An Outpour of Emotions

Some people might say that the word "love" gets thrown around a bit too often. Kids shout "love you!" in their parents' direction on their way out the door, and celebrities fall in and out of "love" faster than they can, well, shave their heads. And just when we think it's all gone too far, we witness a glimpse of true love. True foodie love, that is.














Wine That Loves simplifies the matchmaking process between food and wine to create the perfect pairing for every meal. With the aid of sommelier Ralph Hersom (former wine director at Le Cirque in New York) as the Wine Director, this wine literally pairs itself. The complete line includes Wine That Loves Pasta with Tomato Sauce, Wine That Loves Roasted Chicken and Wine That Loves Pizza; it couldn't be easier to make the right match. (Wine That Loves Grilled Steak and Wine That Loves Grilled Salmon are coming soon.) The site even breaks down each bottle to explain the necessary amounts of Intensity, Acidity, Tannin and Flavor that go into the pairings.

Starting to feel the love? I certainly am! No more embarrassing fumblings around the liquor store - and then finally just choosing the one with the funnest label (guilty as charged), these simple bottles make you look like an expert. And most importantly, they make your food taste even better! In fact, the company was inspired by a success story of someone who was finally given a proper wine recommendation and was astounded by the way it enhanced the meal.

And just to prove that I am in the mood for love - and because I feel a rendition of "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" from Fiddler on the Roof coming on - I shall now pair your wines with some choice dishes from R4L.

Penne Pasta with Tomato Vodka Sauce
Pair with: Wine That Loves Pasta with Tomato Sauce (see how easy this is???)

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. penne pasta
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C. vodka
1/2 lb. Canadian bacon or smoked ham, diced
1/4 C. olive oil
2 28 oz. cans tomatoes, crushed
1 C. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
2 C. frozen peas
1/2 C. Romano cheese, grated

Directions

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, Canadian bacon, crushed red pepper and peas and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add heavy cream and vodka and cook for 5 more minutes until sauce thickens. Meanwhile, in a separate pot, boil Penne pasta until it is al dente and drain. Place pasta on individual plates and top with tomato-vodka sauce and serve.

Roast Chicken with Sweet Garlic, Melted Onions and Sour Orange
Pair with: Wine That Loves Roasted Chicken

Ingredients

1 (3 lb.) chicken
1/2 C. whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 C. olive oil, divided
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 orange, zested
1 lime, zested
1 lb. yucca, peeled
2 Spanish onions, thinly sliced
16 fluid oz. orange juice
1 C. rich chicken stock
3 Tbs. olive oil

Directions

Cut the chicken in half and de-bone. Place the garlic in 1/4 C. of the oil and sauté until tender. When the garlic is cool, puree half of it with the parsley, orange zest, lime zest, and remaining 3/4 C. of oil Rub the garlic mixture onto the chicken and marinate for 1 day in the refrigerator. Cook the yucca in salted water until tender and drain. Slowly cook the onions with a little water until soft. Reserve. Simmer the orange juice over the low heat until syrupy. Add the chicken stock and cook until lightly thickened. Reserve. Bake the chicken at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes, until cooked through and the juices run clear when pierced with a fork. Sauté the yucca in the remaining 3 Tbs. olive oil until crispy. Add the onions and the reserved garlic confit. Drain the yucca mixture well and place on a plate with the chicken. Cover with the orange mixture.

Margherita Pizza
Pair with: Wine That Loves Pizza

Ingredients

2 tsp. garlic, chopped
2 med. tomatoes, sliced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 dash of salt
1 dash of pepper
6 oz. Mozzarella cheese, sliced
2 med. wheat flour tortillas
2 tbsp. fresh basil, minced
1/2 c. fresh Parmesan, grated

Directions

In a small bowl place the garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper. Thoroughly coat the tomatoes. Place the cheese slices over the tortillas. Place the soaked tomatoes on top. Sprinkle on the basil and Parmesan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the tortillas on a cookie sheet and bake them for 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Cut the pizza into wedges. Serves 2 as an appetizer or 1 as a main course.

Happy Easter

Free range? Organic? Nutrient-Enhanced? You might have noticed the dizzying array of choices now available when it comes to eggs. You can have cage-free eggs, nutrient-enhanced eggs, and/or even "naturally" colored eggs. In an article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the American Egg board breaks down the different egg choices, just in time for Easter.

Read it Here.

Falafel Feva'

On my first night walking around Greenwich Village (I'm a New Yorker now!), I saw many, many great places to eat (not to mention the neighborhood clairvoyant and a club for "mad scientists," aaahh NY). I felt like a kid in a candy store. Seeing as it was rather late and I was by myself for the time, I didn't feel the need for an all-out, sit-down affair. I thought I would just wander around until a take out place caught my eye. A big "Yummy" sign did just that as I walked down 7th Ave. "Well that sounds promising," I thought.

Yummy Shawarmy specializes in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food prepared with an almost silly helping of hippie love, with names like "Yummy Chick" for the chicken dishes and "Schnitzel From Your Mother's Kitchen." Being a fan of falafel, I went for the "Falafel with Love" platter served with rice, pita, and green beans in a tomato sauce (never a combination I have tried). Honestly, I wasn't really feeling the love from the falafel. I do enjoy spicy food, but the spice of these falafel just didn't work, and there was no cucumber sauce to help cool it down. The cucumber sauce is key to the falafel experience.

So, I think I can do better in my own kitchen (which right now is literally a "two-butt" kitchen, meaning only two butts can fit into it, aaahh NY). Normally, I feel guilty eating falafel because they are deep-fried, but I came across a great recipe for baked falafel the other day. These are great for vegetarian eaters and really make the perfect lunch with pita and cucumber.

Falafel

Ingredients

1 potato
1 bunch parsley
2 onions
3 Tbs. oil
3 C. cooked, ground garbanzo beans
1/4 C. sesame seed meal
1 Tbs. yogurt
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbs. salt
Dash cayenne
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. paprika
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions

Cook and mash potato and set aside. Mince leaves of parsley. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Chop onions fine and sauté in oil until soft. Stir in parsley and cook briefly. Add to ground beans. Mix well with remaining ingredients. Form into balls or shape into patties, using about 2 Tbs. of the mixture for each one. Place on greased cookie sheets and bake for 10 minutes on each side.

Yield: 24 balls

Tip: Make pita bread from scratch for a true falafel sandwich.


More NYC adventures to come!

Keeping Up With Your Food

Sustainable eating, organic foods, cruelty free foods, free range chickens, and, nest eggs are just some of the words floating around the food industry these days. Sometimes it’s hard to keep track of everything that’s going on. And just recently, Nightline did a story on the City Council of Chicago and the recent ban on Foie Gras.

This delicacy is obtained at great expense to the ducks and geese who provide their livers for it and the council members decided that it was their mission to make food safer for the consumer and less cruel for the livestock. And whether you agree with this or not, it has garnered a lot of media attention lately. Should the government be involved in what we eat and how it’s produced, or should the consumer vote with their wallet?

If you’re concerned about where your food comes from, or just trying to lower your meat intake, you should try some of these great vegetarian recipes.

A New Season A New Me

I don't know about you guys but it seems that come every Spring, I sit down and evaluate my life, asking myself if I am as happy as I could be. I came up with the conclusion that no, I could be happier. I actually realized that I was disappointed in myself and that I needed to start making some changes and make them fast.

I had become this person who had an everyday routine, which was wake up come to work, go home to watch hours of television and then go to bed, wake up and do the same thing. Talk about no exercise or activity. Plus my eating habits became, well let's say, not that good. No wonder I felt depressed! And to even think of summer and bathing suits, ugggggg.

So.....a couple of weeks ago I had decided to start exercising at least four out of the five weeknights and eating a much healthier diet. (I actually have had a gym membership for months and just never went) So now after work I go to the gym for about 45 minutes and work up a pretty decent sweat, along with packing a healthier lunch consisting of more fruits and veggies. Not only go I feel better about myself but I can tell a difference in my attitude and even the way my clothes fit.

This is something everyone should be doing and it is so easy to do. You don't even have to belong to a gym, just go outside and take a walk or take up running. Now is the season to enjoy the outside. This is the start of a new season so make yourself a new you. Happy Spring Everyone!

Here are some of my NEW favorite healthy recipes:

Low-Fat Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
2 lb. chicken breast
2 cans low-fat cream of chicken soup
1 16 oz. container low or fat free sour cream
1 small can green chilies
2 C. low or fat free cheddar or mozzarella cheese
1 Tbs. chili seasoning8 tortillas (low fat)

Directions
In a bowl combine 2 cans of soup and sour cream. Set aside. In a nonstick frying pan brown chicken breast with Pam. Cut chicken into small pieces or shred. Add half of the soup and sour cream mixture and the can of green chilies to the cooked chicken and warm. This is the mixture that you will fill the tortillas with. Using a large baking dish, (9x13 usually), fill each tortilla and wrap. Place these filled tortillas in the pan with the seam down until done. Add the other half of the soup and sour cream mixture to the top of the filled tortillas. Top with shredded cheese. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Low-Fat Grilled Tuna
Chicken Salad Wraps
Low-Fat Low-Carb Lasagna
Baked Low-Fat French Fries

For some delicious healthy recipe ideas click here!

Do It Yourself Holiday

I know with Easter coming and the beginning of Passover, it seems like there should be enough holidays going on right now. But if you are anything like me, then you have a tentative menu for what to serve for Easter but have absolutely no idea what to have for dinner tonight. I love holidays, I think every day should be celebrated. So I checked out our fun Food Holiday guide to see what holiday I missed or what holiday we can celebrate today.

Today is National Cordon Bleu Day. That sounds wonderful, I think I will make that tonight. Cordon Bleu or Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich depends which one uses more of the ingredients I have in my house. Then I will probably make a Cucumber and Dill Pasta Salad to go with it and my dinner will be complete.

I have so many things on my menu for my Easter dinner I will wait until next week and tell you what I ended up serving. Whatever your plans are for the weekend, just find a reason to celebrate.

Let My People Go... to Bed

It has been a long couple of days for me. With the changing over of the kitchen and the making gefilte fish from scratch, there's nothing easy about preparing for Passover (wow, I sound like an 80-year-old Jewish grandmother....). And while I've learned dozens of new tricks (how to make ridiculously strong, beet-red horseradish and how to form the perfectly shaped gefilte fish piece), I was beginning to think that Passover was more work than it's worth. I go through this mental process every year, and every year at the first seder I remember why it's so important.

Passover is actually one of my favorite holidays because it is steeped in religious traditions. I love the rituals that my family has adopted, but I also love that every Jewish family has their own unique traditions that they look forward to every year at their seders. It's a very special thing.











One of the greatest traditions my family has come up with is the "only soup for dinner" custom. Long ago, my very wise Bubbe decided that no one really wanted a full meal at 10:00 at night, and proceeded to serve bowl after bowl of her homemade, perfectly golden chicken soup with matzah balls and her famous meat borscht, expertly "sweet and soured" with a deep red hue. Call us simple, but this keeps my family more than happy. My dad can easily down two bowls of each in one sitting. Of course there is the requisite gefilte fish tray and a few basic veggies, but the centerpiece of the evening is at least two steaming bowls of soup.

To honor the memory of my Bubbe, I cannot disclose her secret recipes. (Actually, they're rather cryptic and I'm not sure I've mastered the art of translating yet.) But instead I can direct you to Recipe4Living's Passover guide for lots of other yummy recipes! Have a great holiday!