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Home | Ilda Costa-Sarnicki | Page 4

Ilda Costa-Sarnicki

Ilda Costa-Sarnicki subscribes to the Dalai Lamaโ€™s rule that suggests one should approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

Her first recollection of having a foodie gene was, when at 4 years of age, her mom sent her outside for some fresh air and she returned with a bunch of parsley asking if that was it.

Ilda discovered food as more than sustenance by watching the Food Network with her daughter and then going into the kitchen to replicate recipes seen on the shows. Thirty years later, the kitchen experiments continue. All things food and cooking are a passion enjoyed on days off from her work as a Neonatal Intensive Care nurse.

Over the years, Ilda has collected an arsenal of kitchen gadgets and has designed an ergonomic kitchen that maximizes efficiency and pleasure while minimizing stress and fatigue. She confesses she’s a hardcore foodist, and she does deep dives not only into cooking but also cheese making, charcuterie, food preservation, fermentation, and food gardening.

Recipe testing feeds into her motto of being continually inspired and of inspiring others to cook and be creative and confident in the kitchen.

Ilda Costa-Sarnicki
Halves of roasted romaine Caesar salad on a rimmed baking sheet.

Roasted Romaine Caesar Salad

25 mins

A white enamel wok filled with sake-steamed clams, broth, and scallions.

Sake Steamed Clams

1 hr 30 mins

Six ground lamb and potato patties on a parchment-lined baking sheet with a fork resting beside them.

Ground Lamb and Potato Patties

2 hrs

Four pork belly tacos garnished with cilantro and a jar of salsa in the background.

Pork Belly Tacos

18 hrs

One whole and one torn whole grain sourdough pita stacked on top of each other.

Whole Grain Sourdough Pita

1 d

A spoon scooping chocolate mug cake from a blue mug.

Chocolate Mug Cake

15 mins

Four French-style pork chops with apples and Calvados sauce on a white platter.

French-Style Pork Chops with Apples and Calvados

1 hr 30 mins

Braised pork with red wine sauce in a Staub Dutch oven.

Wine-Braised Pork Shoulder

4 hrs 30 mins

A slab of homemade Guanciale on a wooden board.

Homemade Guanciale

42 d

A platter of rissois de Camarao--or Portuguese shrimp turnovers--with one turnover cut open resting on top.

Portuguese Shrimp Turnovers ~ Rissรณis de Camarรฃo

2 hrs

Chunks of roasted sweet potatoes with Sriracha and lime wedges and sprigs of cilantro scattered over the top.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Sriracha and Lime

50 mins

A steak and arugula salad with pesto vinaigrette in a white bowl, with a wooden board and sliced steak next to it.

Steak and Arugula Salad with Pesto Vinaigrette

25 mins

Crockery filled with bacalhau a Gomes de Sa--layers of salt cod, potato, and, onions; on top, sliced olives, quartered boiled eggs, parsley on wood.

Bacalhau a Gomes de Sa

2 hrs 10 mins

A white plate filled with horta, or boiled greens with garlic.

Horta ~ Boiled Greens with Garlic

30 mins

Six salmon cakes on rectangular platters with bowls of avocado spread and chimichurri beside.

Salmon Cakes

1 hr 15 mins

Seven sourdough bagels topped with poppy seeds.

Sourdough Bagels

10 hrs

A whole pizza marinara on a stack of white plates.

Jim Lahey’s Tomato Pizza ~ Pizza Marinara

1 hr 30 mins

A green bowl filled with Portuguese piri-piri hot sauce, a few dried red chiles on the side

Portuguese Piri-Piri Hot Sauce

5 mins

A challah grilled cheese sandwich with pastrami jam torn in half, still connected by melted cheese.

Challah Grilled Cheese with Pastrami Jam

1 hr 30 mins

A cast-iron skillet filled with eggplant shakshuka made with poached eggs in a tomato and eggplant sauce, with feta scattered over the top.

Eggplant Shakshuka

45 mins

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