BEING WITH TEENS

In case you don't know (and if you care)--Laura Munson exactly sums up the challenging, beautiful nuances of being with teens today in this NYT's article today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/magazine/25lives-t.html?ref=todayspaper

BUT THERE'S NOTHING iN THE HOUSE TO EAT!

Once again, it's dinner time. No one can figure out what to eat 'cause, well--"there's nothing in the house." So the inertia builds until I come home from work and try not to get irritated because there's ALWAYS something to be made. Even a heel of cheese and some tortillas can be whipped up in to a respectable quesadilla with a little hot sauce to sprinkle on.

Here, a chopped up old head of bok choy comes together with some leftover Chinese take-out brown rice sauteed in scallions and garlic. Hit with some miso tamari (pantry) whipped with a few eggs and voila-there's enough for 5 bowls of food. Scrounge a cucumber and some cilantro form the crisper, squeeze on some lime and you're good to go. A little leftover rose saved my day and night too, I admit. And, I'm reminded that I must stock up the freezer and pantry for the next, "there's nothing in the house"dinner.

ROAST CHICKEN AND POTATOES

Roasting a perfect chicken is a never ending quest. Even many chefs, when testing new candidates for a cooking job give them this task to. As a home cook, it seems like I've made thousands. For a while there I had to get food out so quickly to the hungry hoards that I'd spatch cock the bird (remove the backbone)--otherwise known as Flat Roasted chicken in the Mad Hungry cookbook (a recipe many folks have been making too, I hear). It cuts the cooking time by 20 minutes. Meanwhile, what makes this chicken here so amazing is the bread that is used as its cooking platform. About five pieces of day old whole wheat bread are gathered together, salted, peppered and olive oiled to form a raft for the chicken. As the bird roasts, the bread soaks up the chicken juices making it sort of soft in the middle but also crunchy around the edges. It is one of my most favorite guilty eating pleasures. The 3-pound bird was stuffed with a quartered lemon, seasoned and cooked at 425 for 55 minutes. For a side, oven roasted organic French new potatoes (share the same oven)--beautifully colored and tasting like the essence of potato. They were expensive at the farmers market but worth it. And, if I had a big garden, I'd grow them. On the plate I also served a plop of fresh made pepper jelly; a spicy sweet accent for the salty savory chicken. Nothing more but a fresh green salad made this basic, simple meal memorable.

THAI FRIED RICE

It is impossible to describe what it means for me to have a new stove. All of you must think I have the latest and the greatest of all appliances in my home. Truth is, I have the oldest, the worst, the last legs-until-there's-nothing -left appliances. All these boys of mine: their education, athletics, medical etc etc has taken precedence over everything. But I have been patient and I have not despaired. Night after night of delicious meals AND four cookbooks have come out of my tired little kitchen. Finally I relented (had to)--my fridge lost light and had 2 broken shelves and the stovetop had no power, no heat, no nothing. I purchased all new appliances from GE--every one run-of-the-mill except my stove which is the crown jewel. I love it. Its amazing and you'll hear more from me to come on this one.

Here is the beginning of Thai Fired Rice, starting with chicken (cause thats what I had in the fridge). It built from there ith scallion, garlic, ginger (minced)--cabbage, rice, fish sauce, yum yum. Finish with Lime, cilanto and cucumber.

SUMMER SEAFOOD

I eat fish when it's fresh, local and of a sustainable variety meaning that that particular species isn't in any known, imminent danger of depleted stock. Check the Monterey Bay Seafood watch here http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx for what is going in in your part of the country (USA). I've been really lucky lately to be in places where there has been a lot of great fresh seafood. It takes a bit of an altering of your mind set to eat produce-first instead of recipe-first. Recipes can have you running around to find all the right ingredients which works well sometimes. Other times, like with seasonal eating, it can be way more liberating to go to the market, see what's there and then make your cooking plan. Don't worry about anything. Just pick a few things that are of the moment, feel like you could see them together on the plate and inspire you.

At a uptown NYC farmers market yesterday--the first thing I did was head to the fishmonger who fishes himself and brings the fish directly after the catch to the market. There were many fresh choices but his first of the season striped bass was wildly overpriced as was a couple other choices that folks were buying out of familiarity. I noticed a few tiny black bass fillets (arguably my favorite eating fish) but, there wasn't enough...until I noticed several whole head and tail on ones (scaled and gutted) tucked in the ice. I got excited and especially at the price which was very reasonable. I got 4 of them, about 11/2-pounds each. Next, I chose the mussels which were tiny, wild, beautiful and very well priced especially compared to the clams. I got a load of those. Just next door at the vegetable stand, the corn and fresh shallots, parsley and cilantro stood out to me and just before leaving I noticed a giant head of Chinese cabbage.

When I got home, I was thinking of a Mediterranean angle for the dinner (capers, anchovies, basil etc). But, I had a big piece of ginger in the fridge and was really craving an light Asian-style meal so I worked it though in my head--how each thing could be cooked, consulted a few favorite cookbooks then put them away and went to work. I didn't want much fuss either.

I slashed each fish and placed them to mingle with a combo of soy, sherry and sesame oil topped with shredded scallion and ginger in a dish. Cleaning the mussels, I was just craving spice so the simple prep there involved mashing the shallots, some sambal chili paste and fish sauce together into a paste. And, an onion was sliced too--some sugar, salt and lime put aside for the finish. Two cups of Jasmine rice went on the stove to steam. Corn shucked, I mashed some butter, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper together and divided it between individual small bowls. All food prep aside, the cocktails were

made in bulk ahead of time watermelon juice (made by pureeing and draining the flesh), ginger, honey, lime was shaken together with Appleton's rum and stuck in the fridge for guest arrival. Fresh mint leaves made the garnish.

Just before dinner, I started the mussels; sauteed the onions, added the sambal paste, stirred a bit and dumped in the mussels which cooked about 8 minutes before being finished with the salty, sweet and sour flavors. Those went to the table while the fish, stacked in cabbage-lined steamer baskets over boiling water cooked on the stove next to the steaming corn BOTH of which finished just as we slurped up our last bits of salty spicy mussel broth. Dishes cleared and to the table came the fish, rice and corn. The fish was like firm custard, lightly scented by the marinated flavors but only ever so gently. But beware, whole fish is not to be served to any old guest. It takes patience and know-how to pick through the bones and remove the flesh bit by bit from the central skeleton.

I was sure my guests for this dinner could handle it. Otherwise, just go for fillets or steaks instead. And what better guests are there than those who can devour the entire fish AND come bearing the dessert. This included homemade fleur de Lait ice cream (made without eggs but instead with milk and cornstarch) and fresh gooseberry sauce. It was the perfect finish for this meal--a combo of sweet, sour, tangy and mysterious--at least to me, a gooseberry neophyte.

CHOWDER AND FISH

Here's my two year old nephew with his first fish. Very exciting.

And, for those facebook friends who've asked, here is the New England clam chowder recipe I use http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/new-england-clam-chowder-with-bacon. It was developed for a whole story I did on chowders so if Manhattan, fish, lobster or corn chowda's tickle your fancy you can find them in the same place.

JAPANESE DINNER FOR SUMMER

At a fav NYC restaurant Yakitori Toto http://tottonyc.com/ here is one of the meals I crave in the summer. Fresh, homemade udon noodles are chilled and served over a platform of connected ice cubes with shaved scallions and a light soy dipping sauce. We drink a chilled, strong, piquant sake. Plus a few charred skewers of chicken oysters too.

COOKING CLASS

This week my friend and colleague Sarah Carey and I gave a charity cooking class to benefit The Center For Living at Mt. Sinai http://www.mountsinai.org/patient-care/service-areas/geriatrics-and-aging/areas-of-care/martha-stewart-center-for-living which focuses on healthy aging (or, as I like to call it--Youthing). Victor scored this auction item and invited his friends Addie, Robin and Cynthia to our test kitchens for the class.

Sarah demo'd a peach pot pie from the July issue of MSL http://www.marthastewart.com/article/peaches-progress-masumotos-orchard. One of her tips? When making pie dough in the Cuisinart, just pulse your (super chilled) butter/flour ten times. The cold butter pieces should be smaller then a pea but bigger than a lentil (this is what creates the steam hence flake in your dough). The cold water then goes in (a little less then the recipe calls for)--pulse slightly and check the dough. It should hold together when squeezed between two fingers. If it doesn't then add the rest of your water and pulse again.

I did the Paella from MH, p181. My tip is on lobster. Everyone cooks lobster differently. I put 1-inch of water in a large pot and brung it to a boil. Add the lobsters and cover. Steam between 13-15 minutes for 1-2-lb lobsters. Clip the claw and drain the liquid post cooking to avoid pools of water on your plate. Also we offered, the simple and fresh Tomato/Avocado Salad, MH p.95. We couldn't help but have cocktails waiting for them which we chose from EDF, the Watermelon Cucumber Cooler (from EDF July/August) which I demo'd in Chicago. This drink is now a summer staple of mine. We took a leisurely hour to teach and work together and then sat for our meal, accompanied by a chilled Rioja rose wine.

This menu was really manageable to pull off and all the flavors worked together well. Thanks to Victor for supporting such a great cause and getting his friends behind the scenes in our test kitchens.

QUICK PICKZ

It's that time or year when the abundance of fresh produce can be overwhelming, Many a time, I've gone to the farmers market with a loose plan in mind and returned home laden with way more produce than I can handle. That's where the quick pickz come in. Put some up--it's easy. Here's a simple formula you can employ for whatever fresh crispy veges stirs your fancy! http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/quick-pickles In this picture cucumbers are used along with the stems of Swiss chard (an excellent use for these tasty trimmings) and thnnly sliced raw turnips too. The awesome thing is that these pickz are the most wonderful flavor component to any barbecued meat. The crispy acidic crunch alongside the smokey spicy, juicy, drippy , fatty meat is what I'm talking about.

TASTE OF CHICAGO

Am home from "Taste" (as the locals call it). No, we didn't miss ANY meals. And, thanks to everyone for their suggestions on Chicago dining--we had a few highs, just one low but no need to dwell on that. A couple things I loved about the weekend: photo opp under the Taste sign had me flanked by a biracial family and gay couple--both posing for a pic. Aside from all the other tons of folks I saw and met in Chicago--this says it all for me. Every family/marriage no matter what it looks like is equally beautiful!

The turnout for my demo was great. I cooked Chicken wings from Mad Hungry (see earlier post for the recipe) and two Everyday Food recipes: An arugula corn salad and THE MOST delicious drink, a watermelon-cucumber cocktail which is as good soft and it is hard (with added vodka). See http://everydayfoodblog.marthastewart.com/ for more on ideas like that. The pics of these boys who turned up in their own homemade shirts really touched me. Mostly because they printed lines on the back which are from the book and are very meaningful to me.

Dinner at Publican http://thepublicanrestaurant.com/ with my colleagues Jen and Katie was a thrill. Aside from the ham sampler--this roasted beet and burrata salad has me dreaming for the first chance I get to make it at home. That's often how it works folks. You taste something out that you can't get out of your head--something you hadn't thought of yourself. Then you go home and try to replicate it. And sometimes you nail it and it becomes a home favorite. Every single detail of this meal was right. I'll post more pics tomorrow. For some reason this blog format limits me to 5 pictures (unless I just haven't figured it out yet). The pork belly, ham roasted in hay, glazed turnips with honey and fried rosemary, pickles, etc. The wine pairing--a Gruner Veltliner (an Austrian white) and a few other treats too. A Flemish sour ale came with the ham and a sparkling mead wine came before dessert. Oh the dessert was a simple dream too. Strawberry granita (from the best, fresh, local strawberries layered with whipped cream and topped with the same berries sliced and dehydrated (crunchy)--a perfect ending to a porky festival.

Today Jen (MSL's Editorial food director) demo's the Apricot stuffed pork and creamed corn form the July Issue of MSL http://www.marthastewart.com/martha-stewart-living. See here for a pic of those awesome recipe that I'm also making fist chance I get http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mad-Hungry/105147526028?ref=ts. Both dishes are perfect for summer entertaining. Embedded in the recipe is the simplest peach jam recipe you ever did see. So if you want homemade jam but are intimidated then check it out. It doesn't even have added pectin in it!

Funny to arrive home to a meal cooked by hubs and sons featuring marinated and slow smoked pork shoulder. I was just in time to clean up since the thought of any more pork (until tomorrow) could not be entertained.