Recipe-in-a-Flash: Pan-Roasted Green Beans with Golden Almonds

This might not be the most summery-type recipe, but I was recently gifted some beautiful, just-picked green beans and didn’t want to just throw them in the oven with the usual suspects of salt, pepper, & EVOO. The ever-reliable NYT Cooking site came to the rescue with this terrific recipe. It’s a bit more work but worth it. Charring the beans gives it a delicious smokiness, and the melding of shallots, parsley, and lemon plays perfectly with the beans.

I served it alongside fresh Sockeye salmon that I pan-seared with a sprinkle of Paradise Powder from the wonderful Paradise Seafood Market on Marco Island, chased down with a crisp white wine from Sicily.

If you’ve got green beans in your summer garden, try it. The recipe says the almond-shallot topping will work with just about any vegetable so you may want to think about this for your Thanksgiving table.

Pan-Roasted Green Beans with Golden Almonds (NYT Cooking)

4 Servings

Ingredients:

Kosher salt

8 oz green beans and/or wax beans, trimmed

1/4 C blanched whole almonds, coarsely chopped

3 TB EVOO, plus more as needed

1 large shallot, minced

1 TB fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, thinly sliced

1 lemon

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and add salt (a teaspoon or so, or to taste). Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook until bright green but still firm, about 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to the ice water. When cool, drain again. Pat dry with paper towels until completely dry.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the almonds and the oil, adding more oil if needed to just cover the almonds. Cook over medium heat until the almonds are golden, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the shallot. It will cook in the residual heat.
3. Coat a large skillet with oil. Heat over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Add the beans and season with salt. Cook, tossing frequently, until charred dark brown in spots and tender-crisp, about 7 minutes.
4. Top with the almond mixture, then the parsley. Grate the zest from a quarter of the lemon directly over the beans, then cut the lemon into wedges for serving. Season with pepper and serve.

Italian Chicken Meatballs with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Orzo

I’ve never been very good at cooking without a recipe. Other people can take whatever ingredients they have in-house and whip up a fabulous meal - no recipe needed. Not me, I need to follow a recipe, step-by-step.

But I just cooked a fabulous dish using no recipe (nod to Sam Sifton’s “no recipe recipes”) and I want to share it with you.

Last week I bought a package of AmyLu Italian-style Chicken Meatballs at Costco (OK, they’re not my family’s traditional meatballs, but they’re really pretty good!) and wanted to do something with them besides just plopping them into tomato sauce and serving over pasta. As an aside, these meatballs are Paleo-friendly, if you’re following that; they have16 grams of protein, are low in fat, calories, carbs, gluten-free, have no added sugars, and the chickens are raised antibiotic-free (I’ve included the nutrition panel for your reading pleasure). 

Looking in the fridge, I came up with fresh spinach and baby Bella mushrooms; in the cupboard I had a small package of orzo, and I always have garlic, EVOO, Parmigiano cheese, and fresh basil on hand. 

It was so good I made it two days in a row, not just because it was delicious and easy, but, of course, I wanted to test it before posting. I can report now that if you are looking for a terrific dish to serve to your family, one that you can get on the table in less than 45 minutes, this is it. If you’d like to serve wine with it, I recommend a Sicilian white: Anthilia from the wonderful Donna Fugata vineyard, or a Grillo, both are excellent. 

Mangia bene!

Italian Chicken Meatballs with Spinach, Mushrooms, and Orzo

Author - Terry Krongold

Recipe serves 2 but can easily be doubled.

Ingredients:

4 TB extra virgin olive oil, halved 

4 cloves garlic, sliced

Kosher salt 

Freshly ground black pepper

Fresh spinach (amount left up to you, but IMHO, the more the better!)

Red pepper flakes, optional, to taste

1 C orzo pasta 

6-8 baby bella mushrooms, sliced

12 chicken meatballs (pre-cooked), cut in half*

5-6 leaves fresh basil, torn

Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated

Directions:

1. In a large sauté pan, heat 2 TB olive oil. Add half of the sliced garlic and sauté until just starting to become aromatic 

(I like to add a few grains of Kosher salt over the garlic as it cooks). 

2. Bring a pot of water to boil for the orzo.

3. To the sauté pan, add the spinach, season to taste with salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using) and cook until just starting to wilt, then remove from pan.

4. Add orzo to the boiling water, cook approximately 7-8 minutes (or according to package directions).

5. Add remaining 2 TB oil and garlic to the sauté pan; add mushrooms, salt and pepper,  and cook about 5 minutes until starting to soften.

6. When orzo is cooked, drain and set aside.

7. Add the meatballs to sauté pan, heat thru about 5 minutes.

8. Add orzo and spinach back to pan; toss all pan ingredients together and heat briefly, about 2 minutes.

9. Add handful of grated cheese and the torn basil. Toss everything together.

10. Plate and add a bit more grated cheese (to taste).

*feel free to use homemade pre-cooked meatballs - here is a great recipe from eatingwell.com for them!

Strawberry-Lemon Loaf Cake

Photo by Brigitte Tohm from Pexels

As noted in the recipe I clipped this from (New York Times cooking site), “this cake is summer in a loaf pan,” and they are on the money with that description. Light, breezy, bursting with the sweetness of the strawberries and the subtle tartness of lemon, it is just begging to be taken along on a picnic, late-summer BBQ, or (my personal favorite) with a cup of tea in the afternoon. 

The pictures really don’t do this cake justice, but believe me, you will love this cake!

Strawberry-Lemon Loaf Cake (NYT)

Ingredients:

Cake:

Non-stick cooking spray

1 C/150 grams diced strawberries (fresh, don’t use frozen)

1 C/200 grams plus 1 TB granulated sugar

1-1/2 C/192 grams AP flour

1 TB lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

2 t baking powder

1/2 t kosher salt

1 C/227 grams sour cream, at room temp

1/2 C/110 grams vegetable oil

3 large eggs, at room temp

1 TB lemon juice

1 t pure vanilla extract

Lemon glaze:

1 C/123 grams confectioners’ sugar

1 TB lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

2 TB lemon juice

Directions:

1. Make the cake: heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9x5” loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, toss strawberries with 1 TB sugar to macerate while you prepare the cake batter.
3. In large bowl, combine flour, lemon zest, baking powder, salt and remaining 1 C sugar. Whisk to combine. In a second large bowl, combine the sour cream, oil, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Whisk to combine.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and stir gently to mix. Lift the macerated berries out of their liquid and add to the batter. Gently fold in the berries until evenly incorporated.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. If it looks to be browning on top too much, tent with aluminum foil. Cool it in the pan on a rack for about 10 minutes, then un-mold the cake carefully and transfer to the rack to cool completely.
6. Make the glaze: in a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar with the lemon zest and juice and stir until smooth. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake. Let stand until set.

Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread

 

Just the name alone of this bread makes me happy.  Cinnamon. Crunch. Banana. Hmmmm. Happiness.

The other day I discovered a container of mashed bananas in the freezer and while there are probably thousands of banana bread recipes on the "Google machine," I felt the need for something a little more interesting. This recipe from the ever-reliable NYT Cooking site fit the bill; the only thing I changed was to add chopped walnuts to the batter and the topping (I felt it needed more crunch). 

I'm sure you have your own library of ready-to-go banana bread recipes, but I must enthusiastically recommend this one. The ratio of bananas/cinnamon/crunch is perfect. The bread is super-moist and packed with deliciousness. It is a little on the sweet side due to the double sugars in the topping (I don't mind that, but you can probably reduce the sugar a bit if it's a concern for you). A bonus is that you don't need an electric mixer - just two mixing bowls, a whisk, a couple of spatulas, and a 9x5 loaf pan. My cake sank a bit on the top after baking, but other than that, it is fabulous.

So go forth and bake this bread! Or, as they say on the Great British Baking Show: Ready, Set, BAKE!

Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread (NYT)

Ingredients for the batter:

Unsalted butter, for greasing

1-1/2 C all-purpose flour

1 C granulated sugar

1 t ground cinnamon

1 t baking soda

1/2 t kosher salt

1/2 C vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1/4 C honey

1 C mashed ripe bananas (2-3 medium bananas)

1/2 C chopped walnuts (my addition)

1/4 C warm water

Ingredients for the topping:

1/4 C brown sugar, preferably light brown or Demerara (I used light brown)

2 TB granulated sugar

1 t ground cinnamon

1/4 C chopped walnuts

Preparation:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x5" loaf pan and line it with parchment or wax paper, leaving enough paper hanging over the sides to lift the cake out after baking. (This will prevent the topping from breaking when removing the bread from the pan.)

2. Prepare batter: in a medium bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, using a sturdy whisk, beat together oil, eggs, and honey until smooth. Stir in bananas and warm water. Add dry ingredients to egg-oil mixture and stir to blend; stir in nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Make topping: in small bowl, mix brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nuts, using your fingers to break up any lumps. Sprinkle evenly over batter.

4. Bake until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour, checking after 50 minutes. If topping shows signs of burning, reduce heat to 325 degrees.

5. Remove to a rack and let cool in pan for 30 minutes. Use edges of paper to lift cake up and out. Place on a rack (leave the paper on) and let cool before slicing and serving.

Sheet-Pan Baked Feta with Broccolini, Tomatoes, and Lemon

Ready for roasting!

This recipe caught my eye while scrolling thru the NYT Cooking app because, you know, first you eat with your eyes. And the picture at the top of the post was gorgeous.

Ready for eating!

We just happened to have all the ingredients in-house, with a couple of minor modifications to the original recipe. I swapped in broccoli for the broccolini (have never seen that here in Puerto Rico), and crumbled feta for the block feta (another no-show here). I don’t think those two swaps adversely affected the recipe, because it came out great. Besides looking definitely picture-worthy, the melange of flavors was fabulous. I served it over orzo, but you could easily use rice or farro. I would leave out the lemon slices as they were a little bitter after roasting. Otherwise, highly recommend this dish!

Sheet-Pan Baked Feta with Broccolini, Tomatoes, and Lemon (NYT Cooking)

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch broccolini, ends trimmed, thick stalks split lengthwise, or broccoli, stalks trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (about 2 cups)
• 1 small red onion, peeled, quartered and cut into 2-inch wedges
• 1 lemon, 1/2 cut into thin rounds and the remaining 1/2 left intact, for serving
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• Kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 (6- to 8-ounce) blocks feta, cut into 1-inch slices
• Cooked orzo or farro, for serving
• ½ cup fresh basil or cilantro leaves and fine stems, roughly chopped (optional) 

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack set in the lower third. On a sheet pan, combine the broccolini, tomatoes, onion and lemon slices with the olive oil and toss. Add cumin and red-pepper flakes, season with salt and pepper, and toss again until evenly coated. Nestle the feta slices into the vegetables. (It’s OK if they break apart a little.)
2. Roast 15 to 20 minutes, stirring halfway through but leaving the feta in place, until the broccolini is charred at the tips, the stems are easily pierced with a fork and the tomato skins start to blister and break down.
3. Serve over orzo or farro. Drizzle with olive oil and serve with the remaining lemon half for squeezing. Top with fresh herbs, if using.

Pork Schnitzel

When presented with two less than stellar-looking pork chops from a Costco pack that were deemed unsuitable for stuffing or grilling, my husband resorted to plan B: debone and butterfly the chops to make schnitzel (yeah!). Schnitzel is one of my favorite dishes, going way back to  our trip to Vienna many years ago. I still dream of the incredible schnitzel we had in a small, dark tavern where each table had a little wooden pegged holder of warm, homemade pretzels that we gorged ourselves on while we waited for our meal. Must go back some day! 

Of course, in Austria schnitzel is primarily made with veal, but pork is a very good substitute. What’s not to love - it’s crispy, slightly salty, and the leftovers (if there are any!) make fabulous sandwiches the next day.

We used this recipe from the NY Times, and it did not disappoint. We also made the quick pickles from the same article and they were a terrific addition. Mr B (because he can never leave well enough alone, thankfully), also fried up some very thin (mandoline-cut) onions to add to the dinner.

You can buy pork cutlets almost anywhere so you don’t have to go through the deboning, butterflying process, but you will need to pound the cutlets very, very thin (don’t skip that step!).

As suggested in the article, a cold, crisp gruner veltliner or riesling is the perfect wine for this meal. I just happen to keep a supply of nice rieslings in my wine stock so that’s what I used and it was excellent. But you could also use a sauvignon blanc, or even a Soave. As noted by the NYT wine guru, Eric Asimov, champagne goes great with fried foods, so there’s that.

Have a great week! Let me know if you make this dish and how you liked it!

Be well!

Recipe-in-a-Flash: Chocolate-Hazelnut-Banana Bread

Chocolate + bananas + nuts are always a good combination. When that chocolate-nut pairing is Nutella, well, you've just ramped up the whole banana bread game!

Just look at all that swirly Nutella goodness!

pre-baking

just out of the oven

This recipe, from NYT/Cooking, is easy and delicious. My one change would be to add MORE Nutella (no such thing as too much Nutella, right?). I didn't feel the hazelnut flavor was big enough. I might also add some actual nuts for crunch and texture. 

With those additions, this recipe is a keeper! Add it to your banana bread file and let me know what you think. Happy baking!

Ingredients

1/2 C unsalted butter (1 stick) plus more for greasing the pan

2 C all-purpose flour plus more for flouring the pan

1 t baking soda

3/4 t Kosher salt

1-1/2 C mashed bananas, from about 3 medium bananas

2/3 C granulated sugar

1/4 C plain Greek yogurt

2 eggs

1 t vanilla extract

1/3 C chocolate-hazelnut spread, like Nutella

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter & flour a 9x5x3" loaf pan.
2. Stir the flour, baking soda, & salt together in a bowl.
3. Brown butter: melt butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Book butter, occasionally scraping the bottom & sides of the pan with a rubber spatula until it turns a deep golden brown and smells nutty. Don't walk away from the pan during this process. The butter will go from browned and nutty to acrid and burnt in moments. Transfer butter to a large heat-safe mixing bowl & let it cool slightly.
4. When the butter has cooled a bit, add the mashed bananas, sugar, yogurt, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir until well combined, then add the flour mixture & stir until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Pour half the batter into prepared pan & spread it evenly with a knife or offset spatula. Spoon half the chocolate-hazelnut spread in several dollops over the top & use a toothpick or skewer to swirl it into the batter. Spoon & spread the remaining batter over the top followed by dollops of the remaining spread. Swirl in the spread, then bake the bread for 55-60 minutes, or until golden brown & a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Recipe from NYT/Cooking

Recipe-in-a-Flash: Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

Happy Sunday, dear readers!

Hope you are having a great day.

Lovely little recipe for you today: deliciously moist and chocolatey, with a wonderful "sandy" texture - Banana Chocolate Chip Cake. 

From the wonderful cooks over at the New York Times Cooking site, this cake comes together very quickly, bakes in about 25 minutes, and voila, you'll have the perfect snack cake. I photographed it on a paper plate because I think this would be great picnic fare (can you tell I'm desperately seeking spring here?). Warning: this cake can be addictive!

Full recipe below!

Shrimp Bog at The Hominy Grill

I'll be back next week with a recap of our terrific visit to the beautiful city of Charleston. Here's a sneak peek at some of the fabulous meals we enjoyed.

Have a great week!

Delicious Stewed Octopus at Chez Nous

Killer ribs at Rodney Scott's BBQ

Fabulous country ham at Husk

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake

By Melissa Clark YIELD 8 to 10 servings

TIME

35 minutes

PREPARATION

INGREDIENTS

3⁄4 stick/6 tablespoons/84 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, more for greasing pan

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon/135 grams all-purpose flour

1 1⁄4 teaspoons baking powder 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1⁄4 cup/60 milliliters extra-virgin olive oil

1⁄3 cup/80 grams granulated sugar 1⁄4 cup/40 grams dark brown sugar 1 tablespoon molasses

1⁄2 teaspoon ground allspice

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1⁄2 teaspoons espresso or strong coffee, cooled (optional)

1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 egg

1 cup smashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium bananas)

Generous 1/2 cup/120 grams bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

Step 1

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Step 2

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and fine sea salt.

Step 3

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter, oil, sugar, brown sugar, molasses, allspice, cinnamon, espresso and vanilla until just combined. The secret to this cake's texture is to stop mixing before the sugar is dissolved.

Step 4

Use a spatula to mix egg into butter mixture, then stir in flour mixture just to combine. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips. Scrape batter into prepared cake pan and bake until top is golden and sides begin to pull away from pan, about 25 minutes.

Step 5

Let cool for at least 20 minutes (or longer, until completely cooled), then run a thin spatula around the edges to separate from the pan. Invert onto a serving plate. Cake will keep for 1 day, covered.

Adapted from "The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook" by Jim Lahey and Maya Joseph (W.W. Norton & Company, 2017)

RECIPEinaFLASH: Pumpkin Maple Muffins

Greetings, Dear Readers!

Hope this finds you all well.

I know I owe you the next installment of "Bella Sicilia," but I made these delicious muffins today and thought you might like to add them to your Thanksgiving planning. This recipe comes from the NY Times Cooking site. I made them according to the recipe and got 17 regular size muffins. I added a sprinkle of turbinado sugar to the tops before baking for a little sparkle and extra sweetness. 

They are quick and easy to put together, with a really light texture, and wonderful harvest-time flavors. If you have houseguests coming for the holiday, whip up a batch this weekend and throw them in the freezer (that's what I did). Then all you (or they) will need to do is let them defrost. Love these for a quick breakfast, or as part of a brunch, or afternoon tea.



Wishing you and yours a lovely holiday!

Eat well, stay warm, be happy.