The festive celebrating has continued into January as many of my friends celebrate their birthdays this month…which also means the convivial eating and drinking continues as well. With that in mind, I tried to recreate a light and refreshing salad that I had while on vacation. The salad was called the Simply Grilled and it was from the restaurant Veritas in Vieques. The salad is a variation on a Cobb, but the fresh lightly seasoned fish replaces the greasy fat-laden bacon. To accompany my large salad, I made fries from Delicata Squash. These fries were inspired by a lovely lunch I recently had with a good friend at a vegan restaurant called Peacefood Café on the UWS.
Read moreCurry Curry in a Hurry
Not everything turns out the way you want it to, and my attempt at the picture perfect roast chicken left me thinking that I should have saved my energy and called up Pio Pio. Needless to say, the evidence of the roast will not be making an appearance on TCR anytime soon. But alas, I was left with a hefty quantity of roast chicken that serendipitously was mainly dry white meat. To amend this cooking faux pas, I gave the bare and juiceless chicken the equivalent of a spa getaway to the Berkshires. He came back refreshed and glowing and was ready to win back my respect.
Read moreThank God For Ina!
This weekend was supposed to be filled with fun and revelry with friends as we tried to clasp on to the bittersweet end of summer on Fire Island, but alas the gargantuous amount of schoolwork bound me down to my desk. To lighten up my mood, I called on my "good friend" The Barefoot Contessa, to shake me out of my disappointment. I was feeling a little fried, so I simply followed her guidance and created 3 light and healthful dishes that put me back on track.
Read moreSimple Summer Supper
Heirloom lettuce salad with chickpeas, celery, local cherry tomatoes and white balsamic dressing, fresh New Jersey summer tomato sauce with yellow and red tomatoes, garlic, chili pepper, olive oil, and basil with Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Pasta, toasted sourdough with earth balance spread, diced garlic and basil. Raw cows milk Landoff cheese.
Keeping it simple is sometimes the best…especially when you have a three month pup on your hands! Please welcome the newest member of The Crunchy Radish, Henry Pepper!
Do The Cabbage Patch
On a recent sticky, tumultuously stormy evening, I was feeling like eating something with a spicy Asian flair, but decided against delivery…I always feel terrible for the delivery men when its pouring. So I slipped on my Wellies and braved the monsoon to head to Whole Foods to provision my meal. I am not always particularly enamored by the seafood selection or prices at Whole Foods. On quite a few occasions, I have had to augment my protein due to lack of selection or items being previously frozen. That evening was one of those occasions. I had originally envisioned grilling a steak of bloody red Yellowfin tuna, but compromised with some lovely plump fresh local diver sea scallops. I stuck with my original plan to make a spicy slaw, which would serve as the purple hued bed for the scallops. To start my slaw, I first made the vinaigrette that the slaw would be tossed in.
Read more"Just Play it Cool, Boy, Real Cool!"
No matter how “cool” you are, there is no denying it is HOT! Remember to keep hydrated, try one of these refreshing dishes, or even indulge in a frozen treat!
Read moreMaybe I'm Just a Cornball
With the weather so hot and humid, it has been hard to get motivated to get into the kitchen and cook, unless accompanied by an ice cold class of pinot blanc. Even with the liquid motivation, it has been hard to spend more than 15 minutes in my galley of a kitchen standing over a hot stove. So, to avoid passing out from heat stroke, I have been indulging in simple summer salads, faro tossed in pesto, and even a fruit crumble to reward myself for enduring the kitchen heat.
Read moreFruitophile's Unite!
Still dreaming of my Italian getaway, I tried my hand at interpreting a traditional Sardinian dish. Fregula or fregola is a type of Sardinian pasta that is similar to pearled couscous. It is traditionally made with semolina dough that is rolled into little balls and toasted before boiling. The outcome is nutty little morsels that are slightly firm to the bite. We had fregula a few times on our trip and it was always accompanied with shellfish.
Read more