Ah, one-pot meals! I love them. And I’ve been looking for some easy do-ahead meals, as well. So when I saw Anne Burrell make this chicken and cauliflower dish, I decided it was the perfect thing to make for dinner…It was delicious! The chicken had a strong flavor from all the coriander, the texture of the veggies was great due to the nuts I added, and it was so easy to get dinner on the table.

Coriander Chicken with Hammered Cauliflower, adapted from Anne Burrell:

Serves 4 (or two, with some shredded for a baby and leftovers to make chicken salad for lunch the next day).

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons coriander (I used ground, but you can use whole and grind them yourself).
• 4 bone-in skin-on chicken breasts
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 celery stalks, thinly sliced on the bias
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed and finely chopped
• 1 giant red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups vegetable broth (or chicken stock, but I had some veggie broth in the freezer, so used that)
• 1/2 bunch fresh chives, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Prep the cauliflower: Toss the florets into salted boiling water and cook for about 5 minutes, until soft but not mushy. Strain and reserve.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

3. Sprinkle the chicken generously with salt and ground coriander.

4. Coat a cast iron skillet with some oil and put over medium-high heat.

5. Brown the chicken on both sides and set aside on a plate.

6. Mix the cauliflower with the celery and onions and brown for about 5 minutes in the cast iron skillet (I did this in two batches)

7. Add cauliflower and veggies the a large roasting pan.

8. Combine the white wine, honey, vinegar, almonds, and bay leaves and cook in the skillet until aromatic, about 10 minutes.

8. Place the chicken on top, skin side up, and nestle it into the cauliflower.

9. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.

10. Serve and enjoy!

This was my first time making a rib roast! So, if you’re a newbie, I’m here to tell you that this isn’t a hard recipe, and you should definitely try it! Okay, so I know these things look intimidating, and you might just glance right by them at the butcher. OR, you might love them, but not want to risk wasting all that money on something that might come out kind of tough. Well, it’s not as hard as you think, and I even made mine without my handy thermometer! So try it.

I made my Facebook status about not having a meat thermometer, and was given a bunch of tips on how to tell how the meat is ready. Here they are for you!

And no, I don’t recommend stabbing yourself with a knife. Or poking holes in your roast if you’re having fancy company over. This served four for dinner with leftovers for lunch the next day for all of us. Mmmm…

Oh, and the original recipe called for shallots. I LOVE shallots. But the fruit stand on the corner didn’t have any. And they had onions. So I used those instead and just cut into big chunks. Try this while whole, halved, or quartered shallots and let me know how you like it. I bet it’ll be even more delicious.

Boneless Rib Roast with Onions in Red Wine Sauce, adapted from here:

Ingredients:

• 1 boneless rib roast, tied (mine was 4.5 pounds)
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 onions, peeled and cut into big chunks
• 6 cloves of garlic
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar or honey
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Pat roast dry and season with kosher salt and pepper.

2. Brown the roast either by placing in your roasting pan in the oven under the broiler for 10 minutes, rotating every few minutes so all the sides get browned – or – in a really large cast iron pan/dutch oven on high heat for about 4-5 minutes on each side. (I used the oven method, but really prefer doing this in cast iron)

3. Preheat the oven (or reduce the temperature) to 325 degrees.

4. Place roast in the pan and place the onions and garlic around it.

5. Place in oven and roast for about one hour (depending on the size of your roast), tossing the onions about halfway through, until the temperature reaches 130.

6. Remove from oven.

7. Transfer roast to plate and tent with foil.

8. If onions are not soft and browned, return to oven for another 15 minutes.

9. If onions are lightly browned, transfer to a bowl and add the balsamic vinegar, sugar, a pinch of salt, and pepper.

10.  In the roasting pan (or transfer the fat/drippings from the pan into a small pot) add the red wine and cook until syrupy (this took me about 5 minutes)

11. Add the water and cook over high heat until reduced to about half, about 10 minutes.

12. Strain liquid into bowl and whisk in the mustard.

13. Slice the roast and surround with the onions. Pour sauce over the roast and onions (reserving some for the side)

14. Serve and enjoy!

I decided I needed to make my own beef stock! Not because I had any particular recipe to make with it, but just because I always make stocks and broths, so why not try this one? Plus, if I made this I could make beef barley soup, or even some pho like Steph made! And what better recipe to use than Alton’s? What would you make with beef stock?

Oh, and also it’s so good for you!

I’ve been thinking about purchasing a pressure cooker for quite some time. Zeke definitely thinks I should not have such a “dangerous” gadget in my kitchen. I’m pretty sure they’re not dangerous, but know absolutely nothing about them. I think being able to make stocks and soups in so little time would come in handy for me, as a very busy student/mom. Maybe over summer break I’ll have to do some research on this.

AB’s Beefy Broth, adapted from Alton Brown:

Ingredients:

• Vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper
• 3 pounds beef soup/marrow bones
• 2 onions, peeled and quartered
• 2 ribs celery, halved
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut in half
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 small bunch of parsley
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 2 quarts water

Directions:

1. Preheat your stock pot or dutch oven over high heat.

2. Season the meat with oil, salt, and pepper. Brown in the pot (in batches if needed).

3. Add all the meat to the pot with the rest of the ingredients, and then add the water.

4. Bring to a boil.

5. Skim foam from the top.

6. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer for about 4 hours.

7. Line a colander or sieve with cheesecloth and strain out the solids.

8. Pour into two quart-sized containers. I froze both of mine for later use. What will you do with yours?

Zeke requested red meat for dinner, so when I saw these baby back ribs at the butcher, I really wanted to buy them and slowly barbecue them or smoke them. But I didn’t really have the tools for that, so out came my trusty dutch oven, and a new dish was born! Cabbage and ribs is something I have never made before, but I searched a few recipes online and decided to go with the flavor combination and just add some tomato paste, since tomato sauce and cabbage is a good combination. Besides being very hard to eat, this dish was definitely successful. If you like hearty meals and eating like a caveman or woman, give this one a try!I cut the cabbage pretty thick in this dish, mostly because I knew it would wilt like crazy. But feel free to shred it much smaller if you want. And since I only used half the head, cole slaw would be a nice side dish to this. Or you can make Second Avenue Deli’s health salad…but that recipe is for another day.

If you only have chuck or short ribs on hand, or don’t feel like eating a slab of ribs, go for it. The flavor will still be delicious, and it will definitely be easier to eat.

Beef Ribs and Cabbage:

Serves 2

• 1 package baby back ribs (about 5 ribs)
• A few glugs olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to sprinkle
• About 1/4 cup flour
• 2 small onions, cut into thick slices
• 1/2 head cabbage, thickly shredded
• 1 cup vegetable broth or chicken stock
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 1 can tomato paste

Directions:

1.Heat olive oil on medium-high heat in a dutch oven, until shimmering.

2. Sprinkle ribs liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge in flour.

3. Brown all sides for about 5-7 minutes. Remove and set aside on plate.

4. Add onions to the pot and saute for 10 minutes, until soft and beginning to brown.

5. Add the cabbage and mix, until starting to wilt.

6. Add broth, juice, tomato paste and rosemary. Mix it all together.

7. Return the ribs to the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours, until meat is falling off the bone, the cabbage is soft, and the sauce is deep and rich.

8. Serve with many napkins.

So I know I said it only serves two. But that’s just the meat. There will be a lot of leftover sauce and a bunch of cabbage, too. It’s great over egg noodles. Or just braise some more meat in there are serve four people.

Pho (pronounced fuh—rhymes with duh) is a Vietnamese beef and noodle soup. The raw meat is cut really really thin and is cooked when boiling broth is poured on top. I don’t know where to get kosher Vietnamese food, so I had to make it myself.

Of course, I’d heard about pho, but the first time I decided I wanted to try it was during lunch at work one Thursday. Every day, unless I’m too busy, I get together with some coworkers to eat lunch in our office kitchen. We mostly bring our own lunches, and one of my coworkers brought Trader Joe’s pho—just add water and microwave. Now, I love Trader Joe’s a lot, especially for their kosher selection, but I knew they definitely didn’t have kosher pho, so I went ahead and put it on my menu for the following week.

This was also a good excuse to check out the new butcher on the Upper East Side, Prime Butcher Baker (you may have seen my photographs on Facebook). At first, I thought I’d make the beef stock myself, too, but since my freezer is filled to the brim and I was only cooking for two AND the butcher had beef stock.

Now, if someone could just teach me how to eat noodle soups without making a mess, I’d appreciate it. Do you use a spoon? A fork? A knife…

Pho
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4 cups beef broth (I used butcher-bought, buy you can make your own if you have time/are feeling less lazy and more adventurous)
• 2-3 whole cloves
• 2-3 star anise pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Some ginger (I keep grated fresh ginger in my freezer and when I need to use it I just break a piece off. It’s hard to measure it, but it was probably equal to a few thin slices from a fresh root)
• A pinch of black peppercorns
• 1/2 lb rice noodles
• Peanut oil
• 4 shallots, sliced
• 1/4 pound very very thinly sliced beef (mine said “fillet.” That’s what the butcher recommended. He also sliced it really thin for me), cut into strips
• A pinch of red pepper flakes
• Small bunches of mint, cilantro and Thai basil (or regular basil if you can’t find Thai)
• Bunch of bean sprouts
• Lime quarters
• Sriracha sauce

Directions:

1. Heat the stock in a pot over medium heat.
2. Gather the cloves, star anise, cinnamon, ginger and peppercorns into a cheesecloth or mesh strainer and add to the broth. Heat to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, until fragrant. Season with salt, if necessary and discard the spices.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and fry the shallots until evenly brown, about 5 minutes.
4. Cook the rice noodles according to the packaging directions.
5. Divide the noodles and meat evenly into the bowls.
6. Bring the broth back to a boil and ladle into the bowls. Top with fresh herbs, bean sprouts, lime wedges and sriracha sauce.

We have a baby foodie in the house! He’s older than 6 months, which means we are thinking about food. And although right now he survives only on breastmilk and single veggies, pretty soon he’ll be sharing family meals with us. Which is why when he was born I had to buy Tyler Florence’s new baby food cookbook Start Fresh. First of all, Tyler Florence is awesome. Second of all, I love people’s takes on what babies should eat. He thinks baby’s first food should be baby carrots (the real kind, not the cut and bleached processed kind).

At around 9-12 months, babies can really start eating what the family is eating, only a little differently. Tyler recommends cooking one meal, and pureeing some for baby’s portion. Thing is, this recipe looked so great that I had to try it even before Richie was able to eat this kind of food! So I altered the recipe for our tastes just a bit, and alas our dinner was a delicious family-friendly meal. I will remember it when it’s time for Richie to be eating meats and many different veggies.

When I saw this recipe, I really wanted to use a pressure cooker to make it. First of all, it’s super fast that way, and secondly, the recipe was created for a pressure cooker. Alas, I don’t have this kitchen gadget! Though I think it might be useful for really quick weekday meals. And I think they are super safe now, so I wouldn’t blow up the kitchen, even if I tried to. I had to settle on using my Le Creuset, which isn’t really settling at all because I love that pot. It turned out great, and I actually just left it simmering on the stove on Sunday and reheated it for dinner the next night. That’s a quick dinner.

Oh, and another great thing about this baby/family-friendly recipe is that it basically requires no steps. Just brown the meat and throw everything in the pot. Cover. Simmer. That’s it. Can’t get any easier than that.

Short Ribs with Apples and Roots, adapted from Tyler Florence:
Serves 4 grown ups or 8 kids

Ingredients:

• 1 pound beef short ribs (bone in)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste (but not so much salt – this is for baby!)
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut in half (or 6 baby carrots)
• 2 medium parsnips, scrubbed and sliced into the same shape as the carrots (1/2 inch thick and in half if long)
• 1 beet, cut into wedges (Tyler uses a golden beet. I used a regular red one)
• 1 Rome apple, cut into wedges, seeds removed
• 1 sprig rosemary
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 cup apple juice

Directions:

1. Season the ribs with a little bit of salt and pepper.

2. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the ribs and brown, about 5 minutes on each side.

3. Add the carrots, parsnips, beet, apple, rosemary, stock, and apple juice. Cover and cook on medium heat for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is tender and falling off the bone and the vegetables are soft.

4. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

5. For adults, serve the meat and veggies with some of the liquid spooned over. For kids, transfer to food processor and pulse on and off, adding some of the cooking liquid, until at desired consistency. Eat your meal at the table together!

I love Yemenite soup. Lucky for me, I live pretty close to David’s and I can order it in any time. But like any foodie, I had to try to make it myself. The first time I tried, it was a major fail. It was too thin, not meaty enough, and I really just wouldn’t share the recipe. Fast forward a few months, and someone told me that the Taste cookbook had a great recipe, and I knew that I needed to find someone with a copy and look at the recipe. And I did. I changed the recipe just a bit, and prepped all the ingredients. Much to my surprise, the soup was SO easy to make! Except for the spice mix, but that was Zeke’s job.

As you can see, the hawaiij took a little bit of prep. We couldn’t find ground cardamom, so Zeke bought whole pods and spent some time peeling them and then mashing them with our trusty mortar and pestle. it worked out, and now next time we make Yemenite soup, we’ll have it ready. It’ll be super easy.

Basically you just throw the ingredients in a pot and let it boil for hours. It results in a thick, meaty soup/stew. Okay, it’s not the same as David’s. It’s definitely not as thick. But the flavor is definitely there. And I got to serve it with one of my favorite things, fresh cilantro; they don’t do that at David’s.

Yemenite Soup, adapted from Taste

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound flanken
• 6 cups chicken stock
• ½ tablespoon hawaiij*
• ¼ teaspoon curry powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• A pinch of chili powder
• Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 large tomato
• 2 onions, peeled
• ¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 5-8 whole garlic cloves, peeled
• ½ cup tomato sauce
• 2 idaho potatoes, peeled and cut in half

Directions:

1. Place flanken in a large pot and add the stock. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 20 minutes.
Skim the foam from the top.
2. Add spices.
3. Cut an X on the tomato and add it to the pot.
4. Add the onion, cilantro, garlic and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 2 hours.
6. Add the potatoes and simmer another hour.

**To make ½ cup Hawaiij spice mix, mix together 5 tablespoons cumin, 2 tablespoons ground cardamom, 5 teaspoons black pepper, 3 teaspoons turmeric, and 2 teaspoons ground coriander.

Want the taste of Chinese food in your very own kitchen? This beef and broccoli dish really tastes like Chinese food! And there’s no MSG. And you can make it with brown rice and not charge $1 extra. I just wish I had a wok, because that would make cooking this dish extra fun. Try it even if you don’t have one. Cast iron works wonders. So do dutch ovens. No, but seriously. This meal was super easy to make. I can’t actually take credit for it, either. After prepping all the ingredients and starting to brown the meat (prepping is key in a dish like this – so prep everything before you start, even if you don’t have a tired/hungry/cranky baby!), Richie started crying. He was ready for dinner. And that meant that I couldn’t slave over a hot stove and sear meat. So I put Zeke in charge on dinner. He was a champ (thanks, husband!) and really cooked dinner for us that night. And it was tasty. And pretty healthy, too.

So next time I’ll remember to slice the meat instead of being a bit lazy and buying the pre-cubed meat from the butcher. I think that as my only mistake. And while the original recipe called for shallots, I only had regular onions – I don’t think it made such a big difference in overall taste in the dish (this is starting to be a popular occurrence in this house).

Oh, and broccoli. Don’t throw the stems away! Just shave them, cut them into strips, and cook alongside the rest. It’s really the tastiest part. Sure, they don’t look as pretty, but they’re less bitter than the flowery part. And they are bug-less, so some people only eat the stems as it is (the kosher Chinese place in Manalapan?). I eat both, but I like having both stems and flowers for the contrast and uber-broccoli-ness of the dish. Mmm.

Beef and Broccoli (Chinese food style!) Adapted from Chef and Home:

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces beef filet, sliced (this is important! I cubed it and it was a little tough)
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons flavorless oil
• 3 tablespoons diced onion (about ½ small white onion)
• 3 tablespoons diced garlic
• 4 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 ounce ginger, cut into long strips
• 3 cups broccoli, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used more, an entire bunch. I really like broccoli)
• 1/2 cup beef stock
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 ½ cups rice, cooked

Directions:

1. Heat a cast iron pan, wok, or Le Creuset over high heat
2. Season the beef with salt and pepper
3. Place beef in pan and seat on one side for 3 minutes.
4. Flip and sear on the other side for 3 minutes.
5. Remove from pan and set aside.
6. Lower the heat to medium and oil to the pan and sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes., stirring occasionally
7. Add the scallions and ginger. Stir fry for an addition 2 minutes.
8. Add the broccoli, beef stock, and balsamic.
9. Cover, turn the heat to high, and cook for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
10. Add the cooked beef to the broccoli and sauté for an addition 2 minutes.
11. Serve over rice.

When Resident Magazine asked us to share some holiday recipes with them, we knew we wanted to share some traditional Sephardic Jewish food, as opposed to the better known matzah ball soups. Here’s a dish that we’ve been eating for Rosh Hashana forever.

Black eyed peas are eaten during the new year to bring prosperity. In the Southern United States, they’re usually served with ham, but that tradition was probably adapted from Sephardi Jews; we stew our loubia with kosher meat.

Also for Rosh Hashana, Leek Ejjeh.

Black Eyed Peas with Meatballs

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground meat (beef, lamb or veal would all work)
• 1/3 cup rice (soaked for 30 minutes)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 onion, grated
• olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 lb. dried black eyed peas, soaked and drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• water, as needed
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. mix together the rice, ground meat, oil, allspice, cinnamon, salt, pepper and onion to make hashu. set aside.
2. heat a pan over medium heat, coat the bottom in oil and saute the garlic for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
3. fry the hashu in the garlic, browning evenly
4. add the peas, tomatoes, lemon juice, cumin and salt. mix well, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 1 hour. if it dries out, add water as needed.
5. serve with rice.

PS, sorry for the lack of photos. Did you make this? Send us your picture and we’ll add it to the post!

Now with an updated picture! Don’t hesitate to make this delicious meal for Shabbat.

Kibbe cherry is a traditional Friday night dish. Usually we serve it in a pretty bowl, but we couldn’t take the picture on Shabbat, so this is the picture you’re stuck with! Don’t worry, it tastes a lot better than it looks in this picture, we promise!

Not only is it one of our favorite ways to prepare kibbe, it’s also ridiculously easy. Unless you don’t have kibbe in your freezer, then you’re in trouble, or just stuck in the kitchen rolling the balls for a while. Besides the onion, there’s no slicing (and no pitting, ’cause we’re using canned cherries here). Plus, it’s a one-pot dish! Just make some rice and a salad, and you have an easy weeknight meal. Make about 10 other dishes, and you have a perfect dish for Shabbat dinner! Many people make one giant kibbe roll instead of the little balls, but we like this way better.

Kibbe Cherry, adapted from Deal Delights 2:

Ingredients:

• A few glugs of olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• About 20 kibbes
• 1 15-ounce can cherries
• 3 tablespoons oot
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1/2 cup prunes (optional)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Heat oil on medium heat and add onions and kibbe until onions are soft and kibbes are browned, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until all the flavors mix together and the cherries and prunes are soft.

3. Serve over rice.