← casa jacobs

the kitchen

thirteen recipes,
written to be used.

Ingredients, steps, done — no life stories, no ads. Search by dish or by what's in your fridge.

meatballs

the famous one · makes a crowd happy

ingredients

  • 2 lb beef (at least 25% fat; can mix in pork/veal)
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1 packet gelatin
  • 170 g crustless white bread
  • ≈ 80 ml buttermilk (more if needed)
  • 2 cups grated onion
  • 3 oz (85 g) fatty bacon, chopped
  • 55 g Parmigiano, grated
  • 6 cloves garlic, puréed
  • 1/2 cup parsley, chopped
  • 4 egg yolks
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • 1 tsp ground fennel
  • 1 tbsp salt · 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • ~5 cups tomato sauce

steps

  1. Combine bread and buttermilk to form a paste.
  2. Mix in all remaining ingredients until just combined.
  3. Form meatballs and cook in sauce, or by your preferred method.

carbonara

ten minutes · no cream, ever

ingredients

  • 1/2 lb guanciale (pancetta works)
  • 1 box pasta (bucatini, rigatoni or spaghetti)
  • 1 cup Pecorino Romano, finely grated
  • 3 eggs + 1 yolk

steps

  1. Whisk cheese with eggs and yolk.
  2. On very low heat, cook guanciale (matchsticks) until rendered and translucent.
  3. Boil pasta until just shy of al dente; reserve pasta water.
  4. Off heat, add pasta to guanciale, then the egg-cheese mixture; toss vigorously.
  5. Adjust with splashes of hot pasta water until glossy and creamy. Serve immediately.

crispy baked wings

45 min bake, plus an overnight dry · about 2 lb

ingredients

  • 2 lb chicken wings (flats & drums)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 4 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 4 tbsp Frank's RedHot Buffalo sauce

steps

  1. Combine baking powder and salt.
  2. Toss wings to coat; place on a wire rack over a sheet pan and refrigerate uncovered overnight.
  3. Bake at 450°F for about 45 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.
  4. Melt butter and stir in the Buffalo sauce.
  5. Toss hot wings in the sauce and serve.

chicken ruby

marinate 6–24 hours · worth every one of them

marinade

  • 10 g ginger · 20 g garlic
  • 5 g salt · 1 tsp deggi · 1 1/2 tsp cumin · 1/2 tsp garam
  • Lime juice · 2 tbsp oil · 75 g yogurt

sauce

  • 175 ml vegetable oil
  • 2 bay leaves · 6 green cardamom · 2 black cardamom · 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 800 g tomato purée · 35 g garlic · 20 g ginger
  • 2 tsp salt · 1 1/2 tsp deggi · 1 tsp garam · 1 tsp fenugreek
  • 20 g sugar · 1/2 tsp dill · 1 tbsp cumin · 1 tbsp honey
  • To finish: butter, 80 ml cream + 50 ml cream

steps

  1. Blend the marinade; coat the chicken and marinate 6–24 hours.
  2. Temper whole spices in oil; build the sauce with purée, aromatics and seasonings; simmer until deep.
  3. Grill or roast the chicken hard, then fold into the sauce.
  4. Finish with butter and the cream, in two additions.

focaccia

450°F · a four-hour nap, then piano practice

ingredients

  • Your focaccia dough
  • Olive oil, generously
  • Optional: butter and garlic, for after

steps

  1. Oil a baking sheet; add dough, flip to coat; rest ~4 hours.
  2. Dimple the dough — play piano — and drizzle with oil.
  3. Bake at 450°F. Brush with butter and garlic after baking if desired.

white bread, dutch oven

poolish 24 hr, plus rests · one loaf

poolish

  • 150 g room-temp water
  • 1/8 tsp instant yeast
  • 150 g bread flour

dough

  • 250 g warm water (≈98°F)
  • 2 g instant yeast (≈1/3 tsp)
  • All of the poolish
  • 2 1/2 tsp salt (≈12 g)
  • 400 g bread flour · 50 g whole-wheat flour

steps

  1. Make the poolish: combine water, yeast and flour; cover and rest 24 hours.
  2. Mix the dough: warm water and yeast, then poolish, salt and flours. Mix with a metal spoon, then by hand. Rest 30 minutes.
  3. Stretch & fold; rest 30 minutes, covered.
  4. Stretch & fold again; rest 1 hour, covered.
  5. Bake in a preheated Dutch oven at 450°F until done.

Always keep the dough covered during rests.

rye bread

450°F · caraway forward

ingredients

  • 200 g cool water · 1/8 tsp yeast
  • 87 g dark rye · 113 g bread flour
  • Poolish
  • 110 g water (room temp) · 2 tsp yeast · 20 g sugar
  • 5 g salt (~1 tsp)
  • Optional: 20 g vital wheat gluten
  • 214 g bread flour
  • 2 tbsp caraway seeds

steps

  1. Combine ingredients. Rest 30 minutes.
  2. Knead until smooth.
  3. Do 2 sets of stretch & fold.
  4. Let the dough double on the final rest.
  5. Bake at 450°F.

risotto

a ladle at a time · stir like you mean it

ingredients

  • Olive oil · butter
  • 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
  • 1 large shallot, minced
  • White wine
  • 4–5 cups hot stock
  • 1 cup grated Parmigiano
  • Vegetables or protein of choice (mushrooms, squash, shrimp…)

steps

  1. If using veg or protein, cook first and remove from the pan.
  2. Heat oil and butter; cook shallot until tender.
  3. Add rice and toast until translucent and coated.
  4. Add wine; stir to cook off the alcohol.
  5. Add hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring, until the rice is al dente.
  6. Fold in the veg or protein and the cheese. Season to taste.

chilean sea bass

sear hard, finish gently · pull at 130°F, serve at 140°F

ingredients

  • Sea bass (frozen is fine)
  • Parsley, cilantro, capers
  • White wine, butter
  • Salt, pepper, basil, garlic, MSG

steps

  1. Season the fish.
  2. Sear the skin side hard; move fish to a rack.
  3. Transfer to a 350–400°F oven, broiler on high.
  4. Deglaze the pan with butter and wine; cook down.
  5. Pull the fish at ~130°F; return to the pan, add herbs, baste.
  6. Finish to 140°F and serve.

arroz rojo

toast it until it chars a little · that's the flavor

ingredients

  • 160 g white rice
  • Optional: small-diced pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • A squeeze of tomato paste
  • ~7 g bouillon cube
  • 250 g water · oil

steps

  1. Sauté garlic (and pepper, if using) in oil.
  2. Add tomato paste; cook 1 minute.
  3. Add rice and toast until lightly charred in spots.
  4. Add water and bouillon; boil for 2 minutes.
  5. Cover and cook on low ~30 minutes.

macaroni salad

cook the pasta too long, on purpose · chill 1 hour

ingredients

  • 1.5 cups mayo · 1/2 cup sour cream · 3/4 cup whole milk
  • 3 tbsp Dijon mustard · 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp hot sauce · 3/4 tsp Worcestershire · 3/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 lb macaroni
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 celery rib, chopped · 1/4 cup shallot, chopped · 4 scallions, sliced

steps

  1. Whisk the dressing ingredients.
  2. Cook macaroni until very tender (~15 min).
  3. Drain; toss the hot pasta with cider vinegar and let it absorb.
  4. Add celery, shallot, scallions and dressing.
  5. Season; chill at least 1 hour.

caesar salad

the anchovies are not optional

ingredients

  • Croutons (made elsewhere)
  • 1–2 garlic cloves
  • 2–3 egg yolks
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 4–6 anchovies
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire
  • 1/3 cup canola oil · 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano
  • Romaine hearts — use the crisp inner leaves

steps

  1. With an immersion blender, blend garlic, yolks, lemon, anchovies, Worcestershire.
  2. Slowly drizzle in canola, then olive oil, until emulsified.
  3. Cut the romaine. Toss with dressing, Parm and croutons. Season to taste.

edamame dumpling

blend, taste, adjust · that's the whole art

ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups shelled edamame
  • 2 cloves garlic · 1 inch ginger
  • 1/3 cup scallions
  • 2 tbsp truffle (oil or paste)
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce · 2 tbsp white miso

steps

  1. Blend all ingredients until smooth; adjust to taste.