A Community Cookbook to Support a New Community Center!
What is the main ingredient to any delicious concoction? Love is the answer.
It was love for the community that spawned the idea to create The School Sett Community Cookbook, which along with helping to fund a new community center will also memorialize the flavor of the neighborhood’s home cooking. That amount of love combined with the diversity of our area can only mean this book will be filled with recipes to make taste buds twirl with delight.
“This cookbook will feature different cuisines using American ingredients,” said Taylor Erkkinen, editor of The School Sett Community Cookbook and co-proprietor of The Brooklyn Kitchen.
Through promotion via social media and Greenline, in addition to word of mouth via those with present and former connections to School Settlement, Erkkinen and committee have been collecting recipes. The book on completion is set to contain 35–40 recipes.
Some of the recipes already collected are: Red Lentil Pumpkin Soup, submitted by Assemblyman Lentol; Manhattan Special Caramel Ice Pops, from Manhattan Special Soda; Cauliflower Puff, from Beth Lubeck (Principal of PS 132); and Pork Chops alla Bamonte, from Sett Board Member Lisa Bamonte (owner of Bamonte’s Restaurant). The recipe for Pork Chops alla Bamonte follows this piece.
The publication date is set for December 12th with a purchase price of $20. You can purchase the book via the link to its Kickstarter page and learn more about School Settlement and the need for a new community center on School Sett’s site: http://schoolsettlement.org/
“I think this is a great gift. [It’s] a snapshot of the Williamsburg community of the past 50+ years. A good record of what the neighborhood was and is like,” said Taylor Erkkinen.
Pork Chops alla Bamonte
Serves 6
1/2 cup olive oil (or vegetable oil)
12 – 1-1/2 inch think pork chops
1 cup white wine
6 whole cloves garlic cloves (peeled)
1-1/2 cups vinegared sweet peppers, with juice
salt and pepper to taste
Heat oil in 2 large saute pans over high heat
When oil is very hot, add pork chops to pans and braise each side until lightly browned.
Season pork chops with salt and pepper.
Turning once, add garlic cloves and lightly brown garlic cloves
Once browned, remove chops from pan and drain off excess oil from pan
Return pans to medium heat, add the pork chops, white wine, vinegar peppers, and cook for about 15 minutes or until chops are cooked and sauce has slightly reduced
Serve and enjoy!
The School Settlement Community Cookbook is available for purchase here http://schoolsettlement.org/
It makes a great gift and all proceeds benefit the New SSA Center at 120 Jackson Street, so it’s a gift to the neighborhood too! Spread the joy of cooking around: buy more than one!
The Greenline 