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.

My children, Randi and Danny love this recipe for corn.  It is super easy to make, and you will be surprised how delicious it is!

Serves about 4 people:

• 6 ears of fresh corn (I prefer supersweet white)
• about 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• kosher salt to taste- about 1 teaspoon

Take husks and silk off cobs.  Then hold cob perpendicular to cutting board, and slice kernals off.  Melt butter in large saute pan over low flame.  Place corn in pan, sprinkle with salt,  and saute over medium flame for about 6-8 minutes until corn is tender.  Serve.  (You can reheat any leftovers in microwave.)

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.

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.

My very nice co-teacher in school, Doris Fisher, bakes these muffins on a regular basis for her friends and family.  Luckily for me, she brought some in to school for me to sample.  They were delicious!  These muffins are a breeze to make and they freeze beautifully, too.  Enjoy!

for the muffins:

• 3 extra large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1 16 oz. can pure pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or 2 if you like a more cinnamony flavor)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray mini muffin pans (recipe makes 48 mini muffins)

In large mixing bowl, blend eggs, sugar, oil, pumpkin, and vanilla.  Whisk till nicely blended.  Then  and add everything else but the chips, mixing in just until blended with a rubber spatula.  Then add chips and fold in.  Scoop out batter into prepared pans, and bake 23-35 min till muffins are lightly browned around edges and toothpick comes out clean.

I made this recipe for my daughter Randi and her husband Dan last night as a side dish, and they loved it!  It is healthy, easy to make, and much more tasty than the average couscous recipe.  The whole wheat couscous tastes just as good as the regular, so if you can find it, I recommend using it as it is healthier. This recipe serves about 3-4 people, double this recipe for 5-8 people.

• 1 box Near East whole wheat couscous- box says plain
• 2-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• about 3 1/2 -4 ounces of prewashed baby spinach
• 1/4 cup crumbled Feta cheese
• about 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, grated on microplane
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Note:  If you do not like feta cheese, or you’d like the dish to be even less fattening, eliminate the feta cheese.

In large skillet, toast pine nuts till lightly browned.  Then add 2 tablespoons olive oil and 2 very large ( or 4 small) minced garlic cloves and put flame on medium.  Saute until garlic is translucent.  Add spinach over low flame, just until spinach is wilted.  Add salt and pepper.  Add lemon juice and zest.  Take off heat.  (You can do this part in advance if you wish.) 

A few minutes before you are ready to serve, follow directions and recipe on box for couscous- follow exactly.  When couscous is ready, add it to warmed spinach mixture in large skillet and mix.  Spoon into serving bowl, sprinkle feta cheese over, mix gently, and serve.

I whipped this frittata up in no time at all for a quick lunch at my mother’s house last week for my daughter Randi, her husband Dan, and for my mother and me.  It took about 10 minutes of prep time, and about 20 minutes of cooking time.  This frittata looks and tastes beautiful!!

• 12 extra large eggs
• 8-10 ounces prewashed baby spinach
• 8-10 oz. white mushrooms, cleaned and then sliced
• 6-8 oz. grated cheese - I used pre-grated cheddar-monterey jack, but Swiss or Gruyere would be great, too
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes - optional
• butter or olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk eggs in bowl; set aside.  Heat a largish saute pan, then add about a tablespoon of butter or olive oil. Put mushrooms in pan, sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper, leave undisturbed till they brown on bottom, turn and brown on other side. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.  Put a little more butter or oil in pan.  Put spinach in on very low heat, until just wilted.  Sprinkle with red pepper flakes if desired.  Set aside in bowl.

Grease sides and bottom  a 10 inch oven safe non-stick saute pan with butter.  Put on stove over a medium flame.  Pour eggs in.  Run spatula around edges, lift eggs off bottom until eggs are starting to set a little, but still are somewhat liquidy.  Take off stove.   Then sprinkle the cheese on top of eggs.  Distribute spinach all over the top, and then place mushrooms over spinach.  Place in oven for about 10 minutes until eggs are cooked through and are no longer liquidy.  Slide frittata onto serving dish, or serve right from pan. 

I was really in the mood to make some delicious pizza last weekend.  I remembered that my son Danny had eaten pizza in New York City a few months ago that he had gone nuts for.  I wanted to recreate that pizza for Danny.  I had so much fun experimenting with making the pizzas, and the results were amazing!  First, I used half the recipe for my homemade pizza dough to make one large pie.  The pie was half plain, and half mushroom.  The second pie I made was specifically for my son Danny, to recreate the pie he had in NY.   For that pie, I topped it with some caramalized onions, and then with some shredded romano cheese.  Then I made some homemade spinach pesto, which Danny drizzed over some of his pizza.  I can’t tell how delicious those pies were!  Few pizzarias make pizza that taste this good!

Pizza Dough  (This dough recipe makes 2 large pizzas, but the following instructions are meant to be enough for only 1 pizza.)  For the dough recipe, type in calzone above in the search, and the recipe for the pizza dough will come up.

for the mushroom pizza:  Heat saute pan.  Put a little olive oil in a saute pan to coat. Put sliced mushrooms (about 8-10 oz.)  in hot oil.  Sprinkle with kosher salt, a few cracks of black pepper, and a light sprinkling of red pepper flakes.  Let sit undisturbed till mushrooms brown on bottom.  Turn and cook until nicely browned.  If you have fresh garlic on hand, mince or chop one or two cloves and throw into pan at this point.  Keep moving garlic around so it doesn’t burn.  Garlic just needs to saute for a minute to become translucent and be flavorful.  Although, I didn’t do this, you might want to add a sprinkling of either fresh thyme leaves (leaves from one sprig), or a sprinkling of dry oregano.  Saute another minute or so. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Place sheet of parchment paper on large, heavy duty cookie sheet or half sheet pan. Sprinkle parchment paper with yellow cornmeal (I use Quaker).  Then, roll dough out on a lightly floured clean counter, or lightly floured piece of waxed paper or parchment paper to 1/4 inch thickness into either a large circle or rectangle.  Once dough is rolled out, lift the dough with your hands and transfer it to parchment on cookie sheet.  Then spoon about 1 cup of marinara sauce over dough.  Sprinkle a very light sprinkling of red pepper flakes over sauce (if you like the heat).  Then sprinkle about 8 oz. of coursely grated or thinly sliced whole milk (not fresh) mozzarella cheese evenly over pizza.  Place mushrooms evenly over pizza.  Sprinkle very lightly with dried oregano.  Bake on middle rack in oven for about 15-18 minutes until the underside of the dough is lightly browned.  Then change the setting on the oven to broil, and cook for about 3 more minutes until the cheese becomes bubbly, brown, and beautiful!

for the caramelized onion and romano pizza:

Thinly slice about 4 medium-large onions.  Pour about 1/4 cup olive oil into a large saute pan.  Get it hot over a medium flame.  Add the sliced onions.  Sprinkle them with kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper.  Saute for about 30-40 minutes over a medium flame, turning every so often.  The idea is not to burn the onions, but to brown them.  This takes a little while, so be patient. Set pan aside.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Place a sheet of parchment paper over a large heavy duty cookie sheet or sheet pan.  Then sprinkle some yellow cornmeal (I use Quaker) on the parchment paper.   Roll dough out on lightly floured clean counter or sheet of waxed or parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thickness, either into a large circle or a large rectangle.  Spoon about 1 cup marinara sauce over the dough.  Distribute onions evenly over top of sauce.  Sprinkle about 4 garlic cloves, minced on top.  Then sprinkle about 4 oz. of shredded, not grated, romano cheese (which I use because romano cheese has no lactose in it), or shredded parmesan cheese over top of pizza.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt,  red pepper flakes if you like a little heat, a little coarse black pepper,  and sprinkle very lightly with dried oregano.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Bake in the oven on middle rack for about 15 minutes until the bottom of the dough is lightly browned.  If pizza is browning too quickly, lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees.  Serve with pesto on the side, and spoon a little on if your wish.

Slice, serve, and enjoy!