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

Grilled Potato Salad

May 25, 2020 by Mary 1 Comment

Potato Salad signals summer is here – right? And there are many potato salad recipes out there – with mayo, or sour cream or German style that’s warm with vinegar and the list goes on. But I wanted something different, something a little smoky, but light, and I wanted anchovies and capers, so I came up with this Grilled Potato Salad recipe!

You see, I’ve been quarantining in upstate New York with a grill on the deck. Since I am by myself, and I am not fond of doing dishes, I try to grill whatever I can. Heck, I even grilled a whole baby bok choy the other day – it was pretty good but the leaves burnt in order to get some tenderness to the core…oh well!

But here, I grilled the potato slices and scallions first, then combined them with the oil and lemon juice dressing, trying for a completely new version of the German Potato salad recipe. I find the German one nice for its lightness, (no mayo) but too vinegar-y.

What do you think? Tell me your favorite!

I did get a mayo potato salad in the Tanglewood Cookbook a few years ago. You can check out that recipe here.

Then I also did a riff on a Martha Stewart recipe that is super good, but time consuming and a lot of work. Particularly in peeling all of those Cipollini onions – not fun.

So, this Grilled Potato Salad recipe is quick and easy! It won’t spoil your fun on this Memorial Day Holiday. And, it is best eaten warm.

Make this with LOVE and enjoy!!

GRILLED POTATO SALAD – serves 6

1.5 lbs. small organic gold creamer potatoes, sliced into 1/3” thick slices
10 scallions – use about 8” in length
2 Tbs. EVOO

Dressing:

3 Tbs. lemon juice
1 tsp. grainy mustard
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
5 anchovies, finely chopped
1.5 Tbs. capers, drained, patted dry with a paper towel and chopped
1/3 cup EVOO
Salt – to taste
Pepper – fresh ground to taste
Parsley – chopped for garnish

Method:

Toss the scallions and potatoes with the olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste. Light your grill to medium heat. If your grill is particularly hot – turn it in between medium and low.

Carefully place the potatoes and scallions on a vegetable grill pan, being cautious as the olive oil will cause a flare up, so back off, then spread the potatoes and scallions out in a single layer. Grill for 4 – 5 minutes, check to see if beautifully browned. Remove the scallions at this point as they will most likely be nicely grilled. Use a metal pancake turner to loosen all the potato slices yet keeping the lovely grilled surfaces. Turn each potato slice over with tongs and grill for another 4 – 5 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender.

Meanwhile whisk everything together for the dressing, except for the olive oil, Then slowly add the olive oil, whisking while adding, to emulsify.

Chop up the scallions.

Remove the potatoes to a wide bowl and let cool for 10 minutes. Then add the scallions, toss to combine. Add the dressing and fold everything together. Garnish with parsley. This is best served warm and with LOVE.

Let’s give thanks to all of our amazing veterans who keep us safe and democracy alive on this Memorial Day!!

Rhubarb Crisp for an Easy Memorial Day Dessert

May 23, 2020 by Mary 5 Comments

It’s the season!

I adore rhubarb and right now it is in season! This rhubarb crisp recipe is perfect for an easy Memorial Day Dessert, so you can still relax. Because the recipe has all the specific ingredients I was craving, namely oats and pecans, along with the simplicity in preparation, I vote this as a winner anytime fresh rhubarb is available.

Heck, I think you could even use frozen rhubarb as rhubarb does freeze well. And typically, “crisp” recipes are certainly easier than a pie or a biscuit topping and this one is even super easy because you melt the butter and combine everything with your hands.

I made this as a surprise dessert to take over to Margaret and Wayne’s house for our first pandemic dinner out. We had all been very careful, only going out to buy food while fully gloved and masked. We hadn’t seen anyone else in the last 2 weeks. And we were all feeling great and healthy.

I was asked to bring an appetizer and I had some good store-bought hummus, chopped up some veggies and completed that request.

But now I had this gorgeous, freshly picked rhubarb from my farmer friend, Ethel, and I felt I must put this to work as I thought I remembered that Margaret loved rhubarb and sure enough I was right!

I was running late however with the crisp still in the oven. I texted over the facts, not telling them why I was late, and Wayne said OK. I then asked if they had vanilla ice cream.

Wayne texted back that they already had a dessert.

Surprise!!

I sighed, but ignored him and brought my own vanilla ice cream. (That’s what friends are for, right?)

When I arrived with the still very, very warm crisp, it was greeted with wide smiles and Margaret said, “Don’t you ever listen to my husband if he says we have dessert and you have this in the oven!”

I was glad I didn’t.

You will be glad too when you make this Rhubarb Crisp yourself this weekend! Serve with ice cream and LOVE and sit back and enjoy the compliments!

My apologies – in my rush to get Margaret and Wayne’s, I neglected to take a picture of the finished crisp. Next time!!

RHUBARB CRISP – serves 6

For the filling:

4 1/2 cups sliced rhubarb (about 6 stalks) – ½” pieces
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

For the crisp topping:

6 Tbsp. melted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. French Grey salt or Kosher salt
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Grated fresh nutmeg

For serving:

Use the best quality of vanilla ice cream.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a 10” cast-iron skillet or in a square baking dish, toss rhubarb with filling ingredients until evenly incorporated.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, pecans, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Grate the fresh nutmeg evenly all over. Use your hands to incorporate melted butter into flour mixture until mixture has pea-sized clumps.

Scatter topping over rhubarb mixture and bake until rhubarb is bubbling and topping is golden, about 30 minutes.

Rhubarb Crisp ready to go into the oven!

Easy peasy!

Pasta all’Amatraciana

May 17, 2020 by Mary 6 Comments

This dish, Pasta all’Amatraciana gives me great joy to make and is so full of amazing memories. You see, when I ran off to Italy by myself for two 3-month periods after Steve passed, I would fly into Milano, to be able to visit with Bianca, and stay at this little boutique hotel, a block and a half away from this very traditional restaurant. I’d order a difficult martini (they really don’t know mixed cocktails very well), 1/2 bottle of chianti, this dish, and literally, just be in heaven. Sigh…!!!

My story…

This was, of course, after the long flight. Then I would walk up and down several blocks numerous times to work it off, go back to the hotel and sleep blissfully all happy and full. In fact, one time, I completely overslept my alarm and missed my train to Arezzo the next day, causing some complications for my dear friend Tiziana.

In this Pasta all’Amatraciana recipe, you must have the heat with the chili flakes. Ideally, you should have bucatini, but in this pandemic time I used leftover spaghetti.

The meat

Ideally, you should use guanciale, which in Italy, is readily available and my absolute favorite ingredient to cook with as it imparts SO much flavor to any dish. Guanciale is the cheek of the pig. Because you might not have any luck finding it here, just use pancetta or really good, high quality, no nitrate, local bacon, which is what I used in these photos. But if you can find it – A. Maz. Ing. – and relish it!

This is a saucy pasta, which is what I remember from my last visit but who knows??? The restaurant was bought by Chinese folks. Only the sweet old Italian waiters were left who wanted to truly please this tired Americana.

They serve you a huge piled plate of pasta. I ate the whole thing.

I walked a lot. I slept very well.

Here’s the recipe to make with LOVE and create some fond memories of your own.

Pasta all’Amatriciana – serves 4 – 6

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 pound of bucatini or spaghetti pasta
½ pound guanciale, chopped into ½-inch chunks or nitrate-free local bacon
1 medium-to-large-size onion, minced (at least 1 cup’s worth)
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
6 cloves of garlic, coarsely chopped
1 can (28 oz.) of San Marzano tomatoes (make sure the can says “D.O.P.”) hand-crushed
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus a little extra for serving
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

The Process

Heat the oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add the guanciale or bacon and cook for about 5 minutes, then add the onion and saute for another 3 – 5 minutes until the guanciale or bacon starts to get a little brown, stirring constantly. Add the red pepper flakes and let their flavor infuse the oil for about 30 seconds. Next, add the garlic and cook until it softens and starts to get some golden-brown spots, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes to the skillet. Pour them out of the can and hand crush each tomato into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and then lower the heat and let cook for about 15-20 minutes, stirring regularly. Test for salt and add more if necessary. Don’t go too crazy because the guanciale or local bacon will provide ample flavor and the pecorino will add salt too.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and generously salt the water once it starts boiling with coarse sea salt. Add the pasta and cook until it is just shy of al dente – 2 minutes less than the lesser amount of cooking time it says on the package. Reserve about ¾ cup of the pasta water and then drain the pasta.

Add the pasta to the tomato-sauce pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes, adding the pasta water little by little to prevent it from getting too dry stirring constantly, making sure the pasta is only cooked to al dente. You should use 1/4 – 1/2 cup as the pasta needs more water to finish cooking. Stir in the Pecorino Romano. Taste and season with pepper and only a little salt if it needs it. Serve with a little extra Pecorino if desired and LOVE!

Enjoy!!

Meatloaf

May 3, 2020 by Mary 4 Comments

What a time we are in, huh? I so worry about the core of our country and what is happening to our democracy. Because if you follow all the politics behind the scenes, it is distressing. So, I suggest you make a Meatloaf to soothe everyone’s anxiety.

Finished meatloaf on a white platter. — Finished meatloaf!

Nothing can calm nerves better than a good old-fashioned Meatloaf for a weeknight or Sunday dinner, just like Momma used to make, right?

And then, what is better the next day, than a meatloaf sandwich with a little extra catsup? Pure heaven in my book!

I had always thought of meatloaf as a basic dish, nothing special, and really hadn’t made it in such a long time. But as my kids were visiting, and I had a big pack of local ground beef in the fridge and a birthday dinner to make for my son, so I suggested meatloaf!

He was excited!

I was thrilled.

My mom’s finishing touch

Because this meatloaf recipe contains my additions to my mother’s recipe, it’s a little richer but you must know that the finishing touch of Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and dried oregano is all hers. I remember from childhood, loving to scoop up the extra sauce that fell down on the sides in the pan, mixed with some of the fat from the beef and being told, that was a no-no. “Too fatty. Would make me fat.”

Why everyone was worried about my weight, I will never know, as I was not and am not fat.

Geez!

There is one part of me, growing up with six men in the house (five older brothers and Dad), that believes that somehow they wanted me to be perfect – according to a perfection in their eyes. And we all know that that is not possible. C’est la vie.

Your ingredients matter

At any rate, it’s really important to use the best dried oregano that you can find. I use Greek dried oregano, because it is super aromatic and potent.

It is always about the quality of the ingredients to make your dish sing. The Dijon mustard is also super important. And this isn’t just any old meatloaf. This recipe makes a meatloaf that will delight your senses, at least for two days. Because sandwiches the next day are a real treat!

On another note…

I do finally feel like I have broken through my veil of grief of Steve’s passing. It is hard to believe, but it will be 3 years in June. Last weekend was the first weekend I really felt like cooking again. Cooking new dishes, researching recipes, making my shopping lists. My daughter-in-law said, yeah, she finally felt like I was back again.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Meatloaf ready to go into the oven. — Meatloaf ready to go into the oven

MEATLOAF – serves 4 with leftovers

2.5 lbs. ground beef
1 smallish onion, finely chopped
1 egg – lightly beaten with a fork
½ cup whole milk
¾ cup Panko
1 Tbs. Dijon Mustard
2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. crushed red pepper
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
20 grinds of fresh black pepper

TOPPING:
I 8oz. can of Hunt’s Tomato Sauce – it’s actually all natural!
Dried Oregano – preferable Greek

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

Combine all ingredients for the meatloaf (not the topping) and mix thoroughly but do not overmix. Just get everything blended.

Cover a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and shape the meatloaf as shown in the photo.

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 F degrees.

Then boost the oven heat up to 425 F degrees and top the meatloaf evenly with Hunt’s Tomato Sauce and sprinkle oregano on top as shown in the photo. Return to the oven and bake for 12 – 15 minutes more.

Remove from the oven and let the meatloaf rest for 10 minutes in the pan. Carefully transfer the meatloaf to a warmed platter using 2 pancake turners. Garnish with parsley. Slice to serve.

Serve with LOVE.

Enjoy leftovers as meatloaf sandwiches with catsup and your hero status!

Strawberry Shortcake

April 30, 2020 by Mary 3 Comments

I first posted a picture of this Strawberry Shortcake on my Instagram account and received so many likes, including a request for the recipe. So, here is my recipe for Strawberry Shortcake that is really quite easy and as you can see, it is one of those things that makes a super luscious, impressive dessert!

I made this as the belated birthday dessert for my daughter-in-law, Kate, and the store had crappy looking strawberries, so we used blackberries and raspberries. Any good berry you like will do! I don’t like my desserts too sweet, so I do not add much sugar to the fruit as I think you really don’t need it. But do add more if you so choose.

Strawberry Shortcake signals spring to me as spring and summer are the height of strawberry season vs. the flavorless variety available in the winter. Agata, my other daughter-in-law in Poland, said the Instagram post made her craving for strawberries. And I found some good ones the next day after serving Kate her special treat.

You can wrap up the shortcake in aluminum foil and warm it in a preheated 350-degree oven for about 7 minutes and it will taste just as fresh as the day you made it – as these pictures show with the strawberries.

The other secret ingredient!

The real secret here is a tip from my mom. Make sure the cake is warm, split it and put super thin little pats of butter on the bottom portion, then lightly salt it, if you are using unsalted butter. Then put a layer of whipped cream on top of the buttered portion, followed by the berries to fall over it. The butter makes everything just a little richer, fresher and yummier.

Some Strawberry Shortcake recipes have a lot of butter in the cake portion. But I prefer a lighter cake and then using the butter fresh, as a finishing touch, as my mom did it. Super delish.

The background story…

When I was a little girl around ten years old, my mom gave me the responsibility to make a dessert every night during the summer. That was my “job”. And now don’t forget that I am the youngest of six, with five older brothers. Growing up in the Midwest, dessert was mandatory, even if it was just simply Jell-O and Cool Whip (a newfangled thing at that time). Yuk!

So, I had to choose the dessert recipe, make sure I had the ingredients and make it in time for dinnertime. Making Strawberry Shortcake, was one of my go-to recipes as it was simple, easy and impressive. And, my mom grew strawberries in our garden in the backyard that were so sweet and delicious!!

In those days, Bisquick was also a relatively newfangled thing that you could use to make biscuits, pancakes, waffles and yes, shortcake. And I often used Bisquick, but because this recipe is so easy and I have an aversion to premade processed food, please go with this recipe. It will not disappoint.

Enjoy!! And serve with LOVE.

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE – serves 6 – 8

3 pints fresh strawberries, hulled and thickly sliced, or other mixed berries, leaving 6 – 8 berries whole, with the green tops, for the final decoration when serving.
¼ cup white sugar
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons white sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup unsalted butter – very cold
1 egg – at room temperature
⅔ cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 rounded Tbs. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Slice the strawberries (leave other small berries whole), and toss them with 1/4 cup of white sugar. Cover and set aside so juices will accumulate.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Butter and flour one 8 inch round cake pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder, 2 tablespoons white sugar and the salt. Sift all ingredients together into a bowl. With a pastry blender or knife, cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Lightly beat the egg in another small bowl. Beat in the milk to combine.

Make a well in the center of the butter and flour mixture and add the beaten egg and milk. Stir until just combined and no flour is visible. The dough will be more bread-like and sticky. Use your hands for the final mix to combine everything.

Spread the batter into the prepared pan. You will have to work at spreading it out. Bake at 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool partially in the pan on a wire rack.

The finishing touches

Whip the heavy cream into luscious soft peaks, adding the powdered sugar and vanilla after it first starts to thicken. Do not over whip.

Slice partially cooled cake in wedges and then split each wedge in half, making two layers. Put super thin little pats of butter on the bottom portion, then lightly salt it, if you are using unsalted butter. Then put a layer of whipped cream on top of the buttered portion, top with berries to fall over it and top with the other cake layer. Finish with a dollop of whipped cream and one whole strawberry or some small berries as shown in the photos.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy.

Lemon Ricotta Cake

April 5, 2020 by Mary 4 Comments

With the pandemic of Covid-19 in full force, we all need to stay at home and cook great meals, even dessert, with this delicious Lemon Ricotta Cake recipe! This is super simple to make and results in a lovely lemony, super moist, delectable cake.

I first made this Lemon Ricotta Cake when I had bought a bunch of ricotta to make a requested lasagna for one of my kids and then, he was not going to be able to stay for dinner so no lasagna (I wasn’t going to make it just for me) and a large container of ricotta sitting in my refrigerator. What to do? Make a cake for my dear friends, Margaret and Wayne, coming over for dinner two nights later!

You may remember, Margaret is a terrific baker – excellent cook too – but a great baker! She makes these amazing yeast sticky buns around the holidays that I absolutely adore. I get a little frightened of yeast-y things, unless it’s my mom’s homemade Polish bread recipe, which I’ve made a million times. Margaret is unfazed by any dessert or sweet recipe and just does it with aplomb.

For toppings…

Because of this, I supremely value Margaret’s approval on sweets, as she is the expert, and this cake passed with flying colors. I originally served it with ice cream, but I found that to be too cold and masked the natural moistness that is inherent in the cake. The whipped cream, which I used last night to celebrate my son’s birthday (notice the candle holes on top of the cake), along with blueberries and these odd yellow berries called, Cape Gooseberries, was better than ice cream and just delicious!

Easy peasy…

In making this Lemon Ricotta Cake, you don’t even need to pull out the mixer, just make sure the butter is completely softened and you can mix by hand with a spatula.

And it is not only the ricotta that makes it so moist but also the grated apple – an added surprise!!

Make this nice little sweet to end your meal or enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea in the morning.

Happy Sunday everyone – stay safe and stay at home – we can do this!!

Lemon Ricotta cake batter in the pan ready to go into the oven.

LEMON RICOTTA CAKE – serves 8

9 tbsp unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing the cake pan
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 cup + 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 Tbs. baking powder
Pinch of salt – preferably French grey
1 cup ricotta cheese
Zest of 1.5 lemons
1 medium apple, peeled and grated
Powdered sugar, to dust the top
Blueberries and/or Cape Gooseberries (Optional)
Heavy Whipping Cream – whipped (Optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease an 8″ cake pan with some softened butter. Cover the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter that as well. Dust all over with flour.

In a large bowl, mix the butter and sugar together using a rubber spatula. When the two are combined and creamy, add in the eggs and mix to combine. You may want to use a whisk at this point.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir everything together until all of the flour mixture is incorporated.

Then add in the ricotta, lemon zest, and grated apple. Again, stir everything to combine – there should be no visible clumps of dry ingredients, but do not overstir.

Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the batter. Bake the cake for 30 – 35 minutes, until the cake is beginning to get golden on top and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before flipping out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment paper. Once the cake has cooled, dust the top with powdered sugar.

Serve with love, whipped heavy cream, fresh blueberries and/or Cape Gooseberries and and enjoy!!

Lemon Ricotta cake out of the oven, cooling.

Lemon Ricotta cake with powdered sugar and birthday candle holes.

Pork with Ginger, Spring Onions and Eggplant – An Ottolenghi Recipe

March 7, 2020 by Mary 2 Comments

I have a marvelous neighbor named Marilyn. She takes care of my plants when I am away, keeps an extra set of keys for me when I get locked out and enjoys good food and wine. I try to have her over for dinner at least once every two weeks, which works out about right with my traveling schedule. That way, I feel I can get some healthy food into her at least once in a while. For my last dinner I made this Ottolenghi recipe of Pork with Ginger, Spring Onions and Eggplant and it was so delicious and different, I wanted to share it with you!

Brilliant cooking and ingredients in this recipe:

This recipe combines a unique way of cooking the eggplant that doesn’t use up oodles of oil, because you know how eggplant can easily absorb tons of it. Instead, you steam the eggplant in one of those little collapsible steamer baskets, or a fine mesh colander, which I think is just brilliant! And much lower in calories.

This dish also calls for many spring onions or scallions, as several Ottolenghi recipes do, and while I was unfamiliar with using so many, I now quite like the idea a lot and have been applying the concept to other recipes as well. They are delicious and add a lovely green spark.

The mirin, the salty and sweet effects of the different soy sauces, along with the crunchiness of the peanuts and toasted sesame seeds, all topped with cilantro, make this a super yummy dish. My kind of eating!

Marilyn and I both moved in at the same time when our building first opened nearly 13 years ago. She was a hot shot bankruptcy attorney with her own very successful private practice. (For example, early in his career, Mario Batali was one of her clients, before he started molesting the other women in the kitchen. And yay that Weinstein got his partial due but why did the jury have 7 men on it?)

Then Marilyn realized she started forgetting some things about her cases. And then she was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. So, she gave up her practice yet still lives next door with full time, live-in help.

Delicious!

I love Marilyn. She is always so positive and fun. Even today, she says she is happy and lucky. She subsequently named her two cats, Happy and Lucky and she uses the word, “delicious” to describe many things, including people. When in fact, SHE is delicious.

I cook and Marilyn brings the wine and we always have a hilarious time, discussing sex and old boyfriends of hers and my new online dating escapades.

And delicious is just the word she used over and over again for this dish, moaning mmm’s while she ate. Chop everything ahead of time and it is a one-dish meal that comes together quickly that I know you will probably want to make again and again.

So, give it a go and remember to serve it with LOVE and steamed rice. You can also think of Marilyn and me and our sex discussions!

Pork with Ginger, Spring Onions and Eggplant – An Ottolenghi Recipe - served on a white plate with white rice.

Pork with Ginger, Spring Onions and Eggplant – An Ottolenghi Recipe – edited by me – serves 4

3 eggplants (2 lbs.), cut into 1¼” dice
Kosher salt
¼ cup peanut oil
3 bunches spring onions, chopped on an angle into 1¼” pieces
2¾” piece ginger (60g), peeled, julienned
5 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 green chili, finely sliced, seeds in (I used ¾ of a large jalepeno chili)
1¼ lb. ground pork
3 Tbs. mirin
2 Tbs.dark soy
2 Tbs. keçap manis – it is a thick and dark molasses-like sauce with palm sugar and soy sauce as its base and with the addition of aromatic spices for flavor. The word manis means “sweet” in Malay/Indonesian and so the sauce is often referred to as “sweet soy sauce.” Here is a link to make your own! https://bit.ly/2wFeIGB
1 tsp. sesame oil (I used toasted sesame oil)
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
3/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped plus more for garnish
1/2 cup roasted and salted peanuts
1 Tbs. sesame seeds, toasted
Fresh lime wedges

As Yotam recommends, get everything chopped beforehand so you can just quickly throw things in the pan and have this ready in a jiffy!

Place the eggplant in a bowl with 1½ tsp salt. Mix well, then transfer to a steamer (or a colander). Fill a large saucepan with water to a depth of 1 inch. Bring to the boil, then place the steamer (or colander) in the pan and cover with the lid or seal well with tinfoil to prevent the steam escaping. Reduce the temperature to medium-high and steam for 12 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, pour half the oil into a large sauté pan on high heat. Add spring onion, ginger, garlic and chili and saute for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the garlic starts to color. Transfer to a bowl. Add the remaining oil to the pan, add the pork and fry, breaking up lumps, for 3 minutes. Add the mirin, soy sauce, keçap manis, sesame oil, vinegar and ½ tsp salt. Cook for 2 minutes, then return the spring onion mixture to the pan. Cook for 1 minute, then remove from the heat – there should be plenty of liquid – and stir in the cilantro and one half of the peanuts.

Spread the eggplant on a platter and top with the pork mixture. Garnish with the sesame seeds, remaining peanuts and cilantro. A squeeze of fresh lime is also very nice!

Serve with steamed rice and LOVE, along with fresh lime wedges. Enjoy!!

Pasta with Pancetta, Chicken, Pecorino and Broccoli Rabe – A HANGOVER HELPER!

December 31, 2019 by Mary 3 Comments

Happy New Year to everyone!! Be safe out there celebrating. I wanted you to have this recipe of Pasta with Pancetta, Chicken, Pecorino and Broccoli Rabe as it can be a real hangover helper for tomorrow. Top it with an easy-over egg for extra protein, should you need it, and you’ll be in good shape to be able to enjoy New Year’s Day, 2020.

Pasta with Pancetta, Chicken, Pecorino and Broccoli Rabe

Comes together in only 40 minutes!

This dish comes together easily and quickly and should take no more than 40 minutes from start time to serving, even with a hangover. I use only one pot for the pasta and to blanch the broccoli rabe, in order to remove the bitterness.

Cooking for me now, is at once a pain and a joy. It is labor intensive – as I have to clean up too. However, when I do muster the energy, I find I get my mojo back and truly enjoy it! I can literally feel getting back in the grove. Because this recipe that I made up on the fly is really worthy of sharing with you, dear readers, I wanted to make sure you got it today, for help with tomorrow.

Admittedly, I LOVE to cook. I hate to clean. But I love to eat good, healthy food. So, there you have it; I continue to cook. It’s just that some things I make may last 4 – 5 meals. Which means I have to plan carefully, around dinner dates with friends or just needing the company of other humans as I frequent certain restaurants by myself and eat at the bar, hoping to have nice conversations with folks, besides of course, the bartender.

Toasted breadcrumbs are always a good addition.

I absolutely adore toasted breadcrumbs on top of pasta dishes, so I added them here as I had some leftover croutons (that I had sautéed in duck fat to make them divine!) that I just crushed to make crumbs. Genius, right? (heh)

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Wishing you all health, happiness and everything you’ve dreamed of for 2020!! Another new decade!

PASTA WITH PANCETTA, CHICKEN, PECORINO AND BROCCOLI RABE – serves 3 – 4

½ lb. of pasta – Strozzapreti or fusilli
Coarse sea salt
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 ¼” thick slice of pancetta, cut in ¼” cubes
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, all fat removed and cut into ¼” slices
5 cloves of garlic, sliced
½ of a fresh serrano chile, thinly sliced with seeds and membrane
½ cup of chicken broth, preferably homemade or low salt if in a box
1 head of broccoli rabe, ends trimmed off and sliced in 11/2” sections
½ cup of Pecorino cheese, grated
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Toasted bread crumbs or crushed croutons

The easy process.

Put a large pot of water on to boil. After it comes to a boil, salt liberally with the coarse sea salt. Salt only after it comes to a boil so you don’t pit your pot. Add the chopped broccoli rabe and blanch for 1 – 2 minutes. Remove the broccoli rabe with a strainer, leaving the water to boil to cook your pasta.

Meanwhile, warm the oil in a large skillet, on medium heat, large enough to hold everything. Add the pancetta and sautè for 5 – 6 minutes until nearly cooked. Then add the garlic and your chicken strips and cook, tossing until all pink is gone from the chicken. Slice the serrano chili over the skillet with a hand mandoline and toss.

Meanwhile, salt the boiling water again and add your pasta, cooking it 2 minutes less than the lesser number on the package for your cook time.

Add the drained broccoli rabe to the skillet with the chicken and toss and continue to cook.

When the pasta is nearly at its time, add the chicken broth to the skillet.

Drain your pasta and add it to the skillet. Toss everything together for about 2 – 3 minutes to finish cooking the pasta. Do a taste test for the pasta, keeping it al dente. Then add the grated cheese and a good amount of fresh ground pepper. Toss everything together and serve in warm bowls.

Top with toasted breadcrumbs and serve with LOVE.

Shakshuka

December 22, 2019 by Mary 4 Comments

Shakshuka. The name is a bit of a tongue twister, but do learn to say it and make it! This shakshuka recipe is so good, you’ll find yourself making it again and again. It is relatively easy and a perfect brunch dish – or even dinner on a busy weeknight. Paired with a good piece of toasted bread, preferably sourdough, along with some good country sausage, and you’re all set!

Shakshuka hails from North Africa, and traveled all along the middle East, now has become ever so hip and popular here.

Perfect for holiday brunches

With the holidays upon us, I thought you would enjoy this recipe especially for those of us welcoming houseguests and relatives. I’ve made this several times for “sleepovers” and here’s just a few of the comments – “thank you Mary for a most memorable brunch” – from a hard-to-please big brother, and then there was, “Gee I feel like I’m at an expensive Bed and Breakfast!” from new friends, and “delicious brunch spread” from a sister-in-law.

So please enjoy and feel free to alter ingredients – the kinds of peppers and cheeses – for example. Do use only the real San Marzano tomatoes, making sure your can says “D.O.P.” to insure they are genuine. You can use regular paprika but I prefer the sweet smoked kind from Spain. My husband never like smoky things, except for salmon and whitefish, so now at least I can use it with abandon, although I’d rather have him around. 🙁

Shakshuka in skillet with raw eggs. — Shakshuka in skillet with raw eggs

SHAKSHUKA – serves 3 – 4

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 medium onion, thinly sliced (use a hand mandoline)
1 large green pepper, stems, seeds, and ribs removed, thinly sliced
2/3 of one fresh small jalapeño chili including seeds and ribs, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet smoked Spanish paprika
2 teaspoons whole cumin seeds
1 28-ounce can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by squeezing with your hands
3 – 4 oz. feta cheese, cubed in ¼” pieces or crumbled
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Large handful of chopped cilantro or parsley, or a mix
6 – 8 eggs
Crusty bread, for serving, preferably sourdough, toasted
Country sausage for serving – optional

The process

Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet or straight-sided sauté pan over medium high heat until shimmering.

Add onion, green pepper, and jalapeño chili and spread into an even layer. Cook, without moving, until vegetables on the bottom are deeply browned and beginning to char in spots, about 6 minutes. Flip vegetables and continue to cook until vegetables are fully softened and spottily charred, about another 4 minutes.

Add garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add paprika and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Immediately add tomatoes and stir to combine. Reduce heat to a bare simmer and simmer for 10 minutes, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Remember the feta is salty, so do not add too much salt.

Add the feta now and some of the parsley and/or cilantro, saving enough to garnish finished servings. Stir all to combine nicely.

Using a large spoon, make a well near the perimeter of the pan and break an egg directly into it. Spoon a little sauce over edges of egg white to partially submerge and contain it, leaving yolk exposed. Repeat with remaining 5 – 7 eggs, working around pan and into the middle as you go.

Cover, and reduce heat to lowest setting, and cook until egg whites are barely set and yolks are still runny, 6 to 8 minutes.

Serve 2 eggs with sauce in large shallow bowls as shown.

Shakshuka serving with sausage and bread. — Shakshuka serving with sausage and bread

Garnish with cilantro or parsley. Serve immediately with crusty bread and LOVE. A side of sausage is lovely to go along with this. And have your serving bottle of EVOO on the table for those who want a little more oil. Be prepared for silence and ummm’s.

Enjoy!! And Happy Holidays!

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!!