Finding A Kitchen Treasure My Mom's Herb MIll

Where would we be without those dozens of kitchen gadgets that make our prepping and cooking easier and much more fun? Recently I discovered my Mom's herb grinder , a Christmas gift given a few years ago from a good friend who was family too, Eunice. She never used it, the gadget was  still in its' packaging.

It's the Microplane Company  herb mill  which finely cuts fresh herbs into perfectly shredded pieces. I don't know why my Mom never used it. It really is perfect . The company also has other mills and graters like their garlic and ginger ones that are worth looking into.

There's only two pieces and they fit puzzle like together. The fresh herbs,(I used my fresh basil) are put in the cylinder. The pestle like piece is then put inside.

It's worked like a pepper mill.

The leaves are ground with those small blades , producing perfect pieces. I wish I had used this before for my sauces because it really is a big help. I plan on using it with chives (one of my Mom's favorite herbs besides basil and fresh dill (Eunice's favorite herb which she used liberally on salmon and cucumbers). There's so much that can be made with it. I plan on making basil butter for corn and using it also on fresh rosemary for pizza.

Where would we be without our gadgets? Finding my Mom's herb mill was a godsend. It really will be used much more for a variety of different herbs.

A Businessman's Dinner

It's hard to have any kind of fun,boozy lunch or dinner business meeting. We miss those meetings that also include a lavish steak and potato or surf and turf dinner. However if you have a kitchen - and a well stocked liquor cabinet you can create these meals at home - and even in your yard.

One of the standards of any business lunch is the mixed drink. If you feel it's too strong there's always seltzer to mix in. There's also mocktails which have the flavor without the punch. Try the classic Italian Americano which is a mix of the low in strength vermouth, Campari and club soda. It can be converted to the more potent Negroni by skipping the club soda and adding gin.A cool summertime treat is gin and tonic which just calls for those two ingredients with a hint of lime for more flavor. For a true light drink is the spritzer. This is any wine  - red or white equally mixed with a plain seltzer (although you could use any berry flavor for red wine and any lemon lime flavored one for the white). Mocktails are another way to go. They have the flavor of a mixed drink but without the alcohol. One is a blueberry ginger cooler which has blueberries and a home made ginger syrup mixed with lemon lime soda or seltzer. A Bloody Mary is also a nice accompaniment to a steak. Try one without the vodka, adding some fresh from the garden tomatoes into the drink.

The great American business lunch or dinner is nothing without a steak, Usually most restaurants and chophouses serve a T bone steak which is a good, meaty cut. It's better tasting on the grill and easier to cook out there also. Just flavor  it with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, then cooking it for nine to ten minutes, five minutes on one side , six on the other. You can add a round of garlic , herbed, or lemon butter for more taste.Many a classic business dinner has lobster included. Again use the grill for this.It is a little more work than the steak. The tail has to be split open and then flattened, usually by hand pressing it.It's then placed on a wooden or metal skewer to prevent from curling up. Brush with olive oil and then grill flesh side down for five minutes. Flip it over and add either a squeeze of fresh of fresh lemon or melted butter. Shrimp cocktail is another classic business lunch or dinner appetizer or entree.Make it 21st Century with roasting the shrimp on a sheet pan for eight to ten minutes. Serve with a good dollop of homemade or store bought cocktail sauce. What goes with all of these?  Classic baked potatoes. Use the grill for these too and salt crust them with Kosher salt. This makes for a fluffier interior , better for holding all that butter, sour cream and chives.

We may have new offices these days and new ways to meet. Yet we still can have the classic business lunch or dinner, drinks included. It's just enjoying a tasty meal with a iced drink in our shorts as opposed to business wear.

A good birthday to my favorite guy, Dad. This is for you.

Invite To A Big Lasagna Party

We all need a big get together and party right now.Luckily there is just that thanks, to regular New York Times Food contributor, Samin Nosrat, She is hosting a gathering this Sunday 7 PM Eastern standard TIme. on Instagram. Come one, come all.

Chef Nosrat is not new to dinner parties and gatherings. Since her college days she has thrown together meals that ranged from paellas cooked on a rusted fire pit in a yard to churning out gallons of ice cream in her apartment. She has thrown parties in abandoned airplane hangars and deserted beaches and sprawling farms. Then there were the  get togethers at Tartine, the famed San Francisco eatery, where their corner bakery was set up to feed the restaurant's bakers. The group enjoyed Chef Nosrat's shrimp boils, brisket and latkes. She baked twelve layer lasagnas and billowy  souffles they all enjoyed. Now
 Chef Nosrat is coming into our homes as we go into her Southern Californian one.Her dish of choosing? An old fashioned lasagna, perfect with a bottle of red wine. For some of you novice chefs out there freaking out right now, don't worry. You can make your own creation, whether it's spaghetti and meatballs or just a sandwich. Just so long as you're there. That's what matters.

Is Chef Nosrat's recipe an easy one? It's a classic one, familiar to those who have grown up with Southern Italian recipes and big Sunday pasta dinners. The filling is ricotta along with fresh or even frozen spinach. She suggests using string cheese - fun - if you don't have Provolone or mozzarella handy. There's also grated Parmesan Asiago or Grano Padano. You can use dried Italian seasoning or fresh basil along with fresh Italian parsley and chives. There is the Bechamel sauce, an easy mix that can also go over chicken or fish. Again it's just flour, butter, milk and nutmeg mixed together. The tomato sauce can be your favorite jarred one or the one from the NY Times Simple Tomato sauce located in NYT Cooking. If you're really ambitious make the sheets of lasagna noodles yourself (again the recipe is on the NYT Cooking site). There's more cheese added. from Grano Padano to string. Assembling it may be labor intensive however if your family is joining you, then employ them to help. As for the wine, Chef Nosrat suggests Chianti or a barbera from Piemonte. The kids can have a celebratory soda or chocolate milk.

Mark  this Sunday at seven as a dinner date. Make Chef Nosrat's lush and classic homemade lasagna or not. Just be there to enjoy good food and good talk.

A Spin On Sides

Right now there may be some nail biting about what sides to serve for the upcoming holidays. There also may be sighs about serving the same old stuff again this year. What do you do? Vary the recipe. There's nothing wrong with adding some zing to tradition.

One of the side dishes most made is a bowl of mashed potatoes. People do love them  and they are good for mopping up gravy. Yet it's the same old bland taste with a mealy texture. You could turn it into garlic mashed with the addition of five to six cloves along with some grated Parmesan. Another variation is herbed with thyme and chives. This type requires the tangy creme fraiche instead of the usual milk. For meat and cheese lovers try bacon and cheddar for a different kind of flavor. A healthier and more fun version is mashed cauliflower. Like the potatoes they need to be boiled or steamed and then mashed with vegan butter or the regular kind. Add herbs and garlic or chives for more flavor. Yams are another veggie than can be smashed as opposed to roasted or boiled. For sweetness add maple syrup but then zing it up with a tiny pinch of cayenne. A different variation is sweet potato fries , perfect made in an air fryer  and an unexpected treat for the kids.

Brussels sprouts have always been a holiday and even Sunday meal staple. Yet they can be a hard sell, with their cabbage-y tang. One of the best recipes is Piedmontese style. It's simply boiling the sprouts and then adding melted butter (or margarine) and a healthy sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. You could also make roasted ones which caramelizes the leaves, making for a sweeter taste. Garlic can be added but just sea salt and ground pepper are the best seasonings. If the younger ones and carnivores still won't eat them, then refashion them into crunchy chips. These have the crispness of potato chips but with good for you benefits.  They can be baked with the turkey or air fried. Another idea that involves all the veggies is a sheet pan of sides. Using a big sheet pan, place the yams , potatoes and any greens, whether they be Brussels sprouts or green beans, in designated quadrants. It makes for an easy way of cooking and a novel way of serving.  A take on this idea is having just plain sides and creating different sauces for them, from a honey butter to a warm bacon vinaigrette to pour on them. This works well with holiday and Sunday dinner buffets.

Sides always complement the main course. Yet compliment them with new spins that will make them memorable.Add some zing whether in flavor or in cooking them differently.

Cooking With Alliums

Want to zing up your Saturday suppers? Or turn your blah weekday meal into something sophisticated and elevated? Then try the allium family. What or who are they? The best friends a home chef could have.

The allium family have long been beloved to chefs and cooks all over the world.The family consists of garlic, onions, scallions and leeks along with shallots and chives. People have been cooking with them since ancient times. The early Egyptians even worshipped one - garlic -place whole bulbs of them in front of King Tutankhamun, the Boy King. Onions too, have been in the kitchen for five thousand years, mainly being used in China and India. The family is a must have for eating healthy.
They can detox the body thanks to being mostly organosulfur compounds - namely sulfur which acts as an anti-inflammatory agent. This lowers the risk of cancer and protects normal cells from becoming mutant ones.Alliums are also high in glutathiones, an important nutrient that protects the body from cellular damage.it also boosts immunity and lowers the risk of heart attack. Again this also detoxifies the body, helping to lower diabetes and cancer. A weekly dose of scallions or shallots also helps in protecting the heart as well.Green onions alone can regulate blood sugar and protect from peptic ulcers thanks to inhibiting bacterial growth in the stomach's lining.


One thing about any of the alliums. They are extremely versatile in the kitchen. Onions can go into everything from tarts to salads. A fun Sunday brunch recipe is zweibelkuchen or onion pie. This Swabian recipe, usually made in the autumn but can be baked year round consists of a yeast dough topped with buttery, caramelized onions, Black Forest bacon and an eggy quiche like filling.It's usually served with grape must. For a lighter dish try a tomato , cucumber and onion salad. It's not only has flavor but also bright colors , perfect for a barbecue side dish. The flavoring is unusual, a mix of salt and sugar blended with tarragon. Another tasty side is Neopolitan bread salad, that has sliced onions sharing a bowl with tomatoes and cubes of stale Italian bread.Scallions are a healthy and refreshing way to liven up any dish. An easy one with a definite Chinese flavor is chopped scallions fried with ground beef and garlic served over a bed of rice or cellophane noodles. You can sub in soy beef crumbles for the meat for healthier fare. Add a good two cups of chopped scallions to a  pound of meat. Shallots, similar to scallions, are perfect in chicken dishes.Its' delicate flavor is perfect for poultry and even good in chicken soup.As for chives, they are any potato's mate. Try Hassleback potatoes or a liberal sprinkling on a bowl of mashed potatoes.

Alliums are a kitchen must have. They are not only good for you but good for any savory recipe. Try them in a variety of different ones this Spring season.

The Best Christmas Gifts

What does a foodie and home chef  want  for Christmas? Anything that deals with food and the kitchen. Well, I don't know about any of you out there but I got my wish in the form of a madeleine pan and n eight piece glass baking set. It has definitely set the juices flowing again.

As you can see I received the much-coveted madeleine pan. I love madeleines and have been dying to bake them for a long time. Now with a tin and working oven I am definitely going to try my hand at this. These cake-like cookies are a bit labor intensive. but worth it the work, The recipe requires melted butter to be gently folded in along with freshly grated lemon zest. Baked madeleines are then dusted with granulated sugar while still warm. There are recipes for lavender infused ones and chocolate. The first is made with lavender infused honey while the chocolate ones are more like miniature baked cakes.Once I master the original recipe I'd like to move on to the espresso ones with espresso  icing. There is even a  savory madeleine recipe that involves  Parmesan cheese and rosemary or chives. These would be perfect for a brunch or an afternoon snack, along with being a bread for salad Nicoise.

My second gift is an eight piece bake set from Anchor-Hocking. This is exciting too because there's a wide range of dishes and treats I can bake. The larger casserole dish has got me thinking and researching chili bakes, those yummy yummy combos of chili and cornbread. They're kind of like a Southwestern shepherd's pie.but with the extra zing of chili powder. There is a covered  smaller sized dish for smaller bakes , such as bread puddings or strata,I am looking forward to making pies and quiches with homemade crusts too,.I've just found an easy quiche crust recipe that calls for olive oil, flour and cold water. Another recipe I 'd love to tackle is deep dish pizza, layered with mozzarella and veggies.I could also make a childhood favorite, Crazy Crust Pizza using Bisquick. The set also comes with two ramekins for custard or possibly for melting butter or margarine in the microwave. There are all sorts of possibilities with this amazing set and I;'m looking forward to trying out  scores of great recipes.

I've got my Christmas dishes and am chomping at the bit to try them out. I can't wait to tackle the complicated but oh so delcious madeleine recipes and the other baking recipes with my new Anchor Hocking set. It's going to be a fun winter ahead, as I try all sorts of new dishes in my cozy kitchen.