Comfort Foods: A Little Slice of Heaven

My good friend’s daughter Lauren is spending the summer with us while she completes a college internship at Sport’s Illustrated. I was happy to welcome Lauren, who I did not see enough of growing up. What we did not realize was how easily she would fit into our little family, and how much we would all love and appreciate having her with us. She has been a gift, and the girls love having her around as a big sister as much as I love having her as a surrogate daughter.

She has approached her time in New York with an incredible sense of adventure and wonder, and has loved exploring food and cooking in New York. She has also been honing her chef skills by helping me cook. When she made her family’s favorite recipe, a delicious almond cake, we all agreed that it needed to be blogged about!

This cake is amazing. A simple, single layer cake featuring almond paste--it is moist, yummy, sweet and incredibly satisfying. We loved it dusted with powdered sugar on its own, and with fresh summer berries as a healthy accompaniment. And…even as a delicious dessert, it packs some healthy nutrients, since almonds are a powerful antioxidant, loaded with vitamin E, magnesium and potassium to support heart health. Almonds also have cholesterol-lowering effects through the LDL lowering effect of the nuts’ monounsaturated fats.

We have served this cake a few times this summer, and it is a great, easy dessert, breakfast cake, and treat. It has become part of our favorite things…a little slice of heaven…just like Lauren!!!

Almond Cake

¾ cup sugar

½ cup sweet butter, room temp

8 oz. almond paste

3 eggs

½ tablespoon almond extract

½ cup flour

¼ tsp. baking powder

Cream butter and almond paste together, and blend in sugar until evenly mixed. Mixed in eggs, one at a time, add almond extract. In another bowl, sift flour and baking powder together and fold into wet batter. Pour cake batter into greased and floured cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes (cake should be firm on top). Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to cake rack to finish cooling. Dust with powdered sugar, garnish with fresh berries.

Healing Foods: Watermelon with Lemon Mascarpone Cream

Ahhhh, Summertime. Picnics and barbecues, swimming and sparklers, so many lovely memories come to mind when I hear that word. Living in Manhattan, I really miss barbecue grilling and alfresco picnics in the summertime, which in my family were fun events with delicious food. And after a sumptuous barbecue, we kids were treated to a big slice of juicy watermelon, and my friends and I would sit on our patio spitting the seeds as far as we could into the garden. Good times.

Watermelon is packed with some powerful antioxidants, and is an excellent healing food. It is a great source of vitamin C and a good source of vitamin A through its concentration of beta-carotene. My favorite of the melons, pink watermelon, is also a source of the potent carotenoid antioxidant, lycopene. Lycopene neutralizes free radicals, which can cause heavy damage in our system by oxidizing cholesterol, which can cause heart attack and strokes. Free radicals also add to asthma severity by causing airways to close, and they increase arthritis inflammation. Vitamin C and beta-carotene help rid the body of these harmful free radicals and prevent the damage they would otherwise cause. As if that were not reason enough to enjoy delicious watermelon, it also stimulates and cleanses the kidneys.

While there is nothing more satisfying than a sweet juicy slice on the rind, watermelon recipes have evolved considerably since my childhood, and one of my favorites is a dessert salad of watermelon with lemon mascarpone cream. While in France this summer, I tasted this amazing dessert again while dining outdoors on a beautiful night with great friends. It is a sweet/tart, crunchy/creamy combination that marries perfectly. So good and so good for you, who could ask for more than that?

Watermelon Salad with Lemon Mascarpone Cream

3 cups watermelon, seeded and cut into bite sized chunks

1 tablespoon lemon zest, chopped fine

Juice of 2 lemons

8 oz. mascarpone cheese

3/4 cup sugar

Fresh mint sprigs for garnish

Peel, seed and slice watermelon. Put into a bowl, cover and keep chilled.

In a separate bowl, whisk mascarpone, sugar, lemon juice and sugar. Whip mascarpone mixture (I use a food processor) until it is a creamy, spoonable consistency. Adjust with lemon zest, sugar or lemon juice according to your taste to get a tart/tangy but creamy sauce. Spoon mascarpone onto dessert plate, top with watermelon and garnish with fresh mint.

Comfort Food: Gratin Dauphinois (French Scalloped Potatoes)

My friend Val reminded me, after I posted the semi-virtuous broccoli salad with bacon recipe, about the Gratin Dauphinois that I made for her when she last came to visit me. This dish is the ULTIMATE comfort food….creamy, buttery, gruyere-cheesy potatoes with garlic, nutmeg, salt and pepper. The garlic would be the only ingredient I could wax healthy about, since the combination of all other ingredients reaches artery-clogging on the healthy scale. But, I remind myself that I started blogging to share recipes for both healing and comfort, and there is nothing more satisfying than a lovely, heaping portion of these cream and cheese laden potatoes when you need comfort food.

We will be leaving this week for Megeve, a charming village in the French Alpes, where I discovered this recipe (which I have made and remade for 25 years now!). During the snowy ski season, this and a salad is often our dinner after a chilly day on the slopes. Comforting and delicious, and with Megeve farmers’ crème fraiche and gruyere cheese, it is heavenly to sit down to while the snow falls outside and the fireplace crackles and glows. It’s also delicious in the summer...with your favorite grilled dishes when dining al fresco. Or any other time and place…for that matter!

So, for my wonderful friend Val, a little comfort coming out to you with a whole lotta love…..

Gratin Dauphinois

6–8 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced thin.

4- 6 cloves garlic, chopped fine

salt, pepper and nutmeg

1 stick butter cut into small bits

1 cup crème fraiche (you can make your own by combining equal parts heavy cream and sour cream in a glass bowl, stir and let sit for 1 hour before chilling)

2-3 cups shredded gruyere cheese (you can use comte, or any other good quality swiss/alpine cheese—but gruyere is my favorite)

2-3 cups milk

Generously butter a 9x12 pyrex or ceramic dish. Add a layer of potatoes, slightly overlapping, to the pan, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cheese. Dot the top with butter and a few teaspoons of crème fraiche. Continue layering the potatoes and other ingredients, layer by layer, until the pan is full. Cover the potatoes with milk, and add a layer of shredded gruyere to the top of the potatoes. Bake at 350 degrees for at least 1 hour or until potatoes are soft when poked through with a knife, increase heat to 425 for the last 15-20 minutes to make a crusty top layer. Serve warm.

Healing and Comfort Food: Broccoli Salad with Bacon

Summertime is salad time. It’s so refreshing to indulge in the many fruits and vegetables of the season in their crisp, raw form. It is also the best way to get all of the healing and nutrient properties from them. Since I am always trying to get my children to eat more of that fabulous superfood broccoli, I am always happy to find tasty and inventive ways to serve it.

While home in Ohio for a family reunion, my mother served this broccoli salad at lunch. It is a nice juxtaposition of sweet and sour, crunchy and creamy, and it includes one of my favorite foods of all time---bacon. Bacon—smoky, salty, and crispy--has long been one of my favorite comfort foods. While not virtuous, when paired with the broccoli, which is loaded with vitamins C, K and A, protein and potassium in healthy doses (and many other nutrients in smaller helpings), this salad is a delicious, satisfying and vitamin charged combination. I like to pair it with a BLT—another great comfort food of mine. After a lunch like that, all is right with the universe….

3 cups broccoli-chopped into small, bit size pieces

1 red onion, chopped

½ cup golden raisins

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

6 slices bacon, crumbled

1 cup light mayonnaise

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar and set aside. Combine broccoli, onion, raisins, cheese, bacon and mix. Stir in vinaigrette mixture. Serve chilled.

Healing Foods: Shrimp Scampi with Brown Rice

Last night, I started cooking for a friend who will be having surgery this week. I began with some healing soups (spring onion, vegan vegetable/barley) and added some crostini toppers (roasted garlic and a tomato/curry/turmeric chutney). My good friend Wendy came over to taste and critique--I know I can always count on her to give her honest opinion about whether it’s tasty or not, and what might make it more flavorful. In the middle of tasting the soup and crostini with a glass of wine, my daughter came in to the kitchen to ask, “Mom, what are WE having for dinner?”

I needed something quick and nutrient rich, since my daughter is studying for year-end exams. I opened my freezer and saw a bag of frozen shrimp, and shrimp scampi came to mind. Since shrimp has more than 100% of the daily value of tryptophan (for calming nerves during test prep), and over 60% of the daily value of selenium, plus vitamins D, B12 and plenty of iron, I knew it would be a healthy choice. And it takes about 10 minutes to make (the rice takes longer than that!), so I could have dinner on the table in under an half hour. This scampi recipe, while improvised, is quite tasty. The lemon zest and lemon juice give it a zip, and the red pepper adds spice. With brown rice it is a lovely, quick weeknight dinner.

Shrimp Scampi

3 tablespoons butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (more if you like spicy)

1 pound jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1/3 cup chopped chives

1 tablespoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter and add minced garlic. Stir until translucent—about 3 minutes. Add red pepper flakes, shrimp, salt and pepper. Stir/sauté about 5 minutes until shrimp turns from pink to white. Add white wine, lemon juice, zest and sauté an additional 3-4 minutes. Add chives and parsley. Serve with brown rice.

Healing Foods: Spinach and Tofu Salad with Sesame Miso Dressing

Last weekend, my husband whisked us away for a lovely, relaxing weekend at Lake George. An idyllic spot in the Adirondacks, it has breathtaking lake and mountain views all around. I realized while packing that this was my first time in a bathing suit for the summer season, and I wasn’t exactly feeling that the soothing, gentle yoga stretches I had been doing were doing much to build muscle and give me rock hard abs. So, instead of grabbing my jump rope and running shoes and heading outside, I went to my computer to look on a few of my favorite food and recipe sites. A comfort food meal may not help my figure, but it would certainly make me happy!

I went to one of my new favorite food and recipe sites, www.rasamalaysia.com, which features cooking from all over Asia that is both easy to prepare and incredibly delicious. I love looking at the beautiful food photography and reading Bee Yinn Low’s amusing food and cooking anecdotes.

I came across a Spinach and Tofu Salad with Sesame Miso Dressing, and thought that was just the ticket to heading into the weekend on a healthy note. Spinach leaves and tofu bites in a refreshing salad with creamy miso dressing was both virtuous and yummy. Tofu provides the low fat protein, while spinach is packed with superfood nutrients (see the post "Popeye Had The Right Idea!). I asked Bee if I could post this recipe for readers looking for a nutrient dense complete meal that is both healing and comforting. She graciously agreed. So with gratitude to Bee Yinn Low and her inspiring, spicy Rasa Malaysia site, I am happy to give you a great salad recipe (and her beautiful photo of it!) for summer eating….

INGREDIENTS:

1 pack organic baby spinach

1 pinch sesame seeds (for garnishing)


1/2 block tofu (cut into small cubes)

LOW FAT JAPANESE SESAME MISO DRESSING:

1 tablespoon white miso


1 tablespoon ponzu sauce


1/2 tablespoon sugar


1 tablespoon sesame seeds (ground with mortar and pestle)
1/4 cup water

METHOD:

Mix the sesame miso dressing ingredients until well blended. (You can heat up the dressing in a small sauce pan and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before use.)

Wash the baby spinach and drain excess water. In a salad bowl, toss the baby spinach with tofu and sesame miso dressing. Serve cold.

Healing Foods: Chef Peter Yurasit's Pasta with Chunky Basil Pesto and Watercress

This week, my friends and I took a cooking class with New York chef and caterer Peter Yurasits. Peter is an amazing chef, known for using local and organic produce and products in his cooking. Our class included basil and watercress from his very own garden, as well as other fresh and delicious ingredients.

The Provençal themed menu was sublime. We started with seared slices of foie gras with an endive salad, then moved on to a pappardelle with chunky basil pesto and fresh watercress (recipe below!), roasted lamb chops with a creamy potato gratin, and finished with Tarte Tatin, a yummy caramelized apple tart. We paired our sumptuous food with wines from Provence, and savored every minute of our evening all together.

Now that farmer’s and produce markets are starting to offer locally grown foods of the season, introducing all of you to Peter’s pasta dish is a great idea. Not only will it give you a chance to try a delicious dish with the freshest ingredients, but the ingredients themselves carry great nutritional benefits. Organic garlic is crushed with basil leaves, sea salt and olive oil. Once the pasta is cooked al dente, the pesto is tossed with the pasta, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and a generous handful of fresh watercress leaves. Packed with vitamins, watercress is an excellent source of B1, B2, B6, C and E. It is also an excellent source of manganese for bone health and liver support, and carotenes for visual health. It is a good source of calcium and fiber as well.

This pasta is excellent as a main course, appetizer or side dish with your favorite protein. Thank you, Peter, for the wonderful cooking class, and for introducing all of us to this delicious, healing dish……

Pasta with Chunky Basil Pesto and Watercress

1 lb. pappardelle pasta

3 tablespoons butter

2 cups fresh basil leaves, washed

4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons sea salt

2-3 cups fresh watercress

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Using a mortar and pestle, crush garlic, salt, fresh basil leaves into a chunky paste. Add olive oil and mix well to combine flavors.

Prepare pasta according to package directions. When pasta is al dente, drain and toss with butter, then add the pesto. Fold in the parmesan cheese and watercress. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.