Holidays 2007

  Try these new recipes for the eight days of Hanukkah from Chef Erwin Drechsler, owner of "erwin cafe" on the North Side.


•   Apple-noodle kugel with warm ginger-caramel sauce
•   Roasted Beet-Horseradish Slaw
•   Orange Sponge Cake with Caramelized Pears
•   Salmon Cakes with Yogurt-Cucumber Garlic Sauce
•   Curried Sweet Potato Latkes
•   Sweet-And-Sour Brisket with shallots and new potatoes
•   Chopped Liver
•   Sweet-And-Sour Chicken Thighs with Carrots



Apple-noodle kugel with warm ginger-caramel sauce

Serves 6-8

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

¾ cup golden raisins or currants
1 Lb. package wide egg noodles
6 large eggs
1 cup small curd cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
½ Lb. cream cheese
½ cup plus 2 TB. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced
2 oz. butter

Topping:

1/3 cup coarsely crushed corn flakes
1-1/2 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
4 Tbs. melted butter

1. In a 10" skillet melt the butter and sauté the apples over high heat. Add 2 Tbs. sugar, toss and sauté apples until golden. Apples should remain slightly firm. Lay apples on a cookie sheet and allow to cool.
2. In a large pot of salted water cook the noodles for 8 minutes or just until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs; add the cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla, raisins, cinnamon and salt, and mix well. Add the drained noodles to this mixture and gently combine.
4. Butter a 13" x 9" baking dish
5. Transfer ½ of the noodle mixture into the baking dish. Scatter the sautéed apples over same and top with the remaining noodle mixture.
6. In a small bowl combine the corn flakes, sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle this mixture over the noodles and drizzle with melted butter.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until set. Cool and cut into squares. Serve
with warm caramel sauce.


Ginger-Caramel Sauce

Yield: 2 cups

1 cup sugar
4 Tbs. water
2-1/2 cups heavy cream
2 Tbs. grated and finely chopped ginger
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. sweet butter

1. In a small, heavy saucepan combine sugar, water and ginger. Cook to dissolve the sugar over medium heat. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Cook without stirring 6-8 minutes, until the mixture turns a dark amber.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly add the cream. Caution! The mixture will boil violently.

3. Return to medium heat and cook until thick and smooth 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and butter. Strain through a chinois.



Roasted Beet-Horseradish Slaw

Yield: 3 cups

1 lb. medium beets, cleaned and trimmed
½ cup prepared white horseradish, drained
Juice of one lemon
1 TB. Sugar
1 tsp. Salt

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wrap the beets individually in aluminum foil. Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes or until easily pierced with a knife. Allow to cool at room temperature.
2. Unwrap the beets, peel and grate them on the largest wholes of a hand grater. Use long strokes to get long strands. Place the grated beets in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the beets and mix thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for one day.



Orange Sponge Cake with Caramelized Pears

Yield: One 10 inch cake

Cake:

1-1/2 cups egg whites, about 12 large
1-1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup cake flour, sifted
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-1/2 tablespoons chopped orange rind (colored part only)
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put the egg whites in a large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium speed until frothy. Add the cream of tartar. Increase to high speed and continue to mix, slowly pouring in the sugar. Continue whipping until the whites have increased to several times their original size and they form soft droopy white peaks
2. Remove the bowl from the machine and fold in the flour, salt, vanilla extract, orange rind and lemon juice
3. Gently scoop the batter into an ungreased 10 inch angel food cake pan. Bake until top is light brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes
4. When the cake has finished baking, invert the pan and allow it to cool. If the pan does not have legs to rest on when inverted, invert the inner tube of the pan onto a bottle. When the cake is completely cool, run a knife around the inside edge of the pan and remove from the pan
5. Serve the cake with warm or room temperature caramelized pears

Pears:

8 ripe pears, peeled, cored, sliced 1/3 inch thick
¼ cup sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons brandy
pinch of salt

Combine the pears and the remaining ingredients in a 12 inch skillet. Cook over medium high heat until the sugar starts to caramelize lightly and the pears are soft but still retain their shape, 10 to 15 minutes. As they begin to color, stir the pears gently to prevent them from burning.



Salmon Cakes with Yogurt-Cucumber Garlic Sauce

Serves 4-6

Salmon cakes:

1 pound salmon fillet, boned and skinned
½ cup soft fresh challah bread crumbs
1 large egg
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 scallions, trimmed; the white bulbs and light green
stems minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon grainy mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
several dashes of tobasco sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil

1. Gently poach, grill or roast the salmon until flaky and cooked through but not dry; allow to cool and break up into small pieces
2. In a medium size bowl mix the following: bread crumbs, egg, mayonnaise, scallions, parsley and seasonings. Add the cooked salmon and gently mix together; form the mixture into six patties
3. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. When the oil begins to lightly smoke, add the salmon cakes and cook until browned, about five minutes on each side


Yogurt-cucumber-garlic sauce:

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
2 cups plain yogurt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dill, minced
1/4 cup sliced scallions
juice of 2 lemons
salt and cayenne pepper to taste

Combine above ingredients, mix thoroughly and adjust seasoning. Refrigerate overnight.



Curried Sweet Potato Latkes

16 three-inch pancakes

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled
½ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cayenne powder
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 large eggs, beaten
½ cup milk (approximately)
Peanut oil for frying

1. Grate the sweet potatoes coarsely. In a separate bowl mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, cayenne pepper, curry powder, cumin, and salt and pepper.
2. Add the eggs and just enough milk to the dry ingredients to make a stiff batter. Add the potatoes and mix. The batter should be moist but not runny; if too stiff, add more milk.
3. Heat ¼ inch of peanut oil in a frying pan until it is barely smoking. Drop in the batter by tablespoons and flatten. Fry over medium-high heat several minutes on each side until golden. Drain on paper towels and serve.



Sweet-And-Sour Brisket with shallots and new potatoes

8 servings

Roasting the meat uncovered during the last hour allows the sauce to reduce. The brisket can be made two days ahead.

1 ½ cups orange juice
5 large soft dates (such as Medjool), pitted
4 large garlic cloves, peeled
½ teaspoon ground cloves

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 pounds onions, thinly sliced16 large shallots, peeled
2-1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth
14 ¾ - to-5 pound flat-cut (also called first cut) brisket, trimmed of all but ¼ inch of fat
1 ½ cups canned tomato puree

16 1 to 1 ½-inch-diameter red-skinned new potatoes, scrubbed

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Puree first 4 ingredients in blender until smooth. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large wide ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and whole shallots. Sauté until onions are deep golden and shallots begin to brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer shallots to small bowl; reserve. Add chicken broth to onions; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Pour onion mixture into large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons oil to same pot. Sprinkle brisket on all sides with salt and tomato puree and orange juice mixture. Bring to boil, stirring to blend sauce.

Cover pot; bake brisket 2 hours. Add shallots and potatoes. Cover; bake 1 hour. Uncover; bake until brisket is tender, occasionally spooning sauce over, about 1 hour longer. Let rest 30 minutes. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled.)

Scrape sauce off brisket. Transfer brisket to work surface; slice thinly across grain, trimming any fat, if desired. Overlap hot slices on platter or cold slices in 13 x 9 x 2 inch glass baking dish. Surround with shallots and potatoes. Rewarm sauce. Spoon some sauce over. Rewarm brisket, if necessary, in 350 degree F oven until heated through. Serve, passing remaining sauce separately.



Chopped Liver

General rules for making chopped liver:

1. Use only chicken liver to make this dish. Do not use beef or calf liver. Their flavors are too strong.
2. Use schmaltz. Do not substitute oil or any other fat. If you are concerned about cholesterol, eat chopped liver less often, but eat the uncompromised version. Anyway, the amount of schmaltz per portion of chopped liver in this recipe is the equivalent of no more than one pat of butter.
3. Chop all the ingredients by hand rather than by machine. Chopped liver should not look like a puree or a pâté, but rather coarse and rustic.
4. Eat it in small portions – it is very rich – and make it only for special occasions. Then you eat it less often and enjoy it more when you do.

1 pound chicken livers (fresh, not previously frozen)
2 cups finely chopped onions
3 hard-boiled eggs
6 Tablespoons schmaltz
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons grainy mustard

Preheat broiler to 500 degrees. Broil livers on broiler rack 4 inches from the heat source for 3 minutes on each side. Remove from the oven and finely chop livers.

Melt 6 Tablespoons schmaltz in skillet and sauté onions over medium/low heat until soft and just beginning to brown. Add chopped liver pieces and sauté 1 minute more. Remove from heat.

Pour contents of skillet into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, chop the eggs and add them to the liver mixture. Mix in the salt, pepper and grainy mustard. Mix everything together until well blended. Chill at least 3 hours in the refrigerator before serving.



Sweet-And-Sour Chicken Thighs with Carrots

4 to 6 main-course servings
Serve this chicken with potatoes or matzo farfel, and you've got a great meal.

8 small chicken thighs with skin and bone (2 ½ to 2 ¾ lb total), trimmed of excess fat
2 teaspoons salt
1 ¼ teaspoons paprika
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into ¼-inch-wide strips
1 lb carrots (6 medium), cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons minced garlic
½ cup water
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons mild honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro

Pat chicken dry. Stir together 1 ½ teaspoons salt with paprika, cinnamon, and pepper and rub into chicken.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in 2 batches, turning over once, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken as browned to a plate.

Discard all but 3 tablespoons fat from skillet, then add onion and carrots. Sprinkle with remaining ½ teaspoon salt and pepper to taste and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.

Return chicken, skin sides up, to skillet, nestling it into vegetables. Stir together water, lemon juice and honey until blended and add to skillet, then cook over moderately low heat, covered, until chicken is cooked through and carrots are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. If necessary, skim fat from sauce, then add salt to taste. Sprinkle with herbs just before serving.


Biography:
Erwin and Cathy Drechsler began their restaurant career with Metropolis, an American and gourmet carryout in Chicago's Old Town neighborhood. Ater five years, they wanted a bigger challenge and were approached by a developer to open Metropolis 1800, an American Bistro on the growing Clybourn Corridor. Menus reflected fusion and Mediterranean styles, earning stellar local and national reviews including the ongoing Wine Spectator Award of Excellence. In 1994, the couple returned to their Chicago neighborhood roots with the opening of "erwin." The café features Urban Heartland cuisine, which reflects America's melting pot of cultures and cuisines. "erwin" is located at 2925 N. Halsted.