serves 4
1 package fresh cheese or spinach tortellini
1 bunch Chinese broccoli
4 medium morel mushrooms, brushed, trimmed and thinly sliced
salt & white pepper
1 shallot, finely chopped
1/4 c fresh lemon juice (approx. the juice of 1 small/medium lemon)
1/2 c Chardonnay or other dry, white wine
8 oz unsalted butter, chilled
salt to taste
4 tbsp grated Pecorino
4 turkey meatballs (optional)

1. Put your pasta water on the stove and bring to a boil. (If the rest of the meal isn’t ready by the time the water is boiling, just turn it down but keep it at the ready. This will ultimately save you time.)
2. Wash and trim the Chinese broccoli. Cut into 1″ lengths.
3. Steam the broccoli in 1 tbsp water for about 4 minutes, until it is vibrant green and starting to get tender. Reserve to a plate and discard any remaining water.
4. Heat a non-stick saute pan coated with cooking spray. Add the morels and cook, tossing lightly, for 1 minute. Add the broccoli and cook for an additional minute. Reserve.
5. Return the saute pan to medium-high heat. Combine the shallots, lemon juice and white wine. Bring to a simmer and simmer until the mixture has reduced to about 1 tbsp, (4-5 minutes). While it is simmering, cut the butter into 1/2″ cubes. Make sure it remains cold–this is the secret to a nice, thick, glossy sauce (return to refrigerator if needed).
6. Add tortellini to the boiling pasta water and cook according to package instructions (generally about 3 minutes).
7. While the pasta is cooking, turn the temperature on the shallot mixture down to low and add the butter 2 chunks at a time, whisking thoroughly to incorporate. As the chunks melt, continue to add butter 2 chunks at a time, whisking constantly. You will be tempted to turn up the heat but do not rush the sauce. When you get to the last two chunks, remove the pan from the heat before whisking.
8. Once all the butter is incorporated, season with salt then remove from the hot pan. (I got distracted and left my beurre blanc in the hot pan unattended, which caused it to break slightly. Nobody wants a broken sauce!) Traditionally, you would strain out the shallots before serving a beurre blanc but I liked the rusticity they added to the final sauce and left them in for this dish.

To assemble:
Divide the pasta between four plates. Top each with 1/4 of the vegetables then drizzle with sauce. (You can also toss the whole thing in a big bowl and serve family style). Sprinkle each plate with 1 tbsp of Pecorino. I topped mine with a turkey meatball to try to add some healthy, lean protein but the meatball is completely optional.

Normally I don’t have duck fat laying around (imagine that!). But this week I found myself in the fortuitous situation of not only having some leftover fat from duck confit but I also had a pound and a half of my favorite French fingerling potatoes on the counter.

I’ve offered my recipe for my first experiment with duck fat potatoes below. Were they life-changing potatoes? I always love tender French fingerlings straight from the market. These potatoes have such a cream interior that they taste almost like mashed without the work (or the calories). But I can’t honestly say that roasting the potatoes in duck fat is that far superior to a less artery clogging olive or grape seed oil. My favorite way to cook a potato has always been at the bottom of a pan coated with cooking spray, topped with a bone-in, skin-on chicken breast. The potatoes slow cook as the chicken roasts, the drippings flavoring the potatoes similarly to those tossed in duck fat but far more intensely. Perhaps next time I’ll share that recipe with you.

Potatoes Roasted in Duck Fat

1 1/2 lb french fingerling potatoes, skin on
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp duck fat
generous pinch smoked salt

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise. Place in a large mixing bowl with garlic. Toss with the duck fat to thoroughly coat then season generously with smoked salt.
3. Place potatoes cut side down on a tray and cover with foil.
4. Roast for 20 minutes in the middle of oven.
5. Remove potatoes from oven and flip them over so that the cut side is facing up. Return to oven, uncovered and cook for an additional 15 minutes, until potatoes are soft and edges are crisp.

That’s how I came up with the radish-avocado picnic sandwich. The sandwich is actually a variation on the summer specialty from my new cookbook, Romancing the Stove. The original is a Tomato Avocado Picnic Sandwich, which I recommend as a perfect romantic weekend food). But, served open-faced so all the colors of spring shine, I think I might actually like the radish variation better than the original! Try it with radishes in spring and tomatoes in summer then you be the judge.

makes 1 sandwich

1 slice whole grain bread (I like a bread that is laced with seeds)
1/2 – 1 tsp butter
1 rounded tbsp chopped avocado
1-2 breakfast radishes (depending on size), sliced in half lengthwise
salt & black pepper

1. Lightly toast the bread then thinly spread with butter while the toast is still hot. (The amount of butter you use depends on the size of your bread slice.)
2. Spread the avocado on top of the butter. I know, it might sound like overkill but trust me, it tastes better with both butter and avocado.
3. Top with the radish slices and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Enjoy the taste of spring.

Annette gave me a choice: fried or sauteed. (Since saute is much easier, I went with that option.) Whichever cooking method you use, Annette’s filling is the same:

squash blossom filling

Thoroughly mix the ricotta and egg. Gently fold in the chives and zest then season with salt and pepper. Scoop the mixture into a sandwich-sized Ziplock bag.

Gently wash and dry 20-24 squash blossoms. (We actually made a dozen and froze the rest of the filling for later.)

filling the blossoms

While you’re stuffing the blossoms, you can be heating the oil in a heavy saute pan. Annette used a neutral oil to allow the delicate flavor of the squash shine. (Good choices include grape seed, soybean or walnut oil.) Being the consummate chef, Annette merely eyeballed the oil but I’d hazard a guess that she used about 2 tbsp. (Use enough to thoroughly coat the bottom of your pan.)

Heat your oil over medium/medium high heat. The oil should be heated to that point just before it begins to bubble.

the oil should look this hot

perfectly cooked squash blossoms

The blossoms are best when they’re hot. Just don’t grab them when they’re too hot or you’ll burn your tongue. (Bad for potential future kissing sessions.)

But spring has sprung and this Sunday I heard the market calling. And among the rainbow of seasonal offerings, I found a vendor offering the first of the season’s pea tendrils. I adore pea tendrils for their little corkscrew stems and tiny flower buds clinging to the vines. But mostly, I think, I enjoy these tender greens because the window of opportunity to enjoy their unique flavor only comes once a year.

So, of course, I filled my basket with a tangle of the greens and raced home to make brunch.

Garlicky Pea Tendrils

1/2 lb pea tendrils
1 tbsp olive oil*
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp cold water

1. Thoroughly wash the pea tendrils (I find these greens like to attract bugs).
2. Heat the oil in a large saute pan. Add the garlic and saute until soft, about one minute.
3. Add the pea tendrils and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes. (The leaves should still be vibrant green but soft.)
4. Season with salt and pepper then remove pan from heat and mix in the water before transferring the tendrils to a serving dish.

*I read that Alice Waters sautes her pea tendrils in duck fat. Although it sounds delicious I didn’t happen to have duck fat on hand. But if you have a spare jar laying around, you might want to try it!

I served my pea tendrils with scrambled eggs, bacon and toast but they make a delicious side to almost any dish.

That’s what I did last Friday night.

a Brazilian cooking lesson involves getting your hands dirty!

Our friends Lisa and Jane joined us for the lesson. To serve with the farofa I made a roasted pork shoulder (see my last blog post) and Lisa steamed carrots and asparagus picked up at a local veggie stand.

Farofa, as it turns out, is a very simple blend of 6 ingredients (plus seasoning). It’s a bit time consuming to make but worth it for a truly authentic experience. (This is Adriana’s regional version. Fancier versions can be made with the addition of ingredients like olives, cashews, sausage, etc.)

I’ve put together a list of ingredients but it’s merely meant as a guide. As with all good traditional recipes, Adriana eyeballs her ingredients and finishes the dish by taste.

2-5 tablespoons of oil or butter
3 medium onions, chopped
2-3 strips bacon, roughly chopped
2 eggs
1 2/3 c toasted manioc flour (which Adriana brought from the Brazilian market but you can find it online)
1 small handful each chopped parsley and spring onion
black pepper and salt to taste

To make the farofa, you simply melt the butter or heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and bacon and cook until the onions are soft.

Then you add the eggs, stirring to scramble into the mixture. Add the flour slowly. Adriana let it trickle into the pan like sands from an hourglass. Once the flour is added, you stir in the parsley and spring onion, stir frying until everything is hot and the flour is toasted to a light golden color, seasoning as you go along.

Traditionally Adriana’s farofa is served hot as an accompaniment to a pork stew.

After dinner, Adriana surprised us with not one but two homemade, Brazilian desserts. First there was Queijadinha, a sweet coconut confection that’s sort of a cross between a cupcake and a coconut macaroon. Second, she brought out what just might be my new addiction, passion fruit mousse (clearly an aphrodisiac). She was nice enough to share the recipe with me:

1 can Creme de leite Nestle
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 cup passion fruit juice concentrate
4 tsp plain gelatin

Brazil's aphrodisiac secret?

all the ingredients you need!

I followed the original recipe fairly closely with just a few, small, simple modifications. You can view the original recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aaron-mccargo-jr/simple-roasted-pork-shoulder-recipe/index.html

I changed the rub slightly by adding a finely chopped shallot along with the garlic. I wanted to create the most flavorful roast possible so that I could serve the dish with super simple sides like steamed asparagus. I also reduced the olive oil to 2 tbsp and added 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar. The olive oil keeps the meat moist and helps prevent sticking to the pan. But the meat is so marbled with fat that it doesn’t need much oil. Adding the touch of vinegar helps boost the flavor even more.

who needs all that fat?

I roasted according to the instructions, (and this recipe totally lives up to its name of simple). However, instead of roasting to 185 degrees, I cooked to an internal temperature of 160, checked with a basic meat thermometer.

time to eat!

I find that Ina’s recipes rarely call for alteration to boost their health benefits and cut the fat. Although she’s not afraid of using butter, sugar and all the good things in life, she tends to use them far more judiciously than many of her culinary counterparts. However, I was able to trim a little bit of the empty ingredients to help emphasize the surprising number of healthy ingredients this dessert has to offer. And I think I managed to do it without sacrificing a single bit of yum.

2 pounds red plums, pitted and cut in 1-inch wedges
1/2 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour, divided
4 oz fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 c light brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp cold, unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine the sliced plums, 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, 1/4 cup of the flour and toss well. (I reduced the total amount of granulated sugar from 2/3 to 1/2 cup. With all that sweet fruit, you won’t miss the extra sugar!) Add the raspberries and toss lightly. (I used a combination of raspberries and blackberries because that’s what I had on hand. Use whatever berries you love.) Pour into a 9 by 12 baking dish.
3. For the topping, place the remaining 1 cup of flour, the remaining 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, the brown sugar (which I reduced from 1/3 to 1/4 cup), and the salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter (the original recipe called for a stick–you won’t miss those extra couple of tablespoons!), and pulse until the butter is the size of peas. (You can do this by hand with a pastry cutter and a little elbow grease if you don’t have a food processor.) Pour the mixture into a bowl, add the oats, and work it with your hands until it’s in large crumbles. Add the almonds and mix well.
4. Spread the topping evenly over the plums and berries, making sure the fruit is covered.
5. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the fruit is tender and bubbly and the topping is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

The original inspiration was Nigella Lawson’s Garlic Roast Potatoes from the Food Network site. You can view the original recipe here. But Ms. Lawson is known for her succulence and decadence, not waistline watching. And, although I thought the recipe sounded delicious at a glance, I know it could be easily altered to cut quite a bit of fat without sacrificing flavor.

1 lb baby potatoes
1 tsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
4 clove garlic, do not peel
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

1. Wash and dry the potatoes, but don’t peel. Cut them into about 1/2-inch pieces. (The original recipe called for 3 lbs but since I was cooking a romantic dinner for two, I reduced it by 2/3.)
2. Toss potatoes on a baking with the thyme and oil, smulching around with your hands to mix well (this was Nigella’s description and I just had to keep it. Who doesn’t like a good smulch?) The original recipe called for 1/3 c of oil for 3lbs of potatoes. This struck me as a huge amount of oil for these sweet little, delicate potatoes. So I reduced the oil but I added in a pinch of thyme (not in the original recipe) to compensate for any reduction in flavor.
3. Add the unpeeled heads of garlic to the tray, they will lend a subtle aroma as the potatoes roast.
4. Cook for 25-30 minutes, turning once or twice, until crispy and golden but still soft on the inside. When they’re done, remove to a large plate, discarding the garlic, and sprinkle with salt.

But as family-friendly as the original recipe is, I thought it could be made more figure friendly, so I set to work on slimming down the Man With a Pan Chicken Parm.

The original recipe can be found on page 8-9 of the book.

Super Fast & Skinny Weeknight Chicken Parmigiana
Serves 4-6

1 tbsp & 2 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 28-oz can peeled plum tomatoes
salt and black pepper to taste
4 sprigs fresh basil
8 oz brown rice linguine
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 1/2 c baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/3 lb high quality Parmesan, freshly grated

Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Saute the onion until soft. Add the garlic and saute an additional 30 seconds. (The garlic isn’t in the original but because I reduced a little bit of the fat, I wanted to layer extra flavor.)

Add the tomatoes and their juice to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

With an immersion blender or a large fork, crush any remaining large chunks of tomato and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Start the pasta water boiling while you prep the chicken.

Slice each chicken breast in half horizontally, so that they are half their original thickness. Season with a pinch of salt. (The original recipe doesn’t call for seasoning the meat but I’m a firm believer in seasoning chicken.)

Heat remaining tbsp oil in a large skillet to medium high. When the oil is good and hot, add the chicken breasts in 1 layer and cook until brown on both sides, turning once.

Heat the broiler and add pasta to the boiling water. (I use a whole grain pasta to add a little extra nutrition to the dish).

Remove skillet from heat and top chicken breasts with spinach. (The spinach is my addition–why dirty another pan cooking a vegetable when you can make a complete meal in one dish?) Top with the tomato sauce, a layer of Parmesan (approx 2 tbsp), the basil, the rest of the tomato sauce and the rest of the Parmesan. (The original recipe also has a layer of mozzarella but I find most mozzarella to go gummy in baked dishes so why waste the calories on a bland pool of gum? If you really love you some mozz, reduce the Parm to 1/4 c and add another 1/4 c mozz.)

Put the whole thing under the broiler until the cheese bubbles and browns.

Drain the pasta and divide among the plates, topping with 1-2 pieces of chicken per person.