Warm Up The Holidays With Festive Recipes

Warm Up The Holidays With Festive Recipes From Legendary Chef Jacques Pepin and Manischewitz®

                              

Get Inspired To Create Your Own Favorite Homemade Recipe

              For the 5^th Annual Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-Off

Holidays are a time for creating and sharing meals and warm memories with loved ones. For your Thanksgiving, Chanukah and other holiday festivities, Manischewitz, the company that has been bringing families together and creating memories since 1888, offers delicious, easy to make dishes that can be passed down for generations to come.

Your family’s favorite homemade recipe could land you a spot in the live Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-Off held in NYC in March 2011. The nationally esteemed cooking contest will feature entrants as they prepare family-friendly recipes incorporating the new Manischewitz All-Natural Broths, which includes Chicken, Reduced-Sodium Chicken, Beef and the newly added Vegetable Broth! The competition encourages home chefs to experiment with Kosher products while preparing delicious recipes that could become a new family favorite or that have been shared from generation to generation. Perhaps these recipes can be inspired by traditional Jewish fare or from a cherished memory of a favorite family meal. Head judge of the cook-off, acclaimed author and host of an upcoming new TV series The Essential Pépin- legendary Chef Jacques Pepin- offers festive recipe inspirations that are simple enough to make at home for your family this holiday season.

Finalists will compete live in New York City, for the $25,000 Grand Prize, in front of an esteemed panel of judges consisting of food media and other culinary experts.  The grand prize package includes GE Profile kitchen appliances, cash and more! Five finalists will win an all-expense paid trip to NYC to compete live on March 31^h at the Jewish Community Center of Manhattan. The contest deadline is December 31, 2010.  Four finalists will be chosen by the judging panel and five other semi-finalists will be posted on www.manischewitz.com.  From January 17^th - 31^st, consumers will be able to vote online, and via Facebook and Twitter, to select the fifth finalist. For complete contest details, log onto www.manischewitz.com.

“I am thrilled to be a part of the 5^th Annual Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-Off!” said Chef Pépin. “I always encourage people to experiment with new types of ethnic cuisines and products. It is important for families to enjoy meals together and creating great family recipes helps to grow that experience.”

For over 120 years, The Manischewitz Company has inspired great family recipes and ideas. Today, Manischewitz continues to innovate with new and improved kosher products that deliver great taste, quality, value and convenience.

Try Jacques Pepin’s festive Mushroom Velouté with Almonds, adapted from his acclaimed cook-book, “Fast Food My Way” and try a delicious holiday inspired recipe from Manischewitz- Apple Cranberry Stuffing.

Mushroom Velouté with Almonds

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted margarine

1 cup sliced shallots

1 tablespoon sliced garlic

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups Manischewitz All-Natural Vegetable Broth

2 cups Manischewitz All-Natural Chicken Broth

Salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 pound cultivated white mushrooms (preferably older specimens with open gills)

1 to 2 pieces dried tree ear mushroom (also known as “wood ear” and “cloud ear”)

1/3 cup sliced almonds

1 cup Non-Dairy Creamer

Instructions

Heat the margarine in a saucepan, and add the shallots and garlic. Sauté over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the flour, and stir well. Stir in the vegetable and chicken broth, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, wash the white mushrooms, and cut them coarsely. (You should have about 7 cups). Add them to the saucepan with the dried tree ear mushroom. Bring back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes, removing the tree ear mushroom after 10 minutes. When it is cool enough to handle, remove and discard any tough roots from the tree ear, chop it coarsely, and set aside for use as a garnish. (You should have about 1/4 cup.)         

Sauté the almonds in a small, nonstick saucepan over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until they are lightly toasted. Take them out of the pan immediately.

When the soup is cooked, emulsify it until smooth with a hand blender or in a food processor. At serving time, add the non-dairy creamer to the soup, and bring it back to a boil. (You will have about 6 cups.) Divide among four soup bowls, and serve hot with a sprinkling of the chopped tree ear mushroom and sliced almonds on top.

Apple Cranberry Stuffing

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 cup onions, diced

1/2 cup celery, diced

1 1/2 cups apples, diced

1 cup apple juice

14 oz Manischewitz® Chicken or Vegetable Broth (1 can)

1/2 cup cranberries, dried

5 cups seasoned stuffing mix

Instructions

In a large skillet over medium high heat sauté onions and celery in oil until tender.

Add apples and sauté briefly for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add apple juice and simmer 5 minutes to concentrate flavor.

Add Manischewitz® Chicken or Vegetable Broth and return to a boil; remove from heat.

In a large mixing bowl combine apple mixture and cranberries with stuffing; mix well until completely moistened.

Stuff both neck and body cavities of bird (do not over stuff).

Place bird in a 325° oven and cook until internal temperature of bird is 185° and the internal temperature of stuffing is 160°.

Allow bird to rest 15 minutes before carving.

*Get inspired to create an original recipe using any of the new Manischewitz Broths, visit the recipe section of www.manischewitz.com or www.manischewitzbroth.com

As an added bonus, the cook-off will raise awareness regarding Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM), a national month of recognition of the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. The Manischewitz Company is the founding sponsor of JAHM, and will work with the JAHM steering committee to drive awareness of events and programs. Updates on JAHM are available on www.jahm.us and will continue through the end of JAHM on May 31, 2011.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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