Category: Food

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Recipe: Chicken Tortilla Soup with Lime

There’s a delicious chicken tortilla soup at a favorite local restaurant, Tlapazola Grill in Venice. What makes their soup so special is in the name; it’s listed on the menu as lemon chicken tortilla soup (and they’re generous with the lemon juice). We tried it at home with leftover chicken and used fresh lime juice.

For our version of chicken tortilla soup with lime:

Add leftover chicken to a simmering pot of homemade chicken-vegetable stock, with roughly chopped celery, carrots, and fennel. Simmer until vegetables are softened but still firm. Before serving, add the juice of one or two limes and chopped avocado, then finish with broken tortilla chips. Optional: Add queso fresco (i.e. Mexican cheese) and cilantro. Serve and enjoy.

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Recipe: Kale Salad with Radish, Fennel and Parm

I’m suddenly crazy for kale and made this salad, based loosely on one a friend recently ordered from the deli section of Rose Cafe in Venice–I reached across the table with my fork to try it and made a mental note to make it at home. I don’t recall all the ingredients in their version of the salad and it’s not on their online menu, but I remembered the kale and radishes. To make it more of a meal, I added quinoa. To make: Simply blanch the kale and let it cool, then toss it with some quinoa, radish, fennel, and a handful of shaved parmesan. Dress it with a basic lemon-olive oil vinaigrette. Yum.

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Drink Recipe: Hibiscus Green Tea

This drink is simple to make and tastes crisp and refreshing. I made a large batch for a Cinco de Mayo celebration (turning in into a hibiscus green tea margarita with a splash of tequila and a lime slice and adding hibiscus tea ice cubes), but you can also make a single or small serving easily.

The hibiscus tea isn’t really tea; it’s an infusion made by simmering dried hibiscus flowers in a pot of water for about 10 minutes. (I get the dried flowers from my favorite specialty food shop in LA, Surfas). Without sweetener, the hibiscus tea is super-tart, similar to cranberry juice. To make the tea, I blend 1/3 green tea with 2/3 hibiscus tea, let it cool, then sweeten it to taste with agave syrup. Yum.

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Smell It, Taste it: Mmmmm, Chocolate

I read a report today that Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld loves chocolate but does not eat it. (This immediately brought to mind the story of Peter, AKA No Coffee Guy, whom I met during a weekend at Fire Island. Before going out one night, Peter’s housemate was brewing a pot of coffee and Peter commented about how good it smelled. But when I suggested he grab a cup, he replied that he didn’t drink it. He loved the smell, he said, but didn’t drink it. Then he added that he had never tried it. Loved the smell but had never tasted it? He could not provide a reason why and I was puzzled. Not trying crack? I get that. But coffee? That was the first sign that Peter was going to be a drip. Yes, pun definitely intended!) Back to Mr. Lagerfeld. He is quoted in W magazine as saying that the smell of chocolate is enough for him, that he can eat chocolate with his nose. Puzzled again. Barring a serious health issue, how bad can chocolate be when consumed in moderation? Mmmm, rich, dark chocolate. I consume some every day and savor every bite, even if it’s only one tiny piece. Lagerfeld finished by saying he would love a perfume based on chocolate. Someone should send him Cacao, the beautiful perfume already made by Aftelier Perfumes. As with all of her other amazing scents, Mandy Aftel uses only natural ingredients (no synthetics), and this one has a base of chocolate and vanilla with citrus and jasmine sambac top and middle notes—all to make it absolutely intoxicating and, well, delicious.

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Peeps and Food Rules

I’ve always been a fan of Peeps marshmallow treats and discovered that putting a flame to it gives it a sweet caramelized coating. I’ve toasted Peeps over a Weber grill and a fire pit; the one pictured here was toasted on a skewer over the flame of the gas stove.

I have been breaking a couple of my food rules on holidays like Easter, when I give in to temptation and eat candy with artificial colors and artificial flavors (and other ingredients I ordinarily avoid). Peeps and Jelly Belly jelly beans are against the rules, but I made an exception. This year, I also had a bag of Surf Sweets jelly beans, which are made without artificial colors or flavors, and I ate more of those than the less-natural Jelly Belly beans. It’s always exciting to find a better-for-you replacement for a favorite sweet treat. I haven’t had Red Vines licorice in a year and still miss it, but I developed a love for the more-natural licorice from Paul Newman Organics. So far, I have not found a pure version of Peeps, but I have an alternate plan for next year. I use Michael Pollan’s “Food Rules” as my guiding force in making choices on what foods to consume, and one of Pollan’s rules is you can have junk food if you make it yourself. So, for next year: homemade Peeps with ingredients I choose and approve.

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Recipe: Arugula Salad with Strawberries and Parmesan

I saw a Martha Stewart recipe for arugula salad with strawberries and thought there was parmesan in it, but I had that wrong. I like shaved parmesan in a salad, so I improvised and added it to my version of the salad anyway. I love the peppery arugula with the sweet strawberries.

Arugula Salad with Strawberries and Shaved Parmesan Cheese
Baby arugula
Sliced strawberries, quartered
Shaved parmesan cheese

For the vinaigrette, whisk together two parts olive oil to one part balsamic vinegar, with a squeeze of honey, a dash of sea salt, and cracked pepper.

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Recipe: Vegetable Stock

I recently started making my own vegetable stock and cannot believe I went all these years without using the vegetable castoffs that usually get tossed in the garbage. This couldn’t be easier and more satisfying to make. Simply take all the ends, peels, skins, and other vegetable parts you would ordinarily throw out and save them in a securely covered bowl in the fridge. When you have at least a few cups of vegetable remains, put them in a large pot, cover with filtered water, and add a handful of peppercorns, a teaspoon of sea salt, and a bay leaf or two. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Let cool and drain, storing the vegetable stock in glass jars.

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Recipe: Paella on the Grill

Mr. MVP and I have made a seafood paella before and now we’ve got a great version with chicken and chorizo. Biggest way this differs from most recipes is that we use tomatoes instead of peppers.

1 pound of chicken thighs and legs

2 links of chorizo sausage

6 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock, or combination of chicken and vegetable stock)

1/4 cup olive oil

1 onion, chopped

10 garlic cloves,  5 of them chopped, 5 left whole

3 cups cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes (or both)

1 chili pepper, chopped without the seeds

3 cups Spanish rice

1 tsp. saffron threads

1 tsp. sweet paprika powder

1 tsp. smoked paprika powder

1 tsp. salt

3 lemons, cut into wedges

Parsley

Seafood: optional (we like a dozen clams and mussels)

Salt chicken and cut chorizo into 1-inch pieces, then set aside meat before lighting the wood-fired grill. Heat the olive oil in the paella pan over the grill and brown the chicken and chorizo. Remove meat from the pan and set aside. Add the onion, chili pepper, and garlic to the pan and stir gently, letting them soften and lightly brown. Add the rice and stir it in the pan as the color changes slightly, cooking for 4-7 minutes. (Note: no more stirring from this point on.) Add the stock and spices and let it simmer until it looks like more than half the stock has been absorbed. Add the tomatoes and half the lemon wedges and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the meat and cook for another 5 minutes with the top down, to pick up smoke flavor from the grill. (If you’re adding clams and/or mussels, add them now and let them steam open.) Serve with the remaining lemon wedges and parsley sprinkled on top.

paella_pic

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Mermaids: Mardi Gras King Cake with a Twist

My friend Rebecca went to college in New Orleans and suggested we mark Mardi Gras with a New Orleans King Cake for dessert following our Sunday dinner party. The traditional version of the cake has a plastic baby doll hidden inside, but I suggested a small plastic mermaid (the kind you find on the side of a cocktail glass; we keep a few in our garden). Our friend Maya was the lucky one who found the mermaid in her piece of cake.

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Leftover Meat Mondays: Pasta with Sausage and Baby Broccoli

Mr. MVP and I talked about being part of the “Meatless Monday” movement. We didn’t have to be convinced that going meatless at least one day a week can be good–for the environment, for your health, for your wallet. So we enjoyed a few consecutive meatless Mondays. But then we had extra chicken from a Sunday barbecue and wanted to make tacos with the leftovers on Monday. And then we had some remaining steak from another Sunday dinner and decided to make bolognese sauce the next day with the leftovers. We grill a lot on the weekends and don’t like to let leftovers go to waste, so now we’re going to try for Meatless Tuesdays or Wednesdays and we’re going to make sure we compose leftover meals that don’t feel like leftover meals–making them good enough to be prepared and enjoyed any day, even if you aren’t trying to use what you don’t want to waste.

Yesterday: 
Italian sausage on the grill, part of a mixed grill and pizza dinner

Leftovers: 
Sausage

Today’s Leftovers Meal: 
Pasta with baby broccoli and sausage

Pasta with Baby Broccoli and Sausage
While pasta of your choice is cooking, cut the leftover sausage into bite-size pieces. In a saucepan, saute several cloves of garlic in olive oil until garlic is soft but not browned. Add 1/2 cup vegetable stock and baby broccoli and cover until broccoli is tender but still firm. Remove broccoli and add sausage bites to the saucepan with a splash of some more vegetable stock and cook on medium until heated. Toss pasta with sausage, broccoli, and parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

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Blood and Chocolate: Valentine’s Day Dinner

For our “Blood and Chocolate” Valentine’s Day dinner, we served steak for dinner and chocolate fondue for dessert. Guests brought the steaks: rib eye, New York strip, filet mignon, chuck roast. We added buffalo tri-tip to the mix. (Oh, it wasn’t all beef; we also had roasted root vegetables and a salad of mixed greens with pears, Pecorino Romano and crispy prosciutto.) Dessert was chocolate fondue (recipe from Eric Ripert via Food & Wine), with pound cake, toasted croissant, banana, raspberries, caramel, and sugar shortbread cookies for dipping.

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Touchdown: Chili Recipe

Mr. MVP said the football playoffs called for chili dogs, which gave me a chance to play with my recipe.

Chili Recipe
3 lbs. ground meat (pork, beef or combo)
2 10 oz. cans of pinto beans, drained
2 28 oz. cans of chopped tomatoes

1 carrot, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 chili pepper, chopped and with seeds removed
1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped and with seeds removed
1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. sweet paprika
1 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1.5 oz. dark chocolate (1/2 large bar)
1 tbsp. honey
1 cinnamon stick

Brown the meat with salt and pepper (optional: add sprinkle of paprika).
Layer ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on high for four hours.
Serve and enjoy.