Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bring the meat and bones to room temperature and pat dry with a paper towel. Season flour with steak seasoning and lightly coat stew meat.** Heat a Dutch oven, add olive oil and butter. Sauté beef bones on all sides …
There are only 2 cucumber plants in the garden, however, they are producing almost more than we can eat, so I’m looking forward to exploring new ways to use them. Every day I marvel at the long reaching delicate tendrils that grasp and coil around …
The first time I planted Black Beauty eggplant, I thought she was the prettiest plant in the garden. Then I grew her cousin, the Fairy Tale eggplant, I thought she was the prettiest – with petite purple-and-white stripes, tender creamy flesh, and hardly any bitterness.
When something this beautiful comes out of the garden, I usually don’t want to do much to it. Olive oil, salt and pepper are often enough. Grilled eggplant alongside sautéed sea bass, peeled heirloom tomatoes and fresh limas, finished with a champagne vinaigrette, is one of my favorite ways to serve it. But sometimes it’s fun to take those same garden vegetables somewhere unexpected. Inspired by Yotam Ottolenghi’s Flavor, I roast the eggplant until soft and deeply browned, then blend the creamy flesh with lemon, Dijon, garlic and Greek yogurt. What began in the garden becomes the dressing itself – creamy, savory and bright enough to pull the whole salad together.
Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise.
Score the flesh, sprinkle with salt, and turn them upside down on a wire rack to rest for 10 minutes. The salt will extract the bitterness from the eggplant.
Pat dry with paper towel. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with pepper.
Roast in a pre heated 400 degree oven, flesh side up, for 35 – 40 minutes, or until nicely browned.
Remove and let cool. Scrape out the flesh and combine with all ingredients in a food processor and mix until creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use. Drizzle generously over salad ingredients.
To toast almonds: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place slivered almonds on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake 4-5 minutes or until golden. Set a timer and watch them closely – they can easily burn. You’ll smell their nutty aroma just as they begin to toast.
Vinaigrettes aren’t just for salads. Spoon a little beneath grilled fish or vegetables, or drizzle it around the plate. Scatter the tomatoes and and limas instead of grouping them – repeating ingredients across the plate keeps your eye moving. Build a little height when you can – a piece of grilled fish or chicken is the perfect place for a small handful of lightly dressed greens.
A cast iron skillet. So important in the south, the coveted perfectly seasoned ones are passed down for generations, like the small one I have that reliably makes perfectly crisp golden cornbread every time. Today, however, you can purchase pre-seasoned ones with the hard work …
Rainbow carrots, vibrant green asparagus and purple cauliflower brighten up this winter plate. Add in some melt-in-your-mouth creamy parmesan risotto and you have a hearty meatless comfort meal. Roasted Winter Vegetables Ingredients On a parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle asparagus and carrots with olive oil. …
The droopy headed purple, green and white hellebores, with their delicate necks and happily painted petals are filling up the side yard, and bright citrus in every form is demanding your attention at the market. Tiny little orange kumquats turn into this chewy tart sweet delight when cooked in a simple syrup. Pair them with a chocolate lava cake, top it with orange mascarpone cream, and pour over the cinnamon vanilla syrup from the poached petite fruit…WOW!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 4 ramekins.
Blend butter and sugar, slowly add eggs and then flour, cocoa and at the end the cream. Fill greased ramekins. Bake approximately 12 minutes. Run knife around the edges and invert onto a dessert plate.
Prick the kumquats all over with a toothpick. In a shallow pot, add water to cover and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and let cool (about 30 minute) then drain. Repeat this step 2 more times. The fourth time, cover with 1 cup water. Add sugar, salt, cream of tartar, cinnamon stick and vanilla bean. Bring to a boil and immediately lower to a simmer for 1 hour uncovered. Cool. Your kitchen will be filled with the sweet aroma of orange cinnamon vanilla.
The kumquats should be a translucent dark amber. Remove them from the syrup with a slotted spoon onto a cooling rack to drain. When completely cooled, roll them in sugar. Refrigerate the syrup.
In a stand mixer, whip mascarpone cheese and heavy cream until light and fluffy. Add sugar and cooled orange syrup. Refrigerate.
The cooking class was a short distance from the wine estate in a small Tuscan farmhouse kitchen. We were joined by a lovely jovial couple from Wales, in the pharmaceutical business, that had recently sold their chateau and vineyard in Bordeaux. As we’re all getting acquainted, the chef made his way over to me, and murmured in his rhythmic Italian accent, “I am sawray for whatd ‘appened tu you”. Looking nonplussed, I replied, “Pardon?” He continued, “you are de one, no? Wit de truffle ri-so-tto?” With a growing grin, I suddenly understood… “yes, yes, that was me!”
We’d had dinner the night before in the Michelin ristorante. It was a beautiful menu and I started out with the truffle risotto and a glass of Banfi Fontanelle Chardonnay, to be followed by the salt crusted turbot. The fragrant creamy risotto was piled high with truffles. Each bite melting in my mouth. When unexpectedly, the delectable third bite gave way to a hidden object, a metal object! Thankfully, there was no harm done, but what manifest itself from the risotto was a screw! As if that weren’t enough excitement for one meal, the branch like house-made breadsticks that reached high above the taper candles from their parmesan vase, caught fire.
The kitchen was shut down and a thorough investigative search done for the culprit! The mystery was solved – the guilty offender – the truffle shaver.
Case closed. Kitchen reopened. Molta bene, molta molta bene!
This chocolate lava cake recipe is from our cooking class. We made macerated strawberries and topped it with whipped cream and a light crunchy rice topping. I highly recommend the Castello Banfi vineyard estate, and don’t worry about the truffle shaver, I’m sure there will never be another loose screw in that kitchen!
Deep dark blood oranges, bright sweet meyer lemons, tart limes, the first appearance in the short season of young peppery water cress, juicy sumo oranges and earthy golden beets. It’s February and the colors and citrus flavors are spectacular! Bourbon Citrus Salmon 2 salmon fillets …
Winter weekends at the lake typically have us arriving back home after sunset. This dinner is fast with an easy clean up. Sunday scaries seem to be a little more comforting with a quick hearty one pot meal to curl up with and watch Audrey …
I recently read Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s book A Life in 12 Recipes. Fantastic! He makes a sauce from a quick water-based mushroom broth and then adds honey, vinegar, lemon juice and soy sauce to create this wonderfully light sweet-and sour delight. An interesting shift from heavier pan sauces made with wine and cream. Served with a simple pan sautéed sea bass (JGV’s is crusted in nuts) and garnished with chopped mint and tarragon. This recipe is incredibly easy to make at home and the flavors impressively delicious.
In a sauce pan, over medium heat, brown white mushrooms in butter until cooked down and golden.
Add honey, water, sherry vinegar, lemon juice, soy sauce and simmer 20 minutes. Add tarragon and simmer 5 minutes.
Strain through a chinois, pressing the mushroom to extract all the liquid (Discard the mushrooms, as all the flavor has been cooked out).
Return broth to the saucepan and reduce slightly.
Just before serving, add prepared tomatoes, cooked potatoes and portobellos, and edamame to warm.
Serve with sea bass and garnish with chopped tarragon and mint.
Season the sea bass fillets on both sides with salt and pepper. In a heated sauté pan add a little oil, cook the fish, flesh side down until golden. Turn, skin side down, and finish in a 350 degree oven (5-7 minutes per 1 inch thickness). The skin is easily removed after cooking. Serve over vegetables or rice with broth.
It was early May, 2019, when we arrived on a Sunday evening in Strasbourg, France, near where Jean-Georges lived as a child. We checked into the Hotel du Dragon and headed off on foot to explore the city in the soft golden glow of the setting sun. We stopped to snap a few photos along the Rhine River and just before the sun disappeared we rounded the corner to the magical site of the Strasbourg Cathedral. It’s true what Jean-George says about discovering countless ingredients when you travel. The best way to experience a new country is to visit the local market. We brought home jars of fabulous spices found at the local super market on the river in Colmar.
Mushrooms are very porous and mostly water. To prevent them from soaking up more water, use a dry cloth or paper towel to brush off any dirt.
This is the finale – the last of the holiday box of Harry & David pears. Bosc or Anjou work nicely and keep their shape well. Its a make-ahead, super simple, show stopper. Perhaps you’ll make it for your cozy stay at home Valentine dinner? …
