Lemon and Raspberry Cheesecake

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Ari

Everyone needs their “go to” dessert for potlucks/dinner parties/lazy sunday afternoons, and this is mine.

What you need (makes 2 cheesecakes):

  • 2 graham cracker crusts (I’m lazy so I just buy them from the store, but you can also make them yourself)
  • 4 packages of cream cheese, warmed to room temperature
  • juice from 2 lemons
  • 1/2 cup of sugar
  • 1 tbs vanilla
  • 3 eggs
  • 4 cups of frozen raspberries
  • 1 tbs sugar
  • 1 tbs corn starch (dissolved in water)
What you need to do:
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, and eggs into a large bowl, and mix with a hand mixer until smooth (about 4-5 minutes).
  3. Divide the filling between the two crusts and bake for 40 minutes.
  4. While the cakes are in the oven, add the raspberries and sugar to a sauce pan and heat on medium.
  5. Once the raspberries have broken down (about 5 minutes) add the corn starch (don’t forget to dissolve it first in water!), stir and continue heating for 1 minute. Set aside to cool until the cakes are done.
  6. Once the cheesecakes are done, add the raspberry topping and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

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Posted in Dessert | 3 Comments

Matzah Pizza

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Ari
Sorry I’ve been gone for a little while…I’ve been delivering babies(!!!!). 

Now I realize I’m exactly one week late with this recipe, but I’m going to make the argument that I’m right one time…For those of you who are familiar with this dry, tasteless piece of food masquerading as a holiday treat (aka matzah), you are also familiar with the all-to-common issue of being left with a large supply of this stuff once the holiday is over. Every year you promise yourself that you’ll eat all of it during the holiday, yet every year you finish off the week only to find that mischievous final box (that you swear you already ate) hiding behind the toaster or in the cabinet or under the sink, and you think to yourself, “great…as much as I loathe you, I know I’m going to eat you.” While I definitely recommend certain recipes like Matzah Brei as one option to help you get rid of those final sheets of paper-flavored cracker, this recipe is also a tasty option and you’ll hardly realize recognize the starting ingredient by the time you sit down for dinner.

What you need:

  • 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
  • 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • grated mozzarella
  • grated parmesan
  • toppings (I used banana peppers, fresh basil and sun dried tomatoes)
What you need to do:
  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a sauce pan, sauté the garlic in olive oil until it becomes fragrant (no more than 1 minute).
  3. Add your crushed tomatoes, salt and sugar, then sprinkle dried oregano on top of the sauce until it’s covered with a fine layer (see image about). Stir until combined. (I know that sounds really unspecific, but trust me with this one. This is the best pizza sauce you’ve ever tried.)
  4. Heat on medium until it begins to bubble then turn down to low heat. Once it begins to simmer again, turn off the heat.
  5. Place your matzah on a cooking sheet, cover with tomato sauce, cheese and the toppings of your choice.
  6. Bake for 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted. Cut into wedges and enjoy!
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Falafel Salad

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Anita!
Apologies to the faithful Sunday readers; I told Ari I would take her Sunday and then promptly procrastinated.
Falafel Salad: the best way since croutons to get fried food into your bowl of vegetables.



Recipe: I needed a food processor, a large bowl, a spoon, a fry thermometer, a large pot to fry stuff, a cooling rack, a cookie sheet lined with newspaper, tongs, and time — it takes 16-24 hrs to soak the chickpeas.

  • 2.25 cups dried chickpeas
Put the chickpeas into a large container and cover with twice the depth’s worth of water.  Cover and let sit for 16-24 hours (I did mine for ~20).  Add more water and stir if you check on them and find that they’ve expanded above the water level.  After that, drain the chickpeas well and put it in your food processor — run the processor, redistributing during pauses, until you have something like a cous cous texture.
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced
  • 1 bundle of parsley, stems trimmed, washed
  • 1 bundle of cilantro, stems trimmed, washed
  • 2 slices of toasted bread

Clean your food processor, and then put all of these ingredients in and process until smooth but not a mushy paste.  

  • 1 Tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 Tbsp dill seeds
  • 1 tsp red chili flakes
  • Salt/Pepper for seasoning
  • 1 Tbsp sesame seeds

Put these spices, the cilantro/parsley mixture, and the ground chickpeas into a bowl and mix thoroughly.  At this point you can put into a bag and freeze or…

  •  1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • vegetable oil for frying (depends on the size of your pot.  I think I used 1-2 cups)
 Mix in the baking powder and soda and form the falafel mixture into walnut-sized balls with your hands.  It might take a little squeezing.  Heat the oil to between 310F and 340F, and keep the temperature in this range.  Slowly lower the falafel 4 at a time into the oil (these did not splatter me but arm yourself with a lid just in case).  Use tongs to move the falafel gently; when they float and look browned, quickly fish them out and put them on a cooling rack that has been placed upside-down on a newspaper-lined baking sheet.
  • Salad
Add to salad.  fin
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Posted in Freezer, Salads, Snacks, Vegetarian | Leave a comment

Peanut Butter & Banana Bread in 7 Dirty Dishes (w/video)

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Anita!
I’ve posted this bread before, but since then I’ve streamlined the recipe down to a small number of dishes.  So easy, it practically makes itself…
Watch below, and never again let me complain about being pressed for extra free time.
Ingredients
  • Cookware: 1 mixing spoon, 1 tsp, 1/2 cup measure, 1 knife, 1 microwave-safe bowl, 1 large mixing bowl, 1 loaf pan
  • 1.5 cups flour
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/3 cup butter
  • 1 egg
  • 2 overripe bananas
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter (even though I used 1/2 cup in the video)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • spray lube
Preheat the oven to 350F and gird your loins.  For the dry:  Mix the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda very well in a large mixing bowl.  For the wet: microwave the butter until melted; wait for it to cool to close to room temperature, then add the egg and beat until mixed well.  Add the bananas and mash/mix until the lumps are mostly gone.  Add the vanilla and the peanut butter, mixed thoroughly.  Add the sugar and mix again.  Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and stir AS FEW TIMES AS POSSIBLE to make the dry stuff disappear (this will change from day to day).  Add in a small handful of walnuts or chocolate chips if you want.  Spray your loaf pan with spray lube.  Add the mixture in.  Put it in the oven for anywhere between 50-60 minutes (50 will get you something soft, 60 will get you structure).  Use a knife to loosen the bread from the sides of the pan, then overturn onto a baking wrack (doh!  that’s technically an 8th dish.  Unless you don’t wash it.)

 

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Posted in Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Snacks | 6 Comments