Erik Urdang
Recipes


Cookbooks


Table of Contents

Table of Contents


Recipes Below


Boba Tea

Tea

Q has gone absolutely crazy over boba. We tried this one and she's delighted.

I think boba is repulsive, but who asked me?

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup dried boba tapioca pearls per serving (NOT quick-cooking boba)
  • 1-2 tea bags per serving, any kind
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Milk, almond milk, or sweetened condensed milk
  • Fruit juice or nectar (optional)

Directions

  1. Cook the Boba: Measure 2 cups of water for every 1/4 cup of boba being prepared into a saucepan. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the boba and stir gently until they begin floating to the top of the water.Turn the heat to medium and cook the boba for 12-15 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, cover, and let the pearls sit for another 12-15 minutes.
  2. Prepare Sugar Syrup for the Boba: While the boba are cooking, make a simple sugar syrup to sweeten and preserve them once cooked. Bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil over high heat on the stove or in the microwave. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup sugar until dissolved. Set aside to cool.
  3. Prepare a Strong Cup of Tea: This can be done either while the boba are cooking or ahead of time. Allow enough time for the tea to cool completely before making the boba. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the tea bag. Use one tea bag for regular-strength bubble tea or two for a stronger tea flavor. Remove the tea bag after 15 minutes and chill the tea.
  4. Finish the Boba: Once the boba have finished cooking, drain them from the water and transfer them to a small bowl or container. Pour the sugar syrup over top until the boba are submerged. Let sit until the boba are room temperature, at least 15 minutes, or refrigerate until ready to use. Boba are best if used within a few hours of cooking, but will keep refrigerated for several days. The boba will gradually harden and become crunchy as they sit.
  5. Make the Bubble Tea: Pour the prepared tea into a tall glass and add the boba. Add milk for a creamy bubble tea, juice for a fruity tea, or leave plain and add a little extra water. Sweeten to taste with the simple syrup from soaking the boba.


Kale Chips

Kale chips

Tasty and good for you.

Go figure.

Ingredients

  • 1 bunch kale
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
  • I add a little garlic powder

Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
  3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.


Greek Style Lamb

Lamb


One of my Mom's favorite recipes.

Ingredients

  • 6 pound leg of lamb
  • garlic powder
  • 11/2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 teaspoons oregano leaves
  • 1/2 cup corn oil (or olive oil)
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

  1. Wipe lamb with a damp cloth. Make 5 slits 1/2 inch wide and 2 inches deep at intervals over the top of the roast. Fill each slit with 1/16 teaspoon garlic powder.
  2. Mix 1 teaspoon of the oregano, 1/16 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and rub over the surface of the lamb. Combine remaining salt, oregano, oil and lemon juice. Heat and rub into lamb.
  3. Cook, uncovered, (325 degrees), about 2 hours,  basting several times with hot herbed oil and lemon juice.

Pasta e Fagioli

PastaEFagioli


Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons (2 turns around the pan) extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/8 pound (about 3 slices) pancetta, chopped
  • 2 (4 to 6-inch) sprigs rosemary, left intact
  • 1 (4 to 6-inch) sprig thyme with several sprigs on it, left intact
  • 1 large fresh bay leaf or 2 dried bay leaves
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 small carrot, finely chopped
  • 1 rib celery, finely chopped
  • 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
  • Coarse salt and pepper
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans
  • 1 cup canned tomato sauce or canned crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • 1 1/2 cups ditalini
  • Grated Parmigiano or Romano, for the table
  • Crusty bread, for mopping

Directions

  1. Heat a deep pot over medium high heat and add oil and pancetta.
  2. Brown the pancetta bits lightly, and add herb stems, bay leaf, chopped vegetables, and garlic.
  3. Season vegetables with salt and pepper.
  4. Add beans, tomato sauce, water, and stock to pot and raise heat to high.
  5. Bring soup to a rapid boil and add pasta.
  6. Reduce heat to medium and cook soup, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente.
  7. Rosemary and thyme leaves will separate from stems as soup cooks. Remove herb stems and bay leaf from soup and place pot on table on a trivet.
  8. Let soup rest and begin to cool for a few minutes.
  9. Ladle soup into bowls and top with lots of grated cheese.
  10. Pass crusty bread for bowl mopping.




Tiramisu


Tiramisu



Ingredients

  • 3 egg yolks
  • ¼ cup whole milk
  • ¾ cup grandulated sugar
  • 3 cups mascarpone cheese (this is an Italian cream cheese)
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 20 – 24 lady finger cookies
  • ¼ cup cold espresso
  • ¼ cup Kahlua coffee liqueur
  • 2 teaspoons cocoa powder

Directions

  1. Fill a medium saucepan halfway with water and bring it to a boil over medium/high heat, then reduce heat so that the water is simmering.
  2. Whisk egg yolks, milk and sugar together in a medium metal bowl, then place the bowl on top of the saucepan (you can also use a double boiler for this step).
  3. Stir the mixture often for ten minutes. After the sugar dissolves the mixture should begin to thicken and turn light yellow.
  4. Remove it from the heat to cool.
  5. Use an electric mixer to combine mascarpone, cream cheese and vanilla in a large bowl.
  6. Mix until mostly creamy, but with a few small chunks remaining.
  7. Add egg yolk mixture to the cheese mixture and mix just until well-combined.
  8. Combine espresso and Kahlua in a small bowl. Pour this mixture onto a dinner plate.
  9. One-by-one touch the bottom of each lady finger in the espresso. The lady finger will quickly soak up the espresso/Kahlua mixture, but you don’t want the lady finger soaked — just a dab will do ya. The top half of each lady finger should still be dry.
  10. Arrange the soaked lady fingers side-by-side on the bottom of an 8×8-inch serving dish or baking pan.
  11. Spoon about half of the cheese mixture over the lady fingers, then add another layer of soaked lady fingers on top of the cheese mixture.
  12. Spoon the remaining cheese mixture over the second layer of lady fingers and spread it evenly.
  13. Put two teaspoons of cocoa powder in a tight-mesh strainer and gently tap the side of the strainer to add an even dusting of cocoa powder over the top of the dessert.
  14. Cover and chill for several hours.
  15. To serve, slice the dessert twice across and twice down, creating 9 even portions (the first serving is always the hardest to get out).


Stay tuned... more to come


Kale chips



Ingredients

1

Directions

P


Stay tuned... more to come


Kale chips



Ingredients

1

Directions

P