Because Supper Clubs Are Blowing Up

From Not Eating Out in NY - Check it out.

"You see, every supper club, in New York City at least, has their own flavor. Or every dinner they hold — and this is key, that they’re so occasional — has their very own pomp and circumstance. What in the world is a supper club? you might be asking. Well, it can be as formal as the ones I receive bi-weekly dinner announcements from. A team of well-organized chefs and servers who host dinner parties out of someone’s home kitchen. But really, if you don’t want to run a committed club, all it takes is a home chef with wiles to spare."

We may not be "well-organized chefs", but we've got spirit.

Shosh's Chicken Paprikash

pap-ri-kash.  paprikash.

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 (2 to 3 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces (I used all thighs shredded)
• 1 bell pepper diced
• 3 diced garlic cloves
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 tbls cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup hot and sweet hungarian paprika
• 1 cup white wine
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2-1 cup sour cream (I used soy, came out great!)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil and brown chicken on all sides. Season chicken with salt, paprika, cayenne pepper and pepper. Remove chicken and set aside.
2. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper to skillet. Cook just until tender, but not brown. Stir in most of paprika. Return chicken to skillet, turning to coat with paprika/onion mixture. Add wine and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked and tender. (I cooked it in the oven at 300 for like 2 hours) Remove chicken and keep warm.
3. Boil skillet drippings until reduced to 1/2 cup liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream. Heat through. Serve chicken atop spaetzle (Hungarian egg noodles) or dumplings.

Ivria's Kugel

From epicurious...

Ingredients:
For noodles

• 1 pound dried wide egg noodles
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup whole milk
• 5 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (1-pound) container sour cream
• 1 (1-pound) container small curd cottage cheese (4% fat)
• 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

For topping

• 2 cups cornflakes, coarsely crushed
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits

Prep:

Prepare kugel:
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat to 350°F. Butter a 13- by 9- by 2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.

Cook noodles in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain well in a colander, then return to warm pot and add butter, tossing until noodles are coated.

Whisk together milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt until combined, then whisk in sour cream. Stir in cottage cheese and pineapple and add to noodles, stirring to coat well, then spoon into baking dish.

Make topping and bake kugel:
Stir together cornflakes, sugar, and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over noodles. Dot with butter and bake until kugel is set and edges are golden brown, about 1 hour. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Becky's Polish Pierogis

These have been a staple of the Murdock family for generations.

4 c flour
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
cup cold water
3-5 potatoes
sauerkraut
stick butter
1-2 chopped onions
salt and pepper

Make a well in the flour, add eggs and salt, slowly beat water in until flour is just taken in. Don't add all the water if you don't need to, it'll get too sticky.

On floured surface, knead dough.

Peel and chop potatoes, boil with salt. When done, pour off water. In a saucepan, heat butter and add onion. Add to potatoes and mash, leaving some chunks. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cut dough into even halves, roll out dough thinly. Cut into squares, about 3x3 inches. Put small scoop of potato mixture into middle of square. Fold diagonally and pinch corners to make triangles. Once finished with first dough portion, add sauerkraut to remaining potato mixture and stir. Roll out dough, and repeat with sauerkraut/potato mixture. Set pierogis out on a towel, not touching, to dry for at least 2 hours. Boil in batches for a few minutes, until floating for a minute or so. Scoop back out onto towel to drain. You can package them up at this point in a container with a little butter and onion. Otherwise, fry in a pan with some butter and onion. Serve with sour cream.

Etan's Moroccan Matbucha

Ingredients:
4 cans of diced tomatoes (28 oz each)
1 bag frozen diced green peppers (10oz), or similar amount fresh chopped
1 bag frozen chopped/diced onions, or similar amount fresh chopped
cayenne pepper (amount depends on how spicy you want it - i usually put about 2 teaspoons)
============
Prep:
Dump the tomatoes with the liquid into a pot and turn flame on high.
When the liquid start boil, lower the flame to medium.
While it's cooking, pour a bit of olive oil in a frying pan and saute the onions and peppers until light brown. Pour the onions and peppers into the tomatoes.
Keep stirring otherwise it'll stick to the bottom of the pan (if you feel that it's sticking, lower the flame a little).

It takes about 2 hours to cook.

After you turn off the stove pour the cayenne pepper (it's very strong, so pour a little at a time and taste) and stir WELL otherwise some might end up with a hunk of cayenne in their mouth.

Papa Barman's Hummus and Pita

(note: not edited so you get the full impact of Barman's foul mouth)

Here's my dad's hummus recipe and the pita recipe I used. The measurements for the hummus are a little archaic and if you use fresh chickpeas as opposed to canned like I did then you have to do most of it by taste. The ratio of chickpeas to tahini is around 2:1.

1/2 a can of tahini
2 cans of chickpeas
2-4 cloves fresh garlic
1-2 lemons (juice)
salt to taste

Pour the full can of tahini into a blender and mix well, pour half back. Add chickpeas and blend well until smooth, adding some of the chickpea water as needed for a paste-like consistnecy. Mince garlic and blend, keep in mind that the garlic will be stronger as it has time to sit in the humus, so if it's going to sit overnight use a little less than you think you want. Add and mix the juice of 1-2 lemmons to taste. Salt to taste. Rub it all over your naked chest and enjoy ;-)


Pita (12 pitas)

1pk yeast (scant tblsp)
3-4 cups all purpose or whole-wheat flour
1 tbl olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup warm water

Mix yeast with warm water in a large mixing bowl until yeast is dissolved. Add the oil and salt and mix well. Add and stir in flour aboout 1/2 a cup at a time until it becomes difficult to stir and the mixture becomes doughy like a drunken fat girl's ass after a frat party.

Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead well for 10 min adding flour as necessary to make a firm, elastic dough (you can also use a food processor or mixer w/ a dough hook). Place the dough in a grease bowl and cover for about 1 1/2 or until the dough doubles in size.

Turn dough onto floured surface and cut into 12 equal peices. Using hands roll peices into a ball about the size of a ping-pong ball on steriods, cover them with a towel and let sit for 5 min.

Using a rolling pin or some other long, hard, cylindrical object, roll each ball firmly into a 6" flat circle (do this on a floured surface). Cover the discs with a towel and let sit for 15 min. During this time, preheat your oven and backing stone, tiles, or cookie sheets to 500 degrees.

Frisbee-golf your pita discs into the oven and bake for 3 min. Now you've got some motha fuckin' pita beatch!

Back to Your Roots!

Flora and Jon were up again in April with a tasty theme of roots and heritage foods! No contest, no rules, just bring us some good home-cookin.

We're talkin' hummus and pita, matbucha, ham-wrapped dates and almonds, toasted ravioli, pierogis, chicken paprikash, sweet lemony lettuce, chilean stuffed zucchini, clapshot, rugelach and kugel! Oh and papaya piscos!