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

Belgian Endive with Smoked Trout Pâté

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Pretty, light, with a slightly spicy kick of cayenne, and elegant – so nice with a glass of Prosecco or a cocktail – these appetizers of Smoked Trout Pâté on Endive with a Toasted Walnut are delicious! They would also be a good, healthier addition to your Super Bowl fare of chips and dips. (And don’t forget about my healthier, super tasty Spicy Chicken Chili recipe for the big game.)

I served these as a starter for my dinner party last weekend and they were a hit! The Smoked Trout Pâté is super easy and quick to make, can be made a day or two ahead of time and then the assembly is also very easy to do, right before the guests arrive. And everyone went “ooo la la” once they saw the platter as it looked so impressive! 

Using an oval plate, (I neglected to take a picture of that), I had the Smoked Trout Pâté on Endive with a Toasted Walnut outlining the outside edge. I filled the middle in with Medjool dates, pits removed and stuffed with Roquefort cheese and a toasted walnut half. Also delish!

So different, simple and elegant…

The whole thing was simple, different and all mighty tasty, besides looking beautiful and elegant. All of the things you hope to achieve when entertaining your friends and family.

Make these soon, sit back and enjoy the compliments!

Belgian Endive with Smoked Trout Pâté.

BELGIAN ENDIVE WITH SMOKED TROUT PÂTÉ – serves 10 as an appetizer

One 8 oz. boneless smoked trout, skin, head and tail removed, broken into large chunks
¼ cup sour cream
2 oz. (¼ cup) cream cheese at room temperature
2 Tbs. coarsely chopped red onion
1 chunk (2 inches) fresh horseradish, peeled and coarsely grated (about 1 packed tablespoon) You can use bottled horseradish in a pinch, but if you do, drain it well and use only 2.5 tsp.
1.5 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ cup walnut halves
2 – 3 large heads of Belgian endive, using only the larger leaves 
Grated fresh lemon zest for garnish

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Scatter the walnuts on a pie plate or baking sheet and toast in the oven for 7 – 10 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool.

Place the chunks of trout in the bowl of a food processor. Add the sour cream, cream cheese, onion, horseradish, lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Pulse several times to form a chunky purée. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. The pâté can be prepared to this point a day or two in advance. Wrap it well and refrigerate.

Thinly slice the bottom of the endive off and carefully separate the leaves. Wash and let air dry on top of paper towels or a clean linen towel. Once dry, roll up the paper or linen towel with the endives inside, place in a ziplock bag and refrigerate for crisper leaves.

Drop a rounded teaspoon of the pâté into the cup of each leaf, top with finely grated lemon zest and press a walnut piece on top. Arrange lovingly on a platter and serve immediately.

NOTE: You can also serve the pâté on fresh crisp apple slices or surround the bowl of pâté with slices of whole grain toast. If the pâté has been refrigerated, all of the flavors bloom when it is a little more at room temperature.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!

Some of My Favorite Recipes for the Holiday Week

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The Rockefeller Center Tree and Skating Rink

Sending you warm wishes for great aromas coming from your kitchen and family times that can’t be beat. Here are some of my favorite recipes for this holiday week!

Make foods that flood you with warm glowing pleasure and your body will hum with contentment, not to mention having super happy guests around the table.

For the main course:

Crown Roast of Pork

Beef Stroganoff 

Bacon Wrapped Beef Tenderloin 

Provençal Lamb Daube

Beef Brisket

Potatoes Mary

For starters:

Artichoke dip

Southern Cheese Straws

Spicy Maple Glazed Nuts

For dessert: 5 holiday cookies

Pecan Crisps

Cognac or Bourbon Sugarplums

Date Bars

Hello Dolly Squares

Sugar Cookies – Rolled Cut-Outs

If you have overnight guests, here are some breakfast suggestions:

Buttermilk Challah French Toast

Shakshuka

Skillet Buttermilk Biscuits – the BEST Biscuit Recipe

Truth be told, all of the recipes here on my blog are my favorites, otherwise they wouldn’t be here. I only include the ones I love – they must be worthy of sharing with you!

Happy Holidays to all and have wonderful days and nights this holiday week, filled with family togetherness, (take your timely Covid tests), joy, mirth and full happy bellies.

And remember, most importantly, to make all of your food with LOVE.

Spicy Maple Glazed Nuts

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Spicy Maple Glazed Nuts are not too sweet, not too spicy, on a blue rimmed plate.
Total delish Spicy Maple Glazed Nuts

These Spicy Maple Glazed Nuts are super simple to make and super delicious, particularly with a cocktail or glass of wine at the end of the day. Not too sweet, not too spicy, they hit the right spot!

And now that FINALLY my kitchen is finished (yay, yay, yay!) and slowly we are all getting vaccinated, we can start getting together again and enjoying that cocktail with friends and family.

I do enjoy nuts at any time of the day. I carry some with me at all times in my purse, so that if I get that low blood sugar feeling, that hangry feeling (that’s hungry and angry) and need something to eat while on the go, I am set. 

Recently, I had listened to a synopsis of a book and learned that if you ate only six cashews a day, that would provide your cells with extra cilia (hairs) to be able to ward off infection better. So I have been doing just that. Eating six (well maybe seven or eight, but no more) cashews a day. Count them out ahead of time and then close the container and put it away.

My Nutty Story…

Some years ago, way before Mary’s Secret Ingredients, way back when we lived in Summit, NJ, after much trial and error, I had created three roasted nut recipes and had even designed the packaging for them using a terrific illustration of me on the front, calling them “MARY’s NUTS – as in Mary is nuts and these were her nuts! I had Sweet Walnuts (great for salads), Spicy Almonds, and Sweet and Spicy Pecans. 

However, after perfecting the recipes, I never had the time to take them to market. But I still have those recipes and I should dig them up for you!

This Spicy Maple Glazed Nuts recipe makes a lot – 6 cups of nuts – but believe me, you will find them gone within the 3 week time period that they stay fresh. And also, they are lovely to share, a well appreciated gift. Put them in a clear glass Mason jar, adorned with a pretty bow on top and you will be invited back for sure.

So make this perfect and different accompaniment now. Make with LOVE and enjoy!

SPICY MAPLE GLAZED NUTS – makes 6 cups

1/4 c maple syrup
2 Tbs. EVOO
2 Tbs. minced fresh rosemary
3/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp. Dulce pimentón de la Vera (smoked Spanish Paprika)
1 tsp. French Grey salt, finely ground
6 cups unsalted mixed raw nuts (11/2 cups each of  pecans, walnuts, 
whole blanched almonds, whole cashews)

The Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a baking rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Stir together everything but the nuts in a large bowl. Add all the nuts and stir well to completely coat each nut with the glaze. Turn out onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading out all the nuts and scraping the bowl, using all the glaze.

Roast in the oven, stirring and flipping the nuts over after 10 minutes. Roast for 9 – 10 minutes more, being careful not to let the pecans burn. 

Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet so they will crisp up.

When completely cooled, store in an airtight container. A tin lined with wax paper works well or a mason jar with a tight fitting lid. Properly stored nuts will keep for 3 weeks.

Spicy Maple Glazed Nuts are not too sweet, not too spicy, in a wax paper lined tin.
These Spicy Maple Glazed Nuts keep well in a wax paper lined tin.

What We Should Be Eating & Making Now

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So, I have been trying out new recipes for you BUT, I haven’t found any that are great enough to share with you. They just aren’t and I’m sorry I haven’t had the time to fuss with them to make them better and therefore sharable! However, recently I came across this article that outlines the diets of the longest living, healthiest people on the earth, and there are six tenants for What We Should Be Eating & Making Now.

Here are the highlights from the article entitled The 6 Golden Rules of Eating for Longevity, According to the Longest-Living People on Earth by Allie Flinn from the blog Well+Good.

1.) Drink wine after 5 pm.

It’s 5 pm somewhere! Ideally with friends and a meal. I’m in!!

2.) Eat mostly plant-based foods.

Now I do eat meat, almost every day, but I have been trying to have more meatless days…

3.) Include plenty of carbs in your diet.

Surprising to me! They eat grains, greens, tubers, nuts, and beans. Beans seem to be most important, and I know when I am hangry (hungry and angry because of it), beans or lentils calm it the most.

4.) Enjoy meat only on occasion, and only 6 ounces at a time.

Your portion should be no bigger than a deck of cards – that is enough.

5.) Stick to black coffee, water and wine as your beverages.

In other words, pure stuff, no sugary nonsense.

6.) Practice modified forms of intermittent fasting.

I personally have been fasting 16 – 18 hours per day and I have lost weight and feel so much better. So, I may eat dinner at anytime between 6 pm and 8 pm and I will not eat anything the next day until 1 or 2 pm and that really works for me. At that time, I do have a really good meal, like a full dinner, with protein being eaten first. This is working for me in so many ways, I hope you try it for yourselves. And no, I do not miss breakfast first thing. You do not need it at our age.

I will also add to this list a few other things that I have been doing:

Practicing mindful eating.

Eating and chewing slowly, being conscious of what you are enjoying, is so important. This practice will result in eating less as it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to tell you that your stomach is full.

Intentional choices for your food.

I was having high blood pressure readings, most likely from the stress of trying to remake my life after the sudden passing of my husband, Steve, as well as lack of sleep from the stress, so my doctor immediately wanted to put me on blood pressure medicine, but I was not going to go in that direction. Instead I did some research and started eating a lot of broccoli – raw or barely roasted – sweet potatoes, flax seed crackers and taking the oil in supplement form, and eating 6 cashews a day as a preventative action for cancer. I am happy to say that my blood pressure is back to my usual good-to-low readings.

And then of course, are you drinking enough water

Years and years ago, I once had a doctor explain to me that your body needs plenty of fluids flowing always, to transport the white blood cells around to kill any infections that might be lurking. So drink up that filtered water!!

Food can have a profound impact on how people think and feel.

I would love to know the diets of the violent rioters. I wonder if they’re full of processed foods, high in saturated fats and simple carbs?

What do you think?

Since I don’t have any new recipes at this time that are good enough to share, here is a reprise of some of my summer favorites!

Feta radishes watercress and mint toasts platter.
Feta, radishes, watercress and mint toasts
Midwest potato salad in a white Le Crueset bowl garnished with parsley.
Midwest potato salad at Tanglewood
Best potato salad with fennel, Parmesan cheese, cipollini onions and picholine olives.
Best Potato Salad with fennel, Parmesan cheese, cipollini onions and picholine olives.
Sorrel pesto on a spoon.
Sorrel Pesto
Greek Roasted chicken, chicken with parsely garnish
Santorini Grilled Chicken with a Lemon/Garlic Basting Sauce accompanied by a Greek Salad
Greek Salad, salad with feta cheese tomatoes cucumbers greek
Tomato and cucumber Greek salad

Make and serve all with LOVE!

Our Life Now and The Best Hummus Recipe

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My husband has renal cell carcinoma.

There. I said it.

It’s in his right kidney, a tumor that has grown out of the kidney and invaded about 20% of his liver, and 3 lymph nodes nearby.

Our whole life has changed.

We found out on March 31st, a pouring down rain, extremely dark and dreary Friday afternoon. He told me on the phone as I was out and about all day at client meetings. I was heading home and had stopped in the Vitamin Shoppe, and literally sobbed on this poor sales associate’s shoulder. 

For several days, I couldn’t even tell anyone other than immediate family.

He had started on two chemo drugs and after just 5 days we were back in the emergency room as it was all too strong for his body. We are back home now.

He does not like anything to eat. So totally new, so unlike him. Everything seems to make him gag. We all are reading, researching and trying everything.

Does anyone have any ideas?

I won’t bore you with all the details as we start this new chapter in our lives. I will say that this is a nasty, nasty disease.

But we are determined to beat this thing. Our youngest son is getting married in Poland in July. We need to be there. And we will be. They are getting married in a palace in the southwest countryside and I keep telling Steve we will be there, dancing under the stars.

For a while, in between the two hospital stays, on Easter Sunday, he liked this hummus. My nephew Adam said this was the best hummus he had ever tasted.

I hope you’ll like it too.

Your health is precious and LOVE is an important component of it. Make this with LOVE and enjoy!!

Hummus in a blue trimmed bowl on a green napkin.THE BEST HUMMUS

1 lb. dried chickpeas
2 tsp. baking soda, divided
I head of garlic, cut in half, roasted with olive oil, salt and pepper
1 small clove of fresh garlic, finely minced and smashed with a bit of salt – OPTIONAL
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice, or more to taste 
11/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/3 cup tahini, plus 2 Tbs. (I used Soom – delicious!!)
2 tsp. ground cumin, plus more for serving
Fresh ground pepper
11/2 Tbs. olive oil, plus more for serving and roasting garlic
3 Tbs. ice water 

Rinse and drain chickpeas and check for any foreign debris and remove. In a large pot or Le Creuset Dutch oven, cover chickpeas with 3” of cold water and stir in 1 tsp. baking soda, cover and let soak overnight. The chickpeas should double in size.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Take the whole head of garlic and slice in half, parallel to the root end. Place on aluminum foil, drizzle the cut sides with a teaspoon of olive oil, some salt and fresh ground pepper. Close up the foil tight and place in an ovenproof dish and roast for about 25 minutes, until garlic is very soft and tender. Open up foil to cool when done.

Drain and rinse the chickpeas twice. Combine the soaked chickpeas and remaining 1 tsp. baking soda back in the large Dutch oven and add cold water to cover by at least 2″. Bring to a boil, skimming surface as needed. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially cover, and simmer until chickpeas are very, very tender, 45–65 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and let the chickpeas sit in the water for at least 30 minutes or even longer. Drain out 3 ½ cups of chickpeas and set aside to cool. You will have extra left over. Save the extra chickpeas in their juices in the refrigerator and use on a salad or toss with other vegetables. You can also freeze them in their juices at this point too and make more hummus at another time.

In a food processor, place drained chickpeas, all of the roasted garlic, (squeeze it out of the skins), lemon juice, salt, cumin, some fresh pepper and olive oil, and process until puréed. Only add the fresh garlic if you really, really love garlic.

Add tahini and pulse to combine. With motor running, add 3 Tbs. ice water and process until the mixture is very smooth, pale, and thick. Taste and season with salt and/or more lemon juice as desired.

Hummus overhead shot in a blue trimmed bowl on a green napkin.Spoon hummus into a shallow bowl and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Top with more ground cumin. Serve with pita chips and raw vegetables. I like celery and fennel sticks.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Red Onion Dip with Home Cook’s Pantry Za’atar

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Home Cooks Pantry za'atar in MARY's secret ingredients winter 2016 subscription box.Open this little packet of Home Cook’s Pantry Za’atar and get ready for a huge fragrant explosion of deliciousness! Sumac, sesame seeds and other herbs make this a terrific combination to use on ANYTHING.

Really.

Combine it with some olive oil and dip a piece of good bread into it and I guarantee, you’ll be hooked.

For the most part, I like to use fresh herbs in my cooking. But some flavors you just can’t get fresh, like sumac. And when you can get a dried spice mix that’s carefully blended and super fresh, well, let me tell you, it’s nothing like the McCormick supermarket dried spices.

Use this za’atar on vegetables, meats, chicken or fish. I particularly loved it in this warm butternut squash dip – both in the dip and sprinkled on top to finish it. This is a great dip to serve for holiday entertaining. It’s different, totally delicious and even healthy!

There are different spice blends that fall under the name za’atar, a typical Middle Eastern staple in cooking. They can be predominantly green or red in color. Recipes for such spice mixtures were often kept secret, and not even shared with daughters and other relatives. Can you imagine? This za’atar contains pepper, cumin, oregano, salt, sesame seeds, ground sumac and thyme.

Home Cook’s Pantry buys fresh whole spices and grinds them when you order.  They stock over 90 unique spices to make their blends.  Each mix has a shelf life of one year and they never use MSG, artificial coloring, or anti-caking agents in any of their seasoning blends.

They can also customize your blend – more heat, less sweet, omit for allergens – whatever your needs, they can accommodate. They are really special!

On to the recipe:
Roasted butternut squash dip with Home Cook's Pantry Za'atar on a platter with crudites.ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND RED ONION DIP WITH HOME COOK’S PANTRY ZA’ATAR – serves 8 – 10

1 large butternut squash (2 1/4 lb. in total), cut in half lengthwise with seeds scraped out
2 medium red onions, cut into 1 1/4-inch wedges
4 Tbs. olive oil, divided
3 1/2 Tbs. light tahini paste
1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. water
1 small clove garlic, crushed
Maldon sea salt or Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 Tbs. Home Cook’s Pantry za’atar, plus more to sprinkle on top
3 1/2 Tbs. walnuts
1 Tbs. coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Rub the cut sides of the squash with ½ Tbs. of olive oil and fill a baking dish with ¼” of water. Place squash cut side down in the water. Meanwhile in another baking dish, toss the red onion with 2 Tbs. of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place both pans in the oven and roast for 25 – 30 minutes, until the onions have taken on some color and are tender. Remove the onions and leave to cool. Turn the squash right side up and roast for 10 – 15 more minutes until it is very tender when pierced with a fork.
Roasted butternut squash dip with Home Cook's Pantry za'atar - roasted onions.When squash is done, remove from the oven to cool. When squash is cool enough to handle, scrap the squash from the skin and place in a food processor along with the onions and all of the juices from the onion pan. Add 1 Tbs. of olive oil and the other ingredients, except for the walnuts and parsley.

Roasted butternut squash with roasted onions and Home Cook's Pantry Za'atar in a Cuisinart.Pureed raosted butternut squash with roasted onions and Home Cook's Pantry Za'atar.Process this mixture into a smooth puree.

Pour the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil into a small frying pan and place over medium-low heat. Add the walnuts along with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, until the nuts are golden brown. Remove from the heat and transfer the nuts and oil to a small bowl to stop the cooking.

To serve, spread the warm dip out in a low shallow bowl. Sprinkle the walnuts and their oil on top, followed by more za’atar and parsley.

Serve with baked pita chips and a variety of dipping vegetables – celery, carrot and fennel strips are nice along with breakfast radishes.

This is a super healthy appetizer recipe to have on hand in the midst of all of the rich food of the season. Make and serve with LOVE!

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