So...Shevuot must be around the corner as well...and as most people have a dairy- meal on that holiday, lets have some suggestions and ideas...some people make fish their main meal for that holiday...I really think it should be dairy...like, lots of veggies and cheeses...lets have a few easy, sure-fire recipes we can use...or not!
With drinks, serve some "mush" with crackers, (when my children were young, we had 'mush' No:1 or 2 or 7...everything mixed together became a 'mush'; egg salad was the best 'mush' of all!)...or a cheese board with sliced pears, celery sticks and cherry tomatoes?...Then, start with a salad: any mixed salad is always great, and everyone enjoys it; if you want a more substantial one, add some cooked wheat to your mix of salad-greens, etceteras...but, for a change, have you tried fresh figs and goat cheese?...some greens onto a plate, fresh figs cut into four, as much goat cheese as you think the figs will enjoy, and a dressing of oil, lemon juice and a bit of honey?...OR, endives...yes! We have them here now; separate the leaves mix with some olive oil and lemon juice; mix grated Roquefort with some yogurt, pour onto the endives, salt lots of freshly ground pepper...crushed walnuts on that...perfect! You can serve a baked veggie-pie as a fist course; grated zucchini, onion, dill, cheese, eggs, salt-pepper, bake!...or broccoli or any veggie you can think of?...a square of that on a plate with a sauce of your choice...lovely way to start a meal...
I made two mushroom dishes, as main courses, which came out very well and were a success. One was baked in paper; you know how we sometimes do it with fish? I do not...because I hate the mess of the papers on the table, but some people find it very elegant to serve food wrapped as parcels...so, I did try this one; very simple actually...boil some potatoes; remove the stems of mushrooms, quite a lot of mushrooms!...(use the crushed stems in soups or sauces)...it depends on how many parcels you are making, but as it's a main course, you need quite a pile of mushrooms; into a pan goes butter, or olive oil, crushed garlic, a lot of it...the mushrooms, a good dollop of vodka goes into you and into the pan, salt and pepper, mix-mix; just get them going on a high flame for two-three minutes...they need not be cooked through because they will be baked. Now dump them into a large bowl and add a huge handful of chopped parsley, the potatoes, in slices or cubes, green peas, salt pepper and another slug of vodka...yes, into you as well... or not! Now: you have a round disk of baking paper, fill half of it, flip the other half over and "crimp" them together...bake in a 350 oven for 20 minutes...it was delicious and filling.
The other one is mushroom "blintzes"; actually, you can use cooked pasta squares, IF you love making fresh pasta squares...I do not!...then you can make blintzes...a stack of them will do; you can always freeze them...I do not like that job either; SO: I found blintzes in the supermarket; ready made, lovely and fresh, and here is what I dood...did!... had some more vodka...chop up mushrooms, very coarsely; into a pan goes butter, crushed garlic and fresh thyme; mix-mix and add the mushrooms and yap: gin...just a few minutes will do; let this cool; then add an egg or eggs, depends how much you are making, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese, more gin?...salt pepper...you want a firm 'mush'...now; make square parcels: blince, mushrooms in the middle, sides together, other sides together, if need be, use a toothpick to secure sides; into a well buttered Pyrex they go, with the seem down...more grated Parmesan on top, and slip them into a 350 oven, for 20 minutes. I served two per plate, on spinach, which I made in the previous column, remember? Make it the same way...perfect and a beautiful dish, delicious, as well.
How about a cauliflower no-base-pie? Different and great; you boil the cauliflower in the usual way and separated into florets; then drain well and dry on paper towels...in a bowl mix 6 eggs, 4 tablespoon creme-fraiche, one of dijon mustard, and a bunch of chopped chives; mix-mix very well and add as much of grated smoky mozzarella...or any other "smoky" cheese you may prefer... butter a pan well, cauliflower into pan, pour this smoky mess all over it, and into a 350 oven it goes for 30-35 minutes...you can slice it like a pie, and IF you did not serve a salad as first course, serve one with this...or a simple baked potato?...mashed potatoes with roasted garlic?...Fab...
As for dessert, how can you not make a cheesecake?...you will be sued!
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Debbie Morgenstern is the author of "My Life in Israel" and other short stories.
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