Rachel Perlow

Apple Sauce Serves 4 as Side. Most jarred apple sauces have undesireable ingredients, like corn syrup and/or lots of extra sugar. It's so unnecessary. This is also a great way to use up extra apples or those that taste a little mealy eaten out of hand, like Romes. Cooking it with the peel lends a rosy color to the applesauce. You need a food mill for this, that's what keeps it extra easy to make. 3 Apples, large, Rome preferably 1 tsp vinegar (cider or plain white) or lemon juice 1/4 c water salt (optional) Cinnamon (optional) Wash the apples and cut into quarters or eighths. You don't have to pit or peel them. The whole thing pips, core, etc, goes in the pot. Add the water & vinegar. Put on high to get things started, then reduce the heat to low, put on the lid and set the timer for 30 mintues. (Alternatively, you can put the apple into a covered casserole dish and microwave for 5 minutes. Check for doneness, it might need another minute or two.) If you have time, set it aside to cool for a while, if not, be extra careful using the food mill. Set up the food mill with the smallest holed strainer and process the cooked apple into a bowl. Don't try to get every bit of flesh, or you might press through some core bits. When it looks about 80% through, you're done. Taste and add a bit of salt, it really does perk up the flavor, it also might need a drop of lemon juice. Or, if you used a really tart apple, it might need some sugar or honey. Add cinnamon if you like. I didn't in the picture above because it was made as a topping for potato latkes. Keywords: Dessert, Side, Vegan, Easy, Kosher, Fruit, Condiment, Snack, American ( RG1520 )

Potato Latkes, Shredded & Ground Serves 4 as Appetizeror 6 as Sideor 20 as Amuse. I usually just "wing it" when it comes to latkes. But these came out particularly well, so I thought I'd write it down for those who need a guide. Next time I'll probably wing it again! lol Squeezing the shredded potato/onion is very important, the prepped balls of batter did not weep any liquid. I had Jason photo-shop this image so you could see the shredded and ground texture in the pre-frying picture. Batter Ingredients 4 Russet Potatoes, medium ~8 oz/potato, unpeeled, cut lengthwise into quarters 1 Yellow Onion, the size of 1 potato, peeled 1/2 c Matzo Meal 1 Egg 1/4 c Onion Confit or otherwise carmelized onions (optional) For Frying 1 c Schmaltz 1 c Corn or Peanut Oil Serve with Applesauce Sour Cream Salt & Pepper (to taste) Set up your food processor with the large shred blade. Shred the potato & onion. Put shreds in a colander over a large bowl. Press to squeeze out some liquid. Remove shred blade, put in regular chopping blade. Put 1/4 of the shredded potato & onion back into the food processer. Add the matzo meal, egg, and carmelized onions. Pulse a few times to grind, but not puree the mixture. Oh yeah, some time while shredding the potato & onion, put the schmaltz in a large pan (I use cast iron) over low heat. Usually the schmaltz has some water left in it, it needs to simmer on low for a while to make sure all the water is cooked out so it doesn't spatter. I suggest using a spatter shield anyway. Squeeze the heck out of the shreds in the colander, press on them to get out a lot of liquid. Allow the liquid to rest a few minutes so that the potato starch precipitates out. Carefully pour out the liquid, leaving the starch behind in the bowl. Put the shreds and ground mixture into the bowl with the starch and mix thoroughly, I use clean hands. Portion the batter out onto plates, about 1/4 cup per latke, this should make about 20, leave them as balls at this point. Add the oil to the frying pan and bring back to heat on medium high. When you think it's ready, fry one latke as a test. When it is done you should be able to fry 4-5 at a time. (Set your oven/toaster oven for 300F.) Put the balls of batter into the hot oil and with the back of a spoon, flatten them into patties. After all the ones in the pan have been flattened, set a timer for 2 minutes. They should be ready to flip, after flipping, reset timer for 2 minutes. You want them a light golden brown. Remove from pan and put into oven on a rack over a sheet pan to keep warm/finish cooking inside. Oh, sprinkle them with a little salt as they come out of the oven. Serve with sour cream and home made apple sauce. Keywords: Hors d'oeuvre, Appetizer, Side, Intermediate, Potatoes, Snack, Lunch, Dinner, Vegetables, Jewish, Food Processor, Brunch ( RG1519 )

Crawfish Tacos Adouille Sausage Tacos Redfish Tacos Grillades Tacos?

How to keep 40 pounds of satsumas from going mouldy before you eat them all... By the time you get halfway into a 40 pound box, you are probably going to run across one with some mould on it. Throw it into your garbage disposal, citrus always freshens the disposal nicely. Most of your other satsumas don't appear to have mould on them, but there are now spores all over the box, especially on the fruit next to the mouldy one. They will begin to get mouldy very quickly. You have to wash them thoroughly. I clean out my kitchen sink with scouring powder. Then fill the sink with cool water and add a tablespoon of bleach and/or scouring powder. Put the satsumas in the sink one at a time, checking for any others with mould, or partially smushed ones (eat the good parts of smushed ones right away). When you've loaded the sink, swish them around for a few minutes, then remove to a colander to drip dry (over a plate/tray/other sink). DO NOT RINSE THEM. You cannot use the zest for anything after doing this, but it will wash off the spores and keep most of them from going mouldy before you get to eat them. Do not put back in original box. In fact, keep them in the colander for air circulation if possible.

No, its not necessary. Wash your brussel sprouts. If they are large, slice them in half, and toss then into a mixing bowl. If you are using the little flash frozen ones just toss them into a bowl from the package -- they taste just as good as the large ones in this dish. Now, cook the bacon. Render the grease out and pour some into the mixing bowl with the sprouts. Cube some apples (firm apple type, Granny Smith is good) toss in with the Sprouts and bacon grease. When the bacon is done cooking, chop up into bits, toss with the sprouts. Grind in some black pepper (if you use as much bacon as I do you won't need to add salt), toss again, and then throw the whole mess onto a baking sheet and cook in the oven until they start to caramelize, for about say, 30 minutes at 350. Put into casserole dish and reheat for 10 minutes just before meal. Edit: Jay, please forgive me, but I wanted this in here with your instructions... Roast the sprouts for about 40 minutes at 350-400 (depending on what temp you need your oven for other things), stirring/turning about halfway through. If your bacon is already very crisp, it can wait till the end, if not, add the diced apple & bacon at this point and roast for another 10 minutes. I think if you roast the apple the whole time the pieces will disappear into apple sauce and they may burn. You just want the apples soft. A sprinkle of apple cider vinegar is nice too. ← I added the above correction to Jason's post about the Brussels Sprouts, just to make sure no one missed it, I wanted to quote it here. Anyway, the apples don't go in until towards the end. I was inspired to do this from seeing it made on Martha Stewart's daytime show. I never looked up the recipe until now, just doing it from what I saw. Anywat, here's the original recipe, link. I could swear they roasted them on the show, but the "official" recipe just calls for boiling them. The thyme sounds like a nice touch too, I think I used them the first time I made this recipe, then forgot about them, oh well, next time. Hmm, since my recipe is significantly different, I think I'll add it to RecipeGullet, I'll edit in the link in a minute... Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apple

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Apple Serves 6 as Side. This recipe was inspired by a segment of Martha Stewart's daytime show, here's a link to the original recipe. I prefer the roast brussels sprouts. If using frozen brussels sprouts, 2-1 lb bags of the petite kind are best. If you are using fresh, you may need more than 2 lbs, because you'll have to trim the stem, outer leaves and may lose some if they are bad inside. Cut large sprouts in half or quarters, leave small ones whole. If you have to use dried thyme, as opposed to fresh thyme sprigs, add about 1 tsp with the apple & vinegar. 4 oz Bacon 2 lb Brussels Sprouts 10 Thyme sprigs 1 Granny Smith apple 2 tsp Cider Vinegar Pepper & Salt to taste Heat your oven to 400 F. Dice or cut bacon into strips. Spread out bacon on a half-sheet pan or roasting pan and cook in oven for 10-15 minutes, until mostly cooked and it has rendered fat. Remove cooked bacon and set aside. Drizzle some of the rendered bacon fat over the prepared Brussels sprouts and thyme sprigs and mix well. If there's a lot of rendered fat, you don't have to use all of it. Add the sprouts to the pan and roast for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven and carefully using a spatula, turn and mix the sprouts so that they roast evenly. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes. While the sprouts are in the oven, peel and dice your apple. Mix with cider vinegar (and dried thyme if you are using that instead of fresh sprigs) and set aside. After the sprouts have roasted for about 30 minutes, add the cooked bacon and diced apple, stir to combine, and return to the oven for 10 more minutes. Add fresh ground pepper to taste, be careful with adding salt as the bacon adds a lot of saltiness. Best served immediately. Keywords: Side, Intermediate, Vegetables, Pork, Lunch, Dinner, American ( RG1507 )

Things I like at Stickey's: Pork Ribs Pulled Pork (as a Pile High with Coleslaw) Mac & Cheese Mashed Potatoes Mashed Sweet Potatoes** Greens* Pork Stew/Soup** Beef Ribs Hush Puppies** (ask for Honey Garlic sauce) The pulled chicken is an OK alternative to the pulled pork, if you really don't want pork, but it's all white meat and the pork is just so much better. The beef brisket is, to me, much more of a smoked roast beef. Fink called it "pit beef." I prefer a real, juicier, brisket. But it is OK if you want a BBQ roast beef sandwich. Actually, a good way to try all three is to order the Po'Boy Sampler, which is a smaller version of each sandwich on one platter (with fries). That and a soup each would be enough to share for two people. Speaking of sharing. They have a Tuesday all you can eat rib special. This is great if you want to eat lots of ribs. It costs $19.95, sides extra. However, on the menu at all times is the Ultimate Combo ($39.95). In it you get three whole orders of meat and four sides. This will feed 4-6 people easily, especially if you order an extra side or two and/or soup and a dessert or two to share. If you haven't yet established your favorites, like a variety on the table, or are going with newbies, I suggest your order consist of 1 whole rack pork ribs (ask them to cut the ribs individually), 1 whole rack beef ribs, 1/2 order pulled pork, 1/2 BBQ chicken or pulled chicken. *They now also have Stewed Green Beans, which I haven't had yet, but they're Fink's recipe, so I'm sure they're good. **Fink addition to menu.

We spoke with Anne yesterday, here is a list of Patisserie St. Michel's Thanksgiving Specials: Pumpkin Creme Brulee Mango Creme Brulee Cranberry & Walnut Tart (Pate Brisee crust) Apple & Caramel Galette Pecan & Caramel Galette (Andre's less-sweet take on Pecan Pie) Plum Frangiapan Tart These are offered in addition to their regular items. If you call today, you should still be able to order for pick-up between 10:30 AM - 1 PM tomorrow.

I made risotto for about 25 people during Varmint's Pig Pickin' weekend in September. I couldn't imagine making 6 times that amount. Oy.

It was way hot. I surely didn't need to add the jalepeno and serrano to the simmering chicken, there's plenty of spice in the paste. I'll try to remember to ask her for the recipe on Friday (unless you really need it now, then Spanish speaking Jason can call her). Oh, and her name is Socorro. My usual recipe for mole is... Go down to the local bodega and buy a container of their homemade mole. Add stock and simmer. Thicken with cornmeal if necessary (whisk through a strainer to avoid lumps). But when your housekeeper from Puebla mentions she's making mole over the weekend, a well timed hint scores you some fresh stuff.

I made some pasta fagiole on Monday. I had cooked extra beans (using the Russ Parsons method) from some Chile made over the weekend. I had also made tomato sauce from my garden tomatoes which I accumulated into the freezer over the summer. Used up a couple parmesan rinds. Mmm. Warm and comforting. Unfortunately, some of the beans were still a litte firm. Not hard or anything, just not completely mushy in texture. I'll bet it will improve with a day or two in the fridge.

If you're going to do the last minute baking of the cornbread, put the pans with their fat in the oven before you leave the house. When you preheat the oven the moment you walk in the door, the pans will heat and the fat (bacon grease or butter usually for me) will be sizzling too, helping to set the crust. I rarely have buttermilk in the house. When I need some for cornbread, I just stir some plain yogurt or sour cream into skim or lowfat milk. See my recipe, here.

There are many in Bergen county, especially in Teaneck. Is there a particular area you had in mind? Edit: Oops, I see you said "near Union."

You were right there, you didn't ask?

I've added the recipe for Golden Potato Kugel to RecipeGullet, as best as I can remember how I made it yesterday. I only added the baking powder because one of the recipes I found online Sora's Golden Potato Kugel called for it. Anyone know what it does in this recipe? I'm going to try to taste for it when we have it on Tuesday to see if it is perceptible.

Golden Potato Kugel Serves 12 as Side. I use a food processor for all the slicing, grating and mixing of ingredients in this recipe (heck, I even make use of that plastic blade). But, you will still need a big bowl for the final mixing of all the ingredients together. Hint: you don't have to clean any of the blades until you are done with the recipe. If homemade schmaltz is unavailable, you can use Nyafat or Margarine if you want to keep it kosher parve or meat, but if not or for a dairy meal, use softened butter instead. Another Hint: Have a second, smaller, casserole dish ready to go along with the larger one. Especially if you are making this ahead. This will placate husbands who need to taste immediately and keep the larger one looking nice for company. 1/2 c parsley leaves 4 yellow onions, medium sized (divided) 1/2 c schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) 7 eggs 2 tsp salt 3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 1 c carrots, peeled 4 lb Yukon Gold Potatoes 2/3 c matzo meal 1/2 tsp baking powder Mince the parsley in the food processor using the chopping blade and pulsing. Put minced parsley in the big mixing bowl, remove chopping blade, put on slicing blade. Peel onions, cut them in half and slice them. Heat a large saute pan, add about 1/4 cup schmaltz and fry about 3/4 of the onions to a nice carmelized brown (this will take a long while, have patience and don't burn them). Leave the remaining 1/4 of the sliced onions in the bowl of the food processor. Remove the slicing blade and put back in the regular chopping blade. Pulse to grate the remaining onion finely. Put in big bowl -- you may want to cover the bowl with its lid, plastic wrap or foil, to keep the onion fumes down. Remove the slicing blade and put on the plastic blade. Break the eggs into the food processor bowl, add the salt and pepper and pulse to mix and beat the eggs. Add the parsley and raw onion to the FP bowl and pulse to combine. Put back in the big bowl. How are those carmelized onions coming? You want them a nice dark golden brown. Using the shredding blade, shred the carrots, add to bowl. Peel the potatoes and place in bowl of cold water until you are ready to shred them. Don't shred them until the onions are carmelized. If it looks like it will take a while for the onions to finish, put the covered mixing bowl in the fridge. When the onions are browned, set them aside to cool. Pre-heat oven before shredding the potatoes, to 375F (I used 350 convection). Now shred the potatoes and immediately mix with the other ingredients (the onions will help keep the potatoes from turning brown, but you don't want it too sit too long). Add the matzo meal, baking powder, carmelized onions and remaining schmaltz and mix thoroughtly, you'll probably have to use your hands at this point. Grease a large baking dish (I used my largest pyrex lasagna pan) with a little more schmaltz, and scoop in the mixture, smoothing off the top. Bake for at least 60-90 minutes or until light brown and crisp looking on top. If making ahead, remove from oven before it is too browned (about 1 hour) and bake for at least 30 minutes on the day of serving. Keywords: Side, Kosher, Intermediate, Potatoes, Vegetables, Lunch, Dinner, Jewish, Food Processor, Passover ( RG1419 )

Just to be clear, that $90 did not include your wine (which we paid for at the bar, along with my drink) or tip. Total for the evening, 2 drinks, 2 apps, 2 mains, 1 dessert, tax & tip, and valet: $130. (Oh, and despite my mentioning it was Jason's birthday to the hostess, nothing embarrassing ensued, not even a candle in the plum tart.) We asked for both the boar chop and pork chop (both double cut) to be served medium. The pork chop meat was mostly white with just the barest touch of pink in the middle. The boar chop (a special) was darker meat and much redder/pinker most of the way through. The were both seared and seasoned well on the exterior. As expected, the boar chop was about 2/3 the size of the pork chop, but Jason didn't suffer, he had plenty of my massive pork chop. One more note about the bar, they do allow smoking at the bar and in that part of the restaurant, but they must have a very good ventilation system. There was a guy smoking a cigar about five feet away from me, which I did not detect until I saw him smoking it. I am usually very sensitive to tobacco, and I did not even smell it on my clothes or hair later that night. (There is a non-smoking dining room, which is where we ate.)

I think there's a little confusion on this point. We mostly hadn't been there for brunch in a while because we usually go to dim sum with these friends. So if they won't go to a particular restaurant, it's hard to get there for brunch. Also, I've been working most Sundays for the past two months, so it's doubly hard to get there because when we are able to go we try to meet up with friends, who it's harder to see now because I'm working on Sundays, and so on. That said, we had agreed with them that the hot buffet dishes had seemed to decline in quality. So, I thank Steven for the excellent reminder above (click) that you don't have to make this part the focus of your brunch experience at C46. I think we're going to make an effort to get there this Sunday, we'll just have to leave these particular friends out of the mix, perhpas some others will join us?

I like the office/kitchen/foh politics of the show. The thing that seems most wrong with it, to me, is that it is supposed to be a 1/2 hour sitcom. But it's not funny. They would have been better off making a 1 hour dramedy out of the material. It just doesn't work as a sitcom.

Uh, it is dead fish floating in soup. They are dead, aren't they?

The traditional Rosh Hashanah challah (for my family at least) is the round ones. We usually get one with and one without raisins, as there are lovers and haters of same in the family. That's the only variation I know of for Rosh Hashanah versus a regular braided challah. Oh, and sometimes there's poppy seeds.

I just leave it on the lowest flame setting all night. It's not windy in my kitchen and my stove has an auto relight feature, but even with less fancy stoves I've never had a problem with the flame going out. a) You can use them interchangably, but there is a slight difference in flavor. b) Um, it tastes more like turkey than chicken. Strength of flavor is relative to the proportion of bones/veg/water and also amount of reduction. c) I use my leftover turkey carcass. If you want stock for Thanksgiving day rather than to use the leftover carcass, I'd just pick up a pack of thighs. Or, heck if your grocery store is doing a promotion where the turkeys are almost free, go ahead and use a whole turkey, just like chicken. I'd remove the breasts from the carcass as soon as it is cooked. If you don't feel like turkey breast sandwiches right then, wrap tight and freeze for later (slice after it is defrosted, not before freezing). d) Like I said, I usually do turkey with leftover roasted carcass, but if you are making it without a leftover bird, that depends on if you want a dark or light stock.

Deborah and I are on the same wavelength. Just lube the pasta with some olive oil add a sprinkling of parsley and/or whatever herbs you put in the stew. That will go perfectly with the stew, if a kid is food phobic and only eats plain pasta, there you go. Salad & bread and the veggies are in the stew. Sounds good to me. You can even make pasta like this the day before. Put it in a ziploc bag in the fridge and drizzle in the oil, salt, herbs. Squish around to distribute. It'll reheat fine in the microwave the following evening. I'd suggest bow-ties, penne, or (mezze)rigatoni as the pasta. They should stand up to pre-cooking and reheating and will go well with a stew.

When I want a dark roux flavor, but still want the thickening power of flour, I just sprinkle on an extra tablespoon or two of raw flour after adding the vegetables to the dark roux. It doesn't lump because you're stirring it in immediately with the chopped veg. I suppose this is cheating, but it works.

Next time try Nikko further west on Rt 10 East or Zen in the strip mall behind the Olive Garden near the Livingston circle.