Ive made these a variety of ways.  All are delicious.  I will try to include all the varieties I’ve made below.

Oven Roasted Potatoes:

• Red new potatoes, or white new potatoes, or Idaho, russet potatoes, or yukon gold
• Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• light olive oil

Wash potatoes and either leave them whole if they are really small, or cut them in half if they are a little bigger, or cut them into more pieces if the potatoes are large.  I don’t peel any of the new potatoes, which makes the job much easier.

I’ve done this 2 ways.  The first is to put the whole or cut potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water, bring to a simmer, and simmer uncovered just until almost tender, then place on sheet pan lined with foil and coated with oil (I usually use light olive oil).  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil, toss with clean hands, and roast in a 425 degree oven for about 45 min., turning potatoes a few times during cooking. 

The other way is to not parboil the potatoes, place them on greased pan, sprinkle with salt and a little pepper, drizzle with oil, toss with clean hands, and roast in a 400 or 425 degree oven until the potatoes are brown and tender, turning them a few times during the cooking time, probably roasting for about 50 min. to 75 min. till potatoes are browned and tender.

Another method is to roast the potatoes in a large, heavy dutch oven, like a Le Creuset on top of the stove.  Melt about 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter in pot over medium flame, place very small whole potatoes or cut into 2 or more pieces if they are larger potatoes. You may instead use light olive oil, or a combination of oil and butter, or just butter.  Sprinkle potatoes with salt and a little pepper.   Cover and cook about 30-45 minutes, tossing every 5-10 minutes or so to prevent sticking.  When potatoes are tender, take off heat.  I found that my butter was burned a little at this point, so I took the potatoes out, wiped out the pan, put the potatoes back in, added about 2 tablespoons of butter, about 2 tablespoons of a combination of chopped fresh dill and fresh Italian parsley, and I tossed.  Taste and reseason with salt. 

My son Benji spent a few months in Greece and Turkey as part of his college study program.  He came home a huge fan of the cuisines of those countries and especially of lentil soup.  I made the following recipe which he really enjoyed.  I’ve been making lots of it for myself -  a bowl of this soup makes a great dinner for me when I get home late from work.

for the soup:

• half of one very large onion, diced
• about 3 carrots, organic if possible, cut lengthwise and then sliced very thinly
• about 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28 oz. can peeled plum tomatoes, chopped fine -organic if possible (reserve the juice)
• 1 small can tomato paste, organic preferably
• 1/2 cup olive oil, extra virgin or light
• 2 1/2 quarts of water
• 1 1 lb. bag of brown green lentils (I’ve used Goya and Stop and Shop brand)
• kosher salt and black pepper to taste (about 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to start)

Rinse well the lentils in collander.  Put into a medium-large pot.  Cover with cold water.  Cover, and bring to a boil over high flame.  When water is boiling, take off lid, and boil over medium flame for about 6-7 minutes.  Drain in collander (do not rinse lentils with water).

At the same time you are starting the process bringing lentils in the pot with the water, get your soup pot going.  In large pot saute onions, garlic, and carrots in olive oil (sprinkle with salt and pepper), till soft (I cover the pot to expedite).  Then, pour the drained lentils from the collander into the pot.  Add the chopped tomatoes, the tomato paste, and the water.  Add the reserved juice from the tomatoes.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, lower flame - soup should be simmering, adding more salt and pepper as necessary.  Cook about an hour.  I freeze the leftovers in quart containers.

To me making ice cream is very exciting.  It seems like a little miracle to be able to make from scratch something I’ve never made before.  And it’s been so much fun for my family to eat this delicious homemade confection.  So, I made the chocolate, so it was time to try making vanilla.  But, since my favorite flavor has always been chocolate chip (Grunnings chocolate chip - now extinct, and second to that Baskin Robbins), I decided to make the vanilla base, freeze half of it in the ice cream maker for about 1 and a half pints of vanilla ice cream, and then use half of the base to concoct chocolate chip ice cream.  I basically used a recipe I found on line for David Lebovitz’s vanilla ice cream.  Oh my god- both turned out great.  I served the ice cream for my son Danny’s wonderful friends, Stephanie and Emily, along with my homemade hot fudge.  Their exclamations of glee and ectasy were beyond music to my ears.  For me, I like to eat the vanilla ice cream with the hot fudge, but I enjoy the chocolate chip  without the fudge so  I can savor the contrast of the vanilla with all those chunks of bittersweet chocolate.

Vanilla Ice Cream and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream - (adapted from, “The Perfect Scoop” by David Lebovitz)

• 1 cup (250 ml) whole milk
• 3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
• 2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
• pinch of salt
• 1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
• 5 large egg yolks
• a few drops of vanilla extract (I used 1/2 teaspoon and that was perfect)

for the chocolate chip ice cream:

• about 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate ( I used King Arthur bittersweet chips)

Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour ( I skipped this 1 hour infusing step, and the ice cream had plenty of vanilla flavor for me).

To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl.In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Remove bean pod from milk.  Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula and temperature is about 170 degrees.

Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly, preferably overnight.

Pour half of the custard into your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  I put the bowl with the other half of custard back in the fridge, covered with plastic, and churned the vanilla  for 1 hour, then spooned it into a freezer proof container, and froze it.

Then I moved on to making my chocolate chip ice cream.  I poured the remaining custard into the ice cream maker and started the machine.  Then I melted about 8 oz. of bittersweet King Arthur chocolate chips on low power in the microwave in a microwave proof bowl.  Then I stuck the bowl in the fridge to cool the chocolate a little.  After about 30 min. of churning, I started drizzling the melted chocolate right in the ice cream maker.  The chocolate froze on contact and didn’t mix in with the vanilla.  That is what I was looking for.  After I used about 1/3 of the chocolate up, I took the ice cream in the churning canister and stuck it in the freezer.  I did this because I noticed that the ice cream was getting a little melty from the chocolate.  After about 15 minutes, I took the canister out, starting churning again, and drizzled about 1/3 more of the melted chocolate right in as it was churning.  Then, I took the canister and put it in the freezer for another 10 or 15 minutes.  Then, I took it out of the freezer, started churning it again, and drizzled the remaining chocolate in as it was churning.  I probably churned for another 15-20 minutes, then transferred the ice cream to a freezer container, and froze it.  For some reason, I ended up with a lot more of the chocolate chip ice cream than the vanilla, even though I had divided the custard in half for each.  I think what happened was that the longer churning process- going in and out of the freezer resulted in creating more volume in the chocolate chip ice cream.  But the end product was beyond amazing!

I got the idea for drizzling the melted chocolate right into the ice cream as it churned from two places.  One was from reading the description of how Baskin Robbins makes their chocolate chip ice cream right on their container.  The other place I got this idea was from a blog called Technicolor Kitchen.

My daughter Randi and her husband Dan bought me an ice cream maker for my birthday last year.  I just never got around to using it until last week. I used a recipe I found for chocolate ice cream from a blog called amandascookin.com, and she got her rccipe from David Lebovitz’s book, The Perfect Scoop.  I followed the recipe she posted on her blog almost exactly.  The ice cream came out chocolaty, creamy, and absolutely delicious!  And it was very easy to make as well, which is surprising when you taste how delicious this is.

Ingredients: 

2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (I used King Arthur’s Dark Dutch Cocoa)
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used King Arthur’s Bittersweet Chocolate Chips- and I did not chop them)
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt
5 large egg yolks (I used extra large, as that was what I had on hand)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (I used pure)

Warm 1 cup of the cream with the cocoa powder in a medium saucepan, whisking to thoroughly blend the cocoa. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer at a very low boil for 30 seconds, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Then stir in the remaining 1 cup cream. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, scraping the saucepan as thoroughly as possible, and set a mesh strainer on top of the bowl.

In small saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, and salt.  In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolk. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

Stir the mixture constantly over the medium heat with a heatproof spatula ( I used a wooden spoon), scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula (170°F on an instant-read thermometer). Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the chocolate mixture until smooth, then stir in the vanilla. Stir until cool over an ice bath.

Cover and chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.  (I followed the directions on my Cuisinart ice cream maker which said to churn for 30 min.) (If the cold mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out.)  Then spoon into freezer-proof container or containers, and freeze until firm- a few hours.)

This summer my daughter Randi reserves Thursdays to spend with me.  Yesterday was magnificent for me.  Randi and Noah (her 2 year old) came over in the morning.  We went to Holmdel Park with my son Danny, too.  Noah loved looking at and petting the sheep and then throwing stones in the pond.  Then I went home to cook, and Randi took Noah home for a nap.  Before Randi left, we decided on what I would make for dinner, I ran to the market, prepared this dish, then went back to Randi’s house with the food.  We went to the swim club for a great time with Randi’s friend Jessica and her beautiful daughter Maya.  I had the best time in the baby pool with them.  Noah had his first experience floating with a tube.  Then we went back to Randi’s house where I served this really yummy dish (I heated it up in the microwave).  I got the idea for this dish from watching an episode of “The Barefoot Contessa” where Ina Garten makes an eggplant gratin.  I changed a few things in her recipe, and I added zucchini, which really worked out well.  This recipe got the seal of approval from Randi, Noah, and Dan (my son-in-law), so I think I’ll be making this again.

• 2 medium eggplant or 1 very large (I did not peel, but you may)
• 1 very large zucchini or 2 medium-largish (I used 2)
• 1/3 cup ricotta (I used whole milk, but you can use part skim)
• 1/3 cup light cream or half and half, whatever you may  have around (I used light cream)
• 1 large or extra large egg
• 1/4 tsp. each kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
• about 10-11 oz. of  freshly ground in processor parmesan (I used Bel Gioioso), measure 1/3 cup, and reserve the remainder
• about 15 oz. of homemade or jarred marinara sauce- that’s a little more than a half of a 26 oz. jar of sauce (I used Via Roma Marinara from the A&P)
• light olive oil for cooking the eggplant and zucchini 
• crushed red pepper flakes for serving, if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Make custard.  In medium mixing bowl, mix cream, 1/3 cup parmesan, ricotta, egg, salt, pepper; set aside.

Slice washed eggplant and zucchini about 1/4 inch thick.  Heat a very large frying pan (I have a huge cast iron skillet that I used; otherwise, I would have used a very large nonstick pan.)  After pan is really hot, pour a very small amount of oil in pan, basically just to coat the pan.  Drop eggplant and zucchini slices in, brown quickly and then flip, and brown again.  Place on paper towels to drain.  Repeat with remaining eggplant and zucchini - or alternately, use a grill pan (I have one that fits over 2 burners, it’s really big- it’s a griddle on the reverse side).  Just brush both sides of eggplant and zucchini with light olive oil, and grill till nice grill marks form, then flip, and cook on other side.  There is no need to drain on paper towels, because veggies are not very greasy when grilled.  This method uses much less oil, and it probably produces a healthier dish with many less calories.  I used this method the second time I made the dish and I loved making the veggies this way, and I will do this in the future.  In a large oval baking dish- equivalent to a 9 by 13 in baking dish, put a layer of eggplant and zucchini, filling up as many spaces as possible, but in one layer.  You can cut the slices of zucchini to fill in all the spaces.   Then sprinkle generously with the 1/3 cup of grated parmesan.  Spoon all of the 15 oz. of marinara sauce evenly over veggies.  Then place another layer of the eggplant and zucchini over, using up all.  Sprinkle lightly with a bit of the reserved parmesan.  Spoon all of the custard evenly over, then sprinkle remaining parmesan evenly on top. 

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 min.  Then change oven setting to low broil.  Place casserole in middle of oven, not too close to heat element.  Watch carefully and take out when top looks browned, but not burned.  Serve.

Note:  Use the smallest amount of oil if you are frying the veggies, because the more oil you use, the more will be absorbed by the vegetables, especially the eggplant.

I recently made salmon that was so delicious and so easy to make. From beginning to end, this dish will take you less than 1/2 hour to make.  Remember to look for wild salmon as it is much healthier than farmed, as has less mercury in it.

For two people:

• 2 5-6 oz. portions of salmon or one 10-12 oz. piece of salmon (wild is healthier than farmed)
• honey- about 1 tablespoon
• about 1/2-3/4 cup Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki teriyake sauce (has incredible stuff in it like pineapple juice, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic, etc.)

Preheat oven to broiler setting-low.  Then, cover a baking sheet with foil.  Place salmon on sheet (if skin is still on, make sure you put the salmon on the sheet skin side down.)  In a small bowl, put about 6 oz of the teriyaki sauce and about 1 tablespoon of honey, mix till blended.  Spoon some sauce on both sides of salmon, but spoon some extra on the top.  Glaze is thin, so try to make sure some of it pools on top of the salmon.  Place under broiler.  You want the glaze to start bubbling and browning, because that’s what will make it tasty.  If it is getting too brown or burning, change oven setting to bake at 350 degrees.  But you can cook it the entire time on broil if it isn’t burning.  It will take about 10 or so minutes.  But check it after 10 minutes by cutting into a piece.  I don’t like my salmon rare, I like it cooked through, so depending on how you like your salmon cooked, it will either be done or need a few more minutes.  And that’s it.  Oh, I did get my salmon at BJ’s in a bag- it was frozen, individually vacuum sealed packets.  You can defrost them in a bowl of cold water or in the refrigerator.

Note:  You may want to baste the salmon halfway through cooking it, but if you don’t make sure to drizzle the glaze that’s on the foil evenly over each piece of fish.  The glaze is soooo good.

I love quiche, but I don’t often make it because, let’s face it, it’s not exactly healthy.  When I happen to have a frozen pie crust in the freezer, either fresh or frozen asparagus or some mushrooms, some half and half or light cream, and swiss cheese in the fridge, I decide it’s time to treat myself and my daughter Randi, who loves my quiche.  I have these items handy more often now, because I’ve become a real Costco shopper, and I like to buy their fresh asparagus or mushrooms, and their lite gruyere cheese- which is delicious. This morning, I realized I had all the ingredients with about and hour and a half to spare, so I decided it was time to make some quiche.

for one quiche:

• 3 extra large eggs or 3 large eggs plus one egg yolk (or 4 large eggs-3/2011)
• 1 1/2 cups of light cream or half and half -  or 3/4 cup heavy cream plus 3/4 cup whole milk (March 2011, only used about 11/4 cups light cream)
• about 1 pound or a little more fresh asparagus, roasted or 1/2 box of frozen asparagus spears, defrosted
• 1 frozen deep dish pie shell, Oronique is my preference
• 4 - 5 oz.  Swiss or Gruyere cheese ( I like to use lite gruyere or alpine lace, but any swiss is fine)(Used about 1/2 lb. 3-11)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cover sheet pan with aluminum foil.  Cut ends off asparagus spears.  Place on pan.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  Drizzle a tablespoon of  light olive oil over, toss asparagus with oil.  Roast for about 20 -25 min. till asparagus is cooked.  Set aside to cool.  Then cut spears into bite sized pieces.  Or defrost 1 16 oz. box of frozen asparagus spears,  pat dry, then cut into bite sized pieces, use about 1/2 of the asparagus or more if you wish for one quiche.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.Take a frozen deep dish pie shell in its aluminum pan and place it in a pyrex pie plate to prevent any mess in the oven.   Prick pie crust all over with fork.  Bake for about 10 min.  Then take out of oven.

In medium bowl, whisk or beat with fork, eggs with cream, add salt and pepper.  Spread asparagus (or mushrooms-see instructions below) over bottom of crust, tear cheese into medium to smallish pieces and place over asparagus, pour egg and cream mixture over.   Place on sheet pan in preheated oven, and bake 45-55 minutes until knife inserted in center comes out clean, and quiche is nicely puffed and lightly browned.  Serve.

for mushroom quiche:

Saute 10 oz. of sliced white or baby bella mushrooms with or without 1/2 chopped onion, with little kosher salt, papper, optional 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, in 2 tablespoons butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil or only olive oil till caramelized.

My mother, Shirley Fried, was a wonderful baker when I was growing up.  One of my favorite cakes of hers was a chocolate chip cake that she made.  This chocolate chip cake reminds me of the one she made.  I make it in a tube pan, but it can also be made in a large loaf pan.  If you don’t have miniature chocolate chips, you can chop regular chips and use them instead.

• 1 12 oz. bag mini sem-sweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter - room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt (if using salted butter, use 1/2 tsp. salt)
• 2/3 cup whole milk
• 3 extra large eggs
• 1 1/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a tube pan, bundt, or loaf pan well- sides and bottom, and tube if you are usiing a tube pan.   Cream butter, then add sugar, and cream till fluffy.  Add eggs and cream till fluffy.  Combine the dry ingredients and blend in alternately with the milk and vanilla.  Mix in dry ingredients each time only till blended. Then add chips and fold in with rubber spatula.  Bake in greased pan for about 1 hour till toothpick comes out clean.  If you are baking in a loaf pan, then it may take a bit longer.  Just make sure the toothpick comes out clean.

Note: I usually bake this in a tube pan, then I cut cake into thirds, I keep one third of the cake out, and I freeze each of the other thirds by wrapping them in plastic wrap first and then in a ziploc bag.

Note:  I have sometimes used 6 or 7 oz. of chocolate chips and then 6 oz. of bittersweet chocolate chopped too, but the easiest thing to do is just use one 12 oz. bag of miniature semisweet chocolate chips. 

After my daughter Randi and her husband came back from their vacation in Greece,  I bacame inspired to find some Greek dishes to make for them.  I came up with this recipe, and Randi and Dan really like it.  It is healthy, tasty, and economical.

• 1 lb. bag of dried cannelini beans (or fasolia gigantes or similar large dried white beans)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of extra virgin, regular, or light olive oil
• 2-3 onions, about 11 oz, chopped (rough chop)
• 3 celery sticks, chopped medium
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped medium
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspooon dried oregano or thyme, or mixture of both (I used fresh thyme leaves, about 1 tablespoon, and dried oregano)
• 1 28 oz. canned plum tomatoes (do not use juice), rough chop
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste diluted in 8 oz. water
• 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• crushed red pepper to taste (I used about 1 tsp, but that made the end result a little hot)

1.  Place the beans in a large bowl, cover with plenty of cold water, then let soak overnight in the refrigerator.  The next day, drain the beans, then rinse them under cold water in a collander, and drain.
2.  Pour the beans into a large saucepan, pour plenty of cold water to cover, then bring to a boil.  Cover the pan, and cook the beans at a simmer until they are almost tender, about 50-60 minute.  Giantes will cook more quickly, so keep testing them after they have been cooking for 30 to 40 minutes.  The beans should be soft, but not disintegrating through overcooking.  If the beans are starting to break in half, they are totally cooked.
3.  While the beans are cooking, heat the olive oil a clean saute pan ( I didn’t use a nonstick pan for this), add the chopped onions, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper to taste,  and saute until light golden.  Add the celery, carrots, garlic, herbs, and stir with a wooden spoon until the garlic becomes aromatic and the vegetables are softish.  Stir in the tomatoes, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.  (covering is not essential)  Pour in the diluted tomato paste with water, then return the cooked drained beans to the vegetable mixture, add the sugar the parsley, and any additional salt and pepper.  Mix gently.  Pour into a large 9 x 13 baking dish.  Bake covered for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees and serve.
If you want the dish to have more sauce, bake it covered in the oven.  If you would like the liquid to evaporate more so that the surface of the beans and vegetables become a little candied, then bake it uncovered.  If you are baking the dish uncovered, check the beans once or twice during the 30 minutes, and add more hot water if the beans look dry.
Note:
You can make the vegetable mixture while the beans are soaking, and refigerate until after you cook the beans.
You can probably substitute cooked beans, but you may lose a little of the texture or the authentic taste of the dish.

I was lucky enough to eat some delicious authentic, homemade Indian food at the home of my friend Swapna and her lovely son Aditya.  I loved it so much that I got the recipe from Swapna and her mother, and tonight I ventured into the arena of Indian cooking, something totally new for me.  My daughter Randi and my son-in-law Dan both love Indian food, and when I told Randi I would be bringing this dish to her house tomorrow, she got really excited.  My son Danny tasted this, and agreed that it is delicious!  To me, these taste like a spicy version of hashed browns, with just the perfect amount of heat and just a subtle hint of cilantro. I’m so glad I tried this recipe!  Thank you Swapna!

This recipe makes about 15 potato patties.

• 2 very large Idaho or Russet potatoes, washed
• 2-4 tablespoons plain breadcrumbs, depending on how big your potatoes are (I use Colonna)
• about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 or 2 small, dark green thin chiles, chopped fine (I used 2, but did not use the seeds), but you may if want more heat
• about 10 cilantro leaves, torn or chopped into little pieces
• light olive oil

Place one potato in microwave safe bowl with about 1/4 cup cold water.  Pierce a few times with fork, cover and cook on high for 3-5 minutes depending on size of potato.  Turn potato over, cover and cook another 3-5 minutes till soft.  Let cool, by pouring hot water out and putting a little cold water into bowl.  Turn potato over a few times in cold water.  Then peel potato with your hands.  Place in mixing bowl.  Repeat with second potato in microwave.  Mash first potato, then mash second potato when it is cooked, cooled, and mashed.  Add the salt, cilantro, the chiles, and the bread crumbs, and mix with a fork or gently with your clean hands. Put a little oil on your hands, and form into round patties about 2 to 3 inches round and about 1 inch thick.  Heat large nonstick frying pan up, add  some oil to coat, and gently place potato rounds in hot pan.  Let sit without turning until they are totally brown on bottom, about 5-8 minutes.  You may need to add a little more oil if pan becomes totally dry.  Turn when nicely browned on bottom, and cook till underside is brown, adding oil if necessary, about another 5-7 minutes.  Serve hot.

Note:  You may refrigerate them and serve them later after heating them in oven- 350 degrees for 15 minutes.