Feeding my Cold

Stock or Broth:
6 lbs chicken(thighs, backs, wings, you decide)
half head garlic (unpeeled)
1 lg onion, peeled, cut into fourths
6-8 celery stalks, cut into fourths + leaves
salt to taste
1 bunch parsley
Put chicken parts in stockpot and add water to cover, bring to a simmer, skimming all the while. When scum ceases add remaining ingredients. Bring back to a simmer. Leave partially covered. Simmer for 2-3 hours. Strain broth through washed cheese cloth, discard all other ingredients( remove whatever chicken meat you can from the bones and reserve for the soup). Put broth in refrigerator after cooled and let broth harden on the top. Remove fat from top and discard. Reserve broth for soup.
Soup:
2+ quarts broth
2 celery stalks thinly sliced
2 large carrots thinly sliced
2 bunches green onions thinly sliced
simmer until vegetables are tender and flavorful
add 2 cups cooked chicken (bite sized pieces) and continue simmering until chicken is warmed

To make this a heartier soup add some pasta (no more than a cup), I really like using D’italini (little tubes)

Sfingi (little italian doughnuts)

It was my great aunt Mimi who introduced me to my first "Sfingi"and it was love at first bite. Making them together on a Saturday night was a special time for both of us. I would mix and Mimi would drop them in the oil. Mimi would set out three little bowls to be filled for dipping. One bowl had honey, the other powdered sugar and the last one had cinnamon sugar.

Mimi would make herself a cup of coffee and I would get a mug of hot chocolate. We'd put the Sfingi in the middle of the kitchen table along with the three dipping bowls. There the two of us sat laughing and eating those crispy sweet steamy little doughnuts. It's a great memory.

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 pound ricotta

1 1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1 Tablespoon vanilla
Oil for frying (canola or a light vegetable oil works best)

Beat eggs; add sugar, then ricotta, mix well. Sift dry ingredients together, then add gradually to egg mixture. Add vanilla. Batter is fairly thick. This makes at least 60 golf ball size fritters. In a 2 quart pot filled halfway with the oil set to medium heat, adjusting heat according to how fast they are cooking. Drop into hot oil by teaspoonfuls and fry until golden brown.
Drain on paper towel and roll in powdered sugar while they are hot or dip them in honey as you eat them. You may also use cinnamon sugar, use whatever you like. I know people that make flavored whip cream and just dunk (yum)! Serve while they are hot. They are delicious!

Cabbage and Bacon

My mother loved cabbage, we had it often. Her favorite and easiest way to prepare it was to "steam fry" the cabbage. All she did was put about a tablespoon of oil in the bottom of a deep pan. She'd add a half a cup of water, the chopped or shredded cabbage and some salt to taste.

Just set the burner to medium, leave the lid on half way and just let it steam fry for about an hour or so until all the natural sugars in the cabbage come out. It will be a nice light caramel brown. Just check occasionally to make sure all the water doesn't evaporate or it will burn. Just add water as necessary a little at a time.

That's it....it is so delicious and sweet, the perfect side dish.

But for something more hearty.......just say; "Chlopski"!

Chlopski is the Polish word for peasant, and literally translated this dish is called "Peasants Meal".

1 medium green cabbage, coarsely chopped
6 slices fatty bacon, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large leek, chopped
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lb. Polish sausage cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 teaspoons salt and pepper

Cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, reserving drippings in skillet. Crumble bacon, and set aside. Add all other ingredients except sausage to dripping; cover and cook 10 minutes over medium heat, turning cabbage once. Add sausage; cover and cook 5 minutes or until sausage is heated. Transfer to serving dish with a slotted spoon; sprinkle with bacon.

Makes 4 servings. (some boiled white potatoes are perfect served as a side dish)

Uncle Gary's Everything but the Kitchen Sink Sandwiches

My Uncle was known for his sandwiches. Especially the ones he would make after a holiday meal. Whatever we had for thanksgiving dinner and I mean everything;” turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy”. Plus the additional extras that he could find in the fridge; “cold cuts, cheese, onions, hot peppers, mayo, mustard, even tuna salad if there was some,” all nestled strategically between some crusty Italian bread. You needed an engineering degree just to navigate getting this masterpiece into your mouth.
The whole family would be grimacing in disgust at the combination of things in this sandwich. Most insisting that the combinations would taste awful somehow. My Uncle offered a taste to everyone, almost all quickly declined. It was my Mother and I who had the courage and the curiosity to taste this monstrosity of flavors coexisting on italian bread. The hardest part was trying to take a bite and get as many of the fillings at once in our mouth without everything sliding out the other side.
But I have to say, both my mother and I were pleasantly surprised. It tasted quite good. We actually went in for seconds, which I’m sure made my Uncle Gary’s head swell with pride, especially after enduring all those negative comments from the family.
Now my Uncle was free to eat his sandwich with the pride and gusto in which it was made.

Fried Cardoon

What's a Cardoon?

A member of the thistle family. When these thick, silvery stalks are cooked, their flavor is a cross between an artichoke, celery and salsify. A popular Italian vegetable. Resembles a bunch of wide, flat celery.

1 bunch cardoon
2-3 eggs
1 cup italian style bread crumbs(with romano,basil,parsley and garlic) better to season your own crumbs the pre-seasoned crumbs are usually pretty tasteless.
1/2 cup vegetable oil(add more as needed when frying)
2 tbs. milk
salt

Remove leaves and strings from cardoon stalks. Cut into 3 inches pieces. In a large pot, boil the cardoon with about a teaspoon of salt until tender(about 30- 45 minutes). Drain in colander. In a bowl beat eggs, milk and a pinch of salt. In another bowl put the bread crumbs. Dip cardoon in egg and bread crumbs. In a frying pan add vegetable oil, and heat oil on medium. Put breaded cardoon in pan and fry till golden. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Eat them hot, cold or room temperature. Serve them as an appetizer, side dish or just a snack.
They can be addictive.

After all that eating we've been doing, how about a nice classic soda to wash it all down

Let's head on over to; "The Soda Pop Stop"

This place has a huge variety to suit every taste. They even have a Kosher selection. For those of you "Peppers" out there who have noticed that your DrPepper just doesn't taste quite the same as you remember....... they have the original formula version of DrPepper.

Whatever your thirst needs are, you'll quench them here.

For the Birds......

My grandmother always tells this funny little story about one of her first attempts at cake baking...

It was early in her marriage to my grandfather, who loved to eat. One of the things he enjoyed as a treat was chocolate cake. Now, my grandmother who was a very good cook thought how hard could this be. She found a recipe for a chocolate cake from a magazine that looked not only good but easy to make. One of the ingredients that the recipe called for was one square of baking chocolate. My grandmother looked at the whole bar and decided that it was one whole square and proceeded to melt it down and stir it into the cake batter. The batter looked smooth and silky as she poured it into the cake pans. It smelled even more delicious as it was baking. Once out of the oven, cooled, layered and iced it was gorgeous. My grandfather couldn't wait for the first slice. My grandmother with great love and pride put a nice big slice on a plate. My grandfather took a big bite.......and his mouth puckered like he had just eaten a lemon. She felt bad, he felt bad. She just couldn't figure out what had gone wrong. When telling my Aunt everything she put in the cake my Aunt just laughed. She said; "Caroline 1 tiny square from the bar, not the whole bar"! They had a good laugh, my Aunt said give the cake to the birds. So my grandmother put the cake outside for the birds, which the birds wouldn't eat either.......

and we've been laughing ever since.