My mother has made these the past few years, and I was originally unimpressed, but Danielle insisted I make them for her this year, since she is missing the trip home for mom’s.

They do make a very nice counter-point to all the rich chocolate and heavy caramel; being light in texture, and a little savory in taste.  And if you love corn muffins – these will not disappoint.

Lemon Cornmeal Cookies

————-

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (half stick) butter at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup Karo syrup
Zest from one large lemon
2 egg whites

Pre-heat over to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl cream sugar and butter until smooth.  Or mash with your hands as Danielle did for our batch (we were at a friend’s house and short on appliances)

Add oil, Karo syrup, lemon, and egg whites, and blend until smooth.

Combine flour, salt, cornmeal, and baking powder, and slowly beat into the sugar/butter mixture until smooth.

Spoon tbsp-sized lumps onto parchment paper and bake 10 minutes until edges just start to brown a bit.

Results

————-

    

It’s official.  After 5 years in my wonderful kitchen on the Upper West Side, Danielle and I have decided to choose life.  We have moved from our life in suburbia, down to the frantic Lower East Side.  I have traded Zabar’s for Russ and Daughters, Fairway for Essex Market, and the change suits me just fine.  Our new place is a bit more cozy…but the inclusion of a real fume hood, venting to the outside, makes the space a VAST improvement.

We have only one true hardship…a lack of dishwasher.  Have no fear, Best Buy is bringing my portable today, but in the mean time, I managed to squeeze in one, very intimate dinner, to break in the new equipment.

Sunday Dinner with our new neighbor – Jamie

~Menu~
Saxelby Cheese Selection (Essex Market)
Red Pepper and Eggplant Spread (courtesy Danielle’s Aunt)
Pain D’Avignon baguette (Essex Market)
Arugula salad with creamy vinaigrette
Summer Squash Casserole (veggies courtesy Essex Market grocery)
Roasted Salmon (New Star Fish Market, Essex Market)
Sea Salt & Orange/Ricotta Caramels, Saxelby Cheese

Creamy Vinaigrette
——————
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large salad bowl, whisk vinegar and mayo together until blended. Slowly whip in olive oil until desired thickness is achieved. Add a pinch of salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste.

Toss with greens, red onions. Serve.

Summer Squash Casserole
——————
2 carrots, peeled and loosely chopped
1 small onion, peeled and loosely chopped
1 yellow summer squash, one zucchini, and one patty pan squash diced in to 1″ chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, divided into 2 halves
1 tbsp hot paprika

In a medium pot, combine all ingredients through salt and pepper, and cover with water. (Just enough water so that the veggies are covered.) Boil about 20 minutes until veggies, especially the carrots, are soft.

Drain veggies and let cool about 5 minutes. Mash veggies loosely with a potato masher – leaving chunks. Stir in cream and 1/2 Parmesan and taste. Add more salt/pepper as needed.

Crack 2 eggs, beat and mix through the squash (this will thicken the casserole as it bakes.) Spread squash evenly in a casserole dish and cover with the second half Parmesan, and sprinkle with paprika.

You can refrigerate for up to 3 days at this point before baking, (0r freeze for months) or bake straight away.

To serve, bake casserole at 400 degrees, uncovered, for 45-60 minuted until heated through, and top is browned and bubbly.

Roast Salmon
——————
6 oz salmon filets (1 per person being served)
Fresh Dill
One lemon
Garlic powder (please no garlic salt)
Old Bay seasoning
Cayenne
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil

Place salmon filets on a baking sheet lined with foil for easy clean up. Sprinkle with an even coating of garlic powder and old bay. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over each filet, then coat with fresh dill fronds. Finally dribble a little olive oil over the top (salmon should be well coated with seasoning)

Bake salmon at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Salmon should be on the rare side. Let salmon sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Results:
——————
Everyone was super full after eating the entire block of amazing stinky cheese from Saxelby, but Jamie managed to still go for seconds on the squash casserole.

In late February I took my mom, little brother, and Paul on their first trip to Europe.  We started in London, took the train to Margraten, and then finished up in Berlin, checking out various WWII relics along the way.  Tonight we will look at pictures, laugh about the adventures, and try to recreate the food.

~Menu~
London: Steak and Guinness Pie
Margraten: Steak Tartar
Berlin: Currywurst and soft pretzels*

Steak and Guinness Pie
———————-
1 & 1/2 lb stew beef, cut into 1″ cubes
2 tbsp lard
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 bottle of Guinness
1 10 3/4 oz can of double strength beef broth (or reduced homemade)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground pepper
Salt to taste (note stock is salty and I didn’t need to add any, so taste first)

Use crust recipe from Apple Pie on blog, just skip the sugar and add a little pepper for a more savory take.

In a dutch oven, or other heavy sided pot with a lid, melt 1 tbsp lard and brown beef cubes. Remove beef and set aside. Add second tbsp lard and saute onion, carrot, celery and garlic until softened.

Add browned beef, Guinness, beef broth, thyme and pepper back to the pot and reduce heat to medium low, so that stew just simmers. Cover pot and simmer at least 1 hour. I let mine go about 1h 20m. You’ll know the stew is done when you can break up the beef with the back of a wooden spoon.

Break up all beef with a wooden spoon in the pot and simmer another few minutes with the lid off until the stew is thick with very little liquid left. Turn off heat and let cool slightly while you make the crust.

My crust recipe is very forgiving and does not need to be refrigerated. Make crust following recipe for apple pie and roll out half to fill a standard pie pan. Fill with beef stew. If stew is a little runny, perfect, if it seems almost dry, add in a little more Guinness to keep it moist while baking. Roll out second half of dough, cover pie, seal edges and cut a few vents.

Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes until crust is brown and insides are bubbling. I like to serve mine at room temperature, but if you can’t wait, it’s okay.

Steak Tartar
———————-
Okay I know it’s not necessarily Dutch, but we did eat it in Maastricht, and we served french fries and mayonnaise on the side to increase authenticity. I did mine without raw egg, only because the eggs in my mom’s fridge were old. Don’t be afraid to swap mayo in recipe for a yolk if you have a fresh one, it is better. ***recipe contains raw meat. Duh.

8 oz fresh-from-the-butcher sirloin, trimmed
1 tbsp fresh parley, chopped
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
A little Tabasco
2 tbsp capers packed in water, drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Immediately before serving, finely chop beef by hand, or in a food processor. Mix in all other ingredients to combine. Serve with small toast points, or just forks if you’re a true carnivore.

If you do not finish it all, do not serve again raw. You can, however, cook the rest up as a little burger or meat balls. They will be delicious!

Currywurst
———————-
Bratwurst (we bought ours from the local butcher)

Ketchup (sure Heinz works too)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
1 14.5 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, drained)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
Pinch powdered mustard
Pinch Allspice
Pinch ground Cloves
Pinch ground Mace
Pinch ground Cinnamon
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste

Medium to hot curry powder

Combine onion and oil in a medium sauce pan and saute until translucent.  Add in all ingredients before salt and pepper, and saute for 45 minutes on low until a thick paste forms.  Remove bay leaf and turn off heat.  Puree sauce until smooth and add salt and pepper to taste.  Sauce will keep in the fridge 3-4 weeks.

Cook bratwurst on the stove, or grill.  Top with ketchup sauce and sprinkle with curry powder to serve.

*Mr Will made the soft pretzels from Alton Brown’s recipe online.  I highly recommend, they were amazing.

Results
———————-
With a meal of sausage, meat pie, raw beef, pretzels and french fries, it’s hard to imagine anyone being able to go back for seconds…yet Paul managed to have a second piece of meat pie.

I completely agree. It was so good and beefy, much more British than my previous attempts!

Addendum

Week-night dinner parties require advanced planning to pull off.  I hate the stress of worrying about what time I get off work, when the guests will arrive, and the resulting craziness of trying to cut up carrots, pour wine and greet guests all at the same time.

To avoid this, I plan in advance. It’s been a long time since I’ve thrown a week night party, and I had forgotten just how fun and relaxed they can be when you do it right.

~ The Menu ~
Our book was Henry Miller’s Tropic of Capricorn.  If you can find a food theme to play with in this book, I applaud you.  I could not, so I decided to go simple, and mostly vegetarian, to suit the range of attendee’s dietary restrictions.

APPS
- Crudites
- Asparagus with Prosciutto (had to thrown in a little meat)
- Baked Fontina

DINNER
- Veggie Lasagna

~ The Game Plan ~

• Sunday Afternoon: Make lasagna and dip for crudites and refrigerate

• Monday Evening: Prepare Asparagus by snapping off dry ends, wrapping in one piece of prosciutto, and lining up on a cookie sheet.

• Tuesday 6pm: Bake Asparagus for 15 min at 400 degrees.  Prep cheese while Asparagus bakes.  6:20: Bake cheese while chopping up crudites. 6:50: set out apps and place lasagna in the oven.  Pour a glass of wine before guests come at 7 and put your feet up, since they won’t get there till 7:15 anyhow.

Baked Fontina
———————-
1.5 lbs Fontina Cheese, rinds trimmed off, and cubed into 1.5″ squares
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a cast iron skillet, or other Broiler-proof container (this is important, must be metal, your pyrex will explode…I speak from experience)
Broil 6 minutes until bubbly and browned on the top

Serve with bread and sliced apples

Vegetarian Lasagna
———————-
1 package fresh lasagna sheets (you can buy the box and prep as directed if you can’t find fresh)
1 lb fresh mushrooms, roughly chopped
6 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed out to remove as much liquid as possible
4 tbsp all-purpose flour
2-3 cups milk
1/2 tsp hot paprika
1/2 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
16oz Container of Ricotta Cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp diced fresh basil, plus more leaves for the top of the lasagna
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
2 cups fresh marinara sauce (homemade or store bought is fine)
salt and pepper to taste

Step 1 – make bechamel sauce.
In a medium sauce pan on medium heat, melt 4 tbsp butter.  Whisk in 4 tbsp flour and cook for about a minute until you can smell the flour cooking.

Whisk in 2 cups milk and continue whisking continuously until liquid boils.  You want the sauce to thicken to the consistency of a heavy cream sauce.  If it’s too thick, just add more milk as necessary.

Once the sauce just starts to boil, turn off the heat and whisk in paprika and salt/pepper to taste.  Let stand to cool while you saute the mushrooms.

Step 2 – Saute Mushrooms.
Rinse and dice mudrooms into bit-sized pieces.  In a skillet with a lid (you can cover with foil to improvise if you don’t have a lid that fits) melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat.

Add mushrooms and saute for 2 minutes over medium heat, until softened.

Add garlic, some salt/pepper, and red wine vinegar and cover.  Let steam, still on medium heat, for 3-5 minutes.

Remove lid and continue to cook until any juice is evaporated, then turn off heat.

Step 3 – Mix Ricotta
In a medium mixing bowl, combine ricotta, egg, red pepper flakes, oregano, fresh basil, and a little pepper and mix until blended.

Step 4 – Assemble the Lasagna
In a high-sided pyrex lasagna pan, add 1 cup marinara sauce to coat the bottom evenly.

Arrange an even layer of lasagna noodles on top of sauce.  Cover noodles with a thick layer of bechamel, then sprinkle all mushrooms on top, then top with the feta cheese.

Arrange a second even layer of lasagna noodles on top.  Cover noodles with  ricotta mixture in an even layer, then top with the wrung out spinach.

Arrange a third even layer of lasagna noodles on top.  Cover noodles with second cup of marinara sauce.  You can drizzle on any remaining bechamel as you like.

Decorate the top with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves.

Step 5 – Cook
If you are cooking immediately, bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees
If cooking from the fridge, bake 40-50 minutes at 350
If cooking from the freezer (this freezes beautifully) bake 1 hour at 350 degrees (no need to defrost)

Results
———————-
This was my second batch of veg lasagna over the past few weeks.  My first attempt was polished off over the course of a ski weekend, while my traditional meat lasagna when politely untouched…A good sign from a group of carnivorous, college boys.

At book club, my guests polished off over 1lb of the the baked cheese, and still made it through seconds on the lasagna as well.

Hot and Sour Soup
————–
8 shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced into thin strips
1 bag dried wood ears, reconstituted in warm water
*note you can find these at Chinese groceries
1 can straw mushrooms drained
1 can sliced bamboo shots, cut into match sticks
6 oz firm tofu, cut into small cubes
3 cups chicken or veg stock
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp hot chili oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp corn starch dissolved in water
2 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp Siracha (to taste)
Chopped green onion to garnish

In a large soup pot, combine mushrooms, bamboo, tofu and stock. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add in chili oil, vinegar, soy sauce and sugar.

Stir in corn starch dissolved into a little water to thicken the soup. If you’re not eating carbs, skip this step like me.

Slowly pour in scrambled eggs while stirring the soup to create thin ribbons of egg like in egg drop soup.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Just before serving, add sesame and Siracha. Serve with fresh green onion garnish.

Results
———
This was so good I had two bowls. And it was so hot it made my nose run. Maybe I’ll go find the left-overs right now…

To spice up our annual holiday feast this year, Danielle and I decided to accept a challenged posed to us by 2 separate friends.

• Challenge #1: Have a British-themed dinner
• Challenge #2: Cook a goose

We combined this into a British-themed Christmas complete with Christmas Crackers, Puddings and WHAM! on repeat.

As a side note – please be sure to order your goose, should you want to try roasting one, 72 hours ahead of your dinner. It seems that no one in Manhattan keeps geese lying around and ready to cook. Much thanks to Jeffery’s at Essex Market for working a Christmas miracle and finding me a goose in under 12 hours!

Appetizers
———————–
Chicken Liver Pate
Deviled Eggs (both recipes available in the index)

Roast Goose with Wild Mushroom Gravy
———————–
For Brine~
2 gallons water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 bay leaves
3 gloves garlic, smashed to break up a bit
7 pepper corns
2 springs of fresh thyme
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp celery seed
1 tbsp dried onion flakes (or 1 tsp onion powder)

For Goose~
10-12lb bird – the largest one you can find

Note: Geese have a lot more bones and skin than meat, a 12lb really only feeds about 4-5 people

3 carrots, chopped into 1″ pieces
3 ribs celery, chopped into 1″ pieces
1 yellow onion, chopped into 1″ pieces
4 fresh sage leaves
A handful fresh parsley
Salt, pepper and paprika to season

For Gravy~
2 cups stock, instructions to make stock follow, but store-bought chicken stock will work just fine
1 cup whole milk
3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup dried wild mushrooms of your choice
A splash of white wine or vermouth
Salt, Pepper and a dash of garlic powder to season

1 day ahead
———————–

24 hours before you plan to roast the goose (roasting will take about 2 hours, or slightly longer) you’ll need to brine the bird.

To make the brine add 1 gallon of water to a large stock pot with all other brine ingredients and bring to a boil. The brine needs to be cool before you can add the bird, and you can speed this along by adding one more gallon of cold water. If you’re in a rush, you can add a combination of water and ice cubes.

Once the brine is cooled, add goose and refrigerate over night. If you’re lucky enough to have a huge pot to hold the goose and brine, by all means use it. If you’re like me, you’ll need to either buy a brining bag from a kitchen store (this is just a giant ziplock that costs $3.50), or you can double-up 2 clean garbage bags as a last resort.

I don’t recommend skipping the brining process, as geese have fairly lean meet underneath all the surface fat, and this process will help to keep the meat moist and juicy.

Day of
———————–

Pre heat the oven to 290 degrees.

Roast the goose in a large roasting pan. Make sure this is a pyrex or something with at least 2″ high sides. The goose will release up to 2 cups of fat as it cooks, and you don’t want this on the floor of your oven.

Remove goose from brine and rinse to remove stuck-on seasonings. Make sure you’ve removed giblets and neck from the cavity.

Place heart, gizzard and neck in a medium stock pot and save the liver for frying up with onions later on (this would be fois gras if the goose was raised differently). The liver is the flat dark-red squishy thing, larger than the other giblets…

Place the bird on top of a small handful of celery and onion to keep it off the bottom of the roasting pan. Salt and pepper the inside of the cavity and stuff with carrots, celery, onion, sage and parsley. Truss the legs and tail together for even cooking.

Take a sharp fork (I used my meat fork as the table ones were too wimpy) and stick the goose all over, creating holes in the skin. This will allow the fat to run out and keep the skin crispy as it cooks.

Season the outside of the bird with salt, pepper, paprika and place in oven to roast. Every half hour or so, check the bird and remove fat from the pan as needed.

DO NOT throw out fat!!! Save it in a glass or metal container and enjoy roasting veggies in goose fat for the next few months.

While the goose roasts, make stock.

Add the ends of the onion celery and carrots left over from stuffing the bird to the pot containing the goose giblets and cover with about 6 cups water. You should have about a quarter cup carrot and celery odds n ends, and a half cup onion. Use the parts you would normally throw away, as you won’t eat these and there’s no use wasting pretty veggies on stock.

Add a few pepper corns, a bay leaf, some parsley stems, and one whole clove, and bring to a boil. (leave out any ingredients you don’t have on hand) Bring to a boil and cook 20 minutes. Skim foam if necessary. This will make enough stock for stuffing and gravy.

At the hour and a half mark, take the birds temperature. It’s done when a thermometer reads 165. Allow the bird to rest at least 15 minutes before carving.

Right before serving
———————–

While the bird rests, make wild mushroom gravy.

Place wild mushrooms in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Soak a few minutes until mushrooms are tender and reconstituted. Chop mushrooms into small pieces and save the mushroom water for the gravy.

In a medium sauce pan combine 2 cups stock, chopped mushrooms, mushroom liquid, a splash of vermouth (sherry would be lovely too), whole milk, salt, pepper, pinch of garlic powder, and flour.

Whisk vigorously to combine.

Turn on heat and continue to whisk until gravy just starts to boil and thickens. As long as you started will all cold ingredients you will not get lumps.

Taste gravy and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Chestnut Stuffing
———————–
1 loaf white bread, ripped into bit-sized pieces and left out to go stale overnight on a cookie sheet
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 small white onion, finely diced
1 cup shelled chestnuts, coarsely chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh sage leaves
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups stock

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl with 2 cups stock. Mix to combine. The stuffing should be good and moist, but not soupy. Add more stock if needed.

Grease a medium casserole dish and press stuffing mixture into the casserole evenly.

Pour more stock over the top to get everything good and moist.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, until top is slightly golden and stuffing has firmed up.

Serve with goose and gravy.

Desserts provided by our guests
———————–
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Steamed Christmas Pudding with Brandy Butter
Mincemeat Pies
Cognac

Results
———————–
Our token Brit says delicious, though not quite authentic… Stay tuned for another try after my trip to London in February.

Our other new guest Nick was not deterred by lack of authenticity. After an early faux pas (filling up his plate with a full dinner on the first trip) he snuck in seconds, thirds, and even 2 rounds of dessert!

Happy Christmas and God Bless Us,  Everyone!

Just in time for the holidays -

My little brother is in town for the weekend, and we thought a little Resch Family competition would be fun.

After hours of deliberation, the only inspiration we could come up with for a competition theme was “the holidays.”  Thanksgiving is, of course, our favorite meal of the year, and it seems the promise of Turkey to come was just too distracting for us.

On the other hand, we did not want to cook the same things we’ll eat all over again on Thursday, so we settled on Opposite Thanksgiving:

~Appetizers~
Dueling holiday spreads, one cranberry sauce and one green pepper jelly over cream cheese
Cranberry sauce was made by our guest Chef, Jamie.

~Main~
Southern braised kale and collards (to avoid our desire to roast brussel sprouts)
Sweet Potato Gnocchi with brown butter and sage (to avoid making mashed potatoes)
Dueling stuffed pork loins (it is the other white meat)
> Katie’s Pork with sausage, sourdough and cranberry stuffing
> Will’s Pork with goat cheese and apple stuffing
Milk Gravy

~Dessert~
Homemade biscuits (also courtesy of our guest Chef, Jamie)
With strawberries and honey ice cream

Katie’s Pork
—————
For the stuffing -
6 slices stale sourdough bread, torn into 1/4″ pieces (you can toast if bread is not stale enough)
1 small white onion, finely diced
1 rib celery, finely minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2lb hot pork sausage, casing removed
1 tsp minced fresh rosemary
3 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup (1 handful) dried cranberries
salt and pepper to taste

To be stuffed -
2lb pork loin, butterflied
garlic powder and paprika
salt and pepper
kitchen twine

In a skillet, saute onion and celery in oil about 5 minutes until translucent.  Add sausage and brown using a fork to break up the pieces.  Add sage and rosemary and breadcrumbs and toss a few minutes to toast bread.  Add chicken stock and stir until all stock is adsorbed.  Add cranberries, salt and pepper and turn off heat.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.  Let stuffing cool to room temperature before stuffing pork.

Unroll pork loin and season with salt and pepper on the inside.  Add a 1/2″ layer of stuffing on top of pork, leaving a little space at the edges to avoid over-flow.  Roll up pork and secure with twine.  Place is a shallow baking dish and season the top with garlic powder and paprika.

Bake at 300 degrees until the center reaches 155.  It should take a little over an hour.  Cover and let stand for 20 minutes before carving.

Will’s Pork
—————
For the stuffing -
1 8oz block of herb-ed goat cheese (we like herbs and garlic), at room temperature
1 honey crisp apple,finely diced
1 shallot finely minced

To be stuffed -
2lb pork loin, butterflied
Paprika
salt and pepper
kitchen twine

Unroll pork and season with salt and pepper on the inside. Spread an even coat of goat cheese on the inside of the pork, leaving a little space at the edges.  Add apple and shallot, roll up and secure with kitchen twine.

Place in a shallow baking dish and season the outside with paprika.

Bake at 300 degrees until the center reaches 155 degrees.  It should take a little over an hour.  Cover and let stand for 20 minutes before carving.

Milk Gravy
—————
This is a very simple gravy for meats that do not let off much drippings.
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup milk
Splash of dry vermouth (I used Calvados for a fall kick)
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Add chicken stock to a medium sauce an.  In a bottle with a tight-fitting lid, combine all other ingredients and shake to combine.

Whisk flour solution into chicken stock and turn on heat to medium high.

Continue to whisk until gravy just starts to boil and is thickened.  Turn off heat and adjust seasoning as needed.

Results
—————
Tonight’s guest, Adam, introduced a new strategy, and completed his first helping while waiting in line at the buffet for #2.  He completed a solid 4th helping for the win as I finished the dishes.  A huge success.

Will’s pork won by one vote (mine), so the jury is nearly out on which cuisine reigns supreme.  I recommend you cook both yourself and decide.

I spent half of October exploring Argentina.  Along with the hiking and tango, I managed to fit in an unofficial asado class on an island in the Beagle Channel, and a more formal asado class in a beautiful backyard in Buenos Aires.

Back home in NYC, it is of course time to try and recreate the amazing steaks and empanadas I inhaled across Patagonia.

Left: Empanadas from class in BA, Right: Empanadas at home

Empanada Dough
———————–
2 cups fine cake flour
1/2 cup lard (not veg shortening), melted
1 cup hot water with 1 tsp salt dissolved, cooled to room temperature

In a food processor, or a large bowl, combine flour and lard.  Add in water until the dough is just moist enough to hold together, but not sticky.  Let rest for a 1/2 hour.

Shape dough into even balls about 1 tbsp big.  You should get about 24 out of a batch.

Roll each ball into a circle about 5″ in diameter.  Dough should be nice and thin.  Fill dough with about 2 tbsps filling (recipes to follow) and seal in a half moon shape using a little water.  Crimp edges and place on a cookie sheet.  Bake on broil for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Do not bake more than one sheet of 12 at a time to avoid lowering the oven’s temperature.

Empanadas de Carne (Beef)
———————–
1 lb group beef
1 pound white onions, finely chopped
1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp corn oil
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp cumin
red pepper flakes

2 eggs, hard boiled
2 green onions diced
5 green olives diced (or more to taste)
1/4 cup raisins

In a skillet saute onions in butter and oil a few minutes until translucent.  Add beef and brown.  Add spices and a little water, and let meat cook down for 5 minutes.

Let cool completely.  It is best to make this a day ahead and refrigerate.

Before stuffing mix in egg, onion, and olives, and add salt/pepper to taste.

Empanadas de Humitas (Corn)
———————–
1 cup (about 3 ears) corn kernels
1 white onion, minced
1 bell pepper, minced
1 tbsp butter + onion tbsp corn oil
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp sugar
Salt/Pepper to taste
Red pepper flakes
1 tsp flour

In a skillet, saute onion and pepper in butter and oil a few minutes until translucent.  Add all other ingredients (except flour) and cook for at least 10 minutes, stirring to avoid scorching the milk.

Once all ingredients are soft, sprinkle in flour and stir until thickened. Allow filling to completely cool before stuffing.  Again – it’s best to make this the night before.

~Look for meat, chimichuri, and salsa criolla in the next installment~

Results
———————–
Sara made me so proud – with 4 helpings of empanadas and extra chimichuri.

You take a few innocent trips to Miami and Argentina and all of the sudden you’re months behind on posts… Sorry about that.  Look for “Argentina Night” over the next few weeks, and in the mean time, here is a quick entry to make up for the long hiatus.

Halloween Hand Burgers…EeeeeK!
Okay it’s just mom’s meatloaf…
———————–

2 lbs ground meat. I used the traditional Veal/Pork/Beef combo, but any ground meat work nicely
1 small white onion, minced
1 sweet pepper, minced (I went with orange for the Halloween theme)
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 eggs
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste (or steak seasoning is awesome in this)
1 tbsp A1 Steak Sauce (optional, but it tastes so good)

5 pearl onions and ketchup to taste (you can skip the onions if you’re not making a hand)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Process onion, pepper and garlic in a food processor until minced, drain off extra liquid and add to a large mixing bowl.  You can hand chop the veggies, but I find it changes the consistency and I highly recommend processing.

Add all other ingredients in the mixing bowl and combine.  I strongly recommend rolling up your sleeves and tossing by hand.

Sculpt meat into hand (or any other shape) in a baking dish with sides.  Do not use a cookie sheet as the meat loaf will release fluid while cooking due to the lack of breadcrumbs in this recipe.  This adds nicely to the presentation’s creepiness.

Push onions into each finger tip to create a “finger-nail” and drizzle ketchup to create a bloody effect.

Bake for 1 hour.  If using ground chicken or turkey you can confirm the loaf is done when a meat thermometer reaches 165, if using beef, veal, and or pork, 1 hour will be fine for medium.

Serve with extra ketchup as desired.

Results:
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We did not have a large dinner party this week, but after Danielle claimed to have already eaten, she took care of two full helpings.

This Memorial Day I decided a road trip across my birth state was far overdue, and so drug my mother and little brother across Tennessee.  We began with BBQ and Fried Chicken in Memphis, Fried Banana Sandwiches at Graceland, then Pork Chops and Stewed Greens after a whisky tour in Lynchburg, and finally arrived in Kingsport TN to spend the weekend with Grandaddy Bill and Grandma Ruth. Album

Resch IV and I decided to go with a classic and roast a chicken for Resch Jr & Company.  Ruth warned us that they are “not big eaters” but we paid no attention and opted to roast 2 birds for the dinner party of 6.

Roast Chicken:
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One fresh chicken
6 sprigs thyme + 1 tbsp lose fresh thyme leaves
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
1 head garlic, cut horizontally (you can leave the paper on)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp room temperature butter
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp fresh cracked pepper
1 tsp paprika

6 feet kitchen twine
low sided baking dish

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Remove any parts from the cavity of the chicken and place back-side down on work surface.

Combine butter, half the salt and pepper, and the tbsp lose thyme in a small bowl and mash together.

Being careful to not to rip the skin, gently slide hand under the skin, starting at the bottom of the breast, to dislodge skin from the meat.  Do this on both sides of the breast, then run fingers down and over the leg and thighs of the bird as well.  Rub butter mixture up under the skin of the breasts and thighs to season the bird.

>> Stuff the Bird
Stuff bird with carrots, celery, onions, garlic and full thyme sprigs, and little more salt and pepper.  Veggies that don’t fit can be added to the roasting pan in next step.

>> Truss the Bird:
Pull each wing out horizontally from the bird’s body to loosen then rotate up as if the bird is scratching its head and tuck under the breast.  Using a length of kitchen twine as wide as stretches from one hand to the other (body length), pull legs of chicken up and together over the bottom of the breast.  Wrap center of twine around legs in figure-eight to secure.  Pull twine down through legs then out along the sides of the bird to tie snugly where the neck used to connect.  The bird should be compact and ball-like to ensure even cooking.  You can always skip this if it seems too daunting…

Mound any remaining veggies in a low-sided baking pan and place trussed bird breast-side up on top of the veggies.  Rub olive oil over the bird and season with salt, pepper and paprika.

Bake 25 minutes at 400, then lower temp to 300 degrees and bake 45 minutes more.  Chicken is done when an instant read thermometer registers 165 in the thigh.

Let chicken sit in pan outside of oven to cool 20 minutes before slicing to lock in moisture.  Carve and serve.

Mom’s Potatoes with Dill and Peas
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2 pound small red potatoes cleaned, and diced into 1″ chunks (leave skins on)
1 lb sugar snap peas, rinsed
1 16 oz container of sour cream
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a pot with cold water and 1 tbsp salt, bring to a boil.  Boil 5 minutes then add peas to the pot.  Boil 2 minutes more then drain.

Add hot peas and potatoes back to the pot, and off heat, stir in sour cream, dill, salt and pepper to taste.

Serve hot.

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As a special treat, Grandma Ruth demonstrated the art behind her flawless meringues.  These are a special treat that I associate with visits to Kingsport throughout my childhood.

Grandma Ruth’s (famous) Meringues
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4 egg whites at room temperature (the room temperature part is very important)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp white vinegar

Brown paper shopping bags cut to line 2 or 3 cookie sheets. Grandma Ruth says these are important as parchment holds moisture.  Brown paper bags do not.

Heat oven to 275

Beat egg whites in a mixer until stiff, but not dry.  Add in sugar, one tbsp at a time.  Once combined add in vanilla and vinegar and mix until just incorporated.

Spoon or pipe meringue onto cookie sheets lined with brown paper bags.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, then turn off oven and crack door open.  Leave meringues in the oven until cool (about an hour) before removing.

Alternatively, when short on time, you can pre heat oven to 350.  Put meringues in the oven, close the door and turn off the stove and leave over night.  They will be done in the morning.

Grandma Ruth suggests making a boiled pudding with the yolks you have left over.

The Results
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Grandma Ruth had 2 helpings of chicken, and snuck 3rds in the kitchen after dinner.

Honorable Mention – Grandaddy Bill has a small appetite these days, but still managed to join the clean plate club.

I ate meringues every night of our visit