The 'Go To' Family Treat

Photo by Rachel Dedrickson

 Lately, I’ve been really focusing on loving and appreciating all the good things I’m blessed with in my life. Good friends, a close-knit and supportive family, a great job, a roof over my head, a cuddly puppy dog, and a person to come home to that loves me unconditionally – the real me.



I guess what I am trying to say is that it is so easy to get caught up looking at what’s next and what everyone else is doing and lose the glass-is-actually-full (not half-full…I really mean brimming over full) perspective. Why can't we be content? It's OK not to be reaching for the next ladder rung. Sometimes, we can allow ourselves to "float" instead of climb.


All of this to say, I recently made classic family brownies. It felt fitting with where my head is at lately. After all, isn’t one of the simplest pleasures and most easily appreciated foods brownies? Come on! I dare you to tell me that you don’t love the smell of fresh homemade brownies wafting from the oven? Or maybe it’s sinking your teeth into a 2x2 chewy chocolate square while it’s still warm? Delicious. Comforting. Absolutely timeless.


Mom and Aunt Julie said that the main ‘go to’ treat around the house while they were growing up was brownies from scratch…mainly because Donny (my Grandpa) loved them. If Donny were still around, I can imagine how my baking activity would increase exponentially just for him!


Anyway, the brownie from scratch recipe my Mom and Aunt reference comes from the packaging of the unsweetened Baker’s chocolate box. Are you familiar? You know, it’s the one pot brownie recipe. The ones where you melt the chocolate and butter in the pan, quickly add eggs one at a time, then the flour, and salt? The key, to this family’s recipe however, is the VANILLA. We always use extra vanilla - twice as much as the recipe calls for. Or, if I’ve learned anything from Mom, it’s to forgo measuring the vanilla entirely whenever a recipe calls for it. In other words, there is absolutely no such thing as too much vanilla. Just “eye” it…or pour blindly. Same thing, right?!


The other story that goes along with the family brownie recipe is the fact that it is the first thing I ever tried to bake. You see, I thought it would be fun to surprise my family with fresh brownies at age 12. While Mom was out, I took to my Amelia Bedelia ways and began to follow the directions: Preheat the oven and grease the bottom of the pan. Can you guess what I did? Well, of course, I greased the BOTTOM of the pan like the directions told me to. Let’s just say Mom knew I was up to something when she got home…not because my brownies smelled amazing, but because there was canola oil all over her counters from the bottom of the brownie pan. So make sure (and I will too), that you grease the inside bottom of the pan when making these. Ok? Great!


Bake these up and indulge in a glass of cold milk to wash down the chocolate goodness. You can afford it. After all, the glass is brimming over full in my book.



Baker's One Pot Brownie Recipe

Ingredients
1 package (8 squares) BAKER'S Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
5 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla (remember - more than this is encouraged!)
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Directions
Melt chocolate and butter in saucepan over very low heat, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
 
Beat eggs, sugar and vanila in large mixer bowl on high speed for 10 minutes. Beat in chocolate mixture on low speed. Add flour, beating just to blend. Spread in greased 13x9-inch pan.
 
Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until cake test inserted in center come out almost clean (do not overbake). Cool in pan, then cut into squares.
 
Makes approximately 32 brownies.



Photo by Rachel Dedrickson





Red Spaghetti



Photo by Rachel Dedrickson

Red spaghetti isn't a traditional Jewish dish, it's just a comfort food I associate with home. Mom used to make it as a side dish to accompany our main meals.


I didn't have the most fabulous day today, so I came home to make London broil, a traditional wedge salad (more on this later), and red spaghetti. Forget the London broil and wedge salad; red spaghetti made everything better. It reminds me of sitting at the table with Mom, Dad, and my little brother David on a rainy evening while discussing and rehashing the school day.


I didn't get to sit down with my favorite people tonight, but red spaghetti reminded me of them for sure.


I'm not really clear on where the idea of red spaghetti came from, but it is a meal I've grown up with and I hope it finds a special place in your home - good and bad days alike.

Note that I've put this recipe together from the top of my head - it's what I did for tonight in particular. As Mom usually points out, "you just kind of throw it together". I think she uses butter in place of olive oil and American cheese in place of cheddar. She also adds in a little bit of black pepper.

This dish is whatever you want it to be. The key is the Campbell's tomato soup!


Red Spaghetti

INGREDIENTS
8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 tsp olive oil
1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup


INSTRUCTIONS:


1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Mix in pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.


2. Meanwhile, saute onion in olive oil until tender.


2. Return pasta to pot and mix in sautéed onions.


3. Add can of Campbell's tomato soup and shredded cheddar cheese and mix well.


Serve and enjoy a cozy meal!

Photo by Rachel Dedrickson

Sufganiyot

Photo by Rachel Dedrickson

Sufgan-what? Similar to how this post title might leave you wondering what its about, I was asking myself the same question this past weekend while sipping my hot cup of Saturday morning coffee and reading a recipe for sufganiyot out the December 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

 

A little bit of background for you:

I’m trying to discover the traditional Jewish foods that are not apart of my Jewish family’s traditions. I don’t know why some recipes made it in to our holiday dinners and gatherings and other well-known Jewish foods are a nonexistent part of my memories around the table. My gut tells me that the reason I don’t know about many traditional Jewish foods is because no one ever wrote or passed down their foodie wisdom with each generation. The knowledge is lost. So here I am today, picking my Mom and Aunt’s brains, trying to decode my Grandma’s tattered composition notebook of Passover recipe scribbles, and sitting in the cookbook section of local bookstores for hours at a time learning about mandel bread and tsimmes. Learning about food is a project that never gets boring for me. Jewish food, though, is especially near and dear to my heart. I feel like I’m learning about my history and family the more I investigate. My hope is that along the way I can establish new food traditions…and record them in a family recipe book this time (amen).

So back to the sufgan-what? conversation…

After the beautiful presentation of sufganiyot caught my eye in Martha Stewart Living, I immediately went to Google to find out what they were. As it turns, sufganiyot (Hebrew: סופגניות)  are doughnuts! The deep-fried and jelly filled variety. Excuse me, but, why haven’t I heard about this Jewish food before? In other words: nom, nom, nom! This treat is typically made in celebration of Hanukkah, but I think they are suitable for any time of the year. They’d be delicious for Saturday breakfast or a fun nosh to the goof who scheduled a 9 a.m. conference call.

I will warn you that the recipe is a bit labor intensive. Let’s just say I went through four or five packets of yeast, and I made a mess of the jelly fill.  Be patient with yourself and make sure you allow yourself plenty of time for this undertaking. It’s totally worth all the effort and these sugar bombs are sure fun to fry! The dough becomes pastry heaven in a matter of thirty seconds.  If you’re looking for something delicious and you’re up for a project, give these a go!

Sufganiyot 

Recipe care of Martha Stewart Living

INGREDIENTS

Makes 2 dozen.

• 1 envelope (1 scant tablespoon) active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm whole milk or soy milk (110 degrees)
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter or margarine, melted and cooled
• Vegetable-oil cooking spray
• About 6 cups vegetable oil, for frying
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 cups raspberry jam
• Blue sanding sugar, for decorating

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine yeast, sugar, and 1 cup milk. Let stand until foamy, about 8 minutes.
2. Whisk flour and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Add yeast mixture, eggs, and butter, and beat on medium-low speed until dough is soft but not sticky, about 3 minutes.
3. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth and elastic, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer dough to a medium bowl coated with cooking spray, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
4. Punch down the dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead dough a few times, and roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rest for 5 minutes. Using a 2-inch cookie cutter, cut out rounds, and transfer to a lightly floured baking sheet. Reroll scraps, and cut out. Cover rounds with kitchen towel, and let rise slightly in a warm, draft-free place for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pot until it reaches 375. Line a wire rack with paper towels. Working in batches of 4 or 5, add doughnuts to oil, and fry, turning once, until golden and puffed, about 1 minute per side. Using a slotted spoon, place doughnuts on rack to cool.
6. Place a wire rack on parchment or a baking sheet. Whisk together confectioners' sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons milk in a shallow bowl. Spoon jam into a pastry bag fitted with a plain 3/8-inch tip (such as Ateco #804). Pierce a hole in the side of a doughnut with the tip, and squeeze in jam to fill (filled doughnuts will feel heavy). Place on rack. Repeat.
7. Holding filled doughnuts by their sides, gently dip tops into icing and return to rack. Immediately sprinkle with sanding sugar. Doughnuts are best when served immediately, but they can be stored in airtight containers overnight.

Enjoy with a friend, a cup of good coffee, and some good old gab!

Photo by Rachel Dedrickson