- 7 months ago
Celebrate Mother's Day with Martha Stewart's Mom's ten best recipes in this special compilation featuring loads of family tradition. From canning tomatoes to stuffing peppers and everything in between, discover classic dishes passed down through generations. Join Martha and Big Martha as they recreate beloved recipes step by step, and whether you're a seasoned chef or new to the kitchen, these timeless favorites are sure to make your Mother's Day celebration unforgettable.
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00:00:00♪♪
00:00:08♪♪
00:00:14♪♪ Once upon a time, a girl with moonlight in her eyes. ♪♪
00:00:23My mother was born Harriet Martha Ruskovsky
00:00:27in Buffalo, New York, on September 16th.
00:00:291914.
00:00:31I was christened Harriet.
00:00:33Translated into Polish, it was Władja.
00:00:36And I hated Harriet, so I went by my middle name, Martha.
00:00:40My mother and father both emigrated from Poland separately.
00:00:45This is 1920.
00:00:46So mom would be six years old.
00:00:49I have a very vivid memory of myself in kindergarten.
00:00:52My father would hoist me up on his shoulders
00:00:55and take me to school.
00:00:57And I remember when we were skipping around the room,
00:01:00I couldn't skip.
00:01:01I sort of galloped like a pony.
00:01:05A teenager, we used to talk a lot.
00:01:08We used to go to the movies a lot.
00:01:10Movies were ten cents.
00:01:12Here is my mom when she first met my father.
00:01:15They met while they were taking a course
00:01:17at a college in New York State and fell in love.
00:01:21They eloped, but then had a formal wedding photograph taken.
00:01:26In 1937, I wore a rusted velvet dress.
00:01:30And my firstborn, Eric, was born the following May.
00:01:34That's Eric, Martha, Frank, dad, mom,
00:01:38George, baby Laura, and Kathy.
00:01:42I was home for 20 years.
00:01:45And then, because the kids were growing up
00:01:47and they all wanted to go to college,
00:01:49I went back to teaching.
00:01:51I'm glad for my family.
00:01:53I'm glad that I'm with grandchildren whom I love.
00:01:55And they're around me.
00:01:57I hope this gives you a better understanding
00:01:59of what my mom was like.
00:02:01A strong, lovely, thoughtful person.
00:02:04And really, mom was a great teacher.
00:02:06With all these tomatoes in canning jars,
00:02:08it seems like the perfect time to introduce my mother.
00:02:11This is mom, Martha Sr., Big Martha.
00:02:14And I'm really happy she's here to teach you
00:02:16how she cans tomatoes.
00:02:18First, bring your tomatoes in from the garden
00:02:20or from the farm stand.
00:02:21Wash them.
00:02:22Wash them and get your jars ready.
00:02:25Mom, what are you doing now?
00:02:26Scalding the tomatoes.
00:02:28These are ripe, so they're less than a minute
00:02:30to facilitate peeling them.
00:02:32Okay, so that makes you able to take the skin off
00:02:34really quickly.
00:02:36Just cut away the core of the tomato.
00:02:39So once my mother does the skinning of the tomatoes,
00:02:42I like to cut the tomato crosswise.
00:02:44And then I'll take my fingertip
00:02:46and just pull out all the seeds and all that pulp.
00:02:51And I can also squeeze the tomatoes cut side down
00:02:54so that you're left with a pretty seedless flesh.
00:02:58I'm doing the seeding right into a strainer,
00:03:01a steel strainer.
00:03:03Make sure it's stainless steel, not tin.
00:03:05You want non-corrosive surfaces
00:03:07when you're working with an acid vegetable like tomatoes.
00:03:11Maybe when you just finish those,
00:03:12Mother, we'll start the actual process of canning.
00:03:15Right, we'll pack the jars.
00:03:17So for every quart jar,
00:03:19I usually put in a teaspoon of salt.
00:03:23I use a plate when I'm packing anything,
00:03:27even jelly, because it's bound to go over the top
00:03:31and you always have something to catch the juices.
00:03:33That's very good.
00:03:34We put one or two basil leaves down at the bottom for flavor.
00:03:39And I pick a half a tomato,
00:03:43and I usually pack them cut side down.
00:03:48Now, once you have your jar packed,
00:03:51you take your spatula and you press down
00:03:56all around the jar to get the juices flowing
00:04:00and any air spaces are eliminated.
00:04:02And as you do that, you keep pressing the tomatoes
00:04:05to get a solid pack.
00:04:07So you see on the can, solid pack tomatoes.
00:04:10You know what they're talking about.
00:04:12Oh, that looks, see, that's so beautiful.
00:04:14You want to put one more piece of basil in there or not?
00:04:16Yes, you can.
00:04:18I'm going to fit that in on the side so it shows like that.
00:04:23Use the classics when you're canning like this,
00:04:26beef steak or jersey or the big boys.
00:04:29Those are good high-end acid tomatoes.
00:04:35There.
00:04:36That looks great.
00:04:37That's really what they call a solid pack.
00:04:40Very, very good.
00:04:42I add a little juice to bring up the contents
00:04:45to about a quarter to a half inch from the top.
00:04:48You always leave a little air space
00:04:50so that when the tomatoes process in the water bath,
00:04:53they have some place to expand.
00:04:56All right, if you pack the last one,
00:04:58I'll finish off by putting the tops on.
00:05:01And you'll need a hot, clean rag.
00:05:04This is very, very important
00:05:06to completely wipe the top of the jar clean.
00:05:10So you don't have any seeds sitting on top of the lip,
00:05:14which would prevent a seal from forming.
00:05:19And here are the rings, Mom.
00:05:23Okay, so I'm going to insert the rack.
00:05:26This is the rack that holds the jars.
00:05:33So Mother is tightening the caps.
00:05:40And the water must be over the top of the lid.
00:05:43Yeah, about an inch over the jar.
00:05:45Then you cover and bring that to a boil
00:05:48and then lower the gas so it simmers.
00:05:51Time it for 45 minutes.
00:05:5345 minutes.
00:05:54And then we'll take them out.
00:05:56Perfect.
00:05:57So we can have a little lunch.
00:05:58Great.
00:05:59Want a tomato sandwich?
00:06:00Great.
00:06:01Well, here, they're ready to come out.
00:06:04Well, it's wise to remember
00:06:05not to put them in a drafty place.
00:06:07They might crack.
00:06:08As they cool, you'll hear clink, clink
00:06:12as the seals contract and pop.
00:06:17And then you know you have a tight seal.
00:06:20So now I cover them up.
00:06:22After they cool, you can test for a tight seal
00:06:26by removing the ring.
00:06:28And if you can't pry the cap up at all,
00:06:31put the ring back on.
00:06:33And if the cap is loose, you reprocess.
00:06:36Have you ever had to do that?
00:06:37Yes.
00:06:38Well, it's good to be sure.
00:06:40Well, you can have an instant delicious sauce for pasta
00:06:43or you can give these beautiful jars as gifts.
00:06:46Mm-hmm.
00:06:47Thanks, Mom.
00:06:48You're welcome.
00:06:49We got an awful lot accomplished today.
00:06:50And guess what?
00:06:51Oh, my.
00:06:52Tomorrow.
00:06:53Okay, tomorrow.
00:06:54Well, today we're updating a family classic.
00:06:57Mom's here.
00:06:58And I decided this weekend, Mom,
00:07:01to make delicious macaroni and cheese your way.
00:07:05And the great thing about macaroni and cheese,
00:07:07and everyone around here calls it mac and cheese.
00:07:09Mac and cheese?
00:07:10Really?
00:07:11And there's so many different ways to make it.
00:07:12We have macaroni and cheese 101 from the magazine,
00:07:14which is delicious, rather elaborate.
00:07:18This is a simplified version.
00:07:19And, Mom, when I was growing up,
00:07:22I used to use bucatini, that nice spaghetti with a hole in it.
00:07:25I used to use leftover spaghetti.
00:07:27Mm-hmm.
00:07:28You never threw anything away, did you?
00:07:30Tried not to.
00:07:31No.
00:07:32Because we had a big family and one income
00:07:34until I went back to work
00:07:37because everybody was going to college,
00:07:40starting with Eric and then you and Frank and Kathy and George, Laura.
00:07:45Yeah.
00:07:46So I had to augment the income.
00:07:48So we were thrifty.
00:07:49And it's about a pound of pasta, right?
00:07:52Right.
00:07:53For a dish that'll serve, oh, that's six very healthy servings, right?
00:07:59I hope this is the same recipe.
00:08:01So it's basically milk.
00:08:03And I don't even think you heated your milk, did you?
00:08:06Not really.
00:08:07Yeah, but I brought it to a boil.
00:08:08It works really well.
00:08:10It's three cups of milk, four tablespoons of tomato paste.
00:08:13And you always used to use tomato paste, remember?
00:08:15It was always kind of pinkish.
00:08:17I used tomato soup, too.
00:08:19Oh, tomato soup.
00:08:20Right.
00:08:21Oh, okay.
00:08:22I didn't remember that, so now I'm remembering.
00:08:24That's my mother's style.
00:08:25Oh, okay.
00:08:26She used tomato soup.
00:08:27What, a can of tomato soup?
00:08:28Uh-huh, and a can of milk or a little more milk if necessary,
00:08:33depending on how much pasta.
00:08:35Tomato paste works really well.
00:08:36That's about a half a can of tomato paste.
00:08:39It'll end up the same way.
00:08:40And the elbow macaroni cook about six or seven minutes,
00:08:43just until they're done, al dente, not real soft,
00:08:46because they're going to cook a little bit more.
00:08:48Yeah, in the oven.
00:08:49And then we have grated cheese.
00:08:51We have about three or four cups of white cheddar.
00:08:54Cheddar and this Swiss cheese.
00:08:56Yeah, you want to grate some of that?
00:08:58Surely.
00:08:59I'm going to use like a quarter of a teaspoon of cayenne pepper,
00:09:02and we're throwing that right into the milk, too.
00:09:04And a lot of black pepper, which I love, like a half a teaspoon.
00:09:11And salt, which I also love, like a teaspoon.
00:09:15Why do you love pepper so much?
00:09:17I don't know why, but I love pepper.
00:09:19I love green pepper, white pepper, black pepper,
00:09:22chile cherry, peppercorns.
00:09:24I like them all.
00:09:26And I just use them in everything all the time.
00:09:29Just bring this to a boil until it gets really hot.
00:09:32Don't let it boil over.
00:09:34The pasta's cooking up nicely.
00:09:36And we're using a very lovely elbow macaroni.
00:09:39Elbow?
00:09:40So why don't you put half of that in here,
00:09:43and I'll put all the cheddar.
00:09:45So this kind of gets it melted up, you know, like almost.
00:09:48Yeah, it softens it up.
00:09:49Yeah.
00:09:50So there's no flour, there's no bechamel.
00:09:52You don't have to go through all that difficulty if you don't want to.
00:10:00Mm, great.
00:10:01See, that looks good, and the color's really good,
00:10:03and it's a little bit unusual.
00:10:05So, Mom, I think the pasta is done.
00:10:08I'll drain it.
00:10:10I'm always amazed how much comes from one little box.
00:10:16Mm, beautiful.
00:10:18So we haven't dirtied very many dishes,
00:10:20and this just goes right into your cheesy sauce.
00:10:25So now this is great for Saturday lunch.
00:10:28It's great for Sunday brunch.
00:10:31I've already buttered the pan.
00:10:34So I'll pour that in for you.
00:10:44Mm, doesn't that look good?
00:10:45Mm-hmm.
00:10:46So it's very moist, and this is going to bake approximately, what, a half hour?
00:10:5045 minutes.
00:10:5145 minutes, okay.
00:10:52Let's sprinkle this all over.
00:10:56So this was Grandmother's recipe originally.
00:10:58She used to put on top this breadcrumbs.
00:11:00So that's like a half a cup of grated Swiss,
00:11:03and then instead of the breadcrumbs,
00:11:07I'm just going to dot this with just a little bit of butter.
00:11:09Yeah, I used to do that.
00:11:10Mm-hmm.
00:11:12So 375 degrees, 45 minutes,
00:11:15and you'll have a really good dish for the family,
00:11:18and here's one that's already done.
00:11:20Wow, look at that.
00:11:21Yeah, it looks great.
00:11:22I like the color.
00:11:23See, you wouldn't even know that you didn't use yellow cheese
00:11:26because it's quite pink.
00:11:29So here you have it.
00:11:31So would you want a little taste?
00:11:33You know what, I always served sour cream with it.
00:11:36So let's see how it tastes.
00:11:37Be careful, it's hot.
00:11:39Mm.
00:11:41One of my favorite dishes.
00:11:44Macaroni and cheese.
00:11:45Mm-hmm.
00:11:46One side dish always on our table, especially around the holidays,
00:11:50was my mother's creamed spinach,
00:11:52and I'm going to share her recipe with you today.
00:11:54Look at this amazing spinach.
00:11:56Look at the size of the leaves.
00:11:58This is what you look for, really beautiful, bright green leaves.
00:12:01Very important to wash the leaves and shake out the excess moisture.
00:12:07This is 2 1⁄2 pounds of spinach.
00:12:09So just put this right into your deep pot,
00:12:14and you can turn this up to sort of medium.
00:12:20So spinach is very high in vitamins C, E, and K,
00:12:24as well as beta-carotene, folates, riboflavins, and other antioxidants.
00:12:30It should be fresh, crisp.
00:12:33So there, that's 2 1⁄2 pounds.
00:12:34See how it compacts itself right down into there?
00:12:37You can cover it.
00:12:40So now, where did the spinach go?
00:12:43It's right here.
00:12:45You can take them out.
00:12:48See how wet they are?
00:12:49Really wet.
00:12:51You can squeeze out extra moisture with the tongs.
00:12:54But if you made a creamed spinach with this wet spinach,
00:12:58it would be too watery.
00:13:00Secret is to make it a little bit drier.
00:13:03There.
00:13:06So, two methods, one result, drier spinach.
00:13:13So put a little bit in here.
00:13:16This is called a ricer, and it works very well.
00:13:22Just be real careful if the spinach is really hot not to press too hard,
00:13:27but you have to pour out the top as well as the bottom.
00:13:32So that's one way.
00:13:34Now, the other way, and the way my mom did it, was in that damp towel.
00:13:39You squeeze it out.
00:13:41It takes a little bit more work, but it's effective.
00:13:45There.
00:13:47So we now have our semi-dry cooked spinach,
00:13:52and we will make our bechamel.
00:13:56The butter has melted.
00:13:58That's three tablespoons of butter, a quarter of a cup of flour.
00:14:04And stir that around.
00:14:07So creamed spinach really doesn't have cream in it, unless you add cream,
00:14:11but it's a bechamel, which is a flour-based milky sauce.
00:14:16Now add one cup of milk.
00:14:20I'm making it right in this shallow pan,
00:14:23which is a nice way to cook it because you're going to add the spinach right to the pan.
00:14:30Add one teaspoon of sugar.
00:14:34A secret ingredient.
00:14:37Oftentimes southern cooked vegetables taste so good,
00:14:40and it's generally because they add a little tiny bit of sugar to the vegetables.
00:14:46So there, that's your very nice bechamel and a little bit of nutmeg.
00:14:54You can use the pre-ground nutmeg out of a can,
00:14:57but it's so much better if you use a real nutmeg.
00:15:01So there, that is your bechamel.
00:15:04Turn that on low, low, and chop your spinach.
00:15:08Two and a half pounds.
00:15:11Use a sharp, sharp knife or cleaver.
00:15:16You want a fine texture, but don't put it in a food processor.
00:15:20I think it will only mush it.
00:15:23So this can go right into your pan.
00:15:26It's such a great color.
00:15:31That is good creamed spinach.
00:15:36Season with salt and pepper.
00:15:43Beautiful. So good.
00:15:47And spoon that into your serving dish and serve it hot.
00:15:53And my mom, well, actually, she always served it with a little bit of sour cream on the side.
00:15:58I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as my whole family did.
00:16:02Welcome to Cooking School.
00:16:04Grains are a nutritional staple that, for much of the world,
00:16:07provides the largest share of calories and nutrients.
00:16:11Our first recipe is a classic mushroom barley soup.
00:16:14My mom's recipe that uses a very flavorful dried mushroom.
00:16:18Then couscous royale, a fantastic recipe using lots of fresh vegetables
00:16:23and served with a spicy condiment called harissa.
00:16:27And finally, a southern favorite, white grits with sharp cheddar cheese,
00:16:32served with a unique twist that I think you're going to love.
00:16:44Barley is a hearty grain dating back to the Stone Age,
00:16:47and it's used in dishes from cereals to breads to soups.
00:16:51Today's recipe for mushroom barley soup comes from my mother,
00:16:55who made hers with Borowik mushrooms.
00:16:58These are the mushrooms that come from Poland.
00:17:02Women actually wear them around their necks when they're dried.
00:17:06They are worth their weight in gold.
00:17:09And this soup also has a rich beef stock and tender barley.
00:17:14The barley grains have been rinsed well, and we're going to cook them in water,
00:17:21boil them until they're tender.
00:17:26Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer,
00:17:30and cook the barley for approximately one hour
00:17:34until it's plump and not quite split open.
00:17:39These Borowiki mushrooms are large, round, ranging from tan to brown,
00:17:44and these are just amazingly flavorful mushrooms.
00:17:48And they are dried very assiduously,
00:17:51and when someone wants to use one, you just soak them in warm water.
00:17:57You can use porcini mushrooms, you can use dried sep.
00:18:02These are sort of like dried sep.
00:18:04And you can also use dried shiitake mushrooms.
00:18:07Borowikis are one of the very few wild mushrooms that may be eaten raw.
00:18:12So by pre-soaking these, they will become plump and tender.
00:18:17Look how different they are.
00:18:19Here's a similar size.
00:18:21Look how they swell.
00:18:22It's very interesting, but very important to soak them overnight
00:18:27so they become tender enough to cut.
00:18:30And my mother used to just slice them,
00:18:32and that's what we're going to do using them in the soup.
00:18:36Now to make these even more tender,
00:18:38we are going to cook them for about 40 minutes on a low simmer in the soaking liquid.
00:18:47And then we can start making our soup.
00:18:50To prepare the soup, we're going to add some other mushrooms.
00:18:53These are just white button mushrooms, 6 ounces,
00:18:56that I'm going to cook slowly in 3 tablespoons of butter.
00:19:01These mushrooms will take on a very nice flavor when slowly cooked like this in butter,
00:19:06and will also get a nice nutty brown color.
00:19:13I love how these cook down.
00:19:16And the Polish mushrooms that have simmered, look how beautiful they are.
00:19:24They are fantastic.
00:19:26So you just soak these overnight as I showed you,
00:19:30then simmer for 45 minutes,
00:19:34and then chop or slice, whichever you prefer.
00:19:41So now just slice and dice your mushrooms.
00:19:47Slice them one direction, and then the other direction.
00:19:54They actually resemble well-cooked beef liver.
00:19:59They're that kind of texture.
00:20:02They are fragrant and utterly delicious,
00:20:05and they will add a lot of character to this mushroom barley soup.
00:20:12This is 1 ounce of dried Polish mushrooms.
00:20:18And there are some good sources for the dried Polish mushrooms,
00:20:22but remember, they are expensive.
00:20:27So you see how the mushrooms cook down,
00:20:30and they are already taking on a beautiful golden color.
00:20:34Drain your barley.
00:20:36And when I drain into a sink, I turn on my cold water.
00:20:40I just don't like boiling, boiling liquid going down the drain in great quantities.
00:20:46I'm not going to rinse the barley,
00:20:48but I am going to rinse the pan out a little bit just so I don't lose any grains.
00:20:56And shake.
00:20:59That is well-cooked barley.
00:21:01You see how the grains are still individual, but they have opened up a little tiny bit.
00:21:07That is exactly what we want with our barley.
00:21:11The mushrooms are almost the right color.
00:21:15You can add a little bit of salt and pepper to your mushrooms.
00:21:22And I find that the longer you cook them, the more they resemble the real Polish dried mushrooms.
00:21:31And have ready 7 cups of beef stock, the reserved liquid from the strained Polish mushrooms.
00:21:40Okay, so the mushrooms, I think, are beautiful.
00:21:43Add 2 ribs of celery, finely diced.
00:21:512 carrots, peeled and finely diced.
00:21:57Let these cook with your browned mushrooms.
00:22:02Add your liquid, Polish mushroom liquid.
00:22:09Add your beef stock.
00:22:18And now your dried mushrooms.
00:22:27Every single speck.
00:22:31You want this very, very hot.
00:22:34And we're going to add our barley.
00:22:37And remember that barley releases starch as it cooks, even after it's cooked for an hour.
00:22:43And it will give this soup a little additional body.
00:22:47Now, before I do the last marthica styra, my mom's final touches to the soup, I just want to remind you of two things.
00:22:54When buying grains, buy them in small quantities, since they go quickly rancid and cause stale aromas and bitterness.
00:23:02And also, when making this particular soup, use a blonde, a light-colored beef stock.
00:23:08Look how pretty all those ingredients look.
00:23:12And they taste really good, too.
00:23:15So now the final step.
00:23:172 tablespoons or 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour into...
00:23:22Oh, mom always used a little bit more sour cream than I thought she should, so this is 3 quarters of a cup of sour cream.
00:23:30And the flour gets incorporated into the sour cream.
00:23:34It makes its own little sour cream roux.
00:23:38It's the thickening for the soup.
00:23:40And now use a ladle and put some of the hot broth right into the roux.
00:23:51Adding the flour prevents the sour cream from separating in the soup.
00:23:55It's a very clever thing to do.
00:23:57In Louisiana, you would cook the flour in butter first and add the sour cream at the end.
00:24:03But this is just a simple precautionary step to keep that soup creamy.
00:24:09Okay, so there.
00:24:11Now this goes right back into the soup.
00:24:21And just over low, low heat, stir in your sour cream.
00:24:28In Polish households, sour cream is just like a staple.
00:24:32We always had sour cream.
00:24:34Nowadays, I have to make a special trip to the grocery store to get the sour cream.
00:24:39It's just not a regular day-in, day-out ingredient.
00:24:44But look how pretty the soup looks.
00:24:49And mom insisted that soup be served piping hot and have a bowl of fresh dill fronds, chopped, ready to serve.
00:25:02And here is a soup that is perfect for a chilly day.
00:25:12So there's your apron.
00:25:14You have the stock already made, that wonderful beef stock, and I've been cutting up everything for you.
00:25:18So when do you remember first making this mushroom soup?
00:25:20Was it from your mother's recipe?
00:25:22No, it was from Grandma Hillman's recipe.
00:25:24Oh, that's right. Grandma Bob, she recalled her.
00:25:26Daddy's mother put this in.
00:25:28Okay, so five medium ribs of celery, diced.
00:25:32And two large onions, yellow onions, finely diced.
00:25:38And carrots, about five carrots.
00:25:40Yeah, here's some more carrot.
00:25:43And you put this into three quarts of homemade beef stock.
00:25:48So Grandma Bob, she made this from the time you knew her?
00:25:50Yeah, 1937 when I was married.
00:25:53Okay, that was the first time you met her.
00:25:55Here's all the celery.
00:25:57What else did she make that you loved?
00:25:59Well, she introduced me to the cabbage and potato pierogies.
00:26:03Oh, so you got those from her, too?
00:26:05Right.
00:26:06Oh.
00:26:07Because Grandma Raskowski in Buffalo made what Grandpa liked.
00:26:09He liked cheese pierogi.
00:26:11We're going to drain these mushrooms that have been soaking.
00:26:14Oh, talk about the mushrooms a little bit.
00:26:16I really don't know the variety, Martha, but they've been famous for hundreds of years.
00:26:21And they have a thick stem, you can see.
00:26:23And they have a thin cap.
00:26:25And you cannot imagine how wonderfully they smell.
00:26:28And they're very different from the shiitake mushrooms that we get.
00:26:32And then we're using some dried shiitakes also.
00:26:34Now, are those the Polish?
00:26:36Polish mushrooms that have been soaking overnight.
00:26:39We've got these strings at Kurowicki's, which is on First Avenue in New York City.
00:26:44This soaking water goes into the stock for the flavor.
00:26:47Okay.
00:26:48Now, these are the shiitake, which is soaked overnight, too.
00:26:50Okay.
00:26:51Chop those?
00:26:52No, they get chopped.
00:26:53Okay.
00:26:54I like to chop them in great big pieces.
00:26:56My mother chops them slightly finer, but I don't like to lose them in the soup.
00:26:59And then we have one pound of white button mushrooms, which we have to slice up.
00:27:03As a child, I remember always looking in the soup pot for just the Polish mushrooms.
00:27:08And picking them out, not very fair to the other diners, but they were my favorite mushrooms.
00:27:14You always look for those.
00:27:15So, Mom, what would you say, about how long do we have to cook this?
00:27:18Oh, I'd say maybe about an hour.
00:27:21Until all the vegetables are tender and done.
00:27:25So, we'll just cover it now.
00:27:27Okay.
00:27:28Now, this is ready to be thickened.
00:27:30The orzo, we can go in now and cook for a minute or so.
00:27:33Okay.
00:27:34That'll thicken the soup.
00:27:35One cup of orzo.
00:27:37And you want to make a little bit of a roux with the butter and the flour?
00:27:40All right.
00:27:42So, it's two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of flour cooked.
00:27:47And you must have on hand one cup of sour cream.
00:27:52And the soup looks very pretty.
00:27:54It's just chock full of all the most delicious mushrooms and vegetables.
00:27:59Everything is perfectly cooked.
00:28:01But it does need thickening, and that's what the roux does, and the sour cream, and the orzo, too.
00:28:05Now, you pour a little of the liquid in here, Martha.
00:28:09So, you just don't want any raw flour taste?
00:28:12It's like making gravy.
00:28:14Stir it until it's smooth before you add it to the soup.
00:28:20Now, we'll pour the flour and broth right in here.
00:28:23Excellent.
00:28:24And you can put the parsley and the dill in if you wish.
00:28:27Oh, we have to have the sour cream yet.
00:28:30Okay.
00:28:31For the real full flavor.
00:28:33Two tablespoons of each, finely chopped.
00:28:38We have to work this.
00:28:42So, you thin the sour cream a little bit.
00:28:44Mm-hmm.
00:28:46There we go.
00:28:47Almost finished.
00:28:48A little bit of pepper.
00:28:49Mm-hmm.
00:28:51And a little bit of salt.
00:28:52I think we better taste it to see whether it's, I don't think it needs any more.
00:28:55Okay, well, I'm dying to taste it.
00:28:56This is so beautiful.
00:28:58I'm looking for those Polish mushrooms.
00:29:00Oh, here they all are.
00:29:01Mm-hmm.
00:29:07I think it's just right.
00:29:08Exactly.
00:29:09Well, you can make this soup the day before or the day of.
00:29:12Thank you very much, Mom, for sharing this really wonderful recipe with us.
00:29:17Rice pudding is a classic comfort food.
00:29:19It's right up there with meatloaf and macaroni and cheese.
00:29:22And today, my mother, Martha Castire, is with me to show us how she makes her version of this very homey dessert.
00:29:29I know it's an easy recipe, and you used to always use the leftover cooked rice that we had.
00:29:34It was the fastest for me.
00:29:36There were eight of us around the table, and the bowls of rice were quite large, so.
00:29:41It's a good way to use up leftover white rice.
00:29:43Yep, it's great.
00:29:44Okay, so.
00:29:45Okay, so how many cups of white rice do we need that's cooked?
00:29:47I think we need about three cups.
00:29:49Okay, so that's three cups.
00:29:51Three cups of whole milk.
00:29:53So three cups of milk.
00:29:58My mother's favorite measuring cups.
00:30:00I always remember you using Pyrex measuring cups when I was a child.
00:30:05And the whole three cups of rice.
00:30:07Right.
00:30:08And what else?
00:30:09Sugar.
00:30:11Not too much.
00:30:12That's, I think, why I loved your rice pudding so much.
00:30:14A quarter cup.
00:30:18I'll stir for you.
00:30:19Good.
00:30:21And then we have a quarter teaspoon of salt.
00:30:27Now, you use whole milk for this, right?
00:30:29Whole milk.
00:30:30At home, I remember we always had whole milk.
00:30:33When did you start getting skim milk?
00:30:35When people started looking at their waistlines.
00:30:39Now, remember, when you were very, very little, we used to have a milkman deliver milk.
00:30:43Oh, I love that milkman.
00:30:44With the cream on top.
00:30:46Well, this gets cooked for about 30 minutes.
00:30:49Oh, 30 minutes.
00:30:50Oh, okay.
00:30:51And in the meantime, we could get the eggs separated.
00:30:54Okay, so why don't you do that.
00:30:58So you should really cook this slowly and stir it, right?
00:31:01Mm-hmm.
00:31:02Well, yes, because the milk.
00:31:06All right, four egg yolks.
00:31:10Now you're supposed to put a cup of milk in here.
00:31:13Oh, so this must be the last cup.
00:31:20So we're using four cups of milk.
00:31:23And then a teaspoon of vanilla.
00:31:31That's wonderful.
00:31:33And when do we put the raisins in?
00:31:35Well, you put the raisins in after we combine the rice and the egg yolks.
00:31:41So we have a swap out for mom that's already cooked for 30 minutes, this one.
00:31:47And you'll see how much thicker it is.
00:31:50And this one.
00:31:52Oh, yeah.
00:31:53Okay.
00:31:55So that's just the rice and the milk.
00:31:58You see it's very, very thick.
00:32:01Okay.
00:32:07So not heavy cream, not half and half.
00:32:09You just use milk.
00:32:11I suppose you could use half and half if you wanted to or else 2% milk.
00:32:15So this looks good.
00:32:16Yeah, turn it off.
00:32:17Turn it off.
00:32:18We'll add the third cup of raisins.
00:32:20Okay.
00:32:21Now, you used to put golden raisins.
00:32:23I used to mix them, too.
00:32:25It doesn't matter, really.
00:32:26And a little cinnamon.
00:32:32We can put that into the baking dish.
00:32:34Okay, so why don't you beat up the egg whites?
00:32:36Beat the egg whites.
00:32:39My mother always used a hand egg beater, never electric.
00:32:44But when we got that KitchenAid, remember?
00:32:47When Dad bought you your first KitchenAid, how happy you were?
00:32:50Yeah, we had a ball with it.
00:32:52We had every attachment known to KitchenAid when we had that beautiful K45.
00:32:58And I still have my mother's original K45.
00:33:00You know that, right?
00:33:01Mm-hmm.
00:33:03Here, I'll do that for you.
00:33:04Here, I'll do the sugar.
00:33:05We'll need half a cup of sugar.
00:33:08Yeah.
00:33:14Cream of tartar, too.
00:33:15How much?
00:33:16About a quarter of a teaspoon.
00:33:22And a half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
00:33:26Does that look good enough?
00:33:27Oh, yeah.
00:33:28Very soft peaks.
00:33:30Now, you can spread this down with a rubber scraper and into the oven.
00:33:35For how long?
00:33:36Maybe about five minutes.
00:33:38Well, look, Mom.
00:33:39Tell me if it's okay.
00:33:40Oh, I think it's wonderful.
00:33:41You like it?
00:33:42Mm-hmm.
00:33:43Good.
00:33:44Now, I'll take it out.
00:33:45Oh, it looks great.
00:33:46Nice.
00:33:47Well, now, should I dig into it right now?
00:33:49I think you should let it cool.
00:33:51Oh, okay.
00:33:53It looks really great, and I can't wait to dig in.
00:33:56Neither can I.
00:33:57Well, whatever way you choose to make your rice pudding, it is comforting, it's delicious,
00:34:02and it's a really nice treat for your family.
00:34:05Thanks, Mom.
00:34:06You're very welcome.
00:34:07Enjoy.
00:34:08This is my mother, Big Martha.
00:34:10She's called in our family, but I've grown taller than she.
00:34:15I promised that if I brought her a few extra kielbasa from that wonderful store, Kurowitzki's,
00:34:21she would come and show us how she cooks and serves kielbasa,
00:34:25along with some very delicious specialties.
00:34:27So, Mom, I put the kielbasa in these big pans to boil them for about 20 minutes.
00:34:32Well, yes, you can parboil them 15 or 20 minutes,
00:34:35and then we bake them in the oven until they're nicely browned.
00:34:41Yep, so this one is just about ready to put into a roasting pan.
00:34:46I like one in a pan, and I always poke it.
00:34:49Well, this way I find that it doesn't crack on me.
00:34:52Mm-hmm.
00:34:53Put a little bit of the hot water just to create steam.
00:34:57That's enough.
00:34:58And keep it tender.
00:34:59Okay, so it's like a half an inch of water.
00:35:01Mm-hmm.
00:35:02And then these just go into, what, a 350 oven?
00:35:05That's right.
00:35:06Okay.
00:35:07Well, here's the kielbasa.
00:35:09This has cooked for now 20 minutes in the oven, and it looks exactly how it's supposed to be.
00:35:16This is our favorite rye bread.
00:35:18Where did you get this from?
00:35:20Gold's Deli in Westport.
00:35:21Oh, I love their breads.
00:35:23They have the real Jewish rye.
00:35:26And I'm making this quite thin.
00:35:29Now can I show you this kielbasa?
00:35:32It is so good.
00:35:34Juicy?
00:35:35Mm-hmm.
00:35:37So my mother likes to make big, thick chunks of it because that's the way we've always eaten it.
00:35:46Hot.
00:35:47It is hot.
00:35:50So there's our lovely sausage.
00:35:53Why don't you show the horseradish because this is kind of interesting.
00:35:57This horseradish, as it comes out of the ground, it's a root vegetable.
00:36:03Of course, you don't eat it as a vegetable because it's much, much too hot and spicy.
00:36:09And Mom used to send me out to the backyard.
00:36:12To grate it.
00:36:13To grate it.
00:36:14But I learned that I could do it in the kitchen in an electric machine,
00:36:20but it would have to be done in front of that exhaust fan.
00:36:23Now this is grated horseradish here, and you mix it with a little white vinegar.
00:36:34A little sugar.
00:36:39And if you don't want to go through all this trouble, you can buy the prepared horseradish.
00:36:45If you want to put some of the prepared horseradishes in these bowls.
00:36:51Now get ready to cry because this is about the right size grater for the fresh horseradish.
00:37:00And these are beautiful.
00:37:02Pickled beets.
00:37:03Yes, we have so many beets left over that we decided to pickle our own.
00:37:08And these are great.
00:37:10They're a little bit spicy.
00:37:16So now we have pickled beets.
00:37:19You will love these.
00:37:20And look, Mom, a block of homemade sweet butter.
00:37:23That's an unexpected pleasure.
00:37:24Yes, it's really good.
00:37:26It's a treat.
00:37:27And you have eggs, you have butter, you have beets, you have kielbasa, and you have rye bread.
00:37:32And what else could you ask for?
00:37:34Well, it may have been Dad that took me to Kurwitzki's in the first place.
00:37:37It was.
00:37:38But it was certainly Mom who taught me how to cook and serve one of our favorite Easter foods, kielbasa.
00:37:45Mom, on Mother's Day, didn't we always have angel food cake?
00:37:48More or less.
00:37:49More or less.
00:37:50You never bought angel food cakes, even though there were angel food cakes at the Nutley Co-op, because I remember them there.
00:37:55Really?
00:37:56And I used to ask Mom to buy one.
00:37:58She said, nope, we'll make one.
00:38:00Well, at first, there weren't too many cake mixers around, as I remember.
00:38:04But then I always liked to make everything from scratch.
00:38:07Mom's sifting the flour.
00:38:09It's cake flour, and you have to sift it four times.
00:38:13You have to really get it light and airy.
00:38:15I'm starting to beat 12 egg whites until they just break up, and then I'm going to start adding the other ingredients.
00:38:24We need a half a teaspoon of salt in the egg whites.
00:38:29And one and a half teaspoons of cream of tartar.
00:38:33That'll get the egg whites to improve in stability and increase volume.
00:38:42I'm adding the sugar, one and three quarters cups of granulated sugar, very slowly.
00:38:49We have to get these light and fluffy, but not dry, right?
00:38:54Okay, so this is getting nice and fluffy.
00:38:57It has to beat for a while until it is fluffy.
00:39:00Otherwise, it won't hold up in the oven.
00:39:02And we're going to add one and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract and a half a teaspoon of almond extract.
00:39:08The sugar is in, everything is in but the flour.
00:39:12Fold in the flour just a little bit at a time.
00:39:18Some people use their hand to do the folding.
00:39:21Oh, this is folding in beautifully.
00:39:23What a great mixture this is.
00:39:25Very simple, very delicious.
00:39:27Preheat your oven to 275 degrees because it's going to cook for 30 minutes.
00:39:33Then increase the temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 30 minutes more.
00:39:38So notice I'm trying not to deflate the egg whites.
00:39:41And guess who taught me how to fold?
00:39:43Who?
00:39:44You.
00:39:46I thought you'd say that.
00:39:47You taught me.
00:39:49It's a very dry, meringue-y kind of texture.
00:39:54And now we can put that into the pan.
00:39:56You want to do that?
00:39:57I'll check the oven temperature.
00:39:58You don't grease the pan.
00:39:59Oh, no greasing the pan.
00:40:01Otherwise, it wouldn't stick to the sides and grow.
00:40:05Real important to incorporate that flour so that you don't have any dry spots.
00:40:09And another thing you taught me to do is to really scrape the bowl.
00:40:13You never let us waste anything.
00:40:15We scraped every single bit.
00:40:19Don't you remember saying that?
00:40:21Oh, I know.
00:40:22And then, of course, if there was anything left in the bowl, we actually got to lick the bowl.
00:40:28I love the texture of this cake.
00:40:31Just cut through like this to release any air bubbles.
00:40:35That way you're not going to have holes in your cake.
00:40:39This looks very good.
00:40:42Looks good enough to eat right now.
00:40:43No.
00:40:46Now these cakes are peculiar in that when they come out of the oven, and you would never do this to another kind of cake,
00:40:53you invert the cake on top of something.
00:40:56And it's usually a beer bottle or a wine bottle like this.
00:41:01This cake has been inverted for at least one hour before you remove the pan.
00:41:06And look how nice and high and beautiful this cake is.
00:41:11You're going to have to release the cake.
00:41:14Stay right next to the edge of the pan.
00:41:17And then around the tube part.
00:41:19Right.
00:41:20So this looks like it's going to come undone.
00:41:22We hope, we hope.
00:41:24And you can invert this right on the cake pedestal.
00:41:28Well, there it goes.
00:41:29Yes, there it is.
00:41:30And that's exactly what it should look like.
00:41:32If you don't want to see that little bit of roughness on the top, you can dust it with powdered sugar.
00:41:37It looks really pretty.
00:41:38Don't you think that would be pretty?
00:41:39And you can cut it with one of these.
00:41:42This works very nicely.
00:41:43You can't really cut it with a knife because it will squash the cake.
00:41:47Yeah, right.
00:41:48So you have to use one of these special angel food cake cutters.
00:41:52And it kind of breaks the cake.
00:41:54You know how you're always told not to cut an English muffin?
00:41:58Well, the same thing with an angel food cake.
00:42:00Never cut.
00:42:02Always kind of tear it.
00:42:04So another favorite way, if you don't have one of these, is to use two forks and gently pull the cake apart.
00:42:14But you see how perfectly imperfect it is?
00:42:17That's a sign of a well-made, homemade angel food cake.
00:42:22And we have some lightly macerated strawberries.
00:42:27These are the very nicest early strawberries.
00:42:31And you would just spoon on your strawberries a little piece of perfectly fresh mint.
00:42:39And you have Mother's Day, future, birthday party, anything.
00:42:46Well, enjoy that, Mom.
00:42:48So once you've mastered the art of yeast dough, you can make all kinds of things.
00:42:53As you've seen, you can make sugar buns and sticky buns.
00:42:57But you can also make some really delicious babkas and fruit-filled coffee cakes.
00:43:03And today we're doing a yeasted coffee cake that my mom would love.
00:43:09She would love to have it with her morning coffee.
00:43:12It is full of fruit and nuts and a few lovely crumbs on top.
00:43:17And I'm going to make the filling first because it includes one cup of almonds.
00:43:23These are slivered, toasted almonds.
00:43:27Let's just add a whole cup here.
00:43:30And one cup of golden raisins.
00:43:33And one cup of dark raisins.
00:43:38A zest of two oranges.
00:43:41A zest of two lemons.
00:43:45So it's very citrusy. It's very nice.
00:43:48And now one teaspoon plus a half of vanilla.
00:43:53And two tablespoons of an orange liqueur.
00:43:58I love orange liqueur.
00:44:04Half a cup of sugar.
00:44:08We'll mix this all up and you will have your beautiful fruit filling for the coffee cake.
00:44:15So that is the fruit filling for the yeasted coffee cake.
00:44:18And now for the crumbs, three tablespoons of butter, softened.
00:44:23We're going to make this a gluten-free recipe.
00:44:26The dough is made with gluten-free flour and so is the crumb topping.
00:44:32A quarter of a cup of gluten-free flour.
00:44:36And a quarter of a cup plus two tablespoons of confectioner's sugar.
00:44:47And mix that up.
00:44:48If the butter is soft at room temperature it makes a really nice crumb.
00:44:54Simple recipe for crumbs.
00:44:56Very reminiscent of a New York coffee cake too.
00:45:00Now we have to roll out our dough.
00:45:03Here's the dough.
00:45:05It's doubled in bulk.
00:45:07And we want to roll this out to 18 by 18 inches square.
00:45:15It's a very nice dough and it rolls out very easily.
00:45:24And that's a sign of a good dough that you can pick it up and flip it over and it doesn't tear and break and fall apart.
00:45:33So now we spread our fruit filling, reserving about a half a cup and leave about an inch all the way around.
00:45:42So now we're going to egg wash the border with one large egg and a tablespoon of heavy cream.
00:45:49This is acting as a glue and will help seal in the fruit.
00:45:55So we roll this up.
00:45:58And nicely it's rolling.
00:46:02The egg really does act like glue.
00:46:05Now spread this out a little bit.
00:46:08Fold it in half and twist it over itself.
00:46:12Like that.
00:46:14And like that.
00:46:17The pan has been buttered, lined with one piece of parchment paper with flaps.
00:46:23This will enable you to lift the cake out of the pan and keeping the top the top.
00:46:29Otherwise you'd have to invert it and you might lose a lot of the crumbs and a lot of the fruit.
00:46:34So put this right in here.
00:46:38And now egg wash the entire surface.
00:46:45This will help brown the cake and it will also help the crumbs adhere to the cake.
00:46:52Sprinkle the rest of the fruit on top.
00:46:57And now the crumbs.
00:46:59And I love crumbs. It's so good.
00:47:02So now cover this with a piece of plastic wrap.
00:47:09Put it in a warm but not overly hot spot.
00:47:13I like the top of my oven. It works really well.
00:47:16And for about an hour until it's about doubled in volume.
00:47:25So now our bread is risen.
00:47:28Our yeasted coffee cake.
00:47:30And it looks really pretty, don't you think?
00:47:32Now you can test. Just press and it pops back up.
00:47:37That's a well risen cake.
00:47:39Set this right into your 375 degree preheated oven for about 50 minutes.
00:47:46And then reduce the heat to 325 for another 20 minutes or so.
00:47:50So here's our cake. It's been out of the oven for a little bit more than an hour.
00:47:55Don't cut it when it comes right out of the oven.
00:47:57It's a little too hot and a little too moist.
00:47:59It has to settle down a little bit.
00:48:02But eating it fresh is really good.
00:48:04And actually tomorrow it's very good too.
00:48:08But never lasts until tomorrow in my house.
00:48:12This is great with morning coffee.
00:48:15It's lovely in the afternoon with tea.
00:48:19And boy is that gorgeous.
00:48:21Look at that yellow yeasty dough.
00:48:26And just full of beautiful, beautiful fruit.
00:48:31That is a great looking coffee cake.
00:48:34And remarkably gluten free.
00:48:37It's our baking bonus for today. Enjoy.
00:48:40Mother do you remember making stuffed peppers when I was growing up?
00:48:43Yes I do but you know I always made them with meat and rice.
00:48:46This is a treat for me too.
00:48:47This is my adaptation.
00:48:48I'm cooking one cup of rice in two cups of water.
00:48:52Mom is cutting off the tops of the peppers.
00:48:54And I like to have the tops like that so that you can put them on while they cook.
00:48:58And what I'm doing here is finding a dish that's just the right size.
00:49:02And one extra pepper to cut up because it's nice to have a little bit of the pepper in the filling.
00:49:06And now if you just core the tomatoes and squeeze the seeds out.
00:49:09I don't even peel them.
00:49:11And then we'll use that in the bottom of the dish.
00:49:13And now to make the filling I'm just going to melt about four tablespoons of butter.
00:49:18You can use a little oil if you like.
00:49:20And saute some white onion.
00:49:22Just a small white onion.
00:49:24Some shallots are really nice too.
00:49:26Two large shallots finely minced.
00:49:29And get that cooking up.
00:49:31And our raisins.
00:49:32It's so delicious if you plump the raisins in fresh orange juice.
00:49:36And about a half a cup.
00:49:37That's the secret.
00:49:38So the peppers are all done?
00:49:39Yep.
00:49:40Good.
00:49:41And this is Alexis' favorite thing.
00:49:42Well, yeah, she's a vegetarian, isn't she?
00:49:44Right.
00:49:45So no turkey for her.
00:49:46So some salt and pepper.
00:49:48She had turkey when she was little.
00:49:49Yeah, when she was little she had everything.
00:49:51And get that cooking.
00:49:52And now you can add your cut up yellow bell pepper.
00:49:54Now you always make green peppers because we didn't really have yellow peppers or orange peppers when I was growing up.
00:50:00No, we didn't.
00:50:01No, there were green peppers and sometimes a red pepper.
00:50:04So I'm going to add our raisins.
00:50:09And let the raisins plump up a little bit.
00:50:11And the secret of this dish really is all the wonderful fresh herbs that you would use.
00:50:17Now salt and pepper your tomatoes because that's the base.
00:50:22We will then add chervil and basil.
00:50:26Would you like to do that?
00:50:27Surely.
00:50:28So you can just julienne that if you like or chiffonade it.
00:50:34And a lot of chervil.
00:50:36This is out of the garden.
00:50:37Isn't it beautiful?
00:50:39Quite fine.
00:50:40It's better if it's a little fine.
00:50:41And then some thyme.
00:50:46And I'm just breaking the leaves of thyme.
00:50:49Doesn't it smell great?
00:50:50The scent is wonderful.
00:50:51And then another thing you could do if you like fresh herbs, you can just put the stems on your tomatoes too.
00:50:57This is a very rustic dish the way I make it.
00:50:59I never had it quite this way.
00:51:01Just throw that right in here, Mom.
00:51:03See, a lot of it is so pretty.
00:51:06And another thing I add is pignoli nuts, toasted pignolis.
00:51:10Aren't they pretty?
00:51:11Oh, the pine nuts.
00:51:12Yes, the little pine nuts.
00:51:18And then a little bit of rice.
00:51:21And now this rice is a little underdone which is nice because they're going to cook for quite a while.
00:51:27Looks good.
00:51:28Yep.
00:51:33And so we can stuff the peppers.
00:51:35Actually, it's going to start cooking the peppers immediately.
00:51:40All of these stuffed dishes like the stuffed cabbage, the stuffed peppers that my mom talks about are the dishes that really came from Grandma.
00:51:47Oops.
00:51:48Grandma Roszkowski, Grandma Kostyra.
00:51:50It's from our Polish background.
00:51:52That was real comfort food.
00:51:54And if you want, you can just even add a few more sprigs of fresh herbs to the peppers.
00:52:00And now can we find which tops belong to which?
00:52:04I don't know about that.
00:52:08This one goes to this one, I think.
00:52:12So it's a good idea to put that on the baking sheet and never put aluminum foil straight on your vegetables because you'll find that it's very corrosive.
00:52:21So put a piece of parchment paper first.
00:52:24And you don't add any water then?
00:52:26You don't have to, you don't have to add any water.
00:52:28They're very juicy.
00:52:29Yeah, the tomatoes kind of give the moisture that you need.
00:52:32And this can go right into a 350 degree oven and bake until the peppers are really tender.
00:52:42It takes about an hour.
00:52:44Good.
00:52:47Very nice.
00:52:49And now we have some already done.
00:52:52And I'll show you what they look like.
00:52:53Oh.
00:52:55About 10 minutes before they're done.
00:52:57Did you close the oven, Mom?
00:52:58Yes.
00:53:00Take the wrapping off and let the tops get just a little bit brown.
00:53:06Take the filling first.
00:53:11Good?
00:53:13Just the right amount of sweetness and tartness.
00:53:15Yep, I think that's what the raisins do.
00:53:17Yes, and the orange juice.
00:53:18Yeah.
00:53:19Well, it's really nice when you can teach your mother something new.
00:53:23Thank you for the lesson.
00:53:24Potato pierogi, which is my mom's recipe, Big Martha.
00:53:29And I just want to make sure that I get the dough right because if the dough is not right, the pierogis won't be right.
00:53:35So break one egg into a big bowl.
00:53:38One beautiful, fresh egg from the chickens outside.
00:53:43And so break that up and one teaspoon of salt.
00:53:48I always like to add that to the egg.
00:53:55And then your two tablespoons of sour cream.
00:54:00I confess, I didn't have any sour cream in this COVID crisis.
00:54:05I didn't get to the store today.
00:54:07So I'm using creme fraiche, which is sort of a little richer, a little delicious.
00:54:13So mix that together with one cup of milk.
00:54:20Get that all mixed in.
00:54:21So wet ingredients first, basically.
00:54:23It's just making a soft, beautiful, malleable dough that will encase the fillings.
00:54:31And I made a potato filling, same filling that my mom, Big Martha, would make.
00:54:37Steamed potatoes or boiled potatoes, peeled, mashed with a lot of butter, salt, and pepper.
00:54:45And my mom always added cream cheese, but I didn't have any cream cheese, so I didn't add any cream cheese.
00:54:50But really good.
00:54:51And then this is a mixture of old, white cabbage.
00:54:56When I say old, it's like a dried out head of cabbage that I had.
00:55:00And I made this, it was in the freezer.
00:55:02You steam the cabbage, you squeeze as much water out of it as you can, and you mix that with cream cheese, salt, and pepper.
00:55:09Boy, is that good.
00:55:10Wait till you taste those.
00:55:12Now that's all nicely mixed, and add one cup of water.
00:55:16So that's your liquid for your dough.
00:55:20And now, don't use this to incorporate the flour, because it'll get all gummed up.
00:55:25So use about four and a half cups of flour.
00:55:30And this is, I already pre-measured, so I'll just add a little bit at a time.
00:55:35And my mom always used a wooden spoon to stir.
00:55:39I don't know why, but that's what she used.
00:55:42No mixers, no nothing, no whisks, a wooden spoon.
00:55:49And just keep adding your flour.
00:55:51I'll use this little bowl to dump it in.
00:55:54And I'm using Hecker's Unbleached White Flour, which is my favorite flour for all purpose.
00:56:02And I just like Hecker's, I don't know why.
00:56:05King Arthur's a good substitute for Hecker's, if you can't find Hecker's.
00:56:09Let's see, this looks really wet.
00:56:11It's very wet.
00:56:13Obviously that two cups of liquid, so I'm going to just dump in the whole four and a half cups.
00:56:19What you want is a soft, lovely dough.
00:56:24Oh look, it's coming together nicely.
00:56:26It's not exactly a ravioli dough.
00:56:29But, you know, every single country has a dumpling of some sort or other.
00:56:34Empanadas, pierogies, pieroshkis, raviolis.
00:56:39What do the French have?
00:56:41Do the French have a dumpling?
00:56:43I don't know about that.
00:56:45But they have their crepes that they wrap around things.
00:56:48So this dough is coming together very nicely.
00:56:51Yeah, it looks just like my mom's.
00:56:53I'm reminding myself of my mom.
00:56:55You know, the Polish heritage runs strong and deep.
00:57:02But pierogies are our favorite holiday food.
00:57:05We love pierogies.
00:57:08Now it's good to let this rest, but since I am on a sort of a time bind here,
00:57:13I'm going to try to do this without resting it too much.
00:57:16I should roll up my sleeves.
00:57:18I'm covered with all kinds of bruises and sores.
00:57:21I got bitten by one of my geese.
00:57:23I got poked by one of the rose bushes that I was trying to prune.
00:57:27You know, during this time, we're spending a lot of time outside.
00:57:31As much time as I possibly can, because I like being outside.
00:57:36And I can't go anywhere else, so I might as well just go outside.
00:57:40So scrape.
00:57:42You might have to add a little bit more flour.
00:57:44I didn't add the whole extra.
00:57:46This holds for four and a half to five cups.
00:57:48And it's kind of wet outside today.
00:57:52This is my kitchen.
00:57:53I love my kitchen.
00:57:55It has lots of copper pots.
00:57:56It has a cappuccino machine center over there where people come for their cappuccino.
00:58:02And it has a big wall of ranges.
00:58:06This is all jade ranges, which are so phenomenal.
00:58:09I love them.
00:58:11And I have Miele dishwashers.
00:58:13And I have Charleston refrigerators.
00:58:16A whole bank of refrigerators over there.
00:58:19So it's a semi-professional home kitchen.
00:58:21But, you know, all I'm doing all day long now is cooking, cooking, cooking.
00:58:25And I have three people staying with me during this time.
00:58:29I basically lock them in my house.
00:58:32And they're really helping me a lot.
00:58:35Ryan is holding the camera.
00:58:37He's my gardener.
00:58:39And Carlos, my driver, he's been taking care of the animals with me and really helping out a lot.
00:58:46See how I'm kneading?
00:58:47See how nice it's coming together?
00:58:49Such a good dough.
00:58:51You want an elastic dough that's not wet.
00:58:54And that can be rolled out and formed into dumplings.
00:58:59And my favorite pierogies.
00:59:01Let's see.
00:59:02Cabbage first.
00:59:03Potato second.
00:59:04Sour cherry.
00:59:06Fresh sour cherry.
00:59:07So good.
00:59:08Oh, and another one that is so good are the little sour Italian plums.
00:59:13I take the pit out and put a little sugar where the pit goes.
00:59:17And encase that in this dough and serve it with melted butter.
00:59:23Oh, it's brown butter.
00:59:25It's so good.
00:59:27But coming along here.
00:59:31What do you say?
00:59:33It's supposed to rest while you create the fillings.
00:59:36But since the fillings are already created, I thought smart and I made those ahead of time so it wouldn't take up all day.
00:59:44So now we're going to let this dough just sit like that.
00:59:50Now I'm going to show you a secret.
00:59:52This is a secret.
00:59:53Just cut part of this dough.
00:59:57And put a little flour on the board.
00:59:59This is called bench flour because it's on the bench.
01:00:02Put your dough like this and you don't want it to dry out whatever you do.
01:00:06So the secret is put a bowl over it.
01:00:10That way it can't possibly dry out.
01:00:12See how nicely this is rolling out?
01:00:17And that is a little elastic is good because you'll see I'm going to stretch it as I fill the pierogi.
01:00:24Oh, my dogs are watching.
01:00:28Can you get a picture of of Bet Noir down there?
01:00:32Look at Bet Noir.
01:00:33She's looking thinking I might be making something with meat.
01:00:37Sorry, Bet Noir.
01:00:39This is a vegetarian dumpling fest that we're having here.
01:00:46I'm using my favorite rolling pin, which I got in Paris on my honeymoon.
01:00:55Such a beautiful rolling pin.
01:00:57Only good thing about my honeymoon is this rolling pin.
01:01:05Okay, so make sure it's not sticking.
01:01:08That's the one thing you don't want it sticking.
01:01:10So you can lift it up like that and it's not sticking.
01:01:14And it's doing it's just doing exactly what it's supposed to do.
01:01:21So then using a cutter of about two and a half or three inches.
01:01:26Mom always used one of those aluminum cold drink glasses.
01:01:33I don't know if you remember those.
01:01:34They came in hideous colors like bright red and bright blue and bright electric green.
01:01:41That's what she used to cut the dough like this.
01:01:46And now to form the pierogi.
01:01:49I am going to first get my cookie sheet out.
01:01:53Use one of these flour sack towels.
01:01:56See this?
01:01:58And you put that up here.
01:02:01And you dust it with a little bit of flour.
01:02:04You can also use cornmeal.
01:02:06Cornmeal.
01:02:08Because that's where you're going to put your made dumpling on now.
01:02:11I'll do the potato first.
01:02:13So you hold it in your hand like this.
01:02:15See how nice this dough doesn't break.
01:02:18It doesn't do anything bad.
01:02:20And then a nice amount of potato.
01:02:25Mound it like this.
01:02:28And then pull the dough up until it touches like that.
01:02:34Look at that cute little dumpling.
01:02:36Now I like to secure the dough by doing a second little pinch.
01:02:42Like that.
01:02:43You do not want them falling apart when you boil them.
01:02:46And these are boiled first and then you can do whatever else you want with them.
01:02:50But there, that's a nice plump pierogi.
01:02:54Pretty, right?
01:02:56I rolled out my second batch of dough.
01:02:58And now I'm making the cabbage pierogi.
01:03:03My favorite of all.
01:03:06And as I said, it's just fresh cabbage that's old though.
01:03:10It's dry.
01:03:11They turn white when they really get old.
01:03:14And you steam them.
01:03:16Squeeze out all the filling.
01:03:19And you usually use like a diaper, a clean baby diaper.
01:03:23Or a flour sack towel like that.
01:03:26And squeeze out all the excess liquid.
01:03:29And then chop it.
01:03:31I do it in the squeezing art.
01:03:32But we used to put it through a meat grinder at home when I was growing up.
01:03:37And that's the filling.
01:03:38It's extremely tasty.
01:03:41And lots of black pepper.
01:03:42Lots of cream cheese.
01:03:44And lots of salt.
01:03:47You might not like the sound of it.
01:03:49But I guarantee you would like it to taste it.
01:03:52Because it's something very special.
01:03:55And when you're making pierogies, either you talk to somebody.
01:03:58Somebody like Bopshy Ed.
01:04:02My grandma would sit at the end of the table.
01:04:04And she'd be making pierogies.
01:04:06She made them faster than anybody.
01:04:09And that was Bopshy Ed.
01:04:12Bopshy is another word for, I think, aunt.
01:04:16Bopshy.
01:04:17Or grandma.
01:04:18Maybe it's grandma.
01:04:21And then we had Butchy Joe.
01:04:24He would come and visit.
01:04:26He was a butcher.
01:04:29And so my humble beginnings just remain a very fond memory and a very important part of my life.
01:04:41All of this.
01:04:43The most I ever ate in one sitting was 21 of these.
01:04:48I think I had a stomachache afterward.
01:04:50But 21 went down very easily.
01:04:55Because they are really delicious.
01:04:59Okay, so I'll be back to show you how to boil the pierogi.
01:05:03And hopefully they will not fall apart.
01:05:06And I'll show you how I serve them with browned butter.
01:05:09Yummy.
01:05:10As you take them out, just get off the excess water.
01:05:13And then gently put them into your buttered dish.
01:05:18You don't want that water on your serving platter.
01:05:24As you can see, that's a potato.
01:05:25That's a cabbage.
01:05:26You can see the difference in color.
01:05:33Mmm.
01:05:34Boy, do these look good.
01:05:36They look better than any place in Chicago.
01:05:40Forgive me.
01:05:41Cautious.
01:05:45They look almost as good as my mom's.
01:05:49Just put the butter in.
01:05:50You're not going to eat all this butter.
01:05:51But it keeps the pierogi from sticking to each other.
01:05:55There.
01:06:01And now I have to make a few more.
01:06:02And then we're ready for dinner.
01:06:07I would describe my mother as...
01:06:10Happy and caring.
01:06:12A fun-loving ball of energy.
01:06:14Eccentric.
01:06:15As a discoverer.
01:06:17I would describe my mom as a ray of sunshine.
01:06:19My mother taught me a lot.
01:06:21The value of hard work.
01:06:23Cook like a champ.
01:06:24All that I know about hosting a party.
01:06:26That it's not what you say, it's how you say it.
01:06:28How to be there for people when they really need you to be there.
01:06:31About the kitchen.
01:06:32About cooking.
01:06:33About sewing.
01:06:34About home keeping.
01:06:35There should be a day to celebrate moms
01:06:37because it's the hardest job in the world.
01:06:39They spend 364 days of the year worrying about us.
01:06:44So why can't we just take one day to worry about them?
01:06:47I love my mom because she is a great example
01:06:51of the type of woman that I want to be.
01:06:53My mom is beautiful and amazing.
01:06:56I love my mom because she's the best.
01:06:58She really made me the woman I am today
01:07:01and I think that's pretty awesome.
01:07:03Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:04Happy Mother's Day, Mom.
01:07:05Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:06Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:07Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:08Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:09Happy Mother's Day, Mom.
01:07:10Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:11Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:17Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:18Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:19Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:20Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:21Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:22Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:23Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:24Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:25Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:26Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:27Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:28Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:29Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:30Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:31Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:32Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:33Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:34Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:35Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:36Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:37Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:38Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:39Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:40Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:41Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:42Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:43Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:44Happy Mother's Day.
01:07:45Happy Mother's Day.
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