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

Farro Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms, Chicken, Tomatoes, and Green Beans in a Sherry Cream Sauce

April 26, 2019 by Mary 14 Comments

I know it’s been a very long time. Too long in that I almost don’t know where to begin. I have a sister-in-law who has been begging me to write again, desperate for recipes. Since Steve passed, quite frankly I haven’t been making many worthy dishes. Not good enough to share. I make up very simple stuff on the fly with parchment paper being my best friend and roasting being my go-to method, therefore dirtying the least amount of dishes while still eating healthy. It’s pretty lazy. But last night, I had some energy and made this oh so delicious dish, Farro Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms, Chicken, Tomatoes, and Green Beans in a Sherry Cream Sauce. It’s not a very pretty dish as it’s rather brown, but it was so very yummy.

My good friend Margaret gave me this pasta, which is delicious! It’s made with farro, instead of flour and I do love farro. Margaret loves this too, but her husband, Wayne, not so much, which she forgot about and bought it again, so I got to be the lucky recipient of it!

Farro Pasta from Italy. — Delicious Farro Pasta

I made this combination, because that’s what I had around in the fridge and the tomatoes and green beans were added to give color. But they also added some super good flavor. The acid from the tomatoes cut the richness of the cream, while the green beans, lightly sautéed, gave it a nice crunch. The chicken was a smooth protein and I love using thighs as they are hard to overcook. The only way this dish could have been better is if I were in Tuscany and using fresh Porcini’s instead of Portobello’s. Now that would have been amazing and you probably wouldn’t even need chicken as those Porcini’s I cooked in Italy were To. Die. For. Seriously. I actually have never seen fresh porcini’s here, have you? Well if you do, buy them up and use, but they still probably won’t taste as good as they do in Tuscany.

WHAT DO WE DO TO OUR VEGETABLES?

Honestly, I don’t know what we do to our vegetables here but with all the gassing and packaging to make their shelf life longer, we must certainly lose nutrients too. We definitely lose taste. The best part of my time in Italy was being able to cook there with their ingredients. Every Saturday morning, I would start with a Porchetta sandwich, (yes! Even garlic in the morning, the porchetta was soooo good.), and then visit all the stalls for vegetables, cheeses and some very delicious pre-made dishes like round zucchini stuffed with bread crumbs, pancetta and vegetables – total yum!!

But here’s the thing, I had to learn to not buy too much, because the vegetables do not last long there. You have to be able to use most all of them within 2 – 3 days. Yes. That is certainly the maximum for leafy greens and maybe eggplant, zucchini or unripe tomatoes will keep longer. But their flavor is so much more intense, therefore more satisfying and much more delicious. And therefore, you don’t need to eat as much!

I do miss Italy. I miss my marvelous friends there. The pace is slower, taking in the enjoyment of each other’s company, coupled with the delicious food and wine, accompanied by the sexy lyrical sound of the language. Perhaps I will go back either this fall or next spring.

Back to reality, here is this simple but totally yummy dish of Farro Pasta with Portobello Mushrooms, Chicken, Tomatoes, and Green Beans in a Sherry Cream Sauce. This is a quick and easy one-dish meal, perfect for a weeknight dinner!

FARRO PASTA with PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS, CHICKEN, TOMATOES, and GREEN BEANS in a SHERRY CREAM SAUCE – serves 2

3 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. olive oil
2 large Portobello mushrooms, cleaned and cut into chunks
1 – 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, washed, dried, and cut into strips
½ lb. green beans, ends removed, cut into 1.5” lengths
1 large tomato, cut into thick slices, and then chunks
¼ cup dry sherry
¼ cup of heavy cream
½ lb. farro pasta
Freshly grated Parmigiano and Pecorino cheeses

Place a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta. When boiled, salt liberally with coarse sea salt before adding pasta.

In a large skillet, melt the butter in the olive oil on medium-high heat and then add the mushrooms in a single layer and do not touch them for 8 minutes. They will soak up the oils and then release their own moisture and turn a nice golden brown, but you must resist the urge to stir them. After 8 minutes, stir and push them to the side of your skillet and add the chicken thigh strips in the center of your skillet to brown.

When the chicken is browned on one side, turn over to brown the other. Add the sherry and let that cook down and then stick your face in the skillet while you inhale the marvelous aromas! Then add the tomatoes and green beans, cooking until bright green and still crisp. Turn the heat to medium.

Meanwhile, cook your pasta until al dente. Drain and save some pasta water. Add the pasta to the mushroom chicken sauce in your skillet, along with the heavy cream and 2 – 3 Tbs. of pasta water.

Then grate the two cheeses on top, stir gently to combine and serve in warmed bowls, with love.

I hope you love this as much as I did!!

Going Through Everything – and Quick Pasta with a Sweet Sausage Bolognese

March 16, 2017 by Mary 4 Comments

This office move of going through everything after being in business for 38 years has been massive, to say the least. What a tumult of emotions I have been through! I found files where I had saved many keepsakes and thank you notes. I had no idea I had entertained so many people for lunch over the years, especially when we had our previous office for ten years, where we had a large terrace with a Hudson River view.

It was amazing to me that so many people wrote about it! Gathering around a table with food is what people remember. And the wine parties. And the birthday cakes. But after about 7 or 8 years there, the buildings started growing up all around, leaving us just a sliver of a river to see and creating a wind tunnel down 38^th Street to make it not so nice anymore.

Things change so. They can’t stay the same. And I feel a little like an outsider looking in now when I leave my home office for a meeting. Like I’m not part of the in-crowd work force anymore. Like I’m sneaking around.

My husband wanted to operate like this – virtually from the cloud – five years ago, but I resisted. Now, I pretty much like it. I’ll certainly save on make-up and even soap if I’m not careful because it is easy to roll from bed to desk and back again. But no, we must have some rules and we do have our weekly two meetings with our team members here.

Going through everything has sort made me feel like I’ve died already. You see, I saved all those things, thinking I would go through them right before I died. So I did it now. My friend Margaret said she still wouldn’t have thrown them away but I wanted to save that task from my boys. Lord knows I did it enough with my parents and then with Steve’s. I’m still washing his mother’s tablecloths and napkins from when she passed last May.

So needless to say, our meals have had to be super quick and easy for the weary hungry souls we’ve been. Once again, I have relied on some all natural, very flavorful sweet Italian sausage to give us the boost of flavor you can easily count on, as I did with the one-sheet-pan meal of sausage, potatoes and arugula.

I used a lot of red wine in this sauce, because I had an open bottle on the counter just begging to be put to use and I am in a “get rid of things” kind of mode. And adding the little bit of cream at the end smoothed out the ragged edges of the sauce, along with our emotions.

Make and serve with LOVE!

QUICK PASTA WITH SWEET SAUSAGE BOLOGNESE –serves 5 – 6

2 Tbs. coconut oil (better brain food!)
2 shallots, minced
1 lb. all natural sweet Italian sausages, meat removed from casings
1 28 oz. can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes
¾ cup dry red wine
1 ½ tsp. dried Greek oregano
¼ tsp. red chili flakes
Salt to taste – French Grey or Kosher
Pepper – fresh ground to taste
2 Tbs. heavy cream
1 lb. good quality dried pasta (I used Sfoglini from our box!)
Coarse sea salt

Put a large pot of cold water on to boil for your pasta.

Warm the coconut oil over low heat. Add minced shallots and cover to let them sweat and sweeten for 10 minutes.

Uncover and raise heat to medium and add the sausage meat, breaking it up into small pieces, tossing it to brown all over. Once browned, add the tomatoes and their juice to the sausage and shallots, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you’re adding them. Turn heat to medium-high to bring the sauce to brisk simmer/low boil. Add the wine, oregano, chili flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Stir sauce every so often and keep the brisk simmer/low boil going, along with the stirring. The sauce needs to thicken quite a bit.

When the pasta water comes to a boil, add enough coarse sea salt to make it taste like the ocean. Add your pasta and check at 2 minutes less than the least amount of time they tell you on the package. When pasta is al dente, save some pasta water and drain the pasta.

Your sauce should be thickened by now. Remove from heat and stir in 2 Tbs. of heavy cream. Combine the sauce with the pasta in a warm wide bowl. Add 1 Tbs. pasta water, to help the sauce cling better to the noodles. Toss and serve!

You could add grated cheese but I think it’s not necessary. This dish, with the wine and cream, is nice and rich just by itself. Enjoy!!!

If there are only two of you eating, cook only 8 oz. of pasta and use only half of the sauce. You could then freeze the sauce for another meal later in the month or refrigerate for up to 5 days and cook your pasta fresh again. Always better to have fresh pasta than to rewarm it.

Super Quick Sausage, Potato & Arugula Recipe

February 21, 2017 by Mary 20 Comments

We are on total overload moving our offices to be virtual. That translates into getting rid of 38 years worth of sample work, documents, furniture, books and everything, by the end of February. So time is of the essence to me these days and this Super Quick Sausage, Potato & Arugula Recipe has been a real lifesaver for us. It’s speedy to make, beautiful to serve and delicious!

Why this is great! It’s always great to use sausage in a dish as a real time saver because if you can buy really good homemade, all natural Italian sausage, it is already full of herbs, spices and flavor. You could even mix hot and sweet sausage, but in this recipe, I do prefer all sweet. The three different kinds of potatoes add interest in flavor and texture and of course I always love arugula. But try to get the real thing here – the bunches of big leaf arugula – as opposed to the clamshell packages of baby arugula that, to me, really don’t have any flavor any more. I want the real thing, with the spicy bite!

I first made this in January, on the day we had to take Zach to the airport for his flight back to Warsaw. Of course, in my usual bad style, I arrived home late and had planned to make this dish. But it came together so quickly, it didn’t matter that I was late. We still ate in plenty of time and got him to the airport early.

The original recipe was in Food and Wine magazine, but I have changed it, adding a bit more meat and less potatoes. I have also made it exactly like the magazine recipe but I prefer it my way.

SUPER QUICK SAUSAGE, POTATO & ARUGULA RECIPE – serves 4

1 large red potato, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch wedges
1 large baking potato, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
10 medium unpeeled shallots, halved
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
French Grey or Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper
1 3/4 pounds sweet Italian sausage, cut into 3-inch lengths
One 8-ounce bunch of arugula, stemmed and chopped
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 425°. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss all of the potatoes with the shallots and the 1/3 cup of olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are lightly browned.

Brush the sausage with olive oil and add to the baking sheet. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes longer, until the potatoes are tender and the sausage is cooked through.

Line a large platter with the arugula. Transfer everything on the baking sheet on top of the arugula. Sprinkle lemon juice over all evenly. Serve with LOVE.

Grilled Leg of Lamb with Almonds and Orange Blossom Sauce

January 25, 2017 by Mary 6 Comments

Two sorries here – we updated our site and this post got deleted so I am posting it again as many of you have written that you would like to make the recipe. And, there is no way I can post without you receiving it by email again. 🙁 Here’s the original post:

Sorry I have been out of touch. It has been quite a week and the following was written last Sunday night/early Monday morning.

It is 2:50 am and I am in the hospital emergency room with my husband. He fell getting out of a hot salt water and baking soda tub soak and cut his head badly enough to need stitches. 🙁 This happened around 11 pm.

I’m wondering why isn’t any of the support staff who work in this hospital at this time of night happy? They chose this job and I know it’s the middle of the night but this is their shift, right? I mean like, shouldn’t they be prepared for it? – unlike me at this moment.

Looks like we’ll be lucky to get out of here at 5:30 am. Emergency rooms are just no fun. No smiling faces and waiting, waiting, waiting.

However, the doctors have all been very nice.

Hospitals, architecturally and visually, seem to be so poorly designed and outfitted. To get a chair to be able to sit next to my husband’s bed was quite an ordeal. Why don’t they have chairs available? Yet they make room for chairs that are all connected as one complete unit in a large waiting room area, that sits completely empty. Well who would want to be out there if your loved one is in an emergency situation? You want to be right by his side. And who picks these wall colors or floor patterns? Or the lighting?

Really. I see a huge opportunity for architects and interior designers to make these places function much more efficiently, look and feel a whole lot more cheerful and therefore the people who work here and visit would have a much healthier, happier attitude. This emergency room reminds me of all of the TSA security checkpoints in airports. They all still look like makeshift operations, no accounting for process in the design, expecting old folks to balance on one leg to take a shoe off or put one on. I mean really, we’ve had these checkpoints now for 16 years!

And the gloves!! No longer latex because of too many allergies – they are now made of nitrile – whatever that is – but probably neither one is biodegradable so I fear the whole earth will be covered in this substance and nothing will be able to breathe!! Yikes! One doctor alone says he goes through more than 50 pairs a shift!

Thank you for allowing this little rant of mine. Writing this on my phone has helped to calm me down in this situation, while my husband gets stitched up. The plastic surgeon is doing a beautiful job!!

And fortunately we are fortified! We had a great dinner! We started with a Caesar salad, followed by a riff on an Ottolenghi leg of lamb recipe, (I added more garlic and replaced the thyme with rosemary) with roasted potatoes and blanched snow peas with a sherry vinaigrette. Cut-out Christmas cookies finished the meal while watching Blacklist. Seemed to be a lovely evening…

We never know our next steps, do we? That is why we should always eat well, be joyful and enjoy every moment in the moment!
Ottolenghi grilled leg of lamb recipe with red peppers and cilantro garnish.

GRILLED LEG OF LAMB WITH ALMONDS AND ORANGE BLOSSOM SAUCE – serves 6 – adapted from Ottolenghi

1/2 leg of lamb, deboned and trimmed (2.75 – 3 lbs.)
1.5 red peppers, seeds removed and cut into ¾” thick strips
2 Tbs. olive oil
Salt and black pepper

Marinade:
7 garlic cloves, crushed
Grated zest of 2 lemons
6 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. rosemary leaves, chopped
6 Tbs. olive oil

Sauce:
7 Tbs. olive oil
6 oz. whole almonds
Grated zest of 1 lemon
4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey
½ tsp orange blossom water
2 Tbs. mint, finely chopped
2 Tbs. coriander leaves, finely chopped

The recipe says this looks fantastic when served on a large platter over a bed of fresh parsley – leaves and stalks. You can sear the meat, grill the peppers and make the sauce (without the herbs) – all in advance, then finish the meat and add the herbs to the sauce at the very last minute. I did not do this but sounds like a good idea!

Because a deboned leg of lamb is always different thicknesses, this way of sectioning the lamb into more uniform pieces is a really brilliant way to cook it!

Start with the marinade. In a large bowl combine the garlic, lemon zest and juice, the chopped rosemary leaves, olive oil, 1½ teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper and stir well. Cut the lamb into 4 or 5 even pieces in thickness and add to the marinade. Use your hands to massage the marinade into the meat. Put in the fridge and leave to marinate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Take the lamb out of the fridge at least an hour before cooking.

Place a large ridged griddle pan on high heat. Drizzle the peppers with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and ¼ teaspoon of salt and place on the grill. Cook for about 7 minutes, turning once, until charred on all sides. Set aside to cool.

Put the lamb pieces on the hot grill and cook for 2 – 3 minutes on each side or until charred all over and starting to caramelize. Transfer onto a roasting tray and put in the hot oven for 4 minutes. The meat should reach a rare to medium stage by then (leave a few minutes longer if you like it well cooked). Check by pressing against the meat. The less the “give” the more it is cooked. If you aren’t sure, just make a small incision to check for the color or use a thermometer and it should be at 120 degrees for rare to medium rare. Once the lamb is cooked, remove it from the oven and leave it to rest for 5 – 10 minutes on a cutting board or platter.

Meanwhile make the sauce. Heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small pan and add the almonds. Cook for 3 – 4 minutes stirring continuously until the nuts are golden brown and evenly cooked. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little in a shallow bowl to stop the cooking. Place the nuts in a food processor and roughly crush. Mix in the lemon zest and juice, honey, orange blossom water, ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper and the remaining olive oil. Mix well and set aside.

When you are ready to serve, carve the lamb into 1/3″ thick slices and arrange it on a platter along with the peppers. Add the freshly chopped herbs to the sauce and spoon on top. Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve any of the remaining sauce on the side.

Serve with LOVE. Total DELISH!!

Braised Veal Chops with Honey and Red Grapes

November 26, 2016 by Mary 16 Comments

Today is my birthday. Yes. A rather big one that I’d prefer not to talk about but here we are! Better than the alternative as my Dad used to say. My oldest son and his wife are coming later today to cook a big dinner with my husband and I am very excited. We have a half of a leg of lamb marinating since last night with Julia Child’s soy, garlic, and mustard glaze, (only we use rosemary instead of thyme). So last night, I decided to treat us, just my husband and me, to veal chops! I absolutely adore this recipe of Braised Veal Chops with Honey and Red Grapes.

I first made this years ago for Harriet, my piano teacher who was really my second mother, at her home with some other friends, way back in 2004. It is based on a recipe from Food and Wine magazine from that year. And this was THE recipe that got me cooking with grapes!

Here’s my Dijon Pork Chops with Herbs and Grapes recipe as well as this New Year’s Crostini Appetizer with Roasted Grapes that is super delicious and of course, perfect for this time of year.

This veal chop recipe is also perfect for this time of year. Veal is expensive and fancy for holiday dinners. However, unlike some other holiday recipes, this one is easy, comes together very quickly, and the cooking time is perfect. You don’t want veal to be rare or even medium rare, you want it just done but not dry, barely pink, and this method of cooking does it just right.

I hope you’ll get a chance to try this. I served it with some roasted Delicata squash with a little butter and maple syrup and some sautéed escarole in olive oil and garlic. A very yummy meal!

BRAISED VEAL CHOPS WITH HONEY AND RED GRAPES – serves 2

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 anchovy fillets
Two ½ lb. veal loin chops, cut about 3/4 inch thick
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 sage leaves
3 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
3/4 cup seedless red grapes
11/2 Tbs. honey

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the anchovies and cook over moderately low heat, mashing the anchovies until pureed, about 3 minutes. Increase the heat to high.

Season the veal chops with salt and pepper. Add them to the skillet and cook until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to a platter.

Add the wine, sage, cloves and bay leaves to the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until the wine is reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 5 minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the veal chops and their juices, cover and simmer over low heat until the chops are barely pink in the center, about 3 minutes per side. Return the chops to the platter.

Add the grapes and honey to the skillet, cover and cook over moderate heat until the grapes are tender, about 4 minutes. Scatter the grapes over the chops. Boil the pan juices over high heat until reduced to ½ cup, about 5 minutes. Discard the cloves and bay leaves. Pour the sauce over the chops and serve with LOVE. Preferably in front of a roaring fire. 🙂
Regarding the wine, I think maybe a Syrah would have been better.

Testing New Products for our Winter MARY’s secret ingredients Subscription Box

October 30, 2016 by Mary 12 Comments

This is the really fun part for me!!! Testing new food products and brands for our Winter MARY’s secret ingredients subscription box stretches my imagination and creativity in ways I would never ordinarily go. Researching the products’ background, making sure they are all natural and good for you is imperative and then making sure it’s something that you can use to make an ordinary meal spectacular – without much effort – is another criteria. Using the products in the recipes that I create must provide you with a really tasty, worthy-of-sharing-with-friends-and-family meal, so you can create wonderful memories. This is my goal.

So while I do not want to spoil the surprise of the contents of the upcoming box, which will begin shipping on December 5^th, just in time for holiday gift giving, I can share some photos of some of the recipes I’ve been making, using box contenders. You should know that many product producers come to us, wanting to be in the box, but due to a flavor or ingredient profile that isn’t all natural and good for you, or I don’t like, they do not make it into our MARY’s secret ingredients Subscription Box.

You see, when you prepare great tasting meals, made with real food – fresh ingredients plus ours – because the flavors are so delicious, you don’t need to eat large quantities because you are satiated with a normal amount.

The same is very true with eating local, grass-fed meats. They are so flavorful, I know I take smaller bites, chew slower and really savor that bite. It’s a really good thing that you don’t need a huge portion to satisfy and it’s a much healthier way to live!

Take a look at these local pork chops I sautéed in coconut oil and a bit of butter with some fresh sage, Chinese Five Spice, onions and red wine. Delish! I could not eat a whole chop which gave me some for lunch the next day!
LOCAL PORK CHOPS WITH FRESH SAGE, ONIONS AND RED WINE – serves 3

3 pork chops, about ¾” thick, preferably local meat
1 Tbs. coconut oil
1 Tbs. butter
Salt to taste
11/2 tsp. Chinese Five Spice
1 small onion, sliced
11/2 Tbs. chopped fresh sage leaves
½ cup dry red wine
1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Melt the butter in the coconut oil over low heat. Add the onions and cover for 8 – 10 minutes until wilted and soft.

Wash and dry the chops with paper toweling. Season each side of the chops with salt, 1/4 tsp. Chinese Five Spice and the fresh sage leaves evenly distributed on both sides, pressing them in with your fingers so they adhere to the chops. Turn heat to medium, medium-high and brown the chops on one side for 4 minutes. Turn over and brown the other side for 3 – 5 minutes, piling the onions on top so they no longer brown and burn, and add in the wine. Your meat should feel firm to the touch and then your chops should be done.

Remove the chops to a platter to rest for 5 minutes, while you stir the bubbling wine still in the pan until it has thickened a bit. Drizzle the wine sauce on top of the chops and garnish with fresh parsley.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy! That’s some okra with our chops, sauteed in coconut oil with just a little salt. So good – and good for you!

With the holidays coming, don’t forget that our MARY’s secret ingredients Subscription Box makes a spectacular gift for everyone on your list, and with a full year subscription, you’ll be in front of them 4 times a year – every season. Makes a great corporate gift for plenty of referrals the whole year long!

Use the code: TREAT16 at checkout to get the full year subscription for only $99.00 starting with our gluten-free fall box!! It’s only good until midnight tomorrow as my Happy Halloween gift to you!