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[brokekitchen]

Five Things You Need To Make A Really F**king Good Salad

Rethink the word "salad" for a second.

The root of the word is from provincial France--of course. Those b**tches. It's from an old world, salada, which doesn't exist anymore but actually meant "salted". A.K.A. seasoned. Flavor, enhanced. Vegetable, elevated.

Good salad is not just raw vegetables tossed in dressing and thrown into any old bowl. Salads aren't tossed (unless...). They're composed. Yes, like a symphony. Or Jackie Kennedy. Or a salad.

In our humble opinion, a great salad has the following components:

1.  Something cooked (featured here, sauteed brussel sprouts and thickly cut bacon).

2. A protein (here, again, bacon)

3. Oil (here, spicy extra virgin olive oil)

4. A vinegar or acid (here, lemon juice and balsamic)

5. Several raw elements (here, arugula, chives, granny smith apples, avocado)

Call it a Katy Perry salad, because it's hot. And it's cold. It's yes. And it's no. It's actually just yes.

[brokekitchen]

Confession: We Hate Brunch

Featured here: BREAKFAST - tuna, arugula, pickles and capers on toasted sourdough, at home. Eaten in our underwear.

We've really, really tried, but there comes a breaking point in every food fad, and we at Broke Kitchen believe Brunch is one of those things, that unless enjoyed at an event like a fundraiser or a funeral, is dead. Consider this our obituary, in not-so-loving memory of Brunch.

It died where it was born, right here in New York City--the West Village--if you're looking for us to drop a pin and call out at least one neighborhood.

Mainstream #eeeeats are cool now--and have been for several years--thanks to the surge in popularity of restaurant review sites like Yelp, Eater and Infatuation. We're not knocking these websites and their high-res, sandwich holding content, produced by "influencers", but maybe we are. These sites are the sources of brunch stardom--the rise and fall of this meal-hybrid's fame can be directly linked to the popularity of Instagram accounts like @foodbabyny and @onehungryjew. It's a pay to play system, where "influencers" have found ways to eat for free chicken and waffles and xiao long bao for the rest of their lives. Mazel tov. That IS amazing. 

But what actually goes down at brunch spots every weekend in our five boroughs? It's not the gorgeous, cheesy egg sandwich wet dream in the Lark filter that these social influencers lead you to believe. 

It's a 45 minute wait. It's hungover, malnourished SoHobos* blocking a sidewalk too many, coffee and pastries already in hand, because, guess what? It's already 11 o'clock and these people are hungry....for breakfast.

What ever happened to breakfast?

[Cue old man stomping his cane on the corner of Lafayette and Spring St., shaking fist.]

Breakfast is GOOD. Breakfast is the first food of the day, when you need it. It does not need to be a tower of Paula Dean's Greatest Accomplishments, like many $25 all-you-can-swallow establishments will serve you. 

The bottomless mimosas are a combination of crappy OJ (usually not in season) and even shittier prosecco, which you're getting "bottomless". People enjoying food and beverage in the bottomless fashion makes them think they've hacked eating in New York. Sorry to say it, but these people are usually NOT from New York. Honey, you are wrong and you are teetering on becoming basic. Do we smell pumpkin spice?

Brunch has become the epitome of "basic". If we could think of one ritual to steer clear of, it would be weekend brunch. The Broke Kitchen solution is to replace your $50 non-investment with a quick breakfast at home and then perhaps meet up with friends for afternoon cocktails. You can still wear that cute sweater and you'll have skrilla to buy another one.  

RIP, Brunch, you filthy thing. 

*SoHoBo [def]: the carefree yet pouting youth of SoHo, the only thing separating their style from that of a homeless person is the real Bottega Venetta, 100% cashmere and matcha latte in hand. ref: crackhead chic. 

[brokekitchen]

A Mushroom Walks Into A Bar

One of my favorite stupid jokes of all time goes like this:

"A mushroom walks into a bar.

The bartender says 'Get out. We don't serve your kind.'

The mushroom looks at the bartender, disappointed, and says, 'Why not?! I'm a funghi!'"

I love this joke because it's simple but still unexpected. Also food puns are the cutest.

Weeknight recipes should always be like this joke--easy to understand but surprising. Complex in their simplicity. Memorable.

Mushrooms and fresh pasta make that happen here, plus a good knob of pecorino for good measure. Here's how we made it (in under 1 hour).

Ingredients:

-1/2 lb. crimini mushrooms, sliced

-1/2 lb. shiitake and/or oyster mushrooms, roughly chopped.

-1/2 vidalia onion, finely diced

-3 cloves garlic, minced

-1 package fresh fettucine or pappardelle

-1/2 stick butter

-1 cup vegetable or chicken (or beef) stock

-pecorino cheese, shaved

-fresh arugula or parsley to garnish

-salt and pepper to taste

-2 egg yolks, whites removed

Method:

1. Cook your pasta al dente. Save some of your pasta water. Set aside.

2. In a large saute pan, cook onions until soft in plenty of extra virgin olive oil. Once softened, raise heat and add mushrooms, garlic and half your butter. Add some stock to cook down mushrooms and onions. Season to taste.

3. Add more butter and some of that pasta water you saved earlier. This gives your sauce a little richness, provides moisture and allows the sauce to stick to the pasta easier when tossing. True story. Season to taste.

4. Toss pasta in sauce. Add egg yolks and fold in gently. Add greens to wilt slightly right before serving. Garnish with more cheese and greens. Serve.

[brokekitchen]

Going Ham, Literally

  Thanks to our good friends at Amos Deans in Solon, Iowa, I was able to serve up a Game of Thrones-worthy feast for friends last night with minimal effort (and minimal $).

  Embrace your inner goddess by serving up a large roasted beast of some sort (in this case, ham). Reduce the drippings to a gravy and serve with a large crusty farmhouse bread and maybe a salad or simple green vegetable. 

 That’s dinner. 

[brokekitchen]

Salmon is the New Tuna

 Baked salmon is pretty effortless, but depending on the time of year, salmon can be pretty expensive at your local fish market, for a lot of reasons.

 We opt for arctic char, when we want a pink, thick fillet of fish. The cost per pound is often about a $10 margin.

 And your dinner guests will never know the difference. Unless they are sea creatures themselves.

 This recipe is great for a weeknight dinner. Save your leftovers, add a touch of mayo and a healthy dousing of fresh lemon juice and herbs, and you've got one mean salmon salad to spread on a bagel, toast or dollop on top of market greens for one fancy-ass salad.

Ingredients:

-2 lbs fresh arctic char fillet

-4 tbsp country dijon mustard

-2 tbsp apricot preserves

-s&p to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Rinse arctic char under cold water to remove any fishy slime (this is natural, just chill out).

3. Line a baking sheet with paper towels to soak up excess grease/water. Blot fish dry gently.

4. Season lightly with salt and pepper. This is a seawater fish, homie. Remove paper towels from baking sheet.

5. In a small mixing bowl, combine mustard and preserves and spoon over the arctic char.

6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until desired doneness.

[brokekitchen]

Grown Up Peanut Butter Cookies

We discovered this recipe in this month's issue of Bon Appetit and needed to make them immediately.

Tahini is an unsung hero in the kitchen. While we really only stock it in our fridge for the purpose of homemade hummus, it can also be used in baking as a sort of flavorful shortening. Yum.

We made these cookies and fell absolutely in love. Now it's your turn.

[brokekitchen]

Weekdays On The Lamb

  Almost fell for that first day of the work week fatigue yesterday when I texted bae:

“How do u feel about chinese food tn”

  Guilt set in immediately, as I daydreamed at my desk of egg rolls, wontons and sesame chicken. It was a rainy day in NYC and I was left fantasizing about escaping it all, but as I emerged from the Bergen St. F train stop in Cobble Hill, I knew I was only steps away from our butcher shop.

 I also knew I had the ripest, juiciest cherry tomatoes and crunchiest cucumbers sitting at home on my counter, from a recent weekend getaway to the Poconos and a visit to the Amish market there. I thought, what better way to greet the week than with a light but satisfying Mediterranean inspired meal. 

 I’ve talked about my love for the Israeli salad before, but paired with a nice fatty cut of lamb loin, it’s truly transformed into a delicious and simply assembled summer meal.

 I posted the above picture last night on Instagram and a few friends wanted to know how to make this at home. Well, that’s what I’m here for. See below.

Ingredients:

-4-6 lamb loins, about 1-1/4″ thick

-3 large garlic cloves, pressed

-1 small handful fresh rosemary, lightly crushed

-1 small handful fresh thyme, lightly crushed

-2 tablespoon EVOO

-plenty of salt and pepper

-1 tablespoon flour

Method:

1. Combine garlic, herbs and 1 tablespoon of salt into a large mixing bowl. Add lamb and EVOO and toss to coat. Let marinade for about 2 hours, 1 hour at room temperature before cooking.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large, oven proof skillet, heat remaining tbsp of olive oil over high heat.

3. Dredge lamb in flour and sear until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to oven and cook until desired doneness (about 5 minutes in a good oven will give you medium rare meat). 

4. Serve with more rosemary and thyme to garnish. 

[brokekitchen]

Eating lunch in the woods the only way we know how: lots of cold cuts, fresh Italian bread and country mustard

[brokekitchen]

Time Is A Precious Ingredient

These little cherry tomatoes make one mean pomodoro.

Watching my friend’s mom cook “gravy” in Nutley on Sunday nights was one of my first introductions to the value of patience in the kitchen and one of those nostalgic moments I think about every time I see a can of crushed tomatoes. Tomato sauce is painfully simple, seasonal and ripe with history. #CornyTomatoStory

 I slow roasted these for 5 hours @ 250 degrees F with garlic infused olive oil and then cooked them down with one whole can of crushed tomatoes, one tablespoon of tomato paste and three cloves of fresh garlic, adding water, salt, pepper and fresh basil to taste.

[brokekitchen]

Chicken Game Strong

  I believe in the power of a well roasted chicken. It’s in my DNA.

  Growing up in a non-religious Jewish household, the whole roasted chicken was our bread and butter. It fed many a mouth and its value was the sum of its parts. Which means, we used the whole buffalo. Chicken. We’re talking about chicken.

  What I’m trying to say is that one chicken can go a long way. We might roast a chicken on Saturday or Sunday night and have leftovers to make the chicken salad to bring in brown bags to school the next day, our lunch line counterparts sighing as their plastic trays await some greasy, foggy slop a.k.a. cafeteria food.

  When the bones are picked dry and the chicken salad is tucked into tupperware and stored in the fridge, we might roast the bones of the chicken at a high temperature (500 degrees F) to make homemade stock. Maybe chicken soup, if it’s that time of the year or someone needs a little Jewish penicillin (a.k.a. chicken soup). 

  Now, as I continue to excel in the art of adulting, roasted chicken is my go-to, but I usually don’t buy a whole chicken. I’ll buy skin-on, bone-in breasts and thighs and do it like this. Be sure to check the chicken once in the oven after 20 minutes. Oven temperatures vary. 

  A crisp skin and juicy meat, course salt and plenty of fresh herbs, and you’ve got a delicious, affordable homemade meal, and let’s be real: that’s what life is all about. 

[brokekitchen]

Summer fruit. It's what's for breakfast. A simple sprinkling of granola, nuts and honey elevates the plums and pears sitting in a big fruit bowl in my kitchen to a whole new level, making a weekday morning sweeter than usual. ☺️

[brokekitchen]

Water, water, water, water

It’s HOT OUT THERE - that’s why we’re staying refreshed and hydrated more than ever. To our beloved followers, we say, raise your glass and drink some WATER!

After all, water is the essence of wetness.

Add some zest to your glass with fresh lemon and mint and eureka, you have fancy water for your not so fancy lifestyle. 

[brokekitchen]

E is For Eggplant

 We have a love/hate relationship with Meatless Monday, not because we’re vegetarians (we’re not), but because it challenges us to participate in a strange weekly phenomenon that probably only exists due to alliteration (”M”s). It’s also always on Monday, a day which is challenging enough as it stands in our calendars.

  Alas, we participate. This week, we decided to spring toward the popular and seasonal meat substitute that can be roasted to some type of soft beefy texture (similar to mushrooms). A popular starter in many Asian kitchens in NYC is the miso-glazed eggplant, its flavors and texture, like so many other Chinese, Thai or Japanese dishes, seem to be too difficult to make in the home kitchen. But not the miso-glazed eggplant. The recipe below was adapted from Chef Michael Anthony’s V Is For Vegetable cookbook, a must buy for any home cook, IMHO. Enjoy.

Ingredients:

-4 medium sized eggplants, halved and scored

-1/4 extra virgin olive oil

-3 tablespoons miso paste

-2 tablespoons soy sauce

-1/4 cup sake or dry white wine

-sesame seeds (garnish, optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a large, oven safe skillet, heat the olive oil over medium high heat.

3. Place eggplants open side down until browned (about 4-5 minutes). Flip the eggplants and place in oven until soft, tender and freakin’ awesome (about 15 minutes). Set aside.

4. In a very small sauce pot, heat sake and soy sauce over medium high heat and stir in miso paste until smooth. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Spoon over eggplants and serve immediately. Garnish with sesame seeds if you got ‘em. Scallions, too? Yes, please. 

[brokekitchen]

In Honor of Meatless Monday

  Last night we broke out a balanced portion of vegetables to create a light, refreshing and satisfying pasta dish - perfect for a weeknight. 

  I really love using roasted yellow tomatoes to make a fresh pomodoro; the lighter, more flexible flavor profile paired with the fact that the sauce isn’t red paves the way for a whole new road of creative process in the kitchen. 

 I roasted these golden cherry tomatoes and yellow heirlooms at 350 for about 1 hour, tossed in garlic confit and thyme. Then, I sauteed them for a few hours (yes, I WFH, so I have this luxury, but you can do this for an hour and you’d be fine). 

 Next, I added some finely diced yellow and red bell peppers from an extra layer of freshness. Asparagus is pretty great right now, so I chopped some into medallions to toss in at the last minute to give the dish more texture. 

 A couple egg yolks and parm at the end, plus butter, is really all you need here. For a better recipe, click here. 

[brokekitchen]

Reinventing leftovers this morning and getting #brunchy at home with an easy, gluten-free recipe of eggs and potatoes for an affordable and Instagram-worthy plate of protein. These hash browns are made from leftover fingerling potatoes which I quickly pan fried, scattered with scallions and freshly cracked black pepper. A brunch dish like this in the NYC area will run you at least $25 if you're pairing it with the obligatory mimosa. At home, it will run you approximately $3 per plate. A bit more if you want to run to the corner store, grab some Andre and OJ, and make a toast 🥂

[brokekitchen]

As a matter o' fact, you lookin' like #breakfast.

[brokekitchen]

The Quickest Pasta Recipe Ever

  Last night, we rediscovered the secret to a successful midweek dinner: a short lead time. If you get the sudden urge to host a dinner party on a Wednesday, fresh pasta and a simple sauce are the perfect solutions.

  This simple shrimp scampi is pescatarian friendly and takes minutes to make. I’ll get to the point, as we all know ain’t nobody got time. This recipe takes about 15 minutes, so relax.

(serves 6)

Ingredients:

-1 lb fresh pasta (linguine or fettuccine preferred)

-1 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

-1 can lobster stock

-1/2 vidalia onion, diced

-2 cloves garlic, diced

-1 egg yolk

-1 handful fresh parsley, diced

Method:

1. Put up a large pot of water to boil, with plenty of salt in there, please. Add half the can of lobster stock to water.

2. Coat the bottom of a separate sautee pan with extra virgin olive oil and a quarter stick of butter. Sautee onions on low until soft. 

3. Once onions are soft, add shrimp and garlic. Stir. Add other half of lobster stock to sauce, plus more butter to thicken. Season to taste. 

4. Drop fresh pasta into boiling water. Cook until al dente. Strain and toss into scampi, adding egg yolk, parsley and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.