Fruit Meatloaf

I like this recipe because it's so flexible; as long as you get the proportions correct for the major ingredients you can vary just about everything else to tweak the flavors.

1-1/2 lbs ground meat; it can be all beef or mostly beef plus pork and/or lamb. If you use all beef make sure it's not more than 75% lean
1 cup panko breadcrumbs
3 handfuls dried fruits; I like a combination of raisins, apricots, and prunes. Chop larger fruits into raisin-sized pieces
1 Tbsp jam or fruit preserves, any flavor
1/4 tsp fresh-ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp hot paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
(all the dry spices can be adjusted or substituted to taste, but the cinnamon helps bring out the fruit flavors and hot paprika or something else spicy makes a great contrast to the sweetness)
generous pinch kosher salt
1 egg

Preheat oven to 325F. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, take off your rings, and mix thoroughly by hand. Press into a small loaf pan or other oven-safe dish. Use less than the entire vessel if necessary to make the loaf at least 2 inches thick. Bake for 1 hour.

Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Ginger BBQ Sauce

This is a pretty standard KC-style BBQ sauce with a ginger kick.

2 thumbs ginger
2 c ketchup
1 c water
1/2 c cider vinegar
1/2 c brown sugar
3 T olive oil
4 T smoked paprika
2 T chili posder
4-6 cloves garlic
2 t chili flakes

Thinly slice one thumb of ginger - no need to peel it. Bring the water to a boil, add the ginger, reduce heat to a bare simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, strain, set aside.

Peel and finely dice the other thumb of ginger. Smash and dice the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan, add the ginger and garlic, and saute gently until the garlic starts to color. Add 1/2 cup of the ginger-infused water and all the other ingredients. Stir, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Between the sugar and the vinegar it'll keep indefinitely in the fridge.

Mango Salad With Roquefort Cheese

1 mango, diced
1 small cucumber, diced
generous handful crumbled roquefort cheese
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 large cloves garlic
rice vinegar

Put the diced mango, cucumber, and cheese in a bowl. Gently warm the olive oil over very low heat. Smash and dice the garlic, add to the oil and saute gently for a few minutes. Don't let the garlic brown. Remove from heat, cool until it's no longer sizzling, drizzle over the salad. Add vinegar to taste.

Roasted Garlic Deviled Eggs

This one's simple, simple, simple.

Start with your favorite recipe for deviled eggs: here's the first one that comes up in a quick Google.

Preheat the oven to 300F. Take a whole bulb of garlic and slice off the tip. Drizzle on a few drops of extra-virgin olive oil, wrap it in tinfoil cut side up, and roast it in the oven for an hour. Once it has completely cooled, squeeze it in your hand. The garlic will squirt out like toothpaste. Mix that into your deviled egg recipe. Voilà.

Roasted Garlic Lemon Tapenade

This makes a great under-the-skin preparation for roasted chicken.

1 bulb garlic
few drops EVOO
zest of 1 small lemon
4-6 large black olives, diced fine
pinch kosher salt
pinch white sugar

Preheat oven to 300F. Cut off the root (pointy) end of the garlic bulb, exposing the cloves. Drizzle on a few drops of olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil, and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Squeeze the bulb in your hand and the garlic will squirt out like toothpaste. Mix well with the other ingredients.

Seared Tuna Salad with Wasabi Vinaigrette

Dressing

1 Tbsp wasabi powder + 1 Tbsp and a bit water or 2 Tbsp prepared wasabi paste
1/4 cup olive oil

1-2 tsp rice vinegar

1 T honey

1/2 tsp garlic powder

pinch powdered ginger

pinch salt

Mix wasabi powder and water to form a paste. Slowly whisk in olive oil. When thoroughly combined, add vinegar, adjusting amount to taste. Whisk in remaining ingredients. Allow to sit at room temp for at least 1 hour for flavors to blend. Taste, adjust sweetness with additional honey and spiciness with a pinch of cayenne pepper if desired.

Salad

1 8 oz bag lettuce or greens, your choice.

1 dozen calamata olives

1 dozen grape tomatoes, halved

1 avocado, cubed

4 oz feta cheese, crumbled (optional: substitute 2 oz bleu cheese for half the feta)

handful sliced almonds

Toss together lettuce, olives, tomatoes, avocado, cheese. Sprinkle with almonds.

Tuna

1-12 oz or 2-6 oz tuna steaks

2 T toasted sesame oil

1 T chili oil (“Mongolian Fire Oil” is good)

corn or canola oil

sesame seeds

Buy only tuna steaks that are still cryo-sealed and frozen hard. Do NOT accept partially thawed steaks from the display case. Thaw in the refrigerator for 36 hours.

In a bowl whisk together the sesame and chili oils. Open the tuna and roll around the bowl to coat well; cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Get a cast-iron or nonstick skillet burning hot over highest heat. Put a little corn or canola oil in the pan. Sprinkle the tuna with sesame seeds, place seed-side down in the pan and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. Cook for 90 seconds only - DO NOT MOVE the steaks until it’s time to flip them. Flip, sprinkle cooked side with sesame seeds, and cook for 60-90 more seconds. The sides should be just completely grey. Remove from pan and allow to cool.

Slice tuna thinly (about 1/8 inch) along the grain. It should be nicely pink in the center. Arrange atop the salad. Drizzle the dressing over. Serve.

Cumin-Fried Lemon Chicken Livers with Honey Mushrooms and Broccoli

1 lb chicken livers
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
dash your favorite hot sauce
1 cup flour
1 Tbsp table salt

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp fresh-ground pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp hot paprika
zest and juice of one lemon

3 small broccoli crowns, chopped
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
knob butter
1 Tbsp butter

Heat oil in skillet or deep-fryer to 375F. Rinse and drain the livers, trim away any connective tissue. Whisk flour and dry spices, put in a Ziploc bag. Whisk together egg, milk, and hotsauce. Soak the livers in the milk-egg wash. Shake off excess liquid and put in small batches in the Ziploc, shake to coat thoroughly, then remove to a rack to rest for a couple of minutes. Fry in small batches for 5-7 minutes or until GB&D. Turn out onto a cooling rack. While still hot, drizzle lightly with lemon juice. Serve garnished with zest.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the mushrooms gently until they start to express their liquid. Add honey and chopped broccoli, toss to coat, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 3-5 minutes until the broccoli is just tender.

Roast Chicken With Lemon-Garlic Tapenade

a dozen jumbo black olives, diced fine (about 4 Tbsp)
4 Tbsp diced garlic
pinch kosher salt
zest of 2 lemons
1/2 tsp chili oil

In general I disdain prepared garlic; however lately I've found tubs of diced garlic in the deli section of the grocery. It's packed in a little oil. The flavor is very sharp and nutty, and the texture is soft. That makes it perfect for this application. You can certainly use fresh garlic if you want; if you do, mix it with just a few drops of olive oil to moisten it.

To make the tapenade, just combine all the ingredients, mix well, and let it sit out at room temperature for an hour or more. If your olives are anything but American-style mild black olives, you may wish to omit the pinch of extra salt.

Work your fingers gently between the skin of the chicken and the meat. Work carefully so as not to tear the skin. You should be able to free it from the breasts, except for along the keel centerline, and from the thighs and drumsticks.

Distribute the tapenade generously underneath the skin. This works best if you put a blob just under the edge and smooth your fingers along the outside to work the tapenade further in.

Roast the chicken in a 450F oven for an hour and a quarter or until the skin is browned and crisp and the thigh internal temperature has passed 165F.

Leftover tapenade can also be enjoyed as a spread on crackers or toast points, by itself or with cream cheese.

Tandoorish Chicken

1/2 c Bulgarian yogurt (runny)
juice of half a lemon
1/4 c coconut cream
1 T honey
4 cloves garlic, diced
1 T prepared curry paste
1 t ground cumin
1 t hot paprika
1/2 t fresh grated nutmeg
1/8 t fresh grated cinnamon
1/2 t ground turmeric
pinch kosher salt

3-5 chicken leg quarters

Mix the ingredients together in a glass bowl. Leave it at room temperature for half an hour or so to let the flavors marry before tasting, then adjust seasoning as thou wilt.

Separate the chicken into legs and thighs. Skin them and trim off excess fat. What will you do with all that fat and skin, you ask? Oh my fucking god, I answer, make cracklins! These are seriously awesome. They're only about a zillion times better than popcorn as a munchie, and thirty gajillion times better than bacos for a salad or potato topping.

Stab the chicken thoroughly and make some shallow knife slits as well. Put it in a heavy-duty Ziploc, pour in the marinade, squeeze out as much of the air as you can, seal, and put in the fridge for at least 6 hours, but no longer than 24.

Real tandoori bakes in a clay oven at over 600F. If you happen to have a clay oven handy that'll get that hot, good for you. If not, you can use a covered charcoal grill with the grill rack at least 5 inches from the coals, or just broil at 475F for 20-30 minutes until the temperature in the center of the thighs reaches 170F.

Serve with Completely Inauthentic Indian Potatoes And Peas.

Completely Inauthentic Indian Potatoes and Peas

2 medium potatoes, large cube
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 T toasted sesame oil
2 T tomato paste
2 T water
1 T white wine vinegar
1 T coconut cream
3 cloves garlic, smashed and diced
kosher salt
dried chile flakes or hot sauce to taste

Here's my attempt to make something that will pass for a South Asian side dish when the  kitchen is bereft of coriander, cardomon, garam masala...not even any ginger, for FSMs sake! (I had some but turned out it was sharing a bag with something that was blue, mushy, hairy, and completely unidentifiable by the time I found it. Sometimes that's just how it goes.)

Saute the potatoes in the oil with a pinch of salt, tossing frequently until slightly browned. Add garlic, toss and saute for another minute. Don't let the garlic burn! Reduce heat, add vinegar, tomato paste, water, and coconut cream. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add frozen peas, simmer for another 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning.

Vacation post: boneless lamb roast en croûte

boneless leg of lamb rolled roast, 3-4 lb
several cloves garlic
2 lime wedges
canola oil
coarse-ground mustard
panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 275F. Peel and sliver several garlic cloves. Prepare the roast by poking multiple slits all over it with a thin-bladed knife and slicking a garlic sliver into each slit. Push the lime wedges into the center of the rolled roast. Rub lightly with canola oil. Place in oven.

Bake until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 170F. Remove from oven and raise temperature to 450F. When the roast has rested and is cool enough to handle, rub it lightly with coarse mustard and roll in panko breadcrumbs. When the oven is up to temperature, put the roast back in for 10 minutes to form a delicious crust. Remove from oven; allow to rest another 10 minutes before carving.

Stoup

Yeah, for a lot of people every time they hear the word "stoup" their hatred for Rachel Ray gets just a little bit hotter, but I like the perky little spunkmuffin. I've gotten some good recipe ideas from her 30-minute meals show, though I have to say my experience shows she's usually cheating on the time just a little, if by no other means than having a fully-staffed prep kitchen just off-camera.

Anyway...

6-8 cups freshly-made chicken stock
chicken meat stripped from the carcass and shredded
1/4 cup red lentils
1/4 cup pearl barley
1/2 cup split peas
1/2 cup dry white beans
1/2 T garlic powder

8-10 grape tomatoes, quartered

kosher salt

1 large onion
3 stalks celery
1/2 bell pepper
1 moderately hot chile - an Anaheim or Serrano or Mirasol or New Mexico green
4 large cloves garlic, smashed and minced
olive oil
1 t sweep paprika

Strain the stock, return to pot and bring to a simmer. Add the lentils, barley, split peas, beans, garlic powder, tomatoes and salt to taste. Simmer covered for 2-3 hours until the white beans are tender. Coarsely chop the onion, celery, bell pepper and chile and add to a saute pan with the olive oil over high heat. Sprinkle on the paprika and toss to distribute. Saute for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic and saute for 2-3 minutes more.

Add the chicken meat and sauteed vegetables to the stock, cover and simmer for another 15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning.

Curried Seitan With Vegetables

So, I'm not a big fan of seitan - done right and in some kind of stew application it's nearly indistinguishable from meat, so what's the point?

Well, if you've ever despaired of communicating what cut of meat you want from a butcher with whom you have no language in common and it's the end of a long, hot, sticky day and your air conditioner keeps freezing up and leaking water all over your coffee table, and you just don't have the energy to deal with One. More. Thing, you'd understand the point.

I started with this recipe, adapted for my preferences and on-hand.

8 ounces beef flavor seitan
2 T oil
8 oz mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1/2 bell pepper cut in large squares
1 onion, sliced
2 green onions, sliced in 1-inch lengths

marinade:
dash coconut cream
dash Worcestershire sauce
1/2 T green curry paste
1 T peanut butter
1 oz fond
juice of 1/2 lemon
splash water

curry sauce:
2 T green curry paste
1 can coconut cream
dash Worcestershire sauce
1 T chunky rooster sauce
3 large cloves garlic, smashed and minced

Mix up the marinade in a large bowl; cut up the seitan and let it marinate while preparing the curry sauce. Mix the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat.

Meanwhile, brown the seitan with the marinade in the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the sauce is simmering, add the mushrooms, bell pepper, and onion. When the seitan is well-browned add it as well. Simmer for  10 minutes, add the green onion, and simmer for 5 minutes more.

Serve over starch, rice or cubed potatoes.

Mushroom Sauce

This meal was nothing special, but I was pretty happy with the mushroom sauce I made to top my baked potato. I did it with a roast chicken but you could as easily do it from a beef or pork roast, or lamb or goat or camel or even the incredibly rambunction kitten that dumped an entire cup of coffee onto your laptop and killed it dead...

Pan drippings from a roast
8 oz mushrooms, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced, or 1 t garlic powder
1/2 c red wine
pinch kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 T butter
1 T flour
chunky rooster sauce (optional)

Pour the pan drippings into a small saucepan over low heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute gently until the mushrooms have darkened. Add the wine, pinch of salt and pepper, and simmer until reduced by a third or so.

Pour out into a mixing bowl. Melt the butter in the pan, then add the flour and mix to make a roux. Cook the roux to blond, then add back the mushroom mixture. It will get quite thick; stir in cold water gradually until you get the desired consistency for a sauce or gravy. Adjust the seasoning and add some chunky rooster or other favorite hot sauce if desired to give it just a little bite. Serve over just about anything that isn't ice cream.

Quick Kung Pao-ish Fried Tofu

8 oz firm tofu, cubed
2 T cornstarch
1/4 c panko breadcrumbs
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
3 T tomato paste
1 T chunky rooster sauce
1 drizzle honey or 1 t dark brown sugar, if desired
4-6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1/2 bell pepper, sliced thin
half a dozen mushrooms, sliced
3 green onions, coarsely chopped
small handful peanuts
oil for frying

Press the tofu for an hour or so to remove excess moisture, then marinate in Worcestershire sauce for half an hour. Dredge the tofu in cornstarch and then panko (reserving the Worcestershire), and pan fry over high heat until the breading is GBD. Remove the tofu and add to the remaining oil the bell pepper, mushrooms, green onions, and garlic. Saute for just long enough to stir the tomato paste and chunky rooster sauce into the Worcestershire, adding the honey or brown sugar if desired. Then reduce the heat to low and pour the mixture over the vegetables, tossing until coated. Add the peanuts and simmer for 3-5 minutes.

Serve the vegetables over rice, topped with the tofu. The sweetener, if added, will provide a nice counterpoint to the fiery garlic sauce. But sometimes you just want your Scoville units straight up.

This Grocery Store Is A Big F'ing Deal

I've been living in one of Atrios's dreams of an urban hellhole without a car for several months. My grocery shopping has therefore been limited to what I can reach on foot (or bicycle) and what I can carry. I live right off a big shopping district so it's not like it's a hardship - there are wonderful vegetable stalls, fresh spices, bakeries just steps away. But it's urban rents so while there are 5 different grocery chains nearby, they're all small stores with limited selections.

Today a friend drove me out to the burbs to one of the biggest, fanciest-ass grocery stores in the entire nation, the Tiv-Taam in Rehovoth Rishon LeTzion. The store has a bar in it. Actually it has TWO bars - one's a wine bar with a great pub food menu, and the other is a noodle bar and a sushi bar and a Guinness-on-tap bar. And since Tiv-Taam is the not-kosher shopping chain, the place was hopping late on a Friday afternoon. I'm told it's a major destination for the secular folks on Friday nights and Saturdays.

Yes, this is how strange and sad my life has become. I'm gushing over the experience of going grocery shopping.

I didn't lose my mind completely - the leg of lamb looked gorgeous but I would've needed to buy a freezer to put it in. The gigantic cowboy ribeyes were pretty damn impressive as well but I would've needed a bank loan. So instead I went vegetarian with some items I haven't seen at a reasonable price in the city.

Asparagus salad

5 stalks white asparagus
1/4 avocado
1 slice red onion
1/2 small cucumber
pinch kosher salt
1 T rice vinegar
1/2 t mirin

I will cop right away to this: the asparagus came out of a jar. Fresh asparagus in Israel is, well, see above, bank loan. And of course we're way out of season. But it worked for this application. Nothing fancy; peel the cucumber, chop everything up and toss it with the vinegar and mirin. Let sit while the rest of the meal is prepared.

Sauteed Shemeji Mushrooms

1 package (3-4 oz.) brown shimeji mushrooms
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 t extra virgin olive oil

Trim the base so the mushrooms are all separate stalks. Heat the olive oil over medium heat; add the mushrooms, toss for a minute, and add the garlic. Sautee, stirring, until the mushrooms just start to darken. Remove from heat and plate immediately; residual heat will cook them just a little more. While still warm, top with 1-2 t of Francis Lam's ginger-scallion oil.

Sauteed Enoki Mushrooms

1 package (~2 oz.) enoki mushrooms
1 T butter
lime zest

Trim the base and separate the mushroom stalks. Melt the butter over low heat. Add the mushroom with a small pinch of kosher salt and saute gently for no more than two to three minutes. Garnish with lime zest.

Miso rice

Prepare white rice as normal but add 1 T dark miso per cup of water

Using rice vinegar and the sweet mirin in the salad prevents the mild flavor of the white asparagus from being overwhelmed. The avocado is buttery and rich in flavor and soft in texture; the cucumber, onion, and the acidity of the vinegar make a great counterpoint.

The shimejis are toothsome and garlicky with the savory flavor amped up by the giner oil. The enokis are buttery and rich. And the saltiness of the miso in the rice brings out the different tastes of the fungus.

I enjoyed all of this with some country onion bread from the Tiv-Taam's bakery, and I'm going to finish the evening with my other big find - a bottle of Tullamore Dew, and at darned near duty-free price!

Fajitoids

I have to start out by explaining a bit about the agony and the ecstacy of shopping for meat in a foreign country, in a foreign language, written in a non-roman alphabet.

You're probably aware that the names of various beef cuts are by no means standardized, even within the USA. There's lots of regional variation. There are whole glossaries explaining what parts of the various primals certain names actually refer to. And when some of the entries are accompanied by the legend, "tell your butcher this if he doesn't know", we obviously need them.

Now transplant that to a whole different country with a whole different dietary tradition - a whole variety of them, in fact - and a language that doesn't even use the Roman alphabet. And you might be completely out of luck. What the hell is שפונדרה? Or סינטה? And even if you can sound that out to "shpundrah" and "sinta", does that actually help?

I won't keep you in suspense. No. It's no help at all. Fortunately, what IS helpful is that in Israel there's a universal numeric indexing of the cow. Similar to this, there's this, and descriptions of the various cuts available and their best applications, like this. So instead of numbly pawing through the various frozen chunks of cryoseal, contorted from shipping, freezing your fingertips and hoping for the best, you can numbly paw through them with a purpose, looking for the number of the cut you want. And, since this is Israel, not finding it and having to settle for something else.

And that's how I went looking for some #3, skirt steak, and ended up instead with some #5, more or less a London Broil. And nevertheless determined to make some carne asada with it.

I sliced the meat into long, flat strips, with the grain of the meat. I did my best to remove the silverskin; unfortunately my best wasn't very good. That stuff is devilish tough.

Carne Asada Marinade

6 large garlic cloves, smashed and minced
1 large jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
large handful cilantro leaves, chopped fine
juice and zest of 2 limes
1/2 c olive oil
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients. Go easy on the salt, because the meat will be salted again before cooking. Put meat and marinade in a large ziploc. Squeeze out all the air, moosh enthusiastically to distribute the marinade. Refrigerate overnight.

I cooked indoors over a rocket-hot cast iron skillet, but this can just as easily be grilled. Remove the meat from the bag, shake off excess marinade, and lay out on a cutting board. Sprinkle with kosher salt on both sides and allow to rest for a few minutes.

Cook 3-4 minutes a side. If using a skillet cook in small batches to keep the temperature high, and to get a better crust, don't move the meat around in the pan. Allow to cool before cutting.

Slice against the grain into small pieces. Cutting against the grain will make this very tough cut, not designed for high-temperature treatment, just about chewable.

Pico De Gallo

24-32 largish grape tomatoes, chopped
1/2 large red onion, chopped
2 green onions, sliced
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and diced
large handful cilantro leaves, chopped fine
4-6 large garlic cloves, smashed and minced
juice of 1 lime
1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil
1 t kosher salt

Combine all ingredients, toss thoroughly. Let sit for an hour at room temp or overnight in the fridge for the flavors to marry.

Serve meat and pico on flour tortillas with your choice of garnishes and sides. I had mine with sliced avocado, sour cream, shredded lettuce, and some canned (picked) chiles. The tortillas can be quickly and easily warmed by 10 seconds in the microwave.

The marinade and pico recipes are modified from Tyler Florence.

Phuket BBQ sauce

Yeah, I know, it's not really pronounced that way. But phuket.

I felt like something spicy and aromatic, so I started with a basic recipe for Kansas City BBQ sauce and went nuts.

1 onion
1/2 bulb garlic
1 peach or other stone fruit, very ripe
2 T toasted sesame oil
2 T sweet paprika
1 T chili powder
crushed red pepper to taste
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup vinegar
juice of half a lemon plus water to make 1/4 cup
1 T green curry paste
1/2 t grated fresh nutmeg or cinnamon
kosher salt

Dice the onion finely and saute with a pinch of kosher salt in the sesame oil over medium heat until the onion is well-caramelized. Separate the garlic cloves, mash and mince and add to the onion along with the brown sugar, paprika, chili powder, and crushed red pepper. Saute, stirring, for a minute or two until you can smell the garlic.

Reduce heat and add ketchup, vinegar, lemon juice and water, and curry paste. Dice the peach finely and add it along with the grated nutmeg or cinnamon. Simmer covered for at least half an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and allow to cool, and then you can puree with a stick blender if desired. I like the chunky bits.

I've got a pan of chicken legs in the oven right now, liberally doused.

Chicken and Dumplings

Cracker Barrel may be a despicable corporate entity: racist, sexist, homophobic, abusive of their workers, and pretty much a canonical instance of the faux-friendly jes-plain-folks Disney fake of actual human-to-human contact - but their chicken and dumplings hits my comfort-food sweet spot. When I'm on the road and I have the time for a sit-down meal I've been known to bite down hard on my principles, stop there and order some. And overtip the waitron.

So when I got a hankering for some chicken and dumplings, I canvassed the internet and quickly found a recipe that claimed to be theirs or as near as matters. I made it a couple of times and it is very very close to what you get in the restaurant. But I also realized that when you're not on a long and lonesome highway the comfort-food aspect is not so compelling, and it can definitely be improved. So I'm going to reproduce the recipe here and annotate it as prepared this evening.

Here we go:

3 quarts water
1 3-4 pound chicken cut up
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 small large onion sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 4 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered smashed and minced
1 t garlic powder
1 bay leaf
4-6 whole parsley leaves
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Dumplings

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons of salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

Get a little oil very hot in a large pot and sear the chicken. Add water to cover and bring Bring the water to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of salt, onion, celery, garlic powder, bay leaf, and parsley to the pot. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook the chicken, uncovered, for 2 hours. The liquid will reduce by about one third.

Tonight I replaced part of the water with leftover egg drop corn soup.

When the chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside. Strain the stock to remove all the vegetables and floating scum. You only want the stock and the chicken, so toss everything else out.

Pour 1 1/2 quarts (6 cups) of the stock back into the pot (keep the leftover stock, if any, for another recipe-it can be frozen). You may also want to use a smaller pot or a large saucepan for this. Add coarsely ground pepper, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt to taste, and the lemon juice, then reheat the stock over medium heat while preparing the dumplings.

For dumplings, combine the flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and milk in a medium bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes.

While the dough is resting, coarsely chop the onion and celery and saute it in a little oil over medium-high heat, adding the garlic as it starts to soften. Saute, tossing frequently, until the onions start to caramelize.

Roll the dough out onto a floured surface to about a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough. The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until thick. Stir often.

While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the meat from the bones and remove the skin. Cut the chicken meat into bite-size or a little bigger than bite-size pieces and drop them into the pot, also adding the sauteed vegetables. Discard the skin and bones. Continue to simmer the chicken and dumplings for another 5-10 minutes, but don't stir too vigorously or the chicken will shred and fall apart. You want big chunks of chicken in the end.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Roasted Potatoes with Sausage

A meaty variation on a family favorite!

6-7 medium potatoes

1 medium onion

4-6 large cloves garlic or 1 T granulated garlic

a double handful of ground sausage

1 T chili powder

1 t cumin

1/2 t turmeric

2 generous pinches kosher salt

fresh ground black pepper

crushed red pizza pepper (optional)

3 T olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F. Dice the potatoes and onion to 1/2 inch; crush and mince the garlic; crumble the sausage. Combine in a cast-iron skillet. Add salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, turmeric, and pizza pepper. Drizzle on the olive oil and mix by hand until everything is well-coated.

Bake 30 minutes, turn well with a nonstick spatula and bake another 30 minutes.

Serve with brown gravy if desired.

I added some leftover rice to the leftover salad and it made a very nice, mild counterpoint to the spicy potatoes.