: P5 The Seder Plate

The Seder plate is an essential item for the Passover table. The seder plate includes:

Charoset - chopped apple and nut mixture

Maror - bitter herb

Chazeret - another bitter herb

Z'roa - roasted shank bone (note that the bone we used was not the shank bone....I'm half Jewish so I figure I can get away with it...I'm jew-ish)

Karpas - green vegetable or herb

Beitzah - egg

Note: a bowl of salt water should be served on the side for dipping

Charoset is my favourite part of the seder plate and is intended to be served during the Seder on pieces of matzo. It is very light in colour when it is first made, but after a day in the fridge the colour intensifies.

Note: This is a part of the meal that can easily be made ahead.

Ingredients:

6 peeled apples, coarsely chopped

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

grated rind of 1 lemon

4 tbsp sweet red wine

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in food processor and blend until you achieve the desired texture. I prefer mine with texture.

Photography by Ruzan Orkestar

Passover Feast: P4 Green Salad

This salad is not specific to Passover, it's just a tasty, simple salad to make any night of the week. I won't write the amounts of the vegetables because it is really to your taste and depends on how many people you are serving.

Ingredients:

Mixed Greens

Tomato

Celery

fresh Dill

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp garlic

1 tsp dijon mustard

5-6 tbsp olive oil

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a small bowl add vinegar, garlic, mustard and whisk well. Slowly add olive oil while continuing to whisk. Add salt salt and pepper to taste.

2. Mix vinaigrette with vegetables and dill.

Photography by Ruzan Orkestar

Passover Feast: P3 Carrot Tzimmes

Carrot Tzimmes is a traditional Passover side dish and trust me you'll want to make this recipe part of your traditional Passover meal as well! I have never tasted carrots so sweet and flavourful...that might have a little something to do with the generous amounts of sugar and honey, but your guests don't have to know that shhhh! This recipe is from The Pleasures of Your Food Processor.

Ingredients:

2 Ib carrots, scraped and trimmed (you may use regular or mini)

2 cups boiling water

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp oil

1 tbsp potato starch

1 tbsp cold water or orange juice

Directions:

1. If using regular carrots, cut carrots into small slices.

2. Transfer to a large saucepan and add boiling water and salt. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until fairly tender.

3. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup cooking liquid. Add honey, sugar, and oil and mix well.

4. Dissolve potato starch in cold water or juice and stir into carrots. Adjust seasonings to taste.

5. Bake uncovered at 375ºF for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Photography by Ruzan Orkestar

Passover Feast: P2 Veal Brisket

I know, I know, this does not look appetizing.  We should have taken the picture after it was cut and put on the serving plate, but this is the roast straight from the oven.  I promise, it is much more presentable once cut and tastes INCREDIBLE! This roast is tender, moist and has a ton of flavour! This recipe came from the Toronto Star but changed it slightly.  

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

5 onions, halved, sliced

about 4 Ib (2 kg) brisket (you may use veal or beef)

salt and pepper to taste 

1 tsp paprika

3 tsp Montreal Steak Spice

1 cup cola 

1 cup pearl onions 

Directions: 

1.  Pour oil into dutch oven big enough to hold brisket flat. Heat on medium-low.  Add onions.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 30 minutes. Scrape onto plate. 

2.  Season brisket on each side with salt, pepper, and Montreal Steak Spice.  Raise heat to medium-high.  Brown brisket well on both sides.

3.  Arrange brisket fat side up.  Sprinkle paprika over top.  Drizzle cola gently over top.  Strew onions and their juices over meat.  Place pearl onions around meat.  Cover pot with foil, then lid.

4.  Transfer to preheated 350ºF oven.  Braise 2 1/2 hours, until meat is just tender, basting twice with cooking liquid.

5.  Scrape onions off meat into liquid.  Transfer meat to large tub.  Pour contents of pot over top.  Cool. 

6.  When cooled, slice meat thinly against the grain and transfer to serving dish. Pour sauce overtop and arrange pearl onions around the meat. 

Photography by Ruzan Orkestar

Passover Feast: P1 Potato Latkes

I see it now...my family lined up in the GE kitchen, palms sweaty with anticipation. Padma Lakshmi enters the kitchen and greets us "Hello Chefs!" She then continues to tell our challenge: "Your challenge today is to work with your family unit to create a traditional Passover meal for eight people. What's the catch? You must buy all your ingredients and cook everything in 4 1/2 hours! And your time starts...NOW!"

Now I know that you see challenges much more intense on Food Network, but for me and my family, creating our passover meal this past Thursday felt like our very own episode of Top Chef!...except we didn't have the full GE kitchen. Our tiny little kitchen would have to do to fit all of us.

A Passover meal truly is a labour of love. Most Passover dinners tend to take several days of cooking to get everything ready in time, but it is possible to do it in under 5 hours on the day of. There were certainly a few mistakes along the way (everything from buying the wrong cut of meat to making enough potato latkas to feed an army) but in the end, my family and I made a delicious meal that already has me thinking about next years Seder!

The next several following entires are recipes from our Passover dinner. The menu included:

• Veal Brisket
  
• Potato Latkes
  
• Gefilte Fish
  
• Barbecued Chicken
  
• Green Salad
  
• Roasted Carrots
  
• The various items on the Seder plate including homemade charoset
  

Potato Latkes

This recipe makes a LOT of potato latkes, so if you are feeding a small group, I suggest you just make half. I got this recipe from what I like to call "the mother of all cookbooks," but is actually entitled The Pleasures of Your Food Processor. Most of our Passover recipes came from this book because, like I stated in my entry on the book, it has recipes that never fail!

Note: For a passover dinner, I suggest you make this recipe ahead of time and re-heat the latkes in the oven before serving.

Note: I made my potato latkes lacy because I like the texture, but you can simply process the ingredients till they are coarsely chopped if you prefer.

Note: I used a Cuisinart processor to make these

Ingredients:

6 large potatoes, peeled

1 onion (or 2 depending on how large your potatoes are)

5 eggs

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

oil for frying

Directions:

1. Insert shredding disk attachment into processor. Cut potatoes to fit feed tube. Grate, using light pressure. Empty bowl and place potatoes in a colander. Rinse under cold water to remove starch. Empty into a large bowl while squeezing out excess moisture.

2. Grate onion using medium pressure. Add to potatoes and add eggs, salt, and pepper. Mix well. It's best to use clean hands rather than a spoon to mix this.

3. Pour oil to about a 1/8" depth into a large skillet. When hot, drop in potato mixture by small spoonfuls to form pancakes. Brown well on both sides. Drain well on paper towels.

Photography Ruzan Orekstar

*See a new potato latke recipe here!