Passover Mandel bread

Passover can be a really challenging holiday, especially if you are like me and really enjoy something sweet with your afternoon coffee. I found a great passover recipe for mandel bread (mandelbroit in Yiddish), a german cookie that is similar to a Biscotti. It called for so much butter, eggs, and sugar that I decided to experiment a bit. I used half the amount of butter and substituted the rest with plain yogurt. I used Splenda brown sugar instead of regular sugar, and used eggbeaters instead of eggs. Be careful when using any Splenda product--it is REALLY sweet so you have to halve what the recipe usually calls for. I also added orange zest for a citrus kick. The mandel bread came out very well, but I wish that I had left it in the oven for a little longer so that it was crunchier. You can also add walnuts or almonds if you would like. Enjoy!

Passover Mandel bread

Ingredients

1 cups Splenda brown sugar

½  cup pareve margarine

½ cup plain yogurt

6 eggs (eggbeaters)

2 ¾  cups matzo cake meal

¾  cup potato starch

½  teaspoon salt

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon orange zest

2 teaspoons cinnamon sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a large cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, cream together the sugar, margarine, and yogurt until smooth.

Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.

Combine the cake meal, potato starch and salt; stir into the creamed mixture.

Mix in zest, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. The mixture will be heavy.

Form into 2 long oval loaves. Place onto the prepared baking sheet.

Sprinkle the top with a mixture of 2 teaspoons sugar and cinnamon.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted into the center, comes out clean.

Cut longways into 2 inch pieces. Put back into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until golden and crispy

xx,

Penelope Anne

Brisket

I grew up in a traditional Jewish community, and (confession!) only found out a few months ago that brisket is not so much a dish provided at many a Jewish holiday meal, but is actually a cut of meat. More specifically, brisket is the cut of meat from the breast or lower chest of beef. There are millions of recipes out there for amazing brisket, and everyone has their own "special" ingredient. Some use Coke, others use  beer. In a fit of domestication, I decided a few weeks ago that I really wanted to make a traditional brisket for Shabbat Dinner. Ben's mom has a wonderful and easy recipe that she gave me, and my favorite part about it is that her "special" ingredient is coffee. The recipe called for barely any work on my part which was really nice. The meat turned out wonderfully, and the only downside was that the brisket that I bought was REALLY fatty (oops). I was advised to go to a butcher next time, and tell them the exact cut I want to get a leaner piece of meat. I really loved the tang of the sauce, and I served the brisket with spinach and sliced potatoes (both regular and sweet) to complete this customary meal.

Brisket
Ingredients:
Brisket
Onions- sliced in rounds
2-3 bottles of Heinz Chili Sauce
8-10 cups of coffee
Carrots and potatoes (optional)
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Black pepper
Paprika

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Slice the onions and place on the bottom of a oven pan. 

Season the brisket with all the spices and place on the onions. 

Bake uncovered in oven at 375 for about 45 minutes. 

Then cover with chili sauce and coffee.  

If you want add the carrots and potatoes and cover and bake at 350 for about 2 hours or more depending on the size of the brisket. 

About a half hour before you eat, slice the brisket. 

Make sure you cut it against the grain.

Put back in the oven cover and bake for about ½ hour. 

Thank you Ilene Rosen for such a wonderful recipe!

xx,
Penelope Anne

Jelly

One of the things I love most about Los Angeles are all of the brunch places one can go to on a lazy sunday morning. This past weekend Ben and I went to Denver, and he really wanted to show me that there are just as many amazing brunch places in the Mile High City as there are in LA. We went to a cute little place called Jelly, a creamsicle and pink restaurant started by San Francisco natives who pride themselves on their natural, home-made preserves, among many other delicious dishes!

When you walk in to Jelly you can't help but smile. The staff is very friendly, and there are framed vintage cereal boxes on the wall. There is a small wait, but only because anyone who knows about this yummy brunch place will get out of their warm bed for a fantastic meal, even if it is 30 degrees and snowing outside! Ben ordered the vegetarian biscuits and gravy, and I just ordered a basic egg breakfast. Our favorite part were the donut bites. We got one of each, and they were delightfully sweet. My favorite was the chocolate of course :) If you are planning a trip to Denver anytime soon, Jelly will leave you full and happy!

xx,

Penelope Anne