All posts filed under: Food

Thanksgiving Hits

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We used to go to friends’ for Thanksgiving, and it was a lot of fun, but we really missed cooking Thanksgiving dinner. So, the day after Thanksgiving, we’d spend the day making another Thanksgiving dinner.   One year, after a heavy morning of cooking, we paused for Cranbellinis. I made cranberry syrup by cooking cranberries, sugar and water and straining out the berries. A simpler method is to use cranberry juice. If you buy unsweetened, you’ll have more control over the sweetness level.  We used Cristolino cava, inexpensive, yet made in Spain using the methode Champenoise. Roasting rutabagas and turnips brings out their sweetness. Here’s a tip we learned from watching Lidia Bastianich. Add some water to the roasting pan and cover with foil. This will start some steaming action when you put the pan in the oven. When the vegetables start to get tender, remove the foil and let them get some color. I’m thoroughly tired of Brussels sprouts on every menu, and all the ways chefs try to make them sweet, and all the …

Thanksgiving Veggies

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Thanksgiving is only a week away. Got my turkey order in at the very last minute. Now I’m thinking about vegetables. I’ve been making these little turnips for Thanksgiving, ever since I discovered that my local farm, Sport Hill Farm in Easton CT, grows them. They are sweet and crunchy. I slice them in half and brown them in a cast-iron skillet. They also pickle well. I like the quick pickle recipes in David Chang’s Momofuku cook book. And they also are quite nice roasted with other root vegetables, like parsnips, rutabagas and orange and yellow carrots. Time to start thinking about the pies…

Delicata Squash Casserole

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Like its delightful name, the delicata is the most delicate of squash. So delicate you can eat the skin. No peeling needed. Here’s one of our favorite ways of cooking it, a warm and comforting fall dish. This is based on a dish my husband had when he was a kid at his friend John Paul’s house. He went home and told his mother that he’d just had the best dish ever — “zucchini and cheese.” So Michael’s mother called John Paul’s mother and got the recipe and started making it for the family. What a great Mom. We’ve adapted “zucchini and cheese” to delicata squash, which is in season now. Cut the squash lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds. Slice squash and place in casserole. Add the liquid. You can use milk, almond milk, or stock, or our decadent favorite, coconut milk, to cover the squash. Toss a little flour over the top so the sauce will thicken as it bakes. Top with grated cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 till the squash is tender and the cheese is golden, and good smells are …

Pork from the Farm

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Our friend farmer Patti Popp of Sport Hill Farm asked how we cook pork hocks. Patti raises pigs and sells excellent pork. We got this pork hock from Sport Hill Farm. Pork hocks like to be cooked in moist heat. So first, I put the hock in a pot of cold water and brought it to a boil. Then I removed the hock, rinsed it, dumped out the water and rinsed out the pot. Then I put the hock back in the clean pot, added cold water, a bay leaf, a couple peppercorns, and some salt.  After it simmered for about three hours, and the meat was tender, I removed the hock, cut everything off the bones — meat, skin and the white blubbery-looing stuff — and chopped it up. This has to be done while the meat is still warm.  Note: Don’t throw out the cooking liquid. You’ll need some for the hocks and you can cook  a delicious green pea or bean soup in the broth. Then, I added a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, a …

My Favorite Ethnic Restaurants in Bridgeport, CT

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It surprises people that even though I’m a restaurant reviewer, I really don’t go out that much. It’s rare for me to go to a restaurant more than twice, unless it’s work-related. But there are places that I’ve been to many times, the regular spots I go to with my husband. These are my favorite ethnic restaurant in Bridgeport. I’ve written about most of these places, for the Hartford Courant, CTBites and others. Click on the links to read the full reviews. Mexican   El Paraiso for lunch.  Hearty plates of enchiladas, chile rellenos, or weekend Sunday pozole. La Mexicana for lunch. Carnitas tacos and fresh melon drinks.  Vietnamese Pho Thom for Vietnamese pho and spring rolls. The link is to their Pho Thom’s FB page because my article in the Courant has disappeared. Where oh where did it go? Thai It isn’t easy to find good Thai food. The best place to find excellent Thai restaurants is Queens, N.Y.  So I was thrilled to discover RuuThai serves dishes you won’t find anywhere else in Connecticut. Mussels pancakes. Full-flavored curries. Desserts for the adventurous. Here’s a …

Best Apple Cake Ever

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My mother-in-law Renate is an excellent baker. One of the stars in her repertoire is apple cake. Whenever Renate visits she asks, “Shall I make a cake?” We always say yes and “How about the apple cake!” It’s not  a cake in the way you’d think, with flour and a leavener. It’s more like French clafoutis, with a bottom crust.Renate uses an unusual method with the dough (made with butter and an egg, giving it a more cookie-like rather than flakey structure). After it’s chilled, she slices the dough and presses the pieces into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a spring form cake pan. Then she adds a particularly German touch. She sprinkles unseasoned homemade breadcrumbs over the dough. The recipe comes from Chef Tell, one of her favorite chefs. He was a German chef who had a PBS program “In the Kitchen with Chef Tell” in the 70s and 80s. Renate scores apple halves, places them on the breadcrumbs, and pours a custard of eggs, sour cream, cream  and vanilla over the apples. After it bakes and cools, …

Jacques Pépin’s Stuffed Eggs

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Cooking from La Technique Jacques Pépin has been my greatest teacher in the kitchen. I’m a home cook, constantly learning and re-learning. Pépin’s La Technique, an illustrated guide to the fundamental techniques of cooking, was published in 1976. My paperback copy has black and white photos and a formidable look. But the chef breaks down each step, explaining the all- important techniques. I took the good book down recently to learn how to make proper stuffed eggs, or as they are more elegantly called in French, Oeufs Mimosa. To begin, and this is very important, you make proper hard-boiled eggs. Proper hard-boiled eggs do not have a green-gray line around the edge of the yolk. Proper hard-boiled eggs also have a beautiful consistency. A basic technique to memorize by heart: lower eggs into boiling water,  simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, remove and place in bowl of cold water. Have you noticed how important the sieve is to French cooking?  The key to the light texture of the filling is pushing the egg yolks through a …