Kids' Picks

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Chanukah Cookies (poppyseed sugar cookies)

Every family has their go-to cookbook. I know friends who head right for Joy of Cooking and others who have a well-worn copy of Better Homes and Garden. In our family it is the 1946 edition of Mrs. Simon Kander’s Settlement Cookbook. This classic volume is the source of many of my family’s Jewish staples. As well as its collection of recipes it can also tell you about invalid cooking, how to make soap, and how to set a proper table; all the while adhering to its cover aphorism: “The way to a man’s heart.”

This cookie recipe is adapted from the sugar cookie recipe in The Settlement Cookbook. My mother added a good measure of poppy seeds and rolled them just as thin as possible, making a cookie so crispy and delicate that it’s easy to munch them by the handful. The poppy seeds give them a subtle flavor, very rich and not too sweet. Mom made these every year for Chanukah, although the only thing that says “Chanukah” about them is that she used Chanukah cookie cutters.

This week I made a double batch of the dough and used a variety of shapes so that I could take some to a holiday lunch party, others to a piano recital, and the rest to a Shabbat Oneg at temple. None of these events fell during Chanukah this year, but I did take my mother some of the Jewish stars, since they were once her favorite.

My copy of the Settlement cookbook was beginning to loose it’s cover so Doug got me a “new” copy of it on eBay. I gave the old copy to Joe (Joe, who is 12, wants to be a chef when he grows up), and in that copy are a lot of hand-written notes. I couldn’t remember how much poppy seed to add to the recipe so I called Joe on his cell phone and asked him where I could find his cookbook. “It’s in my underwear drawer, Mom, to keep it pristine.”

Cookies for Joe's piano recital.

Poppy Seed Cookies (adapted from The Settlement Cookbook)

  • 1/2 c. butter
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 c. milk
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 c. flour
  • 1/4 c. poppy seeds

Cream the butter and sugar, then add the egg. Mix the baking powder with the flour. Add half of the milk to the creamed butter mixture, then half of the flour. Add the rest of the milk and vanilla, then the rest of the flour and the poppy seeds. Mix just until blended. Do not over mix or the dough will not be as flakey. Chill the dough for at least an hour in the refrigerator. Roll out very thin on a floured board. Bake on a greased cookie sheet, 375 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Keep a careful eye on the cookies while they are baking, remove them promptly when they begin to brown.

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Turkey Pot Pie

Bake the pies in some interesting oven-proof dishes and they become edible works of art.

Don’t panic—this is actually an easy dish to make! And what an elegant use for leftover turkey, chicken or beef. Not to mention that this tastes infinitely better than frozen, prepared pot pies. These can be very free-form in their assembly. Look around your kitchen for small oven-safe dishes in which to bake these. I used 4-1/2″ square Pyrex oven-proof dishes. All the kids happily dug into their dinner tonight!

Turkey Pot Pie (makes 4-5 small pies)

Pie crust for double crust pie (click here for a link to a recipe)

For the filling:

  • 1-1/2 c. cooked, chopped turkey (or other meat)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 medium potatoes, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 3/4 c. frozen peas
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil

For the cream sauce:

  • 3 Tbs. butter
  • 4 Tbs. flour
  • 1 to 2 c. milk
  • salt
  • 1 tsp. thyme
  • 1 large bay leaf

1. Saute all of the vegetables in the olive oil until the potatoes and carrots just begin to get tender. Stir in the turkey and set aside.

2. While the vegetables are cooking, make the pie crust and set aside in the refrigerator.

3. Make the white sauce: Melt the butter in a sauce pan, whisk in the flour. Turn the heat to very low, and very slowly, while continuing to whisk, pour in the milk just a little at a time. Put in the bay leaf and thyme, and continue to stir while the sauce thickens. When it’s as thick or thin as you like, take it off the heat and set aside, season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Assemble the pies (the fun part): Roll out the dough very thin, cut into pieces a bit larger than your baking dishes, and line the bottom of the dish, overlapping about 1/2″. Repeat for each of your dishes. Fill each dish with about 1/4 of the meat-vegie filling. Remove and discard the bay leaf from the cream sauce, and top the filling with 1/4 of sauce, then use a spoon to gently mix it down into the filling. Roll out remaining dough and cut pieces to top each pie. Fold the extra 1/2″ of bottom crust up over the top crust and roughly crimp.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the crust in nicely browned. Serve piping hot.

Fill each pie with 1/4 of the meat-vegie filling.

Pour over 1/4 of the cream sauce.

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Just latkes

Every Jewish cook has their own favorite way to make these. My mother always peeled the potatoes and never used flour, just a handful of matzo meal. Over the years I’ve come to love them prepared by keeping the peel on the potatoes, and using the grater attachment on my food process which gives some really long, skinny bits of potato which fry up extra crunchy.

Potato Latkes (makes 14 pancakes)

  • 3 large russet potatoes
  • 2 medium onions
  • a few green onions (optional)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 c. flour
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • oil for frying

Grate the potatoes and onions in a food processor. Transfer to a large bowl, squeeze out and discard liquid from the potatoes, then stir in the eggs, flour and salt. Add enough oil to cover the bottom of a pan, somewhere between 1/16″-1/8″ deep. When very hot, use a serving spoon to spoon in the batter. If possible use more than one frying pan since these are best served hot from the stove. To keep batches warm, arrange them in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels in a warm oven.

Options:

  • substitute 1 sweet potato for one of the russet potatoes
  • add 1/2 cup chopped Swiss chard or kale
  • substitute 1 cup packed grated zucchini for one of the potatoes
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Short-cut Chicken Soup with Rice

This rich and flavorful broth cured my cold.

I know I’m supposed to make chicken stock from scratch, but at the tail end of a cold, who wants to fuss with that? I wanted some chicken soup, and I wanted it in an hour.

Spicey, Ricey Chicken Soup

  • 3 qts. prepared chicken stock (I like College Inn brand)
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 4 Tbs. olive oil
  • 2/3 c. uncooked brown rice
  • 3 stalks celery, sliced
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 1/2 c. parsley, chopped
  • 1 28-oz can whole tomatoes, sliced thick
  • 2 cloved garlic, crushed
  • 1 lb. chicken tenders (boneless, skinless chicken breast)
  • 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
  • salt to taste

Saute the onion in 2 Tbs. olive oil. When onion is soft, stir in the rice. After a minute or two, add 2 cups water along with all other ingredients except for the chicken and remaining olive oil. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the chicken into small, bite-sized chunks and brown in the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil. Add the chicken to the soup and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Season to taste.

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What to do with the leftovers: Brisket Soup

A meal in a bowl.

Jewish meat staple or not, moist and flavorful or not—my kids don’t like brisket. This is a small problem after I have just roasted six pounds of meat. Necessity being this mother’s nudge to invent, I developed Brisket Soup. It might look like vegetable beef soup to the kids, but I know better. Yesterday’s dinner: “I don’t care for brisket;” tonight’s soup, “thumbs up.”

Brisket Soup (Vegetable-Beef Soup)

  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 6 c. roasted, chopped brisket
  • 2 c. chopped cabbage (optional)
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 1 large sweet potato, chopped
  • 1 c. green beans, cut
  • 1/4 c. parsley, chopped
  • 1 Tbs. salt
  • pepper
  • 2/3 c. macaroni
  • 2/3-1 c. meat gravy
  • small can of chopped tomatoes (optional, if you want a tomato base)

Saute the onion in olive oil, add all ingredients except for the macaroni, Cover with 3-4″ of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1-2 hours. Fifteen minutes before serving add the macaroni.

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    Jam favorites: Blueberry Conserve & Spiced Cherry

    These two are the more unusual varieties of jam that I can.

    I like to buy these tiny 1/4-pint canning jars. Two or three of these sampler jars, packaged together, make a nice gift.

    Leo, my brother-in-law, loves spiced cherry jam and several years ago he asked me to make some. I’m sharing that recipe, developed after some trial and error. The blueberry conserve is a combination of blueberries, lemon and orange slices. Both of these are extra tart, and great on a biscuit with some strong coffee.

    For each of these recipes, cook up the ingredients until thick, as in any jam recipe. Then spoon into hot, sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 15 minutes.

    Spiced Cherry Jam

    • 4 c. tart cherries
    • 2-1/2 c. sugar
    • 1 tsp. almond extract
    • 1 tsp. cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp. allspice
    • 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
    • 1/4 tsp. ground ginger

    Blueberry Conserve

    • 4 c. blueberries
    • 3 c. sugar
    • 1 large lemon, peel and all, sliced paper thin, then cut in half
    • 1 medium orange, peel and all, sliced paper thin, then cut in half

    Here I am with this year's crop of canned jam. (photo by Max Walker)

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    Beef Stew

    This only takes 30 minutes to get started, and then you can put it on the lowest flame on your back burner and forget about it until dinner. Don’t worry if you don’t have all of the ingredients. I made mine today without green pepper, mushrooms or parsley.

    Beef Stew (serves 6-8)

    • 2 Tbs. olive oil
    • 2 c. coarsely chopped onion
    • Lawry’s season salt
    • 1 lb. stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
    • 28 oz. canned tomatoes, cut into large pieces
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 c. frozen peas
    • 1 c. frozen green beans
    • 2 carrots, sliced
    • 2 stalks celery, sliced
    • 1 green pepper, chopped
    • 1/2 lb. mushrooms, quartered
    • 2 medium potatoes, cubed
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 2 Tbs. basil
    • 1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
    • 1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
    • 1/2 c. red wine
    • additional salt and pepper to taste

    Liberally season the meat with Lawry’s season salt, and brown, along with the onion, in the olive oil. Add everything else and simmer for 3 hours. Serve in a shallow bowl, ladled over a fresh biscuit.

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    Witches Brew Soup

    This soup is packed with a lot of vegetables, and the sweet potato makes it lusciously sweet for the kids.

    This was our Halloween brew, served up tonight to friends and neighbors before, during, and after trick-or-treating. I kept the pot hot and ready, along with a loaf of challah and some good butter. Traditionally I serve this to my kids and their friends as a way of infusing their bodies with mega-nutrients prior to trick or treating. This accomplishes three things: 1. They take in some vitamins in addition to all of the candy that they will later eat. 2. They’re full of the good stuff so that they’re not as hungry for so much candy. 3. It gives me the illusion of having some control over their diet on Halloween.

    Plus this is such a fun pre- trick or treat activity! Print out the top half of the following recipe for them to refer to as they eat. Ask them to try and identify all of the ingredients while they are eating. (The “real” recipe follows.) Next year, invite the neighborhood kids in.

    Witches Brew Soup

    • 3 cups fresh goblin toes, chunked
    • 1 cup diced hippo spleen
    • 1/2 cup lightly shredded eel skin
    • 2 cups abdomen of preying mantis, cut in half
    • 1 cup arachnid bodies
    • 1 cup frog kidneys (canned or fresh)
    • 2 cups irises of owl eyes
    • 1 cup frozen or canned devils teeth
    • 1 cup packed creeping violet leaves
    • 1/2 cup tortoise knee caps
    • 3/4 cup dragon’s dandruff
    • salt and garlic to taste

    Saute eel skin in a little extra virgin olive oil. Add all of the ingredients in a big cauldron. Fill cauldron with enough fresh mountain river water (be sure it’s clean) to just cover. Boil for 3 hours. Serve hot. Enjoy!

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    Witches Brew Soup (serves 8-10)

    • 1 large sweet potato, chunked
    • 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
    • 1 large onion, chopped
    • 2 cups fresh green beans, cut in half
    • 1 can black beans
    • 1 can kidney beans
    • 2  carrots, sliced
    • 1 c. frozen corn, or one can
    • 1 c. packed kale, chopped
    • 1 stalk celery, sliced
    • 1 c. sliced cabbage
    • 1/2 c. brown rice
    • 1/4 c. chopped parsley
    • 1 tsp. basil
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 clove garlic, crushed
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Saute onion in a little extra virgin olive oil. Add all of the ingredients in a big pot. Fill cauldron with enough water to just cover. Bring to boil, then simmer for 2 or 3 hours. After the vegetables are soft, use the back of a large spoon to smash some of the sweet potato chunks against the inside of the pot. This will thicken and sweeten the broth.

    copyright 2010 Dori Gordon Walker

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    Greener Greens

    I love sauteed greens: kale, chard, bok choy. My children willingly eat broccoli, but that gets tiresome, so tonight I mixed them all together in a lovely green-on-green blend. This is a mixture of broccoli, ribbons of kale and chard, bok choy, sliced green onion and left over green beans. A symphony of green.

    Start with a small amount of olive oil, press in a clove of garlic, add all of the vegies and stir them around in the pan until the broccoli and beans are just tender. Season with salt and pepper.

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    Swedish meatballs with an American accent

     

    We ate our Swedish meatballs with plum jam and a side of Greener Greens.

     

    Meatballs to Swedes are like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are to Americans—a kid’s lunch-time staple. We lived there for two years when Max and Molly were toddlers. They attended a morning preschool, and as we would leave each day the mothers would ask each other what they were fixing for lunch. More often than not, the answer would be kötbullar (shutte boo’-lar), literally, meat balls. They were sold precooked and frozen in plastic bags. Traditionally the meatballs are served with lingonsylt, or lingonberry jam.

    Tonight I took some American liberties with the recipe: substituting ground turkey for beef; low-fat milk for cream; olive oil for some of the butter; and plum jam for lingonberry. The tart plum jam tasted remarkably like lingonberry!

    Swedish Meatballs (makes about 4 dozen)

    • 1 small onion, very finely chopped
    • 2-3 Tbs. olive oil
    • 1-1/2 lbs. ground meat (beef, turkey, pork, or a combination)
    • 1 egg
    • 1 c. milk
    • 1-1/2 c. bread crumbs
    • 1/4 c. finely chopped parsley
    • 1-1/2 tsp. salt
    • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
    • 1/4 tsp. ginger
    • 1/4 tsp. white pepper
    • 2 Tbs. butter
    • 2 Tbs. flour
    • 1 bouillon cube
    • 1/2 tsp. instant coffee
    • 1-1/2 c. milk

    Saute onion in 1 Tbs. of the olive oil until soft. In a large bowl combine meat, egg, milk, bread crumbs, parsley, spices and sauteed onion. Mix well with your hands and form into small meatballs (about 3/4″). Brown the meatballs in a little more olive oil, turning them to brown 3-4 sides. Either do these in two batches or use two large frying pans and do them all at once.

    Remove the meatballs from the pan, and make the gravy. Dissolve the bouillon cube in a little hot water. Melt the butter, stir in the bouillon, coffee and flour. Slowly add the 1-1/2 c. milk to make a gravy. Add all of the meatballs to the gravy, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Serve with rice or noodles.

    For the description of Greener Greens click here.