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

Tarte Tatin

November 25, 2019 by Mary 4 Comments

Most of you know me as not such a sweet person. I mean, I am nice, I think, but I do prefer savory over sweet any day of the week. So over the past 6 months, I have made this Tarte Tatin recipe about 8 times, trying to perfect it in order to make it worthy enough to share it with you!

Great for Thanksgiving!

I think this could be a terrific alternative to the pumpkin and/or pecan pie for Thanksgiving this Thursday. It is a little healthier approach, but only if you decide, because holidays are always a special time, and should be kept so, with traditions in your family.

If you do decide to make this on Thursday, you can easily start it while the turkey is still in the oven, then bake it while the turkey is resting, if you only have one oven.

Easy as pie!

I initially learned about Tarte Tatin about 35 years ago. I had one of my first big projects with American Express and I was art directing a large photo shoot for a series of billing enclosures – remember those lovely little 4-color ad inserts you got with your bill every month in those days? Well the photo stylist I had hired to find all the props and to be on the set to style, suddenly started talking about this Tarte Tatin she had made the night before at her boyfriend’s apartment. They had had a bunch of people over, drinking and partying and she just went into the kitchen to make this, easily, and of course, everyone loved it!

So, man, I was in. But her recipe had you make a Pâte Brisée as the crust, which is really just a French version of a pie crust with a lot more butter and here, I just used my pie crust recipe made with all butter, and added an extra tablespoon. I had an already-made crust in the freezer, which then makes this recipe super easy.

What struck me about her story is that, A.) this had to be super easy to make if she just went in and whipped it up, probably even after having a few drinks at that – similar to Louise Fowler making me a Pecan Pie and B.) what a great way to wow people and make them happy, similar to “Oh you made a pie!”

I have had her recipe all this time, but now, I created this even easier recipe with what I have here.

My Tarte Tatin recipe is super quick, just as long as you can peel apples fast, but do take the time to make sure the sugar caramelizes completely and if you have a pie crust already made, it’s money!!

Here you go!!

TARTE TATIN – serves 6 – 8

4 Tbs. butter
¾ – 1 cup of white sugar, depending on the sweetness of your apples
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 8^th’s
Cinnamon – overall sprinkle
Nutmeg – overall grating of whole nutmeg
1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 9” unbaked pie crust made with all butter plus an added 1 Tbs. of butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Coat a 10-inch cast iron skillet with the butter, melted. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the top of the butter.

Place apple pieces on top of the butter and sugar, rounded sides down, in a circular pattern. Do cram them all in the skillet!

Turn heat to medium-high and cook until sugar dissolves and begins to caramelize. Continue to cook until apples soften and caramel begins to brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Watch carefully and then remove from heat.

While the apples are caramelizing, sprinkle a work surface (preferably use a pastry cloth with a rolling pin cover) with 1 Tbs. flour and roll pie dough into an 11-inch circle.

Place crust on top of apples in the skillet and roll a rolling pin over the top to cut off the excess crust.

Bake in the preheated oven until crust is golden brown, about 20 – 23 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Do not allow it to cool any longer. Place a flat plate over the top of the pan and carefully invert to release the Tarte Tatin from the pan. Scrape any remaining apples stuck to the pan back on top of crust.

Serve with a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream and LOVE. Enjoy!!

Char-grilled Broccoli with Sweet Tahini

October 27, 2019 by Mary 6 Comments

Did you know that broccoli is one of THE most nutritious vegetables? I just learned that and I LOVE broccoli. This recipe from Ottolenghi of Char-grilled Broccoli with Sweet Tahini is super delicious and really different tasting.

Make this soon while it is still warm enough to grill outside, because trying to grill it inside does produce a fair amount of smoke, so better to be outside.

Nutritional benefits

More importantly, back to the nutritious benefits of broccoli, did you know that a cup (91 grams) of raw broccoli provides 116% of your daily vitamin K needs, 135% of the daily vitamin C requirement and a good amount of folate, manganese and potassium? It’s a top source of natural plant chemicals shown to help lower the risk of some cancers (though many other things also affect your cancer risk).

According to one doctor, broccoli is all you need! It’s because the green vegetable is good for healthy gut bacteria, bowel health, and improving immune health.

As an overall marker of health, gut health is quite important as it has a “profound influence not only on our digestive function but also on our mood and brain function” and may also affect our weight and potential joint pain, according to Dr Chatterjee.

This link between healthy gut bacteria and a healthy mind is relatively new, as science emerges.

According to Harvard University Medical School, a person’s stomach or intestinal distress can actually be the cause of anxiety, stress, or depression “because the brain and gastrointestinal system are intimately connected”.

So this is why we must all eat more broccoli!!

Now I am NOT a lover of tahini. In fact, I do not like it at all in hummus, but because this is sweetened a bit with honey, along with the addition of garlic and lemon, this is just different, delicious, and delectable!

Charred Broccoli with Sweet Tahini Dressing.

CHAR-GRILLED BROCCOLI WITH SWEET TAHINI – serves 4

1 head of broccoli – 1+ lbs.
1 TBS. olive oil
Salt
Black pepper
2.5 TBS. tahini – at room temperature and stirred thoroughly so all oil is incorporated
1½ tsp. honey
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
Water – at room temperature
1 tsp. each white and black sesame seeds, toasted (or just 2 tsp. toasted white sesame seeds)

Trim any big leaves off of the broccoli and cut off the woody base of the stems. Blanch for three minutes in boiling, salted water until al dente, refresh, drain and leave to dry.

Toss the broccoli in the oil, a teaspoon of salt and a large pinch of pepper, then cook on a very hot, ridged griddle pan or outdoor grill for two minutes on each side, until slightly charred and smoky. Set aside to cool.

Whisk the tahini, honey, lemon juice, garlic and a pinch of salt, and slowly start to add water, half a tablespoon at a time. At first, the sauce will look as if it has split, but it will soon come back together. Add just enough water to make the sauce the consistency of honey – around three tablespoons in total. Arrange the broccoli on a platter, drizzle with sauce and scatter the sesame seeds on top. Serve at room temperature.

Charred Broccoli with Sweet Tahini Cose-up. — Charred Broccoli with Sweet Tahini Close-up

This is a perfect accompaniment to any meal. And you can make it ahead of time – no sweat!

I hope you LOVE this Char-grilled Broccoli with Sweet Tahini recipe as much as I do.

Rhubarb Sauce with (optional) Bing Cherries

September 9, 2019 by Mary 6 Comments

I know I haven’t been as attentive as promised, it’s just so hard with Steve being gone and I’m sorry. However, this Rhubarb Sauce with (Optional) Bing Cherries is super delicious, easy to make, and very versatile, so I wanted to share.

You can use it in either a sweet or savory position – great on grilled salmon, chicken, or pork, AND great in yogurt or on top of ice cream. Totally yummy, all ways.

Adding the cherries is extra work – to pit and halve them. It’s optional as you don’t really need them but I thought they added a nice full-bodied contrast to the texture of the sauce. And the cherries are nice in either the savory or sweet rendering. I called my good friend, Tiziana, in Italy and chatted for nearly an hour while I pitted and halved cherries and it was a great time for us to catch up on the news on everyone! Put your phone on speaker mode and you’re all set! SWEET!!

Hope all is good in all of your worlds.

Here’s the recipe for the Rhubarb Sauce With (Optional) Bing Cherries. Do make it, it’s so easy, and enjoy! Hurry, before the rhubarb and cherries are out of season.

Rhubarb Sauce with Bing Cherries Ingredients. — Rhubarb Sauce with Bing Cherries Ingredients

Rhubarb Sauce with (optional) Bing Cherries – cooking in the pan.

RHUBARB SAUCE WITH (OPTIONAL) BING CHERRIES – serves 6 – 8

1 lb. fresh rhubarb, washed, cleaned and cut into 1” pieces
1 ½ cups pitted and halved Washington Sweet or Bing cherries
¾ cup of water
¼ tsp. ground allspice
1 bay leaf
1” piece of fresh ginger, finely minced
1 stick of cinnamon
1 star anise
5 Tbs. sugar
Salt to taste – just a little
1 Tbs. unsalted butter

Combine all ingredients, except for the salt and butter, in a saucepan and simmer until all the rhubarb is broken down. The cherries will not break down and that is what gives you the different texture, which is nice. This will take 30 – 45 minutes or so. Stir often while cooking this.

Once the rhubarb is all broken down and you have a nice marmalade texture, remove from heat, add a little salt to taste and swirl in the butter until melted. Remove the bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and start anise.

Serve as a puddle on the plate for grilled salmon, sautéed pork chops, or grilled chicken thighs, and then top each item with a little sauce. This is also great stirred into yogurt or on top of ice cream. Only serve with LOVE!

ENJOY! Delizioso!!

Rhubarb Sauce in Pan With Spatula. — Finished Sauce – Luscious and Yummy!!!

Farro Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms, Chicken, Tomatoes, and Green Beans in a Sherry Cream Sauce

April 26, 2019 by Mary 16 Comments

I know it’s been a very long time. Too long in that I almost don’t know where to begin. I have a sister-in-law who has been begging me to write again, desperate for recipes. Since Steve passed, quite frankly I haven’t been making many worthy dishes. Not good enough to share. I make up very simple stuff on the fly with parchment paper being my best friend and roasting being my go-to method, therefore dirtying the least amount of dishes while still eating healthy. It’s pretty lazy. But last night, I had some energy and made this oh so delicious dish, Farro Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms, Chicken, Tomatoes, and Green Beans in a Sherry Cream Sauce. It’s not a very pretty dish as it’s rather brown, but it was so very yummy.

My good friend Margaret gave me this pasta, which is delicious! It’s made with farro, instead of flour and I do love farro. Margaret loves this too, but her husband, Wayne, not so much, which she forgot about and bought it again, so I got to be the lucky recipient of it!

Farro Pasta from Italy. — Delicious Farro Pasta

I made this combination, because that’s what I had around in the fridge and the tomatoes and green beans were added to give color. But they also added some super good flavor. The acid from the tomatoes cut the richness of the cream, while the green beans, lightly sautéed, gave it a nice crunch. The chicken was a smooth protein and I love using thighs as they are hard to overcook. The only way this dish could have been better is if I were in Tuscany and using fresh Porcini’s instead of Portobello’s. Now that would have been amazing and you probably wouldn’t even need chicken as those Porcini’s I cooked in Italy were To. Die. For. Seriously. I actually have never seen fresh porcini’s here, have you? Well if you do, buy them up and use, but they still probably won’t taste as good as they do in Tuscany.

WHAT DO WE DO TO OUR VEGETABLES?

Honestly, I don’t know what we do to our vegetables here but with all the gassing and packaging to make their shelf life longer, we must certainly lose nutrients too. We definitely lose taste. The best part of my time in Italy was being able to cook there with their ingredients. Every Saturday morning, I would start with a Porchetta sandwich, (yes! Even garlic in the morning, the porchetta was soooo good.), and then visit all the stalls for vegetables, cheeses and some very delicious pre-made dishes like round zucchini stuffed with bread crumbs, pancetta and vegetables – total yum!!

But here’s the thing, I had to learn to not buy too much, because the vegetables do not last long there. You have to be able to use most all of them within 2 – 3 days. Yes. That is certainly the maximum for leafy greens and maybe eggplant, zucchini or unripe tomatoes will keep longer. But their flavor is so much more intense, therefore more satisfying and much more delicious. And therefore, you don’t need to eat as much!

I do miss Italy. I miss my marvelous friends there. The pace is slower, taking in the enjoyment of each other’s company, coupled with the delicious food and wine, accompanied by the sexy lyrical sound of the language. Perhaps I will go back either this fall or next spring.

Back to reality, here is this simple but totally yummy dish of Farro Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms, Chicken, Tomatoes, and Green Beans in a Sherry Cream Sauce. This is a quick and easy one-dish meal, perfect for a weeknight dinner!

FARRO PASTA with PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS, CHICKEN, TOMATOES, and GREEN BEANS in a SHERRY CREAM SAUCE – serves 2

3 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 large Portobello mushrooms, cleaned and cut into chunks
1 – 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, washed, dried, and cut into strips
½ lb. green beans, ends removed, cut into 1.5” lengths
1 large tomato, cut into thick slices, and then chunks
¼ cup dry sherry
¼ cup of heavy cream
½ lb. farro pasta
Freshly grated Parmigiano and Pecorino cheeses

Place a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When boiled, salt liberally with coarse sea salt before adding pasta.

In a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil on medium-high heat and then add the mushrooms in a single layer and do not touch them for 8 minutes. They will soak up the oils and then release their own moisture and turn a nice golden brown, but you must resist the urge to stir them. After 8 minutes, stir and push them to the side of your skillet and add the chicken thigh strips in the center of your skillet to brown.

When the chicken is browned on one side, turn over to brown the other. Add the sherry and let that cook down and then stick your face in the skillet while you inhale the marvelous aromas! Then add the tomatoes and green beans, cooking until bright green and still crisp. Turn the heat to medium.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta until al dente. Drain and save some pasta water. Add the pasta to the mushroom chicken sauce in your skillet, along with the heavy cream and 2 – 3 Tbs. of pasta water.

Then grate the two cheeses on top, stir gently to combine and serve in warmed bowls, with love.

I hope you love this as much as I did!!

A Most Amazing Tuscan Al Fresco Dinner Party

September 11, 2018 by Mary 10 Comments

Hello there, or should I say: Ciao! Come and visit A Most Amazing Tuscan Al Fresco Dinner Party!

I have been away in Italy again for the past 3 months. I have not written a blog post since last November, although I have wanted to, it’s just been so very hard to get back into the swing of things.

It was a year on June 18^th that my dear husband, business partner, lover, and best friend, Steve, passed to the other side, completely unexpected, from kidney cancer. I know there is another world, purely energetic, but very real. I cannot accurately express how big the hole is in my heart. He was the love of my life, and I was his. I thought that the one-year mark would mean my grief would ease, but it has not. Instead it’s reared its ugly head even more forcefully.

Fortunately I have two great sons and two great daughter-in-laws and (drumroll please), a new grandson named Steven Malcolm, who is completely beautiful, adorable, full of love and the happiest baby ever!!! We call him Stevie. We don’t know why he is always so happy and loves to laugh so much but we sure love him. He makes me laugh. A lot.

Meanwhile, my friends in Italy are all so amazing and have taken such good loving care of me. I am so very grateful for all of them.

My final evening in Tuscany last week was a most marvelous dinner party, al fresco, in a tiny town called, Valtrito, overlooking Cortona. Marzia and her husband, Giorgio, hosted it at Marzia’s ancient family house, built in 1720. Giorgio is my good friend Tiziana’s, brother.

Marzia’s just picked figs as sweet as honey.

My friend Tiziana with her bounty of just picked figs to make her own jam.

What we call Italian purple plums, they call them “cosce di monaca”, which translates to “thighs of a nun”!

Sun-dried plums and Marzia's delicious crostata.

Tuscan sun-dried “cosce di monaca” and Marzia’s crostata con marmellata – with her own homemade plum jam.

Everything Marzia cooked or baked was made with ingredients grown in her garden! We started with incredible roasted peppers and eggplant, just picked incredibly sweet figs from their trees with prosciutto and sausage, sundried tomatoes and plums. Insanely good!!! Buonissimo!!! All with Marzia’s still warm, just baked bread, one whole wheat – pane integrale – and the other white – pane bianco toscano

Marzia’s beautiful table in a gorgeous setting…

Marzia and her DELICIOUS homemade, still warm breads. Tuscan bread has no salt. One explanation I heard is that in the 12^th century, salt had become scarce due to a high tax put on it and they decided to save the salt to use to cure the hams and sausages, so that none was left to also use for bread.

Marzia’s beautiful breads.

My first course or “starter” plate – so delicious!!

Marzia then served a marvelous lasagna, (most of us had seconds) followed by roasted chickens and potatoes along with a most delicious sausage stuffed zucchini half – my favorite – and the meal finished with a delicious crostata con marmellata made with her own homemade plum jam. In Italiano, the plums are called cosce di monaca, which translates to “thighs of a nun”! Don’t ask…

Our table was filled with Italian friends, a couple from Norway and even one other Americana, besides myself, so the conversation was wonderful and lively. I immediately spoke my limited Italian, but to the Norwegian couple who didn’t have any idea what the hell I was saying, being that they do not speak any Italian at all, which my Italian friend had to explain to me. It was a wonderful twist in that I knew more Italian than someone there!

All of our wines ending, of course, with Vin Santo on the far left.

Everyone brought wine and one guest was a sommelier while the other had worked at a winery nearby so the vino was free flowing and all so special and delicious with interesting stories to accompany each bottle.

Just feast your eyes on these pictures and my apologies for not getting all of the food, there was just too much goodness all around that as the evening progressed, conversation ruled, rather than photos.

The delicious roasted chickens.

Our view while eating!! #nofilter

Shots from the ancient main house, built in 1720.

The original kitchen. Look at how big that fireplace is!!

The original kitchen. Just look at how big that fireplace is!!

The currently used kitchen with yet another fireplace. And every good Italian kitchen has a meat slicer!! (I want one too!)

Marzia’s grandmother’s stove. It looks like a toy! (I love the floor!)

An overview of the table from a house window after the dinner.

A magical evening to be sure, a most memorable end to my three month journey in life learning more about myself, attempting to heal, enjoying the food, wine and most importantly the friendships I have in this spectacular setting. For that, I am so grateful.

I will be back again sooner, rather than later, with recipes. Promise!

Thanksgiving in Tuscany

December 3, 2017 by Mary 6 Comments

Last Saturday, I made (with a lot of help) Thanksgiving dinner at my friends Tiziana and Andreas’ house, in Tuscany, as they have a very large dining table, for 13 Italian friends, including my son and daughter-in-law from Poland.

Here is a video from the appetizer part of the evening.

And Tiziana’s beautiful table.

It was so great! They were all very excited and appreciative to eat and be a part of this truly American meal!!! Please take a look at all the pictures, and especially this video where my son Zach wheels out the huge turkey. It was 7.8 kilos – over 17 lbs. At the last minute, we all realized that there was no room on the table to carve the turkey and the platter was so huge and heavy with the bird on it, so Tiziana says, “let’s wheel it out” and is wiping off this cart that I never even realized she had! Zach wheels it in to the clapping and cheering of “TACCHINO!!!!”

It was thrilling and hilarious all at the same time!!

To make this meal happen here was quite a lot of work as well as nervousness involved on my part. The stakes were pretty high. People were traveling in from Roma, Milano and Berlin. I was cooking with unfamiliar things in a kitchen I had never cooked in before. I made all of my recipes in my Thanksgiving book, but to get all of the ingredients and convert from pounds to kilos and translate the spices and EVERYTHING – I must admit – it was quite a feat. And, you can’t buy things here too early because the fresh fruits and vegetables do not last as long as they do in the States. Either we put preservatives on everything and they don’t, or the refrigeration systems here are not as good, or both.

It literally took me about 4 days to shop and find everything, and some things could never be found here in Arezzo. Fresh cranberries and pecan halves were an example, but luckily I discovered that beforehand and Zach and Agata “imported” them from Poland. The so-called “sweet potatoes” they have here, are nothing like ours so I’ll have to correct that somehow for the next time, as that was the only thing that was not so good. Perhaps we’ll have to import those from Poland next time too.

Poor Zach had to make many trips back to my house for ingredients I had forgotten to bring to Tiziana’s house. The vanilla extract, that I had to search for high and low at stores here, (it’s different from ours, by the way, it’s thicker), never made it into the pecan pie as I had forgotten it and Zach couldn’t make in time to bring it over and the pie had to go into the oven and be out, so the turkey could get in.

I made the pie crust first and I guess I was still a little sleepy. I was able to borrow measuring cups from Cristina’s kitchen, but I left the one cup measure in my dishwasher and thought the ½ cup measure I had brought with me was the one cup measure so the pie crust had only half the amount of flour that it should have had!! AUGHHH!!!

They were very buttery!!

So needless to say, I was a nervous wreck. And, the turkey was done 1.5 hours before planned! But it was a DELICIOUS bird. Through Chef Franco here and my friends, I’ve made friends with Marcello the butcher who thinks I’m just the funny Americana. He speaks no English and my Italian now, even with lessons, is poco. He calls Chef Franco or Tiziana to find out what I really want, but he always gives me the best and also moves me up in the line in his shop, much to the ire of the other Italian women, and offers tastes of things to me – which is not often done here.

Bianca, Tiziana’s daughter, likes to drink martini’s and I love them too but I would not normally have one before such a big dinner but by the time cocktail hour started at 7:30 and I had been working since 8:30 am and 4 days before, I said, “what the hell – let’s have one!”

So between starting with martinis and the gorgeous bottle of 2007 Amarone (that has a very high alcohol content) that Franco (another Franco) brought, along with a lovely bottle of Vin Santo from Andrea, by the end of the evening, I was notably smashed – and then they surprised me with singing Happy Birthday right after midnight and a lovely gift, and flowers, and candied chestnuts, and I also received a surprise delivery of extremely gorgeous flowers and chocolates from my son and daughter-in-law in NYC. It was crazy good!!

So you can see it was quite an amazing day!!!

The dinner, I must admit, was spectacular. Zach said, “Best turkey ever!!” Marcello outdid himself. And, EVERYTHING else tasted amazing because the ingredients here are SO, SO GOOD!!! Everything! So Agata said, no matter where we are living in the future, we should always have Thanksgiving here in Tuscany!!

I agree!!

The apples and sausage and bread in the stuffing, the oranges from Napoli in the cranberries, even the cranberries from Poland, the baby butternut squashes for the soup were so, so sweet – it was all so amazing!!

Again, I don’t know what we have done to our food supply in the US, but here, everything tastes SO GOOD!!!! And of course, I added a lot of LOVE!!

I hope you enjoy these crazy pictures and videos!

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