Extra Schmaltz!

I've developed a backlog of recipes that I haven't loaded up to the blog, but here's one I couldn't ignore. I've always loved muesli, but it's usually ~$5 for a tiny box that will only last for a few meals. I figured that it can't be hard to make and lo-and-behold, a little internet searching and I had a recipe. This is for a lightly sweetened, roasted version that needs overnight soaking for breakfast*. I think that if I chopped the finished product up in my food processor, I could make a fast-soaking version (I'll update this when I try it). The fun part about this recipe is that you can customize it any way you want. The following recipe makes 7-8 finished cups of muesli. If you eat it a lot you'll want to double the recipe. This is the un-soaked version. Imagine it pleasantly soggy the next day with the dried fruits plumped up and juicy. Preheat the oven to 300. 4 c. rolled oats (or other rolled grains) 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil 1/2 c. honey or mapl...

This is mostly a post to show off my fancy new graters. I read somewhere about these "slaw cutters" from the Bluffton Slaw Cutter Company . The fact that an old school kitchen supply company can succeed manufacturing little more than stamped sheets of metal in the US in the 21st century should give you a hint about the quality of their product. The 3 piece set of slaw cutters with a handguard (trust me, you need one) is about $21 shipped. These are basically big heavy plates of steel with the "knives" (not holes, knives) punched in such a way that they self-sharpen with use. Amongst other things (the one with big slots has 90% of the functionality of a mandolin, at 1/10th the price) they are fantastic for producing the original potato pancake with a really unique, delicious texture, with individual al dente strands of potato rather than a pulverized mush from a food processor. Latkes: Peel and grate some pototoes. Salt liberally and leave in a collander in the sink...

I braise meat all the time and have posted an example of it, so I decided to do a dry heat method. This is essentially very similar to my jerk ribs , but in the oven rather than digging my grill out of a snowbank. When it comes to roasting, there are a couple basic rules. The first is to use something to hold the meat up off the bottom of the pan, preventing blackening but also keeping parts of the meat from boiling in the juices. This is often done with a rack, but the best method in my opinion is simply to lay the meat on a bed of veggies, for reasons that will become apparent at the end. Second is that you generally want to do something like a 80/20 method, where the meat is covered and on low heat for 80% of the cook time, and uncovered, often on higher heat, for the other 20. For this particular example, I used: 1 rack pork spareribs Onion Potato Carrot Beer Spices etc I made a basic meat rub with sage rosemary salt and pepper and decked the meat up nicely. Throw the veggies in ...

Hold the phones (or drumsticks) ladies and gents, because I have 'discovered' an amazing new way to cook chicken. Despite my efforts at creating the crispiest and tastiest exterior, Dan invariably pulls the skin off of the chicken I make. I can deal with that (it's his loss) but I knew that there must be a better way to get the flavor directly onto the meat without time-consuming and subtle brining. Enter the skinless roast. Cooking chicken this way is fast and flavorful. You can even save the skin for making schmaltz later! The following recipe is enough for one cut-up whole chicken, so double it if you want enough for leftovers. This is easiest if you have kitchen shears. Preheat the oven to 400. 1 cut-up whole chicken 4 Tbsp. brown sugar 2 Tbsp. Kosher salt 2 Tbsp. chili powder 2 tsp. ground black pepper 1/4 tsp. cayenne (to taste) 1/2 c. olive oil Cut and pull the skin off of the chicken, reserving the skin and wings in the freezer for later use in schmaltz and chicken ...

I wind up making this slightly different each time, but apparently if you follow the recipe as I wrote it down for mom it turns out great. The trick to tender meatballs of any kind is to add pureed onion (use a food processor or blender). Using a mixture of meats helps too. I often cook mine in the pressure cooker for extra tenderness, but that's optional. Meatballs: 1/2 lb. ground beef 1/2 lb. ground pork 1 small or 1/2 large onion, pureed 1/4 c. matzo meal or breadcrumbs 1 egg yolk 1/4 c. parsley, minced 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbsp. whole fennel seeds 1 Tbsp. salt 2 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. oregano ~1 tsp. red pepper flakes Cooking: ~ 1/4 c. oil for frying 2 Tbsp. tomato paste 1/2 c. boiling water or broth 1/4 c. red wine Combine all the ingredients thoroughly and form into 1-1.5" balls. Fry the meatballs in a generous quantity of oil in a single layer. Turn them carefully so that they are seared brown on as many sides as you have patience to fry (turn them at least onc...

Part three in the Ethiopian series (parts one and two ). This recipe is based on "Ye'abesha Gomen" but again, modified somewhat. 1 pound collard greens (I actually mixed collards and turnip greens) 1-2 cups water 3 tablespoons niter kibbe (see other recipes for recipes/comments) 1 cup chopped red onions 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic 1/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger Salt, to taste 1 jalapeno, seeded and cut into thin strips (though more will spicy it up) 1) Wash greens thoroughly, and remove stems (I like to leave a little stem for the toothiness) 2) Cook greens whole in large saucepan with water until tender. Remove, and chop into 1" squares. Reserve liquid 3) In skillet, heat butter, and cook the onions till lightly brown. Add greens, reserved liquid, and remaining ingredients. 4) Cook uncovered until almost dry.

Part two of three in the Ethiopian series (part one here with a picture as well), this one is a somewhat drier dish (theoretically, it was actually a bit wet considering.) My recipe is based heavily on this recipe for "doro tibs" , but I modified a little bit. Ingredients: 1 onion, cut into larger chunks, but still pick-up-able 1 pack boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes 1/2 c. niter kibbeh (see here for recipe but I didn't clarify it - I just smooshed in those ingredients) 1 jalapeno (more to taste), cut into rounds with seeds 1/2 bell pepper cut into the same size chunks as the onion black pepper garlic grated ginger 1/4 cup white wine salt to taste 1-2 c water/broth 1 lime (optional) 1) Wash and pat dry chicken - you can also soak it in water with lime juice. Not sure if that would make a huge difference 2) In a high sided pot (this would also probably work, if not be better, in a skillet), fry onions, garlic, ginger and jalapenos in niter kibbe. 3) Add c...

I made three Ethiopian dishes to use with the injeera I brought back from Minneapolis. I'll post each one separately so they're easier to search and index. As for the weirder ingredients, I actually have this jar of berbere from ages ago, but time has actually taken the edge off of it and made it less spicy and more flavorful. The recipe for berbere from the Sundays at the Moosewood cookbook (upon which this recipe is based as well) can be found here. As for the Niter Kebbeh, you can get the recipe here but I was too lazy to actually clarify the butter, and so I just smooshed the spices into the butter, and everything turned out delicious. The recipe is based primarily on the recipe in the Sundays at the Moosewood for "Yetakelt W'et", but with the important modification of a big ol' chunk of beef with a bit of bone (I used a bone in shank steak with a lot of meat on it) and a longer cooking time. The meat adds a lot of flavor, and makes it better in my opini...

This dish is sort of the Levantine equivalent of a tajine - you'll note it's slightly different than a Moroccan tajine, though generally cooked in the same sort of container. We were lucky to have a clay pot at mom's house, but frankly you could use a ceramic casserole dish as long as it has a tight fitting lid. The recipe I'm using is basically a translation of the one here (which has lots of good pictures if you're interested). Ingredients: Diced: 5 Medium Onions (this is kind of a lot - you could get away with less 5 Cloves Garlic Vegies (potato, carrots, winter squash, eggplant - this is more or less up to you) Bell pepper Tomatoes 1 can chick peas Cilantro Spices: Tumeric, Thyme, Cumin, Coriander Chicken pieces Preparation: Sautee potato and carrots till lightly browned, put aside. Sautee squash and put aside. Sautee eggplant, put aside. Sautee onions, then add garlic, then add bell pepper, then finally cilantro. Brown chicken pieces in the same pan you cooked...

This is how I used up some of my thanksgiving leftovers (weeks ago, of course), while simultaneously testing out a new kind of pastry crust I had read about: hot-water pastry. Wikipedia describes this form of pastry. In short, the process of making it is exactly the opposite of proper pie crust: melt fat in hot water and stir in flour vigorously. It's a very basic item, so use whatever recipe you find. The idea is to make a strong, moisture-resistant crust that will hold up to a gravy filling. Here is the crust, pressed into the pan: I baked this until golden brown before filling. The filling was a basic mix of chopped turkey, veggies, and a roux-based gravy. As you can see, the pastry slipped down the sides of the pan a bit. It was a pretty greasy dough, and the pan was steep. This might work best using a regular pie pan, or at least something shallower. The last step is to place the top crust and bake until golden brown (as the filling is precooked). Poke holes to prevent gravy ...

Suffice it to say, it works: I made this after both Lillian and my boss (now a reader of this blog!) suggested it. I basically followed the recipe exactly, but double. I made one loaf in a cast iron dutch oven, and a second in a ceramic casserole. They were pretty much identical. Here is the NYT recipe , which links to the article describing it.

I'm re-posting this - it was originally in the Melukhiyya with Vermicelli Rice entry, but I think it'll be easier to refer to it if it's in its own entry. I've updated it a bit, since I had a word translated wrong (I don't think that it's made with lard as I thought - I had mistranslated) Arabic Vermicelli Rice Vermicelli(I believe this is the English word for it. Very thin, twisty noodles. I believe they are wheat based) Rice 2x water/quantity of rice. Oil, butter, or clarified butter (Damascus is famous for using the latter) Cube of chicken bullion (optional. One could probably use any extra chicken broth from the above recipe as well) 1) Heat the fat, then crumble(if its not pre-chopped into 1/2-1 inch or so pieces) and brown the vermicelli. You have to make sure to properly brown it, or else it will become one with the rice upon cooking. Though it can be easy to burn it. 2) Add the rice. Reem prefers to cook it for a little while in the oil, though her moth...

So I realize that this is very similar to Lillian's previously posted Lamb Kibbeh Hotdish , however, this it is different enough that I figured it warranted a new entry. The Arabic name actually, literally means, "Meat in a Pan." It's relatively easy, but needs about an hour or more to cook. I originally learned this from Reem, so the credit is due to her, though in Syria you just get the meat pre-spiced from the butcher. You'll need: Potatoes Tomatoes Ground meat Parsley Garlic Arabic spice mix (or equivalent) Ground red pepper Salt Pepper Heat oven to 350. Get out a large iron skillet, or round baking dish with high sides. Skin and cut enough potato to cover the bottom of the pan in a single layer, in 1/4-1/2" slices. Put the potato in the oven while you do the following steps, unless you have a microwave, in which case you can give them a quick zap and then it'll go a bit faster. Mix ground meat with spices to taste. The flavor of the meat is what real...

The only problem with these biscuits is that they're likely to be tastier than whatever they're accompanying. The trick to these is keeping the dough soft and rolling and folding the dough with melted butter. This is an adaptation of the basic biscuit recipe from The Joy of Cooking. Makes at least six beautiful 2" biscuits, more if you count the deformed ones. You can see the wonky biscuits in the back. They all taste good, though! 5 Tbsp. cold butter 1 3/4 c. A.P flour OR 1 c. AP + 3/4 c. cake flour (ideal) 1 Tbsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 3/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. whole milk 2 Tbsp. butter, melted Preheat the oven to 450. Sift together the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients with a fork or pastry mixer, until the largest butter bits are the size of peas. Add the milk and mix with a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients just come together and form a sticky ball. Dump the dough out onto a well-floured board and toss it a few times to coat with flour....