Sweet and Savory: Beautiful Piles on Toast, and The New York Times Summer Cooking

Three delicious and unexpected flavor and texture pairings, atop crunchy, chewy toasts. Why not have sweet and savory together, one a foil to the other in a dance, making mealtime especially awesome? That is the theme of this month's Anthology column.

Choose good bread. It's your foundation. 

pink peppercorn salt, fig preserves, and buffalo mozzarela toast

There are limitless opportunities for sweet-savory combinations. Here are a few I thought up in considering this month's vittles…

Which will be your new favorite?

sea salt-sprinkled bruléed bananas on melted chocolate and sourdough toast

How indulgent is your sweet tooth? How much do you crave savory bites? There is something here for everyone.

Pepita honeycomb brittle crumbled over umami grilled lettuce toasts

The fact that each of these is pretty simple to prepare makes them all the more attractive. I can't wait to hear what strikes you, and which you chose for your afternoon (or late night) snack.

Full story and recipes here.

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In more layers of savory, for last week's New York Times Food Section I produced eight recipes to showcase four flavor powerhouses devised by Sam Sifton, which you can pull from and reproduce all summer long. Pretty tantalizing for a summer of good eating.

Here are some of my favorite images from the work, some printed for the feature and others not -

Lobster butter, with wild shrimp for dipping…

Lemon herb compound butter, paired with wild king salmon….

A sweet-spicy-smoky rub for meat…

And, an herby, vinegary marinade for the best grilled meat ever. This is my favorite of the bunch, though choosing a favorite is highly subjective. They are all delicious.

Warm weather is in full gear now. The chanterelle mushrooms are poking their golden caps robustly through the moist, black soil. I hope to bring some home for a new chapter in an ongoing series I've been producing on wild foods.

Most recently, I foraged mulberries (and made an amazing pie), made honeysuckle syrup from cups of plucked blossoms, and have already a haul of blackberries with which a shrub or mostarda (or maybe pie, let's face it) may be its outcome. Good eating, each and every one.

Make something sweet, something savory, for yourself today. 

My Mother's Lemon Meringue Pie, Creamy Goodness at Food52, and Another Page One (Luscious Lamb!) at The New York Times

Where has the last month gone, I keep asking myself. I don't think it even happened, but then I realize I've done all this work, and so it must have. 

This fantastic lemon meringue pie, an on-rotation favorite dessert from my mom, is this month's feature at Anthology.

Are you craving pie by now? Head over to Anthology for the full scoop, including the delicious recipe. You'll be quite happy you did, as you will no doubt delight in the slices of this bright, rich (but not too rich), perfect dessert.

This recipe is particularly well-timed, as I just returned from a lengthy trip back home, where I cooked and cared for my folks. 

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to do that for our parents in a more regular way? To have our schedules cleared, virtually suspended (mine was, even though the piles waited for me upon my return), and help family out in times of need. 

All this to say I would have loved to share the following stories with you sooner, and I blame them for being so tied up…..

In my Halfway to Dinner column at Food52, I created five fab recipes incorporating heavy cream. Some, just a little, and others, the whole nine yards. Up to you which you'll prefer….there is something for everyone. 

Because, they are all delicious.

a Julia Child-inspired chicken liver mousse

the delightful cracked sugar "glass" of crême brulée

chicken legs with shallots and apples, dressed in a cider cream sauce

my favorite: garlicky creamed wild onions

the gorgeous wild onions destined for creaming...

horseradish cream sauce with dipping accompaniments

Then there was the glorious NYTimes Page One story, the second I had in just as many weeks. I love it when that happens! 

This feature was geared for Easter and Passover and it delivered big. Four recipes (one, two, three, four) including a glorious leg of lamb, a grand meal to feed the whole neighborhood.

Any of these recipes could easily double for Mother's Day, which by now is right around the corner. These preparations are a feast for the eyes, made with love, and so tasty. Your Ma will no doubt appreciate it.

If you do choose one from any of these features, let me know. It gives me great pleasure to know others are eating well.

I'll be at the farmers market this weekend, refilling my refrigerator with peppery greens, juicy veg, orangey-yolk eggs, and a few surprise bits - usually whatever hits me as I roam.

A spare rib barbecue is in the works, as well as some pickle experiments I'm having fun with. Who knows, maybe a fruit and biscuit idea will make a splash... another story I've been chewing on….

Have a beautiful weekend. Hold these first few days of May close, as the rest will fly just as quickly as all of April did. xxx

Umami Grain Bowl with Anthology and First Spring Foods (!!!) with New York Times

This month's column at Anthology focuses on abundant flavor through the savoriness that is umami. 

I make a lot of food. I love a meal containing numerous elements. Bright colors, a fantastic array of textures, and depth of flavor is one version of a meal that often appears at my table. The starring roles change, but this is the overarching theme.

Weird and wonderful additions like anchovies, bottarga, and roasted seaweed (all together! …it's totally  great, and very much about proportions) bring what is otherwise a simple meal to a whole new level….

making the anchovy-roasted garlic dressing

beautiful radicchio fresh from its char...

Please let me know if you decide to make this delicious dish. It definitely was satisfying to produce it. :) Here is the full story.

In equally delicious news, more of my work debuted on Page One in this week's New York Times Food section. This colorful Ode to Spring is another Mark Bittman story - I always love when I'm tasked with articulating his recipes, for their no-nonsense, tasty tendencies. If you recall another I produced last year, he wins my heart….

Here are some of my favorite outtakes - 

Each of the recipes is lovely. The indulgence of the deep-fried spring onions is an obvious winner, but my personal favorite is the delicate peas over still-crunchy grilled little lettuces, dressed in garlicky, minty goodness. Here is the full article and recipes, if you're seized enough to want to make them.

In other recent news, I produced a vivid and totally delightful "Shapes and Colors of Spring" story for the Fifth Anniversary Sweet Paul Magazine, now available for purchase or download. Here are two recipes (one, two) from the story, currently online. That is worth sharing in a story all on its own. Also, look for another gorgeous front page feature from  yours truly, in next week's NYTimes Food. And more. Always more, cuz what is a freelancer to do if not producing new, drool-worthy content?

I hope you all have delicious food lined up for this weekend. I'll be eating my way out of leftovers, maybe even without putting them onto plates… xo 

Happy spring!

2015 Saveur Blog Nominations

Click here to nominate me

It is that time of year again, for the annual Saveur Blog Awards. Please nominate my blog, http://lickingtheplate.com, for Best Food Photography and Most Delicious Food. Nominations are open until March 13th. Add your two cents and help me become a finalist!! :D

Thank you for your love of my work, and for believing in me. 

Here's to lots more good eating!!!

14 Days of Avocados and Winter Soups (AKA Is it Spring Yet??)

With the cold and the grey that cloaks everything, I decided to produce a personal project titled "14 Days of Avocados." Daily on Instagram, I am sharing a photograph a day of a unique recipe, and once the two weeks have passed, I will be sharing them all here in their glory. And on my new website, which is coming along nicely…… (stay tuned!)

This vivid project was conceived as a means to escape the last onerous days of winter, and while it may still be cold out, I've been up to my eyeballs in amazing food and loving each and every creation. The colors alone have made for a new pep in my step. We are on day five right now - click here to follow the fun!

Simultaneously,  I've been participating in an ongoing soup competition, also on Instagram. Soup soothes the soul. I love making soups of all kinds to nourish myself through these frigid days.

Paths crossed with the chowder which was produced for 14 Days of Avocados - and happened to be timed nicely for the soup contest. There is also a new favorite, a bright tomato soup, which has made it as a finalist in said competition! So, here are the recipes for both, because being nourished feels great.

Please vote for my tomato soup finalist here. This is what the tomato soup image looks like, so you may find it easier -

You have until Friday, March 6th, to cast your vote. Please share it with your friends and families, if this image compels you to do so! :)

Winter chowder with smoked fish and avocado

1 leek, white and light green parts only, sand rinsed and chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 cups frozen corn
3-5 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
good olive oil
2 tbsp pastured butter
4 cups fish stock
2/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup dry vermouth
1 bay leaf
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 oz smoked trout or wild salmon, to top
1 avocado, diced, to top
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped, to top

Melt butter and a glug of olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Sauté leeks until they become translucent, stirring so that they do not brown. Add celery and potatoes and sauté for 5 or so more minutes. Stir every so often to keep things cooking evenly.

Add dry vermouth to pan and continue cooking until it is almost evaporated. Add stock, wine, spices, thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover with top slightly askew, and lower heat to low. Simmer for a half hour or so, until the flavors meld and the soup thickens a little.

Remove from heat. Add in corn and stir to incorporate. Pour cream and stir again. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

You can either serve this immediately, or after cooled to room temperature, refrigerate overnight and allow the flavors to meld even more. If you choose the second option, as you reheat: do not allow the soup to boil.

To serve, flake smoked fish over top, add diced avocado, and fresh parsley. Serve with crusty bread to sop every last bit up.
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And now for the delicious tomato soup….

I think this is the most flavorful tomato soup I've had, to date.

Please make it and drop me a line agreeing in fantastic enthusiasm, or let me know what it needs more - or less - of! :)

 Tomato soup with nutmeg and smoked paprika

1 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth - use homemade if you can
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
sea salt and freshly cracked pepper
2-3 tbsp heavy cream
2 tbsp pastured butter
good olive oil

a few slices of good crusty bread
1/2-1 cup grated gruyere cheese
good olive oil

In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat a glug of olive oil and the butter over medium heat. Sauté onion until translucent, 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Give the mixture a good stir.

Add tomatoes and their juices, coarsely breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Add in the stock - I give the tomato can a rinse with the stock to get all the last bits, pouring the liquid mix into the pot - along with the nutmeg, paprika, bay leaf, and a good pinch of sea salt and a few good grinds of black pepper.

Bring to a simmer,  then cover and cook on very low heat for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in heavy cream. Allow to cool almost to room temperature. (I left it to sit with its lid on overnight before blending. This also helped the flavors to meld further.)

Remove bay leaf. Use an immersion blender to purée most of the soup. The idea is to keep a little texture but have the body of the soup largely smooth and supple. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. To serve, reheat but do not allow to boil.

In a toaster oven or using the broiler setting in your oven, dress the slices of bread with small piles of the grated cheese. Broil on a baking sheet until bubbling and melted. Serve the broiled cheesy toast atop the soup, drizzled with good olive oil, finished with another grind or two of black pepper.

Let these soups nourish and sate you. Stay warm in these last burdensome winter moments! Spring is just around the corner…..

Valentine's Olive Oil Cake at Anthology & A New Giveaway

Celebrations.
Love.
All things delicious.
Here, some extra-special delicious….

I've wanted to make an olive oil cake for a while, and so I figured Valentine's Day was as good an occasion as any.

A friend gifted me a bunch of homegrown citrus - including these kumquats - from her friend's father's garden in New Orleans (how lucky am I?!). This seemed like the perfect occasion to marry a citrus compote with a fantastically moist cake.

This was a great idea.

I made two cakes with a mindset to give some away.  I have two sets of friends expecting babies very soon. Who wouldn't benefit from homemade-with-love goodies while adjusting to new schedules and the myriad challenges babies present? Yes.

This cake is quite easy to make once your ingredients are gathered, so in the spirit of love, why not make more?

The compote requires a little more attention than the cake but it gives back big. You could choose to make only the cake, which is utterly amazing on its own. I hope you make both. The combination of jewel-toned jamminess enrobing velvety cake is luscious. Seriously.

for the cake

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar

3 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 2/3 cups good extra virgin olive oil - I used arbequina 

6 pastured eggs

2 1/2 cups pasture-raised whole milk

3 tbsp orange zest

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup Cointreau or Pierre Ferrand dry curaçao 

butter, for greasing

for the compote

2 cups kumquats

4 blood oranges - juice and flesh to be used separately

juice of 1 lemon

3 cardamom pods, bruised with the flat side of a knife

1/2 cup organic cane sugar

(Start the compote a day ahead)

Rinse and scrub the fruit under cold water. Cut off ends from blood oranges. Set orange cut-end down for easy work and slice off the peel and outer membrane, following the curve of the fruit as you slice. Squeeze any juice from ends and peel segments into a small bowl to use for later, then discard. Carefully remove the orange segments - aka supremes - by slicing along the connective membranes. Do this over the bowl you squeezed the peels into to catch the juices, and squeeze the leftover membrane of its remaining juices before you discard. You should end up with 1/2 cup or so of blood orange juice. Place the supremes in a bowl and set aside. 

Slice the kumquats into quarters and remove the seeds. Wrap seeds in a piece of muslin and secure with kitchen twine. Place the kumquats, supremes, muslin-wrapped seed bundle, sugar, lemon juice, and blood orange juice into a saucepan. Give the mixture a stir and bring to a bare simmer over low heat. Cook, covered, on low for a half hour. Remove from heat, then pour into a glass dish. Cover and refrigerate overnight once cooled.

The next day, remove any loose seeds and pithy elements with a small spoon. Empty the fruit-seed-syrup mixture into a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Skim any foam which may come to the surface. Bring heat to medium-high, and gently stir as the mixture bubbles, for 5 minutes. 

Remove muslin bundle, pressing it gently between two spoons to express any juices (careful, it is hot!). Stir some more as it cooks for another 5 minutes. Return to a rapid boil for a minute or two and then remove from heat. Pour compote into a glass dish and refrigerate once cooled a bit. The compote will thicken as it cools. Refrigerated, the compote will keep for a few months. It is so good it won't last that long....

Prepare the cake while the compote cools. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients - zest goes with these - in another large bowl. 

Grease the two springform pans and line the bottoms with parchment. 

Add dry ingredients gradually to wet and whisk until just incorporated. Pour the batter between the two pans, set onto a rimmed baking sheet. 

Bake for 35 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Check the smaller cake for doneness by giving it a jiggle. The center should give a little (similar to cooking custard), while the outer circumference should be deeply golden. Continue to bake if not done, checking back every few minutes. The larger cake will take 15-20 minutes longer. Check for doneness in the same fashion as you did with the smaller cake. 

As they each finish baking, cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then slide a thin knife along the circumference of the ring before removing. Cool inverted on a baking tray (so as not to mar the surface) until at room temperature and discard parchment. 

Store any leftover cake in a container between layers of parchment, in the refrigerator. Cake can also be frozen (wrapped tightly in cellophane, then foil, then a resealable bag) for later indulgence.

Serve this cake at room temperature in wedges, with a spoonful or two of the luscious compote on top. 

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So many things going on right now, it is nice to part the chaos with something so sublime as this.

I know I say that with every post. But really - I faced a recent hospitalization that confronted me with the need to change my lifestyle. I am recovering and overall am well, but it wasn't something to take lightly. I am grateful for having listened to my body and deciding to drive to the ER to see what all the funny business was about. And I'm extremely grateful to my family for their never-ending support.

Beyond that and my regular juggle of delicious projects, I experiment daily with foods of all kinds….whether for the basic need to get food in my belly for breakfast, or in the hopes of creating a gorgeous new story and then playing to flesh out ideas. Stay tuned for some news relating to that, soon.

In the meantime, here is a new giveaway to whet your appetites and inspire you, as you experiment in your own world:

This beautifully written and illustrated heirloom-style book shares regional French food in its traditional, authentic origins, based on 27 distinct regions throughout France. Co-authored by the great Chef Jöel Robuchon and French historian Loïc Bienassis, the duo share lesser-known specialties and highlight dishes specific to each region featured.

In order to qualify, follow me on Instagram if you aren't already, and leave a comment below telling me what French food you have made and loved, or which you would like to make most, that you have not tried already.  

You can also tweet "check out @melinaphotos French Valentine giveaway: http://bit.ly/1zAPtcC" or tag me on Facebook saying the same. With each additional mention, your name gets added to the hat an additional time. In any comment that you leave, please leave a contact email so that I may be in touch with you should you be the winner. If I don't have an email, I have to pick another winner. 

To be eligible, you must live in the US and add your comments, tweets, and tags by 11:59 EST, Monday March 2nd.

Happy Valentine's Day! Share in the love.