Tag: lifestyle

Cooking with Williams-Sonoma

On those evenings when I do have some more free time to plan and prepare a nice dinner, I usually turn to my Williams-Sonoma cookbooks.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before, but cooking is not something I often find time for in my busy schedule.  As a matter of fact, I do so little cooking that I’ve been teased about burning water!  The truth is, I can cook, I just can’t usually fit it into my daily routine of family and work.

On those evenings when I do have some more free time to plan and prepare a nice dinner, I usually turn to my Williams-Sonoma cookbooks.  I love the imagery in these books as well as the recipes themselves.

Williams-Sonoma Salad
Williams-Sonoma Grilling

These dishes can be prepared by anyone and really make you feel like an accomplished cook.  There’s such a nice sense of satisfaction that comes with presenting your family with a meal that looks and tastes amazing!  Williams-Sonoma has a great brand in general, from the cookbooks to cookware to prepared foods, they offer high quality products that both look great and perform very well.

Grilled Pears
Chicken with Mustard and Walnut Coating
Spices, oh my! My mother uses basil in almost everything she prepares.

Browsing through all of the gadgets and kitchen products offered by Williams-Sonoma just makes you crave the idea of cooking.  From a design perspective, I can easily imagine filling a kitchen with these great items.  They are thoughtful and smart, and just so well presented.

Le Creuset Signature Deep Saute Pan in Ocean: What a great color!
Bamix Professional SliceSy Attachment
Littledeer Cooking Utensil Set
Rösle Vegetable Chopper – Quick and easy!
Le Creuset Winged Corkscrew Wine Opener, Antique Chrome – The best gadget we should all have in our kitchen drawer!
Cuisinart Soup Maker & Blender

Do you have a favorite source for recipes and/or kitchen gadgets?

 

 

 

 

Linguine with Seafood

One of my favorite meals to make anytime of the year is Linguine with Seafood. This is one dish that we all enjoy as a family!

Guest post from Debbie Aidinis.

One of my favorite meals to make anytime of the year is Linguine with Seafood.  This is one dish that we all enjoy as a family.  I typically prepare this meal with clams, shrimp and lobster.  When the local fish market has fresh cleaned calamari, I will add it as well.  Mussels and scallops can also be used.  I like that this dish can be done with a variety of seafood, with any combination being used depending on availability and preference.

Growing up, we always had the benefit of a garden with fresh vegetables, herbs and fruit. My Grandfather immigrated here from Reggio Calabria, Italy, and brought his knowledge of gardening, which has been passed down through the generations, with him.  My family still has the garden, though it’s not as large as the original and there are always fresh tomatoes and vegetables to go around.

Knowing what a difference it makes, I like to use the freshest ingredients when I cook, using garden herbs that I grow.  In the summer, I will use fresh plum tomatoes or cherry tomatoes. Using cherry tomatoes will give you a much lighter sauce, but you will need quite a lot.  There is nothing like using fresh pasta and I highly recommend cooking with it.  As always, I do not measure my ingredients so the following  amounts are estimated and may need to be adjusted. The amount of seafood used may also be adjusted according to what is being used to make the dish.

Ingredients:

½ cup Olive Oil

A large bunch of Green Onions or one large Yellow Onion, chopped

½ tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Course Black Pepper, to taste

Salt, to taste

1 cup of White Wine

½ cup chopped Parsley

½ cup chopped Basil

3 dozen Littleneck Clams, scrubbed

1 lb cleaned and deveined Large Shrimp

½ to ¾ lb cooked Lobster Meat {usually 3 cooked Lobster Tails)

3 to 4 lbs fresh plum tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can 35oz San Marzano Plum Tomatoes

Or

3 to 4 pints fresh cherry tomatoes, whole, or 3 14oz cans Cherry Tomatoes

1lb Linguine

Locatelli Romano Cheese, freshly grated

1 loaf Ciabatta or crusty Italian Bread of choice

Optional:

Clove of minced garlic

1 to 2 lbs of Mussels

1lb of Sea Scallops

½ lb of cleaned Calamari sliced into ½ inch rings

Directions:

In a large, heavy skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat,then add the onions (and garlic if including) and cook till tender.  Add the coarse black pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Let mixture cook for few minutes, then add wine and tomatoes and bring to a boil, then simmer.  If using cherry tomatoes, leave them whole and let them cook until they eventually break apart.  Add the parsley, basil, and salt to mixture and let cook, occasionally stirring sauce.

Wash clams and steam in a separate pot.  Clean shrimp and set aside. Cut Lobster into bite-sized pieces and set aside.

Once the sauce has cooked for about 30 minutes, add the shrimp and cook until pink, then add lobster meat and transfer the steamed clams with shells into the sauce. If using mussels, calamari or scallops, add them in with the shrimp

Boil water for pasta and cook as directed, reserving some liquid from the pasta.  Place the pasta into a large, shallow bowl; add just enough of the reserved liquid to coat the pasta. Spoon seafood with sauce onto pasta and mix.  Sprinkle some fresh chopped basil on top.

Ladle into individual bowls and top with fresh grated cheese.  Serve with your favorite crusty bread. Enjoy!

Olive Oil

We all have our go-to favorite meals for a quick dinner or a simple way to entertain guests, and mine certainly includes olive oil.

Perfect!

We all have our go-to favorite meals for a quick dinner or a simple way to entertain guests, and mine certainly includes olive oil.  An arrangement of antipasto with oil for dipping is a simple, beautiful, and delicious way to end a hot summer day or feed guests without turning on the oven or stove.  My husband and I (but especially my husband!) love to try new olive oils, so creating a simple meal with fresh foods and different olive oil varieties is something we do regularly.  Besides being good for the soul, olive oil has the added benefit of being good for your health.  Extra virgin olive oil has more monounsaturated fatty acids than other oils and also contains more polyphenols, which may have benefits for your heart.

Thelo EVOO, from Greece
Chocolate infused olive oil. I think I’m in heaven!
Ascolano Certified EVOO. Superb, award-winning quality.

Choosing an olive oil from the many varieties at the store can be a little overwhelming.  What’s the difference between virgin and extra virgin?  Do you want cold press or first press, and what about light olive oil?  Generally speaking, extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality oil, made from olives that have been pressed to extract the oil without using any chemical means.  Cold press indicates the oils have been extracted without any added heat, and first press is a rather meaningless term because olives are only pressed once.  Virgin olive oil is produced the same way as extra virgin, but with a slightly higher acid content.  For dressings and dipping, extra virgin olive oil is the way to go.  Light olive oil is lighter in color with little flavor, making it a better choice for cooking.  You don’t necessarily need to buy the most expensive olive oil to enjoy the best quality, but you do typically get what you pay for.  I’d suggest choosing a light, less expensive oil for cooking and a higher quality extra virgin olive oil for everything else.  When stored properly, away from light and heat, a bottle of olive oil will keep for about a year, so go ahead and splurge on a decent bottle!

If the thought of choosing a good olive oil is still intimidating, try looking for a shop that offers olive oil tastings.  One I keep hearing so much about and can’t wait to visit myself is Olivette in Darien, Connecticut.  Olivette carries over 20 varieties of high quality olive oils which are all available for tasting.  When you find the perfect olive oil for your needs, it is bottled for you right there in the store.  Olivette also has everything you need to complement your olive oil, such as fine balsamic vinegars, breads, olives, and other treats such as preserves, honey, and sea salts.  It’s the perfect way to experience different oils and choose the right variety for your tastes without committing to an entire bottle up front.

Olivette Tasting Room
EVOO sampling at Olivette
Gorgeous tasting area! I can’t wait to go in myself.

Do you have a favorite olive oil or a preferred way to use it?

 

An Evolving Garden

I’d always enjoyed container planting with annuals and really did not know what to expect with growing perennials.

Guest Post from Debbie Aidinis

There are two things that I love to do: cook and garden, even though I have no formal training in either of them.  But, I have always had a love of plants. About 10 years ago, when we were redoing the pavers around the pool, our contractor suggested planting perennial beds along one side of the pool.  I really did not know what to expect with using perennials.  I’d always enjoyed container planting with annuals, where I found a great satisfaction in creating the arrangements, but this was different. This was the start of something I had never experienced before.

I truly fell in love with those perennial gardens and continued to incorporate them into our landscaping.  I moved on to the front of the house, where I put in more gardens.  My gardens are truly a labor of love with many hours spent working in and enjoying them.

My gardens are forever evolving as I am always looking to see what I can move or replace for the following year. For me, gardening is still a learning experience.  There are plants for sun, partial sun, shade, dry, and wet conditions, just to name a few. I now do my research on the different variety of plants and have come to understand that there are plants that will not do well in certain areas even if you love them and want them in your garden. Sometimes you instinctively know the plant you just put in the ground does not belong there.  I’ve also learned to plant flowers according to their blooming schedule.  Some bloom early in the spring while others bloom into the fall.  Because I like to always have flowers in garden, I now arrange my plants so I have flowers throughout the growing season.  It’s not unusual for me to replace plants or move things around in the middle of summer if I see a part of the garden without flowers!

I’ve also learned through trial and error with specific plants.  For example, I love Lavender.   When I started my gardens I had a grouping of Lavender which came back for a few years and then just stopped.  For a while, I replaced  the Lavender every year.  Then, I finally realized that area was not the right location for Lavender.  My nearby Viburnum had grown a lot through the years and the area became shadier and, of course, wetter.  I eventually put in plants that were better adapted to that environment, such as Solomon Seal, Japanese Painted Ferns, and Hostas.

Around my pool, which gets hot sun, the landscaper originally planted a lot of very large Hostas.  Every year, by mid summer, the leaves would be burnt from too much sun exposure.  They have since been moved to another area where they are very happy and thriving with more shade.

The one plant I can never have enough of are Hydrangeas.  There are many beautiful varieties.  One in particular is called “Annabelle” and does not do well in full sun.  They, too, were moved to another location after a summer of constantly watering them to keep them from wilting away. This year I planted Hydrangea macrophylla “White Out” in container pots and will put them in my garden in the fall,  in a spot which has partial shade.

Another plant that I love is the Coneflower.  Unfortunately, so does the local ground hog!  Once I realized the ground hog was the culprit behind my chewed Coneflowers, I almost gave up on growing them.  Inexplicably, I found I can plant Coneflowers in one of my front gardens and the ground hog will not munch on them.  Why he avoids that particular spot I may never know!

The early morning when the sun comes up is my favorite time to be out in the garden.  There is a beauty to behold,  just looking at the flowers through the haze of sunlight and morning dew.  Of course, the garden at dusk would be a very close second, when the sun is setting and cooler breezes bring relief from a hot summer day.  If only I could find more space to plant another garden!

The Farmer’s Market

Throughout summer and into the fall, one of the most enjoyable weekly events can be your local farmers market.

Throughout summer and into the fall, one of the most enjoyable weekly events can be your local farmers market.  With the ever-increasing awareness of the benefits of organic foods, sustainable practices, and supporting local farmers, most towns and cities offer a farmers market featuring foods and other locally produced goods.    When you buy from a farmers market, you’re not only supporting your own local economy and helping to ensure those vendors are able to stay in business.  You’re also treating yourself to the freshest produce, most likely picked that very day, as well as hand crafted goodies like artisan breads, cheeses, local honey, handmade jams, preserves, and pickles, humanely raised meats, and free range eggs.  Each market will have its own unique offerings depending on the locality and the time of year; produce available in the spring gradually gives way to summer and then fall fruits and vegetables.  Each week you’ll find something new to enjoy.

Along with my family, I go to the High Ridge Road Farmer’s Market here in Stamford.  My kids love all the fresh fruit and I like giving them this kind of a healthy choice.  I think it’s good for them to see where some of their food comes from and to be able to meet the people who grow and harvest it.

I think it’s so great to see the kind of access to local foods you can have at a farmers’ market.  When I was a kid, we used to go berry picking at Jones Farm in Shelton, CT.  Nothing tastes better than berries you’ve just picked, warm from the sun and sweeter than anything you’d find at the grocery store.  Going to a farmers’ market is like visiting all of your local farms at the same time.

Chances are, there’s a farmers’ market in your town or else very close by.  You can visit Local Harvest to find a market in your area!

NY Botanical Gardens Holiday Train Show

Set in the beautiful Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the Holiday Train Show features model trains running through replicas of famous New York City landmarks.

This year marks the 20th Annual Holiday Train Show at the NYC Botanical Gardens.  Running from Nov 19, 2011 through Jan 16, 2012, this is truly an enchanting show for all ages.

Set in the beautiful Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, the Holiday Train Show features model trains running through replicas of famous New York City landmarks.   As you walk through the conservatory, you  have the pleasure of watching the model trains chug their charming way through the lush greenery and around such well-known sights as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Statue of Liberty.  As if that weren’t a fun enough concept, the NYC replicas are constructed from parts of plants such as bark, leaves, and nuts!  Imagine the city transformed into a woodland fairy world and you get a fairly good idea of what the Holiday Train Show has in store.

I just love the detail and artistry of these buildings!
It isn't hard to imagine this city populated with sprites!

It’s hard to imagine the scale of the train show from just these pictures, but the next two will give you a better idea of the size of the displays.  In addition, this year the Holiday Train Show features a new attraction called the Artists’ Studio.  It allows visitors to see the process involved in construction of the NYC replicas.  You’ll be able to see buildings in various stages of completion, from start to finish!

Visitors admire some of the replicas.
You can walk right under the Brooklyn Bridge!

Whether you’re looking for a family outing or a pleasant way to spend an afternoon, the Holiday Train Show is an excellent option.  Take a leisurely stroll, admire the creativity and ingenuity of the replicas among the vibrant flora, enjoy hot chocolate and gingersnaps, and lose yourself in a magical world!

Visit the NYC Botanical Garden website for ticket information and show hours.