The Rhubarb Dish

So here it is, slowly making its way onto supermarket produce aisles and into our local farmer's markets.  Rhubarb:  It's easy to love. Extra long rosy stalks of vegetable masquerading as fruit appear just when I covet transition from cold winter days to bright Spring effervescence.  In and of itself, it is a "tonic" food:  Defined as anything that stimulates or invigorates.   It is complete with acidity and antioxidants (anthocyanins) and is a cinch to prepare.  Not long ago, a neighbor told me about a memorable rhubarb dish she was served at a very recent dinner party.  The host of that dinner, David Burrell, kindly shared the recipe that made such an impression on our neighbor, Jerri Mayer (Her husband, a well-known bankruptcy lawyer, is an awesome home cook.)   You can imagine my delight when I found out that the recipe required only two ingredients!  Three, if you serve it hot over vanilla ice cream and consider ice cream an ingredient!  David says "take 6 to 8 stalks of rhubarb and wash them but do not dry.  Cut into pieces between 1 and 2 inches.  Place into a saucepan still wet with only the water they were washed in.  Cover with 1/2 cup of sugar and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally.  Keep an eye on them as it will eventually froth over.  Add sugar to taste. Serve hot over ice cream."   That's it! Rhubarb came to American kitchens in the 1820's.  Commonly mixed with strawberries in a pie, it came to be known as "pie plant," famously so, in an early book of Laura Ingalls Wilder.  In the Scandinavian countries, tender stalks of rhubarb would be dipped into sugar as an inexpensive treat for children.  Rhubarb generally appears in the market minus its wide green leaves which contain high amounts of oxalic acid.  Do not consume:  A lot of it will kill you.  But as charmingly put by "The City Cook" website, "With its big personality, rhubarb has been used medicinally, to color hair (brewed as a tea to add golden highlights), as a natural and non-toxic scrub to clean pots and pans, and by gardeners as a safe-to-humans insecticide.  All this -- and it can be dessert!"

I say, serve it for breakfast!  Try my Warm Rhubarb Compote with Walnut-Coconut Crunch.  Radically delicious, this complex-sounding fruit-and-yogurt dish is ready to eat in 15 minutes.  It can either begin or end a special weekend brunch and would be delightful this Easter Sunday. Warm Rhubarb Compote with Walnut-Coconut Crunch

4 cups rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 2/3 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar 1/3 cup creme de Cassis or Chambord 1/2 cup walnut pieces 12/ cup unsweetened organic flaked coconut 2/3 cup plain Greek yogurt 3 tablespoons wildflower honey

Wash the rhubarb; pat dry.  Place in a medium saucepan with 2/3 cup sugar and the Cassis.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat and cover.  Simmer, stirring often, until soft, 10 minutes.  Place saucepan in the freezer while you prepare the topping.  Combine the walnuts and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a medium skillet.  Cook over high heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until the sugar melts and the nuts are crunchy, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the coconut and cook 30 seconds.  Transfer the rhubarb to 4 glasses.  Dollop with the yogurt and sprinkle with the walnut-coconut mixture.  Drizzle with honey.  Serves 4

Maple-Walnut Espresso Torte

There are many nights of Passover to celebrate and time to eat more cake.  No doubt many of you have had your share of sticky, wet coconut macaroons, fluffy angel cakes, chocolate matzoh buttercrunch, and flourless chocolate cakes.  But here's another to try, even if you're not Jewish.  Something light and nutty and perfect for Easter dinner, too, served with diced ripe pineapple and crème fraîche, or dense vanilla-flecked ice cream strewn with raspberries.  Perfect little raspberries remind me of nature's gum drops. The same ingredients that go into the cake -- espresso, cardamom, lemon, and real maple syrup -- are used to make the aromatic elixir that gets poured over the cake after baking.  Even if matzoh meal is not an ingredient usually kept in your cupboard, you will find it amply displayed in the supermarket.   Who knows?  It might even inspire you to make matzoh ball soup -- once the provenance of Jewish households -- it is a staple on many a deli menu sprinkled across America.  I have always meant to try making this cake with flour, too, but have not as yet.  I will let you know how to accurately swap out the matzoh meal another time.  But now, do enjoy this special cake as is.

During Passover, I like a slice with my strong morning coffee and another slice with my afternooon tea.   So far, this Passover, I have eaten many delicious new things, too.  A fruit salad with lychees, hawthorne berry brandy, bits of sliced oranges with their rind, mango, honey and much more.  I told my herbalist friend (also a bee-keeper), who made it, that I was sure these were the flavors favored by Cleopatra.  The taste was something so exotic that I can't stop thinking about it!  Also exciting was the Iraqi haroset prepared by my friend Debbie --made with only two ingredients, date molasses and walnuts, it brought a new dimension and conversation to the meal.  Last night at our tiny Seder for three, we dribbled it on matzoh and, bereft of Gold's horseradish, we dabbed it with wasabi!  New traditions begin.

Maple-Walnut Espresso Torte with Lemon-Espresso Syrup You can serve this with non-dairy whipped topping that is kosher-for-Passover and garnish with walnut halves.

2/3 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar 2 tablespoons plus  1/2 cup real maple syrup 5 teaspoons instant espresso powder 2-1/4 teaspoons ground cardamom grated zest and juice of 1 large lemon 8 ounces walnuts, about 2 cups 1/2 cup matzoh meal 4 extra-large eggs

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Oil an 8 or 9-inch springform pan.  In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup water, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon of the espresso, and 1/4 teaspoon of the cardamom.  Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice.  Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then simmer 5 minutes until thickened.  Cool.

Process the walnuts and matzoh meal in a food processor until finely ground.  With an electric mixer, beat the eggs, the remaining 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt on high for 4 minutes.  Add the remaining 4 teaspoons espresso, 2 teaspoons cardamom, and lemon zest; beat 3 minutes.  Stir in the walnut mixture.  Pour into the pan.  Bake40 minutes, until firm to the touch.  Pour 1/4 cup syrup over the cake; let cool.  Serve in wedges, drizzled with the remaining syrup.  Serves 8

The Birthday Weekend

For those of you who remember the "scene" at Canastel's (on Park Ave South and 19th St.) in New York City, decades ago, there is an equally hip (now slightly older) crowd at Asellina.  Located in the Gansevoort Hotel on 29th and Park, the Saturday night boasted good-looking guys in sports coats, and gorgeous women wearing, truly, the highest heels and shortest skirts we've seen in awhile.  Despite the teeming hook-up vibes, there was something quite refreshing about it all.  Like the good old days, where those kinds of impulses were palpable and desirable and it made you remember what sex was once all about --because it wasn't the sex but the promise:  What was different about it all?  NO ONE was sitting with their iPhone -- chatting, texting or pretending to be otherwise engaged.  Everyone was on the prowl, looking or begging to be seen.  They were drinking, eating and talking!  No wonder I loved it.  It was so old-fashioned.  Some of the guests were from the cool hotel perched above where an indoor/outdoor pool is nestled on the roof next to their popular bar.

We wouldn't have experienced any of this if not for the 15th birthday of our daughter.  Our gift to her was an overnight in a New York hotel with a handful of her friends.  A teen-friendly place where there was a pool and a sense that you were someplace far away.  We loved telling our waitress that we had just arrived from...Brooklyn (!) with suitcases in tow.  Clearly we had come the shortest distance for such an adventure.  Despite the long wait to check into our room, the hotel staff was really accommodating and eager to please.  They outfitted the large room with a Wii for the girls to play with and encouraged their squealing and giggling at the pool.  Dinner (more about that) and a sleepless happy night amidst all those teens. In the morning we lit up a box of donuts, each with their own candle, and had a friendship circle in our pajamas sitting on the floor.  The girls drank organic lemonade and wished each other good things.  An afternoon movie, The Soul Surfer, proved that anything was possible. Not a bad message when you turn 15.  Happy birthday, Shayna.

But here's an unexpected nod to the food at Asellina.  It was delicious.  It didn't matter at the time; we were there and we needed someplace to eat.  But it was some of the cleanest, most authentically, Italian-tasting, unadorned, spot-on food we've had in awhile.  A great eggplant tortino with fresh ricotta and and cheese fonduta; top-notch meatballs with cannellini beans, culatello (prosciutto-like) and fontina, simple grilled calamari with sauteed asparagus and oven-dried tomatoes, and my husband's happy-making thick spaghetti with perfectly cooked clams and various bits of seafood.  Not a gratuitous piece of parsley in sight.  We imagined ourselves in Sardinia, sunny and warm, despite the teeming rain and chill in the air that evening.  The restaurant glowed with fireplaces and libidinous energy and promises of birthdays to come.

Passover at Gracie Mansion

I had never fully prepared a Passover Seder until I was 24 years old and my first one was a doozy.  As the first chef to Mayor Ed Koch in 1978 and living at Gracie Mansion, I was asked to make the Seder for Hizzoner and his family.  I called everyone I knew, including my mother who made very delicious but extremely hard matzoh balls which my family loved but I doubted the Mayor’s family would.  What to do?  I asked the Mayor for his recipe!  He suggested putting seltzer in the mixture, telling me that would make them light and fluffy.  I recently consulted my 25-year old diary for the rest of the menu, and here it is: Friday, April 21, 1978  Passover Seder at Gracie Mansion 15 guests – 5:00 p.m.

Crudites with Curry Dip Kosher Rumaki Chopped Liver with Plum Tomatoes Matzoh Ball Soup (with seltzer!)

My Mother’s Pot Roast with Dry Vermouth & Bay Leaf Slow-Roasted New Potatoes Sweet Potato, Prune & Glazed Carrot Tzimmes Haricots Verts with Lemon Matzoh, Leek and Herb Kugel

Sponge Cake with Strawberries A selection of homemade Macaroons Passover Candy Coffee Service

This year, however, I won't be cooking.  We are guests at two different Seders -- the first night with the Cohens in West Orange (I will be bringing a flourless chocolate cake in honor of my daughter's 15th birthday the day before) and the second night at the Shinders in Manhattan, with lots of teenagers and lots of ruach (spirit!)  I will be bringing my Cauliflower-Leek Kugel.  I know that the food maven, Arthur Schwartz, will also be making it for his Seder.

But today I bring you a recipe I created for Bon Appetit that many readers have told me has become a new tradition in their homes. I originally made it with tamarind paste but was told that it wasn't kosher for passover.  Interesting.  There is much discussion about what is and isn't appropriate for Pesach!  Enjoy!

My Sweet-and-Sour Brisket with Shallots & Dates This can be prepared two days ahead; its luscious flavors improve with age.

1-1/2 cups orange juice 6 large soft pitted Medjool dates 4 large peeled garlic cloves 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves 5 tablespoons olive oil 2 pounds onions, thinly sliced 16 large whole shallots, peeled 2-1/2 cups chicken or beef broth 5-pound flat cut (also known as first-cut) brisket, trimmed of all but 1/4-inch fat 1-1/2 cups tomato puree 16 very small red skinned potatoes, scrubbed

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Put first four ingredients in food processor or blender and process until smooth. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large wide ovenproof pot over medium-high heat.  Add onions and whole shallots and cook until onions and shallots are deep golden brown, about 20 minutes.  Transfer shallots to a small bowl; set aside.  Add broth to onions and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits.  Pour into a large bowl.  Add remaining oil to the same pot.  Season brisket with salt and pepper.  Add to pot and brown well, about 5 minutes per side.  Turn brisket fat side up.  Return onion mixture to pot.  Add orange juice mixture and tomato puree.  Bring to a boil, stirring to blend sauce.  Cover pot; bake 2 hours. Add shallots and potatoes.  Cover, bake 1 hour.  Uncover; bake until brisket is tender, occasionally spooning sauce over meat, about 1 hour longer.  Let rest 30 minutes.  Scrape sauce off brisket.  Transfer brisket to a board and thinly slice across the grain.  Return to the pot with the sauce and heat gently.   Serves 8

The Universe's Best Chocolate Cake

The universe here means all the potential people on the planet who use the Internet and peruse the worlds most award-winning website, Epicurious. According to its amazing editor-in-chief, Tanya Wenman Steel, millions of dedicated home cooks look for recipes each and every day.  That really cuts down on the page turns that the Joy of Cooking (or one of my books!) might once have gotten, but the future has made itself clear.  More than 20 years ago, I predicted that someday there would be only one cookbook that encompassed all the world's great (and not so great) recipes.  I realized the speed at which we were sharing information (even back then) and envisioned such a virtual experience. Now the number of recipe sites are increasing exponentially and you, the cook, have become the ruler of the kitchen kingdom.  According to Ms. Steel, the five most searched ingredient terms during the reign of 2010, were chicken, salmon, chili, pork tenderloin, and shrimp.  But hands down, the star of the hit parade was... Double-Chocolate Layer Cake.  There are 1400 thoughtful and interesting reviews to prove it.  The recipe for this very credible cake comes from a 1999 issue of Gourmet magazine.  If millions of people get their recipes from Epicurious, and this is the most reviewed recipe on the site, then some fancy algorithm can predict how many slices (12 per cake) have been eaten since then.  Mind-boggling.  I know I will be trying it soon.

Double Chocolate Layer Cake

For cake layers

• 3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
• 1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
• 3 cups sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla

For ganache frosting

• 1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

Special equipment

• two 10- by 2-inch round cake pans

Preparation Make cake layers: Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.

Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

Make frosting: Finely chop chocolate. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.

Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency).

Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides. Cake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.

Tin Fish Gourmet

Barbara-Jo McIntosh is the owner of the beloved Books to Cooks bookstore in Vancouver, BC.  She herself has been called a national treasure of Vancouver because of her deep influence in "all things food" in that gorgeous city.   Every year, scores of distinguished chefs, authors, wine makers and celebs from all over the world wind up in her shop. They are feted by Ms. McIntosh herself with a reception in their honor.  Throughout the year, there are scores of meaningful talks, lectures, tastings and demos, too, making Books to Cooks the place to be if you have even the tiniest interest in cooking.  In addition to hand-selecting the 7,000 titles available in her store, Barbara-Jo has written three of the books she carries.  Her most recent, "Cooking for Me and Sometimes You:  A Parisienne Romance with Recipes (French Apple Press, 2010) is a joy.  You feel as though you are in a small French kitchen right alongside her, whipping up a sharp vinaigrette for the perfect Salade Nicoise, or braising a chicken leg with tomatoes and black olives. But as I'm staring at a large can of salmon this morning in my fridge (gift of my husband who did the grocery shopping yesterday), I lunge for another of her books on my shelf. Tin Fish Gourmet, whose subtitle, great seafood from cupboard to table, says it all.  This book has a way of making you feel virtuous and wise, as you hunt for your can opener.   Some months ago, my husband and I started eating canned salmon.  I don't remember why exactly.  I used to hate it as a kid, especially because of the skin and cartilage that punctuated the pretty pink flesh, but having gotten over that, I find myself, instead, enjoying the weird texture of the tiny bones.  I use it to make last-minute salmon rillettes and enjoy it smashed on a piece of black bread with fresh lemon and a dab of crème fraîche.  Maybe some chives. The Tin Fish Gourmet offers  sixteen ideas using a 15-ounce can, or two (but beware, my tin of Bumble Bee salmon is 14.75 ounces!), from which to choose.  Some are quite sophisticated, others are nifty and thrifty. I inadvertently soaked a pot of dried chickpeas last night and will try the healthy-sounding Avocado, Chick Pea and Salmon Salad.  Hmmmmm, but Corn & Salmon Fritters, Curried Salmon Loaf, Salmon and Fennel Stew, and a dreamy-sounding Asparagus, Brie & Salmon Omelette also tantalize.  But the book's most-popular recipe is an appetizer: Pecan Salmon Roll.  It's a recipe Barbara-Jo picked up from a trip to Lunenberg, Nova Scotia.   Recipe below.  You can find each of the above mentioned books at New York's beloved bookstore: Kitchen Arts & Letters, on Lexington Avenue and 93rd street. Tell Nach and Matt that Barbara-Jo sent you.

Barbara-Jo's Pecan Salmon Roll

15 ounce can (tin) salmon, drained 9 ounces cream cheese 2 tablespoons goat cheese, optional 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 scallion, finely chopped 1 tablespoon white horseradish 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, plus sprigs for garnishing

Cream together cheeses, lemon juice, scallion, horseradish and cayenne.  Add salmon and mix together.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours.  Shape into a roll, about 8-inches by 3-inches.  Roll through the combined mixture of pecans and parsley to cover.  Place on a platter and garnish with parsley sprigs.  Serve with sliced baguette or crackers. Serves 6 to 10 as an appetizer.

Korean Fried Chicken

Last night, quite unexpectedly, we went to KFC for dinner.  Not the one you're thinking of but... the other one, known as KyoChon Fried Chicken.  At the corner of 32nd street and Fifth Avenue, it begins, or ends, one of New York's youngest, hippest, most bustling night crawls lined with smartly-designed restaurants, tea rooms, tiny clothing boutiques, and the Korean equivalent of Whole Foods. "Korea Town" may not be very big, but it is very exciting.  As you enter KyoChon, you immediately feel 10 years younger (or older) depending on whether you're my husband or daughter.  It is très chic with woven plastic walls, moody lighting, ultra-modern seating, cool colors, with fabulous music videos pulsating on the walls as you await your Korean beer or technicolor soju cocktail. Soju is a distilled beverage, generally rice-based, native to Korea whose taste (or lack thereof) is similar to vodka. You LOL as you read what it says on the door as you arrive, that "only 2 people in the world know the recipe."  One must be Mr. Won-Kang Kwon, who invented the double-dipped frying technique for supernal crispy chicken in 1991.  The other person is probably his investor. It's funny to think that only 2 people know about it because Mr. Kwon's single humble restaurant now occupies 1000 locations in Korea, China and the U.S.  Those guys really know how to keep a secret! Drumsticks and wings are the highlights because they cook quickly.  Often they have a thin coating of rice flour or potato starch or corn starch mixed with various Asian spices.  Sometimes they have no coating at all. They are fried twice – the first time only partially cooked, the fat shaken off, and then left to rest a bit.  Then they are fried again.  Partial frying means that the chicken parts don’t need to spend as long in the hot fat for the inside to cook while the outside dries out and darkens. The result is an ultra-thin, ultra-crispy crust that – at its best – shatters when you bite into it.  It is precisely the opposite of Kentucky Fried Chicken, which comes encased in a thick breading that frequently is crisp on the outside and gummy where the breading meets the chicken. This method was, reportedly, introduced in the U.S. by a chain called Bon Chon, but they’ve been overtaken by a company called KyoChon.  Not all KFC joints adhere to the crackling crust ethos and sometimes you find the chicken parts coated with some sweet and gooey substance. Some fry-shops give you a choice of dipping sauces, some offer a choice of hot or not, some season their birds with nothing but salt and pepper.  So there’s no real orthodoxy – just addictive chicken.   And it's authentic, and educational, to order a side dish of pickled daikon, sliced paper-thin and strewn with black sesame seeds --it's "just the thing" to temper the very spicy (if you wish), delicious fiery glaze.  Order half of your chicken with it and half without.  So much fun.  See you there.

KyoChon - 319 5th Avenue.  NY, NY  212-725-9292

A Farmer's Market Meal

You can pretty much get everything on this plate at your local farmer's market.  After all, there are only 9 ingredients that make up this eternally spring meal. Although it's a bit gray and rainy today, I am off to the Union Square Market, the heart and soul of the city, to get the ingredients for tonight's dinner.  This image, from one of my earlier books, Recipes 1-2-3 Menu Cookbook (published in 1998), is attention-getting as it is stunning in its simplicity and restraint.  The three simple recipes include tender lamb chops under a "crust" of goat cheese and rosemary; a slow-cooked tomato layered with red onion "napoleon-style," and stir-fried watercress with garlic chips.  Only today, 14 years later when pea shoots are now the veg du jour, I may substitute them for the watercress in this recipe.  I may also, instead of the rosemary, use fresh lavender -- just a bit -- as my husband really likes it.  It is an unforgiving herb, however, as a little too much is...a little too much.  Goat cheese and lavender have great affinity and my husband often stuffs it under the skin of a large chicken and roasts it to perfection.  This menu brings great rewards for modest amounts of effort. Open an unexpected bottle of Domaine Clavel's Les Garrigues, a blend of syrah and grenache noir from the Languedoc, or choose a flowery Beaujolais like Chiroubles. Check in later for dessert.  I will see what's new and exciting at the market this morning!  One of life's simple pleasures is checking out what's on nature's agenda each week. Enjoy!

Lamb Chops with Goat Cheese & Rosemary 8 thick rib lamb chops 6 ounces fresh goat cheese 3 tablespoons finely snipped fresh rosemary or lavender

"French" the chops, cutting all meat from the bones to the "eye" of the chops; or leave them as they are.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl, mix goat cheese with 2 tablespoons rosemary or lavender.  Season chops with salt and pepper and steak in a large nonstick skillet until browned, about 2 minutes on each side.  Pack approximately 1-1/2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture on one side of each chop to cover completely.  Place chops in oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until desired doneness, but still rare in the center.  You may brown the cheese for 30 seconds under the broiler.  Scatter remaining herbs on top.  Serves 4 "Short-Stack" Tomatoes and Onions These can be made ahead of time and reheated for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.

4 medium-large ripe tomatoes, about 1-1/2 pounds 2 large red onions 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Slice 1/4-inch from top and bottom of each tomato.  Cut each tomato into 3 thick slices.  Re-assemble each to look like whole tomato. Peel onions and slice 1/4-inch thick.  Layer thicker onions between tomato slices, ending on top with a thin slice of onion.  Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over each and season with salt and pepper.  Place a short skewer in center of each stack to help hold together.  Place in shallow baking pan and bake 1-1/4 hours.  Baste with pan juice twice.  Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes.  Carefully transfer to plates and spoon pan juices on top.  Drizzle with more oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Serves 4

Watercress (or Pea Shoots) Saute with Garlic Chips

3 large bunches watercress or 12 ounces pea shoots 4 large garlic cloves 3 tablespoons olive oil

Remove woody stems from watercress.  Peel garlic and slice paper thin, lengthwise.  Heat oil in a large skillet until hot.  Add garlic, cook 15 seconds until crisp, then immediately remove.  Add watercress or pea shoots.  Cook over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes until just wilted.  Stir in garlic chips and salt to taste.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4

An Accidental Sandwich

On Saturday morning, I woke up craving a chicken salad sandwich. Quite by accident, I wound up having a great one in an unexpected place.  More by mismanagement than good planning, my husband and I found ourselves around 1 p.m. in a newly refurbished Boston Market near New Canaan, Connecticut.  Ever the trends analyst, my husband knew that Boston Market had rejiggered its old formula and he was somewhat interested to try it.  Rarely do we ever eat in fast food restaurants, or fast-casual ones, and on that particular afternoon we were just looking for a pizza joint.  No go. We were starving, so we sucked in our breath and walked into a surprise.  Anchored on each table, in clean and bright Boston Market surroundings, was a bottle of the trendiest condiment of all -- Sriracha sauce!  This spicy, fire-engine red Thai chili sauce has become the darling of upscale restaurant chefs, and it was a welcome semaphore of things to come.  Standing in front of the Boston Market food line, with nice friendly servers behind, were the usual array of Americana side dishes -- corn niblets, creamed spinach, mac and cheese, haricots verts! (skinny string beans) and wall units of slow-roasting chickens.  I was about to order some when I saw a sign for...chicken salad sandwiches!  Craving satisfied?  I took a chance:  For $5.79, freshly-roasted chicken, cut into friendly chunks with just the right about of mayo, sat like juicy mortar between two slabs of credible whole grain bread (with whole grains!) layered with, what was this? Tender leaves of mesclun?  Served on large white china plates?   In addition to Sriracha there was also Jamaican Pick-a-Pepper Sauce and Mexican Cholula hot sauce, too?    Real silverware?  This huge sandwich, weighing in at 68o calories, felt almost virtuous and was especially tasty drizzled with the trendy condiment.  My husband enjoyed his dark meat chicken, served with sides of corn and string beans and an adorable little loaf of corn bread.  Lunch for the two of us was $13.69.  We left arm-in-arm with lots of change in our pockets, happy that we took a chance.

How to use Sriracha: Drizzle it on chicken salad Dot it on top of cream soups Spoon a bit into marinara sauce Stir a bit into melted butter and spoon it on lobsters, scallops, steak Drip it into guacamole Dash it into scrambled eggs

A Kugel for Passover and Easter

With Passover and Easter just around the corner, here is an exciting side dish that fulfills the requirements for both celebrations.  I developed this cauliflower-leek kugel with its vibrant almond-herb crust for Bon Appetit when I was writing the "Entertaining Made Easy" column.  While kugels are typically "Jewish," and most often connote "sweet," this kugel is savory and, according to the editors at Bon App, tastes remarkably like artichokes!   You can find the slightly-altered recipe on Epicurious, but the recipe below is the original, where the almonds are more finely chopped and the filling more compact.  Part pudding/souffle in texture, it is a perfect offering for Passover as the dish is parve, with no dairy or any leavening in it.  The cauliflower "mash" is thickened with matzoh meal.  It is also perfect for Easter as the flavor screams "Spring" with its fresh burst of dill and parsley.  It is a wonderful accompaniment to roast lamb and equally delicious nestled up to pot roast or a golden roast capon.   It also fulfills the "entertaining made easy" requirement as it can be easily prepped and assembled and baked up to two days before serving.  I am imagining it now, on my palate, with rosy slices of garlicky-minted lamb and a puree of carrots flecked with fresh lemon thyme for Easter.  For Passover, I am licking my lips as I think about my slightly sweet-and-sour pot roast made with sticky dates.  Either way, try it.  You'll like it.

Cauliflower-Leek Kugel with Almond-Herb Crust

1 large head cauliflower, about 2 ¼ pounds or 1 ½ pounds florets 4 large leeks, about 1 ½ pounds 5 tablespoons olive oil 3 extra large eggs, beaten 5 tablespoons matzoh meal ½ teaspoon salt 1 small clove garlic 1/3 cup whole shelled almonds with skins ½ cup packed flat parsley leaves ½ cup packed dill fronds

Wash cauliflower. If using whole head, trim leaves and cut into florets.  Cook, covered, in a large pot with ¾ cup water until tender, but not mushy, about 20 minutes. Toss periodically and if necessary, add small amount of water.

Trim dark green leaves from leeks.  Cut remaining leeks down their lengths into quarters.  Then cut across the leeks into ¼”-1/2” pieces. Wash thoroughly.  Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large skillet and add leeks with their moisture still clinging.  Cook over medium high heat, stirring, for five minutes, then lower heat and let cook slowly until soft and slightly brown, about 20 minutes.  Stir often.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Drain cauliflower and put in large bowl.  Mash with fork into coarse pieces.  Do not make mushy.  Toss well with leeks, beaten eggs, matzoh meal, salt and freshly ground black pepper.   Pour into 8 ½” soufflé dish.

Put garlic and almonds in a food processor: pulse frequently until finely chopped  and place in a medium bowl. Put parsley and dill into food processor and process until finely chopped; do not overprocess into a puree.  Add to almonds and toss with 2 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon water.   Distribute herb mixture over cauliflower then gently press down to flatten.  Bake 50 minutes.  Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.  Cut into wedges or spoon from soufflé dish.  Serves 8

Italian Cheesecake by Way of Atlantic City

In the nick of time this morning, a recipe for a radically simple Italian cheesecake popped up on my computer screen.  It was sent to me by Anne Kabo of Margate, New Jersey who is the wonderful baker featured in Radically Simple. Anne generously taught me how to make her richly decadent cream cheese cake, better than any New York style cheesecake I've had.  You can find it on page 318 of Radically Simple (now available on Amazon!  A great gift for Mother's Day -- if not for Anne's cheesecake recipe alone!)   But yesterday Anne told me about another cheesecake -- this one based on ricotta cheese and little else.  She found it in the local Atlantic City newspaper which features recipes from affable home cooks.  Anne eyed it and made it immediately (and brought it to a friend in the hospital.)  She added fresh raspberries dusted with confectioner's sugar on top but exclaimed that it was delicious enough without.  Anne knew this recipe would appeal to me because it fit the criteria for each one of my radically simple recipes -- which balance the elements of time, ease and number of ingredients.   And...whose procedures can be explained in 140 words or less!  Not quite Twitter but close.  This genuinely appealing recipe has no crust, can be make in one bowl, and has only six ingredients.  Anne says, "It bakes up beautifully with no cracks -- unlike the other cheesecake I make."  Am running to the store to get some nice fresh ricotta....see you there!  The recipe comes from Alice Cologna of Mays Landing, New Jersey by way of the Life Section Editor of the Press of Atlantic City, Steven V. Cronin, who writes a weekly column called "Legacy Recipes." Atlantic City Italian Cheesecake I'm inclined to add a pinch of sea salt to this.

Butter for greasing the pan 3 pounds whole milk ricotta cheese 6 extra-large eggs (or large if you have those) 3/4 cup whole milk 1-1/4-1-1/2 cups sugar (sweetness is up to you) 3 tablespoons corn starch 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously butter an 8- or 9-inch spring form pan.  Mix all the ingredients in a standing mixer until smooth.  Pour into the pan and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Cool for an hour before placing it in the refrigerator.  That's it!  Serves 10

Sherry, Anyone?

A little more than six months ago, Alessandro Piliego opened a sleek, inviting tapas bar, and decked the walls with Botero paintings and high shelves teeming with sherry bottles. The hanging rustic chandeliers cast a warm glow along the bar and caress the tall tables and high-back stools where one sips and sups small plates of Spanish food.  Located on the burgeoning end of Court Street in Brooklyn, near the now-famous Prime Meats and Buttermilk Channel, Alessandro named his place Palo Cortado, and I asked him what it meant.  Something new to me, although I am an avid fan of fino sherry, palo cortado is a style of sherry, slightly richer than oloroso.  To that end, he could have similarly named his tapas bar, Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Oloroso, Moscatel, or Pedro Ximenez, as each is a different type of sherry along the spectrum of very dry to very sweet. I was delighted to learn about this and even more delighted to drink it.  These fortified wines deserve more respect.  The varying descriptors of their flavor profile are rich and include, unlike wine, words like salty and nutty.  They are great companions to authentic, and not-so-authentic, tapas -- at once both piquant and lusty. It was fun to share the night with the food maven, Arthur Schwartz, whose birthday we were celebrating, and Bob Harned, who had not been to Palo Cortado since it opened.  They did, however, know Alessandro and had been to a tasting in the summer.   If I could order 5 servings of the patatas bravas for myself, I would have.  At $4 a plate, that would be bargain. They were exceptional: small cubes of perfectly fried potatoes laced with aioli and Rioja sauces.  We had delicious octopus (pulpo a la gallega) served with small potato discs and a pimenton vinaigrette.  Next came spiced lamb meatballs with mint-cucumber yogurt and preserved lemon, and piquillo rellenos -- small roasted peppers stuffed with chicken and cheese, served with a white bean puree and pepitas.  We enjoyed fabulous mixed olives and briny caperberries and acidic boquerones, which are marinated white anchovies with capers, garlic and parsley.  These two palate openers went especially well with the super-dry, and slightly salty, mineral-y, manzanilla that we had.  We moved on to a delicious full-bodied Rioja.  Instead of birthday cake, Alessandro brought something brilliant to try:  Medjool dates marinated in sherry with vanilla yogurt mousse and roasted almonds.  Happy Birthday Arthur, and muchos gracias to Alessandro.

I offer you one of my most radically simple and delicious tapas to serve at home.  Fatty and rich, these chorizos will taste wonderful with a glass of cellar-temperature Amontillado, or...Palo Cortado!  (located at 520 Court Street, Brooklyn, NY.  tel: (718) 407-0047). Grilled Chorizos in Red Wine In a shallow ovenproof dish (a small paella pan is great), slice 8 ounces chorizo or pepperoni 1/4-inch thick.  Place flat-side down, 1/4-inch apart.  Pour 1/2 cup red wine to come halfway up the sides of chorizo.  Preheat broiler.  Broil 6 to 8 minutes until crispy.  Spoon pan juices on top.  Sprinkle with finely slivered cilantro.  Serves 4

Guasacaca?

Curious?  That is the name of the avocado sauce that we discovered last Sunday at Valencia Luncheria, a Venezuelan beach food cafe in New Canaan, Connecticut. We showered it over every dish. The first recipe (and photo) I found for it on the web was a thick grassy green, creamy pesto and not at all like the milky, squeeze-bottle, cilantro flecked sauce we experienced there.  So I decided to try my hand at reproducing it.  It's hard enough to find a super ripe avocado exactly when you want to use it, but amongst a hill of them in a local supermarket I found one.  One.  A small one.  I knew there was a background flavor of onion, vinegar or lime juice, lots of cilantro and a bit of spiciness.  And I knew that the emulsifier here was water, not the cup of olive oil in the aforementioned recipe.  First the sauce tasted a bit "sweet" according to my husband, the globe-trotting restaurant consultant who has an immaculate palate.  There was nothing sweet in it but he was right.  Time for more vinegar, and some healthy squeezes of fresh lime juice.  Definitely more salt, and a little more onion.  Ahh, a bit more minced fresh jalapeno; after all, they vary so much in their heat index.  Hmm. The sauce at VL was also a bit pale, so in addition to water I added some milk.  Unorthodox maybe, but before we knew it, in our very own kitchen was a small glass pitcher of our own homemade guasacaca!  A heaping cup, or more of it -- a milky, jade-green sauce with flecks of kelly green cilantro.  We poured it over a mound of steaming, freshly cooked black beans, laced with fresh bay and garlic.  We ate some steamed carrots and cabbage.  We drank some chilled white wine and repeated what we often say to each other at dinner, that "no one else on the planet is eating this right now." My husband found another recipe for me at the end of the evening.  It was from Steven Raichlen, the super prolific cookbook author, whose recipe, it turns out, was very similar to mine.  His uses chopped green bell pepper instead of my jalapeno (in a smaller quantity) and he, too, uses a large quantity of water to loosen it.  It is the Venezuelan steakhouse equivalent to Argentina's chimichurri and it can be enjoyed on almost anything, even a hill of beans.

My Own Guasacaca The sauce should be highly seasoned, so taste as you go along and make adjustments: add more jalapeno, vinegar or salt.

1 small ripe avocado, about 7 ounces 1/2 cup chopped cilantro 2 tablespoons chopped onion 1 small garlic clove 1 tablespoon rice vinegar 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 1 to 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh jalapeno 1 cup water 1/2 cup milk lots of kosher salt to taste

Process the first 7 ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Slowly add the water and milk until the sauce is pourable.  Add salt to taste.  Makes about 1-1/2 cups

Radically Simple Wins Nomination!

My newest book Radically Simple: Brilliant Flavors with Breathtaking Ease was nominated for a coveted James Beard Award yesterday.  The book, my 12th, was published by Rodale late October 2010 and has garnered lots of wonderful attention.  It was chosen by People magazine, Food & Wine magazine, Good Morning America, and the New York Times as one of the best cookbooks of the year.  My favorite mention of all, however, was in the New York Times holiday book review, when the writer, Christine Muhlke (now the new editor of Bon Appetit) likened my work to that of Rene Redzepi (this year's #1 chef in the world -- owner of Noma restaurant and author of the Noma Cookbook).   The James Beard Awards are considered the "Oscars" of the food world and I'm honored to have received four of them.  Three for my cookbooks -- Little Meals, Recipes 1-2-3, and Entertaining 1-2-3 (Healthy 1-2-3 was nominated) -- and one award for a recent radio show that I did with Leonard Lopate on WNYC called "The 3-Ingredient Challenge."   This year, Radically Simple was nominated in the general cooking category along with The New York Times Cookbook by Amanda Hesser and The Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis.  Both wonderful books.  The Awards ceremony takes place on May 6th.  Stay tuned.  But as they say in Hollywood,"win or not, it's great to be nominated."   Thank you to everyone who made it possible.

The Best Arepas

At the Venezuelan Beach Cafe in Norwalk, Connecticut, arepas were flying out the door like hotcakes.  Weekending in Connecticut, we stumbled upon a tiny place across the laundromat on Main Street.  On a desolate block, on a sunny Sunday morning, stood small pockets of hungry people willing to queue up for almost an hour.  Including us.  I can't remember a time when my husband and I would have ever stood on line.  Our 14-year old daughter had the patience of a saint and we all enjoyed moving into the cafe to hug the wall and marvel at each plate that went by.  There were all shades of pastel batidos -- fresh fruit milk shakes -- that made your mouth water. On each table were two large squeeze bottles whose contents people were showering over their chilaquiles, arepas, empanandas, and some of the more newfangled dishes that were "specials" that day.  In one plastic bottle was a thick chipotle sauce that looked like chocolate ketchup (it was delicious) and in the other, a piquant avocado-cilantro sauce (even more delicious!) known as guasacaca sauce.  I will try to duplicate it today and share it with you tomorrow for it is completely new to me and something I'd like to eat often.  Apparently, this sauce is popular in Venezuelan steakhouses, but I am dreaming about it on steamed salmon, tossed with leafy greens, drizzled on grilled chicken, and spooned atop slices of thick, charred hanger steak.  But I digress.

Some of you may not know about arepas.  They are thick corncakes made from precooked corn flour, that are fried, grilled or baked and often filled like a sandwich.  They were originally made in Venezuela and Colombia and stuffed or simply topped with butter and cheese.  At the Venezuelan Beach Cafe, the arepas were about 5 inches in diameter, moist, and crispy on the outside.  I had mine filled with pernil -- garlic-and-parsley roasted pork which is ubiquitous in many of the dishes at VBC and in much of Latin and South America.   I have a recipe for arepas in one of my cookbooks from the mid 1990's -- before they were ever popular and certainly before little arepias hit the streets of Brooklyn and Williamsburg.  They are now the rage.  What I didn't know back then was the correct flour to use. I will try making them, more authentically this time, with masarepa, or masa precocida.   My daughter loved her "little piggy french toast" filled with pernil, OE eggs (over-easy), bacon and American cheese.  Oh my.  She then invented a batido of her own:  Pineapple-vanilla.  The waiter smiled when he served it to her.

The real name of the restaurant is Valencia Luncheria, although the hand-crafted sign on the front of the building said "Venezuelan Beach Food" or cafe.  Can't remember exactly. It is located at 172 Main Street in Norwalk, Connecticut.  It is, however, open for early breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Next time we'll bring a bottle of wine and try those gorgeous steamed clams with arepas for dunking.  Corkage?  $5 a bottle.  tel: 203-846-8009

Crunchy Salmon with Wasabi Peas & Lime

A few days ago, my friend Lauren C. was browsing the web and came across a recipe she was crazy about, salmon with wasabi peas and lime. It was a recipe from Bon Appetit from a few years ago. It turned out that the recipe was mine -- one of the few times that credit was given in the Internet's vast virtual cookbook --which delighted her (and me) even more. In the true spirit of radical simplicity, this is a dish that requires only a handful of ingredients and can be put together in less than 15 minutes. Wasabi-coated peas -- the 21st century's new snack food -- once the darling of specialty food stores and now available in every 7-11, get crushed to smithereens and packed onto thick fillets of fresh salmon to form a crunchy topping. Whereas these little peas are searingly hot, their spiciness lessens as it cooks. At the same time the salmon roasts in a 400 degree oven, slivers of red cabbage and sugar snap peas get flash-cooked in an oil-slicked wok, to form a gorgeous bed upon which the salmon sits. It is at once beautiful and delicious. My 14-year old daughter is still a bit squeamish about eating fish but she loves to crush the peas in a small plastic bag and then smash them with a rolling pin. Alternatively, it can be done in a food processor. This is a great warmer-weather dish, one that is inherently healthy, and gets you in and out of the kitchen in a flash. All you need to do is cook up some fragrant jasmine rice and pour yourself an icy glass of sauvignon blanc. Here's the recipe: Crunchy Salmon with Wasabi Peas & Lime 3/4 cup wasabi peas, about 3 ounces 4 6-or 7-ounce thick salmon fillets 1 large lime 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups sugar snap peas, about 6 ounces 3-1/2 cups finely shredded red cabbage, about 10 ounces

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the wasabi peas in the bowl of a food processor and process until powdery, but still with tiny pieces. Sprinkle the fish with sea salt. Pat the crushed peas onto the fish, making sure that the top is evenly coated. Grate the zest of the lime and sprinkle onto the top of the fish. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil. Place the fish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the fish is cooked through but still moist. Meanwhile, trim the ends of the sugar snap peas. Heat the remaining tablespoon of the oil in a work or large skillet. Add the red cabbage and sugar snaps and cook over high heat, stirring constantly for 5 minutes, or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the fish from the oven. Cut the lime in half and squeeze juice over the fish. Transfer the vegetables to 4 large warm plates and top with the fish. Serve with additional lime wedges, if desired. Serves 4

Tortellini Gratinati with Parsnip "Bechamel"

I've invented a lot of recipes in my day.  Thousands.  A portion of those were for restaurant consulting projects around the world -- including hotels and supermarket chains.  The others were for the hundreds of articles and twelve books that I've published since 1993.   I was the first to create olive oil ice cream, pesto-pistachio salmon, had the first watermelon-feta salad published in the New York Times, became famous for cooking short ribs in a concoction of prune juice and teriyaki sauce, and for frying capers in olive oil to pour over roasted asparagus.  There are too, too many to mention here:  Some have become signatures and others have been hijacked.  No matter.  But this month's article  published in Bon Appetit --that featured my five baked pastas -- has received more attention than most.  Permission was just given to publish the story in an upcoming issue of South Africa's House & Garden, and I was just asked to be on Martha Stewart's radio show to talk about baked pastas using seasonal ingredients. Several  blog readers have also made requests:  one in particular was keen to try my Tortellini Gratinati with Gorgonzola, Rosemary & Parsnip Bechamel.  For some reason, the title was changed in the magazine to Tortellini Gratinati with Mushrooms and Parsnip "Bechamel. " For me, some of the romance and appeal of the dish had to do with the flavor profile of the gorgonzola and rosemary.  No matter.  The most exciting component of the dish is my parsnip "bechamel."  I was thrilled that this nascent idea came to life and was so delicious.  This original spin, based on the classic French bechamel sauce, is as creamy and rich as the authentic recipe (ever more so!) but is fashioned from boiled parsnips which give a luxurious mouthfeel, a bit of sweetness, and lots of good nutrition.  The parsnip puree takes the place of the traditional butter and flour used in making bechamel.   It has already become a "new favorite" in my repertoire.  This "bechamel" can be used as a warm cushion for roast chicken, poured over roasted eggplant and mushrooms for a great vegetarian main course, or used as a filling for a big baked potato strewn with bits of crispy bacon.  Loosened up with a bit more milk or chicken stock, it becomes a wondrous soup.

Tortellini Gratinati with Gorgonzola, Rosemary & Parsnip “Bechamel”

The recipe can be made in quick stages then put together right before baking.  I use a combination of large and small cheese-filled fresh tortellini from the supermarket.  Small ravioli or fresh cavatelli may be substituted.

2 large parsnips, about 12 ounces 2 cups milk ½ cup heavy cream 1 cup freshly-grated parmigiano reggiano 3-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, in small pieces 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped 12 ounces baby portabellos, thinly sliced 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary 1-1/2 pounds fresh cheese-filled tortellini or tortelloni, or a mixture 6 ounces imported gorgonzola dolce, in small pieces

Peel parsnips.  Cut into 1 inch pieces.  Place in small saucepan with salted water to cover by several inches.   Bring to a boil and boil 20 to 25 minutes until very soft.  Drain well.  Put in food processor with 1 cup milk and heavy cream and process until smooth.  With motor running, slowly add remaining milk.  Add ¾ cup parmesan, ½ to 1 teaspoon salt (depending on cheese) and pepper. Process until very smooth.  Return to saucepan.  Cook 5 minutes over low heat or until reduced to 3 cups.

Melt 2-1/2 tablespoons butter in large skillet.  Add garlic, mushrooms and rosemary.  Cook 6 to 7  minutes, stirring, over medium-high heat until soft.  Add salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add tortellini and cook until just tender, about 9 minutes.  Drain well and toss with remaining tablespoon  butter.  place in a 10-cup overproof soufflé dish or casserole.  Scatter mushrooms over pasta.  Pour béchamel over pasta to cover completely.  Dot with gorgonzola and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup parmesan.  Bake 18 minutes until bubbly, then broil 2 minutes until golden brown.  Serves 6

Cookie Surprise: Don't Hold the Mayo!

Very unexpectedly, just a few mornings ago, I decided to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies for my daughter.  There is really nothing like a cookie, to surprise and delight. But it was I who was surprised:  After preheating the oven, measuring out the ingredients, "creaming" the white and brown sugars with sweet butter, licking my fingers, sipping coffee, greasing the sheet pan with the residue from the paper covering the stick of butter, I realized I had no eggs!  As I was making a half-batch of cookies, I actually only needed one egg.  One lonely egg.  How for granted we take our eggs, aren't they always just there, sitting upright in their crate, waiting for us?  I swore at that moment to give them more respect.  Do I call a neighbor? Run to the store?  I was in my pajamas, it was early in the morning, I was rushing like crazy.  I considered using some thick yogurt to moisten the batter but nixed that idea.  Applesauce?  I read about people doing that.  Didn't have any.  I started eating some chocolate chips.  I was getting a stomach ache. The bag of chocolate morsels I had just opened was 72 ounces.  A bargain from Costco.  Do you know what 72 ounces looks like?  A small throw pillow.  I was in trouble.

As necessity is the mother of invention, and I was the mother of Shayna, I found some mayonnaise in the fridge.  It was a eureka moment.  "That's it!" I exclaimed out loud. I'll use some mayonnaise.  Plop, plop went two heaping tablespoons into the batter.  After all, eggs are a component of mayonnaise, and maybe some of their magical powers would rub off on my cookies!   At the very least, the cookies would be nice and rich.   I worried a bit about mayonnaise's inherent acidity and sodium content (I had already added salt to the batter) but I was a woman in need.  Stir, measure, arrange on sheet pan.  I baked the cookies at a lower temperature than one usually does and also for a longer time.  I watched over them like a mother hen.  I whispered to them and gently rotated the pan several times.  I was beginning to smile.  And so would Shayna.

They were especially delicious:  Nice and rich and golden-hued, with a crisp but yielding texture that only mayo could provide.

Chocolate Chip-Mayonnaise Cookies

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 scant teaspoon fine sea salt 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature 6 tablespoons granulated sugar 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 heaping tablespoons Hellmann's mayonnaise 1 heaping cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; stir well.  Put butter, sugars, and vanilla in bowl of electric mixer.  Beat until creamy. Stir in flour mixture; mix briefly.  Add mayonnaise; beat briefly until incorporated.  Stir in chips.  Lightly grease baking sheet.  Heap 2 tablespoons batter onto sheet to form each cookie.  You will have about 22 mounds.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes until cookies are golden and just yielding to the touch.  Let cool.  Makes about 22

Jammin' with Teen Battle Chefs

There is an extraordinary troupe of young chefs in several states who "fight" under the rubric of Teen Battle Chefs. Created by teen-health advocate and educator, Lynn Fredericks, this concept deserves a tv show of its own.  I've watched these kids compete and they are tops! Professional, passionate, and competitive.  Here is an example of  what goes on in the kitchen trenches.  Written by Hannah Cohen, the HealthCorps Coordinator at North Bergen High School in New Jersey who teaches Teen Battle Chefs, as witnessed on the battlefield  one recent afternoon:  From Carrot Sweets to Sweet Success. One afternoon at Teen Battle Chef, I decided to attempt Sweet Carrot Jam with my chefs. My co-workers and I had discussed cooking something totally unfamiliar to us with our students, to show them that we are not afraid to take chances. I stick to Rozanne Gold's Eat Fresh Food: Awesome Recipes for Teen Chefs because I know her recipes are teen tested and approved, and reliable. She has a recipe for Sweet Carrot Jam, so I decided my chefs and I would cook the jam.

I've never made jam before, so we were all in for an adventure!

"The first time we made the sweet carrot jam was interesting. Instead of jam, we made candy." -Milagros

I'm not going to say it failed, but we didn't make jam.... The recipe said to cook for 1 hour, but the induction burners cook much differently than regular burners. The jam cooked too fast, and all the water evaporated. So, the sugar crystallized and hardened. We made carrot candy instead! My students became intrigued, so we put the mixture on wax paper to harden. I let the students take the candy home, and we each tried to find a way to eat it without cracking our teeth!

"It tasted better than expected! My mom melted the hardened candy and shaped it into baby carrots. She loved the candy so much, she wanted to keep it all to herself!"- Lyli

"Next week, we tried a second time. This recipe was a success. " - Tevin

The second try, we successfully made Sweet Carrot Jam! Of course, not without a little snafu….

A chef accidentally added twice the amount of water than the recipe called for. Not to worry! I knew we could leave the lid off while simmering, allowing the water to evaporate. This process took a little while. My students had to leave, so they didn't get to see the final product. (We will just have to make more!)

"I was not able to munch on it, but it was delicious enough just looking at it! " - Zeinab

Eventually, a nice syrup formed. I spooned the jam into jam jars then tied a black and white checkered ribbon around them. The jam was given to the teachers who successfully completed a Personal Wellness Challenge.

"The chunky texture of the carrots makes this jam great with crackers & cheese! "- Ms. Reilly

One teacher's husband devoured it.

"You don't need to make it exactly by the recipe to enjoy." - Lyli

Sweet Carrot Jam

Adapted from Eat Fresh Food: Awesome Recipes for Teen Chefs. Ms. Gold said she sometimes adds ground cardamom for added interest and flavor.  Just a pinch will do.

Ingredients:

1 pound carrots

2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Peel the carrots, cut them into 1 ½ inch pieces, and put in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until they are coarsely ground (about 1/8-inch pieces). You will have about 3 cups. Put the carrots in a heavy 4-quart medium size pot. Add the sugar, lemon juice, 1 cup water, and a pinch of salt. Bring to a rapid boil and cook for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium and cook for about 1 hour, stirring frequently. To see if it is ready to jell, place 1 tablespoon of the mixture on a small plate and put in the freezer for 1 minute. If it becomes firm and doesn't flow, it is done even though it will still look quite liquid in the pot. Remove the pot from the heat and let cool. Spoon the mixture into a jar. Cover and refrigerate.

A Balaboosta Brunch

In honor of the 100th year celebration of International Women's Day yesterday, the Consulate General of Israel in New York sponsored a wonderful brunch at Balaboosta on Mulberry Street. Owned by rock star mom and chef, Einat Admony, over fifty fabulous women came to listen to music, drink pomegranate mimosas, and celebrate women's achievements during the course of the last century.  We have certainly come a long way (and yet in some countries, Egypt for example, it is not so true.)  Yesterday was dear to my heart because it acknowledged the achievements of women in professional kitchens:  executive food editor Gabriella Gershonson of Saveur magazine, did an insightful job interviewing Einat "live" for Shalom TV.  Einat, very much her own woman, wearing chef's whites and, instead of a toque, sported two long youthful ponytails, had worked in several of New York's great restaurants, including Bolo and Tabla, when she decided to buck the system and become a mother and a chef -- and do them both well.

This, I know from personal experience, is not easy to achieve.  Many women chefs have consciously, or not so consciously, chosen to follow their professional calling, often at the expense of having a family.  Einat has wowed New York's young food passionistas (my word) with her restaurant Taim and more recently with Balaboosta, a word of soulful, joyful meaning.  It is a Yiddish notion that describes (in a respectful way) the proficiency of a woman as being a good wife and mother and 'captain' of the house.  It's an old-fashioned concept, yet there are young women today who certainly fit the description.  Two women I'm thinking of in particular, Robin Adelson and Helen Kimmel, who run amazing households, also have impressive professional lives as well.  It is this dual aspect of balaboosta-ness that is very today.  And I shall now add Chef Admony to this exclusive group.   The food itself was also dear to my heart as I was the one, in 1986 (as Chef-Director of Baum + Whiteman worldwide), who created New York's first pan-Mediterranean restaurant called Cafe Greco on the upper East Side. That was 25 years ago!  If you read the menu today, you would think it had just opened.  Bryan Miller, food critic of the New York Times, gave it a glowing 2-star review and said that "this was going to be the next great food trend."  I called the cuisine "Med-Rim" -- meaning a fusion of the "kitchens" of the Middle East and the countries whose borders hugged the Mediterranean coastline.

Balaboosta, along with Barbounia and Taboon, are restaurants in New York who do this kind of food well.  It is an exciting palate of flavors and colors, and much of the food is inherently very healthy.  I especially loved yesterday's labneh (thick slightly salty yogurt) with its puddle of excellent olive oil and za'atar.  Other dishes included crispy fried olives, shakshuka (baked eggs in tomato and herb sauce), homemade pita, hummus, and pistachio baklava.  That, with some virtuosic clarinet playing by Anat Cohen, and spirited conversation among some awesome women, made it feel especially empowering to be a balaboosta -- if only for a few hours.

In honor of the day, here is a recipe for my za'atar pesto.  It takes one minute to make!

My Za'atar Pesto Za'atar is a khaki-colored spice mixture that includes dried hyssop, sumac and sesame seeds.   Use this as a great dip for cherry tomatoes and pita chips.

1/2 cup za'atar (buy it from a Middle Eastern food store) 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 1/3 to 1/2 cup olive oil

Stir everything in a medium bowl.   Makes about 1 cup.