I made this recipe for my daughter Randi and her husband Dan last night as a side dish, and they loved it!  It is healthy, easy to make, and much more tasty than the average couscous recipe.  The whole wheat couscous tastes just as good as the regular, so if you can find it, I recommend using it as it is healthier. This recipe serves about 3-4 people, double this recipe for 5-8 people.

• 1 box Near East whole wheat couscous- box says plain
• 2-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• about 3 1/2 -4 ounces of prewashed baby spinach
• 1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
• about 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, grated on microplane
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Note:  If you do not like feta cheese, or you’d like the dish to be even less fattening, eliminate the feta cheese.

In large skillet, toast pine nuts till lightly browned.  Then add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 very large ( or 4 small) minced garlic cloves and put flame on medium.  Saute until garlic is translucent.  Add spinach over low flame, just until spinach is wilted.  Add salt and pepper.  Add lemon juice and zest.  Take off heat.  (You can do this part in advance if you wish.) 

A few minutes before you are ready to serve, follow directions and recipe on box for couscous- follow exactly.  When couscous is ready, add it to warmed spinach mixture in large skillet and mix.  Spoon into serving bowl, sprinkle feta cheese over, mix gently, and serve.

I whipped this frittata up in no time at all for a quick lunch at my mother’s house last week for my daughter Randi, her husband Dan, and for my mother and me.  It took about 10 minutes of prep time, and about 20 minutes of cooking time.  This frittata looks and tastes beautiful!!

• 12 extra large eggs
• 8-10 ounces prewashed baby spinach
• 8-10 oz. white mushrooms, cleaned and then sliced
• 6-8 oz. grated cheese - I used pre-grated cheddar-monterey jack, but Swiss or Gruyere would be great, too
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes - optional
• butter or olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk eggs in bowl; set aside.  Heat a largish saute pan, then add about a tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Put mushrooms in pan, sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper, leave undisturbed till they brown on bottom, turn and brown on other side. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.  Put a little more butter or oil in pan.  Put spinach in on very low heat, until just wilted.  Sprinkle with red pepper flakes if desired.  Set aside in bowl.

Grease sides and bottom  a 10 inch oven safe non-stick saute pan with butter.  Put on stove over a medium flame.  Pour eggs in.  Run spatula around edges, lift eggs off bottom until eggs are starting to set a little, but still are somewhat liquidy.  Take off stove.   Then sprinkle the cheese on top of eggs.  Distribute spinach all over the top, and then place mushrooms over spinach.  Place in oven for about 10 minutes until eggs are cooked through and are no longer liquidy.  Slide frittata onto serving dish, or serve right from pan. 

I was really in the mood to make some delicious pizza last weekend.  I remembered that my son Danny had eaten pizza in New York City a few months ago that he had gone nuts for.  I wanted to recreate that pizza for Danny.  I had so much fun experimenting with making the pizzas, and the results were amazing!  First, I used half the recipe for my homemade pizza dough to make one large pie.  The pie was half plain, and half mushroom.  The second pie I made was specifically for my son Danny, to recreate the pie he had in NY.   For that pie, I topped it with some caramalized onions, and then with some shredded romano cheese.  Then I made some homemade spinach pesto, which Danny drizzed over some of his pizza.  I can’t tell how delicious those pies were!  Few pizzarias make pizza that taste this good!

Pizza Dough  (This dough recipe makes 2 large pizzas, but the following instructions are meant to be enough for only 1 pizza.)  For the dough recipe, type in calzone above in the search, and the recipe for the pizza dough will come up.

for the mushroom pizza:  Heat saute pan.  Put a little olive oil in a saute pan to coat. Put sliced mushrooms (about 8-10 oz.)  in hot oil.  Sprinkle with kosher salt, a few cracks of black pepper, and a light sprinkling of red pepper flakes.  Let sit undisturbed till mushrooms brown on bottom.  Turn and cook until nicely browned.  If you have fresh garlic on hand, mince or chop one or two cloves and throw into pan at this point.  Keep moving garlic around so it doesn’t burn.  Garlic just needs to saute for a minute to become translucent and be flavorful.  Although, I didn’t do this, you might want to add a sprinkling of either fresh thyme leaves (leaves from one sprig), or a sprinkling of dry oregano.  Saute another minute or so. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Place sheet of parchment paper on large, heavy duty cookie sheet or half sheet pan. Sprinkle parchment paper with yellow cornmeal (I use Quaker).  Then, roll dough out on a lightly floured clean counter, or lightly floured piece of waxed paper or parchment paper to 1/4 inch thickness into either a large circle or rectangle.  Once dough is rolled out, lift the dough with your hands and transfer it to parchment on cookie sheet.  Then spoon about 1 cup of marinara sauce over dough.  Sprinkle a very light sprinkling of red pepper flakes over sauce (if you like the heat).  Then sprinkle about 8 oz. of coursely grated or thinly sliced whole milk (not fresh) mozzarella cheese evenly over pizza.  Place mushrooms evenly over pizza.  Sprinkle very lightly with dried oregano.  Bake on middle rack in oven for about 15-18 minutes until the underside of the dough is lightly browned.  Then change the setting on the oven to broil, and cook for about 3 more minutes until the cheese becomes bubbly, brown, and beautiful!

for the caramelized onion and romano pizza:

Thinly slice about 4 medium-large onions.  Pour about 1/4 cup olive oil into a large saute pan.  Get it hot over a medium flame.  Add the sliced onions.  Sprinkle them with kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper.  Saute for about 30-40 minutes over a medium flame, turning every so often.  The idea is not to burn the onions, but to brown them.  This takes a little while, so be patient. Set pan aside.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Place a sheet of parchment paper over a large heavy duty cookie sheet or sheet pan.  Then sprinkle some yellow cornmeal (I use Quaker) on the parchment paper.   Roll dough out on lightly floured clean counter or sheet of waxed or parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thickness, either into a large circle or a large rectangle.  Spoon about 1 cup marinara sauce over the dough.  Distribute onions evenly over top of sauce.  Sprinkle about 4 garlic cloves, minced on top.  Then sprinkle about 4 oz. of shredded, not grated, romano cheese (which I use because romano cheese has no lactose in it), or shredded parmesan cheese over top of pizza.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt,  red pepper flakes if you like a little heat, a little coarse black pepper,  and sprinkle very lightly with dried oregano.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Bake in the oven on middle rack for about 15 minutes until the bottom of the dough is lightly browned.  If pizza is browning too quickly, lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees.  Serve with pesto on the side, and spoon a little on if your wish.

Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Last night, I tried a new recipe, which really is just a variation on roasted vegetables. I put some of my daughter’s favorite vegetables in this, knowing you just can’t go wrong with roasting vegetables.  I  brought it to my daughter Randi’s for a dinner side dish, and she and her husband loved it, as did I.  If fact Randi liked it so much, she ate it for her main course.

• 4 tablespoons olive oil (I used half extra virgin and half light, but any type is fine)
• 2 pounds red potatoes, cut into slightly larger than bite size wedges, skin on
• 3 large red bell peppers, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 container of grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half, or 4 plum tomatoes cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, cut in half
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red papper flakes (optional)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an oval or rectangular 9 by 13 casserole dish with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Spread the potatoes, peppers, tomatoes in dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Drizzle remaining oil over, and toss with your hands to coat well with the oil to coat. Bake for about 45 minutes. Then take out of oven, and add olives, lemon juice, garlic, and parsley. Mix gently. Bake another 45-60 minutes. The longer you cook the vegetables, the more caramelized they will become, but the more they will shrink. So the longer you cook this, the smaller the yield. So if you don’t mind the vegetables not being really caramelized, reduce your cooking time.

I have made pea soup for years.  For years, I made it with flanken.  My mother, father, and children loved it.  My in-law Marcia Greenhouse though had the brilliant idea of making the soup without meat and adding matzah balls to the recipe!  Since her son and my daughter were both vegetarians who couldn’t eat chicken soup with matzah balls, she decided, why not make the matzah balls with pea soup?  The consensus in the family is that Marcia’s matza balls are better than mine, and I totally agree.  My daughter Randi always asks me why Marcia’s matzah balls are better than mine, and I just don’t have the answer.   Here is the recipe for my delicious pea soup and my and Marcia’s matzah balls.  Oh, I made a really big pot, and then I freeze the rest in quart containers (with the matza balls).

for the soup: 

• 6 tubes of Manischewitz split pea soup mix (I throw the seasoning packets away)
• about 24 cups of cold water (about 5 quarts)
• kosher salt, about 2 tablespoons or to taste
• pepper, about 2 - 3 teaspoons or to taste
• 2 large onions, peeled - but left whole
• 2 pound carrots, peeled and cut into medium sized chunks
• optional - 1/2 box of alphabet noodles or barley shaped noodles (only if you are not making matzah balls)

Pour the contents of  6 tubes of Manischewitz pea soup mix into the bottom of a very large pot.  Pour in about 24 cups of water (about 4 cups of water for each soup mix packet).  Pierce the two onions with a fork and place in pot.  Bring to a boil.  Skim scum off top.  Add salt and pepper.  Lower flame to low.  Simmer with top on.  After about one hour, add the cut up carrots.  Continue to simmer with cover on  for at least one more hour until you don’t see any more pieces of dried peas.  Discard onions.  If you are adding the noodles, boil them separately and then add them to the soup when the soup is fully cooked.

for the matzah balls:

• 1 box (2 packets) Manishewitz matzah ball mix
• oil and eggs- for quantities, see instructions on box

Follow directions on the box exactly.  Refrigerate batter, according to directions on the box.  Then, form the matzah balls using dampened hands.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and boil the matzah balls to that pot and cook according to package directions.  Add  cooked matzah balls to the soup. 

Note:  Freeze leftover soup and matzah balls in quart containers. 

This delectable vegetarian dish is a cross between a frittata, a souffle, a quiche, and a casserole.  The last time I made this delicious dish was when I made my daughter Randi’s bridal shower.  This dish made an incredible hit, and many people asked me for the recipe.  I like to make this because I can do most of the prep work a day in advance, and then it’s a breeze to pop it into the oven.  This is a wonderful dish for a brunch or a family breakfast, or for a special occasion.  You will love this!

• 1 Tbsp. oil (I use any olive oil for this)
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, diced
• 10 oz. mushrooms, sliced, and brushed off or lightly rinsed and dried (use your favorite mushrooms- I usually use white)
• 9-10 oz. prewashed baby spinach
• 10 extra large or jumbo eggs
• 2 cups shredded Swiss or Gruyere cheese (about 8-10 oz. -I like to use a combination of the two cheeses, but that isn’t necessary) - then divide your cheese in half
• 1 cup of half and half 
• Kosher salt
• freshly cracked black pepper
• cayenne or red pepper flakes - optional

You can do this part of the prep in advance and then refrigerate until you are ready to bake:

Grease sides and bottom of a 9 x 13 rectangular or oval baking dish with butter or margarine.

Heat oil in large saute pan on medium high until oil is hot.  If you are using crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat, sprinkle about 1/2 teaspoon of them into the oil.   Add onions; saute 2-3 minutes until translucent. Add mushrooms; saute 5 minutes until the mushrooms are starting to brown a little.  Add about 1 teaspoon salt and about 15-20 grinds of black pepper (about 1/2 teaspoon), and if you are using the cayenne instead of the red pepper flakes, sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon in. Turn off the heat.  Add the spinach, and mix in so that the spinach wilts and turns a darker color.  Spread the onion, spinach, mushroom mixture in the bottom of the greased baking dish; top with half of the shredded cheese.  This can now be covered and put into the fridge until you are ready to bake it. 

When you are ready to bake, follow these steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Beat eggs with half and half in mixing bowl. Add a little more salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon of each).  Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and cheese; top with the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Bake 35-40 minutes until eggs are puffed and set and top is lightly browned.  You should not see any liquid from the eggs.  If you do, bake another 5-10 minutes.  If the top isn’t browned, turn the setting in the oven to broil, and cook 1-2 minutes, but watch very carefully so you don’t burn this masterpiece!

Serve immediately!  

Note:  You can do all the preparation and then bake this at the same time.  But if you are making this for company, doing the prep work a few hours in advance or the night before takes all the anxiety away.

Like every family, we have our favorite Chinese restaurants. Ours is Hunan Gourmet in Manalapan, New Jersey.  As far as I’m concerned their Chinese food is as good or better than any other, including New York City restaurants.  Recently, my children have developed a passion for P.F. Chang’s, and we go there as often as possible.  I got tired of having to go out for Chinese food, so I developed this recipe, and thrilled (and amazed) my kids with it.  My daughter Randi has just started eating meat after more than 10 years, and I made this for her.  She went crazy for it.  I will make it for her again very soon.  Better yet, I will teach her how to make it for herself.  This dish looks beautiful too, so get ready to really impress your family, your friends, and yourself with it. 

•  1 1/2 pounds thin sliced chicken cutlets - either sliced into thin strips or cut into 1 inch cubes (I use Purdue thin sliced cutlets)
• 2 large red peppers, cut into bite size chunks
• 1/2 -3/4 pound string beans (I usually buy the string beans you find in the ready to microwave bag in the produce section of the supermarket- the string beans are already trimmed and washed- so you won’t have any prep work to do)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• 3/4 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (depending on how hot you like your Chinese food)
• 2 tablespoons oil (I use light olive oil)
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced or chopped fine
• 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated, each cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 5 - 6  tablespoons hoisin sauce (you will find this in the Chinese food aisle of your supermarket)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 cup to 1 cup peanuts (I use cocktail- salted) or cashews (salted or unsalted)
• brown rice or white rice for serving (I use about 2 cups of non-instant rice for this quantity of chicken)
• Chinese noodles for serving (optional)

In a medium bowl toss the cut up chicken with the 3/4 teaspoon salt and the 1/4 teaspoon pepper, then toss the chicken with the cornstarch with your hands.

In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat for 1 minute.  Add the crushed red pepper and stir for 30 seconds.   Add chicken, and cook for less than 1 minute.  Add the garlic, and the white parts of the scallions, the string beans, and the cut up red pepper chunks.  Stir quickly for about 2 minutes.  Then add the vinegar, continue stirring for a minute or 2 until vinegar evaporates.  Add hoisin sauce and water; continue cooking until vegetables are starting to soften- about 2-3 minutes.  Add the nuts and the green parts of the scallions. Stir one or two minutes until the sauce starts to reduce and look slightly glazed.

Place on large platter, and serve rice in another bowl.

Notes: 

• If you start cooking your rice right before you begin the stir frying process, the rice will finish cooking when your chicken is done.   
• You may substitute other vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, asparagus, or you may eliminate all vegetables.
• Your cooking time will depend on the thickness of your chicken.
• Wash you hands frequently, and use separate cutting boards for the chicken and the vegetables.
• Save those little containers of mustard you get from the Chinese restaruant to serve along with this dish.

I had this at my in-law’s Marsha’s house. Her husband Al Berman made this for an appetizer. It was DELICIOUS!!! You can serve this as an appetizer, or as a quick and healthy dinner served with marinara sauce and a salad. Believe it or not, my sons, Danny and Benji both love this, and they hate eggplant. Try this for your kids.

• 1 or 2 eggplants (choose eggplants that have a smaller diameter), peeled
• 1 or 2 eggs (or as many as necessary) mixed with a little water
• Italian bread crumbs
• oil, for frying
• marinara sauce, for serving

Peel eggplants and slice them thinly, between an 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. Place in egg mixture. Then dredge in bread crumbs thoroughly on both sides.

Heat a large frying pan or 2 pans until hot. Then add oil, either light olive oil, canola, corn, or vegetable oil about 1/8 inch high in pan. When oil starts to shimmer, add eggplant. Fry on both sides until nicely browned.  Add oil as needed.

Serve with marinara sauce, either a good jarred variety such as “The Silver Palate” or my delicious homemade marinara sauce.

This dish is easy to make, healthy, delicious, and the colors are beautiful.  I made this for my son Danny and myself, and to my shock, Danny loved it, even though he doesn’t usually like string beans. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound of fresh string beans, ends trimmed
• about 8-10 plum tomatoes or 2 pints of grape or cherry tomatoes
• kosher salt 
• freshly ground black pepper
• about 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves (optional)
• olive oil (I use light)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a half sheet pan with aluminum foil.  Cut plum tomatoes into medium size chunks, each about the size of a half of a cherry tomato.  If using cherry or grape tomatoes, cut them in half.  Place on prepared sheet pan, drizzle about 2 tablespoons oil over, sprinkle with salt and pepper and thyme.  Toss with your hands to coat well with oil.  Roast uncovered in oven for about 45 minutes.  Then take out, and add the string beans.  Drizzle a little more oil over beans and sprinkle beans with salt and pepper.  Then toss gently.  Roast for another 20-30 minutes until the beans start to brown on the ends.  Serve.

This Is The Best Recipe For Passover Spinach Pie Or Passover Spanikopita!

Last year, our wonderful friends, the Slotnicks, invited us over for a Passover Seder.  I wanted to bring a main course dish that my daughter and her husband, who are both vegetarians, would enjoy.  My daughter loves the Greek dish called spanikopita or spinach pie, so I decided to create my own Passover version of it.  It turned out delicious!  And it only took about 30 minutes to prepare.  We’re getting very close to Passover, and I definitely plan to make this Passover spanikopita for Seder or just for a light dinner this year!

• about 6 matza boards
• 5 extra large or jumbo eggs (3 for filling, 2 for pouring over the top)
• 1-10 ounce box of frozen spinach, defrosted and drained well
• 8 ounces of feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 of a medium onion, chopped finely
• about 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of dried dill or 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped dill
• about 2-3 tablespoons of butter or margarine, plus extra for greasing the pan

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease sides and bottom of  a 9 x 13 pyrex or ceramic baking dish well with butter or margarine.

In a medium mixing bowl, gently mix the drained spinach with the crumbled feta, the chopped raw onion, 3 eggs the pepper, and the dill; set aside.

Soak about 3 matzas in warm water in another 9 x 13 baking dish.  When the matza starts to soften, gently squeeze the water out, very carefully, so that you don’t crumble the matza.  Then place the matzas in the bottom of the pan to cover it.  Do not overlap the matza; just lay it side by side covering the bottom of the pan the way you would if you were making lasagna.

Spread the entire spinach mixture evenly over the matza, covering the matza completely.  Then soak another 3 matzas in warm water, gently squeeze out excess water, and place the matza over the top of the spinach, covering the spinach completely.  Beat the remaining 2 eggs and pour over the matza.  Dot with butter or margarine.  Bake covered for about 30 minutes till hot and bubbly.

Note #1:  You can prepare this in advance and refrigerate this up until the step where you pour the 2 beaten eggs over the matza.  Then when you wish to bake it, let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes, pour the 2 beaten eggs over it, dot it with butter or margarine and bake covered, for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Note #2:  You may substitute 1 pound of fresh spinach for the frozen, but you will need to saute it (very briefly) in a little oil, butter or margarine, just until it wilts and turns a dark green before you mix it with the feta, egg, onion, pepper, and dill. I like to use the frozen spinach, because 1-16 ounce box of frozen spinach is equivalent to much more than 1 pound of fresh spinach.