Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

If you have ever found yourself looking for a quick chicken dish, whether for a weeknight or for a party, this one should be high on your list. Tender, juicy chicken and a nice little dipping sauce can be yours with very minimal effort and time. I totally forgot to post this after our Christmas party! So here it is, just a few months late...

Start with chicken, white or dark meat, preferably skinless and boneless. If it's for dinner, you'll probably want to leave the pieces whole; if it's for a party, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. In a bowl, whisk together one part fresh lemon juice to two parts olive oil. Zest the lemons before you squeeze them, and add the zest to the juice-oil mixture. Season with salt, freshly ground pepper, and whatever herbs you like. {Herbs are optional but add nice flavor. Dill and parsley are my favorites.} Taste, and adjust as needed—you want it to be tart and lemony but not sour.

Place the marinade and the chicken in a big zip-top bag, and seal it. Then squish and smoosh the bag, distributing the marinade all over the chicken. Don't leave any pieces naked. Then stash the bag in your fridge for about an hour. Or more—whatever. Just don't leave it more than 6 hours.

When you're ready to cook, you've got options. If you've made a lot of small pieces for a crowd, then just shake off as much marinade as possible {reserve the marinade}, and place chicken on large rimmed baking sheets. Bake at 425º for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the juices run clear when pierced with a fork. You can also skewer them on well-soaked bamboo skewers for easy eating. If you've got whole breasts {or thighs}, bake at 400º for 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken.

For the sauce, put the reserved marinade in a small saucepan over high heat, and boil {seriously, vigorously boil to kill any bacteria} for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside. Chop some fresh herbs {whatever you used in the marinade} and place the herbs and the cooled boiled marinade in a bowl. Whisk in some mayonnaise until you get the consistency you like. Serve the sauce with the chicken.

Easy, right? Tasty, too, I promise.

An Evening in Marrakesh

The first night of our staycation was in Marrakesh, Morocco. Much like the food of India, north African cuisine is abundant in spices. Smoky, warm, complex, and robust, the foods of Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt often include more spices than any other cuisine, making the food of this region vibrant and full-flavored. One of the most quintessential dishes in Moroccan cooking is the tagine. Tagine is the word both for the cooking vessel and the resulting dish that comes out of it—food is slowly braised in the base while the tall conical lid collects and redistributes the steam. It's often made with beef, lamb, even pigeon; cumin, paprika, cinnamon, coriander, and cayenne are the main spices that give tagine its oopmph.

Since I don't have an actual tagine, and since foods cooked in tagines are often stewed for hours, I decided to go with the traditional flavors, but I did a quick roast in the oven. This was—as Paula Deen often says—stupid easy. A quick do-ahead marinade, superfast prep, less than an hour in the oven, and that's it. I have to tell you--Jason said it was the best meal he'd had in a long time. And if I may say so myself, I agreed.

The flavors were clean and defined. The earthy cumin, warm cinnamon, sweet coriander and paprika, and the slight spice of the cayenne all worked together in perfect harmony. The tomato sauce cooks down and marries with the spices into a brick-red, aromatic gravy that coats everything with a perfect slickness. The accompanying couscous, which soaks up every drip of the rich sauce, is definitely the best recipe for couscous I've ever done (again, if I do say so myself). It would be delicious with just about anything. Fudul! (That's Arabic for "bon appetit.")

Moroccan Chicken "Tagine"
serves 2 with leftovers
I had leftover tomato soup I had made last week, so I used that to pour over the chicken. If you have some tomato soup, or even leftover marinara, as long as it's pretty plain, it will be just fine as the base to your sauce and will bring a little extra flavor to the party. If you don't have those things on hand, just use plain crushed tomatoes from a can—there are so many spices in here, you don't need to worry about it being bland.

1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin
3/4 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, depending on heat preference
6 skinless chicken drumsticks or skinless chicken thighs
1 lemon, 1/2 thinly sliced, 1/2 zested and juiced
1/2 small onion, very thinly sliced
1/4 cup green olives, chopped (optional)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup canned crushed tomatoes
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste

In a roasting pan, whisk together the oil, vinegar, paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, salt, sugar, and cayenne. Add the drumsticks and turn to coat. Cover with aluminum foil, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 6.

Preheat oven to 375°. Remove chicken from refrigerator and turn chicken to fully coat in the marinade. Tuck lemon slices in between and on top of meaty end of drumsticks. Sprinkle on the lemon zest, lemon juice, and garlic; evenly distribute onions on top, and then pour the tomato sauce over everything. Give the pan a shimmy to make sure the sauce is distributed. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper, for good measure.

Re-cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until chicken is completely done. Serve with couscous to soak up the sauce.

Orange-Scented Couscous with Almonds
serves 2 with leftovers

1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup couscous
3 large green onions
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and crushed*
2 generous tablespoons orange juice, fresh or store bought

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine garlic and oil. Heat until garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add salt and water, stir to combine, and cover pan. When water boils, add couscous, turn off heat, and set aside for 5 minutes.

Use a fork to fluff the couscous. Add green onions, almonds, and orange juice, and use the fork to combine everything. Taste and add salt, if needed. Serve immediately.

(my leftovers...it was yummy as lunch the next day!)

A Solo Birthday Meal

This year on my birthday, I was alone for dinner. Before you think I’m complaining, I must say, I was really tired from a crazy weekend, so the solo time was actually appreciated. Plus I’d had a totally indulgent Belgian waffle and a side of sausage-cheese grits. (Yes, that’s right. And it was amazing.)

However, it was my birthday, so I did want to treat myself to something delicious for dinner. I chose some beautiful salmon from Whole Foods, a bundle of soba noodles, a package of nori, some veggies, and a bottle of Asian-style dressing. (I was feeling indulgent, but also too lazy to make my own dressing.) The salmon seared quickly, the veggies didn’t require much besides a little bit of chopping, and the noodles cooked in a lightning-fast dunk in boiling water—this is my kind of fast, easy, but totally delicious birthday dinner. I call it a sushi bowl because all the sushi flavors are represented. You could definitely substitute sticky white rice for the noodles for an even more sushi-like concoction.

Sushi Bowls with Soba Noodles
serves 1 birthday girl with leftovers for lunch (though it would easily double)
This was great the night of, and actually even better the following day, cold. You could make this ahead, chill it, and serve it cold for an easy, satisfying summer dinner when it’s just too hot to cook.

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 (8- to 10-ounce) salmon fillet (make sure you ask for the thickest piece available)
Pinch of salt
6 ounces soba noodles
3 to 4 tablespoons store-bought Asian soy ginger sauce*
1/2 cucumber, peeled, and chopped into matchstick pieces
1 ripe avocado, peeled, and chopped into bite-size pieces
2 green onions, cut thinly on the bias
3 sheets nori (look for it in the Asian section of the grocery store)
1 to 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Rinse and pat dry salmon fillet, and sprinkle with salt. When oil is very hot and shimmering, carefully place salmon in pan. Sear for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden brown. Turn and continue cooking until salmon is just cooked through, about 3 minutes more.**

Meanwhile, add soba noodles to a medium saucepan of boiling, salted water, stir gently, and cook for 4 minutes, or until al dente. Drain noodles, and rinse well with lukewarm water.***

In a small dry skillet, toast nori sheets until they are warm and crisp to the touch, about 2 minutes.

In a wide serving bowl, toss together the cooked noodles and the dressing, to taste. Toss in the veggies, then top with the salmon. Crumble the toasted nori on top, sprinkle on sesame seeds, and drizzle with additional dressing, if desired.

*I used 365 Organic Soy Ginger Sauce
**I like my salmon on the just-barely-cooked side. If you like yours more done, cook 1 to 2 minutes longer, but don’t let it go too long or it will be dry.
***Rinsing the noodles is very important; otherwise they will stick together and lose their delicious texture.

Grill, baby

Have you ever grilled lettuce? Sounds kind of strange, but it's actually surprisingly tasty. And, as you probably know by now, I have been kind of obsessed with grilling these days. Grilling takes romaine lettuce from plain and flavorless to tender and smoky. Crisper, crunchier lettuces lend themselves better to grilling, like romaine, radicchio and endive.

Jason and I love Asian flavors, so we decided to try an Asian-style marinade I read about in Bon Appetit (it calls for tuna, but we went with shrimp). On the side, since we'd already fired up the grill, we threw the lettuce on next to the shrimp. Topped the salad with a light Asian vinaigrette and made some sauteed sweet corn on the side. Lovely.

Grilled Lettuce with Asian Vinaigrette
serves 4
For the lettuce:
2 hearts of romaine
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat (indoor or outdoor, gas or charcoal) grill to medium-high. Cut a thin slice off of the root end of the lettuce if brown, making sure to keep most of the root intact. Cut each heart in half lengthwise and brush each cut side with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and lay each half, cut-side down, on the hot grill. Grill about 2 minutes, covered. Remove and cut into strips or leave whole, serving one half per person.

For the dressing:
Juice and zest from half a lime
2 teaspoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 to 3 teaspoons soy sauce
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 cup vegetable oil

In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine all ingredients. Shake vigorously until everything is well combined. Store leftovers in jar up to one week.

The Color Purple

The plums in the market right now are so lush, the skin so purple it's almost black. I love the flavor dichotomy of ripe plums — the first bite of skin and fruit is tart, but as you get closer to the pit, the flesh gets sweeter. There are 2,000 varieties of plums, but only about 20 types are generally sold in the U.S., several of which were available at Publix. I grabbed a few classic purple ones, red ones, a green one and even a red-flecked pluot, which is a cross-breed of a plum and an apricot.

I got home and realized that, on impulse, I'd gotten far too many and they'd probably be overripe before I could eat them all. I decided to cut them into chunks and mix them with some cantaloupe, some fresh lime juice, mint and a touch of sugar for a salad. The combination of the flavors and textures of the different plums made for a lovely mix. The smaller, green ones are tart and firm, while the darker ones are sweet and softer. The melon added another layer of flavor, while the lime and mint added some depth. You could certainly sub out the cantaloupe for honeydew, and add in some peaches, blueberries or any other summery fruit you think would work well. This keeps well in the fridge — I ate it for three days and it was just as good (if not better) the second and third day.

Plum and Melon Salad
makes about 2 1/2 cups
1 or 2 medium purple plums, pitted and cubed
1 small green plum, pitted and cubed
1 medium red plum, pitted and cubed
1 pluot, pitted and cubed
1/4 t0 1/2 cantaloupe, peeled and cubed
Juice of one small lime
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint

Combine everything in a large bowl, toss to coat fruit in juice and sugar. Cover and refrigerate at least 1/2 hour. Stir before serving. Keeps up to four days, refrigerated.

I smell summer...

It's starting to smell like summer. I know that sounds kind of strange, but when you think about it, there are certain smells we associate with every season. For me, freshly cut grass, the after-rain smell (due to the daily afternoon rain Florida summers are known for) and the pervasive smell of charcoal grills all scream summertime.

I'm not picky: throw just about anything on a hot grill and I want to eat it. Maybe it has more to do with my consuming obsession with summer than the actual flavor of grilled foods, but to me, there's nothing better than an outdoor BBQ with friends, especially if there's a swimming pool nearby.

Burgers and hot dogs are tasty and cheap, but I wanted to think of another option that's just as simple, but has the potential to take a little backyard cookout from expected and ho-hum to fresh and impressive. Served with some ice-cold watermelon and homemade lemonade, you just may forget about the old standbys.

Summertime Steak with Grilled Corn & Dill Butter
serves 6
For the steak
2 2 lb flank steaks, trimmed of any big pieces of fat
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 juicy lime

For the corn
6 ears of sweet corn, silk removed but husks on
1 stick of softened butter
1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
Light squeeze of lemon juice

Combine the oil and spices (everything except the lime) in a small bowl and mix well with your fingers (it should make a paste.) Rub mixture evenly over entire steak and let marinate on counter top for 30 minutes.

Completely submerge corn in cold water (either in a large stockpot or in the sink) for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the butter, dill, salt and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside.

Prepare your grill and lightly brush grates with oil. Shake excess water off of corn and place directly on the grill. Close top to control flames. After 10 minutes, turn corn with tongs and cook, with the cover on, 8 to 10 minutes more. Pull corn off grill and set aside.

Brush grates with oil again and put steaks on. Cook 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. When finished, set aside for a few minutes to let juices re-distribute before slicing. When slicing, find the grain of the meat and slice against it. The more thinly you slice it, the more tender it will be.

Just before serving, squeeze the juice of a lime over the sliced steak. Peel back corn husks and slather generously with dill butter, or serve corn with butter in a bowl on the side.

Side note:
If you have a gas grill, lucky you. Hit the switch and you're set. But if you fall into the old-school charcoal grill category, there is one grilling sin that you should never, ever commit. I went to a party a few years ago where all of the otherwise delicious-looking BBQ had the distinctive and unpleasant flavor of lighter fluid. Nothing ruins hard work and incredible grilled food like the noxious aroma of gasoline. Do yourself and your guests a favor and outlaw those squeezy bottles of lighter fluid. Your best friend when lighting those stubborn little black nuggets is a charcoal chimney. For little more than $10, they ignite charcoal with zero chemicals. Plus it's a great way to recycle newspaper. Win-win!

Simple Asian Supper

I have a confession to make: I am a sucker for marinades. I love the way the full-flavored ingredients translate into a tastier version of plain-old chicken (or shrimp or beef...) It's the easiest and simplest way to add tons of flavor and extra moisture and, at most, requires the use of a whisk or blender and a zip-top bag.

I've been on an Asian kick lately. Since wild American shrimp were on sale at the grocery store (I never buy any other kind), I decided to make a marinade that incorporates all of the Asian flavors I was craving.

I started with a little inspiration from a Bobby Flay marinade and then pared it down. Soy, lime zest and juice, ginger, garlic and shallots went into the blender with some peanut oil and voila! a perfect marinade was born. It tasted so good on its own I debated saving some to drizzle on the cooked shrimp, but then realized that would be taking my marinade-love a bit too far. The shrimp came out tender and full of flavor. I imagine the marinade would be delicious for a meaty fish like tuna or mahi, and might make for a tasty flank steak marinade, as well.

I thought a slaw-like salad would be a good accompaniment with the shrimp, so at the market, I picked up a head of Napa cabbage, a red bell pepper, a jalapeno and some cilantro. To dress, I made a simple, Thai-inspired peanut dressing. It was a light but satisfying dinner that came together pretty quickly.

Asian-style shrimp and slaw
Serves 2
For the shrimp:
1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup peanut oil
Zest and juice of one lime
1/2 pound of medium or large shrimp

Place everything except shrimp in a blender and puree. Pour marinade in a zip-top bag, place shrimp inside and put bag in refrigerator to marinate for 30 minutes.

Preheat a large skillet over high heat. Remove shrimp from bag, shake off excess marinade, and sear, two minutes per side, or until shrimp are opaque.

For the slaw:
1/4 cup unsweetened peanut butter
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Zest and juice of one lime
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 1-inch piece of ginger, finely grated
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 small head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, thinly sliced
3 scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped


Whisk together peanut butter, soy, lime zest and juice, vinegar, oil and ginger. If thick, add a tablespoon of water. Set aside. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast sesame seeds until light brown and fragrant, about 3 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine cabbage, peppers and cilantro, and add dressing until lightly coated. Garnish with sesame seeds.

To serve, mound a pile of slaw in a large bowl and top with shrimp.

Update on a Classic

I never really thought the first post on my blog would be devoted to egg salad. First, I always thought it seemed like a strange food, mushy and smelly and generally unappetizing. Second, it's not exactly haute cuisine and it seems to be one of those love/hate foods — the sheer mention of its name brings either looks of disgust or dreamy smiles.

But recently, I saw an episode of Barefoot Contessa on Food Network where Ina Garten made an updated, fresh version of egg salad that looked neither gloppy nor soggy. Hers had dill, my very favorite herb, and was served as a French tartine — basically an open-faced sandwich — atop smoked salmon. It looked delicious.

Then, Heidi from 101cookbooks.com posted another version with celery, lemon juice, chives and about half the mayo the traditional recipe uses. Hers also looked lovely.

I was intrigued. I decided to try my hand at making a tastier version of the deli classic. A combination of those two recipes was the inspiration for my update of the egg salad sandwich. I decided to contrast of the soft egg salad with crusty bread and made it open-faced. The whole thing takes less than 20 minutes, and half of that is waiting for the eggs to cook. It's super cheap to make, and served with a salad, it's a perfect, light lunch.

Updated Egg Salad Sandwich
serves 2

5 eggs
Scant 1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon capers, drained and lightly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill
Light squeeze of lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Crusty French baguette cut diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Put eggs in a pan and cover with about 1/2 inch of water. Cover and bring to a boil. When the water boils, turn off heat and let sit, covered, 9-10 minutes. Drain and plunge into ice water or run under cold water for a few minutes to stop the cooking.

Peel eggs and place in a large bowl with the mayo and mustard. Using a fork, lightly mash eggs until they are in small pieces, being careful not to over-mash. Stir in capers, dill, lemon juice and salt & pepper.

To serve, toast the baguette (or any crusty bread) at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until crisp but not dry. Mound egg salad on baguette slices and serve.