What is the secret of "simple elegance"? It's not about dozens of hard-to-find ingredients, pricey equipment, and complicated instructions. It's simply about paying attention to the small details - an unusual garnish, an unexpected ingredient, a touch of flair in presentation.
Daniella Silver, author of the bestselling The Silver Platter: Simple to Spectacular, once again teams up with bestselling cookbook author Norene Gilletz - the acclaimed "matriarch of kosher cooking" - to bring a whole new level of elegance to holiday tables with their new cookbook, Simple Elegance: Effortless Recipes with Sophisticated Results. This beautiful book provides delicious, yet easy and elegant recipes perfect for any party or dinner.
From creative appetizers through gorgeous main dishes and show-stopping desserts, all the recipes feature accessible ingredients, easy-to-follow instructions, make-ahead and freezing tips, nutritional analysis, and mouth-watering photographs to ignite the imagination.
SIMPLE ELEGANCE contains over 160 recipes and each one includes Norene’s Notes, techniques, tips and advice from cooking guru, Norene Gilletz. All recipes have indications whether it’s freezer-friendly for make-ahead cooking, kosher for Passover, gluten-free, and full nutritional analysis.
With a little thought, a little imagination, and a lot of caring, anyone can create a stunning dish, in less time than you would think. Create simple elegance for your holiday table.
Try this delicious recipe this holiday season.
Maple Cinnamon Chicken
When the sugar and spice of this simple chicken dish start to caramelize, a heavenly aroma floats through the house. Ground cinnamon adds unexpected warmth, and cinnamon sticks add a simple touch of elegance.
Ingredients:
1 Chicken (about 3 lb/1.4 kg),cut into eighths
2-3 large sweet potatoes, trimmed, halved, thinly sliced into half-moons (do not peel)
3 shallots, trimmed and halved
3-4 cinnamon sticks
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dried thyme
3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1/4 cup water
Method
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat a large roasting pan with nonstick spray.
2. Trim and discard excess fat from chicken pieces. Arrange chicken in a single layer, skin-side up, in roasting pan. Add sweet potatoes, shallots, and cinnamon sticks, tucking them between and around chicken pieces. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and thyme. Stir well. Sprinkle mixture evenly over chicken and vegetables. Drizzle with maple syrup.
4. Add water to baking dish, being careful not to drizzle it over the seasoned chicken and vegetables.
5. Bake, uncovered, basting occasionally, for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until juices run clear and chicken is glazed and golden. Transfer to a serving platter.
Norene’s Notes
• Variation: Add 8-9 Medjool dates, halved and pitted, with vegetables.
• Sweet potatoes contain antioxidants, including beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A in the body. The deeper the orange, the higher the beta-carotene content is. Sweet potatoes have a medium glycemic index (GI). One medium sweet potato contains about 6.6 grams fiber.
Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cake
You can’t beat the combination of fruit and chocolate in this fragrant cranberry loaf. Perfectly tart and sweet, it’s a great cake for breakfast, brunch, or an after-dinner treat. It makes two loaves, so freeze the second one for another occasion.
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ¼ cups vegetable oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ½ cups orange juice
2 ½ cups flour (or gluten-free flour with xanthan gum)
1 tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (no need to thaw)
1 ½ cups mini chocolate chips
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat eggs with sugar, oil, and vanilla on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, until light.
3. Reduce mixer speed to low; gradually blend in orange juice.
4. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix just until combined. Fold in cranberries and chocolate chips.
5. Divide batter evenly between prepared loaf pans; spread evenly. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry.
6. Allow loaves to cool for 20 minutes. Invert onto serving platters.
Norene’s Notes
• Muffin Variation: In Step 5, scoop batter into muffin pans coated with nonstick spray or lined with paper liners until ¾-full. Bake at 375°F for about 25 minutes. Yields 18-24 muffins.
• Frozen cranberries don’t need to be thawed. Just rinse and pat them dry with paper towels before folding them into the batter
Recipe(s) from THE SILVER PLATTER SIMPLE ELEGANCE: Effortless Recipes with Sophisticated Results
By Daniella Silver and Norene Gilletz
Artscroll/November 2016
