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Summer Greens!

20 Jun

I had the good fortune to be able to spend Father’s Day in Pennsylvania with my Dad.  I left with bags of his amazingly sweet and delicate lettuce greens.  These greens are so flavorful and tender that they can easily be eaten alone without dressing and still bring the truest pleasure.  However, with a few simple ingredients, they make the BEST salads.

For the next week, farmers markets throughout the Tri-State area should be featuring similar baby greens. However, as summer comes on in full these greens start to decline so grab them at their prime.

For today’s salad I used under 10 ingredients:

hard boiled eggs, an assortment of baby greens, small white beans, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar (I have a wonderful pear infused vinegar), lemon juice, salt, and pepper.

Simply dressed with oil and vinegar and a touch of lemon juice for brightness, this salad is the easiest thing to fix for a quick snack or healthy lunch.

When your ingredients are this fresh, you don’t want to be heavy handed on your seasoning.  You just want to chose the right ingredients to enhance and deepen the basic flavors.

Pear Chutney

28 Apr

Pear Chutney

(makes about 3 cups)

Prep time: about 30 minutes

Chutney is the perfect meld of sweet, savory, and spicy.  It adds a ton of flavor to your favorite proteins, makes a killer jam substitute on your toast, can spice up a cheese platter in a miraculous way, and also can be kept for later use in mason jars.  Not to mention its ability to lighten up a rainy day.


1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, small dice (2 cups)

2 Bosc pears, peeled and cored, small dice (2 cups)

3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (substitute: apple cider vinegar)

1 tablespoon vindaloo paste

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 cup sweet white wine

salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and onions.  Cook for about 3 minutes then add in peasrs, vinegar and vindaloo paste.  Cook mixture for 8-10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until onions are translucent and pears have begun to soften.  Add raisins, cayenne, honey, cinnamon, and garlic powder and cook another 10 minutes.  Then add in wine and 1/4 cup of water, stirring until excess moisture has evaporated leaving you with a jammy consistency (about 10 minutes).  Season to taste with salt and pepper and you’re done! Enjoy your pear chutney.

Weekly Lunch Tip (salad bar)

21 Sep

Stock Your Own Salad Bar

For those of you looking to start the fall being money conscious but also looking your best, here is a great way to save over $25 per week.  Figure an average chopped salad-once you fix it up just the way you like it costs about $10.  Now you can totally deck out your fridge with your favorite ingredients for about $25 per week and it’ll last you ALL WEEK LONG.

Too much salad-NEVER. Especially the way I make ‘em.  So if this idea catches your fancy-here’s the quick how-to:

Groceries:

Protein: I like chicken and tuna (turkey and bacon work great too)-grill the chicken before hand and dice it up so that it’s ready to go.  Tuna is easy-pop a can, strain, and top your salad

Dairy: cheese!  (you pick your fav: blue/goat/feta/cheddar) and hard-boiled eggs-grate cheese beforehand unless it is easily crumbled

Veggies: lettuce, broccoli, carrots, celery, peas, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers, baby corn, roasted red peppers (and mushrooms and beets, etc–let’s lump them into this category)-chop up all your veggies into bite sized pieces before hand so they are easy to add later

Fruit (in the right salad-just the right thing): mandarin oranges, grilled pears, cranberries, chopped apples, avocados, tomatoes–chop up all your fruit into bite sized pieces before hand so they are easy to add later

Extras: nuts (pine nuts, walnuts, sliced almonds), sunflower seeds,

Dressing: I love to make homemade ranch and to alternate it with a vinaigrette but if you like to buy let me recommend Annie’s Natural Dressings which are just delightful

So-if you take 1 hour of your time one night (or even on a Sunday afternoon) you can reap the rewards all week.  You’ll save on the cost of bought lunches.  You can make things just the way you like them with the freshest ingredients and you’ll be making healthy choices throughout the week because they will be convenient and delicious.

It’s that easy.

Fresh Figs

13 Aug

fresh figs

I have the good fortune to live above my Italian landlords.  This means I have access to amazing tomatoes, fresh basil, and most recently figs.  You’ll know an Italian’s yard by the immaculate rows of tomatoes in the backyard and often by the presence of these amazing fig trees. Now there are a million recipes for fresh figs but right now they are perfect and in my opinion best served in simplicity.

I simply quartered my figs and served them alongside chopped walnuts and drizzled everything with fresh honey. To die for!  Check out other great recipes to utilize these perfectly seasonal gems:

http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/2009/10/not-one-but-two-fresh-fig-cake-recipes.html

http://www.anhsfoodblog.com/2010/03/fig-magic-recipe-fresh-fig-jam.html

http://www.loveandoliveoil.com/2009/09/fresh-figs-with-goat-cheese-and-peppered-honey.html

On the Apple Box (an argument for more sustainable food)

29 Jul

Has anyone noticed that produce just doesn’t taste as good as it used to?  My main chagrin is going into a grocery store during the peak of summer and getting mushy or rock hard peaches.  I haven’t been able to buy a good peach in years.  I have all but given up, holding onto the faint childhood memories of dribbling juices and sun warmed fruit that was sloppy enough to soak my tanks as I devoured them with glee.

Fruits are just being picked too soon to avoid damage in shipping and also to enable large picking machines to speed the time it takes to harvest a crop.  But where does that leave us?  We the consumers are left with a product that simply cannot age off the tree and thus never reaches its potential.  From rock hard to impossibly waterlogged this fruit is not even palatable.  This is one of the many reasons for the impetus to eat local foods.  Not only do local foods support businesses in your community, they also often deliver a better product because they are able to cut back on many of the production costs of shipping across the country (mainly gas).  Then by cutting back on overhead, farmers are able to put more time (thus money) into producing quality.   It is also the incentive of a farmer who sells through a farmer’s market to aim for quality over quantity.  When your interactions are face to face with your customers your focus will be on pleasing that customer.

Now I refuse to believe that American’s have lost their taste buds and no longer know a good product.   I do believe however that we have settled for convenience over excellence.   Don’t get me wrong–I love buying all my food in one location.  It saves an extra trip.  It saves gas (or in my case just sheer time and energy–living in NYC)!   But what are we sacrificing?  As a chef, I’d say A LOT.  When you take the time to cook something with fresh ingredients you want your efforts to be rewarded with an explosion of flavor.  That’s why the best and freshest ingredients produce the best product.

So where does this leave us?  By eating local, you’re lowering your carbon footprint but you’re also limiting your options.  You say:  “My supermarket doesn’t stock good quality but I hardly have the time to travel twenty minutes out of my way to find organic or local produce”….I say boycott the supermarket on products that are inferior.  If it doesn’t taste good…don’t eat it!  Buy something that IS optimally produced (apples are usually really great and especially in New York and Washington they often are local).  Let your supermarket know that their quality is slipping–trust me, if you make a direct statement to the manager it’ll make an impression.  Now I don’t mean stamping your foot and whining to the checkout guy/gal.   But the point is, there are other options.  As a consumer-based society your dollar has some power.  I say, use it to encourage the agricultural industry to work for you.  Just don’t count on that dollar buying you a lot of the best.  Also be willing to pay more for a true upgrade.

Healthful Breakfast

22 Jul

Lately its been a lot more up and go in my kitchen which means grabbing hands, fast munching, and sometimes not the healthiest breakfast choices.  When you find yourself pouncing on leftover cold ziti (for breakfast!) you know that its time to do a little refrigerator adjustment.  So my solution was to stock my pantry with some easy, get up and go options.

One of my favorite breakfasts is a parfait.

For this parfait I used nonfat plain yogurt, sliced fresh strawberries, honey, and a pre-made granola.  The result:  a delicious meal that got me off to a good start to my day.

You can use any fruit you want, use any granola (or make your own), and vary your layers by using different flavors of yogurt.  The best part is that the granola keeps, you can buy yogurt in large containers, and you can change up your fruit.  This is such a versatile standard that you will not bore easily.

Other great breakfasts on the fly:

fried egg sandwich (for the long day to come)

homemade oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar, and walnuts

hard boiled eggs with salt, pepper, and cayenne (made the night prior and easy to transport)

a smoothie (you can use your yogurt and fruit for this as well)

and many, many more breakfasts.

The key is planning ahead to save time later.  Enjoy!

Shrimp and Cauliflower Salad Video

7 Jul

Shrimp and Cauliflower Salad

You have the recipe, now you can watch it being made and see a couple of helpful little hints along the way.

Potluck Procedure (published in Chile Pepper Magazine)

21 May

No summer barbecue is complete without a smorgasbord of sides and no party is as easy to plan as a potluck. Whether it’s a family affair or a work picnic you need those delicious side additions to flesh out an otherwise meaty meal.  Below is a collection of some of my family classics revamped and peppered for your fiery pleasure and sure to set your dish apart amidst the crowd. This ain’t your Grandma’s ambrosia and these aren’t any normal green beans.

I truly believe in the great tradition of potluck and a good summer barbecue speaks right to that tradition. And as always the goal is to relieve your host of the burden of providing the meal in entirety while at the same time getting into the competitive spirit of having your dish be the favorite.  So get ready for a full day of consumptive pleasure and keep in mind these subtle tricks to win at the game of potluck:

  1. Placement: make sure your dish is prominently displayed (next to alcohol or the grill is best)
  2. Availability: be ready to pass that dish around if people are being shy.  Turn up the smile and serve it yourself.  This game takes no prisoners
  3. Know your opponent: get dibs with your host on popular items leaving others to provide the green salad and rolls.  Know your market and cook what they like (the spicy stuff!)
  4. Strategy: if the opponent’s tongs go missing or their salad spoon ends up in the pool who’s to blame? Why not you of course…it all goes to planning and the best equipped will be the victors
  5. Plan B: if all else if failing. Consume it yourself. Just remember this is a sport and the cleanest bowl wins.

Time Saving Pizza Crust

17 May

I cook a lot but sometimes I still find myself with a barren fridge (come to think of it that makes perfect sense, haha).  What I try to do to prevent myself from literally having NOTHING to eat is to freeze ingredients for later use when possible and to set myself up with a pantry to hold me through the storm.

One of my little secrets is my impromptu pizza dough, or really just flat bread.  Pita works as well so long as the center isn’t hollowed out.  This crust freezes easily, thaws easily, and is very versatile for a late night snack to a small dinner to a make your own pizza party.  The only other basic ingredients you need on hand are tomato sauce (though you can substitute-fresh tomatoes, barbecue sauce, spaghetti sauce, pesto, or even make it a pizza blanco), cheese (fresh mozzarella works best but Romano, Parmesan, ricotta, or even jack cheese can be substituted), and your toppings.

For the pizza below, it took me 10 minutes and definitely fit the bill for my late night snack.

Impromptu Pizza

1 (7  inch) flat bread

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

1 artichoke heart, quartered

4 fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 425.  Assemble pizza and bake for about 10 minutes. Slice and enjoy!

Save Yourself Some $$ (Shrimp Stock)

26 Apr

Save everthing and you save money.  It’s the golden rule in keeping your kitchen running on manageable finances.

If I’m making grilled shrimp for an appetizer then I buy fresh shrimp that has not been cleaned or shelled.  Now if I was cooking for 2,000 guests, I wouldn’t go this route (but then again, I’d never cook for 2,000 guests-I have to be realistic here).  But for a smaller party that little bit of extra work reaps huge rewards.

I not only save money per pound but I also get those precious shells to create stock.  That’s right I’m building stock in my business by utalizing the entire product.  The shrimp stock is saved (it can easily be frozen) for dishes such as a Barcelona paella, lobster bisque, or a miriade of other creations and I use the discarded products from one dish to create the base ingredients for another: shrimp stock.

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