Mary Anne here. I first sampled Yuca – aka Cassava – while visiting St. Lucia this past December. Michael and I took a tour of the Pitons, visiting the magnificent and explosive botanical gardens…explosive thanks to the neighboring active volcano. Never have I seen flora and fauna as lush and vibrant as the native flowers[…]
Curried Chicken Salad with Crisp Green Apples and Soft Raisins
Mariel here. Lately I’ve been highly suggestible when it comes to food ideas. I trotted past a Dunkin’ Donuts ad for their new Tuna Fish Croissant and, BLAMMO, that’s all I wanted for dinner. After fielding a question from a reader about our Penne alla Vodka, I just had to remake it myself. So the[…]
The Ultimate Egg Salad Sandwich
Mariel here. Egg salad once occupied the same reviled space as Bloody Marys, tomato soup and green olives. My mom has always been a fan, but for the life of me, I could not figure out how or why people would toss together hardboiled eggs and mayo and slap it between two slices of bread.[…]
Monday Night Salad ala The Palm Restaurant
Mary Anne here. So I suppose this is “How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Part II.” As I had mentioned in my Key Lime Pie post, Michael was not about to allow the absence of electricity interfere with his deep and abiding love of food, and so he hosted our Hurricane Irene hosts, D &[…]
Cucumber and Watermelon Salad with Pickled Onions – aka My New Favorite Burger Topping
Mariel here. So judging by the calendar, this past weekend marked your 437th “woo summer 2011!” backyard BBQ. I have a feeling I could extrude pure mayonnaise from your arteries or butter a dinner roll with your forehead. Let’s lighten things up, shall we? August seems to herald the unofficial crescendo of gloopy pasta salads[…]
Beggar’s Salad with Raspberries, Prosciutto, Chevre and a Chunky Almond Vinaigrette
Mary Anne here. I realize that given the ingredient list, the name for my salad is a bit of an oxymoron, since it’s certainly one of the most elegant combinations I’ve ever tossed into a bowl. But in my opinion, it’s a beggar’s salad because it was inspired by a bounty of fresh greens that[…]
Orzo with Creamy Brie, Bing Cherries and Fresh Basil
Mariel here. Recently I’ve been feeling like a neglectful bloghost. Where I’d normally stop by the back-end every other hour to tend to Feast‘s stat log and answer any reader questions, now it’s more like every other day. I’m in the throes of several new work projects and they’ve been all but consuming my life….which[…]
Fresh Summer Fruit Salad Topped with Yogurt and Granola
Mary Anne here. Although the thermometer is taking a much-welcomed nosedive, this fruit salad has been a Rittenhouse family summer staple for years, appearing on our table anytime the temperature lingers above 90 degrees. Recently Mariel has featured a few breakfast-for-dinner treats here at Feast, so I just had to put in my two-cents and[…]
Tortellini Salad with Roasted Peppers, Tomatoes, and Eggplant
Tortellini Salad with Roasted Peppers, Tomatoes, and Eggplant 6 Side Servings FYI: We served this as a side dish for our 4th of July BBQ, but it would also make a satisfying entree for 2 or 3. Note: The veggies can be made several hours before cooking the pasta. Keep covered in the fridge and[…]
The Classic Lobster Roll
Mary Anne here. It has always astonished me that the scavengers of the sea command such ridiculous market prices. A century or so ago, these hard-shelled crawlers were actually considered peasant food, but you’d never know it if you’ve bought Lobster Rolls on the eastern tip of Long Island. Last year, fresh shelled lobster meat[…]
Mango-Spinach Salad Topped with Oven-Baked Panko Chicken and Carrot-Ginger Dressing
Mariel here. Brain. Is. Fried. I have four deadlines in advance of the July Fourth festivities so my vocab is running on empty – so empty that I stood snapping and clucking my tongue at a bewildered cashier, searching for what to call that tube dealie I use to drink iced coffee. I was literally[…]
Michael’s Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Crunchy Scallions and Fresh Cilantro
Mary Anne here. Well, it seems Michael is getting the hang of contributing to our little blog. This afternoon, in preparation for the holiday weekend, he whipped up this salad (it’s become a standard in our home) and actually WROTE DOWN the measurements – yippee!! Michael is a pretty cute guy and I think he[…]
Crab Salad Sandwiches with a Zesty Grapefruit-Honey Dressing
Mariel here. This weekend was one for the books. Despite the weatherman’s warnings that Saturday would be rainy and gray, Mother Nature pulled out the big guns and dished up two days of clear blue skies and 70-degree temps. My husband and I headed east to see both of our moms for Mother’s Day and[…]
Roasted Beets, Toasted Walnuts and Fresh Mint Drizzled with an Orange-Balsamic Syrup
Mariel here. A few weeks ago on our Facebook page, I posted some pictures from our inaugural installment of Cookbook Club, which was hosted by a friend of mine who also happens to be the taste-test editor at Epicurious. For our very first gathering, we plucked recipes from Rozanne Gold‘s Radically Simple, which combines intensely-flavored[…]
Mixed Greens with Walnuts and Dried Cranberries
Mary Anne here. Salad is the simplest of all preparations, and as far as I’m concerned, no dinner is complete without one. I love most things green, but nothing more so than the crisp snap of spinach or arugula tossed with dried fruits, cheese, and crunchy nuts. Often, when I’m just too tired to even[…]
Fall Fest: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Pancetta and Garlic
Fall Fest: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Pancetta and Garlic Serves 4 Ingredients: 2 pints Brussels sprouts (about 18-ounces) – $6.00 4-oz diced pancetta (or thickly-sliced prosciutto) – $3.99 5 Tablespoons olive oil – stock 2 Tablespoons white wine – stock 5 cloves garlic, sliced lengthwise – stock Ground pepper – stock Grand total assuming[…]
Crab Louis Salad Over Avocado
Mary Anne here. This delectable Crab Louis was created on an Indian summer day when the thermometer topped out at a sultry 89 degrees. I had purchased a pound of lump crab meat on sale at my local grocer’s and decided this salad would be the perfect salute to summer’s last gasp. While this is[…]
Spinach Salad with Balsamic Chicken, Roasted Tomatoes and Greek Olives
Mariel here. Last weekend, I had a hankering for my mom’s incredible Herb & Garlic Roasted Chicken with Figs. As I’ve mentioned many times before, however, patience is not my strong suit, so the thought of marinating this dish overnight all but killed my urge to indulge. Incidentally, I had also spent the previous day eating[…]
Apple, Raisin and Celery Seed Slaw
Mariel here. We’ve got one more Labor Day dish to throw at you before you duck out for the long weekend. Inspired by the bushels of apples cropping up at a market near you, this Apple-y medley is the illicit lovechild of a Classic Cabbage Coleslaw and a Waldorf Salad. It doesn’t need much of[…]
Mint Pesto Chicken with a Watermelon Avocado Salad
Mariel here. You can file this recipe under “I have a bag of frozen chicken breasts from Costco and I’m already bored to tears.” Born from a previous night’s leftovers – in this case Watermelon Bites with Cilantro-Mint Pesto – this snappy little dish is deceptively easy given its vibrant presentation and its perky, sweet-and-salty[…]