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

Roasted broccoli & spring onions with feta

August 21, 2013 by Mary Frances 24 Comments

I am constantly looking for new flavor combinations with vegetables. I keep thinking, I’ve just have to make them more exciting, especially since we are eating less meat, and I know that a lot of my readers are vegetarians.

So last night I came up with this one. Roasted broccoli and spring onions topped with feta cheese and toasted bread crumbs. The bread crumbs were really leftover croutons that were too few for another Caesar salad, so I crushed them up in my mortar and pestle and threw them on top. Easy, right? This is why you should always make extra croutons! The more you cook, the more you can have various, ready-made ingredients at your disposal.

This was so yummy!!

ROASTED BROCCOLI AND SPRING ONIONS WITH FETA AND TOASTED BREAD CRUMBS – serves 4

1 head of broccoli
1 bunch of spring onions, ends and tops trimmed and bulbs split if large, or 1 large shallot, peeled and thickly sliced
2 tbs. olive oil
Salt
Pepper
1/4” thick slice of feta cheese
1.5 tbs. toasted bread crumbs or crushed croutons

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash, trim and peel stalks of broccoli and cut lengthwise into similar sized pieces. On a baking sheet, combine the broccoli with the spring onions and toss with the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and place in the oven to roast. Check at 15 minutes and toss. Total time should take about 35 minutes or until the stems are fork tender to your liking. I love it when the broccoli florets get a little charred in places.

Place the vegetables on a platter and top with crumbled feta pieces and the bread crumbs. Enjoy!!

Caesar salad

August 18, 2013 by Mary Frances 16 Comments

I LOVE a good Caesar salad. The very best one I ever had was at Zuni Café in San Francisco. Judy Rodgers, the owner and chef there is also from my hometown of St. Louis. Her recipe from the Zuni Café cookbook is terrific, but a bit time consuming. She wants you to only use salt-packed anchovies, which are better. They are cleaner tasting, but, you have to rinse them quite a bit to get all the salt off and then fillet the little suckers. Because my husband absolutely adores Caesar salad and asks me to make it often, I have been working on a quicker version for the dressing. I believe that I am now satisfied with this one and I’m ready to share with you!

But once again, it is always about the ingredients. You must use high quality extra virgin olive oil, only Parmigiano-Reggiano for cheese, super fresh lemons, farm fresh eggs (I only use eggs from our farmers, Ethel and Tom), and as Judy Rodgers says, taste it on your lettuce, and hopefully your organic romaine is sweet. Homemade croutons are a must in my book. (What else are you gonna do with all that old bread in the fridge?) Make a double amount of croutons and store them at room temperature in an airtight plastic container. They will still taste fresh for a week, so you can make another salad the following week. Your washed lettuce must be cold and dry and do not tear the leaves. Leave them whole as you can see in the photo. This is because when you tear them, they just release their water, watering down your very tasty dressing and you really don’t want that. And it’s best use your hands to toss the leaves with the dressing in order to properly coat them.

CAESAR SALAD – serves 4 – 6

3/4 cup homemade croutons (see directions below) from 4 – 5 oz. of bread
2 – 3 large cloves of minced garlic (remove inner green germ as the sprouts can add an unpleasant bitterness)
4 – 5 anchovy fillets packed in oil, blot and pat dry on paper towels, and finely chop and mash
Pinch of coarse salt
2 tbs. or more of freshly-squeezed lemon juice (I usually add about 3 tbs – taste to your liking)
3 drops Worcestershire sauce
1 large cold egg
6 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) freshly-grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano), plus more for serving
2 to 3 heads romaine lettuce, hearts and tender leaves only
Freshly cracked black pepper

Make the croutons:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Dice day-old bread (Italian, French or even whole wheat) into 3/4-inch cubes.

Toss with about 2 tbs. of olive oil. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until just golden brown. Halfway through the baking time, give the pan a shake to make sure the croutons toast evenly. Remove from oven and completely cool croutons. Store in an airtight container.

Make the Caesar salad dressing:

In a bowl, whisk together the garlic, anchovies, and salt until blended.

Whisk in the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.

Whisk in the raw egg until the mixture is thick, approximately 1 minute.

Slowly drizzle in the olive oil with one hand while vigorously whisking the mixture with the other.

When the dressing is well combined, whisk in 1/4 cup of the grated Parmesan cheese. Grind fresh pepper to taste. Taste your dressing on a small piece of romaine. It may need more salt, lemon juice or cheese, but remember you will grate more cheese on top before serving. I usually add more lemon juice.

Use whole leaves of romaine hearts that have been washed, dried and chilled. Blot dry with a paper towel again before dressing. Place them in a wide bowl. Fold and toss with dressing, (using your hands is best) making sure each leaf is properly coated. Add the croutons and toss again.

Arrange the leave in a single direction on the plate, scrape the last drizzle of dressing on to the salads, distribute the croutons evenly and grate more Parmesan on top. Pass the black pepper. Enjoy!!

Now recently, when we’re upstate and have the outdoor grill, I have been splitting a whole head of romaine lengthwise and grilling it before drizzling on the dressing. Warm and cool, crunchy and different, even sweeter, it’s delicious!! Try it! Just brush both sides with a little olive oil before putting them on the grill. Grill the romaine 2 – 3 minutes per side at about 400 degrees on a gas grill.

When done, place on a plate, cut side up and drizzle on dressing. Top with fresh grated cheese and croutons. Amazing!

House guests

August 15, 2013 by Mary Frances 18 Comments

House or apartment guests — I love them.

Several weeks ago, my nephew and godson, David, and his lovely wife, Jen, and their two kids, David Patrick and Lauren, came to visit and stayed with us in the city for several days. (I was, like, 13 years old when David was born! My family is so big that it gets complicated. His father, my brother, who is ten years older than me, got married at 21 and started having kids right away. David is number two out of seven, and therefore we are not that far apart in age.)

This family, they were the perfect guests! Really. They didn’t mind if dinner started a little late (I think I was a little bit ambitious with the meal planning considering it was on weeknights), they were easy going, helped slice garlic, cut potatoes, clean up and brought plenty of wine. What more could one ask for? When they left, we truly missed them. They were so much fun to have around and I was delighted to have a chance to get to know their kids a little better. They live in my hometown of St. Louis.

David Patrick is 14, about to enter high school in September and is really interested in cooking. I wouldn’t be surprised if he becomes a chef. He was so exuberant about my food. I loved it! The second night, my dinner consisted of homemade Caesar salad, roast pork tenderloin with sage, mint and caramelized onions, roasted potatoes and ginger honey carrots. He sort of danced on the seat of his chair and said, “Aunt Mary, I want all of these recipes,” as he circled his plate!

Lauren is 12. Not a fish lover, she was digging the Caesar salad until she figured out that there were anchovies in it. Here we are at the table. Jen is taking the picture and too bad you can’t see my husband.

Now this is the best part. Right after dinner on the first night, Lauren jumps up from the table and asks if she can please clean up the dishes and wash the wine glasses!! Yeahhhh!! Here she is with her mom.

As I said, wonderful house guests!!

Farmer’s Market Bounty

August 11, 2013 by Mary Frances 6 Comments

NOW is the time to enjoy all the fresh goodness of summer!! Last Friday when we stopped by our Farmer’s Market at the Milan Town Hall in upstate NY, we were treated as stars, for talking about their chickens and vegetables in my blog post on July 28th.
The chickens were celebrities too! Isn’t this so cute?

Here was some of our bounty last Friday!!

This is the time of year for simple dinners made with super fresh ingredients. Just toss them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and throw them on the grill and you will have total yumminess!! (Use a grill pan if you don’t have outdoor space.)

Last night we did just that with broccoli and yellow peppers. Just delicious!!

And then last week we grilled Ethel’s shisido sweet frying peppers with just olive oil, salt and pepper. Totally amazing!

Our oldest son and his girlfriend were with us last weekend in the country and she made this most beautiful pie. Peaches and blueberries with a super buttery crust, absolutely made with LOVE. She said her mother always put a heart on top!

So please enjoy the bounty at your local Farmer’s Markets and support them. We need for them to keep bringing us pure, delicious, unadulterated, clean food grown with LOVE and care, to keep us healthy and happy!

Cooks’ secret sauces

August 6, 2013 by Mary Frances 20 Comments

Yesterday I had lunch with my friend Jill. Jill’s husband is Dominican and she talked about her big family dinner party she had on Saturday night for her in-laws and other relatives. She recently moved from a co-op to a house in NJ with two young kids, so this was a special dinner with both sides of the family in her new home. Her food was met with rave reviews!

Then she talked about her mother-in-law’s “special sauce.” She said they all have one in the Dominican Republic – the aunts – everyone – and they’re all a bit different. She does not know what’s in it – the fast talking Spanish makes it hard. But it seems like it’s vegetables and all goodness, and sounds like a lot of LOVE. Her husband brings home food from his mother’s house – simple things – like quinoa – but with the special sauce they are spectacular. I asked her if it was tomato based – no. Was it like a chimichurri – no. But her mother-in-law was so respectful of Jill, telling her son, oh well Jill certainly has her “own sauce” and she wouldn’t want to intrude. Larry laughed and said no, Jill doesn’t have a sauce. She said she tried to make one once and it was inedible. So she uses a great bottled sauce that her mother-in-law loved (thought it was her “special sauce”) on the grilled skirt steak she served.

Boy would I love to have that woman’s “special sauce” recipe or be a fly on her kitchen wall when she’s making it!

Meanwhile, last night, being tired and hungry, I used some “bottled sauces” and actually made a very good dinner. It didn’t look all so pretty, but it was darn tasty. I made the chicken and the squash all in the same baking pan, roasting all at once – easy! Providing you have the pesto sauce already made, you can honestly make this whole dinner in about 40 minutes. Really!! – no Rachel Ray joke.

CHICKEN BREASTS WITH GRAINY MUSTARD, JALAPENO & LIME – serves 3 – 4

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tbs. grainy mustard
Salt
6 slices of fresh jalapeno pepper
6 slices of fresh lime
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Wash and pat dry the chicken, trimming off any fat. Slick a baking pan with a little olive oil. Place chicken breasts on the pan, and brush 1 tbs. of grainy mustard on the top of each. Lightly salt them and place 2 jalapeno slices on top of each. Then cover each jalapeno slice with a lime slice. Roast for 15 – 22 minutes, until the thickest part registers 155 – 160 degrees. Remove to a platter and let rest for 5 – 8 minutes. Lightly drizzle good quality extra virgin olive oil on top and serve.

SQUASH WITH TAMARIND CONCENTRATE – serves 4

2 squash – I zucchini and 1 yellow
4 tsp. tamarind concentrate
Salt
Olive oil

Wash and trim ends of squash. Cut lengthwise and score with crosshatching. Paint one tsp. of tamarind concentrate on each half and salt lightly. Roast at 475 degrees for 25 minutes or until crisp tender. Remove to a serving plate and lightly drizzle olive oil on top and serve.

I served with this with brown rice pasta topped with some pesto sauce I had taken out of the freezer yesterday along with some farmer’s market sunny gold tomatoes, sliced in half. It was yummy – a dinner my husband talked about again this morning!

French salt, Spanish saffron and truffles!!

August 2, 2013 by Mary Frances 15 Comments

I am SO lucky!! My friend Toni travels all over Europe with her work. We had dinner with her and her husband Bill, who are long time friends, this past week on the lower East side. She arrived at the restaurant carrying a shopping bag. You know I mainly use French salt when I cook. It is so expensive here and so inexpensive there. So sometime ago, I had asked her to pick up some when she was in France next, but I didn’t expect the other gifts!! She got me the bag of “everyday salt” and then the Fleur De Sel – a special finishing salt.

The truffles and saffron are from Spain. One of our designers, Carlota, is from Catalonia and she said this is the exact saffron that her mother uses and the truffle brand, her grandmother uses, and is actually from Catalonia! I can’t wait to use them!! Maybe tonight, the truffles on pasta?

Thank you Toni!!

In addition, I have recently become a member of The Daily Meal’s Culinary Content Network! I am so excited to be part of this community of recipe writers, restaurant reviewers, food bloggers, and photographers. There is one thing we all have in common–we love food! Explore this great network here: http://www.thedailymeal.com/holiday/culinary-content-network