Extra Schmaltz!

 A colleague at work posted this stew one day as an easy quick-to-make recipe, and I kind of dismissed it as not looking that flavorful. I happened to have the ingredients for it a little while later, and was surprised how good it is.  I also think it shows off the strengths of the Instant Pot, since mom recently got one. You can use these techniques for anything. I use the "pressure cook just the beef" technique all the time.  It's also very easy to keep the ingredients in the freezer - I usually keep some stew beef stored, and daikon radishes are so huge I will cut the whole radish up and store the extra in the freezer also. So if you make this once, it's easy to make another round later.   The recipe is based primarily on the recipes from Maangchi  and from here . It's normally served with rice. How you combine the rice with the soup is kind of a choose-your-own-adventure situation. You could do noodles too for a true one-pot meal, but beware the red spl...

I love this recipe in late summer, when the farmer's markets are full of Japanese eggplants and Thai basil. It's a sweet, gooey, savory treat that's as spicy as you want to make it and I love eggplant far too much. You can use normal European eggplant too in a pinch.   Serve on white rice.      Ingredients 1-2 eggplants depending on size, in thin slices (Japanese and European work fine, Thai would be weird) 1 red bell pepper (cut into small squares) 4 cloves garlic (smashed and roughly chopped) Thai chilis, to taste (minced) Small quantity of shallots or onions (thin sliced, optional, I like the sweet they provide) Protein of your choice, pre-cooked - I've been liking baked tofu, but chicken or pork work well Thai basil (to taste), remove the bigger stems and chop roughly.  Sauce 4 Tbsp soy sauce 1 Tbsp brown sugar (+palm sugar if available) 1 tsp dark vinegar, or white vinegar 2 Tbsp fish sauce  Optional: 1 Tbsp corn starch dissolved in 2 Tbsp co...

 There's a small hole-in-the-wall restaurant on State Street in Madison, Wisconsin called Mediterranean Cafe. They have a combination of a small fixed menu (falafel, shawarma) and daily specials. My absolute favorite daily special was their Chicken Apricot Pie: a delicious casserole-square of creamy bechamel, sweet-tart apricot something, chicken and bulgur, served with yellow rice and a salad. The best part of the cafe is that everything is hot and pre-made, so you often would get your food before you found your table.  I've wanted to re-create this dish for years, but I've been going basically off of decades-old memories and vibes. I've had a Word doc (pre-Google docs ubiquity) going with multiple versions of it. The biggest breakthrough I had was stalking their Yelp page to find pictures of the dish, which helped me realize that it doesn't have a crust, it just has bulgur to soak up excess liquid.  The dish has a few parts: You're mixing cooked chicken with s...

I wanted to make something that was very Autumnal and so I started looking up pork and apple recipes. Almost all of them called for cinnamon and sounded foul, so I came up with this which I wanted to be more balanced. It turned out better than expected so I figured I'd write it up. I made it in the slow cooker, but you could probably use the oven also if you're a masochist.  Ingredients 2# pork tenderloin 1 onion, cut into thin strips 2-3 cloves garlic, cut into large chunks 1/2 c. white wine 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar 1/2 water or chicken broth 1/2 tsp white pepper 1 tsp mustard powder Salt 1 6" sprig fresh rosemary, leaves removed from stem, or equivalent dried, but fresh is way better 3-4 cooking apples, cored and cut into chunks (they'll melt, no need to stress over this) Instructions Carmelize the onions in a heavy skillet. Salt the pork tenderloin on both sides. Put onions in slow cooker, add oil and brown the tenderloin. Once brown, add ...

Couscous in Morocco is traditionally eaten on Fridays during lunch time, following the Friday mid-day prayers, similar to the idea of a Sunday roast after church. It's usually a family affair, and is eaten off of a giant central platter. If you're good, you can eat it with your hands, forming a ball of veggies, meat and couscous and popping it into your mouth. Otherwise, you can just use a large spoon. Also, it's often served with "rayb" Moroccan buttermilk as an accompanying beverage, but I tend to skip that. This recipe is based on Melanie's Moroccan family's recipe. You can make it with any meat you like, but she prefers chicken. The veggies here are just a suggestion - you can use whatever is in season. The microwave bit is not strictly traditional, but her family in the US really prefers the convenience of it to the more traditional double-boiler. The main 'technique' in this is that you're cooking the meat and veggies first, and usin...

This is a really easy slow cooker pot roast that doesn't take much time to prepare, and is easy to get going when you leave to work. The most labor intensive part is skinning the onions, but our local grocery store often has them pre-skinned. Ingredients 2-3 pound beef roast (we like London broil a lot) 1-1.5 pound small mushrooms (our store sells them bulk, so its easy to pick out the small ones) 1 pound pearl onions, tops bottoms and skins removed 1/2 bottle brown ale (preferably malty, low bitterness) 1/2 c. water or broth 1 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp (or less) dried rosemary S and P If time allows, brown meat, them combine remaining ingredients in slow cooker, and cook until you get home from work. Serve with mashed, baked or roasted potatoes, or add potatoes directly to the pot for a one dish meal. The juice is pretty flavorful, but if you like you can reduce it. I recommend drinking one of the beer's brethren alongside the meal. I prepare this the night befo...

I adapted this from a recipe found in the winter issue of Progressive Farmer, a magazine to which we subscribe and is full of interesting tidbits and arcane information. It caught my eye, as it was the strangest combination of ingredients I've ever seen and couldn't imagine how it would taste. Always looking for more ways to camouflage winter squash for my hubby, I decided to give it a try. The original recipe called for beef stew meat and ground beef, but I used chicken thighs and ground chicken breast. It is one of the most delicious concoctions I have ever made! 1 lb. ground chicken (or beef) 1 lb. cubed skinless, boneless chicken thighs (or beef stew meat) 1 onion, chopped 1 bell pepper 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed (I used kabocha because it is my favorite and I had one) 2 cups hot salsa 1 small can peppers (3.5 oz - Anaheim or chipotle) 1 (12 oz) beer 1 cup water 1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree In skillet, brown chicken and onions (if using chicken...

This recipe is really simple and easy to make, but shockingly delicious - the first time I made it I was trying for something that wasn't too much like American Chinese food but still had elements of sweet and savory. I was surprised how balanced it turned out. It's not overly sweet, nor is it overwhelmingly soy-sauce flavored. It's as easy to eat as it is to prepare. Ingredients Pork or Beef Roast (I used a 3 pound pork blade roast most recently - whatever is cheap) 1/2 c. soy sauce 1/2 c. water 1.5 Tbsp cider vinegar 2-3 Tbsp brown sugar (more if you want it sweeter) 1 Tbsp yellow mustard powder 1 tsp ground pepper 1 2" cube of ginger, cut into slices 2 medium cloves garlic, cut in half 1-2 dried red chilis (to taste) Combine sauce ingredients. Taste for balance. Place roast in crockpot, pour sauce over roast, let cook until it's dinner time. If you're feeling fancy, you can add some veggies to the crockpot at the very end. Make sure it ...

This is unfortunately a bit of a non-recipe, since I just eyeball the ingredients. However, it turns out delicious every time I've made it, it takes almost no effort, and it makes a lot. Obviously beef and broccoli is normally a stir-fry and doesn't make that long to cook. The advantage to this recipe is that it allows you to use a really cheap roast cut instead of more expensive cuts good for stir frying, and it actually takes even less effort than stir frying. Beef roast (~2 lbs) - my favorite is London Broil, since the grain makes for pieces that are great for picking up with chop sticks 1/2 onion, cut into wedges Sauce: 3-6 garlic cloves depending on size 2-3 slices of ginger Soy sauce (Tablespoons) Oyster sauce (Tablespoon-2 Tblsp) Rice wine/sherry (Tablespoon) Water Cornstarch + cold water (optional) Broccoli Mix up the sauce and taste. I often end up making too little - the roast will contribute less liquid than you think.Adding water actually helps the ...

So this is a very traditional, and very delicious dish from the Arab Levant. It is called "maqluba" which means "flipped over" due to the very last step of flipping the pot onto a serving platter. I always laugh because instead of being chicken on rice, it's rice on chicken until that last step, and so a totally different dish than the chicken on rice that's eaten most of the time. There are a variety of typical styles of this dish. The style here is with chicken, cauliflower ('zahra' in Jordanian Arabic) and carrots, also optionally featuring potatoes. Meat and eggplant is another style, featured here .  Another tradition style, especially in spring or early summer is with fresh fava beans and meat ( here's a recipe in English ). Ingredients: 2-3 pounds chicken (whatever cuts you want) 1 large cauliflower, cut into florets 3-4 carrots, cut into large chunks (I do this by cutting at a diagonal to the carrot) 3 medium waxy potatoes, dice...

Ages ago I bought some szechuan peppercorns for a recipe, and haven't tried many recipes with them since. They're very strange - they have what can only be described as a floral, citrisy taste, a bit like lychees (but less floral). In this dish, based loosely on authentic szechuan chicken recipes, they lend a really nice counterpoint to the chilies, but you don't want to add too much and overwhelm things. Note that this is a fairly dry stir fry. I made this with Japanese eggplants, but if you only have normal eggplant, cutting it into cubes might actually be nice, since they'd be a similar shape to the chicken chunks. Ingredients 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (breasts reheat better for leftovers), cubed 5 Japanese eggplants, in slices 3+2 cloves garlic, sliced 1.5 teaspoons peeled sliced fresh ginger 1 heaping tablespoon szechuan peppercorn 3-8 Chinese-style dried red chilis, seeds removed 3 tablespoons dry sherry or rice wine 2 tab...

I made this not quite realizing that it was a real recipe - I was thinking of making shish barak (see Mimi's recipe for that), which is kind of like Middle Eastern ravioli. However, I had no patience for making all those little ravioli, but I really enjoyed that sauce. Only later did I realize that this is a legitimate, traditional recipe, called Kufta bil-laban, "Kufta in yogurt." (Not so helpful for everyone, but here 's a recipe for it in Arabic.) Ingredients 1.25 pounds lean ground beef 2 tsp. allspice 1/2 tsp. cumin 1/4 tsp. white pepper 1/4 tsp. black pepper 1/4 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional) Dash nutmeg 2 cups yogurt (or 1.75 c. yogurt, 1/4 cup water if yogurt is very thick, like greek yogurt. Middle eastern yogurt is normally a bit watery) 3 tsp. corn starch 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 Tbsp. (or to taste) cilantro, minced (optional) Olive oil for sauteing Preparation Preheat oven to 450, or broiler if yo...

So this isn't really a recipe of our own so much as a link, since Melanie and I don't change the recipe at all, let alone enough to justify reposting it. We did use some herbs de provence last time, which was nice too. This is one of those really simple one-dish meals that turns out amazingly every time, it's got a nice mix of veggies, starch and protein, and it's gluten free. Obviously, you don't need to use the brand name sausage from the recipe, especially if you live down the street from Kramarczuk's, but it is pretty tasty. Here's the Sausage Potato Bake from Recipe Girl.

This is a very simple and easy recipe for when you either have lots of leftover rice, or when you have almost nothing fresh in the house but a full pantry. It's a traditional, cheap Egyptian dish, and while I still haven't visited Egypt, I'm told I make it pretty close to the original. It's a pretty complete meal, it's tasty, and it makes a lot with little effort. I'm giving the recipe as if you're making it from scratch - if you already have one of the ingredients leftover, just add it in towards the end, so it can absorb some of the heat from the other ingredients. Ingredients: 1 c. brown lentils 1 c. white rice 1 c. elbow macaroni (Optional: 1 can chick peas, cooked a little to soften further OR use Chana Masala for extra spice!) 1 large can diced or crushed tomatoes (28oz) 2 Tbsp diced garlic 2 Tbsp white vinegar Crushed red pepper to taste S&P (Optional: squirt or two of  vodka to bring out the flavor of the tomatoes) 1 large onion...

This was inspired by a dish served at a local Indian restaurant, and then based on techniques from this very different curry. I'm still developing it, but it turned out so well I thought I'd post the version I made tonight. Ingredients 1/2 onion, minced 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds (optional) 3 cloves garlic 1.5" segment of ginger root, peeled 1 tsp. cumin seeds 1/2 tsp. turmeric 1 tsp. ground black pepper 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper 4 cardamom pods 1/4 c. blanched, peeled almonds 1/4 c. roasted, unsalted cashews 1/2 c. water  1 can coconut milk  1 large pinch saffron, soaked in 1/4 c. warm water 1 cauliflower, cut into small flourets 2 chicken breasts, cut into thin pieces Smoosh the garlic and ginger root together - I did this in a mortar and pestle, you could probably achieve a similar effect with enough mincing with a knife. Blend the almonds, cashews and water in a food processor until it makes a smooth liquid. In a mix of 1...

I adapted this recipe from Hazans' "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking." I got the cookbook a couple months ago, expecting to find more warm-weather food, but she tends towards comfort foods so I've been waiting for it to get cool enough to make this recipe. It turned out extremely well - the flavor is much deeper than you expect to be, and the chicken picks up the sweetness of the cabbage splendidly. I highly recommend serving it with something with a bit of mouth feel - it was brilliant with homemade egg noodles , and I imagine it would be good with roasted brown rice also. Ingredients 1 onion, sliced very thin 2-4 cloves garlic, quartered 1/4 c. olive oil + 1 Tbsp. 1/2 head red cabbage, shredded 1 Tbsp kosher salt 1 cut up chicken 1/2 c. dry red wine 1 Tbsp. dry sherry (optional) Preparation Combine onion, garlic and 1/4 c. olive oil in a heavy bottomed high sided pan, like a dutch oven, or in a very large saute pan, like the one y...

I've been finding Moroccan style sausage at many different meat shops lately. This was made with goat merguez sausage from Clancey's, which had really good flavor. I used a spice blend, but I'm sure you could use fresh spices and add some more ingredients (like dried fruit), but it turned out tasty when made this simple way. 4 links Merguez sausage, sliced 1 large onion, chopped coarsely 2 carrots, in large chunks 2 c. small cauliflower florets 2 Tbsp. tomato paste 3 Tbsp. Moroccan spice blend (ras al-hanout) 1 Tbsp. minced ginger 1 can chickpeas 1.5 c. chicken broth 6 Tbsp. butter Use a heavy bottomed pot to heat 4 Tbsp. of butter. Add the onions and saute until soft and starting to caramelize. Add the sausage and cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes until the liquid cooks off and everything starts to sizzle. Add the tomato paste and stir so it is well distributed. Stir in the spice blend and ginger. Add the carrots and 1 c. chicken broth and cover, simmering for 20...

We made these for a "fictional food" themed party. This makes 10, so you may want to scale it down. Thank you to Clancey's meats for accommodating my cutlet request. The rest I based on Roman flavors and the goal of making everything as green as possible. They turned out delicious and I didn't even get punched in the face by Charlton Heston! 10 pork or veal cutlets 2 leeks 1 head escarole or other leafy green 1 can white beans, drained 1/2 c. frozen green peas 1 handful fresh parsley 1 tsp thyme 1 tbsp whole cumin seeds 1/4 c. shredded Romano cheese 1 Tbsp. fish sauce 1-2 Tbsp. verjus or white wine vinegar Salt and fresh ground black pepper Sprinkle the cutlets with salt and pepper and keep them cold in the refrigerator. Overall the rolls are easier to handle if they are kept cold. Cut the leaks lengthwise and wash each leaf under running water to remove grit. Chop coarsely. Wash the escarole and parsley and chop coarsely. Defrost the peas. ...

This is not exactly the dish from our childhood, since it's a bit more complex than the "quick, we need some food" version that's in the Melting Pot cookbook. However, the freshly roasted poblano pepper really gives it a lot more flavor than if you use canned chilies, and roasting them really doesn't take that long. I recommend gloves for processing the pepper.   Ingredients 2 poblano peppers (or if you're spiciness adverse, 1 poblano and 1 Anaheim pepper), roasted, skinned, and cut into thin 1-2" long strips 1 can black beans, drained 1/4 onion, minced finely 1 c. grated cheddar (for filling) and 1/2 c. for topping 2 Tbsp. minced cilantro 1/4-1/2 c. salsa (depending on desired juiciness) (Optional) 1 cooked chicken breast, shredded 1-2 tsp. salt Corn tortillas Diced tomatoes for garnish   Instructions Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Whomp together everything except 1/2 c. of cheese, which you'll use for the topping. Check the seas...

I synthesized this from a couple of recipes. It turned out pretty well, and we could use some more Indian recipes on the blog. Ingredients 1/2 pound paneer or tofu 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1.5-2" squares 1.5 Tbsp coriander seeds 2 dried red chilies 4-6 cloves garlic, minced 4-6 medium tomatoes (depending on desired sauciness), peeled by immersing in hot water 1/4" slice of fresh ginger, skinned 1/2 tsp turmeric 1 tsp cumin seeds 2 Tbsp chopped fenugreek or celery leaves Salt Preparation Fry coriander seeds and chili peppers in about 2 Tbsp oil until the seeds start to brown slightly, then add garlic and cook until golden brown, taking care not to burn the coriander seeds. Combine the stuff in the pan, the tomatoes, and the ginger in a food processor or blender. Puree well. Fry the paneer in oil until browned. In the same pan, fry the bell pepper, taking care not to overcook them since they'll be cooked more later. Drain on a paper towel. In the same pan, if...