​Serves 6


2 pounds fingerling potatoes-or other small potatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
¼ pound thick-cut bacon, diced-or diced pancetta
½ cup parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
 
 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle a rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Place the potatoes onto the baking sheet and shake the pan to coat the potatoes on both sides with oil. Season with the salt and pepper.
2. Place the pan into the oven and cook for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the bacon. Cook until the bacon begins to brown. Add the sliced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside. 
4. When the potatoes are fork tender, remove the pan from the oven. Gently press down on each potato to “smash” it and flatten a bit. Be careful to not flatten too much. You don’t want the potatoes to break apart losing their shape.
5. Warm the bacon and garlic on the stove. Add the potatoes in a single layer. Turn the potatoes over to coat both sides with the garlic and bacon. Place the potatoes onto a warmed platter. Continue with the remaining potatoes and place onto the platter. Drizzle any remaining garlic and bacon onto the potatoes and sprinkle with parsley. Serve hot. 

Additions: Add 1 teaspoons chopped rosemary when cooking the garlic.

Serves 4
2 cups cooked rice 
½ can unsweetened coconut milk-I like Thai Kitchen or other thick coconut milk)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh, frozen or dried fruit 

1. Combine the  cooked rice, coconut milk, sugar and salt in a 4 qt saucepan over medium-low heat.
   
2. Cook, stirring frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla. Serve warm or cold, topped with fruit.

Adapted from Alton Brown's "Cacio e Pepe"

​Serves 6
1 pound dry spaghetti
Cold water to cover
1 teaspoon coarse salt
3 ounces parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 to 1 cup pasta water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ounce grated parmesan cheese for serving
​
Additions: Add any of the following: Cherry tomatoes, cooked chicken, sausage, broccoli, or other vegetable of your choice.
​

1. Combine pasta, water and salt in a 3-quart, high-sided saute pan. (Water should just barely cover pasta and measure 1 1/2 inches deep total.) Cover and set over medium-high heat.
2. When water reaches a boil, remove the lid and decrease heat to medium to maintain a simmer. Stir the pasta every minute or so, making sure the ends of the noodles stay submerged and that they aren't sticking together. Add more water as needed to keep it submerged.
3. While the pasta cooks, begin the sauce. Combine the Parmesan and the olive oil in a large, deep mixing bowl. Work ingredients together with a whisk until it forms a batter-like sauce.
4. When the pasta has been simmering for 5 minutes, ladle 1 cup of the cooking water into a measuring cup then slowly drizzle 3/4 cup into cheese paste while mixing until smooth.
5. After the pasta has been cooking for 10 minutes start checking for doneness; you want it to be just barely al dente (a little bite).
6. Use tongs to lift the pasta out of the cooking water and allow to briefly drain before adding to the cheese paste. Grasp the pasta with the tongs and stir vigorously for 2 minutes. The pasta will continue to release starch and the sauce will emulsify. Around a minute thirty you will see cheesy water magically transform into a proper sauce. If you find your sauce clumping, add a bit more of the pasta water and continue working the pasta. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
7. Portion pasta into bowls, top with reserved parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

I enjoy creating delicious recipes to share with my students, but when I discover a recipe by another chef I never hesitate to share it. And, when that chef has cookbook that I love, you know I'm going to share that too. Joshua McFadden's book Six Seasons-A New Way with Vegetables has become a favorite, seasonal cookbook for me. You MUST get this book! McFadden has opened my mind and my pallet to so many new flavor combinations and wonderful ways to prepare vegetables seasonally. This recipe is a wonderful example of an easy, beautiful, and delicious recipe I use often. Enjoy!

Makes 4 cups
Kosher salt, to taste
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 cloves garlic, smashed flat and peeled
1 pound kale, thick ribs removed (dark green, curly kale)
 Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
½ pound pasta, like pappardelle or rigatoni
¾ cup coarsely grated Parmigiano- Reggiano

1. Put a large pot of generously salted water over high heat, and bring to a boil. 
2. In a small skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and garlic, and cook until the garlic begins to sizzle. Reduce heat to low, and cook very gently until garlic is soft and begins to turn light gold, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
3. When water is boiling, add kale leaves, and cook until tender, but not mushy, about 5 minutes. Pull out the hot, dripping kale leaves with tongs, and put directly into a blender. (Don’t drain the pot; you’ll use that same boiling water to cook the pasta.) 
4. Add garlic and its oil to the blender, along with a splash of hot water from the pot if you need some more liquid to get the blender going. Blend into a fine, thick green purée. Taste, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, then blend again.
5. Add the pasta to the still-boiling water, and cook according to directions on the package. Ladle out about a cup of the water to save for finishing the dish, then drain the pasta and return it to the dry pot. Add the half of the kale purée, about 3/4 of the grated cheese and a splash of the reserved pasta water. Toss until all the pasta is well coated and bright green, adding another splash of pasta water and more kale sauce if needed so that the sauce is loose and almost creamy in texture. Serve in bowls right away, and top with an extra drizzle of olive oil and the rest of the grated cheese. Any leftover kale sauce can be frozen.

​Additions:
1-pound U26-30 shrimp, peeled and deveined-5 minutes before the pasta is done cooking, add the shrimp to the pasta and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Continue with recipe as written.

More uses for this Kale Sauce

• add to any soup 
• add to any pasta sauce
  
• add cream to the kale sauce and drizzle over pasta, chicken, steak, pork, seafood
• spread on sandwiches or wraps
• stir into eggs to make kale scrambled eggs
• combine with homemade stock to make a soup
• add to Asian noodle bowl

Note: I prefer to use less pasta for a lower-carb meal. 4 ounces for this recipe is fine if you choose. If you cook 8 ounces of pasta, you can set aside half for another meal. The pasta you refrigerate becomes a resistant starch and is healthier for you!

4-8 ounces linguini-dried.
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons capers, drained and chopped
10 ounces frozen spinach, pressed to drain well 
2 (5 ounce) cans Yellowfin Tuna in Olive Oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 lemon, quartered lengthwise 
Parmesan cheese for grating

1. Bring a large sauté pan filled halfway with water to a boil with 1 teaspoon of kosher salt. Add the pasta to the boiling water, stirring occasionally, and cook until the pasta is al dente. You will see that the pasta will absorb most of the water and the water will become cloudy with the starch from the pasta. Plan to use some of the left over water to help create a sauce for your dish.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a large sauté pan with the olive oil, sliced garlic, and red pepper flakes. Sauté, stirring frequently, for 2 to 3 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant and lightly golden. Add the capers and spinach with 1/2 cup of the pasta water.  Cook, stirring gently for 1 minute. 
3. Add the tuna, with the olive oil from the cans to the pan. Combine the ingredients gently, breaking up large pieces of tuna. Reduce the heat to low and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Using tongs, transfer the pasta into the skillet. Add the chopped parsley and ½-1 cup more of the remaining pasta cooking water (add hot tap water if you don't have enough pasta water). With the pan over low heat, gently toss the pasta with tongs to coat the pasta evenly. Add additional pasta water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with Parmesan cheese on the side.

Additions:
Use fresh pasta. Pasta cooking time will be less.
Heavy cream-add 1/2 to 1 cup with the spinach. Let cook 3-5 minutes to reduce.
Substitute broccoli (frozen and thawed) for the spinach
Canned artichokes can be added with spinach. Cut reach into halves or quarters
1 can diced tomatoes, drained. 
Substitute 1 can cannelloni beans for the pasta.

Serves 6

​Gremolata is a traditional Italian herb paste that is a simple combination of five ingredients: parsley, garlic, lemon, Parmesan, and extra virgin olive oil. With its bright, citrusy flavor, gremolata transforms ho-hum recipes into amazing dishes! Here I’ve combined gremolata with thinly sliced potatoes and roasted them to create a tasty side dish. It’s simple, delicious, and gorgeous!  
Low-carb trick-prepare and cook the stacked potatoes one day ahead and refrigerate. The refrigeration changes the structure of the starches in the potatoes to make them "resistant starches". Resistant starches have a reduced absorption rate in our bodies and helps to keep our insulin low. Learn more about this amazing phenomenon RESISTANT STARCH
 
½ cup loosely packed chopped flat-leaf parsley
Zest of 1 lemon
2 small minced garlic cloves
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
1 pinch pepper, freshly ground
8-10 Yukon Gold potatoes
 
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12 standard muffin cups generously with nonstick cooking spray.

To make the gremolata, combine the parsley, lemon zest, garlic, Parmesan, oil, salt, and pepper in a bowl and set aside. 

Peel the potatoes and slice them thinly (about ⅛ of an inch) using a sharp knife or mandolin. Add the potato slices to the gremolata and toss to coat. I use my hands to be sure to coat the potatoes evenly. Stack the potatoes to fill each muffin cup over the rim by about ½ inch. Press the stacked potatoes down firmly. Bake until the tops and edges of the potatoes are browned and the centers are tender when pierced with a fork, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven. Cut around each stack with a sharp knife and remove them with a spoon. Serve hot. These can be made one to two days in advance and reheated, covered, in a 300 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.  

Traditionally prepared polenta is amazing, but it takes lots of stirring and time. If you are looking for a quicker, less labor intensive method for making polenta, baking it in the oven is a nice alternative. Please, never, ever, ever, ever buy pre-made polenta in a package. It is an awful substitute for homemade. I won't say anything more about that. 

1 cup polenta
4 cups hot water
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tbs unsalted butter (or more if you like)         
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
kosher salt and ground pepper 

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the polenta, hot water, and salt in a 8X8 pan or other 2 quart baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the liquid is almost absorbed and the polenta is creamy when stirred. Remove from the oven. 
2. Stir in the butter and the parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
   Serve hot or refrigerate for later use.

Polenta Serving Notes:

• If you’d like a firm polenta for grilling, frying, or as an hors d’oeurves leave the polenta in the serving dish until the polenta is firm and cool, about 2 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.  When firm, turn polenta out onto a cutting board and cut into squares, triangles, or use a cookie cutter and cut into shapes.  
• To Grill: Brush polenta pieces with olive oil.  Grill as desired.
• To Fry: Heat butter in a sauté pan and fry pieces until light brown on both sides.  Serve hot.

Makes 6-8 servings

1 pound soba noodles, cooked and drained (follow the package directions)
4 scallions, chopped
1 large red pepper, cored, seeded and sliced thinly or 1 bag frozen sliced peppers, thawed
2-3 cups frozen broccoli florets, thawed
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
3 Tbs toasted sesame oil
 
 

1. Place the cooked noodles, veggies, and cilantro in a large bowl.
2. Whisk the soy sauce, garlic and sesame oil together in a small bowl.
3. Pour the sauce over the soba noodles and veggies and toss to coat.  This can be served warm or cold.

Substitutes and additions:

• Use whole grain thin spaghetti or brown rice instead of soba noodles.
• Add shredded chicken, cooked shrimp, or tofu for more protein.  

Preparing dinner often takes a back burner to all the other activities that  prevent us from making the time to prepare a healthy meal at home.   If you have attended one of my cooking programs you know how much I stress the importance of cooking at home.  When you prepare your meals at home you know what is in each dish; adding healthier ingredients and keeping salt and sugar in check.  To support your cooking efforts you also need to consider what to keep on hand in your pantry so you can rely on last minute recipes when needed.  Consider that your pantry is not only your dry pantry but should also include your freezer and your refrigerator.  What do you have in your pantry?

This recipe was created with ingredients from my pantry...give it a try!

Serves 6

Sausage and Tomato Sauce

3 Italian sausages
2 Tbs. olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, slivered
1 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes
Pinch of crushed red pepper
2 Tbs fresh basil, sliced thinly
¼ cup flat leafed parsley, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmesan cheese for grating

1.    Boil the sausages in water until cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Slice each sausage in half lengthwise.

2.    Heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat with the oil.  When hot, place the sausages into the pan in a single layer, cut side down.  Cook until browned.   

3.    Add the slivered garlic.  Sauté for 1 minute. 

4.    Add the the basil, crushed re pepper, and diced tomatoes with their juice to the sausages.  Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer while preparing the polenta.

5.    Just before serving add the chopped parsley to the sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.

6.    Serve hot over polenta with freshly grated Parmesan.

Baked Polenta

1 cup polenta
2 cups hot water
2 cups milk, hot (2% or whole milk)
1 teaspoon salt
4 Tbs unsalted butter (or more if you like)           
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
kosher salt and ground pepper

 
1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the polenta, hot water, hot milk, and salt in a 8X8 glass pan or other 2 quart baking dish. Bake for 25- 30 minutes or until the liquid is almost absorbed and the polenta is creamy when stirred. 

2.    Stir in the butter and the parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot with sausage and tomato sauce.

There is nothing better than a recipe that does double or triple duty.  To find a recipe that starts as one recipe and then becomes something very different by adding or subtracting just a few ingredients makes meal planning so much easier.  

In its original form it is a sauce for salmon, chicken, beef, or pork.  You can put it over rice, spaghetti squash, or steamed broccoli.  Add chicken or vegetable stock to it and it becomes a soup.  Take that soup and puree it, add some left over chicken and it becomes an Asian chili.  To take this recipe and turn it into a Mexican or Latin dish, leave out the ginger, soy sauce, and sesame oil and add in chipotle!  The possibilities are endless. My Asian Black Bean Sauce is one of my favorite multi-use recipes.  The ingredients are always part of my pantry supplies.  And, this recipe freezes well for later use.   I recently featured this recipe at a program I did for the North Reading Garden Club and it received great reviews!

Makes about 2 cups

2 tsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbs of fresh ginger, minced
1 can of black beans (15 ounces), drained and rinsed (red kidney beans can be added or substituted)
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock or water
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
Pinch crushed red pepper
2 Tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
2 pieces of scallion, sliced thin on the diagonal.

1. Heat canola oil, garlic, and ginger in a saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring for 2 minutes (do not brown).  
   
2. Add the rinsed black beans, stock, sesame oil, soy sauce, and crushed red pepper. Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.  Add more stock if you would like a saucier consistency.
   
3. Finish with fresh cilantro and sliced scallions.