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Fabulous Food
BLANCHE GOTTLIEB
a renaissance woman
Not only was my mother an artist, and a wise and well-educated woman, she was also an incredible cook and party hostess.
I have compiled her wonderful recipes into
The Gottlieb-Walker Cookbook for Newlyweds,
an unpublished treasure
Recipes
Latkes/Potato Pancakes
4 or 5 red or 3 large russet potatoes. peeled and cut into chunks
1 large brown onion peeled and cut into chunks
2 eggs,
1 tsp baking powder,
1 tsp salt,
matzo meal,
safflower or peanut oil
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Prep: Place potatoes, onions and eggs in a blender or food processor and blend. Pour into a large bowl, drain off any liquid, and add the baking powder, salt pepper and enough matzo meal to make a cohesive batter.
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Cooking: heat a large skillet with a LOT of the oil…and when hot, gently spoon the batter into the pan to make the pancakes. If the batter falls apart, add another egg and maybe lower the heat slightly.
Fry each side until golden brown and remove with a slotted spatula to drain on a wire rack. There should be enough oil in the pan so they FLOAT, otherwise they will absorb the oil rather than get crisp.
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After they have drained you can keep them hot on wire racks in the oven.
Serve with applesauce and sour cream.
Thinly slice/shred 1 heavy head of cabbage into very skinny strips
(a food processor can do this quickly and easily…by hand it is a very slow process)
and with your hands, squeeze the cabbage in a sauce made of:
1 cup mayonnaise
the juice of a lime (or lemon)
two heaping tablespoons of sugar
a tablespoon of onion powder
a dash of garlic powder
a dash of olive oil
about a tsp of finely crushed dried basil
1/2 tsp dry mustard (optional)
and salt and pepper.
until it is limp and thoroughly coated with the sauce.
You can add grated carrot and cut up bell pepper and celery for color and variety.
Taste to see if it needs more of anything.
Refrigerate
Lukshen Kugel
1 package wide egg noodles
6 eggs
1 C cottage cheese (or Kite Hill non-dairy ricotta, broken up)
1 C low fat milk (or almond or cashew milk)
6 oz cream cheese (or any non-dairy cream cheese substitute)
1/3 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
1 C golden raising (though regular ones work fine)
4 T melted butter (or non-dairy butter, or margarine)
Boil noodles as directed on the package,
cook until tender, drain and put in a mixing bowl.
In another bowl, blend the cheeses, milk, sugar, vanilla and spices and eggs, Then add to the noodles. Add the raisins.
Pour into a well oiled baking pan.
Pour the melted butter carefully across the top.
Bake for 30 or 40 minutes
(test as for custard: if a toothpick or knife comes out clean, it’s done)
Cool in the pan on a rack…serve either hot or cold.
Stuffed Cabbage (Chulupses) deconstructed
I took my mother’s amazing stuffed cabbage recipe,
and deconstructed it down to its ingredients,
to make it simpler, but just as delicious.
1 large onion, chopped
1 ½ lbs of either ground beef or turkey (or impossible burger)
A finely chopped small head of cabbage (or a large loose leafed lightweight cabbage if making the traditional rolls)
1 large can tomato puree (and an equal amount of water)
1 small can tomato paste (and an equal amount of water)
1 bay leaf
½ tsp allspice
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cloves
¾ C of brown sugar (tightly packed)
½ C fresh lemon or lime juice
¾ C raisins
10 ginger snaps (crumbled)
Salt and pepper
Brown the meat and onions, then add all the other ingredients and simmer for an hour. (or put in a casserole dish in the oven at 325 for an hour)
FABULOUS spooned over mashed potatoes!
Here’s the full stuffed cabbage recipe:
You will need a LARGE lightweight cabbage, with easy to access leaves.
Cut out the core, place in a deep bowl and pour boiling water into the hollowed out core to soften the leaves. Mix the meat with 1 egg, 2 T raw rice and two slices of challah (soaked and crumbled), salt and pepper. With a sharp knife, remove the hard central stem on each leaf of cabbage, and place a tsp or tablespoon (depending on the size of the leaf) onto each leaf and wrap and fold in the sides. Place the rolled up stuffed cabbage in rows into the sauce made from the rest of the ingredients, as above, in a baking dish and bake at 350 for 2 hours.
Blanche Gottlieb's World Famous Chocolate Tia Maria Cake
You will need:
1 package dark chocolate cake mix (Duncan Hines is good)
1 small package instant chocolate pudding mix
mix together with 4 beaten eggs
3/4 cup safflower oil
3/4 cup strong cold coffee
beat together well and pour into an ungreased angel food cake pan
Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean)
while it is baking mix together:
1 pound of powdered sugar
2 T melted butter or margarine
3/4 of a cup of liquid made from a combination of black coffee
and either kalua or Tia Maria liqueur
When you remove the cake from the oven, while still very hot, take a shish kabob skerew or an icepick and stab the cake still in the angel food pan ith 100s of little holes - then pour the liquid over it so it all soaks in. Refrigerate.
when cold, slide a knife around the edges to release it and turn it onto a plate. Serve with whipped cream or cool whip,