The Breakfast Queen, Continued (#4)

The Breakfast Queen, Continued (#4)

Guest: Ina Pinkney

​​In this episode, Ina talks about her favorite Jewish foods, including some that are her own guilty pleasures and some that found their way into her restaurant. She also shares what she considers to be absolute necessities to have in her own kitchen.  And best of all, Ina reads from her cookbook: the book  is not only filled with wonderful recipes from the restaurant and has beautiful photos of her amazing food, it’s also a memoir of her long career in the restaurant business that is filled with personal stories and anecdotes that tell us as much about the food as they do about Ina.

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The Breakfast Queen, Continued (#4)

The Breakfast Queen (#3)

Guest: Ina Pinkney

In this episode of The Big Schmear we meet Ina Pinkney, an amazing entrepreneur and restaurant owner, from her first flourless chocolate cake delivery service to the opening of her iconic breakfast eatery in Chicago. Ina’s made breakfast an entirely new experience in Chicago and it was THE place to go to break the fast, celebrate important life events, family Passover Seders or just enjoy the best breakfast in town.

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Keeping it Kosher with Chef Laura Frankel pt 2 (#2)

Keeping it Kosher with Chef Laura Frankel pt 2 (#2)

Guest: Chef Laura Frankel

​Chef Laura is back in episode 2 of The Big Schmear to talk with Beth about her new position with Jamie Gelier’s magazine, Joy of Kosher, and what life is like now that she’s testing literally dozens of new recipes for each issue of the magazine while keeping her eye on Google to know what foods are trending from week to week. They show ends with a hilarious conversation about the time Chef Laura and Jamie Geller discussed the fine points of cutting up chicken on Facebook live.

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Joan Nathan’s Shtritzlach, Blueberry Buns

Joan Nathan’s Shtritzlach, Blueberry Buns

This recipe comes from King Solomon’s Table: a Culinary Exploration of Jewish Cooking from Around the World, a cookbook by the James Beard Award-winning, much-loved cookbook author and authority Joan Nathan.

Shtritzlach, Blueberry Buns

Servings 12 blueberry buns

Ingredients
  

  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour divided, plus flour for kneading
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 cup sugar divided, plus 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature divided
  • 1 tablespoon yeast
  • 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
  • 2 heaping tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 1/2 cups blueberries about
  • 2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger optional

Instructions
 

  • Mix 2 1/2 cups of flour, the salt, and 3/4 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl, add half the butter, mix well, and as Sarah’s grandmother did, make a well in the center. Mix the yeast with 1/4 cup of warm water and stir in. Add the 2 whole eggs and the sour cream, mixing well with a spoon. (You can also put everything in a standing mixer.) Then cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 2 hours until the dough doubles in volume.
  • Using your fingers, blend the remaining 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of sugar with the remaining butter and set aside in a bowl.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and cover two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Dust a baking board with flour and roll out the dough to a circle about 1/8 inch thick, adding more flour if the dough sticks. Cut into 12 three-inch rounds and press at least 12 blueberries into each round of dough and sprinkle with a little of the remaining tablespoons of sugar and the candied ginger if using. Then, cradling the filled circle of dough in one hand, use your second hand to carefully pinch it closed into a 3-by-5-inch oblong shape. Repeat with the remaining dough and blueberries. Put the buns on the baking sheets.
  • Brush the buns with the remaining egg yolk, pat the streusel – the flour-sugar-butter mixture – on top of the buns, and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden – don’t worry if some of the juices boil over. That is part of the buns’ charm. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Keeping it Kosher with Chef Laura Frankel pt 2 (#2)

Keeping it Kosher with Chef Laura Frankel pt 1 (#1)

Guest: Chef Laura Frankel

In the inaugural episode of The Big Schmear, Chef Laura Frankel talks with host Beth Schenker about her definition of Jewish food and her passion for making Kosher recipes. Their conversation ranges from the business of Kosher food with companies like Kraft and Coca-Cola to gefilte fish and cholent and much, much more.

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