Saying good-bye to summer
Last night was one of those perfect late summer evenings, when the air starts to chill, and you stay up just a little longer than you should, chatting with old friends, wrapped in a blanket, while the cool night falls around you. I was celebrating a milestone birthday with a garden party for 40 people. I took a photo to remember the moment.
On the menu was a buffet of mustard, garlic and rosemary rubbed tenderloin, spinach and feta streudel, grilled eggplant parmesan, roasted baby potatoes and kale ceasar salad. It was delicious. Recipes and photos will follow in the next week!
September 2, 2013 | Posted in:
Garlic roasted carrots
This recipe is perfect alongside Chicken Marvelosa. It comes from our friend Norene Gilletz’s book Norene’s Healthy Kitchen (Whitecap books), and is the ideal side dish to serve at a family gathering. Roasting brings out the natural sweetness of the carrots, or add a dash of honey for the High Holidays.
Ingredients
1 large onion, sliced
2 lb (1 kg) carrots, peeled and cut in 2-inch lengths
3 to 4 cloves garlic (about 3 to 4 tsp minced)
2 to 3 Tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray a 9- × 13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Place the onion, carrots, and garlic in the prepared baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste; mix well. For best results, the carrots should be in a single layer in the dish.
3. Roast, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes or until golden and tender, stirring the carrots occasionally. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Yield: 6 servings. Keeps for up to 2 days in the refrigerator; reheats well. Don’t freeze.
Find variations on the recipe here. Thanks Norene!
| Posted in:
Quick and easy chicken marvelosa for the High Holidays
Our friend and cookbook author Norene Gilletz of Gourmania.com has contributed this recipe that is perfect for the upcoming Jewish High Holidays, or any festive meal where you need to feed a crowd. In Sept 2008, this recipe was featured on Martha Stewart Living radio when Norene was interviewed by Mario Bosquez. It’s from her book Norene’s Healthy Kitchen (Whitecap books).
It’s easy to put together, can be assembled ahead of time and doubled should your guest list keep growing the way mine tends to!
Ingredients
2 whole chickens (3 lb/1.4 kg each), cut into pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning (or a mixture of basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary)
6 to 8 cloves garlic (about 2 to 3 Tbsp minced)
3/4 to 1 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1/2 cup dry-packed, sun-dried tomatoes, halved or coarsely chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Preparation Instructions
1. Rinse the chickens well and pat dry with paper towels. Trim the excess fat. Place the chickens in a large roasting pan sprayed with cooking spray. Season the chickens inside, outside, and under the skin with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and garlic. Add the apricots, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes to the pan. (The dried apricots and sun-dried tomatoes will plump up during marinating and cooking.)
2. In a measuring cup, combine the balsamic vinegar, honey, and olive oil. Drizzle evenly over the chicken mixture; mix well so that the chicken is thoroughly coated. Pour the wine around the chicken and add the bay leaves. Cover the pan and refrigerate for several hours or for as long as 2 days.
3. When the chicken is marinated, remove from the refrigerator, uncover, and bake in a 350°F oven for 11/4 to 11/2 hours, basting often. When done, the skin will be golden and the juices will run clear when pierced with a fork. Remove the bay leaves and discard.
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken mixture to a serving platter. Drizzle with some of the pan juices and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley. Place the remaining pan juices in a gravy bowl, skim off the fat, and serve alongside the chicken.
Yield: 10 to 12 servings. Keeps for up to 2 to 3 days in the refrigerator; reheats well. Freezes well for up to 4 months.
Find and even healthier variation on her site, www.gourmania.com. Thanks Norene!!
It’s perfect served with Garlic Roasted Carrots.
September 1, 2013 | Posted in:
New cookbook covers are here!!!
I’m so excited to announce that five new cookbook templates and covers are now available for you to choose from. We’ve been working on them for a while, and September 1st just seemed like the right time to release them.
1. The chalkboard cover: I wanted to offer something a little trendy, a little home-made looking, so our designers Steve and Philina came up with this beautiful cover and coordinating pages (I’m showing the section divider page here next to the cover). You can customize the title text on the cover, and section names.
2. The classic cover: This one has a cute, kind of retro look and feel that allows you to upload your own photo onto the cover and section dividers. You can also customize the text on both the cover (left) and section dividers (right).
We launched three other covers with these two, and more are on their way. Why don’t you log in and check them out??
August 20, 2013 | Posted in:
Raspberry Freeze
This is the first recipe I remember my mom making. It’s an easy no-bake dessert that impresses a crowd. I’m glad to report it gets two thumbs up from my 4 year old daughter Penny.
2 cups frozen unsweetened raspberries,thawed, with juice
1 cup sugar
2 egg whites
juice of half a lemon
dash of salt
1 cup whipping cream
Combine raspberries, sugar, egg white, lemon juice and salt.
Beat 15 minutes in a stand mixer, with the whisk attached (or with electric beaters), until stiff and fluffy.
While mixture is mixing, whip cream.
Fold whipped cream into raspberry mixture
Freeze in individual bowls for 4 hours, or in a large bowl, 6 hours.
August 7, 2013 | Posted in:
Design A New Logo For Your Family Cookbook
About a year ago, my sister Laurence and I started taking a more active role in our mom’s business, and realized it was time for a major facelift. The program was almost eight years old, and in techie language, that’s like a century! The overall look of the site didn’t feel quite right either- we wanted something more feminine, a little softer.
This is where we started:
We needed to come up with something that hinted at family, cooking, and books. Not easy!
I went to an old friend of mine, Philina, whom I had worked with while I was in magazines, and who had branched out with her husband to start a web design company (studiob.ca).
This was their first attempt:
We liked it, but that brown color was really throwing us off. The pot in the middle was good, but a little heavy.
This came next:
Cute, but again, kind of old fashioned feeling.
We dropped the color thing for a while and worked on graphics:
Too modern.
That became this:
Now that we getting really close!!!
Then, while I was surfing the net, I came across this photo from a company called Indigo. I loved the palette, and so brought that to our designers.
That’s how we ended up with this:
And finally:
Yay!!!
July 19, 2013 | Posted in:
Basic salad dressing
This is a photo of my niece Charlotte, learning how to make mustard vinaigrette.
We always make a big jar of it since it keeps so well in the fridge!
Ingredients
1 tbsp Dijon mustard, grainy or smooth
1/4 c red wine vinegar, or balsamic if you like a sweeter dressing
1/2 tsp sugar if using red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
3/4 c olive oil
Preparation
Mix mustard, vinegar, sugar and salt and pepper into a thick paste.
Whisk continuously while pouring in the olive oil.
Yield: 1 cup