The squirrels in NYC can get a little close... too close for my liking.
Through years of experiencing that getting close to humans results in the receiving of french fries, pretzels and maybe if they're lucky a classic NYC hot dog (probably better that they eat it than us), these little guys have no fear.
I was reminiscing yesterday, remembering that very first cooking video I shot in my kitchen. The lighting wasn't great, the sound was a little off, and as I felt the need to explain everything in utmost detail, it was entirely too long.
But people started watching. And since I was featuring “Zucchini Noodles” a fairly new and exciting concept no one seemed to mind the low budget quality or rambling host.
That first video is what started everything...
I'm a traditionalist when it comes to my Pesto. I like it just the way an old Italian Grandmother would make it. A few simple, fresh, quality ingredients tossed with some hot pasta and call it a day.
If you start using walnuts or almonds or anything besides pinenuts, I start getting angry. Throw in some parsley with the basil and I might just lose it.
Kabocha squash is like that quirky but cute guy you have been eyeing at the grocery store but are too afraid to approach. There is something about him that intrigues you and you have a feeling that he's better for you then some of the other handsome junk in the store but...
He seems like too much work to get to know. You wouldn’t even know where to begin. And so you walk away from Mr. Kabocha Squash, never knowing the love affair that could have been.
I like any sauce with a name that I can’t easily pronounce. Because I'm guaranteed that I will eventually say it to someone else and they will have no idea what I'm talking about and suddenly I will look super smart.
And really my goal in life is to pretend to be smart.
Oh, and make delicious food of course!!
Today we are going to talk about cute things. Silly cute things. And no, I'm not referring to another YouTube video of a wet cat or a laughing baby...
And no, it's not a picture of two animals that don’t belong together and yet are best friends.
Oh! Like the one where the baby monkey is sleeping with the doggy and he's got his arm around him and you just know they will be BFF's till the end of time!
No!!
I’m talking about something cute…silly cute…that you can eat!
Something that says “hey, look at me” and when you do you think, “well hello, aren’t you beautiful, and precious, and...and...I MUST EAT YOU!!”
I'm talking about the crazy delicious idea of making an apple pie...
wait for it...
keep waiting...
IN AN APPLE!
The food processor is my best friend.
As much as I love to be in the kitchen, there is always a point that if I have to chop one more clove of garlic I just might snap. Let's face it, prep is no fun! That’s why all the big name chefs have prep cooks in their restaurants. The prep cooks do all the dirty work and the real chefs get to just throw things in a pan and light them on fire.
So the closest thing to a prep cook that I can manage in my meager kitchen is...THE FOOD PROCESSOR.
I call him Francesco.
There is nothing better than throwing a bunch of ingredients into Francesco’s able hands and suddenly having something, well...quite tasty! So I bring you yet another quick dip featuring my partner in crime, the food processor...
RECIPE:
2 Roasted Red Peppers
1lemon Juice and Zest
2Tbs Olive Oil
1.5tsp salt
1Tbs parsley
1Tbs basil
6oz cream cheese
Put all ingredients in a food processor and chop until pureed and smooth. Serve on it’s own as a dip or over pasta, shrimp or chicken! ENJOY!
People change... Times change... Feelings change... And though your Italian grandmother would scold me, I have to confess...My tomato sauce recipe...has changed....
Lucky for me I am still young. (Although the impending “3-0” this month makes me feel like I'm 10 steps away from the nursing home.)
But at 30 I’m pretty sure I am still young enough that I can change my “signature” sauce recipe. And hopefully by the time I'm 70 no one will remember how fickle I used to be with my famous “Sunday gravy."
Tomato sauce was one of the first things I ever made and it was the very first thing my husband and I ever made together.
(The first and the last, there is no room for two cooks in my tiny kitchen ;)
Balance
It’s one of those words that's thrown around a lot when it comes to food...life...relationships...
EVERYTHING!
And as much as I would love to fix all your life's problems, let’s start with the food, this is only a food blog after all!
Balance in a dish makes you want to keep on going back for that next bite.
You want your food to be sweet but not too sweet, salty but not too salty, creamy but not “food coma, never leaving the house” creamy.
Well, may I present you BALANCE in the form of a crostini.
Sticky sweet honey BALANCED by a sprinkle of salt, perfectly ripened mango BALANCED by bright and “wake up your taste buds” mint. And of course a spread of cream cheese which gives me BALANCE in my life just because...well...it is cheese...
(I’m a simple person :)
RECIPE:
1 small baguette, 16 ¼ to ½ inch slices
1 block Cream Cheese
1 Lemon- Zest
2 Mangos
1/3 cup Mint leaves, loosely packed
¼ cup Honey
Salt
Toast bread slices till lightly toasted. Let bread cool and top with approx 1Tbs of Cream Cheese and a couple grates of lemon zest. Top that with finely chopped mango and mint. Finally drizzle 1tsp honey over the mango and mint and finish with a sprinkle of salt. Enjoy!!
Notes:
If you know me at all, you know that more than anyone or anything...
I LOVE CHEESE.
Yes, my husband knows, it's just something he has to accept, we are working through it.
Up until I was 20 years old my diet was beyond questionable. Growing up as the pickiest of eaters my go-to list of foods included; bread (only white please), canned tomato sauce (only Prego of course), ramen noodle soup (the 25cent kind), cereal (anything with sugar), and of course CHEESE.
You see even when my diet resembled that of an anti-Atkins child, cheese was always there for me.
Let's admit it, food can be sexy. The pleasure it brings, the sometimes sinful experience of eating it, and of course the tantalizing discovery of new textures, tastes and smells.
And yes, of course, if you have some good looking company that helps the overall experience too. ;)
And when it comes to sexy foods, Gnudi has its place at the top of the list.
Its name alone provokes an inner desire and the simple idea of a ricotta dumpling, light and airy but still indulgently cheesy only makes that desire burn stronger.
You see “Gnudi” literally means “Nude.” These little guys are in a sense ravioli filling without the ravioli, so in a way they are, well, missing their clothes...hehe, dirty I know...
Well, whether or not you find a ricotta cheese dumpling sexy, I promise you WILL find it delicious.
RECIPE:
One 15-16 ounce container Ricotta
½ pounds frozen spinach, thawed + drained, chopped fine
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
½ teaspoon dried Oregano
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup Panko bread crumbs
3 egg yolks
Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl, don’t over mix. Roll mixture into small 1-2inch balls. Cook in boiling water for 3-4 minutes until the Gnudi float. Toss gently with sauce and ENJOY!
NOTES:
RECIPE:
Makes 2 cups ricotta
4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1-1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Combine milk, cream and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Once boiling shut off heat and add vinegar. Wait 3 minutes and strain in a cheese cloth for 10-20 minutes. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
RECIPE:
1 15-19oz can of Garbanzo Beans aka Chick Peas, rinsed, drained + dried
1 + 1/2tsp Paprika
1+1/2tsp Garlic Powder
1/2tsp Dried Thyme
1/2-1tsp Cayenne (depending on how spicy you want)
1/4tsp Cinnamon
1+1/2tsp Onion Powder
1tsp Salt
1Tbs Oil
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and toss till well combined and chickpeas are evenly coated. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 400degrees for 35-45 depending on how crisp you want them. Enjoy!!
In my 29 years on this odd and wonderful planet I have learned a lot of things about myself.
(And believe me, I am aware there is still a lot to learn!)
Lately, certain patterns have emerged and I have found a simple formula that can describe my overall aesthetic…
I like things really big...or really small.
Take flowers for instance, I like large simple flowers like daisies and lilies - or - small, super intricate little...um...little flowers :)
(To be honest I just buy whatever looks fresh and cheap from the deli guy on the corner and pray that they last for more than a day so my husband doesn’t realize how much money I waste on half dead flowers.)
And when it comes to food I gravitate toward things like massive, foot wide cinnamon rolls or tiny, individual...well...everything. For now, let's focus on the small stuff.
RECIPE:
3Tbs Low-Fat Mayo
1 container Oikos Plain Greek Yogurt
1/4tsp salt
8 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
1/8-1/4tsp Cayenne Pepper
1tsp Fresh Thyme, finely chopped
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 loaf bread
Combine mayo, greek yogurt, salt, garlic, cayenne pepper and thyme together. Cut loaf of bread in half and spread yogurt mixture over the cut side of the bread. Top with the parmesan cheese and cook under your broiler until top is brown and bread is crisp. Serve warm and ENJOY!
NYC can be a strange place.
Apartments are small, apartment kitchens are dicey, but bars and restaurants are plentiful.
So you find yourself headed to your local watering hole to meet up with your fellow winos without even considering the idea of having people over to your home.
My apartments in NYC have slowly...very slowly...gotten bigger and bigger. In 13 years I have lived in 9 different places, all of varying sizes and with varying infestation problems...
My latest apartment has two highly coveted features...space for a dining room table and a window in the kitchen!
A WINDOW!!!!!
It was a simple idea...make a cup...fill it with stuff...
But how?
Well this is how...
With a little help from the store and a mini muffin tin you can suddenly become an assembly line for one of a kind, irresistibly cute little appetizers.
RECIPE:
1 8oz can Crescent Roll Dough
Rolling Pin
Knife/Pizza Wheel
DIRECTIONS:
Unroll crecent roll dough onto a lightly floured surface...
Pinch the seams with your fingers in order to create one seamless rectangle of dough.
Dough should be tacky enough to stick together easily.
Roll out dough till it is about 1/3 bigger than the original size.
Cut the rectangle into 24 even squares. Place squares into a greased mini muffin tin and press the dough to the sides of the cup.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until cups are golden brown.
Let cups cool and fill with things like cheese, salads or even mini meatballs. ENJOY!
RECIPE:
2 cups milk, warmed
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 tsp salt
1 cups grated Gruyere cheese
Place a popover pan or muffin pan in the oven. Heat the oven and pan to 350 degrees. In the mean time gently warm the milk over low heat until warm to the touch and set aside. Whisk the eggs until frothy and slowly whisk in the warmed milk. Set the mixture aside. Sift the flour with the salt. Slowly add the flour and salt mixture to the milk and eggs until there are no lumps. Remove the pan from the oven and grease LIBERALLY
—
the top as well as inside the cups. While the batter is still slightly warm or room temp (definitely not cool), fill each cup full. Top each popover with approximately 2 Tbsp of the grated Gruyere.
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, rotating pan half a turn after 20 minutes of baking. Serve warm and ENJOY!
RECIPE:
2 cups packed cilantro leaves
½ cup parmesan cheese
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 jalapeno, roasted, seeds + ribs removed
Juice of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
Put all ingredients in a food processor except for the olive oil. Process till finely chopped. Stream in olive oil while the food processor is on and allow everything to mix till well combined.
Makes 1 and 1/4cup
RECIPE:
¼ cup Pinenuts
2 Roasted Red Peppers
1 tsp Thyme Leaves
3 Garlic Cloves
1 Shallot
½ cup Parmesan
2tsp Kosher Salt
¼ Olive Oil
Pulse everything in a food processor until well combined and pureed. Toss over pasta, rice or serve over fish or chicken.
