Category Archives: Home Cookin’

Atsa Some Sangweech!

Posted on by

Speaking of things that customarily grace my Christmas table, a platter of full-bodied Italian salumi, freshly baked crusty Italian bread, and an Italian cheeseboard have always taken center stage alongside my homemade insalata di frutti di mare, caponata, roasted tomatoes with smoked mozzarella, Christmas pasta salad, and more. (The word abbondanza comes to mind.) I honestly don’t know how Italian specialties specifically became the order of the day, but no one has ever complained. (They wouldn’t dare.)

Sadly, this year there would be no parties of any kind, family, friends, or curious hungry neighbors.

Back in the day, folks would sometimes take it upon themselves to fashion a sandwich tableside from savory components, and I got to thinking that since I was flying solo this year (ergo no flights of fancy), I’d make a huge sammich that would last for several days when cut it into pieces and could stand up to oven warming.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

While window-rattling Christmas music penetrated my kitchen (my antidepressant of choice these days), I constructed the two-foot long behemoth you see here. What’s in it in addition to Genoa salami, you ask? Pruhzhoot (aka prosciutto), zoopruhzaht (aka soppressata), gabagool (aka capocollo), mortadell (aka mortadella, but don’t confuse it with the ubiquitous pasta filata cheese, mootzadell) – and that’s just the meat contingent.


I limited the cheeses to nutty asiago for sweetness, the regulation provolone for sharpness, smoked mozzarella for meltiness and added a little sautéed onions and peppiz – veggies mean it’s good for you, right? The dressing was EVOO and balsamic vinegar kicked up with oregano, chopped fresh basil and the like. My secret ingredients? Agrodolce (sweet and sour) sun dried peppers from Vantia and – less an ingredient and more a technique – I fry the gabagool like bacon before I add it to the sangweech – heresy perhaps, but crunchy and delizioso.

And you know what? Christmas dinner this year turned out to be pretty merry after all!

(This one goes out with apologies to all my Italian friends. 😉)
 
 

Homemade Christmas Cookies, Day 5 – Linzer Cookies

Posted on by

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Linzer Stars

🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
Finely ground almonds figure into in the sweet, tender dough; the filling is made from red currants that I bought when they were in season and preserved in anticipation of this maniacal operation. Why maniacal? Look closely and you’ll see that the powdered sugar blankets only the outer section of the star, yet the inner red star shines snow-free.
🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

Follow along to see how I do it:

Start with solid backs.

Add preserves around the perimeter but not in the center. (Neatness doesn’t count.)

Match tops to bottoms.

Let it snow, let it snow, etc.


Squirt a blob of preserves into the cutout.

Now here comes the maniacal part: For each cookie, use a toothpick to draw out the five points of the star.

Et voilà!

The cookies are complete and packed up. Here’s the negative space that was left behind!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
🎅🎄☃️❄️
 
 

Homemade Christmas Cookies, Day 2 – Biscotti

Posted on by

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Biscotti

🍪🍪
These twice-cooked treats (aka cantuccini) are laden with toasted almonds and dried cherries that I simmered in Amaretto. Delicious dunked in coffee for breakfast, wine for dessert (as they do in Italy), or cocoa for snowstorms.
🍪🍪

Stay tuned: more cookies to come!
 
 

Homemade Christmas Cookies, Day 1 – Identity Crisis Cookies

Posted on by

When I bake Christmas cookies, it’s the same cast of characters every year. Not that this old dog can’t learn new tricks, it’s just that after I’ve made my signature treats, I usually don’t have enough energy left to take pictures of them. (Although somehow I do manage to muster the energy to consume them!)

So here are some past photos of those goodies. Enjoy!

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

Identity Crisis Cookies

🍪
So named because I couldn’t decide whether to make chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin or toasted coconut pecan and since I had all of those on hand…well, you get the picture.
🍪

More to come….
 
 

Lunch in a New York Minute

Posted on by

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

A post? Now? No time!

Supposed to be making treats for the holidays. Might not even be enough time to get it all done.

But…hungry right now. Need something faster than delivery. Fresh mushrooms in the fridge, rice noodles in the pantry, fresh ginger, garlic, scallions, onions, always a jar of “master sauce” on hand. Boil noodz, chop veg, stir fry, plate.

Time for artsy photo? Nope. Barely in focus.

Time for clever writing? Nope. Not even full sentences.

Lunch served. Back to holiday prep!
 
 

Leftover Latkes

Posted on by

If you saw my last post, it pictured only a few of the potato latkes I had made, so there was a stack of leftovers to contend with the next day at lunchtime. They really don’t reheat well – I mean, who wants a soggy, limp latke? – so some culinary cogitation would be called for. My thought process:

• Latkes are primarily potatoes and onions.
• What do I have in the house that’s brunchish? Eggs, among other things.
• Potatoes pair well with eggs – think frittatas.
• Onions pair well with eggs – think Western omelets.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

The solution? A latke omelet! (Omeletke? Omelatke?)

So I cut up some latkes and sautéed the pieces to get them extra crispy. Western omelets usually contain onion and sweet pepper but since the latkes were pre-onioned, I just needed to add a little diced red bell pepper to the sauté. I spooned the mixture onto the slowly cooking beaten egg (enriched with a touch of heavy cream left over from my Thanksgiving sides), plated it, and left just enough peeking out to identify the contents; a dusting of Spanish paprika and a few cilantro leaves provided the garnish.

The pink stuff? Western omelets also often contain ham. All I had in the house was “turkey pastrami” – which tastes nothing like turkey and even less like pastrami, but that’s what there was in the fridge. (Don’t ask.) I wanted the omelet to be latke-centric, so I decided to use the faux ham as an accompaniment. Sliced and sautéed it to get some crispy brown edges (crispy brown fixes everything), hit it with some cracked black pepper and fanned out the result beside the omelet.

Anything else? Perhaps round it out with some kind of veggie so I could pretend that it’s a balanced meal, so I cobbled together a quick shredded carrot and currant salad spiked with cumin, cinnamon and a sprinkle of hot paprika plus fresh lemon juice to bring it together.


The inner workings. Note the yummy crispy bits.

I actually might have enjoyed this more than just the plain latkes – and I’m feeling a little guilty about it.

Given the provenance, I guess it stands to reason.
 
 

A Chanukah Miracle in Brooklyn

Posted on by

The Jewish holiday of Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after its destruction in the second century B.C. The ceremony involved the lighting of a menorah, an oil lamp, but there was only enough oil to last for a single day. By a miracle, the menorah glowed for eight which is why Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, is celebrated for as many days. In Jewish households, a nine branched menorah is used; a single candle is lit on the first night and an additional candle is added each consecutive night, with the ninth position reserved for the shamash, a helper candle used to kindle the others.

Since the Chanukah miracle revolves around oil, tradition involves eating oil-centric fried foods. Sufganiot, jelly doughnuts, are the go-to sweet treat in Israel while Eastern Europe brings latkes to the table, potato pancakes customarily served with sour cream and apple sauce; here, we happily indulge in both.

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

My homemade latkes: shredded potatoes, minced onion, beaten eggs, baking powder, S&P, plus a binder like flour or matzo meal, shaped and fried in plenty of peanut oil and/or schmaltz (chicken fat) if you’re the decadent type 🙋‍♂️; they’re plated here with the requisite sour cream alongside chunky apple-strawberry sauce topped with sweet crystallized ginger. (You know me: I hadda be different.)


The recipe calls for salting and draining the potatoes; I simply set up a colander in the sink, squeezing out the liquids from time to time. But this year, I noticed something I had never witnessed before: the intricate patterns made by the drained, wet potato starch were as beautiful and mesmerizing as snowflakes! A present day Chanukah miracle!


The photo enlarged.

Now, look very, very closely and you can see a tiny, perfect Chanukah menorah in the pattern. Go ahead, keep searching. Stay focused. Take your time. Don’t pay any attention to me. I’ll just, um, finish off these latkes while you’re trying to find it….
 
 
!חַג חֲנוּכָּה שַׂמֵחַ
Happy Chanukah!
 
 

Taking Sides at Thanksgiving

Posted on by

My understanding is that families who gather together on Thanksgiving sometimes end up seated around the table arguing, ultimately taking sides.

In my politically sane family, we don’t take sides – we bring sides, to the Thanksgiving table that is, because we do a potluck.

My contributions this year were Scalloped Potatoes with Leeks and Bacon…

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)

As served.


Fresh out of the oven. Only a pint of heavy cream and a pound and a half of bacon went into this low-cal dish. 😜

…and Savory Corn Pudding.

As served.


Fresh out of the oven. It’s a signature recipe of mine that uses frozen corn – evaluated and actually better than fresh for this – as well as Cope’s dried sweet corn. I marvel at the way the snipped chives always find their way to the top. Did I mention that half a pound of butter and more than a pint of heavy cream were ingredients as well?

Hope your Thanksgiving was a peaceful one too!