Snack | DanaSlatkin.com

Curried Popcorn

12/21/2011 By dana Leave a Comment

During the holidays, spontaneity rules in my house. Absent the relentless school routine, the last days of the year take shape organically, as a true vacation should. The only rules? No rushing or stressing allowed. But I confess to being a little challenged on vacations. Though the break from lunchboxes and dinner parties is welcome, this Farmgirl needs to keep busy. Too much time away from my kitchen and I start to get disoriented. So here’s my method for vacation reorientation…invite a steady stream of drop-ins, have a ready stash of party-food, and exhale. This popcorn was a big hit at last week’s holiday cooking class. The recipe is based on one by Aarti Sequeira (the Food Network’s endearing Indian … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Snack Recipes

Yogurt Granola Parfait

08/18/2011 By dana 1 Comment

I am not good at goodbyes, especially when it comes to summer. While packing my suitcase with sparkly rocks and macramé bracelets and the random detritus of our family vacation, I was dreading the farewell. What had seemed like an overwhelming abyss of time to fill had become a collection of sweet moments I wanted to hold onto forever. Our closest friends stopped over to say goodbye. And with each hug, a moment shared together unraveled — a beautiful hike, a bike ride, a picnic at dusk. We promised we would see each other same time next year, maybe even sooner. But I was already flooding with tears. On the plane ride home, as I replayed some of the summer’s highlights in my head, I remembered this recipe, one I made … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Breakfast and Brunch Recipes

Momed’s Avocado Hummus

05/25/2011 By dana Leave a Comment

About a year ago, without the usual Beverly Hills fanfare, a new restaurant snuck into the old Rosti space on South Beverly Drive. With sleek, contemporary cafeteria décor and a mouth-watering display case, Momed (short for Modern Mediterranean) offered something locals hadn’t tasted before — enlightened versions of flavorful dishes from Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. Owner Alex Sarkissian has 90210 appetites pegged. Using organic produce and sustainably-raised meats, his menu features clever twists on traditional Middle Eastern fare, such as grilled skewers of ahi tuna served with a pesto made from grape leaves and capers, and an addictive red pepper-walnut spread called muhammara, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Appetizer Recipes

Easy Tarte Tatin

12/21/2010 By dana Leave a Comment

Most of my friends are thrilled to get a vacation from cooking. Their idea of blissful liberation is dining out every meal, the farther away from their stoves the better. Not so for this urban farmgirl. For me, the best family holiday involves simply a kitchen relocation. Who needs room service when you have a minibar and coffee maker? On a rainy day in Maui, I cooked up this cheerful dessert in the toaster oven at our rental. All you need is a heavy skillet and some very easy-to-find ingredients. But the end result is anything but basic. What I love about this thick, juicy tart is that it’s all about the fruit. Choose large, firm apples (pears are delectable, too) and quarter them into ample wedges so they won’t turn to mush … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dessert Recipes

Spicy Tomato Chutney

09/07/2010 By dana Leave a Comment

On a recent steamy evening, the kids and I decided to get out of the house for a quintessentially suburban cool down, or as my kids would call it, a mall crawl. After hitting every air-conditioned store that was still open, we headed to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Condiments

Oven-Dried Tomatoes

08/31/2010 By dana Leave a Comment

Last week, I received a wonderful care package from a friend of mine who lives in New Jersey — a gigantic box of tomatoes and peaches from her local farmers market. As women tend to do, my thoughtful friend had somehow read my mind and sent me just the answer to my cravings. As school and the ensuing frenzy begin, fresh juicy tomatoes and peaches are what I’ll miss when summer is behind us. But since I had just made a batch of gardeny gazpacho and festive Caprese Towers the night before, I pulled out this recipe from The Summertime Anytime Cookbook, one that I employ whenever there’s a surplus of tomatoes to keep from going to waste. Requiring just a few minutes to prepare and plenty of unmonitored oven time to spend … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Condiments

Tomato Mozzarella Tower

08/23/2010 By dana 1 Comment

If any of you watched the finale of The Next Food Network Star, you know that the three finalists got to film a pilot of their dream cooking show. Each contestant had to prepare their favorite dish, one that represented their culinary soul on a plate. Well, if I had been one of those contestants, this is the recipe you would have seen me prepare. What makes this salad such a signature? It’s unanimously delicious, it’s as fresh as can be, and it’s beautiful to behold, a picture of summer in all its elegant simplicity. What’s more, it passes the Farmgirl test: you can easily prepare it on a weekday or for guests without breaking a sweat. Slices of fresh mozzarella are stacked between gorgeous summer tomatoes, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Salad Recipes

1-Minute Basil Pesto and Ricotta Cheese with Warm Ciabatta Bread

06/16/2010 By dana Leave a Comment

Basil Pesto with Ricotta Cheese and Ciabatta Bread

This week, my garden is a basil bonanza. The fragrant green and deep purple sprigs dot the sunny patch by my greenhouse, a French Impressionist’s fantasy. They’re pretty enough to adorn a table but, for the next few weeks, they are destined to go into this addictive pesto. There are several types of edible basil — Sweet (the most common), Lemon, Cinnamon, Purple, and Thai. Keep a potted plant in a sunny corner of your kitchen for an instant flavor boost. You can even use it as an outdoor centerpiece to keep the yellow jackets away from your picnic. Mother Nature has programmed the plant to begin flowering once it has six pairs of leaves on a stalk, so pick the leaves well before, harvesting them every three weeks or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Appetizer Recipes