Gefilte fish

An excerpt from Jennifer Bushman’s kitchen 

​Ingredients

• 5 pounds whole fish such as sucker fish, carp, or pike, filleted and skinned (reserve head, bones, skin, and trimmings for stock)
• 4 quarts water
• 3 medium-size (8 ounces each) yellow onions, quartered, divided
• 4 medium (9 ounces total) carrots, quartered crosswise (16 pieces total), divided
• 3 medium (3 ounce total) celery stalks, halved crosswise
• 1 cup loosely-packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, stems reserved, divided
• 2 fresh or dried bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup (about 1 ½ ounces) matzo meal
• ¼ cup thinly sliced fresh chives, plus more for garnish
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
• Beet horseradish 

Directions

Cut fillets into 2-inch pieces. Attach a metal food grinder attachment with coarse grinding plate (8-millimeter) to a stand mixer. Position mixer bowl under attachment. Set mixer speed to medium-low, and grind fish. (Alternatively, pulse fish in a food processor, working in small batches, until finely chopped, about 8 pulses.) Cover ground fish in mixer bowl, and refrigerate while making the stock.

Place reserved whitefish head, bones, skin, and trimmings in a large stockpot. Add water, 2 of the quartered onions, half of the carrots, ½ cup of the parsley leaves and all of the stems, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Bring to a gentle boil over medium. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the stock is reduced by half, skimming the surface occasionally to remove and discard impurities, about 1 hour. Place a fine mesh strainer over a large heatproof bowl. Carefully pour fish stock through strainer into bowl; discard solids. Transfer stock to a 12-inch straight-sided skillet; season to taste with salt.

While stock is simmering, place 4 of the carrot pieces, remaining 1 quartered onion, and remaining ½ cup parsley leaves in a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped, 8 to 10 pulses, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Add pulsed onion mixture, eggs, matzo meal, sliced chives, chopped dill, and salt to the ground fish; stir together using your hands until mixture comes together and is well-combined. Divide mixture evenly into 12 (4-ounce) balls; shape into oval patties about 4-inches long and 1½ to 2-inches thick. Place patties on a plate, and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Add remaining 4 carrot pieces to strained fish stock in skillet. Bring to a simmer over low and adjust heat to maintain a temperature of 180°F. Working in about 3 batches, add fish patties to simmering stock and simmer, gently turning patties occasionally to ensure they don’t stick to bottom of skillet, until patties are cooked through and a thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of patties registers 140°F, about 15 minutes per batch. Transfer cooked patties to a plate.

Remove carrot pieces from skillet; let stand until cool enough to handle, about 3 minutes. Thinly slice carrot pieces crosswise; add to plate with patties. Cover patties and carrots loosely with plastic wrap, and chill until cold, for at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours.

Top each patty with a few slices of carrot, and garnish with fresh dill fronds and chives. Serve gefilte fish cold with beet horseradish.

Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Bars

 Excerpt from Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipes

Prep time: 20 mins.

Total time: 6 hours 30 mins

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups flour
• ¾ cup sugar
  
• 1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
• ¾ cup cold butter, cut up
• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 16 oz. Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• ¼ cup sour cream
  
• 2 eggs

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 325° F. Line an 8" square baking dish with foil while leaving the ends of foil hanging over the sides of the dish. To soften the cream cheese, microwave on high for 10 secs in a microwave safe bowl or until cream cheese softened.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, ¼ cup sugar, and 1 tbsp. cinnamon. Meanwhile, mix the butter and the crumbs with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Reserve ½ cup crumb mixture for later use. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom and ½" up side of prepared dish. Bake for 25 mins or until lightly browned.
4. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla, and ½ cup of the remaining sugar with a mixer until blended. Add sour cream and mix well. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed until well blended. Set aside.
5. In a small bowl, combine remaining sugar and cinnamon. Pour cream cheese mixture into crust; top with reserved crumb mixture and cinnamon sugar. Bake 45 to 50 mins or until center of cheesecake is almost set; cool completely.
6. Refrigerate cheesecake for 4 hours. Use foil handles to remove cheesecake from dish before cutting into bars.

Stuffed Green Peppers

Prep time: 35 minutes

Cooking Duration: 1 hour 15 minutes

4 servings

Inspired from Pillsbury Cookbook

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup uncooked rice
• ⅔ cup water
• 4 large green bell peppers. Choose fresh, spot-free, firm, and large enough peppers of a uniform size; so, they can hold a good amount of filling and cook evenly. 
• 1 lb. ground beef
• ¼ cup celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons onion, chopped
• ¼ teaspoon garlic, minced
• Dash of salt and pepper
• ¼ cup ketchup
• ⅔ cup beef bone broth or au jus
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• ¼ teaspoon basil leaves, chopped or dried
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• ¼ cup to 1 cup mild cheddar cheese, shredded (topping)

Directions

1. Cook rice in water as directed on package.
2. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 350°F. Cut the tops off from the bell peppers and remove the membranes and seeds.
3. In a large saucepan, add water and steam bell peppers over a steamer on medium heat covered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it rest uncovered.
4. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add in the ground beef, onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Combine the celery, tomato, ketchup, beef broth, and Worcestershire sauce with the beef. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until beef is thoroughly cooked.
5. Add the cooked rice, and mix well with the beef. Spoon a part of the beef mixture into the peppers. Layer the mozzarella cheese in the middle over the mixture. Spoon another part of the mixture into the peppers. Add the tops of the peppers to cover the mixture.
6. Place the bell peppers in an ungreased shallow baking dish or pan.
7. In a small mixing bowl, combine the tomato sauce, basil, and sugar to mix well. Spoon over the bell peppers. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese on top
8. Bake between 30 and 40 minutes or until peppers are tender. Sprinkle remaining cheese as desired