Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollup Recipe

Rather than laying out lasagna the traditional way across a casserole dish and then having to cut pieces, I like the idea of individual rolled pieces that this Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe calls for. it’s a great to portion out servings for a group. They are easy to make, and by roasting the vegetables it adds more flavor and is a great alternative to meat lasagna. A little red pepper adds a subtle little additional kick.
Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe

It may look like this has a lot of ingredients, but it’s really based on you

Ingredients:

  • 12 long lasagna noodles- you want them to be longer and not the short ones that you put two across in a dish in order to have enough to roll them. You can use regular or whole wheat pasta if you want these healthier – I used regular.
  • 3 tablespoons of olive oil, divided with 2 tablespoons for the roasted vegetables
  • 4 cups finely chopped vegetables- you can just use spinach, but since I knew some guests I was sharing this with were not a fan of cooked spinach I used a mix of frozen vegetables I had in the freezer that I had to use as my freezer was no longer freezing- carrots, peas, carrots, asparagus tips, squash… your choice! Fresh vegetables are better than frozen, but frozen is easy. Your call here too.
  • 1 teaspoon of chopped sage
  • 1 teaspoon of cumin
  • 15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese (1 container)
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/2 tablespoon chopped oregano
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or you can use a close of minced garlic to up the garlic level!)
  • 3 1/4 cups shredded Italian cheese, such as mozzarella, Parmesan, Romano, or a blend, divided into 3 cups for the filling and 1/2 cup for topping. I like using a blend as the various cheeses rather than one cheese adds more depth but just using low fat mozzarella is healthier
  • Salt ( to taste)
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • At least approximately 3 1/2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce
  • 1 teaspoon of red pepper
  • Optional- Parmesan for topping

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a aluminum foil lined 13×9 pan, spread the vegetables and then spread the 2 tablespoon of olive oil so all the vegetables are coated. Now season with the salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon of chopped sage, 1 teaspoon of cumin, and roast for about 40 minutes. Remove and let cool. Now I decided to roast with those seasonings but you can get away with simple salt and pepper,  especially if using fresh vegetables.
  2. While the veggies are roasting, boil the water and then place the lasagna noodles in until al dente. Strain out the hot water and run cool water over it for 20 seconds or so until you can handle the noodles. Drain the water and distribute 1 tablespoon of olive oil among the noodles so they don’t stick together
  3. While the noodles were cooking, I made the mixture by combining the ricotta cheese, 2 cups cheese, 1 egg, parsley, and oregano in a bowl. Stir all together until well combined.
    Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe- making the ricotta mixture with ricotta and parsley and oregano, vegetarian Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe- adding the 2 cups of cheese to the ricotta and parsley/oregano mixture, vegetarian
  4. Spray the 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray. Line bottom with a little bit of the marinara sauce so that nothing will be sticking to it- this might be about 1/2 to 3/4 cup. I admit I used two baking dishes, so I did this twice to lay out 6 Noodle rolls on each.
  5. Lay out a work space- I did this with wax paper. Lay the lasagna noodles flat on this surface. Take 2 1/2 tablespoons of the ricotta filling and spread evenly over noodle. Now spread on top of the ricotta some of of the roasted vegetables and then top with 1 tablespoon of the marinara sauce. Carefully loosely roll and place seam side down into the baking dish. Repeat with remaining noodles.
    Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe
  6. Top rolled noodles with remaining sauce- make sure you cover all the lasagna noodle edges so it doesn’t dry out. Sprinkle the 1 teaspoon of red pepper over everything and then top with the remaining cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
    Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe
  7. Remove foil and bake for additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted on the top.
  8. Remove from oven let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Optionally, serve with Parmesan cheese and a grater that your guests can grate what amount they desire!

This was a great potluck dish to make for one of our Game of Thrones nights, and is a main dish that gets your vegetables in too! I had the idea to print out the various sigils of the houses, cut them out and put them on toothpicks to perhaps mark each of the various roll-ups, but never did do it but thought it could be a fun extra touch.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna Rollups Recipe

 

Have you made lasagna in these roll form before? What vegetables would you try?

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St Patrick’s Day and St. Norbert College’s Cheese Broccoli

This is the first of two St Patrick’s Day recipes I thought I would share for the upcoming holiday. I will confess now that besides being green, they both involve cheese.

I clipped this recipe for St. Norbert College’s Cheese Broccoli  from the Chicago Tribune back when I lived in Chicago- which apparently, printed this in an issue in 2006. Wow. I guess I’ve had this on my to do recipe binder for a while!

It was a reader submitted recipe which she received herself from the chef at cafeteria of her college, St Norbert College. I love the fact that she remembered and loved this dish from her college cafeteria enough to pursue the chef for the recipe and make it part of her family tradition.

I can’t say I recall anything specifically in my memories of my school cafeteria days, at least food wise, except for the fact I thought the mac and cheese looked disgusting, and so I never had it until I was in college! Think about all the times I passed on mac and cheese in my entire childhood!

When I made this dish, the story of this recipe continued to charm me as I dug into this very simple, homey vegetarian side dish. The better your blue cheese, the better your dish will taste, and the 1 1/2 ounces is a very small amount just to add a little bit of tang, so don’t be scared of it. If you love blue cheese, you can obviously also up the amount of cheese.

It’s easy to put together as a side dish while making the main, and yields a huge 10 servings but can easily just be servings for four. The fact this is called cheese broccoli versus broccoli with cheese is sort of telling.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 5 ounces cream cheese (or neufchatel, or tofu of course), softened to room temperature
  • 1 1/2 ounces blue cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 packages (16 ounces each) chopped frozen broccoli (or chop fresh one to get this amount)
  • Crumbs from 25 buttery-style crackers, such as Ritz

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Once the butter is melted, you are going to make your roux; stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute.Gradually add the milk, stirring constantly; cook until thickened.
  3. Add cream cheese, blue cheese and salt. Stir until cheeses are melted. Remove from heat.
  4. Stir the broccoli into the cheese mixture; place into greased 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs. Bake until browned and bubbly, 30 minutes.

Can you ever go wrong by adding cheese to a vegetable? I think not, what about you?

 

The next St Patrick’s Day dish has multiple green in it, and IS mac and cheese! Check it out on Wednesday!

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Honey Mustard Chicken Recipe

I know this is shocking- I’m actually sharing a meat recipe, a Honey Mustard Chicken recipe. In theory you can also use Quorn Chick’n – their meatfree “Chicken” cutlets or fillets for instance, you don’t have to necessarily use real chicken. Honey Mustard chicken is one of those flavors that is very classic and natural, and I think the spicy sharp flavors are a great counter when eating something rich and creamy also on your plate, which was the case here.

Honey Mustard Chicken with 3 Cheese Macaroni and Cheese Casserole with Broccoli and Sweet Pugliese Honey Mustard Chicken with 3 Cheese Macaroni and Cheese Casserole with Broccoli and Sweet Pugliese

In this case I had 2 guests over that I could actually share this with, so I pulled out the chicken breasts from the freezer and made these to go with the recipe I recently shared, 3 cheese Macaroni and Cheese casserole w broccoli and sweet pugliese topping from the cookbook Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese. I met one of the authors, Stephanie Stiavetti, when she was at Cheese Bar promoting the book release- you can see my blog post from that book release event here. None of these are sponsored posts- I just like cheese, I like Mac and Cheese, so no surprise I love the Melt cookbook.

Honey Mustard Chicken with 3 Cheese Macaroni and Cheese Casserole with Broccoli and Sweet Pugliese

The original recipe for the 3 cheese Macaroni and Cheese you see alongside this dish (which I covered in this blog entry last week) called for using pancetta. However, since F was going to eat this too, I had to omit it, as there really is not a good substitute for pancetta for a vegetarian. For my guests though, I decided to add having some roughly cut/shredded honey mustard chicken on the side as a mustardy, cleansing counter to the melty creamy rich mac and cheese and make it more of a meal.

Simple Recipe for Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or you can use 4 small ones- my chicken breasts that I had were huge, and easily fed 3 of us with leftovers so was probably 4 breasts worth!)
  • 1/2 cup mustard – many recipes call for Dijon Mustard, but I used spicy brown mustard to make it even more mustardy
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar – you can also use other kind of vinegar such as rice vinegar
  • Salt & pepper
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl, mix together mustard, syrup, and vinegar.
  2. Place cleaned chicken breasts into 9×13 greased baking dish. Season with salt & lots of pepper (I probably used about 1/2 tablespoon of each- make sure you season both sides!). Pour mustard mixture over chicken. Make sure each breast is coated. I then let it marinate for an hour or so.
    Recipe for Homemade Honey Mustard Chicken breasts
  3. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake your chicken breasts, with the mustard sauce, for about 30-40 minutes.
  4. Let rest for 5 minutes or so, and then roughly cut/shred before serving.

And there you go, so easy!
"Easy

 

What’s your favorite way to have chicken? Do you like honey mustard? And did you also know that in Germany they have mustard soup???

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Creamed Kale or Creamed Cabbage Recipe

It was kismet that led me to exploring both a Creamed Kale or Creamed Cabbage Recipe.

While I was in Cleveland at the beginning of December, one of my colleagues at lunch mentioned how he loves the Vitamix his wife brought, and how they’ve been able to make soup out of anything and everything. He then noted though that just as all these nice ingredients go in, his wife then “ruins” it by making it a green monster by adding kale.

Other trivia he bestowed included that you should massage kale to make it less tough, and before kale became a trendy superfood the #1 use/purchaser of kale was apparently Pizza Hut, which used it to decorate its buffet and then would toss it out!

This made me want to do something with kale besides my usual saute or eating them as kale chips, and I recalled this recipe I had bookmarked for Oui Chef’s Creamed Kale Gratin. The author of this creamed kale recipe was inspired by a creamed kale at one of Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain restaurants. My vegetables are usually in sauteed or roasted form, and I had actively been avoiding a creamed vegetable recipe as I browsed Thanksgiving veggie sides. But this recipe caught my eye anyway, and though it didn’t make the Thanksgiving cut, I couldn’t forget the intriguing possibility.

I see kale looking to come home with me at the Farmers Market every visit, and imagined it would love to snuggle up with a bit of cream and be indulgent once in a while despite its healthy reputation. I sensed it wanted to be a rebellious bad boy for once.

fresh kale from the Farmers Market, excited that I took it home

Yes, I totally put human characteristics in inanimate objects, though I have to cut it off because if I lived in a Pixar world where lamps, umbrellas, and pipes had feelings I’d never be able to throw anything away.

My thoughts were further reinforced by the fact that while traveling on the plane I have been reading Orangette‘s aka Molly Wizenberg’s A Homemade Life and she has a chapter in which she also writes about cream, though the recipe she provides is with Cream Braised Green Cabbage.  Mmmm that sounds good too.

And I’ve seen forlorn cabbage in their haphazard piles on those folding tables at the Farmers Market too, hoping to also be tucked into my reusable bag. And it is so easy to imagine hopeful faces on those round orphan heads, hoping for a good home. Damn.

Can you imagine a face on this head of cabbage from the Farmers Market?

Well… the temperatures were cold for a few weeks in early December- below freezing! A creamed vegetable dish, perhaps served on rice, fits right in with comfort food. Maybe even TWO creamed vegetable dishes, and then see which one we like better, and it could serve as a meal for both Saturday and Sunday. After all, both these recipes yield 4-6 servings. Hmmm…

And, I even had almost exactly 1 2/3 cup of cream in the fridge leftover from Thanksgiving when I made the Pumpkin Mac and Cheese, still waiting to be utilized (I subscribe to the use every little bit of food philosophy a la An Everlasting Meal). The Creamed Kale recipe used 1 cup. The Creamed Cabbage used  2/3 cup. Yes, it was a bunch of cream, but with these great vegetables and over multiple meals on two days… I only needed kale and cabbage. It seemed like I had to follow where fate was telling me to go.

Creamed Kale

Easy vegetarian side dish: recipe for Creamed kale with caramelized onions
Ingredients:

  • 2 bunches Kale, washed, dried, stemmed and cut into ribbons. I wash my kale by dunking it and leaving it in a bowl of water a few times until the water isn’t dirty anymore.
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 medium yellow onion, minced
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg (1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Fill a large mixing bowl with ice water and set it aside. Boil a large pot full of salted water over high heat. Add the kale ribbons to the boiling water and blanch until slightly tender, about 3-4 minutes. Scoop the kale from the water and toss it into the ice bath to stop it cooking and set its color. Drain the kale and squeeze any excess water out of the kale (or you can use a spinner if you have it- I used it to help justify to F why I made him get one for me) and set it aside. I don’t know about you, but after the prep of cutting all that kale, seeing it blossom into that beautiful green always makes me happy.
    Kale getting blanched into a beautiful green
  2. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the minced onion, cook until translucent. Or in my case, since I know F is not a fan of onion, I do what I usually do- cook it much longer until it really browns and caramelizes. This does have the side effect, in this particular case, of making the dish look more brown than white. If you want the white creamy sauce look, stick with translucent.
  3. In the skillet, Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes and cook another 2 minutes. Add the kale and the cream and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cream thickens to a sauce consistency, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. If you want it to be smoother after it cools you can put it in a food processor, but I served it as is.

This would be so great in making yourself a steak dinner at home, just pour yourself a nice glass of red wine and you’re set! Or, as I mentioned, I actually served mine with jasmine rice. Jasmine rice is a staple because of my Thai background. I can’t imagine not having rice in the house. As I mentioned, this dish will look more white if you don’t brown the onions as much as I did!
Easy vegetarian side dish: recipe for Creamed kale with caramelized onions Easy vegetarian side dish: recipe for Creamed kale with caramelized onions

Cream Braised Green Cabbage

This recipe calls for a small cabbage, as Molly notes small ones are often sweeter and more tender than their big-headed siblings. You can certainly use any size you want, as long as you make sure each wedge is no thicker than 2 inches at its outer edge, and only use as many wedges as fit into a single layer in the pan, so the cabbage cooks properly. I walked around the whole Farmers Market trying to find the smallest one and only found a medium one, so that left me a wedge after I filled the pan for a future wedge salad. Molly also notes that you can try this recipe on halved or quartered Brussels sprouts.

Ingredients:

  • 1 small green cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds)
  • 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 2/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

  1. Prepare the cabbage by pulling out any bruised leaves, and trim its root end to remove any dirt. Cut the cabbage into quarters, and then cut each quarter in half lengthwise. When you cut, make sure you keep a little bit of the core in each wedge to hold the wedge intact so that it doesn’t fall apart in the pan. You should wind up with 8 wedges of equal size. Again, make sure that each wedge is no thicker than 2 inches at its outer edge. You will only use as many wedges as fit into a single layer in the pan so the cabbage cooks properly.
  2. In a large (12-inch) skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the cabbage wedges, arranging them in a single crowded layer with one of the cut sides down. Allow them to cook, undisturbed, until the downward facing side is nicely browned (the more brown the more sweetly caramelized), 5 to 8 minutes or to your liking of brownness . Then, using a pair tongs (I used tongs and a spatula), turn the wedges onto their other cut side to brown.
    Cabbage getting browned in the pan for a Creamed Cabbage Recipe Cabbage getting browned in the pan for a Creamed Cabbage Recipe
  3. When the second side has browned, sprinkle the salt over the wedges, and add the cream. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid, and reduce the heat so that the liquid stays at a slow, gentle simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, then using tongs, flip the wedges. Cook another 20 minutes, or until the cabbage is very tender and yields easily when pierced with a thin, sharp knife.
    Cabbage with cream in the pan for a Creamed Cabbage Recipe
  4. Add the lemon juice, and shake the pan to distribute it evenly. Simmer, uncovered, for a few more minutes more to thicken the cream to a glaze that loosely coats the cabbage. Serve immediately. Molly recommends serving with salt at the table, but F is not a huge fan of salt so we went with lots of cracked pepper instead.
    Creamed Cabbage Recipe may not be very photogenic but is delicious

I have to admit visually, the Creamed Cabbage perhaps isn’t quite as pretty as the Creamed Kale. However, F said he liked the Creamed Cabbage the most of the two- its flavor is more subtle, sweet and nutty. I did like the kale a lot though, it had just the slightest hint of a bit of spiciness from the red pepper as an undercurrent to the sweetness of the caramelized onions and the backbone of the kale- it was more rich than I had ever experienced kale. The Creamed Cabbage was so easy to do though- not much prep, and easy to manage as a side dish while multi-tasking other dishes in your kitchen.
Cabbage may not be photogenic but is delicious with this Creamed Cabbage Recipe

Both of these winter vegetable recipes take advantage of the season so you can enjoy the freshness while also taking comfort in them. I know creamed vegetables are not the healthiest way to get your vegetables, but when it’s below freezing, I think you can give yourself a treat- and make it a vegetable too.

You know there is still a Portland Farmers Market open now, don’t you? The one at PSU on Saturdays is on winter vacation just until March (and then will be back on all Saturdays), but the one at Shemanski Park  at SW Park Ave & SW Salmon St, just a few blocks north on the South Park Blocks, is open January and February 10-2 on Saturdays to fill that gap.

Furthermore, starting in February, you can also visit the Beaverton Farmers Market, which is open first and third Saturdays from 10:00 – 12:00.

It’s a smaller market than the ones at better weather, but seems like even more reason to come out and see these hardworking farmers standing in the cold, waiting for you.

Which is the winner for you- the Creamed Kale or Creamed Cabbage Recipe? What’s your favorite creamed vegetable dish?

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Culinary Council Recap: Holiday Recipes by Nancy Silverton and Tom Douglas at Macy’s

I am a member of the Everywhere Society and Everywhere has provided me with compensation for this post about Macy’s Culinary Council. However, all thoughts and opinions expressed herein are my own.

The Macy’s Culinary Council includes some of the country’s most esteemed chefs, who then travel to various Macy’s everywhere as cooking ambassadors. This past weekend, I was able to take a “cooking lesson” from Nancy Silverton (Los Angeles chef famously of La Brea Bakery and also Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza) and our own Northwest celebrity chef, Tom Douglas (of the Seattle restaurant empire- seriously, I love them all, Dahlia Lounge, Dahlia Bakery, Palace Kitchen, Serious Pie, Serious Biscuit, Lola, Brave Horse Tavern and more- 15 restaurants and counting!).
Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, doesn't drink white wine (thus the glass of red) and also approves of having red towels in your holiday kitchen Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013
Nancy Silverton doesn’t drink white wine (thus the glass of red) and also approves of having red towels in your holiday kitchen / Mr Crab Cakes, aka Chef Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy’s at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013

Together, Nancy and Tom at the Macy’s Washington Square hosted a cooking demo featuring a few of their favorite holiday recipes. Here’s my Culinary Council recap of that event for you!
Culinary Council Recap: Favorite holiday recipes shared by Tom Douglas and Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council members, at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013 Culinary Council Recap: Favorite holiday recipes shared by Tom Douglas and Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council members, at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013

Courtesy of Nancy Silverton

:

  • Breadsticks with Truffle Butter and Prosciutto
    No exact recipe for this, just guidelines, to taste, and 4 ingredients: unsalted butter, truffle salt, breadsticks and prosciutto. Nancy emphasized when you are using just a few simple ingredients, buy the best of each of the ingredients you can. She’s not a fan of white truffle oil because of the chemicals used. But she loves black truffle salt, which is what she utilized (Ritrovo Truffle & Salt with non-salted butter) to create the truffle butter. Spread it on breadsticks. It’s your choice whether you utilize extra pizza dough like she does at her restaurants (they serve these breadsticks on their charcuterie platter I believe) or make or buy them. Finally, wrap prosciutto around and you’re done. Easy and done in 5 minutes! She cautions that if it is warm to not prepare these too far ahead of time. Also make sure you leave a “handle” at the end of the breadstick for holding!
    Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, starts off with a recipe of Breadsticks with Truffle Butter and Prosciutto, and emphasizes when you are using just a few simple ingredients, buy the best of each of the ingredients you can Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, starts off with a recipe of Breadsticks with Truffle Butter and Prosciutto, simple to put together in just 5 minutes Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, starts off with a recipe of Breadsticks with Truffle Butter and Prosciutto, simple to put together in just 5 minutes Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, starts off with a recipe of Breadsticks with Truffle Butter and Prosciutto, simple to put together in just 5 minutes Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, starts off with a recipe of Breadsticks with Truffle Butter and Prosciutto, simple to put together in just 5 minutes Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, starts off with a recipe of Breadsticks with Truffle Butter and Prosciutto, simple to put together in just 5 minutes
  • Burrata with Caviar
    It turns out Burrata is quite the trend in LA right now. As a big cheese lover, I’m all about this dish with its big hunk of burrata. Nancy believes the holiday are a great excuse for extravagance and getting some high quality ingredients. Besides acquiring 16 ounces of fresh burrata to make 4 servings, make sure that your caviar (you’ll be using 4 tablespoons of caviar, a tablespoon per serving) is sustainable and domestically farmed. The accompaniments you see here, 1/4 cup each of finely chopped fresh chives, parsley, onion, and finally the last topping of all the servings with 1 grated hard-cooked egg via microplane, all are quite traditional for caviar. The twist is with the presence of creamy silky burrata instead of say toast points adding extra indulgence. Nancy’s very particular with her eggs, and gave her formula for perfectly cooked eggs. First, bring the water to boil in salted water. The purpose of the salt is not for flavor, but in case an egg cracks it will seal the whites in. Once the water is boiling, place your eggs and leave for exactly 5 minutes. Then let the eggs and hot water cool to room temperature. She likes her eggs where the yolk is just set (and definitely no green- she would just be insulted!), so to use eggs for grating she adds another minute. Nancy even educated Tom on getting the best finely chopped minced onion- she uses an un-petal technique where she cuts each large layer of onion (after quartering it) individually for smaller pieces!
    Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, preparing to plate her recipe for Burrata with Caviar Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, preparing to plate her recipe for Burrata with Caviar Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, shared my favorite recipe of the 6 that event, the Burrata with Caviar Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, shared my favorite recipe of the 6 that event, the Burrata with Caviar
  • Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
    Nancy called Tom into service into shaving the 4 pounds of brussels sprouts with the mandolin. Then she advised us to massage our winter greens to bring out more flavor. She also told us to use fingers to distribute her dressing created from 1 cup of fresh mint leaves, 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, juice of 2 lemons, and then season with salt and more lemon juice as desired. Nancy is a big fan of carefully balancing each bite of the salad to have a good combination of ALL the salad ingredients, which you get by mixing by hands. She also adores microplane; she used one for grating the egg earlier with the burrata, and with a coarse microplane she grated a thin layer of pecorino romano (the recipe calls for 6 ounces) over the plate and then divided the Brussels sprouts salad into mounds on top of that cheese. She pointed out that there is something improved about the mouthfeel by compacting the salad into easy mouthfuls as she gently flattened the mound to make an even circle, grated more cheese, and topped the plate with toasted chopped almonds (1 cup worth for this 4 serving recipe). Then she finished the salad with a drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of lemon, and coarse cracked black pepper.
    Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, calls Tom Douglas into her service on the mandoline for the Brussels Sprouts for the Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad Culinary Council Recap: Tom watches on as Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, creates her Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, massaging the winter greens of her Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, is a big fan of the microplane Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, is a big fan of the microplane as she grates a little pile of pecorino where she will plate the Brussels Sprouts Salad Culinary Council Recap: Culinary Council Recap: Nancy Silverton, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013

Courtesy of Tom Douglas

  • Mom’s Crab Dip on Russet Potato Chips, from Toms Big Dinners (HarperCollins Publishers, 11/1/2003)
    There was a charming moment as Tom shook the Martha Stewart spatula at the audience, telling us it is up to each one of us to carry forward our family recipes. Then he began sharing his mom’s Crab Dip on Russet Potato Chips. He also unabashedly admitted these homemade potato chips we were enjoying were an upgrade- he usually serves them at home just with Ritz Crackers, so any chip or cracker of our liking will do. He also noted that it is important to add that expensive ingredient of crab last and prepare all the rest of the sauce separately, and keep the crabmeat cold as long as you can.
    Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, shakes a Martha Stewart spatula at the audience, telling us it is up to each one of us to carry forward our family recipes before sharing his mom's Crab Dip on Russet Potato Chips Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, sharing his Mom's Crab Dip on Russet Potato Chips... admits he usually uses Ritz crackers Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, sharing his Mom's Crab Dip on Russet Potato Chips 9Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, sharing his Mom's Crab Dip on Russet Potato Chips
  • Fennel Rubbed Steamed Salmon (link to image with recipe)
    Tom imparted his wisdom about sustainably sourcing fish, and gave tips on how to purchase fish to make sure it is fresh. Although he only shared one recipe in writing, he demo’d two ways of cooking the salmon, one steamed with the rub as you see below, and the other was more of a saute with a fennel sauce and topping. He strongly advocated for the use of an instant read digital thermometer for the fish in order to make sure you don’t dry it out- all you need is for it to get to 125 degrees F and you’re looking at a perfectly cooked fish. He also notes that heat rises, so it’s ok to turn off the heat as the salmon will be still cooking. Did you know Tom also has on his staff a chief vegetable officer?
    Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, talks about the importance of sustainable sourcing and how to purchase your salmon Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, plating his Fennel Rubbed Steamed Salmon Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, demos his Fennel Rubbed Steamed Salmon recipe Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, demos his Fennel Rubbed Steamed Salmon recipe Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, shared a Fennel Rubbed Steamed Salmon recipe Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, shared a Fennel Rubbed Steamed Salmon recipe
  • Chocolate Truffle Cookies with Crackly Crust, from The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook (HarperCollins Publishers, 10/23/2012)
    Time ran out for the demo of these cookies, but the recipe was shared, and we still got to sample it, giving us a very sweet end
    Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, and this Chocolate Truffle Cookie with Crackly Crust

Thanks to Food in Bloom Catering, who helped produce samples of each of the recipes from Nancy and Tom, everyone in the audience was able to try a sample of all 6 dishes. I was quite impressed by the level of service in taking the care to plate each individual sample beautifully, and for plates they used the stylishly sustainable VerTerra Dinnerware and were quick yet thorough in passing out samples, retrieving the garbage, and making sure we all had napkins and if we wished, refills on the Columbia Crest Pinot Gris.

To learn more about the Macy’s Culinary Council and upcoming events, check out macys.com/culinarycouncil, or follow them on Twitter @culinarycouncil  For some example recipe shared by the Council, check out their Pinterest Page, Macy’s Culinary Council

Culinary Council Recap: Hand comparisons of Nancy Silverton and Tom Douglas, Culinary Council members at Macy's Washington Square Dec 14 - important point in always checking knife feel in your hand and the weighting when knife shopping
Hand comparisons of Nancy Silverton and Tom Douglas, Culinary Council members at Macy’s Washington Square Dec 14 – important point in always checking knife feel in your hand and the weighting when knife shopping

Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, shared two salmon recipes Culinary Council Recap: Tom Douglas, Culinary Council member at the Macy's at Washington Square Dec 14, 2013, shared two salmon recipes
Full plates of the two kinds of salmon cooking Tom Douglas shared with us at Macy’s.

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