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Archives February 2010

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The Best Hamantachens Around

Thursday 25 Feb 2010 | 3 Comments
Filed under: Holidays, Sweets Tags: cookies, Holidays, jam, Purim

The secret to this recipe is in the jam- and I mean the jam in the dough. Yup, there's jam in the dough- just a tablespoon, but it makes all the difference-you get soft, melt in your mouth dough. And what about the filling? This is where I go for the easiest solution and use store-bought spreads, and there is no shortage of good quality spreads today such as Nutella, dolce de leche, date spread, peanut butter, good old regular jam and many more. You choose! One tip before you start rolling out the dough- using a cookie-cutter- cut out many circles out of the dough-the best hamantachens are the ones whose dough is really thin, but not too thin, and the filling is generous, but not too much (as in life, proportions are key). Stick to the recipe and you won't be sorry! Ingredients for 25 humantachens: For the dough: 2¼ cups all purpose flour 1¾ sticks (7 oz.) butter, softened ½ cup (3.5 oz.) powdered sugar 1 egg 1 spoon jelly (strawberry, blueberry, cherry,etc.) For the filling: ⅔...
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Fennel and Red Wine Osso Bucco

Wednesday 24 Feb 2010 | No Comments
Filed under: Main course Tags: bay leaf, fennel, ossobucco, red wine

There are some people that don't go a winter without skiing, there are those that can't pass a winter without buying a new coat (I belong to both of these groups), and there are those who just can't get through the cold season without Osso Bucco. This wonderful Italian dish belongs to the holy trinity of winter food, along with rich hearty soup and Saturday Hamin (a Moroccan stew). Osso Bucco is a aromatic vegetable and beef stew cooked for about two and a half hours over low heat, until the meat is soft, to the point where it separates from the bone, and is full of flavor. I like to add red wine to the stew giving it a deep flavor (it doesn’t have to be expensive wine, but it should be wine that is drinkable) and a head of fennel to give a fresh contrast to the meat. This is unnecessary to even mention, but I’ll do it anyways- a quality Osso bucco should only be made with fresh ?,not frozen beef. Serve with rice, mashed potatoes or bread to soak up the great sauce- and it's time to...
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Sage and Apple Browned Chicken

Thursday 18 Feb 2010 | 1 Comment
Filed under: Main course Tags: apple, chicken, sage

I know it's not so foodie-like to love chicken-it's much cooler to like steak tartar or a marbled steak, but if I had to choose my favorite dish- I would go back on forth between lots of things-as long as the products are high-quality (we'll get back to this) and the preparation is done properly (well also get to this). When I mention chicken, I'm talking about the fresh, not frozen, pinkish in hue, with shiny firm skin type- and I recommended making chicken the day it's purchased, taking it out of the fridge about an hour (whole chicken) to a half hour (parts) before cooking, washing it with cold tap water and patting dry with kitchen towels. I don't recommend removing the skin of the chicken before grilling or broiling because the skin is an important factor in making chicken juicy (you can remove it before it eating). Chicken goes great with fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme and/or sage, strong flavors such as onion and garlic, sweet rubs such as honey, silan (date honey), or maple...
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Behind the Scenes of Food Photography

Monday 15 Feb 2010 | 9 Comments
Filed under: food photography Tags: behind the scenes, photography, photoshop, styling

I've been photographing food professionally for the past seven years. I have a photography studio located in Jaffa (Israel) and I work with culinary magazines, cookbook publishers and large food companies. When I'm asked about what I do for a living, I always get the same response. The first question people want to know is if what I photograph is real, when do I use shaving cream instead of whipped cream and when do I smother a steak with motor oil. I decided to write this post to explain what goes on at a professional food photography studio, and maybe bring to an end to some myths about synthetic foods. I usually eat what I photograph Today, unlike in the past, there is a lot of pressure towards "real advertising". Food photographs from the eighties and nineties were known for the use of shaving cream and motor oil in styling food but with time there has been advancement in the field and with it the aspiration to display food in its real form. Maybe it's just a fad now, but in my view...
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The Best Carrot Cake

Thursday 11 Feb 2010 | 3 Comments
Filed under: Sweets Tags: cake, carrots, cinnamon, cream cheese

I love carrot cake-it always gives me a healthy feeling even after I've finished off half of the cake. Healthy for the eyes, but definitely not for my figure. Most of the carrot cake recipes that I've come across have either been too dry or too seasoned, and until recently I thought that there just wasn't a perfect carrot cake. Last month I got a shipment of cookbooks I ordered, and among them was the lovely cookbook "Breakfast, Lunch,Tea" of the Rose Bakery, a Parisian café( with an English baker). Their flagship cake is of course their carrot cake, and the book, which I highly recommend is filled with lots of other great recipes. After a long look at the photos and a shorter glance at the recipes, I decided to first try the carrot cake and I was surprised to find out that the cake calls for nine carrots! In relation to the carrot cakes I've made before, nine carrots seemed like a lot! I was not dissuaded and I decided to give the carrot cake a chance, and I was not sorry about it- thanks...
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