Daily Loaf

Sushi Rice

Sushi, like most Japanese things, is made using exact skill and precision. But don’t let this scare you from making your own at home. In this recipe I outline the exact steps to take in order to achieve proper sushi rice using a rice cooker. I suggest that you purchase one of these handy kitchen appliances if you don’t already have one. They can be had for a minimal price — mine cost about $12 and can cook 6 cups of rice at a time.

It is important before you begin that you start out with the correct type of rice, wither short grain sushi rice or Calrose rice. Other types will not work as well, and some won’t work at all.

You can also make your life easier by purchasing “seasoned” rice wine vinegar, which includes the salt and the sugar already mixed in.

Yield: With this recipe you should be able to get about 3-4 sushi maki rolls out of one cup of rice.

Ingredients: Read the rest of this entry »

My most recent baking project has become creating the perfect crumb cake. There are so many elements that come into play here- texture, topping, density, and overall taste are all vital in formulating a masterpiece. I’m happy to say that I just may be onto something with this recipe.

Fall is high time for all things apple. Nothing makes your house smell better when baking or adds more moisture to your goodies. I choose Granny Smith as a rule, because they have a great tartness about them and retain their texture even when baking for substantial periods of time. Plus, if I have any left over they make the best snack when sliced and served with a baked round of brie, a drizzle of honey and some fresh baguette.

You are probably familiar with the classic pastry technique of incorporating very cold, cubed butter into streusel toppings, to create a divine crumb for these types of cakes. I’ve found amazing results instead, in melting the butter and using it to partially dissolve the sugars, bring out the essence of spices, and bind your crumble topping. This way, by the time you are ready to top your batter, the butter has semi-hardened once again, and it’s easy to crumble it into perfection. The pecans add fantastic crunch, and the richness of the brown sugar is the perfect companion to the buttery cake below. Read the rest of this entry »

(Look for three other exclusive recipes from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook here on the Daily Loaf: Three Pea Stir-Fry, Thai-Style Chicken Flatbread, and Lettuce Cups.)

I’ve been a bad blogger buddy! My friend Jaden Hair’s lovely new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, has been on the shelves for three weeks and I’ve yet to write about it. Jaden was the first food blogger I ever met way back before my own web site was even a thought in my head.

When I stumbled on her blog a few years ago and realized that she was right here in Sarasota, I immediately emailed her to introduce myself. Jaden was kind enough to invite me to attend one of her cooking classes that just happened to also be a taping for a television feature on her. I didn’t think twice before accepting! I had a blast! Plus, I got to be on TV! That was when the blogging bug really bit me.   A few months later, with Jaden as a major inspiration, I decided to try blogging for myself – and Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy was born.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Jaden’s recipes – and I’ve tried a whole lot of them. When she announced that she was writing a cookbook, I was thrilled for her! I was even more thrilled to be among her many recipe testers for the book. During that time, I tried out some awesome recipes and it drove me crazy that I couldn’t share any of them with anyone, because…well, you know…because they were top secret, hush-hush recipes for the cookbook! I wish now that I had taken photographs of some of those wonderful dishes I made. Read the rest of this entry »

Thai-style Chicken Flatbread

(Read our profile of Steamy Kitchen’s Jaden Hair.)

I make my own pizza dough from time to time, but when I want to make an impressive appetizer last minute, I buy a ball of pre-made pizza dough or, even easier, a package of naan or flatbread from the supermarket. This chicken flatbread is inspired by one of my husband’s favorite restaurants, California Pizza Kitchen. When we were still dating in San Francisco, we’d just hop on the subway and walk to the CPK near Union Square. Those were fun times as many sweet nothings were whispered in my ear over a shared pizza. These days, with two loud, yappin’ giggly boys at the dinner table, there’s no more whispering! (Okay, replaced by footsies!)

SERVES 4 AS APPETIZER OR SNACK

1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium flatbreads or naan
1/2 cup Peanut Dipping Sauce (recipe below)
8 oz fresh shredded mozzarella
1 1/4 cups fresh bean sprouts
Few sprigs fresh cilantro (coriander)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Read the rest of this entry »

Three Pea Stir-fry

(Read our profile of Steamy Kitchen’s Jaden Hair.)

My family loves peas every which way except for canned. What better way to please all than to stir-fry a combination of sugar snap, snow peas and shelled peas? Sometimes I’ll stand in the kitchen and just eat them straight out of the wok.

The peas cook at different times, so I add the sugar snap peas first. At my markets, fresh shelled peas are hard to find, so I often grab a bag of frozen peas. No need to defrost—just add them frozen right into the wok!

SERVES 4 AS SIDE DISH

1/2 lb sugar snap peas
1/2 lb snow peas
1/2 lb shelled peas (fresh or frozen)
1 teaspoon high-heat cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Pinch of sugar
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1. Wash all the peas. Read the rest of this entry »

(Read our profile of Steamy Kitchen’s Jaden Hair.)

Lettuce Cups

This dish is an experience in textures and sensations…the cool, crisp lettuce cups cradles the warm filling. As you take a bite, you’ll first taste the bright, sweet, juicy mandarin orange, then the savory chicken and then the crunch of water chestnuts and the mild bite of red onion.

The best part of this recipe is that the ingredients are so flexible. You can keep it light and use ground chicken or turkey, or try it with ground pork or ground beef—it’s totally up to you. My kids love this when I substitute diced green apples for the red onion. Try to dice the vegetables into roughly the same size so that they cook evenly and are easier to eat.

To make this dish a full meal, include 1 cup of cooked jasmine rice per person. My kids like to spoon the cooked rice along with the filling into their lettuce cups.

Read the rest of this entry »

Whenever I talk to someone not originally from Florida, especially a recent transplant, one of the first complaints I’m likely to hear is that they miss the change of seasons. Well, guess what? The seasons change here in Florida, too. The signs are just a lot more subtle, so you have to pay closer attention. Sure, we don’t get that “in your face” lavish display of reds, golds and oranges dotting our landscape, or those cool, crisp temperatures that traditionally mark the arrival of fall. But, that doesn’t mean it isn’t here.

In Florida, autumn sneaks in on tiptoes. An early morning 75 degrees the past several days has felt distinctly different from the early morning 75 degrees of a month ago. And the air looks just the merest touch clearer, the curves and angles of our skyline ever so slightly sharper. The change is barely perceptible, but I know it’s there. Maybe it comes from living here for more than three decades, but I can see it. I can feel it too.  Read the rest of this entry »

The most important men in my life all have one thing in common: they are, among other things, die hard green chile fans. Watching my dad, grandpa and my uncles at the dinner table anticipating the goodness that was green chile stew, sticks in my mind like a movie reel. As young girls my sister and I would try to hang in there with the heat, knowing it was surely in our blood, but usually passed our plates onto the guys and opted for something less spicy.

Now as I look back on the tastes and flavors that shaped my palate, this is definitely one of them. Roasted Hatch green chile is divine to those raised in the Southwest. I’ve also seen newbies get hooked- and give into the craving of the pungent, roasty, mild spice of New Mexico green chile. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve said it so many times when I cook: Simple is always better. Sure, sometimes I get mired down in complex recipes, but a handful of great ingredients with just the right touch of care always bring the greatest rewards. That couldn’t be truer than in this duck and scallop dish.

I found this gem on a menu in Stonington Borough, Connecticut — a charming little seaside village.  Water Street Café is a quaint, eclectic restaurant that is always busy, even in the dog days of winter. The fare is remarkably fresh and creative. Every meal I’ve eaten there (and I’ve had many) has been terrific.

Particularly, I’ve been fond of a very simple preparation of duck and scallops they serve. Read the rest of this entry »

Attention bachelors and bachelorettes! I have discovered a fast, tasty alternative to Ramen and microwaved frozen food. And all you need is a toaster oven.

The toaster oven is the intersection between the tastiness of oven-cooked food and the speed of a microwave. It cooks like an oven, with temperatures and broiling settings, but there’s none of that annoying pre-heating business. I don’t know about you, beautiful reader, but I hate having to wait. The toaster oven fulfills my laziness since the only steps are: 1: put food in oven, 2: set the temperature, 3: come back. And like a microwave, you can just set the timer and come back when it dings. Unlike a microwave, it doesn’t zap the flavor. Toaster oven food just tastes right.

My specialty is pizza bagels. And they are amazingly easy to make–all you need are bagels, pizza sauce, and cheese (recipe after the jump.) Read the rest of this entry »

(Check out these other pumpkin recipes: Cassava Pone from Sayroo West Indian Market, Pumpkin Cheese Pie, Baked Pumpkin Pudding.)

Maybe you don’t want to the fuss of cutting into a pumpkin for homemade pie — those cans are so damn easy — but chances are you’ll be carving a jack-o-lantern for the front porch. Instead of scooping the slimy innards directly into the trash, save the seeds for a roasted treat that almost makes handling the slippery stuff worthwhile.

Here’s a basic technique to get you started, with a list of seasoning options to jazz up the seeds: Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever noticed that the most exciting inventions and breakthrough discoveries are sometimes stumbled upon purely by accident? From medical research, to science and technology right on down to recipes, some of our biggest boo boos can be and have been turned into “Eureka!” moments. For example, the discoveries of penicillin, quinine, the smallpox vaccine and even x-rays were all the happened upon by accident. Indispensable innovations like the microwave, the pacemaker, the computer mouse and even Post-Its were invented by chance.

So then, what about serendipity in the kitchen? Many of you might be familiar with the story of Ruth Wakefield, the inventor of the original chocolate chip cookie. In the 1930s, Ruth and her husband owned the Toll House Inn in Massachusetts. One evening in 1937, she was making butter cookies for her guests and thought she would make them all chocolate instead. She cut a bar of chocolate into tiny pieces and added them to the cookie dough, thinking that the chocolate would melt completely, giving her chocolate butter cookies. When the cookies came out of the oven, the chocolate hadn’t melted at all! Instead, the “chocolate chips” had kept their form. Thus, the Toll House chocolate chip cookie was born and went on to become the most popular and well-known cookie of all time!

I’ve certainly had my share of culinary flops that I was able to transform into some pretty terrific recipes. This decadent and devastatingly delicious Pumpkin Cheese Pie with Toffee and Caramel Swirl is a perfect example. Let me tell you how it came to be. Read the rest of this entry »

Gears grinding down. Head and heart heavy. I took stock of my life and wasn’t thrilled with what I saw: broke (or damn near close to it), ailing family members, loveless (yet again), spinning wheels at work and school (if it wasn’t a glass ceiling I had hit it may as well have been concrete, for all its crushing power).

I called off work, sick with what could have been H1N1 and thought, “damn… is this all there really is?”

2 days later, I emerged from my Baudelaire-ian ennui, and found my life-force returning. Spirits lifting, glass-half-full, I gave thanks for the good health I’ve grown so used to enjoying, and reminded myself that as long as my creative nature is churning, there’s butter to be made.

Day 1 out of “Le Funk,” I did what always seems to set my heart and mind at peace: cooked and cleaned. Somewhere inside this MMA-badass-wannabe is a dainty, domestic ‘lil thang, quite content to putter around the house dusting, mopping, and chopping.

I made some Pumpkin Pudding.
Now you can, too… Read the rest of this entry »

When life gives you these …

You really just have to make this …

I saw these stunning red bell peppers at the market a while back, and they stopped me in my tracks. Not only were they gorgeous, but they were HUGE and perfectly shaped! The minute I laid eyes on them, I knew that being stuffed and baked was their destiny. Read the rest of this entry »

For the past several days I’ve had the mother lode of colds. You know the kind. One of those sniffling,  sneezing, coughing, aching, feverish affairs where your eyes won’t stop watering and your head feels like it’s locked up inside a steel drum.  Now, I don’t know about you, but when I feel this way, all I want to do is sit on my pathetic, sick butt and let certain other people wait on me hand and foot, (like I do for them when they’re sick). Yeah, right!  Like that’s ever gonna happen!

Wouldn’t it be nice, though, to at least have some delicious, hot, homemade chicken soup to slurp up?  You bet your a$$ it would! But, that can take hours, and frankly, when I feel this crappy, I just can’t be bothered.  What if I told you that I’ve found a way for you to have a whole pot of nurturing, comforting, restorative, delicious, made-from-scratch Jewish penicillin in under an hour? Would you be interested? Well, this is your lucky day, because I am about to show you how! I promise that if you’ll keep an open mind, your sinuses will soon follow suit. Read the rest of this entry »

When I was a little girl, we lived in New York City.  I’m talking about the waaaaay early years before my pesky little attention hog of a baby brother was born.  Ah…..those were the days,  an only child basking in the undivided adoration of all the adults in my life.  I was the center of the universe.  The apple of everyone’s eye.

We didn’t go out for meals very often back then, unless you count my Nonna’s house.  My parents were practically kids themselves and could barely afford me!  When we did go to a restaurant, it was usually one of a short list of choices. The place I remember most fondly was a little neighborhood trattoria called Johnny’s.  The owners, John and Marie, were a nice, middle-aged Italian couple who kind of adopted my parents.  My father hadn’t been in this country very long and Marie used to make him all the special dishes he missed from home.  I, of course, being outrageously precocious and incredibly cute, always rated special treatment there as well.

Many years have passed since then.  Johnny’s is long gone, but I still remember the warmth and hospitality my family always experienced there. Another thing I vividly remember is sneaking sips of my mother’s espresso as I enjoyed one of my favorite treats of all time – tortoni.  How I loved it! Read the rest of this entry »

Do you believe in fate? That everything happens for a reason? That some things are just meant to be? If so, then read on.

I was out to dinner with my family a few weeks ago, enjoying a nice meal, when one of the servers brought out a plate of lovely, sizzling hot coconut shrimp and set it down right in front of me. I love coconut shrimp, and my husband and I marveled at what gorgeous shrimp it was. It made my mouth water.

The thing of it was, neither of us had ordered coconut shrimp. I wanted to keep it anyway, but my better half pointed out that it wouldn’t be right. That some hungry diner had actually ordered that coconut shrimp and was most likely sitting nearby, anxiously waiting for it. Grrrr! I hate it when he plays the ethics and fairness cards on me! Of course, he was right. I reported the mistake to our server, who promptly took the shrimp away and delivered it to its rightful owner. Read the rest of this entry »

We have a rule at my house: “She who cooks, does not clean”. Since I’m the only one who cooks around here, “she” is me! And, since my daughter is in the midst of that twilight zone that is teenagedom, she is indefinitely removed from the equation. (We’re just thankful that she resurfaces for meals once in a while!) Unfortunately for him, this means that my husband gets stuck with the dinner dishes most nights. He is a pretty good sport about it, though. (He takes out the garbage and irons his own shirts too!) I think he realizes that if I had to cook AND do all the dishes, the meals around here would be pretty sparse. In fact, you’d probably find a lot more empty take-out containers in our trash bins.

The only rub to this arrangement is that he only seems to manage to fit three things at a time in our dishwasher, which means that I have to constantly get in there and reorganize. He also splashes water everywhere and never wipes down the counters or dries up the floor afterward. (Hmmm. Maybe I don’t have such a good thing going after all!)

One evening not too long ago, I was crossing through the kitchen on my way to somewhere, when….. Read the rest of this entry »

Since revamping CL’s online food section at the beginning of the year, we’ve been lucky to recruit a cadre of talented home cooks and serious chefs to contribute their favorite recipes. If you’re a regular of the site, you’ve seen them stream through every week, often with gorgeous food-porn-worthy photography to illustrate the potential rewards of your kitchen labors.

Now, it’s even easier to find something good to cook for dinner. We’ve taken all of the recipes CL has printed online and in the paper over the past five years and compiled them in a comprehensive CL Cookbook with over 200 tasty, ready-to-make treats. Browse through and plan a week’s worth of meals before your trip to the grocery store, or just search out something special to spice up an upcoming dinner party. It’s even divided into categories to make things easier.

Whether you’re looking for a simple breakfast frittata for a weekend brunch (there are four different versions listed), need a special dessert to compensate for a particularly trying day, want tips on cooking the perfect steak, or would rather see a professional chef do a video demo than read a dry recipe, The CL Cookbook should be your first stop.From rabbit to chicken, Ethiopian to Italian, we’ve got you covered.

To inaugurate the launch of The CL Cookbook, Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever been in a situation where you wrongly assumed something, then realized your mistake in front of a bunch of people and were too embarrassed to say anything? I have, and it can be a sticky wicket, indeed! Let me tell you what happened to me the other day.

I decided to pop into Whole Foods to pick up a few things.  Now, a visit to Whole Foods is usually a dangerous proposition for me.  I almost always go armed with a specific list of items to buy, and I never stick to it.  I can’t help myself!  It’s like I become completely hypnotised by the rows upon rows of vibrantly colorful fresh fruits and vegetables, neatly stacked and perfectly arranged, mist clinging to them like little droplets of morning dew. Read the rest of this entry »

Let me start right off by saying that no, that is not the official name of these cookies – but it should be.  They are actually called Peanut Butter Corn Flake Balls. That’s a decent enough name. It is accurate and descriptive. However, it comes nowhere close to describing the flat out, mind-blowing awesomeness of these sticky, gooey, creamy, chewy little blobs of edible bliss! How did they end up being called HolyCrapTheseAreAmazing Cookies, you ask? Well, I’ll tell you. It’s because that is pretty much what everyone says the first time they bite into one of these decadent little guys.

The first time I ever ate one was when my daughter was in the second grade. Each year, from the time she was in kindergarten through the fifth grade, I had the dubious distinction of being the Room Mother for her class. A Room Mother is a mom who is in charge of taking care of all of the “extras” for the class that the teacher doesn’t have the time or inclination to do, like collecting for the teacher’s gifts, lining up chaperones for field trips and, of course, organizing class parties.

Anyway, that particular year, her class had a Halloween party, and one of the moms brought these cookies.  Now, being a Room Mother often requires you to make certain sacrifices, one of which is taste-testing all of the snacks, just to make sure that they are okay for the kids to eat.  Really!  It says so in the Official Room Mothers’ Code of Conduct. Okay, I made that up, but if there was an Official Room Mothers’ Code of Conduct, I’ll bet the whole “taste-testing” thing would be in there.

So, I ate a cookie. As my eyes were rolling back into my head, I groaned out loud and spontaneously exclaimed: “Holy crap! These are amazing cookies!” From then on, they have elicited the same response from everyone I’ve served them to. Read the rest of this entry »

Way back a hundred million years ago, when my husband and I were first married, we received a copy of The Silver Palate Cookbook as a wedding gift.  It sat proudly in our orange crate bookcase alongside The Joy of Cooking and The Betty Crocker Cookbook, also wedding gifts. That bookcase made quite a statement paired with our dining room set of a card table and four metal folding chairs.  (Did I mention that we were poor as dirt back then?)  Anyway, whenever I needed some culinary inspiration, I’d reach for Sheila and Julee’s wildly popular and creative Silver Palate to get me started. Read the rest of this entry »

Few things in life are certain.  We’re born. We die. And somewhere in between the two, we all get our hearts broken at least once. There’s no escaping it. It’s as inevitable as the rising and the setting of the sun.  That is the risk we take for the giddy, glorious feeling of being in love.

I’ve certainly experienced my share of heartbreak, beginning in the 5th grade when Benny Buffamante threw me over for Mary Rose Kelly. Who could blame him, really? With her big blue eyes and long, golden curls, she was adorable. Plus, she had three first names! How could I compete with that!?!?

I survived being spurned by Benny and lived to love again. And, of course, my heart was stomped on many more times in the process. I’d like to think that it made me stronger and more resilient. I’d like to think that, but the truth is that each time I lost in love, it hurt just as much as the time before. Thank heavens I met my Mr. Right before my tender heart was completely pummeled into a quivering, bleeding mass of mush!

Although I don’t normally advocate self-medicating with food, there are some situations where a decadent, sticky, gooey, creamy and chewy dessert is just what the doctor ordered — and a broken heart is one of them.  Allow me to introduce you to just such a treat: Break-Up Bars! Read the rest of this entry »

The summer in San Francisco arrives late, in September and October, as the days get longer and the cold bay breezes subside. While the East coast is planning for fall, we sit in our city and soak in the rare sunshine that has been so graciously bestowed upon us, knowing that November brings  fall and winter temps for about 7 months.

Warm weather and clear skies inspire me to my Florida seafood roots, and alternative cooking methods which point me towards the grill. With your outdoor cooking skills, basic recipes and a great cocktail in hand, you can entertain a crowd of two, or the masses.

This recipe calls for simple flavors, combined to create a starter that is light, fresh and flavorful. If you’ve never experimented with aioli, give it a try. It can add so much to the plate as a sauce and sublime, acidic, creamy accent to your dish. Read the rest of this entry »

I have a confession to make. I don’t like chicken breast. I especially dislike the boneless, skinless kind. Scandalous, I know, but despite its popularity in our culinary culture, I’ve just never taken to it. I know chicken breast is a healthier, low-fat option, but I don’t really care. It is ubiquitous and boring and blah! Oh sure, I’ve choked it down many times at numerous weddings, dinner parties and banquets, but usually only in order to be polite, or because I was very, very hungry. Even then, it had to disguised by some kind of tasty sauce or hidden in a bowl of pasta. There is only one way that I can honestly say that I actually enjoy eating chicken breast, and that is in a fruity, nutty, mayonnaise-laden chicken salad. Read the rest of this entry »

When most people think of Italian Wedding Soup, they understandably associate it with weddings.  Sounds logical, right?  Well, what if I told you that this popular Italian dish has nothing to do with weddings at all?  Yes, it’s true.  Before you scoff, let me explain.  Read the rest of this entry »

Wanderer of ages.

There was a time when I dragged my car across the country, life in back pocket, convinced the next great thing lay under one of those rocks out there.

My adventures took me far and wide, hemmed in only by this country’s borders and the limits of my own imagination.

At the ripe old age of twenty-two, I ended up in Berkeley, CA, home of everything both weird and ridiculously normal at the same time. Buddhism, yoga, homeless people having acid flashbacks in the now-decrepit and dangerous People’s Park, the crown jewels of San Francisco Bay Area wealth glittering with haunting illusion high in the Berkeley hills. The Ashby Flea Market, a hodge-podge of booths with knick-knacks for sale, set up every weekend at the local BART (or subway) station.

I looked forward to Sundays, when I’d get off work from my collectivist restaurant job in time to enjoy a delicious cassava pone sweet treat in the just setting sun.

Read the rest of this entry »

She had never seen the Godfather. So I made her a meal she couldn’t refuse.

When Steebo told me that she had never seen the Godfather, I felt a dinner coming on. I had always liked the first two Godfather films, but I found a new appreciation for them upon reading a fascinating article in Vanity Fair. The article recounts the turbulent making of the film in the face of opposition from the mob. The classic’s stormy creation is a saga in itself.

A screening of the Godfather is a great excuse to make an indulgent Italian feast that seems to go on forever. I write not to analyze the movie, but to recount my own effort to cook a meal that could somehow measure up to its greatness.

I initially figured on a couple courses during the film. As it turns out, life imitated art, and the meal soon took on a tumultuous life of its own. As I shopped that afternoon with a vague menu in my mind, my ambition and attitude grew. I invited a few friends over and cobbled a menu together. By the end of the evening, I felt downright Italian, more hotheaded Sonny than steely Michael or the wise godfather. Read the rest of this entry »

Chef's Special Congee

As a chef, you’re only as good as your last meal. And for most of us, the memory of a bad meal tends to stick around a lot longer than the typical experience. I can describe to you every single detail of a terrible dinner that I had two years ago, but I probably couldn’t tell you what I had for lunch last Monday.

I sometimes wonder why the memory of a bad meal has such an effect on me, and two thoughts come to mind. One: Every meal is an event. It’s a small celebration of the carnal pleasures of life and it’s something I look forward to. So when I am served a bad meal, it feels like someone robbed me. And when someone is robbing you, you want to remember every single detail so you have a good description to give the police. Two: I’m generally more irritable when I’m hungry!
As a chef, I know that it’s impossible to serve impeccable, perfect food. But I also know what the standards should be, and I’m not afraid to call a chef out on a bad outing. Is this article bad karma? Maybe. But I figure if some day someone writes a bad review about my food, I probably deserved it.

Chef’s Special Congee:
It’s ironic that my first article in the “worst meals” series is written about one of my favorite restaurants Read the rest of this entry »

When I was a kid, as soon as winter melted into spring each year my family would take every opportunity possible to have a big, backyard, family barbecue. Dad’s grill was lit from Memorial Day right on through Labor Day. Each holiday, birthday, graduation and anniversary was celebrated in style under our lilac and cherry trees. The folding chairs and card tables were dusted off and set up outside. The coolers were hauled out and filled to the brim with icy cold beer and soft drinks. Everybody brought some kind of “picnic-y” dish to share. Everyone except my Aunt Giuseppina, that is. She always brought a huge tray of eggplant parmigiana. But, that’s a story for another day.

I don’t know how it is in most families, but in Italian families, hot dogs and burgers alone just don’t cut it. Read the rest of this entry »

Yield: 10-16 portions

Ingredients:
French baguette or any long bread
1 jar of store-bought basil pesto (or use this recipe)
Fresh basil leaves
2-3 Roma tomatoes
4 – 8 bocconcini mozzarella cheese balls
Salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Prepare the following and set aside:
- Slice the tomatoes
- Slice the mozzarella
- Slice the bread on an angle
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. Spread a small amount of basil pesto onto each slice of bread and place on baking sheet.

3. Put a slice of tomato, basil leaf and cheese onto each slice of bread.

4. Roast the bruschettas in the oven for 7-10 minutes until cheese melts. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe by: Chef Cristian Feher
www.tampabaychef.com

Friends invited me to dinner this week, and I offered to bring dessert. A trip to the market produced sweet-tart, juicy nectarines. I thought about a nice pie or cobbler, but my hostess can’t eat wheat products. A bowl of sliced nectarines with a drizzle of heavy cream is always good, but I wanted something a little more special.

Pavlovas were a perfect choice. They don’t contain wheat, are easy to put together, and are a wonderful showcase for beautiful ripe fruit.

Pavlovas are popular in Australia and New Zealand, where they were developed and named for ballerina Anna Pavlova. They resemble clouds on top of pillows, with a base of meringue and a crisp exterior that gives way to a soft, marshmallowy center. The meringue is filled with whipped cream and topped with fruit — in this case nectarine, but as long as it is soft, juicy and ripe it should work (tart is also a good quality). Berries are beautiful and delicious. Passion fruit is wonderful, as are blueberries mixed with a touch of lemon curd (made from the yolks that aren’t used in the meringue).

Volume is key when making Pavlovas. When working with egg whites Read the rest of this entry »

Yield: 4 Portions

Ingredients:
Fresh basil leaves
4 tomatoes
4 large balls of buffalo mozzarella cheese, or several smaller balls of bocconcini cheese
2 cups of extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup of your favorite vinegar
1 tablespoon of grain or dijon mustard
Salt and pepper Read the rest of this entry »

Polenta. Peasant food of Gods. “Grits with a college education,” as one wise customer put it.

Thickly ground cornmeal, originating in husk of sweet yellow or white corn, dried, grounded, pounded, whisked and cooked, preferrably over a double boiler, 5 parts to 1, water to cornmeal.

PHASE 1:

A porridge like pot of mush appears. There is no better way to state it. Polenta, in this state, is soft, warm, nourishing, and good. Add butter, olive oil, grated parmiggiano-reggiano (perhaps a pecorino romano instead) heck, you can use the powder-fine grated parm in the green grocery store bottle; it will taste good. Serve in bowls as appetizer, side dish, minced parsley on top. This soft polenta is easy on the eyes on a cold, winter day.

PHASE 2:

Instead of eating your mush, Read the rest of this entry »

Fondue is a great method of cooking, especially if your goal is to entertain your guests! There are several ways to make fondue, and there are many different ingredients that one could use. I will be giving you a basic recipe utilizing colby jack cheese and dark beer. However, you can experiment with many different cheeses, and many different bases (wine, beer, stock, etc). It’s important to note that different cheeses will give you different tastes and textures. Some may even split, ball-up, or become really stringy.

To fix a fondue that is too stringy, you can add a few squirts of lemon or lime. Although this may not eliminate the stringiness altogether, it may cut it down. If your cheese splits or balls up (there is liquid and cheese separately) you can sprinkle in some corn starch a little at a time while mixing, until your mixture comes together again. I actually make a habit of coating the cheese in a bit of corn starch before starting the cooking process.

Recipe after the break: Read the rest of this entry »