Glogg

1 1/2 cups Brandy
1/2 bottle Red Wine
4 whole Cloves
2 Cardamom Pods - crushed
1 Cinnamon Stick
1/2 cup Raisins
1/2 cup Blanched Almonds
3/4 cup Sugar

Combine everything in a saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stir often to dissolve the sugar.Once heated thoroughly reduce heat to low. Serve Warm.

Brining a Chicken

1 1-gallon ziploc bag per chicken
1 Gallon water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
few springs fresh thyme
5 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf


Makes enough brine for 3 3-4 lb chickens.

Put all ingredients in a pot and heat until salt and sugar are dissolved. Cool. Ladle 3-4 cups of brine into each ziploc bag, add chicken, close bag, and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. Roast as you would a regular chicken.

World's Best Salmon Loaf

Always looking for things to do with leftovers! This was very quick and really tasty, not at all bland.

1 tblsp unsalted butter
1 small onion, minced
1 stalk of celery, minced
Heaping 1/2 tsp curry powder
Heaping 1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup cream
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Scant 1/2 c breadcrumbs or panko
Scant 1/2 c cubes of bread, dry the best
1/4 c parmesan cheese
2 tblsp minced fresh parsley
2 tblsp minced scallions or chives
2 tblsp minced fresh tarragon or 1 tsp dried
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
3/4 cup diced fresh mushrooms
2 cups cooked salmon

Preheat oven to 375, butter a loaf pan.

In a large bowl, whisk cream and eggs together.

Heat 1 tblsp of the butter in a small skillet at medium-low. Cook celery and onion in the butter until soft. Add curry and cayenne and stir, transfer to the bowl with the eggs and cream.

Put the other tblsp of butter in the skillet and saute the mushrooms in it until soft, add to celery mixture.

Stir in crumbs, cubed bread, cheese, parsley, chives/scallions, tarragon, salt and pepper. Stir in salmon, being careful to remove bones.

Mix everything together, spoon into loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes or until slightly brown on top and bubbling. Serves 4 people with other dishes.

Note: Serve hot. Would be good with a cheese sauce or hollandaise. And a bitter green, like broccoli rabe or braised escarole.

Flourless chocolate cake for Pesach

From Alan -- Joel Cohen's mom's recipe

12 eggs, separated
12 ounces of chocolate
12 ounces of butter
12 ounces of sugar

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler, add sugar. When cool, add egg yolks.

Whip egg whites until stiff peaks. fold in to chocolate mixture. Pour 2/3 of the mixture into a springform pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comesout clean. (refrigerate the remaining 1/3)

Let the cake cool -- it will collapse. Spoon the remaining mousse into the cavity in the cake and refrigerate.

Spicy Pickled Okra

I finally pickled something for the first time in my life! Wow! And it tastes really good!

1 quart jar
About a pound of fresh okra
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp green peppercorns
1/2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp sugar
2 small hot fresh chilis, deseeded and minced very fine
2 cups water
1/2 c white vinegar

Pack as much okra into the jar as you can, to within an inch of the top. Put all the garlic, peppers, and spices in too except the salt and sugar. Heat the water and vinegar and salt and sugar in a saucepan until boiling, pour over okra in the jar until it's all covered and liquid is about 1/2 inch from the top of the jar. Screw lid on tight and refrigerate for about 10 days before eating.

Note: this is not canning, it's more marinating, so you need to keep it refrigerated and eat it within a couple of weeks. Very nice hors d'oeuvre or as a garnish to bloody marys. Feel free to play with the seasonings -- the flavors are pretty intense with very little of any spice. I'm going to try green beans next!

Hashed Brussels Sprouts with Poppy Seeds and Lemon

1 ¼ lbs Brussels sprouts
1 ½ Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs olive oil
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs poppy seeds
¼ cup white wine
¼ tsp salt

Cut the stems from the Brussels sprouts and remove any blemished leaves. When all the sprouts are trimmed, you should be left with about 1 pound total. Halve each sprout lengthwise, and slice each half into thin slices, about 1/8 inch thick.

In a large bowl, toss the hashed Brussels sprouts with the lemon juice. In a large skillet or sauté pan, warm the olive oil over high heat, almost to the smoking point. Stir in the hashed sprouts, garlic, and poppy seeds. Add the wine, and cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly, until the sprouts are bright green and lightly softened but still barely crunchy. Reduce the heat to low, season with salt, and cook for 1 minute more. Remove the pan from the heat, and serve.

Yield: About 4-6 servings.

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad

We had this with lamb chops for Easter dinner -- it makes a nice Sunday after-church meal because you can make everything ahead of time. You can make it #vegan by swapping the chicken broth for vegetable broth.  The salad is twice as good the next day.

1 1/2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3/4 lb zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup chopped scallion (from 1 bunch)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/4 cups pearl barley (8 oz)
1 3/4 cups chicken broth (14 oz)
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup Kalamata or other brine-cured black olives, pitted and halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

Roast eggplant and zucchini: Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F. Toss eggplant and zucchini with 5 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl, then spread in 2 oiled large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pans. Roast vegetables in oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until vegetables are golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total.

Cook barley: Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook scallion, cumin, coriander, and cayenne, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add barley and cook, stirring until well coated with oil, 2 minutes more. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all of liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Cool, uncovered, to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Make dressing and assemble salad: Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add barley, roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients to bowl with dressing and toss until combined well.