The Pearl Onion

The Pearl Onion has a New Home!!!

2009-12-10T18:33:00.004-05:00

The Pearl Onion has a new home. I am still working on the design, but from now on you can access The Pearl Onion at: http://thepearlonion.wordpress.com/

If Only Thanksgiving Could be Year-Round...

2009-11-29T10:27:00.006-05:00

Thanksgiving is hands-down my favorite holiday. I love the food and wine of course, but I also love having a special time to relax with friends or family and enjoy each others' company. This year I spent the holiday with friends in their new family home. Here are some pictures...

I hope your Thanksgiving was as lovely as mine. Enjoy!

A Fall Saturday in New York...

2009-11-23T19:30:00.011-05:00

I recently got a new camera and what better way to make use of it than to bring it along with me on a beautiful fall day. So here is a day of a foodie in New York...

Brunch at Five Points

Walking around the Union Square farmers' market

Enjoying the fresh, locally grown food

Enjoy!

Homemade Vegetable (and Fruit) Wash

2009-01-10T11:47:00.004-05:00

Lately I have become more and more paranoid about the pesticides that are inevitably on the vegi’s and fruit we buy at the market. Of course you don’t have this problem with organic produce, but most of us can’t afford to buy all organic food nor can we find everything we need in the organic section of the market. But fear not my readers, I have found a homemade vegetable wash that should do the trick pretty easily and leave you feeling good about the produce that you are eating.

I know that you can buy vegetable washes at the market, but these are usually overpriced and really no more effective than a homemade wash. In my search for a recipe, I found that you can either choose to make a solution that you spray onto your produce, or you can make a wash that you soak them in. Frankly, I have a hard time believing that a spray is all that effective. Sure, may be on nice smooth vegi’s and fruits like tomatoes and apples; but what about our other favorite, more complicated items like broccoli or herbs? How can a spray reach all the crevices and surface areas? Therefore, readers, I dare not lead you astray and will only focus on the wash that you can soak your beloved produce in and feel confident that all parts have been treated properly.

This solution is made of vinegar and salt—cheap ingredients and items you always have on-hand. These ingredients (combined with water) help remove the wax from your produce, neutralize the pesticides, and kill any bacteria that may exist. Furthermore, they will do all of this while not leaving a taste behind. Now when I come home from the market, I immediately make up this wash, soak my produce, and within minutes have worry-free vegi’s and fruit waiting for me to enjoy.

So here is the recipe:

¼ cup vinegar
2 tbsp salt
water

Rinse your produce under running water and set aside.
Mix the vinegar and salt in a large bowl or clean sink until the salt dissolves (adding a little warm water will help the salt dissolve faster).
Add water to fill the bowl or sink (if the sink is large, you may want to only fill it a few inches high with water or double the vinegar and salt portions).
Submerge the produce in the solution and let sit for 15 minutes. Remove and rinse with clean water.

Enjoy!

Rice Pilaf with Rosemary

2008-11-29T08:54:00.011-05:00

It was recently brought to my attention that a contingent of our population is “cooking” rice pilaf from a box. A box—really? Okay, now I know it is easier and off-hand less intimidating, but making the real stuff from scratch is actually quite easy and much more flavorful. So I made it my mission to find a recipe that is super easy and guaranteed to convert you boxed pilaf folks to the real thing.

For those of you not familiar with pilaf, this method is unique in that it toasts the grain before cooking (much like cooking risotto). This provides the grain a nutty flavor and firmer texture. It also allows for the starches to gelatinize, which helps keep the grains separate when cooked and pick-up the flavors of the dish.

Okay, so back to the recipe. This one is courtesy of Tyler Florence on The Food Network with some variations of my own. Not only it is super easy and flavorful, but it was one of the only recipes I could find that truly toasted the rice. Don’t be fooled, folks, a lot of the pilaf recipes out there are posers—just rice mixed with stuff. They call that pilaf? So wrong.

Anyway, so here is the recipe dedicated to you closeted boxed pilaf cooks out there (you know who you are). This makes 2 1/2 cups:

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter (can substitute with olive oil)
1 clove garlic, smashed
1/2 shallot, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup basmati-style long grain rice
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (if you use regular broth, add less salt above)
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh rosemary (about 4-5 inches)
Toasted pine nuts or sliced almonds (optional)

In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and shallot to butter and sauté. Season with the salt and pepper and cook until the onions and garlic are soft, about 5 minutes.
Add the rice and stir until coated with the butter. Increase the heat to medium-high. Let the rice cook until toasted, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes more.
Stir in the broth, bay leaf, and rosemary. Bring to a simmer over low heat, cover, and cook until all the broth has been absorbed by the rice and the rice is tender, about 15 to 18 minutes. (You can shorten this cooking time by about 5 minutes if you heat the broth before adding it to the rice.)
Remove from the heat (still covered) and let set for 5 minutes. Discard the rosemary and bay leaf (and garlic clove if you wish).
Fluff the rice with a fork and mix-in pine nuts or almonds, if using. Check for seasoning and adjust if needed. Serve.

Enjoy!

Garlic Scapes

2008-07-22T17:32:00.001-04:00

I am a little late posting this seeing that we are now past its season, but I wanted to share with you garlic scapes. I noticed these long, curly greens a month ago while roaming the farmers’ market. Intrigued, I picked one up and brought it home to see what it had to offer.

I learned that garlic scapes are the part of garlic that grows above ground (because of course the garlic cloves that you are used to are bulbs in the dirt). Anyway, when garlic first sprouts, it creates these scapes. With time the scapes grow strait and toughen so you must cut them within two weeks of growth while they are still tender, hence why their season is a bit short. They grow in the late spring/early summer.

The flavor of scapes is obviously of garlic but they are not as pungent. Although in the States farmers only recently have been utilizing the scapes in lieu of throwing them out, they have been popular in Europe and Asia. You can use them in place of garlic or green onions in your recipes. For my garlic scape I chopped it up, sautéed it with some butter and olive oil, threw in some pasta water and tossed with pasta and chopped parsley. I loved the nice, subtle garlic flavor.

Enjoy (well, next Spring)!

Homemade Orecchiette

2008-07-12T15:01:00.003-04:00

Sorry for the delay in posting. The Pearl Onion is still very much alive, but unfortunately my internet has been a bit inactive (i.e., my neighbor who I “borrowed” from placed a password on his wireless internet). Luckily, this weekend I find myself at my “summer house” (aka, my friend’s parent’s suburban house) which allows me access to the internet.

Anyway, my “summer house” has a beautiful, large kitchen that is great for cooking. There is even a local farmers’ market near by on Saturdays. So needless to say I have been really enjoying living the life of those who have real homes (unlike my tiny Manhattan apartment with a kitchen that has 9 square feet in foot space—no exaggeration).

My first creation in the kitchen was homemade orecchiette (meaning “little ears” in Italian due to their shape). As you can probably figure out by the proportion of my recipes that involve pasta, I love it. I especially love fresh pasta and have always been intrigued to try to make it myself. However, I do not have a pasta maker (next on my list of purchases). I saw this recipe for homemade orecchiette in my Gourmet magazine and noticed that no pasta maker was required. Perfect!

On top of my excitement that I could make fresh pasta by hand, I was also pretty excited to see how simple the recipe looked. Yes, there really are only three ingredients and one of them is water.

So I ran out to my market to purchase some semolina (you can find this in the flour section of your market) and continued on my way to the train station to head out to my “summer house.” After some time of relaxation in the house—you know, breathing fresh air, stretching the legs by actually walking more than 10 feet in one direction without hitting a wall, etc.—I began to make the orecchiette. In summary, all you do is mix the ingredients together (5 minutes time), let it sit 30 minutes, make the orecchiette “ears” (20 minutes), let them dry for 30 minutes, and then cook them (5 minutes). As you can see, the active time of making these things is quite minimal.

The final product was so yummy too. I mixed my homemade orecchiette with fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, chopped shallots, fresh marjoram, cherry tomatoes, and salt/pepper. It made the perfect summer evening dinner.

Alright, so here is the recipe adapted from Gourmet magazine’s April 2008 issue (for 8 first course servings, or 4 main course servings):

1/2 cup warm water (105-115°F) (Seriously, who has a thermometer for their water? I just ran the hot water in the faucet until it felt “warm,” and that worked just fine.)
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups semolina (sometimes called semolina flour)

In a bowl add the water and salt. Mix until the salt is dissolved.
Then add the semolina slowly in a stream while beating the mixture with an electric mixer at medium speed. Continue mixing for about 2 minutes until a stiff dough forms.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic for about 6 minutes. Divide dough into 5 sections and let stand under an overturned bowl for 30 minutes.
Lay out 2 dry kitchen towels (not terry cloth) on a flat surface and dust with some semolina.
While keeping the remaining dough covered, on an un-floured surface roll 1 section of dough into a 14-inch-long rope about ¾ inch thick. Cut the rope into ¼ inch pieces.
Using your thumb (lightly dusted with flour), press down on each piece of dough, pushing away from yourself and twisting your thumb slightly to form an indented curled shape (like an ear). Transfer as formed to the laid out towels. Repeat process with remaining sections.
Let the orecchiette sit on towels until dry for about 30 minutes.
Cook orecchiette in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (3 tablespoons salt for 6 quarts water) until al dente, then drain and toss with sauce.

Enjoy!

Irving Farm Coffee Company

2008-06-26T19:00:00.000-04:00

My latest purchase that I am excited about is my freshly ground coffee beans from Irving Farm Coffee Company. This farm is located in the Hudson Valley (north of New York City) in the foothill mountains of the Catskills and the Berkshire mountains. No, no…they do not grow the beans there, but they do roast them. They have a great selection of all types of coffees with descriptions that make you crave your next caffeine fix.

I usually just stop by one of their cafes for a cup of freshly brewed coffee. I find that their coffee encompasses such a great full-bodied richness without the bitterness that you sometimes find. Today, however, I was ready for the next step in purchasing my own beans for personal brewing in my beloved French press (um…I keep this at work and while others are serving themselves that god-awful “work coffee” in the pantry, I am diligently brewing my own sumptuous coffee—sign #127 that I am a foodie).

I chose one of Irving Farm’s flavored coffees—Sinful Delight. This coffee is flavored with chocolate, hazelnut and caramel. Pretty much, it is desert in a mug. Their selection, however, is primarily non-flavored coffees and does include some organic blends for all you purists out there.
Irving Farm Coffee Company has cafés at the following locations:

71 Irving Place Coffee & Tea Bar
71 Irving Place
New York, NY 10003
212.995.5252

Irving Farm Coffee Company
56 7th Avenue
New York, NY
10011
212.475.5200

Irving Farm Coffee House
44 Main Street
Millerton, NY 12546
518.789.2020

Don’t live in New York? You can also order Irving Farm’s coffee via their website.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Pizza with Caramelized Shallots, Goat Cheese, Cremini Mushrooms, & Watercress

2008-06-23T19:43:00.000-04:00

My friend, Sarah, was in town from London this past week, and we met for dinner at a fun Italian restaurant located in the West Village. With Italian food fresh in my mind, I yearned for more and as a result decided to make pizza—from scratch.

I was visiting another friend, Zaidee, a few weeks ago and together we made pizza using a recipe for whole wheat dough from her Canyon Ranch Cooks cookbook. This is a cookbook geared towards those who eat healthy—something I strive towards but often stray from. Surprisingly, the dough was super simple to make (aside from some stickiness) and tasted pretty good for something that is healthy. However, all healthy aspects of the dough recipe were offset by the naughtiness of my rich toppings. Oh well.

Once you make your dough and roll it out, you can really then top it with whatever your heart desires. On this particular Sunday evening, my heart desired the sweetness of caramelized shallots matched with the creamy tang of goat cheese combined with the earthiness of cremini mushrooms freshened up with the peppery, fresh flavor of watercress. Yum!

Once my pizza was finished I sat down and indulged in my creation, which was scrumptious. On Sundays some people reach their spiritual ambitions by hearing sermons in church. I on the other hand reach my spiritual journeys through food. Oh, and wine helps too. As I devoured my pizza along with my glass of Sauvignon blanc, I did feel like I was in heaven.

So here is how you too can make this pizza. Feel free to just take the dough recipe and experiment with your own combination of toppings. Or try mine. I think either way you will be delighted. Of course, I’m sure that a proper pizza dough recipe is better, but for a healthy crust, I think this is good.

Dough Recipe, adapted from Canyon Ranch Cooks
(Canyon Ranch thinks this is for 6 servings, but I think that’s crazy talk—it is a health cookbook after all. Realistically it is for 4-5 entrée servings.)

1 cup water
½ tsp active dry yeast
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
¾ tsp olive oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, mix the water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Using a dough hook on medium low speed, slowly add the whole wheat and all-purpose flour and continue mixing until the dough separates from the side of the bowl. (If you do not have a mixer, or are like me and are too lazy to lug that huge thing out, you can do this by hand. Just stir the flour in with a spoon and mix well—this will take some elbow grease.)
Lightly coat a medium sized bowl with olive oil. Form the dough into a ball and place it into this bowl. Cover and let stand in a warm place for 1 hour to rise.
Set the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly coat baking sheet with olive oil (I used parchment paper for easier clean-up).
On a floured board, punch down the dough and lightly knead for 30 seconds. Divide the dough into equal servings. Roll out the balls of dough into thin layers and place onto baking sheets.
Add your toppings (see my suggestion below) and bake for 10 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

Kristin’s Toppings
(just use these measurements as guides and go with what looks right for the size of your pizza)

Olive oil
4 large shallots, sliced
24 large cremini mushrooms, sliced
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
10 oz goat cheese
Kosher salt
Pepper
1 ¼ cups watercress sprigs
Truffle oil (optional)

As the dough is rising, slowly sauté the shallots with some olive oil over medium low to medium heat. (By sautéing the shallots slowly, this allows for the sugars in them to caramelize.) Meanwhile, in another pan sauté mushrooms with some olive oil. If they get soggy, turn up heat a little and continue sautéing uncovered. When the shallots and mushrooms are done, spread out on a plate to cool.
Spread a thin layer of olive oil over the top of the rolled out dough (including the edges). Evenly scatter the chopped garlic. Add the goat cheese in dollops and flatten out with the back of the spoon. Now add the mushrooms and shallots. Season well with salt and pepper.
Bake pizza in oven until done per directions above. Take the pizza out of the oven and top with watercress sprigs. Drizzle additional olive oil (or truffle oil, if you have any) over the top and serve.

Enjoy!

Skate with Peas & Mint

2008-06-18T19:20:00.003-04:00

A couple weeks ago I watched the documentary, The Real Dirt on Farmer John. This movie tracks the history of farmer John’s family roots and the difficulties he faces in continuing the family business. As you can probably guess, keeping the family farm in business has been a challenge for him. The touching part of the film is seeing how much that affects him—not so much financially as much as emotionally. Farmer John is an endearing, unique character with a darling mother so of course I now picture every farmer being like him, which makes me want to rush out and support my local farmers’ market even more.

My urge to increase my visits to the farmers’ market is also encouraged by the environmental aspects. I admit it—I have never been all that into going out of my way to “save the environment.” This is mostly because I feel a bit confused by all the conflicting information. For example, one day those who buy a Toyota Prius are being patted on the back for saving our Earth only to find out the next day that making the dang car is actually worse for the environment than other alternative autos. Sheesh.

My friend, Libby, recently started a new blog called How Green Is…, which focuses on the environment in a realistic manner. Reading her blog has helped put the environment back in the forefront of my mind. I mean, I am still annoyed by all the conflicting information, but there are some things that are pretty straightforward. Such as, buying your food locally means that the food is being driven a shorter distance, which we can all agree is better for the environment. Phew.

So for these reasons (and some others, which I won’t get into now), I am now trying to run out to my farmers’ market even more.

The other day I was watching Jamie Oliver’s show, Jamie at Home. He brought us to his greenhouse where he put together a yummy looking dish with smashed raw peas and mint, which he served over grilled toast. This peaked my interest so I headed to the farmer’s market looking for ingredients to make something similar, and here is what I came up with (for 1 serving):

¾ - 1 cup shelled, raw sugar snap peas
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped
1 lemon
1 tsp plus 2 tbsp Olive oil
Salt
1 Skate fillet (alternatively, you can also use turbot)
Flour

Carefully chop the fresh peas, and then put them into a bowl (or you may have better luck keeping them on the cutting board). Add the mint, zest from the whole lemon, and 1 tbsp olive oil. Smash together with a pestle/ back of wooden spoon/ or fork. Squeeze one half of the lemon into the mixture. Add salt to taste (don’t be shy with the salt). (If you have a mortal and pestle, this would be ideal. Using a food processor on “pulse” would also make this easier.)
Rub the sake fillet with 1 tsp of olive oil. Dredge fish in flour and shake excess flour off. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a non-stick pan over medium high heat. Add the fish and cook on both sides until cooked through. (My fillet took about 3-4 minutes on each side.)
Serve fish on plate and squeeze other lemon half on top. Spoon pea mixture onto fish. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil on the plate around the fish.

Enjoy!

Caipirinha’s

2008-06-15T09:31:00.001-04:00

I have a great, new summer drink for y’all—Caipirinha’s. This is a Brazilian drink that some friends of mine who lived there introduced to me. They are refreshing yet have quite a nice bite to them. The liquor used is cachaca, which is derived from sugar cane (similar to rum but less sweet). This liquor is then off-set with the refreshing taste of lime sweetened with sugar. It is a great drink to enjoy on a summer evening, but be careful—these drinks may look innocent, but they are quite strong!

I bet the inventors of the “Brazilian bikini” were drinking these when they came up with the idea that bikinis that show ladies’ cheeks are a good idea…

Here is how my friend, Zaidee, makes them (per drink):

1 lime
2 tsp sugar
2 shots of cachaça
ice cubes

Cut lime into quarters and squeeze into an old fashioned glass. Then throw the lime quarters into the glass.
Add sugar. With a muddler smash the limes and sugar together. (This helps bring out more of the lime flavor out and also helps dissolve the sugar. If you do not have a muddler, try using a wooden spoon.)
Mix in cachaca and then add ice until the glass is full and mix. (Ideally, you want the glass to have lots of ice to cool off the drink and help off-set the strength of the cachaca.)

Enjoy!

Tomato, Mozzarella, & Basil Sandwich

2008-06-08T17:27:00.003-04:00

I don’t know about where y’all live, but in New York it is blazing hot right now. I tried walking around earlier today and found myself melting. So I quickly headed back to my air conditioned apartment. The problem was that I didn’t have anything for lunch, and what does one want to eat on such a hot day?

In the summertime while growing up in Alabama, I remember my mom and me sitting in the kitchen enjoying yummy tomato sandwiches. We would simply toast bread, spread on some mayonnaise, add slices of tomato, and then top it with salt and pepper. They were so perfect for hot summer days—the tomatoes were cool and super juicy (in fact, often we’d have to eat our sandwiches over the sink because they were so messy from the juices) and the sandwiches were nice and light.

Mmm…I loved the idea of making a tomato sandwich but was also interested in doing something new with it. Last evening a friend and I made pizzas using fresh mozzarella as a topping, which tasted great. With the virtues of fresh mozzarella still in mind, I decided to use this. Naturally, basil is the next logical ingredient. I don’t have mayonnaise right now, but the more I was thinking about it, I preferred the idea of using olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Basically, I was creating the traditional tomato, mozzarella, and basil dish in a sandwich.

So here it is (per sandwich)…my measurements are purposely vague here as the amounts really depend on the size of your toast. So just go with it—it is pretty strait forward.

2 Slices of bread
½ Garlic clove
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Tomato slices
Salt
Pepper
Fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
Basil leaves

Toast the bread slices (I prefer toasting my bread on the stove top with a grill pan, but obviously a normal toaster works as well).
When the toast is ready, take the cut side of the garlic half and rub it against the top sides of each piece of toast. (This allows for the flavor of garlic without being overpowering.)
Evenly sprinkle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the top side of one piece of toast. (For my sandwich, I probably sprinkled about 1 ½ tbsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar.)
Now lay out the tomato slices over one of the pieces of toast. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the tomatoes.
Add a layer of fresh mozzarella cheese over the tomatoes and then top with basil leaves.
Now just take the other piece of toast and lay on top. Voila—an elegant and simply divine summer sandwich!

Enjoy!

Fruit Salad with Lime Mint Dressing

2008-06-02T21:02:00.004-04:00

Oh, I love this time of year when warmth finally fills the air. New Yorkers, feeling relieved after a long winter, walk around with smiles on their faces and even shed a bit of courtesy to those around them. Sidewalk cafes begin to populate, and lines for the local ice cream shop grow long. Meanwhile, yummy summer fruit begins to fill the shelves at the market. I love it!

To aid my efforts in consuming all the great fruit that is finally reaching its featured season, I like to make fruit salads. Why settle on just one fruit when you can throw everything together?

When I make fruit salads, I like to keep them simple. I make one of my favorite fruit salads by just cutting up a selection of fruit, squeezing some lime juice over it, and mixing in some chopped mint. Yum!

The fruit you choose is endless for this salad. Today I made it with a peach, apricot, and plum. One lime provided plenty of juice, and I used about 1/4 cup of chopped mint. This made one large serving, or two small side servings of salad.

I would write out this “recipe”, but I think this dish works best when you run with it on your own.

Enjoy!

Sole Filet with Ramps

2008-05-26T10:34:00.002-04:00

I know, I know…y’all have been sitting at the edges of your seats since my ramps posting wondering what I made with them, right? Well, here it is.

I sautéed my ramps from the Union Square Greenmarket for a really tasty sauce that perfectly complimented a sole filet. The sauce included a touch of Dijon mustard to round out the garlicky flavor of the ramps and to add a bite, which was balanced out with a touch of cream. Since sole is a delicate, white fish; it perfectly took on all the simple flavors of the sauce. I really enjoyed this dish!

So here is how I made it (for 1 serving):

1 Sole fillet
2 tbsp Olive Oil
3 Ramps, chopped (with bulbs and pink parts separated from the green leaves)
2 tbsp Heavy cream
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp Ground pepper
1 Lemon wedge

Set the oven to 350 degrees. Rub the sole with 1 tbsp of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and place on tin foil. Loosely wrap the fish with the tin foil like a package and place on a baking sheet. Once oven is ready, bake fish for about 12 minutes (My filet was 0.4 lbs. If yours is a bit bigger or smaller, you may want to vary the cooking time by a minute or so.)
As the fish is cooking, sauté 1 tbsp olive oil and the chopped bulbs and pink parts of the ramps in a small sauté pan over medium to medium-low heat.
Once the bulbs are translucent, add about ¼ cup water and the heavy cream. Whisk in the Dijon mustard, and let cook down a little.
Add ground pepper and turn off heat. Mix in about 1/4 cup of chopped green leaves from the ramps.
Serve fish and pour sauce over it. Squeeze lemon wedge over the top and garnish with some additional fresh chopped leaves from the ramps.

Enjoy!

Pasta Shells with Gouda Cheese

2008-05-19T21:37:00.001-04:00

On a recent Sunday afternoon, I was craving comfort food (i.e., something really unhealthy). As I watched The Food Network, one of the shows featured a macaroni and cheese dish. It looked incredible and was exactly what I was in the mood for; however, I didn’t want to make some huge casserole dish. I do have my limits when eating super unhealthy dishes so I needed to come up with my own single serving version.

For my single serving version, I figured I could just make a cheese sauce to mix with pasta shells. I did some research on cheese sauces and basically learned that you just make a white sauce and then add the cheese. I can do that! So I headed to the market and perused the cheese isle. I found gouda cheese, which sounded perfect, so I grabbed it and headed back home.

This dish ended up being pretty easy to make, and the final product was sooo luxuriously rich and tasty. The shells perfectly held the sauce to ensure every bite was a rich bite. I also added chopped sage as a garnish, but as it turns out the flavor of the sage really complimented the gouda cheese and brought a freshness to the dish.

If you prefer to cut down on the richness, just using all whole milk instead of incorporating the heavy cream should be fine. Also, when choosing your gouda cheese, find one that is relatively soft (i.e., it has not been aged for terribly long). The softer it is, the easier it will melt.

Okay, here is my recipe for the special shells and cheese:

1 large serving of shell pasta (or 2 small servings)
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 bay leaf
1 cup grated gouda cheese
dash of paprika
healthy dose of fresh ground pepper
salt to taste
chopped sage

Start boiling water in a large pot and prepare the pasta per the directions on the box.
Meanwhile, over medium low heat in a sauce pan add butter and melt.
Whisk in flour and let cook a minute or two.
Add milk, heavy cream, and bay leaf. Whisk frequently until the milk is hot. If needed, turn the heat up a little bit.
Remove bay leaf and then add the cheese. Continuously stir until all melted.
Mix in paprika, pepper, and salt.
Once pasta is ready, drain and mix in with cheese sauce. (If sauce is ready before the pasta, you can just keep over very low heat, stirring frequently).
Serve with chopped sage on top.

Enjoy!

Ramps (also called “Wild Leeks”)

2008-05-14T13:30:00.000-04:00

I just finished serving jury duty for a trial that lasted a whopping two full weeks! On the upside the trial was conducted in the New York Supreme Court, which is the courthouse with all the steps that you see in Law & Order. That made me feel kind of cool, and of course I was sure to smile whenever I left the building since I was in the background of many tourists’ photos.

So what was my case? Well, as Uma Thurman’s stalker trial was going on a couple buildings down, I was placed on a trial dealing with the breach of an oral contract and fiduciary duties related to a hedge fund partnership. Okay so honestly I actually thought it was really interesting, but I know one of my fellow jurors disagreed as he literally slept through half the trial!

I have a bad habit of laughing at inappropriate moments, and there were definitely plenty of times throughout the trial that this bad habit was challenged. For starters, one of the defendants was named Mr. Freelove. Are you kidding me? Every time I heard the lawyers or witnesses say his name, I kept hearing in my head (set to very cheesy music) “Doctor Freeeloooove”. Yes, I chuckled each time.

I also loved that every time an important point was made, everyone’s heads would snap towards us jurors to see our reactions. Their faces were so serious. Yes, I laughed here too. Not sure how they read that reaction.

Meanwhile, our judge was a sweet older woman but she could not hear a word! Throughout the entire trial, she kept abruptly yelling out, “What? What? You have to speak louder! I can’t hear you!” Yes, I laughed out loud at these moments too.

Then of course there was one witness who had these abnormally massive hands. I kid you not, the palm of his hand alone was about ¾ the size of his face! His hands were just as out of proportion as the woman with “man hands” in that Seinfeld episode. Yup, I laughed.

Anyway, despite the entertainment of the court room, the days were long and tiring. So after being cooped up in the court room for yet another day, I decided to take advantage of how beautiful it was outside and walked home one day. Along my walk I came upon the Union Square Greenmarket. This time of year the market is filled with farmers selling ramps. I have always been curious about ramps so I picked some up and continued my way home.

Ramps, also known as wild leeks, have a taste that is somewhere in the middle of onions and garlic. If you buy some, you will quickly smell that they have a strong odor that is closer to garlic (I might even go as far to say that they have a stinky smell). As I suggested above, ramps are only in season in the spring time. I also learned that they are native to North America, and I believe that they are most popular in the Appalachian Mountains.

So where can you find them? Unfortunately, even with access to all the wonderful grocery stores in New York City, I have only seen them at the Farmers’ Market. So you may need to go to your local market to find them (but how great it is to support local farmers!). I also found that you can order them online from Earthy Delights.

So what did I make with my ramps? I sautéed them for a sauce served with a delicate white fish, which was such a great combination. Stay tuned as I plan to post my recipe for the dish I made…

Orange Rice Pudding

2008-05-10T10:05:00.000-04:00

I am not a huge dessert person so when the occasion arises to make one, I want it to be quick and easy. I still have lots of Arborio rice sitting in my cabinet, so I decided to look for recipes for rice pudding. I have always loved rice pudding but never actually made it so figured this would be fun to try.

This recipe particularly stood out not only because the orange aspect sounded so interesting and yummy, but there are hardly any ingredients! How easy! Not to mention, a lot of the other recipes I looked at included more fattening stuff so I felt as though this was somewhat on the light side for dessert.

As I had guessed, this was super easy to make and the final product was very, very good. In fact, as I let the rice pudding cool in the refrigerator I seriously ate like half of it—my fridge must have lost all its cool air from me opening the door so much to have just one more little taste! I also think this is a great dessert for entertaining because you can make it ahead of time, and since it is so quick and easy, you can focus your efforts on the rest of the meal.

The only thing I want to note about the recipe is that it calls for four oranges when I think you can get away with just one. The idea is to serve the orange pieces with each serving, but do you really need a whole orange for each serving? I think just a single orange segment on top is plenty. I also suggest that you remove the membrane from the orange segments—it looks so much nicer. Or you can skip the orange slices all together and garnish with either chocolate shavings or orangettes.

Lastly, the recipe claims that it is for four servings, but I think they are pretty small servings so this may be more for three healthy size servings (either the French really do eat tiny portions, or may be I misjudged the amount before eating half of it from the fridge?).

So here is the recipe (for 4 servings) from Daniel Young’s The Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris:

1/2 cup short-grain rice
Salt
4 oranges
2 cups whole milk
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons orange marmalade

Place the rice in a saucepan, cover with cold water and a pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and drain.
Grate the zest of 1 orange (don't be shy zesting--this is where most of the orange flavor will come from!). Peel all the oranges, divide them into sections, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Combine the orange zest, milk, and sugar in a saucepan and heat over high heat to a boil.
Add the rice, cover, lower the heat to very low, and cook, stirring occasionally so the rice does not stick, for 30 minutes.
Remove the rice from the heat, add the orange marmalade, stir well, and let cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
To serve, surround each serving of rice pudding with orange sections.

Enjoy!

Soft Boiled Egg with Prosciutto & Rustic Toast

2008-05-05T19:58:00.000-04:00

Ginny at Just Get Floury is hosting a food blogging event. For those you not in the food blogging world, a food blogging event is when a blogger comes up with a theme or challenge and fellow food bloggers create a dish that abides to the rules of the event. In other words, it’s one of those dorky things that foodies do!

Anyway, back to Ginny’s event…her theme is coming up with a dish that serves at least two people for less than $5. Seeing that I blew too much money the other day after spending a relaxing afternoon sitting at Café Cluny while grazing on a wonderful selection of dishes (coupled with an excellent white ale from Maine, whose name I wish I could recall), this challenge was of a particular interest to me.

Since I live in New York, everything has an automatic 10% increase in prices. So the focus of my dish needed to be really cheap to allow me the budget to dress it up appropriately. Mmm…what is super cheap? Eggs! Okay, I now had something to work with.

I recently was reading about the various ways of preparing eggs and learned about soft boiling eggs. Yum! So elegant yet simplistic. I love eggs on toast so this was the next logical item to add to the dish, but I still needed something more. I wanted it to be special so I figured prosciutto would be fabulous with this. Oh, and topped with some parmesan cheese and a little sage…now I have the perfect dish.

Soft boiling the eggs did take a few tries—I’m not going to lie. In a large pot you need to boil enough water that will cover the eggs by a couple inches. Once the water comes to a boil, quickly turn down the heat to bring it to a simmer. At this point, lower your eggs into the water and cook. I had large eggs and found that 6 minutes cooked the whites of the eggs but left the yoke nice and gooey. You may need to play with this to get it right. When the eggs are ready, remove them from the pot and place them in a cool water bath. Serve soon after.

To remove the top of the egg shell, take a spoon and firmly (but with caution) tap around the top of the egg (about 1/3 way down from the top). I basically created a dotted “crack” line around the top and then went back to further crack the remaining line. Then, take a pairing knife and cut around the egg where you broke the shell with the knife. You can now remove the “lid” of the egg.

If you prefer to make an easier egg, I think serving a sunny side up egg will work just as well.

This dish is super simple, but is really good. The gooeyness of the egg is such a great compliment to the crunchy toast. Furthermore, the saltiness if the prosciutto helps make the egg taste somewhat sweet. The sage then brings in a really nice earthy tone to the flavor. I originally meant for the sage as only a garnish, but it actually brings a lot to the dish and pulls together all the components.

So, how much does this dish cost for two servings (note, we get an exception for 3 staple pantry items)? $3.66 (taking into consideration unit pricing).

So here is how you make it for two people:

2 Sourdough bread slices ($0.30)
4 tbsp Olive oil (staple pantry item)
4 slices of Prosciutto ($2.10)
Fresh parmesan cheese, to garnish ($0.25)
6 large Sage leaves ($0.25)
2 large Eggs, soft boiled (see my explanation above) ($0.76)

Place a grill pan on high heat. Lightly brush olive oil onto both sides of sourdough bread slices and place in hot grill pan. Let sit until toasted and then flip bread over. Once toasted, remove and put aside on serving plates.
Drape two slices of prosciutto over each slice of toast.
Grate or slice fresh parmesan cheese on top of prosciutto. Place sage leaves on plate next to toast (or you can also chop it up and sprinkle the sage over the prosciutto and toast).
Once eggs are ready, quickly serve next to toast. You will need small holders for your eggs (you can find actual “egg holders”, but I used sake cups).

Enjoy!

Note:
If you have leftover prosciutto and sage, you can use it for a pasta dish. Tonight for dinner I cooked up some pasta. As it was cooking, I chopped up some prosciutto, sage, and garlic. I then drained the pasta, reserving some of the water. In the pasta pot I added some olive oil and the garlic and quickly sautéed it. Then I added back the pasta and mixed in the prosciutto, sage, some pasta water, a little heavy cream, and fresh ground pepper. In the serving dish, I topped it off with some fresh parmesan cheese. It was so easy and so yummy!

The Pretzel Croissant

2008-05-03T09:19:00.004-04:00

I was reading the food section of my New York magazine a few weeks ago and they had a feature about unique pretzel products in the city. One caught my eye in particular—the pretzel croissant from The City Bakery. Apparently, this croissant has such a following that it even has its own website. Its own website? I had to try it for myself.

So one Sunday afternoon after running my errands for the day I treated myself to one of these famous croissants, and it was certainly divine. As you would expect from a croissant, it was rich and buttery. The croissant was very fresh (even still warm from the oven) filled with doughy layers inside with lots of flakiness outside. The pretzel aspect added such a nice salty compliment to the buttery flavor, and the toasted sesame seeds added an extra texture and flavor. I am definitely a fan of this croissant and have actually already been back to have another one!

So if you find yourself in the Union Square area, I recommend you stopping by The City Bakery for this special treat. (They also have locations in California.)

The City Bakery
3 West 18th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues)
(212) 366-1414

Avocado and Watercress Salad

2008-04-29T20:41:00.000-04:00

I was thumbing through the light recipes on Epicurious looking for an idea for lunch. I came across this recipe for an avocado and watercress salad, which was featured in Gourmet magazine. This recipe evidently originates from Natori, a Japanese restaurant in New York. The recipe looked so great. A soy sauce based dressing that includes grated apples? How interesting! And how can you go wrong when avocados are a main feature to the dish? Plus I love the bitter taste of watercress.

I think this dish took me a whopping 15 minutes to make—perfect for a lunch. I even had some leftover to have along with my dinner. The dressing is so tasty that you should save any extra dressing for salads later in the week. I bet it would also be great served over steamed veggies, potatoes, or even a fish.

A hint: When preparing the watercress (it needs to be just the leaves and thin stems), hold the stems of the bunch in one hand. With your other hand take a chef’s knife and at an angle slide the blade along the stems away from yourself such that the leaves and thin stems are sliced off leaving behind the thicker stems. Keep doing this until all leaves are removed.

Okay, here is the recipe from Gourmet magazine (May 2008), which makes 6 servings:

1/4 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
1 tablespoon grated sweet onion such as Vidalia or Walla Walla (use large holes of a box grater)
1/4 cup finely grated peeled Gala apple (use small holes of box grater)
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups watercress (thin stems and leaves only; from 1 large bunch)
1 firm-ripe avocado

Stir together vinegar, onion, apple, soy sauce, and sugar until sugar has dissolved, then stir in oil.
Just before serving, toss watercress with enough dressing to coat.
Quarter, pit, and peel avocado, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Gently toss with watercress.

Enjoy!

Boqueria - New York, NY

2008-04-26T10:40:00.001-04:00

While watching Colameco’s Food Show this past weekend, the host took us (you know, me and the other viewers) to one of his favorite Spanish tapas bars in New York—Boqueria. If you are not familiar with the TV show, the host is extremely knowledgeable about food and is refreshingly not the least bit pretentious about it. Therefore, when he makes a strong recommendation for a restaurant, I know it will be excellent.

I went to Barcelona, Spain once a couple years ago for my friends’ wedding and during this trip really fell in love with the city (you may recall the series of Spanish posts that followed). I loved the laid back culture, and the food was so fun and creative. Therefore, I am always looking for great Spanish tapas places in the city where I can relax with a glass of red wine and graze on a wide selection of small dishes. When a friend wanted to meet up the other night, I was quick to use this as an opportunity to try out Boqueria.

Boqueria is named after an area in Barcelona that is known for hosting many of the cities tapas bars. The restaurant serves mainly Catalonian and Basque dishes, but other Spanish regions are also represented. Boqueria was opened by Suba owner Yann de Rochefort and Chef/Partner Seamus Mullen.

I arrived a bit early so I ordered a glass of wine and settled at the only open spot at the bar—conveniently right where the starter dishes are arranged. As I leisurely sipped on my wine, the guy in charge of the platters kindly explained to me all the various cheeses, meats, and condiments. (FYI, being seen taking food pictures at a restaurant does always help get better service.) I was in heaven.

My friend soon arrived so we moved onto our table. True to my memories of dining in Barcelona, the waitress made of point of letting us know we could take our time and followed through on her promise by allowing us to just catch up for a little while before even looking at the menu. I really love restaurants that recognize the dining experience is not always just about the food.

When we finally moved onto the menu, we learned that it consists of a wide selection of dishes that are served everyday and also includes a list of specials. In addition to this, they have a chalk board that lists the dishes the chef came up with on a whim for the day (I suppose you could call these the specials of the specials?). We selected about five dishes, mostly from the everyday dishes. My favorites were the Datiles Con Béicon (dates stuffed with almonds and valdeón, wrapped in bacon) and the Pintxos Morunos (seared lamb marinated in lemon and cumin, salsa verde), but honestly all the dishes were great. (Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of these since the dining area was a bit dark.)

So if you are in the mood for some Spanish tapas, I definitely recommend Boqueria!

Boqueria

53 W 19th St (between 5th & 6th Ave)
Phone: 212-255-4160

Mahi-Mahi with Blood Orange, Avocado, and Red Onion Salsa

2008-04-20T21:54:00.009-04:00

Finally Spring is arriving in New York, which means that bathing suit season is creeping up around the corner. Got it. Note to self—Ben & Jerry’s stash needs to be replaced with fat free sorbet, fries must be eliminated from diet, no more afternoon snacks are allowed, and cheese plates…well, let’s not go too crazy.

In my quest for a light dinner I found this recipe for mahi-mahi with salsa from Bon Appetit’s February 2005 issue. This is an extremely simple recipe that is quick, tasty, and will help you fit into that yellow polka dotted bikini come summertime (or man-kini for you courageous guys out there). The recipe calls for mahi-mahi, but really any white fish should work. The fishmonger at my market did not have mahi-mahi so I used hake. Tilapia should also be a good substitute.

The recipe calls for sautéing the fish in a skillet, which will give the fish a nice lightly browned top. However, if you live in a tiny apartment without an exhaust fan in the kitchen “nook” area like myself, you may want to resort to baking the fish instead. The fish won’t look as fancy, but your apartment—and your guests—will thank you for it. Just set the oven to 350 degrees, wrap the fish in tin foil with some olive oil, and cook for 35-40 minutes per pound.

Lastly, the recipe suggests that you top the fish with the salsa. I found that there was so much salsa that it completely covered the fish (yes, there is a fish hidden in that picture above). For presentation purposes, I suggest serving the salsa on the side or under the fish with a little reserved for the top.

So here is the Bon Appetit recipe for 2 servings:

1 blood orange, Cara Cara orange, or regular orange

1/2 cup 1/3-inch cubes avocado
1/3 cup chopped red onion
2 teaspoons minced red jalapeño
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 6-ounce mahi-mahi fillets

Using small sharp knife, cut peel and white pith from orange. Working over small bowl, cut between membranes to release segments.
Add avocado, onion, jalapeño, and lime juice to oranges in bowl; stir gently to blend.
Season salsa to taste with salt.
Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle fish with salt and pepper. Add fish to skillet and sauté until brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.
Place 1 fillet on each of 2 plates. Spoon salsa atop fish and serve.

Enjoy!

Lamb Chops with Mint Salsa

2007-08-26T20:14:00.000-04:00

Alright, so it has been a while since I have posted and I feel especially guilty because I actually came up with this recipe back in April! Thankfully I took good notes and, well, it is pretty strait forward so this recipe should be good. It certainly was fabulous when I made it!

I was aiming for a re-make of the typical lamb and mint jelly combination. Although I can appreciate the fresh mint flavor combined with the heavier tasting lamb, I have never been a fan of the sweetness of the jelly—yuck (sorry momma). So a salsa seemed like the next obvious choice in reaching what I was looking for.

To help increase the freshness aspect, I added lemon juice and zest. The salsa itself wasn’t as potent as what I was looking for, but it actually ended up better that way. There is a lot of salsa, but the abundance of the subtle flavor matches well with the lamb by not overpowering it.

As a side dish I roasted a mixture of potatoes and tomatoes and served them on top of steamed asparagus. That recipe will follow later (baby steps, y’all, baby steps).

The following is the recipe per serving. Don’t be afraid to change the portions of the salsa ingredients to get it to your liking. Lastly, I suggest making the salsa as the lamb chops are marinating.

Mint Salsa

¼ cup fresh mint leaves, minced
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Zest from 1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt, to taste

Mix all ingredients together and set aside.

Lamb Chops

1 tbsp olive oil
4-5 lamb chops, fat removed and placed aside
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper

Marinade lamb chops with olive oil and garlic for at least an hour.
Shake off loose garlic and add desired salt and pepper to lamb chops.
Rub a skillet pan with the fat that is set aside and place over medium high to high heat.
When pan is heated, add lamb chops and turn over several times while cooking. Cook about 15 minutes, until well done. The fat may spit so you may want to use a shield.
Serve lamb chops on a plate and top off with mint salsa.

Enjoy!

Ice Cream Sandwiches

2007-04-08T21:59:00.000-04:00

Need a simple dessert that will make everyone happy? How about home-made ice cream sandwiches? Okay I say home-made when in fact I bought both the cookies and the ice cream, but that is just what made it so darn easy.

If you choose to buy the cookies as I did, I suggest getting them freshly made from a bakery. I also suggest that they be on the chewy side to make it easier to eat with the ice cream.

I would detail how to make them, but I think y’all can figure it out. Enjoy!

Lemon Sole with Spring Risotto and Pesto

2007-04-03T20:21:00.000-04:00

My friend Alison turned 30 over the weekend, which was certainly a cause to celebrate! The official birthday festivities took place on Saturday, but I was quite honored when she asked if I would cook her dinner on Sunday evening for her actual birthday. So what does one make for such an event? Something special yet easy so that I could socialize with Alison and our friend Carrie, who also joined us, while preparing dinner.

I still have risotto on my mind after making my Parmesan Risotto with Leeks and Mushrooms dish. (I also still have a very large bag of Arborio rice—used to make risotto—that needs to be used up!) So I decided to make this a part of my dish and top it off with a fish fillet.

The risotto I made was similar to my Parmesan Risotto with Leeks and Mushrooms dish, except that I replaced the mushrooms with asparagus. This added a Spring flair to the risotto, which was perfect for an April birthday. I also did not include the cream in order to make the risotto less rich.

For the fish, I chose a lemon sole fillet since this fish is light in flavor and would not fight for attention with the risotto. I think tilapia or halibut would also work with this dish for the same reasons.

Meanwhile, I still needed something that would help the dish really pop. So I decided on a pesto to top it off, but didn’t want the conventional basil and pine nut basil. Instead I chose to use watercress due to its bold flavor and walnuts because, well, I like them. I also toasted the walnuts before adding them to the food processor, which really enhanced the flavor.

Okay, so here is the recipe for 3 servings. Note that you can make the pesto ahead of time and set it aside.

Watercress and Toasted Walnut Pesto

½ cup of walnuts halves, lightly toasted
½ clove of garlic
½ cup of watercress leaves
¼ - ½ cup extra virgin olive oil (amount depends on the pesto consistency you desire)
Salt to taste

Add the toasted walnuts and garlic to the food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.
Add watercress and mix until ingredients are pureed.
Slowly add olive oil until the pesto reaches the desired consistency.
Add salt to taste.

Spring Risotto

4 cups chicken broth
1 tsp and 2 tbsp olive oil
15 asparagus stalks, rough ends removed
1 medium leek, chopped and rinsed (remember, you only use the white and light green part of the leek)
¾ cup Arborio rice
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (the green can kind is prohibited!!!)

In a large pot, bring chicken broth to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to the lowest setting to keep broth warm and cover.
While broth is heating up, add 1 tsp of olive oil to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add asparagus stalks and cook until asparagus is bright green. This should take a few minutes.
Remove asparagus and place aside. Cut into 1 inch pieces once cooled.
Now add the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil and the chopped leaks to the large sauté pan. Sauté the leeks until they just begin to brown.
Add the Arborio rice and mix until the rice is glistening with the oil.
Pour in the wine and mix until absorbed.
Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth and mix until the rice again absorbs the liquid and reaches a thick, creamy consistency. Continue this process, pouring only 1/2 cup of broth at a time, until the rice is tender. This should take about 20 minutes. Also note, that the amount of broth needed will vary so you may not use all 4 cups. If you need more liquid, water will be just fine.
Add the parmesan cheese and chopped asparagus and mix together.

Lemon Sole Fish Fillet

2 tbsp olive oil
½ cup flour
3 lemon sole fillets

Lightly oil the fish fillets with about 1 tbsp of olive oil.
Cover fillets with flour and shake excess off (be careful, lemon sole is fragile).
In a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, add remaining tbsp of olive oil. Add fish fillets and cook on both sides until opaque. This will take about 2-3 minutes on each side. (My skillet was too small for all three fillets, so I just cooked them one at a time.)
Place risotto onto serving plate, top with fish fillet, and add a large dollop of pesto.

Hope you enjoy this dish!

Parmesan Risotto with Leeks and Mushrooms

2007-03-25T17:45:00.000-04:00

Having grown up in Alabama, I never really knew what risotto was until I moved to New York. Ever since coming across this Italian staple, this dish has intrigued me—the texture, the flavor, and most of all, the technique for making it. For this last reason, I have always shied away from preparing it myself.

Well, it was time to conquer my fear and try it myself. When learning how to make something new, I resort to the internet. So yesterday I read through about 20 recipes for risotto. In the end, I learned that risotto is not hard to make, but it does require some consistent tending to.

Once I figured out the basic techniques, it was time to figure out what I wanted in my risotto. I was looking for subtle flavors that together would build a strong flavor. Okay…leeks. I love these onion-like vegetables yet I have not cooked with them in quite a while. What else... Cheese, Parmesan to be exact. I wanted the texture to be especially smooth and creamy, and this cheese would help me accomplish this task. Lastly, mushrooms. I wanted to add a meaty substance without using meat so these did the trick. I also decided to cook the risotto with some white wine to add a nice twist.

The final product was quite good, but also very rich. I used ¼ cup of half and half, which I had in my refrigerator and needed to use up. I think the recipe can do without this step if you want to make it less rich. I also used ½ pound of thinly sliced cremini mushrooms, which I think was too much. Therefore, in the recipe below I am lowering the amount and also recommending that you cut the slices into quarters to help the mushrooms blend in better. If you want to use this risotto as a side dish, you might want to eliminate the mushrooms altogether as the leeks and cheese on their own make for a really nice companion to a main dish.

Okay, here is the recipe for about 2-3 main dish servings (5 or 6 side servings):

4 cups chicken broth
4 tbsp olive oil
1 large leek, white and pale green part sliced lengthwise, then chopped across (don’t forget to rinse the chopped pieces)
1/3 lb cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced then quartered
1 cup Arborio rice
¾ cup dry white wine
¾ cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese
¼ cup half and half cream (optional)
Chopped parsley to garnish

In a covered pot, bring chicken broth to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to a low setting.
As broth is heating up, add 2 tbsp olive oil and leeks to a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté leeks until they just begin to brown.
At the same time, in another sauté pan over medium to medium low heat, add remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil and mushrooms. Cook until tender. Once cooked, put mushrooms aside.
When the leeks are ready, add the Arborio rice and mix until the rice is glistening with the olive oil.
Pour wine into the leeks and rice mixture and stir constantly until absorbed (the mixture will be thick and creamy).
Add 1/2 cup of broth and mix until the rice again absorbs the liquid and reaches a thick, creamy consistency. Continue this process, pouring only 1/2 cup of broth at a time, until the rice is tender. This should take about 20 minutes. Also note, that the amount of broth needed will vary so you may not use all 4 cups. If you need more liquid, water will be just fine.
Mix in cheese, cream, and mushrooms.
Serve, garnished with chopped parsley.

Enjoy!

Lemon and Herb Roasted Chicken

2007-03-18T21:00:00.000-04:00

As you can probably tell from my lack of recent posting, I have been incredibly busy the past couple months. However, things are finally beginning to slow down and it is time to get back into the swing of things with my cooking!

I was out of town the past couple of weekends, so this weekend was all about catching up and relaxing. So after a day of chores, how better to end it than with an easy chicken roasted chicken? The key here was finding a recipe that sounded tasty but was also super, super easy (after all, I was trying to minimize my day’s work).

I went to the Food Network’s website, and the most enticing recipe was from Tyler Florence for a Lemon And Herb Roasted Chicken With Baby Potatoes. It was pretty strait forward and required few ingredients. It also sounded like it would create those great, aromatic smells that I expect from roasting a chicken. So I opted for this recipe.

Now you roast chicken purists may snub your nose at this recipe, as it doesn’t require the fancy techniques to crisp the skin to perfection or to make the chicken breasts as moist as possible. However, I think the point of this recipe is producing a great tasting chicken with minimal work—not the world’s most perfect chicken.

Note that the recipe calls for 1 ½ pounds red new potatoes. In memory of my days in London, where Sunday roasts populate every home and pub, I replaced some of the potatoes with parsnips and carrots. If you choose to also do this, keep in mind that the parsnips and carrots will take less time to roast. Therefore, do not add them until about 40 minutes from when you expect the chicken to be done. Also, when you do add them, be sure to mix them with the juices.
Okay, here is Tyler Florence’s recipe from the Food Network:

1 (4 to 5 pound) free-range chicken
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, halved
1/4 bunch each fresh rosemary, thyme, and parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 pounds red new potatoes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Rinse the chicken with cool water, inside and out, then pat it dry with paper towels.
Season the cavity with salt and pepper, and then stuff the lemon, garlic, and herbs inside.
Place the chicken, breast-side up, in a roasting pan. Tie the legs of the chicken together with kitchen twine to help hold its shape.
Toss the potatoes around the chicken. Season the whole thing with a fair amount of salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Roast the chicken and potatoes for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Don't forget to baste the chicken with the drippings and rotate the pan every 20 minutes or so to insure a golden crispy skin.
The chicken is done when an instant-read thermometer says 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest part of the thigh (the legs of the chicken should wiggle easily from the sockets too.)
Remove the chicken to a platter and let stand for 10 minutes, so the juices settle back into the meat before carving. Serve with the roasted potatoes on the side.

Enjoy!

Artichoke Brochette

2007-01-23T19:14:00.000-05:00

My friend, Heather, hosted a New Year’s Eve cocktail party in which she asked me to bring a hors d’oeuvre. I wanted to make something easy, filling, healthy, and just plain good so I decided to make brochette. Not wanting the conventional tomato based brochette, I changed it up a bit by making it artichoke based instead. Plus, how can you ever go wrong with artichoke hearts? So yummy!

Now before I give you the recipe, I want to add that how you prepare the bread can make a big difference. I prepared mine by finding some good, fresh Italian bread that I had sliced by the bread man (save yourself the trouble!). I then brushed the slices with extra virgin olive oil and lightly toasted the slices in the oven. Toasting the slices adds a really nice crunch to compliment the softness of the brochette mixture, and the olive oil adds such a nice buttery flavor.

Okay, here is the recipe for about 15 pieces:

9 oz box of frozen artichoke hearts
3 tbsp white vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp finely chopped shallot
¼ cup chopped parsley
3 plum tomatoes
Salt & pepper, to taste

Thaw the frozen artichoke hearts per the instructions on the box. After thawing, cool the pieces to room temperature by spreading them out on a plate and placing them in the refrigerator. They should reach room temperature in about 20-30 minutes.
In a large bowl, add the vinegar and slowly poor in the olive oil while mixing it.
Mix in the garlic, shallot, and parsley to the dressing.
Slice the plum tomatoes lengthwise and remove the pulp (I choose plum tomatoes for this recipe since they are the most meaty of tomatoes; however, they do still have some pulp that will just water down your brochette). Dice the tomatoes and add them to the bowl.
Take the artichoke hearts and roughly chop them by running a sharp knife through the artichokes. Add them to the bowl.
Add salt and pepper liberally, to taste, and mix everything together.
Serve the brochette mixture on slices of toasted bread (as I described above).

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Caramel Sauce

2006-12-26T15:11:00.000-05:00

For Thanksgiving my friend Heather graciously invited me to spend the holiday with her and her family. Heather’s parents often host a great Thanksgiving feast for all their “orphaned” friends who do not have family in the area. This year’s feast included 26 guests!

To help with the meal, all the guests were asked to bring a dish. (Meanwhile, Heather’s parents smoked three incredibly delicious turkeys.) I was asked to bring a dessert so after much research for just the right recipe, I settled on a pumpkin cheesecake—traditional yet a bit sophisticated. I was also excited to make this recipe as I was able to use my mixer, which usually sits on top of my microwave collecting dust (I hardly bake).

For this dessert I resorted to one of my favorite cookbooks, Frank Stitt’s Southern Table: Recipes and Gracious Traditions from Highlands Bar and Grill. The recipe read really well and looked relatively strait forward. I couldn’t risk making anything that would result in anything but perfect. Sure enough, the final product was fabulous and looked really nice.

I also wanted to add a southern touch to the cheesecake. I associate bourbon with the South (Perhaps from my family trips to Jim Beam’s and Jack Daniels’s distilleries in Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively, growing up? Or the smell of southern college boys' bourbon and cokes at the football games?). So I found a recipe from Bon Appetit (November 2005) for a bourbon caramel pecan sauce to top off the cheesecake. Although the cheesecake did not need this sauce, it was certainly a great addition and was very popular. I also added some extra bourbon just to make sure it had that special kick. This sauce would be great on ice cream or really anything!

So here are the recipes for Frank Stitt’s pumpkin cheesecake and Bon Appetit’s bourbon caramel pecan sauce:

Pumpkin Cheesecake (serves 14)

Crust (see Note 1)

30 Gingersnaps (or 1 ½ cups crumbs)
½ cup pecans, toasted
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling (see Note 2)

Four 8 oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature
4 large eggs (see Note 3)
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ½ cups canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
¼ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon all spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the crust, finely grate the cookies and pecans with the brown sugar in a food processor. Add the melted butter and pulse until incorporated.
Press this mixture into the bottom and 2 ¾ inches up the sides of a 10-inch spring-form pan. Set aside.
For the filling, in the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, combine the cream cheese, eggs, and sugar and beat at medium speed until light and smooth, about 8 minutes.
Transfer ¾ cup of this mixture to a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate to use for the topping.
Add the pumpkin puree, cream, cinnamon, and all spice to the remaining cream cheese mixture and beat until well combined. Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the cheesecake puffs, the top browns, and center moves just a little when jiggled. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Then run a knife between the sides and let cool completely on the rack.
Remove the sides of the pan and set the cheesecake on a serving plate. Cover and refrigerate for at least several hours, or overnight. Before serving, spoon the reserved cream cheese mixture evenly over the top of the cheesecake (see Note 4).

Notes:

I increased the ingredients for the crust by 25% (the measurements above are the original amounts). This increase allowed more mixture to work with to ensure that the crust was thick enough and covered all the surface area of the spring-form pan.
When baking, make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature.
To prevent bits of egg shell from going into your filling mixture, crack the eggs in a separate dish before pouring them into the mixture. This way if any shell ends up in the egg, you can easily pick it out first.
Since I was making the bourbon caramel sauce to top off my cake, I removed the ¾ cup mixture but did not use it on the cake.

Caramel Bourbon Sauce

1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
½ cup whipping cream
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup light corn syrup
½ tsp salt
3 to 4 tbsp bourbon (I used 6 tbsp!)
1 ½ cups pecans, toasted, cooled

Bring sugar, cream, butter, corn syrup, and salt to boil in deep medium saucepan, whisking until sugar dissolves.
Reduce heat to medium; boil 1 minute without stirring. Remove from heat.
Stir in bourbon, then pecans. Cool, stirring occasionally.
Serve over individual sliced pieces of cheesecake.

Enjoy!

Monkfish with Avocado Sauce

2006-11-18T10:21:00.000-05:00

My friend Susan was in California a couple weeks ago and visited an organic farm that grows avocados. As a result she came back to New York with a huge bag filled with this fabulous fruit. Seeing that I love, love, love avocados, when she offered for me to snag one from her bag I gladly accepted!

Now I obviously love guacamole, but I was interested in trying something different with my avocado. Since I am a big sauce girl (some say saucy, too), I decided to make an avocado sauce. I figured it would go really well with either chicken or seafood. Seeing that I haven’t cooked seafood in a while, I opted for this choice.

When choosing a fish to accompany the avocado sauce, I wanted a white fish that would let the sauce shine. After perusing the fish counter at my market, I decided on the monkfish. If you are not familiar with monkfish, it is very similar in texture to lobster. In fact it is often referred to as “poor man’s lobster”. Seeing that I love lobster but my budget doesn’t let me dine on it nightly, this fish was the perfect fit. I think tilapia and cod would also work well for this recipe (though note that the method of cooking these other fish would differ).

One last thing, this is a super easy recipe that is difficult to mess-up. So if you are looking for a fool proof yet gourmet-like dish to make, this is a perfect choice.

So here you go (per serving):

Fish

1 Monkfish filet
1 tsp Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Rub olive oil onto monkfish filet. Top off with salt and pepper.
Place the filet onto a sheet of tin foil and loosely wrap (like a package). Then move wrapped fish onto a baking sheet.
Bake in oven 10 minutes per inch of thickness.

Sauce

½ cup Haas avocado
Juice from ½ lemon
2 tbsp Sour cream
2 tbsp Milk
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp Chopped red onion
1 tbsp Chopped parsley (optional)

In a large bowl mix the avocado, lemon juice, sour cream, and milk until fully pureed. (You can use a food processor, but I just used a whisk).
Add salt to taste.
Spoon sauce onto bottom of serving dish. Then top with the cooked monkfish filet. Garnish with the chopped onion and parsley.

Enjoy!

Gorgonzola Cheese and Mushroom Fettuccini

2006-11-13T21:09:00.001-05:00

Sunday night I was looking to make something rich and filling. A couple months ago I came up with this dish and really enjoyed it. So I recreated it tonight, and it was just as I remembered it.

You may have noticed that when I cook with mushrooms, I usually choose cremini mushrooms as I did in this dish. Cremini mushrooms are baby portabellas. Therefore, like portabellas, they are meatier than the white button mushrooms and hence more earthy and tastier.

Remember that when you clean mushrooms you should never wash them under water. They tend to act like sponges and will just soak up the water, which in turn will make them tough. Instead, lightly moisten a dish towel and then just wipe off the mushrooms.

So here is the recipe (per serving):

1 ½ tsp Olive oil
1/2 Shallot, chopped
1 Garlic clove, chopped
1/4 lb Cremini mushrooms, sliced into 1/3 inch pieces
1/2 tsp Flour
1/2 cup Whole milk
1.5 oz Gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup Sliced basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 serving Fettuccini pasta, cooked

Over medium heat in a sauté pan, add olive oil, shallot, garlic, and mushrooms. Cover and cook, mixing periodically, until the mushrooms are cooked through.

Add flour, mix, and cook for a minute (this will “cook off” the raw flour taste).
Add milk and stir—picking up the dried bits on the bottom of the pan. Then add gorgonzola cheese and dissolve it into the milk. (I used a whisk for this stage).
Lightly simmer mixture until it thickens to desired consistency (remember that the sauce will thicken further once it cools down on the pasta).
Add basil and stir until basil has wilted. This will take a minute at most.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
In a serving dish with fettuccini, pour the gorgonzola and mushroom sauce on top of the pasta. Garnish with extra basil.

Enjoy!

Meeting Rachael Ray

2006-11-12T19:39:00.000-05:00

I love New York. Only here (well, and may be LA) can you have a friend casually call you up to see if you want to join him for Rachael Ray’s 1st Anniversary Party for her magazine, Everyday with Rachael Ray. The huge fan that I am, I excitedly accepted!

Y’all may recall from my interview for Myself magazine in Germany that the Food Network played an instrumental role in my cooking, particularly Rachael Ray. Up until a couple years ago, I really knew nothing about cooking and was actually quite frightened of it. I began watching the Food Network and discovered the bright-eyed Rachael Ray. I originally began watching her just because I loved her personality and just wanted to hang out with her, but soon I also saw that she made everything look so easy and the fear of cooking slowly faded away. With time I became an avid cook and now even write a food blog! So you can understand why I was so excited to go to her party!

As you can imagine, she had a swarm of people following her through out the night so it never occurred to me to go up to her. However, towards the end of the evening the crowd was lightening up around her and my friend Erik convinced me to say hello. Now, living in New York we see celebrities all the time so it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. However, as I stood there waiting to get her attention my nerves were growing exponentially per minute!

Finally she turned towards me and in my dorky, quivering voice I said that I wanted to introduce myself to her and then went on to explain the influence she had in my cooking. I then added that I now write a food blog, and with this she got so excited—genuinely excited. In fact, she asked for a pen and wrote down the address! Of course my nerves were still going strong so I unfortunately missed half of what she said, but I was really impressed by how nice and sincere she was. I found that in person she is just like how she is on TV.

A lot of the people at the event were also commenting on how amazing it was that she was actually talking to everyone who approached her through out the evening. Apparently at these types of events when a celebrity is being featured, the celebrity keeps a “wall” up between themselves and the guests. I was certainly impressed.

So that was the highlight of my week!

Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potato Sauce

2006-10-18T19:56:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday in New York was a gorgeous Fall day that made me crave a good, hearty Fall-like dish. Tis the season for root vegetables, so I decided to make a dish utilizing sweet potatoes. Better yet, I wanted to roast them so that they would develop that great caramelized flavor. Mmm…mixed with some olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper…it does not get much better than that!

As my head was brimming with all this yummy goodness, I was intrigued to take the potatoes a step further. I had some fresh pasta in my fridge that I needed to use up so I came up with the idea to puree the roasted sweet potatoes and serve them as a sauce with the pasta. (I get most my recipe ideas by simply deciding how to use up items in my fridge.) Okay now I was getting somewhere. As I later wandered the isles of my market (don’t you all do that for fun?) it striked me that a roasted chicken breast would be a better accompaniment to satisfy my yearning for a hearty, Fall-like dish. So a chicken breast with the roasted sweet potato sauce it was!

So here is the recipe for 4 servings. As a pre-warning, you will need a food processor for this recipe.

Chicken

Olive oil
4 Chicken breasts with skin and on the bone
Coarse salt and pepper

Heat oven to 450 degrees.
Place an oven safe fry pan over medium high heat and lightly coat the bottom with olive oil. Add chicken breasts to the pan, skin side down, and cook for 5-6 minutes until skin is lightly browned.
Flip chicken breasts over and move pan to oven. Cook chicken breasts through until juices run clear when pierced. (I had a large chicken breast, which took 25 minutes to cook through. My handy-dandy thermometer made knowing when it was done quite easy!)

Roasted Sweet Potato Sauce

1 lb Sweet potato, skinned and cut into centimeter cubes
2 tsp and 1 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp Thyme (plus some for garnishing)
1 ¾ cups Whole milk (measurement will vary) (See Note 1)
¼ tsp Freshly grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
40 Roasted pecan halves, quartered (See Note 2)

Heat oven to 450 degrees.
On a roasting pan add potatoes and mix with 2 tsp olive oil and thyme.
Place potatoes in oven and let roast until lightly browned. This will take approximately 40 minutes. Toss potatoes a couple times while roasting.
Once potatoes are cooked, remove about a fifth of them and put them aside. Place remaining potatoes into a food processor.
Add 1 tbsp olive and 1 cup of milk to potatoes and puree. Keep adding additional milk and pureeing until the mixture reaches a thick sauce consistency. The total amount of milk will be about 1 ¾ cups, but this will vary depending on the amount of potatoes and how much they roasted (roasting removes moisture from the food).
Add nutmeg, as well as, salt and pepper to taste.
Pour sauce into a small sauce pan over medium low heat. Stirring frequently, heat sauce thoroughly.
Spoon a generous amount of sauce onto the serving plates, covering the bottoms. Now place the chicken breasts onto the plates and top with the cubed potatoes that were set aside. Follow this by sprinkling the roasted pecans onto the chicken, and top off with fresh thyme.

Enjoy!

Notes:

As I was making this sauce I began pureeing the potatoes with heavy cream, which I quickly found was going to make the sauce way too rich given the amount of liquid required to form a sauce. However, the little that I did end up putting in the potatoes (1/4 cup) did add some extra creaminess than what the whole milk alone would have offered. I do not think you necessarily need heavy cream, but if you do want to add some extra richness to the sauce I do suggest that you combine a little heavy cream with the milk.
I find that the easiest way to roast nuts is stove top. Most people roast nuts in the oven, but this method doesn’t allow you to closely watch them to prevent burning (as you may know, they often go from raw to burnt quite quickly). Therefore, I suggest placing the pecans in a fry pan over medium heat. Toss them frequently until they are lightly browned and then remove them from the heat.

Creamy Polenta with Sautéed Crimini Mushrooms and Pancetta

2006-10-15T18:52:00.000-04:00

This dish is based on one of my favorite gourmet southern dishes. In many of the nice restaurants in the South, you will find a similar dish that involves creamy grits (often baked) served with a white wine reduction sauce and shrimp.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find proper non-instant grits here in New York City. Instead, I had to resort to polenta which was readily available in my market (owned by two Italian brothers).

Grits (also known as hominy) and polenta are essentially the same thing, but polenta is ground more finely. Corn meal also fits into this picture with a ground corn that lies between that of polenta and grits. I’m sure there are some of you food snobs getting upset with me as there is probably more of a distinction than this (for example, the process of preparing the kernels), but for simplicity sake this is the difference.

In my attempt to make more non-seafood dishes (you may notice that my drop-down box for seafood recipes far exceeds that of any other category), I opted to make this meal with cremini mushrooms in lieu of shrimp. Plus I was aiming for a heartier dish so the cremini mushrooms just made sense. To add a nice warm flavor, I included a good portion of pancetta. Slowly my southern dish was transforming into an Italian one (both polenta and pancetta are Italian staples).

To help off-set the heaviness of the cremini mushrooms and pancetta, I made a white wine reduction sauce and added lemon juice. I also seasoned the mushroom/pancetta mixture with thyme, which is a great woodsy yet lemony herb. The combination of all these flavors made for a great meal filled with lots of bold, hearty flavors.

We had this dish as an entrée, but you could also serve it in smaller portions as an appetizer. It is relatively rich so I’d suggest that you compliment this dish with a light appetizer (or entrée, if that applies), such as my Simple Tomato and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese.

So here is the recipe for 3-4 servings. Note that since I was hosting friends, I wasn’t paying too much attention to the amounts of each ingredient that I added. Therefore, the recipe below is really just my best estimate of measurements. In either case, the portions don’t matter too much anyway, so just use this recipe as a guide and go with what seems best to you.

Polenta

1 cup Water
2 cups Chicken Stock
1 cup Polenta
1 cup Milk
6 tbsp Butter
3 oz. Parmesan cheese, freshly grated (do not use the green bottle stuff)
Salt and pepper

In a pot, bring water and chicken stock to a boil.
Gradually add polenta and return mixture to a boil stirring frequently.
Bring heat down to a low setting and simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes. As it is simmering, add ½ cup of milk. Once incorporated, add second ½ cup of milk and stir.
Mix in butter and then the parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mushrooms and Pancetta with White Wine Reduction Sauce

3 tbsp Olive oil
1 large Shallot, chopped
6 oz. Pancetta, coarsely chopped
1 lb Cremini mushrooms, sliced into ¼ inch wide pieces
1 tbsp Fresh thyme (or ½ tbsp dried thyme)
3/4 cup White wine
1/3 cup Heavy cream
2 tbsp Butter
Juice from ½ lemon (do not use the bottled juice—that’s gross)

In a large sauté pan over medium heat add olive oil and chopped shallot. Sauté for a minute.
Add pancetta and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until the “juices” (code for fat) from the pancetta begin to run.
Mix in the mushrooms and thyme, then cover the pan and cook until the mushrooms are cooked through. You will need to mix them periodically.
As the mushrooms are cooking, place a separate fry pan over medium high heat. Add white wine and reduce by half. Then add the heavy cream and bring to a simmer for a few minutes. As simmering, mix in butter. Remove from heat and add lemon juice.
Place portions of polenta into serving dishes. Top with servings of sauce and cap off with mushroom and pancetta mixture. Garnish with fresh thyme.

Enjoy!

Simple Tomato and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese

2006-10-05T15:01:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I entered my fourth decade in life. To appropriately honor this 30th birthday, I took the day off work (as well as the remainder of this week!) to truly treat myself. Like a true New Yorker, I began my day with a bagel and cream cheese accompanied by a frothy latte. Then I was off to the Oasis Day Spa for a Swedish massage, courtesy of my dear friend Laura. Oh the luxury!

Since it was Wednesday, the farmers market was going on in Union Square. So after my spa treatment I meandered down there and roamed the market—one of my favorite things to do in New York. Many of New York’s local farmers set-up their stands here and offer an abundance of seasonal fresh produce.

Since my best friends are taking me out to celebrate my birthday this weekend, I opted to have a couple of them over for a simple dinner last night. I already knew what I wanted to serve for the main dish but was undecided about the starter. So I leisurely roamed the market scouting out the options. I wanted to serve something simple to make so that I wouldn’t have to spend too much time in the “kitchen” (I put “kitchen” in quotes because I more so have a kitchen nook), but at the same time elegant and special.

I have lately been really into tomatoes—so sweet, refreshing, and healthy. So I opted for a salad that would focus on these veggies. I chose heirloom tomatoes, which I believe are the tastiest of the tomato varieties. These awkward looking tomatoes are certainly tastier than the ordinary beef steak ones! I also opted for a variety of colors and sizes to make the salad especially pretty.

I wanted to pair the tomatoes with a leafy green so I chose arugula. This peppery leaf was the perfect contrast to the sweet taste of the tomatoes. I also wanted to add a third texture and flavor to the salad so after visiting the leaf guy, I walked over to the goat cheese lady. Here I bought a garlic and herb goat cheese log to top the salad and to also serve with crackers prior to the meal. Yum! The nice goat cheese lady also introduced me to a goat’s milk brie, which I also had to get. It was just too yummy looking to pass up, and I am a cheese slut afterall.

I was still yearning for something extra, so I continued to meander and found a farmer selling a wide variety of fresh herbs. Amongst his selection was an assortment of basil. In one of my food magazines I remember them explaining all the types of basil. I was particularly intrigued by purple basil, which I had never even heard of. This farmer had it so I was sold and chose this as my final ingredient to my salad. This variety of basil is a bit stronger in taste than the regular sweet basil, and the rich color was the perfect contrast to my salad.

After stopping by a lovely sidewalk cafe for some white wine and oysters, I finally made it home and prepared my special salad. The final product was simply perfect—easy to put together, aesthetically pleasing, and extremely flavorful. Here is the gist of the “recipe” (per serving):

Handful of arugula leaves
Variety of tomato slices—large/small, red/yellow
Dash of diced shallot
5 dabs of goat cheese
1 tsp of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp sliced basil (purple if you can find it)
Coarse salt and pepper

Lay a bed of arugula leaves on a small plate.
Spread a layer of the tomato slices on top of the arugula.
Sprinkle shallot pieces over the tomatoes, followed by the goat cheese dabs.
Pour the balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil over the salad.
Garnish with sliced basil
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Check-in later for my post about my entree dish (creamy polenta served with sautéed mushrooms, pancetta, and thyme topped off with a white wine reduction cream sauce)…

Roasted Acorn Squash with Chile Vinaigrette

2006-09-27T21:15:00.000-04:00

Wow, look at me—a second post in one week’s time! You’d think we were back in the past when I was posting 2-3 times a week. Generally I prefer posting my own creations, but I have either been too busy or too tired to focus on them. So I guess I will have to resort to the recipes found in my eight—yes 8—food magazine subscriptions!

Tonight I made a fabulous veggie recipe that I found in my Gourmet magazine for acorn squash. This peeked my interest because a) acorn squash is such a Fall vegetable and hence a great way to welcome to new season, b) how can you go wrong with adding flavors like lime, garlic, cilantro, and hot red chile to a dish?, and c) talk about an easy recipe—perfect seeing that my job has been kicking my ass this week and all I want to do is relax when I get home.

Since I was making this dish for one, I used only one acorn squash (the recipe called for two) which was more than plenty to feed me as my main dish (it was a wopping 2 pounder!). However, y’all know that I don’t think you can ever have too much sauce so I didn’t half that. Now you purists might think that essentially doubling the vinaigrette takes away the taste of the squash but I didn’t care—the vinaigrette was awesome. So for you non-purists, I amended the recipe below by increasing the dressing proportions (about 50%).

One last thing, the acorn squash was a bitch to cut through. Please be sure to use a good, strong, sharp knife. Even then, please be careful! My knife rocks, but I still had difficulty getting through that bugger.

So here you go—the recipe adapted from Gourmet magazine (serves 4):

1 (1 ½ to 1 ¾ lb) Acorn squash
½ tsp Black pepper
1 ¼ tsp Salt
8 tbsp Olive oil
1 ½ Garlic cloves
2 ½ tbsp Fresh lime juice
2-3 tsp Finely chopped fresh hot red chile, including seeds (See Note 1)
3 tbsp Chopped fresh cilantro

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Halve squash lengthwise, then cut off and discard stem ends. Scoop out seeds (you can later roast them for a snack!) and cut squash lengthwise into ¾ inch-wide wedges.
Toss squash with black pepper, ¾ teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a bowl.
Arrange cut sides down in 2 large shallow baking pans. Roast squash, switching position of pans halfway through roasting, until squash is tender and undersides of wedges are golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.
While squash roasts, mince garlic and mash to a paste with remaining ½ teaspoon salt. (See Note 2)
Transfer paste to a small bowl and whisk in lime juice, chile (to taste), cilantro, and remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil until combined.
Transfer squash, browned sides up, to a platter and drizzle with vinaigrette.

If you are interested in seeing other healthy recipes, you can check out Sweetnick's food blog for her "ARF/5-a-day Tuesdays."

Enjoy!

Notes:

My market did not have hot red chile peppers so I opted for a red cherry chili, which also worked well.
The salt is important here because it acts as a grinder for the minced garlic. Simply take the wide side of your knife and place it on top of the garlic and salt mixture. Then, with downward pressure, pull the knife towards you (like a putty knife). Do this a handful of times until the garlic turns into a paste.

Shrimp in Mustard Sauce

2006-09-25T20:56:00.000-04:00

I recently received this month’s Everyday Food magazine, which included a recipe for shrimp in mustard sauce. It includes Dijon mustard, which I often use when cooking salmon and add to soup broths (trust me, it is good!) but have never tried with shell fish. So I was curious to give this recipe a shot.

The recipe is designed for 4 servings, so I trimmed it down to one. To do this I basically took a fourth of each item with the exception of the sauce ingredients. I find that trimming sauces to one serving does not work so well. When cooking them in decreased portions, they reduce a lot faster and leave less sauce than desired. So I cut these ingredients to a third.

Overall I thought this recipe was fine. I think I could have used less flour thus making the sauce less thick (as shown in the magazine’s picture). I also think I should have used less mustard, which I got a little too excited about. Therefore, the portions I show below take these items into consideration. I think if you make it with the portions shown below, it will be better than how mine came out.

So here you go…the recipe adapted from Everyday Food (per 1 serving):

4 tsp Olive oil (the original recipe calls for butter, so you may prefer that)
1/3 lb Shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails removed
1/3 Clove garlic, minced
2 tsp Shallot minced
1 tsp Flour
1/3 cup Dry white wine
1/3 cup Reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 ½ tsp Dijon mustard
Coarse salt and ground pepper
Cooked white rice, for serving (optional)
Fresh thyme leaves for garnish

In a small skillet over medium heat add half of the olive oil and all of the shrimp and garlic. Sautee until the shrimp is almost cooked through but not all the way. Remove the shrimp and garlic and set aside (the shrimp will finish cooking in a later step).
Add remaining olive oil and shallot to skillet and sauté for a minute or two.
Add the flour and mix it with the oil. Cook for a minute (this rids the raw flour taste).
Add the wine, chicken broth, and mustard and whisk together. Let simmer until the sauce slightly thickens.
Pour sauce through a fine strainer and add back to the skillet (this step, in my opinion, is optional).
Add back shrimp and garlic and finish cooking the shrimp.
Pour onto serving plate and top with fresh thyme.

Enjoy!

Chicken with Watercress Sauce

2006-08-31T20:59:00.000-04:00

I grew up in the lovely city of Birmingham, AL where Frank Stitt was—and still is—the star chef. In fact, this Alabamian won a James Beard Award for the "Best Chef in the Southeast." His best-known restaurant is Highlands Bar and Grill, which serves French food with a southern influence by utilizing ingredients that are indigenous to the area. While growing up, it was such a treat to go here with my family. Today, the first thing my mom does when she learns that I am coming home for a visit is make a reservation at Highlands!

A couple years ago, Frank Stitt blessed us with his first cookbook, Frank Stitt's Southern Table: Recipes and Gracious Traditions from Highlands Bar and Grill. While home for Christmas and dining at his restaurant, my momma bought me his book (signed by him and my favorite waiter, who has been working at Highlands since I was a little girl). Not only are the recipes fabulous, but the cookbook is also a joy to read as it includes a lot about where Frank Stitt acquires his inspiration and finds his ingredients.

A couple weekends ago I had a “me weekend.” Amidst many weekends filled with friends’ weddings, bachelorette parties, and showers; I finally had a weekend to myself. So I took advantage of this time and treated myself to a lovely meal designed by Mr. Stitt. I had a difficult time narrowing down which dish I wanted to make, but ultimately decided upon the Chicken with Watercress Sauce recipe.

I really enjoyed this dish and will certainly make it again. I usually find chicken to be a bit boring, but this was quite tasty and the sauce went very well with it. Making the dish was a little overwhelming at one point as I was trying to organize it all in my head, but afterwards I realized that it is actually not so hard—I am just not used to having to follow someone else’s orders for a recipe! Now that I have made it, from hereon it should be much easier. I do recommend that you have all ingredients prepared before starting the dish.

So here is the recipe (for 4 servings):

1 large Bunch watercress, tough stems removed, blanched in boiling water for 1 minute, and cooled in ice water
1 ½ cups Homemade chicken broth or canned low-sodium broth, boiled to reduce to 1 cup
3 tbsp Unsalted butter
4 Large frenched chicken breasts (See Note 1)
Coarse salt and freshly ground white pepper
8 Large asparagus spears, trimmed, blanched in boiling salted water until just tender, and cooled in ice water
8 Small radishes, trimmed and halved
2 Medium spring onions, quartered and glazed (or sautéed) (See Note 2)
½ cup White wine (See Note 3)
2 tbsp Heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Squeeze watercress lightly to remove excess water. Place it in a blender and puree until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes (you may need to add a little of the reduced chicken broth to facilitate pureeing.) Set aside.
Heat a large heavy ovenproof sauté pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of the butter. Season the chicken with salt and white pepper, add skin side down to the pan, and cook until golden on the first side, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the chicken and place the pan in the oven to finish cooking, 4 to 5 minutes longer. (See Note 4)
While the chicken is cooking, slice the asparagus into halves or thirds, depending on the size, and place in a medium saucepan, along with the radishes and spring onions. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter, season with salt and white pepper, and warm gently; keep warm over very low heat.
Remove the chicken from the pan and place on a rack set over a platter. Pour out any excess fat from the pan, set over high heat, and deglaze with white wine, stirring up the brown bits. Boil until reduced by half. Add the (remaining) chicken broth and reduce by slightly over half. Add the cream and reduce slightly, about 30 seconds. Turn the heat down and swirl in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and watercress puree. Season to taste.
Spoon the sauce onto warm serving plates. Top with the chicken and arrange the asparagus, onions, and radishes around it. Serve immediately.

I ended up making a little extra sauce because, personally, I don’t think you can ever have too much sauce. I also drank a Sauvignon Blanc with this dish, which I think went really well with it (but I am also biased because “Sauvignon” is one of my favorite words to say—“Szechwan” is another favorite).

Enjoy!

Notes:

Frenched chicken breasts are meatier than your normal chicken breasts and have the skin remaining on. They also maintain a little bone on the end, which is really just there for aesthetic purposes from what I can see. Your butcher will know what a “Frenched chicken breast” is and will properly prepare it for you. Frank Stitt notes that a regular chicken breast can also work, but you will need to use less time for cooking it. Personally, though, go with the Frenched style—it looks so much cooler!
He says spring onions here, which normally mean scallions. However, this seemed a bit odd to me because how does one quarter a scallion? And won’t they just get soggy in the sauce? And where are they in his prepared dish picture (trust me, they were not there)? Thinking that this is either a mistake or he is not referring to scallions after all, I used a Vidalia onion. The sweetness of this onion worked well with the dish.
Remember when cooking with wine to always use a wine that you would drink! This is because the flavor will concentrate when cooked.
Okay, so he says that the chicken will cook about 11 minutes. My chicken? It took about 45 minutes! Perhaps my breasts were too big? (I have always wanted to be able to say that.)

Turbot Fillet with Creamed Okra and Corn

2006-08-17T20:48:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago I made this fish dish, which was really yummy and made me feel like I was back at home in Alabama (okra is a very popular vegetable in the South). With a nice glass of white wine, it was the perfect treat. I especially love the tarragon with this as it adds a nice bite to the creaminess of the veggie mixture. As with most my dishes, this was also simple to make.

Although I made this dish with turbot, you can certainly use other types of fish too. Really any white fish, such as tilapia or flounder, should work.

So here is how I made it (per 1 serving):

Fish

1 Turbot fish fillet
2 tbsp Flour
1 tbsp Olive oil

Lightly flour the fish fillet, shaking off any excess flour.
Add olive oil to a skillet over medium heat.
Place fish in skillet. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the fillet, but generally you will want to cook the fillet for a few minutes on each side. When done, the fillet should feel stiff with a slight give.

Creamed Okra and Corn

1 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp Shallot, chopped
1/5 lb Okra, chopped in 1 centimeter pieces
Corn cut off of 1 cob
1 tbsp Tarragon, chopped
3 - 5 tbsp Crème fraiche (depending on how creamy you want it)
Salt and pepper

As the fish is cooking, place a separate small skillet over medium to medium-low heat and add the olive oil and chopped shallot. Sauté until the shallot softens. (Use a larger skillet if making more than one serving.)
Add the okra and cook until the okra is almost cooked through. About 5 minutes.
Add corn and cook for about 2 minutes—enough time to warm up the corn while keeping it crunchy.
Remove skillet from heat and add tarragon and crème fraiche. Mix until the crème fraiche liquefies, creating a nice creamy sauce.
Place the fish fillet on a plate and top with the creamed okra and corn mixture.

Enjoy!

A Spanish Wedding

2006-08-13T20:17:00.001-04:00

My last post about Spain…so sad, but at least it is a good one!

The purpose of my trip to Barcelona was to attend my close friends’, Matt and Raquel, wedding (Matt actually spells his name with one "t", but I think that looks funny so I stick with two). Matt and Raquel live in London, but Raquel’s dad’s side of the family is from Spain (her mom’s side of the family is from Scotland—where she grew-up).

The wedding took place about 30 miles up the coast from Barcelona at a villa overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. As you can imagine, attending this affair was such a treat. Aside from the fact that it was the most beautiful wedding I have ever attended (except, of course, if I attended your wedding then this was the second most beautiful wedding I have gone to!), the food was absolutely wonderful. I also appreciated seeing how the cuisine is incorporated into Spanish weddings.

The ceremony took place in the late afternoon under a canopy of trees overlooking the sea. Following the ceremony, we were then lead to the patio outside the villa for cocktails and tapas. As you can imagine, the tapas was absolutely wonderful. For starters, check out this leg of meat:

How cool is this? This is Serrano ham, which is very similar to Prosciutto in that they are both dry-cured hams (basically Serrano is Spain's version of this Italian ham).

Served near the ham was tomato bread. This is a very common way of serving bread in Spain. The Spaniards take raw garlic and rub it against the bread’s surface to pull out the oils. They then follow the garlic with tomato, which they also rub into the bread. The final product is somewhat similar to brochette but with only the essence of the tomato and garlic. Quite lovely.

I also treated myself to a nice, large plate of other items:

Beginning at the top:

That is a slice of Manchego cheese, which is a semi-firm sheep's milk cheese made in the La Mancha region in Spain. Its taste is slightly salty and creamy.
To the right of that is a slice of bread with tomato and garlic, as described above.
The next item is very fresh smoked salmon—so good!
The next item is a mussel salad. You may recall from my earlier Barcelona posts that this region is well-known for its seafood. This salad was one of my favorite of the tapas dishes as it was very fresh.
Next to the mussels are shrimp that have been broiled with seasonings. Shrimp is often common at weddings, but the seasonings used with the shrimp made these especially stand out.
In the center of my dish is a slice of brie cheese topped with quince jelly, which Raquel explains is commonly served with cheese in Spain. Quince is a fruit that is related to apples and pears. In its raw form it is too hard and sour to eat, but in its cooked form it can be used in jellies and preserves.
Above my dish is a bowl of Marcona almonds, which are unique to Spain.

Wow, now these are great cocktail dishes—and you know what? There were actually a lot more tapas dishes than these, but this was all I could fit onto my plate!

After a couple hours of enjoying the gorgeous views and the fabulous tapas and drinks, we then headed into the reception hall for dinner. Our courses and wine pairings were as follows:

Warm bite of shrimps and prawns with caramelized onion and black olive paste
White Wine Penedes Vina Sol de Torres

Beef loin in its own juice with Mascarpone cheese and pine nuts ball garnish
Red Wine Rioja Marques de Caceres Crianza

Apple with lemon sorbet
Cava Brut Reserva Oro de Cavas Hill

Wedding cake
Cava Brut Reserva Oro de Cavas Hill

Petit fours (served with coffee, a selection of liqueurs, and—I kid you not—cigarette packs)

Between each course, the Spaniards (followed by non-Spaniards) would take their napkins and swing them above their heads to welcome the next dish. How exciting is it to be around people who celebrate food so much?!

When it was time for the wedding cake to be brought out, the lights were turned off and the music went crazy. The cake was then wheeled out covered with firecracker sparklers. It was quite the scene and totally different from how we present the cake in the States!

Matt and Raquel—thank you for letting me post about the food at your beautiful wedding! I do not usually like to post about meals that I am being treated to for I do not want the hosts to feel self conscience about my presence. However, it is rare that I have the opportunity to attend a foreign wedding and I wanted to share my experience.

So I hope you enjoyed my Spanish series of posts! I had a fabulous time in Barcelona, and definitely recommend it as a destination.

La Boqueria market – Barcelona, Spain

2006-07-30T11:07:00.000-04:00

Now most people who visit Barcelona probably make their first stop Park Guell, or one of Gaudi’s other numerous creations in this great city. Me? My first stop was La Boqueria, a fabulous food market located right off of Las Ramblas.

La Boqueria, officially named Mercat Sant Josep, is a bustling market that has been in existence since the early 1800’s. This extremely colorful spot is filled with fruits, vegetables, assorted nuts, dairy products, meats, and seafood. There are also a few places within the market where you can grab a bite to eat.

I just loved this place. In fact, I re-visited it three times! It possesses such a great energy with all the locals and tourists meandering around it and making their orders. I also saw a lot of new fruits that I had never seen before. So I loved walking around and exploring this market. I definitely recommend stopping by here if you are ever in Barcelona.

Here are some pictures:

Baby Octopus in Tomato Sauce

2006-07-23T20:02:00.000-04:00

After eating at Can Ganassa in Barcelona where I had a baby octopus in tomato sauce dish, I became obsessed with recreating the dish at home. Not to mention, what a great way to “re-visit” Spain while sitting in my New York City apartment?!

This octopus dish was just so amazing. The tomato sauce was what truly made it as it was so simple and fresh yet bold with flavor. The baby octopus was the perfect accompaniment because its subtle taste allowed the sauce to shine, and the tentacles helped grasped all that great sauce.

Tina, who ate at the restaurant with me, and I agreed that the tomato sauce included garlic, capers, and anchovies. So this is what I went with for my recreation. I was also sure to use good, crushed tomatoes to ensure the necessary fresh flavor.

Here is how I made it (per serving):

1 tsp Olive oil
2 Anchovies
1 ½ cups Canned crushed tomato (see Note 1)
2 Garlic cloves, sliced
20 Capers, chopped
1/3 lb Baby octopus (See Notes 2 and 3)
½ cup Sherry (or white wine)
Bread, to serve with (optional)

Over low heat in a small pot, add oil and anchovies. As the anchovies heat up, break them with the back of a large spoon. The anchovies will eventually disappear into the oil and develop a nice, nutty flavor (not fishy!).
Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic, capers, and octopus. Cover the pot and let the sauce simmer for about 20 minutes.
Uncover and add sherry. Raise heat to bring the sauce to a rapid simmer for 5 minutes (this is to burn off the alcohol of the sherry).

For a twist, this dish would also be great with kalamata olives and basil.

Enjoy!

Notes:

When choosing your canned tomatoes, be sure to buy the crushed tomatoes. Avoid tomatoes that are canned in a “thick puree” or include seasonings (such as basil). You only want the pure, crushed tomatoes.
If you are unable to find baby octopus (or if it gives you the hibby-jibbies), you can use squid as a substitute. I have made this dish with both octopus and squid, and both options were great. However, I will note that the baby octopus tentacles do a better job with holding all that fabulous sauce.
The baby octopus I bought had already been cleaned, but if yours have not, check out this link to learn how to clean them.

Can Ganassa – Barcelona, Spain

2006-06-20T20:19:00.000-04:00

While in Barcelona, I spent much of my time either in the Barri Gotic area or on the beach. However, on one adventurous day my friend Tina and I walked around Barceloneta, which is the port area just south of Port Olimpica.

Barcelona is known for having great seafood, and within the city Barceloneta is the place to be. This area is packed with restaurants and tapas bars offering a wide range of seafood.

My Rough Guides book suggested eating at Can Ganassa. This unassuming restaurant is located in a little square just off of Passeig De Borbo (the street that runs along the south side of the port area). Walking up to it, I felt a little hesitant because the exterior reminded more of a bar-b-que restaurant that I would find in Alabama rather than a Spanish eatery. However, we were pushed for time (we had to watch England play Paraguay in the World Cup!) so we went with it.

Can Ganassa is a casual restaurant that offers a wide selection of tapas, as well as, entrée dishes. Also like most other Spanish restaurants, it also offers a menu del dia (“menu of the day” which affords you a three course meal for a very reasonable price). On this occasion, Tina and I opted for a selection of tapas.

We asked the waiter for his recommendations, and as a result we ended up ordering everything he suggested. We received baby octopus in tomato sauce, fried calamari, grilled green peppers with sea salt, and fried potatoes with cream sauce.

The baby octopus in the tomato sauce was me and Tina’s favorite. The tomato sauce was very flavorful having been simmered with garlic, capers, and anchovies. Now, the idea of baby octopus may be a bit weird for some of you, but it tastes just like squid. Also, the tentacles held the sauce really well so that every bite included that fabulous flavor.

The fried calamari was similar to what I find here in New York, but the pieces were gigantic. Tina and I were also interested to see that the fried calamari was not served with marinara sauce like what you find in the States. (I am soooo sorry for the black and white photos, my camera switched to this setting without me realizing it).

I must admit that I was not excited for the grilled green peppers, but this dish ended up being really good! The peppers were grilled and marinated in olive oil, then topped off with sea salt. Remember my post about Salt? This dish was a great example of when to use the chunkier sea salt. Each bite included a few granules of this salt, which afforded a nice, bold salt flavor to compliment the subtler taste of the pepper.

Lastly, we had the fried potatoes that were served with a crème sauce that I believe was seasoned with paprika. As simple as this dish was, it was a nice accompaniment to the other dishes.

Tina and I both agreed that Can Ganassa was an excellent stop for lunch. The dishes were fabulous and, although there were a few tourists, the crowd was primarily local—always a good sign.

Enjoy!

Can Ganassa, Pl. de Barceloneta 4-6, Phone: 932 216 739

Mamacafe – Barcelona, Spain

2006-06-18T10:55:00.000-04:00

Hola! I recently returned from a fabulous trip to Barcelona, Spain. If you have not already been there, I definitely recommend that you visit it. The city is absolutely beautiful, and to make it even better, Barcelona sits right on the Mediterranean Sea so you can hang out at the beach as well.

The first half of my trip I was on my own. So what does a girl do when on her own in a city like Barcelona? Treat myself to a lovely meal at a place where I can just linger for hours.

For this part of the trip, I was staying on Las Ramblas, so I wanted a restaurant that was located in the Barri Gotic or El Raval areas (the neighborhoods just east and west of this main street). My handy-dandy Rough Guides book (I never travel without one of these) suggested the restaurant, Mamacafe; which was conveniently located a few blocks west of my hotel.

Before I start talking about the restaurant, let me explain a couple things. In Spain they eat dinner late—very late. Typically, restaurants serve food 1-4pm and 8-11pm. Although the restaurants begin serving food at 8pm, most Spaniards do not begin filling up the places until at least 9pm. Well, this time schedule was not going to work for Kristin who was quite hungry from her arduous day of meandering the alleys of the Barri Gotic and sunbathing at the beach while sipping sangria. It was tough.

In between these meal times, tapas is the main choice for food. Not so bad. The tapas is just like what you see here in New York, and I assume everywhere else as well. For those of you not familiar with tapas, it is basically little dishes to nibble on. The idea is that you order a selection of tapas dishes to make a complete meal or order a single dish to snack on.

I found that in Spain, the tapas tends to be more of a bar thing, but not a grubby bar thing. I would walk around and pass by nice looking wine bars/cafes that had tapas sitting along the bar counter. It is a lovely way to have a nibble. According to my guide book, and also from what I found walking around, the best tapas bars are in the southern most part of the Barri Gotic, near the port area (but be careful because this area can be a bit sketchy as night).

Evidently each tapas bar has their specialties and the remaining items can sometimes lack in quality. Therefore, the locals tend to go from tapas bar to tapas bar to nibble on the bar’s specialty along with a drink. Things could be worse.

Another interesting note about the Spanish way of dining is that at lunchtime the cafes have the menu del dia option. This is basically a three course menu for a very reasonable price. The menu del dia’s I looked at were typically only about 8 Euros, and these were in the tourist areas. Overall, I found that the food and drinks were very reasonably priced even given the exchange rate (1 Euro = $1.28).

Okay, back to Mamacafe. So like the rest of Spain, Mamacafe did not begin serving their dinner menu until 8pm. I arrived around 6:30-7pm. Although Mamacafe is not a tapas bar, like many other restaurants, they serve a few tapas dishes in between meals. So I sat down at the best table in the house and ordered their specialty tapas dish along with a glass of wine. Here I just lingered enjoying my dish while reading a book.

Their specialty tapas dish is Crunchy Ravioli with Brie and Candied Onion (3.50 Euros). Wow, this was good. The ravioli pastry is made from filo dough, hence the crunchy aspect. As the name suggests, the filo dough is stuffed with brie cheese and caramelized onion. The ravioli is then served along with some tomato puree and very fresh pesto. All together these flavors and textures were excellent. I was in total awe.

Finally 8pm rolled around and the waitress handed out the dinner menus to me and the other American couple who were also not used to eating so late. As I decided upon my evening’s dishes, the waitress brought over some hummus served with toasted baguette slices. The hummus was served traditionally with some olive oil drizzled over it along with a little sprinkle of smoky paprika. I was very pleased with this complimentary dish.

For my appetizer I ordered an Eggplant with Roasted Red Pepper and Candied Onion dish. Again, this dish was really good. On top of the pepper was some sort of a mellow cheese (it reminded me of the cheese you traditionally find in Mexico served on dishes) and vegetable gravy. What really made it so great is the freshness of the ingredients, which is what I had read makes this restaurant so good.

My entrée was a tuna steak with an apple and mango chutney. Drizzled on top was a little soy sauce to add a nice contrast to the sweetness of the chutney. This was not my favorite of the dishes (the ravioli would be my favorite), but I appreciated the combination of the flavors. Also, each of the ingredients were just so fresh.

As for the atmosphere, it is a bit funky-casual. I liked it because it has a nice trendy feel but without an ounce of pretension. The wait staff were all super friendly to this American and never made me feel rushed. They welcome the fact that I was stationing myself at their restaurant for a few hours to relax, read, and treat myself to a nice dinner.

I was also very pleased with the price. Including my tapas dish, complimentary hummus, appetizer, entree, and two glasses of wine, my bill was 33 Euros. Also, in Spain tips tend to be only 5% so that only added about 1.50 Euros to the bill. I was very pleased.

As you can see, I loved this restaurant and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is in Barcelona. Note though that Mamacafe does not serve traditional Spanish food, so do not go here if that is what you are looking for. However, if you want just a really good dinner made with super fresh ingredients, then you should try this restaurant.

Mamacafe, c/del Dr Joaquim Dou 10, 933 012 940

Jamie Oliver’s Pan Seared Scallops with Crispy Bacon and Sage Salad

2006-06-04T20:43:00.000-04:00

This past weekend my friend Gemma hosted our group of friends at her place for the weekend in honor of our friend, Allison, who is sadly moving to San Francisco. Despite the rain, we made it through a Met’s game at Shea Stadium (well, through the 6th inning—it was pretty cold). Then Gemma surprised us with a nice dinner for the evening—just what we were in the mood for! What a great way to spend some time with a friend who is moving, where we can just eat at our leisure and hang out all night talking.

Since the weekend was in honor of Allison, Gemma asked her to choose the menu. Allison’s choice for the entrée was Jamie Oliver’s Pan Seared Scallops with Crispy Bacon and Sage Salad. Evidently Gemma has made this dish for Allison in the past, and it is her favorite.

After we munched on a selection of olives, Italian cheese, and smoked sausage; dinner was served. I can understand why this dish is Allison’s favorite. There are a lot of flavors layered into the salad that compliment one another very well. The salad is also relatively light for a summer meal, yet has a bold, warm flavor.

To make this dish yourself, the following is the recipe (for 4 servings):

12 thin slices of streaky bacon or pancetta
2 tbsp olive oil
8 leaves of fresh sage per person
12 scallops
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
8 heaping tbsp cooked lentils
4 large handfuls of green salad leaves
Olive oil and lemon juice dressing

Fry the bacon or pancetta in a small amount of olive oil in a hot pan.
When the bacon or pancetta is nearly ready, add the sage. The bacon and sage will cook and crisp up at about the same time.
Once they are cooked, take them out of the pan and place them onto some paper towels to drain.
Put the pan back on the heat and, when it is very hot, add a little drizzle of oil and fry the seasoned scallops.
These will take about a minute each side; the skin will go slightly crisp and golden brown.
When both sides of the scallops are cooked, squeeze the lemon juice over the top and give them a stir. This will start to caramelize the outside skin even more.
Take the scallops out of the pan and put them into a dish.
Using the same pan reheat the lentils.
Dress the salad leaves with the olive oil and lemon dressing and divide between 4 plates.
Sprinkle the crispy bacon and the crispy sage leaves over the 4 salad plates. Then place the scallops around the salad.
When your lentils are hot just sprinkle on top.

Enjoy!

Grilled Southwestern Salad with Shrimp

2006-05-28T12:10:00.000-04:00

For Memorial Day weekend, my friends and I spent one evening grillin’. Speaking of grilling, let me use this opportunity to make a very important note—grilling is not the same as bar-b-queing.

Ever since I moved up North, I have noticed that these northern people think throwing some hamburgers on the grill is bar-b-queing. Obviously they have never been to the South where we know what true bar-b-queing is! Contrary to grilling, bar-b-queing generally requires pork ribs (or beef, when in Texas) that have been slowly cooked over a grill allowing the smoke to gradually seep into the meat. Anything else is just grillin’.

Now that we have that cleared up, let’s move onto what we grilled up. Most of our friends grilled hamburgers. Carrie prepared the hamburgers by mixing the meat with finely chopped onions, worcestershire sauce (can any of you pronounce this sauce?), and salt. They looked great!

Alison and I opted for a grilled southwestern salad with shrimp. Aside from having to spend some time chopping, this is a very simple dish and a nice deviation from the normal grilling food. Bobby Flay would be proud.

Before I share the recipe, I should point out that when grilling shrimp, you need to place the shrimp on kebab sticks. Otherwise, the shrimp would just fall through the grill. If the kebab sticks you are using are made of wood, make sure you first soak the sticks in water to prevent them from burning—or worse, catching on fire. That would be a bummer.

Okay, here is how I made this meal (for about 4 servings):

Grilled Southwestern Salad

2 large tomatoes, diced
½ large red onion, diced
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
4 ears of corn
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix first five ingredients in a large bowl.
Grill corn until grill marks appear. Cut corn kernels off the cob and add to the bowl. Note that the cobs will be very hot. I used a napkin when holding the top of the cob to cut the kernels off.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled Shrimp

1 ½ lb shrimp, peeled
Cumin (you can also use cayenne pepper or paprika)
Pepper

Place shrimp onto kebabs.
Sprinkle a little cumin and pepper over shrimp on both sides.
Place shrimp kabobs on grill and cook through. Remember to not over cook or the shrimp will become tough.

Very easy and very good. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend!

Daily Chocolate - Vergennes, VT

2006-05-23T21:33:00.001-04:00

You know it is time to post when a reader emails you wondering if you are deathly ill since it has been so long since the last post! Okay, okay, I get the idea!

Things in “Kristin world” have been quite hectic with work and summer activities. For instance, this past weekend a couple friends and I drove up to Vermont for a college friend’s wedding (it is the start of that time of year, after all). Our friend, Gus, married such a cute, nice woman at the Basin Harbor Club in the little town of Vergennes.

For those of you not familiar with Vermont, it is just a fabulous state that is hardly touched by the complications and ugliness of city life. And get this New Yorkers—there are stars in Vermont! No, no, not the movie kind—the kind you find in the sky! Oh, and you know how us New Yorkers buy candles to make our apartment smell like fresh air? Get this—in Vermont the fresh air smell comes just by opening the window! (And speaking of windows, here is a picture of the view we had from out lodge’s deck. Beautiful, right?)

Anyway, as you can see I love Vermont. I have been many times before but not in the area we were in this past weekend. Vergennes is located in northern Vermont on Lake Champlain, which is along the Upstate New York boundary (ideally about a 5 hour drive from Manhattan, but realistically with traffic a 7 hour drive).

Before the wedding on Saturday, O’Hara, Christina and I headed into the town to explore Vergennes. As we were walking around, we veered off of Main Street onto Green Street and spotted a darling chocolate shop. Christina exclaimed, “Chocolate!” Needless to say, we stopped by.

Evidently this is a relatively new shop in the town, which opened sometime in the past year. Like many of the trendy chocolate shops in Manhattan, Daily Shop has a unique selection of high-end chocolates. Choices included Black Rum Caramel with Grey Salt, Maple-Chipotle Pecan Cluster, Raspberry Fig Chocolate Pate’, and Lemon-Lavender-Almond White Chocolate. Don’t these all sounds fabulous? Well, they were! (Yes, we ordered all of these.)

Should you be in the Vergennes area, I recommend that you pay Daily Chocolate a visit. The people there are very friendly, and the selection is fabulous. What a nice treat to nimble on as you walk around the little town...

Unfortunately I was unable to find a website for them, but their address is as follows:

Daily Chocolate, 7 Green Street, Vergennes, VT 05491, Phone: (802) 877-0087.

Update: Daily Chocolate now has a website! It is http://www.dailychocolate.net/

Strawberries with Rosemary Balsamic Reduction

2006-05-13T09:30:00.000-04:00

Do you have leftover sauce after making my Scallops with Rosemary Balsamic Reduction? Why don’t you serve it with some strawberries for a quick and yummy dessert?

This sweet yet bold reduction goes well with not only scallops, but is also a great partner with fruit.

All you do is serve some strawberries and drizzle the balsamic reduction over them. This desert will taste as great as it looks!

As a reminder, here is how you can make the reduction (for about 2 servings):

½ cup Balsamic vinegar
1 sprig of Fresh rosemary (about 5-6 inches)

In a small saucepan add balsamic vinegar and bring to a simmer. Once it simmers, turn heat down to low so that the vinegar is just barely simmering. Once the vinegar has reduced by half, it is ready to remove from the stove. Be sure to discard the rosemary sprig.
Let reduction cool, then serve with fruit.

Keep in mind that the slower the vinegar cooks down, the more time the rosemary can release its oils into the reduction. You also want to pick the smallest saucepan you have because the less surface area there is, the slower it will reduce. Furthermore, you need some depth in the vinegar in the pan so that the rosemary can float freely and not burn.

Enjoy!

Scallops with Rosemary Balsamic Reduction

2006-05-09T21:40:00.000-04:00

Sunday evening I was looking for a simple, healthy meal that had some pizzazz, so I decided upon scallops with this balsamic reduction. It was an easy meal to make, yet an elegant treat to end off my weekend properly.

Balsamic vinegar comes from grapes and, when concentrated, is actually quite sweet with a robust flavor. It is a refreshing taste and goes well with seafood. Although I served my balsamic reduction with scallops, you can certainly serve it with just about any other fish. I also added a fresh rosemary sprig to my balsamic vinegar as it was reducing, and this added a wonderful well-rounded flavor to the sauce.

Here is how I made it (for 2 servings—See Note 1):

½ cup Balsamic vinegar
1 sprig of Fresh rosemary (about 5-6 inches)
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 lb of Sea scallops
Parsley to garnish

In a small saucepan add balsamic vinegar and bring to a simmer. Once it simmers, turn heat down to low so that the vinegar is just barely simmering. (See Note 2) Once the vinegar has reduced by half, it is ready. Remove and discard the rosemary sprig.
As the vinegar is reducing, add olive oil in a separate pan over medium heat and let heat for a minute or two.
Add the scallops flat-face down. Cook equally on each side until the scallops are opaque. This should take about 5-8 minutes.
Serve the scallops on serving dishes and drizzle the balsamic reduction over them. Sprinkle the parsley over the scallops to garnish.

Enjoy!

Notes:

If you make this for 1 serving, do not half the balsamic reduction recipe. If you do, there will not be enough liquid for the rosemary. Just save your leftover reduction and use it on another dish.
Keep in mind that the slower the vinegar cooks down, the more time the rosemary can release its oils into the reduction. You also want to pick the smallest saucepan you have because the less surface area there is, the slower it will reduce. Furthermore, you need some depth in the vinegar in the pan so that the rosemary can float freely and not burn.

Lemon Pasta with Ham

2006-05-06T10:25:00.000-04:00

This is an incredibly easy recipe that has a nice, unique flavor. This recipe of mine emerged from a recipe I saw in Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food. Her recipe, Herbed Spaghetti with Pasta, caught my eye because it called for wheat pasta. I have some leftover wheat pasta from when I made my Pancetta and Sage with Linguini Pasta so I figured this would be a great way to use the rest of it.

Martha’s recipe utilizes butter, but in my attempt to be healthier (i.e., look good for the summer!) I substituted it for olive oil. I also really wanted to emphasis the fresh lemon flavor so I used a lot more lemon zest and juice than what her recipe calls for. Lastly, I included a little thinly sliced ham (apple smoked ham--yum!) to add a nice warm flavor to the dish and provide an extra dimension.

Here is the recipe I used (for four people). If you make this, don’t worry too much about measurements—just go with what tastes right for you:

4 Servings of wheat spaghetti or linguini (about 8 oz, or 4 cups cooked)
1-2 tbsp Olive oil
4 oz Ham, thinly sliced
2 Lemons, zested and juiced
1 ½ cups Parsley, chopped
Salt & pepper

Over high heat, bring a large pot of water to boiling. Add a generous amount of salt to the water and add pasta. Cook until pasta is al dente.
While waiting for water to boil and pasta to cook in step one, add olive oil and ham to a pan over medium heat. Let cook until ham is thoroughly warmed and begins to brown. Set aside.
Once pasta is ready, drain and place pasta back into the pot. Do not rinse! You need the starch to help the lemon juice stick to the pasta.
Mix in the zest and juice from the two lemons, as well as, the parsley.
Add salt & pepper to taste.
Place pasta in serving dishes and sprinkle ham on top. You may also want to add a little parsley on top to garnish.

Enjoy!

Fiery Thai Beef Salad

2006-05-01T20:52:00.000-04:00

My friend Shirley hosted a brunch at her place this past Sunday. I was expecting something pretty low key but Shirley went all out—we even ate off her china! Each of us were responsible for an item, but Shirley nonetheless still made several dishes as well. One of them was a Thai styled beef salad.

Shirley had clipped this recipe from an old Cooking Light magazine—July 1999, to be exact! All these years she kept the recipe and finally used it this past weekend. Shirley noted that she omitted the fresh lemongrass because she couldn't find it and thought it would be too fibrous in the salad. However, she was able to find all the other ingredients very easily.

The outcome? I loved this and will definitely make it myself too. It was very tasty and the cilantro and mint provided with a great, unique flavor.

The recipe, from Cooking Light, is as follows (for 4 servings):

Dressing:

1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 Thai, hot red, or serrano chiles, seeded and minced

Salad:

1 (1-pound) flank steak
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Cooking spray
6 cups torn romaine lettuce
1 3/4 cups quartered cherry tomatoes
1 cup thinly sliced red onion, separated into rings
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons sliced peeled fresh lemon grass

To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients in a bowl; stir well with a whisk.
Prepare grill or broiler.
Sprinkle both sides of steak with salt and pepper. Place steak on a grill rack or broiler pan coated with cooking spray, and cook 6 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut steak diagonally across grain into thin slices; cut each slice into 2-inch pieces.
Combine steak, lettuce, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; add dressing, tossing to coat.

Ginger Beer

2006-04-24T17:42:00.000-04:00

Bon Appetit magazine’s current issue is all about the Caribbean—where to stay, what to do, and of course what to eat. Although reading about the various islands was interesting, I was most interested in reading the various recipes that are traditional to the region.

Amongst all the enticing recipes in my Bon Appetit magazine, I spotted a recipe for a Ginger Beer. How interesting is that? I have always loved ginger beer, so to make it myself using fresh ginger was very exciting (please remember that I am a bit of a food dork—a “forky”, if you will. Ha, ha!).

This recipe does take some time in that you need to start it 24 hours prior to serving; however, overall it was quite easy and simple. The end result? Fabulous! It is such a refreshing, simple drink with a great bite to it. I also think it would be great mixed with vodka to make a ginger martini. Doesn’t that sound great? What a fun drink to serve guests!

So here is the recipe, adapted from Bon Appetit (per 6-8 servings):

6 cups Water
1 lb Fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 2 ½ cups)
1 cup Sugar (brown or white)
Ice
1 Lime, cut into 6-8 wedges

Boil water. As you are waiting for the water to boil, put ginger in a food processor to finely chop it. If you do not have a food processor, just chop the ginger as finely as possible with a knife.
Once water begins to boil, add it to a large bowl. Then add the finely chopped ginger to the bowl and mix it with the water.
Loosely cover the bowl with tin foil. Let this sit at room temperature for 24 hours.
Strain the water/ginger mixture into a pitcher and discard the ginger pulp.
Mix the sugar into the ginger water until it is fully dissolved.
To serve, pour mixture over ice-filled glasses. Garnish glasses with lime wedges.

Bon Appetit suggests that if the drink is too strong, just add club soda. I really think y’all will like this drink—it is a great drink for a summer day!

Salmon with Creamed Leeks

2006-04-22T14:41:00.000-04:00

Ever since I made Martha Stewart’s Chicken and Leeks with Crème Fraiche dish, I have been craving more dishes with leeks. So I came up with this salmon dish to satisfy my leeks craving, and I must say it certainly did the trick! The idea is similar to Martha’s, but the flavors are a bit lighter. I must point out that this is definitely one of my favorite dishes that I have made!

So here is how I made it (per 1 serving):

1 Leek
1 1/2 tbsp Olive oil
1/3 lb Salmon filet
1 Lemon slice
1 Shallot, chopped
1/3 cup White wine
¼ cup Crème fraiche
¼ tsp Lemon zest
Salt and pepper

Turn oven on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Trim the dark green part off of the leeks leaving only the white and light green leaves. Also trim off the other end’s roots. Cut the leek in half length-wise. Then cut width-wise into centimeter-wide pieces. Place these pieces into a colander or strainer and rinse under water to rid all dirt. Shake excess water off of leeks.
Place leeks into an oven proof omelet pan (8” or larger) and toss with 1 tbsp olive oil.
Place pan in oven and roast leeks for about 20 minutes. This may take longer for more than one serving. The leeks are ready once they begin to brown.
As leeks are roasting, place salmon on a tin foil sheet that is large enough to wrap the fish. Rub remaining olive oil onto fish and surrounding tin foil that will touch the fish once wrapped (including underneath the fish). Place the lemon slice on top of the filet and finish it with some salt and pepper. Now loosely wrap the salmon with the tin foil like a package. Place the wrapped salmon in the middle of a baking sheet.
Place salmon in oven and let cook for about 12 minutes. Generally, it should bake 35-40 minutes per pound of fish. When the fish is cooked, carefully un-wrap the tin foil and discard the lemon slice.
The leeks will likely finish roasting around when the fish is finished baking. Once the leeks begin browning, remove them from the oven and place the pan on the stove over medium heat. Add the chopped shallot and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
Add the wine to the leeks and let reduce to half. Then mix in the crème fraiche and lemon zest. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Place the salmon filet on serving dish and top off with the leeks.

Enjoy!

Easter Bunny Gifts

2006-04-16T22:33:00.000-04:00

So, did the Easter Bunny visit you this morning? He visited me! What I love about this special rabbit is that he keeps in tune with what I want to find in my Easter basket each year. This year, he recognized that I now I crave kitchen gadgets so today the Easter Bunny brought me an oven thermometer and meat thermometer. So exciting, right?!

The oven thermometer is made by Taylor and clips securely onto my oven’s rack. Did you know that most ovens are not actually accurate in temperature? I do not bake that often, but when I do, I want to feel confident that the oven’s temperature is correct. Especially since my oven is by no means anything to brag about!

My new meat thermometer is also made by Taylor. It is so cool! Tonight I baked pork tenderloin and it was perfectly cooked to an internal temperature of 170 degrees. No more guessing if the meat is done. No more pulling the meat out of the oven, cutting it, and then determining if it should go back in. I also love my new thermometer because the dial shows the points of beef cooked rare, medium, and well done. This is all so very exciting—thank you, Mr. Easter Bunny!

An Interview with Me

2006-04-13T13:44:00.000-04:00

A couple months ago Sebastian Dickhaut (a German cookbook author living in Munich, Germany) contacted me to see if he could ask me some questions for an article he was writing about the Food Network here in the States. He had read in my Introduction that the Food Network has played a large role in my development as a cook, so it was a perfect match for the interview. After doing a little research to make sure this Sebastian was not a stalker, I gladly accepted!

The article he wrote is appearing in Conde Nast’s magazine, Myself. Unfortunately, Myself magazine is only in Germany, but those of you who can read German and live in the area can find the article in the May issue. As Sebastian explains, Myself is a mixture between Glamour and Vogue (which are two other Conde Nast magazines).

Since most of you will not be able to read the article, I thought you might be interested in reading some of Sebastian’s questions to me and my answers. So here are a few (slightly edited):

How (and why) did you come to FNW? And what hooked you to it for the long run?

I fell into watching the Food Network about a year and a half ago. The Food Network is considered a cable channel, and although I do not have cable, somehow the Food Network miraculously appears on my TV! (This may have something to do with the fact that I sort of steal my TV reception via a cable I found coming into my apartment). Anyway, excited to have this random cable channel appear on my TV, I had to watch it and I instantly got hooked!

I grew up with a mother who is very into food. Trying out restaurants has always been a very big deal with my family, so I grew up in an environment where I was able to try out lots of types of food and learn about them. We have dined at restaurants all over the Eastern part of the states that range from very high-end to little shacks on the side of the road. My mom was very good with teaching me about the quality of food and not being fooled by a fancy atmosphere.

My mother also tried teaching me to cook, but I had absolutely no interest when growing up. Therefore, when I moved into the “real world,” I all of a sudden became really scared of cooking since I had NO idea what I was doing. It just seemed so intimidating! A friend and I started cooking together every Sunday night to get ourselves more comfortable with recipes, but even then I was still terrified—mentally I could not get myself comfortable with cooking.

When I started watching the Food Network, I was hooked on Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals. Rachel Ray, who I believe may be the Food Network’s most popular TV show host, is probably in her early thirties. I instantly liked her as a person—she was someone I would be friends with so I enjoyed just watching her do her thing and listening to what she had to say. Rachel Ray has a great way of making everything look easy, and taking the scare out of the kitchen.

After becoming a fan of Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals, I began watching many of the Food Network’s other shows as well. I became a regular watcher of Paula’s Home Cooking with Paula Dean, Everyday Italian with Giada De Laurentiis, and Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten. By watching these shows in a non-intimidating environment I was able to see that I could do what they were doing. I was also beginning to learn how to think about cooking because the cooks/hosts shared information as they cooked. So I was hooked and have not stopped watching since!

What influence had and has FNW on your cooking?

I pick-up a lot of ideas from watching the Food Network. I am not one who writes down the recipes and actually tries them out. Instead I enjoy seeing the ideas that the cooks have and taking what I like from them to create my own. I also learn lots of great techniques from the shows, which in turn help me feel more comfortable trying them out myself—like working with filo dough, for example.

Anything you would still like to see at FNW?

Me! My dream job is hosting my own show. I think they could use a magazine-like show with a young, sassy host like me. It would be much like my food blog including easy gourmet dishes to make, lessons about various types of foods, creative ideas/suggestions when hosting dinner parties, cool restaurants to try out, etc. Other than that, nothing else jumps out at me as a need for the Food Network.

That is it for questions and answers for now—I don’t want to bore yall! I will probably post more of the interview later.

Storing Parsley

2006-04-11T21:12:00.000-04:00

Are you wondering, “Kristin, why are you photographing boring, old parsley?” Aside from the fact that I think parsley is so underrated (flat leaf parsley, that is), I have been trying to figure out the best way to store this versatile herb.

As y’all may recall from earlier posts, I am a big advocate of using fresh herbs in lieu of the dried kind. They provide a much better flavor and instantly make dishes taste and look better. However, I will not deny that they are more of a nuisance to store. How frustrating is it to bring home fresh herbs, and when you reach for them a few days later, that are wilted or dried out?

With this frustration, I am trying to figure out the best way to store herbs to maximize their life in my refrigerator. Rachael Ray always says to store herbs wrapped in a moist paper towel in a zip-lock bag. Although this method works for some of my herbs with tougher leaves (such as rosemary), my parsley leaves were just getting gross!

So I finally found how to best store my parsley that allows the leaves to breathe yet not dry out. I placed them in a tall glass of water, which I then placed in the refrigerator. See the picture above? That is my parsley after sitting in my refrigerator for two weeks! Unbelievable! I did pick out some yellow leaves before taking the photo, but as you can see, overall the parsley is doing quite well.

This method of storing will also work with other similar herbs such as cilantro and watercress. Also, you might be surprised to see how fast your parsley “drinks” the water so check it every few days to see if you need to add more water. Do not add more than 2-3 inches of water because if the water reaches the leaves, this will just cause them to go bad. Lastly, use a tall glass which will help keep the parsley from tilting (if it tilts too much, the glass will tip over!).

Here’s to long lasting parsley!

Fennel Salad

2006-04-09T12:48:00.000-04:00

As it is now becoming warm out, I have been craving light, summary salads. So when I was in the market and spotted the beautiful fennel, I decided that would make up my next salad.

I actually had never worked with fennel before but see chefs on The Food Network using it all the time. As I recall, these chefs would describe the taste as being similar to licorice, and after having tasted it myself, I definitely agree. Fennel has a very unique and refreshing flavor. It also maintains a nice crunch, which makes for a great salad.

So here is how I made the salad (for either 2 side servings, or 1 entrée serving):

Juice from 1 lemon
Extra virgin olive oil (enough so that the lemon juice to oil ratio is 1:2)
1 Fennel bulb, sliced very thinly (See Note 1)
1 Shallot, diced
3 tbsp Fennel fronds, chopped (See Note 2)
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a bowl add lemon juice. Now slowly pour in the olive oil while whisking to emulsify the dressing.
Add remaining ingredients and toss

Wow that was easy and yet so good and perfect for a warm spring day! Enjoy!

Notes:

You only want to use the bulb portion of the fennel. Some grocery stores, like the one I bought my fennel at, leave the stalks on the fennel. Just cut these off where they attach to the bulb and put aside. Do keep the stalks, though, because we will use the fronds in just a little bit. Now thinly slice the bulb, discarding the tough core.
What? Your fennel didn’t come with the stalks and fronds? You freak! No, no, do not worry. Most markets sell just the fennel bulbs so you are not really a freak. In place of the fronds, I suggest using flat leaf parsley or dill. If you use dill, add about 2 tbsp (1 tbsp or less, if dried).

Bread & Squid Salad

2006-04-05T18:50:00.000-04:00

On Sunday as I was getting ready to meet up with my friend for brunch at Inoteca, I had the Food Network on in the background (generally what my TV is always turned on to!). Boy Meets Grill with Bobby Flay was the show, and I caught him making a salad with grilled tomatoes, bread, and squid mixed with a mint leaf dressing. I did not catch the details, but I knew it was definitely something I wanted to try.

Growing up, my mother (aka, “Momma”) used to make such a great bread salad that was similar to this. Her’s was using bread that was lightly toasted mixed with diced tomatoes, basil, kalamata olives, and balsamic vinaigrette. I loved the simplicity of this salad yet how flavorful it was. The bread pieces would soak all that vinaigrette goodness yet remain slightly crunchy. This mixture of textures was such a refreshing delight, especially on warm days.

Walking home from brunch on such a beautiful Spring day in New York, I knew I had to make this salad as an ode to the start of warmer weather! So I picked up the ingredients that would allow me to make a combination of Bobby Flay’s and Momma’s salads. The result—perfectly yummy!

Here is how I made it for about 2 small servings (measurements can be very flexible):

Salad

8 slices of baguette bread, about 1 centimeter thick
3 tbsp olive oil
5 squids
½ large tomato, diced
½ cup of chopped basil

Dressing

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot, diced

Brush slices of bread with olive oil on both sides, and then place in slices grill pan over medium-high heat. Let grill until lightly toasted with grill marks. If you do not have a grill pan, toasting bread in a toaster or oven will work as well.
As bread is toasting, start making dressing (be sure to keep an eye on the bread, though, to make sure it does not burn!). Mix all dressing ingredients together well. (See Note 1)
When bread is properly grilled (or toasted), start grilling the squid. You only need to cook the squid until it becomes opaque, about a few minutes on each side.
As squid is cooking, cut the bread slices into bite-size pieces.
Once the squid is cooked through, cut the squid width-wise into bite-size pieces.
Toss squid, bread, and the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

This is a great salad—Enjoy!

Notes:

In order to best emulsify the oil and vinegar, first add the vinegar to your bowl. With one hand rapidly whisk the vinegar. While whisking, slowly pour in the oil with the other hand.

Inoteca - New York, NY

2006-04-03T21:32:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my friend Julia called me to go to brunch and insisted that we must go somewhere that we could sit outside (it was New York’s first Spring-like day that actually fell on a weekend). A friend of hers had highly recommended Inoteca so that is what we decided on.

Inoteca is an Italian cafe located in the up and coming Lower East Village on the corner of Rivington and Ludlow Streets. Although the outside seating is limited to the sidewalk, the windows span the façade and open wide allowing those sitting inside the feel of being outside.

We arrived at 2:30 and were told we had a half hour wait—not too bad for a popular place during Sunday brunch time. We were then seated at one of the coveted outside tables, which made Julia especially happy! Our waiter soon greeted us and handed us an array of menus. No kidding, we each had a regular menu plus menus for brunch, wines, and cheeses! We narrowed our search to the brunch menu.

The brunch menu was all in Italian, but rather than being annoyed, I actually liked this aspect. Most items were close enough to the American spelling that I was able to figure them out, and our waiter was very knowledgeable and explained the remaining items. Now, I am by no means an expert of Italian food, but I was definitely under the impression that the menu was quite authentic.

Rather than serve the normal omelets and waffles you find at other cafes for brunch, even if they are Italian, Inoteca’s menu is not at all conventional. The brunch menu included a selection of panini sandwiches such as mortadella and egg ($7), pancetta with fontina cheese and egg ($7), culatello with mozzarella and noci ($9), and basil pesto with egg ($7). It also offered egg porchetta ($10), which is what Julia and I both ordered.
I learned from this meal that porchetta is a roast suckling pork that is stuff with seasonings. This dish served the porchetta on top of a very, very thin slice of toast with a poached egg on top. I really enjoyed it, especially since it is a bit different from the ordinary eggs. With my meal, I also had a freshly squeezed blood orange juice and a latte—both were great.

Julia and I were enjoying our table so much that we wanted to extend our stay by ordering a dessert. I ordered the affogato ($5). This was a glass filled with vanilla gelato topped with a shot of espresso. Just as the waitress explained, it was so simple yet sooo good.

Julia ordered the biscotti with passito. Did you know that traditionally biscotti is actually meant to be dipped in wine? Passito is a sweet wine that biscotti goes with very nicely. I didn’t have a taste of the wine, but I did have a taste of the biscotti, which was very tasty and freshly baked.
Overall, the food was fun and different and also just good. Furthermore, I loved the atmosphere as it reminded me of being in Italy leisurely hanging out at the cafés for hours with out being rushed out. Julia and I took our time and the waiter not once made us feel guilty for doing so.

Since I have been feeling sick, I was not in the mood to drink, but this would be a fabulous place to end your meal with a glass of wine and take advantage of Inoteca’s extensive cheese list. Their wine list was extensive but not overwhelming, and I was very impressed by the variety of cheeses. I can not wait to come back here to take advantage of them!

Oh the luxury of hanging out at an Italian café for the afternoon enjoying a friend’s company while sipping on wine and tasting fabulous cheeses—seriously, can it get any better than that?

Pig and Truffle Dinner by Chef Bradford Thompson at the James Beard House

2006-03-31T22:34:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I made it back to the James Beard House for a Pigs and Truffle dinner by chef Bradford Thompson. Thompson is currently the chef at Mary Elaine’s at the Phoenician hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona. Prior to the Phoenician, Thompson was in New York working for Daniel Boulud—my favorite chef.

Evidently Thompson is one of the premiere chefs of meat. In fact, he takes his meats so seriously that he acquires all his meat from Sylvia and Stephen Pryzant of Four Story Hill Farm in Honesdale, PA. This evening was no exception. In preparation, the Four Story Hill Farm had raised two pigs specifically for this dinner. To accompany the various pork dishes, Thompson also incorporated truffles. How can you go wrong with pork and truffles???

Out of our foursome group attending this dinner, I was of course the first one to arrive—you have to be early to get the best dibs on hors d’oeuvres and who can turn down free flowing champagne! Since I was on my own at this point, I made my way into the kitchen area to watch the chefs in action. Although the kitchen area is open for guests to watch, it does tend to get crowded. I was lucky and found not only a little nook, but a nook that happened to be right next to where Chef Thompson himself was hanging out.

Of course Thompson was sexy (aren’t all chefs?), but he was also really nice. Okay, so I spoke like two sentences with him, but he kindly offered me an hors d’oeuvre before they were handed out to the crowd and then explained to me how I should eat it to fully appreciate the flavors. Okay, so that was really like five sentences we shared. Gosh, I am such a foodie dork!

The following were the hors d’oeuvres and champagne that were served:

Burgundy Snail Croquettes
Pork Consommé Dumplings
Sicilian-Style Rice Balls
Garlicky Sausage and White Bean Purée
Deviled Quail Eggs with Black Truffles
Lobster and Brioche BLTs
Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Rosé Réserve Champagne 1999

Hands down, my favorite was the pork consommé dumplings. Unfortunately there were not many of those and I only had one, but it was extremely flavorful. The dumpling was served in a large serving spoon to ensure that all the juices were captured in that one bite. I also loved the gumminess of the dough with the pork.

When it was time to be seated, we found on our chairs little gift bags! This is not the norm for dinners at the James Beard House, but the Phoenician hotel provided them to encourage us to visit them the next time we are in Scottsdale. I included a picture here of what was included (note that the cat paw comes separately).

After we were settled at our tables, the following dishes and wine pairings were served:

Tasting Plate of Charcuterie
Domaine de Longval Tavel Rosé 2004

Spanish Toro with Warm Truffle Anglaise, Marinated Crudités,
and Pork Rinds
F. E. Trimbach Riesling Cuvée Frédéric Emile 2000

Pizzoccheri Ravioli with Fresh Garlic Sausage, Fontina Valle
d’Aosta, and Sage
Livio Felluga Terre Alte 2003

Walnut-Crusted Pork Loin Schnitzel with Braised Red Cabbage and Porcini
Domaine Bouchard Père & Fils Volnay Caillerets Ancienne Cuvée Carnot 2000

Smoked Confit of Pork Belly and Jowl with Anson Mills Grits and Maple-Glazed Turnips
Château La Nerthe Châteauneuf-du-Pape 2003

Caramelized Apple Napoleon > Fresh Lard Biscuit, Candied Chestnut, and Chestnut Cream
Domaine Dupont Pommeau de Normandie NV

Warm Apple Cider Doughnuts with Black Truffle–Chocolate Sauce

Wow, how lucky was I? And get this—I ate all sorts of parts of the pig and they were actually good! Yes, yours truly ate tongue, ear, jowl, meat from the feet, and I am sure many other parts that I do not know about! The tongue was very mellow in flavor, and since it was sliced so thinly, I was not bothered by the texture that I picture tongue as having.

Of course all the dishes were fabulous. I think my favorites were the ravioli with fresh garlic sausage and the smoke confit of pork belly. Unfortunately, my pork belly was actually overcooked, but it still made my belly happy (ha, ha!).

As explained in my last post about a dinner I had at the James Beard House, the events always end with the chef joining the diners and answering any questions. I love this part! This time I had the guts to take a picture too so you can get a feel of the atmosphere. See what embarrassment I subject myself to for the sake of my beloved readers?!

So all in all, it was a fabulous dinner and, of course, such a treat.

La Palette - New York, NY

2006-03-27T21:58:00.000-05:00

I love living in New York City for a number of reasons, and one of those reasons is the weekly ritual of meeting friends for brunch on the weekends. That is just what New Yorkers do.

This past weekend I met up with friends at La Palette in the West Village (94 Greenwich Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets). This is the type of café that you walk into and already love before you even order. The atmosphere is very quaint with seating for only about 24 people. In the warmer weather, they also have an outdoor patio area to dine in. I have yet to see this area, but you can count on me visiting it this summer!

This café serves French and Brazilian dishes with a focus on crepes. They are also evidently known for their burgers, but since my friends and I love the crepes so much, we have yet to try the burgers.

I ordered the Saumon Fume ($12.95), which is a crepe filled with smoked salmon, swiss cheese, scrambled egg and scallions. The first time I tried this, the smoked salmon was miraculously remained in its original smoked state and did not cook through in the frying process. This past weekend, however, the salmon was fully cooked. It was still good, but I missed the previously crepe I had tasted.

Gemma ordered the Poulet et Pesto crepe ($11.95). This crepe was filled with grilled chicken breast with a creamy pesto sauce. I did not taste Gemma’s crepe, but she loved it and it did look great.

I think the real winner of the crepes was the Pissaladiere ($11.95) that Carrie and Alison ordered. This is filled with goat cheese (how can you go wrong with goat cheese???), roasted onions, kalamata olives, fresh basil and roasted tomatoes. It was fabulous! The kalamata olives provided such a nice burst of flavor with the subtle, creamy taste of the goat cheese. Combined with the onions, basil and tomatoes; it made for a really nice rounded flavor. The next time I go to La Palette I am definitely ordering this crepe.

La Palette also has a second location in Soho at 50 MacDougal Street (Between Houston and Prince). I have not eaten at this location, but I am under the impression that it is the same experience as offered by their West Village location.

Whether you prefer Soho or the West Village, I do definitely recommend trying out this little gem of a café.

Chicken and Leeks with Crème Fraiche

2006-03-25T11:15:00.000-05:00

Wow, this is one of the best chicken dishes I have made in a while—it is even up there with Ina Garten’s Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic! And y’all know I love cooking with crème fraiche—it makes me feel so sophisticated. Plus the use of the hard apple cider combined with the leeks is unbelievably good and also an interesting combination that I had not had before. In fact, this was also the first time I had cooked with leeks—I had no idea what a fabulous ingredient they are!

If you are not familiar with leeks, they are in between a scallion and an onion in flavor and texture. What I loved about them is that they are a bit milder than onions and hold up better in cooking so that you can actually make them as a side dish all on their own. Why do we not cook more with this awesome item?

So here is the recipe adapted from Martha Stewart. The original recipe is for 4 servings, but since I was cooking this dish for just me and my friend, Carrie, the recipe below is how I made it for 2 servings:

Ingredients

2 Chicken breasts on the bone (I swear chicken on the bone is always so much more moist and tastier when cooked)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
2 leeks, white and pale-green parts only, cut crosswise into 3-inch pieces and halved lengthwise, rinsed well (See Note 1)
¾ cup good-quality hard apple cider (See Note 2)
½ tbsp coarsely chopped fresh thyme leaves
¼ rounded cup of crème fraiche

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Melt butter and oil in a large sauté pan (I used my 5 quart sauté pan) or enameled cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat until just bubbling.
Add the chicken pieces, skin sides down; cook, turning once, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer chicken pieces to a plate and remove pot from heat; let cool slightly.
Return pot to medium-low heat, and add leeks. Cook, stirring frequently, until leeks begin to soften and are pale golden, about 3 minutes.
Add hard cider and thyme. Move leeks to edges of pot, and add all the chicken pieces to pot, skin sides down. Arrange leeks over chicken. Cover, and cook 15 minutes (if liquid is bubbling rapidly, reduce heat to low). Turn chicken pieces, and cook until breasts are cooked through, about 5 minutes more.
Transfer the chicken to the serving dishes leaving the juices behind. Remove leeks from pot, and arrange the leeks around the chicken.
Return pot to medium heat. Cook, uncovered, until liquid has reduced by about half (to about 1/2 cup), 8 to 10 minutes. (When I came to this step, the liquid was already cooked down. So I skipped this step and actually had to add a few tablespoons of cider so that there was about ½ cup of liquid in the pan. If you need to add cider like I did, let it cook slightly to rid the alcohol.)
Reduce heat to medium-low. Whisk in the crème fraîche and parsley. Ladle pan sauce over chicken and leeks. Serve immediately.

The final product with be one of the best chicken dishes you have ever eaten—super moist, delicious, and a unique combination of flavors.

Enjoy!

Notes:

Before I made this dish, Carrie warned me that leeks are super dirty. I was a little confused looking at the leeks though because they look perfectly clean. However, Carrie was right—the dirt is all inside the leek within the layers. So be sure you get all the dirt out! I found it was best to first cut the leeks as directed above, separate the pieces’ layers, and then run the leeks’ pieces under water.
As the original recipe notes, you can substitute hard cider with dry white wine, but I do strongly suggest using hard cider if possible. The flavor it gives is just too good! You can find hard cider at your grocery store in the beer section.

Sheesh

2006-03-22T23:04:00.000-05:00

Sheesh, y'all...I have not forgotten about my favorite blog! I hate that I have been so bad about posting the past couple weeks; and don't worry, I am not fading away. I was sick all last week and this week I have been busy catching up. Beginning this weekend, I should be back to normal. So please still check-in because I am not going anywhere!

Thanks to all of you who read my blog because it really does mean a lot to me (and is a great motivation to keep it up!)...

-Kristin

String Beans with Garlic Mustard Vinaigrette

2006-03-19T10:19:00.000-05:00

About two years ago I had a revelation—vegetables can be good! I used to detest anything green. When I was little, my mom would not let me leave the table until I ate all my greens. I would sit there for hours! By the time I finished my last bite, my parents had already cleaned the dishes and were ready for bed. I just hated vegetables, but recently I learned that if I prepare them with the right seasonings, I actually really like them—in fact, I now even crave them.

String beans are one of my favorites. I usually dress them with this garlic mustard vinaigrette that Jamie Oliver suggests in one of his cookbooks. I used too much on my beans pictured above (I made dressing for two servings and used only one serving of beans), but you get the idea. You can also, of course, use this dressing on other vegi’s as well.

Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s recipe, here is how I make my string beans and dressing (for two servings):

2 handfuls of string beans
1 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a pot over high heat, fill 2/3's with water and cover. When the water reaches the boiling point, add beans and cook through (like Jamie Oliver, I like my beans fully cooked and not crunchy—that squeaky sound on my teeth drives my crazy!). The beans are ready when they can bend with ease.
As you are waiting for the water to boil and the beans to cook, add the remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk together.
When beans are cooked, drain and add to bowl and toss with dressing.

Enjoy!

Union Square Farmers Market

2006-03-16T12:28:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not posting in a few days. I have been home sick with some sort of virus topped off with a ear and throat infection. Fun, right? But I do owe y'all a post so I am posting pictures of the Union Square Farmers' Market here in New York City, which I took when I was shopping there last Saturday.

I LOVE this market and do want to spend more time talking about it in a later post. Until then, enjoy the pictures!

Pancetta and Sage with Linguini Pasta

2006-03-12T14:36:00.000-05:00

My friend, Fiona, came over for dinner last night before we headed off to a party celebrating Michelle Yu and Blossom Kan’s publishing deal for their first novel China Dolls (Michelle explains that the book is Sex and the City meets The Joy Luck Club). This was my first time to cook for Fiona, who recently moved to New York from London, so I wanted to make sure I made something that was really good but also easy so that I could still entertain her as I prepared the meal.

I found in my refrigerator the remaining pancetta leftover from making my Pancetta, Bean and Spinach Soup. I also had some sage leftover from another dish I had made earlier in the week. Since I love the pancetta so much, I wanted to use it in a dish that would allow it shine. So the first thing that came to mind was a pasta dish. Perfectly easy!

So here is how I made it (for two servings):

2 servings of linguini pasta (See Note 1)
1 tbsp salt
1 ½ tbsp butter
1/3 lb pancetta, chopped
1 large shallot, diced
8 fresh sage leaves, sliced
Fresh parmesan cheese to top (I used Parmigiano Reggiano)

In a pot over high heat, fill with water third thirds full. Bring to a boil. Add pasta and salt. Let cook until the pasta is al dente. (Reserve some pasta water for step 3!)
As pasta is cooking, in a small omelet pan over medium low heat add butter. Once melted, add pancetta, shallot, and sage. Cook until pancetta is nice and juicy.
From the pasta pot, take about 1/3 cup of the pasta water and mix it into the sauce. Turn heat up to medium. Let it cook down until the sauce has a good, slightly thick consistency (like a gravy consistency). See picture.
When pasta is finished cooking, drain it and add to serving bowls. Do not rinse the pasta—you want the starch on the pasta surface because this helps the sauce stick to it. Add sauce on top of pasta. (I prefer adding the sauce to the top of the individual servings because if I mixed it with the pasta first, all the pancetta would just fall to the bottom.)
Top with crumbled parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

Notes:

As you can see from the picture, I used whole wheat linguini pasta. I chose it because I am trying to be healthier, but it also has a great flavor that I thought would compliment the strong pancetta paste. Although traditional pasta will also work well, I do think the pancetta and whole wheat pasta make for a good combination of flavors.

Cook’s Illustrated

2006-03-11T12:30:00.000-05:00

Y’all may remember me mentioning in my White Turkey Chili post that I am currently subscribing to seven—yes seven—cooking magazines! I started with three, and then my mom got so excited about my new “food blogging” life that she ordered me four more!

This past week I received the first of my Cook’s Illustrated magazines, which was one of the magazines given to me by my mom. This was my first time to read it, and let me tell y’all, this is a fabulous magazine!

Cook’s Illustrated is a bi-monthly magazine with no ads, and it is a continuation of America's Test Kitchen, as seen on PBS. The magazine I received this week only has about nine or ten recipes, but the difference is that the recipes they provide go into great detail about why they chose to prepare the dish the way they did. In fact, each recipe is actually a mini-article.

The recipes are tested numerous times to ensure that they are providing their readers with the best method. In the process, they share with us how they reached the final preparation. I think to be a truly good cook, you need to have a good understanding of how food works, and so that is why I love this magazine so much.

For example, the first recipe/article I read was how to best make a pepper-crusted filet mignon. The write-up explains the challenges—browning the meat appropriately while it is covered with pepper and keeping the pepper taste from overpowering the meat. It then goes into how the cooks first tried making this dish and the faults with their original methods. They then take us through the entire thought process of the various methods they try until we reach the final preparation that they found was the best.

Cook’s Illustrated also includes some articles about the best kitchen products too use (they can conduct their reviews truthfully since that do not accept ads!), which I found very useful. For example, in this issue they have a review of the best beef broths, small nonstick saucepans, and bakeware dishes that they recommend. In doing so, they also factor in the price which I really appreciate as well.

One thing to note with this magazine is that you will not find all the pretty photographs that you find in other magazines such as Gourmet and Bon Appetit. This magazine is all black and white photos. The focus here is not to make you ooh and awe. They assume you already do that with out the pictures. The focus here is the content.

So if you are looking for a good resource to help you learn more about cooking, I do recommend this magazine!

The James Beard House, Chef Gabriel Kreuther from the Modern

2006-03-08T19:48:00.000-05:00

You know you are a foodie when not only do you know what The James Beard House is, but more so every time you walk near it you have an uncontrollable urge to drop to your knees and begin praising this establishment. Yes, I am a foodie by this definition.

And an even better treat than being in the vicinity of The James Beard House, is actually being a guest at one of their dinners inside. This is where I was last night.

Before I go into my phenomenal experience, let’s discuss what The James Beard House is—shall we? In sum, this beautiful townhouse is the headquarters for The James Beard Foundation, which is the premiere institute for chefs and cooking. They are best known for handing out the annual James Beard Awards, which are the highest honor a chef can receive. This is essentially the Oscar for chefs, if you will. So being a guest at The James Beard House for dinner is a tremendous treat. Now understand why I tend to drop to my knees and praise this place?

The James Beard House hosts chefs throughout the month from all over the country. These premiere chefs are invited to come to the house and cook an extensive meal for the 100 or so guests. Not only is this a great honor for the chefs to do, but it is also a lot of pressure for the chefs to cook an especially fabulous meal knowing that the guests are all pretty serious when it comes to food. Therefore, you know you are getting the best possible meal from this chef—probably even better than what you would get in their own restaurant.

Anyone can make a reservation for The James Beard House; however, members are given the privilege to make reservations prior to the non-members. Therefore, often seats are no longer available for non-members once the event has become public. Lucky for me, my friend Geoff is a member so he is able to reserve us tables for the highly anticipated chefs. Reservations are not cheap, but they are certainly one of the best deals in town. Most the dinners are $100 for members, and $125 for non-members (no tip is given). You will never find this high of a caliber and extensive meal with wine pairings for each course at a restaurant for this price! That’s another reason why I am such a fan of these dinners.

The events begin with hors d’oeuvres and free flowing champagne on the first floor of the house and, when warm, the back patio. The waiters walk around with the trays of fabulous hors d’oeuvres as the sophisticated and elegant crowd of foodies eloquently push each other out of the way to get their bite. Got to love the scene with all food obsessed people!

During this time you can also walk over to the open kitchen and watch the featured chef at work preparing the hors d’oeuvres and the meals that will be served later on. I especially love this aspect of watching the artist at work in making his creation. You can’t get that at most restaurants!

After an hour of the hors d’oeuvres and champagne, it is then time to be seated for dinner. Generally, the meals are five courses with a wine pairing for each. Most people are seated upstairs, which has the feel of a lovely, cozy living room with walls that are a rich orangey red and warm lighting.

The chef at last night’s dinner was the executive chef Gabriel Kreuther from the Modern—the new restaurant that opened along with the renovated Museum of Modern Art. Prior to accepting the invitation to the dinner, I was not familiar with Chef Kreuther. I learned that he is an up and coming chef here in New York City, and New York Magazine has named him “the next Jean-Georges.” Now that is a compliment!

Our menu and wine pairings for the evening was as follows:

Yellowstone River Caviar Beggar’s Purses with Gold Leaf and Lime, Mini Tarts Flambées
Applewood-Smoked Salmon Roulades with Sorrel and Yellowstone River Caviar
Spicy Black Angus Beef Tartare with Quail Eggs
Crispy Shrimp with Lemongrass Dipping Sauce

Paul Goerg Brut Premier Cru Blanc de Blancs

* * *

Apple Terrine with Hibiscus, Roasted Hazelnut Vinaigrette, and Butternut Squash Sorbet
Domaine Marcel Deiss Muscat 2003

Diver Scallop and Veal Sweetbreads with Wild Mushroom Jus, Preserved Lemon, and Pancetta
Nicolas Joly Savennières Clos Sacrés Chenin Blanc 2003

Chorizo-Crusted Chatham Cod with White Coco Bean Purée and Harissa Oil
Donum Pinot Noir 2002

Squab and Foie Gras Croustillant with Carmelized Ginger Jus and Farm Vegetables
Guigal Brune et Blonde 1997

Salted Caramel Parfait with Roasted Mango and Ten Flavors Sorbet
Domiana Malvasia Select 1999

Assorted Petits Fours and Chocolates

All the hors d’oeuvres were fabulous. My favorite was the caviar beggar’s purses because I rarely have the opportunity to eat caviar, but the most complimentary of flavors I thought was the beef tartare with quail eggs. It was served with a small poached quail egg on a very tasty cracker and the egg was framed with a layer of the tartare. Very nice.

The apple terrine with hibiscus was also quite interesting. It was served with butternut squash sorbet, which had such a unique flavor. The wine pairing was sweet, which I usually do not like in a wine, but it complimented this dish perfectly.

I was nervous about the next course, which included sweetbreads! My dad loves sweetbreads, but I have trouble mentally getting my head around the idea of eating them. However, I made my dad proud and ate them with the scallop. It was actually not so bad!

The chorizo-crusted cod followed, which was very good. The chorizo flavor was not as pronounced as I was expecting, but I loved the pairing of it with the white coco bean purée. As you may have noticed from the recipes I have shared with you thus far, I love beans!

Like the sweetbreads dish, I was also a little nervous about the squab and foie gras croustillant. I like pureed foie gras because it reminds me of pâté, which I love. However, this was in its natural form. Nonetheless, I made my father proud again and ate it. Not only did I eat it, but I also loved it with the squab! The foie gras was nestled between two large pieces of squab and this was all wrapped in a flaky pastry. This croustillant was then sitting on a bed of thinly sliced vegetables. This was probably my favorite of the courses. The wine paired with this course was also fabulous.

The last course was the salted caramel parfait with mango and sorbet. The parfait was nice and sweet, and the sorbet had a unique flavor that I could not identify—I love that. Accompanying this course were an assortment of chocolates and other sweets. Geoff claims the macaroons were one of the top three best macaroons he has ever eaten (he then went on to describe the others). I agree, though my experience with macaroons is apparently not as extensive as Geoff’s!

Following the dinner the chef walks upstairs to where the diners are and answers any questions that the guests may have. Unfortunately, I had a difficult time hearing the questions and answers from where we were seated. However, I had experienced one other dinner at The James Beard House, and during this session, I was able to learn about the details of how the chef prepared various courses and hear his thought process for developing his ideas. Now that is cool.

So as you can see, having dinner at The James Beard House is certainly a treat! If you truly appreciate good food, I definitely recommend trying The James Beard House for it provides a whole new dimension to your dining experience that you can not find in any restaurant.

Thanks for the invite, Geoff !

Pancetta, Bean and Spinach Soup

2006-03-06T21:48:00.000-05:00

A friend at work asked me to re-create a pancetta bean soup she loves that is served at a restaurant across the street from the office. She described the soup to me and this is what I came up with. I have not actually tasted the restaurant’s soup myself, so I brought a sampling into work today and I received approval!

I also served this soup last night to my friends who came over to watch the Oscars with me, and they loved it. So this hearty soup is definitely a winner, and better yet, it is also really easy to make! I especially love the pancetta in it, which I think is such a treat.

What exactly is pancetta? In sum, pancetta is Italian bacon. Unlike American bacon, it is not smoked. Instead, pancetta is pork belly that has been cured with salt and spices for about three months. Also, unlike American bacon, pancetta comes in the form of a very large sausage.

So are you now ready to make this really yummy soup? Here is what you need (for 5 servings):

5 tbsp olive oil
4 small onions, diced
1 bay leaf
3 celery sticks, chopped
2/3 lb pancetta
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 tsp fresh thyme
4 cans (19 oz.) of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
32 oz. chicken broth
4 handfuls of fresh spinach, cooked (See note 1)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot or sauté pan (about 5 qt.) over medium heat, add olive oil.
Just start dicing the onion and adding it into the pot as you go. Continue with the rest of the ingredients—cutting, as needed, and adding as you go down the list—up through the thyme. Be sure to stir frequently.
Once the onion and celery become translucent, add the beans. Let cook for a few minutes until the beans are warmed.
Add the chicken broth and turn the heat up to medium high.
Once the broth is heated, discard the bay leaf and then ladle the soup into a food processor and puree fully. This will likely need to be completed in batches and transferred to a second container. It took me three batches in my 11 cup food processor. (See note 2)
Mix in spinach.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Also go to Sweetnicks where on Tuesday March 14 this soup will be posted for the weekly food blogging event! Every Tuesday, food bloggers who made a recipe that includes an ARF (Antioxidant Rich Food), fruit, veggie or any combination of the three can be included in Sweetnicks' ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday evening round-up.

Notes:

I simply cooked my spinach by placing it in a bowl, drizzling it with a little water, covering the bowl with saran wrap, and putting it in the microwave for 1.5 minutes. If you do not have a microwave, then just sauté it with some olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Avoid using frozen spinach because it tends to be chopped and will look messy in your beautiful soup.
Don’t have a food processor? Then just skip this step. The soup will also be great without being pureed. Note that if you do want to puree it, you really do need a food processor. I think it is the only tool that will appropriately puree the pancetta (though I could be underestimating the power of a blender?).

Orangettes

2006-03-05T13:26:00.000-05:00

This weekend is the 3rd Weekend Cookbook Challenge hosted by Alicat from Something So Clever and Sara from i like to cook. The theme is "sweet and savories in the various shades of orange from recipes in our unused cookbooks." Frankly, I do not have any unused cookbooks because I can only fit about five of them in my tiny apartment. Therefore, I only buy cookbooks I know I will use. Instead I found a recipe on the internet, which I rarely resort to for recipes. That somewhat works, right?

Now for my orange something. My sister-in-law's parents adore Leonidas orangettes, and as a result I too am now a huge fan. These are basically candied orange peels that are covered with luxurious Belgium chocolate. When I visit my sister-in-law's parents, we often end the evening sipping kirschwasser while nibbling on these fabulous orangettes, which is such a treat.

I remembered once watching Giada De Laurentiis's Everyday Italian on the Food Network and she made a made similar type of candy. I was so excited to see that I could make these orangettes myself (especially since Leonidas’ orangettes are not exactly cheap)! Now I had the perfect opportunity to try them out.

I found the recipe on the Food Network's website. The recipe did not look too difficult--just time consuming, which it was. I knew that if I took the time to make this, I wanted more candied orange peels than the recipe made so I doubled it (more accurately, I used three navel oranges instead of one, but I only doubled the liquid parts of the recipe).

Here is how I made the orangettes, adapted from Giada De Laurentiis's recipe:

3 large navel oranges
1 ½ cup of sugar
1 cup water
3.5 oz semisweet chocolate bar (I actually ate about a 1/3 of it first, so I only used 2/3 of the bar for the recipe which was enough)

I filled a small pot half-way with water and placed it over high heat.
I took three navel oranges and stripped their peels with a vegetable peeler. The strips I took off were about an inch wide and were the length from the stem end to the navel end. I found that I had to add decent pressure to the vegetable peeler to make sure I peeled the zest off with enough thickness. However, be careful not to take the white part off because it is bitter tasting.
Once the water in the pot was boiling, I added the orange peels and let them boil for a minute. I then poured the peels and water into a strainer and rinsed them under cold water. The recipe calls for you to do this twice, using fresh water each time. I had read elsewhere that this process takes the bitterness out of the peels, so I went ahead and did it three times just to be sure.
After I finished the boiling process, I filled the small pot with 1 cup of water and 1 ½ cups of sugar and stirred this mixture over medium high heat until the sugar was dissolved. I then brought the sugar water to a boil and added the orange peels, turning down the heat to medium low and letting the peels simmer for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, I used tongs to transfer the peels to a dry surface with each peel separately laid out flat. When you remove the peels from the sugar water, be sure to let the sugar water drain off of them. I did not do this, and they never fully dried out. The recipe calls for you to lay the peels on a sheet of parchment paper, which I did not have. Instead I just laid them on a tin foil lined cookie sheet. Be sure to save the sugar water!!! This is the most unbelievable tasting sugar syrup you will ever have! Save it to sweeten coffee, tea, oatmeal, etc.
The recipe calls for you to let the peels dry for 1 hour, but since I did not drain them too well from the sugar syrup they were quite wet. So I let mine sit in the refrigerator overnight.
Once your peels are ready, melt the semisweet chocolate. The recipe suggests you melt it over a double broiler, but I opted for the microwave. I used a Swiss chocolate bar, which I broke into small pieces into a small bowl. I then put the bowl into the microwave for 30 second intervals. My chocolate took two 30 second intervals to melt.
Then dip the peels into the chocolate, about 2/3 the length, and place them onto a flat surface. Again, I used a tin foil lined cookie sheet for this. Although I did let the excess chocolate drip off, I found that when I laid the peels onto their flat surface they were soon sitting in a puddle of chocolate. I did not want my orangettes to have wings! So when I finished dipping all the peels, I then transferred them to a second flat surface leaving the chocolate puddle behind. They were now ready to sit in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to set.

The final product was great! The combination of the semisweet chocolate with the tart orange peel is pure perfection. The part of the peel not covered by the chocolate was still a bit sticky since I did not drain them well enough from the sugar syrup, but otherwise, they were a success. Not to mention, are these not so beautiful? I think these are the perfect treat to end the night with. I hope you do try these.

Yellow Watermelon

2006-03-01T13:07:00.000-05:00

What? Watermelon comes in yellow? Who knew? I was walking through my market when I came across this beautiful fruit. So of course I had to pick it up and bring it home for a tasting!

Before I tasted it, I wanted to first learn about yellow watermelon. Unfortunately, I could not find very much information on the internet! So I guess in the watermelon world, they do not discriminate between yellow and red watermelons. Such a kind group, they are. Therefore, what I found was just about watermelons in general.

Did you know that there is a watermelon organization called the National Watermelon Promotion Board? I looked at their website and learned how to pick the best watermelon. In summary, you do the following:

Look for a watermelon that is symmetrical and has no bruises, cuts or dents.
The watermelon should be heavy for its size since it is primarily made up of water.
The bottom side of the watermelon should have a creamy yellow spot from where the watermelon sat on the ground growing.

Until you cut open your prized watermelon, you should keep it at room temperature. However, once you have cut into it, you should cover it with plastic wrap and keep the melon refrigerated.

Since the folks at the National Watermelon Promotion Board, well, want to promote watermelons, they also suggested some creative ways to use this summer fruit. One suggestion was to freeze watermelon juice into ice cubes and use them in lemonade. As they note, you will want to strain the watermelon juice to get rid of the seeds and excess pulp.

Okay, let’s get back to my yellow watermelon. After hanging out with the watermelon folks on the internet, I was ready to try it out. As expected, the yellow watermelon tasted much like that of a red one, but I swear it was a bit sweater. The tasted also reminded me a little bit of honeydew mellow. I definitely recommend trying it, if anything, because it is just fun to try out new foods.

The next time I buy a yellow watermelon, I want to use it to make a special cocktail drink. I plan to strain the melon for the juices (de-seeding it if necessary—mine I tried was seedless, putting the fruit into a blender or food processor, and then straining) and then mix the yellow juices with vodka to make Yellow Watermelon Martini’s. Doesn’t that sound good?!

Swiss Chard

2006-02-27T20:13:00.000-05:00

So my friend Alison has recently been obsessed with a website that quizzes you on the food you eat and then tells you just how vitamin-deficient you are as a result of your poorly chosen diet. Intrigued, I tried it out myself only to finish the process feeling too malnourished to move from my seat. Okay, so these websites do tend to set the bar pretty high as they are usually created by vegetable-hugging fanatics who think food like cookies are only meant for the devil, but it did make me rush to the produce section my market.

I stood in the produce section looking around for a new vegetable to try. As I was standing here paranoid about my lack of nutrition, the produce guy asked me, “Where are have you been? Hiding? I haven’t seen you here in a while!” Okay, okay, I get the idea. More vegetables, less dinners out. Check.

My eyes then settled on the Swiss chard. I have seen cooking shows prepare this leafy green, but I had yet to try it out myself. Knowing that I love spinach, I thought this would be a good variation to try out—and it is a great source of beta-carotene and dietary fiber! So I gathered a bunch of Swiss chard and headed to the checkout counter.

So what is Swiss chard? Well, this large leafy green grows from a special beet (not the kind you are used to eating, but one that is grown for its leaves). If you don’t like beets (for me, this is one of the few foods I dislike), do not let that deter you from eating this green as it has no beet taste! In fact, Swiss chard tastes a lot like spinach (and no bitter taste!).

The Swiss chard I have here has white stalks, but it also comes with red stalks. You may notice from the pictures that the stalks are quite meaty. When you cook the leaves, you need to cut out the stalks but you can save them to cook separately (you can’t cook them all as one since the stalks will take much longer to cook than the leafy part). I did not try the stalks, but I read that they can be prepared just as you would prepare asparagus. I think it would also be nice to add them chopped back to the cooked leaves to allow for a variety of texture to your Swiss chard dish.

As with most leafy greens, Swiss chard must be thoroughly washed. Since it is grown close to the ground, the leaves tend to hold dirt in their crevices. I washed the Swiss chard leaf by leaf under the running faucet, but everything I read suggested taking a big bowl of water and washing the leaves in this , two or three times if needed.

When it comes to preparing Swiss chard, you can pretty much make it just as you would make spinach. Here is how I prepared it (per 2 side servings):

2 cups water
½ bunch of Swiss chard (about 3-4 large leaves), chopped width-wise into 1 inch thick pieces (don’t forget to remove the stems)
2 tbsp butter
1 garlic clove, minced
½ lemon zest
Salt and pepper

Boil water in a large sauté pan.
Add Swiss chard and cook until wilted.
Drain water.
In a small, separate pan over medium low heat add butter. Once butter is melted, add garlic and lemon zest. Let cook for a minute (this allows the lemon oils to release themselves from the zest, and for the garlic’s flavor to mellow).
Add butter mixture to Swiss chard and mix.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Since I had some Swiss chard leftover, I made it again a couple days later (don’t let your Swiss chard sit in your refrigerator for more than two days). Since boiling Swiss chard causes much of the vitamins to transfer to the water, which only is later thrown out, I decided this time to sauté it.

Here is how I sautéed the Swiss chard (per 2 side servings):

1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
½ lemon zest
½ bunch of Swiss chard (about 3-4 large leaves), chopped width-wise into 1 inch thick pieces (don’t forget to remove the stems)
Salt and pepper

In a sauté pan over medium heat add butter and olive oil.
Once butter has melted, add garlic and lemon zest and let cook for a minute.
Add Swiss chard and cook until wilted.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Overall, I have to admit that I liked the boiled version better—it was smoother tasting. Also the sautéed version left a little film in my mouth, similar to what spinach leaves behind. However, in my quest for earn a higher score on that darn nutrition website I will probably keep to the sautéed version to guarantee my intake of vitamins!

Steak with Crimini Mushrooms and Shallots in a Red Wine Reduction

2006-02-26T10:52:00.000-05:00

I may be in the minority here, but I love staying in on Friday nights. Any other night I love meeting friends for dinner and drinks, but Friday nights are all about me. I come home from work, quickly change into my pj’s, and relax for the evening knowing that I have the entire weekend ahead of me.

When having “me time” it is only logical that I have a nice dinner. I often order in sushi, but sometimes I prefer just cooking myself a really nice meal. So that is what I did this past Friday evening. I prepared a steak served with a red wine reduction sauce that included crimini mushrooms and shallots. It was a lovely dinner.

If you would like to treat yourself too, here is how I made it (per serving):

Steak

2 tbsp olive oil
1 steak filet
Salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
In an oven proof pan over high heat, add olive oil.
As pan is heating, salt and pepper steak.
Once pan is hot, carefully place the steak into the pan—do not move it around (moving it around makes the steak stick and not brown properly). Let steak brown on each side, about 1-2 minutes each side.
Transfer pan to oven. For medium to medium rare, keep in oven about 5-6 minutes.
Once the steak has reached your desired “doneness,” take it out of oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. You need to let the steak sit to allow the juices to re-distribute. If you cut the steak immediately, all the juices would flow out in the first cut and the rest of the steak would be dry. That would be a bummer.

Sauce

3 tbsp olive oil
7 crimini mushrooms, sliced (See Note 1)
1 large shallot, sliced (See Note 2)
½ cup red wine (See Note 3)
½ tsp dried thyme (or 1 tsp fresh thyme)

In a pan over medium heat, add olive oil.
Add mushrooms and shallot slices and cook until mushrooms are cooked thoroughly. Mix often to keep shallots from burning.
Add wine and thyme, and cook until the wine has reduced by half. This should not take long.
Serve sauce poured over steak. Very pretty, isn’t it?

Enjoy your special night!

Notes:

Crimini mushrooms are baby portobello’s. Therefore, like Portobello mushrooms criminis are a bit “meatier” in taste than other mushrooms, which is why I chose them for this dish. When cleaning any mushroom, never wash them in water like other vegetables. Mushrooms are like sponges and they will just soak up the water, causing them to be tough when cooked. Therefore, clean mushrooms by wiping them with a damp cloth.
What is a shallot? Shallots offer a flavor similar to that of sweet onions with a hint of garlic. Although people often assume they are a part of the onion family, they are actually their own species. Shallots are most commonly used in vinaigrettes and sauces.
Keep in mind that when you cook with wine, you are concentrating the flavor. Therefore, always use a wine that you would drink—avoid “cooking wines” found in the grocery store.

The Salt of the Earth

2006-02-23T20:35:00.000-05:00

Okay, so you think you know everything about salt? This most basic of seasonings actually has a lot more to it than meets the eye so don’t be so cocky...

For starters, aside from being a seasoning, salt is essential to our bodies and is one of the most basic components to the earth (remember—the world is 2/3 covered by ocean salt water, after all). When added to food, it not only helps bring out the flavor, but it also draws out the moisture. Furthermore, salt is a natural preservative for foods. And did you know that at one point in time salt was considered so valuable that it was used as currency? So salt is actually quite a versatile and interesting seasoning. Who knew?

So what are the various types of salt, you ask? Well, here is a summary:

Table Salt
This is your most commonly found salt—think salt shakers at the diner, if you will. Table salt is pulled from dried up underground salt deposits left by salt lakes. It does not dissolve as easily as other salts, which makes it taste stronger since it sits on your tongue longer. It also includes additives to help prevent caking in damp weather. These additives cause a harsher taste than that of other salts. Therefore, table salt is best used in cooking and baking where the taste blends in and not as a finishing salt.

Kosher Salt
Kosher salt is basically table salt that has been rolled into “salt flakes.” The shape of the flakes allows for it to better pull moisture out of food such as meats. Furthermore, the greater surface area allows for it to provide a good strong salt flavor without over salting. Kosher salt does not contain additives so the taste is more pure than that of table salt. As a result, this inexpensive salt is best used for both cooking and as a finishing salt. It also tends to be the most widely used salt by chefs.

Sea Salt
A bit chunkier of a salt is sea salt. As you might guess, it is obtained from ocean water deposits that have dried up leaving behind salt crystals. Sea salt tends to be the priciest of the various salts since it is more difficult to obtain. I primarily cook with a cheaper sea salt that is commonly found in the grocery store. However, more expensive gourmet sea salt should only be used sparingly as a finishing salt because its unique taste is lost when used in cooking (there is no need to waste this precious salt if you can’t taste it!).

The following are some various types of sea salts:

Gray Salt (Sel Gris)
If you watch Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello, you most likely have noticed that he is always using gray salt. What is it? Gray salt is found on the Atlantic coast of France. This slightly moist salt gets its light grey color from the clay in the salt flats. Its taste is bold and pure.

Fleur de Sel
This sea salt actually is created from gray salt only when the weather conditions are just right (hence the higher price tag since the supply is not as great). Under these specific conditions the fleur de sel (“flower of salt”) crystals grow from the grey salt. For every 80 pounds of grey salt created, only one pound of fleur de sel is found. For Christmas my mother gave me a bottle of this salt (some people get iPods, I get salt!), and I LOVE it. There is truly a better taste to this salt than that of your normal, everyday salt so I save it for special meals as a finishing salt. Sometimes I dip my finger in it and just have a little taste of the salt on its own (I have also been known to lick the inside of microwave popcorn bags, but whatever). Fleur de sel’s crystals are very delicate, which makes it a delight to taste not only for its flavor but also its texture.

Maldon Sea Salt
This English salt is created by boiling ocean water, which causes pyramid-shaped hollowed crystals that crumble easily between your fingers. This unique shape allows for a delicate, light salt flavor.

So there you go! There is more to salt than you thought, huh?

White Turkey Chili

2006-02-22T21:06:00.000-05:00

This has been a hectic week at work as I am trying to catch up from my days away from the office while dealing with several clients’ deadlines. So when I come home, I am in the mood for something hearty yet easy.

I was looking through one of the seven food magazines I subscribe to (I started with three, but then my mom went a bit overboard subscribing four more for me—you see, she is quite excited that I am following her footsteps with my love of food!), and read a recipe for white turkey chili. This was just what I was in the mood for, so it became my dinner earlier tonight.

My thoughts? I really liked it, and will definitely make it again! This recipe is really quick and easy (it took me about 20-30 minutes to make), healthy, and tasty. It has a more subtle, clean taste than that of regular chili. You should try it!

Here is the recipe I used (per 1 hearty serving, adapted from Everyday Food):

2-3 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (Take seeds out for mild flavoring, or keep some in if you want it hot. Also, be sure to wash hands right after you handle the pepper! The oils can be very painful if they find their way into your eyes or a cut!)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp coriander (See note 1)
Salt and pepper
¼ lb ground turkey
1 can cannelloni beans (14 ounces), drained and rinsed
¾ cup chicken or turkey broth
Cilantro and sour cream, to garnish

In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno pepper, garlic, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. About 3 to 4 minutes.
Add ground turkey, breaking up with spoon, and cook until no longer pink about 2-3 minutes.
Add beans and broth. Turn heat to high until the broth begins to boils. Once boiling starts, turn heat back to medium and simmer until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Mash some of the beans with the back of spoon.
Serve in bowl garnished with sour cream and cilantro.

Enjoy!

Notes:
1) Did you know that coriander is simply cilantro seeds grounded up? Well, it is. It originates from Morroca and Romania, and is common in Indian food. Know where else it is found? Gin and American cigarettes. Huh? Well, that is what the Culinary Cafe told me!

Ski Weekend Dinners

2006-02-20T21:37:00.000-05:00

Sorry I have not posted anything in a little while--I have been out of town for work and then play, but I am now back!

The play part of my departure was in Vermont. Every year about fifteen friends and I go up to the Killington, VT. We rent a house for the weekend to ski during the day and hang out in the house at night. I love it, and we all look forward to it throughout the year. This year the ski conditions were not the best (too much ice) but that never hurts how much fun we have together.

So who cares about my ski trip? Is that what you are thinking? Well, I bring it up because one of my favorite parts to hanging out in the house with my friends is dinnertime (another favorite is us all sitting in front of the fireplace). Keep in mind that most of us New Yorkers have small apartments and can not have this many people over for dinner, much less be able to sit fifteen friends all around one table. So this in itself is such a treat to me.

I love food for lots of reasons. Obviously it tastes good, and it keeps me alive. I also love it because food is a great way to bring people together. It is an activity that brings us to one place, sitting down, and enjoying each other’s company. Families strive to have family dinners for this reason, just as how many of our holidays are centered around cooking (Fourth of July bar-b-que’s, Easter brunches, Thanksgiving feasts, etc.). Therefore, it only seems appropriate for me that our annual ski trip includes good-ole family style dinners to celebrate us all being there together.

Clearly after a day’s worth of skiing, no one is in the mood to cook for fifteen people! Lucky for us we have two very much appreciated friends who help us out. Melissa comes from an Italian family who recently came over to the States before she was born. True to the Italian nature, before the big ski trip she and her mother make HUGE amounts of pasta and breaded chicken cutlets that only need to be re-heated. What a treat to come home and know that a truly Italian meal is about to be enjoyed. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to take pictures of Melissa’s and her mom’s dishes, but trust me that their work is very good!

The second night we enjoyed Gemma’s lasagna (made from her mum’s recipe). This was served with salad (we had to at least pretend we were being health conscious for the weekend) and pre-prepared garlic bread. Again, the lasagna and garlic bread only needed to be reheated in the oven before all fifteen of us sat down to an awesome meal. And of course these dinners were so great and created such a fun atmosphere that we would find ourselves still sitting around the table hours after we had empty plates.

We ate lots of good food, drank lots of red wine, and enjoyed lots of great laughs. I am looking forward to next year’s ski trip (and dinners) already!

Eggs with Goat Cheese, Caramelized Onions, & Thyme

2006-02-14T21:40:00.000-05:00

So you are having overnight guests and you want to serve a nice breakfast to them, but want to keep it simple, right? Okay, or you just want to start off your own day on a good note! Either way, this egg dish satisfies both situations.

I like making scrambled eggs and adding stuff to them better than omelets because if you are serving more than one person, being able to only make one omelet at a time is quite a pain. Plus by the time you make the last person's omelet, the first is already cold! Oh, my eggs are so much better...

So here is what you need (per serving):

2 tbsp olive oil (drizzled twice around pan)
Red onion slices (I like to slice the onion so that the slices are rings--they look prettier on the eggs that way. Keep in mind when deciding how many onion slices you want that the onion will cook down a little.)
3 eggs (or 2 will work if you aren't as hungry)
1 tsp fresh thyme (dried thyme will work as well)
1 pad of butter
Some goat cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

In a pan over low heat add olive oil and onion slices. Cook slowly in order to allow the onions to caramelize.
While onions are cooking, mix eggs and thyme in a bowl.
In another pan over medium heat, add the butter.
Once the butter has melted, add the eggs and scramble them until cooked.
When the eggs are ready, place them on serving dish and top with goat cheese. Don't be stingy with the cheese--it is yummy! Top the cheese with the caramelized onions and garnish with some fresh thyme on top. Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy!

Valentine’s Dinner with my Man

2006-02-12T22:01:00.000-05:00

There is nothing better than after a long day at work, coming home to my man, Brighton. He is perfect. Since he is always home when I am finished with work, he kindly warms up the couch for me to plop on and kick up my feet. Brighton then cuddles up with me and makes my day’s worries melt away.

With Valentine’s Day here to celebrate those we love, I must cook a special meal for Brighton. So what does a cat want for Valentine’s? (Oh, yes, Brighton is a cat—you didn’t think I actually had a man waiting at home and warming up the couch for me everyday, did you?)

For this special feline in my life, I decided to make him meatballs. My friend, Susan, shared with me a meatball recipe for cats so I decided to try it out. Here is what you need:

½ lb ground beef
1 small carrot, grated
1 tsp grated cheese
1 tsp brewers yeast (I did not have this and I think it was fine)
½ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs
1 tsp dried catnip
1 egg
1 tbsp tomato paste

1. Preheat oven at 375 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together—use your hands; they are your best tools for this!
3. Roll meat into balls, about an inch in diameter and place onto a cookie sheet.
4. Place in oven and cook for about 12 minutes, or until they are browned.

May your meatballs be purrfect for the special feline in your life! Ha, ha, ha...my friends and family are sooo rolling their eyes right now!

If you would like to adopt a little man (or lady) of the feline sort, go to Petfinder.com and find a pet who needs a home!

Best Regards Cards for Your Special Foodie

2006-02-08T21:09:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, the beauty of foodies. Yes, if you enjoy reading this blog, you may just be a foodie. Foodies pretty much just love food. We love eating it and learning about it. We love incorporating it into our lives either as an afternoon activity of cooking, giving a dinner party, curling up with a cookbook, or treating ourselves to a nice restaurant. So what is the perfect gift for a foodie? Well, I have an idea…my friend Susan Verni’s Best Regards cards.

Susan has incorporated her love for photography into cards, and they are quite beautiful and special! I have sent some of her cards to friends, and they come on nice cardstock paper with an actual photograph adhered to the front. Although her photos vary in content, she does have several that focus on food. It is these photos that I think would make a nice gift to that foodie in your life (or as a nice gift to yourself!).

My favorite card of hers is of vegetables at a farmers market (Botanicals Collection). Susan says that she took this photo at Hatch’s Produce Market on Cape Cod in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Aside from how beautiful the photo is in itself, I love it because of all the possibilities the vegetables hold. Gazpacho? Roast potatoes? Homemade salsa? The cute baskets, and signs such as “Ugly Ripe Tomatoes,” also add to this card.

A close second favorite of mine is her card picturing a wine menu from a lovely neighborhood cafe in Italy that Susan visited (Italy Collection). It reminds me of when I traveled around Italy myself, basically anticipating my next meal throughout the trip! Oh, Italian food how I love thee. I literally gained about 5 pounds in that week because the food was so unbelievable! So I love this card as it reminds me of the excitement of sitting at a menu in Italy knowing I was about to enjoy an unbelievably good meal.

Other cards that Susan has that feature food include apples hanging from their tree with the sky and clouds in the background (Botanicals Collection). This was taken at an apple orchard in Warwick, New York while Susan was searching for the just the right Gala and Macoon apples for an apple crisp.

Susan also has a photo of fallen apples in a Maryland orchard (Botanical Collection). She took this photograph while searching for the perfect apples for her niece and nephew’s apple bobbing contest at their Halloween contest. Sticking to the fruit tree theme, Susan also has a card with an orange tree from the New York Botanical Gardens.

If your foodie is more of a sweets person, then you can choose among Best Regards’ photos of Salt Water Taffy Barrels (At the Coast Collection), Gingerbread Men and Women (from the Seasons Greetings Collection), or the Flowered Cupcakes (Celebrations Collection).

So if you are looking for a cute gift or a special card to send to a friend I suggest browsing through Susan Verni’s Best Regards cards (http://www.bestregardscards.com/). Her cards are sold in various boutiques in New York City, and you can also order them from her website.

Rosemary Garlic Bean Spread

2006-02-08T18:20:00.000-05:00

Oh how I love food! This here is the perfect dish to snack on or to entertain with. Oh, and with a glass of wine it is the perfect treat! The rosemary and garlic are quite pronounced in this spread, which provides a fun burst of flavor with every bite.

I choose fagioli cannellini beans for this spread because they have a subtle taste that allows for the rosemary and garlic to shine through nicely. I also like these beans because they are larger and can mush-up a little bit for the spread.

So here is what you need:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (I never use measurements but usually have an idea of how much to write down for my recipes. This here I am a little unsure about--you may need a little more.)
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (I use two because I love the strong garlic flavor!)
1 1/2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (Fine, you can use dried but it isn't as good--y'all know how I feel about dried herbs! If you use dry, use about 1 tbsp).
1 can (14 oz) of fagioli cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste
Sliced baguette bread (really, any nice bread will work--I just like the size of baguette slices)

Mix olive oil, garlic, and rosemary together in a bowl (duh, who would use a plate? but I feel that I should say it anyway to sound professional)
Add beans and mix until the beans are fully coated with mixture.
With the back of your spoon, press down on the beans a few times--just enough to slightly mush them.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for at least a few hours. You do this to allow the flavors to meld together and the beans soak up all that goodness. Additionally, it helps soften the rosemary.
Before serving, let beans sit at room temperature for a little while (at least 20 minutes). No one wants to eat frigidly cold beans!
Dabble onto baguette slices and serve (or of course you can serve it in a small bowl with the bread on the side for people to serve themselves.)

Yum-yum! Keep in mind that the beans by themselves may taste a bit strong in flavor, but once combined with the bread, the flavor will mellow out.

Forget Peanut Butter and Jelly, move up to Cashew Butter with Dried Cranberries

2006-02-07T16:38:00.000-05:00

Y'all, this is good! I love this because it is a simple upgrade from the plain old peanut butter and jelly and is a nice little surprise since cashews are used instead of peanuts. This spread is also so easy to make; and since you are making the cashew butter yourself, it is super fresh.

I serve this cashew butter as a sandwich, or on its own with some baguette slices on the side. I also love it just on its own on a spoon! When I came up with this idea, I originally thought it would need some honey but all it needs are the nuts and cranberries. So the ingredients list is small, but here you go:

1/2 pound unsalted cashews (make sure they are unsalted!)
Handful of dried cranberries

Place the unsalted cashew nuts in a food processor and let run until a cashew butter is formed. It will take a little while (5-10 minutes) so don't fret if yours does not seem to be turning into a butter! The nuts will go from being chopped, to a grain-like consistency, to a ball, then to butter.
Transfer the cashew butter to a bowl and add the dried cranberries. Mix well.

Damn that was easy and yet it will be such a crowd pleaser!

Super Bowl Party Treats

2006-02-06T18:51:00.000-05:00

O'Hara and Christina have been hosting their Super Bowl parties for the past five years, and this year was particularly a big one because O'Hara is from Seattle and Christina's family lives in Pittsburg (for those of you not in the know, these are the two cities whose teams played in the Super Bowl--I only learned this a few days ago myself!). I have to admit that this was my first year to attend the big, famous party and now I know to never turn down another one of their Super Bowl party invitations again!

O'Hara and Christina went all out for this party. There were about 30 people who came, and I think there was enough food for about 60 people! Oh gosh, where do I start? They had two types of chili--meat and veggie. I of course opted for the meat chili. Now I know I am a bit bias, but my friend Carrie and I make the world's best chili so I wasn't expecting much from O'Hara and Christina's (sorry guys!) BUT it really was good! They also set up in three cute bowls cheddar cheese, sour cream, and cilantro to top off the chili.

As I served myself some chili, O'Hara turned on the oven to start cooking the chicken wings. They bought one batch of wings pre-made, and made a second batch of wings themselves by just rubbing hot sauce and worcheshire sauce onto the chicken. As O'Hara was working on this, Christina was finishing up the “pig in a blanket”. Can I tell you how much I love these? I think they are so underrated, frankly. Christina just took miniature hotdogs and wrapped them with Pillsbury crescent roll dough. She then popped them in the oven at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, or until browned.

Another one of my favorites is seven layer dip. Yum! O'Hara makes it with refried black beans, sour cream mixed with taco seasoning, black olives, canned sliced jalapeños, chopped tomatoes, avocado pureed with a little salt, cheddar cheese, and scallions (for those of you counting, it was actually eight layers!) and then she pops it in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese. Another chip accessory they had was homemade salsa. Christina makes this by taking a can of chopped tomatoes and adding cilantro and onion to taste.

Now, no party can do with out cheese so they also had two cheese logs. Both cheese logs were made by mixing cheddar cheese with cream cheese and then adding red pepper, onion, and worcheshire sauce. They also added smoked salmon to one of the logs--so good! Both logs were then rolled in chopped nuts and parsley to make them look as pretty as they tasted.

In addition to all this great Super Bowl food, some of the guests brought food too! Samantha and her boyfriend made a football cake and others brought brownies (so good), salami, dips, and the list goes on.

Oh, and did I mention that O'Hara and Christina got a quarter keg of Brooklyn Lager? They kept it in their tub and decorated it with little footballs. My favorite was the ducky sitting on the tub dressed in his football gear. So cute! They also made jello shots in the colors of the teams playing.

Wow, with all this food and beer, something tells me that O'Hara and Christina will be eating Super Bowl food and finishing off that keg for the next week! Mmm, may be they need me to come over for dinner this week to help...

English is Italian - New York, NY

2006-02-03T20:12:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday night, four of us headed to English Is Italian located in Midtown (622 Third Ave., at 40th St). The chef there is Todd English who also has Olive’s in the W Hotel. English is Italian opened this past year so I was really looking forward to trying it out.

As always, my paranoia made me early so the host directed me to the bar for a drink while I waited for my friends. The walk there is quite impressive. Unlike pretty much every other restaurant in New York, English is Italian is very large and open. I actually felt like I could have been in suburbia though the atmosphere is still very New York. The bar itself sits on a high-up porch that overlooks the main dining area. It has your normal bar but also has many lounge areas to relax in. For a Tuesday night, there was just the right amount of people to create a nice but fun atmosphere for after work drinks.

My disappointment came when I opened the drinks menu. The cheapest glass of red wine was $10! Now I can appreciate the bar wanting to serve only good wines, but I believe you can find good wines at all price ranges and they should have been able to offer something at $7 or $8. This is an Italian restaurant after all! At these prices I opted for a vodka martini ($11)—might as well get more bang for my buck!

My friends then arrived and we moved onto the dining area. Just as the room is so large, so are all the tables, plates, etc. I felt like Goldie Locks sitting at Pappa Bear’s table! We laughed when we realized the “charger” plates on the table were actually our plates to eat on! But I thought that aspect was fun. It was fun being Goldie Locks.

So the way English is Italian works, you do not order your own dishes. Instead, the table as a whole orders either the two course meal ($34/person) or three course meal ($39/person) and the waiters just start bringing on the food. All dishes are family style, and you get about 3-4 items per course. We chose the three course meal and it was a tremendous amount of food!

Now I am horrible with understanding accents so I did not catch all the items, but here is my best try:

Appetizer
Blah Blah Rice & Cheese Balls
Blah Blah Lamb Chops
Chicken Patee, Blah Blah, and Hummus Dips with Bread

Pasta
Fettuccini Alfredo with Mushrooms
Ravioli Stuffed with Sweet Potato
Risotto with Blah Blah and Squid

Entrée
Lamb Shank with Blah Blah and Blah Blah (something spicy and something squashy)
Salmon with Blah Blah
40 Garlic Chicken

The dishes were hit or miss. The Blah Blah Lamb Chops were all fat—or at least my piece was. The Fettuccini Alfredo with Mushrooms was ordinary. And I liked the 40 Garlic Chicken, but it tasted just like what I make at home with out much effort. On the upside, I LOVED the Risotto with Blah Blah and Squid. The “Blah Blah” was something green—an herb—and the dish was just sooo good. I also loved being able to taste a wide variety of dishes. Overall, we ate about 10 dishes.

My synopsis? I liked English is Italian but I did think it was overpriced. Including a bottle of wine, the price-fix meal, tax and tip, it came out to $62/person. Add on our pre-dinner drinks and it was $74/person. Especially for a week night, I was a bit flabbergasted by this! If I pay that much for dinner, I want something more in the quality. Although I loved trying out so many different dishes, 75% of them were not fabulous enough on their own.

I do think this is a good restaurant to take clients to when on an expense account (then who cares how overpriced it is?). And I would consider going back to the bar for after work drinks. I thought it was tacky how expensive their wines by the glass were, but I did like the atmosphere. Unfortunately, there just are not many good non-touristy bar/lounges in mid-town so I might be willing to pay a couple extra bucks for that aspect. I also think their bar is a good option for a first date—they even serve some food so you can eat up if your first date gitters are making you drink too much wine!

Feeling Blah Chicken Pot Pie without the Chicken or the Pie or Most the Vegetables

2006-02-02T19:23:00.000-05:00

So I don't think this will make the recipe books, but it was just what I was in the mood for tonight. I think my body is flirting with having a cold because I feel so blah. And when I feel blah, I always crave chicken pot pie. My problem--I didn’t want to go through the effort of actually making chicken pot pie! When feeling blah, that is way too much effort!

I didn't feel like dealing with the pastry or the chicken, and well, there are just too many vegetables to worry about too. So ultimately I decided that what I really wanted was the yummy filling simplified by using one ingredient. I went with mushrooms since, well, they are the easiest (I of course bought them pre-sliced).

I have to admit that I have never made chicken pot pie so I sort of winged my way through this (another reason why I don’t think this will make the recipe books). Since I do not recall the measurements so much, I will talk you through it.

I started by making a roux to help give the "soup" some thickness. To make a roux, you just cook equal parts butter and flour until it turns a soft brown (I used about 2 tbsp of each; this process takes away the flour taste). I then added the mushrooms and sprinkled them with salt to help bring out their moisture. I had about two cups of mushrooms, but I would recommend using only one cup. When the mushrooms had cooked through, I then added the chicken broth--about two cups. From here I seasoned with salt and pepper, and added about two tablespoons of thyme. The final result was just what I was looking for--the perfect comfort food that took no effort!

If I were making this again and wanted to serve it to others, I would add a little sour cream. I love sour cream in soups. I know, I know, it probably sounds weird but it gives soups a nice creaminess with a light taste. I would also added some lemon juice or zest to lighten the flavors and bring out the thyme more. I think these changes would help make the soup more special. However, for tonight, it really was just what I was in the mood for! So if you are feeling blah, I do recommend this chicken pot pie without the chicken or the pie or the vegetables!

Dinner Parties at Gemma's

2006-01-31T18:13:00.000-05:00

I love dinner parties—especially Gemma’s. Gemma is our English friend who moved over to the states for college and never left. Lucky for us, she brought over her English ways of hospitality, which include her fabulous dinner parties (dinner parties are very popular in England).

Gemma is a great cook as she is really not afraid to try any recipe, and if she finds a particular dish a challenge to make, it gives her all the more reason to keep trying it until she gets it perfect. Such a good friend to have…

Last Sunday evening Gemma and her husband, Sebastian (a 6’8” Californian), hosted six of us for dinner. Since it was a “work night,” the evening was a bit more chill than usual (her last event was a champagne brunch which began at 12 noon and ended at 11pm) but the food was of course just as great.

The following was the menu:

Mixed Greens Salad with Goat Cheese, Walnuts, and Balsamic Dressing

Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream

Baked Ricotta and Mascarpone Tart with Chocolate and Orange

Since Gemma is a pro at giving these dinner parties, she was smart to keep the salad simple (but tasty!) and the entrée was something she found in Bon Appetit’s January 2006 issue as being fast and easy. I think this is important when giving dinner parties because the last thing you want to do is be stuck in the kitchen the whole time slaving away. The key is choosing recipes that do not taste like they were “quick and easy,” which of course these recipes succeeded at.

As often is the case, the dessert was the main attraction. This Gemma did slave away on all day. For starters, get this; she made her own pastry for the pie! Sebastian commented that when they woke-up Sunday morning, Gemma’s first words were, “I’ve got to get started on the pastry!” She was disappointed by the end results (aren’t all artists their own biggest critics?), but I thought it tasted great.

The pie filling was very unique by combining both chocolate and orange flavors with the ricotta and mascarpone. If you are up to the challenge, I do recommend that you try this recipe. And keep in mind that you can buy the pie crust already made at the market!

Here are the recipes from the evening:

Mixed Greens Salad with Goat Cheese, Walnuts, and Balsamic Dressing

Bag of mixed greens
Goat cheese
Couple handfuls of toasted walnuts
Balsamic dressing (balsamic vinegar and olive oil mixed)

Simply mix all ingredients together. You can toast the walnuts in the oven or stovetop, but keep an eye on them as they can burn quite quickly.

Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cream
Makes 6 servings.
Bon Appétit, January 2006, Cara Brunetti Hillyard, Hamilton, VA

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausages, casings removed
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 pound farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
1/2 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil
Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and crushed red pepper. Sauté until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender and sausage is browned, about 3 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and cream. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sausage mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot. Add sausage mixture and toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Transfer pasta to serving dish. Sprinkle with basil. Serve, passing cheese separately.

Baked Ricotta and Mascarpone Tart with Chocolate And Orange
Serves 8
Jamie Oliver, “Jamie’s Kitchen”

1 x basic sweet pastry recipe (see below)
250g/9oz ricotta cheese
250g/9oz mascarpone
125g/41/2oz icing sugar
zest of 3 oranges
seeds from 2 vanilla pods
2 eggs, separated
100g/31/2oz best-quality cooking chocolate (70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped
1 egg, beaten
icing sugar, for dusting

Make the pastry and line a loose-bottomed 28cm/11 inch flan tin. Bake blind (i.e. with no filling) and allow to cool. Roll the extra pastry out to the same thickness in a long rectangular shape, dusting as you go, and divide into 14 strips 2.5 cm/1 inch wide. Set these aside - you will need them to finish off the tart.

Turn the oven down to 170°C/325°F/gas 3. Whip together the ricotta, mascarpone, icing sugar, orange zest, vanilla seeds and egg yolks until smooth and shiny. In a separate bowl whip up your egg whites until stiff - you can test if they're done by holding the bowl upside down over your head. Obviously the mixture should stick to the bowl and not fall on your head! Gently fold the egg whites into the mixture.

Pour into your cooled tart mould and sprinkle the chocolate over the top. Lay 7 strips of pastry across the tart, equally spaced, and then place the other 7 the other way on top of them like a lattice. Use your thumbs to trim any excess pastry off the side of the mould - this will stick it to the pastry below. Brush the pastry with a little of the beaten egg and then dust with a little icing sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.

This tart can be served hot or cold with some ice cream, crème fraiche or cream.

Sweet Pastry

Make 2 x 28cm / 11 inch Tart shell
250g/9oz butter200g/7oz icing sugar
a medium pinch of salt
500g/just over 1lb flour
seeds from 1 vanilla pod
zest of 1 lemon
4 egg yolks
2-4 tablespoons cold milk or water

You can make this pastry by hand or in a food processor. This is enough to make 2 x 28cm / 11 inch Tart shells

Stage 1: Cream together the butter, icing sugar and salt, then rub or pulse in the flour, vanilla seeds, lemon zest and egg yolks. When this mixture has come together, looking like coarse breadcrumbs, add the cold milk or water. Pat together to form a ball of dough. Lightly flour and then squeeze it into shape. The idea is to get your ingredients to a dough form with the minimum amount of movement, i.e. keeping your pastry flaky and short (the more you work it the more elastic it will get, causing it to shrink in the oven and be chewy, and you don't want that to happen).

Stage 2: Roll the pastry into a really large, short and fat sausage shape, wrap it in Clingfilm and put it in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour.

Stage 3: Carefully slice off very thin slivers of your pastry lengthways. You can make the slices thicker if you like, but remember that the tart will take longer to cook. Place the slivers all around your tart mould, fitting them together like a jigsaw. Push the pieces together and tidy up the sides by cleaning any excess pastry from the rim of the mould. Place in the freezer for at least 1 hour.

Stage 4: Bake them 'blind' (i.e. with no filling) for around 15 minutes at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 - this will cook them all the way through, coloring them slightly.

Once completely cooled, the shells can be filled. With baked fillings, like the Plum Tart on page 295, the tart shell has to be baked blind for around 12 minutes at 180°C/350°F/gas 4 before being filled and then baked once more.

Try this: Once your tart shell has been baked blind, brush the inside of it with a little egg white and then put it back in the oven for 30 seconds - no longer. This will give it a nice waterproof layer which will protect it from a moist filling. The pastry will stay crumbly and crisp for longer instead of going all soggy.

Cranberry Bean Salad

2006-01-31T17:28:00.000-05:00

Okay, so you now know all about Cranberry Beans and have been anxiously awaiting this second post so that we can make something yummy with the beans—right?! Or are you just curious where the red specks on the beans go when they are cooked? Personally, I think I was more curious about the red specks! But let’s start with the recipe…

Since I am new to this bean (and probably you are too), I chose a recipe that serves the beans in the traditional Italian way. I think it is best to first stick to the basics to learn about the taste of the beans before making anything fancy with them. Besides, the southern European folks have been eating them much longer than us, so I trust they know what they doing!

So here is the recipe (serves 4 as a side dish):

1 1/2 pounds fresh cranberry beans in pods (you can also use lima beans)
2 tablespoons salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or basil leaves
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Shell beans. In a large saucepan of boiling water cook beans with salt until tender and no longer mealy, 10 to 20 minutes. Drain beans and transfer to a bowl. While beans are still warm (see note 1), toss with remaining ingredients and season with salt. Serve salad warm or at room temperature. (Gourmet, June 1998)

I actually used thyme in lieu of parsley or basil because I thought it would compliment the lemon better (and I had read in other recipes that thyme is also commonly served with cranberry beans). The recipe says to serve warm or at room temperature, but I actually really did not like it warm. Once it cooled off, I liked it much more. Plus, the longer the beans sit in the dressing, the tastier they become. In fact, I liked it best the day after making it.

In taste, the cranberry beans reminded me of white beans but larger. They are denser than I expected, but I like it that way. I think the salad would go really well with roast chicken. Last night I ate it as a side to some shrimp cooked with olive oil, a clove of garlic, and thyme and that was nice too.

Now I have a question for anyone out there who might know the answer. While researching the cranberry bean, most sources said to not cook the beans in salted water because the salt would toughen the skin. (fyi, salt draws out moisture). So why does this recipe add salt to the water? I went with it thinking that perhaps the bean’s surface can break easily when cooked so the salt here is to prevent that from happening for the salad’s sake. Or perhaps it is just a bad component in the recipe? Anyone know?

Okay, now back to the mystery of the red specks…I think they simply melt off in the water. Isn’t that weird? When the beans were finished cooking, they were all white sitting in pink water. I felt bad for the pretty, red specks--such an anticlimactic ending to a beautiful life.

Notes:
1) Wondering why you should toss beans in their dressing why warm? At this point, their pores are open and will soak up the dressing better.