Chiffonade of Greens with Avocado and Red Onion in a Lemon Sherry Vinaigrette

Posted on December 21, 2011 | 5 comments

Sherry Lemon Vinaigrette ingredients

This salad is also from my cooking class with Karen Lee. I loved this salad. It was so delicious. Of course you probably have to love avocados and red onion but if you do, this is just an awesome delicious salad. Very easy, very few ingredients, and very few moving parts. Enjoy!

Feel free to add any protein into this salad. Chicken,  shrimp, tofu, or even some chopped eggs. Recently I have been seeing a lot of  poached or fried egg on top of salad. Yum! this one would be perfect with a fried egg atop! Give it a try.

Ingredients:

Salad:

1 bunch arugula (try to use organic if available; if you don’t have arugula, you can use escarole, endive, frisee or chicory)

1 bunch romaine or red leafy lettuce (you can throw in a little radicchio as well)

*use any combo of your favorite greens

1/2 cup diced red onion (optional)

1 ripe (not too ripe) avocado, diced

*any protein you like

Sherry Lemon Vinaigrette:

6 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. aged sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. lemon juice (or lime)

pinch cayenne powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

Make the dressing by dissolving the salt in the lemon juice and vinegar. Then add the cayenne and whisk in the olive oil.

Directions:

Clean lettuces and dry. I wrap lettuce in a dry kitchen towel and set aside. However, you can clean and dry lettuce however you want; it is fine. You can even buy pre-washed lettuces .  Peel and dice red onion.* Combine the lettuce, onion and diced avocado in a bowl. Toss with most of the dressing, taste, and then add more dressing, if desired. This is a lovely salad and you can keep it very simple. I ate it with Roast Chicken the other night, and they went together perfectly. I only used arugula but use whatever lettuce you like.

* The only suggestion I have is that if it is the winter and the red onion is particularly strong, you can soak it in a small bowl of water with a little lemon juice and drain and dry, thus removing the very strong oniony flavor. This is usually not an issue in the summer. Or just let it be strong, and just dice it and add it.


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Posted in Raw, Salad, salad dressing, vegan, vegetarian

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Comfort Foods – Split Pea Soup – Can be Vegetarian

Posted on December 20, 2011 | 3 comments

I love almost all soups, stews, etc.  I find them so warm and inviting to eat. The flavors are all melded together and it is all usually very healthy ingredients which you are in control of that go into a freshly made soup. As a kid you couldn’t get me to eat Split Pea Soup, as an adult I love it. Maybe it’s the color? the texture? I can’t get Joel to go near it, but he’s allergic to almost anything that looks this green with a lot of references to the Exorcist which I could live without that visual. In any event it’s a warm, cozy soup. Very healthy, and you can leave out the chorizo or add it as you like. Last time out I added it. Very filling, it’s a meal for me with a nice piece of bread.

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped yellow onions (  1 small to medium size yellow onion)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/8 cup of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon kosher salt ( you might want to start with 1/2 and increase it as you need)

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups coarsley chopped carrots

1 pound dried split green peas

8 – 10 cups chicken stock, or vegetable stock ( for the vegetarians out there)

*sliced chorizo (you buy it whole , so slice up as much or as little as you’d like) this is totally optional, you can keep this soup totally vegetarian if you’d like

Directions:

In a large stockpot ( Le Creuset again) on medium heat , saute the onions and garlic with the olive oil, oregano, salt, and pepper until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots, 1/2 lb. of the split peas, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, the simmer for about an hour. Skim off any foam while it is cooking.  After the hour, add the additional 1/2 lb. of split peas and continue to simmer , usually another hour for all the peas to be soft. Stir frequently as the solids can settle at bottom and burn. Taste for Salt and Pepper.  I then let soup cool down a little, and take the Immersion blender to it, not a complete puree. I know the consistency I like, so I would suggest cooling down soup then removing maybe 1/2 of soup to another pot, and using the immersion blender or a regular blender , blend it, again not completely. Add it to the rest of the soup, heat it up till it reaches a nice simmer. It was after I blended it partially that I added sliced Chorizo to the soup. A very nice addition.  If you add the chorizo just heat it up for about 20 minutes or so, the chorizo is usually pre cooked, it’s just to get the flavors going. Serve Hot with a nice crusty bread.

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Vinaigrette with Maple Syrup – the new Salad Dressing you’ve been looking for

Posted on December 18, 2011 | 2 comments

photo (5) photo (11) photo (8)photo (11)photo (5)I got this dressing from Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook and it is very easy and very tasty.  Everyone is always looking for new dressing for their salad. The reason I was attracted to this one was because I had never used maple syrup in a salad dressing before. How bad can it be if it has maple syrup in it??? It’s delicious. This recipe was originally posted in 2011 when I discovered the recipe and has gone on to be an absolute staple in our house. Make it your new “go to ” salad dressing and you won’t be sorry. Using all staples that we all should have in our pantry.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (I use Grey Poupon and probably heap those teaspoons)

2 teaspoons real Vermont Maple Syrup

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons Canola or Vegetable oil

1/2 cup olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Whisk together the mustard, maple syrup, and vinegar in a bowl. Slowly whisk in the oils, and season to taste with salt and pepper. I probably add about 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and if it needs more I add a bit, and then a few turns of the pepper mill.

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Chicken with lots of garlic

Posted on December 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

This recipe was originally from the Barefoot Contessa’s 40 Cloves of Garlic. I have to say 40 cloves was way too much garlic for just me and Joel, and I couldn’t bear taking the garlic out of 40 cloves. I actually felt it was too much garlic for even 4 people!  I made adjustments to the original recipe, and scaled it down a bit for just two people. I used about 20 cloves–still one helluva a lot of garlic–probably enough for 4.  The flavor was very garlicky, but integral to the flavor of the chicken.  You really need to love garlic to eat this dish. It is very French, indeed.  I had the butcher cut the breasts in 1/2 because they were unusually large. I served it with rice pilaf and a salad. Really delicious. A bit of an effort due to so much garlic. This is worth the effort, though. It was tres elegante for just the two of us but it would be a really nice dish for company. I removed some of the whole cloves from the sauce before serving. A few errant cloves on your plate are okay and even pretty tasty, I might add.

Ingredients:

2 whole heads garlic (you’ll need about 20 cloves) I started out with 2 heads so I could pick 20 nice size garlic cloves

4 chicken thighs, bone and skin on

2 chicken breasts (if very large, ask butcher to cut in 1/2)

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 tablespoons cognac (brandy) divided  (2 and then another 1 at end)

1  1/2  cups dry white wine

1/2 tablespoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon all- purpose flour

1 tablespoon heavy cream

Directions:

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for about a minute. Drain the garlic, allow it to cool for a few minutes and then peel and set aside.

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the butter and oil in a large dutch oven pot (once again, Le Creuset is perfect.) Cook over medium high heat, but don’t let olive oil start smoking, you’ll want it hot enough to form a nice crust on chicken. In batches, saute the chicken in the olive oil/butter, skin side down (and don’t touch it) for about  5 minutes on each side. Turn with tongs or spatula, because a fork can pierce the skin. If the oil is smoking too much and burning chicken, turn down the heat. When each batch is done, transfer to a plate and continue to saute the rest of the chicken. Remove all the chicken to plate. Now add all of the garlic back to the pot on a lower heat. Saute for about 5 to 10 minutes, until garlic browns, but not burns, up. Scrape up any brown bits as you go. Add 2 tablespoons of cognac and the wine, return to a slow boil, and scrape up bottom of pan (de-glaze). Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. After the chicken is cooked through, remove the chicken to a plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep it warm. Remove 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and in a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of flour and then put into pot with the rest of the sauce. If it is still not thick enough, add a little more flour. I find that 2 tablespoons is too much flour–but you may need to add more to reach the appropriate thickness. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 – 5 minutes. Taste for salt and pepper. I didn’t need any more because my chicken was sufficiently seasoned already. Plate the chicken, pour the sauce on top, add a few pieces of garlic and serve hot over orzo or rice.  A salad or vegetable is also perfect.

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Seared Spiced Rubbed Salmon (Mark Bittman, The New York Times)

Posted on December 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

Seared Spiced Rubbed Salmon

This recipe came out of my cooking class with Karen Lee on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It was a lovely day spent in her warm inviting kitchen. Karen’s classes always make for a day well-spent. (More information for Karen Lee Cooking Class (foodnow@rcn.com) or cookingwithcandi.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs. salmon fillet, skin removed (organic or wild but the organic king farm-raised is great, when it is available and the wild salmon is best from April through September)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon ground cumin or 1 tablespoon fennel seed ( we used cumin)

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced

zest of 1 orange (you can substitute lemon or lime)

1/2 cup fresh orange juice, reduced to 2 – 3 tablespoons *see recipe below

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Dunk salmon in a bowl of cold water for a second. Then let drain on paper towels. Rinse and dry salmon.

Rub down the salmon fillet on both sides with olive oil. 

Mix together the salt and the cayenne pepper and rub onto both sides of the salmon then rub in the fennel seed or ground cumin, rosemary and orange zest. Press mixture onto both sides of the fillet.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place in a well seasoned iron skillet or steel fish skillet over high heat for about 2-3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (you may need a bit more.)

Using a fish spatula, slide the salmon into the skillet. Sear for 2-3 minutes. Place the spatula under the salmon and jiggle to loosen. If it resists, then leave it for another minute or so. Continue to saute until the salmon gets very dark and well-seared. Flip the salmon and sear on the other side for another 2-3 minutes.

Place the salmon on a shallow roasting pan and roast in oven for an additional 1-3 minutes. (How long you roast will depend on how thick your fillet is and how you like your salmon cooked.) After fish comes out of oven, using a pastry brush, brush with the reduced orange juice.

(When sauteing the salmon, you may want to lower the heat to avoid burning the spices.)

*to reduce orange juice just put in a small saucepan and boil it down (a slow boil as opposed to a rolling boil,) until orange juice is reduced.

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Don’t Let the Apples Go Bad Cake

Posted on December 15, 2011 | 1 comment

Apples are the kind of fruit we eat all year round. They are always in the fridge and if they don’t get eaten, I  feel guilty that they’re just sitting there and going to go bad.  I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen and decided since we were leaving for Colorado and I was not ditching perfectly good apples, I would make it and freeze it for when we come back.  (The cake would freeze well…the apples, not so much.) You’ll need a tube pan. You don’t need an electric mixer, so it’s pretty easy on the special equipment. Use those leftover apples–dont’ let them go bad. No butter in this recipe, lots of sugar though.  My house smelled divine.

I also love this recipe for the Jewish Holidays which are just around the corner…..just saying. I’m not ready to start posting for the Holidays yet but this makes a lovely dessert.

*you can see in photos that I use a melon baller to get the pits out of the middle of the apple. I prefer this technique over the corer thingys which never really work. The melon baller works perfectly: first cut apple in half, then scoop out just the pits.

www.smittenkitchen

Ingredients:

6 apples (I used what I had in the house: a combo of Granny Smith and Honey Crisp. Good old Macintosh will work, too.)

1 tablespoon cinnamon

5 tablespoons sugar

2 3/4 cups flour, sifted

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1/4 cup orange juice (try to use fresh but if not, Tropicana will do)

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup walnuts, chopped (this is optional; I didn’t use them this time out)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan. Peel, core, and chop apples into chunks. Toss with cinnamon and sugar and set aside (I sprayed with a baking spray. There’s no need to add any butter here.)

Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, orange juice, sugar and vanilla. This mixture will be rather thick.  Mix wet ingredients into the dry ones, then add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all ingredients are incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to get it all out of the bowl.

Pour 1/2 the batter into prepared tube pan. Spread 1/2 the apples over this. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and arrange the remaining apples on top. Use your eye to halve  batter and apples (don’t worry if it’s not perfectly halved.) Bake for about 90 minutes, or until a cake tester (or toothpick) comes out clean. I would check cake after 1 hour 20 minutes. I baked for the full 90 minutes; it’s a rather thick cake.

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Cooking Class with Karen Lee

Posted on December 13, 2011 | 3 comments

Ginger Sesame Grilled Salmon

Poached Pears and Cherries
Ginger Sesame Grilled Salmon
Parchment Salmon in Saffron Sauce

We are nearing the end of our stay in NY for the fall so I squeezed in one more cooking class with Karen Lee and I am so happy that I did. I had to be on the Upper West Side by 9 a.m. and left Roslyn only to sit in bumper to bumper traffic for 90 minutes to the midtown tunnel. So, I obviously didn’t arrive at the class until closer to 10. It was raining again and it’s such a good thing to do on a rainy day, but such a bad thing for the traffic situation. Once I walked in, any stress I had due to traffic left my body. It’s such a warm, “hamish” atmosphere, yet totally professional. Karen is a real dynamo, and very talented; she knows a lot about cooking, products, and food in general. If the opportunity ever arises, I highly recommend her classes. We cooked from 10 – 2:30 and ate our way through the morning into the afternoon. When I looked at the clock at 1:40, I didn’t know where the time went but it was well spent for sure. We made 3 kinds of salmon, 2 beautiful salads, and a poached pear dessert. (I will elaborate on the recipes.) I learned a few new techniques, a few new facts, and made a few new friends. What a great day!

Check out Karen Lee’s website at: www.karenleecooking.com  

Prep for Salmon in Parchment PaperSalmon in Parchment Paper

142 West End Avenue, NYC             212.787.2227

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Chicken Breasts with Shallots in a Delightful Cream Sauce

Posted on December 9, 2011 | 2 comments

Joel's "after " picture

This is what I made for dinner a few Sunday nights ago, before Thanksgiving I might add.  This chicken makes a beautiful presentation and is easy enough for a delightful quick dinner for 2, or a lovely dish for company. It has a rich cream sauce which contains white wine, shallots and lemon.Why does everyone shrink back when you say cream sauce? Each serving doesn’t have that much cream in it, and honestly once in a while never killed anyone, so enjoy and live a little.  I served with rice. This is sheer perfection on a plate. Joel requested that I put the “after” picture on this post. I also served with fresh cranberry sauce that I had just made for Thanksgiving. Original inspiration for this dish came from The Barefoot Contessa.

Ingredients:

2 split chicken breasts (about 2 lbs.) with skin and bone (I went to the butcher and asked for 2 chicken breasts and had him split them)

3 tablespoons Canola oil

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. 3 small lemons)

1/2 large shallot, minced (original recipe calls for 1 large, but I felt like it was too oniony, so I cut it)

3 tablespoons heavy cream

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature is very important), diced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and sprinkle generously with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides. I used my Le Creuset cast iron pot, which is oven proof. You can use any oven proof skillet, preferably cast iron. Heat the oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes (just until oil starts to smoke.) Place the chicken breasts skin side down in the skillet and cook for approx. 5 minutes without moving (don’t play with them); you want a golden brown crust to form.

Turn off heat, and using tongs, turn the chicken breasts skin side up, place the skillet in the oven, and roast for 12-15 minutes (check temperature after 12 minutes. It should read 160 degrees,) then cook until the chicken is cooked through. It took me 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the white wine, lemon juice, and shallots and cook over medium-high heat until sauce reduces (slowly boils down) by at least 1/2 (it may take 8-10 minutes.) If it should reduce too much (it doesn’t happen to me,) add a little more white wine.  After it’s properly reduced, add the cream, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and bring to a full boil. Remove from the heat, add the diced butter and stir as the butter dissolves. Never reheat this sauce!!! It could get nasty. There is no need to re-heat anyway, because chicken should be ready, it’s hot and sauce is still hot. Spoon over the chicken and rice and serve!!! Fab! Really delicious. It’s worth the effort, and I must say it wasn’t difficult at all.

plated chicken with cream sauce and shallots

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Cream of Mushroom Soup -Vegetarian

Posted on December 7, 2011 | 2 comments

My friend Jean gave me this recipe many years ago and I made it exactly the way she gave it to me. This time out I took a few liberties with the recipe and made it for vegetarians. I am always trying to find recipes which will suit my vegetarian daughter, old habits die hard. I switched out the beef broth for veggie broth and had some hesitation as to the flavor but I actually liked it better. It is wonderful and has a totally different flavor with the Beef broth, use whichever you like or whichever you have on hand. It worked out beautifully though so I will stick with it this way. The freshly ground black pepper gives this soup a great flavor, so don’t skimp on it, unless you hate it. It doesn’t get alot of salt, just a bit. I know there is butter and cream in here, but it really needs it, and honestly how much in each serving? just saying….. This is such an easy recipe, not alot of ingredients, and cooks up very quickly. You will need an immersion blender stick, a cuisinart or a blender. It really tastes like a gourmet soup, throw in a crusty piece of bread on top, or some croutons and you are good to go. This soup will taste like you slaved for hours.

*serves 6 nicely , you can easily double but don’t have to double the butter just increase it to about 8 tablespoons of butter.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter (unsalted)

1 cup onion (yellow) finely chopped

1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms chopped ( I used Portabello , which also gave it a very rich flavor but you can use any kind)

3 tbs. flour

3 cups stock ( Vegetable or Beef)

1 Bay Leaf

Freshly Ground Black Pepper ( about 1/8 tsp. it’s really to taste, and the pepper is very important to this soup)

Kosher Salt ( just a bit)

3/4 cup half and half

Directions:

Melt butter in a large heavy pan ( Le Creuset stock pot is the best ) Add onions and stir over moderate heat until onions are transparent. ( about 5 minutes) . Add mushrooms , and cook, stirring another 4 minutes or so, at this point I threw in a bit of kosher salt. ( A little bit)

Remove the mixture from the heat and place on a cool burner, and add the flour stirring as you go till it blends. Add in the stock slowly, stirring constantly, Add the bay leaf and pepper.

Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf and stir in the half and half. I took off of hot burner and let it cool a bit before I blended it.(about 15 minutes or so)

I then used my immersion blender stick and just pureed it for a few minutes, just do it till you get the consistency you would like. I didn’t puree it completely. I left some pieces of mushroom ,

Portabello Mushrooms for Soup

that’s how I like it. It had a nice texture without being totally smooth. Check for seasoning (salt and pepper) I served with croutons because I had them in the house, you can also serve with a nice piece of toasted baguette, or nothing . It’s really delicious.

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Good Ideas

Posted on December 5, 2011 | Leave a comment

I keep all of my measuring spoons on hand by my stove in this mug. You can never have enough of these spoons. Just a good idea: when you see spoons in the market, buy them and if you have nowhere to store them, this is such a good idea and always handy. I also keep a jar of spoons for tasting, because you can never have enough of these either.

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