Chez Panisse Still Perfect At Fifty-Five

 There some some institutions that stand the test of time. The great eatery Chex Panisse is one of them .It has been around since 1971 thanks to it's chef Alice Waters. Chef Waters has created a menu that is amazing and iron clad.It has gone strong through through its five and a half decades.

Regular contributor and chef herself, Tejal Rao l had the lucky chance to eat and review Chez Anisse in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. The restaurant was started in 1971 by the great and innovative chef Alice Waters who introduced good French restaurant cuisine to Americans and the slow food movement.  Hers is a farm to table cuisine, the initial one that influenced generations of young American chefs and taught people how to rethink cooking and eating. Chez Panisse still has her imprint . even thought it seems to have slightly changed. The restaurant is divided into two separate dining rooms with two separate kitchens. The downstairs half is run by chefs Amy Dencler and Martin Fabre while the upstairs is run by Nathan Alderson and Ann Cromley. downstairs there is a set menu that;s not a tasting but has four tight courses. A cheese menu can be added. There are pricey, however,One menu for this Monday is $135 while the dinners for the rest of week are  a whopping.$175 per person.

Is the food worth the price? Yes. There are smaller dishes in the bar, namely zucchini blossoms with small zucchini still attached.  There are also ala carte dishes as well.The salads(despite the scare of ingesting Cylospora) are finely calibrated offering fresh cranberry  bean and fennel with anchovies lemons and eggs. Chef Tejal loved the gougere, a cheesy choux  paste puff along with creamy butter beans swimming in broth and topped with olive oil and a halved hard boiled egg.The bar menu has Gulf shrimp so small they could easily be added to their fish stock. However they're fried and served whole with a splotch of lemon aioli. There are many strawberries dishes, thanks to the restaurant's relationship with supplier Swanton Berry Farm.Berries are surrounded by an airy Pavlova and freshly whipped cream. They rpdocued delicious savory and sweet baked goods. Their  lamb pie was beautifully browned and crispy all over while their almond cake. This had a deeply golden top that bubbled at the center.It was topped with early blueberries in a dark syrup and whipped cream.

Chez Panisse is legend. It has and will draw people who crave good food in simple yet elegant recipes. It is the creme de la creme of American restaurants.

 

Good Dressings For Good Salad

 What makes a salad? Most of the times it's the dressing. There's something special about a dressing that highlights all of a bowl's ingredients. Every flavor , from  the tang of the tomatoes to the mellowness of butter lettuce is taken to another level  simply by a mix of oil ,vinegar and other add INS,

One of my favorite salads is just a simple Spring green one with Campari tomatoes.This will be one of the highlights  for my barbecue tomorrow.I am a big fan of homemade dressing but sometimes I want a store bought one.

I;ve been discovering the bounty of both Dollar General and Dollar Tree. I was able to score Dollar General's Clover Valley Ranch.  and the famed Olive Garden Italian dressing. These are kind of hard to replicate and this is where bottled dressing comes in handy. You could even use both in other salads like broccoli, string bean and chickpea salads. They add a liveliness to these ordinary but good ingredients.

However if you want a homemade dressing that's flavorful try a honey vinaigrette. This is just simply apple cider vinegar, olive oil and a teaspoon of honey whiskey together. Some recipes call for Dijon mustard for tang but this can be omitted of the flavor is too strong for you. One of my favorite homemade dressing is the classic French. It's taking dollops of mayo and ketchup. and blending them with a drizzle  of olive oil and a splash of vinegar. I love this especially on cherry tomatoes as a nice side salad. Another dressing idea is adding fresh  lemon, lime orange and even grapefruit to the dressing instead of vinegar.This give this salad a bright sunny flavor and is perfect for a shredded chicken with almonds one. Don't use juice, unless it's the lemon or lime. Orange juice and grapefruit are presweetened and that can make for a sweeter than normal dressing. Use fresh squeezed fruit and save the peels for decoration.

A good salad starts with the dressing. It can be store bought or homemade. Just make sure it highlights the veggies and fruits used to create a stand out bowl.

The Perfect Parfait

 This is the time for cool treats and nothing says that better than a parfait. It could be a lovely way to start the day? It can be a cool treat after a barbecue .Anyway you have it 's a nice treat on a hot August day,,

As expected the parfait  was created by the French around 1890. The original recipe was the basis for our frozen custards of today. French chefs cooked eggs sugar and cream together as a custard then frozen. There are two versions. the french one which is made with whipped cream, simple syrup and any kind of flavoring, namely fruit. It's then poured into a tin, much like its' Italian cousin the semifreddo. Egg yolks are added , much like the original recipe to give it body. The American version is more layered like a sundae. There is also a Japanese one with a base layer of cornflakes! it also has more whipped cream and gelatin cubes than the American one. A breakfast parfait is a different and fun way to start the day. Use Greek yogurt which is thicker and has more body than the American and layer with different ingredients.Add old fashioned oats and for more nutrition and good helping of chia seeds. You could add frozen fruit but fresh is better especially now with all the harvests happening right now. Layer with sliced peaches and strawberries for a tasty treat.Sliced bananas and blueberries also work. Keep in mind that you can have this as a mid afternoon snack too. Add chocolate chips for some flavor and a boost of energy.

An ice cream parfait is a lovely way to use the fruit of the season along with good ice cream., As for the ice cream , you can make it yourself or get a good brand . A simple yet elegant one is layers if vanilla ice cream and fresh cut fruit. Try a French vanilla with pitted and chopped cherries is also good. You can do the same with other fruit for the season like peaches and strawberries. If you want more layers, add  crumbled vanilla wafers like Lidl's or Nabiscos and top with whipped cream. Of course a chocolate version is also  doable and delicious. Layer chocolate ice cream with strawberries or chopped , pitted cherries. Add a good chocolate syrup such as U-Bet or Fox's. (Hershey's also work well here).Top with a blob of whipped cream and more fruit. You can add a layer of cookie or even chocolate cake here too. A decadent dessert is a tiramisu su one. It starts with a homemade ice cream made from a mix of mascapone cheese and evaporated milk. Beat together until stiff peaks form and freeze until ready to use. You can also use coffee ice cream too. Cake is the base here and it's soaking either vanilla or chocolate pound cake in espresso. Layer the ice cream and cake, sort of like mini trifles .You can also sprinkle on cocoa powder too to give it a mocha flavor. Top with whipped cream and more powdered chocolate.

Beat the heat with the perfect parfait. You can make one for a breakfast treat or have one after a barbecue. Either way they're cool and delightful.

A Salute To The Master Chef

 Every chef,whether home or professional has a master chef to look up to. They are inspiring and creative as they provide good food and comfort. Some are so perfect they come along once in a lifetime.

This was my Mom who would have been 102(!!!!) today(There may have been some words about telling her age).I wonder what she would think of our Lidl hauls and their very economical prices as compared to Acem's and Stop & Shop. She would have loved their wide variety of international foods.The imports from France would have especially fascinated her and I know for sure we would have had the Lidl escargots and mini quiches. Sh probably would have liked their array of cheeses, with Brie and Lidl croissants on constant rotation. I know my Mom would have been amazed at the prices of many of their products. She would have been amazed at the prices too and what sixty  dollars can buy. A twelve pack of their soda is only $3.25. She would have been in awe of that ,especially since other twelve packs are anywhere between nine and twelve dollars. The lower priced veggies and fruits also would have impressed her since she always felt that cost determined the quality of produce. If it was cheap, it wasn;t any good. Yet Lidl disproves that. I also know she would have liked their soaps from France and their wide array of different personal products like face cream and nail polish remover.

Besides Lidl ,my Mom would have been fascinated with my summer classes of teaching English to both French and Vietnamese students. she would have liked my assignments which included creating fusion dishes. Vietnamese bread banh is on my to make list She would have been fascinated by this variation of the baguette and would have helped in creating them. I inherited her adventurous culinary daring. we were the first and really only people on our block to have a wok in the Seventies along with a yogurt maker. I feel her spirit when I make her favorite Szechuan dish, ants climbing a tree. For us it was sauteing plant based beef crumbles in a mix of olive oil, garlic and soy sauce.it's served on a bed of glass or rice noodles and was always a favorite of ours. I also feel she would have approved of me making the Eritrean stew of lentils and tomatoes , flavored with Berber spices. Would she have liked my Summerween and Christmas in July? Considering Halloween was never my favorite holiday , she may have regarded that with some snark. Christ mas in July? Maybe , if it's celebrated with ice cream cake and hand sandwiches instead of fresh baked cookies and roasted ham.

All chefs have their mentors. Mine was my Mom. She taught me a lot about cooking and baking. She introduced me to new and daring recipes while also cooking and baking centuries old family ones.

Lidl For The Holidays

 If you're looking to save this holiday season, then look no further than Lidl. This store is a godsend when to comes to holiday foods and goodies. 

Lidl has definitely become my new favorite.It has a wide array of foods from all over the globe. I know for sure I will buy their chocolate crema panettone and Pandoro. These are two classics of the Itatalina Christmas season. Another must buy are their meringue wreaths. These even are sprinkled with red and green sugar for the holidays. They also have a wide variety of baking goods at very good prices. Bakers should take advantage of their big flour sale. You can buy ten thirty-two ounce bags of flour for ten dollars!!!!! This is a true steal. They also have other ingredients like baking cocoa, sugar and confectioner's sugar at low prices. It's also true for their milk, eggs and butter, also vital for baking. If you don't want to bake , then go for their box of German assorted cookies for only $5.96 (this is the route that I'm taking. One the cookies are delicious and varied in style and flavor and two I just don't  have the time to bake this wide a variety of sweets).Keep in mind Lidl also has a good selection of toys, fun clothes and interesting gifts along with wrapping papper and gift cards.

Another must are their hams. They look absolutely delicious, in fact much better than what other grocery stores arte offering right now. LIDL is even selling veal cutlets for as low as $14.99 a package (around two dollars cheaper than other grocery stores right now.)Also if you spend $500 or more between now and CHristmas you're entitled to either a free spiral cut ham ro turkey. Looking for appetizers and hors d'ouvres for you holiday or New Year's Eve party? Lidl has frozen escargot (snail ) cups imported from France  along with French imported quiches. There are also a wide array of chicken wings, samosas and pigs in blankets for a hot appetizer platter. Keep in mind the store also has very good cold cuts and imported cheese along with always freshly baked French and Italian breads for a special charcuterie. Add some of their Greek imported olives as well as their Italian artichoke hearts. As far as something to drink, Lidl has an excellent selection there. A bottle of their Asti Spumante is only eight dollars and they also have port and Cabernet Sauvignon. for around the same price too. I love their diet cola which is more flavorful than the national brands.

Make Lidl your go to holiday store this Christmas and New Year's. It has good food at good bargains. That's a gift in itself.

A Rainy Day Barbecue

 Can you still have that barbecue on a damp August day? Yes!It's easy to bring the outdoors inside . You cna still have tasty favorites in the comfort of a dry home.

A barbecue starts off with a grill and you can easily buy an indoor one at Target or Walmart.They come either square or round and at a variety of prices too.Invest in one if you like the taste of barbecued meats and veggies all year round. Another easy option is the air fryer. You may not get that smoky  mesquite or hickory taste that cooking over an open flame brings but the food will still be crisp.Try pork ribs with a tangy barbecue sauce. You will have to cut them into smaller pieces to fit your air fryer's basket.It's them marinating them in your favorite sauce and wrapping the pieces in foil. Cook them for thirty minutes at 380 degrees Farenheit. After the half hour unwrap them and  then let them brown in the  air fryer basket for another ten minutes, again at 380 degrees Farenheit. Make sure that the basket is well sprayed with cooking spray. ( use the olive oil flavored spray for this); Hamburgers and hot dogs can also beneft from air fryer cooking. To be honest I think both come out crispier on the outside and juicier on the inside than ones cooked on the grill.

Veggies can also be cooked on an indoor grill or  in the air fryer. Marinated asparagus spears are always a good side. You can also grill tomatoes - perfect on Italian or French bread with a little olive oil and oregano. What about that classic barbecue staple corn? Yes, the ears can be cooked nicely in an air fryer. You may have to cut the ends off the ribs in order to makw them fit but that depends on the size of your basket. Layer them side by side for an  even grill and remember don't stack them on top of each other. Drizzle olive oil or melted butter on top. ( you can add more butter later for a really buttery taste) and air fry for eight minutes at 380 degrees Farenheit. Roll them over halfway through the cooking so they're perfectly roasted and golden all over. As with an outdoor barbecue make sure there are salads too. You can easily whip up a three bean or a tasty pasta salad to go with the main course. For dessert you can still make s'mores but this time use the air fryer (make sure the basket is thoroughly washed out though) . It;s slicing the marshmallows in half , and placing the sticky side on the graham cracker. Make four of these and then place in the air fryer. Cook at 390 degrees Farenheit for five minutes. Add a square of any kind of chocolate and then top with another graham cracker.

Let the summer rains come. YOu can still have a fun barbecue but an indoor one. It's a fun way to chase a rainy day away.

Delving Into NOLA's Past

 New Orleans hs always been knonw for it's phenomneal food. Many thought the French were responsible for this culinary paradiuse. However delve deeper and its' the enslaved that gave the city its' distinct flavor. Now it's coming to light in a variety of ways.

Regular contributor and famed food writer Brett Anderson wrote about his native cityin today's New York Times Food section.For centuries the French influence was thought to be the guiding light in their local cuisine. However this is wrong. It's the West African influence . It's the force behnd jambalaya and gumbo. A new generation of black chefs is discovering thus as well as the strong Caribbean and Creole influence too. The dishes are being featured in such restaurants as Dakar NOLA. There is Last Meal , a blend of black eyed peas, crispy rice and Louisiana blue crab. A dish  called from ndambe that the restaurant's chef Serigne Mbaye ate while growing upin Senegal. It was fed to enslaved West Africans beofre they boarded ships to the US.LAst Meal's variuation contained palmoil which us high in saturated fat. Kidnapped Africans needed to be Fattened up" before being loaded on tp slave ships.Their investments had to be protected. It's a story that Chef Mbaye shares with diners.

There are other stories that reflect the city's racist history. New Orleans has always been known as a town of merriment and great food and drinks.It was also a majority Black city at possessed a thriving slave market where more than 135,000  individuals were sold. The disparity that started then is still existing now. Chefs  such as Chef Mbaye want to emphasize the importance and contribution of the enslaved in the region's dishes. They are dismantling the whitewashed stories about the European influence  that have been fed to tourists for generations. There's a strong emphasis on the French which extends back to slavery according to Zella Pamer anfood scholar and the director of the Ray Charles Progran in African American Material Culture at Dillard University. She pointed out that most of the enslaved people brought to Louisiana in the early Eighteenth Century came from West African, and that included the Senegambia people.. The New New Orelans are getting more and more West African restaurants and with them the truth about New Orelans cooking. Stories are being told and the Frenhc influence myth like the famed Galatoire's ]was influenced by Chef Prudence instead of Jean Galatoire, a white French man.

NewOrleans is indeed a city of good food. Yet it is not solely French as many are want to think.It is the African Creole and Caribbean influences that make its' food great.

One Ingredient Different Ways

 Summer time is all about easy cooking and using as few ingredients as possible. Sometimes one food can be used a variety of different ways. It just makes for a simplified kitchen.

French and Italian bread are the perfect examples. They're make for a tasty breakfast with just butter or at lunch as the base of a good sandwich. An easy summer supper is slices of French bread slathered with Brie or Italian bread , with a caprese of sliced tomatoes, mozzarella and basil.The slices are also good drizzled with a hot pepper infused olive oil. Of course you can use the loaves for a chewy and tasty French toast too, ether for brunch or breakfast for dinner They're also wonderful to add to a quick  microwave  bread pudding. A quick dessert is having your favorite jelly or jam on the slices too.(Add butter and you have a really good breakfast).Another versatile ingredient is rice. Brown or white cooks up fast, perfect for these steamy days. Cook up a few cups and then add your choice of veggies and a dressing. What is good about this kind of salad is that you can get creative with it and add everything from tomatoes to even cheddar cubes. Leftover rice can be easily stove top cooked into a rice pudding for an easy dessert.Just make sure you have enogh left over to so this.

The tomato is another one of those versatile ingredients. It's absolutely perfect on its' own with just a bit of sea salt sprinkled on. Add some torn Italian bread, basil, garlic and olive oil and you have the Neopolitan bread salad, panzanella. Some add balsamic vinegar and cheese to this but it's up to you. It's an easy side dish or a great Sunday lunch idea. Of course tomatoes are perfect for sauce, Since it's summer think a no cook salsa cruda. This is a mix of sliced tomatoes, chiffonaded basil and minced garlic marinated for a few hours in olive oil. It's then poured over the cooked pasta of your choice. The pasta's  cooks it up while a cup of the pasta water thickens it into a light sauce. It's so easy and delicious to make especially with vine ripes , fresh from the garden.Any fruit tends to fall into this catagory as well. For the summer, berries are versatile. Use strawberries and blueberries to sweeten up a vinaigrette or as part of a salad. For dessert , layer them with ice cream, or pound cake along with whipped cream as a parfait. Chop them up and add them to pancakes or waffles. Layer them on bagels along with cream cheese, or blend them into the cream cheese for a tasty , sweet spread.

One ingredient - so many different ways. This is the way to cook and eat during the summer. It makes for a simplfied kitchen and less time shopping.

Warm Toasty Drinks

 Spring may be just around the corner but it's still frosty out there. It's time to warm up with late winter with a warm and toasty drink. They can be boozy or just fill with sweet , hot goodness. Either way they will warm you to your toes.

Saint Patrick's Day is Thursday and many will sip an Irish coffee. This was a big after dinner drink in the Seventies and Eighties yet it's much older than that, beginning with Joe Sheridan, a chef at Foyne's Point in Limerick.He created this iconic after dinner cocktail in the 1940's and it came to San Francisco in 1952 thanks to travel writer Stanton Delaplane..Irish coffee a definite toe warmer that has all sorts of flavors in it. Start off with a warmed mug and then fill with just four ounces of strong black coffee and two teaspoons of brown - not white - sugar. One once of  whiskey is then added  followed by a spooning of one ounce of lightly whipped heavy cream.What's the best coffee to use? Any one you want. whatever you think is the best and the most flavorful works. Then there's the whiskey.Many a mixologist would recommend the pricey Jamieson but you can use what works for you. Sip it slowly to fully appreciate the blend of flavors. Another favorite chill chaser is hot buttered rum.This is basically rum mixed with spiced butter. This spiced butter is flavored with cinnamon .cloves and nutmeg along with a pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla Hot water is poured over the rum and butter and a cinnamon stick is added for more taste.

What about those who want a non boozy warmer? Hot chocolate is your best bet. Ditch the packets and make your own. One of the most decadent is French hot chocolate. You should used chopped dark chocolate because this will give the drink a velvety texture. Two cups of whole milk is cooked in a saucepan as the chocolate is added. You can add a tablespoon of brown sugar and a teeny pinch of salt. Many add a good dollop of freshly whipped cream to make it more decadent. if you want a spike of spice then consider the Mexican version.This is made with cocoa powder and chopped bittersweet dark chocolate. Cinnamon is added and for kick a little pinch of chili pepper. You can really zing it up with a teensy bit of cayenne pepper. It's just cooking these and whole milk in a saucepan over a low flame. If tea is more your thing then go for a spicy chai. Use a good Assam or Darjeeling black tea for a more authentic flavor. Cinnamon sticks and cloves give it that tongue nipping taste. Also add green cardamon pods. You can find these at any Asian grocery store. Ginger is a must and it's sliced into coins to be added to this mix. These are boiled with the tea bags and water. Milk is added later along with any kind of sugar. The whole brew is boiled and then poured into cups or mugs for a tasty sip.

It's still winter. RIde it out with a hot toe warming drink. It can be boozy or a teetotaller's delight. All that matter is that it warms you against a late season chill.

All Vegan French Toast

 Nowadays it's easy to make a vegan meal, especially one for breakfast - or breakfast for dinner. Thanks to Just Egg home chefs can make the classic French toast without any guilt. Best of all it tastes like the real thing, egg-y, custard-y and full of cinnamon and vanilla.

I had some left over Just Egg from yesterday's scramble so I decided to make a recipe I've been craving for a long time - French toast.

I went full vegan also using Blue Diamond Almond Milk. I followed Just Egg's recipe for the Frrench toast, omitting the two teaspoons of sugar. It was going to have enough thanks to drowning the slices in maple syrup later on.It was one cup of the mung bean mix to a cup of almond milk. A teaspoon of both the cinnamon and vanilla were added for that traditional sweet flavor.

                               The mixture was whisked for about five minutes to thoroughly blend all the ingredients.
I used Aldi's Artisenal bread because it looked sturdy . This was soaked in the custard for a few minutes.

                                                     I thought it would be a good choice.

   It wasn't. The bread got super mushy and didn't brown properly. The inside was too gooey , almost like pudding.The slices flopped when flipped and broke into pieces.

                                                        One slice managed to come out OK.

 Despite the texture the taste was pretty spot on to the real thing made with whole milk and eggs. I know the next time I make Just Egg French toast I will definitely use French or Italian bread,It's sturdier and can hold up to a good soaking. It's also has a great chewy texture that lends itself very well to the recipe.

Going vegan doesn't mean giving up favorite dishes like French toast. With the right bread it can be heaven, Try the vegetarian version with Just Egg and Blue Diamond Almond Milk for a tasty spin on this breakfast comfort food.

Summer Food Fights

Hot weather usually brings about heated - no pun intended - debates. Namely it's about one summer fave versus another. What's the best way to make a tomato sandwich?Or ice cream versus ice What's is the best of the summer?

Sometimes it's just about a sandwich -namely a tomato one. There is a huge debate about adding mayo or no mayo. Without the condiment, the earthy sweetness of the tomato takes over yet with it, the fruit's flavor becomes more vibrant. It also adds a creaminess to the bite as well. A second debate is the bread. Toasted or  not toasted. Toasted gives the sandwich crunch and makes for a more solid base to sop up the juices. Not toasted, it's a nice chewy feeling. You could really throw a monkey wrench into the work by suggesting sourdough or French or Italian bread. These are perfect for chewiness and absorbing all the juices along with adding to the flavor. Yet so many would never try a tomato sandwich made this way. Forget about adding the garlicky aioli, Provencale's France's go to for everything from sandwiches to grilled fish and meats.Then there's the tomatoes themselves. Do you just go for the plump and luscious beefsteaks or try the ever sweet vine ripes? Should you think outside the box and used sliced grape or cherry tomatoes? Again, many have definite ideas about what sort to use.

Another summer debate is ice versus ice cream. Which is the cooler, literally and the most refreshing? Ices are basically just shaved or crushed frozen water with some kind of fruit syrup or puree added in. They've been around since Roman times when servants would run into the mountains outside of Rome and bring back buckets of snow. Honey or crushed fruit were then heaped on top. Personally, I like ice more, namely the Slushies you can create with the Slushie cups. There's something infinitely refreshing about a cola that being transformed into cooling spoonfuls of ice crystals. Ice cream may do that for some people but not for me. Yet that's always been a big debate. Many prefer the creamy flavor and mouth feel of a scoop of vanilla or chocolate. Ice  cream is versatile. It can be easily topped with fruit and syrups along with whipped cream, nuts and sprinkles for a special sundae or parfait.Add a blob of vanilla to root beer for a special foamy treat.Unfortunately the more you eat  the thirstier you become. This is do to the sugar particles in it sucking out the water from the cells. Ice , somehow doesn't do that. Maybe because there's a good deal of water in the mix.

There will always be summer food fights.  Yet it's up to the individual to decide . Taste is always ours , whether others agree or nor.

A Taste Of To Go

Most of us are fed up with home cooking. Let's face it two months of isolation , forage food shopping and cooking non stop is wearing. There's something about eating out - well the new eating out.

I know the lure of take out is strong. There's something about someone else cooking burgers and fries that's tempting. Yes, the restaurants are closed , at least in my state, New Jersey until June 1st. However take out and drive through are going strong. Even getting a soup at Panera, which I did yesterday for lunch was great. I'd forgotten about how good their tomato soup was, even a small cup of it. The accompanying mini loaf of French bread was much appreciated too.Of course the day was too nice and I was itching to go out in the late afternoon. That's when Popeyes called. Luckily one of the ones by me has opened their lobby which means that there's no waiting on the long line for take out. The food, especially their chicken sandwich is still super popular. People want it, quarantine or not. However there is a long wait once you're indoors. There was no choice of soda - only Coke - fine - and no extras like barbecue sauce or honey mustard for the chicken tenders. Still, it was one of the best tasting chicken dinners ever.

If you really have that itch for take out - then take out. There's something great about a freshly made pizza with homemade tomato sauce and tons of gooey cheese. Creating homemade sauce and pasta was probably fulfilling a month ago. Now it's a chore. Treat yourself and your family to your local pastaria's scratch made angel hair or ravioli. They usually include salad, bread  and sometimes soup and even dessert. It's still a filling  and delicious meal but without all the forage shopping and headache of making everything. As the weather gets warmer, there's a need for the beach. Take advantage of the seafood restaurants there. There's something about a fresh lobster or crab dinner with all the trimmings, like melted butter and a side of cole slaw. Take advantage of the freshly made clam chowder too which tastes soooo much better than the canned stuff. Also take advantage of the fish and chips. Again , the fresh made is so much better than the frozen stuff. Restaurant's like Bahr's in the New Jersey town of Atlantic Highlands can bring your dinner and a cocktail out to your car. What more can you ask for?

This quarantine is getting to all of us. If you're tired of cooking. go out. Eat in the parking lot, far from the other cars. You'll feel better and happier.

Your Own Favorite Restaurant

People are even getting paranoid and understandably so about eating out. Yet, for many it's the highlight of the week or month. The food is tasty and fun. However you don't have to eat out. There are recipes for some of our favorite restaurant and fast food dishes. Why go out when you can bring the eatery to you.

Fast food is always a hit. Who doesn't love a burger with the works or a filled burrito? Yet you can easily make these at home. It's so easy to recreate the special sauce. It's just mayo with a dab of French dressing along with white vinegar and granulated sugar.This can be made healthier with using the vegan Nayonnaise and dark wildflower honey. Add sliced tomatoes , pickles and lettuce on a bun for the full effect. As for fries and onion rings use your air fryer.  You could get the bagged , frozen kinds but you can also buy already freshly cut crinkle potato and sweet potato fries.. Liven it up with some ground garlic and rosemary. Homemade onion rings are another easy make, thanks to panko bread crumbs and an egg wash. Love Taco Bell? Their bean burritos are so easy to whip up - as I know. It's easy to cook up kidney beans and chopped onions in a mix of vegetable and olive oil.Red wine vinegar gives it tang while chili pepper and cumin add flavor. Serve it on steamed tortillas. Have a side of melted nacho cheese  - basically a jalapeno cheese sauce. It's creating a roux of milk and flour and then adding chopped cheddar and butter. Diced jalapenos are then stirred in for fire.

Pizza and pizza sticks are always easy to recreate.The dough is a simple recipe of flour, water and yeast, along with olive oil, a touch of sugar or honey and salt for flavor. Top with already made pizza sauce also used for dipping with the pizza sticks  and a variety of veggies and meats. It's a fun way to teach the kids how to bake as well as create breads. Making a pizza can also be a great method of teaching nutrition and which is the best and healthiest to eat. Kids can learn about using vegan mozzarella and what veggies are the most nutritious and the tastiest for finishing a pizza. Another Italian classic that's always a take out is the hero. Yet these are so much fun to make at home.Take a good Italian or French bread, cut in half, and add slices of your favorite meats , cheeses and veggies.What really makes any hero sing is the dressing.it's just a mix of olive oil and red wine vinegar with a dash of oregano. So many chain restaurants have loaded potato skins.It's baking Russet potatoes and then scooping out the flesh so that there's a quarter of potato left inside. Then you can fill  them with anything you want, from bacon to pulled pork or shredded roasted chicken with taco spicing. You could also try topping them with  pizza sauce and mozzarella for a different spin.

Eat in if you have qualms about eating out. It's easy to recreate favorite recipes at home. You might even improve on them.

A Halloween Treat - Mayo

Is there a place for mayo in a sophisticated kitchen?  Surprisingly yes. At times, it's even better than some of the best butter. It's now being thought of as the go to ingredient from simple grilled cheeses to sous vide meats.

Melissa Clark wrote about one of the world's most versatile condiment in  yesterday's New York Times Food section. Her A Good Appetite was devoted to this French dressing originally used only for chicken. Now it's being used again , but smeared or slathered on raw chicken before cooking. The white cream is a hard sell. It has been maligned by decades of food snobs who associate it with folksy salads served at picnics. Then there's its' appearance. It's jiggly and white , bloppy when it get's smeared on tomatoes or sandwich meats. It's also completely fat, yet it's that fat that creates the Maillard effect on meats. It's a seasoned oil suspended in water emulsion. An emulsion is a homogeneous mixture of two or more liquids that typically don't mix together. Fat droplets have a tendency to coalesce or come together when suspended in that. To make mayonnaise the fat has to be broken up into droplets that are so fine , they will have trouble reuniting in that emulsion. This gives mayo its' classic viscous texture - perfect for brushing onto a meat's surface. Eggs are also part of this emulsion and that gives mayo its' creaminess.

A thin layer of mayo can give any meat a good browning. This helps in minimizing the amount of time any cut spends in a pan or on the grill. Meats such as skirt and flank steak as well as thinner cut pork chops typically have problems browning, before they wind up with overcooked centers.Mayo helps fast cooking meats such as chicken cutlets brown all over. A plus about having a mayo marinade is that it blends easily with a wide range of sauces and condiments. Pesto and chimichurri work well with it along with Thai red curry paste. Barbecue and  teriyaki sauce benefit from it. These sauces have a tendency to burn, thanks to the sugars in them. Mayo solves this by diluting and coating the sugars with an egg protein. The end result is meat that doesn't wind up charred and a sauce flavor that really sticks to the meat.Mayo coated meats can just be cooked as is in a non-stick pan. The mayo has enough fat for cooking. Ms. Clark has tried the recipe out with both store bought and homemade mayo. The last has plenty of recipes on the web to try. It would be interesting to see if this works with vegan mayonnaise.

Don't be a snob about mayo. Try it as a marinade on any kind of meat. You'll be surprised by how sppoky good it is.

One Can Of Tuna Can

What can one can of tuna make? A variety of different dishes , from lunch to dinner. All it takes is imagination to create a tasty dish that's satisfying and nourishing.

Everyone has at least one can of tuna in their pantry. I usually have two or three cans of Genova tuna which is packaged in olive oil. I prefer the fish this way because it's has more flavor. You can use tuna packed in water.It is lower in calories. What can do you with a can of tuna/One thing - and it's pretty obvious tuna salad. You can go with the classic recipe which also includes chopped celery and chopped onions or shallots.You can make it a bit fancier by adding some chopped bell peppers or carrots.if you're not into mayo then sub in avocado.It gives the salad a creamy chunkiness and a buttery flavor. My favorite salad with tuna is Salad Nicoise. It has a summery , sea breeze vibe about it as it celebrates Provence. An authentic Nicoise has not only tuna but also beans and hard boiled eggs for more protein along with Roma tomatoes and green beans for color and crunch. You can also throw in anchovies too if you want more of a briny taste. As for the greens, try a bag of mixed ones for a rounded out and varied flavor.  I usually use a simple vinaigrette as a dressing but you can try one with a small pinch of  Dijon mustard added. Serve with French bread to mop up the dressing.

Tuna can also be used in hot dishes. How many of us have had the gooey, hot fishy treat the tuna melt. It's a staple of diners and lunch counters but can easily be made at home. The classic one calls for white bread cheddar. but there are variations that have mozzarella and tuna on Italian bread. The sandwich starts out with tun a salad spread on a slice of white or whole wheat. A slice of mild cheddar or American cheese  is then added .it's finished with another slice of bread and fried. A less greasier version is a baked version. Make it the same way as the original, just skip the second slice. Bake at 350 degrees F for twenty to thirty minutes. A can of tuna can also make a great sauce.Use the basic tomato sauce recipe and add drained , flaked tuna. Capers can also be added for a bit more saltiness.  What kind of tuna should you use?I would go with the one in olive oil and cut back on the olive oil used in the recipe (usually three tablespoons. Cut it back to a tablespoon). The sauce is great with penne or rotelli along with the longer pastas such as spaghetti and angel hair.Not surprising a can of tuna can also top a pizza too for a different take on a seafood pie.

Get creative with a can of tuna. There's so much you can do with it. You can even come up with brand new recipes and if you do - share it here.

Your Own Artisanal Ice Cream

One of the hottest summer trends right now is artisanal ice cream. This treat is a throwback to earlier variations our grandparents and great-grandparents ate. .Not only are they pure and free of any preservatives, they take the best of the season's fruit as flavoring. The best part - they can be made at home with just a minimum of fuss.

The first question in homemade ice cream making is do you really need an ice cream maker. The answer is no. While having one facilitates the process you can use a simple ice water bath  which is placing a bowl of just cooked cream mixture in a bigger bowl filled with ice water. The bowl is them placed isude the freezer part of the fridge. Another method is using the humble sandwich baggie, This is a fun activity for the kids.It's mixing all the ingredients in a small one, sealing it and them putting it into a gallon weight baggie. Fill the last with four cups and four tablespoons with ice cream salt and then wrap in a dish towel. Shake for five minutes to have a soft serve kind of treat. Another question is do you want to make it French or Philadelphia style? French style  is thick and custardy, usually using three to four egg yolks. If you want a rich, creamy mouthfeel go this route. Philadelphia or American style ice cream is made with just sugar, milk  and cream. Philadelphia style does have a tendency to crystilize quicker than the French, sometimes giving it a watery mouth feel.

Artisanal ice creams always use the best and the freshest get the best whole milk.If you want to have a richer. flavor add whole cream Raw cane sugar is used but you  can also use honey or maple syrup too. What is fun about artisanal ice cream is that flavors, both savory and sweet can be blended. Instead of a plain chocolate, turn it into a sweet, peppery mole with the addition of chili powder.Sea salt is a much used ingredient. Try a home made caramel spiked with nuggets of Celtic sea salt. Artisans like to pair vanilla with lavender.Two tablespoons of the dried flowers should be used in the French style recipe.This would make an elegant end to an outdoor dinner party. Roses are another flower , this new generation of ice cream makers are using. Use the petals just for decoration. Flavor the ice cream mixture with rose water.Fruit is big with the artisan set. Definitely use the best of the harvest right now. One delightful pairing is strawberry and rhubarb.  Use about a pound of cooked rhubarb to about eight ounces of strawberries. You can also just make it with just the rhubarb. Another cool and hip flavor is blackberry.It not only give the cream mixture a rich berry flavor but tints the cream a striking mauve hue.

Artisanal ice cream just isn;t for the trend makers.It can be a delicious part of anyone's summer diet. get creative with the variety of flavors and recipes.

Mom's Recipe

Mom's always have the best recipes. I was lucky to have a mother who loved to cook -  inheriting that  love from her parents and grandparents. She also  lived to cook and made all sorts of cuisine, from the Swabian and Piedmontese dishes she grew up on to French, Chinese and Mexican recipes from books and newspapers. Receiving cookbooks for Christmases and birthdays  were a big deal., She adored one special one, the famed  LaRousse Gastronomique.

 One of her favorite recipes was  surprisingly from Au Bon Pain, the bread and pastry chain .As we all did, she fell for their tarragon chicken spread.

Out of love and honor for her. here's the recipe.Make it for your mothers, whether tomorrow or for a family picnic.

Chicken Tarragon Salad

Two cups shredded or cubed left over chicken. (mix the white and the dark meat for a more flavorful spread)

Two to three tablespoons mayo

One heaping tablespoon of  dried tarragon. (use fresh picked if you have it)

Mix the chicken and mayo until well blended, Add the tarragon and mix it thoroughly into the spread. Add freshly ground pepper if you want more zing.

My Mom always liked the spread on buttery croissants but it's also good on crackers or any other kind of bread. If you;re spreading it on Italian or French breads, add slices of freshly cut tomatoes.It gives it a Provencale vibe.

Enjoy it. She certainly did.

A Variety Of Fries

One of the foods we love so well is French fries. We have them with our breakfasts, lunches and dinners. They make a great snack, whether at a  stand or on a beach. Nowadays , there are so many . what to choose from? Which is the best?

French fries come from the Belgians but also  French chefs have made them for some two hundred years. There have been some hot  debates about their origins for the last century  A reference to them in  the Gerard family archives ,mentions potato batons being fried as early as 1680 in Meuse Valley of what is modern day Belgium.Inhabitants of the Belgian towns of Namur, Andenne and Dinant has the custom of fishing for smaller fish in the Meuse River. They were fried and eaten.When the river was frozen over, fishing became impossible so the locals cut the potatoes  into small pieces and fried them instead. Thomas Jefferson had them made in the White House in 1802 and the first recipe for them came in 1856 in Cookery For  Maids Of All Work.  The English also grabbed onto the recipe with the first chip shop  opening in Yorkshire, somewhere around  West Riding in 1854. The Germans also jumped on the fry bandwagon, in the 1850's easily pairing them with their wursts.The first frozen fries were created by the JR Simplot Company y in the 1940s; Now fries include sweet potatoes and parsnips. They can be very thin such as the shoe string or thick like the plank kind.

What's being cooked in most households? Is it frozen or fresh? Frozen  is an easy choice. It's just preheat the oven, toss a few on an oiled cookie sheet and bake for twenty to thirty minutes in a 400 degree oven.There are some very good brands out there. Stop & Shop has their own in house line of different cuts. Their crinkle cut fries bake up really well. They're crispy without being too greasy when baked along with having pretty uniform sized pieces. Ore-Ida has excellent microwave fries which actually taste as if they've been cooked in a fryer. They have a nice crunchiness on the outside and a meatiness on the inside. For good waffle fries, try the Alexia brand. The brand was created by a chef who wanted to elevate everyday sides and he has done so with both Idahos and sweet potatoes. He even has Parmesan flavored as well as rosemary, truffle oil, and olive oil and  different combinations of all four. You can make them yourselves.it is a bit labor intensive but worth the effort.
start with Russet or Idaho potatoes and cut first into slices  and then into batons or sticks. Let them soak in ice water over night to draw out the starch. The next day, drain the water and pat the sticks
 dry  with paper towels. Fry until they're  golden and slightly brown. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve.

Fries are good whether  as a side for burgers and chicken strips or as a fun snack with a cold drink. Make them yourself or heat up a tray of frozen ones. either way , they're a meaty, crunchy treat.

Braving French Pastry

One of the most elegant treats any baker can make is French pastry. It's a complicated blend of crisp layers , airy creams and  artistic decorations. They're a challenge for the home baker yet  a feather in one's toque if done. The question is can an ordinary baker make an extraordinary sweet?

Many ask themselves that.It's a long leap between cake mix cakes and mille-feulle, better known as Napoleons. The best way to acclimate yourself  to it is start off with the relatively easy recipes (and there are some).One of the easiest is crepes,. It's basically sort of like a pancake batter that has to be chilled overnight.it's flour eggs milk and water mixed together and then set aside for twenty-four hours. You can buy a crepe pan for it. This is nothing more than a wider, thinner frying pan or use a frying pan or skillet. Drizzle creme Anglaise over it or serve it street style with granulated sugar and lemon juice. Another relatively easy treat is clafoutis. A plus is that it can be made with any kind of fruit, from apples to blueberries. It's basically an egg rich batter blended together - usually in a blender and poured over fruit. It's baked for only half an hour  - until it's golden and puffy.Once you've accomplished that, try Kouign Amann , the mouth watering buttery sweet bread from Brittany.It's made with the same dough as the croissant which is another pastry a home baker can master. Both require  a lot of butter because it's sealed in layers of rolled dough. It is  labor intensive , with mostly rolling out dough and butter along with shaping into the classic crescents.

Biscuit roses is another transitional level It was featured in yesterday's Sunday's New York Times Magazine. Famed baker , Dorie, Greenspan, wrote about this after baking them. They're sort of like a cross between a lady finger and biscotti.Like biscotti, it's twice baked.and like lady fingers, the yolks and whites are separated , beaten  and then joined into the dough. It''s a great way for beginners to learn about meringues  along with how to shape batter with a piping bag. After this it's an easy move to eclairs, those classic Gallic pastries. They do require a choux paste which is a delicate two step method. It's first putting water .milk butter and sugar into a two quart saucepan and bringing the mixture to a boil. Flour has to be added  slowly, stirred until everything is blended.It;s then adding five more eggs to give it that rich golden color. Just don;t make ti too hot or you'll have scrambled eggs on your hands. Choux paste can be used to make cream puffs along with the eclairs,One of the hardest pastries to make is the mille feuilles or thousand leaves. Also called Napoleon , after France's famed emperor it;'s taking a dough similar to croissant dough where it's rolled and folded several times.There' are intervals where it's put in the fridge. A simple vanilla  cream is sandwiched in the layers .The whole thing is topped off with a decorative chocolate or vanilla glaze.

Can the average home baker handle French pastry? Oui! Once conquered these complicated recipes will be as easy as a chocolate chip or scratch cake one.

Outside The Thanksgiving Box

Everyone expects the ususal Thanksgiving main meal and sides. Yet sometimes, it pays to cook outside the proverbial holiday box of recipes. It could mean experimentation. It could be a meatless day. It could be falling back on family recipes and the exotic ingredients that come with them. It could be a welcomed break from the usual , too.

Everybody has turkey on Thanksgiving.Or do they? What do vegans and vegetarians eat? Or those averse to the taste of gamy bird? Many vegans turn to Tofurkey , a soy substitute that sort of tastes like the real thing.A better idea is making the loaf yourself. Try a stuffed seitan loaf which is basically wheat glutens mixed with nutritional yeast to create a kind of meat loaf . Soy sauce is added to give it a nice brown color, similar to turkey.It can be stuffed, usually with a mix of firm tofu blended with cut carrots, onions and celery, Another idea is wild rice and mushroom casserole that was the topic of Melissa Clark's  A Good Appetite column in yesterday's New York Times Food section.It is also chock full of white beans and spinach too.Fennel and leeks are added to give it a sweet ,flavor and it's topped with  a mix of Panko bread crumbs, rosemary, lemon zest and garlic. Parmesan cheese can also be sprinkled on top if wanted. Ms. Clark also suggests variations to suit the crowd. Brown rice can be subbed in for the wild, Cilantro is used for color and taste but home chefs can also use basil. The bread crumbs can be nixed if guests have celiac disease.

What about those sides? Most will insist on having the usual bread stuffing , along with yams turned into candy  and some kind of green veggie. Yet if that's not part of the anyone's  culinary heritage, don't make them. They'd probably just sit there on the table and then just sit there in the fridge.Ask any Southern Italian or  Greek family who has served manicotti or dolmades with the bird.If your family has kim chi at every holiday , then serve it .If your family likes river weed, a popular green used in Vietnamese cuisine, then put that on the table instead of Brussels sprouts.The same goes for spicing. If you're hosting a multicultural dinner, then think outside the usual salt and pepper. Zing up greens and salads with various ones such as garam masala or paprika.  The last adds color to every dish and can make the ordinary extraordinary. As for bread, the usual is a prim, little roll on a plate Serve warm , crusty baguettes instead. French and Italian bread is excellent for soaking up thick turkey gravy and wonderful for creating sandwiches afterwards. If the family is used to naan or pita, then serve that. The same goes for dessert. Not everyone likes pumpkin pie. Serve fresh fruit or puddings if you want.

Think outside the Thanksgiving box. It's not writtten in stone what you have to cook and bake. Be true to your heritage.Or be different. The end result is a different holiday meal everyone will enjoy.