Engaging stories of love, joy, comfort and friendship with proven scrumptious, healthy recipes, we celebrate LOVE as the secret ingredient for wonderful food!

So civilized

April 17, 2012 by Mary Frances 1 Comment

My husband and I were asked to take in a French graduate student for 4 months to live with us. We take on French interns at the office but this was the first time we were asked and considered doing this. Quite frankly, our oldest son had such a great experience living with a family in Tuscany for his semester abroad, we thought it was our turn to pay it forward. Charlotte was due to arrive this past Sunday evening so I wanted to make a special meal but of course one that would hold up if she was two hours delayed in getting through customs. So I made this amazing pork roast – my husband and son said it was better than my version of Julia Child’s Beef Bourguinon – and way easier. Recipe to come!

But while I was making everything, I needed a little snack and had to test the wine that was going into this dish. So I fixed a little smoked trout on a Breton cracker with a smear of plain Greek yogurt, a dab of horseradish and a bit of fresh thyme. With a taste of red wine in a little juice glass and the sunlight streaming through the window, isn’t this just the prettiest little picture?

85th Birthday Party

April 15, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

We have some friends from our congregation who have recently reached this significant age but you would never know it. One just had a huge party last night, thrown by his wife and twin sons and it was so lovely.

We were seated at a table with their friends, from his Exxon days when corporate life was lush with benefits. Their talk of living in London, Beijing, Sweden, Norway and Louisiana made me jealous of all the different foods that became a part of their life. Both of these women were supposedly good cooks, both took cooking classes in each place while raising their children. What I would give for that!

But then this one woman shared with me that she doesn’t cook much anymore, because her husband hasn’t been well and doesn’t feel like eating. I agreed with her, if you don’t have someone to share the food with you, it’s not nearly as fun. You need to share the LOVE, share the times, share the food.

Changes

April 14, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

We’ve made some changes to the site that I hope you’ll find beneficial. We’ve moved the navigation bar from the left side to the right so you can now sign up for email notifications of any new posts in the upper right hand corner.

Also, we’ve added a new tab of all recipes listed alphabetically. It’s on the top left. So now you can see all of them at once, listed by the recipe name and also the main ingredient.

I hope this makes it easier for you to find whatever you’d like to cook. Please let me know of any other suggestions that will make your life easier – that I can accomplish!

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Overheard at Fairway

April 13, 2012 by Mary Frances Leave a Comment

So I’m shopping at the local grocery store here and I overhear this conversation of this seriously overweight young woman with her young son about three years old in her cart in the vegetable aisle. She’s explaining to him (and he’s overweight already – are you surprised?) that she’s buying some cabbage. I’m thinking, okay, good, a vegetable. Then she says to him that she’s going to “Cook it in some butter, then combine it with some noodles and sour cream and, you’ll really like it!”

Really? Excuse me? Can you ruin a good head of cabbage more for your already way overweight bodies?

I was aghast. A vegetable is great but loaded with all the fat and carbs she’s talking about – this kid already has a problem and she is feeding it even more. Help her!!

A whirlwind weekend!

April 9, 2012 by Mary Frances 2 Comments

The Passover table

So you may remember, my husband was raised Jewish and I was raised Catholic. We are now Unitarians but culturally we celebrate both traditions, and why not? It’s way more fun this way!

We hosted a Passover seder on Friday night for eleven people – old friends, new friends, family and girlfriends from 4 different countries and both coasts. It was such fun – lots of wonderful conversations and the traditional readings and food, with some new traditions thrown in. The party lasted until nearly 1 am – I do believe a good time was had by all and that makes it all worth it.
Beef brisket with egg noodles tossed with fennel fronds
Oven roasted asparagus with olive oil and lemon zest

My brother hosted Easter dinner in CT – and early dinner with cocktails outside on that gorgeous day, serving a beautiful butterflied leg of lamb with Julia’s traditional and delicious mustard coating with a Madeira sauce, but starting off with 2 spectacular spinach soufflés! We are spoiled!
The Easter table

Delicious lamb

I hope you enjoy the photo gallery and remember, the brisket recipe is here on the blog.

Tell me what you did this past weekend!

Chrzan

April 4, 2012 by Mary Frances 2 Comments

No, it’s not a spelling mistake. This is the Polish word for horseradish, but my family used it to mean a dish with beets and horseradish. Chrzan is always a family favorite for Easter morning, served with fresh cooked Polish sausage (not smoked, but fresh or white kielbasa – find a Polish deli in your area), scrambled eggs, and homemade bread with rich butter. My father would always serve a little champagne as well. Somehow we have not kept up the champagne tradition but the bubbly with all of this is a great combination. As my brother Mark used to say, you need the fizz!

This is for you, Julie!

Julie is one of my nieces who made a special request for this recipe and I must tell you, I have a brand new great niece, Morgan, just born on the 27th! Food traditions are wonderful. I hope all you girls keep them up!

Now we all like this a bit hot. Actually the hotter the horseradish, the better. Everyone likes to nearly cry with their nostrils flaring, but these days, it’s hard to find really great horseradish. If you can find some Polish imports, those are best. Horseradish from Poland is a really pristine white, so pretty, not like the Gold’s you can readily find here. Ba-Tempte is another horseradish manufacturer from Brooklyn that is definitely acceptable.

Of course, it’s always about the ingredients. Get the best that you can and it’s best to roast your own beets and slice them thinly on a hand mandolin. Although my mother always used canned whole red beets and sliced them thin with a knife.

Here’s the recipe:

CHRZAN
One bunch of red beets, scrubbed, dried, sprinkled with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, wrapped in aluminum foil and roasted at 400° for about an hour, until very tender when pierced with a skewer
OR one can of whole plain red beets, drained (not pickled)
2 tbs. sugar
1 tbs. white wine vinegar or plain white vinegar
Pinch of salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 jar of horseradish

If using fresh roasted red beets, peel them while still warm. Slice the beets very thinly, preferably on a hand mandolin. Sprinkle on the sugar, vinegar and salt. Toss carefully to combine (don’t break up your beautiful slices) and cover with a plate and let sit at room temperature for one hour. Drain the juice and save. Add the horseradish to taste (I usually add the whole jar) and toss carefully to combine. If you feel it’s dry, add back in some of the juice you saved, although I never do.

Enjoy!!