Happy Easter & Eggs

Passover Seder Plate
Which Includes The Beitzah (Roasted Egg)
I would like to wish a very Happy Easter to all of you who are celebrating tomorrow! May it be a glorious day for you and your families, full of blessings and love.
For our family, Passover began at sundown this past Wednesday. Needless to say, I had been quite busy shopping, cooking and preparing for Passover. I look forward to sharing more about our Passover meal in an upcoming post. Today, in honor of Passover and Easter, I thought it might be neat to put together a compilation of some of the egg dishes that have been featured on Taste With The Eyes.

My nephew, Stone, peels the hard-boiled eggs for Passover.
Passover
The Beitzah (roasted egg) on the Seder Plate reminds us of the the festival offering brought by our ancestors to the Temple in Jerusalem. It is a symbol of life and the perpetuation of existence. At the Seder in our home, we serve hard-boiled eggs with the first course, which can be dipped in salt water, representative of the Israelites’ tears over suffering and slavery.
Easter
Throughout history, eggs have been associated with Easter celebrations. The egg is seen as symbolic of the grave and life renewed or resurrected by breaking out of it. A red colored-egg symbolizes the blood of Christ redeeming the world and human redemption through the blood shed in the sacrifice of the crucifixion. The egg itself is a symbol of resurrection: while being dormant it contains a new life sealed within it. (from Wikipedia)
If you have something to share regarding the symbolism of the egg in your religion or culture please leave a comment, it would be very interesting to hear about it.


PASSOVER ROUND-UP 2009

It’s not too late to join in the Passover Round-up 2009! It will post on April 17th. If you participated in a Seder this year, I hope you will join us. Please send me a photo of your Seder plate, Passover dish(es), or your Passover table. There are no rules to take part, just email your photo to tastewiththeeyes AT cox DOT net, and tell me a little about you and your Seder photo.
Wishing you a very special Easter.
“Easter spells out beauty, the rare beauty of new life.”
– S.D. Gordon

P.S. In honor of Easter, you might enjoy the beautiful photos and interesting text on the blog of my dear friend of many years, Father Adam. It’s called Monastery Daily Photo: Views From and Within a Roman Catholic Monastery in Northern California.

Kasha Varnishkes

Kasha Varnishkes
Kasha & Bows

One cup of kasha (granulated roasted whole grain buckwheat) is toasted in a dry non-stick pan for a few minutes, then cooled. A beaten egg is added, stir to coat all the grains. Cook briefly over medium heat until the egg has dried. Add 2 c. seasoned hot chicken stock plus 1 T. vegetable oil, stir, cover and cook on low heat until the liquid is absorbed.
Meanwhile sauté a chopped yellow onion in  2 T. vegetable oil, or in schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), as my Aunt Edythe did. When the onion is nice and browned, toss with al dente bowtie pasta and then add the kasha. This is usually served as a side dish but along with a salad, makes a tasty weeknight meal as well.

Yesterday was the anniversary of my father’s passing, 38 years ago. I always light a Yahrzeit candle in his memory on this day, say a personal prayer, and spend a few moments “in conversation” with my Dad.

This year I made Kasha Varnishkes, like my Aunt Edythe (his sister) used to make and served it on my parents’ old china, Franciscan Apple. Also known as Kasha & Bows, this is a traditional Russian Jewish dish, one no doubt taught to my Aunt by my Nana, who was from Kiev.
I find the annual act of lighting the Yahrzeit candle on this anniversary very comforting, and along with the cooking of traditional Jewish foods, it helps to keep the memory of my Dad, Aunt, Nana and Papa alive.
Now, Passover is just around the corner, starting at sundown on April 8. And like last year, I am excited to host a Round-up of Passover Photos. If you are participating in a Seder this year, I hope you will join in. Please send me a photo of your Seder plate, Passover dish(es), or your Passover table. If you would like to use my Passover Round-up badge in your blog post, please feel free. There are no rules to take part, just email your photo to tastewiththeeyes AT cox DOT net, and tell me a little about you and your Seder photo. I am hoping that those readers without a blog will participate as well. Let’s share! I will post the round-up after the eighth day of Passover. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Pesach.

Pom Prosecco & Popcorn

Pom Prosecco
Popcorn with Truffle Oil

Pop regular popcorn in canola or peanut oil in a heavy, covered pot. Ratio: 3 T. oil to 1/2 c. popcorn kernels. Add fine sea salt then drizzle the warm popcorn with truffle oil. Extraordinary!
I don’t make popcorn very often, and in recent years, when I did, it was in the microwave. I am so glad to have rediscovered the old-fashioned way to make popcorn. I want to thank my blogger friend Thatgirl for the suggestion. Simple and really really good.

Great start to a cocktail party!
A Pom Prosecco was a great complement to our Miso Glazed Swordfish luncheon too. This is a mighty tasty cocktail, and food-friendly. Simply pour a few ounces cold pomegranate juice into a flute and add cold Prosecco, a dry Italian sparkling wine. Personally, I am not a huge fan of adding juice to Champagne, but Prosecco is different. The method used to produce Prosecco is much less costly than Champagne, yet still produces a high quality dry sparkling wine, which is meant to be consumed young.
And POM Wonderful is a perfect addition because it is not too sweet, gives the Prosecco that awesome pink color and depth of flavor, and you can take an inexpensive bottle of this bubbly and have a really nice fresh, crisp, refreshing drink. I purchased this bottle of Prosecco at Trader Joe’s for $5.99 US.
Thanks to the folks at POM Wonderful for the gift of the delicious anti-oxidant juice! I highly recommend a visit to the POM website to check out the pomegranate recipes and beautiful food photos too. I definitely look forward to using this juice in future recipes.
Browsing through my photo library recently and noticed a recurring theme, Glassware. Thought it might be fun to compile some of the photos here:
Glassware

  1. Alex, Las Vegas
  2. La Mar, San Francisco
  3. Cline Cellars, Sonoma, California
  4. Guy Savoy, Las Vegas
  5. Per Se, New York City
  6. Gramercy Tavern, New York City
  7. Cline Cellars, Sonoma, California
  8. La Mar, San Francisco
  9. Per Se, New York City

Cheers!

Miso Glazed Swordfish, Cannellini Asian Slaw

Miso Glaze
  • 1/2 c. Miso 
  • 2 T. Sake
  • 1 T. Sugar
Thanks to Jenn,  and the Foodie BlogRoll for the gift of a subscription to Saveur. In the very first issue I received, there were many exciting recipes and ideas including this one of Miso Glazed Fish, issue No. 118.

To accompany Saveur’s miso glazed fish recipe we prepared an Asian-style slaw with cannellini beans and miso sesame dressing.
Dressing:

  • 1 t. Miso (I use Akamiso, red soybean paste)
  • 1/4 c. Toasted Sesame Oil
  • 1 T. Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 1 t. Soy Sauce (low-sodium)
  • 1 t. Fresh Yuzu (or lemon) Juice  
  • Black & White Sesame Seeds 
  • Minced Ginger
Whisk first five ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste, and adjust ingredients to your liking as some miso is more salty than others, you might even want to add a little sugar. Add a pinch of minced ginger and a small amount of sesame seeds for color.

Cannellini Asian Slaw
Miso Sesame Dressing

Cannellini beans are tossed with shredded napa and red cabbage, sliced scallions, shredded carrots, radish sprouts. Tossed with Miso Sesame Dressing.
My Legume Love Affair Contribution:  It continues to be one the best monthly events, created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook. This month hosted by Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. Say Laurie, I’ve been reading about the eruption of Mt. Redoubt on the Kenai Peninsula, spent some time there in the ’90’s! Beautiful place indeed! Hope everyone remains safe.
Are you a bean aficionado? Make sure to check out Legume Love!

Fresh swordfish steaks are seasoned with fresh ground pepper then coated with Panko breadcrumbs, sautéed in canola oil until a nice brown crust forms. Flip the swordfish and brown the other side.

Spoon miso glaze on the browned crust and cook briefly under the broiler until the miso glaze is caramelized.

Miso Glazed Swordfish and Cannellini Asian Slaw

My dear dear longtime friend Charlotte and her husband Mark are in So Cal for a few days to visit family and a friend (me). 
Charlotte and Mark drove to my town, San Pedro, where we checked out a neat landmark at the Port of Los Angeles: The SS Lane Victory, a WW II cargo ship. Then went back to my house and cooked this miso glazed swordfish, together, like old times. 
You see, she and I met as prep cooks in a restaurant called the Ute City Bank in Aspen, Colorado in 1978. (Over 30 years ago, how is that possible?) We became friends, then roommates, cooked together, skied and partied together and then went our separate ways…pursuing our careers and our lives. And we remain forever forever friends. Love you KH (my nickname for her) Charlotte!

Deconstructed Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan
Egg Noodles, Micro Greens

A little after 3 PM today there was a knock on my office door. It was first-grader Myles. He came to thank me for a “really good” dinner last night. He told me he ate “a lot.”
Myles’ dad is my colleague and his wife just had a baby. To help out, we all signed up for days where we fix dinner for their family. We bring the packaged dinner to work in the morning and my colleague takes it home with him at the end of the day. My day was yesterday. I thought of preparing something green for St. Patrick’s Day, but um, Myles and his little brother, a pre-schooler, might not be too impressed.

So I called my sister-in-law, Kristy, to get her recommendation as she and my brother have two boys just about the same ages of Myles and his brother. I told her I was thinking about turkey meatloaf, and she nixed that right away, my nephews would not be impressed with any kind of meat loaf. She recommended Chicken Parmesan.

Upon further consideration, this was a brilliant idea. I would fix all the components separately. Mom and Dad could put it all together and heat it up in the oven as a casserole. Perhaps Myles would like just the chicken, with the melted cheese, cut into strips, like gourmet chicken fingers. And the little one, he could eat noodles with butter? Right? And it turns out, that is how it went down. Myles told me they added more Parmesan cheese too, perfect!

Procedure:
Chicken – Organic chicken breasts were pounded thin, seasoned with salt and pepper, dusted with flour, dipped in egg, coated with a mixture of panko bread crumbs and Parmesan, sautéed in olive oil. Transferred to a platter then topped with a slice of Provolone.
Marinara Sauce – Finely chopped onions and garlic are sautéed in olive oil with red pepper flakes, add a little dried basil and oregano, then crushed peeled tomatoes, simmer for about 30 minutes, salt and pepper to taste.
Noodles – Curly egg noodles cooked al dente.
And Micro Greens – my new favorite garnish.
Congratulations to the new big brother for a second time, Myles, and his family on the arrival of their beautiful new baby! And a big thanks to Kristy for the awesome idea!