donna's daily dish

not the ordinary

7/1/2022

Last week at the Asbury Fresh farmers market, I picked up a bunch of golden beets from Rolling Hills Farm. I did a web search and found an interesting recipe, Moroccan Cold Beet Salad with Vinaigrette. The recipe was found on the “The Spruce Eats” website and is by Christine Benlafguih. For the recipe you’ll need, red beet roots, fresh parsley, fresh lemon juice, vegetable oil, salt, fresh ground pepper, and red onion. Although the recipe calls for red beets, it works perfectly with golden.

The vinaigrette was delightful, it was light and refreshing. Using lemon juice in lieu of vinegar was a wonderful change. Also, the substitution of yellow onion, didn’t alter the taste. I also added slivered almonds for a bit of crunch.

egg-ceptional meal

6/28/2022

In the early days of network TV food shows, one of the first on the Food Network was “Cooking Live,” with host Sara Moulton, whom at the time was the executive chef at Gourmet Magazine. The show began on New Year’s Day 1997 and finished five years later on March 31, 2002. The show was actually done live and within a one-hour time frame, Sara prepared a meal and took phone in questions simultaneously.

Currently, Sara has a show on public television called “Sara’s Weeknight Meals.” A natural teacher, she explains and demonstrates a recipe giving the viewer confidence to recreate the recipe at home. Recently when watching her show, she prepared a Broccoli and Goat Cheese Souffléed Omelet. The dish looked so inviting. For the recipe you’ll need ½ pound of broccoli (coarsely chopped and precooked), 3 ounces of goat cheese, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, vegetable oil, 5 large eggs (separated) and two tablespoons of all-purpose flour.

easy grilled flank steak

6/23/2022

Now through Saturday, my local Shop Rite has flank steak on sale. I wanted to prepare something easy and not from my recipe file. I found a wonderful recipe on the Epicurious app (Gourmet Magazine, July 2007) for Korean-Style Grilled Flank Steak. My husband and I loved the Korean Cheeseburgers last week, and after reading through the recipe, decided this was worth a go. Besides the flank steak you’ll need soy sauce, unseasoned rice vinegar, fresh ginger, garlic, Sriracha, granulated sugar, sesame oil, scallions and sesame seeds. For accompaniments soft leaf lettuce and white rice. In lieu of Sriracha I used Gochujang

new turn on chicken

6/22/2022

A few months ago, I was watching the Food Network and Guy Fieri was in Hawaii reporting on the preparation of Huli Huli Chicken. Huli Huli is barbecue chicken that’s slathered with sauce whose main components are ketchup, soy sauce, brown sugar and an acid (rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar or pineapple juice). It sounded interesting, but it wasn’t until The New York Times featured it in their “Here to Help” column that it grabbed my attention. The original recipe is by Alana Kysar, a food blogger who wrote a book called, “Aloha Kitchen: Recipes from Hawaíí,” and adapted by Margaux Lasky.

savory pork tenderloin

6/19/2022

Pork tenderloin is like chicken, its versatile as it can be roasted, grilled or be part of a casserole dish. However, not wanting to repeat one of my tried-and-true pork recipes, I found a new one on my NYT Cooking app for Pork Tenderloin Stuffed with Herbs and Capers. The recipe was from food columnist, Melissa Clark, in her column a “Good Appetite” under the article “Putting the Tender in Pork Tenderloin.”

Besides pork tenderloin you’ll need, kosher salt, extra-virgin olive oil, shallots, capers, fresh sage, fresh rosemary, fresh thyme, fresh garlic, dry white wine or vermouth (or stock), fresh squeezed orange juice, chicken or meat stock, butter and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional). Lucky for me, I had the necessary herbs in my garden.

not your parents' cheeseburger

6/18/2022

One day in the New York Times newspaper, they featured a recipe by Kay Chun for Korean Cheeseburger with Sesame-Cucumber Pickles. This simple, yet delicious recipe was packed with tons of flavor.

For the recipe you’ll need distilled white vinegar, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, turbinado sugar, Persian cucumbers, low-sodium soy sauce, scallions, fresh garlic, mayonnaise, roasted sesame seed oil, ground beef (preferably chuck or sirloin), American cheese, hamburger buns, butter lettuce, sliced onions and sliced tomatoes.

something different

6/17/2022

Buried in my extensive recipe collection was one for Beef Sates with Hoisin Dipping Sauce. A sate for this recipe is marinated skirt steak, skewered either on bamboo sticks or metal skewers and briefly grilled. The recipe is from Gourmet Magazine, August 1998.

For the recipe you’ll need wooden skewers, fresh garlic, fresh gingerroot, fresh lime juice, 8-ounces skirt steak, hoisin sauce, ketchup and lime wedges as an accompaniment. It just so happens that this week my local ShopRite will have flat iron steak on sale starting this Sunday,

thursday night pasta

6/6/2022

It’s a beautiful Sunday at the Jersey shore. The temperature is 70° with blue skies, no humidity and wispy clouds above. I’m sitting at my computer reflecting on the delicious dish I made the other evening, Creamy Pasta with Ricotta and Herbs. The recipe is from Melissa Clark of The New York Times from her column “A Good Appetite.” The recipe was captivating as it was made with just a handful of ingredients and relied on fresh soft herbs for flavor. As you recall, I have lots of herbs in my garden this summer. For this recipe you’ll need a short pasta (shells, cavatappi, farfalle, ditali or wagon wheels), freshly grated Parmesan cheese, extra-virgin olive oil, coarsely ground black pepper and fresh soft herbs such basil, chives, fennel fronds, parsley, mint, tarragon, chervil or dill.

fried chicken

6/5/2022

When I was growing up in north Jersey, we lived very close to Willowbrook Mall. Back in the 70’s the mall had a cafeteria style restaurant call “Hot Shoppes.” One of the entrees on the menu was a delicious, crispy fried chicken called Pappy Parker Fried Chicken. The combination of spices intertwined with the coating made for a heavenly dish
In my Instagram feed, my niece suggested I follow “Brunch with Babs.” If I recall, Babs got started on TikTok with videos she and her daughter created featuring family recipes; she now has a presence on Instagram. Recently, Babs posted her copycat recipe of KFC chicken inspired both from KFC and Cooks Country. Intrigued by this information, I decided to try her recipe. I read through her post which included the recipe and a video preparation.

For the recipe you’ll need 3 pounds of chicken, flour, cornstarch, paprika, black pepper, granulated garlic, sage, thyme, oregano, celery seed, Lawry’s seasoned salt, dried mustard, buttermilk and Bab’s hack of avocado oil instead of vegetable or peanut oil. It’s a good thing I took a second look at the video while preparing my chicken, the ingredient list neglected to include cayenne pepper. I posted on her page as to how much cayenne is needed, but with 28,300 likes, my little question got lost in the 428 comments! I decided to start with a teaspoon. In lieu of purchasing Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, I found a copycat recipe online.
The other change on Bab’s recipe is to place a cast iron frying pan in a cold oven while preheating the oven to 450°. Once the pan and oven are hot, you add ½ cup of avocado oil for cooking the chicken. Instead of avocado oil, I used corn oil. The chicken cooks for approximately 30 minutes, or until the breasts register 160° and 170° for thighs and legs.
The chicken did have a nice crust, but the flavor was missing something. Could it have been that I needed a tablespoon of cayenne instead of a teaspoon? Other copycat recipes mention the secret ingredient as being MSG (monosodium glutamate) or Accent, as it’s more commonly known. I’m not sure adding Accent would enhance the flavor, but perhaps a heavier hand with certain spices would do the trick. I still prefer the chicken I had at the now closed Redhead Tavern in Manhattan.

back at it

5/29/2022

In the March 2022 issue of Southern Living Magazine, a recipe was published for Sesame Shrimp Stir-Fry. This quick and easy recipe is a great weeknight meal and can also be prepared ahead and frozen for up to six months. The recipe appealed to me because ingredients were readily available in my local food store and made for a light supper for my husband and I.