So refreshing. So rosemary. So pretty. Worth making for sure.

A few weeks back my friend Dianne and I did a fundraising luncheon for a group of ladies from our PEO chapter. Dianne and I devised a menu based on recipes in Erin French’s cookbook, The Lost Kitchen (for her wildly popular restaurant of the same name in Freedom, Maine).

We made Erin’s dad’s meatloaf (delicious – recipe up soon), mashed parsnips (so creamy and a big surprise to most of our guests, recipe also coming up soon), and a raw, grated beet slaw. I made the cocktail, and also Eton Mess, the lovely strawberry, meringue and whipped cream dessert (not from the cookbook).

Rosemary grows wild in my garden, so it was a no-brainer for me to make a rosemary simple syrup. I merely heated the sugar, water and numerous sprigs of fresh rosemary and let it sit for awhile before straining it, then refrigerating it to use the next day.

The cocktail is so easy to make – you just have to have the ingredients ready: some apple cider, measuring spoons, some Cognac, the chilled prosecco and more rosemary to decorate the glass when served.

So, into each glass you add 1-1/2 teaspoons apple cider, 1-1/2 teaspoons of the rosemary simple syrup, 1-1/2 teaspoons Cognac, then about 5 ounces of prosecco. The most difficult thing to do is measure 1-1/2 teaspoons of anything when you’re a short person and the tall champagne flutes are almost at eye level (not quite, but it seemed like it). A little pitcher might be easier, but still be cautious about adding too much cider, or syrup, or Cognac. I should have made a pitcher of it all, then poured into the individual glasses where the rosemary was already hanging out. That would have been easier, for sure. Note to self . . .

I think everybody enjoyed it – I sure did. In fact, I made myself a second glass since we had all the ingredients on hand. Dianne had made a few little nibbles to have with the drink. I still have some of the rosemary simple syrup in the frig – all I need is apple cider plus another bottle of prosecco and I could have it again.

What’s GOOD: loved it – did I mention refreshing? Lovely lightly rosemary-ied flavor in the glass. Don’t buy expensive prosecco, as  you’ll not know the difference. Don’t buy a sweet prosecco as it would be too sweet with the simple syrup and the apple cider in it. Not sure men would like it – maybe too sweet? Certainly more of a ladies’ drink, I’d venture to say.

What’s not: only that you can’t make this on-the-fly as you need to make the rosemary simple syrup ahead and have it chilled.

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A delicious, savory side dish – full of flavor, but very healthy. Potatoes on the bottom, then bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic, basil and oregano.

A recipe from my friend Linda T, and she got it from Cucina Rustica, a cookbook from 1990, by Evan Kleiman. The cookbook is all about rustic (simple) Italian fare. Linda served this with the delicious double glazed salmon dish when we spent the weekend doing a lot of fun cooking. Serve this with a meal that has a stellar main dish – a roast, a roasted chicken perhaps, or in our case, with salmon. There’s no real liquid poured in or over this dish – just the juices from the sliced tomatoes.

Start with the potatoes (use a boiling type) and they’re sliced and layered in an olive-oil greased casserole dish. (See unbaked dish in photo at right.) Then add the sliced peppers, then a layer of tomatoes. It’s seasoned with salt, pepper, basil, garlic and oregano. Then layer again. Lastly you drizzle a bit of olive oil over the top and bake for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender (thicker = longer baking time). You can add a tiny bit of water to the dish if you think it’s too dry – this would be part way through the baking process.

Allow it to cool a few minutes as it would be way too hot to eat immediately.

What’s GOOD: a simple dish, layered, baked in a hot oven, a lovely melding of Italian flavors with the peppers and tomatoes. Note: there’s no cheese in this! And do notice the low calorie count – as I said, very healthy. (Thanks for the recipe, Linda.)

What’s NOT: nothing at all – a straight forward dish. Has to be made just before baking, however, as the potatoes would darken.

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Such a lovely breakfast/brunch dish. Rich with Gruyere cheese and has a base of cubed red potatoes.

A post from Carolyn. Maybe I should just leave off that beginning sentence since neither Sara nor Karen seem to have time to post a thing. They were both excited about it at first, but when they realized how much work it was to get a post from the keyboard to the website with photos, both were frustrated.

Anyway, my friend Linda T made this a few weeks ago when we were out in Palm Desert. We had a weekend of lots of cooking and sharing of recipes. Linda is such a good cook. She loves sharing her recipes (thank you, Linda) but doesn’t enjoy the writing-up of a story about it. Blog readers want more information. I probably tip the scales with too much writing.

This Ina Garten recipe (originally from Ina’s friend Anna Pump) is made in a 10-inch iron skillet. Butter is melted in the bottom of it, then the potatoes are sauteed (Linda prefers using red potatoes) until they’re lightly browned, stirring and turning them often to gather the golden color. Meanwhile combine the eggs, ricotta cheese, grated Gruyere, some melted butter, salt, pepper and an ample amount of fresh basil. A bit of flour is added and baking powder. That egg mixture is poured over the top of the potatoes and it’s baked at 350°F for 50 minutes to an hour, until the egg dish is mounded in the center and firm when you insert a knife.

If you’re adept (remember, this is an iron skillet, i.e. heavy!) you can flip the frittata out and upside down on a platter. If not, you can use spatulas to lift and slide it out of the skillet onto a platter. It’s piping hot at this point, so it’s best to let it rest for 10-15 minutes, then slice into wedges and serve. I’d made popovers the night before to have with our dinner and we had leftovers, so we had another popover with this for a late breakfast. Isn’t it just beautiful? If you go online to read about Ina’s recipe, some commenters suggested adding some onion along with the potatoes, or a leek and that fresh thyme was a nice addition to the eggs, along with the basil.

What’s GOOD: it’s rich and tasty, a lovely presentation. Not too difficult. Be sure to use Gruyere (it’s an essential flavor profile for this). No substitutions! Loved it.

What’s NOT: only the grating of the cheese, maybe. Having to wait nearly an hour to eat it since it takes about an hour in the oven. And no, you can’t prepare this ahead – you could have all the various ingredients prepped (cheese grated, eggs, dry ingredients at the ready, though) which would cut down on the prep time.
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Just make this, okay? So good.

A post from Carolyn. This recipe came from Southern Living magazine, in 2020. I’d added it to my to-try recipes, and so glad I did. It’s very easy to make (unless you count as tedious pressing out some dough onto a board and cutting them up into squares). The biscuit dough was super tender (flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar and heavy cream). Originally the recipe was developed for individual servings (baked in ramekins), but as I mentioned a few posts back, I was out at the Palm Desert house and there aren’t any ramekins there, so I made it in a long loaf pan. I adapted the recipe slightly . . . the biscuits were intended to be 3/4″ thick and it made really thick ones . . . too thick in my thinking, for the volume of fruit. So the recipe is altered for smaller biscuits and baked in a glass dish, 9×13 or maybe even a 8×11-ish one.

The blueberries (so lovely this time of year) are mixed with some light brown sugar, cornstarch, orange zest and some freshly grated ginger. That’s poured into the baking vessel and – note – you bake the fruit for awhile first – in a hot oven (400°F) for about 20 minutes. THEN you add the biscuits on top and continue baking for 10-15 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown.

Ideally, serve this warm with vanilla ice cream, or sweetened whipped cream.

What’s GOOD: everything about this was good. Delicious. Worth making. Easy. Do use the ice cream or whipped cream – I think it needs the “foil” of the cream. It’s not overly sweet – it’s perfect, in fact.

What’s NOT: nary a thing. This recipe is a keeper.

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Would you believe I forgot to add the cotija cheese?

A post from Carolyn. The best laid plans – the cotija cheese was right there beside the bowl, but did I remember to add it? Nope. Well, the salad was fabulous without it, but when you make it, you should add the cheese. This recipe I adapted just a smidgen from smitten kitchen. What intrigued me was the combination of ingredients – the harissa (which I love), the caraway and cumin too. If you  have a food processor, do use it for grating the carrots. Although I have a box grater, it’s new and those blades are ever-so sharp. My carrots were small, and was afraid the carrot would wobble and next thing I’d grate off part of my fingers. So I used a mini-food processor and chopped/chunked them instead. Not the best carrot shape, but it made no difference to the flavor or texture.

This salad is so easy to make – the dressing has a bunch of ingredients, but it takes little time to gather them up (garlic, caraway, cumin, paprika, harissa, sugar, lemon juice and herbs). The dressing is cooked slightly (to take the edge off the raw garlic and enhance the caraway and cumin). Then there’s olive oil too, and lastly the cheese. Smitten’s recipe calls for feta, but I had cotija (A Mexican cheese that’s very similar to feta, salty too) and it should have made it INTO the salad if I’d remembered! Once you’ve combined the carrots and the dressing, taste it for seasonings (salt? more oil? more lemon juice?), then sprinkle with cheese, fresh mint and parsley, finely chopped.

What’s GOOD: the lemon juice and seeds (caraway and cumin) add a lovely flavor. Then there’s the harissa, of course, which has a real whammy of flavor. Put them altogether and you’ve got a great tasting salad. A keeper.

What’s NOT: only that grating the carrots takes time and does make a bit of a mess. Worth the effort, though.

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Oh-so-delicious salmon with a piquant glaze that just hits all the right spots.

A post from Carolyn. A couple of weeks ago, over Easter weekend, my friend Linda joined me in Palm Desert and we had a cook-fest, of sorts. I did dinner Friday night (big green salad with chicken and freshly made popovers); we went out to lunch on Saturday (La Quinta Baking Co. had quiche – it’s a French inspired menu); I made coq au vin on Saturday night, served on a bed of delicious mashed cauliflower; Sunday morning Linda made a potato frittata, and we worked together on a lovely Easter dinner with this salmon plus a carrot salad and a tomato salad. Then I made a blueberry cobbler for dessert. All those recipes coming up soon. We had great fun. Cooked our little hearts out! Realized I don’t have a potato masher at that house, for one thing. Also have no ramekins. Not a one. So we punted. I think a stick blender is in order for that place too.

I’ve taken a lot of extra things from my Orange County home out there and we’re well-enough equipped, (the home was furnished when we bought it in 2020, my daughter Sara and her husband John and I), and came with a moderately outfitted kitchen, just not everything to my/our liking for quality or quantity). Most of the knives went into the donation bag. So did lots of the dishes and pots and pans and utensils. It was obvious the previous owners weren’t cooks, or they didn’t value good quality kitchen equipment, for sure. We joke that the wife (we guess) bought most of her kitchen stuff at the 99¢ store or perhaps at the Goodwill store. Maybe some at Marshall’s or Home Goods. Over the years I’d gathered duplicates of many things, so nearly every time I drive out, I take something else to use there.

So, this salmon. It was first published in Cook’s Illustrated last fall (2022) and it’s been on America’s Test Kitchen also. In any case, this recipe is a blue-ribbon, first class winner. I just loved it.

The salmon (Linda bought it at an upscale fish market in Carlsbad before she drove to the desert) was briefly brined in a salt and sugar mixture. Only for 15 minutes, then they were dried carefully with paper towels before proceeding. She made the glaze: apple cider (she used apple juice), cider vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, ginger, oil and cornstarch. The glaze is Asian inspired – since it has soy and ginger in it, but it’s not an overwhelming flavor. The recipe was developed by Lan Lam, if you’ve watched her on any of the episodes on tv. The salmon was briefly sauteed to get it golden brown on top, then flipped over, and the first glazing happened just before it went into a warm oven (300°F) to finish cooking. Once removed, some of the set-aside glaze was brushed all over the salmon, top and sides. A garnish of chives went on top and we sat down to eat it. The only mistake we made was to wait until after baking to slice it into serving portions, so we didn’t have neatly sliced sides. Have the rest of your dinner fully prepared so you can sit down to eat it as soon as it comes out of the oven.

What’s GOOD: oh my goodness, this was off-the-charts delicious. SO tender, so flavorful, and the glaze just makes it. Succulent, cooked to perfection to 125°F internal temperature. Do use an instant read thermometer. Have a heated platter or plates ready. Dig in.

What’s NOT: nothing really. This is a keeper.

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So good! There’s spicy sauced chicken underneath, then a thin layer of slowly browned onions, some mint and cilantro, then a layer of saffron rice on top with more onions and herbs.

A post from Carolyn. Ever had biryani? That’s beer-ee-yahn-ee for the uninitiated! If you want to know more, click on that link to wikipedia and you’ll learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about biryani with its different spellings, variations and origins. My relative Janice (my daughter-in-law Karen’s sister) sent the recipe to me and I decided to augment it and to prepare it differently because I had about a half a chicken from a whole roasted one I’d done a few days before. Janice had made a couple of alterations when she made it, and I made even more, but the flavor basis of this dish is the same.

I love Indian food, and have learned over the years that the dishes from Hyperabad are considered the best of the best (it’s the region of India known for its haute cuisine). This is one. Anything that resembles butter chicken or chicken khorma is at the top of the list for me. This one is different in several ways: (1) it uses saffron rice; (2) it layers the chicken on the bottom, rice on the top (not served side by side on the plate); (3) those browned onions are just the bomb; and (4) the layer of herbs in the middle just add to the flavor profiles.

The original recipe has you cook the well-marinated chicken thighs in a heavy-duty pan (like a Le Creuset) with the hot rice on it – the rice that’s just partially cooked and spooned all over the top of the chicken. It’s a very different way to make this – only partially cooking the rice so it finishes cooking once it’s put into the heavy pan with the chicken. Obviously I couldn’t do that with mine since I had already cooked chicken and didn’t want to cook the daylights out of it even more. So I needed to improvise a lot.

There below is the chicken in the sauce. Uncooked. Ready to be adorned with the rice component. Although the chicken in it is cooked, it’s just that the sauce wasn’t cooked. The only cooking it underwent (is that a word?) was in the oven or microwave.

I still marinated the cooked chicken in the “marinade” and let it sit in the refrigerator for 2 days. That gave it ample time to let all that flavorful yogurt spicy sauce with kashmiri chili powder in it to seep into the meat. Then I prepared the rice, using the directions provided, but I cooked it almost to done with just a tiny bit of bite to the rice. I also cooked up those super-browned onions (easy, just cook them long and slow in olive oil).

Once I was ready to put together my casserole I spooned it into the baking dish (above), and spread it out. Then I added some of the browned onions and fresh herbs (cilantro & mint), then I put a rice layer on top. It had a lovely yellow color from the turmeric in it, and also from the saffron. The remaining onions were added on top. At this point I could have baked the casserole in the oven for about 30-35 minutes, but I decided to take a shortcut and microwave it. Actually what I did was heat up the chicken layer first, then added the hot rice on top and returned it to the microwave for about a minute. The garnishing herbs went on top and I chowed down. Oh so delicious.

What’s GOOD: the flavors in this dish are just over the top. Creamy, flavorful, just a bit of heat from the kashmiri chili, the texture of the rice, the lovely hint of mint and cilantro. Divine. This recipe is a keeper.

What’s NOT: nothing whatsoever. I’ll be making this again soon.

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If you’ve stopped trying to make turkey meatloaf because it just didn’t hit a flavorful high note, you might want to try this one from Ina Garten.

A post from Carolyn. A few weeks ago my good friend Linda T came to visit me out in Palm Desert. We had a lovely, quiet weekend together, and she made dinner one of the nights. She made this, Ina’s turkey meatloaf. What’s interesting about this is that it doesn’t have lots of herbs (it uses only thyme) or other things (flavor tricks) to make it tasty. It just IS flavorful. I was surprised how good it was. Linda’s been making this for a long time and has changed just a few things about Ina’s recipe.

Now, Ina’s recipe calls for making enough to feed a small army (5 pounds of ground turkey breast). Half that recipe (the picture above) is enough to feed at least 6 people. Halving recipes is sometimes problematical, so Linda has adapted the recipe just slightly – she adds a little more bread crumbs (sometimes she uses fresh bread crumbs, not dried), more tomato paste, and she uses a bit more egg. And, we decided that using a bit more ketchup on the top was in order. In my opinion, the ketchup on the top of the meatloaf is essential – it adds a little sweetness and tang.

There are lots of onions in this (you can see the onions in the raw meatloaf picture above) – two large onions are sauteed in olive oil for awhile until they’re very limp and translucent, along with the herbs, salt and pepper. That mixture needs to be cooled to room temp before mixing in with the ground turkey, Worcestershire, bread crumbs, some chicken broth (which likely helps keep it moist) and eggs. The meatloaf is shaped into a long, not very tall loaf, baked on a rimmed sheetpan in a 325°F oven. Ina’s recipe (with that 5 pounds of meat) suggests 1 1/2 hours baking time. A big casserole dish of hot water was placed underneath the meatloaf – Ina says that helps the meatloaf to not develop a crack in it. I think Linda started taking the temperature after about an hour – cook until it reaches 160°F inside the meatloaf. Then the meatloaf rests a few minutes before you slice it into thick pieces to serve. You could serve extra ketchup at the table if desired. Thanks, Linda, for a great new recipe.

What’s Good: everything about this was wonderful. We froze the leftovers so I haven’t enjoyed any of them yet. Ina suggests slices make great meatloaf sandwiches. That reminds me of my childhood: my dad used to love meatloaf sandwiches. This recipe is a winner.

What’s NOT: nothing really. You can’t expect a turkey meatloaf (albeit a really tasty one) to have the same flavor as a beef meatloaf. The texture just will never be similar – turkey meat is very tender while beef is more chewy, and has a lot more fat in it also, which contribute to more/different flavor.

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Yet another rice pudding, you ask? It was so different I had to try it.

A post from Carolyn. This recipe came from Southern Living. What intrigued me was the sauce and garnish you put on top. It’s got butter, brown sugar, raisins, and rum in the sauce, then some toasted almonds sprinkled on top. It’s the sauce here that makes it.

The pudding itself is straight forward – the only unusual thing is that you toast the rice in a skillet first. The recipe called for using a cast iron skillet. I used a different pan, but it accomplished the same thing. This stovetop version is not as rich as the rice pudding I made a couple of months ago (that I still think is the best rice pudding ever). And I professed then that THAT recipe was my be all-end all of rice puddings. How fickle I am. I like Southern Living recipes (I subscribe to the magazine even though I don’t live in the South). The pudding itself is not as sweet as some – mostly because you add the sweet sauce on top. I’ve adjusted the recipe just slightly to add a tad more sugar to the pudding and a bit less in the sauce. I still have some of the sauce left – it’s scrumptious warmed up and spooned over vanilla ice cream.

What’s GOOD: It’s a good pudding – maybe not the very best out there (the one made with half and half is better tasting, but oh, the fat calories on that are over the top), but it’s good. I loved the sauce – it “makes” the dish altogether. It would be very blah without the sauce, so don’t think you can just make the pudding and forget the topping because a lot of the sweetness is in the sauce, and you want it mixed into every spoonful you eat.

What’s NOT: really, nothing that I can think of. I still prefer the other one (see link in second paragraph above), but this one is different and very pretty when serving.

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There aren’t a lot of pasta recipes on this blog – but here is one.

A post from Carolyn. It isn’t that I don’t like pasta – I do. But I do my best not to eat it, or to limit it, for sure. Because of the carbs. But in this case, I’d read about a new pasta that’s sold online, Fiber Gourmet, using a technique for making pasta a resistant starch.

Resistant starch is a carbohydrate that resists digestion in the small intestine and ferments in the large intestine. As the fibers ferment they act as a prebiotic and feed the good bacteria in the gut. When starches are digested they typically break down into glucose. Because resistant starch is not digested in the small intestine, it doesn’t raise glucose.

It means also that less of the carb is absorbed into the body, hence reducing its calorie and carb count. Sweet potatoes are a resistant starch. So are plantains. And cooked and cooled rice is one. Here’s a photo of the box of this penne. Note that this is an 8-ounce box. I cooked the whole box, but I’m certain I’ll get about 5 servings out of it. If you’re a hearty eater, probably not, but I ate small portions. That means it’s not all that “bad” for me. Loved that I could have some pasta and not feel guilty about it.

I’ll include the nutrition info about this also. They offer several different pasta shapes, including one that’s like orzo, though they call it rice. It’s not, it’s pasta. I bought the variety box. This stuff is expensive, but considering I’ll get 5 servings out of that 8 ounces, I’m willing to pay the premium.

You know those days when you have something in the frig you need to use (Italian sausage) but don’t want to run to the grocery store to buy food to go with it, and so you raid the frig and pantry for other things (frozen peas, arugula, cream, and an onion from the pantry). That’s how this pasta came to be. I sizzled onion in some butter and EVOO, then added garlic (lots), then crumbled Italian sausage and let that cook a bit. Meanwhile I boiled the pasta – let me share a bit about that. Eh what? Boiling pasta? Yes. This pasta suggested a cooking time of 15-17 minutes, far longer than a normal penne. I began checking at 9 minutes. Uh, nope, still very underdone. Added another 3 minutes. Still underdone. I drained it at about 12-13 minutes because I knew I’d be cooking it just a bit more in the pan.

I added a raw egg to the hot, drained pasta (kind of a carbonara thing going), then mixed it in with the sausage mixture to which I’d added the peas and arugula. I’d also added a bit of cream too. Heated that through, served it and garnished with some grated Pecorino cheese. A swift move to my table and I gobbled it down. Yum.

What’s GOOD: just because I was making and eating pasta was a treat for me. Loved it. Now, is this sausage sauce a standout above many others? Perhaps not. I have some great pasta on my blog. This one won’t be getting extra high marks, but it was GOOD. I liked it a lot. It was easy, which I liked. The fact that this is a resistant starch made it all the better for me. I liked the firm-to-the-tooth texture – like regular pasta. I’ll be buying this pasta again, for sure.

What’s NOT: nothing really. It was not labor intensive, certainly something I’d be willing to make again, especially with this new resistant starch pasta.

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