Playing With Leftovers to Make Breakfast

Bob and I recently catered a dinner for 150 people in Cincinnati Ohio. This followed up on our end-of-September romp with Surreal food at the Cleveland gathering. Complete report and photos of Cleveland food. As I noted in my post describing that dinner, after service, most of the leftovers were thrown out, which is required by safety rules. Bob and I cooled and took some of the leftovers home, however, since that would not put anyone else at risk!

One item that came home with us was the rolled, stuffed bread Bob had made. He made 4 meat and 2 cheese varieties, and they were very well received:



I stuck with the two cheese breads - Cheddar Cheese (which I've been eating for breakfast at the office) and Mozzarella with Garden Tomato.

This past weekend, I was inspired by a dish my mother used to make for my father when I was a kid. She'd have gladly made it for all of us, but since it contained - horrors - chopped liver, she never got any takers other than Dad. Basically, it was a savory French Toast - two slices of bread drenched in beaten egg, then slathered on one side each with chopped liver, then put together like a sandwich and fried in Onion Nyafat.

The fabulous smell of the sandwich frying would fill the house and make us all hungry enough to try it - but we kids never liked it (that liver thing, I guess), and we went "yuck" after the smallest taste. After a few times, we realized that no matter how good it smelled - we hated the liver flavor of this dish!

As an aside, I consider Onion Nyafat a crucial part of any Jewish cook's pantry, even though it is fast disappearing.




We never had "neutral" Nyafat in my house - what would be the point? Onion Nyafat is sort like Kosher Lard - it lends taste and texture to anything fried in it. Nyafat is an essential ingredient to proper Matzoh Brei, for example. I used to use Nyafat to fry fried rice, before I learned to love pork fat. Moreover, when I was kid, Nyafat came in a pint sized jar. As time has passed, the jar has shrunk - first to 12 ounces, now, as you can see, to a a measly 10.5 ounces. And it is darn hard to find these days. I hope it doesn't disappear entirely in the current anti-hydrogenated fat mania. However, I digress.

Saturday morning I decided to try a savory French Toast (inspired by Mom's liver sandwich) using Bob's leftover Mozzerella Tomato Bread. I soaked several pieces of the bread in beaten egg, to which I had added salt, pepper, Hot New Mexican powder, and a pinch of the fabulous dried Oregano I got from Heather's Heat & Flavor, which adds an intense "garden-ness" to anything it is added to. I fried the slices in Onion Nyafat. I added a little butter at the table to any parts of the dish that were a little dry.

The slices came out looking like this:






Positively yummy. Nothing like playing with yesterday's leftovers to make tomorrow's breakfast food!

Fun Playing With Passover Food With Family

And so we come to the reason for the trip east in the first place - preparing Seder delectibles to share with my family! My nephew came home from school and the game was on.

First order of business for Saturday: a 20 quart pot of chicken soup. 

While the soup bubbled, and before starting on the Gefilte Fish, we paused for an amazing lunch treat. My parents have new neighbors in the house behind theirs. The neighbors have chickens, which are allowed to free range all over their properties. This morning, the doorbell rang and we were presented with a half-dozen just-collected eggs by the two adorable children of the neighbors, with a delightful hand drawn card that made Mom's day. Those eggs did not last long:

Soft Boiled Fresh Egg

On Sunday, we turned our attention to the brisket, matzoh balls, and hard boiled eggs. Cleveland's own Mister Brisket provided the beef:

Here, the meat has cooked a bit over half way, and we sliced it then chilled it, to finish cooking before the first Seder. This is the first cut or flat. I also brought some of the deckle, or point, just to be sure we'd have enough (we had plenty, so I brought that back home with me).

Here's a look at the finished matzoh ball in soup; I took this after I got back to Cleveland:

And finally, the eggs. Yoda, um, Mom took charge of those; even she marveled at how hard it is to peel farm fresh eggs even if you cook them perfectly (Mom's Passover claim to fame was hard cooking and peeling over 500 eggs at a time for the Hebrew School Model Seders when I was kid):

And so, it was time for the first Seder in my parents' house in . . . I don't know how many years.

Mom, Justin, Andrea, Jeff, Stan, Daniel, Bob

The only family member missing is my sister Chaya. She couldn't make it up from Florida. But it was great to see my two nephews!

Seder Plate

Charosis

Dad made the salad

Baked Cauliflower with Scape Pesto (no cheese)

Unfortunately, here is where I got too busy serving to take pictures.

Potato Kugel

This leftovers photo came after I got home; I never did take a picture of the Farfel Pudding, which is one of my Passover staples. Because I couldn't get apricots at the two stores I looked in (who knew apricots in natural juice were so rare?) I used a can of mango instead - and liked it a lot better; mango and coconut oil (in place of margarine) will now be de rigueur in my Farfel Pudding.

We enjoyed two holiday breakfasts with my parents before we left. First, Dad made Matzoh Brei; note the coconut oil taking the place of the traditional onion Nyafat that is no longer made.

Perhaps Bain Capital, who's Sankaty Advisors Unit just bought Manischewitz (which had bought up Rokeach, maker of Nyafat, several years ago), will bring Nyafat back. Who needs Nyafat? I sweated some onions in the coconut oil to simulate the Nyafat, and it wasn't a bad knock off.

At Dad's request, I scooped the onion pieces before out of the pan before he put the raw food into the fat, and then served them on the side. Delicious!

For our last meal Wednesday morning, Dad asked me to make Matzoh Pancakes. We served these with berry jam and strawberries, neither of which wound up in the photos.

Matzoh Meal Pancakes

And then we left.

Fun Playing With Food and Family - I could not ask for anything more. Wishing you the best of this spring and holiday season!

More Fun Playing with Breakfast Food

What a difference quality eggs make! This post shows three recent breakfasts, all made with Kathy Breychak's incredible Blue Eggs.

Saturday June 14, I awoke to realize that we did not have a scrap of bread in the house. And I was hankering for some Blue Eggs for breakfast. So, how to make them? Matzoh Brei!

Of course, the only proper medium for frying Matzoh Brei is Onion Nyafat.



Soak matzoh in warm water, lightly beat eggs with salt and pepper and add to drained matzoh, let soak for as long as you can wait, then fry in hot Nyafat. Add salt after frying, and serve with a big glass of ice cold Organic milk or make an Egg Cream (I did, but didn't get a photo of it).



This Matzoh Brei is "pancake" style rather than "scrambled. I think it gets crispier when you let it sit rather than tossing it around incessantly. But there are times I scramble it.










Yum.

This past weekend, Bob and I enjoyed a number of treats from Cleveland's resident meat maven - Mister Brisket. On Friday, I learned that Mister B had scored some fresh Copper River King Salmon. And at a reasonable price, too (last week, it was well over $30 a pound, this week, it was well under $30).

And of course, once I trundled down to the store (2156 South Taylor Road, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118), I had to get some other goodies from them. So - I loaded up a half pound each of pastrami (best in Cleveland and maybe the world), corned beef, and turkey breast and a package of casing hotdogs.

Saturday morning - Pastrami & Eggs. Knowing how I intended to use it, Mister Brisket sliced the pastrami into thick slices. Add Blue Eggs and a hot pan and . . . magic!


Four Blue Eggs


Pastrami begins to render over a low flame




Now? Not yet.


Now? Yupper!


Lightly Beaten Eggs Poured Over the Meat

And, after a perfect flip:









We served it with Challah and Ghee (and yes, a little ketchup for me).

Sunday, it was the corned beef's turn:




Four Eggs to Start, Again



The Corned Beef was more thinly sliced, and didn't render as much fat as the pastrami had.







Another perfect breakfast. Thanks to Kathy Breychak and the gang at Mister Brisket for providing the ingredients for me to play with!

Fun Playing With West Side Market Goodness

I'm not much of a book reviewer, but I am in love with Cleveland’s West Side Market, 100 Years & Still Cooking: The Fascinating Life and Times of an American Public Market by Laura Taxel and Marilou Suszko. The book is physically gorgeous, but the content concerning the life and times of the Market is the true must-have for anyone who has ever enjoyed an expedition to the WSM.

It took a little while to read, because there is a lot in there! Bob read it next, and enjoyed it as much as I. I recommend this book on so many levels; it is loaded with skillfully presented history, stories and gossip, and photographs old and new. But it is more than that. The authors really succeed in bringing the WSM alive on the page. I feel like I now  have a whole new relationship with the WSM, even though I've been a fan since moving to Cleveland in the mid-1990s. 

When Bob and I first dated long distance, he introduced me to the WSM; Ohio City was a regular stop for us after the airport. We later married and lived in Maple Heights, then moved further out into the suburbs. As the years went by, and we started buying much of our meat from local farmers, the WSM dropped off of our radar completely. 

By April 2010, when I won a Facebook contest sponsored by Ohio City Pasta, it had been about two years since we'd ventured to the WSM. The catch to winning this contest was that I had to collect my prize (free pasta and sauce) once a month every month for a year - at the WSM. I wrote a series of blog posts chronicling that adventure, and how the monthly journeys to Ohio City re-awakened our passion for the place.  

We returned to the WSM for the first time after reading the West Side Market book on the Friday before Easter (March 29), and it was packed under the glistening, recently scrubbed ceiling tiles! We browsed the vendors with an entirely new perspective on who they were, where they came from, and what they offered, thanks to Laura and Marilou's book. It was still pretty cold outside when we sat to eat, so I didn't snap any photos of either of our Maha's falafels, but they were hot, crispy, succulent and delicious.

WSM Haul, 3/29/13

From left to right: Basketeria Green beans (in the paper bag), parsley, red bell peppers, grape tomatoes (not pictured - organic Spanish onions), Slovenian Sausage from Edward Badstuber & Son. Behind it, sashimi grade tuna from Kate's Fish (tilefish filets not pictured). Behind that, Hominy Grits from Narrin's Asian Spice. Next to the Grits, Nicoise Olives marinated in Olive Oil and Thyme from Rita's. The thick sausage to the right is Beef Kielbasa, accompanied by smokies, from J & J Czuchraj Meats. Finally, Urban Herbs's coriander sits under a bag of their black barley.

Sashimi Grade Tuna from Kate's Fish
Photo Courtesy Edsel Little  

This was the first time I ever worked with raw fish, as 99% of the fish sold at retail in Cleveland shouldn't be eaten raw. Kate is the only fishmonger I trust, and my trust was well placed here. Buttah.

Mediterranean Deviled Eggs
Photo Courtesy Edsel Little

We made this for a Supper Club on a Spanish theme. Brunty Farms eggs (from Solon Mustard Seed), olives from Rita's, red peppers, onions and grape tomatoes from Basketeria, and that exquisite tuna!

WSM Dinner!

Beef Kielbasa from  J & J Czuchraj Meats carmelized in a cast iron pan, Basketeria's green beans and peppers sauteed in the drippings - delicious!

Slovenian Sausage

The next day, some of the Badstuber Slovenians got the same treatment!

These potatoes were also fried in the sausage grease.

Homemade garden horseradish really enhanced the tender sausage.

 J & J Czuchraj Smokies!

I still have some Nyafat (Rokeach discontinued it years ago); it it used only for making Matzoh Brei. This version wasn't very kosher, with the bits of chopped smokies in it. But it was delicious!

I discovered that black barley isn't as ubiquitous as I'd expected, but we've enjoyed one meal using it in a pilaf-style dish with veggies (and duck fat - oh, yes). If you have any great recipes for it, please post in the comments!

Urban Herbs's Black Barley made Pilaf Style with Wild Rice, Med Grain Rice & Duck Fat

This morning, we dug into the hominy grits from Narrin's Spice.

This is a dish we've grown to love, from The Chew's Carla Hall:

Eggs in Heaven

The grits are prepared with Snowville Creamery Milk, Hartzler Butter and Beecher's Flagship Cheese, then placed in the cast iron skillet. Local eggs are then cracked in, the skillet goes in the oven. A sprinkling of Basketeria parsley completes a fun playing with food breakfast!

What a great haul of food and WSM goodness! Served up with a side of history, storytelling, photography and more.

Cleveland’s West Side Market, 100 Years & Still Cooking: The Fascinating Life and Times of an American Public Market by Laura Taxel and Marilou Suszko starts as a beautiful "coffee table" book. But beneath that pretty face is delicious content that will enhance your relationship with the WSM if you have one, and will otherwise start that relationship if you don't. If you order the book from The WSM Shop, you'll get free shipping of the book and a portion of the purchase price is donated to the Market Centennial Fund. However you acquire it, though, Cleveland’s West Side Market, 100 Years & Still Cooking is a must have for any Clevelander who cares about their food!

Note - my review copy of the book was complimentary, but my opinions remain my own.