Jewish Cookery for Passover

Traditional “Gildene” Soup with Turkey Wings and Beef (Entree):

0,5 kg Turkey Wings (1 lb)

1 Onion (large)
1 Carrot (large), diced or en julienne
2 stalks Celery (including leaves)
1 Bay Leaf
6 Peppercorns
200 g Beef for making soup (0.5 lbs)
Boiled water (1 quart/liter per pound of poultry)

Cook slowly after bringing to a quick boil. Skim carefully and add vegetables after 30 minutes of simmering. Cooking time maximum 2 hrs. Strain soup while hot just before serving.

Main Dish:
Stuffed Breast of Turkey with Parsley

Serves 4-6:
1 kg Turkey breast (2 lbs.)
A big bunch of Parsley
1 kg Sweet Potatoes (2 lbs.)
1/2 kg New Potatoes (2 lbs.)
½ kg Chopped Onions (1 lb.)
200 g Boiled Cranberries (0.5 lb.)

Accompaniments:
1 kg New Green Asparagus (2 lbs.)

Pre-heat the oven at 225 degree C (440 degree F). Stuff the turkey breast with a big bunch of fresh parsley. Place it on a bed of sweet potatoes mixed with onions and cranberries in an ovenproof ovenware. Cook in the oven for appr. 1 hour (the meat juice should no longer be red). Let the meat rest before serving in slices with the sweet potato. Garnish with fresh sprigs of parsley or dill.


Entrements et Dessert: (using Cocoa)
Chocolate Pendant Brownies and boiled down Rhubarbs

7 eggs, separated
1 cup Sugar
¾ cup Matzo Cake Flour
3-4 Tb Cocoa
¼ tsp Salt
2 Tb Cold Water
1 Orange, juice and grated rind
½ cup chopped Nuts

Beat egg yolks with sugar added while beating till creamy. Stir in the cake flour, well mixed with cocoa and salt. Combine water, orange juice and grated rind and stir it in. Add nuts to the mixture and fold in stiffly beaten egg whites. Turn into an ungreased rectangular cake pan. Bake at 170 degree C (340 degree F) for 45 minutes or till lightly browned on top. Turn off the heat and let the cake cool in the oven. Serve with boiled down rhubarbs.

[Credit to Jewish Cookery, Leah H. Leonard, The Crown Classic Cook Book Serie, N.Y (1986)]

Cooking for toddlers

In Rest. Prins Ferdinand in Old City Aarhus, where I once were an apprentice, my Chef de cuisine Per Brun always claimed, that maybe you can’t trace less chemicals and heavy metals behind the peel in organic grown vegetables, but you definitely can taste the difference. Now our daughter Elin is turning one year old and going from suckling to toddler, and I haven’t been able to wait with introducing solid foods to her. Based on my experience with cooking for children in several ski-camps, I hereby feel motivated to share some of my thoughts with you how and what to cook for your toddlers:

FEEDING AT A GLANCE:

Birth to 6 months: Breastmilk and/or iron-fortified formula satisfies all nutritional requirements. Solid foods not nutritionally needed, but infant may want Breast and/or bottle

Designed to suck, not chew Rooting reflex; searches for food source Tongue-thrust reflex pushes out solid foods Sensitive gag reflex

6 months: Starter foods:

bananas, pears, rice cereal, applesauce Strained, pureed

Fingertipful Spoonful Tongue-thrust and gag reflexes lessen; accepts solids Sits erect in high chair

7 to 9 months: avocados, mashed potatoes, peaches, barley cereal, carrots, squash, teething

biscuits, pear and apple juice May drink from cup

Finger foods begin: Pureed and mashed foods pickup begins Fascination with tiny food morsels

Begins mouthing chokable food and objects (parents beware!) Bangs, drops, flings Reaches for food and utensils

9 to 12 months: lamb, veal, tofu, poultry, noodles, bagel, beans, rice cakes, peas, egg yolk, yams, cheese, oatmeal, yogurt

Lumpier consistency Finger foods mastered Bite-sized, cooked vegetables Melt-in-mouth foods Tries to use utensils, spills most

12 to 18 months: whole milk, papaya, cottage cheese, apricots, ice cream, grapefruit, whole eggs, grape halves, beef, strawberries, tomatoes, fish (salmon, tuna), pasta, graham crackers, broccoli, wheat cereal, spinach, honey, cauliflower, pancakes, melon, muffins, mango, kiwi

Participates in family meals Eats chopped and mashed family foods Begins self-feeding with utensils Holds spoon better, still spills much Picks at others' plates

18 to 24 months: Eats toddler portions of sandwiches, stews, nutritious puddings, sauces, smoothies, shakes, pate, dips, toppings, spreads, soups

Toddler food "language:" avocado boats, cooked carrot wheels, cheese blocks, broccoli trees, o-shaped cereal, toast sticks, cookie-cutter cheese melts, sailboat salads, peanut butter

Grazes – deserves title "picky eater" Uses spoon and fork Molars appear – begins rotary chewing Spoon-feeds self without spilling much Learns food talk, signals for "more," "all done".

[Source: http://www.askdrsears.com/]

Every one of us has experienced low blood sugar, and maybe you are used to give your children a raw carrot while waiting for the dinner. I have learned always to have a kilo or two of pre-cooked potatoes in the fridge, for an express dinner when it simply can’t go fast enough. In the morning I often offer a quarter banana or so, if my daughter is waking up with an appetite. Otherwise, beside basing my cooking on seasonal fruits and vegetables, what I have learned from my chef de cuisine Mr. Brun is always use the oven for cooking – either grilled, cooked or steamed wrapped in foil - then you have your hands free and minimize the risk of burnings.

1-2 Servings: (Vegetable)

1 Potato (peeled)

1 Sweet Potato (peeled)

1 Courgette/Zucchetti (washed)

Cut in the vegetable in even dices. Steam wrapped in foil (200 oC or 390 oF) or in a steamer for 3-5 minutes without any salt. Mash the vegetable together with some of the stock with a masher or a staff mixer. Add a teaspoon of warm-pressed olive or rape oil before serving.

2-3 Servings: (fleischig)

1 Potato (peeled)

1 Sweet Potato (peeled)

1 Courgette/Zucchetti (washed)

100-150 g Chicken leg (0.2-0.33 lbs)

Cook the chicken leg in the oven (225 oC or 440 oF) for 20 minutes. Remove the flesh from the bones. Cut the vegetable in even dices and steam them wrapped in foil (200 oC or 390 oF) or in a steamer for 3 minutes without any salt. Add the chicken and steam for another 5 minutes. Mash the vegetable and chicken together with some of the stock with a staff mixer. Add a teaspoon of warm-pressed rape oil or some dripping from the chicken before serving.

Zürich, 24/6/2009