Catering Debrief: Phew.

The final menu:

Avocado Caprese
Deviled Eggs with tarragon or dill
Watermelon Salad with cilantro and crispy pancetta
Chilled Cucumber Soup with mint almond pesto
Lemon Tarragon Baguette with course sea salt

Ok, time to toot my own horn a little.

The catering at the Big Green Theatre Fundraiser went really well. Amazingly well. I was amazed.

I had been incredibly nervous during the week leading up to the fundraiser. I had never catered for 75 people before, I was afraid I'd make too little food, I was afraid I'd make too much food, I was afraid the avocados wouldn't be ripe enough, or too ripe, I was afraid I had created a menu that forced me to do everything very last minute.

That last fear turned out to be a little credible. The 48 hours right before the fundraiser were insane. Hauling home 30 pounds of vegetables on the subway by myself during rush hour almost put me over the edge. The discovery that an emersion blender would not work on over a gallon of cucumber mint soup was very disappointing. And the eggs, oohhhh the eggs. Damn those eggs. Those eggs did not want to be peeled. It took me 3 hours to peel 3 dozen eggs. Damn those eggs.



The morning of the fundraiser, Noel left early to help set up the theatre. I sat at the kitchen table, staring into space, sipping away at a pot of coffee. I was thinking through the rest of the menu that I needed to finish in the next 3 hours. I didn't have a garnish for the cucumber soup. I was going to use chive blossoms, but no one at the farmers market had them in stock that week. I had lots of leftover mint, so I decided to make a quick pesto to garnish, with the mint, some of the smaller basil leaves that weren't going in the avocado caprese, toasted almonds, and garlic. I chopped through the layers of herbs, garlic, and almonds on a cutting board rather than running everything through the food processor. This method is a little more time consuming, but I think it yields a more textured and rustic pesto. Then I stirred through a spritz of fresh lemon juice and some olive oil, until everything stuck together nicely. I felt a little crazy for adding work for myself at that point, but I was very pleased with the result.



Another last minute project was making a dressing for the watermelon. Again, I'm not sure what possessed me to do this, but I'm very glad I did. I had rendered out a lot of fat from the pancetta as I was crisping it in the frying pan. I decided to use the fat in a dressing with some aged balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. Only a small drizzle went over each piece of the salad, but it added a great subtle and rich and tangy and sweet something, and it made the watermelon look even more juicy and delicious.



One of the great things about catering for the Bushwick Starr is that they have a small kitchen in the theatre. Roberta's Pizza had donated 8 baguettes to the fundraiser, and I was able to heat them in the oven during the fundraiser. They came out of the oven steaming fresh and slightly sweet from the lemon tarragon butter on the inside, and with a crispy crust, sprinkled with course sea salt.

I was also able to replenish the buffet table with freshly made plates of food, rather than having to pre-make everything. I sliced and assembled the Avocado Caprese as they were needed. Everything was as fresh as possible, and to my immense satisfaction, people really appreciated the effort. Many people commented on how unique and fresh the food was, and I overheard one woman say that it was much more like having a personal chef than a caterer. Wow.

So, it was an immense amount of work, but incredibly gratifying, and I hope to tell more tales of catering very soon.

P.S. To those to came to the fundraiser, I hope you had a lovely time, and thank you so much for all the kind words. I'm so glad you enjoyed my food.

The Big Dig

We have a backyard.

Not too many people in Brooklyn are lucky enough to say this. It's a mess but it's coming along. And it's all ours. We don't have to share.

The photo above is what it looked like the first day I looked at the apartment. One corner was covered by a moldy old rug, the rest of the yard with weeds and buckets full of broken glass.



Since then, much work has been done, mostly by Noel. We have pulled all kinds of artifacts from the dirt: shoes, scrunchies, bottle caps, hangers, clothes pins, matchbox cars, cigarette butts, army men, sticky traps, dry wall, batteries ... the list goes on. One of my favorite discoveries was the bottom portion of a cat's jaw bone next to a set of plastic vampire teeth. I almost wish we had saved some of the best stuff to put on exhibit at a housewarming party!

All of this amazing junk is being removed to make way for sugar snap peas, sweet and hot peppers, radishes, parsnips, heirloom tomatoes, eggplant, brussels sprouts, butter leaf lettuce, herbs, sunflowers, and butterfly bushes.

I can't wait to walk outside in the morning, pick a fresh, deep wine-colored tomato from our yard and have it with sea salt and pepper, and maybe a fresh egg from the farmers market. I can't wait to make pickles with cucumber and herbs that we grew ourselves. And I can't wait to have people over for dinner! Grilled eggplant bahn mi with sweet pepper relish and fresh cilantro? Yes, please.

So, very soon, I'll be cooking about as locally as it gets: with ingredients grown 15 feet from my kitchen. I feel very lucky. And I'll gloat and gush all about it here, very soon.

News!

Hello all!

Sorry to have been away so long. I've been working on MANY things, and I have a few exciting bits to announce.

First of all, for anyone in the NY area, I will be catering an event for an amazing theatre space in Bushwick, Brooklyn, called the Bushwick Starr. They are having a fundraiser to kick off a wonderful new project at the space called Big Green Theater, as well as celebrating the opening of their hydroponic rooftop garden!

I'm working on a light buffet menu inspired by traditional garden party fare, and trying to source locally as much as I can. Right now the menu (subject to change) includes:

Cucumber Mint Soup with Chive Blossoms
Watermelon Salad with Cilantro and Pork Cracklings
Avocado Caprese
Local Farm Deviled Eggs with Fresh Herbs
Lemon Tarragon Baguette

For more information or to buy tickets for the Big Green Theater fundraiser, please CLICK HERE.

The second bit of news is that I have enrolled in a program to become a certified holistic health counselor. I'm very much looking forward to this new chapter in my life, and hope to share what I'm learning with you here, in addition to the recipe posts.

I hope you are all having a wonderful spring. Now is a great time to check out your local farmers markets for spring veggies!

Best,
Mary

Blizzard Brunch

Wednesday morning, I was lucky enough to find myself snowed in with a fridge full of delicious ingredients. This hash was the result of a thrown-together meal for my dad. I later made a version for myself, omitting the bacon, but I suspect his was tastier! We ate this with thick slices of pumpernickel bread to sop up the egg yolk and melted cheddar.

Winter Hash with Crispy Brussels Sprouts

Serves 2, or one who has done a great deal of shoveling

A litle less than a pound of baby potatoes
2 strips bacon, cut into half inch strips
1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
About a half dozen Brussels sprouts
Two eggs
Grated, aged cheddar (optional)
Salt and pepper
Sunflower or olive oil

Trim the stems from the Brussels sprouts, and separate the leaves. Toss the leaves with enough oil to coat, a liberal amount of salt and pepper, and then spread them out onto a sheet pan. Roast in a 400 degree oven for anywhere from 5-10 minutes, until they are browning and crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Boil the potatoes in a pot of salted water for about 10 minutes. Strain in a collander, then place the collander over the empty pot off the heat, and cover with a dish towel. Allow the potatoes to steam for another 7-10 minutes. Quarter the potatoes and set aside.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add bacon, and cook until just starting to brown. Add the diced onion and saute until they begin to become translucent. Add the garlic, stir a bit, and then add the potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste.

I let the potatoes brown a bit, and then gave them a little smush with a potato masher, but you could certainly leave them whole if you prefer a homefry to a hash.

Cook the eggs to your liking, fried or poached.

Divide the potato hash between two plates, and sprinkle with the cheddar cheese if you are using it. Top with the egg, then disperse the Brussels sprout "chips" around the plate.

warm winter salad

I eat a lot of salad in warmer weather, but in the winter I jones for something a little heavier and more filling. I love topping mixed greens with roasted veggies--Brussels sprouts, sweet potato, parsnips--chopped almonds, and some shaved cheese, but sometimes I want something a little quicker and simpler.

Kale makes a great warm salad, because it retains its crisp texture even after light cooking. It's also one of the healthiest foods you can eat. I recently read that it packs the highest nutritional punch with the lowest amount of calories of any food.

I love kale simply sauteed with a bit of oil, garlic, and salt and pepper, but this recipe dresses up that method a bit, and makes it more of a meal than just a side dish or a snack.

Kale with Hen of the Woods Mushrooms and a Fried Egg (serves 2)

Like I said, I like kale because stays crisp after sauteing, but I imagine any dark leafy green (Swiss chard, beet greens, or even spinach) would do fine here as well.

Hen of the woods mushrooms (sometimes called Maitake) have a strong, earthy, musky flavor, so a little will get you further than some other varieties. I have also found that they do not cook down quite as much as other mushrooms (good, too, because they can be a bit pricey, but worth it!). You could certainly substitute another mushroom here if you cannot find these.


1 bunch kale
about 1 cup hen of the woods mushrooms
1 large clove garlic, minced
scant tablespoon fresh thyme (about half this if using dried)
2 fresh eggs

safflower oil (or olive oil)
salt
pepper

To prepare the hen of the woods mushrooms, remove the feathery top bits from the knobby base, then discard the base. Separate the feathery bits further into bite-size pieces.

In a small skillet heat a generous glug of oil over medium heat, then add the mushrooms. Cook for about a minutes, then season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Continue to cook until just tender, about 3 more minutes. Remove from the pan and cover to keep warm while you move on to the kale and eggs.

Chop kale across the stem into 1 inch strips, discarding any larger bits of stem at the bottom of the leaves. Rinse the kale well to remove any grit.

Heat a couple generous glugs of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the minced garlic, and allow to sizzle for just a moment, then throw in the kale. If there is water left on the kale after you rinse it, the oil with sputter when you add the greens, so stand back! Season with salt and pepper and toss well to dress with the garlic and oil. Saute until bright green but still crisp--this will only take a couple of minutes. Remove to serving plates immediately so it does not overcook.

You can use the same pan in which you cooked the mushrooms for the eggs. Heat a little oil over medium heat, and fry the eggs to desired doneness. I like over easy, so the yolks are thick and velvety, but still runny.

To assemble the salad, make a bed of kale, sprinkle with the hen of the woods mushrooms, and gently slide the fried egg over the top. Finish with a little more freshly cracked pepper. I like to serve this salad with a crusty brown bread and Cabot clothbound cheddar. This is one of my absolute favorite meals, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

butternut squash soup

I don't find the internet an appropriate forum to share details about my personal life, and that's not what this blog was intended to be. It's about food: what I make, what you make, what we like to eat, etc. But the way we eat is contextual to the rest of our lives, clearly, and I (and my family) have had a truly painful and overwhelming past two weeks: great loss, great love.

So if you know me, you'll know why I have been away for a while. If you don't know me, I find that I don't need you to know why I've been away.

I'll just say that ...

The world spins on, we go on, and we must eat. So let's eat well, dammit.

Soup has seemed the most comforting, palatable option. Modest and homey. On Christmas Eve, we made a butternut squash soup. Thick puree, incredibly filling, sweet and savory, oh yes. This will be made again. Soon.

Wishing you all a very happy new year,

Mary



Butternut Squash Soup (serves 4)

1 Large butternut squash, quartered lengthwise, seeds removed
1 Apple (I used a Fuji), peeled and diced
1 Medium sweet onion, diced
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
Olive oil
Butter (optional, but recommended)
Salt
Pepper
Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400.
Place squash in roasting pan and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper. Roast until tender when pierced with a fork, about 45 minutes. Scoop out the meat of the squash with a large spoon and discard the skin.

Meanwhile, heat 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil with one tbsp butter (alternately you can use a little more oil) in a large pan over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, add the diced onion and season with salt and pepper. Sautee until caramelized, about 15 minutes. Remove onion from pan and set aside.

In the same pan, heat another tablespoon of olive oil, then add the diced apple. Season with salt, pepper, and a scant 1/4 tsp of nutmeg. Cook until softened, then set aside.

In a large pot, combine scooped squash, onion, apple, thyme, and rosemary. Stir to combine, then just cover with water. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat.

You can puree the soup either with an immersion blender or a regular blender. If you use a regular standing blender, puree in batches (only fill the blender about half full), and only cover it LIGHTLY to allow the steam to escape--otherwise you with have a major soup volcano on your hands.

Check for seasoning. If you have seasoned every layer of the ingredients, you should have a well-seasoned soup, and it should need very little adjusting at this stage.

Serve garnished with fresh cracked pepper and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

my kind of cake. OR yes, please add some beer to that

Rich, buttery, chocolaty, not too sweet, and, wait ... what's that flavor, is that ... is that Guinness?

Oh yeah.

Chocolate Guinness Cake is from Nigella Lawson's book Feast, and it may be the best chocolate dessert ever. It's incredibly simple to make, but does require some "special equipment": a 9 inch springform pan (the kind with the clamp on the outside and a removable base), and parchment paper. Both of these items should be easy to find at any home goods store, or maybe even a well-stocked grocery. DO NOT try to make this without a springform pan. It is a very moist, heavy cake, and you will have a hell of a time getting it out of a regular cake pan in one piece.

The thing about baking (for those who think they can't do it), is that you have to really follow the recipe. It's an exact science. So don't try for any substitutions here (no yogurt for sour cream, no Budweiser for Guinness) or you won't get a tasty result.

Also, when baking, the end result will only be as good as the ingredients you put into it. So don't be chinsy: spend a few extra dollars and go for a good Dutch cocoa powder. Droste (in a red box) is GREAT if you can find it. And always use REAL vanilla extract, not the imitation stuff.

Ok, enough baking philosophy. Without further ado, here is Nigella's amazing recipe, with a few, hopefully helpful sidenotes from me.




Chocolate Guinness Cake
From "Feast" by Nigella Lawson

Ingredients
Cake
1 cup Guinness stout (not the whole can)
1 stick unsalted butter, sliced
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups granulated sugar (superfine, if possible)
¾ cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Icing
8 ounce cream cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar
½ cup heavy cream

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

Pour Guinness into a large saucepan, add butter and heat until melted. Whisk in cocoa powder and sugar. In a small bowl, beat sour cream with eggs and vanilla and then pour into brown, buttery, beery mixture and finally whisk in flour and baking soda.

Pour cake batter into greased and lined pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour (Check at 45 minutes for doneness, poking a skewer in center.[Mary: if it comes out clean, it's done]). Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.

When cake is cold, gently peel off parchment paper and transfer to a platter or cake stand. [Mary: Always wait to frost a cake until it has cooled, or you will melt your icing.]

Place cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a mixing bowl, and whip with an electric beater, until smooth (You may also do this with a food processor.).

Add cream and beat again until you have a spreadable consistency.

Ice top of cake, starting at middle and fanning out, so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.

Yields about 12 slices.

Happy Holidays, everyone!