The Passover Roll, as seen above, accompanying matzo ball soup, is a bit of a culinary enigma. Before having seders with my wife’s family, I had never encountered them before.
My family (admittedly reform Jews) on both sides traditionally would have matzohs during the seder, the kugels, and of course, the matzo ball soup. But the idea of having ersatz bread or rolls during Passover was a bit alien to me, and questionably pesasik.
The whole point is that you are not supposed to eat bread during Passover, right? You’re supposed to want for it.
Here’s a classic OTB post that I thought you would all enjoy — Jason
The summer, now entering full swing, brings us into the seasonal consumption of cold caffeinated beverages.
I have recently been asked about the proper method for making Iced Coffee, as with the current economy being what it is, people now have the desire to drink and make Megabucks-style iced coffee creations in their own homes and workplaces, rather than spend $2.60-$3 per 16 ounce glass in a store surrounded by trendy jackasses using Macbooks and sipping their green tea lattes.
There are a number of ways you can produce very good iced coffee in your very own home, some involving Scientological devices such as “Cold brewing” requiring 8-hour preparation methods, snobbish apparatus such as “Toddys” as well as diluting espresso shots with iced water in order to produce “Iced Americanos’ and the like.
To this, I say, phooey.
To make really good iced coffee, you will need an inexpensive can of Latino-style “Espresso Coffee” such as Cafe Bustelo, El Pico or Pilon, or an inexpensive Italian-style brand such as Medaglio d’Oro (these are all made by the same company, Rowland Coffee Roasters out of Miami).
These all go for about $2.50-$3.50 for a 10 ounce can or $2.50 for a 10oz brick. If these brands are unavailable in your area, try either Community Coffee Dark Roast (With or without Chicory, this depends on your taste) or Cafe du Monde.
Latino-Style Espresso Coffees. Cafe Bustelo, Pilon, and El Pico are all made by Rowland Coffee Roasters in Miami, Florida.
Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.
Here’s an oldie, but a goodie. Happy Chanukah — Jason and Rachel
This last Sunday, Rachel’s family got together and had a Hanukkah party, a week early. We were given the task of making the latkes, the venerable Ashkenazi-Jewish pan fried potato pancakes.
Although I tend to favor Sephardic-style cuisine, Latkes are among my favorite things from Ashkenazi (European) Jewish culture, and I hold them in extremely high regard. Hanukkah isn’t a particularly important Jewish holiday but I look forward to the annual latke frying ritual with great anticipation.
I didn’t grow up on homemade latkes — my mother wasn’t much of a cook and she wouldn’t use oil of any kind in the house because she hated the smell of grease and fried food. Frankly, I can’t blame her. The act of frying latkes will create odors that will linger in your kitchen for several days, and even with the best ventilation will require that your entire house get aired out in order to completely rid your home of the powerful chickeny/potatoey/oniony odor. Don’t let this deter you, however — the rewards are well worth it.
Want to learn how to make latkes? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.
Back by popular demand and Saveur.com is our Ultimate BLT post from 2007!
My dear friend Christine Nunn, who helped me with this project has since opened her own restaurant in Fair Lawn, New Jersey — Picnic, The Restaurant, where you can get the Ultimate BLT as an appetizer for a limited time or while summer Jersey tomatoes run out!
Ah, the BLT. In many ways, it is the ultimate and perfect expression of the sandwich, simple and yet one of the best possible sandwiches that you can eat. Still, the perfect BLT can be elusive, as most restaurants and people do not take the exacting level of care in order to construct the best BLT possible. Skimp on any of the ingredients, or use a component that is substandard in any way, and the entire sandwich fails.
In order to build the Ultimate BLT, one must be committed in Zen-like fashion to go to great lengths to source pristine ingredients. Indeed, an entire afternoon could be spent in trying to get all the right components, at considerable expense. It is neither a cheap nor an efficient affair, but it is well worth the effort.
To build the Ultimate BLT, I collaborated with CIA-trained chef Christine Nunn of Picnic Caterers in Emerson, New Jersey, who came up with some great ideas, sourced some fantastic bread and tomatoes for us and assembled the incredible sandwiches you’re about to see.
Do you want to see how the Ultimate BLT is constructed? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.
As you may be able to surmise, she makes empanadas. Lots of them. All kinds of flavors. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Sandi Levitsky-Connor started out as a friend of a friend. She and her husband came to one of our dinners at Chengdu 1. Then we saw her at another dinner party, and another. More than once, she brought along some empanadas for everyone to taste. These little Latin fried pies are her specialty. I thought she made them just for fun and the love of cooking.
Apparently, she’s got quite a business going. In addition to the empanadas, she does private catering, but she’s really known for her empanadas. I had only tasted her two mainstays of beef with and without spicy jalapenos, but her more creative flavors, like Hummus and an Asian Chicken are as popular with customers, and her kids.
Jason invited Sandi over recently to document the empanada making process. You can make them yourself… It’s not that hard. But if you live in driving range of The Empanada Lady, you may soon find yourself ordering a couple dozen.
Sandi Levitsky-Connor, aka The Empanada Lady, demonstrated empanada making in the OTB kitchen.
Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.
Here’s another classic resurrected for the Chosen People… Foodies. Enjoy.
— Jason
Matzo Brei — some people like to eat it just during Passover, but I like it all year round. To me, it’s the ultimate breakfast food. Both savory and sweet, it combines both aspects of French Toast and scrambled eggs in one package.
The version we are going to do is a savory version which we’ll top with syrup. You can also do a strictly sweet version, but I think the whole notion of that is insipid — you really want the contrast of the savory and sweet together.
The first thing you’ll need to do is take half a box of plain matzos (which you can buy year round), crack them in half, and then half again, and soak them in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes.
Then you want to drain them in a colander so they are just soaked and a little soggy, but not swimming in water.
Are you ready to make the greatest Hebrew contribution to breakfast and brunch cuisine? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link for more.
Gary Wiviott’snew BBQ book published by Running Press (which he authored with food writer Colleen Rush) is based upon his popular web-based course on how to master the Weber Bullet smoker in 5 easy lessons. Unfortunately, because I decided to skip ahead to Step 3 after Step 1, he threw my ass out of the program.
Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.
The Spanish Care Package from Pedro Espinosa Silva. Click to enlarge.
Today, I received a curious package via international mail — addressed to me from Gastrovin Principano, in the town of Gijóninthe Principality of Asturias, Spain.
It turned out my friend and food writer Pedro Espinosa Silva, who was formerly the Spain host and manager at eGullet, had sent me a generous present thanking me for sending him some wireless computer equipment that he had paid for in the US but needed to have sent abroad last spring.
Like Daniel Jackson, the archeologist and linguistics expert on Stargate SG-1, I tried to figure out what all of these contents meant. I could identify most of it — Extra Virgin Single Estate Olive Oil, Spicy and Sweet Spanish Paprika, White Asparagus, Sea Urchin Pate, and Mancha-grade Spanish Saffron. But sealed meats and the beans I couldn’t figure out what they were for, until I sprung this by fellow foodie Sam Kinsey, who immediately identified its contents, and I did some reading on Wikipedia. Yes, these things could be used to make Tapas, but specifically, Pedro was sending me a message… he wants me to make Fabada Asturiana.
The beans, it turns out, are Fabes de Granja, Asturian White Beans, and the sausages are Chorizo and Morcilla (blood sausage). The long pork meat is bacon, to be simmered in the dish. I’m guessing the other type of ham is a bonus, to be eaten as tapas.
Well I guess I know what I’m making this thanksgiving to go with the turkey! Fabada and tapas!
This year, Father’s Day was a little bit different. We usually do the steaks and hamburgers and hot dogs and chicken on the grill thing, with baked potatoes, beers and the usual stuff at my in-laws (my own parents now live in Florida, free from the ravages of brutal New York winters). However, Rachel and her mom decided that we would have Father’s Day at our home this year, so we cooked for the occasion — in our now more health-conscious style.
For appetizers, I bought some Quahog clams at the Asian market, cooked them a bit on a grill until they opened and yielded their juices, and then chopped them up with some garlic, scallion, chile pepper, cherry tomatoes, and mixed them up (with the clam juices) with cubed whole grain bread in order to make a stuffing, which I sauteed in a pan. I then placed several cooked shrimp in each metal tray and scooped the stuffing on top, to make my own version of Baked Stuffed Clams.
After baking in the Weber for a few minutes to get a nice brown crust on top.
Ready for some more Father’s Day vittles? Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.
Ah yes, the pleasures of the Thai Yum. When it turns summer and disgustingly hot, and you feel like your energy has been sapped from the oppressive weather, spicy and tangy Asian salads can be a refreshing and satisfying boost — and for the most part, they’re pretty healthy too.
Larb is one of my favorite Thai dishes. Chances are, if I am going to a Thai restaurant for the first time and they have Larb on the menu, its what I am going to be ordering — it’s one of those “benchmark” dishes because its so simple to make. Anyone can make a good Larb at home, because it doesn’t require difficult to obtain ingredients (fish sauce is easy to get these days) or technical skills to prepare. Larb was a huge subject of interest back when I was still involved on eGullet — it was one of those huge monster threads that kept on going, and going. The general rule of thumb is that If it’s a protein, you can larb it. I have to give fellow blogger tommyeats the credit for starting it, it was inspired genius.
Larb, Laab, Larp… doesn’t matter what you call it, let’s eat it! Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for more.
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