The Lederman Kitchen

Michelle absolutely loves mussels.  In fact, we spent a good hour walking around the beach in Cannes on our honeymoon seeking out a restaurant that had Moules Mariniere on the menu.  It was the tail end of mussel season so a lot of places ran out already.  We finally found the perfect spot for lunch and Michelle had her moules and frites. I have made mussels plenty of times before, but now every time we have them at the house it reminds us of our lunch on the beach in the French Riviera.  It may not seem like a quick weeknight meal, but the whole dish comes together in about 15 minutes.   To recreate your own Cote d'Azur classic, you will need: 2 lbs of mussels 2 cloves of garlic 2 shallots 1 1/2 cups of dry white wine 1 teaspoon thyme 1 teaspoon tarragon 1 tablespoon of butter 1/3 cup chopped parsley Bread to soak up the sauce (you're going to the store to buy mussels already, you might as well get a nice fresh baguette whil...

One of my favorite parts of carving pumpkins, is toasting the seeds!  We didn't get around to carving pumpkins since we were up in  Seattle  for Halloween weekend.  So when Brian made Pumpkin Curry the other night, I just had to toast up the seeds for a snack. After the seeds are gutted from the pumpkin, I threw them into a bowl of warm water to clean them. After they were clean, I turned the oven on really low, to 200 degrees, then I put the seeds on a cookie sheet in the oven to dry a bit while I made the topping. You can really put anything on pumpkin seeds but my favorite is worcestershire  sauce and  parmesan  cheese, with some salt, pepper and garlic.  It's hard to give measurements since it depends on how many seeds you have.   Here is a rough guess of what I used: 2 cups pumpkin seeds 1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese 2 Tablespoons melted butter 1 clove garlic sa...

I think that a lot of ethnic food seems scary to make.  The truth is though, it's generally pretty easy, you just need the right ingredients.  The great thing is, you buy the ingredients, particularly the seasonings once, and then you have them on hand for a quick weeknight recipe.  I have always loved the Pumpkin Chicken Curry from Osha Thai .  This being pumpkin season and Michelle wanting to have everything pumpkin, it seemed like a good recipe to try and tackle.   For a delicious dinner for two, plus leftovers for lunch, you will need:  1 small pumpkin or butternut squash, about 1 1/2 lbs (I used a Sugar Pie Pumpkin, they have them at Whole Foods this time of year) 2 shallots 3 garlic cloves 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste 2 tablespoons water 1 can unsweetened coconut milk 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce 1 lime 2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar 3 tablespoons peanut oil 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs ...

It is very rare that I watch a cooking show and say, "I have to make that".  The cannelloni that I saw on Kelsey's Essentials looked so good and fun to make that I had to try it.   The dish certainly does not disappoint.  Plus, it's fun to make.  Who wouldn't like rolling what are basically Italian enchiladas?   For a delicious dinner, plus leftovers for lunch, you will need:  Filling:  1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium onion 8 ounces sweet Italian sausage (the bulk sausage from Whole Foods is really good) 1 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry of all liquid 1 (15 ounce) container of ricotta cheese 1 1/2 cups of finely grated Parmesan cheese 3 eggs salt and pepper Tomato Sauce: 1/4 cup olive oil 1 medium yellow onion 3 garlic cloves 3 tablespoons fresh basil (or 1 tablespoon of dried basil) 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes salt and pepper Fresh Pasta Dough: 4 large e...