Recipe Index (by Ingredients)

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Recipes that include olive oil

Kale Salad with Grapes and Toasted Hazelnuts

Monday, October 21, 2013

For my mom’s birthday (in September), we threw a casual dinner party and had family over. It’s my mom’s ideal way to celebrate. She’s the biggest fan of my cooking (maybe tied with Lon) and I know what she likes which makes it easy to impress her. We started with pizza as an appetizer, topped with crumbled sausage and green peppers. The main course was bouillabaisse served with fresh baked crusty bread. There was a side of Balsamic Drenched Portobellos, a safe winner that I’ve made for my mom so many times. And, the salad stole the night! I made the most gigantic bowl of Kale Salad with Grapes and Toasted Hazelnuts, a combination I dreamed up just that day, and it was devoured. Everyone raved! Even my dad, a no-veggies kind of guy (especially salad) took seconds. Even as dessert, a Peaches ‘N Cream Pie, was served, the last few bites of kale salad were being polished off.

Kale Salad with Grapes and Hazelnuts (title pic)

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Making Olive Chicken Thighs with Chef Tim Love

Thursday, February 21, 2013

I could get used to this…

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Chorizo and Butternut Squash Hash

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

I’m really into roasting potatoes with some fennel and sweet bell peppers and when I’m not serving vegetarians, little bits of ham or some bacon can add some smoky saltiness. Then one day, I wanted to turn that side dish into more of a meal. I crumbled some sausage in instead of the ham/bacon and threw an egg on top. Last weekend, my cousins came over and I mentally prepared to make that dish but when I started prepping, I realized we were out of potatoes. I dug through my fridge and thought maybe butternut squash would work. It did! The added sweetness counters the saltiness of the meat perfectly and the pop of orange color makes the whole dish so vibrant. I now wanted to write a recipe and post it so badly. I had more of all the ingredients except for the Italian sausage. That’s when another swap happened. This time I tried it with chorizo.

IMG_2861

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Kale Caesar Salad with Whole Wheat Croutons

Saturday, March 17, 2012

My friend Angie introduced me to Emporio 231 Mott Street, New York, NY 10013. Very good Italian food and the price is great if you book through Savored (invite link). When a couple of us gathered there for a girls’ night out, we were seated when Angie said, “you have to try the Kale Salad!” Of course, we all loved it–Angie is a taste bud.  On the menu, they call it Cavolo Nero which just means black leaf kale, the type they use. What they don’t say or write is that it was essentially a Caesar Salad made with kale instead of romaine lettuce. I immediately thought to myself: I’ll make this for the girls next time they come over. I did and they all approved of this recipe 100%. What I consider 8 to 10 servings was gobbled up by six people.

As if great-taste is not valuable enough as a salad characteristic, this salad also offers a unique trait in that it can (and should) be dressed ahead of time! Usually you can’t dress a salad and let it sit, all the greens will wilt and it will look oh-so sad. Not this one, the kale will maintain its curly leaves and fluffy look. (Now, if only my hair could.)

Kale Caesar Salad

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Fresh Peas with Mint

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Finally! We moved, but it’s not all smooth sailing yet. We’re living out of boxes and we don’t have a kitchen yet. While our perfect kitchen is being built (which we will be talking about soon), I’m going to have to get crafty. I do have many plug-in appliances (rice cooker, toaster oven, panini press, waffle maker, microwave, etc.) so we’re still going to have a ball here. I think we’re going to be pleasantly surprised with how much I (or you) can do without a kitchen. (Gulp) Determined to eat well every single day without exceptions, here goes…

I get the favorites questions a lot. What’s your favorite restaurant? What’s your favorite dish to make? What’s your favorite cuisine? I simply can’t answer a question like that. It’s like choosing a favorite child. After being asked this question for the billionth time, I sat deep in thought, on the train, trying to drown out the sounds of the obnoxious guy playing music on his ipod. (Dude, it’s called headphones!) Could I pick a favorite if I really tried?

With serious effort, I still could not. Instead, I realized that I could categorize all foods into three categories (I think). Let’s say roughly 40% fall into favorites, 10% into not-so-favorite, and 50% into that middle ground. Notice that I don’t have dislikes because I really don’t. I eat everything that is considered real food and though there are a few things that I don’t order myself, I still take a bite if Lon has it on his plate.

Fresh Pea Salad in a spoon 12

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Octopus with Paprika and The Book of Tapas Give-Away

Monday, May 24, 2010

Finally! We moved, but it’s not all smooth sailing yet. We’re living out of boxes and we don’t have a kitchen yet. While our perfect kitchen is being built (which we will be talking about soon), I’m going to have to get crafty. I do have many plug-in appliances (rice cooker, toaster oven, panini press, waffle maker, microwave, etc.) so we’re still going to have a ball here. I think we’re going to be pleasantly surprised with how much I (or you) can do without a kitchen. (Gulp) Determined to eat well every single day without exceptions, here goes…

I’m often asked to review cookbooks and I only do it once in a while. It’s mostly because I don’t feel like it’s a proper review until I’ve tried a ton of recipes in the book. However, when I was recently invited to a party at the Phaidon Book Store 100 Wooster Street, New York, NY 10012, I was charmed by how beautiful the Phaidon books are. Originating as a visual arts publisher, Phaidon Press makes these cookbooks more than just sources of recipes. They are adult picture books.

I really enjoyed flipping through The Book of Tapas (the book that was being promoted at this event) but I knew I wouldn’t be able to try many recipes right now….you know my kitchen nightmare. So, I hope you’ll accept my trial of just one recipe – Octopus with Paprika, and then sign-up for the book give-away. Whoever wins, will you give us a review of the cookbook?

Octopus with Paprika

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Ramps, Prosciutto, and Cave Aged Gruyere

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Finally! We moved, but it’s not all smooth sailing yet. We’re living out of boxes and we don’t have a kitchen yet. While our perfect kitchen is being built (which we will be talking about soon), I’m going to have to get crafty. I do have many plug-in appliances (rice cooker, toaster oven, panini press, waffle maker, microwave, etc.) so we’re still going to have a ball here. I think we’re going to be pleasantly surprised with how much I (or you) can do without a kitchen. (Gulp) Determined to eat well every single day without exceptions, here goes…

Over the years, I haven’t had the greatest opinion of Fresh Direct. Either something was left out of my order or something was broken. In 2006, I wrote about our worst experience where seemingly everything that could go wrong did: frozen stuff de-frosted, late delivery, ruined products, no solution through customer service. In the last four years, I’ve only ordered from them a handful of times, and it’s only because I love their par-baked breads, particularly the Ciabatta Rolls.

Prosciutto, ramps, and gruyere on wood board

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Weaved Asparagus Salad

Monday, April 5, 2010

Finally! We moved, but it’s not all smooth sailing yet. We’re living out of boxes and we don’t have a kitchen yet. While our perfect kitchen is being built (which we will be talking about soon), I’m going to have to get crafty. I do have many plug-in appliances (rice cooker, toaster oven, panini press, waffle maker, microwave, etc.) so we’re still going to have a ball here. I think we’re going to be pleasantly surprised with how much I (or you) can do without a kitchen. (Gulp) Determined to eat well every single day without exceptions, here goes…

After two major rainstorms, spring finally feels here.

Weaved Asparagus Salad 3

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Crunchy Cranberry Salad

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Finally! We moved, but it’s not all smooth sailing yet. We’re living out of boxes and we don’t have a kitchen yet. While our perfect kitchen is being built (which we will be talking about soon), I’m going to have to get crafty. I do have many plug-in appliances (rice cooker, toaster oven, panini press, waffle maker, microwave, etc.) so we’re still going to have a ball here. I think we’re going to be pleasantly surprised with how much I (or you) can do without a kitchen. (Gulp) Determined to eat well every single day without exceptions, here goes…

As I packed up the kitchen at our last apartment, and cooked my last few meals, I started panicking a bit. Ok, a lot. I knew we wouldn’t have a kitchen for a while. But, as I started packing up our utility junk drawer, guess what I found inside?

Crunchy Cranberry Salad 6

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Make Chicken Soup, Not War

Thursday, January 21, 2010

I’ve been working on this post since the beginning of winter, when I first started thinking about chicken soups. The variety of chicken soups across so many cultures is just so interesting to me. They are all different, yet share that common bond, the ability to comfort anyone, and make each of us think of home.

Chicken Orzo Soup

There isn’t anything scientific in the post. I did not set out to prove or disprove anything, or even test any theories. This is not about one being better than the others. I just wanted to try several different recipes and methods, just to take notice and appreciate what each had to offer, and each one did have something special to offer. I will make all of these again, and I hope this post is useful for you each and every winter.

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