Marrakech + Msemen

MARRAKECH + MSEMEN

Writing about Navajo fry bread a few weeks ago got me thinking about another fry bread I learned to make last year when I was visiting Marrakech called msemen (heh heh...). But first! I want to share some photos I took when I was strolling around the medina. This was my second time visiting, and the winding alleyways, colors and smells were still such a draw. (Hint: clicking on one of the photos will open up lightbox. Seeing them a bit bigger, you'll catch all of the subtle details, as they were meant to be viewed.)

Now, on to msemen. I spent a morning learning some traditional Moroccan cookery - few different tagines, some typical salads, briouats (cheese-filled pastries) and this gorgeous bread.

Msemen is a square-shaped, Moroccan pancake that's generally had for breakfast with a bit of honey on top. It's delicious, and although the dough is pretty simple, what puts it over the top is the folding process, where butter is spread between the layers. That's what gives it those flaky layers when it's cooked, not unlike puff pastry. It reminded me a lot of a flatbread in Indian cooking called paratha - with that same, flaky, buttery texture.

I'm still perfecting my recipe, but if you want to try some, Hot Bread Kitchen carries it at local NYC and BK retailers, farmers' markets and a few locations across the U.S. They have an online shop too, and in general, the company is just an amazing, amazing concept that supports people, culture and traditions.

Do it up for the Super Bowl!

DO IT UP FOR THE SUPER BOWL!

Any excuse to get my friends together, cook and watch something on the big screen is good enough for me, but the Super Bowl is one of my favorite times! I still cook it up, but it's my time to add a bit of finesse to casual comfort and finger foods. I'll be the first to admit: these aren't your everyday football foods. BUT I can guarantee (from experience) as the dudes are wharfing down the ribs, no one cares how typical they are - just how good they taste...Now that almost all of the posts from my old blog have been moved over to this new site, thought I would share some oldies but goodies that would be really fun for this weekend's game-watching.

TEMPURA WINGS WITH SRIRACHA-HONEY

I grew up in Florida watching football, and when it comes to watching sports, my mind flashes to two things: wings and ribs!! These wings are what you want - crispy, not greasy and super tender with a sweet and spicy sauce. I like fish sauce for a little funk, but leave it out if you don't have it. The best part is you don't need the skin here to get crackling-perfection, so I guess we could almost call these healthy....

BABY BACK RIBS WITH POMEGRANATE MOLASSES

Fall-off-the-bone ribs (as you can see from the photo...) with a serious barbeque sauce, sweetened with pomegranate molasses. Your guests might need bibs. Need I say more?

SMOKY LAMB SLIDERS WITH MINT-CHILI PICKLED CUKES

Sliders are another staple of mine, and these are smoky and spicy and juicy. If you're lamb-squeamish, use beef or an Italian pork-beef blend, and they'll be just as good. Go for a mini brioche bun for the ultimate in pillowy, buttery flavor.

CHEESE BREAD, BRAZILIAN-STYLE...

I swear these are easy, and some of my friends-who-don't-cook-that-often can attest since they've made them. No yeast - so none of that rising and punching down nonsense - just a bit of kneading together of ingredients, an hour of rest and they are ready to bake. They use tapioca starch which you can get at Whole Foods, and they are seriously delicious.

TRINI-STYLE WONTONS

Wontons are one of those things you kind of have to do and mess up folding and then will be a pro at forever. and they are a great finger food that you can stuff with just about anything. These are Trini-style because they were inspired by some I get in Crown Heights, Brooklyn at the Trini-Chinese spot. I baked them because I was feeling healthy, but if you have the oil going for the wings, fry 'em up for a minute or two until golden brown - this is, after all, a special occasion.

HARISSA-CHEESE STUFFED FRIED OLIVES

Please, don't make fun of me. Who serves olives for a Super Bowl party?? Stuff them with cheese, make them spicy, fry them and see what happens...

Don't forget that you need something to wash all of this good food down with. Do yourself a favor and make a pitcher of something and let people help themselves to that and beer from the fridge, so you can relax and hang with your friends and fam! Have fun watching the Super Bowl this weekend!!

Happy New Years + Navajo Fry Bread

HAPPY NEW YEARS + NAVAJO FRY BREAD

I know I'm a bit late with this New Year's wish, but really creating a new blog from scratch with all of your old stuff is so not as straight-forward as you think it would be! So please bear with me on the technical difficulties and bad links (and let me know if they go on for another month!).

In the meantime, I got away right before New Years and visited a ridiculously scenic part of the U.S. called the Four Corners – the only place where four states physically meet (Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado). The area is rich with the culture and the traditions of the local Native Americans, the Navajo, and I wanted to share a few things with you from this trip.

A woman named Ingrid showed me this dish called fry bread. Food always has a history, and the story from Ingrid’s grandmother is that during the “Long Walk of the Navajo” (when they were forcibly relocated from Arizona to eastern New Mexico), bread was a staple based on the rations of flour that they were given. When the dough was accidentally dropped in hot oil, fry bread was born.

Ingrid’s mom used to make it by hand (though our batch came together in a stand mixer), and there is all sorts of lore around the bread. If there’s hole in the bread, it’s often told that you’ll have a bad marriage or be a bad in-law…harsh!

And though it’s typically eaten as a meal with a stew or beans, we had a yummy, sweet version of it with berries, ice cream and honey drizzled all over.

The trip was pretty amazing, and there was an unprecedented amount of snow the first few days I was there. It usually doesn’t snow out there, and people I spoke to said that they hadn’t seen this in 20 years. Either way, the scenery and snow made my photography skills comp to Ansel Adams (not) so I wanted to share some photos I took.

Butternut Squash & Apple Bread with Maple and Cardamom

I posted a photo of this on Instagram a few days back, and a number of people came back and asked for this recipe to bake for the holidays. And here it is! It’s a bit lighter than other fruit or vegetable breads (think: cake), and relies much more on butternut squash than apple for flavor. That said, the great thing about this bread is that the squash doesn’t have to be precooked or pureed or anything before being added in. Grating it up in a processor does all the work you need, and the squash cooks in the baking time.

I made this cake for my daughter, who hated squash (until now…hah!). And for that reason, I changed out the flour using an “all purpose” mix of oat, brown rice, and almond flours. Really, it isn’t so much about the gluten, though being gluten free is a benefit for some here. It’s more about the fact that oats and brown rice and almonds have a lot more nutritional value than AP flour. Same goes for the maple sugar, a sugar from the maple tree that has a flavor very close to the syrup. Again, maple sugar has antioxidants and minerals not found in refined sugar. It has a lower glycemic index, and I always use a lot less of it in recipes.

These are just my choices, but feel free to use all purpose flour here and substitute another sugar if you can’t find maple. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 1 8½” x 4¼” x 2¾” loaf pan

2 cups raw, peeled, and grated butternut squash

1 cup peeled, cored and grated apple

scant 1 cup maple sugar

1 cup oat flour

½ cup brown rice flour

½ cup almond flour

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp ground cardamom

½ tsp baking soda

2 tsps baking powder

¼ cup organic, unrefined coconut oil or ½ stick butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs, room temperature

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375˚ F.

Place grated squash and apple in a bowl along with 3 tablespoons of the maple sugar. Stir to combine and let stand to macerate for 15 minutes.

In another bowl, sift together flours with salt, spices, baking soda and baking powder.

In a stand mixer, cream together remaining sugar and coconut oil or butter. With mixer on medium-low, add vanilla and then the eggs one at a time. Turn mixer down to low, and add in the flour in three increments, stopping to scrape down the sides. Mix until almost combined. Fold in the macerated squash and apple with any liquid that’s accumulated and mix until thoroughly combined.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan, and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool before unmolding.

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Cook, Food-Lover (or Yourself!)

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS FOR THE COOK, FOOD-LOVER (OR YOURSELF!)

It is certainly the most wonderful time of the year, and I wanted to share with you all some gorgeous and fun gift ideas. Some of these I have and others are fantasy gifts (hint, hint hubby), but I think any cook or food-lover would be thrilled to receive these. Enjoy!

HANDMADE OLIVE WOOD SPICE SERVER & ETCHED IRON DISH TRIO | Connected Goods

I came across Connected Goods some time ago and have been addicted ever since. The website carries unique and beautiful items that range from handmade quilts and baskets to jewelry and kitchen accessories like these. But the best part is that everything on the site is artisan-made, either locally in the States or internationally, where they employ strict, Fair Trade practices. Each item can be sourced back to the maker, which makes this type of shopping all the more sweet. I personally use this spice server every day!

HAND PAINTED ENAMEL TIFFIN | Connected Goods

It was hard enough to only choose three items from this site! But I do think this Kashmiri tiffin is a lovely addition to anyone's kitchen. Throughout South Asia, tiffins are used as lunch boxes for working individuals or children at school - the beauty is in the fact that it has a number of compartments to keep your food separate AND hot. These are fun to take for a picnic or even to use as serving bowls at dinner. I'm also a fan of stainless steel over plastic any day...

Food52 Mexican Hot Chocolate Gift Set.jpg

MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE GIFT SET | Food52

Food52 has outdone itself in its Provisions section - I literally can't visit it without finding 10 things I MUST have for my kitchen. This is a great gift for the chocolate lover and comes with a little woven basket full of cinnamon-y Mexican chocolate, a traditional frother, and clay pot. I personally always have tablets of Mexican chocolate lying around to make thick and luscious Mexican hot chocolate (spiked around the holidays...)

AMBATALIA UTENSIL WRAP | QUITOKEETO

This is another site that acts as a dream kitchen wishlist....This linen case is perfect for those of us that don't want to use (and waste) disposable flatware. Carrying around your own silverware just became stylish and chic (and environmentally-friendly!).

TORTUGA RUM CAKES | TORTUGA

Not too long ago, I took a truly amazing vacation in Barbados with great friends. All of the low-carbing to fit into my suit went out the window, and in the airport on the way back, I ate 2 of these out of the box. Truthfully, I just placed an order for a silly number of cakes to give away to friends and family (the chocolate and coffee ones) for the holidays and picked up some chocolate rum balls too. You won't regret these - they are everything you want in a good, boozy rum cake.

AGED TIN CAKE STAND | CANVAS INTERIORS

And while on the subject of cakes, here is the perfect stand to display your rum cake. Tiers and cake stands are great for holiday parties and summer entertaining alike, and I'm always looking for ones with a bit of edge - not too perfect, a bit antique. This one is a standout, and hopefully my friends are reading this because I don't have it yet!! :)

MASANOBU KNIVES | Korin

Great knives are second to none for someone who likes to cook, and these are the ones I use day in and day out. Love these because they are forged from Japanese steel, keep their edges, have great balance and weight, but are also Western-style. As a gift a few years back, my husband got me three of them - a Santoku, a slicer, and a pairing knife - and that's pretty much all I need. Needless to say, that made Christmas for me!

MOROCCAN TAGINE | LE CREUSET

When I was in Morocco a few months back, I learned the art of the tagine. Sure, I had been cooking them for years, but this was the real deal. The traditional tagine is made out of clay which retains heat amazingly well and lends itself to long slow cooking. Usually, it's all done on the stove top. What I love about this modern version is that it's cast iron, which means it too has great heat retention and is excellent for braises, but you can also sear right on the stove top and then transfer to the oven - braised short ribs, lamb shanks, stewed chicken all would be incredible in here.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED FIGS | ZINGERMAN'S

Zingerman's is THE go-to for mail-order foodstuffs - from Italian wild cherries to global breads to truly gorgeous gift baskets. I can always get hard-to-find ingredients and spices here, and they also offer delicious monthly clubs (including a bacon club). I don't think chocolate-dipped figs really need any more explaining...enough said!

HAND-BLOWN DECANTER | ahalife

Simple and elegant, this decanter crosses design boundaries and easily fits on anyone's dinner table. Quite frankly, I'd serve water in it too if I had non-drinkers at the table.

GLENNA SERVEWARE | ANTHROPOLOGIE

When I was cooking and photographing my cookbook, any time I needed a little culinary accessory, a plate, a Moroccan tea glass, whatever, I would run into Anthro. They just have beautiful stuff, plain and simple. I'm loving the bowls and platters here.

DAYNA DECKER CANDLES | DAYNA DECKER

When the holiday cooking is done and you want to clear the scents out of the kitchen, these candles do the job. All of the scents are transporting, and they burn forever. Plus, the wick makes a little sounds like a small fire burning, a crackling. Love.

Matcha Crème Brûlée

Crème brûlée is one of those fancy desserts that shockingly don’t take a ton of ingredients or time to make. I’m always playing around with the basic goodness , and this green tea version is a new favorite – light, delicately-scented, and simple.

The key ingredient here is matcha, a finely milled green tea powder that you can pick up at specialty, gourmet, and Japanese grocers. I love this stuff and all you really need is a teaspoon or so to transform a basic dessert or cake into something a bit more special. Beyond using it here, it’s delicious in crèpe batter, shortbread cookies, cheesecake and simple vanilla cupcakes….it’s fantastic to add to baked items because you don’t need to adjust your wet-dry ratios at all.

Enjoy!

Ingredients
Yields 4-5 (5-inch) oval ramekins
2 cups heavy creaam
1 teaspoon matcha green tea powder
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
¼ tsp salt
5 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar plus extra, for brulée
2 tablespoons honey

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 325° F.

In a saucepan, heat heavy cream, matcha powder, vanilla bean, and salt. Bring mixture up to a boil on medium heat. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl or stand mixer, whisk egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, and honey until well blended and light yellow in color. It should look very creamy at this point.

Strain cream mixture through a fine sieve and add it in small amounts to the yolks, whisking after each addition. You want to slowly bring up the temperature of the yolks (not scramble). Transfer custard to a measuring cup or something that pours easily.

Place paper towels in one or two different baking dishes (depending on size) and set the ramekins inside. Carefully, pour the custard ¾ of the way up into the ramekins. Then, add boiling water to the baking dishes so that it comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins. I bake these in a water bath, and the paper towels help the ramekins from sliding around and also help reduce the risk of splash as you pour the water into the dishes.

Bake at 325° F for 35 minutes. It should still jiggle slightly. Remove from water bath and let cool at room temperature for 10 minutes. Cover in plastic wrap (don’t let it touch the surface), and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours in order to set the custard.

Coat the top of the custard in each ramekin with a layer of sugar. Turn over to remove excess. Carefully, using a torch, brûlée the sugar, working in circles evenly over the ramekins.

Note: if you use larger or deeper ramekins, the cooking time will inevitably be longer. The key things are the water bath and also that it still jiggles when it comes out. You want smooth, creamy custard, not overcooked and curd-like.

Huffington Post: Why Finding Yourself is Overrated

Huffington Post: Why Finding Yourself is Overrated

So I recently started blogging for the Huffington Post’s Third Metric and wanted to share with you all my very first post! It is right in line with the new year, new beginnings, and all of those resolutions we are desperately trying to uphold. As always, I welcome any comments you might have!

WHY FINDING YOURSELF IS OVERRATED

I love finding simple inspiration in daily life — morning Yogi tea, Instagram, a mantra on my bedroom wall, or kind gesture in the streets. Inspiration can be direct or indirect, get you hyped up and fill you with confidence or even reveal something or, rather, reframe something you didn’t know you’d been thinking. For Christmas a few weeks back, one of the gifts my husband gave me was a sweet coffee mug that directly spelled out something I probably already knew — that life isn’t about finding yourself. It’s truly about creating yourself.

Books, movies, well-intentioned friends, a “gap year” all push us to eat, pray and love ourselves into figuring out who it is we really are, what we really want to be or do with our lives. As if our true self is hiding out there somewhere and we’re going to happen upon it! We’re going to be in a restaurant in Berlin, a temple in Thailand or in a sweaty Bikram yoga class when we have an “aha” moment. Discovery vignettes are always beautiful or dramatic, no? All of that may actually happen, but what this one, little phrase made me realize is that this concept of “finding yourself” gives permission for the process to exist outside of us, externalizes it so that we think we have to visit the right place or be in the right set of circumstances (usually not working) to understand who it is we really are. It shifts the control away from us as if we don’t have it in our power to realize what we want right here in our own home, office or even car.

Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved. — William Jennings Bryan

I, in fact, did have an “aha” moment, but my own life shifted not when I realized what it was I wanted to do as a career, how I could turn what I love (cooking) into what I live on a daily basis (chef and cookbook author). It actually happened when I came up with a game plan of how to do it. We all have the power to not just discover who we are but to decide who we want to be. To take actionable steps towards that life starting right now. To pick our point B and write out just how we think we are going to get there.

Not everyone is going to have a sudden bolt of self-actualized inspiration. It may be a slow build to an understanding, and that’s fine too. Either way, both are merely the beginning. The beginning of the beginning. From there, it’s about the plan, the journey, the work, the day-to-day grind in many instances to make your dreams and visualizations a reality. Here’s a transformative piece from James Altucher that spells out the A – WW reinvention game plan. No one said it would be simple!

I, myself, am personally chipping away at my mental life schematic on a daily basis across work, family, health and personal. I always start by envisioning the ideal and figuring out what I have to do in the short-term and then what consistent long-term measures have to be taken. I try to create my life as I want it and take joy in each step. I urge you to do the same — take your future on as your charge, predetermine your own life, and create yourself exactly the way you want.

Sopa de Flor de Calabaza (Squash Blossom Soup)

First, I want to say thank you to all of you guys that check my site or get my newsletter regularly – even when there is a bit of a lull. You guys are truly what keep me coming back, inspiring me to share my recipes and thoughts on cultural foods. With the weather turning a bit cool here in NYC, I’ve been on a soup-making kick as of late. It just feels right – that warm comfort – and I’ve been experimenting like crazy: lentils with coconut, a kicked up chicken and barley soup, no-cream squash and apple.

This is a recipe straight from Exotic Table – inspired by a traditional Mexican soup. Squash blossoms are the delicate, edible flowers of the zucchini plant and can often be found at the farmers’ market. The traditional, Mexican version of this soup purées the squash blossoms right in, but I think they are more beautiful left whole, to finish the soup. With the corn, potatoes, and squash, this soup is silky and rich without any cream, but a dollop of crème fraiche at the end really brings the flavor together. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, finely chopped

2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into a small dice

1 medium butternut squash, cut into a small dice

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups chicken stock

A small bunch of thyme

1 fresh or dried bay leaf

tiny pinch saffron (optional)

3 ears of corn, kernels removed and scraped for juice

8-10 large squash blossoms

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Crème fraîche, for garnish

Procedure

In a soup pot, heat the unsalted butter over medium-low. Add the onions and jalapeno and sauté for 4 to 6 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the potatoes, squash and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add in the stock, thyme, bay leaf and saffron and bring up to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.

Now, add in the corn kernels and any juice from the corn and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes until all of the vegetables are tender.

Remove the thyme bunch and the bay leaf, and purée the soup in a blender, working in batches. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I like the squash blossoms to be slightly raw, so I put 2 of them in each bowl along with a dollop of crème fraiche and pour the hot soup right over. The soup wilts them just enough.

Corn with Green Chili Butter and Toasted Coconut

I mentioned a few weeks back that I would be posting one recipe a month from Exotic Table leading up to the cookbook release, and here is another fun one just in time for Labor Day, barbecuing, and glorious, end-of-summer cookin’: my corn with green chili butter and toasted coconut.

The story behind this one is that I grew up eating this rich corn curry—pieces of corn on the cob simmered in a delicious stew with coconut, green chilies, and cilantro. When summer comes around and corn is in season, I’m not usually in the mood for stews, so I came up with this recipe to satisfy my cravings—buttery, grilled corn with sweetness, heat, and the crunch of toasted coconut.

Think of it like Mexican street corn…but East African-style! This is deliciously simple and will add the perfect spice to your everyday grilled corn. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

6 ears of corn

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon honey

1 serrano chili, finely minced, seeds and ribs removed

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

3 tablespoons unsweetened dessicated coconut, toasted

salt, to finish

Preheat the oven to 400°F or preheat the grill. Roast/grill corn in the husks for 25 minutes. Remove the husks and any remaining silk.

In a small bowl, combine butter, salt, honey, serrano chili, and cilantro.

Liberally spread chili butter on corn and sprinkle with the toasted coconut. Finish with a bit of salt and serve.

Jamaican Ackee & Saltfish

Recently, a friend of mine from Jamaica who happens to be an incredible cook gave me an impromptu cooking lesson. She showed me how to make Ackee and Saltfish, Jamaica’s national dish, and, although I didn’t write down exact measurements (given the impromptu nature of it all!), I wanted to share the experience with you guys and at least give you the building blocks…

First, let’s talk about ackee – it’s Jamaica’s national fruit, though it’s not really sweet and, in this dish, cooks up like a vegetable. Ackee starts out closed and green (and is actually poisonous in this state), and then it matures to red-orange and splits open to reveal black seeds and white-cream flesh (which is perfectly safe to eat). Obviously, finding the fresh fruit here in the States is pretty tough, but you can sometimes find it canned or frozen.

The second part of the dish is the saltfish, which is dried, salted cod. The cod can be soaked for a few hours to reduce its level of salt or used as is – a quick poach and flaked up, it’s ready for the dish. Ackee and saltfish is really a sauté, and, in our version, we started with some bacon, and then added sliced onions and peppers, a minced, killer Scotch Bonnet pepper, chopped tomato, and sliced scallions. We threw in the flaked saltfish and then carefully folded in the ackee and some fresh thyme.

Ackee can be boiled ahead of time or added into the sauté – it cooks up very quickly. It turns from a white to an egg-yellow when cooked and can crumble easily (so be ginger with it). We fried up some dumplings to go with the creamy, buttery ackee (the tradition), though rice, green bananas, yams or even fried breadfruit also go really well with it.

This is truly a breakfast (or brunch) of champions! Creamy, spicy, and deeply flavorful and beautiful paired with the crispy, fried dumplings. Thank you, May, for the ackee and saltfish tutorial!

Cookies and Milk (not that kind…)

So a bunch of my girlfriends had babies this year, and all of them are nursing in lieu of using formula. As a mom, I know tips and tricks are always really helpful, so I thought I would create this recipe as a gift to all my fellow mommies out there. It’s a cookie loaded with incredibly healthy and natural ingredients like wheat germ and flax that taste amazing (and also happen to help boost supply for nursing moms)…

Another girlfriend of mine introduced me to lactation cookies, and I just thought why spend on a biweekly order when you can make ahead and freeze as much as you want! Galactagogues are foods, herbs, etc. that help promote lactation – these cookies have oats, flax, and brewer’s yeast, all of which are great at boosting your milk supply. Brewer’s yeast is not to be confused with regular old, active dry yeast used in baking. This type of yeast is the kind that’s used in beer-making, is rich in minerals, protein, and B vitamins, and can be found in powder form at the health food store.

Otherwise, these cookies taste great and are fine for the whole family to eat (without milk-producing consequences!). I love chocolate and dried fruit in mine, but you can play around with the add-ons because the recipe is pretty forgiving. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 2 dozen cookies (size-dependent)

1 ¼ cup oats

½ cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup wheat germ

¼ cup ground flax seed

3 tablespoons brewers yeast

½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup vegetable shortening

1/3 cup white sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

1 egg, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ cup dark chocolate chunks or chips

¾ cup dried cranberries or cherries

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

In a bowl, mix together oats, flour, wheat germ, flax, brewer’s yeast, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or with a hand mixer using a paddle attachment, cream together butter, shortening and both sugars. Add the egg and vanilla extracts. Add oat mixture and mix until almost completely incorporated. It should mostly be sticking to the paddle at this point. Scrape down, add in chips and dried fruit and mix for another 15 to 20 seconds until uniform.

At this point, I like to turn the cookie dough out onto plastic wrap, form into a cylinder, and freeze for about 10 minutes. This makes it easier to cut into even sized, round cookies. Conversely, you can just drop rounded spoonfuls a few inches apart onto prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes depending on how chewy or crunchy or what size you made the cookies. Cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

Cover for My Cookbook, Exotic Table

Cover for my Cookbook, Exotic Table

At long last! I have been working on this cookbook for some time now, and we are reaching the final stages. I am beyond excited and can’t wait to share all of the delicious recipes and tips with you guys. In the meantime, I thought I would share the cover, and isn’t it apropros? Me adding a dash of something special to put a signature twist on a dish…

The book will be available for pre-order from Amazon sometime in July, so I’ll update you all then. The release date will be some time in October – perfect to start planning Thanksgivings, holidays, and family dinners!

Thanks for all of your support through the years to make this dream become a possibility!

Pomegranate-Mint Arnold Palmers

Now that the weather has officially turned here in NYC and the heat is on, I’ve been craving iced non-alcholic drinks on the regular to cool me down. Specifically, I’ve been nursing an addiction to Arnold Palmers, that half iced tea, half lemonade concoction that’s also referred to as Half and Half. They are ridiculously thirst quenching and have just enough caffeine that I don’t miss my coffee.

In the summer, I love to make a different pitcher of something every few days and leave it in the fridge. That way, when friends stop by I have the perfect, impromptu, non-alcoholic drink to serve that also works as a base for a cocktail (splash of vodka, anyone?) if the mood permits…

Of course, such a basic drink deserves a little twist, and I dressed mine up with pomegranate (2 ways!) and a touch of mint. I added a bit of pomegranate juice, but I also used pomegranate molasses to sweeten the drink. I’ve mentioned pomegranate, and other fruit, molasses in the past, and though the term molasses may call to mind a super sweet sugar byproduct, fruit molasses are actually quite healthy. They are just the cooked down version of the fresh juice, and I prefer using this as a natural sweetener here than anything else. You may want it to be a bit sweeter, so feel free to toss in a bit of agave or simple syrup if you need and enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 1 big pitcher

4 English Breakfast tea bags

½ cup lemon juice

1 cup pomegranate juice

7-8 tbsps pomegranate molasses

additional simple syrup or agave, to taste

mint, for garnish

Procedure

Bring 8 cups of water up to a boil. Add tea bags and let steep 4 to 6 minutes. Remove tea bags and cool completely in the fridge.

Transfer cooled tea to a pitcher and add the lemon and pomegranate juices along with the pomegranate molasses. Taste and add simple syrup or agave to taste, if desired.

To serve, muddle a bit of mint in the glass before adding ice and pour the Arnold Palmer right over.

Peruvian Purple Corn

The other day I stumbled across some Peruvian purple corn in a local, ethnic market and had to share it with you guys. I nabbed a big stash of it, since it’s dried and will last for a minute in my pantry. Peruvian purple corn is a variety grown in the Andes and is used to make a popular drink called chicha morada and a dessert called mazamorra morada, both of which I had in Peru a few years back.

I’ll start with the fact that there are a bunch of studies that show that purple corn has incredible health benefits. Rich in antioxidants and with anti-inflammatory properties, it’s thought to treat everything from high blood pressure to obesity. Doesn’t it always seem like foods some cultures have been consuming for years for its health properties we are just discovering?

Now, mazamorra morada is a sweet corn pudding, thickened with potato or cornstarch and scented with spices like cinnamon and clove. But my favorite way to use this is chicha morada, which is a great warm or cold weather drink. It’s extremely easy to make, and you really don’t need much of a recipe. You basically want to steep the dried corn in water with a few sticks of cinnamon, some allspice berries, a few cloves, a bit of apple or quince, maybe some dried cherries, and pineapple rind. Let that simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, sweeten with sugar or honey, add a bit of (key) lime juice and that’s it!

It’s served cold, and in many places, chopped fruit is added at the end, much like sangria. A big secret is to let it stand in the fridge for a few days. That fermented taste is signature to a great chicha morada. Enjoy!

My Breakfast Clafoutis

Lately, I’ve been craving desserts on a daily basis, and so in an effort not to get too crazy, I’ve been searching out healthier alternatives to satisfy my sweet tooth. I made these as a fast and healthy weeknight dessert, but the leftovers quickly became my morning snack over the following days. And why not? Eggs, milk, fruit and almonds? Perfect breakfast food!

These are decently healthier than the last version of clafoutis I posted with Amarena cherries and dark chocolate…which are delicious! But, here, I used lowfat milk instead of heavy cream and made them gluten free with the addition of almond flour in lieu of all-purpose. Everything (except the berries) gets whirred in a blender before a short rest period, so these are super quick to make and can’t be easier for clean up.

I don’t put a ton of sugar in these since I have them for breakfast, so you may need to sweeten them up a bit more if you like it on the sweet side or finish with a bit of powdered sugar or an extra drizzle of honey. If you are using peak season berries, they should be plenty sweet – I use frozen berries in the off-season months myself. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 6 6-ounce ramekins

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk, lowfat or otherwise

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tsps almond extract

¼ cup honey or light brown sugar

¼ tsp salt

1/3 cup almond flour

1 ½ cups berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries or some combination)

cooking spray, for greasing

powdered sugar, for garnish (optional)

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a blender, blend together eggs, milk, extracts, honey and salt. Add flour and blend for 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides and blend for another 10 to 15 seconds until flour is incorporated and there are no lumps. Rest batter in the refrigerator for a minimum of 15 minutes and up to overnight.

Grease the ramekins, and place on a large baking sheet. Place ¼ cup of mixed berries in each ramekin and top with an even amount of batter in each.

Transfer baking sheet into the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes until lightly browned, raised and the custard is set. Remove and let cool slightly before serving. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Banyuls, My New Obsession

In cooking for my cookbook, I went through a slew of different ingredients and techniques, played a lot, and intensely focused on flavor for my dishes. I had used fortified sweet wines like Port and Sherry in the past, but Banyuls was a new experiment for me, and I had to share with you guys. It’s a wine from the southeastern portion of France, called Banyuls-sur-Mer, very close to Spain, and it adds ridiculous flavor and depth to sauces, stews and marinades.

The wine is made primarily from Grenache grapes, harvested in the fall during peak sweetness, and result in wines that range in color from blond to red (most common). It’s aged in oak barrels for at least 12 months. What makes a wine “fortified” is that a spirit is added during the wine making process. Here, alcohol is added to stop the fermentation process of the grapes, a process called mutage.

But really – how does it taste? For me, the flavor is reminiscent of baked stone fruits, with chocolate, caramel and even tobacco notes intermingling. It’s complex and sweet, and is the type of dessert wine you’d pair with a foie gras or a caramel tart. The vinegar made from the wine, Banyuls vinegar, is equally intriguing – a delicate, deeply flavored concoction that falls somewhere between a balsamic and sherry vinegar.

Chicken or pork recipes that call for a bit of deglazing with wine are beautiful with Banyuls – I used it in a chicken and biscuits recipe in my cookbook where the stew had meaty mushrooms in it. It’s delicious to marinate steaks and to poach fruit for a chutney or even a dessert – think: Banyuls poached figs with ice cream (yum!). Let me know if you’ve ever cooked with it and what you made!

Our Global Kitchen @ The American Museum of Natural History

Recently, a friend suggested I check out an exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History called Our Global Kitchen, and it could not have been more up my alley. I stood in front of each piece of the exhibit for silly amounts of time, greedily absorbing as much as I could. For anyone interested in food – farming practices, what local means to different cultures, how trade has shaped cuisine, the science of taste, connectivity between food and heritage – this is an extremely informative and fun exhibit that I highly recommend and may end up checking out again!

This exhibit literally walks you through so many details on the history and evolution of food – it’s amazing. The initial portion details how farming practices have changed, evolved to fit while simultaneously shaping our food needs. I was amazed at how chicken and eggs have increased production for our demand.

This is a global exhibit, so getting to see how farming works in other places around the world is fascinating. Though I am a huge fan of Gotham Greens in BK!

You walk through a typical Aztec market and see how ingredients, like chocolate, were used then (savoury not sweet!).

A look at how Kublai Khan ate shows how Mongol rule created a unifying force and a true blend of foods. Is it fusion? Can you call it that?

What’s interesting is that I lightly touch on a few of these points in my cookbook, in terms of how I see food now and evolving in our much younger country. I think history will repeat itself with all of the ethnicities in America contributing to a rich food culture. What do you think?

Happy New Years + Shots from a Jamaican Market

Happy New Year to you all! Between the cookbook deadline, holidays and travel, I have been a bit MIA, but I wanted to wish you all a very happy and healthy 2013. AND I wanted to share some pretty cool shots from an open-air market I visited in Jamaica. This is a true local spot and gave me a great snapshot of what’s traditionally used in real Jamaican cooking.

This is fresh sorrel used to make a delicious, tart drink. You also may know this as hibiscus, if you’ve ever had the tea. I’ve always seen it in dried form, so good to know what it looks like fresh!

Talking that talk!

This is a major part of the cuisine, the national fruit of Jamaica, ackee. It’s often eaten with saltfish and related to the lychee and longan actually. Unripe, it can be toxic.

A little spice shopping – here is fresh nutmeg with its wrapper, mace.

The ubiquitous scotch bonnet pepper! I love it, but that heat is deadly. I was shocked by how much went into Jerk seasoning – such a key flavor.

White Sapote

I stumbled across this fruit at my local grocer, and the produce guy was so convincing of this fruit’s deliciousness that I had to pick up a few. It’s called white sapote, a member of the citrus family that comes from Central America and Mexico. It’s somewhere between a peach and an apricot in size and has a soft, fleshy pulp similar to an avocado with multiple pits.

The fruit starts off green and firm and ripens to a yellow color. This can happen pretty quickly, so if you leave it out to ripen, watch it so it doesn’t go over. When ripe, unlike other citrus, there is no acidity. It’s sweet and custard-y with notes of vanilla, pear and banana – if there is any tinge of bitter, it’s still unripe (I learned this the hard way!). It’s unlike any other fruit except possible the custard apple or cherimoya, which also have a sweet, custard-like texture.

Interestingly enough, the fruit was referred to in a Mexican dialect as “sleep sapote” because it has soporific (sleep-inducing) effects. Although the fruit is harmless, the seeds apparently contain narcotic compounds, so don’t eat them!

An Easy Thanksgiving Side: Cranberry Salsa

Thanksgiving is my favorite of favorites, and I’ve already gone on and on about how my sides turn into a total global mash up. I love the day and although I go a little prep crazy, I do try to sneak in at least a few, no-brainer, quick dishes to make my life (and any voluntary sous-chefs!) a little easier.

This is a fast, Mexican-inspired side using seasonal fresh cranberries – don’t worry you can use frozen if that’s what you got. I like to mix this up the night before and let all the flavors mingle (and the cranberries break down a bit). It’s really tasty and adds a bit of heat and piquant flavor to the meal….enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 6 to 8

3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, halved

½ red onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and ribbed, finely chopped

2 – 4 tbsps sugar

pinch of salt

½ tsp lime zest

juice of half a lime

small handful of cilantro, finely chopped

Procedure

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together. Since different batches of cranberries can be sweeter than others, adjust the amount of sugar to your personal taste.

Refrigerate covered for at least a half hour to let the flavors marry. Serve chilled.

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