That's What Jenni Said

Made these sweet potatoes for dinner tonight as a side with roast pork tenderloin. I enjoyed it much more than the tenderloin and will make this again and again as a main entree by itself. It's adapted from a Bon Appetit recipe and features potatoes, first baked, then seared, topped with dressed greens and toasted pecans.  Ingredients SERVINGS: 2 Sweet Potatoes And Nuts 1 garlic clove finely grated 3 tablespoons plus ½ tsp. olive oil 2 large or 4 small sweet potatoes, preferably garnet, scrubbed Kosher salt ¼ cup pecans, chopped Assembly 1 large handful of arugula or other green 2 tablespoons plus 1 tsp. olive oil ½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or ¼ crushed red pepper flakes 1 T brown sugar 1 T balsamic vinegar Kosher salt 1 T plain yogurt ¼ cup fresh mint leaves Preparation Sweet Potatoes And Nuts Preheat oven to 400°. Mix ...

Something my sister Suzie taught me before she died was the restorative power of love. Most (maybe all?) people are marked with emotional wounds and scars that were inflicted upon them at earlier points in their lives. Sometimes the wounds are still open and very painful and cause torment, like a painful sliver in your palm. The self-help industry is booming with books, audiobooks, and live seminars on how to heal these wounds and move into a position of strength. And thousands and thousands of people flock to therapists annually to take a more formal, doctor-patient approach to healing. When Suzie lived with me during the summers late in the last decade, we would sometimes find ourselves having face to face conversations that lasted hours. In these interactions my sister and I were able to give each other a measure of unconditional love and support that healed emotional wounds and upended twisted, irrational, "broken" thinking in ways that traditional talk therapy or cogniti...

Modifying and combining two different recipes I sourced from Bon Appetit led to a fantastic dinner this evening. Really one of the best salmon preparations I've had in some time. I hope you give it a try. ingredients 1/2 cup hazelnuts, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, chopped 1 T fresh oregano 1 T fresh thyme 1/2 cup (packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves 1 tablespoon capers 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest 1/2 cup olive oil (I prefer lemon olive oil) Kosher salt 4 6-ounce pieces skin-on salmon fillets (optional, can also prepare with skinless fillets) 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces Arugula (about 1/2 cup per person) 1 large honeycrisp apple, cored and diced Dash of lemon juice 2 celery stalks, peeled 1 T caraway seeds Lemon vinaigrette (your favorite brand or recipe) preparation Preheat oven to 400°. Toast hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 6-8 minutes. Let cool. Pulse garlic, herbs, ca...

To follow the roasted goose we served on Christmas (as mentioned in my last post) Jonathan baked sticky toffee pudding, following a recipe I clipped from Bon Appetit. It’s a confusing dish for Americans because it’s not pudding (it’s cake!) and it doesn’t feature toffee (the Brits call caramel toffee). Language barrier notwithstanding, it’s a terrific dessert. Sweet and decadent. Even more so when we plated it atop a generous spoonful of vanilla custard we had leftover from the morning’s pastry breakfast. We also opted to top the pudding with roasted hazelnuts and pecans. ingredients Pudding: 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan 1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour plus more for pan 1 1/2 cups chopped pitted dates (about 6 ounces) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs Sauce: 1 1/4 cups (packed) light brown sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup (1/2 st...

  This year we decided to roast a goose for Christmas (it turned out really well) which meant I found myself with a goose liver on hand. After a bit of researching I found this wonderful recipe from Jacques Pepin and after making a few modifications, I set about preparing it for tonight’s New Year’s Eve celebration. Like Christmas, tonight’s dinner will be a quiet, low key affair for just the two of us as I’m still feeling down about my mother’s passing in early December. We picked up her ashes yesterday. It’s all a bit surreal. We snuck an advance taste of the pate this afternoon and it is marvelous. Marvelous! I recommend serving it with cherry jam (we’re going to use the homemade jam we canned over the summer) on rich buttery crackers. ingredients 3 ounces goose fat 1 large shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped (2 1/2 tablespoons) 1 goose liver (about 3 ounces), chopped 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence (or more, to taste) 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/...

This month's issue of Bon Appetit featured a quick and easy winter soup infused with Asian flavors. I made it for dinner last night with some modifications and it went over very well.  Herbs and spices are paired with poached chicken and mushrooms and the result is a warm and flavorful broth that elevates ordinary chicken soup to a deeper, more soulful, plane. I've adopted the recipe as my own and with how simple and speedy the prep is, I'll be making it frequently.  Here's my version (serves 3): Chicken and Mushroom Soup with Chile  1 T olive oil 5 cloves of garlic, peeled 2   bay leaves 1 T allspice 2 large  boneless, skinless chicken breasts  1½   teaspoons   kosher salt, plus more 1 T chicken broth base 8   ounces baby portobello  mushrooms, sliced 1  serrano  chile, thinly sliced 1   1” piece ginger, peeled and grated 1  T rice  vinegar 1  T  ...

I've been varying my media diet as of late and ingesting a lot of content that I don't normally favor and it's been GREAT. I want to highlight some of the stand outs. Movies 1. Hillsborough. This documentary is part of the ESPN 30 for 30 soccer stories that have been produced and are being released in advance of the upcoming world cup. The film draws us into the scene of one of the worst soccer stadium disasters in history during a soccer match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. It's not so much about sports as it is about crowd behavior, police cover up, politics, and the importance of proper architectural design. Even if you're not a sports fan you'll be riveted. It's airing again on June 6th at 10pm on ESPN. If you don't mind spoilers, the in-depth discussion of the film can be found here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/espns-30-30-soccer-stories-694728 2. Hoop Dreams. This documenta...