Lemon Pucker Tart

Francois Payard's lemon raspberry tart is so very tart. It also has a mound of marshmallow-like lime meringue on top and is dotted with fresh raspberries. I never knew I loved tarts until I tried Francois's. I was gifted one for my birthday and haven't been able to get tarts off my mind since then. Last week, while flipping through Ruth Reichl's book, My Kitchen Year, I saw her recipe for Tart Lemon Tart and immediately started a shopping list to make my very own lemon tart.
 

Kale, Apple and Beet Salad with Pistachio Brittle

Sometimes it takes a candied nut to help kale go down. Since creating this salad, I find it disappointing to have a kale salad with out some kind of candied nut. Don’t be turned off by the length of this recipe. You can make the dressing and pistachio brittle a day ahead. I’d even suggest making a couple of batches of pistachios so you can throw them into any salad. You can substitute the dressing below for a simple vinaigrette of your own, or use your favorite creamy dressing that has some acidity to it.
 

Nutty Monkey

On my way to gift wrap 20 coffee table books for an interior decorating firm (just call me Odd Job Jane) I spotted a juice bar and went in for a breakfast smoothie. I ordered their “Mr. Almond” smoothie which I practically inhaled through a jumbo straw. Naturally, I went home and adapted the recipe for this here blog and gave it my own silly name, Nutty Monkey. I was anti-smoothie for most of my life, but this smoothie has changed my mind.
 

Pan-Seared Peaches with Tarragon Basil Syrup

Seared or grilled peaches is a dish that's been on my summer cooking wish list for years, but sadly I never get around to it. Since I'm writing recipes for a living now, I'm spending a lot more time in the kitchen, testing and experimenting. Last weekend, I finally seared a peach. I took it one step further by making a tarragon and basil infused simple syrup to drizzle on top of the sweet, warm stone fruit. I seared my peaches in a pan with some butter because I didn't feel like setting up the grill just for one lonely peach, but if you prefer to grill your peaches, just brush them with olive oil and sear them on both sides for a few minutes until they develop nice grill marks and are warmed through.

Asparagus, Kalamata and Bread Salad

This salad makes me sad that most people I know don't like olives. I made it the other night as an eat-whatever's-in-the-fridge dinner and loved it. It was unexpected and the ingredient amounts were undocumented. That's ok, because salads are quite easy to put together. Here's my "non-recipe" for Asparagus, Kalamata and Bread Salad.

Avocado Fries

The avocado fries at Brooklyn restaurant, El Almacen, were the inspiration for this recipe. I had never had fried avocado before and was under the impression that avocado shouldn't be cooked. But apparently, it should definitely be breaded and fried. I hope my readers don't think that I bread and fry everything. I really don't. I do it just for you guys. Anyway, it's finally spring time and our porch is decorated with big, white, flower-filled planters, a white bench, white Adirondack-style chairs and maybe soon a white umbrella. Our porch might get invited to a P.Diddy party.

Creamy Beans

Stop what you’re doing right now, go to your kitchen cabinet and find a can of black beans or pinto beans. If you do not have any, please go buy a can and come back home immediately. Make this recipe, take a spoonful, and join me in disbelief that canned beans can be so freaking good. We all know that butter makes everything better, but who knew that a pat of butter and some extra cooking time could transform a boring can of beans into beans that make you go “oh wow....oh WOW...no way!”

Crispy Pan Fried Fennel

I'm not sure why I've never breaded and pan fried fennel before now. Fennel is one of my favorite vegetables, and anything tastes ten times better when covered in bread and fried in oil. Since I'm going on a beach vacation in about nine weeks, I have to hold off on covering foods in bread and frying them in oil. But if your beach vacation has already passed, you should immediately buy a head of fennel and try this recipe, even if you don't like fennel.

 

Tamagoyaki

I’m baaaaack. I really dropped the ball on this whole blog thing didn’t I? I’ve been eating boatloads of delivery pizza and salads from Chop’t lately and haven’t been cooking enough. I did make another round of salmon fritters but I certainly couldn’t post those again. But a recipe for Tamagoyaki has been staring me in the face for weeks and on a rainy Saturday I decided I was finally going to make it happen. Tamagoyaki is a Japanese egg log that is slightly sweet and totally fun to make and eat.
 

Dad's Eggs and Bread

I remember my Dad making his famous Egg and Bread "mish mosh" when we were younger. He'd fill a mug with chopped up soft boiled egg and cubed toasted bread. Why deal with the burden of a knife and fork and the task of constantly monitoring your bread to egg ratio when you can spoon yolk-soaked bread and soft egg whites into your mouth? Over the recent holidays, my Dad made a big bowl of it for us and I was happy to take pictures of it on his sunlit marble counters.

Homemade Horchata

I finally attempted homemade Mexican horchata after weeks of guzzling my faux-horchata made with packaged rice milk. Mexican Horchata is a sweet, rice-based, cinnamon-y beverage. I love it over ice with tequila and a salty, limey Tajin rim. I whipped up this first batch for a New Year's Eve trip to a cabin in the Poconos with a bunch of friends. I'm happy to say that the whole jug was finished by the evening of January 1st. I enjoyed welcoming 2015 with a glass of cold horchata and tequila by the fire between rounds of karaoke, boardgames and feasts of pasta and tacos. Tall thin trees and a waterfall visible from the porch made an awesome backdrop.

Cold Ramen Salad with Egg

Noodles are one of the first foods on my mind once the weather reaches “Feels like 15 Degrees”. I love a hot bowl of thick, buttery ramen at Chucko Ramen in Prospect Heights or a pile of pad thai at Cheers Thai in Williamsburg. My brother’s been raving about Tasty Hand Pulled Noodles in Chinatown which I’m hoping to try soon. Here’s a cold noodle salad I made with some leftover ramen; it makes for an easy lunch. What's your favorite noodle shop?

Bibimbap

After eating my first bibimbap in Cambridge, Massachussets a few years ago,  I regretted that so much of my life had been bibimbap-less. Bibimbap is a Korean dish consisting of rice, assorted vegetables and a protein. It's typically served in a scalding hot stone bowl which cooks the bottom of the rice into golden brown crispiness. The bowl is usually topped with a raw egg that cooks when you push it against the hot stone. It's all eaten with gochujang paste or a gochujang-based sauce. Gochujang paste is a fermented Korean condiment made from red chili, glutinous rice, fermented soybeans and salt.

Lemon Spaghetti

When I worked at Wish Cafe, a fusion restaurant in Stamford, Connecticut years ago, my co-worker used to order the lemon papardelle whenever she was off duty. The dish sounded tempting to me, but I always opted for the truffled potato pillows and fried calamari watercress salad, menu items that I couldn't or wouldn't make at home. When Alan ordered spaghetti with lemon at our neighborhood restaurant a few weekends ago, I tried a bite and was surprised how something so simple could be so pleasing. However, making it at home wasn't as simple as I assumed it would be.

Simple Peach Pie

Throughout the summer, I’ve had peaches in my refrigerator. One after the other, they all softened, wrinkled and then shriveled to the point of no return. I didn’t eat a single one. Not because peaches are not a sweet and amazing gift of summer. Maybe it’s because peach skin reminds me of biting through a paper towel. Last week, I brought home a bag of peaches from work, determined to squeeze the last drop of summer out of...well...summer, by making a peach pie.

Late Summer Bruschetta

Working at a food company means that I often get to eat really delectable lunches. A few weeks ago, one of my bosses put together some crusty bread with homemade mayonnaise, heirloom tomatoes and basil while my other boss took pictures of us eating it. Let's hope a picture of me stuffing lunch in my face does not surface. I decided to borrow that combination of flavors for a late summer bruschetta using some heirloom tomatoes from my trip to Long Island this past weekend. 

 

Creamy Summer Farro Salad

I recently tried this farro salad from Bklyn Larder, a cheese and provisions shop in Brooklyn, and I’ve been itching to recreate it at home for many weeks.  As I ate it, I tried to note all the flavors to make sure I got as close to the real thing as possible.  I typed up what I like to call a guess-cipe, a guessed recipe that I can test and tweak in the kitchen.  I’m happy to report that I did a pretty good job matching the flavors.  The creaminess of the mayo adds a nice fat factor, the lemon juice brightens it up, the farro’s nutty texture is super fun and the vegetables bring some crunch to the party.  There are two months of picnic weather left and this is a crowd-pleasing salad to have on your gingham blanket.

Pickled Grapes

I'm always looking for an unusual, yet simple recipe.  One food blogger that I follow writes a beautiful blog called Not Without Salt.  I like her pro-salt blog title as well as the feeling I get when I read her words and look at her photographs.  I picture her life being one big lush, misty Washington morning with a cup of coffee in a mason jar.  When she posted a recipe for pickled grapes, I flagged it and took the next opportunity to make them, which was a summer dinner party at home.

Basil Juleps

I write to you from upstate New York where Alan's super awesome band, Ten Minute Turns, is rehearsing for an upcoming recording session. Being secluded in a rural area is giving me time to make blog posts, read, write and learn about stock trading, my newest obsession. Last month's obsession was part-time veganism. A month before that, it was jewelry making. I like to dabble. No matter what you're getting into on the weekends, do it with a basil julep. Alan and I made juleps with herbs from our porch-garden. He made his with mint and I decided to go out on a limb and make one with basil. Here's how to do it (no fancy julep cups necessary, but highly encouraged)...

Black Bean and Green Burger

A black bean burger is not by any means juicy.  If you slapped it on a bread bun, you'd be on a high speed train to dry town.  But if you put this flavor-packed patty on a bibb lettuce bun, you're in store for a cooling, fresh, energizing burger experience. You can even eat two of these bean beasts and still feel like you can run a marathon, not so for your standard meat burger.  Save your meat burger for the weekend and spend your weeknights with a Black Bean and Green Burger.  Don't fret if you're sans Cuisinart; you can make these burgers with a bowl and a wooden spoon too.  So make your shopping list and look forward to a guilt-free burger night.