Click on the YouTube link to learn to make enchiladas and see my dad make his video debut.

Father’s Day is coming up and I can say without a doubt, that I was blessed with the greatest dad.  His nature has always been such, that I could never make him mad.   Even when I tried I couldn’t take the smile off his face.  I didn’t even succeed in making him mad in my teenage years… sad maybe, but not mad.  I have sweet memories of our big dining room table in Mexico City.  It was made of green mosaic and had an ebony frame.  My father would sit me on that table when I was little.  He’d smile and joyfully sing among other songs,  “Oh Susanna oh don’t you cry for me…”.  He was always smiling, whistling, singing or humming to Gershwin, Ella Fitzgerald, Sinatra, or the great Agustin Lara, and many more. He carried music within him the way he carried his newborn little girl…lovingly and tenderly.

Things My Dad Taught Me:

•   To love, by the way he loves me.
•   To be kind, by the way he is kind to all.
•   To not take life so seriously, by his constant joy.
•   To let things roll off my back, by his calm nature.
•   To turn the other cheek, by teaching me that almost nothing is worth a fight.
•   To try to get along and respect everyone, for that’s what he has always done.
•   To love and appreciate music, it has been his life.
•   To understand that everything in life is borrowed and impermanent.
•   To  remember who I am if someone mischaracterizes me.
•   To forgive and not hold a grudge, because both sides have a story.
•   To maintain self-confidence and resilience when life is tough, it’s what he does.
•   That getting old takes courage, he sets the example each day.

Importantly, in addition to being so loving, warm and wise, my dad loves to eat… I definitely inherited his love for food.  He was a New York born gringo, but living in Mexico City for fourteen years taught him that the world of food was so much bigger than steak and potatoes, or the chopped liver, herring, or matzoh ball soup from his hometown’s Delis.  He learned to love Mexican food, the spicier the better.   Still today, at the age of 94, he loves to accompany his lunch or dinner with a jalapeño pepper.  Among my dad’s favorite Mexican dishes are Chicken Enchiladas in Salsa Verde, So dad, this one’s for you:

Chicken Enchiladas in Salsa Verde

• 4 quarts water
• 2 skinless chicken breast halves on the bone
• 1/2 small onion
• 2 peeled garlic cloves cut in half
• 2  celery stalks cut in thirds
• Salt and pepper
• 4 -6 fresh corn tortillas
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
•  Optional garnish toppings are diced onion, chopped cilantro leaves, shredded lettuce or avocado pieces

Bring water to a boil,  add all of the ingredients and bring to a boil again.  Lower heat so that soup simmers for 30 minutes or until chicken is well cooked.  Remove the chicken, allow it to cool, remove the bone, finely shred the meat and set aside, while you prepare the salsa verde.

Salsa Verde

• 6 tomatillo tomatoes
  
• 2  jalapeño peppers
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/4 of a small onion
• 1 extra garlic clove (optional)
• 1 extra jalapeño pepper (optional)
• 1 tsp of salt

Place the tomatillos,  jalapeño peppers and 2 garlic cloves  in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer for five minutes.  Add the 1/4 cup of water to a blender and then add the cooked ingredients from the saucepan.  Add the 1/4  small onion.  If you choose, add the extra garlic clove and if you like it very spicy, add the extra optional  jalapeño pepper.   Add the salt and Blend until you have a smooth rich sauce. Transfer the blended sauce to a  frying pan and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and allow to simmer gently while you prepare the enchiladas.

Making the Enchiladas

All of the following steps are clearly demonstrated in the video above.  Click, follow along and have fun.  Heat the canola oil in a small frying pan.  When the oil is hot, place the tortillas one at a time in the oil turning them over immediately and then removing each one to a paper towel to absorb extra oil.  Once you have fried the 4 to 6 tortillas pat them with paper towel on top as well.  Take each tortilla and douse in the simmering salsa verde, removing each one right away to the plate on which you will serve the enchiladas.  Fill the tortilla with shredded chicken and gently fold over.  Top the enchiladas with onion, lettuce, avocado and/or fresh cilantro.  Serve with a side portion of white or Mexican Rice and Enjoy!

If you are  ready to be adventurous and try something new and nutritious click on the link to see my latest recipe video!

There is a little known, pear-shaped, light green vegetable at the supermarket that is waiting just for you.  It is called Chayote or Mirliton squash.   Chayotes have a mild,  sweet taste and lend themselves well to summer salads which can accompany nearly any dish.  Their texture is somewhat like a cross between a potato and honeydew melon.  Chayote  is not as commonly used in the U.S. as it is in Mexico, where it is consumed as a staple vegetable.   Chayotes are low in  calories, high in dietary fiber, and contain anti-oxidants, minerals, and B-complex vitamins.  Being part of the gourd family like zucchini, chayotes provide a certain amount of potassium and vitamin-C.

Chayote summer Salad:

3 Chayote squash

1/3 cup red pimento diced

1/3 cup scallion stems diced

1/3 cup purple onion thinly sliced

1/3 cup cilantro leaves chopped

1-2 ripe but firm avocados cubed

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lime ( approx. 1/3 cup)

1 large garlic clove mashed

1/3 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Peel the chayotes with a regular peeler and cut into strips discarding the white seed in the center.  Bring three quarts of water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon salt and add the sliced chayotes to the water.  Bring to a boil, and allow to cook for 5 minutes.  Strain the chayotes, transfer them to a mixing bowl and set aside to cool.  Once cool, add the other ingredients except the avocado, mix gently and again set aside to prepare the vinaigrette.  Combine  and thoroughly mix all of the vinaigrette ingredients.  I prepare it by placing the ingredients in a small plastic container, which I can then cover tightly and shake to mix thoroughly.  Add the avocado cubes to the salad, add the vinaigrette and mix well but gently.  Refrigerate for 30 – 60 minutes and you now have a thoroughly delicious and refreshing summer salad.

Enjoy!

Click on the link to view my newest video recipe for delicious Chiles Rellenos.

It is said that actions speak louder than words, but in my case inaction has spoken even louder.  For  the last four months I have neglected this incredible blog due to a lack of spirit, for it was drained from me when I endured the loss of my mother.

But a little bit like a boxer who has momentarily had the wind knocked out of her, I am back.  Gradually, I have regained my spirit and with it, the energy and desire to start blogging once more, and I so appreciate the patience of all of you, my incredible readers and subscribers.  I truly am excited because I am filled with ideas for many delicious recipes for you.

I start here, with Chiles Rellenos, one of my all time favorite Mexican recipes.  Chiles Rellenos are Pasilla (also known as Poblano) chili peppers, which can be stuffed with either cheese or ground beef or as in this recipe, vegan shredded cheese.

Chiles Rellenos

• 4 Pasilla (AKA Poblano) chili peppers
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Canola oil

Sauce

• 2 large tomatoes quartered
• 1/4 white onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• Additional 1/4 onion sliced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Method

Broil chili peppers for 7 minutes or until skin is blackened, turn over and broil on opposite side for seven more minutes.  Allow the peppers to cool a bit and then gently remove the skin.  You will notice a small slit (if there isn’t one, then make one),  remove the seeds and any excess skin under gently running water and set aside, (using gloves is optional).

Take about 1/4 cup shredded vegan cheese or regular cheese and stuff each pepper, then secure the pepper with a long toothpick to keep the stuffing from falling out during the frying process.

Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until peaks form.  Add the yolks into the egg whites and mix thoroughly with mixer.

Spread the flour on a plate, then lightly and evenly coat each pepper with flour.

Heat 3 tablespoons of canola oil over medium heat, dip a stuffed chili pepper into the egg batter and place in the pan with the hot oil,  fry two peppers at a time, allowing the edges to turn golden brown before gently turning the peppers over.  When each pepper is evenly golden all over, remove to drain on paper towels, and pat the peppers with additional paper towel to absorb excess oil.  Place the peppers on a nice serving plate, and REMOVE toothpicks.

The Sauce

Place water, tomatoes, quarter onion, garlic cloves and the optional chili pepper in a blender, and liquefy thoroughly.

Heat the tablespoon of canola oil on high heat, then add the additional sliced onion and mix constantly until it begins to turn golden.   Add the sauce from the blender, bring it to a boil and allow it to boil for three minutes.  Add the oregano, salt and pepper, mix in and allow to boil 2 more minutes.  Sauce is ready.  With a large spoon bathe each chili pepper with the sauce.

Serve hot, accompany with sliced avocado or a full meal and enjoy!

It’s Passover.  It’s been three months since I last saw you Mom.

There are days when I say, “Alright already, enough of this Ma, I want to see your face, I want to hear your voice, I want to feel your love”.  I still can’t conceive that I never will again.

And so it’s time to clean the mud off of the heels I wore the day I bade you goodbye.  I kept that mud on those heels because somehow it kept me closer to a time when I still had you.

You are so far away from me now, you are eons away.  Time takes on a different texture now, it is heavier than before.

My heart is a trunk full of gratitude for all that I have, and for all that you gave me.  I go on, I move on in life, I know what to do because you taught me so well, but I miss you.

It’s Passover and as I make the Matzoh balls for the soup, I hear you telling me that I make the best soup, that there is nothing like my soup.

We sit down for the Seder, it is a fine Seder, we sing, we laugh, we tell the story and have our four cups of wine.  But you’re not sitting next to me Mom, and I miss you.

Succulent Spicy Cauliflower

This recipe has 3 key things going for it:  It’s Passover friendly, it’s vegetarian, and it’s a delicious way to spice up any meal. Since we’re so limited at Passover, when we get tired of the typical starches and kugels, this is a very refreshing taste. It’s a unique recipe that neither I nor my family has seen in any restaurant. I learned it from Doña Tere, a beloved housekeeper who had a place in both my and my mother’s home for over 20 years.

A note from Alex, the eager cooking student:

There are a few key parts to this recipe, and they’re all about frying. First, pat the florets very dry. This is to make sure the batter sticks. Second, be ready to start frying the florets as soon as possible after the batter is made. And third, keep the temperature of the oil right while frying.

Having the pan with hot oil ready before you start dipping the florets in batter is the best way to do this. That way, you just drop each floret in the pan as you go (the longer you let the batter sit, the more it loses its consistency). As far as temperature, while I was making the recipe, my Mom would constantly adjust the stove up, then down, then up, then down. I couldn’t understand what she was after – then it clicked: the flame has to go up and down to keep the oil at the temperature it should be, just lightly popping the entire time. Using wooden spoons with soft edges helped me keep the texture uniform on the florets, with the perfect mix of golden color and fluffy consistency.

Succulent Spicy Cauliflower

• 1 large cauliflower washed and cut into florets
• 8 cups of water
• 1 tablespoon salt for water
• 5 large or 6 small eggs – separated
• 1/8 teaspoon salt for egg batter
• 3/4 cup of Canola oil for frying
• 1 cup onion finely chopped
• 3 large tomatoes finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
• Pinch of salt

Directions:

Cut the cauliflower in half, separate the florets cutting the large ones in half or even in thirds (See video demonstration).  Discard the stem.  In a medium pot bring the salted water to a boil.  Add the florets and boil for 6-8 minutes…until tender, but not too soft.  Do not over boil! Remove from heat to a strainer, rinse under gently running cold water, and set aside.

Place egg whites, and 1/8 teaspoon of salt into a bowl and beat with hand mixer until firm.  Gradually add the egg yolks into the beaten egg whites,  and continue to beat with mixer until mixture is fully incorporated .  Heat 3 tablespoons of oil.  Place 1 cup of the batter into a separate smaller bowl and dip one floret at a time in the egg batter (from smaller bowl), placing each coated floret into pan with hot oil.  Make  two – three batches…one batch  will contain 5-7 florets.  As soon as the lower edges of the florets begin to brown,   turn them over.   You will  need a pair of tongs to fry the sides of each piece.  When golden on all sides, remove each floret and place on a paper towel to absorb extra oil.   You will have to add oil to pan between batches.

Sauce preparation:
In the same saucepan where you have finished frying florets, place diced onions and allow them to fry until they glisten.  Add the diced tomatoes, bring to a simmer, then add water.  Mix continuously with a spatula allowing mixture to simmer for about 3 more minutes.  Add  crushed red pepper and salt and stir for another 2 minutes, until you get a somewhat thick consistency.
Place battered cauliflower in serving dish and spoon sauce mixture evenly on top of florets.  Serve hot and enjoy!
Serves  10-12

Click on the link to see behind the scenes, raucous kitchen outtakes of our experience preparing Bobe’s Passover Gefilte Fish.  Follow our written recipe for full instructions.

Writing recipes is not something that you just know how to do. As we’ve tried to document both our recipes and those of other home cooks, it’s been a learning curve to figure the whole thing out.

Last spring, we had a professional recipe consultant, Margaret Ferrazzi, come to our home to give us a little guidance in our recipe writing undertaking. While most of our videos show recipes in a neat little succession, what happens behind the scenes (measuring, discussing, timing, writing everything down) is quite different. The video above is a fun, blooper-type look, filmed by Alex, of my Mother-in-Law Dora cooking gefilte fish from scratch before Passover, me writing down her recipe, and Margaret guiding us through it all. We had a lot of fun in the kitchen and the finished product was amazing.

Bobe’s Passover Gefilte Fish

Fish broth

1/2 large onion sliced thinly
3 medium carrots sliced into rounds
3 celery ribs whole
Fish bones from 4 pounds of carp

Place all of the broth ingredients in an eight to ten quart saucepan, and bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and then remove the bones from the broth, keeping the broth hot on low heat, while you make the fish mixture.

Fish Mixture

4 pounds ground carp
2 pounds ground red snapper
3 medium carrots – peeled and ground
½ large onion – peeled and ground
4 large eggs
¾ cup matzoh meal
1-½ tablespoons fine sea salt
1-½ teaspoons white pepper

Place all of the ground fish, carrot and onion in a large bowl and mix.
Add matzoh meal, eggs, salt and pepper and with hands mix gently but thoroughly, until fish is light in texture and holds its shape.

Using damp hands take about 1/3-1/2 cup quantities of the fish mixture, shape into oval patties, and gently drop into the fish broth, which is hot but not boiling. When you have dropped the last fish patty into the broth, raise the heat and simmer for 1 -1/2 hours.

After the Gefilte Fish has simmered for 1-1/2 hours in the fish broth, remove from heat and allow to cool.  When room temperature, transfer the fish loaves to a serving dish, and Retain the carrots from the fish broth for garnish.  Arrange the fish patties on a serving platter, and garnish with the cooked carrots and fresh parsley.

Serve as an appetizer accompanied by red or white horseradish.

Recipe may be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated.

Recipe serves 24 and may easily be cut in half.

Enjoy!

This Passover our family is fortunate to have my dear mother-in-law, Dora Schmidt, visiting from Mexico City.  In Mexico  Bubbies are called Bobe, (pronounced - baubeh), and that is what  my kids have always lovingly called her.  Many years ago, Dora taught me to make this wonderful Passover apple cake.   It is easy  to make and the truth is that it is great for dessert any time of year.  When my friend Irene invited us over for Shabbat dinner last Friday, she requested that we bring this cake.  It was a big hit!

Bobe’s Passover Apple Cake

Apple Filling

• 6 Large Rome Beauty Apples (or any good baking apples), peeled, cored and quartered
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Batter

• 1 cup matzoh meal
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon potato starch
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon water

Topping

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.                                                                                                                                                                                 Thinly slice the apples in a food processor, and place them in a large bowl.  Add the lemon juice and the sugar, mix well, and set aside.  In a separate bowl mix all of the batter  ingredients with a hand mixer.  When thoroughly mixed, spread a little more than one-third of the batter over the bottom (it will be a very thin layer) of a deep baking dish (We used an aluminum foil pan as shown in the photo).  Gently add all of the sliced apple mix over the batter, and evenly spread the remaining two-thirds of batter over the apple filling.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and bake for 1 hour. 

Serves 16

Enjoy!

There was nothing worse than having to go to posture classes with Madame Ilonka.  Her studio was in a building next to where my mother had her hair done.  My mother had beautiful hair and she took very good care of it.  While my mother’s hair was being washed, then rinsed with beer, rinsed again, conditioned, and then styled, I would have to go see Madame Ilonka.

You see, my mother had scoliosis as did both  her parents,  and although she knew that scoliosis was an inherited trait, she hoped that by sending me to posture class it would increase the chances of preventing scoliosis in me.

I felt even smaller than my 9-year-old self,  when the redheaded Madame Ilonka would come to the door in  her black leotard top and black pedal pusher pants.  I hated going to posture class and had to keep from rolling my eyes when she would say “ it’s now time for us to do the camel.”   She would make me get down on all fours on a thick rubber mat, and say in Spanish accented with her heavy Hungarian accent, “uno dos y tres, espalda abajo, uno dos y tres, espalda arriba como un camello.”  This all meant “one two and three back down and arched, one two and three back up like a camel.”

Looking radiant and beautiful, 

my mother would come knocking at the door as I was on the verge of running  out of there before class was over.  My mother with her fresh hairdo would pay Madame Ilonka, and would mix Hungarian with Spanish and say  “visontlatash, hasta la proxima.”  Goodbye, until next time…and I would be thinking oy vey,  HELP!

“Susie” my mom said to me, “Vamos a taquear. Let’s go get some great tacos, who knows when we’ll be able to get a good taco next?”  I was always my mom’s willing companion, so we happily went off to eat the best meal in the world — the fresh tacos at the stands by the university (we didn’t keep kosher in those days).  We happily smothered our tacos in spicy sauces and topped them off with mountains of cilantro and onions.

That was on the eve of December 4, 1964, the day my mother and I caught the last flight of the day from Mexico City to Los Angeles.  The only places I had ever been outside of Mexico City were Acapulco and Cuernavaca.  I didn’t want to leave Mexico, but I was only eleven and a half and I had no say in where I was to live.

I carried with me my most precious possessions.  In one hand I had the real looking baby doll on whom I had once performed surgery to see exactly how she made that crying sound.  After the surgery, she never cried again and still bore the old scar.  In my other hand I held my favorite stuffed animal — a small, light brown squirrel.  My squirrel held a bouquet of flowers in its paw.  The flowers were really miniature colorful light bulbs that lit up when you squeezed the squirrel’s tail.  Every night after my mother tucked me in and turned off the light, I would pull the covers up over my head and light up my little squirrel.  It was cozy and safe under there.

On the plane, I felt so lucky to be sitting by the window.  Once we were high in the air, I asked my mother if I could open the window;  I really thought you could.  The excitement of being on an airplane and the prospect that our family would soon be together again made me forget, for a while, that I was leaving my home forever.  The place where I was born would now be far away from me.

The L. A. Airport was so big and clean. Even the air had a different scent.  The buzzing sound of English all around me was new and strange.  I did speak some English because my father was born in New York, and had spoken it to us as we were growing up, but I wasn’t used to it being spoken all around me.

“There they are,” I screamed as I spotted my father and two brothers.  We all hugged each other, we cried and cried, then we laughed and cried again.  As we walked to the exit we all clung to each other, never again wanting to let go. We had been separated so long.

Six months before, after loading his and my brothers’ suitcases into the car, my father filled the rest of the small black Renault Dauphine with the ladies’ leather handbags he had left over after closing his factory.  I cried as I stood there with my mother, watching my father slowly back out, and sadly wave goodbye.  He drove away and headed north for the border, and a new life in Los Angeles.

Back at the airport, we all said we were starving.   My father said he knew of a great delicatessen.  I had never heard the word before.  He took us straight to Canter’s on Fairfax Avenue.  I saw things on the menu that were considered gourmet because there were very few, if any places in Mexico that served lox, bagels and cream cheese, chopped liver, gefilte fish or herring, or pastrami or corned beef sandwiches.  My family loved these foods just as much as we loved a great taco, albeit in a completely different and unique category.

I was amazed when our server spoke to us in English.  As she walked away after taking our order, I turned to my mother and said, “Hasta las meseras hablan ingles?” Even the waitresses speak English?  My parents lovingly chuckled at my innocence.

This was my Mexican-Jewish cultural crash landing when I first arrived in L.A.  47 years ago.  I was in for a long adjustment period…about 3 years.

We’re going to end Comfort Food Week — a tribute to the food-centric help we got when my grandmother passed away last month — with a list of thank you’s and 2 dessert recipes. Thank you for sticking with us during this difficult period, and please stay tuned as we resume regularly scheduled programming (very soon).

While we couldn’t do a post about every single dish people brought, we were overwhelmed by everything we did receive would like to say thank you to the following people,  who contributed in many ways — we love you all:
Julie Platt, Gail Nussen, Sara Aftergood, Marci Spitzer, Patti Felker, Dawn Smalberg, Helen Weston, Rita Segal, Estelle Ashkenazi, Ahoova Zeffren, Debi and Elie Benaron, Jory Goldman, Rena Horowitz, Jan Zakowski, Sherre Hirsh, Molly Matthieson, Brigitte Rosenberg, May Huang and J. Sikura, Erica Tucker, Susie Chodakiewitz, Elie Nankin, Lois Hellman and Sunda Zafrin.

And, for the concluding recipes of Comfort Food Week, we bring you SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE and LOWFAT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. The delicious cake came from Donna Nadel, and the cookies from Lesley Wolman. (Don’t be fooled by the low fat thing, though — the cookies tasted sinfully good. Really.)

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SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

3/4 c.walnuts, finely chopped

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/3 c. sugar

CAKE BATTER:

3/4 c. butter or margarine

1-1/2 c. sugar

3 c. all-purpose flour

1-1/2 c. sour cream

3 eggs

1-1/2 tsp. baking powder

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

1-1/2 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350°F.  Grease 10-inch tube pan.  In small bowl, combine walnuts, cinnamon and 1/2 c. sugar.  Use about 1/3 of this mixture to “dust” inside of tube pan.  Set the rest aside for use later.  In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, beat butter or margarine with 1-1/2 c. sugar until light and fluffy.  Add flour and remaining ingredients (do not include saved nut and sugar mixture); beat at low speed until blended, constantly scraping bowl with rubber spatula.  Increase speed to medium; beat 3 minutes.   Spread half of batter in pan; sprinkle with half of reserved nut mixture.  Spoon in remaining batter, then sprinkle with remaining nut mixture.  Bake 60 to 65 minutes, until cake pulls away from sides of pan.  Cool cake in pan completely on wire rack.  Makes 20 servings.

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LESLEY’S LOW FAT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1/2 C canola oil

1 C brown sugar

3/4 C white sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 C flour

1 tsp vanilla extract