This simple little side has become a staple in our meal repertoire.
It’s perfect with grilled chicken or fish, but it’s also pretty tasty on its own…the next day…straight from the fridge.

Aren’t those peas gorgeous? They were grown on a local farm about 10 minutes from my house.

Really, this is the perfect spring dish…when you can find all three of these ingredients at your local Farmer’s Market. I’m failing you by finally sharing this halfway through October. My apologies – when I first discovered this little combo, I didn’t have anything clever to tell you about it. I still don’t, but this is one of those recipes you just can’t miss.

Peas, Asparagus, & Basil

Adapted slightly from Gourmet
Serves 4ish
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots (about 2)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
3/4 pound shelled fresh peas (2 1/2 cups; 1 3/4 pound in pods) or 1 (10-ounce) package thawed frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Handful of torn basil leaves (about 3/4 cup)
1/4 cup grated parmesan
Preparation
Heat olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until tender, about 4 minutes.
Stir in asparagus, peas, sea salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender but still slightly al dente, about 8 minutes. Stir in basil, cheese and sea salt to taste.

There’s nothing very complex about this salad. It’s simple and clean, but there’s also something kind of elegant about it. It’s my favorite type of salad. What’s special about it, and the reason I’m sharing it with you, is its unique combination of ingredients…heirloom tomatoes and cherries.

Because this salad is so simple and two ingredients are taking center stage, I insist you find super fresh, high quality ingredients. If you have a great Farmer’s Market and can wake up early enough to shop it, do your gathering there. If not, stand in the produce section of your very best foodie store (Whole Foods, Central Market, Trader Joe’s, etc.) and spend at least 5 minutes choosing heirloom tomatoes. I like brandywines and Cherokee purples, but you might prefer green zebras or yellow plums. Gaze, caress, admire and choose your two favorites. Next, find some cherries. The ones I used were from Hood River in Oregon. They weren’t cheap, but they were absolutely worth it. You’ll also need some baby greens, olive oil, and balsamic and red wine vinegars.

When you get home, set your ingredients out. Place about 4 cups of baby greens in a pretty salad bowl (this salad deserves a touch of glamour). Cut your tomatoes into large wedges and add to the greens. Pit and halve your cherries (about 2 cups) and add to the salad. Whisk together 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar and 1/2 cup olive oil. Drizzle over your salad. Enjoy!

As you know, I watch my Food Network on the treadmill. What? It works…


The other day, I was excited to see Rachael Ray making a Chicken ‘Tostada’. Since ‘tostada’ was in quotes and she was butterflying and pounding the chicken into tostada ’shells’, I thought she might be making some sort of gluten-free/grain-free tostada-like concoction.
Sweet. Why have I never thought of that?

Everything looked great as she assembled the tostada – chicken as the base, topped with refried beans, cheese, corn, tomatoes, and…wait for it…chips.
CHIPS!? Seriously, Rachael Ray? Why even bother with all of this faux ‘tostada’ business?


*taking deep breaths*
When I got home, I decided to correct Rachael’s mistake. She was totally on to something there before that little chip mishap.

Chicken ‘Tostada’

Inspired by Rachael Ray
Serves 2
2 chicken breasts
1 cup refried beans
1 cup shredded cheddar/Monterrey Jack mix
1 ear of corn, unshucked
1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 red onion
1 avocado
1 tomato
olive oil
salt, pepper
Preparation
Roast corn, bell pepper and tomato under broiler until corn is black, pepper and tomato are blistered.
Butterfly each chicken breast and pound until 1/4 inch thick. Season with salt and pepper. Coat grill pan with olive oil and cook chicken over medium heat, about 8 minutes per side.
Cut corn kernels off ear and place in medium bowl. Dice onion, bell pepper, tomato and avocado and mix with corn.
Assemble ‘tostada’ – start with chicken as the base, top with refried beans, corn mixture and cheese.

Andrew and I went to New York last month. In the middle of Irene. Which, depending on how you look at it, was either the best possible time to go or the worst.


First, let me start by saying we were never even close to being in danger. The city handled things beautifully, people were prepared, our hotel bent over backwards to make sure we were taken care of (this included the manager making breakfast for all of the guests on the morning of the hurricane). While other areas were horribly impacted by Irene, Manhattan was basically untouched. We were safe.

It was because we were safe and the city was so prepared (i.e. shut down) that made it either the best possible time to go or the worst.
The best because we got to see a side of the city that most people never get to see – empty. I would imagine it was similar to what the Fourth of July feels like when locals leave to the Hamptons.
Except even then, tourists flock to Times Square. We were in Times Square at 8pm on a Saturday and we could stand in the middle of the street, spin around and count the number of people on one hand. It was desolate. Eerie, almost. Like a scene from Zombieland.


So, the good part was it felt like we had the city to ourselves for two days. The bad part? It felt like we had the city to ourselves for two days.


When you go to New York, you expect hustle and bustle. You expect to get yelled at by the guy in line behind you and ignored by people on the street. You also expect to have innumerable options for things to do, places to see, restaurants to visit. On the night before Irene, the only places open were Irish pubs. I’m not trying to be funny. That’s seriously all that was open. Why, I don’t know.
We ate mediocre Shepherd’s Pie at one Irish Pub and went down the street to drink at another. Everything else was closed or even boarded against the elements. It kind of sucked. It especially sucked because this was my first time to New York and, being a foodie, I had a long list of all the places I’d heard amazing things about. Cutting two days out of my eating schedule was depressing.

When the powers of social media informed me Gramercy Tavern would open with a skeleton staff on Sunday night, I almost cried. You mean I don’t have to live on a diet of fish and chips? Praise Jesus.
Turns out, it was the best meal we ate in Manhattan.


Andrew ordered the meatball. THE meatball. If you’ve been to Gramercy Tavern and have never ordered THE meatball, you’re seriously missing out. If you’ve never been to Gramercy Tavern, you need to get there. Stat.
THE meatball is a combination of beef, pork, and veal (+ other yummy goodness), stuffed with fontina, served over pureed potatoes, drizzled with a red wine reduction. It’s amazing.

Naturally, when I asked Andrew for menu requests once we got home, he was still dreaming of THAT meatball.


My first attempt wasn’t actually this one. It was a flop that made me realize I’ve never actually made meatballs. At least not meatballs that can stand on their own. I decided I should start by learning how to make a really good meatball and then try to get near Gramercy Tavern’s level of perfection.
So, this was my first attempt (and, actually, this was my second time to make this first attempt).
Serve these over your favorite starch. I’ve had them over mashed potatoes as well as angel hair pasta. Both work well, but the meatball remains the main event.


Stay tuned for future attempts including some fontina stuffing adventures. They’re coming…

Classic Meatballs

From Anne Burrell
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, 1/4-inch dice
Salt
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
Pinch crushed red pepper
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1 cup grated Parmigiano
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup water
Preparation
Coat a large saute pan with olive oil, add the onions and bring to a medium-high heat. Season the onions generously with salt and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. The onions should be very soft and aromatic but have no color. Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and saute for another 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool.


In a large bowl combine the meats, eggs, Parmigiano, parsley and bread crumbs. It works well to squish the mixture with your hands. Add the onion mixture and season generously with salt and squish some more. Add the water and do 1 final really good squish. The mixture should be quite wet. Test the seasoning of the mix by making a mini hamburger size patty and cooking it. The mixture should taste really good! If it doesn’t it is probably missing salt. Add more. Add more anyway.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Shape the meat into desired size. Some people like ‘em big some people like ‘em small. I prefer meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball. Coat a large saute pan with olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through. If using right away, add them to your big pot of marinara sauce. If not using right away, they can be frozen for later use. Serve with pasta and sauce or just eat them straight out of the pot! YUM!

Last Year – Pumpkin Black Bean Soup
Two Years Ago – Watermelon For Dessert

While in the check out line yesterday, the clerk somehow thought it appropriate to ask me what I do for a living.


Does anyone else find that question rude?

I’ve heard it’s an American thing – asking what you do for a living. It’s the first question we ask when we meet you because we think we’ll get to know more about you if we know what you do all day. With your answer, we’ll immediately know what type of person you are, what makes you tick and what you’re most passionate about. We can also tell how smart you are and get an idea of how much money you make. We’ll have you all figured out based on your answer to one simple question.

If it’s the perfect getting-to-know-you question, why is it just an American thing? Easy – unlike many other countries, we tend to define ourselves (and others) by our jobs.

Even when I had a tidy answer – ‘teacher’, I hated this question because of the way I was summed up.
Oh, you’re a teacher? That’s so cute! That means you’re patient and kind and live a very simple life and are not incredibly smart or else you would have become a pediatrician or a child advocacy lawyer or anything else really…let me tell you about my favorite teacher when I was growing up.
Totally defined by my job. Just one of the reasons I left teaching. But, that’s another topic.

Now that I don’t have a tidy answer, it’s even more frustrating.


I’ve tried different tacts:
‘I’m a retired teacher.’
Oh…were you one of the ones who got laid off last year?
‘No.’


‘I run a small, one-woman media company.’
Oh…so you’re unemployed?
‘Not exactly.’


‘I’m between things right now.’
This one usually works. It’s the one I’ve been using most often lately because most people can connect with it – they’ve either been in the same boat or know someone who has. It also usually shuts people right up.

Except for Mr. Check Out Clerk. His response?
Oh…so that’s your full time job?
Huh? Being between things?
Did you misunderstand me?
I don’t know why I engaged. My face was beet red…I felt this ridiculous need to defend myself.
So I said, ‘No – soul searching. Soul searching is my full-time job right now.’
His response?
Without missing a beat – Have you found any lately? Any souls?


Ha. Clever.


From the eavesdropping bagger, badum-ching…he’ll be here all night, folks.

Obviously, it’s time for a new answer. Maybe I should just start answering with my goals for the day…
What do you do?
‘Today? Well today, I’m running a few miles, I’m reading a great book, I’m considering the merits of being a vegetarian vs. eating meat from family farms vs. total denial, I’m researching a meal plan for the next ten days, I’m grocery shopping, I’m tidying my house, I’m writing, I’m designing a house addition, I’m preparing for a friend’s baby shower, I’m listening to my husband’s day, I’m worrying about my family, and I’m making Spanish rice. How about you? What do you do?’


This rice recipe is a request from my friend Hayley, but it comes from my food buddy, Renee. She gave me this recipe so long ago, she actually wrote it on one of those recipe cards instead of just emailing. What’s perhaps more impressive is that I still have it. It’s a keeper…

Renee’s Spanish Rice

1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 stick of butter
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked white rice
1 can rotel
1 T cumin
salt, pepper
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onion and bell pepper in butter.
Combine rice and chicken broth in a 9×13 baking dish. Add onion mixture, seasonings and rotel. Mix well. Bake for 45 minutes.

Like mac and cheese, potato salad, and pinto beans, this corn salad has made it to the must-cook list in my bbq dinner repertoire.


Since the combo of roasted corn, feta, basil, red onion, and tomatoes lends itself so well to experimentation, I’m hard-pressed to commit to one specific recipe.


Instead, I’ll give you a foundation and you can take it from there.


First, roast 2 ears of corn on the grill. Do not remove the husks! Plop those suckers straight on the grill and let the husks get nice and crispy, rotating to brown each side. After about 5 minutes, remove the corn and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, combine 1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup feta, 1/4 cup diced red onion and 1/2 cup roughly diced basil. Drizzle with a tablespoon of champagne vinegar (white wine vinegar will work just fine). Drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.


Remove the charred husks under running water. Cut the corn from the ears (I like to do this over a bowl). Add the corn kernels to the salad. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix. Serve.


Once you have the basic recipe down, get experimental. Add some arugula. A little bell pepper. Maybe bacon? You’ll find what’s right for you…

Oh, grilled romaine…
where have you been all my life?

With the exception of your stint in a few fabulous Caesar salads, you rarely have the panache to take center stage. Instead, you’re just the chaffeur for scene-stealing salad accoutrements.


Here, in this role, you’ve found your calling, my friend.

With just a bit of time on the grill, your usually pleathery leaves slightly wilt and tenderly caramelize, resulting in a nutty sweetness so counter to your usually bitter facade.

I love this side of you.

I’d like to see more of it…

Grilled Romaine Salad

1/2 head of romaine, trimmed of ends
1 shallot, sliced
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
1/2 cup shredded manchego (or parmesan)
1 lemon, juiced
1 T dijon mustard
1 T champagne vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 t agave nectar
black pepper, salt, crushed red pepper
Preparation:
Heat grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Add shallots, saute for about 30 minutes. Add romaine and lemon wedges. Sprinkle with salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper, to taste. Using tongs, turn until the romaine begins to caramelize and the lemon begins to brown.
Remove from heat.
Combine lemon juice, dijon, vinegar, olive oil and agave nectar in a jam jar. Shake until combined.
Squeeze grilled lemons over shallots and romaine. Discard. Top lettuce with cheese. Dress with vinaigrette before serving.

Until this summer, neither of us liked gazpacho.

When it’s tomato-ey, it just tastes like salsa. Or, worse – ketchup.
When it’s avocado-ey, it just tastes like guacamole.
You don’t eat any of those things with a spoon; you use bread, crackers, chips… a vehicle of some sort.

So it’s been with gazpacho — for me to actually eat it, I’ve required a loaf of crusty bread (yes, a whole loaf) or a nearby microwave. It was a mental thing, I suppose. I was stuck in a soup-is-meant-to-be-hot mindset.

This summer, we’ve had gazpacho not once, not twice…we’ve had it more than a few times. And, we’ve found ourselves actually enjoying it.


I’m sure it has something to do with the hellish temperatures. We’ve now broken the record for number of days over 100 as well as hottest recorded temperature (112). The sad thing is we’re sailing right past these records – there’s no respite in view.

We have many more gazpacho days ahead of us.

Avocado Tomato Soup with Crab Cakes

Avocado Soup
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 avocados
1 cup chicken stock
2 T crème fraîche
1 T fresh lime juice
1/2 t kosher salt
Preparation
Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Add 1/2 – 1 cup water, to desired consistency. Blend. Chill until ready to serve.


Tomato Soup
1 pound ripe tomatoes
1 T crushed red pepper
1 t garlic powder
1 T sugar
1 T tarragon
Preparation
Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender.


Crab Cakes
Use your favorite recipe or buy them prepared from your deli.
1 T grapeseed oil
Preparation
Heat grapeseed oil over medium high heat. Fry crab cakes until brown on both sides, about 8 minutes.


Fill bowl with 1 cup tomato soup. Spoon in an equal portion of avocado soup (make sure to spoon rather than pour to create and attractive division. If you pour, the avocado soup will sink to the bottom.). Top soup with crab cake (or two).

First, warm milk, sugar, heavy cream, salt and mint over medium heat.



Remove from heat, cover and let stand for about an hour. It should start to take on a nice greenish hue.


Remove the mint with a strainer, pressing down with a spatula to get all of the flavor and color into your milk mixture.


Pour the remaining cream in a large bowl and set the strainer over the top.


Rewarm the infused milk until just warm.



In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the egg yolks.


Slowly pour the warm milk mixture into the egg yolks, whisking until mixed.


Return mixture to saucepan.


Cook the custard until it thickens and coats the back of a spatula.


Pour through the strainer, into the remaining heavy cream.


Stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool. (Don’t dip your ice cream into the ice bath!)


Chill for 6-8 hours.


Place a storage container in the freezer.



Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.


Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a double broiler or in the microwave.



Drizzle some of the chocolate into the cold container. Add ice cream. Drizzle more chocolate into the ice cream, breaking up into pieces with the spatula. (This is my favorite part!)



Return to freezer for 4-6 hours, until firm.



Sing happy birthday in a raspy Marilyn Monroe voice. (optional)

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

From Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
pinch of salt
2 cups packed fresh mint leaves
5 large egg yolks
For the chocolate chips:
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup heavy cream, salt, and mint.
Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for an hour to infuse the mint flavor.
Remove the mint with a strainer, then press down with a spatula firmly to extract as much mint flavor and color as possible. Once the flavor is squeezed out, discard the mint.
Pour the remaining heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer over the top.
Rewarm the infused milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then slowly pour some of the warm mint mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.
Cook the custard, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. If using an instant read thermometer, it should read around 170ºF (77ºC).
Immediately strain the mixture into the cream, then stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool.
Refrigerate the mixture thoroughly, preferably overnight, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Place a storage container in the freezer.
While the mixture is freezing, melt the chocolate in a small bowl over a pot of simmering water, or in a microwave oven on low power, stirring until smooth.
When the ice cream in the machine is ready, drizzle some of the chocolate into the container, then add a layer of the just-churned ice cream to the container. Drizzle melted chocolate over the top of the ice cream, then quickly stir it in, breaking up the chocolate into irregular pieces. Continue layering the ice cream, drizzling more chocolate and stirring as you go.
When finished, cover and freeze until firm.

I met a witch when I was 15.
At least I think she was a witch.


The spring of my sophomore year, my debate team took a field trip to Boston to debate at Harvard.
It sounds more sophisticated than it really was. In actuality, it was just an excuse to go on a really cool trip. And, since my debate coach’s dad and step-mom lived there, I’m pretty sure it was an excuse for her to have the school pay for her family visit.

The debate tournament itself was pretty uneventful. Most of our rounds weren’t even at Harvard, but at a nearby public school. And, if I remember correctly, my partner and I lost all 6 we debated. We talked a lot, though. And laughed. And drank coffee. And smoked clove cigarettes. And drooled over the debate hunk.
And…we met a witch.

Our debate coach absolutely hated her step-mom. She probably planted the witch seed by calling her one once or twice (she was SUPER professional). It didn’t help that the witch was originally from Salem.
And, we were a group of nerdy teenagers hopped up on coffee and clove cigarettes. Our imaginations ran a bit wild.

We didn’t have much exposure to the witch until the end of our trip. On our last night in Boston, we drove out to her house on the Cape. Of course, it was cold, dreary and gray. Naturally, the house was perched on the edge of a craggy cliff overlooking an ocean of ominous waves. *enter horror-movie music and lightning bolts*


Really, their cottage was adorable – something you’d see in a movie. The scenery was amazing and the house was quaint and elegant and absolutely perfect. It was one of those ‘happily ever after’ places you’ll only ever see on vacation. A place where you knew if you lived there, your life would be complete – simple and full at the same time.


We all felt that magic, but we were 15, 16, 17 and on a caffeine, clove-cigarette induced witchhunt. Instead of appreciating the view, the cottage, the food…we were those unappreciative ‘kids these days’ *shake head disapprovingly*.

Invited to look around, a teammate and I took it upon ourselves to roam the house and search for witch evidence. We found a broom. And herbs. And holistic medicine books. And witch hazel (the horror!). We photographed the evidence (sadly, I think I trashed those photos a few months ago) and returned to dinner.


I know you’re wondering – the answer is no we didn’t really think she was a witch. At least not until dinner.

When it was time for dinner, the witch called us all over to her lair kitchen island. With sideways glances at each other, we joined her.
On her butcher block table, she’d assembled a sacrifice collection of live lobster for dinner.
She assigned us each a victim subject and instructed us in the arts of witchcraft lobster hypnosis. We tried to stifle our oh-my-god-she-really-IS-a witch giggles by avoiding eye contact with each other.
As we plopped our spellbound lobsters into her cauldron (really…it was a cauldron), she cackled giggled when each one screamed.


Our wide-eyed fear left us submissively polite for the rest of the evening. Or hypnotized. The jury’s still out.

Lobster Avocado Grapefruit Salad

Adapted from Gourmet
Serves 2


This salad is amazing, but it’s not worth the hassle of boiling a live lobster. Buy cooked lobster instead (ask your butcher) and save yourself the trouble.


1/2 lb. cooked lobster meat
1 pink or ruby-red grapefruit, peeled and supremed
1 firm-ripe California avocado
1 oz baby arugula (2 cups)
1 cup Marcona almods, chopped
1/4 cup Manchego cheese, shaved
Dressing (recipe follows)
Coarse sea salt to taste, freshly ground pepper
Preparation
Toss arugula in dressing and split between two plates (reserve remaining dressing). Top with grapefruit, avocado, lobster, almonds and cheese. Drizzle salad with remaining dressing. Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
Dressing
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
Combine ingredients in a jam jar and shake.