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November 23, 2011
Thanksgiving again! A time of tradition and family, good food, things all-American. One of my favorite recipes are these creamy and rich corn muffins. They are so easy to make, and people go crazy for them, especially since they are filled with real corn. Every November, I make batches of these crazy corn muffins and give them to family, friends, neighbors, and especially to my band at holiday time. Everyone looks forward to whichever event falls closest to Thanksgiving, when I traditionally arrive with a huge box full of muffins….they are so buttery that you need a napkin! And even though I usually cook organic all the way, here is one of those annual exceptions. Really, try them! They are so easy to make.
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Ingredients-
4 eggs
2 sticks unsalted butter (I use only 1, since I like them a little less buttery. Up to you.)
1 large container of sour cream
1 can creamed corn
1 can kernal corn
2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix or 1 large box Trader Joe’s corn bread mix
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Preheat oven to 350
Melt the butter, add to eggs in a large mixing bowl and stir.
Add the 2 cans of corn, sour cream, mix well,
Add the boxes of dry mix, stir until smooth.
Pour into greased muffin tins,
Bake according to directions on box.
Yum!!
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March 19, 2011
 My dear friend Lisa Dahl is a beautiful and lovely woman who lives in Sedona, Arizona and owns two of the best restaurants in town, Dahl & DiLuca and Cucina Rustica. Lisa has just released an exquisite cookbook called The Elixir of Life. Yesteday I attended her cooking demonstration and book signing at Bloomingdales (NYC) and I wanted to pass along information of how to purchase this very special book.
Visit www.elixiroflifecookbook.com for wonderful recipes and gorgeous photos of our beloved Sedona!
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February 14, 2011
Chocolate, Valentine’s Day, Love, Red Hearts, Poetry, Tender Loving Care, Healthful Living….For this holiday we made delicious and healthy chocolate. Read the below post to see how I came upon this recipe last week in Sedona.
Ingredients- Since this raw, dark chocolate is not only a delicious treat, but is also a whole food bursting with vitamins, enzymes and superfoods, it is important to use the best quality organic ingredients that you can find. (Read more about raw food.)
1 lb of raw cacao powder (I used Ecuadorian raw cacao powder from the “Chocola Tree” in Sedona, Az.)
1 cup (approx) organic coconut oil
1/2 cup organic coconut butter
½ cup best quality honey (I used Himalayan Acacia honey)
¼ cup agave syrup
to taste- ground sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, goji berries, maca powder, almond butter, and any other flavors or goodies you want to add.
1 tsp vanilla, pinch of sea salt
coconut flakes (I used both coconut flakes and grated coconut to roll the truffles in.)
How To: Since this is the first time I made chocolate, and the recipe was handed down without measurements, some of of the amounts will need to experimented with. The main thing is to have a creamy consistency, and then put in the refrigerator or freezer to harden. When cooking “raw” food, we keep the heat below 116 degrees to preserve the active enzymes and life-force in the food. Use a double boiler for melting the coconut butter and oil.
Heat coconut oil and coconut butter in a double boiler til almost melted. Pour over the cacao powder in a large bowl, and mix til creamy. Add honey and agave, salt and vanilla, stir til smooth.
Options:
*At this time you can add any additonal ingredients (ground nuts, almond butter etc) OR you can make the chocolate plain and roll into the coconut or ground nuts.
*Wet hands and make 1/2″ balls, and roll into coconut or
*Pour chocolate into silicone ice-cube trays, or any molds. You can add the coconut flakes or grund nuts on top.
Whatever shapes you make, put the chocolates on a small cookie sheet or plate, and put in freezer for 15 minutes to set. Then store in refrigerator.
 
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September 12, 2010
Every year we look for something new to add to our holiday menu. The Jewish holidays are full of rituals and family traditions, yet it is exciting to find something that may be common to someone else but fresh and different to you. That is why I compare menus with friends and colleagues and clients, looking for that special addition that will add depth and dimension to our holiday celebration. It so happens that this year I had just saw down with Josephine and Tom Linden, to speak about their daughter’ Alexandras’s wedding, which will be at the Plaza Hotel in a few weeks. My relationship with the Lindens is very special, as they were one of the first clients to use my band when I was a brand new bandleader all those years ago. I have provided the music (and performed myself) at three of their events over the years, and now we are so excited to have this wedding together.
The Lindens are originally from Australia, and I was curious to know what was on their holiday menu agenda.
After hearing all about their specail dishes, I decided to try Josephine’s Honey-Apple Cake for my Rosh Hashanah dinner. For this holiday, in addition to eating apple dipped in honey, you must also have at least a small piece of Honey Cake in order to insure a sweet and fruitful New Year. So try this one, and let me know what you think!
HONEY-APPLE CAKE
Combine 1 cup canola oil, 1 cup sugar and 4 eggs, mix well.
Add 1 cup liquid honey and 1 apple peeled and grated.
Grate the peel of one entire orange, and 1 tbspn lemon zest, with 2 tspns lemon juice, and add to mixture.
Add 1 large Tbspn cinnamon and 1 large Tbspn nutmeg
Sift 3 cups of flour with 1 tspn baking powder and add to batter.
If desired, you can add 1 cup ground walnuts or almonds, or raisins, whichever you prefer. (we did not use any of these.)
Pour into greased bundt pan and cook for 45 minutes at 325.
Mmm!!
Please feel free to post any wonderful holiday recipes that you and your family enjoy. I will try them all. L’Shana Tova!
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March 29, 2010
 Don't forget the goggles when making the horse radish!! I posted on Facebook that I was cooking for Passover and making horse radish. Someone asked me to post the recipe, so here it is!
You will need:
2 pieces horse radish root (length of carrots), white vinegar, 2 cans sliced beets, drained, 1 pair swimming goggles (for real!).
Peel the horse-radish root and cut into chunks. Put into a food processor and grind until teeny small pieces. Add vinegar, a little at a time until the mixture is moist, about 1/2 cup, more if needed. Start with one can of the beets and add until you have a rich, red, color. Every time you take the lid off the food processor to check the consistency, I recommend wearing the goggles. The fumes are so strong and can almost burn your eyes and throat! Like wasabi!
There is nothing like this freshly made horse radish. My family uses it on matzoballs, on gefilte fish, on pot roast, on matzo with cream cheese, on eggs, on everything until it runs out!!!
December 12, 2009
Chanukah Potato Latkes- (Read the post below to find out how I came to have this recipe)
With this recipe you achieve latke nirvana; a potato pancake that is light and crispy. You can use a box grater to grate the potatoes on the finer side, but it is easier and faster to use the shredding disc in your food processor. Shredded zucchini makes a terrific add-in, bringing color, flavor and texture to the mixture. Make sure you have plenty of sour cream, applesauce (recipe to follow) or simply sugar on hand to dunk, cozy up to or sprinkle on top.
Yields: 24 latkes
Start to Finish: Under 30 minutes
5 medium Russet potatoes, peeled
1 medium onion, grated (use a large one if you like a strong onion flavor)
4 eggs, beaten
½ cup matzo meal
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon pepper
1 medium zucchini, shredded, optional
½ cup oil for frying (peanut oil is recommended but vegetable oil is just fine)
Cranberry-Raisin Applesauce, recipe as follows
In a food processor using the metal blade, or using a box grater, finely grate the potatoes. Place them in a colander, and squeeze out all the liquid. Grate the onion, using the food processor pulse feature to capture any small chunks. Stir the onions, eggs, matzo meal, salt and pepper ( and zucchini if using) into the potato mixture.
 Heat ½- inch of oil in a non-stick skillet, over medium heat, until very hot (a drop of water should dance in the pan). To test the seasonings before frying the entire batch, (you wouldn’t want to taste the raw potato and egg mixture), drop one tablespoon of the mixture into the hot oil, fry for several minutes on each side and drain on a paper towel. Taste the latke and add more salt or pepper if needed. Now you are ready to make the rest. Drop a generous tablespoon of latke batter into the skillet and flatten the pancake with the back of a spatula. Turn the latkes over when the underside is nicely brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Fry until golden on both sides. Drain on waiting paper towels. Repeat, this process adding more oil to the pan and a touch more matzo meal to the mixture if needed to absorb the excess liquid that will collect in the bowl. Serve hot.
*While Chanukah is all about the magic of oil, this recipe is all about perfectly fried latkes. The secret is to have the oil at the right temperature between 350 and 375 degrees, to prevent the latkes from soaking up too much oil.
Cranberry-Raisin Apple Sauce
Tart, sweet, chunky, cinnamon- deliciously easy and fast
Yields: about 1 quart
Start to Finish: Under 1 hour
4 crisp apples any variety ( a combination of apples and pears works well too), peeled, cored and diced
1 orange, juiced and zested
1 cup apple juice or apple cider
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup plump raisins
1 bag whole fresh cranberries
3 to 4 tablespoons light brown sugar (depends on how sweet the apples are)
Peel and dice the apples, (they don’t need to be uniform, it’s nice to have some pieces larger and chunkier.) Place the diced fruit in a large saucepan. Stir in the orange zest, orange juice, apple juice or cider, and cinnamon. Cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. Stir in the raisins, cranberries and sugar. Continue cooking, over low heat, until the cranberries are mostly melted into the sauce and the apples and raisins are soft, about 20 minutes. Serve hot or cold. The sauce will thicken as it stands.
Feedback
Apples are a great source of pectin, a natural gel enhancer and heart healthy by product found in many fruits. When cooked, the apples release the pectin and the applesauce naturally thickens.
September 23, 2009
OK, I never thought this was going to be one of the blogs where recipes start turning up all over the place…. BUT!
I am writing about what inspires, pleases, what adds to celebrations, what brings meaning to life, adds to parties. True, my focus is MUSIC, but on a deeper level , and if you know me, my focus is really about what is uplifting, inspiring, meaningful, and joyful. SO!
Holidays,
Parties,
Music,
Family,
Cooking,
Tradition,
Friends,
Love,
Noodle pudding.
Noodle pudding? Really!
There was a bit of a contest in the family while I was growing up. Whose was better, Grandma Belle’s or Cousin Shirley’s?
Both were amazing, delicious. Each year at holiday time I have been preparing both of them and asking everyone around the table which they like better. No one can decide. So this year I made my own version, which is a combination of the two. And here, on my Blog, on the Starlight Orchestras updated website, I am posting a family recipe.
here goes…
VALERIE’S NOODLE PUDDING
(serves 8-10)
8 oz package broad egg noodles
¼ cup butter, softened
8 oz package cream cheese
½ cup sugar
4 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
1 cups raisins (optional)
jar strawberry preserves
Cook noodles according to package,
Drain and toss with ¼ cup butter to coat,
Heat oven to 350,
Beat cream cheese in large bowl,
Gradually beat in sugar,
Beat in eggs one at a time,
Stir in milk, lemon juice, vanilla and salt,
Fold in noodles pour into buttered baking dish (13×9),
Add raisins if desired,
Spread small dollops of strawberry preserves across the top,
Put baking pan into a larger pan, halfway filled with water (so bottom of pan does not burn)
Bake for 50 minutes or until custard is firm!
 Doug enjoying a bite
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