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

Your Thanksgiving Celebration

November 30, 2013 by Mary 16 Comments

I hope your Thanksgiving celebration was filled with LOVE and a smashing success! We all have so much to be thankful for. Please tell me what was your favorite part or dish.

We were lucky enough to have both of our boys home and got to have both girlfriends with us too. It is so about being together, cooking together and even cleaning up together. I come from a very large family – six kids – and when my parents were still alive and we all came home (to St. Louis) with our spouses or mates, it was absolute mayhem – all in a good way. Everyone was doing something from building a fire, to arguing about the music being played, to making a new cocktail for everyone, to complaining that someone doesn’t do any work but just supervises, to figuring out where to put all the food and wine, and I remember my mother just shaking her head and trying to continue to move through everyone to do her cooking. Although we have only two boys, we created the same thing! At one point on Thursday, I looked at my husband, right before dinner and I was like, OMG, we created a mini version of my family all over again. It’s a good thing but it really made me laugh – it can even happen with just two kids!

My turkey was too big – 19.5 lbs. I had asked our farmer for a 16 – 17 lb. bird but somehow he had something larger in mind and just those 2 – 3 extra pounds made a difference. I have no doubt we will eat all the leftovers but when it’s that big, the legs are really tough on these free range birds. The thigh dark meat was delicious but the legs, not so much. It looked gorgeous! And some of the outer white meat was a wee bit dry in order to cook the whole thing through. So I think the 17 lb. mark is the max. If you need more, buy two smaller birds.

For those of you who purchased my e-cookbook and made some or all of the recipes, I hope you found it helpful. Please send me any comments to make it even better for next year.

My birthday was Tuesday and my younger son and his girlfriend were at our house upstate, greeting us when we arrived with appetizers and dinner prepared. I told you I was lucky and had a lot to be thankful for! For appetizers, we had local gouda cheese cubes with olives, radishes and cherry tomatoes. Dinner was braised chicken legs, with tomatoes, onions, garlic and olives served with a crusty baguette to mop up all of the delicious sauce, and some roasted zucchini. They were so sweet and you have no idea how special it was to arrive to a warm glowing, terrific smelling house with dinner all ready! And it was really yummy!

Tonight, all four of them are cooking up my “real birthday feast. “ They won’t tell me what they’re doing and I was told to vacate the premises. They have plied me with some hot rum apple punch and I am out in my art studio staying out of the way. They say it will be a complete meal with appetizers, dinner, dessert and even entertainment! Stay tuned and I will let you know what happens.

I hope you all continue your celebrations and have a great rest of the weekend!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Crispy Sage Leaves

November 24, 2013 by Mary 17 Comments

I love butternut squash. I will be serving a butternut squash and bourbon soup for Thanksgiving as a first course. That recipe, is of course in my e-cookbook. (That soup is bowl-licking good. In fact, I just finished making it for Thursday – delish!) But this past week, I made one of my favorite recipes for a side dish – Roasted Butternut Squash with Crispy Sage Leaves. You roast the squash with onions, put on some good honey three quarters of the way into the roasting period and then top it with some browned butter and crispy sage leaves. It’s the perfect fall dish!

This past week, The New York Times dining section talked about how you must have something orange on your table for the Thanksgiving feast. I have my sweet potatoes with maple syrup and ginger, but you could easily have this dish too, if you’re making a different soup, as you wouldn’t want to repeat the vegetable in the meal.

Here’s my recipe to make and serve with LOVE.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH WITH CRISPY SAGE LEAVES – serves 6

One butternut squash – 2.75 – 3 lbs. – peeled, seeded and cut into 1” chunks
One large yellow onion, cut into 1” chunks
2 tbs. olive oil
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 tbs. honey
4 tbs. butter
36 large fresh sage leaves, washed and thoroughly dry

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine squash and onion on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle on the olive oil, sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste. Toss all together thoroughly and roast in the oven for 30 minutes. Take pan out and toss again. Drizzle on honey and return the pan to the oven for 10 – 15 minutes more, until the squash is fork tender.

When squash is nearly done, melt the butter in small skillet or saucepan until really hot. Throw in the dry sage leaves and stir until butter is browned and leaves colored a bit.

Transfer squash to shallow bowl, so you have more surface area on top. Drizzle on the browned butter and distribute the crispy sage leaves. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

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.