Sloppy Joes

Fri, 30 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0000

I recall an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations when he was schooling his viewers on some things every home cook should know. Among them:

How to slice and onion. Key take away: don't leave your fingers sprawled all over the onion. You are asking for it. Tuck your finger tips under like you're tossing a knuckleball. Life-saver.
Beef bourguignon. It's just a pot of unattractive, purple-hued beef cubes simmering in an even less attractive liquid base UNTIL the magic time is up. For the first two, two and a half hours, that's all it is. But when the time is right, it all comes together to become the legendary French stew. That's a lesson I've carried with me for all my stews and curries. The key factor is time. Time for the meat to flavor the broth and for the broth to cook/tenderize the meat. You have to learn what that time is for each dish to have truly delicious stews and curries.
There were a few other lessons. Since I've forgotten them, they clearly weren't as life changing.

I’ve made sloppy joes the traditional American way before, loaded with ketchup, brown sugar, sometimes Worcestshire sauce and/or vinegar. It’s just too sweet for me. In my version, I add some warming spices, paprika to complement the bell pepper, a tiny bit of sugar to bring out the sweetness in the crushed tomatoes, and peas (hey food groups!). Both version wayyy surpass the school lunch version I had as a NYC public school student.

Sloppy Joes on Kitchen3N

Sloppy Joes