grilled calamari and nectarine salad

i'm pretty sure it's not cool to admit,

but i love my reality tv. and even less cool

to admit: i'm a fan of the food network.

are there food celebrities who i cannot stand?

yes.

are there recipes that make me

stand up and yell at the tv, accusing the

chefs of misleading the not-so-knife-savvy

that they can chop two onions and 3 cloves

of garlic in the time that it takes a tablespoon

of olive oil to warm itself?

yes.

are there times

that larry has to listen to 5 minutes of my

amazement that a chef will cut an avocado

and then tell us to use it as a garnish when

the stew will not be ready to be served for thirty minutes?

yes!

but, i'm still a fan of the food network.

i love that they've been a huge part of the

cooking movement, inspiring people to

get back to the kitchen, or more likely,

getting them into the kitchen for the first time.

i believe in a network that makes food fun

and cooking less of a chore and is trying,

very slowly, but surely to offer up a bit

of diversity, in the dishes and the chefs

they are offering.

and, i loved when they bit the bullet

and offered up their form of reality tv,

several years ago, with the

next food network star. i have watched

every season, and often - as is very unusual

with most reality television - my early

pick has won. (fingers crossed that the

streak continues - susie and jeff,

i'm pulling for you two.)

last year was no exception.

i loved aarti from the beginning,

as much for her fun personality

as my recent interest in indian food.

and, she herself was a food

blogger. the day after she won,

my mom texted me and said,

already scheduled the dvr to record

aarti's first show!

while i'll admit that it's rare,

these days that i'm watching tv on saturday

mornings, i'm thrilled when i am home and

am able to turn on the tv in time to catch

an episode. i always learn something or

get an idea for my own food.

and last weekend, when i caught less

than 5 minutes of her show before having

to run out to meet my family for breakfast,

that was all it took to decide what i was

making for dinner the following night.

she was pulling nectarine wedges off

a grill pan and adding them

to a bed of lemony greens, along with

garlicky squid. it was the kind of salad

i would have ordered without a second thought

on any day in a restaurant.

but, knowing that it had been nearly 100

degrees for days and that the last thing

either of us really wanted to do was

serious sunday night-cooking, this salad

seemed inevitable. in the best possible way.

while we have a grill that we use regularly,

we really wouldn't have wanted to head outside. i was so glad that

the recipe actually said to use a grill pan. sometimes,

i need a little pat on the back, a little that's-ok. and right

there, telling me that i could use a grill pan, that i didn't have

to go through the trouble of threading the teeny squid

onto soaked skewers and cook the nectarines in a basket,

that made the recipe extra appealing.

and here's the funny thing: when i cook a dish

for the first time, i obsess about it until

it's on the plate in front of me. i think about

what it will taste like, what it will look like,

if i should change the chives to scallions or

use almonds instead of pine nuts. i think about

it as i'm cooking it and still, i find myself making

changes even when i should be finished

and am one second away from

tossing it into a bowl.

but, with this recipe, there was none of that.

ok, maybe it's more fair to say there was very little

of that. i guess the truths are this:

the salad looked good.

i guess, as it turns out, i trust aarti

(i've yet to see her cut an avocado too early).

none of the ingredients were so tempting to mess with.

so, i bought the squid.

(coolest thing: the store divided the squid between

two trays: bodies and tentacles so i was able to ask

for a 50/50 ratio). i picked up two nectarines.

i grabbed arugula, a lemon and a few very juicy limes.

and that was it. the rest i had at home.

i prepared the ingredients, staying pretty close to

recipe with just a few tiny alterations. first -

and it pains me to say this - i had a lot of trouble

reading the recipe. several times, the recipe writer

in me wanted to stop, rewrite the recipe and then

make it. so, ultimately, i think i made everything

the way that it was intended, but i can't be sure.

also, there was this: the recipe called for

a couple pinches of a couple different spices and

when it comes to seasoning, i always believe

in going (carefully) bolder. and, because

we were eating this as our meal,

i added an extra nectarine.

but, i don't want you to think that i have any

complaints: we loved this salad. it was garlicky

and citrus-laced and, even with the extra spice,

still delicately kissed with garam masala.

but, all of the flavors managed to share the spotlight

without competing. the nectarines were really

amazing on the grill and the calamari, cooked

exactly as instructed, were tender and lightly

charred and easily the centerpiece of the dish.

it was the kind of summer salad, that as i was

eating it, i was thinking about the next time

i could make it. and it's the kind of dish, that

as i was writing this, larry came up and said,

that was really good. i hope we can make it again.

it's the reason that i refuse to apologize for

my love of the food network and my love of reality

tv. without either, i never would have found

aarti party. or, this salad. or, these recipes:

spicy baked onions rings

spaghetti with turkey meatballs

whole grain pasta with spinach and goat cheese

mediterranean squid stew with pearl onions, artichokes and olives

rosemary focaccia

grilled calamari and nectarine salad

adapted from aarti party

as i said, i made a few changes to this recipe, but nothing major: i upped the number of nectarines from 1 to 2 and i used a good amount of garam masala compared to what was called for, in the marinade. a couple changes that i may make next time: i was not sure how necessary the lemon juice was (it's tossed with arugula), because i thought that the lime-garlic marinade was substantial enough to carry the dish. i'm including it below, so that you can make the decision. i also, loved (loved, loved) the tentacles and i may be 100% tentacles the next time around.

ok, when i just went to write up this recipe, it turns out that i may have left out the cumin. honestly, i don't remember putting it in, but i know that i read everything several times before i started cooking, so maybe i did? (i'm sure this is instilling a lot of trust.) i'm not putting it the ingredient list because i really don't think i used it, but if you want to add it in, use 1/2 teaspoon.

3 cloves garlic, peeled

2 juicy limes, halved

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for grilling

2 generous pinches tumeric

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

2-3 pinches red chile flakes

kosher salt and ground black pepper

2 large firm, but ripe, nectarines, pitted and cut into 6ths

1 pound baby squid, cleaned (tubes and tentacles) and patted dry

4 really large handfuls arugula, washed and dried

1/2 lemon, juiced

on cutting board, very finely chop garlic; sprinkle generously with kosher salt. let sit 5 minutes; using the back of your knife, mash the garlic to form a paste. place garlic in the bowl; juice the lime into the bowl. add the cumin (if using), tumeric, garam masala and red pepper flakes; whisk in the olive oil. season with salt and pepper.

transfer 3 tablespoons garlic marinade to small mixing bowl; add squid, tossing to coat. set aside.

heat grill pan over high heat. drizzle nectarines lightly with olive oil.

place nectarines on grill; cook 1 minute on each side, or until grill marks appear. (for me, by the time i put all of the nectarines down, it was time to turn the first ones.) transfer nectarines to plate.

make sure that the grill pan is still very, very hot. remove the squid from the marinade, letting the excess marinade drip off (discard any marinade remaining in that bowl). place squid on the grill, one piece at a time. cook 6 minutes, turning once. (if you are worried that the squid is overcooking as i was, here's 2 tricks, one from aarti, one from me. from aarti: if the squid sticks, it's not ready. give it 30 more seconds. from me: take one off the grill pan and taste it.)

remove the squid from the marinade. using a sharp knife, cut bodies into rings. toss hot tentacles and rings with the remaining garlic marinade.

toss the arugula with the lemon juice. divide among plates; top with grilled nectarines, grilled squid and the marinade mixture, if desired.

snapshot: garlic scape butter

in a new job,

whether you've started with a

brand new business or are doing

the same thing in the same company

in a different place, like me, you're

always trying to find your way.

and that has definitely been me.

i've noticed that, i'm a bit different -

in several good ways, and some that

i'm working on. like this: i'm quieter.

i'm still getting to know everyone and

they're still getting to know the real me.

so, a few weeks ago, i think some people

had a shocking moment when i freaked out

(freaked!) after realizing that garlic scapes

were available and that i could buy as many

as i wanted for a very reasonable price.

it's true. when i was finished talking in a

run-on sentence about the tenafly farmer's market

and garlic scape pesto and looking everywhere for

more, i realized that i was not just having a conversation,

i was talking kind of loudly. and there was this,

somehow, i had gone from sitting to standing.

(clearly, if people want to get to know me,

they should wave an unusual piece of produce in

front of my face and watch what happens.)

when i got the scapes home, though, they sat

in the fridge for a while (ok, if you want the truth

there are still some in there. yes, i'm hanging my

head in shame.) i wanted to do something different

with them this time, but i could not figure out

what or how. then, i was driving home, thinking about

making garlic bread, and just like that:

garlic scape butter (and in turn, garlic scape bread)

popped into my head.

when i got inside, i pulled my

made up ingredients

out of the fridge

before even taking my pocketbook

off my shoulder.

i cut 4 garlic scapes into 2-inch pieces

and placed them into the bowl of the food processor;

i pulsed 5 or 10 times, until they were in tiny pieces,

before adding 1/4 cup of pecorino romano,

1/2 teaspoon black pepper, a couple generous pinches

of smoked paprika and 1 stick unsalted butter,

cut into large chunks. i let the food processor run

until everything was sort of smooth.

and i tasted it.

garlicky was an understatement. but, there was

no turning back at this point. i sprinkled in a touch

of kosher salt, whirled it around a few more times

and decided that i was committed.

so far, i've only spread it on lemon juice-drizzled,

bread and grilled it until it was nice and melty, which

i think is how this butter shines. i'm also sure i would

love it tossed with hot pasta, a bit of lemon and feta or

maybe used as a base for eggs, sunnyside-up.

i won't lie: it does need something

to temper its intense flavor.

but, as it goes with anything you're overly devoted to,

i've come to love this butter with bite. that doesn't mean

that if i made this again, or you were making it at home,

i'd be embarrassed to use only 3 garlic scapes.

that wouldn't make us wimps or shrinking violets.

it would just make us a bit...less in-your-face.

and, that's ok.

pickled cherries (times two)

i have never been a cherry person.

growing up, while all the other

kids were reaching for cherry

ice pops,

lollipops,

candies,

i held back because i always

knew the sour apple or grape

that i was hoping for was not

in danger of disappearing.

(oddly enough,

i had a conversation with my

sister this week about her

similar dislike of cherry starbursts.)

it wasn't until i was older

that i really understood that cherries -

fleetingly available, expensive, messy to eat cherries -

are lovely and fruity and offer the

very best of summer.

i hold true to my original belief -

i'm still not one for cherry flavored things.

but, apparently, i kind of love cherries.

last week, i, as many people i know,

came into a huge lot of cherries. i was torn

between eating them immediately or saving

and playing. ultimately, thanks to my work

schedule, i opted for the latter.

after a brief conversation with larry,

he asked if cherries could be pickled.

magic words. i recently told someone that

if i don't know what to do with a vegetable

lately, i pickle it or pesto it. i was not feeling

cherry pesto, and i was totally into making

the already tart cherries, ultra tangy.

i researched recipes and decided on something

i'm often guilty of - talking myself into making

something that i have a very good reason not to

make. (it requires a skill i don't think i can handle,

i can't find something that is vital to the recipe, but

make it anyway, or the worst

- and the culprit this time - convincing

myself that an ingredient i don't care for will be

delicious when utilized in this particular capacity.)

i haven't had five spice powder for years.

the last time i tasted it,

the mixture had been used to jazz up a sauce

for chicken. i wasn't crazy about. it was the star anise.

i'm just not a licorice person - hence my major issue

with fennel, anise and several other things.

but since then, i've sampled it in other dishes that

had not been so bad: larry's pho from mo pho,

a seafood dish on vacation, a dessert that's kind

of foggy in my memory.

when i saw a recipe that involved star anise,

i remembered the richness of the pho and i

decided to take a chance.

pickling the cherries was easy. larry poked

holes in their flesh as i mixed together the

brine of cinnamon sticks, star anise, black

peppercorns, red wine vinegar and brown sugar.

as it boiled, the house smelled delicious.

i poured the mixture over the cherries and let

them sit. an hour later, before leaving for

the evening, i sampled one. it reminded me of

something. when we returned home, i had a second

and it hit me: it tasted like medicine. and now

i had a whole big batch of medicinal cherries.

as i tried to go to sleep that night, my mind

wandered back and forth: why can't i sleep?

why did i think the star anise was a good idea?

why didn't i just go with a flavor profile

that i knew i liked? wasn't pickling cherries

risky enough? i will never be able to wake

up in the morning. i should have made them spicy!

the next night, i surveyed the chiles at the market.

i was not feeling jalapenos or serranos - and if i

had been, i have a stockpile in a pot on our deck (yay

for keeping something alive!) - nor, was i into

the other options. as i placed the habanero

into a bag, i was pretty sure i was crazy and

seriously sadistic when it came to these cherries.

at home, i tossed together the habanero, now

halved, cinnamon sticks, white

wine vinegar, palm sugar, left over

from the sriracha, and salt. i boiled the mixture

together and poked the cherries

(smarter this time - i used only a portion of my

remaining quantity). this time i notice that

when you poke holes in the cherries,

they make a mess. when the mixture

had boiled for a couple minutes and cooled

slightly, i poured it on top of the fruits

and while i was scared of the spice, i already

knew this batch was a winner.

the other ones? they're ok.

in fact, i can see how someone who

is not me would really enjoy them.

but, the spicy cherries? they're the ones

i regret not making more of - and sadly,

that's now what's on my mind late at night

when i really should be asleep.

pickled cherries (times two)

i'm including both recipes because i know that just because the first version is not my favorite, it doesn't mean it can't be yours. in both recipes, i poked the cherries about four times with a fork, a trick i learned from the internet. this makes it easier for the brine to infiltrate the cherries and helps the cherries to release their own juices into the brine.

star anise, black peppercorn and brown sugar pickled cherries

adapted from shesimmers.com

i played around a lot with this recipe, changing the peppercorns, opting for brown sugar (and less of it) and eliminating the bay leaf and the fennel seeds, just to name a few. i also halved the amount of cherries, used two-thirds of the vinegar and did not reduce the brine.

2 cups red wine vinegar

1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons granulated brown sugar

3 cinnamon sticks or 1 large cinnamon stick, broken into 3 pieces

2 pieces star anise

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 1/4 pounds cherries

in small saucepot, combine vinegar, brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, star anise and kosher salt. rub the peppercorns between your hands as you add the to the pot. over high heat, bring to a boil; reduce heat and let simmer 5 minutes. remove from heat; let cool 10 minutes.

meanwhile, using fork, poke cherries 4 times. place in bowl. pour slightly cooled brine mixture over cherries, pressing on cherries to make sure they're all under the brine. let sit at room temperature 2 hours. cover bowl tightly or transfer to a cleaned glass jar with lids. chill in fridge.

habanero, cinnamon and palm sugar pickled cherries

i will not lie - these are spicy. but, they were nowhere near as spicy as i feared they would be when i opted to use the habanero. i used one very long cinnamon stick, which i think is equivilant to about 3 normal size cinnamon sticks. this is the same amount i used for the first cherries, but because i used a lot less vinegar, the cinnamon was significantly more prominent. and, opted for palm sugar, because i had it in the fridge, but i'm sure you could use whichever sugar you have in the house. oh, and one last thing, i used two cups of cherries, but i'm pretty sure i could have used at least 1/2 cup more, if not a full cup for the amount of brine i had.

these cherries were great in a salad with arugula, pickled onions and goat cheese.

1 1/3 cups white wine vinegar

3 cinnamon sticks or 1 very long cinnamon stick, broken into three pieces

1 habanero pepper, halved

1/4 cup palm sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 packed cups cherries

in small saucepot, combine vinegar, cinnamon sticks, habanero pepper, palm sugar and kosher salt. bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to heat to low and simmer 5 minutes. let cool 10 minutes.

meanwhile, using fork, poke each cherry 4 times. place cherries in a medium bowl. top with slightly cooled brine mixture, shaking slightly to make sure all the cherries are under the brine. let sit at least 2 hours at room temperature. transfer to a clean glass jar or cover bowl tightly. store in fridge.

orecchiette with arugula-caper pesto, roasted tomatoes and pistachio breadcrumbs

there are times that i

think - even as i'm cooking,

even as i'm taking pictures -

that this is not a recipe worth

sharing with you. it's too

traditional, too thrown together

on a weeknight, too convoluted,

too unphotogenic, too...uninteresting.

but, i continue to cook the ingredients.

i continue to take pictures.

and usually, when it's all over and larry's

doing the dishes, i think yep, that was fine,

but, that was a dinner that was just for us:

no one will ever know about it.

but, other times, i take a bite,

still agreeing with my original

sentiment - that it's boring, simple,

fussy - but, also:

worth sharing.

and still, after all that, i almost

didn't write about this dish.

it's pasta with pesto, after all.

but, it was really good.

the arugula pesto, which should

have been bitter, was rounded out

with briny capers and roasted pistachios.

the kalamata olives added pockets of

saltiness and the roasted tomatoes

were bursting with garlicky sweetness.

they all came together thanks to the

toasted panko, pistachio and lemon zest

topping, which was sprinkled on

before serving.

and, i think, as i'm telling you about it,

that this pasta sounds both

expected and complicated.

but it's neither and it came together

quite quickly.

here's how:

i tossed some pistachios and panko

into the food processor, whirled them

around for a bit and then set them into

a pan over medium heat.

while one eye watched the

breadcrumbs, i pulsed the rest of the

nuts with garlic and cheese, pulsed in

arugula and capers and smoothed the

whole thing out with droplets of olive oil.

and, if we hadn't had a near oven fire - thanks

to a drippy packet of roasted garlic over the weekend -

here's what i would have done first:

i would have placed grape tomatoes in a dish,

with cloves of skin-on garlic,

olive oil, salt and pepper. i would have given

everything a good shake and then popped

them in the oven for about 4o minutes,

until their skins had burst,

the juice at the bottom was bubbly

and the garlic was tender.

but, we did have an incident that involved

a lot of smoke and so, instead, of starting with

that, i waited until larry came home from work

and very kindly gave the oven floor a scrub.

while they cooked, the breadcrumbs sat,

the flavors of the pesto melded together and

the pasta cooked. once they were out of the oven,

everything came together in less than five minutes.

so that was it.

kind of traditional.

kind of seemingly fussy.

kind of enjoyable.

hope you don't mind me sharing.

orecchiette with arugula-caper pesto, roasted tomatoes and pistachio breadcrumbs

there are a couple items of note in this recipe. first, the pistachios that i used were already roasted, so i was pretty careful when i toasted them with the breadcrumbs. however, if they had not been, i would have toasted the 1/3 cup i used for the pesto. secondly, i used the saltiness of the capers to mellow the bitterness of arugula (i didn't want a repeat version of this one). but, because i had a lot of arugula, i tossed some leaves into the pasta before mixing. this definitely ups the bitter quotient, so if that's not for you, don't feel that you need to add the extra arugula. and as with all pestos, feel free to mix and match the nuts or hard cheeses that you use.

2 cups grape tomatoes

5 large cloves garlic, (3 cloves unpeeled), divided

1/4 cup, plus 1/3 cup shelled pistachios, divided

1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 lemon

olive oil (1 tablespoon, plus 1 teaspoon, plus about 1/3 cup for pesto)

1/3 cup grated pecorino romano

2 packed cups baby arugula, plus one or two extra handfuls, divided

3 tablespoons caper brine

3 tablespoons capers

1 box (16 ounces) orecchiette

1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives

heat oven to 375˚f. in small dish (i used an 8 x 8 ceramic dish), combine tomatoes, unpeeled garlic, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt and pepper, to taste. shake to coat tomatoes and garlic. bake 35-40 minutes, or until tomato skins have split and garlic is soft. when cool enough to handle, peel garlic (the cloves should slip out of their skin) and coarsely chop or mash; set aside.

in bowl of food processor, combine 1/4 cup pistachios and panko; pulse 10 times, or until pistachios are ground into tiny pebbles. in small skillet over medium heat, heat 1 teaspoon olive oil. add breadcrumb mixture and cook 3-4 minutes, or until golden and fragrant, stirring often. transfer mixture to a bowl; season with salt and pepper. using a grater, zest lemon over breadcrumbs; stir to combine and set aside.

wipe out bowl of food processor. in bowl, combine remaining peeled garlic, pecorino romano cheese and remaining pistachios; pulse 5 times or until coarsely combined. add 2 cups arugula arugula and capers; pulse again to combine. with motor running, very slowly drizzle in oil, until the mixture is a lighter shade of green, smooth and fluid (this usually takes about 1/3 cup, but could take up to 1/2 cup). set aside.

before tomatoes are finished roasting, bring a large pot of water to a boil; cook pasta according to the directions on the box, reserving 1 1/2 cups hot pasta water 2 minutes before draining pasta.

place the same pot you cooked the pasta in over medium heat; add about half the water and half the pesto. stir to combine. if the sauce seems overly watery, add a bit more pesto. if using, add the arugula leaves. add the pasta, the kalamata olives, the cooked tomatoes, the roasted garlic and any juices from the baking dish; toss gently to combine, adding additional pesto, if desired, and more of the pasta cooking water if the mixture seems too dry.

divide pasta among plates or bowls; sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture.