American, Jewish Recipes
5 recipes found
Jewish American Pot Roast
Brisket is now a luxurious, festive dish for Hanukkah and Passover, but it was originally an inexpensive cut considered too tough for roasting. This brisket recipe came from Mimi Sheraton, the New York Times’s first restaurant critic and author of a memoir-cookbook, “From My Mother's Kitchen: Recipes and Reminiscences” (HarperCollins, 1979), about growing up in Brooklyn in the 1930s. It demands minimal preparation and limited ingredients — little more than onions and garlic — but the low-and-slow cooking make it extraordinarily complex and delicious. Although the brisket (breast) is traditional, the same recipe works beautifully with any stew cut, such as chuck, oxtail or short ribs. Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles, or with boiled potatoes, sprinkled with parsley.
Matzo-Meal Fried Chicken
Michael W. Twitty’s use of matzo meal to coat his fried chicken is an ode to the innovative Black women of the American South, including his own ancestors. Marrying the traditions of Black southern cooking with Southern Ashkenazi Jewish culinary ones, Black women in cities like Savannah, Ga., Charleston, S.C., New Orleans and Nashville preserved their African heritage and local Jewish customs through this fried chicken. The fragrant spice mixture is enough to gather droves of people around the table, and the dish’s Southern charm is evident with the first crispy, tender and juicy bite.
Prepared Horseradish
Homemade prepared horseradish tastes fresher than store-bought varieties and is a surprisingly versatile condiment that will keep, refrigerated, for about three months. Start with fresh horseradish, which should be chilled to preserve its punch, and a box grater, a hand grinder or a food processor. Horseradish is potent, so make sure to keep the windows open or wear glasses to protect yourself from the fumes when handling the raw ingredient. Whisked into vinaigrettes, drizzled over poached fish or stirred into mayonnaise for a brighter egg salad sandwich, a spoonful of prepared horseradish wakes up whatever you're cooking.
Salted Peanut and Caramel Matzo Brittle
This is a more advanced version of the popular chocolate matzo toffee, but it’s still easy to make: A layer of caramel bakes on top of then soaks into the unleavened bread, which next gets slathered with peanut butter and topped with crunchy peanuts. For those with peanut allergies — or those who do not eat peanuts at Passover — you can substitute any creamy nut butter and nuts. You can also use tahini and halvah; add snipped, dried apricots or dried cranberries for color; or keep it simple and stick with chocolate — preferably dark, to counter the caramel’s sweetness — as in the original recipe by baker Marcy Goldman in her book “A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking” (Doubleday 1998). Be aware: This dish is addictive.
Apple Butter Rugelach
Apple butter, like applesauce, is made from apples that have been cooked down, but the process is taken even further. The result is a thick, caramelized paste that you can spread with a knife instead of eating it with a spoon. Here, it is paired with honey, walnuts and currants to make a fall-inspired rugelach cookie. The cream cheese in the dough gives it a pleasant tang and makes it super easy to work with.