CHOPPED LIVER, NY Deli Style

Jtmichcock under 
GNU Free Documentation License via Wikipedia

Carnegie Delicatessen established in 1937. Purveyors of traditional Jewish foods and other non-Jewish food, it's a popular go-to place for natives and tourists. 


What is the meaning and origin of the expression: "What am I? Chopped liver." According to Ask The Rabbi, Ohr Somayach, "As far as I know, the origins of the phrase are not Yiddish; I believe the phrase was originally coined in America. Being that chopped liver was always considered a side dish and not a main course, the phrase was used to express hurt and amazement when a person feels he has been overlooked and treated just like a 'side dish'."

Despite her Southwestern origins, my daughter-in-law, The Girl from New Mexico, likes a good Brooklyn nosh or two. So when we celebrated her birthday a week-ago this past Sunday, we made chopped liver as part of her birthday gift . . . a whole pound . . . made from mutant chicken livers purchased from the Whole Foods Market across the street. They were the biggest, purest, freshest chopped livers we've ever seen. Yum! I didn't know where to get schmaltz (rendered chicken fat) around here (California), so I substituted fresh, unsweetened butter. Definitely not kosher, but neither are we. And since Karen likes to go mostly wheat-and-gluten free, we substituted gluten-free crackers for the usual Jewish rye. The recipe we share, however, is the original, authentic version. The chopped liver itself is naturally wheat-and-gluten free and needs no modification for those with Celiac Disease or wheat-and-gluten sensitivity.

Chopped liver and  creamed herring. Photograph courtesy of stu_spivack under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

CHOPPED LIVER, NY DELI STYLE

The recipe

Serves four as an appetizer

(Unless you're from New Mexico. Then it's a party-in-a-bowl just for one.)

• 1 lb. of fresh chicken livers, rinse, pat dry with paper towels, and chop
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup of schmaltz
• 2 large omega-3 eggs, perfectly hard-boiled and chopped
• 1/2-3/4 teaspoon freshly ground sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Gluten-free Crackers, or if you don't have to go gluten-free, the traditional matzoh or toasted rye (cut the slices into quarters).

Gently caramelize the onions in two-or-three tablespoons of schmaltz. That is sauté them until they are golden brown but not burned or crisp. Set the onions aside and add more schmaltz to the pan. Sauté the livers being careful not to overdo or they will be too dry.

Put the onions and the liver into a bowl and mash as you would potatoes. I do it with my hands actually, but you can use a food processor. You're essentially making a paté. Add 1/2 the chopped eggs and the seasoning and blend again. Put in a serving bowl and top with the remaining eggs. Serve with cracker or bread as a side or an appetizer.


Actual product ingredients may differ from than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

GF FROM P.F. CHANG'S, Eat-in or Take-out

What would Brooklyn be without its ubiquitous Chinese restaurants?  It just wouldn’t be the same. Once it seemed most of our Chinese immigrants came from Guangdong Province, so our Chinese food was generally Cantonese. It was always filling, sweet and spicy, and served with hot, hot oolong tea. There was egg drop soup or wonton, fried egg rolls, barbecued spare ribs, lobster Cantonese, chicken chow mein with crispy noodles, and white and pork-fried rice. 

Dinner was generally followed by a small bowl of lychee's or kumquats in syrup, a diminutive almond cookie, more tea, and a fortune cookie. It was all wonderful and memorable. Unfortunately, if you have Celiac disease, eating out in a Chinese restaurant is a thing of the past. Virtually everything Chinese is made with soy sauce, which has wheat in it. There are wheat-free soys or tamari but, with one exception, their use is not an adaption that is commonly made by restaurants. The one exception is the American restaurant chain: P.F. Chang’s.

P.F. Chang’s is the only Chinese restaurant that I know of that offers a gluten-free menu.  The restaurant is clean and nicely decorated. The food is fresh, delicately seasoned, fragrant, and presented beautifully. The wait-staff is just about as good as you can get. And -okay this is my own hang-up maybe - the restrooms are clean. Yesterday, in  recognition of Celiac Awareness Day, the company announced an expanded gluten-free menu of twenty-nine choices and a new gluten-free dessert, Triple Chocolate Mousse Mini Dessert. Link to their site for locations, menu, gluten-free recipes, and a Warrior Card. No kidding! Sign up for the Warrior Card for 10% off all year at P.F. Chang's. Such a deal! 


Actual product ingredients may differ from than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

HOW TO MAKE LEBANESE COFFEE, Al-Qahwa

Photograph: Tulumba.com

Lebanese coffee is served demitasse style in cups such as the one pictured here.

Photograph: Tulumba.com

Dark-roasted coffee beans are finely ground in beautiful etched-brass coffee-grinders.

Photograph:  Tulumba.com

Lebanese coffee is prepared in a narrow, long-handled brass pot, called a rakweh.

Lebanese Coffee, Al- Qahway, is generally served sweet (mazbuhtah), moderately sweet (wahsat), very sweet(helwa) or, at funerals, bitter (murrrah). The difference between traditional Turkish coffee and traditional Lebanese coffee is that the Lebanese is flavored with cardamom. If you prefer to have traditional Turkish coffee, follow the recipe, but leave out the cardamom.

The equipment used to prepare and serve Lebanese coffee can be purchased on-line at Tulumba.com, in local Mediterranean groceries, and at some department stores. You will find the coffee pot in product listings as "Turkish Coffee Pot."  These pots come in several sizes from small enough to prepare coffee for just two people or large enough to prepare coffee for up to twelve people. Traditionally the pots were made of brass but you will also find them for sale in stainless steel, which may be easier to care for but which I find prosaic and unromantic.  I prefer old brass pots.

You must purchase dark-roasted coffee ground for Turkish coffee, which is so fine it's like a powder. I use Peet's Italian Roast or Espresso Forté. The Espresso Forté is the stronger of the two. Only purchase as much coffee as you will use the same day.   It's best when it's fresh.

This recipe is for two servings. Just multiply the ingredients to prepare the coffee for more people.  This is an easy prep process.  Don't be intimidated.

Recipe

The ingredients:

For two demitasse cups, medium sweet:

• water
• 2 tablespoons dark-roasted coffee, ground for Turkish Coffee
• 2 teaspoons organic sugar
• 2 cardamom pods

The preparation:

Pour two demitasse cupfuls of water into the rakweh. Bring the water to a boil, remove from heat, and add the coffee and sugar. Put the pot back on the heat.  The coffee will foam up.  Remove from heat and let the foam subside.  Add the cardamom pods. Put the pot back on the heat and let it foam again.  Remove from heat.  Let the foam subside.  Do the process once more. Pour into cups.  Drink hot, hot, hot.


Actual product ingredients may differ from than that which is shown or suggested on this blog. Please remember that you should not rely solely on the information presented here or anywhere online and that you always read labels, warnings, and directions before purchasing and consuming a product. 

NATIONAL CELIAC AWARENESS DAY, this may save your life ...

Samuel Jones Gee, born September 13, 1839.

Samuel Jones Gee (13 September 1839 – 3 August 1911) was an English physician. In 1888, Gee published the first complete modern description of the clinical picture of coeliac disease [Celiac Disease], and theorised on the importance of diet in its control. His contribution led to the eponym Gee's disease. Gee is also credited with the first English-language description of cyclic vomiting syndrome. MORE[Wikipedia]

September 13, Dr. Samuel Gee's birthday, is the date of U.S. National Celiac Awareness Day (S. Res. 563, 2006). Gee was the first to find the link between celiac/sprue and diet.


Pressed for time, I apologize for writing this from a mostly American perspective. Celiac disease is a universal health issue, not restricted to any specific peoples or place.  In this country and elsewhere it goes largely unrecognized and undiagnosed with devastating results. It is thought that 95% of the people who have Celiac disease have a genetic disposition to it. The thing is that most of us don't have parents who were ever tested or diagnosed.  My mother, who battled cancer from the age of thirty-six on, probably had it.  She had radiation treatments while pregnant with me and died painfully at seventy-six of colon and breast cancer. Celiac disease may have been the primary cause of her multiple cancers. We'll never know. I have it. My son was tested after my diagnosis. He tested negative.


The percentages are small, but the numbers are significant: people with conditions such as lupus, cancer, autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, attention deficit, autism ... and the list goes on and on ... actually have Celiac disease as the primary condition from which the other results.

[Undiagnosed and unaddressed allergy or sensitivity to wheat, barley, rye, kamut, and spelt] is the root cause of many cancers, autoimmune diseases, neurological diseases, chronic pain syndromes, psychiatric and other brain disorders, premature death. There is also a clear causal connection with some cases of osteoporosis, epilepsy, attention deficit disorders and learning disorders, infertility, miscarriage, premature births, chronic liver disease, and short stature." Dangerous Grains

In my case, hypersensitivity pneumonitis and lung fibrosis were exacerbated by Celiac Disease and, when I went on a wheat-and-gluten-free diet, my condition improved enough that I was pulled off the lung transplant list. I had a sixteen percent increase in diffusion of gases, oxygen and carbon dioxide, a critical measure of lung function. Although a transplant is still a probability, I have bought myself time, comfort, and a better quality of life.  In the five years since I discovered my allergy, thanks to the efforts of many dedicated people including these two authors, I have seen Celiac awareness grow and the numbers of wheat-and-gluten free products that are easily available has increased substantially.


This is some of what you will learn if you read Dangerous Grains:
In Dangerous Grains, Dr. Braly and Mr. Hoggan explain the symptoms, the diagnostic tools, the risk factors, and the treatment, which is a life-style change. You may not eat any of the verboten foods which include: wheat, barley, rye, or oats, unless the oats are certified to be gluten-free. (Oats are naturally gluten-free but become contaminated through crop rotations.) This means no breads, breakfast cereals, or pastas made with dangerous grains. If you are a beer drinker, you must make sure the beer is gluten-free.  Before you buy, you must check ingredient lists on every product to make sure there is no hidden wheat or gluten.


The gluten-free lifestyle offers value added.
There are at least two major ancillary benefits to following a gluten-free diet.

• You can no longer rely on prefabricated foods with all their chemical additives. As a result, you end up eating more fresh produce, because such foods are naturally gluten-free.
• This dietary change may decrease your intake of Omega 6, which is higher than it should be in the Standard American Diet (SAD).

Getting diagnosed.
One of the ways to diagnose Celiac is a simple blood test. Ask your doctor about these:

• Anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTg-IgA) - the most common and most sensitive blood test, which is used even when patients are asymptomatic.
• Anti-endomysial antibody (EMA-IgA) - not as sensitive as the first test, but often used specifically for Celiac Diseases.
• Total Serum IgA- often used to check the IgA levels, it excludes selective IgA deficiencies that result from false-negative test.

I believe we would make real progress if a blood test was automatically performed when anyone is diagnosed with one of the more than two-hundred chronic or catastrophic diseases that can result from Celiac, even if only to rule it out.  I don't know why this isn't done, but that doesn't prevent requesting the test for yourself and your children.  Insurance generally will pay.  If it doesn't, the test is not that expensive.  Disease is. Something of note that was covered in Dangerous Grains:  In Italy, with parent's permission, children are automatically tested at age six before they start first grade. That makes good sense to me considering the possible connection to attention deficit.


My experience was unusual: In an effort to drop  a few pounds, I went about two weeks eating salads and fruit and so forth and no grains. I was still able to work then.  I was feeling really, really good - way better than I normally did - and came home one night and decided to treat myself to pasta along with my salad. I became quite ill. I felt it was connected to dinner.  All my food was fresh. I didn't think I was reacting to the veggies, homemade dressing, or homemade ragu. I decided it had to be the pasta and researched it. I've been on a wheat-free diet since then. By the time I had a blood tests and a stomach biopsy, I'd been off of wheat for more than six weeks, so we were unable to confirm.  However, since there was no other way to account for my improved lung function numbers, my doctors are in agreement that wheat and gluten are issues for me. One way many people test is to go wheat-free for six weeks and then go back to wheat and see what happens. It worked for me.


Recommended sources of information and products:
Living Without Magazine
and
Living Gluten-Free for Dummies by Donna Korn
Both these resources are particularly helpful if you are raising children who have food allergies. In the U.S., Whole Foods is one of your best bets for wheat-and-gluten-free products. This national grocery chain has a commitment to serving people with special diets. Trader Joe's is also a good resource. For gluten-free shopping, glutenScan, an iTunes app powered by Zeer, may be helpful especially for beginners. Despite the iPoem post I wrote yesterday, I don't have an iPhone so I can't provide personal testimony. I took creative license.


Eating out gluten-free.
Restaurant eating is a challenge, but not an insurmountable one. It takes some thought, planning, and assertiveness to make eating out work. You may find that you have to make a meal of side dishes and salads to accomplish your aim. Chinese and other Asian restaurants use soy sauce that is wheat based; so, if you find you have this sensitivity or allergy, you must cross them off your list.  You can prepare Chinese food at home using wheat free tamari. In the U.S., P F Chang's is the only Chinese restaurant that I know of that offers and gluten-free menu.


In sum:
If you or anyone in your family is dealing with a chronic illness or condition or even a catastrophic one, I urge you to look into Celiac Disease. Dangerous Grains is among the best of the primers.  The effort is well worth the time, even if all you are doing is ruling out Celiac Disease or wheat-and-gluten sensitivity.


Notes:
* Gluten: A pair of proteins that trigger a toxic reaction by the autoimmune system in people who have Celiac Disease or wheat and gluten sensitivity.