photo by silvia baldini
Celeriac and Apple Soup with Pancetta & Cabbage
The Only Tip You Will Need. Happy Thanksgiving.
I have 3 words for you this Thanks Giving.
Learn to delegate; on second though, let me add, do start the bubbly, vino, beer, bloody Mary, (that’s for you J.P.) relatively early.
Don’t be shy, give a task to every single one of your guests including all children above 3. If they have limbs, they can be of use. Listen to a type A, don’t be stubborn, give up the control.
Once everyone is at work, you will find yourself with plenty time to enjoy and appreciate the day, your meal, the friends, and most importantly your family, not to mention you might even be able to shower and dress up for a change.
To demonstrate my point I’m delegating to my favorite writers, chefs and bloggers my work; instead of sharing my own recipes and advices, I have collected their articles and posts to help you with all your Turkey day needs.
From a truly magnificent and creative Thanksgiving menu from Canal House, or Food52 99 solution to your food problems, a brilliant argument generator from Huff Post, or a funny video from Giada, or help from David Leite at Culinaria, an elegant recipe from David Lebovitz,fashion tips from the ladies at The New Potato, everything Connecticut from the writers at CTBites, very funny and sparkly last minute help from my stylish friend Jessica Gordon Ryan, invaluable green tips from Analiese Paik, excellent advise from the crew at CTSTYLE, and last but not least a day after, genius idea, from the mavericks at Saveur, I got you covered.
Happy Stress Free Thanksgiving !
Photo By Irving Penn
Tangerine Custard
The Importance Of Family Meals
My favorite time of the day is undoubtedly dinner time. That’s when I sit down, together with my family, to share a meal, a laugh, a cry, and at times a squabble.
Family meals are precious, indispensable and untouchable. They are about good food, nourishment, but also about helpful bonding.
Family meals are used to discuss daily events, school, work, ideas.
A sense of humor is required, good manners are requested, some culinary experimentation is necessary. Incidentally, I’m ferocious about no technology at the table.
No phones. No Ipads. No TV.
Family meals are chaos, they can turn in to a circus if not a zoo, but most of the times they are pure joy. Selected family members are more adventurous eater than others, but generally, as long as I don’t sneak in mushrooms, I get happy costumers, clean plates, and useful information about every ones life endeavors.
In the spirit of full disclosure, good manners are not always a guarantee, i.e. my son’s ability to burp the whole alphabet in one go and my daughter Houdini’s talent for making all her vegetables disappear and re-appear in the garbage; however, while Downton Abbey we are not, I do hope for resolution of the above malfunctions in the not so distant future.
Sharing meals has always been party of my upbringing and I’m holding to this tradition for dear life, because, I truly believe, connecting with my children and my husband, even if only for 20 minutes a day, it’s the key to a healthy family. To be clear, I’m not the only to believe in this.
The Family Dinner Project, a non profit organization dedicated to support families to come together and share their experiences and insights to help each other realize the benefits of family dinners has a phenomenal website loaded with evidence and studies supporting what parents have know for a long time:
“Sharing a fun family meal is good for the spirit, brain and health of all family members. Recent studies link regular family meals with the kinds of behaviors that parents want for their children: higher grade-point averages, resilience and self-esteem. Additionally, family meals are linked to lower rates of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, eating disorders and depression. We also believe in the power of family dinners to nourish ethical thinking.”
Harvard Medical School professor and family therapist Dr. Anne Fishel, co-founder of the Family dinner Project, says research shows how children benefit from eating dinner together as a family at home: healthier eating habits, reduced obesity and stronger vocabulary skills as a result of dinnertime conversations.
I encourage you to visit The Family Dinner Project for some invaluable insights and I urge you to try adding some family dinners to your schedule, or breakfasts or suppers.
To make your life easier enlist family members to participate, cook together, set the table, and clean up. Kids love to peel, cut, mash, pick herbs, wash, rinse and squeeze. My husband is terrific at rearranging the dishwasher; you can read about power struggle and dishwashers in this recent WSJ article.
No need to over-complicate. The meals can be very simple. It takes 3 minutes to boil a 3 minute egg and 1 minute to wrap some prosciutto on bread sticks. 6 minutes to steam vegetables in the microwave. 30 seconds to scoop some ice cream in a bowl.
Big PBJ & Jelly Jar – 2011 by Mary Hellen Johnson
If you have 30 minutes check this fab recipes from the genius at Leite’s Culinaria, if you have 15 minutes follow this fun recipe for one pot pasta by Martha Stewart, if you have 45 minutes on a weekend make my lemon, sage fontina meat loaf, it’s divine. You can prep it, freeze it and pop it in the oven when you feel like having a treat. It makes great sandwiches the day after. If it’s cold outside, make my coconut, ginger squash soup. PBJ sandwiches are a cupboard away. In the end, if you panic email me, I’ll gladly share some ideas with you, together with my mother in law’s mom words of wisdom: Chi canta a tavola o a letto e’ un matto perfetto.
Ingredients
- 1 pound double ground beef
- 1 pound double ground pork
- 1 pound double ground veal
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1/2 large chopped yellow onions
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
- 1/2 cup fresh ricotta drained
- 4 tablespoons grated bread crumbs
- 1 shot glass cognac
- 10 leaves fresh sage no stem
- 1 lemon peel julienned thin
- 1/2 cup fontina cheese cubes small
- 10 slices pancetta or bacon or speck
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
Servings: people
Instructions
- Sweat the onions with the parsley until soft but not colored. Meanwhile in a mixer bowl add the beef, pork, veal, egg, grated parmesan,cumin powder, nutmeg, ricotta, bread crumbs, salt and pepper. Mix well until all is combined. Add the onions and parsley mixture, cognac and mix again.
- Cover a cutting board with a rectangular piece of saran wrap. Scoop the meatloaf mixture in the middle of the board and with wet hands form an even rectangle about 10x15 inches. Layer the sage, fontina and lemon peel, forming a strip in the center.
- Using the saran wrap to help you, roll the meatloaf and seal all the edges forming a cylinder. Discard the saran wrap. Place the meatloaf in lined oven dish and cover with the pancetta slices overlapping them slightly. Cook in a preheated oven for about 45 minutes.
Recipe Notes
You can make the meatloaf and freeze it before cooking it.
Serve warm or room temperature.
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Ingredients
Soup
- 1 large butternut squash peeled and cubed
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 2 tsp toasted powder cumin
- 1 tsp grounded curry
- 2 tsp grated fresh ginger more for extra kick
- 14 ounces light coconut milk 1 can
Macadamia Nuts and Basil Pesto
- 1/2 cup macadamia nuts
- 2 cups basil leaves
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Servings: people
Instructions
Soup
- Heat about half the oil in a soup pot. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until golden, about 8 to 10 minutes.
- Add the squash, broth and spices. Bring to a steady simmer, then cover and simmer gently until the apples are tender, about 25 minutes.
- Transfer the solids to a food processor with a slotted spoon, in batches if need be, and process until smoothly pureed, then transfer back to the soup pot. Or better yet, simply insert an immersion blender into the pot and process until smoothly pureed.
- Stir in the coconut milk and return the soup to a gentle simmer. Cook over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until well heated through. Season with salt and pepper. If time allows, let the soup stand off the heat for an hour or two, then heat through as needed before serving.
- To serve, ladle soup into each bowl, then place a small mound macadamia basil pesto in the center.
Macadamia, basil pesto
- Toast the macadamia nuts in the oven. Put in a mortar with the basil, salt pepper and lemon juice. Work in to a paste. You can also use small blender. Add the olive oil and mix well.
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Lemon, Sage and Fontina Meat Loaf
Coconut, Squash and Ginger Soup and Macadamia, Basil Pesto
Turning Out A Crowd Pleasing Meal.
Braised Fennel And Cumin Chicken.
My head is spinning. I’m currently obsessed with Lazy Susans.
After spending the weekend with dear friends and sharing many joyous family meals whirling their slick, and custom build Lazy Susan I was hooked. I had to have one of my own. As it turn out it’s pretty easy to acquire one, in-fact all you have to do is go to LazySusans.com and choose from their great selection.
With my Lazy Susan on the way I was left with the conundrum of the name; no one seems to know where the title Lazy Susan comes from, or who invented it.
Wikipedia states a Lazy Susan is a turntable (rotating tray) placed on a table or countertop to aid in moving food. They are usually circular and placed in the center of a circular table to share dishes easily among the diners. Owing to the nature of Chinese cuisine, especially dim sum, they are especially common at formal Chinese restaurants.
Wood Cut Of A Moving Serving Tray
In Smithsonian.com Daniel A. Gross writes:
“It describes a spinning platter that rests on the tabletop. Back in the early-1900s, however, “Lazy Susan”—previously known as a “dumb-waiter”—described not only revolving tabletops, but also revolving tables, as well as elevators that carried plates and food. All three devices were used in Europe and America to save domestic labor during meals. Basically, the idea was to buy a “dumb-waiter” so you could layoff your real waiter”.
Some believe that Thomas Jefferson invented the lazy Susan in the 18th century. It is said that Jefferson invented the lazy Susan because his daughter, Susan, complained she was always served last at the table and, as a result, never found herself full when leaving the table.
Jefferson construct a box-shaped rotating book stand and, as part of serving “in the French style”, employed a revolving dining-room door whose reverse side supported a number of shelves.
Early Lazy Susan
It’s also possible that “lazy Susan” was styled on previous combinations in English that use “Susan” (“black-eyed Susan” being the most common). There are many such words in English that use names in a generic way: “peeping Tom,”jim-dandy,” and “Jolly Roger” are just a few.
Finally the Oxford English Dictionary carried the first etymology of the term. The dictionary traced the mention of “Lazy Susan” to an advertisement in the December 1917 issue of Vanity Fair magazine. It was a two-page Christmas promotion that spotlighted a number of fancy household items as possible gift ideas.
This was no ordinary tray. Mounted on a mahogany base, it revolved on ball bearings “to help you serve things easily.” The copywriter came up with a clever description: “$8.50 forever seems an impossibly low wage for a good servant; and yet here you are; Lazy Susan, the cleverest waitress in the world, at your service!”
In the end I’m not so worried about where the name comes from because what I really love about a Lazy Susan is that communal dishes can be placed and displayed on the table at the same time, and everyone can serve themselves making it the perfect tool to share a meal with loved ones without reaching over, standing up and disrupting the conversation.
After spinning my wheels thinking about a good meal to test-drive my new Lazy Susan I settled on making my braised slow cooked fennel and cumin chicken. It’s a comforting easy to make dish that every one always seems to love. If you don’t believe me, just ask the U10 New Canaan soccer team parents!
This tender and loaded with good flavor chicken it’s the perfect dish on a fall or winter day when you have to cook for a crowd. The chicken it’s marinated overnight, and it’s cooked for at leas 1-1/2 hour in the oven. A slow cooker or a tagine would work really well too, but they are definitely not necessary.
Braised Cumin And Fennel Chicken. Photo by Jessica Gordon Ryan.
I make this crowd-pleasing chicken at least a day ahead because the flavors fuse and meld together, giving depth to the dish. I serve it with saffron onions, a cilantro and dates relish, plus lots of good crusty bread. The chicken comes out melting tender; the saffron onions and the date relish are sweet, bright and a bit unusual.
Sadly, I’m usually left with no leftovers. I say sadly because this succulent dish would make a great midnight snack or an easy day-after lunch, but it doesn’t really matter because, ultimately, what brings me joy, it’s watching not only the smiles on people faces around my table, but also the many quick fingers grabbing seconds and mopping the bowls clean.
Speaking of fingers, lets’ keep them crossed my delivery will arrive soon because I cannot wait to give it a twirl and share the braised cumin and fennel chicken with my family and friends.
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp chili flakes or harissa
- 2 tsp paprika
Main Recipe
- 8 chicken thighs deboned and skinned
- 1 cup sliced yellow onions
- 1 cup sliced fennel
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups tomatoes sauce
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 chopped parsley
Servings:
Instructions
- Marinate chicken 24 hours in advance Toast the cumin seeds and the coriander seeds in a small fry pan for a few minutes until the seeds release their aroma and are lightly browned. Grind them. In a small bowl, combine the ground spices with the garlic, thyme, parsley, crumbled chili or harissa, and paprika. Place the chicken in a large bowl or zip lock bag and sprinkle over the spice mixture and toss the chicken and spices together.
- Pre-Heat Oven at 350F Brown the chicken with a little olive oil in a large frying pan. Then remove from pan, season with salt and pepper and set in oven proof large Tagine, crock pot or what ever you use to slow cook . Pour off most of the fat from the frying pan and add the onions, fennel and bay leaves. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until the vegetables are lightly caramelized. Add the tomatoes and cook another 5 minutes, stirring and scrapping with a wooden spoon. Add the sherry vinegar, white wine. Turn the heat up to high and reduce by half. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the fennel mixture to the chicken. Cover well and cook in the oven for at least 1½ hour to 2½ hours. Make sure there is enough liquid to cook for a long time. NOTE: I sometimes don’t brown the chicken and I found the taste to be great.
Recipe Notes
Serve with a date relish, saffron onions and lots of good bread. A cous cous or a hearthy grain would compliment the dish.
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dates pitted chopped roughly
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic optional
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Servings: people
Instructions
- Chop the dates and mix will the olive oil, lemon juice, cilantro, parsley and salt and pepper. If you want you can add a small amount of minced garlic.
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Ingredients
- 1 tsp saffron threads
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 5 cups sliced onions
- 1 bay leaf
Servings: people
Instructions
- Put Saffron in a bowl with a cup of hot water and steep for 30 minutes. Add the onion to a hot pan with olive oil and butter and sauté the onions slowly with a bay leaf for 10 minutes until soft. Add the saffron with the water to the onions and cook on low heat for 20 minutes. Season well.
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Saffron Onions
Braised Slow Cooked Fennel and Cumin Chicken
photo by Jessica Gordon Ryan
Date Relish
Back To School Survival Guide
I have had this Julia Child picture, framed and hanging on my wall for years. It makes me smile, it reminds me to slow down, and it’s a delightful prompt for someone like me who has a bit of a hard time asking for help.
“Back to School” is one of those times I wish I had a team of professional handlers, shadowing me and making my life just a little less muddy. I don’t. Therefore the last couple of weeks have been, more or less, hell and spent arming the whole family with new soccer shoes, tennis outfits, cellos, violins and let’s not forget, discovering the virtues of my new favorite, Mode Podge Glue and did I mention consulting about new cute outfits?
I also have had to organize 2 birthday’s celebrations, inclusive of multi-layered, glittery cakes, I have been at one open house, a welcome back coffee, I had a drum stick drama and I worked on a lengthy time line project. I cannot wait for week 3 in September.
I have commiserated with many of the parents and apparently I’m not the only one with these kinds of issues. Generally speaking back to school is a war zone for all.
One place where I do better than the organizational inferno of my kids closets and their activities, it’s the kitchen. My pantry is ready to go and my fridge and freezers are stocked up for lunches, snacks, dinners and post games hunger freak-outs—I didn’t know, before becoming a mother and a wife, men turn in to famished werewolves immediately after sport practice.
Furthermore, since I suspect, you are like me at home and don’t employ a swarm of chefs and pot washers ready to chop, prep and clean at your command, I thought you might enjoy learning about my 5 favorite, ready to go meals and pantry helpers that make my life easier and my dinners more enjoyable.
- Roasted Tomatoes Sauce– It’s a simple, healthy, quick but brilliant way to make a tomatoes sauce. The full power, garlicky flavor and the smooth consistency make it a perfect versatile companion for pastas , soups and a phenomenal base for sauces and stews. I make it in large batches and freeze it in my latest obsession, stand alone ziplock bags.
- Bolognese- We all have a bolognese recipes. This is my version and It reminds me of home. My kids know the taste so well by now, if I change the recipe even by one ingredient they complain. It’s a slow cooked project I usually do once a months on a weekend. I like to lace a mix of equal parts of double ground veal, pork and beef with a small amount of cumin and nutmeg and once it’s cooked and cooled I freeze it in pre weighted portions. I use it on pasta, rice, mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, polenta or semolina.
- Olive Oil Frozen Herbs- This is my favorite last minute flavor trick and a great way to preserve all the herbs I grow in summer. I wash, dry and chop finely my leafy herbs like basil, parsley, cilantro and tarragon. I put them in ice cube containers packing at least half of the cube and cover them with good olive oil. I then freeze them, pop them out and keep them in ziplock bags ready to use in sauces and sautés. Read more about Olive Oil in my sharing corner post about Alina Lawrence, she is the fab owner of Olivette.
- End of Summer Minestrone- I make huge pots of this healthy and hearty minestrone. It’s loaded with beans and good vegetables. I add cooked orzo, barley, pasta or rice and finish it with parmesan and crispy pancetta for a full power one dish meal.
- Mashed Potatoes for the week-I keep a container of home made mashed potatoes in the fridge. They last for a good 5 to 7 days. They are a smart and efficient way to produce a meal in less than 10 minutes. Just add bolognese, cheese, a fried egg, peas and bacon, sausages for a cozy dinner or use them to top left over stews, grilled salmon, or really what ever you have in the fridge, sprinkle them with a mix of cheddar and parmesan, then brown them under the broiler for a couple of minutes.
So welcome back to school with an empathizing nod to all of you trying to get a last minutes cello delivered to your door!
Ingredients
- 2 lb full flavor ripe tomatoes
- 4/6 peeled garlic cloves
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 bunch basil leaves
- salt and pepper
Servings: servings
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350F
- Halve the tomatoes and arrange them in an oven proof dish lined with parchment. I like them tightly packed but not on top of each other.
- Season with the salt, drizzle the olive oil evenly. Scatter the garlic and basil on the tomatoes.
- Roast for 45 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and lightly charred. Pass through a sieve or a food mill and discard the seeds and the skins. Use immediately as a great pasta sauce or preserve in zip lock bags and freeze.
Recipe Notes
The seeds and skin of the tomatoes are best removed as they can cause allergies and irritate the stomach.
Tomatoes cook and taste better if the pepper is added after cooking.
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Recipe by Silvia Baldini — I make meat sauce every week. It's our to-go meal. We use it on pasta, veggies, polenta and mashed potatoes. I like to mix veal, pork and beef and I slow cook it for a couple of hours.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 12 people | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 1 to 2 hours |
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Recipe by Silvia Baldini — I make meat sauce every week. It's our to-go meal. We use it on pasta, veggies, polenta and mashed potatoes. I like to mix veal, pork and beef and I slow cook it for a couple of hours.
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped carrot
- 1/2 cup grounded prosciutto or mortadella
- 1 pound double ground veal
- 1 pound double ground beef
- 1 pound double ground pork
- 1/2 tsp grounded cumin
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1 small glass red wine
- 2 tbsp tomato concentrate
- 1 16-ounces large can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken or beef stock
- 1 bouquet garni tie bay leaves, parsley, rosemary, basil, thyme together
- salt and pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
Servings: people
Instructions
- Warm a couple of table spoon of olive oil in a large heavy bottom pan. Add onion, celery and carrots. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until soft but not browned. Add prosciutto/mortadella and keep cooking for an extra 10 minutes on a low flame. Rise the heat to medium high add veal, pork and beef. Cook stirring occasionally until browned.
- Add wine, cook the alcohol out for a couple of minutes on a low the flame.
- Season with a sprinkle of nutmeg, cumin, salt and pepper. Add tomato concentrate and cook for a couple of minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, stock and the bouquet garni.
- Cook on slow heat for at a couple of hours or until the sauce is nicely reduced and compact. Taste for seasoning and discard the herbs before serving or freezing.
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Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 minced garlic clove
- 2 cups chopped yellow onions
- 2 chopped carrot
- 2 medium chopped celery stalks
- 1 cup smoked bacon or pancetta cubed
- 1 parmesan rind
- 1 quart stock chicken or vegetables
- 1 cup beans cooked or canned
- 1 cup chopped stewed tomatoes passata
- 1 bunch kale leaves or large spinach cleaned and deveined
- 2 medium zucchini cubed
- 2 cups green beans sliced in small sections
- salt and pepper
- 1 bouquet garni tie together rosemary, parsley, thyme, 1 bay leaf
Servings: people
Instructions
- Warm olive the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add garlic, onions, celery and carrots . Cook 3 to 5 minutes to soften. Add the bacon or pancetta and crisp.
- Stir in the beans. Stew slowly for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, stock and bouquet garland season. Add the parmesan rind. Bring to a boil and slow simmer for 25-30 minutes until soft vegetable are soft.
- Remove from heat. Discard the bouquet garni and parmesan rind and with an immersion blender whiz to a chunky consistency. YOu can also use a blender or a food processor.
- Return the soup to the pot on a medium/slow heat and add remaining vegetables. Cook for 15/ 20 minutes. The vegetables should be cooked but with a bit a of a bite.
- Serve warm or room temperature. Garnish with pesto, crunchy pancetta, a grain and some parsley.
Recipe Notes
Freeze before adding kale, beans and zucchini for up to 6 months.
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Roasted Tomato Sauce
End Of Summer Minestrone
Meat Sauce
50 Summer Dinner In Less Than 20 Minutes
The next few weeks are far too hot for you to get flustered in your kitchen. I have rustled together 50 easy meals, you can prepare in 20 minutes or less! Simple dishes, which look and taste sensational. Add crusty bread, a salad and you’ll have the perfect summer dish – which will have the wow factor and look like you have been slaving over the stove for hours! Less time in the kitchen and more time at the beach. Which Is where I’m writing from.
Here they are:
- Cook pasta in boiling water. Add some chopped tomatoes, grated pecorino, spinach and toasted pine-nuts to a serving bowl. Toss with some good olive oil. Drain the pasta. Mix with all the ingredients and a spoon of the cooking water. Finish with cracked pepper and olive oil.
- Frittata. Beat 4 eggs. Add some parmesan, salt, pepper chopped herbs, pancetta and fontina cheese cubes. Cook on medium slow for 5 minutes. Turn using a plate, put back in the pan and finish cooking for a couple of minutes.
- Drench 4 sole fillet in flour, season. Cook quickly in a hot pan with melted butter, turning once. Squeeze one lemon, add parsley. This is my son ultimate dinner.
- Season 4 beef fillet. Cook on both sides for 4 minutes. Set aside. Add some good red wine or port or cherry to the pan, a pat of butter and reduce for 3 to 4 minutes on high. Serve on the side of the rested fillets.
- Boil 4 large potatoes till fork tener. Peel and serve with lots of chopped toppings.
- Drain the oil from a can of good tuna . Add to a pan with olives and tomatoes. Cook spaghetti al dente. Drain. Add to the tuna with a handful of bread crumbs, parsley and chopped basil. drizzle with olive oil.
- Slice a good melon. serve with prosciutto, bread, fresh ricotta and honey.
- Make a smoked salmon platter. Serve with toasted white bread, lemon, capers, sliced tomatoes.
- Cut 4 hot dogs on both sides but leave them in one piece. Sauté for a couple of minutes in a hot pan with a teaspoon of olive oil, until the curl up. Served with mashed potatoes and condiments
- Slice peaches in half and pit them. Quickly grill them in a pan. Put side up on plates add some greens and some good burrrata.
- Add a pack of 10 minutes barley grains to 2 cups of good stock. Add peas, and a potato peeled and cubed, thyme and cook until the stock is absorbed. Serve with a good hard cheese and a salad.
- Sautee trout fillet in brown butter 4 to 5 minutes per side. Meanwhile cook baby fingerling potatoes in salted water. Drain, smash lightly with a fork, add basil and black olives.
- Cook soba noodles, then rinse in cold water until cool. Serve in a broth, with some chopped steamed vegetables and with a splash of sauce of soy sauce and minced ginger. Add soft boiled eggs.
- Lisetta quick Paella. Sauté, cubed chicken in a pan with diced onions and dices red pepper. Add saffron, season. Add 6 handfuls of arborio rice, toast for 2 minutes, add half a glass of wine, 2 cups chicken broth. Cook until the broth is absorbed about 15 minutes. You can add some chorizo, clams or shrimps. Finish with parsley.
- Cook some brown rice. Boil cleaned shrimps for a couple of minutes. Cut up some baby bok choy, brown it for a couple of seconds in a hot pan with sesame oil, minced garlic and minced ginger. Turn add 1/2 cup soy sauce and reduce. Spoon bok choy and shrimps on cooked rice.
- Sautee’ 1 large cubed eggplant in olive oil and garlic for 5 minutes, add 3 fresh cubed tomato, one cup tomatoes sauce, salt pepper and basil. Add short pasta to salted, boiling water. Cook for 8/ 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the sauce. Drain the pasta, mix with the eggplants, serve with grated, salted hard ricotta cheese.
- Ceviche! Get some very fresh Scallops, tuna, salmon or swordfish. Slice thinly, arrange on plates, sprinkle with lime and lemon juice, salt, pepper chilies and parsley. Serve after 5 minutes with sliced avocados and a crunchy taco.
- Put a can of drained chickpeas in a pan add olive oil, sumac, basil, grounded coriander seeds, cook for 5 minutes, add some leafy greens cook down, add feta. Season well.
- Grill or toast some good baguette until crispy, drizzle olive oil, add some sliced Gruyere, add parma cotto prosciutto, melt under the broiler for a minute or 2, close, press well, enjoy!
- Drain a can of cannellini beans or butter beans into a big bowl, add some good tuna in olive oil and dress with chopped parsley, red onion, salt, red vinegar and a touch more oil.
- Make fresh pesto. Fill up blender with washed basil, parsley, a handful of pine nuts, a little garlic, grated parmesan, salt and pepper. Drizzle with a half cup of good quality olive oil and blend. You can substitute walnuts for the pine nuts or even pistachios. Dress your favorite cooked pasta.
- Pan grill a skirt steak for 4 to 5 minutes per side, season with salt and pepper, rest for 5 minutes, slice over greens and drizzle with balsamic.
- Boil lobsters for 11 minutes, corn on the cob for 6 minutes – serve both with butter and lemon.
- Poach eggs for 3 minutes or soft boil for 6 – serve over wilted spinach and crusty bread.
- Sauté garlic in olive oil and a bit of hot pepper, don’t burn. Dress cooked spaghetti – finish with pepper, grated parmesan and chopped parsley.
- Stir fry some fresh peeled shrimps in olive oil, garlic and ginger until pink. Season with salt pepper and chopped cilantro. Squeeze a lime and serve over cooked rice or steamed vegetables.
- Warm up some curry powder in olive oil till fragrant, deglaze with a little cream. Use to dress long think pasta. Finish with pepper and lots of chopped parsley. Add cooked chicken, shrimps lobster or crab.
- Steam a big bag of scrubbed mussels until they open in a pot with some white wine, lots of garlic, chopped celery and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Use Pernod instead of wine and fennel, or vodka, thyme and chopped tomatoes. Serve with LOTS of bread.
- Fry left over rice from your Chinese take out with chopped vegetables, onion, garlic, grated ginger. Dress with soy sauce and, sesame oil, cilantro. Add a fried egg on top.
- Make a quick bolognese – with ground beef, chopped onion, garlic, carrots and celery. Deglaze with some wine, add a can of tomatoes and cook down for 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and a hint of cumin. Spoon over a bake potato, pasta, grilled eggplants. Substitute beef with ground lamb or pork.
- Quickly grill thin lamb chops 4 minutes for side. Season with salt pepper and chopped rosemary and mint. Whiz up a quick aioli using mayonnaise and garlic in a blender.
- Cook all sorts of evenly chopped vegetables in water till al dente. Season well, add some cooked pasta, olive oil and a spoon of pesto. Minestrone it is!
- Sear salmon covered with Teriyaki sauce for a couple of minutes per side. Serve over brown rice.
- Render some good, cubed pancetta in a pan – add a drained can of chickpeas or large white beans, lots of chopped parsley. Season with salt pepper and smoked paprika. Add manchengo and bacon.
- Quickly sear a sliced pork fillet in a pan with olive oil, a little garlic and some cut figs or prunes. Season well – remove pork and deglaze pan with some port or sweet sherry. Cook down for a minute of two and pour over pork.
- Scramble fresh eggs. Pan fry some good mushrooms. Season well. Add lots of parsley and some sliced tomatoes.
- Steam broccoli till fork tender. Sauté some seasoned filet mignon strips in olive oil. Finish with soy sauce, lots of chopped herbs and a squeeze of lemon. Serve over rice or soba noodles.
- Make six-minute eggs: simmer gently, run under cold water until cool, then peel. Serve over steamed asparagus.
- Cook some lentils till soft. Drain. Add herbs, some goat cheese and spinach. Drizzle olive oil, a spoon of pistachio oil and some balsamic. Add some toasted pistachios.
- Slice some good mozzarella cheese and put in between 2 slices of soy white bread. Dip in beaten egg, then coat with bread crumbed seasoned. Fry till golden brown on both sides. Serve with fresh tomatoes and sliced cucumbers.
- Slice 2 eggplants very finely. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and oregano. Broil on high on both sides until brown. Sprinkle with goat cheese or feta and broil for a couple of seconds.
- Dredge sliced chicken breast in flour. Cook on both sides in olive oil. Serve with good bread, lemon and some mayo.
- Chop a tuna steak, add some soy and chopped cilantro and make burgers. Grill quickly and serve on a toasted sesame bun with wasabi mayo.
- Boil 4 years of corn. Boil 4 kielbasa. Slice and serve with hot mustard.
- Slice zucchini and sauté for 7 to 8 minutes in a hot pan with olive oil. Add chopped mint. Make thin omelets and serve together.
- Steam some cous cous. Pan fry cubed chicken with some chopped tomatoes, olives and basil. Add cumin powder, salt and pepper.
- Panzanella. Chop tomatoes, dress with olive oil, red wine vinegar salt and pepper. Add cubed one day old bred and toss. Serve with sardines and butter.
- Put some asparagus in a foil pouch with olive oil, crushed and minced garlic, salt pepper and parsley. Cook in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes. Meanwhile grill a flank stake for 5 minutes per side and after resting for about 7 minutes slice and serve with asparagus.
- Cut a baguette. Add slices of brie on both sides and broil until the cheese is melting and bubbly. Serve with sliced tomatoes and cured black olives.
- Pancakes for dinner!
Hot Summer, Dream Pies
Photo Courtesy of Stephane Coutelle
Even before becoming a chef I have been loyal and I confess, obsessed with one and only magazine. I own every issue of this magazine, since its inception in 1994, and I often refer to it as the cooking bible. The precious object of my gastronomic fantasies is Saveur.
Saveur magazine just does it for me. It’s food porn at its best, but classy; it retains an aura of old world, an highbrow tone and an authentic love for wordily cuisine, the photographs are always elegantly real, the writing is impeccable and the recipes are infallible.
So this week, as I was invited by the digital editor in to the test kitchen to make summer fruit pies and jams for a series of videos, I felt extremely honored and even dare I say it, a little kinky. Just imagine. I got to make my own food porn in the reverend kitchen.
Of course, I had a lovely day, not only because I got to fulfill one of my long-time fantasies but also because I uncovered a beautiful truth and the reason why Saveur is so noble.
The graceful team that makes the magic happen, composed by editors, photographers, and food testers, is as food obsessed as I am, and truly dedicated to create perfection in the test kitchen and for the magazine.
The Saveur Team and My Dream Kitchen
So once I settled in to my area and after a brief but succulent moment of reflection on how lucky I am to have left advertising, I happily got to work on my fruit pies.
Making pies and jams is a clever way to investigate and capture all the sweetness of summer fruits and since I had stopped to shop for my ingredients at the Westport farmers market, I arrived in the kitchen with a beautiful bounty from all the local farms.
We decided to work with yellow and white peaches, apricots, sour cherries, berries, nectarines and melons.
I constructed all the pie fillings by macerating the fruit with sugar and lemon, and by then reducing the juices to a syrupy consistency on the stove. This is a great way to condense the flavor and use less starch. In the end I completed 3 baked pies.
A juicy peach and cherry pie, an open faced apricot and raspberries tart, and a nectarines and blackberries crostata. They all came out beautiful even if my crostata almost melted in the heat of the kitchen because the air conditioning was not working, and the temperature reached dangerous peaks melting my dough a couple of times. Even heaven gets hot as hell sometimes.
I then made 2 icebox berries pies, by filling 2 blind baked shells with the fresh fruit mixed with reduced juices, and by letting the fillings set in the fridge, instead of baking the pies. A great techniques for hot summer days when its’ wise not to turn the oven on.
By the end of the day, with halation I got to work on the melon butter. A bright yellow jam, I always do in summer when the melons are at peak, sweet, and full of running down the elbow juices. It’s a fantastic treat to have during a grey winter day to remind your self , the clouds will part and the snow will one day cease.
I like to pair it with prosciutto, smoked and cured meats and strong cheeses.
When I finished I felt exhausted but gloriously satisfied and as all the fantasies even this one came to its end. I packed my tools and I left the Saveur kitchen with a large smile on my face. No walk of shame for me.
Below you can find all the recipes. I hope they will make your summer just a little sweeter. On my tray chic page you’ll find my top picks for all sorts of stylish but smart goodies to help and just perhaps seduce you in to making your own pies and jams.
Ingredients
- 1 9 inch pie basic brisee
- 4 cups blueberries 1 1/2 pounds 575g
- 1/2 cups water 5 ounces plus 2 tablespoons divided
- 2 tablespoons corn starch 20g
- 1/2 cup sugar 100g
- 1 teaspoon lemon jiuce
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 medium egg white
Servings: people
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven at 425F
- Roll the bottom crust to a 1/8 of an inch thick 13 inches circle then transfer to a 9 inches pie pan. Fold under the excess and crimp the border. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
- Remove from fridge, line with parchment and fill with dried beans, rice or weights. Bake for 20 mines. Lift the parchment and the beans. Prick the bottom with a fork and bake 5 to 10 minutes more. Cool the crust on a rack. you can then if you like brush the crust with egg white for added protection.
- Measure 1 cup of blueberries and put them in a saucepan with 1/2 cup of water. Bring to a boil.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl whisk cornstarch and the 2 tablespoons of water and set aside.
- When the water and blueberries have come to a boil, simmer for 3 minutes then add the cornstarch mixture, lemon juice and salt, simmer for a couple of minutes, remove from heat and add to the 3 cups of fresh blueberries.
- Spoon the mixture in the baked shell and allow to sit room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Can be served with mascarpone cream, whipped cream or creme patisserie. Store up to 3 days room temperature.
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Ingredients
- 1 9 inches pie crust ( brisee) recipe below
- 2 and 3/4 pounds fresh apricots about 4 cups, halved pitted, sliced in half
- 6 tablespoons sugar 75 g
- 2 tablespoons corn starch 19 g
- 1/2 cup raspberries 60g
- 1/3 cup apricot preserve 113 g
Servings: peple
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven at 425F
- Roll the bottom crust to 1/8 inch thick and not bigger than 12 inches in diameter. Line a 9 inch pie pan. Trim the edges almost even but leaving a small part overhanging, to prevent shrinkage. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to 3 hours.
- Line the pastry with parchment paper, fill with dry beans or weights and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the paper and beans, prick with a fork and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until pale golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes on a rack
- Transfer the sliced apricots in a large bowl and sprinkle sugar, ans corn starch. Allow to macerate for 15 minutes.
- Arrange the apricots decoratively in the baked shell side up. Place a foil ring around the border to protect the edge from over browning and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until apricots are tender. Cool pie completely. When pie is cool arrange raspberry, if using, in the spaces between the apricots. Heat the apricot jam and using a brush paint the apricots and raspberries with the jam.
Recipe Notes
Brisee, pie crust
Other combinations: Blueberry, nectarines, raspberries and peaches, black berries and peaches, nectarines and raspberries, cherries and berry mix, strawberries and rhubarb. Starch for pies no starch for crostata.
Apricot has no reduction.
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Ingredients
- 2 9 inches pie crust ( brisee) recipe below
- 2 and 3/4 pounds peaches about 8, 1kg, peeled, pitted, sliced in to 16th
- 1 medium lemon juice
- 1/2 cup sugar 112 g
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 teaspoons corn starch 12 g
Servings: peple
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven at 425F
- Roll the bottom crust to 1/8 inch thick and not bigger than 12 inches in diameter. Line a 9 inch pie pan. Trim the edges almost even but leaving a little part overhanging, to prevent shrinkage. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes up to 3 hours.
- Transfer the sliced peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice and sugar, add the salt and toss them gently. Macerate for minimum of 30 minutes up to 1 hour.
- Drain the peaches in a colander over a bowl and reserve the juice.
- Reduce the juice on medium to high and boil down to about 1/3 of a cup or until syrupy and lightly caramelized. Don't stir.
- Toss peaces in a bowl with corn starch until cornstarch disappear. Transfer in to the pie shell. Pour syrup over the peaches.
- Roll out the top crust large enough to cover the pie. Cover the pie. Tuck the overhanging under the bottom crust. Make 5 slashes, crimp and decorate. Refrigerate covered for at least on hour to relax the dough.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the juices are bubbling over and through the slashes. Cool for at least 3 hours. Store room temperature up to to 2 days.
Recipe Notes
Brisee, pie crust recipe to follow
Other combinations: Blueberry, nectarines, raspberries and peaches, black berries and peaches, nectarines and raspberries, cherries and berry mix, strawberries and rhubarb.
Do not use starch for crostata, arrange fruit and reduced juices on uncooked pastry, decorate and bake
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Ingredients
- 1 9 inch pie for basic brisee see notes
- 4 cups strawberries 1 pounds 450g cleaned and hulled, if large halved
- 3 tablespoons corn starch 28g
- 1/4 cup sugar 50g
- 1 medium lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water or cranberry/orange/raspberry juice
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 medium egg white lightly beaten
Servings: people
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven at 425F
- In a large bowl mix 3 cups of the strawberries with lemon and sugar. Reserve one cup of strawberries. Macerate for at least half hour up to overnight in the fridge.
- Roll the bottom crust to a 1/8 of an inch thick 13 inches circle then transfer to a 9 inches pie pan. Fold under the excess and crimp the border. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.
- Remove from fridge, line with parchment and fill with dried beans, rice or weights. Bake for 20 mines. Lift the parchment and the beans. Prick the bottom with a fork and bake 5 to 10 minutes more. Cool the crust on a rack. you can then if you like brush the crust with egg white for added protection.
- Drain the macerated strawberries over a bowl. Set the strawberries aside and put the drained juices in a small sauce pan.
- Add the corn starch, the water or juice if using, mix until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for 1 minute stirring constantly. Cool.
- Gently fold in the macerated strawberries and add the reserved 1 cup of fresh strawberries.
- Spoon the mixture in the baked shell and allow to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.
- Can be served with mascarpone cream, whipped cream or creme patisserie. Store up to 3 days room temperature.
Recipe Notes
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Ingredients
- 2 melons peeled, seeded and diced
- 1 lemon juice
- sugar 500g for every 1 kilo of melon flesh, peeled and seeded
Servings: 8.5 ounces/ 250 ml jars
Instructions
- Peel, remove seeds and dice melon. Weight flesh. Add half of the weight in sugar. 50% sugar ratio. 1 to 2 ratio, add the lemon juice. Bring to a boil then simmer in a non reactive pan for about 40 to 50 minutes. Cook until thik and syrupy. Candy thermometer 108. Transfer in to jars, wipe the rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath.
Recipe Notes
Works best with cantaloupe or tuscan melons.
Great with prosciutto, smoked meats and strong cheeses.
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Ice Box Fresh Blueberries Pie
Open Faced Apricot Pie
Mid-summer Peach Pie
Melon Butter
Basic Brisee Dough
Tramezzini Turin Style
“A good dinner is of great importance to good talk. One cannot think well, love well, sleep well,
if one has not dined well.
― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own
Words I live by and the opening quote for “Time Table. A Tavola Nei Secoli”, a spectacular exhibition at Palazzo Madama, and the Queen Palace in Turin, my hometown in Italy.
The show is a time travel through the centuries of table’s settings, manners, social rites and a showcase of stunning china and objects created by artists and artisans to adorn meals and dining tables. It takes place in the palace from June 24 to October 18.
Since I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to table settings I feel lucky to have been invited to see a preview of the show the week before its opening, when I’ll be a guest speaker at TurinEpi a 3 day food event organized by a true Food Goddess and friend Lucia Hannau. Lucia is featured this week in my Sharing Corner where you can read about her, her cooking tips and her food philosophy.
Immediately following the talks, and the eye feasting at Palazzo Madama, I intend to plant my self at Mulassano, one of the oldest bars in the historical center and quickly put my mouth to a more concrete use, and enjoy a full scale aperitif and to dig in to as many tramezzini, salatini and a negroni or two, while checking out the beautiful and well dressed passers by.
Tramezzini, shot by Silvia Baldini
While Torino and Piedmont are known for big wines, truffles, and a variety of truly impressive dishes, tramezzini are by far my favorite treat when I go home. They are the perfect food to share at a meal that is casual but refined. They are small and delicate and they showcase local ingredients in combinations that range from classic pairings to more surprising and complex combinations.
Of course no cutlery is necessary, but they should be served on fine-looking china, showcased on gracious trays, with pretty pressed linens.
They, at times, require some operational dexterity and manners when eaten while gossiping, checking out the latest fashion under the portici or chatting about the malevolence of the Euro, but they are sure to please the palate and the eye, something very necessary in Italy, a country where food is as important as “Bella Figura”.
It’s important to remember, when making tramezzini, the bread must be fresh, soft and never dry.
I often place a humid piece of cloth on the bread while working and preparing them and I take care to wrap them in film immediately after making them; I also always keep them sealed in the fridge until I’m ready to serve them.
White Bread, By Silvia Baldini
Butter, mayonnaise or a sauce has to be used for flavor and to keep the fillings in it’s place. The ingredients must be fresh and of good quality because there is not too much cooking involved and the flavor comes from the produce not the technique.
Fresh Ingredients By Silvia Baldini
Below is the top ten lists of my favorite combinations, the recipe for a good home made mayonnaise and the link to a Negroni recipe from the NYT made with Punt e Mes a vermouth invented in Torino by the Carpano family. I also have updated my Tray Chic page with some new ideas for table settings.
Cin Cin!
- Proscitto Cotto , Mozzarella Mayonnaise
- Tuna, Cured Artichokes , Mayonnaise
- Tuna, Tomatoes, Black Olives and Mayonnaise
- Hard boiled Eggs, Tuna, Lettuce, Mayonnaise
- Butter, Prosciutto di Parma
- Mortadella, Sweet Pickles Relish, Butter
- Steamed Asparagus, Hard Boiled Eggs, Mayonnaise
- Steamed Sweet Shrimps, Lettuce, Aurora Mayonnaise
- Smoked Salmon, Butter, Caviar
- Soft Creamed Gorgonzola, Mascarpone, Toasted Walnuts
Bonus Tramezzini:
- Herbed Frittata, Lettuce, Mayonnaise
- Breasaola, Creamed Herbed Goat Cheese
- Olive Paste, Hard Boiled Eggs, Roasted Peppers, Anchovies
- Sliced Truffles, 8 Minutes Eggs, Lettuce
- Mulassano Lobster Salad
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Ingredients
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 1/2 cup olive oil/ seed oil for a lighter taste
- 1/2 juice 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoons white vinegar
- salt/pepper
Servings: sandiwches
Instructions
- Place the egg yolks, the mustard, the salt and pepper in a blender. Blend at medium speed. When all combined and emulsified start pouring the olive olive with the motor going slowly. Add the lemon and the vinegar and taste for seasoning. If your mayonnaise splits, add one or two spoon of warm water and an extra egg yolk, then blend again.
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A Very Lazy Dinner
Yesterday I woke up with no will nor power for fussy cooking.
I have been in the kitchen non-stop for the past 3 weeks testing and tasting for clients and projects, the thought of spending additional time preparing dinner was unquestionably out of the question. Yet it was a lovely afternoon and I wanted to treat my family to a good meal and spend some precious time with the kids outside. We are very taken by badminton at the moment and my son had an explosive science project he wanted to show me. The science project was explosive indeed. It required a large amount of my cornstarch and soda water, we survived in one piece and dinner turned out even more explosive and a slam-dunk with the family, something I feel is,
at times, more rewarding than a Michelin star.
What I made was insalata di riso. That’s a very Italian rice salad. It’s a classing dish made on summer days and it mostly appears at large gatherings and picnics.
The rice is boiled for 15 minutes with fresh or frozen peas and rinsed in cold water to cool it off and to get rid of most of the starch. Then the fun starts. The classic recipe calls for good canned tuna in olive oil, hard boiled eggs, diced tomatoes, some green olives, pickled vegetables, roasted peppers and yes, don’t run away, wusterls. They are the German or the Italian equivalent to the American hot dogs. Once you taste them sliced , cold and combined with all the other goodies, you’ll be forever hooked, because I strongly, believe, one cannot always feed on balsamic reductions.
In the end the whole thing gets dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, salt and pepper, a sprinkle
of chopped parsley, some basil, parmesan slivers and if you feel frisky also with a couple of spoons of good mayonnaise. It’s best to let it rest it in the fridge for at least an hour to combine all the flavors but a full stop overnight makes it even better.
Of course as you can imagine, the variation are many. You can boil the rice with aromatics or saffron to get a flavor kick, change the rice to a black or a red rice, add all sorts of ingredients like shrimps or swordfish or humble chicken or substitute the wurstel for a cured fancy salame or prosciutto, but who has time or the will to go to Brooklyn and run in one more bearded artisanal butcher. Besides I love the original recipe too much to change it.
I made the insalata di riso, in less the 25 minutes, if you are smart and organized you can chop all the ingredients while the rice is cooking and cook the eggs in the rice water during the last 10 minutes .
I also poached some sweet cherries in red wine, then since I cannot help myself, I made a vanilla budino. It was a great meal, everybody was happy and my kids kicked my derriere at badminton. I posted the pictures on facebook and instagram and this morning I was inundated with requests for the recipe, so here it is.
I hope you have a great lazy and tasty 4th of July and for once don’t spend too much time in the kitchen.
Ingredients
- 3 cups rice arborio
- 1 cup peas frozen work well
- 1 can tuna olive oli drained, broken in to chunks
- 4 medium/large eggs
- 1 medium tomato diced
- 1/2 cup green olives pitted
- 2 roasted peppers diced
- 1/2 cup pickled vegetables
- 4 hot dogs
- 1/2 cup parmesan slivers diced fontina or pecorino are good substitute
- 2 teaspoons chopped parsley
- 6 leaves basil teared in small pieces
- 1 medium lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise optional
Servings: people
Instructions
- Boil the rice in salted water for 15 minutes, add the peas during the last 7 minutes. Drain well and rinse in cold water. Reserve in a large bowl. Meanwhile cook the eggs for 9/10 minutes till hardboiled. Peel and cut in to eights. Cook the hot dogs for a couple of minutes in boiling water, then drain and slice in small rounds. Add the tuna, the tomatoes, the olives, the peppers, the pickled vegetables, the sliced hot dogs, the parmesan to the rice. Dress the salad with the olive oil, lemon salt pepper and mayonnaise if using. Add the chopped herbs mix well, and lastly add the eggs. Cover with film and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Overnight is better.
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Summer Meals
The 4:06 train, or the Jitney and complimentary peanuts, or an unforgivably expensive rental car is what comes to mind when I think of my NY summers in the late 90’s; followed by the scent of recently cut grass, salty fresh air, and a tire swinging from an old tree.
Like most New Yorkers, I had a share in a summer home in the Hampton. It was a share in an old, once majestic home on Ocean Avenue in Bridgehampton, named after a potato farmer known as Old Men Brennan.
The Brennan home didn’t have the amenities one would expect from a summer home in the Hamptons; it had no pool, no air conditioning, no fancy speakers or a big screen TV, and some would say part of it was definitely hygienically below standards, requiring heavy bleach use at the beginning of the season. The sleeping quarters were unequally distributed, all the beds were lumpy and 2 rooms in the back were kind-heartedly described as the Ann Frank’s rooms.
However the Brennan home had an old kitchen, perfect for baking pies, an impeccable grass lawn meant for fierce croquet games famously assisted by tall icy vodka tonics, a green room for rainy days, where a group of good friends made up by talented artist, writers and designers could share a laugh, a glass or two of wine, and a good meal during the mercilessly hot NY weekends.
Old Man Breannan’s House. Painting by Christian Vincent.
The meals at the house were taken as seriously as the discussions about art, life, relationships and work, and they were, for the most part, shared labor and shared economy. They were conceived around the kitchen table where cooking skills and family recipes not only helped craft unforgivable meals, but also still standing friendships. They were consumed mostly on the lawn, by the tree with the swing.
Some Of The Girls Cooking
Eventually, the Brennan house came to an end. Some of the people got married; some broke up, or some simply moved on or away, yet my love for a perfect summer meal, eaten alfresco and shared with good friends and family remains certain.
Nowadays, when I serve a meal outside, I often like to start with a Pimm’s cup, an anglophile habit I picked up after living in London. It looks pretty, it’s refreshing and it’s a cheerful way to get one or two of your fruits and veggies daily doses. Here’s a great link for trustworthy recipes:
As a main course, I frequently make an oven baked whole fish. Branzino or red snapper both work well. I leave the head on and all the bones in for flavor, no need to be squirmish, and I make sure to descale the outside and wash the insides well. I cook it on an oven tray lined with slices of lemons and aromatics. The lemon and aromatics prevent the fish from sticking to the bottom and donate a brilliant flavor.
Red Snapper. Photo By Beatriz da Costa
For side dishes, I insist on a Mediterranean style potato salad, dressed with a good fruity and pungent olive oil, parsley, basil and salty black cured olives. I also like to serve roasted peppers and a fresh arugula salad tossed with lemon juice vinaigrette. I roast the peppers on an open flame then I close them in brown paper bag for 15 minutes, this way the skin peels off easy. It’s great a trick my dad taught me a long time ago.
While a pie, any kind of pie would certainly be a nice ending, at the moment I’m obsessed with Ataulfo mangos. They are sweet, full of flavor and just perfect for my mango, orange and passion fruit cake.
Passion Fruit Cake
Although some wish the days at Brennan house never ended I raise my Pimm’s cup to this summer and all the summers to come, and I hope where ever you are, you will share a good meal together with someone you care for, on a green shady lawn.
Old Friends. By Beatriz da Costa.
Ingredients
- 4 1 to 1 1/4 pound Whole Fish Scup, Branzino, Seabass,
- 2 large lemons sliced
- 1 whole lemon juice
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- 8 bay leaves
- 8 cloves garlic unpeeled
- bunch parsley
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 medium red onion sliced
- 1 bunch thyme
Servings: people
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° and line a large tray with baking paper then scatter lemon slices, rosemary, sliced red onion, garlic, and bay leaves on it.
- Season the fish cavities with salt and stuff 2 lemon rounds, a bay leaf, some of the thyme, a garlic clove, parsley and 1 rosemary sprig in each. Season the fish with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil and the lemon juice.
- Roast the fish in the oven for about 25 minutes, until just cooked through.
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds fingerling potatoes or any kind of small waxy potatoes
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 3/4 cup black cured olives pitted and sliced in half
- 2/3 tbsp chopped chives
- 2/3 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
Servings: people
Instructions
- Scrub the potatoes and put them, whole, in a saucepan with water to cover by 1/2 inch and the salt. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook the potatoes gently until they are just tender and can be pierced with a sharp knife. About 20 to 25 minutes Drain immediately and let cool slightly. Scrape the skin from the cooked potatoes, if you want, as soon as they can be handled.
- Slice the potatoes while still warm, cutting them crosswise into 1/2-inch sections. Put the pieces in a large mixing bowl,drizzle 3 or 4 tablespoons of olive oil over them, the Dijon mustard and toss gently to distribute.
- Add the herbs, the olives and season with salt pepper and the remaing olive oil.
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Ingredients
Cake
- 1 1/2 stick Butter 175g
- 1 1/2 cups caster sugar 300g
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 315g
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate (baking) soda
- 5 tbsp shredded desiccated coconut
- 14 oz alfonso mangos about 4/6 mangos peeled and cubed
Glaze
- 1/2 cup passion fruit pulp juice is fine too
- 5 tbs caster sugar 65 g
Servings: people
Instructions
Cake
- Heat the oven at 325 F 170C Butter and line with parchment paper a 9 1/2 inches 24cm spring form cake pan
- Grate the zest of the oranges and reserve. Peel the oranges, discard the peel and put the oranges flesh into a food processor. Pulse to a puree, then transfer to a measuring cup. You should have 3/4 of a cup or 180ml. Add water if necessary. Set aside.
- With an electric beater, beat the butter the sugar, vanilla and the reserved orange zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at the time, beating very well between each one. Add a spoonful of flour with the last egg to stop curdling. Slowly beat in the flour, the salt and combine.
- Sprinkle the soda over the pureed oranges and as the soda is now active add immediately to the cake batter and slowly beat until combined.
- Pour into the lined pan, sprinkle with coconut and spread the mango on top. Bake until the sides of the cake pull away from the pan and a cake tester or tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. About 1 hour and 30 minutes; cover loosely with foil if the top starts to over-brown while baking. Pull out of the oven, run a knife around the sides and leave to cool complelty in to its pan on wire rack before turning out.
Glaze
- Make the glaze. Put the passion fruit and sugar in a small pan over low heat. Cook until thickened, 1 or 2 minutes. Drizzle over the cake.
Recipe Notes
Can be baked one day in advance and kept in an airtight container.
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Bits and Brownies
What Makes a Woman?
Good question and terrific article in the NYT Sunday Review by Ms. Elinor Burkett, commenting about the outstanding Mr. Bruce Jenner transformation in to Ms. Caitlyn Jenner.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/opinion/sunday/what-makes-a-woman
Ms. Burkett, very elegantly and eloquently exposes many notions I have been pondering about and wanting to put down on paper myself, but I have not being able to properly articulate.
What I’ll do instead is urge you to read the article and with enthusiasm welcome Ms. Jenner
to the alluring but somewhat complicated world of women. A world made not only of pretty nail polish, tight spanx and never ending styles of uncomfortable shoes created to torture large and small feet, but also a world of tired women forced to pump milk in public bathrooms due to the lack of adequate maternity leave, a world of no equal pay and no equal employment opportunity,
a world that most of the times demands to grow a pair in order to fashionably survive in.
Thankfully I hear Caitlyn has kept all her necessary bits in place.
I also want to warn and urge Ms. Jenner, in the likely event the corset shall becomes too tight,
or a bad hair day should strike, the stache start to show, or God forbid, 6 months from now, shall she wake up to be, not on the beautifully and immaculately styled cover of Vanity Fair but back on the less flattering front of the Enquirer, to instantaneously invite the girls over for a “cook and bitch session”, and share with them her newly acquired womanly sorrows and my gooey, out of this world chocolate brownies. They are known to put a stop to all sorts of dramas, put some hair on the chest and cure the blues every time. Smartly us women know, sugar and spices is what we are made of.
Ingredients
- 375 g Butter
- 375 g dark chocolate
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 500 g sugar
- 225 g all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Servings: squares
Instructions
- Preheat the oven at 350 F and line the base and sides of a 13 x 9 baking pan with parchment paper.
- Put the chocolate and the butter in to a metal bowl and place it on a pot of simmering water, making sure the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Melt the chocolate and the butter slowly mixing from time to time with a rubber spatula. Careful not to get water in to the bowl. Set aside to cool off.
- Beat the eggs and sugar well with the aid of a kitchen aid. I like to use a rubber spatula attachment. Add the vanilla extract. Slowly add the chocolate and butter. Fold in the flour, cocoa powder and salt by hand making sure to incorporate all and mix gently until uniform in color.
- Pour in to the lined baking pan and cook in the oven for 25 minutes. The center should be still a little soft and gooey. Place on a rack to cool off. Cut in 48 squares.
Recipe Notes
You can add walnuts, coconuts, dried cherry hazelnuts, white chocolate chips, butterscotch , a shot of espresso, a hot of rum, or even half a glass of red wine! YUM YUM YUM
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When things go OOPS in the kitchen.
There are glorious moments in the kitchen when things go exquisitely well and we picture our face,
in all its sweaty glory, on the cover of Bon Appétit and then, there is that slow motion, non returnable instant, when all goes terribly wrong. Every chef, every cook knows disaster can strike
in a split second.
We get distracted, we make mistakes, we make a mess, we don’t follow directions, or simply there is mechanical failure. Even Julia Child was no stranger to dropping the occasional raw chicken or letting her flambé’ turn in to serious flames.
I’m no stranger to those “OOPS Moment” myself. I have for sure had my share of flat cakes, bland soups, raw chickens, dry breads, explosive blenders, and bloody fingers. I could go on for days. Luckily, no one has to know. That’s when I’m in the privacy of my own little kitchen.
And that’s when I always leave my self some extra time to either cook something new or run out for rotisserie kitchen.
However there are those times when I have to cook live and I only have 30 minutes to do it right. I’m talking about this past weekend at the Audubon Greenwich, where I had the pleasure and the honor to be invited to do 3 cooking demonstrations during the Sustainable Farm Expo.
I was excited to work with fresh farm eggs, marinate and grill a yummy bavette steak, show how to home cure a salmon and use some great organic, local produce form the Westport Farmers Market.
Poached egg. 3 minutes.
While the eggs and home cured salmon where smooth sailing, my mise for steak was not in place and when I went to cook the beautiful grass fed steak, the burners were not working and the grill pan was cold.
Bavette steak demo.
There is a nothing fun about 50 piercing eyes, including the ones of the butcher, staring at you and the hungry silence that descends during a cooking demo going south. But there is always a way to come back north. Luckily I had an electric pan in the back. The steak was saved and so was lunch.
Following are a few tips for when Murphy’s Law “If anything can go wrong, it will” rears it’s ugly head and my recipe for home cured citrus salmon.
- Never try something new and don’t improvise or substitute ingredients when cooking for guests.
- Prep everything ahead. I mean everything.
- Make lists of what you will need. Don’t forget your list.
- Even ovens with the best intentions may be off, but an oven thermometer will solve the mystery of the real temperature.
- Hot liquids will explode in a blender. Cool everything off before pushing the start button.
- Keep your knives sharp.
- Try everything before serving and before cooking.
- Salt is your friend.
- Don’t panic. Think.
- Make ahead some pizzas, a meat stew, meatballs, soups, a pasta-bake and freeze all for emergencies.
- Never apologize. If you are cooking for someone you are doing him or her a favor. Whatever the out come is they should kiss the ground you walk on or at least do your dishes.
Home Cured Salmon.
About Bavette
A Perfect Meal
Some pine for the perfect storm, I hunger for the perfect meal.
I spend hours of the day and sometimes of the night exploring and obsessing about ingredients and flavor combinations to create a flawless meal to share with people, no matter if I’m conceptualizing for one of my more intricate events or a laidback dinner with friends.
Some might think of it as OCD, I call it love for both scrumptious food and dedication to my guests.
Elegant, no frills, standing up, meat, vegetarian, kids, no kids, celebratory, winter, summer, only a nosh. The possibilities are endless.
Then, there are certain times in life when nothing will do but a steak.
When steak is king, a vast selection flows in to my brain while I go through the different textures, flavors and degrees of tenderness. Rib eye, sirloin, t-bone, dry aged, Fiorentina, Porterhouse, these are all cuts with merits and singular degrees of juiciness and oral pleasure.
If I want flavor and texture, one cut is firmly lodged in my mind and that’s undeniably flap steak. And since the name it’s a bit unappealing, you can add a bit of je ne sais quoi and call it Bavette like the French, or go south of the border and refer to it as Fajitas. I name it my favorite.
And I’m not the only one. Before becoming a darling of the hipster chefs in Brooklyn, it was known as the butcher best-kept secret.
The Bavette is similar to skirt and flank in that it comes from the less tender regions of the animal. Often cheaper than more popular cuts, this little underdog of the beef world has a wonderful meaty flavor and a fine texture.
It demands a good marinade, high heat quick grilling, a mandatory slice against the grain at an angle, and resting time.
This is a steak I would serve to my close friends, at boy’s night or perhaps the poker crew but I’m certain it would impress any diehard foodie hanging around.
My marinade of choice for Bavette is a whiskey, honey, coffee and garlic marinade. Salty and slightly bitter from the espresso powder but with a hint of sweetness from the honey, it enhances the already powerful flavor of the, if cooked right, charred but tender meat.
Photo by Beatriz da Costa, styling by Erin Swift
I like to serve the steak, medium rare, sliced, with a caramelized onion marmalade I have learned to make at Ritz in London that I adore for its sweetness and silky texture and a simple but bright and slightly vinegary salsa verde. Nothing else.
Photo by Beatriz da Costa, styling by Erin Swift
Except, speaking of talented hipsters, a glass of my friend Sarah’s whiskey from Van Brunt Stillhouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn that I like to use for the marinade as well and of course good bread for mopping up the juices.
van brunt stillhouse
If you cannot find Bavette steak, a flat iron, a flank or a skirt steak would be a beautiful and equally tasty substitutes.
A generous helping of coffee affogato could end the evening well, making this, in my mind, a perfect meal and for others a fun poker night.
If you want to learn more about how to prepare and cook steak come by May 31st at the Sustainable Food and Farm Expo at Audubon Greenwich where I’ll be doing 3 demonstrations during the day and using some great cheaper cuts from the skillful and renowned Fleisher’s Craft Butchery.
The Farm Expo will be from 10 am to 5 pm and it will showcase twenty food exhibitors and vendors plus talks, demonstrations, and tastings with a wide range of experts every thirty minutes. The Sustainable Food & Farm Expo is a production of Audubon Greenwich, the Fairfield Green Food Guide, and Strawberry and Sage.
For more information and to purchase tickets click on:
Sustainable Food and Farm Expo
Or get them directly at:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/1568464
Recipe by Silvia Baldini—Flank demands a good marinade to add flavor but also to promote browning and crispness. It needs high heat quick grilling, a mandatory slice against the grain at an angle, and resting time. I marinate the meat for thirty minutes to two hours. For rare steak, I grill it on really high heat for three to five minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. Larger steaks might take longer.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 4 | 20 minutes |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 15 minutes | 2 hours |
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Recipe by Silvia Baldini—Flank demands a good marinade to add flavor but also to promote browning and crispness. It needs high heat quick grilling, a mandatory slice against the grain at an angle, and resting time. I marinate the meat for thirty minutes to two hours. For rare steak, I grill it on really high heat for three to five minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. Larger steaks might take longer.
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Ingredients
- 1 2-3 pounds bavette or flank steak
- 2 cloves peeled garlic
- 2 tablespoons whiskey
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Honey maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons espresso powder brewed strong coffee can be substitute
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- salt/ black pepper
- olive oil
Servings:
Instructions
- Marinate the steak. Place the steak in a ziplock bag. Mix the garlic, whiskey, honey or syrup, soy, coffee and vinegar until well combined, then pour over the steak and close the ziplock bag. Chill for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours in the fridge. Return to room temperature before cooking.
- Remove the steak from the marinade. Put the marinade in a small sauce pan and reduce over medium heat, Bring to a boil then simmer until thickened. About 5 minutes. Reserve.
- Cook the steak. Season well with salt and pepper. And drizzle a little oil on it. Heat a grill pan or a regular pan over high heat. Grill the steak 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium rare.
- Let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes. Slice at an angle and against the grain. Drizzle the reserved and warmed marinade over the steak before serving.
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Ingredients
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Butter
- 4 large sweet onions cut in to thin slices
- 2 sprigs thyme
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
Servings: cups
Instructions
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil until shimmering add then butter and melt. Add the onions and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 15/20 minutes.
- Tie the bay leaves and rosemary and thyme together with kitchen twine. Add the herb bundle to the onions and cook over low heat, stirring a few times, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the sugar over the onions and cook, without stirring, until the sugar melts, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high and cook, without stirring, until an amber-brown caramel forms, about 6 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and simmer over low heat, stirring a few times, until the jam is thick, about 5 minutes. Discard the herb bundle. Season the jam with salt and pepper and let it cool to warm.
- MAKE AHEAD The caramelized onion jam can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups flat leaves parsley
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 fillet anchovies
- 1/4 cup drained and rinsed capers
- 1/4 cup stale bread crumbs
- 1/2 clove peeled garlic you can omit the garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- salt an pepper
Servings:
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until combined. You can also use a mortar or a hand held blender.
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Cool Moms
Anna Jarvis created the modern American holiday of Mother’s day in 1908 to honor her own mother. The Von Trap family, made their mom “One of Their Favorite Things”, and named a cheese after her. Marie Curie was a radioactive mama. In addition to breaking the gender barrier and discovering the two elements, radium and polonium, she raised two daughters and was honored with two Nobel prizes in physics and chemistry. I recently read in Food and Wine magazine that chef Mario Batali has made his mom blueberry crumble a staple at his dinner parties.
Next Sunday across America families will be looking for ways to celebrate their moms and all the women that mean something to them. Personally I’ll be honoring my mom and my mother in law. Both shared their love with me and passed on to me, among other things, their passion for cooking.
My mom was a remarkable lady. An egyptologist and a latin and greek scholar, she distilled in me a deep love for books, art, small tea sandwiches, and her vast gastronomical knowledge. If I had to pick a recipe that represents her the best, I would probably choose her baked peaches with an Amaretti cookies crumble. She used to bring them out at the end of simple dinner parties. She would serve them still slightly warm and nestled with all their sticky juices, on a pale green ceramic platter that would offset and complement the sun kissed yellows and pinks of the peaches. Each spoon was a combination of sweet, crunchy and caramelized heaven with a hint of almond and maternal love.
Mom, August 1967
My mother in law is another extraordinary lady. She left Bologna to live in NYC in the 70’ where my husband was born. She lived in the West Village when the Village was the ” Village”. She travelled to Seattle on her own to teach Italian to US Air force students. She moved back to Italy and raised, in my opinion, two pretty handsome sons. She can grind a crossword puzzle like no one. Her knowledge in the kitchen is surpassed by no one. Before marrying my husband she gifted me with two large volumes of hand typed family recipes. I cherish these books and use them often. The recipes in these books are a collection of loved dishes, often served at family gatherings and a genealogical map of traditions passed on by mothers and grandmothers.
Betta, 1970
My kids and I adore her prosciutto and Fontina brioche. Pure golden perfection. Once in the oven the aroma of baking buttery bread pervades our house, making the wait almost unbearable. We eat it warm, right out of the oven. It makes a good dinner. I have been told my rendition is almost as good as hers, but not quite there yet.
While next Sunday, you don’t necessarily need to name a cheese after your mom, or present her with a Nobel prize, make sure you take time to honor her, spend time with her and cherish every precious second you have with her. She deserves the love.
If you want to know more about splendid moms, my mom and these recipes, please tune in this Thursday the 7th at noon when I’ll be a guest on HansRadio for a Mother day special on Stir Crazy : Food Chat with Patty Gay .
Ingredients
- 6 medium peaches
- 1 tablespoon chocolate powder
- 2 large egg yolks
- 8 onces dark chocolate chopped finely with a knife
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon rum
- 18/20 Amaretti cookies
- 2 tablespoon Butter
Servings:
Instructions
- Wash the peaches in cold water, dry well and halve them with a pairing knife. Remove the pit.
- With a spoon remove some of the peaches pulp and form a space for the filling, reserve the pulp in a bowl.
- Crumble the Amaretti cookies in a food processor or by hand. Add to the peaches pulp.
- Using a Kitchen-aid or by hand cream the egg's yolks and sugar together until fluffy and light. Add to the cookies and the peaches. Add the cocoa powder and the dark chocolate. Add the rum. Mix well.
- Fill the peaches with the cookie and egg dough and place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven at 350F for about 45 minutes. They can be served warm or room temperature.
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Ingredients
- 2 cups flour 00
- 9 tablespoons Butter softend
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup fontina cheese cut in small cubes
- 10 slices prosciutto cotto sliced thin
- 1 envelope dry yeast instant works well
- 4 tablespoons milk warm
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg for shine
Servings:
Instructions
- In a Kitchen-aid fitted with a blade mix the butter, flour, eggs and salt, combine well.
- Activate the yeast in the warm milk. Add to the dough and mix.
- Butter and line a medium size oven proof baking dish. Spread half of the dough in it with the help of the blade of a knife. It's a very sticky dough so be patient and makes sure to reserve half of the dough to cover the top.
- Sprinkle with a layer of the fontina cheese cubed and lay the prosciutto slices on top. Cover with the remaining dough. Spread it even. Beat the remaining egg with a fork to make a wash, you can add teaspoon of water. With a brush paint the whole brioche evenly.
- Leave the brioche to raise in a warm place for 3 hours. Cover loosely with a canvas.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 350F for about 40 minutes. Slice and eat warm.
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Pressed, layered Sandwich
Tarragon Aioli
Tarragon Aioli
Ingredients
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 table spoon fresh tarragon minced
- 1/2 clove garlic
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Whisk mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons oil, tarragon, vinegar, minced garlic, and lemon juice in small bowl to blend well. Season aioli with salt and pepper.
