The Lederman Kitchen

I get it, not everyone likes seafood pizza.  It's so good though...  I had to make this one while Michelle was out of town because she doubts this one.  Trust me though, if you like clams and you like shrimp, then you'll love this pizza.   You will need: Pizza dough - store bought or homemade 2-3 cloves of garlic mozzarella cheese ricotta cheese small amount of bay shrimp (maybe 1/2 cup) can of clams, drained (or you can use cooked fresh clams) dried thyme dried oregano salt and pepper If you are making your own dough, then you'll need an hour or so to let it rest.  If not, just preheat the oven to 500 and start prepping the ingredients. Start by chopping up some garlic and slicing the cheese.  Fresh mozzarella has a lot of moisture so I like to slice it early and place on a paper towel to drain off some moisture so our pizza isn't soggy.  Drain the clams and add to a bowl with the garlic and shri...

I'm a big Cobb Salad fan, but I've never made it at home before.  I typically spend $15 for the salad all over town.  My version at home was just as good as the restaurant staple and costs half as much. For a delicious dinner for two: 1 head of lettuce (I used Romaine) 4 strips of thick cut bacon 1 tomato About 1 cup of croutons 1 avocado 2 green onions 2 eggs 1 cup of cooked, chopped chicken 1/2 cup of crumbled blue cheese For the dressing: 1 shallot 1 garlic clove 1 tablespoon of dijon 1 tablespoon of vinegar (White Wine, Red Wine, or Champagne all work well) 1 tablespoons of olive oil This is just a salad so it should be super simple.  Start by hard boiling the eggs and cooking the bacon.  Stack the bacon and cut into strips.     While the eggs and bacon cook, chop up the rest of the ingredients.  I used some leftover roasted chicken, but you can just buy a rotisserie chicken or grab a fe...

Snapper is a great fish.  It's mild and delicious and super easy to prepare.  Paired with couscous and kale it rounds out to perfect weeknight dish.  This whole meal can come together in 20 minutes. This recipe is for 2 people, but you can easily scale it up for more: 1 head of kale 2-3 tablespoons of ricotta cheese 2 cloves of garlic 1/2 cup of couscous 1/4 cup of slivered almonds 1 red snapper fillet (probably about 3/4-1 lb) 1 teaspoon of lemon juice 1/4 cup of dry white wine 1 tablespoon of olive oil dash of nutmeg salt and pepper I actually forgot to take pictures of the couscous, but it's super easy to make.  Just use 2 parts liquid to 1 part couscous.  Boil 1 cup of water or stock and a drop of olive oil.  Once boiling, add the couscous and remove from the heat.  Cover and let rest for about 5 minutes.  Then fluff with a fork, season with salt and pepper, and add some sliced toasted almonds (if desired...

I am not the biggest broccoli fan.  I think that it has more to do with the texture though, because I love cream of broccoli soup.  This recipe that Michelle found on Real Simple is a great way to get that same creamy taste but without the cream.   For super simple soup for 4, you will need: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion 1⁄8 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional) 2 cups stock (I used chicken stock) 1 bunch broccoli, florets roughly chopped and stems peeled and sliced (about 7 cups) 1 large russet potato (about 8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces kosher salt and black pepper 1/2 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese To get started, chop the onion and peel and chop the potato. Next, heat the oil in a dutch oven and add the onion and red pepper.  Cook for a few minutes until soft. While the onion cooks away, wash and cut the broccoli into manageable florets. When the onions are soft, but not brown...

I didn't go to the store planning on making crab rangoon.  I was looking for wonton wrappers to make wonton soup, but on the back of the package was a recipe for crab rangoon and I couldn't resist.   This actually was not my first time making crab rangoon.  When I worked at Kirin in high school I used to have to form crab rangoon when we were slow during shifts.  I was bad at forming the shapes back then too...  This was my first attempt at making the filling though and it turned out great. Surprisingly, there aren't too many ingredients needed: 8 oz of crab meat 8 oz of cream cheese 1 garlic clove 2 green onions 1/2 teaspoon of soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil (optional, don't buy it if you don't have it on hand) 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce 24 wonton wrappers (approximately)  Typically crab rangoon are fried, but I baked mine at 425 for about 12-15 minutes.  Again, this is an easy one. ...

It's been cold here in the City.  After a long holiday weekend in Portland with the in laws, I didn't feel like fussing over a big dinner.  Beef stew was a great one pot option.  It's comfort food at it's finest and perfect for a cold winter day. For some serious stew, enough for 4 people: 2 lbs of steak (I used stew meat, it's readily available at the butcher counter this time of year) 2 onions I also used cippolini onions, but they're optional. Just peal and leave whole, they get super soft and sweet. 5 carrots (about 1 lb) 1lb of fingerling potatoes 1 lb of crimini mushrooms 1 bottle of red wine 3 cloves of garlic 2 cups (or more) of stock -  Beef is traditional, but I had homemade turkey stock on hand that I used. 2 tablespoons of flour 4 tablespoons of butter  1 tablespoon of thyme Olive oil Salt and Pepper This is a great Sunday dinner.  It's simple to make, but like most soups or braises, it just takes a wh...