The Lederman Kitchen

We talked about making chicken stock before, and turkey stock is really no different.  It's just made with turkey...  After my Mom put together an amazing Thanksgiving dinner with a delicious turkey, I made some stock with the carcass.  My Dad and his friends were pretty interested in what I was doing as you can see. For a delicious, flavor packed turkey stock, you will need: 1 turkey carcass 2 leeks 2 onions 5 carrots 5 celery stalks 2 heads of garlic 2 bay leaves 1 bunch of parsley salt and pepper The ingredients might vary based on the size of the bird that you are using.  Feel free to reduce if needed, but I don't see it getting any bigger.  We had a huge bird to feed all 19 people at dinner. To get started, turn the oven to 450 and roast the carcass and skin for about 30 minutes until roasted.  Sorry, we don't have many pictures. Roughly chop the leeks, onions, carrots, celery, and garlic.  Add a few table...

When my Mom makes matzoh ball soup, she always makes the stock by boiling a whole chicken.  While I love the soup, I also love the chicken salad that she usually makes once she's done with the chicken.  It's super easy and a great use for boiled chicken. You will need: 1 boiled chicken (use as much as you want) onion celery mayo salt and pepper Once the chicken cools, use your hands to shred it.   You can also use a fork to shred the big pieces. Dice some onions and celery and add to the chicken.  The amount can vary based on your preference and how much chicken you are using. Add a few tablespoons of mayo, or more if needed and mix in.  Then season to taste with salt and pepper.  It's just that easy.  The salad is great for sandwiches or served as a snack on your favorite crackers.

The first rule of cooking salmon is to always buy fresh fish, the frozen stuff (or previously frozen) just isn't the same.  The second rule of salmon is to keep it simple.  For me, this means salt, pepper, and a little olive oil.   I typically don't make a sauce to go with the salmon, but I came across a horseradish sauce recipe that sounded interesting.  Turns out it was crazy delicious and paired wonderfully with the salmon and leftover potato salad . For a great dinner for two, you will need: 2 salmon portions 3/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons prepared white horseradish 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon dill (fresh or dried) You can make the sauce ahead to get it out of the way.  Just mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.  This recipe makes a lot of sauce, plenty for 4 people.  Next time I make this sauce for just the two of us I'l...

No matter how much "fancy" or "complicated" food we make and eat, there are always the comfort foods that really hit the spot.  I don't think that there is a more classic combination than a soup and sando combo.      Grilled cheese is always good, but when it's made with Acme bread and aged white cheddar it's even better.   There's nothing complicated going on here, two pieces of buttered bread, a couple slices of cheese and a pan on low heat.  The only key to grilled cheese is not getting impatient and turning the heat too high.  Take your time and wait for a golden brown outside and melted inside.  A bowl of my leftover chicken noodle soup was the perfect compliment to the grilled cheese.

Great soup starts with a great stock, and great stock starts with a roast chicken .  When making a whole bird, save the bones and skin for the base of what is going to be the best chicken broth ever. For the stock you will need: Bones and skin of 1 whole roast chicken 2 leeks 2 onions 4 carrots 4 celery stalks A few sprigs of fresh thyme  A few sprigs of fresh Italian parsley 1 bay leaf 6 cloves of garlic About a dozen peppercorns 2 tablespoons of salt Once you make the stock you can reserve some in the freezer and use the rest for the soup.  For awesome homemade chicken noodle soup you will need: 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 celery stalks, finely chopped 1 leek, white part only, thinly sliced 1/2 onion, chopped 1 carrot, finely chopped 5 cups of chicken stock 1 bay leaf 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 2 cups cooked chicken (from the awesome roast chicken from the night before) 1/2 lb egg noodles (I made them from scratc...

After last week's  Mediterranean Vegetable Couscous with Grilled Chicken Breasts and Yogurt Sauce  the Wife asked me to make her a Greek Style Salad for lunch with the leftovers.  It's a great way to use up the extra yogurt sauce and vegetables.  For the salad you will need: 1/4 small red onion 1/2 red pepper 1/2 green pepper 1/2 a small cucumber 1/3 cup olives (any type is fine, I had a Greek mix left over from Whole Food's olive bar) 1 tomato 1/4 cup feta cheese This salad is super simple, just roughly chop the peppers, cucumber, and tomato.  Thinly slice the red onion, and cut the olives in half.  To finish just mix the vegetables with some feta cheese.  We had plenty of yogurt sauce  left over for the dressing from dinner.  The Wife likes the dressing on the side, and like any salad that you are not eating right away, hold off on adding the dressing so your salad doesn't get soggy. That's it, quick l...

I'm a big fan of weekend breakfasts.  After 5 straight days of eating yogurt or cereal in my cubicle, I am always ready for a nice breakfast at home.  We usually do our main grocery shopping on the weekends, so breakfast is always a great opportunity to use up whatever is leftover from the week.  This morning I found myself with leftover potatoes from the baked chicken , onions from the pizza , and green onions from the Dan Dan Noodles .  There's no better way to use up ingredients than in some type of egg dish. Today I departed from the typical scramble and whipped up a quick frittata.   You can add anything you want to a frittata, it's just the simple technique that you need to know in order to make sure that it cooks properly.  For our breakfast I used: 4 eggs 1 tablespoon milk 3 fingerling potatoes 1/2 of a white onion 2 sprigs green onion 2 tablespoons of cheese (we had leftover Amsterdam Reserve Gouda, the best cheese ever) Salt...