chicken soup

my grandmother calls it "Marak Cholim", which means in hebrew, "soup for the ill". i swear it's got healing power :)


ingredients for one big pot:
* chicken cut into parts
roots:
* parsley root
* celery root
* 1-2 medium carrot
* potato (for boiling)
* onion

* zucchini
* bunch of parsley

* 2 tbs chicken bouillon ("powdered soup"?) -- i use Knorr.

basic instructions:
peel roots; cut the roots and zucchini into cubes. put everything in a pot and cover with water. boil and cook on low heat (let simmer) for a couple of hours. after an hour or so add the bouillon, and adjust flavors (more bouillon / salt / pepper).
before serving, skim the oil off the top with a large spoon and discard. it's easier to take it out after the soup cooled, if you don't plan to have it right away. alternatively, there are kitchen gadgets for separating oil from liquids... i just use a spoon.

notes:
* if you don't want to use a full chicken, that's fine. use some chicken parts. but don't just use breasts -- the skin, and especially the bones, add a lot to the flavor (that's the secret!). i throw out about half of the skin before cooking, so that there's less oil to handle. but don't remove all of it. when i use a whole chicken, i don't use the giblets, but i do use the throat. that too adds a lot of flavor.
* parsley: option 1 -- tie the bunch with a string, cook with the soup and remove before serving. option 2 -- the same, but chop some
of it and add to the soup.
* roots -- celery and parsley root -- i like them, but if you don't plan on eating them you can cut them into 1/4s and remove before serving, or just leave them in the pot.
* you can possibly use broth instead of powder, i never tried.
* the soup usually tastes better the next day. but the healing power is already effective when the smell spreads around the house :)

meeting # 8

\\garXiv:0810.00001

Date: Thu Oct 2008 20:00 CT

Title: viva la poblanos

Authors: Steph & Nathan
Categories: gastro-ph, Mexican\\

Mexican! 

What Nathan and I enjoyed the most about this meeting was that we could use our favorite implements: the black chamba, the broiler, the immersion blender, a sieve and open flames. We made horchata, tomato salsa, arbol chile salsa, garlic & orange guacamole  and lime-garlic soup (from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything) as appetizers.  The horchata took a little magic.  After we ground the rice and let it settle for a day, we soaked it overnight and then on the third day we added cinammon, water and milk until it tasted right.  For the main course we had huaraches (corn masa cakes stuffed with black beans)  and stuffed poblano peppers.

As Chris is painfully-aware, the main courses needed to be assembled.  The huaraches were topped with arbol chile salsa, chorizo and romano cheese.  The poblano peppers were stuffed with a million-ingredient concoction of fruit and roasted pork.  They were then topped with a white walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds.  The green, white and red colors of the dish are supposed to represent the Mexican flag.

I first encountered the stuffed poblanos in El Paso at my friends' traditional Mexican wedding.  The day after the wedding, there was a send-off party for the bride and groom in which the mariachi band from the wedding came and played.  It was awesome! Here's a picture of one of the band members:

Since that day, I begged the bride (Martha) to give me the recipe.  She said that it was an old family recipe and would be difficult to get, but she came through in the end.  Yayay for Martha!

After dinner, Sophia and Ali served a delicious flan which I certainly hope they will tell me how to make. 

 

Lobstah!

an out-of-schedule meeting in which we had lobstah. lots and lots of lobstah!

Sarah carefully fishing the lobster out of the giant shocking blue pot that was purchased for the occasion.


...Action shots!

and pie+icecream for dessert. mmmmmmmm!

more pictures here!

Meeting #7

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garXiv:0827.0001
Date: Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:00 CDT
Title: Japanese salute to Obama and the Democratic National Convention
Authors: Keren (Sushiman), Sarah(gyozer), Ben(busboy)
Categories: gastro-ph
\\

Sushi, sushi, sushi and more sushi!
We had several combinations of maki -- like salmon/cucumber/scallion, tuna/pepper/sauteed-carrots, asparagus/cucumber/scallions/pepper, smoked salmon, "alaska", and "spicy tuna".
Some of the tuna and salmon was devoured as sashimi.



Sarah stuffed a huge pile of gyoza dumplings -- which were incredible!
Nathan and Stephanie brought salad (thanks for the no-garlic option!), and for dessert, Sophia baked us a delicious chocolate pie, served with raspberries. i think the neighbors could hear our "YUMMMMM!!" moans all the way to the 20th floor!

for entertainment we had a baseball game (that Chris insisted on), the democratic convention, and of course, Gray Scrooge in a great demonstration of his laser-pointer-dot-stalking and acrobatic abilities.


(too bad my battery died as i was taking a picture of the last piece of pie!)

---------------------------
Gyoza recipe:

meeting #6

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garXiv:0806.0001
Date: Wed, 25 June 2008 19:30 CDT
Title: A Classic American Dinner in belated celebration of Obama's nomination-clinching
Authors: Sarah (chef de cuisine), Chris (sous-chef), Keren (pâtissier)
Categories: gastro-ph
\\

I decided to make what I think of as quintessentially American summer food. Not having a way to grill meant that my first thought, burgers, wasn't gonna happen, so I made BBQ beef sandwiches instead, cooking the meat all day in a slow cooker (not required.... you could just as easily do it in a low oven in a big Dutch oven). In addition, we had potato salad (everyone's version of this is different, but what I made is how my mom makes it -- such a taste of home to me!), green beans, and Caesar salad.

Keren made two delicious desserts: lemon meringue pie and chocolate souffles.

BBQ Beef Sandwiches
Mix together:
1 1/2 c ketchup
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 tsp liquid smoke
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper (I bet I use more than this!)
1/4 tsp garlic powder (I left this out)

In a slow cooker or Dutch over, pour the sauce over a:
3-4 lb chuck roast

In a slow cooker, cook on low heat for 8-10 hrs (check early!) until falling apart. (I don't know just how to do it in a Dutch oven, sorry, but put in a slow oven for a long time.) Take the resulting chunks of meat out, shred them, and put them back in to the sauce to cook for another hour. Serve on hamburger buns.


Sarah's Mom's Potato Salad
3 large all purpose potatoes, boiled, cut in pieces, and still warm
2 hard boiled eggs, still warm
1 small white onion (golf ball size), chopped
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
4-5 dollops of mayonnaise

Mix together. (My mom insists it will not be right unless the potatoes & eggs are still warm when you do so since that makes the flavors blend best.) Refrigerate until serving time.

Indian Condiments: Coriander Chutney, Raita, and Onion Relish

Fresh Coriander Chutney
from Madhur Jeffrey's Indian Cooking

3 oz fresh coriander, coarsely chopped
1 hot green chili, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
pinch salt
1/2 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds
freshly ground black pepper

Combine all in a blender, blending well until you have a paste.


*****************

Raita

1 pint yogurt
5" cucumber, peeled and grated
2 Tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Beat yogurt lightly until smooth. Add everything else.

*****************

Onion Relish
from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking

1 medium onion, sliced crosswise as paper thin as you can
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne

Mix all together. Let stand at least 30 min to let flavors blend.

Mixed Veg Curry

Curried Vegetables in a Mustard/Cumin Sauce
from Madhur Jafrey's Indian Cooking

1 lb potatoes, boiled, cooled and peeled
veg oil for shallow-frying
1 medium-sized cauliflower, broken into chunky florets
7cm fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
4 Tbsp plus 1 pint water
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp kalonji
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp salt
2 c. finely chopped tomatoes
2 medium carrots, cut into 1cm thick rounds
1/2 tsp garam masala(*)
1/2 c. peas (fresh, or frozen and defrosted)


(*)if you want to make your own garam masala, grind together the following:
1 Tbsp cardamom seeds
5 cm cinnamon stick
1 tsp black cumin seeds (or regular cumin is fine)
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 average-sized nutmeg

To make the curry:
1. Cut the potatoes into thick 'chips' about 4cm long. Put the oil in a wok or frying pan and set over a medium-high heat. When very hot, put in the potatoes and fry them until they are golden-red. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with paper towels. Put the cauliflower into the same oil and fry until golden-red. Remove with a slotted spoon and put on another plate lined with paper towels. Turn heat off and reserve the oil.

2. Put the ginger and garlic into the container of an electric blender or food processor along with 4 tbsp water and blend until you have a smooth paste, pushing down with a rubber spatula when necessary.

3. Put 4 tbsp of the oil used for frying into a large, preferably non-stick, frying pan and set over a medium-high heat. When very hot, put in the mustard seeds and cumin seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop - this takes just a few seconds - put in the kalonji and, 2 seconds later, the fennel seeds. Give one quick stir and put in the paste from the blender. Stir and fry for 2 minutes. Put in the turmeric, ground cumin ground coriander and cayenne. stir once or twice and put in the salt and tomatoes. Stir and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the tomatoes are soft. Add a pint of water and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for about 7 minutes. Put in the carrots, cover again and simmer for 3 minutes. Now put in the garam masala, peas, fried potatoes and cauliflower. Mix gently and bring to a simmer. Cover and continue to simmer on a low heat for 6-7 minutes, stirring gently now and them.

Chicken Korma

Chicken Korma
(from a cookbook I lost long ago...)

1 Tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
seeds from 6 cardamom pods
3 whole cloves
2 Tbsp dry flaked unsweetened coconut
2 Tbsp ground or finely chopped cashews
1/2 tsp. finely chopped lemongrass
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp tumeric
2 1/2 lbs chicken thighs (skinless, but with bones)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp finely minced ginger
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 medium tomato, coarsely chopped
1 c. plain yogurt
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3-4 small potatoes, cut into small dice
chopped fresh coriander for garnish

Season the chicken:
Toast coriandar, cumin, fennel and fenugreek seeds. Cool, then grind with cardamom, cloves, and coconut. Combine ground spices with lemongrass, cinnamon, cayenne, tumeric and mix thoroughly. Pour spice mixture over chicken thighs, turning to coat. Let stand in refrigerator at least 2 hours.

Cook:
In heavy pot, saute onion, garlic, ginger in the oil over medium heat, stirring, until vegetables are tender and aromatic. Place chicken and all the spice mixture in pot. Add salt, tomoatoes, yogurt, lime juice. Cover and cook over low heat 30 min. Add potaotes. Continue to cook over low heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally for another hour or so: until chicken is cooked and sauce thickened. Taste for salt & lime. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve hot with rice.

skd Beets Cupcake recipe goes here:

hahaha -- apparently this is supposed to be good for digesting lactose, complex carbs & protein. so, we should be fine!

meeting #5

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garXiv:0805.0001
Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 19:00 CT
Title: Meat, Fat and a Crushing Obama Victory
Authors: Chris, w/ a big assist from sous-chef sarah
Goodness: About 4lbs
Categories: gastro-ph
\\

I wasn't quite sure what to make for everyone, and I eventually got to thinking that you cannot possibly go wrong with meat, fat and wine! So lasagne it was to be...my favourite childhood food. I've since learned to make it much better than the foul frozen things you can buy around the world. There must be a single frozen-lasagne factory supplying the world with overly-salty limp concoctions. Urgh!

I discovered while experimenting on some friends a few years back that the more red wine you put in the meat sauce, the happier people become. So for 2.5lbs of lean mince i used easily half a bottle of wine. It also lets you cut back on the tomato sauce, which is always too sweet (unless you make your own, which i didn't have time for). And...as a minor concession in exchange for keren's fabulous salad -- no garlic!

Fresh pasta makes for a killer lasagne. People are always terribly impressed ("you made your own pasta? wow!"). Little do they know how simple it is! I had the assistance of a very skillful, albeit slightly inebriated, sous-chef (yay sarah!). I think we used maybe 2cups of flour to maybe 2 eggs and a half-dozen egg-yolk. Save the egg whites for the pavlova! Mix. Knead. Keeping kneading. No, you're not done yet, keep going. Now roll. And roll. Roll a little more, we need it a bit thinner than that. Ok, now meet my pasta machine, arnie (pasta la vista, baby!). Roll it through here a couple of times and we have lasagne sheets cut to size for the dish. Total pasta time: ~20mins.

The moussaka is almost hte same as the lasagne, just with lamb mince instead of beef, and eggplant instaed of pasta. Don't forget to generously salt the eggplant for an hour! Gets the bitterness out. Mix up a triple batch of bechamel+cheese sauce, and then we can construct both lasagne and moussaka at the same time, layering all 3 primary requirements.

For dessert I made pavlova. Or, more properly, sarah made pavlova while i watched and offered occasional encouragement (go team!) in this her first ever attempt. I think everyone agreed she did a fabulous job, even though the specially-imported-from-OZ passionfruit pulp turned out to be in syrup, not just pulp. crap! Anyway....tasted pretty good. If you want to have a crack, I use this recipe. The trick is to warm the eggs slightly. Take 'em out of the fridge and sit them in tepid water for 10-15mins. You want them just above room temp, so the proteins bind, and you get a stiff meringue you can shape properly.

Steph & Nathan made an amazing german cream strawberry thing, whose name I can't remember. Guys -- put the name here! Whatever it was, it looked particularly scrumptious, and tasted just as good. Please tell us what it was!

meeting #4

\\garXiv:0803.0001
Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2008 19:00 CT (>3500kcal)Title: goatstro-phAuthors: Steph & Nathan
Categories: gastro-ph\\

It all started with a stew.  (Perhaps) it started 15 years ago at a birthday party in which Nathan and his friends topped a meal with coconut, apples, raisins and anything else with a pretty color.  Think of the stew as the "suicide" beverage of your youth in which you mixed all the 

soft drinks available at the soda fountain together, only the stew actually tastes good in addition to being a daring venture.  The stew is a lovely mixture of peanut butter, tomatoes, onions, and spices.  It looks pretty spectacular when cooked in a black chamba.

Before we cooked the stew, though, we needed to go get the goat.  The stew can be cooked with a variety of meats or be left completely vegetarian.  But we both wanted to try cooking goat, and we also wanted a reason to go to a real butcher in the city, so this was the perfect opportunity. 1/2 day of calling butchers later, we tried calling a grocer in Greek town.  They didn't have goat, but their supplier probably did.  That's how we found Olympic Meat Packers on Randolph & Canal.  When we asked for goat that would be appropriate for a stew, the butcher brought out 1/2 of a goat, carrying it by it's legs.  He chopped it up a bit, and we left happily with 4.5 lbs of goat.

Another dish we've been dying to master is the spongy Ethiopian bread injera. It turns out that the best way to get a sour flavor in injera is to use teff flour (teff is the smallest grain in the world!) and then to let the base sit for a few weeks so that it can absorb yeast from the air.  But we decided to cheat by using seltzer water as the leavening agent.  

The samosas turned out to be really fun to make.  We made 

the stuffing a day early and left the stuffing and frying to the day of the dinner.  The delicious sour flavor of the outer crust comes from using yogurt.  I think I'm a sucker for anything sour.We used a recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything.

The evening turned out well, perhaps mostly because Chris hadn't slept in 48 hours.  We managed to feed him enough food to finally knock him out though.

\\

Hummus recipe:

(from Janna Gur's book - the book of new israeli food:)

ingredients (serves 8-10)
1/2 kg small dry chickpeas
1 tablespoons +1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raw tahini
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed (i don't use that )
salt to taste

1. soak the chickpeas overnight in a large bowl of cold water w one
tablespoon of baking soda
2. drain and rinse chickpeas and put in large pan. add water until 2-3
cm above the chickpeas. add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda.
bring to boil. cook covered low heat 2-3 hours, until the chickpeas are
very soft. cool slightly, drain, and save some of the cooking liquid.
3. put the chickpeas in food processor, add 2/3 cup of the tahini and
process until almost smooth. if the paste is too thick, add a few
tablespoons of the cooking liquid. season with lemon, garlic, salt.
for reacher creamier version, add the remaining of the tahini and
process until the hummus is completely smooth and fluffy.

galilee style - set aside 1 cup of cooked chickpeas. puree the rest
with 1/2 cup raw tahini and seasoning. add the whole chickpeas and
mix, slightly mashing the chickpeas. the texture should remain
somewhat chunky.


------ when i make it, i don't use garlic at all. in addition, the
chickpeas turn out so soft after cooking that it's enough to just mix/mash
them with a wooden spoon - no need for food processor. (i like my
hummus chunky, 'Abu-Gosh' style). i also use more lemon than in this
recipe, and top it with good olive oil, warm whole chickpeas, and
sometimes some pine nuts.

quantities i use for 2 people (or one hungry person): soak and cook
1/2 cup dry chickpeas+1/2 spoon baking soda; mix with 1/4 cup tahini;
2-3 tablespoons cooking water; 1/2 lemon, salt& pepper. pour olive
oil+lemon juice etc on top. if you use garlic, i would suggest to mix
it into the sauce-- olive oil, lemon and garlic. yummmmmmmmm.

beteavon :)

meeting #3

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\\
garXiv:0803.0001
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:00 CT (2300kcal)
Title: First-Tuesday-after-Hubble-deadline, Israeli food
Authors: Keren & Ben
Categories: gastro-ph
\\
what is israeli food? that's a hard question.
i dont think there is such a concept, 'israeli food'. growing up, israeli food meant whatever my friends' grandmothers would cook for us. my best friend's grandma was from poland, so she would cook shnitzel and mashed potatoes (not nearly as good as my mom's current recipe!), chicken soup with noodles... my other friend was yamanite, and at her place i learned to eat jachnun with lots of tongue-burning skhug. my iraki friends at the university brought their mothers' delicacies like maamul and kube with okra.
and of course, falafel, hummus, thina, finely chopped salad with lemon and olive oil, which is standard in any 'mizrahit' (=eastern) restaurant, followed by grilled meats from chicken liver through steaks.

and everything is stirred and cooked in the israeli melting pot. each ethnicity had perfected their cuisine to be the best of the best, as competition has always been a part of the israeli character. the statement 'my mama's food is better than your mama's food' had to be backed up by evidence.

i think the israeli food is the best in the world, because of that. as the hebrew saying goes, 'kinat sofrim tarbe chochma' - jealousy among scholars increases wisdom; it's not only 'jewith iraki food' or 'jewith eastern-european food' or 'jewith morocan food'. it evolved through years and years of trial and error and the dedication of everybody's grandmas to make the best tasting food, from sometimes the cheapest ingredients or the only available ingredients.

so for dinner, i decided to bring a little bit of this culinary world to the table.
as appetizers, some 'pizuchim', black and white (sunflower pumpkin seeds, respectively), stuffed vine leaves, good syrian olives, 'osem' canned pickles i found at the store, and a bag of bamba that was hiding at the far end of one of the cupboards.
the most israeli thing for me is the freshly chopped salad, with olive oil and lemon. hummus and tehini pastes go without saying. i'm making them from scratch, as it's impossible to find good salads like these at stores here.
a first for me (because i don't like eggplants), i'm making 'chatzilim be-thina', eggplant+tehini dip. when i say 'i don't like eggplants' to an israeli, it's allways followed by an amazed expression, and 'what? how can you not like eggplants? there are like 50 different things you can make from them, and these foods taste so different!'
that's true. eggplants are cheap (in israel) so our grandmas found all sorts of different ways to make tasty foods from them. there's even an eggplant salad that tastes like chopped liver, from the depression times when meat was scarce and portioned, and liver was only for a fortunate few.
i try to like eggplants, i really do. i keep tasting until it works.

for the main event, a big pot with 'memulaim' - stuffed vegetables. veggies are the main ingredient in the israeli kitchen, because vegetables are cheap.
i miss cheap vegetables!

the memulaim are found in all ethnicities, from poland to irak to marocco. i'm adding some iraki kubbe balls to the pot (i made them a couple of weeks ago and have a bunch frozen) and the whole thing is going to swim in thick tomato sauce. mmmmmmm.

for dessert, one very israeli thing (that ben likes, but i don't really) is Krembo.
it's basically egg-white whipped cream, on top of a cookie, glazed with chocolate. it's sold everywhere in israel during the winter (instead of ice cream; 'cause of course you can't eat ice cream in the winter, or you will catch a cold!! but really because you don't want it to spoil in the hot non-conditioned israeli summer)
i made a home version of it (only the finest ingredients!!) and curious to see what the local gang thinks of it (and will they eat it from the top or from the bottom??)

admittedly, this menu is a bit more on the middle-eastern side rather than eastern-european side, but i guess i can always make chicken soup with kneidalach for passover :)

p.s.
i hope i inherited some of my grandmother's cooking genes. her memulaim are mouth watering just thinking of :) she always thinks of me and cooks things that make me happy, and i think of her a lot when i cook, especially when stuffing all sorts of things !! i can't believe how much patience she has, some of those foods i mentioned are a lot of work.

meeting #2

bla

meeting #1

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\\
garXiv:0801.0001
Date: Tue, 08 Jan 2008 19:00 CT (2300kcal)
Title: Indian food
Authors: Sarah & Eric
Categories: gastro-ph
\\

Eric & I made Indian food, most of which are recipes from the book Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking. Included were chicken korma (a non-Jaffrey recipe; I left the garlic out), mixed curried vegetables, coriander chutney, mint & cucumber raita, onion relish, rice, and sweets from King Sweets on Devon.




-Sarah

meeting #0

gastro-ph was initiated while sipping coffee (brewed in an intriguing pressure brewer) and eating fabulous Pots de Creme.

the very same night, an email was sent:

subject: send mail ONLY to gastro-ph dinner

Hi guys,

Dinner schedule is below. As we've agreed, please arrive at 7pm and bring
either wine or dessert if it is not your turn to host & cook.

\\ Jan 8 - Sarah & Eric
\\ Feb 5 - Ali & Sophia
\\ March 4 - Ben & Keren
\\ April 1 - Chris
\\ May 6 - Stephanie & Nathan


%%%---%%%---%%%---%%%---%%%---%%%---%%%---%%%---
gastro-ph dinner team

some of the people that didn't attend meeting #0 had decisions made for them, regarding timing and their actual involvement in this prestigious club :)