I Can Make You Hot! (33 page)

Wash and dry greens well before using. Wet greens don’t taste crisp and they dilute the dressing!

When you order a salad in a restaurant, ask for the dressing on the side. You’re a grown-up and you should get to decide how much you want to use.

Warm Quinoa Salad

I want to thank Nikki Cascone, who appeared on Season 4 of
Top Chef,
for this fabulous recipe. Nikki says: “It’s Perfect for exercise/ energy because it is high in complex carbs and has omega-3 fatty acids. I have won over many kids with the addition of the orange segments.” You could add salmon or chicken for even more protein. I also love to heighten the flavor of this salad with some balsamic vinegar that has been reduced by half served on the side for people to add as they choose.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

2 cups uncooked quinoa (red or regular)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped, 1 tablespoon reserved for garnish

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

½ pound sugar snap peas or green beans

3 oranges

¼ tablespoon honey or agave nectar
^*

½ cup toasted, shelled pumpkin seeds

Rinse the raw quinoa thoroughly under cold water. Fill a 5-to 6-quart pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the quinoa, reduce the heat, cover, and cook for about 12 minutes, or until the quinoa is at your desired texture. Pour the quinoa into a fine-mesh strainer and rinse under cold water; cooking quinoa can be compared to cooking pasta. It should be somewhat “al dente,” with some crunch, but if you prefer, you can cook it a bit longer. Transfer the quinoa to a bowl and stir in the lemon juice. Drizzle with just enough of the olive oil to moisten it. Mix in the chopped shallot and chopped cilantro, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Blanch the sugar snap peas or beans in boiling water for less than 1 minute to brighten the color and soften the texture. Remove from the water and plunge into a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking, then drain. Cut the peas (or beans) into julienne, add to the quinoa, and mix well to combine all the ingredients.

Peel two oranges and cut them into segments, making sure to remove all the white pith from the flesh. Add the segments to the quinoa and squeeze the juice from the remaining orange into a mixing bowl to use for the vinaigrette.

Add the honey or agave to the orange juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the remaining olive oil into the bowl with the orange juice, whisking constantly to emulsify and make a vinaigrette.

Mix some of the vinaigrette into the quinoa and reserve the remainder to garnish the finished plate. Mix in the pumpkin seeds or sprinkle them on top as a garnish.

Divide the salad equally among four plates, drizzle some vinaigrette around the edge, and sprinkle with the reserved cilantro.

make friends with fresh herbs

Cilantro, mint, basil, tarragon, thyme, parsley—fresh herbs of all kinds add maximum taste to almost any dish without using up any of your calorie budget. And you can grow your own almost anywhere. Plant a few in little pots on your windowsill, or, if you have the space, start an herb garden. It’s great to be able to snip just what you need whenever you want it.

Kelly’s Undressed Salad Dressing

3 tablespoons honey or agave nectar (see
footnote
)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 teaspoons vinegar of your choice

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Shot of hot sauce (If you want to get HOT!)

Put the honey and olive oil in a small bowl. Add the vinegar and whisk to emulsify. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Finish off with a shot of hot sauce,
if you dare
!

Vogue Salad

At lunchtime Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of
Vogue
, can often be spotted at the famous Italian restaurant Da Silvano in New York City. Whenever I was there, I’d look over at her table and see her eating the same thing: a salad of bitter greens and a steak. I figured that if it worked for the ultimate fashion maven it was surely good enough for me. And, I love meat, as most healthy Midwestern girls do, so it’s a win/win—chic and healthy.

My favorite bitter greens are arugula, chicory, and frisée. I’m not a fan of escarole, but feel free to experiment.

MAKES 1 SERVING

2 cups bitter greens

1 teaspoon olive oil

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces flank or skirt steak

1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Put the greens in a large salad bowl and toss with the olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Grill the steak in a nonstick pan to the desired degree of doneness, slice it, and arrange it on top of the greens. Sprinkle the steak with the rosemary and enjoy.

variation: teen vogue salad

Here’s a fun, chic salad that will encourage your kids to enjoy their hamburger without the bun.

In fashion terms, it’s the kid’s kitten version of Mom’s stiletto.

1 hamburger patty made with 6 to 8 ounces of ground beef

¼ cup arugula leaves

¼ cup romaine lettuce leaves

¼ cup sliced, canned hearts of palm

¼ cup sliced peeled cucumber

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Spray a grill or grill pan with olive oil spray.
^*
Make your burger and grill to the desired degree of doneness.

Toss the greens with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the salad on a dinner plate and top with the hamburger.

make ’em mini

Sliders are hot these days, but there are many things besides burgers that you can make mini. Try mini hot dogs, or how about mini quiches in individual pastry crusts. Making them mini is a great way to gain portion control!

Meat, Chicken, and Fish

Grilled Rib Eye with Herbes de Provence

Pencil-Thin Skirt Steak

Baby Lamb Chops with Blueberry-Mint Salad

Sultry Roast Chicken

Snow White

Second-Chance Chicken

Malibu Chicken Wraps

Bad Girl Wings

Hawaiian Chicken

Drunken Wings

Sea and Teddy’s California Sushi Burritos

Spicy Sultry Shrimp and Mango Stir-Fry

Kelly’s Kalamari

Shrimp Taco Tuesdays

Eric Ripert’s Fluke Ceviche

Mexican Dancer Tortillas

Tuna Tacos

Easy Baked Salmon with Fennel

Grilled Rib Eye with Herbes de Provence

I first met Eric Ripert, renowned chef and co-owner of New York’s premiere fish restaurant, Le Bernardin, when I was twenty-four years old and having lunch with my ex-husband (then boyfriend). I was on my way to class at Columbia University and Gilles invited me to lunch at his “canteen.” I remember exactly what I was wearing—a white fisherman’s sweater, a white man’s button-down shirt, leggings, and black ballet flats, and my backpack was my briefcase. I was offered a “Gilles Bensimon Salad” (a vegetable salad with fish), and when I met Eric, who was in his thirties at the time, he still had dark hair. I was caught off guard because I thought all chefs were older, had gray hair, and smelled like garlic.

A few years later Eric catered my wedding to Gilles, and I’ll never forget how he scolded me that night because I was the only one who didn’t eat his food. He’s since invited me many times to go into his kitchen and cook with him, but my fear of losing a finger by being overzealous has prohibited me from accepting. I regret not taking him up on that invitation. Lesson learned—any time a chef offers to teach you how to cook, say yes.

Eric may be best known for his brilliance with fish, but he’s no slouch in the meat department either. This rib eye is stunningly simple and awesomely delicious.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

4 bone-in, rib eye steaks (about 12 ounces each)

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons herbes de Provence

Extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat a grill pan or a charcoal grill and allow the coals to burn through for 10 to 20 minutes.

While the grill is preheating, season the steaks generously with salt and pepper; sprinkle evenly with the herbes de Provence, and drizzle both sides with the olive oil.

Place the steaks on the grill and cook until the meat is nicely charred on the bottom, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn the steaks and continue cooking another 4 to 6 minutes for medium-rare, or until a thermometer registers 120°F, or to the desired doneness.

Remove from the grill and let sit at least 5 minutes before serving.

what to do with half a cow

I love meat. I grew up eating lots of it. Not every child gets to go with their dad to buy half a cow, but that’s what I did. We used to drive to Eichman’s in southern Illinois to get our cow. On the way home I’d be biting my nails because I knew there was a freezer that had to be defrosted and cleaned. I was the ultimate household helper: fast, clean, neat, and efficient. I knew that if I did the job right the first time, I’d have free time to be with my friends. So it turned out that buying the cow and defrosting the fridge provided one of the most beneficial lessons I learned growing up—next to “finish strong”: Do it right the first time, so you can do what you love. A simple ethics lesson inspired by a cow. And it didn’t put me off meat a single bit.

Pencil-Thin Skirt Steak

Everyone looks slim in a pencil skirt, so it’s only fitting that skirt steak is one of the leanest cuts of beef you can buy. Eat it up and slim down.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

5 tablespoons olive oil