Holiday Desserts Go Big Go Sweet

Forget the cookie board at any holiday party. These are sweet little ornaments but they're 're not as substantial as a cake or trifle. A hearty holiday dinner requires a hearty slice or scoop of dessert. There are some great endings that can top off any turkey or ham dinner.

Alison Roman, a regular Food section contributor wrote about these amazing and toothsome desserts in today's New York Times issue. She gives us four holiday desserts - strangely without the yummy Buche de Noel, the chocolate sponge roll made to look like a decorated forest log. Still , her choices work  - not just finishing a Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meal, but also at New Year's Eve party and New Year's Eve buffets. What is great about them is that they're fuss free. No special icings. No fancy decorations or split time baking where you have lower or raise  oven temps. They're kind of old fashioned recipes with an updated twist. Ms. Roman creates a salted chocolate pudding with a whipped sour cream. This is a homemade one with bittersweet chocolate  and cocoa powder, six whole eggs and heavy cream to give it richness and flavor. As with countless other homemade puddings  cornstarch is the thickener. The pudding would be good on it's own , but it's layered with sour cream blended with heavy whipping cream and any kind of snap cookie. You could use plain Christmas sugar cookies, but there are also ginger snaps and those famed chocolate wafers. These are layered to create a memorable trifle. Eat it the day you make it so you get the crunch of the cookies.

The other desserts include a sunny cheesecake with an easy graham cracker or vanilla wafer crust. The cake is enriched with your choice of either full fat  Greek yogurt or sour cream. Juice is added and it can be either grapefruit, lemon, lime or orange. Grapefruit would be a nice original touch.The zest is also used for more zing. There may be some leftover filling so you may want to create mini cheesecakes with it. Citrus slices and flaky sea salt  are scattered on the finished product for a festive look.For a fun  treat, try the Boozy Cherry Walnut Tart. This is a treat topped with bourbon soaked cherries and chopped walnuts. The crust is the classic butter one, that tastes like a spritz cookie. The filling is toasted walnuts, butter and one large egg. Flour binds us so it will have a cookie like quality to it. Top with more walnuts and cherries. It would be great served with vanilla ice cream. Some traditionalists will want gingerbread. Liven up the dessert table with Ms. Roman's Golden Ginger Cake. This is a mix of freshly grated ginger and cinnamon. The cake is made a sunny yellow with the addition of turmeric, It's also very buttery and sweet  thanks to the addition of 3/4 of a cup of butter (!) and molasses.Buttermilk mixed with either coconut or vegetable oil is added for a silkier batter. A cake like this only requires a blob of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream to highlight the spices.

Keep the cookies for tins and holiday teas. Create satisfying puddings, tarts cheesecakes and cakes. These are definitely  great endings to any Christmas ham and turkey, filling and delicious as the main courses themselves..

The Perfect Meatball

Everyone loves a good meatball. It is the yin to spaghettii's yang,It is the back bone of a good hot sub. Yet there's one problem. It get s soggy and fall apart - usually in the middle of eating. Nothing is worse than mushy meat. However there is help - and the promise of a crispy orb of meaty goodness.

Alison Roman rethought this classic recipe in yesterday's New York Times Food section. She is not a fan of mushy meatballs nor is she an admirer of tomato sauce or the one that graces the Swedish kind. She gives us lightly spiced and pan fried - the last all the better for a nice , crispy exterior. There is also the absence of binders - such as the usual bread crumbs,egg or dairy. She classifies them as round sausages made with not beef or pork but with lamb. It's more of a Lebanese vibe, kind of like kibbe.What does she serve with it with? Eggplant and chickpeas. There is a yogurt sauce with it , again there's that feel of a Middle Eastern vibe.The meat balls are cooked first and then the eggplant. Since the last is more or less like a sponge, fry the eggplant slices in the leftover oil which will now be mixed with the lamb fat. This will definitely give them more flavor. The chickpeas are cooked last. It may seem labor intensive , taking forty-five minutes from start to finish -but definitely worth it.

Ms. Roman says lamb is the best for this but you can also use pork or beef. You could do a mix of all three for a more flavorful meatball. Fennel seeds are also added. This would give it a sausage flavor however there is a zing of red pepper flakes added.The meat is rolled into one to one and a half inch balls.They're sauteed in olive oil  and rolled around the skillet to completely brown them.After this transfer them to a plate, leaving the fat and any browned bits behind. This will flavor the eggplant. The recipe calls for one medium eggplant sliced into 1/4 inch slices. More olive oil, about four tablespoons are added and the slices are browned on both sides. Each side will take six to eight minutes for that perfect , crisp crust. These are then transferred to the plate holding the meatballs. The chickpeas are cooked separately. They won't crisp up as the others but Ms. Roman assures that they will have a nice edge to them. This only takes three to five minutes. Before plating , smear seasoned yogurt on the bottom of a large serving plate or platter. Put the meatballs, eggplant and chickpeas on top. You could add a sprig of mint or parsley if you want.

This is the meatball recipe you want if you like to have crisp. It's an easy cook, and made even better with crisp eggplant and chickpeas. Try it and get away from those soft mush ones.

A Whole Meal Of Recipes

One of the hardest things for a home chef to do is come up with a three or four course meal for company. What do you start with? What do you end with? Should you have one side? Two? or three? And what about the main course - what works well for everyone? Don't despair. There's are recipes that can help you from start to finish.

Alison Roman, a regular contributor to the New York Times Food section and famed food blogger gave an appetizer to dessert menu in yesterday's issue. This is great for the home chef who loves to have friends and family over for good food.It's excerpted from her new book, Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food For Having People Over  ( Clarkson Potter 2019). where she gives low stress but high impact recipes for all sorts of dishes.It  starts out with a simple framework snacks, salads  sides, mains and sweet things. She starts off with labneh dip with sizzled scallions and chile. This is a kind of Middle Eastern yogurt dish made with Greek yogurt however you can also use sour cream too. It's swirled with lemon juice for tang. Scallions and hot pepper flakes along with cilantro are cooked in olive oil . The pepper turns a fiery shade of orange as it's drizzled into the labneh. I'd serve it with homemade pita chips  and maybe a bowl of homemade hummus too.

The main course is a roast chicken - always a crowd pleaser.Ms. Roman firsts drizzles it with olive oil and then sprinkling it with fennel seeds. The cavity is filled with  half a bunch of oregano. It gets better. Vine ripened tomatoes are put around the chicken along with the rest of the fresh herb.There's also garlic and butter, cut up and scattered around the bird as well. At the end red wine vinegar is spooned over the tomatoes and cooked from the veggies' heat. The tomatoes and carved chicken are placed over slices of  country loaf or sourdough. You would think this is enough but Ms. Roman offers the side of lemony white beans with anchovies and Parmesan.It's basically a bagna calda sauce, fired up with a teaspoon of red pepper flakes.Escarole and parsley are added.I would nix those and serve the beans and sauce on bread as a main meal. To end the meal are Tiny Salty Chocolatey Cookies, a sort of chocolate snap with a dusting of flaky seas salt like Maldon or Jacobsen. These are double chocolate thanks to the wedding of cocoa powder and 67 per cent bittersweet chocolate. You can add any nuts too, to these meringue like cookies. They do require two egg whites plus one egg . The cookies are just a nice end with coffee and tea.

Cooking an entire meal shouldn't be a head ache. It should be a fun doing , as you cook and bake for those you love. It should be unfussy , without any fanciness  - just good taste and good food.

Fruits of August

Summer might be winding down but August is still bursting with fruit. Take advantage of this when you go to your local farmer's markets or just to farms for an afternoon of picking. There are so many amazing dishes you can make with midsummer's bounty. Enjoy them.

Alison Roman is doing just this as she gave us some amazing recipes in yesterday's New York Times Food section. For those who don't want to deal with elaborate dessert recipes - don't sweat, literally. She provides four , simple and unfussy recipes that will  equally. please both the sweet tooth and fruit lover. There is the classic cobbler - the perfect dessert for a barbecue along with a blueberry (and yes you can still get them fresh) corn meal shortbread tart, frozen melon with crushed raspberry and lime and a summer pudding with blackberries and peaches. The cobbler and tart are easy bakes. The cobbler's topping is shortcake, enhanced with flavor from butter and whole cream. The filling is a salted apricot sweetened with honey.Flaky sea salt is scattered on top to counter balance the sweetness. Serve with vanilla ice cream, freshly whipped cream or cream fraiche. The blueberry tart is a cinch with a simple crust that's also put on top like coffee cake crumbs.The blueberry filling is just the berries mixed with apple cider vinegar or lemon juice and light brown sugar.

One recipe sure to be a summer favorite is frozen melon that's first pureed and then laced with lime juice for zing along with two tablespoons of granulated sugar. It's then transferred to a shallow baking dish. .Once frozen it's then scraped out granita style into bowls. It should look like fluffy pink bruschetta . Top each serving with raspberries, and using a spoon or fork , crush them into the ice.. Ms Roman adds sumac and sea salt. Instead of the sumac, try a mix of a basil mint pesto on top. The last recipe, a summer pudding is more of a trifle - or fruity tirami su. The base can either be a brioche loaf (easily found at any grocery store, pan de miel , honey bread or Pullman bread. It's then cooking first the peaches and then the blackberries along with preparing the cream. It's then layering the ingredients in a springform cake pan. First the bread, with no gaps in the base layer, followed by the cooked blackberries and their juices, followed by the peaches and theirs. A layer of whipped cream is spread on top of them and the process is repeated a second time. The pudding is then covered with Saran wrap, place a plate on top of that and  a medium weight can. You could add a sprinkle of peach schnappes or blackberry brandy to the juices for a boozy twist. Add granulated sugar and more berries for decoration.

Take advantage of August's bounties of fresh fruit. They're perfect in easy recipes that can end any barbecue. It's still summer, there's still produce. Go for it while they're still here.

Kitchen Creativity

You don"t need to go to the grocery store every time you cook a meal or even throw together a gathering.Rely on your kitchen and ingenuity.The result is an easy cook that will free you up.

This is Alison Roman's advice in her first New York Times Food article of the New Year.Her inspiration came from an invitation from a friend with an active toddler.Ms. Roman and a friend , knowing, that this fellow cook, was strapped for time.How could she shop and create dishes with her busy schedule.They offered to  do both for her.No,the friend demurred.There was shock and awe as they saw what awaited them.She had smoked fish from Barney Green grass,a well known breakfast eatery and shop.She also whipped up jammy  eggs, vegetables tossed with scallions and a bowl of greens dressed with lemon.There was even the requisite yogurt dip and crackers.

The take away from this is that the host had set out several tiny bowls that didn't require cooking.This no nonsense approach gave the friends time to graze and catch up.Their host didn't have to run to the stove every ten minutes to check up on dishes.She didn"t have to fret about having enough or worry about  the taste.It's all about flipping the ratio of time spent working to time spent with friends and family. What would this entail? Always have ingredients that can be turned into a meal at a moment's notice.Use whatever veggies are in the crisper.These can be sliced and easily pickled,Jarred and tinned foods should also be used.Purchase something special like a roast chicken or ribs.Grains should always be at hand too.Buttered rice with just a sprinkling of salt and pepper is a nice side and can be mixed with both raw and cooked before..Also have bread handy.It can be toasted and used as a base.

Easy cooking relies not only on the cook but also on the ingredients at hand.Have a kitchen filled with the basics.Then get creative for a tasty meal or get together with family and friends..

A Vegan Stew ; When Comfort Meets Healthy

Anything vegan and dairy free is good, especially when you have to cook for a die hard vegan. A recipe in today's New York Times Food section caught my eye. Weekly contributor Allison Roman created a  chickpea stew with coconut milk and turmeric checked all my culinary boxes- meat free, no eggs or butter, full of flavor and  color. Perfect/

These are the star players

The highlighters are the coconut milk and chickpeas, along with the greens. Ms. Roman recommended Swiss chard or kale.I went with a mix of baby spinach and kale.

It's first cutting up the onion.Use a yellow one as Ms. Roman recommends.It does impart a sweeter flavor than the white ones,

Then an inch of finely chopped ginger (mine was a tad too chunky, which kind of is a jolt when you get  it in a spoonful.

Turmeric gives it an Indian vibe.One and a half teaspoons were needed but I felt it was just a little too bland so I amped it up to two teaspoons for a real impact.

Along with hot pepper flakes about one teaspoon, but I love heat, especially on a cold night so another teaspoon was added.

Two cans of chickpeas drained. Remember to save the aquafaba (for cocoa dusted meringues!)

Fry all of these in a large pot using a half cup of olive oil. (it originally was a 1/4 cup but I felt it wan't enough.)

Add the garlic, onion, spices and chickpeas and fry until chickpeas are crispy and brown.

Then add two cans of full fat coconut milk. I used Goya.

and two cups of vegetable broth I used Swanson's.

Onto the greens. My pick - Stop & Shop mix of kale and baby spinach.

This is the stew before.

And after.

It was delicious with naan, with a variety of different flavors melding together. It was a burst of sunny heat on a chilly night. I have a lot left over and it will be even better reheated over rice.

A Thoughtful Month Of Eating

November is that moment of quiet between two wild months. It starts off with All Soul's and All Saint's Days , which call for reflection and prayer and ends with Thanksgiving - a day where all give thanks for what they have. It's a month of eating simple as we ease into chillier weather and shorter days.

One of the simplest and delicious meals to make is chicken. Allison Roman gives us a good recipe for it in yesterday's New York Times Food section.It only takes an hour to cook a tender falling off the bone bird. She uses the thighs, always the friend of a home chef who work  long hours.It's braised in a Dutch oven.The thighs are then taken out to allow smashed garlic and sliced onion to cook with the chicken fat and skin bits. To give it a spicier bite, Ms. Roman adds tomatillo instead of tomatoes.Using them creates more of a sticky, soupy consistency thanks to the pectin in it. Fresh jalapeno also adds zing giving it some resemblance to the Mexican stew pozole where pork and red chiles or chicken with tomatillos are cooked for a long time.The chicken is returned to the pot where it's simmered with the veggies for twenty-five minutes to half an hour.It can be topped with a mixture of radish, the remaining onions and tomatillos. Lime juice is added for zest. Hominy is used as side to absorb the sauce but red beans or rice can also be used too.

Another easy and relatively simple dish is Melissa Clark's stir fried green beans with pork and chiles for her weekly column, A Good Appetite.Like Ms. Roman's recipe, it's a snap to make, inspired by Sichuan dry fried beans.It's dialed down a notch with the omission of the Sichuan peppercorns and preserved mustard greens. Instead coriander seeds and cilantro are subbed in to give the dish complexity. A big splash of rice wine vinegar gives it more layers of flavor. The dish can be cooked in a skillet or wok.The meat is cooked first, for only six to eight minutes until the pieces are browned and crispy. It's then transferring them to a plate and then cooking the green beans until they're tender and bright green. Chiles,  and ginger are added for fire and bite along with the coriander seeds and cilantro The pork is returned to this and cooked as soy sauce and half a teaspoon  of sugar is added. ( could dark honey be subbed in here instead?) Ms. Clark suggests serving it with a sliced tomato and rice but cellophane noodles wouldn't go amiss with it nor would vermicelli if you have it.

November is a month of just quiet and simplicity. Make these simple  - yet complex with flavor dishes. They're perfect for the long nights ahead.

A Late Summer Feast

The days of summer are waning.The farmer's markets will be closing within a few weeks. The barbecue closed until the Spring.Before all that happens , enjoy the fresh produce that can accompany a good cut of steak. It's the perfect weekend meal for a lazy September weekend,

The recipes come from David Tanis and Allison Roman from yesterday's New York Times Food section. Mr. Tanis writes in his City Kitchen column about a vegetable salad, good on its' own or with Ms. Roman's steak recipe.It has a variety of different beans from coco to cranberry, along with runner or Romano beans. Mixed  in with is is grilled eggplant to give it a smokey flavor along with  sliced medium and cherry tomatoes.It's a perfect marriage of cooked and raw with the tomatoes being left as is , and served at room temperature. The beans are boiled in a combination of water and olive oil, seasoned with salt and a sprig of thyme and rosemary , or bay leaf if you want a stronger flavor. The eggplant can be cooked over a hot grill,under a hot broiler or in a dry cast iron skillet. The vegetables are dressed with an anchovy vinaigrette which brings  out all the flavors.Another idea is adding anchovy filets and then using a plain vinaigrette to dress the salads. I would add the filets - which also would go well with the steak

Allison Roman's steak comes with an unusual salsa verde. The steak is a hanger cut, recommended by her butcher.With it comes the salsa verde, made with kale, mustard greens, and Swiss chard instead of the usual tomatillos, white onions, and cilantro.The steak is  cooked in a large skillet with canola oil. It's simply seasoned with salt and pepper and seared for three to four minutes on each side until it's completely golden brown..It's then laid on the greens  to "cook them." This wilts and soften the leaves, especially the kale. Ms. Roman advises to let the meat juices mingle with them to create a rich , savory sauce.She suggests serving it with salty potato chips or steak frites, but Mr. Tanis' salad can work well with it too.Hanger steak can be expensive (there's only one per animal)so you could use a thick skirt or flat iron cut. The skirt is a thin long cut of beef from the cow's stomach.It has a rich beefy flavor, that may work better with the salsa verde. The other option is the the flat iron steak, taken from the shoulder.It's a fatty piece with a lot of marbling to it, thanks to its' location. Still it's an excellent piece to pan cook or better yet , slap on the grill for a later summer barbecue.

A perfect late summer meal is a cooked steak with a tasty vegetable salad. Combine Ms. Roman's and  Mr. Tanis' recipes for a delicious meal Make it and enjoy the rich earthy flavors of both.

Welcome To The Times

The New York Times Food section has a brand new writer and a  brand new column. Allison Roman is the newest member of the family.  Like her coworkers, she  will give readers and foodies
 good recipes and excellent information. Also like them, she knows food and will undoubtedly give us all good advice easy weekday and weekend cooking.

Who is Allison Roman and why is she worthy of writing for The Times?  She has contributed to the Food section in the past along with being the author of the cookbook, Dining In. Highly Cookable Recipes. which reflects American cooking and our changing tastes. She's also the former food editor at Bon Appetit and Buzzfeed magazines. She had also contributed to Cherry Bombe,Darling and the former Lucky Peach. - various  magazines catering to the trendy and hungry. Her first cookbook, Lemons was a mini book centering on just lemon recipes., her favorite ingredient. Her new column will be sort of like what Pierre Franey, the great Franco-American chef once wrote for the newspaper.. Every recipe will only take a home chef an hour to whip up. Her first article is a homage to her mother - a one pan affair that  pairs butterflied trout with  garlic laced broccolini.For Ms. Roman it's basically unfussy cooking with little effort and few ingredients.

Minimalist cooks will like this recipe.Butterflied trout can easily be bought at your local fishmonger's  (it's not fully deboned - only the spine and larger bones are removed). She points out that it's better to cook the whole fish than just fillets. Doing such will greatly reduce the risk of the fish from being overcooked. A larger piece also buys the home chef time in the oven. That means a side dish can also be cooked at the same time alongside the trout. For this sheet pan dinner, Ms. Roman uses broccolinii. because it crisps up nicely in the oven. Other veggies such as boiled and crushed potatoes, stripped leaves of kale,or halved cherry tomatoes  can also be used. She tells home chefs that they can make ir as simple or as complicated as they wish. Scatter a few slices of lemon over the trout, drizzle olive oil and then sprinkle with salt and pepper. The fish is placed in the center of the sheet , covered with lemon slices.The broccolini is then  placed around it and then drizzled with olive oil. Garlic gives it more flavor as do capers - which you can omit if you 're not into them.

No doubt that Alison Roman will leave her mark on The New York Times Food section. Home chefs will love her no fuss meals that can be made in less than an hour. She will definitely have a following.

The Perfect Mac and Cheese

It's the fantasy of every kid and foodie alike - the perfect baked macaroni and cheese. There's nothing like the melding of all the good stuff, pasta, and cheddar whisked with milk.Is it hard to get this culinary unicorn? Not at all.

Alison Roman, author of the new cookbook, Dining In wrote an informative guide on making the best version in yesterday's New York Times Food section.It may be a simple dish in some more experienced home chefs' eyes  but it does require a lot of thought and care. She gives detailed how tos on selecting the perfect ingredients. The noodles used should be any tubular ones from elbow macaroni to tubes such as ziti, penne, and rigatoni. She also suggests a better, new on the scene cavatappi, This is a curly , ribbed noodle that's longer than an elbow.It's perfect for stabbing with a fork and holds the sauce expertly.It's also thick which guarantees against mushiness.Spaghetti and fellow long noodles such as fettucene and linguine are frowned upon but there are recipes for them and using them might provide for an interesting change. Ms. Roman suggests boiling the pasta in water that's "salty as the sea."This ensures that the noodles will have flavor throughout. They also have to be cooked al dente because then they can cook in the oven. They'll still release starch that will thicken the sauce and also their flavor will deepen.

Choosing the right cheese is crucial too.Ms. Roman firmly recommends using cheddar, whether sharp, extra sharp, or sharp white.Can other cheeses be used? Home chefs can use Gruyere or fontina to bolster the flavor but only use half. Remember that Gruyere is richer and fattier than any of the cheddar and could easily break up the sauce. Definitely avoid ultra mild cheese such as Montery Jack or Colby. They are fine for melting but lack the salt or tang to make the dish interesting/ A cup of Parmesan or Pecorino wouldn't go amiss but only add a quarter of a cup.It will give the casserole a deeper flavor along with saltiness without the graininess of too much of it.Also nix the bags of shredded fromage. Buy a block and grate from it. Baked mac and cheese doesn't benefit from experimentation . Keep it true to the recipe or you could wind up with a broken sauce. This is when everything separates. The taste will still be delicious but not creamy as expected. As for the other dairy, whole milk is the best. Heavy cream and half and half are just too rich . Two per cent can be used but make sure it's not non fat. This will break the sauce and cause a grainy texture. Make sure that the thickener always use a homemade thickener namely bechamel sauce.

The perfect baked macaroni and cheese can be had. Use cheddar and chunky pasta along with whole milk.It's taking the right ingredients and creating an American classic that's beyond delicious.

The Best of 2017

This is the time of year when the best of lists come out. The New York Times Food section is no different. Today's issue features some of the best eateries, whether they're large or small along with the Food section;s most asked for recipes. whether you eat out or dine in, these faves are worth trying.

New York City and its' boroughs have always had a thriving restaurant scene.Both restaurant critics ,Pete Wells and Ligaya Mishan weigh in on their choices. Mr Wells favored the grandma pizza at Loring Place.Usually this is heavy and the thick  crust is rubbery and sodden with oil. Not chef Dan Kluger's who bakes up one with a airier crust , and a pie bursting with flavor.Another favorite is the polenta at the Union Square Cafe.It's what everyone's nonna would make. - light and fluffy.Other palate pleasers were the mussels at Office NYC and crispy layered potatoes at White Gold Butchers.Ligaya Mishan usually covers the smaller eateries in the outer boroughs in her weekly column Hungry City. One unusual fave is Queens Night Market  The stalls offer such treats as curried Malaysian burgers and tender mouth watering Bolivian beef heart. It's also cheap with all entree costing under six dollars., thanks to market creator John Wang.If you want indoor dining then head over to Bayside, Queens to try Mama Lee's lion head meatballs,,a yummy mix of pork and cabbage.Another must try is the Bangladeshi restaurant Neerob. There is chicken heated in a pan of sweet-hot masala. They also serve fish gilded with turmeric along with pink hardboiled eggs nesting in rice and moong dal.

For those who prefer to eat in, Julia Moskin lists and has the most popular recipes of the year. One is the famed Yottam Ottolenghi's blueberry,almond and lemon cake. This is the perfect antidote to all those spicy and chocolatey holiday tortes. Readers have varied the recipe with them using raspberries, cherries , apricots and plums. Fans of the Food section also went wild over British chef Jamie Oliver's chicken in milk, a spin on the traditional roast pork and milk.It's a combination of sweet and savory due to the marriage of cinnamon and garlic.Lemon and sage are also added to round out the flavor.Another favorite chicken recipe was the baked chicken tenders from Alison Roman.It's oven baked instead of being deep fried .It still has crunch thanks to the meat being dipped in panko crumbs. The accompanying dip is Greek yogurt mixed with chives, parsley and olive oil. You can pan fry it if you want, however for that deep fried taste.The most popular recipe is Julia Moskin's best black bean soup.Unlike other recipes that are usually sludgy and bland, this one has a fine, creamy texture and fabulous taste.It has heat and kick , thanks to adding jalapeno peppers and garlic.There are also carrots and onions thrown into the mix as well, to give it a nce vegetal taste.

Whether eating out or staying at home, the Food section has the best of the year Visit, some of the restaurants mentioned. If not try this year's favorite recipe in your kitchen.