Cuban Black Beans

Name: Cuban Black Beans
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 8 people
Ingredients: 1/2 pound dried black beans; 1 green bell pepper; 1 medium onion; 3-5 cloves garlic; 2 bay leaves (preferably fresh); 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 tablespoon tomato paste (optional); 1 tablespoon white wine; 1/2 teaspoon vinegar; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (approximately); black pepper to taste (optional)

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December 1, 2017

Black beans are ubiquitous on tables in Cuba.

Getting beans to the right texture and the liquid to the right thickness is almost an art form.

Food is scarce in Cuba…at least if you’re a Cuban paying in Cuban Pesos. Not so much if you’re paying in CUCs (Cuban Convertible Pesos), which is what foreigners use. The CUC is pegged to the US Dollar but if you change Dollars for CUCs you pay a 10% penalty as opposed to exchanging another currency, say the Euro, for CUCs.

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Prices in Cuban Pesos at a locals’ only market

**Another view of a locals’ only market**

I visited a butcher shop in Havana which pretty much now only sells chicken; when chicken is available, that is. If you notice the door to the cooler is open. That’s because the cooler isn’t on because there’s no inventory.

The butcher is just waiting around for chicken to arrive.

When that chicken does arrive, it will likely be frozen Tyson chicken from the United States. Even though, when this picture was taken, the US embargo of Cuba was in full force.

**Most of the chicken in Cuba is frozen Tyson chicken from the United States**

The same is true of hot sauce. If one asks for hot sauce at a restaurant in Cuba one is likely to get a bottle of Tabasco shipped in from Avery Island, Louisiana. Clearly there are exceptions to the embargo for some American companies!

If you pay in CUCs, the food available increases dramatically.

**One stall in a multi-vendor market where prices are denominated in CUCs**

**Locally prepared beverages in the CUC-denominated market**

The disparity in prices for food purchased with Pesos vs CUCs is so large that average Cubans cannot afford to buy food with CUCs, even if they can get them. It takes 25 Cuban Pesos to buy one CUC. Paying in Pesos limits one to shopping in pretty-much locals’ only stores, with limited inventory where the products, like rice and beans, are sold at subsidized prices.

Rum is widely available regardless of the currency. You’ll pay more if you’re a foreigner, however.

**Havana Club is a popular brand of rum in Cuba**

**A well-stocked bar ready for the day’s customers**

After returning from the trip to Cuba in 2014, I tried but couldn’t get the texture of my “Cuban” black beans right. But then, my mother-in-law got a recipe from Beatriz (Betty) Scannapieco. Betty is from Cuba. She was in the exercise group my in-laws attend. Betty’s recipe, using a pressure cooker as is common in Cuba, works like a dream. It’s really pretty effortless, too. The green pepper, onion, and garlic add tremendous flavor but are removed after cooking leaving just beans and the silky cooking liquid.

I made three changes to Betty’s recipe. She called for 1 teaspoon of white wine. I use 1 tablespoon. Betty didn’t use tomato paste or black pepper but both are common ingredients in many Cuban black bean recipes.

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Cuban Black Beans

This recipe came from Beatriz (Betty) Scannapieco in my in-law’s exercise group. Betty is from Cuba. I added the tomato paste and black pepper to Betty’s recipe. I also increased the wine from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon. It can be challenging to get the bell pepper, onion, and garlic out of the beans as they very soft after cooking. If you want to make it easier, you could tie them in cheesecloth.

Course

Beans, Nuts and Legumes, Vegetarian

Cuisine

Cuban

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

1 1/4 hours

Servings

people

Ingredients

1/2 pound dried black beans
1 green bell pepper
1 medium onion
3-5 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves preferably fresh
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste optional
1 tablespoon white wine
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt approximately
black pepper to taste optional

Course

Beans, Nuts and Legumes, Vegetarian

Cuisine

Cuban

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

1 1/4 hours

Servings

people

Ingredients

1/2 pound dried black beans
1 green bell pepper
1 medium onion
3-5 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves preferably fresh
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon tomato paste optional
1 tablespoon white wine
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt approximately
black pepper to taste optional

Instructions

Wash the beans.
Cover beans with water by a couple of inches and soak overnight in the refrigerator.
The next day, cut the bell pepper in half and remove ribs and seeds.
Cut the onion into 4 or 6 wedges, but do not cut the whole way through the root end.
Bruise the garlic by laying the blade of a chef's knife on top and gently pounding the knife blade.
Drain the beans. Put the beans in a pressure cooker along with 3 ¼ cups of fresh water.
Bring the beans to a boil, uncovered.
Skim the foam from the beans then remove the pot from heat.
Add the green pepper, onion, garlic and bay leaves to the beans.
Put the lid on the pressure cooker and bring to 10 pounds pressure.
Reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes.
Remove the pressure cooker from heat and allow pressure to dissipate naturally.
Uncover the pressure cooker.
Add the olive oil, tomato paste (if using), wine, vinegar, salt and black pepper (if using).
Bring to a boil uncovered and boil for 5 minutes.
Remove from heat. Cool slightly and remove bell pepper, onion, bay leaves, and garlic.
The beans can be served immediately but are better if refrigerated overnight.
Serve the beans in a shallow bowl with pieces of finely diced raw onion in the center. Black beans are customarily accompanied by white rice.

Recipe Notes

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Recipes

Cabbage and Noodles (Halushki)

2 Comments

November 27, 2017

One of the interesting consequences of working on this blog is that it is getting me to cook more Slovak food.

We ate way more Italian food than Slovak food when I was growing up but, nonetheless, Slovak food was a significant presence on our table.

Things that only lived in my memory, like the Chicken Paprikash that I posted a few weeks ago, and my Grandma Mihalik’s Butter Cookies that are coming up in a week or two, are now real. And it’s not only the Slovak food. The Chinese Five-Spice Roast Pork from last week hasn’t been on my table in more than 40 years!

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Part of the reason is that, as much as I enjoy cooking, I hadn’t devoted as much time to planning what I was going to cook as I did when I was younger. That is, until I got deep into this blog (and the restaurant cookbook I’ve been asked to write).

In Junior and Senior years of college there was a plan for dinner for every day of every week. Sometimes there was a plan for lunch, too!

Good provisions weren’t conveniently located to the University of Pennsylvania campus except for some specialty items from the ethnic markets near campus or the occasional very basic item from one of two nearby (in-super) supermarkets. Grocery shopping was done weekly and involved a trip to Ninth Street (sometimes called the Italian Market), and to the Pathmark supermarket in Broomall, PA.

Every meal got planned and a shopping list was created.

The planning was usually done in the evenings when I needed a break from studying (which I know some of you think I never did!). I would sit down with a cookbook or two, or my box of recipes handwritten on 3” x 5” index cards, or the typewritten recipes from Mrs. Hugh, my roommate’s mother and, over the course of the week, generate a list of what my roommate and I were going to have for dinner each night. Some were favorites but many were new, like the whole poached fish I made from Marcella Hazan’s first cookbook or Mrs. Hugh’s Crispy Duck (see the photo embedded in this blog post).

One of my favorite books was a slim volume by Charmaine Solomon. Charmaine was from Sri Lanka and two of the resident advisors in my college house, Reggie and Nanacy Rajapakse, were also from Sri Lanka and knew Charmaine. Charmaine’s Far Eastern Cookbook was copyrighted in 1972 (the year I started college). The edition I have was printed in 1973 so it was quite new when I bought it in 1974 shortly after entering the International Residence Project. I read that book cover to cover, like a novel, many times. I could sit for hours and pore over Charmaine’s recipes.

**My dog-eared and much beloved copy of Charmaine Solomon’s Far Eastern Cookbook**

In 1976, when I graduated college, Reggie and Nanacy bought me another of Charmaine’s cookbooks as a present, The Complete Asian Cookbook.

Another favorite cookbook was the [Ceylon] Daily News Cookery Book which was in the collection of the Van Pelt library at the University of Pennsylvania. I would check it out, keep it as long as I could, return it, and then check it out again. It was a hardcover book with a red cloth cover. It was simply titled the Daily News Cookery Book. Reference to Ceylon was nowhere to be found in the title. Many years later, on a trip to Sri Lanka, I was able to get a reprint of the book (with the word Ceylon added to the title).

My point, though, is that my cooking repertoire expanded because I worked at it. Ray and I planned every meal, we went grocery shopping, we cooked, and we most certainly ate. I was still able to keep up a good cooking pace through medical school but after that, as I got busier and busier, it became harder and harder.

While I can put food on the table any given night without much thought, recreating past favorites or trying out new recipes requires more planning. I now have a calendar specifically devoted to cooking. Dishes get planned out weeks, if not months, in advance. It’s a lot of work, yes, but it’s tremendously rewarding to prepare my favorite foods, many of which I haven’t had in many years, and introduce them to others.

Cabbage and Noodles, sometimes called Halushki, was frequently on our table. I remember it particularly being served with Salmon Patties, one of my favorite Friday meals when we didn’t eat meat. We had it other times, too, but the association of Cabbage and Noodles with Salmon Patties is very strong.

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Cabbage and Noodles (Halushki)

Although three pounds of cabbage sounds like a lot, it cooks down a tremendous amount. If you wish, you can add a teaspoon or two of caraway seed to the cabbage during the last 20 minutes of cooking. Though my family did not do that, it is not unusual to do so.

Course

Pasta, Noodles, and Sauces, Sides, Vegetables

Cuisine

Slovak

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours

Servings

people

Ingredients

1 large head of green cabbage approximately 3 pounds
1 large onion diced
6 tablespoons butter
1 pound wide egg noodles
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste

Course

Pasta, Noodles, and Sauces, Sides, Vegetables

Cuisine

Slovak

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

2 hours

Servings

people

Ingredients

1 large head of green cabbage approximately 3 pounds
1 large onion diced
6 tablespoons butter
1 pound wide egg noodles
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste

Instructions

Quarter and core the cabbage.
Slice each quarter crosswise into ½ inch wide ribbons.
In a heavy-bottomed pot large enough to hold the cabbage comfortably melt four tablespoons of the butter.
Sauté the onion in the butter until golden.
Add the cabbage. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Sauté on medium heat, stirring often, until the cabbage wilts.
Reduce the heat if the cabbage starts to stick to the pot.
Continue to cook on medium low, partially covered and stirring often, until the cabbage is silky, golden, and sweet. This will take 1 ½ to 2 hours total from start to finish.
The cabbage can be cooked several hours in advance to this point. Warm the cabbage before proceeding.
Bring 3 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add 1/3 cup of salt.
Cook the egg noodles in the salted water until just done. They should be slightly toothy and definitely not mushy.
Drain the noodles.
Add the noodles to the cooked cabbage along with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Toss well.
Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Recipe Notes

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Recipes

Chinese Five-Spice Roast Pork

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November 22, 2017

My food horizons expanded slowly during freshman and sophomore years in college. I was exposed to Chinese food through Dennis and Martha Law, a graduate student couple from Hong Kong who were the resident advisors in my college house during freshman year. I got exposed to Indian food thanks to the proximity to my dorm of the now long-gone Maharaja Indian Restaurant.

As sophomore year came to a close things were about to get kicked up a notch, to steal a phrase from Emeril Lagasse.

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In spring of sophomore year I applied to live in the International Residence Project, another of the University of Pennsylvania’s college houses, during my junior year.

I was accepted into the program and invited to a “meet and greet” with the other students later that semester. The resident advisors were Ambrose and Najma Davis and Reginald (Reggie) and Nanacy Rajapakse. Ambrose was from Jamaica, Najma from Bangladesh and Reggie and Nanacy (whose name was often Anglicized to Nancy) from Sri Lanka.

At the “meet and greet” I was introduced to Ray Hugh, who was to be my roommate. Ray, of Hakka Chinese ancestry, hailed from Guyana. We started hanging out together for the remainder of the semester and then, since we were both staying in Philadelphia for the summer, decided to find a summer sublet together.

**Ray and his father, Dr. Hugh, in Georgetown, Guyana, 1974**

As I had done the previous summer, we sublet an apartment in Graduate Towers (as discussed in my post on Homemade Applesauce).

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Then we started cooking! Guyanese food. Chinese food. Italian food. Indian food. The list went on.

The number of cuisines we cooked exploded beginning in junior year when we moved into the International Residence Project. We got recipes from other residents in the Project who came from all around the world. I (very tentatively) started my cookbook collection which now numbers close to 5000 volumes.

**Ray (front center) with from right to left, his mother, sister Fay, sister Shelly, and Shelly’s boyfriend Clive in the suburbs of London, 1975**

Some dishes we made became regulars (like this roast pork). Others we made once for the sheer challenge.

Ray’s mom’s Crispy Duck was in the latter camp. Mrs. Hugh sent us a sheaf of recipes carefully typed out on onion skin paper. Her recipe for plain white rice, included in those pages, was my tutorial on making steamed white rice. I followed that recipe consistently, with unfailingly perfect results, until we moved to Santa Fe where the elevation, and its effect on cooking, rendered the directions unusable.

Included in that same sheaf of recipes was Crispy Duck. We started with a whole duck, head and feet included, which we purchased on Ninth Street in Philadelphia. The duck was hung for 24 hours from a hook we screwed into the ceiling while we carefully lacquered it, repeatedly, with a mixture of soy sauce and other ingredients, before roasting.

**Me (left) and Ray with Crispy Duck in the early stage, hanging from the ceiling in our dorm apartment, 1975**

Compared to the duck, this pork is a breeze. Though Ray, with whom I am still in contact, now recommends marinating it for a day (refrigerated!) if possible, when we were in college the marinating occurred in an hour as the meat was coming to room temperature. I also think that he often used garlic powder rather than fresh garlic. Actually, I think garlic powder works really well to season chicken to be roasted or steaks to be broiled. As I recall, it was pretty tasty on this pork, too.

Everything in this pork is classically Chinese, except, of course, the rum! Likely a rice-based spirit would be used in China but in Guyana the Chinese used rum. Let’s face it, fusion food happens everywhere! Besides, the rum “plays” really nicely with the five spice powder and brown sugar.

Five spice powder is the main flavor and it is important that you use a good quality brand. Not all five-spice powders are created equal. If you don’t have a Chinatown near you, there’s always Amazon. That’s what I did. Despite the existence of a good Asian grocery store in Santa Fe, the five-spice powder that I bought there was not up to my standards.

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Chinese Five-Spice Roast Pork

Boneless pork shoulder steaks work well because they contain some fat to keep the meat moist. However, because shoulder steaks contain different muscle groups the texture can change from bite to bite. Well-marbled pork chops with a little fat cap around the edge would work, too. If using bone-in chops, I would use 3 pounds rather than 2 ½ pounds. Be sure to use a good quality five spice powder.

Course

Mains, Meats

Cuisine

Chinese, West Indian

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Passive Time

24 hours

Servings

people

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds pork chops or pork shoulder steak cut ¾ inch thick
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rum preferably dark
1 tablespoon Chinese five spice powder
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Course

Mains, Meats

Cuisine

Chinese, West Indian

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Passive Time

24 hours

Servings

people

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds pork chops or pork shoulder steak cut ¾ inch thick
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rum preferably dark
1 tablespoon Chinese five spice powder
3 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions

Five spice powder
Combine all ingredients except the pork. Mix well.
Boneless pork shoulder steaks
Add the pork and toss to coat with the marinade.
Marinate the pork in the refrigerator for 24 hours if possible. Turn the pork once or twice while marinating.
One hour before cooking the pork, remove it from the marinade and put it in a single layer in a heavy roasting pan.
Allow the pork to come to room temperature for an hour.
Meanwhile, boil the marinade quickly until it is reduced to approximately 4 tablespoons.
Cool the marinade and pour it over the pork.
Preheat the broiler.
Put the pan with the meat approximately 8 inches below the broiler.
Cook the pork, turning once or twice, until just cooked through, 15-20 minutes.
Allow the pork to rest 10 minutes before carving into bite-size pieces.

Recipe Notes

Unlike the brown sugar typically available in the United States, which is a mixture of white sugar and molasses, the brown sugar available in Guyana is actually a less refined sugar, hence the brown color. There's not enough brown sugar in this recipe to make a difference so feel free to use standard American brown sugar. Closer to what is available in Guyana is this brown sugar packaged for the Korean market that I bought in an Asian grocery store, and this brown sugar that I purchased in Ecuador.

**Brown sugar packaged for the Korean market but bought in the United States**

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Recipes

Salsa Friulana d’Ivana (Ivana’s Friulan Tomato Sauce)

6 Comments

November 17, 2017

My mother-in-law grew up in the town of Treppo Grande in the Italian province of Friuli. Friuli is in northeastern Italy. It is the major portion of the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Her father and two uncles lived with their families in three houses that wrapped around a courtyard. Her grandmother lived in the same complex. The extended family included numerous cousins.

Another uncle moved to the United States with his wife and their son early on. Two more children were born to them in the US.

At the age of 12, shortly after the end of World War II my mother-in-law, her brother (our Uncle Ray), and mother came to the States. Her father had been in the US working with the intention of bringing over the family but then the war broke out and the family could not be reunited until it ended.

One set of cousins stayed in Treppo Grande. Another set of cousins moved to France.

In 1990 the “cousins,” as the US contingent called themselves, hatched a plan to organize a group trip to their hometown of Treppo Grande and to Digoin, France where the other set of “courtyard cousins” lived.

Naturally, planning for the trip required many “meetings” among the cousins; meetings that were fueled with copious amounts of food and alcohol interspersed with a little “business!”

The trip happened in August 1991. My husband and I went along with the “cousins” and their spouses.

The “United States” cousins and three of four spouses in Treppo Grande along with Carolina Fabbro, a friend of my mother-in-law’s mother. She died a few years ago at more than 100 years of age.

We first met up in Paris for a day or two and did some sightseeing.

Afterwards, we were picked up in a small bus that had been arranged by Olvino, one of the original “courtyard cousins” who lived in Digoin. As I recall, the driver only spoke French. Among us we spoke English, Italian, Friulan (the language of Friuli), and a smattering of Spanish and German, but no French. Thankfully the driver knew where he was going and, for all other needs, we managed to communicate in some rudimentary, but effective, manner.

Interesting to me was that the vehicle had graph paper that kept a running record of the bus’s speed. Apparently the driver could be asked to produce the graph paper by the police and could be fined if it showed that he had exceeded the speed limit. Can you imagine that happening in the United States???

I was also fascinated when we stopped for lunch. The driver had a glass of wine. I will repeat that. This professional bus driver had a glass of wine with lunch then got behind the wheel. Apparently, he was legally permitted to have one, just one, glass of wine and still drive.

Admittedly, one glass of wine is not going to get anyone’s blood alcohol level close to a level that produces intoxication but it pointed out that 1) the French are highly (overly?) regulated and 2) Europeans have a more relaxed approach to alcohol (probably to life in general, actually!).

I had a similar experience in 1994 when I did several consulting gigs in Europe. I frequently had lunch with physicians from the hospitals where I was consulting. Everyone (yes, everyone) had a glass of wine or beer with lunch and then went back to the hospital to work.

But I digress.

We spent several fun days in Digoin, where the local cousins had rented out a small hall, with a kitchen, because none of them had a house big enough to host all of us, and all of them, for meals.

There must have been six banquet tables shaped into a “U” around which we all sat. The crowd included not only those of us from the States, but the cousins who lived in Digoin along with their significant others, their children, and their children’s significant others.

Conversations frequently included four languages. The “cousins” typically spoke Friulan with each other. From there, the conversation would get translated into Italian, English, and French so that everyone could understand anything of interest to the group.

I don’t remember what we ate for dinner the first night except for the pasta which was sauced with a red sauce made by Ivana, Olvino’s wife.

I was transported by that sauce.

Tomato sauces in Friuli are different from the rest of Italy in that they have noticeable amounts of “warm” spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. My mother-in-law makes a sauce similar to the one that Ivana makes but there are differences. For example, hers includes only beef. Today’s recipe, however, is a tribute to Ivana.

This is my interpretation of Ivana’s recipe. Since the original recipe contained a list of ingredients but no quantities, I had to figure out what worked.

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Salsa Friulana d'Ivana (Ivana's Friulan Tomato Sauce)

There should be a little bit of red-tinged oil floating on top of the sauce to improve the mouthfeel of the pasta—just a little. If you cannot find lean ground pork, you may want to grind your own. An actual meat grinder will work better than a food processor but if you’re using a food processor be careful not to grind the meat too finely. For the beef, I suggest using 93% lean. This recipe makes enough sauce for approximately 4 pounds of pasta. Extra sauce freezes well.

Course

Pasta, Noodles, and Sauces

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

3 hours

Servings

cups

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
4 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 medium onion diced
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves and tender stems only
7-8 fresh sage leaves
2 bay leaves preferably fresh
2 sprigs rosemary approximately 3 inches each
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves or 2 teaspoons dry basil
2 28 ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes or crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups water
1 inch stick cinnamon
4 cloves
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste

Course

Pasta, Noodles, and Sauces

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

30 minutes

Cook Time

3 hours

Servings

cups

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork
4 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 medium onion diced
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves and tender stems only
7-8 fresh sage leaves
2 bay leaves preferably fresh
2 sprigs rosemary approximately 3 inches each
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves or 2 teaspoons dry basil
2 28 ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes or crushed tomatoes or tomato puree
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups water
1 inch stick cinnamon
4 cloves
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground to taste

Instructions

If using canned tomatoes rather than crushed tomatoes or tomato puree, pass the tomatoes through a food mill and reserve.
Grind the pork if you cannot get ground pork in your market.
Grind the garlic, onion, and parsley in a food processor. If you used a food processor for the pork, there is no need to clean it. Alternatively, chop them very, very finely by hand.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed Dutch oven.
Add the garlic-onion-parsley mixture. Sauté until the raw smell is gone.
Add the ground beef and pork and sauté on high heat until the meat is browned.
Add the tomato puree or crushed tomatoes.
Add all remaining ingredients.
Sage
Rosemary
Basil
Bay leaves
Cinnamon
Cloves
Nutmeg
Simmer gently, partially covered, stirring frequently for approximately 2 ½ hours.
Adjust salt and pepper during cooking.
Toss approximately 1/4 of the sauce with one pound of cooked pasta.

Recipe Notes

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Recipes

Chicken Paprikash (Chicken with Paprika-Sour Cream Sauce)

5 Comments

November 13, 2017

I really don’t remember my Slovak grandmother doing much cooking. By the time I was old enough to pay attention to who was cooking, she was mostly just making the occasional pot of soup.

My grandparents owned a semi-detached house and Uncle Frankie and Aunt Mary lived next door. Although they had separate front porches, they shared a back porch. Going back and forth was easy.

Aunt Mary kept my grandparents well-supplied with food. My Aunt Ann pitched in from time to time as well.

My grandparents were really keen on soup. I guess when you’re raising a family of seven sons through the Great Depression and its aftermath, on a steelworker’s income, preparing filling and budget-friendly food becomes a necessity.

After the early 1960s when my Uncle Gusty moved back to the United States from Japan with his wife and their children, all seven of my grandparents’ sons lived in Johnstown with their wives and children. Most of us would visit on Sunday afternoons arriving sometime after lunch and leaving before dinner.

My Grandfather and Father in the late 1960s. I used to wear the tie my dad is wearing to high school. I still have it! My father insisted that I tie a Full Windsor. Now I know where he got his preference!

Very frequently a large pot of soup would appear for anyone who needed a little something to hold him or her over till dinner. Often it would be potato soup or sour mushroom soup (made with dried mushrooms and spiked with a little vinegar). My father talked longingly about a sour cabbage soup called kissel which nobody was making any longer.

Other than soup, baba (sometimes written bubba), and sweets at the holidays, I don’t remember eating much at my grandparents’ house though I do remember my grandfather and my uncles consuming a fair amount of beer, and, on special holidays, shots of whiskey.

Most of the Slovak food that I ate was at home or at one of my uncle and aunt’s houses.

Chicken Paprikash is considered a Hungarian dish but it was common on the Slovak side of my family. My grandfather was born in 1890 in a small town, Nitrianske Sucany, not too far from Bratislava, in what is now Slovakia. My grandmother was born a few years later. In 1909 when my grandfather came to America, he left what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Slovakia did not exist as a country. Food diffuses with cultural contact (think about the popularity of Spam in both Hawaii and Korea which can be traced to the presence of the US military). I suspect that’s how Chicken Paprikash became something made by my Slovak grandparents.

My version of Chicken Paprikash is a combination of my mother’s and my Aunt Ann’s. When I went to look up the recipe to make in preparation for this blog I discovered that I had never written it down! Luckily I remembered just how to do it.

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Chicken Paprikash

Using bone-in chicken with skin improves the flavor of the final dish. Flabby skin from braised chicken is not appetizing, however, so remove it near the end of cooking before putting the chicken in the finished sauce. Since paprika is the major flavor in this dish be sure to use fresh, high-quality paprika, preferably Hungarian. Sweet paprika was the norm in my family, not hot, and certainly not smoked which would totally change the flavor. You can use whatever chicken parts you prefer but I think the texture of slowly braised thighs is superior. Serve the chicken with buttered noodles or mashed potatoes, both of which go really well with the sour-cream-enhanced sauce.

Course

Mains, Poultry

Cuisine

Slovak

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

2 1/2 hours

Servings

people

Ingredients

5 pounds chicken thighs skin-on and bone-in
2 medium onions one diced and one finely diced
5 cloves garlic minced
4 tablespoons sweet paprika divided
1 bay leaf preferably fresh
1/4 cup oil or lard or chicken fat if you want to go old-school
8 tablespoons butter divided
2 cups chicken broth or water
1/4 cup all purpose flour
16 ounces sour cream
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground

Course

Mains, Poultry

Cuisine

Slovak

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

2 1/2 hours

Servings

people

Ingredients

5 pounds chicken thighs skin-on and bone-in
2 medium onions one diced and one finely diced
5 cloves garlic minced
4 tablespoons sweet paprika divided
1 bay leaf preferably fresh
1/4 cup oil or lard or chicken fat if you want to go old-school
8 tablespoons butter divided
2 cups chicken broth or water
1/4 cup all purpose flour
16 ounces sour cream
salt to taste
black pepper freshly ground

Instructions

Pat the chicken dry and season liberally with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed sauté pan.
Sauté the chicken on both sides, starting skin-side-down, until brown on both sides. Do not crowd the chicken. Do this in batches if necessary.
Remove the browned chicken to a platter.
Empty the oil from the pan and wipe clean.
Add two tablespoons of butter. Sauté the diced onion until golden.
Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, approximately 1 minute.
Add 3 tablespoons of paprika and sauté for approximately 15 seconds (paprika burns very easily).
Add one cup of broth and mix well.
Add the bay leaf, browned chicken pieces and any accumulated juices to the pan. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Cover and braise on low until very tender, approximately 1 ½ hours being sure to taste for salt occasionally. Add additional broth if needed to keep the pan from drying out.
About 15 minutes before the chicken is done, remove the skin and discard.
When the chicken is fully cooked, remove it to a platter.
Remove the bay leaf.
Pour the cooking liquid, without straining, into a small pot and keep it warm on low heat. You can skim fat from the top of the cooking liquid if you would like.
Wash and dry the pot used to cook the chicken. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter in that pot.
Add the finely diced onion and sauté until golden.
Add the flour and cook 2-3 minutes, until no longer raw.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of paprika and sauté 15 seconds.
With the flour-onion-paprika mixture on medium heat, begin to ladle in the reserved cooking liquid a little at a time, stirring well after each addition to avoid lumps.
When all the cooking liquid has been incorporated, add any remaining chicken broth, if all of the original 2 cups was not used to braise the chicken.
Bring to a boil and cook for one minute. The sauce should be quite thick. It will thin with the addition of sour cream. If the sauce is too thin, boil it longer as you will not be able to boil it once the sour cream has been added.
Stir in the sour cream. Adjust salt and pepper. Add the chicken and heat gently without boiling.

Recipe Notes

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Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, e Pepperoncino (Spaghetti with Garlic, Oil and Red Pepper)

2 Comments

November 8, 2017

How many Italian pasta sauces can you think of that do not include olive oil and garlic?

Precious few, I would guess!

This dish, classically Roman, elevates those two ingredients to center stage. You cannot hide bad olive oil or poorly cooked garlic in this dish. There are very few other flavors.

But simplicity has its virtues. It’s really hard to go wrong with this dish unless you use bad olive oil or not-so-stellar cheese or you burn the garlic.

You can make a case for cooking the garlic for a whole range of times, from mere seconds up until it is dark brown. For many years I even cooked three different batches of garlic, one until brown, one until golden, and one until just fragrant. There is an interesting depth of flavor from doing so but it’s not the classic technique.

My point is, unless you burn the garlic and make it bitter, you won’t ruin the dish. You may prefer the flavor of the garlic when it is more or less brown but that’s just a preference not an absolute.

**These little Italian peppers (“pepperoncino”) pack a nice flavor, not just heat**

My recipe diverges from the classic Roman recipe in two places.

While making dinner, I’m usually chatting…with my in-laws (on most nights), with my husband (when he’s not away on business), or with guests. While I know I can time everything to be ready at exactly the right moment, I ask, why stress about it? So, yes, I can time the sautéing of the garlic to be just right when the pasta is ready but there’s an easier way.

I get the garlic to exactly the spot I want and then stop the cooking by taking the pan off the heat and adding a splash of wine (or water, if you must). That’s not classically Roman but it sure makes it much easier to have a conversation and a cocktail or three while making dinner. As soon as I plan on draining the pasta, I turn the heat on under the garlic oil and boil away the liquid I’ve added. Let’s face it, how often do we get to stop time with no consequences?

The second divergence from classic technique is that I add cheese to the pasta while mixing it with the garlic oil rather than just adding it at the table. In my mind there is no doubt that this pasta needs cheese. Adding it at the final stage of preparation allows me to create a glossy sauce where there would otherwise only be garlic oil. Not that that is bad, but I’ve made a bit of a reputation for myself by turning out glossy sauces where there would often only be oil.

It’s not hard. It just takes a bit of practice and some understanding (minimal) of the chemistry involved. And let’s face it, if the sauce isn’t glossy, you’re the only one who’s going to know. Again, there’s no penalty involved!

In Italy this pasta is often prepared and eaten after a night of over-indulging in alcohol. At least that’s the reputation it has. However, this was a common dish put on the dinner table when I was growing up. It’s easy, quick, filling, and darn good. Oh, and for an entirely different flavor, try butter in place of the olive oil!

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Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, e Pepperoncino (Spaghetti with Garlic, Oil and Red Pepper)

I like to reduce last minute work, so I prep the garlic oil in advance and stop the cooking with a splash of wine. You can use water, if you wish, or, if you are sautéing the garlic as the pasta is cooking, some of the pasta-cooking liquid. As the pasta is nearing completion, I reheat the garlic oil, quickly boiling off the wine, and proceed. Use more or less garlic, to your taste. The same is true with the red pepper. For myself, I would use at least double this amount but that would be way too much for other folks.

Course

Pasta, Noodles, and Sauces

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cracked red pepper more or less, to taste
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons white wine
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
3 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese grated
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for finishing
1 pound spaghetti

Course

Pasta, Noodles, and Sauces

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon cracked red pepper more or less, to taste
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons white wine
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
3 ounces Parmigiano Reggiano cheese grated
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for finishing
1 pound spaghetti

Instructions

Slice off the hard base of each garlic clove.
Cut the cloves in half top to bottom.
Cut each half-clove of garlic crosswise into very thin slivers.
In a sauté pan large enough to hold all the cooked spaghetti comfortably heat 1/3 cup of olive oil over gentle heat.
Add the slivered garlic and sauté slowly and gently until golden brown. This should take 10-15 minutes if the heat is low enough.
Add the red pepper and black pepper and sauté for another minute.
Add the wine to stop cooking and remove the pan from the heat.
Bring 2 ½ quarts of water to a boil. Season with ¼ cup of salt.
Boil the spaghetti about two minutes less than the package indicates is needed for al dente.
As the pasta is nearing completion, reheat the garlic oil.
Just before removing the pasta from the boiling water, add 1 cup of pasta-cooking liquid to the garlic oil and turn the heat to medium high.
Reserve another cup of pasta-cooking liquid then drain the pasta.
Add the drained pasta to the pan with the garlic oil.
Cook over medium to medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente. Add some of the reserved pasta-cooking liquid from time to time as needed.
When the pasta is al dente, remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese and parsley on top.
Mix well to create a sauce by melting the cheese and emulsifying the oil and water. Add more of the pasta-cooking water, if needed, to coat the pasta.
Stir in the 3 tablespoons of fruity or peppery extra-virgin olive oil for finishing.
Serve immediately with extra Parmesan cheese.

Recipe Notes

Since olive oil loses much of its distinctive flavor from heating, adding some at the end, when the dish is off the heat, improves the flavor. Usually I keep several types of olive oil that I just use for finishing in this way. They tend to have different flavor profiles. Usually I have a peppery one and a buttery one on hand. These oils are used in small quantities so their higher price tag is worth the flavor they add.

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Homemade Applesauce

Melinda’s Drunken Prunes

6 Comments

October 30, 2017

Italians love to put things in alcohol.

In the short life of this blog, we’ve already covered limoncello, cherries in brandy, and liquore al lauro.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that I love to put things in alcohol. If so, I’m not alone!

Melinda Orlando and I started working together in early 1989 when I moved to Chicago and became the Medical Director (Chief Medical Officer in today’s terminology) of Chicago-Read Mental Health Center, at the time a 600-bed psychiatric hospital with approximately 7000 admissions per year.

Melinda and I have worked together ever since. Most recently she and I were business partners in The Mihalik Group, LLC (TMG). Though we sold the company last year, we still do a limited amount of consulting.

In our twenty-odd years at TMG we traveled a lot and ate at a lot of restaurants. We frequently joked that we probably ate more dinners together during that time than either of us did with our spouses.

At Chicago-Read, Melinda and I bonded early-on over a love of good food, especially Italian. Chicago-Read was located adjacent to a large Italian-American community. There were some really good Italian restaurants, butchers, pasta shops, and grocery stores just minutes away. It wasn’t a struggle to maintain my weight in those days so eating lunch at one of the nearby restaurants happened often.

This recipe for drunken prunes came from Melinda’s Grandmother.

Melinda’s grandmother came to the US as a young wife with two children. A third, Melinda’s father, was born onboard the ship. After going through Ellis Island she traveled to Chicago by train to meet her husband.

At one point, Melinda’s grandmother rented an apartment on Grand Avenue and took in boarders. These were day laborers who were working to save enough to bring their families to this country. They slept on the floor of the apartment and used the toilet in the hall. Baths were taken by all at Hull House down the street. They paid “rent” and got sleeping space, breakfast (coffee and something baked) and dinner (always including pasta).

Melinda’s grandmother was frugal, eventually saving enough to buy a building in Elmwood Park, at the end of the trolley line out of the city. The building became home for her and her five children (her husband was out of the picture), a store (selling candy and cigarettes), and a “bar” (providing beer for a nickel and a free bowl of pasta). It had the only telephone booth in the area. Eventually there was a jukebox and it became a popular place on weekends.

Melinda’s grandmother served drunken prunes in a shot glass speared on a toothpick, with some of the grappa poured into the glass.

**Melinda’s Grandmother, center, and her five children including Melinda’s father, far right**

If not served at family events, the prunes generally accompanied a game of canasta among Grandma’s “women friends” and were intended to be nibbled on. Never were they eaten in a bite or two. Seconds were rare, though they did occur. (I’d love to know what the women said of those who had a second prune but that information is lost to history.)

**Christmas at Melinda’s Grandmother’s house**

Before canasta, there was always lunch, almost always pasta, and dessert, usually pound cake. Occasionally the pound cake was used to sop up the grappa in the bottom of the shot glass if it wasn’t consumed outright. A glass (single, of course) of wine was sipped all afternoon.

**Melinda’s Grandmother and Aunt Enes, the youngest of the five children. Enes and her husband gave up their house to live with Melinda’s Grandmother**

Drunken prunes were only served in the winter, never in the summer. As to what took their place for those summer canasta games, we’ll just need to wait for the next installment from Melinda!

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Melinda's Drunken Prunes

The amount of sugar will vary based on personal preference. I suggest starting with the smaller quantity and then adjusting after a month. Once you find your “sweet spot” you can put all the sugar in at the beginning.

Course

Beverages, Miscellaneous

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

5 minutes

Passive Time

4 months

Servings

quart

Ingredients

12 ounces pitted prunes
2 cups grappa or brandy
1/3 cup sugar plus up to 1/3 cup more based on taste

Course

Beverages, Miscellaneous

Cuisine

Italian

Prep Time

5 minutes

Passive Time

4 months

Servings

quart

Ingredients

12 ounces pitted prunes
2 cups grappa or brandy
1/3 cup sugar plus up to 1/3 cup more based on taste

Instructions

Place prunes in a one quart glass jar.
Add 1/3 cup sugar.
Add grappa.
Cover tightly.
Rotate the jar several times daily until the sugar dissolves.
Store the prunes in a cool spot out of direct sunlight.
After one month taste and add additional sugar to taste.
Allow the prunes to age for at least four months total before serving.
Serve the prunes individually in shot glasses with a toothpick. Pour some of the grappa over the prunes.
Nibble on the prunes holding them with the toothpick and sip the prune-infused grappa, preferably while playing canasta.

Recipe Notes

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Jim’s Hawaiian Guava Cake

Eduardo’s Chimichurri

2 Comments

October 20, 2017

We’ve been to Argentina at least three times. Once as part of a trip to explore wine country in Chile and Argentina, once as part of a trip to Antarctica for which the ship left from Tierra del Fuego, and once with my in-laws to visit relatives who lived in Patagonia.

**Tierra del Fuego, the starting point for our Antarctic adventure!**

On each trip we spent some time in Buenos Aires, some more than others. And on each trip we did the Argentine thing of eating copious quantities of meat.

Eateries abound selling meats of various types cooked over live charcoal. The less fancy, but no less good, ones are often outdoor affairs with pots of chimichurri on each table. Often, the maestro de parrilla (grill master) is standing just feet away tending several large parrillas (grills) brimming with various cuts of meat. One of our most memorable meals of grilled meats was at just such a place in the suburbs of Buenos Aires with a friend from the States who married an Argentine and moved to Buenos Aires.

I developed a true appreciation for the extent to which Argentines love meat, however, at several family dinners at my husband’s Great Uncle Duilio and Great Aunt Juliana’s house in Puerto Madryn, Patagonia. Duilio is Fidalma’s brother. I’ve mentioned Fidalma several times in this blog.

We spent a week in Puerto Madryn and had two Sunday dinners with Duilio’s family (daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren).

To accommodate large family gatherings, one of Duilio’s daughters converted an outbuilding to host bacchanalian feasts. There was a large indoor parilla with grill racks, an iron cross to hold an entire lamb near the charcoal, and a hook to hold a cauldron over the heat. There was another parilla just outside the door, in the courtyard. The rest of the interior space was given over to a very, very long table and chairs.

**Indoor parilla with a whole lamb and sausages**

When we arrived for the second Sunday dinner, Eduardo, one of Duilio’s sons-in-law was frying 15 kilos (that’s 33 pounds!) of calamari in a large cauldron set over a fire in the indoor parilla. This was just to keep us from getting restless and hungry as the rest of the meal was prepared.

**Outdoor parilla with chicken and brochettes**

When we sat down to eat, the first course was grilled chicken. The grilled chicken course was followed by grilled sausages. The grilled sausages were followed by grilled lamb. The grilled lamb was followed by grilled beef.

Yep, each course was a different meat!

Truth be told, there were some vegetables on the table. But that doesn’t mean they were eaten by most of the family and the quantity certainly paled in comparison to the herd of animals that made its way onto the table in succession.

The seating arrangement was in strict age progression. Duilio and Juliana sat at the head. On either side of them sat my husband’s parents. Next to them on opposite sides of the table was where my husband and I were seated. After that came Dulio and Juliana’s daughters and their husbands. The remainder of the table was filled with grandchildren.

The vegetables started at “our” end of the table. Duilio and Juliana, as well as my in-laws and the two of us actually put vegetables on our plates. Duilio and Juliana’s daughters took a bite or two, as I recall. The sons-in-law and grandchildren wanted nothing to do with anything that was suspiciously related to a root!

And there you have it. Course after course of meat, no veggies for the “true” Argentines, a bit of dessert, and the obligatory cup of mate passed around the table.

Eduardo cooked all the food magnificently. This is his chimichurri recipe. It contains a few ingredients that might seem unusual but since his family has been in Argentina for many generations who am I to argue?

In addition to serving as the typical condiment for grilled meat, chimichurri is also as a marinade for the same meat. It will keep a week in the refrigerator so be sure to make enough to both marinate the meat and serve as a condiment.

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Eduardo's Chimichurri

While a few of the ingredients may seem unusual, Eduardo’s family has lived in Argentina for several generations so I don’t doubt the traditional nature of this recipe. Make extra and use some to marinate the meat before cooking. Pass the remainder at the table. You can use either red or white wine vinegar but I prefer white as it does not dull the bright green color of the herbs.

Course

Savory Sauces and Marinades

Cuisine

Argentine

Prep Time

20 minutes

Passive Time

3 hours

Servings

cups

Ingredients

1 teaspoon English mustard powder
1 teaspoon water
10 medium cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup lightly packed fragrant fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley stems removed
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup wine vinegar white or red (see note)
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon cracked red pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Course

Savory Sauces and Marinades

Cuisine

Argentine

Prep Time

20 minutes

Passive Time

3 hours

Servings

cups

Ingredients

1 teaspoon English mustard powder
1 teaspoon water
10 medium cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup lightly packed fragrant fresh basil leaves
3/4 cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley stems removed
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup wine vinegar white or red (see note)
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon cracked red pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder

Instructions

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid large enough to hold the finished sauce, combine the mustard and water.
Allow the mustard-water mixture to stand approximately 7-10 minutes to develop the mustard’s flavor.
Meanwhile, in a small blender jar, combine the garlic and one-half of the olive oil. Blend until garlic is finely minced.
Add the basil to the garlic-oil mixture and blend again until basil is finely chopped but not pureed.
Add the garlic-oil-basil mixture to the mustard mixture.
Combine the remaining oil and parsley in the blender jar and blend until parsley is finely chopped but not pureed.
Add the parsley-oil mixture to the herb mixture.
Use the wine to rinse out the blender jar and then add it to the herb mixture.
Add all other ingredients. Mix well.
X
Cover and allow the chimichurri to sit at room temperature for approximately three hours to develop flavor.
The chimichurri can be refrigerated, tightly covered, for up to a week.