Comeback Sauce
Makes 2½ cups
In the early 1900’s my grandfather Solomon Rousso arrived in the US, as did many young Jewish men from Turkish-occupied Greece. They came to escape extreme poverty or to avoid being drafted into the Turkish army. My grandfather was sponsored by the Greek owner of a Mississippi bottling plant. Papa soon realized that cleaning beer bottles in the Delta heat was not the way up for a hard working Jewish boy, and made his way to Montgomery, Alabama, where he helped to establish one of four Ladino-speaking (a mix of Castilian Spanish and Hebrew) synagogues in America. He also opened a fruit stand that eventually grew into a restaurant. I think feeding people must be in my blood.
Since Mississippi was one place Papa had no intention of ever returning to, what does this bit of family history have to do with something called Comeback Sauce? The answer, like this recipe, is multi-layered.
It’s a layer of Southern hospitality, a splash of good business on a slice of hakares hatov, recognizing the good. It’s “here’s a little something extra.” Like when Papa might have added a slice or three of his signature pickled tomatoes to a customer’s sandwich order. He gave them a good feeling, and a reason to come back and buy again.
It’s recognizing that every one of us is a one-of-a kind-recipe, whom a friend or loved one counts on. Whether it is shared joy or concern, a genuine compliment, sincere praise or words of wisdom offered at just the right time—that’s called Comeback Sauce. And since there is no one recipe, Comeback Sauce says, “You can only get this something extra here, you are important to me and I hope you’ll come back real soon.”
Ingredients:
1 cup ketchup
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp prepared white horseradish
1 tbsp barbeque sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh parsley or a stalk of celery, cut in 2” pieces
2 tsp yellow mustard
2 garlic cloves, peeled
½ bell pepper, seeded and quartered
1 green onion, cut in 3” pieces
½ dill pickle
4 green olives
½ tsp sugar
dash Tabasco
½ cup olive oil
- Into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade, place the ketchup, mayonnaise, tomato paste, horseradish, barbeque sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, parsley or celery, mustard, garlic, bell pepper, green onion, pickle, olives, sugar and Tabasco. Blend until very smooth.
- With the processor on, add the oil in a slow stream. Continue processing until sauce is thickened.
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Bulgur With Sunflower Seeds & Almonds
Ingredients:
1 cup bulgur
1½-2 cups boiling water
¼ cup each chopped parsley and dill
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
2 tbsp almonds, blanched and slivered
Dressing:
2 tbsp sunflower seed oil or olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp salt
⅛ tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp each dried tarragon and coriander
Two methods of preparing coarsely cracked bulgur:
Place 1 cup bulgur in bowl, add 1½ cups water, cover and leave for 1 hour. Drain if necessary. Or cook 1 cup bulgur with 2 cups water for 7 minutes. Turn off flame and leave for 10 minutes.
To prepare finely cracked bulgur, place 1 cup in bowl, add 1½ cups water, cover and leave for ½ hour.
Add parsley, dill, sunflower seeds and almonds to bulgur.
DRESSING: In jar, shake all ingredients. Pour over bulgur salad and toss.
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Nut Encrusted Chicken Breast
Ingredients: