MATZO BALLS - MISHEGAS!

Matzo ball making with Estelle Opper and Marlena Spieler.

Literally, we got to spend the day with Marlena and her aunt Estelle Opper. What a pair, both were exceptionally nice and a lot of fun. Estelle was at Mel’s house to teach us the correct way to make matzo balls. Marlena happened to be in town so came with her aunt to lend support. Mel, Shankari and I all made dishes from her Jewish Cooking cookbook and had a huge spread of food, enough to make any Jewish mother proud. Chris Maceas from the Sac. Bee and photographer Autumn were also there to record the matzo lesson for the Hanukkah piece they will be running.

Now Estelle is a presence unto herself. She is one of those people who can walk into a room and just take command. She demonstrated how SHE makes matzo balls from a mix which turn out beautifully. She made the traditional matzo ball which is basically the Matzo mix (w/salt), water, oil and eggs, then she made one with parsley and a little garlic powder which was a twist that Marlena uses. After mixing up the matzo batter it needs to refrigerate for about 15 minutes and we had to closely watch the time. Into the boiling water we added a little chicken bouillon for flavor -but we didn't have Telma brand which Estelle proclaimed to be the best. Estelle showed us how to roll the matzo balls. It doesn’t seem that hard to roll the little balls but Estelle can roll them and they come out really smooth on the outside, no wrinkles. I tried a couple of time and I could never achieve that smoothness. Into the boiling water they are gently placed and they grow as the cook. The initial ball we made was about golf ball size, the finished product was a little smaller than a baseball. After they have cooked for about an hour they were ready to be taken out … another precision project. Heaven forbid you should be digging around for a matzo ball and nick one or even worse cut a piece off of one which I did.. that was not good. Gently, very gently with a slotted spoon lift out a matzo ball and drain as much of the liquid as possible off and gently place it in a serving dish. Yes, you have to be gentle these matzo balls are as light and fluffy as a feather and if they should fall apart I’m sure Estelle would have taken the spoon away from me and scooped out the rest herself. The one matzo ball that I sliced was forgiven and she said that was to eaten by the cook, never served to a guest. To serve the matzo ball is place in a bowl first then the chicken broth poured over. Mel made a delicious broth from Marlena’s recipe..so good. This was my first matzo ball so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I can’t describe the texture, not quite like a dumpling much lighter and fluffier. The plain matzo was that a little plain but we thought it might have been because we used a low salt matzo mix and as Estelle said we didn't use Telma chicken broth in the cooking water. The matzo ball with the parsley and garlic powder was very good.

Also friends Jen and Phil came for our feast with lots of champagne. Even Chris and Autumn stayed for some lunch. Our meal consisted of Vegetarian Chopped Liver, Rice and Chicken, and Biscotti all by Shankari. Mel made the stuffed cabbage, the chicken broth, her husband Dave made both Pumpernickle and Challa bread and I made the Sun-Dried Tomato Salad and Peppers and the Polish Apple Cake. All the food was delicious and we had a wonderful time eating and talking.

It was quite a learning experience and Estelle was so gracious to teach us. It was a real treat to meet Marlena especially since I found out my husband his father have quite a connection and friendship with her family and Estelle's family.

I've learned so much cooking from Marlena's cookbook and it continues to be a fun project.

The Matzo Ball Queens

Estelle showing us how to roll matzo balls

Autumn takes pictures of the matzo balls cooking

Matzo balls cooking in broth

The matzo balls when cooked

Marlena's recipes on display

More food

Autumn, the photgrapher and Chris Macias from the Bee

Go to Cooking Schmooking and Sacramento Spice for their take on Matzo Balls.

Make sure you go to http://www.sacbee.com/macias/story/2386866.html and read the article about this Matzo ball making sessions, Chris did a very good job and Autumn captured it perfectly.

WEDNESDAY WITH MARLENA SPIELER

First off I am thrilled to say I've finally met Marlena!! She is sweet, down to earth and a lot of fun. The story of our meeting is a story for another blog.
Today I am featuring POLISH APPLE CAKE.
This is a moist dense cake layered with apples that I adapted from Marlena's recipe that she based on a recipe from an old Polish lady in a California Lubavitcher community.

POLISH APPLE CAKE

31/4C self-rising flour
3-4 large apples
2tsp ground cinnamon
21/2C super fine sugar ( I used regular granulated sugar and it was fine)
4 eggs lightly beaten
1C vegetable oil
1/2 C orange juice
2tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
grease a 9X13 pan, dust with flour

Core (do not peel) and thinly slice the apples.
Put the apple slices in a bowl and mix the cinnamon and 5Tbs of the sugar.. toss to coat the apple slices. Set aside.
In bowl beat together the eggs, remaining sugar,vegetable oil, orange juice, and vanilla until well combined. Sift together the remaining flour and salt and stir it into the wet mixture.
Pour two-thirds of the cake mixture into the prepared pan, top with about 1/3 of the apple slices. Pour the remaining cake batter over the apple slices and top with the remaining apples. Any of the juices left in the bowl, pour over the apples.

Bake for about 1 hour or until golden brown and cake tester comes out clean.
Leave the cake to cool in the pan to allow the juices to soak in. Serve while warm or at room
temperature.

note: Using orange juice instead of milk is typical of Jewish baking as it allow the cake to be eaten with both meat and dairy products in keeping with the Kosher laws.

Be sure to go to Mel and Shankari's blog for their Wednesday with Marlena recipes.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

SUNDAYS WITH MARLENA SPIELER

This week Mel, Shankari, and I are deviating a bit from our Appetizers and Soups courses. We thought since the holiday season was coming we'd each make a couple of recipes adapted from Jewish Cooking to give you ideas for your Hanukkah celebration.
I made Chopped Chicken Livers and Rugelach, an appetizer and a desert.
The Chopped Liver, what could be a more quintessential Jewish dish? To me this is Jewish soul food and Rugelach is a rich flaky filled cookie.
I love chopped liver so I couldn't wait to try this recipe. I thought it turned out well and it was delicious. My husband hates liver so for him it was just OK but at least he tried it and that was a big plus. It is easy to make but does take some time as you have to wait for the livers to cool before beginning. The recipe also calls for broiling the livers to bring the blood to the surface thereby rendering them Kosher. I wasn't sure how long to do this since I didn't want to over cook the livers. I broiled mine for about 5 minutes, but got very little blood so I don't know if mine was Kosher or not and if being Kosher is not a requirement for you just skip the step. Though I think it does make a difference rather than dumping raw livers into a pan to cook. That being said, here is the recipe adapted from Marlena Spieler's Jewisih Cooking.

CHOPPED CHICKEN LIVERS


1 container chicken livers (13 oz. approx.)
2-3 small to medium onions chopped
1/2 onion finely chopped
4Tbs oil or rendered chicken fat
3-4 green onions thinly sliced (reserve some for garnish)
2-3 hard boiled eggs chopped
1tsp Worcestershire sauce
2tsp mayonnaise or firm chicken fat
1-2 tsp chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper to taste
chopped parsley (optional for garnish)

Broil the chicken livers slightly to bring out the blood (5-7 min.) to the surface and render them Kosher. Rinse and place in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Leave the livers in the pan to cool. The livers should be firm but not dry.
In a large frying pan fry the onions in the fat or oil over medium heat until well browned and beginning to caramelize around the edges season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside to cool.
Chop the livers finely if by hand. If using a food processor place the livers and the fried onions in the bowl with the left over oil from the onions. Pulse until you get the desired consistency. You can take it to a thick paste for a pate consistency or leave it a little more coarsely processed for a more rustic or hand chopped consistency.
In a bowl combine the livers with the finely chopped onions,green onions,chopped eggs, the mayonnaise or chicken fat and the chopped dill. Cover and chill.
To serve mound the chicken liver on a plate garnish with the parsley and remaining green onions and serve accompanied it with matzos crackers, rye bread and dill pickles.
RUGELACH as adapted from Marlena Spieler's Jewish Cooking


These are rich flaky cookies rolled around a sweet filling. These are thought to come from Poland where they are a traditional sweet at Hanukkah. I made two different types of Rugelach the original recipe with raisins, nuts and cinnamon sugar and also a raspberry one with raspberry jam, nuts and cinnamon sugar. I also wasn't' sure that it would turn out since I misread the recipe and used a cup of butter rather than a half cup but it turned out fine. I asked my husband if they were good and got a resounding YES! I tried one and yes, they are delicious I may have to add these to my Christmas cookie collection. Be sure to leave time for the dough to chill, it would be best to make the dough the night before. I didn't have a lot of time so I divided the dough in half wrapped it in plastic wrap and put it in the freezer for a couple of hours and it worked just fine. A very forgiving recipe. Here is what you do:

(1)1/2C unsalted butter
1/2C Farmer's Cheese (not low or fat free) make sure it is very creamy and not the dry type
1Tbs sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
about 2 1/4 C flour
1/2C butter melted
2 C golden raisins (soak in hot water until plump, drain well)
1C chopped walnuts ( I chopped mine very fine since I don't like chunks of nuts)
1/4-1/2 C sugar
1-2 tsp cinnamon

Put the butter and the cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy. Beat in the sugar, egg and salt. Fold in the flour a little bit at a time into the creamed mixture until the dough can be kneaded by hand. Add only as much flour as it takes to make the dough a consistency that can be rolled out. Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or over night. The dough will be too soft if not chilled thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Divide the dough into six equal pieces. Refrigerate the dough not being used. On a lightly floured surface roll each piece into a round about 1/4 inch thick. Cut each round into 8-10 wedges, brush the wedges with melted butter sprinkle with the raisins, nuts and cinnamon sugar. Roll each wedge from the wide edge to the tip.. like you would a Pillsbury crescent roll. Arrange the rolls on a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake about 30 min. until lightly browned. Cool before serving.
I thought 30 minutes was a long time but it does take about that long unless your using a convection oven then about 15-20 minutes. For the raspberry Rugelach I used raspberry jam. I put a small dollop on the buttered wedge and then sprinkled with the nuts and cinnamon. I also brushed these with butter and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar before baking. Mini chocolate chips are also a popular filling as is apricot.

Makes 48-60



Be sure to check out Mel and Shankari's blogs for their recipes.