Living on the Edge of a Knife

Bobby Flay once complained, Nobody cooks for me!

I remember thinking, Bobby Flay, if you're willing to come to my tiny NYC studio apt, I'm willing to put my pride on the line and cook for you.

It's scary to cook for a professional chef.  Master chef.  Celebrity Chef.  Things may have changed since his lament -- it was years ago -- but his lament resonated with me because my mother was an accomplished chef.  She had the same complaint.

And I have friends who are afraid to cook for me so they don't.

So this past Sunday, when I invited a professional chef friend over for dinner -- sort of last minute -- I thought what am I doing?

Luckily I reminded myself I cooked for her before and passed the test.

But you're only as good as your next meal?

Nervous, I told her the meal would be simple.  Fresh.  Delicious.  And healthy.  Yes, I snuck that word in.   She was elated, as she errs on the side of healthy, too.

For starters, I made a chilled carrot soup which was a hit.  Refreshing on a hot summer's day.  Carrots from the farmers market.  Topped with parsley and toasted homemade seasoned bread crumbs.  

With heirloom tomatoes being sold $5-6 a pound, I do my best to grow my own.  The nasturtiums are from my garden, too.  It was so pretty, like a painting, that I photographed it before the burrata and basil were added.

Here it is with burrata and basil.

Roasted beets and blueberry salad.  One of the beets is from my garden, and I thought I can't roast only one beet.  Naturally I had to buy a few more to justify turning up the heat in an already hot kitchen.

The piece de resistance....
Organic Rack of Lamb

To round out the meal, I also served roasted lemon, garlic, parsley potatoes, asparagus with shaved parmesan and splash of balsamic.  My chef friend brought a wonderful green salad (bibb lettuce, baby kale, baby arugula) with Korean melon (sweet but crisp as a cucumber), radishes.  For dessert, fresh cherries, fresh blueberries and a pint of Cool Haus fig, basalmic vinegar and marscapone ice cream.

It was a very delicious evening.  My chef friend said it was the best meal she's had in a very long time, and she felt very loved.

Certainly, all the dishes were cooked and conceived with a lot of love.

Summer time and the living is easy

When the temperature rises in the summer, often you want to eat light and stay out of a hot kitchen.   Summer is also the time when our garden yields a lot of tomatoes, basil, zucchini, crookneck squash.  So I thought I'd make something refreshing out of the ingredients, most fresh from my organic garden.

I usually try to bring something healthy to potlucks because so many people bring rich and sweet entrees.  People joke around with me, "You brought the kale salad, didn't you?"

Guilty as charged.

I also like to experiment with flavors and tastebuds.  Enjoy expanding my horizons as well as yours.

I can't tell you how many people haven't eaten things like my kimchi dumplings or kimchi fried rice and said, "You put kimchi in there?  If I had known, I'd never have eaten it.  But I love it!"

It's the same with my writing.   "Your play NUMBER ONE SON made me realize gay people are just like you and me."

Back to food:

  

You brought the cucumber mint agua fresca, didn't you?

You brought the blueberry lavender martini, didn't you? 

You brought the cantaloupe soup, didn't you?

Yes, all me.

I care about my body, my health and about yours.  That's why SENSUOUS GOURMET.  

I'm not especially fond of medical bills, sitting around at the hospital, waiting around for biopsy results.  

I brought this zucchini, crookneck squash, tomato, burrata, basil salad to wine club.  No leftovers.  A big hit.  The squash is julienned so you can eat it raw.  Lightly drizzled with high quality virgin olive oil, crack pepper, fleur de sel, basil and a splash of balsamic vinegar.

Simple, fresh, delicious.   Ssssh, it's also quite healthy.   So, if you have too much squash, send it over to me.  All my friends on Facebook want some.

Onstage/Offstage interview

Well, I couldn't afford to do Ithaca Fringe Fest this year.
Next best thing, talking to George Sapio.

Catch this week's Onstage/Offstage where the guest is... playwright Lucy Wang! http://www.onstageoffstage.com  WRFI Thurs Jun3 5, 2014, 3:30pm EST 
88.1 Stream http://www.wrfi.org