It's 1:30 am and I am sitting at my computer thinking about hamantashen. But it isn't my fault, really. Blame it on... Oh forget it. It's totally my fault. I can't help myself. Not only do I imagine myself to have hoards of anxious fans waiting for my brilliant purim ideas yeah right but I also need to impress people at my own purim seudah (feast/party). It's hard, let me tell you. No matter how much pressure you might feel at parties, think about what it's like when you are a food writer. Exactly. Well I kinda wish I could invite each and every one of you to my purim party, because I am serving these meat pie hamantaschen as the appetizer and they are seriously delicious. But sadly I … [Read more...]
Purim Recipes and Ideas Roundup
One of the super fun things about being a blogger is reading your search engine traffic hits. Occasionally, however, it reminds me of things. And over the last week I have noticed an increase in traffic from people searching for purim overtimecook or purim 2013 or overtime cook hamantaschen, which serves as a good reminder that I need to start posting some purim recipes and ideas. You will see some fun ideas here over the next few weeks, but first, some ideas that have been featured on OvertimeCook in the past: First off, we have traditional hamantaschen, plus a guide I wrote on CookKosher on shaping beautiful hamantaschen (that stay closed!) Next, I made some delicious savory hamantaschen … [Read more...]
Top Posts of 2012 and a Giveaway!
Giveaway Closed! It's been a fabulous year here at Overtime Cook. There have been loads of highlights...too many to list. But I am going to be a total cliche and list some of my most popular posts. First, starting with plain stats- here goes: Scroll all the way to the bottom for the giveaway! Healthy Oatmeal Pumpkin Pancakes: It's funny how things work out sometimes. I made these on a whim, and happened to take a nice picture of them. Months later and it's still usually the most popular post every day. Also, it's totally my favorite breakfast! And my blog's most popular post! Spicy Baked Zucchini Sticks: These are among my favorite real-life recipes, but they are also the first ever … [Read more...]
Purple Potato Latkes
Tonight was the fifth night of chanukah. Which means that if you are partying hard in true hanukkah fashion, you have had a lot of latkes by now. Are you bored of the typical? I am. I know that the world is full of people making latkes with all kinds of interesting vegetables, spices and sauces. But I decided to go a different direction, because I care more than I should about aesthetics. Which is how this idea was born. Let's make a pretty latke, I thought to myself. So I bought some purple potatoes. I posted a picture on instagram of my latkes frying, and they were totally beautiful: You can't see it clearly, but the purple potatoes and flecks of green courtesy of the scallions really … [Read more...]
Shortcut Cannoli with Chocolate Mousse Filling and a Hanukkah Blog Party!
Giveaway Closed! Remember how I co-hosted a Rosh Hashanah blog party a couple of months ago with my friend Jessie? Well today I bring you another fabulous holiday blog party. This one is co-hosted by the one and only me and my friend Leah from Cook Kosher. I present: A Hanukkah Blog Party! Scroll down past the party info for the most delicious dessert recipe you've ever tasted. No jokes. PS: in honor of Chanukah, I totally deep fried it! Let's get some details, shall we? Welcome to our first ever Hanukkah Blog Party, hosted by Leah of Cook Kosher and Miriam of Overtime Cook. It's traditional on Hanukkah to eat fried treats, most notably donuts and latkes, and we've got a fabulous array … [Read more...]
Baked Peanut Butter or Nutella Donuts
Remember how I recently discussed how hard I find the process of making decisions? Well tonight's post is basically a post script to that one, because if you thought deciding between pecan pie or brownies was hard, imagine trying to decide between chocolate glazed peanut butter donuts or glazed nutella (chocolate hazelnut) donuts! I know, it totally boggles the mind. Well I, for one, don't believe in making such difficult decisions. So I thought to myself...why choose? Yep, that's right. I made both peanut butter donuts and nutella donuts. Which means, if you think about it, that these donuts are super easy to make. Because I started making them late at night, and still had time and … [Read more...]
Holiday Gift Ideas for the Cook or Baker in Your Life
People who know me are super lucky when it comes to buying gifts. I have such specific hobbies that if you want to buy me something, all it takes is a kitchen gadget or a photography "toy" and I am happy. I figured that some of you might be looking for gift ideas for kitchen loving folks in your life, so I put together a list. Most of these items are things I have and love, others are items that I want really badly. (This may or may not be a hint to people in my life. Ahem. Readers, I invite you to forward this link on to people in your life who might otherwise buy you a useless or unwanted gift. Hints are nice, right? Let's start with a big one, in case anyone wants to buy something … [Read more...]
Pecan Pie Topped Mini Fudge Brownie Pies
Let's talk about decisions, shall we? I don't know about you, but I for one, hate making them. I'm talking about literally the smallest decisions there are. Like in the ice cream store when they ask if I want chocolate, vanilla or mixed. Um, so I know I don't want plain vanilla; my love of chocolate is just too strong. But as between chocolate or mixed...I don't know! How should I decide? And when the decisions get bigger, oy. Don't get me started. I hate decisions. That's why this dessert is so darn awesome! Say you just finished a humongous meal, like, the biggest one of the year. It's time for dessert, and you don't have much room. Imagine choosing between a fudgey chocolatey dessert … [Read more...]
Pastrami Stuffed Chicken (Capons)
Every now and then, one of my recipes puts me in a weird position. A while ago, I made a delicious meat dish. I carefully measured the ingredients so I could post it here, and then, before I posted it, I thought of googling the cut of meat I was using. The cut was, as called in kosher butcher shops, minute steak. Kosher cooks will be very familiar with this type of steak. However, according to google (and I assume most of my non-kosher readers), minute steak is a thin cut of steak that can be grilled in a minute or less. It's a logical term, I must admit, but the minute steak I know usually involves about 200 minutes of cooking at a low temperature. Needless to say, I didn't post the recipe. … [Read more...]
Sukkos Recipe Roundup
Here's what I was supposed to do yesterday. I was supposed to photograph this amazing appetizer recipe and post it for you folks. But then I got home from work at 7:30. You read that right. Work. On a Sunday. I don't recommend it. I got cooking right away, and at 2 in the morning I was wise enough to realize that posting the recipe at that point would have been a really bad idea. So I went to sleep for like, four whole hours. Anyhoo. Here's a handy dandy list of stuff you should totally be making for Sukkot. They are a sampling of recipes from the archives, so feel free to dig around for even more! New recipes are a'comin, I promise. Wait, I don't. I have so much left to do! But I really do … [Read more...]