Extra Schmaltz!

I came up with this recipe at The Byway, when my roomies and I were famished and didn't have much in the house except some iffy potatoes, some freezer-burned sausage, and some fabulous pesto given to us by a friend. The whole turned out to be far greater than the sum of its parts and now this is one of my standbys. It can be made with either pasta or potatoes, but I think it's best with the more unexpected potatoes. This dish is especially welcome in the dead of winter when basil seems like a miracle. Here it is with pasta, but I assure you it's tastier with potatoes. 3-4 links of Italian sausage, sliced into rounds 2 handfuls of waxy potatoes (~1.5 lbs), cut into large-bite size chunks OR 3/4 box pasta 1 onion, diced into large-ish chunks 2 green peppers, cut the same as the onions (optional) 2-3 spoonfuls pesto Olive oil for frying Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until they're mostly cooked, but not falling apart (or make pasta). Drain well, reserving a cup o...

Well, I have actually NO idea how to cook a proper tajine, and in fact I've only eaten them a couple times. However, I was trying to get rid of ingredients, and this is sort of what resulted. When my friend gets back from Morocco, I will be sure to force her to teach me what she's learned. The proportions below are based on what I used, YMMV. Ingredients: 2 chicken thighs 2 carrots 1/2 large onion 1 can chickpeas (I added the liquid from this as well) 2 tomatoes 1 thai bird chili 5 or so allspice berries 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks 5 or 6 small bay leaves Pinch whole cloves Pinch whole cumin seeds A little chopped ginger A little curry powder A little ground tumeric Squirt of honey Put everything in crockpot. Add a bit of liquid (chicken broth, water)I put it on high for 4 hours, but you could probably throw everything together in the morning, put it on low, and return after work to food. I served it on couscous made instant style (approx equal parts boiling broth/water and couscous...

Someone just asked me for this recipe, so I figured I'd put it online as well: Kunaafa كنافة Main dessert: • Cheese- I recommend something fairly flavorless- either get special cheese at the Arab market, or mozzarella (without salt is probably best)- As much as you want. • Shredded Filo dough(probably one package is good) • 2 sticks butter Syrup: • 1.5 cups sugar • ¾ cup water • Optional: - 1 tsp. rose water - 1 tsp. lemon juice Main dessert: 1. Melt butter 2. Rip Filo pastry into slightly smaller chunks 3. Pour melted butter over Filo pastry- mix thoroughly 4. Butter baking dish. 5. Crumble cheese into pan 6. Put Filo on top of cheese 7. Put pan in oven at 425 until cheese is melted and Filo is golden brown. Syrup: 1. Mix sugar and water 2. Cook until syrupy. 3. Add rose water and/or lemon juice 4. Cook a tad longer. 5. Pour over cooked kunaafa (individually or on the same thing) Notes: - You can put pistachios over the kunaafa as well. - To keep it warm, you...

For mom's birthday I decided to make her some pelmeni (Russian dumplings) with my awesome new pelmeni-maker. I learned about this clever device when we had crazy Russian neighbors on Jackson Street, and the babushka of the house invited us over and made a batch of pelmeni. I hadn't come across the mold in any of the Russian stores around town so I turned to eBay and sure enough I found it there. I ordered it and it was delivered within 3 weeks for under $25. It's a fantastic way to decrease the labor involved in making tasty, tasty little dumplings. The instructions that came with it were very poorly translated into English, but Joe's roommate was able to translate them much better from the original Russian. So far I've only made meat-filled pelmeni, but the possibilities for fillings are boundless and could involve potatoes, vegetables, kasha, or whatever you can think up. Here's the step-by-step process I used with recipes along the way: The Dough This is a ba...

This might just be the perfect weeknight meal. Have you ever thought to yourself, "wouldn't it be awesome if there was a combination of scrambled eggs and macaroni and cheese that also contained ham and only took about half an hour to make?" Then this is the recipe for you! It's incredibly simple and deeply satisfying. Make this and a simple vegetable side and you'll be full for hours and possibly even ready to run a marathon. My version is fairly close to the original Italian style, but with more locally available ingredients. Instead of pancetta I used diced ham, and instead of romano cheese I used sharp white cheddar. Some recipes complicate things by adding peas or parsley, but really it's supposed to just be noodles, eggs, cheese, black pepper, and a little ham (you could even use leftover roast fowl instead). I'm an overachiever, so I made my pasta from scratch, but this is still totally delicious with boxed noodles. TIP: You must remember to reserv...

I made this dish up a couple years back. It's really easy, but tasty as well. Large quantity okra, rinsed, then chopped. Or from a freezer bag. Jalapeno(s), diced (to taste!) Large quantity(3-6 cloves, depending on size) garlic Onion, diced Tomatoes, diced Boneless skinless chicken, in chunks Chicken broth (preferably real, but you can get away with cubes. Just not as tasty) Sweat onions in pan, add chicken, jalapeno, and garlic and tomato. Cook on low until chicken is mostly cooked. Add okra and enough chicken broth for a stew-like consistency, cook until okra is no longer woody. Serve over rice.

I made this a while back and forgot to post the recipe. Hopefully I'm remembering it right. It was my first time using dried baby lima beans and it turns out they have a nice buttery texture, just right for soup. The only sausage I had on hand was bratwurst and it actually came out well, but you can use any other kind. For fresh herbs I used marjoram and thyme. If you like, you can make this a tomato-ey soup by adding tomato paste and diced tomatoes, or you can add greens at the ends for a vegetable soup. The sausage can be omitted to make it vegetarian, but be sure to increase the spices. 1 lb. baby lima beans, soaked, rinsed, and drained 2 large sausage links, or equivalent in pan sausage 1 onion, diced 4 celery ribs, diced 2 carrots, diced 2 Tbsp. butter 1 tsp. crushed red pepper 2 Tbsp. fresh herbs of choice, minced 1-2 garlic cloves, minced salt & pepper 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar 1 Tbsp. ketchup water to cover Begin by sauteing the onions, celery, and carrots in butter in a he...