April 13, 2022

Everything potato gratin

April 13, 2022/ Rebecca Davis

This easy side dish is the perfect way to make something that seems fancy (gratin!) while using all the shortcuts (barely any chopping!).

Take me to the recipe!

So, I used Jamie Oliver’s method for a quicker potato gratin. Gratin’s usually need up to an hour in the oven, but by combining cooking methods, you can get a creamy, crunchy, crispy dish in less than 30 minutes. Also, using everything bagel spice means that you don’t have to chop any onions or garlic or really measure much of anything.

Just a quick word of warning: Use oven mitts to secure the tin foil over your skillet or tin on the stove. You want a tight seal so that the potatoes steam a bit before going into the oven. ALSO, use caution when removing the foil as the steam is plentiful and HOT.

A note about SALT: I don’t add any in this recipe because most of the pre-made Everything Bagel spice mixes are pretty salty. Check your labels and then decide if you want to add more salt. I would recommend a sprinkle of sea salt over the top of the finished gratin if you feel like it needs more.

Everything Potato Gratin

1½ lbs russet potatoes (about 2 very large), peeled and sliced thinly
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup water
2½ Tbsp everything bagel spice, divided
5-6 sprigs of fresh thyme
1½ cups grated cheese (mixture of gruyere, asiago, gouda)

Time: about 30 minutes, mostly active
Yield: 5 side servings

Preheat the oven to 425.

In a large oven-proof skillet or tin, spread the thinly sliced potatoes.

In a large measuring cup, combine the milk, water, and 1 1/2 Tbsp of everything bagel spice. Pour over the potatoes in the skillet. Add the fresh thyme and stir well to combine and to spread out the dried and fresh herbs.

Over a medium-high flame, bring the liquid to a boil. The liquid around the edges of the pan will boil quickly. Look for the first few bubbles in the middle of the pan and turn down the flame to medium-low.

Carefully wrap a piece of tin foil over the top of the skillet or tin. I wear oven mitts to do this because I want a tight seal, but I don’t want to burn myself. Let cook over a medium-low flame for 6 minutes.

Turn off the flame and CAREFULLY remove the foil being sure to wear oven mitts and to remove the foil away from you to avoid the hot steam.

Top evenly with the grated cheese.

Cook, uncovered, in the oven for 15 minutes. Top with the remaining 1/2 Tbsp of everything bagel spice.

Let cool slightly and serve.

March 15, 2021

Browned butter and leek mashed potatoes

March 15, 2021/ Rebecca Davis

What’s better on your Easter or Passover table than some decadent (browned butter! cream!), spring-y (leeks!) mashed potatoes?

Take me to the spuds!

Spring holidays are the best. They feel like a gateway to blue skies, warmer weather, and, this year, like we’re one step closer to some sense of safety and normalcy. Maybe that’s overstating it, but last year’s holidays were SO WEIRD, right?. I was about 5 minutes postpartum with Z, so I’m sure everything felt worse in that state, but I remember being so afraid. We knew so little about Covid and how it spread. We wiped down our groceries with BLEACH. I was afraid to go in our front yard. We left our mail outside for WEEKS. WHAT THE FUCK.

Anyway, this year has been wild. I was actually imagining talking about it in the future. It’s going to be one of those conversations where the other people all went through the same thing, but we all need to talk about it like we were the only ones.

Anyway, about the potatoes. These are so quick and easy, but a little fancy and extra, which is what I like on a holiday table.

But let’s talk about ricing your mashed potatoes for a sec, shall we? I’m an avowed lazy cook/cleaner. I think it was years of dishwasher-less NYC kitchens that conditioned me to avoid extra dishes at any cost, so I really resisted using a ricer for a long time (and I still don’t use it unless it’s a special occasion). Some people are ricer devotees for achieving those ultra fluffy, creamy potatoes. And when you’re making straight-up, unadorned mashed potatoes, I do think the ricer makes a difference.

However, there are going to be lumps in these potatoes because we’re adding leeks, so I recommend skipping it and saving yourself some time and dishes.

Want to make these extra decadent and fancy? Add a drizzle of cream on top of the potatoes along with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt and some Aleppo pepper to finish it off. It’s *chef’s kiss*.

Brown butter and leek mashed potatoes

Time: 20 minutes, all active
Yield: About 4-6 side servings

1 lb Russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup heavy cream + more for drizzling
1 tsp kosher salt, divided
4 Tbsp butter
1 small leek, trimmed, quartered and sliced
¼ tsp pepper
Pinch of Aleppo pepper (optional)

In a medium soup pot, cover the peeled and chopped potatoes with cold water. Bring to a boil over a high flame. Once boiling, continue cooking at a rolling boil (you may need to turn the flame down if the water threatens to boil over) for 8-10 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

While the potatoes are boiling, clean and chop your leeks and set aside.

Add the butter to a small pan or pot and heat over a medium flame until the butter has melted and begins to bubble vigorously and pop slightly. If the popping is too much or too dangerous, turn the flame down slightly, but you want to maintain the bubbling. Let the butter cook for 1-2 minutes and check to see if little brown bits are separating and falling to the bottom of the pan beneath the bubbles. The butter should smell nutty. This may take a few minutes longer depending on your pan and how cold your butter was to start, so keep checking regularly.

Once the browning has begun, add the leeks and ¼ tsp salt to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until the leeks also begin to brown. If the browning happens too quickly, turn down the flame.

Drain the potatoes and add ¼ tsp salt. Mash well.

Add ¼ cup heavy cream to the mashed potatoes and whip vigorously with a spatula or whisk. When the leeks and butter are sufficiently browned, add them to the potatoes. Season with the remaining ½ tsp of kosher salt and ¼ tsp of pepper, or more to taste.

April 03, 2017

Green matzo ball chicken soup

April 03, 2017/ Rebecca Davis

Guys. It's almost Passover, which means, it's matzo ball season. I could eat matzo ball soup daily, but I always want it to feel like a MEAL and it often…doesn’t. There's usually just some broth and the balls. Occasionally you get a carrot or some celery, but there's not much to it. The consequence is that I take 100 years to order in a deli or a diner. I always want the soup, but what else do you get if you don’t want a bad diner salad, but want something with protein and veggies, but that isn't a full meal because you already have soup? CONUNDRUM. I think it might be the thing my husband hates most about me.

Anyway, I think the key to making a great matzo ball is in the timing: Once the matzo meal, fat, seltzer, eggs, salt, and pepper have been mixed together, this gloop needs to REST. I’ve rested the mixture for anywhere from 1-5 hours and I think the longer the better (without going crazy and leaving it, like, overnight).

I also suggest really beating the eggs well with a whisk or a fork. Make your wrist tired. You want the whites and yolks to be very well integrated to help keep the balls together.

Also, the seltzer is ABSOLUTELY necessary.

And a note about salt: I like my matzo balls salty, so if 3 tsp is too much for you, dial it back a bit.

So! This recipe is a long one and definitely best for a weekend or occasion. But there are many places where one could take shortcuts (use pre-made stock, rotisserie chicken, and pre-chopped kale and this is a much quicker process.) On the upside, this soup can actually pass for lunch or dinner, so if you put the time in, you get a rounded meal that's appealing to young (M) and old (me.) M has finally accepted eating leaves of green and not just in puree form, so he's into this soup.

I pureed my first batch to see how it went and it was delicious, but stringy and needed straining. The stringiness of the chives and kale stalks even made ME whip out the strainer and I avoid extra dishes like the plague.

Green Matzo Ball Chicken Soup | Me & The Moose. This soup is a full meal with protein and greens mixed with light and fluffy matzo balls for Passover and any time. #meandthemoose #matzoballsouprecipes #passoverrecipes #soup #kale #chickensouprec…

Green matzo ball soup

For the stock:
6-7 lbs chicken (some combo of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts)
2 celery ribs, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
5-6 garlic cloves, smashed
1 bay leaf
Whatever herbs you have/like (I usually toss in a handful of fresh sage and a tsp of dried thyme)
1 Tbsp kosher salt
Lots of pepper
12 cups water (or more; make sure the chicken and veggies are fully submerged in water and replenish if too much evaporates while simmering)

Add all of the ingredients to a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 3 hours.

When stock is done, strain and collect all liquid. You should have anywhere from 9-12 cups (give or take depending on your cooking method and how much water evaporates).

Save the chicken meat, but discard the rest of the aromatics, veggies, and any skin or bones that were floating in the stock.

In separate containers, store the broth and the chicken in the fridge, covered, for at least 6 hours, or until the fat rises to the top and congeals. I usually leave it overnight. When cooled, skim the fat from the top and store in a separate container to use in the matzo balls.

For the matzo balls:
3 large eggs, well-beaten
3 Tbsp schmaltz or olive oil (I use the rendered fat from the chicken stock and top it off with olive oil if necessary)
3 Tbsp seltzer
3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup matzo meal

Whisk the eggs very well. Combine all wet ingredients, plus salt and pepper, in a bowl and mix well. Add the matzo meal and stir well. If it feels lumpy or hard to stir, use your hands.

Cover and chill for at least 1 hour, but ideally 2-3.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

When chilled, form the dough into 12-16 golfball-sized balls using wet hands and drop each into the boiling water as soon as it’s formed. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 40 minutes.

For the soup:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 small shallots, minced
1 stalk celery. minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chives, chopped
3 cups kale, chopped and well packed
Salt and pepper
8-9 cups chicken stock (if not making your own chicken stock, try to find homemade from somewhere else- don’t use the stuff in a box from the store for this)
1 Tbsp
Shredded chicken (about 3 cups or whatever comes off of your cooked chicken from the stock)

Heat the oil in a large stock pot. Add the roughly chopped shallot and celery. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, kale, and chives and cook, stirring, about 3 minutes more.

Add the stock and water and bring to a boil. Turn the flame to low and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Add the chicken and cook for 5 minutes more to reheat. Test for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

Pour soup over the matzo balls and serve.

Yield: