Extra Schmaltz!

This dish (sometimes called lagman) is part of Sogd cuisine, food from what we call "the 'stans", in the general region of The Silk Road. The recipe is from one of my most prized possessions: a self-published cookbook from our tour guides in Tajikistan. Characteristics of this cuisine are various noodles and dumplings, rice dishes, lamb and beef, and lots and lots of herbs. This dish is traditionally made with hand-pulled noodles, but a reasonable substitution is dried bucatini. I recommend cooking the meat in a pressure cooker or insta-pot for tenderness & time saving. This makes enough for two people. Double for more. Noodles: 1/2 lb. bucatini, cooked in well salted water Sauce: 2 Tbsp. oil 1/2 lb. ground lamb or beef 1 clove garlic, minced 1 onion, sliced thin 1 cup shredded cabbage 1 turnip, peeled and cubed 1-2 Roma tomatoes, diced 1 red bell pepper, diced 2-4 c. water or broth salt and pepper to taste Garnish: 2 Tbsp. parsley, minced 2 Tbsp...

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 ...

I cooked this one directly from one of my favorite food blogger's sites, Eating Thai Food . It basically takes your laab game ( beef or chicken ) up to the next level. Grilled beef, mint, Thai spices...what's not to like? My version, served with cabbage leaves (you can roll them up like a taco with the meat; lettuce also works) and sticky rice. Marinade 1 lb flank steak 1 tbsp ground black pepper 1.5 tbsp light soy sauce Marinate the beef for about an hour. Grill the steak and allow it to rest 5 minutes or more on a plate, reserving any juices. Slice across the grain into bite-sized strips. Salad 2 Tbsp khao khua (toasted sticky rice powder, check out the recipe here ) 4 Tbsp fish sauce 1 tsp sugar 1 – 2 tbsp chili flakes 3 Tbsp lime juice 6-7 small shallots, sliced thinly, ~1/3 c. 2 green onion, minced 1 handful mint leaves + more to garnish Combine the sliced beef with the salad ingredients and any beef juices that collected on your pl...

Typical potluck bean salad is an affront to the senses: bland yet pungent, mushy, tin-can-flavored filler. This recipe is none of those things. It's a simple and quick preparation that highlights fresh herbs and ever-delicious olive oil. I recommend using white wine vinegar (NOT all-purpose distilled white or cider vinegar), but you could also use lemon juice or verjuice . 1 can cannellini (white kidney) beans 1/4 c. red onion, finely chopped 1/4 c. celery, finely chopped 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil 2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar 1 small handle fresh parsley, chopped 1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped salt and black pepper to taste 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped (optional) Drain and rinse the beans. Rinse the onions in cold water for ~ 30 seconds to reduce their pungency. Place the beans, onions, and celery in a bowl and add the oil, vinegar, and seasonings to taste. Stir in the egg right before serving, if desired. Also good with a pungent cheese, such as feta. Feel free...

If your chive plant is anything like mine, you need to hack it back so it doesn't compete with the rest of the herb garden. Also, it's going to be months before we have an abundance of basil, so here's a yummy spring pesto! 1 large handful of chives 1 medium handful of parsley 1 small handful of oregano, mint, or other fresh herbs 4 cloves garlic 1/4 c. blanched almonds or pine nuts 1/4 c. olive oil 2 tsp. black pepper 2-3 tsp. Kosher salt 1/4 c. grated Pecorino Romano cheese Wash all herbs thoroughly and remove the thickest stems. Use kitchen scissors to cut them into manageable pieces. Lightly toast the nuts in a dry pan. Remove the nuts and then lightly toast the whole garlic cloves to remove some of their pungency. When the nuts are cool, add them to a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add the herbs a small handful at a time until well chopped. Add the black pepper and salt and pulse. With the food processor running, drizzle in the o...

I don't know if this is a true chimichurri: if you want a discussion of what that means, read here . What it is is a zingy green-ish sauce that's good on meat and fish. It's very intense when you first make it, but it will mellow in the fridge. I used the herbs I had on hand--you can certainly alter these if you like. I actually left out the oil last time, since I wanted to use it as an extra-zingy topping. If you are going to use it as a marinade, add the oil, which will help with heat transfer when you cook with it, and will protect the herbs from scorching. 1/2 c. mild olive oil or grapeseed oil (optional--see note above) 1/2 c. onion 3 garlic cloves 1 c. chopped tomatoes 1 small medium-spicy chili 1 bundle cilantro 1/2 bundle parsley 2 limes, juiced 1/4 c. red or white wine vinegar 1 Tbsp. dried mint, or several branches of fresh 1 Tbsp. thyme 1 Tbsp. marjoram 2 tsp. ground cumin 2 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. salt 3 Tbsp. salt or to taste 2 bay leaves G...

You know what they say about the importance of food presentation...wait, what is it they say? This zingy green sauce is often served with Afghani food. It's sort of a Central Asian version of pesto, though it does not contain oil. It's easy to make and keeps well. It's great on grilled meat, or anything really. You will need a blender or food processor. 1 large bunch cilantro or 2 smaller bunches 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed 3 garlic cloves 4 walnuts 1 c. white vinegar 1 Tbsp. salt 1-2 Tbsp. sugar, to taste Chop the cliantro, hot pepper, garlic, and wanuts in a food processor, until very fine. Add vinegar, salt, and sugar to taste. Alternately, combine all ingredients in a blender at once and blend until fine. Makes a watery chutney that tastes best after it sits for a couple of hours. Store in a tightly closed container in the fridge--should last for several weeks. You can add some lemon or lime juice, but do not substitute it entirely for the vinegar, which gives an i...

Not a quick weeknight meal, but well worth it in the end! If you've ever ordered pho ga at a restaurant, you've probably found it to be an under-flavored, pale shadow of the classic pho bo (beef). Instead, try making it at home, where you can crank up the flavor and have as much garnish as you want! This is especially good if you are cooking for a crowd. There's a lot of prep, but it's worth it in the end. I recommend using a pressure cooker to speed up the process. Broth : 1 whole chicken (optional: add extra chicken backs, feet, or necks for more flavor) 2 2-3" cinnamon sticks (ideally Vietnamese cassia type) 6 pieces star anise 2-3 onions (save 1/2 for the garnish) 4" piece of ginger 6 cloves garlic 2 Tbsp. whole black peppercorns 6 whole cloves, separated and slightly crushed 4 Tbsp. fish sauce, divided 2 Tbsp. brown sugar ground black pepper salt Slice the onion into halves and do the same to the ginger root. Place them in the bottom of your stockpot, wit...

This is an extremely simple roast chicken dish that was orgasmic. I made some dill butter and put it under the skin of $.79/lb chicken quarters, then salted and peppered the exterior. I browned the chicken briefly in a pan, and roasted it on 475 until crispy and delicious. For the potatoes, I diced small red spuds and microwaved them in a covered bowl for about 5 minutes, until fork tender. They went in the oven with the chicken, and because of the pre-cooking, finished at about the same time. I simply tossed them with butter, salt, pepper, and chopped parsley. The couscous with smoked paprika was almost superfluous.

This recipe was sort of implied in our previous gnocchi post , but I thought I'd post it as a stand-alone recipe because it's just so darn good. The time consuming part is making the gnocchi, but once that's done with the rest goes quickly. If you want to freeze some for future use (which you will be very thankful you did), freeze the gnocchi in a single layer after they are formed, but before they are boiled. Once they're frozen fully, place them in a ziploc bag and simply dump them in boiling water when you're ready to eat them. They can be eaten right after boiling or fried in a little oil if you want crisp edges. Use the guidelines below as a ratio, which you can increase for a larger batch. This makes enough for 2 meals for 2 people or so. Apparently true gnocchi don't even contain egg, but I haven't tried the recipe that way. If you try that and it works out, let me know. The gnocchi with lamb summer sausage and steamed brussels sprouts (I grew them!)...

I haven't been cooking that much lately (my energies have instead been spent on pickling and preserving things), but tonight I got back into the kitchen and put together an excellent meal. Saltimbocca (literally, 'jumps in your mouth') can be made with chicken, veal, or pork cutlets, and this time I opted for boneless, skinless chicken thighs. It's wrapped in prosciutto, though I used some awesome, thin-sliced, Canadian bacon from Anoka Meats, which was surprising similar to prosciutto. The key ingredient is fresh sage, so if you don't have any just let me know and I will give you some! I have plenty in my garden. Some people add capers to the dish, some people add spinach, but I like to just keep it simple. Make it however you like. Yummy yummy! You can't see the sage, but it's underneath the outer layer of the rolls. It give the dish its characteristic flavor, which you don't taste very often. 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. chicken, veal, or pork cutlets enough thin ...

This one-dish recipe accomplishes three valuable things: a) uses frozen convenience foods, b) uses fresh summer vegetables, and c) feeds you tastily and quickly. I use packaged turkey kielbasa (the regular kind seems unnecessarily greasy to me), but it would be good with Kramarczuk's Ukranian sausage. You can omit and substitute ingredients according to what you have--I'm simply posting it how I made it last night as inspiration. I try to fry the ingredients more or less separately, but if you're feeling lazy and unconcerned by things getting mushy you can put it all together at once. 1 package potato & onion pierogies 1 turkey kielbasa, in 1/4" diagonal slices 3 small yellow summer squash, in 1/4" slices 3 shallots, minced coarsely 1 tomato, diced 1 handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I used marjoram and parsley) a few glugs Vermouth or white wine S & P oil for frying Use your biggest frying pan and add a thin coating of oil. Fry the kielbasa in a single lay...