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Like that wonderful chef, on TV the other day, who told me how to make my own "pastrami" in a perfect sauce, easy, simple and delicious, said he! I was totally fascinated. We both love that stuff in sandwiches, IF and when we make sandwiches!... Most of the time it's the L&M who makes them in the middle of the night!... To make my own pastrami? And, to know what is in it? Magic!
What he said to do was so easy that I did it right away. I bought a large half-turkey-breast and a bottle of teriyaki sauce; you crush equal quantities of garlic and fresh ginger - I took six cloves of garlic and the same amount of ginger. This was dumped into a flat dish, the teriyaki sauce mixed into that, yes all of it. The turkey breast was gently lowered into that sauce, turned a couple of times, covered and put it into the fridge to rest. The next evening, while baking a chicken, I baked that as well, uncovered, flipping it over once in the sauce. On TV, with the wonder-chef, the outside came out dark brown and the inside off white, the sauce was dark, thick and heavy. Mine was pink all over and the sauce, as I could not think of any other use for it, I chucked it out!... I wrapped the turkey up and refrigerated it. When I sliced it the next day, it looked and smelled, great! I presented it proudly to the L&M for lunch and he turned up his nose at it! I was quite insulted. To me, it really tasted very good, but not to him! I tried cubing it into a salad; got the some reaction from our L&M and so, I had quite a few lovely lunches out of that "experiment", but, I doubt if I will be making it again. Maybe for a buffet lunch.
Now let me tell you something, which may sound ridiculous when you read about it, but it really turned out marvelously well, and this really will show you my basic concept in cooking; nothing ever gets thrown out; from the smallest of left over's to the largest ones, I freeze it all in small containers, and everything is used eventually!
We were stuck for dinner one night, and I remembered that I had some sort-of a-goulash in the freezer, which was made out of left over "Medalions-de'beuf" which I made one night; you know - you sear the beef rounds, then fry lots of onions, garlic, return the "medallions" to the pan, add red wine, thyme, salt-pepper, simmer until done - delicious! But, we had half of it left over, so? I cubed the meat added chicken stock, paprika, re-cooked it and into the freezer it went. So, that night I decided this would make a great goulash soup; I started with about a cup of chicken stock, added a diced potato, two diced carrots, then the defrosted goulash and found in the freezer some of those spicy Mexican red beans, and a couple of left over sauces? In they went as well. I let it simmer for about an hour and I must tell you that it was a fabulous, very satisfying soup; we just needed a green sliced apple for dessert.
BUT: there was quite a bit of soup left over! SO, into the processor it went, until it became a smooth sauce!... And into the freezer it went!... I bought some chopped lean beef, felt that this special sauce needed beef more then the usual red turkey-meat-mince I buy; mixed it with all the things you usually put into meat balls. Ever tried ground fresh ginger? Excellent! I let it "age" in the fridge for a while, defrosted, and heated the sauce. It was very thick, so added a bit more chicken stock, and when it started to bubble, dropped in the meat balls. Yes! You should sear them first in some olive oil - seals the flavor in - all the great ones will tell you, but I always try to cut those things out; it is simpler and it saves calories and as far as I am concerned, you "seal" the flavor in the sauce...
By the way: yes, I always have 'chicken' stock in the freezer, but it is not made out of a chicken! Turkey necks! We both like the necks as a meal for dinner; they are fat-free and high in protein! I usually just make a more "solid" salad or veggie with them. Last time I made the cauliflower bake; it really went well together, but it is a very messy meal, and best kept to two!... There is no way you can really enjoy this if you do not use your hands. I usually buy two large necks, ask the butcher to cut them into four, dump them into a large pot, covered with water and they simmer for two hours: we have dinner and I have four small pots of "chicken" soup for the freezer. The L&M loves my special "consommŽ". I usually scramble an egg into it when it starts to simmer. Lately, I grate a bit of a cooked potato into the scrambled egg; a bit more satisfying.
And, if you really want a very quick delicious meal, no fuss no bother, get some turkey wings, or the other part of the wings, or both!... Spread them in a disposal pan; we have here something called Chili-Sauce by Knorr - marvellous stuff! Just pour this over the wings, cover and bake for an hour; uncover and bake for half an hour, turn them over, and give them another 15 minutes or more? They should be sticky, brown and super. No way you can eat them with your hands!
Send your questions to The Wacky Cook: email: POOP_1@netvision.net.il
Debbie Morgenstern is the author of "My Life in Israel" and other short stories.