Roasted turkey – 2 insanely delicious recipes

Growing up in Israel, my family never celebrated Thanksgiving. I never had to worry too much about roasting a turkey, creating the best pumpkin pie, or making the perfect stuffing to go with the turkey. It wasn’t that we didn’t have turkey in Israel, in fact, I grew up in a very rural environment where there was live stock and many wild birds around. So besides having turkey roaming around our yard, we also had a horse, many goats, sheep, chickens and even a few peacocks. My dad and my brother would tend to the herds of sheep and goats we had. Sometimes we used their milk to make cheese and butter.

My mom used turkey in the slow cooked stew she made every Friday. The stew was cooked on a hot plate overnight and was ready the next day. She cooked it with potatoes, barley, wheat, beans, onions and whole garlic cloves that would almost melt in your mouth.

When I left my home in Israel and moved to New York, I was reintroduced to this massive bird, but this time it was a whole bird. Every time I’d ever had turkey before, the meat was taken off and added to other dishes. Naturally I decided that it was time I really tried to understand this bird. It was time for me to experiment with cooking a whole turkey. I borrowed a big roasting pan from a friend and went straight to work, hoping I wouldn’t end up making a turkey out of myself.

I’m sharing two of my favorite spectacularly delicious recipes with you. I think there is nothing worse than dry turkey. I let the turkey cook for about an hour and then I baste the turkey every 30 minutes, more or less. I take a big spoon and take juices and some of the fruit and vegetables pieces from the bottom of the pan and pour in on top of the turkey. Doing so, will ensure the turkey stays moist and will also allow the flavors and the juices to get to the top part of the turkey and be distributed evenly. I’ve tasted some really dry and tasteless turkey before so I make sure to season it well and to baste it more often than I think is necessary. Nothing is worse than having to smother your turkey with gravy just to be able to eat it. Gravy is nice, but it shouldn’t be a substitute for moist delicious turkey.

Cooking time may vary, depending on the size of the turkey, the oven’s temperature and amount of love you put into making it. The recipes may look complicated, but trust me, it worth the time.

Roasted turkey with herbs, vegetables and fruit

1 stick butter, softened
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons sage, chopped
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped
30 garlic cloves, divided
2 fresh lemons, thinly sliced
16 – 18 lbs turkey, rinsed and patted dry
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, cut into medium cubes
6 celery stalks, sliced
2 fennel bulbs, slices
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 parsnips, peeled and sliced
8 bay leaves
1 medium bunch fresh thyme, tied in a kitchen twine
2 oranges, unpeeled, cut into large wedges
3 apples, cored and cut into large wedges
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1 cup fresh apple cider

Mix together butter, rosemary, sage and thyme until well combined. Cut 10 garlic cloves into thin slices.

Carefully separate the skin of the turkey from the meat, in the breast and legs area. spread half of the butter-herbs mixture under the skin. Arrange sliced garlic and lemon slices under the skin.

Spread remaining butter-herb mixture insides the turkey’s cavity and sprinkle the outside and the cavity with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Spread the onions, celery, fennel, carrots, parsnips, bay leaves, fresh thyme and 10 of the remaining 20 garlic cloves in a large roasting pan. Place turkey, breast side up, on vegetables and tie legs together with a kitchen twine.

Stuff turkey’s cavity with remaining 10 garlic cloves and some of the oranges and apples (as many as you could fit). Place any remaining wedges of oranges and apples on top of the vegetables in the pan and then top with the cranberries and season with a little more salt and pepper. Pour apple cider over vegetables and then cover

Roast in preheated oven for 1 hour and then, using a large spoon, baste with any pan juices, cover and continue to roast turkey until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165º F, about 2 – 3 hours. During this time, baste turkey with the pan juices, every 20 minutes, making sure all areas are evenly basted. In the last roasting hour, remove the cover and baste more frequently.

Roasted turkey with balsamic vinegar, honey and citrus

1 stick butter, melted
3 lemons, zest is grated and the thinly sliced
16-18 lbs turkey, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup honey
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 medium onions, cut into medium cubes
5 celery stalks, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced
10 garlic cloves
10 bay leaves
1 medium bunch fresh thyme, tied in a kitchen twine
3 apples, cored and cut into large wedges
3 oranges, cut into large wedges
1 cup dried dates
1/2 cup good quality orange marmalade

Mix together melted butter and grated zest from the 3 lemons.

Carefully separate the skin of the turkey from the meat, in the breast and legs area. Generously spread butter-lemon zest mixture under the skin and then arrange lemon slices under the skin, reserving any left over slices for later.

Mix together balsamic vinegar, honey and lemon juice. Set aside.

Sprinkle the outside and the cavity of the turkey with salt and pepper. Generously brush balsamic-honey mixture all over the turkey, including the cavity. Reserve remaining balsamic mixture.

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Spread the onions, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and thyme in a large roasting pan. Place turkey, breast side up, on vegetables and tie legs together with a kitchen twine.

Stuff turkey’s cavity with apples, oranges and half of the dried dates. Arrange remaining dried dates and any left over apples, oranges and the lemon slices over vegetables. Drizzle remaining balsamic mixture over vegetables.

Spread the orange marmalade on top and sides of the turkey and then cover.

Roast in preheated oven for 1 hour and then, using a large spoon, baste with any pan juices, cover and continue to roast turkey until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165º F, about 2 – 3 hours. During this time, baste turkey with the pan juices, every 20 minutes, making sure all areas are evenly basted. In the last roasting hour, remove the cover and baste more frequently.

I love the mix of flavors in these recipes (sweet, sour, salty, savory) and the combinations of these million flavors bursting in your mouth when you take the first bite. Every bite will send your taste buds into a frenzy.

So now you have no excuse for smothering your turkey in gravy. Leave that for the mashed potatoes and stuffing…

Peace and love and gobble gobble

Dadi

Dark chocolate yeast cake

My sister Susan has always been such a great baker. While my mom was the “executive chef” of our house, Susan was definitely the “executive pastry chef”. Miriam, my other sister, is also an amazing baker and I learned so much from both of them. Thanks to the women in my family, we’ve always had so many different types of baked goods in our house. My parents loved to entertain guests. Our home was always open and filled with hospitality for any guest that may visit. They loved to shower our guests with different cookies and freshly brewed Moroccan tea. This meant that my sister’s had their work cut out for them and that we would always have assorted cookies. I love remembering them all and how each would be unique and delicious. There were sandwich cookies filled with jam and dusted with powdered sugar, ground coconut half moon shaped cookies, dried dates filled cookies and many more.

For the Jewish Sabbath my sisters would make cakes. Susan would make this great chocolate cake with a rich chocolate frosting and a cake made from layers of soft meringue and nuts with a dense chocolate ganache that she cut into squares and kept frozen. They were like little ice cream sandwiches. I wanted to share with you this one simple, yet filled with sophisticated flavors, cake my sister Susan makes. It may look like cinnamon buns to some of you, but this one is more dense and less airy. She would fill this cake with chocolate but you could use anything from cinnamon, apples, pumpkin, cream cheese, dulce de leche or any other fillings your heart desires. This was my sister’s recipe, but if you’re going to make it, make it your own.

Here’s the recipe:

Dough:
6 envelopes of active dry yeast (15 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup warm water (between 105º – 115º F)
1/2 cup white sugar
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
6 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for brushing
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
4 large egg yolks
1 cup whole milk

Filling:
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup good quality cocoa powder
2 cups finely chopped good quality dark chocolate

Glaze:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water and mix well. Let stand for a few minutes until foamy, about 5 minutes. If mixture does not foam, start over with new yeast.

Rub white sugar and the zests of lemon and orange with the palms of your hands until sugar is fragrant. Transfer flour mixture to a bowl of a stand mixer and add flour, salt, brown sugar and white sugar mixture and whisk until well combined.

With mixer at low speed, add the butter and mix just until mixture resembles a coarse meal with some small size butter pieces. Add vanilla, milk and yeast mixture and mix just until combined.

Add yolks, one at a time and mix until soft dough forms. Dough may be a little sticky at this point, this is ok. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about an hour.

Line a 10 inch springform cake pan with parchment paper and brush the sides and bottom with soft butter.

Transfer dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently knead a few times to form a smooth ball. Roll dough with a lightly floured rolling pin into approximately 12 by 18 inch rectangle. Brush off excess flour, then spread evenly with butter.

Mix together brown sugar and cocoa powder and sprinkle evenly over dough. Repeat with dark chocolate.

Beginning with the side nearest you, roll up dough into a log, then pinch seam to seal. Cut log crosswise into 8 even slices. Arrange slices, cut sides visible, in the prepared cake pan. Place 1 slice in the center of the pan, then arrange remaining slices around it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350º F while cake is rising.

Bake the cake in middle rack for about 30 – 40 minutes, or until top is brown and puffed. Let cool while preparing the glaze.

Whisk together glaze ingredients until smooth and drizzle over cake while still hot.

Notes: instead of cutting the log into pieces, you could just bake the log the way it is. Just brush the log with egg wash before letting it rise again.

For an apple – cinnamon filling, peal, core and coarsely grate 6 apples (use a mix of different apples such as Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Fuji etc.), squeeze some of the juice out and then mix in 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 3/4 cup dark brown sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup each walnuts and raisins (optional). Mix just until combined and sprinkle over rolled dough.

Peace and love and chocolate.

Dadi

Fire roasted tomato salsa

Lots of people are asking me for some easy and simple recipes. The truth is, all my simple recipes slowly get more complicated the more I make them. I love too many flavors to ever settle on just one for a recipe, so I always experiment with recipes to make more sophisticated flavors. On the other hand, it’s hard not to appreciate the simple stuff, too. I wanted to be able to offer a simple recipe to people that want to try one of my dishes at home.

Plus, sometimes you can’t get too complicated and you just got to let the ingredients speak for themselves. My insanely delicious tomato salsa would satisfy everyone who wants to make salsa at home but was scared that it would be too complicated.

This is not an ordinary salsa though. This recipe involves roasting the tomatoes, along with the onions, garlic and jalapenos. The roasting brings out the flavors in the ingredients and gives this salsa a new dimension. Of course, fresh tomatoes salsa is great and refreshing, but roasting them gives them that fiery taste that most people love.

Feel free to experiment and add whatever you feel like to this recipe. You could replace the tomatoes with tomatillos, add green onion, add lime juice, add corn, fresh mint and even eggplants – the options are endless. Or, you could simply follow my recipe…

So here we go.

10 extra ripe fresh tomatoes (about 3 lbs), cut out the stem end and then cut into halves
1 large onion, cut into large cubes
2 green jalapenos cut into halves – you could use more or less, depending on how hot you want your salsa to be
10 (yes, 10) garlic cloves
1/4 cup oil
10 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin (use more if you like)
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped

Preheat the oven to 500º F.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Arrange tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, garlic and bay leaves on sheet pan, drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven until tomatoes, onions, jalapenos and garlic begin to brown (brown, not burn!), checking on them every few minutes and rotating/mixing as needed.

This should take about 30 minutes depending on your oven.

Remove from oven and let cool completely. Once cooled, discard bay leaves and transfer to a food processor or a blender and add cumin. Pulse a few times until salsa reaches the right consistency. I like the salsa more chunky so I don’t pulse it too much. If you like your salsa more runny, almost like a dip, then you can puree it more until it’s smooth.

Transfer to a bowl, add the cilantro and mix well. Check the seasoning and add more cumin, salt and black pepper if needed. Serve with your favorite chips.

This salsa is better served at room temperature. It keeps chilled for about 4 days, bring to room temperature before serving. My favorite thing about this recipe is that it is easy to experiment with. When you make it, be creative and make the recipe your own.

Peace and love and chunky salsa.

Dadi

My friend Tanya

Sometimes in life you come across a friend that understands you in a way that no one else does. The type of person you can spend time with and never ask each other “well…what should we do now that we’re together.” For me that person is my friend Tanya. I love to spend time with Tanya. We always find ourselves cooking together.

Everytime I go to Tanya’s house, we end up cooking something. She always has such fun and interesting foods to work with: fresh organic soft butter kept on the counter, all different types of cool and rustic breads in her bread box, and her refrigerator is always packed with fresh fruits, vegetables and assorted cheeses. Simple is the best ingredient for meals with friends.

I love how spontaneous Tanya is. She likes to hosts unexpected BBQ dinners or fun filled nights with good food, wine, champagne and lots of dancing. Tanya is an amazing dancer and I love to dance, so every dinner party turns into a dance party by the end of the evening. Whether its salsa dancing, belly dancing, or hip hop make sure to bring comfortable dancing shoes when she invites you to her house for dinner. Tanya and my cooking adventures don’t stop with dinner though. Sometimes we make breakfast. She makes this simple and delicious frittata with random vegetables and herbs.We would roast fingerling potatoes with Dijon mustard, butter, white wine and sea salt until they are super crispy and finish them before we even sit around the table. Tanya brews fresh mint or Jasmine tea, and serve it with agave syrup to go with our breakfast. Sometimes meals as simple as that can be made all the better with the care being put into the process of making the meal.

Tanya’s house is practically a must see for all of my friends and family members that comes to town. She has a way of making every visit a unique experience for the people that stop by her place. When my friend from Austria and I stopped by her house after spending the day at the beach, there was a wooden platter with different cheeses, sliced apples, crackers and fresh raspberries waiting for us. In another evening, I brought another friend along and she made us these simple, yet oh so delicious, sandwiches using one of the many types of bread she keeps in her bread box.

Tanya has a large garden with a big BBQ pit surrounded my chairs, so everyone can be part of the cooking. This is where she hosts her events (birthday parties, goodbye parties, weddings and more). I even dressed up as a belly dancer for one of her parties. Whenever there is a BBQ or a party going on in her backyard we grill, homemade sausages, fresh vegetables (like peppers, eggplants, asparagus, zucchini and yellow squash) on her grill and enjoy the open space. Our friend Stu usually takes care of the food, because he is a master when it comes to grilling (and many other things). She also serve steamed broccoli with an amazing dip to munch on while the food cooks and as always wine and lots of it.

I think one of my favorite things about Tanya is that she is not afraid to make food for me. Many people I know are afraid to invite me over for dinner because I am a chef, but the truth is that I really enjoy home cooked meals made with love and prepared with care. Simple is not the same as cheap or bad or lazy. I love when a few good things come together to make something great. Simplicity is beautiful.

Peace and love and roasted pineapple.

Dadi

Beer brewing

If you asked all my friends what kind of beer to bring to one of my parties, they would all tell you “Dadi doesn’t like beer”. So who would imagine that I would ever get into beer making. I used to not like beer at all and never understood how people could drink this bitter bubbly drink. I was strictly a wine and cocktail drinker, but a little effort from people who know what they were doing and my mind was changed. I don’t drink a lot, but I can definitely appreciate a good beer now.

This summer my friend Chris was looking for someone to brew beer with. I was of course happy to join him. I am always interested in finding out how to prepare new food, and in this case new beverages. My kitchen transformed into a mini brewery, the “DadiChris Brewery”. I was excited because I really wanted to learn this whole process and see how it all works. I’ve always been fascinated with learning about things that are made through a strict process, but have so much variety at the end. A sophisticated cake, beer, wine, candy and more.

We weren’t fancy with our preparation. We used a borrowed home made brewing kit. It was as if we wanted the beer, but didn’t want to use our own money for a kit. I felt I was in safe hands, considering the fact Chris had brewed a few successful batches before. More importantly I didn’t have to worry about my kitchen blowing up in a beer explosion or anything like that.

We made a wheat beer -  Hefeweizen with vanilla beans, orange peel and coriander. We were hoping for a lighter beer for the hot L.A. summer. Although the brewing process itself was more exciting for me than trying the end product. Here is the recap of what we did:

We heated up 3 gallons of water to 170º F
Then added 10 lbs of malted grains – 5 lbs malted barley and 5 lbs malted wheat. We also added a few cups of oatmeal to give some extra body.
After mixing the room temperature grains with the hot water, the mixture hit a strike temperature of 152º F.
At this temperature the enzymes in the malted grains are quite active, and they start breaking down the starches in the grains into a simpler sugar – maltose – which can be used by yeast.
After an hour at this temperature saccharification was complete and we moved the grains to a straining device (since our pot – or “mash ton” if we had proper equipment – didn’t have a screen or spigot).
We used hot water – about 180º F – to sparge the sugars from the grains.
This sweet water – or “wort” – was collected and brought to a boil.
1. Hops were then added to the boil (cascade and saaz varieties).
Some of the boil was used to steep our spices. We used real vanilla beans, fresh and dried orange peel and coriander seeds that we toasted.
After an hour of boiling, we chilled the wort to room temperature and transferred the liquid to a sterilized fermentation vessel, known as a “carboy.”
The yeast culture was then added to the cooled wort.
After a week or two, primary fermentation was complete.
Then we transferred the “green beer” to sanitized bottles, added about a teaspoon of dextrose (simple sugar) to each bottle, and capped them.
The fermentation of the sugar inside the sealed bottles creates the carbonation, as the CO2 produced by the yeast cannot leave the bottle as it did in the carboy.
Another week and it was good to drink.

The result – very light and refreshing homemade beer, that my friends and I loved so much. The experience was educational and enthralling for me. I’m definitely planning to experiment again (trying different techniques, adding new and interesting flavors: dark chocolate, chili and maybe some Oktoberfest beer too).

Anyone who calls themselves a beer enthusiast must try making their own beer. It is important to understand the whole process if you are really going to appreciate the end result.

Peace, love, and beer bellies.

Dadi

Malted grains

Toasted coriander seeds

Vanilla beans, coriander seeds and orange peel ready to be mixed with the “wort”

The big pots we used to boil the grains and steep the spices

Grains are being poured into a straining device

The “carboy” with the beer, before being transferred to the bottles

Sanitized bottles ready to be filled

Filling the bottles

Capping the bottles

Ready beer bottles