JOE'S BISCOTTI RECIPE

The JBR Cookbook is complete! And it's on its way around the country to the contributors. Enjoy!

2010-03-19T14:31:00.000-07:00

Additional copies are available for $10 (shipping included). Just email me: acurrerib@gmail.com

2010-01-26T16:32:00.000-08:00

THE BABA OF ALL BABAS
From Bessma Khalaf (San Francisco, CA)

Make it!

2 eggplants
3 tablespoons yogurt
3 tablespoons tahini
1 or 2 cloves crushed garlic
half of a lemon
salt to taste
a dash of olive oil

pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
poke a few holes in the eggplants
place on a baking sheet and bake till wrinkly and liquefied on the inside
scoop out the insides of the eggplant and place in a bowl
mix in the yoghurt, tahini and garlic.
Mix with a fork to incorporate all the flavors add salt and lemon to taste.
Finish of with a dash of olive oil.
Garnish with pomegranate seeds if you are feeling fancy.

2010-01-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

PEGGY'S ORANGE CRANBERRY RELISH
From Park McArthur

I'd like to give a little introduction if that's okay. I'm including two recipes for two grandmothers, so, here it goes:

The following two recipes are examples of food's intimate connection to memory. Each is courtesy of a grandmother--one who I did not meet and one who I've been able to love each day of my life. Peggy Herman, my mom's mother died many years before I was born and my mom makes sure this relish is a permanent fixture at our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner tables. This dish, in combination with photographs and the occasional story, help me remember someone I never knew. Nancy Herman, my mom's stepmother and my grandmother extraordinaire, introduced me to (among many things) the bent paperclip as a handy cherry pitter. Her pie recipe is a sweet and tangy legend.

Peggy's Orange Cranberry Relish

1 bag of fresh cranberries (4 cups)
2 fresh organic oranges
1 cup of sugar (or to taste if you like it a bit sweeter)
1/2 cup unsalted roasted pecans or walnuts (whichever you prefer)

Halve the oranges, taking their seeds out but leaving the peel on. In a food processor or blender add cranberries, oranges, sugar, and nuts. Pulse-mix until well blended, leaving small gravel-sized pieces of fruit and nuts for a nice texture. Served chilled or at room temperature. Makes 1 quart of relish.

*********************************************************************

NANCY'S DE-LUXE CHERRY PIE
From Park McArthur
(From the baker herself: my recipe is really a work in progress because I'm working on improving it and we haven't had cherries for two years now, but here goes...Enjoy!)

Filling:
4 cups sour cherries, at least (ours are Mount Morency)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1/8 t. salt
1/4 t. almond extract
3/4 cup cherry liquid

Flaky Pie Crust Recipe - from Better Housekeeping Cookbook, 1955 edition:

2 1/4 cup sifted flour
1 t. salt
3/4 cup Crisco
5 T. ice cold water

For filling: mix 3/4 cup sugar with cherries and let sit for awhile until some liquid forms, hopefully 3/4 cups of liquid. Mix corn starch and remaining 1/4 cup sugar and salt. Gently heat liquid and stir in cornstarch/sugar/salt mixture, also gently to blend well. Stir until thickened. Remove from heat.

Start heating oven to 400 degrees.

For crust: mix flour and salt. With pastry blender, add Crisco and cut until you have a bowlful of coarse sized mix...Sprinkle tablespoons of ice cold water over all and mix with fork or fingers until dough holds together. Handle as briefly as possible. Divide into two balls (or more if you want to "stretch" the dough further).

Cut two sheets of waxed paper and get out the rolling pin. Flatten the first ball into a disc and roll between the waxed paper sheets. Do not overdo, but roll until quite thin. ( I can even make two pie crusts, one 9" and one smaller from each of the balls, if I want to cut down on calories. )

Pull the top paper off of the dough, slowly, and turn the dough into the pie pan, holding the paper underneath. Center the dough on the pan and gently remove the remaining waxed paper. Press the dough slightly to the sides of the pan. Cut the extra dough from the pie plate edge with a butter knife, going around the edge with the knife to remove the dough that overhangs the pan. You might use the leftover pieces to make some shapes to decorate the top of the pie.

Roll out the top crust, using the same pieces of waxed paper again. Make some cut out shapes into the top crust. Use knife to make your own decorations or use small cookie or canape cutters. This allows steam to escape, and also makes a decorative pie.

Add cherries and prepare to add to unbaked pie crust (below). Top with a little butter scattered around (about 1 T or less). Add top crust, centering it on the pie. Then crimp the edges together, using fingers or fork.

If you want to make a glaze on the top, here is an option. Brush with slightly beaten egg white, cream, or melted butter and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Put in the 400 degree oven for 10 minutes, reducing heat to 350 for 45 more minutes. Keep an eye on browning of edges near the end. You may need to cover the edges with foil to keep it from getting too brown.

Serve with whipped cream! Hopefully the interior of the pie will stick together but not be too sticky! It may take some trial and error to manage the most suitable texture!

2010-01-13T08:32:00.001-08:00

ROSIE'S ZUCCHINI BREAD
From Janice Archuleta (Pacific Grove, CA)

When I was in 5th grade my family moved into a house on a ¼ acre. With this move started the existence of a family garden that is grown to this day. My mother freezes bags of grated zucchini in 2 cup increments so she may easily thaw them out and make this delicious bread that is very synonymous with my childhood….

3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. oil
2 c. sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. grated zucchini
½ c. chopped walnuts
½ c. fresh raisins

Sift first five dry ingredients together and set aside.
Cream oil and sugar, beat in eggs one at a time, and add vanilla.
Gradually add dry ingredients to wet mixture and mix until smooth.
Add the zucchini, walnuts, and raisins to smooth mix.
Pour mix into 2 greased standard loaf pans. Bake @ 350 for 1 hour
Yield: 2 lovely loaves, enjoy!

2010-01-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

LUIS FERNANDO ROLDAN'S GREEN SALSA
From Jeronimo Roldan (San Francisco, CA)

This is my Dad's variation on a Colombian salsa commonly served with steak and/or potatoes. It's also really good in soups or with chips. I always like to tell the story of our Milwaukee PBS station dispatching their arts+culture reporters to interview him. He kept them in the kitchen for most of the interview telling them about how he had a plan to sell jars of this salsa. Today he convenes with his crew in Milwaukee every couple of years to make a batch.

1 Bunch of Cilantro
1 Bunch of Scallions
1 Medium White Onion
20 Serrano Peppers
1 Lime
1/2(+) Cup Extra Virgin Olive OIl
A Dash of Rice or Apple Cider Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Remove and dispose of stems from cilantro. Chop off white bases from scallions. Finely chop cilantro leaves and green part of scallions, set aside.

In a blender mix the serrano peppers and juice of the lime and vinegar with the white bases of the scallions.
When finely blended into a paste, combine in a separate bowl with chopped cilantro and scallions, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Dice the white onion (1/4" pieces), mix into salsa. Put into mason jars, the salsa gets really nice with a week or two of aging.

*Play around with quantities of ingredients and adjust to your taste; some like it more spicy, some like it more sour.

2009-12-28T11:27:00.000-08:00

PECAN BALLS
From Vige Millington (Brooklyn, NY)

I'm at home with my mom and I thought I'd send you the cookie recipe we always make together. Here it is!

2 cups butter
1/2 cup sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups finely chopped pecans
4 cups cake flour
Confectioner's sugar

Cream butter. Blend in sugar, vanilla, pecans, and flour. Chill for 2 hours. Form into small balls; place on greased cookie sheet. Bake 25 minuts in slow oven (300-325 degrees). When cool, roll in confectioner's sugar.

2009-12-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

HELEN'S RUM PIE
From Jeri McMahon (Arlington, VA) and Matt McMahon (Brooklyn, NY)

6 egg yolks
7/8 c. sugar
1 pkg. plain gelatin
1/2 c. cold water
2 c. heavy cream
2 tsp. vanilla
6 Tbs rum

Beat yolks and sugar until fine in texture; set aside. Dissolve gelatin with water in saucepan. Bring gelatin mixture to boil for three seconds. Slowly pour gelatin mixture over yolk and sugar mixture and lightly blend.

Whip heavy cream to soft peaks (Add vanilla while whipping). Fold whipped cream into egg mixture in three parts. Add rum. Pour into pie crust and chill til set. Makes two small pies or one big pie.

2009-12-23T14:41:00.000-08:00

CACIOLA
From Suzanne Johnston (Orlando, FL)

This is one of my favorite recipes from my mother.

1 lb. Chicken breast
 2 - 3 cloves of garlic
 salt and pepper 
olive oil 
1/2 c. to 1 c. parmesan or romano cheese 
3 - 4 eggs, scrambled.
 Lemon juice (about 1 whole lemon)  

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Heat oil in a fry pan and cook chicken with garlic, salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon or add lemon juice to chicken while cooking. Once chicken is done, add eggs and cook until eggs are done. Remove from heat and add cheese. Serve with salad and bread.

  Obviously, the measurements aren't precise, so alter at will. The ingredients may not sound great on paper, but it is outstanding cooked! The original recipe was with veal, but chicken is an easy substitute.

 Ciao!!!

2009-11-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

GLUGG RECIPE
From Cybele Lyle (San Francisco, CA)

When I was growing up, my parents used to drink Glugg around Christmas time in the evenings. They picked up the tradition when they lived in Copenhagen for a year around the time they got married. As kids, my brother and I only got to have a taste. It's a hot drink made with wine, vodka and various other things (as seen in the recipe). We had many traditions around Christmas, but for some reason I was always particularly attached to this one. After my dad died, I insisted every year on making Glugg with my mom to hold onto those memories and to the traditions of our family. We continue to make it pretty much every year, but somehow it's meaning for me is all about the past. It brings up some of my fondest memories of my family as a unit and it also taps into my romanticization of my parents life in Copenhagen… In looking at the recipe closer there are definitely some things we do differently... no simmering the wine, for example. And my mom also puts prunes in it... and maybe dried cranberries instead of raisins... anyway, this is pretty much it.

20 cardamon
25 cloves
2-3 sticks cinnamon
Peel of one orange in large pieces
2 bottles cl??*
2 bottles port
½ lb. blanched almonds
½ lb. seedless raisins (or dried cranberries)
1 pt. brandy

Put spices and orange peel in a cheesecloth bundle.
Simmer 15 minutes with 1 bottle of wine, almonds, raisins or other dried fruits. Add remaining wine, brandy, etc and heat.

*I can't figure out what the "cl" word is. From what I remember, it's actually 1 bottle of red wine, 1 bottle of port, 1 pt brandy and 1 pt vodka.

Instant Spiced Tea**
1 ¾ c. Tang
1 ¼ c. sugar
1 c. Inst tea
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
(Use 2 tsp. instant spiced tea mix per cup of liquid)

**The Instant Spiced Tea recipe is totally unrelated to the Glugg recipe.

2009-11-02T06:54:00.001-08:00

JENNIE'S WHISKEY CAKE RECIPE

From Lydia Curreri Biersteker

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix

1 pkg. (3 oz) Instant vanilla pudding

4 eggs

2 tblspoons sour cream

2/3 cups cooking oil

½ cup milk

1/3 cup whiskey**

Small pkg. chocolate chips

½ cup walnuts (chopped)

Optional Glaze (She never bothered with the glaze. Instead, she dusted cooled cake with confectioner’s sugar.)

1 cup sugar

½ cup melted butter

Put all of the ingredients together and beat for about 4 minutes and then add chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. Mix some flour with chocolate chips before adding to mixture. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes.

Remove from pan immediately after baking. Mix the glaze ingredients together and brush or pour over hot cake so it'll soak in. If you want, poke little holes on top with a toothpick so glaze can soak into cake.

**I think she added a smidge extra whiskey.

2009-10-20T19:05:00.001-07:00

NANA'S GRAVY & MEATBALLS
From Florence Johnston (Ft. Meyers, FL)

I have decided to mail you copies of Nana's meatballs and gravy. It has been a while since I made them but the memory of them cooking on Sunday morning still lingers. She would give me a taste of the mixture before she fried them. Raw. Everybody loved her meatballs. Even Chuck Spiegel gets a look on his face when we mention "aunties meatballs".
Also, note that her sauce was called Gravy.

GRAVY
1) Put oil in pan, enough to cover bottom.
2) Add small onion, cook till soft.
3) Add 2 cloves chopped garlic mix well.
4) Put in paste and can of water or wine.
5) Add one can of strained or pureed tomatoes (35 oz.).
6) Season with 3/4 tsp salt, pepper, 2 tsp. sugar, and pinch of basil and oregano
7) Add 1/4 can (from tomatoes) water and let simmer about 1 hour and then add another 1/4 can water.
8) Fry meatballs and add to sauce (plus fat from meatballs), add extra pork or meat (leftovers)
9) Cook another hour - simmer

MEATBALLS
1 1/2 lbs hamburger or 1 lb hamburg + 1/2 lb. pork
1/2 c. breadcrumbs (made from stale bread)
3 or 2 eggs
2 minced cloves garlic (add to crumbs or meat mixture)
A little water
Parsley
3/4 c. grated cheese
Salt & pepper
Mix and shape
Fry in oil

2009-10-08T12:40:00.001-07:00

GRANNY'S APPLE PIE RECIPE
From Laurel Voss (Brooklyn, NY)

I make a ton of pie, this recipe is modified by my mother and I am
writing it off the top of my head.

Piecrust:
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c vegetable oil
6 T water or milk

Stir together flour and salt.
Measure oil in 1 cup measure, add water or milk and do not stir.
Pour liquid into flour mixture and stir with folk until dough hold together.
Be careful not to overwork dough.
Separate dough into two balls and roll out each ball between two
pieces of wax paper.

Apple Pie
4-6 cups tart apples peeled, and cut into thin slices
1-2 Tbls lemon juice and/or 1-2 tsp lemon peel
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1-2 Tbls cinnamon
dash nutmeg
dash ginger
dash cloves or allspice
1-2 tabs of butter

Combine all ingredients.

To assemble:
Peel wax paper off of one side of one crust. Lay crust in pie pan and
peel off second layer of paper.
Pour filling into pie pan and dot with butter.

Peel wax paper off of second pie crust and cut small slits for ventilation.
cover pie with top crust and pinch sides
cover edges with foil

BAKE at 375 for 35 minutes
check pie and remove foil
Turn oven down to 350 and bake until golden brown and juices start
oozing out of the top

2009-10-08T10:55:00.000-07:00

BACHFLUME KUCHEN (Prune Cake)
From Pam Rodgers (Washington, DC)

So here is my recipe- it is my Grandmother's Bachflume Kuchen (Prune Cake). It was a recipe she knew from her mother in Germany. When we would stay with her she would make the cake at night and she would always let my sisters and I have the leftovers for Breakfast the next morning. This cake is what I have associated with not only my family roots but also with my Grandmother. She was a fairly rigid woman in many ways and yet she would always let us eat cake for breakfast. Every time I take a bite of this cake, I smile as I remember her.

3 eggs beaten 1 tsp nutmeg 1 cup prunes- cooked and diced
1 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup vegetable oil 1 tsp allspice
1tsp. salt 1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk 2 cups flour
1tsp baking soda 1 cup nuts

Mix eggs, oil, sugar, spices and flour alternately with buttermilk. Add nuts and prunes last. Bake in a prepared ( greased and floured) 9 x 13 baking dish

Frosting: 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 stick of butter, 1 TBL white corn syrup- Mix and boil all ingredients for 2 minutes.Stir until it quites bubbling and then pour over warm cake.

2009-10-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

NONI'S STUFFING
From Linda Curreri (Boston, MA) by way of Mary Murphy with help from Melissa Murphy

Mary had to send it to me because we used to have Thanksgiving with Bob and Mary so she was more involved with it than I was for a long time. Notice how the recipe changes from person to person? Melissa even added her Arizona touch to it. My mother and Aunt Jane used to argue over whether or not there were onions in it. Aunt Jane was very happy to see Uncle Charlie's recipe to know that someone put onions in it. With or without onions, I love it.

The beauty of Betty's stuffing is that it is not only good but you can add whatever and there never seemed to be any specific amounts. Betty did it all by how it looked. Whenever I asked her for the recipe, she never indicated that there was one.

Chopped celery
Sliced green olives (stuffed with pimentos)
Broken walnuts
Sliced fresh mushrooms
Bell's seasoning
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
Fresh bread and Pepperidge Farm's dry stuffing mix added after everything else
Cayenne pepper (Melissa's addition)

I can't tell you how much of each to add. It depends on how you want your stuffing. I am getting hungry thinking about the stuffing because it is my all time favorite recipe and I haven't had it for a while.

2009-10-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

CHARLIE'S STUFFING RECIPE
From Charlotte Janigian (MA)
(transcription)

Fry mushrooms in butter - brown flour
little onion - use 1/2 - brown
cup of celery
1/2 of 6oz pkg of walnuts
full jar of olives
can of Cream of Mushroom soup, not too moist
Pkg of Mother Bells
salt + pepper
or
little of Basil leaves, Paprika, margarine

325
Cover tinfoil - pat of butter
until last hour - take (foil) off

Baste it with water from gizzards that have been boiled
put a little butter in it

2009-10-02T13:12:00.000-07:00

CREAM BISCUITS
From Jack Miller (San Francisco, CA)

Here are tasty and easy to make biscuits (no yeast and almost no kneading--can do it with a spoon) that I have made perfectly on a Sunday morning in full hangover mode.

Makes Eight 2 1/2-Inch Biscuits

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons minced fresh herbs (optional)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (do not substitute half-and-half or milk!)

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and herbs in medium bowl. Add 1 1/4 cups cream and stir with wooden spoon until dough forms, about 30 seconds. Transfer dough from bowl to countertop, leaving all dry, floury bits behind in bowl. In 1 tablespoon increments, add up to 1/4 cup cream to dry bits in bowl, mixing with wooden spoon after each addition, until moistened. Add these moistened bits to rest of dough and knead by hand just until smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Shape the dough into a round, 3/4-inch thick; use a pie pan if you're not a sculptor.

Cut into wedges with knife, like 8 pieces of pie.

Place them parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking.

NOTES:

Bake the biscuits immediately after cutting them; letting them stand for any length of time can decrease the leavening power and thereby prevent the biscuits from rising properly in the oven.

They're better a touch underdone than overdone. If they're not melt in your mouth delicate and humid, they cooked too long.

Use the herb of your choice in this variation. Got none? They taste great with none, too.

Got no parchment? Use none. They won't stick to most baking sheets anyway.

2009-08-31T07:44:00.000-07:00

Joe's Biscotti Recipe is part of an exhibition, Brooklyn Utopias, which will run from October 2, 2009 - January 3, 2010 at the Brooklyn Historical Society.

Joe's Biscotti Recipe is offered as an active and dispersed monument to my father. Recipe cards with my father's prized biscotti recipe are available at the exhibition. He took great pride in cooking for his friends and family. It connected him to his Italian heritage and allowed him to express his love for those around him. This August 2009 marked the five year anniversary of my father's passing.

In addition to being an offering, I would like Joe's Biscotti Recipe to also act as a catalyst for the reciprocal exchange of meaningful recipes. If you have a recipe that connects you to people and/or places that are no longer with you physically, I'd love to host it on this site.

As the online collection of recipes grows, the site will serve to give form to the recipes and people that connect us to our social histories. Keeping these recipes and cultures alive today tactically ensures that they will be a part of our futures.

Email me your recipes, stories, photos, and scans and let me know if it is okay to post them: acurrerib@gmail.com. Visit the exhibition for actual recipe cards.

A print version of the online cookbook will be produced in January 2010 with the closing of the exhibition. All contributors will receive a copy.