Carolina Betancourt, Author at Great Performances

Even as we’re practicing social distancing, we continue to see great examples of how life happens around food. Instead of the corporate lunches, we’re seeing teams enjoy video conference lunches; instead of big dinner parties, families are having home-cooked meals together; and instead of packing bars at happy hours, friends are toasting each other virtually.

With more people cooking at home, we’re collecting recipes from our Great Performances’ team members, families, friends and partners to share with you and provide some inspiration for delicious dishes you can make at home. Share your recipes and photos with us: tag us on social media #gpcovidcooking, direct message @gpfood or email marketing@greatperformances.com.

Sherry Vinaigrette

In the salad I made, I used about a quarter of a small rotisserie chicken which I removed from the bone and shredded. My base was chopped frisee lettuce (white parts only) and romaine, with shaved carrot, diced avocado, a hearty spoon full of the marinaded chickpeas and diced tomato. I topped it with a tablespoon of chopped Marcona almonds, but any nut will add great crunch and flavor. I whisked together some heart healthy extra virgin olive oil, aged sherry vinegar, a touch of Dijon mustard and local raw honey for the dressing.

Recipe provided by Great Performances’ chef

Geoff Rudaw
Executive Chef
CPS Events at The Plaza

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sherry vinegar (substitute red wine vinegar if needed)
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp local raw honey
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3 grinds black pepper
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Procedure:

Whisk together the first 5 ingredients in a stainless steel mixing bowl.
Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking steadily to emulsify the oil and other ingredients.
Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator after use.

From Chef Geoff’s Notebook:

Since some people have a little bit more time on their hands lately, let’s take a moment to discuss the merits of raw honey. Local raw honey is believed to have holistic value through the theory that ingestion of micro amounts of pollen and nectar, would in time build an immunity to aid the allergy sufferer of those plants. On another note, honey is believed to be a topical burn aid, a digestive aid and an elixer for sore throats. A one ounce serving of local raw honey contains abundant vitamins and minerals, including folate, vitamin C, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin B3, and vitamin B5. Raw and local honey is also full of essential minerals like copper, calcium, iodine, manganese, magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, selenium, sodium, zinc, and iron.

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Immune-Boosting Marinated Chickpeas

Eating well and getting key nutrients is going to help us all stay healthy and active in the coming weeks, so here is an immune boosting addition for canned chickpeas. This is guaranteed to turn an ordinary canned legume into a cornerstone on which to build salad, grain and vegetables dishes.

Using proven immune-boosting ingredients like turmeric, lemon, garlic, parsley and olive oil not only add key nutrients, but also a ton of flavor. Try using a similar flavor profile to jazz up canned white beans, pinto beans or even corn.

Recipe provided by Great Performances’ chef

Geoff Rudaw
Executive Chef
CPS Events at The Plaza

Ingredients:

1 can cooked chickpeas (preferably organic)
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/3 tsp turmeric, ground
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp toasted ground coriander
2 drops hot sauce
1 grind of black pepper
4 sprigs of parsley, leaves only, chopped
2 shallots, peeled, finely dice (or 1 small red onion)
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Procedure:

Drain and rinse chickpeas and transfer them to a stainless steel mixing bowl.
Combine all of the other ingredients, and let sit, covered at room temperature for an hour. This will give the flavors to blend.

Variations:

A dressing like this can be made with any delicious and harmonious ingredients. I recommend experimenting with ginger, lemongrass and scallions or come up with your own flavor profile to suit your dish or meal.

Salad with marinated chickpeas and sherry vinaigrette. Image credit: Geoff Rudaw — Salad with marinated chickpeas and sherry vinaigrette.

Image credit: Geoff Rudaw

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Lemon Herb Compound Butter

I don’t know about you, but in our house we recently dusted off the grill for use again and fired it up. Not every home in the NYC area has a grill, but if you do have one, there is nothing else that tastes exactly like it. A lot of home cooks can make a mean steak, but most of the time it doesn’t make sense to make a veal stock, reduce it for hours, and then build a red wine reduction sauce for one meal. That’s why I decided to share a compound butter recipe for steak that is easy to make, affordable, and freezes very well. I like to apply it in a few slices on the hot steak after it is grilled to your desired temperature, while it is resting on the serving plate. That way the butter melts into those tiny nooks and crannies and its flavor intermingles with the char, smoke and the steak itself. You can also play around with it and try applying it to roasted chicken pork or even vegetables (hello corn, hello cauliflower).

Recipe provided by Great Performances’ chef

Geoff Rudaw
Executive Chef
CPS Events at The Plaza

Ingredients:

8 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1 tbsp finely chopped herbs, you can use any herb like tarragon, parsley, thyme, chive or even a blend
1 small shallot, finely diced (optional)
1 lemon, zested and 1 tsp juice
4 grinds of black pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Procedure:

Combine all ingredients In a stainless steel bowl until the butter is creamy and smooth.
Arrange two layers of plastic wrap, about 10” long each, on top of each other on your counter.
Using a rubber spatula, give the butter a final blend and scrape evenly on the plastic wrap into a rough log shape. If it is too soft to work with, refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
Roll up the butter in a tight cylinder, keeping an eye that the edged of he plastic wrap doesn’t get embedded deep into your roll. Twist the edges and chill thoroughly.
To use, cut into slices and add to grilled steak, chicken, pork or vegetables.
To store, wrap tightly in aluminum foil and store in freezer for up to 3 months.

Variations:

Compound butters can have anything delicious and harmonious in them. I recommend experimenting with some of these combinations, or feel free to make up your own. Necessity is the mother of invention, after all.

Cilantro, chipotle peppers, toasted ground cumin, lime juice.
Ginger, garlic, scallion, soy sauce and sesame oil.
Green curry, coconut, lemongrass and lime juice & zest. (Some of the ingredients may be harder to find, but they’re worth it.)

Grilled sirloin steak with compound butter. Image credit: Geoff Rudaw — Grilled sirloin steak with compound butter.

Image credit: Geoff Rudaw

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At Great Performances, we embrace creativity and continue to look outside our walls to find inspiration from our friends and partners. We regularly invite innovators, creatives, business leaders, chefs and others to contribute their expertise to us and to our blog.

We’ve invited Katie Workman, cook, writer, mom of two and food activist to contribute some of her favorite spring recipes to our blog. Ms. Workman has written two cookbooks, The Mom 100 Cookbook (2012) and Dinner Solved! (2015), recognized in notable publications, and also writes a blog, The Mom 100. We’re delighted to feature some of her favorite spring recipes below.

11 Ways to Make the Most of Spring Vegetables!

by Katie Workman

Spring is the beginning of the best produce months of the year. Even with the world feeling so precarious, hopefully we can take some time to support the farmers’ markets in our areas. Of course maintain social distancing — the markets, where open, will look different than they have in the past, perhaps with advance orders being taken, perhaps with some grab and go options of produce already bagged. But if there is a market safely open in your neighborhood and you can safely get there, we should all try and get some business to the farmers who work all year long for the warm weather crops.

So once you find yourself back home with bunches of radishes, bundles of asparagus, piles of lettuces, baskets of sugar snap peas, you may well need some recipe inspiration. Here are 11 ways to put that spring produce to work.

Simple Sauteed Spring Greens: This is stupidly easy, but really one of the nicest ways to enjoy a selection of green vegetables. Sugar snap peas, arugula, spinach and peas….you can use any combo you like, but it’s nice to have an assortment of types and textures.
Ramp and Pea Risotto: The perfect risotto to celebrate the arrival of spring. These wild scallions, which grow in some parts of the country for a short period in the early spring, are always a hot commodity. Grab them while you can.
Farro and Vegetable Salad : I love the way the additional of a couple of handfuls of cooked whole grains adds so much heft and interest to a salad. If you can find watermelon radishes, then you will have even more color and excitement in this bowl.
Spinach and Radish Salad with Feta: What’s green and white and red all over? This perfect little side salad.
French Potato Salad: This mayo-free potato salad is very clean tasting, with fresh herbs and a touch of mustard and a lovely vinaigrette dressing.
Stir Fried Chicken with Pea Shoots: Pea shoots are in season in the spring, as they are the first part of the pea plant to sprout. The tendril-ey leaves are beautiful and delicious, tasting much like, you know, peas, but milder. This stir fry takes less than 30 minutes.
Simple Roasted Asparagus with Shallots and Parmesan: Roasting asparagus deepens it flavor and it couldn’t be easier. Some melted Parm and crispy shallots make this dish perfect for entertaining.
Sesame Asparagus and Shiitake Mushrooms: Crisp tender asparagus and savory and chewy mushrooms come together in this super quick Asian stir fry.
Grilled Lemony Chicken and Baby Artichokes: A reason to uncover that grill early. This grilled chicken shares a super simple citrusy, tangy marinade with tender baby artichokes. 10 minutes on the grill!.
Simple Vegetarian Spring Pasta Salad: Sometimes people have an impression of pasta salad as a bit boring or dowdy or dated. Nope. This pasta salad is portable and flexible and fresh, and it’s also a nice way to play around with the vegetables of the season. Have at it.
Mosaic Crudite Confetti: It looks fancy, but it is in fact a little salad of thinly sliced vegetables. Spring onions, baby leeks, radishes, and whatever looks fresh and sliceable at the market is fair game for this pretty little salad presentation.

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Crunchy Vegetable Salad

Turmeric Pickled Shallots, Roasted Chicken Thigh, Tomatillo Vinaigrette

Being cooped up as so many of us New Yorkers have been, it’s more important as ever to eat well. Easing into Spring, its an easy transition into tasty, fulfilling, satisfying salads that have some extra flavor.

With economics in mind, it’s also important to eat with a touch of thrift, so with that in mind I present to you my lunch salad from today.

Recipe provided by Great Performances’ Partner

Geoff Rudaw
Executive Chef
CPS Events at The Plaza

Ingredients:

For the Tomatillo Salsa

4-5 tomatillos, husk removed medium size
1/2 yellow onion, peeled, cut in 4 wedges, root end trimmed, but intact
1 poblano pepper, medium size
2 scallions
3 cloves confit garlic (sub recipe)
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt, ground black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice, fresh, (or lime)
1 bunch cilantro, washed, roughly chopped
1/2 cup water, add more as needed

For the Confit Garlic

Garlic cloves, peeled, stem ends trimmed
Extra virigin olive oil

For the Turmeric Pickled Shallots

1 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp turmeric, ground
5 black peppercorns, whole
5 coriander seeds, whole
1 Tbsp mustard seeds, yellow or brown
1 small bay leaf, dry
4 medium shallots, pealed, sliced 1/8 ” rings, separated

Procedure:

For the Tomatillo Salsa

Toss the tomatillos, onion wedges, poblano and scallion with 1/3 of the olive oil, season with a light pinch of kosher salt and a twist of black pepper from the pepper mill. Broil until well charred, then turn over and char the other side. Remove any vegetables that brown more quickly to avoid burning.
Remove the skin, stem and seeds from the poblano pepper. Toss all of the charred vegetables into the blender, add confit garlic, remaining olive oil, lemon juice, and puree on low-med. Start with 1/2 cup of water, but use as much water as necessary to adjust to “sauce” consistency. Make it a little loose, as tomatillo will gel when chilled. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and lime juice. If you prefer some heat, feel free to consider adding Tabasco, your favorite hot sauce, jalapeños, etc.
Transfer to a jar and refrigerate. Will easily last a week.

For the Confit Garlic

In your smallest pot (preferably stainless steel), add enough cloves of garlic to cover the bottom in one layer. Cover with extra virgin olive oil, until just covered completely by 1/4″.
Set on low heat, and let the oil simmer, but not boil. The lowest heat that gets some action in the oil is preferred. When the garlic cloves are light golden, turn off heat completely and let sit on the back burner until cool.
This should be stored in the refrigerator. Some other great uses for confit oil are roasted potatoes, broccoli babe, garlic bread, pasta and broccoli to name just a few.

For the Turmeric Pickled Shallots

Bring all of the ingredients except for the shallots to a boil.
Put the shallots in a mason jar, small pyrex or stainless steel bowl, that is just bigger than the shallots.
Pour the boiled vinegar/sugar liquid and all spices over the shallots, and let them steep.
When the shallots have come to room temperature, use immediately or refrigerate for future use.

Assemble the Salad

I started with crispy skin spice roasted chicken thighs, which I pulled and tossed with a tomatillo roasted tomato salsa I used for enchilladas two nights earlier. The salad I prepared was chopped romaine, baby arugula, cucumber, carrot, Cuban-style black beans, broccoli, avocado, olive oil, lemon juice and a few chopped sprigs cilantro. The last touch was some turmeric pickled shallots I made last week, since I had more shallots on hand than I could use.

I am not by any means a light eater, and that salad really set me straight and kept me full until dinner. The Tomatillo Salsa is completely optional, the salad can hold up without it, but here is the recipes I used; feel free to substitute anywhere necessity dictates. Chopped salads are great, you can literally throw anything in there that you like; beans, spinach, cheeses, croutons, grilled salmon, roasted red peppers. Anything.

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Dumpling Making at Home

As we look to our own home kitchen as a place of gathering, nourishment and support, personally I always try to make dishes where everyone can be involved. In past years we have made pierogi, baked and decorated sugar cookies, pitched in to make and decorate dozens of cupcakes for birthday parties and school functions. I always look for a culinary task that can involve everyone, and increase in complexity to match my children’s age and keep their interest.

This year, as my children have continued to grow, and their palates have evolved, we have crossed into a new culinary frontier, Chinese style dumpling making at home! Making a simple dipping sauce based on sweetened black vinegar, the variety of dumpling filling is only limited by your imagination. We started out with the basics, ground pork with ginger, garlic and scallion, and then tried transitioning some of our favorite proteins, like ground turkey. We have tried vegetable/tofu dumplings, shrimp with chilies, and my favorite of the season, Coho Salmon, Spinach and Mushroom. We tried the Vegan square wonton wrappers, which work very well, but my favorite skin was the pot-sticker style round style. Most of these skins are made with Flour and water, and they can be sealed with just some water and crimping. Some varieties that are on my list are spicy eggplant and green bean with ginger, and a Mexican variation I am trying soon, Guajillo Braised Chicken with Cilantro and Roasted Corn. Here are the basic steps to making a dumpling, but whatever filling you make, the whole family can help fill and shape them. It’s not about having perfect uniform dumplings at the end, it’s about having a fun activity during which you can discuss the day you had, and the days you have coming up.

Recipe provided by Great Performances’ Partner

Geoff Rudaw
Executive Chef
CPS Events at The Plaza

Ingredients:

For the Dumplings

1 pound ground pork (or ground turkey)
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
2 scallions, whites , minced finely (reserve greens)
1 tbsp ginger, minced finely
1/2 tsp Chinese chili sauce
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 scallion greens (reserved, sliced finely)
2 tbsp chopped cilantro (optional)
1 package (50ct) pot sticker wrappers

For the Sauce

1/4 cup sweet black vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce (I prefer Kikoman)
2 tbsp water
1/2 tsp granulated white sugar
1/2 tsp chili sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp finely sliced scallions
Optional: 1/2 tsp finely minced ginger

Procedure:

Saute garlic, scallions, ginger for 1 minute, then add chili sauce. Saute 30 seconds, and transfer to a bowl to cool.
Add ground pork, salt, pepper, hoisin sauce, scallion greens and if desired, chopped cilantro. Mix well with a spoon, or by hand with latex gloves.
To assemble the dumplings, place wrappers on a work surface. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the pork mixture into the center of each wrapper. Using your finger, rub the edges of the wrappers with water. Fold the dough over the filling to create a half-moon shape, pinching the edges to seal.
Prepare the sauce: mix all ingredients. Taste, adjust salt, pepper, soy sauce based on preference. Sauce will last 2-3 days under refrigeration.
Boil dumplings in salted water (about 2 Tbsp per 1 Gallon). When dumplings are floating on the top of the simmering water, and the skins begin getting translucent, they are done.
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pot stickers in a single layer and cook until golden and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side.
Serve immediately, or pan fry on one side for a different flavor and texture.
Try adjusting the dipping sauce to your taste, either spicier, sweeter, or your own twist.

EASTER TIPS & RECIPES FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS

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