Summer Lunch - All Day Eating with Friends

July 23, 2022

JuanCarlos and I are super fortunate in many ways. And when it comes to the friend category, we absolutely score. We have the most amazing friends, all over the country. One such lovely group lives in Princeton, NJ and are always willing to make the long drive to visit us. Given the time they invest in traveling, JuanCarlos and I make sure that we prepare an all day affair filled with delectable bites. The food ranges from easy and simple mixed with some other items that require a tad more prep. But the fun part is that we keep it casual and flowing, bringing out items as they are ready. It allows us to mingle, chat, and relax without any formal schedule yet with plenty of food from which to choose. It’s like a grazing event.

I actually love this type of entertaining because it affords me the opportunity to prepare a variety of different plates. Sometimes I get overly enthused, and just want to offer up the world… on a platter. It feeds my need to experiment plus have a group of food lovers to test out my ideas. I will admit that often times I have to reign myself in for parties. I get so excited, wanting to make more dishes than are humanely possible to consume, unless an army shows up. That said, I do a good job of keeping to amounts that makes sense.

I know I’m always giving advice about making a plan, having a budget, being organized, etc. All of which are necessary. Having a list, knowing what to buy, prep and what to make when, plus staying within your financial limits all are essential. I keep to the first rules diligently. List making, organizing, prepping; that’s my jam. Which is why I included a printable complete shop/prep/menu list at the end of the blog if you choose to replicate this menu. However, one thing I will admit openly; we rarely, if ever, follow a budget. JuanCarlos and I are both of the same mindset. If we are hosting, we will make whatever we deem is appropriate for the occasion and not be concerned about the cost. I don’t recommend this approach for everyone. Having a budget in mind helps to keep you on track and from over buying.

Ok, enough chit chat. This post is going to be chock full of food, so the least said the better. Although, I believe I’ve past that point already. Onward!

Table Setting

I’ve said it a thousand times, as my many posts dedicated to table settings will prove, and I will continue to say it. DO NOT skimp on your outdoor table. Plain and simple: Make it inviting.

Note: If you want me to stop saying it, send me some photo examples of your tables and I will dispense with the repetitive table setting suggestion.

I chose a bold green and black tablecloth that is similar to the one I recently featured Green & Black: A Graphic Table Setting .

I laid a neutral table runner with a bold, black graphic design across the wooden table that was used as a buffet. . I felt that the dramatic outline paired well with that of the tablecloth. I then kept everything else extremely simple.

I bought this khaki colored table runner from IKEA. It was the stark, graphic print that attracted me.

Big white plates, white napkins with a simple rectangle fold placed on the plate lengthwise with the utensils atop. Flowers were from Trader Joe’s. Nothing expensive or extravagant put a fresh pop of color that complemented the tablecloth colors.

I love the contrast of magenta and lime green. In a pinch, you can’t beat Trader Joe’s for flowers.

Drinks
Have a variety of drinks, but don’t go overboard. I can tell you from experience, people aren’t expecting to have every drink option under the sun. We used to offer a full bar, but through the years have pared down considerably on our offerings.

First tip, know your crowd. If most of your guests enjoy beer over wine, buy accordingly. Our groups are typically wine drinkers. No surprise there. So we offer a variety of wines, sparkling and flat water plus I usually make home iced tea as a non alcoholic option.

Second tip, be gracious; pour and refill your guests glasses. Sure, you would hope they feel comfortable serving themselves, but not everyone will. And it certainly makes them feel special when you are an attentive host.

Starter | Appetizers

Have a 2-3 different dishes.

You all know that I’m a huge fan of the ubiquitous cheese/charcuterie platter. Since this was a warm August day I wanted to keep the starters less fussy without tons of cheeses melting in the sun. Instead I skewed this a bit lighter with a more tamed grazing platter.

Grazing Platter

Mortadella, French Breakfast Radishes with herb salted butter, salchichon, marcona almonds and dates.

Watermelon Salad

Watermelon Squares topped with feta, pickled red onions & mint drizzled with balsamic vinegar over a bed of arugula

Nothing more refreshing than watermelon. Up the ante and top it with tangy feta, sharp pickled onion and the fresh herbaceous hit of mint, a drizzle of balsamic adds sweetness. It’s a party in your mouth.

Stuffed Endive

Endive stuffed with whipped cream cheese & goat cheese two ways:
Strawberry | Grape tomato | Basil
Sautéed Peas | Shallots with Pea Shoots.
Click here for recipe

Endive are the perfect vehicle to deliver food into your mouth. I love stuffing them with tons of fillings. These offerings were perfect for a hot summer day.

Intermezzo

This is a small course that we like to serve in between the appetizers and the main meal. I know what you are saying… Food in between the food courses? Well, I did say it was an all day eating affair. For this occasion we served a surf and turf tasting of scallops and grilled meats.

Butter Seared Scallops with Peas/Shallots

These scallops were seared in a cast iron pan on the grill. I used some of the pea/shallot mixture leftover from the endive dish to accompany the scallop. It was a beautiful pairing, and a tasty bite.

If you can’t get fresh, use frozen peas.

Grilled Meat

No explanation necessary. Grill up some of your favorite meats and serve it family style on a wooden board.

My husband loves, loves, loves to grill. He also loves to have his friends around him while he grills. So offering up both the scallops and the meat right off the flames is right up his alley.

Pluma is the end of the pork loin from an Ibérico pig from Spain. It is moist and tender, and quite the special bite of grilled pork.

My happy grill master, JuanCarlos, chatting it up with Ivor.

Dinner

Salmon Burgers

with Buns & all the fixings (raw red onion slices, pickled red onions, heirloom tomato slices, basil & pea shoots. People can choose whatever floats their boat.

Click here for recipe.

Heirloom tomatoes in big slices, raw and pickled onions, fresh basil. Just that is a great salad!

My gluten & egg free salmon burgers. On this occasion, I encrusted them in cornmeal to give them an extra crunch.

Pea shoots and micro greens are more delicate for the salmon burgers. Plus I had leftover from the endive appetizer, so use what you have.

Our friend, Louisa, has celiac intolerance, and I am wheat intolerant. The gluten & egg free salmon burgers were ideal for us and the rest of our guests. While they enjoyed the burgers with a bun, we each choose a different way to stack our burger using a tomato slab; making it our own.

Spicy Slaw

I love serving this salad because it complements so many dishes. It pairs great with grilled meats or fish. It’s a natural with burgers. So it made sense to sit alongside my salmon burgers.

Click here for recipe.

Spicy Slaw, a crisp, refreshing and hearty salad.

Smashed Baby Potatoes with herb garlic oil

Nothing hard about this one. And the best part is that the majority of this can be made ahead. I use new potatoes, but you really can use any potato you like. Boil them up fork tender but not overdone. Drain well and let them cool slightly on a baking tray. Then using the bottom of a glass or a measuring cup press down on each potato smashing them flat but still keeping them together. You don’t want to fully smash or they will completely fall apart. If making ahead, refrigerator until you are ready to fry them up. To finish them, you can either bake them at 400 degrees in the oven with a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper. You can fry them in a cast iron pan on the stove or on the grill, as we did.

I love serving these with either my marinated feta or a simple herb garlic oil, much like a chimichurri sauce. Simply mince cilantro, parsley, basil, chives, crushed garlic, lemon zest, squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. If you want to kick up the heat, add red pepper flakes. You can add whatever herbs you like or have. Make it your own.

Nothing better that the crispy skin of a potato with the soft interior. Slather with herb oil and you are in heaven!

Grilled Asparagus

If you have grill fired up, might as well throw on some asparagus. It’s a great summertime green BBQ vegetable.

Dessert was a variety of my ice cream sandwiches. More wine and after dinner drinks. We ate. We drank. We talked. We laughed and ate and drank some more. We love spending time with our Princeton pals, and feel so incredibly fortunate that they make the drive to our little haven in Westchester.

My chocolate chip cookie with vanilla chocolate chip ice cream. All homemade, of course.

Chocolate crisp cookie with vanilla chocolate chip ice cream.

Lemon spice cookie with strawberry basil ice cream.

Now this may feel like a ton of food for 6 people. But remember we paced ourselves and were nibbling all day. You don’t have to make all of these. Try a few. But if you do want to tackle this entire menu check out the printable Prep list document for the entire shop, prep, to do rundown.
I hope you have friends that you would enjoy spending all day with. If you do, make it special. It’s worth every minute!

Print Friendly To Do Prep List

Cauliflower, Sweet Potato, Chick Pea Curry

March 17, 2022

As with many of my recipes, they come to fruition out of chance, hence the moniker ‘something from nothing.’ In this case, it just so happened that chance came in the way of an enormous cauliflower. As much as I love my Faux Creamy Cauliflower Soup (and I highly recommend you try it), I was dreaming of another dish from the past. When I used to travel into the NYC for work my commute took me through Grand Central Station. For those NYers, you know that pre-pandemic there used to be a plethora of food choices on the bottom floor, convenient for those of us running for a train. I would sometimes frequent the Indian take out joint for their vegetarian options. One of those was a cauliflower curry, which sometimes had chick peas. (Side note: I would try to eat my Indian food before boarding the train or wait until I got home. Because quite frankly the deep curry aromas, although alluring to me, would be overwhelming to others as they perfumed and permeated the entire train.)

My luck, I always stock my pantry with various beans. Chick peas: checked. I also had some sweet potatoes on hand, and they seemed like a likely player in this mix. Plus they would add some much needed color to this dish. (Cauliflower: white, Chick peas: beige, Coconut milk: white. Sweet potatoes - happy orange!)

Now, you know that I do not proclaim to be an expert in Indian cooking or spices. Far from it. I stick to what I know and use my instincts on quantities and combos. That said I feel like I’ve been batting 1000 on my Indian dish experiments thus far. So, I was feeling pretty confident I could make this dish tasty.

Since I only had the germ of an idea on how to bring this dish to life, I was working through the prep and cooking method as I went along. Typically, I try to make most of my recipes fairly simple without too many steps or without a laundry list of ingredients. Nothing turns me off from trying a new recipe from another chef as 20 ingredients, or a choreographed dance of steps. This one does require a few more than my usual but still all quite manageable. And I’m sure it will go faster for you since while I was riffing on how to do make this I also had to measure, write it down, photograph and then make sure I didn’t get any curry on my camera lens.

Admittedly, the amounts I made were for a small dinner party or a large very hungry family. It’s been just JuanCarlos and I round these parts, so we might be eating this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It made a ton. When I wanted to use up the cauliflower I didn’t realize how enormous it was when I added the sweet potato and chick peas. But you can either cut it down by a quarter or make a large vat of this and freeze it, as I did. It held up pretty well.

Also, you will note that I cut the onions and ginger in two ways. Sometimes the different sizes not only add a texture but it also delivers another flavor depth.

Ingredients

1 lg (1000g/35oz) Cauliflower
5 c (523g/19oz) Sweet Potato, cubed
2-3 med (431g) onions (half diced 1.5c/half large cubes 1.5c)
2 29 oz cans of Chick Peas
1 Qt Vegetable Stock or water (I used the water I cooked the cauliflower/potatoes in)
2 13.5 oz cans Coconut Milk
1/2 c oil
100g ginger 5-6 t grated, rest sliced
2t turmeric
2.5 t cumin
3 t cumin seeds
3 t rounded curry
1/2 t red pepper flakes (add more or less depending on your heat level)
4-5 t salt
1 c Aquafaba (chick pea liquid)
2 heaping T tomato paste

Instructions

Measure out all your spices.

Top row: Salt, Curry Middle Row: Turmeric, Cumin, Tomato Paste Bottom Row: Cumin Seeds, Red Pepper Flakes

2. Prepare all the vegetables: Break cauliflower into large florets. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into cubes. Dice and slice onions, grate and slice ginger so you have everything ready.

Now you can more clearly visualize the Happy Orange that the sweet potato brought to the party.

3. In salted boiling water, cook both cauliflower & potatoes until semi soft. Not mushy, you want them to still have a firmness to them. Strain and place on a baking tray to let cool. Keep the water to use as stock.

Remember to not overcook these. They should be tender but still slightly firm. You can also add an onion and celery to the water to create a veggie stock to use later.

4. Meanwhile, sauté diced onions in oil with salt until soft, approx. 10-12 minutes.

5. Add all the spices and ginger and let toast together 3-4 minutes.

Once the onions are softened, add all the spices and ginger.

6. Add tomato paste, let lightly brown then add cubed onions and 1 c of aquafaba. Let this cook until softened for 5-7 minutes.

You can really start to see all the deep flavors developing. Building up flavors at each level creates a much more flavor packed dish.

7. Add chick peas, stock, coconut milk to the pot and stir together and bring to a soft boil.

I love coconut milk. And in Indian spiced dishes it adds a cooling agent to all the spice.

8. Cut the larger cauliflower florets into smaller bite sized pieces. Then add the cauliflower and sweet potatoes to the pot and simmer to let all the flavors merge.

Taste for additional seasoning.

Serve with rice, add pepitas to top for crunch. The first time I made this dish I opted for paella rice instead of Basmati because I wanted more of a chew the to starch. Short grain rice definitely offered that chubby quality I was looking for. Plus I needed to experiment with it for a dish I’m offering up to my customers. So win win on that front. The second time I made this was for a small dinner party with my sister and brother in law. I serve basmati rice and it was equally delicious. How can any type of rice be bad when it’s goal is to soak up goodness?

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Coconut Milk Poached Monkfish

April 23, 2021

My mind is always going. Thinking, racing and pondering.

And when it comes to food, I’m always making up new combinations with whatever items I have on hand. This approach provides a decent amount of recipes stockpiled in my arsenal.

Back in the day, I mean 2020BP aka Before Pandemic, when creating proposals for catering gigs I had an ample amount of food items from which to choose. With a good range from hot to cold, from meat to fish to vegetarian. Yet even with all those options, I found that each gig offered up opportunities to create new ones. Before the virus hit and shut down all catering work, I had a client who wanted to add a few more fish options to her menu. Since it was going to be a cocktail party with pass-around hors d'oeuvres, I needed to devise a small bite that I could easily execute as well as be easily consumed. I started experimenting with bite sized medallions of cod poached in coconut milk served on a spoon. It was quite tasty, fit all the prerequisites and was slated to part of the menu. However, I never did get to pull off that idea for the client as the party never took place.

Luckily with me, no idea is ever completely tossed aside. Most often, I just create new ideas but I do try to file through my mind catalog when faced with ‘what do I make with this?’ That’s exactly what happened when I had some leftover coconut milk and monk fish. Why not try that same codfish recipe using monk fish? I have poached monk fish before with great success so I felt confident that it would work out.

My hubby, JuanCarlos, wasn’t sure about the coconut milk. He skews more heavily on garlic, wine and butter sauces. But I just wasn’t feeling the butter.

I wanted to use shallots because I really like their subtle onion flavor and softer, more delicate texture, but lock down mode had made it difficult to procure certain items vs. others. There’s always an improvise, and this one came in the bigger sister of a shallot: deeper color, larger size and more intense sibling known as the red onion.

Poaching softens everything. Including my husband’s opinion. Instead of getting a hard sear on the protein, which is his preferred method, poaching gently cooks the protein and provides a luscious finish. There are times when you just need soft and comforting, and that’s just what this delivers, especially when served with rice. If you do want to add some crispy elements to this dish, you can fry up some of the shallots or onions or basil to finish the dish.

The aromatics: red onion, garlic and ginger.

White wine adds some acidity as well as a sweet component to then lightly braise the aromatics.

Cut the fish into medallions, a hefty inch thick.

Add the coconut milk and nestle the fish into the liquid.

Over a medium low heat, cover and gently cook until the fish is tender. Then add basil to finish.

Ingredients

⅔ cup shallot or red onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

1 lb monk fish, cut to 1-½” thick slices

2 tbsp of olive oil

¼ cup sliced ginger

1 cup of dry white wine

¼ cup basil, chopped

1 cup of coconut milk

¼ cup of water

2 tbsp basil, chiffonade

Instructions

1. Sauté onions, garlic and ginger in oil over medium low heat to soften
2. Add white wine, and slowly let the alcohol burn off
3. Add the coconut milk and water, and place fish into liquid. Cover and cook over medium low heat.
4. After 10 minutes, turn fish pieces and add cut basil, cook for another 3-4 min.

Serve with rice:
Hopefully you remember when I shared some tips and tricks, with one of them making extra rice and freezing it. Well, here’s a perfect example of when previous work comes in handy. While you are prepping/cooking the monk, just pull out the bag of frozen rice and gently warm it on the stove top or if you have a microwave. Then spoon the poached monk fish and coconut milk sauce over top. Meal complete.

This dish is warm and comforting. The fish is tender swimming in a creamy sauce with only a slight hint of coconut. Besides the rice, I like serving it a side vegetable of bok choy or grilled asparagus.

Sure, there are certain aspects of catering I miss. Mostly, the creating of the menu and culling together foods that will work with the party’s theme, the client’s taste and guests. But, hey, that’s what I have all of you for; catering at home. So, all’s good.

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Celery Overload - The Star Ingredient

January 11, 2021

If you read my last post you know that we have been getting a good portion of our food supply delivered. Admittedly, a few of those were extravagant purchases; aka caviar and lobster, which we repeated for our New Year’s treat. So, now as I return from cloud 9 and settle back to the reality of creatively nourishing ourselves I offer up a solution for when you have an abundance of one item, and lack of others. The ongoing practice of: Use What You Got.

As I mentioned in that post, there are some items I get from Restaurant Depot and those come in amounts that are way more than what 2 people can easily consume. To be honest, it’s way more than a family of 10 can consume. I hate wasting food ever, but even more so in these times. And so I started using some items in ways I never have before. Like celery. I typically have only used this raw in salads or diced fine as part of a mirepoix (for soups, or sauces). But since we had so much, and were lacking in some other produce areas, I starting sautéing it as the main vegetable. i know this isn’t revoluntionary but how many of you only cut up celery as your side? Not me, but I must say I quite like it.

Given that I had so much I’ve used it before if you recall in my post entitled; 5 Ingredients- 4 Different Dishes.

But on two nights in a row I really went to town using celery for both meals. The first night I used celery stalks, plus whatever straggler veggies I had. Then I sautéed some shrimp, made my Ba-Ba-Basil-ed Potatoes and had a complete meal.

After using up everything the night before, I only had celery and onion for the next meal, and so that truly made celery the star. I topped it with sautéd fish and a scallion basil sauce.

salmon.halibut.celerymeal.jpg — When celery is cut on long diagonal it make a more substantial base.

I am only listing ingredients, not amounts, because this is one of those times that calls for using what you have in the amounts you have. I encourage you to use all your senses to judge how much you want to incorporate. The more you use this skill the sharper it will become. And then there will be a time when you just know how much of an ingredient to add. i know that some of you are already quite skilled at this.

Ingredients

Meal #1 Celery/Onion Sauté with Grilled Shrimp

Celery, sliced
Onions, thinly sliced
Bell Pepper, I had an orange one, use whatever you have
String Beans, sliced on diagonal
Shrimp
Basil-ed Potatoes

For this celery meal, I used a wok for a stir fry effect. Starting with the onions and celery first, then adding the string beans and orange pepper.
I removed those and used the same pan to stir fry the shrimp, which were salted, peppered first.
I had made my Basil-ed potatoes earlier, and then plated it all up.

Although I added a few extra items, celery was the main veg. Since neither the orange pepper or the string beans were enough to make a complete side dish, but enough to beef up the celery and round the whole dish out. Those were the straggler veggies I had. You can do this with a few asparagus, or an extra carrot, whatever you have.

Meal #2 Celery/Onion Saute with grilled Salmon & Halibut
Celery, sliced on the long diagonal
Onions, thinly sliced
Scallions, thinly sliced
Magic 3 (Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper)
Salmon
Halibut

For the Sauce
Scallions
Basil
Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper

Instructions

Simply slice the vegetables as mentioned above. I used a cast iron skillet for this version.
I sautéd the celery, onion and scallion in olive oil, salt and pepper until tender but still with a good firm texture. Then removed the vegetables and used the same pan to grill the fish.

Salt and pepper the fish on both sides and get a good sear before flipping.

I made a simple salsa for the fish using scallions, basil, salt, pepper and olive oil and buzzing it in a mini processor.

The second meal was pretty similar, minus the orange pepper and string beans. But cutting the celery on that extra long diagonal made them a heartier vegetable able to stand on its own.

I quite enjoyed the large amounts of celery. I think the celery also enjoyed stepping out from behind the curtains of its usual supporting player and taking on the leading role in this movie of the week. Who knew celery could be more that a filler. Now I do.

5 Basic Ingredients - 4 Different Dishes

May 1, 2020

Being home in shelter in place means so many things to so many people. It conjures up different experiences for each of us. Some people are using the time to get home projects accomplished. Get their yards ready. Some are decluttering. Some are mastering their skill set like solving puzzles. Others are finding hidden talents like painting, dancing or singing. Maybe you are learning a new language. Whatever this time brings, my wish is that we embrace it.

For me, I’ve gone back to my comfort zone which is cooking and baking, using all the food I have, and using it wisely. This has been, and still is, one of my strong suits. It’s how I honed my cooking skills and harkens back to my ‘something from nothing’ style and overall approach to cooking. Which is; check out what you have and figure out what to make, regardless of the ingredients or the quantities.

For those you who aren’t aware of how I began this style, it started when I was in my late teens, just wanting to experiment at home. (You can also click on my About page for more of my back story.) My grandmother, who was both an awesome cook and amazing baker, and one of my strongest influencers, would look on with doubting eyes as I mixed up and cooked up concoctions for the family to try. I often heard her famous line, “What a “mushgononza”. Which is basically the slang version of the Italian word mezcolanza meaning mixture or mash up of several things. I guarantee you that she meant it more as a mixed up mess. However much she may have doubted me during the cooking process, she inevitably would turn to me and say, ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’ Phew, praise from the master.

My Grandma Perri making her famous peaches & cream cake.

However, I would say that this style of cooking truly took form when I used to visit my sister after she first got married. Jill rarely, ok, never had fresh herbs but usually had a pantry full of canned stuff, and a freezer of frozen items. I would look through her stash and try to figure out what can I make from what was seemingly a hodge podge of items. For more on this, you can click the highlighted link for the Zucchini Orzo Pie story.

From that point, I just kept that style in my own kitchen. Not caring too much about recipes, or amounts. Simply buying what looked fresh, and then once at home figuring out how they all would dance together. Which is why I sometimes encourage you to not fuss about recipes so much but try your hand at using however many carrots you have, or to substitute what you. Sure, I give you amounts and recipes. That’s because I want you to cook, and get a feel for how much looks right. Some of you, I know, are pros and already do this, and just use the recipes as guides. My recipes are a jumping off point, and are here for whatever level of cooking you feel comfortable.

And so in that style of use what you have,
I give you 4 super simple dishes using a combination of 3-5 basic ingredients and then adding a protein and a starch, thus turning them into different dishes. Using slightly different cooking methods, you also create different flavors and textures. From sautéing to stir frying, braising or simple soup making. This is like those old Chinese menu ideas; two from column A, one from column B, etc. Feel free to mix and match. That is the beauty of basics, you can create so many variations.

The Basics:

Onions
Celery
Fennel
Carrot
Basil

The Proteins:

Shrimp
Cod
Mushrooms

The Starches:

Polenta
Barley
Rice

Mushroom Barley Soup

4 Basics + 1 Protein + 1 Starch
(Onions, Celery, Carrots, Basil) + (Mushrooms) + (Barley)

Instructions:

Cook the barley in a separate pot.
In a medium stock pot, sauté onions, celery and carrot in olive oil until softened and season with salt and pepper.
Add the mushrooms, over a medium heat cook until softened.
Then add chicken or vegetable broth or water to cover and let simmer.
Add the barley once cooked. I added basil which I had on hand and it gave it a nice floral note that I enjoyed.

Serve with a salad or crusty bread and lunch is served. And check out the video below. I’m getting all fancy now and inserting moving visuals. Enjoy a steaming hot bowl of comforting soup.

Simple Shrimp Sauté

3 Basics + 1 Protein + 1 Starch
(Onions, Celery, Basil) + (Shrimp) + (Polenta)

Instructions

Cook polenta according to the package. (You can add cream and butter at the end to make it luxurious and extra creamy, but keeping it in the basic mode, use just water.)
Sauté the sliced celery and onions until softened, then season with salt and pepper. Keep the celery leave tops and use them along with the basil to finish.
Add the shrimp and cook until just pink, then add the freshly chopped basil and celery leaves.
Top the polenta with the shrimp mixture. Yum and Yum

Another video for your viewing pleasure.

One Pot Poached Cod

3 Basics + 1 Protein + 1 Starch
(Onions, Fennel, Celery) + (Cod) + (Rice)

Instructions

Wash, dry and cut the cod into chunks (approx. 2” squares) and set aside.
Sauté the sliced onions, celery and fennel in olive oil, and slowly cook until softened.
Add water and then nestle the cod pieces into the pan. Cover and let poach until the cod is white and cooked through. Depending on how thick the pieces are this should only take 8-12 minutes. A beautifully flakey cod with braised vegetables is soothing and delicious.

Leftover Rice & Mushroom Stir Fry

2 Basics + 1 Protein + 1 Starch
(Onions, Basil) + (Mushrooms) + (Leftover Cooked Rice)

Instructions

Chop the onions into a small dice. Sauté using olive oil until softened, add salt and pepper.
Slice the mushrooms and add to the onions and let them cook together until the mushrooms get browned.
Add the cooked leftover rice until completely heated through. Add seasonings to taste. (Salt, pepper or even red pepper flakes). Finish with chopped

And there you have it, 5 basic staple ingredients combined with other fairly basic proteins and starches. And just like that you have 4 different meals that are complete, hearty, delicious, and I dare say… EASY.

Send me your mix and match creations. I would love to hear how you are making the most of your basic items.

From recipes to table settings, lifestyle ideas and food travels, Dana finds simple and easy ways to entertain with her "something from nothing" approach. Whether it’s a holiday feast, a garden party, cocktail event, or Tuesday's dinner, her mantra is always the same; keep it simple, make it delicious, stir it with love.

Dana has also written a children's book series that encourages thoughtfulness, Think...then Jump™

Contact Dana