What to make for dinner tonight?

MEMORIAL DAY PICNIC

2011-05-31T07:20:00.000-07:00

So yesterday we went to the park, both dogs in tow. We had burgers on the grill, homemade coleslaw, caprese skewers, corn on the cob and a really spectacular red, white and blue jello mold.

The skewers are alot of fun, I just marinate some mozzarella in a little olive oil, salt, chopped fresh oregano and pepper and then thread the cubes with a cherry tomato and a basil leaf on toothpicks, fun to eat and really yummy. For easy corn on the grill I parboil it first, coat it with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper and then wrap in foil. Just heat it up on the grill while you do the burgers. The coleslaw we favor these days has a light dressing, about 2 Tbs lite mayo, 1 Tbs lite sour cream, 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar and a tsp of celery seed...

The jello mold was alot of fun, I used white cranberry juice (4 cups) 1/2 cup sugar, 2 envelopes unflavored gelatin. (Soften gelatin in 1/2 cup juice, then heat remaining juice and sugar to boiling, remove from heat and stir in softened gelatin until completely dissolved) Then I placed 2 cups of cut up strawberries in the bottom of a fancy 8 cup mold I had coated with cooking spray and poured 2 cups of the jello mixture on top and let set in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour. Then I added 2 cups of blueberries to the remaining jello mixture and gently spooned that on top of the strawberries. Chilled the whole thing overnight, dipped in hot water and unmolded. Served with whipped cream

More Memorial Day Fare

2011-05-30T08:10:00.002-07:00

OK, So I didn't post last night - and I really meant to. I would like to record my dinners for 30 days straight. Anyway, I made a German potato salad, with bacon so its always a hit...I firmly believe that bacon makes everything better. Some simple steamed brocolli and of course the smoked chicken. I had brined the chicken overnight, so I rinsed off the brine and patted the chicken halves dry, then made a simple dry rub and rubbed them, under the skin as well - then smoked them for about 4 hours, really good...Then for dessert I did a red, white and blue mix of berries and puff pastry stars with real whipped cream ...which my daughter loved!

Berries with puff pastry stars

2 cups strawberries, cut up
2 cups blueberries, cut up
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs sugar
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
2 Tbs sugar crystals (or plain sugar)

Combine berries and sugar, stir and let sit 15 mins.

Whip chilled cream in a chilled bowl with chilled beaters add 2 Tbs sugar and vanilla.

Cut out stars from puff pastry rolled to about 1/8" thick. Place on parchment lined baking sheet and bake about 10 mins, remove from sheet to wire rack brush lightly with water and sprinkle with sugar. Place berries in pretty serving bowls, add a dollop of whipped cream and a star or two.

German Potato Salad

2.5 lbs red skinned potatoes
1/2 lb bacon
1 onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
6 Tbs white vinegar
3 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs paprika
salt and pepper

Cook potatoes with skins on in boiling salted water to cover until tender but not mushy. Drain, cool a little and chop into 1" chunks. Peel first if you want. Saute bacon, drain on paper towels and crumble into small pieces. Pour off all but 2 Tbs bacon fat, in remaining hot fat saute onion, celery and bell pepper until onion is soft. Add vinegar, sugar, paprika and salt and pepper - cook and stir briefly, return bacon to pan. Pour dressing over potatoes in a pretty bowl and toss gently to coat. Serve warm or at room temperature.

2011-05-30T08:10:00.001-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend...cooking and a resolution

2011-05-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

OK, I am back, and this time I am going to seriously try to a least record what I cook daily for the next 30 days.

Today is Saturday, so I'll start here (and not mention much the timpano I just made the other day, the wonderful panna cottas with a raspberry sauce, and so much more...)

Today I made dinner with a spring theme. I did a classic white risotto and it was fabulous, making me and my family wonder why I don't make this simple dish more often. I paired it with a salad of watermelon, feta and baby arugula dressed with a citrus ginger dressing and also some green beans with almonds toasted in butter. For dessert I made a blueberry pie with a twist! I covered it with butter cookie stars in 2 different sizes...

It was a lovely meal and not all that hard to put together. Then I made a quick brine for a chicken which I will smoke tomorrow and serve with some caprese skewers and corn on the cob and a simple salad. Oh, I also made a fruit salad encased in jello - but with unflavored gelatin and juice, I used strawberries and blueberries and attempted to layer it in a pretty mold. I'll see if I can actually unmold it tomorrow.

Recipes:

Basic White Risotto

(this is a great dish on its on and the basis for so many other risotto's)

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1 finely chopped shallot if you have one, or not
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
1 stalk celery finely chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup carnaroli rice
5 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 Tbs additional butter

Heat olive oil and butter in a cast iron skillet. Saute onion, shallot and garlic over low heat for about 10 mins until soft but not at all browned. Stir in rice and coat each grain with oil. Add wine and stir until mostly evaporated. Add 1/2 cup hot stock and stir until almost all incorporated, continue until all stock is used and rice is creamy, stir firm but not hard. remove from heat and stir in parsley, cheese and additional butter. Serve immediately (risotto does not hold well)

Blueberry Pie with Star cut outs

Pie crust
4 cups blueberries
1/4 cup instant (minute) tapioca
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbs unsalted butter
1/4 cup very cold butter cut in small pieces
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbs sugar
1-2 Tbs ice cold water

Preheat over to 400 F. Mix berries with tapioca, sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon. Let sit 15 mins. Pour into crust and dot top with butter. Bake in 400 over for about 1 hour, use foil to cover edges if they start to brown too much. Let pie cool completely on wire rack.

Combine flour, sugar and a touch of salt in food processor. Cut in butter. Add water and process until dough forms a ball. Shape into a flattened circle and refrigerate 1 hour. Roll out on lightly floured surface and cut out stars in two sizes, 2 inches and 1 inch. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for about 1o mins or until edges start to turn golden. Cool on wire rack. Randomly arrange stars on top of cooled pie.

Watermelon, feta and Arugula Salad

Cut 1/8 of a seedless watermelon into 1 inch chunks. Combine with 8-12 oz of crumbled feta and about 6 cups of baby arugula. Mix 1/2 cup orange juice with 1 Tbs lemon juice and 1 tsp ginger juice. add 1 tbs honey. Using a whisk or shaking in a jar with a lid add 1/2 cup olive oil. Pour about half dressing over salad. Serve remainder on the side.

Valentine's Dinner

2011-02-14T18:33:00.000-08:00

OK - So busy getting dinner together, for an impatient husband and child I had no time to take any pictures, but here is the menu I made:

Valentines Day Dinner

February 14th, 2011

Starter: Veggies (cut up in heart shapes where possible, including red pepper, green pepper, cucumber, carrots, celery) with roasted red pepper dip

First Course: Oyster Pan Roast
(fabulously decadent dish - easy too, but you really should shuck the oysters yourself)

Main and Sides:

Grilled Filet Mignon with green peppercorn sauce

Steamed Asparagus

Heart Shaped mashed potatoes

Dessert:

Red Jello Hearts with whipped cream

Fun, and not that hard at all...

I printed out the menu on some fancy template you can download for free if you use word, and my daughter really liked that

I really would like to post each night (with pictures if possible) what I make for dinner, because other than the very rare occasion where I go out I pretty much cook a full dinner every night - I resolve to try and actually post each night

Pasta and Meat Sauce

2011-02-02T08:48:00.000-08:00

Last night I made a quick meat sauce and some bow-tie pasta. Side dishes included brocolli and

leeks. I really liked the leeks, sauted in a a little butter and olive oil with some fresh parm on top.

Leeks with Parmesan Cheese

3 leeks, cut in half lengthwise and cleaned then cut into half moons (white and pale green parts only)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan

Heat oil and butter in a cast iron skillet, add leeks and stir fry to cook for about 2 mins, add broth and cover - cook for 2 mins, uncover and cook until liquid is evaporated. Sprinkle with parmesan and broil briefly to brown cheese

Duck Fried Rice

2011-01-31T15:40:00.000-08:00

This was quite lovely and so very easy...used the leftover duck meat from last night (but you could use leftover duck from Chinese take-out or a restaurant)

Duck Fried Rice

1- 2 cups cut up or shredded duck from crispy fragrant duck or Peking duck
2 Tbs oil
2 eggs beaten
2 Tbs soy sauce, divided
1 Tbs ginger, peeled and finely diced
1 Tbs garlic finely chopped
2 Tbs scallions chopped into 1/4" pieces
1/2 cup carrot finely julienned
1/2 cup frozen petite peas
1 tsp white pepper
3 cups cooked rice (cook early in the day or the day before or use leftover rice)

Add 1 Tbs canola oil to wok and heat over medium flame, beat eggs with 1 Tbs soy sauce swirl oil around wok to coat sides. Pour in egg and cook stirring gently to cook through, turn egg out onto a plate and slice into thin strips. Add 1 Tbs oil to wok, add duck and ginger and garlic, stir fry for 1-2 mins add carrots and stir fry another min add rice, making sure to break u any clumps add remaining soy sauce, peas and white pepper and stir fry 1 more min, serve with scallions on top

Crispy Fragrant Duck

2011-01-30T16:03:00.000-08:00

This is what I made for dinner, and I forgot to take a picture!! Sorry - this duck is fabulous but very very labor intensive ... next time i make it I will take the picture! Anyway, I served it with chinese pancakes and scallion brushes and broccollini...last night we had leftovers and the night before that was beef and bok choy stir fry with rice and before that homemade mac-n-cheese with broccoli

The duck takes at least 2 days to make:

Crispy Fragrant Duck

1 duck

2 Tbs five spice powder

2 Tbs chinese peppercorns

1 Tbs sea salt

2 Tbs rice wine

1" piece of fresh ginger

3 green onions

2 Tbs soy sauce

1/2 cup flour

6 cups of oil for frying

Marinate duck:

Wash and rinse duck, remove any giblets

press down hard on breastbone to flatten duck

heat five spice powder and cracked peppercorns and salt in a dry cast iron skillet until fragrant and cool briefly. Rub mixture all over duck

place on a plate and cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in fridge for 8 hours (or up to 48) turn duck over occasionally

Steam duck:

Pour rice wine over duck and slice ginger into rounds, slice green onions roughly. Place 1/2 of green onions and ginger in duck cavity and half on top of duck. Place duck in a glass pie plate and use a rack to put duck in plate in a wok with space below it for water. Add water (not touching plate, about 1/2" below) bring to a boil and cover - steam duck for 3 hours, draining fat from pie plate every 20 mins or so and replenishing water as necessary.

Air-dry duck:

Remove duck from plate carefully and place on a rack in a drafty spot (or direct a fan on low on it) let dry for at least 2 hours and up to 8. Turn every hour or so and blot dry with a paper towel.

Fry duck:

Run soy sauce on duck and sprinkle with flour. Heat oil in clean wok to 350 F. Fry duck breastside down for 3 mins, turn and fry for 1 min. remove and drain on paper towel lined tray. Increase oil temp to 400 and fry duck a second time for 30 secs a side. Drain and place on a pretty platter. Serve with hoisen sauce, green onion brushes and mandarin pancakes.

Mashed Potato Cakes

2011-01-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

Tonight for dinner I used the leftover mashed potatoes from last night. I made really delicious mashed potato cakes and served them with a little sour cream and apple sauce. I also cooked some broccoli and seasoned it with a little salt and some butter - almost instant dinner. My daughter loved it and it was ready super fast!

Mashed Potato Cake

1 beaten egg
1/3 cup flour
salt
pepper
1-2 Tbs dried minced onion (or grate a fresh onion, or saute some chopped onion in olive oil and add)

Combine potato with egg, flour, salt, pepper and onion. Form into thick patties and dredge in a little extra flour

Heat 1 Tbs butter and 1 Tbs olive oil in a cast iron skillet, add cakes and let cook over medium heat for 2-3 mins without disturbing until a golden crust forms, flip and cook other side about 2 more mins. Serve with sour cream and applesauce.

Grape leaves, mashed potatoes and a Greek Almond Cake

2011-01-24T16:24:00.000-08:00

Tonight for dinner I made a Greek inspired menu: Grape leaves, stuffed with rice and lamb seasoned with cinnamon, mashed potatoes to soak up the sauce from the grape leaves, simple buttered green beans and a wonderful cake called Amygdalopita with ground almonds and semolina soaked with a spiced simple syrup.

Grape Leaves

1/2 lb ground lamb
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 cup rice
3/4 cup water
1 tsp ground cinnamon
salt and pepper
grape leaves
1 can tomato sauce
juice from 1 lemon

Make rice - combine rice and water, bring to a boil reduce heat cover tightly and simmer 20 mins. Brown beef and lamb in a cast iron skillet, drain fat, add cinnamon and salt and pepper. Add rice. Set aside to cool. Blanch grape leaves (I separate the leaves and lay them in a large casserole pan and pour boiling water over to cover and let sit for 10 mins) Lay individual leaves on a work surface, place one tsp - 1 Tbs filling, depending on size of leaf, on base of leaf fold sides over filling and roll up tightly. Placed filled leaves seam side down in a large dutch oven. Pour 1 can tomato sauce over, pour 1 can water over pour in juice from one lemon, weigh down the top with a heavy dish and bring to a boil lower heat and simmer 45 mins

Make mashed potatoes, make green beans.

For cake see my youtube channel

Lamb Curry and Royal Rice

2011-01-24T06:13:00.001-08:00

OK, already I didn't post last night - but here it is. I made a lamb curry and a quick royal rice to go with. The lamb curry used a simple yogurt marinade for the lamb, and the rice included rasins and cashews sauted in ghee - which my daughter loves!

For the curry I used part of a boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1" cubes.

Lamb and Spinach Curry

1 lb lamb, cut into cubes
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp coriander
salt and pepper
lemon juice from a lemon if you have it
1 cut up onion
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
2 Tbs tomato paste
1 lb peeled cubed potato
2 tsp yellow curry powder
1 lb spinach
2 Tbs oil or ghee

combine yogurt with spices, add lamb and let marinate for 2-8 hours

heat oil or ghee in cast iron skillet, saute onion and garlic

add lamb with marinade, tomatoes and tomato paste and potatoes, curry powder - bring to a boil, lower

heat to a simmer and cook for about 1 hour. Add spinach.

Serve hot with

Royal Rice

1 cup basmati rice

1.5 cups water

1 cinnamon stick

6 whole cloves

add rice to water with cinnamon and cloves, bring to a boil lower heat and cover tightly

let simmer for 25 mins.

Steep saffron in 2 Tbs boiling water for 10 mins while rice is cooking, add 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp cardamon

saute 1/4 cup chopped cashews and 1/4 cup raisins in 1 Tbs hot ghee or oil

Add saffron water and nuts and raisins to rice, fluff and serve

Out to dinner

2011-01-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

Tonight I made reservations...out to a local steakhouse, where I will most likely

order the bone in fillet Mignon - no cooking tonight!

This morning though I made crepes, with sugared bananas for filling - I love crepes because I wake up very early anyway, so I just blend up the batter and pop it in the fridge - then when everyone else is up the batter has sat long enough so that the bubbles have settled, which makes it easier to make the crepes. I use a medium saute pan, a little butter and about 1/4 cup of batter per crepe. I eat mine with just a little butter and sugar, but I usually toss some fresh fruit with a touch of sugar to fill my daughters:

Easy Crepe Recipe

3 Tbs melted butter
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup flour
2 Tbs sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Blend in a blender and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24. Use about 1/4 cup of batter per crepe. Butter a medium saute pan and heat over medium heat, pour in batter and swirl around to coat bottom of pan, cook for about 30 sec per side. Take off and sprinkle with a little sugar and fold in 1/4s.

For banana filling:

cut up a reasonably ripe banana and sprinkle with 1 Tbs sugar and 2 tsp lemon juice, fill crepe

you can serve with whipped cream if you want

Pizza ....

2011-01-21T15:50:00.000-08:00

Tonight I made pizza - easy dough, let mydaughter help. She rolled a personal pizza for herself, then we did some simple, classic toppings and a quick salad and some broccoli/cauliflower and almost instant dinner. She chose mushrooms and black olives to complement her sauce and mozzarella and I stuck to just the addition of mushrooms...

Pizza Dough

1 cup hot w

ater

1 pkg dry

yeast

1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp olive oil

2-3 cups all purpose flour

proof the yeast in the water with the sugar to feed it, after it gets all foamy add the olive oil

salt, and flour (only add about 1.5 cups at first) if you have a standing mixer with a dough

hook, use this and stir the flour in at low speed and the rest of the flour and increase the speed and let

the mixer do its job adding more flour a little at a time if needed until a single ball of dough forms, then let the mixer knead it for few more minutes. Turn it out, knead by hand a bit for love and put it in an oiled bowl to let rise for about an hour. Punch it down and cut it in half and roll each half out into a circel. Heat a pizza stone in the oven at around 450, sprinkle

with cornmeal or polenta place crust on top and fold over edges to make a lip. Prick all over with a fork and bake for about 7 mins.

add sauce, cheese, oregano, mushrooms, a drizzel of of oil etc and pop back in the oven until cheese melts

Minestrone and Lingonberry Bread

2011-01-20T16:16:00.000-08:00

Its cold outside, and I haven't posted here for ages, but I am going to try and see if I can stick with sharing what we have for dinner for the next 30 days...here goes with tonight - way too much to do today, with a late swimming lesson for my daughter starting on Thursdays - so I made a winter minestrone earlier, but didn't add the pasta or spinach until we got home - also made some lingonberry bread from a fancy mix I had gotten ages ago... the minestrone recipe is on my youtube site, but its really easy and I vary it according to what I have on hand -

Easy Winter Minestrone

dice up an onion, some carrots, celery and garlic, saute in a little olive oil

add about 6-8 cups of chicken broth (i always use low sodium if its not from scratch)

add a can of diced tomatoes

some dried basil, rosemary, thyme

salt and freshly ground pepper

2 zucchini diced

a yellow squash diced

bring to a boil and then lower heat

add a can of white kidney beans (cannellini) rinsed and drained

then about 20 mins before serving bring to a boil, add 1 cup of ditalini (or other small tube shaped pasta) and 1/2 lb fresh baby spinach lower heat and let cook until pasta is done

add a rind of parm if you have one in the beginning and serve with a little bit of freshly grated parmesan

you can leave out the spinach, add more or less tomatoes, add a diced potato or two, add some oregano, add some fresh parsley, a can of red kidney beans - or even chick peas, and you can always serve it with a big spoon of fresh pesto (either made with basil or parsley)

Crab Salad Stuffed Tomatoes

2010-03-01T04:45:00.000-08:00

These fun and easy appetizers were inspired by my belief that if you present a
child with attractively plated food in a fun way you can get the child to eat just about anything -
I had no tuna, no eggs and wanted to make a quick lunch for my daughter - she eats tuna salad and egg salad - but crab salad? (Crab meat I had - coupled it with some mayo, chopped capers, diced celery and a little salt, pepper and old bay seasoning, instant crab salad)

All I did was cut the tops off some cherry tomatoes, scoop out the insides (which, as an added healthy bonus, she actually ate all the pulp calling it 'fresh tomato soup') and stuffed the tomato shells with the crab salad - she ate them all!! These look so pretty and you can do them ahead - and of course, you could stuff them with egg salad or tuna salad or whatever...

Easy Banana Bread

2010-02-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

So easy - old bananas, ripe and ready and what to do? Make bread, not war... simple recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup softened butter
2 eggs
3-4 mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups all purpose flour (more if needed)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and combine well add mashed bananas and milk
and vanilla - sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and add - stir just to
combine - fold in nuts if using. Bake in a loaf pan (grease bottom only) at 350 for 1 hour or until
a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean - cool for 5 mins in pan, use a knife to loosen
edges and turn out onto a rack - cool completely

Valentines Day

2010-02-14T06:41:00.000-08:00

Wow - its been so long sinced I have added to this blog (still keeping up with my cooking videos on www.youtbe.com/ilovetocookalot )...but I am back now and will try to post regularly...today is Valentines day - not so exciting from the romance perspective for many of us who have been married awhile, but very very exciting for my little girl - so for breakfast? Why heart-shaped pancakes of course, as I am sure countless other mother's made this morning

Christmas Cookies

2009-12-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year again, and there is so much to do - decorating, shopping and cooking and baking - one of my all time favorite holiday cookie recipes is a very simple one, i call Spumoni Cookies - these gorgeous cookies are wonderful because you can make them ahead and store them in the refrigerator and slice and bake them as needed throughout the holiday season. There very pretty on a cookie tray and make fabulous gifts.

In the picture above I show a platter with some candy cane sugar cookies, some acorn cookies (sugar cookies shaped like acorns and then dipped into melted chocolate and coated with chopped walnuts) and in the center my spumoni cookies.

Spumoni Cookies

1 cup softened unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 pinch of salt
1 egg
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pistachio, almonds)
2 Tbs chopped candied red cherries
1 oz pure chocolate (unsweetened) melted

Cream together butter, sugar, egg, salt and vanilla. Add flour. Divide dough into 3 parts
into one part add cherries, into another part add chocolate and more flour if needed, into the
last part add nuts and green food coloring if desired.
Line a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with either parchment paper or aluminum foil down the bottom and up the ends of the pan. Layer the dough in evenly, first the cherry dough, then the chocolate and then the nut dough. Fold the parchment or foil over the dough and cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, and up to 6 weeks. When ready to make carefully remove the
layered dough from the pan, and remove foil or paper. Slice into 1/4 inch thick slices then slice in halves or quarters and bake on an ungreased cookie tray at 35 F for 10 mins or until the bottoms are browned. Cool on a wire rack.

My Girl

2009-11-14T18:37:00.000-08:00

Fall is coming, so slowly it approaches
I teach my girl, each leaf she says worth catching
Gold, yellow, red and brown
All slowly scattered to the ground
And then –
Before you know it boughs are bare, no leaves are left, there’s none
To spare –
White fluffy stuff cascades around and makes my daughters smiles know no bounds…
Her tongue sticks out, to catch a flake
And happiness flows from her to me, there’s no mistake!

So pure, such joy such innocence,
She knows she’s there –
And how can I cease discontent
O cannot want, or cry or try
Because my love is larger than,
Stronger than – see, it blows away the very rhyme
I lose it all, lost in all time –

My love, my child, filled with grace –
I shudder so, should you take my place
You are beyond all compare,
I cannot love love you more – and I am there,
But should I cease to be for thee, know only that
I love you more.

Go and go and work and do, Godspeed and bless you so,
You are the best and truly more,
I Love you, through and through –
Keep your head up high, remember to breathe, you are the very best
God Bless you Jess my baby girl, my dream
The best the very,very best…

Millet Salad

2009-11-11T05:47:00.000-08:00

So many wonderful whole grains out there, I've decided to experiment with some...last night I made a super easy and really yummy millet salad...i served it with some pan seared duck breast, peach chutney and broccoli....

Millet Salad

1 cup millet
1 Tbs olive oil (optional)
2 1/4 cups water
4 radishes, thinly sliced into half moons then cut in half again
1/2 English cucumber cut into small dice
2 Tbs chopped black olives
3 Tbs chopped Italian parsley
2 Tbs olive oil
1.5 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt black pepper

heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, add olive oil if using, rinse and drain millet
add to skillet and toast stirring frequently for 7 mins or until a deep golden brown
add water and bring to a low boil, cover and lower heat cook for 20 mins undisturbed.
Combine olive oil, vinegar and salt in a bowl, whisk well. Add veggies, black pepper and millet - toss to combine - let stand at room temp at least 10 mins before serving

Shrimp Noodle Bowl

2009-11-06T23:58:00.000-08:00

This was a lot of fun, my daughter and I made dashi from scratch - what is dashi? Its a Japanese fish stock and it serves as a base for a wonderful noodle bowl, featuring shrimp and tofu...the kombu is dried kelp, and its responsible for one of the five tastes the human tongue experiences, umami (or savoriness) the other four are: bitterness, sourness, sweetness and saltiness...

Dashi

8 cups cold water
2x4" pieces of kombu (dried kelp) wiped with a dry cloth
1 cup bonito flakes (dried fish flakes)
1" piece peeled and sliced ginger
1 oz mixed dried mushrooms

Udon with shrimp

Dashi
3/4 lb raw shrimp
1/2 cup diced firm tofu
2 green onions, sliced into 2" pieces and then sliced thinly lenthwise

put kombu in a soup pot, cover with water and bring to a simmer
(do NOT boil) let simmer for 20 mins, discard kombu, add bonito and ginger (off heat)
let sit for 10 mins. Drain stock, discard solids. Return stock to pot add dried mushrooms and let
sit for 20 mins, drain stock and reserve mushrooms, coarsly chop. Return stock to pot and heat, add shrimp and tofu cook for a few mins until shrimp turns pink, add chopped mushrooms, season with salt and white pepper.

Cook Udon noodles according to package directions (in boiling water for 3 mins if using fresh udon) Place 1 cup of noodels in each serving bowl, ladle some dashi and shrimp atop and garnish with green onions

Wonton Soup...

2009-11-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

haven't posted in ages, so sorry - got sick, went back to work, etc...had a lovely wonton soup last night which my 7 year old actually really helped with (she is a natural at folding the wontons, and this works out great because I hate that part!)-a few nights prior I made a wonderful shrimp toast appetizer to go with a quick pork and pineapple stir fry...both of these Asian inspired dishes can be found on my youtube channel,

Tomato Aspic

2009-10-28T23:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted in so long ... been busy with work, child, pets, etc - transitioning from being a stay at home mom to a working mom has been more challenging than I had thought it would be -

still, I cook - you can always check out my youtube channel - did a wonderful English style beef roast with Yorkshire pudding recently - see roastbeef also did a fun, classic french onion soup

But tonight, I made a super easy crab salad and served it up with a retro aspic veggie salad -
aspics are so easy - and this crab salad of mine is ridiculously simple...
8 oz of cooked crab meat - back fin, lump isn't necessary
3 Tbs light or whole mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
2 tsp chopped capers
salt and pepper to taste

thats it - maybe a squeeze or two of lemon, mix everything to combine and your done...

goes great on a roll, on a bed of lettuce or filling a tomato aspic ring etc

Bunny lunch...

2009-09-20T09:41:00.001-07:00

Wanted to make a quick lunch my child would eat, so i used some home made bread for ears, some turkey bologna some olives for eyes, a dab of pesto for a nose, carrots for mouth and whiskers - oh and some lettuce to feed the bunny!

Quesadillas

2009-09-19T07:12:00.001-07:00

Needed dinner - fast - needed a good tasting, nutritious dinner - made own of my daughters favorites, cheese quesadillas, but I added some veggies (sauteed some red and green bell pepper and an onion in a little olive oil. and some chicken (poached it in some broth, shredded it and added a little bit of Mexican seasoning) added some chopped black olives some chopped tomato and of course the shredded cheese - used colby this time- almost instant dinner...
served it with some blue corn chips and some store bought salsa and some sour cream

Pasta with a meat sauce and a garden salad

2009-09-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

Pasta, meat sauce and a salad made up dinner tonight, easy and good. sauteed a half a finly chopped onion and 2 cloves minced garlic in a little olive oil - browned about 1/2 lb of ground beef added some canned mushroom pieces, because I didn't have any fresh then added a couple of cans of canned petite diced tomatoes, and let it simmer for about 1/2 hour, then added a ton of fresh orageno and flat leaf parsely from my garden. Made some pasta, served it family style from one big bowl with some fresh ground parm, quick garden salad using my own cucumbers, some grape tomatoes, black olives, carrots and hearts of romaine. Everybody loved this meal...

Simple Pleasures: a toasted cheese sandwich

2009-09-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Its starting get cold already, I made myself a simple cheese sandwich, with Colby cheese and a few tomato slices - with a tomato from my garden a little black pepper - i used rye bread. The secet to avoid getting the cheese soggy from the tomato is to first broil the sanwhich and when its almost done then you put the tomato on

Whole Red Snapper

2009-09-05T03:55:00.000-07:00

Grilled with a Mediterranean flair... this was a real hit. Took one whole, cleaned red snapper and brushed it with a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil fresh chopped oregano and salt and pepper - made a couple of slits in the meaty part of the fish and rubbed the marinade in. Let this sit for about 10 mins, then grill over medium heat, covered for about 15 mins or until fish is done. Serve it on a platter covered with chopped onion and flat leaf parsley, sprinkle crumbled feta, deiced tomato and olives atop -

The school year is almost here, and once I go back to teach and my daighter goes back to school I should actually have more time to post ...Happy Cooking everyone!

Quiche

2009-08-29T04:45:00.000-07:00

I have people staying with us, which means lots of extra work - no matter how much you love 'em. I feel like my house has turned into a B&B/restaurant ... and oh the dishes!! Lets see, first night I made a spinach lasagna, caprese salad and my homemade italian bread ...next morning, waffles and a really nice fruit salad, then we had an outdoor bbq at our local park, then I did a quick quiche with some more fruit - last night I made my home made pizza and some homemade peach ice cream -

The quiche was easy, I had planned on a frittata but I didn't have any potatoes and at 6 am its hard to find them - so I went to my local drugstore and got some half&half -now for any quiche if you stick to 4-5 eggs to about 1.5 cups of cream/half and half it should set up nicely. I used what I had, some swiss cheese, some ham, a red pepper and a red onion that i diced and sauted in a little olive oil and thats about it - i used a frozen piecrust, mixed everything together and poured it in the pie crust - placed it on a baking sheet to avoid a mess and baked at 400 for 15 mins, then 350 for about 30 mins. Make sure to let it rest at leat 10 mins after taking it out of the oven

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2009-08-25T05:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry not to be posting more - busy winding up the summer getting ready for back-to-school...
my husbands birthday was this past weekend, and he prefers pie over cake so I made a wonderful Strawberry Rhubarb pie, which is so easy and really good!
Ingredients: 1 lb Rhubarb, cut into 1/2 inch pieces, tough strings removed (and always throw away the tops (leaves) if your stalks have them - they are poisonous!) 1/2 lb strawberry's tops removed, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 1 cup superfine sugar 1/4 cup minute tapioca pinch of salt crust for two crust deep dish 9" pie

Preparation: Mix rhubarb and strawberries with sugar, tapioca and salt - let sit 15 mins. You can add some grated lemon or orange rind if you'd like - i don't Preheat oven to 400 F place pie crust in pie plate, place on a baking sheet to catch spillover pour filling in crust, dot with butter either put a top crust on, and vent it or make a lattice top bake for 20 mins, lower heat to 350 and bake for an additional 30-45 mins, checking to see if edges brown too fast (cover edges with foil) and when crust is nicely browned and filling is bubbling out of vents pie is done Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack - pie is best at room temp because then it is all nicely thickened - pie is also excellent warm, but more soupy serve with ice cream, whipped cream or just plain!

Hot Summer Nights - Antipasta and more

2009-08-20T07:19:00.000-07:00

Its been so hot - sorry I haven't posted, been trying to keep cool! Last night I made a wonderful antipasto dinner, I bought some really wonderful prosciutto di parma, bread sticks, cappacola, salami - bought some marinated artichoke hearts, already had some roasted peppers, some home made pesto - made a quick three bean salad, had some marinated olives added a loaf of crusty bread - easy and delicious, oh of course I couldn;t completely resist cooking so I grilled some baby eggplants, just slice them lengthwise into 1/4" thick slices, salt them and let them sit in a strainer for an hour, rinse pat dry then brush with some herb infused olive oil, I used oregano then grill turning frequently for about 10 mins total...for desert I made a really intense basil lime sorbet - which was very refreshing!! the other night I made some grilled lamb and a nice greek inspired salad, find these on my youtube channel

Steak, chili and more ...

2009-08-12T11:38:00.001-07:00

Its been awhile, sorry - things are crazy round here...had a wonderful dinner on Sunday, because I didn't cook it!! My husband made me one of my favorite meals Steak Frites, and he added a lovely asparagus dish he infused with our Texas Tarragon from our herb garden...then the following night I made a really refreshing jicama slaw, some lobster stuffed poblano peppers and a nice orange and garlic flounder dish...you can find these on my youtube channel

Last night I made a quick turkey chili with fixins', and some corn muffins
tonight I am planning on a watermelon sorbet for desert and leftovers for dinner...

Dinner with our kitten, Timmy

2009-08-06T11:44:00.001-07:00

Tonight we are going to dine with Timmy, our new baby kitten - since he is waiting to be introduced to all the other pets while he adjusts to his new home this means we need a portable feast to eat with him in my daughters bedroom - not sure how yet or what but I will think of something!

Ok - let her have a TV dinner, its once in a blue moon - set up a "table" in her room, set it and put out some healthy appetizers and wa-la - dinner with a cat!

Tapas

2009-08-06T03:31:00.000-07:00

Had a great dinner last night, which would be wonderful for a dinner party also. I made an assortment of different Spanish style dishes, bought some wonderful Spanish cheeses, some marinated mixed olives - and served it up on tiny plates - I made a pizza dough and used it to make some small tart shells which I filled with a bacon, mushroom and onion mixture thickened with a little cream and flour. I also used the dough to make a small loaf of bread - I made some open faced sandwiches with the bread, some dill mayo and a slice of potato and a piece of smoked salmon,
what else? Oh, shrimp in tons of garlic and some red pepper - sardines with tomato on little buns, cubes of boiled potato drizzled with a garlic sauce - and a fabulous veggie medley of cucumber, green pepper, tomato and onion - the Spanish dish calls for marrow - which is a type of squash that I can't get where I live so I substituted zucchini

Stuffed shells, spinach salad and chocolate ice cream

2009-08-04T03:47:00.000-07:00

Crazy day yesterday, so much going on. For dinner I made a super fast and super good spinach salad, some stuffed shells and some decadent chocolate ice cream ... the secret to great chocolate ice cream is to use a really high quality bittersweet chocolate...all of these recipes can be found on my youtube channel

Calzones and more

2009-07-31T09:37:00.000-07:00

Hello - My Sister and brother-in-law are coming today! Early this morning I made a basic pizza dough recipe, and after the first rise placed it in a plastic bag in the fridge. Then I made my Italian bread - next I made some hummus and cut up some red, green, yellow and orange peppers to serve with it. Then I made some calzone filling and cooked up some sausages as well...

made some dark chocolate mouse and am now taking a break - soon I will make a salad...
ended up making two kinds of salsas with some chips as a starter - calzones were amazing!
Saturday, I made belguim waffles and a great fruit salad for breakfast - then I can't remember lunch, oh yeah - we went and got an amazing little kitten and had fast food due to traffic and starvation - came home, went to the park for a cook-out, burgers and dogs, homemade coleslaw with my new food processor, watermelon etc
Sunday my husband made these incredible omlets, I made a fabulous pumpkin bread and more fruit salad - my sister and husband left. Easy dinner tonight, faijitas (steak and chicken) leftover salsa and chips - tired now...
Tomorrow I am making stuffed shells, a new salad I came up with but haven't yet tried and homemade chocolate ice cream!!
Oh, in honour of the kitten here is what my daughter did to my veggie platter

Skewer Picnic - so much fun...

2009-07-28T17:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight after a long day, we went ahead and had a great a great picnic - all different types of skewers! I did caprese skewers, with Mozzarella
and basil and tomatoes; tortellini skewers with sun dried tomatoes and tropical fruit ones with mango, watermelon and kiwi - what fun!!

Jess played in the water and icy had fun too...

weekend recap

2009-07-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry - so much going on its hard to blog - had friends for dinner on Saturday, wnet to the park on sunday and was disgusted with the bread so I made my own, check it out dinner Saturday was Beef Bourguignon with mashed potatoes and brocolli rade and panna catto i also dis some hummus and a veggie platter to start - why am i italics??
Anyway heres a picture of the main dish

Hot Dogs!!

2009-07-22T11:23:00.000-07:00

Did you know that July is National Hot dog month?? I did not, but my daughter found out - so in honor of this, I made healthy pigs in a blanket for lunch today. I used organic, hormone free, nitrate/nitrite free all beef hot dogs and the dough I use for pizzas and calzones - so easy and she was so happy! I served them with some watermelon to complete the summer theme and some juicy bing cherries...enjoy!

Rice Triangles

2009-07-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

These lovely little appetizers make a great start to any meal. They aren't all that difficult, but they are so attractive. They are quite popular in Japan and are called Oginiri. Basically you just cook some sushi rice and then while it is still warm shape it into triangles, i chose to encase some cucumber batons in a few of the triangles and then wrap those with a strip of nori. Then I mixed some poached and flaked salmon in with the rest of the rice, shaped and coated with black sesame seeds and some with white seeds. I served them with soy sauce and they were a big hit!

Dinner tonight - a picnic in the park!

2009-07-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Planning a picnic for tonight - made some yummy dinners over the past few days, yesterday went to a neighbors party and brought a platter of my savory Palmiers, a puff pastry swirl filled with mushrooms and bacon - really good. Recently made a wonderful chicken salad for dinner and another night did a pizza pocket calzone dish - will add a link to these soon...
off to the market to get some french bread, roast beef, provolone, really hoping to find a tomato that tastes like a tomato...some red onion, mayo, spicy mustard
and maybe some chips?
Had the picnic, it was great. I brought along a wedge of brie, a small cast iron skillet and a head of garlic wrapped in foil - we had roasted garlic and warm brie for appetizers - the day was beautiful - see the clouds in the water?

So very tired...

2009-07-15T21:33:00.000-07:00

and alone

Floating Islands

2009-07-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

Made the floating islands my daughter loved so much in Paris - lots of work, classic french cooking but oh! so very good - and a wonderful company dessert because you can do so much of it ahead. These are called Ile flottante in French, basically islands made of meringues float atop a classic creme anglaise (a vanilla custard like sauce)

Burgers and more in the park

2009-07-11T19:55:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous day - went to a local state park and had a cook out. Carefully planned and took everything we needed, made a German potato salad, coleslaw - got some watermelon, marshmallows, oh and pre shaped organic ground beef patties, buns and fixings - it was great!

Pasta and meat sauce

2009-07-11T05:07:00.000-07:00

Still exhausted from my trip - made a quick meat sauce with some pasta and a caprese salad with my gorgeous basil - sadly, the vegetable garden doesn't look so good - too much rain, too cold, not enough sun. The herbs look fabulous though - added some fresh oregano to my sauce, garnished with some fresh Italian parsley - oh and cats on the counter this morning...

Grilled cheese and a French salad

2009-07-08T22:24:00.001-07:00

I am home!! Last night after all the wonderful food we had abroad, my daughter wanted
something comforting and familiar - so I went ahead and made her grilled cheese with
broiled tomatoes - I, however, wanted to try and replicate a delightful salad I had in Paris. Here's the picture of the one I made, and below it the picture of the one from France - what a wonderful vacation

Home again, after 8 days abroad

2009-07-08T22:07:00.000-07:00

OK - So i really do miss Paris. I will share what I ate, and it was all beyond amazing. but right now I am exhausted. Tonight for dinner my wonderful mother-in-law made her version of Syrian chicken. I made panna cotta with two different fruit coulis...and a video for the blackberry one here are some pix and the video for the panna cotta and blackberry coulis

Vacation - day 1, here in London

2009-07-02T01:04:00.000-07:00

What glorious weather - espresso machine in my room is amazing - went for a run, everyone else still sleeping - right near the river with a lovely view.
Can't wait to go exploring and will tell you about my food experiences here - off to Paris tomorrow, and no insult to the UK but that is where I am most looking forward to the food!!

2009-06-30T04:19:00.000-07:00

Menus –

I am going on vacation!! Hope to get tons of ideas for new recipes along the way – thought I would leave you with some menu ideas to look at while I am away

I cook pretty much every night, and while I do love to entertain mostly I cook just for my family … I write down what I make and I got this crazy idea to record it here – so here are over 2 months of everyday menus that I really made over the few months – sprinkled among these are a few entertaining and party menus, ideas for formal sit downs as well as buffets – all of these are doable, some need more time and effort than others – well here goes: (Recipes which are available on video
my youtube channel
are marked with a *** )

Lets begin with some fancy:

The other night I wanted something special for friends, so I made a million homemade raviolis, sausages (hot and sweet Italian, first poached then grilled) a lovely salad, homemade garlic bread and a new york style cheesecake *** – I started with some high quality store bought crackers, a few cheeses and green grapes. Oh – strawberries with sugar and grand marnier with the cheesecake, coffee of course

A semi-formal sit down dinner:

The other weekend we had 2 couples over (plus us) so 6 people – I wanted to try something a little more formal but not too stuffy I made:

• A veggie platter with a simple sour cream/cream cheese/herb dip – included pepper rings in many colors (red, green, orange and yellow), carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, cucumber sticks, broccoli florets and cauliflower florets
• A platter of my bacon, mushroom palmiers ***
• Tortilla chips and salsa ***
• Mixtures of sangria ***
• Arugula bacon cheddar and apple salad ***
• Crispy chicken simply breaded and sautéed in butter ***
• Veal Saltimbocca ***
• Soft Polenta ***
• Parmesan crusted baby zucchini
• Decadent chocolate brownies *** with fresh strawberries macerated in triple sec and confectioners sugar and crème fraiche

Prior to that I had a simple backyard get together with 1 other couple and just did:

• Chips and salsa ***
• Chicken and steak fajitas, with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, green onions and cheese ***
• Savory black beans (canned black beans, with sautéed diced green bell pepper, onion and a little vinegar) ***
• Mexican rice ***
• Red sangria ***
• Decadent chocolate brownies ***

For my Moms Birthday I made:

• Vadas ***
• Aloo Goobi ***
• Chicken curry tikka masala
• Royal rice ***
• Naan
• Italian cheesecake ***

For large gatherings I like to make:

• Veggie platter
• Mozzarella /tomato and basil caprese salad
• Crispy sausages
• Meatballs ***
• Timpano
• Lasagnas: spinach, mushroom and meat (***)
• Canolies

A real celebration dinner I do sometimes:
• English style crown roast of beef
• Yorkshire pudding
• Creamed spinach (***)
• Roasted potatoes (roasted in goose fat or beef fat) (***)
• Crème brulee (***)

For fun and just for a playdate with some children for my daughter and other moms

• Mini gourgres (***)
• Brushetta with assorted toppings like pesto and tapenade (***)
• Fresh fruit: green grapes, blueberries, strawberries
• Chocolate chip cookies
• Biscotti (***)

Other ideas for more simple family dinners include the following dinners I have recently made:

For days when you have time to cook:

• Lasagna al forno (***)
• salad
• Garlic bread
• Three bean salad (***)
• Chocolate pudding (***)

• Fried chicken (***)
• Coleslaw
• Hush puppies
• Green beans

• Stuffed grape leaves (***)
• Hummus (***)
• Pita crisps (***)
• Mashed potatoes
• Baked acorn squash

• Turkey burgers (mini) (***)
• Homemade buns (mini) (***)
• Warm German potato salad with bacon
• Green beans

Well, I need to pack - can't wait to start my vacation - if I can post while in Europe I will...happy cooking everyone

Dinner with friends - lasagna etc

2009-06-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

Had a wonderful dinner party last night, it was so easy because I had already made a lovely spinach and cheese lasagna and it was in the freezer - made a quick caprese salad to go with it, and some crispy sausages, both hot and sweet. Had cannolis for desert. For appetizers I put together a cheese ball and served it with some grapes and crackers and also offered to kinds of salsa, hot and mild with some blue corn chips and some line-yellow corn chips. Added a big pitcher of easy to make sangria and we had a great time with what seemed like minimal effort on my part

Last night - perfect steak, again

2009-06-24T08:57:00.001-07:00

Found some gorgeous aged ribeye steaks and couldn't resist. Paired them with some roasted asparagus and some Arancini (rice balls stuffed with cheese) - made a video of the steak and here it is
Now for dinner tonight? I am thinking of a tart with cream cheese pastry crust and a layer of tomatos, shredded provolone maybe some sauteed leeks? A little fresh basil and some olive oil - sounds light but good ...

tired...

Dog Training I

2009-06-23T21:17:00.001-07:00

Some fun with my dogs and a break from cooking ...

Shrimp stuffed with crabmeat and a cool mojo

2009-06-22T08:21:00.000-07:00

Its Monday, again and its raining again...yesterday was Fathers day, so my daughter made Daddy breakfast in bed (with a little help from me) we made a feta spinach egg scramble, love that combination, some english muffins, canadian bacon and fruit. Put it all on pretty dishes on a pretty tray and served it to Dad in bed - had leftovers for dinner from last nights amazing meal - my guests called on their way home to rave about how good the food was which really made me feel good ...tonight I want to try something new so I am planning a very easy to prepare, yet quite elegant meal. Butterflied shrimp with crabmeat stuffing, a red onion mojo on the side and some coconut rice. Should be good - very busy day, off to the doctor, the vet - pick up from day camp and of course the grocery store.
Dinner was wonderful, heres my video showing the shrimp and the mojo...

Company dinner - something special

2009-06-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

Its Saturday - where did the week go? Had leftovers on Thursday, and take out on Friday.
We are having friends for dinner tonight, and here is my menu:

Bacon and feta and spinach stuffed roasted mushrooms
Veggie platter of colorful bell peppers with hummus
Caprese Salad
Spinach and cheese filled fresh pasta cannelloni
Crispy Italian sausages, hot and sweet
Garlic bread
red and white wine with dinner
Cannoli's, coffee

I have been cooking all morning. Made my twice roasted stuffed mushrooms, made the spinach and cheese filling for my cannelloni- made the egg pasta- its in the fridge and soon I have to roll it out. Need to make some hummus which I will serve with cut up red, yellow, orange and green peppers. Need to make the filling for the cannoli's which we will have for dessert -garlic bread is ready to go in the oven- what else?? Oh - the sausages, hot and sweet Italian I will partially cook these soon, then about 20 mins before serving slice into 1/2 pieces and sear on both sides to get them nice and crispy.

Easy dinner

2009-06-17T12:59:00.000-07:00

Tired today, went swimming with my daughter - don't really feel like cooking up a storm. I decided to make a simple tomato sauce, use a ton of fresh oregano from my garden to spice it up. I am going to serve that over some penne pasta and make a simple salad. I think I will offer some ricotta cheese to put on top of the sauce - that has to be one of my all time favorite combinations. The hot pasta and sauce topped with the cold ricotta just tastes wonderful to me. I think I will cut up some fresh basil to top the ricotta with. Maybe some garlic bread to. Thats it - easy night. Oh, and maybe some sauteed mushrooms, either in the sauce or on the side?

Thinking about Saturday, I have friends coming for dinner -wonderful couple and they are bringing their little dog too! They don't eat chicken, or care for fish and if memory serves they are also not fond of veal - oh, and no eggs presented in any fashion that doesn't conceal the egg (that is, baked goods using eggs are fine, but a poached or hard boiled egg atop a salad or some such thing is not acceptable)so I need to decide what to make ...

Salmon Cakes with Tarragon

2009-06-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

Last night, my brother and nieces stopped over - I made some gorgeous looking salmon into lovely salmon cakes and served them with some corn on the cob and some steamed brocollini.

Salmon Cakes

1.5 lbs salmon fillet

1 lemon

1/2 red onion

1 cup carrots

1 egg

3/4 cup bread crumbs

2 Tbs chopped fresh Tarragon

Poach Salmon -

coat foil with cooking spray, place salmon skin side down and drizzle with olive oil. Lay some thinly sliced lemons and 1/2 of the red onion, thinly sliced atop salmon. Encase in foil (loosely) bake on a cookie sheet at 400 F for about 8 mins or until barely done. Let cool, then remove skin and flake salmon with a fork removing any bones if needed.

Chop carrots in a food processor and add 1/2 of the red onion, chop. Place mixture in a bowl, add flaked salmon, egg, bread crumbs, salt and pepper and Tarragon. Form mixture into patties, using wet hands, refrigerate covered for at least an hour. Saute in olive oil in a cast iron skillet for a few mins per side over medium heat. Serve with tarter sauce if desired.

The weekend - chicken quesadillas and pico de gallo

2009-06-14T05:59:00.000-07:00

well, my daughter and husband got sick so we had to cancel Saturdays dinner with friends. The good thing is I had already made a huge tray of Spinach lasagna. This dish freezes beautifully so I am ready to go whenever we reschedule the dinner party. The bad thing is I have a ton of mushrooms and I am not sure if I make my roasted stuffed mushrooms that they will freeze well, I am worried about the mushrooms ending up soggy...guess I will find out or figure out something else to do with them. Its hard to find time to write on the weekends, but I promise to keep up with this on weekdays. Might make chicken soup today, as everyone is still a bit under the weather around here.

Actually everyone is feeling a lot better, so I changed dinner plans. I made some quick pico de gallo, served it with blue corn chips for a starter. I grilled up some chicken breasts which I first marinated in a little olive oil, lime juice, chopped garlic, salt and pepper and a bunch of fresh thyme from my herb garden. Then I made some chicken quesadillas with jack cheese, green onions and the chicken - served it up with sour cream and the pico de gallo - great!!

Thursday, Whats for dinner??

2009-06-11T11:46:00.000-07:00

Tired- woke up early and made the fruit salad. It came out really pretty and was a big hit at her picnic. You can really use any kind of fruit you like, but here's what I did for this one:

Tropical Fruit Salad

1 large pineapple, carefully cut in half and flesh scooped out, diced, core discarded

1 pint raseberries

2 cups blue berries

2 kiwis, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch rings, then quartered

2 mangos (ripe please, or don't use -I went through 4 to get 2) diced

1/4 watermelon diced

1 can manderine oranges packed in juice if you can find them and drained

1 lb strawberries, diced

mint, chopped fine and clusters of leaves for garnish

Combine all fruit in a large bowl and toss gently to coat - add chopped mint. Scoop into

pineapple boats (or use a bowl) and garnish with fresh mint sprigs.

Now for tonight -since it was a special day for Jess, she gets to pick the menu. She wants meat sauce and pasta and garlic bread (i'm adding salad)

Whats for dinner?

2009-06-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my daughters last day of school, and I have offered to bring a fruit salad for 20. I will make it tomorrow morning, though I might do some prep tonight. I wanted to go with something tropical and something kids will like - so I'm thinking pineapple (maybe I'll even serve it in the pineapple shells, I have 2 so that would make 2 pineapple bowls), kiwi, banana, mango -couldn't find a decent papaya or any starfruit - have some berries, grapes, etc. Tonight its just me and Jess so I think I'll do something super easy - maybe english muffin pizzas? I don't think she has ever had this and she loves my homemade pizza -or maybe quesadillas?

Nervous about Saturday, we are having friends for dinner and normally this is right up my alley, loving to cook as I do. This Saturday Jess has a bday party to attend from 2-4, and also one on Friday. My guests are arriving at 5:30 on Saturday - so I need a make ahead dinner I can pull together when I get back from the birthday party - thinking maybe a lasagna, salad, garlic bread combo and my double roasted stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer- still not sure...

At anyrate, for tonight I made english muffin pizzas - super easy, lightly toast muffins, spread with tomato sauce, sprinkle with some oregano, about 1 oz of shredded mozzarella cheese, some canned mushrooms, fresh basil, olive oil and broil until cheese melts. I served these with some extra canned mushrooms (because my daughter loves these) and some sugar snap peas.

Tuesday night,dinner ideas?

2009-06-09T14:45:00.000-07:00

OK - its Tuesday, I had a very wild day - dogs are crazy. Kid is crazy - need an easy, different dinner idea - decided on a turkey meatloaf (hubby really wants what he deems "healthy") I usually hate turkey meatloaf, I am very partial to beef - hey, its "whats for dinner", right?

At anyrate, decided on an all white meat turkey meat loaf. Going to stuff it with cheese and roasted peppers, serve it with some gravy and some green beans - mashed potatoes are optional..
and here's the video

The weekend, and now what to make for dinner tonight

2009-06-08T08:43:00.001-07:00

The weekend was lovely, didn't cook on Saturday - grabbed some deli coleslaw and macaroni salad and some organic beef patties,packed it all up in a cooler with some fixins' and a bag of charcoal. We went kayaking, and then had a bbq at a local park - gorgeous day! Sunday, made some mashed potatoes with green olives and cream cheese and grilled a chicken, steamed some asparagus. Sunday also had a playdate party for my daughter and let the girls make cat face cupcakes -

they had a blast. Now, I am trying to figure out what to make for dinner tonight, husband mentioned a stirfry and I have a ton of green onions that need used up, so maybe a simple shrimp stirfry and some rice? That is exactly what i did -

Tomato stuffed with Crabsalad

2009-06-06T08:26:00.000-07:00

Last night I made a 50's classic-which still works today. A simple crab salad stuffed into an artfully cut tomato on a bed of shredded hearts of romaine. Easy, fun and delicious

6 oz of crab meat

1/2 cup low fat mayo

2 Tbs ketchup

2 tsp horseradish, optional

black pepper

4 tomatoes, cored

hearts of romaine sliced crosswise into 1/4 lengths

combine crab meat,mayo, ketchup and horseradish add a few turns black pepper,cut tomatoes into 6 wedges, but don't cut all the way through the bottom, fan out the tomatoes on lettuce lined plates and fill with crab salad

Eggplant Parmesan and a chopped salad

2009-06-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning my daughter requested eggplant parm for dinner - one of her all time
favorites. I love my version because I don't use the oven at all. I paired it with a quick chopped salad made of what I could find in the fridge. Whenever I make eggplant parm, I keep a few of the eggplant slices just pan fried and serve them as an appetizer, without the tomato sauce and cheese - Jess calls these "Naked eggplants"
and she loves to take leftovers to school the next day ...
easy healthy meal, I like to get started early in the day. Breading the eggplants and then refrigerating them for several hours helps the coating to adhere and thereby reduces the amount of oil absorbed by the eggplants while sauteing.

Dinner Tonight - easy skillet chicken

2009-06-02T15:29:00.000-07:00

My sister came in to town, last minute kinda thing, had to cancel a playdate, pick her up from the bus station - do a ton of emergency dog handling exercises with her - then back home, pick up my daughter - what to do about dinner?

Easy - went with chicken florentine, basically bread, egg and dip in breadcrumbs seasoned with spices and some parm. Pan fry the chickens, plate up over some boiled spinach add some easy stuffing and your good to go!! Here's a video where i did this to the chicken, but used chard instead of spinach and spaghetti squash instead of stuffing - this would work just as well!

Dinner Last night - a different take on chicken

2009-06-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Last night, I made a very different chicken dish - a steamed ground chicken. It was quite delightful, and I paired it with coconut rice for a lovely light Thai style dinner. The chicken was very easy to prepare, and you can even do most of the work ahead of time.

Steamed Chicken Cups

1 lb ground chicken
1/2 lb ground pork
3 cloves of garlic
10 sprigs fresh cilantro
2 Tbs coconut milk
1 Tbs brown sugar
2 Tbs Thai fish sauce

Basically you just combine everything and press the mixture into 1/2 cup
ramekins. (first finely mince the garlic and the cilantro stems, save the leaves for final garnish. This can be done ahead, cover and refrigerate, 20 mins before dinnertime
place the ramekins in a steamer over 2 inches of boiling water and cover and steam for 20 minutes. Then invert onto a plate and garnish with some of the cilantro leaves

Dinner tonight - pasta i think...

2009-05-30T04:44:00.000-07:00

OK, its Saturday and my family has requested cannelloni for dinner -

normally I would make the pasta but I have to much to do today so after some clothes shopping with my ever growing little girl I will swing by my local upscale grocery and hope that they have some fresh pasta sheets available. Then I need to decide meat or meatless? Its spring, and actually not cold today so I think I'll go with a spinach and ricotta filling - I have a recipe for veal cannelloni on youtube, (see the end of this post.)
So I'll base this on that one, but instead of the meat filling I will make one using 1 lb ricotta cheese, 1/2 lb shredded mozeralla cheese and 1/2 cup grated parm, salt and pepper. Then I will cook a bag or two of baby spinach, drain it,cool it and squeeze out as much moisture as I can - isn't it amazing how little spinach you end up with after cooking it? Then I will add the spinach to my cheese mixture - you can add an egg here to for both protein and to help the filling hold together,oh and maybe some parsely. Oh, also saute some onion and garlic in a little olive oil and add that in too.

Now, what to go with it? Something basic like garlic bread and a salad? Or maybe more elaborate? Not sure yet - I'll update after the grocery store...been there and back, will make a simple salad (they had fresh pasta sheets - i am so happy!) and garlic bread...so time to start cooking...

Fun with kids parties...

2009-05-29T16:34:00.000-07:00

Ever since my daughter turned 1, I have had an absolute ball hosting, designing, creating and cooking for her birthday parties (ok, sometimes I hated it - but overall it has been a blast). For the first several years I made a wonderful, yet quite healthy carrot cake - but after 5 years of that she started making requests...

Last year, we made cat cupcakes and served them in a tower...which was lots of fun

Her latest birthday was the first held out of the family home, we booked a pavilion at a local, privately owned and very humanely run zoo. I made all the food, which was wonderful, transporting same was a pain. She had sandwiches shaped like animals in both cream cheese & jelly and turkey bologna and cheese - we all know peanut butter isn't allowed at these events, but the cream cheese mandated a cooler, we survived. For the grand finale I made turtle cupcakes and an Elephant cake ...these, while not my typical gourmet, healthy yet delicious fare, were a ton of fun to make. Here they are:

the turtle cupcakes couldn't be easier. I made a simply yellow cake, but feel free to use a mix. Make sure to fill your cupcake pan at least 3/4 full and use foil or paper liners. Once cool, frost cupcakes with a homemade or store bought chocolate frosting. Now for the fun part: I used large gum drops for most of the heads (in a variety of colors, though you could stick to green for greater realism) I used small gumdrops for a few of the turtles to represent babies. I used cut up chocolate twizzlers for the feet, but tootsie rolls would have worked as well. I used decorater icing for the eyes and mouths and a cut up gum drop for the tail

Sometimes we make fun animal desserts just for fun, she loved the ladybug cookies

Once we made a cantelope into a bunny and served fruit salad in it - not sure where that picture is ...

Dinner tonight, Chili Con Carne

2009-05-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

Need to figure out what to make for dinner, again - seems to happen every night. Sort of like
the dishes, the laundry, any household chore -mundane and always there, never finished, no matter how often you get everything clean you just need to do it all over again! At least cooking can be fun and rewarding in its own right, so anyway, its cold, rainy and rather dreary on this 'spring' day in the northeast. I want something warm and comforting, thought of beef stew or beef daube or something with red meat in it- called my husband, he wants Chili - so thats what I will do. Easy, yummy and really simple...made sure to buy sour cream (the low-fat actually tastes almost as good as the real thing!) jack cheese, will pick green onions from the garden - only problem with chili is I've already posted this dish to my youtube site...here it is wait that sticks you in youtube, maybe I should embed the thing,lets try

Embedding seems to work better -
At anyrate, if I make this for dinner I'll have nothing new to post, after 240+ cooking videos its getting hard to come up with new stuff, plus my family hungers for repeats. Thats ok - there is always tomorrow for a new cooking video, or the day after that etc. After all each day is a new reason for everyone to ask me "Whats for dinner?".

Soon I need to get my daughter from school -spent the day catching up with bills, cleaning, grocery shopping, dog training with my pup, vet for my older dog - and my husband is coming home early, which while wonderful sort of impacts my normal routine (oh, and I ran 5k this am -need to get back to every day with this)

Along with my chili con carne and garnishes I will serve some blue corn chips with a simple salsa fresca (also featured on my youtube site) to start and then maybe some cut up veggies too. Normally I would also serve the chili with some lovely homemade cornbread (and yes you can watch me make a skillet cornbread on youtube) or if pressed for time, cheat and use a cornbread mix,or even rice or egg noodles - but lately we are watching our carbs, so I'll skip the bread for tonights meal. Off to finish my chili, happy cooking everyone...