The Second Avenue Deli Cookbook (19 page)

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Authors: Sharon Lebewohl

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2. Cut crusts off bread, cube, and soften with water in a strainer. Squeeze out excess liquid.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, thoroughly blend meats and bread, working them together with your hands. Add onion-garlic-green pepper mixture and all other ingredients. Blend thoroughly.

4. Place meat mixture in a loaf pan, and score a crisscross design along the top with a knife. Bake 50 minutes, pour off accumulated fat, and continue baking for 20 minutes more. Serve with
mashed potatoes
or
garlic-rosemary roast potatoes
and a green vegetable.

R
AOUL
F
ELDER
, perhaps America's best-known divorce attorney, is the author of several books on subjects ranging eclectically from matrimonial and divorce laws to
A Guide to New York and Los Angeles Restaurants.
The
National Law Journal
has called him one of “America's 100 Most Powerful Lawyers.”

Abe had a love/hate relationship with food. His preoccupation made for some strange culinary bedfellows, such as Al Goldstein (a frequent dining partner), whose usual field of endeavor is investigating the stuffing of body openings somewhat south of the mouth and with somewhat less gastronomic items. At the mere mention of foodâor of a particular dishâAbe's eyes would light up with delight, and he would talk about it with the passion another person might bring to a discussion of a great painting or orchestral work.

He also had a constant weight battle and knew the caloric content of most foods. Once, observing me eating a plain bagelâwhich I thought was devoid of everything except the capacity to fill one's stomachâhe explained to me that a “New York bagel” (he differentiated between an ordinary bagel and the New York variety) was possessed of some hundreds of calories. This destroyed for me what little self-righteous pleasure I might have taken in my virtuous dry bagel.

Abe was ever enthusiastic about food. One day, I was in the Deli with my daughter, Rachel, and she asked him something about pastrami, whereupon he gave us a guided tour of the kitchen, and we both learned more than we ever wanted to know about pastrami, its fat content, et cetera.

Abe was the most generous person imaginable; before a sentence requesting some assistance was finished, it was accomplished. Around Christmas one year, Jackie Mason and I distributed warm clothes and food to homeless people in Tompkins Square Park. Abe showed up with a truck, gave away mountains of food, and was prepared to keep the food flowing until the last unfortunate left. Another time, we were asked by some strikers to supply food for their picket line. Within two hours, Abe was there with his truck handing out food. Personally, I avoided asking Abe to cater office parties, because he absolutely refused to accept payment. His generosity, given so easily and graciously to most anyone who asked, made the manner of his death all the more reprehensible.

The following is a recipe that has long been in my family.

The Felder Family Meat Loaf

SERVES
6

2 pounds ground chuck or top round

2 tablespoons matzo meal

Â¼ cup grated onion

1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic

1 teaspoon salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 raw egg

4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled

4 tablespoons coarse bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. With your hands, or a wooden spoon, mix together the beef, matzo meal, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and raw egg.

2. Pack half the mixture along the bottom of a 5- by 9-inch loaf pan. Arrange the hard-boiled eggs down the center, end to end, pushing them gently into the meat. Pack the remaining mixture into the pan, over the eggs. Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly on top.

3. Bake the loaf until cooked through, about 1 hour. After 30 minutes, tilt the pan and spoon off the fat. Pour a little of the clear juice over the top of the loaf. Near the end of the cooking time, spoon off fat again. If you choose, briefly place the loaf under the broiler to further brown the bread crumbs.

4. Let the loaf rest in its pan for about 20 minutes to settle before serving.

Abe with Joel Grey and Bob Hope

Potted Meatballs

MAKES
18

Okay, we admit it. Our menu's potted meatballs are baked in the oven, not cooked in a pot. We have no idea why Abe listed them as potted on the menu.

8 slices white bread, including crusts

2Â½ pounds chopmeat

2 cups grated onion (chop them to a grated texture in your food processor or put them through a meat grinder; then place them in a colander and press out extra moisture)

3 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1Â½ teaspoons salt

Â¼ teaspoon pepper

1. Cut bread slices in quarters, place them in a colander, and lightly moisten bread with water (don't drench it; just use enough water to make it doughy). Squeeze out excess moisture, and place bread in a large bowl with chopmeat. Knead bread and meat together thoroughly with your hands until there are no bready lumps. For best results, working in batches, combine bread and meat in a food processor.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Add all other ingredients, and mix well.

3. Roll out meatballs that are 2Â½ inches in diameter. Place them in a baking dish at least 2 inches deep, and bake them for 10 minutes. Add a cup of water to the baking dish, and bake them for another 30 minutes or until browned. Serve hot or cold, as an entrÃ©e or in sandwiches.

Meatballs and Cabbage

SERVES
6

We're not sure how it happened, but a lot of Jewish recipes use cranberry sauce for piquant sweetening. If the ingredients in this recipe sound like an odd combination, we assure you, once you've tried it, you'll want it again and again. Sharon's kids demand it on a regular basis.

2 cups (16 ounces) plain tomato sauce

1 16-ounce can Ocean Spray whole-berry cranberry sauce

Â¾ cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 pounds chopmeat

8 slices white bread

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup very finely chopped onion

Â½ cup very finely chopped fresh parsley

1Â½ teaspoons salt

1 cup flour for dredging meatballs

1 tablespoon corn oil for frying meatballs

1 small green cabbage (about 4 pounds), cut into 3-inch chunks

1. In a large bowl, mix tomato sauce, cranberry sauce, raisins, and brown sugar. Set aside.

2. Place chopmeat in a large bowl. Cut crusts off the bread, cube, soften with water in a strainer, and drain off excess liquid. Using your hands, work the bread thoroughly into the meat. Add eggs, onion, parsley, and salt; still using your hands, blend thoroughly.

3. Pour flour into a shallow pan or dish. Form meatballs about 2 inches in diameter, coat them thoroughly with flour, and place them (without stacking) on a large plate.

4. Heat corn oil in a large, deep skillet, and brown meatballs (reflour them if they're not sturdy enough) on medium heat. Don't crowd so many meatballs into the pan that you won't be able to turn them; use 2 pans, or work in batches.

5. Carefully transfer the browned meatballs to a large stockpot. Add chopped-up cabbage to the sauce and pour it over the meatballs. Cover, and simmer for 1 hour. Do not add water. Serve with broad noodles.

Meatballs in Homemade Tomato Sauce

SERVES
6

FOR THE MEATBALLS (MAKES ABOUT
20
)

1 pound ground beef

1 pound ground veal

Â¼ cup matzo meal

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 eggs, beaten

Â¼ cup clear chicken soup or stock

2 tablespoons ketchup

Â¼ teaspoon pepper

Flour for dredging