Sometimes it’s such a relief to cook for the same number I cook for all summer long. It must sound funny, but it’s actually LESS thinking for me. I don’t have to hold back on amounts like I do when cooking for the family or testing recipes and even then half the time I end [...]
Each year when we visited my grandparents for three summer weeks in their rural home in New York, we’d spend our time doing essentially nothing. It wasn’t exciting, it wasn’t exhilarating and it wasn’t elucidating. Sometimes it was boring. The funny thing is, however, that now I look back on those days with a rosy, [...]
Beef Ragu with Fennel and Orange 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 pounds stew beef ¼ cup flour 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper 1 teaspoon paprika 1 large onion, diced 1 cup diced fennel 2 large carrots, diced 3 stalks celery, diced ½ green pepper, diced 6 cloves minced garlic 2 tablespoons fennel [...]
Tomato, Leek, Brie Linguini 1 tablespoon butter 1 clove garlic, minced 1 large leek, cut in half lengthwise, thoroughly washed, and thinly sliced 2 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced 3 tablespoons white wine 4 ounces brie Salt and pepper to taste Prepare enough linguini for two while making the sauce. Melt the butter in a [...]
Black Bean & Jasmine Rice Soup We often serve this soup with Pico de Gallo. 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 large onions, diced 1 large green pepper, seeded and diced 1 dried Ancho chili, reconstituted and minced 9 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon cumin 1 teaspoon salt 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes 1 16-ounce can [...]
Sun-Dried Tomato Spread 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (not the kind you have to reconstitute), drained 1/4 cup packed fresh Italian parsley 1/4 cup packed fresh basil 1/2 cup walnuts 1/2 cup grated fresh Romano cheese 1/2 head roasted garlic Fresh pepper Extra-virgin olive oil Combine all of the ingredients except the [...]
Nectarine Jam This jam shouldn’t be canned due to the lower amount of sugar. 1 pound nectarines, peeled, pitted and sliced thin 1 1/4 cups sugar 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a non-reactive skillet. Reduce heat and simmer until it begins to look syrupy. Skim off any foam [...]
The Rockland Farmer’s Market opens today and through no fault of my own, coincides perfectly with this weeks column in the PPH about salads and greens. With all of the micro and baby greens available to us this time of year, the old stand by of tomato, cucumber and lettuce salads dressed with ranch should [...]
This menu is one that became a column somewhat recently, but the link will expire soon, so I post it here for you instead. It might make a nice entertaining menu for a smaller group of people – maybe for a Sunday night meal or if you are feeding guests from out of town. The [...]
Cranberries are sometimes one of the few things that bring bright color to an otherwise fairly brown meal – Thanksgiving. Think about it – brown turkey, stuffing, potatoes, roasted vegetable (yes a little color but not much) and the gravy. Maybe green beans, but if you are like most people and do the cream of [...]
