Baked Chicken Tenders - Pargiot/Young Chicken

My husband made the most delicious baked chicken fingers or "shnitzel" last week.  Not to insult his skill, but I think the trick was good chicken.  Instead of using thinly sliced or pounded chicken breast, my husband bought something we call פרגיות "pargiot," which usually translates as baby chicken.  My understanding is that this can refer to either a young chicken (less than 28 days old) or a boneless chicken thigh.  Similar cuts would be "spring chicken," though they can be bigger, or "Rock Cornish game hen," though they are usually sold whole.  (A Cornish game hen is just a fancy name for a hybrid chicken with stunted growth. Despite the name, they are domesticated and can be either male or female.) Google translate says pargiot is a pullet, a hen less than a year old; however, I imagine most chickens sold today are under a year old.  It's hard to find a nice old chicken these days, the the type traditionally used for coq au vin.  For more on the benefits of dark meat, check out my post "Are you a Poultry Racist?"

Here's what he did:
1. For close to 3 pounds of chicken (over 1 kilo) beat two eggs in a bowl.
2. Put lightly seasoned Panko Japanese bread crumbs on a plate or bowl. (He used half a bag.)
3. Spray baking sheet with oil.
4. Dip chicken tenders in eggs, shake off, then coat in bread crumbs.
5. Lay chicken on the baking sheet and spray top with oil.
6. Bake until golden and tender.

No need to stand over a pan of hot oil! And they reheat nicely. Enjoy!

Best 11 Podcasts of 2011

Happy New Year!  Time for me to share what I've been listening to.  As I said last year, in one of my most popular posts Best Podcasts of 2010 (PLUS Tutorial for Newbies),
Why am I sharing my favorite podcasts on my food blog? Because while I am patiently choosing produce, chopping veggies, babysitting beans, or washing dishes, I am usually listening to my MP3 player. Podcasts make boring chores fun. They inspire, inform, make me laugh, or just keep me company. I wanted to inspire you to check out a few podcasts.

If you need a tutorial on downloading, subscribing, and listening, or still don't know what a "podcast" is, read last year's post.  If you have a smart phone, you can probably listen to MP3s on it.  If you find that you are always connected to the Internet, you might like Stitcher Smart Radio (downloadable app); I haven't tried it, but my husband is hooked.
Here are my current favorites:

1. KCRW's Good Food - This podcast packs in more food for thought than any hour long program I can think of.  It's local to Santa Monica, California, but host Evan Kleiman also discusses international food and environmental issues.  Every episode is juicy and delicious and gives me ideas I can't wait to share.
   
2. Planet Money - I love hearing about how the world works from an economist's perspective.  Twice a week. Always interesting and presented for the masses.
3. Nutrition Diva - From the Quick and Dirty Tips series - Monica Reinagal, M.S., L.D./N. presents well researched solid information about food and nutrition.  I always learn something interesting.  "Nutrition Diva" inspires many of my posts, like my recent "Celebration of Coffee", and my herb posts.

Libyan Meatballs - Simplified "Mafrum"

There is a lovely tradition in many communities that after a women has a baby, people bring her family meals for a week or so.  One of the meals I received after our little guy was born included the most amazing turkey meat balls.  Below is the recipe from my friend with my notes and pictures.  Note there are two cooking options.

In "non-recipe" style, this dish is modified from Tripolitanian "Mafrum," a more complicated dish made with minced beef sandwiched in potatoes.  It is the traditional Erev Shabbat (Friday night) meal of the Libyan Jewish community.  It is usually served with couscous, but for a lower glycemic option, I recommend whole wheat couscous, bulgur wheat, or barley.

What's In It?

I often use prepackaged spice mixes.  Since you might not be able to find exactly what I'm using, I thought I'd share what is commonly in these mixes.  Different families, stores, and villages have different recipes, but the list below is a good representation of the common make-up, and most closely resembles what I'm using and what you should be able to find.  This is in preparation for a Yemenite meatball recipe I will post on Friday.

Hawaig Yemenite Seasoning from Food.com
6 1/2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1/4 cup cumin seed
2 1/2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 1/2 tablespoons green cardamom pods
1 1/2 teaspoons whole cloves
3 1/2 tablespoons ground turmeric

Za'atar Middle Eastern Seasoning Mix from About.com
1/4 cup sumac
2 tablespoons thyme
1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
2 tablespoons marjoram
2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon coarse salt

Buying Beef in Israel - Guest Post

Sign behind the meat counter at my grocery chain
showing meat cuts by number.

I don't eat much beef and I can't remember the last time I did a cow justice in the kitchen.  To help, I invited professional caterer Rochelle Shalet to share her expertise.  Rochelle runs Tastes of the World catering and produces a free newsletter publication, with interesting and useful information and recipes.  The information and chart below are from a previous Tastes of the World Newsletter.  If this interests you, I strongly recommend you email Rochelle to subscribe to her monthly newsletter.  

Meat may take a long time to cook, but in the winter you have the dual benefit of heating the house and cooking dinner at the same time.  My first meat shopping experience in Israel was quite bewildering. If you have recently made Aliyah or been here for years but never quite got to grips with all the cuts and names, this newsletter aims to provide a guide for when you are next standing at the meat counter.

Cheese Pancakes

Photo: Sarah Melamed of Food Bridge

Traditional potato latkes are a product of the Eastern European potato filled diet that Ashkenazi Jewry adopted.  But I never thought about the fact that the original macabees weren't eating potatoes.  According to Tastes of The World, "the Maccabees may have eaten a patty made of cheese and egg which was then fried in olive oil."

 Sarah Melamed of Food Bridge has a pancake recipe using cottage cheese, or you can use the recipe below for delicious dairy pancakes.  If you can't find "gvina levana" creamy white cheese, I suggest substituting regular cream cheese, yogurt, or a mix of the two.

Dulce de Leche

from www.nrg.co.il

To celebrate the heroic deed of Yehudit, who intoxicated the general of the opposing army with cheese and wine before slicing off his head, dairy products are often eaten on Chanukah.  What better way is there to enjoy dairy than caramelized?  My dad's family spent a couple generations in Argentina, so our family was eating "Dulce de Leche" before Ben and Jerry put it in ice cream.  It is also a popular sufgania (donut) filling here in Israel.  In Hebrew it is called "ribat chalav," literally milk jam.

Here in Israel I buy it in a jar on the shelf with peanut butter and jam (though the two are not commonly eaten together.)  It is sold in original, chocolate, vanilla. creme, and coffee flavors.  But my family in the United States makes it from a can.  And it's EASY!

7 Ways to Make Coffee at Home

Photo by Lotzman Katzman

Caffeine is a drug that often gets a bad wrap.  Hey, I give coffee a bad wrap!  But today I'd like to celebrate the benefits of coffee.

First, some fun facts I've heard recently:

I've been hiding the following gem of information from my caffeine addicted, instant coffee loving hubby. According to "Nutrition Diva", Monica Reinagel, M.S.,L.D./N...

It turns out that caffeine has a lot of positive health benefits and, despite what you may have heard, relatively few drawbacks.  People who drink coffee every day, for example, have a significantly lower risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s, colon cancer, gallstones, and Alzheimer’s disease. Now, that may not all be due to caffeine. Coffee contains a lot of volatile compounds and antioxidants that may have beneficial effects by themselves, or in combination with caffeine. Read or listen to the full article "Is Caffeine Bad for You? March 3, 2009"

In the November 26 episode of KCRW's Good Food (29 minutes in), Evan Kleiman interviews author Kevin Sinnott about the terms and implications of fair trade, direct trade, shade grown and organic coffees. Most of us have heard of "fair trade," but did you know "direct trade" benefits the farmers more? Did you know that coffee from many countries is organic for all practical purposes, but the farmers don't pay for certification?  Listen to the episode or check out the Kevin Sinnott's book to learn more.

Mike of Daily Shot of Coffee shares lovely pictures of coffee making devices and how they work in "10 Ways to Make Coffee."  The article "The 7 Ways to Brew Coffee" lists different grinds recommended for different methods - course to Extra fine.

In a celebration of coffee, I'd like to present a compilation of video tutorials of different coffee making techniques.  How do you like your coffee?

Pan Seared Salmon

We have a little issue with the electricity in our apartment.  If we have more than three major appliances on besides the fridge, we overload the circuit and half to go outside to the fuse box.  So we can't have the washer,  heater, hot water heater, and oven on at the same time.  This has caused me to cook more things on our gas stove top.  I recently made this delicious and very easy salmon from some odd shaped fresh salmon steaks.

I used my silicon brush to paint both sides of the salmon with a squirt of Hellmann's Mayonnaise garlic sandwich dressing, some dill, and coriander.  I cooked it in a non-stick pan until the flesh was light pink and opaque.  Then I removed the meat from the bone to make it easier for my family to eat.  I transferred the boneless, skinless fish back to the pan and reheated before serving.

You may also like Tarragon Salmon.

Israeli Treats: Crembo, Sufganiot, and lots of chocolate

Think you have a hard time staying away from some office Christmas cookies?  The Israeli junk food season begins in October!  In Israel "the holidays" generally refers to the "High Holidays" (Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah).  As soon as they are over around the end of October, the Chanuka goodies go on the shelf.

While the fall holidays come with their fair share of non-stop feasting, winter is full of sweets.  Unlike most mass produced candies which are available year round, these Israeli treats have a season. As the autumn pomegranates, dates, peaches, and plums go out of season, oranges, persimmons, and jelly donuts come in!