Posts filed under 'Cookbooks'
Family friends of ours, the Scottos, have a terrific restaurant in New York called Fresco By Scotto. They are regular guests on The Today Show and a recent segment reminded me how much I love their first cookbook, Fresco. If you are in NYC make Fresco a destination. Marion is an amazing, gracious host and the food is wonderful too.
Hands down, this is my favorite recipe from the Fresco cookbook. With a cup a soup and a salad it makes a perfect winter meal. I have offered a vegetarian option at the end of the original recipe.
Sausage and Leek Tart with a Fennel Crust
Makes one 10 to 11-inch tart
Fennel Tart Dough
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup of butter, cut into cubes and chilled
1 Tbsp. fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle
1 tsp kosher salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Place the flour, butter, fennel seeds and salt in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse 10 times or until the mixture resembles crumbs. In a smaller bowl, whisk together 2 Tbsp. of water with the eggs.
With the food processor running, add the egg mixture through the feeding tube. Pulse 8 tie or just until the dough comes together. Remove from the bowl, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about one hour. Let the dough stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes before rolling it out and fitting it into your favorite tart pan.
Time Saver: If you find that you like this crust, double the recipe and freeze one ball of dough for future use.
Filling:
2 large onions or 2 lbs. leeks, sliced thinly
1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 lb mild Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 lb. shredded Fontina cheese (or Gruyere)
12 plum tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick and drained on paper towels
(I used large cherry tomatoes as could not find any good plum tomatoes. I used 1 pint but 2 would have been better.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 2 Tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet and cook sausage for 7 minutes. Break up the meat while it cooks. Drain and set aside. Discard the fat. Heat remaining oil and saute the onions until they get nice and soft. Add the garlic and cook for about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside and allow to cool
Combine the eggs and cream and mix well. Add the parsley. Set aside.
Spread the onions or leeks over the tart shell bottom. Spread the sausage meat on top. Cover the meat with the cheese. Now place the tomatoes on top in a nice pattern, layering them just so they overlap slightly. Carefully pour the egg mixtue over. Place tart pan onto a cookie sheet and bake for 50 minutes. Let the tart cool slightly before you cut it to serve.
Go Veg!
I decided to make this tart vegetarian as we are trying to cut back on our meat consumption 3 to 4 nights a week. So instead of the sausages and heavy cream, I used 1 cup ricotta cheese with about 1/4 cup freshly chopped basil. It worked great, but I confess to preferring the one with sausage better!
February 2nd, 2010
While I do not think this is a great name for this cookbook, I bought it anyway after watching its author on the Martha Stewart’s show. Indeed, this book was well worth its purchase price.
When I buy a new cookbook, (and believe me, I agonize over which ones to buy because I already have a tower of books that represents 25 years of collecting) I have this somewhat obsessive habit of marking the pages of the recipes I want to try. I can’t tell you why I do this, I just do.
As you can see by the picture below of How to Roast a Lamb, which is written by Michael Psilakis, a founding partner in Anthos in New York, there are quite a few recipes I am dying to recreate. The book is simply beautiful. With more than four establishments in New York and one in Miami, Psilakis knows a thing or two about writing a recipe and runnning a restaurant.
After first devouring this book and reading some of the wonderful stories, I marked 22 recipes that I will be trying this year. These are not just lamb recipes, there is something for everyone and he offers some great staples like garlic confit.
All the mezes, or small dishes, look and sound amazing. His Greek salad is a thing of art. The whole roasted fish is the next dish I will prepare for a large dinner party. Stay tuned for more as I work my way through Psilakis’ Greek inspired recipes.
Click here to watch a video of Psilakis making his artful Greek salad with Martha on her show.
January 25th, 2010
My son gave me a copy of Everyday Italian by Giada de Laurentiis a few years ago. Pizza di Spaghetti is one of his favorite meals. Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside, it is a great way to use up any leftover pasta and it is a meal that all of my children will eat.
Topped with a little marinara sauce and served with broccoli, it is an easy dinner. You could even put bits of broccoli or chopped spinach inside. I’ve done several variations, such as adding 1/2 cup ricotta cheese and finishing it with mozzarella. My 13-year-old is able to prepare this recipe by himself.
Typically, I use Barilla Plus Angel Hair as it has nice texture and a better nutritional profile than regular pasta. In this recipe, even finicky eaters won’t know the difference.
Not very photogenic, but certainly very tasty.
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or sharp cheddar)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup ricotta cheese (optional)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 cups leftover pasta, cooked
1/4 cup olive oil or butter
Bits of mozzarella cheese, about 1/2 cup (optional - but this makes it more like a pizza)
In a large bowl, mix the eggs, milk, ricotta, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat well. Heat a 9-inch skillet and add the olive oil or butter. When hot, add the pasta mixture, spreading evenly and cook for about 8 minutes, pressing it down with the back of a spatula.
Carefully invert the pasta onto a round flat surface like an oversized plate, then slide it back into the pan on the opposite, un-cooked side down. Place the bits of mozzarella on top and cover. Cook for another 6 minutes. Heat your marinara sauce in the microwave while the pizza finishes up.
Place the pasta on to a serving platter, cut up into your desired serving size and serve with a bit of marinara on top or on the side.
January 19th, 2010
When in doubt, go for a book, gadgets or something homemade!
Momfuku by David Chang is probably one of the best cookbooks of the year. If you are ever in New York, his restaurants are a must.
Citrus reamers or a citrus press like you see in Mexico.
Kimberly’s Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Almonds.
These beautiful folding wooden salad tongs are also perfect.
Give the gift of a flavor trip this holiday season with Frooties! This is a great activity for the whole family. Watch everyone eat lemons, limes and grapefruits with gusto!
A jar of Barr’s homemade Chocolate Hazelnut spread.
December 17th, 2009
Exciting news I tell you, our first give-away! The Lisa Ekus Group was kind enough to provide us with books to share with two lucky flavoristas.
Simply leave a comment to this post. Subscribers: please leave comments on the site rather than e-mail. I’ll put them all in a hat and Lollie will pick the winner. We’ll post the lucky winners and I’ll contact you to get shipping specifics.
I met Nava Atlas at an author’s retreat while she was wrapping up the book above, Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife. I picked up my copy over the summer and it is a hoot. It is the perfect book for that "hard to buy for" girlfriend.
There are no actual food recipes in the book, although Nava is a well established cookbook author. Keep on reading to check out some sample "recipes" from Secret Recipes for the Modern Wife:
Way Too Much on Your Plate
Serves one frazzled female
2 to 3 small children, more or less as desired
A small pinch of time
1 large bunch mixed obligations (try a combination of work, aging parents, extended family, community involvement and endless errands)
Generous grindings of guilt
Combine children in a house or apartment and stir together, losing temper every so often.
With time at a premium, pile up obligations and "to do" items, little by little, until you realize that you have so much on your plate that your life resembles one motley potluck. With a wire whisk, beat yourself into stiff peaks for biting off far more than you can chew.
Add as much guilt as necessary to achieve complete emotional overload when you realize that there is no way to do anything well when you are trying to do so many things at once. Ponder why your life, which was relatively simple not long ago, has become a not-too-pretty smorgasbord.
Start recipe over each morning and repeat daily for about a decade, or longer as needed, until the kids are older or until you are a complete basket case, whichever comes first.
Old Boyfriend Buffet
Fuels many hours of fantasy
Bobby or Johnny, or whatever the boy you liked in fifth grade was called
Your middle school boyfriend, name forgotten
Your high school boyfriends, as desired
The great love of your life (college sweetie, or other)
All the guys you dated before meeting the man you ultimately married
Nostalgia for glazing
Cranberries for color
After major arguments with your husband, heap memories of Bobby (or Johnny), with the middle and high school boyfriends onto a plate. Infuse this hazy hash with much longing for your lost youth.
Conjure up daydreams about the great love of your life after particularly vexing fights. Serve yourself these exquisite morsels while pondering the following:
1. Why did you ever let him get away? 2. Did he ever get over you, and does he ever think about you now? 3. Did he ever marry, and if so, a) might he be divorced or widowed by now, and hence, available? or b) would he leave his current wife for you if you were available? 4. Should you do a discreet search for his whereabouts?
Spread embellished memories of all the guys you ever dated on a silver serving dish. Marvel at how most of them, even the jerks, look awfully appetizing with the glaze of nostalgia, especially compared with the idiot to whom you’re married. Festoon your fantasy land forays with cranberries, which, like memories, can be remarkably bittersweet.
Happily-Ever-After Ambrosia
Serves to inspire hope in an age of cynicism
The stuff that makes living most delectable (choose as many as you’d like), including:
Shavings of fresh coconut
Harmony
Pineapple rings and candied fruit
Affection and mutual respect
Glistening cubes of ruby red gelatin
Security and support
Mint ice cream
Children that turn out well
Rich frosting and whipped cream toppings
Lasting love and happiness
Chocolate syrup (lots of it)
Before starting this recipe, recognize that even in an age when impossible standards of perfection coexist with a decline in marital rates (and successes), there must be some reason why most people aspire to be part of a couple.
While arranging delicious ingredients with lofty aspirations, pause to reflect on "for better or worse," and decide that you prefer better. And observe that even those who have endured the most painful of breakups often try again, and sometimes yet again.
Realize that real life doesn’t always resemble a dessert buffet, filled with sensuous pleasures and emotional fulfillment. Still, it’s human nature to feel hopeful, and even though you know that "happily ever after" exists primarily in fairy tales, it may be possible to grab morsels of love and happiness from time to time.
And the winners are….
Kathy - quinnka@comcast.com and Jenny - jennymalcow@mac.com. I’ll send you both an e-mail to get shipping info. Congratulations - Hope you enjoy the book as much as I did.
December 1st, 2009
Fuchsia Dunlop’s memoir is the best way to vicariously travel through China. Dunlop spent years exploring many of China’s provinces and has written several cookbooks, articles and even has a blog.
I heartily recommend this fascinating culinary trip through many of China’s provinces. Dunlop was the first foreigner to ever attend the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine. Going to culinary school is daunting enough, but to attend one where only Mandarin is spoken is quite another thing.
There is a page in the book where she illustrates just a few of the types of shapes you might have to use your cleaver to make. From eyebrow shapes to phoenix tails, to ox tongues, horse ears and domino slices. It make French techniques look like child’s play.
These are a few pages from her journal, there are more on her blog. Flavorista Tracey traveled to China last year to visit her son who spent 1 year there as an exchange student. I am sending her this book.
I have yet to make any of the recipes but she has a true version of Kung Pao chicken on her blog that I might try along with the Fish Fragrant Aubergines in this book. I’ll let you know how everything turns out.
If you love Chinese food and are curious to learn more, this book and The Fortune Cookie Chronicles by Jennifer 8 Lee are a must.
October 1st, 2009
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