Baby Weiners

Baby wieners are always nice at a cocktail party.  You just need a pungent sauce and toothpicks or skewers for people to enjoy them. Here are two sauces – though there are many many others that you can make. Use good Kosher baby wieners.

Red Currant Jelly and Mustard Dip

3/4 cup red current jelly

1/4 cup prepared hot mustard

Any good hot mustard will do, but I like a strong German mustard with seeds

1 pound baby weiners.

• Melt the jelly over low heat until smooth. 
• Stir in the mustard until you have a smooth sauce. 
• Add the baby weiners and let them simmer in the sauce. 
• Serve in a fondue dish with skewers, or on a chafing dish with toothpicks.

 

Grape Jelly and Barbeque Sauce

1 cup grape jelly

1 cup barbeque sauce

1/4 cup honey

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 pound baby weiners

• Melt the jelly over low heat until smooth. 
• Stir in barbeque sauce, honey and soy sauce. 
• Add the baby weiners and let them simmer in the sauce. 
• Serve in a fondue dish with skewers, or on a chafing dish with toothpicks.

Lebne’ (Middle Eastern)

by Susan Howard-Azzeh of Human Rights Advocate in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada.

2 cups plain yoghurt

• Set a colander or sieve in a bowl.
• Line colander with cheese cloth.
• Pour the yoghurt into the centre of the cheese cloth. 
• Cover and put in fridge or a cool place overnight.

The water will separate from the yoghurt and leave a very thick creamy yoghurt. The lebne’ is excellent drizzled, together with a little olive oil, on sliced cucumbers and tomatoes. It can be eaten with grapes or with plain pita bread, or mixed with herbs to make a healthy dip.

Guocomole (A Mexican Dip)

When you can get ripe avocados, this Mexican dip is always a party treat, served with corn chips for dipping.

2 large ripe avocado pears (you cannot make this if the avocados are hard)

4 tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/2 onion or 2 shallots, very finely chopped

4 tablespoons finely chopped sweet green pepper

1 glove minced garlic

juice of one large lemon

1 teaspoon or powdered coriander

salt and freshly ground pepper

• Peel and mash the avocado. 
• Immediately add the lemon juice and leave the avocado pits in with the mashed avocado to avoid discolouration. 
• Add the tomatoes, onions, green pepper, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper. 
• Mix everything well. Adjust seasoning to your taste (more or less coriander, salt, lemon juice, etc.) 
•  Just before serving as a dip, with chips, remove the avocado pits.

 Variations

• If you like your dip spicier, you can add chili powder to the mixture.
• Some people like it creamier, with more avocado and less tomato.
• Others add finely chopped coriander leaves or parsley.
• Before serving the dip, you can add a little olive oil or more lemon juice.

Baba Ghanoush (Middle Eastern)

Another Middle Eastern Dish, this recipe comes from Marlena Spieler, Jewish Cooking. London: Hermes House, 2003, p. 70.

1 large or 2 medium aubergines

2-4 cloves garlic, chopped

6-10 tablespoons tahini

juice of a lemon, or to taste

¼ teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste

salt

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

coriander leaves, hot pepper sauce, olives and/or pickled cucumbers and bell peppers

pita

• Roast and peel the aubergines, saving any juices.
• Chop the aubergines finely by hand, or pure in a food processor
• Stir in reserved juice.
• Add the garlic and tahini to the aubergine and stir until smooth.
• Stir in the lemon juice, which will thicken the mixture. (If mixture becomes too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons water, or more lemon juice.)
• Season with cumin and salt to taste.
• Spoon the mixture into a serving dish and garnish with fresh coriander, hot pepper sauce, olives, pickled cucumbers and peppers.
• Serve at room temperature with pita bread.

Hummus (Middle East)

This is eaten with pita bread as an hors d’oeuvre throughout the Middle East.

400 grams/14 ounce can of garbanzo beans (also called chick peas) (drained - see note below)*

juice of ½ -1 lemon  (or more to your taste)

60 ml/4 tablespoons tahini (ground sesame seeds)

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon salt

Cayenne pepper – a pinch or more to taste

Paprika

Olive Oil

• Put all ingredients into the blender, and blend well.
• Adjust the seasoning - it is a matter or taste: more lemon, more salt etc.
• Before serving, drizzle some olive oil on top (about a teaspoon) and sprinkle with paprika.
• Serve with pita bread cut into small triangles.

 Variants

You can add cumin, or hot chiles, or artichoke hearts, or cooked spinach. Or you can sprinkle the top with pine nuts or zaatar.**  At the Metro supermarket in Montreal, they have a whole range of different types of Hummus, from the classical to the very spicy. In the "soukes" (markets) in Amman or Jerusalem or Sana'a or Teheran, there are wonderful arrays of spices to tempt you.

*  If using canned chick peas:

Drain and rinse them three times. Then, put chickpeas into a saucepan, cover with water (1 inch above the chickpeas), bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1-2 minutes.  Drain, reserving some of the liquid.

If using dried chickpeas:

For 2 cups, soak them overnight with a ¼ teaspoon baking soda. Then, drain the chickpeas and rinse them under cold running water.  Combine the chickpeas with 6 cups water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook, skimming the foam from the surface until none appears, about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat, cover the pan, and simmer for about 1½ hours, until the beans are tender and break easily when pressed with the back of a spoon. Drain, reserving the liquid, and pour the chickpeas into a large bowl of cold water. Gather a handful of chickpeas and rub them between your palms to remove the skin. When the surface of the water is covered with transparent skins, pour off the water, refill the bowl, and continue to rub the chickpeas until most of the skins are removed. Drain the chickpeas thoroughly and set aside. 

** Zaatar is a mix of dried herb(s), sesame seeds, dried sumac and often salt and other spices. It is used in Arab cuisine and popular throughout the Middle East. 

 In the Souke in Old Jerusalem, 2012

 In the Souke in Sana'a, Yemen, 2006

 In the Souke in Kashan, Iran, 2008