Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

This is one of the best dished I have had in a long time. I know what you are thinking- she is not very modest. I am my worst critic but I do know when something comes out really delicious and this is definitely one of those dishes.

I wanted to make two things I had never tried before. Short ribs and gremolata. I combined both in one dish. A gremolata is used as a condiment for stews, soups, etc and mostly consists of citrus zest and some herbs. In this case I used a lemon and orange zest. I also used a mixture of parsley, rosemary, thyme and garlic. This super aromatic mix wakes up any dish and makes it irresistible.

I started by marinated the short ribs with salt, olive oil, rosemary and thyme overnight. I took it out an hour before cooking the next day and started with browning the ribs. I added onion, garlic, celery and carrots. I also added tomato paste, chicken broth and red wine. It roasted in the oven a couple of hours and resulted in a tender, fall off the bone dish. Once I added the gremolata on top- the smell and flavor was amazing.

I would highly recommend this dish for the holidays. I served it with polenta and it was an amazing dinner. Oh, and don’t forget a copious amount of red wine…
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I love making pestos. I don’t find myself making a whole lot of different kinds of basil pesto for some reason. I do love it but I always find myself making a sauce with another herb or vegetable.

This on is an arugula pesto. Arugula is one of my favorite greens. I love its versatility.. I can use it in a salad, cook with it and now make a pesto with it.

I simply paired it with garlic and pine nuts. I don’t like to use too much olive oil but it is important to use a really good quality one- so a little goes a long way. I used Pecorino instead of Parmesan as Pecorino has a stronger taste which is great for the bitter greens.

That is all I needed to make a delicious sauce. I used it for pasta and in this case- for pizza. Even my daughter ate it- she doesn’t usually like arugula but she really enjoyed the pesto on the pizza.
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This pasta came about after my daughter brought a bunch of vegetables home from the farmer’s market at their school. It is a great program to introduce kids to different fruits and vegetables. Kids are more likely to eat the vegetables when they make the choice themselves.

They will also be more interested in maybe helping at home to cook the veggies for dinner.

In my case I had a bunch of lovely swiss chard and some corn. I decided to make a pasta dish. I had a stuffed pasta in the freezer I purchased at Eataly in NYC.

I sauteed some pancetta and added shallots and garlic. I then added the fresh corn, some fresh tomato sauce and the swiss chard. It was super simple and very delicious. I cooked the tiny pasta and added some pasta water into the sauce. A few minutes later I had a delicious, healthy- farm to table food.
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I have to give full credit to my husband for coming up with this idea. While we were discussing what to make for dinner and came up with the fish curry- we were wondering what to serve it with.

My husband loves polenta and he suggested I make it with the fish- but I wasn’t sure since when I think of polenta- Italian cuisine comes to mind… but then I thought, I could make the polenta Indian style. Hmm- as I sat on the train, I began envisioning the polenta. I thought I would start with curry leaves and mustard seeds. Lemon rice came to mind and so I decided to add some nuts for texture. Instead of cooking the polenta with milk and broth, I decided to cook it with just broth and eliminate the cheese. I also wanted to add a vegetable to balance the dish- frozen spinach- perfect!!!

The result was amazing- why didn’t I think of this before??? Sky is the limit when it comes to what all I can add to the polenta. It was delicious with the fish curry- great combination. The spinach was delicious and so were the pistachios- and it was so quick to make.

Next time you are looking for a side dish- think polenta and let your imagination run wild….

• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½ cup pistachio nuts, chopped
• 5 to 6 curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
• 2½ cups chicken broth
• 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
• 1 cup fine one minute polenta
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Juice of half a lemon

Heat a medium pan with the olive oil. Add the mustard seeds, nuts and curry leaves. Saute for a minute on medium heat. Add the chicken broth and spinach. Bring to a boil and add salt and polenta. Whisk till thick and smooth. Taste for seasonings and add lemon juice. Serve with fish curry.

This is a delicious dish for a chilly weeknight or even weekend evening. When I hear ragu- I think of red wine. In fact I used the same red wine for cooking as I did for drinking. That is one of the secrets to a successful dish. If you use a subpar wine for cooking, it will intensify in the dish and taste really bad- but if you use a reasonably good quality wine- it results in a delicious dish. By good quality I don’t mean a super expensive wine. It is amazing what $10 to $15 can get you.

Anyway, this is kind of like a coq au vin but a lot easier. Also it is served on top of creamy, herb polenta. My daughter is not a big fan but my husband and I love it. I made it with chicken broth and milk and added fresh sprigs of rosemary and thyme. The combination of the herbs and Gruyere made the polenta super flavorful and creamy.

Overall the dish was fabulous…
Click here for the recipe… »