Author Archives: cookingwithcandi

Here’s another oldie but goodie. If you’re in the market for a sweet easy to make side dish for your Passover table here you go. Happy Cooking!

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I have no idea where or who this recipe comes from but I’ve made it many times and it’s very tasty. This is sweet–once again with apples, eggs, oil , raisins, and of course, matzoh. Probably best in a rectangular Pyrex dish (9×12 should do it).  After I wrote this recipe, I received the same one from Marcy and she says she puts in a can of pineapple pieces or crushed, sounds good to me. You can serve this with meal or dessert. It’s a very good recipe. Worth keeping.

Ingredients:

12 sheets of matzoh (plain)

9 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 tsp. salt

6 large apples (you can use any kind you like) peeled, cored and cut into slices

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 cup pecans

1 1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Break matzoh in a bowl into small pieces…

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This is a definite winner for Passover, Julie is a professional baker and she shared this recipe with me. I highly recommend this recipe, it’s easy and delicious. For all of my Passover Recipes go to cookingwithcandi.com and type in the search box Passover Recipes. Subscribe for free. Enjoy!

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It’s so good to have friends that share their recipes. Whether it be for holidays or just to share. My friend Julie shared this with me and though I haven’t baked them yet I am pretty certain they will be a winner. Always on the lookout for Passover desserts, I’m excited to give this one a try. It’s also amazing that there are only 2 eggs in this recipe because it seems like every recipe has a whopping 6 eggs in it for this holiday. Just an aside here, my friend Julie has a baking company in Aspen, CO. named Aspen Jewels Bakery. If you live up here and don’t feel like baking you can contact her and she’ll bake for you!

Ingredients: 

1 stick butter, unsalted ( or margarine)

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons matzoh cake meal

1 tablespoon potato…

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Perfect main course for Passover dinner. Think about making this easy to put together recipe for your holiday dinner.

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This recipe is my “go to” chicken. I’ve made it almost every Passover since I found it. The original recipe is from the”Silver Palate” cookbook. It was many winters ago that I first had it at my friend Susan’s house.  It has been a staple on my holiday table ever since. Not to say that it is not a recipe for every other day of the year and week, because it’s perfect for anytime. There is also the Brisket recipe that I posted during Rosh Hashana which is on the website, as well as the Honey Roasted Chicken, and Meatballs which all work well for this holiday. I usually make the Chicken Marbella and the meatballs as another dish.

Enjoy!

*The key to this recipe is the overnight marination, which is essential to the moistness of the chicken.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 cup pitted…

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Homemade Chicken Soup – anytime and with not so homemade matzo balls

This is my homemade chicken soup recipe which is already posted on my blog as Homemade Chicken Soup which is great to have anytime and is what I add my not so homemade matzo balls to during Passover. I couldn’t re-blog it again so I decided to just re-write it. I would recommend making this at least a day ahead of using, and you can certainly make ahead and freeze till you’ll want to use it.

If you put Passover into Search Box this and other Holiday recipes should come up.

Ingredients:

For Chicken Stock:

1 5 lb. organic roasting chicken ( I don’t use the insides)

1 package of chicken wings ( this was suggested to me a long time ago by my BFF Karyn and she was oh so right. It will add some fat, which translates into a whole lotta flavor , and you will skim off the fat anyway.  Thanks again Karyn.

1 large, yellow Spanish onion, unpeeled and quartered

a big bunch of fresh dill

4 celery stalks with leaves and cut into thirds

4 carrots, unpeeled and halved

a bunch of flat-leaf parsley

a bunch of fresh thyme

1 head of garlic, cut in half cross-wise ( skin and all)

2 tbsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. whole black peppercorns

Directions for Soup:

I place the chicken , chicken wings, onion, carrots, celery, all the herbs, garlic, salt and pepper in as large a stockpot as I can find, I actually have a 16-20 qt. stockpot that I use. Add cold water to cover chicken by at least 2″ above the chicken but not to the top of the pot because it will boil over (very messy) . Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered for about 3 hours. I skim the soup for the first 1/2 hour or so after that you shouldn’t have much more. I remove the chicken from the broth after an hour or so, because it is cooked and it will taste like a rubber chicken if you plan on eating it. Sometimes I like to shred it and return it to the soup. If you are not using the chicken ( a waste of a good chicken ) you can just leave it in the water for as long as you’d like, it will fall apart in there. I leave the wings in and discard them after about 3 hours. After letting soup simmer on stove top for about 3 hours all together, I let it cool down significantly first, strain all of the soup in a large colander, discard all remnants, fill my containers and put in the fridge. The next day, I skim off any noticeable fat that has risen to the top and make my matzo balls. (see recipe below)

*you can also make chicken salad from this chicken , go to my curry chicken salad recipe on cookingwithcandi.comPicture 001Picture 005

Matzo Balls:

This has always been my little secret to great matzo balls. I own it, after years of making matzo balls from scratch, my Mother ( yes, my Mother the cook) turned me on to Manischewitz boxed matzo ball mix! It just wasn’t worth the time spent, the balls weren’t as consistent as I would have liked, whereas these are always perfection every time! Light and fluffy and everyone always loves them, and asks for recipe . No sinkers here!

I follow the directions on the box carefully. They sell just the mix in a box. You will need vegetable oil and 2 eggs per box. I do add a little piece of dill inside each ball, but that’s it! Now my secret is out, sometimes this is really the only way to roll. It saves time and ingredients, and they are really good. No MSG or trans-fats either, so make the homemade soup, cheat with the balls and enjoy. There is no substitute for homemade chicken soup , though.

*when not observing Passover, this soup is delicious with noodles

am on my way into the kitchen right now to cook this, saw that I never reblogged it and wanted to share the best turkey meatloaf recipe with all of you.Enjoy!

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Fully Cooked turkey loaf
ready for the oven turkey meatloaf with ketchup/brown sugar topping

 It’s Sunday our kids are still out here and I am in the mood for turkey meatloaf . We haven’t had turkey meat loaf in a very long time and it is a perfect crowd pleaser for the family table.

The first time I made this was in Aspen with my friend Susan many moons ago. We found the recipe from Barefoot Contessa and it was back in the day I wasn’t living out there yet and before my blog was born. We collaborated on it, and Joel and Drew liked it so much they used to tell us to open a shop with turkey lasagna and turkey meat loaf (uh uh, not happening) In any event , it has long become a staple in both of our households and even Drew makes it now. I hope you enjoy it…

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I am starting to post my Passover Recipes, any questions feel free to contact me right on this blog and I will be happy to get back to you. This is a hands down winner, very easy to make and a real crowd pleaser and once you’ve made it you always will. Enjoy!

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This is most definitely a “must have” Passover recipe.  It has been a winning recipe ever since my friend Audrey gave it to me many years ago. This one is probably one of the most favorite Passover staples. Recipes are funny in that -they tend to spread out to a wide group of people and people start passing them down to their people and so forth and so on and before you know it no one remembers where the original recipe came from , they just remember that it was on their Passover table and they can’t imagine a Seder dinner without it.  Enjoy this one; it is sweet and makes for a delicious side dish with poultry or beef. This has always been a crowd pleaser. I know, the amount of eggs is obscene on this holiday! This one has 7 eggs in it!!!!!

Make this part of your…

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Chicken and Mushroom Ragu over Pasta

I kind of winged this one but it came out so well I just had to post it . I had mushrooms , I had skinless chicken thighs, and all of the other ingredients. Pappardelle type pasta would have been awesome, but I only had fettucine. It was perfectly fine, just try and get as fat a noodle as possible, fettucine, pappardelle type of spaghetti. This is a rustic type ragu, of course you can use white meat chicken just cut into 1/2″ pieces. Firstly what is a ragu?  In Italian cuisine it is a meat-based sauce, commonly served with a pasta. In the northern Italian regions, a ragu is typically a sauce of meat , and cooked with sautéed vegetables in a liquid. Meats are varied and the liquids can be broth, stock, water wine, milk , cream or tomato, and often includes combinations of these. Characteristically, a ragu is a sauce of braised or stewed meat that may be flavoured with tomato, to distinguish it from a tomato sauce that is flavoured with the addition of meat. In southern Italian regions, ragus contain substantial quantities of meat, cooked with vegetables and tomatoes as well. This ragu is a winner, and pretty easy. You’ll need a food processor to get the mushrooms chopped, and a 12″ heavy skillet.

I might also add that I added the arugula and Joel had quite the time picking it out. It added a wonderful flavor despite his picking, I would have loved to do a pod cast of him picking it out, but I was too busy enjoying the dish! photo (8)photo (11)photo (10)photo (12)

Picture of a beautiful Colorado Day from my kitchen to yours. Just have to add that my family is out here now and they loved this dish! especially my son-in-law Brian.

*serves 4 as a main dish

Ingredients:

6 oz. cremini mushrooms

3 garlic cloves

1 1/4 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into app. 1/2-inch pieces

1 small onion chopped

3/4 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes in juice

1 lb. box of pasta, Pappardelle, Fettucine, any thick spaghetti will do nicely

5 oz. baby arugula, kale, spinach whatever green you like and have in the house will work just fine (use as much or as little of this as you want, 5 oz. was an estimate)

grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

Pulse mushrooms and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped

Heat olive oil in a 12 inch heavy skillet over medium high heat. Cut chicken into 1/2″ pieces ( approximately) and season chicken with about 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and  about 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper. Cook chicken in olive oil until a golden color, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

Reduce heat to medium and cook onion in oil, stirring occasionally until softened , about 5 minutes.

Add mushroom mixture, rosemary , 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, stirring constantly until it begins to brown up, again about 5 minutes.

Add vinegar and cook until evaporated for about 3 minutes, Add chicken and tomatoes ( with juice) then bring to a simmer, breaking up whole tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon, stir occasionally, cook until sauce starts to thicken up, about 30 minutes or so.

Meanwhile cook pasta until al-dente (according to package directions)

Add arugula to sauce and stir until wilted , it will wilt immediately, reserve a cup of pasta water before draining pasta and add to sauce as needed, I probably used 1/2 cup of pasta water to thin it out . Serve sauce over pasta, it was delicious.

Spring is almost here= Passover and Easter around the corner

Can’t believe that it’s almost Spring and with that comes Passover and Easter. Spring is March 20,  Passover is March 25 , Easter is March 31!  I am always on the hunt for new and exciting recipes and welcome any and all suggestions. I have a couple of recipes from last Passover from some of you that I still haven’t even tried yet,  I have every intention of doing so. I will start reblogging all of my recipes that have already been posted for new readers and to make it easy on my faithful following. Please send me any recipes and ideas that you may want to share, I obviously love sharing my recipes and hope you will too.  I cannot post all of the recipes or even try them all , but the one that lands on my holiday table this year will win a prize from CWC. So good luck and look  forward to hearing from you and feel free to email me at cmk55@sopris.net

I originally posted this in September 2011, so decided it was time to make a re-appearance for those of you who may have missed it, and for those of you who may have forgotten about it. It’s a perfect week night go to pasta, or any night of the week pasta for that matter. Good for vegetarians and if you want to add protein go right ahead! Enjoy

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Le Creuset Pot
Dreamy Creamy Penne with Vodka Sauce
Vodka Sauce Ingredients

This is what I’m dreaming about today: vodka sauce over pasta. You can add shrimp, sausage, chicken, meatballs…whatever you like. Or, keep it vegetarian and just use pasta. I’ve played around with this sauce a few ways. I prefer to start with whole plum tomatoes in the can with their juices. I use an immersion blender stick to blend the ingredients along the way and reach that perfect, creamy consistency that vodka sauce is known for. The stick radically changes your life since you don’t have to pour hot liquid into a blender. It’s worth the investment. However, if you don’t have one, you can use the blender. Just wait until sauce is cool before pouring it into the glass blender. This is a tasty delicious sauce slow-cooked in the oven rather than all on stove top. I…

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Banana Cake in a Bundt Pan- more things to do with rotten bananas

photo (5) photo (2) photophoto (3) photo photo (2)I have been staring at three very brown, ugly bananas for about a week already. Joel kept asking me what am I doing with them? should he throw them out or what. I have to admit , these were 3 of the most pathetic looking rotten bananas I have ever seen. I kept saying I am going to do something with them, and days would go by. Finally , I had enough of them staring up at me day after day. I wanted to make a banana bread in a bundt form for a while now, so what better day than today? I had yogurt in the house, 3 lousy looking bananas, and all the other ingredients on hand. This is what I did.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup unsalted butter ( softened)

1 1/4 cups white sugar

2 eggs ( room temperature)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 very ripe (over-ripe large bananas) app. 1 1/4 cup, mashed

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 container plain yogurt ( you can use nonfat) just use plain ,a small container app. 6 oz.

*3/4 cup chopped pecans , optional

*confectioner’s sugar to sprinkle on top , I didn’t but if you’re serving it’s a nice

touch

Bundt Pan for baking , or 10″ tube pan

Shopping List:

plain yogurt , 6 oz. container . I usually have the Greek one in the house nonfat is fine.  * chopped nuts

Staples:

butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, all-purpose flour, table salt, baking powder, baking soda ( check expiration dates* see note) ripe bananas.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I sprayed bundt pan with baking spray, you can butter it and sprinkle with flour if you don’t have spray. Why not save on the calories? and clean up is a snap. I am loving Bakers Joy Spray these days .

Beat softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat one egg into butter/sugar mixture until completely blended, then beat in vanilla and second egg, fold in bananas. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Stir flour mixture into creamed banana mixture alternating with yogurt, mixing until just combined in electric mixer, do not over-mix. Fold in pecans if you’re using them and pour batter evenly into prepared bundt pan.

Bake in preheated oven until a cake tester comes out clean, my cake baked in app. 43 minutes. Check after 40 minutes, all ovens are different and out here in altitude I find it’s always a challenge. You may have to bake for a full 50 minutes or more, just keep checking. Cool for at least 15 minutes before turning out. I cut into it and it was warm and delicious. If you’d like dust with confectioners sugar before serving. Feel free to freeze this cake for another time. Wrap well, and usually I cut into 2 halves, and wrap and place in freezer bag that is labeled with date and item. Allow cooked dishes to cool to room temperature and then wrap tightly before storing in the freezer or refrigerator.

Note about stale flour, baking soda and baking powder:

You may think these pantry staples never go bad but they do, they all have expiration dates and while I believe they are fine for a while after those dates you must use your nose. I tend to throw away baking soda and baking powder when they’re expired because they can cause your baking to fail .

Remember to smell and taste ingredients for freshness, always check dates on flour, baking soda , baking powder etc. Flour has a distinct smell when it has gone bad. I slip a piece of the original wrapping in my flour jar with expiration date, I bake a lot so I stay on top of it but you want to be sure. If an ingredient is slightly off it will wreck all your hard work, so be diligent. Even cooking spray has expiration dates, I am particularly crazy about this little detail and because I go back and forth to 2 houses, sometimes it’s really crazy, but necessary.