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

Chocolate Soufflé

February 13, 2015 by Mary 28 Comments

There’s nothing like chocolate to end a meal and nothing (well almost nothing – a little romp in the sack can go a long way here) more magnificent than to pull a soufflé out of the oven and present it at the table. And then my French friend, Alain, speaks about the crisp, and then the hiss – the sound that’s made when spooning out the first serving. It’s beautiful, exciting and delicious! Just like I hope your Valentine’s Day turns out to be! Make this chocolate soufflé for dessert, with LOVE and it will be the perfect way to end a Valentine’s Day dinner.

This recipe is from Mark Bittman, originally printed in the NY Times, and it is super easy and the very best part is that you can make this in the morning, keep it refrigerated and bake it while you’re eating your main course and it will be ready in about 25 minutes! Now the soufflé won’t rise quite as much this way, but who cares? The trade off of not having to jump up and make the whole thing after dinner is well worth it. And it’s even gluten-free as there’s not a speck of flour in it.

Now Mark says this recipe serves two, but I say it really serves four. You can’t make it smaller as you can’t have one and a half eggs, right? So make this for the two of you but know that you can also use this recipe to serve four. I don’t have a picture of the serving, but I want to tell you that I garnished it with a whole strawberry to add a little color. It was beautiful. Raspberries are also nice.

CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE – serves 2 – 4 – Recipe by Mark Bittman

About 1 Tbs. butter for dish
1/3 cup sugar, plus some for dish
3 eggs, separated
2 oz. good quality bittersweet chocolate, melted
Pinch of salt
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter one 4-cup soufflé or other deep baking dish. Sprinkle with sugar, invert it and tap to remove excess sugar.

Beat egg yolks with all but 1 tablespoon sugar until very light and very thick; mixture will fall in a ribbon from beaters when it is ready. Mix in the melted chocolate until well combined; set aside.

Wash beaters well, or use a different set, then beat egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until whites hold soft peaks; continue to beat, gradually adding remaining tablespoon of sugar, until they are very stiff and glossy.

Stir a good spoonful of whites thoroughly into egg yolk mixture to lighten it; (egg yolk mixture will have become very stiff so this step is very important) then carefully fold in remaining whites, using a rubber spatula. Transfer to prepared soufflé dish. At this point you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready to bake.

Bake until center is nearly set, 25 to 35 minutes. Serve immediately.

Lemon Sole Roasted with Leeks and Tomatoes

February 8, 2015 by Mary 24 Comments

Just out of the oven!

If the quality of your ingredients is great, your job as a cook/chef is easy. I adore leeks but really the only recipe I know and love that uses them in all their glory is Julia Child’s recipe for oven braised leeks, which takes about an hour to prepare which is way too long for a weeknight. I had one and half leeks left over from a beef braise I had made last weekend. So what to do? At our local market upstate, the freshest fish they had was Lemon Sole fillets. (What the hell is Lemon Sole anyway? There’s no fish named Lemon Sole, is there?) Anyway, it’s some sort of sole and it was fresh. And then I had my leeks. I made this Lemon Sole Roasted with Leeks and Tomatoes and it was sooo good! The leeks caramelized, the tomatoes added their lusciousness and all was so delish!

I like this idea of putting things underneath the fish and then oven roasting it. Everything melds together nicely this way and I have been having fun experimenting with different vegetables. This turned out exceptionally well, this method is so easy and it elevates a simple roasted fish to extraordinary.

About Lemon Sole, this is from the Harbor Fish Market in Portland, ME. This fish goes by many names, which name it gets marketed under depends on the weight of the fish. If the fish weighs under 1 lb. it is called Blackbacks or Peewees. If the fish weighs between 2 to 4 lbs. they are called Winter or Georges flounder. If they come to market weighing more then 4 lbs. it is called Lemon Sole. When we put Lemon Sole out in our retail store we always get asked the question, “Does this fish taste like lemons?” (No.) Sole is a wonderful eating fish. European chefs have had a love affair with sole, (mostly Dover) for decades. It is a flat fish and like most flat fish it’s eyes are on one side of its head, which is the dark side of the fish, it has a white underside. The designs of nature are probably some of the best; the eyes on the dark side allow the fish to hide on the ocean floor and still be able to see its prey.

Pretty perfect, right?

Ready to go into the oven.

LEMON SOLE ROASTED WITH LEEKS AND TOMATOES – serves 2

1 lb. of lemon sole fillets – preferably in 2 pieces, washed and paper towel dried
Olive oil
1.5 leeks – white and very light green parts only, trimmed, split in half lengthwise, washed and cut into 1/8” slices
2 plum tomatoes, cored and cut in 1/8” thick slices
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slick a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Lay out the sliced leeks in two shapes that mimic the shape of the fish fillets. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil on top of the leeks and season with salt and pepper. Lay the fish fillets on top of the leeks. Drizzle some olive oil on top of the fillets and use your fingertips to spread the oil around evenly on the top of the fillets. Salt and pepper the fish and lay sliced tomatoes on top to cover evenly.

Roast on the top shelf in your oven for 12 – 17 minutes. Figure on 10 minutes for every 1” of thickness of your fish and vegetables.

Serve with LOVE immediately – enjoy!!!

Escarole, Currants, Pine Nuts and Garlic

February 2, 2015 by Mary 12 Comments

Cooking is an art and your dish should be like a great piece of art – or design – or music. All of those things, if they’re great, have tension and contrast as well as harmonious elements. Certain notes, colors, images, or type should come to the forefront while others recede. A great dish should do the same. It should have a contrast of textures such as crispy and succulent in a piece of fried chicken, a contrast of colors, such as pomegranate seeds on chicory or frisee and a contrast of flavors exemplified by my favorite combination of sweet and savory or the way a wine pairs with a meal. Thinking about all these things gets me excited when creating a new dish. I know, call me crazy, but since design is in my blood, this is really nothing new. (And yes, I am crazy.) And this is how I came up with this simple but really outstanding vegetable dish of Escarole, Currants, Pine Nuts and Garlic recipe. Of course, a little bit had to do with what I had on hand, as always, but the foresight I had in choosing this combination had to do with the principles above, really basic design rules.

This dish delivers on all – the contrast of colors – black, beige and different greens; the contrast of flavors – the bitter of the escarole pitted against the sweet currants, and the contrast of textures – the softly wilted escarole with the crunch and buttery flavor of the pine nuts, and then the spicy heat of the garlic. Scored on all!!!

I hope you’ll make this dish as it will delight. My husband even talked about it the next morning. And as I said, while this truly evolved from just what I had on hand, I will specifically make this combination again and make this dish for company. And don’t forget to add your LOVE when making. Enjoy!

ESCAROLE, CURRANTS, PINE NUTS AND GARLIC – serves 2 – 3

1 small head of escarole, washed and cut into bite size pieces
2 Tbs. olive oil
6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
3 Tbs. currants
2 Tbs. pine nuts
Salt
Pepper

Warm the olive oil in a large skillet, add the garlic and cover and sweat for 5 – 7 minutes on low heat. Do not let it brown.

Turn up the heat and sauté the escarole, flipping the garlic on top so it doesn’t burn. Add the pine nuts so they can toast. After a few minutes, when the escarole is still crisp with the dark green leaves wilted, stir in the currents, season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with love.

How was your Super Bowl Sunday? I hope you didn’t eat too much junk food – that’s why I thought this healthy vegetable dish would be a good counterpoint to yesterday. Supposedly, Super Bowl Sunday is one of the most highly caloric days for most people! Yep, that’s what I heard on the news. I made an amazing beef chili that I cooked for 2 days and I’ll share that with you later but for now, aren’t these little chocolate peanut butter footballs just the cutest? (The peanut butter was a surprise!)

Broth Bowls at Panera Bread

January 26, 2015 by Mary 22 Comments

Right before the holidays, I received an email invitation from a sweet Emma at Panera Bread to a Broth Bowl tasting. Hmm, broth bowls… sounded interesting. And now with this frigid weather we’ve been having, what could be better? The formal invitation arrived, positioning the event as “An Evening of Umami.” A small group of folks interested in food, nutrition and cooking gathered in this lovely loft in Chinatown. We were treated to a terrific presentation from their Culinary Institute-trained and former teacher, Dan Kish. Dan and his colleague, Mark McDonough, (Director of Product Development) traveled the world (wouldn’t I love to be them!) to research and pull together umami tastes, spices and fresh ingredients to create the newest four dishes, these broth bowls at Panera Bread. Then they served us our choice of broth bowl(s) for dinner, along with some lovely wine.

Here’s what I knew about Panera Bread. They started in St. Louis as the St. Louis Bread Company! I am originally from St. Louis, so you know, they have to be good.

Here’s what I learned. They’re now huge (1,845 cafes) and an incredible company! I mean, having Culinary Institute trained chefs create their dishes and also be concerned about their green footprint, is BIG. For instance, they’ve considered the repercussions of transporting the broth (water is heavy) to all locations or deliberated if it should it be concentrated and then concerned if it can it retain the taste, as well as, considered how to efficiently make the bowls out of components and achieve the desired consistency, using the least amount of energy through all of the processes. Their ingredients are nearly all organic – no antibiotics in the chicken and nearly all cage-free eggs. That’s huge! This “fast casual” food has been designed to be genuinely healthy, even low calorie and totally delicious! I mean this company is really doing amazing things to feed our bodies and take care of our planet. It is not easy to create healthy food available in about 5 minutes after you order at their counter. But boy if they can change our fast food culture into something this great, wouldn’t that be way cool? Really!!! Having healthy energetic people walk the planet exuding wonderful positive energy is just what we all need.

The problem is, is that I never knew any of these things about Panera. (I think they need us to do their marketing and to spread the word, don’t you think?)

So what exactly is Umami? I wanted a succinct answer. Here’s what the Umami Information Center says. (Yes, it’s true, there is one. Just Google it.) Taking its name from Japanese, umami is a pleasant savoury taste imparted by glutamate, a type of amino acid, and ribonucleotides, including inosinate and guanylate, which occur naturally in many foods including meat, fish, vegetables and dairy products. As the taste of umami itself is subtle and blends well with other tastes to expand and round out flavors, most people don’t recognize umami when they encounter it, but it plays an important role making food taste delicious.

Could it be that fake Umami is monosodium glutamate – MSG? Well there’s none of that here.

Check out these broth bowls – they’re delish!!!

I particularly liked the quinoa lentil one with the hard boiled egg on top!

Striped Bass with Shallots, Fennel and Persimmons

January 18, 2015 by Mary 19 Comments

Ready to go into the oven to roast.

Do you think I will live long enough to cook all the recipes I’ve clipped from newspapers or marked in cookbooks? I have made it a New Years Resolution to go through all of the Times Dining sections I’ve saved from the past year that have piled up, that I never seem to have time to get through on my subway ride to work because there are just way too many business messages I need to take care of first. I used to keep piles of those clipped recipes on my kitchen counter for easy access and inspiration. When the piles got to be over a foot tall (seriously), one of my friends told me I was being ridiculous and to move it somewhere. So now I am hiding these piles – in a space in a kid’s closet, under my bed, taking up two deep drawers in a dresser. It’s pitiful.

And then you know what – I come home from work, late, starving and I just want to eat something good and different, so I just make something up, quickly, with what’s on hand, no time to read a recipe. So on Friday night, I made up this dish, always welcoming sweet and savory combos and this, this roasted striped bass with shallots, fennel and persimmons was really, really delicious and different! (and super easy)

Striped Bass Roasted with Shallots, Fennel & Persimmons - finished.

Sorry, I cut this already, getting ready to serve and then remembered to take a pic.

Here’s what I did.

STRIPED BASS WITH SHALLOTS, FENNEL AND PERSIMMONS – serves 2 – with a little left over

1 lb. striped bass fillet – washed and patted dry
Olive oil
1 shallot, sliced very thin on a mandoline
1/4 of a fennel bulb, sliced very thin on a mandoline
Salt – preferably French grey salt
Pepper – fresh ground
Paul Prudhomme’s seafood seasoning
2 persimmons, cored, peeled and sliced very thin

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Slick a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Lay out the shallot and fennel evenly in a shape mimicking your fish shape. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper.

Lay your fish fillet on top, covering everything. Drizzle a little olive oil on top of the fish and spread around to cover with your fingertips. Sprinkle on Paul Prudhomme’s seasoning to your liking. Cover with persimmon slices and drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on top of those.

Roast in the oven for about 15 minutes, until the fish flakes to your liking.

Serve with love – enjoy!

A question for you all:

What is the difference between the dull and shiny side of aluminum foil? Can somebody tell me? I mean, I know they’re different but for what purpose, if any?

Duck Braised with Red Wine and Prunes

January 13, 2015 by Mary 14 Comments

I took Judy’s advice and served it with sauteed polenta, along with some green beans tossed with olive oil and toasted walnuts.

I have been wanting to tell you about this dish. It is so delicious, silky in texture, totally yummy and best yet, it’s super easy. You just need time, so a weekend is good. This Duck Braised with Red Wine and Prunes is a recipe from the famed Judy Rodgers, the chef and owner at Zuni Café in San Francisco. She left us way too soon, just a little over a year ago when she was only 57. (cancer) I feel a kindred spirit with Judy. She was also from St. Louis and she loved great basic food perfected. She was known for refined simplicity.

Her Zuni Café cookbook is different. Her recipes read like she is standing next to you, telling you what to expect, variations that may come up and what to do. Therefore, all recipes are very copy heavy, which is a little intimidating and time consuming to get through it all. But the upside is, she is teaching you HOW to cook, with tips all the way through on every possibility that may come up, and why, not just how to cook that particular recipe.

She has a definite fondness for salting the proteins early, even days before. If you think about it and can do it, it really does work. It tenderizes, promotes juiciness, improves texture, and flavors the meat or poultry all the way through. It’s interesting, that by seasoning judiciously early, you will use less salt overall. As Judy says, “you will eliminate the habit of repeated doses, and accidental overdoses, of “surface salt” at the table.”

One of my all-time favorite dishes of hers to make, and it is the most popular dish at the restaurant, is her Zuni Roast Chicken with Bread Salad. It takes an hour to order at the café, but that hasn’t put a damper on its demand. I’ll have to share that at another time.

Because I love her roast chicken so much, I thought she couldn’t go wrong with duck, right? She did not disappoint. Here is her recipe. I made it with LOVE for our friends Margaret and Wayne during the holidays, using 6 duck legs and increasing the recipe proportionately, and then we got to have another dinner out of it later that week.

Duck braised with red wine and prunes on a white platter.

I decided it needed a little color so I garnished it with some chopped Italian parsley.

DUCK BRAISED WITH RED WINE & PRUNES – serves 4 – a Judy Rodgers recipe

A rich old French dish. If you use the orange zest or the clove, it will have a dramatic impact on the flavor and character of the dish, making it sneakily festive. I like it both ways. (I used both the orange and cloves)

Muscovy, or Barbiere (Barbary), duck has firm, almost beefy, dark red flesh that supports long cooking and generous old-fashioned flavors. Very good with toasted polenta.

Wine: Cabors, Chateau du Cayrou, 1996

For 4 Servings:

4 Muscovy duck legs (10 to 12 ounces each)
Salt
4 cups medium-bodied or hearty red wine, such as Sangiovese, Merlot, Syrah, or Cabernet Sauvignon
2 cups Duck Stock or other bird stock or Chicken Stock
2 medium yellow onions (about 8 oz. each), root end trimmed flat, peeled, and cut into 1 ½ inch wedges
2 ounces garlic cloves (about ½ cup), unpeeled
1 bay leaf
2 wide strips of orange zest about 2 ½ inches long, removed with a vegetable peeler, and/or a whole clove (optional)
12 prunes, preferably with pits

Trimming and seasoning the duck legs (for the best flavor and succulence, do this step 2-3 days in advance):
Trim lumps of fat, ragged edges or meatless flaps of skin (it’s worth saving and rendering these: even a few scraps can be enough to flavor a soup). Rinse the duck legs, lay between dry towels, and press to absorb surface moisture. Season evenly all over with salt (we use a scant ¼ teaspoon sea salt per pound of duck). Cover loosely and refrigerate.

Cooking the Duck:
Preheat the oven to 300°.

Reduce the red wine and the stock separately to about 1 cup each. The stock should have body and will be slightly salty. Set aside.

Press the duck between towels to wick off excess moisture. Place a dry 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot enough that the duck hisses on contact, add the legs, skin side down, and leave to set a golden crust, about 10 minutes. The duck will begin to render fat within a few minutes; reduce the heat if the fat starts to smoke. Turn the legs over and brown for just a few minutes on the flesh side, then arrange skin side up in an ovenproof 3-quart sauté pan. Pour off the rendered fat from the skillet; if any appetizing golden bits remain in the skillet, add the reduced red wine to the pan and simmer briefly, stirring to dissolve them. Set aside.

Nestle the onion wedges in between the duck legs. Add the garlic, bay leaf, and optional orange zest and/or clove. Add enough of the reduced wine and stock, in about equal doses, to come to a depth of ½ inch; save any extra wine and stock for extending the sauce. Swirl the pan as you bring to a simmer over medium heat, then cover tightly, place in the oven, and cook for about 1 hour.

Turn the duck legs over and add the unpitted prunes, making sure they are submerged in the braising liquid; work quickly, so you don’t lose too much heat. (If you are using pitted prunes, add them after 10 minutes more.) Cover the pan tightly and return to the oven.

After another hour (or about 40 minutes if the duck legs are on the small end of the range listed), turn the legs over, turn the heat up to 375° and return the pan to the oven uncovered. When the legs feel just tender and are slightly browned, usually within another 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven. Turn off the oven and place a serving platter to warm in the oven for a minute or two. Leave the duck legs to rest for about 5 minutes, then carefully lift from the sauce to the warm serving platter.

Skim the abundant fat from the surface of the braising liquid, and taste the liquid. If it seems thin in flavor or texture, set the pan over medium heat and, skimming attentively, reduce to the texture of warm maple syrup. If the sauce tastes too rich, dilute it with a trickle of water. If you seem shy on sauce and you have extra wine and reduced stock, add a little of each, then simmer to bring the sauce to a slightly syrupy consistency.

Serve each duck leg with 3 prunes and a few silky onion wedges and slippery garlic cloves. There should be a few tablespoons of sauce for each leg.

Roasted Vegetable Soup and Meat Buns

January 6, 2015 by Mary 27 Comments

For my birthday, back in November, one of the gifts from my boys was a meat grinder to attach to the KitchenAid that they gave me last year. This thing will grind meat, vegetables and even hunks of hard cheese – think Parmesan for pesto! I’m excited about that. So my husband has had this fantasy of recreating his grandmother’s meat buns. He’s talked about it for at least 20 years. I have no idea what he’s talking about, never having had a meat bun, nor did I grow up with knishes. So this was his project. I knew to get out of his way and spent the afternoon in my painting studio, working on a new canvas. He did, however, ask me to make a vegetable soup to complete our dinner.

Here he is grinding away. He used ground chuck and corned beef!

So I took out 4 cups of homemade chicken broth from the freezer and gathered a variety of vegetables from the fridge. I decided to oven roast the beauties first, to bring out their natural sweetness. Besides, I love making pretty arrangements on the baking sheet.

Look at this – so pretty!

And then at the very end, I threw in several handfuls of escarole. I LOVE escarole in soup, as long as it’s still bright green with a little crunch.

The meat buns, as Steve claims, were pretty good, not yet ready for prime time as they were not like his grandmother’s. So I’ll let him practice some more before turning over that recipe.

Do you have dishes from your grandmother that you long for?

After all the richness of holiday food, this soup can bring you to your senses with some good clean cooking. It is healthy deliciousness that will warm your innards and satisfy. To make, this soup was simple and quick. Can’t go wrong with that!

ROASTED VEGETABLE SOUP – serves 4

4 cups of chicken broth, preferably homemade
4 plum tomatoes, cored and cut in half
3 carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 3” long pieces
2 parsnips, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 3” long pieces
5 cremini mushrooms
Handful of green beans, cleaned
Handful of okra, cleaned and top ends trimmed
1 shallot, peeled and cut in half, lengthwise
1/2 of a red bell pepper, cut into 1/2″ strips
1/4 of a fennel bulb, cut into strips
2 stems of rosemary
3 stems of thyme
4 leaves of escarole, washed and cut into 1” ribbons
1 Tbs. chopped Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Warm chicken broth in a medium sized saucepan.

Arrange all vegetables, except for the escarole and parsley on a baking sheet, along with herbs, drizzle on some olive oil, season with salt and pepper, toss to coat. Roast until not quite fork tender, about 12 – 15 minutes. You may want to remove some vegetables before others.

On a cutting board, cut the vegetables into bite size pieces, and add to the chicken broth, scraping all the juices and olive oil into the soup as well. Discard the herbs. Taste and correct seasoning.

Warm everything until it’s nice and hot. About two minutes before serving, stir in the chopped escarole to wilt. Portion out into 4 bowls, garnish with chopped parsley and serve with LOVE!

Happy New Year 2015!!! Porchetta with a Persimmon, Pomegranate and Frisee Salad

January 2, 2015 by Mary 20 Comments

Lunch the next day with leftovers!

It’s been a whirlwind year. I feel very blessed to have all of you in my life. It would be so grand to meet you in person one day. Perhaps some day!! But for now, being “blog/pen pals” is just great too.

Thank you for your support of MARY’s secret ingredients. It is my dream to make MSI into a really big business to be able to feed folks on both ends of the spectrum. To inspire home cooks of all experience levels with exciting new ingredients to spice up their cooking and to be able to help eradicate worldwide hunger, as we will donate 10% of our profits to Feed The Children, is what this business is all about. I hope we can succeed.

We all want to eat great food and making it at home assures that we know exactly what we’re putting into our bodies. My boys, having been raised around home cooking from all sides, are now quickly surpassing and teaching me new things every day. You know, when you’re young, you’re totally fearless and that’s where they both are now. They text me pictures of what they’re making, what they’re eating, how to do something better. It’s exciting to be constantly pushed by them to do new things. Now one of them is deep into bread making and trying to teach me actual “tests” to see if the dough has risen enough, rather than my seat-of-the-pants “feel” I learned from my mother.

And then don’t forget that intentions are just as important as actions. If you make your food with loving intentions, it will always taste better. It’s a bit of magic. Try it and you’ll see.

Our Christmas day dinner was shared with Agata’s family (Zach’s girlfriend). Her father came here from Poland in the early eighties when breadlines were the norm over there. He speaks English, the mother, not so much, so Zach said. And my Polish is limited to a few choice curse words that Zach says I even pronounce those wrong too, along with a few common phrases, learned from my parents. Agata, kind as she is, says I speak “old Polish.” (Zach has learned to speak Polish fluently.) This was our first meal of both families together and nervousness was running high, which was all totally unnecessary. It was a delightful evening without a pause in conversation. Her mom understands (seems to me) everything and was totally engaged the entire evening. Her father loves to tell stories and was a fan of my cooking. Her sister has a five year-old boy, named Justin, who couldn’t have been better behaved. Angelic, (which I’m told is not always the case) and just delightful!! He spent some time on the floor by the Christmas tree, drawing, explaining that there are green emeralds and red emeralds and that he was drawing a red emerald. (don’t you love it?!) A great time was had by all!

I made a fake porchetta, somewhat following a Melissa Clark New York Times recipe, but my older son recommended this method of cooking – and you know what? He was right. This pork was tender, juicy and delicious!! Some of us had thirds!

PORCHETTA PORK ROAST – serves 12

One 9 lb. bone-in, skin-on pork shoulder roast
¼ cup chopped fennel fronds
¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary
2 Tbs. chopped fresh sage leaves
7 garlic cloves, minced and mashed to a paste with the salt
1½ Tbs. kosher salt
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 heaping tsp. fennel seeds
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
½ tsp. black pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Score skin and fat all over pork, taking care not to cut down to the meat.

In a food processor, combine fennel fronds, rosemary, sage, garlic, lemon zest, salt, fennel seed, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Pulse together. Pour in oil. Pulse again until it forms a paste. Rub all over pork, making sure it gets into all crevices. Cover the roast with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove pork from refrigerator 2 hours before you want to cook it. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Unwrap and transfer pork to a covered Dutch oven and roast for 2 hours and check on the moisture level in the bottom of the pan. You may need to add a little water. This method produced the juiciest meat! At approximately 4 hours, check with a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat. It should read 180 degrees, and the roast should be fork tender or check with a paring knife. Uncover the roast and place under the broiler to crisp the skin – watch carefully.

Transfer pork to a cutting board or platter and let rest 15 to 30 minutes before serving. Skim the fat off of the juices left in the pan. Taste and correct seasonings. Serve the juices warm with the meat. Make sure everyone gets some of the cracklings.

And then I served this salad with the pork, which was really divine. Persimmons are in season right now so find these flat bottomed beauties and be sure to make this soon as it will not disappoint. Different, with the bitter greens contrasting with the sweet sugared walnuts, pomegranate seeds and persimmons, this was an exciting alternative to sautéed apples with pork. This was also originally a New York Times recipe from David Tanis, but I have changed the greens to be mainly frisee replacing a lot of the chicory he calls for, as I thought that would just be way too bitter. Young chicory from the summertime might work, but not now – too tough and bitter for my taste. Everyone LOVED this salad so give it a go.

PERSIMMON, POMEGRANATE AND FRISEE SALAD – serves 10

4 oz. walnuts, about 1 cup
4 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. fleur de sel or other coarse sea salt, crumbled
2 shallots, finely minced
¼ cup sherry vinegar
Salt and pepper
6 Tbs. walnut oil
6 – 7 medium Fuyu persimmons, peeled
12 – 14 oz. frisee and radicchio leaves including a handful of chicory leaves, chopped into bite size pieces
1 cup pomegranate seeds

Make the sugared walnuts: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put walnuts in a small bowl. Pour very hot tap water over the walnuts for 1 minute, then drain. Add sugar and fleur de sel. Mix to coat nuts evenly, then spread them on the parchment. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until crisp and caramelized. Cool, then break walnuts apart. (May be prepared up to 5 days ahead; store in the cupboard in an airtight container.)

Make the vinaigrette: Put shallots in a small bowl. Add a pinch of salt and the sherry vinegar. Let mixture steep for 10 minutes. Whisk in walnut oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Core and cut persimmons into 1/2-inch-thick wedges and transfer to a large platter with a well. Salt persimmons lightly, then dress with some vinaigrette. Add the frisee, radicchio and chicory leaves and gently toss with hands to coat leaves, pulling persimmon pieces to the top. Scatter pomegranate seeds over the top, along with any collected juices. Garnish with sugared walnuts and serve.

Our plate was rounded out with a sautéed polenta square.

We started with a bowl of Carrot Ginger Soup and finished with

a plate of Holiday cookies, Polish Poppyseed cake and Gingerbread. It was a great meal!!

Happy New Year to all!!!

New Friends from The Plaza and a New Year’s Crostini Appetizer Recipe with Roasted Grapes

December 30, 2014 by Mary 16 Comments

We went off to see The Theory of Everything yesterday – something our new friends from The Plaza said we had to see. And then I’d like to tell you about this new appetizer that I made that was really different, delicious, and surprising. I think it would be a great a addition to your New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day celebrations. Later, I’ll tell you all about our Christmas dinner with a terrific new salad, but here’s the New Year’s Crostini Appetizer Recipe with Roasted Grapes.

But first, let me tell you this wonderful story – an only “in New York City” story. Could have definitely been a Woody Allen movie.

The day after Christmas, we went to see The Imitation Game at the Paris theatre, across the street from The Plaza. After the very crowded (where did all these people come from?) movie, my husband, Steve, asked if The Plaza was still a hotel. I said yes, partly, and partly condos and then suggested we go have a drink there before heading home.

So there we went and were ushered to a round table right next to a lovely couple who immediately engaged me, (Steve had gone to the bathroom), in conversation, asking what brought me to The Plaza, thinking I was from out-of-town. Well one thing led to another and here we were, the four of us talking for nearly an hour – about life, business, and the secret to a wonderful life. He was 86 and she was 82 and let me tell you, they both looked amazing!!! (I wanted to ask what brand of neck cream she used.) Seriously beautiful, she looked more like 62. They lived in The Plaza – a dream of hers since being a little girl, raised in New Jersey. Her first husband, as she said, dropped dead in front of her at the age of 29. She was 28, with 2 kids. (Can you imagine?) Then, family members recommended she go to the Concord for a vacation, to possibly meet a nice Jewish man. (The Concord – the precursor to JDate!) And that she did, and met Bert, (I have changed their names as I didn’t ask permission to tell their story.) and now they’ve been married for 52 years! Bert made a hugely successful insurance business in the ensuing years, with his wife helping him at his side, hiring his sales force of 250+ people.

So Bert goes on to say that there are three things necessary for a very happy life. One, you must have close family and friends; two, good health; and three is: money! You need money to do the things you need to do and to be able to give it away freely to help others. He said the more you give away, the more comes back to you.

Bert, you know, is absolutely right!

Oh and one more thing they said that they do. They tell each other they love each other, many times, every day, and even more so now as they’ve gotten older.

What a wonderful couple. May you all meet people like this who inspire and delight you in your travels of life!

On to my appetizer – this could be a great starter to your next holiday meal and perfect for New Year’s Eve. The basis of this recipe came from a recent Food and Wine magazine, but of course, I have changed it. The roasted grapes end up looking like olives so this can be a delightful sweet surprise when you bite into it as the roasting only heightens the sweetness of the grapes.

Getting ready to roast the grapes with rosemary for a crostini grape appetizer.

Isn’t this just so pretty?

NEW YEAR’S CROSTINI APPETIZER WITH ROASTED GRAPES – serves 4

1 lb. seedless mixed red and black grapes, stems discarded
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar, regular or aged
2 rosemary sprigs, plus chopped fresh rosemary for garnish
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Flaky French sea salt
Pepper
3 Tbs. pine nuts
Twelve 1/2-inch-thick baguette slices
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
Honey
Finely grated lemon zest, for serving

Preheat the oven to 400°. On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, toss the grapes with the vinegar, rosemary sprigs and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Roast for 15 – 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the grapes are softened.

Meanwhile, spread the pine nuts in a pie plate and roast in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes, until golden. Brush the baguette slices with the remaining 1 Tbs. of olive oil. Arrange on a baking sheet and toast for about 8 minutes, until golden and crisp.

To assemble the crostini, place the toasts on a serving platter and spread some of the ricotta onto each toast. Spoon the warm grapes with their juices on top and sprinkle with the pine nuts. Top with a drizzle of honey and some lemon zest. Sprinkle the crostini with salt and garnish with chopped rosemary. Serve with LOVE. Enjoy!!

SerendipiTea Holiday Cheer in Pancakes

December 27, 2014 by Mary 8 Comments

Tea in pancakes? Whoever heard of that? Well I tried it the other morning and it was just great!! Tea is so versatile, yet we tend to only think of it as a beverage. But tea can be used in so many ways. Brew it as a delicious marinade for chicken, bake it into cookies and yes, use it in pancake batter! So spread some more holiday cheer by using SerendipiTea Holiday Cheer in your pancakes! With cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mint and cardamom, this tea is a ready-made spice blend for creating a perfect breakfast to warm your soul in the morning!

The Company, SerendipiTea, is based on Long Island. They contacted us early in the year wanting to be in our winter box with these holiday teas, so we have been anxiously awaiting the chance to try them. We like this company because besides being nice people, they are committed to working closely with tea gardens, estates and specialists around the world, constantly adding to their knowledge and expertise on all facets of tea and its production. We should never stop learning!

Enjoy these pancakes with a little butter and warm maple syrup along with a cup of SerendipiTea’s Once Upon a Time tea with rooibos, vanilla and chocolate, and dream of good things for the coming year!! Enjoy!

SERENDIPITEA HOLIDAY CHEER IN PANCAKES – serves 2

1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk or milk
1 Tbs. plus 1/4 tsp. SeredipiTea Holiday Cheer Tea
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Butter and syrup to serve

Preheat the oven to 225°F. In a small saucepan, bring the milk and 1 Tbs. tea in a tea ball to gentle simmer. Remove from the heat and let steep for 5 minutes. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar in a bowl. When the milk tea mixture is cool, remove the tea ball. Whisk the milk with the egg and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Add 1/4 teaspoon Holiday Cheer tea leaves. Stir until just combined. Let batter sit for 10 minutes.

Heat up a non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Brush a thin layer of butter or oil on your pan. Drop the batter into the pan with a large spoon. Cook until tiny bubbles appear on the surface, about 2-3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for 1-2 minutes. Keep the pancakes in the warm oven until you’re finished making all the pancakes. Enjoy warm with butter and syrup.