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Archive for the ‘meat recipes’ Category

matzah stuffing for chicken or veal

15 Mar

At any given time, I usually have baggies of challah stuffing in my freezer.  I use them to stuff chicken capons, veal breast pockets, and deboned chicken drumsticks.  On Pesach, when I serve my holiday delicacies, I like to have matzah stuffing as a stand-in for my traditional stuffing.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 2 celery ribs, diced
  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 6 square matzahs, broken in 1/2″ pieces
  • 4 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsely
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Cook onions, celery, and carrots in oil until they begin to brown 8-10 minutes.  Run water over matzah until softened.  Drain water by squeezing matzah between the palm of your hands.  Add 1/2 of the vegetable and the eggs, parsely and spices.  This recipe is enough to stuff 4 cornish hens or 1 veal breast pocket.

Topping for chicken/veal: Puree 1 small onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 Tbsp oil, 2 tsp paprika, 1 1/2 tsp salt, dash of pepper

 
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Posted in holiday, meat recipes, Pesach recipes, recipes

 

my favorite chicken pot pie

16 Sep

Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe is from a 1996 edition of Fine Cooking magazine.  I’ve made it several times and always panic if I will be able to find this issue among my stacks of magazines when I need it.  Now, I can relax knowing it is on this site whenever the whim strikes.  Whether you make this recipe to warm you on a chilly winter night or to serve for a Yom Tov meal, this recipe is a winner!
INGREDIENTS
  • One 3-lb. chicken
    3 Tbs. olive oil
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    2 cups 1/2-inch potato chunks (1 to 2 medium peeled potatoes; I prefer Yukon gold)
    24 pearl onions, peeled and left whole
    2 cups 1/2-inch carrot chunks (2 to 3 medium carrots, peeled)
    1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
    8 mushrooms, halved or quartered
    2 Tbs. chopped assorted fresh herbs (parsley, rosemary, thyme); more to taste
    1 cup peas (fresh or frozen and defrosted)
  • For the sauce:
    4 cups chicken stock (homemade or low-salt canned)
    6 Tbs. margarine (as needed)
    6 Tbs. flour
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the pastry:
  • 1 package of flaky dough, refrigerated
Roast the chicken and vegetables:Heat the oven to 375°F. Rub the chicken with 1 Tbs. of the olive oil and sprinkle generously, inside and out, with salt and pepper.
Toss the potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic, and mushrooms with the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil and the chopped herbs.
Set the chicken upside down in a large flameproof roasting pan and scatter the vegetables around the chicken. Roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring the vegetables several times.
Remove the chicken from the pan to cool. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and reserve them in a bowl, with the peas. Don’t rinse out the roasting pan.
To make the sauce:
Pour the fat and juices into a measuring cup or gravy separator. Spoon or pour the fat away from the juice; reserve the fat. Add the juices to the chicken stock. Measure out the fat and add enough margarine (if needed) to make 6 Tbs.
Put the roasting pan (which should still have the caramelized bits from the chicken and vegetables) on the stove over medium heat. Pour in the 6 Tbs. of fat and butter mixture; when it’s melted and bubbling, add the flour and stir constantly to make a smooth roux. Scrape up any caramelized remains from the chicken and vegetables. Cook the roux, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and simmer. Continue to stir and scrape the bottom of the pan. Cook the sauce for at least 15 minutes, whisking occasionally, until it’s as thick as heavy cream. Season with salt, pepper, and more herbs to taste.
When the chicken has cooled, pull the meat from the bones, discarding the skin and bones. Cut the meat into small (1/2- to 1-inch ) chunks and set aside.
Assemble the pot pies:Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F. Choose six 12-oz. ovenproof bowls or one 2-qt. casserole.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Lay it on a floured board and roll it out 1/8 inch thick into a 20×16-inch rectangle. Set the dishes (or dish) for the pot pie upside down on the dough and cut around the rims with a knife or pastry cutter. (If you like extra pastry, cut the pastry a little larger than the top of the dishes.) Stack the pastry pieces on a plate, separating each with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Divide the chicken, vegetables, and sauce among the dishes. Lay the pastry on top, pressing along the edge of the dish to seal.
Bake the pies:Blend the egg yolk and parve cream. Brush the mixture onto the pastry with a pastry brush.
Put the pies on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake on the center rack in the 400°F oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the crust is thoroughly browned and puffed. Steam will escape along the edges of the pastry.
Yields six 12-ounce pies, or one 2-quart pie.
nutrition information (per serving):
Calories (kcal): 1070; Fat (g): 72; Fat Calories (kcal): 61; Saturated Fat (g): 34; Protein (g): 42; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 27; Carbohydrates (g): 64; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 7; Sodium (mg): 820; Cholesterol (mg): 255; Fiber (g): 6;
photo: Alan Richardson
 
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Posted in holiday, main dish recipes, meat recipes, recipes

 

traditional stuffed cabbage (no shortcuts here;))

09 Oct

Until about a year ago, my mother would send us each a pan of prepared stuffed cabbage to be frozen and subsequently heated and served on Simchas Torah.  I never realized how much work it entailed until my sister offered our services to our mother last year in an effort to make things easier for her.  We arrived at her Brooklyn home, where the makings of the stuffed cabbage were well under way.  The cabbage leaves had been separated and checked for bugs, the meat mixture for the filling was prepared, and a huge pot of tomato sauce was happily bubbling on the stove.  My mother showed us how to fill and roll the cabbage with meat, and put the prepared rolls into the pot as they were ready.  When we realized that the stuffed cabbage would have  to cook for hours on the stove, we convinced my mother that that is old school since we wanted to get home and didn’t see any reason why we couldn’t just put the stuffed cabbage into the disposable pans, give them to our respective sisters-in-law and we would all bake our own pans in the oven for a few hours.  And so, we did just that.  Except that after hours of baking, the cabbage was still not cooked well.   My sister and I concurred that it was not working and transferred our cabbage rolls to a pot to cook properly, however, we didn’t think our SIL’s would want the extra work, so we never told them!  Of course we realized what we already knew – that Mom knows best, and stuffed cabbage has to be cooked on a flame for hours and hours.  No shortcuts here…..

This recipe is easily adjustable to your needs.  We made approximately 100 pieces using 11 heads of cabbage and 13 lbs of meat.

Ingredients

  • cabbage heads (each cabbage head will make approximately 10 rolls)
  • chopped meat (can use one or a mixture of chicken, turkey and/or beef)
  • eggs (1 egg per lb of meat used)
  • sauteed onion ( 1 large onion per 2 lbs. meat)
  • garlic
  • salt (especially if using ground chicken)
  • rice (about 1/2 cup per 2 lbs. chopped meat)
  • oil (a little if using chopped meat other than beef)
  • tomato juice (preferably Sacramento brand)
  • oil
  • flour
  • sugar
  • salt
  • vinegar (add minutes before it is ready)

 

1.  To prepare cabbage, take off the core, and drop into boiling water to separate the leaves.  Flatten the spine by cutting off the part that is sticking up on each leaf (do not remove spine).  Check the leaves for bugs as per Rabbinic instruction.  Leaves will be dropped into boiling water again just before filling and rolling, to soften.

2.  For meat mixture, combine meat with eggs, sauteed onion, garlic, salt, rice and oil if needed.  Set aside.

3.  Prepare a large pot for cooking the stuffed cabbage rolls.  Heat a bit of oil in  a pan.  Make a roux by adding an equal amount of flour to the hot oil.  Add a can or more of tomato juice and half the amount of water as the juice you used.  Add a bit of salt and some sugar to taste.  Bring mixture to a boil and taste it to see if you like it sweeter etc.

4.  Being that you will only use the large, whole leaves of the cabbage for stuffing, slice the rest of the cabbage pieces into shreds with a knife and add them to the pot of tomato sauce.

5.  After softening the cabbage (a few pieces at a time) in boiling water, place a cabbage leaf in your left hand, spine aligned with your fingers. Put a spoonful of the meat mixture on the bottom of the leaf,

 fold the left side of the leaf over the meat,

 roll tightly from the bottom to the top.  You will have one side with cabbage sticking up, so tuck it in with your finger until you have a nice smooth roll.  

 6.  Place into the pot of boiling tomato sauce and cook for a long time until the cabbage is soft.  Add a sprinkle of vinegar a few minutes before you’re ready to shut the flame. 

Stuffed cabbage freezes beautifully.

 
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