Photo: hermitsmoores’

Upon my recent return from New Orleans, I gave you a killer family meal idea: a hummus platter dinner. A great tip for sure  (has it become a go-to weeknight meal at your house, too?), but not exactly the Big Easy flavors you may have expected. I owe you. And it’s pay up time. Sort of.
New Orleans has a ton of great seafood and draws a lot of inspiration from traditional French cooking. This equates to (among other things) a lot of creamy seafood preparations like a favorite of mine, crawfish etouffee. Since I didn’t indulge in any such dishes this past visit, I decided to make one at home. Except I didn’t use cajun seasoning. The big kid is going through a “no spicy” phase, so I substituted Old Bay for my favorite Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning. Hm. I guess that means that  this isn’t much of an homage to New Orleans after all. Oh well. It’s good. And it reminds me of my shrimp salad, a favorite lobster roll substitute inspired by the Old Bay brown butter I had at Momofuku Ko.
Read more …

It’s no secret that I love eggs for dinner, whether a “proper” meal like my quickest curried eggs, a poached egg to complete a bowl of soup, or an egg salad sammy to save us from take out. So, the first thing I thought of to make my meal of french lentils over wilted spinach heartier was, you guessed it, an egg.
This rustic salad comes together effortlessly. The greens are dressed in the simplest vinaigrette (I used olive oil, white wine vinegar, dijon, salt and pepper; a bit of finely chopped shallot would be nice, too). The lentils quick cooked and finished with creamy dijon. And the eggs fried in a flash. Layer one over the other—spinach, lentils, eggs—break the yolks, and take a big bite. Serve with crusty bread and wine (for mama and papa), and you’ll be transported to the French countryside. Perfection. In no time flat.
Read more …

My littlest ChowBaby is already 5 months old. I can hardly believe it! Time is flying and, relatively speaking, it’s been a smooth ride. But, all that said, my big guy is missing me. Lots. And so I’ve decided to carve out even more one-on-one time with him. We’re having tons of fun, but our new Monday afternoon excursions are putting a cramp in my dinner style. By the time we’re back home and settled in, it’s about 30 minutes to eatin’ time. And, when trying to coordinate dinner, 2 baths (ha!) and 2 bedtimes, there isn’t much flexibility.
So the new challenge: come up with even more healthy and SUPER quick recipes. This one was inspired by the Martha Stewart app, my new source for perusing recipes (on the go!). This recipe couldn’t be easier. And in the 30 minutes that it takes from start to finish, you can also make rice (cook in rice cooker or on the stove top according to package directions) or quinoa pilaf (cook on the stove top according to directions then toss with olive oil, white wine vinegar, dried cranberries, slivered almonds and green onion) and roast some asparagus (clean, trim, toss with olive oil and salt on a rimmed baking sheet; as soon as salmon is done, heat oven to 350 degrees and roast asparagus until cooked through, time will depend on how thick your asparagus is).
Read more …

I love this meal. It’s simple. It’s quick. It’s hearty and affordable. You’ll spend about $15 and get a huge pasta meal that, unless you have 4 ravenous or 6 people total, will give you leftovers (yummy even cold). And, if you want to save a few bucks or keep it vegetarian, just skip the sausage. It’s still delicious.
Read more …

The last, but not least, recipe in my Make Ahead Brunch series: a Lemon Blueberry Crumb Bundt Cake. This buttery and bright cake, spiked with fresh berries, is perfect for brunch, especially with warmer weather upon us. It can be baked in a regular baking pan, but using a bundt playfully hides a cinnamony crunch at the bottom and allows for a lemon glaze over the top. Because who doesn’t need an extra punch of lemon flavor on a sleepy weekend morning?
Read more …

When planning my make-ahead brunch, I was looking for a hearty salad to pair with the Spinach and Cheese Strata. At first I considered something with, well, bacon (I told you I was conflicted about serving a brunch without breakfast meat!), but then I came across this salad. Hold the bacon, add the squash! It may not seem like the most exciting move but, trust me, you can’t get better than deeply caramelized chunks of butternut squash tossed with escarole, apple and high-quality aged cheddar. And then you get the satisfaction of having made a totally satisfying, meat-free brunch.
Read more …