donna's daily dish

cooler days

11/14/2023

Autumn’s chill has finally arrived and there’s nothing like a walk on a sunny, crisp day. My husband and I took a ride to visit our granddaughters over the weekend and took a walk to Dreyer Farms to pick up a few things. This is the last week of their CSA program. In our box this week we’ll receive fall squash, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, lettuce, apples and honey.

Last week we also had spinach and I turned it into a delicious Spinach Cheddar Cheese Puff. I remember going to Paramus Park Mall and having lunch at the Magic Pan where a variety of sweet and savory crepes were prepared. One of my favorites was filled with spinach and dressed with a cheddar cheese sauce. Many years ago, I made a Spinach Puff recipe from “Betty Crocker’s Cookbook” (© 1983) along with their recipe for cheddar cheese sauce. This time, I omitted the sauce and added finely shredded cheddar cheese to the base white sauce. As for the spinach, I steamed it until it wilted, cooled, then placed the spinach in a dish towel to wring out all the moisture.

the leaves are changing

10/29/2023

The leaves in our area are beginning to reach their peak color. The last few days have brought a touch of warmer weather to be followed by autumn’s chill. My husband and I are trying some seasonal cocktails that use both apple cider and bourbon. After a weekend reunion with college friends and carb loaded meals, my husband wanted some lighter meals last week. I was able to accommodate him with dinners where white beans made for filling meals, but also offered protein and fiber.

First up this week was Autumn in New England Cocktail from “America’s Test Kitchen.” For the recipe you’ll need 2-4 fresh sage leaves, 1/4-ounce maple syrup, 2 ounces of bourbon, 1 ounce apple cider and 1/4-ounce cider vinegar. I used apple cider from Melick’s Town Farm that was included in last week’s CSA share.

is it sweater weather yet?

10/7/2023

What a crazy start to October. Between the rain and unusually warm weather, I’m not sure if I should be making fall meals or summer?

I’m still catching up from my extra days of babysitting and houseguests that we had recently. The yellow squash I had from my CSA box was starting to see better days and I knew I had to find a recipe soon. My internet search brought me to the website Allrecipes and a side dish called Yellow Squash Patties. For the recipe you’ll need shredded yellow squash, an onion, salt, cheddar cheese, all-purpose flour, cornmeal, an egg, freshly ground black pepper and vegetable oil.

and then the weather changed, part 1

9/17/2023

Thank goodness the heat and humidity are gone. Meals with warm flavors and the last of the summer vegetables can be made. From my CSA box I had a bunch of scallions that I wanted to incorporate into a main course. From Yewande Komolafe of The New York Times, I found a recipe for Sheet-Pan Gochujang Chicken and Roasted Vegetables. I enjoy the spicy and sweet flavor the gochujang imparts. For the recipe you’ll also need soy sauce, fresh ginger, a neutral oil, squash (butternut, acorn or delicata), turnips, scallions, kosher salt, bone-in skin on thicken thighs, radishes, rice vinegar, sesame oil and steamed rice (optional).

steamy days of summer

7/15/2023

The steamy days of summer really put a kink in one’s cooking. However, I’ve been finding some delicious one pot pasta dishes that go well in this hot weather. Melissa Clark’s recipe for One-Pan Shrimp Scampi with Crispy Gnocchi takes about 30 minutes to prepare and makes for a quick post-beach supper. In last week’s Dreyer Farms CSA box, I had two green zucchini that came just in time to try Alexa Weibel’s recipe for One-Pot Zucchini-Basil Pasta. As Sunday was overcast and gray, why not bake even more cookies. I made Rosemary Walnut Biscotti from a vintage issue of “Gourmet Magazine, December 1992.

If you are a subscriber to The New York Times, you can find Melissa Clark’s recipe in her column “A Good Appetite.” This recipe appeared in the article titled “Give Your Gnocchi the Shrimp Scampi Treatment,” published in October 2022. I love this recipe because it’s quick, you can use fresh or frozen shrimp and shelf stable gnocchi, such as Wegmans potato gnocchi, which I love. For the recipe you’ll also need extra virgin olive oil, unsalted butter, fresh garlic, dry white wine (clam juice or broth works too), kosher salt (Diamond Crystal), black pepper, red pepper flakes, one pound of shrimp, a lemon and fresh chopped parsley.

too hot to cook, or is it?

7/15/2023

I don’t mind being in the kitchen in the summer as we have central air conditioning and I limit what I prepare in the oven. As a matter of fact, I just made Amy’s Oh’s Very Best Cookie and Chocolate Sugar Cookie doughs. Then I baked off one sheet pan at a time of each flavor and refrigerated the rest to bake off at a later time.

I stopped in at Pastosa Ravioli in Manasquan this morning and picked up a ball of fresh mozzarella. It was the perfect day to pair this with New Jersey tomatoes from Matt’s Farm Market in Wall Township. As I selected a ball of mozzarella, I could feel the warmth through the wrapping indicating it was just made. As I was paying, I congratulated one of the owners on their fifth anniversary of being open in Manasquan. As I was leaving, he stopped me and handed me a complimentary loaf of prosciutto bread. What a wonderful surprise!

hello foodies, remember me?

7/14/2023

The summer is off and running at my house. My granddaughters are taking swimming lessons at a local health club, so they’re at my home every Thursday. Depending on my daughter’s calendar, it could be for the day or a few days, hence my delay in posting.

It’s very rare that I prepare the same recipe twice for my husband, especially since I’ve started this blog. During CSA season, where there’s an occasional bumper supply of radishes, carrots or zucchini coming in, I need to come up with a new preparation.

Such was the case recently when another bunch of radishes came in my share. Although I have some recipes, this time my search led to the Food Network’s recipe for Chili-Lime Roasted Radishes. This was so easy to prepare as I already was in possession of Chili-Lime Seasoning from Williams-Sonoma. Besides fresh radishes and chili-lime seasoning you’ll need kosher salt and olive oil.

I'm back

1/30/2023

Last week my husband and I took our daughter and her family to Disney World. We have two granddaughters, 5 and 2, and we wanted to take them for their first visit to see Mickey and friends. More about our trip in an upcoming post.

We returned late last week and I’ve been finding lots of interesting recipes to share. One of the two recent recipes I was dying to make was Cacio e Pepe pasta. The recipe is from 177 Milk Street, a PBS food show by Christopher Kimball. On this show they demonstrated how to prepare a lump free sauce. Although the process seemed to go against tradition, I decided to give it a try.

week night "date"

1/17/2023

After several gray days, I’m sitting in my sunny kitchen this afternoon recalling the delicious meal my husband and I had last night. I had recently come across The New York Times food contributor Ali Slagle’s recipe for Pork Chops with Kale and Dates. After reading comments from other cooks, this sounded like a good recipe. I still had a few remaining dates in my pantry from date nut bread that I made for a friend, pork chops in the freezer and rosemary sprigs left from the pasta the other evening; all I needed was kale. For the recipe you’ll also need salt, pepper, neutral oil, butter, fresh rosemary springs or sage leaves, either red wine or sherry vinegar and fresh garlic.