Category Archives: Her Kitchen

Don’t Forget the Centerpiece

Posted on November 5, 2010 | Leave a comment

When entertaining for the holidays, or really any time of the year, your table is never fully dressed without a centerpiece.  The Fall and Winter seasons provide plenty of inspiration for table decor that is special but also simple. 

I first turn to the master of all “good things”, Ms. Martha Stewart, for inspiration:

For a simple everyday table setting how sweet is table with a collection of small sized baskets with seasonal fruits?  Let the fruit double as part of your dessert and you have a two for one special.
via Martha Stewart
 In a continuation of the fruit theme, I love the stately nature of the pillar candles and baskets filled with plump berries and grapes.  The colors sing fall while not being generic or too obviously themed.
via Martha Stewart
 For a crafty decor idea there is nothing easier than this for the mantle: take candle holders/vases that you already own and wrap with pretty paper and secure with a double stick tape.  An illuminated candle inside gives this idea an ever brighter glow.
via Martha Stewart
 I love, love, love this centerpiece.  It is a true centerpiece and worthy of a special dinner or even a fall wedding.  A bundle of wheat twisted and tied with a beautiful silk ribbon compliments the warmth and heart of the season.
via Martha Stewart
Here are some more great centerpiece ideas that I could not resist:
From pottery barn, this is a simple hurricane candle holder wrapped with dried maze and tied with twine.  It probably take no more than minutes to assemble but makes a very pretty visual impact.
Via Pottery Barn

Or you can always order a vibrant, beautiful bouquet of flowers for your table and for around your home:
via FTD
via 1800Flowers
Whatever you do keep it easy, make it reflect you and your home, and make it special with a little extra sparkle.

Happy Friday and have a beautiful weekend!

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Posted in Decor, entertaining, fall, Her Home, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, Holidays, Seasonal, Thanksgiving

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Setting the Table for Family and Friends

Posted on November 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

In my immediate family there are four of us.  Pretty average, nothing anyone would consider “large”.  However, my family doesn’t do holidays with just the four of us.  Holidays with my family include everyone: all the grandparents (I am blessed to have four healthy, amazing grandparents), all of the cousins, aunts and uncles, cousins and siblings and children of all of the cousins and aunts and uncles and of course friends that feel like family.  It is not unusual to gather around the table for Passover or Rosh Hoshanah or be spread throughout the house on Thanksgiving with 40 – 50 people.


Not quite this long, but you get the idea
Let me ask you, how do you set a table for 40 – 50 people?  Most people do not own a set of China for 40-50 people, and rarely does the heaviest stock of paper plates hold up to a good Jewish brisket…  
Necessity being the mother of all invention the table would be set  communally; beautiful China would come from an Aunt here, a cousin there, a sister from nearby.  At the end of the day a beautiful table would be set in creams and gold that was worthy of the best crowd and food.
When we got married I registered for plain, everyday white China from Pottery Barn, but now that we have moved and I have more storage in my kitchen and a proper dining room for entertaining the idea of expanding my collection is not lost on me.  Here are some entertaining must haves, for now:

Dazzle Dinnerware by Crate and Barrel

Wood-Slices Dinnerware by West Elm

Vera Wang for Wedgwood “Gilded Weave”

Growing up I would volunteer for table setting duty at my cousin Deborah’s house, and the look and feel of an extra long table, with shining glassware and matching mismatched plates has always stuck with me. The Holidays are special and are meant to be treated with extra care, a little extra sparkle and spent with the most important people.

It doesn’t even matter if you eat take out Chinese on your China, just make it special!

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Posted in Decor, entertaining, Her Home, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food

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Instant Biscuits

Posted on November 1, 2010 | 1 comment

Somehow this weekend I became the kind of person who makes biscuits, and my house became the kind of house that barely has a meal without one…  How did this happen?  I am not really sure, but I blame it on the suddenly seasonal weather (cold),   the abundance of soup I had on hand, and the need for something extra comforting as it became clear that the abnormally warm weather wouldn’t be lasting all fall.



Instant Biscuits, adapted from MomsRetro
1 Cup of all purpose flour
2 Tsps Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Kosher Salt
3 TBSPs  Oil/Shortening
1/3 Cup of Water


Additional Flavors:
Fresh Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Garlic Powder, Fresh grated Parmigiana-Reggiano

Set oven to 350 degrees

Before we get started on the how, I have to get into the why.  Homemade biscuits has been on my to-do list for a while, but I never got around to it because it’s one of those things that when you want it, you want it and you don’t want to wait for proofing, and who keeps buttermilk on hand?  I certainly do not.  This recipe takes 15 minutes and is made entirely from pantry items.

In a small bowl mix all of the dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking powder. 


Add the seasoning.  I went for Italian seasoning because it paired well with the soup I had on hand, but you could just as easily use any other seasoning.  Also, this was a great opportunity to use the fresh basil that has grown really beautifully all summer, before the leaves freeze!

Pluck off 6-7 leaves of fresh basil and roll them up in your hand, with a scissor cut across the leaves to create skinny ribbons of basil, if we were fancy we might call this chiffonade, but we’re not, so we won’t.

Add the oil and the water and mix gently with a fork. 

The dough is supposed to look pretty sloppy, this isn’t a typical dough that would look nice and smooth.  The roughness of the dough leads to light and flaky biscuits.

With your fingers pull apart clumps of dough about the size of a full tablespoon and place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.



Bake for 10 – 15 minutes.  If you can resist, let them cool enough so your can handle them.  They are very moist and won’t require butter, but that could might only make them better. 

Seriously, this is just about as easy as popping open a can of pre-made biscuits, but you won’t chip a nail, you won’t have weird flakes of paper/tin attached the dough, and they will be that much more delicious and rewarding.  Enjoy – and share with 6-8 people (because that is how many biscuits it will make, or enjoy them all by yourself!)

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Posted in Baking, Breakfast/Brunch, Christmas, Comfort Food, dinner, Easy Recipe, fall, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, Seasonal, Thanksgiving

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Roasted Potatoes, Poupourri You Can Eat

Posted on October 29, 2010 | 1 comment

To be fair this is not so much of a “recipe” as it is a suggestion.  

I know that this weekend is dedicated to running around for last minute costumes, carving pumpkins, excessive makeup, buying candy, consuming lots more candy, and indulging on some other celebratory vices.  And that is all good.  But, the weekend is long, and eventually you’ll want something that is healthy, and easy.  This is so easy that while you’re setting your hair in curlers and finishing the details of your meat dress this can cook.

Roasted Potatoes is the most homey non-recipe recipe there is.  I like to mix a large variety of potatoes (white, red, purple, sweet, yellow) and chop them all up into chunks that are about 1/4 – 1/3 of an inch thick.

Set the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  And get chopping. 

 
Ta da!  All chopped.  When all the chopped potatoes are in a bowl drizzle on some olive oil, sprinkle on some Kosher salt, crack some black pepper.  
Okay, now here is where you have some creative license.  Are you feeling traditional?  How about some rosemary and thyme.  Want some heat?  Sprinkle on some cayenne.  Want Italian flavors?  Try oregano, parsley, and maybe some  finely grated Parmigiana-Reggiano, or do as we do and go a little crazy with the Old Bay.  There is no right or wrong amount, but you’ll want to see the flecks of flavor on each piece of potato.  This is truly an instance of “flavor to taste”.

Throw in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, the longer it’s in there the more browned the edges will become, again this is a personal preference.  Also, I am going to again recommend mixing up the variety of potatoes, they each have a different flavor and texture and so all together they are like a little (healthy) party in your mouth.
Enlarged to show flavor intensity detail!
Happy Halloween, this year instead of a pre-trick or treating peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or pizza (which are all more than fabulous), mix it up with this!

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Posted in Christmas, Comfort Food, dinner, Easy Recipe, fall, Halloween, Hanukkah, healthy, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, Jewish Holidays, Passover, Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur, Seasonal, Thanksgiving

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Stuffed Mushrooms for Last Minute Appetizer

Posted on October 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

Stuffed Mushrooms are the kind of appetizer that takes no time to make, you’re likely to have all of the ingredients in your refrigerator and pantry, and they are delightful bite full of flavor.

Stuffed Mushrooms Ingredients:
15 medium Baby Bella Mushrooms (a whole container)
2 tbsps of Olive Oil
1/3 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs
1 tbsp of Skim Ricotta Cheese
2 tbsps grated parmesean
2 tsps of italian seasoning
Dash of Red Pepper Flakes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Add chopped basil, or parsley, chopped garlic
First rinse and rub all of the mushrooms and let them dry.  Remove all of the stems and reserve.  Take the stems and chop them to a small chop.  

In a small bowl add all of the seasonings, cheese, bread crumbs and olive oil.  Add to that the chopped mushrooms.

With a fork mix all of the ingredients.  This recipe is sort of the exact opposite of baking; you can swap out other ingredients, you can change the seasoning, want more spice, less spice, no cheese, more veggies, this is a great clean out the pantry in a flash recipe.


Prepare the oven to 400 degrees and put parchment paper on a cookie sheet.  Turn the mushrooms cavity down and lightly oil the outside of the mushrooms, and sprinkle to taste with salt and pepper.  With a small spoon, or of course your fingers, stuff the mushrooms to the top.


Bake for twenty minutes.  Allow to cool, just long enough so that when you pop an entire mushroom in your mouth and it’s not so hot that you have to do that “it’s too hot” dance.  Enjoy!

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Posted in Appetizer, Baking, Christmas, dinner, entertaining, Her Kitchen, Holiday Food, New Year's Eve, Snacks

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Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, Better When Homemade

Posted on October 22, 2010 | 1 comment

File this simple recipe under the category “Better when made at home”.  Oatmeal is the comfort food of champions when the weather starts to turn, but I will be the first to admit that plain oatmeal is really just PLAIN.  So, I turned to an old favorite, apple cinnamon oatmeal.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Ingredients:
1 large apple
1 cup of whole, plain oatmeal
2 cups of water
1/4 cup of apple cider
1/4 tbsp of unsalted butter
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of cinnamon sugar
1/4 tsp of kosher salt

I like gala apples, or braeburn apples, or fiji apples, I like anything with a tartness and some crisp in the bite.  Chop up the apples in to a small chop, but not too small so that they melt away – keeping them a little bit larger will add another dimension to the texture of the oatmeal.
In a small pan add a pat of butter and let it begin to melt.  Add in the chopped apples, and let them cook for about 2 minutes.  Add some cinnamon and sugar to get the juices flowing.  


When the heat really starts to kick in add the apple cider and stir.  The infusion of liquid and sugars will slow the cooking and also create a more caramelized texture.

While the apples are cooking you have a pot of water boiling.  When the 2 cups of water has reached a boil add the 1 cup of dry oatmeal, lower to medium heat and stir.  You’ll want to keep an eye on the oatmeal so you’ll know when it is “done” for your standards.  After about five minutes you should be there but you can take the pot off the heat and see if it’s thick enough.

When ready add a big scoop of the cooked apples, and enjoy.  It’s not quite fireside weather yet in DC, but when it is you can bet what I’ll be eating

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Posted in Breakfast/Brunch, Comfort Food, Easy Recipe, fall, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal

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Roasted Vegetable Sauce for an Easy Weeknight

Posted on October 14, 2010 | 1 comment

Weeknight dinners are always a little bit tricky; I want something healthy, good tasting, fairly quick and comforting.  So last night was an opportunity for some easy, hearty and full of vegetables sauce.


Roasted Vegetable Sauce
Ingredients:
2 cups Chopped Cherry Tomatoes
2 medium Zucchini
1 medium Eggplant
Salt and Pepper
Dash of Olive Oil
Splash of Balsamic Vinegar
Garlic
Basil
Pepperoncino
1 tbsp Skim Ricotta Cheee

**I really like zucchini and eggplant and so we nearly always have some variety on hand.  If you are not a fan of one you could always do without or swap in a different vegetable.  If you don’t like either you’ll just be eating tomatoes and cheese, which come to think of it isn’t so bad either.

 Chop the zucchini and eggplant into rounds about a centimeter thick.  Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise, and then cut the eggplant into smaller chunks.  Combine the chopped zucchini and eggplant with the chopped tomatoes in a large bowl.  Add to the bowl a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of vinegar, salt, pepper, and some diced garlic.  Mix all of this up, so that flecks of oil and vinegar touch everything.

On a cookie sheet lay out a piece of parchment paper and pour out all of the vegetables.  Place the sheet in a 400 degree oven for 35 minutes.  If by chance the OnDemand Yoga video, or self applied manicure is taking longer, you can let these roast for up to 45 minutes – you just don’t want the vegetables to be burned.

On the stove top set up a large sauce pan with some olive oil, chopped onion, garlic and basil over low heat.  At the same time start boiling water for your pasta. 

Now, I need to share a secret with you.  I rarely keep fresh garlic on hand at home.  This is probably shocking but in our old apartment we’d have heads of garlic and we’d lose them, and then they’d dry out and it was a waste.  Then we discovered the frozen crushed garlic and basil at Trader Joe’s.  They are perfect in a pinch, and hopefully there is a Trader Joe’s somewhere within reach.  To my Florida readers; perhaps I’ll bring you some on the next visit!


When the onions are translucent add the roasted vegetables to the saucepan.  Pour in two ladles of pasta water, and stir vigorously.  

You can keep it chunky, and stop here.  I wanted a more saucy sauce so I used my immersion blender for a few quick pulses and then added a spoonful of ricotta cheese for an smoother taste.  I paired this with a favorite pasta in the pantry, but I think I would also love this on crusty, warm bread as a bruschetta topping, or as a dip with pita.  The whole prep from beginning to end took about 45 minutes; and the bulk of that was inactive cooking time while the vegetables were roasting.  Not too bad for a healthy, well balanced dinner, ever better for a weeknight!

Buon Appetito!

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Posted in Comfort Food, dinner, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal, summer

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Pumpkin Pancakes

Posted on October 7, 2010 | Leave a comment

On Sunday morning the house was cool, and I slept in a few hours after Mark did.  But, when I did wake up I knew what we would be having for breakfast, pumpkin pancakes. 

The backyard with a cool breeze
Mark had already had cereal, but he was happy to have Second Breakfast. This was so good, and made with real, good ingredients, and easy; fall was received so well that I was told by Mark and my sister that the next time I would need to triple the recipe.

Whole Wheat Oat Pumpkin Pancakes, 
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup whole dry oatmeal
2 teaspsoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 cup of skim milk
1/2 cup of unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 cup of pumpkin puree
1.5 tablespoons melted butter
1 egg
In one bowl mix the dry ingredients: spices, seasoning, flour, oats; in a separate bowl  mix the milk, pumpkin apple sauce and in a small pan melt the butter.


Combine all ingredients with a spoon (or spatula as you see I did), you don’t need a mixer.  The easy mixing is the morning workout!  Also, around this time I take the maple syrup and butter out of the refrigerator; there is nothing worse than cold syrup and hard butter on delicious fresh pancakes!


Here’s the thing about pancakes: the first one always looks like blech.  It doesn’t taste like blech, just looks like it.  So if your first one looks a bit crazy, you can taste test it, because it will still taste amazing.


Grab a plate, some deliciously sweet and slightly savory pancakes, a pad of butter and a splash of syrup.  Enjoy each bite of this fall treat; it is the best way to start the day!

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Posted in Breakfast/Brunch, Comfort Food, Easy Recipe, fall, healthy, Her Kitchen, Seasonal

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First taste of Fall: Dark Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Cookies

Posted on October 5, 2010 | Leave a comment

Not too long ago I listed my favorite things about fall, and somehow this got left off the list – very tragic!  I found this recipe last year and made it for my office, and it was a big, big hit.   Pumpkin is a fall mainstay and one that I very much enjoy.  Growing up a favorite smell and surprise was the aroma of a freshly baked pumpkin bread in my mom’s kitchen, which I really should get the recipe for.  

In the meantime, we’ll have some cookies, Dark Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Cookies

Dark Chocolate Chunk Pumpkin Cookies
Ingredients, adapted from Big Fat Cookies by Elinor Klivans
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp of nutmeg
¼ tsp of pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
½ cup of canola oil
1 cup of pure pumpkin, pureed
1 tsp of vanilla
1 cup of dark chocolate chips (or not, totally up to you)
Set Oven to 325 degrees

In one bowl lightly beat the sugar and eggs for a light golden color and slightly frothy texture.  Add to the eggs and sugar the oil, vanilla and pumpkin puree. 

Add to the wet ingredients the white flour and whole wheat flour, baking soda and powder and all of your spices and seasonings.  It will smell like fall, right there in the bowl.  Remember the uncooked eggs?  Don’t try the batter yet.


Did you notice that there is more baking powder that is normally required for most cookie recipes?  This makes the batter extra airy and fluffy.  You’ll notice this difference in texture as soon as you mix it up.


Orange, pumpkin scented, and delicious…  What is missing?  Chocolate!  Pumpkin is a must for fall, but in our house chocolate chips are a year round staple.  I make no apologies for this confession, besides it is dark chocolate – that has to count as being on the healthy side of the aisle.  I suppose if chocolate isn’t your thing, which is shocking in and of itself, you could swap in nuts, or a blend of raisins, or dates?  

I use a large spoon to scoop these out and bake them in a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes.  As I mentioned, these cookies bake up extra fluffy and high as opposed to baking and spreading on the pan, so no need to worry about crowding the pan. 
When the cookies are out of the oven, these are the critical next steps: find a sweater (to my Florida readers, maybe a light cardigan?), find a cool breeze, a cup of cider/tea/coffee/chai and share with someone you love.  Cookies and cake are delicious, but when you eat them with someone you love, wow, the flavor is x 1000.

Happy Fall!

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Posted in Baking, Dessert, fall, Her Kitchen, Seasonal

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Tastes like Home

Posted on September 30, 2010 | 2 comments

Shortly after I graduated college my mom compiled a binder filled with recipes that were the sort of things you would always love to eat at a mom’s house and should always know how to make; apple pie, quiche, perfect salad dressing, cakes for holidays, and banana bread.

Banana bread feels like home.  It is warm, it’s comforting, it’s not so bad for you that you can’t eat it all day long – which I ultimately did.   After a whirlwind week of doctors appointments and hospital stays, more on that at another time, I just wanted to be back in our home.  All I could think to do was clean, do laundry and bake.  I’ll spare you the pictures of me sweeping and folding towels.

I took my  mom’s already really terrific banana bread recipe and upped the ante in the “good for you” category, without losing points in the “good tasting” category.


Healthy and Fluffy Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1 2/3 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 cup of turbinado sugar, or regular white sugar
1 apple sauce snack cup (4 oz.)
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla
4 mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup of fat free Greek Yogurt
Bake at 350 for 1 hour

As a tip the banana shown above are not the ones I used. For a really good banana bread you want the bananas that look really bad: covered in spots, mushy and overly ripe.  If you want to fastforward the ripening process you can keep the bananas in the freezer, and then take them out about an hour before baking time to defrost, like so.

First melt the butter and let it cool and then add the sugar, eggs, vanilla and apple sauce. When you mix it up it will look like nothing very exciting.  Don’t lose hope.

Then add in those super ripe, but full of flavor bananas and the yogurt.  I know, now it just looks like banana baby food.  Believe in the banana bread!  I promise!


Time to add the dry ingredients.  A bunch of scoopfuls.


Here’s a secret, whenever I make a bread or cake I pour a little extra batter in some muffin tins also.  Maybe this is to taste test to make sure the recipe worked, but maybe it’s also to have a great treat in less time then in takes to bake a whole cake, you be the judge.


After an hour in the oven, always test with a toothpick, your banana bread should be done.  Let it cool, if you can, before removing it from the pan.  If the temptation is too great, that’s what those little muffins were for!   I loved this banana bread, it would be great with nuts or chocolate chips added in or smeared with some peanut butter or cream cheese.  But in this case, it tasted like home and that is all I was craving.

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Posted in Baking, Breakfast/Brunch, Comfort Food, Dessert, healthy, Her Kitchen

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