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

Shrimp Stir-fry with Asparagus

April 2, 2015 by Mary 22 Comments

Before I tell you about this terrific Shrimp Stir-fry with Asparagus recipe I wanted to give you an update on our crowdfunding. Our effort hit its deadline last Friday and we’re very very pleased to have raised $11,710.00, thanks to all of your support!! You are AMAZING!! The money raised will help us move forward in our mission. We are all very excited and grateful here in our offices – yay!!

I dream of a world where no one is hungry and everyone has clean water. I’m not asking for much – but so many don’t have this basic human right. I dream of MARY’s secret ingredients making this happen!! If we all band together, buy some boxes, (Spring box deadline is April 25th), we CAN make this happen. And then the whole world would be a happy productive place, in all four corners. It would be truly AWESOME!!!

My husband LOVES shrimp!! We don’t eat it often because I only like to get this fresh Florida shrimp from this one fish store in NYC, that used to be right near our old office location but now since we’ve moved to the Tribeca area, we don’t get to go there often. Only if we stay in the city and drive there on a Saturday. With (what I hear) spring coming soon, (it snowed again on Tuesday) asparagus will be plentiful, so I recommend you make this very easy and delicious, slightly spicy Shrimp Stir Fry with Asparagus. Fresh, clean-tasting, healthy and good for you – all good things!!

So make this shrimp dish for your family and serve with LOVE . The pancetta adds big flavor, along with the garlic, asparagus is so tasty this time of year, the chili flakes add a touch of spice and the cashews give you some buttery crunch. It’s a win-win and super quick to throw together.

SHRIMP STIR-FRY WITH ASPARAGUS – serves 3 – 4

1 Tbs. olive oil (you don’t need much oil as the pancetta will render some fat)
1 – ¼” thick slice of pancetta, minced into ¼” pieces
1 bunch of asparagus, tough ends removed, cut into 11/4” lengths
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled with tails left on, washed and patted dry
Salt
Pepper
¼ – ½ tsp. hot chili pepper flakes
2 Tbs. dry white wine or dry vermouth
Handful of roasted cashews (I even used lightly salted ones)
Chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish

Warm the olive oil on medium heat in a large skillet. Add the minced pancetta and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add the asparagus and toss and cook for 2 -4 minutes more. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Meanwhile, make sure your shrimp are washed and patted dry, Season one side with salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and cook for about 2 minutes. Turn the shrimp over and add the white wine and sprinkle on the chili flakes. Continue cooking until the shrimp are pink and done, about 2-3 minutes total, on this other side. Throw in the handful of cashews and toss all to distribute evenly.

Serve over steamed Jasmine rice and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

ENJOY!!

We’re getting ready for an Easter/Passover (Peaster!) combo dinner on Saturday night and I’m so excited to see all of our guests. We will be 10 around the table and we’re going to start with a homemade Matzo ball soup that my husband will make and the main will be a barbecued fresh ham with an ancho fig chutney. I haven’t figured out the rest of the dishes yet. Any suggestions???

Happy Peaster to everyone!! (or should it be Eastover?)

Spicy Beef Ragout

March 7, 2015 by Mary 24 Comments

I LOVE entertaining! I love bringing different groups of people together. I love feeding a whole big bunch of people and making them happy. (Think that has anything to do with being the youngest of six kids with five older brothers?) The week before last, we had only five other people over for dinner, yet the appetizer hour sounded like 20, the conversation was so loud. After dinner while still at the table, the discussion got political with both sides being heated. Us girls all got up and busied ourselves in the kitchen, cleaning up, worried that the temperature was getting too hot and wondering how we could change the course of the conversation. But no, this was all friendly sparring and intellectual discourse.

Everyone left on a very happy note (with full bellies I might add – everyone had seconds on both the entrée and dessert!) and while washing wine glasses, my husband remarked on how much he LOVED the discussion. The next day, each thank-you note from the guys mentioned how much they enjoyed the spirited political discussion. Go figure. Anyway, for the main course I made this amazing Spicy Beef Ragout.

Even though it is now March and daylight savings time starts tonight, it is still cold and this is the perfect dish to warm the soul. Hearty and so very good, make it now. You will be delighted. I bought nearly 3.4 pounds of meat and trimmed most of the fat, to end up with at least 3 pounds. This makes for a really healthy dish as even after refrigeration, there was no fat to skim off. Here it is.

As I said, EVERYONE had seconds. After I had served the first helping, they all made fun of me as to how much I had made. Ahem. There wasn’t a real single serving left – only one piece of meat and a handful of noodles. I made this on a Sunday to serve on Thursday. Letting it sit in the fridge to “mature” is the very best thing to do. Plus it makes for an easy dinner the night you are serving it!

SPICY BEEF RAGOUT – serves 6 – 8

13 plum tomatoes, quartered lengthwise
3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling on noodles
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
7 sprigs fresh thyme
3 lbs. trimmed beef chuck cut in 2” chunks
½ of a large fennel bulb, chopped
1 cup finely chopped leeks (white and light green parts only)
2 shallots, finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. flour
15 large Sicilian green olives, pitted and chopped
3/4 tsp. crushed red chile flakes
2 cups robust red wine
½ cup beef stock
3 branches fresh rosemary, each about 7” long
2 small fresh bay leaves
1 lb. egg noodles
Chopped Italian parsley for garnish

Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Pile tomatoes on top, add 1 tablespoon of the oil, season with salt and pepper and toss. Add leaves from 4 branches of the thyme, toss again, then spread the tomatoes in a single layer on the foil-lined baking sheet, skin side down. Set aside.

Heat remaining oil in an ovenproof casserole on medium high. Dry meat, season with salt and pepper and sear in several batches to avoid crowding until lightly browned on all sides. Remove to a bowl. Lower heat to medium low. Heat oven to 300 degrees.

Add fennel, leeks, shallot and garlic to casserole, stir, season with salt and pepper and cook until lightly browned. Stir in the flour, cook for a moment or two, than add olives, chile flakes and wine. Stir, scraping pan, and bring to a simmer. Add stock. Return meat and its juices to the casserole.

Stir in the branches of rosemary, bay leaves and remaining thyme, making sure they are immersed into the meat and liquid. Cover and place in the oven. Place the pan of tomatoes in the oven. Cook both for 2 hours. Remove the pans from the oven. Check seasoning of meat. Cool and then refrigerate for 1 – 5 days.

Remove from refrigerator for one hour before putting in the oven. Reheat, covered, in a 250 – 300 degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Boil 1 lb. of egg noodles in salted water. (I cooked them 3 minutes less than the package directions stated.) Drain and spread out on a large platter. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil. Transfer meat and sauce atop the noodles.

Warm the tomatoes in the microwave for a minute or two, arrange tomatoes on top and sprinkle on chopped parsley. Serve with LOVE and enjoy thoroughly!!!

Catfish Roasted with Tomatoes and Horseradish

February 22, 2015 by Mary 34 Comments

Did you know that horseradish is considered a power food? Full of antioxidants and great for your immune system, especially during this cold and flu season, I decided to put it to use the other night. In my unending quest for something simple, quick and different for dinner, I made up this Catfish Roasted with Tomatoes and Horseradish recipe. It was delicious! My husband loved it! And it’s so simple it’s stupid, but it tastes like so much more – just my kind of food for a busy weeknight.

Now I’m sure you can use any store bought horseradish, but if you can find this Polish brand, I highly recommend it. Our son Zachary finds this in stores in the large Polish section of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY. In Eastern Europe, horseradish grows like a weed, so the Poles really know their stuff and it is always on their tables with roasted meats. This brand is creamy white in color, unlike some other American brands. And believe me, no one has asked me to promote this, but it is so superior to other horseradish brands.

I know this recipe sounds so unusual, but it was so good and super healthy to boot! Horseradish has had a long history as a versatile herbal remedy, however due to recent studies, it is also becoming known to have anticancer benefits. Horseradish contains significant amounts of cancer-fighting compounds called glucosinolates, which increase the liver’s ability to detoxify carcinogens and may suppress the growth of tumors. Although broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and other cruciferous vegetables also contain these compounds, horseradish has up to 10 times more glucosinolates than broccoli. So now you know! This is from the Life Extension website.

CATFISH ROASTED WITH TOMATOES AND HORSERADISH – serves 2

2 catfish fillets – about 1 lb. total
2 – 3 tomatoes, sliced ¼” thick
Olive oil
Horseradish – about 13 teaspoons
Salt
Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Rinse catfish fillets well and pat dry with paper towels.

Slick a baking sheet with a thin film of olive oil. Arrange sliced tomatoes roughly in the shape of your fish fillets. Drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil over all. Put a dab of horseradish on each tomato slice – about a teaspoon – then salt and fresh ground pepper over all. Lay your fish fillets on top. Drizzle a bit of olive oil on top of the fillets and spread around with your fingertips. Salt and pepper to taste on top.

Roast in the oven 12 – 17 minutes, until the fish flakes. Serve with LOVE immediately. Enjoy!

I served this with some escarole sautéed in olive oil with garlic. Super delish!!!

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!)