figtree appetizers

Poached Eggs with Parmesan and Smoked Salmon Toasts

2010-06-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving for France in just a few days. I have been sitting at work for the past month day dreaming about this long awaited trip. My sons will be staying with a family in Lyon, as I travel around Provence. I had to include a week long cooking school, lots of details when I return. So before I finish packing I leave you with a recipe created by one of my favorite French chefs, Jean Georges Vongerichter. I would be delighted to eat this for breakfast or as an appetizer of course!

4 slices of sourdough bread

Olive oil

grated Parmesan

2 ounces of smoked salmon

4 eggs

Pre heat oven to 425. Fill skillet with water, bring to a boil. Brush bread slices with olive oil, bake for about 6 to 8 minutes till nicely toasted. Cut into narrow slices. Sprinkle toast with Parmesan. Bring boiling water down to a simmer. Break eggs one at a time into small bowls. Pour 1 egg into the simmering water.(Perhaps you can poach all 4 eggs at once...I'm not that talented). Cook about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon transfer egg to paper towels, repeat with remaining eggs. To serve place 1 egg in a warm bowl. Serve with Parmesan toast fingers wrapped with smoked salmon.

Scallops with Blackberry Chipotle Sauce

2010-05-28T02:42:00.000-07:00

Some of my best recipes come from sitting in a doctor's office waiting for an appointment that should have happened an hour earlier. As we approach Memorial weekend I guess I should be posting appetizers such as little wieners wrapped in crescent rolls or some kind of slider that we are all so over. Well I decided to be very non traditional and post an easy and delicious scallop dish served with a blackberry chipotle sauce. You decide the heat factor. I think I was a little too generous with the chipotles. My 13 year old son, who just happens to be the biggest food snob you ever met, came home from school yesterday thrilled to discover scallops sizzling on the stovetop. He immediately shoved the largest scallop topped with a TON of chipotle sauce into his mouth. He soon began tearing up, shoving a frozen Three Musketeers bar in his mouth just to cool things off. (I'm laughing as I type this just thinking about it hee hee). When everything cooled off he said, "mom..better than a restaurant!"

2 small containers of blackberries
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lemon
1 to 2 Tablespoons of honey
2 to 3 tsp of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped fine(my son's reaction was due to the fact that I doubled this part of the recipe.I thought to myself, "I bought this big can of chiles..why not throw more in..they are only going to go to waste..")
olive oil
1 pound of large dry scallops, patted dry
salt and pepper
Fresh parsley for garnish

Mix blackberries, lemon zest, juice, honey and chipotle chiles in a small bowl.Preheat skillet over high heat.Drizzle pan with olive oil. Season scallops with salt and pepper. Sear scallops in hot pan about 2 minutes per side. Remove from pan and keep warm. In same pan add blackberry mixture. Cook for about 5 minutes until berries start to break down. Serve scallops topped with blackberry sauce, garnish with parsley. Enjoy the long weekend.

Sweet Potato Hash Browns

2010-05-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

Just whipped up a batch of these a few minutes ago. Why I never thought of exchanging sweet potatoes for baked...not really sure. The serving your staring at, was gobbled up with our greasy little fingers in a matter of seconds. The recipe comes from Frank Stitt, a popular chef in Birmingham Alabama. Chef Stitt serves these hash browns with strip steak, I had roasted chicken in mind.

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
6 ounces of thick bacon sliced into about 1/4 inch pieces
1 pound of diced sweet onions
2 Tb parsley
2 Tb diced chives
1 ts thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Place cubed potatoes in boiling water for about 4 minutes. Cook bacon in large pan till brown. Remove with slotted spoon and place on paper towels. At this point I removed about 1/2 of the bacon grease. Add diced onions, cooking for about 15 minutes till nicely browned. Once onions have browned add drained potatoes. Continue cooking till potatoes begin to brown. Add bacon, mixing well. As dish comes together sprinkle with parsley, chives and thyme, seasoning with salt and pepper. Will I ever look at hash browns the same way?

Celery Root and Caramelized Pear Soup

2010-04-29T14:37:00.000-07:00

Who would think a vegetable as ugly as celery root could be transformed into something as beautiful as this bowl of soup? The first time I tasted celery root or celeriac was in Paris many years ago. The dish was celeri remalade, basically matchsticks of celery root tossed with flavored mayonnaise. I found celeriac's flavor combination of celery and parsley really tasty . The other night I was enjoying the soup with friends and I learned that my star vegetable, celeriac was actually mentioned in Homer's Odyssey, now I know Ive convinced you to get passed its rough exterior.

2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
1 cup of sliced onion
1/4 cup of sliced celery
1/4 cup of thinly sliced leek, white part only, reserve green section for bouquet garni
2 garlic cloves finely diced
2 1/2 cups chopped celery root(from about 3 small peeled celery roots)
1 small peeled, chopped potato
3 bosc pears, peeled cored and cut into medium dice . about 1 cup, don't throw out skins
5 cups of chicken stock
2 bay leaves, 5 sprigs parsley and 2 springs thyme wrapped with a strip of the leek top and tied with kitchen string
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons honey
1 rosemary sprig
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large pot. Add the celery, onions and leeks, saute about 7 minutes till softened. Add the garlic. Add the celery root, potato, pear skins, chicken stock and bouquet garni. Bring the liquid to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, stir, reduce heat and cover. Cook at a simmer till all the vegetables are tender, this took about 35 minutes. Now let the soup cool down a bit . Place the soup in a blender or food processor. (Put about a 1/3 of the soup in the processor at a time...working slowly). It was a bit too thick, so I added another cup of chicken broth.Season with salt and pepper and cover. Now on to the caramelized pear topping. In a saute pan warm honey. Wait for honey to bubble and turn brown, this took about 4 minutes. Now toss in the rosemary sprig and diced pears. I added a pinch of sugar as my pears were not quite ripe. Toss the pears around until they are soft and glazed. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.When serving place about 1 cup of soup in a bowl, a spoonful of the pear goes right in the center. Drizzle the pears lightly with the balsamic sauce from the bottom of the saute pan. Serve

Note:This is an Alfred Portale recipe. I have tweaked it a bit. He suggests straining the soup through a fine mesh strainer, sorry I'm too lazy for that step. He also recommends adding 2 tablespoons of butter after the soup has been pureed for added richness. Sorry I'm too fat for that step. I thought the soup was delicious without the added butter. If you add the butter, let me know if it made a big difference.

Belgian Endive with Smoked Salmon and Mustard Sauce

2010-04-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

So I was in Trader Joe's the other day and came across these green and purple endives. I always thought of endive as cream colored with bitter leaves. Am I the only person who always assumed that endives were always pale green? Endive spears are fun to fill with an assortment of ingredients.In the pass we have enjoyed topping the endive off with avocado mousse or blue cheese mixed with cream cheese. I had some smoked salmon in the fridge so this is what I came up with.Its a simple hors d'oeuvre that for whatever reason seems to impress.

Mustard Sauce

1/4 cup Dijon
2 ts vegetable oil
1 ts white wine vinegar
1 ts brown sugar
3/4 ts fresh dill

1/2 pound thinly sliced smoked salmon
4 heads Belgian endive separated, bottoms trimmed
1 tablespoon drained capers

I cut this recipe in half and it was just enough for a group of 6 friends for a tasty appetizer.

Whisk mustard ingredients together, cover and refrigerate. Cut smoked salmon into small strips. Place the salmon on the endive leaf towards the base. Drizzle with the mustard sauce and a few capers.

Fig and Blue Cheese Appetizer Tarts

2010-04-10T04:11:00.000-07:00

I don't think Ive purchased a can of refrigerated Pillsbury crescent rolls in over 10 years.I remember wrapping the strips of dough around mini hot dogs. Back then whatever I made in the kitchen everyone was so easily impressed. Now the bar is WAY higher, I miss those days....Anyway apparently Pillsbury has this bake off every year. The winner gets flown to Orlando, and are you ready? They get a counter top microwave oven. If I'm flying to another state to present one of my brilliant creations you better have more than a microwave oven waiting for me. Maybe a microwave oven filled with cash.

So this one gal from Quakertown Pa, Nadine Clark, came up with a very tasty appetizer. The figs pulled me in of course, the end result.. delicious.

3 ounces of softened cream cheese (one of those mini blocks is perfect)

2/3 cup crumbled blue cheese

1/4 cup orange marmalade

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 cup of dried figs, coarsely chopped

1 can(10.1 ounces)Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat over to 350. Mix cream cheese and blue cheese in a small bowl.

In a small saucepan add marmalade and vinegar over a low heat. Add chopped figs when when vinegar and marmalade are well mixed. Cook for about 8 minutes, stiring occasionally. Remove from heat .

Wack crescent roll can, remove dough from package, DON'T unroll.Cut dough roll into about 14 pieces. Place dough pieces onto ungreased cookie sheets.Using your thumb make indentation in the center of each dough piece. Place a teaspoon of cheese mixture into the center of the dough. Top with a tablespoon of the fig mixture, sprinkle with chopped pecans.Bake for about 15 minutes till golden brown, serve warm.These were really delicious. Next time Ill try the topping on a crostini, Im always looking for the crunch factor. I had the fig mixture scooped on top of some steel cut oatmeal the following day, oh my. I think Pillsbury may have a winner.

Asparagus Pesto

2010-03-28T05:00:00.000-07:00

I'm always looking for new and creative ways to use asparagus this time of year. Saw this pesto idea as I was waiting for a doctors appointment the other day. I tweaked it a tad, and we all loved it.Its a great appetizer served with matzo for Passover or spread on crostini for Easter. Either way it screams 'SPRING HAS ARRIVED.'Should you have any pesto left over, toss with pasta.

1 pound of fresh asparagus (ends removed)
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup lightly toasted pine nuts
1/3cup olive oil
1 garlic clove
juice from 1/2 a lemon
about 1/2 tsp. salt

Cook asparagus in boiling water for about 4 minutes, drain and rinse in cold water. Chop asparagus, reserving 2 tips for garnish. Place asparagus,cheese, pine nuts, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and salt in food processor. Process till smooth about 1 minute, scraping down sides as needed.Serve with favorite crackers, happy spring.

Shrimp Cocktail Salad

2010-03-12T06:39:00.000-08:00

This recipe is a combination of shrimp salad and shrimp cocktail. Its easy to pull together, which is good for me as lately I have not been in the mood to cook. Last night I actually nuked a very ho hum box of mac and cheese for my family. They looked at me suspiciously, but would never dare comment for fear of wearing the mac and cheese. My friends who realize how busy my life has been lately, tease me about taking the time to make homemade meatballs. I guess I just like the way mine taste better. They yell, 'just buy a bag of frozen ones, no one will know.. the world wont come to an end!' I just can't do it....some days I think a bag of frozen meatballs would make my life a whole lot easier.

So today I am forcing myself to make something fresh and delicious, I needed a dish that would assure me that summer really is around the corner.I have always been a big fan of chopped avocados with shrimp, so this is what Ill be serving up tonight, with crunchy crackers of course.

Juice of 4 limes
Slightly more than 1/2 cup of ketchup
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 pound of medium sized cooked shrimp, cleaned, tails removed, cut in half
1 small red onion finely chopped
2 medium avocados peeled and chopped
Hot sauce
Salt and pepper
Fresh chopped cilantro

Mix the ketchup, lime juice and Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl. Add the shrimp, onion and avocados, gently toss together. Season with hot sauce and salt and pepper.Cover and place in fridge for about an hour. Top off with fresh cilantro. Not to brag, but this dish really is tasty, I just gobbled up 3 spoonfuls before I wrapped it up. Oh, one last thing, the sweet little glass dishes you see I just picked up for 25 cents a piece at my local thrift shop. ;)

Halibut with Sweet Carrots and Cider Glaze

2010-03-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

I just made this fish dish last night. We all agreed it was quite tasty. The technique used to cook the carrots was new to me, it will now become my standard method for serving cooked carrots. I used halibut, however striped bass or any thick white fish would be delicious as well. The recipe was created by Chef Bruce Sherman, Chef and owner of the Chicago restaurant North Pond. Now I'm looking for an excuse to go to Chicago...

1/2 cup of apple cider
1/2 cup of cider vinegar
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch of organic carrots (peeled and sliced on the diagonal 1/8 inch thick)
2 garlic cloves crushed and peeled
2 rosemary sprigs
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 5 to 6 ounce skinless halibut fillets

In saucepan boil the cider and cider vinegar over medium high heat until reduced to about 2 tablespoons. This took about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in the butter. Now in a separate non stick skillet heat the olive oil. Spread the carrots in the skillet in an even layer, add the garlic and the rosemary. Cook over medium heat without stiring for about 5 minutes. Now reduce the heat to a lower temperature and continue cooking the carrots until tender and caramelized, about 4 to 5 more minutes. Remove the garlic and the rosemary, I was too lazy to pick out all the garlic and believe me the carrots were TO DIE FOR. Season with salt and pepper, stir in the parsley and about 1/2 of the reduced cider glaze. Now onto the fish, you could just make the carrots..but the fish does round out the meal nicely. Heat vegetable oil in a non stick skillet. Season fish with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook until the fillets are lightly golden about 4 to five minutes. Turn fish over, cooking other side for another 2 to 3 minutes. Place caramelized carrots on plates, position fish on top. Drizzle with the remaining cider glaze. Now tell me that doesn't look like a 42 dollar entree in a fancy sea food restaurant????????????

Roasted Beet Pesto

2010-02-09T18:39:00.000-08:00

My valentine hates beets. I on the other have have always loved them. Ive been known to put pickled sliced beets into ham and cheese sandwiches. When no ones looking Ill eat the pickled beets right out of the jar. I guess I'm strange that way. Its difficult to love a vegetable when everyone else in your house hates it. I decided to selfishly make a roasted beet pesto for valentines dinner on Sunday.I was tinkering with the recipe today, I must say the end result was quite tasty. The color? Ridiculous. For a moment I thought that even a non beet lover might enjoy this one. So Mr. Valentine walked in the door a few hours ago (very grouchy after a 2 hour commute home in the snow), I greeted him at the door by stuffing a warm pita wedge covered in beet pesto into his mouth. He LOVED it, no I mean like really loved it, like more than I loved it. So will you. If you want to get really fancy, go to TJ Maxx and pick up the little white heart dish to put it in for $2.99. Happy Valentines day folks. xoxoxo

2 medium raw beets cut in half
Salt and Pepper to taste
about a 1/4 cup of olive oil
2 peeled garlic cloves
1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup Parmesan

Warm toasted pita bread

Preheat oven to 400. Drizzle the beets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap in foil, roast in oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour till soft. I roasted the beets and toasted the pine nuts the night before. Once the beets are tender and cooled, remove the skins. In a food processor add beets, garlic, pine nuts and about 1/4 teaspoon of salt.. Combine ingredients till smooth. Slowly add the Parmesan and some olive oil until well combined. Serve with warm pita, keeps in fridge for about 3 days.

Shrimp Sliders

2010-02-02T05:08:00.000-08:00

Of course Ill be serving the traditional wings, guac, chips and dip next Sunday, but I thought it was time that I introduced something new and different. That new and different would be these deeeeeelightful shrimp sliders.I will be serving them with an assortment of yummy toppings . I was thinking red onion, tomato, avocado slices, tartar sauce and russian dressing.The nice part is the shrimp patties can be prepared long before everyone arrives. Lets face it, we are all kinda 'over' the mini cheese burger sliders.The idea of replacing the shrimp for the burger seemed like a fun idea. So this Sunday try something new, then do what I do, watch the commercials, stuff your face and ignore the game. Recipe brought to you by recent culinary grad Katie Machol...Katie, you go girl!!!

About 1 1/4 pound of medium shrimp peeled and cleaned
juice from 1/2 a lemon
2 tablespoons of mayo
hot sauce to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons of Cajun or Old Bay seasoning
about 3/4 a sleeve of crushed Ritz crackers(I have not purchased these crackers in years!!!)
Salt and pepper
handful if chopped cilantro
3 to 4 chopped scallions (only use white and light green sections, save top for garnish)

Sliced small dinner rolls

assorted toppings

Combine lemon juice, mayo, hot sauce, cajun seasoning, cracker crumbs,egg, cilantro, scallions and salt and pepper. Mix well together.Cut cleaned shrimp into small pieces, you want some texture, but you also want them to stay together,try to resist urge to throw them in the food processor. Add shrimp to mayo mixture, combine well.Form shrimp patties, making them slightly larger than the dinner rolls you plan on using. I ended up with about 14 small patties.Make sure the patties are not thicker than 1/2 an inch.Place patties on a lightly greased baking tray (that will fit in your freezer). Tray goes right in freezer for about 1 hour, a little longer is fine.The freezing will help them hold their shape while cooking.When the game begins, remove from freezer. Heat a large non stick pan, spray with oil (I know its non stick just do it), cook each side about 2 minutes till nicely golden and shrimp appear cooked. Stuff shrimp sliders in to warm rolls, add favorite toppings and enjoy.

Potato and Cheese Cake Frico Caldo

2010-01-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

A simple and delicious appetizer brought to you by chef Lachlan Mackinnon-Patterson. Chef Lachlan specializes in cuisine from the northeastern corner of Italy, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region. This region has little interest in meatballs and marinara. Due to Friuli Venezia Giulia's location, one finds many interesting culinary influences. For example I was surprised to learn that cumin and Cinnamon are common ingredients. So what is this town best known for? Prosciotto de San Danielle, the local cured ham.

So today I present Chef Lachlan's Frico Caldo, otherwise known as potato and cheese cake. Its a classic treat from Friuli-Venezia Giulia, a location I never heard of prior to this post, but now hope to visit.

1 large baking potato
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion diced small
1/4 cup grated cheese Asiago, Montasia or even Romano works, whatever you chose it will be delicious
Grated nutmeg to taste
s and p olive oil
4 slices of prosciutto

Cilantro Vinegar

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon minced shallot

red wine or sherry vinegar to taste

S and P

Start off by boiling the potato till tender. When the potato is cool enough to handle, remove the skin. Use your fingers and crumble the potato into small pieces, place crumbled potato in small bowl. Heat a 6 or 8 inch non stick skillet. Melt butter, add onions. Saute onions till lightly golden. Remove cooked onions from heat and gently mix with crumbled potato. Add cheese, nutmeg and S and P to taste, mix together. Now wipe out pan that you used to cook onions.Heat up a little olive oil in pan. Add potato mixture, flatten out with back of spatula. Cook for about 4 minutes till golden. Place a small plate on top, flip potato cake over, gently sliding uncooked side back into pan for another 4 minutes. (you may have to add a little more olive oil). While the second side of the potato cake is cooking, mix cilantro vinegar ingredients together. When you peek underneath and the potato mixture appears golden slide onto plate (it will be somewhat crumbly). Top with small pieces of prosciutto and lightly drizzle with cilantro vinegar. Or you can do what I did the first few times I made this, skip the vinegar all together, top with the prosciutto and chow.

Ramen with Flank Steak, Shitakes and Spinach

2010-01-20T03:39:00.000-08:00

I have a confession. I spent three years at a maximum security prison several years ago. Who would have guessed a little food blogger from Philadelphia would have such a sordid past? Well its true. Even thought I wasn't an inmate, those three years changed my life forever. I was hired as a therapist to council prisoners and manage a small group of employees. Where is this story going? Well in prison, all roads lead to ramen noodles. What?? Yup that's right. If your fortunate enough to have moolaa, the prison canteen ramen noodles are what you existed on. Inmates were always trying to come up with creative ways to prepare their noodles. A favorite was crushed cheetos or barbecue chips sprinkled on top of the steaming broth. If you had the resources to afford a can of spam, that would be chopped up and mixed in with the noodles. Sounds nasty? Not really, it was prison.

I recently came across a ramen recipe created by America's Test Kitchen. My heart sunk, immediately thinking about all the inmates I had gotten so close with. Most of them still serving their life sentences, while I had gone on to have a family and career. I thought to myself, If only shitakes and flank steaks were sold at the prison canteen. These two items alone would had made serving time a wee bit more tolerable. I was surprised at how delicious and simple this recipe was. My entire family LOVED it (this does not happen frequently). Its a keeper for a quick weeknight dinner. Let me know what you think once you make it.

1 pound flank steak sliced thin across the grain

6 teaspoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

8 ounces shitake mushroom, stemmed and sliced thin

3 garlic cloves minced

1 tablespoon grated ginger

5 to 6 cups chicken broth (the recipe called for 3 1/2 cups, I wanted it more soupy)

4 3 ounce packages ramen noodles (throw out seasoning package, if your locked up while reading this use it..hee hee..)

3 tablespoon white wine

2 teaspoon of sugar

1 6 ounce bag of baby spinach

Season with hot sauce or red chili paste

Mix sliced flank steak with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce. Heat oil in a non stick large skillet, add steak, cooking till brown and cooked though. Set aside in a bowl. Wipe out skillet, add 1 tablespoon of oil, cook sliced mushrooms till browned, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, cook less than 1 minute. Stir in broth. Now break the ramen up and add to the broth. Simmer for about 2 minutes till ramen is tender. Add the remaining soy sauce, wine, sugar. Stir in spinach.Now add the cooked flank steak along with accumulated juices and cook for another 2 minutes. Serve. If you ever do hard time in the future, you will be happy to have this recipe.Ill be sure to visit you and bring the shitakes and steak.

Manchego and Radicchio Quesadillas

2010-01-12T05:03:00.000-08:00

We all have that one go to dish we whip up when we are running late and everyone is hungry. For the past few years mine was chicken and cheese quesadillas. I would use store brought roasted chicken shredded, any type of cheese, tortillas and jarred salsa.. It was quick, delicious and everyone was happy.Oh, if I had leftover caramelized onions from the weekend they would get thrown in as well. Well apparently times have changed. I made them last week and everyone groaned...A certain individual stated that they are 'so over' these quesadillas that next time they planned on going to the neighbors for dinner!As a matter of fact several opted for a bowl of cereal instead!! I wasn't ready to give up on the quesadilla, I just needed to freshen up the interior.I made this new and improved version last night and no one pulled out the Captain Crunch. I used Manchego, a Spanish cheese made from sheep milk. It has a firm texture and nutty flavor. Italian perorino romano would be wonderful as well.

Olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove minced
1 teaspoon of minced fresh rosemary
Salt and Pepper
1 head of radicchio
2 Tablespoons of melted butter
6 flour tortillas
2 Tablespoons of tapenade, I used a jarred one made with green olives
About 1 1/2 to 2 cups of grated manchego or romano
fresh thyme leaves

Mix together oil, vinegar,garlic, rosemary and salt and pepper. Cut the radicchio into wedges, about 6. Brush the radicchio with the oil mixture. Place under the broiler till lightly charred, about 3 minutes. Brush on more of the oil mixture, turning the radicchio over.It took another 5 minutes till they were nicely browned and tender inside.(I did this part in the morning).

Slice the radicchio into thin slivers. Now get all of your ingredients ready. At this point my family is walking in the door saying "I'm starving.."Spread one side of the tortilla with a thin layer of tapenade. Place a tortilla in a warm skillet with melted butter (tapenade side up).Sprinkle with grated cheese, radicchio, thyme and ground pepper. Place 2nd tortilla on top, brush with melted butter. Press down with a spatula cooking till cheese is melted. Turn over quesadilla, cooking till other side is nicely golden. Cut into wedges and gobble up.

Spicy Butternut Squash Soup with Fried Shallots

2010-01-09T04:26:00.000-08:00

When a girl wants spicy, a girls gotta have spicy! I woke up to a blanket of snow Friday morning. Since I work at an alternative high school I get very excited when I see snow. It usually means one of two things. A two hour delay, or closing. Bummer, they called for a two hour delay..I was pissed! I decided to turn the day in to a closing and stay home and make soup. No one knows I blog at work so shhhhhhh. I built a nice fire, stayed in my PJ's (new leopard print snuggie wrapped around me) and made this delicious, very spicy soup. Warning folks, the crispy fried shallots are quite addictive. They are so easy to make, and even easier to eat. By the time the soup was done, I had to make another batch. Even if your not into spicy soups, do try to make the shallots, they have become my latest food addiction.

Vegetable oil

1 garlic clove chopped

3 or 4 (if you like heat) tablespoons of red pepper paste

1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk

1 tablespoon fish sauce

zest and juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 to 1 /2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 pound of butternut squash cut into small pieces about 3/4 inch

all purpose flour

6 shallots sliced very thinly

salt to taste cilantro for garnish

In a large sauce pan heat 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the garlic and cook until lightly brown. Mix in the red pepper paste. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, continue stirring. Add the fish sauce and coconut milk. Add the lime juice, zest, sugar and stock. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and add the diced butternut squash. Cook for about 25 minutes till squash is tender, not mushy. Now, while the soup is simmering lets talk about those delectable fried shallots. Place about 3 tablespoons of flour in a small bowl. Try to separate the shallots into rings as you toss and coat them in flour. In a small heavy saucepan heat about an inch of oil. When the oil is hot add 1/2 the shallots, cooking till golden. Cook second batch, drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. I left mine in the oil for about 10 seconds too long, your shallots should be slightly more golden and less burnt looking than mine. Once the squash is tender, the soup is done. Season with salt, I added a little more broth towards the end as I like my soup a little thinner. Serve soup in bowls garnished with fried shallots and cilantro.

Mario Batali's Baked Ziti

2010-01-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

Mario, I love you. No, seriously, I really love you. After making your baked ziti this past weekend, I realized that a chubby bearded man wearing orange clogs is what Ive been looking for all along.

I decided that before I attempt to embrace my healthy New Year resolutions, I would go out with a bang. Mario's baked ziti was just what we were looking for . I've been eating numerous variations of ziti for a very long time. Most of them, blahhhhh. I always hope for something special, perhaps a little basciamella, fresh mozzarella, nope never. Its always the same, an aluminum tray of ho mum overcooked ziti sitting on top of a whimpy Sterno flame. Well, Mario changes all of that, introducing Mario's Ziti al Telefono.

1 pound ziti(Cooked al dente, drain and rinse under cool water)
2 cups tomato sauce (I used a jarred sauce called Patsy's)
2 cups besciamella (directions below)
1 pound of fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup grated parmigiano reggiano

Basciamella

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups of whole milk

1 to 2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour, stirring till light golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking constantly. Cook till thickened, about 10 minutes, remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, let cool.

Place drained cooked ziti in a large bowl. Add the tomato sauce, basciamella, mozzarella and Parmigiano to the ziti. Mix and stir well. I divided the pasta into 8 individual gratin dishes. A 9 by 13 dish works great as well. Bake for 20 minutes until bubbling and crusty on top. Serve immediately.

Lump Crabmeat with Russian Dressing

2009-12-27T18:55:00.000-08:00

My mother made this crab dish on New Years Eve for as long as I can remember. As a child I would watch the adults swarm in, scooping up the fresh crab meat with the warm pumpernickel bread. For a brief moment, no one would speak, just eat . As I became interested in cooking, my mother would always say, 'keep it simple, just always start with the freshest ingredients.'. So for this New Years Eve (if you can), spurge and spend 28 bucks on a container of jumbo lump crab meat. You and your guests will bring in the New Year with delicious style, just don't forget the champagne.

Russian Dressing

3/4 cup Hellman's mayo
2 to 3 Tablespoons of ketchup
a few shakes of red wine vinegar
ground pepper

A pound of jumbo lump crab meat (or what you can afford..this dish is really not worth making if you use the little 2 dollar cans from the supermarket)

1 lemon

Sliced pumpernickel or rye bread

Mix ingredients together for Russian dressing. In a separate bowl gently toss crab meat with lemon juice. I usually do all of the above in the morning, so when I serve it later on everything is nicely chilled.

When ready to serve, warm bread. Place crab meat on plate, with Russian dressing . Serve with warm pumpernickel bread.

Cranberry Goat Cheese Log

2009-12-21T04:15:00.000-08:00

I recently purchased a cranberry goat cheese log from Trader Joe's. Although I enjoyed the flavor combination, overall it was ehhhhhhh. I discovered that making it with fresh cranberries makes a BIG difference.I took this one to a holiday party last night, and guess what? Someone else brought the Trader Joe's log. Do I need to even tell you which one got gobbled up???

1/4 ounce package of gelatin
1/4 cup water
12 ounce package fresh cranberries
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup of cranberry juice ( I used water for this)
1/4 cup raspberry liqueur
12 ounce log goat cheese

Mix the gelatin and 1/4 cup of water in a small bowl. In sauce pan combine cranberries, sugar, cinnamon, cranberry juice and liqueur. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes.Pour in the gelatin mixture and cook until it becomes as thick as jelly.Place the cranberry mixture in the fridge for a few hours. I made mine the night before I planned on serving it. Once the cranberry mixture is cool, unroll a 20 inch piece of plastic wrap. Spoon about 1 cup of the cranberry sauce onto the middle of the plastic wrap. Spread the sauce in to the shape of a rectangle, slightly longer than the goat cheese. Place the goat cheese on top. Spoon another 1/2 cup of cranberry sauce over the top of the goat cheese. ( I had about 1/2 a cup of cranberry sauce leftover ). Now you need to wrap the log up in plastic wrap. Once wrapped, use your hands to spread the sauce evenly around the cheese. At this point I placed the log in the fridge. It travels well this way, so when I arrived at my cousins holiday party I just unwrapped it and served with crackers. I wanted to garnish with a couple holly leaves, but the snow was too deep to get to it, maybe next year....

Grilled Halloumi cheese on toast with peppadew peppers

2009-12-16T12:07:00.000-08:00

OK folks here's an easy one for the holidays. Halloumi, a cheese from Cyprus made from sheep and goats milk is the star attraction. I know, Hallouwho???? Halloumi, its a wonderful grilling cheese which is so easy to prepare. I sliced it, then placed the slices in a warm non stick pan. The interesting part is, the cheese doesn't melt, it caramelizes!!! Once lightly brown, place the warm cheese on a toasted baguette. I topped it off with South African Peppadew peppers. Be creative with the topping, I may even try some homemade white peach jelly on top next time around. So go find the Halloumi cheese, (its not cheap as I spent 10 bucks for a small block) for a simply delicious appetizer this holiday season!

1/2 pound piece of Halloumi cheese
Toasted baguette slices
Peppadew Peppers (any type of grilled or sweet pepper would be delicious)

Slice Halloumi cheese into 1/4 inch slices. Place in warm non stick pan, cook till lightly golden brown, flip over. Toast baguette slices, place caramelized cheese on warm bread, top with peppers.

Roasted Corn Chowder

2009-12-09T17:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I like to challenge myself by making something delicious without going to the store. It was a snowy weekend and I was feeling extremely lazy.My typical Saturday morning trip to the grocery store was not an option. I really was craving a good bowl of soup. Unfortunately Ive never been a soup from a can type of gal, sometimes I wish I was. All I could think about was the fabulous corn chowder at Whole Foods a few weeks ago. So the throw down challenge would be to make a delicious corn chowder without leaving the house. I knew I had a bag of frozen corn in the freezer. I immediately grabbed it, spreading the frozen corn out on a baking tray. I drizzled it with olive oil and quickly stuck it under the broiler. Soon after I began my creative search for the remaining ingredients. The end result was delicious home made soup, perfect for a snowy weekend.

1 Tablespoon of butter

4 slices of pancetta diced or or just stick with the butter

1 diced medium onion

2 carrot's diced

2 pieces celery diced

1 bag of frozen corn (about 2 cups) drizzled with olive oil and roasted under broiler for about 20 minutes

6 cups of chicken or veggie broth

3 cups of milk

Thyme (I put in 2 sprigs)

1/2 red pepper diced

I used 6 klondike petite purple potatoes 1 medium peeled diced potato would be fine

S and P

In a large soup pot melt butter and cook pancetta till lightly browned. Add onion carrot and celery and thyme. Cook for about 15 minutes. Add roasted corn. Pour in broth and milk. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add diced potato and red pepper. Continue cooking till potato is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Serve on a blanket of snow..like I did.

Cauliflower Latkes

2009-12-04T16:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at the farmers market I saw this cauliflower that looked like it was on steroids. It was freakin HUGE. How could something so unique be only five dollars? I bought it of course. The farmer seemed somewhat sad to let it go. He held on to it like an infant, as he shared a sweet story of how the cauliflower got so large. I listened closely, telling him it was the most beautiful cauliflower I had ever seen. I felt the need to wave more than once as I walked away with his prized cauliflower. I have this feeling he had become somewhat attached to the cauliflower, in a strange kind of way. Did I feel guilty cutting it into sections? A little.Did everyone love the cauliflower latkes? YES YES YES.

1 2 pound cauliflower (the monster I bought is not necessary).
salt and ground pepper
vegetable oil
1 onion finely chopped
7 tablespoons unseasoned breadcrumbs
2 large eggs

Cook cauliflower in a large pot of salted water over high heat for about 15 to 20 minutes till very tender. While cauliflower is cooking heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes till golden brown. Drain cauliflower well, and mash with a potato masher. Try to leave a few small pieces of cauliflower. Add the bread crumbs, eggs, fried onion and salt and pepper. Mix well.Wipe out the pan that you used to fry the onions, add 4 tablespoons of oil and warm pan. Take a scoop of cauliflower mixture about size of golf ball and make a small patty. Try to flatten patty to about 1/2 inch thick. Add about 4 of these 1/2 inch patties to pan.Cook over medium heat about 4 minutes on each side till golden brown. Flip over carefully, cooking another 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well on paper towels. Serve immediately, sprinkled with kosher salt. I served these latkes with sour cream and chopped chives.

Turkey Canape with Cranberry Cream Cheese

2009-11-24T05:29:00.000-08:00

I did Thanksgiving on Sunday. One brother is heading to Ireland, the other brother will not be with his children for the 1st time. I decided to be the sweet little sister who was willing to take on Thanksgiving for a dozen people 5 days early. My back still hurts from two days of chopping, mixing and standing. Was it worth it? Absolutely. To begin the meal, I stole an idea from Parade magazine. Guests are handed a bowl of corn kernels, they are asked to take 1 kernel for each thing they are grateful for. Some family members choose 1, others choose 7. Everyone shared, everyone cried. Bottom line, we were all so grateful just to be together. I intended on posting pictures with the menu, didn't happen. We ate like pigs. We all agreed it was the most delicious Thanksgiving meal we had ever eaten. (We say that every year!!) Guests left complaining of full bellies. Soooo, go get a bowl of kernels and share what you are thankful for. Then forget about weight watchers and enjoy every single bite! The following evening try these Turkey Canapes with Cranberry Cream Cheese. While using up leftovers, you will have a tasty little appetizer. Wishing all of you a peaceful and happy turkey day.

Sliced turkey breast
1 8 ounce bar of cream cheese at room temperture
leftover (homemade of course) cranberry relish. I always make the recipe on the bag of the Ocean Spray cranberries,I just add a teaspoon of orange zest.
Sliced pumpernickel bread
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Place 3 Tablespoons of cranberry relish(or sauce) in a small bowl. Add cream cheese, blend till well combined. The cream cheese will become a delightful pink color. I had extra, so I spread it on a fresh bagle on following morning.

Spread about 8 slices of bread with cream cheese mixture. Place a few slice of turkey on top. Cut the crust off the sides and slice into triangles.

Top each triangle with a small dollop of cream cheeese and a cranberry. Garnish with fresh rosemary.

Pear and Arugula Salad with Goat Cheese

2009-11-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

I just made this salad as a trial run for Thanksgiving. It got many thumbs up, soooo I thought I would share. The recipe comes from a supper club out of Athens, Georgia. The supper club has this rule that they never make the same thing twice. They may want to make an exception as I plan on serving this salad on a frequent basis.

1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
salt and ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon chopped thyme
3 large handfuls of baby arugula
2 pears sliced thinly on a mandoline
1/2 cup salted roasted pumpkin seeds
3 ounces fresh goat cheese crumbled

Whisk oilve oil with lemon juice honey and chopped thyme. Season with salt and pepper. In separate large bowl mix arugula with pear slices and pumpkin seeds. Add dressing, I did not use all of it. Top with crumbled goat cheese and serve.

Grape Salsa, Brie and Walnut Tarts

2009-11-15T05:32:00.000-08:00

On turkey day this is what my guests will be biting into first. I did a trial run yesterday with my older brother. After tasting just one, he looked at me and said "ten." I live for tens, I rarely get them, lots of eights and nines, just not many tens.How could you go wrong? A crispy filo cup filled with toasted walnuts, warm brie and grape salsa. Now you ask, 'what the hell is grape salsa?' I can't really explain, you are just going to have to read on. I just know its the perfect topping to this delectable appetizer.

1 cup of seedless red grapes cut in half
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion
1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
ground pepper
2 packages of mini filo shells (I purchased Athens brand, 15 baked shells in each box)
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
8 ounces of brie, rind removed (I prefer French Brie)

Pre heat oven to 325. Place the grapes and kosher salt in a food processor, mix till coarsely chopped. Put chopped grapes in a strainer, let sit for 10 minutes. I pressed down on chopped grapes to remove excess liquid. Separately mix the green onion, vinegar, oil, rosemary, garlic and pepper. Mix in the strained grapes. Now you may say to yourself, "let me just take a swig of this fresh grape juice that I just going to toss.." Don't, the salt kills it. I did this because I hate waste, I totally gagged. Just pour it right down the drain.

Now you are ready to assemble these lil tartlets. Place the shells on a baking sheet and fill each one with about 1/2 teaspoon of toasted walnuts. Now top the walnuts with a small amount of brie (a little less than 1 teaspoon). Finally add the grape salsa on top, again about 1/2 a teaspoon. Bake for about 7 minutes and serve immediately. Just wait for the "tens."

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

2009-11-08T11:46:00.000-08:00

I made this soup for Thanksgiving last year. Family members are already asking if I'm making it again. The answer is no. I refuse to repeat the same exact Thanksgiving dinner year after year. The core menu stays the same, I just like to tweak the appetizers a bit. I realize that its gonna be tough to find a soup to top this one. I'm thinking something along the lines of a chopped salad loaded with toasted pecans and cranberries. Either way they will whine about the disappearance of last years soup. This recipe comes from Susanna Foo, winner of two James Beard Awards. I have been dining in her restaurants in Philadelphia for many years. Many credit Susanna Foo for having brought Chinese food onto the modern realm. I credit her for a really delicious butternut squash soup.

A 2 1/2 pound butternut squash
2 medium parsnips
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots sliced
3 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
7 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Peel the butternut squash. Remove the seeds, cut into 1 inch pieces. Cut off tops pf parsnips, peel and cut into 1 inch pieces. Place squash and parsnips on large baking sheet. Spoon 2 tablespoons of olive oil over vegetables, coat well. Bake for 1 hour until soft. Set aside.

In a stockpot combine remaining oil, shallots, and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes till soft and lightly golden. Add ginger and wine, simmer 5 minutes. Stir in cinnamon, cream and butter. Cook until reduced by half. Add squash, parsnips, honey and stock, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Let soup cool down for about 20 minutes. Puree soup in a blender in batches. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with basil oil, or top with a crouton.

Turnip and Leek soup with Orange Gremolata

2009-11-03T13:39:00.000-08:00

So as I'm checking out of the grocery store the other day, the cashier shoves a monthly coupon book into one of my bags. Typically its filled with coupons for items I don't use, as well as a seasonal recipe that's completely lame. Something like ghost brownies. This would mean brownies cut into squares, a scoop of marshmallow fluff on top, with 2 black jelly beans stuck in the fluff so the lil fellow can see. Well something or someone changed their approach this month. This months coupon book featured Turnip and Leek Soup with Orange Gremolata. After rolling my eyes for so long, I decided to give this soup a try. I'm so happy I did. It was beautiful to look at, and quite tasty. Even my non turnip loving guests seemed to enjoy it. The orange gremolata adds a delicious freshness, something I never would have thought of adding.

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 pound turnips(try to find small young ones) peeled and diced to 1 inch cubes
1 medium leek diced
1 large potato peeled and diced to 1 inch cubes
5 to 6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
Kosher salt ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup of milk

Gremolata

About 1/3 of an orange zested, 4 stems Italian parsley 1 diced garlic clove

Heat oil in large sauce pan. Add turnips, diced leek and potatoes. Cook for about 20 minutes, till vegetables appear tender and begin to brown. Add broth, tomato paste and S and P. Bring to a simmer , cook 15 to 20 minutes longer. Remove 1 cup of vegetables. Using an immersion blender puree remaining soup,add milk to pureed soup.

For gremolata finely chop orange zest parsley and garlic.

To serve, ladle soup into wide shallow bowls. Place large spoonful of reserved vegetables in middle, sprinkle gremolata on top. Enjoy.

Pizza Dough Scallion Pancakes with Soy Dipping Sauce

2009-10-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

I recently read about Chef Joanna Chang's approach to using supermarket staples for making Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. I was looking for an appetizer that was tasty, yet not too labor intensive. I decided to try Chef Chang's scallion pancakes with soy dipping sauce. All I can say is WOW. The toughest part was driving to my local pizza shop for the dough. I had to deal with Vinnie saying.."my pizza no good for you???" I didn't feel like explaining the scallion pancake deal, I bought a slice with the dough just to shut him up.

I'm sure Chef Chang's pancakes came out flatter and more attractive than mine. Even though they were somewhat puffy, everyone loved them, especially the warm center that reminded my friends of a fresh soft pretzel. I promise you these won't disappoint.

5 scallions 4 minced 1 sliced
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 pound pizza dough room temperature
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon water
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil

In a small bowl mix the minced scallions with 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil. Add salt. Slice dough in half. Roll out each piece of dough to a large rectangle. Mine turned out to be about 4' x 8' inches. I had to really stretch the dough as it kept wanting to snap back into a ball. Spread the scallion mixture over dough, leaving a 1 inch border. Beginning at wide end, roll up dough as if you were making a jelly roll. Pinch ends to seal. Coil each roll of dough into a round, tucking end under the coil.Cover for about 20 minutes.

For dipping sauce, combine sliced scallions, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, soy sauce, water and vinegar in a bowl.

After 20 minutes uncover dough. Using a large rolling pin roll out dough coil into a flat circle.(some of the scallion mixture will come out, don't worry about it) I had to stretch the dough with my hands, it was somewhat difficult getting it flat.

In a large skillet, heat canola oil. When the oil is hot, place 1 pancake in pan. It took about 1 to 2 minutes per side.(watch as they brown quickly) If I burnt them I really didn't want to go back to get more dough and deal with Vinnie again. Flip over pancake when golden. I used a spatula to flatten dough as it cooked, this seemed to work well. Drain on paper towels. Cut into quarters and serve with soy dipping sauce. Thank you chef Chang your a genius. Vinnie your a genius too. :)

Sweet Potato Ravioli

2009-10-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

As the weather gets cooler Ive been really craving pasta. I'm not much of a pasta person, so I pay attention when these cravings hit. The other day while out to lunch I ordered sweet potato, arugula and walnut pasta salad. The combination of the sweet potato with the pasta was incredible. The following day I made these sweet potato raviolis for din din. They were a big hit, using won ton wrappers instead of rolling out fresh pasta made life much easier.

1 large sweet potato, (1 lb 2 oz) peeled and chopped
1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
6 to 8 oz butter
1/2 ts sugar (optional)
1/2 cup grated parm cheese
1 Tablespoon of chopped chives
1 egg lightly beaten
1 9oz packet won ton wrappers (look for the thin ones)
2 Tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped walnuts

Cook the chopped sweet potato and lemon juice in a sauce pan of boiling water. This took about 20 minutes till the potato was tender. Drain and cool. Blend sweet potato and 1 oz of butter in food processor till smooth. Add parm, chopped chives and 1/2 of mixed egg. Season with salt and pepper. Brush egg mixture around edges of several won ton wrappers. Put 2 teaspoons of sweet potato mixture in the center of the won ton. Top with another won ton, pressing edges firmly together.

Cook the ravioli in salted boiling water. This just takes about 2 minutes, as you want them al dente.

Melt the remaining butter in sauce pan, cook till lightly golden. Add sage leaves, allow them to crisp up a bit. Drain raviolis, add them to browned butter and sage for a quick toss. Serve immediately grated parm and chopped walnuts.

Israeli couscous pasta salad

2009-10-19T04:52:00.000-07:00

I just discovered Israeli couscous. I always thought couscous was couscous. The Israeli type is slightly larger, with a delicious toasted flavor.Sometimes its called pearl couscous or maftoul. Its a small round semolina pasta, similar to orzo, yet with a nutty flavor. Whole Foods seems to always have it in stock, however today I found it in the international aisle of my hoo hum grocery store. The brand I used was called Osem, it came in a nice plastic container that I'm sure Ill find another use for.I doubled this recipe to feed a crowd this weekend, everyone loved it. The addition of dried cranberries and toasted pecans make this just perfect for a fall gathering. If after searching you can only find the regular couscous, it works fine as well. However the Israeli couscous is definitely worth the search.

2 cups of Israeli couscous
2 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of toasted chopped pecans
4 scallions minced

Dressing

3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 to 2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar
zest from 1 orange
juice from 1 zest ed orange
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon tarragon
salt and pepper to taste

Add 2 cups of couscous to 2 1/2 cups of boiling broth. Cover pot and simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off heat, let couscous rest on stove top. Chop and toast pecans (my 1st batch burnt to charcoal black..keep and eye on them). Mince scallions and put aside.For dressing add vinegar in to a medium sized bowl, slowly whisk in canola oil. Add orange zest and orange juice. Add turmeric,thyme and tarragon, season with salt and pepper.

Place couscous and large bowl, break up clumps with your hands. Add toasted pecans , dried cranberries and scallions. Pour dressing over couscous, mix everything together. Let me know what you think of the Israeli couscous.

Tile fish with fall vegetable soup

2009-10-05T05:17:00.000-07:00

Several years ago Philadelphia was voted America's fattest city by Men's Health magazine. Many local chefs were asked to come up with healthy, yet delicious recipes that could perhaps shake the image of us being a bunch of porkers. Local chef Mark Plescha (he looked eleven in his snap shot by the way), came up with this tasty recipe for tile fish which sits on a bed of fall vegetable soup. I expected ordinary, yet was pleasantly surprised how tasty this dish was.

4 fillets 5 to 6 oz tile fish ( Couldn't file tile, so I use Chilean sea bass, any thick white fish will do)
1 cup of diced carrots
3 cups diced squash
5 medium diced shallots
3 cloves of garlic crushed
olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup white wine
4 cups of chicken stock
1 ts thyme
4 ts butter (amazing that he won even sneaking the butter in).

Season fish with salt and pepper. Pre heat oven to 350. Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in saute pan.Add shallots. carrots, cook till soft. Add squash and garlic, cook another 5 minutes.Pour in wine and bring to a simmer. While stirring add chicken broth and chopped thyme. Cook until reduced about 1/2 and veggies are tender. While veggies are simmering, heat over proof saute pan over high heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, when hot, place fish in pan flesh side down. Sear about 2 minutes till lightly brown. Flip over fish, add butter. Place pan in oven about 5 minutes, basting with juices from pan.

Using a slotted spoon drain veggies from broth, placing in 4 bowls. Plop a lightly browned fish fillet on top, drizzle some broth over fish and vegetables, garnish with thyme.

Zucchini Linguine

2009-09-27T04:09:00.000-07:00

I know, I know your so over zucchini. We are heading in to October and I felt the same way. That was before I discovered Grace Parisis' zucchini linguine with herbs. Zucchini and scallions are shredded to look like linguine. Wait..it gets better. She mixes these veggies with melted butter and herbs, tosses in some cooked linguine and tops it all off with pecorino cheese.

Many birthdays ago I was given a mandoline. I used it once to perfectly slice onions, however I also happen to slice my index finger. My perfect onion slices were covered in blood. Since that incident, my sweet mandoline has been in hiding. This time I was more careful, ending up with lovely string like zucchini strands. I planned on calling it zucchini beet linguine if I just happen to slice my finger again. I can hear the comments already.." that beet juice adds such great color to the linguine." Seriously, this is a great 'say goodbye to summer veggies' pasta dish.

2 pounds small zucchini
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 scallions thinly sliced lengthwise
salt and pepper
About 3/4 pound of linguine
1 Tablespoon chopped tarragon
1/2 Tablespoon chopped lemon thyme (I used regular thyme, it was fine, I got done on time, please don't whine).
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
About 1 cup of freshly grated cheese, Grace Parisi recommends pecorino, I used parm and it was delicious)

Break out your mandoline to julienne the zucchini lengthwise. Avoid the seedy centers. Mandolines have really come down in price since I got one. This recipe may be a good excuse to pick one up. Just think, you will have perfectly sliced onions and tomatoes on your burgers at your next barbecue. FYI, if you cut yourself, and you just might, don't whine to me about it, just be careful. Ok back to the zucchini, when you are finished you should have about 6 cups of beautiful zucchini strands.

Cook linguine in salted water till al dente, drain, be sure to reserve 1 cup of the water from the pasta.

In a large pan melt the butter, adding both the scallions and zucchini. Cook for about 10 minutes till the zucchini begins to soften, season with salt and pepper. Combine the linguine with the zucchini and scallions. Add the chopped tarragon, lemon zest, thyme and grated cheese. Mix everything together slowly adding pasta water. Cook over high heat, stiring occasionally till the sauce appears to thicken. This took about 4 minutes. Scoop a nice portion on to a plate, garnish with grated cheese.

Goat Cheese, Fig and Olive Dip

2009-09-16T05:16:00.000-07:00

Ive always been a dippy girl. Plop me down on a couch with a tasty dip and a few girl friends and I'm good. Store bought onion dip, spinach dips in bread bowls not so much. A nice warm dip with goat cheese, fig jam and olives...lets talk. This is a Rachel Soszynski recipe that is ridiculously delicious. Don't wait for the super bowl, whip this up, serve warm with chips and veggies.

Pre heat oven 350

12 pitted black olives (I grabbed a few yummy Greek olives from our local salad bar)
1 large diced garlic clove
1/2 pound of cream cheese (stick with 1 block of Philadelphia brand)1/2 pound of goat cheese (I used 1 5.5 oz log..it was fine)
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup parm
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup fig jam
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
A good drizzle of olive oil

veggies and chips for dipping

Pulse olives and garlic, then add cream cheese, goat cheese, mayo and parm. Season with salt and pepper. Spread fig jam on bottom of baking dish (about 1/4 inch thick), spoon cheese mixture on top. Toss panko with olive oil, sprinkle on top of cheese mixture. Bake 20 minutes till the bread crumbs are golden and the dip looks somewhat puffy. I picked a baking dish that was WAY too small, as a result it poured all over my oven making one big friggin mess. Once the dip was done, I decided to sit with my warm delicious dip as I stared at my charred oven knowing I was in no mood to tackle it. Serve warm with chips and veggies

Easy Minestrone

2009-09-11T02:59:00.000-07:00

As I stood in the pouring rain this morning at 5 am with my two dogs I decided today would definitely be a soup day. After waiting for over 5 minutes for them to do their stuff, soaking wet, I pulled them back inside. It was a waste of time, as once outside they stared at me as if to say, 'why are we outside when our little beds are so warm and cozy?' I understood, yet work was calling and they needed to pee. My reward for surviving the week would be coming home to a warm bowl of minestrone, topped with freshly grated parm.

1 cup of tubetti
olive oil
10 cups of chicken stock
1/4 pound pancetta (I used bacon diced up, too lazy to go to store)
8 garlic cloves cut in half
2 small onions diced
1 cup celery
4 to 5 carrots diced
1 stem of rosemary
1 14 oz can cannelini beans, rinsed
1 14 1/2 can diced tomatoes
3 to 4 small diced zucchini
1 large peeled potato diced
Grated parm

Cook pasta in salted water, drain. In large pan heat 1/4 cup of olive oil, when hot, add pancetta or in my case bacon, brown for about 3 minutes.(I drained about 3/4 of the bacon grease and oil out of the pan). Add garlic, brown for about 1 minute, add onions, celery and carrots, cook for about 10 minutes. Add rosemary , beans and tomatoes, zucchini , diced potato and stock, cook for 20 to 30 minutes till potatoes are tender. Skim off any foam that forms on top, add cooked pasta. Serve topped with parm. Now take your dogs out in the rain with a smile.

Grilled Vegetable Salad with Yogurt Cucumber Dressing

2009-08-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

I keep buying way too much at the farmers market. When for 3 bucks , I can get 4 peppers, 2 eggplant and 2 zucchinis who can resist? This summer I have made several pots of ratatouille, maybe one time to many according to a certain individual. Unfortunately way too often, my farmers market purchases end up shriveled up on my window sill. Today I came home and decided a nice grilled vegetable salad would be the perfect order of the day. I came across this recipe ages ago, it was created by Art Smith (Opra's personal chef). To me that said lots of flavor with a healthy twist. So go ahead fill up your bags at the farmers market for this delicious grilled summer salad.

Dressing

1 cup of plain non fat yogurt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 Tablespoon of dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons white balsamic (I only had regular and it was fine)
1 garlic clove pressed
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded grated and squeezed to remove excess water
Chopped fresh chives(about 1 tablespoon)
Salt and ground pepper
Pinch of cayenne

Grilled Vegetables

1/4 cup of olive oil for brushing vegetables
1 pound of trimmed asparagus
2 medium zucchini cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 medium yellow squash cut just like the zucchini
1 medium eggplant cut lengthwise into 3/4 inch slices
2 peppers, I used 1 yellow and 1 red, cut into wide strips
Salt and ground pepper
4 cups salad greens
1 pint grape tomatoes

For the dressing place yogurt, buttermilk, mustard, vinegar and garlic in a food processor till smooth. Add the cucumber and chives and pulse to combine. Season with salt pepper and cayenne. Cover and place in fridge.

If you have a gas grill, preheat on high, lightly oil the grill grates. A grilled pan on the stove top works fine as well. Brush all the vegetables with olive oil. Grill until tender, turning as needed. Make sure the peppers are charred, this takes a bit longer. When the peppers look well done, remove them, letting them rest 10 minutes. When cool, peel off skin. Chop all the vegetables into bite size pieces, season with salt and pepper. Toss together.

Place a handful of greens on plate, arrange about a cup of grilled vegetables on top, surrounding, with cherry tomatoes(you can skip the tomatoes, I find that they add nice color), top off with cucumber yogurt dressing. A plate of summer goodness just waiting for you to dig in.

Sauted onion and zucchini lasagna

2009-08-23T05:32:00.000-07:00

Before we head into Labor day I have to post one last zucchini recipe. You may like this one so much that you find yourself buying zucchini in the dead of winter. The ingredients are fairly simple, and its a nice change from traditional lasagna. So start slicing those zucchinis nice and thin before you never want to look at another zucchini again.

About 6 cups of onions sliced thin
1 1/2 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme leaves
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1 pound zucchini sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 3 cups)
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
freshly grated nutmeg to taste
3 7 inch squares instant no boil lasagna
1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pan cook onions in 2 tablespoons of butter, season with salt and ground pepper. Cook over low heat, covered for about 30 minutes till very tender and slightly golden. After 30 minutes remove lid, cook for 15 more minutes, adding wine. Continue to stir as onions lightly brown. Cook until most of wine is evaporated. Stir in fresh thyme, place onion mixture in bowl.

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 8 inch square baking dish. Wipe out pan that onions cooked in. Cook half of zucchini in 1 tablespoon of butter in one layer till tender and lightly golden, about 5 minutes(flip over at half way point). Place in a small bowl. Cook remaining zucchini the same way in 1 tablespoon of butter. In small heavy sauce pan melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Add flour and cook roux. Continue to whisk for 3 to 4 minutes. Add milk in a stream, constantly whisking. Bring milk and flour mixture to a simmer. Add nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer sauce till thickened about 2 to 3 minutes.

Spread a few tablespoons of sauce on bottom of buttered dish. Top with 1 lasagna square, half of onions, half of zucchini, a third more sauce and a third of Parmesan. Repeat. Top with remaining lasagna square, sauce and Parmesan. Be sure to press down to make sure lasagna squares are covered in sauce and onion mixture.

Bake lasagna for 30 to 40 minutes till golden. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

Zucchini Hummus

2009-08-13T03:13:00.000-07:00

A hummus recipe that's free of garbanzo beans, healthy and tastes great? Oh, and uses up my overwhelming supply of zucchini from my garden? Yup its true, I'm now a believer. Whip this up, don't tell anyone whats in it, plop down a bowl and watch it disappear. When you reveal the truth, they will all want the recipe once they discover that its made with raw zucchini. The good news is I'm down 3 zucchinis and I have a great app for my neighbors party this afternoon.

3 medium sized zucchinis peeled and chopped
6 Tbs lemon juice
4 cloves of garlic
2 ts paprika
2 ts sea salt
1/2 ts cumin
1 ts turmeric
2 pinches cayenne
1/2 cup tahini
1 cup of shelled sunflower seeds soaked for 1 hour in 2 cups of water
A few drizzles of olive oil
Parsley for garnish

Place all ingredients (drain water from sunflower seeds) except parsley in food processor till smooth. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with chopped parsley.

Serve with veggies and toasted pita.

Thai Noodles

2009-08-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Its been so hot and humid my way, I really haven't felt like turning the oven on. My AC died a few days ago. The repairman arrived yesterday(4 hours late smelling of beer), only to inform me that he had to order a part and that it would take another 3 days. After hearing this devastating news, I chose not offer him one of the heath bar brownies that he was staring at on my center island. So now I sit waiting for the AC man to return, and yes FYI he did have some major plumber butt going on. It was not a pretty sight. Anyway..I decided to make Anna Pump's Thai Noodle salad. Just in case the name doesn't ring a bell, Ina Garten claims that all her inspiration comes from Anna Pump. Anna tends to use simple fresh ingredients that pack a punch. She shares that this is one of her most popular salads, I now understand why as its delicious and perfect for a hot summer night. I made it about 6am before the real heat kicked in. For dinner we enjoyed it with leftover grilled chicken and fresh fruit. By the way, the AC guy came for dinner....not.

1 pound of capellini
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice vinegar (I used red wine vinegar it was fine)
2 Tbs toasted sesame oil
1 Tbs sugar
1 ts red pepper flakes
2 ts fresh minced ginger
1 1/2 ts garlic
1 Tbs kosher salt
1 cup chopped radicchio
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Cook capellini for about 8 minutes, drain and place in large bowl. Pour oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil and sugar into food processor. Add ginger garlic and salt, process for 30 seconds.

Pour dressing over noodles, and mix well. Add radicchio, scallions and cilantro. Mix to blend, serve at room temp.

Grilled Watermelon Salad

2009-08-05T03:39:00.000-07:00

When I was nine years old I won a televised watermelon eating contest. Yup that's right, I was on a small game show called 'Dialing For Dollars' which was broad casted out of Philadelphia. Audience members voted on who they thought would be the winner. I was competing against two pimply fourteen year old boys, who immediately assumed I was a big joke. Even at nine, their lack of respect only charged my watermelon engine. I kicked @$$, winning a 25.00 dollars gift certificate to Sears. I remember purchasing a furry hot pink bean bag chair and hoop earrings. For a nine year old life was good.

As an adult I still like watermelon, I just find myself searching for new ways to serve it. The idea of grilling watermelon sounded really interesting. The result was a delicious summer salad loaded with lots of terrific flavors and great color.

Mixed baby greens

1 small watermelon sliced

1/2 cup of feta cheese crumbled

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

olive oil

aged balsamic vinegar

salt

fresh ground pepper

Place baby greens on plate, top with feta and toasted pine nuts. On a very hot grill sear watermelon slices on both sides. Remove from grill and cut into cubes. (Be careful to cut at least 1/2 an inch from rind, as I learned that grilled rind is very funky). Place cubes on top of greens. Drizzle with aged balsamic and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, serve ASAP.

Tomato, Prosciutto Gruyere Open Faced Sandwiches

2009-08-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

I thought I would end my tomato series with something ridiculously delicious. A broiled open faced sandwich topped with melted gruyere. Whats inside? Tomato, prosciutto, garlic and a drizzle of wine. Basically portable fondue. Chef Daniel Homm created this yummy concoction, its been in the top 9 in my house all summer.

4 slices of white bread
2 Tb olive oil
1 garlic clove sliced in half
1 ts white wine
2 slices prosciutto
1 beef steak tomato sliced
Kosher salt
pepper
sweet paprika
1/2 pound Gruyere thinly sliced

Heat oven to 400. Brush bread on both sides with olive oil. Place on baking sheet, toast for a few minutes turning once till lightly golden, but soft inside. Rub toast on 1 side with garlic. Drizzle white wine over garlic rubbed toast. Top with prosciutto, tomato, salt and sliced gruyere. Broil for about 3 minutes till bubbly. Sprinkle with paprika and ground pepper. This takes a toasted cheese sandwich to a whole new level.

Honey Tomato Bruschetta with Ricotta

2009-07-26T05:26:00.000-07:00

Yes I'm still on my tomato kick, it may last for another month or so, so please bear with me. I promise to never bring you something dull, like the tomato sandwich on white bread with mayo and salt that I just gobbled up. I came across this bruschetta recipe by cookbook author Susan Spungen the other day. Ive always been a fan of sweet and savory recipes like this one. Recently at the farmers market I was actually asked what I did with all these tomatoes, as I have been stopping by weekly picking up a bucket of assorted tomatoes. I was about to say, 'going home to make honey tomato bruschetta...' I thought that sounded kind of obnoxious, so I said 'lots and lots of tomato sauce.' The woman at the farmers stand seemed satisfied with the answer, bagged my tomatoes and said she looked forward to seeing me next week. Driving home I felt a wee bit bad about my white lie, perhaps Ill bring her a sample of my honey tomato bruschetta next time I swing by.

2 pints of cherry or grape tomatoes
1 1/2 Tb olive oil
3 Tb clover honey
2 ts thyme leaves
1 ts kosher salt
ground pepper
12 baguette slices cut 1/2 inch thick
1 cup fresh ricotta (I drove 20 minutes to get the good stuff from a little Italian market)
6 basil leaves thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl toss the tomatoes with the olive oil, 2 Tb honey, thyme leaves, salt and pepper. Place the tomato mixture on the baking sheet with tomatoes turned cut side up. Bake for about 1 and 1/2 hours until the are shriveled and brown. Let cool.

Preheat broiler. Spread out baguette slices on a baking sheet. Broil for about 30 seconds on each side until the edges are lightly brown. Spread the ricotta over the baguette slices and top with the tomatoes. Lightly drizzle with the last Tb honey, sprinkle with the sliced basil. Ok folks, lets put it this way. First you have the crunch of the baguette, then the creaminess of the ricotta, the roasted flavor of the tomato and finally the sweetness from the clover honey. Do I sound like Rachel Ray or what? I'm not even a fan.

Savory Tomato Parfaits

2009-07-20T03:49:00.000-07:00

I remember the excitment I felt as a child when I would open the freezer and see my mom's parfait glasses lined up in a neat row. "Yessssssss." I'd say to myself, knowing my favorite dessert was just around the corner. Something about that tall frosted glass, filled with an assortment of colorful sorbets always put me in a very happy place. Maybe it was those long skinny spoons that were just the perfect length to reach the bottom. Isn't it strange that some of our favorite desserts from our childhood were often the most simple? Today if its not bruleed or tirami sued I'm not even interested. As a child four flavors of sorbet tightly packed into a tall frosted glass made me feel like a complete princess. As an adult its the type of dessert I would pass on.

On the other hand, serve up a savory tomato parfait made with pureed heirloom tomatoes...I'm in. I recently discovered this recipe which was created by Norwegian chef Andreas Viestad. A savory parfait made with pureed heirloom tomatoes, summer time in a glass...brilliant.

1/2 pound medium dark heirloom tomatoes, cored and chopped

Kosher salt

1/2 pound yellow tomatoes, cored and chopped

1/2 ts chopped parsley

1 ts basil

a few drops of vinegar

1/2 pound red cherry tomatoes, halved

In a blender puree the dark tomatoes till smooth, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and carefully pour into 4 glasses, place in fridge for 30 minutes so puree can firm up a bit. Now rinse and dry the blender. Repeat blending process with yellow tomatoes, adding basil, parsley, vinegar and salt. Carefully spoon the yellow puree on top of the dark tomato puree. Place back in fridge for 15 minutes. Finally rinse and dry blender, process cherry tomatoes to make top layer, adding salt to taste. Place back and fridge. Garnish with basil leaf and serve.

Gazpacho in Cucumber Cups

2009-07-08T03:46:00.000-07:00

I was at a wedding years ago, I remember just one thing about it. They had this gigantic ice sculpture that had a waterfall of vodka pouring out, don't ask how they did it. Anyway, surrounding this waterfall was an assortment of carved out vegetables, yellow squash, green squash, cucumbers all filled will ice cold vodka. Guests would knock down the shot, then put the empty carved out cucumber under the water fall and knock down another, and another, and another and another. Everyone ignored the carving station of baby lamb chops, the sushi bar, the smoked fish bars, this vodka waterfall captivated all. Well, being the foodie that I am, sadly the evening did not go well. I spent the night on the floor the bathroom in my lovely cocktail dress getting very very sick. It was not a pretty scene. I know now, I'm just not a drinker. I stick with the food, avoiding vodka waterfalls and all is good.

For some reason those little carved out cucumber cups always stuck in my mind. I remembered everything about these little containers, yet nothing about the brides dress, couldn't even tell you what the entree was. Then one day while perusing through a magazine in my dentist office I once again saw those little cucumber cups. This time it was Martha filling them with ice cold gazpacho. There are so many different recipes for gazpacho, I feel like I have tried most of them. I always seem to come back to the one I'm sharing with you today. No fancy vinegars, no bread, just a mixture of delicious vegetables with a nice handful of cilantro. I just came in from sitting out on my deck sipping gazpacho out of my missing handle golden retriever coffee mug. When friends stop by I like them to think I'm sophisticated, so I slip off the Pj's that Ive been in all day, put on something cute and serve this gazpacho in carved out cucumber cups. They oohhh and ahhhhhh as if I carved a 10 foot sculpture of Buddha. I wouldn't dare tell them I stole the idea from MARTHA!!!

Gazpacho

1 red pepper diced

1 jalapeno pepper finely diced, seeds removed of course

1 small red onion diced

1 pound of tomatoes, diced

1 seedless cucumber, peeled diced

Handful chopped cilantro

1/2 cup tomato juice

2 tb olive oil

1 Tb red wine vinegar

2 Tb lime juice

1 ts salt

pepper

In food processor combine bell pepper, jalapeno, red onion, tomatoes, cucumber and cilantro. Add the tomato juice, olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper. Process till smooth.Chill gazpacho for about 6 hours, or over night to let flavors blend. To serve pour in small bowls and garnish with diced cucumbers.

If your feeling inspired to make cucumber cups trim ends of 2 seedless cucumbers. I usually peel one, then leave the other one with skin on as long as its not to waxy. I cut them into 1 1/2 inch pieces. With small melon baller carefully scoop out the insides of each piece, leaving a 1/4 inch border. Important to also leave 1/2 inch on the bottom!!! Fill up with a few tablespoons of gazpacho and toast to a wonderful summer with family and friends.

Corn Fritters with Chile Lime Mayonnaise

2009-07-04T05:42:00.000-07:00

Around my way the Jersey corn seems to be getting sweeter and sweeter. Lately I can't drive by a farmers market without buying at least a dozen ears. I just never seem to get tired of eating corn on the cob this time of year. Unfortunately the complaints are starting to come in. Now that I think about it, buying a dozen ears of corn twice a week may be a bit much."Corn on the cob again??" The season is so short, I cant even imagine asking such a question. Well, its been asked alot lately. Actually, first they groan, then they ask.I felt pressure to fine a creative solution to continue satisfying my corn obsession, while also keeping the folks that I feed content. Well the problem is solved. They are already asking for more of these corn fritters. My response...? "Grrrrrrrrrrrrr..corn again?"

This is an Allyse Torey recipe, she is the owner of The Magnolia Bakery in NYC. A bakery NOT to missed should you be near the city. The corn I used was really sweet, if using frozen corn I would add 1 ts of sugar to the recipe.

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup grated parm
1 1/2 ts baking powder
salt about 3/4 ts
1/4 ts chili powder
1 1/2 cups buttermilk ( I find it annoying to buy buttermilk for 1 recipe, so I mixed 1 cup of milk with 1/2 plain yogert..perfect..no problem)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 cups of fresh corn kernels, blanched (each ear yields about 1/2 cup)
3/4 cup chopped scallions, mostly green part
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tb butter
Another cup of fresh corn kernels blanched (I actually had an aunt named Blanch) for garnish
Lime wedge

Chille Lime Mayonnaise

1 1/2 cups mayo

2 Tb fresh lime juice

1 Tb minced jalapeno chile pepper, seeds and ribs removed

2 ts grated lime zest

Place all these ingredients in a bowl, and stir together till well blended

In medium sized bowl mix flour, cornmeal, cheese, baking powder, salt and chili powder. In separate bowl mix buttermilk with the whole egg and egg yolk. Mix in dry ingredients till well combined. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of corn, then add the scallions.

Heat 2 Tb of oil and 1 Tb of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Spoon batter, (about 3 Tb for each fritter) into skillet to make 3 inch fritters. Cook until golden, about 3 minutes each side. Add additional butter and oil as needed. Serve warm with chile lime mayo, garnishing with extra kernels and lime wedges. I ate the first 3 fritters plain, could have eaten several more, but I did demonstrate self control.

Potato Tortilla

2009-06-19T03:59:00.000-07:00

I went out for tapas the other night, you know those tasty little morsels served on tiny little plates. I always assumed I would have to travel to Barcelona to truly experience what a tapa was all about. Apparently the word is out on tapas, as several tapa restaurants have opened in the Philadelphia area. Lots of delicious items such as blue fin tuna ceviches, salt baked shrimp and yummy yuca fries. Each serving leaves you wanting just a wee bit more, then moments later something even more delicious arrives. By the end of the night we had tried over 18 different tapas, no one could decide on just one favorite.

Soooo... today I bring you a simply prepared potato tortilla. A short list of ingredients quickly pulled together to create a beautiful potato tortilla. If your not quite ready to prepare 18 different tapas, you can serve a slice of this tortilla with a salad and if you like some type of grilled meat.

1/2 cup of olive oil
2 baking pototes peeled and thinly sliced(slightly less than a 1/4 inch)
1 large onion thinly sliced
6 eggs Salt and pepper
Chopped flat leaf parsley
Grated parmesan

Heat a non stick 10 inch pan. Add the olive oil, when warm add potato slices and onion. Cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, gently tossing potatoes, till they are tender. Mix eggs together in large bowl, season well with salt and pepper. When potatoes appear tender drain off the olive oil by placing a strainer over a bowl. You should collect a decent amount of oil . Carefully scoop the potatoes and onions into the mixed eggs.. Let stand for about 10 minutes. Reheat skillet with about 4 Tb of reserved oil. Pour egg mixture into warm skillet. Make sure onions and potatoes are evenly layered. Cook for about 6 minutes, shaking pan occasionally. When tortilla appears set, use a spatula to loosen the sides. Place a large plate over the skillet and slowly flip the tortilla onto a plate. Add 1 Tb of the remaining oil to the pan. Carefully slide tortilla back into skillet, this time cooked side up. Once back in pan tuck in edges with spatula. Continue cooking for about 4 minutes, until tortilla seems set. . Remove from skillet, lightly sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Let sit 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve.

Garlicky Baby Clams

2009-06-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

I'm certain most of you know to never eat a closed clam. Apparently my father never got the memo. Years ago we were at our favorite seafood restaurant, my father and I had ordered a large bucket of steamed clams. As we dipped our bread into the delicious garlicky sauce, one last closed clam was discovered sitting at the bottom, perfectly happy to be left alone. My father immediately scooped out the clam and began prying it open with his butter knife. He was so pleased with himself as the clam finally opened up and he popped that sucker right into his mouth. " No need for it to go to waste.." he exclaimed as he dabbed the garlic sauce off his mouth. We sopped up the remaining sauce, gobbling up an entire loaf of bread with a cheap carafe of white wine and called it a night. Fast forward several hours...not pretty. He wrote off the restaurant for years, never admitting that opening up that lonely clam was really a dumb idea.

In the summer time I love to put out a large bowl of steamed baby clams and watch my friends dig in with their hands. Its a messy operation, but oh so delicious. Its a simple appetizer for a large crowd. An easy rule of thumb so you don't end up hating your favorite restaurant for all the wrong reasons, throw out any clams that don't open or are broken.

2 Tb butter

2 pounds of baby clams

1/3 cup of white wine

4 cloves of garlic minced

juice of 1 lemon

4 Tb chopped flat leaf parsley

Ground pepper

In a large skillet heat butter and add minced garlic. When garlic turns slightly golden add wine and clams. Increase heat and cover. This will take about 7 to 9 minutes. Shake the pan a few times during the cooking process. Remove clams and place in large bowl. Add lemon juice to cooking broth, reduce for 2 minutes. Mix in chopped parsley and pepper. Pour sauce over clams and serve with good crusty bread.

Eggplant and Feta Rolls

2009-06-05T20:05:00.000-07:00

I love the idea of slicing eggplant thinly, quickly grilling it, and rolling it up with something yummy inside. The other day I noticed that my mint has already decided to take over one of the beds in my garden. I'm always trying to think beyond the mojito, so today I thought I would fill grilled eggplant slices with some feta, lemon juice, olive oil and mint. This dish is very refreshing and full of flavor. So go grab an eggplant and go snitch some of your neighbors mint, I'm certain she wont care.

2 not too huge eggplants each sliced thinly lengthwise in to about 10 slices.

4 Tb olive oil

8 oz feta crumbled

about 1/2 ts pepper flakes

Chopped mint, I used a small handful

Juice of 1 lemon

Ground pepper

Brush both sides of eggplant slices lightly with olive oil. Grill about 2 minutes each side, I used a non stick grill pan, was not in the mood to turn on the grill for a couple eggplants. Once grilled the eggplant slices should be slightly golden. Lightly season the eggplant with kosher salt. Combine the crumbled feta, red pepper flakes, chopped mint, lemon and pepper. Place a heaping teaspoon on one end of the grilled eggplant slice and roll up. Keep seam side down. Sprinkle lightly with chopped mint.

Date and Orange Salad

2009-05-29T02:46:00.000-07:00

I always thought dates were those dried up turds you pick up in a plastic container at the super market. That was before I visited Southern California and discovered what a real date should taste like. I learned that there are 300 different types of dates, after much sampling my favorite was the popular medjool. Each date seems to have a different taste and texture. Saudi Arabia is homeland to the date palm, over 10000 years old, the oldest tree in the world. See you came for a recipe and you got all these juicy date facts, what a bargain! Now dates are a big part of my life, and I not referring to my social life, that's an entirely separate blog. This is a simple salad that would be perfect as the days warm up. I usually prepare this salad a few hours before my guests arrive so the oranges, bananas and dates can really absorb the honey and lemon juice. I like to top it off with chopped pistachios, lightly toasted hazelnuts would be delicious as well.

4 oranges , peeled , removing all white membrane, cut into thin slices

12 dates pitted and halved length wise

2 bananas peeled and sliced

3 Tb of honey

juice of 1 to 2 lemons depending on size

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

handful of chopped pistachios

Arrange orange slices on a plate. Add banana slices and dates . In small bowl mix together lemon juice and honey. Add cinnamon. Pour over fruit. Cover and refrigerate for a couple hours.

Seared Stripped Bass

2009-05-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

So Debbie at the bait shop with the deeply lined skin was right. "Strippers are really biting today, just use these huge clams as bait and Ill guarantee you ll catch one!!" Maybe today would be our day, after two summers of catching nothing but rocks and the occasional crab this promise got our interest. We immediately grabbed six very large clams, (at Debbie's discount price of two for a buck I might add) and began envisioning our delicious stripped bass dinner. As we were leaving the shop Debbie took a few rubber bands off her wrist. " Here...take these, helps keep the clam on your hook.." We were psyched, this was going to be the day we finally pulled in the big one. Off we went to our favorite fishing jetty with high hopes that seared stripped bass would be on the dinner menu. What I love about this particular fish is that it needs such simple preparation as its flavor is so divine.

The jetty was crowded with lots of fishermen sipping their Budweiser's, it was just passed 9 in the morning. Although they appeared much more experienced, what they didn't have was Debbie's lucky rubber bands or guarantee that this was gonna be our day. OK are you ready for this part of the story, I can't make this stuff up. In less than 10 minutes we felt a pull. The rod started to bend, the fishermen put their Budweiser's down and started yelling "you got a monster on the line!!!!"As we tried to pull it in, the reel snapped off. No problem, everyone wanted to help pull this one in. Out of the water came the largest stripped bass Ive ever seen. Until you get high five ed by a bunch of strangers as you proudly unhook your catch you really don't understand the joy of fishing. Today I present you with simply prepared stripped bass, not sure whats better the story or the seared fish.

4 4 to 5 oz Stripped Bass Fillets
Kosher salt and ground pepper
Olive oil
2 Tb butter
1 lemon

I feel silly explaining this dish as it really is that easy. If your not familiar with searing I have a few little tips that make a big difference. Dry the fillets well, this will allow them to sear instead of steam. Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. Heat a large non stick pan(the non stick seems to keep the fish more intact) , drizzle generously with olive oil. Place fillets skin side down, keep in mind it takes about 7 to 8 minutes to cook fish that is one inch thick. My fillets did not have skin as SOMEONE didn't know how delicious the crispy skin is. So if you happen to only find skinless fillets it will still be wonderful. After about 3 minutes peek underneath, it should be lightly browned. If browned, gently flip over. At this point I added the butter. In about 4 to 5 minutes the other side should be nicely browned. Once the fish is opaque just add a quick squeeze of lemon. Now my friends the most delicious dinner awaits you. I served it with wild rice (which expired a year ago..shhh no one complained) and snow peas.

Mini Twice Baked Potatoes

2009-05-14T06:29:00.000-07:00

So is there anyone out there who doesn't like twice baked potatoes?Thanksgiving at my house would not be complete without twice baked potatoes, or 'boat potatoes,' as we have called them for the past zillion years. How about for your next gathering serving a mini version, using a small fingerling potato? Now that I have your attention please read on. That's right a mini twice baked that's gone in two little bites. You must own a ricer or food mill to pull this one off. I have a ricer, they are not expensive and I would not even think about making mashed potatoes without one. Just promise me that you wont be cursing Figtreeapps as you slice these little guys in half and gently scoop out the creamy center. It can be a wee bit frustrating as some of the skins will rip. You will be using the nicest looking ones, gobbling up the ugly ones with a little salt and butter when no ones looking.

1 1/4 pound of fingerling potatoes, I just baked an entire small bag
2 oz pancetta cut into small pieces
1 oz Asiago cheese grated (don't switch for the cheese you have in your fridge, the Asiago is a MUST)
1/4 cup of heavy cream scalded
chopped chives 1 to 2 ts
Salt and Pepper

Heat oven to 375. Place potatoes on baking sheet, bake until soft about 25 to 35 minutes depending on size. I had a couple explode so keep an eye on them. While the potatoes are baking cook the pancetta on the stove until crisp, about 5 minutes. When its cool, dice small. When the potatoes are cooked, remove from oven, let cool a few minutes, then gently slice in half lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, scoop out the centers leaving a 1/8 inch boarder. Again, this is frustrating, so take your time, several will rip, don't worry about it. Put the scooped out potato filling through the ricer, add all but 2 tablespoons of the cheese. Add the salt and pepper and the scaled cream. Mix in the pancetta and chopped chives. Spoon about a teaspoon of the potato filling into the most decent look empty skins. You did succeed with at least a few didn't you??Depending on the size of the fingerling potato the amount of filling may vary. Sprinkle the stuffed potatoes with the remaining cheese. Arrange potatoes on a baking tray close together to support each other, isn't that sweet? Bake about 15 minutes till lightly browned on top. Biting into the perfectly crispy fingerling potato skin with with its creamy center will make you look at a bag of fingerling potatoes in a whole new light

Arugula Salad with Oranges and Feta

2009-05-05T08:09:00.000-07:00

For too many unrelated to food reasons I was having a crappy week. As much as I tried to snap out of it, the deeper I fell. I realized today that small acts of kindness mean much more than you ever realize at the time. See I like to be the giver, not so comfortable at the receiving end, I am working on it however. Yesterday after a long day of work I pulled up to my mailbox . Still feeling blue, I opened my box and discovered an enormous bag of arugula, and lots of junk mail of course. I don't believe this individual knew my state of mind was a bit down, yet the gesture at that moment meant so much. So take a moment out of your day and think of a random act of kindness, foods always a good place to start. I tossed the arugula with oranges and feta, topped it off with a honey lime vinaigrette. Ive been collecting mini tea cups which are fun to fill with the vinaigrette for those 'dressing on the side types.' Enjoy.. now go stick something fun in someones mailbox, it really will make their day.

Vinaigrette

1 1/2 ts honey
juice of 1/2 a lime
Kosher salt and Pepper
About 1/4 cup Olive Oil

Mix honey and lime juice together, slowly drizzle in olive oil, add salt and pepper

Salad

Bag of fresh baby Arugula
2 oranges sectioned pith removed (pour any juice over salad).
About 1/2 block of crumbled feta

Mix arugula with orange sections and feta, toss lightly with vinaigrette

Sauteed Baby Zucchini with Fresh Mint

2009-05-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

I have a confession, I'm not a zucchini lover. When my neighbor who has always had a very impressive vegetable garden, leaves a basket of zucchini by my front door every August, I feel burdened rather than elated. Food gifts typically are the quickest way to gain my affection. Zucchini, for whatever reason just doesn't cut it. I just cant seem to escape that mushy, watery center. Now on the other hand, if you want to leave a bag of baby zucchini by my front door, please feel free. Just last night I sauteed about a dozen baby zucchini in olive oil, then topped them off with some fresh mint from my garden. So if you see a package of these little guys while shopping this week, pick em up for a quick tasty appetizer.

1 Package of baby zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, tops and bottoms trimmed a wee bit

Olive Oil

Kosher Salt and Pepper

Small handful of mint leaves, cut into ribbons

Drizzle a little olive oil in a saute pan, when hot toss in baby zuccs and cook till slightly brown.(This is a quick process, remember long cooking time equals mushy zuccs). Remove from heat, season with Kosher salt and pepper, sprinkle with fresh mint.

Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan

2009-05-03T17:37:00.000-07:00

I know spring has really arrived when I see fresh plump asparagus in the farmers market. Roasting asparagus brings out its woodsy flavor, combined with its natural sweetness asparagus becomes completely irresistible. When asparagus first hits the markets in Italy, many restaurants plan their whole menu around this special vegetable to celebrate its arrival. I'm ready to jump on a plane next spring..anyone care to join me????

1 bunch of the freshest asparagus you can get your little hands on
balsamic vinegar

olive oil

Kosher salt and Pepper

Parmesan

Wash asparagus, trim ends, dry off. Turn broiler on low heat. Place asparagus on large flat tray. Drizzle lightly with balsamic vinegar, then olive oil. Put tray under broiler. Using tongs turn every few minutes. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of the asparagus.The ones you are looking at in this picture took about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from over, season with salt, pepper and freshly grated Parmesan. I have served this either as a side dish or appetizer.

Deviled Eggs with Marinated Shrimp

2009-05-02T04:13:00.000-07:00

Deviled eggs? No thanks. As a holiday gift quite a while back, some individual who will remain nameless presented me with a Tupperware deviled egg storage container. I'm assuming it was for travel purposes. I'm now using it to store buttons, works quite nicely I might add. I always perceived deviled eggs as an appetizer that has been WAY over done. Several years ago I lived in North Carolina. At our 1st staff luncheon 11 out of 30 women brought, yup you guess it..deviled eggs. Many varieties arrived, relish, mustard, mayo, no mayo, paprika, no paprika. The entire conference table was covered in 132 deviled eggs. Yup, you guessed it again..all were consumed at an amazing pace, I watched in disbelief. Following that meeting I was done, I decided deviled eggs are boring and amateurish. Ten years later I came across Govind Armstrongs deviled eggs with marinated shrimp. I'm a convert, now I'm not saying I want 132 of them at a staff meeting, but I am saying that they are a refreshing change that your guests will appreciate. The marinated shrimp really adds a nice touch. So if you yawn at the thought of eating another deviled egg, or perhaps your actually a fan of them, give them a try. They certainly would have turned some heads at my Southern Staff luncheon.

Marinated Shrimp

1 Tb whole grain mustard
1 ts chopped flat leaf parsley
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tb olive oil
Splash of Tabasco sauce
salt and Pepper
8 cooked shrimp peeled, deveined and split in half lengthwise

Deviled Eggs

8 organic large eggs, hardboiled and peeled
1 ts Dijon mustard
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 ts prepared horseradish
2 ts fresh lemon juice
1/4 ts cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper

For the shrimp marinade combine the mustard, parsley and lemon juice, whisk until smooth. Add the olive oil in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Whisk in the tabasco, then add salt and pepper. Place the shrimp in the marinade for 1 hour before serving.

Carefully split each egg in half lenghthwise, scoop the yolk into a bowl. Set whites aside. Add mustard, mayo, horseradish, lemon juice and cayenne pepper to the egg yolks, whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the yolk mixture in to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/4 inch star tip and pipe the mixture into the egg halves. Or do what I often do and place the egg mixture into a ziplock bag with a small corner cut off, works quite nicely. Remove shrimp from their marinade, and top each stuffed egg with a shrimp half.

Sea Bass in Parchment Paper

2009-04-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

I spotted this recipe in this months Gourmet Magazine as I was getting my hair cut today. It was too risky to rip out the page, I had no pen and paper so I am sharing with you what I remember. Sometimes this can be dangerous. This time I think I nailed it. Ive always enjoyed cooking or perhaps I should say steaming fish in parchment paper. All the ingredients blend together so nicely. It always feels so special to gently rip open the parchment to discover perfectly cooked fish surrounded by a delicious assortment of flavors.

1/3 cup of Sake

1 1/2 Tb soy sauce

1 ts grated ginger

1 ts sugar

4 6oz pieces of sea bass

1/2 cup sliced scallions

salt and pepper

Heat over to 400. Mix sake, soy sauce, ginger and sugar together. Prepare 4 12x15 pieces of parchment paper. Place a piece of fish in the middle of the parchment paper. Season with salt and pepper. Distribute sauce evenly by drizzling on top of fish. Sprinkle with scallions. Tie corners of parchment together with kitchen string, creating a nice little package. Maybe not quite as nice as something you would leave under the tree, but have fun with it. Cook approximately 12 minutes, remove from oven. Let rest for a minute, tear open and enjoy.

Parmesan Crisps topped with Scallops and Chives

2009-04-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

This hors d'oeuvre without a doubt is very special. Actually after eating three of them just a moment ago I believe it is now in my top ten. What I love about scallops is that you have to do so little to them to achieve such great taste. I tend to only purchase the large dry scallops, they seem to have a much better taste and texture. The combination of the crisp Parmesan and the sweet seared scallop will make you wish you found this recipe a long time ago. Its really that good.

1/3 cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese

12 dry sea scallops

3 to 4 Tb unsalted butter

Kosher salt and Pepper

Chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350. Spoon small amounts of grated parmesan (about 1 Tb) on to a baking pan covered with parchment paper. Space them about 1 to 2 inches apart. Lightly press Parmesan to create a small circle. Bake until crispy and golden. This will take about 6 to 8 minutes. Keep an eye on them as my first batch turned in to miniature black hockey pucks. Remove from oven, let cool. You can make the crisps a day in advance, just keep them in an air tight container.

Season the scallops with salt and pepper. In a medium skillet melt butter and add 1/2 of the scallops. Let them cook for about 2 minutes. Gently turn them over for another 2 to 3 minutes. They will begin to caramelize. Place scallops on paper towels. Repeat with remaining scallops. Top each crisp with a scallop. Sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately. (Be sure to pop one in your mouth before your guests dive in).

Sauteed Baby Artichokes

2009-04-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

I have spent the past few weeks walking by those adorable baby artichokes in the produce section. I grabbed a package the other day, sauteed them with onion, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar. The results? Beyond delicious. I always assumed these little guys were not fully grown. I discovered that they are a variety that mature into a smaller size. Unlike the big brother version, once you peel the tough outer leaves, trim off the top, the rest is entirely edible. Now you have no excuses, pick up a bag of baby artichokes and impress yourself with your cooking skills.

I package of baby artichokes
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 med. onion sliced
3 diced cloves of garlic
1 Tb balsamic vinegar
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
grated Parmesan cheese

Cut stem off at base, peel back petals until light green petals remain. Cut off about 1/2 an inch from top. Make sure all sharp pointy leaves are removed. Place artichokes into a bowl of cold water with a Tb of lemon juice to prevent browning. Quarter artichokes. Place in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain well and pat dry.

In skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Saute onions for 2 minutes, add garlic. Cook till the onions and garlic are lightly brown. Add artichokes, gently mixing everything together, about 5 more minutes. Slowly the artichokes will begin to brown as well, at this point add balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Place on serving platter, top off with freshly grated Parmesan. Serve and enjoy.

Easy Black Bean Dip

2009-04-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

As I begin to write this post I am squinting with one eye as I stare at the computer screen. I did what you are always told never to do. I diced a jalapeno pepper, mixed this simple black bean dip together, threw it in the oven...then yes its true..scratched my left eye. I must of had a jalapeno seed under my finger nail. I'm sure this was some form of Mid Evil torture. Just the mere flashing of a jalapeno seed near my eyeball, would make me immediately divulge any secret. I am however comforted by the anticipation of dipping a crunchy tortilla chip into a bowl of warm black bean dip. Yes, even during painful moments food is in the forefront of my mind. Now before I forget why I was dicing a jalapeno, let me tell you about this black bean dip. Ive been making it for years. Most of the ingredients I usually have on hand, so it can easily be pulled together at the last minute. Recently I made it as an appetizer, yet when it was time for chicken fajitas my friends stuffed their tortillas with grilled chicken, sliced avocado and yup you guessed it heaping scoops of black bean dip. Enjoy, this is oh so delicious.

1 15 oz can of organic black beans

1/2 jalapeno pepper finely diced

1/2 cup finely diced onion

1/2 cup sour cream

2 Tb salsa

1/2 ts. kosher salt

pepper

1 1/2 cups grated cheese (cheddar, Jack, whatever you like)

Heat oven to 350. Drain beans, discard juice. Mash beans with back of fork, leaving some whole. Add remaining ingredients (reserve 1/2 cup of cheese for top). Mix well. Pour into baking dish. Bake about 20 to 30 minutes till bubbly. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top, return to oven and bake until melted. Serve with tortilla chips.

Lettuce Cups Filled With Spicy Halibut

2009-03-31T18:07:00.000-07:00

The other night we had friends over who were following a yeast free diet. Normally I don't invite such high maintenance types over. These two are quite fun, even without the yeast. I decided to take on the challenge. I made these delicious Lettuce Cups Filled With Spicy Halibut. It's a Cat Cora recipe, which usually means somewhat easy and extremely tasty. So if your faced with a guest with a special dietary need, make a decision. If they are fun, get creative and make something everyone will enjoy. If they are beat, make whatever you have planned on cooking and have them bring their own dinner in cute little Tupperware containers.

Halibut

2 Tb Olive Oil
2 Tb lime juice
1 ts chili power
1 ts ground cumin
1 ts cayenne pepper
1 1/2 ts sea salt
ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds Halibut Fillets (6 4 oz fillets)

1 Head of butter lettuce

Tomato Salad

5 Roma Tomatoes diced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup Kalamata olives , pitted and halved
1 ts oregano
2 Tb chopped flat leaf parsley
2 Tb olive oil
2 Tb lime juice
salt and pepper

For the tomato salad, mix the tomatoes, olives, onions, oregano, parsley,olive oil and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, mix well and set aside.

Now on to the Halibut. Place Halibut in a baking dish, large enough so all the fillets can be placed in a single layer. In a separate bowl, mix olive oil, lime juice, chili power, cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper. Mix well and pour all over the fillets, coating thoroughly with the marinade. Let the fillets sit for 20 minutes to absorb the flavors.

I used a non stick grill pan. If grilling outside, brush the fillets with olive oil so they don't stick to the grill. Cook the fillets till opaque about 6 minutes on each side. The halibut I used was quite thick, so it took a little bit longer to cook. It was also 20 dollars a pound, so if you find snapper or tuna a little cheaper they would also work well.

For the lettuce cups gently separate the leaves. If you want extra crunchy leaves, soak the leaves in cold water for a few minutes, pat dry.

Place a portion of grilled fish in a lettuce cup, top with a scoop of the tomato salad. Season with salt and pepper. These are very messy, but oh so delicious. My yeast free friends were not eating dairy the night they were over. Normally I would have drizzled Avocado Tzatziki on top. A slice of avocado would also be quite good.

Avocado Tzatziki

1 cup of Greek yogurt
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 ts fresh lemon juice
1/2 to 1 ts minced garlic
1/2 ts Kosher salt
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and grated cucumber
1 ripe avocado peeled and diced

Mix yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Add grated cucumber and diced avocado. Mix well. Refrigerate 2 hours before serving. Leftover Tzatziki? Delish on anything grilled.

Guacamole

2009-03-26T18:24:00.000-07:00

Have you ever gotten tired of making a certain dish everyone loves, but one that you are totally over? This would be my guacamole. It is by far the best guacamole you will ever taste. Its just that I could make it in my sleep, tied to a chair, wrapped in duck tape in a large cooler at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. I thought if I post this recipe, people will stop asking and I can start bringing what I really want to when invited to a party. This happened recently. The word on the street was "it tastes different..you must do something that your not telling us about.." I really didn't. Most recently, someone made this guacamole with rock hard avocados, not a good idea . If your making it on a Saturday, buy the avocados on Wednesday and let them soften. If they are rock hard, stick them in a paper bag and throw them in the back of a cabinet for a few days. If they are still hard on your party day, please don't make guacamole (head to Wawa and nuke some spicy Cheese wiz). I usually dice everything up in the morning, except the avocados as they turn brown. Later when your guests arrive, scoop out the avocados and mix with the other ingredients.

4 to 5 soft Hass Avocados
small red onion diced small
1 clove garlic diced
Handful of chopped cilantro ( I love cilantro and use quite a bit..start with about 1/2 a cup chopped fine)
1 small tomato ( traditional guacamole does not have tomato, I however like the color of the tomato when everything is mixed together).
1 jalapeno diced fine
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher salt and ground pepper

Chop cilantro, dice onion, garlic, jalapeno and tomato. Skin and remove pits of avocados. Dice into large chunks. Add lime juice and salt and pepper. Mix together. Leaving some avocado chunks. Place in a serving bowl, garnish with limes and cilantro. Serve with fresh chips.

Portobella Glazed Mushroom

2009-03-20T14:46:00.000-07:00

I learned to make these delicious mushrooms at a cooking class many years ago. I was so impressed by the teacher that I asked if she ever needed help in future classes to please give me a call. Well she did, and boy was she sorry. My first class ended up being a complete disaster. Within minutes of arriving I was asked to fill the coffee pot with water. No problem I thought to myself. I over estimated the amount of water needed , as water poured down the front of her very fancy kitchen cabinets. I was horrified. I should have left at this point...but no, I had to stick it out. This was a big mistake. I burnt my hand but didn't dare tell her as I winced in pain, chipped a serving platter and threw out all the plastic forks that she always put in the dish washer (I will spare you the other details). I cried the whole way home. It took me a year until I could pull out this recipe without having flashbacks of this very stressful evening. These mushrooms are a real treat, even your non-mushroom lover friends may give them a try . Throw any extras on top of a couple of strip steaks, need I say more?

16 oz Portabellas sliced into 1/4 inch strips
3 Tb olive oil
2 Tb Tawny Port
1 and a 1/2 Tb Balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 ts honey
salt to taste

Slowly heat olive oil, add port, vinegar, honey and salt to skillet over high heat for about 3 minutes till everything sizzles. Reduce to medium heat and add mushrooms. Shake the pan and continue mixing the mushrooms every few minutes. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed (the mushrooms will produce alot of liquid). They will be done when they appear to be coated with a shiny film. To achieve this shiny film usually takes about 15 to 20 minutes. These keep great in the refrigerator, when ready to serve bring to room temp.

Baked Shrimp and Feta

2009-03-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

I never realized that feta and shrimp could be the best of friends. Yes indeed, they are real chums now. I served this the other night to a hungry crowd. They agreed its the perfect marriage and you will to. I was feeling fancy so I cooked the shrimp and feta in individual shells which is not necessary as any individual ovenproof dish will be fine.

1 1/2 Pounds of large shrimp shelled and deveined

Juice of 1 lemon

2 to 3 Tb butter

2 shallots minced

1/2 cup canned tomato sauce

3 med. tomatoes peeled chopped into a small dice and drained. I don't need to tell you how to peel a tomato do I? Ok ok..Cut an X into tomato skin, throw in boiling water, take out 30 seconds later, put in cold water...peel with ease.

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

3 Tb chopped fresh basil (if you don't like basil use dill)

4 cloves garlic crushed

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 pd Feta crumbled

Parsley for garnish

Rinse off shrimp and sprinkle with lemon juice. Melt butter in pan and cook shallots till they begin to slightly golden. Add tomato sauce , chopped tomatoes, parsley, basil, garlic salt and pepper. Use wooden spoon to mash chopped tomatoes. Simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat .

Butter individual oven proof dishes and spoon about 3 Tb of sauce into each dish. Place a few shrimp on top and then spoon more sauce over the shrimp. Finally, sprinkle crumbled feta on the top. Place dishes into a baking pan and bake about 20 minutes at 350. When cheese has melted, remove from oven. I usually pull out a shrimp to make sure they are fully cooked. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve hot. Make sure you serve with good crusty bread .

Roasted Yellow Pepper Soup with Basil Cream

2009-03-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

I first had this soup at a bridal shower I didn't want to attend. You see my friend was marrying this dud that I wasn't very fond of. Soon after arriving at the shower I was served this delicious Roasted Pepper Soup with Basil Cream. I was shocked to learn my friends fiancee had made the soup. From the very first taste I saw him in a new light. The marriage lasted one year, however I did manage to get the recipe.

3 large whole heads of garlic
2 cups of chicken of vegetable broth
5 large yellow peppers
2 large sweet onions sliced
olive oil
Salt and Pepper
Basil Cream

Pre heat oven to 400. Cover 2 baking sheets with foil. Spray lightly with olive oil. Cut about 1/2 an inch off top of garlic, drizzle with olive oil. Stem, seed and halve the yellow peppers. Arrange cut side down on baking sheet. Place garlic on same sheet lightly covered with a foil tent. On the other sheet toss onions with oil, spread evenly on baking sheet. In upper part of over roast peppers and garlic for about 45 minutes. The pepper skins should be black and the garlic should be tender. Roast the onions for about 30 minutes in lower part of oven. Toss onions occasionally till golden. Let cool. Place peppers in a bowl with the liquid from baking sheet. Cover bowl with foil, this will make removing the black skins easier in 15 minutes.

Remove skins from peppers and discard. Squeeze garlic flesh from skins (this part is fun) Toss skins. In food processor puree peppers, any remaining liquid from peppers, onions and garlic till smooth. Add about 1 to 2 cups of broth.The dud's original recipe would have you strain at this point, I skip that part. Pour into a sauce pan, , simmer over low heat. Season with salt and pepper. Pour into soup bowls, swirl in a little basil cream. Serve to your favorite dud, it will make them smile.

Basil Cream

3/4 cup basil leaves
1/4 non fat plain yogurt(I used the Greek kind)
1 small clove garlic crushed
1 1/2 ts olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a blender mix basil, yogurt, garlic till smooth. Slowly pour in oil. Season with salt and pepper, mix till well blended. Extra basil cream? Tastes great on grilled chicken or trying mixing a little in with cooked pasta topped off with grated cheese.....

Thai Carrot Bisque

2009-03-10T14:40:00.000-07:00

I beg of you, don't use those those woody, tasteless mini carrots for this yummy bisque. I may eat them if I'm desperate, or if I'm at a gathering and the host is serving them with supermarket onion dip, and I'm absolutely starving. Notice how they turn a whitish color after sitting out for a while. People have forgotten how a carrot is supposed to really taste. Fresh organic carrots, you know the ones with the green tops that rabbits eat, make a huge difference. Now that I got that out of the way, it's been a chilly damp day . At work I was preoccupied with the ingredients that made up this soup recipe. I got it right, hope it warms you up.

2 to 3 Tb olive oil

2 med. diced yellow onion
1 to 2 ts freshly grated ginger

2 ts freshly chopped garlic

2 ts cumin
pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup white wine
2 bunches carrots peeled and chopped

About 3 quarts of chicken or vegatable stock

2 13 oz cans coconut milk (I recently tried light coconut milk and it was fine).

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

In a large heavy pot drizzle in olive oil. Add diced onions. Cook till translucent, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, cumin, salt, cook 5 to 10 more minutes. Deglaze pan with white wine, add carrots and stock. Simmer till carrots are tender. Remove from heat, stir in brown sugar, cool for 30 minutes. Once the soup has cooled off a bit add coconut milk and soy sauce. Pour in blender, or use hand blender till smooth.

Artichoke Leaves with Basil Parmesan Aioli

2009-03-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

As fresh artichokes begin to appear in the spring I often wonder why I don't cook with them more often. Something about these spiky green balls is a little intimidating. Occasionally I would make a decorative center piece, they would soon dry out and get tossed out. Ive always used the marinated or frozen ones, but now that its early spring pick a couple fresh ones up to serve with this delicious Parmesan Basil Aioli.

2 large artichokes

About 1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 - 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tb chopped basil

1 Tb lemon juice

1/4 ts -1/2 ts minced garlic

ground pepper and salt

Start by trimming about 1 and 1/2 inches off the top of the artichokes. Remove a couple layers of the tough outside leaves. Use scissors to remove all of the thorns. Now the bottom. Trim off the stem of the artichoke, creating somewhat of a flat surface. So the artichoke does not discolor, rub everything you have cut with lemon. Steam until tender, usually this takes a little less than an hour. Remove from water and let cool.

Mix mayonnaise, basil, (save a little basil for garnish), lemon juice, Parmesan , garlic and pepper. Refrigerate. Now remove the leaves from the artichoke, arrange the leaves flesh side up. The small leaves you can nibble on when no ones looking, the prickly center..toss. The heart which is at the base can be trimmed and chopped, adding to the mayonnaise mixture.

Place a small teaspoon of the mayonnaise mixture on each artichoke leaf. Sprinkle with remaining. When serving, place a small bowl next to the leaves for the ones that have already been nibbled on. A delicious spring treat.

Onion Marmalade with Parmesan

2009-03-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

When my friends seven year old daughter was asked what her favorite food was she replied "caramelized onions!" Now that's my kind of girl! It amazes me how such a simple cooking process can result in such a big taste. This recipe takes caramelized onions to a new level. Now you ask yourself..onion marmalade? Perhaps orange marmalade..but onion? Yes indeed. The perfect balance of salty and sweet. Top off with a shaving of Parmesan, place the marmalade on top of something crunchy. If you happen to have any left over this marmalade is terrific served with grilled chicken or steak.

2 large red onions very thinly sliced
4 Tb olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 pinches ground cinnamon
Kosher salt
1 long skinny french bread
Parmesan cheese shavings

In large skillet heat the olive oil over medium flame. Add the red onions and cook for about 10 minutes. Continue mixing as onions cook. When the onions appear to soften, add the honey, and mix until the liquid from the onions has reduced. Now sprinkle in the cinnamon and add the balsamic vinegar, mixing for another ten to fifteen minutes until the mixture thickens. We are looking for the consistency of marmalade. Lightly salt and let cool. Serve at room temperature.

Slice the French bread into 1/4 inch slices. Bake at 370 till they get slightly golden, turn the slices over till golden on both sides. Remove from oven and let cool. Place a scoup of marmalade on toast, top with a shaving of Parmesan.

Roasted Peppers Served with Parmigiano Reggiano

2009-03-06T14:43:00.000-08:00

It seems like I spent my entire childhood sitting in Italian restaurants with my father watching him eat roasted peppers and tuna. As he soaked up whatever was left on the plate with crusty bread, I thought to myself 'how gross." I actually have no memory of him not ordering this dish. I'm not quite ready to add the canned tuna, but now I am happy to admit I'm a lover of roasted peppers served with a good loaf of crusty bread. Serve this on a big platter with plenty of bread and nice slivers of Parmigiano Reggiano. With a nice bottle of red wine you just may not make it to dinner.

2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
2 green peppers
3 small cloves of garlic crushed
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 to 3 Tb chopped fresh basil
Kosher salt
ground pepper
2 Tb Balsamic vinegar
Chunk of Parmigiano Reggiano
Italian Bread

Roast the peppers under the broiler, turn them every few minutes. This will take about 10 to 15 minutes. Once they turn black, carefully remove them, place them in a bowl covered with foil so they can steam. This takes about 10 minutes. When the peppers are cool , remove the skin , seeds and white pith. Cut peppers into nice julienne strips, about 2 inches long. Add olive oil, garlic, basil, salt and ground pepper. Toss. Add Balsamic vinegar. Toss again. Let peppers sit at room temperature for about 1 hour. Serve and enjoy this this colorful and delicious appetizer.

Mediterranean Stuffed New Potatoes

2009-03-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

Within seconds of taking the picture you are staring at right now these bad boys were gonzo. This was an hour after I had a big lunch , and by the way no one was home at the time. Yes they are that good. They appear somewhat fancy and labor intensive, trust me they are not. The most challenging part was resisting eating the tiny potatoes as I drained them to cool. The combination of the pine nuts, feta and olives is a real treat. I have also made them with goat cheese, just as delicious. Serve these before your Easter(rename them potato eggs so the kiddies eat em) or Passover dinner, just be sure to make plenty.

12 small new potatoes ( I use 1/2 white and 1/2 red)
pinch of Kosher salt
1/2 cup of feta of goat cheese crumbled
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts (they burn very easily..trust me it took 3 times to figure this out)
2 Tb chopped black olives
1 Tb Olive oil
1 Tb chopped raisins
1/2 ts lemon zest
1/4 ts dried oregano
ground pepper

parsley for garnish

Rinse off your potatoes well. Slice a thin portion off the top and bottom of each potato (this will help them sit without rolling over when serving). Then with cut marks at opposite ends, slice potato in 1/2. Place potatoes in boiling water, add kosher salt., reduce heat, cook till fork tender, about 14 minutes. Be careful not to over cook. Strain and cool.

Combine toasted pine nuts, black olives, crumbled cheese, raisins , lemon zest, olive oil oregano and ground pepper. Mix well.

With a teaspoon remove a small amount of potato from the center. You are making a very shallow indentation. Just a comphy seat for the cheese mixture. Fill the centers with about a teaspoon of the cheese mixture. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve telling your guest they took hours to make.....but their worth it.

Smoked Salmon and Arugula

2009-03-02T09:31:00.000-08:00

I never tire of smoked salmon. I enjoy it so many different ways. Often when I have a craving for smoked salmon, yet feeling cheap at the same time Ill ask my deli guy John to save me the scraps. When I stop in a few days later he yells my name across the store.."Yo..I have your smoked salmon scraps..boy your cats are gonna eat well tonight!" I don't have a cat, I just thank him and immediately start dreaming about the most delicious breakfast Ill be enjoying when I get home.

I start by caramelizing onions in some butter, add a few mixed eggs and cream, when its just about done I add the chopped smoked salmon and some freshly ground pepper. Beyond delish. Today were not doing breakfast, were doing smoked salmon and arugula on toasted french bread. Goat cheese is spread on the toasted french bread then topped with the salmon and arugula. Not quite scrambled eggs, but and elegant appetiser that is sure to please.

long skinny French bread sliced into 1/2 inch slices
3 Tb Olive Oil
1/2 Pound soft goat cheese
1 to 2 ts grated lemon zest(depending on how lemony you want to go)
4 ts lemon juice
ground pepper
1/2 pound arugula leaves
8 to 10 oz of thinly sliced salmon

Heat oven to 350. Place sliced bread on baking sheet. Brush 1 side of each slice with olive oil. Bake till lightly brown. Watch..don't walk away they burn easily. Flip over once. In small bowl mix goat cheese, zest, juice and ground pepper. Mixed till well combined. When ready to serve spread each slice of toasted bread with goat cheese mixture.(The olive oil side). Then top with a couple of arugula leaves. Cut salmon slices so they fit on top of the toasts. Place a slice of salmon on top of arugula. sprinkle with ground pepper. Cut remaining arugula leaves into thin strips. Sprinkle on top of salmon. Serve.

Red Pepper Hummus

2009-03-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

I know those little containers of hummus in the super market aren't that bad. I occasionally pick one up when I'm feeling lazy. Once you learn how, hummus is so simple to make. I've always enjoyed starting with a basic hummus recipe, then I add something like sauteed spinach, or in this case roasted red peppers. This hummus recipe has a great rosy color. For a party I scoop it in a bowl that complements the red pepper color. Garnish with cilantro, a light drizzle of olive oil and drop a few extra chickpeas on top. I then surround the bowl of hummus with toasted pita, french bread sometimes even bagel chips. Occasionally you may still buy those little containers, yet when friends come over you will be happy to have this one in your repertoire.

2 cans (20 oz) chickpeas
small handful of cilantro
Juice and zest of one lemon
1/2 cup tahini paste

2 large red bell peppers, roasted, skinned and seeded ( you can use jarred red peppers, if you choose to do this use about 1 cup..its better with the fresh roasted).

1 Tb kosher salt
Ground black pepper

Flavored Oil

1/2 cup olive oil
4 -5 chopped garlic cloves
1/2 ts ground cumin
1/8 ts cayenne

Start with the flavored oil. Warm the olive oil in a small pan. Add the garlic, cumin and cayenne. Cook gently, don't let the garlic burn. Remove pan from heat, let rest for 5 minutes.

Place chickpeas, cilantro, lemon zest and juice, tahini paste, roasted peppers, salt and pepper in food processor.Puree till smooth. Add the flavored oil, puree again. Your done. Place in bowl in middle of room, crowds will form.

Grilled mini paninis

2009-02-20T09:53:00.000-08:00

When panini makers first came out I had to have one. The idea of having a hot grilled sandwich at any time of the day immediately became my new food food obsession. There have been many, this just happened to be the most recent one. I would start my day with a grilled panini with apple wood bacon, cheddar and sauteed cherry tomatoes. Soon lunch would follow, grilled veggies with fresh mozzarella, panini of course. Dinner grilled flank steak, horseradish sauce and caramelized onions on what else but a perfectly grilled panini. Dessert? Marshmallow with nutella grilled to a perfectly gooey crispy mess. I was becoming a panini princess. I fantasized about opening a panini drive thru . I would call it The Panini Palace. It would be a small shack in the middle of a parking next to small strip mall. Everyday the line would get longer and longer as word got out about my delicious paninis. Before making my fantasy a reality I decided to have a panini party, about 20 people, I would make the panins, they would eat the paninis, drink and be very happy. There I stood making panini after panini . The crowd soon got demanding, "can I have one side with brie and ham and the other with grilled veggies. ?" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH After about an hour I was done. There I stood holding down the panini maker as my guests sipped mojitos and chatted about my crazy neighbor with numerous cats, cats which she cant have inside due to allergy's. I just kept making those paninis, one after another. I wanted my panini maker to over heat, catch fire anything. The party wrapped up, everyone but me had a fabulous time, telling me that can't wait for The Panini Palace open. Not happening in this life time. Soon after this party, my dear panini maker went into storage for a very long time. It took a very long vacation with my bread maker and rice maker, they became the best of friends. But just last week, like an old friend that you call after not remembering why you stopped being friends, I dug out my panini maker. This time we don't plan on spending quite so much time together, perhaps a once a month fling. This time no gargantuan sandwiches, just tasty little grilled wedges that will be the perfect app to your next gathering.

Grilled Paninis

Good bread is the key ingredient when making paninis. I prefer to use a large circular panelle, my baker refers to it as a Hoboken Panelle, any round French or Italian country bread should be fine. These are two Paninis that are frequently requested in my house.

Roasted Turkey with strawberry jam, yes strawberry jam

2 large slices of crusty bread
2 Tablespoon cream cheese
2 Tablespoons of your favorite strawberry jam
slightly less than a 1/4 pound of freshly sliced turkey breast
1 Tablespoon butter

This may sound strange to some of you, but try to remember how much you enjoyed the cranberry sauce and Turkey combo on Thanksgiving. Spread one slice of bread with the cream cheese, then top with the strawberry jam. Place the turkey on top of the jam, try to keep it in the center. Cover with the other slice of bread. With softened butter, lightly butter the entire outside of the sandwich. Heat up your panini maker, or skillet with a press on top. Cook the sandwich until crispy and lightly brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Slice into four bite size pieces and enjoy this unique and yummy treat.

Chocolate, banana and Hazelnut Panini

2 slices of of crusty country style bread
a handful of dark of milk chocolate chopped

1/2 a sliced banana
roughly chopped toasted hazelnuts (about 1/2 as much chocolate that you have used)

Sprinkle one slice of bread with the chocolate chunks, then add sliced bananas and finish with toasted hazelnuts. Top with second slice of bread. Grill sandwich 2 to three minutes, till bread is crispy and golden and chocolate has melted. Serve right away.

Chicken Dumplings with Soy Ginger Sauce

2009-01-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

So if you could have one last meal what would it be? Mine without a doubt would have to include an endless supply of these Chicken Dumplings served with Soy Ginger Sauce. To me they are the ultimate comfort food, light, airy and so delicious. Not so long ago I remember reading about the most requested last meals for individuals sitting on death row. Fried shrimp was way up there. Surprisingly Whoppers and Big Macs were not far behind. If only they knew about my chicken dumplings with Soy Ginger Sauce

1 Pound of Ground Chicken

3 Tb soy sauce

1 cup of finely chopped scallions

1 Tb Sesame Oil

1 Tb grated Ginger Root

1/2 pound of Napa Cabbage finely chopped and squeeze out excess liquid

1 pound package of wonton wrappers

In a large bowl combine ground chicken, scallions. soy sauce, sesame oil and grated ginger root. Make certain everything is very well blended together before you add next ingredient . Add the chopped cabbage, mix well. Place 1 wonton wrapper on a board. In the middle of the wonton place 1 full ts of chicken mixture. Moisten entire edge lightly with water (use your finger), fold over wonton to form a triangle. Make sure its well sealed and not too over stuffed. Repeat this process till all the filling is gonzo. I like to boil my dumpings in a large pot of boiling water. Sometimes I add a can of chicken broth for extra flavor. Cook about a dozen at a time, once they float add 1/2 a cup of tap water, when the pot returns to a boil the dumpling should be thoroughly cooked. Take out cooked dumplings and throw in next batch. After the 1st dumplings come out I usually cut one in half to see if it is fully cooked inside.

Soy Ginger Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup balsamic

1/2 ts freshly ground ginger

1 Tb water

Mix above ingredients together, serve with Chicken Dumplings

Buffalo Wings

2009-01-02T16:48:00.000-08:00

Several years ago as we were heading to Niagara Falls we accidentally discovered the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. One could say the Anchor Bar invented the buffalo Wing. The wings were so good we ending up having dinner there several times. We did however resist purchasing one of those wing ding hats that many of the patrons were sporting. These wings are a milder version of what the Anchor serves up, if you don't have a hot grill outside, don't bother making these wings, they taste so much better right off the grill.

3/4 cup red wine or cider vinegar

2 Tb olive oil

2 Tb Worcesterhire sauce

2 Tb chilli powder

1 ts red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

1 Tb Tabasco sauce

4 pounds chicken wings. ( I prefer the wingettes which have been separated into 2 pieces)

Mix together the vinegar, oil, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and Tabasco sauce. I like to place the chicken wings in a large zip lock back and pour in the marinade. I usually do this in the morning, turning the bag whenever I open the refridgerator throughout the day so they are well marinaded by dinner. Next you want to heat up your grill, remove the wings from the marinade, if they seem very wet pat them dry with a paper towel. Remember to reserve the marinade as you will be brushing the wings with the marinade as they cook 20 to 30 minutes. Serve them the Anchor Bar way......celery and blue cheese sauce for dipping.

Blue Cheese Sauce

about 1/2 cup mayo

a tad more than a 1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

2 ts worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic clove minced

salt and pepper

Celery sticks

Crab and Brie Filo Strudel

2009-01-02T06:42:00.000-08:00

Warm gooey brie and crab wrapped in crunchy filo..do I need to say more? This was served at a 40th birthday party I attended. I remember just 2 things about the party.. these delectable morsels and a really really bad belly dancer.We finally started clapping just to get her to stop performing. It worked and we all resumed devouring the crab and brie filo strudel.

When working with filo, always take out of freezer the night before and place in fridge.

2 Tb of minced shallots

1 Tb butter

1/2 pound of crab meat (picked over for shells)

pinch of salt and pepper

1 Tb minced parsley

splash of Tabasco

1/2 pound of brie cut into thin slices

Phyllo dough

1/2 cup melted butter

Pre heat oven 375

To make the filling melt 1 Tb of butter in a skillet. Add shallots, saute till slightly browned. Add crab, salt and pepper, parsley and Tabasco. Spread slices of brie over crab mixture until it softens, Then gently combine without breaking up lumps of crab, set aside.

Unroll package of phyllo. You will be using about 6 sheets, re roll remaining phyllo. Cover the 6 sheets w/ a damp dish towel as phyllo tends to dry out very quickly. Lay out 1 full sheet of phyllo, brush lightly with butter, top with a second sheet and apply butter again. Place 1/3 of the crab filling along one of the longer edges and roll it up as you would a jelly roll, try to tuck in the ends as you go. Make 2 more rolls the same way.Place the 3 rolls on a buttered baking sheet, seam side down. Brush the rolls lightly with butter, and ever so slightly score them into bite size pieces with a sharp knife. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until light brown and crisp. Finish cutting into pieces and serve warm.

Roasted Eggplant and Pepper Dip

2009-01-02T06:10:00.000-08:00

I think this is the only appetizer remaining in my refrigerator from the holidays that I'm not entirely sick of. Ive tried several variations of eggplant dip, this ones the winner. Its very forgiving..don't have zucchini? Don't worry about it. The best part is it keeps in the fridge for up to 2 week, just seal the top with a little olive oil. Last night I spread some on a grainy roll with some cukes, sprouts and a little goat cheese. It will become your go to dip.

1/4 cup of olive oil

2 red peppers chopped

1 eggplant

2 large tomatoes chopped

1 small chopped zucchini

4 cloves of garlic diced

1 ts Hungarian paprika

1 ts ground cumin

juice of 1 lemon

small handful of chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450, cut eggplant in 1/2 lengthwise. Drizzle cut side with a little olive oil and sprinkle of salt. Roast cut side down 30 to 45 minutes. Eggplant should appear slightly wrinkled and a wee bit deflated. Remove from oven, let cool. Scoop out eggplant flesh, discard skin.Pour remaining oil into pan, cook peppers 8 minutes, add tomatoes zucchini, garlic. paprika, cumin, lemon juice salt and pepper. Cook until softened and slightly brown. Combine pepper mixture and eggplant, process till well combined. I like mine a little chunky, others prefer it very smooth. Adjust seasoning and enjoy with crackers, chips, warm pita or leaves of Belgian endive.

Grilled corn and Artichoke Nachos

2009-01-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

For some reason I can only remember eating these irresistible nachos poolside. Actually thats not true. I once made them for a Super Bowl party I was hosting, upon arrival most of my friends informed me they were dieting after totally overdoing it over the holidays. They sat drinking their Diet Cokes nibbling on their celery sticks, as 1 non dieting friend and I ate the entire platter of these insane nachos, I believe it was way before half time. Its one of those yummy summer appetizers that I occasionally crave in the winter time when Ive had my fill of cookies, stuffing and mashed potatoes. Put them down in the middle of a non dieting hungry crowd, they will vanish in minutes.

1 can of artichoke hearts drained and roughly chopped

1 yellow pepper diced

1 cup of grilled corn( in the winter I roast a cup of frozen corn with a little olive oil, sprinkle of salt and sugar until lightly browned)

about 4 -5 scallions minced, green part too

1 cup of Colby or Monterey Jack cheese shredded

small bunch of cilantro chopped

1 to 2 ts worcestershire sauce

1 cup of mayo (dont even think about using the fat free crap)

3 to 4 garlic cloves minced

1 bag of your favorite tortilla chips

Pre heat over to 400, combine everything except the tortilla chips. Place the chips on an oven proof platter. Spoon the mixture over chips as evenly as possible. Bake until bubbly, 20 minutes. Serve asap.

Cheesy French Toast Morsels

2009-01-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

I know I know, recipes with cream cheese are lame. I recently attended a holiday party where the featured dish was a block of cream cheese slathered with microwaved cheese whiz, surrounded of course with Ritz crackers. I overheard the host telling a guest that he couldn't have a party without pulling together this old standby. Maybe in college after 11 beers at 4 am, today? No thanks. I promise these Cheesy French Toast Morsels will have you looking at day old French bread very differently. I'm often guilty of forgetting to serve the bread when I entertain. Sort of like discovering the huge pot of corn on the cob on the stove top as your taking out dessert plates. Anyway, these French Toast Morsels always come to mind when I find myself with leftover french bread. They are great to keep in the freezer when surprise visitors drop by. Serve them right out of the oven, perhaps with a pretty toothpick. Or do as I do, eat them right off the baking tray scorching hot, leaving blisters on the roof of your mouth.. so worth it.

1 to 2 day old French bread baquettes, crust removed, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 pound sharp Cheddar cheese, softened
1/2 pound cream cheese, softened
1 egg, lightly beaten

In a double boiler melt butter, cream cheese and Cheddar, remove from heat and cool. Mix egg into the mixture. This next part is a little messy..dip bread cubes into the cheese mixture and place on cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. You can prepare to this point and freeze. This recipe makes quite a bit, I usually cook 1/2 and freeze the other 1/2. (Just make sure you defrost before you cook these little guys if you choose to freeze).

Place the FrenchToast Morsels on a lightly greased cookie sheet, with a wee bit of space between them. Bake for about 15 minutes at 350 until nicely brown and gooey.