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

Curried Roast Chicken With Grapefruit, Honey and Thyme

April 3, 2022 by Mary 6 Comments

I am writing to you from Italy, my beloved place in Tuscany – Arezzo – and I wanted to share this Curried Roast Chicken With Grapefruit, Honey and Thyme recipe that I had made in NYC before I left. It is so very good, and easy, I’ll be sure to make this for my friends here too, after I figure out the oven in my new home. The controls are not making any sense to me and there is no instruction booklet. But I must figure it out before Tuesday night as I am having my first dinner party – 4 friends over to celebrate Tiziana’s birthday – and I do need to use the oven for a sheet pan chicken dish that I’ll share with you later, but for now, let’s focus on this Curried Roast Chicken With Grapefruit, Honey and Thyme. This one is for Jeanne!!

The base recipe originally came from the New York Times, but of course I have changed it a little bit.

Probably like you, I am always looking for new and different, easy chicken recipes and this one fits the bill very nicely! There are a lot of pleasantly contrasting flavor profiles going on here, culminating in a fabulously flavored dish! You’ve got the spicy curry with the sweet honey, coupled with the tart and refreshing grapefruit juice. And do squeeze fresh grapefruit for the juice. Do not use a store bought variety as it is not the same.

It’s very important to baste frequently

Basting the bird frequently and roasting it at a lower temperature keeps the bird moist and prevents that sweet sauce, which is caramelizing, from scorching. And here I used my black cast iron skillet, which worked perfectly. Believe me, if you do the basting, this chicken will be supremely juicy!

I served this Curried Roast Chicken With Grapefruit, Honey and Thyme with some farrow and lemon and EVOO roasted asparagus for a divine meal. The Simi California Chardonnay was a perfect pairing.

Make with LOVE. I hope you enjoy this!

CURRIED ROAST CHICKEN WITH GRAPEFRUIT, HONEY AND THYME

1 (3 1/2-pound) whole chicken
Fine sea salt and black pepper
⅓ cup grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed, strained of seeds
¼ cup honey
13/4 tsp. curry powder
1 heaping Tbs. finely chopped thyme

PREPARATION

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Pat the chicken dry (inside and out) and season it well with salt and pepper, both inside and out. Place the chicken breast-side up in a 10-inch cast-iron or ovenproof skillet.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the grapefruit juice, honey, curry powder and thyme. Spoon all the mixture over the chicken, making sure it is evenly covered and inside of the cavity as well.

Roast the chicken for 30 minutes, basting every 15 minutes, spooning the sauce all over. After the first 30 minutes, turn the heat down to 325 degrees and continue basting the chicken with the pan juices until the skin is lacquered with sauce and the chicken registers 165 degrees with an instant thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, about 35 to 45 minutes more. If skin is starting to become too dark, tent with foil.

Allow the chicken to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving.

Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach

January 19, 2022 by Mary 2 Comments

Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup - served in a bowl.

I have been having a love affair with coconut milk and Thai food recently. It’s something different to make at home and I also love the usual refreshing lime squeezed on for the finishing touch. So this recipe of Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach is the perfect comfort food during these cold dark days of winter. I made this recipe last night, loosely based on the New York Times version and ate it in front of a blazing fire to calm my frazzled nerves from all of the Washington DC news of late. It worked and was so super yummy, I wanted to share it with you all right away.

This Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach recipe should feed three people with one pound of chicken. I also added a sauteed Portobello mushroom, which I know is not very Thai-like, but this mushroom in my fridge was begging to be used and I thought it was a nice combo with the spinach. Serve this soupy dish with a packed little cup of steamed Jasmine rice and ascend to heaven.

How to stretch meat to feed more people

Another deviation of mine from the New York Times version is the addition of a little Panko to the meatball mixture. It’s a trick from my mom – panko or breadcrumbs – to make them lighter and to stretch the meat a little more in her case. Remember, she was always feeding six kids, along with sometimes some stray neighborhood friends as well. If you are using 2 lbs of chicken, you could also add a raw egg for more stretchability.

Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup - in skillet with spinach added.

On to the recipe, and do not forget to add your LOVE while making. We all especially need a lot more love in this world right now, with Covid, climate change, voting rights (did you know the Republicans enacted all the mail-in ballot voting rules that Trump so objected to? I just found that out tonight.)

I have never talked politics on this blog before, but the insanely false “news” told not by journalists but by the entertainers on Fox and OAN are hitting a crescendo that must be dealt with and needs to be corrected with truth – only truth. And perhaps that can happen over a warm comforting bowl of this Thai-inspired Chicken Meatball Soup with Spinach.

I have always believed that food could bring us together. Conversations over a soothing bowl of soup – who can fight over that warmth?

Let’s make it and pray.

THAI-INSPIRED CHICKEN MEATBALL SOUP with SPINACH – serves 3

1 (4-inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
1/2 jalapeño, split lengthwise, finely minced with seeds and membrane
1 lb. ground chicken
½ large bunch cilantro, leaves and stems finely chopped, plus a few whole leaves reserved for serving
2.5 Tbs. fish sauce, divided
1.5 Tbs. panko
½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 – 2 Tbs. canola oil
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup (8 oz.) full-fat coconut milk
¼ tsp. granulated sugar
1 large Portobello mushroom, sliced and sauteed with 1 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil and 1 Tbs. unsalted butter – Optional
2.5 oz. baby spinach
1 Tbs. lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
Steamed white or brown rice, for serving

Process

Finely mince the ginger, garlic and jalapeno together. Transfer half of this mixture to a large bowl and set the rest aside. To the large bowl, add the chicken, finely chopped cilantro, 1.5 Tbs. fish sauce, 1/2 tsp salt and 1.5 Tbs. panko. Use your hands or a fork to fully combine but do not overmix.

Use your hands or an ice cream scoop to form 2-inch meatballs. In a large Dutch oven or skillet, heat 1 Tbs. Canola oil over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs in a single layer and cook, turning them around every 2 – 3 minutes to brown most sides until golden brown for a total of 7 to 9 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Once all the meatballs are browned and out of the pot, if the oil is burned, wipe it out and add a bit more to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium, add the reserved ginger, garlic jalapeno minced mixture and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, sugar and the remaining 1 Tbs. fish sauce, and bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs and any juices from the plate, and simmer until the flavors come together and the meatballs are cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes.

While the soup is simmering, heat the EVOO and butter in a small skillet over medium heat. When the butter stops sizzling, add the sliced Portobello mushrooms in a single layer and do not touch them for about 7 minutes. Turn them over for another 4 minutes or so and then add them to the soup.

Remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the spinach and lime juice. Divide rice among bowls, then top with meatballs, broth and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and LOVE.

Enjoy!!

What We Should Be Eating & Making Now

July 15, 2020 by Mary 6 Comments

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

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

1.) Drink wine after 5 pm.

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

2.) Eat mostly plant-based foods.

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

3.) Include plenty of carbs in your diet.

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

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

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

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

In other words, pure stuff, no sugary nonsense.

6.) Practice modified forms of intermittent fasting.

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

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

Practicing mindful eating.

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

Intentional choices for your food.

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

And then of course, are you drinking enough water

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

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

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

What do you think?

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

Feta radishes watercress and mint toasts platter. — **Feta, radishes, watercress and mint toasts**

Midwest potato salad in a white Le Crueset bowl garnished with parsley. — **Midwest potato salad at Tanglewood**

Best potato salad with fennel, Parmesan cheese, cipollini onions and picholine olives. — **Best Potato Salad** with fennel, Parmesan cheese, cipollini onions and picholine olives.

Sorrel pesto on a spoon. — **Sorrel Pesto**

Greek Roasted chicken, chicken with parsely garnish — **Santorini Grilled Chicken with a Lemon/Garlic Basting Sauce accompanied by a Greek Salad**

Greek Salad, salad with feta cheese tomatoes cucumbers greek — Tomato and cucumber Greek salad

Make and serve all with LOVE!

Pasta with Pancetta, Chicken, Pecorino and Broccoli Rabe – A HANGOVER HELPER!

December 31, 2019 by Mary 3 Comments

Happy New Year to everyone!! Be safe out there celebrating. I wanted you to have this recipe of Pasta with Pancetta, Chicken, Pecorino and Broccoli Rabe as it can be a real hangover helper for tomorrow. Top it with an easy-over egg for extra protein, should you need it, and you’ll be in good shape to be able to enjoy New Year’s Day, 2020.

Pasta with Pancetta, Chicken, Pecorino and Broccoli Rabe

Comes together in only 40 minutes!

This dish comes together easily and quickly and should take no more than 40 minutes from start time to serving, even with a hangover. I use only one pot for the pasta and to blanch the broccoli rabe, in order to remove the bitterness.

Cooking for me now, is at once a pain and a joy. It is labor intensive – as I have to clean up too. However, when I do muster the energy, I find I get my mojo back and truly enjoy it! I can literally feel getting back in the grove. Because this recipe that I made up on the fly is really worthy of sharing with you, dear readers, I wanted to make sure you got it today, for help with tomorrow.

Admittedly, I LOVE to cook. I hate to clean. But I love to eat good, healthy food. So, there you have it; I continue to cook. It’s just that some things I make may last 4 – 5 meals. Which means I have to plan carefully, around dinner dates with friends or just needing the company of other humans as I frequent certain restaurants by myself and eat at the bar, hoping to have nice conversations with folks, besides of course, the bartender.

Toasted breadcrumbs are always a good addition.

I absolutely adore toasted breadcrumbs on top of pasta dishes, so I added them here as I had some leftover croutons (that I had sautéed in duck fat to make them divine!) that I just crushed to make crumbs. Genius, right? (heh)

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Wishing you all health, happiness and everything you’ve dreamed of for 2020!! Another new decade!

PASTA WITH PANCETTA, CHICKEN, PECORINO AND BROCCOLI RABE – serves 3 – 4

½ lb. of pasta – Strozzapreti or fusilli
Coarse sea salt
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 ¼” thick slice of pancetta, cut in ¼” cubes
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, all fat removed and cut into ¼” slices
5 cloves of garlic, sliced
½ of a fresh serrano chile, thinly sliced with seeds and membrane
½ cup of chicken broth, preferably homemade or low salt if in a box
1 head of broccoli rabe, ends trimmed off and sliced in 11/2” sections
½ cup of Pecorino cheese, grated
Salt
Fresh ground pepper
Toasted bread crumbs or crushed croutons

The easy process.

Put a large pot of water on to boil. After it comes to a boil, salt liberally with the coarse sea salt. Salt only after it comes to a boil so you don’t pit your pot. Add the chopped broccoli rabe and blanch for 1 – 2 minutes. Remove the broccoli rabe with a strainer, leaving the water to boil to cook your pasta.

Meanwhile, warm the oil in a large skillet, on medium heat, large enough to hold everything. Add the pancetta and sautè for 5 – 6 minutes until nearly cooked. Then add the garlic and your chicken strips and cook, tossing until all pink is gone from the chicken. Slice the serrano chili over the skillet with a hand mandoline and toss.

Meanwhile, salt the boiling water again and add your pasta, cooking it 2 minutes less than the lesser number on the package for your cook time.

Add the drained broccoli rabe to the skillet with the chicken and toss and continue to cook.

When the pasta is nearly at its time, add the chicken broth to the skillet.

Drain your pasta and add it to the skillet. Toss everything together for about 2 – 3 minutes to finish cooking the pasta. Do a taste test for the pasta, keeping it al dente. Then add the grated cheese and a good amount of fresh ground pepper. Toss everything together and serve in warm bowls.

Top with toasted breadcrumbs and serve with LOVE.

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

April 26, 2019 by Mary 16 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!!

No garlic?

February 28, 2012 by Mary Frances 2 Comments

For some time now my husband has had this persistent cough, that mainly occurs after he eats a meal. Finally, he went to the doctor and he suggested going on this acid-free diet. There are details to the diet but we must be very strict for 2 weeks and the main things are: no garlic, onions, tomatoes, or spicy or regular peppers and of course no fruit, except for bananas, pears and some apples.

Well telling me no garlic, onions, tomatoes or peppers is like well, I don’t know what!! I’d say the only dish I cook without garlic would be duck breasts with a fruit sauce!!!

So we started this diet on Monday and I’ve been reacquainting myself with Herbs de Provence. I used it to roast a chicken last night and on some tilapia fillets tonight. Tomorrow I’m making striped bass fillets and if any of you have any suggestions, please pour it on. He also should have limited olive oil and butter, only skinless chicken or fish, no meat or fried foods.

Help!