Writing a blog takes more time than I thought, how do full-time food bloggers do it? Do they have “people?” I’ve changed up my system so instead of posting an image on Instagram, I hold off until I have a link to both the recipe and its review. Let me know what you think…do you care to comment?
 
One-Pot Chicken Cacciatore is from The New York Times and was developed by Cybelle Tondu. For the recipe you’ll need bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, kosher salt, olive oil, waxy potatoes (Yukon Gold or fingerling), a sprig of fresh rosemary, anchovy fillets, fresh garlic, capers, dry white wine, white or red wine vinegar and fresh parsley.
 
I’ll start by saying my husband loved the potatoes in this dish and requested they be made on their own. However, they are cooked with the chicken which lends the rich flavor to the potatoes. The potatoes were cut into chunks and seasoned with rosemary, anchovy, garlic, capers, olive oil and salt. ​

I think spring with its warmer weather has finally arrived. April and May were chilly to the point I was still wearing my flannel pajamas and turning the heat on early in the morning to take the chill off. This warmer weather also yields plenty of spring fruit and vegetables.
 
I had my granddaughters for a few days at the end of the last month.  Their hope was to swim in our neighbor’s pool, but no such luck. I was, however, able to take them strawberry picking at Battleview Orchards, in Freehold, NJ. In the spring they have strawberry picking with sour cherries, peaches and nectarines in the summer. The fall brings apple picking with over a dozen varieties.
 
With boots in hand, we were off to the orchard. It had rained the previous day so I was glad I had the girls bring their boots as the field was damp with clay  type dirt. It was $5 per person to enter  and they give you a cardboard tray to hold your strawberries. Once done, the fee is credited back to you and applied to your strawberry purchase. It cost approximately $5 per pound, but they were juicy, red throughout and delicious. Once we got home, I washed the berries in a mixture of white vinegar and water. This also helps the berries to last longer in your refrigerator. 

Back in 2023 I took on the challenge to prepare a Turkey Porchetta from the cooking show
“America’s Test Kitchen.” Patience was the key to executing this recipe, but it turned out fabulous. I recently came across a recipe by Kay Chun, of The New York Times, for Porchetta-Spiced Roasted Potatoes. These potatoes were scrumptious. They had all the seasonings of a porchetta, minced garlic, fennel, dried thyme, fresh rosemary, fresh sage, freshly ground black pepper, red-pepper flakes with the baby potatoes (such as creamer, baby white or new potatoes) tossed with extra-virgin olive oil.
 
The pieces conveyed a taste similar to that of an actual porchetta roast, but without the hassle. The recipe takes 40 minutes from start to finish and crisped up very nicely in my oven.
 
I was looking for something different to make with ground beef when I stumbled upon Kevin Pang’s recipe for Loose Meat Sandwich. The sandwich is popular in Iowa and will remind you of Sloppy Joe. ​

​Mother’s Day is now in the rear-view mirror, onto another week of sports, spring cleaning and walking in the sunshine.
 
I hosted a brunch for my daughter-in-law on Saturday morning. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo of the table before everyone dug in. I prepared Creamy Baked Eggs with Leeks and Spinach, Home Fries with Onions and Chives, bacon and Whole-Wheat Bran English Muffins. As we were a small group of four adults, I picked up a fruit bowl from Delicious Orchards in Colts Neck and four pastries from Hey Peach Bakery in Bradley Beach. I selected Pain Suisse, chocolate croissant, all-butter croissant and a cheese Danish. Brunch was delicious if I don’t say so myself. The eggs were perfectly cooked and my husband toasted several English muffins on our gas grill so they were ready at the same time. A fruit salad is always lovely to serve as something light  and sweet. My husband and I shared the Pain Suisse, which was wonderful. There was a light custard filling with a bit of chocolate; all the proportions were perfectly balanced offering a slight sweet flavor. 

​My son-in-law enjoys sending me IG videos and recently he sent one of chef Christian Petroni preparing lemon pasta. In watching the video you’ll see him cook spaghetti in salted water. Next, he fills a large sauté pan with a ladle of pasta water followed by par cooked spaghetti. To the pan, he squeezes the juice of two lemon then adds them to the pan. A good amount of cheese (Parmesan?) followed by a knob of butter. Toss, toss, done! I couldn’t be that adventurous so I found a similar recipe, Pasta al Limone, on the website “Serious Eats” by Daniel Gritzer.
 
For his recipe you’ll need unsalted butter, finely grated zest of a lemon plus its juice, minced garlic, kosher salt, spaghetti, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and freshly grated black pepper.
 
Mr. Gritzer recommends cooking the pasta in less water so it becomes starchier and he recommends fresh pasta with this lemon sauce. I dove with both into this recipe by whipping up fresh spaghetti.

​I can’t believe that April is just about over and the start of the summer season at the Jersey shore is in the not-too-distant future. My daughter and her family have had a busy spring, what about yours? Between softball practice and games, soccer and birthday parties how do young families deal with their kid’s busy schedule. My daughter tries to cook ahead for the week, but if you can’t I found some easy to do weeknight meals. I’m also sharing a recipe I found in Cook’s Illustrated Magazine that I made for Easter dessert.
 
There’s nothing like a one pot meal such as Lidey Heuck’s Chicken Potpie with Cornbread biscuits. Eric Joon’s Pepper Steak is a two-pot supper, one for the stir fry and another if you want to serve it with rice. Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin “Filets” from Southern Living Magazine was a delicious meal that took about 35 minutes to prepare. 

​As a belated birthday gift from my son and his family, he took me to Mabel at Bell Works in Holmdel, NJ. Bell Works is in a pastoral setting just off the Garden State Parkway at exit 114. Once off the parkway you head for Crawfords Corner Road and look for the signs for Bell Work which leads down a long serene drive. The Bell Work’s interior has a huge inner atrium surrounded by various levels of offices. On the main level you’ll find restaurants and retail shops. Mabel sits in the middle of the building. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday with lunch service through Friday, dinner service through Saturday and brunch on both Saturday and Sunday.
 
We had a reservation for a Friday evening. The restaurant is quite large with several dining rooms. We sat in the room off the deck which was  spacious . We began with a cocktail with me ordering the Rotary (Woodford Reserve bourbon, cola syrup, angostura and orange bitters) and my son had the Rum punch. Although the punch wasn’t currently on the menu, the bar was able to make the drink. By the way, they also have several non-alcoholic beverages.

I’ve discovered my love for all things cacio e pepe, from pizza to pasta and recently with gnocchi. During a mindless search on the internet for recipes, I came upon “Food & Wine’s” webpage for Cacio e Pepe Gnocchi. It’s a thirty-minute meal and you use shelf stable gnocchi. Though the recipe serves four, I made half the recipe for my husband and I.
 
For the recipe you’ll need olive oil, refrigerated gnocchi (I used Wegmans shelf stable gnocchi), black pepper, heavy cream, Parmesan cheese, pecorino Romano Cheese and fresh flat leafed parsley for garnish. Using an oven-safe skillet, the gnocchi is sautéed in olive oil until a golden brown. The gnocchi is removed and set aside.  In a clean dry skillet, olive oil is added to the pan along with black pepper. The pepper is toasted which will intensify the flavor making it more fragrant and complex. Next, the cream is added and brought to a simmer.  Off heat the cheeses are added and stirred with the cream until melted and silky. Add the gnocchi and stirred until covered with the sauce. Transfer to a preheated oven and broil until the top of the gnocchi is browned in spots and the sauce is thickened. 

Some recipes are easier than others when scaling down for two people. Other times, I’m asking Siri for conversions or using my calculator to get the measurements just right. A sheet pan recipe by Ali Slagle of The New York Times made it easy for me with her recipe for Sheet-Pan Chicken with Artichokes and Herbs.
 
For this recipe you’ll need fennel bulbs, a can of artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, minced garlic, ground fennel, fresh rosemary, fresh sage, chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on), pitted green olives, fresh lemon juice and red pepper flakes.
 
The fennel is cut into wedges and placed on a rimmed baking sheet along with the artichokes, tomatoes and dressed with olive oil, salt and pepper. In a small bowl garlic, ground fennel, rosemary, salt and olive oil are whisked together. The chicken is seasoned with salt and pepper and rubbed with the spice mixture. The chicken goes on top of the vegetables skin-side up. ​

While most people associate lemons with summer, citrus fruits are winter fruits. Citrus season runs November to April and with this in mind, preparing Dan Pelosi’s One-Pot Chicken and Rice with Caramelized Lemon seemed appropriate. For the recipe you’ll need bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, salt, black pepper, dried oregano, crushed red pepper, extra-virgin olive oil, lemons, Castelvetrano or Kalamata olives, garlic, shallot or onion, long-grain white rice, chicken broth and fresh parsley.
 
The recipe begins by seasoning the chicken with salt, pepper, oregano and a pinch of crushed red pepper. Using my LeCreuset braiser, I placed the pan over medium-high heat and cooked the chicken until it released freely from the pan; it was then set aside.
In the same pan, I cooked 1/4-inch-thick lemon slices until they were golden and softened; they too were removed from the pan. ​