‘Italian Carrot Salad’

April 13, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis’ Giada’s Italy

Say goodbye to those boring carrot salads of the past! You know the ones…drenched in mayo and tossed with raisins.  This bright and refreshing carrot salad is the polar opposite of those archaic salads; freshly grated carrots tossed in a light lemon vinaigrette, along with fresh parsley for color, crumbled tangy goat cheese, and…wait for it…dried cranberries soaked in Limoncello (swoon).  The dried cranberries plump up in the lightly warmed lemon liqueur, leaving them tender and filled with a burst of lemony flavor.  A refreshing side dish for just about any Italian entree you have in mind.

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

‘Fresh Salmon Cakes with Buttermilk Dressing’

April 12, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Southern Living Magazine

These easy-to-make salmon cakes get their amazing crunch from a thin layer of panko breadcrumbs.  A mixture of finely chopped salmon, fresh chives, and a touch of mayonnaise make for a flavorful fish cake and the simple sear in olive oil gives them a lovely golden crust.  Served alongside a spring salad made with tender lettuce, radishes and sugar snap peas, everything is finished off with a creamy buttermilk dressing for tang and added flavor; the secret ingredient in the dressing is a touch of soy sauce for added umami-goodness.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/fresh-salmon-cakes-buttermilk-dressing-recipe)

‘Garden Greens Pizza’

April 11, 2024 Comments: 2

Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine

This pizza was incroyable!  (Just like the publication that the recipe came from).  Cooking Light magazine is one of my favorite all-time magazines for a multitude of reasons.  First off, the photography is amazing, the recipes are very well tested, and the variety of foods and produce highlighted is both seasonal and diverse.  Some might see the word light in conjunction with food and think bland— no dessert and none of your favorites like pasta or pizza.  But oh no. Light here means a diet of diversity—all types of proteins, a multitude of veggies, and ingredients to lighten everything up.

For example, this decadent vegetarian pizza is lightened up with the use of whole grain pizza dough, tons of veggies, part-skim varieties of both ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese, and the fresh flavors of herbs and citrus.  Those components and also, asparagus tips, sugar snap peas and beautiful zucchini ribbons. Appealing, right? So my recommendation to you is to subscribe to this (now quarterly) magazine if you don’t already, and when you do, to try as many of their wonderful recipes each month as you can!

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

Braised Lamb Shanks with Castelvetrano Olives & Potatoes

April 10, 2024 No comments

Braising a naturally tough cut of meat like lamb shanks takes some time, but don’t fret— it is all hands-off time. No matter if it is lamb shanks, short ribs, a pot roast, or even turkey legs, braising in all instances means searing the meat first to create a lovely brown crust, then slowly cooking the seared meat for a long time in aromatics, vegetables and some sort of liquid.  The liquid can be broth, but it can also be wine.  Braising is one of my favorite ways to cook on a lazy weekend because the results are always tender, fall-off-the-bone meats, with tons of flavor.

For this specific braise, I seared the lamb shanks in olive oil until browned, then removed them from the pan while I sauteed some garlic, leeks, carrots and celery with some fresh rosemary.  I then added some rich tomato paste into the pan, along with some chopped, fresh tomatoes and some white wine to deglaze the pan.  I had a lot of homemade chicken stock on hand, so that is the liquid I chose to cook the lamb in.

  No need to completely cover the lamb with liquid, simply submerge it about halfway.  When about half of the cooking time has lapsed, turn the shanks over; when there is about 30 minutes left, that is when you add the finishing touches: briny Castelvetrano olives and some halved, baby potatoes. (And feel free to use this exact recipe for a variety of meats like I mentioned!  The same cooking method, veggies, aromatics, and liquids would be a perfect match for any of the other meats listed above.)

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

‘Maple-Vanilla Carrots’

April 9, 2024 No comments
Recipe Courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

Recipe Courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

Recipes like this make me smile.  Recipes that highlight just a few quality ingredients and that transform these relatively simple ingredients into something grand.  Here, we are highlighting carrots, maple syrup and vanilla beans.  Organic, peeled carrots are cut on the diagonal for an elegant appearance, and cooked in a pot of water along with a sweet vanilla bean until tender.  Once the water is absorbed you add in a pat of butter, the maple syrup and salt and pepper to flavor the already sweet carrots.  It might sound odd to add sweet flavorings into a somewhat savory side dish, but believe me, this is one of the best carrot dishes you will ever taste!

Lemony-Roasted Sunchokes with Capers, Watercress & Feta Cheese

April 8, 2024 No comments

Have you ever tried cooking with sunchokes?  Also known as Jerusalem artichokes, these knobby-looking root vegetables are versatile and couldn’t be easier to cook.  (Before cutting them into bite-sized pieces, these root veggies do need to be washed and scrubbed, just to remove any remaining dirt.) Once cut and placed on a prepared baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, they roast in about 25 minutes.

The sunchokes do not need to be peeled which is nice and saves prep time; one of my favorite ways to serve these funny looking veggies is to roast them like I mentioned, with some lemon slices and capers, and then to serve them warm with crumbled goat cheese over peppery watercress greens.  They remain a tiny bit crunchy after being roasted, and really can take on just about any flavor profile you like!  (Try roasting them alongside a chicken sometime, they pair up wonderfully and are lovely served with the roasted chicken juices.)

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

‘Salad Pizza’

April 7, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Bon Appetit Magazine

Oh what a delight! Picture this: your favorite pizza crust baked with a fragrant garlic oil until puffed and lightly browned, then topped with a refreshing Bibb lettuce salad. It’s like your pizza and side salad all-in-one!  The salad is not only tender leaves of Bibb lettuce, but also thin sliced of prosciutto, quick-pickled red onions, crumbled blue cheese, snipped peppery chives and a red wine vinaigrette.  I decided to also add some halved multi-colored cherry tomatoes to the top of the salad pizza, simply for extra color and for their natural burst of sweetness.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/salad-pizza )

Saffron Rice with Green Peas, Pine Nuts & Tarragon

April 6, 2024 No comments

With heirloom tomatoes starting to pop up at farmer’s markets and with our local CSA, I have had my thinking cap on this week on original ways to use them.  A batch of homemade tomato sauce is always a good choice, a classic caprese salad is a must, and of course sliced right onto a turkey sandwich at lunch. 

For dinner last night, I decided to stuff a couple of the ripe tomatoes with a yummy saffron rice studded with sweet green peas, fresh tarragon and buttery pine nuts.  The tomatoes make for a nice color compliment in the dishes overall presentation and their sweet burst of flavor when baked for a bit is a lovely contrast in texture to the whole dish as well.  This rice dish would also be nice served on its own, or even in zucchini boats or halved, baked sweet bell peppers.

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

‘Puttanesca Pork Chops’

April 5, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Eating Well Magazine

This gorgeous puttanesca sauce recipe would work really well not only with pork chops, but chicken, shrimp, scallops or your favorite fish fillet. Heck, it would even do what it traditionally does best—drape itself effortlessly over al dente pasta. If you aren’t familiar with a classic Italian puttanesca sauce, it is a homemade tomato sauce flavored with garlic and anchovies, that is studded with briny olives and capers as well.  This specific recipe calls for cherry tomatoes that melt right into the olive oil, garlic and anchovy fillets, but if you have large heirloom or slicing tomatoes, those would work well, too.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/262749/puttanesca-pork-chops/)

Spinach & Tomato Frittata

April 4, 2024 No comments

The beauty of a baked egg dish like this one is in its possibilities.  The add-ins can be any of your favorite cheeses, fresh herbs, veggies or even leftover cooked bacon or cooked root vegetables if you have those on hand. For this colorful frittata I flavored the eggs with grated Pecorino cheese, fresh thyme, halved cherry tomatoes and some wilted spinach.  Baked until fluffy and lightly browned around the edges, I like to finish this sort of egg dish with a drizzle of quality olive oil for added flavor.  Perfect for weekend company, this luxurious baked egg dish comes together in no time, and is a perfect accompaniment to a toasted English muffin, fruit salad and a French press filled with your favorite java.

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

« Previous Entries
Next entries »