Shani is a food and wine nerd

Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s Escudo Rojo is a red blend from Maipo Chile. I think the first time I had it was the 2002 vintage at Fuego.

It’s an eclectic wine that is unusually complex for it’s price. Easy to drink by itself or with medium-heavy foods including spicy!

Cherry, dark berries, some wood and earth

Retail price $12-$14
(Found at a special price of $9 at the DeKalb Farmers Market)

Kurasawa is a filtered sake, so texture wise, I could say it’s smooth. But the flavors were very strong, one note, and left a strong after taste of gasoline. It was okay at first, but by the end of the bottle, I decided I didn’t really want to finish it.

Restaurant price $18/300mL at Steel

At the request of my sister, I am posting one of my duck recipes. Duck is the perfect canvas for a sweet/savory meal. Traditionally, it’s prepared a l’orange. I like mine with cherries rehydrated in a spicy red wine…

Note, this is not a classic confit, this is a quick-cooking version

Duck is very simple to cook, there are two tricks:
1- Score the skin
2- Let it be

Ingredients:
Two dark quarters (leg + thigh) of duck
Salt + Pepper
(optional) Fresh Rosemary

Score the skin by slicing through it in one-inch diagonal lines in both directions (basically making a grid of one-inch square/diamonds). Make sure not to slice into the meat, but you should be able to see the meat through the cuts.

Salt and pepper both sides. Optional: place fresh rosemary along the scores going one direction.

Place duck, skin side down on an ungreased, sizzling hot skillet. The pan will scream loudly when you place the duck. Leave the duck alone a few minutes until the skin is crispy. You’ll know it’s ready when you can move it easily. At this point there will be a lot of rendered fat in the pan.

Reduce the heat to medium. CAREFULLY flip the duck over. If you thought hot oil burned… Allow the duck to cook in its own juices to desired doneness. Remove from the heat and let the duck sit a couple minutes. Optional: remove rosemary and discard. Gently peel the meat off the bones… and serve the skin, that’s the best part!

Moussaka has three components that are then layered and baked together into a heavenly meal:

1. Eggplant
2. Meat sauce
3. White sauce/Bechamel

This is a labor and time-intensive meal. I recommend making a large batch and freezing the rest.

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants
• 1/3 cup oil
• salt
• ***
• 2-3 onions
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 lbs ground meat (beef, turkey, lamb)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• pinch cinnamon
• pinch black pepper
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• salt
• ***
• 2 tbsp butter/margarine
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 cup water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350^oF. Depending on how fast your oven is, it can be done later in the middle on the prep work.

Eggplant
Clean eggplants
(optional - peel eggplants)
Slice lengthwise in 1/2 inch pieces
spring both sides with salt and let sit for 20 minutes
After 20 minutes, wash off and towel dry.
Lightly fry in oil and set aside

Meat Sauce
Dice onions and saute in oil
Add meat and brown, making sure there are no lumps
Stir in garlic and spices
Add tomato sauce
Reduce heat to low
Cover and cook for 1/2 hour, stirring occasionally (may need to add water)
Add salt as desired

White Sauce/Bechamel
Melt butter in a small saucepan
Add flour
Stir constantly for 2-3 minutes
While stirring, slowly add water
Cook until thickened (10-15 minutes)
Remove from heat
In a separate bowl, scramble eggs
Add 2-3 tbsp of the sauce to the eggs
Note: it is important to temper the eggs before adding them, otherwise they will cook immediately in the hot sauce
Add the eggs to the sauce and stir
Add salt

Assembly
In a greased 13×9x2 pan, layer these from the bottom, up:
1/3 of the eggplant
1/2 of the meat
1/3 of the eggplant
1/2 of the meat
1/3 of the eggplant
White Sauce/Bechamel

Bake at 350^oF for about 40 minute until top is light brown

Ima’s recipe!

* 1/3 c Pine Nuts
* Kosher Salt
* 8 oz Bow Tie Pasta
* 14 Medium Spears of Asparagus, cut into 1.5″ pieces
* 1TBSP Olive Oil
* 4 Large Cloves Garlic, Minced
* 1/3 c Grated Parmesan Cheese (preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano)
* 2 oz (1/3 c) Garlic and Fine Herb Boursin Cheese
* 1TBSP Chopped Fresh Dill
* 3/4Tsp Lemon Pepper, plus more as needed
* (OPTIONAL GARNISH) Fresh, Flat Leaf Parsley

Put the pine nuts in a dry small skillet over medium heat. Shake constantly until evenly toasted on all sides, about 4 minutes. Set aside.

Fill a large saucepan 3/4 full of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and add kosher salt. (Add 1.5tsp kosher salt per quart of water). Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until barely tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the asparagus to the pan and cook until tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the pasta and asparagus, reserving 3/4c of the cooking water.

Set the pan over medium heat and heat the olive oil. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant and lightly brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Return the pasta and asparagus to the pan then add the reserved cooking water. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, Boursin cheese, dill, and the 3/4tsp of lemon pepper and toss to combine. Stir in the pine nuts. Season with kosher salt to taste and more lemon pepper if necessary.

Divide the pasta between bowls and garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. Serve immediately or chill and serve. (I like to serve it cold but it is entirely up to you.)

From Adrienne

This recipe has one rule: how much ever you want. In other words, use as much or as little of each ingredient as you see fit.

onion(s)
chicken or meat
dried kidney beans
potatoes
garlic
barely (optional)
spices

Use a deep pot.
Caramelize onion(s).
Add meat and fry.
Add everything else.
Add water so everything is covered.
Simmer over night.

From Savta Sonya

- black beans
- onion
- poblano pepper

Make black beans as usual, but add several opened red chili peppers for the last hour or two of cooking.

If you buy your beans in cans, that’s fine, but go for the spicy ones.

Roast poblano pepper, either over an open flame or in the oven. It can also be sauteed, but it’s mejor if you roast it. When it’s cool enough to handle, chop into bite size pieces.

Chop onion and saute.

In sauce pan, combine black beans with some water (cooking water or water from the can is fine). If you used red peppers, pick those out. Add in poblano pepper and sauteed onion. Cook for 20 minutes, just so flavors can blend.

Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. Serve instead of traditional salsa.

Variation: Blend and serve warm for a tasty soup!

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
4 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cup warm milk
4 tbsp butter
1 egg

Mix everything and make pancakes

For a Nizan family twist, add any combination of the following:
blueberries
raspberries
coconut
pecans
bananas
chocolate chips

From Cheli Zohar

Stuffing:
- 1 cup rice
- 1 tsp salt
- oil
- onion
- 1 lb ground beef

Sauce:
- 16 oz tomato sauce
- garlic
- onion
- oregano
- other spices optional
- salt + pepper
- water

Cook rice, salt and oil in 2 cups water for 10 minutes, uncovered. Rinse in cold water to stop cooking.

In the meantime, saute onion. Add ground beef and brown.

Combine the rice and the ground beef mixture and season as necessary.

Start making the sauce:
Saute onions and garlic. Add tomato sauce, 8oz of water and seasonings in a saucepan so flavors can blend.

Carefully unwrap grape leaves. Make sure they do not have tears or holes. (Hint: use broken grape leaves to patch others.) Place a small mound in the center of the grape leaf, fold over the top, make sure it is tight, fold in the sides and roll towards the bottom. Do that until you run out of stuffing.

Generously oil a large, deep skillet. Arrange grape leaves closely in the pan.

Cover with sauce.

Cook on the stove over low heat for 1 1/2 hours