Help Japan: Buy Handmade!

I know all our thoughts are with Japan these days.  I want to take a moment to tell all of you consumers out there that every day etsy is devoting some of its daily picks to sellers who are donating some of their proceeds towards aid in Japan.

Art print by NanLawson on etsy. $10 and all proceeds go towards aid in Japan.

Soap lotion and perfume combo by chasestreetsoapco is $25 an dall proceeds go twards aid in Japan.

I bought these from DownToTheWireDesigns.  The were $20 and 100% of the proceeds go to Doctor's without Borders or American Red Cross, your choice.  The will send you a proof of the donation at the end of the month. Help them make their quota of $500 a month! 

Tshirts by jessalinb on etsy.  Price is $25 and $18 is donated towards aid in Japan.

Sunday Night at Home: Reinventing Meat Loaf

How did I arrive at the ripe old age of...however old I am...never to have made a meat loaf.  Really.  Before last night I had never made a meat loaf.  That great staple of American comfort food completely slipped out of the radius of my vision for home dinners.  Maybe I didn't think that meat loaf was very exciting. I now know that I was seriously over looking its potential.  My epiphany is thanks to Allison Ehri Kreitler of  Fine Cooking magazine, who has broken down the process of meat loaf-making to a mix and match formula of ingredients paired with a template of techniques.  And really, like any good cooking, it is all about good ingredients.


That being said, if you are thinking of picking up a package of "pink-on -the-outside-gray-on-the-inside," hormone, antibiotic and corn stuffed beef that you get on a styreofoam tray at the supermarket, I implore you to reconsider.  Every March I tip the scale of balanced nutrition towards more meat laden dishes.  Perhaps it was all that Lenten meat deprivation I had growing up.  ( Just kidding, Mom!) As you can see I didn't exactly opt for a Sunday eggplant roast.   So now, let's talk turkey for a minute.  If you live in or near New York note that Dipaola's Turkey farm in New Jersey is probable the only reason I eat turkey on a day that isn't Thanksgiving.  Did you get that?  Dipaola's Turkey.  It will change the way you think about turkey.  You will find no over stuffed, dry, bleach white turkey breasts here.  For this recipe I chose their sweet fennel, Italian style turkey sausage.

Then there are the flavor boosters, i.e. well chosen aromatics and spices that can really make this dish interesting.  Once you have all those flavors packed a perfectly shaped rectangular brick, you need to hold all those juices in so the meat does not dry out.  Kreitler recommends wrapping it in bacon or glazing it with honey or ketchup.

Turkey and Fennel Sausage Meatloaf


1 red onion chopped fine
1/2 a leek (green parts included) chopped
1 small fennel bulb chopped fine
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 slices of bread (in this case I used 3 slices of whole grain and one sourdough which just happened to be what I had available)
1 cup of milk
2 lbs. loose ground Dipaola's sweet Italian turkey sausage
1/3 of a cup olives pitted and chopped
1/2 a cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese (I may have went over.  I am always a little heavy handed when it comes to cheese.)
1/2 a teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 eggs
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt (I used a finely ground sea salt because more often than not that is what I have available.)
1/2  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons honey

1. Heat your olive oil and sautee` your aromatics, meaning your onion, garlic, fennel and leek.  Stir until they sweat, soften and then become translucent.  Transfer to a bowl to cool.
2. In a shallow dish, soak your bread slices in milk, flipping once.  Lightly squeeze out excess milk.  Chop the bread fine and add to the bowl with the cooked aromatics.                                                                  
3. Position your oven rack in the center and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
4. Add meat and eggs to a large bowl and proceed to add all remaining ingredients including bread and sauteed aromatics.
5. Thoroughly mix by kneading the ingredients together with wet hands.  Wet hands will keep the the mixture from sticking to your fingers.
6. Line the bottom of a 9 x 12 baking dish with parchment paper.  In the center of the parchment you want to mold the meat into a rectangular brick shape approximately 10 inches by 4 inches.
7. Using a basting brush, glazed the meat with honey.
8. Bake until the center reaches 160 degrees.  To check use and instant read thermometer and place in the center of the meat.  should bake approximately 45 to 55 minutes.

The result of this recipe was seriously delicious.  If I were to do it again I think I might swap out half of the turkey sausage misxture for plain ground turkey (from Dipaola's, of course.) to let some of the other flavors shine.  If you try that before I do, let me know how it turns out.

The Classics: Beouf Bourguignon

In art, there are times when you invent and times when you follow a master.  When I have needed inspiration or a technique refresher in painting, I turned to a master painter.  Last night I turned to the master of home cooks to help me in the kitchen, Julia Child.  I am inspired by her patience. Dare I admit that on an off day I have watched that episode where she makes a cheese souflee` three times?  It just goes to show that an attention to detail and technique can result in a baked cream that defies gravity.  But what I admire most about Julia Child was her persistance.  At the start of her culinary endeavor she had very little to no knowledge of cooking.  When first presenting her cookbook series for publication, it was turned down numerous times.  So perhaps I am not the culinary magician that can create a cheese souffle` (or any other souffle` for that matter). But I won't give up on the idea that it will happen someday.  Like perhaps many other things in my life.  Maybe I was just in the mood for a really good beef stew but I think that it is Julia's spirit of persistence I really needed to emulate. Last night I donned Julia's pearls and sense of can-do so as to recreate her Beouf Bourguignon.

The herb and vegetable bouquet

Inspiration Outing 2: Grand Sichuan NY

Not to be confused with The Grand Sichuan, which I am sure is also good.  I just haven't been to that one yet.

Grand Central Market was no doubt a beautiful place, but often inspiration can be found from stepping out of your comfort zone.  Maybe this night was about setting my senses ablaze.  Or at least the epidermis of my tongue.

In a sea of NY restaurants, this place is a great find.  It was introduced to me by some friends and I felt it was time to pass on the recommendation.  Don't come here for the hipster vibe or romantic ambiance.  The decor is an unassuming Chinese restaurant.

Ready with our rumbling stomachs and tall glasses of water, I asked my girl friend, Janice, how adventurous she felt.  Tolerance for spicy food was already a given.  Why?, she asks me.  Because the tripe and oxtail is fantastic!  And yes, it is served cold.  Did I mention it is fantastic?

If you have never eaten tripe before, I know the kind of reservations you are experiencing.  Stomach lining.  Enough said.  However, chances are you have all too often already eaten something that would sound just as gross if someone took the time to explain it to you.  Think hot dogs.

The first time (and admittedly the only other time) I had tripe was at an engagement dinner in a restaurant  in the Italian countryside.  It was Tripa alla Romana and this place was the place to have it. The dish was passed around the table along with freshly made pasta entree`s and mouth-watering charcuterie. Although everything else was delicious, the tripe left an unpleasant aftertaste that I couldn't get past. However, as a rule of thumb, I think each gastronomic adventure deserves more than one shot before being stricken from the list of what you would order off a menu.  I would even say more than two or three.  Did I get on this soap box and relay these thoughts to Janice at dinner, I wonder?  Maybe that was when her expression stiffened and she replied "I'll try some of yours."  Let me record this and set it free into the Internet universe:  she ate half. That's the spirit!

Some other things you should try at Grand Sichuan NY:



Shrimp Shumai

Clams in Black Bean Sauce

Green Beans and Duck

Inspiration Outing: Grand Central Market

Don't all of the great cities of the world have beautiful food markets?  The food at Grand Central Market is only part of its allure.  Maybe it's the lighting or the stroll-friendly layout or the fact that it is embedded in this glorious specimen of architecture.  I have been traveling through Grand Central Station for as long as I can remember.  I grew up off one of the Metro North Railroad stops and as a young art student I travelled into Manhattan regularly to see gallery and museum shows.  Even now, as a Brooklynite, I pass through this magnificent New York City attraction on family visits, which they love also since it is mostly Italian like them.

The most impressive selection of any food category at Grand Central Market for me is cheese.  Murray's cheese has quite the spread and I always discover a type of cheese I had not heard of before.  I also enjoy the suggested pairings of jam.  I picked up a lovely rose petal preserve that I would probably pair with a milder cheese.  

At either end of the market is Greenwich Procuce, where the pickings are both seasonal and exotic. 

My mother often asks me to bring her meyer lemons on my visits. They are a bright yellow orange.  The kind of color you might find on a Spanish tile.  They are much sweeter than your average lemon but a taste still unique from an orange.

The colors speak for themselves, don't they? 

Cereillo has every cut of beef you can dream up and it has been aged for 30 days.  They also have a great selection of charcuterie.

Don't get me wrong, this market isn't cheap and for the most part I am a frugal cook.  But sometimes it is just worth the splurge.  For a full listing and description of the vendors go here.

Dinner.  For a new twist on roasted beets I made a glaze with olive oil, rose petal preserve and meyer lemon.

Musings of a Home Cook

Nothing like a six week sinus infection that kills your sense of taste and smell to re-examine your relationship with food.  That's were I have been this winter.  Now the air is clearing, the weather feels milder and I have returned to my blog.

Functioning at about seventy-five percent of my normal gusto has changed my routine.  Or should I say slowed it down.  Normally, when I get home from work, I have 2 to three hours before my husband gets home when I tackle my daily/weekly task list.  Tasks including drawing, art projects, design work, household chores or just answering emails.  Then I start dinner.  Not feeling 100 percent means I have to pair down on some of what I get done after work.  Surprisingly, what I did not change was my cooking routine.  We could have ordered pizza. Albeit, take out every night would be an expensive and less-than-healthy option, I am not entirely sure that those reasons were the ones that motivated me to return to the stove every evening.

If asked in conversation what motivates my interest in food and cooking I would respond by referencing the impact our food industry and our personal food choices have on our health and the environment.  The agriculture, production and distribution of food affect the living and working conditions of many people around the world.  Eating better can mean living better.  And if that isn't enough, I LOVE to eat!  It is one of the greatest sensory pleasures.

I would heavily emphasize that last point.  What I discovered these past weeks was that even with my senses of taste and smell impaired, I was still not willing to forgo my cooking routine.  When I felt I could no longer concentrate at my desk, my inclination was to gravitate toward my cutting board.  I realized that that is the place were my thoughts are released and my hands and senses take over.  Taste and smell excluded, there is comfort in the tactile rhythms.  The comfort of being home is slicing through a cool, crisp vegetable and hearing the sound of the sound of the knife tapping on the cutting board.

Although I must say that I am happy to have my other senses back.  The other night after having dinner at a wonderful restaurant in Williamsburg called Barberry, I spent some time chatting with part owner and chef, Diego, about the subtleties of salt and the joys of making food from scratch.  In that conversation, Diego eloquently expressed what I will paraphrase, "how often we forget a face but the memory of smells and tastes last forever."

Community Table: Belated Valentine Cupcakes

What can I tell you about the very few posts I have made this New Year?  I don't mean for it to be habit nor do I want to give excuses, but I only want to put the recipes on hear that I am genuinely proud of.  I have been plagued with a nasty sinus infection that is paired with a loss of my sense of taste. This has made knowing whether or not I can be truly proud of my recipes challenging.  So, is it too late to show you my Valentine cupcakes?  I never celebrate Valentines on the actual day anyway.  That's just me.

These were made by my friend Naomi and I for a dinner that was being held tonight at our local soup kitchen in Greenpoint.  I mentioned in an earlier post that I have been trying out some more sophisticated cupcake recipes.  This is Cupcake Challenge number 4.


Chocolate Cupcakes with Coconut Buttercream



Coconut Lime Cupcakes







 We are messy bakers!


From Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" with minor adaptations:

Coconut Buttercream

4 tablespoons coconut milk
2 tablespoons millk or heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional)
4 cups confectioners sugar
1 stick of butter

In an electric mixer, add butter and cream.  Alternately start adding sugar and heavy cream/coconut milk.    Beat on high until fluffy.

From Shelly Kaldunski's "Cupcakes" with minor adaptations:


Lime Curd

4 egg yolks
6 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup of sugar
1 teaspoons lime zest
pinch of salt

In a saucepan, whisk together the ingredients and cook over medium high heat.   When it is thick enough to coat a the back of a spoon it is ready.  lay plastic wrap over the curd and chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

Coconut Cake

1 cup all purpose or cake flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup shredded coconut roughly chopped
1 egg plus one egg white

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and make sure your cupcake pan has is prepped with paper liners.  In a bowl whisk your dry ingredients including the coconut.  In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for 2 to three minutes.  Add egg, egg white and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Add flour in three addition alternating with 2 additions of coconut milk.  Beat on low and scrape down ten sides of the bowl.  Divide the batter into the cupcake tins filling 3/4 of the way up.  Bake 20 to
25 minutes.

Chocolate Cake

2/3 cup all purpose or cake flour
2 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 oz bittersweet chocolate chopped
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon  vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and make sure your cupcake pan has is prepped with paper liners.   In a bowl whisk your dry ingredients.  Put butter an chocolate in a heat proof bowl and set over simmering water in a saucepan; stir frequently.  When it it is melted completely  remove the bowl and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.  Add egg and chocolate mixture to dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon.  Add vanilla. Stir and fold over until completely blended.  Divide the batter into the cupcake tins filling 3/4 of the way up.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes.