Recipe Talk

Patty Melt

2 Parts Ground Chuck

1 Part Ground Pork

1 Tbsp Salt and Pepper

1 Tbsp Butter

1 Tbsp Schnack sauce (Russian dressing with smoked Paprika)

4 Slices American Cheese

Handful Chopped Onion

Rye Bread

Place your ground chuck and pork into a cold bowl and lightly mix together with a cold spoon. Try to avoid using your hands because you don't want the fat to melt.

To make the patties, first take the lid from a mayonnaise jar and line it with cling wrap. Spoon a chunk of meat into the bottom of the lid. Cover it with the plastic and pack it into the lid. Before you put it onto the griddle, season it with a little salt and pepper. Then place 1 Tbsp of butter on the griddle so the meat doesn't stick. Don't cook it rare because it has pork in it.

Next take two slices of a seedless rye bread and put 1 Tbsp Schnack sauce on each piece of bread. The Schnack sauce is a Russian dressing with some smoked paprika in it. Then add two slices of american cheese and a handful of onions to each piece of bread. Next place the burger on the bread and place the top slice of bread on. Put some more butter on the griddle. Next place the patty melt on the griddle and let cook for about 4 minutes. Make sure to flip so that the bread is brown on both sides. When done cut in half and serve.

Enjoy!

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Barbecued Pork

1 whole boneless pork butt

2 Tbsp. coriander seeds

2-3 Tbsp. mustard seeds

2 dried chili pods

15 garlic cloves

2-3 onions

2-3 cups yellow mustard

2-3 cups ketchup

2/3 cup molasses

4 hamburger buns

1 tsp. salt and pepper

Make small cross-hatchets into the fat of the pork's rear in preparation for a dry rub seasoning. Combine 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds and 2 or 3 tablespoons of mustard seeds in a food processor and grind them coarsely. Char some dried chili pods over an open flame, chop off the stems and rough-chop the chilies before grinding them in the food processor as well. Add about 15 garlic cloves and process those with the chilies. Rub your dry seasoning thoroughly along your pork.

Slice some onions and layer them like a bed in a relatively large hotel pan (or something similar in size), sprinkling them with salt and pepper. Place your pork cut on the bed of onions.

In a bowl, whisk yellow mustard, ketchup and molasses. Then, pour the mixture all over the pork. Seal the pan tightly with foil before placing the pork in a 325-degree oven for about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. (You may want to remove the foil 30 minutes prior to removing the pork from the oven so that the top of the cut can brown.)

When the pork is finished, shred it carefully. Place the pork shreds on hamburger buns, and add some of the onions from the bottom of the pan. Garnish your barbecued pork with coleslaw and enjoy!

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Mom's Coleslaw

1 head of cabbage

1 cup sugar

1 handful of salt and pepper

1 cup yellow mustard

2 cups white vinegar

1/2 cup whole celery seeds

1/2 cup crab seasoning

1 jar mayonnaise

2-3 squirts hot Thai sauce

Slice the cabbage, making sure to remove the core, and place it in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine sugar, salt and pepper, whole celery seeds, crab seasoning, mayonnaise, yellow mustard and white vinegar. Whisk the mixture together until the sugar dissolves and there are no lumps. Then, add some Thai hot sauce and mix thoroughly before working it into the cabbage.

For best results, allow the coleslaw to sit for a few hours or even a day so that the salt and sugar can break down the cabbage and really flavor it.

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Juicy Spare Ribs

spare ribs

2 dried chilies

1/2 cup salt

1/2 cup sugar

2-3 onions

4-5 stalks celery

3-5 dry bay leaves

4-5 sliced lemons

1-2 yellow beet

2-3 cups Vietnamese fish sauce

a few sprinkles cracked coriander

a few sprinkles mustard seeds

a few sprinkles black pepper

Begin by boiling your raw spare ribs in a stock consisting of dried chilies, salt, sugar, onions, celery, dried bay leaves, sliced lemons and 1 yellow beet. Add a lot of salt and some Vietnamese fish sauce to the stock before putting in your spare ribs.

As the meat starts to separate from the ribs on the rack, it becomes more tender. If youâ€â„¢d like the meat to almost fall off the bone, boil it longer (for about 2 hours) and on a smaller flame.

When finished, slice the ribs on the bone side, along the bone pattern. Place the ribs in a hotel pan, and coat them with barbecue sauce. Cover the pan tightly with foil and put it in the oven for 2 hours. About an hour and a half into cooking, take the pan out and remove the foil. Sprinkle cracked coriander, black pepper and mustard seeds over the top before allowing the ribs to finish cooking.

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Barbecue Sauce

3/4 cup molasses

2-3 cups ketchup

1 cup mustard

1 cup white, distilled vinegar

1/2 lb. brown sugar

2-3 squirts hot Thai sauce

2-3 shakes crab seasoning

1-2 cups Cola (or other beverage)

Combine molasses, ketchup and mustard into a bowl and mix. Pour some white, distilled vinegar into the used mustard jar and let it soak before adding that to the bowl as well. Add brown sugar, Thai hot sauce, crab seasoning, molasses and cola. Boil the mixture on the stove for around 10 minutes, making sure the sugar melts and mixes well.

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Collard Greens/Kale

1 head collard greens

1 head kale

10 slices bacon

2 white onions

1 handful chopped garlic

1/3 cup honey

1-2 Tbsp. black pepper

1/4 cup white, distilled vinegar

1 Tbsp. salt

Blanche the collard greens to wilt them a little. Dice up some strips of bacon and fry with white onions and chopped garlic. Sprinkle in some salt as it's frying. Add some chopped kale to the bacon and onions, finishing off the dish with a drizzle of honey, black pepper and white vinegar. Now add your collard greens and mix thoroughly. Make sure to remove from the pot so the collard greens don't overcook.

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Northern Snap Pea, Tomato, and Tarragon Corn Salad

1/2 Cup Mustard

1 Cup of Creamy Ranch Dressing

1/2 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Fresh Tarragon

Pinch of salt

Pinch of Cracked Black Pepper

3 Cups Sugar Snapped Peas

2 Cups Cherry Tomatoes

2 Cups Yellow Cherry Tomatoes

5 Cups of Fresh Cooked Corn kernels

Place a 1/2 cup of Mustard, 1 Cup of Creamy Ranch Dressing and a 1/2 Cup of water in a bowl and whisk together. Next take your corn and remove from cob using a sharp knife. Be careful not to cut too deep because you don't want the bitter part of the corn. Next take your fresh Tarragon and chop very finely. Now add your Cracked Black Pepper and a pinch of Salt. Mix everything together.

Next add 3 Cups of Sugar Snapped Peas, 2 Cups of Cherry Tomatoes and 2 Cups of Yellow Cherry Tomatoes. Mix everything together making sure that all the vegetables are fully coated.

Lastly, add your fresh cut up corn and mix everything together. Serve and Enjoy!

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Calzone

Fresh Mozzarella

2 Cups Mozzarella Curd

2 Gallon of Salt Water (2 Cups of Salt)

Bucket of Ice Water

Calzone

2 Cups Sauteed Collard Greens

Fresh Pizza dough (Get Recipe Here)

1/2 Cup diced Supermarket boiled Ham

1/2 Cup Tomato Sauce (store bought)

3 Tbsp Ricotta Cheese

1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

2 Slices of the Fresh Mozzarella Cheese

1 Tbsp Dried Rosemary

3 cups of Pasta

Pinch of Salt

1 Egg

First, we have to make the Fresh Mozzarella Cheese. Start off with your Mozzarella Curd and break it up into small pieces and place in a medium bowl. Then go get your 2 Gallons of boiling Salt Water (needs to be at a rolling boil). The water needs to taste like seawater because there is no salt in the curd. Next take a ladle and very carefully ladle the boiling water on top of the curd (needs two ladles of the salt water). Then stir the curd and water together. The heat is what makes the rennet in the cheese to congeal. Once it starts to come together place your hands in the ice water so you don't burn them and start pulling the cheese together. Every once in awhile you want to pull your hands out of the cheese and place them in the ice water to cool them off. You just want to work the cheese and bring it all together. Once the cheese is all together, bring it out of the hot water and work it into a ball, bringing it inside it self and giving it a little twist on the bottom like a button. Next let it rest in the ice water for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take the cheese out of the ice water and dry it off a little bit. Next place it on a piece of cling wrap. Gather the cling wrap loosely around the cheese and then tighten it up. Use the tail part of the plastic and give it a couple of twists to really tighten it up. The water should start to release from the cheese. The cheese is ready.

Now it is time to make the calzone. First take your fresh pizza dough and quickly roll it out with a rolling pin. The dough doesn't have to be perfectly round. The dough is ready to go and is flat and mis-shapen. Now place 2 cups of the sauteed collard greens on the dough. Next place the diced ham on top of the collard greens. Then add a 1/2 cup of tomato sauce and 3 tbsp of soft Ricotta cheese. Next sprinkle with a little Parmesan Cheese and add a few slices of fresh Mozzarella Cheese that we just made. Now sprinkle dried rosemary on top of the cheese (crumbling first to release the essence of the Rosemary). Lastly sprinkle with salt.

Now you want to fold up the calzone like a burrito, starting with the sides. Next bring the top over and roll together. Then whisk your egg together and brush on the top of the calzone. Sprinkle a little bit more of the Rosemary and Salt on top of the Calzone. Now place the Calzone on your pizza stone and put into the oven at 450-degrees for 6-8 minutes or until it turns brown.

Cut in half and enjoy!

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NOTE: Neapolitan Lard Bread ( Casatiello )

1 pound 5 ounces all-purpose flour

8 ounces lard

1.8 ounces active yeast

6 large whole eggs, unshelled

1 tablespoon Pecorino Romano

1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano

3 ounces diced salame

Salt

Pepper

Combine the lard, yeast, and salt with the flour, adding as much water as necessary to get a rather soft dough. Work it steadily for about 10 minutes. Place it into a bowl previously sprinkled with flour, cover with a woolen cloth and leave it to raise in a lukewarm place.

After about 1 1/2 hours, when the dough has leavened, place it on a pastry board, punch it with your hands to stop it swelling and flatten it out in a 0.3-in.-high rectangle shape. Grease it with lard, add the diced salame and sprinkle with a little pepper, Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano. Fold the dough in two, grease the top with some more lard, and sprinkle with more Parmigiano and pepper. Fold in two again, flatten out and grease some more. Repeat until you have used up all the lard. Now take a small piece of dough the size of a bun, grease the outside with lard, and place it to leaven separately in a bowl. This will help you place the eggs onto the top of the casatiello. Fold the dough onto itself to make a stick. Grease a round baking pan with a hole in the middle (8 to12-inches diameter). Place the dough stick inside it joining the ends and squeezing them so they adhere well to each other. Put the dough away to leaven for another 3 hours.

Gently wash the shells of the raw eggs in lukewarm water and dry them. When the dough has risen, place 6 eggs on top of it arranging them at even distances from each other and with the tips pointing toward the center of the mold. Take the small piece of dough you kept aside and make a stick as thin as a pencil. Chop the stick into 12 small bits and arrange them in 2 at a time cross-like on the eggs making the ends stick to the dough.

The casatiello is now ready. Put it in an almost cold oven and bake over a medium heat for about one hour. When it has turned an even color, take it out of the oven and let it cool before serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Recipe provided courtesy of The Italian Trade Commission.

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Ham & Cheese Quesadilla (1 Serving)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 tomato tortillas (or plain 8" tortillas)

1-2 slices gouda cheese

2-3 grinds white pepper

2-3 pieces of sliced ham

1-2 tbsp. ramps (wild leeks)

Splash a bit of olive oil into your non-stick frying pan; then lay down the tomato tortilla. Add a little white pepper and then layer one half of the tortilla with the Gouda, spreading evenly. Then add the ham on top of the cheese, and for an extra crunch, put on some wild ramps or scallions. Fold over the other half of the tortilla to create a turnover shape, and cook until the cheese melts. Slice the quesadilla into three parts and serve hot.

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Homemade Hot Sauce

1 Bushel Tomatillos (husks removed)

1 Lt. White Sugar

2 Cups Kosher Salt

1 Lt. Jarred Tomato Sauce

1 Lt. Schnack Enchilada Seasoning (Cumin, Coriander Garlic powder and oregano)

1 Gallon Water

1/2 Gallon Orange Juice

10 pounds Hot Chiles (Jalapeno, Habaneras etc.)

2 Cups Olive Oil

1/4 Cup Salt

1/2 Gallon Hot Sauce

1/2 Gallon of Apple Cider Vinegar

3 cups of Pasta

Chopped Escarole

1 cup Fresh Basil

Bread

Garlic Butter

Place bushel of Tomatillos in a large pot. Remember to remove the husks off before placing in the pot. Next add 1 liter of white sugar, 2 cups Kosher salt, 1 liter Tomato Sauce, and 1 liter Schnack Enchilada seasoning to the pot. Then pour about a gallon of water into the pot or enough to cover the ingredients in the pot.

Next add a 1/2 gallon of orange juice. The orange juice gives it a nice citrus quality and sweetens the entire mixture. Now place on stove and let boil for around two hours.

While the tomatillos are boiling it is time to work on the chiles. Place the chiles in a big tub and take off all stems before placing in the tub. When handling chiles remember not to touch your eyes in the process and make sure there is a lot of ventilation in the room because the chiles are very powerful.

Now add 2 cups of olive oil and 1/4 cup of salt. Give them a quick flip to coat them all. Leave on the grill until the vegetables are charred and totally cooked. Place chiles in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

Next take your tomatillo mixture and add a 1/2 gallon of hot sauce and a 1/2 gallon of apple cider vinegar and stir together.

Next take out your blender and fill up the container half way with tomatillos, the other half with the chiles and add a spoonful of the tomatillo juice. Put the top on the blender but loosen the plastic piece on the top so that the steam can escape. Then place some hot pads on top and turn the blender on for about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Make sure the mixture is very smooth. Siphon into a container and you are done.

Grilled Hot Dog Reuben (1 sandwich)
Whole-seeded rye

Thousand Island/Russian dressing

2-3 Slices swiss cheese

Sour kraut

3 hot dogs

Sliced pickles

To begin, slice your rye bread. Next, create your spread. Grill and slice three hotdogs over a char grill. Spread Russian dressing on your bread slices and add swiss cheese. Follow the cheese with sour kraut and then place on your freshly grilled hot dog slices. (Be sure and drain your sour kraut before you spreading onto the sandwich so that the bread stays dry.) Add another slice of cheese to make sure the hot dogs stay glued to the sour kraut. Sliced pickles will add an extra flair to the typical Reuben.

Wrap your sandwich in foil and place over the grill until the bread toasts and the cheese melts. Crown with another pickle once the sandwich is nicely toasted.

http://home.discovery.com/fansites/cookininbrooklyn/recipes/recipe_index.html

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Panelle Special

Olive oil

Chickpea flour

Ricotta cheese

Bread buns

A panelle is basically fried chickpea polenta on a roll. Once you have your chickpea flour properly mixed and cooled into polenta, cut into equal-sized squares. Then deep-fry the pieces in olive oil. Next, place a few pieces (as many as you like) onto a soft bread bun and add ricotta cheese. Place the sandwiches in the oven and cook for one to two minutes.

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Roasted Pork Hoagie

Bone-less pork loin

Around 1 cup roasted garlic cloves

Mayonnaise

Mozzarella (3 thick slices)

Flour (bowl-full)

Eggs (bowl-full)

Panko breadcrumbs

Romaine lettuce

Pickled cherry peppers

Chopped tomatoes

Onions

Roast a pan until it's adequately hot, and then drop in your bone-less pork loin. Cook over the stove until all sides are brown, and then put it in a 350-degree oven for around a half hour. Let the pork rest to keep the juices intact, and then cut into thin slices.

To create a delicious roasted garlic mayonnaise, put hand-squashed garlic cloves and regular mayonnaise into the food processor. Mix thoroughly until very smooth.

Next, bread and fry thick slices of mozzarella. Roll the mozzarella in flour, eggs and panko breadcrumbs. Fry in olive oil for about twenty-five seconds.

Spread the garlic mayonnaise evenly over the hoagie roll and then layer on the pork loin slices. Now, add the crispy mozzarella, followed by shredded romaine lettuce, chopped tomatoes, pickled cherry peppers (seeds included) and onions. Wrap the sandwich as tightly as you can and then slice diagonally.

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Vastedda

Cow-spleen

Bread bun

Ricotta cheese

A vastedda is a cow-spleen sandwich. Boil small pieces of spleen in a large pot. When finished, place a few slices on a bread bun. If you like you're sandwich drier, squeeze the meat against a spatula before cooking. Add ricotta cheese and bake in the oven until the bread is toasted.

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BLT

Slab bacon

Sicilian lard bread

Tomatoes

Pesto-mayonnaise mix (one jar of mayonnaise and one small jar of pesto)

Arugula

Cut the ends off the lard bread and bisect it down the middle. While slightly toasting the bread on the grill, cut your slab bacon into thick slices. If the bacon still has rinds, make sure you cut them off. Since it's already been cooked, simply char up the bacon by placing it on the grill.

Spread a pesto-mayonnaise mixture over the toasted bread, and layer on arugula. Remove your hot bacon from the grill and place it on top of the lettuce, followed by sliced tomatoes.

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Kathi Kabbab

Sliced boneless chicken breast

Nan bread

2 tsp. ginger-garlic mix

1-2 tsp. cumin powder

1-2 tsp. chili powder

1-2 tsp. cilantro

Fresh lemon (1 squeezed slice)

1-2 tsp. chaat masala

1 tsp. cardamom

1/2 cup yogurt

Red & green peppers

Tomatoes (as desired)

Red onions (as desired)

Cucumber (as desired)

Green chilies (as desired)

Place pieces of boneless-chicken into a bowl. Next, add a ginger-garlic base, cumin powder, chili powder, cilantro, fresh lemon, chaat masala and cardamom. Hand mix the chicken with the spices, add yogurt for a creamy texture, and allow the chicken to marinate overnight.

Once ready, skewer a few pieces of chicken on a kabob and place in a tandoori for about five minutes. (A grill will also suffice!) Place the chicken on nan bread, layer with red and green peppers, tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, and green chilies, and then roll like a tortilla.