Variation to Whole Wheat Rugelach Recipe

I have made a new variation of The Whole Wheat Rugelach Recipe and its made a amazing difference.  The chocolate ones tend to be a little too rich.  What I have decided to change it instead of the Chocolate, I filled them with a combination of:

Cinnamon
Sugar
canola oil (to made the combination a paste)
Pure vanilla extract

Try it out.  You will be amazed.
Original Recipe Post Here

Cucumber Salad

 

This recipe actually isn't my own recipe but more my wife's.  So we can call this one, direct from the Wife's Kitchen.  It is so good that I had to post it.  This is a tangy, lightly sweet cucumber salad.  I remember going to a great Brooklyn, NY diner when I was a child and they put something similar to this on the table.  Ever since I have been trying to match it.  To be honest, I think my wife has made it even better than the diner.  I wish I can take credit for it, but I can't.  It makes an amazing side dish accompaniment to any sandwich for lunch, or a nice night of grilling burgers and dogs. To be honest though, I can eat it with anything.  This will officially be the easiest recipe I have ever posted on The Husband's Kitchen so nobody has any excuse in not trying this recipe.  And even better, its Kosher, Gluten Free, and Extremely Low in Fat.

Ingredients needed for the BEST Cucumber Salad

- 4 Kirby Cucumbers (Cut thin)

- 1/2 Vidalia or Sweet Onion (Cut thin and in quarters)

- 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar (1/4 cup per cucumber)

- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil

- 1/8 cup cane sugar

- 2 pinches of salt

- 1 pinch pepper

- Fresh or Dried Dill to your liking (I don't like too much)

Put the Cucumbers and Onions with Vinegar, Oil, sugar, salt, pepper, and dill in a bowl.  Mix well.  Put in a air tight storage container or mason jar.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.  Serve Cold.  

Notes on the Recipe:

- Though I am sure regular cucumbers would be just fine, there is something about Kirby cucumbers that make this even better.

- Make sure to use any variation of sweet onion or else it will make dish quite bitter.

- I find that if you cut the cucumbers and onions thin, the texture is better and the cucumbers absorb the flavors of the vinegar better.  I use the thinnest setting on my mandoline slicer to cut these evenly.

Healthy Eating and Good Eats!!!

Whole Wheat Blondies (ala mode optional)

Blondies were always one of my favorite types of cookies.  Or is it a cake?  Personally I am not really sure.  But it doesn't really matter.  All that matters is that they taste good.  One problem...They aren't the healthiest of options.  I haven't made them a whole lot healthier but added whole grains to the recipe to allow for a little less guilt.  Less guilty, but ALL the flavor of regular blondies.  This recipe is extremely easy to prep and entails only a few ingredients.  Try out the recipe.  I guarantee you will enjoy!!  And to all my kosher readers, this recipe is also kosher!!  Unlike some of my recipes, this has exact measurements.

Ingredients needed for less guilty Blondies

- 1 stick of unsalted organic butter (melted)

- 1 cup packed organic light brown sugar

- 1 egg

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (The REAL stuff please)

- 1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

- Whatever fillings you would like (I use white and dark chocolate chips and chopped walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix melted butter and light brown sugar until combined completely.  Slowly add egg and vanilla while constantly mixing to make sure egg doesn't begin to cook if butter is still hot.  Once mixed to a smooth liquid add the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  Add whatever fillings you desire.  There are 2 ways you can cook these.  Put dough in a greased 8x8 inch cake pan or do what I do:

Go out and buy one of these (Kitchen Essentials® from Calphalon® Bar Pan)

Bake blondies for 20 minutes if you like them to be moister/softer, or bake for 30 minutes for a more crispier/drier blondie. 

Notes on recipe:

- Filling suggestions: White chocolate chips, Dark chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts, raisins, m&ms, reeses pieces, or whatever your heart desires.

- I certainly think the moister/softer blondie is better but feel free to try anything.

- Allow blondies to completely cool before cutting them or taking them out of the pan.

- One of my friends suggested this and it was great.  Put the blondies in the fridge and let them get hard.  You might be surprised but they happen to make for an even better treat.  And it take longer to eat.  Thanks Justin.

- The Bar Pan works amazing.  I highly suggest it.  It can also be used for easy less messy brownies. Oops did I say brownies.  Not really supposed to mention those while talking blondies.  

Enjoy!!!

New Share Buttons

Below each post you will now see share buttons allowing you to share the posts to Email, Twitter, Facebook, etc...Please take advantage of these and share my Tips/Recipes/Wine Reviews with everyone!!  And as always keep commenting on this page and the Facebook Fan Page.  A great Whole Wheat Blondie Recipe coming in the next few days!!!

Grilled Chicken Marsala

Traditional Chicken Marsala is usually battered or pan seared using a flour based breading which adds a lot of fat and calories.  Traditional Recipes also use a large amount of butter.  My mission was to eliminate these ingredients to create a healthier but still tasty and enjoyable dinner.  I believe I have succeeded but only my fellow fans and chefs could be the ultimate test on the verdict.  Make this recipe and let me know what you think.


Ingredients for Grilled Chicken Marsala:


- 1 Package Thin Sliced Chicken Breasts
- Olive Oil
- 8 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
- 2 Large Shallots (Minced)
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- 1 bottle Sweet Marsala Wine
- 1 Carton Chicken Stock
- 2 Package Baby Bella Mushrooms (Sliced)
- 1 box Farfalle Pasta
- Parsley

First thing needed to be done to make this recipe is to marinate the chicken for grilling.  To do this, mix the chicken with Olive Oil (enough to coat all the chicken), 8 minced cloves of garlic, and a liberal amount of salt and pepper.  8 cloves seems like a lot but it will be well worth it as it will flavor the chicken tremendously.  Let marinate for about 1 hour.  


When the chicken has 15 minutes left to marinate begin heating water for pasta. While waiting for water to boil, heat 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil in a large saute pan.  Add shallots and saute until sweated.  Add mushrooms and let simmer until softened, mixing once every minute.  This should take about 5 minutes.  Once softened add 1 1/2 cups of Marsala Wine and heat on high flame until boiling.  Continue to boil until reduced to half the original amount mixing occasionally.  While waiting for this to happen, add pasta to boiling water and then begin to grill the chicken.  Because the chicken is marinated in oil, there will be a lot of flare up when chicken goes on grill.  Be sure not to forget to put the extra garlic from the marinade on chicken once on grill.    The chicken will cook very quickly.  Back over at the saute pan, once wine is reduced, add chicken stock 1 cup at a time.  Wait until stock reduces to add more.  You should use no more than 3 cups depending on how saucy you want the chicken.  This will take a while.  Add about 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, salt, pepper, and minced parsley to sauce.  Taste the sauce as you go.  If its losing the Marsala taste add more wine in small amounts.  Once you are happy with the consistency and amount of sauce (it should be thick), reduce to a simmer and add the grilled chicken.  You now have two options.  You can simmer over a flame or put in oven at about 300 degrees until ready to serve.  Don't forget about your pasta during all this.  You want the pasta to be Al Dente.  This means it should still be a bit firmer then fully cooked pasta but not hard.  Put chicken over pasta and pour sauce over.  Enjoy!!  You will be surprised just how fulfilling this dish is. 

A couple of notes on the recipe
-  You can also cook chicken on an indoor grill pan but olive oil will not burn off so you will end up with more of an oily chicken.  This is not necessarily bad but just be aware is will add fat to the dish.
-  I like to add a little bit of grated Parmesan cheese to the top of the dish afterwords as it adds an extra flare to the dish.
-  If possible go to a liquor store and use a real Marsala wine and not one from the cooking wine aisle of the supermarket.  It will make a world of difference.  I use sweet Marsala wine as opposed to the dry type.

Back From Vacation!!

Went on vacation!! Back from vacation!! Blog posts will resume shortly!! Thank you to all my fans for being patient. The best is yet to come!!

Taking a Break!!

Healthier, Kosher, Whole Wheat Rugelach

 

From the look at the picture you might be saying to yourself, This looks too complicated...There is no way I can make this...This is going to take a long time.  If you are thinking any of these things, you are wrong.  The recipe I am about to explain to you is one of the easiest recipes I have ever made.  On top of that it was fun and allows you to become creative in the kitchen.  If you are a lover of Rugelach and wouldn't eat it because you know how bad it is for you, PLEASE try this recipe.  As an added bonus I made sure this recipe is kosher considering this cookie is traditionally a Jewish pastry.  Now remember, I do not measure when I bake and cook, so some of the ingredients listed are estimates of what was used.  It is up to you, the cook, to figure out the exact amounts.

Ingredients needed for these amazing cookies

For Dough:

- 1 8oz package of low fat cream cheese

- 1 stick of organic butter

- 3/4 cup of organic cane sugar

- 2 1/2 cups organic whole wheat pastry flour

For Filling:

- 1/2 cup cane sugar

- 1/8 cup cinnamon

- 1/2 cup Cocoa Powder

- Finely Chopped Walnuts

- 1/8 cup canola oil 

Miscellaneous:

- 1 egg

- Confectioner's Sugar

Cooking Instructions

To make the dough, using a hand mixer, first cream the cream cheese, butter, and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Next add the flour in 3 equal increments.  Start by mixing with a spoon.  Once it gets too hard to mix, wash your hands, and dig in.  You will know you have added enough flour once the dough becomes less sticky and pretty firm.  This is when you cover and put in the fridge for an hour.  

While the dough is in the fridge, its time to mix the filling.  This is where you can get creative.  You can come up with and unlimited number of fillings.  Some traditional ones are, chocolate, cinnamon and sugar, walnut, and apricot preserves.  For my recipe, I have made a combination of Cocoa, cinnamon, sugar, and walnuts.  Simply mix the dry ingredients of the filling listed above.  Then add the canola oil and mix until it covers the entire mixture evenly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Take the dough out of the fridge and split into 3 even amounts.  Take one of the dough balls and roll into a circle.  You want this to be about a 12 inch thin circle.  Next, spread the filling on top of the dough covering the radius as best you can.  Once this is complete cut the dough with a sharp knife into the following:

Starting on the thick side roll each section of the dough inward and place on a nonstick pan covered with cooking spray.  Brush the top of each cookie with a beaten egg.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until the top of the cookie begins to brown.  Repeat with 2 other dough portions.  Let cool, dust with confectioner's sugar, and enjoy.  And I know you will.  Recipe yields about 48 cookies.

Coming Soon!!!

Recipe Posts Coming Soon Will include:

  - "Grilled" Chicken Marsala 
  - Healthier Dark Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
  - Lower Fat Rugelach Recipe (KOSHER)

How To Store Fresh Mozzarella

Today I bought 2 large pieces of Fresh Mozzarella.  Knowing I was not going to be able to eat it all tonight I did some research on how to store it so it will stay decent for more time.  First note to take is that if you buy Mozzarella fresh, it is meant to be used that day.  Ideally, that isn't always the case.  To store it, put it in a container filled with cold water and add a tablespoon of salt, then put in the fridge.  The salt is extremely important.  It will store for about a week if you follow these directions.  Otherwise only about a day.  If you do plan to not use it the first day, it is recommended to use it in cooking and not eaten raw.  My recommendation for cooking it...Pizza!!!  I hope this helps everyone in their future Mozzarella Adventures.

2007 Volver Tempranillo

2007 Volver Tempranillo
This week's Wine of the Week post is The La Mancha 2007 Volver Tempranillo.  This is a Spanish wine whose Tempranillo grapes are from the village of La Mesas in La Mancha.  It is a heavier wine that has a very good taste, though I would not drink this wine without a food accompaniment.  It especially goes well with Spicy Mexican or Spanish food, though it will go just as well with non-spicy Mexican or Spanish Food.  I actually ate this with Chicken and Chorizo Tacos and thought it was just perfect.  Its cost can range from 16.99 - 19.99 which is not exactly cheap but finding a wine that goes well with Mexican food has been hard for me so the cost was not bothersome.  One interesting note about this wine is that its grapes are grown in harsh conditions in "Sandy calcareous clay soil" which are not exactly ideal for grape growing.  Because of this, extra care is taken in growing the grapes for this wine.  It is also written on the bottle that the wine ages well for many years.

The Husband's Wine Grade:  B-
I gave this an B- because it is a great wine for a specific cuisine.  Its price does not exactly label it as a cheap wine, but worth the price, drinking more like a $30 bottle of wine.  Its availability is not so great and you may have to search a little to find this wine.  I had to go to larger size wine stores to find it so be prepared to search.  With that being said, I highly recommend taking the time to try and find this wine for the next time you have Mexican or Spanish Food.

Wine Rating System

I have decided to create my own Wine Ratings System.  It will be called "The Husband's Wine Grade".  A, B, C, D, F.  All having the  possibility of a + or -.  A+ being the best, F being the worst.  The Husband's Wine Grade will be composed of a combination of Taste, Price and Availability.  I will also be updating the first wine blog with a Wine Grade as well, so you can check back to the first Wine of the Week for an update with a grade.  Enjoy!!

Cinco De Mayo Ground Chicken Tacos

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!!  Translation, Happy 5th of May!!  For the occasion I have made chicken tacos.  Tacos that are so easy, so low-fat, and so tasty, you would never believe it!!  You just need to try making them for the proof.  Yes some of the ingredients are already made for you but it is still an amazing quick and easy alternative to Taco Bell!!

Ingredients for Ground Chicken Tacos:

99% Fat Free Ground Chicken (What I Use)
Taco Seasoning Mix (What I Use)
Guacamole (My famous Guacamole will be posted at a later date)
Low Fat Mexican Cheese (What I Use)
Salsa
Shredded Lettuce
Corn Tortillas


To make the tacos is very simple.  In a saute pan with a small amount of Olive Oil, cook ground chicken into crumbles.  Mix 1/2 cup of water with seasoning mix.  Add to cooked chicken.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  While simmering, put cheese, guacamole, salsa and shredded lettuce into serving bowls.  Heat corn tortillas until they start to become slightly stiff (Will only happen in oven).  Put the chicken in a serving bowl and you are ready to enjoy your Cinco de Mayo (or easy any night) dinner.  It may not sound like much but they really do fill me up.  All I need is 2.  


A couple of notes on the recipe
-If you cannot find the 99% Fat Free ground chicken, regular ground chicken will work but will increase the fat considerably.  And take it from me the 99% fat free kind tastes great!!
-I use organic seasoning mix, and I recommend it highly.  Regular seasoning mix have all sorts of additives such as MSG, high fructose corn syrup, and hydrogenated oils.  Stay away from them.
-I promise, I will post my famous guacamole that everyone talks about.  Just need to find the right day.  For now you can use any store made guacamole or try making it yourself.  There are many recipes out there.
-Make sure to heat the corn tortillas.
-Usually people would drink a nice cold beer with tacos.  I do something a little different.  I accompanied my tacos with an amazing wine which I will feature in this weeks Wine of The Week.  It is perfect for Mexican food.

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BBQ Salmon on a Cedar Plank

It has been REALLY HOT where I live in New Jersey the last couple of days.  This type of weather has brought on the feeling of summer early so why not fire up the grill!!!  Today I am making BBQ Cedar Planked Salmon.  It may sound too gourmet for the simple weeknight dinner but this happens to be an extremely easy dish to make.

Ingredients for BBQ Salmon on a Cedar Plank:
Any kind of Salmon Fillet (About 6 ounces per person)
BBQ Sauce (What I Use)
Cedar Plank
Spray Bottle

Its that simple.  First and most important, you must soak the plank in water for 30 minutes or more.  I usually let my salmon marinate in the BBQ Sauce while the grill heats (Medium Low Heat) and plank soaks.  There is a trick to using the cedar planks and it is important to follow.  You must use indirect heat to cook the salmon.  If you aren't aware of what this means then basically it is to turn on the two burners that are not directly underneath the salmon causing the heat to circulate around the fish while it cooks.  This will help in the cooking process in 2 ways.  First, it will slow cook the salmon which will make the salmon have an amazing buttery consistency.  Secondly, it will help decrease your chances of the cedar plank catching fire.  That is why the spray bottle is in the ingredient list.  There is a chance the wood could catch fire.  How do you know when the salmon is cooked to your desire?  I usually keep the salmon on the grill for 20 minutes.  This cooks it to a medium well, though there is no real way to tell if it is the way you like it cooked unless you use a food thermometer or cut into it.

I served this dish with Grilled Chinese Eggplant in a Sweet Chili Sauce and Parmesan roasted fingerling potatoes.  I will save these recipes for a later date so keep checking back for those.

A couple of notes on the recipe
-  Cedar Planks can be rather expensive.  At my supermarket they charge $11 for 2 small planks.  I advise buying them online.  Amazon sells them for much cheaper.
- You can use any type of salmon that you prefer.  In the picture above I used 1 fillet that was Farmed Atlantic Salmon and 1 King Salmon Fillet.
- For more on indirect cooking Click Here

2008 Castle Rock Pinot Noir - Mendocino County

Wine, Wine of the Week

2008 CASTLE ROCK PINOT NOIR - MENDOCINO COUNTY
As my first "Wine of The Week" post, I have chosen the 2008 Castle Rock Pinot Noir - Mendocino County.  Recently this has become one of my favorite wines.  Why you ask?  I will tell you!!  For one simply because it is an easy drinking, any day wine.  This wine has a slightly fruitier taste for a red wine and has an outstanding after taste.  I am through my first case of this wine and I cannot get sick of drinking this.  I have found this wine to be a great accompaniment to almost any dish.  I have had this with anything from and the American staple of a burger and fries to a heavy Italian chicken and pasta dish.  One of the greatest things is that it can be found from $9 - $13 which is a bargain for a wine that stands up as well as it does.  I highly recommend that everyone go out and see if your local wine store has this bottle.  I have found that people who aren't huge fans of red wine even like this bottle.  Enjoy and smooth drinking!!  One interesting note I just read about Castle Rock Winery is that it was founded recently in 1994.

The Husband's Wine Grade:  A-
I gave this an A- because it has amazing smooth taste, its price is great for its quality, with a pretty good availability.  It will not be in every wine store, but if you search all local wine stores, at least one should be carrying this wine.  If you can't find it, request it.  Most wine stores will take requests on orders.

Comment Away

Please comment as much as you want and let me know if anyone has made any of the recipes and what you think!!  I would love to hear your comments.  And as always, please ask any questions you would like and feel free to email me at thehusbandskitchen@gmail.com

Vegetarian BBQ Pizza

Once a week I like to eat vegetarian.  This is good for us as people as well as the earth too!!
 Follow this link to see the many reasons going vegetarian once a week is a positive thing to follow:
http://wannaveg.com/

Today I decided to make a low fat, vegetarian BBQ Pizza.  As simple as this recipe is, it tastes so complex and I must say is a fulfilling enjoyable dinner.  This dish can also be made to serve as an appetizer for a group of people.


Ingredients for BBQ Pizza 
1 Package of Fresh Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
Small amount of whole wheat flour
1 Red Onion
Canola Oil
1 handful of Cilantro (chopped)
BBQ Sauce (Of your Choice - I use Trader Joes Kansas City Style BBQ Sauce)
1 Package Low Fat Mexican Cheese (What I Use)


First thing to do is go out an buy a pizza stone (Pizza Stone with Rack).  Everyone should have one cause they make an amazing crispy bottom pizza.  But obviously if you do not have one a cookie sheet will serve the purpose.

Preheat pizza stone in oven to 425 degrees.  Slice the red onion as thinly as you can and saute in a saucepan with a small amount of canola oil until softened and browning has begun.  While onion is cooking and stone is preheating shape pizza dough into a desirable shape and stretch until dough is as thin as you would like.  You will have to flour the dough from time to time to keep from becoming too sticky.  Put dough on floured pizza stone and spread dough with BBQ sauce.  Spread cilantro evenly on top of BBQ sauce.  Next evenly distribute the cheese on top.  Lastly put onions on top of cheese.  Put the pizza stone back into the oven and cook until cheese starts to bubble and brown slightly.  Enjoy!!

A couple of notes on the recipe
-  Sometimes fresh Whole Wheat Pizza Dough is hard to find.  If so, regular pizza dough is ok to use but does make the dish less healthy.  But, either way, every supermarket should have fresh pizza dough.  It may be in the freezer section.
-  The low fat cheese that I use is amazing.  Some low fat cheeses lose flavor but to me with this particular one, you would never know the difference.
-   Use as much or as little of the Cilantro and Red Onion as you would like.  Even a little of each will add a little something to the pizza!!
-  A perfect accompaniment for the pizza is a nice big salad!!  Those recipes coming soon... 

Turkey Burger Sliders

I decided to make Turkey Sliders because I love the current fad of finger food and making things smaller.  Usually you see sliders under the Appetizer/Starters section of a menu.  Appetizers are my favorite course so why not turn an appetizer into a main course.  Works for me!!!  While I was cooking on the grill I decided to make some Grilled Balsamic Yellow Squash which are extremely easy to make. How can you have a burger without the fries?  I simply went to the freezer section of the supermarket for some sweet potato fries.  More on the health facts of sweet potatoes at a later date.

Main Dish
Ingredients for Turkey Slider:
1 Package of Extra Lean Ground Turkey Meat (What I Use)
1 Egg
2 Fresh Shallots (Chopped Fine)
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Whole Grain Bread Crumbs (What I Use)

Mix all ingredients together (The 4 spices use to your own taste, I use a lot of garlic).  Add additional bread crumbs until meat has a less watery consistency.  The contents will be sticky but you want to make sure it will hold its form when made into patties.  Form into small 1 inch balls and pat down into sliders or buy a slider maker (The Perfect Slider Press)
Grill on medium heat until dark grill marks form on both sides of burger.  If you do not have access to an outdoor grill the oven or a George Foreman Grill will do just fine.

1 Package of Turkey Meat yields about a dozen sliders

A couple of notes on the recipe
 - I used Extra Lean Turkey Meat as opposed to regular turkey meat because it has 1.5 grams of fat per serving versus 7 grams per serving in the Regular Lean Ground Turkey
 - The combination of egg and bread crumbs keep the Turkey moist when cooked.  Without it, the turkey would come out extremely dry.
- If you can't find whole grain bread crumbs, regular bread crumbs are fine but make sure they do not have high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils like most bread crumbs do.
- I topped my sliders with cooked onions, pickle chips, and organic ketchup.  I found this to add an extra flair to the dish.

Sides 
Ingredients for Grilled Balsamic Yellow Squash:
2 Yellow Squash (Sliced the long way about 1/4 inch thick)
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Marinate the Squash in the Oilve Oil, Balsamic, Salt, and Pepper for about 30 minutes.  Grill on medium heat flipping one time once dark grill marks appear.  Squash will become very soft but should hold together.

A couple of notes on the recipe
 - Make sure you oil the grill will grilling spray or brush oil on grill where squash will be because it tends to love to stick to the grill. 

Sweet Potato Fries
I used the McCain Sweet Potato Fries because I love the crinkle cut, but Alexia's Sweet Potato Fries or comparable are fine.  For these just read the back of the bag!!

My Mission for my Blog

Hello, my name is David Ringel and I am the creator of "The Husband's Kitchen". It may be called the Husband's Kitchen but this blog is meant to be enjoyable for all audiences. My plan is to show everyone what my kitchen experiences are like. From the tools I use, to the wines I drink, to the food I cook. I will include recipes and pictures as much as possible. One thing to note though...I don't measure the ingredients I use, for the most part, so, this makes things more interesting. I look to myself as a jam band in the kitchen. The same ingredients to make up the song, but it never sounds the same twice. Because of this, you might see a recipe repeated or commented on in a post from time to time explaining how I modified a dish to make it different or even better. I always try to cook in the healthiest of ways using fresh products, healthy (non-hydrogenated) oils, no trans fats, and no high fructose corn syrup. From time to time I might even comment on a restaurant I went to, the dish I had, and how I can create this dish at home. I hope everyone enjoys and please comment as much as you would like.