Category Archives: Improvisation Friendly

Banged Up Tomato Sauce

Posted on by October 27, 2014

In continuing with my dog days of Summer, utilizing the market, savoring the summer, preparing for the winter themed posts as of late, I bring you the really simple Banged Up Tomato Sauce. Simple though it may be, I made it dramatic and elegant by making two pots of sauce at the same time, in two colors, and then swirled them together in the bowl for serving. So beautiful, and an important reminder that the simplest things can be the best. I make Banged Up Tomato Sauce in large quantities and then freeze it when the $1.00 bin is full of beautiful tomatoes, hence the name. Tomatoes do not need to be pristine for sauce, that’s what my Peach Caprése Salad is all about. Most recently at the market, the dollar bin was full of yellow, orange, and red tomatoes and I knew I wanted to do two colors side by side. I bought about 8 pounds of red and 4 pounds yellow and orange as well as three giant Vidalia onions (but any sweet ones will do) and lots of garlic for a little over $10.00. I made the onion base part of the recipe for both sauces at the same time … Continue reading →

Orzo Salad with Dill Pesto

Posted on by October 27, 2014

Fortunately for me, August has finally brought some time to head down the shore (that’s Philly for go to the beach), which also is Philly for make some Orzo Salad with Dill Pesto. You see, I tend to pack a picnic for shore days; this way I can head straight to my favorite beach and settle in for the day. I couldn’t possibly put down my book long enough to go find lunch, so I plan ahead. I like to steam plain veggies and bring cheese, fruit and crackers or a nice pasta salad. Pasta salads are great for the beach; as long as you don’t use any dairy, they generally hold up well without refrigeration. This Orzo Salad with Dill Pesto is a fun variation on pesto. Cashews substitute well for pine nuts if you’re trying to be frugal. They have a rich flavor that gets closer to the oomph of pine nuts than a lot of other nuts. Check it out next time you’re looking at store-bought pesto, cashews will be on the ingredient list; a lot of companies use them to keep production costs down. The dill is strong enough that you won’t want to use it … Continue reading →

Dying Fruit Tart

Posted on by October 28, 2014

This Dying Fruit Tart is how I handle the fact that I overbuy fruit sometimes, especially in the summer. I’ll be at the market and everything looks *so* good. And I just can’t be bothered to remember that we have lots of social plans and won’t be home to eat it. So I ignore the problem and wait until the beautiful summer fruit is about to go bad. And then I’m really sad and disappointed with myself. But I have some solutions. One of them is to make some sweet tart dough and bake a dying fruit tart. Usually, you don’t need to add much sugar in a dying fruit tart because the fruit has become super sweet. I make the pâte sablée two at a time and keep one in the freezer for last second dinner plans and use frozen fruit in a pinch. I like the 9-inch tart because it doesn’t leave me with days and days of leftovers. Trust me, we have plenty of dessert around without a lovely Dying Fruit Tart. Pâte Sablée (Sweet Tart Dough) 3 cups of fruit you no longer want to eat, yet aren’t ready to throw away ½ cup – 1 … Continue reading →

Peach Caprése Salad

Posted on by October 28, 2014

This Peach Caprése Salad is more of an idea than a recipe, but, it’s a really good idea- one definitely worthy of its own post. Now that stone fruit season is fully upon us, I’m eating A LOT of peaches. Most recently, sliced and stacked on top of the tomato just before the mozzarella. It turns out, that even though I never thought that caprése salad was lacking in any way, it is just as good, if not better, with a slice of sweet, juicy, local peach. I recommend you give the Peach Caprése Salad a try. You won’t be sorry. 1 large heirloom tomato 1 large peach 4 ounce ball of mozzarella fresh basil olive oil balsamic vinegar (the best you can afford) salt pepper Slice the tomatoes, peaches and mozzarella into similar thickness pieces. Lay out the tomatoes on a large plate. Salt very lightly. Top with the peaches, then the mozzarella. Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic across the tops of the stacks. You need very little. Dust with salt and pepper. Top with fresh basil leaves. Let marinate a few minutes if you can. Eat. Repeat. … Continue reading →

PESTO!

Posted on by October 28, 2014

Just in case you have basil coming out of your ears or your farm share and you don’t already have a pesto recipe… Here’s how I make PESTO!. I haven’t actually measured out my pesto ingredients in years, so when I made it this week, it was a fun exercise to measure, record, and compare to the recipe my mom gave me years ago, when I left for college. Another fun part of digging out my recipe was discovering that my Aunt Elly taught my mother to make pesto via a note written on the card. A food processor or blender makes this a dream. But making PESTO! can be done via mortar and pestle as well. In fact, that’s how it got its name. 2 cups fresh basil leaves (gently packed if you’re serious about measuring, or two big handfuls) ¼ cup pine nuts ½ cup fresh parmigiano reggiano cut into small pieces (or grated if you’re making it by hand) 2-4 cloves of garlic ½ cup olive oil 1 + teaspoons sea salt extra parm and pine nuts for garnish 1 pound spaghetti Put a big pot of salted water on the stove to boil. Wash and dry the … Continue reading →

Farro Salad with Rapini and Tomatoes

Posted on by October 29, 2014

This Farro Salad with Rapini and Tomatoes is hearty and refreshing. It travels well and is very flexible in terms of what ingredients you sub in and out. And it makes a great meal in and of itself. I love the texture of the farro in salad. It has a bit of a chew to it, and it holds up well to dressing for a long time without losing its shape and bite. It’s also an Italian grain so it’s great against the more bitter Italian rapini. Add sweet summer tomatoes and salty capers and green olives and the flavor starts getting nice and round. Finally, some cool creamy cheese melds this Farro Salad with Rapini and Tomatoes into a picnic masterpiece. Sometimes I even add some cannellini beans and call it dinner. In this case, Farro Salad with Rapini and Tomatoes was just one of three amazing salads on my 4th of July Picnic Spectacular! Either way, you’re going to love this Farro Salad with Rapini and Tomatoes in all it’s Summer glory. … Continue reading →

Watermelon and Feta Salad

Posted on by November 15, 2015

It was finally HOT and humid in Philly today, which in my book means salad for dinner; if that salad is a Watermelon and Feta Salad, all the better. I love this salad. It’s gotten really popular in the last few years, but its trendiness doesn’t diminish its appeal to me. It’s o-so-simple and refreshing. This Watermelon and Feta Salad is a great way to stave off the heat and have and excuse to eat creamy French feta. Of course you can use any feta you like, but let me make my ex-cheese professional appeal for French feta. It’s less salty, and extra creamy. I love using different fetas for different dishes. Of the readily available fetas, the Bulgarian is the most strong with the saltiest brine. The Greek is what most people have most often in the US, it’s the middle of the road in terms of saltiness. But with a salad like this Watermelon and Feta Salad, where I want the herbs and the watermelon to really shine, I find that the French feta is really the way to go. And then I like to add my spicy jalapeño balsamic dressing to add just a touch of heat. The … Continue reading →

Morning After Meal: Assemblage Cooking: Succotash with Corn Pasta

Posted on by April 9, 2014

Gotta love leftovers. Especially when you can re-purpose them into something new, different and exciting. If you made succotash for your derby party and there’s lots leftover, never fear. Simply boil some pasta. I used a very cool corn pasta in this instance. Then reheat the succotash, add some spinach to get your greens in and top with fresh basil and parmesan cheese. I’ve got this amazing piece of a 3-year old parm aged by Giorgio Cravero. It’s really amazing and adds that little something extra. It really doesn’t get any easier than this. pasta succotash basil parmesan cheese … Continue reading →

Chilled Peach Soup

Posted on by April 27, 2015

This Chilled Peach Soup recipe is based on an appetizer I used to have at the Inn at Kristofer’s in Sister Bay, Wisconsin. The restaurant was one of my early exposures to fine dining. I’ve modified it a little to suit my taste, but it’s basically the same as what they used to serve in a martini glass. Of course, at the time, I thought this was the absolute height of sophistication. Even if you’re serving it in little plastic cups (I found square ones to dress it up a bit) you’ll find this is a great recipe for a large group. I tripled the recipe (and left it at one bottle of champagne) since I was cooking for a party of 30 and using it as an appetizer, but the quantity written here is the right amount for 4 – 6 people as a first course. Chilled Peach Soup cried out to be included on the Derby Party Menu and indeed it was perfect for a hot day celebrating a Southern tradition. As an extra reminder, this recipe is of course, best in late July and August when you have fresh local peaches, but it works quite well with frozen … Continue reading →

Grilled Vegetable Naan Sandwiches

Posted on by September 22, 2014

This is one of my go-to Summer weeknight meals. It’s really delicious and nutritious and I can grill a big mess of veggies on a Sunday and have them all week long. The yogurt sauce really ties this dish together. And if you’re in a meat sort or mood, some grilled shrimp or chicken on this sandwich is a great addition. I usually marinate them in tandoori paste if I’m going that route. Depending on how many veggies you eat on the side, there’s enough for 4 – 8 servings. 4- 8 frozen naan; defrosted 4 small to medium zucchini, yellow and green; sliced ¼ inch thick 1 medium eggplant; sliced ¼ inch thick ramps or scallions; roots removed tomatoes; quartered ¼ cup olive oil 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or red, white wine, champagne) zest of one lemon 1 teaspoon garlic paste salt and pepper ½ cup thick yogurt ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon cayenne ½ teaspoon curry powder Marinate the vegetables in the olive oil, vinegar, zest, garlic and salt and pepper. I quickly dip the eggplant first and then toss everything else in while I grill the eggplant. The eggplant wants to suck up all the oil, … Continue reading →

Deviled Eggs

Posted on by April 30, 2015

Of course, everyone already knows how to make Deviled Eggs. Why would you possibly need a recipe? The truth is that most of us need a recipe, or at least some new techniques. In fact, it’s possible (or probable) that this should have been a pantry tips/ let’s fix it post. Because everyone knows how to hard-boil an egg intuitively, that means that lots of us don’t know how to do it well. If you don’t know Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, you’re in for a treat, because his column and book are all about technique. In fact, Deviled Eggs are an example of a food I thought I didn’t like but actually just hadn’t eaten it cooked correctly until very late in life because I can’t stand the taste of over cooked hard boiled eggs. Mark Bittman’s egg cooking techniques are life altering, at least for people like me. I recommend you watch this video. Cooking the eggs properly will update this old school dish in a new school way. And after you know how to boil eggs to your liking, the sky is the limit in terms of making Deviled Eggs. I like them to be a … Continue reading →

Lobster Salad with Goat Cheese Vinaigrette

Posted on by September 22, 2014

I love avocado and citrus together. I routinely pair them together on salads and serve them as a side to many Mexican dishes, sometimes with black beans, corn and cotija cheese. In this case, I wanted to make the salad a little more glamorous for a dinner party. Also, recently I have seen the ingredients paired with goat cheese and I wanted to try my hand at the pairing, but without an overwhelming concentration of goat cheese that comes from sprinkling it over the top or the salad. Inspiration hit in the form of making goat cheese vinaigrette. ¼ pound lobster meat (crab, shrimp, light flakey fish all substitute well) 2 pink grapefruits; segmented 2 oranges; segmented (reserve the juice) 1 large Florida avocado or 2 Hass avocados 1 bunch of watercress, stems removed 1 head Boston, butter, or Bibb lettuce 1 tablespoon olive oil Salt and pepper Goat cheese vinaigrette: 2 ounces goat cheese (I used Cypress Grove’s Purple Haze which has lavender and fennel pollen on it) 4 tablespoons orange juice 1 tablespoon honey Makes 4 large salads. Wash and tear the salad into bite size pieces. Toss it in a large salad bowl with the olive oil … Continue reading →