Colorfest!

January 09. A new year. Time to get funky y'all, the theme was colors! No fake coloring allowed (Dani...). Lauren and Barman hosted this extravaganza, which brought back the competitive spirit, with extra-special medals. There was roasted pumpkin and cheese mess, gorgonzola gnocchi, white pizza, blueberry bread, banana bread, mole, plantains, carrot stuff, nutty brussel sprouts, and more...

Ivria's Eggplant Bruschetta

Ingredients:

• 1 whole Italian eggplant, sliced (1/4-inch thick), grilled until colored on both sides, roughly chopped
• 1 red onion, sliced (1/4-inch thick), grilled until brown on both sides, roughly chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 1 (14-inch) baguette sliced, rubbed with garlic and toasted
• Olive oil
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Goat cheese
• Olives
  

Prep:
Combine eggplant, onion, and garlic. Spread on toasted baguette. Top with olive oil and salt and pepper, goat cheese and olives. MMmmmm

Indian Dinner

December, I'm pretty sure it was the coldest night ever. Another dinna club, but THIS night was unlike all the rest. Sort of. Our theme was Indian food, which was nice because everything really blended nicely. We were at Shosh and Eyal's. There was chicken curry, indian green beans, fried okra, mango lassi!, and much more. Heidi was sick but made it out anyway, nothin' better than indian spices to clear you out!

Jon's Maple-Mashed Sweet Potatoes

From epicurious.

Ingredients:

• 6 lb sweet potatoes
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, warmed
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Prep:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Prick each potato twice with a fork and bake in a foil-lined shallow baking pan in lower third of oven until very tender, about 1 hour. Remove and cool slightly.

Halve potatoes lengthwise and scoop out warm flesh into a large bowl. Mash potatoes with a potato masher or, for a smoother purée, force through a potato ricer. Stir in butter, cream, syrup, salt, and pepper.

Abba Ofrane's Brisket

ABBA’S BRISKET

MEAT:

1 Brisket “Thin-Cut” (not too fatty) - Each 2 lb. piece yields about 10-12 slices

INGREDIENTS (for each brisket piece):

3 large onions
1½ packets of Lipton onion soup
Orange juice (enough to fill about 1 inch of the pan)
Cheap red cooking or sweet wine (the cheapest you can find – I use Goya)
½ cup almonds OR ½ cup of walnuts OR both (according to your taste)
½ cup prunes
12x18 Aluminum pan (about 2-3 in. deep) – can be found at the supermarket
Heavy duty aluminum foil

PREPARATION:

Slice & sautee the onions until brown
Rinse the meat thoroughly
Lay the meat (FAT-SIDE DOWN) in the pan (2 pieces in each pan)
Pour the sautéed onions on top of the meat
Pour the onion soup on the meat
Pour about 1 inch of wine and 1 inch of OJ on top of the meat in the pan
If the meat is not submerged in liquid, add OJ and wine until to the top of the meat)
Cover the pan TIGHTLY with a double layer of aluminum foil.
Put in the oven on the top rack on “BAKE” at 325 degrees (375 if it’s an old or electric oven)

WHILE THE MEAT IS COOKING:

If using almonds:
Pour them in water and boil; then peel (the skin comes off very easily).
Roast the peeled almonds for about 15 minutes (keep working while they’re roasting)

3 hours later:

Turn the meat over
Pour the almonds/walnuts around the meat
Cover the pan TIGHTLY again
Put in the oven for another 45 minutes
Take out, uncover, and let cool
Refrigerate
After a few hours, slice the meat AGAINST THE GRAIN

SERVING:

Put about 1 inch of water with the prunes into a pot and bring to a boil. Keep on boil for another 3 minutes
Pour abut ½ inch of gravy in a 2-inch cooking pan
Place the sliced meat in the pan
Pour the prunes (and the water) on top of the meat
Pour the peeled almonds/walnuts in the pan
Fill the rest of the pan with gravy
Cover (VERY TIGHTLY!) with 2 layers of heavy duty tin foil
Bake in oven at 250 for about 1 hour
After an hour, check to see if the meat is cooked and the prunes carmelized
If not, leave in the oven at 200 for another 15 minutes.

Hughes Family Pecan Pie

This pecan pie will please any southern boy's mama.

1 c pecans (whole and pieces)
3 eggs
½ c butter
¼ c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 c dark Karo syrup
1 t vanilla
Pinch of salt

Sprinkle pecans in bottom of unbaked pie crust. Melt butter. Mix eggs, butter, sugars, syrup, vanilla, and salt together well. Then pour into pie shell. Bake at 325 for 1 hour until almost set.

Noah & Tara's Turkey and Biscuits

Buttermilk Biscuits with Roasted Turkey and Gravy

Biscuit ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. baking powder (use one without aluminum)

1 tsp. kosher salt

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, very cold

3/4 cup buttermilk (approx.)

Directions (it can be done in a food processor, but I did it the old fashioned way):

1. Preheat oven to 450℉.

2. Combine dry ingredients.

3. Cut butter into chunks and cut into butter until it looks like a coarse meal.

4. Add buttermilk until JUST combined (if it looks dry add more buttermilk). VERY IMPORTANT: do not over work dough or you will have tough biscuits!

5. Put dough on floured board and GENTLY pat (not roll) dough until about 1/2" thick.

6. Use round cutter to cut biscuits (I used a glass).

7. You can reknead the scraps and make more, but they won't be as tender.

8. Place biscuits on cookie sheet about an inch apart.

9. Bake for 10--12 minutes until light golden brown.

10. Eat and eat.

As for the turkey and gravy, we just roasted a turkey with lots of butter and herbs on it. For the gravy, we collected the drippings from the turkey and added some stock and flour (very slowly) and cooked on the stovetop until it thickened.

We served it at SuppaClub as a dish with the biscuit opened under the turkey we had pulled from the bone and a spoonful or two of gravy. YUM!

Twisted Thanksgiving!

This is the night that destroyed us all.
There was turkey, the famous brisket, casserole and stuffing, spectacular sweet potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, experimental pumpkin pie, classic pecan, biscuits, mulled wine and more. Really, it's too much to even think about. This one was at Becky and Etan's, and if there had been a contest, we were all in too much of a coma to care.

Tara's Roast Beef and Cheddar Sandwiches

Homemade Roast Beef Sandwiches with Irish Cheddar and various apples and horseradish mayo... mmmm.

I bought nice rolls from a bakery in Queens, Irish Cheddar from Whole Foods, 3 different varieties of apples (I wish I could remember which) from the Union Square Greenmarket, mixed horseradish with Hellman's, but I made roast beef for the first time. And here is how:

Roast beef ingredients:

3-- 3.5 lb. boneless roast (I asked my butcher which cut was best, but I am not sure what it was)

Olive oil

10 cloves of garlic

Salt and pepper

1. Start with the roast at room temp. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. With a sharp knife make 10 slits in the roast. Put a clove of garlic into each slit. Rub some olive oil all over the roast. Salt and pepper the roast.

3. Place the roast on the oven rack with the fatty side up. Put a pan on the rack underneath to catch any drippings.

4. Brown the roast for half an hour. Lower the heat to 225°F. Roast for between 2 and 3 hours then check the temperature with a meat thermometer. Inside temp. should be 135° and 140°F. Let roast rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

5. Eat and eat.

Apples & Cheese!

October brought a most delicious pairing of apples and cheese. This is all a blur to me, since I had to miss it and had only a (yummy) mush of leftovers, so send in your favorite bites!