Spicy Pineapple Flambe

This is a wonderful recipe that you can cook in just minutes while guests take an after dinner break.

The ingredients are simple to find at any grocery store.

Here is what you'll need:

1 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced into bite-size pieces

Dark Bacardi rum (I used Captain Morgan Spiced Rum)

1 cup roasted pumpkin seed powder

Chile pepper powder (I skipped this ingredient)

1 cup of honey

Serves 6-8

To make the pumpkin seed powder. Take 1 cup pumpkin seeds and toast in a skillet until warm. Place in a grinder and grind until the seeds turn to powder.

Brush pineapple with rum. In a hot skillet pan grill the pineapple to brown lightly on both sides. Flame pineapple with about 3 tablespoons of rum (I actually skipped this part).

Divide pineapple evenly among 6 to 8 bowls. Drizzle honey on top. Sprinkle with pumpkin seed powder and chile. Serve while warm.

If you want to serve this dessert with fried cheese, here is the recipe.

Queso Frito

1 round of queso panela, cut into half-inch slices

Heat a non-stick pan on medium-high heat. Fry cheese in the pan until it is brown on both sides. Place two pieces of cheese into each bowl of pineapple.

Coconut macaroons

This recipe is adapted from The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift It makes approximately 30 cookies.
What you'll need:
2 large eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup of sugar
generous pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 cups of shredded coconut (I buy the flakes)
hunk of milk chocolate, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place a sheet of parchment paper over a sheet pan.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Blend in the coconut until it is completely moistened. This is not supposed to be a batter, but rather well-moistened coconut.
Place generous teaspoonfuls of the mixture onto the baking sheet. They should look more like balls on the parchment paper. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the macaroons are golden brown with crisp edges. Transfer them to a rack to cool.
If you would like to drizzle chocolate atop the macaroons, simply microwave the hunk of milk chocolate until it is liquefied and drizzle over the macaroons on the cooling rack.

Chicken and matzo ball soup

This recipe is adapted from a recipe I found in a book called "The Hadassah Jewish Holiday Cookbook."

Fresh matzo ball soup

For the soup:
½ cup of carrots, diced
½ cup of celery, diced
1 chicken breast
1 quart of chicken stock, homemade or store bought
1 quart of water

For Matzo Balls
2 tablespoons of chicken fat
1 onion, finely chopped
4 matzas (sold at Rainbow)
3-4 tablespoons of matza meal (sold at Cub or Rainbow)
1 egg, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste

To make the soup bring chicken stock and water to a boil. Add the chicken breast and cook for 20 minutes, or until done. Halfway through, about 10 minutes, drop the celery and carrots to the soup. While soup is cooking remove foam forming on top of the soup. Once chicken is done shred it and return to the soup, set soup aside.

For Matzo balls:
Melt chicken fat in large skillet over medium high eat. Add onion and sauté until golden brown. Break matza into small pieces and soak in a bowl of cold water. When matza is softened, about 5 minutes, squeeze out excess water. Combine matza with matza meal and sautéed onions. Stir in eggs, salt and pepper. Chill in refrigerator for one hour.
Bring large pot of salted water to a boil. Shape matza mixture into chestnut-size balls and drop into boiling water. Cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
When finished cooking transfer to the chicken soup. Heat up if necessary.
Serve with pita or matza.

$3 Matzo Ball Soup

This is a hearty soup that’s a meal in itself. You’ll need to purchase Manischewitz Matzo Ball & Soup Mix from your local grocery store for this disk.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 quart cold water
1.5 quart homemade or store bought chicken stock (you can also use vegetable stock)
½ cup of carrot, diced
½ cup of celery, diced

In a small bowl blend 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add to this matzo ball mix from the package. Stir. Place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
Add soup mix to 2.5 quarts of water and bring to a boil.
Once water is boiling take matzo ball mix out of the refrigerator. Wet hands to keep mixture from sticking to your skin and form balls approximately 1 inch in diameter and drop them into the boiling water. The balls will be the size of a walnut.Once matzo balls are in the soup cover it tightly, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with fresh matzo or pita.

Russian Potato salad

Russian potato salad, Olivye

What you need:
1 lb of boiled chicken breast, chopped *
4 boiled potatoes, chopped
2 pickles, diced
2 large cucumbers or 4 small cucumbers, diced
4 boiled eggs, diced
1 container of canned peas or 12 oz of frozen peas
½ cup of mayonnaise
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
*If you prefer to make this with deli meat use a 1.5 pound of baloney, salami or ham. You can also use turkey or duck meat for this salad.
Combine ingredients in a bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for an hour before serving.

$11 braised rabbit

This was a savory dish, but be sure to leave plenty of time for the marinade to seep into the meat. It took me about a half hour to marinade the rabbit. I did this in the morning so when I returned home all I needed to do was cook the rabbit. Since the rabbit cost me $11 this is a more expensive meal. However, if served with potatoes it can feed 4-6 people.
Recipe taken from Spanish Home Cooking by Miriam Kelen

What you’ll need:
1 rabbit (3 to 3.5 lb), cut into serving pieces (you can also substitute chicken here)
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon of coarse salt
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 ½ cups dry white wine
½ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
2 teaspoons of dried thyme
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Place rabbit pieces in a shallow dish or plastic bag.
In a food processor process garlic, salt, bell pepper and paprika until very fine. Gradually add wine, vinegar and olive oil until well blended. Pour over rabbit. Sprinkle thyme and oregano on the rabbit. Cover dish or seal the bag and refrigerate for several hours or overnight to marinade.
Drain rabbit pieces, set remaining marinade aside. Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over medium heat until hot. Add rabbit pieces and cook for 10 minutes or until all sides are well browned. Remove rabbit from skillet.
Add marinade to the same skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
Return rabbit to skillet, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 1 hour or until rabbit is tender.
Serve with baked potato, pasta or salad.

Turkey Curry

I found this recipe in a Penzeys Spices magazine. It makes a delicious curry.
What you'll need:
6 cups of leftover turkey, chopped
2 tablespoons of canola oil
2 large onions, quartered and finely sliced
1 tablespoon of sweet curry
3-4 pieces of leftover fruit such as pears, peaches or plums
1.5-2 cups of water
2 tablespoons of white vinegar
1 cup of plain yogurt, drained and mixed with a fork
1/4 cup of fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until lightly brown, stir frequently. Add the sweet curry powder and cook another 5 minutes. While the onions are cooking cut up the fruit. Add the water, vinegar and fruit to the pan. Stir and get everything simmering, then add the turkey. Make sure the mixture never boils so the turkey stays tender. Cook for as long as possible, 30 minutes at minimum.
At the end of cooking time, add the cilantro and stir in the yogurt. Serve with rice or pasta.

Natasha's Turkey Salad

This is a simple salad you can make the day after Thanksgiving. It requires no cooking and little prep work.
What you'll need:
Leftover turkey, cut into bite size pieces (about 3-4 cups)
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup raisins, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup of walnuts, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Mix ingredients in a bowl and serve. This salad also makes for an excellent turkey salad sandwich or wrap.