We're gathering recipes for the first ever Michael Feinstein Cookbook - Ingredients for Fein Dining! The cookbook will include recipes from Michael and his family, friends and fans. Each month we'll showcase a new recipe and feature our favorites in each issue of Pure Feinstein. Bon Appetite!

SUBMIT YOUR RECIPE TODAY!

[NEW!] Tofu Hoisin with Broccoli, Red Pepper, and Walnuts

One of Michael’s favorites

Ingredients:
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 Tbsp Oriental sesame oil
1 Tbsp tamari soy sauce (no wheat)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb extra-firm tofu, sliced, patted very dry, then cut into 2 x 1/2-inch logs
6 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 red bell pepper, cut into 3x1/2-inch strips
1 bunch broccoli, cut into small florets, stalks peeled and sliced (about 5 cups)
1/2 cup walnut halves 1/3 cup water

To Prepare:

1. Combine the first four ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
   
2. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until it is hot but not smoking. Make sure the tofu is patted very dry to prevent sticking. Add the tofu and stir-fry until lightly golden all over. Remove to a platter and reduce the heat to medium-high.
   
3. If there is no oil left in the pan, add a teaspoon or so. Add the garlic and crushed pepper flakes and cook 1 minute. Stir in the red bell pepper, broccoli, and walnuts and toss to coat with the garlic. Pour in the water, toss, then cover the pan. Cook 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender yet still crunchy.
   
4. Stir in the tofu, then pour on the sauce mixture. Stir-fry 1 minute, or until the sauce coats everything and is thickened. Serve on rice.
   

[NEW!] Vegetarian Chili with Rice

Submitted by fan club member Liz Brown

Ingredients:
1 15-1/2-ounce can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 14-1/2-ounce can low-sodium tomatoes, undrained and cut up
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup water
3/4 cup chopped green sweet pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon snipped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash ground red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups hot cooked rice

To Prepare:

1. In a large saucepan combine kidney beans, great northern beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, green pepper, onion, chili powder, sugar, basil, cumin, salt, ground red pepper, and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   
2. Top each serving of chili with 1/2 cup hot cooked rice.
   

[NEW!] Hot Mulled Pineapple Cider

Submitted by fan club member Cindy Richards, Boston, MA

Ingredients:
5 cups pineapple juice
1 quart apple juice
3 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
2 apples, cored, sliced
Spiral peel from 1 orange
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed (optional)

To Prepare:
Combine pineapple juice, apple juice, cinnamon, cloves, apples, peel and brown sugar in large saucepan. Heat to boil. Cover; reduce heat to low cook 5 minutes to blend flavors. Serve in mugs.

Makes 12 servings

[NEW!] Spinach and Feta Cheese-Stuffed Pasta

Submitted by fan club member Tony Melillo, NY, NY

Ingredients:
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed
10 ounces ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3-1/2 ounces Feta cheese
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
3-1/2 cups bottled marinara or spaghetti sauce
32 jumbo pasta shells, cooked to package directions
Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

To Prepare:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
   
2. Squeeze spinach dry. Transfer spinach to a large bowl. Add ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan, Feta, basil and garlic to bowl. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Blend.
   
3. Spoon 1/2 cup marinara sauce evenly over bottom of a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish. Fill each pasta shell with spinach mixture. Place shells, filling side up, in dish. Spoon remaining sauce over shells.
   
4. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover loosely with foil and bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Use additional Parmesan cheese for garnish.

Gingerbread Pancakes

Submitted by Fan Club member Katie Katz

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons baking powder
3 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
6 tablespoons ground hazelnuts
3 cups milk
6 egg whites
6 tablespoons dark molasses
6 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa, ginger, cinnamon and cloves; stir in hazelnuts. Set aside. In a medium bowl whisk together milk, egg whites and molasses. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into it. Stir just enough to moisten; batter will be lumpy. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Makes 8 to 10

Irish Potato Casserole
"You say potato, and I say potato . . ."

By Fan Club member Tracy Greene

Ingredients:
8-10 medium potatoes peeled
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 8 oz. carton sour cream
1/2 cup of butter melted
1/4 cup chopped chives
1clove garlic, minced
2 tsp salt
Paprika

Cook potatoes in boiling water about 30 minutes until tender. Drain potatoes and mash. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the potatoes and remaining ingredients except for the paprika. Beat just until combined. Spoon mixture into a lightly buttered 2-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate over night. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before baking. Uncover and bake at 350 degrees or thirty minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Serves 6-8

Sylvia's Sweet Treats
By Fan Club member Sylvia Schaefer

Ingredients:
1 jar crunchy peanut butter
2 rolls (sleeves) Ritz crackers
* 1 pkg. chocolate-flavored bark coating (melted)

Spread approximately 1/4-1/2 tsp. of crunchy peanut butter on one cracker and top with another cracker (sandwich style). After all have been prepared, melt chocolate and proceed to dip each cookie in chocolate coating and place on waxed paper to set. Recipe can be cut in half by using one sleeve of crackers and half the chocolate coating.

*You can use any chocolate product made for dipping.

Cream of Spinach Soup
By Fan Club member, Miriam Friend

1 pound spinach, well washed, thick stems trimmed
3 spring onions or 3 bunches scallions, trimmed and roughly chopped
3 cups chicken or other stock
Small grating of nutmeg
Salt and pepper
1-cup heavy or light cream, half-and-half or milk.

Combine spinach, onions and stock in a saucepan, and turn heat to medium high. Bring to a boil, and lower heat so mixture barely bubbles. Cook, stirring occasionally, until spinach is very tender, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat, add nutmeg and a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and let cool at least a few minutes.

Pour soup into a blender, in batches if necessary, and carefully purée. Return to pan, add cream, and, over medium-low heat, reheat gently, stirring occasionally. When soup is hot, adjust seasoning, and serve.

Yield 4 servings.

Serving suggestions: Serve with tossed salad, and poached salmon

Mazie's Marinated Mushroom Salad
(Mazie likes to serve this to company)

Prepare and mix the night before:

1 small bottle of Wishbone Italian Salad Dressing
1 pound (or more) of whole mushrooms, stems removed.
1 head of cauliflower (slice the florets thin)
1 large bell (green) peppers (sliced into thin strips)
1 can whole pitted black olives - well drained
1 jar chopped stuffed (with pimentos) green olives (for salads) - well drained

Make sure ingredients are patted dry, then mix vegetables in a large bowl with Wishbone dressing. The salad must be prepared and marinated the day before serving, tossing occasionally. Drain dressing before serving. Serve in a lettuce lined bowl.

Serves 12

Mazie's Yummy Pumpkin Pie
(This is Michael's favorite pie!)

2 cups pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spices
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. Melted butter
3 eggs slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half (cream if you wish)
1 deep dish pie shell unbaked

Scald the half-and-half and set aside, cooling until warm. Combine the pumpkin, sugar, spices, and salt. Add the beaten eggs and mix well. Blend the melted butter and half-and-half last. Mix well and pour into crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees, and bake for an additional 45 minutes or longer, depending on your oven. Bake until knife inserted comes out clean. I bake mine until it starts to get puffy on the top.

Mazie Feinstein's Sweet Raspberry Pie

1 quart fresh raspberries
1-1/2 cups water
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 tbsp. cornstarch
1 package raspberry Jell-O (3 oz.)
1 baked pie shell

Put fresh raspberries in a pie shell. Mix together the sugar, cornstarch, and 1/2 cup water. Boil 1 cup water and add Jell-O, mix until dissolved. Add the sugar and cornstarch mixture to the Jell-O mix. Stir all together, and let it cool. Pour over raspberries in a pie shell, chill for a couple of hours, and serve.

Edible Flower Salad
Mazie Feinstein

Vinaigrette:
2 or 3 tbsp. rice or salad or wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
6 tbsp olive oil
1 to 2 tbsp. minced fresh tarragon

In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, salt and pepper, and blend in the oil to taste. Add herbs. Use immediately or refrigerate and use within a few days.

Salad:
1 head butter lettuce or enough leaf lettuce leaves for four individual salads
8 to 12 small sorrel leaves -- optional
1 to 12 small miner's lettuce leaves -- optional
12 to 20 edible flowers such as Johnny-up-ups, nasturtiums, borage, broccoli flowers, calendula petals, rose petals, or dianthus

Wash lettuce, sorrel, Miner's lettuce leaves, and flowers and dry by patting gently on paper towels or use a salad spinner. Lay out 4 salad plates and artfully arrange lettuces, greens, and flowers on each plate. When serving the salad, put the vinaigrette in a small bowl and stir well. Pass the vinaigrette and let diners dress their own salad.

Tony Danza's "Quick Marinara sauce"

2 cans of Progresso Italian plum tomatoes with basil (Strain, and only use the strained part)
Parmesan cheese
Good shot of wine (or two good shots)
Black pepper
Fresh basil
Brown some cloves of garlic in oil then add to the oil a can of tomato paste (Tony likes Contadina)
Cook until the oil absorbs and the rest and cook for a half hour

"The thing about this recipe is, you can't ruin it."
- Tony Danza

Rosie's Summer Corn Soup
From the kitchen of Rosemary Clooney

serves 6

5 ears of fresh corn, shucked and kernels cut off the cob (reserve cobs)
5 C chicken stock
2 T butter
1 1/2 C diced onion
3/4 C chopped celery
1/2 orange or yellow bell pepper (diced)
1 small can diced green (mild) chilies
2 bunches fresh tarragon
Cayenne Pepper
1 - 1 1/2 C half & half
1 T sugar
salt & pepper

Place the cobs in a soup pot along with the stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer 20-30 minutes. In a saucepan, heat butter. Add onion & celery and sauté over low heat for 2-3 minutes until soft. Remove cobs from stock, discard. Add onion & celery to stock along with bell pepper, 1 bunch tarragon. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Remove tarragon stalks. discard. Add the half & half, corn, sugar, cayenne, chilies, and s & p to taste. Simmer another 2 minutes to warm through. Serve with fresh minced tarragon

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