When I first moved to the United States with my family, we settled in Stamford, Connecticut. My mother insisted we buy that particular house because of the massive apple tree in the back yard, complete with a swing tied onto a low branch. At the time, apples in Thailand (my native country) typically sold for close to $50 a pound, as they were considered “exotic” fruits. Naturally, my mother’s excitement over the prospect of unlimited apples in her own back yard got the best of her. Consequently, I learned how to make apple pie. Lots and lots of apple pie.

This pie worked out perfectly fine for me, until one day my fiancé requested one. It was then that the curve ball came. “I like it with crumbs on top,” he said. My eyebrow raised as my eyes widened. Crumbs on top? What matter of silliness is this? Then I thought, the guy gave me this huge diamond ring, the least I can do is give him a crumby pie. So I set to work, revamping my cherished apple filling to compliment and withstand a Dutch crumb topping.

This is what I came up with, and I must say, Eric might be onto something with these silly crumbs. Any way you slice it, it’s a great way to end a meal, not to mention a perfect way to start out the new year. L’shanah tova!

Ingredients:
Your favorite pie crust (an all-butter crust seems to work the best here)

Filling:
3 lbs Baking Apples (approximately 6 apples total, see note), sliced to about 1/8″ thickness
1/4 to 1/2 C Medium Brown Sugar, to taste
1/2 tsp to1 tsp Kosher Salt, to taste
1 to 2 tsp Saigon Cinnamon, to taste
2 tsp Corn Starch
Juice of half a lemon

Topping:
3/4 C Rolled Oats
3/4 C All-Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Saigon Cinnamon
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Unsalted Butter
1/4 tsp Salt

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400F. Roll out dough to fit into a standard 9 1/2″ pie pan. Place pie crust into freezer. If you are not using an all-butter dough, brush the bottom of the pie crust with a beaten egg white before baking.

2) While crust is in the freezer, combine sliced apples, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Taste frequently to make sure you have the seasonings right. This variation depends on how naturally sweet, spicy or juicy the apples naturally are. After well seasoned, add lemon juice, sprinkle corn starch over the apples and combine. If the apples are particularly juicy, you may need to add an extra teaspoon of corn starch.

3) Remove the pie crust from the freezer. The crust should be very cold, but not frozen. Pour apples into the pie crust and spread evenly. Place pie into preheated oven and bake for about 10 minutes, to dehydrate the apples.

4) While pie is in the oven, make streusel topping by combining the dry ingredients and incorporating the butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter. Alternatively, you may use a food processor. Process/work the ingredients until you get crumbs.

5) Remove pie from the oven and reduce the heat to 375F. Spread crumb topping evenly over the apples and return to oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes more. Pie is done when filling is bubbling and slightly thickened. It will probably smell pretty good too. Allow pie to cool a bit and serve. If you can’t wait that long, ice cream helps a lot. Enjoy!

~ Recipe submitted by Allaya Diep

Kosher in the Kitch is now working with kosherwine.com to bring you a weekly pairing of our tasty recipes with their great wines.

This Shabbat bring out a bottle of Recanati Syrah to serve up with this tasty dish of Beef Tajine!

Ingredients:
Cold cuts of your choice (I use salami and turkey)
Puff Pastry Dough (I use Pepperidge Farm’s puff pastry sheets)
Condiments of your choice (I use mayo and yellow mustard)
1 Egg Yolk
Sesame Seeds

Directions:
Allow the pastry dough to defrost (however you still want it to be firm so you can work with the dough) then roll it out on a slightly greased cookie sheet. Layer the condiments and cold cuts in whatever order you like. Then roll the dough like a jelly roll. Cut some slits along the top and spread the egg yolk on top and sprinkle on some sesame seeds before baking it in the oven on 350′ for about 45 minutes to an hour.

~ Recipe submitted by Nina Safar

Hey everyone! So I was asked to guest blog on here and I must say I’m really thrilled! I love sharing my recipes with others and trying others’ recipes as well… I love to cook! This recipe is one of my own made up favorites. I made it up one day with my sis in law and now I make it pretty often, its awesome!

Ingredients:
Chicken Marinade:
BBQ Sauce
Duck Sauce - any kind (I usually use either sweet n sour or garlic)
Paprika
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder

Directions:
Mix ingredients in a bowl. Cut up chicken cutlets into bite size pieces and coat with the sauce, let marinade for about 20-30 minutes.

Remaining Ingredients:
Onion, chopped
Squash, cubed unpeeled
Red Pepper, cut into strips
Can Mushrooms
Frozen Broccoli
Some Oil for Sauteing
Angel Hair Pasta, cooked according to box instructions
Soy Sauce

Directions:
Put oil in a pot and sautee the onions. Once a little soft, add the chicken pieces. It’s ok if the sauce gets its way into the pot as well. When chicken is cooked take out he chicken and set aside. Add the rest of vegetables and cook till everything is soft. If it starts sticking to the bottom of the pot put in some of the leftover marinade sauce. When done add pasta and soy sauce. Mix well and let cook a few more minutes. Take off heat and serve.

p.s. Sorry there are no measurements, I just throw it in as I go along.

~ Recipe submitted by Yides Biederman

Beef Stroganoff, a Russian dish with origins rooted as early as the mid-1800’s, boasts a decadent, creamy sauce, traditionally flavored with dry white wine and sour cream. A rather simplistic recipe (with considerable variations throughout the years), a good Stroganoff offers a truly lovely textural and flavor experience. In this version, I used Tofutti’s Sour Supreme as a sour cream alternative. Although I was rather luke-warm to this product by itself, I must say that it’s a dream to cook with, holding up well to light simmering while contributing an authentic tang to the sauce. Serve over a bed of wide noodles; I used spinach egg noodles in this photograph. Not only is this rendition of Beef Stroganoff completely kosher, it also has fewer fat and calories than the traditional recipe! Pair this entrée with a cold, dry, white wine.

Ingredients:
Olive Oil
1 lb Pepper Steak
1 Medium Onion, finely chopped
1 Clove Garlic, minced
6 to 8 ounces Sliced Mushrooms
1/2 cup Dry White Wine
8 oz. Low Sodium Beef Broth, or substitute 8 oz water, 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce and 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 cup (approximately) Tofutti Sour Supreme (this specific product works the best)
1 Tbsp Corn Starch dissolved in a little water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large saucepan, brown beef strips in olive oil on high heat. You may need to do this in batches, depending on the size of your pan. Turning heat down to medium high, add a little more oil and sauté garlic and onion until onions are translucent and fragrant. Deglaze with white wine, scraping bottom of pan. Add sliced mushrooms and beef broth (or substitute), cover, reduce heat, and simmer until mushrooms are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in Sour Supreme. Add corn starch and water mixture and stir until slightly thickened. The sauce should have the consistency of heavy cream, able to coat the back of a spoon. If it is too runny, add more corn starch. If it is too thick, thin with Mocha Mix, broth, or water, and then re-season accordingly. Serve over broad noodles. In this photograph, I used spinach egg noodles.

*This dish pairs nicely with Galil Mountain Voignier.

~ Recipe submitted by Allaya Diep

While the depression of the 1930’s certainly presented everybody at the time with great challenges, some were actually met with quite a bit of genius and ingenuity. Some fancy food synthesis falls into this category. It’s a good thing too, because when World War II came along just a decade later, these clever foodies didn’t even miss a beat, continuing to tackle the challenge of cooking with restricted ingredients with great aplomb.

Some of their concoctions were pretty logical, while others really require a head scratch while speculating what on earth they were thinking. Some notable eyebrow-raising recipes of this era include Mock Apple Pie, a pie made almost entirely of Ritz crackers its proponents swear taste like the real thing, Campbell’s Tomato Soup Cake, a (sometimes) vegan spice cake with a very unusual ’secret’ ingredient, and of course, my absolute favorite, Wacky Cake, a sublime chocolate cake with a moist crumb to rival that of a commercial mix. Best of all, unlike most cake mixes, it’s completely parve!

Wacky cake gets its lift from the acidity of the cocoa and vinegar combining with the baking soda. This is a fast reaction, and some even insist that this cake be mixed and baked in the same pan. However, you’ll do just fine opting to mix in a bowl, if you do some fast mixing followed by a speedy transfer to the pan and directly into a hot oven.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 cup oil (I like to use coconut or grapeseed, but any light, mild-flavored oil will do)
1 cup cold water

Directions:
Prepare a 8 or 9 inch baking pan, and make sure your oven is preheated to 350 and ready to go. Thoroughly mix dry ingredients in either a mixing bowl or the baking pan. Combine liquid ingredients and then add to dry ingredients, quickly whisking together. If batter is mixed in a bowl, quickly transfer to baking pan. Place cake into oven immediately and bake approximately 30 - 35 minutes, or until cake springs back after pressed lightly. Cool completely before frosting.

Make a parve frosting with margarine, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, salt and soy milk, or simply whip together cocoa powder, marshmallow fluff, and additional powdered sugar to taste. For a more sophisticated look, top with a chocolate ganache by combining parve chocolate chips, margarine, and Mocha Mix or soy milk over medium low heat and cooling slightly before pouring over the cake. Enjoy your slice of history!

~ Recipe submitted by Allaya Diep

Directions:
Place potatoes, onion and garlic into the crockpot. Then add the barley, meat and kishka. Fill the crockpot with water and add the spices. Then add the eggs slowly so they don’t break. Cook on high for 1-2 hours then set on low for Shabbat.

~ Recipe submitted by Erez Safar

My brother in law Yaak happens to be one of my favorite cooks. It may be the fact that he enjoys food as much as I do. Lately, our mutual thrill of food is herring. Friday night I feasted on 2 of the best types of  herring I have ever had, courtesy of Yaak. One was the original flavor and the second, a cilantro version.  The fillet was perfectly moist, the shmalts (oil) had seeped into the fish just enough to give it extra smoothness with out making it to mushy.  The onions had absorbed all the flavor of the fish and shmaltz and yet, it still maintained a satisfying crunch when you bit into it. Yaak and I grabbed some crackers, which in case you did not know happens to be the best accompaniment to this food. In one sitting we happily crunched and munched our way through most of the Herring dish.

Recipe for Standard Schmaltz:

Ingredients:
Herring fillets from the kosher market  (do this 48 hours prior to serving)
1 onion
Canola oil

Directions:
Cut the onion into bite size slices. Place 1/2 onion at the bottom of a small sealable container.
Pour oil from herring tray into container and add more canola oil to coat onions. Slice herring into 1/2 to 1 inch strips then add herring to container and add 2nd 1/2 of onion and more canola oil to coat.
Seal and refrigerate. Best served with whole wheat snacker crackers (very crispy and hold up well will scooping/dipping) Add cilantro to the above recipe for a cilantro version.

~ Recipe submitted by Aura Schwartz of Beauty and Food

Kosher in the Kitch is now working with kosherwine.com to bring you a weekly pairing of our tasty recipes with their great wines.

This Shabbat bring out a bottle of Yarden Chardonnay to serve up with this tasty dish of Lemon Almond Sole!