Matzo Brei by Alison Roman

Even though I’ve read most of the Old Testament, I still have very little knowledge of Jewish culture, much less Jewish food. But I do have much admiration for Jewish culture, particularly its veneration of tradition. I often wish I grew up in a culture that placed more value on traditions and rituals. I imagine that feels very grounding. Matzo is made of unleavened bread, which is why matzo brei is commonly eaten during Passover (talk about tradition!). Matzo crackers (or “boards,” as Alison calls them) seem to be available in most grocery stores and usually come in a pack of ten or so. They resemble a giant saltine. 

Earlier this year, Alison published her matzo brei recipe in A Newsletter and A Home Movie. There are some differences, particularly in the instructions, between her recipe online and in the book. The one online gives more specifics about how long to let the matzo boards soak in water and in the eggs. It also tells us to break the boards into quarters before soaking, whereas the book tells us to soak them whole. After reading through both side by side, I chose to mostly follow the online version. My guess is that the online version is more refined, giving us more specific instructions for success. Ultimately, I have zero frame of reference for what matzo brei should look or taste like, so I went with my gut here. The first step is to pseudo-caramelize and frizzle thinly sliced onions. I say “pseudo” because we seem to be aiming for something both tender, browned, and slightly crunchy around the edges. I found it necessary to continually lower the heat of my stove to achieve this. Setting the cooked onion aside, I then broke the matzos into quarters and soaked them in hot tap water for about 40 seconds. Alison’s book instructions tell us to soak them for “a few seconds” and her newsletter instructions say “60 to 90 seconds.” I split the difference, and let the texture guide me. I found this newsletter description most helpful in judging when to remove the boards: “They should feel pliable and soft without feeling soggy— like they were caught in the rain, not drowned in the ocean.”

After soaking in water, the matzos soak in beaten eggs. And this time, both recipes agree to let them soak for 2 to 3 minutes. Then, the whole mixture joins the onions over medium-low heat until the eggs are just cooked through, another 2 to 3 minutes. 

Following the book’s recommendations, I topped both plates with sour cream and applesauce, instead of sour cream and chives. Both, I’m sure, are delicious. Like I said, I have absolutely nothing to compare with this matzo brei. But I enjoyed it! It’s hard not to like eggs, onions and crackers (though I would never have thought to combine those three things before). The apple sauce was surprisingly pleasant, balancing out the saltiness of everything else. 

198 recipes cooked, 27 to go.

One Pot Chicken with Caramelized Lemon and Dates

I made this chicken on January 23, 2021, along with Alison’s Butter-Tossed Radishes and Garlicky Broccoli with Hazelnuts and Coriander. They were among the very first recipes I made from Alison’s books after receiving them as Christmas presents. Cooking this One Pot Chicken was only my third or fourth time ever roasting a whole chicken, and I reveled in this new skill, and the courage it took to acquire it. (Raw chicken used to really freak me out.)

This early meal provided the inspiration for this project. I had never made a meal using three brand new recipes and found each one to be out of my comfort zone, complex and innovative in flavor, and surprisingly straightforward to cook – all at once. I tasted Za’atar for the first time. I embarked on my first ingredient scavenger hunt to find ground sumac. I’d never thought a flavorful chicken could require so few ingredients. And how many times had I made roasted broccoli before? Alison’s recipe provided a major upgrade to a weekly dinner staple. Never had I learned so much by making a single meal. It was invigorating! 

I still hadn’t fully conceived the structure of the Annie and Alison blog. I had ideas, but nothing I’d formally committed to. I knew taking pictures would be an important element of blogging, but didn’t think to capture a bunch of this meal. Four days later, I put pen to paper in earnest and decided to tell friends and family about the cooking challenge. At which point, I told myself I’d remake this One-Pot Chicken so I could get better pictures. 

Well, here we are almost a year later, only 29 days left of the project, and I still haven’t recaptured this dish. Which I feel just fine about. Alison’s One Pot Chicken is, in my opinion, one of her most recognized recipes. She’s made a Home Movie about it, A Newsletter about it, and there are hundreds of images of other people making it on Instagram. Do I really need to add my own to that library? I don’t think so. 

There’s also not a whole lot more I can say about it that hasn’t already been said in the aforelinkedto media, so I’ll leave my story here: This chicken marks the beginning of one of the best creative endeavors of my life, and for that, it’ll always be special to me. 

197 recipes cooked, 28 to go.

can someone please tell me if they’ve ever successfully captured an appetizing picture of a raw chicken? thx.

Cucumbers and Kohlrabi in Crunchy Chili Oil by Alison Roman

I tried to structure this project around produce seasonality. Which worked out, some of the time. For example, kohlrabi is available year round, but according to the internet, it “shines” in the winter. Kohlrabi is underrated, and therefore, harder to find. I was lucky to score one at Whole Foods. 

Kohlrabi surprised me. Its mild flavor – sweet and slightly peppery – and wet texture resembled a crossover between a turnip and a beet. Though its appearance resembles an alien head, it tastes familiar. I can imagine it would blend in well with many salads, and would probably be a great candidate for pickling. 

This recipe is simple – shaved kohlrabi, paired with cucumber ribbons, tossed in rice vinegar and sea salt, and drizzled with Alison’s Crunchy Chili Oil, which really makes the salad sing. The oil is a combination of Aleppo pepper (or red pepper flakes), sesame seeds, and black peppercorns (or Sichuan peppercorns if you can handle them) sizzled in oil over low heat. Alison tells us this oil can always be found in her fridge, and now I see why. It’s adds texture and heat without overpowering anything. It’s a more versatile version of hot sauce. It can carry the flavor or just embellish the flavor depending on what you add it to. Plus, it’s easy to make and keeps for a month in the fridge. 

To me, the word that best describes this salad is “refreshing.” I look forward to making it next summer when it’s hot outside. 

196 recipes cooked, 29 to go.

Savory Barley Porridge with Parmesan and Soy by Alison Roman

Jordan and I spent our first two years of marriage living in Berkeley, CA. We rented an apartment that was approximately 400 square feet, which we lovingly called “the shoebox.” It should have been a studio, but in classic Bay Area fashion, they put a wall in the middle so they could call it a one-bedroom and charge more rent. The kitchen had a small stove and oven with one rack that couldn’t fit standard-sized baking sheets. Cooking took longer with less oven space to work with, but we made do. We shared one tiny closet, had no heating or air conditioning, and still, loved living there. 

Most Saturday mornings, Jordan could be found at his desk (it took up a third of our living room) studying. These were some of my favorite mornings because I could spend them any way I liked. Sometimes I’d go to the farmer’s market, sometimes Philz Coffee, but more often than not, I walked over to Acme Bread. Acme is primarily a bakery with a constantly long line of people waiting to purchase bread, no matter the day of the week. They converted a small room off the side of the bakery into a coffee bar where you can order from a very short, locally-sourced food and drink menu. Most weekends, I ordered coffee and sweet porridge, a blend of various grains, cooked in whole milk with housemade jam and shaved almonds on top. I ate it slowly and read a book or people-watched after the many characters that came to stand in the bakery line. 

a polaroid of me at Acme Bread

Acme also served a savory porridge, but I never had the guts to try it. I just couldn’t get behind eating salty grains for breakfast. Which is why it took me eleven months to finally cook Alison’s savory porridge. Of course, I’m going to say that (surprise) it’s actually really good, and I wouldn’t mind making it again. But you knew that was coming. To me, savory porridge is the right breakfast for mornings when you don’t want to eat right away, but you have the energy and the time to stand by the stove for a while. Personally speaking, I don’t have many mornings like that, so porridge will have to be a rarer occasion. 

Alison provides us with many topping options for this porridge, most of which I followed to great contentment. While the barley and millet cooked, I assembled the toppings. I had leftover mushrooms on hand from Alison’s Chicken Soup, which I sauteed. I had an extra leaf of swiss chard from re-making Alison’s Harissa-Rubbed Pork (a true winner). I tossed in some leftover scallions and some briefly toasted buckwheat groats. I tried to poach an egg, to great failure. I salvaged the yolk, but most of the egg whites were scattered about in the water. Someday I’ll figure out how to properly poach an egg, but this day was not that day. 

Parmesan and soy sauce are what make this porridge from a flavor standpoint. I even found myself adding more soy sauce than is called for to my bowl. All in all, it was a delightful breakfast, not to mention a filling one. I felt very “Bay Area” while eating it. 

Pro tip: If porridge leftovers aren’t exactly something you want to eat, then I recommend dividing the recipe by the exact amount of people who will eat it. I.e. If you’re going to eat this by yourself, I think it’s safe to make a fourth recipe. 

195 recipes cooked, 30 to go.

Brown Butter-Buttermilk Cake by Alison Roman

Growing up as the daughter of a pastor, I spent the majority of my Sunday’s at church. When I wasn’t attending the service, I could be found running around the property playing hide-and-seek with my siblings and other pastors’ kids, volunteering in the nursery, or scoping out the visitor’s table where a pink box of donuts sat. Every Sunday morning, my dad picked up a box of donuts from the local shop, Donut Star, and brought them to the visitor’s table. After the final service ended and congregants had gone home, my siblings and I had first dibs on the leftover donuts. Our great reward. 

Emily always picked the apple fritters larger than her face, Scotty liked Long Johns, preferably covered with chocolate, and I had eyes for old fashioneds. Their dense cakiness with only a touch of sugary glaze are the stuff dreams are made of. Not to mention their shape – I loved to break off each petal of the flower, taking my time, before finally enjoying the inner ring. 

Why am I telling you about church donuts? Because this cake recipe is the closest thing I’ve ever made to an old-fashioned donut. Alison makes this comparison in her recipe notes and she couldn’t be more spot on. 

blurry, but you get the idea. the cake really holds its structure

This recipe alone tells me that Alison used to work at Milk Bar in New York. If you’ve ever had a Milk Bar Birthday Truffle, you know how rich, compact, (and addictive) their cakes are. This browned butter-buttermilk cake is also incredibly rich and dense. It relies on the frosting glaze to provide most of the sweetness. The cake itself is like eating a doughy version of butter. Heavenly, but also taxing on the stomach if you know what I mean. One piece of cake is all I can handle in a day. 

The baking process is rather simple, and doesn’t require a mixer. It’s a simple whisk dry ingredients, then wet ingredients, then combine them without overmixing. The wet ingredients list includes a melted and browned stick of butter, in addition to a full cup of buttermilk. The frosting also contains buttermilk and more browned butter, mixed with a cup of powdered sugar. All in all, there’s just a lot of butter. 

see what I mean??

A few quick notes about my cake. For some reason, the texture of my cake looked kind of lumpy. I noticed as I poured the batter into the cake pan that it didn’t ooze and spread like a normal batter. I had to push it out to fill the pan with a spatula. I hoped that the lumps would melt and soften in the oven, but they maintained their structure. I can’t quite tell why this happened. Did I not mix the batter enough? I thought I did? I’m not an experienced baker, so I don’t have many ideas beyond that. Regardless of the lumps, they didn’t seem to negatively affect the cake’s flavor and soft, dense texture. Also note that the frosting comes together, and hardens, very quickly, so be ready to pour it over the cake as soon as it forms. And don’t forget to sprinkle flaky sea salt over the top! 

194 recipes cooked, 31 to go.