The Best Recipe Ever Created using Sun-Dried Tomatoes

March 27, 2015 Clare Schapiro

Dear old, long-lost friend, how did I forget you?

You came back to me the other day, as I surveyed some particularly gorgeous fresh caught shrimp from North Caroline, and wondered what to do with them.

Through the grey mists of time emerged the very first recipe I ever wrote.

Back in the early 80's, sun-dried tomatoes were the big "new" thing, so, as I do to this day, I set about experimenting with them. One day, as I opened the package, I spied a notice on the back which said that the California Sun-Dried Tomato growers were sponsoring a competition for the best original recipe making use of this new wonder-product. Best of all, the winner was going to win what, to me in those days, was a huge sum! It seemed to me to be the obvious sure-fire way to keep my jalopy on the road, maybe even cover a couple of months rent, and find the fame and fortune as a cook that were surely coming my way.

Russian Cabbage Soup

February 13, 2015 Clare Schapiro

Since it's St. Valentine's day eve, perhaps it's time for a true confession: I've recently fallen madly in love. It was on a quintessential autumn day in New York last year (strike up the Mel Torme, please) and we were dining with beloved friends just in from Afghanistan and London. Needless to say, when you've been stationed in Kabul, what you're really longing for, is some good, authentic NYC deli, and Russ & Daughters, that venerable lower East Side bastion of all things kosher, didn't disappoint.

Yes, the lox and whitefish were superb, the bagels nonpareil, but I was completely overcome by the Russian Cabbage soup. Okay, it wasn't much to look at admittedly, But there just was something about it. I couldn't get enough of it. I thought that perhaps it was the most delicious thing I'd ever eaten. It was lovely to see my friends and all, but, my goodness, this soup! Crazy, I know, but I fell, and I fell hard.

Brussels Sprouts

February 6, 2015 Clare Schapiro

I just realized that in all this time of blogging, I've neglected to discuss one of life's greatest winter joys–Brussels sprouts. Ridiculous really, because at this time of year, they're never not in my larder, waiting for some opportunity to leap onto the plate--perhaps not as the main star, but certainly gaining kudos as best supporting actor. So quick and easy, so versatile. So delicious. As friend, Pooh, would say: "What's not to like about Brussels sprouts? Nothin'"

The key for these cruciferous veggies, is to be desperately careful to not over cook them, lest that horrid sulfurous smell and taste, that can happen if they're overdone, be unleashed. No, let your darling little green bulbs just be heated very quickly and very hot for the minimum possible time so that their outside layers get crunchy and brown, and their innards stay bright and vibrantly green.

Shakshuka

January 23, 2015 Clare Schapiro

When Felix bounded out of the house to head back to Williamsburg earlier this week, it was not with a bang but a whimper. To further torture T.S. Eliot, the whimper was entirely mine when I opened the refrigerator to figure out dinner, and realized my beloved, recently departed son had left it a veritable waste land. Once my eyes grew accustomed to the bizarre appearance of open space in my hitherto jumbled, bursting fridge, I realized that surely there was something in there that I could scrounge together into something I'd actually like to eat. The thing was, it was late, I was tired, it was cold, and I felt that Jeff and I could really use something that seemed more like comfort food than gourmet repast.

At least some eggs were there, and some feta cheese was twinkling away for starters, oh and a jar of harissa...then an image burst into my brain. I'd been looking at Yotam Ottolenghi's great book Jerusalem the other day, for an unrelated issue. The gorgeous cover sprung into my mind and I raced for the book.