Flavors in Love

Being able to relax and cook your food outdoors over an open flame is such a treat. Its one of the best things about summer!

Corn and tomatoes are at their peak right now and we are picking tomatoes from our garden every weekend. I chose this menu to highlight both of those ingredients.

I became aware of Lava Lake lamb when I saw a woman in Citarella doing a demo of these lamb chops. I love it when a meal is delicious, eco-conscious, and easy to prepare, so these really caught my attention. I bought these Lava Lake lamb chops because I believe that eating grass-fed, all-natural meat is so much better for you. These lambs have never been given hormones or antibiotics and have never been placed in feed lots.

GRILLED LAMB CHOPS:

8 Grass-fed Lava Lake lamb chops

3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons rosemary

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients above and marinate the lamb chops for at least 30 minutes. Grill them for about three minutes per side, to a perfect medium rare.

They were so juicy and flavorful….lots of mmms and ahhhhs at my table.

Along with the lamb, I served grilled sweet corn with a chipotle aioli and a tomato salad with watercress, basil, fresh mozzarella, and a balsamic vinaigrette. At this time of year I eat as much corn as possible..its just so sweet. And the adobo sauce from the chipotles is smoky and spicy…it marries perfectly with the crunchy sweetness of the corn.

When I’m out in the Hamptons, I buy my corn from my favorite vegetable stand, Pike Farms.

SWEET CORN WITH CHIPOTLE AIOLI:

8 ears of corn

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon adobo sauce from a can of chipotle chiles

2 tablespoons lime juice

2 minced garlic cloves

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon Mexican spice mix

Peel the husk down on the corn and remove the silk underneath, but leave the husks attached. Soak the corn in water for 10 minutes.

Combine in a bowl the mayonnaise, adobo sauce, lime juice, garlic cloves, smoked paprika, and Mexican spice mix.

Grill the corn about 7 minutes, then roll over onto the other side and grill 7 minutes more.

Remove the husk and slather with the chipotle aioli….then listen to the sounds of lip smacking enjoyment…Serve with plenty of napkins!!

Cooking with family and friends in the summer is high on my list of favorite activities, along with long walks on the beach and relaxing pool-side.

At our house, everyone gets an assignment…from cutting and chopping to setting the table and picking flowers. And of course, as an added bonus, I give out entertaining and cooking tips and tricks to anyone who wants them.

Some of my most memorable times are listening to music as I cook with friends, and drinking wine or summer mojitos with fresh mint from the garden. This is the time when guests who are staying at our house get to know each other, share jokes, and recipes….there is just nothing that connects people like getting them in the kitchen together.

When all the food is ready and everyone sits down to a beautiful, delicious meal, there is this special feeling that I have…I did this. I created this magic. I get instant gratification from the ooohs and ahhhs…and my guests feel wonderful too because they all participated.

There is no substitute for cooking at home. It’s a free therapy session….for the stomach and the soul.

This weekend, we created three fantastic meals…Two lunches and a dinner on the last night where we used all the left-overs and made an outstanding frittata.

Sally, my son Zach’s fabulous girlfriend, came up with the first lunch theme…Mexican! Grilled chicken and shrimp with Mexican spices and guacamole, warm tortillas, and a bean, corn, and tomato salad….lots of cilantro, jalapenos, lime juice, and ripe avocados….and summer margaritas too!!

We marinated the shrimp and the chicken in smoked paprika, lime juice, garlic, and a barbeque rub from Steve Raichlen.

We combined black beans with summer corn fresh off the cob, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, and lime juice…a perfect accompaniment to tortillas and guacamole.

The following day’s lunch had a Mediterranean theme…I made my fava bean spread from my cookbook with grilled bread, and my friend Sharon helped me out by shelling the beans.

Then we made a gorgeous summer salad with cucumbers, avocado, tomatoes, green beans, olives, and feta, and served it with a tangy vinaigrette. We grilled shrimp and scallops, marinated in garlic, lemon, olive oil, and oregano, and kept it nice and light.

Dessert was a perfectly refreshing watermelon with lime juice and fresh mint.

Perfect summer days.

I’m always so delighted when people entertain in their homes, and I especially love theme parties. A Moroccan-themed dinner party I attended last week for my friend Nurit’s birthday was a testament to true sisterhood. Two of Nurit’s dear friends created a dinner in her honor and you could see and taste the love!

Our two lovely hostesses...Chantal and Marla

The tables were decorated beautifully and the food was fantastic…lamb and couscous, bisteeya, a fun and flavorful mezze plate, and chocolate mousse with strawberries for dessert.

Moroccan Mezze Plate...smoky eggplant dip, sweet and sour carrot salad, roasted beet salad, and green salad with feta

All lined up and ready for dinner...

Chicken Bisteeya- A Classic Moroccan Dish

There were so many different tastes and flavors, plus a beautiful table decorated with stunning china in shades of red and gold, jewelry as napkin rings, and flowers which came straight from the Westchester garden of one of our hostesses.

Such a gorgeous table!

My place setting

One of our Hostesses, Chantal, with flowers from her garden

I was inspired to make this soup after my French friend, Zilia, made it for me on a recent Saturday afternoon in the Hamptons.  She is such a natural cook, and she has been making this wonderful soup since she learned how to make it from her own mother.  I think the tendency to make wholesome food from scratch is one of the reasons French women don’t have to worry about their weight!                                                                     

The only thing you will need to make this soup besides fresh, seasonal vegetables, is an Immersion Blender. It is an invaluable tool that every Chef has in their kitchen! This great tool can turn any ingredient into a puree with simply a flip of the switch.

This soup can be made with whatever seasonal veggies you happen to have on hand. You can use a vegetable stock to make the soup completely vegetarian, or you can use a chicken stock which may give you a richer flavor.

As your hearty soup simmers, you will have plenty of time to prepare the crunchy candied walnuts for your salad, and the toasted pine nuts for your soup. Nuts are SO important to incorporate into your diet…they offer the same nutritional benefits as a piece of fish, and we all know how heart smart fish is! Eating a handful of walnuts everyday will help lower your cholesterol, your risk of heart disease, and the level of inflammation in your body. Pine nuts are a rich source of amino acids and a handful supplies you with 31 grams of healthy protein, the highest among all nuts and seeds!

PUREE VEGETABLE SOUP

Serves 4 people

2 tablespoons olive oil

Half an onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

4 small zucchini, chopped

6 cremini mushrooms, halved

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 turnip, peeled and chopped

8 leeks, chopped

10 leaves of fresh basil, roughly torn

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 quart of chicken or vegetable stock

Garnish: Basil Oil and Toasted Pine Nuts

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 handfuls of fresh basil

Sea salt

1 handful of pine nuts

Heat a large stock pot over a medium flame and add the olive oil. Then one at a time add the vegetables (in the order listed above). Give each vegetable about 10 seconds before you add the next one. Stir often. After you add the basil, season the vegetables with salt and pepper and stir again. Sauté about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Add the chicken or vegetable stock and let it come up to a strong simmer. Turn the heat down a little bit and cook for 30 minutes, or until vegetables are very tender.

Turn the heat as low as possible and puree with the immersion blender. Taste and season with more salt or pepper as needed.

In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts just until they begin to brown, shaking the pan every few seconds so that they brown evenly.

In a food processor, combine the basil and salt, and with the processor running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream. Scrape down the sides to be sure that all of the basil is incorporated.

Divide your soup into serving bowls and top with a dollop of the basil oil. Scatter a few pine nuts on top.

FENNEL SALAD WITH CANDIED WALNUTS

1 cup of walnuts

¼ cup of maple syrup

A few thin slices of red onion

2 radishes, thinly sliced

1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced

1 head of red leaf lettuce, roughly torn

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ lemon, juiced

In a small skillet combine the walnuts and maple syrup. Cook over medium-low heat until the syrup starts to bubble, and then continue cooking another minute. Pour candied walnuts into a bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl combine the red onion, radishes, fennel, and lettuce. Season with the black pepper to taste. Drizzle the olive oil and lemon over the salad. Toss well.

Plate the salad on individual plates and top with the candied walnuts.

If you do not already have an Immersion Blender, click on the image below to purchase one!

Cuisinart Immersion Blender

The Holidays were filled with so much wonderful food and I indulged every night… a little too much.  So now I’m ready to start a new exercise routine after all that wining and dining and I’m making sure to cook up some lighter foods.  One of my favorite salads is pears, pistachios and Roquefort…a perfect combination!

Pears are so in season now… juicy and ripe and they combine perfectly with cheese, but especially with Roquefort…the strong smelly kind. The saltiness of the cheese and smooth sweetness of the pear send a riot of flavors throughout my mouth and then when you add the crunchiness of the pistachios and the bitterness of the frisee and chicory lettuces combined with a marvelous sherry vinaigrette…it’s all heavenly.  And so so easy. Serve this winter salad as a first course. Your guests will love it.

FRISEE, ROQUEFORT AND PEAR SALAD WITH PISTACHIOS
(Serves 4-6)

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil

6 ounces frisee

6 ounces red-leaf lettuce

6 ounces chicory

Freshly-ground black pepper

½ cup (about 4 ½ ounces) shelled pistachios, toasted and roughly chopped

¼ pound Roquefort cheese, preferably imported, crumbled

1 large ripe but firm pear, such as Bartlett, cored, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard and salt. Gradually whisk in the oil; the dressing will thicken.

In a large bowl, toss together the frisee, red-leaf lettuce, chicory and the dressing. Season generously with pepper.

Divide the salad among serving plates. Scatter the nuts, cheese, and pear chunks over the salads and serve immediately.