Kosher Dosher...“I am a culinary Heretic"

LOWER EAST SIDE NYC LATE 1800'S The picture to the left is from the  Lower East Side of NYC . This is where my family settled in after they arrived from Eastern Europe and Sicily. Between 1880 and 1920, roughly 2 million Jewish people immigrated to the US from Eastern Europe and Russia. Suddenly, the foods of a people dispersed for nearly 2000 years (plus 400 in the desert) came together in one corner of Manhattan and started cooking and sharing their unique recipes. Jewish food is eclectic and unique, depending on your family and traditions. It's not just bagels and lox.   My Dad and Sister April 65, I was 4 months old. My Mom April 65 My love affair with food started when I was just a young boy growing up in Brooklyn, NY. Both my parents are Jewish, and with that, each group had its own traditions, which meant for me being open to many kinds of food. Growing up in the melting pot of NYC is a great way to l...

Lamb Prosciutto using   Umai Charcuterie                                                                            When you think about Prosciutto first thing I think of is Treif .  But having thought about this for some time why can't I make Prosciutto from Lamb.  Some Charcuterie experts have already done it thank goodness.  I searched all over the net and have consulted many books on charcuterie and came across several great blogs.  I am using the expertise and recipe from Cured meats  to make this Prosciutto Gamba Agnello.  I purchased the leg of lamb from Costco.    This is the outside of the leg and looks pretty good.  Not much fat means very little trimming.  This is the inside th...

You see that gorgeous picture above? Beautiful  Chanterelle  and  Lobster mushrooms  that were given to me by a dear friend who picked them the day before in the state park.  You cannot get them any fresher than that. It was only fitting to make something special.  Why not a Bolognese sauce infused with the mushrooms, a freshly ground flatiron steak for flavor and some simple but delectable flavors that would not over power the made of honor notably the mushrooms.      When I cook it's extremely rare that I make the same dish twice because I never write anything down.  Writing down recipes is boring and time consuming. I would rather spend my time just whipping things up and going by taste and looks.  Cooking for me is exciting because I never know how its going to turn out.  Well that is not exactly true because I know its going to be great.   My motto is simple, great fresh ingredients produces great food....

Brasaloa using  UMAI Charcuterie Bags This is my first attempt at making Bresaloa. What is Bresaloa? B resaola  or  brisaola  is  air-dried , salted  beef  that has been aged two or three months until it becomes hard and turns a dark red, almost purple colour. It is made from  top (inside) round , and is lean and tender, with a sweet, musty smell. It originated in  Valtellina , a valley in the  Alps  of northern  Italy 's  Lombardy  region. The traditional way of making a Bresaola is noted below.   A strict trimming process as seen below is essential to the rich taste. Legs of beef are thoroughly defatted and seasoned with a dry rub of coarse  salt  and  spices , such as  juniper berries ,  cinnamon  and  nutmeg . They are then left to cure for a few days. A drying period of between one and three months follows, depending on the weight of the particular bresaola. The m...

My love of bacon has taken me in many different culinary directions.  See  Heavenly Bacon First of all I do not eat pork or as  we tribesmen say  Treif .   What do we do then? We find an alternative or we make our own. I have eaten lots of Turkey Bacon which in my opinion is a poor substitute if you ask me.    I have eaten great Beef bacon but it's not available everywhere and somewhat expensive. I have see kosher beef bacon as high as 7 bucks for 4 oz. What is a Jew to do? Hey lets make our own beef bacon. This of course requires lots of research. Last thing you want to do is kill someone because you improperly   cured your meat. If you do not cure the the meat properly you risk creating the   Botulism  toxin.  If you hot smoke   the bacon which I do not recommend (to much fat rendering) than curing is unnecessary but my incredible bacon is  cold smoked . ...

      BIGNYJEW     Makes 12-20 depending on muffin pan size 2 3/4 cup Rice flour brown or white 1 1/2 cups cups sugar 2 3/4  cups corn meal course or refined 3 TBL Baking powder 2 Tsp salt 5 cobs of corn , barbecued and all Kernels removed, about 1 lb of corn kernels 1 pint whipping cream 1 cup coconut milk 5 large eggs 2/3 cup veg oil               8 TBL Melted butter                                  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line muffins tins.   Note: I use Jumbo muffin tins and only get 12 muffins.   Bake   20-35 minutes depending on size of tin and wooden toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.   Don't trust times,   tins and ovens are all different.   Mix all dry ingredients in separate very l...

DOSHER HOME CORN BREAD MUFFINS BIGNYJEW Makes 12-20 depending on muffin pan size 1 1/2 cups All purpose flour 1 cup Rice flour brown or white 1 1/3 cups cups sugar plus 2 TBL 1 1/2 cups corn meal 2 TBL + 1/2 tsp Baking powder 1 tsp Salt 1 can of corn 15.25 oz ( no salt) 3/4 cup of whipping cream 1 cup coconut milk 5 large eggs 2/3 cup veg oil 6 TBL Melted butter Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line muffins tins.  Note: I use Jumbo muffin tins and only get 12 muffins.  Bake  20-28 minutes depending on size of tin and wooden toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean.  Don't trust times,  tins and ovens are all different.  Mix all dry ingredients in separate very large bowl.  Pur é e corn and whipping cream together.   Combine all wet ingredients in separate bowl and thoroughly combine.  Now combine wet ingredients with dry ones and mix well....