Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Savor Talia’s conch chowder
Chocolate custard
Q I recently tasted one of the best conch chowders I’ve ever had at Talia’s in Boca. The recipe is so light but full of vegetables and very satisfying. If you could get the recipe I would love to try and make it at home. — Troy Hanson, Delray Beach
A. After taking over Talia’s Tuscan Table (4070 N Dixie Highway, Boca Raton, 561-362-0874, TaliasTable.com) in 2012, husband and wife Frankie and Olga Todisco got to work. They kept many of the fan favorites on the menu but tweaked a few recipes, like their Bahamian conch chowder. The pair are restaurant veterans having owned and operated an upscale Italian eatery in Staten Island called Bistro. Milder temperatures prompted the couple’s relocation to South Florida.
Frankie handles the front end while Olga holds the reins in the kitchen. She draws on many years of experience, explaining that cooking is in her blood. “I’ve been cooking Italian food for over 20 years. When I was a little girl, I watched my Russian grandmother, Sophia Bondarchuk, cook for large parties with family and friends at the house. She ran a catering hall and was an excellent cook.”
If you want to try Olga’s soup, call ahead and she’ll make sure she has it. She runs the chowder as a special and not a regularly featured menu item. For those days when it’s not offered, she makes a mean chicken
Nutritional benefits of a salad are often negated when doused with a prepared dressing high in fats, salt or loaded with preservatives or artificial ingredients. Homemade dressings are easy to make and great to have on hand in the fridge. When preparing dressing, minimize dishes and clean up by making dressing in a mason jar that it will be stored in, no bowls or whisk required. The glass won’t absorb odors, maintains freshness and is easy to pour. If your recipe calls for garlic, press cloves directly into the jar. I find pressing versus chopping disperses the flavor more evenly rather than having pieces of garlic sitting on the bottom of the jar. Dressings can also serve as marinades for beef, poultry and seafood. So you may want to maximize your efforts and double your recipes. They’ll stay fresh for several weeks refrigerated in airtight containers. soup, too.
Q I am addicted to the Mega crunch salad with cilantro dressing at Trader Joe’s. I bought a bottle of cilantro dressing at Trader Joe’s thinking that it was the dressing on the Mega crunch salad only to get it home, taste it and realize that there was cheese in it! Seems that the salad is not made by Trader Joe’s and they don't carry this wonderful dressing. Any chance that you can scoop up the recipe? Carol Lazerick, Boca Raton
A.
While researching Trader Joe’s (multiple locations, TraderJoes.com) Mega crunch salad online, I discovered this ready-to-eat meal has a cult-like following. According to Trader Joe’s website, “We developed this salad exclusively with our supplier, so you won’t find anything exactly like it anywhere else.” Meaning a packing house prepares, packs and ships the salad to Trader Joe’s stores so it is unlikely to source the recipe.
One of my personal favorite dressings from my friend Diane, that I absolutely love, also has canola oil, seasoned rice vinegar and garlic. Since these are the basic components in the cilantro dressing, I looked at the package ingredient list and developed a recipe I think comes close. You be the judge Carol. And if you want to try Diane’s dressing just add a smidge of Dijon or dry mustard to ingredients listed and season with salt and pepper. Easy and delicious.
The mega comes from protein packed quinoa and adzuki beans. The salad gets its crunch from romaine lettuce, carrots, jicama, broccoli stems, radishes and roasted sunflower seeds. Dried cranberries balance sweet-tart notes and the bite comes from a spicy kick of chipotle chili powder in the cilantro dressing. The amount can be adjusted depending on your spice tolerance. Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 15 minutes Wait: 2 hours 6 servings The French call these little cuties pots de creme au chocolat, but why complicate things? ounces bittersweet chocolate (60 percent cacao) cup heavy cream tablespoons sugar pinch salt egg yolks teaspoon vanilla extract Whipped cream, recipe follows
Break up chocolate into the top of a double boiler set over simmering water. Pour in cream. Cook, stirring, until chocolate has melted and cream is hot. Stir in sugar and salt.
Whisk a few tablespoons of the hot chocolate into the yolks, then whisk the yolks back into the chocolate. Cook, whisking, until very hot and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 7 minutes. Whisk in vanilla. Strain custard into a Pyrex measuring cup. Pour into 4 small (2-ounce) cups, leaving some headroom. Chill until cold and set, at least 2 hours. Top each custard with whipped cream.
Whisk 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract to soft peaks.