Thoughts
Leave it to Chef Yotam Ottolenghi to create the most spectacular recipe to use on Thanksgiving or any other time of the year: Turkey & Zucchini Burgers (referred to as Turkey & Courgette Burgers on his website). Hands down everyone's favorite including my daughter and her teenage friends. Found in his best-selling cookbook, Jerusalem, Chef Yotam, pairs these zesty, minty mini-burgers with a yogurt and garlic dip creating the perfect balance of flavors.
Other recipes for this week from Chef Yotam is his Roast Butternut Squash and Red Onion with Tahini & Za'atar. It's a perfect vegetarian dish as well as a way to surprise your guests with this daring and delicious use of traditional squash. The roasted squash and caramelized red onion brilliantly pair with the tahini dressing and pine nuts. It's wonderful.
Finally, looking for a colorful and festive vegetable dish that breaks the green bean cycle? Just wait until you taste the Roasted Cauliflower with Pomegranate Seeds ... think of the slightly browned white, purple or yellow cauliflower mixed with small, red seeds splashed with a sweetly sharp light dressing. Visually it's really pretty and fantastic to eat.
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Enjoy the planning, cooking and celebrating with all your friends and family.
After a long winter here in Chicago, I just saw the first crocus bloom in my flower bed! April is all about warmer weather and birthday celebrations in our house. Eighteen years ago this weekend my daughter was born. I didn't know she was until several days later when we received a call from the adoption agency. I remember it taking me 15 minutes for this information to sink in, then sheer panic followed as I shopped for unfamiliar baby items at Target and as my husband and I shared stunned looks of anticipation while awaiting her delivery to our house. The best part was holding her in our arms, at last! I write all this as she just confirmed her university selection and freshman dorm preferences for next fall. Milestones, I guess that’s what they're called. We are at one.
And so begins the planning for our celebratory meal (my favorite part!). Her request, aside from birthday cake, is my favorite steak: Balsamic and Rosemary-Marinated Florentine Steak from Food and Wine Magazine. It’s a porterhouse cut that’s super easy to prepare and super fast to cook. That’s why I’ll pair it with roasted potatoes and fresh asparagus so I won't be overloaded with cooking tasks and have more time to enjoy my company.
The recipe begins in a ziploc bag where the 3-inch porterhouse, balsamic vinegar and rosemary visit for a day of marinating. The next step is searing the steak on the grill and popping it into the oven for a low roast in the oven for a half hour. And that’s all that’s needed for an elegant, phenomenally delicious porterhouse roast.
And while the birthday cake isn’t part of our everyday fare, it is for those special days. I’m making Mom’s Chocolate Cake - also from Food and Wine - a tried and true favorite.
Happy new beginnings all and I hope you enjoy this amazing recipe!
It's the last Wednesday in January and I live in Chicago, epicenter to the Polar Vortex of 2019. Today, and for the next couple days, the weather is forecast to be -20 degrees, that's below zero! As I type, I hear the irritating sound of the water dripping into the bathroom sink so the pipes don't freeze. The kitchen one is on too and after I finish typing, I'll make sure the upstairs faucets are doing the same.
Other than driving my daughter to school yesterday morning, I haven't been outside most of this week. Instead, I've been in the kitchen having lots of fun making hearty food. Last night, I was finally successful making pasta dough that my niece beautifully turned into raviolis stuffed with spinach and cheese. I wasn’t very happy with the hunter's stew but was really excited about the apple tart. It was fabulous, especially as I watched the whipped cream melt over the hot piece of tart. I suggested to my family that we start with the tart instead of the main course but everyone was more excited to get to the raviolis. I'd take tart over ravioli any day. And I made a soufflé on Sunday straight from The Art of French Cooking. Today, I may tackle bread. Cabin fever has hit me hard!
In my cooking frenzy, I happened on a surprisingly wonderful recipe, Pan Roasted Salmon with Tomato Vinaigrette, from Food & Wine magazine. So quick, elegant and delicious. In Food & Wine's photo, the salmon, adorned with a chucky tomato and caper sauce, may look quite simple but its flavor is memorable and that's my favorite type of recipe.
Whether you're in the polar vortex or not, enjoy the last days of January. Here's hoping for a warm and lovely year to you all!
Whether it's the cold wind blowing from the north this week or the vacuum felt as my warm old friend summer steps away, I find myself seeking comfort in recently purchased but forgotten cookbooks. Inspiration: that's what I seek! So too, distraction from the sudden change in temperature; it calms my soul. So, I search in a basket where those cookbooks live in my kitchen and it is here where I find my newest comfort: lentils! As well, I find two great recipes in The Mozza Cookbook by Nancy Silverton and Turkey –More Than 100 Recipes With Tales From The Road by Leanne Kitchen – (referring to Turkey the country, not the bird).
The earthiness of the Turkish soul, expressed through its food, captivates my raw, chilled being. Lentils cooked in a thousand different forms, disk-shaped flatbread dough cooking atop wood-fired ovens, charred eggplants transformed into "mezes" or small bites, a dizzying amount of varied seafood and honey from the Van area sounding so exotically delicious that I am ready to dive into a vat. Even though, unfortunately, I dislike its flavor (honey tastes like whiskey to me thanks to my dad's whiskey-soaked-cotton-ball remedy for a sore tooth suffered as a kid). As I read about the friendly and inviting personalities of the Turkish people and try out the recipes, savoring the new flavors, I feel my soul nourished.
Transforming into a lentil-ivore, I'm featuring a dish from Chef Silverton that is outstandingly easy and delicious and can be served as a side dish or main part of the meal. From Chef Kitchen's book, I've chosen a lentil and meatboal soup recipe that captures Turkish flavors with allspice and cinnamon. I hope the heartiness of these dishes transports you through the chillier days ahead. Afiyet olsun!
In the early-1990s, I worked as a marketing consultant where my clients included many foodservice companies along with one that sold steaks and chops to high-end restaurants. We were in the middle of re-branding this company and revamping their newsletter was part of this campaign. (Back in the old days, newsletters were printed on paper and mailed out … mon dieu!) To headline the very first edition of this newsletter we chose a local Chicago chef who had recently been elevated to star status, none other than Rick Bayless.
And, I got to interview him.
At this time, I had been a huge fan of Frontera Grill and its food, had spent a wedding anniversary at Topolobampo, and had toddled out of the Frontera bar numerous times after consuming those famous margaritas. Delicious margaritas aside, eating at Frontera in those early days was when I discovered my kind of food ecstasy: simple, earthy and fresh with an infusion of intoxicating chili flavors and each dish perfectly, creatively woven together. It was transformative. Inspiring. It still is. So, you can imagine my anticipation upon meeting Chef Rick. I was thrilled.
What I remember from our meeting at Frontera was being in the restaurant on a morning when no customers were around, watching the kitchen staff prep for mealtime. Then, Rick sat down and I began a great conversation with this relaxed man who was so kind to me, answering all my questions and sharing his vision of a future food-world we now have branded as “good food”. He described how he sought out local farmers to grow the produce he needed, then helped them develop a distribution network to delivered this fresh produce to restaurants in Chicago. He spoke about his practices of using the highest quality meats and developing relationships with his meat purveyors and noting them on his menu. This was a first, I mean, who knew that the meat on a menu item actually came from a farm?! My interview with Rick was a visual tapestry of producing food in ways that nourishes the soil, rewards the farmers, links the restaurants and nurtures the earth.
The interview headlined the newsletter’s debut edition and the response was terrific. My client was happy, too. In the years since, Rick Bayless has become a mega-brand and an on-going visionary. He brings the world and its food sources closer in balance to health and sustainability. I’ve listened to him speak at a number of foodie-events over these years and his message still grabs me. I think about sustainability and how it applies to his life: a constant message, honed decades ago, that is now the acceptable drum beat which has led the “good-food” movement. All this while I’m sitting at the middle table, humbled diner, happily eating my tacos and swigging down a margarita ... sans kids, that is.
And now I present a way to invite Chef Rick into your home kitchens with his donated recipe to Healthy Fare for Kids: Snapper with Zucchini and Toasty Garlic Mojo. Thank you, Chef Rick!
And one last callout – aside from donated recipes, Frontera has two Healthy Fare for Kids menu items: tortilla soup with chicken, avocado, fresh cheese and sour cream or griddle-baked cheese quesadillas; served with black beans and pintos.
Boredom and time-fatigue are visitors to my kitchen more often than I’d like to admit. And when they’re next to me and I have to prepare dinner, I muster all my strength not to run to the phone and order food. I found a solution that I’d like to share with you during those nights when a delicious meal in a short period of time that checks off the healthy boxes seems like a daydream: frozen shrimp. Thank you, frozen shrimp! You have saved me more than once a month for a very long time.
Kids love shrimp. They’re small enough to eat with their fingers, can be used as a vehicle for scooping, are mild enough to pair with a number of flavors that your family likes and it’s just a great nutritious protein. If they don’t like it at first, keep trying and as they watch others in your family eat them, they will too.
I prefer the frozen uncooked shrimp, usually opting for the 26-30 count. This number refers to how many of the shrimp you get in a pound. The lower the number, the bigger the shrimp. Count out about 4 for each kid and 6 for each adult then place in a bowl of warm water to thaw. This process will take about a half hour. If you don’t have that much time, keep the warm water running and break apart the shrimp as the ice melts. Once the shrimps are a bit soft, remove from the water. You now have a lovely protein ready to use.
What to make with the shrimp? If it’s springtime and the new lettuces, ramps, asparagus, etc. are in full display at your farmers market, try our Springtime Salad with Shrimp, Asparagus and Avocado Dressing. Or try our Penne with Garlic Shrimp, Tomatoes and Zucchini recipe served with your favorite vegetables. Either way, having frozen shrimp in your freezer is the best tip I can give to preparing a quick, healthy and delicious meal when inspiration is nowhere in sight. Enjoy!
Today was the opening of the 2018 Green City Market here in Chicago. It's been a long winter in the Midwest. The first part of March was teased with mild temperatures, but then we got smacked with another six weeks of snow and cold. I'm happy to report that my sore temper gave way this morning as the white tents of the farmers market came into view in Lincoln Park. In the foreground were families stretched on blankets feeding their kids goodies from the market, and my dog, Leo, was an uninvited visitor to several parties. Everyone was forgiving because we all were celebrating the sunny, 70 degree morning with the lime-green new leaves decorating the trees and the aromas wafting from the food stalls. Yes, I was smitten and still am.
My first stop -- well, Leo's first stop -- was pulling my daughter and I to the Bennison's Bakery tent for a pretzel roll (how does he remember the exact location after a six month hiatus?). I turned around to visit one of my favorite farmer booths, Mick Klug Farms, where I met his daughter, Abby Schilling, the new owner. As soon as I saw their fresh ramps, I was inspired by my memory of an omelette last Sunday from Big Jones restaurant in Andersonville. It was the best omelette I ever ate with ramps, morel mushrooms and pecorino cheese that was perfectly cooked with no brown color. After I grabbed the ramps, I found beautiful crimini mushrooms at Ellis Family Farms along with asparagus for my next idea: dinner. My final stop was at Jake's Country Meats for their frozen walleye and my favorite bulk breakfast sausage. By this time, furry Leo had enough of the sun and we had to cut short our first of many visits to our idyllic farmers market this season.
Once home, I washed, trimmed and then diced a handful of ramps and mushrooms, and sliced some aged Parmesan cheese that I picked up from Eataly Chicago last week. Turning to my stove top, I pulled out my two favorite old friends ... my 9-inch Caphalon omelette pan, that looks like it's come through a few wars along, with a mini-saute pan that my sweet Aunt gave me as a gift during my single days along with an explanation that it would be "perfect for cooking just for one." (Sigh). Anyway, with both pans heating over medium heat, I added a little olive to the small one, then added the vegetable mixture for a quick saute. I cracked and beat three eggs then added them to the larger pan which was waiting with a small amount of melted butter. I sprinkled a little kosher salt into each pan, then turned the heat down to medium low under the eggs. Using a rubber spatula, I gently pushed the egg mixture as it cooked towards the middle so that the uncooked liquid seeped into the space. Around the pan I went, gently pushing until it looked like the custard had lost the runny look. I added the sautéed ramps and mushrooms along with the Parmesan cheese from Eataly Chicago and a few leaves of marjoram that I happened to have from a Chicken Panzanella recipe I made this last week. I folded one omelette side into the middle, then the other, and then over low heat, I let the creation get acquainted while melting together. It was a brief step yet a long one - I was starving!
I wonder whether plating the omelette on my quirky blue-dotted plate or taking my first bite was my favorite part of my omelette experience today. I can't decide because the entire day has been a long stretch of wonderful after a cruel April. Try my recipe for the Springtime Omelette with Ramps and Mushrooms for a weekend brunch or a post-farmers market dinner, then you tell me which is your favorite.
Today we’re launching some of our favorite recipes curated from my home kitchen, around the web, and from celebrity chefs like Sarah Stegner, Rick Bayless, Bruce Sherman, Paul Virant, Beverly Kim, José Andrés and many more. As a passionate home chef and mom, I want to help you feed your family healthy, delicious meals every day … or at least a few days out of the week.
In 2011, I started Healthy Fare for Kids with my co-founder, Chef Sarah Stegner, a two-time James Beard award winner and fellow mom, and since then our focus has been to get healthy meals for kids everywhere. We asked many chefs in the Chicago area to help by creating at least one healthy and delicious meal for their menu following the Healthy Fare for Kids nutritional guidelines including child-sized portions.
These nutritional guidelines are similar to the USDA’s My Plate. However, we go one step further and ask that foods used in our recipes be grown and produced with sustainable practices. We ask for meats and poultry to be raised without the use of antibiotics. We want fresh, organic ingredients, grown and produced locally, to be your first choice. And we hope visiting your local farmer’s market will become part of your healthy lifestyle.
Along with many restaurants, our meals are now a part of the Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo, Brookfield Zoo and Cibo Express Market in O’Hare International Airport. Today, the Healthy Fare for Kids logo sits next to menu items or on grab-and-go containers throughout Chicago where it is seen by over 40 million people each year.
Before I became a parent, I worked as a public health educator. I first learned about nutrition during college, and it’s been a life-long pursuit that has taken me all the way from culinary school to the middle of my kitchen. On some days, inspiration throws me into my happy place between the island and the stovetop. But on most days, even with my interest in food, it’s boredom, it’s frustration and it’s pretty thankless. And then … I get to do it all again tomorrow after clean-up!
Together, though, one day at a time, we’ll make meal planning and preparation a successful and rewarding activity for you and your kids. Feeding your children healthy food in proportional amounts is your best insurance for preventing a trail of chronic diseases from following them into adulthood. Isn’t that what we want for our children, the foundation of a happy life being a healthy one?
Come back to this website often, subscribe to our announcements, follow us on the Healthy Fare for Kids social media sites or leave me your email … or do it all. Over time, I’ll share plenty of new meal ideas and recipes from my home kitchen as well as from celebrity chefs, and perhaps from other home chefs like yourself, so your meal preparation will never be boring again.
