6/17/10 - Amazing Roasted Vegetable Salad

This salad isn't really a salad.... its a buffet! This everything salad was inspired by an excellent lunch I recently had at the Time to Eat Diner in Bridgewater, NJ. For under $15,  I got a plate filled to the brim with Grilled Steak, Chicken and Veggies as well as baby mixed greens. There was so much I actually split it in half for 2 days lunch. Since I was adding so many more veggies I decided to skip the meat and go with seafood as a little twist on the dish.

First I had to take a quick walk to the Farmer's Market to grab some potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers and beets. When I got home, I roasted the veggie then prepared a mixed green salad that was the base of my dish. To top everything off I added some seafood which was the perfect compliment to the filling salad. Since I had different eaters with me I let everyone find their own mix from the ingredients mixed together. This meal was super easy to prep.... the only equipment needed is a sharp knife and a baking sheet (well and an oven!)> I am lucky to have an aunt who went to culinary school and frequently sharpens my knifes... if you aren't so lucky check out the Daily Special on FoodBuzz for a deal on the Chef's Choice Angle Select Knife Sharpener.

Check out our homemade Salad Bar:
Green Salad - Mix of red leaf, romaine and boston lettuce, cucumber, tomato, carrots and scallions
Roasted Potatoes
Roasted Beets
Roasted Veggies - Broccoli, Cauliflower, Red & Green Peppers
King Crab Legs
Tuna Salad - Tuna, mayo, pickles, chipotle mustard
Cheese

6/20/10 - Garlic Scape Pickles

I love pickles... I can eat a whole jar in a day! OK I can eat a whole jar in one sitting...and I love to try and make some of my own things so it was natural that I wanted to try my hand at making refrigerator pickles (again). This is one of the methods for making pickles and results in the crisp fresh pickles that I like best. Usually labeled as New Pickles these only need to soak for 24 hours before they are ready to enjoy (after 1 week is best though)

The first time I made pickles things came out OK but this time I was prepared. I had saved some old pickle jars as well as getting some regular canning jars. I made my own spice mix again and added a few more ingredients. I also tried two different cuts - 1/2s and spears. Pickling is quite easy once you have the supplies. Just heat the vinegar, herb and spice mixture and pack the jars....pour the mix over and let cool then refrigerate. Don't forget to use a coated metal pot to heat the pickling mixture! Vinegar will react with most metals so you need to be careful when you are making your pickle brine. Check out the Daily Special on Foodbuzz today for the perfect pot, an enameled cast iron LeCruset.

click throught for my pickle brine

6/14/10 - After the party: Crudite Plate into Chicken Stir-Fry

There are some parties where all you have the next morning is a splitting head-ache but others leave you with something a bit more enjoyable...leftovers! I usually don't enjoy having to eat the same meal over and over but in certain circumstances there is nothing out there that I am more thankful for. My latest party, a "Big Frickkin' Quarter Century hoe.down" for my friend Mary, was so much fun to plan and even more fun to attend. All of our friends decided to dress up in their best country bumpkin outfit and many came in full character. The next morning, after some advil and a few glasses of water, I went to assess the damage... not too bad!

While most of the food was down to the last scraps there was one thing that was pretty much untouched....the veggie plate! Apparently some of the other dishes were more interesting than my crudites plate. This was an easy recycling job. Since the veggies were already washed and cut, I was already halfway to a stir-fry. A bit of marinaded chicken cut into cubes and some brown rice finished this meal off. The Daily Special on FoodBuzz is another important ingredient in a good stir-fry...fresh oil. Use a cooking oil can like this to pour out a small amount of oil to keep convenient while you store the larger container out of direct light and heat will make sure you never have to deal with stinky bad oil again .

Check out the full menu from the party

6/11/10 - Strawberry Tart

With spring berries just starting to arrive at the market its hard not to think of dessert! This tart is one of my favorites and also one of my first dessert recipes.My aunt use to help me with this when I was younger but she has passed the recipe on to me now and I have fun creating it on my own (with a little help from my amazing architect boyfriend who is the BEST! at arranging the berries just so). One of the secrets to this tart is making sure you go over the berries with a fine tooth comb (so to speak!) and I have found that using a nice big colander to help wash them and get any grit off them is especially necessary when you are using farm fresh (vs those big mutant berries that you find year round in the stores) Luckily today's Daily Special is a wire mesh colander and is perfect for this task!

5/23/10 - Tomato Basil Open Faced Grilled Cheese

The best ingredients make the best meals..... this advice is true no matter what you might be cooking. And I think it might be even more applicable when you are cooking some thing simple since each ingredient makes a big impression. It seems that all my posts recently are revolving around the Greenmarket in Union Square and I have to admit, the first sites of spring have me a bit giddy! There is something about walking around among like minded foodies knowing that everyone is in search of the perfect tomato or cheese to make thier dinner just right...unlike the super market where I often find myself tsk-tsk'ing (I know I shouldn't judge!) behind a cart filled to the brim with processed foods, sodas, cookies etc. As some one who doesn't have children, I know that I can't even begin to understand the time (and energy and money) needed to raise a family, but sometimes I wonder just how convenient some of these pre-package foods are? Do they really save time or is it just the marketing telling us that we don't have time and we deserve a treat/ time off/ to relax etc? I mean this delicious fresh meal only took me about 10 min tops to make and only about 1 min to clean up!