Ha ha – have you played any tricks today? I have to check out Google. They always do some crazy things on this holiday. YouTube said it was shutting down for 10 years and then analyzing all videos to pick the funniest one and would reveal it in 2023. Some people actually believed it, based on the comments they received!
Here’s a sign I saw in my work neighborhood – at Tribeca Treats!
Just in time for Easter! Sign up for the March newsletter in the upper right hand corner of this blog for a fantastic, never before seen (here) recipe for roasted duck and some other suggestions for your holiday meal.
And just to brighten up this post, I’d like to share with you my lunch salad from yesterday. It’s some frisee with red leaf lettuce topped with tomatoes, tomatillos, radishes and a half of a leftover pork chop with some toasted pepito seeds on top. Red wine vinaigrette finishes it off and voila! This is a healthy, satisfying lunch that carries you through to dinner!
We are excited to say that our LOVE blog has made a guest posting appearance on the most delicious Orgasmic Chef blog, down in Australia! We’re conquering the globe!
Her blog is a great source for “orgasmic” recipes – you’re reading that right – so go check it out (and say hello to Maureen for us while you’re there! Thank you, Maureen!).
Here is our post down under. Hint: Silky Chocolate Cake is the topic.
It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks with Zach home on Spring break and many dinner and birthday parties. Our oldest celebrated his birthday on Friday with friends and today with us. He wanted to cook and just asked me to bring his favorite dessert, Vanilla Pots. A delicious, rich dessert but a little tricky to make and I really could have done a better job on these.
But first I have to tell you about his Friday night party where his friends cooked for him! His brother Zach made some exotic carrots and Zach’s girlfriend, Agata, made my artichoke dip recipe with some of these homemade pita chips I’ve been making recently. For some reason I was still up when they came home at 2:30 am. (I’ll tell you why – I had a straight up martini starting at 6 pm and then promptly fell asleep for 4 hours!!! I guess I was just a wee bit exhausted.) Anyway, Agata was so thrilled that her artichoke dip was such a hit. She couldn’t stop talking about it when they got home. People kept asking what was it, what was in it, putting it on their meat and vegetables, where could they get the recipe and on and on. Bottom line is, she made something that people LOVED and in turn, she felt the love back. All warm and fuzzy. You give it, you attract it.
That’s what it’s all about!
VANILLA POTS de CRÈME – adapted from Mark Bittman at the The New York Times
– serves 6
Mark says, as with all custards, this is best when removed from the heat when the center is still jiggly. It’s a leap of faith, but it’s the only way to get a perfectly creamy interior.
My additional note is to remove the cream from the heat just when tiny bubbles start, as I said, start to form. You do NOT want the cream to scald and certainly not to simmer or boil. If you do, start over because then you have broken the molecules to a degree that you have lost the sweetness and creaminess of the cream.
2 cups heavy cream, light cream, or half-and-half (I always use heavy cream)
2 vanilla beans or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Pour cream into small saucepan. Split vanilla beans in half lengthwise and scrape seeds into cream. Put pod in cream and heat cream until tiny, tiny bubbles start to appear around the edge of the pot. Cover pan, turn off heat and let steep for 15 minutes. If using vanilla extract, just heat cream and let it cool while you proceed.
Beat yolks and sugar together until light. Pour about a quarter of the cream (remove vanilla bean pod) into this mixture, then pour sugar-egg mixture into cream and stir. If you are using vanilla extract, add it now and stir. Pour mixture into six 6-ounce ramekins and place ramekins in a baking dish; fill dish with water halfway up the side of dishes. Cover with foil.
Bake 25 to 45 minutes, or until center is barely set. (Heavy cream sets fastest; half-and-half more slowly.) Chill, then serve.
I know I baked these too much – they were in for 28 minutes. Plus I divided them up into seven ramekins as we had seven people so maybe 23 -24 minutes would have been perfect. Mine still tasted great – but could have been even better.
If you want to make something so fulfilling, creamy, and dreamy, make this dish. The flour coating of the chicken, which I normally don’t do (too fattening) and the sour cream in the dough and the sauce (also fattening) makes this so rich and satisfying. Combine all that softness with the crispness of the biscuits and the spiciness of the sauce — so so good.
This is more of a weekend dinner as it’s a bit more time consuming. And with another possible snow storm on the way, this is perfect cold weather food. You know you made a good dinner when your husband rolls over in bed the next morning and the first thing he says is, “That was a damn good dinner last night!”
Alright!
So here you go – this recipe is based on a recipe from Food and Wine magazine, but I have altered it. Their recipe calls for 2 tbs. of hot paprika. Well I made it like that the first time and we were all oozing sweat from the top of our heads!! I thought for sure it must be a typo but apparently not, as they just reprinted it as a favorite recipe in the recent March issue. Along with that, I have made other changes as well. Don’t be frightened by the dough – it’s really easy. Enjoy!
CHICKEN GOULASH WITH BISCUIT DUMPLINGS
– serves 4
2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, (about 4 or 5) trimmed of all fat
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
5 tbs. cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 tsp. baking powder
2 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or low-sodium broth
1 cup sour cream, divided
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs. hot Hungarian paprika
1 tbs. sweet paprika
3/4 tsp. caraway seeds
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
Preheat the oven to 425°. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and dust lightly with flour. In a deep skillet, melt 1 tbs. of the butter in the olive oil. Add the chicken and cook over high heat, turning once, until browned on both sides, about 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken to a plate.
Meanwhile, in a food processor, pulse the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Pulse in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Drizzle the 1/2 cup of the stock and the 1/2 cup of the sour cream over the dry ingredients; pulse until a dough forms.
Add the onion, bell pepper and garlic to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 minutes. Return the chicken to the skillet. Stir in the paprika and caraway seeds and cook for 30 seconds. Add the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock and 1/2 cup of sour cream and stir until smooth. Sprinkle the thyme over everything and bring to a boil.
Scoop twelve 3-tablespoon-size mounds of biscuit dough over the chicken. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the biscuits are cooked. Turn on the broiler and broil for about 2 minutes, until the biscuits are golden. Serve the goulash in bowls, spooning the biscuits on top.
How was it for you? I hope you all enjoyed the celebration and showed your Irish LOVE!
When I was growing up, my very best friend, Beth, was 100% Irish. And here I was, 100% Polish. While everyone was wearing some green with their school uniforms, my mother wouldn’t let me. No siree. I was not Irish. I should be proud to be Polish and wear red on St. Patty’s Day!
Yeah, she made me wear red.
But, for dinner, she gave in and always made corned beef and cabbage. So I kept up the tradition and made it for lunch yesterday while we were still with Zach and Agata in the country.
So now Agata (who is from Poland), looks at my platter and says, “It looks like Polish food.”
No wonder my mother made it!
I made this nifty horseradish cream sauce (mayo and sour cream) with a little lemon zest that was really nice and cut the salt from the beef.
I have so much to write to you about. I’m really back logged. There is no lack of food or stories to share with you, just time to write and post them. And then there are some recipes that I really want to get to you now because they are cold weather dishes that are so yummy and while we still have it, before Spring descends upon us, I think you should have them available. But now I want to tell you about our lunch today. Our son Zach, with help from his lovely girlfriend, Agata, made it. Just look at this photo of chunky tomato soup and a two cheese (sharp cheddar and provolone) grilled cheese sandwich. This was so yummy!!! And this was something he wanted to make completely by himself with not a comment or an ounce of help from me. Of course I had to blow it and offer my two cents here and there and I was shooed out of the kitchen – he wanted no part of my advice as well as he should. He doesn’t need me, sad as I think it is, he is more than capable in the kitchen and for that I am so grateful. He never looked at a recipe. I did, before we went to the grocery store together. But he had his own ideas – damn good ones at that!
His tomato soup had onions, celery, (3 stalks), carrots, thyme, red pepper flakes and homemade chicken stock.
It was divine.
This is a great, quick weeknight dinner that seems much more time-consuming and fancy than it is. It’s also light and healthy. People often ask me how do I have time to cook? Well I want to eat good food and I make the time. But with practice, you get quicker too. This dinner, even with setting up and making the video, took one hour. So without the video you could easily do this in 45 minutes. And really, most of my recipes here in this blog are like that. I may put more hours into a dish on the weekends or certainly for a special birthday dinner but even weekend dinners may just have more oven time, not active time. I am all about making gourmet meals in quick time!
SESAME AND CURRY CRUSTED SALMON WITH TOMATO SALAD – adapted from Grace Parisi – Food & Wine Magazine
– serves 4
1 tbs. sesame seeds
1 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1.5 lb. center-cut, salmon fillet, with skin
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tbs. plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or Campari tomatoes, quartered
1/2 serrano or jalepeno chile, minced with seeds
1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro
Preheat the oven to 425°. In a spice grinder, combine the sesame seeds, curry powder and crushed red pepper and pulse until coarsely ground. Season the salmon with salt and pepper, brush one side of the fillet with 1 tablespoon of the Dijon mustard and coat with the ground sesame seed mixture.
In a large, ovenproof, nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the salmon, coated side down, and cook over moderately high heat until lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Carefully flip the salmon. Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for about 10 minutes, until the salmon is just cooked through. Transfer the salmon to a platter.
In a large bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the remaining 1 tsp. of mustard and 1 tbs. of olive oil. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Add the tomatoes, chile and cilantro and toss. Cut the salmon into 4 pieces and serve right away with the tomato salad.
I have this theory, with no scientific basis, but I think fish skin is good for you – and when it’s hot and crispy, it sure tastes good to me.
I served this with some steamed Basmati rice and sautéed mustard greens with roasted garlic.
Now look at this beauty. I have some leftover red leaf lettuce underneath the baby arugula, topped with grape tomatoes, red pepper and avocado slices. If I don’t have any leftover meat, I go for a half of an avocado. So rich and creamy – comforting – like mashed potatoes to me. And that’s my new favorite garnish on top, roasted and salted pepitas. My dressing is always a simple oil and vinegar combo I bring from home. For ease, I throw it all in a jar with a mason lid and shake it up. I can literally make this in two minutes. Here is my approximate recipe, because I really don’t measure anymore.
BASIC SALAD DRESSING
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbs. red wine or sherry or Champagne vinegar
scant 1/2 cup of olive oil
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Place all ingredients in a jar. Cover tightly and shake. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
To healthy eating!!
I was having lunch at the office today, by myself, in the conference room, reading this article by Nora Ephron that my friend Marie sent to me. Well, I was literally laughing so hard I was crying and not a sound was coming out!
Do you know that kind of hard, teary, unstoppable laugh? You can read the article here and you too can laugh your socks off. http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Nora-Ephron-on-Maintenance-Remembering-Nora-Ephron
I never met her … but I miss her. She was one great lady!
Ever since her book came out on I Feel Bad About my Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman, I have been obsessed about my neck. I remember first hearing about this book on the radio, while I was in the shower, shaving my legs. They said she talks about you having to shave less as you get older and I thought, great! But then, I have to thank Nora for spending hundreds of dollars on special neck creams and doing awful looking neck exercises in front of the mirror at night before going to bed. I’m not sure if they’re doing anything, but I’m sure as hell putting in the effort.
Now on to my lunch. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about lunch. I actually like to and do bring my lunch to work everyday, including my husband’s, unless I have a lunch date set up with a client or a friend. Of course, many of our clients are friends, so that does double duty.
This all started with the great recession/ depression descending upon us several years ago now. I figured we could save at least 20 bucks a day for the two of us – that’s one hundred a week, four hundred a month! (I can do the math!) But now, I also love to intimately know what I’m putting in to my body. I care about that – and you should too. I love my lunches. They’re clean, healthy and delicious and I know everything about them because I made them. My husband usually has dinner leftovers – he calls it “gourmet fast food” and I love my salads. I think it’s very important to eat some raw food everyday. One probably gets more vitamins and minerals out of them that way, and seeds are good too – sunflower or pepita (remember Euell Gibbons?) are great as garnishes. I’ll tell you what – I feel great every day and have a tremendous amount of energy. And now here’s a funny thing. When my extended family is all together at my one brother’s house in Vermont and they’re all eating sandwiches, hot dogs, chips and dips, on the side, I make my own salad and you know what? They all drool over it, because it looks so delicious, and they’re eating crap. You choose!
I love warm meat on a salad – great protein and staying power to take you through the day. And when the warm meat juices mix with the cool lettuce and dressing, it’s nice. Here is red leaf lettuce, radishes, cucumber, red peppers, grape tomatoes, tomatillo wedges and warmed leftover rosemary roasted pork tenderloin with sauteed onions and apples.
