The Mighty Meyer Lemon: Recipe

Meredith's Food for Life

If you've never smelled a Meyer Lemon you are missing a culinary delight that tickles the nose as well as the imagination. A Meyer Lemon is a cross between a lemon and (either - agriculturalists aren't 100% sure) a Mandarin or a regular orange. They are native to China and according to legend, were "discovered" for Americans by Alice Waters in her California Mecca, Chez Panisse.

They are gorgeous - their skin is smooth and buttery yellow.  They are smaller than traditional lemons and much rounder. But it's the smell they emit when you slice them open - it's unlike anything you've smelled before - it's bright and has that familiar lemony smell but there is something else there - a punch of orange that catches you off-guard and I am certain they're grown in a field of fresh herbs. They are delightful and their simplicity is all you need - I use them to dress my salads and there is no need for oil this way. Recently I saw a list touting 100 things you can do with a Meyer Lemon but the only thing I wanted to do was pair them  with one of my very favorite Sunday dinner foods - the mighty chicken.

I roasted the chicken together with the lemons and thought, briefly, about adding parsley and garlic during the cooking process but stopped short as I felt it would be overkill and somehow might actually ruin the flavor of of this simple dish.  Instead, I opted for some coarse Kosher salt and a few shakes of the equally amazing Herbs de Provence. The result? Perfection - a perfectly flavored chicken.

Meredith's Food for Life

Dinner was rounded out with steamed asparagus and lemon, whole wheat couscous, oven roasted sweet potato "fries" and a salad of radish, cucumber, red onion, yellow pepper, cherry tomatoes and toasted whole wheat bread lightly drizzled with red wine vinaigrette.

I purchased this package of Meyer Lemons from the local market - $3.99 for 6 of them - or roughly a pound.  After making this recipe I have a few left and plan to use them for the remainder of the week.

Roast Chicken with Meyer Lemons
2 lbs. boneless, skinless, chicken thighs
2 lbs. chicken legs, skin peeled back or removed
3 Meyer Lemons, quartered + 1 more, halved
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence
1/2 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Preheat oven to 450.  Spray the bottom of a heavy roasting pan with non-stick spray. Using a paper towel, dry each piece of chicken thoroughly and place snugly next to one another into the middle of the pan - make two or three rows, depending on the size of the pan, if necessary. Do not crowd the chicken or stack them but make sure they are close together.

Sprinkle the chicken with salt - each piece should have salt on it. Next, sprinkle the chicken with the Herbs de Provence. Place a quartered piece of lemon at each point where two pieces of chicken meet. Use more lemons, if needed.

Roast about an hour and forty minutes. Meanwhile, combine the parsley and garlic in a small bowl.

Remove chicken from the heat when done and squeeze remaining half lemon lightly over the tops of the pieces of chicken and sprinkle with the minced garlic and parsley. Serve!

International Week - First Up: Asia: Recipe

Recently, I was in California for business and came to the realization that the food there is so vibrant and diverse.  Just to give you an example of what I mean...for lunch one day I had a three-color beet salad;  it's tough to find that here without going on a wild goose chase and paying a fortune at the local "Whole Foods" market, for example. Needless to say, I left the Left Coast..inspired!

So as I gathered my thoughts for this week's menu, fresh fish called to me. This week the kids and I have planned an International Week of food - tonight we had Asian inspired items, tomorrow is Taco Tuesday, of course. Wednesday will be Brazilian or Argentinean Steak followed by Indian-inspired Thursday. Friday, naturally, will be pizza night (a.k.a. Italian Night!). The kids were thrilled for the variety and dinner sounded like fun to them.

We ate Salmon Teriyaki (shrimp for my oldest who doesn't like Salmon) with Mango-Strawberry Salsa, Lime-Infused Jasmine Rice and Pan-Steamed Baby Bok Choy. The plate was colorful and it felt exotic, which made it exciting for the kids and relaxing for my husband and I while the kids ate peacefully. Nothing was difficult or tricky - I just spent a few minutes chopping all the items.  I rounded this out with a salad made of lettuce, cucumber, orange bell pepper, radish and macadamia nuts dressed lightly with olive oil and rice wine vinegar. Even the baby screamed out for more (and I have a picture to prove it!).

Salmon Teriyaki With Mango-Strawberry Salsa
serves 5

1 1/2 lb. Organic Salmon fillet
1/2 cup barbeque sauce
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground coriander

Mango-Strawberry Salsa
2/3 large, ripe, mango - peeled and diced 1/3 large cucumber, peeled and diced
4 large ripe strawberries, hulled and diced
1 tablespoon fresh mint chiffonade
1/4 scallion, minced
juice of 1/2 lime

In a medium bowl, combine barbeque and soy sauces with sesame oil and two spices - whisk well.  Place salmon, skin side down, in a large glass dish. Pour the well-mixed sauce over the fish and allow to stand at room temperature for about an hour. Prepare the barbeque with coals on one side and spray the grill grate with non-stick spray (do this away from the fire!). Cook the salmon on the side without the coal underneath it - skin side down - for about 10 minutes (place cover on the grill). Carefully flip the fish and cook again another 8-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish (again, cover the grill).

For the Salsa - combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and gently mix together.

Pan-Steamed Baby Bok Choy
3 large bunches, baby bok choy - root end snipped, leaves separated and washed well
1 large garlic clove, smashed but not separated
1 teaspoon, fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
2 oz. water

In a large pan, heat oil well over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and swirl around in the hot oil so the flavor releases - do not allow it to burn (about 1 minute or so). Next, add the ginger and shake the pan lightly so the flavor and the pieces of ginger are all over the pan. Add the bok choy - as long as it's still slightly wet, you'll hear a hiss when the leaves hit the oil. Cover quickly and allow the leaves to wilt - stirring once or twice - about 5 minutes. Remove the cover and add the water. Raise the heat and cook another 7 minutes or so, until the bok choy is truly wilted and limp. Serve hot.

Lime-Infused Jasmine Rice
Serves 4-5
* I used "Success Rice" in a bag for this (I know...) so once the rice was finished cooking and had been drained well, I squeezed a half a lime over the rice and mixed well.

Nature's Bounty - Strawberries: Recipes

Summer fruit is terrific because it's so readily available - farmer's markets, the grocery store, "pick-your-own," etc.  It's easy to feel healthy when you can devour buckets of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches, plums, cherries, etc. 

The problem with all the fruit is ensuring you eat it all before it goes bad! I purchased 5 pounds of strawberries and then panicked - what on earth was I going to do with it all?  I could have made strawberry soup, but the kids wouldn't eat that...and I could have made jam or something else rather exotic but they wouldn't have eaten that either so I stuck with what works - strawberry ice cream and strawberry shortcakes.  Naturally we've been snacking on strawberries for the past few days and I froze a strawberry puree for the next time I want to make strawberry ice cream.  So for now, I think I'm covered!

The ice cream was out of this world - so creamy and soft. If you don't have an ice cream machine, then get one.  There is nothing like real homemade ice cream - especially when you know what ingredients have gone into the bowl.

The shortcakes were good - not a traditional shortcake. Instead, these were made with oatmeal and brown sugar so they had a very dense texture.  They were soft once I added the whipped cream and strawberries - and because they were dense at the start, they didn't fall apart easily, which I liked very much.  And as you might be able to tell, I really enjoy the flavor of cinnamon and sugar together.

Old-Fashioned Strawberry Ice Cream
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups fresh strawberries
1/4 cup 2% milk
1/3 cup granulated sugar

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the cream to a near boil - do not allow it to actually boil.  Small bubbles will appear around the edges. Turn off the heat and add the sugar, stirring well.  Allow the mixture to cool and transfer to a large bowl.  In a blender, combine the strawberries and the milk until strawberries are pureed.  Cool for several hours or overnight in the fridge.  Add the mixture to your ice cream machine and follow the manufacturers' instructions. Once it's finishing mixing, it is ready to serve but will be very creamy and fluffy.  If you prefer it frozen, freeze in a freezer proof container for at least two hours.


Strawberry Shortcakes
Makes 6

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick butter, cold, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup 2% milk

2 teaspoons cinnamon-sugar (50%-50% split)

2 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup chilled heavy cream
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix together oats, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the butter and with your fingers, rub butter into the mixture between index and thumb to allow it to become course meal.  Add milk and stir well.  Drop an even amount of dough onto the baking sheet - 2 in a row, spread about 2" apart. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.  Bake about 20 minutes, transfer to a rack and cool.  Slice in half - horizontally.

Combine the strawberries and the sugar together in a small bowl and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, mix well.

Using a hand mixer, beat the heavy cream and powdered sugar for about 3-5 minutes or until the cream hardens into whipped cream, with heavy peaks.

Spoon the cream onto the bottom of the sliced cake and top with berries.  Place the cake top on and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Good Morning, Muffin!: Recipe

It's amazing how the simple act of baking breakfast muffins can turn the least hungry person into a complete animal - who will stuff his face as though he's never eaten before. Homemade blueberry muffins with cinnamon? Oh, I don't think I need to explain much more...delicious! Be sure to serve them warm.

Blueberry Crumb Muffins
makes 12

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup 2% milk
1 large egg
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries

Topping
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper or foil muffin liners. In a large bowl whisk together the sugar, milk, egg, and butter.  Next mix in the flour. baking powder, cinnamon and salt and then gently fold in the blueberries.  Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.

In a small bowl mix the topping - first combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon together and add in the melted butter.  Using your hands, mix thoroughly so they mixture becomes moist and forms clumps.  Sprinkle the clumps on top of each muffin.

Bake in the middle of the oven for about 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.  Serve warm - not piping hot.

Peaches and Cream!: Recipe

The smell of fresh, ripened, peaches makes me feel like summer should last forever.  For years I didn't even like peaches but I loved the smell of them - as a kid I'd stick my nose on top of a ripened peach and just inhale. Mmmmm...I can still smell it now.

I made a cobbler with peaches and an assortment of frozen berries with an oatmeal-brown sugar crumb topping and served it with homemade peach-ginger snap ice cream. The ice cream was amazing - in fact, I brought it to my in-laws' house and they don't usually like to keep sweets in the house after everyone leaves a party but this...they wanted to keep!  And I didn't blame them; except now I need to make another batch for us!

The cobbler was served warm and the topping was buttery and slightly hard which made it feel like a real crust.  Together they were a perfect match and both were a cinch to make.  I know how attractive fruit desserts are but remember, the summer is a time for easy-does-it, so think of this the next time you want a pie and have to roll-out dough!

Peach Berry Cobbler
serves 8

4 large white peaches, cut in half, pitted and cut into 1" wedges
2/3 cup sugar, separated
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, separated
2 tablespoons peach nectar
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the sliced peaches with 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup flour, the peach nectar and toss well to coat.  Add the frozen berries and toss lightly. Pour into a 9" pie baking dish.

For the topping, place the remaining 1 cup of flour, the remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar and the salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is the size of peas.  Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the oats. Work with your hands until it forms large clumps.  Spread evenly over the top of the pie dish and bake for about 40 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Peach-Ginger Snap Ice Cream
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 large, ripe white peaches, peeled and pitted
1/4 cup peach nectar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup crushed ginger snap cookies

Heat the cream in a heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edges. Do not allow cream to boil. Remove from heat and add the sugar and stir well until it's completely dissolved.  Cool to room temperature.

Cut the peaches into small pieces and place in a food processor with the nectar. Blend until the peaches are pureed. Stire the puree and the vanilla into the cooled cream. Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Freeze in 1 or 2 batches in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions. Just before it's complete, add in the cookies and mix another 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a freezable container and freeze 1-2 hours, at least.

Tico-Tango's Papaya: Food Musings

When my two older children were younger, we would read a book called The Parrot Tico-Tango about a gorgeous but greedy parrot named Tico-Tango.  It's a beautiful book of amazing colors and it's focus is on repetition and it's a little sing-songy.  We loved that book - my daughter memorized all of it (and the passages were very long) so naturally we were so proud. I remember that she once recited it to my mother and step-father and they could not contain their giggles as she repeated the whole story about how Tico-Tango's round-yellow mango was not enough for him...he had to have his friend's fruit...a lemon, a papaya, a green-grape bunch, a date, etc., etc., etc. Only each time he came across something he wanted, he stole it. Eventually his greed got the best of him and all of the fruit he stole fell.

Anyway, the story reminded me of the papaya, of course.  When was the last time you had a papaya?  Do you know what it looks like? How to find a ripe one? And do you know what to do with one?

I read somewhere that babies like the taste of papaya because it is so mild in its flavor and that it's very easy to eat. So off I went to find a ripe papaya.  A ripe papaya's skin is more yellow than it is green. Unlike a melon, you can't really smell a ripe papaya unless it's overripe. Slice it open lengthwise and you uncover hundreds of small black round seeds - just simply scoop them out and the remove the flesh from the skin with a spoon.  It comes out gracefully.  For our little girl, I puree the flesh and she eats it just like that.  It is mild, indeed. It has a melon-like texture but is less sweet than a ripe cantaloupe.  It's less flavorful than that, too.  But it's delightful and if you puree it, you can spread it over grilled fish or use the chunks in a  smoothie.  You can serve it over grilled chicken or even steak or pork! Heck...try it with whatever you like - just the way it is.

"The Parrot Tico-Tango had a round yellow mango when he spied the papaya from his friend Soraya and he knew he had to have it, too, so he swiped it!"

Pear Puree By Any Other Name: Recipe

Since I am able to cook and bake for my family, I thought, "why shouldn't I make some food for my four month old?"  She is part of the family, too. I can certainly purchase food - but I since I'm able to create some quick dishes for her, easily, it doesn't seem to make sense to buy the same items in the store and then house it in the cabinet. Don't get me wrong - I'm not opposed to the store brands and I've used them plenty...but this seemed like fun and certainly very - and I mean VERY easy to do! I did this with both of my older two kids and mostly because the thought of feeding them the meat that came in the jars made me want to vomit. I bought these cute little 2 oz. jars and they even have a carrying tray so each one fits into the tray snugly and compactly in the fridge. It's the perfect amount for a little person to eat.

She really liked this - but then again, what's not to love? The pear was merely made puree-able...so what can you do with this? Well, if you're ever in need of a soft-food diet, this is a good option.  If you'd like to add this to the dinner table instead of apple sauce for something like a pork chop, you certainly could. See? Who would have thought that a simply baby food inspired meal could be something you could get use out of?

Puree of Pear
makes about 1 1/2 cups

2 medium-large pears, peeled and sliced

In a medium pot, pour 1/2 cup of water. Place pear in a steamer basket (or in my case, I used a mesh strainer with a lip and a handle so I was able to rest the strainer on the pot) over the water - but not touching it. Cover tightly and raise heat to high - let cook about 5-7 minutes, depending on the thickness of your slices and the ripeness of the pear.

When finished, place the cooked pear into the food processor with a tablespoon of the cooking water and puree until finely textured.

Old Habits Die Hard: Recipe

Today is Good Friday and as it happens, it's also the start of Passover. Usually my family has its Seder on the first night of Passover but this year we'll have it the second night so more family members could be with us. Given it's Good Friday, I wanted to be sure my husband didn't eat meat today so I opted to make a marinara sauce with pasta. However, subconsciously - or unconsciously as the case may be - I must have been gearing up for this day because as I gathered the ingredients for the sauce, I saw in the refrigerator an unopened bottle of Gefilte Fish, horseradish, a container of chicken livers I hadn't yet opened and naturally I knew I had a box of egg matzoh. Well, it was obvious what I had to do...I made my own mini-Passover dinner complete with chopped liver, matzoh, and fish; perfect.  Dinner was a bit funny as the kids and my husband also ate the fish and the matzoh with their pasta and red sauce - bizarre, I know...but perfect in our house. As part of the mini-Passover dinner, I made this salad - light and delicious. 

An Asian Pear - what is it?  I think it's a cross between a pear and an apple. Well, it's shaped like an apple but it's flesh is closer to a pear. It was light and sweet. I had this salad the other day for a work function so I was inspired to get a few pears when I saw them. 

Now that I've cleaned the kitchen, made two batches of ice cream, baked, frosted and wrapped about 50 cookies for Easter, I'm free to make Almond Meringue cookies for our "real" Passover Seder.

Asian-Pear and Strawberry Salad
1 medium Asian Pear, peeled and diced
3 medium-large strawberries, diced
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/8 teaspoon jalapeno pepper, minced

Combine all ingredients and serve.

Summer Pink Tomato Sauce: Recipe

Don't we just love to plant tomatoes?  Early Girls? Cherry Tomatoes? Roma? Heirloom? I love them all but sometime around now you realize there is an abundance of tomatoes and anyone can get stuck with a small crop and not know what on earth to do with them. Who can have yet another salad of tomato and fresh mozzarella?

I made this sauce as a bit of a take off of another sauce I often make for the family - my Pasta with Peas and Ham dish that they devour. This took 35 minutes from start to finish and used four large beautifully ripe tomatoes. You could substitute 6 medium ones for the 4 large or you could use all the little cherry tomatoes you have - just experiment.

Summer Pink Tomato Sauce with Farfalle

4 large ripe tomatoes, prepared as below
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 oz. cubed prosciutto
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/3 cup pecorino Romano cheese
1 lb. pasta

To prepare tomatoes:
Fill a large pot of water and set on high, covered, to boil. Wash the tomatoes and slice off the tops - eliminating the stem area. Once the water boils, carefully drop all four tomatoes into the water and continue to boil for 3-4 minutes. Remove tomatoes one by one and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Once the tomatoes have finished boiling, refresh the water in the pot, cover again, and allow to boil - once at a boil, add in the pasta and stir. Bring back to a boil and cook till done - see box directions for times.

At this point, melt the butter in a large pan and once it's foamy, add in the finely chopped onion. Saute on medium heat and do not allow to brown - about 4-6 minutes.  Meanwhile, turn each tomato cut side down and with one hand from cut side to rounded side, slide off the skin. If any sticks, simply remove it separately. Coarsely chop tomatoes and put 2/3 of the tomatoes into a food processor and pulse several times until it looks like pureed tomatoes.

Next add in the prosciutto, saute another 4 minutes, stirring often.  Add in the cut and pureed tomatoes and saute on high for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Next add in the chopped basil and the heavy cream and bring to a boil.

Remove pasta from the pot to a colander and return to the pot, once drained. Pour sauce over the pasta and add in the cheese and stir. Serve.

Grilled Snow White Peaches from the South: Recipe

On our way back from vacation we drove up US13 from the Chesapeake-Bay Bridge and Tunnel. While I was excited to get home I could not help but be captivated by the numerous farm stands that dotted the pretty landscape. As we passed stand after stand, I cringed - first in silence and then audibly and finally I begged enough that I convinced my husband to stop. There were giant watermelons, amazing tomatoes, nectarines, squash, and snow white peaches.  They were giant, fuzzy, and gorgeous.  We left with bags of fruit.

Admittedly, the peaches were not soft...though the woman at the stand informed me that there is, indeed, a difference between "ripe" and "soft."  So by her way of thinking, these were ripe just not soft. And in fact, they smelled sweet but tasted a bit like a potato.

Today I felt two of the larger ones and they were softer so I decided to try something I've never done before - grilled peaches.  My husband said they smelled like roasted marshmallows as he cooked them but more importantly they were unbelievable delicious.  They made a nice presentation and they were very easy to do. We ate them after a steak dinner...they just needed a port wine to go with them!

Grilled Peaches Bathed in Brown Sugar and Calvados
2 large ripe snow white peaches, sliced
2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons Calvados
1/4 tsp. fresh chopped rosemary

In a bowl, mix all ingredients except for the peaches. Slice by slice, dip the peaches into the syrup and set aside on a plate.  Grill, skin side first, about a total of 4 minutes, turning halfway through.

Fruit Disguised as Dessert: Food Musings

If forced, my kids will eat fruit. Naturally it's not the first thing they want when asking for their nightly dessert. Now that it's summer, there is such a wide variety of readily available fruit that it seems criminal not to have it by the bucket!

After dinner I enlisted my daughter's assistance in assembling these pretty dishes. She was so happy to help that she forgot there was fruit under the whipped cream!

It's an assembly job, really. I made whipped cream but there is no reason you can't use the canned cream - or Cool Whip. It all works well! For a more adult version, try soaking the blueberries in Creme de Casis. And don't forget to dust with powdered sugar!

Imitation and Flattery...Something like that: Recipe

I just returned from a business trip to South Florida and had lunch one day at a wonderful place in Miami called "Michael's Genuine." It was very busy and very good. My lunch-date and I did not consume a great deal (though I could have!) but what we did eat was simple food made fabulous. An heirloom tomato surrounded by cheese, olives, onion, cucumber and topped with awesome oil - that was the "Greek Salad" that I ate. It was unreal. So, of course, I made a version for dinner tonight.

If you can find heirlooms now, use them. But here in New York you'll need to wait for the summer. However, this was very good with the substitute - just be sure you use the ripest ones you can find.

I found a terrific new feta cheese in the supermarket - it was a feta made with sheep and goat's milk and it was patted with herbs - it was very creamy, very tangy, and super delicious.

Greek Salad
3 medium very ripe tomatoes from the vine, sliced
1 medium cucumber, sliced
1/4 cup Kalamata Olives, pits removed
1/4 cup Goat-Sheep Feta with herbs
2 Tsp. Lemon Oil

Slice the tomatoes and cucumber and arrange on a plate. Add the olives and the feta and drizzle with oil. Serve at room temperature.

My Sweet Valentine: Recipe

My husband was great - he announced days ago that he would get lobsters for dinner for Valentine's Day. That was a perfect idea, I said. Needless to say he spent nearly 2 hours at the lobster farm with all the other people who had the same "perfect" idea. See at this place, they actually steam them for you! So when my husband arrived through the door with our very large lobsters and shrimp cocktail, chowder, crab cakes and fish sticks for the kids, all I had to do was open a bottle of champagne, corral the kids, and eat! Now that's what I call perfect. Well done, honey!

So for a command performance, I tried hard to think of what would be as simple to make for dessert but that would still offer a thrill. I thought of making ice cream - an easy thing to do but I'm sure I'm not alone with this thought...Valentine's Day is for chocolate?? So I thought I'd make truffles but I realized throughout the week that I didn't have enough chocolate to make more than 6 and I couldn't get to the store before the weekend - so not enough time to make them. Voila! I came up with chocolate covered strawberries. Now that's a treat! And you don't feel quite so gluttonous when you eat 4 as we did!

These looked great and you could always melt some dark chocolate and drizzle it onto the white...a great party dessert because they're so easy and look expensive. Be sure to get the really big strawberries!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
15 extra large strawberries, green tops left intact
5 oz. excellent quality white chocolate

Wash and dry the berries. In a microwave safe bowl, break the chocolate into small pieces and heat for 1 minute, 30 seconds. Remove and stir rapidly until the chocolate is smooth.

Line a flat surface with a large piece of parchment paper and dip the berry 90% into the chocolate and lightly roll from side to side to ensure even coating. Gently pick it up and hold it in the air for 5 seconds (at a 45 degree angle) with the tip of the berry up. Place onto the paper and repeat. Allow chocolate to sit and harden about 4 hours.

Apples: Recipe

A friend called out an S.O.S. - she has an abundance of apples and was in search of some ideas. Knowing she's a very good cook, I assumed she wasn't in search of an apple pie recipe. I imagined my task was to come up with another idea or two.

Here are a few ideas...

Be sure to keep apples in the fridge, by the way, they hold their flavor and their shape better than if you keep them in a pretty bowl on the kitchen counter. In fact, the sugars in the apple will remain on the surface, under the skin, if you keep them cold. And who doesn't love that crisp bite of an apple?

Often we give our kids apples with their lunch. To keep them interested, I slice the apples and sprinkle them with a little cinnamon...instant snack upgrade.

Apples are great cooked alongside a pork roast. You can peel and core them and cube them. Then simply add them into your pork dish to cook while braising the meat.

Certainly apples are a great compliment to a creamy cheese - slice apples thin and rub with lemon to prevent them from turning brown (my 4 year old just learned that in science! and she taught it to me!!) and add them to a festive plate of cheeses with some fall red grapes.

Apples are awesome with blue cheese and walnuts (forgive me peanut-allergy sufferers) and Craisins in a salad of mixed greens and an easy dressing of white balsamic vinegar and oil, mixed with pepper and sea salt. Slice the apples into matchsticks...

But here was where I thought I had a genius idea for my friend...Apple Sauce! Who doesn't love homemade apple sauce? And best of all, it can be frozen! Apple sauce is great with chicken, pork, fish sticks and on its own, of course.

Of course there are tons and tons of recipes featuring apples as the star...so if you have apples galore use any of these or make up your own!

Homemade Apple Sauce with Cinnamon
6 small - medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
3 cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup (or more, if needed) Apple Juice or Cider

Put apples into a heavy pan and pour enough juice in to cover the apples. Add in the cinnamon sticks and cover. Cook over low heat until apples are soft - about 10-15 minutes.

Remove from the heat and remove the cinnamon sticks. Pour the apples and the liquid into a food processor and puree. Can be frozen in a container with a tight fitting lid up to 6 months. If there seems to be a great deal made, freeze in smaller batches to make it easy and economical to defrost.

Lamb is Not Just for Spring: Recipe

One of the foods I love most is lamb; particularly, I love lamb chops - done properly they are supple and delicious. When I go to a restaurant, lamb is usually one of the top choices for me for a main course so it comes as no surprise that I love to cook them at home, as well.

Saturday I slathered about 3/4 cup of pesto sauce (you can use this one, which features rosemary, an excellent pairing with lamb: http://meredithsfoodforlife.blogspot.com/2008/09/more-from-garden-recipe.html) onto a rack of lamb chops - eight of them - and I let them marinate until tonight. They were wonderfully flavorful!

Rack of Lamb with Pesto Crust with Mango-Tomato Salad
3/4 cup pesto sauce + 1/4 cup
1 rack of lamb (french cut, 8 chops)

Smear all sides of the rack of lamb with 3/4 cup of pesto sauce and place in a plastic bag and refrigerate, at least overnight and at most 48 hours.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place rack on a broiler pan and cook about 15 minutes and baste with 1/4 cup pesto. Place rack back into the oven and cook another 10 minutes. Allow the rack to rest about 7 minutes and slice.


Mango-Tomato Salad
2 small, very ripe, tomatoes, quartered
1 ripe mango, sliced
1/4 cucumber, seeded and chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp. fresh mint and fresh basil, sliced

Combine all ingredients and mix well

Plum Crazy: Recipe

This morning I wandered through the Lynbrook farmers market, which took all of 6 minutes, and purchased only a ball of fresh mozzarella to go with the fresh tomatoes and basil in my garden. I wasn't inspired this week. However, when I went to the grocery store I was inspired by very ripe, very cute, prune-plums that are sometimes called Italian plums. They were small, oval, and had a beautiful purple skin. Each one, even ripe, felt firm. I was game - I love to try anything new.

I picked up a great book from my home cookbook library called "Local Flavors" by Deborah Madison and found a recipe for a plum tart that I used as further inspiration.

Italian Plum Tart
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small bits
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. almond extract
1/4 cup buttermilk

8-10 prune-plums, sliced
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a tart pan with removable bottom with Pam spray to coat.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar and salt. Add in the butter bits and pulse until fine crumbs are created. In a glass measuring cup, mix the eggs together and add in the extracts. Pour in enough buttermilk to bring the measure up to 1/2 cup. Add the liquid to the flour and mix until it forms a thick paste. It will look more like a batter than a traditional "dough." Brush hands with flour and spread the dough into the tart pan.

Arrange the plums decoratively over the dough, leaving about 1/4" of dough around the outside. Pour melted butter over the top of the plums and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Bake for about 45-50 minutes. Remove and cool about 15-20 minutes. Can be made same day - up to about 3 hours before serving. Keep at room temperature.

Going Bananas: Recipe

I am often reminded when I have some fruit sitting just a bit too long in a basket on the kitchen table. Come on...it happens to you, too. Right? Me? I walk past and catch a whiff of an uncut melon needing to be split open and seeded, or see an avocado beginning to pucker, or both see and smell a banana starting to turn. So as I stared at about six almost overripe bananas, I knew what must be done.

I doctored an old recipe I found from a cooking class I took about 8 years ago. Small edits made this cake fill my house with that amazing smell of cinnamon, brown sugar and, yes...bananas! I worried the smell might wake the kids, it was so good.

I did add a little glaze to the top of this but truthfully, it's not necessary. I just felt I needed some additional color for the photo.

Cinnamon-Banana Cake
12 Tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 large bananas, mashed well + 2 medium bananas, sliced
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. cinnamon

Topping
2 Tablespoons
2 Tablespoons
1 tsp. cinnamon

Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 Tbsp. warm water
1 Tbsp. Jamaican rum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of a spring form pan and line with parchment paper.

With an electric mixer, beat the butter until light - about 3 minutes, scraping the sides once. Add the sugar and beat on medium-high for about 5 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides often. Next add in the eggs, once at a time, beating between each addition. Add in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix well. Add then the buttermilk. Mix well. Next add the banana and mix again. And finally add in the second half of the flour mixture.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and place slices of bananas on top in concentric circles.

In a small bowl, mix together "topping" and sprinkle over the top of the cake. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes on a cooling rack and then release the spring form. Using a clean plate, flip the cake, remove the parchment paper and the bottom of the spring form pan. Flip right-side-up onto the cooling rack and cool another 30 minutes before using glaze.

In a small bowl, combine confectioners sugar, water, and rum and stir well until smooth but liquidy. Spoon into a plastic pastry bag, snip a tiny cut in the bottom of the bag and pipe horizontal lines every 2 inches. Cross with piped diagonal lines.

Cherry Tomato Overload: Recipe

With about 100 perfect little tomatoes growing outside in my garden (or should I say gardens - for the past two years I have had one lonely cherry tomato plant crop up in the same spot alongside the house - even though I never planted one there. Now it seems to operate as a perennial. Bizarre.), I thought I would go crazy trying to figure out what on earth I could do with that many tomatoes. Truthfully I could wash them and leave them in a bowl on the table and just pop them in my mouth every time I pass by but that seems to be a waste for all of them.

I love counterbalancing colors so green and red look great together, if you ask me. These tomatoes (and really any summer tomato) are so sweet that they required some type of acid as a balance. I find the often-used Balsamic Vinegar can overpower such delicate tomatoes but I wanted to add some bite to the dish - hence the lemon juice. The flavors come together nicely here, especially with the addition of the poppy seeds.

Cherry Tomato Salad in Lemon-Poppy Dressing
1 1/2 Lbs. cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
1/2 Lb. green beans, trimmed and halved
Juice of 2 lemons
1 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
1 tsp. poppy seeds
1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
1 shallot, minced
2 Tbsp. Olive oil

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and add green beans. Cook the beans for about 3-4 minutes, drain, and run under very cold water for about 2 minutes. Drain well.

In a large mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, green beans, cilantro and shallot and toss gently. In a small bowl whisk together remaining ingredients and pour over the salad. Refrigerate about 1 hour and toss well. Serve slightly colder than room temperature.

End of Season Tomatoes: Recipe

It's often said that there is nothing more delicious than a homegrown tomato. And when you have an abundance of them, as most of us do who grow them, you begin to wonder how you can possibly consume them all. How much sauce or fresh mozzarella and tomato can a person consume?

Here is an interesting idea. This was different and wonderful - almost like the inside of a stuffed mushroom, only much better. Stuffed peppers can be a difficult dish to carry-off as the peppers can overwhelm the filling and the peppers themselves can be tasted for hours after consuming them. But this was a perfect use for the tomato and of course, the tomato was perfect since it was grown right in my backyard. Come fall, if you still have some tomatoes left, you can stuff them with ground beef or other fillings - they seem to be the perfect carrying case.

Stuffed Tomatoes with Andouille Sausage
6 medium-large tomatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil + 3 Tbsp. for drizzling
1 Tablespoon Ouzo
2 Andouille Sausage links (about 8 oz), diced
1/4 cup Kalamata olives, diced
3 Tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

With a serrated knife, cut a circle into the tops of the tomatoes and scrape out the seeds. Let stand upside down to drain juices. Pour off juice before using.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large pan, heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat and add onions. Saute onion about 6 minutes over medium heat and add the shallot. Saute another 3 minutes and then add the garlic. Saute another 2 minutes. Add the sausage and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the ouzo and saute for about 2 minutes. Transfer mixture to a bowl and add olives and parsley; allow mixture to cool about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together the cheese and the bread crumbs. Mix together bread crumb mixture and sausage mixture until moist and well integrated. Spoon mixture evenly into tomatoes. Place tomatoes into an oven proof dish and drizzle remaining oil over the tomatoes and the mixture. Cook about 30 minutes and serve hot.

Chocolate Raspberry Tart: Recipe

Today I baked in a hurry. The morning just flew by so quickly and by the time I looked up it was well past the time it should have been for me to begin baking somthing detailed. We were headed to a friend's house and were expected by 11 a.m. I knew this friend to be a very good cook and I wanted to come prepared with something special for her but I squandered the morning. As I stared at the oven and the two 6 oz. containers of raspberries I bought, I was hit with inspiration. And as they say, this was "easy as pie!"

Thankfully the tart was met with real delight, which always pleases me, of course. Friends said it looked like it took a really long time to make - ahhh, my signature mark, I think: dishes that look like they would be difficult but are really easy! If you like chocolate I say this is a good option. The tart needed the light and refreshing taste of the whipped cream and berries to counterbalance the rich chocolate. And it looks pretty, to boot!

Chocolate-Raspberry Tart
15 graham crackers, broken
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted + 1 Tbsp.
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate chips
4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream + 1 cup
1 tsp. vanilla
12 oz. raspberries, picked over and flash-washed (dry well)
2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In food processor, pulse crackers until tiny crumbs form. Add brown sugar and mix well. Add 1 1/2 sticks melted butter and pulse until moist crumbs form. With hands, press mixture onto the bottom and up the sides of a tart pan with removable bottom. Bake for 15 minutes (place a tray underneath to catch melted butter) and cool completely.

In a double boiler set with water underneath, melt chocolate over medium high heat. Add vanilla and 4 Tbsp. heavy cream and mix well. Spread chocolate over the bottom of the crust. Place pie shell and chocolate in the freezer for about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, with an electric mixer, whip 1 cup of very cold heavy cream and confectioner's sugar on high for about 3-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Remove pie from freezer and cover chocolate with about 3/4 of the berries. Then spread the whipped cream over the berries and top with remaining berries and a few chocolate shavings. Keep refrigerated until use - about 2-3 hours. Let stand about 15 minutes before slicing.