Squid and Kale
This is a dish inspired by a Mark Bittman recipe that we read in the NY Times. Depending on what’s in season, or in the cupboard or fridge, improvisation can be great way to improve your cooking skills. Mark Bittman’s recipe has more of an Asian influence with his use of spicy peppers and soy sauce, where ours has an Italian flare with the addition of breadcrumbs and pasta.
Pastosa Pizza
Yum…. After a rainy afternoon touring Staten Island pizza spots, Frank introduced me to his favorite specialty Italian food store, Pastosa’s Ravioli—a third generation owned family business. Starting out 40 years ago in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Anthony G. Ajello saw the gap in the market for ravioli made with high quality cheeses and other ingredients. Now the family has 11 stores across the tri-state area selling olives, sauces, smoked meats, cheeses as well as other Italian imports.
We all have a few dishes we can cook consistently well, and one of Cheryl’s is definitely polenta. It’s inexpensive, tasty and easily complements what’s in season, including these Hen of the Woods mushrooms we found at the local farmer market. Hen of the Woods mushrooms are expensive, but are certainly worth a try – they taste very “earthy” and don’t require too much work – just chop up the mushroom into little stems (kind of like cauliflower/broccoli) and fry in some butter. Brown on both sides and you’re ready to add them to your dish.
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by Greg Singer
At some point last month, I was sharpening my knives and realized that my trusty 8 inch chefs knife was really in rough shape. The edge was chipped beyond hope of repair and the blade was warped, slightly enough that Sarah didn’t see it but I could tell. So I started thinking about that knife and how long I had owned it. I’m pretty sure it is a mid-range Chicago Cutlery knife that I bought in 1997! It was time for a new knife.
With the right set of tools this is an easy dish to make.
Tangine is a dish that is named both for the food and the vessel it’s made in. However, just because you don’t have a tangine, it doesn’t mean you can’t make this dish at home. While we have a clay pot with a lid handy (more on the awesomeness of clay pots later), you really only need a oven-save pot/dish and some tin foil to cover it. » Continue Reading…
Walnut Pesto Pasta
A few weeks ago, I had a craving for pesto. We went over to Fairway and the basil looked great but when we went down the nut isle- pine nuts were $13 for a 1/2 cup!! There was no way I was about to pay that, so I thought to myself what to do next. Next to the pine nuts were the walnuts – $4 for a 2 cup bag – much better. » Continue Reading…
Stuffed Mushrooms
These are two very simple dishes, but complex in flavor. The idea for the brussel sprout salad came to us after we purchased the mandolin and started shredding everything. My new favorite salad is shaved brussel sprouts, walnuts, Pecorino Romano cheese with a lemon olive oil vinaigrette. I like Sebicca’s flavored olive oils based out in “the breadbasket” of northern California.
Salmon
Flushing Queens is a huge melting pot of cultures and has a multitude of groceries to suit everyone – especially those who have an eye for produce and are on a budget. On a recent trip to the neighborhood, our friends Harry and Becka picked up a huge piece of really fresh salmon as well as spinach, mushroom and garlic shoots from one of the Chinese markets. Here is a good list of places to visit in Flushing. » Continue Reading…
Yummy Mac and Cheese
For my friend Nate’s 31st birthday this year instead of having everyone spend money at one of the many bars in the city, he had everyone over to his home for an evening of great food to raise money for bk farmyards — a Brooklyn based decentralized farming network with a mission is to teach communities how to grow sustainable produce and eat healthy. » Continue Reading…
