Read The Second Avenue Deli Cookbook Online

Authors: Sharon Lebewohl

The Second Avenue Deli Cookbook (42 page)

5. Gently stir to combine all ingredients, including the crust from the bottom of the pot.

N
OTED GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Milton Glaser was the founder of Pushpin Studios, an organization so influential in its field that it merited an exhibition at the Louvre. In 1968, along with Clay Felker, he founded
New York
magazine, where, in addition to being president and design director, he reviewed restaurants as the Underground Gourmet. Subsequently, at his firms WBMG and Milton Glaser, Inc., his design projects have included: the graphic revamping of dozens of major magazines; over three hundred posters; the famous I
New York logo; public spaces ranging from the Observation Deck of the World Trade Center to the Sesame Place theme park; restaurants (most notably, the exterior, interior, and all graphic elements of New York's Trattoria dell'Arte); and the logo for the play
Angels in America.
In the late fifties, my wife, Shirley, and I returned from a one-year honeymoon adventure in Italy. We found a spacious floor-through apartment on St. Mark's Place just about the time the area was beginning its transformation into the East Coast's prototypical sixties enclave. It was a turbulent and exciting time. Along with St. Mark's Church, the Second Avenue Deli provided some stability to the neighborhood. We didn't know Abe very well, but he always greeted us warmly when we stopped by for a brisket on rye.
We were having lunch at the Deli one day, when Abe stopped at our table. “What are you kids doing for Passover?” he inquired in his usual genial way. “We have no plans,” I admitted, slightly embarrassed for overlooking the holiday. “Don't do a thing,” Abe said. “What time will you be home?” “At six or so,” I answered, with no idea of what he had in mind.
Promptly at 6:00
P.M.,
a delivery boy rang our doorbell and handed us an enormous brown shopping bag whose sides were hot to the touch. It yielded an enormous container of chicken soup, still simmering and replete with a whole quartered chicken, carrots, celery, and four baseball-sized matzo balls. The package also contained a slab of potato kugel, coleslaw, ruby-red horseradish, half-sour pickles, and a
stack of carefully wrapped matzos—in short, everything needed for a complete Passover banquet.
At the time, we hardly knew Abe, but this kind of expansive generosity was characteristic of his behavior. He was a good man.
My Mother's Famous Spaghetti Recipe
SERVES
6
4 quarts salted water
1 pound Mueller's spaghetti (my mother was fearful of names like Ronzoni and Buitoni)
1 cup Heinz ketchup
½-pound slab Velveeta, cut into ½-inch cubes
Butter
1. Bring water to a boil, toss in spaghetti, cook for 30 minutes, drain, and return to pot.
2. Add ketchup and Velveeta, and mix thoroughly. Continue to cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Allow mixture to cool, preferably in a rectangular container.
4. Demold, and cut into ¼-inch slices. Fry in butter until a nice crust has formed on each side. Serve with a small salad.

Red Cabbage and Apples
SERVES
6
TO
8
For a pareve version, substitute margarine for butter.
2 pounds red cabbage
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1-inch pieces, ¼ inch thick
½ cup golden raisins
2 cups chopped red onion
6 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons white vinegar
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup water
FOR THE ROUX
2 tablespoons unsalted melted butter
2 tablespoons flour
1. Chop cabbage into large strips, and set aside in a bowl.
2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter, and sauté apple slices until browned. At the last minute add raisins, and sauté for about a minute more. Remove apples and raisins with a slotted spoon, and place in a large stockpot.
3. Add 2 remaining tablespoons of butter to skillet, and sauté onions until brown. Add sugar, lower heat, and continue to sauté while stirring for another minute. Place onion-sugar mixture in stockpot with apples and raisins, and gently toss to combine.
4. Add cabbage, vinegar, salt, and water to stockpot. Stir, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes, checking midway to make sure there's enough water and to stir ingredients.
5. Drain in a colander, and return to stockpot. Combine melted butter and flour in a small saucepan, stirring until very smooth; cook on low heat for 3 minutes, continuing to stir. Add roux to cabbage, and mix in thoroughly.

Vegetable Croquettes
MAKES ABOUT
25
These tasty croquettes make a colorful and festive appetizer or vegetable side dish for Passover meals. But they're really too good to keep only for holidays; enjoy them any time of year.
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup red peppers, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
½ cup yellow peppers, chopped into ¼-inch pieces
2½ cups cooked potatoes, mashed
3 eggs, beaten
1¼ cups matzo meal
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed fresh garlic
¾ cup finely grated onion (squeeze out extra moisture)
¾ cup finely grated zucchini (peeled)
1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach
1 cup finely grated carrot
⅓ cup corn oil
1. Heat olive oil in a skillet, and sauté red and yellow peppers until soft and light golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside to cool in a small bowl.
2. Place mashed potatoes in a large bowl. Add eggs, and mash in. Add
matzo meal, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, and garlic, and continue to mash in. Add onion, sautéed red and yellow peppers, and all other vegetables, and mix in thoroughly with a fork. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
3. Form patties 2½ inches in diameter and ¼ inch high. (If you have a ¼-cup measuring scoop, you can create very uniform patties by filling it, turning out the filling as from a mold, and flattening each patty to ¼-inch height with the palm of your hand.) Arrange patties, without stacking, on a cookie sheet or large platter covered with wax paper, and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
4. Heat corn oil in a large skillet, and fry patties in batches on medium heat until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towel, and serve.
Note:
Onions, zucchini, spinach, and carrots are best prepared in a food processor; pulse zucchini and carrots to the size of tiny pebbles, chop spinach fine, and reduce onions to a grated texture.

Vegetable Lo Mein
SERVES
6
Why does a Jewish deli serve lo mein? Chinese chef Pou Chun Cheng, a luminary of the Deli's kitchen since 1974, once prepared it for a private party at the Lebewohls' home. Abe loved it, and added it to the menu, where it's been a popular item ever since.
¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon corn oil
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound lo mein noodles (if you can't find them anywhere, substitute spaghetti)
2 cups onion, chopped into 2-inch strips, ½ inch wide (peel off a layer at a time and cut it into strips)
1½ cups broccoli, chopped into ¾-inch florets
1 tablespoon finely chopped or crushed fresh garlic
½ cup scallions, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 cups (tamped down) shredded green cabbage
¾ cup carrot, chopped into ⅛-inch matchsticks, 1½ inches long
½ cup red peppers, chopped into 1-inch strips, ¼ inch wide
½ cup celery, chopped into 1-inch strips, ¼ inch wide
1 cup scrubbed mushrooms, chopped into ¾-inch pieces
2 cups fresh bean sprouts (if not available, use the canned variety, thoroughly drained)
¼ cup canned bamboo shoots (optional)
1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet (a browning sauce⁄gravy base available in supermarkets)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Salt to taste

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