Smothered Pork Chops

From Williams Family Cookbook at WikiSpaces

Fry bacon in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to
paper towel-lined plate, leaving fat in saucepan (you should have 2 tablespoons bacon fat; if not, supplement with vegetable oil). Reduce heat to medium-low and gradually whisk flour into fat until smooth. Cook, whisking frequently, until mixture is light brown, about the color of peanut butter, about 5 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth in slow, steady stream; increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil, stirring occasionally; cover and set aside off heat.

Heat 1-tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over high heat until smoking, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, dry pork chops with paper towels and sprinkle with 1/2-teaspoon pepper. Brown chops in single layer until deep golden on first side, about 3 minutes. Flip chops and cook until browned on second side, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer chops to large plate and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon oil, onions, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and water to now-empty skillet. Using wooden spoon, scrape browned bits on pan bottom and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are softened and browned around the edges, about 5 minutes.

Stir in garlic and thyme and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer. Return chops to skillet in single layer, covering chops with onions. Pour in warm sauce and any juices collected from pork; add bay leaves.

Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until pork is tender and paring knife inserted into chops meets very little resistance, about 30 minutes.

Transfer chops to warmed serving platter and tent with foil. Increase heat to medium-high and simmer sauce rapidly, stirring frequently, until thickened to gravy-like consistency, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves, stir in parsley, and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Cover chops with sauce, sprinkle with reserved bacon, and serve immediately. Serves 4

Editor's Note: The serving suggestion for side dish from the source for this recipe is mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles. my suggestion would be collards & biscuits. i have not eaten pork for decades but i still remember nothing comparing to biscuits & gravy with porkchops.

Smothered Porkchops Recipe

3 ounces bacon (about 3 slices), cut into 1/4-inch pieces 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth vegetable oil 4 bone-in, rib-end pork chops , 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick Ground black pepper

2 medium yellow onions , halved pole-to-pole and sliced thin (about 3 1/2 cups) table salt 2 tablespoons water 2 medium cloves garlic , pressed through garlic press or minced (about 2 teaspoons) 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves 2 bay leaves 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves

Text Credit: Williams Family Cookbook At Wikispaces.com || Image Credit:farm5static

Rugelach

"Rugelach [Yiddish: רוגעלך], other spellings: rugelakh, rugulach, rugalach, ruggalach, rogelach [all plural], rugalah, rugala [singular], is a Jewish pastry of Ashkenazic origin."

"Rugelach is a traditional Jewish food that is eaten any time of year, including, but not limited to Shabbat. Despite the fact that it is not fried in oil, some sources indicate that they are traditional on Hanukkah."

"Traditional rugelach are made in the form of a crescent by rolling a triangle of dough around a filling. Some sources state that the rugelach and the French croissant share a common Viennese ancestor, crescent-shaped pastries commemorating the lifting of the Turkish siege in 1793 [this could be a reference to the Battle of Vienna in 1683]. This appears to be an urban legend however, as both the rugelach and its supposed ancestor [the Kipfel or Kipferl] pre-date the Early Modern era, and the croissant in its modern form did not originate earlier than the 19th century [see viennoiserie]."

"An alternative form is constructed much like a strudel or nut roll, but unlike those, the rolled dough and filling is cut into slices before baking."

The word rugelach is Yiddish The ach ending (ך) indicates plural, while the el (ל) can be a diminutive, as, for example, shtetlekh (שטעטלעך, villages) is the plural of shtetl (שטעטל, village), the diminutive of shtot (שטאָט, town). In this case, the root means something like "twist" so the translation would be "little twists," a reference to the shape of this cookie. In this context, note that rog (ראָג) means corner in Yiddish, so it is possible that a more accurate translation would be "little corners.""

"Alternatively, some assert that the root is rugel, meaning royal, possibly a reference to the taste. This explanation is in conflict with Yiddish usage, where the word keniglich (קעניגליךּ) is the dominant word meaning royal."

"Finally, in modern Hebrew, they are known as roglìt (רוֹגְלִית), a postbiblical Hebrew word

meaning "trailing vines". The Yiddish word ruglach probably came first. The modern Hebrew is probably a neologism, chosen for its similarity to the Yiddish and its descriptive meaning."

"Rugelach can be made with sour cream or cream cheese doughs, but there are also pareve variants with no dairy ingredients, so that it can be eaten with or after a meat meal and still be kosher. Cream cheese doughs are the most recent, probably American innovations, while yeast leavened and sour cream doughs are much older."

"The different fillings can include raisins, walnuts, cinnamon, chocolate, marzipan, poppy seed, or fruit preserves which are rolled up inside."

From Baking For The Cure

Naama And Asaf's Rugelach Recipe

For Dough: 5-6 cups flour 1/2 cup lukewarm water 3/4 cup lukewarm milk 2 tablespoons active dry yeast 150 gr. [5.3 oz] melted\soft butter

Zest from half a lemon 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 eggs 1 egg beaten [for egg wash*]

For Chocolate Filling: 50 gr.[1.8 oz] bittersweet chocolate 100 gr. [3.6 oz] butter 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 3-4 tablespoons sugar 1\2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Put all the dough ingredients in a bowl, combine to make dough, and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is soft and elastic. Wrap the bowl in a cling film or a plastic bag, let sit for an hour and a half, until the dough doubles its volume.

Melt chocolate and butter, add other ingredients for the filling. Chill for 15 minutes. Roll the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Slice dough into pieces shaped like right-angle triangles. Spread the filling on each piece. Roll the dough starting at the wide end toward the narrow. Egg wash rolled pieces. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.

If you don’t want to *egg wash the rugelach, 5-10 minutes before the baking ends, brush the rugelach with syrup that was made from 1:1 amounts of sugar and water. Yields about 30 pieces.

Text Credits:Wikipedia || BakingForTheCure || Image Credit:BakingForTheCure

Gefilte Fish ~ Happy Passover *

"Gefilte fish (/ɡəˈfɪltə fɪʃ/, from Yiddish: געפֿילטע פֿיש, german: gefüllter Fisch "stuffed fish") is a Ashkenazi Jewish dish made from a poached mixture of ground deboned fish, such as carp, whitefish and/or pike, which is typically eaten as an appetizer." [*Passover for the year 2012 begins at sunset Friday April 6th.]

"Although the dish historically consisted of a minced-fish forcemeat stuffed inside the fish skin, as its name implies, since the 19th century the skin has commonly been omitted and the seasoned fish is formed into patties similar to quenelles or fish balls. They are popular on Shabbat and Holidays such as Passover, although they may be consumed throughout the year."

"Traditionally, carp, pike, mullet, or whitefish were used to make gefilte fish, but more recently other fish with white flesh such as Nile Perch have been used, and there is a pink variation using salmon. There are even vegetarian variations."

"Ingredients require selecting a fish that is preferably at least 3 kilograms [6.6 lb] in weight. Also required are 1 kilogram [2.2 lb] of brown cooking onions, 200 millilitres [6.8 US fl oz] of vegetable oil [traditionally sunflower oil], salt, pepper, and five eggs."

"The fish is deboned and the flesh mixed with ingredients, including bread crumbs or matza meal, and fried onion. Cooking takes as much as 3 hours."

"Gefilte fish may be slightly sweet or savory. Preparation of gefilte fish with sugar or black pepper is considered an indicator of whether a Jewish community was Galitzianer [with sugar] or Litvak [with pepper], hence the boundary separating northern from southern East Yiddish has been dubbed "the Gefilte Fish Line"."

"This is largely attributed to less availability of fresh fish in the inland areas before refrigeration, with the sugar used to 'mask' the sometimes less-than-fresh taste of the fish"

"The post-WW2 method of making gefilte fish commercially takes the form of patties or balls, or utilizes a wax paper casing around a "log" of ground fish, which is then poached or baked.

"Low-salt, low-carb, low-cholesterol, sugar-free, and kosher varieties are available. The U.S. Patent #3,108,882 "Method for Preparing an Edible Fish Product" for this jelly, which allowed mass-market distribution of gefilte fish, was granted on October 29, 1963 to Monroe Nash. Gefilte fish are also sold frozen in 'logs'."

"When this product is sold in cans and glass jars, and packed in jelly made from fish broth sodium is a relatively high 220–290 mg/serving."

From Equal Opportunity Kitchen

Baba's Gefilte Fish Recipe

[A meat grinder is needed for this recipe] 5 lb. pickerel fillets [a combination of carp pickerel and whitefish] 2 large onions [divided] 4 large carrots [divided]

1 parsnip 4 eggs [rule of thumb is 1 egg per pound of fish if the fish is filleted skin off] 1/2 cup grated ground almonds [divided]

4 handfuls of matzoh meal [approximately 1 cup] 1 Tbsp Salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1/2 cup sugar 6 cups water

In a large stock pot slice 1 large onion and 2 carrots, salt,1/4 c sugar, 6 cups water. Peel 2nd onion and cut roughly to fit meat grinder. Remove skin from fillets [it is suggested to request your fish monger to do this]. Process carrot and parsnip on fine grater or grate with a box grater. Put cleaned fish fillets and 2nd onion through meat grinder. Add carrots, parsnip and onion to fish. Add salt, pepper, eggs and 1/2 cup of sugar. Mix ingredients together - should be loose but hold together. If it feels too loose, add a little matzoh meal to the mix.

At this point you may either form your patties or refrigerate the mix for 30 minutes to let it set. With wet hands, create patties by gently rolling in a circular motion and shape like an egg. Start pot to heat as you're shaping and layering your patties. Very gently lower them into the pot. Be sure not to disturb them until they're cooked and cooled.

Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer, lid on for approximately 2 hours. After the first hour, sprinkle the remaining ground almonds to the pot. To cool, put pot into a sink of cold water - about 1/2 way up the pot. Once the fish is completely cooled, move to a serving platter and refrigerate until time to serve. Yield on 5 lb. of fish is 24 patties. Serve with red horseradish.


Text Credits: Wikipedia || EqualOpportunityKitchen || Image Credit: Wikipedia