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

Cooks’ secret sauces

August 6, 2013 by Mary Frances 20 Comments

Yesterday I had lunch with my friend Jill. Jill’s husband is Dominican and she talked about her big family dinner party she had on Saturday night for her in-laws and other relatives. She recently moved from a co-op to a house in NJ with two young kids, so this was a special dinner with both sides of the family in her new home. Her food was met with rave reviews!

Then she talked about her mother-in-law’s “special sauce.” She said they all have one in the Dominican Republic – the aunts – everyone – and they’re all a bit different. She does not know what’s in it – the fast talking Spanish makes it hard. But it seems like it’s vegetables and all goodness, and sounds like a lot of LOVE. Her husband brings home food from his mother’s house – simple things – like quinoa – but with the special sauce they are spectacular. I asked her if it was tomato based – no. Was it like a chimichurri – no. But her mother-in-law was so respectful of Jill, telling her son, oh well Jill certainly has her “own sauce” and she wouldn’t want to intrude. Larry laughed and said no, Jill doesn’t have a sauce. She said she tried to make one once and it was inedible. So she uses a great bottled sauce that her mother-in-law loved (thought it was her “special sauce”) on the grilled skirt steak she served.

Boy would I love to have that woman’s “special sauce” recipe or be a fly on her kitchen wall when she’s making it!

Meanwhile, last night, being tired and hungry, I used some “bottled sauces” and actually made a very good dinner. It didn’t look all so pretty, but it was darn tasty. I made the chicken and the squash all in the same baking pan, roasting all at once – easy! Providing you have the pesto sauce already made, you can honestly make this whole dinner in about 40 minutes. Really!! – no Rachel Ray joke.

CHICKEN BREASTS WITH GRAINY MUSTARD, JALAPENO & LIME – serves 3 – 4

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tbs. grainy mustard
Salt
6 slices of fresh jalapeno pepper
6 slices of fresh lime
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Wash and pat dry the chicken, trimming off any fat. Slick a baking pan with a little olive oil. Place chicken breasts on the pan, and brush 1 tbs. of grainy mustard on the top of each. Lightly salt them and place 2 jalapeno slices on top of each. Then cover each jalapeno slice with a lime slice. Roast for 15 – 22 minutes, until the thickest part registers 155 – 160 degrees. Remove to a platter and let rest for 5 – 8 minutes. Lightly drizzle good quality extra virgin olive oil on top and serve.

SQUASH WITH TAMARIND CONCENTRATE – serves 4

2 squash – I zucchini and 1 yellow
4 tsp. tamarind concentrate
Salt
Olive oil

Wash and trim ends of squash. Cut lengthwise and score with crosshatching. Paint one tsp. of tamarind concentrate on each half and salt lightly. Roast at 475 degrees for 25 minutes or until crisp tender. Remove to a serving plate and lightly drizzle olive oil on top and serve.

I served with this with brown rice pasta topped with some pesto sauce I had taken out of the freezer yesterday along with some farmer’s market sunny gold tomatoes, sliced in half. It was yummy – a dinner my husband talked about again this morning!

Farmer’s Market green bean recipe

August 1, 2013 by Mary Frances 6 Comments

Green bean recipe with farm fresh beans, in a skillet with butter, ready to be cooked.

Delicious, skillet-cooked green bean recipe.

In addition to the terrific chicken we had last Friday and the leftovers for lunch this week, I would be remiss if I didn’t share this green bean recipe I made featuring Ethel and Tom’s glorious beans.

Just look at these beauties, which we had with the chicken. I used my old trusty skillet method and then topped them with some chopped fresh basil from my garden at the end. They were so darn delicious!! I highly recommend this green bean recipe when you want a healthy, beautiful, quick addition to your plate.

I also took a carton of their frying peppers, washed and tossed half of them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper and Steve threw them on the grill. So very, very yummy.

Then they had (literally, and yes they know the Fourth of July is over) red, white and blue potatoes to sell! Since my husband has been following the “4 Minute Abs” diet (ha!), we are not eating anything white. So I bought the red potatoes. We could eat those!!

So on to the contest. As you could have guessed by now, I did not win. But I so appreciate all of your votes and efforts!! Thank you so much! It’s a pain to do it every day, I know. 373 people entered and the winner got 4000 votes. I was in the top 35 with about 400 votes. 🙁 Perhaps next time!

Potato Salad Winner Announced!!

July 2, 2013 by Mary Frances 4 Comments

Soon after Memorial Day, we set out to find the best potato salad recipe we could before the next big picnic holiday – the Fourth of July – this week! So I asked for my readers’ favorite recipes and had almost too many to choose from, in the best way. The submissions were about as varied as possible, and I recruited my team to vote for the top three.

Those top three were: the decadent and complex Salat Olivier from Misha, the bread-and-butter-pickle-sweetened Mom’s Potato Salad from Nicky, and Aunt Rose’s Potato Salad with anchovies from Nikki. Thank you to everyone who submitted a recipe. They were, quite frankly, all good!

Our team chose the last one as the big winner. It’s simple but really delicious, verging on a “classic” non-mayo potato salad recipe. It is a neat trick to take out the cooked egg yolks and combine them with the olive oil and herbs. That makes a kind of homemade, safe (because the yolks are cooked) mayonnaise. The anchovies give it that boost of flavor. (and you know I LOVE anchovies) It’s possible that people who are turned off by the idea of anchovies will still enjoy this recipe because there’s only one – but to be honest, I would add even more anchovies (3.5) and chives (1 tbs.).

Here is the recipe. Thank you, Nikki Landau!! Your prize, our wonderful LOVE apron, will be coming to you soon.

AUNT ROSE’S EGG AND POTATO SALAD RECIPE – serves 4

1. Boil 1 pound of yellow new potatoes in their skins. Peel and chill.
2. Hard boil 4 eggs. Peel and chill.

Dressing:
1. In a bowl put 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper.
2. Add 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar, 5 tbsp. light olive oil, 1 tsp. chopped chervil, 1 tsp. chopped chives, and 1 anchovy fillet, minced.

Remove yolks from the hard boiled eggs and crumble into dressing. Whisk to combine. Cut egg whites into pieces. Cut the potatoes into thin slices.

Fold everything together, mix well and serve chilled. It’s simple and very good! Yum!

Potato Salad Contest of Sorts – Help!

June 3, 2013 by Mary Frances 24 Comments

I need you!

I have this fabulous potato salad recipe but I called it “the best” only because it’s that good, not because I had tried enough to be sure it really was. But now I want to be sure.

Before the 4th of July, I am on a mission to find the BEST potato salad recipe out there. I’ll be testing recipes, but I need your help. If you have a fantastic potato salad recipe, please share a link to the recipe (or the recipe itself, or even just a list of the ingredients) in the comments. I’ll be making three of the most eye-catching, mouth-watering recipes we can find.

If you submit the “best” recipe, I’ll say thank you by sharing it (with your permission) here on the LOVE blog and by sending you a LOVE apron!

Now take a look at this!

The famous chef, Daniel Boulud is growing vegetables in planters on the Manhattan sidewalk on Duane Street, right outside of his restaurant, Bouley! How cool is that? There’s tomatoes, various lettuces, broccoli, Swiss chard, mint, dill, dandelion greens – amazing!! And beautiful.

I wonder if people passing by will try to pick the tomatoes?

Fiddlehead ferns

May 11, 2013 by Mary Frances 6 Comments

So limited in time. So delicious!! I have cooked them before but never had them so fresh. If we are able to leave the city early on Fridays and have time to go to this grocer in Poughkeepsie, we are set for the following week. This grocer has amazing local vegetables, very reasonably priced, as well as great fish and meats. They had fiddlehead ferns AND baby artichokes that were just beautiful!!!

So I made the fiddleheads on Friday night. Blanched them in boiling water for a minute and then sauteed them in ½ tbs. butter for a bit until some browned edges started showing up. A little salt and pepper and that’s all you need!

Talk about DELICIOUS!!!! Really yummy – my husband was still talking about them tonight!

My advice, try to find these babies NOW. They are only around for 1-2 weeks.

Please let me know how you make out with them.

BEST Beef Stew Recipe

February 16, 2013 by Mary Frances 21 Comments

Last weekend, I promised you this BEST Beef Stew recipe, so here it is! As Monday is a holiday, I hope that you’ll find time to make it this weekend. It is so rich and delicious.

These recipes can also easily be cut in half if you don’t have a big crowd, as I did last weekend for just the two of us and we finished the last of our leftovers for lunch today. Yummy.

It really is better to make it a day or two before you plan on serving it, for this allows you to degrease it and let the flavors meld together and the whole thing becomes even richer.

The basis for these recipes, comes from Lee Bailey’s cookbook, Long Weekends, but I have made many changes, particularly in the BEST Beef Stew recipe. Omit the ancho chilis if you don’t like a bit of spice. I think the mashed potato recipe is brilliant with the addition of the cauliflower. It makes them lighter and even more delicious. If you think the title of stew is too plebeian, call it a braise or even beef bourguignon. Enjoy!!

BEST BEEF STEW RECIPE – serves 8

4 pounds boneless rump pot roast or chuck pot roast, cut into 1 x 2-inch chunks
2 cups hearty red wine
½ lb. pancetta, cut into ¼” dice
2 tbs. olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
7 carrots, scraped and sliced ¼” thick
¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken or veal stock
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tbs. tomato paste
2 small dried ancho chilis
1½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
1 lb. white mushrooms, sautéed – see recipe below

Place the beef in a crockery bowl, add the wine, cover, and marinate, refrigerated, for 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Boil some water. Place dried ancho chilis in a bowl and cover with ½ – ¾ cup of water and let sit to soften for 20 minutes.

Place olive oil in a Dutch oven and add pancetta. Sauté until golden on medium heat. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Drain the meat, reserving the marinade. Dry the meat well and brown it in batches over high heat. Set aside.

Add the onions and carrots to the Dutch oven and sauté until wilted and beginning to brown, about 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Meanwhile, take ancho chilis (remove the stem and a few seeds) and ½ cup of the water they were soaking in and puree in a food processor. Set aside.

Pour out any oil that may be in the Dutch oven. Melt butter over medium heat in the Dutch oven and stir in flour. Cook, scraping the bottom of the pan, using a whisk, until the roux turns a dark golden brown. Add the tomato paste and stir for a minute. Stir in the stock. This will foam up, so stand back. Simmer a minute or two, then stir in the garlic, ancho chili puree and salt and pepper. Add the sautéed vegetables, meat, bacon, and reserved marinade. Bring to a boil quickly on top of the stove. Cover and bake until tender, about 2 hours. Allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight.

Remove the stew from the refrigerator an hour before reheating. Lift off the congealed fat and discard. Reheat in a preheated 325 degree oven, covered, until bubbly, about 45 minutes.

SAUTEED MUSHROOMS
While the stew is reheating, wash your mushrooms quickly and let dry thoroughly on paper towels. Trim ends and quarter. Heat 2 tbs. butter and 1 tbs. of olive oil in a heavy skillet on medium–high to high heat. As soon as the butter foam subsides, add the mushrooms and spread out over the bottom of the pan and do not touch the pan for 3 minutes. Then stir and flip the browned mushrooms over until they start to release the fat they have absorbed and brown some more, about 3 – 4 minutes more. Remove from heat and lift the mushrooms out of the skillet and stir in the finished stew.

If the sauce in your stew has reduced and is a bit too thick, thin it out with an extra cup of hot chicken stock.

MASHED POTATOES AND CAULIFLOWER – adapted from Lee Bailey
– serves 8

As Lee Bailey says, you can boil the potatoes for this, but baking is better. Save the skins (sliced into strips), and at a later date butter and salt them and toast them for hors d’oeuvres. You can even grate a little cheese on top too.

2 generous cups cauliflower florets and tender stems
Whole or 2% milk
3 pounds russet potatoes, rubbed with oil and baked
1 large head roasted garlic
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Rub scrubbed clean potatoes with oil, pierce the ends with a fork and bake for 45 – 60 minutes until done. The skin should feel crisp and the flesh beneath it should feel soft. At the same time, take a whole head of garlic and slice in half. Drizzle a little olive oil on the cut ends, salt and pepper and wrap in aluminum foil. Roast the garlic with the potatoes for 40 minutes, until soft and browned a little.

Cover the cauliflower with milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, being careful not to let it cook over (that’s why you use a large saucepan for this). Turn back to slow boil and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes.

Scoop out the hot potato flesh into a large, warm bowl. Squeeze the soft garlic pulp into the potatoes, using as much or as little as you like. I use the whole head. Cut butter into pieces and mash in with a hand masher (do not use an electric mixer, as it will make the mixture glutinous). Drain the cauliflower, reserving milk. Mash in with the potatoes, adding about ¾ cup of the cauliflower milk. Add a little more milk if you would like the potatoes creamier. Salt and pepper to taste.

Butter a casserole and scrape the mixture in. Smooth the top and rub with a bit of butter to make a thin film on top. Set aside, covered with a tea towel, until ready to reheat. (This may be done an hour before dinner).

To reheat, put into a preheated 325 degree oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

I served this with a baby spinach salad with basil leaves, roasted beets, Pecorino Romano cheese and toasted cashews, drizzled with a sherry vinaigrette. Toasted pine nuts would have been better, but I didn’t have any already toasted.

TIP: When toasting nuts for a recipe, always toast extra to have them ready to use on salads or green beans for another dinner. They will keep fine in a sealed plastic container.