A Good Christmas Meal

 For all my readers around the world here's hoping your day was as delicious as mine. There's nothing like Lidl risotto with fresh ly sauteed baby Bella's.

It's a yummy mix of mushroom and truffle risotto 

Easily sauteed baby Bella's.Yum!

it was a tasty holiday marriage

Enjoy your Christmas plates of joy and tastiness!!!

Favorite Holiday Cooks

 Every home chef has a favorite part of holiday food prep .It could be roasting a turkey or creating layers of lasagna,It could be baking batches of cookies or cutting squares of rich fudge.

Here's the question - do you like cooking savory or sweet during this holiday time. Mine is definitely savory. I love the idea of making stuffing or cooking up a good Christmas pot of risotto along with sauteing the mushrooms that go with it.

Let us know whether you're savory or sweet.

Christmas Your Way

 Many are stating home on Christmas,away from family. It's the joy of having freinds over for good food and fun presents.It's also a chance to get away from traditional dinners. People are serving what they like and not' what's dictated by decades of tradition. eat what you like. It's a feast to celebrate but it's your feast too.

One aspect of celebrating Christmas your way is breaking free of recipes you may not like. For many it's home made pasta with sauce instead of the usual ham or turkey. This is perfect for those who love cacio e pepe or even an Alfredo, with creamy white sauce. Another festive holiday dish is risotto Milanese or any risotto for that matter. This is the perfect celebratory dinner for two or even three. Add a good bottle of wine and enjoy. Keep in mind that you can also make a smaller version of the traditional holiday meal. You can get a turkey breast at any grocery like Acme or Stop and Shop. As for gravy and stuffing go for the best- LIdl. Their cornbread stuffing and turkey gravy are the best, very flavorful and just easy to make. Just have a slice vegetable if you want.. I went with Lidl;s  potato and squash puree. I'm having a small vegan Christmas with Gardein;'s turkey slices which are easy to air fry. Vegans can also have their own holiday away from me at loving relatives. Garden and Tofurkey offer small roasts that can be roasted in around an hour and a half. They come with their own wild rice stuffing and gravy . This is perfect for two and their might even be leftovers.

What about desserts? The good thing about Christmas your way is desserts your way. Don;t make the traditional trifle if you';re not into it. Buy a fancy ice cream loaf - my way of celebrating. Again this is a fancy, lacy looking ice cream log, full of , chocolate bourbon and vanilla. There is no way I could duplicate this dreamy sweet. It's perfect for two and a bit nontraditional  for Christmas sinc it is a cold dessert.. As for cookies again, don;t bake if you have to. All stores have trays of them and you can get a smaller one. If you just fancy fruit, then go for it. Nothing beats a  light dish of different fruit after a heavy meal. Pears and apples are still big right now. have a plate with sliced pieces . You can also do a quick poached pear . Add a sweet red wine to them and maybe a dab of butter.it just takes a few minutes and then they're done. Of course if you want to spend the night gorging on Christmas candy , then do so. Also break open the champagne. Drink your way  too. Pop open a bottle of bubbly or chill in front of a fire with a hot toddy or mulled wine.It's your celebration.

Do Christmas your way if you don;t want to celebrate it with family. eat what you want. Drink what you want. Make it a day to celebrate the Lord in the way you want.

Polenta, Pasta or Risotto What's Your Choice

 What is a nice accompaniment to a tomato sauce or grilled chicken ro steak? Do you go for a side or base of  polenta, pasta or risotto? or do you eat these on their own? What works best with various sauces and sides?

Out of all three polenta is the most versatile. The ground corn meal can be perfect on its' own, as a base or gracing a plate as a side.It can be labor intensive if you want to cook it.It does require a lot of stirring after a basic mixing of finely ground cornmeal, water and salt.It can also be lumpy however the best way to beat this is to pulverize the meal before cooking.An easier method  would be buying the already made polenta logs and grilling them until they're crispy and golden yellow. A simple cacciatore sauce with chicken is the best main dish with it. The thin tomato sauce works well with the polenta. Another good sauce is a simple mushroom and spinach one. This is an easy make with simply sauteing spinach with baby bellas in a mix of garlic olive oil and butter. Can you serve polenta with grilled or roasted meats. Only if there's a sauce. On it's own , without any sauce ro even butter and cheese polenta can be somewhat dry. There should be some kind of sauce there.

If you want to serve a good side with steaks or chicken then think either pasta or polenta. Pasta can accompany  achicken in the form of noodles. Again with any kind of sauce it's a great side. You can even cut up a rotisserie chicken or a flank steak and add it to a tomato or spinach  sauce to make a heartier dish.Any kind of pasta is good on its' own. Just add butter or to make it more flavorful cook it in the broth of your choice. Unlike polenta there are so many different types that work well with any type of ingredient.  Penn can work with a chunky tomato sauce while linguine is perfect  as a base for clams or chicken cutlets. Risotto is a diffrent matter.Risotto is a phenomenal , especially the saffron infused risotto Milanese. This is perfect as a main course or as a side with any protein form lamb chops to shrimp. A plus about this addition is, like pasta, anything can be added to it while cooking. The miost popular add ins are mushrooms and asaparagus. You can also mix in chopped tomatoes too along with a variety of cheeses.

What's the most versatile and best? Use polenta for sauces. Try pasta as a side and use risotto as a main dish. 

The Next Food Destination Paterson NJ

 Could paterson , new Jersey be the next foodie destination, Surprisinglly this gritty industrrial town could be on everyone's list to visit int e next few years.It has a thriving immigrant community and with that a thriving food scene. You can find everything from Caribbean pupusas to Turkish piti there. 

Paterson has always been a factory town ever since Alexander Hamilton (yes , that  Alexander Hamilton) showed George Washington the majestic falls known as the Great Falls. It was in 1792 that Hamilton wanted to turn the area into the next Manchester England, an industrial city filled with mills and factories. He succeeded and within a century it became a major US manufacturing city. with it came the first immigrants, namely Irish. However the Piedmontese came from Northeastern Italy to run the silk mills, hence the city's nickname Silk City, They brought such good food as bagna calda , fritto misto and risotto. The Syrians, also skilled in silk making followed and they brought dishes like kibbeh, and the now popular breakfast dish  shakshuka. African -Americans migrated from the South in the Sixties and Seventies and brought with them such tasty dishes as fried chicken and collard greens. The recent wave of South Americans brought a tropical flavor to the city , with such dishes as plantanos and mofungo. 

If you go to Paterson (and it's a quick hop from Manhattan) there are several restaurants to try.Patsy's is one of the oldest , first serving customers in 1931. Their pizzas are legendary and have a huge fan base.. They also have arancini, Sicilian rice balls and clams oreganata that are amazing It's right off Route 20 and is easy to get to. The city has a relatively large Middle Eastern population. There are several places to get sharma and za'atar along with Turkish pizza  or pide This is a long flat bread filled with everything from pastrami to veggies.Pide 28 is one of the best and one of my favorites. I do like their tomato and mozzarella pide but the pastrami one is beyond tasty.Every bite is a mouthful of delicious spiced beef. It's across from another great place Nablus Sweets Bakery. Here you can try all sorts of yummy sweets like knafa, a kind of Middle Eastern cheesecake. The classic Bonfire Restaurant , a paterson staple for decades has reinvented itself. It now serves every kind of mofungo, from the traditional pork infused  to ones full of lobster or goat stew.

Few cities in New Jersey have a multicultural culinary scene like Paterson. Visit it for the history but definitely stay for the food. You'll find a rich and varied menu.

A Chef's Kiss

 What happens when a restaurant loses a master chef? It continues as best it can. The recipes carry on despite  them not being as good as the original.

I feel that way with my Mom whose birthday is today. She would have been 101  - a great age.Her years with us were  very  great learning periods.Her imprint is felt in our cooking  and baking today. She was always a big one for mixing olive oil and butter to temper the oil. It's almost a knee jerk reaction to add a knob or two of Melt plant butter (what would she have thougth of that - maybe she would have liked it). Combining the two also gives sauteed and fried dishes a better flavor along with some body. Mom also cooked rice in vegetable broth which makes for a perfect quick lunch or weekend supper, but also a good base for ratatouille.Her risotto was amazing too and her patieince in creating this tempermental dish was also nothing short of amazing either. Both it and her other signature dish polenta (which she grew up on thanks to my Piedmontese grandmother) require constant stirring. That takes a  great amount of patience especially during warm weather. Yet the end result is worth it as she always proclaimed.

My Mom also passed down her love of culinary travel and boldness in making dishes from other cuisines. We were the first family on the block to have tacos for dinner. She was the first to have a wok.One of her all time favorite dishes , the Szechuan ants climbing a tree is still made. It's what connects me to her. I've tweaked it and made it vegan , using plant based beef crumbles instead of the real thing.Her culinary sense of adventure made me try Ethiopian lentil and tomato stew with Berbere spices.I try to step put of the box as I test out new recipes or vegan versions of traditional ones. Would she have like the fact that everyone uses the internet instead of traditional cookbooks nowadays? That's a good question. It is easy to get any kind of recipe yet there is something about reading a cookbook cover to cover. You do learn about the recipes better instead of a quick glance before combining ingredients. She loved to pore over the glossy photographs and imagine that's what her rendition would look like. There's also something about a cookbook with stained pages and tweaks pencilled written in.

It's hard when a master chef leaves. Yet the restaurant goes on. The food may not be the same but the love and sense of love for food still exists.

Relying On Tradition

 The holidays teach us one thing - to rely on tradition.It's what guides us through celebrations and holy days. This also includes time homored recipes used in many an Easter or Passover meal.

This was on my mind as I bought spaetzle and risotto at Aldi's today. It's a Swabian German custom to have noodles and eggs on Good Friday, one of the holiest and most somber days of the Christian calendar. I'm taking a family tradition and updating it by subbing in the spaeztle for egg noodles. (although I suspect the original dish used them.) It's served with a side of sliced peaches as all German dishes have some kind of fruit incorporated in the dish.As for Easter it's a new tradition of risotto and fresh asparagus This replaces the old one of again the Swabian influenced ham served with beans and potato salad. I've made this every year for the past few years. Yes, I'll bake the Easter lamb cake  , following in my Mom's step. I'll mix in the Dream Whip  as she did for a denser, richer cake, but add my own spins. There willbe Just Egg instead of real eggs, almond milk instead of cow's. The icing will have vegetable shortening like hers in it to give it the perfect texture for the crumb coat and rosettes.I may give it a dash of either lemon or grapefruit juice just to zing it up.

Others are also relying on family recipes. Many will be observing Passover starting April 5th. There will be variations on moms' and grandmothers' brisket recipes.  Home chefs may add cayenne pepper for some spike and heat.Others will try a brown sugar rub that gives the surface a crackly crust.. Tzimmes, the carrot and stewed prune side dish is always served  but the family recipe will get some new ingredients.It could be lemon or lime juice to cut all that sweetness or maybe star anise .Kugel that Passover staple may be savory on a few tables this year.It's suually a sweet dish but there are several savory ones that feature spinach and mushrooms. Easter is usually ham or lamb. A few home chefs are eager to try Eric Kim's pineapple ham featured in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. This is like a retro dish from the Fifties, complete with golden pineapple rings. The glaze is made with Dijon mustard ,brown sugar and fresh juice from both pineapples and lemons. Some may use their granny's recipe and add a ginger ale based glaze on it. as for th elamb, it's usually baked with rosemary sprigs.and fresh lemon juice. There will be updating with an olive oil rub or the addition of red wine vinegar.

Tradition guides us.it guides our cooking.It gives the template for traditionak dishes that can be given new spins and updates.

New Year New Treats

 How better than to start a New Year than with new and fun recipes. You don't have to look far. It's right at your fingertips .

Yesterday's New York Times Food section had some great ideas for parties and the morning after  for this weekend.One of the highlights and it should be the highlight of  any New Year's dessert table is the Paris Brest- Claire Saffitz a regular contributor and author of may a baking cookbook gave the recipe. This is a grand choux pastry filled with a complicated pudding like creme of hazelnuts  almond butter , vanilla, eggs milk and butter. The sweet was created in honor fo the famed Paris-Brest bike race back in 1910 by Louis Durand.It's a spectacular choux pastry cake which is both light and filling along with being an elegant end . Serve it after a dinner of lobster, oysters and filet mignon.It will require a lot of work which should begin on New Year's Eve. For something a little less intensive J Kenji Lopex-Alt goes the Nigella Lawson route  wiht a comforting  and simple chestnut risotto followed by gaily colored cream cheese pound cake.The rice is topped with cremini mushrooms and cut onions and celery.Arborio or carnaroli rice is cooked with chestnuts and white miso. Sour cream is surprisingly added as a topping. dessert is moist pound cake topped with raspberry preserves and whipped cream. Freeze dried raspberries give the bright pop of color.

There's even a dish for the day after. start 2023 with Melissa Clark's mushroom butternut squash strata. Squash seems like an unusual ingredient to add to a breakfast dish , usually laden with bacon toast, eggs and cheese. Yet it works. She also adds a mix of different muishrooms such as cremini, white shiitake and oyster cut into chunks along with one and three quarter pounds of butternut squash (this has a lovely sweet flavor.)There are also eight large eggs for richness as well as  three quarters of a cup of heavy cream or two and three quarters cups of  half and half . Shallots and sage give it a burst of green along with flavor.Yes there is a cheese. Ms Calrk adds in three quarters of a cup fo Parmesan and two cups of shreded mozzarella. There is no meat in this. You can add red pepper flakes for some bite.Stratas require bread and there is a  cubed French bagutte , added for testure and flavor. The mushrooms, and shallots are cooked first . The liquids are mixed together  with the veggies being added to it. The last is the bread cubes and the whole batter is poured into a prepared pan to be baked at 350 degrees Farenheit for an hour. It's then set under the broiler for a few minutes for a crispy top,

Start 2023 with new recipes. They could be for an elegant dinner , a cozy supper or a restorative brunch. All are perfect with their flavors.

Food And War

 War affects how countries eat. Moatly, as seen recently in Ukraine, cause shortage and starvation.Yet the one good thing about conflict is that it introoduces service people to other cultures . Despite the harshness and scariness it does bring people together. Mostly that occurs in eating. There's something communal in sharing.

It's the American conflicts that have created firsts. The Revolutionary War was the first to introuce rations for its' troops. Thanks to the Continental Congress of 1773 colonial fighters were able to receive a pound of beef, and half a pound of pork or salted fish a week. There were also three pints of bean or peas along with a pint of rice or meal a week too. They also got flour or hard bread along with cider or beer. Everything was salted for preservation. As for veggies, onions and turnips which were easy to carry and cook also were part of their diet.Vinegar was later added to prevent scurvy. Did these men bring their wives' and mothers' recipes with them. Probably. Did they swap them? Most likely , being the first to expand the American palate. The Civil War saw canned foods on the troops' menu . Condensed milk, pork and beans were fed to the Union troops.Cattle also moved with the men, being slaughtered for the only fresh food. There was chicken fricasee if they could gert their hands on poultry and Union forces also made mushroom ketchup by boiling mushrooms. They may have brought the recipe home. There were also Cornish game hens and ham and beans stew to eat .

It;s the Twentieth Century wars, however that created the modern American cuisine that we know.The Spanish American War saw troops being deployed to the Phillipines and Puerto Rico. These troops may have tried some fo the native foods like curries from the first and mofongo from the second. The First World War saw Americans going off to fronts in France ,Italy and Germany. Some may have tasted the dishes there and brought dishes such as duck stew, risotto and wursts.(althought they could easily get some variation of these in immigrant communities back in the States). Yet it was the Second World War that brought more recipes to the American table. GIs stationed around Naples brought home pizza , loving it so much that it became part of the American diet from Maine to California. This also happened with lasagna too, with servicemen bringing home recipes that they got form the Southern Italian villagers they protected. It happened with Japanese food, especially during the Korean War when servicemen spent their R&R in Tokyo.Japanese restaurants grew in popularity after that. Recent wars like the Vietnamese Conflict along with the Gulf and Afghani wars saw refugees brining their dishes to the US.

War is hell. Yet it does bring about innovations and exploration into different cultures. it shows in our many different dishes brought about by conflict.

A Homemade Christmas

 A Good Christmas to all my readers worldwide. I had a very Aldi Christmas Eve with making their Priano Mushroom Risotto which was delicious. Here are their sugar cookies, which were supposed to be drizzle ones. They look more like what came out of the reindeer after a bad stomach ache.

It was melting Nestle's chips and drizzling them over the cookies. However there was too much chocolate. still they tasted pretty good.

Enjoy your cookies, whether homemade or not !!!!

A Good Old Fashioned Sunday Meal

Is it still possible to carry on with traditional cooking during these times. Yes. You can put a relatively traditional Sunday dinner on the table. It does take planning and smart shopping yet worth it. Nothing is as calming as a proper meal together.

It may be hard to get some main course meats, thanks to meat  processing plants being rife with Coronavirus breakouts .Many poultry plants have closed throughout the US and production is down twenty-five percent throughout all plants that even process beef and pork. Now the best bet is to do what our grandparents and great-grandparents did  - buy locally sourced meat at local farms. If you're wondering where to go , visit the website Eatwild.com and click on your state. The site will give you the names and directions of farms near you where you can get the main course for your Sunday meal. If the farms are too far away, there is always the vegan alternative. Gardein has excellent turkey cutlets that taste like the real thing. The plus comes with a sage infused gravy that's heated and poured over the cutlets later.Beyond Meat has a kind of chopped meat called Beyond Beef that could be fashioned into a Beef Wellington. Add a mushroom gravy to it for extra flavor. Another vegan idea is a plain risotto that can be flavored with anything from chopped veggies, saffron or just butter and Parmesan.

As for sides, these are a little easier to find and cook. Asparagus is a Spring staple right now and it is the perfect accompaniment. You can grill it for a smoky, sweet flavor or just boil it for a few minutes for a fresh green taste. Then there's the sauce . You could do just a simple melted butter with sliced hard boiled eggs and Parmesan cheese on top of the stalks.  A lusher sauce is Hollandaise. This easy to make one is simply a combination of egg yolks or yolk substitute. melted butter, lemon juice and Dijon mustard. It elevates the asparagus to a sophisticated level. If you're into foraging then think about a dish of wild ramps. This is an onion , grown in the wild and has the tangy taste of shallots and garlic combined. They are best grilled with only olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Ramps can be added to risotto for a different kind of side dish.A light dish is a salad made of grilled peppers. Different colored bell peppers can be grilled and dressed with a garlicky balsamic dressing. Another lovely Sunday side dish is tomatoes Provencale, sliced tomatoes topped with breadcrumbs and sauteed in a garlic infused butter and oil sauce.

These times call for tradition and comfort. A Sunday dinner is just that. Create a sit down meal that's a bit more elevated than the average one.

Change Bites For The Better

We all hate change, especially when it comes to eating. Yet,a  new book can show us that a change to a healthy diet and eating habits  too.Not only will you feel better but any health problems may disappear as well.

Marissa S. Costonis H. C. is the author of Change Bites 5 Change Management Strategies To Change Your Life, (Marissa S.Costonis. Publishing 2018) is the perfect book and holiday gift for those wanting to eat healthier. Ms. Costonis was actually a change management consultant and she brings that philosophy to it.She also includes her own story , and her problems,now gone thanks to giving up gluten and lactose. There are also other people'stories, lives changed thanks to cutting out and replacing. One of the best aspects of the book is the info the readers writes in to the appropriated pages. There are pages  for the reader's health story, their personal vision activity, along with a personal health  page. Readers can also record lists of the food they're eating, and how they can change it to make it healthy. Dieters can also write down the barriers (family, cooking time and shopping) and how they can over come them. There are the five bites themselves - envision health,prepare,commit ,own it and reinvent health. She even recommends readers to change up their grooming and cleaning habits bu using paraben free and all natural products.

This is not a book of recipes. Readers are encouraged to become creative and whip  up new dishes. She does suggest throwing out all the bad foods, like cookies , bread and candy - the usual suspects. Ms. Costonis does provide a "personal best" list that not only are good for you, they can also help you. Readers can  write in either a one for the foods to be tried in the future and two for the foods eaten now. This is a good nudge for those who want to shop and cook healthier.It'll get readers going about what they want to try. There are suggestions instead of recipes. These are  a simple stir fry along with a Mexican fiesta which can include a taco, burrito or bowl. Readers can also experiment with an easy frittata or veggie  soup along with a flexi veggie pasta. Rice lovers will  like the risotto along with the grain and veggie bowl suggestions.Ms. Costonis also includes the fun lettuce wraps and the great way to use up leftovers - the kitchen sink salad. It ends with red and white chili.Anyone can follow these and make them for an enjoyable lunch or dinner.

Change Bites 5 Change Management  Strategies To Change Your Life  is a must have book.It can help you get through the hardest aspect of life - change. You'll eat better and feel better too.

Starring Veggies

It is hard to be a chef in a vegetarian house. You have to be both creative and thoughtful  since there is no m eat as the main course. What takes over? The designated veggie. It s possible to have a rounded dinner or even holiday meal where veggies shine.

Most vegetarian and vegan home chefs usually fall back on tofu. There's Gardien and Morningstar Farms to give a sub in for the real thing. However , as any vegan home chef will tell you, these products get old quick.Gardien does have some delicious meat alternatives like   their burgers and beef tips, yet most of their products come with  accompanying sauces. These are only teriyaki and Mandarin sauce and there's not much to do with them ,other than serve them with broccoli and rice.Also many stores (such as mine) don't carry the full line so I'm stuck with making the same three or four dishes almost every day.Morningstar Farms is the same. Their soy beef crumbles are versatile ,I've put them in homemade tomato sauce, chili and some thrown together Chinese influenced  stir fries. Yet that's it. Pasta every day is not good.Again it gets old real quick. To vary my menu as well as adding color to  dishes I've  decided to have three different veggies each prepared different ways. One it get us out of the culinary doldrums, two, an all veggie meal means more nutrition and lower calories and three, it's a great way to enjoy a harvest of various flavors and textures. The key aspect to remember is use spices along with vegan butter and olive oil to create interesting main and side dishes.

One veggie that is recapturing the nation's attention is eggplant. It's not being turned in oil sodden Parmesan style but robust grill worthy steaks. These will definitely be the main course and they're easy to make..It's taking one eggplant and cutting it lengthwise into three planks or steaks. Drizzle olive oil and add dashes of sea salt and pepper. Just grill for four minutes on each side. You can also broil them for a couple of minutes too.What is great about eggplant is that's its a sponge. Marinate it however way you like and the marinade's flavor will soak in, creating a rich flavor. Spiralized zucchini is another good choice. Zoodles, as they're commonly called are easy to make along with being made by Birdseye . They are great just sauteed with butter and garlic. Since the veggie is heavily water laden, you don;t have to worry about the sauce. The water is cooked out and blends nicely with the oil and butter. You can sprinkle on some vegan Parmesan cheese for a pasta vibe. Cauliflower has become a main star thanks to the many ways to cook it. It's now a main dish as "risotto'. It has the same ingredients as a regular risotto, with white wine and sauteed onions. One dish on my radar is cauliflower risotto Milanese , the elegant Lombard dish made with saffron.

Let the veggies be the star of the dinner show. Get creative as you turn them into main dishes. They'll add color and zing to the meal.

Eating Clean

The holidays mean rich and fatty foods. There will be more drinking and feasting of fat laden snacks and sugary treats. It can do a number on the stomach - not to mention the liver and pancreas. The best way to combat this is clean eating. Think simple and nutritious as opposed to decadent and opulent.

Breakfast is a good meal to start clean eating. A simple bowl of oatmeal is always filling and welcome on a hot morning. The same goes for farina. Save the fancy Eggs Benedict or cream cheese stuffed French toast for Christmas or New Year's Day mornings. Citrus is in season too, Think about starting the day with a juicy orange , grapefruit or pomelo. This last is a Chinese grapefruit about the size of a small bowling ball and it is chock full of Vitamin C. It also makes a good snack during the day and can be used even in salads and dressings. A refreshing winter breakfast is a fruit salad, made with apples, pears and any of the citrus fruits out now. Serve it with a soothing, detoxing tea such as chamomile or peppermint. If you can, try to avoid anything  that's loaded with caffeine. It will just dry you out, leaving you thirsty all day.Another good breakfast drink is fresh juice.Use your juicer to create tasty apple and orange juices. More refreshing and more natural than the store bought kinds.If you have to buy juice, go with the Simply Orange and Simply Apple. Theirs is the most purest.

Lunch and dinner should be just as simple and clean. One of the best lunches or dinners is the Mann's Nourish Bowl. Think a hot salad, chock full of tasty veggies, risotto, or cheese topped with  sauce. I love these, They are delicious, filling, and only three hundred calories at the most.Their Montery Risotto bowl is a flavorful and satisfying blend of kale, kohlrabi and butternut squash married to risotto, topped with a creamy roasted garlic sauce. Any of these can be served with a simple steak, chicken breast or fish filet. Another idea is a simple vegan meal of beans for protein and one or two greens such as kale or spinach. Salads are a great way of eating healthy. Keep away from the creamy dressings and extras such as bacon bits and sugared nuts. Have a simple one with a plain vinaigrette full of spinach and tomatoes . For color add cauliflower, carrots and red, green and yellow bell pepper  strips. If you want texture and crunch, go for a bowl of  plain almonds. They're high in zinc and potassium along with Vitamin E.  Snacks and holiday cookies are also drenched in fat and calories. Same thing with those potato chips and dip. Go with Melba toast along with almonds. Both satisfy that need to crunch. Have a plate of  fruit, especially tangerines, for those sweet cravings

Eating clean will help get rid of that holiday bloat. Stick to nutritious vegetables and fruits along with lean meats They make for a healthy diet that will definitely get you through the lush season of eating and drinking.

Quick Dinners

There are those days when we come home too hungry to cook. It's usually after a hectic work day, or a day full of chores or activities. What to do - act quick. You can have meals that are easy and fast  to make.

The most obvious answer to a  quickly had meals would be take out. Unfortunately, there is a wait time for pizza and Chinese, unless you call from the office and car. Even then, there's some kind of prep and cooking time , especially if the restaurant is having a busy night. There is also the fast food joints, but again there are lines , and the off chance of having a very greasy supper. The best bet is stocking your fridge and pantry with ingredients that cook up quickly. One of my favorites is instant rice. Boil it with any kind of bouillon - beef, chicken or vegetable, add some butter and even a sprinkled of Parmesan and you have a kind of poor man's  risotto. Pasta, too , is a quick make. Again add butter for pasta con burro or minced garlic and oil for aglia e olio. Fresh veggies can be also be mixed in for a pasta crudo. Even jsliced grape or cherry tomatoes mixed with vine ripes make for  an interesting "raw" sauce.

If you want something more substantial, then get out the frying pan.One of my favorites is an easy spin on beef with scallions. It's sauteing soy meat  crumbles (Morningstar Farms has the best) and chopped scallions. A slug of Kikoman soy sauce adds flavor and zest. As this is cooking, cellophane noodles are being boiled  and are then mixed with the meat . Real beef and chicken can be subbed in for a more substantial dinner. Another quick meal is a one egg frittata or omelet. These are wonderful because you can add all sorts of extras in them to make them more satisfying. Chop up ham and American cheese  for a Western Omelet, Serve it on toast for a sandwich.Think a fritatta zinged up with chopped vine ripe tomatoes and Parmesan cheese for an Italian spin . Have slices of toasted Italian bread with it for a heartier meal. Italian bread can also be the base for bruschetta. The tomatoes can be made the night before or earlier in the day. It requires the plum variety but vine ripes work well here too. It's then mixing in oil, balsamic vinegar and basil  together to be spooned on slices of Italian bread or even sliced ciabatta rolls for a speedy and delicious dinner.Add minced Italian cold cuts such as pepperoni or soppressata for more substance.


A quick dinner can be made , without having to resort to take out or drive through. Cook up some rice or pasta, Create a tasty Chinese beef or omelet. Enjoy a frittata or bruschetta in minutes. These are easy meals, perfect after a busy , hectic day.

Pumpkin Goodness

It may be too early in the year to even mention pumpkins but there is a fun new cookbook that celebrates the gourd. After all, pumpkin is not just a fall October thing.It can be eaten all year round in a variety of yummy savory and sweet recipes

Pumpkin It Up (Gibbs Smith Press)written by Eliza Cross, a well known cookbook writer, is a cookbook that celebrates all things. pumpkin. (Keep in mind that this time of year is the perfect time to plant pumpkin seeds if you want homegrown organic pumpkins in the fall).She breaks the myth of cooking the gourd in the autumn months. The dishes can be made now for any summer feasting.The chapters include basic recipes,beverages and sweets along with muffin and breads.There are also savory recipes as seen in the chapters devoted to soups and stews, sides dishes and dinners. There is even one featuring pumpkin breakfast recipes. Of course there is a chapter on dessert along with one on cookies and bars. Ms. Cross also has two pages on hints as well. They are good, especially the ones advising  when it comes to picking ones from the patch . She writes that it's best to pick out the smaller ones for making pie because they're sweeter and have a smoother texture than the ones used for carving jack-o-lanterns.Also use an ice cream scoop, a serrated grapefruit knife or a melon baller .when scooping out the flesh. One important hint is discerning between pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie filling. The last already has spices in it and could ruin a savory dish if used.Another good fact to know is that the puree freezes well and can last up to nine months in the freezer .

The recipes are varied with a mix of the familiar and the fun. Starbucks lovers will go made for pumpkin spice latte, true to the name thanks to the addition of a cup of pumpkin puree.A perfect beverage for even cool summer nights is the pumpkin spiced cider.Imagine have the healthy gourd for breakfast. You can, thanks to recipes like pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin waffles along with a Dutch  baby, that big pancake from Holland, made delicious with pumpkin and walnut. The savory recipes include the trendy but easy to make pumpkin ravioli along with pumpkin risotto, a mix of Arborio rice, sugar pumpkins and button mushrooms. Due to the squash's mildness it is excellent paired with different meats.It can be paired with turkey for an enchiladas or with chicken and apples for a spin on chicken Kiev.Pumpkins can be used as a side as for fries or baked with Brussells sprouts.It puts a different twist on the traditional fave baked mac and cheese..Of course pumpkin shines in pie and the book has three recipes: the traditional holiday one, but also a chiffon one and a pumpkin cream pie. Then there are the non traditional  ones like the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin tiramisu. Try the pumpkin holes or monkey bread, both livened up by pureed pumpkin. There are the tasty crispies a kind of sweet pumpkin fritter. Candy lovers will lose their gourd over the pumpkin fudge and a spin on Reese's peanut butter cups - with creamy pumpkin filling poured into chocolate cups.

Pumpkin It Up is a great cookbook for pumpkin lovers and for those wanting more nutrition in their lives. It shows that pumpkin is not just for lattes and pies but can be made into tasty pastas and rices along with candy .The cookbook is a true salute to a humble gourd.

The  book comes out in August but you can preorder on Amazon now,

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Risotto Cakes A Spin On The Classic

Risotto is always a good dish to make. Arborio rice goes well with almost any ingredient from tomato to saffron.As versatile as it is ,it becomes even more so with twisting it into a new idea. Risotto cakes are a different way of serving this Northern Italian classic. They can be made into holiday hors d'ouevres or a light lunch or supper.

Dsvid Tanis wrote about these gems in his A CIty Kitchen column in Wednesday;s New York Times Dining section. He adds the earthy fall flavor of butternut squash for both taste and body. Cheeses such as the Northern Italian classic Fontina and Parmesan are also added for binding.It is then lightly fried in oil after a thin coating of just flour and egg. Mr. Tanis also suggests bread crumbs which give the cakes more of a crunch. For this , try ground up French or Italian bread for added flavor.

There are other risotto cake recipes out there as well.Sandra Lee gives a pretty simple one that would make for great Christmas party appetizers. Hers are a simple blend of  leftover rice, Parmesan cheese and roasted garlic.They're shaped into walnut sized balls  and then fried.Risotto cakes can also be stuffed.You can try a smoky mozzarella or even a minced portobello stuffing. For parties you can try a marinella sauce Ora saffron infused mayo based one.Another party trick is wrapped a thin piece of prosciutto around them to serve to guests. Risotto cakes are a great way of using left over arborio rice.They also make for a delicious light lunch or supper or a perfect party appetizer. Try them this way to appreciate risotto even more.

A Sweet Summer Sherry

Summer is the time for seafood followed by an amazing white wine.Yet why not add a different twist and go with sherry. It's the perfect compliment to shellfish and fish and the way to do it is with a rich , sweet sherry . Seafood calls for a sweet, earthy accompanyment and that  fits the bill.

Eric Asimov explored Spanish sherries during a trip to Iberia  in his Pour column in New York Times Dining the other day. Sherry was created here  in the town of Jerez(hence the name). Although it does have old fashioned connotations the drink is a wine,being the ideal mate to any grilled meat.Most people usually have a  small glass of either fino or manzanilla in a cocktail as a before dinner aperitif. Sherry manufacturers such as Eduardo Ojeda of the Grupo Estevez wants a new generation to appreciate sherry and see it as the wine it is.

That said, beginners should look for sherries that have a rich amber color , almost a smoky caramel hue,It should be bone dry  and have a nutty taste like almonds. A good sherry should be smooth going down and should highlight the taste of  any meal from roast boar (a popular go with in  Iberia) or risotto.The best usually cost between $35 and $150  and of the more famous brands is Barbadillo.Affectionados also like El Maestro Sierra , Emilio Hidalgo and Valdespino. For your seafood dinner try something that is sec and will compliment anything from lobster to grilled shrimp.

Summer seafood is delicious. Bring out its' briny taste with a good sherry There are many to choose from  and any will be good as a compliment to the season's catch of the day.

Saffron The Delicate Spice

Nothing gives flavor, substance and color like saffron. It's the most delicate of all the spices yet it can transform simple dishes into gourmet treats. Even though it is one of the most expensive flavorings, the price is well worth it. Its' mellow taste and golden color is worth a million bucks and really, no other spice is comparable to it.


Saffron 's history starts off 3,500 years ago. Cooks first noticed that crocuses produced stigmas coated in a flavorful pollen. It was a staple in many Bronze Age Greek dishes as well as being a dye and a medicine during that time It was so populat that even. Ovid mentioned it in his Metamorphosis. Other ancient cultures used it in their cooking and for therapy as well. Saffron became the gold of spices during the Middle Ages and was also thought of as such, centuries later, in the American colonies. Even the Pennsylvania Dutch had an offshoot sect where the worshippers put saffron on a pedestal, using it in many trout, cake, chicken and noodle dishes.


The best known saffron recipe today is risotto Milanese. This is where alborio rice is cooked with onion and chicken stock. A generous amount of saffron threads and butter are later added to produce the most heavenly dish on earth. I love this form of risot (as we call it). Actually it tastes better reheated with more butter. There's something in the reheating that brings out the true flavor of this spice. Saffron can be used in other rice dishes such as paella. The English were famous for making saffron buns which are a nice treat if you're having a formal tea. You can add it to any chicken or fish dish for flavor and color.

The one spice to add to your spice rack is saffron. Never be without it. It adds to so many different dishes, transforming ordinary dishes into gourmet fare. it is just pure magic!!!