THE WAY YOUR JEWISH GRANDMOTHER HEARD THE RECIPE
Chicken Soup
Chopped Liver
Potato Latkes
Bubbie’s To Die For Chicken Soup
Stephanie Sarnoff
I made it up myself, and that’s the hysterie, the jeaneology and the G-ograwphy ! I’m afraid, that the measurements are always in the category of “some”, “a little” , or “enough”! Its tasting that tells you what to do.
INGREDIENTS
Chicken bones
Lots of them! I used to use backs and necks, but they’re hard to get, these days. Once, I went to the Mexican market on W. 7th and bought chicken feet! My grandmother used them. But after thirteen bucks’ worth, the soup didn’t taste any different.
Of course, the bones will have meat on them. Nobody sells plain naked bones! You’ll always get more oomph out of raw bones than cooked, used bones. I save those for the "Bone Soup", but that’s another story. So, how many bones to use? The answer is...I don’t know! Is this sounding like Jewish Chicken Soup, already? Enough, that’s all, and more is always better.
So,boil the heck out of them and get all the goodness that’s there.
OTHER INGREDIENTS
Sometime, while the bones are boiling in not TOO much water, I start adding “stuff.” It doesn’t matter when, you’re going to boil the hell out of the stuff, too. I’ll tell you why, later! The stuff includes the following:
Garlic
Bay leaf
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Parsley
In indeterminate amounts (Are you pulling your hair out,yet?). You can chop it all up coarsely, to get the flavors going. As for the actual chicken meat, if you’ve used some, you can remove that when it’s briefly cooked, and set it aside. It’s the bones, dearie!
Now: here are “secret ingredients” that make a huge difference: white wine (or blush), any kind, and...either soy sauce or preferably, Yoshida’s teriyaki marinade. AND, if you want to be extra flavorful, a dollop of chicken bouillon, but don’t use the kind that has salt, you’re already getting that in the soy sauce.
Don’t be afraid to tinker. My experience tells me that there is more flavor when you use large amounts of everything.
DIRECTIONS
Now that you’ve boiled everything until the last possible droplet of flavor has been extracted, comes the biggest secret of all: remove everything, leaving the soup behind. You can either use it, if you wish, for whatever, or toss it all. Take the soup left over, and....do the whole damn thing again! (One convenient way to do this, is to freeze the part one, until you’re ready to do part two.) I’m not sure this is really needed: if you use little water and lots of ingredients, it should already be intense. You decide!
When its all thoroughly cooked, and cooled, refrigerate until the fat congeals on the top. Remove the fat. There’s nothing as awful as greasy soup. (And if I were you, dearie, I’d throw it out and live longer!)
Now, you have a glorious soup, with nothing needed! Or, how about some nice noodles or matzo balls to go in it?
For company, you can dice up some new vegetables,like carrots, they always look nice. Maybe add some finely minced fresh parsley. ENJOY!
Bubbie’s Chopped Liver
Stephanie Sarnoff
INGREDIENTS:
Beef Liver - (Calf's liver just doesn't have the same tam. Besides, who wants the mortality of a sweet, baby cow on their conscience?)
Onions - more than you think you'll need. The question remains, what color of onion to use: who knows? Try them all, and decide for yourselves.
Garlic - of course! Makes everything better, except kissing
Oil- Now here, we have a dilemma. Traditionally, it should be rendered chicken fat, made with fried onion and garlic. And what's even better, is to keep and mince finely the gribenes, (chicken skin from which the fat is rendered, for those of you who are not well acquainted either with Yiddish or Jewish cuisine ("Cuisine"?)
But, as we all know, it is terribly bad for you, albeit wonderfully delicious! So, for those who wish to watch their health, it’s ok to use any other kind of oil, the healthier the better. Or, you could cheat a little, and mix the two!
Eggs
Lettuce
Nice crackers or Matzo
Salt and Pepper. I like to use Lawry's Garlic Salt, instead. Lovely tam.
Parsley for garnish
Okay! Now, to get on with the directions!
DIRECTIONS
Fry up the liver, “al dente”, which means...not too much! You don't want it to be tough or leathery. A little pink inside, in other words. And, you can flavor the dish with onions and garlic, which you will discard afterwards. Unless you'd like to schmear it on a nice piece of rye bread.
Boil up the eggs, and set aside to cool. You can boil them somewhere between softish and hardish, just so they don't run when you chop them up. By the way: eggs are easier to peel when you've allowed a little cold water to run inside the cracked shell.
Chop finely the onions, set aside. Chop finely the liver and set aside. Peel and chop up the eggs, setting aside a little for garnish. Mix it all up together, with salt and pepper to taste, and the oil of choice.
Very important: keep tasting things! You can adjust anything that needs it.
Serve in a mound, garnished with egg and sprigs of parsley, on a bed of lettuce, with the crackers or matzo. You will love it! And so will everyone else who eats it! It’s an appetizer, officially, but who needs anything more!
Potato Latkes
Stephanie Sarnoff
Here is my best recipe, straight from my father's frying pan, (rest his soul) to you:
INGREDIENTS
Potatoes
Eggs
Onions
Salt
Pepper
Lemon Juice
Oil for Frying
Applesauce and Sour Cream on the Side, and for making it fancy, Parsley Sprigs and Lemon Wedges.
You'll notice right away, there are no precise amounts given. Why? Because I don't know what they are. In my family, the “right amount” of anything is…“ENOUGH!”.
DIRECTIONS
Peel and finely grate potatoes into a colander, draining off the liquid. Let it sit awhile. (You can sprinkle lemon juice to prevent discoloration, but it doesn't really matter.) More liquid will appear, so drain that, too. If you wish, squeeze the mixture with your hands (adds flavor!), or in a dishtowel, to get the rest of the liquid out.
Add finely grated onion to the mixture. Add beaten eggs into the mixture. “How many,” you ask? Who knows.
Heat up some oil in the largest frying pan you have, it still won't be big enough, so use more than one. The real trick is to use the right amount of oil: enough to fry in, but not too much, or the latkes will be greasy. Salt the surface a little. It helps prevent sticking, and the latkes will taste better. (But wait until the pan is hot, or the salt might pit the surface. Did you know that?
Spoon dollops of the mixture into the hot oil. Now, here's where the artistry comes in! Make sure they don’t touch each other! Once plunked down, don't move them, until the bottom is sealed and crispy. Leave the edges raggedy and uneven, so they’ll get nice and crunchy. You can also tamp down the middle with the back of the spoon, so they'll be nice and thin. When its time, and you'll know what I mean, turn them over with a spatula and brown the other side.
Place each one on paper towels to drain. Feel free to sample one (or two). My father ate most of them, before they were served. Serve piping hot with garnishes of parsely and lemon, sour cream and applesauce on the side. A nice green salad would make a great complement.
How much should you make? How much can you eat! But take a warning, there will never be enough. Enjoy!
© 2024 JGSWVO
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