Food for Real

Lori, Christina, Ricky, and Becky at the Doris Family Dinner!

Tuesday evening was a perfect summer’s night. I was invited over to the Doris house for family dinner, and wow, it was really incredible. My good friend Lori Doris lives with her two sisters Christina and Rebecca in Somerville with their adorable cat Sydney. Lori is a culinary master and Christina is an incredible baker, and the two of them work  at Mooo in Boston – Lori in the back of the house and Christina in the front…What a team! The three girls (and Sydney of course) were joined by myself and Grillmaster Ricky for a delicious summer dinner: Rosemary and thyme grilled chicken w/fava bean puree and Israeli cous cous with summer squash, zucchini and pine nuts followed by a dessert of avocado panna cotta with chocolate butter cookie, chocolate chip cherry sorbet, and vanilla bean whipped cream. Amazing.

Chef Lori Doris! Holding a fava bean and the fava bean puree

Christina's avocado panna cotta was out of this world! Check out the recipe below

The cooks! Love the aprons

Grill Master Ricky grilling the Rosemary & Thyme Chicken

I met Lori about 8 years ago (whoa – time flies). A few years later, she came to the realization that not only does she love cooking, but she is also really good at it. So she decided to go back to school for culinary arts, and I must say, I am so happy she did! It’s so much fun to watch Lori cook. In all the years I’ve known her, it wasn’t until Tuesday that I really got to see her in action. The Fava bean puree is one of the tastiest, most unique dishes I’ve ever had. Try it out! Here are the dinner recipes courtesy of Lori:

Fava bean puree

• 3.5lbs Fava beans
• 4 cloves garlic
• Olive oil
• 2 sprigs Thyme
• 2 sprigs Rosemary
• Water
• 2tbls Butter
• Lemon juice
• Heavy cream
• Salt
• Pepper

Peel fava pods and remove beans.  Blanch the beans, cool them in ice bath and then peel.  Sautee garlic in olive oil.  Add the fava, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper, and partially cover with water and simmer for about 15 min until fava are cooked.  Add butter.  Puree mixture with oil, cream, water, and lemon juice until desired consistency.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Israeli Cous Cous with Squash, Zucchini and pine nuts

• 4 cups Israeli cous cous
• 2 tbsp butter
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 summer squash – diced
• 2 zucchini – diced
• 2 shallots – small dice
• Lemon juice
• Lemon zest
• Toasted pine nuts
• basil
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Toast the cous cous in butter.  Add stock, bring to boil, and simmer for about 12.  Add some oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper.  Sautee shallots in oil then add squash and zucchini.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until tender.  Add cooked cous cous, basil, and pine nuts.  Season with salt and pepper.

Chicken

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Lemon juice
• 4 cloves of crushed garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Mix everything together and marinate.  Grill chicken until it’s done!

Grilling the chicken

Cooking the Israeli cous cous

Pine Nuts - Lori's favorite!

Check it out - Lori was in the Improper!

Grilled Chicken over Fava Bean Puree w/veggies and pine nuts. There's no way you're not having seconds.

Thanks, Bill. You're the best

And as if I wasn’t impressed enough, dinner was followed by dessert. Incredible cooking runs in the Doris family, without a doubt. (As does humor, check out Becky’s blog: If I am a Wild Beast)! Here are the dessert recipes courtesy of Christina:

Avocado Pana Cotta

• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups cream
• 1 avocado
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 packets gelatin
• 1 lemon zest
• 1 vanilla bean, halved w/seeds

Sprinkle the milk with gelatin and let sit for 5 minutes. Boil 2 cups of milk, cream, lemon zest, sugar, and vanilla bean for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk in gelatin/milk mix, and puree until smooth. You peel and puree the avocado and then add half of the cream mixture to it and puree again until smooth. Then you add that puree to the remaining cream mixture and whisk to combine. Fill molds and cover. Chill for 2 hours. Then enjoy!

Chocolate Butter Cookie

• 3/4 c butter, soft
• 1 c powdered sugar
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 c flour
• 1/2 c unsweetened cocoa powder

- sift flour, cocoa and set aside
- cream butter and sugar until fluffy
- add yolk and vanilla, mix until combined
- on low speed slowly add flour mixture and continue beating for about 5 minutes
- form dough to disk, wrap, and chill 30 minutes
- roll out, cut to desired shape and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Avocado panna cotta, chocolate chip cherry sorbet, vanilla bean whipped cream, chocolate butter cookies....heaven!

Wine goes with everything

The Hulk really wanted some more (He and Bill are regulars at the Doris Family Dinner)

When I first told Lori I wanted to blog her, I think her first reaction was “oh no, now I have to cook something ‘healthy.’” But I told her, “Lori! I think all eating is healthy. The only stuff I try to avoid is the  stuff I can barely pronounce.” Clearly, I’m about real food. And that’s exactly what the Doris family dinner was made of. I admire how Lori was able to take some staple kitchen items (chicken, beans, vegetables, grains) and turn them into a gourmet, flavor packed, four star meal. In my opinion, culinary and dietetics really go hand in hand, but for some reason, in academics, they are separate. I’ve never been enrolled in a culinary class, yet, as a dietitian, I am responsible for telling people what to eat! There’s a disconnection here!

I asked Lori what specifically she loves about cooking, and she responded with, “It relaxes me, and it makes me happy. I love when other people like eating what I created, and  I love when things look beautiful.  Overall, I think it’s fun!” Awesome! There is nothing better than working at something  you love that also relaxes you. Cooking together and sharing a meal is one of my favorite ways to spend time with friends and family. Thanks to the Doris sisters, Rick, Sydney, and Bill Cosby for such a wonderful night!

It’s so nice to have my kitchen back! I forgot how much I enjoy cooking in my own apartment. I invited my lovely friend Elizabeth over for dinner last night, and I must say we had a great time. Before dinner, we went to an amazing hot yoga class at Baron Baptiste Yoga Institute. It was such a great work out and a perfect prelude to dinner.

Before the class, I whipped up one of my one dish wonders. I am a big fan of one dish dinners, because they’re so simple and light (think salads, soups, pasta salads, etc.) For my first dinner back in Boston, I decided to make a pasta salad with fresh herbs from my parent’s garden, vegetable radiatore, grilled asparagus and portobello mushrooms, and a marinated bean salad. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredient List

Fresh Herbs from the Garden: Oregano, Fennel, Basil

Ingredients:

• Fresh herbs: Oregano, Fennel, Basil (handful of the combo as seen above)
• Organic pasta: Vegetable Radiatore (From Trader Joes). Radiatore is a combo of whole wheat pasta and pasta made from veggies like beets, spinach, and red bell pepper.
• Marinated bean salad (Again, I bought mine at Trader Joes, but any will do)
• 2 portobello mushrooms
• whole package of fresh asparagus
• Olive oil, salt, pepper, curry powder

1. First marinate the mushrooms, because the longer they remain in the marinade, the better. I used olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little bit of curry powder. (I use odd combos sometimes to give the dish a little kick…curry powder isn’t typically used in these types of dishes, but I think it worked!)

2. Put on a large pot of water and bring to a boil

3. While water is heating, grill the asparagus. I used a Foreman grill, but any grill will work. Lightly saute the asparagus in olive oil and sprinkle salt and pepper to taste. Throw them on the grill for about 3-4 minutes.

Grilling asparagus

4. At this point, water should be boiling. Add in a bag of the veggie radiatore. Stir occasionally.

Vegetable Radiatore (Whole Wheat pasta would work here too!)

5. Strain the marinated bean salad over a bowl and set aside. Keep the marinate so you can use it to flavor the pasta salad later.

6. Wash the fresh herbs and lay on paper towel to dry

7. Grill the mushrooms for about 2 minutes

Grilling mushrooms

8. Around this time, the pasta should be done boiling. Strain the pasta and run it under cold water.

Pour cold water over cooked pasta

9. Add pasta to a bowl. Add fresh herbs (take off stem first). Add a little freshly ground pepper.

10. Cut up mushrooms and asparagus and add to bowl.

11. Add marinated bean salad to bowl and flavor with about a tablespoon of marinade.

12. Stir and taste! If it needs more flavor, add more marinade and/or herbs.

Herb & Grilled Veggie pasta salad

Store it in the fridge for about 30 minutes or during a yoga class! Serve the pasta salad cold. This is something you could keep in your fridge all week. If you don’t like mushrooms or asparagus, try this dish with grilled summer squash and green beans. Enjoy!