Holiday Cookies

I finally taught myself the "flooding" technique for sugar cookies. You can use any recipe for cut out sugar cookies and royal icing. There's a lot of information online already about this technique so I won't bother going into detail here but I will offer two pieces of advice. One is to place any balls, sprinkles or other decoration quickly after laying down the icing so they stick easily in place. The icing sets very quickly so do it in batches if you have a lot of cookies. Second is, most directions advise you to use a toothpick to help draw the flooded icing into crevices, which is helpful, but I also found that on the larger cookies it was much faster to use a small spoon to spoon out icing into the "arms" of the snowflakes and the use the toothpick to finish off the job.

Caprese Bites

It's the good old party stand by. Here I've drizzled the platter with reduced balsamic vinegar, place the caprese bites on top, drizzled with olive oil and put the basil over top so that it would stick. A light sprinkle of sea salt over everything and- voila.

BBQ Tofu and Roasted Brocolette with Garlic

This dish also came with a red cabbage and carrot cole slaw.

Fabulous Party at The Old Stone House in Brooklyn

Party for 55 people. Seasonal, heavy on Vegetable and able to be served room temperature requested.
Menu-
Miso Glazed Eggplant with Quinoa Salad

Roasted Shoulder of Pork Stuffed with Garlic and Sage with a Dried Fruit Chutney

Roasted Carrots and Garlic Sautéed Kale with Tahini Sauce

Poached Side of Salmon on a bed of Arugula with Mustard and Lemon Vinaigrette

Roasted Beets with a Farro, Roastex Butternut Squash and Leek "Risotto"
With Reduced Balsamic Vinegar

Saffron Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas and Olives with Cumin Roasted Carrots

The "Wild" Meal

Herb Roasted Wild Boar with Onion and Demi Glacé, Sautéed Dandelion Greens, Chanterelle Mushrooms with Cream and Rosemary. Garlic Roasted Fingerling Potatoes.

A Lot Going On

So much going on, and lots of cooking.  I totally forgot about photos this week but here's a quick list of some of the things that came out of the Olivia Cooks For You kitchen-

Herb Roasted Murray's Chicken with Roasted Organic Root Vegetables

Red Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs with Egg Noodles

Sage Pork Loin with Apples and Onions and Roasted Garnet Sweet Potato Spears

Seared Filet of Salmon with Organic French Green Lentil Salad and Sauteed Baby Bok Choy

Homestyle Meat Loaf (Grass Fed Beef and No Antibiotic Heritage Ground Pork) with Lemon and Garlic Green Beans and Organic Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes

Roasted Organic Carrots, Sauteed Organic Purple Kale, Organic Short Grain Brown Rice with Tahini Dressing

Organic Buckwheat Soba Noodles with Sesame, Soy, Scallion and Seared Tofu

Roasted Zucchini, Eggplant, Red Pepper, Tomato, Garlic and Basil with Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli and Parmesan

Lamb, Wild Rice, Currant and Pepper Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash

Cut an acorn squash in half, salt and pepper the inside and then place flesh side down in a baking dish with one inch of water in the bottom.  Put in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Cook a wild rice mix (one that contains more than just wild rice, such as brown or red rice.  I like Lundberg's version) according to package directions.  Dice one small onion, half a red bell pepper and half a green bell pepper.  Saute the vegetables in 4 tablespoons of olive oil until soft and place in a bowl with 1 cup of cooked rice mix.  Saute one pound of ground lamb in olive oil with 2 or 3 crushed cloves of garlic, salt and pepper  and 2 tablespoons of cumin until browned.  Place in the bowl with rice and vegetables.  Add two tablespoons of dried currants.  Combine all the ingredients and adjust seasoning.  Drain and remaining water out of pan containing the squash and turn squash so the flesh side is up.  Pack rice/veg/lamb mix into the cavity of the squash and mound on top.  Any remaining mix can be placed around the squash in the pan.  Bake in the 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

To make a vegetarian version replace the lamb with sauteed zucchini and you can add in some type of nuts, such as walnuts or pecans.  This makes a great Thanksgiving vegetarian main course.

Broiled Wild Caught Long Island Flounder with Fennel Citrus Salad,Arugula and a Mustard Seed Citrus Vinaigrette. Pomegranate Garnish.

Pork Loin Chop with Crispy Sage. Sautéed Greens. Sweet Potato and Apple Hash.

Pomegranate Molasses Glazed Pork Chop with Heirloom Tomato and Dandelion Greens

Poached Halibut over Puréed Fava Bean. Sautéed Fresh Local Corn and Heirloom Mini Tomatoes and Basil Oil.

Red and Golden Beet and Green Beans over Roasted Butternut Squash and Leek Farro "Risotto" with Reduced Balsamic

Flower Salad, Smoked Trout, Steamed Snap Peas, Fresh Corn and Raspberries with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Greens, Egg and Ham (Dandelion Greens, Slow Poached Egg and Bacon)

Dandelion greens are a flavor that is hard to explain, at least not without turning off the person you're explaining them to.  They're kind of chewy, they're extremely bitter, but you'll have to trust me, they're delicious.

First thing you'll want to start for this recipe is the slow poached egg.  Frankly, if you don't want to spend the 45 minutes cooking the egg a regular poached egg would work fine.  In a large pot place a steamer basket and fill with hot water from the tap.  Attach a thermometer to the side of the pot.  Place four eggs in the basket and let the temperature come up to 145 degrees.  Do your best to maintain that temperature for 45 minutes.  If it gets too hot, throw in an ice cube and swirl around. 

For the greens, clean at least two bunches of dandelion greens and chop the thick ends off and discard.  Leave the greens in a colander to let as much water drain off as possible.

  Take two slices of very thick cut bacon and slice into "lardons" (large chunks).

Cook the bacon in a large saute pan until crispy and lay out to drain on a paper towel.  Pour off bacon grease. leaving around two tablespoons of the grease in the pan.  Place the pan over heat again and add one crushed clove of garlic, saute for a couple minutes to release flavor and then add in the dandelion greens.  Be careful of splatter from the wet greens hitting the hot oil. Pour in two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. Saute greens for about 10 minutes over medium high heat until thoroughly wilted.

Place a pile of the greens in the middle of the plate.  Crack one egg into a bowl and pour off excess white.  Place egg on greens and sprinkle bacon over the top.

Roasted Chicken and Carrots with Herb and Garlic Sauce and Sautéed Kale

I love a good roasted chicken.  When you do it right it just comes out so good and juicy and lovely.  Start with a "happy chicken", one that has run around and eaten good stuff.  It makes a difference.  Dry it off and salt and pepper it liberally, inside and out.  Slice a head of garlic in half across the cloves and stick one half inside the chicken.  Stick a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary in there too. Heat your oven to 425.  Put a cast iron skillet on high heat with a couple tablespoons of olive oil in it.

When the pan is good and hot brown the chicken slightly on each side, starting with one side and ending with it sitting on it's back, breast up.  Place in the oven and let cook for 40 minutes, rotating the pan once if you have a hot spot in your oven and the chicken is browning more on one side than the other.  Using a thermometer check the meatiest part of the breast.  If it reads 165 Fahrenheit your chicken is done, if not put it back in and keep checking after 5 minutes.  When the chicken is done cooking remove it from the pan and place on a cutting board to let it "rest".  If you don't do this step the juices will all run out and the chicken will not be as tasty or juicy.

Peel carrots and slice any that are larger than an inch diameter in half lengthwise. Place on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper.  Toss the carrots around with your hands to coat each one with oil and seasoning.  Place in the same oven as the chicken and cook for around 30 minutes, stirring them around a few times during cooking to make for even browning.

For the herb and garlic sauce you can chop up any type of herbs you have on hand (I used dill, rosemary, basil, tarragon, oregano and flat parsley) with several cloves of garlic (you can use the ones from the other half of the head of garlic you stuck in the chicken), a few anchovies and a couple tablespoons of capers.  Chop everything really well and use the side of your knife to smash the capers.  Just cover with olive oil.

Chop a head of kale by slicing it across the leaves.  In a large saute pan heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and one clove of garlic roughly chopped.  Throw in the kale and saute until it's your desired tenderness. Don't forget salt and pepper. I like mine well cooked so it took about 10 minutes.  Optional- squeeze a lemon over the kale.

Serve the chicken with the herb and garlic oil drizzled over top.

Seared Flank Steak, Roasted Peppers and Potatoes with Arugula and Reduced Balsamic Vinaigrette

Everything about this meal is pretty straight forward except the vinaigrette. To do the dressing simply empty a bottle of reasonably priced balsamic vinegar into a small saucepan and place over medium heat. Let the vinegar to reduce by at least half. Let cool and place in a container, I prefer a squeeze bottle. You can use the vinegar straight or as you would normally in vinaigrettes. For the one in this recipe I crushed one clove of garlic and mixed with equal parts reduced balsamic vinegar and olive oil, salt and pepper.

Try the reduced vinegar with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, burata, goat cheese or strawberries.

Brûléed New Jersey White Peaches and Fresh Homemade Organic Ricotta Cheese with Honey and Herbs

So this dessert came out of the fact that I finally made my own fresh ricotta cheese.  Does it make a big difference?  Oh yeah, it does.  The texture is rich and the taste is slightly sweet even just on it's own.  I won't go into detail on how to make it here because there are hundreds of hits on "homemade ricotta" and they're all pretty much the same.  I will tell you that I used lemon juice (some other alternatives are white vinegar or buttermilk) and that it took more than the recipe called for to get the curds to truly form.  The other thing I will tell you is, it's true, it's ridiculously easy.  Maybe not cost effective (a half gallon of milk produced maybe a cup of cheese), but so delicious. 

For the peaches I simply cut them in half, removed the pit and placed the peaches on a baking sheet.  I sprinkled some brown sugar over the peaches and placed them under a broiler.  I left them there, turning the pan every couple minutes, until they developed the browning and crust I wanted.

I let the peaches cool slightly and then placed two halves on each plate and topped the peaches with the ricotta.  I then drizzled a little honey over them and topped the ricotta off with Marjoram and Thyme.  It all made for a delicious combination of sweet and savory and really worked well.

Asparagus, Creamy Shitake Mushroom with Poached Egg and Micro Greens

Pork Shoulder Roast with a Peach And Veal Demi Glacé Sauce. Sautéed Fresh Corn and Sugar Snap Peas. Roasted Balsamic Glazed Cippolini Onions.

Seared Salmon with Yellow Tomato and Raspberries with Baby Lettuces

Instead of a Cupcake How About a Jar-Cake?!

For this whimsical presentation I used a jelly sized Bell canning jar.  I list the ingredients that I used below but really you can dream up and combination you like.

I had kids in mind when I made this dessert, though the flavors can stand up to an adult palate too.  First I made a flourless chocolate cake.  When it cooled I punched out circles of cake using ring shaped cookie cutters.  The bottom of the Bell jar is less wide than the top so I used a slightly smaller ring for the bottom layer.

I scooped small scoops of vanilla ice cream onto a tray and placed it back in the freezer so it will be easier to handle and ready to go when it is time to assemble and serve the dessert.

To assemble I popped the smaller circle of cake into the Bell jar.  I topped that layer with a few fresh raspberries and then the ice cream scoop.  I added a layer of raspberry sauce and topped that with the larger cake circle.

I topped the whole thing off with fresh whipped cream

It was a hit.

Roasted Carrots and Sautéed Kale with Tahini Sauce

Vegan meal for client.

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Onions and Brussels Sprouts

A low fat, low calorie and low carbohydrate meal for a client.

Strawberry Shortcake

Strawberry shortcake. So simple but so delicious when fresh and done right. Simply use the same recipe for the crust on the peach cobbler here. Instead of leaving it crumbly, pull it together gently and form a ball, then press it out until it's about an inch thick. Use a round cookie cutter to cut out discs of the dough and place on a cookie sheet. Bake in a 425 degree oven for about 18 minutes. Let cool.
Cut up fresh strawberries and mix with a bit of lemon juice and a little sugar. Make sweetened whipped cream with vanilla.
Place the strawberries on a plate or in a bowl, scoop a large spoonful of whipped cream on the berries and top with a shortcake.
That's it!

Grilled Peach, Sugar Snap Pea, Roasted Corn and Feta with Arugula Salad and Balsamic Vinaigrette