Time to Start Planning the Most Romantic Dinner of the Year…

Valentine’s Day is almost here, so if you plan on going out, I hope you have reservations! As for me…I don’t go anywhere near a restaurant on February 14^th, choosing the candlelight supper at home (right, honey?) over that hot mess year after year. I’ve pulled 2 of my coziest and most elegant recipes from Sunday Best Dishes to focus on this go around, and because they feature a red wine reduction sauce drizzled over filet mignon made the classic French way, I guess you could say that this Valentine’s Day I’m wearing my heart on my sieve!

 

No spoilers here alert! I’m not giving away my signature recipe for Grilled Tenderloin Steak and a tequila spiked dessert, but I will dish on tried and true culinary methods in bringing them to the plate. Download Sunday Best, if you want your Valentine’s Day to resemble the hot and juicy picture below.

 

So here’s the deal with steak….yeah, it’s absolutely better when you grill it outside; however, this is a really frigid winter for most of us, and backyard BBQs may not be in the cards. That’s why a tenderloin steak is the perfect choice—it’s the best cut for stovetop cooking. You’re going to want to buy four (six ounce) steaks, 2 to 3 inches thick and ask the butcher to remove the silver skin for you; it’s easy enough to do it yourself (even kind of fun), but with the tequila sippin’ I hope you’ve got planned, it never hurts to save time.

So, steak tenderloin (aka filet mignon) must be seasoned well with coarse salt and cracked pepper; set your cuts out a good 20 minutes before you cook them, and make sure to pat the meat dry with paper towels before rubbing in the seasonings. Add a brush of olive oil to each side of the steak (very important!), and coat the grill pan with plenty of olive oil, too. I sear my steak 4 to 6 minutes per side on high heat, and let it rest outside the pan, in a fresh application of red wine sauce, about ten minutes before serving it. Steak, as you may already know, continues to cook on its own, off the grill. Another important steak lover’s mantra: Always, always aim for medium-rare. For Valentine’s Day, I’m topping mine off with a cheese I’m keeping secret until the big reveal on 2/14/14….but if you must know what it is, refer to the Culinary Class chapter in Sunday Best Dishes!   

Now, on to dessert, the focal point of a sweet holiday…

 

As you can see, I’m making blueberry short bread biscuits, surrounded in a bed of tequila soaked fruit—there’s nothing like peppery silver tequila to bring out the flavor of blueberries, and with the suggestion of strawberries in the mix, you’ve honored the color code of Valentine’s Day well enough.  For cooking, the brand “Jose Cuervo Clasico Silver” is a sound choice in tequila; it’s priced lower than other brands, yet has the sweet fire-power your marinades, vinaigrettes and sauces demand, whether they are savory or sweet.

And I can’t think of a more perfect note to end on. May your Feb. 14 be the sweetest yet!

XOXO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If The Kitchen’s “Cookbook Club” Asked Me to Talk about SUNDAY BEST DISHES, I Wouldn’t Say No!

The KITCHEN is on Saturdays at 11am Eastern

Hello there, loyal readers. This blog is a review about a fun new show on the Food Network. Because I always liked The View (and The Chew!), the format of The KITCHEN is instantly appealing; it features five friends, who chow down and TALK FOOD—each episode (and so far there have been 2) is cleverly divided with Q&A from fans, a cooking demo that features a recipe with the top 3 most googled ingredients in the country, and an appearance of a cookbook author with a new book. Jenny McCoy, author of Desserts for Every Season was the first guest on The Show’s “Cookbook Club” segment; she made a warm chocolate bread pudding that I imagine co-host Jeff Mauro will try eating on a treadmill for next week’s opening credits!

On a good day I like to say I know foolproof food, and the way The KITCHEN is structured is certainly that: FOOLPROOF! I can’t tell you how interesting it is to know that 850,000 hungry souls googled, on the same day, what to do with the frozen lump of chicken in their fridge.

The KITCHEN’s panel, in addition to the hilarious Sandwich King (Jeff, whom I already mentioned), includes Sunny Anderson, Geoffery Zakarian, Katie Lee and Marcela Valladolid; these friends took the top 3 google hits for the week: quinoa, chicken and kale, and made them into a WONDERFUL entrée. I know because I made the dish right after watching the show. Sunny Anderson looked straight into camera and said that cooking, for her, was often about simply “emptying out the fridge!” and as though it were fate, I had some languishing items in my refrigerator (like a bag of frozen Brussels sprouts) that worked like a charm in The KITCHEN’S CHILE-RUBBED CHICKEN BREAST WITH KALE, QUINOA AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS SALAD. 

I didn’t follow Marcela’s recipe to the letter, but she did provide the base, and everyone in my family who loves chicken was pretty happy the night I added my own tweaks to what I can tell you is a truly solid dish. I liked how the panel, brimming with intimidating culinary talent, let all that go for the hour, and focused on teaching without preaching. On the kale/chicken recipe, Katie Lee asked if you could use feta in place of Marcela’s choice, cotija (a cheese I’m sure not everyone knows about), and everyone—including Marcela, was quick to advocate for substitutes anytime you want, and substitute I did. I didn’t have quinoa, so I used couscous; didn’t have toasted almonds so I used pine nuts—everyone loved it and I got rid of those darned Brussels Sprouts…and some feta!

The only thing I would have done differently is advise home chefs to really, really, wash that kale! I knew to do it because, well, what person in the food industry doesn’t have a PhD in kale by now? (we hear about it every single day!); however, for the layperson…you just might end up with some sand in your sauté if you’re not used to working with the stuff—and that’s what my latest book, Sunday Best Dishes: A Cookbook for Passionate Cooks is all about, educating home chefs in a way that’s fun and relatable. You don’t know you’re learning, you just know you’re cooking—I can’t wait to share that philosophy with everyone in The KITCHEN!

Christmas Morning Breakfast Ideas for Berry Good Boys & Girls!

Not many days left to peel back on the advent calendar. In no time at all, it’ll be Christmas morning—and that, my friends requires a sugar and carb infusion of the highest order.  New word for “short-stack” anyone? I’m drawing from my Sunday Best repertoire on Wednesday, December 25^th and would advise anyone with the same lust for life (and pancakes) to stock up this weekend on King Arthur Flour—the best for pancake house-style flapjacks—eggs, sugar, butter—the essentials for enough fluffy pancakes to take everyone through the learning curve of new gadgets and sporting equipment sitting under your tree.            

I believe the headlining photo on this blog, featuring Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes with Berry Good Maple Syrup, can revv up the family on Christmas morning and turbo power their snow shoes! I haven’t made a habit of posting many of my book’s new recipes on my blog, but am doing so today as a gift to those “birds of a feather” out there who love pancakes as much as my family does. Other Christmas Day secrets that can put the wow factor into a Chris Cringle inspired table setting involve my Monkeying Around Bread (fun at any age!), trick for making inside out omelets, Canadian Bacon prepared just so (click on this Chipotle Spiced Bacon post to learn how to make it a legend in your household, too) and Cranberry Oatmeal Scones with Pine nuts.  For those bolded recipes, there is still plenty of time to download Sunday Best Dishes, wink, wink, nudge, nudge. It really makes a great Xmas gift!

Other Winter Day Breakfast Ideas….Faking Buttermilk in a pinch, etc…..

Buttermilk Biscuits with a savory gravy are also a great way to go for Christmas breakfast….but what if you open the fridge only to find you’re running low on precious buttermilk?  A lot of Apple commercials would tell you there’s an app for that. I won’t offer you that as a solution, but I can pass on a little cooking trick that can turn plain old milk into a buttermilk knock-off for all your breakfast recipes. Just pour ¾ cup of milk into a measuring container, add 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and set the mixture aside for 5 minutes at room temperature. The result is as close to actual buttermilk as it needs to be. 

If kids are part of the Christmas package this holiday season….

Here are a few tips for decorating pancakes in ways that’d tickle Santa pink!

• ·        Use sliced strawberries and cover the top half of the pancake with them to represent the red-felt hat. Squirt a big dollop of whip cream for the powder puff on top of Santa’s hat and continue on with the Ready-whip to make the big white beard.
• ·         Banana slices with Hershey’s kisses in the center make great eyes and maraschino cherries are a terrific nose!
• ·         Triangles of French toast can be arranged into a Christmas tree, with a star shaped cut of pineapple just prefect for the star on top!
• ·         Make Rudolph using bacon for antlers, blueberries for eyes and a dime sized pancake in the middle, strawberry on it, for the world-famous nose.

It’s not rockets science….it’s reindeer science! I hope your Christmas is full of love and magic, everyone. See you in the New Year with lots of new cooking advice and recipes! 

Buttermilk-Blueberry Pancakes with Berry Good Maple Syrup

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Syrup

1 cup pure maple syrup

1 cup fresh blueberries

Pour the syrup and blueberries into a saucepan and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce is thickened and the blueberries begin to burst, about 10 minutes.  Reduce the heat to very low to keep the syrup warm.

Pancakes

2 cups pastry flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon table salt

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup milk

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ to 1 cup blueberries

Confectioners’ sugar

Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, milk, honey and vanilla.  Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until smooth.         

Heat a griddle (or large non-stick skillet) over medium high heat.  Ladle batter onto the griddle to form 4-inch pancakes.  When the pancakes are just set, sprinkle with a few blueberries. Cook until the pancakes are golden on the bottom, about 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and cook until the second side is golden, about 2 minutes more. (If you are cooking the pancakes in batches, keep warm in a 200° oven or warming drawer.)

Serve the pancakes with a ladleful of syrup and garnish with a few extra fresh blueberries. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar.

Oh My Gnosh!

Tips for Serving Gourmet Spreads and Cheeses (as a gift or…) at Your Next Party

CHEESE makes a marvelous gift for the people you love. Yes, CHEESE: worthy of all caps—that is, if you present it well and offer pairings that make those already heavenly flavors pop. I love stories from hostesses that are told with a sigh—how guests at the Xmas party nibbled at their cheese plate, and asked, mouths full, if there would be a hostess/guest gift exchange. “Uh…darling? That dreamy little block in your hand with the cheesemonger’s initials engraved right into the rind? THAT was your gift.”

Point of story:  If the cheese isn’t speaking for itself and needs a little help, this Extreme Party Planner has come to your rescue with tips on how to make the perfect cheese plate.

Consider the 4 basic categories of cheese before you shop: Cheese is sold soft, hard, aged and blue; a representative from each category is a nice way to go, and an expert behind the cheese counter will be happy to help you. Personally, I believe the safest bets are cheeses that don’t have a pungent odor (I’m looking at you, Camembert), but do possess those nice sharp, tangy, earthy and/or nutty flavors we all love—that’s why I concentrate on the kind of milk used to make it, i.e. sheep, goat and cow. Go with manchengo (made from sheep’s milk, it’s a favorite tapa in Spain), aged 15 to 24 months cheddar and anything manufactured by Santori—their stuff is the friggin’ bomb.  Familiarize yourself with their logo via this photo:

Take the cheese out at least an hour before the party, unwrap it and let it breathe. The flavors shine through more this way.  Plan on 3 to 4 ounces of cheese bliss per person; this can easily translate into 3 to 6 different types of cheeses—ideal for a small party; one or two cheeses serve a gift basket well—you just have to find yummy accompaniments…like a sweet fig spread, crackers and assorted olives. More on those (olives!) later.     

Don’t worry about a carb overload—no such thing on a cheese platter. Use crackers AND sliced bread:  Be sure to vary up the textures on these--that’s every bit as important as diverse cheeses.  Reserve an extra cheese spreader to plunge into a jarred condiment that works well with a cheese plate, i.e. fig spreads (I’ve linked to a good one), Grey Poupon mustard or pretty pickles—which I published a recipe for in Sunday Best Dishes.

Stock up on Olives—loading a ramekin full of them works out nicely next to your cheeseboard.  Moroccan beldi olives are particularly tasty with any fine cheese—they come in so many pretty colors—from big plum colored purples to small and shriveled marble sizes. Roasted red peppers pair well, especially the ones that have marinated in a spicy vinaigrette, and kalamata olives deliver the perfect punch! Just check out this olive bar photo to get in the mood.

 
Prepare a few descriptive adjectives about each cheese before you serve it—it’s a fun way to put on a few pounds before the party, but hey…we all have to do our homework! Use a separate knife for each cheese and, obviously, group like-smelling cheeses, otherwise (as the song goes) ya gotta keep ‘em separated!

Parting tip about cheese for your next killer risotto: Use cheese rinds in your cooking; it’s perfectly edible and will flavor a rice, casserole or soup like nobody’s business. Parmigiano Reggiano is ideal for this. As far as what drinks are loveliest to wash your cheeses down with, I searched high and low before I was satisfied and found this article, worth pinning to Pinterest: Some exciting drink pairing for cheese.

Enjoy your cheese within 24 hours of unwrapping it, and be sure to refrigerate between uses…I’m off to carve off a little more of that Santori….

Let’s Talk Beer and Burgers…on a Sunday….Does It Get Any Better than That?

Ladies and Gentleman, The Sunday Best Grilled Beef Brisket Burger

Another weekend is here, and I can think of only one thing…well, two things if you want to get technical: burgers and beer! You can make 8 burgers with my "Sunday Best Burger" recipe...and of course, everyone at the table needs something extra special to wash it down with--and that's what prompted me to get on the trending subject of craft beer and how it not only compliments a burger, but elevates its flavors into Napkin Heaven! The simplicity if this recipe is just beautiful, and wholly worthy of a Summer Wheat beer to go along with--beyond the 3 pounds of brisket, all you need to finish the job are olive oil and Worchester, garlic and S&P (make that kosher salt and pepper straight from the mill!)

But I’m not here to talk about meat, so much as beer.

 

Everyone knows I’m a wine enthusiast, but I’ll be the first to admit the ol’ bottled grape has had the upper hand for way too long. Beer is a formidable opponent when it comes to food pairing; its carbonation—all those tiny bubbles—scrub your tongue and make each bite extra flavorful. The ultimate pairing tip is so simple with beer: you simply match like with like, and with those spicy dishes remember that sweet calms heat. If your entrée has some bitter, earthy undertones, you’ll want a bitter beer. If something is super fatty, a hoppy beer will cut through that heavy feeling in your mouth. If you’re drinking beer to go along with your “Death by Chocolate” dessert, a nice thick stout works wonders. The scenarios are endless and look even better with your beer goggles on, LOL!    

So now that I’m talking India Pale Ales (IPAs), stouts and lagers for the first time on my blog, I’ll go ahead and divulge my key sources of information on this topic: my son, Jonathan Morgan, who got his first brewing kit from Williams-Sonoma, and Bobby Gordash, a professional brew master who makes the occasional public appearance (recently at my local Whole Foods) and dishes on what he’s learned since winning the Sam Adams Home Brewers Award. Gordash has brought us beloved beers like Panic Attack, Swamp Ape and Holy Mackerel—really, good stuff!

First, my son’s thoughts…and let me preface them by reminding everyone that without Jon the drool inducing ebook that is Sunday Best Dishes would never have been possible. Here’s his litany of libations—or to put it more simply, the beer he’s made so far.

·         Summer Wheat

·         Smoked Wheat/chestnut brown ale (his favorite; made it twice)

·         Chocolate Maple Porter

Says Jon:  “I've always wanted to try brewing, ever since my freshman year of college when I experienced some outstanding craft beer in Italy. While I was working at Williams-Sonoma, I used my employee discount to get a brew kit at a reduced price—I’ve made a few batches since. When I pair dinner with beer, I go with a smoky flavor theme.  I’ll grill up some turkey burgers with chipotle pepper mixed into the meat (along with a little chicken broth to add moisture and carry the chipotle through the whole patty), and then top it with some slices of smoked gouda and charred bell peppers and onions. It’s important to toast the buns on the grill with some mayonnaise until JUST starting to blacken on the edges. I try to use a charcoal grill if I can, as gas grills won't impart the same kind of smoky deliciousness.”

                                                                                                                                               
What can I say: Apple….Tree!

So try out a beer kit like Jon did, or simply patronize a brewery near you; they have started cropping up all over Florida. For my NC friends, the craft beer trend is clearly established with the presence of SIXTEEN breweries in Ashville alone. Jon recommends the Fat Tire and Duck Rabbit!  If you’re shopping beer in Lauderdale, he recommends Total Wine & Liquor, and encourages you to look for some of the strong Danish and Scottish Ales in the +6% ABV range—then come on home and make something chargrilled and amazing from Sunday Best!

OK—I’ll get off my beer box now!

Send us your Sunday Best!

Your Photo Could Win the Newly Released Cookbook: Sunday Best Dishes: a Cookbook for Passionate Cooks!

When the little girl in this black and white photo said “cheese”, it was somewhere in the mid-1950s—a time in American culture and cuisine that inspired me to create a career in food. A capricious 7-year old by 1960, I have so many memories of life in the Ozzy & Harriet days, when taking joy rides in the family car on Sundays worked up a serious appetite. Well I remember that winding road to Grandma’s house after church. Her blueberry pancakes and homemade preserves were next to Godliness. I also recall the baked beans, scalloped potatoes and smoky franks of all those after-game picnics. Getting back to the time and quality people used to devote to dinner time has been the impetus of everything I’ve ever written. I will always be a family-style cook, and my newest cookbook is a culmination of everything I’ve learned and loved in my 30 odd years of cooking for a living.

So, it is with GREAT pride (and a sigh of relief after more than a year of hard work) to introduce my sixth book: SUNDAY BEST DISHES: a cookbook for Passionate Cooks. This book is extra special for me because it was the first time I collaborated with my family to publish something. I owe my sons, who worked on this project with me, sooooooo much!

My son Jonathan Morgan, a graphic artist and a super-genius, built my book that was once just a 3-ring binder full of recipes, into an interactive e-book with click and tap widgets that show even the most novice home cook how to cook like an Iron Chef. My other son, Chris, click his name to see his incredible photography portfolio, snapped each and every one of the drool-inducing photos that appear in Sunday Best Dishes.

The best part of my collaboration? I got to spend so much extra time with my boys. We lived this cookbook together for a whole year and had so much fun, cooking and growing together. Tears are hitting the keyboard just typing that. My thanks to the entire Morgan clan, and all my recipe testers that have become like part of the family along the way. I hope they’ll take part in the contest I’m proposing:

The Contest: Submit a photo of you or a group dressed in your Sunday Best, or at the Sunday dinner table—it can be recent or from years ago—to my assistant: jen@rrusson.com or simply post it to “The Nana Network.” We’ll pick a winner and announce him or her on Grandparents Day, September 8^th, 2013. To get a good gander at what you’re winning, check out the book’s exclusive website and photo gallery at http://sundaybestdishes.com/

Good night and Good luck!              

2 “Sunday Best” Blends That’ll Get You through the Heat of This Summer

Strawberry Granita and Cool-as-a-Cumber Soup

Is it EVER hot outside! Poking around food blogs, I see that everyone is doing sorbets right now, white wine popsicles with great big pieces of fruit stuck inside, and other treats that give one an excuse to pad over to the freezer.  Yep, it’s time to throw your hair up in a pony-tail and contemplate the subtle differences between sorbet, Italian ice and granita as the temps shoot up around you, and friends complain it’s too hot to use the stove.

Melting sugar and water in a sauce pan and mixing the resulting “syrup” with blended fruit gives you a sorbet you can cherish in a matter of hours, straight from the freezer. I saw A LOT of red, white and blue sorbets for the Fourth of July.  They had a simplicity about them that soothed the home chef—that is, if she was worried over what to do for a HOT backyard party. No matter what the fruit, you can use the same basic recipe to produce all kinds of sorbet: blackberry for the blue, strawberry for red and pineapple for white. GOD BLESS AMERICA—let those good colors continue to serve you well up through the dog days of summer!

But a Granita takes a little more work to set up.  Totally worth it! Once you blend it up and pour it into a dish to freeze, you have to remember to take it out just before the center is frozen solid. Then scrape it with your fork to tease it, so that it looks like this:

I just love an excuse to put something besides a martini into a martini glass!

But here’s what I like best about granita. Did you know that in Sicily, the largest Mediterranean Island and the hottest place in Europe , the traditional breakfast is a coffee & almond flavored granita, served with a big hunk of buttery brioche?  Granita is such a staple in Italia, that different regions are known for different textures of it. I hear it’s chunky in Palermo and smooth in Rome. I love this photo of breakfast time in Sicily.

Before anyone gets too disappointed, I did not make a coffee flavored granita—I’m sure it’s my Vitamix’s next date with destiny, though.  I did something just as refreshing by taking advantage of a huge mound of in season strawberries, to make SUNDAY BEST Strawberry Granita. 

Of course, granita comes to fruition in any blender or food processor, but if you have a Vitamix than there’s really no excuse not to run out and make this RIGHT NOW! 

It’s only July, but I’m sure this Kitchen Must Have is a front runner on LOTS of Christmas lists. “But wait a minute,” some might say, “isn’t it just a blender?” Um, no.  Vitamix heats soup to boiling as it’s pulsing along; it can make pizza dough, cookie batter, and every fancy French sauce and dressing under the sun. 

Whipping up a batch of hummus in the Vitamix reminded me to let my readers know that Sabra (I’m sure you’ve had some of their hummus in your grocery cart at some point) is launching an ad campaign to become the official NFL game watching snack! That’s pretty wild, isn’t it….but a perfect segue into talking up SUNDAY BEST chilled Cucumber soup—great with hummus and pita on the side!

I wish the recipe photo did it justice—this soup comes out in the prettiest grasshopper shade of green, and it’s toe-curling-ly good. It replenishes everything you lost splashing around in the pool or mowing your lawn. Let me know if you had a chance to try it!

Enjoy the rest of summer, my friends!

SUNDAY BEST Chilled Cucumber Soup

Serves 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes, Plus 45 minutes to chill

4 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced into ½-onch pieces, about 3 cups

1 small clove garlic, peeled, minced and mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt

1 cup plain yogurt

1 medium lemon juiced, about 3 tablespoons

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

A pinch of sea salt and a grind of fresh pepper

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced, about 1 cup

Add lemon juice, salt and pepper to cucumbers and let sit for a few minutes. Drain excess moisture of cucumbers, and place in blender or food processor with the rest of the ingredients. Pulse until smoothe. You may add additional yogurt if you desire a thicker consistency.

Cover and place in refrigerator until chilled, at least 45 minutes. Serve with a side of pita and hummus and enjoy!

SUNDAY BEST Strawberry Granita

Serves 6
Prep Time: 1 hour, plus a minimum of 3 hours to freeze

1 pound fresh strawberries, stems removed and sliced, about 2 cups
3 tablespoons all-natural granulated sugar
½ large lemon juiced, about 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar, optional
Fresh Mint leaves, for garnish

Place sliced strawberries in a large bowl. Toss the strawberries with the sugar, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar and honey. Honey or agave are optional for extra sweetness. 

Place strawberries in a blender and add ½ cup cold water. Pulse until smooth. If you don’t want seeds, drain the mixture through a cheesecloth.  

Pour strawberry mixture into a 13x9-inch baking dish, cover and freeze approximately 45 minutes until the edges of the granita are just set and the center is soft.

Whisk granita with a fork in order to distribute frozen portions evenly. Cover and return to the freezer for an additional 30 minutes. The edges of granita should be icy, with an overall slushy texture. 

Scrape the ice cyrstals from the side of the pan and return to the freezer for 3 hours or overnight. 
Let granita thaw for about 10 minutes before serving.

You may ring the glass with sugar for a prettier presentation.

Serve granita, using a fork to get it into ramekins or martini glasses, which make for the best presentation. Top with a fresh mint leaf and enjoy! 

Bringin’ Out the Hellman’s And the Sunday Best

Sandwich 101

Sandwiches. They range from humble to ridiculously grandiose.  Now that the weather is letting up a bit, some of us are rolling out our best breads, meats, cheeses and condiments and building the best sandwiches we can mustard. Whoops. You know what I mean. The art of sandwich building is not to be taken lightly, and while I’ve packed my share of picnic lunches that leaned on my favorite staples (Hellman’s and Grey Poupon) I heartily encourage experimenting with vinaigrettes, pestos, BBQ sauces, chutneys, and salsas—this enthusiasm basically furnished the entire fourth chapter of my new book that’s being tested (and hopefully enjoyed!) right now.

This post is all about dispensing sandwich secrets—not just how to make a superior sandwich, but how to understand its origins, so that the love for what you’re doings shines through in taste—soon, every one you know will want to go on a picnic with you! And if that “everyone you know” is in South Florida, you should definitely sandwich shop at Doris’ Italian Market. Pleas bear with me on the condiment puns. Doris’ peppers Broward County with 5 locations, and each one is just delightful. There’s really no other word to describe it with its 2 big clocks hanging on the wall; one that gives the time here in Florida, and the other that tells you it’s lunchtime in Rome.      

You can pick some amazing sandwich breads in their bakery: mufalleta, seesed, Cuban, braided…etc on into carb heaven infinity. Go for dry, dense bread if it’s going to be a particularly moist Sammy. And…when you’re picking out the veggies that are going on the sandwich, think outside the obvious choices of lettuce and tomato. Why? These are mostly water and can waterlog your masterpiece. I suggest roasted peppers, sliced fennel and spinach, shredded cabbage, or some diagonally cut cucumber.

When you spread your condiment of choice, cover the entire piece of bread, crust to crust—it’ll act as a moisture seal and lock in your flavors. I do this with my Hellman’s, which I love so much I don’t try to embellish too much. Its creators have known what they’re doing, no intervention necessary, since 1912. Telling the Hellman’s story is a great reminder to folks how important Sunday Excursions to new delis and cafes are—that’s how Hellman’s was discovered, you know: in a little German deli in NYC at the turn of the 20^th century. The deli owner’s wife made such incredible mayo that it literally sold by the gravy boat—or rather, the wooden boats the deli used to weigh their butter. Two versions of the mayo were popular, and the one the customers liked best had a blue ribbon tied around the boat.   

Now for my mustard…I’m a grey poupon fan because their Pinterest board took the words right out of my mouth:  “Since 1777, it has been synonymous with all that is refined, exquisite and delicious.” Pairing white wine with a strong French regional mustard was genius—and it’s brushed across my special recipe for an Italian BLT Panini in a way that makes that capicola ham do a little dance and make a little love. 

So tell me what your favorite sandwich is, and where you’d take it for the most perfect picnic on earth. In my case, that ended up being a porch glider. When the weather gets fair, keep this mantra in mind: Whatever the setting, whatever the time of year, a lunch is not a lunch unless you take it outdoors.

So happy picnicking!

A Wee Bit of Work Yields This Amazing Daily Bread

Top o’ the mornin’! Could we be coming up on St. Patrick’s Day weekend already?! While some are headed for pubs with green beer, I’m thinking of staying in and waiting for the crowds to lighten up, and I gotta tell you that it helped me rediscover the joys of being alone in my kitchen. This spring morning seemed perfect for baking; shafts of lemony sun played across the counter tops, so that I knew natural lighting would be more than enough for photos: It's called “plate and shoot”—a process I’ve been doing for months getting my new book ready.

I gathered the ingredients to make Irish Soda Bread and had them whipped up before the oven preheated. Then I wandered into the office to work. Once that bread started baking, I wandered right back out! I worked in the kitchen with my laptop, just to sit and revel in the aroma. I got out the nice dessert plates, boiled and steeped my blackest most Irish tea, and cut up pats of chilled Kerry Gold butter that would soon melt over the golden, crunchy peaks of the bread. I arranged some daisies, dyed green…yeah, we food bloggers take the holidays pretty seriously!

My work this morning has consisted of pouring over friends’ thoughts on bread machines. Certainly, I advocate their use in lots of SUNDAY BEST bread recipes, but my love of actual hands-on, old-fashioned baking just won’t go away. Working with dough, is the most cathartic thing ever; in fact, with Irish soda bread you can work your biceps by hand mixing and forgoing the electric mixer altogether. The butter in the bowl is chilled and doesn’t yield immediately, but, eventually it does disperse its buttery goodness through the entire mound of dough.

The only trick you need to know going in, is that if you want your currents, raisins—or, in my case, dried cranberries—to bake in evenly, you’ve got to toss the berries in a tablespoon of flour first. I love the note every baker who makes this bread says about knowing when it’s done: “Tap the loaf when it’s fresh from the oven, and you should hear a “hollow” sound. Friends, I can tell you that this is one of the truest things in life.

But wasn’t I supposed to be telling you the merits of bread machines? I talked to several home cooks who prefer them over the “kneading, rising and watching” process that is baking from scratch. One fellow food blogger admitted that the Oster brand she’s loved for 15 years, once walked itself right off the counter during the kneading process. Long story short: she put it back together and carried on just fine. Her advice for those who wish to buy a bread machine? You’re better off with a horizontal shaped pan, so that the shape of the loaf doesn’t look weird, and cuts up better for sandwiches.

The bread machine I link to in Sunday Best Meals (buy the book this summer to get the gadgets!) can be programmed in the evening, for fresh baked bread in the morning, and the only beef with it, is that it takes up some real estate in kitchen space—but for a bread lover, it is, as the name of my catering biz connotes: Worth It!

Anyway, happy St. Pat’s everyone. May the road rise to meet you and the wind be always at your back. I’m going to make some shepherd’s pie the way my Irish grannie used to, so just keep trying me if you can’t get me on the phone!

Love and all things Irish--XXOO!! 

Eat Like All Your Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight

It’s no accident that my awesome league of recipe testers are now reporting back to me with their thoughts on the “Couch Potato Fan Food” section of my new book. Glancing over the list right now is whetting my appetite for the big game this weekend. The Superbowl XLVII is back in New Orleans this year, with the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers facing off at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. If I could be there in person, it’d be sweet for sure, but it would also severely limit my choices in terms of what I can eat. With my kitchen less than a yard behind me, I can make a touch down with a wide variety of gnosh platters that offer everything from wings to quesadillas. You don’t have to be at work on a cookbook to get inspired—you just have to look around!

It’s a tasty time to web surf right now, because anyone who’s a sports fan and a foodie and loves to write about it, has been publishing mouthwatering collages (compliments of a new social media outlet called Photoshake) that shows you the range of spicy shredded pork, sliders and creamy ranch and blue cheese dipping sauces that’ll make us a little more light hearted about Lipitor commercials between plays.

My point is, is there anything better than combining game watching with gnoshing? I think not.   

The list of nail biting nibbles and crowd pleasers I’ll have on tap are all about spicy sauces, beef and beans, blackened shrimp and hot garlicky wings; it’s fun to think that some of what I’ve served at Superbowl parties in the past are an homage to the kinds of food the players’ hometowns are famous for. Take last year when I made my famous crab cakes. Chances are they’d remind a Baltimore Raven about the famed crab cakes that the historic dive bar, “Swallow at the Hallow” has been serving for over 50 years near Towson State.

Yes sir, where the players come from and where they are meeting up bring in many different flavors—you could say that the Spicy Black Bean and Rice Salad I’m perfecting this month add new meaning to the idea of a San Francisco treat. It’s almost a shame to be sidelined on the living room couch at kick-off this year, because if I had tickets and were watching it live in the Big Easy this season, you better believe I’d be sampling my share of King Cake and Craw Fish. I’d probably be too full to notice one way or another if Beyonce is going to actually sing at half-time or start another Lip-Gate.

Suberbowl Sunday is “The Sunday Best” of all game watching Sundays!

Hopefully, my guests at this year’s Superbowl party will be too happy with my buffet table to notice the half-time entertainment on TV. Let me offer you links to my greatest hits at Superbowl parties of old (my Crab Cakes and Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps) and invite you to post your links and comments about the kinds of foods you'll enjoy this go around. I’m sure whatever you eat, it'll be a real winner! 

3 F-U-N Words: Sunday. Jazz. Brunch!! How to Make Your Next One Legendary

Even cookbook authors seek to get away from their kitchens once in a while. Like anyone, we like being waited on. We like seeing for ourselves what the buzz is all about when a restaurant or club has its grand opening. Live music is also a wish fulfilled. I can’t think of a Sunday Excursion that lives up to all that and more, as much as a good old fashioned Sunday Jazz brunch.

Google those 3 little words and you’ll pull up reviews with “legendary” headlining the Sunday papers. The icing on this South Florida girl’s cake is that I don’t have to go too far to find a legendary Sunday Jazz brunch, and hope my Broward County friends know about it too. This official Go Riverwalk logo says it all--you just have to remember to make it down there between 11 and 2, pick a place to wine and dine, or simply reserve your space on the Esplanade lawn.

Here I am talking about Sunday Best Excursions, and January’s first weekend found me nowhere near live jazz. So, I’ll just have to be retroactive in practicing what I preach. I spent a morning perfecting some ideas I had for leisurely and elegant breakfasts that meandered into lunch time and listened to a little jazz in the meantime. Who knows why we free associate and remember the things we do, but I thought how nice it would be to make some of my Sunday Best breakfast recipes close to the lavishness you might expect at Brennan’s in New Orleans.

The radio blared over the hiss of my electric griddle.  Dexter Gordon’s Fried Bananas song saw me through the preparation of this SCANDALOUS  pancake recipe that’s a twist on Brennan’s very own Bananas Foster. I’m including a photo (an extreme closeup!), but I’m not giving away the recipe until my book comes out.

Some things are better when one’s lips are sealed. Besides, you need to get outta the kitchen. History is being made out there, and Sunday Brunchers are loving their eggs on outdoor patios, tapping their feet to the saxophones—maybe even getting little flashes of inspiration while they eat. We can only assume that’s the way it went for the person who invented the Mimosa—a fusion of Sunday jazz brunch staples, like citrus juice and champagne.

A Grand Opening to Look Forward To…

If you love jazz and champagne, and you happen to be from West Palm (or neighboring areas), keep your eye out this month and February for the opening of a HUGE jazz club coming to Mizner Park. I read about it in Jazzizz Nightlife. This place is going to be great! It’s in the former space for Zed451, and will include, in it’s 11,000-square feet (not a typo), private dining, a stage, a cigar bar and lounge. I know what I’m getting my Valentine!

Come to New Orleans with me Next Week!

If you like N’awlins inspired food, be sure to check in with my blog next week. I’m having another Foolproof Food Day. A reader is making his famous Gumbo. Hope to see you again, January 20th.