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Picture by my amazing photographer friend Dan
I made this recipe yesterday for my Hanukkah dinner. It’s from epicurious, but I’m posting it rather than just linking to it, because I made a couple of changes. It was quite good, and I may make it again for another Hanukkah.
I will note that I didn’t have a pot large enough to accommodate the brisket, so I browned it by parts in a wide pan, and then placed it in a lasagna pan – which I covered with aluminum foil.
Note that brisket can be hard to find, even around Hanukkah. I was able to find it at the Safeway in Alameda, but only by asking at the meat counter (they didn’t have it out). Of course, you can always order it from a butcher.
Wine-Braised Brisket of Beef with Caramelized Pearl Onions and Dried Apricots

• 5 lbs brisket
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• 1 bottle red wine (I use 2buck chuck)
• flour
• vegetable oil
• 6 large shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 medium carrots, cut into 1″ pieces
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 leek, white part only, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 cup dried apricots
• 6 springs flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tsp. herbs de provence
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 quart plus 1/4 cup beef stock (I use better than bouillon)
• 1 pckg frozen pearl onions, defrosted

Rub the brisket on both sides with kosher salt and sprinkle with black pepper and let rest, refrigerated, for at least 2 hours.
In a small pan, reduce the red wine by half and set aside.
Preheat oven to 250F
Heat oil in a wide pan. Dredge the meat in flour and brown it on both sides. Place the meat in a dutch oven or pan large enough to accommodate it and set aside.
Pour out the oil from the pan, and add a little bit more. Add the shallots, carrots, celery and leek and sautee until light brown. Add 1/2 cup of apricots and the parsley, herbs de provence, bay leaves and tomato paste. Stir and cook for one minute.
Pour the vegetables on top of the brisket, along with the wine and 1 qt. beef broth. Cover and cook for 4 1/2 hours.
Soon before the brisket is ready, sautee the pearl onions on some oil until golden brown. Cut 1/2 cup of apricots into thin strips and add them to the onions. Stir and add 1/4 cup beef broth, deglazing the pan. Set aside, keeping it warm.
Remove the brisket from the oven, and carefully remove it from the pan. Cover it to keep it warm. Boil the liquid until it reduces by half. Strain it, discarding the vegetables & fruits.
Mix the onions with the liquid, and serve with the brisket.
Marga’s Best Recipes

This year I decided to bake for my friend Desiree rather than get her a present. I figured a present from the heart was much nicer – plus I had no idea what to buy her anyway 🙂 At our age, we have accumulated so much stuff, that often times the least you want for Xmas is something that will occupy space in your house.
I decided at first to make her a chocolate tort. I used this recipe for a chocolate hazelnut torte. Alas, it was a total failure. I don’t know if the problem was that I over-whipped the egg whites, that I didn’t butter the pan properly, or that I overbaked it (which I definitely did, though I baked it for less time and at a lower temperature than the recipe called for), but the cake stuck to the sides of the pan, and self-destructed when I took it out. It also wasn’t that good. I liked the chocolate-hazelnut flavor, but it was dry and by itself quite boring (of course, given the failed cake, I didn’t make the glace). So, needless to say, I had to throw it away.
I decided that tortes where not for me, so I chose to make Desiree a chocolate tart, instead. I used this recipe, also from epicurious, and the tart is phenomenal (Desiree is leaving on vacation today, so she didn’t want the whole thing – so I got to keep half of it :-). I modified it a little bit, to the ingredients I had/could find. The only problem was that the crust stuck to the pan – next time I’ll butter it. Here is the recipe:
Chocolate Glazed Chocolate Tart
Ingredients

For crust:
• 1 cup finely ground Milano chocolate cookies (I used raspberry flavored ones)
• 5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
  For filling:

• 1 1/4 cups cream
• 9 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt
  For glaze:

• 2 Tbsp. cream
• 1 3/4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. warm water

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom of a tart pan.
Make the crust by mixing together all the ingredients. Press them onto the bottom and sides of the tart pan. Bake until firm, about 10 minutes. Let cool.
Make filling. Place the chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a boil, and pour ove the chocolate. Mix well as the chocolate melts. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla extract and salt. Stir into the chocolate cream.
Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Bake until the filling is set, about 20-25 minutes. Cool completely in the pan.
Make the glace by putting the chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a boil (I placed it into a metal measuring cup to boil it) and pour over the chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth. Stir in the honey and then the water.
Pour glaze onto the tart, spreading evenly. Let stand until glaze sets, about 1 hour (I put it in the fridge to cool).

Last night I made chicken adobo. I think it was the second time I’d ever cooked the dish, the first one being over 15 years ago. But I’ve been eating it at Zen’s in San Leandro, and really enjoying it. I chose a very simple recipe from epicurious.com, and the results were quite good. It didn’t have the depth of flavor that Zen’s adobo has, but the chicken was moist and tasty, and most importantly, then kids (my kids!) loved it.
I will say that we ended up eating the chicken without the sauce, and not browning it after removing it from the sauce. We just couldn’t wait 🙂 The following is my adaptation of the original recipe:
Chicken Adobo

• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 5 lbs chicken parts
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
• 2-4 bay leaves (depending on size)
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp sugar

Put a large pot over medium-high heat and brown the chicken parts on the oil. Add the garlic cloves and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the vinegar, the peppercorns and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce temperature and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the soy sauce and sugar, mix well and then simmer for 20 more minutes.
Remove chicken from pot, keep warm and reduce the sauce until it’s about 1 cup. Remove fat and serve over chicken.
Marga’s Best Recipes

Last Sunday I made toffee for the first time. I think it was my first time making candy period, and I was surprised at how easy it was. The results were absolutely delicious – better than any toffee I’ve eaten (the caramel was softer and less sticky). Later that day we tasted some toffee at Costco and Mika was quick to assert that mine was better.
The recipe is from allrecipes.com – I followed it faithfully until the end. I had no problems whatsoever with separation, I stirred it quite often before it boiled, and then every 2-3 minutes afterwards.
Toffee

• 2 cups salted butter
• 1 cups white sugar
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli)
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1 cupped finely chopped almonds

Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil
Combine butter and sugar in a heavy pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until the butter is melted. Let come to a boil and then cook until the mixture becomes dark and the temperature has reached 300F
As soon as the toffee is ready, pour it onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle it with the chocolate chips and wait a couple of minutes for them to soften. Sprinkle with the chopped almonds and spread the melted chocolate throughout the toffee, pressing lightly (I used the back of the wooden spoon I used to stir the toffee).
Let cool, and then place in the refrigerator. Break into pieces and store in an air tight container.