Inspired by California-Mediterranean cuisines and farmers markets, I cook healthy, flavorful dishes that are easy-to-prepare yet elegant. I write for Zester Daily, One for the Table, Luxury Travel Magazine, Huffington Post & New York Daily News. My latest Amazon eCookbook is 10 Delicious Holiday Recipes. My handcrafted chocolates are available at www.dchocolates.com. "Subscribe via email" and you'll get an email whenever I post a new recipe.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Putting Romaine Lettuce's Feet to the Fire
Friday, January 29, 2010
Eating Well Makes Good Sense
The truth is, you'll save money and feel better. What's more, you won't be giving up convenience. Most of these dishes can be made in 30 minutes or less.
Salads
Arugula Salad with Avocado
Arugula Salad with Hazelnuts, Carrots, and Avocados
Arugula Salad with Persimmons and Pomegranate Seeds
Black Kale, Kabocha Squash, Cheddar Cheese and Almonds
Bulgar Salad with Celery
Carrot Salad with Lemon-Soaked Raisins
Chopped Parsley Salad
Cole Slaw with Capers
Couscous Salad with Grilled Vegetables
Egg Salad
Farmers' Market Fresh Chopped Vegetable Salad
Grilled Corn Salads
Grilled Vegetable Couscous Salad
Grilled Vegetables
Parsley-Grilled Corn Salad
Potato Salad with Corn
Risotto with Summer Vegetables
Roasted Beet Salad
Salad-e Shirazi: Iranian Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, and Onions
Spinach Salad
Tomato and Avocado Salad
Tomato, Avocado, Corn and Garlic Toast Salad
Wilted Spinach Salad
Soups, Snacks, Sauces, and Side Dishes
The Amazingly Versatile Blackened Pepper
Baked Sweet Potatoes with Sauteed Shallots, Garlic, and Mushrooms
Braised Sprouted Broccoli
Cannelini Beans with Roasted Tomatoes and Spinach
Caramelized Vegetable Pasta
Chermoula Sauce for Salads, Side Dishes, and Entrees
An Easy Saute with Brussels Sprouts and Carrots
Grilled Artichokes
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Grilled Vegetables
Farmers' Market Fresh Vegetable Saute
Homemade Vegetable Soup
Kale Sauteed with Garlic and Farm Fresh Vegetables
Kimchi Ramen Soup
Kosher Pickles
Mushroom Soup
Potatoes, Mashed, for Breakfast
Quesadillas, Open Faced
Ramen Soup with Kimchi and Farmers' Market Fresh Vegetables
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Roasted Garlic-Tomato Sauce
Roasted Tomatoes
Roasted Tomato Sauce
Salt Crusted Fingerling Potatoes
Salt Steamed Broccoli
Sauteed Beet Greens
Sauteed Kale with Vegetables
Steamed Artichokes
Summer Vegetable Risotto
Sweet Potatoes Grilled
Sweet Potato Inari Sushi
Tapenade the Frugal Cook's Secret Weapon
Tomato-Vegetable Soup
Tomatoes, Roasted, for Easy-to-Make Sauce
Tomatoes, Roasted Whole or Sliced
Vegetable Soup
Vegetable Soup for Cold Weather
Entrees
Brown Sugar Pork Ribs
Chicken Wings with Kimchi Glaze
Curry, Easy-to-Make
Ginger-Soy Sauce Poached Black Cod
Cioppino with Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic Toasts
Ginger-Soy Black Cod
Green Garlic and Clams
Grilled Shrimp
Grilled Shrimp with a Tex-Mex Dry Rub
Kimchi Chicken Wings
Low Cal Breaded Fish Fillets
Israeli Couscous with Vegetables
Italian Sausages and Roasted Tomatoes
Native American-Style Salmon
Pasta Alla Checca
Pasta with Roasted Corn and Garlic
Ribs, Brown Sugar Glaze
Risotto with Farmers' Market Fresh Squash Blossoms and Baby Zucchini
Roasted Cherry Tomato and Shiitake Mushroom Pasta
Salmon with a Garlic-Citrus Glaze
Sauteed Fish with Capers, Corn, and Tomatoes
Skewered Cherry Tomatoes
Tequila Glazed Shrimp
Tofu, Beet Greens, and Brown Rice
Tofu with Crispy Toppings
Desserts
Baked Cherries
Baked Plums
Custard
Fig Tart with Crystalized Ginger Crust and Roasted Almonds
Honey Poached Apples and Pears with Cinnamon, Vanilla, Raisins, and Peppercorns
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Grilled Vegetables and Grilled Vegetable Salads
We also feel winter's grip when the sun disappears in mid-afternoon, requiring lights to be turned on before 5:00pm. With the cold and darkness, these are not easy times. Certainly there are pleasures to be gotten from a crackling fire in the fireplace, hot soups filled with savory bits, and braised meats surrounded by an array of root vegetables. Admittedly those are sweet comforts, but they are brought front and center because our sagging spirits need propping up.
Spring in Southern California is a different matter altogether. Although there is still fog aplenty at the beach where we live, the days benefit from the warmth of the sun's strengthening rays.
Besides sensing the increase of daylight and warmth, we also know that spring has arrived because the local farmers' markets welcome back long forgotten friends. Corn on the cob, green garlic, all manner of flowers, squash blossoms, and stone fruit beginning with plums, pluots, apricots and apriums.
With the abundance of locally grown produce, the high points of my week are visits to the Wednesday Santa Monica and the Sunday Pacific Palisades Farmers' Market.
As a child I avoided contact with vegetables as much as I could. My mother's treatment of produce was ungenerous. String beans were boiled in salted water and then extracted, limp and submissive. Corn and English peas were taken from the freezer and overcooked in the same salted water, their flavor saved only by the large pat of butter that joined them in the serving bowl.
Leaving home, I pursued a different path, exploring the local farmers' markets and experimenting with vegetables I had only heard about but never eaten. One of my chief discoveries was that vegetables, like hamburgers and steaks, benefited from grilling.
Who does not love carrots drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper and cooked on a hot grill? Their carrot-essence acquires a caramelized sweetness that is irresistible. And what about the improvement of artichokes, Japanese eggplant, broccoli, corn, squash, zucchini, and even thin slices of Yukon Gold potatoes similarly coated with seasoned olive oil and placed on the grill?
So powerful are those flavors, I have to restrain myself from grilling every night.
Just about any vegetable can be grilled. Some, like tomatoes and asparagus, cook quickly and require an attentive hand to prevent charring. Others, like corn on the cob, take a bit longer and need to be turned frequently for even cooking. A few, like artichokes, require fifteen-minutes in boiling water before heading to the grill.
Grilling pulls out the essential flavor of each vegetable. Those qualities are enhanced by a simple dredging in olive oil seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
Once grilled, the vegetables can be served straight off the grill as a finger-food appetizer, a side dish, or even as an entree. But they can be so much more.
Chopped up, grilled vegetables can fill out a parsley salad. Mixed with couscous they make a savory side dish.
Once you start grilling vegetables, they'll become a secret weapon in your culinary adventures.
Grilled Vegetables
Yield 4 servings
Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
4 large carrots, washed, peeled, cut into slabs 1/4" thick, 2" long
2 broccoli crowns, washed, cut into slabs 1/4" thick, 2" long
1 bunch asparagus, medium sized or thick, washed, white ends trimmed off
1 ear of corn, husks and silks removed, washed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch of black pepper
Method
Turn the grill on to medium and preheat for 10 minutes.
In a bowl, toss the vegetables and season with the olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Using tongs, put the vegetables on the grill.
Close the cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn and cook another 2-3 minutes, checking frequently to prevent burning. How long each vegetable takes to cook depends on your grill, the vegetable, and the thickness of the slices.
Have a serving plate handy so you have a place to put the cooked pieces when they're ready. Serve hot as a side dish or room temperature as finger-food appetizers.
Grilled Vegetable Chopped Salad
Cut the corn kernels off the cob. Roughly chop the other vegetables. Toss together. Add a bit more olive oil, taste, and adjust seasoning with sea salt and pepper.
Grilled Vegetable and Parsley Salad
With the grilled vegetables as a starting point, the salad can be expanded by adding elements. In this case, parsley.
Ingredients
3 cups grilled vegetables, roughly chopped
1 bunch Italian parsley, washed, most of the stems removed, leaves finely chopped
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Method
Mix together the chopped vegetables and parsley. Add more olive oil as needed, taste and adjust seasoning with sea salt and pepper.
Variations
Add 1 avocado, peeled and chopped
Add 10 fresh cherry tomatoes, quartered
Add 1 tablespoon chopped scallions or red onion
Substitute cilantro for parsley
Add 1 hard boiled egg, finely chopped
Couscous Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Parsley
The salad becomes more substantial with the addition of easy-to-make couscous.
Yield 4 servings
Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat couscous
1 1/4 cups water, boiling
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Method
Mix together 1 cup whole wheat couscous, the heated water, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and set aside 10 minutes, then fluff and cover again until needed.
In a bowl, mix together the chopped vegetables, parsley, and prepared couscous. Add a bit more olive oil, taste and adjust seasoning with sea salt and pepper.
Variations
Add 6 grilled mushrooms, roughly chopped
Add 1 fresh avocado, roughly chopped
Add 10 grilled shrimps, roughly chopped
Add 1/4 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
California Dreamin: A Salad of Iranian Cucumbers, Cherry Tomatoes, and Onions
Reflecting the diversity of the neighborhood, California Dreamin is an all-purpose coffee shop serving American, Mexican, Japanese, Middle Eastern, and Armenian food. I imagine it was once a hamburger joint or the kind of coffee shop that served 99¢ breakfasts.
For years I drove by without stopping. Now I look for excuses to swing by and have lunch.
I'm certain all their food is good but I'm a creature of habit so I always order #8 the Chicken Breast Kabob. The perfectly cooked chicken is tender and juicy. Served with basmati rice, a fire-roasted whole tomato and a pepper, toasted pieces of lavash, and a small bowl of cucumber salad, there's always more than I can eat. Invariably I bring home a to-go box for a late night snack. And they make a cup of thick Armenian coffee that packs more flavor than any espresso.
At some point, I realized I came as much for the cucumber-tomato salad (Salad-e Shirazi) as anything else. The combination of flavors is so deceptively simple. Making the salad at home I shop at the local farmers' markets to get the freshest ingredients. Delicious by itself, the salad is a perfect side dish for grilled meats.
Iranian Cucumber, Tomato, Onion Salad
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 5 minutes
I tried using regular cucumbers but they're too watery. For me the salad only works with Iranian or Persian cucumbers because they have more density and fewer seeds. The traditional version of the salad calls for the addition of an acid, either vinegar or citrus juice (lemon or lime). Personally, I like it without either, but all versions are worth trying.
Ingredients
2 Iranian cucumbers, washed, peeled, thinly sliced into rounds or quarters
1/2 basket cherry tomatoes, washed, quartered
2 tablespoons yellow onion, washed, peeled, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
Method
Mix together and dress with olive oil. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.
Serve as a side dish with grilled meats or to be eaten with grilled lavash or tortillas.
Variations
Add a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice, or 1 teaspoon vinegar.
Add finely chopped Italian parsley or cilantro or mint leaves.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
A 4th of July Picnic, the Perfect Time for Salads and Ribs
To prepare for the picnic, we shop at the local farmers' market, buying as many fresh vegetables and fruits as we can carry. On the 4th we spend the day cooking for the pot-luck picnic we organize with a dozen of our friends. So we'll have a good spot to watch the fireworks, we meet at 6:30pm at the park opposite the high school. We look forward to the picnic because we can catch up with our friends. Even though the picnic is pot-luck, we make extra just in case... Some of our friends who like to cook bring their specialties, like Lesli's mixed berries, while others make a run to Bay Cities or Gelson's and bring containers of deli treats and rich desserts.
By 9:00pm cars are double-parked on both sides of the street and people have crowded into the park, taking up every square inch of space. Everyone is ready for the fireworks to begin and yet...the sky is not yet completely, definitively dark. In the cool night air we bundle up and pull closer together. Only when all traces of the departing sun have been drained from the sky will the fireworks begin.
And when they do, they are a treat. From the first high-streaking skyrocket that bursts into a hundred points of light to the last crescendo of a dozen overlapping explosions, the crowd oohs and aahs. With the last firework dying in the sky, we get up slowly, feeling the dampness of the ground, hug and kiss our friends goodbye, and make our way back to our cars through the haze of gunpowder smoke still hanging in the air.
4th of July Picnic
In our experience salads work well at the picnic: beet salad, carrot salad, potato salad, egg salad, and corn salad. Finger food is good too: bread & butter pickles, salt-boiled corn on the cob and grilled artichokes. This year we'll also contribute a platter of deliciously salty and sweet Brown Sugar Ribs.
Brown Sugar Pork Ribs
Time Prep (20 minutes) Marinate (overnight) Cook (2 hours)
1 pound brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Olive oil
Pepper
6 ounces Italian tomato paste
1 small yellow onion (peeled, finely chopped)
2 garlic cloves (peeled, finely chopped)
Method
Spread a piece of plastic wrap on the counter 5” longer than the rack. Dust the meat side of the ribs with the cayenne.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Wilted Spinach Salad Takes Center Stage
Versatile spinach works cold in a salad or heated by sautéing or boiling. A hot dressing brings spinach to a middle ground: mostly raw with some leaves wilted from the heat of the dressing. Sautéing the dressing allows for a great variety of ingredients: Italian sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, shrimp, bacon, chicken, duck, chicken livers, or purely vegetarian. As far as I can tell just about any pizza topping would work on a wilted spinach salad, excepting maybe pineapple.
I invite everyone to send in suggestions. I know I’ve only scratched the surface of this infinitely variable dish.
Wilted Spinach Salad with Shrimp, Avocado, and Olives
Yield 4 servings
Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
1 large bunch spinach, the root ends trimmed and discarded, thoroughly washed to remove the grit
2 garlic cloves, peeled, thinly sliced
2 slices bacon, finely chopped (optional)
6 mushrooms (brown or shiitake), washed, thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled, cut into rounds 1/4" thick
2 shallots, peeled, cut into thin rounds
12 shrimp, medium sized, washed, deveined, sliced in half (optional)
12 olives (oil cured black, green split, or Castelvetrano green), pitted, quartered
1 small avocado, peeled, roughly chopped
1/4 cup croutons, preferably homemade
2 tablespoons feta, crumbled (optional)
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and pepper
Remove the stems from the spinach. Put the leaves into a large salad bowl. Finely chop the stems. To make the hot dressing put 2 tablespoons of the olive oil into a sauté pan on a medium flame and lightly brown the spinach stems, garlic, bacon, mushrooms, carrot rounds, and shallots. Remove from heat and set aside. In a small sauce pan reduce the balsamic vinegar to 1 tablespoon. In a separate sauté pan drizzled with olive oil, cook the shrimps until pink about 2 minutes, then set aside.
When you’re just about to serve the salad, reheat the dressing on a medium flame. Add the rest of the olive oil, olives, and avocado.
Using a rubber spatula pour the hot dressing over the spinach leaves. Drizzle with the reduced balsamic vinegar. Top with the shrimp, croutons and if you want the feta. Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and black pepper.
Variations
The hot dressing can be kept vegetarian by using olive oil, shallots, and garlic. Most vegetables can be added to the sauté: zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, English peas, sugar snap peas, broccoli, or tomatoes. Try tofu or vegetarian patties as well.
A riff on a chef salad, in the dressing sauté baked ham and turkey breast with shallots; add cheese (cheddar or Swiss) and chopped tomatoes when you toss the salad.
Borrowing from the classic frisee salad, use bacon or lardoons crisped in the sauté, topping the salad with a fried egg. A variation on a variation: instead of a fried egg, use a hard boiled egg, sliced or chopped.
Sauté 1/4" rounds of Italian sausage with slices of red pepper, onion, and garlic to make a wilted salad version of a sausage hero.
Grilled or sautéed chicken livers with mushrooms, onions, and lots of garlic.
Add several anchovies and a dusting of pepper flakes to the onion-garlic sauté.
For the meat use slices of roast duck or chicken (dark meat preferably since it has more flavor); put shiitake mushrooms in the sauté.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Tapenade, the Frugal Cook's Secret Weapon
It wasn't difficult to learn how to make tapenade. The only specialized tool you need is a blender, like the Cuisinart Mini-Food Processor. A little bit of tapenade adds a special flavor to sandwiches and appetizers. Use it as a topping on sliced hardboiled or deviled eggs. Try it spread on a good slice of buttered bread, a hot, crispy piece of grilled lavash, or a turkey breast sandwich.
2 cups, pitted olives, black oil cured or cracked green
1 cup Italian parsley, washed, finely chopped
2 tablespoon capers
1 garlic clove, peeled, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ freshly ground black pepper
Cayenne, a light dusting
2 anchovies (optional)
Put all the ingredients into a blender and pulse until the olives, capers, and parsley have combined into a paste. I'd add anchovies, but my wife doesn't care for them, so I put them in when I'm making myself a special treat.
Makes ½ pint.
Preparation Time: 30 minutes.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Persimmons, Pomegranate Seeds, and Arugula: A Salad of Unusual Qualities
Persimmons and pomegranates are more seasonal. Suzanne Goin created a complex salad with all these ingredients.
I used her recipe as a starting point, choosing to simplify the ingredients and directions.
The combination of tastes is near perfect: peppery arugula, sweet persimmon, tart pomegranate seeds, and crunchy hazelnuts, all held together by the emulsion of olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar.
Arugula Salad with Persimmons & Pomegranate Seeds
Yield: serves 4
Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 bunch arugula, washed, stems trimmed
2 persimmons, washed, peeled, thin sliced
1/4 pomegranate, washed, peeled, to yield 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
1 tablespoon hazelnuts, roasted, peeled, crushed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, slowly reduced to 1 tablespoon
Method
Tear the arugula leaves off the stem and put into a salad bowl. Add the sliced persimmons and pomegranate seeds. Drizzle with olive oil and reduced balsamic vinegar. Crush the hazelnuts with the flat of a chefs knife and sprinkle them on the salad.
Toss and season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.
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