Italian Wedding Soup

As one of this weekend's bride's relatives told me, Italian Wedding Soup or "Married Soup" is a reference to the fact that the green veggies and the meat go well together.    This soup was warming and filling with pasta, spinach, onions and meatballs.

Italian Wedding Soup with Meatballs

It's not too time consuming, a lot of times I make a version of this without the meatballs and eat it through out the week.

Meatballs:

• 1 small onion, minced
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 slice fresh white bread, crust trimmed, bread torn into small pieces
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 16 oz. ground turkey
• Freshly ground black pepper

Soup:

• 12 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 pound curly endive, coarsely chopped (1 pound of escarole would be a good substitution or chopped spinach)
• 1 lb. orzo or other small pasta
• 2 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

To make the meatballs: Stir the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl to blend. Stir in the cheese and turkey. Using 1 1/2 teaspoons for each, shape the meat mixture into 1-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on a baking sheet (you can also brown in fry pan).

To make the soup: Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs, pasta and curly endive and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the curly endive is tender, about 8 minutes.   Season with sea salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with Parmesan Cheese.

Green Beens with Garlic and Basil Sauce

This is another one of the dishes that Ed made for the wedding we catered this past weekend.  The wedding was festive and fun.  Ed cooked for 125 people on a $600 budget with vegetarian version of all the dishes.

This is a my version of basil string beans but Ed's was fantastic and when I get it I will forward it on to you!  If you are making this ahead of time, wait to toss the green beans with the sauce until right before serving.

Basil Cream Sauce

1 cup cashews

9-10 cups Basil

1 Tablespoon miso

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4-5 Spinach Leaves

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

1 1/2 lbs. tender green beans, trimmed if desired
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 clove garlic, minced
sea salt and pepper

(1) Grind Cashews in a food processor

(2) Add Basil, Lemon Juice, Miso and then blend until smooth.

(3) Add Extra Virgin Olive Oil and pepper as needed to make a creamy consistency and then add the fresh spinach leaves to keep the color vibrant and bright (this is equally a good trick with pesto).  Set aside.

(4) Bring a large saucepan 3/4 full of water to a boil.  Add the beans and boil until barely tender and still slightly resistant to the bite, 1-2 minutes.  Drain, immerse the beans in cold water to stop the cooking, adn drain again.

(5) In a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil, swirling to coat the bottom and sides of the pan.  When the oil is very hot but not quite smoking, add the beans and stir and toss every 15-20 seconds until they just begin to brown, about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir and toss for 30 seconds longer.

(6) Remove from the heat, and salt and pepper to taste, toss with cream sauce to combine.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Serve. 

Tahini Arame Casserole

This is a riff on a recipe that I learned in culinary school.  There were only a few recipes that I tested in culinary school that stood out as something I would replicate, and with a few changes, this dish is something that meat lovers and vegetarians alike request on a weekly basis.  Not only is this a health supportive recipe, but it's super tasty.

Here is the winner of a recipe: 

1 small onion, sliced in saute slices

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

2 cups arame, soaked in cold water for 5 minutes and drained

2 cups vegetable stock

4 Tablespoons Nama Shoyu

1 lb. quinoa spiral noodles***note, in photo, rice noodles are pictures

1/4 cup tahini

5 Tablespoons Shoyu

1 cup breadcrumbs (optional)

(1) Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

(2) Saute onion in sesame oil until transparent.  Place arame on top of onions.  Add stock and cover with lid, bring to boil over high heat and then reduce to low.  Add nama shoyu, and cook about 30 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  

(3) In the meantime, cook noodles until done.  Drain and set aside.

(4) Mix together tahini, shoyu, and 3/4 cup stock until smooth.  If the sauce curdles, continue mixing.

(5) Mix onion, arame mixture, noodles and tahini together.  Cover with breadcrumbs (optional)

(6) Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

(Variation: Mix the cooked onion / arame mixture with tahini sauce and noodles and don't bake)

A Fun Twist on Mac & Cheese

Mac and Cheese Cakes

I helped a culinary school friend Ed McNamara with a wedding that he catered this weekend ... it came out smashingly and I'll highlight some recipes over the next few days.  One of the dishes that the bride's aunt made were mac and cheese cups.  She made mac and cheese, put them into cupcake tins and baked them so that they came out in little cakes.  They were delicious and make fantastic party food.  They were great at this wedding and would make great birthday food too.


You can dress up this recipe by using more gourmet and flavorful cheese (perhaps smoked gouda or goat cheese) or adding a drizzle of black truffle oil in the finished mac and cheese (thanks, Meirav Devash - not going to be able to sleep until I try that version).  A nice surprise in the middle would be to put 1/2  a scoop of the mac and cheese in the cupcake tin, add a few oven roasted tomatoes in the middle and then add another 1/2 scoop of the pasta on top.

Recipe:
1 pound elbow pasta
sea salt
5 Tablespoons + 2 tsp. unsalted butter
6 Tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
5 cups milk
8 ounces monterey jack cheese, shredded
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (white)


(1) For the pasta and cheese--adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position and heat the broiler.  Bring 4 quarts of water to a roiling boil in a dutch oven over high heat.

(2) Add the macaroni and 1 T of salt and stir to seperate the noodles.  Cook until the pasta is tender.

(3) In the now empty Dutch oven, heat the butter over medium high heat until foaming.  Add the flour mustard and cayenne.  Whisk well.

(4) Continue whisking until the mixture becomes fragrant and deepens in color, about 1 minute.

(5) Whisking constantly, gradually add the milk, bring the mixture to a boil, whisking contstantly (the mixture should reach a full boil to fully thicken), then reduce the heat to medium and simmer, whisking occassionally, until thickened to the consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes.  Off the heat, whisk in the cheese and 1 tsp. salt until the cheese are fully melted.  Add the pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mxiture is steaming and heated through, about 6 mins.

Spray your muffin tin with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and scoop mac and cheese into the tins.  Bake until the cakes are crisp and remove from the oven and cool.

Enjoy!

Juice, Juice, Juice

When Joe and I first started dating, if you had told him within 6 months that he would be juicing beets, carrots, celery, watercress, ginger, apples, kale, parsley, cilantro & spinach (not all together) he would have looked at you like you had seven heads.  

Well, that's precisely what happened.  I didn't tell him: juice or else.  But, I casually made juices in the morning and he drank them and when I stopped, he started juicing himself.  Joe's juices tend to be sweeter than mine (he loves adding 1-2 apples) whereas mine are more spicy (watercress & ginger galore) but what we do agree on is the act of juicing. 

Today we went to the park, had an iced coffee and came home and Joe juiced (watercress, beet, apple and carrot).  I was interviewed by consumer reports recently about my favorite juicer considering user friendliness, ability to clean and ability to juice.  I recommend the Breville Dual Disc Juicer.  The pros are that it's incredibly easy to clean, it's great to juice berries and harder veggies with and it has a blade as well as puree function (similar to the Champion but more user friendly in my mind).  You can put whole veggies and fruits down the chute which makes juicing nice and quick.  

beets, carrot, apple & watercress

The cons are that because it's a centrifugal juicer it isn't as great when it comes to juicing leafy greens, herbs, lettuces and parsley - it's less efficient than a masticating juicer and sometimes the whole leaves shoot into the "pulp holder".  Also, the shelf life of centrifugal juicers juice tends to be shorter because of the high speed required to juice, the juice gets oxygen dissolved in the juice which causes the juice to spoil more quickly.  

 The masticating juicer extracts the juice first by crushing it and then the pulp is ejected and it's then squeezed during a 2nd pressing stage - this results in more juice (even with wheatgrass and leafy greens and drier pulp).  They are slower and generally harder to clean, but they do an excellent job juicing.  In the masticating juicer group, the Champion is definitely the way to go.

Quality of Life

Since moving to Park Slope I can say that Joe and my quality of life has greatly improved.  We live next to one of the most beautiful parks (Prospect Park), near some fantastic markets (two farmers markets and the Park Slope Coop), and next to some fabulous restaurants.  Brooklyn has a decidedly more relaxed and welcoming feel to it and after 2.5 years of living in the East Village I finally won the Brooklyn war and am back in the borough that I love so much.

Aquinnah happily swimming with her floating frisbee

Not only is the living better for Joe and I (we have a bigger apartment, a backyard and a roof to hang out in/on) but Aquinnah has the perks of living next to a dog run AND a pristine park where she can run off leash (legally before 9am, but no one has stopped us during the day).  Prospect Park before 9am is a dog paradise.  You see City dogs rolling in the grass, fetching tennis balls, and swimming.  Today we discovered a dog pond (a fenced in dog pond).  Brooklynites take their dog's well-being very seriously and I have never seen as many happy dogs in one area as I did this morning.

off 9th street entrance in the park

I like to enter at the 9th street entrance because I love my morning ritual of ice coffee from Colson's Bakery on 6th Ave. and 9th Street.  People that say you shouldn't have big dogs in the City apparently have not seen how well many dogs are treated in Brooklyn.

City dogs I've noticed bark less, get along with other dogs better and are included on more "family outings".  We often take Aquinnah out on errands, out for dinner (when it's warm out and she can sit outside with us) or out for drinks (many bars in Brooklyn allow dogs inside).  Aquinnah goes to the park AT LEAST once a day and out for a run with me a few times a week.   I wouldn't go as far as to say that our life revolves around our dog, but since moving to Brooklyn everything has fallen into place and life with a dog has become much easier.

Split Pea Soup with Sun-Dried Tomato Flatbread

Last night I made split pea soup with sun-dried tomato flatbread, it was simple and delicious.  Next time I am going to make the flatbread without the whole-wheat flour because the flatbread was a little bit dry... that said, in crumbled up in the soup gave it a great texture.

I could eat soup every night for dinner once it's cold out and gets dark at 5:30pm... it's cozy, warming filling and inexpensive...

Recipe: Split Pea Soup (adapted from the Mayo Clinic Cookbook)


2 cups green or yellow dried split peas
3 Tablespoons EVOO
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, minced
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
6 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Place the split peas in a strainer and rinse under cold running water.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil.  Add the celery, carrots, garlic, onion, and pepper.  Saute until veggies are wilted, 5-7 minutes.

Stir in the split peas, broth, bay leaf, thyme and cloves.  Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low, cover partially and simmer, stirring occasionally until the soup is thick and the peas are mushy about 1 hour.  If the soup seems too thick, stir in 1/4 cup additional water.  Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Recipe: Sun-Dried Tomato Flatbread (adapted from Mayo Clinic)

Instructions:
2 cups boiling water
6 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (not oil packed)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 Tablespoon honey
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 egg  + 1 egg white
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or 2 tsp. dried thyme
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Coat a large, heavy baking sheet with non-stick cooking oil.

In a small bowl, pour the boiling water over the tomatoes.  Let stand until the tomatoes are slightly soft, 2-3 minutes.  Drain and pat dry with paper towels and chop the tomatoes finely.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, salt baking powder, and cayenne.  Add the egg, the egg white, honey and thyme and stir vigorously to combine.  The dough will be very stiff.  Add the walnuts and chopped tomatoes and work them into the dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times.  Pat and roll into a 10-inch square about 1/4 inch thick.  Wth a sharp knife, cut the dough crosswise and lengthwise into quarters and place the pieces at least 1 inch apart on the prepared sheet.

Bake for 5 minutes.  Turn over and bake until dry and lightly browned, 5-10 minutes longer.  Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely.

Green Curry: Thai style

I love Thai-style green curry.  The heat, the creaminess of the coconut, the veggies. delicious.  I made this curry for a client a few months ago and they loved it, so I wanted to try it for myself.  I used a green curry paste for this batch but made the curry myself for my client... I prefer home made curry, so I'll include the recipe for that.  This dish is delicious with tofu or chicken, here I used some leftover seitan.

I eat it alone, but you can toss it over some rice for a true Thai feeling.
I forgot to add the cilantro in the dish before I shot the photo, but the cilantro adds a great burst of flavor.

Thai Green Curry with Cauliflower, Potatoes and Fresh Seitan

2 Tablespoons green curry paste (some have more heat than others, so taste as you go)
sea salt to taste
2 14-ounce can coconut milk
1 large onion, sliced
6 ounces of fresh seitan, sliced (if it's packaged in liquid, rinse off the seitan first)
1 medium cauliflower, cut into small florets
2 medium russet potatoes, cut into a medium dice
squeeze of fresh lime juice
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
2 sticks of lemongrass, bruised

In a large dutch oven or thick bottomed pot over medium heat whisk the curry paste with the salt and a small splash of the coconut milk. Simmer for just a minute. Add the onion, cauliflower, potatoes & seitan and allow flavors to marry. Taste and adjust for flavor - add more sea salt and green curry if you'd like. Add the rest of the coconut milk, and the two sticks of lemongrass and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender (remove lemongrass before eating)

Finish the dish with a squeeze of lime and cilantro leaves. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

free range chicken, asparagus, potato, pea, basil curry

Serves 4.

* The green curry paste recipe
2 Thai hot chilies, minced
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
1 teaspoon chopped galangal
1/2 teaspoon chopped kaffir lime rind
1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass
1 tablespoon chopped krachai
1/4 teaspoon roasted cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon roasted coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt

Throw all the ingredients in a food processor and make into a paste - or you use a mortar in pestle if you'd like a nice arm workout - start with the first two ingredients and then add the remainders one by one.

Stew with Biscuits

Vegetable Stew with Snowflake Biscuits

Last night (sans camera) I made two beautiful dishes at a client's house: chicken stew with biscuits baked on top and a butternut saffron risotto.  Not only were they beautiful but they were delicious.  Tonight, in celebration of my boyfriend's trial ending (he's the attorney, not the criminal) and the return of his normalish hours I'm making a riff on the traditional chicken stew (peas, carrots, cubed chicken) and making a vegetarian version (mushrooms, collards, seitan, onion)

The recipe is delicious and actually quite easy.

Stew without Biscuits

Veggie Stew with Biscuits, serves 4 (with leftovers)
1.5 cups chopped collards (I used flash frozen chopped collards because the Park Slope Coop didn't have any fresh collards this morning)
1 large onion, medium dice
3.5 cups of vegetable stock, preferably home made
1 tsp. of vegetable bouillon (MSG free)
7 shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly
4 small portobello mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly
1/2 cup of seitan, finely chopped (optional)

Biscuits:
1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 stick of cold unsalted butter, diced
1/3 cup of half and half
1/4 cup chopped rosemary or parsley
1 egg mixed with 1/2 Tablespoon of water, lightly beaten

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
For the Stew
(1) Put your stock and bouillon into a small pot and simmer (I didn't have bouillon, so I added a little nama shoyu for the added flavor)
(2) In a Dutch Oven or large pot add: 2 Tablespoons of EVOO, sauté onion and mushrooms until tender (about 10 minutes) over medium heat; after 5 minutes add your seitan
(3) Add 1/3 cup of unbleached all purpose flour and mix well, cook another 1 minute
(4) Add the hot stock to the pot and cook for another 2 minutes, at this point you can add the collards.
(5) Add 1/4 cup of cream to the Pot and mix - your stew should be thick.

Snowflake Press

For the Biscuits:

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electic mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas.  Add the half and half and combine on low speed.  Mix in the rosemary or parsley.

Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out t 3/8 inch thick.  Cut out 6 cicles with 1 2 1/2 inch round cutter

Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling.  Brush them with egg wash and return the dish to the oven.  Bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the biscuits are golden and the stew is bubly.  ENJOY!

Aquinnah's 2nd Birthday

Upper West Side: Awaiting her steak meal

I know a few people who adamantly believe that human food for dogs are something that they would never do ... few of these people actually own dogs.  Well, we believe in spoiling our dog sometimes, however we never give her table scraps (well, rarely).  If we give Aquinnah (our 2.5 year old yellow lab) food, we wait until we are finished eating and place the food in her dog bowl.  Aquinnah gets leftover vegetables, breads, grains and meats and she LOVES it.  If we order Indian or Chinese, we save the rice that comes with everything and mix it in with her dogfood (we use Wellness Simple Solutions for her) and she eats it right up.


On her birthday, April 24, we make an exception and we make her a steak, rare.  This year she had a delicious filet of grass-fed, humanely treated steak from Fairway.  On her first birthday, she got so excited when she realized the steak was for her that she had a little accident on the kitchen floor when we put the warm meat in her bowl.

seriously dainty

This year, as a two year old, she was calm and collected.  She daintily ate each bite, slowly, from a fork (in order to discourage her typical swallow everything in one bite, lab mentality) - and appeared to enjoy every last bite.

 I don't recommend adding any sauces to your pet's meat dishes, I just keep it simple, roasted or poached chicken, hamburgers (just ground meat cooked rare in a pan, or steaks grilled until rare).  Veggies are roasted or steamed and rice cooked simply with water.

very patient 

cutest satisfied customer face ever

I think that supplementing pets diet with "human" whole foods is great.  While we change flavor of her dog food, I'm sure it gets a bit boring eating the same dry food every day.  So, here are some pictures of her birthday this year.  Mostly because they are super cute.

Hot and Sour Soup

A riff on Mark Bittman's Hot and Sour Sour Recipe

Last night was rainy and chilly in Brooklyn and I decided to try Mark Bittman's Hot and Sour Soup Recipe from How to Cook Everything... I made a change or two, namely taking out the cornstarch and using arrowroot, using stock instead of water instead and leaving out the meat. It came out wonderfully....
Ingredients
5 dried shiitake mushrooms
5 dried wood ear mushrooms
3 cups natural vegetable broth
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon nama shoyu
1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot
2 farmer's market eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil

(Aquinnah didn't mess around when it came to getting cozy, either. Maybe next I'll make a dog friendly chicken soup).

relaxing

Place mushrooms in a medium bowl; cover with boiling water let stand 10 minutes or until tender; drain. Thinly slice mushrooms; set aside.

Combine broth, 2 cups stock, ginger, and garlic in a large saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Add mushrooms. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Add vinegar, soy sauce, pepper, and tofu; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Combine remaining 1cup stuck and cornstarch, stirring with a whisk. Stir cornstarch mixture into broth mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 3 minutes or until soup thickens slightly, stirring frequently. Slowly pour egg into broth mixture in a steady stream, stirring constantly but gently with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat; stir in onions and sesame oil. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Crisps

So, for whatever reason, I've never been a huge sweet potato fan.  I know that they are good for you and I love roasted potatoes, but I've never opted for sweet potatoes.  Perhaps it's because of their inherently sweet flavor.

Sweet Potato Crisps

However, I contributed to an article about healthy snack ideas for children, and I was thinking about client's who I make snacks for... the sweet potato crisp jumped out at me.  I made them in my apartment adding chopped thyme and rosemary and a generous amount of sea salt.   I then sliced them extremely thin (I actually used my relatively new de Buyer Mandolin - amazing), tossed them in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the herbs and roasted them at 350 until tender.  Then I broiled them for a few minutes until they were crispy.

They ended up being the perfect combination of sweet and savory and they are healthy and filling to boot.   A great alternative to the potato chip.... I love them with sandwiches or soups.

This is a perfect time of year to make the crisps as sweet potatoes are almost in season!

Big Salad Bowl

There are few things I find more satisfying than a big salad with loads of different ingredients.  Last night I roasted some brussel sprouts and asparagus tips in olive oil with sea salt and pepper.  I made brown rice with miso broth, I toasted and chopped some almonds, poached an egg on the rice while it was steaming, and added a little raw goat's blue cheese and some sprouted garbanzo beans.  It was totally satisfying, healthy and delicious.  Also, I discovered the most fantastic large and sturdy salad bowls (http://www.fishseddy.com/browse.cfm/4,1444.html) they come in deliciously lovely colours.

After reading Eating Animals, I've decided to go back to my vegetarian ways and to stay away from meat of all sorts.  It's been easy so far, luckily having been to school for vegetarian cooking, I love trying creative meals that satisfy both me and my meat loving boyfriend.

The hardest challenge has been eating out.  We just moved from the East Village where there were tons of vegetarian friendly restaurants within walking distance to Park Slope, where one would think there would be a lot of vegetarian friendly restaurants, but there aren't too many creative ones! I've noticed my inclination for eating out has lessened and I'm much more happy to cook for myself and Joe even after a long day of cooking for clients.

I'll share some fun recipes along the way.  This week, I'm going to try and make a quinoa loaf with cooked quinoa, chickpea puree and roasted veggies.  I made it for a client and they loved it, so it's time to try it out for myself!

Miso.... The fall is here!

Well, officially I have my trusty Skidmore sweatshirt on and I'm sitting on my couch with a down blanket covering my legs ... I do have the window open and feel cozy under my layers with the autumn breeze sweeping into the room.  It seems as though in one day the leaves on my street have turned from vibrant green to pumpkin orange.   Goose bumps covered my skin today when I left the apartment in summer clothing and had to warm myself up upon returning with my first cup of hot tea in months. 

What better way to welcome the cooler weather than with a big bowl of miso soup.  I used ingredients sitting in our refrigerator from the farmer's market last Sunday: diced red pepper, broccoli, a spiraled white beet (which tastes amazingly spicy, like a huge radish), I added some buckwheat noodles, sprouted smoked tofu and an egg.


It was perfect and our house guest attested to it's warming and comforting properties.  Miso is notoriously healing in the Japanese culture, the matza ball soup of Japan.  There are many different varieties of  of miso, all of which are delicious.  I had red miso in the refrigerator which is why my soup is darker.  Usually I mix it with some mellow miso which is sweet and lightens the soup.


Miso Soup is great because you can add any veggies or meat to the soup and it's just as delicious.  One thing to note about miso, is you should not boil the water once the miso is in it as it destroys many of its healing powers. 


Enjoy the fall! Soon, fall recipes.

Clamming: Stuffed Quahaugs

Nothing quite screams summer to me like throwing clamming rakes into the back of my dad's truck, along with a clamming basket and snorkels and going out to find dinner.  My parents live a leisurely life on Martha's Vineyard - their calendar is packed with cocktail parties, dinner parties, movie dates, guests, sailing and fishing.  When I visit, I am always impressed with the energy that my 60+ year old parents have.  Every time I'm on the vineyard we go fishing (and usually catch a Blue Fish) and we go clamming.  This year we tried our hand at crabbing too and baited some crab traps but only got green crabs (which are inedible).

Stuffed Quahaugs "with tasty additions"

We either go clamming when the tide is low and rake for clams or we go when the tide is high and put on our snorkel gear and daintily pluck the clams from the bottom of the ocean floor.   This year more than most years, I saw more scallops "chattering" on the ocean floor than I did clams, but alas, I will have to wait to October to plug those little gems up and eat them!

Once we filled our basket we prepared a delicious dinner.  We made two types of stuffed quahogs (the greener ones are with fresh herbs), grilled chorizo, freshly caught blue fish and steamed clams.  (Quahogs are the larger variety of clams - better known as chowder clams and perfect for stuffed quahogs.  Clams are dainty, sweeter and less rubbery and delicious gently steamed and dipped in butter).  The saltiness of the ocean came through beautifully in the freshest of summer dinners.

Victor's Stuffed Quahaug Recipe: 

Stuffed "original" Quahaugs 

Fresh quahaugs (60)
1/2 cup of the juices created by steaming the clams, careful to skim from the top to avoid sand
6-8 slices white bread
3/4 cup fresh Parmsean cheese
1 Tbspn Oregano 
1 Tbspn Basil
1 Tbspn Tyme
1 Tbspn  Parsley
1 Tbspn Frank's Red Hot
Juice of one lemon
2 Tbspn safflower oil
1 Tbspn black pepper

Optional tasty additions:
A few cloves pressed garlic 
1 cup creamed spinach
2 Tbspn Sherry
Fresh corn niblets

Steam open the clams (saving some liquid in the pot) then coarsely chop in food processor, set aside.
Shred bread in food processor, set aside 
Mix all other ingredients in a bowl including any "optional tasty additions" 

Fold clam mixture and bread into the bowl to make a thick paste.  

Select 12-16 clam shells from the pile of discards
With a spoon, pack each shell with the mixture.
Brush the top of the mixture with a light coating of oil

Heat an oiled cast iron skillet to medium heat,
Place each shell in the skillet mixture side down.
Brown for about 2-3 minutes or until a dark-golden crust forms from the parmesan.

Serve hot with lemon wedges. 

I just love Summer: Lobsta

Surprisingly I didn't have lobster all summer until this past weekend.  This is a first for me as I LOVE lobster.  The Vineyard time was filled with clamming and crabbing and fishing - no lobster, but in Old Lyme I finally had my traditional lobster feast.

These lobsters were caught during their molting season so they were soft shell lobsters, similar to the soft shell crab and were delicious.  The neatest part was that we didn't need lobster claws to crack the shells, because their shells were soft, we could just crush them with our hands.  The summer market near Old Lyme steams them (perfectly, I might add) for you, so all you have to do is melt the butter and sit down to the table.  I usually love butter with my lobster meat, however, these were so soft and succulent I dipped not a single piece in the butter sitting next to my lobster.

We went traditional all the way.  We shucked corn, slathered it with pesto and wrapped it in tin-foil and threw it on the grill.

We took out our mini Cuisinart and threw together a quick salad dressing: a clove of garlic (obviously), the juice of 1 lemon, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, salt and pepper, and a large handful of fresh herbs from the herb garden.  We then tossed is with a bunch of Mesclun lettuce and some pieces of goat cheese.

One thing I love about my friends is that they love vegetables as much as I do.  We can have a complete meal consisting of a grain and a ton of vegetables with a salad.   None of us are huge meat-eaters so light fishes and loads of vegetables make our dinner parties colorful and delicious.

Our meal was perfectly summer light paired with delicious crisp, white wine and lots of laughing.  I should add the two of the three dogs (the Terriers) were trying to hurl their bodies into the bucket of lobster shells throughout the meal.

I just love the summer: The breakfast sandwich

I love all seasons - but I particularly love the warmer seasons and being able to sit outside around a lovely table cooking and laughing with friends.  This past weekend I went to Old Lyme and stayed at a friends house with some girlfriends from college and 3 lovely dogs.

We ate delicious foods, drank delicious wines, walked adorable dogs and frolicked in the ocean.  It was a fantastic summer weekend with killer weather and barely any traffic.   The trip started out with Aquinnah and my first train ride together.  As soon as I stopped projecting nervous energy onto her, she relaxed and the ride was fine - it's good to know that Metro North allows dogs.

Anyway, the first morning we brainstormed breakfast and agreed upon egg sandwiches.  It is no secret that my favorite breakfast item is the egg sandwich, it's totally and completely satisfying to me (with a little side salad).  I switch it up with the ingredients (fresh herbs, onions, garlic, chorizo, shiitakes, avocado, tomatoes, etc...), bread type (baguette, pita, multi-grain, English Muffin, etc..) and method of cooking eggs (poached, friend or scrambled).

This particular morning, and because I have trouble controlling the heat of an electric stove, we made scrambled eggs (slowly cooked - for about 25 minutes) with garlic, onion and herbs.  I have to admit we did this two mornings in a row.

The first morning we added fresh mozarella to the cooking eggs, the second morning, because there were so many more people, we each picked out the cheese of choice and put it onto the warmed toast instead of in with the eggs (I went with brie).  It was fantastic.  Throw a few slices of fresh tomato on there and you have a satisfying meal.  Because we had a garden right next to the kitchen, we also made a homemade basil-walnut pesto that first morning we put on the eggs and the second night we rubbed on corn and roasted.

Scrambled egg sammies are great when you're cooking for a large group because they are simply delicious.  You can keep the toast in the oven so everything comes out warm.

1 serving:
3 eggs, gently beaten with a splash of milk or cream
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/4 yellow onion, minced
1 bit of cheese of your choice

Heat a little bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil in a pan on medium heat.  Sweat the onion (add a pinch of salt) and leave until the onion becomes soft.  Add the garlic and let cook for a minute or two.  Add the eggs and let cook, slowly, periodically scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.  When it looks like the eggs are forming into scramble instead of just liquid, add your cheese and herbs in.

Toast your bread, slice your tomato and avocado if you so choose, put it all together and enjoy a quick and delicious breakfast sandwich.

Ice Cream Truck Ice Cream

This is my dog Aquinnah.  She is a lover of fetching, hunting pieces of pizza crusts and bagels off the street.  She loves the ocean, running in the sand, chewing on bones and hanging out (as shown in bed above).  Above all other things she loves the ice cream truck man.  I made the mistake of accepting a "doggie cone" from Mr. Softie in the beginning of the summer... all this means is they give me a free adult size vanilla ice cream cone for Aquinnah.

Normally, I am neurotically careful about the food that I give her (the things she finds on the street is another story).  But I thought it was so cute that she would daintily take bites and lick the ice cream cone that I caved into those hazel brown eyes and started giving her cones.

Well, I've created a monster.  Aquinnah is smart enough that she has has circuit in the neighborhood  of restaurants and stores that gives her treats: Petopia, High Vibe, Bikes by George and Il Bagatto.  She sits in front of the doors of these establishments and won't budge until she's given a treat.  Literally, won't move, and if I try and pull her, she lays down on her stomach and defiantly stares at me until someone takes pity on her and gives her a handful of cookies.  This works for me, because I know what streets to avoid if I'm in a hurry and walking her.  The ice cream truck is another story.  Aquinnah stops for ANY truck that is similarly shaped (UPS, FedEx, Post Office) and stares at the trucks in her best "I'm well-behaved pose" and waits as I attempt to drag her away and rationalize with her that the post man doesn't hide ice cream in his truck.  Worse than stopping for all similarly shaped trucks is what happens when we hear the ice cream truck music from blocks away.

Her reaction is as I would imagine would happen if all at once 400 tennis balls got shot into a park and she didn't know which way to run first.  Upon hearing the music, she stops. Her whole body begins quivering and she starts jolting in every direction.  People walking down the street look at me like I have a schizophrenic dog who is totally and completely unruly.  Usually she is able to hunt down the truck, plow women and children out of the way and sit "patiently" under the window, drool hanging out of her mouth barely holding herself back from hurling her little blonde body 4 feet into the air in an attempt to physically get into the truck.  Luckily, there are two ice cream people in our neighborhood both of whom love her and give her 1-3 cones depending on how pathetic she acts.

As her ice cream crack habit has developed, she no longer daintily licks and takes bites of the cones as she once did.  She sucks the ice cream out in one bite and frantically eats the cone.  I don't know what they put in their ice cream, I would imagine it's more than cream, sugar, and vanilla... maybe there is some dog crack in there too.  But summer walks in the city have become a mine-field of avoiding the inevitable ice cream truck.  And the lowest I have come is having to physically pick her up (all 55 lbs.) and remove her from the trucks after her allotted and VERY generous 3 cone max is up.

What to make when you have nothing in the fridge!

Well, that was my dilemma this lovely rainy afternoon. Aquinnah and I got drenched in a rain storm at the dog park... which after I succumbed to being totally wrecked by the rain was really lovely.  The last time I enjoyed being caught in the rain that thoroughly was in college when I got caught on the way out of a summer class with my friend, drove back to his house and cozied up on a covered porch, in a hammock listening to the rain pounding on the roof.  We watched our friends, one by one, come home, clothing plastered to their bodies, big grins on their faces.   Sometimes, there is nothing quite like a refreshing summer storm.

So, I knew I was going to be hungry for lunch and want something warm.  All we had was 3/4 a container of mushroom stock, a few shiitake mushrooms, 1/2 a white onion, and two cloves of garlic.  I made risotto.  I finely chopped the onion and garlic, threw a slab of butter and a pinch of sea salt, a dash of dill, and a sprinkling of red pepper in a 1-quart pan, sweat it out until the onion was soft and then tossed in 1 cup of arborio rice and let the flavors marry.

Next, I slowly added (and you want to move as slowly as a herd of turtles) 3 cups of mushroom stock all the while stirring the rice.  If you're worried about getting bored, plug your headset into your phone and chat away.  I stirred until the rice became plump and the liquid was all gone.  Then, because I love it so, I drizzled a bit of Truffle Oil on top.

A really easy and delicious lunch.  Ideally I would have plopped it on a bed of greens, but until I make it over to the farmer's market today, the greens are a no go.

Who DOESN'T love Kale?

Kale is one of those super delicious bitter leafy greens that is great no matter how you prepare it... one of my favorite ways is in the form of kale "chips." The healthiest way to make kale chips is in a food dehydrator (I recommend the Excalibur Dehydrator because the nutrients are not lost baking.  That said, not everyone has the counter space for a dehydrator so the next best thing (in my mind) is slow roasted kale.

Set your oven on 200 degrees. To prepare the kale, you rinse it thoroughly (nasty dirt and grit gets stuck in the crevices of this lovely green) in a salad spinner making sure to dry it completely.  Once it's dry, toss it in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil (cold pressed), sea salt, cracked black pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Place the kale in one layer on a baking sheet and slowly roast it until it's crunchy (about 49-50 minutes)

This makes a fantastic and satisfying snack for kids and adults alike - and it's super healthy to boot!

The Table: Floral Arrangement

As I'm sure Martha Stewart can attest, almost as important as the food itself, is the table and presentation of your table.  Whether it be indoors or out, flowers always add a nice degree of calm and beauty to a dinner table.  My friend Miriam and I were preparing flowers arrangements for a large dinner party and were brainstorming a budget-friendly way to make beautiful displays.

We decided on Mason jars with twine wrapped half-way around and beautiful flowers stuffed into the jars.  A very clean, rustic looking arrangement.  All you need are sheers, gloves (to protect your hands from the thorns-modeled on Miriam), mason jars (which you can order online at Amazon for very little $$), super glue and flowers!

The key, we found, after a cucumber vodka with seltzer, is not to worry about the flowers or the mason jars looking perfect - because they will not.  It's just to have a pretty centerpiece that brings together the colors or feelings of the meal.

The total cost was far less than a florist would charge and the arrangements received compliments from the guest and birthday boy!  Score. We paired large and medium mason jars on every table with jumbo jars with more elaborate arrangements at the head table and tiny jars with simple arrangements in the bathrooms and powder rooms.  A little thinking outside the box gets you some creative outcomes.

Oyster Night!

If there is one thing that I truly, truly enjoy it is freshly shuck oysters. I usually don't add any flavor onto those slippery little devils because the taste of the ocean is what i'm looking for.

Joe came home with a few dozen oysters from the market and looked excited to have me shuck them all for us - a lesson ensued and he learned to shuck as well. If you're on a budget (as many people are these days) purchasing oysters at the market is MUCH less expensive than ordering them in a restaurant... try $1 at market to $5+ dollars at a restaurant. They are just as delicious and you can pop open a bottle of champagne at your own dinner table.

One thing I do recommend, and it doesn't sound pleasant etiquette wise, is giving your oyster a subtle sniff before you suck it out of the shell. The last thing you want is to be ingesting an oyster that doesn't smell "right" and feel sick instead of happy after eating them!

So here is our bed of oysters, complete with ice and lemons.