Peach Delight

Peach delight is one of those desserts that you wait all year for. When summer finally arrives and the 4th of July rolls around, you know that the peaches are sweet and juicy, and it’s time for peach delight. That was one of my favorite food memories from the summertime. This is the perfect dessert to end one of those great 4th of July barbecues. It is a very light tasting dessert; just add a touch of sweetened whip cream, and it tastes like a bit of heaven. We are going to be adding this dessert to our café for the summer also. I hope you enjoy this dessert as much as I have, and that maybe it will create the sweet memories of summer for you and your family that we have.

Peach Delight
makes one 9" x 9" pan

Crust
¼ cup of softened unsalted butter
¼ cup of sugar
1 egg yolk
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 ¼ cup of flour

Filling
4 cups of sliced fresh peaches

Glaze
1 ½ cup of mashed peaches
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
½ cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
2 – 3 teaspoons of water

Directions:

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. For the crust: Cream the butter, the sugar and the egg yolk, until mixed, add the salt to the flour and blend the flour and salt just until mixed and the flour disappears. Pat into a 9 inch square pan. Bake at 350 degrees until the crust is a light golden brown, about 15 – 20 minutes. Let cool.

Arrange the fresh peach slices over the cooled crust. For the glaze, in a small heavy-duty sauce pan add the mashed peaches, the nutmeg, sugar, and the lemon juice. Stir over a medium heat until just before it comes to a low boil. Add the cornstarch which has been diluted with the water (until the consistency of a loose paste) to the glaze in the sauce pan, let it come to a boil and stir consistently until it is thick. Remove the pan from the stove and let the glaze cool just for a few minutes, then pour it over the sliced peaches. Spread the glaze evenly over the peaches and refrigerate until thick and chilled. This is best used the same day that you make it. To serve slice in squares and top with a dollop of whip cream

© Copyright 2008 by Solomon's Gourmet Cookies, LLC. All rights reserved.

Frieda's Famous Cheese Appetizers

This is one of the easiest and most often requested recipes that we make in our family. They are like little open-faced grilled cheese sandwiches, only so much better! We make them for just about any holiday dinner, dinner party, or any other function that you could possibly think of. This recipe is especially popular with the younger crowd, and is one that our children are now making for their families.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we do, and that it becomes a family tradition. I’m pretty sure that it will. Who doesn’t like a grilled cheese sandwich? ENJOY!

Lynn Tenenbaum

Cheese Appetizers
makes about 24 appetizers
[Your guests are going to pounce as soon as these come out of the oven. We usually make 2-3 per person, and regardless of whatever else we're having that usually isn't enough! Multiply the recipe as needed]

8 oz of cream cheese, softened
2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon of grated onion
24 toasted melba rounds

Mix the softened cream cheese, the grated cheddar, the egg yolk and the grated onion in a bowl. Refrigerate for about an hour or until ready to use. To serve spread about 1 tablespoon of the cheese mixture on to a toasted melba round[during Passover, you can use Tam Tams]. Put under the broiler until they are melted, bubbly, and brown on top[Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. You may want to leave the door open slightly]. Serve immediately.

© Copyright 2008 by Solomon's Gourmet Cookies, LLC. All rights reserved.

Deluxe Chocolate Pound Cake

When my sister Sandy and I were very young, I remember many family picnics that we would have during the summer months. We would go to one of the forest preserves, stake out our picnic tables, and start unloading. We brought the grill, charcoal, lighting fuel, and all of the other paraphernalia that we needed to cook with.

Usually before lunch we would have a game of softball. My sister Sandy use to be one of the best softball players in the neighborhood. She could hit a softball so far down the alley, the boys couldn’t believe it.

For lunch we brought the pre-made side dishes from home, but the main course was always made in the park. Of course, one of my favorite parts was when we got to dessert. My mom always baked something, or at least we had her delicious cookies. Because we were outside, she had to be careful to bring something that would not melt or spoil in the summer heat. One of my favorite desserts was this chocolate pound cake that she made.
It was moist, not overly chocolaty, and just sweet enough to satisfy that sweet tooth that we all had.

This chocolate pound cake was good enough to serve alone, sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar. But on other occasions I could definitely see it paired with a nice scoop of ice cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce; a chocolate lover’s delight. I hope whoever makes this recipe enjoys it as much as my family did.

Lynn Tenenbaum

Deluxe Chocolate Pound Cake

makes 1 9" cake

¼ pound of German sweet chocolate

[this can be found in almost any grocery store in the baking aisle, usually called Baker's Chocolate]

3 ½ cups of cake flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of salt

1 ¼ cup of butter

2 1/3 cup of sugar

5 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 1/3 cup of milk.

Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and cool. Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and salt). Cream the butter and the sugar until light and fluffy, add the eggs one at a time beating well after each one. Add the cooled chocolate and the vanilla, and beat well. Alternate the flour and the milk, starting and ending with the flour, blending the flour after each addition, just until it is incorporated. Pour the batter into a well greased 9 inch tube pan. Bake in a preheated 300 degree oven. The original time on the recipe is 2 hours and 20 minutes. [We always used a long, slow bake for this one. It probably won't take the whole 2 hours, but it will definitely take well over an hour to bake. You could probably bake at a higher temperature, but be careful you don't overbake the cake!] Test periodically, until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean. ENJOY!

© Copyright 2008 by Solomon's Gourmet Cookies, LLC. All rights reserved.

Chocolate Cake Pie

Being born into the Solomon's family I knew that I was destined to have a sweet tooth. I had many favorite desserts, and of course loved my mother's cookies. But, as I was looking through recipes recently for this blog, I came across one of my all-time favorites. Now I haven't thought about, let alone made, this recipes for at least 30 years. What I remember was this unique combination of cake batter with a chocolate frosting baked into a pie shell. This recipe really brings me back to many of our family dinners. I have never seen another recipe similar to this one. Serving this with a scoop of your favorite ice cream or a dollop of whip cream would add a nice finishing touch. I'll definitely be making this recipe myself this week, and I hope it's as good as I remember! I would be very interested in knowing if anyone else has a similar recipe, since I've never really seen it anywhere else.

Lynn Tenenbaum

Chocolate Cake Pie
makes 1 10" pie

PIE CRUST
[You can use your favorite pie crust recipe...or even a store-bought crust if you want. Here's a recipe if you don't have one.]
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup plus 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons Ice Cold Water

Mix the flour and salt . Cut in butter into the flour mixture until crumbly and about the size of a pea. Add 2 tablespoons of ice cold water. Mix until well combined, shape into a ball and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours, until it can be rolled out to fit a 10 inch pie plate.

BATTER
1 cup of flour
3/4 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup of unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts
[My mom put nuts in just about everything. It takes real good with them, but you can leave them out if you don't want them]

Sift the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder and salt). In a separate bowl, cream the sugar and the butter for about 2 minutes. Add the milk, vanilla, egg and beat another 2 minutes. Add the dry ingredients, and mix until the flour is just incorporated. Put the batter into the 10 inch pie shell.

CHOCOLATE SYRUP
2 oz of semi sweet chocolate
2/3 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1/4 cup of butter
1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Melt the chocolate on low heat in a heavy sauce pan, add the water, the sugar, mix well, and bring to a boil. Add the butter and the vanilla and cool. Carefully pour the cooled chocolate sauce over the batter. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, and bake about 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
I don't remember my Mom baking the pie crust or batter first. She would assemble the whole thing and then bake it. When I try to make this again this week, I'll let everyone know if it doesn't work!!

© Copyright 2008 by Solomon's Gourmet Cookies, LLC. All rights reserved.

Next Week - Chocolate Cake Pie

Next week we'll be posting something sweet...very sweet, in fact. Chocolate Cake Pie!

Gefilte Fish

Hi! I'm Lynn Tenenbaum, one of the daughters of Frieda Solomon and the owner of Solomon’s Gourmet Cookies. Besides sharing all these wonderful cookies, bars and brownies that we make here at Solomon’s, I wanted to share with you some of our other wonderful family favorites. My mother was not only an outstanding baker, but she was also a fabulous cook. Many of these recipes come from our holidays, family dinners, and the many dinner parties that she had over the 48 years that she and my father were together. These are the delicious recipes that I have eaten and made for my family and friends for many years now. I hope that Jason and Adam will continue to pass these down to their children and for many generations to come. Now you'll be able to, as well!

I hope everybody enjoys this part of Solomon’s history, and would love to hear about your stories, family traditions and recipes. I look forward to hearing from you!

For our first recipe, I would like to share one of our favorite Passover recipes: Gefilte Fish. I realize that this recipe will not appeal to everyone; gefilte fish is an acquired taste, but this is a very good version, and a great way to first try it. Even if you've had Gefilte Fish from a can or a jar before, you still haven't really tried it!

Now, there are a couple of different versions of Gefilte Fish. When my husband, Marvin, and I realized that we wanted to spend our future together and began to incorporate our families we would each talk about our favorite things about the holidays, including the food that we would eat. We each felt that our own mother made the best gefilte fish. We tried each recipe and .... of course we each stood by our families! Eventually, though, we had to tell the truth: we had come to enjoy each others' version just as much as our own. Fortunately, I was able to get my mom's recipe before she passed away. Unfortunately, I was not able to get my mother's-in-law, which is a deep regret. I'm sure many of you share similar situations. My mother-in-law, made a sweeter version than my mother's. Here is my mother’s recipe that I have been making for many years, now and will be making again this year. I hope you enjoy it!

Lynn Tenenbaum

Gefilte Fish

yield - ~30 pieces

11 ½ - 12 pounds of fish* (5.5-6 lb fish meat &5.5-6 lb of bones)

[Frieda used a blend of white fish, trout and pike. Have the fish deboned and ground at the fish market so you don't have to! But, save the bones to use when boiling the fish stock.]
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1 cup matzah meal
8 eggs (slightly beaten)
2 cups of water
2 – 4 grated onions (depending on the size)
1 Teaspoon of salt per pound of fish
¼ Teaspoon of pepper per pound of fish

[When you are measuring out the salt and pepper, the measurement comes from the total weight of the fish, including the bones. This is just a guideline, use to your own preference.]

Fish Stock

fish bones

2 tsp salt

1/2 teaspoon of pepper

2 onion, peeled and cut in half

Directions - Fish Stock

This recipe is pretty large and you'll probably need to use at least 2 pots. After the fish has been de-boned and ground, you should have approximately 5 ½ -6 pounds of fish meat and 5 1/2 - 6 lb of bones. Set meat aside. In each pot put 1 teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper, and 1 onion peeled and cut in ½ . Divide the bones into each pot, and fill with water to cover the bones by at least 2 – 3 inches. You can add more water, if needed. Let the water come to a boil, and skim the surface and reduce the water to a simmer.

Directions - Gefilte Fish

Meanwhile, put the ground fish into a large bowl. [If you don’t have a mixing bowl big enough, you can divide the fish and all of the ingredients evenly into 2 separate bowls.] Add the salt, pepper and the sugar, and mix well. Add the onions, the eggs, matzah meal, and the water, and mix well. Shape the fish mixture into oval-shaped balls. Put the fish into the prepared pots, cover the pots and simmer for about 1 ½ - 2 hours. When done remove the pots from the heat and let cool. [I usually lift the covers off slightly to let the steam escape. You will notice when the fish is cooling the top pieces will turn a slightly darker color. This does not change the taste of the fish whatsoever.] Let the fish cool at room temperature for at least one hour. Put the fish in a single layer in a pan. Cover and cool the fish overnight in the refrigerator. Serve with horseradish if desired.

[I have also started to use just white fish, not the trout and the pike, and it has been tasting quite good!]

*Fun Fact: When Marvin was growing up his mom, Chana Tenenbaum, would get live fish for the recipe and keep it in the bathtub until she needed it!

© Copyright 2008 by Solomon's Gourmet Cookies, LLC. All rights reserved.