Man I Love Latkes!

I should have been born Jewish. I love Jewish foods and the traditions that surround it. While it was a sad day when I heard that Oasis was going out of business, I can’t say I was not please to hear it was being replaced with a Jewish Deli, Sadie Katz.

When I lived in Manhattan the 2nd Avenue Deli was conveniently on my way home from work. I used to stop in for matzo ball soup when my roommate was under the weather or perhaps a knish or a latkes as a late afternoon snack…ohhhhhhh and do not forget the pickles. There really is nothing like a hot pastrami on rye in the middle of a January storm. Just don’t ask for 1000 island dressing on it; what can I say I am from VT and Scottish! Ha. When I moved further downtown I was right across the street from the matzo factory, the whole neighborhood would smell of sweet matzo, it was incredible.

Right, where was I… Ahh Sadie’s. I finally checked it out yesterday at the urging of my friend Matt. We braved the rain and found a booth waiting for us in the funky old tin diner. Not wanting to miss out on the full experience I ordered 1/2 a hot pastrami on rye, with mustard, a cup of goulash and latkes (I meant it when I said I LOVE THEM).

The goulash came out first and it was about what you’d expect… Yes, exactly what you remember from hot lunch in elementary school. Then the latkes… they were delicious. An order comes with two and had my fellow dinner not been a member of the polite police, I would have eaten them both. But, we shared and it was probably a good thing, given the size of my 1/2 a sandwich. I ordered the Burlington Big size, no need to go overboard. The meat was perfect, tender, tasty and thin.

I plan on returning to check out the matzo ball soup or just to eat 3 orders of latkes. I suggest you check it out! Visit their website for the menu: Sadie Katz Deli

Oh, and the pickles, excellent, although they could have been a bit more generous with them.

Be a Pumpkin Pie Queen

There is a secret to making pumpkin pie that will knock the socks off your guests. Especially cute Italian vineyard owners who’ve not had pumpkin pie before.

First of all make your life easy get a box of Pillsbury pie crust mix and make your crust with that. Or do as I do and get the refrigerated crust. Push the pie crust into your pie plate using your fingers. Don’t get to anal about it just get the pan covered and make sure there is a bit to cover the rim. Stick the crust in your pre-heated oven (350 degrees) for 10 minutes. You can weight it down with dry beans if you have them… I never do, so far no problems here!

Then mix in a bowl, until smooth, the following ingredients in no particular order:

2 cups canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix)
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1 piece of softened butter, the size of a walnut. *
2 tbsp of flour mixed with 2-3 tbsp of milk (until lumps are gone)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger and ground nutmeg
1 shot of RUM or BRANDY (secret to perfection)

When you’ve got that all mixed up, pour it into your prepared pie crust. Chuck that baby in the oven for 50 minutes and you should be good to go. Make sure the center is solid and not jiggly! You can make it a day in advance and refrigerate it. Trust me, this pie will MAKE you famous.

* Did I mention this is my Grandmother’s recipe, so I don’t know if that is like a whole walnut, a walnut with a shell or without a shell… but I just eye ball it at about a tbsp… so far no complaints!

Easy Carrot Soup

Okay so maybe it is a given that carrot soup = easy, but I think it is important to point out with any simple recipe.

I attended a BYO-favorite appetizer party last night. I was not feeling very inspired, but had planned to make myself my favorite carrot soup. The problem… the host and another one of my friends can’t eat lactose and my recipe calls for buttermilk. That is a big no-no in the land of lactards.

I decided the recipe could easily be made by replacing the buttermilk with chicken stock. Which I think most people actually use anyway. Of course if you are dealing with the Veggie’s or meatards, you can always use vegetable stock.

My mother was kind enough to give me a slow cooker for my birthday, so I decided to use the bag of carrots I had left over from my last brisket adventure, instead of just using canned, which I usually do.

First I sautéed a shallot in about 1 tbsp of oil, whatever you have works. Once that is caremlized, which I think means browned… or in my case near burnt, you can add your spices to the mix. Yes, this is probably a culinary don’t, but no one is watching… I mean you can pretty much throw them in whenever, but I like making a mess.

So throw in your curry (about 1.5 tbsp), chili powder (1 tsp, or more if you like it hot), salt and pepper. Add some stock to make sure they all get out of the pan… cause I noticed they stick otherwise.

Now we travel back in time and chop up the bag of carrots while the shallots are cooking. Add those and a can of chicken stock to the slow cooker, put the setting on high.

OK, now add the shallots and spice concoction to the slow cooker. Leave that on high for however long it takes to soften the carrots. Then use an immersion blender on them until it is smooth. Mine did not have enough liquid the first go at it, so I added another can of chicken stock. The flavor was also a little weak, so I added more spices and seasoned it again. It did get a bit salty, so I added 1 tbsp of sugar and some ginger to liven it up. It worked.

It is best served with a dollop of sour cream for those of us who can eat dairy. I also add roasted pine nuts for those that are not also allergic to nuts. You could use sliced almonds… or chives if you wanted.

I do think if you can make it with buttermilk it is also excellent. Just use the buttermilk to thin it instead of more chicken stock. Add the juice from 1/2 a lemon and you are in business.

You can also do this all in one pot, starting with the shallots, spices, then liquid, then carrots, cook till soft, blend… you get the idea.

Your friend’s will be very impressed and they’ll have no idea how easy it is to make. Unless of course they read my blog, which is pretty unlikely… think I have an audience of one… myself.