Here’s a great recipe for grilling that requires very little effort. I love the combination of the chicken with the fruit. If you can’t find mango vinegar, substitute 1/8 cup tropical fruit juice and 1/cup white vinegar.

 

Here’s a great recipe for grilling that requires very little effort. I love the combination of the chicken with the fruit. If you can’t find mango vinegar, substitute 1/8 cup tropical fruit juice and 1/cup white vinegar. Fruity Chicken with Quinoa   Print Serves: 4 Ingredients 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts 1 large garlic clove, … Read more →

I made this dish for dinner one night, but it’s also perfect as an appetizer since it is definitely finger food. The recipe is very easy.

You need 1/2 piece of prosciutto for each stalk of asparagus. Cut the prosciutto the long way. Lay the strip of prosciutto down and spread a small amount of goat cheese on it (see my photo): you don’ t need much. Then wrap the prosciutto around the stalk in a spiral, so it goes from bottom to top. Place the stalk seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Bake on the top rack at 400 degrees until the asparagus is tender and the prosciutto is browned (about 20 minutes), turning the stalks over once halfway through.

The end result gives you tender asparagus, crunchy prosciutto, and a gentle tang from the goat cheese. Truly fabulous.

I made this dish for dinner one night, but it’s also perfect as an appetizer since it is definitely finger food. The recipe is very easy. You need 1/2 piece of prosciutto for each stalk of asparagus. Cut the prosciutto the long way. Lay the strip of prosciutto down and spread a small amount of … Read more →

This simple method of cooking carrots produces silky, sweet carrots without any effort. Here’s the drill. Place your carrots in a small pot – it doesn’t matter if you use baby carrots or carrots you’ve peeled. Put enough water in the pot to come up about halfway up the carrots. Then add some butter. 1/2 tablespoon was what I used for enough carrots for 4 people (add as much butter as you would put on the carrots when serving). Simmer the carrots until the water evaporates and the carrots are shiny and glazed. Stir in some freshly cut herbs (such as chives, mint, or thyme) and season with salt and pepper.

This simple method of cooking carrots produces silky, sweet carrots without any effort. Here’s the drill. Place your carrots in a small pot – it doesn’t matter if you use baby carrots or carrots you’ve peeled. Put enough water in the pot to come up about halfway up the carrots. Then add some butter. 1/2 … Read more →

I did a meatless Monday recently and used Portabella mushrooms for our main course. This recipe is super simple and you can make it in the oven or on the grill. Rub your mushrooms with oil (I had a wild mushroom and sage oil I used that was wonderful) and season with salt and pepper. Grill them or bake them until they are tender.  Place a slice of fresh mozzarella on each mushroom, 2 leaves of fresh basil and 1-2 tomato slices (depending on the size of your tomato). Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and return to the oven or grill to melt the cheese.

I did a meatless Monday recently and used Portabella mushrooms for our main course. This recipe is super simple and you can make it in the oven or on the grill. Rub your mushrooms with oil (I had a wild mushroom and sage oil I used that was wonderful) and season with salt and pepper. … Read more →

Have you heard about Crack Pie? It’s a dessert served at Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC. If you want to buy one, it’s $44 a pie. It’s called crack pie because it’s supposed to be so good, it’s addictive like crack.  I’d heard raves about this pie and decided it was time to try it myself. It’s a complicated process. First you make the cookie. Then you crumble it up with butter and sugar to make the cookie crust. Then you make the filling and bake it. I used a recipe for this I cut out of our local newspaper. It’s identical to the recipe I’ve linked to, except for the baking times. The recipe I used said to bake this for 15 min then reduce the heat and bake another 10 — the recipe in Bon Appetit has DOUBLE the baking time: 30 min then 20 min. Can I tell you how disgusted and annoyed I am? I baked mine an additional 10 minutes in addition to what the newspaper recipe said because it wasn’t setting, but it wasn’t long enough. When we ate it, it was complete goo. But the recipe said it should be gooey. I don’t think it should be soupy though. Sigh.

So, despite this complete disaster I will tell you that the crust for this is fantastic. Crunchy and amazing. I would totally make that crust again and fill it with something else. It would be fantastic with chocolate pudding. Or for an ice cream pie. The filling was super, super, sickly sweet. We have a complete divide in my family about this however. 2 people said we could not eat it, it was so sweet, and 2 people said it was really, really good. So, I guess it depends on what kind of sweet tooth you have. It wasn’t something I loved by any means.

And if you make this, use the Bon Appetit recipe I linked to.  I’m just disgusted our newspaper got this so wrong.

Have you heard about Crack Pie? It’s a dessert served at Momofuku Milk Bar in NYC. If you want to buy one, it’s $44 a pie. It’s called crack pie because it’s supposed to be so good, it’s addictive like crack.  I’d heard raves about this pie and decided it was time to try it … Read more →

This is a fun go-to when you simply can’t face another green salad and you don’t want to cook a vegetable for dinner! I like to use whole carrots for this when I have them, not baby carrots because I think they have more flavor.  When I made this recently though all I had were bagged baby carrots – I used about 3/4 of the bag in this recipe. If you use whole carrots, use one bunch.

Peel the carrots (if using whole) and grate them (I used the food processor to do this job). Put them in a bowl. Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the carrots – maybe 1 1/2 tablespoons. Season with salt and pepper. Add about 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon sugar (you’ll want to taste it to adjust it to your sweetness factor). One capful of bottled lemon juice (use fresh if you want – about 1 tsp). Then chop up about 2 tbsp fresh mint. Toss it all together. Allow the salad to sit for about an hour to get the most flavor. That’s it!

This is a fun go-to when you simply can’t face another green salad and you don’t want to cook a vegetable for dinner! I like to use whole carrots for this when I have them, not baby carrots because I think they have more flavor.  When I made this recently though all I had were … Read more →

I like to grill shrimp, but I don’t enjoy threading them onto skewers, so I usually end up tossing the shrimp onto a grill pan so they won’t fall through the grates. On a recent night, I doctored my shrimp up to make it into a delicious Italian dish.

 

I like to grill shrimp, but I don’t enjoy threading them onto skewers, so I usually end up tossing the shrimp onto a grill pan so they won’t fall through the grates. On a recent night, I doctored my shrimp up to make it into a delicious Italian dish. Italian Shrimp on the Grill   … Read more →

I’ve been cooking a lot from Lucinda Scala Quinn’s book Mad Hungry Cravings. In general, I love her food. However, I made two recipes together from this book on a recent night that I just could not get to work. I haven’t posted about a cooking disaster in a while, so I thought it was time to share my failings:)

The first was a grilled romaine salad. I’ve had this in restaurants and have been wanting to try it at home. Basically you cut a head of romaine in half and rub with olive oil and season with salt. You put it on a very hot grill and just char it a bit around the edges. Then drizzle lemon juice and place some shaved Parmesan on it and serve (anchovies optional). Sounds so easy, but mine was a mess. My lettuce fell apart and it sort of shriveled on the grill instead of charring in some places. I just couldn’t get it to work very well. I do like the charred flavor and the simple dressing, so I may try this one again.

The second one was Flautas. I’ve never had or heard of flautas, but Lucinda says they are a Mexican takeout specialty. They’re supposed to be thinly rolled little tortillas that are brown and crispy, as if deep fried. This sounded really good to me.

Lucinda says to use:
12 corn tortillas

6 oz Monterey Jack, grated

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 tsp coarse salt

Juice of 1/2 lime

1 tbsp oil

She says to preheat the oven to 425 and lay the tortillas on baking sheets, sprinkling the cheese on top. No problem. Bake them until the cheese melts – just a few minutes. Mix tomato, beans, lime juice and salt in a bowl. Spread this mix on the tortillas after the cheese is melted, and tightly roll them and place seam side down on a baking sheet. Brush with oil and bake 8 minutes until they are golden and crispy.

Nothing about this recipe worked for me. I couldn’t get them to roll – the tortillas kept cracking and ripping. They wouldn’t roll tightly at all. I couldn’t get them to sit on the baking sheet without unrolling. I baked for 8 minutes and they didn’t get crispy. I even went several minutes longer and they in no way resembled fried food. By the time I took this out of the oven I was so frustrated I was ready to pitch it out the window.

The family liked the way this tasted even if it didn’t look or behave like it was supposed to. I don’t think I’ll try this one again. It’s tortillas, beans, cheese, and tomato – not a lot going on here. I’m sure it is all my own ineptitude that made this a mess, so if it appeals to you, give it a try!

I’ve been cooking a lot from Lucinda Scala Quinn’s book Mad Hungry Cravings. In general, I love her food. However, I made two recipes together from this book on a recent night that I just could not get to work. I haven’t posted about a cooking disaster in a while, so I thought it was … Read more →

Thanks to Martha Stewart, I discovered Lucinda Scala Quinn. My blog began years ago as a one year experiment in which I unofficially apprenticed myself to Martha Stewart. I read her books, magazines, and watched her shows. Every single day I did a recipe or project from the land of Martha. It was insane, but I learned a lot (you can read about it here). Along the way, I became familiar with Martha’s peeps. She has a cast of experts that made frequent appearances on her shows and in her magazines. Lucinda Scala Quinn is an editor for MSLo (Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia) and regularly appeared on the Martha Stewart Show. She also has regular features in Martha Stewart Living Magazine. I’ve always appreciated her recipes and her approach to food. Lucinda is all about making really good food, but doing it without tons of fussing.

I bought her previous book, Mad Hungry, in which she offers the recipes used to feed her

crew of boys (3 sons and a husband). Although I have just one son, I really loved the book and a couple of the recipes from it have become part of my standard repertoire. Obviously I could not resist buying Mad Hungry Cravings, in which Lucinda offers recipes for making the foods you crave from take out at home. I sat down with the book and some post-its and marked plenty of pages.

I think the book is fantastic and it’s funny to see that she makes a lot of the same things at home that I make to avoid take out – fried rice, fried chicken, potato skins. What you must keep in mind when reading this though is that she lives in NYC. Every type of cuisine in the world is available for take out within blocks of her apartment. What she considers takeout, most of us would consider interesting and exotic food. So while there are lots of recipes that allow you to make your favorites at home, there are also recipes for things you’ve probably never had before also.

I tried out two recipes recently: Chicken and Chive Burgers and Italian Fries. The chicken and chive burgers were pretty basic chicken burgers (I don’t know ANYONE who gets chicken burgers as takeout, but whatever). They were good – I think the lemon juice is the secret – it did give it a very nice flavor. They were really gloppy though, so I stuck them in the freezer to give them some shape before I grilled them. I also dumped some chopped fresh parsley in them for a little more color.

The Italian Fries did not wow me. Lucinda talks about how this is a family favorite at her house and everyone goes nuts when they smell them. I’m confused by them. They’re like fries, but they aren’t really. And are you supposed to eat them plain or dip in ketchup? They have Italian herbs and cheese on them so it was hard to figure it out. I ended up dipping and the husband didn’t. They were crunchy, but not in a French fry way, more in an oven baked cheesy potato way. They were good, but they just weren’t fries to me.

That being said, there are lots of other recipes I will try from this book, like spinach zucchini lasagna, flautas, and chicken tikka masala.

Italian Fries

6-7 Idaho potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch thick French fry style strips, soaked in cold slated water

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Italian herbs

2 cups grated Romano cheese

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

4 tablespoons butter cut into 6 cubes

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.

Drain the potatoes and pat dry. Spread 1 tbsp olive oil on each of 2 baking sheets. Spread the potatoes on it.

Sprinkle the herbs and cheese over the potatoes. Drizzle remaining oil on top. Scatter the cubes of butter around the potatoes.

Bake 45-50 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until the potatoes are brown.

 

Thanks to Martha Stewart, I discovered Lucinda Scala Quinn. My blog began years ago as a one year experiment in which I unofficially apprenticed myself to Martha Stewart. I read her books, magazines, and watched her shows. Every single day I did a recipe or project from the land of Martha. It was insane, but … Read more →

This is a bit of a modification of a recipe I found in The Family Table (which I’ve mentioned previously). What struck me about the recipe is it’s really similar to the way my mom likes to make oven baked chicken. The way she describes it is “dump some of everything in your spice cabinet” into a bag with flour and shake and bake. This recipe doesn’t use any flour and it adds a wonderful little zing of lime. This is a definite keeper for me!

The original recipe uses 2 1/2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs – I prefer breasts. I also cut the spice mix amounts in half and although I’ve left it in the recipe for you, I didn’t use any cayenne.

This makes chicken that is brightly colored and full of amazing flavor. It’s not overpowering in any way. The leftovers are fantastic the next day as chicken sandwiches or in a salad.

This recipe is highly adjustable. If you don’t have one of the spices on this list, substitute something else. If you want to taste some flavors more, include more of them. You can’t mess this one up. Definitely drizzle the lime sauce over the chicken – it is spectacular.

 

This is a bit of a modification of a recipe I found in The Family Table (which I’ve mentioned previously). What struck me about the recipe is it’s really similar to the way my mom likes to make oven baked chicken. The way she describes it is “dump some of everything in your spice cabinet” … Read more →