Spinach Squares (Fingers)

Libby's* Spinach Fingers (like a crustless quiche)

The night before, leave out to soften and thaw, respectively:
        1/2 to 1 stick butter (I use 6 T = 3/4 stick)
        two 10-oz packages frozen chopped spinach
I often use one 16-oz package, alone or with ~4 oz (2 stalks) chopped celery. Frozen broccoli, chopped or florets, is a good variation.

A few hours before, if you think of it:
Grate
        1/2 lb cheddar (grate it cold, then leave it out
                   to reach room temperature)
Also, take out of refrigerator to remove the chill
        6 eggs
        24 oz small curd cottage cheese (room temp is better)

Now to make the fingers:
Squeeze that thawed SPINACH in handfuls to make it as dry as possible. (Broccoli is much harder to squeeze, so the final product is a bit wetter.) Put in small bowl and set aside.

In large bowl, mix with spoon
        that BUTTER
        that COTTAGE CHEESE
        that CHEDDAR
Blend in, one at a time
        those EGGS
Mix in by handfuls, twiddling to separate
        that SPINACH (or broccoli, or either plus chopped celery)
Stir in
        3 rounds of 2 T flour each (6 T all together)
                   (use matzo meal during Passover)
        "seasoned salt" says Libby
Instead of 'seasoned salt,' I use nutmeg, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, and pepper. I just sprinkle them on top of each round of flour so they are a nice but not solid dusting. I use no salt because I find the cottage cheese and cheddar salty enough.

Bake in a greased 9 x 13 pan at 325, 1 hr till firm and slightly brown on top (convection oven at 300 for 45 min is OK but doesn't brown). Cool a bit and cut up for serving/freezing. Libby calls this recipe "spinach squares" but I tend to cut narrow rectangles ("fingers") for New Year's Eve parties. I cut big squarish rectangles (12 per pan) for breakfasts.

"Good reheated. Freezes well." says Libby. YES! I make up about 3 batches for big parties a week or more ahead of time, then cut up and freeze. I reheat, in the microwave or whatever oven is going, in batches as needed, straight from the freezer. A breakfast portion, microwaved straight from the freezer, is ready in 2-2.5 min.

laptop versions: rjm 8/25/93, rev 12/4/01, 12/16/02, 6/1/04, 10/29/06
rev/post 11/25/12

Libby is my father-in-law's wife. She has given me a number of great recipes over the years. Stay tuned for her Apricot Bars and Cocoa Brownies (a good cake-y alternative to my fudge-style Killer Brownies which come from a recipe I found on a box of unsweetened chocolate years ago).

Hummus

R3A2 Hummus
 from The South Beach Diet

1.  A DAY OR TWO BEFORE if you think of it, open your can of
       sesame tahini
to see if the oil has separated.  If it has, stir gently until reincorporated.  I use Joyva brand tahini which comes in 15 oz. cans.  Unless the can has been used very recently, the oil will be floating on top of very dense sesame paste.  Stirring is difficult, time-consuming and requires care: the oil splashes out if you stir too vigorously.  With a full can, I have spent maybe 45 minutes or more on this step. I start by chipping away at the hummus with a table knife, then stir with a wooden spoon.  When I make the whole recipe a day or two before - which is a good idea because the hummus tastes better after it has been refrigerated for at least a few hours - then I do all the steps at the same time.

2.  Drain into a measuring cup the liquid from
          1 can (15 oz.) chick peas

3.  Cut up coarsely and add to Cuisinart (with chopping blade installed)
          4 oz. (about 1/2 medium) yellow onion
          3 cloves garlic (or less)

4.  Squeeze and measure, then add to the Cuisinart
          about 1/3 lemon to make 2 T.  juice
If you don't have a fresh lemon, 2 T. bottled lemon juice is fine.

5.  Add also to the Cuisinart
          1/2 cup of that well-stirred TAHINI
          the drained CHICK PEAS (but not the liquid)
          2 tsps olive oil
          2 tsps cumin
          1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
The original recipe called for ground red pepper, but I like to use up the packets of red pepper flakes the pizza people always put in the paper bag with the napkins and extra parmesan.

6.  Add to taste, unless like me you think the canned chick peas are salty enough,
            1/2 tsp salt (optional)

7.  Pulse the cuisinart until everything is blended.  To reach the consistency you want, continue to pulse, adding
            by tablespoons,
that reserved chick pea LIQUID, if needed, and
            possibly a bit more OLIVE OIL
to reach the consistency you want.  I like it grainy myself, made a bit creamier with a little of the chick pea liquid.

8.  Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight or longer before serving.   This hummus is pretty tasty right away, but chilling definitely improves the flavor.  The secret is the cumin.

laptop versions 1/28/05;6/19/10 rjm; rev/post 11/25/12

Tuna Mousse

MY MOTHER RUTH MORRIS'S TUNA MOUSSE

Notes

(a) All measurements are suggestions at best, especially since this recipe dates from the days when tuna came in 7 oz. cans.  Then it came in 6 oz. cans and I certainly didn't open a second can and put in 1/6 of it.  Now it comes in  5 oz cans but sometimes you can find 7 oz packets.  Using less than 7 oz. is OK but 5 would probably not be enough.  
(b) I made this in Israel in a faculty-housing kitchen and some of the guests were Orthodox.  The (minor) modifications improved it.

1. Chop fine and set aside
     2 Tb. parsley, minced
     1 Tb. minced green onion or 2 scallions, sliced 1/8"
NOTE: These two do not seem equivalent to me.  I use 2 scallions. In Israel, the scallions were HUGE so I used only 1, white and green parts, both. 
      Dill to be the equivalent of 1 tsp dry
I prefer fresh, using about 4 sprigs, maybe 1 or 2 Tb, if you measure.  More dill is always good.  I also set aside some for garnish.

2.  Chop and set aside separately from other vegetables
     1/2 c. cucumber, plus a little extra, separately,
             for garnish
Separately, I assume, because it is heavy so you don't want to beat it with the egg beater when the time comes.  It seems to me you could fold in all the vegetables at the same time, but maybe the minced ones disperse better if you beat them? 

NOW BEGIN THE REAL THING

3.  In a large bowl, sprinkle
     1 envelope unflavored gelatin
on
     2 Tb lemon juice (I use juice from 1/3 lemon)
and let stand for 5 minutes.

4.  Meanwhile, or toward the end of the 5 minutes if you have a fast boiler:  Boil
     1/2 c. water
Water must be boiling, says Mom.  She means that when you add the soup to the lemon/gelatin mixture, the water must have just boiled or the gelatin won't dissolve completely.

5.  Add to boiling water
     1 tsp. Carmel Parve Chicken-style soup mix or
          1 chicken bouillion cube
Then add soup to bowl with gelatin mixture and stir to dissolve all the gelatin.

6.  Stir in and then beat with egg beater until frothy  (or beat with a fork until you are tired of doing it, if you are on sabbatical and have no egg beater; you'll get a denser mousse, but a tasty one):
     that PARSLEY/CHIVE/DILL mixture
     1/2 c. mayonnaise
     1/4 c. milk (low fat is fine)
     1 tsp. prepared mustard (Dijon, e.g.)
     1/4 tsp. black pepper

7.  Fold in
     1 can tuna (7 oz.)
(regarding "7 oz.": see above. I use water-packed tuna, squeezed dry, and flaked with fork or fingers)
     that chopped CUCUMBER
Put into mold and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight if you can.

8.  Unmold and decorate with
      pimiento, says Mom
       a little chopped cucumber and a bit of dill, too, say I

HINT :   Using an 8" disposable cake or pie tin as a mold works famously because it is so easy to unmold.   Just set the pan in hot tap water for about 30 seconds.  In Israel I used a disposable cake pan out of necessity.  For sentimental reasons, I often use the molds I inherited from Mom, but a cake pan is just as good.
                            

rjm 1/20/97; 12/16/98; 1/3/00; 8/23/12
typos corr 10/17/12

BABA'S CHALLAH

For a single sheet PDF, click here.

BOILED SHRIMP FOR SHRIMP LOUISVILLE

R3A2 Version of The Day Before Cookbook's

BOILED SHRIMP for SHRIMP LOUISVILLE
 

     In a pot large enough to hold the broth and 2 lbs shrimp,
     bring to a boil
6 stalks celery, including leaves, chopped coarsely,
2 bay leaf
4 peppercorns
2 tsp salt
2 c. cold water
     Add
2 lb. unpeeled raw shrimp
     
Cover and bring to a boil again (this takes a few minutes, maybe 5 or more?) then lower heat to simmer, still covered, for 3 minutes or until the shrimp are pink - but NO MORE.  Longer cooking toughens them.
 
Remove pot from heat, uncover, cool.  Remove shrimp from stock, but reserve stock.  Peel and devein, then return to stock.  Use right away or cover and refrigerate to use later or the next
day.

       First made in the 1970s; 12/29/00, 5/30/11, 3/31/12 rjm
 

ALMOND MACAROONS (PASSOVER)

R3A2 RECIPE FOR BECKY EISENBERG'S ODENSE-BRAND ALMOND PASTE
PESACH ALMOND MACAROONS

7 oz tube of almond paste, cut into < 1" sections
2 egg whites
1/3 c. sugar (original was 1/2 but that's too much)

     Put everything in Cuisinart. Pulse a few times to chop up the paste and then switch to continuous ON until uniform, maybe as much as 60 seconds or more.

     Drop by spoonfuls on cookie sheet lined with brown paper or
parchment and bake at 325 for ~30 minutes.  The maccaroons will spread but you can always cut them apart.

     Makes one batch (alas).  Store airtight for a few days or,
even better, use promptly.  They may harden - or soften -
otherwise.

PS  Odense-brand may not be KFP.  If that matters, maybe just try pre-grinding 7 oz. of blanched almonds with some sugar and maybe an extra egg white, then add more sugar and egg whites to make a loose enough mixture for cookies.


                                             rjm 4/19/08, 3/30/12
    

SHRIMP LOUISVILLE

For a one-sheet PDF version of the R3A2 version of The Day Before Cookbook's Shrimp Louisville, please click here.
For a recipe for boiling raw shrimp, rather than using pre-cooked, click here.

rjm 3/30/12 rev 8/31/12

MATZO CRUNCH

For a one-sheet PDF of the R3A2 Matzo Crunch recipe, please click here.