Sasha's Kitchen: Hanger Steak with Bordelaise Sauce, Whipped Potatoes and Creamed Spinach

Recently, my mom gave me the book The New Brooklyn Cookbook as a gift. I was quite excited because this had been on my short list of cookbooks since it came out last year. I absolutely love dining out in Brooklyn, and although Manhattan has some great food and more restaurants, I don't hesitate to say that Brooklyn has some of the best food in the five boroughs if not the best. Living here has been a real foodie paradise, which I have truly enjoyed.

The cookbook has several recipes hand-picked from each of Brooklyn's best restaurants, many of which I have been to (including some favorites like Rose Water, Al Di La, Applewood and Farm on Adderley), and some which I have yet to try.  The first recipe that I tried from this book is from Dressler, located in Williamsburg.  I live in Park Slope so I don't make it to Williamsburg too often although I am well aware that they have some incredible foodie spots. Dressler is definitely one that I can't wait to try (especially after the success of this recipe).  Brooklyn has four Michelin-starred restaurants, and Dressler (located across the street from Peter Lugar's Steakhouse, another Williamsburg classic) is one of them. I can't wait to try it, but for now here's their delicious recipe for Grilled Hanger Steak with Horseradish Whipped Potatoes, Creamed Spinach and Sauce Borderlaise. This is the perfect meal for Valentine's Day!

This is a great dinner recipe - every aspect of this meal was just perfect! I cut the recipe in half, as it serves six, but below is the full recipe.

Dressler's Grilled Hanger Steak with Horseradish Whipped Potatoes, Creamed Spinach and Sauce Borderlaise


Sauce borderlaise
2 T canola oil
1 small carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice (about 1/4 of a cup)
4 celery stalks, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 spanish onion, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
6 garlic cloves, diced
2 cups dry red table wine (I used Malbec, not the driest of wines, but it was great with this recipe)
4 cups veal stock (I used beef stock because my mother was visiting and she does not eat veal)
1 fresh sprig thyme
1 bay leaf
6 whole black peppercorns
coarse salt

Whipped potatoes
1 1/2 lbs idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 T unsalted butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 T creme fraiche
2 T horseradish (I used Golds)
coarse salt and black pepper

Creamed spinach
2 T unsalted butter
1 shallot, peeled and diced
1 pound fresh spinach, stems removed, washed and drained
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 T flour
kosher salt
pinch of cayenne
pinch of nutmeg

Steak
six 10 oz hanger steaks, trimmed of fat (I obviously used three and cut the entire recipe in half)
Salt and pepper for seasoning

First I made the French borderlaise sauce. Heat the canola oil in a medium sauce pan and add the celery, carrot, onion and garlic. Saute until the vegetables are caramelized, which takes about 15 minutes. Next, add the red wine (don't use cooking wine here, but quality table wine)and reduce until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Add the stock, thyme, bay leaf and peppercorns and bring the solution to a boil. Then, reduce to a simmer and cook until the sauce is syrupy and coats the spoon, which takes about an hour. Strain the sauce and set aside.

While the sauce was simmering, I made the whipped horseradish potatoes. These are genius - the combo of the horseradish and the potatoes made for some of the best whipped/mashed potatoes that  I have ever had.

Place the potatoes (prepped first) in a pot and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and cook at a boil until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Combine the milk, cream and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Cover to keep warm. Drain the potatoes. Rather than mash with a ricer, I beat the potatoes in my stand mixer to whip them. Add the warm milk mixture and combine in the mixer. Fold in the creme fraiche and horseradish, and season with salt and pepper. Cover to keep warm.

To make the creamed spinach, which has long been one of my favorite steakhouse side dishes, melt 1 T of the butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallot and saute for two minutes until translucent. raise the heat to high and add the spinach, stirring until wilted, which takes about three minutes. Drain the spinach in a colander for 10 minutes.

Melt the remaining butter in a heavy-bottomed pot. Add flour and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly for about four minutes. Slowly add the warm milk mixture to the flour/butter mixture and whisk constantly until it thickens, which only takes about a minute. Season to taste with salt, cayenne and nutmeg. I made the creamed spinach slightly spicy with the cayenne pepper, which was just wonderful.

Season the steaks as desired - I used salt and pepper. Grill the steaks in a grill pan over medium heat as desired. The book suggests ten minutes for medium rare, but we like outs medium-well so we grilled them much longer. Grill on both sides, and when they are done, allow to rest for five minutes. Then slice the meat against the grain into 1/4 inch slices.

Serve the steak with the potatoes, creamed spinach and drizzle with warm sauce borderlaise. Happy Valentine's Day!

Sasha's Kitchen: Hanger Steak with Bordelaise Sauce, Whipped Potatoes and Creamed Spinach

Sasha's Kitchen: Ratatouille

I had never made ratatouille before, but I figured I would give it a try, even though it is February and I do not have a garden full of fresh homegrown or farmers' market vegetables to make it with.  Plus, I absolutely  love the Disney/Pixar movie. Such a great culinary classic movie!

I searched though quite a few recipes in my search for the perfect ratatouille, and ultimately I based by recipe on this recipe for grilled ratatouille from Bobby Flay of the food network. Of course, it not being the summer, I broiled rather than grilled and it was pretty delicious. I chose to serve the ratatouille over penne, and it was great. I can't wait to make this vegetarian classic this summer with local farmers' market veggies. This makes quite a bit - probably enough to serve six, so we had plenty of leftovers.

Sasha's Ratatouille (based on Bobby Flay's Recipe)
2 yellow zucchini, chopped into 1 inch slices
2 yellow zucchini, chopped into 1 inch slices
1 medium sized eggplant, chopped into 1 inch slices
2 red bell peppers, pared and chopped
2 yellow bell peppers, pared and chopped
1 red onion, chopped into medium sized pieces
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup of Olive Oil plus two tablespoons
4 cloves garlic, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 T chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup chopped parsley
three sprigs of fresh thyme
penne or angel hair pasta

Place all of the cut up vegetables (minus the tomatoes) on a baking sheet lined with foil, or a broiling pan. Add about a half cup of Olive Oil and toss to coat the vegetables. Season and cook at about 400 for about 30 minutes, until the vegetable start to brown a bit.  Add the tomatoes (each sliced in half) and the herb and garlic. Serve on top of angel hair pasta or penne.

Sasha's Kitchen: Ratatouille

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Devil's Food Cake with Whipped Peanut Butter Ganache

Chocolate cake - what could be better, right? For me the ideal chocolate cake is one that is quite chocolatey, but not overly rich. I like something that is a little bit on the light side, so that it isn't overkill. That's what I love best about a traditional chocolate devil's food cake. Now devil's food cake is traditionally made with a chocolate ganache, which is great, as I love chocolate ganache. I found a recipe for a  chocolate devils food cake in Rose's Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum but decided to top it with a whipped chocolate peanut butter ganache recipe that I found elsewhere in the same book. Now, if chocolate ganache is good, the whipped chocolate peanut butter ganache was amazing and was the perfect combination with the cake. The recipe below was used by me to make two cakes (I am not good at trimming cakes and stacking them to make layer cakes, as all bakers have their shortcomings, so I just made two cakes). Apologies on the picture quality - my camera ran out of batteries!


Rose's Devil's Food Cake
1 oz unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup plus 1 1/2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup boiling water
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups cake flour, sifted and leveled off
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks of butter
2 9 x 2 inch round cake pans

Preheat the oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk the chocolate and boiling water until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and cool for about an hour at room temperature.

Combine  the eggs, yolks, sour cream and vanilla in another bowl.

Add all the dry ingredients to your stand mixer and cut in the butter and mix at medium speed until crumbly. Add the egg mixture and beat on medium speed for a minute and a half until smooth. Then, with the mixer on low speed, gradually add the chocolate mixture.  Beat, raising the speed, for about 30 seconds until fully incorporated. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans and bake cakes for about 30-40 minutes until a tester comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed in the center. Allow the cakes to cool before trimming and/or frosting.


Rose's Whipped Chocolate Peanut Butter Ganache
8 oz dark chocolate
6 T creamy peanut butter (Jif)
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, stirring constantly. Take off the heat and whisk in the peanut better until melted and combined. The  whisk in the heavy cream. Place mixture in basin of your stand mixer and beat on high with the whisk attachment. You will get a nice, light, fluffy and thick ganache after a few minutes. Spread on the cakes using a spatula and enjoy!

Sasha's Kitchen: Chocolate Devil's Food Cake with Whipped Peanut Butter Ganache

Sasha's Kitchen: Hazelnut Souffle

CSN Stores is a great place to pick up anything you need for your kitchen, and just about anything else from a swing set to new souffle dishes! I just got invited to do another product review from CSN stores, and I was thinking of reviewing some new souffle dishes to make some of my favorite desserts. I can't wait!

I haven't made any souffles recently, though I have shared several in the past on A Kitchen In Brooklyn, and they are one of my favorite desserts to make and eat.  Not too long ago, my husband went to Capsouto Freres for dinner, home of the best souffle in Manhattan. The restaurant is a bit out of the way to get to (you basically have to hike on the west side of Tribeca right near the entrance of the Holland Tunnel), but it is totally worth it. The French food is great at this old New York mainstay, and the portion sizes are nice and large as well. But the souffles are the real treat. In fact, at lunchtime, they even have a souffle bar which includes savory souffles! When we were there for dinner there were four choices on the menu - chocolate, hazelnut, raspberry and a seasonal special - clementine.  I couldn't resist trying the clementine, which was delicate and amazing, while Brad had the hazelnut. The hazelnut souffle there was made with real hazelnuts and was delicious (I got a taste), but I remembered I had some of the creamy and delicious Hazelnut Spread that ShopRite had sent me, so I figured I would put it to use in a creative way, to make my own hazelnut souffle. It worked out nicely, and now I am back on a souffle kick, so I plan to make some more souffles in the coming week.

Sasha's Hazelnut Souffle
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 cup heavy cream
3 large egg yolks
4 large egg whites
1/3 of a cup creamy hazelnut spread (use ShopRite's or Nutella)
pinch of salt
3 T flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for bottoms of souffle dishes

Spray the bottoms of four souffle dishes with Pam and sprinkle each with granulated sugar. Preheat the oven to 375. It must have reached that temperature before you put the souffles in the oven! This is key.

Combine the heavy cream, egg yolks, flour, salt, sugar, vanilla and hazelnut spread in a bowl. Set the egg whites aside.

In the basin of your stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar on high speed for several minutes until the egg whites are big and fluffy, almost like a meringue.  Once they are super fluffy and have reached this point, gently fold them into the hazelnut mixture, using a spatula.

Fill the four ramekins to the top using this mixture and place them on a baking sheet in the oven. Turn the oven light on so you can watch them bake. It is important not to open and close the oven at all before you are ready to take them out. They should be done when the rise up nice and large, which takes about 15-20 minutes (in my case it took closer to 20 minutes).

These were absolutely delicious and filled with wonderful hazelnut goodness! Perfect for Valentine's Day!

Sasha's Kitchen: Hazelnut Souffle

Charlene's Kitchen in Philadelphia: Peasant Soup

This recipe for "peasant soup" is perhaps the quickest dinner I make. While there are hundreds of variations on peasant soup, this one originates from my beloved Jacques Pépin and goes like this:

For each serving:

heat a cup or two of chicken stock
toast some bread until it's crunchy like a crouton
rub a little garlic on the toast (optional)
put the toast in a bowl
top with a handful (or two) of Gruyère
pour the hot broth over the toast and cheese
sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper

So comforting and simple...

Charlene's Kitchen in Philadelphia: Peasant Soup

Sasha's Kitchen: Coconut Curry Chicken

This is a simple, heathy chicken recipe that is delicious and easy to make. I cam across this on Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, and thought it was worth giving a try. I made some minor modifications and it worked out just beautifully. This is another great dinner dish to make for a nice family dinner, or dinner for two with leftovers. The original recipe can be found here, and is called a spicy coconut chicken. Mine wasn't spicy (which was fine with me) because I used a different type of curry (powder and chile paste combo rather than curry paste), while I used a whole cut up Empire chicken rather than just the legs. Also, I added a yellow zucchini to the mix. It worked out just perfectly! This is definitely a thai inspired fusion dish, which is a favorite ethnic cuisine for me to experiment with.

Coconut Curry Chicken
1 T olive oil
whole chicken, cut up (about 3-4 pounds)
salt and pepper to taste
1 can (14.5 oz) light coconut milk
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken stock
1/2 cup water
1 tsp curry
1 tsp chile paste
1 cup jasmine rice
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 oz green beans
1 yellow zucchini, cut up

Using a five quart Dutch Oven, heat the oil over medium high heat. Season the chicken to taste with salt and pepper, and cook the chicken until browned (about 6-8 minutes). Transfer the chicken to a plate.

Add the coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, curry and chile paste to the pot and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the curry and chile paste. Stir in the jasmine rice and add the chicken back in. Cover the Dutch Oven and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until the rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes.

Put in the green beans, zucchini and bell peppers in the pot on top of the chicken and cover the pot again. Cook until the veggies are crisp-tender, which took me about 15 minutes.

Sasha's Kitchen: Coconut Curry Chicken

Sasha's Kitchen: Asian-Style Grilled Steak Salad with Sesame Dressing

Time for a new recipe! I am always a fan of dinner salads, as a healthy and enjoyable dinner time meal for during the week. I decided to create an Asian steak salad with a Sesame dressing to complement. The dressing is easy, and assumes the flavor of the Sesame Oil. The key here is also to use good quality steak for the salad. This was a delicious treat, although it deviated significantly from my initial plan. The only thing I might suggest is chopping up some peanuts to scatter on the top, but otherwise it was just perfect, and a great, healthy meal.

This is quite easy to assemble. Simply pan grill the steak and assemble with the other ingredients. Cover the steak with foil towards the end of the cooking process. Mix up the dressing and top the salad when you serve it.

Sasha's Asian Style Grilled Steak Salad with Sesame Dressing
1 lb flank steak, pan grilled and cut into strips
3hearts of romaine
chopped red pepper
carrot peelings
2 plum tomatoes, pared and chopped
cilantro to season

Dressing
1/2 cup Canola Oil
4 T white vinegar
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1T sugar
1 clove garlic, diced

Sasha's Kitchen: Asian-Style Grilled Steak Salad with Sesame Dressing

Sasha's Kitchen: Savory Lasagna Cupcakes

Cupcakes are so wonderful and cute and trendy these days, that I figured it was time to make some sort of savory cupcake. Now, while I am sure, you could make a cupcake that was cake-based, but still savory, I cam across a recipe for lasagna cupcakes made in ramekins which sounded like such a fun idea.  The recipe, which can be found here, was for white lasagna cupcakes. I liked the idea, but the cheeses and what not in the recipe didn't really d the trick for me, so I went ahead with the inspiration and created by own recipe for lasagna cupcakes. In addition, I made mine in silicon cupcake molds, which meant that they were a bit more of a true cupcake then if I had made them in ramekins., although perhaps a bit smaller. They were still delicious and made for a great Monday night dinner this week. This recipe should make about 8 or 9.

Sasha's Savory Lasagna Cupcakes
Pam to spray the silicon cupcake molds
4 T butter
1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
1 box of lasagna noodles, cooked
1/2 cup of flour
3 plum tomatoes, cut into slices
2 cups of skim milk
1 large egg
2 T parsley
6oz of gruyere cheese (grated)
salt and pepper to taste
slice of freshly made mozzarella to top each cupcake
silicon cupcake tray

Spray the silicon cupcake tray with Pam or a similar spray.  Preheat the oven to 350. Boil and cook the lasagna in salted water (make sure to add salt so they don't stick together) until al dente, and drain and cool with cool running water. Using a rounded glass, cut circles out of each of the lasagna noodles. Place one of these circles in each of the cupcake molds, and set the others aside for now.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and add the flour, mixing until clumpy. Add the skim milk and whisk over medium heat for about fine minutes, until thickened. Turn the heat off, and whisk in the egg and parsley.  Add the grated gruyere and a half a cup of the parmesan, and stir to combine.

On top of each pasta circle in the silicon cupcake mold, add some of the filling and a slice of the plum tomato. The add another pasta round, and top with more filling and another slice of tomato to fill. Add another pasta round at the top (of you have enough) and top with a tomato and a slice of mozzarella. Sprinkle some parmesan on top, which should require another half cup.  You can fit more in if you use ramekins, but I found the cupcake molds to be just fine.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 minutes. The cheeses on top (parmesan and mozzarella) should be crispy and browned, just like lasagna. Using a spoon or spatula, press each of the "cupcakes" out of the molds to serve. We found that this recipe served two.

Sasha's Kitchen: Savory Lasagna Cupcakes

Sasha's Kitchen: Banana Coconut Cream Pie

I decided to make banana cream pie, but I couldn't just stop at bananas. I thought it would be much better to have a combination of banana cream pie and coconut cream pie. This was quite delicious and a big success. I modified the recipe from a Martha Stewart recipe that I found online for banana cream pie and made it a banana coconut cream pie.

Banana Coconut Cream Pie
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 cup ice water (or very cold water)
1 large egg plus four egg yolks
6 medium-ripe bananas
3 cups lite coconut milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp coconut extract
5 T cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 T confectioner's sugar

First, make the dough by cutting the flour and butter (and the salt) in a stand mixer. Beat for several minutes, until sand like. Then, add the ice water and mix until it combines into a dough. Refrigerate for an hour, wrapped in plastic wrap.

Roll out the dough into a nine inch pie dish. It should be about a quarter inch thick. Fold into the pie dish and chill for about thirty minutes. Bake at 375 using pie weights for 25 to 30 minutes. Then remove the pie weights and bake for another 20-25 minutes. If you don't use pie weights it is not a big deal (I often don't), but using them will make your pie crust perfectly flat.

While the pie is baking prepare and ice bath. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and set aside. In a saucepan, whisk together the coconut milk, granulated sugar, cornstarch and salt, whisking constantly. Being to a simmer (do not boil) and whisk for about three or four minutes.  Add the egg yolks (I found there was no need to strain) and whisk over medium high heat until the custard is thick. Place in a bowl and put the bowl in the prepared ice bath for about thirty minutes.

Cut 3 or so bananas into 1/4 inch slices and place at the bottom of the baked pie shell. Cover with the custard using a spatula to smooth it. Beat the heavy cream and confectioner's sugar with a pinch of cream of tartar using the whisk attachment at high speed for several minutes to make what is basically whipped cream, and cover the pie with this. Top with sliced bananas and enjoy!

Sasha's Kitchen: Banana Coconut Cream Pie

Sasha's Kitchen: Mandarin Orange Salad With Caramelized Almonds

I have been making this salad for years, as it has been handed down in my family. But I figured the super bowl would be a good time to write about it because according to family legend, my aunt discovered this salad at a 1971 Super Bowl party, long before I was born. The recipe has changed a bit over the years, and I have made my own tweaks to it. But its long been a favorite of everyone I have ever made it for. The combination of the tangy mandarin oranges and the sweet caramelized almonds is dynamite. Any time I see a can of mandarin oranges, it reminds me that it is time to make this salad for a nice, healthy dinner, especially for a football game. They go nicely with these Jets cupcakes I made last week (you can see where my sports loyalties lie as a New Yorker, even though they lost this past weekend).

I was so excited that ShopRite threw in a can of their mandarin oranges with their last package that they sent me, and I put together this classic salad that I love making with them. Of all the cans of mandarin oranges I have used over the years, these really stood out as having great texture, color and flavor. They were delicious. You really do not need to use a sweet dressing with this salad, as the almonds give you all the sweetness that you need once they are caramelized. My mom passed this recipe along to me and I am so glad she did as it is a winner!

Sasha's Mandarin Orange Salad with Caramelized Almonds

• 3-4 hearts of romaine
• 1 can of ShopRite's mandarin oranges
• 1/2 of a cup of almond slivers
• 1/4 of a cup plus 1 T granulated sugar
• 1 stalk diced celery (optional)
• 1/2 cup canola oil (for the dressing)
• 2 T red wine vinegar (for the dressing)
• 2 T diced parsley (for the dressing)

To caramelize the almonds, combine with the sugar in a small frying pan over medium low hear. You want to make sure the sugar melts slowly so you do not burn the almonds. Once the sugar begins to melt after a few minutes, keep stirring until the sugar and almonds are fully caramelized. Then pour onto a piece of foil a and allow to cool completely. This will make an almond brittle of sorts, which you will need to break apart. I used to do this by hand, and when I got tired of that, I pulverized a nut chopper blade doing this, but now I rely on the Slap-Chop and it works. Mix the nuts with the shredded hearts of romaine, celery and the can of mandarin oranges (draining the liquid first). Then combine the parsley, oil and vinegar for the dressing and add to the salad. Enjoy!

Sasha's Kitchen: Mandarin Orange Salad With Caramelized Almonds

Sasha's Kitchen: Superbowl Special - Turkey Chili

I really haven't eaten a lot of chili over the years - I guess I generally assumed I wouldn't like it with all those beans. But, last weekend we went over to a friends' house to watch the Jets-Patriots game and they made a delicious turkey chili. I did eventually get the recipe, but not before I attempted to replicate it with my own recipe. Remarkably, the two recipes were quite similar, and I have come up with this fusion that I will share as the perfect Super Bowl recipe. I really love the use of turkey in chili, as it is much healthier and more to my liking than the traditional meats used in chili. In addition, the toppings here are key - I used nonfat sour cream, grated cheddar cheese and sliced avocado as the toppings here, along with some tortilla chips of course. The tomatoes and beans are all from the delicious shipment of canned goods that I got from ShopRite. So this is the perfect recipe to watch the big game!

Sasha's Turkey Chili
1 T olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 lbs lean, ground turkey
1/4 cup ancho chili powder
2 bay leaves
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 28 oz can of while tomatoes
2 1/2 cups of low sodium chicken stock
15 oz can of white beans
15 oz can of black beans
handfull of chopped cilantro
top with grated cheddar, diced avocado and fat free sour cream

To make the chili, first heat the oil and saute the onions until light brown and tender, which should take about 10 minutes. I also added a bit of fresh red pepper here, but I think it didn't really need that. Add the oregano and cumin and stir. Increase to medium high heat and add the ground turkey, stirring to cool, and breaking it up into small pieces. Stir in the ancho chile powder, bay leaves, cocoa powder, cinnamon and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Puree the can of tomatoes and mix in the chicken stock and the tomatoes. 

Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally. Towards the end of the simmering (it will reduce, like risotto), discard the bay leaves, and add the two cans of beans and simmer until the flavors are mixed together. You will want to be sure to drain and wash the beans before adding them. Serve warm, with fat free sour cream, chips, sliced avocados and grated Vermont cheddar.

Sasha's Kitchen: Superbowl Special - Turkey Chili

Sasha's Kitchen: Tri-Colored Classic Rainbow Cookies

Ahhh, rainbow cookies. These tri-colored, almond flavored cookies in the traditional pink, green and yellow colors have long been my favorite baked goods. I have been eating these since I was a kid. In my experience, Jewish bakeries and Italian bakeries will make the very best rainbow cookies. I always thought they were a Jewish tradition, but they are really Italian, and are supposed to represent the Italian flag. You can find some delicious rainbow cookies in either Brooklyn or in Manhattan's Little Italy. They're addictive and delicious, and a long-held favorite of mine. In fact, I have loved these cookies for so long, I have even received a couple of rainbow cookie birthday cakes over the years. A couple years ago, I found a great recipe for making my own rainbow cookies. I have pretty much perfected it at this point, where my cookies are bakery quality gems. This is a great and impressive dessert to bring to a party, so I wanted to share these cookies and the process to make them here. For me, these bring back memories of my childhood, since they have long been my favorite dessert.

My recipe for these cookies is derived from a 2007 edition of Gothamist article. It is a very well written piece that details a bit of the history of these cookies. I love the part where they quote the Princess Bride (one of my favorite movies)  in describing how Little Italy is mixed with Chinatown ("Never get involved in a land war in Asia") in New York. Also, I have not yet tried the rainbow cookies at Isaac's Bake Shop in Midwood (pretty far out in Brooklyn) but I do plan to make the trek out there to try them.

Rainbow Cookies
12 ounces almond paste (careful, this is not the same thing as marzipan)
1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 C granulated sugar
4 large eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
Green and red food coloring
1/4 C seedless raspberry preserves
1/2 C apricot preserves
15 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped


The first step in making these delicious and colorful cookies is making the three layers.  It is easier than you probably think it would be. Use three 12 x 8 baking pans and spray with PAM or line with parchment paper (I've always used the PAM to be honest, and it works). Grate the almond paste in your food processor. In the basin of a KitchenAid Mixer, mix the butter on medium-low speed until smooth using the paddle attachment. Increase to medium-high and add the almond paste. Beat until lighter in color, for about two minutes. Pour in the sugar and beat for another minute. Next, add the four egg yolks and vanilla and beat well to combine. Reserve the egg yolks in a bowl for the next step.  Combine the salt and flour, and slowly add to the dough in thirds, before setting aside.


In a separate bowl, with an egg mixer, beat the egg whites on high speed for about four minutes until nice and fluffy, like if you were making a souffle. You can add a bit of cream of tartar. If you remove the other stuff from before from the mixer, you can do this in your KitchenAid using the whisk attachment.


Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the mixture. This is a bit tough and may take some work and time. The dough is pretty thick and dense so it is difficult to fold in the egg whites, but it can be done with a bit of effort. 

Next, divide the batter into thirds. Leave one bowl plain and dye the other two with red and green food coloring respectively. Grocery store quality food colors work perfectly for this recipe to get the colors right, rather than the fancy gel ones that I usually use with cupcakes.

Spread the layers into each of the three pans, evenly. This takes a bit of time to spread each perfectly evenly and they will seem like they are very thin, which is just fine. My husband has a lot of patience for this, so he does this part.


Bake the layers for 10-15 minutes until the layers are firm to the touch and are just the slightest bit brown. Obviously, you do not want to let the layers brown, and they are done when they are firm, and only the slightest bit brown around the edges.


Flip each layer gently out of the pan (after you allow it to cool) onto a piece of plastic wrap. This takes a bit of practice so as to keep the layers in tact. Take the green layer and spread with the raspberry jam and add the yellow layer on top of that. Then spread that layer with the apricot jam and add the pink layer on top of that. Press the layers for 15 minutes with a really heavy book, like the Beatles Anthology. Then seal the surface with a layer of apricot jam that you bring to a boil with 2 T of water. Allow to set for a half an hour.

To make the tempered chocolate, melt the chocolate using a double boiler. If you do not have one, you can use a metal bowl inside a large pot of boiling water. You will want to finely chop the chocolate before doing this, or use chocolate chips like I do. As the chocolate warms, stir until the chocolate is fully melted. But don't allow it to cook further, boil or otherwise change in chemical composition. Spread on the top and sides of the rainbow cookie layers. Allow to cool for an hour in the refrigerator and then slice into cookies. 

Sasha's Kitchen: Tri-Colored Classic Rainbow Cookies

Sasha's Kitchen: NFL Football Playoff Cupcakes

I am a much bigger baseball fan than I am a football fan. My husband and I are generally fans of the NY Giants, but we will cheer for the Jets too. Anyhow, we were invited over for dinner at some Patriots fans to watch the game tonight, and we were in charge of bringing desert. We decided to have some fun and make Jets/football themed playoff cupcakes. There's really three types here - first I made the little footballs out of fondant and added them to grass green cupcakes. Then, I made some classic Jets cupcakes, to cheer on the New York team. Finally, the last group is the football field, with all the yardlines and the field goals. They are red velvet cupcakes, and you can find my recipe on the prior link. These are the perfect treat for the big game, win or lose!

Sasha's Kitchen: NFL Football Playoff Cupcakes