My Successful Mini-Applesauce Bundt Cakes with Apple Cider Icing--Sukkos Treat

[cappucino]

So, we will be hosting our yearly Sukkah party for the neighbors. This year, I took an old recipe (Spice and Spirit cookbook) for applesauce cake (easy as pie) and gussied it up by pouring the batter into mini non-stick bundt cake pans (Target purchase). Will top it with apple cider icing that I just sampled (will make a larger batch tomorrow so I can frost them right before the holiday). For the icing (Country Living mag): 1 to 2 Tbs margarine, 1 1/4 cups confectionary suger, 3 tbsp apple cider. Yummy really doesn't describe it. Also, I think placing juniper berries or some other topper into the center of the bundts will be nice. Happy Sukkos! Any other "cute" Sukkah Party worthy ideas?

[vallevin]

This really doesn't fit in, but every year for Shabbos of Sukkot, we serve our Cholent in a hollowed out pumpkin.

[cheesecake17]

A friend of mine served individual soup portions in mini pumpkins. Really cute idea, but lots of work.

The same friend hosted a Sukkah party with an activity, one year it was 'build your own Sukkah.' Kind of like gingerbread houses, but we used the skinny pretzel rods for the schach and left one piece open to see the decorations inside.

[avitrek]

I wonder if you could incorporate pumpkin into the dish, or how well a large pumpkin would hold up to extended cooking. Maybe not for Shabbat, but it could be a nice yom tov meal. On a related note, I've made a dish of apples stuffed with chicken or turkey in the past. They've been a hit every time I make them, but take a lot of work to hollow out individual apples.

[cheesecake17]

It's definitely possible. Last October, Vegetarian Times magazine had a cover story with a stew cooked in a large pumpkin. I wanted to try it, but was never able to find hominy with a hechsher. I have the issue at home if you want the recipe...

[queenscook]

I don't know if it's still available, but a few years ago, I found cans of hominy, both white and yellow, with the Star-K. The brand was Allen's, and I got it in a Stop&Shop in Queens. The same brand has other "Southern" stuff in cans, like "greens," for ex. (For what it's worth, I was unimpressed by it in the recipe I used it for.)

I'm wondering why you wouldn't have made the stew without the hominy. I'm sure it adds something, but it doesn't seem as though the dish wouldn't work at all unless the hominy was in it.

By the way, Vegetarian Times' website is pretty good; I immediately found the recipe you referred to by going to the site and putting the term "pumpkin stew" into the search box.

[cheesecake17]

Thanks! I'm going to look for the hominy in th S&S in Brooklyn.

I could have made the stew w/o the hominy... but I wanted to try it as written since it's something I've never had.

BTW.. the subscription to Vegetarian Times is really cheap... about $7/year.

[shoelace]

isnt hominy the same thing as polenta? if yes, iv always found kosher brands by looking in the mexican or spanish food area in the regular supermarket, i use it all the time

[queenscook]

Some info from Wikipedia:

Hominy is dried maize kernels which have been treated with an alkali. The traditional U.S. version involves soaking dried corn in lye-water (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide solution), traditionally derived from wood ash, until the hulls are removed. Mexican recipes describe a preparation process consisting primarily of cooking in lime-water (calcium hydroxide). In either case, the process is called nixtamalization, and removes the germ and the hard outer hull from the kernels, making them more palatable, easier to digest, and easier to process . . . Hominy can be ground coarsely to make hominy grits, or into a fine mash (dough) to make masa, the dough used to make tamales.

Because of this processing, and the fact that it is usually canned, I assume it needs a hechsher.

[shoelace]

i didnt say it didnt need a hashgacha, there are many brands that have it, its just finely ground corn, im gonna check my kitchen tomorrow and post again with the other brand names, but im pretty sure one of the ones i have is goya

[queenscook]

It doesn't seem as though you read what I posted; the excerpt makes it quite clear that it is not just finely ground corn. Cornmeal and polenta may be finely ground corn, but hominy is dried corn soaked in lye-water and then cooked, which removes the germ and hull from the corn kernels.

[shoelace]

hominy is dried corn without the husk, sometimes its ground, which makes it grits (like your paragraph said) sometimes its in big pieces, grits and polenta are the same thing

[queenscook]

I think what cheesecake17 wanted was the canned, as that is what the recipe in Vegetarian Times called for. Having a can of it makes it much easier than soaking, etc, and it's cans with hechshers which are hard to find.

[shoelace]

they used to have them at family dollar on union turnpike by hapisga, though its been a while since ive been there, so im not sure if they still do

that place is a good resource for random strange hashgacha-ed items, like canned roasted chipotle peppers for mexican food for rice casserole,

[cheesecake17]

I've been looking for chipotle peppers too...

Maybe I'll check out the Family Dollar in Brooklyn.

[craigcep]

Fairway has them. Bigger supermarkets have had them too. I think I've seen Roland and El Paso brand with a hecksher. I could be wrong though.

[cheesecake17]

Any idea where they are located in Fairway?

[craigcep]

I think the Mexican food/taco aisle.

[cheesecake17]

Thanks, I was only looking in the Specialty Mexican section

[kosherdoc]

La Prefereda has white canned hominy that is certified by the star-k.
Going to make a chipotle beef stew for thursday night in the sukkah. I tried a piece of the hominy and it is really different than corn. Interesting texture and a creamy feel. Looking forward to it.

[cappucino]

Now that's interesting. It's the opposite of what I've seen (i.e. apple-stuffed chicken). What else is in it?

[avitrek]

Here is the recipe:
http://www.jewishexponent.com/article...
I used chicken instead of turkey and substituted whatever apples I could find in the store, but beyond that I kept the recipe the same.

[queenscook]

Here's a recipe I copied out of a book, but haven't made it yet. I might try it for Shmini Atzeret:

Filled Quince or Apples
6 quinces or apples
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 onion
1/2 lb. ground chicken or turkey
1/4 c. rice
1/2 c. water
1 t. salt
1/4 t.pepper
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. cardamom
1/2 t. cumin
1 c. apple juice
2 T. olive oil
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. lime juice
1/4 t. saffron, dissolved in 1 T. hot water

If using quince, wash & rub to remove fuzz. Cut 1/4” disk from top. Scoop out pulp. Sprinkle 1 t. brown sugar in each shell. Saute onion and meat 15 minutes. Add rice, water, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, and cumin. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 15 minutes. Fill each quince or apple with stuffing. Replace tops and arrange in a deep, lidded pan. Add apple juice and quince or apple pulp to pan and pour 1 t. oil over each quince/apple. Put 2 layers of paper towel and cover with lid. Simmer 1 hour. In saucepan, combine vinegar, lime juice, remaining sugar, and saffron water. Lift up paper towel and pour liquid mixture over quinces. Replace paper towel and cover. Cook 45-60 minutes, basting occasionally with pan juices.

Recipe from Chef’s Confidential

[cappucino]

Interesting. That sounds good. We had carmelized quince last year and it went over well.

[vallevin]

We don't cook the cholent in the pumpkin, we just serve it one. It's pretty nifty, I'll bring out what looks like an intact pumpkin to the table, lift off the stem and VIOLA! Cholent.

[cappucino]

Cool.

[marissaj]

I have a recipe for such a delicious fruit strudel that is so much work that I can only make it once a year and we call it 'Sukkot Cake' (original i know..) - it's made at Sukkot because it utilises delciious, fresh green apples. We went apple picking and this is a great way to use up some of them!

[cappucino]

In what kind of pan do you bake it? Don't laugh, but would it work in mini-pans? I'm a bit addicted.