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

Ginger-crusted Halibut

May 24, 2021 by Mary 4 Comments

I adore halibut. And I love ginger. So I made up this dish of Ginger-crusted Halibut, not sure how it would really work and it was amazing!

You must have super fresh ginger. Slice a big three-inch knob lengthwise on a mandoline. Then wrap that ginger around, covering both sides of your filet, pan sauté in grapeseed oil and butter and voila! Total deliciousness.

You see, I was afraid that you wouldn’t be able to cut through the ginger and just desecrate the beautiful fish while eating it but no, as long as your ginger is super fresh, creamy yellow in color, sliced very thin, this worked. And it was not overly spicy, which was another concern. It was just right with the butter mingling in.

Ginger-crusted halibut cut with arugula and tomato salad. — So very moist and flakey.

Halibut, although expensive, is such a delectable fish. Creamy white, solid but flakey tender – big flakes.

Make sure not to overcook it – 118 degrees F on the internal temperature is perfect.

Quick and easy is this recipe of Ginger-crusted Halibut. I really wouldn’t call it a recipe so much as it is an idea – that I think you will LOVE.

Ginger-crusted halibut with rice and salad. — A super easy lovely dinner!

I served this with steamed Jasmine rice and a little tomato and arugula salad. Total yumminess.

Make and serve with LOVE.

I’m sure you’ll make this again and again.

GINGER-CRUSTED HALIBUT – serves 2

One 3” long knob of super fresh ginger
1 lb.piece of Halibut fillet
1 Tbs. grapeseed oil
1 Tbs. butter
Extra virgin olive oil – a few drops
Salt
Pepper

Peel the ginger and thinly slice it lengthwise on a hand mandoline.

Wash and pat dry your fish fillet. Put a few drops of olive oil on and rub it all over. Follow this with salt and pepper and then wrap the ginger crosswise around the fillet. Do this on both sides of the fillet, carefully wrapping the ginger and patting it down so it sticks.

Heat grapeseed oil and butter in a cast iron or non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Carefully place the ginger-wrapped fish fillet in. Saute for about 4 minutes. Carefully loosen it on the bottom, gathering all the ginger and flip it over, being careful not to splatter yourself.

Saute on the other side for about another 4 minutes. Test with a thermometer – it should register about 118 F degrees.

Carefully remove, cut in half, serve and enjoy!!

I know you’ll LOVE this!

Ginger-crusted halibut sautéing in a black cast iron skillet. — Be sure to flip over ever so carefully.

Pork Chops with Ginger Blackberry Sauce

December 16, 2020 by Mary 4 Comments

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.

Pork with Ginger, Spring Onions and Eggplant – An Ottolenghi Recipe

March 7, 2020 by Mary 2 Comments

I have a marvelous neighbor named Marilyn. She takes care of my plants when I am away, keeps an extra set of keys for me when I get locked out and enjoys good food and wine. I try to have her over for dinner at least once every two weeks, which works out about right with my traveling schedule. That way, I feel I can get some healthy food into her at least once in a while. For my last dinner I made this Ottolenghi recipe of Pork with Ginger, Spring Onions and Eggplant and it was so delicious and different, I wanted to share it with you!

Brilliant cooking and ingredients in this recipe:

This recipe combines a unique way of cooking the eggplant that doesn’t use up oodles of oil, because you know how eggplant can easily absorb tons of it. Instead, you steam the eggplant in one of those little collapsible steamer baskets, or a fine mesh colander, which I think is just brilliant! And much lower in calories.

This dish also calls for many spring onions or scallions, as several Ottolenghi recipes do, and while I was unfamiliar with using so many, I now quite like the idea a lot and have been applying the concept to other recipes as well. They are delicious and add a lovely green spark.

The mirin, the salty and sweet effects of the different soy sauces, along with the crunchiness of the peanuts and toasted sesame seeds, all topped with cilantro, make this a super yummy dish. My kind of eating!

Marilyn and I both moved in at the same time when our building first opened nearly 13 years ago. She was a hot shot bankruptcy attorney with her own very successful private practice. (For example, early in his career, Mario Batali was one of her clients, before he started molesting the other women in the kitchen. And yay that Weinstein got his partial due but why did the jury have 7 men on it?)

Then Marilyn realized she started forgetting some things about her cases. And then she was diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s. So, she gave up her practice yet still lives next door with full time, live-in help.

Delicious!

I love Marilyn. She is always so positive and fun. Even today, she says she is happy and lucky. She subsequently named her two cats, Happy and Lucky and she uses the word, “delicious” to describe many things, including people. When in fact, SHE is delicious.

I cook and Marilyn brings the wine and we always have a hilarious time, discussing sex and old boyfriends of hers and my new online dating escapades.

And delicious is just the word she used over and over again for this dish, moaning mmm’s while she ate. Chop everything ahead of time and it is a one-dish meal that comes together quickly that I know you will probably want to make again and again.

So, give it a go and remember to serve it with LOVE and steamed rice. You can also think of Marilyn and me and our sex discussions!

Pork with Ginger, Spring Onions and Eggplant – An Ottolenghi Recipe - served on a white plate with white rice.

Pork with Ginger, Spring Onions and Eggplant – An Ottolenghi Recipe – edited by me – serves 4

3 eggplants (2 lbs.), cut into 1¼” dice
Kosher salt
¼ cup peanut oil
3 bunches spring onions, chopped on an angle into 1¼” pieces
2¾” piece ginger (60g), peeled, julienned
5 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 green chili, finely sliced, seeds in (I used ¾ of a large jalepeno chili)
1¼ lb. ground pork
3 Tbs. mirin
2 Tbs.dark soy
2 Tbs. keçap manis – it is a thick and dark molasses-like sauce with palm sugar and soy sauce as its base and with the addition of aromatic spices for flavor. The word manis means “sweet” in Malay/Indonesian and so the sauce is often referred to as “sweet soy sauce.” Here is a link to make your own! https://bit.ly/2wFeIGB
1 tsp. sesame oil (I used toasted sesame oil)
1 Tbs. rice vinegar
3/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped plus more for garnish
1/2 cup roasted and salted peanuts
1 Tbs. sesame seeds, toasted
Fresh lime wedges

As Yotam recommends, get everything chopped beforehand so you can just quickly throw things in the pan and have this ready in a jiffy!

Place the eggplant in a bowl with 1½ tsp salt. Mix well, then transfer to a steamer (or a colander). Fill a large saucepan with water to a depth of 1 inch. Bring to the boil, then place the steamer (or colander) in the pan and cover with the lid or seal well with tinfoil to prevent the steam escaping. Reduce the temperature to medium-high and steam for 12 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, pour half the oil into a large sauté pan on high heat. Add spring onion, ginger, garlic and chili and saute for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the garlic starts to color. Transfer to a bowl. Add the remaining oil to the pan, add the pork and fry, breaking up lumps, for 3 minutes. Add the mirin, soy sauce, keçap manis, sesame oil, vinegar and ½ tsp salt. Cook for 2 minutes, then return the spring onion mixture to the pan. Cook for 1 minute, then remove from the heat – there should be plenty of liquid – and stir in the cilantro and one half of the peanuts.

Spread the eggplant on a platter and top with the pork mixture. Garnish with the sesame seeds, remaining peanuts and cilantro. A squeeze of fresh lime is also very nice!

Serve with steamed rice and LOVE, along with fresh lime wedges. Enjoy!!

Carrot Ginger Soup – Perfect to Start New Year’s Eve Dinner

December 31, 2013 by Mary 26 Comments

Having to cook “clean” – low fat – for my son has forced me to get creative and explore new territory I might not otherwise have tried, and this Carrot Ginger Soup is one of those dishes.

I made this to start our Christmas dinner and it was so good that I’m making it again today to start our New Year’s Eve dinner tonight. I think it will be perfect. Our kids have all gone back to Manhattan and we are having dear friends and my brother and his wife for an intimate dinner party here in the country.

My brother is bringing caviar and champagne (I’m so excited!) as well as the red wine for dinner. (He is our expert wine pairer for this blog and has even started his own blog, www.wineandfoodpairings.net, so check it out when you have a chance.) Margaret is bringing an appetizer and I want to do a lovely but simple dinner that will allow me to be out of the kitchen and in front of the fire, partying!

So we will start with this clean tasting and delicious soup. I plan to garnishing it with a little chopped cilantro and a few toasted pepita seeds. The original recipe is from the Hay Day Country Market Cookbook and I have made it many times in the past. Prior to this trauma with our son, I would have made this with chicken broth, using 4 tbs. of butter and garnished it with crème fraiche. See how low fat it became with 2 tbs. of butter, 1 tbs. of olive oil, vegetable broth and no crème fraiche? And, no loss of flavor to boot, I think we all should be eating this way! So much better for you.

I also only used 1 ounce of fresh ginger as we wanted it mellow on the spice for Zach. If you want it spicier, use 2 ounces. We are going to splurge on the main course with spice grilled rib steaks, BUT I’m pairing them with steamed snow pea pods with shiitake mushrooms and only the mushrooms will have a bit of butter, and potatoes Anna with only a tablespoon of butter, because I make it in a skillet on the stove top. Christmas cookies for dessert, along with some fresh blackberries and mango sorbet for my gluten-free sister-in-law, will finish off this year.

What do you plan to make?

Happy New Year to you all – wishing you great health, peace, wealth and LOVE!!

GINGER CARROT SOUP – serves 6

1 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 – 2 oz. piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 lbs. of fresh carrots, scrubbed and chopped into 1” pieces
1 cup of dry white wine
5 cups of vegetable stock – homemade or low sodium boxed
½ tsp. salt or to taste
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Toasted and salted pepita seeds for garnish

Warm the olive oil and melt the butter in it. Add the minced ginger and sauté on low heat for about 3 minutes until fragrant. Do not brown. Add the carrots and stir for 1 – 2 minutes. Add the wine and turn heat to medium high. Let the wine come to a simmer, after 1 or 2 minutes add the vegetable stock. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, partially covered and cook until the carrots are very soft, about 30 – 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool for at least 10 minutes, longer is even better.

Puree the soup with an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot, garnished with chopped cilantro and a few toasted and salted pepita seeds, if desired.

Test kitchen tours!

May 23, 2013 by Mary Frances 60 Comments

Yesterday was such an interesting, exhilarating and exhausting day!!

I enjoyed a day of touring test kitchens as part of Internet Week here, as a guest of Anna Curran from Cookbook Create, a site where you can make custom cookbooks. (Great gift idea, right?) We visited the kitchens of Bon Appetit, The Daily Meal and Food 52. Each one made us a little something special to eat, and we even had wine at The Daily Meal!

All of them were so helpful and sharing of information. We were 13 bloggers chosen for this day, and lucky ones at that. It was all good fun and useful information, plus I met some great new fellow bloggers!

These are the lovely ladies I spent the day with: Alejandra from Always Order Dessert, Amie from The Healthy Apple, Caroline from Taste, Love, & Nourish, Carrie from Poet in the Pantry, Diana from Appetite for China, Daina from The Hungry Fan, Heidi from Brooklyn Allergy Mom, Jennifer from Savory Simple, Jen from Champagne Problems, Kimberly from Mom in the City, Lisa from Nutcase Crunch, Melinda from Kitchen Tested, and Sloane from Allergic Girl.

Here are some pics from the day.

We started at Bon Appetit! They served a delicious fresh ginger, lime and seltzer drink with horseradish deviled eggs – yummy!

At The Daily Meal they served us a fava bean, spinach, garlic and onion tasting. So pretty!

The Daily Meal is giving away this fabulous Kitchen Aid!! I wonder who will win this shiny beautiful tool. I would LOVE it!! (so nice of them to do this!)

Food 52’s new kitchen in their new space with antique wooden shelves and walnut cutting top.

The girls at Food 52 serving us English Pea Soup with a garlic cream and slivered ramps.

Sumac!

April 20, 2012 by Mary Frances 8 Comments

Sumac is a wonderful spice – not the poisonous kind but lemony and nice! It is used in many Arab, Iranian and Turkish cuisines. I like to use it on roast chicken or roasted vegetables. They say you can also sprinkle it directly on salads, rice and hummus, which I have not yet tried.

As I’ve mentioned before, my husband has to be on this crazy diet to cut down on his acid intake. He has had a constant cough that apparently if left unchecked, can turn into esophageal cancer. Yikes! Therefore I am not allowed to use any garlic, onions, peppers of any kind, lemons or any citrus for nearly 6 months! All the things that give recipes the real flavor! So I have been struggling to cook around all of this. Fresh ginger and herbs de Provence have become my new best friends and so has sumac!
Roasted sumac chicken with roasted Jerusalem artichokes

Sumac is a beautiful purply red, coarse ground powder. I recommend a heavy sprinkling on a chicken before roasting. Check out my Roast Chicken recipe and sprinkle the sumac all over to coat. See the photos above for before and after cooking. So give it a go and let me know what you think!

(This article is also featured on Spice4Life in South Africa)