For me, life after latkes is not a piece of cake. Having hardly closed my mouth between Thanksgiving and Chanukah, waistline awareness takes over. The big guns come out and the battle begins.
Or maybe I should wait for the new year, when annual diet resolutions are made (and then broken at New Year’s Day brunch).
Low fat, no fat, low carb, no carb, high protein, Weight Watchers — these are just a few options for your diet dining pleasure. They all work for me for a time, and then that creeping feeling of deprivation invades and sabotages my best intentions.
Dessert, something satisfyingly sweet, is what I miss, and I don’t mean a piece of fresh fruit. I long for a sliver of strudel, a piece of golden sponge cake or a wee wedge of New York cheesecake, especially after a Shabbat or holiday meal.
By cutting down on fats with reduced-fat dairy products and using low-cal sugar substitutes, you can actually have your cake and eat it, too, or sometimes have your cake and eat nothing else. Portion control is key. Here are some of my favorites that make any diet sustainable.
Apple Strudel
Serves 8
Filling
1⁄3 cup (packed) dried Bing cherries
1⁄3 cup (packed) pitted prunes, halved
11⁄4 lbs. Pippin or Golden Delicious apples, peeled and cored
1⁄3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 Tbs. apple juice or water
1 1⁄2 Tbs. cornstarch
Strudel
2⁄3 cup almonds
1⁄2 cup graham-cracker crumbs
3 Tbs. sugar
9 sheets phyllo, 17×12 inches
canola oil spray
For filling: Coarsely chop all ingredients with apple juice and cornstarch.
For strudel: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease heavy, large baking sheet. Blend almonds, graham-cracker crumbs and sugar in processor until nuts are finely ground.
Place dry kitchen towel on work surface. Place 1 phyllo sheet on towel (cover remaining phyllo with plastic wrap so sheets don’t dry out while you’re layering). Spray phyllo lightly with oil. Top with second phyllo sheet; spray again. Sprinkle with scant 3 Tbs. nut mixture. Continue with 6 more phyllo sheets, spraying each with oil and sprinkling with scant 3 Tbs. nut mixture. Top with remaining phyllo sheet. Spray again.
Spoon filling atop phyllo stack in 12×3-inch log, starting 2 inches from long side and 21⁄2 inches from each short side. Fold short edges over filling. Using towel as aid and beginning at long edge close to filling, roll up strudel jelly-roll style.
Place strudel seam side down on prepared baking sheet. Spray strudel with oil. Bake uncovered until golden, about 45 minutes. Let cool at least 30 minutes. Cut warm or room-temperature strudel into slices.
Apple-Pear Crisp
Serves 10-12
2 cups sliced apples
3 cups sliced pears
11⁄2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup apple juice concentrate
Topping
1⁄2 cup flour
2⁄3 cup oatmeal
1⁄2 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs. low-fat margarine
11⁄2 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine apples, pears and cinnamon. Stir in apple juice concentrate and set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine topping ingredients. Stir well to mix in margarine so it resembles coarse meal. Place fruit mixture in a greased 9×11-inch baking pan. Sprinkle topping over fruit.
Bake for 40-45 minutes or until fruit is tender and topping is lightly browned. Serve warm or room temperature.
Louise Fiszer is a Palo Alto cooking teacher, author and the co-author of “Jewish Holiday Cooking.” Her columns alternate with those of Faith Kramer. Questions and recipe ideas can be sent to j. or to [email protected].