I'm still here!  It has been a silly busy spring with soccer, tennis, baseball, swimming, dance...oh and that other little thing..work.  I have managed a little cooking here and there.  This was a last minute potluck party contribution that I whipped together with eggs, gruyere and some truffle butter that I was saving for something special.  If you don't have truffle butter lying around you can use the regular stuff and it will still be delicious.  More posts coming soon, stay tuned. xxz

Recipe:

Pate Brisse (I used Martha Stewart's recipe)  http://www.marthastewart.com/948287/pate-brisee

I rolled out a small round and baked it at 375 degrees in a cast iron pan coated with butter for about 25 minutes, or until lightly brown.  Cover the dough with aluminum foil and weigh it down with some rice or beans so the dough does not puff up while baking.

While the dough is baking mix together in a medium bowl:

5-6 large eggs

3/4 cup grated gruyere cheese

1/4 cup cream or half and half

a few snipped fresh basil leaves

sprinkle of salt and pepper

Melt on low heat in a small heavy bottom pan two tablepoons of truffle butter and add a teaspoon of minced garlic.  Turn off the heat and mix into egg mixture when the butter has cooled a little and when you are ready to pour the egg mixture into the half baked crust.

Remove the crust from the oven, discard the foil and beans and fill the crust with the egg mixture.  Return the pie to the oven and bake for about 30 more minutes or until the egg is firm in the center.  Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

When I cook meat for my family I generally treat it as a side dish.  I'll buy one top quality steak, simply grill it, slice it into thin strips and serve with tons of vegetables, potatoes and maybe a special sauce.  I did the same with these organic pork chops from Berkshire Farms the other night and we all agreed it was the best meal we'd had in a while.  I coated them with Turkish spiced flour and salt, fried them in a hot pan and served them with green herb mashed potatoes, garlicky kale and drizzled everything with a garlic parsley sauce.  My husbands birthday request was for me to cook the same dinner two nights later but he wanted his own pork chop....hmm, a complement, or a subtle hint?

Recipe:  Spiced Pork Chop With Green Garlic Parsley Sauce

4 top quality pork chops

kosher salt

1/2 Cup flour

1-2 teaspoons, depending on taste Turkish meat spice (or mix together paprika, black pepper, dry garlic, cumin, oregano, and red pepper)

Grapeseed oil or other high temperature oil

1 Lemon

Sprinkle the pork chops with kosher salt and allow them to come to room temperature while you are preparing the rest of your meal.  Mix the flour and spice on a plate with another dash of salt.  About 10 minutes before you are ready to eat, heat on a high flame a large heavy bottomed pan and generously coat with oil.  Coat both sides of the pork chops with the flour mixture and place in the pan.  Allow to sizzle for a minute or two and turn the flame down to medium high.  Fry each side for about 4 minutes.  Two pans might be necessary or you could cook them in two batches. Remove the pork chops to a cutting board, cover with foil and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving. 

I make a green garlic parsley sauce that is delicious with everything.  I wash and pick half a bunch of parsley, mince a few large garlic cloves and puree it in a blender with about a half cup of olive oil.  I transfer the puree to a small cast iron pan and warm over low heat for a few minutes to just slightly soften the garlic.  Mix in a little salt and pepper toward the end. 

Serve the pork chops drizzled with this sauce and a wedge of lemon.

Some couples set financial goals, some set exercise goals.  We set travel goals.  Every year we try to work in a trip for me, a trip for you, a trip for us and a trip for the family.  It's ambitious, but my other half would rather wear shoes with holes than skimp on experience.  This year the stars and moons aligned and the trip for us was a rendevous in Istanbul. 

The flight was brutal and the jet lag wasn't easy but I felt completely rejuvenated in a way that sitting on a beach and drinking rum cocktails never quite accomplishes.  Istanbul has an energy, chaos and intrigue completely it's own.   From the Spice Market, to the Blue Mosque to Dalmanbache Palace we got lost on twisted streets teeming with life and found ourselves in other centuries and cultures.  For me, Istanbul is one of the great cities....like New York or Paris it is a place I could return to many times over and still feel inspired by the excitement of discovery.  

If you go:

We stayed in TomTom Suites and loved it.  Great location, spacious beautiful rooms, wonderful service and the restaurant, Nicole, is worth a visit even if you don't stay there.  Everyone mentions Mikla for fine dining but we much preferred our dinner here and the dining room is lovely with a fantastic view.  Also the concierges at TomTom, Nural and Surya were amazing resources, friendly and gracious.  They helped us plan each day and gave great recommendations.  We had our best Turkish kebab dinner at Zubeyir....the food was delicious and the atmosphere felt authentic.  We were the only tourists there.  Do indulge in a Turkish bath.  I spent my first morning recovering from jet lag at Killic Ali Pasa Hamam.  It was beautiful and clean and the service was lovely.  The experience is totally different from a western massage or spa but very relaxing and restorative.  Use the Tram.  Taxi service was unreliable and it is difficult to communicate with the drivers.  The Tram runs constantly, is easy to use and very inexpensive.  Take a boat ride on the Bosphorus in the afternoon and when you disembark drink a beer under the Bosphorus bridge at one of the fish restaurants.  We loved watching rush hour as the sun set.  Of course the must see include: Haggia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Dalmanbache Palace, Spice Market, The Grand Bazaar and Topkapi Palace

March was a whirlwind of travel and I barely had time in between trips to do laundry and print out boarding passes.  I was skiing in Lake Tahoe with my CA family and skiing in Vermont with my kids and in between I met that handsome guy in the glasses (yup, my own personal Superman) in Istanbul.  A city so exciting and different I felt inspired in a thousand ways...more on that later. 

Needless to say, I was very happy to be home on Easter with some of my favorite people eating some terrific home cooked food.  We had leg of lamb simply roasted with garlic and rosemary served with a fresh mint sauce, fingerling potatoes tossed with butter and fresh herbs and a spring salad with red watercress.  The standout for me was the salad because the flavors were so fresh and new.  I used Turkish salad seasoning that I brought home from the Spice Market that added citrus and a touch of heat and earth.  You don't have to travel to Istanbul to get it....but you should. 

Available online at Whole Spice: includes Sumac, Urfa Chili, Oregano, Sea Salt, Cumin, Citric Acid, Bay Leaves, Garlic

Spring Salad Recipe:

1 bunch fresh watercress, red is lovely if you can find it (clean and spin dry)

A few cups of baby romaine or other lettuce

1 black radish thinly sliced

3-6 red radishes thinly sliced

1/2 fennel bulb thinly sliced

1 kohlrabi bulb skinned and thinly sliced

2 T fresh mint finely cut

2 T fresh basil finely cut

2 T fresh parsley finely cut

2 T fresh chives finely cut

Juice of 1 lemon

1/4 Cup grassy olive oil, a little more if necessary

1/2-1 teaspoon Turkish salad spice

Flaky sea salt (Maldon's is always good) and fresh cracked pepper

Toss all of the thinly sliced vegetables in a medium bowl with the fresh herbs.  Coat with the olive oil and lemon and add the Turkish spice and salt and pepper to taste.  Allow all the ingredients to marinate for 5-10 minutes and toss in the watercress and lettuce just before serving.