Oranges Are Still In Season

There is something magical about peeling an orange in public. The fragrance is powerful enough to entice co-workers to stop in smiling and fellow students to wander over from across the quad.  March marks the end of citrus season.  Get your hands on one last bag of these beauties and add them to every meal while they are still at their best and a great value. 

Breakfast: Nothing beats freshly squeezed orange juice.  With a little more time, try French Toast with Microwave Orange Compote.  French Toast doesn’t take much longer than scrambling eggs.  This recipe has no sugar in the egg dip since the orange compote is quite sweet.  The compote tastes a lot like high quality marmalade and takes about 20 minutes to make.  You can prepare it a day or two ahead.  The rest comes together really quickly, even on weekdays.

French Toast with Microwave Orange Compote
Serves 4

1 orange
1/2 lemon
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
8 slices bread
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
pinch salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup ricotta cheese

Make Orange Compote
Cut oranges and lemon in quarters and remove pulp.  Discard seeds.  Mash pulp with water in a large microwave-proof glass bowl (like PirexR).  Slice fruit skins (with pulp) paper thin and add to bowl.  Stir in 1/2 the sugar.  Cover loosely and cook on high 5 minutes, checking half-way through to stir.  Add remaining sugar and cook at half-power 10 minutes, checking at least 2 times to stir.  Lower power if sugar syrup is boiling to rapidly.  Allow compote to cool uncovered while you prepare French toast. If not using immediately, cover and refrigerate when cool.

Make French Toast
Mix egg, milk and salt in a shallow dish or pie plate.  Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and cover lightly with a small amount of the butter.  Briefly soak each piece of bread in egg mixture on both sides and fry in skillet until browned on both sides.  As each piece is cooked, place in a warm oven (250˚F)  covered loosely with tin foil. 

Assemble
Mix 1/2 cup orange compote into ricotta.  Divide ricotta-orange mixture in fourths and spread over four slices of French toast.  Top with remaining four slices of toast and slice on the diagonal.  Serve with extra orange compote. 


Lunch: I once spent a week on the beaches of Spain’s southern coast eating nothing but roasted chicken and blood oranges.  It was years before blood oranges made it to our shores and now that they are more available you can create a sophisticated chicken salad in the same vein.  Use regular oranges if blood oranges are not available or look below par. 

Orange Vinaigrette Chicken Salad
Serves 2 generously
Ingredients
1 orange, cut in half
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (try a Spanish one)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
Dash salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups cooked chicken, cut in chunks
1/3 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup sliced almonds

1. Juice one of the orange halves into a small bowl and add next five ingredients, olive oil though black pepper.  
2. Slice orange sections from remaining 1/2 orange.  
3. Combine chicken with  orange sections, celery and almonds in a second bowl.  
4. Pour vinaigrette over chicken mixture and toss well.  
5. Wrap chicken salad in a whole wheat tortilla or a lettuce cup.

Dinner:
Orange-Red Pepper Pork Chops
Great on loin chops or pork tenderloin.  If the weather cooperates make this for your inaugural spring grill out.  Serve with corn bread and a big salad.  

Ingredients
Juice of 1 orange
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon each red pepper ,black pepper and salt.
6 loin chops or 1 pork tenderloin

Directions

1. Combine orange juice, honey, vinegar and spices.  Pour over pork, cover and refrigerate (or place chops in a resealable bag).  
2. Marinate 6 chops at least 4 hours or overnight. 
3. Discard marinade.
4. Grill or pan fry over pork low heat to control over- charring from sugar in marinade. 

Snacks: Many believe that the smell of citrus is energizing making it a wonderful late afternoon snack.  A nice pairing with an orange is cottage cheese – a complete snack that will hold you until dinner.  Dark chocolate also goes well with oranges. 

If you don’t like the feeling of orange peel under your nails, use a pairing knife to coax away the skin and pith.  To do this simply, imagine the orange is a globe.  First cut away the “poles” by scoring around the top and bottom just to the point where you feel the softer pulp.  Pull the top and bottom skin off to leave the middle girth of the orange skin.  To peel this easily, score along longitudinal lines at several intervals.  You will be able to pull sections of peel away leaving a neatly peeled whole orange.  Pull apart the segments and enjoy or slice your snack into large chunks to enjoy later. 
My friend Evie’s grandmother, who grew up in Poland, taught her to peel an orange this way.  It is neat and elegant and always reminds of the formal enjoyment of fruit that I witnessed as a teenager in Europe.  Fruit was expensive and savored. It was never consumed thoughtlessly.  A snack is a nice way to take a break in your day—Make it a real break with a more formal snack and you’ll return to your afternoon tasks more regenerated. 

Dessert: My sister has been known to steam holiday citrus fruit cakes in orange cups previously poached in an orange fruit syrup.  Try this much faster Orange Cake. It also delivers a bright and intense orange flavor. 

Our Orange Cake
Ingredients
1 orange
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup confectionary sugar
optional: 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

1. Grate the rind off the fruit.
2. Grease loaf pan or  tin for 6 large muffins.
3. Cream butter and sugar.  Mix in egg.
4. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. 
5. Add flour mixture, milk, orange rind and vanilla extract to batter. Mix well to combine thoroughly.  Pour batter into loaf pan or muffin tin,
6. Bake at 350F for 40 to 45 minutes for the loaf, 25-30 minutes for large muffins or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean and cake pulls away from sides of pan.
7. When the loaf comes out of the oven, pick it with a few times with the tip of the knife or a tooth pick. Squeeze the juice from half the fruit over the cake.
8. When cool, turn cake out of pan.
9. Make glaze: Mix together juice of remaining 1/2 orange, confectionary sugar and lemon juice.  When cake is cool, drizzle over top of cake/muffins. 

Three Curries

Lately, friends have been asking me about curries.  With the opening of more Indian restaurants in local neighborhoods and smaller U.S. towns, rural foodies are getting a chance to try foods from regions surrounding the Indian Ocean.  The culinary curiosity this sparks inevitably follows diners home. 

Curries are really just stews and one-pot meals in a highly flavored sauce or gravy.  While a few ingredients are new, many of the cooking techniques are familiar.  Once you’ve made a curry on your own, you’ll see the similarity and will enjoy sampling ones from different regions at home or dining out.

There are many variations under the general heading “curry” and curry powders are a packaged convenience that most regular curry eaters eschew.  Indian and eastern cookbooks note that curry spices are blended and cooked at the time the dish is being prepared. Just as families may have their own special chili powder blend, barbeque sauce for ribs or spice rub for chicken and beef, curries allow for great creativity once you know what spices make up the basic flavor profile.  Don’t toss your jars of curry powder yet.  After you try a curry of your own, you’ll know whether you still like the pre-mixed blend or would prefer to change it up a bit. 

Of the three curry recipes here, only one calls for pre-blended curry powder.  The other two show you how curries are easily built spice by spice.  Our first curry is beef based and perhaps the closest to a beef stew in flavor and preparation.   This is the one that uses a pre-blended curry powder.  The second curry is a chicken-chickpea-cashew one-pot meal made with tomatoes and rice.  The third is an all-vegetable curry that relies on a coconut milk base and can be served as a side dish as well as a main course.  A side dish curry is an easy way to introduce curries to your family alongside some grilled chicken or firm fish.

When making curries, don’t be put off by the long lists of ingredients.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the number of ingredients you have on hand.  Enjoy using your spice rack.

Massaman Beef Curry cooks in a base of peanut butter and coconut milk.  Beef is perfect here but chicken and tofu are also cooked in this curry.  Very authentic recipes use tamarind juice (especially for a vegetarian version with tofu) instead of beef broth.  I use a mixture of both if I have tamarind on hand but don’t hold off making this if you don’t have a tamarind source.   Directions below are for a slow cooker.  To cook in a conventional oven, place ingredients in a Dutch oven or other oven-approved covered pot in step 3 and cook in a 325˚F oven for about 3 hours.
The curry powder used in Massaman Beef Curry is mild and has coriander, cumin, cinnamon, fenugreek, black pepper and very little cayenne pepper. Any blend you like is fine but if you don’t see (or smell) cinnamon in the mix, add 1/4 teaspoon to the sauce, since this is a key flavor.  Spice Islands curry blend is a good example of a mild store brand that is appropriate in this recipe.  It does not contain cinnamon so add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon for every 3 tablespoons curry powder.   

Foolproof Massaman Curry in a Slow Cooker
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil
2 pounds beef chuck, cut into large chunks (2-3 inches or larger if cooking on low for more that 6 hours)
1 (14 ounce) can coconut milk  (use a low fat or lite version)
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 tablespoons curry powder (plus 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon if not in curry blend)
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce, aka nam pla (ok to substitute soy sauce)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup beef broth (or tamarind juice)
2-3 potatoes, cut into large chunks
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
fresh cilantro, pain yogurt (optional)
Cooked rice

Directions
Note: Browning the meat is optional--- if you have time great.  If you are not browning the meat, mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl or screw-top jar (step 2) with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and pour it over the beef in the stock pot. 

1. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the beef in the melted butter until the beef is browned on all sides. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker while keeping the beef drippings in the skillet.
2. Keeping the skillet on medium-high heat, stir the coconut milk, peanut butter, and curry powder into the reserved beef drippings.  Cook and stir until the peanut butter melts. Turn off the heat and stir the fish sauce, brown sugar and beef broth into the coconut milk mixture.  Pour the coconut milk mixture into the slow cooker.
3. Turn the slow cooker on to Low. Cook on Low until the beef is fork-tender, 4 to 6 hours.   8 hours+ if using large cuts of meat. 
4. About 20 minutes before meat is finished, boil the potatoes until just tender.  Stir the peanuts, frozen peas and potatoes into the curry and allow the peas to heat through, about 15 minutes with the slow cooker on high.
5. Serve over rice or noodles with cilantro, cool yogurt and some pita bread

Moroccan Cashew Stew (with Chicken) shows that those who don’t think of themselves as expert cooks can be inventive and successful creating new and wonderful dishes.  Moroccan Cashew Stew is a mild, tomato-based curry that can go two ways successfully—vegetarian or chicken. My friend Tracy created this versatile stew by trusting her own taste and making the leap to add cashews. Cashews add protein and make this curry so unique, they give it its name.


Moroccan Cashew Stew (with Chicken)
Ingredients
2 cans cooked chick peas (garbanzo beans)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 pounds skinless chicken thighs or breast meat*
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup diced onions
1/2 cup diced celery
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes in juice
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 pound dried green lentils (roughly 1 cup dried)
1 cup long-grain brown rice
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup unsalted, raw cashews
Greek yogurt, lemon wedges and cilantro for garnish
*optional, to make a vegetarian version, skip chicken step and substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth. 

1. Heat olive oil in a medium stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion and celery and cook over medium heat until softened, about 4 minutes.  
2. Add ginger, turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stirring prevents spices from burning.  
3. Add tomatoes with their juice plus chicken stock, lentils and chickpeas.  Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook at a low simmer for about 1 hour.
4. Add chicken pieces, rice and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt.  If liquid is almost absorbed, add an additional cup of broth or water.   Cover and return pot to simmer. Cook thirty-forty minutes more until chicken is cooked through and rice is soft.  Stew will be thick and have absorbed most of the liquid.
5. Stir in cilantro, parsley, lemon juice and cashews.  Cook, uncovered, an additional five minutes or until cashews have softened. 
6. Serve in wide bowls with a dollop of yogurt, lemon wedge and a generous sprinkling of herbs. 

Notes
If you’d like more heat, Tracy suggests adding 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper to the recipe.  You can mix it in with the other spices or at the end when the herbs are added.


Vegetable Basket Curry (and Soup) is a hearty vegetable stew.  It makes a large batch and can be divided into smaller portions and frozen.  Serve it over rice, couscous or noodles.    The curry can also be pureed with a bit of low-fat coconut milk and/or vegetable broth to make soup.  Since both the stew and the soup versions freeze well, this is one of those efficient recipes that pays dividends when you want something hearty but don’t have much energy or time.

Vegetable Basket Curry (and Soup)
1 medium onion
1 stalk celery, scrubbed, thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (or 1/8 teaspoon each cayenne, oregano, paprika, cumin)
1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
2 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 medium cauliflower, cut into florets
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut in bite-sized chunks
2 medium zucchini, sliced
14 oz can beans, drained- chick peas, kidney beans or white beans recommended
pinch saffron threads
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
(salt & pepper)

1. In a large pot or Dutch oven, sauté onions and celery in olive oil until translucent.  
2. Add turmeric, chili powder, ginger and cinnamon and cook briefly to release oils.  
3. Add carrots and parsnips and stir in vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook 5 minutes. 
4. Add butternut squash, cauliflower and zucchini.  Cover and cook another 10 minutes.  
5. Stir in remaining ingredients and cook over low heat uncovered about 5 minutes more or until all the vegetables are at desired tenderness.

If you are trying this curry as a side dish, serve it with a simple grilled chicken, marinated in yogurt, crushed fresh garlic, coriander, cayenne pepper, cumin, lemon juice and salt.  This is the famous Tandoori Chicken which is usually made with skinned bone-in chicken parts.

After cooking these three curries, you'll know enough to start making your own curry spice blends to hand out as gifts at the holidays.  Or, just pass along the recipes. 

Our Collards

Fresh collards braised in a sweet-smoky liquor.  Yes, northerners can do this. We love these collards alongside  baby back ribs or baked ham and biscuits.  This week we’re having them with the leftover roasted pork loin and cole slaw. See yesterday’s  Wordless Wednesday Collards posting for pretty photos of the process.

Our Collards

Makes about six 1/2-cup servings

3 lbs fresh collards  greens- stems stripped off, leaves rinsed and sliced into 1/2 pieces (large rough chop)

1 ham hock (smoked turkey leg or smoky bacon are good substitutes)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (cuts bitterness)

1 14-oz can low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon hot sauce or 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon salt

Prep the greens as instructed above and toss them in a large pot with the remaining ingredients.  Cover the pot and cook at a low simmer one to one and half hours until greens are soft and olive green. (Start checking after 45 minutes.)  Taste and adjust seasoning (adding more salt, black pepper or hot sauce).  You might also like some dill in your collards.  Add it later if you are the only “diller” in the house.

Collards cook beautifully in a slow cooker.  Start on the high setting and turn it to low after an hour—cook on low another 2 hours.  Or start and finish on low—about 5 hours. 

Like great stews, collards taste even better the next day, if you can hold off.

Wordless Wednesday Collards

Raclette Night

                              After a day on the ski slopes or bundled up by a cozy fire, try this sophisticated dinner that combines the practical elements of a grilled cheese sandwich with the convivial atmosphere of fondue.

My father did business in Switzerland when I was a teenager and he frequently brought back new culinary treats and techniques for us to try, chief among them, Raclette.  Raclette means to scrape in Swiss dialect and on wintry nights around Lake Geneva and along the eastern border of France, shepherds melted their buttery, fruity local cheese and scraped it over potatoes and pickled vegetables.  All three components keep well during the winter, as do cured meats, which also came to be part of the dish known for its cheesy main ingredient, Raclette. 

When my parents announced we were having a Raclette Night, we knew we were in for a fun evening.  Each of us would concoct our own meal suited to our individual tastes matching melted Raclette cheese with an array of delicacies.  The smallest waxy potatoes my mother could find were boiled with their delicate skins left on.  An expensive jar of French pickles, cornichons, with little onions stuffed alongside the gherkins was opened.  Cured meats, grilled mushrooms, a hearty baguette and some sliced pears filled out a platter and the melted cheese experiments began.

Fondue has been back in style in the U.S. for a few years now and perhaps those electric non-stick pots with matching multi-colored skewers were never really put away. Now that Raclette is far easier to find at your local grocery than it used to be, try a Raclette Night of your own.  It’s quite easy to put together and is not a bad way to use up a few leftovers (like ham) and pantry hangers-on (break open that jar of giant caper berries).

In restaurants on the continent, half and quarter wheels of Raclette are brought to the table and the cut side is melted under a hot burner or under an electric grill.  (To see some of the professional equipment follow the links at the bottom of this post.)  Each diner scrapes the melted, bubbly cheese onto potatoes while the next layer of cheese cooks.  Diners keep scraping until everyone has had their fill.  Some restaurants use a specialized grill with individual pans to melt and serve the cheese to guests.  These are available for home use but suffer from the one-use appliance curse. 

My mother came up with a method that was easy and used equipment most of us have in the kitchen.  She cut away the rhind and placed slabs of sliced Raclette on stainless steel steak platters and melted the cheese in a very hot oven, 450˚F for 2-3 minutes. The cheese is so buttery that it stays melted on the hot plate with time to toss cooked hot potatoes and cornichons on the side.  She was able to serve up to eight people at the same time.  Use a fajita or steak pan that can withstand high oven heat and has a matching holder or wooden plate to avoid scorching the dining room table.  Metal pie plates (event the disposable ones), roasting pans and cookie sheets also work.  Don’t worry about whether you pans are not “non-stick;” Raclette is high in fat and will slide off of most surfaces. 

Either a Swiss or French Raclette is perfect for Raclette Night and available at markets that house a specialty cheese department.  Several brands are made from raw milk and aged a minimum of 60 days to kill off any harmful pathogens.  Raw milk versions have an excellent taste however , if you can’t find Raclette, try Swiss Emmenthal and Gruyere cheese.

Raclette is a buttery cheese with a fruity flavor that is complimented by smoked and sweet-salty foods.  Along with the de rigueur boiled potatoes and cornichons pickles served with the melted Raclette, lay out cured meats like prosciutto, spec, bresaola plus pickled onions and to compliment the fruity notes, add some sliced pear to your platter.  There is room for some experimentation as well so check your cupboard for ideas.  Other pickled vegetables like okra, asparagus, green beans, caper berries, marinated artichoke hearts and olives are options.  Grilled mushrooms and even sweet grilled onions (like tiny cippolini cooked whole) and roasted peppers.  French bread doused with a bit of black pepper also compliments the cheese. 

Wine, Beer and Non-Alcoholic Matches
Experts and Raclette fans seem fairly evenly split over red or white wines with the meal so experiment and try one of each.   Beers and sparkling wines also fit the category and can be chosen based on what you are serving at your Raclette Night.  Lots of cured meats and smoked fish may point you towards beer or perhaps an Alsace or Riesling kabinette. 

A paired down pure Raclette Night with potatoes and cornichons calls for a local wine that plays off the cheese’s fruity nature or cherry kirsch, which is not sweet. Try a white that is moderately fruity with a mineral twist.  Whites made from the chasselas grape (called fendant in Switzerland) are a specialty of the regions that produce Raclette (the Savoie in France and the region around Lake Geneva on the Swiss side).   Look for a Vin de Savoie for a great pairing.
A classic red is often enjoyed with Raclette.  Cabernet Franc, Beaujolais or even Bordeaux that bend toward a merlot blend is a nice match if you are serving grilled meat and earthy vegetables like mushrooms. 

Beer
Belgian pale ale like Duvel and if you can find it, a cherry beer.  At our house a wheat beer is the beer of choice.

Non-Alcoholic
For the children of the household, apple cider served hot or cold will provide a complimentary note to the meal. If the elders are enjoying something sparkly, serve a  sparkling grape juice with a shot of pomegranate juice to bring out the fruity flavors of the cheese.

Dessert?
Continue dipping pears and other sliced fruit into melted gooiness. Try a chocolate and butterscotch dip then roll your fruit in chopped nuts.  Or serve a dessert of fresh cherries drizzled with a little Swiss chocolate.

For more on Raclette:
This Raclette Suisse website (http://www.raclette-suisse.ch/fr/meta/home.html) is based in Berne in Switzerland.  Even if you don’t speak French or German (Swiss German), the languages on the site, you’ll enjoy the videos of people at Raclette parties. Clips show how the cheese melts, even the ideal thickness of the cheese slices and many foods to serve alongside.  There is also a substantial recipe section with photos for other ways to use Raclette cheese, melted or not, in appetizers, main dishes and desserts.  A fun site.

To see the melting equipment restaurants along the Swiss/French border territories use, check out Raclette Corner at http://www.raclettecorner.com/melter.

Happy Family Valentine

Valentine’s Day is a strained holiday for many.  Too many expectations and unspoken wishes can make it a difficult day whether one is attached or not. This year, Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day are on the same day and that concurrence opens the door to a bit more creativity and togetherness and a bit less heartache and solitaire.

Chinese New Year provides plenty of red-themed symbolism for the romantic in you and plenty of optimism and good fortune for pragmatist pining for a mid-winter lift.  The lunar New Year is the overture to spring and new beginnings.  Many of the traditions and foods celebrate this theme as well as ones of togetherness, luck, prosperity and long life.  This year, have a Lucky Shared Meal out on the town (Chinatown that, is) or in your own dining room following the easy menu below.

If you live near or in a city with a Chinatown, check out the festivities planned.  You can expect firecracker ceremonies, lion dancing and whirling dragons, lunar New Year parades and restaurants serving lucky foods. Red, considered a lucky color, is everywhere.  Children are handed red envelopes filled with coins to buy candies and fruit portending a sweet year.

Lucky foods earn their status based on the sound of their names or their resemblance to a lucky theme.  For example, the word for lettuce sounds like the phrase for rising fortune in Chinese so lettuce is often included in the meal.  Sweet desserts like sticky rice cakes made with glutinous rice flour and dried fruits also symbolize good fortune and a sweet life.

Whole chicken or fish is symbolic of family togetherness, wholeness and a good start and finish to the year. Long life is symbolized via dishes that encourage diners to see and experience length. Noodle dishes made with uncut or unbroken long noodles and green bean stir fries are typical.  The Chinese long beans measuring from one to three feet are often served.  These beans are also called snake beans or asparagus beans in markets.  They are a bit softer than conventional green beans and the flavor may remind you of asparagus (another long vegetable served at this time of year).

Citrus fruits like tangerines and oranges (in season now) are considered lucky since the words for them in Chinese sound like the word lucky.  If there are any leaves still attached there is an added bonus of connecting to others, especially lucky for couples.

The night’s menu offered here is suitable for friends, family groups or just the two of you.  Red Glazed Whole Roasted Chicken is marinated overnight turning the chicken a ruby red before baking.  Sesame noodles can be spicy or mild as suits your table and can be prepared ahead.  Green bean prices are up this year due to inclement cold in the south so our menu features asparagus finished in the oven while the chicken rests. The whole meal can be eaten with knife and fork or scooped into lettuce cups for a bit of extra New Year luck.

Lucky Shared Meal (serves 4-6)

Red Glazed Whole Roasted Chicken

Roasted Sesame Asparagus

Long Life Peanut-Sesame Noodles

 Dessert: Oranges with almond or sugar cookies make a simple dessert to share

Based on a Cantonese Cha Siu barbeque marinade for spare ribs, Red Glazed Whole Roasted Chicken uses a vinegar-based red marinade that tints the skin with a becoming blush. Like the rib version, the meat is slightly sweet and has hints of orange from the marinade and the orange quarters baked in the cavity.  Instead of artificial red food coloring typically used in the recipe, this pure version employs beets to create the red tinge.  You will not taste the beets in the final result.  Like red cabbage, beets need an acidic environment to retain their ruby color thus the vinegar base.   Heat also affects the tint so the cooked chicken will not be as deeply red as the marinated raw bird.

Love note:  If you have never used a meat thermometer, one is highly recommended for this recipe. The red marinade makes it difficult to go by color for "degree of doneness."  A thermometer will help you roast the perfect chicken to 165˚F every time no matter the weight of the chicken or true temperature of your oven.


While the chicken roasts prep the asparagus and noodle sauce. Invite family togetherness by allowing someone to help with this step.  Prepping these ingredients will make it easy to finish off the meal while the cooked chicken rests.

Red Glazed Whole Roasted Chicken

Ingredients
1 small red beet, or the juice from a small can of beets. Citrus—will help fix red color of beet dye

Juice of 1/2 orange, plus orange quarters for roasting stage. 

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/4 cup brown sugar;

1 inch of a knob of grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons dry sherry

1 4-pound whole chicken

Method

1. Peel and quarter beet and cover in 1/2 cup water in a small sauce pan.  Simmer for 15 minutes until tender. Uncover and continue to cook on low until liquid is halved—1/4 cup.  Remove the beet quarters and set aside. If using canned beet juice, heat the juice and proceed with step 2.
2. With heat still on low, add citrus juice and brown sugar.  Stir to completely dissolve sugar.  Turn of heat.
3. Add remaining ingredients and allow marinade to cool completely. 
4. Rinse chicken and remove any parts from cavity (neck, liver, giblets). Reserve for soup or other use.  
5. Place the whole chicken in a re-sealable plastic bag and set in a large plate or bowl to catch any drips.  Pour the cooled marinade over the chicken, squeeze out excess air and seal the bag.  Lay the chicken breast side down in the dish and marinate overnight.  The next morning, turn the chicken and leave until ready to roast.  Marinate at least 6 hours. 
6. About 1 1/2 hours before dinner, preheat oven to 450˚F and remove chicken from bag.  Wipe away moisture with a paper towel, but do not rinse.  Place chicken on a roasting rack in a roasting pan.  
7. Place orange quarters inside bird and tie legs together with butcher twine (OK to leave untied).   Spread vegetable oil over skin (about 1/2 tablespoon) and place in oven.  
8. Roast 15 minutes at 450˚F then lower the heat to 350˚F and roast 15 minutes per pound until a meat thermometer reads 165˚F in the thigh.  Figure about 1 hour for a 4-pound bird, but test for internal temperature after 45 minutes.  Check the bird 2-3 times during cooking and brush will drippings from pan as needed. 
9. When the internal temperature has reached 165˚K, remove bird from oven and cover lightly with aluminum foil.  Let rest 20 minutes allowing temperature to rise a few more degrees and juices to be reabsorbed into the meat.  This will ensure a moist chicken.  
   
   Roasted Sesame Asparagus 
   Ingredients
   1 pound aspargus
   1 T sesame oil
   1 teaspoon soy sauce
   1 T sesame seeds
   freshly ground black pepper
   
   Method
   
   
   
   
   
   1. Leave oven on to roast asparagus while chicken cooks.  
   2. Break off tough stem ends and rinse asparagus.  (If you are following the Chinese New Year tradition of leaving things whole this night, steam them as is and warn diners to avoid the woody stem ends.) 
   3. Place asparagus in a skillet with about an inch of boiling water. Cover and cook until asparagus are just getting tender, 3-5 minutes.  
   4. Drain and toss with sesame oil, soy sauce.
   5. Place asparagus on a baking sheet in a single layer and sprinkle on sesame seeds and freshly ground black pepper.  
   6. Roast at 350˚F for 10-12 minutes until spears are beginning to caramelize. 
   
   
   Long Life Peanut-Sesame Noodles
   In a large bowl, suitable for serving, combine:
   3 T dark sesame oil
   3 T soy sauce
   2 T red wine vinegar
   
   
   Processed until smooth in a food processor or blender:
   2 cloves garlic, peeled
   Two 1-inch square knobs fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
   1/2 -1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
   1/3 cup natural peanut butter
   1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
   5 tablespoons soy sauce
   1/4 cup rice wine or sake
   1 1/2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar or Worcestershire sauce
   1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
   6 tablespoons chicken broth or water
   
   
   3/4 pound long, thin noodles
   Optional: crushed red pepper flakes
   
   
   1. In a large pot of well- salted water, cook noodles as directed.  You may use Chinese egg noodles, somen, angel hair, whole wheat spaghetti, anything you like provided noodles are long and unbroken. We often use angel hair for this recipe. 
   2. When noodles are cooked, drain them then toss with the marinade in the serving bowl. This step favors the noodle at a deep level and makes for a more complex taste.  
   3. Stir in the peanut sauce prepared in the food processor ensuring that the noodles are all covered.  The noodles may be served hot or at room temperature.  
   4. Serve with a small bowl of additional crushed red pepper for those with hotter tastes.
      
      
      Happy family.
      
      Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days and concludes with the Lantern Festival (set on the night of the first full moon of the lunar New Year). This gives you plenty of time to make this dinner if you have other plans for Valentine’s Day.
      

Three Winter Salads

When I decided to write this article, my biggest problem became selecting just three of my favorite winter salads. This season may not appear to be a natural for the salad bar but the apparent lack of ingredients turns out to be a creative catalyst for possibilities one might not consider when everything is in abundance. With so many ideas, I decided to think of this entry as Winter Salads, part one and return with more winter salads at a later date.

 During winter turn first to citrus, herbs and root vegetables and pull in support from nuts, seeds and cheeses to make salads an everyday part of your meals no matter how chilly the temperature outside.

Even with the cold snaps we've had this yer, winter is citrus season.   A wonderful and ridiculously easy intermezzo salad from the northern region of Italy is made from orange slices drizzled with a flavorful extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with dried oregano and black pepper. My version adds shaved fennel and a pinch of salt but the original is terrific and child-friendly. Oranges handle that special thirst you get from being in dry, indoor environments during the cold months. You may not think of combining herbs and olive oil with citrus but this is a cool way to enjoy oranges. Any Italian meal will show this salad off well. I also like it with fish and poultry.


Orange and Fennel Salad
Serves 3-4

Ingredients
2 –3 medium sized oranges, seedless preferred
1/2 fennel bulb
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves)
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil plus extra

Method

Prepare the oranges by removing the peel and pith with a sharp knife. Then slice the oranges to reveal pretty rounds.  Remove frond top from the fennel bulb and cut in half. (Reserve unused halve to roast or put in a salad another day.) Use a mandolin to shave fennel slices or slice paper-thin with a chef’s knife. Arrange oranges and fennel on a platter or large plate. Sprinkle with oregano, black pepper and salt. (Salad may be prepared up to this point, covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated.) Just before serving, drizzle olive oil over oranges and fennel.

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Fresh herbs help boost flavor in winter salads. These days it’s much easier to find fresh herbs at the grocery store and my Spring Roll Hand Salad takes full advantage of the availability of cilantro and mint. This salad features another basic winter salad ingredient, root vegetables, in the form of shaved carrots in the salad and grated carrots in the dressing. The dressing is also infused with fresh ginger, a spice that provides a warming heat to the cold days. This dressing will remind you of ones you have tasted at Japanese restaurants served over ice burg lettuce.

Wrapped in a flexible rice wrapper, the salad is fun if you have children in the house and travels well to school or office. It is equally good and has lots of eye appeal without the wrapper so don't skip this one if you'd like to serve it simply but beautifully on salad plates. This is a nice side salad to seafood meals, Asian stir fries and veggie burgers.


Spring Roll Hand Salad with Ginger-Carrot Dressing
Serves 4

Ingredients
Dressing: carrot ginger- makes 1/2 cup, easily doubled
2 medium carrot, grated finely
2-inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and grated finely
2 T rice vinegar
2 t soy sauce
2 t sesame oil
1 t honey
2 T water
6 T vegetable oil

Salad
Lettuce- try outer leaves of iceberg, red leaf and green leaf varieties or a combination
Cucumber- peeled and julienned
Carrot, in thin slivers—use a vegetable peeler to get thin flexible slices
Avocado slices
Radishes- paper thin slices
Mint, basil, cilantro-- whole leaves

Wrap
4 rice wrappers

Method:
Prepare dressing. Grate carrot and ginger with a fine grater. Use the back of a spoon to easily remove the peel from ginger and store remainder in the freezer to use anytime. (Thank you Martin Yan for teaching me about ginger in a cooking demo years ago.) Place grated ingredients in the bowl of a small food processor or immersion blender. Add remaining ingredients, holding back on half the water and oil. Process to a smooth consistency and taste. Add oil and water to thin and adjust strength. (If you do not own a food processor or immersion blender, place ginger and carrots in a small, lidded jar with remaining ingredients and shake well. Your dressing will still taste great but will be a more "au natural" texture.)

Next, prepare salad filling ingredients. Thinly slice and lay ingredients out on a plate or chopping board so you can easily assemble hand rolls. Use a vegetable peeler to shave paper-thin slices of carrot. Julienne and thinly slice the other vegetables. Use herb leaves whole and leave a few leaves of lettuce in large pieces. Chop peanuts finely and set aside in a small bowl. If you are serving the salad without rice wrappers, arrange ingredients on large lettuce leaves in separate piles and allow diners to serve themselves from the shared platter. Pass the dressing.

The rice wrappers are easy to roll and very forgiving. Go for it. To make spring rolls, pour very hot water in a shallow pan, wide enough to fit a wrapper laid flat. Working one at a time, lay a wrapper in the hot water. In 20-30 seconds, the wrapper will have absorbed water and be completely flexible. Lay the wrapper on a tea towel to absorb excess moisture. Lay carrots strips and a few herb leaves in alternating stripes across center of rice wrapper and cover with a lettuce leaf. Fill the lettuce leaf with remaining ingredients placing peanuts in the center spot. Each roll will hold about 3/4-1 cup of salad. Now roll the lower side of the wrapper over the salad mound and bring the two adjacent sides in as if you were folding an egg roll or package. Roll the top side of the wrapper over the lower edge. The moistened rice starch in the wrappers will hold the rolls together without any extra binding. The rolls can be made a few hours ahead and wrapped in a moist tea towel then placed in a plastic bag to hold until dinner-time. To bring them to school or office wrap them well and place on an ice pack in you lunch box.

Serve Spring Roll Hand Salads with dip on the side. Everyone will enjoy an individual ramekin of Carrot-Ginger Dressing to enjoy.

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Our last salad is popular at our house almost nightly during the winter months.  Variations occur with available ingredients but it always includes a cheese, nuts or seeds and a starring role for a vegetable.   I mentioned that root vegetables are a great ingredient in winter salads. Northern cultures in cold climates accross Europe handle fresh vegetable cravings year-round with salads that include carrots, beets, celery leaves, radishes and more.  Cheeses, nuts and seeds contribute complimentary tastes.   Lettuce takes on a supporting role while these flavorful ingredients step forward. The key is to create a salad with just a few items. This salad of roasted beets, goat cheese and roasted pistachios over red leaf lettuce is a good example. Another variation is celery leaves, radishes, blue cheese and walnuts over lettuce. A simple vinaigrette is recommended.

Beet, Goat Cheese and Pistachio Salad
For each person:
1 small roasted beet
1 ounce goat cheese
2 teaspoons pistachios
1-2 cups lettuce

Method
To roast beets, preheat oven to 450˚F. Wash beets but do not peel. Wrap each beet in tin foil and bake 30-50 minutes, depending on size of beet. 1-2 inch diameter beets take about 30-40 minutes, larger beets will take 50 minutes. Beets are cooked when a fork pierces the flesh easily and beet feels tender in center. Carefully open foil wrapping and allow beets to cool about 15 minutes before peeling skin off. To peel, cut top from beet then, with a paper towel run skin off. Skin will peel away easily. If you are preparing a large quantity of beets, wear food-grade plastic gloves to prevent skin from staining. If you are making just a few, wash red stains from your hands with soap and a shake of salt to act as a mild abrasive.

To roast nuts, preheat oven to 350˚F. Place nuts on an un-greased cookie sheet. You may leave the nuts plain or toss them with a touch of olive oil and salt. Roast for 1-2 minutes, checking frequently. (Nuts burn easily and different varieties torch faster than others. Pistachios, walnuts and pecans need less time than peanuts, almonds and pumpkin seeds. Roasting nuts brings out more flavor, your goal for winter salads.

Slice or quarter beets and lay them on a bed of lettuce. Garnish salad with goat cheese and nuts. You may use soft or aged goat cheese for this recipe. Both are divine. Even cream cheese sprinkled with some herbs is a good foil for beets.

This salad accompanies all kinds of grilled and roasted meats, stews and vegetable bakes.

Party Bites

Last month I co-hosted a cocktail party as a board member at Greenwich House in New York City’s Greenwich Village.  Greenwich House is a venerable institution that is so many things to so many of the city’s residents that it sometimes defies easy explanation. 

As a charitable foundation, this can be a development director’s nightmare but the excellent staff and volunteers are not daunted.  Rather, they are enthusiastic ambassadors of the diverse programs including mental health services to seniors, a Children’s Safety Program unique to the city, chemical dependency programs and HIV and AIDS services.  Greenwich House also provides a home to a nursery school, senior center, music school and the world famous Greenwich House Pottery (100 years old this year). 

At the party, we highlighted and celebrated just two programs as a simple way to introduce the wide-reaching charity to our guests.   We followed the same theme for the food by serving simple, pure bites with individual importance.

Here is a sampling of hors d’oeuvres from the night. Roasted grape tomato and goat cheese crostini, mushrooms duxelles, skewered baby potatoes and pulled pork quesadillas are all easy finger food.  They are simple to put together and delight guests because they present the essential flavor of each food.  This is nice anytime of year but particularly welcome in the middle of winter when fresh flavors can be more elusive. 

If you are contributing to a Super Bowl Party in the coming week or like us, working by day and entertaining by night, add these to your repertoire.  All can be prepared ahead and can be served either hot or at room temperature. (The pulled pork quesadillas are tastiest served hot.) These also travel well with little or no final assembly.

Roasted Tiny Tomatoes with Goat Cheese Crostini

There are lots of recipes online for roasting small tomatoes, each with a specific fresh herb.  Basil, thyme, chives or dill are all good choices.  Some use cherry tomatoes and some the diminutive grape tomato.  We were surprised when we tasted the sweetness of the grape tomatoes in stores last week and opted to go minimal, roasting the little rubies at a very high temperature (425˚F) with coated only olive, salt, pepper and 2 garlic cloves (for 4 pints of tomatoes).  No herbs were added this time.  When the tomatoes began to burst, (about 15 minutes) the result was a sweet concasse of summer tomato flavor supported but not overwhelmed by garlic.  We topped soft goat cheese on a crostini with a tablespoon of the roasted tomatoes and sent it out to mingle with some white wine. 

Mushroom-Mushroom Duxelles

Mushrooms chopped superfine and cooked down to a spreadable paste is also not new to drinks parties.   This was also served on crostini but our take left out the usual shallots, onions and garlic and let the mushroom flavor develop into its own in a skillet laced with only olive oil, salt and pepper and placed over medium heat.  We debated adding a shot of truffle oil, but this lily did not need gilding after we cooked the mushrooms down to their essence and even allowed bits to caramelize.  Red wine drinkers found a great match with this offering.

Boiled Baby Potatoes with Aioli Mayonnaise

If you can’t find really small potatoes, reasonably small ones cut into bite-sized halves will do the trick.  Boil small potatoes whole for about 15 minutes, until just tender.   For larger potatoes, boil 15 minutes then slice in half and roast on oiled baking sheets for 15 more minutes at 425˚ to seal the cut edge.  The potatoes can be served hot or room temperature.   To make your own aioli quickly and safely, take one cup of good quality store–bought mayonnaise and add a tablespoon of a very rich extra virgin olive oil (I like Goya for this) and a clove of crushed garlic.  Taste and add more garlic if desired.  Remember that the garlic flavor will intensify with time.  Serve the potatoes in a wide bowl with toothpicks and the aioli in a smaller bowl nestled in the center of the potatoes. 

Pulled Pork Quesadillas

A trimmed pork shoulder slow cooked for hours with your favorite salsa, smoked chipotle powder, oregano and cocoa powder is a simple weeknight dinner served with rice, sour cream and lime.  To make it party-ready we needed to provide single servings that held the sauce inside without any spills.  We sandwiched the chopped pulled pork between whole-wheat tortillas and used shredded cheese to make sure everything stuck together.  They were put together ahead of time and oven heated and sliced into wedges with a pizza cutter just before serving. Since the pork was cooked days ahead, this came together quickly and provided the protein anchor for the event.

Pulled Pork Quesadillas

Makes 60 wedges

3 pounds pork shoulder in large chunks

1 1/2 cups salsa

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 tablespoons smoked chipotle powder

2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

20 whole wheat tortillas

1 pound shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup fresh chopped cilantro

1 cup sour cream

Juice from one lime

Trim visible fat from the meat and set aside.  In a large bowl mix salsa, oregano, smoked chipotle powder, cocoa and salt together.  Add meat and mix to coat pork completely.  Transfer to a 4-6 quart slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours, low for 6-8 hours.  Allow pulled pork to cool before assembling quesadillas. Once meat has cooled, shred pork into bite sized pieces.  Place a single tortilla on wax paper and cover sparingly with cheese.  Follow with a layer of pork.  Sprinkle some cilantro on pork and finish with another light layer of cheese.  Place a second tortilla on top and press down firmly to secure layers together.  Set quesadilla aside covered with another piece of wax paper or a tea towel to prevent the tortilla from becoming brittle. Use the same method to make 9 more quesadillas.  Stack quesadillas between wax paper.  At this stage you can place quesadillas in large re-sealable plastic bags (about five will fit in each bag) and refrigerate up to 2 days.  When you are ready to serve, preheat the oven to 400˚F and place quesadillas on cookie sheets in single layers.  Two cookie sheets with two or three quesadillas will heat up in about 8-10 minutes.  Slice cooked quesadillas into sixths and serve immediately.  These taste good plain or with a simple dip of lime-spiked sour cream (Squeeze some lime juice over the sour cream, that’s it.)
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Enjoy the game.

The 8th Annual A Taste of Greenwich House with samplings from New York's finest restaurants is on Monday evening, March 8th at the Altman Building, 135 West 18th Street in Manhattan.  Proceeds from the event benefit Greenwich House's 14 services for at-risk and abused children, seniors, and other New Yorkers in need.  Tickets are on sale now at www.greenwichhouse.org.

Sick Days

Growing up, my favorite meal when I was sick and home from school was vegetarian vegetable soup and a cucumber and sour cream sandwich.   The soup was canned and easy for my mother to heat up.  Cucumbers and sour cream, a vestige of my family’s eastern European heritage, delivered in a surprisingly neat sandwich made with soft bread was pure comfort food.  It was cool and kind to a tender throat.  Sometimes, there was homemade chicken soup from my great aunts instead of canned soup.  Stocked with thin egg noodles in a full flavor broth, if you had to be sick, this was some consolation. 

Soup still remains the top choice for most when a cold hits and energy reserves are low.  Parents try to tempt their children with foods that will keep dehydration at bay and provide some nourishment along the way to recovery.  After a few days, some new ideas suited to improving appetites are in order.  These are good for adults or children. 

Some soothing and easy breakfasts can include smoothies, cottage cheese or yogurt, scrambled eggs and bananas slathered with peanut butter.  Pancakes and hot cereal can both be served with fresh or canned fruit.  Next time you make pancakes, put some extra in the freezer between sheets of wax paper in reserve for sick days. 

For lunch, try some mild fish, baked or broiled with a dab of butter or olive oil and lemon.  Cooked vegetables can be served hot or room temperature.  Try lightly steamed carrots with a dip made from yogurt mixed with a little honey. Tuna and chicken salad sandwiches are another way to pack in a little protein before heading back to bed. 

Dinners can include simple pasta meals made with light sauces.  Tortellini, steamed shrimp and peas doused with a little olive oil and lemon or angel hair pasta tossed with cream cheese thinned with milk and garnished with grated Parmesan cheese are easy and appealing.  Potato lovers will enjoy them mashed and covering a Shepard’s pie made with layers of cooked ground meat and diced vegetables.  A simple cheese omelet is both welcome and easy to put together for lunch or dinner and is appealing with a freshly tossed side salad. 

There is nothing wrong with providing sweets like frozen fruit pops and pudding as snacks but consider sick days as a good bridge to better eating and keep things in moderation.  Make snacks work double-duty by providing extra doses of fruit and calcium.  Bananas make great emergency fruit pops after a few hours in the freezer.  Chunks of orange, melon or pineapple on a skewer or served in a bowl with a toothpick make fruit an easy pick for languid eaters.  Canned fruit like pears, peaches and apricots packed in juice are soft and easy on the throat and tummy.  If you can only find fruit packed in syrup, rinse it off to reduce the extra sugar.  The fruit’s sweetness will come through loud and clear.  

Pudding, flan, tapioca, and my dad’s favorite when he is under the weather—junket—are pleasant sources of calcium to try as appetites revive.  Use caution with flavored yogurts that include lots of sugar.  Enjoy some plain with maple syrup or jam.  Try it as a fruit dip to start and you’ll soon build up to bowls of it.  Or go back to the soup concept and blend up a fruit soup.  In a blender, mix the patient’s favorite frozen fruits like cherries, strawberries and blueberries and add some orange juice and honey.   Garnish with or mix in some plain yogurt.  Sprinkle on some cinnamon and indulge. 

With a few extra ideas for sick days, everyone will be feeling better soon. 

Wordless Wednesday Roasted Red Peppers

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Pantry Arroz con Pollo

I’m using Three King’s Day (January 6) as an excuse to persuade you to make Arroz con Pollo this week.  In fact you probably have the ingredients needed on hand right now.  Arroz con Pollo is a simple chicken and rice one-pot meal that is satisfying to sophisticated palettes without turning off aspiring ones.  Here’s the basic recipe and some variations including a technique for baking this dish in the oven.

Winter Pantry Arroz con Pollo
Serves 6

6-8 portions chicken-- thighs, breasts, wings or drumsticks (skinless or not)
1-2 tablespoons flour (optional)1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, peel and left whole
1 & 1/2 cups rice
4 oz water or dry white wine
1 14-oz can low-sodium chicken broth
1 14 oz can low–sodium canned tomatoes with juice
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup black olives, sliced (about 8 olives)
1/2 6 oz jar roasted red peppers, sliced in bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup frozen peas

For this recipe, use a skillet that has a cover since the dish will cook covered once the rice is added. 

Heat the olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Combine a dash of paprika, salt and black pepper with flour.  Lightly flour the chicken pieces (skinless or not) and brown the chicken on one side.  Let the chicken get well browned by leaving it alone for a good 5 minutes.  Remove the chicken to a plate.  (Remember that the chicken is not cooked at this point so treat it accordingly.)

Reduce heat to medium low and add chopped onion.  Cook onion a few minutes until starting to soften, then add rice and garlic clove.  Stir rice to coat with pan juices (add a little extra olive oil if needed).  Keep cooking and occasionally stirring rice until most of it becomes opaque.  Now add wine if using and allow to bubble and cook down.  Next add chicken broth, tomatoes with their juice (and water if using) with oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. 

Arrange chicken pieces on top of rice, browned side up.  Cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer rice-chicken mixture on low 30 minutes.  Add olives, red peppers and frozen peas.  Move chicken around to allow vegetables to sink into rice and liquid.  Cook another 15 minutes or until rice has fully absorbed liquid and chicken is cooked through (internal temperature of 165˚F).  Remove from heat, uncover and let stand 10 minutes before serving.  If you’d like, fish the whole pieces of garlic out of the rice before serving. (It’s fine to leave it in but it is also good smeared on some warm bread if it is still fairly whole and softened.)

Now that you know how simple the basic recipe is, step it up and make it Three Kings worthy by adding shrimp and cubed pork for a triple protein.  Or make a triple vegetarian version using artichokes, asparagus and green beans.  (Replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth or salted water).  You may want to experiment by adding additional herbs and spices like thyme, smoked paprika or pinch of saffron however, the pared down flavor profile with only oregano and paprika can really deliver and demonstrate to your tongue that a little can go a long way.  That’s pure cooking.

Try this baked:Preheat oven to 375˚F.Place the rice, onion, oregano, paprika, salt, red peppers slices, sliced olives and frozen peas in a lightly oiled casserole with high sides.  Stir in broth, tomatoes with juice and wine/water.  (Since the wine does not cook off at a high temperature as in the skillet version, you may prefer less wine or all water.)  Lightly flour chicken pieces and lay on top of rice mixture.  Chicken will sink in a bit.  Cut garlic clove in half and immerse halves where you can find them and remove them easily later.  (As above, it’s fine to leave the garlic in the dish, especially if served to a garlic lover in the house.  Crown the ones who find for the night.) Cover casserole with foil and bake 1 hour on the middle rack of the oven.  After 1 hour, remove the foil.  The liquid should not have been fully absorbed by the rice at this stage.  Remove casserole and check the internal temperature of the chicken pieces.  Chicken should be around 150-160˚ at this point.  Sprinkle a bit of paprika on the chicken. Increase the oven temperature to 400˚F and return casserole to the oven  (you do not need to wait for oven to come up to 400˚ fully). Bake chicken uncovered an additional 15-20 minutes, until chicken has browned slightly and at an internal temperature of 165˚, rice is tender and liquid is diminished.  Remove casserole and allow to sit about 10 minutes before serving.

What for dessert? 
A traditional dessert is the Rosca de Reyes or Three King’s Cake and not dissimilar to ones baked all over New Orleans for Mardi Gras but usually without the colored sugar.  If you can’t get our hands on one, here’s a quick cinnamon ring that can be prepped up to a day ahead and put in the oven when the main course is finished.  It will be ready in time for dessert.

Cinnamon Ring
Dry Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Wet Ingredients
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup apple butter
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup apple cider
1/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt
3 tbsp. vegetable oil

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, from flour through cinnamon. In a pint measuring cup, measure out and mix remainder of ingredients.  At this stage, ingredients may be set aside while dinner is put together. If prepared a day ahead, store wet ingredients covered in the refrigerator and dry ingredients can be covered and set aside or placed into a re-sealable plastic bag until needed.  Take the wet ingredients out about 1/2 hour before using.

Preheat oven to 400˚F (or leave oven on once chicken and rice is removed from oven).  Butter and sugar a coffee ring pan, Bundt pan or 24 muffin cups. 

I recommend using cinnamon sugar for this step, 4 parts sugar to one part cinnamon. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing until just combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan, filling the cavity about halfway up. 

Bake 12-15 minutes for muffin-cakes, 20-25 for minutes for a ring.  Turn the cake onto a rack to cool before sampling. The buttered-sugared pan makes it easy for the cake to slide out.

!Que te diviertas! Have fun!

¡Stop That! List and Love Your Food Again

Truly delicious food is chosen with care, prepared with love, if not actual expertise, and deserves to be consumed with gratitude and joy. Junk food is chosen quickly, prepared mindlessly and deserves far less, if any, of your attention.

Here are five things that you can change this year that will achieve long lasting change to your health and your lifestyle.  Just one will make an appreciable difference in the way you approach food and will remind you how delicious real food can be.  Start with just one and soon you may find yourself ready to tackle the others too.

Guilt
This year stop feeling guilt about food and learn to savor and enjoy it.  Nothing is more depressing at a meal with friends than hearing someone bemoan their choice and look for back-handed support. Do your friends a favor, don’t feed the fire of group support and if you are the offender don’t ask for anyone’s blessing to make you feel better.  Pick something real and don’t fuss. Do your part to bring joy back to the table.

Soda, Diet Soda
When I was growing up, soda was served like champagne.  That is, only on very special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, and the 4^th of July. In it’s flat state a few ounces were served to assuage the symptoms of an upset stomach. (Perhaps stemming from the days when ginger ale was made from ginger and colas were made from, well, you know.) Now we have all but replaced milk and water in our diets with soda. More seriously the diets of our children include soda on a regular basis.  It's not the inclusion of soda so much its displacement of more nutrient-dense beverages that may be causing the real harm for children.

This year we learned that diet sodas may contribute to our bodies misinterpreting hunger signals. Is soda really bad for you? Perhaps not. Should it be consumed in the quantities to which we have accustomed ourselves? Also, perhaps not. To those women who tell me that they only have one diet soda per day, but they must have that, I encourage you to rethink this food’s hold on you. Author and journalist Michael Pollan, shared some recent findings about the health of vitamin takers in his book What to Eat. It may not be the taking of vitamins that does us good but being the kind of person who takes vitamins since those people are found to have other healthy habits. Conversely, being the kind of person who needs to drink soda may not the person you want to be next year.

Sugared cereals
What do single-gram servings of sugar look like in the overall day of a child?  There are just over four grams of sugar per teaspoon. The World Health Organization recommends 12 grams of added sugar per day for adults who consume 2,000 calories daily. (The FDA has proposed 10 grams). That’s just about a tablespoon of added sugar per day. Those are adult levels. A single serving of a typical children's cereal is in the double digits. Making a change here will be significant. There are cereals out there that are low in sugar but they can be hard to find. This year, sample some new cereals and add your own sugar to taste. Chances are you will sprinkle on less than you were consuming before and you can make minor cutbacks over time to re-adjust your taste buds to a less sugary potion.

If you like hot cereals like oatmeal, farina or grits switch to plain versions and garnish with your own dried and fresh fruits plus honey or maple syrup.  Maple syrup has fewer than 3 grams of sugar per teaspoon and honey has 3.8 grams per teaspoon. Beware of individually prepackaged hot cereals with sugars and flavors added.   Make your own “instant” by briefly running the grain through a food processor.  Measure out individual portions in re-sealable (and reusable) plastic bags and use them just like the pre-packaged type.  You can even add a teaspoon of sugar and dried fruit.  Include your children in the creation of a house-brand of oatmeal and they will reward you by eating it.

Look-Alike Dairy Foods
I love low-fat dairy products and am glad to see choices like skim milk, low-fat cream cheese and low fat cheddars available at every supermarket.  However the oxymoronic fat-free half ‘n half and textured skim milks give me pause.  It is frankly alarming to select what one hopes is a healthier alternative only to read the ingredients in tiny letters on the back of the package and discover that many low fat, low sugar foods replace texture or flavor with artificial ingredients.  Give yourself time to accustom yourself to actual skim milk and you can skip the additives.  Enjoy the real thing in moderate portions and discover what feeling satisfied is like again.  A shot of real cream once a week will not kill you.  A daily shot of fillers and extenders may not be as kind to your system.

Flavored Yogurts
Although in the dairy category, yogurt gets its own special “stop that” section.  Yogurt is a wonder food that we have adulterated beyond recognition but somehow still believe is a healthy for us.  This year, stop eating flavored, sugared yogurts with extra additives and get to know the real thing.  Low-fat, no-fat and whole milk varieties can still be found though they are being elbowed out by “creamy” versions, enhanced and tarted up beyond the danger point.  Plain yogurt is a base food in many cultures from Greek yogurt dips like tzatzkiki made with cucumbers and garlic to Indian marinades like the one used to make tandoori chicken with lemon, coriander, cumin and other spices. Yogurt dips and plain yogurt take the edge off the heat of curries and other spicy dishes and are a great way to get your dairy and pro-biotic needs covered.

As a teenager in France I enjoyed plain yogurt for gouter (afternoon snack) with a sprinkling of sugar that provided a wonderful crunchy contrast to the fresh yogurt base.  Don’t be afraid of adding some sweetening to unflavored yogurts.   Maple syrup and dried blueberries are a great combination.  Also try mixing in an all-fruit jam.  And if you want pudding, have pudding.  Sugared yogurts that sound like desserts have too many “extras” and you might as well go ahead and enjoy a bowl of real chocolate pudding.  Same amount of sugar and the benefits of milk. Real yogurt, without gelatin and thickeners has a texture that is uniquely its own.  Light on the tongue and slightly tart, it is that quality that makes it such a good blend with so many flavors both sweet and savory. Last, stop spending your hard in cash on enhanced yogurt products—the real thing already has plenty of good digestive bacterial cultures already.

To wean yourself off “dessert yogurts” and back to the pleasures of real yogurt, try a Greek-style yogurt which are strained and have the whey removed.  Greek yogurts remind me of sour cream.  While I still prefer the taste and texture of plain unstrained yogurt, I love Greek-style on baked potatoes or anywhere sour cream goes.  Not bad with a touch of honey either.

Years ago a friend introduced me to a very different way to make New Year’s resolutions.  Instead of a no list, she had a yes list with things to try doing differently, try for the first time and try again.  (Martinis showed up on her list for several years.)  While the ¡stop that! list may at first appear to be a no list, look at it as a yes list too.  This year, try other beverages over soda, try a new hot cereal with some gorgeous fruit, try using real cream in something indulgent, try to make a curry with a yogurt dip on the side and above all try to enjoy yourself, your family and your friends around the table.

The post's photo was taken at Love Park in Philadelphia and shows Robert Indiana's iconic sculpture.