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

English Provender Caramelized Red Onion Chutney Pork Chops with Apples and Sweet Peppers & Luxury Lemon Curd Chiffon Pie with Strawberries

July 19, 2016 by Mary 8 Comments

Across the pond, the English Provender Company makes excellent chutneys, jams and spreads. They use only the finest premium ingredients to make each one of the products in their line. That’s why when they approached MARY’s secret ingredients to be in the box, after our testing and trial, we said a resounding “YES!” We’ve got two of their products in the box, which makes it twice as nice!

This caramelized red onion chutney is insanely good and you’ll want to put it on everything as I have been! I have used the chutney to finish off a fresh Bing cherry sauce for duck, it’s terrific as is served on the side of a broiled or grilled steak and it even goes great with scrambled eggs! You can tell I really love this stuff! But then I buckled down and made these Caramelized Red Onion Chutney Pork Chops with Apples and Sweet Peppers that you will LOVE. They are super easy to make, gorgeous to look at and taste out of this world. All good things.

Finishing the chops with a squeeze of lime and the sprinkling of chopped parsley adds the right amount of acid and really wakes up everything. I’ve been playing with limes a lot lately. A squeeze of lime is softer than lemon and not so distinct on a dish. It’s nice. Try it!

And then you can serve this super easy dessert to finish your meal that is light, delicious, refreshing, pretty and screams summer. Lemons and strawberries are a wonderful combination. A perfect way to end a meal is with this Luxury Lemon Curd Chiffon Pie with Strawberries. Enjoy!!

ENGLISH PROVENDER CARAMELIZED RED ONION CHUTNEY PORK CHOPS WITH APPLES AND SWEET PEPPERS – serves 2

2 ½” thick heritage pork chops
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 Tbs. olive oil
Salt
Pepper, fresh ground
1 Fuji apple, cored and cut into 16 slices
5 small red, yellow or orange small sweet peppers
2 heaping Tbs. of English Provender Caramelized Red Onion Chutney
3 springs of Italian parsley, chopped for garnish
1/4 of a lime in a wedge

Wash and dry your pork chops with paper toweling. Season the top side with salt and fresh ground pepper.

Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet on medium high heat until foaming mostly subsides. Lay pork chops in, seasoned side down. Add in apples and peppers around the chops and salt and pepper the top side of the chops and sauté for 4 – 5 minutes.

Turn chops and put on 1 heaping Tbs. of English Provender Caramelized Red Onion Chutney on each chop and spread around on the top of the chop. Turn apples and peppers and place them on top of the chops. Sauté for 5 – 6 minutes on this side.

Remove chops carefully to a platter, keeping all the toppings in place. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Squeeze on the lime wedge all over and sprinkle with parsley.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!!

ENGLISH PROVENDER LUXURY LEMON CURD CHIFFON PIE WITH STRAWBERRIES – serves 6 – 8

10 – 12 oz. heavy cream
4 oz. English Provender Luxury Lemon Curd
1 qt. strawberries, washed, air dried, stems removed and sliced in half
1 9” baked pie shell

Make the pie crust from the recipe here, (or buy a ready made one). Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake the pie shell for 8 minutes with parchment paper and dried peas, beans or pie weights in the center to weigh it down. Remove the parchment paper and weights at the 8-minute mark and return the crust to the oven for 4 – 8 minutes more until pastry is light brown, crisp and dry. Let the crust cool completely on a rack before filling.

Whip the heavy cream until nearly stiff peaks form. Gently fold in all of the lemon curd evenly throughout.

Spread the filling in the pie shell and chill for at least 4 hours.

Right before serving, place all the halved strawberries on top of the filling evenly. Cut in wedges to serve. Enjoy!!

Summer 2016 MARY’s secret ingredients box revealed

July 17, 2016 by Mary 3 Comments

Summer breeze – makes me feel fine…

Summer is BBQ’s and frosty cocktails and salads with crunchy things on top. New seasonings to spice up your grill to add to the fun!

We’ve got it all here in the 2016 MARY’s secret ingredients summer box!! So if you didn’t get yours, here’s what you missed. (And you can still get one here as we have just a few left.) All products are taste tested, with recipes created and specially crafted by yours truly using each product. (This is my favorite part of the job!) The products span the pond as you can see here in this adorable video our talented team of designers put together. Please take a minute and watch.

And now for more in-depth descriptions:

CARRIE MAE’S KITCHEN

Carrie Mae’s Kitchen specializes in uniquely flavored gourmet crackers called Crunchy Strips, which are made with all natural ingredients. All crackers are handmade with tender loving care; hence the company’s slogan – Made from the heart to feed your soul.

Carrie Mae herself hand made each one of these crunchy strips and then drove them up from North Carolina to our warehouse in NJ to make the due date for the box. This woman is determined and dedicated to her delicious and healthy craft, she’s bound to become a huge success.

Chia Seeds Crunchy Strips
Chia Seeds Crunchy Strips are not only delicious, but these tiny chia seeds pack on some good health benefits as well. Chia seeds are a “whole grain” food, and are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. They are loaded with fiber, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and various micronutrients. These crackers are a delightful little crunch of goodness combined with just the right amount of sweet.

CHEF’S CUT

Chef’s Cut Real Jerky was created by Chef Blair Swiler and Dennis Riedel. Blair has been smoking meats his entire life; a tradition passed along from his father. Today the vision to change the jerky world has resulted in the best tasting, highest quality jerky on the market. They use only premium cuts of steak and white breast meat and always hand-cut each piece, using only the finest real ingredients – just like you would find at your favorite steak house. Chef’s Cut Real Jerky is the jerky you’ve always wanted. It’s Jerky Done Right. Dig In.

Honey Barbecue Chicken Jerky
What’s the result of combining a blend of spices, honey granules, and a touch of molasses? The best tasting chicken jerky on the market – barbecue grill not included. Chef’s Cut is healthy, high in protein, low in fat and great-tasting, making it the perfect alternative to the standard high-fat, high-calorie snacking fare.

ENGLISH PROVENDER

At The English Provender Company they have a real passion for food, that is evident in the quality and flavor of every product they create. They believe in keeping it simple. Their products have clean, all-natural, premium ingredients and are packaged in attractive glass jars to retain optimum quality and taste.

Caramelized Red Onion Chutney
Elevates burgers, sandwiches, sausages, and meatloaf. Delicious with cheese and crackers and cold cuts. Adds richness to sauces. The secret ingredient in moist, savory cheese muffins.
Luxury Lemon Curd Spread
Delicious spread on warm toast, pancakes, scones and muffins. Dessert topping for ice-cream and cake. Helpful consumer serving suggestions on lid. A soft creamy spread with a yummy bright sweet flavor.

GUSTUS VITAE

Gustus Vitae is a Californian crafter of authentic, artisan seasoning blends and gourmet finishing salts. Using locally harvested California sea salt and herbs and spices, their all natural, certified non-GMO ingredients are blended in small batches, before being packed by hand in their unique magnetic tins. They started in Venice Beach Farmer’s Market and remain driven by the same value:Quality Above All.

Taste of Provence
An exquisite blend of fragrant, fresh, and herbal flavors, the Taste of Provence brings the flavors of the French countryside to your kitchen. Crumble onto olives, goat cheeses, roasted vegetables, or sprinkle on seared seafood or grilled poultry. Add a couple of pinches of the Taste of Provence to a bowl of tomato or pumpkin soup for a wonderfully warm
and minty flavor with beautiful color contrast throughout the dish.

JOSEPH JOSEPH

Founded in 2003 by twin brothers Anthony and Richard, Joseph Joseph specializes in creating design-led products for the kitchen and home with a strong emphasis on form, functionality and quality. As one of the fastest growing companies in the worldwide homewares market, the brand has earned global recognition for its multi-award winning designs.

Rotary Peeler
Made from high-quality stainless steel, Rotary Peeler™’s three blades are razor-sharp and are housed in a tough case that takes up very little space in your drawer. Simply select the desired blade – standard, serrated or julienne – by rotating the unit’s brushed metal hub. The Rotary Peeler™ makes short work of even the toughest fruit or vegetable skin and the design also includes a potato-eye remover. The case can be opened for easy cleaning.

SABATINO TARTUFI

Sabatino Tartufi is the world’s largest truffle manufacturer. For over 100 years, they have been cultivating and distributing the highest quality Italian truffles. They offer a range of truffle products, such as truffle honey, truffle salt, and truffle oils. The blend of their modern technologies and traditional recipes create the ultimate truffle experience.

Truffle Zest
Truffles are one of the most expensive foods in the world. We bring you this highly praised ingredient into our revolutionary truffle seasoning. This truffle powder is packed with flavor, and can be added to everything, such as pasta, pizza, rice, potatoes, salads, and anything else that needs a dash of zest! It is gluten free, non GMO, allergen free and contains no MSG.

Please remember, always cook with LOVE and your food will taste better!

Our fall box ships on September 25th. Order one now before we sell out.

Makes a great gift! 🙂

Super Quick Broccoli Rabe and Pasta Recipe

July 10, 2016 by Mary 7 Comments

We all have our little tricks in the kitchen, right? And many of us have our secret ingredients we always turn to.

Mine, of course, is LOVE. Cooking with the intention of LOVE – loving the dish you’re making or knowing that when you serve the food, your family and friends will LOVE it and you will make them happy, that’s what turns me on. And that’s why I always cook with LOVE. I just want to make people happy. Nothing makes me happier than to hear little murmurs of delight from folks while eating my food.

Our youngest son, Zachary, whose birthday is today, said he knew my food always tasted so good because of the LOVE I put into it while cooking. One sister-in-law of mine told me years ago that I was good at picking recipes. But then she asked, why did my food always taste so good. She had made some of the same recipes. I guess Zachary had the answer.

So I was talking to a new colleague about our MARY’s secret ingredients culinary subscription box and he told me his “secret ingredient” was capers.

I also love capers and caperberries even more! Roasted, they become that crunchy burst of saltiness that I just love. Anchovies are another – throw them into a dish and they melt and add that wonderful umami flavor. Pancetta is also another good one.

Back to the box, our summer box is hitting mailboxes right now and as usual, it has a great curated collection of new products, some are ready to eat and with all of them, I’ve created a delicious recipe to make meals special for you and your family. There are still a few summer boxes left and you can pick one up here. If you use the code SAVE20 you can save 20% on a full year subscription – that’s 4 seasonal boxes for about $87.00! And remember, we are a proud supporter of the worldwide organization combatting hunger, Feed The Children, so a portion of your box purchase goes to support them.

Back to this Super Quick Broccoli Rabe and Pasta Recipe, this is a great dish for a meatless night. Meatless Monday is tomorrow! My proportion of broccoli rabe to the pasta is great – a lot more broccoli rabe and depending on how big your eaters are, this can serve 2 or 3 with just 8 oz. of pasta. This comes together so quickly, using the already near boiling water from the broccoli rabe to cook the pasta in. Bringing the broccoli rabe to almost boiling removes the bitterness and starts to work on tenderizing those stems.

Super Quick Broccoli Rabe and Pasta Recipe in 2 bowls.

I was debating if it needed cheese and it didn’t!

Make this tomorrow night to start your week quick. Make it with LOVE and enjoy!!

SUPER QUICK BROCCOLI RABE AND PASTA RECIPE – serves 2 – 3

I bunch of broccoli rabe, ends trimmed, cut into 2” pieces, and washed in a bath of water to remove all grit. Never
buy broccoli rabe that has blooming yellow flowers – that’s a message that it will be very bitter
1/2 lb. spaghetti or other dry pasta
3 Tbs. olive oil
7 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
5 anchovies, blotted dry of oil
Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
Coarse sea salt – for cooking pasta and broccoli rabe
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

In a large pasta pot, place the washed broccoli rabe. Fill the pot with water to be at least 2 inches above the broccoli rabe. Add in the salt and stir to combine. Place the pot on high heat.

Meanwhile, warm the 3 Tbs. olive oil in a large skillet on low heat, (large enough to hold the broccoli rabe and pasta too), add the garlic and stir. Do not let it brown.

When small bubbles appear around the edges of the pot with the broccoli rabe, remove the rabe with a slotted spoon into a colander over a bowl and let drain. Let the water in the pot come back to a full boil. When that happens, add the pasta and cook for 2 minutes less than the lower number on the package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, (be sure to stir every once in a while), put the broccoli rabe in the skillet with the garlic and raise heat to medium – medium-high. Cook a bit more, and toss. Add in the anchovies and keep tossing and cooking.

When the pasta is near the end of cooking, take a large coffee mug and scoop out some pasta water. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet with the broccoli rabe, stirring with tongs to combine. Add about ¼ cup of pasta water, the crushed red pepper flakes and toss to finish cooking the pasta just to al dente and be sure the broccoli rabe stems are crisp tender. Taste to your liking with more salt and some fresh ground black pepper.

Serve in warm bowls with LOVE!

EXCITING TRAVEL NEWS!

I want to tell you, I’m so excited, we’re heading to Poland and Italy in 11/2 weeks!!! We will celebrate Zach’s birthday in Warsaw with his fiancée, Agata. They have big plans to take us all over including visiting local farmer’s markets and a day trip to Krakow. Then we will fly to Milano, 2 days there, then train to Arezzo in Tuscany for Bianca’s wedding. Bianca is sort of my surrogate daughter. She is the daughter of the family our oldest son lived with for his semester abroad during his university years. She and her fiancé have visited us in NYC often. But, it has been 10 years since both families have been together and Tiziana, the mother, has asked me to help her cook the Friday night family dinner before the wedding on Saturday! I am SO excited and honored!!! We have been emailing. I will shop with her in the morning for her cheeses and she has asked me to come up with ideas for dessert. I’m thinking of big pans of rhubarb and strawberry crisps. What do you think?

So get ready for some great fun stories and photography from Poland and Italy!!! Is there anything specific you’d like to see? Let me know…

Chilled Curried Zucchini Soup with Apple Garnish

July 3, 2016 by Mary 22 Comments

I love to start a meal with a soup. Somehow it feels more elegant to me. But in summer, you certainly don’t want something hot, and for cold soups, the repertoire seems more limited. Gazpacho is one, and then there’s watermelon, cucumber, and vichyssoise (I am not a fan) but not much else comes to mind. So I was particularly excited to find this Chilled Curried Zucchini Soup with Apple Garnish recipe from Pierre Franey in The New York Times Country Weekend Cookbook.

I made this to start a dinner party just this past Thursday night and it was a hit, called out by several folks in their thank-you emails.

Remember that cold soups must be really cold. You don’t want to be iffy here. Make it cold. I made this soup on Tuesday evening with everything but the yogurt and chopped apples. At the start of the party on Thursday, I whisked in the yogurt, peeled and chopped the apple and added it all in and seasoned the soup with salt and pepper. Then I let the pot sit on the counter for a bit but luckily realized I should put it back in the fridge until just before serving. That was a good move.

The next day, I had a bowl of leftover soup right out of the fridge and it was even better colder! And I found out that I really could have combined everything, including the yogurt and apple, as all the flavors melded better and the apple did not lose any crispness.

This is rich tasting and elegant, different and delicious. It tastes creamy but without a drop of cream. The healthy yogurt makes it work. I made this with Ethel’s farmer’s market zucchini, homemade chicken stock made from roasted chicken wing tips and mint from my garden. But I’m sure this recipe will work fine with good supermarket bought ingredients as well. But don’t forget to add your LOVE when making, the most important ingredient.

CHILLED CURRIED ZUCCHINI SOUP WITH APPLE GARNISH – serves 4 – adapted from Pierre Franey

1 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 medium white onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tsp. curry powder
Salt
2 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/8” rounds
3 cups chicken stock
1 cup of plain yogurt (I used whole milk yogurt but not Greek)
1 Golden Delicious apple
2 – 3 stems of mint leaves for garnish

Melt butter in a large pot on medium heat. Add onions. Cook stirring until onions are wilted, 2 – 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook stirring for one minute. Add curry powder and salt to taste. Stir for one minute. Add zucchini and chicken stock.

Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender, food processer or use an immersion wand blender. I like to use the immersion blender best. It has been the best investment – quicker, easier and less mess. Just stick it in the soup and whir!

Refrigerate the soup, until very cold, preferably overnight.

When it is cold, whisk in the yogurt, reserving a little for garnish. Peel and core the apple, then cut into small cubes and stir it into the soup. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with a dollop of yogurt and some mint leaves.

Hope you all are having a wonderful Fourth of July weekend!! We are enjoying glorious weather here on the east coast. And last night we were fortunate enough to be invited to our friends home on a lake with a spectacular fireworks show!

Arugula, Roasted Beets and Scallion Salad – It’s all about the ingredients!

June 25, 2016 by Mary 24 Comments

I have said this many times and the French know it all too well – it’s all about the ingredients. The quality of the items you are working with to create your dish makes all the difference in the world. This arugula, roasted beets and scallion salad I made of “just picked that morning” produce was so simple, so delicious, it was to die for. I topped it with a fresh lemon juice dressing and it was a dancing fresh, total yum feel in your mouth. It doesn’t get much better than that!!

On our way up to the Hudson Valley yesterday, we were finally early enough to make it to the Farmer’s Market in Milan and Ethel of Red Hook Farm had just picked the arugula and pulled the beets in the morning. I am so tired of store bought arugula that has zero flavor, aren’t you? Those boxes of baby arugula look all pretty and nice but really, they are tasteless.

This arugula was the big leaf variety, light in texture and full of peppery punch, just the way arugula should be! Because the texture was so light, you could eat a lot of these luscious leaves. The beets grew long and skinny, as opposed to round huge things, so they roasted quickly in 40 minutes at 425 degrees. And the scallions were a bright spring onion flavor. All so fresh, so simple, so delicious, the way all food should be.

“It’s all about the ingredients” is exactly what we do with our MARY’s secret ingredients culinary boxes. We search the world for delicious simple healthy ingredients and products to make your cooking and eating spectacular and easy. All products are shelf stable, natural and good for you, and add that extra punch to make an ordinary meal extraordinary. Take this simple chicken breast recipe – with the addition of a little buttermilk marinating time, fresh rosemary, good quality grainy mustard and this Just Jan’s Tangerine Marmalade, you’ve got yourself a “company meal.” The Tangerine Marmalade was in our recent spring box.

The summer box is scheduled to ship out next week so place your order this weekend. Our surprise collection of completely new products will wow you, I guarantee. We have some super fun and delicious items in this box. Our belief of “it’s all about the ingredients” means that every one has to pass not only our taste test, but also our “good for your body” test, meaning made with all natural ingredients, nothing unpronounceable can ever be included. So order one now and get on the bandwagon to eat healthy delicious meals you can make at home simply and easily, and also help us in our mission to fight global hunger as we are a proud supporter of the worldwide organization, Feed The Children.

Now the rest of my meal yesterday sucked! I decided to try something new and…it didn’t work. 🙁 So I had some lamb cubes and a craving for pasta. With the grill here, I thought it would be interesting to brown the salted and peppered lamb on the grill – on a grill pan – make the tomato sauce on the stove top and then simmer the cubes in the sauce. Only I think I needed like 3 hours of simmer time to get those babies tender. I thought these were leg of lamb cubes but nope, it was lamb cubes for stew. To make things further worse, all I had here was white rice pasta – a pretty yucky combo with the tough meat.

Oh well, but the salad was magnificent!

Here’s what I did:

ARUGULA, ROASTED BEETS AND SCALLION SALAD – serves 2

2 bunches of farmstand large leaf arugula, trimmed, washed, spun dry and chilled
5 small beets, trimmed and scrubbed
1 Tbs. olive oil
3 scallions, white and light green parts, sliced

DRESSING:

½ tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbs. lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place beets in the middle of a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle with 1 Tbs. olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Close up foil tightly to make a neat packet and roast in the oven for about 40 minutes until beets are tender and easily pierced with paring knife. Let cool a bit so you can handle and peel. Slice into ¼” slices.

For the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice and mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow steady stream to emulsify.

Toss together the arugula, beets and scallions. Drizzle on the salad dressing, just enough for your taste. Toss everything well and serve with LOVE.

Enjoy!

And buy a box! 🙂 They make awesome hostess and housewarming gifts. Everyone loves them!!

Roasted Sea Bass on a Radicchio Salad with Sugar Snap Peas & Apple

June 19, 2016 by Mary 18 Comments

With my mother-in-law’s passing, the inevitable clean up and division of “stuff” is happening. My husband and oldest son went back down to Baltimore this past week to pitch in and help Steve’s sister with the work of emptying her condo. Needing to leave early on Wednesday morning, our son came to our apartment to spend the night on Tuesday. Steve and I had several business networking events that evening so he offered to cook dinner.

Well we arrived home to a DINNER!!! A gourmet dinner and combination – this Roasted Sea Bass on a Radicchio Salad with Sugar Snap Peas & Apple – that I would have never thought of. He is fearless, creative and brilliant in his cooking and combinations. He is, I think, a better cook than me. Okay. That. Was. Hard. To say.

I had some sea bass fillets in the fridge and he found a head of radicchio, a bunch of herbs – parsley, cilantro, mint and dill, part of a jalapeño, some sugar snap peas and a Jazz apple. He made a beautiful salad of the radicchio, thinly sliced apple, a little fresh jalapeño, par boiled sugar snap peas and herbs with a lemon, olive oil, mustard, and worcestershire sauce dressing and the fish was marinating in a lemon, olive oil, herb mixture. He felt my refrigerator needed cleaning out so he went to work using things up.

When would I dream my son would chastise me on the condition of my vegetable drawers?

Never.

But it’s all good! And, he was right.

So the fish fillets, with the herb marinade piled on top, roasted in 425 degree oven for close to 20 minutes. Did you ever notice that sea bass fillets really expand and puff up in thickness, so the roasting takes longer than you would expect?

But then he did something unexpected, because he wanted the herbs to be crispy. When finished roasting, he flash broiled the fillets and got those herbs to have a nice crunch! I wouldn’t have thought of that. And, he served the fish on top of a big pile of the salad. Total delish!! And beautiful!

So I don’t really have his recipe but what I’ve outlined here is what he told me he did and here’s a picture of his delicious dish.

To all you young mothers out there, cook delicious meals, let your children see you do it, have them help. Then you too will reap the rewards later and have dinners like this cooked for you!! What goes around comes around. Do it with LOVE and you will be rewarded.

I can’t wait to see what he and his fiancée will cook up tonight for Steve’s Father’s Day Dinner.

Happy Father’s Day to all you wonderful dads out there!!! Have an awesome day!