Cilantro: It loves me, it loves me not.

Love cilantro? Hate it with a passion? Few people fall in between. A charming article in today's New York Times Dining section examines why cilantro aversion exists and suggests a possible cure...immersion.

Passover Rolls !?!

I know what you're thinking. "How can a roll (read: leavened?) be kosher for passover (read: unleavened)?" And, "I guess you could make them, but they must taste baaad." Well, the dough for these rolls is made kind of like a gougere so it doesn't need yeast, but still bakes up fluffy -thanks to a generous amount of eggs. They're definitely tasty enough to deserve a place at your seder table, or make them post-seder to use up extra matzo meal from your matzo ball soup. One cooled, they keep frozen up to one month!

Herbed Passover Rolls
Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
Makes 12-14

1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups matzo meal
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheet with silpat. Combine water, oil, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Ad matzo meal stirring well with a spatula until the mixture pulls away from the sides of the pan (about 30 seconds.) Remove from heat and transfer dough to stand mixture fitted with paddle attachment. Let cool about 5 minutes. Start beating a low speed. Add eggs one at a time, beating until fully incorporated. Stir in chives and thyme. Use water or cooking spray to keep fingers moist and un-sticky and shape dough into 12-14 mounds. Place mounds on silpat and bake for 55 minutes or until browned and crisp. Cool on a wire rack.

Dogfish Head + Batali = Awesomeness

I'm pretty excited about this news! NYC is always in need of more rooftop options in the sweltering summertime and I can't wait to taste what the alchemists at Dogfish Head come up with. Can they beat my current beer obsession, Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA? We shall see!

Entire Bag of Chips = 5 million calories

Interesting article in the New York Times over the weekend about cracking the serving size code on packaged foods. Seeing how counter-intuitive and frustrating labels, I'd say it's about time that serving size represented the amount an actual full sized human consumes in a sitting. The Obama administration has been vocal in its support for healthy local eating, so fingers crossed that the FDA can get this overhaul done.

Super Bowl Treats from the Today Show

Check out my buddy, Chef Edwin Bellanco (of New York City's Morrell Wine Bar and Cafe) cooking up Super Bowl treats on the Today Show.

Way to go, Ed! Clevelanders Represent!

Lentil Soup with Spicy Sausage

This is a delicious one pot meal for winter. It makes A LOT of hearty soup and keeps wonderfully in the refrigerator so you can enjoy leftovers all week long as the snow falls outside. If you cannot finish the entire pot in your first sitting (and unless you have 8 friends to help you, or that many stomachs you won't ) make sure to place the spinach in each individual bowl instead of in the entire pot or the leaves will wilt too much.


Lentil Soup with Spicy Sausage
Adapted from Bon Appetit

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound hot turkey sausage
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, chopped
2 large parsnips, peeled, chopped
2 large celery stalks, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning blend (or a combination of any suitable dried herbs you have on hand: sage, oregano, basil)
1 pound lentils
3 quarts low-salt chicken broth
1 5 ounce package spinach leaves

Heat oil in dutch oven over medium high heat. Remove sausage from casings in small bits and cook until browned, stirring occasionally. Add onion, carrots, parsnips, celery and herbs. Cook until onion is translucent and vegetables begin to soften, stirring often. Add lentils; stir to coat. Add broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

If serving entire soup immediately, add spinach to dutch oven and stir in before ladling into bowl. If not, add spinach to each bowl and stir in to each serving.

Eat and enjoy!

Breakfast for Dinner: Tomato Poached Eggs

I found inspiration for this dish from a recipe in my "to-make" file one night when I wanted to use only items I had in the fridge and pantry. It's simple, rustic and will warm you up on these cold winter nights!

Tomato Poached Eggs
4 servings

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup sliced green onions (yellow onions would be fine here too)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 28 oz can (or 2 14.5 oz cans) whole plum tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped
4 large eggs
4 thick slices of crusty bread
1/2 cup of hard cheese (pecornio or parmesan)
optional (if you have it) : 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add onions and garlic to the oil, cook 3 minutes or until fragrant. Stir in 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and tomatoes. Bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Reduce heat to low. Crack one egg at a time over tomato mixture, spacing about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle eggs with remaining salt and pepper. Cover pan and cook 5 minutes or until eggs are cooked to desired doneness.

Place one slice of bread in each of 4 bowls. Spoon about 3/4 cup of sauce over each serving. Top each with one egg, approximately 2 tablespoons grated cheese and 1 1/2 teaspoons basil.

Eat and enjoy!