20 Questions with Chuck

My husband Charles Hamilton is my number one cooking companion and can follow almost any kitchen command. He calls it ‘cooking by remote control’: I can sit back and give instructions and he will get it done. Mostly, though, we cook together. Pizza night is a favorite that we started as newlyweds almost 30 years ago. If I ask, he will put a mean edge on our knives and then puts those sharp blades to work on a board full of vegetables. He also makes a great DJ.

This mystery man is an inimitable girl dad and has roughly zero social media presence. He loves to surf, cycle and get into some fun carpentry projects from whittling chopsticks to creating our work of art front entry bench. For Mother’s Day 20-something years ago, he gave me my first of many Rick Bayless cookbooks and that’s where we discovered and he perfected the recipes for salsa negra and poblano rajas.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? Poblano rajas. I think poblanos are a superfood.  Blister ‘em thoroughly under the broiler or on a grill. Then let them steam in a covered bowl until just cool enough to handle. There are some more steps, I’ll let you give the recipe. Usually the spice level is manageable for most.  Sizzle the rajas in the butter before adding the scrambled eggs to the pan and add the cheese at the end. Fantastic on a pizza with salsa, pepper jack, black beans and chorizo maybe.  Reilly just eats them in a bowl with a flurry of salt.

What’s your favorite city? Barcelona, it’s on the water, near the mountains, the food is great and everybody wants to be outside. 

What’s your Favorite restaurant in your current city?  Cocha.  The owners are our friends and neighbors and serve super fresh Venezuelan inspired food.  The new dog-friendly sidewalk patio is a game changer!  

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? Black magic.  Salsa Negra is the real name but your brother Johnny took a late night first taste and declared “Black Magic”. 50 chipotle peppers are quick fried and reconstituted in molasses water with garlic and then cooked down down down.  It looks like tar, spreads like tar, with a heat profile that comes on slow and then lasts with smokey sweet heat.   

Who taught you to cook? You did!

What’s your go-to dish for company? I really like that chicken florentine that YOU make for company.  Pounded chicken breast rolled with spinach and fontina cheese covered in a luscious beurre blanc sauce.  Rice or orzo with it.  So good.

What’s on your cooking playlist? Cooking with music is the best.  It’s fun to pair the music with to the cuisine sometimes. It's crazy that we have access to almost any song ever recorded at our fingertips.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? Strong black coffee in the morning. After eggs.

Date night--at home? or out? I’m a homebody.  Love, love, love, date night at home.

Most stained cookbook? I take good care of your books...

Surf? or Turf? Surf.  I like those red snapper fingers served with black magic tartar sauce.  I’m more of a Surf & Chirp guy.  Chicken thighs are the best.  Salt & pepper and grilled.  

Indispensable kitchen tool? It’s a toss up between a sharp knife and a bottle opener.

Staple childhood comfort food? My mom Claire’s mac and cheese. Made with Velveeta and I think margarine was a factor. You have to serve this with an iceberg lettuce salad dressed with Good Seasons dressing, with little bits of celery on a good night.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? I would have breakfast with my two grandfathers, at a local diner in Philadelphia or Chicago. I wouldn’t even say who I was, we’d just have breakfast, sip coffee and talk about the day ahead. Family, sports, work and then walk out in different directions. 

Ideal grilled cheese? Ruth Reichl’s. The one with as many varieties of alliums (white onions, red onions, yellow onions, garlic, shallots, green onions, leeks? ramps?) as you can find in the house. Dice ‘em small and mix with your cheese. Raw. Yes I was skeptical... thinking it would be too raw oniony. The ciabatta bread is prepped with butter on the inside! A spread of mayo on the outside and smashed with bit of cheese/onion mixture. Grill in an iron skillet low/med for awhile. Decadent.  

Favorite pizza topping? Caramelized onions. Don’t believe those recipes that say you can caramelize onions in 20 minutes or less. Settle in and don’t rush it. Go for the deep sweet mahogany. 

Where would you want to take a cooking class? I’d go back to Oaxaca and get a masters in mole.  Grab a paper cone of spicy chapulinas (fried grasshoppers) at the zocalo while shopping for ingredients.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? Learn Julia Child’s technique for mincing garlic. Crushed/smashed is right for some dishes but minced cooks way differently. Peel the cloves without crushing it, keep the stem intact, and cut through the cloves horizontally to form three or four layers, then slice vertically, then chop. The stem keeps it together.

Three things next to your stove? April, a glass of red wine and Gus.

Favorite Sports Team? Florida Gators and Kelly Slater.

Chuck’s poblano rajas make an excellent quesadilla filling.

Poblano Rajas

These are a staple in our kitchen. You can get a small batch done in 20-something minutes, but we usually make a huge skillet full as an all hands on deck affair. They keep well in the fridge for up to a week and add a festive note to everything they touch. Scrambled eggs, pizzas, blended with a little cream for pasta. Let your imagination soar! Poblanos are deep emerald green cone-shaped chile peppers, best known as the star of chiles rellenos.

Recipe from Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen cookbook.

• 1 pound (6 medium/large) fresh poblano chiles

• 1 large (8-ounce) white onion

• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

• 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and freshly chopped

• ½ teaspoon dried oregano

• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme

• Salt, about ½ teaspoon

Heat your broiler to high. Lay the chiles on a baking sheet and roast them about 4 inches beneath the broiler until blistered on all sides, turning occasionally.

Place the blistered chiles in a large bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel and let them steam for 5 minutes. Carefully peel off the charred skin, then use a paring knife to cut out the cores and scrape out and discard the seeds. Cut them into ¼-inch wide slices.

Cut the onion in half through the root end. Cut off the ends and remove the skin, then slice along the grain into ¼-inch slices. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until nicely golden but still slightly crunchy, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and herbs and stir for one minute. Mix in the chiles and stir to heat through, about 1 minute. Taste and season with salt. 

20 Questions with Mayor Amy

Amy Goodwin is the mayor of Charleston, West Virginia, a lucky city to be in her capable hands! She’s the most energetic visionary and is as funny as she is smart. My face still hurts a bit from laughing when we chatted for this interview. She might claim here that she’s not much of a cook -- and anyone familiar with the Goodwin family knows Amy’s husband Booth is the mayor of their home kitchen. However, her 20-ish minute coconut rice recipe is a show stopper, game changer, life saver. All the things! Stop what you’re doing and make this rice, and maybe the peanut sauce, too, to quell your hunger.

Amy and I met at Holz Elementary where our kids were enough years apart that they didn’t even overlap in the lunchroom. As moms do, we collaborated on some PTA projects and all the while Amy excelled in her impressive day jobs. She translated her journalism degree into an exciting political career. Before she became the city’s first female mayor, she was the commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Tourism and the state’s number one cheerleader. Almost heaven, indeed!

What’s your 20 minute recipe? I was going to try to find one, I thought about lying to you about it, but I can’t do that. If I’m anything I’m honest. I’m the eater of the family, not the chef. My favorite thing to eat that I cook all the time is sweet and salty jasmine rice. Boil it in coconut milk, add some sugar and salt. It’s like a side and it’s also like dessert.  I make a triple recipe, my 16 year old and 18 year old love it! It’s great with peanut sauce with ginger (lots of garlic and ginger) 

What’s your favorite city? That’s silly. The city that I serve! Obviously I have lots of favorite cities, but this one is my favorite favorite favorite. I’m a rivers, lakes, creeks and streams girl. If I’m gonna get out of town I’ll go by a lake. I love the Eastern Panhandle and the Potomac.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? You can’t do this to me! This is the problem, I’m an eater. When my husband travels, my boys know we are ordering out. What the question should be is what’s your favorite place to eat breakfast? To get a snack? I’m the girl who can make a meal out of getting an extra thick raspberry chocolate chip milkshake at Ellen’s! Barkadas is my ‘I’m sad cuz it’s bad weather’ restaurant and I get the crispy spam burrito and it’s pure comfort food. We have Food Truck Wednesday on Slack Plaza. My favorite is Bite Mi. Rock City has my favorite pastries. Favorite pie is Sarah’s Bakery. Have you had her pies?! Favorite brunch is Sam’s Uptown. That’s where we eat brunch! Chicken and waffles. So good! Best burger in town is Joe’s. Cheeseburger with everything except onions.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? Something that doesn’t have mold on it? My boys eat constantly. There’s usually not much in there! Can it be in the freezer?

OK, then it’s ice cream that people have forgotten about. Those little vanilla mochis. 

Who taught you to cook? OK ok, listen. One thing you know about me is I’m honest! This is how I think people learn how to cook, they learn from their parents. My parents worked constantly so we ate out of a crockpot or we went out to eat. The person who actually taught me the most is Hello Fresh, the meal kit that gets delivered with clear how-to instructions. I really do have a lot of good skill sets, but cooking is not one of them.

What’s your go-to dish for company? Booth cooking on the Green Egg is always a crowd pleaser. I can whip up a low country boil if people who are coming don’t have food allergies. Homemade pizzas on the Big Green Egg are always a big hit! I keep beating up on myself. I’ll tell you I make the best homemade chocolate chip cookies. I make them for the fire department, the police department. If they see me coming with a box in my hand they know what's in there.

What’s on your cooking playlist? I love alternative music, punk rock!

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? OMG coffee 24/7. Coffee, coffee, coffee all day long! Like my old newsroom days. I like it to be khaki color. Not sweet, though I might have a cookie with it. 

Date night--at home? or out?  I just did a story on our city finances. That was easier than this interview! It’s always a split. When I pick, it’s out, when he picks, it’s in. He likes kitchen gadgets and always wants to try out the new ones.

Most stained cookbook? I have hundreds of cookbooks, I like to read them like a magazine. Before I was in public office when I had more time, it was Chrissy Teigen, her first book. Also stuff my sister texts me. If this interview was about cleaning the home I would crush this. I was the cleaner growing up. My sister did all the cooking. 

Surf? or Turf? Both? 

Indispensable kitchen tool? I would say my really heavy marble rolling pin! I like to bake. 

Staple childhood comfort food? Anything out of the crockpot. I grew up in the northern panhandle, lots of Italian food. I love a good red sauce with bread to dip in it.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she is so wicked smart, fabulous, wonderful. I just really love her. I love her! Just to be in her presence.

Ideal grilled cheese? OOHHH! Three different types of cheeses on my father in law’s homemade bread. Oh and that bread is great for french toast, too.

Favorite pizza topping? Mushrooms! Lola’s mushroom pizza is crazy good!

Where would you want to take a cooking class? In Jennifer Garner’s kitchen. I’m not being funny about it. I think she would be really nice, she wouldn’t tell me I’m using the wrong knife.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? Be prepared for company. Always have good cheese, crackers, nuts and olives, oh and some wine, and people will think you’ve been planning on their arrival.

Three things next to your stove? I have a big planter filled with fresh herbs, my salt pig, four different types of olive oil. Lots of different pepper mills that Booth buys. Lots of hot sauces, I think I have more hot sauces than anyone in Charleston.

Favorite Sports Team? Now what does this have to do with cooking? You know I’m a hockey mom! Pittsburgh penguins.

Sweet and salty coconut rice ready for topping your way. I went with roasted peanuts, lime, red pepper flakes, toasted coconut and fresh cilantro.

Mayor Amy’s Sweet and Salty Coconut Rice

I asked Amy if she makes this recipe in a rice cooker and she replied that’s not one of the zillions of kitchen gadgets in the Goodwin home. So I challenged her that I would try making it in the rice cooker* (talk about game changer! Mine is new this year and I am in love!) and that if it worked, I owe her a rice cooker. Order pending!

1 ½ cups jasmine rice, a can of FULL FAT coconut milk, fill the can with water, ¼ cup sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons. JQ Dickinson salt

COMBINE all ingredients in a medium saucepan (with a tight fitting lid). Bring to a low boil, stir, then reduce heat to low and simmer with the lid on until rice is done, about 20 minutes.

*works splendidly in my rice cooker! when it was ‘done’ I gave it a stir and pressed the cook button again to give it a few extra minutes of full heat. The bottom got a little golden but didn’t stick.

Bonus recipe for Mayor Amy’s peanut sauce in her words:

½ c. peanut butter, all natural is best, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger. (I use ginger on almost everything, I even put it on my toothbrush!’ she said) 1 tablespoon sriracha if you want to kick it up! 5 cloves of garlic, minced or grated. Mix it all up. This recipe saves me! I stole it from Chrissy Teigen’s cookbook Cravings.

20 Questions with Ted

Counter Intelligence is the column I founded and wrote for the Charleston Gazette-Mail for three years before I moved to Louisiana. I also wrote a cookbook of the same name and in this 20 Questions blog series, I have loved reconnecting with friends from everywhere and learning their counter intelligence kitchen tips. Ted Boettner probably reads everything within reach, he made it all the way to the back page of the Gazette’s Life&Style section. He emailed me on occasion about something in my column which led to lively debates about butter, sugar and all things kitchen. It was great to engage on cooking topics with a widely published think tank guy! We made a salad during the legislative session in West Virginia and I shared the recipe in my Counter Intelligence column (linked below with Ted’s recipe question). 

I caught up with Ted when I visited Charleston a few years back to visit friends and unveil the Charlie Cart teaching kitchen at the YMCA. He brought his young daughter to the interactive cooking demo and when they made the featured ‘Three Sisters Saute’ last week in their home kitchen, he sent a pic of his now eight-year old daughter chopping zucchini for the dish. He must have read my mind! He was in my cue for 20 Questions. He just switched to a new think tank and now works as a senior researcher with Ohio River Valley Research Institute, focusing in part on sustainable economic development. 

When he’s not being a policy wonk, Ted enjoys a nice whitewater paddle in West Virginia, running marathons, hiking at Dolly Sods, some political theory, and cooking for friends.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? My go-to because of the kids and what they love is Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce with onion and butter. I serve it over whole wheat spaghetti. I swear it is so good and simple! With a good can of Italian tomatoes it’s 1-2-3 and done in 20 minutes. I like to make a nice salad to go with it.

What’s your favorite city? There are a couple of places I would move to: Missoula, Bozeman, or Helena, Montana. I went to Missoula a few years ago and after driving across the country, went to a paddle shop and the guy there made some calls and lined up a shuttle and everything for us. Big Sky has some of the best backpacking and not very many people. It’s a playground!

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? Cafe Cimino. It’s 50 miles away, kind of old fashioned. The chef comes out and they keep bringing you stuff. It’s all really damn good! It’s the kind of place you order coffee after dinner.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? I have some ramp butter. Also there are some things in life you have to have. I always keep feta in my fridge. It makes everything better

Who taught you to cook? My mom definitely. We had meals at the table at least 5-6 days a week, very ritualistic. We had church at the table, preparing good food and taking time to enjoy it. She taught me to be a good analyst of recipes, reading them from the bottom up. It reminds me of a James Baldwin quote: “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

What’s your go-to dish for company? That’s a good question. I do the opposite of what you’re supposed to do. I experiment on company. When it works out, it’s a lot of fun. I always make a grain salad in case it doesn’t work out. I got a really nice piece of flank steak from Dickinson Gould the other day and served it to company. It was like, “chimichurri, come to me!” I like to do a large side of salmon and cook it, it’s easy but the people are like ‘how did you do that?!’

What’s on your cooking playlist? I do a very eclectic mix. I’ve been listening to Florence and the Machine. Sturgill Simpson, I really like him a lot. John Prine, too.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? Coffee no doubt. I look forward to my morning coffee when I go to bed at night. I do like kombucha! It helps if I’ve had too much to drink the night before.

Date night--at home? or out? Usually out. We love Secret Sandwich Society in Fayetteville! It’s worth the drive.

Most stained cookbook? Yours, of course! What I end up doing is watching shows and then I google how to make some of the dishes. I got really into this show about Argentinian street food, hence the chimichurri. 

Surf? or Turf? Surf. Fresh caught grouper is really amazing. I’ve had salmon that I caught in Alaska and it was good, but the grouper I caught off the coast of North Carolina was better.

Indispensable kitchen tool? Right now I’d say it’s my new carbon steel pan. There’s nothing that thing won’t do! I keep it out on my stove.

Staple childhood comfort food? Sloppy Joes. My mom used to whip those up all the time. I still make them. I make a really bourgeois version with pickled red onion and a good bun. They make me feel really comfortable.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? My reflexive answer is Christopher Hitchens. He was witty and smart and loved indulgence.

Ideal grilled cheese? Hearty wheat or sourdough with a combo of cheeses. I like something sharp with muenster, I like the way it melts. I’ll add thinly sliced apples and onions.

Favorite pizza topping? My uncle makes this wonderful pizza with pepperoni and blueberries. It’s fabulous!

Where would you want to take a cooking class? I’ve always wanted to go the the King Arthur baking school in Vermont for a weeklong immersion bread course. I would love to do that.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? I’m going back to the feta from before. Also when I’m cooking meats, I use a really good quality garlic powder instead of fresh garlic which tends to burn. I’ll make a rub with garlic powder, cayenne, salt and pepper.

Three things next to your stove? Tongs, kosher salt in a barn, olive oil.

Favorite Sports Team? New York Mets. The first time I went to New York City my dad took us to a Mets game. I took my daughter to Pittsburgh for three games when the Mets were in playing the Pirates. Also I love watching 30 for 30.

Deliciously simple tomato sauce tossed with whole wheat spaghetti, ready to embellish (or not) and serve .

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Marcella Hazan, the famed Italian cooking teacher and writer has many styles of tomato sauce to her credit. A super simple version with canned Italian tomatoes, a halved whole onion and a varying number of tablespoons of butter is arguably one of the most popular. For good reason! It is delicious and the marriage of bright tomato and creamy butter with a backstory of onion is hard to beat, especially since you can cheat the suggested 45 minute simmer time and get ‘er done in 20 flat. Ted likes to serve with whole wheat spaghetti and a meatball or two. He also uses the sauce for lasagne. 

• 1 (28 ounce) can good Italian whole tomatoes

• 1 medium onion (about an 8 ouncer) peeled and halved through the shoot and root

• 5 tablespoons good butter, cut into 5 pieces for quick melting

• Salt
  

POUR the tomatoes and their juices into a large deep pot (I used an enameled Dutch oven. The depth keeps the vigorously simmering sauce from spattering everywhere). Crush them with your clean hands (a great job for the kids!) into smallish pieces, or mash them with a wooden spoon once you get the heat going.

ADD the onion halves, the butter and about a teaspoon of salt.

HEAT the sauce over medium high until it boils, stirring occasionally. 

REDUCE the heat to medium or the level of heat that makes you feel like your sauce is conversing with you while you go about cooking your pasta and making your salad.

STIR the sauce from time to time, cooking until the tomato juices have reduced a bit and the butter melted into a glossy perfection. With a lively-simmer/boil, I coaxed mine into done at 20 minutes.

REMOVE the onion from the pot (it’s a great cook’s treat or fun to add to your next morning’s egg scramble), add salt as needed, and serve with your favorite pasta.

This batch generously coats a pound of spaghetti. It also invites embellishment: fresh basil, red pepper flakes, maybe some Parmesan. 

20 Questions with Judy

My post last week introduced one of the friends I met through Molly O’Neill’s Cook N Scribble online food writing course. And this week I am overjoyed to reconnect with Judy Allen who I met on the same call and again in person at Molly’s Food Media Bootcamp. This experience introduced me to a roster of glorious new friends and with each of us otherwise engaged, it is an absolute delight to keep in touch!

Judy Allen and I partnered on the barn kitchen cooking assignment: go pick out some stuff at the farmer’s market and pair it with the pasta that Alicia is teaching, then photograph it and write it into a formatted recipe. We went with a Summer Carbonara--tiny cubes of yellow and green summer squash sautéed with green garlic, and tossed with some steaming pasta water and golden egg yolks in the style of a classic Carbonara minus the pancetta. We garnished with a delicate shower of Parmesan and buds from the green garlic, styled some photos, then savored every bite.

Judy’s credentials set her up to ace this exercise. After graduating from culinary school, she interned at Martha Stewart Living Magazine. She moved up in the ranks from recipe tester to senior food editor. After six years she left New York and returned home to Tulsa, Oklahoma. She’s written for ‘pretty much every publication’ in Tulsa and currently writes a weekly column in Tulsa World. With life in limbo, Judy describes her status as being on extended vacation while emergency homeschooling a sixth grader. She has a cookbook in mind to scrapbook her life as a keepsake for her family.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? Refrigerator pickles. I keep a giant Ball jar going in my fridge.

What’s your favorite city? It’s like asking me what my favorite restaurant is! It depends. I love Breckenridge where I can go and put my feet up, looking at the mountains and simply do nothing. Also I love New York City, I lived there and there’s no other place like it that I’ve ever experienced. It’s the polar opposite of the Colorado experience. Right now I would LOVE to go to New York!! 

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? One thing that I really miss about New York is the pizza. We have a place here called Andolini’s, we go there a lot, and have been getting take out a lot. They even have make your own pizza kits which we have enjoyed doing recently, I also love Oren with a chef from Tulsa who worked in New York. He does smaller plates and gets really creative with everything he does. It’s the most creative restaurant in town. What’s happening now just kills me. We had a growing vibrant food scene and now there is so much uncertainty.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? You can always find a hunk of cheese lurking! It might or might not be good...I also love to pickle things, so there’s always a jar of something pickled, I recycle the brine like a sourdough starter and keep adding new veggies to it. 

Who taught you to cook? Initially my dad. He’s always been a really good cook! I was always watching Julia Child and the Galloping Gourmet with him. I was raised in the Time Life cooking era. He spurred my interest in food. I went to culinary school to learn to do the editorial work. I wanted to know more about who makes these magazines. My dad went to culinary school when he retired from surgery at 75. He loves to help prep in the restaurants in town. He’ll work for free. The chemist in him focuses on the science of bread formulas.

Surf? or Turf? I live smack dab in the land of turf and I do have half a cow in my freezer. I do love a good surf though! Some sort of shellfish. Clam pasta, lobster. I will take a lobster roll over anything. And I love crab!! A good bone in rib eye, medium rare with butter, that’s what I live for 

What’s on your cooking playlist? Usually what my son is watching on TV. I’d say, Marvel, Star Wars or XBox. I love the Tom Petty Channel. The band Pink Martini takes me back to my New York days, throwing dinner parties. Or I binge watch HGTV in the background while I’m cooking.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? I am definitely a coffee girl. It’s my morning ritual, making coffee. One of my good friends from New York opened a tea shop in Brooklyn. Bellocq. She has the most amazing teas! They are so beautiful. One of these days I’m gonna say that I’m tea, but for now I’m coffee. I’ve always been a little bit curious about kombucha. A friend was making some in his home and the whole container exploded! I’m a little concerned about drinking something explosive.

Date night—at home? or out? We’re homebodies, we enjoy grilling steaks and salmon for my son. Pastas and smashburgers. I don’t fry at home. Fried chicken is one of my favorite foods on the planet but I don’t want to make it at home. The clean up isn’t really worth it when you can get really great fried chicken from Celebrity Club.

Most stained cookbook? Let me turn around here. I have a wall of cookbooks, I have sort of a problem. I have a JOY of Cooking from 1931. It is so dog eared and taped together. There are notes in it and it is definitely stained. I got it at a vintage cookbook store, maybe Bonnie Slotnick’s in New York? You can find some treasures if you visit these little shops. I have a Mastering the Art of French Cooking signed by Julia Child. I don’t even open it. It is on the top shelf all by itself. I use cookbooks mostly for ideas. I have a major cookbook hoarding problem. You know, I might need this someday.

Indispensable kitchen tool? The thing I use the most is the lemon squeezer, or a Microplane zester. I mean besides knives. Knives are a given. Or my onion goggles. I can’t chop onions without crying, so onion goggles to the rescue! Basically I need all these 3 things in my drawer. And I do love my Vitamix! I would never give that away. It is so versatile! I recently made ice cream and sorbet in it, I just froze the purees in a loaf pan. It was good! 

Staple childhood comfort food? Probably mac and cheese. My mom always made homemade mac and cheese. She baked it in a Corningware bowl. The middle sized bowl in the set is her mac and cheese bowl. She still uses it! You get a wide layer of crunch and it’s deep so you get a lot of creamy. Also my mom always made lamb shoulder chops which are hard to find. Whenever I have them it reminds me of my childhood.

What’s your go-to dish for company? Depends on who’s coming! If it’s my sister and her family, yes mac and cheese. I love to do the ‘what can I put on a platter that’s really pretty’ type salad. Watermelon, peaches, burrata, something with the season. I also love to do taco nights which are great for do-ahead. In the winter I like to do a short rib braise with polenta.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? I would love to share a meal with Julia. I wish that Nigella and I were friends. I love her style, I love her personality. I’d love to have her over. I’d love to have Amy Schumer over for cocktails. I wish I had gotten more information out of my grandparents while they were still alive. 

Best thing you’ve ever eaten in an airport? You know, there is a place in the Denver airport. Root Down. You’re usually in line at Starbucks or grabbing something at Chick Fil A. I had some time to sit down for a change and it was really good! It’s not a vegetarian place but they do have a lot of vegetable-heavy stuff. We had the lamb sliders and sweet potato fries! Mint-garlic slaw and harissa aioli. 

Ideal grilled cheese? You know, I’ve had many grilled cheeses in my life. It’s hard to beat the classic white bread with American cheese slices. It’s not broken, why try to fix it? For this reason I always have Kraft singles on hand. I’ll even melt a slice on a flour tortilla if I can’t be bothered with buttering a slice of bread. I watched Padma Lakshmi make a griddled cheese on tortilla in Mexico and they flipped it cheese side down and it got all burnt like frico. I thought I’m gonna have to try that! We might be having that for dinner. People think I’m a cheese snob but I’m really not. I am a snob when It comes to martinis. I stuff my own olives with bleu cheese.

Favorite pizza topping? Fresh mozzarella. I could take it or leave it with anything else. There’s nothing like a good charred crust with fresh mozzarella. I like anchovies too! I learned that at John’s Pizza in New York

Where would you want to take a cooking class? I would like to take a cooking class from some pasta nonnas in Italy. Or with Thomas Keller at The French Laundry. (I ask if she’s been. She says, I have! It was epic! It was a long time ago, I’m due for a revisit).

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? For me it’s about prep. Make sure you have all your stuff, whether it’s prepped or measured. Just make sure you have what you need before you start the recipe. Get everything out before you get started.

Three things next to your stove? Crock full of spatulas, giant thing of salt and room temperature butter.

Favorite Sports Team? Yankees. I got into baseball when I moved to New York. When I signed up for Cook N Scribble and realized Molly is Paul O’Neill’s sister, that put her up another rung!!

Summer pickles, a versatile recipe from Judy Allen’s extensive scrapbook. Photo credit Judy Allen

Gran Jan’s Refrigerator Pickles

Note from Judy: My dear friend Valarie’s mom, known as Gran Jan, makes these quick and easy pickles throughout the summer. We love them as cucumber pickles, but feel free to use the pickling liquid over other vegetables – green tomatoes, zucchini, beets and even sweet potatoes are willing candidates.

• A dozen or so smallish pickling cucumbers

• 1 medium Vidalia or other sweet white onion

• 2 fresh jalapeño peppers

• Kosher salt for sprinkling

• 2 cups sugar

• 1 quart Apple cider vinegar

• 2 cups water

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1-2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

SLICE cucumbers, onions and jalapenos thinly on a mandolin or with a knife. They should be very thin - between 1/16th and 1/8th inch.

PLACE vegetables in a large paper towel-lined colander. Salt the vegetables liberally and let sit for at least 30 minutes to allow any liquid to drain off. Rinse well and set aside to drain again.

HEAT sugar, vinegar, water, soy sauce and red pepper flakes in a saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.

ADD cucumbers to canning jars or plastic containers. Pour vinegar mixture over them and refrigerate at least a couple of hours before eating.

Makes about 4 quarts

NOTE: Pickles will last for several months if kept refrigerated. Feel free to follow canning instructions to keep pickles longer at room temperature.

20 Questions with Sara

How do you feed five hungry boys and a husband during a pandemic? Just ask Sara Martinez, a chef, writer, teacher and mom to five school aged boys. While everyone has been home, Sara describes the scene as cook, clean up. Cook, clean up. And lots of groceries. She continues her work remotely with Wellness in the Schools, teaching cooking and nutrition in South Florida schools, the perfect blend of her chef training and degree in nutrition.

Sara and I met in an online food writing class, Cook N Scribble, led by the late great Molly O’Neill. We furthered our friendship at O’Neill’s Longhouse Food Revival, an annual themed gathering at a barn turned kitchen, cafe and classroom in Rensselaerville, New York. The following year, O’Neill set up a dream trip for our writing group to do our cooking and scribbling at Julia Child’s home in the South of France. Sadly O’Neill became critically ill and insisted that the show must go on without her. Cue Sara who filled Molly’s shoes to help feed and entertain a group of hungry writers. We are eager to return.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? Tutti Quanti, an acidic type of condimentI. It’s Italian for ‘a lot of people or a lot of things.’ I interpret it as anything you have, pretty much anything you have in your fridge you can use. It’s a salt, fat, acid type recipe. It doesn’t have the heat element because you don’t cook it, here the heat is the spice which boosts the flavor. You don’t really feel it tasting spicy. Where I’m from in Venezuela we use an acidic sauce on our root vegetables and meats. It helps cut the richness. It’s really really versatile. For Father’s Day we did a type of Argentinian barbecue with picanha and sausages and served it with the Tutti Quanti.

What’s your favorite city? New York, definitely. I really like southern France, and I love Washington, D.C.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? There’s a special sushi place that I like, Sushi Song. It’s tiny and their sushi is amazing! They have a really really really good roll, the Spiderman roll. It’s salty, sweet, crunchy all in one! 

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? My homemade vanilla extract. I use a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated, make it in a big mason jar. I got a bunch of vanilla beans from Restaurant Depot and made a batch with white rum. I put some of the pods in a clamp jar for vanilla sugar for a treasured find in my pantry.

Who taught you to cook? In my childhood, we had a housekeeper, Augustina. She’s from Colombia and part of our family. I owe it to her! She cooked for us and always made this special rice. I still make it her way. You wash long grain rice to remove the starch, then parch it in a little oil in the pot to get the rice grains coated with oil. Don’t let them brown. Add water, salt and a clove of garlic, then let the water reduce off until you see little holes. Turn it down and cover and cook low low on the stove for 10 to 15 minutes.

Surf? or Turf? I like them equally, I’m 50-50. Mar y Tierra. Though after watching the Netflix documentary Game Changer, I think we should all go plant-based. It’s a must must must see!

What’s on your cooking playlist? Lately I put some dance-y Latin music/Merengue/Reggaetón on Pandora.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? I love tea! Cold tea with lemon. Lately I’ve been drinking more coffee, cafe con leche from the Nespresso.

Date night—at home? or out? Out!

Most stained cookbook? Actually it’s a Venezuelan cookbook, Comida Criolla. I want to cook what I can’t have, so I crave the food of my country. Recently we made Pastel de Chucha. It’s layers of poached sea skate which has the flavor of lobster and the texture of soft cod. You layer it with sweet mashed plantains, sofrito with raisins, bechamel and salty white cheese. 

Indispensable kitchen tool? My offset spatula. It’s great for everything!

Staple childhood comfort food? Oh gosh, I have so many! I guess an empanada.

What’s your go-to dish for company? Lasagne/Pasticcio with flan or tres leches for dessert.

Go-to olive oil? We have an Arabic store and they have a great Lebanese olive oil at a great price. I love fruity olive oil! Also Portuguese olive oil is amazing.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? Definitely my paternal grandfather. I never got to meet him, seemed like an extraordinary person.

Ideal grilled cheese? Hmmmm. Sharp cheddar. Has to be sharp cheddar! My ideal grilled cheese is from the Penn State Creamery with the tangy cheddar. It’s the best ever.

Favorite pizza topping? I love hearts of palm. It’s awesome on pizza! Mushrooms, artichoke hearts and hearts of palm. Try it, it’s really great!

Where would you want to take a cooking class? In Tuscany.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? Always undercook things a little bit. The carryover heat will finish the cooking. Also, cook with all your senses. Look, smell, listen, taste and feel. It’s alchemy, it encompasses everything. When you’re so focused on a recipe, you’re not paying attention to the sensory clues. Use your senses when you write, also.

Three things next to your stove? Crocks with wooden spoons and spatulas, cruet of olive oil, salt and pepper. My kitchen is small so the Nespresso is there, too, because it doesn’t have a choice.

Ready to blend!

Tutti Quanti

Sara’s go-to condiment is so versatile, build and blend to suit your taste. The cilantro and onion are non-negotiable.

• 1 bunch cilantro, including stems, rinsed and spun dry

• 1 small onion, peeled and halved or a fist-sized equivalent of green onion or shallot

• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 ripe tomato OR blend of fresh bell pepper for sweetness and an aji dulce* pepper if you can find one

• 1/4 cup olive oil

• good splash of vinegar/you just want to taste it (can use lemon but gives the sauce a different profile)

• 1 to 2 teaspoons hot sauce (Sara likes Sriracha or Tabasco)

• Salt and pepper to taste

PUT the cilantro, onion, garlic, and tomato or pepper(s) in a blender or food processor.
POUR the olive oil over and add a good splash of vinegar and a teaspoon of hot sauce.

BLEND until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper, adding additional hot sauce for a little more spice and adjust vinegar if you like it more tart.

SERVE with a platter of grilled meats or roasted vegetables.

STORE extras in a mason jar in the fridge.

*aji dulce peppers are a quintessential component of Venezuelan cooking. Sara recommends seeking them.

20 Questions with Kristin

Kristin Perers and I grew up in the same tiny Florida beach town, yet we didn’t meet until two springs ago, all the way across the pond where she hosted my family for dinner in her East London studio. We were in London visiting our daughter Sara, and Kristin’s brother Rob made the introduction. “Come round to mine,” she said, and our family of five enjoyed a feast fit for royalty in Kristin’s production studio: platters of cured meats and cheeses, a show-stopping phyllo and spinach pie, a salad of market greens freshly dressed, all accompanied by easy conversation about life, London, and our shared hometown.

A professional photographer, Kristin wears tons of hats, always happy painting, drawing, cooking, sewing, gardening. The cookbooks in Kristin’s portfolio bring natural beauty to food art. Working as a photographer in London has been a winding path for her as she describes, “It’s interesting the way my path led me to more and more food photography. In London it’s such a food culture. Everyone I work with is very passionate about where their food comes from. I’m really interested in the whole food system and I have a great interest in nature. Basically food is nature on a plate.” The discussion led me over to Books for Cooks in Notting Hill where I purchased two cookbooks featuring her gorgeous work.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? Something I made up. It’s super easy. I’m trying to go vegetarian as much as possible and I’ve been eating roasted vegetables every night. I serve them with a tahini dressing that has yogurt, lime, honey, garlic, salt and pepper. Maybe balsamic, maybe mustard. Something about that combination. I got the juiciest, tangiest limes at the produce shop. It’s acid, fat, and nuts. Throw it over grilled or roasted vegetables, whatever you’ve got. In lockdown I’ve been making this almost every night, variations on a theme and it’s helped me make friends with my electric oven.

What’s your favorite city? Right now it would have to be London. it’s a fascinating city with so many layers of history. I’m reading The Mirror and the Light, Hilary Mantel’s novel in her Booker Prize winning trilogy, it’s a dive into London’s history.

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? I LOVE the gluten-free pizza at Oceanside Pizza on Ocean Avenue. The crust is really good and crispy.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? You know what I’ve just gotten really excited about and I used to be really snobby about is garlic in a jar from Goya. This makes lockdown! Some people are hoarding TP, I’m hoarding garlic. I have three jars.

Who taught you to cook? The person who influenced me most is my stepmom Susan. She’s of Lebanese descent and introduced me to a lot of different ingredients. Also in London, everybody has dinner parties and as a young bride I learned to cook.

What’s your go-to dish for company? My go-to is my phyllo spinach pie! When I first moved to London, I saw a box of frozen phyllo pastry and the recipe was on the box. It’s nice, you can make it beforehand. Phyllo is so beautiful, it makes a splash. I love the moment of bringing something to the table and people go, “oh how did you do this?!” The best part of cooking is the praise.

What’s on your cooking playlist? I have different things. I have been playing a lot of Mary Chapin Carpenter. Spotify is so great! There’s even a playlist that if you start off with Mary Chapin Carpenter, it DJ’s for you. I love her music. I don’t want too dramatic or dance-y. It grounds you and lulls you along.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? All of the above! I love all of them. I start with tea in the morning and move to coffee, then Kombucha in the afternoon.

Date night—at home? or out? We usually have date night out. I do a lot of cooking at home, too. My husband is a priest and Saturday nights he’s working on his sermons at the dining room table while I’m cooking right there in the kitchen. It’s such a nice evening!

Most stained cookbook? Joy of Cooking! Which my mom gave to me when I was 18 and moved to New York City.

Indispensable kitchen tool? I love two of my husband’s vintage kitchen tools, a beautiful thin-edged spatula and an old fashioned rotary crank parmesan cheese grater. It makes the BEST grated parmesan.

Staple childhood comfort food? Chocolate brownies from a box. I always have a box on hand for emergencies. I have a box here!

Who would you most like to share a meal with? past, present or fictional? I would love to share a meal with President Obama. He would be fun and interesting. I would LOVE to know what he’s thinking right now! I’d love to know what he and Michelle talk about. If Michelle could come along that would be all the better.

Ideal grilled cheese? You have to be eating it at the counter of a New York coffee shop. Swiss, bacon on rye, maybe a slice of tomato. Sliced diagonally and ketchup on the side.

Favorite pizza topping? I love feta and anchovies.

Where would you want to take a cooking class? So many places! I was in Sicily last year, maybe I’d like to go there. I have a good friend who lives there. She’s an amazing chef, took us to all the food markets. Cooking is such a part of their culture.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? I’m a really simple cook. Going back to tools, one thing I’ve seen a lot of chefs I work with use is a mandoline. I really love it for making coleslaw and thinly slicing potatoes.

Three things next to your stove? Olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil. I got really influenced by Samin Nosrat and her book Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. She really got me thinking about the different types of fats and also learning how necessary fats are in your diet.

What’s your favorite sports team? I like watching the tournaments. My boys are Man U supporters and my husband is a Tottenham Spurs supporter. I could never choose one!

Do you have a wellness tip you’d like to share? I’m really into probiotics. I eat yogurts and kefirs with live cultures. It’s really important for your digestion. I also love cultured foods and fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi to keep your gut healthy.

As we wrapped up our conversation, Kristin said, “I want to change where I want to learn to cook. I want to come to your kitchen and learn southern cooking.” It’s a date! Two creatives from Melbourne Beach, Florida cooking up some fun in my south Louisiana kitchen.

Kristin’s roasted vegetables with tahini dressing — edible art covering the acid, fat, nuts and probiotics bases. Photo credit: Kristin Perers

Tahini Dressing

with a shout out to the ladies at Soom, makers of the best tahini! I ordered a 6-jar case and it feels like I’m sitting on gold.

Less of a recipe and more of a creative blend that matches the season. Grill or roast a palette of vegetables and dress to your taste. Per Kristin’s description: No specific measurements … start with a small tablespoon of tahini and twice that of yogurt …add olive oil if the yogurt is too thick….  then the acid (lime) to taste. Chili flakes for a little heat… mustard or balsamic to suit your vegetable selection.

Play around and enjoy!

20 Questions with Cris

Picture this: Fiesta night in the La Vista room at Rick Bayless’s Frontera Grill with margaritas shaking like maracas, guacamole and ceviche expertly crafted to order, corn tortillas pressed and griddled by hand, shrimp and carne asada searing on the grill, and every delicious note choreographed to the Latin beat streaming into the party.

The Fiesta was a celebration for my niece Lindsay’s bachelorette, her mom Tami made the reservations and I was invited! The room filled up with Lindsay’s ‘Squad’ of 20-somethings and suddenly the staff seemed like old friends. Cristian Camacho, Chef de Partie with Frontera, Topolobampo, Xoco, and Bar Sotano in the family of award winning Rick Bayless restaurants, manned the guacamole and ceviche bar. Conversing with each customer, he customized every order. Fruity? Spicy? Extra citrus? Pinch of salt? Maybe some crunch? At the end of the evening, Chef Cris and I exchanged Instagram names and now we can all keep up with @whats.cris.cooking.

What’s your 20 minute recipe? I love making chimichurri salsa, it only takes about 5 minutes unless you make the smoky version. It’s super delicious and simple. I’m a meat person, I love it on carne asada.

What’s your favorite city? Oh that’s a tough one. I’ll say Antigua, Guatemala. My heart is here In Chicago, but every time I visit Guatemala, I have to go to Antigua! All of a sudden, it’s HAPPENING!

What’s your favorite restaurant in your current city? It’s a tie. S.K.Y. is very fantastic and the chef is phenomenal! And Haisous. I love everything about it! I went for Restaurant Week and had one of the best meals there.

Treasured find in the back of your fridge? Mochi ice cream

Who taught you to cook? I got started in the kitchen with my mom when I was about to leave home for college. After two years of college, I dropped out of accounting and went to culinary school. It’s the best decision I made in my whole lifetime. Now I love cooking with my mom, we cook together every holiday. And I finished my degree for a safety net when I graduated from culinary school.

What’s your go-to dish for company? Roasted chicken and carne asada. If I’m cooking with my mom, it’s tacos de lengua. She knows just how to cook it and my friends always ask for more.

What’s on your cooking playlist? Cooking with mom, it’s Latin music, Bachata, Salsa which create a good atmosphere. When I’m at work, rock music gets my adrenaline going for the faster pace.

Coffee, tea, or Kombucha? I LOVE coffee!! I’m a big coffee drinker. A professor introduced me to Counter Culture and Blue Bottle and I got really into it. When I go to Guatemala, I bring back green coffee beans from a farm in Antigua and roast them at home. I do my own cold brew. All the details from grinding to water temp are important.

Most stained cookbook? The Noma Guide to Fermentation by Rene Redzepi. I love fermenting things! I do my own spin off to make it my own.

Indispensable kitchen tool? Chef’s knife, one my parents gave me. It’s a Nakiri with a squared-off blade. It’s easy to sharpen and has a lot of sentimental value.

Staple childhood comfort food? My mom’s enchiladas. She always makes them for my birthday, super simple and comforting.

Three Instagram accounts you follow? Argentinean Chef @francismallman, @nomacph from Copenhagen, and the amazing fish butcher in Australia @mrniland.

Who would you most like to share a meal with? Past, present or fictional? Anthony Bourdain. I relate to him regarding culture and food. We can all be united with food and sharing a meal.

Favorite pizza topping? Pepperoni, simple with thin crust.

Where would you want to take a cooking class? I’d like to spend a day in the kitchen with Josh Niland and learn how to break down a whole fish to maximum potential with minimal waste, a skill I want to acquire. Or go to a cooking school in France with my mom.

What’s your Counter Intelligence cooking tip? Build your guacamole one step at a time, first add lime juice before you mash the avocado, then fold in onion, cilantro and serrano chile. Chop your tomato and drain off the juice, then salt the tomato and fold it in.

Three things next to your stove? Spatula, tongs and whisk.

Have you ever tried a CSA (community supported agriculture)? I subscribed to “Imperfect Produce” when I was in college. It was great! Just because produce isn’t beautiful it still tastes good and can make a great presentation.

What’s your favorite sports team? Chicago Bears and Chicago Bulls. For soccer I go for Barca.

What’s Cris Cooking? I’m kind of crazy when it comes to food. I traveled to St. Louis just to try the BBQ. On a road trip to Atlanta I stopped at three BBQ places on the way and found an outstanding, simple, comforting place with great customer service in the middle of nowhere. I’ve been with Frontera for a year and a half and am constantly working to improve my knife skills, cleanliness and presentation. I’m testing a menu for tasting that will be presented for private events. It’s exciting.

Chef Cris’s Chicken Doblada with Chimichurri Photo credit Christopher Craddock

Cris’s Super Simple Chimichurri Salsa

• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

• 1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley

• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh marjoram (OR 1 teaspoon dried oregano)

• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• salt for tasting

COMBINE the garlic, parsley, marjoram (or oregano), red pepper flakes and red wine vinegar in a glass or stainless steel mixing bowl. Drizzle in the olive oil and whisk to blend. Season to taste with salt. Can be blended in a food processor, but Cris says, ‘it’s prettier on the plate if hand chopped.’

Cris’s Elevated Smoky Chimichurri Salsa

Follow the above recipe and add 1 jalapeno and 2 lemons, cut in quarters, rubbed with oil, and charred on a HOT grill. Mince the jalapeno and juice the lemons. Add to the Chimichurri. Can also add 1 tablespoon cumin seeds for the next level of flavor

97 Days to chez Julia -- Summer is here!

"If my cuisine were to be defined by just one taste, it would be that of subtle, aromatic, extra-virgin olive oil.” -- Alain Ducasse

Kicking off the first day of summer with a fat basil harvest and a batch of pistou, the French sauce made with pounded herbs, garlic, and olive oil. Think ‘pesto’ without the pine nuts. I guess I could be French -- I skip the luxury of pine nuts when I make the summer staple, and add a little tomato. For full French immersion, I made David Lebovitz’s pistou recipe to commemorate the upcoming chez Julia festivities. While the herbs are abundant in my corner of the world, the olive trees in France are beginning to bloom. With a little help from Mother Nature, olive harvest will be dawning in October. I won’t wish precious summer away, but it’s a joy to imagine what is coming next.

Pistou

adaped from davidlebovitz.com

• 1 large clove garlic, peeled
• pinch of coarse salt
• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 small tomato, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated

Blend the garlic with a large pinch of salt in the container of a food processor. Add the basil leaves and process until finely chopped. Drizzle the olive oil through the top tube of the processor, then add the tomato and cheese. Pulse the machine until the tomato is incorporated. Serve with vegetable soup or over freshly cooked pasta.

makes about 1 cup

Countdown to chez Julia: 100 Days of Kitchen Fun

“Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.” -- Julia Child

My first cooking teacher was Julia, the original one name goddess of the kitchen. Eyes wide, I watched her in black and white, on our small screen in the family room, consumed with her every move, her voice, the food she magically created. Then I’d toddle off to the kitchen and try my hand at some of her wizardry. My mother, smart woman, encouraged it and kept the staples on hand for daily fare and cooking projects. At my mother’s knee with Julia’s voice coaching me along, I learned to separate eggs, make hollandaise (might be why I was a pint-sized consumer of all vegetables. Anything cloaked in hollandaise is a delight!). I learned to fold, to knead, sift and saute. All those cooking verbs kept me busy. Most of all, Julia taught me to have fun in the kitchen.

If I have a regret, it’s that I never got to meet her. When the invitation for a Cook N Scribble writing retreat at Julia’s home in the south of France arrived in February, I signed up. Eight months until the trip seemed like an eternity, but worth every second of anticipation.

WRITING IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE! 

When I opened my email today to this headline “HELLO! 100 days until we meet at Julia’s in the south of France” the little girl in me danced straight to the kitchen to prepare. I’ll cook, scribble, and shoot my way through these 100 days, channeling my inner Julia in today’s very different world. 21st Century French, approachable-everyday cooking sessions that welcome families to play along.  Join me in the kitchen and bring your kids. I’m turning cartwheels, this is going to be fun!

Hollandaise Sauce

kitchen transformation 101 -- a couple of everyday staple ingredients are woven (whisked, actually) into liquid gold

• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces each
• salt to taste
• Whisk the yolks in a medium metal bowl until the yolks become thick and light yellow, then add the water and lemon juice. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (makeshift double boiler -- be sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water). Whisk constantly until the yolks are thickened and warm to the touch.
• Add the butter, one piece at a time, whisking to melt each piece before adding the next. Season with salt and serve immediately with steamed or roasted asparagus or your favorite vegetable of the season.

Sunshine in a Glass

Fresh squeezed OJ is nature's gift to get us through the dark days of Winter. It will fix what ails you, just sweet enough and rich with pulp, it's like drinking sunshine. Growing up on the East Coast of Central Florida, sandwiched between the warm Atlantic Ocean and miles upon miles of citrus groves, fresh squeezed OJ was a weekly ritual at our house. On Sundays, we would stop at a roadside stand to buy our supply of fresh citrus. I still remember the simple sign "Juicing Oranges" and a farmer in his Sunday overalls and fedora would load a bulging brown grocery sack into the back of our station wagon. At home, we cut them in half and took turns squeezing a bushel of golden fruit. The pulp and tiny seeds escaped from the juicer into the pitcher and into each awaiting glass. I just picked up a sack of Florida oranges in my West Virginia grocery store. I am ready for Winter.