Sherri, Author at Splash of Sherri

Craving Comfort Food? Prescription: Ratner’s Potato Soup

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Sherri

If you are craving comfort food, my Prescription: Ratner’s Potato soup! It may not seem like good medicine, but I promise it is.

Last week was filled with ups and downs for me. It was bookended by two grandbabies being born to two different friends both named Lisa! Monday, I lost my driver’s license (not a big problem in the scheme of things, just a nuisance!) Tuesday, my coworker left work and headed to see her closest friend who is in hospice. I was out of sorts the rest of the day thinking about and praying for her. Wednesday, a dear friend of mine lost her father. Thursday, after four cold and very grey days, I tried to write, but realized I was just blocked and couldn’t. The bright spot to my week was seeing photos of two beautiful baby boys! Of course, I forgot to get a new license!

Friday, I went to the BMV (Bureau of Motor Vehicles) with an envelope containing my birth certificate, passport, social security card, and marriage license, everything to prove who I am. While sitting there 20 minutes or so, I leafed through my identity envelope, as I like to call it, and what do you think was wedged in my passport? My driver’s license – I had it all along! What it was doing in my passport is an entirely different story for another time. The good news is I caught it before waiting another half hour and being embarrassed at the desk when they called number 47!

I got into my car and said out loud… REALLY! What I knew for sure, is I needed something comforting for dinner and I knew just the prescription: Ratner’s potato soup! The only problem, Ratners was a restaurant in NYC that is now closed, and while they use to sell it in the freezer section of the grocery, they no longer do.

Now for the good news… I have the Ratner’s Cookbook and I can share it with you! Ratner’s was a Kosher Dairy restaurant on the Lower East Side of Manhattan for almost 100 years (97 to be exact!). They had the best everything and their soups, memorable and amazing.

My recipe is adapted from The World Famous Ratner’s Meatless Cookbook by Judith Gethers and Elizabeth Lefft. I changed things to make it healthier and a little simpler without losing anything in translation. For example, I didn’t think the soup needed 1/2 cup of butter so I added a couple of tablespoons just to give it flavor. It is the only potato soup I have ever had, and in my opinion the best. The only thing missing from my dinner was an onion roll! For those of you who may have been to Ratners, you remember their delicious onion rolls! I will be trying to make those very soon, and will share them with you! Until then, enjoy this delicious and comforting potato soup.

Ingredients
6 to 8 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces – I used Yukon gold (about 8 cups)
3 or 4 onions chopped to equal 3 cups
1 leek white and light green parts only to equal
1 cup 3 to 4 tablespoons light olive oil (evoo is fine too)
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 cup tomato juice
1 quart water
1 quart vegetable stock* (look for a clear vegetable broth, one without tomatoes)
1 quart water
2 teaspoons salt (original recipe 2 tablespoons salt – OY, can you feel your blood pressure rising?)
1/2 cup caramelized onions (made from the onions above)
1 tablespoon chopped dill
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon white pepper (black is fine too)
Fried onions (optional)

Directions
In a large frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and one cup of the diced onions. Cover and leave on medium heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, uncover and keep cooking while preparing the rest of the soup. You may need to add another tablespoon of olive oil. The onions should not sauté dry. You want to break down the onions until they are soft, falling apart and golden brown. This step is to take the place of the baked onions* called for in the original recipe.

In a stock pot (Ratner’s called it a kettle!) add the remaining 2 cups of onions and two tablespoons of olive oil. Sauté until translucent then add the leeks. When the onions just start to brown, add the potatoes, carrots, celery, green pepper, parsley, tomato juice, vegetable stock, water and salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered for 40 minutes.

The original recipe calls for blending the soup at this point. I remember the soup having some potato pieces in it and wanted that texture. With a slotted spoon, I took out about 2 cups of potatoes and set them aside. Stir in the caramelized onions, dill and pepper, blend thoroughly. I used a hand held stick blender for this. Then I added the potatoes back in to the soup. Add two tablespoons of butter, allow to melt and stir well. Finally taste the soup and check for seasoning. You may like more salt or pepper so feel free to add it a pinch at a time.

I served it with a sprinkle of fried onions on the top. It added a great textural crunch and for me, reminiscent of Ratner’s delicious onion rolls they served alongside! Enjoy!

Serves 10

* The original recipe called for 2 quarts of water and no stock. I used a quart of vegetable stock for flavor since I cut the salt down from 2 tablespoons to 2 teaspoons, I felt it needed something more than water.

**BAKED ONIONS… I chose to use caramelized onions for a couple of reasons. First, the amount of butter added, second, I like the taste of caramelized onions and thought they would be a rich compliment to the soup. The original recipe called for ½ cup baked onions) If you would like to try it, the recipe is as follows:
1 cup clarified butter
3 lbs onions, peeled and sliced
Preheat oven to 350F. Stir butter into onions in a 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until golden brown in color. Stir occasionally. Cool and refrigerate till needed. May be stored in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Photo of the menu compliments of The New York Public Library

Beef Stew… The Lost Recipe

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Sherri

When thinking of a title for this post – beef stew… the lost recipe seemed to fit the bill! You’ll find out why later on.

In the 70’s I was a latchkey kid. I rode my bike home from school, let myself in the house, and started my routine while my parents were at work. Every day included watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island and I Dream of Jeannie, while enjoying a treat from the ice cream truck. In Florida the ice cream man came around every day of the year! After that, I would talk to my friends on the phone while cooking the dinner. I’m sure you noticed doing homework was never mentioned!

I think one of the reasons I like to cook so much is because when I was a kid, I was the one my mom left in charge to prepare dinner. Sometimes that meant heating up what she already prepared, putting together bits and pieces, or cooking the whole meal. I didn’t really mind and kind of enjoyed experimenting a little in the kitchen. She always made it easy for me and sometimes I even had time to whip up some Rice Krispy treats!

Beef stew was one of those meals. So why did I call it a lost recipe? In all my mom’s recipe cards, newspaper clippings, or cookbooks, beef stew never made an appearance. I remember the ingredients, but not the ratios. I also remember it was one of my favorite meals. After looking at a variety of recipes, and with my sister’s help, I found a couple that had the basics of a stew, but not her ingredients. Tonight I recreated it and it tasted just like my mom’s! I think she would be very impressed and happy I added a little bit of wine to it. It was a very welcome treat to enjoy one of my childhood favorites on the coldest night of the year… 2 degrees in Ohio! What a warm and comforting meal. Now all I need is a fudge pop, a rerun of Gilligan’s Island, and I’m all set!

Total Time: 3 hr 20 min… Prep Time: 50 min… Cooking Time: 2 hr 30 min… Level: Easy

Ingredients
2 pounds lean stewing beef cut into 2-inch cubes
4 to 5 tablespoons flour
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
One cup sweet red wine (I used a concord grape wine)
1 – 14.5 ounce can whole or diced tomatoes
1 cup water, beef broth, or vegetable broth
2 ½ cups Yukon gold potatoes cut into 1” pieces
2 ½ cups pearl onions (I used a bag of frozen from Trader Joe’s)
4 large thick carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces to yield 2 cups
3 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 – 12 or 16 ounce packages of baby portobello mushrooms, cleaned well and sliced
1 cup fresh or frozen peas (fresh are difficult to find so frozen are fine)
3 to 4 garlic cloves finely minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Sprinkle 3 or more tablespoons of the flour evenly over the meat and toss to coat each piece.

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef in a single layer without crowding the pan (work in 2 batches if necessary) and cook, turning, until browned on all sides. Remove the beef from the pan and reserve.

Add the red wine to deglaze the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil then add the minced garlic. Return the beef to the pot and add the potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, sliced mushrooms, tomatoes and water or broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a very low simmer, cover and cook until the beef is very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Add the peas and continue cooking until the stew is thickened and the peas are cooked, about 5 to 10 minutes. Season it with salt and pepper to taste. I used 1 teaspoon of pepper, and a pinch of salt. If the sauce seems a little thick, add a splash of wine, water or broth. You may also need to do that when reheating if there is anything leftover. Enjoy! Yield: 4 to 6 servings

In 2016 – Look to the Cookie!

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Sherri

Let’s make 2016 the year we all look to the cookie!

I wonder what it is about certain catch phrases that live on for years. You know the ones I mean. Everything from where’s the beef, to suit up, to how YOU doin’. For my family these catchy sayings usually come from the television show Seinfeld. 17 years since the series final episode, we still find ourselves quoting the show almost weekly – serenity now! Maybe because we are New Yorker’s at heart or just because they are so darn funny – probably both! With that being said, this year I propose we look to the cookie and all our problems will be solved (thanks again Jerry)! In this case, not the black and white, but the fortune cookie. After reading though several fortune cookies, I realized they encourage mindfulness. They steer us towards enlightenment, positivity, humor, and make us stop and think.

When it comes to believing in fortune cookies, my sister is the real deal! One of the things I love most about her is how serious she takes them. She will try to figure out if there is a hidden meaning for her in the message, or why she got the one she did. When we go around the table and read ours aloud, she makes adorable faces as if to agree or disagree with what it said, sometimes disappointed when it doesn’t have a good message, and she always saves them. If you walked into her house right now, I can promise you will find a fortune somewhere! We all love when she gets excited and says “OMG that’s so true.” I think she’s on to something.

Can you think about the last fortune you opened? Do you remember what it said? Mine said “All your hard work will soon pay off.” I kept it, believed it, and will continue to work hard. For 2016, what do you want your fortune to say? Will you try to find the hidden meaning? Will you agree with it, or disagree? Will you save it? Look to the cookie…

Something wonderful is about to happen to you.
Laugh long, loud, and often
You create your own stage and your audience is waiting
Common sense is not so common
Marriage lets you annoy one special person the rest of your life
Don’t pursue happiness, create it.
You don’t need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding.
Never compare yourself to the best others can do, but to the best you can do.
Don’t panic!
If you don’t like the fortune, don’t eat the cookie!

So 2016… as we charge into this new year we come filled with new hopes, lighter eating, more exercising, and kindness towards others. Take these messages and make them happen. Something wonderful is about to happen to you! Laugh long, loud and often. Happy New Year to my wonderful readers.

Finally, a special shout out to my sister… Inside your fortune cookie today it will read “Someone loves you and wishes you the happiest of birthdays”

Look to the cookie!

An Unexpected Guest for Thanksgiving… Lentil Soup!

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Sherri

Last week we had an unexpected guest for Thanksgiving… lentil soup! We were in Virginia for the holiday and my sister-in-law Barbara went all out with the dinner. The table was filled with a bounty of people, and a bounty of food. There was two of everything! It was like Noah’s Ark as two by two dishes came to the table – even two pumpkin pies! I was happy I was able to contribute a little something and brought my cranberry sauce (luckily I brought two!). Now that I think about it, I brought two pans of stuffing, and two bottles of wine!

Dinner included a turkey of course, stuffing, vegetables, gravy, and a special sweet potato soufflé made by my niece Sara – all the usual stars of the show. To start the meal she served two soups, one butternut squash (with a nice kick of heat) and an unexpected guest – the lentil soup. It was delicious and a welcome surprise.

Yesterday I went to the grocery and bought a bag of lentils, carrots, onions, and celery. Basically this is all you need for the base. I always have vegetable stock and cans of tomatoes in my pantry so I was ready to go. This isn’t my sister-in-law Barbara’s recipe, maybe we’ll be lucky and she’ll share it with us! My recipe is a combination of a family recipe with a “splash” of extra vegetables and a little less lentils than most recipes. I’ve made variations of this for years and each time, it comes out great. This time I added a parsnip but if you don’t like parsnips leave them out or swap in a diced potato. At the end of cooking, I added a handful of chopped spinach but if you don’t like spinach leave it out or swap in kale. I have made it with water instead of vegetable stock – still good – it’s indestructible!

On a cold night I love lentil soup; it’s high in protein, a good source of fiber and magnesium, and a quick and easy soup to prepare. The next time you are at the grocery, pick up a bag of lentils – you’ll be thankful! With bread and a salad, this soup makes a whole meal, so don’t wait until next Thanksgiving to make it! Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 ¼ cup green lentils picked over and rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion peeled and diced
2 carrots peeled and cut into small dice (equivalent to 1 ¼ cups)
2 stalks of celery diced (equivalent to ¼ cups)
1 – 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 – 32 ounce container of low sodium vegetable stock
2 tablespoons fresh parsley minced
1 to 2 cloves of garlic minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon kosher salt (more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon black pepper (more or less to taste)

Optional
1 parsnip or potato diced
handful of chopped spinach or kale
1 cup cooked elbow macaroni

Directions
In a large stockpot on medium heat, sauté the onion and garlic with the olive oil 10 to 15 minutes, or until translucent. Add the celery and carrots and sauté for 10 more minutes (if adding parsnip or potato, add at this time as well). Add the vegetable stock, tomatoes, bay leaves and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 1 hour or until the lentils are cooked through. Add the parsley, salt and pepper to taste. If you are adding spinach or kale, add it in at the end. Taste the soup to check the seasonings and adjust accordingly. This soup freezes great.

2 hours to prepare. Makes 8 to 10 servings

Cranberry Sauce 2.0 – Happy Thanksgiving!

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Sherri

For this Thanksgiving I’m taking you from cranberry sauce out of a can to cranberry sauce 2.0! I’m also taking you behind the scenes of my first Thanksgiving in Ohio. I’m sure you are all in the thick of cooking, probably have your cranberry sauce made, and won’t even read this until tomorrow. Nevertheless, I feel I need to put this out there into cyberspace because I am thankful today, and did I forget to mention – I love cranberry sauce! I love the color. I love how tart and sweet it is all at the same time. I love how it’s a great partner to turkey, but if it spills into the stuffing or sweet potatoes – even better! I love the fact you only need only 3 ingredients to make it. That’s without my splash of course, but we’ll get to that.

Remember this? I do and will admit, I even love cranberry sauce from a can!

On the first Thanksgiving we spent in Ohio back in 2003, we decided against travelling anywhere as we had just moved a couple of months before and the thought of a long drive, or rushing to the airport, was too much to think about. What we did instead was plan a fun weekend at home full with games, good food, and going to the movies. I thought it would be a great idea if we all cooked together for the holiday. Before Food Network told us it was cool for kids to be in the kitchen, mine already had aprons with their names embroidered on them! Here is what I remember… I was in charge of the turkey, my older son was in charge of the desserts, his younger brother helped with the cranberry sauce, and my husband just made a mess, so he was given the job of setting the table! And we laughed a lot.

What I learned from this experience was several things: first, since it was my then, 5 year old making the cranberry sauce, I learned how high raw cranberries can bounce and quickly scatter all over the kitchen! I also learned the importance of keeping a lid on the pot when cooking (they sometimes pop out!). I learned my older son was great at following directions and liked pumpkin pie. I learned that my husband while a menace in the kitchen was great at selecting wine, picking out good music, and setting the table which is where his expertise lies. I learned I didn’t play well with others in the kitchen but still loved every minute of it! Finally I learned how even though most people think of Thanksgiving as a time of being with a big extended family and lots of friends (and I was sad we weren’t), for us it was just as great if not better being just us four.

Today as I sit and write this post, I think of all I am grateful for. One of the first things that comes to mind is cranberry sauce! It reminds me of that wonderful Thanksgiving day in 2003 which taught me so much about my family. So here goes, my cranberry sauce recipe with what I think you’ll agree – a Splash of Sherri!

Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving wherever and with whoever you are with – be Grateful.

2 – 12 ounce bags of fresh cranberries washed
1 cup sugar (you can add more, it depends how sweet you like it)
2 cups water
3/4 cup dried cranberries (my secret ingredient)
¾ cup canned mandarin oranges in juice drained
½ to ¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans(depending on how nutty you would like it)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (my other secret ingredient!)
Recipe makes about 5 cups and feeds a lot of people! Feel free to cut it in half.

Cook the cranberries, sugar, and water in a covered saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes, add the dried cranberries and continue to cook another 5 minutes, or until the skins pop open, stirring occasionally. When checking the sauce to stir, be mindful to lift the lid away from you, as some cranberries might pop up as I found out the hard way! Remove from heat and allow it to cool a little before adding in the vanilla. If you add it when it’s too hot, it will evaporate quickly. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate. Before serving, add the walnuts and oranges. You can alter the amount to your liking.

A couple of tips before I leave you… Cranberry sauce thickens as it cools they are full of natural pectin. If it is thicker than you like, add a little water or juice to it. This year, I added pineapple juice because it’s what I had on hand, orange juice would work too, as would water. Add one tablespoon at a time, till the desired thickness. Second, you can always make it sweeter, so be conservative to start. Then if it’s not as sweet as you would like it, add a little sugar. One reason my recipe has 1/2 the sugar if not more than most, is the dried cranberries add a lot of sweetness. Oh, and you don’t have to wait until Thanksgiving to make this. It’s so easy, why not make it next week?