Roy's Garlic Mashed Potatoes

12 servings

6 pounds unpeeled but scrubbed potatoes

2 large heads of garlic

2 1/4 cups of half & half, warm

3/4 cups (1 stick) of unsalted butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 heaping Tablespoon table salt

1. Place potatoes in large saucepan and cover with 1 inch water. Bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, 20-30 minutes.

2. While potatoes are cooking, peel the paper-like outer skin off the garlic and separate the cloves Place them in a small saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until the garlic is very soft, 15 minutes. Drain and allow to cool.

3. Peel potatoes and cut into rough chunks.

4. Slip the skins off the garlic and combine the garlic cloves and the cream in a food processor. Puree.

5. Transfer the potatoes to the bowl of an electric mixer, and add the pureed garlic, butter, egg yolk, pepper and salt. Beat until just smooth.

Adapted from The New Basics Cookbook by Russo & Lukins and Cooks Illustrated.

Market Street Meatloaf

Makes 3 meatloaves with 8-10 portions each

This is the best meatloaf recipe, ever!, but it does take quite a bit of prep work. To justify the effort involved, Roy and I would triple it, bake one loaf and freeze the other two. The measurements here are for our tripled version.

Saute in butter for about 10 minutes then chill in icebox for at least an hour:

8 Tablespoons of butter

2 cups finely chopped onions

2 cups finely chopped scallions

1 1/2 cups finely chopped carrots

3/4 cup finely chopped celery

1 1/2 cups finely chopped bell pepper of various color

2 Tablespoons of minced garlic

Combine in mixer and beat well:

Salt, to taste

1 Tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg

9 eggs

1 1/2 cup ketchup

1 1/2 cup half & half

Add:

6 pounds of lean ground beef chuck

3 tubes of Jimmy Dean ground pork with sage or plain (12 ounces each)

2 cups of bread crumbs, toasted

1. Knead in mixer or by hand for 5 minutes. Divide meat evenly into 3 portions. Put into plastic freezer bags and flatten for convenient freezer storage.

2. To cook: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Form the mixture into an oval approximately 17 x 4 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches, resembling a long loaf of bread.

3. Place meatloaf in a baking dish, and place the dish inside a larger pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the baking dish. I know this is a pain in the neck, but we tried to skip this "bath" and the result wasn't pretty!!!

4. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

5. Remove the dish from the water bath and let the meat loaf rest for 20 minutes before slicing.

Recipe adapted from The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. Their recipe was from 72 Market Street in Venice, California. This restaurant was founded by Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli, among others and closed in November 2000. I suppose the meatloaf recipe will live on forever!

Roy's Potatoes

Makes 4 Helpings

4-6 large red or Russet potatoes cut into cubes

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1/4 cup of almond oil

2-4 teaspoons of Lawry's Seasoning Salt

Put oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees F. Add oil to the bottom of large baking dish. Add potatoes and toss until potatoes are covered with oil. Sprinkle with Lawry's Seasoning Salt. Bake 15-20 minutes, turn. Bake another 15-20 minutes, turn. Potatoes should be golden all over.

Roy's Garlic Bread

1 loaf sweet French bread

8 Tablespoons butter, at room temperature

8-10 cloves of minced garlic

Adjust oven rack to lower position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Cut bread in half lengthwise and then score halves into 2-inch slices. Stir together the butter and garlic. Spread loaf halves with butter and place onto a baking sheet. Bake until bread is golden brown and toasted, 8-10 minutes. Cut into 2-inch slices.

Brother Peter's Beef Brisket

beef brisket, whole (4 + pounds)

2 packets of onion soup mix

1 cup of water

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Place a whole brisket (4 or more pounds) in a roasting pan. Cover the top with any commercial dry onion soup mix and put 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pan. Cover the top of the pan with foil, making sure it is sealed all around the edges to keep the steam in. Roast for approximately 2 1/2 hours or 35 minutes for each pound.

2. When finished cooking, allow it to sit in the covered pan for an additional 20 minutes before removing the foil.

3. Slice the brisket thinly, saving all the juice, occasionally basting the brisket slices in the juice. Simmer slices in the pan juices for 30 minutes. The beef should begin to fall apart, soaking up the juices.

4. To serve, place a few slices of beef on a slice of French bread, and ladle warm barbecue sauce all over.

Adapted from Sacramental Magic in a Small-Town Cafe by Br Peter Reinhart

Roy's Famous Hummus Recipe

Makes 2 cups

Hummus:
6 Tablespoons Joyva or Krinos tahini
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 (15-ounce) can of cooked garbanzo beans, drained...reserving liquid and 2 Tablespoons of beans for later use
8-10 large cloves of fresh or roasted garlic or 2 Tablespoons of minced or pureed garlic
3 Tablespoons of lemon juice
salt to taste
Garnish:
2 Tablespoons garbanzo beans
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1. Combine lemon juice and garbanzo bean liquid in small bowl. Combine tahini and 2 Tablespoons oil in another bowl.
2. In food processor or blender, blend garbanzo beans, garlic, and salt until smooth. Scrap down. With machine running, add lemon juice-water mixture in steady stream. Scrap down again, and then continue to process for 1 minute. Add oil tahini mixture in steady stream. Process until hummus is creamy, about 15 seconds.
3. Put hummus to serving bowl, sprinkle reserved garbanzo beans, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand until flavors meld, at least 30 minutes. Make small indentation on surface and drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Serve the bowl of hummus on a platter with crackers or pita bread.

---To make a good hummus, it is essential to use canned garbanzo beans because the texture and taste is so much better. Sure, dried beans are much cheaper, but a can of beans won't break the bank and is also a HUGE time saver.

From Sacramental Magic in a Small-Town Cafe: Recipes and Stories from Brother Juniper's Cafe by Br. Peter Reinhart