Recipes

The Viglione Family Sauce

jen — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:50:05 -0800

Ingredients

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes (or whole peeled tomatoes)
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 6-oz. can tomato paste
1 can pitted large black olives
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cups pine nuts, lightly browned in olive oil
2 bay leaves
1 T. cinnamon
1 T. sugar
1 T. parsley
1 T. basil
1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Assemble all of the ingredients in an 8 qt. sauce pan and simmer for 30 to 60 minutes until the flavors are blended and raisins are soft. Serve with tortellini or your favorite pasta. Enjoy!

Cesina's Sausage in Tomato Sauce

jen — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:12:24 -0700

Ingredients

5 lbs Cesina’s Sausage (or other brand sweet italian sausage links)
1 16oz can of unseasoned tomato sauce OR about 10 diced roma tomatoes
at least four large cloves of garlic (add to taste)
a bunch of fresh basil
a couple of bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1 large onion (not sweet! and feel free to add more)

Around 3 or 4 green/red peppers

Instructions

1. Start by browning about 5 pounds of sausage on a baking sheet in the oven at a temp of about 400 degrees.

2. Meanwhile start your sauce on the stove. Over medium heat cooked tomatoes (or can of sauce), crushed or diced garlic, bay leaves, and salt and pepper. As sauce cooks down, add fresh chopped basil. Do not allow sauce to cook down all the way – it still needs to be very liquid before the bake.

3. Once sausage is browned, transfer to a deep dish or pan (big enough to accommodate all sausage and sauce). Make sure pan is covered with a lid or tin foil. Stick back in the oven to cook.

4. Let cook for at least 20 minutes before checking on mixture.

5. When sauce is almost cooked down, add chopped peppers and onions (thus to not overcook).

Leave in for another ten minutes or so, and then take out, allow to cool down, and enjoy!

Costanza Broccoli

jen — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Ingredients

at least two heads of broccoli
4 or more cloves of garlic (to taste)
salt and pepper (to taste)
fresh basil

extra virgin Olive Oil

Instructions

1. Chop heads of broccoli and steam until broccoli is nice and soft.

2. At the end of steaming, start a pan with a generous coating of olive oil and heat with chopped garlic. Do not let garlic burn or your dish is ruined.

3. Drain broccoli and add to warm pan. Proceed by mashing broccoli (which should be very easy if steamed long enough)

4. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix frequently and simmer.

5. Add oil as desired; this dish should always remain “wet”

6. Add basil and stir 5 minutes or so before finished cooking.

7. Continue adding any ingredient to taste as needed.

Arugula Salad with Smoked Tomatoes, Grilled Avocados, and Tomato Jam

jen — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 08:35:02 -0700

A note from Jen: "This is my adaptation of Daniel's salad creation filmed in April '08. I've reduced the servings to 6 (Daniel cooked for 28), and streamlined the process somewhat."

Ingredients

* 1 lb arugula (the larger the leaves, the better)
* 6 tomatoes for smoking
* 3 ripe avocados
* 3/4 lb. goat cheese (good quality)

for tomato jam
* 6 to 8 tomatoes for jam
* (plus seeds and pulp from smoked tomatoes)
* 1/4 cup sugar
* juice of 1 lemon
* pinch salt

for vinaigrette
* 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
* 3 T. sherry vinegar
* 2 T. Dijon mustard
* Kosher or sea salt (to taste)
* Fresh-ground pepper (to taste)

Instructions

Put mesquite or other smoking wood in a bowl of water and let it soak while you are preparing the tomatoes (at least 1/2 hour).

Blanch all of the tomatoes (for smoking and the jam) for a few seconds in boiling water and remove all the skins.

Remove the seeds and pulp from the 6 tomatoes that will be used for smoking. Reserve the seeds and pulp to use in the jam. Tear the flesh of each tomato into 3 or 4 strips and set aside in a heat-proof dish that can go onto a hot grill later.

Start the tomato jam — Crush the tomatoes reserved for the jam and add the reserved pulp and seeds from the smoking tomatoes. Put in a large, heavy pot with 1/4 cup sugar, the juice of 1 lemon, a pinch of salt. Simmer for 1 to 2 hours until slightly thickened. (Note, the jam will thicken further when it cools.) Allow to cool.

Light the grill — Use real wood charcoal, not briquettes, if possible. When the fire dies down, spread out the coals.

Grill the avocados — Cut each avocado in half and remove the flesh from the skins intact. While the coals are still quite hot, put each avocado half on the grill for 20-30 seconds, just long enough to sear the surface. Flip them once to sear the other side. When they have nice sear marks, remove them and set them aside in a covered dish.

Smoke the tomatoes — After the avocados are removed, remove the grill rack and cover the coals with the wet smoking wood. Once the smoke starts going, return the rack, and put the reserved tomato strips in the smokey grill and allow to smoke for 1/2 or until they are good and smokey. The idea is not to cook the tomatoes, but to impart the smokey flavor. Remove when you feel they are ready. They can be smoking while you prepare the salad.

Prepare the salad — Wash and dry the arugula and put in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the vinaigrette. Pour the vinaigrette over the arugula and toss well.

Put a serving of arugula on each plate, topped with a 1- to 2-oz. slice of goat cheese. Add a spoonful of the tomato jam, 3 or 4 strips of the smoked tomatoes, and 1 avocado half, cut into 2 or 3 slices. Serve!

Lamb Tagine

jen — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:09:04 -0700

Very based on a Dean and Deluca recipe but with some additions.

Ingredients

approx. 1-3/4 lb. (800g) Lamb chopped in cubes (1.5in/3cm), cheap cuts works fine, bones left good!
1 Eggplant (aubergine) cut in kind of same size cubes
2 small or 1 big finely chopped onion
5 cloves finely chopped garlic
approx. 1/2lb. (200 g) dried fruits (apricots, figs dates, apples works fine too) chopped in big pieces
approx. 1/4lb. (100 g) big green olives in halves without pits
1 Tbs star anise
1 Tbs dried ginger
1 Tbs cumin
1 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs dried sweet pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 cinnamon sticks
water (enough to cover)
Fresh cilantro (coriander) chopped
lemon zest from a well washed lemon (try to find an organic one)
Honey

Instructions

Put all the spices (not the salt) in a dry pan and roast until it starts to smell nice.
Put them all in a mortar and grind them and blend them well with the salt.
Cover the meat in the spices, work it in well with your hands.
Heat a good amount of olive oil in a big oven-proof dish that has a lid, brown the meat on all sides.
Remove the meat from the hot pan and brown the eggplant. Put it aside with the meat once brown.
Lower the heat and fry the onions and garlic carefully, do not brown.
Cover with water, add cinnamon stick, and bring to boil, put on the lid and put in oven on 390F (200C).
Let it stay in the oven until tender, 1-2 hours depending on the texture of the meat.
Add the fruits and the olives. Roast for approx. 20 minutes without lid until golden on the top.
Sprinkle with cilantro and lemon zest and drizzle some honey over the whole thing.

Serve! (with couscous)

Coconut-Corn Chowder (vegan)

jen — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:08:33 -0700

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1 potato, cubed
2 carrots, sliced
Can of corn, including water in can
Can of coconut milk
Vegetable broth
Cilantro
Salt & pepper

Instructions

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until soft
Add potato, carrots, corn, coconut milk, and enough broth to cover the veggies. Simmer until the vegetables are cooked through.
Add cilantro and salt&pepper to taste and serve!

Chocolate Caramel Tart with Sea Salt

jen — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:33:31 -0700

Will Sheff: “I reverse-engineered (read: basically stole) this recipe from a great place in Brooklyn called Marlow and Sons. Their version of it is one of my favorite desserts ever and I spent a few botched tries sometime last winter trying to figure out how the whole thing worked. I still don’t know precisely how they do theirs, but after many attempts and failures and discouragement and redoubled efforts this is what I came up with, which tastes pretty similar to me and which I like just as much.”

“If you’ve never made caramel before that’s the tricky part because while you’re cooking it can be hard to tell what consistency (and toughness) this molten sugar-water is going to thicken into once cooled. It took a couple tries for me to develop the requisite zen-like calm needed to assess when to remove the caramel from the heat, but gradually I discovered that for me five minutes after you add the cream and the butter etc seems about right. The finished tart is a great mixture of crunchy cookie crust and ludicrously rich chocolate-and-caramel, and the sea salt is like a surprising exclamation point at the end of everything.”

Ingredients

Chocolate cookie crust

2 cups crushed chocolate cookies (I often use chocolate Teddy Grahams because you kind find them lots of places, but basically any not-overly sweet simple chocolate cookie is gonna work)
3/4 cup melted butter

Caramel filling

1 1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup whipping cream
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Chocolate filling

3/4 cup whipping cream
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Instructions

Cookie crust

Preheat oven to 375°F.
Combine the cookie crumbs and butter in a medium bowl and mix well. Press the crumb and butter mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie or tart pan. Bake for 8 minutes. Set aside and cool before filling.

Caramel filling

Stir the sugar and 1/3 cup water in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Increase the heat and boil until the syrup is an amber color – swirling the pan occasionally and brushing down the sides with a wet pastry brush – about 8 minutes. Remove from heat.
Add the cream, butter, vanilla and salt (the mixture will bubble up).
Return the pan to very low heat; stir until the caramel is smooth and the color deepens, about 5 minutes. Refrigerate the caramel uncovered until cold but not firm – about 20 minutes – before pouring into the crust to fill it a little more than halfway.

(This recipe may make slightly more caramel than is called for, depending on the size of your pie pan. If you want, once it cools slightly you can pour any excess on wax paper to cut into caramels.)

Chocolate filling

Bring the cream to boil in a heavy small saucepan. Add the chocolate and whisk together until smooth.
Fill the rest of the pie or tart crust with the chocolate filling. In the end, you want slightly more caramel than chocolate in the tart.

Refrigerate until firm, about 45 minutes.

Just before you serve the tart, sprinkle the top of it with a dusting of sea salt to taste. Not sure how to measure this – a little bit more than you might think and a little bit less than what seems gross? Make sure you use a coarsely-ground sea salt (but not too thick and crunchy). Added bonus for different sizes of flakes, which looks nice and makes the flavor more complex. I use Halen Môn, which is a wonderful sea salt from Wales (I suspect that the name just means “sea salt” in Welsh?), sliced into very thin, wide flakes.

Really Good Toast

jen — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:24:49 -0700

how i counter this acquired food snobbery? 8 months of the year, i am forced to eat subway.

Ingredients

nice fresh whole grain bread – my favorite is organic whole wheat with five grains from Amy’s Breads

good soft cheese from france – like Pierre Robert or anything picked up from Bedford Cheese Shop

fruit sweetened jam – apricot or strawberry – i prefer italian brand bionaturae because who doesn’t love old world tuscany and organic jam?

Instructions

no toaster in my house
so i use the broiler
lots of attention paid to flipping the toast
or else…...ash cakes!

Carrot Salad

jen — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 03:34:17 -0800

A really cheap salad.

Ingredients

carrots
cucumbers
onions
tomatoes
chickpeas
olives (the cheap can kind)
balsamic vinaigrette (a must!)

Instructions

Shred carrots.
Cut everything else up!
Pour balsamic dressing on top!
You are done!!

This meal should set you back 5 bucks!

Jen's Favorite Chili

jen — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 10:41:25 -0800

This recipe has so many rich, savory ingredients, that I usually make it with ground turkey and it still turns out with the heartiness of beef.

Ingredients

3 garlic cloves
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bay leaf
1 jalapeno, minced (optional)
veg. or corn oil
1 – 1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or turkey
1 6oz. can tomato paste
6 oz. water
1 can kidney beans
1 can tomatoes, whole or crushed
1 t. sugar

Seasonings:

1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. thyme
1 t. sage
1/2 t. cayenne (or more to taste)
1 t. black pepper
4 t. cumin
5 Tablespoons chili powder
few splashes of tabasco (optional)

You can also try:

1 T. cocoa powder or
1/2 can pumpkin or
1 cup beer (amber or dark)

Instructions

In a deep, large pot such as a dutch oven, saute the garlic, 1/2 of the chopped onion, and the bayleaf over medium-high heat until the onion is translucent. If you want the added heat of the jalapeno, include it in this step.
Meanwhile, mix all of the Seasonings listed above in a medium bowl until well combined.
Add the ground meat and 1/2 of the Seasoning Mix to the pot and stir until the meat is cooked thoroughly.
Reduce the heat and add the tomato paste, water, tomatoes, beans, sugar, remaining onion, and remaining 1/2 of the Seasoning Mix. You may also add one of the interesting “extras” at this point, such as cocoa, beer, or pumpkin (but I wouldn’t add all three!)
Let the chili simmer for 2-3 hours. If it is getting too thick, add a little water or more beer (if using). Allow it to rest overnight if possible.
Serve warm topped with cheese, sour cream, and chopped onion. A batch of cornbread to go with it is worth the effort (especially if you use an easy box mix).

Crock Pot Recipe du Jour (Shredded Pork)

jen — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 09:47:23 -0800

This could mean shredded pork sandwiches or it could mean shredded pork for tacos (carnitas?)

Ingredients

pork loin (approx. 3 lbs.)
salt/pepper
onions, sliced
water (or chicken broth)
garlic cloves (optional)
seasonings to taste (see below for suggestions)

Instructions

Get a boneless pork loin (+ or – 3lbs), rub with coarse salt and pepper, bed the crock pot with sliced onions and maybe a cup or so of water or chicken broth. If you like, you can slice some garlic cloves, make slits in the meat and insert those slices of garlic.

If you want to use the meat for sandwiches, throw in some other spices that you might like for your sandwich (experiment (parsley, thyme, fennel, etc. or keep it simple, whichever you like).

If you are thinking tacos, then slice some jalapenos, chop some tomatoes, throw in some cumin, maybe some chili powder (or cayenne, but don’t go too crazy).
Cook it on low for about 8 hours, then shred with a couple of forks or slice some off with a knife.

Delicious — and it will make for a few meals or a large gathering. Call mom with questions.

Longburger

jen — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:00:03 -0800

Ingredients

hamburger meat
hot dog buns
your choice of toppings

Instructions

Roll hamburger into shape of hot dog.
Cook, preferably on the grill
Put on bun and top with your favorite toppings

Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Ice Cream

jen — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 13:20:04 -0800

Ingredients

vanilla ice cream (Haagen-Dazs or home made)
Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal

Instructions

Put scoops of ice cream in bowl. Pour cereal on top. Eat!

E-Z Bourbon Balls

jen — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 09:49:56 -0800

I don’t know where I got this recipe, but it’s really easy, requires only a food processor, and is booze-a-riffic!

Ingredients

2 T. cocoa (dutch processed, if possible)
1 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 cup bourbon
3 T. light corn syrup
1 c. crushed pecans (spun in the food processor)
1 box Nilla wafers (spun in the food processor until crumbs)

Instructions

Sift together cocoa and confectioners sugar in a large bowl
Mix bourbon with corn syrup in a small bowl until combined, then stir into the cocoa and sugar.
Add the Nilla wafer crumbs and pecan crumbs. Mix with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Let the mixture sit 15 minutes to 1/2 hour, then roll into balls the size of walnuts and dredge in 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar.

F#*% You Macaroni and Cheese

jen — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 07:57:59 -0800

Serves 2-4

hardware:
pot o’ boiling (and salted!) water
heavy-bottomed sauce pan (2 quart is ideal)
whisk
wire strainer (if you wish)

Ingredients

1-3 lobster tails (depending on size, desired level of gluttony)
3-4 Cups whole milk (or something heavier if you wanna go nuts, just cut back on the roux)
1 1/2 – 2 Cups shredded gruyere cheese (or swap out 1/2 cup of gruyere for 1/2 cup shredded smoked gouda)
3 tbsp softened butter, creamed with 3 tbsp all-purpose unbleached flour (for roux)
box o’ pasta (tubes or shells)
kosher salt (at LEAST)
olive/canola oil

Optional:

1 tsp minced fresh garlic (for zing)
pinch of white pepper (go easy)
pinch of herbs du provence (ground in a mortar and pestle if you’d like it hidden)
pinch of cracked red pepper (also ground for stealth)
dash of truffle oil (closer. big finale)
panko (for crunch)

Instructions

Start your pasta water, generously salted, with a blob of olive/canola oil on top. Cook pasta according to instructions.
Cook the lobster tails to your liking (grill, steam, etc, although grilling them adds a really nice flavor) and remove the meat from the shell by snipping the tail up the middle underside with scissors, gently prying it apart. Try to break as little of the shell as possible to minimize the potential need to strain the sauce later. Set meat aside.
Bring cream and lobster shell(s) to a simmer. The longer you can afford to leave the shell(s) in the cream before adding the butter/flour, the better. 20-30mins is ideal.
Mash/beat/whip the butter and flour together with a silicon spatula or metal spoon into an even consistency. Remove shells and whisk the blob into the simmering milk (simply scoop the roux into the whisk and drop the whisk in the saucepan). Add any garlic, pepper, and/or herbs.
Lightly simmer this mixture on low heat and whisk occasionally to keep the milk from scorching on the bottom of your pan. Simmer about fifteen minutes (this is a good time to check your pasta of choice. I rock the big shells.) and test by dipping a spoon into the mixture and pulling it out. If it’s got a nice, even, velvety coating to it, and it doesn’t taste like flour (gritty, dry, starchy), you’re ready to add your cheese, a small handful at a time, gently whisking, until all cheese is incorporated.
Lower heat and cook a bit longer. Continue tasting for consistency. Aside from making sure the roux (butter+ flour) cooks properly and the bechamel (roux + milk/cream) gets enough time to develop a nice silky texture, your mornay sauce (bechamel sauce + cheese) should be splendid and fuss-free.
Salt to taste, of course. kosher, please.
Now, toss your cooked shells and cheese sauce and coat to your liking (reserved sauce will keep in the fridge for four days or so and is great for any number of cheese sauce needs you might dream up), and top with a drizzle of truffle oil at presentation (for maximum FU points) or pile into a ramekin, sprinkle with panko bread crumbs, and pop under the broiler for a FEW seconds. Keep an eye on it. If you torch it now, you’re gonna be pissed and lose serious points. So get it to a golden crust, THEN hit it with the truffle oil. If you want. That’s what I do. And that’s what makes it F#*% You Macaroni & Cheese if you get it right. It’s powerful stuff.

Smoked Tomatoes and Portabellas

jen — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 08:26:21 -0800

you need:
a smoker (any kind of hot smoker, electric or gas or charcoal)
*you could get by with using a grill, but you have to pay a lot more attention.

a digital probe thermometer is very nice for things of this nature.

Ingredients

a few pounds of roma tomatoes
one or two pounds of mushrooms
canola oil
kosher salt

Instructions

According to your smoker’s instructions (I use charcoal) get it to a little below optimum temperature (for meats). While that’s heating up, soak the woodchips of your choice (I use pecan) in water.
In the kitchen, slice the romas in half lengthwise and toss with a splash of oil and a generous sprinkle of kosher salt. The portabellas, lightly brush for debris, remove stems (if you like) and give the same

oil/salt treatment.

Once your smoker is at a nice temp (around 200 to

230) gently place your tomatoes (cut-side up) and mushrooms (gills up) on the racks in the smoker, toss your soaked woodchips (I wrap mine in foil to keep the mess down and the excess water off the coals) on the heat source and walk away. You’ll need to check on them periodically just to make sure the coals are maintaining a nice even temperature, so add coals if necessary.

The whole process takes about 4-6 hours for the mushrooms and 8-12 hours to get the tomatoes to “sundried” consistency. But you can also pull both the tomatoes and mushroomsoff after a couple hours and finish them in the oven on a rack at 200 degrees for a couple hours too… or, not. Whatever works for you.

But what can now be done with these two ingredients is vast and at times, alarming. The tomatoes can be used for anything you’d normally use tomatoes for: salsas, soups, salads, cornbread (hell yeah), or even compound butter (blue cheese, garlic, green onion, smoked tomato slivers) to blob onto a steak fresh off the grill. The mushrooms are great in anything requiring duxelle, in tapenades (incredible), but where they especially blow minds is in a basic bechamel (see mac and cheese recipe, replace cream with milk) and over biscuits. It’s sausage gravy and biscuits for vegetarians and every single one I’ve made this for nearly claws their own face off. In fact, the smoked tomatoes have been spit out by several vegetarians thinking it was meat. So, you could use those in the mac and cheese as well.

go nuts. enjoy. have fun. feed those you love.

Texas Tapenade

jen — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 08:28:03 -0800

Ingredients

finely-chopped smoked portabellas
minced cilantro
minced garlic
minced anchovy
minced jalapeno
crushed toasted pecans
lemon juice/zest
olive oil
pinch of cumin
salt to taste

Instructions

Spread this on toasted baguette crisps. Watch people freak out.

Food Pie

jen — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 11:33:11 -0800

Take a deep breath and clear your cooking area. Chose what kind of music or silence you want to listen to. Brian Eno’s Music For Fungus would be great. Range up your ingredients so you can access them when the moment comes and not be rummaging through the cupboard in a shower of weevils while your kitchen ignites. My Food Pie features:

Ingredients

Olive Oil – Onions – garlic – potatoes – lentils – a bay leaf or two – vegetable stock/yeast extract – parmesan cheese – peppers – celery (very optional) – peas (if you got time) – tomatoes – fresh button mushrooms (optional) – eggplant – broccoli and beyond. Wash everything unless you like guest bugs in your pie.

If you can enjoy turnips, parsnips and swedes, that trio of low-life root vegetables, then add them to the mix.

If you are a fishaterian, include tuna and anchovies.

Instructions

Drop the needle on your LP of choice, take another deep breath and start.

Take a bulb of fresh garlic and chop three or four cloves from it, finely. Mix those choppings in with one onion that you slice into atoms.

Heat up a saucepan with a little olive oil in it and tip in the garlic and onions.

Wash some lentils and keep them brooding nearby. Similarly wash a few potatoes (all quantities depend on how many you’re cooking for, dude) and quarter them to speed their boiling, which is what you do to them next. They are headed for mashville.

After initial heat, let the garlic and onions soften in the olive oil. Try not to burn them savagely.
Add the bay leaf, a teaspoon of Marmite or other yeast extract, and heat up some vegetable stock. Now is the time for anchovies. Then add the vegetable parade of your taste: mushrooms, tomato, eggplant and so on, all chopped but not beyond recognition. Food Pie works best if the ingredients can still be distinguished when it’s served up, rather than being cooked into an unrecognizeable slop. Your digestive system does that for you later.

On another hob, cook the lentils.

Flip the disc. Side 2 of Music For Fungus is just dandy. If you are adding tuna, open the tin now and keep it away from the cat. Wave some celery at the cat to confuse it, and then give it a little tuna on a fork in another room if you feel guilty about confusing it. Add the rest to the lentils

Prod the potatoes with a fork – pretend they are the souls of the damned, and you are God. Or the Devil. Whoever it is that wields the fork, anyhow. You get the same justice from both of them, which is why so many subscribers are moving to Buddha. Why should people suffer more than they have already? And why should potatoes be overcooked? Once they are yielding to the soft plunge of your fork, drain away the water (it makes good stock for soup or gravy) and leave the potatoes off the boil (i.e, don’t put the saucepan back on the hot hob).

Turn on the oven, by whatever means necessary. Not as hot as the Devil might like it.

By now you should have a brew of vegetables crackling in an aromatic frenzy before you. If you can multi-task, add butter or milk to the cooling potatoes and mash them. It is possible to out-source some of the vegetables – peas, or broccoli, for example – and boil them at the last minute in another pan, so you can serve them outside of the Pie.

Now tip the pans of vegetables, lentils, and possibly fish into a sarcophagus-shaped dish known to the 20th century as a casserole. Level them out and pave them over with mashed potato. Grate parmesan over the potato, and insert the casserole into the Devil-lite oven.

By now side 2 is over, and you will need silence to concentrate on serving up the pie with ketchup, horseradish, mustard and other agents. Bake the pie till the wind starts howling and the demons thrash against the oven door; wait above all for the moon to swim with her wan face against the cobwebbed window. And check that the cheese is melting nicely into the browning potato before you serve the pie. Keep plenty of water and juice on hand: this is a savoury dish.

Famous Food Pie lovers: Marie Curie, Joey Ramone, Rod Steiger, Florence Nightingale, Bryan Ferry

Don’t Knows: Oscar Wilde, William Shakespeare, Emperor Charlemagne, Babe Ruth, Eleanor Roosevelt

Not For Us: Sting, The Montgolfier Brothers, Lowell George, Tippi Hedren, Murray the K

“He that hath no stomach for food pye, let him eat hessian” – Samuel Pepys

Polish Cabbage Soup

jen — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 08:15:43 -0700

This soup is based on a chicken-cabbage soup at one of Eric’s favorite Polish restaurants in Chicago, but he likes to do it vegetarian.

Ingredients

1 white onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2-3 Tbs. vegetable or safflower oil
2 potatoes, cut into 1/2” cubes
salt and pepper
broth (vegetable or chicken)
italian parsley, chopped (lots)
sauerkraut (you can buy it prepared)

Instructions

saute onion, garlic, and celery in vegetable oil until softened and translucent.
add potatoes and salt & pepper (liberally).
add enough broth to cover by 1/2” to 1” and simmer until potatoes are soft, approximately 10 minutes.
add sauerkraut (to taste) and parsley and simmer a while longer until hot and flavors are blended.

The Running Avocado

jen — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 08:21:04 -0700

Luke Temple recommends this sandwich for people “on the go”. It’s a staple when he is busy in the recording studio. He likes to use “health bread” that he gets at a Polish deli in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn, but any hearty bread will do.

Ingredients

your favorite hearty wheat bread, sliced
avocado, sliced
cheddar cheese
hot sauce

Instructions

Melt cheese on bread in oven. Place sliced avocado on bread. Hot sauce on top.