Chocolate Croissant Pudding Recipe

In an earlier time, when food in Europe was scarcer, cooks invented a variety of creative ways to use stale items. Bread was a common item likely to go stale, which spurred the Italians to invent panzanella (“leftover salad” consisting of bread cubes, tomatoes and vegetables tossed in olive oil), the French to invent pain perdu (“lost bread”, essentially French toast) and the British to invent bread and butter pudding (a dessert of bread baked with eggs and milk).

This recipe is a bread and butter pudding that uses croissants as a base, sandwiched between layers of chocolate. It makes a lovely dessert or a decadent brunch alternative.

Ingredients

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon allspice or cinnamon
3 stale croissants, sliced in half and cubed
3 eggs
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups whole, skim or soymilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
confectioner’s sugar for dusting

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, melt chocolate chips and 2 tablespoons butter. Add allspice or cinnamon and stir.
2. Place one third of croissant cubes in the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish.
3. Pour half the chocolate sauce over the bread.
4. Lay another third of croissant cubes on top. Drizzle with the remaining chocolate sauce, followed by the final croissant cubes.
5. In a medium-sized bowl, beat 2 tablespoons melted butter, eggs, sugar, milk and vanilla.
6. Pour milk mixture into the baking dish and let it soak into the bread for 20 minutes.
7. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.
8. Cool for 5 minutes and dust with confectioner’s sugar.
9. Serve alone or with whipped cream or ice cream.

Coconut Macaroon Recipe

Although I grew up in Muslim household, I have been celebrating Passover for the last six years. The first three were with my friend Karen. We used to have vegetarian (or vegan) Sephardic seders in her intimate Cambridge apartment. We used a liberation haggadah that Karen compiled, drawing on the best leftist traditions of her childhood. We celebrated and hoped for liberation for all people – Jews, African Americans, gays, Afghanis, Palestinians, etc. It was an evening of re-making traditions with an educational and political bent.

For the last three years I have celebrated Passover with my boyfriend and members of his family. These seders are larger and more formal. They are about family and reunion, celebrating history and culture, and food and more food. His mom makes a fantastic matzoh ball soup and killer brownies that are even more outrageous than Ina Gartner’s.

This year I wanted to contribute to the bounty, so I made coconut macaroons and caramel matzoh crunch (separately posted earlier today).

I won’t rehearse the history of Passover, but many goyim (Gentiles) don’t know the story. It is really a wonderful and powerful tale and I urge you to click on one of these links: Wikipedia or Judaism 101.

What you probably know is that Jews do not eat leavened bread for the week of Passover. During this time, some people follow stringent dietary restrictions and will only eat foods that are certified (by a Rabbi) to be kosher for Passover.

Macaroons are a traditional treat during Passover since they don’t contain restricted ingredients. Most people buy the Manischewitz brand that comes in a can, but these homemade ones are simple to make, especially for those who like to get their hands dirty.

Ingredients

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 egg whites or 1 cup pasteurized egg white product
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 to 2/3 cup semi-sweet or white chocolate chips (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. In a large bowl mix sugar and salt. Add egg whites and hand whisk until slightly frothy (do not use an electric mixer).
3. Add vanilla and mix again.
4. Add coconut (and chocolate chips, if desired) and mix thoroughly using a fork. Best results if you use your hands to mix.
5. On a parchment-lined baking tray, make heaps one-inch apart using 2 tablespoons of mixture.
6. Wet hands and shape each heap so that it is 1 1/2 inches high.
7. Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown. Macaroons will continue to bake and brown once they are removed from the oven.
8. Let cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container, ideally separating layers with wax paper. Will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week. Bring to room temperature to serve.

If you prefer lighter-colored macaroons, used pasteurized egg whites and bake for 10-12 minutes. You can also half-dip or fully-dip these macaroons in melted bittersweet chocolate and cool on wax paper.

Caramel Matzoh Crunch Recipe

This is an adaptation of a recipe by Marcy Goldman, who is world famous for her delicious Passover confection. It was a huge hit at the seder I went to. I am already dreaming up new variations for next year.

My recipe uses the recommended amount of butter and sugar for half as many matzohs. I also use more chocolate, add vanilla to the caramel, and bake at a lower temperature.

Ingredients
3 matzohs
2 sticks unsalted butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 -1 cup toasted, unsalted sliced almonds (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line a 10x15 inch cookie sheet with foil. Then line with parchment paper (over the foil).
2. Place two whole matzohs on cookie sheet. Break third matzoh into pieces to cover the parchment paper.
3. In a deep saucepan, melt butter and sugar over medium heat and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and continue cooking for 3 minutes.
4. Pour caramel over matzohs, using a knife to spread it evenly.
5. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with chocolate chips.
6. After 5 minutes, spread the melted chocolate in an even layer. Add sliced almonds, if desired.
7. Let cool for 15 minutes and then break into odd shapes using a knife.
8. Place cookie sheet (or transfer pieces to a plate) in fridge or freezer to cool.
9. Can be stored in an airtight container for one week (though it won’t last that long).

Fresh Blueberry and Lemon Cake Recipe

There are very few organic items that are naturally blue. In the food category, there are a number of things which we refer to as "blue", but which are not really blue. Blue cheese is actually grey or green, blue crabs lose their color when cooked, blue potatoes are actually purple, and blue kale is actually green. Blue corn is usually purple, although some of it is legitimately blue.

On the other hand, there are a number of edible blue items that are artificially flavored – blue curaçao, one of my favorite spirits, is made from the dried peel of bitter oranges and is dyed an electric blue. Incidentally, it changes color inside your body (as my friend Jana and I can attest). There was also Bridget Jones’ famous blue soup, discolored by melted plastic; and blue colored M&Ms and smarties, which have recently been banned in the UK since they are artificially dyed.

Psychologists say blue is a relaxing color with a positive influence on mental and physical performance. Some weight loss plans suggest serving food on a blue plate since it is reported to be an appetite suppressant.

My favorite "blue" food is blueberries. Despite the fact that they aren't really blue, they star in this week’s recipe.


Ingredients
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup white granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure lemon oil
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup milk (skim, whole or soy)

Directions1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a bundt pan with butter and then dust with flour. Shake out excess flour.
2. Mix 2 1/4 cups flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time, then add lemon oil.
5. As you stir, add half the flour mixture, then milk, then remaining flour mixture.
6. Toss blueberries in remaining 1/4 cup flour. Dredging fruit keeps it suspended in cake batter and prevents it from sinking during baking.
7. Fold blueberries into batter and pour into bundt pan.
8. Bake for about 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, and turn onto a wire rack to completely cool.

10. Optional: dust with powdered (confectioner's) sugar when cool. The best way to get an even dusting is to put the sugar into a sieve or a tea infuser and tap lightly over the cake.

The cake should last about 5 days if wrapped in saran wrap and placed under a cake dome or in an airtight container.