Category Archives: summer salad

A Lovely Day, A Lovely Meal: The Cloisters, Lamb Chops, and Panzanella

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On Thursday afternoon, I got the best piece of news – I had a summer Friday the next day! One week in and already a day off! I decided I didn’t want to waste a gift of a day, so I took myself out to the Cloisters, a museum of medieval architectural remnants and treasures that actually integrates the elements into its structure. (I can hardly fathom the effort and thought that went into its making!)

 An image of one of the four cloister areas that was reconstructed once rescued from its original location.


Having rented the audio guide, I learned that the site—in Fort Tryon Park in Northern Manhattan—was chosen because of its isolation, so that it could reflect the actual setting of a Benedictine monastery, slightly removed from society. John D. Rockefeller, who acquired the Cloisters and the Park and gave them to the Met and the city of New York respectively, even bought the strip of land in New Jersey across the Hudson to prevent development and preserve the serenity of the location.

That’s called having a lot of money.
And doing good with it.

So, after having enjoyed such a perfect day, I decided I wanted to make the perfect meal. I had finished this month’s SAVEUR on the subway, and two recipes had struck me – lemon-thyme lamb chops and panzanella, or bread salad. The recipes were both rich with fresh and easy-to-find ingredients, many of which I already had around the house. (Most importantly, it would use up the half of a baguette I had left from dinner the night before). I made a slight tweak to the panzanella, using balsamic as I’d finished off the red wine vinegar. Eh voila! As beautiful, fresh, and simple as the way I’d spent my day.

My pretty spread, with a glass of Bordeaux to accompany.

Quick and Easy: Striped Bass with Lemon, Butter, and Parsley

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After a wonderful date night at Marea on Saturday night, where I ate my way through four courses and topped it off with a macchiato, I did not sleep. Call it heartburn from too much food or heart palpitations from the coffee or an unhappy coincidence – I was suffering on Sunday from lack of rest. So when it came time for dinner, I wanted something that would be simple and easy, no grocery shopping involved.

Marea, photo courtesy nydailynews.com
I had thawed the striped bass fillets Stevie had given me the night before, so I knew that they would be the central component of the meal. Looking in the fridge, I found: lemons, garlic, parsley, zucchini, lettuce, and half of an avocado. Most of these ingredients consisted of produce that was looking not quite as fresh as it did two days ago and thus needed to be used. 
Check out the beautiful globular zucchini I found at the market
Stevie had pan-seared her fillets in butter and topped them with an herb sauce, and since I happened to have a lot of parsley on hand, this seemed like a good (and quick) way to prepare my fish. I heated some butter in a frying pan and added some chopped garlic. Once I rinsed the fish, I dusted the fillets with a bit of sea salt. When the butter was hot,  I added them to the pan and let them sit in the fat, two minutes per side. To finish them off, I stuck the pan in a 500-degree oven for another two minutes, then promptly removed and plated, drizzling them with the pan juices and some freshly squeezed lemon, topping with loads of parsley.
Seared bass with garlic butter, fresh lemon juice, and parsley
Meanwhile, I was thinking about lunch. This June, I have placed a little budget bet with myself, and one of the ways I have been keeping on track is by bringing my lunch. Sounds simpler than it is, I’m afraid, especially given how busy and tired I usually am in the evenings. However, creativity prevailed, and I decided to slice and stir fry the zucchini… until I realized I was already frying fish. I quickly changed course when I discovered some frozen peas, and rather than try to thaw and risk overcooking them, I threw them (ice crystals included) into a saucepan with my salted zucchini. Although I had to periodically remove excess liquid, the result was a pot of crisply-steamed green vegetables. I threw some fusilli into boiling water, and my own version of pasta primavera was done in 15 minutes.
Dinner is served!
In a salad bowl, I added the lettuce and avocado, tossing it with the rest of the lemon juice, s&p, and a dash of Croatian olive oil. All of this took about 20 minutes between prep to table. That, combined with the lovely green palette, made this a very satisfying, light, and healthy meal that did not keep me up at night.

Fresh and Tasty: Summer Salad with Rose

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To celebrate the first Saturday of the summer, my friend Anna came over for brunch. I had lots of yummy lettuce leftover from the Greenmarket, as well as some Jonagolds. I threw those together in a bowl with some dried cranberries, slivered almonds, and a hunk of blue cheese, tossing them with my homemade balsamic vinaigrette. Anna brought some San Pellegrino and an avocado, which I sliced and served on the side with a few hunks of bread. A splash of rose and we were set – fast, easy, fresh. That’s what summer is all about!
our lovely spread

The Gourmet Weekly – a personal note from Ruth

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I am a huge fan of Ruth Reichl, the editor in chief of Gourmet. And even though I’ve had the privilege of meeting her, I look forward to her weekly newsletter which is such a beautifully crafted personal expression of the foodie insights that are on the her mind. In fact, it’s much more personal than a fleeting meeting. Here’s an excerpt from this week’s letter (because it really feels more like a letter, not just another newsletter):

“When I first arrived at Gourmet, I was stunned to discover that the most-requested recipes were all for salads. To me, a salad was something you threw together at the last minute from whatever greens you happened to have on hand, not something that you actually went out and shopped for. Then I became addicted to the stunning salads that our test kitchen is constantly coming up with, and I began to understand why our readers were so crazy for them.”