The 60-Second Food Schmooze: Recent Episodes
Connecticut Public Radio
Each weekday at 3:00 pm on WNPR radio, Faith serves up a tasty "60-Second Food Schmooze" with hot tips, recommendations, recipes and more.
Here they come —the first fresh cherries of the season. Here’s how to sweeten them to make a dessert. Use frozen or fresh pitted cherries. Place 4 cups of cherries in a saucepan and cook on medium, covered, for 15 minutes, and stir the cherries often. In a bowl, mix together a cup of sugar and a 1/4 cup of cornstarch. Add that to the cherry juice, stirring. In about two minutes, the sauce will thicken. Enjoy this over ice cream, Greek yogurt, or slices of cake.
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Thinking outside the box, here’s a delicious, simple way to doctor boxed brownie mix. When the instructions say to add water, skip that and swap in cool brewed coffee instead. Throw in some extra chocolate chips and sprinkle a little sea salt on top before the pan goes into the oven.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Garlic butter roast chicken is the dish my friends request most often. Melt 5 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan with 5 minced garlic cloves. Dry the outside of a whole cleaned small chicken with paper towels so it gets oven-crispy. Baste the chicken with garlic butter. Stuff the cavity with a lemon cut in half and a sprig of rosemary. Pop the chicken in a 450-degree oven for about one hour, basting the chicken with more garlic butter every 15 minutes.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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When Mark Bittman figured out quick preserved lemons, it spread like wildfire. My turn! Take two organic thin-skinned Meyer lemons. Finely dice them, removing seeds. Put them in a lidded jar with 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1/2 tablespoon of sea salt. Close, shake, and put the jar in the fridge overnight. Boom. . .quick preserved lemons, ready to use on fish, chicken, in a lamb tagine, or any time you want to add a little Moroccan or Middle Eastern accent to a dish.
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Busy night? Make my broccoli, cheese and olive quesadilla in minutes. Zap frozen broccoli in the microwave, and squeeze the water out of it with the back of a large spoon. Place a small scoop of broccoli on one half of a round corn or whole wheat tortilla. Sprinkle cheddar or feta on top of the broccoli, and some finely diced olives. Fold the tortilla circle in half like a half moon and fry each side for several minutes on medium low until the sides are golden brown and the cheese is melted. Cut it in half and serve with a wedge of lime and a couple of slices of avocado.
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Here’s the best grownup and kid dessert on the planet…chocolate-filled biscuit dough roll-ups. Unwrap a package of refrigerated Crescent rolls. Smear every triangle with chocolate sauce and sprinkle on crumbled salty pretzel sticks. Roll ‘em up and bake according to package directions. So fun and so good.
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Cooking cherry tomatoes in butter and olive oil is so quick and easy, and the warm blistered beauties make a fantastic side-dish with anything. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/8th of a cup of olive oil in a heavy skillet on low. Add 3 pints of rinsed whole cherry tomatoes to the pan, crank the heat to high. Don’t overcook them. About five minutes is good. Sprinkle on salt, pepper, and chopped fresh or dried basil. Everybody loves them.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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I call this the disappearing appetizer…Buffalo Chicken Crescent Biscuit Roll-Ups. In a bowl, mix together finely diced rotisserie chicken meat, Frank’s Hot Sauce, a little melted butter, and a sprinkle of crumbled blue cheese. Unroll the tube of Crescent roll triangles. Smear on some of the mixture and roll up each crescent from the wide end to the tip. Put the rolls on a sprayed sheet pan and bake them according to package directions. These easy apps also make the perfect midnight snack.
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Want to make a delicious red sauce with just three ingredients? Toss a chopped onion into a saucepan with a can of chopped tomatoes and a combination of olive oil and butter. Simmer it on low for 45 minutes. It’s fantastic. (Thank you Food 52, for the inspiration.) I put my sauce on rice, but you can use it on pasta, of course, or as the saucy element in chicken cacciatore, in a stuffed-pepper mix, or in a thousand different dishes.
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Healthy dips make good sense, as long as they’re really delicious with chips or veggies. Here’s one I love: White Bean Pesto Dip with Preserved Lemons. Drain and rinse two cans of white beans. Whip until creamy in a food processor. Stir in some store-bought pesto to taste and 1 tablespoon of finely diced preserved lemon or lemon juice. Finish it with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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So what do Americans love to eat in January? Let’s brain-storm. Saveur magazine says rum-soaked broiled grapefruit. (That must be for retired people.) In the U.K., one popular site says Leek and Gruyere Gratin, which sounds delicious. And since I want it to be calorie-sensible on weeknights, I’m all about hearty stews packed with vegetables, meat or fish, and interesting international flavors, like African Peanut Stew; Chili with Tofu and Butternut Squash, and Slow Cooker Black Bean Enchiladas. Make it calorie-friendly and lovable in January.
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Here’s how to make a lower-fat and crispy duck breast the easy way. Use a sharp knife to score the duck breast skin in a cross-hatch pattern, trying not to slice the meat underneath. Cook the breast skin-side down in a cast iron skillet on medium heat, until the fat has melted off and the skin has become golden brown and crispy. Place the skillet in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until the inside meat is cooked to medium. Slice the breast and serve with sides or over salad.
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Save those orange rinds. There’s a thing that people do in the south of France, and I love it. When you peel an orange, save that peel and tie it to a little string and hang it over your kitchen sink. Let the peel dry out until it’s brittle, and then grate it. Grate it over a beef stew, into a tea, on top of ice cream or cocktails. You can do the same thing with lemon peels. It’s a little bit of the south of France in your own kitchen.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Want everyone in the house to look forward to breakfast? Make easy Bacon, Tomato and Cheese Egg Muffins. In a large measuring cup beat together 6 eggs, 1/4 cup of crisp chopped bacon, 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, a dash of garlic powder, and diced tomatoes. Hit a 6-cup muffin tin with non-stick spray and pour the beaten egg mixture so that each cup is half-filled. Bake the muffins at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. The “muffins” last three days in the fridge or freeze them and microwave them frozen on busy mornings.
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A juicy piece of baked salmon with crispy browned Panko breadcrumbs on top. Heat the oven to 425°. Brown Panko crumbs, constantly stirring, in a dry skillet. Coat the fillets with a mixture of Dijon mustard and olive oil. Press the browned crumbs on top of the mustard so they stick. Bake them for about ten minutes. Crispy with every bite.
Photo: Sandor Weisz/Flickr, creative commons
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Picture this…a meatloaf wrapped in buttery puff pastry. Make your favorite meatloaf, put down a sheet of supermarket puff pastry, place the meatloaf in the center, and wrap it like it’s a gift package. Brush it with melted butter and bake it at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, wrapped in foil, and another 30 minutes with the foil removed. When the puff pastry is golden brown, it’s done, or use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. I slice mine and serve it with a hearty salad. They’re going to want seconds.
Photo: Rafel Miro/Flickr, creative commons
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What a great way to wake everybody up the morning after any holiday. Make melted ice cream French toast. I like egg-rich Häagen-Dazs® vanilla. Melt a pint in a saucepan over the lowest heat, but no boiling. Heat a non-stick skillet on medium. Dip your favorite bread slices into the melted ice cream, then right into the skillet they go. Brown the bread until golden on both sides. Serve them with maple syrup and soft butter. Grandparents, the kids will love you forever. Or, if it’s a grown-up brunch, wow, Manhattans are perfect with ice cream French toast.
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How about dazzling your morning guests with plate-sized crispy potato latkes, each topped with two fried eggs! Google any latke recipe (or use this one we like). You’ll need shredded potatoes, diced onion, baking powder, and an egg. When it’s all in the bowl, as instructed, you cover the entire bottom of a cast iron skillet with a thin layer of the mixture. To that mixture I add bits of shredded prosciutto or diced cooked chorizo. Keep the cooked latkes warm in a low oven while you fry the eggs. Two eggs atop each giant crispy latke. You realize this is how brunch is served in heaven, or the morning after holiday meals.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Savory crepes are coming, starting now. I saw the Italian master Nicola Savino make crepes on my recent food and wine tour through Puglia. Think pancakes only thinner. All you need is corn flour, milk, eggs, and cornstarch. Pour a thin layer of batter across an entire skillet. When it’s flipped and done, fill with diced ham and cheese. Roll ‘em like cigars and brown the outside of the rolled crepes in the skillet. Staggeringly delicious.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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One of my new favorite things to do? Use my waffle iron to make food crispy, a texture I adore. Picture those cinnamon buns in a tube at the supermarket—put them in your waffle iron. Omelettes get crazy crispy in the waffle iron, so do grated potatoes, and leftover mashed potatoes are phenomenal. Even folding a pizza slice in half and waffle ironing it turns it into a crispy calzone. Go on, try stuff!
Hash brown waffle photo: Stacina/Flickr, creative commons
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If you’ve never tried a Negroni, you must try this one, the perfect autumn cocktail. One ounce of dry gin. One ounce of sweet vermouth. One ounce of Campari. Stir it with some ice until it has a chill and then serve it in a low glass on the rocks. It’s the perfect cocktail to have when your friends come over for some TV watching. . .or throw a Negroni party.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Ground beef, green olives, garlic and onions served over fork-mashed red potatoes. Just five ingredients and you’re in comfort heaven. While my red potatoes are boiling, I sauté a diced onion and a few cloves of diced garlic in a little olive oil for a few minutes, then add the ground meat, stirring so that it breaks up. Toss in a handful of chopped green olives and mix them in. Mash up the red potatoes and spoon the mixture on top. A drizzle of olive oil at the end makes it tasty. Serve it with some Frank’s Hot Sauce on the table.
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I love Melissa Clark of The New York Times. She inspired me to create an easy homemade coconut-lime rice that goes with almost anything. All you do is pour a small can of coconut milk into a large measuring cup. Add enough water to reach 2 cups, along with a cup of rinsed white rice and a dash of salt. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and put a lid on the pot. In 17 minutes, place a clean dish towel between the lid and the pot, and let it steam off the heat for ten minutes. Just before you fluff it up with a fork, add the juice of a half-lime, and serve. Sometimes I sprinkle on some chopped Macadamia nuts.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice on shrimp…it’s the best and calorie-friendly for lunch or dinner. Cookbook author Ellie Krieger introduced me to this simple preparation. While your grill is heating up, toss some fresh peeled shrimp in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a little grated lemon zest. Throw the shrimp on the grill, 3 minutes per side, and when you serve them squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on them. These are great on top of salad, or as an app. Healthy and delicious.
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Try this and you’ll probably say, I’ve never tasted potatoes before. Now’s the time to go to a farmer’s market and buy just picked locally grown potatoes. They’re so delicious. I love Jacque Pepin’s recipe from Fast Food My Way. Peel and cube a few fresh potatoes. Rinse and drain them. Heat up some butter and olive oil in a non-stick pan, cook and cover the potatoes for 10 minutes on medium heat, turning them a few times until they’re golden brown. Then add lots of fresh garlic cloves and cook covered another 10 minutes on low heat. Add salt, pepper, and shredded fresh sage leaves just before serving. Crazy good.
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How about some lime scallion butter for fresh corn or whatever meat you’re serving? It’s easy and sooo good. In a food processor mix a half stick of softened butter with grated lime zest and a diced scallion. Scoop it into a bowl and use a little on your grilled steak, burgers, chicken or pork. One small taste adds zip without lots of fat. And then there’s sweet summer corn on the cob. Slather on that lime-scallion butter with a touch of salt and you’re good to go. If you love heat, sprinkle on the cayenne to make it devilish.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Love loaded nachos? You can load potato packets on the grill, and they’re ridiculously good. Use heavy duty foil to double wrap packets of thinly sliced potatoes, onions, crispy bacon, and cheddar or pepper jack cheese. Place the packets on the grill and turn them every 15 minutes for an hour. As always, if you’re a heat lover, sprinkle the contents with Frank’s Hot Sauce before you seal the packets. Feel free to add diced vegetables and lighten up on the meat. Sprinkle it with crushed tortillas as soon as you open the cooked packets and serve.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Grilled salmon is great, but a grilled salmon BLT is fantastic. I love these sandwiches on sourdough bread but you could use hamburger buns, too. After grilling your salmon steaks and putting them on the buns, add mayo or a remoulade sauce, fresh basil, tomatoes, and lots and lots of crispy bacon strips. Garnish with snipped chives. Then, go to town. The sandwich is perfect with a dry chilled rosé.
Photo: LittleRedKitchen/Flickr, creative commons
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Light summer pastas with garlic oil are wildly delicious and satisfying. While linguine is cooking in a salted pot of boiling water, sauté two or three tablespoons of fresh minced garlic in a half-cup of oil, stirring, until the garlic becomes golden, but don’t let it turn dark and bitter. Add this gorgeous garlic oil to your bowl of drained, cooked linguine, along with some cooked shrimp and toss, adding more olive oil if it’s too dry. Some days I cut up a ripe tomato and throw it in with basil, but that plain garlic oil is heaven by itself. I drink a dry sharply cold rosé with this, though dry cold white is great, too.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Grilled Tomato Pie: It’s easy and luscious. Bake a pre-made store-bought pie shell, and while it cooks, cut local tomatoes in half across the equator and grill them about 5 minutes per side. When they’re nicely browned, chop them up and put them in a bowl with salt and pepper and diced garlic, basil and scallions. Put the mixture in the baked pie shell and top it with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Mexican Arepas are the thicker version of corn tortillas and great for gluten-free pizza crust. I toast my all-corn Arepas, topped with grated Parmesan, in a toaster oven, sometimes adding fresh slices of tomato or anything that sounds good. Cut them into six slices and serve them as appetizers, too. You’ll find them in the refrigerator section near the fresh corn tortillas in your supermarket. Now I’m wondering how they’d be with melted chocolate and slivered almonds on top.
Photo: Steven Depolo/Flickr, creative commons
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What’s a summer without creative s’mores, even without a campfire. All you need is a 6-inch cast iron skillet to make my version of s’mores dip. Throw a bag of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips into the skillet. Sprinkle on some unsweetened coconut. Top that edge to edge with marshmallows and let it all bake for 5-10 minutes in a 450-degree oven until the marshmallows are golden. Place the skillet in the center of the table and remind everybody that it’s hot. Use plain or cinnamon graham crackers as your dipping chips. Tortilla chips work, too.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Make this fish on your backyard grill or, as I do, right on the beach. I love to make swordfish, snapper, shrimp, or halibut by placing the fish in a large piece of aluminum foil I can close. On top of the fish I toss in a half stick of butter, a splash of white wine, a few marinated artichokes from a jar, a lemon quartered, feta cheese, and scallions. You can add anything you like. Then I crimp the foil all the way around and place the package on the grill. The fish steams and all the flavors meld together. In 10 or 15 minutes you have a delicious meal. It’s a simple and dreamy thing to do on the beach with a ten dollar hardware store grill. I always keep one in the trunk of the car.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Justin Chapple of Food & Wine magazine taught me how to make speedy Preserved Lemons. In his book Just Cook It!, Justin says cut 4 Meyer lemons into 6 wedges. Put them in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons of Kosher salt and 2 cups of water. Bring them to a boil over high heat, then simmer on medium about 10 minutes until they’re very tender. Put them in a lidded jar with the cooking liquid and you can use them right away. They last in the fridge for six months. Great in fish, chicken, sandwiches, pasta, and grilled lamb.
Photo: Suzy Morris/Flickr, creative commons
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A small scoop of homemade Gorgonzola butter on your grilled burgers, steak or chicken and you’ll be in food heaven. Plan on one teaspoon per person. Mix together a softened stick of unsalted butter with a package of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. And when the meat is just off the grill, add one teaspoon of the butter mixture to each piece of meat and watch it start to melt. What’s great about this is that we’re only using a small amount of butter and cheese as a flavoring agent. If you prefer a different cheese, go for it.
Photo: Librarianguish/Flickr, creative commons
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If you’re stranded food-wise, try my speedy canned tuna pasta salad. I always keep dried pasta and canned oil packed tuna on the shelf. If my fridge is nearly empty, I cook up some pasta, add a can of oil packed tuna, freshly grated Parmesan or Feta cheese and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice with a little of the zest. I might even throw in some Kalamata olives and scallions if they’re around. And I always end up liking this simple dish as much as any of my carefully prepared meals.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Grilling season is starting so I invite you to try a great low-calorie dry rub made with just three ingredients. All you do is mix together 1/4 cup each of garlic salt, hot smoked paprika and light brown sugar. Marinate the chicken, pork, beef or vegetables in this mixture for an hour in a plastic zip-top bag. Onto the grill it goes. Fantastic, fast and health-friendly. (Thanks to Tasting Table for sharing this idea online.)
Photo: Pixabay.com
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We’ve been researching some interesting ways to cut back on salt. Foods are loaded with crazy amounts of salt to make us crave it, but it’s hurting our health. Consumer Reports says a great red pasta sauce substitute is grated lemon zest, basil and chives instead of sodium-blasted store-bought stuff. Put fennel seeds and sage on pork. Make a dry spice rub for steaks. More lemon zest and lemon thyme on fish. Use delicious herbs and spices instead of salt.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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There isn’t a dish I can think of (except cereal) that won’t be made crazy-delicious by being topped with a sprinkling of crispy shallots. David Tanis (author of Market Cooking) says to put a cup of vegetable oil in a pan with 3 shallots, sliced thin. Cook them on medium heat, stirring and watching them carefully for 15 minutes. When they’re golden brown, set them aside and dry them with a paper towel. Keep the crispy shallots in a jar by the stove and toss them into vegetables, beef, poultry, and fish. I would put these on an old boot and eat them—that’s how good they are.
Photo: Seacoast Eat Local/Flickr, creative commons
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Here’s a chef’s secret that you can use at home. Professional chefs keep homemade flavored salt by the stove and use it to spark up everything. Here’s how to make your own cumin salt, though you can make other flavored salts too, including coriander and fennel salt.
Pour some cumin seeds from your local health food store (cheaper!) into a dry fry pan and toast them, watching carefully not to burn them. When they’re fragrant, remove them, let them cool, and grind them in a coffee grinder. Mix them with a flaky sea salt and sprinkle it on vegetables, fish, pork, and beef before you cook it. The flavored salt makes everything better.
Photo: Pixabay
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All you need is one pat of Balsamic butter to make your steak or burger swoon-worthy. Let a half stick of butter soften to room temperature in a bowl, then use a fork to mix in salt, pepper, and a tablespoon each of balsamic vinegar and diced shallots. Cover and refrigerate or freeze it until you need a dollop.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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I like quinoa as a higher protein power carb. Buy a pound of ground chicken and mix it with a half-cup of cooked quinoa, an egg, minced garlic, a couple of glugs of Frank’s hot sauce, and grated Parmesan cheese. Form the mixture into little meatballs and fry them in a little olive oil until they turn from pink to brown. Everybody loves these Buffalo chicken meatballs.
Photo: christine kaelin/Flickr, creative commons
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Two quick and easy additions will turn your fresh roasted asparagus into something amazing. Drizzle fresh asparagus with olive oil and roast the spears in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes, until they’re tender. Crumble goat cheese and chopped toasted walnuts on top of each serving. It’s absurdly delicious!
Photo: missy/Flickr, creative commons
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It’s spring asparagus season. I love to toss locally grown asparagus in some olive oil on a sheet pan and then wrap each spear in a thin slice of prosciutto. Lay the spears out on the pan, not touching each other, and broil them about six inches from the heat element. Three minutes on one side, flip them over and broil three more minutes on the other side. They should be nice and crispy. Squeeze of lemon once they hit the serving platter, and watch them disappear.
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I make my own heart-healthy yogurt cheese, and you can, too. It’s tangy, spreadable and delicious, like a soft goat-cheese, but without the sodium and high fat. At the end I drizzle it with good olive oil and sprinkle on fresh herbs. I bought a Cuispro Donvier yogurt maker, a small white box with a screen sieve inside. You simply dump in the low-fat plain yogurt, put the lid on and let it drain for 24 hours in the fridge. Scoop out the thick spreadable yogurt cheese into a ramekin and add in whatever you like, garlic, chives, Middle Eastern spices, curry powder. Two cups of yogurt make one cup of cheese. Some people even drink the high-protein whey liquid that drains out or they might even mix it into the dog’s food.
Photo: Rebecca Siegel/Flickr, creative commons
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I love my “Home Alone” food, thrown together finger-snap fast. My favorite lately… English Muffin Pizzas. Split an English muffin, regular or gluten-free, and toast them in a toaster. Then cover each half with your favorite grated cheese. (I love cheddar, parmigiano or crumbled feta.) Run the cheese-covered halves under the broiler until the cheese gets bubbly. Take them out and add whatever you have around – tuna and capers; or diced olives, crumbled sausage, or leftover chopped broccoli. That salsa on the fridge door? Sure, put on a spoonful. Throw a slice of bacon in the microwave and add the chopped crispy pieces to your little pizzas. I love eating this way.
Photo: Melly Kay_Flickr, creative commons
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Want to bring out the kid in everybody? Watch your guests light up when you serve them delicious homemade English Muffin S’mores for dessert. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place split English muffins on a sheet pan. Sprinkle on your favorite chocolate chips and miniature marshmallows. Pop the pan into the oven for about two minutes, until the marshmallows puff up and turn golden. If you want, you can sprinkle on a touch of sea salt or chopped toasted almonds just before serving. You can also make this dessert gluten-free.
Photo: Kristen/Flickr, creative commons
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French toast is fantastic all by itself, but I say we can make it even better. It’s simple to make crispy-crackly French toast. It’s the usual drill with sliced bread dipped in milk, egg, vanilla, whatever you like. But now the crazy-great texture tricks come into play. After you’ve soaked your bread slices, dip them into something crispy—panko bread crumbs, or crushed nuts, cornflakes, or your favorite granola. Fry or bake the French toast the way you always do, but wait for that crispy crackly mouth-feel in every bite. Doesn’t get better for breakfast, lunch or dinner—why not?
Photo: Mariam/Flickr, creative commons
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Stock is the key to fantastic chicken soup, so I have a quick trick for you. To make a super-fast soup with hearty flavor, buy two containers of supermarket chicken broth but be sure it’s low sodium. Add that to a pot with chicken bones from your last meal, some diced up carrots and a few cloves of garlic. Let it all simmer on the stovetop for 15 minutes, strain the broth and add whatever you want—cooked rice, noodles, extra shredded chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, parsnips, diced sweet potatoes—and you’re set for a week of meals. Change it up every night by adding different things, even some Asian ingredients like a dash of soy, a squeeze of fresh lime juice and sesame oil.
Photo: tifotter/Flickr, creative commons
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Sweet potatoes, pecans, and shredded chicken! That’s all you need to toss together a quick or anytime meal that makes everybody happy. Just bake the sweet potatoes in the oven or microwave. When they’re done, cut them in half, scoop out the cooked sweet potato into a bowl, add shredded store-bought rotisserie chicken and chopped toasted pecans. Stir it up, refill the sweet potato shells with the mixture and pop them in the oven to reheat and crisp up. They’re delicious, good for you and gluten-free.
Photo: Su-Lin/Flickr, creative commons
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How about fast, easy, delicious garlic shrimp on a busy night? When you get home, throw some defrosted, peeled shrimp into a plastic sealable bag along with a couple of garlic cloves, a glug of olive oil, a dash of cumin and a squeeze of lemon juice. Set the sealed bag aside for 20 minutes, then just remove the shrimp and broil them in a pre-heated oven for about three minutes until they’re pink. Instant garlic shrimp. It doesn’t get easier. Serve them on top of pasta, rice, salad greens or whatever sounds good. I love garlic shrimp on top of quinoa that I boil in chicken stock.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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What if your hors-d’oeuvre for the holiday starts with a Saltine cracker? Take your cracker, add a slick of store-bought olive tapenade, top it with a poached shrimp and a few crumbles of Feta cheese. It’s the simplest Mediterranean appetizer on the planet. Delicious, too.
Photo: Kevin/Flickr, creative commons
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Now is the time to tuck away your favorite corn on the cob. Think of it—you could freeze a big batch of fresh corn right now to use for Thanksgiving dinner. So much more flavorful than that frozen box in the store. Buy a few dozen ears now, cut each ear in half so they’re easier to handle, then strip the uncooked kernels off the cob and freeze them in a couple of large plastic bags. On Thanksgiving, you have the freshest corn for a side dish, or to make cornbread. You’ll feel so good when you put out that sweet bowl of corn studded with butter.
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If you’re a pasta lover, I have a healthy summertime calorie-saving tip for you. The thing is, I’m usually into the pasta for the sauce. That would be homemade or store-bought pesto lately. So, I use a spiralizer device or food processor to shred zucchini into noodles. I fry those in a little olive oil for just a few minutes, then add a generous amount of pesto. Then, I toss quickly to incorporate the pesto, and serve. Add freshly grated cheese on top, if it’ll make your day. Kids like it too because zoodles are just plain fun.
Photo: Marco Verch/Flickr, creative commons
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It’s a wild idea but it’s also crazy delicious—a Beer & Chocolate Ice Cream Soda. Two ingredients will do the trick. Start with a tall ice cold glass of your favorite ale (I love New Belgium.) Stop two inches from the top when you pour, because the whole thing will fizz up as soon as you add two scoops of your favorite chocolate ice cream. That’s all you do to whip up a beer and chocolate ice cream soda that tastes like a chilled match made in heaven. Trying it came to me out of the blue and now it’s a tradition in my house, and yours, too, I hope.
Photo: Dan4th Nicholas/Flickr, creative commons
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Time for a chef’s secret, revealed right here, to make your grilled salmon something special. Before cooking, chefs often soak their salmon pieces in salted water to make the fish stay moist while it cooks. Put your fish into 2 quarts of water, and 5 tablespoons of salt. Let it sit there for 20 minutes, and dry them off with paper towels just before cooking, whether you grill, broil, sauté or bake them. Why shouldn’t you know how to make restaurant-worthy salmon?
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Grilled lemon slices are delicious to eat with fish or chicken. I buy organic lemons and slice them about a quarter-inch thick. Toss the slices with a little white sugar and grill those slices on both sides until they have golden brown grill marks. Set those aside and grill shrimp tossed in olive oil a couple of minutes on each side. Serve the shrimp with the edible grilled lemon slices on each plate. And you can always add a slice of grilled lemon to your cocktail, too. You can do this with oranges and limes, too.
Photo: Alan Sheffield/Flickr, creative commons
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Move over Klondike® Bar, I’m here to tell you nobody can beat a fast and easy homemade ice cream bar covered in chocolate and nuts. Buy a pint of your favorite ice cream. Slice the pint, container and all, into four slices, then peel off the container strip along the edge. Freeze those slices for a half-hour. Meanwhile, melt 2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips and stir in 3 tablespoons of refined coconut oil. Dip each frozen slice in the chocolate mixture so it’s completely covered, sprinkle chopped nuts or diced fruit on the top side and freeze the slices again for a half-hour. You will be loved, possibly worshiped—I’m just saying.
Photo: theimpulsivebuy/Flickr, creative commons
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Grilled steak is sensational, but make it slamming good by topping it with cherry tapenade. Pit and chop a half-pound of Bing cherries. Place them in a bowl and mix them with 2 chopped scallions, a tablespoon of olive oil, a little chopped parsley and a half teaspoon of ground cumin and coriander. Toss the mixture and drizzle it over the sliced steak. It’s really good.
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You might serve your dinner guests coffee and dessert. Here’s an idea—put the coffee IN the dessert. Thanks to Buzzfeed for this absurdly easy recipe idea (it’s number 11 on the Buzzfeed list). To create a wonderful espresso “soft serve” ice cream, cook a little instant espresso and a can of sweetened condensed milk on medium-low for a few minutes, then refrigerate the mixture. After 30 minutes, take it out of the refrigerator and whip in some heavy cream. Now, pop that in the freezer for a few hours. That’s it. Three ingredients. No ice cream maker necessary. No crazy additives involved. Top the ice cream with nuts if you’d like.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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If you like grilled burgers, I have tips for success. Never salt your burgers early. Salt the patties on top just before they land on the grill or the texture will change and they’ll cook unevenly. Next, forget that crazy rule about flipping the burgers only once. They cook much more evenly if you keep flipping often. Like a really fat burger? Put a little thumb depression in the center of each thick patty so it won’t explode. And take it off the grill just shy of how you like it. Big burgers keep cooking on the plate.
Photo: Pixabay.com
Looking for burger recipes? Check out some of our favorites (and use those tips!): Steven Raichlen’s Barbecue Burger Blue Cheese Burgers with Onion Jam Bacon Swiss Burger Chris’s Stuffed Burgers
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Is there a better way to start a party? As soon as guests arrive, hand each one a Food Schmooze® Shrimp Cocktail Bloody Mary. Chill a pitcher of your favorite Bloody Mary mix, store-bought or homemade, with vodka. Then chop cooked shrimp and fill the glass with the shrimp, half-way. Add the Bloody Mary mix to the shrimp in the glass and top the whole thing with a generous amount of chopped crispy bacon bits or use a single bacon strip as a swizzle stick. Hand each guest a spoon. Welcome to the party. You can skip the vodka and make a pitcher of shrimp cocktail mocktails for kids and non-drinkers, too.
If you’re leaning toward a store-bought Bloody Mary mix, we can recommend two delicious mixes made in Connecticut. For an ultra spicy mix, look for Waypoint Spirits Labrador Noon XIII. For a lower-sodium classic mix with bold flavor, try Manny’s Ultimate Bloody Mary Mix. Both mixes produced a deliciously savory “app-a-cocktail.”
ON-DEMAND: Listen to Faith and the gang talk about this fun appetizer/cocktail during an episode of the show.
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Do I have a wine tip for you. While wine can be chilled in an ice bucket, how do we keep wine chilled once it hits the glass, without adding watery ice cubes? I buy affordable wines, then grab an extra bottle, which I pour into ice cube trays that I freeze.
When I’m serving the wine, I add frozen wine ice cubes to every glass. It turns to a heavenly slush at the end, and, meanwhile, the wine stays ice cold as you sip away.
ON-DEMAND: Listen to Faith and the gang discuss ways to make summer wine more festive. Think: frozen fruit, a splash of soda water. . .
Photo: Bryan Kennedy/Flickr, creative commons
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Breaking news, cinnamon-lovers. The American Heart Association says rats fed a high-cinnamon, high-fat diet, absorbed less of the fat and showed an increase in molecules that fight damaging inflammation. So now I’m liberally adding cinnamon to my morning chai tea. I combine the cinnamon and milk, mix it with a cheap hand-held frother, then add the hot water and tea bag. Next, I’m going to add cinnamon to ice cream, homemade chocolates, streusel cake, apple crisp, martinis, and granola. I will be so skinny I will disappear.
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If you, like us, love strawberry shortcake, we have a killer tip for making ordinary strawberries great. I learned this tip from Food Schmooze® Senior Producer, Robyn Doyon-Aitken. Put your clean strawberries on a rimmed baking sheet—it has to be rimmed, and lined with parchment paper. Bake the strawberries in a 350° oven for about 30 minutes. You could sprinkle them with sugar before baking them, but you don’t have to. Check them often, toward the end. The heat concentrates the flavors, and now you’ve got super strawberries—even in early-spring when everybody knows strawberries could use a flavor boost.
Photo: Tracy Benjamen/Flickr, creative commons
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Fuel yourself once with a morning cherry bomb smoothie and you’ll want one every day. My version is inspired by Dr. Mark Hyman of the Cleveland Clinic, from his book, Eat Fat, Get Thin. In a blender I combine 2 cups of almond milk, a cup of frozen pitted sweet cherries, and a dash of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Whirl it up with a little vanilla and a tablespoon of coconut butter. 490 calories and a delicious way to jump-start your day.
ON-DEMAND:Listen to Faith describe this smoothie on The Faith Middleton Food Schmooze®.
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A grilled cheese fondue sandwich will stagger you with delight! Here’s how you do it: Brush both sides of baguette slices with butter, toast them in a 400-degree oven, no broiler, until lightly browned. Rub each slice with a garlic clove, then lightly sprinkle each garlic side with drops of dry white wine. Add thin slices of Swiss cheese and cook open-faced for five more minutes in the oven until the cheese bubbles. Sensational!
Photo: Pixabay.com
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It’s time for easy soy, ginger, garlic marinated salmon. In a plastic sealable bag, toss in a 1/4 cup of olive oil, a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce, a few slices of fresh ginger, a chopped garlic clove, and, why not, a couple of chopped scallions. Put four salmon fillets in the bag and let it sit in the fridge for just a half hour. Take the salmon out of the bag and let it come to room temperature for five minutes. Now cook them in a skillet, about 3 or 4 minutes per side. One of the best and easiest salmon recipes I make.
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Give me something I can whip together fast that tastes great, and I’m a happy camper. Try my 4-Ingredient Avocado Dip. Fry up a couple of strips of bacon until crisp; set them aside. In the bacon grease, toss in 3 or 4 chopped scallions and a little salt. When they’re brown on the edges, put them in a bowl with a whole chopped avocado and 3/4 cup of plain yogurt. Mash and stir it up with a spoon, keeping it a little chunky. Chop the bacon and sprinkle it on top. This dip is great with tortilla chips or veggies. It’s even good on top of salmon.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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You know that trick of sprinkling water on a stale baguette to revive it? Forget it. I have something even better. Use a day old baguette to make Sea Salt Olive Oil Toast. Slice the baguette, brush the slices on both sides with olive oil, a light sprinkle of sea salt, and fry both sides in a dry skillet until golden. Great with salad, soup, eggs, steak, or as a midnight snack. This simple toast is great with anything.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Spring’s here, time to fry up a Rhode Island Johnnycake, a wildly delicious cornmeal pancake. Here’s how you do it: Heat up a cast iron skillet. In a bowl, mix together a cup of white cornmeal, a teaspoon of sugar, a little salt, and slowly add a cup of boiling water, stirring, until it’s like batter. Put a slick of bacon grease in the hot pan, drop in the batter with a tablespoon and fry on both sides until golden and crispy. It’s gluten-free, and a Rhode Island tradition.
Photo: Wally Gobetz/Flickr, creative commons
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In my wildest dreams I’d like to make this once a week: my favorite weeknight pasta. It’s so easy and good. While you boil water for pasta, in a bowl, mix together the juice of a couple of lemons, some lemon zest, a couple of glugs of olive oil, and pour it over the hot pasta. Top it with lots of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano. Mix it to incorporate. Sometimes I toss in a little bit of crushed red pepper flakes for some heat. Try it tonight. I bet it’ll become one of your favorites, too.
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Think lemon zest, fresh chopped basil, butter and goat cheese on top of a baked potato. . .WOW. Take a couple of potatoes, pierce them with a knife or a fork, and dip them in a little bit of kosher salt and water for about 30 seconds until they are wet. Put the potatoes in a 450˚ oven for about 45 minutes. Take them out “paint” the skin with a little vegetable oil, and put them back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Then you split those potatoes open and top them with a pat of butter, salt and pepper, and a mixture made of 2 tablespoons of soft goat cheese, a tablespoon of chopped fresh basil, and a teaspoon of lemon zest. Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over the loaded baked potato. It’s easy and SO good.
Thanks to Dr. Carolyn Mazure, director of the invaluable Women’s Health Research Department at Yale for this recipe.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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It’s a secret weapon used by chefs and now home cooks: Lemon zest. I use lemon zest to brighten almost everything, to give it a little magic. After washing and drying an organic lemon, I use a zester to scrape off the lemon’s pepper-thin yellow layer. I sprinkle that fresh zest on pasta, pork, chicken, rice, bowls of soup, baked potatoes, shrimp, fish, lamb chops, vegetables, in vinaigrette, baked goods and cocktails. That’s my secret weapon, lemon zest, salt and a pat of butter. It just makes everything better. You can use orange or lime zest the same way.
Photo: Pixabay
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Thanks to Cook’s Illustrated for teaching me to make steel-cut oatmeal in just ten minutes! It’s true. Bring three cups of water to a boil. Remove the water from the heat, stir in a cup of oats and a dash of salt. Cover the pan and let it sit out overnight. In the morning, you add one more cup of water and cook it, stirring, for about five minutes. Let it rest for five more minutes. Bang! A hearty, satisfying breakfast that’ll keep you going all day in just 10 minutes.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Go Caribbean without leaving your kitchen. All you need are four things — fresh pineapple rings, butter, rum, and balsamic vinegar. Mix it all together in a bowl and brush it on the pineapple slices. Broil them in the oven for seven minutes on each side, until the slices are beautifully caramelized. Sprinkle them with a dash of cinnamon and serve with vanilla ice cream. I like to toss on chopped macadamia nuts and turn up the Hawaiian music. If you’re serving to guests who don’t drink alcohol, skip the rum.
Photo: Garry Knight/Flickr, creative commons
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Busy weeknight? Try my quick and easy chicken cacciatore stuffed peppers. I had leftover rice from my take-out Chinese, so at the supermarket I bought jarred red pasta sauce, several whole green peppers and a rotisserie chicken. Cut the tops off the fresh peppers and remove the seeds. Mix together the cooked rice, pasta sauce and diced chicken, then stuff the peppers with the mixture. I baked mine in a 350° oven for about 30 minutes, and it worked. Out came a bubbling pan of hearty chicken cacciatore stuffed peppers for a busy weeknight.
Photo: Liji Jinaraj/Flickr, creative commons
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How does one of the most skilled chefs in the world cook scallops? Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto steams his scallops in a little sake or white wine. This gives them amazing flavor and a texture like velvet. I tried it and they were fabulous. A bare simmer in a steamer basket and add chopped scallions to the liquid. Steam for about 5 or 6 minutes. Some jasmine rice on the side and you have one delicious dinner.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Do you have a favorite sausage? Then we have an idea for an easy dinner. You know that tube of polenta on the supermarket shelf? Pull the meat out of the sausage casings and brown it in a skillet. Layer the bottom of a baking dish with jarred red sauce, then thick slices of the polenta, and lots of grated pecorino romano cheese. Repeat with a second layer and more sauce and cheese, and bake it in the oven for 30-45 minutes. Italian winter comfort food for weeknights or for company.
Photo: urbanfoodie33/Flickr, creative commons
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Want a cure for the winter blues? Nutritionists and depression researchers think certain foods lift your mood, especially in darker winters. These foods include salmon, red and blue berries, egg yolks and milk products, turkey and other lean proteins—and, important— foods with low to no sugar. I know…but wait for it…chocolate every day is great, as long as it’s the darkest kind. I start every day with a little 88 percent chocolate, which is very low in sugar and lifts my spirits, the way sunshine does. Otherwise, you can always fly someplace warm; it’s just a lot more expensive.
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Chefs have secrets, even making deeply delicious slow cooker beef stew. All you do to create big flavor is brown your meat in a skillet on the stovetop first with a little oil. Sear the roast or chunks until lightly browned. Do the same with sliced onions. When it’s done, add a little wine to scrape up the crispy bits in the pan and toss it all into the slow cooker with root vegetables. That one step will give you crazy good beef stew, meltingly tender. Use brisket, bottom round or chuck.
Photo: Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife/Flickr, creative commons
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Want a super-fast recipe for Parmesan potatoes? Throw unpeeled red potatoes, cut in quarters, into a big pot of water and boil until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 12 minutes. Drain them, put them back in the same empty pot, add 3/4 cup of olive oil, salt, pepper and a cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. Anyone can make this easy, irresistible recipe. And wow, do kids like it.
Photo: Martin Burns/Flickr, creative commons
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This is a French chef’s secret — the hidden ingredient in unbeatable salad dressing is a splash of chicken or beef stock. To make salad dressing, all you have to remember is three-to-one…three parts extra virgin olive oil and one part fresh lemon juice. I toss in crumbled feta cheese, whisking each ingredient as it’s added in. The final splash of chicken stock or beef stock (even the juice from a steak) gives it oomph, backbone. When I’m in the mood, I add a half-teaspoon of Dijon mustard and a tablespoon of chopped shallots.
Photo: Christine Wisnieski/Flickr, creative commons
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Fresh vanilla beans are delicious and you can make your own easy vanilla extract as a holiday gift. Here’s how you do it. Buy a fresh vanilla bean, slice it in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds and pulp into a jar. Add a cup of any vodka or bourbon. Write a card that says, “Shake every week; ready in 8 weeks.” Wrap the jar in burlap cloth and tie it with ribbon. And you’ve done it. You’ve made a homemade gift (REAL vanilla extract!) in minutes that any cook would love.
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I’m going for less stress this holiday season, starting with Thanksgiving. Wake up ritual — saying what I’m thankful for. By noon, reaching out with a call to someone who’s possibly lonely. Giving up on a perfect dinner. Remembering we’re all like characters in the little town of Mayberry — eccentric, passionate, clueless, creative, cranky, funny, kind and original. Really, every brain is a little crazy.
So I’ll try to connect with someone in a meaningful way before the day’s done. I won’t talk politics. I’ll breathe deeply four times if I’m upset. And I’ll make a charitable contribution to feed the hungry.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Paprika. That was how the late Sheila Lukins of Silver Palate Cookbook fame made her turkey great. Forget the fancy stuff. Rinse and dry your turkey with paper towels. Sprinkle paprika, and salt and pepper inside the cavity with a squeeze of fresh orange. Rub soft butter on the outside of the bird, sprinkle with salt, pepper and, yes, paprika. Roast it your way. It’s simple and, leave it to Sheila, really delicious. No kidding, it’s that easy and that stress-free.
Photo: Pixabay.com
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Extra fresh rosemary? One minute in the microwave will preserve it! For powerful flavor and color, the microwave is best. Put the fresh rosemary leaves or spikes on paper towels on a plate, then cover it with another paper towel and zap it on high for 20 second bursts. It should crumble when you touch it. If it doesn’t, try another series of 20 second bursts. The flavor’s incredible and will last several months in an airtight container. Add it to soups, stews, turkey, stuffing, or make spiced nuts.
Photos: Faith Middleton
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Best green beans EVER for Thanksgiving? Here you go. I do a version of a Ree Drummond recipe…A little bacon grease in a fry pan with fresh green beans, chopped onions, and minced garlic. Sauté a couple of minutes, pour in chicken broth and, with the lid ajar so steam can escape, let it all simmer away until the broth disappears and the beans and onions crisp up. Takes about 20 minutes. Easy to remember — green beans, onions and garlic in bacon grease, simmered in chicken broth.
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I like to make the fastest hummus on earth, and it’s really good. Have a jar of your favorite store-bought sauce ready. I like Indian. Rinse a couple of cans of chickpeas, throw them into a food processor with your jarred sauce and mix it up until it’s the way you like it, smooth or a little chunky. Be sure to taste it to add more of something, like salt, spice, or lime juice. Instant hummus — delicious, custom-made and quite a bargain.
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Never heard of Indian Pudding? Well, I volunteer to be president of the Bring Back Indian Pudding Fan Club. It dates back to the 1600’s in New England and is a gluten-free, warm, custardy mixture of cornmeal, molasses, sugar, milk, butter and an array of alluring spices—cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It’s to-die-for. What about Thanksgiving? Google “Indian pudding” for recipes. Or use this one by Mark Bittman.
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To make the best oatmeal ever, do it the way French grandmothers did. Meaning, peel your favorite fall apple and grate it with a box grater. When your old fashioned oatmeal is almost cooked, stir in the grated apple with a splash of milk and a little butter. In 5 minutes you’ll have the best oatmeal on earth. I top it with toasted walnuts or almonds and a light drizzle of maple syrup when I need a little morning dazzle.
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Apples get sweeter as the months pass, especially if you buy them local at a farmers’ market. Amy Traverso, the Apple Queen at Yankee magazine, surprised me by saying she’s made her good local apples last until spring by storing them in her refrigerator produce drawer in a brown paper bag. That’s the secret!
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Here’s how to make broccoli irresistible. Steam or grill it, then mix it with grated lemon zest, a handful of toasted pine nuts, olive oil and a handful of freshly grated Parmesan. That’s zest, pine nuts, olive oil and Parmesan mixed with cooked broccoli. Sit back and watch it disappear.
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Restaurants, I have an idea for you: skip the cardboard gluten-free pizza crust you’ve been serving. Here’s a choice that appeals to every type of eater – Polenta Pizza. Make a cheesy polenta and when it’s done, quickly press it on a sheet pizza pan. Cover the top with pizza sauce and anything else you like – olives, more cheese, sausage, mushrooms, peppers. Drizzle the top with olive oil and bake it in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Now that’s pizza anyone will enjoy. And pizza restaurants, you can have them at the ready, unadorned. We make these at home, too, usually involving bacon.
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Fresh peaches, plums, pears or apples in the local market can be turned into a delicious quick crumble dessert. You don’t even need a recipe for this one! Set the oven on 325°F while you throw this together. In a bowl, mix sliced fresh fruit with a couple of tablespoons of your favorite jarred preserves. Scoop that into a buttered pie plate and spread it out evenly. In another bowl, mix together some melted butter and crushed ginger snaps (gluten-free snaps are available) until it looks crumbly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the sliced fruit in the pie plate and bake it for about 20 minutes. I like to serve it with some vanilla ice cream.
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To make the best ever stovetop quesadillas, skip the traditional flour tortillas, and try the more delicious corn tortillas. A little oil in a pan set on medium heat. Put a corn tortillas in the pan, top it with grated cheese, maybe diced vegetables, shredded meat if you like, chopped scallions, canned green chilies, chopped olives. Put a corn tortilla on top and cook for a couple of minutes, until the cheese starts melting. Flip it over and let it cook for two more minutes, until golden brown on each side. Cut it in four pieces and serve it with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or enjoy them just as they are. Another advantage, the super delicious corn version is gluten-free.
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There’s nothing like homemade lemonade, a refresher that becomes citrus magic thanks to a little fresh rosemary. All you need is a cup of sugar and the juice and zest from a dozen lemons. Put it all into a large pitcher and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary and top it off with some cold water and ice. You might add a little vodka if it’s party time. How about that! Your very own homemade rosemary lemonade — proof that summer is still very much here.
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I love grilled peaches, especially Suzanne Lenzer’s fabulous version. Quarter ripe peaches, brush em with olive oil, grill one side for 5 minutes, then flip and grill the other side until you see grill marks. When the peaches cool off the grill, wrap each quarter with a strip of prosciutto. Set them on a platter and scatter with torn fresh mint leaves. Appetizer or dessert with a touch of gelato. Heaven.
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Faith Middleton here with my annual, okay, hourly tribute to buttered toasted cornbread. It makes everybody happy. Whether it’s store-bought or homemade cornbread, use room temperature butter and smear it on the cut side, then grill it, butter side down, until it’s a dark golden color. It’s crisp and buttery in every bite. Great with grilled shrimp or pork. It’s my cornbread mood bath.
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I’m bringing back a childhood classic served to me in New York hotel dining rooms—the Ice Cream Snowball. It’s this easy: scoop out solid circles of your favorite ice cream about baseball size. Put them in the freezer until they’re hard. At serving time, place each ice cream ball in a pretty dish, sprinkle with shredded coconut, chopped pecans and drizzle on warm chocolate sauce. Go for it, put a real cherry on top.
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