Yesterday I served lunch to my young butcher. One day I bought a cut of meat and he asked what I was going to do with it. I told him whatever my thoughts were for the day. He replied that he’d let me know how his ramen turned out.
Recently I started marinating beef flap/skirt steak in olive oil with seasonings. I decided to do what Tuscans do to ribbollita and pasta a fagiole and add a “fillip” but at the beginning, not the end.
So, the other day I put a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a small skillet and added fresh herbs I had leftover from Thanksgiving, some rosemary, thyme and sage. Also a few peeled garlic cloves. I brought the oil up to a simmer for a few minutes then turned it off and let it cool to room temperature. Then I poured it over the meat in a plastic bag and let it sit at room temperature for an hour or two. I peppered the meat well before marinating and salted it well before grilling.
It was excellent and I’d promised a taste to two of my butchers so made a salad with a few grapes and topped it with a few slices of rare steak. Hopefully they liked it.
Last night it was very cold outside (teens) and I made matzoh ball soup (from a mix, never more) with chicken stock and grated carrot. Served with good Italian bread and a salad. Next time I’ll even make my own matzo meal. The NYTimes had a great recipe about 20 years ago with vodka and seltzer water in it. I now know that bubbles make them lighter, and a bit of vodka, rather than water, cuts down on gluten formation so also makes the balls lighter.
Many years ago my mother made soup with farina balls (I’ve never had that as an adult) and my sister insisted she was saving all the “treasures” on the bottom. The flat, heavy farina balls didn’t fit her aesthetic sense. Oh well, we get older and learn.
Oh, and to make a matzo ball soup palatable to the meat eater, I made a second broth with one whole chicken breast, cooked just until tender. I cooled it, shredded it and placed a few shreds in the bowl before adding the matzo balls and broth.
Perhaps David Sax, author of “Save The Deli” has a failsafe recipe for matzo balls he can share with us sometime. Hope all is well in Smoked Meat-ville, David! Best wishes and cheers to y’all this holiday season. Stay warm! Dee
Cooking with Dee 