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

Search Results for: crown roast of pork

North African Bean Stew with Barley and Winter Squash

February 6, 2016 by Mary

SUPER BOWL TIME!!! Yes the Super Bowl is tomorrow!!! We have been invited to what I know will be a wonderful party held in a private room at an Irish pub in midtown. How do I know it will be great? Well first of all we love this couple and she is a professional, highly successful event planner and he is a wine expert and a Broncos fan!! So we will don our orange and be set to root for his team. Should be loads of fun!!

This is unusual for us as we typically have a few folks over for a small Super Bowl party at our apartment. If you are having friends over, may I suggest my Super Easy Nachos, delicious (and easy) Spicy Chicken Chili along with a wedge of Cornbread, with or without the cheese sticks. And if you’re feeling even more adventurous and healthy, try this new recipe out.

North African Bean stew - finished in a white bowl

Sorry this bowl is a little messy with overflow!

This is a total big bowl of soothing deliciousness. There is no better way to describe it. Complete, deep, yumminess with unique spices and flavors to perk up your palette. I don’t usually like to post time consuming recipes. I want this blog to encourage and show you how to cook healthy delicious meals that are not hard or take that much time. But here, I have to make an exception, because this recipe from Melissa Clark of The New York Times for her North African Bean Stew with Barley and Winter Squash is so wonderful, I just have to share.

A word of warning though – start this early in the morning if you want to use dried beans. Or do it in two weekends as I did. At one point, I had my doubts and swore that it had better be good!! (You’ve been there, right?)

And you know what?

This one delivered. It’s that good. Yes, it really is.

And it’s totally meatless and even my husband had two bowls and really LOVED it! No discussion about it being meatless because its flavors are so rich! (Well actually I put a little bacon in the beans when cooking them, but that is not necessary.)

The nice thing about it is the combination of spices. Melissa has you make up a Baharat, which is a Middle Eastern spice mix. This creates an intense and soothing flavor base, a little like a curry but different, and I am very excited to use this on all sorts of things such as chicken, pork, lamb, perhaps a sprinkle in steamed rice, certainly roasted delicata, acorn or butternut squash. I even think it might be good on some roasted sole or flounder. I’m looking forward to having fun with this one!

Also in this article, she definitely recommends you cook your own dried beans as opposed to using canned and she eschews soaking them overnight to encourage you to do this. Just go ahead and start cooking them right away in salted water. Usually they tell you to salt only near the end of cooking, but she claims the salt integrates better into the bean if you start in salted water and I do think she’s right! It worked out well for me. So I’ve outlined what I did for my beans below.

Make this with LOVE and EVERYONE will be so happy!! Please note, I have changed some things from her original recipe – but of course!

NORTH AFRICAN BEAN STEW WITH BARLEY AND WINTER SQUASH – adapted from Melissa Clark of The New York Times

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 leeks, white and green parts, diced
1 bunch cilantro, leaves and stems separated
1 cup finely diced fennel, fronds reserved (1/2 large fennel bulb)
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 ½ Tbs. baharat (see note)
1 cinnamon stick
2 Tbs. tomato paste
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth, preferably homemade
½ cup pearled or regular barley
2 ½ tsp. kosher salt, more as needed
Large pinch of saffron, crumbled
4 cups cooked beans or chickpeas
2 cups peeled and diced butternut squash (1 small squash)
¾ cup peeled and diced turnip (1 medium)
½ cup red lentils
Plain Greek yogurt, for serving
Aleppo pepper for serving

In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil and cook leeks until they begin to brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Cilantro stems, leaves and a cut lime on a wooden cutting board.

This is a pain to do – separating the stems and leaves of cilantro. Note that the lime was for my Lillet cocktail!

Finely chop cilantro stems. Stir into pot, along with diced fennel and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir in baharat, cinnamon and tomato paste, and cook until paste begins to caramelize, about 2 minutes.

Stir in broth, 3 cups water, the barley and the salt. Bring to a gentle boil, stir in saffron, and reduce heat to medium. Simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Stir in beans, squash, turnip and lentils; cook until barley is tender, about another 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings, if desired. Remove cinnamon stick.

Ladle stew into bowls. Spoon a dollop of yogurt on top and drizzle with olive oil. Garnish with cilantro leaves, fennel fronds and Aleppo pepper.

Making the Baharat or Middle Eastern Spice Mix.

Lots of different spices go into this!

Baharat is a Middle Eastern spice mix. You can buy it at specialty markets or make your own.

To make it, combine:

2 Tbs. sweet paprika
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1 Tbs. ground cumin
1 Tbs. ground turmeric
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. grated nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cardamom
1 tsp. allspice.

To cook the beans:

1 lb. of dried cannellini beans
½ of a thick slice of bacon, chopped, optional
2 tsp. coarse sea salt
25 grinds of black pepper
1 celery stalk, sliced in half lengthwise and then cut in 4 pieces
1 carrot, peeled, sliced in half lengthwise and then cut in 4 pieces
1 medium yellow onion, peeled trimmed and quartered
4 whole cloves – to stud each onion quarter
1 large or 2 small dried bay leaves

Ideally, you can soak the beans overnight before cooking. They say that soaking does have benefits. It will help beans cook faster and more evenly, and it can help leach out the intestinal-distress-causing sugars that some people are particularly sensitive to. But if you don’t have time, just carry on!

Place one pound of dried cannellini beans in a large pot. Cover with water, swish around to rinse and drain water.

Cover with fresh cold water again, at least 3 inches above the beans. Add in everything else and stir. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, partially cover and cook for 2 – 3 hours. This depends on your beans. They should be soft and creamy inside to be done. If you take a bean between your two fingers, it should smash easily. Taste one – they need to be tender all the way through but still firm and intact.

When beans are done, do not drain the water, otherwise the skins will come off and they’ll be very messy. Let them cool in the liquid. Remove the vegetables. Lift 4 cups of beans out with a slotted spoon to use in the stew recipe. Save remaining beans in a good amount of liquid in a container. This freezes well for another time or store in the refrigerator for 5 – 7 days.

What to do with your extra beans? Warm them up with some of their liquid, add minced garlic, a good drizzle of olive oil, some grated parmigiano and fresh ground pepper, or a dash of vinegar or lemon juice. Enjoy!!

Gustus Vitae Taste of Provence Roasted Fillet of Sole

July 27, 2016 by Mary

Gustus Vitae is a Californian crafter of authentic, artisan, small batch seasoning blends and gourmet finishing salts. Using locally harvested herbs and spices, their all natural, certified non-GMO ingredients are blended in small batches, before being packed by hand in their unique magnetic tins. Yes! It’s true! The bottom of this can is magnetized so you can stick it anywhere where there’s metal and it will always be within each reach! And you will want this within easy reach because the herbs are so fresh and flavorful, even thought they’re dried, you’ll want to use this on anything and everything.

The Taste of Provence is an amazing blend of fragrant, fresh herbal flavors. Use this on chicken, meat, vegetables or fish to create a bright, perky, delicious dish.

Besides the tin being magnetized, I love the entire package, particularly the lid that swivels so you can just sprinkle out the right amount, either through 3 small holes or large long one. It’s very nifty!

The recipe I made here is so stupid easy – it’s perfect for a quick weeknight meal that is really special tasting, all because of this Gustas Vitae Taste of Provence.

I wanted you to taste the herbs pure, so the dish is really simple. I mentioned before that I have really been getting into finishing a protein with an acid, mainly a citrus, lemon or lime or even orange. But the difference is that in some cases, I have been roasting that citrus before using it on the dish and that obviously produces a different flavor, less bold and sweeter with still a little acid.

So here I roasted the lemon and squeezed it on to finish. I also did one version where I placed the fish on top of peeled sliced oranges and that produced a delicious result too, but I neglected to take pictures. Either way, give this a go! You will LOVE it.

I served this with some sautéed Chinese cabbage and garnished both with cilantro or you can use any green herb. I really should have added a tomato for color to this picture but actually I kind of like this duotone plate. Sometimes you just need things simple. Truth be told, it was so good and gobbled up so fast, it didn’t matter.

GUSTUS VITAE TASTE OF PROVENCE ROASTED FILLET OF SOLE – serves 2

2 fillets of sole
Olive oil
Salt – preferably French Grey
Fresh ground pepper
Gustus Vitae Taste of Provence seasoning
½ of a lemon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash your fish and pat dry with paper toweling.

Slick a rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Lay the fish on the pan and drizzle a little olive oil on top of the fillet, spreading it around evenly with your fingers.

Season the fillets with salt, pepper and Gustus Vitae Taste of Provence seasoning.

Place the lemon cut side down on the pan and roast the fish for 10 – 12 minutes, until done and white throughout.

Remove the fillets to your dinner plates, squeeze on the roasted lemon and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve with LOVE and enjoy!

Eleven pounds of tomatoes!

August 19, 2012 by Mary Frances

I have my work cut out for me today. Ethel (our farmer friend) convinced me to buy 11 pounds of her San Marzano tomatoes yesterday – and I did! So I am busy canning some and slowly oven drying the rest. I will give you those recipes later this week. Meanwhile the tomato smell is literally intoxicating, it smells so good. We will have this summer tomato freshness through some of the winter, but right now, I gotta get back to work!

My basil is also sky high – got to make pesto tonight!

Hearts of Palm on a Salad

November 2, 2013 by Mary

Hearts of palm. What the heck are they? I’ve always liked them. My father used to like them and served them on special occasions. I’m sure my parents thought they were exotic. They are canned – I don’t use very many canned items but this one has piqued my interest again. I have never seen them fresh but maybe they’re only sold fresh in more tropical areas. Remove them from the can, drain, and rinse. Only buy the full spears and slice. I think they add interest to a simple green salad and make it really different.

So I looked them up and found out that they are a vegetable harvested from the soft core of a palm tree! They are very low in cholesterol, a good source of protein, riboflavin and potassium, and a very good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, folate, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper and manganese. Who knew? They’re even good for you!

Now this is the sad part. Many wild species of palm serve as sources for hearts of palm, including coconut palms, Acai palms, and sabal palms. Unfortunately, the harvesting process kills these trees, because they only have one stem, and extracting the inner core essentially destroys the plant. In response to this issue, several palms have been domesticated and bred specifically for production of this vegetable. These trees have multiple stems, allowing farmers to harvest the hearts while allowing the rest of the tree to live. Thank goodness!

But most importantly, this simple salad is really refreshing and delicious. I also used the roasted almonds I talked about a few posts back. I hope you LOVE it as much as my husband and I did!

HEARTS OF PALM ON A RED LEAF LETTUCE SALAD – serves 2 as a first course

1/3 of a head of red leaf lettuce, washed and spun dry
2/3 of a can of hearts of palm, drained, rinsed, patted dry and sliced
2 small tomatoes, cut in wedges
12 roasted and salted whole almonds, cut in half
Sherry vinaigrette

Arrange torn lettuce leaves on a salad plate. Place sliced hearts of palm in the middle. Arrange tomato wedges around the hearts of palm. Sprinkle chopped almonds on top. Drizzle on salad dressing. Serve immediately.

Friday night

October 10, 2011 by Mary Frances

My oldest son wanted to come out to the country house with 3 friends this past Friday afternoon, to spend the night, on their way to a farm in Massachusetts for a cider pressing event. Now I was already expecting 4 guests on Saturday for the weekend. After initially being taken aback, what’s a little more laundry? These kids are fun. And I have to tell you, it is so nice to drive up to your own house with the lights all on and all warm inside and have someone greet you to offer their help in bringing things in, martini glasses on the coffee table and laughter and music. What could be a better greeting on a Friday night – or any night for that matter?

He said he would make dinner. Great!! See – they all cook! He made the most spectacular chili – with tender pork cubes and no beans, served over polenta that his good friend Martha made.

I’m telling you, it was so, so good. I have to get the recipe and I was so very glad he did not take the leftovers which I cleaned up completely today – and I didn’t want to share. Not with anyone.

Later yesterday, I received this photo of his bounty from the farm. Beautiful!!

Another great beef tenderloin dinner

February 12, 2012 by Mary Frances

Beef tenderloin is actually the perfect weeknight entertaining choice. For a special dinner, it’s big, it’s fancy and it’s quick and easy. My Mother used to always say, “Make a roast, Mary. It’s easy!” And you know, she was right.

So, remember, it’s always about the ingredients and their quality. So as long as you’re spending money on a tenderloin, get the best that you can. My butcher, Bob, at Esposito’s, has the best! His man, Solomon, did a spectacular job trimming and tying this piece of meat. See how even it is all the way through. These butchers take enormous pride in their job and it certainly shows. (They’re located at 38th Street and 9th Avenue.)

Now I don’t think I’ve told you, but we’re moving our offices (I do have another day job running a brand design and marketing communications firm) down to TriBeCa so I’ve been a little off this week and I will be until the end of the month. We’ve been in our current space for 10 years and accumulated way too much stuff. I promise I’ll get back on track when this is all over. But we’re very excited about our new space!

Back to the dinner party I had this past Thursday night. I made up this recipe as a combination of what I made on Christmas day and what I used to make years and years ago from, believe it or not, Joy of Cooking! I received this cookbook from my sewing teacher, the wonderful Mrs. Mellor, at a bridal shower 30 years ago!! (OMG) My Mom was so afraid that I would be a tomboy and useless wife, and because I went to Catholic school, we were not taught home economics, so she coerced the woman who taught sewing at the public high school to give me private lessons one summer, in order for me to learn how to sew. Mrs. Mellor was a wonderful woman with an infectious laugh, twinkling eyes and everything was always okay with her, even if you really screwed up – she would fix it. She ended up making all of my bridesmaids dresses from this beautiful silk I had bought – 4 of them – all as a gift!! Sweet, sweet woman! Her son, Jimmy, was a good friend of my two brothers and we recently reconnected through Facebook! Good ol’ Facebook. He’s an airline pilot for American Airlines flying the St. Louis to LaGuardia route. I always look for him when I fly back home. He said I should just knock on the cockpit door next time, that they get lonely in there. Well, these days I think I’d get shot!

Here’s what I made.

Bacon wrapped beef tenderloin on a metal platter.

So good!!

BACON-WRAPPED BEEF TENDERLOIN
– serves 10 – 12

1 (5.5 lbs.) beef tenderloin, trimmed and tied
1 rounded tbs. kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
6 garlic cloves, minced
15 slices of bacon
1/2 cup creme fraiche
2 tbs.white horseradish
Several dashes of Tabasco

Season the tenderloin all over with the salt, pepper, and garlic. Cover the meat and refrigerate overnight. Let it come to room temperature for 2 hours before roasting.

Heat oven to 500 degrees. Wipe off as much garlic and seasonings as possible with a paper towel. The flavors have penetrated the meat overnight. Place the meat on a rack in a large roasting pan and wrap the bacon around it.

Place the roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven and immediately reduce the heat to 400 degrees and roast for 30 – 40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reaches 120 degrees (for rare). Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before carving.

In a small bowl, whisk the crème fraîche and horseradish plus a few dashes of Tabasco. Serve alongside the tenderloin.

Sunday Night Stuffed Peppers

September 12, 2011 by Mary Frances

When I was a little girl, my mother made stuffed peppers as a special weeknight dinner. I always loved them and I’m not a green pepper fan. So I decided to try to recreate her recipe and use a combination of red and green peppers to stuff. (It’s an early Christmas!) I have all of her recipes, but I must admit, she’s been gone since 1995 and I have not ventured to try to find it. She was a wee bit organized but not much. I am terrible at keeping some sort of sense of my mass of recipes. (How should you categorize – main ingredient or meal part or when you served it?) Luckily I have a good memory (so far!) and there’s always the internet and online sources to go back to.

So I made this one up to the best of my memory of hers. My family thought I did a great job. I remember my Mom used to put an extra dab of tomato sauce (she used Hunt’s!) on top of the meat mixture in the peppers. I opted to put the cheese. I think here it’s better as the tomato sauce in the meat mixture is so rich with the wine, extra is not needed. I think she would think so too.

You let me know what you think.

SUNDAY NIGHT STUFFED PEPPERS – serves 4 – 6
2 tbs. olive oil
1 medium-large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, hand crushed, with juices
2 tsp. dried Greek oregano
10 thyme springs, leaves only
½ cup dry red wine
1+ lb. bulk sweet Italian sausage
1+ lb. bulk hot Italian sausage
¼ cup chopped parsley leaves
3 tbs. chopped tarragon leaves
½ -3/4 cup cooked white basmati rice
6 large peppers, red or green or a combo
9 tbs. grated parmesan cheese
1- 11/2 cups chicken broth

Pre-heat oven to 350 degree

Warm the olive oil on low heat, add onion and garlic, cover and sweat for 15 minutes. The onion and garlic will get sweet and soft, stir every once in a while to make sure it doesn’t brown. Add tomatoes and juices, oregano and thyme, raise heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add red wine and simmer for 15 more minutes until sauce is thickened. Salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile, sauté the sausage meat together, breaking it up with a wooden spoon until all pink is gone. Line a large platter with 3 layers of paper towels. When meat is cooked, spread it out on the paper towels to drain the grease.

Prepare peppers. Wash and cut off the tops. Remove the stem, wrap in plastic and save for another use. Remove the seeds from the peppers so you have nice hallowed- out cups.

When the sauce is thickened, remove from heat and fold in the cooked rice, parsley and tarragon. Add the drained meat and combine well. Fill the peppers with this mixture and stand them upright in a baking pan. Top each pepper meat mixture with 1.5 tbs. grated parmesan cheese. Pour chicken broth in the bottom of the pan to a depth of 3/8” – ½”. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 35 minutes. Remove and serve.

Enjoy!!!

My New Normal Dinner of Roasted Vegetables with Prosciutto

November 19, 2017 by Mary

As you know, I’ve moved to Italy for 3 months, trying to sort out my head, my life and yes even my dinners, after Steve’s passing. My support system of friends here is totally amazing, but my whole life has changed. I so miss Steve.

In Italy, dinner is eaten usually not any earlier than 8:30 pm, which is actually about the time we used to eat in NYC but it’s different now, not coming home from an office and with the time change, 9 am in New York is 3 pm here. It is kinda cool that I have all that time in the morning to myself but then I can work until midnight because it’s only 6 pm there, and that is not healthy, I know.

So lately, I’ve been eating bigger lunches – pasta, at that time, if I want it, – and then a salad or just vegetables for dinner. Often I’ll meet one of my friends for an aperitivo (cocktail) in town at 7 or so and then come home to make a light healthy dinner, eat, check in with the office and do some more work.

I don’t know what we have done to our food supply chain in the US. Here, everything is so darn flavorful and DELICIOUS! For example, sauteed escarole, just simple with olive oil, salt and pepper, is divine!! In the States, we used to buy our vegetables from organic farmers, but even those veggies cannot compare to the ones here. I think we’ve ruined our food system forever in the U.S.

So one evening, I made the dish below, roasting cauliflower and yellow peppers, then throwing in tomatoes at the end, letting the warm combination sit on cool baby arugula (that still tastes peppery here), basil leaves and some avocado to add some creaminess. The prosciutto adds big flavor and protein. Serve this with a slice of bread, some great olive oil and you’ve got a fantastic dinner!!

ROASTED VEGETABLES WITH PROSCIUTTO – serves 2

2 small handfuls of arugula
12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
½ head of cauliflower, cut in small flowerets
1 yellow pepper, cut into 1/3” strips and then cut each strip in half
6 thin slices of prosciutto, trimmed of fat, cut into 1/4” strips
1.5 Tbs. olive oil
Salt
Pepper, fresh ground
12 large basil leaves
1 small avocado, halved, and each half cut into strips

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss cauliflower and yellow pepper with olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste and roast for about 12 minutes on a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet. Then add the tomatoes and toss all to combine. Roast for 10 more minutes until all is tender and wonderful. Lightly salt again now, if you wish.

Place a small handful of arugula on each plate. Tear up 4 basil leaves and scatter on top of each plate of arugula. Arrange the half of the avocado on each plate, in a circle.

Scatter ½ of the prosciutto slices on top of the avocado and mound ½ of the roasted cauliflower, yellow pepper and tomatoes on top.

Tear up the rest of the basil leaves and sprinkle around on top, leaving one or two leaves as an accent.

Serve with LOVE and bread, if you’d like. Total delish!!

Thanksgiving is coming this week (and so is my birthday) the first of many firsts without my honey, Steve. I am so, so sad. Not much to do to relieve the sadness. I just cry a lot.

But that is not for you. Here is my Thanksgiving book for any of you who need it.

I will be hosting this Thanksgiving on the Saturday after – on the 25^th – at my friends, Tiziana and Andrea’s house as they have a table big enough to seat 14 people. Our younger son, Zach and his wife, Agata, will be flying in from Poland. Our older son and his wife, Kate will spend it with my brother and sister-in-law and their family in Connecticut.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving to you all. Sending lots of LOVE and great food!!

Delicious Sunday Morning Breakfast Sausage Patties

January 30, 2016 by Mary

We always enjoy a big breakfast on Sunday mornings. It’s nice to take the time to make a bountiful and beautiful one to linger over as a special treat. I am spoiled in that my husband always makes me breakfast during the week. As I‘m sure you probably do, we start our workdays eating breakfast in a rush, eager to get the day going. He serves me mine to eat while I’m putting on make-up and blow drying my hair. I take a bite and chew, hairbrush in hand, multi-tasking to try to save some time.

So this is all the more reason we truly enjoy our Sunday mornings! I know I’ve published my sausage recipe before but this one is a little different with the added shiitake mushroom. I LOVE mushrooms! My husband, not so much. However, I snuck this one in and he LOVED it!

One shiitake mushroom and multiple mushrooms behind it.

Use just one very large shiitake mushroom.

Chopped up shiitake mushroom on a wooden board.

One large mushroom chops up into a lot!

The mushroom did not add a deep mushroom-y flavor, but it did add a wonderful lightness that really made these Delicious Sunday Morning Breakfast Sausage Patties good enough to record, share and make again.

I hope you’ll try these – and remember it’s always better to know what is in the food you’re eating as opposed to buying store made sausage. That is why I do not mind taking the time to make these on a Sunday morning. They actually come together, very quickly and easily – takes about 20 minutes and then time to grill or sauté in a skillet.

You should also know that these reheat beautifully in the microwave for 30 seconds for that quick weekday breakfast. So leftovers are not a problem!

DELICIOUS SUNDAY MORNING BREAKFAST SAUSAGE PATTIES – serves 6, makes 14 patties

1 lb. ground pork
1 small egg
¼ cup of panko
1 Tbs. grainy mustard
¾ tsp. herbs de Provence
1 large shiitake mushroom, stem trimmed at bottom & stem and cap finely chopped
¼ cup finely chopped red onion or shallot
2 – 3 sprigs of Italian parsley finely chopped
Sprinkling of salt
Black pepper – 20 grinds

Combine everything together with your hands. Mix thoroughly, but lightly. Do not overmix.

Shape into 12 – 14 small patties.

Spray grill pan or sauté pan with a very light coating of canola or vegetable oil. Cook patties on high heat, turning once, for a total of about 7 minutes.

Serve with scrambled eggs, toast, fruit salad, coffee and LOVE!

Smells

September 10, 2011 by Mary Frances

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Our offices were located downtown near the towers at One Wall Street Court at the time. While our building was unharmed and all of our employees safe, we were not allowed in to the building or area for a full week. With all the horror with what happened down there, two things stick in my mind. The smell of burning flesh, plastics and toxins, and how long that lasted – about a year for me. It was acrid and burning in your nostrils. (I have an acute sense of smell which is sometimes not a very good thing. I had sinus surgery years ago to relive migraine headaches, which it didn’t do but it left me with this.) After about two weeks, if you were on the upper East or West side, it was as if nothing happened! While us downtowners dealt with everything for many many months. They are still dealing with it. I urge you to read Frank Rich’s article in New York Magazine – Day’s End – published Aug. 27.

I pray that nothing happens this weekend, with the heightened alerts from possible terrorists attacks again, which we all learned about on Thursday. The police are everywhere in Manhattan.

In 2006, we traveled to India. My husband was asked to give a speech at an international business conference in Calcutta. I got to travel along as the wife! We had to stop and spend the night in New Delhi, on the last leg of travel to our destination. New Delhi has that same acrid, burning smell which took me right back to 2001. Their burning smell is from the poor who live on the streets and build fires to cook and keep warm. No doubt they are burning plastics and toxic materials. I questioned the Indians about the smell – they said, “What smell?” My good friend Sumantra later explained it to me, but seriously, they don’t smell it.

Of all your senses, I believe smell is the most memorable. Which is why good smells wafting from your kitchen can create memories beyond belief for your family. We are in the country and last night I decided to make a new spice rub for pork chops. My husband called it smooth and “elegant.” Isn’t he cute? I called it very fragrant and delicious.

SPICE RUB FOR PORK CHOPS – for 6 pork chops
Make sure your spices are fresh!
1 tbs. cumin powder
1 tsp ground coriander (preferably Moroccan)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp. ground Nigerian cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. garlic powder.

Combine everything together very well – toss with a fork. Wash and dry your meat. Salt one side of each chop and spread rub on both sides and massage into the meat. Grill until temperature reaches 140 – 145 degrees. Let sit for at least 5 minutes before serving. They will continue cooking and this allows time for the juices to collect inside the meat and be totally yummy.

Let me know how you like this!

Split Cornish hens roasted on top of stuffing

November 11, 2012 by Mary Frances

This dinner was so good and literally used up a bunch of leftovers. So I really can’t give you a specific recipe, but I can tell you what I did.

First, on the subway ride to work last Wednesday, I read the Dining section from The Times. Wednesday is my all-time favorite day!

They had an article about how dressing or stuffing has lost its allure, except for around Thanksgiving. Well I took it to heart. And while I am nothing like my Mother, (who I dearly loved), I am my Mother’s daughter and cannot waste a thing. She grew up in the Great Depression and her father owned a grocery store. He was the butcher. They never wasted anything and she could scrape a bowl squeaky clean. And, she raised six kids, five of them boys and if any of you out there have boys, you understand the difference between feeding boys and feeding girls.

I can’t waste a thing either. David Waltuck, of Chanterelle fame, says that good cooks never do and I admit I am the same.

So last weekend, at our country house, my brother and sister-in-law came to visit. They insisted on bringing Saturday lunch which was a delicious turkey chili, cornbread and fennel salad. Everything was great and eaten, except for some of the cornbread. Then I had a baguette to make the bread and chocolate (for three nights, mind you) so I had about 1/3 of a baguette left too, plus five leftover grilled mushrooms, one grilled scallion and leftover French dry sausage. I added fresh chopped sage leaves, one raw egg, ½ cup of chicken broth, and one minced shallot sautéed olive oil. Salt and pepper were added, mixing well and turned into an ovenproof casserole. I split two Cornish hens in half, shoved a small sprig of fresh rosemary under the skin on each, plus salt and pepper. I then made a sauce of 3 TBS grainy mustard and 1/3 cup of leftover dry white wine to brush on top of the birds. I threw the whole thing in the oven, at 375 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes. Tested it with a thermometer – you should reach 155 – 160 degrees on the thickest parts of the hens. Then broil the dish for 1-2 minutes to brown the birds. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Cornish hens with fresh rosemary, sage leaves, chicken broth, and minced shallot sautéed olive oil

Ready to go into the oven

This was so delicious and did not take long – a little bit over an hour from start to finish. I served it with the carrot and parsnip puree and truly, this could be a company dinner. Different and really delicious. The dressing was moist under the chicken and crispy in the exposed areas.

And I got to use up all of those leftovers!

Cornish hens with fresh rosemary, sage leaves, chicken broth, minced shallot sautéed olive oil, carrot and parsnip puree leftovers.

It was very yummy!

Grilled Leg of Lamb with Almonds and Orange Blossom Sauce

January 25, 2017 by Mary

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!!

End of summer

September 6, 2011 by Mary Frances

Welcome to my blog about great food, cooking and sharing love. I love to eat. I love to cook. I love to feed people and share it all. I’d like to share some wonderful recipes and tips and stories that come from cooking and entertaining. We have a house in upstate New York and just this past weekend, it started raining leaves. : ( Summer is over. We had our friends Margaret and Wayne for dinner on Saturday night and I served my take on an “end of summer” meal. Watermelon salad with feta and Kalamata olives (the chopped olives look like watermelon seeds to fake you out!) and fresh mint leaves. grass-fed lamb and beef cheddar burgers with a caper remoulade sauce, served with tomato and thinly sliced English cucumber on toasted English muffins, wheatberry salad with dried cranberries (to introduce us to Fall) and roasted asparagus with lemon and olive oil. Our dessert was grilled peaches brushed with olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper with Ronnybrook Farms ice cream (chocolate chip and hazelnut crunch – yummy – the cows live down the street) and a chocolate biscotti. It was a hit!

Pork Chops with Ginger Blackberry Sauce

December 16, 2020 by Mary

My lead construction guy told me, with a wry smile, that this would be my “last supper” in my kitchen. You see, I am completely renovating my kitchen in the city apartment and this recipe that I threw together of Pork Chops with Ginger Blackberry Sauce was scrumptious and special and my last meal from my old kitchen. It was fun to make up, with just the things I had around and so very delicious to boot! It comes together so quickly. I know you will love the sweet, savory, spicy and umami flavors all melded as one.

Quite frankly, I really hate cooking for one. I do not like being alone but what am I to do? I still love cooking and eating, and really, they become the highlights of my day, along with a little wine (maybe sometimes too much but who cares) and that is what I look forward to every day. Additionally, my late husband Steve, never really liked fruit with meat. And I have been on this sweet and savory combo kick, which I can now explore to my heart’s desire.

My mission is to combine new, unusual flavors. I’m tired of the typical mingling of ingredients. I want to break through and create something fresh and exciting! So I really had a go of it with this Pork Chops with Ginger Blackberry Sauce recipe. But you know what, I think Steve would have liked this too!

NOW THE BACKSTORY ON MY KITCHEN…

All of my appliances were breaking and my cabinets were builder’s grade (equals really shitty quality) from when we bought this condo 13 years ago and I just couldn’t bear putting new appliances in between chipped cabinets, so I decided on a complete renovation. I started musing with this idea in the summer of 2019, after happening upon a new Italian kitchen store in my neighborhood. I fell in love with these cabinets that looked like concrete and started working on the design, getting construction and appliance estimates and moving forward. I actually would have loved to do slick, shiny bright red cabinets but I knew that those really wouldn’t go with the rest of the apartment.

Because my kitchen is wide open to the dining room and the living room which are filled with an eclectic mix of French, English and American antiques along with some traditional and modern items, I needed to make the kitchen work with all of these, yet still do something smashing. Otherwise, why was I doing it, was my thinking.

Then I remembered, my very first designer/employee at my brand design agency many, many years ago was Jeanne, and she had left the communication design field to become a kitchen designer. I should contact her!

So I rang her up and she changed everything – all for the best! She gently guided me off of the concrete and into doing real wood – gorgeous walnut, flat modern panels with some beautiful Italian polished nickel handles and a concrete looking floor. We picked a stunning piece of granite for the counter with taupe, black and some beautiful blue in it. White quartz for the windowsill and some amazing appliances including my favorite – a slim wine refrigerator that is six inches wide and holds seven bottles!

SUPER MESSY IN AN APARTMENT

My renovation is in full swing now and my cabinets arrived yesterday along with Jeanne, to open and check some of them. The old kitchen is completely out and donated to Angie’s House on Long Island. They help medically frail children have the best quality of life possible. I was so happy to find them as I definitely did not want to contribute any more to landfills. It is very trying managing the space in an apartment during a complete redo – nothing like in a house.

So I cooked up a storm my last three days in my old kitchen and this recipe of Pork Chops with Ginger Blackberry Sauce was clearly my favorite. A “last supper” to remember.

I trust you will LOVE this as much as I did. This is a festive dish and easy to do during the busy holiday season. Be sure to make with LOVE. Here is the recipe:

Pork Chops with Ginger Blackberry Sauce – serves 2

2 pork chops
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 small red onion, quartered and sliced in ¼” slices
4 anchovies
5 chunks of Stem Ginger in syrup, chopped (comes in a small glass jar)
3 Tbs. syrup from the Stem Ginger
1 cup fresh blackberries
Fine Sea Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Chinese Five Spice
Fresh mint leaves for garnish (optional)

The process

Take the pork chops out of the fridge for 30 – 60 minutes before cooking. Pat dry and season each side with salt, pepper and a liberal amount of Chinese Five Spice.

Warm the olive oil over medium-low heat and add the onion and anchovies. Saute for 5 -7 stirring frequently.

Pork Chops With Ginger Blackberry Sauce, Seasoned and Cooking in a pan.

Push the onion mixture to the sides of the pan, raise the heat to medium, medium-high and add the chops in the center, making sure the meat is hitting the pan, not on top of the onions and add the blackberries, ginger and ginger syrup. Toss the onion/blackberry mixture on the sides while the chops are browning for 4 – 5 minutes.

Pork Chops With Ginger Blackberry Sauce, Cooking in a pan.

Turn the chops and saute for another 4 – 5 minutes, until the pork is done by pressing the meat with your thumb. It should feel sturdy but not super hard, or be at 140 degrees with an instant read meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chop. The temperature will increase while the meat is resting.

Remove the chops to a warm platter or board. Continue cooking the blackberry sauce for 5 more minutes, stirring until the berries break down, getting juicy and add in the collected meat juices at the end.

Pour the sauce in a line down the middle of the chops and serve, garnished with mint leaves if desired.

Frozen pancetta

October 19, 2011 by Mary Frances

Some years ago, my butcher in the city, Bob, of Espisito’s Pork Store gave me the greatest tip. As he noticed, I like pancetta, so one time he mentioned that I could keep several slices in the freezer at all times, take them out one at a time and they will thaw very quickly to use. As you may have figured out by now, I adore pancetta. Just a little bit gives huge flavor to any dish. (although I am not a fan of the latest craze of bacon on desserts – yuk!) For instance, the Broccoli Rabe recipe outlined earlier is usually made with pork sausage, with the fat left in the dish. So making it with chicken sausage is so much healthier and just a touch of pancetta give the big rich pork flavor that the chicken sausage cannot impart on its own.

So always have some on hand in your freezer!

No Fuss Lunch and last day for a summer box!

June 25, 2015 by Mary

Recently I met this woman I’d like to tell you about. Gaby Wilday is a trailblazer. Based out of Ridgewood, NJ, Gaby is doing something that should be available all across the country. I think she’s aiming for that and I sure hope she achieves it. She’s a mother of 3 children, one 9 year-old and 7 year-old twins. She saw a need for providing truly healthy lunches for her kids and other children in school.
She is a co-founder of No Fuss Lunch where parents and children can go online to choose and order their lunch for the next day, as long as they do it by 8 pm the night before. That is very generous, time-wise. Gaby and her team of 18 people now, create healthy nutritious lunches that contain non-GMO ingredients, no white sugar, no white flour, no high fructose corn syrup and no MSG. The lunches consist of a wholesome entrée, fresh fruit, a vegetable with a dip, a small sweet treat, an antibacterial wipe and a bottle of spring water. She says their “secret ingredient” is their dip because including the dip insures the child will eat the raw vegetables. That’s super smart and a little sneaky too, but hey, that’s okay. However, I’d say their secret ingredient is the love they put into it too!

I remember, when my kids were young, the mornings were very, very hectic. I made homemade cookies almost every Sunday afternoon for the week ahead. Bar cookies were the best and easiest option. On school-day mornings, between flipping pancakes or frying bacon and scrambling eggs, and making the sandwiches for their lunches, while making sure the backpacks had the right homework, not to mention we had a neighbor boy come for breakfast every morning for a little while, I was a bit of a non-stop maniac. So much so, that when my oldest son was in high school, he gave me the book, Take Your Time by Eknath Easwarin, which got me into a meditation practice that I still use today. The book was about focusing on doing one thing at a time because I used to drive my son nuts! But I digress. Those days were crazy and many mothers don’t even go there, with good reason.

However, with No Fuss Lunch, these moms today don’t have to be so crazy in the morning. The lunches are made by other moms, just as concerned about healthy eating, for good bones and good brains. Gaby started with 7 lunches a day in one school. She and her team now serve over 2000 lunches a day in 5 different school districts in NJ. The lunches are made fresh that morning and delivered to the school in time with each child’s name on the bag.

No Fuss Lunch is now even branching out to delivering healthy family meals too! Of course I LOVE Gaby’s philosophy of clean healthy eating and even for her dinner delivery service, she talks about “comfort food, but not the “comfort food” trend of the past several years: fattening, heavy, brain dulling. Modern comfort food is truly taking care of your family with ultra-healthy, intelligent choices, ease, and delightfully delicious options. All of the flavor, none of the FUSS.”

I think Gaby has a great thing going on here – for individuals and for our country as a whole. No Fuss is all about building a healthy future through smarter food.

You are what you eat.

Add a little LOVE, and you’ll be just fine!!

And to add some healthy inspiration to your dinners, order a summer box, up until midnight tonight! This was our spring box and our surprise summer box will be even better. Use the code FOODIESLOVE for 25% off!

Getting back to garlic

May 6, 2012 by Mary Frances

My sincere apologies for the delay in writing at the end of April and the beginning of May. We’ve had quite a lot of drama and excitement going on in our home. Charlotte will be leaving as she is not comfortable in our neighborhood, business has been booming with still 4 more boxes to unpack (which I hope to tackle next weekend) and our youngest son has had his choice of graduate schools – Harvard, Yale, Columbia and the University of Chicago for his PhD study in Eastern European History. He has chosen Yale!! (And I’ll get a sweatshirt!)

My husband has allowed me to gradually introduce some of the forbidden items back into his diet. What I have missed most, is garlic. So I got to sauté some garlic for some escarole recently and truly, I was over the moon!!

Just look at how pretty it is. I’m convinced that if the onions and garlic are well cooked, they won’t bother his acid reflux condition. And, if they’re made with love.

Dijon Pork Chops with Herbs and Grapes

July 26, 2014 by Mary

“Can you do this again?” That’s what my husband said on finishing this dinner last Sunday night. So I quickly went to work to write all this down so I would remember how to make these Dijon Pork Chops with Herbs and Grapes again! I got this idea from a veal chop recipe I had made years ago. And once again, I get inspired by what’s in my refrigerator and what needs to be used up and how fast can I get something on the table – not really too exciting and all out of necessity. I was making our breakfast fruit salad that I usually make for the week, before making dinner on last Sunday night, and had too many grapes. We had just picked up these beautiful heritage breed pork chops from Second Chance Farm on our way home that night. They have wonderful beef, pork and chickens and sell at the Milan Farmers Market on Fridays, and had invited us to their farm to pick up some fresh chickens. Kim and Charlie are wonderful folks who run a very clean and neat farm in Milan, NY. It was so nice to see their whole operation. All of the animals are happy campers – their pigs love to be petted! Here’s what I did, which was simple, quick, delicious and a little different! This is a riff on the combo of savory and sweet – which I LOVE. I hope you will too!

DIJON PORK CHOPS WITH HERBS AND GRAPES – serves 2

1.5 tsp unsalted butter
1.5 tsp olive oil 1 medium onion, sliced 1/4” thick
2 heritage breed pork chops, 3/4” thick
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
3 tbs. chopped fresh herbs – oregano, rosemary and thyme
3/4 cup dry white wine, divided – I used Sauvignon Blanc
3/4 cup seedless red grapes

In a skillet, melt butter in olive oil on low heat. Add onions and cover to sweat and soften for about 20 minutes.

Wash and dry pork chops. Salt and pepper and smear one side with 1 tsp. Dijon mustard on each chop. Toss together the mixed herbs, take half of them and divide into two equal portions and sprinkle on each chop. Press them down into the mustard. Push onions to the side in the skillet, raise heat to medium high. Add the chops, mustard and herb side down. While they are browning, salt and pepper the top sides of the chops. Turn the chops after 3 minutes and pile the onions on top of the chops. Sprinkle remaining herbs overall. Saute 1 minute to brown the bottom of the chops. Add 1/2 of the wine and all of the grapes and cook for one more minute or so, until chops reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees. (they will cook more while resting) Remove the chops to a platter. Leave the grapes in the skillet and add the rest of the wine and simmer rapidly for 1 -2 minutes, stirring constantly. When sauce has thickened a bit and reduced, and the grapes are softened, remove from heat and pour sauce and grapes over the chops. Make sure the chops have rested for a total time of 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Last sunset of 2011

December 31, 2011 by Mary Frances