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These cookies were delicious and pretty too. The peppermint flavoring was subtle, and the cookie was soft and tender. My granddaughters loved them, as did my husband; he prefers soft chocolate chip cookies; it’s a nice twist on a traditional cookie.
Another recipe I enjoy making, especially after a busy day, is a stir-fry meal. When Wegmans Food Store opened in our area, their flyers use to include recipes. Once such recipe was for Stir-Fry Pork with Snow Peas in a Citrus Soy Sauce. The ingredients for the stir-fry are pork tenderloin, fresh garlic, Wegmans Citrus Soy Sauce, cornstarch, fresh snow peas, fresh carrots cut into matchstick pieces, olive oil, and a red pepper. Occasionally, Wegmans may not have this product, but when they do, I purchase two. While you can find citrus soy recipes online, I have yet to attempt them. The ingredients in the Wegmans product are water, orange juice concentrate, soybeans, honey, salt, cornstarch, garlic, and small amounts of ginger, sugar, citric acid, black pepper, orange oil, and ascorbic acid. If you eliminate the soybeans, citric acid, ascorbic acid, and probably the orange oil, you could adapt a recipe with these ingredients. However, if you’re able to locate something similar, you’ll enjoy a meal that takes all of 30 minutes to prepare. I’ve made this for a number of years, and it’s quick and delicious. I serve it atop plain white rice. My husband likes to garnish his portion with Chinese mustard and soy sauce. There’s a Italian specialty store in Shrewsbury called Uncle Giuseppe’s. They have three outlets in New Jersey and eight on Long Island (New York). They were running a special on lobster ravioli, so I grabbed a box. I planned on making them for dinner one night, but was perplexed about what type of sauce to make to go with them. I knew I didn’t want a red marinara sauce, but something to enrobe and complement its flavor. I stumbled upon the website “The Absolute Foodie,” that had 15 sauce recipes for lobster ravioli. I settled on white Wine Lobster Ravioli Sauce, and it was the perfect. For the sauce, you’ll need shallots, garlic, butter, fresh tarragon, fresh chives, white wine, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese. Lucky for me, I was growing the herbs in my garden. To begin, the shallots and garlic are minced and sautéed in a hot pan until they start to brown. Next, the herbs are chopped and added to the pan and cooked for a minute or two until their flavor is released. Wine is added and reduced by half. Lastly, the heavy cream is added and reduced by about half; season with salt and pepper. After my ravioli were cooked, I drained them and put them back into the pot. I took my white wine sauce and strained the solids through a fine mesh strainer while holding it over the ravioli. Straining the solids would make for a much nicer presentation and garnish with more herbs. My gosh, was this dish heavenly! The wine sauce was rich, creamy and infused with all the ingredients. My husband and I just loved this preparation. I had some radishes in one of the last Dreyer Farm CSA boxes. I’ve sautéed them with butter, pickled them, and roasted with chicken. It was amazing to see just by cooking them, their flavor turns from something bitter to something sweet. I found on The New York Times/NYT Cooking webpage a recipe for Sheet-Pan Miso Chicken with Radishes and Lime. The recipe received good reviews from other cooks. For the recipe, you’ll need bone-in, chicken thighs, olive oil, kosher salt, black pepper, ghee or unsalted butter, white miso paste, radishes, a lime, scallions, and black or white sesame seeds. To prepare this sheet pan meal, that takes all of 45 minutes, you will drizzle the chicken with olive oil and season all over with salt and pepper. The ghee, or softened butter, is mixed with the miso, and 1/2 teaspoon of the mixture goes under the skin. The remaining is set aside so that it can be massaged over the exterior of the chicken; save a teaspoon for another step. The chicken is roasted in a 450° oven for 15 minutes. While the meat roasts, the radishes are tossed with the remaining miso/butter mixture and a tablespoon of oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. When the 15 minutes of roasting time is up, the radishes are added to the sheet pan and cooked until golden and the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°. To serve, squeeze some lime juice over the chicken and radishes and garnish with thinly sliced scallions and sesame seeds. This was a good meal for a weeknight. I used bone-in chicken breasts that came out moist and tender. The radishes were perfectly cooked too. It could have used a bit more seasoning; I wished I had miso paste, but I didn’t feel like spending $10 for a container of organic miso when I rarely use it. I’ll give the dish another try, maybe in my travels I stop at Trader Joe’s as I see they have a 5-ounce pouch for $3. My final recipe of the week is from the “Slow Food Fast” column of the Wall Street Journal. Chef Douglas Katz, who has several restaurants in Cleveland, OH, contributed Work-Day Friendly Wild Mushroom and Thyme Frittata. I’ve had this recipe since September 2023 and finally had a chance to make it with wild mushrooms from an Asbury Fresh purveyor, Wildspawn Mushrooms from Ringoes, NJ. Jeff Mertz is at the farm market every Sunday and offers a container of assorted mushrooms containing black pearl oyster, chestnut, king oyster, lion’s mane, maitake/hen of the woods, oyster, pippino, shiitake, and white pippino shiitake(the variety may change). Besides the mushrooms, you’ll also need a shallot, 2 fresh thyme sprigs, and 2 tablespoons of fresh thyme leaves, black pepper, eggs, grated Gruyère cheese, fresh minced chives, baby greens, juice of 1/2 lemon, and crème fraîche. Prior to cooking, mushrooms are torn into bite-size pieces and the shallot is minced. I used a 10-inch cast iron skillet to cook the mushrooms with olive oil. They were seared on one side and stirred to sear the topside; this takes approximately 15 minutes in total. The shallots and thyme are added to the pan and cooked until the shallot is translucent. The thyme stems are removed, and the ingredients are removed and seasoned with salt and pepper. While the mushrooms were cooking, I whisked the eggs and added grated Gruyère cheese along with the chives, salt, and pepper. The mixture was added to the pan, making sure to distribute the liquid evenly among the mushrooms. The pan was transferred to the oven, where it baked for approximately 15 minutes in a 350° oven until the eggs were set, but still soft in the center. One to two minutes under the broiler sets the center and lightly browns the top; let it rest for 5 minutes before eating. While the frittata sits, toss the greens with lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and olive oil. Serve the greens alongside the frittata with a dollop of crème fraîche. This was a scrumptious meal. The mixture of mushrooms gave a meatiness to the dish; the thyme offered a hint of mint and savoriness that was a perfect complement to the mushrooms. This meal was touted as a workday-friendly meal; it certainly was.
Mint Chocolate Chip-Ins
From the book “Act,” by Kayla Miller ©2020 Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Boston & New York Ingredients ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened ¼ cup granulated sugar ¼ cup brown sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon peppermint extract ¼ teaspoon green food coloring 1-1/2 cups flour ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 cup chocolate chips ¼ cup sprinkles Extra sprinkles for decoration Directions
Stir Fry Pork with Snow Peas in Citrus Soy Sauce
From Wegmans Food Markets Active Time: 20 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients 1 (1-lb.) pork tenderloin 3 medium cloves garlic, peeled, chopped finely (about 2 tablespoons) ½ cup Wegmans Citrus Soy Sauce (Prepared Foods)* 1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch 8 ounces fresh snow peas, trimmed (about 3 cups) 10 ounces matchstick cut carrots 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 1 medium red sweet pepper, halved, cored and medium dice (about 1 cup) Preparation
*Donna’s Note: sauce of your choice or try the following recipes: Asian Citrus Soy Salad Dressing – delete olive oil, add cornstarch to thicken, pinch of salt, honey, pinch of sugar (see blog for ingredients in Wegman’s citrus soy sauce)
White Wine Lobster Ravioli Sauce
From the website “The Absolute Foodie” Sauce: 1 shallot, minced 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tablespoon of butter handful of tarragon, chopped handful of chives, chopped 120ml of white wine 4 oz./8 tablespoons 150ml of heavy cream 5 oz./10 tablespoons 50grams of parmesan cheese 2 oz./4 tablespoons Preparation
Sheet-Pan Miso Chicken with Radishes and Lime
Recipe by Yasmin Fahr Adapted by Margaux Laskey The New York Times/NYT Cooking From “Keeping it Simple,” by Yasmin Fahr Total Time: 45 minutes Yield: 4 Servings Ingredients 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 1½ pounds total) 2 tablespoons olive oil Kosher salt and black pepper 1 tablespoon ghee or unsalted butter, at room temperature 1½ teaspoons white miso paste 1pound trimmed radishes, halved, if large 1 lime, cut in half 2 scallions, light green and white parts only, thinly sliced Black or white sesame seeds, for sprinkling (optional) Preparation
Workday-Friendly Wild Mushroom and Thyme Frittata
From Chef Douglas Katz Owner f Zhug, Amba and Provenance all in Cleveland, OH Published in Wall Street Journal “Slow Food Fast,” column September 16-17, 2023 Total Time: 25 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients ¼ cup olive oil, plus more for dressing ¾ pound wild mushrooms (oysters, shiitakes or a mix), torn into bite-size pieces 1 large shallot, thinly sliced 2 sprigs thyme plus 2 tablespoons picked thyme leaves Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 8 large eggs, lightly beaten ½ cup grated Gruyère ¼ cup minced chives 6-8 cups baby greens Juice of ½ lemon Crème fraîche Directions
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