This is the story (the true story) of some people picked to write in a blog and have their recipes cooked by strangers on the internet.

Appetizers
Beverages
Brunch
Desserts & Snacks
Entrees
Guest
On the Grill
Sauces & Garnishes
Sides
Soups & Salads


List all recipes

AussieShiraz thinks cookies are "biscuits". Ha ha! Australians are funny!

Bren likes pepper, will gravy.

Golfwidow sautees like a mo'fo.

Jennifer can cut garlic into itsy bitsy pieces.

June sometimes uses French words. Please excuse her.

Roachhaus cook meat on fire like big hairy man.

Log-In | Submit Recipe

E-mail
Get notified when we update

101 Cookbooks
Cooking for Engineers
Domestic Goddess
The Food Network
Gourmet Sleuth
Men In Aprons
My Recipe

« # blogs that cook ? »

Creative Commons License
Recipes © respective contributors.

Matzo Ball Soup

You will need two large soup pots for this: one for cooking and one for straining. Use bigger pots than you think you will need. Also, after you strain the soup from the cooking pot into the other pot, wash out the cooking pot so you can use it to prepare the matzo balls.

SOUP

Ingredients

4-5 pounds chicken with bones
4 quarts cold water
1 whole medium onion, peeled
2 whole carrots
1 clove garlic, peeled and lightly cracked
4 to 6 stalks celery, including the leaves
½ ounce flat leaf parsley, whole, with stems
2 tablespoons salt to start
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

• Cut up the chicken if it isn't already, and place it in the pot. Add water, cover, and bring to a full, rolling boil.
  
• Add remaining items on top of chicken, allow to come back up to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook for at least three hours.
  

During this time period, you and everyone else in the house will Mess With the Soup. Someone will toss in a little more salt, then, half an hour later, it will be too salty, so someone else will add a little more water. This cycle will repeat over and over, which is why you need a bigger pot than you think.

Also, someone will decide it's cooking too fast, and will turn off the burner, so you will need to turn it back on periodically.

• When the chicken is falling off the bones, strain it into the second pot, using a colander lined with a clean lint-free dishtowel or tea towel, and discard all the solids.
• Skim the chicken fat from the strained soup. You may either discard this or use it to flavor the matzo balls. (If you saute some chopped onion in it, it takes on an even better flavor.)

MATZO BALLS

Ingredients

2 eggs
¼ cup chicken fat (if you're observant), butter or shortening (if you're not), or bacon drippings (if you want really delicious matzo balls and aren't afraid of hellfire)
1 cup matzo meal
½ to 1 teaspoon salt
¼ to ½ cup water or seltzer.

Directions

• In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs well, then add the fat and matzo meal and beat vigorously.
  
• Add salt, then beat in the water or seltzer till it forms a stiff batter. The amount of liquid you wind up adding may vary depending on the other ingredients and conditions. The batter at this point should be much thinner than cookie batter, but much thicker than pancake batter.
  
• Cover bowl and chill in the refrigerator for 1½ to 2 hours.
  
• Place a bowl of water nearby. Dip your hands in the water to keep the batter from sticking, pinch out about a teaspoonful of batter, and roll it into a small ball. Repeat till all the batter is used up.
  
• Bring 3 to 4 quarts of water to a full boil. Using a slotted spoon or a spider basket to prevent splashing, drop the matzo balls gently into the boiling water and cook for 30 minutes. They will fluff up to about twice their size.
  

To serve, spoon a few matzo balls into the bottom of a soup bowl and ladle the soup over them. If you want to add cooked chicken and vegetables at this point, cook them separately - don't try to recycle what was used in making the broth.

Makes anywhere from four to twelve servings, depending on how many times you Mess With the Soup during preparation.

If you're short on time, the matzo balls will work in store-bought chicken broth, but my grandmother won't love you anymore.

You can buy preground matzo meal in most supermarkets these days, especially around the Jewish holidays, but if you can't find any, buy whole matzos, break them into pieces, and blitz them in the food processor till they are the texture of toasted bread crumbs. You can also do this with a rolling pin and a lot of patience.

If you haven't got any access to matzos and still want to try to make this, you can use saltine crackers, but begin by spreading them on a cookie sheet and drying them in your oven at its lowest setting for one to two hours. (No, saltines aren't dry enough as is. Trust me.) Also, you'll need to reduce the amount of salt you ultimately use.

Comments

Thank you so much!!