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Main Dishes

Main Dishes

Potato Latkes

Potato Latkes, are of course, a Hanukkah staple.  I’m an old fashioned latke purist. When I sit down to eat my latkes I just want that crispy fried outside and the soft inside of potato and onion topped with sour cream and sprinkled with salt, ok, a lot salt. These are surprisingly quick and easy to make, especially if you have a food processor.

Potato Latkes

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By Liz Serves: 12
Prep Time: 10 Cooking Time: 20

A classic, no frills latke recipe that is sure to please everyone.

Ingredients

  • 2.5 lbs Russet Potatoes
  • 2 large Onions
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 cup All Purpose Flour
  • 2 Tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
  • 1 Tsp Black Pepper
  • Canola Oil for frying

Instructions

1

Peel the potatoes.

2

Peel the onions and slice them in half or in quarters.

3

Using a food processor with the grating blade, feed the potatoes and the onions in, shredding them. (If you don't have a food processor, you can use a hand grater.)

4

Dump the entire contents of the food processor into a clean, thin, and large kitchen towel. Gather the corners of the kitchen towel and twist so the shredded stuff cannot escape. Now squeeze it very hard over your kitchen sink, getting out all the excess moisture. You want to squeeze really hard and get out as much of the water as you can.

5

Now open up your towel over a large mixing bowl and scrape off any straggling shreds with your hands.

6

Add the Eggs, Flour, Baking Powder, Salt and Pepper to the bowl.

7

Mix together using your hands, its truly the best way.

8

In a wide, heavy bottom pan pour oil to a depth of about 1/4 inch.

9

Place a cooling rack on top of a sheet pan and place in a 200 degree oven and leave it, you will use it in a bit.

10

Heat oil over a medium high heat.

11

Test oil heat by dropping one tiny shred of potato from the latke mixture, if it sizzles, its ready. If it splats everywhere, its a bit too hot.

12

Form latkes with your hands by picking up some of the mixture and making a patty, then gently place it in the oil, careful with your hands! Depending on size of your pan, put 2-4 latkes in at once. I put 4 at a time in my pan, but you want the latkes to have room to cook, don't crowd them.

13

Let the latkes cook for about 2 minutes, then flip them. (The cooked side should be golden brown, if it's not cook a little longer.) Cook another 2 minutes.

14

I usually flip the latkes again and cook for another 2 minutes on the original side because I like mine extra crispy.

15

Using a slotted spatula, pick up latkes, one at a time letting excess oil drip back into pan. Then open up the oven and place the finished latkes on the rack/sheet pan that you placed in there earlier. This will keep the latkes warm and crispy while you make the rest.

16

Continue the above process until all of your latke mixture is fried into delicious latkes.

17

Serve with sour cream, applesauce, and if you are me, a pinch pot of salt.

The final mixture, ready for frying:

Keeping warm in the oven on a cooling rack:

 

Main Dishes

Gratin aux Legumes

While traveling through France, I stayed in a tiny village called Puycelsi. I popped into 1 of the 2 restaurants in the village for lunch. I was feeling vegetarian that day and so I ordered the Gratin aux Legumes (Gratin with Vegetables). It was so delicious and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. 2 years later, I’ve finally set out to recreate that delicious dish. It was served in an individual cast iron dish at the restaurant, but I’ve made it more of a family style version, in which you scoop out servings. To me, this dish is comfort food at it’s best.

Legume Gratin

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By Liz Serves: 6
Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 40 Minutes

A cheesy, warm vegetarian comfort food.

Ingredients

  • 2 Tbsp Salted Butter
  • 4 Leeks, choped
  • 1 Yellow Squash, sliced thin
  • 1 Zucchini, sliced thin
  • 1 Eggplant, chopped into strips
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Pepper
  • 1/2 cup Whole Milk
  • 1/2 cup Creme Fraiche
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups Gruyere cheese, shredded

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit.

2

Start by melting butter in the bottom of a large dutch oven or saucepan on medium high heat.

3

Add chopped leeks and stir with a wooden spoon until leeks have cooked down and some are brown (about 5 minutes.)

4

Add the Zucchini and the Yellow Squash and continue stirring and letting the squash cook for another 5 minutes.

5

Add the Eggplant and stir for another 5 minutes.

6

Add 1 tsp Salt and 1 tsp Pepper to vegetables and stir together.

7

Cover the pot with lid and turn heat off.

8

In a separate bowl, mix together the Milk, Creme Fraiche, Egg, Fresh Thyme and 1 tsp of Salt and Pepper.

9

In a buttered, oven safe casserole dish, layer the bottom with half of the sautéed vegetables.

10

Next, sprinkle half of the shredded Gruyere cheese on top.

11

Then add the last half of the sautéed vegetables on top of the cheese layer.

12

Now pour the Milk mixture over the top of all the vegetables.

13

Top the dish with the last of the Gruyere cheese.

14

Place dish in the oven and bake for 40 Minutes until the top is brown and bubbly.

15

Serve warm.

Chopped leaks:

Sauteed Vegetables are ready to go:

 

Main Dishes

Noodles & Cottage Cheese

If you do not like Cottage Cheese, this recipe is not for you.  But if you do, get ready for the easiest, most delicious comfort meal of your life. I grew up eating this for lunch. It is a recipe that came from my namesake, Grandma Liz. She was my Great Grandmother, Liz Federbush, born in Austria in 1898. She brought this recipe all the way to Cincinnati, Ohio. This recipe is my only connection to her, since I never got to meet her.  I’ve successfully converted my husband and children to lovers of this simple dish and I hope I can covert you too.  If you like cottage cheese please try this!

Noodles & Cottage Cheese

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By Liz Serves: 1
Prep Time: 2 Minutes Cooking Time: 10 Minutes

A simple pasta dish that makes a comforting lunch.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Uncooked Elbow Macaroni
  • 1 Tablespoon Salted Butter
  • Pinch of Sea Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Cottage Cheese

Instructions

1

Bring a small pot of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt once the water begins to boil and then add macaroni noodles.

2

Boil macaroni for about 10 minutes, until noodles are soft but have a little bit of a bite to them (al dente).

3

Drain the water and put macaroni back into the pot.

4

Add the butter and salt to the pot and stir until all the butter is melted and evenly distributed.

5

Add pasta to the serving bowl.

6

Add cottage cheese to the bowl and stir into pasta until even distributed.

7

Your noodles and cottage cheese is ready to eat.

Main Dishes

Cuban Picadillo

Picadillo is a classic Cuban comfort food dish. Each Latin country has their own version, and every family has their own version as well. You will find many variations that add potatoes, olives or even raisins. I like mine very classic with none of the extras. Growing up, picadillo was a staple in our house. It’s so simple and satisfying, hopefully it will become a staple in your house too.

Cuban Picadillo

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By Liz Serves: 6
Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cooking Time: 20 Minutes

This recipe is an easy one for the weeknights. It also saves in the fridge and reheats beautifully.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 1 medium sweet Onion, diced
  • 3 cloves of Garlic, minced
  • 1 pound of 85% lean Ground Beef
  • 1 8 oz can of Tomato Sauce
  • 1/2 6 oz can of Tomato Paste
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 1 Bay Leaf

Instructions

1

Pour olive oil into a shallow sauce pan and bring to a medium high heat.

2

Add the diced onion.

3

Sauté the onion until they become golden and soft.

4

Add the garlic and stir once more, cooking for about 1 minute.

5

Add the ground beef and break apart as it cooks.

6

Cook until all of the ground beef is browned.

7

Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste and stir into ground beef until blended.

8

Add the salt and both peppers and stir again.

9

Add the bay leaf and then cover the sauce pan, turning the heat down low.

10

Simmer for about 15 minutes.

11

Serve hot on top of rice.

Onions go into the hot Olive Oil:

Once onions are soft, add the garlic:

Add the ground beef and break it apart with the spoon:

Once it’s browned it will look like this:

Add the tomato sauce and the tomato paste:

Then it will look like this, add the bay leaf and seasonings:

Main Dishes

Tagliatelle

I love this recipe because you do not need a pasta maker. The only tools you need are a flat surface to make the pasta (I use a Roul Pat, which is a big silicone mat), a rolling pin and a knife.

Tagliatelle

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By Liz Serves: 6
Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 2 minutes

This pasta only has 2 ingredients and is a great weekend meal to make and get your family involved. You can obviously use this recipe to make ravioli or farfalle by hand as well.

Ingredients

  • 2 large Eggs
  • 2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
  • Sea Salt for Boiling

Instructions

1

Make a mound of flour in the center of the table and then make a well in the middle of the mound.

2

Crack the eggs into the well.

3

Start by beating the eggs together inside the mound, just like its a bowl, using your fingers or a fork.

4

Once the eggs are beaten, gradually pull in more flour from the sides of well with your fingers.

5

Continue pulling in more and more flour until it starts to become more solid, eventually you will have a ball of dough.

6

Sprinkle a bit more flour on your flat surface and being to knead the dough. You will know when the dough is read because it will feel as smooth as a baby's butt when you pat it.

7

Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

8

Now you can start to roll the dough out with your rolling pin.

9

The old-time way to know that the dough was thin enough, was if you could put a newspaper under the dough and be able to read the newspaper. This means, it must be VERY thin. If you have any paper with black type around, definitely try this.

10

Once the dough is thin enough, sprinkle a bit more flour on top and place your rolling pin on top of the dough on one side.

11

Roll the dough up around the rolling pin and continue rolling until it is all rolled up.

12

Pull the rolling pin out from the center of the roll of dough, and dough will fall slightly to form a more flat roll.

13

Using a sharp knife, begin at one end of the flat rolling cutting thin strips.

14

When you are done, you can unravel each strip and voila! you have a Tagliatelle noodle.

15

Once you have all your noodles are all cut, get your water ready by adding a teaspoon or so of salt to some boiling water.

16

Drop the noodles into the water and cook for 2 minutes.

17

Top with your favorite sauce or even just some butter.

The mount of flour with the eggs in the well:

The dough after kneading:

The rolled out dough:

The dough rolled up inside the rolling pin:

The flat rolled up dough, once you pull out the rolling pin:

Cutting the strips:

Unraveling the strips to reveal the noodles:

Main Dishes

Seared Salmon with Zoodles

The healthiest meals can be the simplest to make. I made this healthy meal with just 5 ingredients: Salmon, Zucchini, Lemon, Olive Oil and Salt & Pepper.

 

Seared Salmon with Zucchini Noodles

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By Liz Serves: 1
Prep Time: 3 Minutes Cooking Time: 12 Minutes

Sometimes the healthiest meals can be the simplest to make.  I used exactly 5 ingredients on this meal: salmon, zucchini, lemon, olive oil and salt & pepper.

Ingredients

  • 1 Filet of Salmon
  • 1 Cup of Zucchini Noodles (buy at the store pre-cut or cut yourself)
  • 1 Lemon
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • Salt & Pepper

Instructions

1

Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a hot pan (cast iron works best)

2

Once oil is hot, drop in your zucchini noodles

3

Occasionally flip the noodles (like a stir fry)

4

While the noodles are cooking, generously season your salmon filet on the fleshy fish side with salt and pepper

5

Once the noodles are brown on some parts and soft, take them out of the pan and put them to the side.

6

Now put the other tablespoon of olive oil in the pan

7

Once the oil is hot, lay your salmon filet down in the pan, skin side down

8

Once you see that the cooked part of the salmon has creeped halfway up the side of the fish, flip it over

9

Let the salmon cook until the top is nice and brown and crispy seared, about 3-4 more minutes

10

Take the salmon out and plate it next to the zucchini noodles

11

Generously squeeze lemon on the salmon and noodles

12

Salt and pepper the noodles to taste