Cooking & Tasting

Last week I took a few days off of work so I could spend the time at home, working on recipes for the cookbook. I got a lot done, but not as much as I had planned.

I'm going through my lists of tested recipes and to-test recipes, trying to figure out what's left to do. The problem is that I keep thinking of new ideas, so the to-test list isn't really getting any smaller.

In the last week or so I've worked on:

* potato latkes (not just for Chanukah!)
* zucchini/leek latkes
* sweet potato ginger latkes
* matzo balls
* zucchini/spinach/chicken soup (needs a good name)
* brownies
* meringue cookies with toasted coconut/almonds/chocolate chips
* sautéed eggplant & roasted pepper salad
* an old-school beef flanken recipe
* blueberry coffee-cake
* sweet potato/apple side dish
* roast chicken with roasted vegetables - a little sweet, a little spicy
* matzo brei (can't have passover without one recipe -- will do at least two -- one sweet, one savoury and maybe a couple of other variations)
* strawberry/blueberry conserves for the matzo brei ( it would also be good on matzo)

Some of the recipes I've been making for years and just needed to be written down. Some are new for me and have to be tried a few times, tweaking things here and there. Some recipes (like a brisket I cooked on Sunday) just don't work at all and aren't worth tweaking. Those are the most frustrating.

While I normally count on immediate family members for taste-testing (don't worry, there are no critiques more honest -- sometimes brutally honest -- than those of your parents and siblings), I was lucky enough to have some extended family visiting from out-of-town.


This little 2-year-old thought the sweet potato and ginger latkes were just fine . . . and she stopped eating them after latke #4 or 5.

The 6 dozen latkes made that afternoon were gone quickly. And it was a lot of fun having the kitchen full of family, grabbing the latkes as soon as they came out of the pan. It's true -- these Chanukah treats are as good in April or August as they are in December.

So I'm moving along in the kitchen, and getting as much typing done as I can between customers. It's almost time to start thinking about what has to happen when the cooking is all done. Just not yet.