Wow. That’s a long title. But when I tried to trim it down, I felt bad about whoever I was leaving out!I’ve been on a scallop kick lately. One of the reasons is...they are delizioso. I do love the flavor, texture, smell...I guess what I’m saying is...I’m a big scallop fan.But the main reason for the recent consummation of scallops is...
They’re on sale at a local grocery called Sprouts. Eight bucks for a one-pound bag of frozen, wild-caught bay scallops from the Gulf of Mexico. Eight bucks! And they really are stinkin’ good.So I’ve been buying a couple bags at a time, I keep them in the freezer for emergencies, in case there’s an earthquake or if I bang my head on the goat shed and need an ice-pack.Bay scallops are the small ones. Sea scallops are the big ones, the ridiculously expensive ones. I don’t know why sea scallops have almost doubled in price lately. Maybe there’s a scallop divers strike that I’m not aware of. Maybe scallops just aren’t having as many children as before.Regardless, sea scallops are costly. But bay scallops ain’t. And I’m really digging the bay scallops, I love the way they taste, they’re wild-caught, they don’t cost a ton of dough, and they’re easy and quick.What’s not to love?
The other night here at the Slim Shack I wanted some pasta. I’ve been getting these cravings. Maybe I’m pregnant. But I’ve been craving pasta lately, so I pulled out a bag of scallops.I had a basil plant in back of the Shack, it’s been doing pretty well despite it being 189 degrees outside. Palm Springs gets hot in the summer. It was so hot the other day here at the Slim Shack that when I milked the goats all that came out was evaporated milk.I usually keep garlic and lemons and white wine handy. And I had some spaghetti, too. And I had some butter, some real good Irish butter that I had splurged on last week.So I thought I’d whip up a quick little something. I put it all together, and it was good, Slim Folks.It was so good I made it again just a few nights later. Just to be sure.And?It’s well-worthy of Slim People.NOTES:The scallops threw off a bit of liquid. It didn’t bother me, it actually made the sauce taste better. It reduced quite nicely! And the flavor, she was a-so nice!Bay scallops are small and don’t take much time at all. Try and get them to sear on each side. It’s tough, but you can do it, Slim People!I put this over pasta. Call me crazy, but I’m a glutton for gluten!But you can serve it as is with some crusty bread to your crusty friends and family. Or you can serve it over rice. Put it on bruschetta, or a pizza, or your pancakes in the morning!INGREDIENTS1 pound bay scallopsFresh cracked black pepper, brown or Turbinado sugar, and salt, a sprinkling of each3 tablespoons butter1 tablespoon olive oil5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled½ cup dry white wineJuice from one lemon (2 tablespoons, NO SEEDS!)Small handful fresh basil leaves HERE WE GO!Put a sauté pan over medium-high heat.Add 1 tablespoon of butter, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.When the butter has melted and starts to brown, add the scallops.Cook for 90 seconds or until the bottoms are golden.Stir/flip as best you can!
Cook on the other side for 90 seconds or until golden.Remove with a slotted spoon to a platter.Reduce the heat to medium.Add the garlic, cook for a minute or two, until golden.Flip, cook for another minute or two, until golden.Add the wine and the lemon juice.Turn the heat to high, scrape and stir for a minute or so as the sauce reduces.Turn heat down to medium.Add 2 tablespoons of butter.When it melts, add the scallops.Take the basil, snip it with scissors on top of the scallops.Stir gently for a minute.Turn off the heat.She’s a-done!I put my scallop sauce over pasta, I cooked a half-pound of spaghetti in salted boiling water, drained it, and added it right to the sauce and gave it a toss.She’s a-so nice!MANGIAMO!!!
Slim Man Cooks Pasta Carbonara
Pasta CarbonaraYou can only eat pasta carbonara a couple times a year. Any more than that and you’ll have to walk around with a defibrillator duct-taped to your chest. It’s a heart-stoppin’, artery-poppin’ dish that might kill ya.It’s one of my favorites.This is my own version. I added white wine, which gives it a little kick. But if you’re having it for breakfast—it is after all eggs and bacon—you might want to leave out the wine. You might…I don’t.I use Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, most recipes call for Romano, which I find a little too salty for this. You got enough sodium in the pancetta to float a boat, so I use Parmigiano, which is a little sweeter.The name comes from the Italian word for coal, carbona. Legend has it that coal miners would put a couple eggs, a piece of pancetta (Italian bacon) and a hunk of cheese in their pockets, and make this on their lunch break, all in one pot.Putting eggs in your pocket doesn’t sound like a good idea to me, but what the hell do I know? 
INGREDIENTS:3 eggs1 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese2 tablespoons fresh Italian flat leaf parsley, choppedFresh cracked black pepper8 ounces pancetta, diced into tiny pieces4 cloves of garlic, peeled, and smashed/flattened with the broad side of a knife¼ cup white wine1 pound of spaghetti We’ll do this all in real time. Here goes:Get a large pot. Fill it with cold water. Put it on the highest heat you got. As it heats up…Get a large bowl, one big enough to hold all the pasta and stuff.Break three eggs into the bowl. Add the cheese. Add the chopped parsley. Add some fresh cracked black pepper. Hold off on the salt for now—the pancetta can be a bit salty, so you don’t really need any extra.Beat all this stuff with a fork. Now let’s cook our pancetta.Pancetta is Italian bacon. So treat it like bacon. Don’t be flippin’ it all around. You want it to brown on each side. So let it brown!Get a small fry pan. Put it over medium heat. Put the diced pancetta in. Let it brown for about 3 to 5 minutes.Flip it over, give it a stir, let it brown on the other side, 3 to 5 minutes.When the pancetta is done, use a slotted spoon get it out of the pan. Put it in the bowl with the eggs and stuff. Give it a stir.You should have some pancetta drippings in the bottom of the pan. Get rid of most of the drippings. You want to leave a little in the bottom of the pan, just enough to fry the garlic.Put the pan on medium-low heat.Add the garlic, cook for a couple minutes on each side until golden.Turn up the heat to high. Add the wine; let it cook off for a minute or so. Turn off the heat.Back to the pasta…when the pasta water comes to a boil, add a couple tablespoons of kosher salt. Add the pasta.When the pasta is al dente, drain it well.IMMEDIATELY toss the pasta into the bowl with the eggs. Add the pancetta and garlic, straight from the pan. Toss gently for a minute or two. You want the heat from the pasta and the pancetta to cook the eggs.When it all looks right, plate it up. Garnish with a piece of parsley, and…MANGIAMO!!!!!
Slim Man Cooks Asparagus with Parmigiano
Our manager told us about this new television network that was about to launch, a 24-hour network that was going to play nothing but music videos. They were gonna call it…MTV. Music Television.He played us a few videos that were scheduled for rotation, and asked us if we could do a couple like that. We, the boys in the band, looked at each other and told him, ”Yes, we can.”But we didn’t have a lot of time. The launch of MTV was about to happen.Our manager was Carl Griffin (Griff), the same guy who signed me to Motown. Our band was BootCamp. We had just released a 7” vinyl single with two songs, “Hold On to the Night” and “I’m A Victim.” It was doing really well.We had no idea how to make a music video. We didn’t even know what a music video was until Griff showed us the MTV demo reel. But we knew a guy who worked as a cameraman for the local TV station. He worked in the news van, doing live remotes.We called him. He told us he could “borrow” the cameras and stuff from the TV station, but it had to be after hours. My guess is that he was gonna borrow this stuff without asking, because he asked us to keep it on the down-low. The hush-hush.The first video we shot was for the song “Hold on to the Night.” I wanted to shoot the video at night (clever!) on The Block, which is a two-block section of Baltimore Street in downtown Baltimore that has strip clubs, adult bookstores and peep shows. And a hot dog place called Pollack Johnny’s.But how were we gonna get Baltimore Street closed down in the middle of the night, when all the action was going on?I called the Baltimore Police Department. I told them we were shooting a movie with Ben Vereen. It was the first name that came to mind. To my surprise, the BPD agreed to shut down the street. Ben Vereen is an actor and singer, he was pretty popular in Baltimore, had done a bunch of shows there. So the Baltimore Police Department put out the order to close Baltimore Street for a few hours for a movie shoot for Ben Vereen.We showed up with our TV cameraman, and a couple of guitars, and…we had no idea what to do. We had no script. We had no Ben Vereen. We had a boombox and an empty street. It started to drizzle…so we pressed “record” and started rolling. In the rain.Action! We did take after take. The drizzle worked in our favor—it made the street look shiny and cool. The camera guy was really creative. He did takes where he was lying on the wet ground with the camera looking up. He swooped and swerved and shot some crazy footage.Hit Man Howie Z started banging his drumsticks on the side of a trashcan. Some garbage got stuck on one of his sticks, and crap started flying everywhere. The cameraman was getting it all, but if he had panned out, you would have seen a sergeant with the BPD standing next to Howie, yelling at him…“You better clean up all that s**t when you’re done, son!”We did some more takes, and…Maybe the cops finally figured out that this wasn’t a Ben Vereen movie, or maybe the strippers were complaining about us driving away the customers, but the police put a halt to the filming. They took down the barricades, and traffic started flowing slowly down Baltimore Street again.We left without having any idea if what we shot was good, bad or ugly.It’s a wrap! One down. One to go.A friend of mine had just finished working on an Al Pacino movie that was shot in Baltimore, And Justice for All. The filmmakers had used an old courthouse and the old Baltimore City jail for the movie, and the sets were just sitting there vacant, waiting to be torn down.All the props and the furniture had been left behind, completely intact. It would be perfect for the “I’m a Victim" video.Once again, we had to do it all on the hush-hush. We didn’t really have permission to use the vacant And Justice for All set. We just showed up on the sly and started shooting. Our camera guy had “borrowed” the gear from the TV station once again, and we all sneaked into the courthouse and the jail, and commenced with the craziness.For the “I’m A Victim” video, we actually had a vague idea of what we wanted to do. I was going to be a lawyer. Hit Man Howie Z (BootCamp drummer Howard Zizzi) would be the guy on trial, Rob Roberts (Bob Fallin, guitar) was the judge, and Tom Alonso (keyboards) was the stenographer.There wasn’t a real story. It was just us, in a courtroom, clowning around, with our assorted friends as jurors and observers.We just started filming and improvising. The camera guy was shooting everything, trying to get as much footage as possible in the little time we had. We had one camera, that’s it. We didn’t have any microphones, or audio. We just sang along with a battery-powered boombox. We didn’t have any lighting. We didn’t have any assistants or stylists or producers or directors telling us what to do, where to go or what to wear.At one point, we were filming in a jail cell, and the door accidentally slammed shut with a CLANG! I was locked inside and they couldn’t get the door back open. It freaked me out a bit. I have recurring nightmares about being in prison.We were making it all up as we went along. I was just hoping the real cops wouldn’t bust in, and bust us for trespassing and send us to a real jail.We wrapped up—no sense in pressing our luck. Once again, we left the shoot with no idea if what we shot was any good.The cameraman edited both videos on his own. He snuck into the editing suite at the local TV station, and “borrowed” a few hours at a time. He eventually cut all the footage together. He showed us the two videos.They had a certain charm, for sure. Maybe the cinematography wasn’t gonna win an Oscar, and our acting wasn’t gonna keep Robert DeNiro up at night worrying about us stealing his next acting job, but the videos had a unique down-home allure.Griff sent them to MTV. We, the BootCamp Boys, didn’t think much about it after that. We had no idea how big MTV would be.When the network launched, MTV included the two BootCamp videos. They were two of the first 100 videos MTV ever played. They put us in regular rotation. MTV caught fire. We started getting calls…labels, agents, producers.It was an exciting time. I gotta give it to the camera guy. His name is Kurt Kolaja. He did a great job doing everything, from shooting to editing.MTV took off. So did BootCamp. We were in for a crazy ride…Asparagus with Parmigiano
When you’ve just finished a video shoot outside a strip club, ain’t nothing like a little asparagus to make your pee-pee smell funny.I like to use thin asparagus—the size of a pencil. They’re more tender and tastier than the big boys.So try to find asparagus that’s not the size of a tree trunk. As a general rule, the larger the vegetable, the tougher it is.If the asparagus are really thick, you’ll have to peel the skin off the outer stalks.This dish should serve four people, depending on the people. Members of my family eat like horses. That’s why I feed them in the barn.INGREDIENTS1 pound thin asparagus2 tablespoons olive oilKosher saltFresh cracked black pepper¼ cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus a little more for sprinklingHere we go…Rinse off your asparagus and pat dry with paper towels.Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.You need to break off the bottom ends of the asparagus. Grab an asparagus spear. Grab one end with your thumb and forefinger, and the other end with the thumb and forefinger of your other hand, and bend until it snaps. Discard the bottom end.Do this to all the asparagus. Rinse well, pat dry with paper towels.Put them in a glass or ceramic baking dish.Drizzle with olive oil, about 2 tablespoons.Mix them up; make sure each spear is coated.Add some kosher salt and some freshly cracked black pepper.Mix them up again.Put the dish in the oven.Bake for 15 minutes. Check the asparagus, make sure they’re done. If they ain’t, put ‘em back in for 5 minutes. They should be firm, but not crunchy.Take the dish out of the oven, sprinkle the asparagus with the grated cheese.Set the oven to broil. Put the dish back in the oven for A MINUTE OR TWO! Keep an eye on these guys!When you see the Parmigiano start to brown, take the baking dish out of the oven, try an asparagus spear, make sure it’s done, and dish it up!This dish goes well with Slim chicken Marsala, or chicken Milanese, or lemon chicken.
MANGIAMO!!!!!!!!
Slim Man Cooks Cippolini and Red Bell Pepper Sauce (for fish)
I saw a tour bus driving north on Route 29. I started following it.I had just come from the recording studio in Washington, DC. It was the early 1990s. I had written a song for a singer named Brian Jack. Brian was the former lead singer in a Baltimore band named Child’s Play. He had a great voice, big charisma, and I took him into the studio to do some songs I’d written. We hit it off.The two of us lived in a house on Sue Creek, in a town outside Baltimore called Essex. People in Baltimore made fun of Essex--probably because a lot of rednecks lived there. I liked Essex.The house we shared was incredible — 21 Woody Road. It was right on the water--kinda like a Redneck Riviera. We had windsurfers, Sea-Doos, all these great water toys. None of them were ours - people parked their things at our pier, and they’d let us use them in return.
The previous tenant had been hauled off to jail for insurance fraud. I remember the first time I met him. He was standing in the huge living room. It had cathedral ceilings, a big fireplace, and massive floor-to-ceiling glass doors that overlooked the deck, the pier and the river. I’ll never forget what the guy said,“I laid a lot of pipe in this house.”I thought maybe the guy was a plumber. Then it hit me — he wasn’t talking about shower stalls.Brian and I moved in soon after the guy was taken off to prison. I wrote songs for Brian, he sang ‘em. Things were starting to take off, he was getting airplay, and packing the clubs.Brian and I were heading home from the studio when we saw the tour bus and started following it. I had this intuitive feeling that we should tag along behind the bus. A couple minutes later, it pulled over to the side of the highway, onto the shoulder. I pulled right behind it. The driver got out of the bus, came over and asked me if I knew the way to Merriweather Post Pavilion.As a matter of fact, I did. I told him to follow me.I saw the Doors at Merriweather Post Pavilion on their first tour. I saw Led Zeppelin at Merriweather when they opened for the Who back in 1969 — the only time that ever happened. Procol Harum, Paul Simon, and Frank Sinatra; I’d seen them all there. I’d even played on that stage before. I knew where the backstage entrance was. The big-ass tour bus followed me in my little blue Honda station wagon.
We reached the security gate, and I told them what was going on, and they waved us through. They didn’t even ask any questions. I’m guessing they were well aware that whoever was on that tour bus was running late.The tour bus followed me on the small winding road through the woods to the backstage area. When we got there, the bus driver parked, got out, and thanked me a million times.And then guess who stepped off the bus?B.B. King. When I was a kid, my Mom had brought home an album of his called Indianola Mississippi Seeds. Man, did I love that record. I must have played it a million times. “Chains and Things”, “Nobody Loves Me But My Mother”, “Hummingbird” – which was written by Leon Russell—I loved those songs. Joe Walsh played guitar on that album, Carole King played some keyboards. It was one of my favorites.I loved B.B. King and here he was standing right in front of me.He thanked me. He asked me and Brian if we’d like to stay and see the show. Then he walked us to the side of the stage, and dropped us off, right behind the curtain. We waited in the wings. I looked out at the crowd. It was buzzing.A few moments later, B.B. King’s band took the stage and played one song. Then B.B. King came out, and played and sang his heart out. All night long. Brian and I watched the whole concert from the side of the stage, a couple yards away. It was an amazing show.After the show, B.B. King invited us back to his dressing room. He signed autographs for everybody waiting in line. He told stories. He was charming, laid-back and as gracious as could be.B.B. signed a photo for me.A crazy coincidence…The guy who signed me to Motown way back when was Carl Griffin. Carl had produced a CD for B.B. King called Live At The Apollo. It won a Grammy in 1992 for both B.B. and Carl. When I mentioned to B.B. King that night that Carl was one of my best friends, B.B. smiled and said,“Carl’s a good man.”Yes, he is!Want to hear the rest of the story about the Live at the Apollo CD?Ray Charles was scheduled to do the concert that night with B.B. King. But right before the show, Ray Charles demanded to be paid an additional 50 grand--in advance--to be included in the live recording. Nobody had that kind of cash lying around on short notice. So Carl decided to go ahead with the show. Ray Charles played, but was not included on the live CD.The CD went on to win a Grammy for Griff and B.B.And that’s the rest of the story.
Cippolini and Red Bell Pepper Sauce (for fish)After a night of singing the blues, this is a dish that will make you happy.The first time I made this sauce, I used maple syrup. Not pancake syrup, maple syrup! Big difference.My Dad lived on top of a mountain in upstate New York. Maple syrup was everywhere—you could see taps on maple trees with buckets underneath all over the place. Real maple syrup is real good.Getting to the grocery store at my Dad’s house was an ordeal. So if you ran out of something, you had to spend a good hour driving to and from town to get what you needed.One time I ran out of sugar for my coffee. I put in some maple syrup instead and loved it. It’s still my preferred coffee sweetener. Another time, I ran out of honey--I was going to use it in a sauce for grilled salmon. I used maple syrup instead—just a little—and loved it.I know some real good cooks who look down on this kind of thing. One of them suggested I try a medium sherry instead, and I did. I cooked the sauce both ways, with sherry and with maple syrup.I did a taste test at Slim’s Shady Trailer Park. Everybody loved the sauce with the maple syrup much better than the one with the sherry. But what the hell do those people know?If you want to substitute sherry for maple syrup, use a cream/sweet sherry.You can use this sauce over fish. I’ve used it over seared mahi and it turned out well. Mahi is a strong-tasting fish—so I used a little more sauce than I normally would. If you’d like to use a milder fish, you can use this sauce on seared or baked grouper, halibut, or salmon. Less is more—less sauce is mo’ better on mild fish.I used this sauce on baked salmon recently and it was magnifico. I used just a drizzle of sauce.This is powerful stuff!
Notes…Cippolini onions are small onions, a little sweeter and milder than regular onions. You can find them in most grocery stores. If you can’t, use shallots instead.Meyer lemons are my favorites; they’re sweeter and milder than regular lemons. I’m into sweet and mild these days, I guess. If you can’t find Meyer lemons, use a ripe, soft lemon.You can use red bell pepper, or a combination of red and yellow bell peppers. Whatever combination you use, you’ll only need a tablespoon or so.To sear a piece of fish...get a medium sauté pan. Put it over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of butter, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Salt and pepper your fish, then sprinkle a LITTLE brown sugar (or turbinado sugar, or regular sugar in a pinch) on top. Do both sides, but use just a little salt, pepper and sugar, got it?When the butter starts to bubble, sear for 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the thickness. Then flip over and sear the other side for a couple minutes.Thick fish take longer.To bake a piece of fish, heat your oven to 400 degrees. Rub your fish all over with a little olive oil, and then sprinkle a little salt and pepper on top. Put it in a glass or ceramic baking dish and bake for 10 minutes. Check it with a fork. If it flakes, it’s done. If it doesn’t put it back in the oven until it does. Then drizzle a little cippolini sauce on top.
INGREDIENTS2 tablespoons olive oil1 tablespoon butter2 tablespoons chopped cippolini onions1 tablespoon minced red bell pepper (or half and half red and yellow bell pepper)1 tablespoon maple syrup¼ cup dry white wine1 tablespoon lemon juice1 tablespoon chopped Italian flat leaf parsleyKosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to tasteHere we go…Put the olive oil and butter in a small sauté pan over medium-high heat for 2 or 3 minutes—don’t let the butter burn!When the butter starts to bubble, add the onions and red bell peppers and cook for 2 minutes while stirring and swirling. This is how you swirl…remove the pan from the heat for about 10 seconds, and swirl everything all around. Put the pan back on the heat for 30 seconds and repeat.Add the maple syrup and cook for 2 minutes, swirl and stir.Add the wine and cook for 1 minute. Shall we swirl and stir?Add the lemon juice. Cook for 2 minutes.Add the parsley; add kosher salt and some fresh cracked black pepper to taste.That’s the sauce! You are now The Boss of the Sauce—use it over seared mahi, or baked salmon, or whatever fish you like. You’re the Boss.
MANGIAMO!!!
Slim Man Cooks Salmon Ella
Batu and I were hanging out at the Slim Shack. I had a piece of salmon, we were listening to Ella Fitzgerald, and I became inspired. So I created this recipe. I call it…Salmon Ella.I love salmon. I love Ella. Put ‘em both together and you got Salmon Ella.One of my top five CDs ever in the history of the world? Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. It really is one of my favorites. Louis Armstrong changed my life. When I was five years old, my Dad took me to a movie called The Five Pennies, and I saw Louis sing and play, and I turned to my Dad and said,“That’s what I want to do.” I wanted to play and sing like Louis Armstrong. I begged my Dad for a trumpet.
A couple weeks later, for Christmas, my Dad got me a plastic toy trumpet. I broke it. I told him I wanted a real trumpet, not a toy. I was a rotten kid, huh? For my birthday—January 16th, keep those cards and presents coming—my Dad rented me a real trumpet. I could hardly hold it up. I had to dig my elbows into my sides when I played. I loved it. I fell in love with music. We got married soon after. We’ve been together ever since.I played trumpet for years. I did Louis Armstrong imitations. I still love Louis Armstrong. And the CD he did with Ella Fitzgerald is great. They did a couple. The first one, released in 1957, is the best of the bunch. It features the Oscar Peterson Trio, Norman Granz produced it (the production is stellar), and not only is it one of the best CDs 
ever, it has one of the best cover photos ever.My Mom was an incredibly smart woman, and a huge hero of mine. She had a tough go of it, yet forged an incredible life without a whole lot of help. When she and my Dad divorced, she found herself with three young kids, no job skills, a high school education, and not much else. She didn’t even know how to drive.Still, she picked herself up, dusted herself off and did what needed to be done. She learned how to drive. She taught herself the skills she needed. She studied the dictionary, the English language, learned how to type and how to write. She taught herself foreign languages.She started counseling troubled teens at John Hopkins Hospital, and ended up running the psychology department at Johns Hopkins University. Guys with more degrees than a thermometer were asking my Mom to help them with papers, articles and theses.
She didn’t have a lot of money. She managed to travel, had a chance to see the world – that was important to her. Music was really important to her. She had a nice stereo, and a great collection of music. But she was frugal. She had to be.When Ella Fitzgerald came to the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore, Maryland, my Mom could only afford one ticket. Which she bought for me. She thought it was important that I see Ella, so I caught the bus, went downtown to the concert and saw Ella Fitzgerald sing with the Billy Taylor Trio.Wow. What a show. I sat in the balcony, and soaked it all up. It was a thrill. Ella Fitzgerald was a wonderful singer. What a voice. Such a pure tone. Great diction, always in tune. Joyful. Girlish. Swinging like nobody’s business. Ella scatted better than anybody. Her scats were as good as any Miles Davis solo.Ella didn’t have an easy life. She was born in Virginia, her dad left when she was an infant. Her Mom died when Ella was fifteen. Her stepdad abused her, so her aunt took her away from Virginia, to New York City. Ella took to the streets of Harlem, was a numbers runner and a lookout for a bordello. She was in and out of reform schools and orphanages.
Then she entered a talent contest at the Apollo, and won. The grand prize was $25. She became a regular at the Apollo, and things took off from there. She started singing with Chick Webb, a drummer who led a big band. She started recording, and a song she co-wrote--“A Tisket, A Tasket”--became a hit. Ella started singing at the Jazz at the Philharmonic series, concerts put on by Norman Granz, who became her manager, and produced those incredible recordings with Louis Armstrong.Ella went on to win 13 Grammys, sell millions of records, and tour the world. She was shy and quiet – but strong and determined. Kind of like my Mom. Except my Mom was never a lookout for a bordello. Not that I know of, anyway.SALMON ELLA
In cooking, just like in music, sometimes you have to improvise.I was going to use honey in this marinade, but I ran out. I used maple syrup instead. My Dad lived in upstate New York, and he had this homemade maple syrup that was so stinkin’ good. So when I ran out of honey, I used a little of my Dad’s maple syrup instead and it was really good.Why do they make soy sauce so salty? The next morning my fingers look like bratwurst and my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth. I use low-sodium soy sauce.I like my salmon the way I like my women - wild and Alaskan. There’s a joke in there somewhere, it just hasn’t come to me yet.Salmon are anadromous. It means they are born in fresh water, migrate to salt water, and then return to fresh water to reproduce.Just thought I’d toss that out there.INGREDIENTS1 pound piece of wild salmon filet, skin removedFor the marinade…½ cup low sodium soy sauce1 tablespoon chopped scallions/green onions, bottom root and top leaves cut off and discarded1 tablespoon grated ginger1 tablespoon minced garlic2 tablespoons maple syrup1 teaspoon hot sauce (use less if you don't like it spicy!)Here we go…Rinse off your salmon and pat dry with paper towels.Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.Mix all the marinade ingredients together. Set aside.Put the salmon in a baking dish.
Pour half of the marinade over the salmon. Set the other half aside.When the oven comes to temperature, put the salmon, uncovered, in the oven on the middle rack.Cook for 10 minutes.While the fish cooks, put the remaining marinade in a small saucepan over low heat and reduce for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.After 10 minutes, the fish should be done. Thinner pieces take less time, thicker pieces take more. Ovens are crazy, too. Some run hot, some run cold.Test the fish with a fork. If it flakes it’s done. Some folks like it rare, some like it cooked well. I like it medium. If I want raw fish, I’ll go out for sushi.Dish it up! Put the fish on a nice platter. Drizzle with a little of the reduced marinade, dress it up with a scallion. My broccoli and peppers would go well with this.
MANGIAMO!!!!!
Slim Man Cooks Potato Leek Soup
I was walking down the streets of Paris with Hit Man Howie Z when I heard a woman’s voice calling my name. This was weird, because it was my first time in Paris. I didn’t know anybody there. Who the hell could it be?I turned around and was staring at two of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen. One I knew.Her name was Barbie, and she used to be a cocktail waitress at a club that Howie and I used to play in Baltimore, Maryland, a place called Girard’s. The other gal I didn’t know. Barbie introduced us to her friend. When I asked Barbie what she was doing in Paris, she told me she was doing some modeling for Vogue magazine. She told me her friend had just been on the cover of the Italian Vogue.I invited them to dinner that night. It would probably cost every penny I had, but how many times are you gonna have an opportunity like this? Paris? Supermodels?When Barbie asked me what Howie and I were doing in Paris, I told to her that we were in London, trying to get something going with our band, BootCamp. Howie and I had come over to Paris to meet my cousin, Mindy, who was having her art exhibited at a gallery.
That’s what I told them, which was all true, but not the whole truth. The whole truth?We had rented a cheap flat in London for a week or so. It was me, Howie (drums), Bob (guitar) and a friend of ours named Mac. We were struggling musicians, except for Mac. He didn’t look like he was struggling--he was wearing custom silk suits and buying expensive antiques.The rest of us were on a real tight budget.One evening we went to a pub and had some drinks. We were having a good ol’ time in LondonTown. I noticed Mac in the corner, talking to some Rastafarian. He gave Mac a little package, and then RastaMan screamed, "RUN!" All hell broke loose.A couple of British policemen started running towards the pub, blowing their whistles. We took off running. We exploded out of that pub. We ran through yards, gardens. We sprinted down alleys, leaping over cars. We jumped fences. It’s amazing how fast you move when cops are chasing you. Not that it happens to me very often.We made it back to the flat. How, I don’t know. Turns out Mac had bought some hashish from the Jamaican. It seemed to me like a good time to get out of London.So Howie and I took off for Paris. We got on a Hovercraft to cross the English Channel. A Hovercraft is a huge boat. Massive. It sits on what looks like an immense flat tire. You board the boat, and they inflate the tire. So you start rising and rising, way up in the air.They turn on these gigantic fans on the back of the boat, and it blows you across the water, like you’re on a huge inner tube. The English Channel was choppy that day. It was a real rough ride. And Howie was really hungover from the night before.He laid down on a row of seats behind me. Every few minutes, he’d poke his head up, and each time he did, he was a different shade of green. He looked like he was gonna die. We finally made it across the Channel, and caught a train to Paris.My cousin picked us up. She's quite an artist. Her paintings are intriguing and original and worthy of an exhibition. She gave us a ride to the apartment where she was staying with a friend.
Her friend’s name was Jaime, and he was quite a character. He was an artist, and did surreal paintings, similar in style to Salvador Dali. He had a goatee and long brown hair, and wore scarves and black crushed velvet smoking jackets with colored silk pocket squares. I dug his style.His apartment was cozy, comfy, and cool.A few days later, Howie and I were walking down the street when we met the Vogue supermodels.A few hours later, we were in a swanky restaurant in Paris called Chez Georges and it was intoxicating. The Russian chef guy came over to the table. If I were the chef, I would have come over to our table, too. The girls were that gorgeous.Chef dude started talking to us. He spoke into a microphone that was hooked up to a small speaker that hung around his neck. I didn’t understand a word he said; the speaker was distorted, and I couldn’t even tell what language it was. I thought it was some kind of comedy routine until I realized the guy had some serious vocal issues.We ordered dinner, and it was lovely. One of the many wonderful things about Europe is the way they take their time when they eat out.At the end of the dinner, Russian chef guy came back with a bottle of vodka. No label, just an old, clear bottle. It had all sorts of stuff in the bottom — black peppercorns, red peppers, green pepperoncini. It looked like birdseed soaking in grain alcohol.He placed a big metal shot glass in front of Howie and poured it full. He shouted something in Russian and motioned for Howie to drink. The table got real quiet. Russian chef barked out another order. We looked at Howie. He looked at us. He drank.After he swallowed, his eyes started to tear up. His face turned red. He started sweating. I thought his head was gonna explode. Then the mad Russian turned to me. He poured me a shot in the same metal glass. I looked around the table. He barked something in Russian and I picked up the glass and drank it all down.It was like swallowing a red-hot piece of charcoal. My throat was on fire. My eyes watered. I felt like I was gonna projectile vomit. But I didn’t.After dinner, we invited the girls back to Jaime’s apartment.That’s when the circus began. We walked in the front door and Jaime had a certain look in his eye. He looked at those girls like the Big Bad Wolf looking at Little Red Riding Hood.My grandmother had a dog named Pepe that tried to hump everyone who walked through the front door.Jaime wasn’t quite that bad. But Howie and I were hoping that maybe he would be going off to bed. No such luck. I think Jaime had other things in mind. We poured some drinks, and then Jaime turned on the French charm, full blast. Those poor girls. I think Jaime's libidinous lip-smacking might have scared them.The supermodels ran out of that place like it was on fire. If they had leapt from the balcony I wouldn’t have blamed them.We never saw them again. Just as well, I guess. Supermodels must be expensive girlfriends. Should I pay the mortgage? Or buy her a new handbag?Potato Leek Soup
If you’re looking for a French dish to cook after two supermodels have just walked out of your life, have I got a dish for you. The French call this vichyssoise.This soup is so quick, so easy, so inexpensive to make, I can’t believe I don’t make it more often.You can serve it hot. You can serve it chilled. You can serve it at room temperature. You can serve it chunky. Or you can put it in a blender and serve it smooth. It’s delicious. Which is the most important thing.The last time I made this soup, I thought it needed a little crunch on top. So I cut a leek into matchstick-size pieces, dusted them with flour that I had salted and peppered, and fried them for about a minute.When I served the soup, I stuck the slivers into the soup so it looked like a little teepee in the center of the bowl. My Dad would have smacked me on the back of the head and given me grief over that, but they tasted great, and it looked cool.You’ll need 4 leeks for the soup.Cut off about an inch of the white root at the bottom, and cut off most of the green upper part of the stalks. You’ll have about 6 or 7 inches or so of stalk left. RINSE WELL, especially in between the leaves.Peel off the outer leaf of each leek. You’ll use these for the garnish. You’ll also see just how dirty leeks can be. You gotta clean ‘em well!Chop up 4 of the stalks, into chunky pieces, which should give you 4 cups for the soup. Slice the leek leaves you pulled off into matchstick size slivers—you’ll fry these for the garnish.INGREDIENTSFor the soup…4 tablespoons butter4 cups chopped potatoes4 cups chopped leeks4 cups chicken broth (or vegetable)Salt and pepperFor the fried leeks:4 tablespoons of olive oil1/4 cup of flour4 whole leek leaves, cut into matchstick-size sliversSalt and pepperLet’s do the soup first…Put the butter in the bottom of a large pan over medium-low heat. Add the 4 cups of chopped potatoes, and the 4 cups of chopped leeks.Cook for 10 minutes, stir often.Add the broth--I used chicken—and put the heat on high. When the soup comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, add salt and fresh cracked black pepper, and cook for 30 minutes. Stir often.While the soup cooks, let’s sauté our leeks.
Get a sauté pan, put the olive oil in the bottom, and turn the heat to medium-high.Put the flour on a plate and add salt and pepper.Put the leek slivers in the flour, roll ‘em around, shake off the excess, and place in the sauté pan.Cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute–until golden brown, then turn them over and cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute on the other side until golden brown.Remove them from the pan and place them on paper towels.Now back to the soup…When the soup has cooked for 30 minutes, it should be done. Stick a fork in a piece of potato to make sure.At this point, you’ve got a decision to make - smooth or chunky. In cold weather, I like it chunky and hot — just like my women. In hot weather, I like it smooth and cool, like a supermodel.If you want it chunky, take a slotted spoon, or a masher, and mash the potatoes and leeks, right there in the pot.If you want it smooth, put the soup in a blender and give it a couple of pulses. If you want it chilled, stick it in the fridge for a little while.Put some soup in a bowl. Garnish with the fried leeks--make a little teepee in the center. Serve it with some hot and crusty bread and…
MANGIAMO!!!!!!!!!!
Slim Man Cooks Asparagus and Portobello Sauce
The first time I saw Mombo was when he pulled up in an old VW bus in a cloud of exhaust smoke and dust. He got out holding two large paper bags and said, “Anybody hungry?”Two of my favorite words.The night before, the Slim Men had played at the State Theater in Modesto, California. I had never been to Modesto before.The radio station there was playing a lot of songs from the first Slim Man CD - End of the Rainbow. I called up the radio station to see if there were any places to play in Modesto. They told me about John Griswold.John was, and still is, a valiant promoter of the arts. I called up John and he booked me – sight unseen – at the State Theater, a timeless Art-Deco movie theater that had been renovated. It was beautiful, with red velvet seats, a big wooden stage, and a balcony overlooking everything. The first Slim Man show there was a blast.After the show, a young lady came up to me and said,“My husband plays percussion. He’s really good. You should have him play with you sometime.”I looked at the sparkle in her eye and said,“Tell him to show up in Sacramento tomorrow. We’ve got a show there.”The next afternoon, at the Cal-Expo State Fair in Sacramento, a VW bus pulled up. A large Mexican-American man got out, introduced himself, and asked us if we were hungry. We went into the dressing room, which was a small trailer to the side of the stage.Mombo pulled out some burritos the size of footballs. John E Coale, the faithful Slim Man drummer, and Rick O’Rick, loyal Slim Man keyboard player, looked at the huge burritos.We ate. Mombo had made the burritos himself. They were delicious. Turns out Mombo owned a small restaurant in a nearby town called Lodi. After we finished the burritos, we went out to do our sound check. Mombo set up his congas and bongos, and we, the Slim Men, did our sound check. Mombo sounded good. Really good.The year was 1996. Those first few Slim Man Tours were pretty crazy--we were on a real tight budget. It was basically Johnny, Rick and I traveling around the USA in an Isuzu Rodeo, packed to the max with all our gear. We’d add a sax player, a trumpet player or a percussionist wherever we went.It’s always an adventure when you go on stage with someone you’ve never played with before, but from the first note, Mombo played his heart out. He fit in like he’d been playing with us from day one. Mombo has played just about every gig the Slim Men have done in California since then.
I learned two things that night. One was to keep an open mind – you never know who you might meet.The other thing I learned was - don’t eat a burrito the size of a football before a big show. Wow! There was enough gas on stage to get us halfway across the country. Mamma mia!Mombo and I became great friends. A man who loves music and cooking? What's not to love? His wife, Kim (I call her Kimbo) and their two daughters have a special place in the Slim Heart. To this day, we all keep in touch on a regular basis.This great friendship happened because Kimbo had the guts to ask me if Mombo could play with us. I took a chance on an unknown guy and it paid off big. John Griswold took a chance on an unknown band named Slim Man, and John and I have become true blue amigos. It all worked out magnificently. Better than I ever could have asked for.Mombo and Kimbo have a great relationship. They met when they were teenagers. They have a wonderful marriage. How wonderful, you ask?One time Mombo and I were in an outdoor hot tub at a swanky resort after a Slim Man show. Two young, pretty girls walked over to the hot tub and asked if they could join us. I had never met them before, had never seen them before. Mombo said, “Sure.”They took off all their clothes and got in. Naked babes in a hot tub! Mombo started chatting it up with these girls like they were in line at a Starbucks. I felt guilty and I wasn’t even doing anything wrong; but then I feel guilty all day everyday even when I don’t do anything wrong.Mombo and I had our swimsuits on. They stayed on. But still, I felt pangs of guilt. All we did was chat and relax. Afterwards, they toweled off, got dressed and left. The next day, I saw Mombo and asked him what he wanted me to say if Kimbo asked me about last night.“I already told her.”What?!?“Yeah. Why not? Nothing happened.”Why shouldn’t he tell her? Mombo hadn’t done anything wrong. Kimbo trusted Mombo.Then I remembered a song, the lyrics went something like, “It’s all about love, it’s all about trust.”I think it was a song called “Faith in Us.”ASPARAGUS AND PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM SAUCE
This sauce would be great in a burrito. An Italian burrito!Why does asparagus make your pee smell funny? I don’t know. It’s weird.When the first Slim Man CD--End of the Rainbow--was released, we got invited to dinner at this very cool and stylish restaurant in San Francisco. The single “Faith in Us” was in the Top Ten. We had just done a really successful show at the prestigious American Music Hall. And now the boys in the band were having dinner with Kent and Keith Zimmerman.Keith and Kent are twins. They were editors at a music magazine called Gavin Report, a magazine that tagged me as “A male Sade” a quote that I love because Sade is one of my favorite artists. Kent and Keith are very talented big-time writers. I read their book about Sonny Barger, the guy who started the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club. It’s really good. They just finished a book about Earth, Wind and Fire.At this restaurant in San Francisco, I had a dish of pasta with asparagus and portobello mushrooms, but it was missing something. Know what it was missing? Me! I had to Slimmify it. So when I got back to the Slim Shack I created this dish – now one of my favorites. It took me a while to get it just right.I added some Gorgonzola cheese, which is a blue cheese from Italy. If you don’t like Gorgonzola, you can substitute another creamy cheese, like goat cheese. If you don’t like cheese, leave it out!I also use toasted chopped walnuts, which go well with the asparagus and portobello mushrooms. Chop up your nuts, put them in a dry pan over medium-high heat, and shake and toast until brown.To prepare the mushrooms, rinse thoroughly. Remove the stems. Peel the skin from the top of the caps and discard. Slice into bite-sized pieces.To prepare the asparagus, grab the bottom of a spear with the thumb and forefinger of one hand. Grab the top of the spear with the thumb and forefinger of your other hand. Bend in an arc until it breaks, Discard the lower stalk. Chop the remaining stalk into small pieces, about an inch long. Leave the asparagus head whole. Do this with the entire bunch of asparagus. Rinse well, pat dry with paper towels.INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus a tablespoon for the pasta5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped (about 2 tablespoons)Crushed red pepper (I start with ¼ teaspoon)3 cups portobello mushrooms, prepared as instructed above3 cups asparagus, prepared as instructed above½ cup vegetable broth (or chicken)½ cup dry white wine1 pound farfalle pasta (penne rigate would also work well)½ cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (¼ for the pasta, and ¼ cup for topping off each dish)½ cup walnuts, toasted in a dry pan over medium-high heatKosher saltFor the pastaGet a large pot; fill it with the coldest water you got, put it on your highest heat. Why cold water? Hot water tastes weird, maybe because it’s been sitting in the hot water heater.As the water comes to a boil –Make your sauceIn a large saucepan, add the olive oil over medium-low heat.Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper.Cook for 5 minutes until the garlic is pale gold.Add the portobello mushrooms.Cook for 5 minutes, stir every so often.Add the asparagus.Add the broth and the wine. Turn the heat to high.When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low.Cook until the asparagus and mushrooms are tender, about 5 to 7 minutes or so.NOTE! The thinner the asparagus, the less time it will take to cook.Taste for salt and pepper and adjust.Remove from heat.Back to the PastaWhen the water comes to a boil add 2 tablespoons of kosher salt. Add your pound of pasta.Follow the instructions on the box. Two minutes before it’s supposed to be done, taste a piece of pasta. If it is chalky in the center, it is not done. Cook until it is not chalky or chewy. Check every 2 minutes. it might take longer than the instructions. When the pasta is al dente, firm to the bite, drain it in a colander.Put the pasta in a large bowl, add a tablespoon of olive oil, and mick ‘em up.Take about 2/3 of the asparagus portobello sauce and add it to the pasta, and mix.Add ¼ cup of the Gorgonzola (or whatever cheese you choose) to the pasta, mick’ em up.Dish it up! Put some pasta on a dish. Add a dollop of sauce on top, add a sprinkle of Gorgonzola (or whatever cheese you want) and a sprinkle of toasted walnuts and…
MANGIAMO!!!!!!!!
Slim Man Cooks Italian Chicken Soup
Chicken Soup and My Dad's Eyebrows
My Dad (I called him Paps) had eyebrows that looked like two small porcupines had perched above his eyes. His eyebrows were so wild and wooly he could have combed them straight back and it would have looked like he had a full head of hair.Paps was bald. Maybe that’s why he wouldn’t let anybody trim his eyebrows. It was the last patch of thick hair he had on his head. You would have needed a weed-whacker to trim them, anyway.We kids would beg my Dad to trim the shrubbery, but he wouldn’t. The barber would offer to clip the hedges, and my Dad would refuse.His eyebrows were a topic of conversation among the family. They were hard to ignore. They’d enter the room a few minutes before he would. You could have braided them. As my Dad got older, his eyebrows got hairier and more wiry. If you got too close to him, they’d poke your eyes out.My Dad was the least modest person I knew. He let it all hang out. I don’t feel bad telling stories like these, because I’ve told tell them many times, right in front of him. And he’d be the one laughing the hardest. That was one of the many beautiful things about Paps — even though he was a serious guy, he didn’t take himself real seriously.But he had some real serious eyebrows that he never trimmed. Except once.My Dad had come down to Baltimore to fix up his Mom’s house. Angela had died a few months prior — April, 1975. I was living with her when she passed away. It was a horrible time. She was so sick and in so much pain. After she died, I continued to stay in her house, which was near Pimlico Racetrack, a horse racing track where they have the Preakness Stakes race.I idolized Angela. She was an Italian immigrant who came to this country with nothing and made an incredible impact on this world. She was such a comfort to be around; she was easy to talk to. She was generous. She paid for my piano lessons, even bought me an upright to practice on. When she died, I was heartbroken.I wanted to keep on living in the house, but my Dad and his only brother, Oscar, wanted to sell the place. The neighborhood was going downhill--probably because I was living there. So my Dad came down from New York to get the house ready to put on the market.One night, after a hard day’s work on the house, my Dad and I were sitting at the kitchen table. He wanted to cook something in the oven. It was one of those old gas stoves that you had to light by hand. Paps turned the gas on.
I explained to him that you had to light the stove by hand. He bent over, opened the oven door, and struck a match. Before I could stop him, a blast of flame knocked him flat on his ass. I thought for sure that his face was fried.But it wasn’t. He was sitting on the kitchen floor, facial hair smoldering. I helped him up and sat him in a chair.His eyebrows were trimmed at last. As a matter of fact, I think they might have saved his life. The flame probably had a hard time burning through the shrubbery that was his eyebrows, which probably saved his face from getting flame-broiled. His eyebrows looked normal for once. That was the one and only time my Dad’s eyebrows got trimmed.We worked on the house just about every day, cleaning, painting and fixing everything up. I was really struggling with the loss of Angela. We were real close. One day, when I was feeling low, my Dad took me to the racetrack, which was right up the street. He thought it might take my mind off things. We walked up the street to Pimlico racetrack.On the way, Paps found a wallet in the bushes stuffed with cash—hundreds of dollars. Paps looked at the address on the driver’s license, and we walked to the house. Paps walked up and knocked on the door. A guy answered, and my Dad handed him the wallet. I’ll never forget the look of relief and gratitude on the guy’s face. He offered my Dad some money. He didn’t take it.Paps and I walked to Pimlico racetrack, a thoroughbred track. When we got there, he explained to me how to bet, how to pick horses. I wasn’t paying attention. If I liked the way a horse looked, I’d bet a couple bucks. If I liked the jockey’s colors, I’d bet a couple bucks.I lost every race. I was more depressed than ever! When the last race came around, Paps explained that it was a trifecta, which means, if you pick all three of the winning horses in order, you win big.I picked the #2 horse to come in first, the #1 horse to come in second, and the #4 horse to come in third.2-1-4. It was Angela’s birthday, February 14th—2-1-4.The horses took off out of the starting gate. For the whole race, the #2 horse was in front, the #1 horse was second and the #4 horse was third. When they crossed the finish line, the #5 horse beat out the #4 horse for third place. The final order was 2-1-5. I was a big loser!I showed my Dad my ticket, and then threw it on the ground. He picked it up, gave it back to me and told me that the race wasn’t official yet. He explained that the race wasn’t official until they had a chance to review the race, which took a couple minutes.A voice came over the PA system. There was an objection against the #5 horse--he had bumped into the #4 horse right before the end of the race. The officials then disqualified the #5 horse, and the final, official result was 2-1-4.I won $899 on that race. I could feel my grandmother smiling down on me.We went back to the house, and the next day, started working again. We eventually got the place all fixed up. It didn’t take long to sell Angela’s house. It was a great place, with an apartment on the second floor that had a big balcony off the main bedroom. I hated to see the place go.
My Dad took the money from the sale of Angela’s house and bought a place in upstate New York. It was called Rat Tail Ridge. Forty acres on top of a mountain with a view that was breathtaking.One door closes, another one opens.ITALIAN CHICKEN SOUPThe toughest thing about making Italian chicken soup is finding an Italian chicken. They’re usually the ones in the corner of the coop, drinking wine and arguing.My Dad loved soup. He was a soup guy. Maybe it was because he lived on Top of Old Smokey, where it was so cold that bears knocked on the front door looking for a place to hibernate. Hot soup works wonders when you come in from the cold.I roasted a chicken the other day. I used my Mom’s recipe, which is basically sticking a whole lemon inside the chicken and baking it. The next day was a cold and rainy winter day, so I made some soup from the chicken.If you have leftover chicken (turkey works, too), here’s what you do - pick the meat off the bones and the carcass. I usually end up with about three cups of chicken meat. Throw away the stuff you don’t like—fat, skin, small bones and such.I broke the carcass into two pieces. I used those and a couple leg and wing bones in the soup — they add great flavor. Just make sure you remove all the bones and stuff before you serve the soup. Take a slotted spoon and go fishing for bones or skin and remove them. You don’t want any of your guests breaking a bicuspid on a chicken bone.After you’ve made the soup, if there is any fat on top, skim it off.You can serve this soup as is, or you can add some pasta or rice.I like using small pasta, like ditalini. I cook the pasta separately, and put some in each individual bowl. I used to put it right in the soup and let it cook in there, but the pasta absorbs too much broth, and gets soggy.You’ll need to smoosh the Italian tomatoes before you add them to the soup. Open the can, pour them in a bowl, and dig in with your mitts and smoosh ‘em up! Remove the small yellow core from each tomato, and any skin or stems.
INGREDIENTS¼ cup of olive oil1 cup each — chopped celery, carrots, and onion4 garlic cloves, minced2 cups cabbage — I used Napa cabbage — sliced into small pieces8 cups chicken brothChicken or turkey carcass and bones2 cups water1 bay leaf1 twenty-eight ounce can whole, peeled Italian tomatoes, smooshed up by hand2 tablespoons fresh oregano, or 1 tablespoon dried3 cups of chicken or turkey meat, white and dark1 cup of corn–fresh, canned or frozen½ pound of pasta (ditalini works well, as does elbow macaroni)Salt and pepperHere we go…Put a large pot on medium heat.Add the olive oil, let it heat up for 2 minutes.Add the celery, carrots, onion and garlic.Let it cook for about 7 minutes, stirring every so often.Add the cabbage.Cook for 5 minutes.Add the chicken broth.Put the chicken/turkey carcass and bones in the pot.Add the water.Add the bay leaf.Add the tomatoes.Add the oregano.Turn the heat on high and bring to a boil.Then lower the heat to medium-low, cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.Remove the carcass pieces and bones.Pick off any remaining meat from the carcass and bones that you’ve just removed, and add the meat to the soup. Discard the bones and carcass.Add the 3 cups of chicken or turkey meat to the soup.Add the corn.Cook for 5 minutes.Take the soup off the heat.Check it for bones and any other funky stuff.If you want to add some pasta…Get a pot, fill it with cold water, and put it on high heat.When it comes to a boil, add a couple tablespoons kosher salt.Add the pasta.When it is VERY FIRM, drain it.Dish it up! Serve the soup in large bowls.Add a little pasta to each bowl. Give it a stir.You can also add some cooked rice, if you'd prefer that to pasta.Serve with some crusty bread, and…
MANGIAMO!!!!!
