The Power of Purple...Cauliflower

We spotted this while doing the shop for a dinner party. How could you not? Bright purple cauliflower was the perfect way to add extra color to the veggie platter. It also became a huge conversation piece because, again, it's purple cauliflower. Both beautiful and delicious. Exactly how statement foods should be. Healthy, too.
It's in season now and therefore, more likely to be local and fitting for the food budget.
As they proclaim on Sesame Street: Eat your colors today!

Peter Timbs Is Our Favorite Dinner Party Guest

Recently I hosted a dinner party where I fed nine guests. I served round steaks and admittedly I'm not very good at cooking steak. Despite my originating from Texas, my kitchen confidence when it comes to steaks is low. The solution to that is to use very high quality meat to start off with. We chose Peter Timbs as we often do, and not surprisingly, all the guests were very pleased.
I marinated them for about an hour with a simple concoction of fresh garlic, salt and pepper before grilling them. They came out juicy and delicious. I was very proud of myself but I truly give all the credit to Peter making him the best guest of the evening.
Choose a top butcher for your meat needs because quality cannot be masked and you literally can taste all the difference!

Holy Frittata!

This afternoon we were advised on how to create the perfect frittata. La cucina povera or "humble cuisine" is aptly applied to this famous dish especially since it came to me while seeking the family's afternoon meal with seemingly no ingredients in the house. A friend gave the inspiration and guidance on my first frittata. Though it was my first attempt it was a success according to the entire team and I must say that the dish was delish.
La Frittata is a recipe staple and we love it because you use what you have available making no two frittata the same. The high protein content and vegetable variation make it a healthy option for the entire family. We are obsessive about using our cast iron skillet and we're told that the frittata is best when cooked in this pan. 

Did we tell you that we love this dish?

If you Google frittata there are literally millions of results with recipes and pictures that tempt with each click. From Alton Brown's gourmet recipe to several dozen busy mom sites, the frittata is a universal recipe whose fool-proof secret is in those binding eggs.

There are recipes galore out there but here is what we had in our pantry and therefore used:

4 fresh tomatoes quartered
6 potatoes diced
2 handfuls of spinach
1 cup of cheese (grated)
Cup mixed frozen vegetables
5-7 strips good bacon cut small
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
7 eggs

• Oil & heat large skillet, preferably iron, in low heat.
• Preheat oven to 375.
• Place all ingredients except eggs in a large bowl. Stir and season.
• Mix eggs in separate bowl and season with salt & people. Pour in with other ingredients.
• Pour entire mixture into skillet and raise heat to med/low heat and allow to cook until sides are firming. (About 5 minutes but you must watch this step so as not to burn the entire dish.)
• After mixture has firmed a bit place in pre-heated oven for about 15-20 min.
• Allow to cook until golden brown and firm indicating all the eggs coked through.

Cooking Tips:

• Parboiled potatos work a lot faster so consider this extra step.
• Use whatever you have to create this dish. It's for those busy Wednesday nights or dinner parties with friends. Make of it what you will because it's sure to be delicious.
• Using fresher eggs is key so that you can create the fluffy nature associated with the dish. We always use organic eggs whose yolks are golden and cook up very nicely. 

Anything But Traditional

Yesterday I was treated to the best Christmas meal that my palette has been blessed to taste. It was non-traditional and totally natural, two things that I love, especially when it comes to family & food. Our menu included: Seared Ahi Tuna salad featuring butter lettuce with a champagne vinaigrette verjus & Skirt Steak with pan seared portobello mushrooms. No we did not dine out. This was all enjoyed from the comfort of our family home and to top it all off we had an in house cook for the evening. A chef he was not. He is an avid foodie and VP of kindform.com, Kirish Dirkson who makes eating at 4 and 5 star restaurants a part of his daily job. We felt very blessed to have him give us the gift of food on Christmas day especially considering his uber busy schedule. He travels the nation in search of restaurants like Uchiko of Austin and The Fontainebleau in Miami on a regular basis. 

Our dinner began with this fresh & hearty salad

"Food is an essential part of the content that we cover for Kindform. Food preparation really is an art and those who are passionate about cuisine, produce some of the most amazing dishes that I have ever tasted."    -Kirish Dirkson

Premium grade skirt steak in the raw

He has dined at some of the best restaurants worldwide and chatted with top notch chefs in order to hone his own personal cooking prowess and skills. Though he wishes he could devote more time to his own joy of cooking, his fresh food choices truly reflected his family's long tradition of great food; his flavor for fine fare; and now, the bar of expectation for our Christmas Dinner has forever been significantly raised. 


Did we miss the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashers and green bean casserole? No way. We replaced it with choice cut steaks, organic salad, raw green beans and portabella mushrooms. It was non-traditionally divine but in staying true to holiday tradition, we stuffed ourselves silly.

Garlic, rosemary and basil featured in the champagne vinaigrette

For a bit of feasting flavor know that our amazing vinaigrette dressing featured extra virgin extra virgin olive oil, shallots, minced garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, edible flowers and chives. I wish you could have smelled the tantalizing aromas that flowed from the big kitchen last night. It was the smell of culinary greatness and in gratitude, we did the dishes.


I was so appreciative of this extremely kind & healthy gesture for the holiday. It tasted so amazing, and though I did not get to partake in last years' feast, the highlights included Caribbean Mako Shark and Pancetta wrapped scallops. It is safe to say that I definitely missed out in 2010 but the thought of it makes my mouth water. Question is:What is on the menu for 2012?

All of the food Dirkson prepared for our meal was purchased from Whole Foods and if you want to add a bit of actual whole and natural foods to your daily regimen, this book may be the perfect way to start fresh for the new year. 


Eat, drink & be merry!


Photos: K. Rodriguez