YUMMY BANANA PECAN MUFFINS

Today I was inspired by a bowl of quickly ripening bananas.  I have been making banana muffins for as long as my children can remember.  There was a time when I made them 2-3 times a month, no longer needing the recipe because it was forever imprinted in my memory banks.  In my never-ending quest to serve my family nourishing yet DELICIOUS food, I decided to experiment with my already pretty healthy recipe.  The recipe I have been using for the past 16 years is from Food & Wine magazine.  I actually came up with a better tasting (and healthier) muffin by using mostly whole wheat flour instead of all white, substituting agave for half of the sugar, and by adding a couple of tablespoons of ground flax seeds.

The muffins were very moist and flavorful because of the addition of the agave.  Agave tastes a tiny bit like molasses so it adds its own flavor character to the recipe.   Sometimes when whole-wheat flour is substituted in recipes, the end product can end up being a bit dry.  Because agave is a liquid(slightly less viscous than honey), the additional moisture ends up balancing out the addition of the whole-wheat flour.

RECIPE

½ cup chopped pecans

1 cup whole-wheat flour

¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

2 Tbs. ground flax seeds

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup agave syrup(nectar)

2 large eggs

½ cup canola oil

3 medium overripe bananas (mashed)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·      Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat two 6 cup muffin tins with cooking spray.

·      In a medium bowl, whisk the flours with the ground flax seeds, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.  In another bowl, combine the sugar, agave, eggs and oil and beat at high speed until lighter in color around 2 minutes.  Add the mashed bananas and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Stir in the dry ingredients until thoroughly blended.  Fold in the nuts

·      Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins filling almost to the top.  Bake in the middle of the oven for 22 minutes.  Let the muffins cool in the tins for 5 minutes before turning them out onto a rack to cool completely.

CELERIAC AND CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH WHITE TRUFFLE OIL

Compared to the bounty of August, it’s slim pickings at the Farmers market lately.  Celeriac, more commonly known as Celery Root,  is one of the vegetables that are still available.  Since today was an absolutely perfect day to make a pot of soup, I did just that.  I wanted a creamy, flavorful soup without having to actually use cream.  I thought that by combining cauliflower with the celeriac, the texture of the soup would be silkier and more substantial.  I envisioned finishing the soup with white truffle oil so as I cooked, I chose seasonings that would complement that.

This is a great soup!  It's hardy and filling and at the same time healthy.  The white truffle oil not only looks elegant drizzled on top, but really adds another layer of flavor that makes the soup taste much more complex than it’s simple ingredients would lead us to believe.

CELERIAC AND CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH WHITE TRUFFLE OIL

2 TBS  butter

1 TBS olive oil

1 large onion, diced

2 large leeks, white and pale green parts only, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

11/2 bulbs celeriac, medium dice(4 cups diced)

1 head cauliflower broken into florets

5 cups chicken stock

3 sprigs fresh thyme

salt & pepper

good quality white truffle oil

Place the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add the onion, leeks, garlic and crushed red pepper and cook until tender approximately 10 minutes.  Add the celeriac, cauliflower, chicken stock and thyme to the pan.  Bring the stock to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until the celeriac is tender.  Remove the thyme sprigs and puree the soup with an immersion blender or by transferring it into a blender.  Season generously with salt and a bit of black pepper.  Ladle soup in bowls and drizzle some white truffle oil on top.

TARRY MARKET

I have discovered a new gem of a place not far from my home.  It is called Tarry Market.  It’s part of an interesting new retail concept created by the amazing duo of Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich.  These two wunderkind have opened an upscale Italian restaurant, a wine store specializing in Italian wines and the market where I sit now, all on the same block in Port Chester, New York.  All three venues are preceded by “Tarry”, so there's Tarry Lodge, Tarry Wine and Tarry Market. 

When you walk into Tarry Market, you instantly feel like you’ve been transported to a small village in Tuscany.  The only difference is that the café, butcher, cheese maker, fishmonger, salumeria and bakery are all located under one roof.  Upon entering Tarry market, you are greeted with an expansive coffee bar.   You can make yourself comfortable at one of the several café tables or at a seat at the white marble topped bar that runs along the parameter of the front windows.   The space is warm and cozy, a perfect spot for lunch or an afternoon coffee.

A menu consisting of salads, panini sandwiches and calzones is offered all day.  You can also take the DIY approach by heading back to the market, which is located right behind the coffee bar. On a recent visit for lunch, I picked out a square of butternut focaccia; a wedge of cheese and some marinated roman artichokes.  On a more recent visit, I ordered the prime rib sandwich from the butcher counter.  The prime rib is seasoned with their special porcini rub and then put on the rotisserie.  It is sliced very thin and then piled on a freshly baked roll with a drizzle of olive oil as the finishing touch. I eat beef approximately once a month but this sandwich could easily change that.  It is absolutely amazing!  If you’re in the mood for something sweet, they offer an interesting selection of gelatos with flavors like olive oil, Guinness, lemon basil and caramel.   If baked goods are what you are craving, then opt for a Madeleine, scone, chocolate roll or their version of French toast, which is a slice of brioche baked with almond paste and dusted with powdered sugar, yum! 

 How about a glass of wine while you grocery shop?  No problem!  All you have to do is insert your credit card into the Enomatic Elite Wine Dispenser, choose one of the eight wines offered and then choose the portion amount.  There are three portion choices ranging from a taste to a full glass.  I used the dispenser last week to try a wine that I have read about and have been dying to try but haven’t because of its prohibitive price tag.  I felt much more comfortable splurging on a bottle after discovering that I loved the wine.  Tarry wine is attached to the market so you don’t have to make an additional stop at the wine store after procuring your groceries.

I like to go to Tarry Market when I am having guests for dinner because just walking past the various food counters inspire many menu ideas.    I usually start at the butcher or seafood section to choose my main course then I move on from there, adding items as I go to round out the meal.  

I love veal chops and these looked amazing.  After asking the butcher to french the bones, I marinated them for 8 hours in olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, bruised rosemary, crushed garlic and red pepper flakes.  Adam grilled them until they were medium rare, then we let them sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Next I moved on to the fresh pasta counter where I chose the butternut squash ravioli.  I usually toss them in browned butter and fresh sage but I wanted to serve them in a cream sauce this time.  I sautéed a chopped shallot in three tablespoons of butter until soft.  I added1½ cups of cream and 3 Tablespoons of maple syrup.  I let the sauce thicken a bit over low heat and then added a dash of nutmeg and seasoned with salt and pepper.  I added the cooked ravioli to the simmering cream sauce and cooked for an additional minute while stirring gently.

I didn’t have time to make a fussy appetizer, so I picked out an assortment of foods that I could put on a platter and serve.  I chose the Cremont cheese because it looked perfectly ripened and ready to be served that night.  The Roman artichokes are delicious and I knew our dinner guests would love them.

The focaccia is excellent!  My favorite is the Butternut squash and goat cheese but there was butternut squash in the ravioli so I went with the broccoli rabe and sausage. Thanks to Tarry Market, shopping for groceries has actually become an adventure. Imagine that!  Additionally, I have a new hangout where I can grab a coffee and check my e-mails (Starbucks was starting to get a bit dull if you know what I mean).  Check it out if you live in the area and if you don’t, then try the veal and pasta recipes.  They were quite tasty if I do say so myself!

More Rain..........

Even Lucy is tired of the rain!

Another rainy day in Connecticut and the schools were closed today in honor of the Rosh Hashanah Holiday. Since all of us were in the house at lunchtime, I decided to make a nice sit-down lunch.  “Pantry Soup” is one of my all time favorite recipes because I always have the ingredients on hand and more importantly it’s delicious.  I tend to make it on unexpected snow days or when I need a quick, easy dinner and don’t have time to get to the grocery store.

Our Rainy Day Lunch

For the salad, I used frisée and romaine and then tossed in 1 chopped apple, a couple tablespoons of pine nuts and some crumbled goat cheese.  I had made a double batch of dressing for my “Sunday Supper with Molli” so I used that.

Mixed Greens with Apples, Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

Do not worry about perfect measurements with this soup.  I never measure anything when making it and the soup always ends up tasting great!  I sauté 2-3 onions and 2 cloves of garlic in 5-6 Tablespoons of butter.  When the onions are translucent and soft, I add two cans of whole tomatoes, 3-4 cups of chicken stock and salt & pepper.  I let that simmer for 15-20 minutes and then remove from heat.  I use an immersion blender to puree the soup and Voilá, Pantry Soup!  

Pantry Tomato Soup

To round out the meal, I heated up a loaf of whole grain bread which I served with some butter sprinkled with a bit of Maldon salt. It was a lovely, cozy lunch and we made the best of the bad weather but I really can't wait for the cool, crisp sunny days of Fall.

Paris On My Mind

It’s a rainy day in the northeast today, so instead of sprinting though my day and attacking my “to do” list with determination, I decided to pour myself a second cup of coffee and stay put.

As I sat on my sofa, still wearing my pajamas, I started to think about my recent trip to Paris.  The weather, as I described to my husband over the phone, was perfect.  It was just like September in Connecticut; beautiful and sunny 70 degree days followed by chilly nights that begged for a cashmere wrap.  Well, fortunately I had Paris in August because this September isn’t quite living up to its fabulous reputation.

As many of you know (and for those who don’t, like myself), many of the great restaurants of Paris close the entire month of August for vacation.  I discovered this fact as soon as I started looking into making dinner reservations the week before I left. Since searching out and dining at good restaurants is one of the greatest joys of traveling for me, I refused to be deterred.  I spent hours researching well rated, value driven restaurants that would be open the week I was there.  I ended up finding some absolute jewels that I would go back to even if every restaurant in Paris were open!  If you are thinking about or planning a trip to Paris, here is my list of favorites:

Chez Casimir

It was not love at first sight upon entering Chez Casimir.  I had three teenage girls in tow so I was a little nervous when I found the restaurant to be less than half full and in a very quiet neighborhood. The room is bright and bare.  A hand scrawled black board menu hangs on a wall and there is a small bar in the corner.  The restaurant offers a prixe fix menu for 29 euros, that includes an appetizer, entrée and dessert.  This is an amazing deal, that became even more apparent as the food started to arrive.  I started off with the house made pâté, which was excellent.  My main course consisted of a perfectly cooked tuna steak served over a bed of roasted fennel. The cheese plate came next, which was a lot of fun because the same cheese plate gets passed from table to table.  As you can see in the photo, it boasts an abundant selection of cheeses.  For dessert, I went with the stewed apricots with lavender infused ice cream, which was delicious!  This is my favorite kind of food; simply prepared dishes using fresh, seasonal and high quality ingredients. Service was friendly and half way through our dinner; the restaurant had filled up so there was a delightful din around us.  Conversations flowed freely from table to table so by the time we left the restaurant, we had made quite a few new friends!  The good, straightforward food combined with the fun atmosphere more than made up for the simple, almost drab interior. I will definitely go back to this quintessential neighborhood restaurant.  I’ve heard the Sunday brunch is fantastic!

6, rue de Belzunce

10^th arrondissement

01 48 78 28 80

Café Constant

Renowned French chef, Christian Constant, owns this tiny restaurant in the 7^th arrondissement, just blocks from the Eiffel Tower.  He also owns the more expensive and very highly rated restaurant, Le Violon D’Ingres just down the street. There is a no reservation policy at this restaurant so Molli and I were very lucky to snag the last available table on the second floor when we arrived.   Our waitress was excellent. She was young, very pleasant and spoke perfect English.  As casual as this restaurant is, there is an air of sophistication here.  The polite wait staff know their stuff and the food coming out of the kitchen is thoughtfully prepared.  The menu is priced by the course with the appetizers at 11 euro, entrees, 15 euro and the desserts at $7 euro.  This is another incredible value especially when taking into account the great chef commandeering the kitchen.  If I knew I was going to be writing a blog at the time, I would have taken photos and paid more attention to the details of the food but you’re going to have to trust me on this one.  I had all three courses and each one was perfect.  Molli and I split the chocolate quenelles with crème anglaise for our dessert and couldn’t have been happier.  This is a popular spot with a limited amount of tables so if you don’t arrive early, then expect a wait.  The wait however doesn’t look so bad.  When we left, the crowd outside the door seemed to be quite content standing on one of the prettiest streets in Paris and enjoying a glass of wine.

139 Rue Saint-Dominique

7^th Arrondissement

01 47 53 73 34

L’avant Comptoir/Le Comptoir du Relais

My new friend, Wendy Lyn introduced me to this wine bar and restaurant on the food tour she took me on in August.  They are both owned by chef Yves Camdeborde and are both situated in the Hotel du Relais Saint-Germain.  Not until writing this post did I realize that Yves once worked side by side with Christian Constant. L’avant Comptoir is a very casual (hole in the wall comes to mind) wine bar that serves small plates of food also known as tapas.  There are no tables or bar stools here because there is no room for any; you either belly up to the bar or claim your spot on the sidewalk outside.  The wines on the menu are from small-scale producers throughout France.  Wendy and I each had a glass of Marcel Lapierre’s 2010 Morgon, which was delicious.  It was young, fruity and probably one of the best Beaujolais I’ve ever had.  Even though we had been eating our way through Saint-Germain the entire afternoon, Wendy ordered a tapas that consisted of a crispy waffle topped with artichoke puree, thinly sliced Iberico ham and a drizzle of the greenest olive oil.  The flavors were intense and I loved the contrasting textures.

Two nights later, even though Wendy warned me that reservations for Le Comptoir du Relais were made 3-4 months in advance, I took my chances and made my way back to the left bank.  The hip bistro was packed but I walked right up to the maître d’ and asked for a table for one.  Surprisingly, he said, “Right this way Madame” and led me to a cute little table overlooking the busy sidewalk. I loved the energy of this restaurant and the food did not disappoint.  I started with a light summer dish of Octopus Carpaccio with a shaved fennel salad and continued with a tuna steak paired with  raw, shaved vegetables.  A glass of rose was the perfect companion for both courses.  The service was attentive and I left reveling in my good fortune.


I left for Connecticut the next day thinking that August in Paris wasn't so bad after all!!

9 Carrefour de l’Odeon

5^th Arrondissement

01 44 27 07 97

Sunday Supper with Molli

Molli and I had a delicious light supper tonight.  It was just the two of us so we ate early and discussed each other’s weekend(she spent the weekend with her dad).  It’s not often when Molli exclaims “Oh my god, this is so good” but that’s what she did tonight after tasting her soup.  Love these nights!  The butternut squash and the pears were from the Farmer’s market and the fresh chives were cut from our herb garden.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 medium sized butternut squash, cut up into 1½ inch cubes

2 medium sized yellow onions, quartered

1 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder (I get mine at Balducci’s or Williams Sonoma)

1 tsp. kosher salt

6 sprigs thyme

1-2 Tbs. olive oil

4-5 cups of chicken stock

Fresh chives
pepper and salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Peel and cube butternut squash and quarter the onions.  Place both on a large cookie sheet and drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, sprinkle the Chinese five-spice powder and kosher salt, toss to coat.  Add sprigs of thyme, tucking them under the squash and onions.

Roast squash mixture for 45 minutes; tossing once or twice until tender and slightly caramelized on the edges.  Discard thyme sprigs and transfer squash mixture to a medium to large soup pan and add the chicken stock.  Using an immersion blender, puree until the soup is smooth, adding more stock if needed.  Heat the soup over a low flame for 5 minutes. Taste the soup and add pepper and more salt according to taste.  Ladle the soup into large bowls and garnish with chopped fresh chives.

Frisée Salad with Dates, Pear and Prosciutto Crisps

1 medium sized head of frisée, washed and spun

3-4 organic medjool dates, pitted and sliced lengthwise

1/3 cup of pecan halves, toasted

1 pear, cored and cut into a medium dice

9-10 mint leaves, torn into small pieces

4 slices of prosciutto

Olive oil

Dressing

1 ½ Tbs. apple-cider vinegar

½ tsp. grated orange zest

1 Tbs. orange juice

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 Tbs. pure maple syrup

1/3 cup good olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly brush a baking sheet with olive oil, and arrange prosciutto in a single layer.  Place in oven, and bake until crisp, 5 to 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, and let cool on a wire rack.

For the dressing, whisk together the vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, mustard, maple syrup and salt and pepper in a bowl.  Slowly whisk in the olive oil.

In a large bowl, toss together the frisée, dates, pear, mint and pecans.  Toss the salad with just enough dressing to moisten.  Serve topped with prosciutto crisps.

Rosé, Not Just a Summer Wine

I am so happy to see American wine drinkers finally embrace rosé wine.  Each summer for the past couple of years, I’ve seen more and more people ordering and drinking rosé.  I’ve also noticed that our local wine merchants are carrying a much broader selection. For the longest time, many Americans associated rosé with the sickly, sweet pink and white zinfandels or blush wines coming out of California.  If you’ve tasted these wines before, then you understand why rosé would mistakenly get a bad rap.

The yummy rosés that I’m referring to are fermented dry, which means that all of the sugar that was once present in the grape juice (also called must) has been converted to alcohol.  When it comes to white zinfandels or blush wine, the fermentation process is stopped BEFORE the sugar is completely converted to alcohol, leaving some sugar behind.  In wine speak; the leftover sugar is called residual sugar.

Another misconception is the belief that rosé is a blend of both red and white wine.  Rosé wines are actually made from red grapes only.  The beautiful pink and salmon hues come from phenolics that are present in the grape’s skin.  After the grapes are crushed, the skins are left to soak in the juice for a period of time.  This step in winemaking is called maceration.  The maceration process usually takes several days to a few weeks when making red wine.  With rosé wine, the process usually runs for just a few hours; long enough for the juice to turn the color that the winemaker desires.

Rosés range from light to medium body and have a nice balance of acidity to fruit.  This makes them excellent food wines.  Throughout the summer months, I serve rosés with practically everything.  They are perfect with grilled seafood, chicken and burgers.  Pairing wine with salad is always a challenge for me because of the acidity in the dressing but I have found that the fruitiness of rosés make it a great companion.  Rosés are wonderful with egg dishes, which make them a good choice for brunch.  I must admit however, that I enjoy rosés most when served on their own, chilled and poolside!! 

Okay everyone, well summer is OVER!  The good news is that rosé can be consumed year round. I no longer use the grill as much but we eat plenty of fish and poultry throughout the winter months.  I make dishes like roasted chicken, fish stew flavored with fennel and saffron, braised pork with apple cider, and a variety of soups; all of which go wonderfully with rosé.  Another plus is that rosés don’t have to cost a lot of money; my favorite ones are priced below $15. So why stop drinking it just because it’s known as being a “summer wine”?  My advice to all you wine drinkers is to head to your favorite wine store this weekend and stock up on enough rosé to last the winter.  Based on how much you consume, you can do the math, keeping in mind that the newly released 2011 rosés will make their appearance come spring. 

I will leave you with one last bit of advice.  Rosés do not age well.  You should be drinking the 2010’s right now.  2009’s are fine but the “drinking window” on those is quickly closing.  Most wine experts recommend drinking rosés for up to two years after they are bottled.  Once bottled, wine starts to lose its fruit flavors.  Rosés are meant to be fruity; that’s what makes them so great. So lets raise a glass to drinking more rosé in the coming months.  Cheers!