Hartman House Dressing/Marinade/Cheap Drunk

NOTE: For reasons of historical accuracy and general laziness I have not edited this recipe, hence the layout problems and such. Sorry.  It's another thing we created to get plant matter into our kids stomachs. Enjoy!


1 liter     Kalamata Olive oil (1)
1 cup or so cheap balsamic vinegar
1 large wine glass     Latour '63
4 or 5  anchovy fillets, or smoked herring (see NOTE)
1/2   Lemon
1 big blopping tablespoon     Dijon mustard
1 Boatload     garlic, peeled,  little brown umbilicals and any brown spots cut off (2)
1 Boatload     fresh herbs (3)
Wooooseeestershire sauce to taste, probably a teaspoon or so
Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
One nasty little pinch of sugar
Salt to taste

1) Juice the lemon and if you want, chop up a teaspoon or so of the zest. Rinse the herbs and dry them on a paper towel. (4)

2) Put the garlic, mustard, anchovies, herbs, lemon juice and zest into a food processor. Add enough balsamic vinegar just to cover it and chop the bejeezes out of it. It doesn't need to be pureed,  it should have lots of little pieces in it.

3) With the motor running if possible, add a few drops of olive oil. Let it process for a few seconds to start the emulsion. Slowly add more oil, waiting for it to process every few seconds.

I don't have a big food processor, so at this point I put it into a large bowl and use a wire whisk to beat it like DELETED as I slowly add the oil. You'll want to add more vinegar.

4) Call me first, then rush like hell over to my house so I can have the Latour. Hmm, maybe I'll make myself a steak to go with it. Thanks!

5) Add the Woosterstuff sauce, pepper and sugar. Mix it up and taste it (I like to use a cucumber stick or jicama, but a clean finger works well) before you add any salt, or more pepper or other stuff.

(1) OK, so you'll need a little less than that.
(2) 1 boatload equals a dozen big cloves or so. At least.
(3) A bunch of basil and half a bunch of parsley does well. I use about two cups of herbs.
(4) You don't have to go crazy drying the herbs, they're full of water anyway.

 NOTE: If you are using canned anchovies or anchovy paste you don't have to rinse them. If you are using the fancy salted anchovies then soak them for five minutes in water, then pull their little spines out, pinch off any bones or guts that are left on them (this is why anchovies don't like humans) and rinse them well. You can also use smoked herring, which is really cheap and you can get it in any market. A can costs about a buck. Sometimes they are called kippers or kippered herring. Use the ones in oil, not sauce.

NEXT NOTE: It hardly ever stays emulsified so don't worry about it.

EVEN MORE OF THESE DAMN NOTES:  You might notice that I have these NB type notes and the numbered notes above. I noticed that too. Too much Fledermaus will do that to ya.

SIGH - MORE NOTES:  If you are going to use a different oil, I would recommend cheaper rather than more expensive. You are going to process it with a boatload of garlic and anchovies. Any subtle flavor derived from the precious volcanic soils of Vesuvius are going to be smothered by the fragrant tang of the fruit of Gilroy.

Onions and Peppers

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: Depends on how much you make but for 2 lbs of peppers and an onion figure 10 minutes

Cooking time: 7 - 10  minutes

Cost per serving: cheap

Useful leftovers: Oh yes

This sounds too simple to be good. I almost always have a tub of this in my fridge and I use it all the time.

Onions
Sweet red peppers
Olive oil
Salt

This would be so drab without it!

It couldn't be much simpler. Go to a market where you can get inexpensive red bell peppers. There are some Asian markets near here where I sometimes get them for less than a dollar. 

Number two peppers are fine for this. Those are the ones that are too twisted or have a scar or blemish and can't be sold as a number 1. As long as they are not cracked open or disgusting or old they are fine. Look for crisp ones that have a relatively smooth skin.

I don't care about the skins on the peppers but if you do go ahead and peel them. 

Wash and dry the peppers. Cut the flesh into strips. I don't cook for customers or teachers so I don't care if they are all the same size. Makes no difference here.

Cut an onion into chunks.

Put the vegetables into a dry, heavy bottomed pan. You cannot make this in a thin pan. You'll burn everything. Turn the heat onto medium and when they are just starting to brown add 1/4 cup of good olive oil. Not a fancy olive oil, just not a bitter cheesy one.

Turn the heat way down and stir like mad.  At this point you want to cook the stuff very slowly for at least 1/2 hr.  We don't want a lot of browning but we want everything to be fully cooked and soft. Don't let a molecule of raw onion remain but be careful nothing burns. If you can cook it for 45 minutes without burning it so much the better.

Put the peppers and onions into a bowl and scrape the stuff from the bottom of the pan into the bowl. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and another tablespoon of olive oil. When it is cooled to room temperature put it in the fridge.

Here are some ways that I use this:

As a bruschetta topping, sometimes with smoked herring and lemon or with cucumbers
As a pasta sauce base
As a meat sauce base
As a salad dressing base
Over a rare steak or piece of lamb or sausage
As a salad ingredient
As a filling in a stuffed chicken breast of pork chop
As a flavoring oil'
As a dip

You can vary this many ways. I sometimes add serrano chiles or chunks of potato. I like to sprinkle Cholula hot sauce on it. You can use it to top chile or enchiladas. It's great with sour cream.

These peppers go well with bits of salty things like ham but also with very savory things like grilled meat, sausage, or meaty fish like mackerel.

The best thing in this recipe is the oil! It tastes great. Just sprinkle a little on a grilled Italian sausage, or grilled eggplant or tomatoes. Just great.

Hartman House Spice Rub

You get a whole lotta yum with a few spices

Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: None

Cost per serving: Maybe a quarter

Useful leftovers: Keep it dry and cool

I use this mixture a lot! I use it as a general seasoning and a spice rub when I barbeque or smoke meat. It's good on vegetables. You can add other spices or herbs to adjust it for individual recipes.

Notice there is NO salt in this. I mix salt into it when I use it so I can control the amount. There is nothing in here to keep it from hardening. So sometimes, especially if you live in a humid climate, you'll have to scrape or hit it with a spoon. Better than loading it with chemicals to keep it flowing.

Since I never measure anything and you can alter this as you wish the amounts are very approximate.

10 parts Sweet Paprika
2 parts Smoked Paprika
1 part Chipotle powder
2 parts Garlic powder
2 parts freshly ground Cumin seeds
1 part Celery seeds, ground between your fingers
1 part Dried Thyme
1 part freshly ground black pepper

Mix it in a bowl. Make sure there are no lumps. Put it in a container and keep tightly closed.

Lamb Flank Steaks

Difficulty: Medium

Prep time: A minute. Plus a couple of minutes to heat the pan

Cooking time: A minute or less on each side

Cost per serving: $3.00 to $5.00

How to use leftovers: Sliced thin on crackers with mustard and lemon juice, or added to salads, perfect for sandwiches. Best eaten cold as a leftover as these are thin and can dry out.

A pretty nice lunch featuring Lamb Flank Steaks

I love these! Inexpensive (for lamb), easy easy easy to cook and very tasty.

You have to use a hot, heavy-bottomed pan for these. They need to brown fast without overcooking the thin interior.

Lamb flank steaks - figure 2 per person. They are about 2 oz. each, or you can serve one as an elegant appetizer
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Salt the lamb. Put a teaspoon of oil in the pan for each steak. When it starts to smoke add the flank steaks. Don't crowd the pan or they will boil in their own moisture rather than brown. You want them to brown in less than a minute.

When they are browned turn them over and brown the other side. They will brown more if you wipe them around the bottom of the pan to scrape up the brown bits.  As soon as they are browned take them out of the pan and keep them warm on a plate for a minute.  Grind pepper over them.

Hints on using leftovers

In a restaurant we don't want to eat leftovers but at home we treasure them! Leftover steak! Leftover potatoes! Sauces, pasta, soups all make great leftovers if you follow some principles and don't have a bad attitude about them.

1) When you cook think about what you might do with the leftovers when you make the original recipe. Making pizza? How sad to have some leftover slice tomatoes, garlic in olive oil, shredded cheese!

Good dishes make good leftovers, crappy dishes make crappy leftovers.

2) We are judicious seasoners and don't tend to use a lot of salt but leftovers frequently need a kick. You need to add salt, pepper, hot sauce, fresh herbs, something - to kick the flavor up.

Leftover rice and smoked ham? Aww.

3) Always think soup if you can. Make a simple brunoise or duxelle and add your leftovers, some wine (white or red, Marsala, Madiera, Sherry, etc) and you are there.

4) I never order manicotti or stuffed shells in a restaurant because you have no idea what's in there. But at home I do know and can use many dishes by adding a bit of tomatoes or sauce, olives, etc, to the chopped leftovers and make stuff pasta.

5) If you have a nice piece of beef or lamb or pork, eat it cold! Let it come to room temperature for a few minutes and serve with a vinaigrette with lots of Dijon mustard or fresh herbs in it.

Home made pizza!

 For us pizza is a summer food made with ingredients from the garden: tomatoes, garlic, basil, sweet or hot peppers. We keep it simple. For dinner parties we like to line pie tins with dough and let people make their own.

We chop the garlic and put it in some olive oil and wipe the oil on the edge of the pizza.

We peel great fresh tomatoes and slice them. For me a great treat is to drink the tomato water left at the bottom of the bowl! Fantastic!

We shred or cut mozzarella (not from Wisconsin, of course) and sprinkle on basil and some of the garlic. This is the way I like it, simple and delicious.

Here is one that has some browned, crumbled sausage and slice green olives added.

In case you are wondering, YES it does taste as good as it looks. So easy, so delicious!

Confession time: I do make the dough sometimes but frequently we use Bridgeford's frozen bread dough.

Lamb chops or steaks

A Fernand Point style recipe:

Make sure your chops or steak is at least an inch thick for best results.

Let them come to room temperature. Salt them but do not pepper them.

Heat a heavy bottomed sauce pan and add a thin layer of olive oil. Put the chops in the pan and cook them uncovered and undisturbed for 4 minutes. They should be nice and browned. Turn them and brown the other side. If they are not done you can turn them again or put them in a hot oven and cook them until they are just past rare. Take them out of the pan and put them on a plate.

Drain the fat out of the pan but don't wipe it out. Put it back on the heat and add half and onion chopped fine, a pinch of salt and some celery seeds, thyme or rosemary. Cook the onion quickly and add some lemon juice, a tablespoon of water and some salt and pepper and boil down until there is just a trickle of sauce. Serve it over the lamb chops.