Cheever Sauce

I finally did it. The Union Square Farmer’s Market and I met last Saturday. My sister and parents came in for the day to check out my other sister’s new apartment, grab some dinner, and drop off my winter coats (got to love NYC’s apartment storage situation). And because New Yorkers for some reason have the need to feel guilty if they don’t go outside on a nice day, we found ourselves walking around my sister’s new neighborhood. So my arrival at the market was more of a let’s wander around USFM because we have nothing else to do before our reservation, and less than an I need to visit the market to pick up fresh produce, cheese, and meats for all my dinners this week and support the local community. Not surprisingly, I fell in love with everything fresh and delicious the market had to offer, but I was lucky enough to stumble across Squash Blossoms!

Squash Blossoms are SO SO DELICIOUS and I was shocked to see them available for sale. Apparently squash blossoms are generally unavailable to all but home gardeners and habitués of farmers markets. Because they parish so fast, few supermarkets bother to keep them in stock.

I had my first stuffed squash blossoms at Aurora Cafe in Williamsburg. I went three years ago specifically for the squash blossoms. They were a featured dish on one of those video restaurant reviews they used to play in the back of the cabs. This restaurant was serving an edible flower, stuffed with creamy mozzarella and goat cheese, lightly fried than drizzled with sweet honey sauce? At first I was like Whhaaaat and then I was like…Waiiiit - driver please head to 70 Grand St…Yes. In Brooklyn. Go. 

So when I saw these squash blossoms not only for sale, but accompanied with a convienent recipe - I knew they were begging to be made. The result? They were the perfect fall midday treat. Light yet decadent. Salty yet savory. Earthy yet milky. 

This recipe can easily be adapted with other types of cheese (I recommend any kind of goat, ricotta, or mozzarella. Also try using tempura batter (flour, egg, and water) rather than the cornmeal for a lighter taste.  

Click here for the recipe adapted from Windfall Farms. 

Figuring out what to make for lunch is…the…worst. Lunch to me is that awkward middle child that isn’t getting enough love because its older and younger siblings are getting all my attention. Living in New York doesn’t make this neglected relationship any easier. Whether you’re a slave to the boardroom, working long hours on Wall Street, or salvaging the days of old Madison Ave, “homemade lunch?” doesn’t fall off the tongue in a 9 to 5 as easily as “take-out?” does. 

I know, I know - what do I know? I might not have experience living a life that entails the jobs above, but I certainly have experience living with people who do (and plus, I would still rather eat a yogurt, crackers, eggs, canned soup..basically anything that’s already in my fridge then whip up a meal in the middle of the day). Despite all this, when in the past I have taken the time to cook lunch, all the magic happens the night before. That’s the key people, because no one is going to prepare themselves lunch in the morning before running out the door - see New Yorker Scramble. Cook ahead and you’ll find a little bit of planning and some Tupperware goes a long way for your waistline and your wallet. 

This dish was another gem from Smitten Kitchen. You could easily serve it with dinner, but this batch went straight to the lunch containers. I was dishing it out generously to my roommate and a friend who were instructed to report back. The findings turned out to be fabulous. This is a perfect salad for this time of year because it utilizes one of the many delicious ways to eat squash. Lentils are very cheap, so the big splurge here is the cheese. The goat cheese is the perfect counterbalance to the spiced squash, and brings all the combined flavors of the salad together when you reheat it the next day. (CheeverSauce note: allow the cheese to generously melt around your veggies and lentils.)

Continue for the recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Nothing like a quick lunch post to kickstart the weekend. This recipe came together in the snap of the fingers and is a great vegetable alternative to typical deli meat sandwiches. I also like to classify it in one of those trendy “5 ingredients or less” challenges that seem to cover every cooking magazine these days. 

I love portabella mushrooms. They’re plump, juicy, smooth in texture, and cook up perfectly when roasted with a little bit of olive oil and sea salt in a mere 10-15 minutes.  Add some goat cheese and greens to the mix and you got yourself a class A midday meal. 

Continue for the super easy how to:

Who doesn’t like a Quesadilla? This is one Mexican food favorite I can never turn down so I thought it was only appropriate to cook and post the dish here.

Chicken…Beef…Veggies…add any of these with melted cheese and wrap it up in a warm tortilla and it doesn’t get much better than that. I like this recipe because it calls for a can of black beans, which is a lot easier to prepare than chicken or beef, and is still such a good source of protein. The mix between the sharpness of the Monterey Jack cheese and softness of the light, creamy textured goat cheese, balance off all these ingredients perfectly (I know I know, I am always blabbing about the mixing and the perfect balancing of ingredients…but its true!) Oh, and the dish is pulled together with THE ingredient of all ingredients: cilantro. Enough said.

1. Combine in a bowl 1 can of drained black beans, 1 small log of coat cheese (crumbled), a large handful of shredded Monterey Jack cheese, 2 minced jalapenos (stem and seeds removed), 1 head of minced cilantro, 4 dashes of ground cumin, dash of salt, and dash of pepper.  (CheeverSauce tip of the day: do not mix this with your hands, try to use a spoon. Don’t mix this with your hands especially if you’re going to a Bikram Yoga class that’s 101 degree room will open your pores and absorb hot jalapeno juice. To say my hands were on FIRE is an understatement).

   Keep reading to get the rest of the recipe.