At our house, we call slabs of cauliflower “vegetarian steaks.” They are a welcome steam-roast treat to serve when the vegan branch of our family visits. I like the way the chefs at America’s Test Kitchen steam them in a scorching hot oven under a blanket of aluminum foil before roasting them to create lovely caramelization on the exteriors. A…
Cauliflower “Steaks” Roasted Right and Paired with Italian Salsa Verde.
Cookbooks, Cooking, Melissa's, Produce, Recipes, Uncategorized
Strawberry Salad Finds Bliss with Pistachios and Feta
Cooking, Melissa's, Produce, Recipes, Uncategorized, VideosGreen salads have endless possibilities … Strawberries can be at their very best this time of year – juicy and sweet, with a luxurious texture. This romaine-based mix showcases the berries with Romaine lettuce, Feta cheese and salted nuts such as pistachios or almonds. The dressing is a simple vinaigrette spiked with honey and shallots. Fresh tarragon comes to the…
Almost every night at my house, we have some type of salad. When the lettuce runs out, we turn to longer lasting vegetables to be the headliner. Celery is one of those choices. There are loads of theories about how to best store it. I trim the bottom and cut the bunch in half crosswise. After swishing the freed stalks…
Roasted Bok Choy – Potato-Chip-Crisp Leaves with Tender Bases – Top with Ginger Sauce
Cooking, Melissa's, Produce, Recipes, UncategorizedHigh-heating roasting caramelizes bok choy, lending it an alluring sweet edge. It starts out with a gentle mustard-like flavor, but roasting tames much of that sharpness. The process creates texture contrast, transforming the tender leaves to a potato-chip crunchiness, the broad base to a moist succulence. It’s the best way to cook it. While the bok choy is in the…
Gnarled meringue goblins are sweet and crisp, with an initial crunch of a thick potato chip … But after a second or two in the mouth, that brittle texture melts, dissolving into diaphanous delight. The shapes are amusing. Piped from a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/2-inch tip (or squeezed from the cut corner of a heavy plastic zipper-style…
Whimsical Vampire Faces Float in Brownies – They Are Peanut Butter Cups!
Cooking, Holidays, Recipes, UncategorizedThese delicious brownies are designed to be delicious as well as fun to prepare. Peanut butter cups are set into the rich chocolate batter and serve, after baking, as rounded vampire faces. Whimsical Vampire Peanut Butter Cup Brownies Yield: 24 to 30Nonstick cooking spray and aluminum foil2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into several pieces if cold (or use…
Delicious Whimsy – Halloween Chocolate Ganache Ghost Tartlets
Cooking, Holidays, Recipes, UncategorizedQuirky Halloween ghosts tickle me, especially if they are piped out with Seven-Minute Frosting and adorned with googly eyes. But when it comes to Halloween history, in early days, folks weren’t focusing on goblins made with marshmallow-like frosting. No, those ghosts where taken more seriously and were the focus of a Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival in which revelers lit…
A couple of years ago, a chef friend and I dined at Salt and Love, a busy Italian-style bistro in Manhattan Beach, CA. We thought the meal was delicious and both of us were eager to try to reproduce the scrumptious starter that we had shared. It was the Sugar Snap Pea and Burrata Salad, so fresh and tempting it…