donna's daily dish

and then the weather changed, part 2

9/18/2023

In last week’s weekly CSA box post, the webpage administrator commented, “I just saw a recipe in NYT cooking for Creamy Corn Orzo. I am not able to link it, but it looks delicious.” As New York Times subscriber I was able to gift her the recipe which is Creamy One-Pot Orzo with Corn and Bacon and decided to give it a try myself. Beside the aforementioned ingredients you’ll also need chicken broth, kosher salt, basil, Calabrian Chile paste (or harissa or homemade chile sauce) and whole milk ricotta. Although the recipe calls for using a box grater to remove the corn kernels, I used a chef’s knife to cut the kernels off and then used the backside to scrape the corn liquid off the cobs.

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 in a pickle

6/24/2023

Bread-and-Butter Pickles

Apple Chutney & Prosciutto Melt with Gruyere Cheese and Pears

With the new CSA season well underway, my pickle is trying to find, delicious and easy to prepare recipes for the produce that’s coming in. Last week’s CSA box brought more pickles and a zucchini. I could have made Easiest Fridge Pickles from the website Smitten Kitchen, but where’s the fun in that? So, I turned to my favorite source, NYT Cooking, and found a recipe by Melissa Clark for Bread-and-Butter Pickles. For the recipe you’ll need Kirby cucumbers, coarse kosher salt, fresh dill, light brown sugar, cider vinegar, coriander seeds, black pepper corns and allspice berries.

Although an easy recipe to prepare, I did have a problem locating both coriander seeds and allspice berries. I was able to find the coriander seeds at a second food store, but no luck with allspice berries. I substituted ground allspice in the same amount as if I had the berries. (*Note: for difficult to find spices I suggest Penzeys.)

csa week 4

6/17/2023

Our week 4 box of seasonal produce from Dreyer’s contained bok choy, green squash, lettuce, red beets, Dinosaur (Tuscan) kale, peas and pickling cucumbers.

My husband and I have a salad just about every night of the week, so we enjoy receiving green leaf lettuce in our share. The peas were shelled and steamed cooked. I dressed them with butter, salt and pepper for a tasty side dish. I am looking for a bread and butter pickle recipe for my pickling cucumbers.

A sheet pan meal from Sarah Copeland which appeared on May 27th in The New York Times column “What to Make Next Week was the perfect choice for the kale. Her recipe, Sheet-Pan Roast Chicken with Tangy Greens, was a slightly spicy.

Dreyer Farms CSA Week 2

5/30/2023

Last week I was getting through my produce from a shared CSA box. So far I’ve received asparagus, lettuce, radishes, kale, spinach, eggs, golden beets, shiitake mushrooms and rainbow Swiss Chard. For the kale in the box, I found a recipe on Lidia Bastianich’s website, www.lidiasitaly.com for Barley, Kale and Butternut Squash Risotto. The spinach was used in a recipe from the website www.modernproper.com for Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Spinach, Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. For the radishes and the arugula, I prepared White Beans with Radishes, Miso and Greens, a recipe by Colu Henry via The New York Times and their column, “Five Dishes to Cook This Week.”

Although risotto can be filling, using pearl barley made for a lighter tasting risotto. For the recipe you’ll need kosher salt, fresh bay leaves, pearled barley, chicken stock, extra-virgin olive oil, a carrot, two stalks of celery, dry white wine, one bunch of kale, butternut squash, butter and Grana Padano cheese.

I did it my way

5/20/2023

“A recipe has no soul. You as the cook must bring soul to the recipe.” Thomas Keller

A recipe is someone’s creation that has been tried and improved until perfected. However, sometimes, you as the cook, add your own nuances to achieve the flavor you desire.

Recently I prepared a recipe by Emily Weinstein of The New York Times for One-Pot Tortellini with Meat Sauce. I don’t know where my mind was when I was food shopping last week, instead of tortellini, I accidently bought Wegmans Italian Classics Potato Gnocchi. Beside the pasta for this recipe, you’ll also need fresh garlic cloves, extra-virgin olive oil, one pound of hot or sweet Italian sausage (casing removed) tomato paste, 28-ounce can of crushed tomatoes, grated Parmesan cheese and grated mozzarella cheese.

chicken stew

5/12/2023

Mother’s Day is Sunday and if you still don’t know what to serve, may I suggest Creamy Spinach-Artichoke Chicken Stew. I made this the other evening and it was delicious; my husband has already asked me to make it again. The recipe is by Sarah DiGregorio from the New York Times/ Here to Help column which appeared on April 28th, 2023.

For the recipe you’ll need unsalted butter, yellow or red onion, kosher salt, black pepper, celery, garlic cloves, chicken stock, white wine, boneless skinless chicken thighs, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, frozen cut spinach, marinated artichoke hearts, cream cheese, fresh dill, scallions and grated Parmesan cheese.