Dairy Free

These robust, aromatic sausages pair well with many egg dishes. For best results, most of these ingredients should be chilled before you start. The fat needs to stay separate during the mixing process or the sausages will be mealy. Properly handled ingredients, especially the fat and meat, are the key to good sausages. Both the meat and the fatback should be brought down to 32°F, so place them into the freezer for about an hour. Fatback, which is the fresh unsmoked layer of fat that runs along the pig’s back, is sold at butcher shops. Don’t confuse it with salt pork: They’re not the same thing. The easiest way to get ground juniper berries is to grind them in a spice grinder. If you don’t cook all the sausages in one meal, the patties freeze well for several weeks as long as they are well wrapped. The best thing is to wrap the patties individually in plastic wrap, wrap six to eight of the plastic-wrapped sausages in aluminum foil, then put the foil packages in a resealable plastic freezer bag and mark the bag with the date they were frozen.

You’ll need a slow-cooking barbecue smoker to make this pastrami. Use apple wood, cherry wood, or another subtle wood to bring out the flavor in the meat. Homemade pastrami keeps for five to six days as opposed to commercial pastrami, which uses preservatives to extend its shelf life. Extra rub will keep for four to five days in the refrigerator. Besides pastrami sandwiches, you can make pastrami and eggs, or pastrami hash, in which case you just substitute pastrami for the corned beef (see page 183). Be sure to start this well in advance since the meat must marinate overnight.

Pork belly is not bacon because it is not cured. Pork belly is what bacon is made from. It is a delicious breakfast meat all by itself, especially when allowed to sit overnight with a little salt, pepper, and maple syrup before slowly cooking in a low oven. Most of the pork bellies in America are cured and smoked for bacon. However, raw bellies are rich, succulent, and very versatile. It may be difficult to find fresh pork belly at the supermarket, but the meat manager can probably special-order it. Otherwise, visit a reputable butcher and look for the leanest pork belly that you can find. (Even lean ones have generous amounts of fat.) It’s most convenient to cook pork belly when it is trimmed into pieces smaller than a whole belly. A three-pound piece is manageable at home. Start this project a day ahead of when you want to serve the meat, since the pork belly needs to marinate overnight, and then cook for about three hours.

Corning beef is a lengthy process, but it is very rewarding. It requires brining a brisket for a week and then, for corned beef, boiling the brined brisket for a couple hours. For brining, always use a nonreactive (ceramic, enamel, stainless steel, or glass) airtight container. It needs to be large enough to hold a brisket submerged in liquid brine. You will also need two ovenproof “turkey bags” or oven bags. Most supermarkets or box-type stores such as Walmart and Costco carry these. The bags will keep the fridge smells out of your beef as it cures/brines. Always note the date when you start to brine the meat so you’ll know when it’s ready. Keep in mind that this is a big piece of meat. Corned beef is meant to be used for leftovers. If you are going to corn a brisket, serve it for dinner and make hash with the leftovers. You could also make a corned beef and cabbage dinner. If you make Homemade Pastrami (page 182), make sandwiches with the fresh stuff, and serve pastrami and eggs with the leftovers. These meats will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator.

A chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the 1920s is said to have created this to honor George Arliss, an actor appearing there in a play entitled The Green Goddess. The dressing is made with an abundance of herbs and can be served with fish or shellfish as well as salads. Be sure to use fresh herbs: Dried just don’t deliver the same flavor. For this salad to look its best, place it in a bowl that’s twice the size of the greens so you’ll have plenty of room to toss.

This salad is easy to put together and makes a nice presentation when mounded on a platter. If you can find smoked chicken, by all means use it, but otherwise, a good roast chicken will suffice. The contrasting colors and flavors of the fruits and nuts, with a slightly sweet dressing, make this especially pleasing as a brunch entrée. If you would like to make sandwiches, toasted sevengrain bread is a good choice. If you’d like to get a head start on the salad, the whole thing can be made a day ahead and refrigerated until ready to serve.

A simple green salad, this one is made special by the unusually good vinaigrette. The dressing can be made up to three days ahead and stored, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.

Cobb Salad was born in the 1920s at Hollywood’s Brown Derby restaurant, where a restaurant manager by the name of Bob Cobb created it as a way to recycle leftovers. The classic vinaigrette dressing really makes this salad, which traditionally contains finely chopped chicken, bacon, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and lettuce. All the ingredients are chopped and arranged to give a colorful presentation. I like the chicken when it’s grilled because it adds a smoky flavor and a pleasing crunchiness. If you prefer, you can also sear the chicken over high heat. Store Cobb dressing in the refrigerator and use leftovers within several days.

When a dish is called Niçoise (French for “as prepared in Nice”), it’s a safe bet that it contains tomatoes, tuna, green beans, and black olives. Though you could use jarred roasted peppers, the salad is best if you roast your own. And use the best-quality canned tuna that you can get—it makes a huge difference. Start this signature salad at least one hour in advance, so you can have eleven-minute boiled eggs ready and chilled. Ditto with the beans—they should be chilled after blanching. You may use either fresh green beans or the skinny French haricots verts in this recipe. All told, this is a beautiful salad, especially when the ingredients are cut carefully and arranged in groups. This dressing, good on greens of all kinds, will keep well, tightly covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week.

This dish can be served as a sandwich filling or as a stand-alone salad accompanied by favorite lettuces and veggies. We use canned tuna packed in spring water because it’s lighter than tuna packed in oil, and we make sure the apple is tart and crisp. Granny Smith apples are fine, but also Mutsu, Honeycrisp, or any good local crispy, tart apple will do. Add half the dressing at first and see if you need more—it’s up to you how well coated you want the tuna and apples to be.

This classic sandwich relies on good ripe tomatoes, thickly sliced bacon, and top-quality crusty bread. Although you might normally shun iceberg lettuce, this is one instance where its crunchiness is welcome. Feel free, of course, to substitute another lettuce such as romaine.

Chorizo sausage gives this omelet a little kick and is a nice foil to the creamy-smooth avocado. For some extra spice, serve with Pico de Gallo (page 290) and fresh corn tortillas.

The beloved picnic classic is updated here with generous dashes of Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Be sure to give yourself time to boil the eggs in advance, so they can chill for at least an hour.

Homemade raisin challah bread is a real treat. Slice this light, egg-rich loaf thick for toast or use it to make a memorable French toast. This bread can be frozen for up to two weeks.

This recipe could almost be labeled a health bread, except that it tastes too good. It’s packed with a generous quantity of bananas, plus an assortment of mix-and-match dried fruit. Spread the bread with any of our fruit butters (pages 270–272) and serve at a fall or winter brunch.

A contemporary take on the ground meat–stuffed marrow. This economical supper stands or falls by the way the meat is cooked. The real flavor here comes from the caramelization of the sugars in the meat. To make the most of this, I have the oil at quite a high temperature as I add the meat, then resist the temptation to stir or turn the meat too soon. Continual movement will result in “wet” rather than crisp-edged, golden ground pork.