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bellastraniera
a.k.a. Marcy Swingle - obsessed with food and fashion.View my photography website.
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Tag Archives: recipes
Catalan Fisherman’s Stew
In Barcelona, cod is on the menu for every meal of the day. And while baccala often refers to salt cod, it can also refer to the fresh cod fishermen brought home from the catch and cooked up in any number of ways. One of the simplest and most satisfying is a tomato-based cod stew, the sort you’d find at a waterfront restaurant in Barceloneta. It’s usually made with briny olives, capers, and just a hint of red pepper. The following recipe was adapted from Sicilian Fisherman’s Stew found on Epicurious, livened up with a few more ingredients – and of course, the all-important cod.
Cookbook: The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine
Do you know the proper way to core and chop a head of cauliflower, truss a chicken or whip up a plate of crêpes Suzette? If not, put down the Sandra Lee cookbook and invest in this one. The French Culinary Institute has issued these incredibly thorough and detailed lessons in French cooking in The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine, starting with kitchen equipment and terminology and continuing with essential techniques that will have you bonding with Julia Child. Proper French stocks, sauces, meat, poultry, fish, soups, salads, shellfish, marinades, stuffings, pastry, creams and custards, crêpes, meringues and souffles are all part of the instruction.
In fact, it is so thorough that in the book’s forward, the school’s president warns readers that this book cannot replace “the value of studying at the FCI.” But FCI grad and blogger Cucina Testa Rossa writes that “Techniques is almost verbatim our first quarter (6 week) curriculum…. Word for word, gram for gram, ingredient for ingredient.” (Full disclosure: I have taken a class at the FCI, Alan Richman‘s “The Craft of Food Writing.” Recommend!) (more…)
Recipe: Fashion Week Omelet
Fashion people! Do not forget to start these crazy long days with a good breakfast. While it’s tempting to eat any old thing when you’re in a rush, eggs – not muffins or sugary coffee drinks – provide you with the energy you need to get through five shows in a day. Also, this low-cal Fashion Week Omelet takes only 10 minutes to make.
Click through for the simple recipe. (more…)
Jala-Pina Cocktail
If there were a tequila version of rum punch, it would be the fabulous Jala-Piña cocktail at the Redhead. This restaurant may be known for chef Meg Grace’s knock-out fried chicken, but the bartenders are no slouches either. Here the pineapple juice is infused with jalapenos and mixed with silver tequila instead of rum. It seemed simple enough to make this cocktail at home, but when we first tried it, something was missing. Jalapenos, tequila, pineapple – what else?
If you are ever lacking a certain je ne sais quoi in a cocktail, chances are it’s bitters, the secret weapon of bartenders everywhere. The hint of Angostura bitters, which adds the scent of cloves and a touch of umami to a drink, is the additional connection between this tequila cocktail and rum punch. Though the Redhead infuses pineapple juice with jalapenos, if you’re making this drink on a smaller scale, it’s more practical to infuse the tequila: You can use it again for a cucumber jalapeno margarita. (more…)
Caprese Salad
What’s so difficult about making caprese salad? On the other hand, if it’s so easy, why do so many restaurants not deliver? This summer salad of tomato, basil and mozzarella is quintessential Italian cuisine: excellent ingredients simply presented. But it takes technique to get the flavors to blend just so on the plate – otherwise it’s just mozzarella and tomato that happen to be in the same vicinity.
We experimented with several methods to arrive at one luscious whole. As expected, it depends a lot on sourcing top notch tomatoes in season, but there are a few more tricks that can elevate the dish from good to great. (more…)
Cucumber Jalapeno Margarita
One of the tastiest trends this summer has been the proliferation of spicy cocktails. Proving that spice isn’t just for Bloody Marys, a number of Mexican and Latin-American bars and restaurants have upped the pepper content in drinks. Tequila is often the conduit, infused with anything from smoky dried ancho chiles to regular old jalapenos.
Cafe El Portal in Soho is a favorite hot-day hideaway that serves up a bracingly refreshing cucumber jalapeno margarita. The pepperiness makes it especially cooling on a 90-degree-plus day: this time, if you break out in a sweat, it will be for a good reason. We recreated the recipe at home. Keep more ingredients on hand – refill requests are almost guaranteed. (more…)
BBQ Treat: Cookie Burgers
My friend Jib Girl served this clever passed dessert/hors d’oeuvre at a recent barbecue and was the envy of all the other cooks at the party. They may look like sliders, but they’re actually cookies assembled to look like mini hamburgers. Since they’re assembled from store-bought cookies and ingredients, they’re easy to make en masse for a crowd. Think of them as a very kid-friendly summer BBQ contribution.
Photo: Daniela Denaro
Be forewarned: Make this recipe once, and you may be asked to bring them to every party going forward. (more…)
Chilled Pea and Mint Soup
This recipe is based on one that appeared in Bon Appetit this spring for an Easter menu. That soup was served hot, but fresh peas and mint seemed to call out for the cold soup treatment. This summery combination also benefits from the addition of cumin, a riff on a side of sugar snap peas with cumin and mint that once graced the table at the beloved bygone Grange Hall on Commerce Street.
Now that peas are in season in the Northeast and available at the Union Square Greenmarket, there’s no reason to fall back on the frozen kind. Pick up a pint of fresh shelled peas and you can easily make this simple but elegant first course. (more…)
Something Natural’s Hummus and Sprouts Sandwich
Once you make hummus at home, you may be disappointed you haven’t been making it yourself all along. This Middle Eastern standard is incredibly easy to whip up in a food processor, and it lasts for about two weeks in the fridge. The best recipe I’ve found is Mark Bittman’s from his excellent cookbook The Best Recipes in the World. Using the Bittman recipe as a basis, you can customize hummus to your taste with more garlic, lemon, etc., as I have here. Keep the ingredients on hand and you’ll never want mass-market hummus again.
One of the best uses for homemade hummus is this sandwich, based on the delicious version from Something Natural in Nantucket. Though you’ll be hard-pressed to find the same wonderful Portuguese bread off the island, you can use fresh multi-grain bread for a healthy lunch that fits into a low-cal, low-salt diet. This sandwich almost like a salad between two pieces of bread, and as such, it’s a lot easier to take to the beach or the park. You may want to wrap the sandwich in waxed paper and cut it in half – or just enjoy the messiness. (more…)
Chicken Tarragon Salad
Mayonnaise is the one ingredient that has the biggest effect on calories and fat content in salads like this one. Unless you have high cholesterol, however, there’s no reason to cut it out completely. Organic mayonnaise like Trader Joe’s contributes a lot of flavor and creamy texture even in small amounts. Just mix the salad well and you won’t be able to tell the difference.
I have a bunch of potted herbs from the Union Square greenmarket; whenever I’m making a dish like this one, I just snip a mixture of herbs and throw them in. If you don’t have tarragon, you can use a mixture of thyme, sage, etc. to taste. (more…)
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