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

Grilled Shrimp Appetizer

April 18, 2014 by Mary 42 Comments

I made several dishes last weekend. Some very good, some not so. It happens. Fortunately it was just my very close family that suffered. First off, on Friday night, I made this really delicious, really simple grilled shrimp appetizer. Here are all the ingredients.

I didn’t measure and you won’t have to either. I know you all have good enough judgment to make this work. Just eye it and feel it and you’ll do a-ok. Eat this dish with friends as you’ll want to suck the shrimp shells of all the smokey spicy wonderfulness and you’ll get all messy peeling them – but they’re so good.

You see, I went to buy salmon fillets to roast and serve with my already made rhubarb marmalade and then I saw the shrimp. My husband LOVES shrimp. Me? Ehh. It’s good, but I never crave it like I do oysters! (He hates oysters) But I know he loves shrimp, yet I really wanted salmon for dinner and the marmalade was already made. So I bought 9 shrimp – as an appetizer!! 5 for him, 4 for me. And then on the drive up to the country, I completely forgot about them. We arrived, unpacked and here I was surprised by the shrimp (duh – I bought them.) and had to figure out something quick to do with them as it was getting late. Here’s what I did – and they were scrumptious!!

GRILLED SHRIMP APPETIZER – serves 2

9 – 10 large shrimp with shells on, rinsed several times and patted dry
Salt
Pepper
1 star anise
1 red chili, crushed with seeds
Swirl of olive oil
Smoked paprika – heavy sprinkling

Combine and toss all ingredients together. Let marinate for 10 -15 minutes. Toss on the grill on high heat for about 2 minutes, just until pink and done. Serve immediately.

It’s finger lickin’ good!

homemade pizzas pesto anchovy truffle margharita

Then, last Saturday, I was determined to make pizzas from homemade pizza dough. The Times had a big article on pizza dough and pizzas the previous Wednesday and I was hyped. Our oldest son was coming to the country with his girlfriend for the weekend and I was making these pizzas with a big beautiful salad to greet them when they arrived for lunch. Well, the pizzas sucked. They looked good but the only one that was any good was the pesto. Before I tell you any more, I really need to work on this one. The Mario Batali recipe needs some refining. Actually he has about three different recipes online for the dough and I need to get the 00 flour – that I couldn’t find. So stay tuned and I’ll find that flour and try this one again – and then tell you about it. xoxo, Mary

Order Your Surprise Spring Box Now!

April 14, 2014 by Mary 18 Comments

I’m SO excited, MARY’s secret ingredients, our new surprise box of awesome culinary products, will ship on April 25^th. We are busy putting the finishing touches on it. We have amazing products that I LOVE. While we hand-picked and targeted artisanal, gourmet and organic producers in the US only, we were also contacted by international manufacturers with very fine products, wanting to be in our box. So now we have those too! The box is selling for $25.95 and while we promise the value will always be at least $30.00, this inaugural box has a value of just a little over $42.00! So order your spring box now so you won’t miss out. And, as a special offer to you, dear readers, use the promo code 4LOVE at checkout and get $4.00 off of each box.

We’ve had several orders requesting personalized notecards to enclose, as the box would make a great gift, and that option is available at checkout where you have the billing and shipping address information. We have customers who have ordered a full set (all seasons) and then placed a second order as a wedding gift for friends who are foodies. Nice gift!

I have been busy working on scrumptious recipes and usage suggestions with the box ingredients. Those will be posted here on LOVE, in the beginning of May, as I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you.

Besides being able to showcase and present to you new great products that I love, I am very excited about having this venue be able to contribute to eradicating hunger in the world, as we will be donating 10% of our profits to FEED THE CHILDREN. This wonderful organization provides not only food, but water, health care and education to children in need all over the world. Did you know that lack of food contributes to 2.6 MILLION child deaths every year? Or that nearly 18 MILLION American families suffer from food insecurity? That means that they don’t always know where their next meal will come from. Isn’t that crazy, in our wealthy country?

So order a box and become part of the solution to eliminating hunger AND give yourself a surprise present. I know you’ll LOVE it, adding more variety to your cooking with LOVE for your friends and family!

Cumin, Lamb and Eggplant Pasta

April 10, 2014 by Mary 43 Comments

I think you all probably know how much I love cumin, love lamb and love eggplant but I never really thought of the three of them together until I read about this recipe in the April issue of Food & Wine magazine. Yep, this recipe is a winner, as are so many of their recipes! It’s not very pretty when it’s done but boy is it good! I made this dish the week before last when Bianca was in town and she was having a quiet night at home with just Steve and me. Or should I say, we got to have her to ourselves for one night, lucky us! And you know when Bianca says a pasta dish is great (being from Arezzo in Tuscany), you know you hit a winner and that’s what I did with this Cumin, Lamb and Eggplant Pasta dish! The recipe is actually from another blogger, Ashley Rodriguez, who is being featured in the publication. Way to go Ashley!

I really have to thank Food & Wine for initially turning me on to cooking with a vengeance. You see, when we moved to New Jersey when our boys were 6 and 3, the restaurant food out there just wasn’t NYC and I really got tired of paying large restaurant bills for the four of us for mediocre food. So I promptly subscribed to Food & Wine, adopted the “I’ll show you” attitude, and started cooking away. In those days, my favorite was Lee Bailey. He used to do a column, “Dinner for a Busy Weeknight.” I still have many of those torn pages, soiled with olive oil drips and whatnot. I’ll never forget, one of my very first “gourmet meals” was his Pasta with Shrimp and Arugula recipe from that feature. It’s still a good recipe! (More on that later) He even accompanied it with dessert – sliced oranges with crushed amaretto cookies – simple and delish!

I have tweaked Ashley’s recipe a bit – cut down on the oil and pumped up the garlic, cumin and oregano. Here you go – not quite pretty but oh so tasty! And home-grown Italian approved, thanks to Bianca!

CUMIN, LAMB AND EGGPLANT PASTA – serves 4 – 5
Adapted from ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ and Food & Wine magazine

2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced on a mandoline
1 medium eggplant (1 pound), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 heaping tsp. dried Greek oregano
1 heaping tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika, preferably hot (Pimenton Ahumado)
Pinch of crushed red pepper
Kosher salt
1 lb. ground lamb
1/4 cup tomato paste
3/4 cup chicken stock
12 ounces gemelli
1/2 cup zero fat plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup chopped mint

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the onion and cook over low-moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 – 12 minutes. Increase heat to moderate. Add the eggplant, garlic, oregano, cumin, paprika and crushed red pepper and season with salt. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the lamb and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon. Increase the heat a bit and add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for at least 2 minutes to get the flavor to “bloom”. Stir in the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the sauce is thickened, about 12 minutes.

Cook the pasta in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Stir the pasta into the sauce; add 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water if necessary; (I didn’t) add more water if a thinner sauce is desired. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the yogurt and mint. Taste and season with salt if necessary (I didn’t) and serve hot.

Waffles for a Sunday Brunch

April 6, 2014 by Mary 38 Comments

To have a real brunch party is great fun – a different time of day to entertain! Last Sunday was our last day with Bianca and Cesare visiting from Italy by way of South Carolina, as Cesare is learning the American way in South Carolina for the Italian company he is working for. Bianca is the daughter of the family our eldest son lived with in Arezzo, when he was doing his semester abroad in college some 8 years ago. Our two families became instant friends with visits going back and forth from the day of our meeting. This stay Bianca was with us for 10 days, Cesare came on Thursday for the weekend. They both love food and fortunately are fans of my cooking so they are a joy to cook for. For her goodbye meal, Bianca wanted pancakes or waffles. I opted for waffles for Sunday brunch,

A variety of chicken and lamb sausages.

along with some sausages and a big beautiful fruit salad. Of course, since this was a party, some of us started with mimosas (made with Prosecco) or Bloody Marys.

Luscious fruit salad garnished with torn mint leaves.

I have not made waffles in a very long time, since the boys have grown up and we are not together on Sunday mornings very often. And I am not the type to be whipping egg whites to fold into the batter, if you know what I mean. I wanted something simple and quick, knowing I’d have to make a double batch for the eight of us. I found this wonderful recipe online from In Jennie’s Kitchen blog, similar to the one in the recipe book that came with the waffle iron eons ago that I could no longer find. It was great – perfect – easy – delicious! Bianca says she wants to get married, only so she can get a waffle iron as a shower or wedding present! (I think I’ll get her one soon!)

Now the thing I was fretting about late into Saturday night, was how was I going to keep the first cooked waffles warm while continuing to make them and have the full batch ready for everyone. A little research online came up with a very low temperature in your oven and put them straight on the racks, not on a plate or cookie sheet as that would cause moisture to form and sogginess to beset them. So I did this, but the lowest my oven would go was 175 degrees and they were recommending 150. So I turned the oven off and on, afraid they would dry out. In hindsight, I should have just left it on at 175 the whole time, as they could have been a bit hotter.

Here’s the recipe with thanks to In Jennie’s Kitchen:

QUICK & EASY HOMEMADE WAFFLES – makes 5 to 6 Belgian-style waffles

1 3/4 cups flour
1 tbs.baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 3/4 cups milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla extract. Pour the milk mixture over the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Let sit five minutes to “develop” (just a fancy word for letting the baking powder activate).

Meanwhile, heat your waffle iron. Pour, or ladle, enough batter to cover about 2/3 of the surface (the rest will spread once you close the top). Most waffle irons have a handy light that goes on or off, signaling the waffles are ready. A sure sign of doneness is once you see all the steam has stopped shooting out.

Have a LOVEly brunch wherever you are!

Thomas Keller’s Beef Stroganoff

March 30, 2014 by Mary 38 Comments

I did it! I actually did it – made a double recipe of Thomas Keller’s Beef Stroganoff recipe. Lord, I hope I never have to do it again. This was our birthday boy’s request for last weekend. My husband thinks he’s going to ask for it again. (Please, please no.)

It’s a two-day affair. For the complete recipe, please check out these links on another blog that has the whole recipe from Keller’s Ad Hoc cookbook. Basically you make a braise by reducing wine with a ton of vegetables until syrupy. Then add more of the same fresh vegetables, cover it with cheesecloth to make a “nest” to hold your browned pieces of meat, add beef broth and then top with a parchment paper hat (cover) and braise for 2 hours. You separate the meat from the vegetable wine broth in this cheesecloth nest because Keller doesn’t want any little bits of onion, leeks or carrots soiling his meat. Ha!!

So that was done on Saturday. Then on Sunday, the day of serving, you make the mushroom cream sauce (6 cups of heavy cream, butter and crème fraiche!), sauté the mushrooms (4.5 lbs. total), cook the fresh pappardella, cut the meat into cubes, warm and caramelize the presentation side of the meat, toss the noodles with the sauce, add more butter, fold in the sliced mushrooms, put it all together and top with chopped parsley. Whew!!

Bianca helping me – sliced 2 lbs. of cremini mushrooms

With help on both days, you’re talking about 9 hours worth of work.

There had to be a lot of LOVE here to get through all of this.

How was it?

It was good – but way too rich for me. Since the recipe doesn’t state how many it serves and we had 7 people, I doubled it. We served 7 plus 1 second serving and then leftovers to feed 5 more people. But you know, if you’re going to go through that much work, you might as well make extra for leftovers.

The birthday boy was happy. He called the next day to comment on how deeply flavored each cube of meat was. (It damn well better have been.) Perhaps the parchment lid is a great idea because if you use the Le Creuset lid, that causes moisture to form therefore dropping water onto your meat. Not good.

Making one boy happy was my aim!

Grilled eggplant, prosciutto, mozzarella, basil and tomato sandwich

March 23, 2014 by Mary 37 Comments

While in the midst of a cooking frenzy yesterday, I had an eggplant who’s calling had come and the other ingredients needed to be used, so I quickly put together this grilled eggplant, prosciutto, mozzarella, basil and tomato sandwich. It was divine!!

Yesterday was our oldest son’s birthday. Our family celebration is today. It is a rule in our house that the birthday boy gets to request whatever he wants for dinner. I’m thinking of changing that rule. He requested Thomas Keller’s Beef Stroganoff. I responded with, “All that cream!! Are you crazy?” He insisted. My husband and I cooked all day yesterday and will start again today at 3:00 for dinner tonight. I sure hope this is good and worth it.

Keller must have been an engineer in another life. His precision and aim for perfection is daunting. What I’m really making is a homemade, made from scratch version of the beef stroganoff we all had as kids made with Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup. Do you think we’ll be able to taste the difference? I’ll let you know later this week, after I recover from all of this.

As I chop and cook away, I’m reminding myself to make this with a smile on my face and love in my heart.

Meanwhile, make this sandwich sometime. This you won’t regret and it can be ready in a jiffy.

GRILLED EGGPLANT, PROSCIUTTO, MOZZARELLA, BASIL AND TOMATO SANDWICH – serves 2

1 baguette
1 medium-small eggplant, washed, trimmed, and sliced lengthwise into 5 or 6 slices
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbs. olive oil plus more for drizzling
3 thin slices of prosciutto
1/2 of a ball of mozzarella cheese, sliced
2 small tomatoes, sliced
8 – 10 large fresh basil leaves, washed and dried

Light a grill or heat a grill pan. Salt and pepper the eggplant slices. Mix the minced garlic with the 2 tbs. of olive oil. Brush that on one side of all the eggplant slices. Grill both sides on a fairly high heat until nicely charred and tender.

Cut two 6-inch pieces off of the baguette and slice those in half lengthwise. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil on the cut sides. Assemble the sandwiches with grilled eggplant, the cheese, tomato, salt the tomato lightly, the basil, then finish with 11/2 slices of prosciutto and the other half of the bread. Slice the whole sandwich into 2 halves. Enjoy!!

Pasta with Flounder in a Red Sauce and Roasted Broccoli with Radishes

March 17, 2014 by Mary 28 Comments

I’m so embarrassed, I forgot to mention in my last post that 10% of Mary’s secret ingredients’ annual profits will be donated to Feed the Children, a wonderful, worldwide organization that provides nourishing food, hygiene items, educational books and supplies for boys and girls in need.

I have always said that there is plenty of food in this world. It just needs to be redistributed and to not go to waste. Please take a look at these links and articles. No one should go hungry. I’m very excited to be able to give this non-profit a helping hand with MARY’s secret ingredients. Man, I would love to play a part in eradicating hunger in this world – it’s on my bucket list. You can help. All the more reason to order a box! Feed yourself and your family while feeding the needy children of the world.

This past week, the day after we arrived home from California, at around 5 pm, our youngest son informed me that he and his girlfriend would be home for dinner. That morning, I had taken two flounder fillets out of the freezer and had planned to roast them for Steve and me and make a simple vegetable for dinner. So now I only had a little over 1 lb. of fish for four people. I was tired and crabby from the travel and time change and had no desire to go to the fish store uptown to buy more fish and a decent vegetable. What to do?

Walking to the subway on the way home, while talking out loud to my husband, I decided to make it stretch. I called my son, Zach, and asked him to mince 5 cloves of garlic, pit and chop 15 olives, take the anchovies out of the fridge and make sure the flounder fillets had thawed. (They hadn’t.) I thought, let’s make a pasta dish with the flounder in a red sauce! Add some anchovies and olives for an extra boost of flavor! I stopped in the grocery store downstairs in my building and bought some broccoli and a beautiful bunch of large radishes. I tossed those with some olive oil and salt and pepper, and roasted them at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes, along with the recipe below and we had a super delicious, satisfying dinner for everyone; quick to boot, with everything ready in about 40 minutes. Suddenly I wasn’t crabby anymore! (A little food does wonders – think of what it could do for the world!)

Now, because I only had buccatini in the apartment, which is a big noodle, I did not toss the sauce with the pasta, but served the pasta in a bowl, drizzled a tiny bit of olive oil on top and then ladled the red fish sauce on top. If I would have tossed it all together before serving, I would have broken up all those beautiful little pieces of flounder and made mush out of them. Not a good thing, nor pretty to serve. Now I know the true Italians would disagree with me here but that’s what I did, allowing each individual to mix it up in their own bowl.

PASTA WITH FLOUNDER IN A RED SAUCE – serves 4

2 tbs. olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 of bunch of parsley leaves, washed, dried and chopped
2 tsp. tomato paste
1 – 28 oz. can of whole San Marzano tomatoes, hand crushed, with the sauce
5 flat anchovy fillets, patted dry with a paper towel, chopped
Salt
Pepper
2 fillets of flounder, about 1.3 lbs., washed, dried, cut down the middle and then cut into 1/2” chunks
15 olives, black and green in oil, pitted and minced
1 lb. pasta – bucatini or fettuccine

Put a large pot on water on to boil for the pasta.

Warm olive oil in a large skillet. Add minced garlic on low heat and stir for 5 minutes. Raise heat to medium – medium high and add the chopped parsley and cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and stir for 1 – 2 minutes. You must always try to brown the tomato paste in order to get the most flavor out of it – this is key!

Then add the hand crushed can of tomatoes with the juice along with the anchovies and let the whole thing vigorously simmer for about 10 minutes to thicken.

Meanwhile your pasta water has probably boiled. Salt with course sea salt to taste like ocean water (you know what that means, do not taste it and burn your tongue) and add your pasta. Stir and cook until al dente.

Salt and pepper the sauce to taste and add the cut up flounder fillets. Lower the heat a bit and stir gently, often. Fold over with a rubber spatula to stir so you don’t break up the pieces of fish. This will take about 7 minutes to cook the fish. Then taste the sauce to adjust salt and pepper and at the very end, add the chopped olives. Remember the olives will add more salt so take that into consideration. Turn your heat off.

Drain the pasta when done. Place pasta in bowls and drizzle a little olive oil on top so the noodles don’t stick together. Then ladle some beautiful sauce on top in the center. Serve immediately, with LOVE.

ROASTED BROCCOLI WITH RADISHES – serves 4

1 head of broccoli, washed, stems trimmed and peeled, each stalk quartered or even cut more
5 large radishes, scrubbed, dried and quartered
2 tbs. olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss broccoli and radishes with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 15 – 17 minutes until broccoli stems are fork tender to your liking. The broccoli heads will become a little charred, but I like them that way. They are so tasty. Serve immediately, very hot, on a side plate, with LOVE.

Enjoy!!

Mary’s secret ingredients is here!!

March 14, 2014 by Mary 16 Comments

I’ve been so looking forward to this day. Mary’s secret ingredients, a limited edition subscription box bursting with culinary surprises, is here! The website is launched. We’ve lined up partners that can’t be beat. We’ve curated the product assortment in the box to be awesome. I’m so excited to have this media outlet to present all the great new small food manufacturers that are wholesome and gourmet.

Products pictured here are characteristic of the wonderful surprises that may be in your box.

This is such a great opportunity for them to get their product into your hands. And, this is such a great opportunity for you to be surprised with new, unique, artisanal and non–processed food items and ingredients arriving at your doorstep.

The world is truly full of great people who have awesome ideas for new products. This is a chance for you to be first in the know. I will provide additional support in blogs following your receipt of the surprise subscription box, to use those products in even more unique ways, with recipes and tips.

Unleash your creative inner self! Order a MARY’s secret ingredients box today and make some memorable days in your kitchen with your family and remember, always prepare and serve your food with LOVE and it will always taste better!

Thank you all for your support!

Sending love to you, Mary Frances

In Southern Cali!!

March 9, 2014 by Mary 27 Comments

We are in California for a few days, on little Balboa Island, visiting my brother and sister-in-law, getting a little R & R and will do some business in Beverly Hills on Tuesday before heading back east. It is so darn pretty here, I have to pinch myself. We arrived last Thursday and every day is more gorgeous than the last. We reached 80 degrees yesterday, over 80 today. The lyric – “It never rains in Southern California…” keeps on going through my head. This warm sunshine is a very, very welcome relief, after the constant wearing of long underwear, rubber boots and two sweaters with at least one being a turtleneck every single day, back in NYC.

We’ve gone for local walks visiting friends, long bike rides, and hiking in a state park.

Here’s my husband “hiking”

They’ve cooked fantastic meals and we had a wonderful dinner out last night. Just to share with you, here’s our lunch from yesterday. Seared sesame crusted tuna on a salad with raw beets and sugar snap peas. And our breakfast from this morning – sunny side up eggs on a bed of frisee with bacon, finished with a tomatillo sauce. But tonight I will cook. So we went to the farmers market yesterday morning. You know you’re in California when you see the most gorgeous heads of lettuce all lined up, all perfect and so green and fresh along with the largest array of succulents I’ve ever seen. Just look at how pretty they are! We got some great local corn chips and homemade tomatillo salsa to start our evening. I also bought some burrata and buffalo mozzarella from the nicest Italian man, to serve with beautiful tomatoes and basil.

Take a look at this squash. I’ve never seen anything like them before. I’m going to make a mustard coated chicken and I’m going to grill these little babies with some radishes tossed with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Aren’t they just too cute?!! Some fingerling potatoes will be roasted and we’re going to have a rockin’ good time tonight as my brother Steve has, as usual, picked out some stellar wines to serve with all. Stop in to his wine pairing blog to know what you should serve with your meals.

Newport Beach

May warm weather shine upon you soon, wherever you are!!

Spread LOVE – MARY’s secret ingredients is COMING SOON!

March 5, 2014 by Mary 20 Comments

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching, trying to figure out ways to spread more LOVE in this world of ours. Like many people, I constantly want to try new flavors, and to learn other countries’ traditions and favorites. What are those unusual vegetables or fruits at the Jamaican market? What do you do with all the different dried chilies you see in some stores? How can you fuse certain heritages’ flavors? There are so many new ingredients introduced every year – artisanal, unique, small batch – how can you find them and play with them in your repertoire while continuing to spread LOVE in your cooking?

Well, I’m out to solve that problem, as well as to do my part to help feed hungry children. Soon, we will be bringing you MARY’s secret ingredients, a limited edition, culinary surprise, subscription box service containing unique, gourmet and artisanal ingredients, along with small kitchen products to spice up your cooking. During each quarter in 2014, 100 themed seasonal boxes will be filled with lovely surprises to inspire you, delivered right to your door. The cost will be $25.95 per box (including shipping) and 10% of our annual profits will be donated to the wonderful non-profit organization Feed The Children. No one should go hungry. Not in this country. Not anywhere. Put double LOVE in your cooking!

Our site will go live in the next few days. We have exciting and delicious ingredients to share with you. Terrific partners have signed up to participate with their delectable products. Additionally, I’ll be creating new recipes with these colorful ingredients, so you can refer back here to the blog for further inspiration in your cooking.

As mentioned, there will be only four box themes curated this year, with room for just 100 orders for each, so sign up just as soon as our site is launched which will be early next week. At the moment, we are only able to ship within the U.S. – we hope to be able to serve our international friends in the near future. You, my dear readers, are what makes all of this extra fun, and I want to thank you, near and far, for being part of this community and being here on my food adventure.

I’m so excited to share this with you all, and will let you know when the site has launched!

My good friend Marie gave this butter knife to me as a birthday present – the inspiration for this new adventure. Isn’t it great?