KFWE NY, Gluten Free Hamantashen, Seudah Tablecloths with Cindy’s Corners

KFWE NY 2019 hosted more than 1,800 guests and served upwards of 5,000 bottles of wines and spirits.  Thirty restaurants, caterers and food companies were on hand plating savory and sweet fare, often catapulting kosher to a new level of gourmet.

Parve ice creams, Pesach meats and desserts and a wide variety of organic and smoked meats were some of the highlights.

In addition, hundreds of new wines and spirits from every corner of the globe were presented. Throughout the evening oenophiles enjoyed tasting many award-winning wines, exceptional new kosher runs, French champagne and a line of wines from NBA all-star Amare Stoudemire, produced in Israel to his specifications, along with so much more.

Every attendee received a souvenir engraved wine glass to take from booth to booth and enjoy the red and white whites featured from Canada, Italy, France, New Zealand, Spain, Australia and of course, the United States and Israel.

Even comedians couldn’t joke about how good the food and drinks were. Comedians Elon Gold, Modi Rosenfeld and Rob Schneider attended and enjoyed partaking in everything.

Among the food fare participating were: ALENbi Kitchen, Bison & Bourbon, Chop Chop, Buffalo2go, Graze Smokehouse, Great Falls Bistro, Factory 220, Judd’s Memphis Kitchen, Le Marais, R & Z Kosher Smoked Meats, T Fusion Steakhouse, Sushi Tokyo, Teaneck Doghouse, UN Plaza Grill and Sushi, West Wing, Tirat Zvi Grill and Sandwich Bar, Chani Greenbaum Events, Elegant Desserts NY, Grow & Behold, Jack’s Gourmet, Kosher Poke, A Taste of The Mediterranean by Ta’amti, Marani, Pelleh Farms, Silverleaf Caterers, Sushi Tokyo, Taam Eden Bakery, The Kosher.com Experience, The Nuttery and Urban Pops.

Here are two of my favorite websites to order kosher wines and spirits:

https://hakeremwines.wordpress.com/

Chateau De Vin
http://www.onlykosherwine.com/

GLUTEN FREE HAMANTASHEN

I love trying new recipes now, especially using almond flour. It gets me psyched for Pesach. I partnered with Pereg Natural Foods and experimented with several floursz. This recipe was our winner. The recipe is courtesy of Esther Anzaroot from @glutenfree.sy
Yields 1 ½ dozen Hamantashen
Ingredients:
Filling:
2 cups water
1 cup poppy seed (or other filling of choice)
1/3 cup raisins
Finely grated zest of 1 small orange
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup honey
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten lightly
1/3 cup chopped toasted almonds

Ingredients for Gluten Free Hamantashen cookie dough
¾ cup butter, softened (or, use Earth Balance for dairy-free)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups Pereg Natural Foods Gluten-Free Coconut Flour
1 cup Pereg Natural Foods Gluten-Free Almond Flour
¼ orange juice
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 TBLSPN milk (or dairy-free milk substitute) for glaze

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Combine all the ingredients together, except for the filling ingredients, using a food processor.
Transfer the dough to a bowl and start adding the coconut flour while kneading the dough until you get a play-dough consistency.
Put the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper and flatten the dough with a rolling-pin.
Make circles using a cookie cutter about 5 inches wide
Fill center of each cookie circle with filling mix and squeeze corners to make triangle
Refrigerate for 15 minutes before baking about 20 minutes or check to see that bottom does not burn. Take out of oven to cool. Taste and enjoy.

Tips When Using Gluten-Free Flour
Buy or make a gluten-free flour mix. If you just need to coat something in flour before you saute it, you can get away with a single-grain gluten-free flour. But for baking, gluten-free flours work better when used in combination. For thickening sauces and gravies, use cornstarch or potato starch rather than gluten-free flour. Start with a gluten-free flour mix that can be substituted one-for-one for wheat flour in recipes.
Bake breads and rolls in containers with walls. Without gluten, bread loaves and rolls don’t hold their shape. Bake bread in loaf pans or Bundt pans, and use muffin tins for rolls.
Add gums to your gluten-free flour. The sticky effect created by gluten can be simulated to a certain extent by adding gums, such as guar gum or xanthan gum. These “gums” are only added to recipes in small amounts (such as 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon per cup of flour) and are already included in many commercial gluten-free flour mixes.
Add some protein when you use gluten-free flour. Because gluten is a protein, it can help to add some protein to baking recipes when you’re substituting gluten-free flours for wheat or white flour. For instance, try replacing half a cup of water in your recipe with egg or liquid egg whites.

Tablecloths For Purim Seudah

Create your table theme with customized cloths, napkins, runners and more with Erika Rychik from www.toplinetables.com

This year, many orders are using geometric patterns, polka dots and peacock feathers. Cloths are reversible and are combined with multiple types of designs and patterns in all color combinations. These make great hostess gifts as well.

Next week I am featuring my favorite savory hamantashen recipes. If you want to share yours and receive a special Shalach Manot, email your recipe and contact information here: cindyscorners@gmail.com

Food, Fun, Family and Friends…Everything Food In Recipes and Restaurants From Cindy’s Corners

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Cindy Grosz can be reached at cindyscorners@gmail.com