Easy Pasta with Sardines and Parsley for Hot Summer Nights

July in NYC can be brutal; Hot and steamy, with 90% humidity that will make you wish it would rain instead (and it probably would!).
Summer is one of those seasons where all you want to eat is light, fresh meals that will cool you down and help you brave through the high temps.
I’m not a huge meat consumer, so this actually works great for me. The abundance of fresh ingredients Summer brings us is always fun to play with to create flavorful dishes.

One of my best light dinner go-to choices is pasta with sardines, parsley, chili and breadcrumbs. It has tons of versions, but what’s unique about my version is that you (wait for it–) USE the oil the sardines are marinated in! it’s packed with flavor, and using it will make you feel the sea flavor in each and every bite.

The beauty of this dish is that the most important ingredients are pantry-based, so it’s one of those rare dishes where you don’t have to plan ahead (too much). You just gracefully pull it out of the cabinet and match whatever herbs you have in your fridge (parsley pairs best, but any other herb can work!). This is also great for entertaining because it’s so simple to make, and very pretty to serve along with a nice, cool glass of dry white wine 🙂
The recommended pasta for this recipe is the long kinds, which are usually paired with lighter sauces.

Go for it!

Easy, flavorful Pasta with Sardines, parsley, chili and breadcrumbs
Serves 4 (or 2 with leftovers for the next day!!)

From the Pantry:
1 package spaghetti pasta, bucatini or linguine
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cans of sardines in olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashes with the back of a knife
¼ teaspoon chili flakes (or more if you’re up for it!)
¼ cup panko breadcrumbs or fresh chunky breadcrumbs
Leafs from 1 big bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

For Show:
Freshly grated Parmesan

Get Mixin’:

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al-dente (don’t forget to salt the water!). Drain, reserving 3 tablespoons for the cooking liquid.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil. Open the sardine cans, remove sardines to a plate and drain the oil into the pan. Add garlic and cook until it starts to be fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add chili flakes and breadcrumbs, and cook until breadcrumbs begin to brown, about 2 minutes. Add sardines and using a wooden spoon, break them into large chunks.
3. Add the cooked pasta into the skillet. Stir in parsley and reserved pasta cooking liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

 

Suggested variations:

• Replace parsley with cilantro, sage, tarragon or even mint
• Use 1 can of anchovies instead of 2 cans of sardines
• Add ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes for acidity
• Add ¼ tsp of smashed coriander seeds along with the chili for a more earthy flavor.

 

 

 

 

EXTRA 24 HOURS and a Sicilian Fennel Salad Recipe

What would you do if you had an extra 24 hours in your life?

That’s what leap day is all about. An extra day. Think about it this way: your birthday this year would be a day late. How weird is that?

QUALITY TIME
For most of us it’s just another workday. I was on set today shooting some yummy dishes for Easter, for instance. I didn’t even think about the date… but then someone phrased it as an extra 24 hours, and I got to thinking – what would I do?
So many DIYs I was planning on! So many recipes I wanted to try! But to tell you the truth, I would probably leave all these undone and just spend that time with my 4-months adorable baby girl.. People told me my priorities would change but I never believed them (baby over cake? Come on!!) – until I had my own, that is… 🙂

JUST A THOUGHT
Admit that you wondered, at least once today, when people who were born on this special date celebrate their birthday. Right?? 🙂

CELEBRATE WINTER
Although winter is a time where I usually make soups and crave cooked meals, it’s nice to take a break and use those wintery vegetables to make a nice, crunchy salad that’s light but still satisfying.

This salad originates in Italy, where fennel and citrus are at their prime during winter. The mint gives it a beautiful freshness and the olives some earthy flavor. Careful not o put too many though, as their flavor tends to overpower others!

 

Sicilian Fennel Salad
Yield: 4 servings

From the pantry:
2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 oranges
about ¼ cup green olives, pitted and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

 

for the sauce:
1/3 cup olive oil
salt, pepper
a few dashes Tabasco sauce

*Optional: some Pecorino shavings

GET MIXIN’:

1. Cut fennel into quarters, then thinly slice lengthwise.
2. In a large bowl, combine sliced fennel, shallot and vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. set aside to allow the fennel to soften, about 10 minutes.
3. Cut the orange into wedges – do it over a bowl to catch the juices, and squeeze in whatever juices are left from the pulp. Add the juice to the fennel bowl.
4. Stir in all other ingredients gently, taste and adjust seasoning.
5. Add some Pecorino shavings, num num!!
6. There you have it, a fresh-crunchy salad to beat the winter blues 🙂

MAKE AN IMPRESSION WITH (so easy) FANCY BANANA BLONDIES

FALL RUSH AND EXCITING NEWS
Oh I’m so late in posting these (promised I will in my previous post) – September was a busy month! Lots of projects for the holidays and another exciting project of my own – a cookbook! It’s a crazy idea that came by me and a super-talented photographer I met at my former workplace, a food-startup which unfortunately shut down. We said we should meet and take some pictures to benefit both our portfolios, and then she suggested we’d go the whole nine yards and make it into a cookbook. So I thought, why not! If anything, it would be a very interesting process..

The featured recipes will be my go-to’s which are very simple but gorgeous looking, and could be done in any kitchen (the most complicated tool used is a mini – food processor). Promise to post some of the recipes that will be included in the project!

TWO WORDS ABOUT COCONUT OIL
I like experimenting with my recipes, because sometimes a small change in an ingredient can make or brake a recipe. I’ve tried for a while to play with “healthier” ingredients – coconut oil instead of butter, brown sugar instead of white and whole wheat flour to replace AP. I have to say that coconut oil does a great job replacing butter in quick breads and cakes, but less so in cookies – it liquifies so quickly that the dough appears to be too liquidy, which makes you want to add flour, just so it’s not soooo sticky – resulting in a denser, harder cookie.  I do have it on my to-experiment list, so I promise I’ll get the perfect dough along with tips to you.

AND WITHOUT FURTHER A DUE

HEALTHY(IER) BANANA BLONDIES *and a way to make it super fancy
13×9.5” pan size

From the Pantry:
½ cup (3 oz) coconut oil, melted
1 ½ cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 TBS vanilla extract
4 bananas
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup AP flour
½ cup chocolate chips

Get Mixin’:

1. Turn on oven to 350f.
2. Mix coconut oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and bananas.
3. In a separate bowl, mix salt, baking powder and flours.
4. Pour the dry mix into the wet mixture, and mix using a wooden spoon – only until it‘s combined. Add the chocolate chips.
5. Pad a baking pan with parchment paper, and pour the mixture over it.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is dry and the center is set. Cool completely before cutting.

**** For a real fancy and decadent dessert:

Make banana pudding and whip up some whipped cream.
Serve the blondies with a generous spoonful of the pudding and a dollop of the whipped cream!

HUMMUS FOR THE MASSES

Vegans seem to be everywhere these days. I can definitely say that by now, it’s a trend, not just a fend that will soon be gone.
There’s vegan restaurants popping up on every street corner, and serious eateries now offer a vegan option. I never gave it too much thought, until a couple of years ago my husband decided he’s going to give it a try. It was pretty funny – just the previous day he asked me to buy him some pastrami. Yup, he went all cold-turkey on this one, leaving the pastrami to rot in the fridge… And he’s been vegan ever since.

LEGO-WHAT?
This decision of his made it pretty challenging for me. I mean, it immediately crossed-off a whole section of restaurants (like steakhouses), not to mention the challenge at home. I now had to face a different segment of ingredients. Not that I haven’t known or used them before, but the daily requirement for veggie-based protein completely threw me off. And I learned a new word: LEGUMES. The lentil-chickpea-bean extended family. The mere pronunciation of the word sounds un-appetizing… but these little beads are highly nutritious, low in cholesterol and with the right combination, give you a very balanced meal.

CULINARY MARKETING
A few years ago I came across a facebook group called “vegans who depress me”. Members used to collect other users’ food pictures/outside links to pictures that looked, well, not so photogenic, to say the least, accompanied by “oh look how amazing these vegan brownies turned out!” and post it in the group. It wasn’t pretty and yes, pretty depressing. I’m pretty sure it’s gone by now, but it did not do good for Vegans.
Generally speaking, Vegans still have a weird rep. All that tofu, meat-make-believe, cheese-replacements.. I mean, just google it and see what you find. The top 3 links get you to really boring, fact-full sites that makes you want to regret you even tried.
I feel like the current reputation does Vegans injustice. Vegans can eat lots of “normal” stuff. In fact, most cuisines have many vegan-friendly options: Italian (Penne with mushroom ragu’), Indian, Mediterranean, Mexican (think meatless taco), Japanese (veggie sushi)…
I think good PR would come if they just stay away from all those alarming substitutes and just celebrate their own cuisine. Because if you still want to imitate your favorite cheeseburger, what did you accomplish by being vegan?…
Thank god for vegan recipe sites like Serious Eats’ and Jamie Oliver’s vegan section, and lots of bloggers around the web suach as this (contains vegan and vegetarian recipes) and this. Anyway, there’s still a lot to do to repair the movement’s current image.

THE HUMMUS WHISPERER
One of our most favorite Vegan foods is Hummus, which is basically mashed chickpeas with tahini and some spices. Pretty basic, but oh-so-yummy. It’s not easy to find good hummus in NYC; Hummus Kitchen is a decent option, but it’s not always convenient to go there, plus it’s so much more fun (and tasty!) to make at home, plus it yields a nice amount so you can eat it for several days. So I took it as a project and am happy to say that my hubby swears by my hummus now 🙂

DON’T PANIC
Many people find it intimidating to make hummus at home. I’m guessing the main reason is because it’s a time consuming process and you don’t really want to mess it up because re-do’s are hard in this case. I’m not saying these people are completely mistaken; there’s always something that can go wrong. I think the main setback is knowing when the chickpeas are tender enough and are ready. But if you follow the recipe, you’ll end up with a good result, from which you could make your own adjustments.

HUMMUS!
Yields ~6-8 portions, depends on your hummus intake 😉
This recipe requires a food processor.

From the Pantry:
2 cups dry chickpeas
1 yellow onion, peeled and cut to quarters
3 pcs garlic
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tsp baking soda
—-
½ cup tahini paste
Juice of 1 lemon
¼ tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt

For Show:
Pinch of paprika
Olive oil to taste
1-2 sprigs straight-leaf Parsley
1 Small yellow onion, peeled and quartered
Pita bread (I found Naan bread a nice substitute)

 Get Mixin’:

1. Put chickpeas in a large bowl, cover in double amount of water and allow to soak for 8-12 hours. (Can be soaked up to 24 hours, just replace the water once)
2. Drain and rinse chickpeas. In a large pot, combine chickpeas, onions and garlic. Cover in water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Add baking soda.
3. While the pot is on, put the whole cumin and coriander seeds in either cheesecloth or a tea ball infuser (kinda like a miniature closed strainer), so they won’t be loose in the pot – you just want the flavor of the spice in the water and this is an easy way to take it out at the end. (This is a similar technique to the classic french “sachet d’epices”). Add to the pot.
4. Cook until chickpeas are really soft – aka can be easily mashed between your fingers (try it carefully..!), around 1.5-2 hours. Pay attention: this could take either longer or shorter, as it depends on the amount of time it was soaked and how fresh the chickpeas were.
5. Almost there! Drain the chickpeas, but leave 1 cup of the cooking liquid just in case it’s too dense. Discard the spices. Allow to cool for several minutes.
6. Combine cooked chickpeas, tahini, lemon, ground cumin and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture unifies in a nice looking paste.
7. Take a spoonful and taste. You can adjust consistency by adding some of the cooking water, and adjust flavor by adding any of the flavor agents: lemon, salt, cumin, and tahini.
8. Plate in bowls, using around 4-5 tablespoons per dish. Garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, a dash of paprika and some parsley.
9. Serve with pita bread and a plate of onion, parsley and pickled cucumber.
10. Ready for your nap? 🙂

Nutella, Pretzels and Shortbread. This is gonna be good

So this week was the Jewish holiday Purim. It’s the equivalent of Christian Halloween Costume wise. Unlike Halloween – there’s no trick-or-treating, but we have something else: it’s a mitzvah to drink until you drop. Yes, you’re reading correctly. Gotta love this holiday.

HOLIDAY TRADITIONS
Another thing about this holiday is that it’s customary to give your friends and family a goody-bag filled with candy and the traditional cookie – Hamantaschen, which literally translates as ‘Haman’s ears’ (did you really think we’d let a holiday go by without something to nosh on?). It’s also customary in a large crowd to have a raffle deciding who this goody bag will go to. I can still remember a school table packed with bright yellow, green and red cellophane-wrapped parcels, each with our name on it (noting who made it), and the raffle that followed. My best friend’s mom used to make the best bags, but somehow I was never the one to receive it.

BACK TO THE COOKIES
These are a kind of shortbread cookies filled with all kinds of yummy filings; the traditional version calls for a poppy seed filling, but you can fill it with whatever you want – chocolate, halva, peanut butter, etc. you can go savory too, of course, but this is a whole other discussion… So we’ll stick to the sweet part, if it’s ok with you.
The only thing you should look out for is making sure that it’s thick enough so it wouldn’t leak out of the sides of the cookie which can cause it to open and ruin the whole nicely-shaped-triangle you were working so hard on. The rule is: if you spoon a little on a plate and it keeps its shape – spreading just a little, you’re fine. If it flattens up – not so much. So how do you fix it? All you need is something to absorb the extra liquid.

PRETZEL TALK
Say you want Nutella filling (I know I do). Very runny. But you still want it. What you can do is add a thickening agent – which in this case is much easier than making roux, dissolving cornstarch etc.: to get the desired consistency, an addition of crumbled cookies, day-old pound cake crumbles and so on would work perfectly. In my filling – being a sweet-and-salty gal myself – I decided I want to try adding crumbled pretzel sticks.

BRAND DROPPING
Wow, Snyder’s of Hanover. Great job well done on your recipe tab. I didn’t quite expect it, given that the snacks category tends to sometime overlook the foodie recipe-searching community, but you did great with all the different options. The site goes from your usual suspects of pretzel bread-crumb alternatives through finger food to main course and dessert with lots of navigation options, and offers many recipes that actually include the product itself. Lots of topping-things involved, but many variations, so I’ll give them that. I also looked at Rold Gold’s website – another FritoLay brand (remember them from last time?). I guess being part of a larger group of brands can sometimes mean being in the background. There were only 5 recipes dedicated to the brand, 3 of which did not involve the use of the product itself. Maybe FritoLay considers the brand a ‘Milking Cow’ and does not want to invest too much into it. Whatever the reason, it could definitely use some serious touch ups.

RECIPE AWAY
*You can always not-use any equipment, but it’s just simpler in this recipe to use a mixer and a food processor. In any way, both methods are described.
*make sure you’re not stressed with time because the dough needs to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to get its act together.

Nutella and Pretzel Hamantaschen
Makes about 50 cookies, depends on the diameter of cookie cutter 🙂

From the pantry
For the dough, all in room temp:
3 cups (13.5 oz) AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (4 oz) confectioners sugar
1 stick and 6 TBS (6.5 oz) butter
1 L egg + 1 yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the filling:
1 cup Nutella spread
1/2 pack – about 4-5 oz of any kind of hard pretzels
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
*Piping bag would be nice if you have any.

For show
Some confectioners sugar to sprinkle

Get Mixin’

Make the dough: 

1. If you have a mixer (lucky you, what luxury to have in a tiny apartment!), start by beating the butter and sugar with the pedal attachment. If you don’t, don’t worry, just use a wooden spoon. Try going slow because the sugar is so light it will fly right out of the bowl (and here goes your measuring. And your recent cleaning efforts).
2. Add the egg + yolk, and the vanilla. Mix until well combined.
3. Add the flour and beat until incorporated (if you’re doing it manually and it starts getting harder with the wooden spoon, you can use your hands and knead it a little).
4. Wrap in plastic and allow to rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Make the filling:

1. If you have a small food processor, grind the pretzels to very small pieces. You can leave some larger pieces for texture. If you don’t, take 2 (clean!) nylon bags, double wrap the pretzels and smack the hell out of the bag until the pretzels give up. Good way to let out some of those aggressions.
2. Put the Nutella and cinnamon in a bowl. Gradually add the pretzels. Don’t get it all in at once – you might end up with really condense texture. Remember the test? Spoon some to a place and see if it spreads just a little. If you have a piping bag – fill it up with the filling. No need for a special tip.
3. Heat the oven to 350f.
4. Roll the dough to 1/3″ thickness. Use a round cookie cutter or a regular cup to make rounds out of the dough. I used an 8″ cutter. Collect the dough leftovers to roll again and repeat the process.
5. Using a spoon or a piping bag, put about 1 tsp of filling on each round. Fold the dough to make a triangle and pinch the ends with your fingers.
6. Arrange on a sheet tray with about 1’’ space between the cookies.
7. Bake on the upper rack for about 15-18 minutes until the cookies are golden (my oven took full 18 minutes, but I know other ovens are probably better and require less time).
8. Share with all of your friends, and don’t forget the cellophane!

Bananas, meet Condensed Milk.

A few weeks ago we were invited for drinks and light dinner at a friend’s house. The kind of friend who doesn’t want you to bring anything. Now, as a chef, it is very hard to show up empty handed or holding a bottle of wine. But if I do bring something, I always also try not to over-do it, as it’s not my show after all. So of course – dessert is always the classic choice.

After a short interrogation I discovered their favorite sweet ending for a meal was Banana Pudding. Great choice for the cold nights of NYC. Having made a couple of puddings, I’ve decided to try a recipe that’s a little different this time. Unlike my usual cream-based puddings, I thought of trying to apply some short cuts and use Condensed Milk. The thickness of the condensed milk provides with that richness you want to feel in puddings, and if you use pre-mixed vanilla mixture, well – you’ve just cut half the work!

Let’s talk condensed milk.
Condensed Milk. Nestles under “other dairy” section. Not the sexiest sounding category.

Sold as a canned product which does not require refrigeration, It’s usually found somewhere on the baking shelves, right next to Wondra and almond extract (and if you ever shopped for it, you know you have to really look – it’s usually higher/lower than eye-level: marketers have better-selling items to put within your natural reach).

It’s one of those things that you don’t necessarily have in your pantry; some cultures use it more than others, for traditional recipes like the Mexican ‘La Lechera’ cake or the Brazilian candy ‘brigadairo’; it’s also used as a short-cut in pies and pudding recipes, acting as a great thickener-sweetener, a combined quality that is rarely found in many ingredients. Basically, it’s a great way to get away with some steps in baking/cooking procedures; using it will save you a couple of hours of waiting for milk to reduce to a thick, sticky, heavenly consistency which is necessary for certain dishes.

Like many commodities, these products aren’t really being promoted in any kind of ATL advertising; I don’t recall any commercial for these items, actually. But as mentioned, most people look online for inspiration anyway, so let’s check the brands websites, shall we?

Brand-Dropping
Eagle Brand – who is manufacturing only Condensed/Evaporated milk products – is doing a great job in giving some creative ideas as to how to use their products in various recipes. Nestle’s brand Carnations, on the other hand, means well – but directs you to a broken link (hey Nestle guys, I’m sure you have some good stuff in there, please look into it!). Nestle have another brand, La lechera , and here they have a whole website dedicated to product-use ideas that features both brands (and many more). Nestle is also doing a great job connecting the website to all of its social outlets: Pinterest, Facebook and Tweeter. The only thing with this site, is that it involves many different products and their own recipes, so if you happened to buy this one product – condensed milk, and want to know what you can do with it, it doesn’t let you sort by product but by other navigation options. Under the brand page itself, because there are more products rather than only sweetened condensed milk, some recipes may seem like they utilize it but actually call for other products of the brand, like milk powder or evaporated milk (do not mistake it for sweetened condensed milk!)

So, generally, I was pleased with what I found around the culinary marketing of this product. Now, without further a due, my Banana Pudding recipe for you all to try. I tried a different plating option, which I think is nice and interesting. In this recipe I caramelized half of the banana, and left the other part whole, to support the plating. This gives an additional texture and flavor source to the dish, and invites you to “play” with your food a little, just for fun.

NYC-Winter Glazed-Banana Pudding
Serves 4

From the Pantry
5 bananas
¼ cup maple syrup
1 container (14 oz) condensed milk
1 package instant vanilla pudding
2.5 cups milk
1 pint (4.73ml) container heavy cream

For show:
½ package Vanilla wafers/cookies (I made it myself..)
The bananas from before (see below).

Get Mixin’:

Make the pudding:

1. Take one banana. Mash it up well, preferably in a food processor, to a paste.
2. Mix the instant pudding with the milk and condensed milk. Add the mashed banana. Set aside to firm up, about 20-30 minutes in the fridge (or outside on the fire escape if it’s 7 degrees out and you have no room in your tiny little apartment).
3. Whip the heavy cream until firm peaks appear, but be careful not to overwhip it – it will become butter and there’s no turning back from there… (What are firm peaks? When the whipped cream holds its form and don not budge when you test it. Use any utensil like a spoon or a fork. Just take a little bit out of the bowl to see if it holds).
4. Gently incorporate the whipped cream into the pudding mix. Start with 1/3 of the batter. When incorporated, add the rest.

Glaze the bananas:

5. Take the rest of your 4 bananas. Peel half way. Cut each half way down to nice discs.
6. Heat a non-stick pan. Add the maple. When it starts to bubble a little, add the bananas in batches. Flip bananas when it turns nice and golden.
7. Set aside to cool.

Plate it!

• Put some of the pudding in a piping bag. If you don’t have any, you can use a spoon.
• Arrange one banana, peel and all, on a plate. Working from the banana side to the top, use your spoon or piping bag to pour some pudding, about 1 tablespoon. Add one glazed banana disc. Continue until you get to the banana top – about 3-5 banana discs.
• Put some vanilla cookies on the plate. You can put some pudding underneath it to give it some moisture.
• Dig in, and don’t forget to take a bite out of the raw banana – it’s the texture mix that makes this so much fun!

SHOW ME YOU LOVE ME

FLOWERS PAIRS BEST WITH CHOCOLATE

“I made reservations to this great new place”.
“I’m preparing some romantic dinner. Italian”.
“I’m just going to dip some fruit in chocolate. Says it all”.

Valentine’s Day is yet another great example for how food is everywhere, this time – in our love life. What we all guessed is true: food and love goes well together, in a very primal way in our brain. Now you know what the famous “wine me and dine me” phrase is based on.
It’s also a great opportunity to show our significant other we’re a great catch, and that they should stick with us. And I have the perfect glue:

HELL YEAH

This year, Valentine’s Day is a Saturday. And you have to admit it, not many things says ”Big Impression” like breakfast in bed. So I give you: perfect, easy pancakes. Preppy and all. The good stuff. My secret ingredient? Yogurt. The texture of yogurt gives great structure to the pancakes, while also making the art of shaping them foolproof. They turn out rounder and thicker than other pancakes, so when you stack it up you don’t need 20 of them: 4 will create that awesome “Eifel effect” and draw joyful squeaks of appreciation from around the room (or bed).

 I LOVE

Yogurt. Especially Greek yogurt, which has this tanginess to it, an attribute that makes it a perfect companion to many highly flavored dishes that need to “tone it down” a little – like spicy food, a hot pureed soup or very sweet items.

Yogurt brands are doing a good job in marketing this product to foodies, as it is so versatile and easy to combine with many dishes, showcasing the product can be used in more than just at breakfast with fruit.
Chobani did great with recipe suggestions on their website. I love the fact you can browse by dietary restrictions or by products, which shows good reading of current food trends and attention to niches. FAGE has paired up with celebrity chef Bobby Flay to give many cool recipe suggestions but is harder to navigate; refining by too many categories just narrows your search to such extent, that you find yourself with no recipes suggestions at all. Sometimes it’s better to keep it simple, especially when not all of your categories can yield enough search results, and will make the opposite impression of not enough variety of recipes.

 

LET THEM EAT CAKE

Pancakes are within the ‘Quick Bread’ realm, and indeed they are: very quick to make.
It can even be done faster in real time, if you prep the dry ingredients in advance. This way, you add the liquids at the very last minute – even days later – and be done in 15 minutes. Good way to ensure the surprise effect (you don’t want to be away from bed too long for your valentine to notice you’re gone and up to something, right?).

 

TOUCH OF TECHNICALITIES

Pancakes are mostly:

• Flour
• Leaveners – which are the agents who will fluff up your product – such as baking powder, or baking soda.
• Eggs –in charge of both flavor enrichment and leavening.
• Liquid such as milk, cream and water.
• Other flavor ingredients, such as melted butter, which will also contribute to flavor.

 

For best outcome, all ingredients should be at room temperature. This is to avoid an uneven batter. Come to think of it, the logic is pretty simple: Cold milk meets melted butter. Butter is not melted anymore. It lumps up. Big chunky soup. Catch my drift?

BIG AND FLUFFY ATTENTION PANCAKES
Yields 2-4 serving (depends on how large you prefer your breakfast..)

From the pantry:

3 cups (12 oz) AP flour
¼ cup (1.5 oz) sugar
½ Tablespoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 small container (7 oz) Greek yogurt
¼ cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 oz melted butter
Optional: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (it will not totally ruin the recipe if you don’t use any).

 

For Show:
Any and all berries, bananas, confectioner’s sugar, and of course maple syrup (the real stuff, please)

 

Get Mixin’:

1. Get all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. If you want to make your mix in advance, just put it in a container (make sure you label it so you don’t mistake it for just flour!).
2. Mix liquids: yogurt, milk. Eggs, butter, vanilla if you feel like it.
3. Mix dry and wet.
4. Voila! Le Pancake Batter.
5. Heat a non-stick pan and spray with some oil. The first pancake is always the trickiest: wait until the pan is hot, then pour a little of the mixture using a ladle. Turn the fire down to relatively low; this batter acts better to moderate heat.
6. Flip pancake when small air bubbles appear and the pancake batter is no longer runny.
7. Don’t panic. Told you the first one is tricky. I promise practice makes perfect.
8. Stack and top with your favorite fruit and a sea of maple.
9. Wait for it…    Who’s the favorite part of the relationship now?

 

Future Never Looked so Delicious

Not too long ago, being a “cook” meant the kitchen was your only option. When children were asked, “what do you want to be when you grow up?” most answers would involve the use of stethoscope, shouting “objection!” or riding a cool red-truck on your way to the rescue. These days with celebrity chefs and reality TV, it’s not far fetched that kids will say “I want to be a Chef when I grow up”.

Yumm Generation
Health trends, nutrition-conscious eating and back-to-home-cooked-dinner efforts are here to stay. The Foodie community is growing, and everyone seems to want the world to know what they had for lunch. Reports dated to as early as 2008 say that this community will just keep getting bigger and gain influence via social media and the internet, and current predictions suggest that this culture is also the future: Millennials have been declared the foodie generation.

Grandma Googles Chicken Noodle Soup?..
According to a study released on 2012, 90% of people learn about food online: 50% of people use the leading social playgrounds Facebook and Tweeter, and another 40% use various other options like blogs, websites etc. 3 years into the future, I believe studies will now show more people are out looking for information in content-driven websites rather than the social apps, for two reasons: people want more knowledge, and they want it from a source whom they trust.

Smarter Cooks
Foodies are a very loyal community and can be great advocates. It’s extremely important to gain their trust. Foodies are willing to search and search until they find a recipe that they would like to try.
Many food brands now have a website or a blog dedicated to recipes featuring their brand. Posting interesting recipes is great, but brands have to be careful with what they send out there, as foodies can spot a ‘broken recipe’ if they see it. Moreover, if they try a recipe and it doesn’t work – they won’t necessarily give your brand a second chance; cooking is a time-consuming hobby, and can be costly; remember it’s not just your product they’re investing in. Recipes have a whole shopping list.
Another thing to remember is that there are different levels of foodies; the ad hock foodie will just look for something to cook for dinner, and will try and find something very specific. Others will browse online for general inspiration. They also differ by cooking skills: some are down home cooks, who would prefer the easier and faster recipe versions and some are professional chefs who would be interested in long, detailed explanations; some are interested in learning about the process and the gadgets, and some just want to get down to business. Some will search for a recipe and some for an ingredient and its uses.
One thing is common to all: they are all actively searching for food knowledge.

A Good Recipe for Culinary Marketing
There has never been such a great opportunity for brands to expand marketing efforts and target the foodie segment. But the kind of effort I’m talking about is not necessarily a billboard or a rising star; it’s content marketing. Meaning: a pack shot is great, but an ad showcasing the product via a mouthwatering dish photo accompanied by a recipe – that’s more like it.
Being a chef and a Marketer, I sometimes find myself contemplate these issues. So I’ve decided to use this platform to choose ingredients, talk a little about the product and its category, suggest an interesting and creative recipe that will showcase the product to my fellow foodies, who always want to try something new.
Beyond the recipe, I’m always interested in the logic behind the procedure, so I’ll try and explain why we do what we do.

This has been a long post, so I’ll save the recipe for my next one – but I promise it would be worth the wait!

Footballs and Cheeseballs

“No way you’re watching this now, not when I’m in the room!”.  This is usually my reaction when he turns the TV on sports. Seriously – had we owned two T.V sets (or lived in more than a tiny-one-bedroom, to absorb all the noise he makes while watching)… Not football though. Somehow, something very interesting happened around this sport: it became a gathering. An experience bigger than “just” the sport; the commercials, the half time show – the food – Either with family or friends, football – and particularly the Super bowl – had become an event people share.

How Football made its pass 

I personally got to know Football better when we were someplace upstate on a winter road-trip, and came into one of those small towns where you have exactly one bar, a supermarket and a souvenir shop. Lucky for us, they also had a local brewery (a very good use for the family’s garage). Once we came in I realized from the screens we were just in time for the championship: the Patriots Vs. the Colts. He managed to fool me. Well, it’s not like we had anywhere to be. A few freshly-brewed beers and pizza slices later, the game got very, Very. Interesting. Seems like I developed patience over dinner. He started explaining the rules, and suddenly it made sense.

Here’s the thing.

When football season kicks in, you can more or less divide your friends into 3 camps: the die-hard fans, the ones who just don’t care, and the people who suffer an allergic reaction every Sunday afternoon. One thing though; they would all gladly RSVP to your Super Bowl party – as long as you keep the pizza comin’..
This is such a good example of good marketing strategy (which I think was created by the fans’ close families but encouraged by the NFL). By making football a more social experience, it really takes off the edge from having to know exactly what it’s about and just enjoy your time with your friends and family.

Let’s talk Culinary Marketing.

• I have one word for you: Tailgating. This was probably invented by a bored significant-other who was trying to keep busy before the game. But seriously – this is great platform. Lots of semi-football-lovers are persuaded to watch the game only because they get to try that onion-dip recipe they got from their favorite newsletter a week ago. So many food brands are preparing well in advance for the holy grail of condiments. Take, for example, Avocados from Mexico, who not only went the whole nine yards with their super bowl commercial, but also uploaded more than 15 different Guac recipes.
• Talking about blogs – almost every blog ran a dedicated Game Night theme: snacks, pizza and even recommended mixology ideas. Food52 who always features recipes contributed by its community, featured some really interesting ideas. Game day is now almost a synonym for wings, Tortia chips and Pizza.
• NYC’s ICE did a really nice job harnessing the potential behind this concept. They joined forces with the New York Jets to create a new and unique experience – the Tailgating Series. This is a great example of going beyond the sport, making the experience interesting and fun for everyone.

So for your next Super Bowl party – or if you really want to spoil your friends next time they come over, try these little treats. The sharp cheese flavor pairs perfectly with beer (I always prefer Belgic style ale):

Spicy, Cheesy Game Night Salty cookies

 Run to the store:
1 stick (4 oz) butter, room temperature
3 eggs
4 TBS (1 oz) grated cheese *see comment.
¼ cup (1 oz) sunflower seeds
¼ cup (1 oz) pumpkin seeds
½ tsp cayenne
¼ tsp paprika
1 cup (3 oz) AP flour
1 tsp salt

For show:
1 egg, lightly beaten
poppy seeds / sesame seeds

*Cheese: You can use hard any cheese you have in your fridge (Not including the one from last month, it will be very comfortable somewhere else. in the trash, for instance). i used sharp cheddar, it has a really nice color to it.

Get mixin’:

1. If you have a stand mixer, perfect, use the paddle attaachment. This can also be done manually with a wooden spoon (and you’ll work up some muscle while you’re at it). Beat the butter until it’s no longer lumpy. About 2 minutes if it really is room temp (no, don’t microwave it, it’ll just melt the butter and cause the whole thing to have a dense texture..).
2. Break the eggs into a small bowl (This is mostly to prevent eggshells from ending up in your cookie.) (No, it will not pass as a nice crunchy texture. I’m saving you here. Trust me on this.), then add it to the butter.
3. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients: flour, salt, spices, seeds.
4. Add to the butter/egg mixture and mix 1 more minute, until well incorporated. The dough will be a bit sticky.
5. Wrap in plastic and cool in the fridge for at least 1 hour, or spread on ¼ baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes (how I love cutting coreners).
6. After cooling when the dough firms up (it will still be a little sticky), using wet hands, make about three 8’’ logs. Wrap and freeze again.
7. Pre heat oven to 375.
8. Take the logs out, cover with egg wash and drizzle the poppy seeds.
9. Cut to 1/8’’ thick discs and bake for 15-18 minutes or until ends turn golden.
10. Don’t forget the beer.