Lotza Latkes

Our friend Eliot, when pressed by me to request a specific dish for our Saturday night get-together, chose Latkes and beet salad. Having never made latkes before, I consulted our old friend The Internet. I used this recipe as my basic template. Then I turned to Chowhound for some tips, such as throwing in a little baking powder for fluffiness. I confess, the serious tenor of the chowhounders intimidated me a bit. These people really know their latkes and don't fuck around. It also made me feel a bit guilty mixing in a dash of instant mashed potatoes as a fail-safe for my initial latke-making adventure. Another sin for some, I opted for the food processor over a box grater. In the end, I'm not sure if anyone could notice these cheats except perhaps one of those latke masters from the 'hound.


I started Jackie and Eliot with a coldcut nosh and crispy white wine, while I finished frying the last of the latkes. Then, we moved outside to the patio where I served the salad. This dish was actually planned a week before when I was making my borscht. I had roasted an extra beet and put it in the fridge with vinegar. Last night, I mixed that with some pine nuts, goat feta, fresh dill, and white onions, placed on a bed of arugula. To this, I added a couple eggs I had pickled. The salad was a light and tasty complement to the big meats that would follow.


I had asked Eliot to bring by some dark rye from one of those amazing Russian bakeries in West Hollywood . He did not disappoint, showing up with a loaf of the blackest most beautiful bread you will find. Holy shit, that combined with killer veal sausage and some raw onion was out-of-the-box good. Eliot also brought us some wonderful sour cream to accompany the applesauce we'd be covering our latkes with.


But no meal, for Jackie, is complete without dessert. Me? I'm not much a sweets fan; you'll probably never read about me whipping up a pastry or some such thing. But what I offered last night seemed to please: Ben&Jerry's vanilla ice cream topped with this awesome coconut jam called Kaya that I got from my new favorite Malaysain restaurant: Yazmin. Add a fresh strawberry, and you've got a cool and refreshing way to end a Saturday night repast.

We Got The Beets

I think a lot of people freak out about making borscht. This is either because they hate beets, or they think borscht is difficult to make. In reality, if you can make your garden-variety vegetable soup, you can just as easily make borscht. And if you don't like beets, you still might like borscht. It certainly has a much mellower flavor than, say, a pickled beet served on its own.

One thing I really like about borscht is that it's a great way to clean out the crisper. There are many recipes and even varieties of borscht, but the common denominator in most is two ingredients: cabbage and beets.


That's great because both of those things cost about nothing compared to most other groceries. And to me, you can make a great borscht if you have those two and a few other root vegetables. This time, I had some carrots, onions, garlic, and celery. But you can add parsnips, or even sweet potatoes. Some versions call for tomatoes. It's not rocket science. It's a simple stew. So don't over-think it. Just throw in whatever you have.

Another ingredient that I insist upon for my borscht is beef broth. There are many vegetarian-style recipes out there; and I'm sure they are tasty. But for me, I like the taste of a good beef stock for the base of the borscht. It's also a great way to get kids to eat borscht who don't normally like the taste of beets. And, in addition to the stock, I also like to add a little flesh. This can be ox-tail, stew beef, or just any kind of red meat you have lying around. Part of the reason I decided to make my borscht this week is because I had some lovely leftovers from our recent steak barbecue.

And that's it, really, for your borscht ingredients. The only other things you will want are vinegar, dill, and sour cream. The vinegar is added to your stew as you cook it, for taste. And a dollop of sour cream (or plain yogurt for us fat people) is added to each individual bowl when you serve. Top the sour cream with chopped dill. That little blast of fresh herbs really makes for some deliciousness.

A couple final notes about borscht. Many recipes don't require you to roast your beets before adding them to the concoction. However, I find it tastes much better if you do. And it's so easy to roast beets. Just squeeze a bit of lemon or lime on them to keep that nice ruby color; then wrap them in foil. Bake at 350 degrees for a half hour. Then set the roasted beets aside until you're ready to use them.

I usually roast two big beets, using only one for the borscht. The other, I chop up and put in tupperware with vinegar. That way I can make my famous arugula, goat cheese, and roasted beet salad later in the week.

I also used only half of the cabbage. This is because I still have some of that fucking awesome ham left over from Easter. So Jackie and I will be partaking of some wicked sauteed cabbage with ham and caraway seeds for dinner soon. Because that, my friends, is how we do it around Casa de Carne.