Borscht by Choice

photo courtesy joe lingeman. **we ate the soup before we took the picture.

Friday night, I did the unthinkable.

I made borscht.

By choice.

Worse, I made my boyfriend eat it.

For Shabbos.

Having recently reinstalled myself in the great white north, and anticipating the famously long and cold winters, I decided to experiment with this oft-dreaded dish.

I followed the Bittman recipe, which calls for boiling three pounds of chopped beets and one onion in six cups of water.

After the mixture softens, Bittman says to beat in two eggs. I used one. Then he says to add the juice of one whole lemon.

I upped the acid Bittman suggested, using champagne vinegar instead of lemon juice alone. I also served it with mini creamer potatoes and sour cream mixed with champagne vinegar and dill.

On the next go-round, I'm going to experiment with adding turnips to the broth. And I'll serve it warm, instead of as a vichyssoise. I'm also thinking -- per the advice of my collaborator and friend -- to substitute the traditional potatoes with a blue cheese crostini.

I'm also thinking about putting horseradish (homemade, from the root) into the stock. Is this suicide? Or worth a shot?

Parve BBQ + delicious potato salad

A good friend of mine from college once told me that her grandmother made the world's best potato salad. Her secret? After frying up the bacon, she poured the grease from the pan INTO the salad - instead of pouring it down the drain or whatever it is bacon-eaters do to be rid of the stuff.

Amazing, no? Especially when used in addition to mayo?


Kind of stretches the definition of salad. But I hear it's delicious. *By the way, that's bacon, not an anchovy.

Anyway, the Barefoot Contessa has some great suggestions on how to make a non-mayo, non-baconified salad, which was apparently influenced by Julia Child. You can bring it to a totally kosher bbq, because the version below is parve (though Barefoot Contessa's is fleishich). I've modified it for taste, fatness, and budgetary constraints. If you prefer a more-tangy recipe, up the mustard and the white wine. Also, if you don't have champagne vinegar on hand, feel free to skip, and substitute lemon juice or more wine. By the way, this is a great way to use up any Tishbi or Baron Herzog you have lying around -- or to get rid of the bottle your mother-in-law brought over for Shabbos, because you'd rather drink (traif) Sancerre.

• A few pounds red potatos (the regular-sized ones are fine)
• 2 tbs Champagne vinegar
• 2 tbs vegetable stock - try Osem or any other brand
• 3 tbs dry white wine
• 2 tbs mustard
• Bunch of fresh dill
• Basil, if you have a fresh bunch on hand
• 10 tbs good olive oil
• one bunch scallions
• a couple handfuls snap peas

Boil the potatoes, but not within an inch of their life. Chop roughly. Toss with white wine and vegetable stock while the potatoes are still warm. Osem is not the most delicious, but it's way cheaper than Pacific or Imagine. And it comes in a powder form, so you don't have to worry about using up the quart left over from a recipe that calls for only two tablespoons of stock.

Mix the remaining wet ingredients as you would any dressing; pour over the potatoes. Chop up the scallions, snap peas (these are delicious raw), dill, and basil, if you have it. Add salt and pepper to taste.