Extra Schmaltz!

I was shocked to see I hadn't posted this soup, which is one of my stand-by favorites. It's similar to 'Italian Wedding Soup', but I leave out the pasta and I call it Roman because it contains ingredients that the Romans would have had before contact with the Americas. A big batch of meat broth, ~6-8 cups A pound of ground meat, I like to combine turkey and beef 1 large onion 1 clove garlic Fresh parsley, ~1/2 c. chopped finely 2 cups blanched kale, chopped (or other greens: see below) Salt and pepper A dash of white wine vinegar Grind 1/2 of the onion and the garlic in a food processor or chop it very finely--almost pureed. Combine it with the meat and parsley and form into tiny meatballs. Bring the broth to a boil and drop the meatballs in, gently making sure they don't stick to the bottom. When they rise to the top, cover the pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the onions, kale, and seasonings and simmer 5 more minutes. Go heavy on the black pepper--the Ro...

Congee is rice porridge, and is the Asian equivalent to chicken soup as a home-made remedy. It's easy to digest, versatile, and comforting. You can put virtually anything in it, but usually it contains some aromatics (ginger, green onions, celery), a small amount of protein (chicken, shrimp), some seasonings (white pepper, sesame oil, soy sauce), and a LOT of water or broth. You can also add green vegetables. I find most recipes include ginger at the very least. This recipe is great when you're feeling under the weather. This is congee with ginger, smoked turkey (just for flavor, removed the bone later), bouakham nam sausage, tea eggs, tofu, and fried shallots. It's like Chinese penicillin! My rice cooker has a setting for congee, but it can easily be made on the stove. You can start with raw or cooked rice, with the latter being much faster. The consistency is a matter of preference and depends on how much liquid you add (you can always thin it out more, so start t...

This was an experiment I did last night to try to make a somewhat crunchier version of no-knead bread using ingredients I already had in the cupboard. It wasn't as crunchy as I'd thought it would be, but it was amazingly delicious. I was going to call it "multi-grain" but since almost everything in it is based on wheat (except the oats) it's really "multi-permutations-of-the-same-grain." But mostly importantly, it's delicious. Ingredients: 1/2 c. whole wheat flour 1/4 c. oats 1/4 c. bulgur 1/4 c. shelled wheat/wheat berries 2.25 c. white flour 2 tsp. salt (this is really important for the taste) 1/4 tsp. yeast 1.75 c. water (the grains in here can be quite thirsty) Steps: Night before: Mix everything together (dry ingredients first, then the water), cover with plastic. Day of: Heavily flour a cutting board, then use a floured spatula to get the muck out onto a cutting board. Flour the top of the blob, then flatten it a bit. Fold each edge into the ce...

While we're dry-rubbing-and-grilling... I got this recipe from the chef at la Grassa, and used it for the Tasso ham sandwiches we sold at the Summit IRA release party. This is an easy one to keep in the memory bank for when you to need to pack a wallop of flavor, cajun style. 1) Obtain fresh ham or other whole cut of pork (despite being a recipe for ham, shoulder is actually ideal due to superior marbling.) Cut the meat against the grain into long, thin strips. 2) Bury the strips of meat in a cure of 1 part salt: 2 parts sugar. Ensure the meat is covered on all sides. Allow it to cure for no more than 8 hours; this is intended to be a quick cure. 3) Rinse the cure off the meat and pat it dry. Make the dry rub: 2 parts white pepper 1 part ground chile 1 part marjoram (thyme or oregano work equally well here) 1 part ground allspice Cover the meat in the rub. Grill, slow roast, or, ideally, hot-smoke the meat. Make sandwiches, soup, etc.

Grilling season has arrived! Here's a simple and popular rub that has delicious results. Sure, you can just buy the seasoning mix, but when you have a spice cabinet that can't fit one more jar, it's better to just make your own mixtures. Most of the recipes I've seen online called for dill weed, but I used dill seed, which probably has more flavor anyway. No measurements...just use The Force. Kosher salt black pepper garlic powder paprika ground coriander dill seed (or weed) red pepper flakes Pat steaks dry. Sprinkle with rub. Wrap steaks tightly in plastic wrap and allow to season for at least 1 hr. Grill or pan fry on medium high heat until cooked to your liking. These would be great with the fingerling potato recipe below.

This is obviously just a very simple way to cook finger potatoes, but I wasn't sure if it would work, and it did, so I figured I'd post it. 1 # or so finger potatoes, washed well 2 Tbsp butter (or more!) ~1 Tbsp salt 3-4 Peeled whole cloves of garlic Pepper to taste Optional but delicious: Turnips, cut into similar sized chunks as the potatoes Heat oven to 375. Combine everything in a baking vessel (I used a casserole pan), cover, and place in the oven. Every once in a while, you should shake the pan so that everything gets nicely coated in butter. Bake around 30-40 minutes - you want to err on the side of more cooked, since finger potatoes are better when they melt in your mouth and the skins get nice and crispy. Serving Suggestion:

And the living is easy