You are here: Home / Chef's Recipes

BLT Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

August 14, 2010 By kellypea 16 Comments

The dog days of summer seemed to have passed us by this year without ever actually arriving, unless you consider the phrase to have more to do with one’s lethargy than hot, sultry weather.   The windows are open, and from time to time, chilly breezes waft through the house forcing me to don a sweater but I acknowledge that it’s worth not having to tolerate the excessive heat everyone else seems to be dealing with this year. I prefer cool weather and this morning, we’re shrouded in fog, with large puffs of it lazily slipping past the kitchen window.  It feels more like spring than summer on most days, and so of course daydreams abound and hours pass with much less accomplished than I like to admit.  Even cooking has had little appeal, odd if you’re someone like me who measures life in food years.  Is there such a thing?

It would seem then, that dinner should be something cool and light to share with those sweltering in a too hot summer.  And for me, it should be something to work on slowly as thoughts come and go, with no particular focus.  Unlike other tasks begun and left to be finished in a day or so, at least I know dinner will happen.  It will be flavorful, fresh, and worth every single bite.

Like a BLT, without the bread.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Chef's Recipes, Make Ahead, Method, Salads, Seasonal, Slow Food, Soup, Salad and Sandwiches, Summer Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Mixed Berry Shortcakes with Lemon Mascarpone Cream

June 26, 2010 By kellypea

I suppose you could convince me there is a dessert that typifies summer more than shortcake, and you might be able to string me along for a while before I came to my senses to explain delicately that, at least to me,  not much else can compete.

My shortcake memories go back years, but they always begin the same:  with a biscuit.  Not a slice of angel food cake, or pound cake.  A lowly biscuit.  One that, if you’re me,  would normally be found on a plate filled with beans, rice, and coleslaw.  That kind of biscuit.  The one that not much else can compare to when it comes to soaking up juice and binding everything together, whether it’s dessert or not.

Sure, I’ve tried a variety of recipes, combinations of flavors and ingredients, but in the end I’m only truly satisfied with that slightly salty bite of biscuit and the tart sweetness of fresh berries tempered by the richness of cream.  It’s fabulous.

Recently, my husband surprised me with Thomas Keller’s latest book, ad hoc at home.  He’d heard that the man himself would be visiting a local Williams-Sonoma so decided to wait on his lunch hour in a rather lengthy line to get Keller’s signature for me.  Not only was I touched by the gesture, I couldn’t wait to dig into the recipes.

You know what it’s like to get a new cookbook.  You leaf through the pages, savoring each possibility, wondering what might measure up to your expectations without killing yourself on the first attempt:  buttermilk fried chicken…rubbed and glazed pork spareribs…iceberg lettuce slices…No, it was the buttermilk biscuits that got my attention first.  I have to admit I did go back to the iceberg lettuce slices (you have to try his Blue Cheese Dressing), but the biscuits are what I first settled down to make knowing instantly they were destined for berry shortcakes.

Think about it.  They’re perfect for the picnic of all summer picnics — July 4th.  You make them the day before, cool them completely before sealing their crispy freshness away so you can split them and then dollop on some cream and berries that have had a chance to sit for a while to develop a lovely, syrupy juice.

There is an art to this if you want to take some time with it, and if you’d like to consider another ingredient you may never have tried before which is perfect with berries, try mascarpone.  I’m partial to mascarpone, so when I saw that Keller included it in a recipe for peaches and cream, I had to try it giving it my own spin, of course.

If you’re thinking that it may not travel well, think again.  With a few recycled jars filled and kept in an ice chest, you’ll be able to turn out the perfect summer dessert for your July 4th holiday, courtesy of inspiration from Thomas Keller, of course.

133/365: Autograph

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Baked, Berries, Breads, Chef's Recipes, Dessert, Fruit, Holiday Food, Make Ahead, Method, Seasonal, Special Occasion, Summer Tagged With: , , , ,

Michael Voltaggio’s Indian-Spiced Short Ribs

April 25, 2010 By kellypea

Garam Masala

Something happened to our Sunday dinners this busy season.  They’re usually what I manage to hang on to after watching our weeknight dinners dissipate one by one from thoughtful, healthy salads and planned entrees, to a quick forage through the wilted inhabitants of my veggie bin for something to saute with rice or pasta.  Throw in some garlic and it’s dinner, right?  Hardly, but it can be eaten in a bowl, sometimes as late as 9:30 p.m. while we’re huddled in our dimly lit family room in front of a recorded show and making weary attempts at questioning one another about the day.

It’s no wonder that looking forward to uninterrupted time in the kitchen draws my attention to the weekend where the result is pleasant time together over a meal that is special — read:  is served on a plate at a reasonable hour.  The idea of “special”  seems to be part of a process to me;  a recipe catches my eye and lingers on the periphery of the minutiae that accumulates in my head, and somehow I manage to remember the main ingredient while on one of my less than stellarly organized grocery shopping trips.  The remembered ingredient is then wedged into my freezer, which just might contain the very same ingredient somewhere in its depths, as a reminder that Sunday dinner is a possibility.  Hopefully, this classifies me as an optimist.

Time goes by.  Other ingredients are collected in other stop-after-work trips to the store for the cat food or laundry detergent I forgot on the previous trip, and because those ingredients are often perishable, they become part of a different meal (see above).  It’s a vicious cycle.

Finally, the day arrives as it does each year.  Busy season ends, and glimmers of a normal life surface.  The long-awaited day in the kitchen and meal are planned and the big question looms:  Will it have been  worth the wait?

Absolutely.

(And this has nothing to do, of course, with the fact that Chef Voltaggio not only took the time to comment on my effort, but put a shout-out about my speck in the food universe on his site, Voltaggio Brothers in “Food Writing.”)

A gracious and hearty thanks to Michael Voltaggio!

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Beef, Braised, Chef's Recipes, Cookbooks and Magazines, Food and Wine, Herbs and Spices, Meat, Method, One Pot, Slow Food Tagged With: , , , ,

Super Food: Cannellini Beans and Roasted Garlic

March 13, 2010 By kellypea

My mother has always been a master at stretching a dollar because she’s had lots of practice most of her life.  As a single mother of three children under the age of five by the time she was 25, she worked hard to put a roof over our heads and food on the table.  She was very good at providing us a life we never considered was lacking, even though by today’s standards, most would say it was.   Our clothes were mended and patched when they began to show wear, and those gently worn were passed down to the next child in line.  Yes, we had toys, but more often, we ran around outside playing with friends at imaginary games. We ate only at meal times, and when we did, the food was simple and filling.  Often, beans were on the menu, and on those days when my little sister asked what we were having for dinner, the response would be, “Hundreds of wonderful things.” And why not when you consider that a two-pound bag of pintos costs only a few dollars even at today’s prices.

As much as I still enjoy a good pot of beans, white beans, or cannellinis, are what we most enjoy now.  Often referred to as white kidney beans, they’re related to navy beans, or great northern beans.  I often keep a can or two in my pantry, but I always have a small bag of dried beans as well.  They find their way into so many different quick dishes these days — like pasta, soup, or salad.  Our favorite way to eat them is with wilted dark greens such as chard or kale, and lots of garlic.  On some nights, sun-dried tomatoes are tossed into the mix, and others, whatever pasta  I have in the pantry helps bring everything together.

This recipe for “Cooked Shell Beans” is from Frank Sitt’s Bottega Favorita and is a good starting point for so many fabulous recipes, including a nice Bean Puree if you add some roasted garlic.  Put a pot on this weekend, and enjoy all the possibilities.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Beans, Chef's Recipes, Garlic, Gluten-Free, Herbs and Spices, Make Ahead, Meatless, Slow Food, Vegetarian, vegan Tagged With: , , , ,

“Creamy” Asparagus Soup

December 28, 2009 By kellypea

With New Year’s Day less than a week away, I’ve found myself not wanting to wait until the traditional January 1st to promise myself that I’ll turn over a new leaf here and there in my life — or perhaps nine.  Do I hear 25?  After all the cookies and cooking, left-over food,  and dishes to be washed, I’m ready for uncomplicated recipes, less sugar, and more vegetables.  While I’m on the subject, a personal chef would be great, too, but since that isn’t going to happen any time soon, I’ll settle for a soup that’s healthy and easy to prepare.  It’s elegant enough for a formal dinner, but is fabulous heated up for lunch when you want something flavorful and light.

This recipe for asparagus soup is different from a delicious Cream of Asparagus Soup I made recently in that it doesn’t contain milk products to achieve its creaminess.  Instead, a potato is cooked and blended with the other ingredients to thicken the soup.  Should you want a richer soup, a liberal drizzling of a good quality fruity extra virgin olive oil is enjoyable, but not necessary.

If you are one who appreciates a bit of cheese in soup, crumbled feta, goat’s cheese, or a curl of Parmesan are especially nice swirled into a hot bowl of this.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Chef's Recipes, Gluten-Free, Make Ahead, Meatless, Method, Soup, Salad and Sandwiches, Spring, Vegetables, Vegetarian, soup, vegan Tagged With: , , ,

Vols-au-vent: Spiced Poached Pears with Hazelnut Sabayon

September 27, 2009 By kellypea

Vol-au-vent with Hazelnut Sabayon and Spiced Poached Pears
It was only a matter of time that I’d have to revisit the task of making pate feuilletee again.  My first run-in with the multi-layered French pastry dough was also my first Daring Baker challenge over two years ago.  The result was truly something that might qualify as an organic building material considering the sheer weight of it and lack of any discernible layers.  It was awful.  But when I saw this month’s  challenge, I knew I’d be ready to tackle it again.  After all, it’s been over two years, so my trauma has subsided and I’ve been more preoccupied by what kind of dessert I’d create with the puff pastry we were asked to make.

It’s officially Fall, so pears are plentiful here.  Nuts always make me think of Fall as well, but what kind, and what to fill the pastry with?  Leafing through  The French Laundry Cookbook, I found the perfect recipe and decided that it would be the perfect way to welcome in my favorite season.

The September 2009 Daring Bakers’ Challenge has been chosen by Steph of a whisk and a spoon. Steph chose Vols-au-Vent, which we are pretty sure in French means, “After one bite we could die and go to heaven!”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Baked, Chef's Recipes, Daring Bakers Challenge, Dessert, French, Fruit, Method, Other Cultures, Special Occasion Tagged With: , , ,
Next Page »