5 Questions for Jenny Nelson

This post is the result of an offer I couldn't refuse: Check out a copy of Jenny Nelson's new novel, Georgia's Kitchen, and then pick her brain to my heart's content. Since I tend to enjoy the delicious blend of food and fiction, I was happy to give it a try. 

This is definitely fun summer reading. I love books and movies set in New York City, and this one gives us a peek into a fictional dining hot spot where our heroine is the head chef. But not for long...

Read on to learn more about the book and what kind of grueling research the author undertook to get the food details just right!

Julie: Georgia, the main character, is a top New York City chef (at least she is when the story begins). Have you ever fantasized about a career in restaurant kitchens?

Jenny Nelson: Absolutely! I would love to work in one of the top kitchens – maybe at Thomas Keller’s Per Se or Jean Georges … though my skills are nowhere near up to snuff and I’d be booted so fast I wouldn’t even have time to pack my knives. But what fun to watch the great chefs work their magic!

Julie: You describe the food Georgia cooks in detail ("a house-made taglierini with peas and ramps from the Greenmarket, slivers of bresaola, and shaved pecorino"). What kind of research did you do to come up with the dishes described in the book?

JN: I ate a lot! I studied menus and recipes and ate in as many restaurants as my waistline and my wallet could afford. It was a blast.

Julie: Part of the book is set in Tuscany. Do you have any other favorite food destinations?

JN: I love the food in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi – it’s so fresh and light and filled with great vegetables and fish and herbs like cilantro. It’s exactly the kind of food I love to eat.


Julie: Vietnam is one of all-time favorite food destinations too, but I've only been to Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang. I would love to visit Hanoi!

Julie: Describe your perfect meal (whether it's one you've already had, or one you hope to have someday)?

JN: The perfect meal means perfect company, and that’d include my husband and six-year-old daughters. I’d put us at a seaside restaurant in Sardinia and we’d start with plenty of good bread and e.v. olive oil and something with tomatoes – maybe a simple bruschetta. Then we’d move into an arugula and parmesan salad, some type of risotto, branzino (my absolute fave), and finish with a cheese selection and house-made gelato, a variety of flavors but at least one would have to be chocolate based.

Julie: What do you make to eat for yourself when you're alone (be honest, even if it's cereal with milk!)?

JN: How’d you know? I’m a huge cereal fan and have been known to indulge in more than a few late-night bowls. Typically, I eat lots of fish, chicken, pasta, quinoa, tons of salads and veggies (really into sautéed kale and chard lately) and, oh yeah, tons of cheese. Yogurt with berries and walnuts is another almost daily meal, as is oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar. Though I’m not a huge meat eater, I do love the occasional burger and I make a terrific grilled flank steak with horseradish sauce. I’m getting really hungry!

Bonus Question: You've worked at both Vogue.com and Style.com. Do you plan to set a future novel in the fashion world?

JN: Probably not. Fashion has been done to death and unless I thought of a truly unique angle, I think that’s one topic I’ll avoid. Although, now you’ve got me thinking … 


Thank you, Jenny, for taking the time to visit A Mingling of Tastes! A review copy of Georgia's Kitchen was kindly provided by the publisher.


Now tell me what YOU are reading this summer? Anything food focused, or just some plain good reads? Please share!

Quick Calimyrna Fig Jam

This week, I made two old summer favorites: refrigerator fig jam and peach-blueberry cobbler with cornmeal biscuits. Both were delicious. Follow those links for all the details!

I've been very patiently waiting for a bumper crop of figs to get shipped over from California. My Whole Foods has had them for a few weeks now, but they've always got just a few little, not-so-enticing baskets on display. Then we took a little drive to my favorite Indian grocery store. As soon as I walked through the door, I saw big flat crates of juicy Calimyrna figs at a very nice price. I also got a huge bag of baby bok choy for $1.87 and restocked my supply of pickles and chutneys. That store never fails to make stupidly happy.

Calimyrna figs are light green, so you might mistake them for an under-ripe fig. Nope. If they're soft, especially if they're oozing their figgy juice, they are more than ready to eat. They're very sweet, with a less complex flavor than Black Mission figs, my favorite variety. They also seem to have firmer skins and made a very chunky jam, with most of the pieces remaining intact. I absolutely prefer this over the mushiness of traditional jam. You could think of them as preserved figs more than jam, I guess.

I didn't take a new cobbler photo, but think it may have turned out better than ever this time. I got beautiful fruit at the farmer's market, and the biscuit topping was excellent. Instead of yogurt, I used half a cup of buttermilk, but either one is fine. I made it for dessert, but a couple days later, I had some for breakfast with sweetened Greek yogurt. This is what cobbler is meant for--I'm totally convinced.

Have you done some summery things with figs, blueberries or peaches? Share!

Simple Broccoli Soup with Smoked Paprika

When I say "simple" in this recipe title, I mean two things: easy and "pure and simple." I made it twice in a three-week span because it takes so little effort for a huge batch, and because it's the kind of health-giving, detoxifying food that makes you feel good. It's a nice way to balance out a restaurant meal or a big grilled steak.

If you have no need of its detoxifying properties, the soup goes perfectly with richer main dishes like quiche or savory tarts--It's is more substantial than just a side of steamed broccoli. I have enjoyed it both ways!

You can do anything to jazz it up with spices and herbs. Pureed like this, the broccoli is pleasantly bland, so you need adequate salt, as well as those flavor enhancers. It's great with yogurt or sour cream stirred in, and in the picture, it's served with Parmigiano-Reggiano and more smoked paprika (By the way, I can't live without McCormick smoked paprika lately. I love to use a ton of it to make tuna or salmon salad sandwiches--it is so smoky!). I think an Indian-spiced version would be delicious, and I might also try half-broccoli, half-cauliflower. Tell me, do you need a detox? Or is this way too healthy?

Simple Broccoli Soup with Smoked Paprika

The spice quantities are estimates, so please adjust to your own taste.

Makes 7 to 8 cups

1 Tbs olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 Tbs finely chopped fresh ginger

4 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chile powder

cayenne pepper to taste

4 to 5 cups water

2 lbs frozen broccoli florets

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Serving ideas: Greek yogurt, sour cream, grated cheese, scallions, pepper flakes, hot sauce, smoked paprika

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, season with salt and pepper, and cook until soft and lightly browned. Add ginger and garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring often. Add spices and continue cooking 1 minute. Add 4 cups water and bring to a boil.

Add broccoli, cover and simmer until very tender, about 10 minutes (If broccoli is too crowded, add additional cup water). Remove from heat. Puree with an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender (a regular blender yields a smoother soup; instead of using the blender lid, cover with a kitchen towel, so steam can escape, and be careful when blending hot liquid; return to pot after blending). If soup is too thick, add additional water. Add salt (I used about 1 tsp) and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Fava Bean and Prosciutto Pizza with Feta and Mint

Here's another delicious idea for your best-ever, overnight whole wheat pizza dough. The credit for this idea of building a pizza around a pound of fresh fava beans goes to my brilliant other half. With it, we added prosciutto and caramelized onions--two ingredients that cannot fail to deliver incredible pizza--and topped it off with feta and mint.

If you don't have fava beans (check for frozen too), you can use regular peas. If you don't do mint, use basil. And goat cheese would be wonderful too. This pizza doesn't have a traditional sauce base, although the onion adds moisture. We drizzled the finished pizza with a little olive oil, as well. A layer of ricotta cheese, seasoned with herbs and thinned slightly with milk might be a nice replacement for tomato sauce. It's pizza, so creativity is a given. In fact, it's hardly a recipe, so here's how we did it, written up shorthand style.

Fava Bean and Prosciutto Pizza with Feta and Mint

To blanch beans, remove from pods and boil 1 to 2 minutes (use full 2 minutes if very large); drain and rinse with cold water; peel. To caramelize the onion, heat 2 Tbs olive oil on low to medium low, add onions, salt and pepper to taste and cook 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

1 ball overnight whole wheat pizza dough, at room temp (1/2 recipe)

1/4 lb thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into smaller pieces

1 large red onion, sliced and caramelized

1 lb (in the pod) fresh fava beans, blanched and peeled

3 oz (approx.) feta cheese, crumbled

chopped fresh mint

extra-virgin olive oil for serving

Place pizza stone in oven and preheat to 550 F at least 30 minutes. Prepare dough as directed. Top with prosciutto, onion, fava beans and feta in the order listed. Season with freshly ground black pepper to taste. Cook 9 to 10 minutes or until crust is browned. Top with mint and serve, passing olive oil at the table.

Korean Chicken Marinade and Grilled Bok Choy

I've been back from vacation for almost a week, and I'm still catching up on things. Like blogging. But I couldn't forget to post this awesome Korean-style marinade and my very favorite bok choy recipe.

We've never been big on marinating until this summer. I have some favorites, but otherwise it's taken a while for me to realize that the easy extra step of marinating can be so worth it. While it's uncertain that a marinade will actually make your meat moist, a soak in some tasty liquid will definitely add flavor to the food's surface and help protect you from carcinogens (cancer-causing substances) that form when meat gets charred on a hot grill.

You may remember the marinated Jerk Chicken that we loved a couple months ago. Mike and I almost didn't try this Korean version from the same Food & Wine article because we just wanted to repeat the jerk marinade. Luckily, we took a trip to the Korean market and loaded up on kimchi and other goodies, so rounding out the meal with this chicken was the only way to go.

As you can see, we used bone-in chicken breasts and leg quarters with the skin removed, but I think it would be as good or better with boneless breasts pounded thin. They cook ultra fast, which helps prevent the meat from drying out, and you'll be able to taste the marinade in every bite.

As for the bok choy, it couldn't be easier. I blanched them, drained them on paper towel and gave them to Mike to put on the grill for a minute or two. I whisked together a sauce from some of the same ingredients in the marinade and drizzled it on. The little char of the grill is so nice and is a lot easier and quicker to do than browning the bok choy in a skillet.

I also have to mention our favorite free-form marinade that Mike invented. It works great on fish and the aforementioned pounded chicken breasts. Just combine about 3/4 cup orange or grapefruit juice, 2 Tbs olive oil, 2 Tbs soy sauce, fresh or dry herbs (especially rosemary and thyme), crushed garlic cloves and black pepper in a large zip top bag. It's enough for up to a pound of meat.

Do you marinate? Does the recent news about the health benefits motivate you, or have you been on the bandwagon for years already? What's your favorite?

Korean-Style Marinade for Chicken

Adapted from Food & Wine magazine

Makes enough for 1 1/4 lbs boneless chicken breast cutlets, pounded thin, or 2 bone-in chicken breasts and 2 leg quarters.

1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 Tbs toasted (dark) sesame oil

1 Tbs honey

1 Tbs white wine vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar

3 scallions, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs (generous) finely chopped fresh ginger

Freshly ground black pepper

Toasted sesame seeds for serving

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and vinegar. Transfer to a large zip top bag and add scallions, garlic, ginger and black pepper. Add chicken and refrigerated 2 to 4 hours for boneless breast or 4 to 6 hours for bone-in pieces. Grill and sprinkle with sesame seeds before serving.

Grilled Bok Choy

Serves 4

6 baby bok choy, halved lengthwise

1 Tbs coarse salt

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 Tbs toasted sesame oil

1 Tbs honey

1/2 Tbs white wine vinegar or unseasoned rice vinegar

Toasted sesame seeds for serving

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Add bok choy, cover and return to boiling. Uncover and cook until bok choy may be easily pierced with a knife, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain in a colander, then place on a couple layers of paper towel to absorb additional water.

In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil, honey and vinegar.

Grill bok choy over moderate heat until light grill marks form, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter, drizzle with soy sauce mixture, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Overnight Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

This is my ultimate whole wheat pizza dough up to now. No doubt I'll try some other technique or recipe down the line, but this one is fantastic. It all has to do with the method, rather than some perfect combination of ingredients.

Like I said when I wrote about my tapas-inspired Sherry Mushroom Pizza (pictured above), the overnight rise and shaping method make a light, airy dough that rises beautifully during baking. I love the texture, with it's soft interior and crisp, bubbly exterior. Try it with the delicious tapas pizza or any toppings you want. Here are some ideas from my archives:

Fresh Fig and Prosciutto Pizza. (Do you have figs yet where you live? They must be coming soon!) Corn and Shrimp Pizza And 4 more great pizzas (including Bacon, Egg and Asparagus Pizza) in this loaded post!

Overnight Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Dough adapted from The Art & Soul of Baking by Cindy Mushet.

You may substitute unbleached all-purpose flour for the bread flour. Makes about 1 3/4 lb, for 2 (12-inch) pizzas 1/4 cup/2 oz warm water (110 to 115 F) 2 1/4 tsp/1 packet active dry yeast 1 cup/8 oz water 3 Tbs/1 .5 oz olive oil 305 g/10.75 oz/2 cups bread flour 155 g/5.5 oz/1.25 cups whole wheat flour 2 tsp coarse salt Coarse cornmeal All-purpose flour for shaping dough Add warm water to the bowl of a stand mixer. Gently stir in the yeast and rest 5 to 10 minutes, or until yeast is activated and looks creamy. Add remaining water and olive oil, and whisk by hand to combine. Add flour and salt, and knead with dough hook on low speed just until dough comes together, about 2 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and rest 20 minutes, allowing flour to fully absorb liquid. Knead on medium-low speed until dough is firm, elastic and smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Coat a large bowl with cooking spray or brush with olive oil. Transfer dough to bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Dough will approximately double in size. Gently scrape dough onto a lightly floured work surface. With floured hands, knead briefly and divide into 2 equal portions. Briefly knead each portion into a ball. If you’re saving half the dough for later, lightly coat inside of a zip top freezer bag with cooking spray, seal in one of the dough balls and freeze up to 2 months. When you’re ready to use it, defrost and bring to room temperature; proceed with shaping the dough. Coat a piece of plastic wrap with cooking spray to prevent sticking and cover dough, still resting on floured surface. Cover plastic with a kitchen towel and rest 1 hour, allowing dough to relax and come to room temperature. Place pizza stone on a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 550 F for at least 30 minutes. Sprinkle some cornmeal on a piece of parchment paper and place a ball of dough on top. With floured hands, pat dough into a flat disk. Using your knuckles and fingers, stretch and shape dough into a roughly 12-inch circle. It should be somewhat thin in the middle and slightly thicker around the edges. Sprinkle more cornmeal around the edge and add your toppings. Open the oven and carefully slide parchment paper off of the cutting board onto the pizza stone. Bake 9-11 minutes, or until crust is browned and cooked through. Lift the pizza stone with oven mitts out of the oven and slide parchment onto the cutting board. Slice and serve.

Sherry Mushroom Pizza on Overnight Whole Wheat Crust

This pizza was inspired by a favorite dish from a tapas place Mike and I used to go to in Boston when we first met. It was mushrooms served in a creamy sauce made with rich meat stock and Sherry. You would soak crispy little toasts in the sauce and then scoop up a pile of mushrooms with the softened bread...delicious.

Turning to Spain (who just beat Portugal today to move on to the next round) on our tour of nations competing for the World Cup, we decided to use those flavors as a topping for what is maybe my favorite pizza ever. Okay, top three. Yes, pizza is Italian, especially when you make it with an amazing Neopolitan-style whole wheat crust. To make matters worse, we also used Fontina, an Italian cheese. But it is so good with mushrooms. And we're always after what tastes good around here, so there you go.

As for the crust, it looks like I've found my ultimate pizza dough recipe, at least for now. When I wrote about trying an overnight rise so the dough could develop greater flavor, I said I wanted to use this method with my whole wheat dough. It worked so well that I plan to do the overnight rise whenever I can. The whole wheat flour (in combination with bread flour) didn't have any negative effects, and I prefer some whole grain in my pizza dough rather than all white flour.

After doing it this way a couple times, I think the slow rise makes the dough incredibly airy. That, along with using your hands instead of a rolling pin to shape it, results in a higher rise during baking and and a tender, soft-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside finished crust. I love the texture.

I'm going to post the crust recipe on it's own tomorrow so it will be easy to find, but I'll also go back and link it to this post (update: see link to dough recipe below). If you're dying to try it right this second, however, just use your favorite pizza dough recipe and let it rise in the refrigerator for about 24 hours, then quickly knead it into a ball and bring it to room temperature before baking. See what you think!

Sherry Mushroom Pizza

This recipe yields a generous amount of topping for a 12-inch pizza. You don't need to be too precise with the quantities while cooking, and it's fine to eyeball your measurements. You want a moist, slightly saucy consistency in the end. You can buy a bottle of good-tasting dry Sherry at liquor and wine stores for around $12. In this recipe, there is no substitute.

Makes one 12-inch pizza Special Equipment: Parchment paper and a pizza stone 1 Tbs olive oil 8 oz white mushrooms, sliced 6 oz Portobello mushrooms, sliced Fat pinch of dried thyme Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 1/3 cup dry sherry 1 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken 1/4 cup reduced fat (or regular) sour cream 4 to 5 scallions, chopped Coarse cornmeal (optional) All-purpose flour, for shaping dough 1/2 recipe whole wheat pizza dough, at room temperature 4 oz Fontina cheese, grated 2 Tbs chopped fresh parsley Place pizza stone on a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 550F for at least 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they release their water. Raise heat to medium high, add thyme and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until water evaporates. Lower heat and cook until soft and lightly browned. Add the sherry and bring to a simmer. Cook until reduced by a bit more than half. Add chicken and stir to combine. Remove from heat and add the sour cream and scallions, and stir well. You want a very moist, slightly saucy consistency, but mixture should not be watery. Sprinkle some cornmeal (if using) on a sheet of parchment. Flatten and stretch dough with floured hands and shape into a roughly 12-inch circle (don’t use a rolling pin; it pushes air out of the dough, resulting in a flatter, denser crust). Top with chicken mixture and Fontina. Open the oven and slide parchment paper onto the pizza stone. Bake 9-11 minutes, or until crust is browned and cooked through. Lift the pizza stone with oven mitts out of the oven and slide parchment onto a cutting board. Sprinkle with parsley, slice and serve.