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

Our Thanksgiving e-cookbook is now available on Amazon

November 19, 2013 by Mary 2 Comments

I wanted to let you know that our Thanksgiving e-cookbook is now available on Amazon. Download your copy and let it help make your life easier next week!

The book is already receiving rave reviews for its fantastic scheduling help (planning is an essential part of stress-free cooking!) and of course the scrumptious recipes. It is also beautiful to look at thanks to our wonderful designers here.

My family is very excited for Thanksgiving!! Everyone is coming from different places and at different times, but we will all be upstate by Wednesday evening. Everyone wants to contribute and help. Such excitement. There will be just six of us – both of our boys and we’re lucky to have both of their girlfriends too. One celebrated Thanksgiving four times already with different relatives and the other one’s family, (being natives of Poland), does not really celebrate this holiday. We are so lucky that we get to have them!

This past weekend, we had our neighbors from down the road over for dinner. We just met them. Ronny and Cathy are the owners of Ronnybrook Farm, along with Ronny’s brother. If you live here on the East coast, you may know them for their super creamy, fantastic ice cream, chocolate milk that is to die for, yogurt, regular milk and now eggnog, at this time of year. They brought us some ice cream and eggnog. I love eggnog but never buy it as it’s really very fattening. But hey, now that it’s in my fridge and was a gift, I have to have a little, right? My father loved eggnog around the holidays. He liked it both straight or spiked with a bit of bourbon but he always sprinkled some nutmeg on top. Isn’t it funny how all of these food memories are so fresh to me. I must have been destined to write this blog and share food stories.

For dessert for Ronny and Kathy, I made an apple crisp. A perfect dessert for this time of year and perfect a la mode! (I knew they were bringing ice cream.)

Apple crisps are easy to make, and warmed up with a little ice cream it’s a bit of heaven!

With working so hard to launch the e-cookbook last week, I have Thanksgiving fully on the brain. I’m starting to really think about all the things I’m grateful for: Time together with my family. New and old friends. Being able to show these people how much I love them with food. Being cooked for by some of the very talented people in my life. You, my dear readers. And even eggnog!

There is one more thing too. Remember adorable Domino? We saw him over the weekend and he is growing up so fast! Notice his horns are two different sizes. Ethel says he keeps bashing them, but they do grow back.

He’s so cute. He hangs out with her two dogs and wants to be petted like them too. Only he won’t chase the tennis balls!

Thanksgiving e-book is out!

November 13, 2013 by Mary 12 Comments

Dear Food Loving Friends,

I did it. (the very famous line from Presumed Innocent – great movie!) But no, really, our Thanksgiving e-book is out! I wrote our first e-book on how to make a fantastic Thanksgiving meal. I have collected and put together my favorite 13 recipes, along with a process guide on how to get everything accomplished on the days leading up to the big day. This makes it easy for you. Understand that I have been making Thanksgiving dinners for quite some time now and this is a collection of my very best recipes. It was only last year, that I discovered the perfect side dish of Brussels Sprouts with a Fish Sauce Vinaigrette. Yes, really! I know it sounds weird but this dish works really well in the pairing with the other rich dishes that surround the turkey.

Of course, you don’t have to make every recipe that is there. Pick and choose to suit your taste. But in this book you’ll find the very best way to roast your bird to achieve moist, melt-in-your-mouth white meat that doesn’t even need gravy. But don’t worry, I give you the best giblet gravy to make as well, seasoned with thyme and the crushed roasted vegetables that formed the rack for roasting the bird. My appetizers are great too – light and just right and you won’t need a second oven to prepare them in, because I don’t have one at our country house, which is where we’ll be celebrating. My stuffing has become globally famous and the cranberry sauce is just sweet enough, punctuated with fresh ginger and orange zest. Believe me, I’ve tried dozens of different recipes for all of these dishes and in this book, I only present the ones that made it to stardom.

The process guide combats intimidation and will keep you organized and sane. (So will a glass of wine.) We’ve even included little check boxes for you to appreciate your accomplishments along the way. Of course, the book is beautifully designed by our team here at PM+CO, because that’s what I do in my day job.

Check it out here with a full listing of recipes. Please share your experiences with me. I welcome your input!

With LOVE,

Mary Frances

Sauteed kale with roasted delicata squash

November 11, 2013 by Mary 20 Comments

Last Sunday night, we had dinner at our older son’s home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I must admit, I kind of invited us. Well, I wanted to see them and he is not fond of traveling way uptown to our apartment on a Sunday night so what’s a mom to do? He and his girlfriend put out an amazing spread.We started with a first course of pasta with a beautiful Arrabbiata Sauce sauce topped with parmigiano. This kid lived in Italy for six months and of course the dish was perfect. The pasta was cooked perfectly; the sauce was the perfect consistency. The spice and the blending was sublime. He knows what he’s doing. The main course was roasted chicken with herbs, sauce au jus, and sautéed kale tossed with roasted delicata squash, which was very different and terrific. His roasted chicken was perfect, as to be expected. He’s got that down. But the vegetable dish was really, really lovely. Unexpected, and a perfect autumn dish. The combo was unique – a sweet and slightly spicy blend. And healthy to boot!

His girlfriend gave me the skinny the next morning.

SAUTEED KALE WITH ROASTED DELICATA SQUASH – serves 4

1 delicata squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed and cut into slices
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 bunch kale, washed, stemmed and cut into 1” strips
Hot pepper flakes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss squash and rosemary sprigs in 1 – 2 tbs. olive oil and spread out on a baking sheet. Sprinkle on salt, pepper and cinnamon and roast for 15 – 20 minutes until fork tender.

Heat 2 tbs. olive oil in a skillet on medium to medium-high heat. Toss kale, for 2 minutes. Cover the pan for about 3 more minutes. Sprinkle on salt, fresh ground black pepper and hot pepper flakes. Toss until tender.

Add the squash to the skillet and toss to combine. Serve immediately. Enjoy!!

Now his girlfriend is also an expert dessert maker. Just look at this beautiful chocolate wonderfulness we had for dessert.We are soooo lucky!!

Rachael Ray

November 5, 2013 by Mary 18 Comments

I saw Rachael Ray at a Hudson Union Society event at the Cornell Club last night. She seems like a nice person, bubbly and drinking red wine throughout her interview with Joe Pascal. She has this new book out, Week in a Day – Five Dishes, One Day.

I would say though that she doesn’t look quite so… svelte as she does on the cover.

My concern with Rachael’s food is that many of her recipes are very high in calories and fat — one stick of butter or one cup of feta cheese in a recipe for a dish to serve four people! That’s just way too much. This is on the road to the Paula Deen lifestyle.

Rachel’s idea with the book is to use one day to make five meals for the week. That is certainly one way to tackle making your meals. I, however, look forward to the unwind time of making a meal at night.

I wasn’t always like that though. Truth be told, when my kids were young, I was fortunate enough to have full time, live-in help in NJ and our wonderful Jennifer had dinner made on the stove, waiting for us every night when we came home from work. So when Zach went off to college and we moved back into the city, cooking dinner every single night was new to me and a harsh reality at first. But once you get the hang of it, it’s good! In fact, if we have to go out too many nights in a row with business functions, I miss cooking. As I said, it’s a time to unwind, have a sip of wine and create something delicious with beautiful vegetables and herbs. I like to imagine what I want to eat and then see if I can achieve the flavor profile I’m looking for. It’s a design game with food!

Rachel’s idea is to encourage more people to feel empowered to cook a meal at home. That is my goal too — but not with unhealthy ingredients and portions. Because then you will not feel good, look good or have the pure energy to truly LOVE and enjoy life — because that is what it’s all about! Your body is an incredibly strong yet delicately balanced machine and you need to feed it with respect.

At this event, after the interview, the floor was opened to questions from the audience and the first question was about her use of fat and rich ingredients in her recipes. She responded that she eats pasta and macaroni and cheese and LOVES cheese and all those things. That’s ok of course — and it’s important to enjoy yourself — but all things in moderation.

I will never forget when my youngest son, Zach (who gave me the inspiration to write this blog and share my recipes) was eating a pasta dish one of our friends so nicely made for us when we moved. It was ziti with loads and loads of mozzarella and parmigiano cheese, butter, sausage, tomatoes, etc. He loved it! He was eating it slowly and said, “This is soooo good. You would never make something like this.”

And he was so right.

Hearts of Palm on a Salad

November 2, 2013 by Mary 10 Comments

Hearts of palm. What the heck are they? I’ve always liked them. My father used to like them and served them on special occasions. I’m sure my parents thought they were exotic. They are canned – I don’t use very many canned items but this one has piqued my interest again. I have never seen them fresh but maybe they’re only sold fresh in more tropical areas. Remove them from the can, drain, and rinse. Only buy the full spears and slice. I think they add interest to a simple green salad and make it really different.

So I looked them up and found out that they are a vegetable harvested from the soft core of a palm tree! They are very low in cholesterol, a good source of protein, riboflavin and potassium, and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and manganese. Who knew? They’re even good for you!

Now this is the sad part. Many wild species of palm serve as sources for hearts of palm, including coconut palms, Acai palms, and sabal palms. Unfortunately, the harvesting process kills these trees, because they only have one stem, and extracting the inner core essentially destroys the plant. In response to this issue, several palms have been domesticated and bred specifically for production of this vegetable. These trees have multiple stems, allowing farmers to harvest the hearts while allowing the rest of the tree to live. Thank goodness!

But most importantly, this simple salad is really refreshing and delicious. I also used the roasted almonds I talked about a few posts back. I hope you LOVE it as much as my husband and I did!

HEARTS OF PALM ON A RED LEAF LETTUCE SALAD – serves 2 as a first course

1/3 of a head of red leaf lettuce, washed and spun dry
2/3 of a can of hearts of palm, drained, rinsed, patted dry and sliced
2 small tomatoes, cut in wedges
12 roasted and salted whole almonds, cut in half
Sherry vinaigrette

Arrange torn lettuce leaves on a salad plate. Place sliced hearts of palm in the middle. Arrange tomato wedges around the hearts of palm. Sprinkle chopped almonds on top. Drizzle on salad dressing. Serve immediately.

Get it Right spatulas

October 18, 2013 by Mary 8 Comments

Some time ago, the good folks at GIR sent me one of their spatulas to try out. I have so enjoyed using it but haven’t had time to write about it until now. This Get It Right spatula is totally made of one piece of seamless silicone, which makes it super easy to handle, plus they come in super bright nifty colors. They sent me a hot pink one.

I have this awful habit of leaving spatulas or other stirring equipment in the pot or skillet that I’m using them in. In the one cooking class I ever took at ICE (Institute of Culinary Education), the teacher yelled at me for doing this, and rightfully so. I know it’s not right! I think I do this because I am always rushing around, usually hungry and it’s late, trying to be a short order cook, plus I want to keep the stirring utensils separate from one another. Then, usually the handle will get hot while sitting in there and I’ll pick it up and low and behold, burn myself again!! I have many scars on my hands and lower arms from dumb moves such as this.
This spatula is great as a stirring and sauteing vegetables tool and, you’ll never get burnt even if you leave it in the pot. Here you can see me using it to make some sautéed organic red stemmed dandelion greens with garlic in olive oil. It looks great, right? This was the worst freaking vegetable dish I have made in a very long time. (You couldn’t chew them! I guess you have to braise them?) But, the stirring instrument was wonderful!

I have one caution about it. It is not flexible enough to really scrape a bowl of a luscious sauce. But as a cooking instrument, it works! And, I love the colors. A red one would be nice for LOVE, don’t you think?