Apple Cocktail

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I thought I would share with you a cocktail recipe. I know this is the last thing a lot of people think about when they prepare for a holiday get-together, but I think a good cocktail is just as important as the rest of the meal. 

This is a simple one, you can prepare the apples a couple of days in advance and just mix in the alcohol when you are ready to serve. It's so good, it will be a signature drink everybody will talk about. For this cocktail, apples are slowly poached with cinnamon and brown sugar. Once the apples are tender, you puree them and then pass them through a fine mesh. The results are amazing, it's Fall in a glass. Wishing you happy holidays! 

Ingredients:

makes 4-6

2 apples, cut in half 

4 cups water 

1 small cinnamon stick 

1/2 cup brown sugar

Vodka or dark rum 

Place the water, apples, brown sugar and cinnamon on a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, cover it and cook until the apples are very tender, about 20-25 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick from the pot and puree the apples. Pass it through a fine mesh and discard the pulp. Let cool completely. Add ice to a cocktail shaker, then add 1/2 cup of apple juice with 2oz vodka or rum (per drink). Shake well and serve. 

Variation: Add 1 vanilla bean pod (scraped) to the saucepan with the rest of the ingredients. Remove the pod from the saucepan before pureeing. If you don't have vanilla pods, add 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract after you cook the apples.

Thanksgiving with NYshuk

Today I have a really exciting post for you, I'm pleased to introduce two super talented chefs and also very dear friends, Ron and Leetal Arazi. They moved from Israel to New York and in less than a year they created a company called NYSHUK, which has caught the attention of several media channels including The New York Times (front page of their dinning section), Serious Eats and most recently, Wall Street Journal, to name a few. But what is NYSHUK all about you ask? They are rocking middle eastern and north african cooking their way. 

Ron with his Moroccan influences, has mastered the art of couscous making, which I have drawn a lot of inspiration from, you might remember THIS post. Leetal, a pastry chef, puts her own spin on classic desserts inspired by her own family heritage. She is also a talented food photographer and stylist. 

Photo by Leetal Arazi

Both have started a line of products "NYSHUK Pantry" which are an essential part of middle eastern cooking. Ron and Leetal have put together several Thanksgiving inspired side dishes using their product which includes: Harissa, sun dried chili pepper spread. L'ekama, a spiced blend in chili and garlic oil. Last but not least, Tanzeya, slow cooked dried fruit and spices medley. 

This past Sunday, we did a collaboration photo shoot with Leetal and after that, we had a "pre-thanksgiving" celebration. All the dishes were so good, I'm making them again on Thanksgiving. 

Photo by Leetal Arazi

The passion they put into everything they create is truly inspiring, and they would love for people to be able to cook at home using the essence of middle eastern and north african flavors, in one spoon from their jars.

Ingredients:

All recipes courtesy of  NYSHUK

Slow cooked wheat berry & harissa

1 1/2 cups wheat berry

3 1/ 2 cups boiling water

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp harissa

2 tbsp olive oil 

Preheat the oven to 300˚F. In a bowl, mix the boiling water, oil, salt and harissa. Inside an oven bag, place the wheat berry and pour in the water mixture then tie the bag. Fill an ovenproof pot with boiling water (1/3 of a pot). Place the bag inside the pot, cover with a lid and bring to a boil on a stovetop. Once the water has boiled place the pot in the oven for 4 hours. Remove the wheat berry from the bag and serve.

Lemon yogurt & sautéed cauliflower:

1 head of cauliflower

½ tsp. salt

2 tbsp. canola oil

1 ½ tbsp. L’ekama

For the yogurt sauce:

1 cup Greek yogurt

1 tbsp. lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

4 tbsp. water

Place the yogurt, water, salt, lemon juice and zest in a bowl and whisk until combined. Cut the cauliflower into small flowerets. Make sure to dice the stem as well. Heat a large non-stick frying pan to high heat. Add the cauliflower (make sure not to over-crowd the pan, if you can't fit everything at once, sauté them in 2 batches) add the salt. Stir. After 2 minutes of cooking add the oil. Stir. Keep cooking for 4- 5 minutes. Add 1 ½ tbsp of the L’ekama (make sure to shake the jar well) mix well and cook for 2 more minutes or until the cauliflower is tender yet has a nice ‘bite’ to it. On a serving plate, place the yogurt, top with the cauliflower and garnish with chopped parsley.

Roasted Butternut squash with caramelized onion and Tanzeya

1 medium butternut squash

3 yellow onions

4oz NYSHUK Tanzeya

½ cup roasted sliced almonds

Canola oil

Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Peel and cut the squash in half (lengthwise) remove the seeds and cut to ½-inch thick slice. Lay the squash on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and season with salt. Roast for 30- 40 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a knife into the squash and there is no resistance. Peel and thinly slice the onions. Heat a pan to medium heat and add the onions. Start with a dry pan, and then add 1/3 cup of water and 1 tsp. salt, cover and simmer until the onion are tender. Once the onions are tender, remove the lid and maximize the heat, add 2-3 tbsp. oil. Keep cooking for a few more minutes until the water evaporates and the onions start getting a nice caramelized color. Using your hands break up the roasted butternut squash to large chunks and place on a serving dish with the caramelized onions and tanzeya. Carefully mix everything and top with the almonds before serving.

Popletas  (Harissa flavored potato dumpling filled with meat)

3 large Idaho potatoes peeled and cut to 6

2 tbsp Harissa

250g lean ground beef

4 tbsp. flour

4-5 eggs

salt

canola oil 

Cook the meat until it's brown and thoroughly cooked. Add 1 tsp salt and 2 tbsp harissa. Lower the heat and keep stirring for another 5 minutes, set aside to cool. Place the potatoes in a pot, cover with water, add 1 tbsp salt and cook on medium heat until the potatoes are tender and can easily fall apart when you poked them with a fork. Drain the water and in the same pot, on low heat start to dry the cooked potatoes, mixing gently every other minute, making sure it does not scorch or brown, it should take around 4 to 5 minutes. Mash the potatoes using a potato masher. Taste for salt and if necessary add a little more. Add 1 ½ tbsp of harissa and mix gently. Do not let the mash cool down. In a small mixing bowl crack 1 egg and mix it using a fork. Add 1 tbsp. of potato mash and mix well. Repeat that 3 times to make the egg slowly heat and not to turn into a scrambled egg at once. Add it to the rest of the potatoes and mix until the mixture is uniformly bright red.

To form the patties, oil your hands and take about 2½ tbsp of  harissa mashed potato and spread it in the palm of your hand to about 3-inch round and about ½ inch thick. Place in the center 1 tsp of the filling, form the mashed potato into a ball, making sure the filling is well covered. Gently press the ball into a patty, set aside.

Heat up a frying pan with canola oil, 1½ inch deep on high heat but do not let the oil smoke. Roll the popletas in flour and shake the excess off of it. Roll all the popletas before moving to the next step. Break 2 eggs in a shallow bowl and mix well. Deep 1 popleta in the egg and put it straight in the hot oil. Repeat that 3 times. Once they have browned, and it should be very quickly, turn them around to brown from the other side. Drain them on a plate lined with paper towel. Serve warm. 

Challah

I first fell in love with challah, back when I was 16 years old, my mom took me to this tiny Jewish bakery in Brooklyn. I remember the first thing that got me was the smell. I knew I had to have a piece of whatever was producing that warm, "perfumy" almost anesthetic smell. 

Growing up, my grandmother made a version of challah, she would just called it "pan de trenza" (braided bread). Her version was a marriage between a brioche and challah. Very soft, tender and a little sweeter which went perfectly well when she made sandwiches  with cured meat. That salty-sweet combination that makes your palate go crazy.

And who can resist French toast made with challah? Or bread pudding? There are a lot of yummy treats you can make with this bread besides enjoying it on its own. 

This recipe is an adaptation of The French Culinary Institute recipe. I changed the recipe a little bit and the result… Well, I'll let these pictures tell you the rest. Seriously, if you try this recipe, you will not want to buy a single challah, instead, you will find an excuse to make it.  

Ingredients:

makes 3 strand braids challah

970g all-purpose flour

290g water, cold

164g whole eggs (about 3 eggs)

116g egg yolks (about 6 yolks)

40g honey

11g instant dry yeast 

21g salt

55g sugar

85g vegetable oil (such as canola)

Egg wash

sesame seeds 

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, combine flour, water, whole egg, egg yolk, honey, yeast and salt. Mix on low speed for about 5 minutes, or until the dough starts to become shaggy (it won't be smooth at this stage of mixing). Add the sugar (in three parts). With the mixer on low, slowly add the oil (in a slow stream) and mix until fully incorporated. Here,it may look like is a lot of oil and you have ruined the dough but it will come together nice and smooth. Also, once the oil was incorporated to the dough, I knead the dough over the counter by hand for a couple of minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl and place the dough there to rise, covered with a plastic wrap for 45 minutes. Uncover the dough and gently punch down, cover it again and let it rest for 45 minutes more. 

Turn the dough in a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 9 equal pieces. (the best way to do this is to weigh the entire dough then divide it into 9, the result is how much each piece should weight). Mine came out to 190g per piece. Cover the pieces well with plastic wrap and let them rest for 15 minutes. Line 3 sheet pans with parchment paper, set aside. Carefully roll each piece of dough into a neat cigar-shaped log about 25 inches long. Keep them covered to avoid the dough to dry.

Place 3 strands parallel to each other (you can do this on the baking sheet, if it's easier). Starting at the center, bring one outside strand over the center of the middle strand. Grab the other outside strand and fold it over the new middle strand. Repeat this process until you reach the end of the strands. Pinch ends together to seal it. When you are done, brush them with egg wash, cover it very well (make sure the plastic wrap don't touch the dough otherwise it will stick). Let the dough proof for 1-½ hours or until springs back slowly when pressed.

When the dough is ready for the oven, brush it again with egg wash and generously sprinkle it with sesame seeds. Bake the challah on a preheated 350˚F oven for 35-40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Let it cool completely on a wire rack.