‘Mixed Mushrooms with Garlic Butter & Pine Nuts’

January 21, 2025 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of www.WilliamsSonoma.com

Simple is always better when you are dealing with mushrooms.  With their earthy flavor and tender texture, you don’t want to mask their natural beauty with a lot of extra ingredients; take this recipe for example. A lovely sauté of mixed gourmet mushrooms (any variety will do) in butter and sliced garlic, with a sprinkling of buttery pine nuts and some white wine to deglaze the pan and finish off the cooking.  A lovely side dish for any grilled protein you have in mind—and also a lovely vegetarian pasta sauce idea for your favorite shape of al dente pasta.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/mixed-spring-mushrooms-with-garlic-butter-and-pine-nuts.html)

‘Lentil & Roasted Vegetable Salad with Green Goddess Dressing’

January 20, 2025 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Eating Well Magazine

This hearty roasted vegetable and lentil salad could easily stand in as a vegetarian main dish.  A bed or sliced kale and escarole are tossed with cooked lentils, roasted broccoli and crisp, roasted green beans. The entire dish is flavored with a homemade green goddess dressing made with fresh herbs, buttermilk, a touch of mayonnaise, lemon juice, and a surprise ingredient: white miso paste. Whirled together in a food processor or blender, this creamy herb-flecked dressing really brings this tasty green-hued side dish to life!

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/257114/lentil-roasted-vegetable-salad-with-green-goddess-dressing/)

Romaine & Sugar Snap Salad with Creamy Basil Dressing

January 19, 2025 No comments

The crunch of Romaine hearts holds up very well to a creamy, thick dressing—a hearty blue cheese , buttermilk Ranch or even creamy Caesar dressing come to mind.  For this simple salad, I tore some Romaine hearts and tossed them together with sugar snap peas and sliced, multi-colored carrots. And for the dressing, a simple yet decadent buttermilk-based dressing flavored with chopped, fresh basil, lemon juice and a touch of salt and pepper.  (Any soft, fresh herb like tarragon, cilantro, chives, or even parsley would sub in nicely for the basil.)

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

‘Seared Veal Chops with Peas, Scallions & Pancetta’

January 18, 2025 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Melissa Clark’s Dinner: Changing the Game Cookbook

Even if it is still super chilly outside this time of year, that doesn’t mean that we can’t dream of Spring with dishes like this one, right? Picture this: seared, thick pork or veal chops served with a warm spring pea salad made with crispy pancetta, scallions and lemon juice really does brighten up the dinner table.

And if there are no fresh spring peas in sight quite yet? Use sliced snap or snow peas instead.  Whichever meat you choose, whichever pea-variety you decide on, one thing is for sure: this dinner comes together in just about 25 minutes and is best when served with buttermilk mashed potatoes or even a nice white rice pilaf.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

‘Smoked Salmon Salad with Dill Sauce’

January 17, 2025 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Food & Wine magazine

 Filled with colorful, Swedish-inspired ingredients, this salad starts with a base of mixed greens, sliced scallions, blanched haricots verts, and fresh herbs–followed by cherry tomatoes, radishes, and two sauces.  The first, a simple crème fraiche-fresh dill sauce, and the dressing which is a unique browned butter and caper vinaigrette.  The star of the show is flaked, hot smoked salmon. Which you can find in some specialty market’s seafood sections, or you can smoke the salmon yourself if you are in the mood to grill with some nice oak wood chips.  Try serving this delectable salad with a warm slice of a potato-zucchini tian, along with a glass of Sancerre or your favorite dry Rosé.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/smoked-salmon-salad-dill-sauce )

Rustic Fig & Raspberry Crostata

January 16, 2025 No comments

One of the most wonderful fruit pairings I can imagine is that of ripe, fresh figs and tart, fresh raspberries; the phrase culinary harmony comes to mind.  For this elegant (and easy) dessert idea, I used a store-bought pie crust and the fresh fruits to make a rustic Italian crostata.

Similar to a French galette, a crostata is simply a rustic fruit tart that can be either savory or sweet, and filled with whatever your heart desires.  To the fruit I added a touch of orange flower water, a smidge of cane sugar, and fresh thyme leaves for a lemony, herbal taste.  On the crust I sprinkled buttery pine nuts to help round out the Italian nature of the dessert.  This decadent dessert is perfect when served on its own, but I can see a scoop of vanilla gelato going nicely, or even a dollop of mascarpone or vanilla-scented ricotta cheese.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

‘North African Spiced Salmon over French Lentils’

January 15, 2025 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Fine Cooking Magazine

Oh what a glorious dish! Flaky salmon filets coated in a mixture of Moroccan spices that are served over a hearty serving of French lentils.  Salmon and lentils is a classic French pairing, but what I loved about this version are the North African touches. The spice mix (which would also be great on pork, a roast chicken, even a skirt steak) included cumin, turmeric, allspice, paprika, cayenne pepper, ground cinnamon, and ground ginger.  (Can’t you just smell the spice mix already? ) And the lentils were flavored with sweet dried apricots, onions, lemon zest and briny capers.  Such a wonderful updated version of a classic French flavor combination.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

Mushroom & Fennel Salad with Shaved Pecorino

January 14, 2025 No comments

This is one of my all-time favorite Italian salads. Thinly sliced, crunchy fennel is combined with sliced cremini mushrooms, shaved Pecorino Romano cheese and a lemony Dijon vinaigrette studded with chopped, fresh parsley.  Simple, healthy and a perfect accompaniment to just about any entrée idea; serve it alongside your favorite pasta dish, roasted pork or chicken dish, or even a simple seared fish dish with sautéed broccoli rabe.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

‘Vietnamese Grapefruit & Pork Salad’

January 13, 2025 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Eating Well Magazine

The beauty of Vietnamese cuisine lies in its fresh ingredients, colorful combination of ingredients, and the complex flavor of its sweet-spicy-and-salty ingredients.  This salad first featured in Eating Well magazine is no exception.

Flavorful, tender pork tenderloin is sliced and served over a healthy salad made from watercress, cucumbers, sweet bell peppers, and carrots.  For the salty and crunchy component, roasted peanuts; for the spicy and sweet components, a dressing made from fish sauce, sugar, grapefruit and lime juices, and minced hot red chilies. All of this, plus tangy segments of the seasons best grapefruit. (Yum!) We couldn’t have loved this Vietnamese-inspired salad more, and hope you do as well.

‘Spaghetti Carbonara with Parma Ham’

January 12, 2025 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Delicious Magazine

A bowl of classic Roman Pasta Carbonara always contains a handful of specific ingredients: pasta (obviously), bacon, eggs and cheese.  More often than not, specifically spaghetti is used, guanciale or pork cheek for the meat, and Parmesan for the cheese.  Such a simple and satisfying pasta dish and it seriously only takes about 5 minutes for it all to come together (once the pasta cooks of course).

Here’s how you do it: you cook the meat with some minced garlic while you cook the al dente spaghetti noodles, then you stir into the cooked noodles the eggs mixed with the grated cheese, some black pepper and some pasta water to make the sauce thicken slightly. Next comes the cooked meat, garlic and sprinkling of chopped parsley. The egg-cheese-pasta water mixture makes for a creamy and naturally smooth sauce that is out-of-this-world tasty.  I liked this specific recipe from Delicious Magazine because it used slices of Parma ham instead of pancetta or guanciale, which is lighter on the grease and crisps up beautifully in the pan.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/healthier-spaghetti-carbonara-with-parma-ham/ )

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