Summer Sangria

With moving came many social gatherings to say farewell which also included lots of drinking. I'm not huge on large quantities of booze and really love the mellow buzz this sangria gave for a hot summer day of socializing outside by the pool. It's fantastic for sipping.

You could also do this same sangria recipe with red wine (pinot noir or beaujolais...I love Beaujolais Nouveau for red sangria which is cheap and available only in the early winter months)

Summer Sangria

White Sangria

1 LARGE (cheap is fine) bottle Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio (I used Sutter Home)
2 cups of mixed berries frozen or fresh (your choice)
½ cup peaches (skinned frozen or fresh)
½ cup white grape peach juice
½ cup seltzer or club soda
(Target also has some really great flavored seltzer. Feel free to use this)
¼ cup chopped Mint
1/3 cup fine granulated sugar

in the bottom of a pitcher, muddle the berries and peaches with a wooden spoon along with the sugar and mint. (basically smash them together to make a chunky mixture) add the juice and whole bottle of wine and top with the seltzer. Stir well and add more juice if not sweet enough. Pour over ice and enjoy!

Mussels, Chorizo and Prawns, Oh my!

Mussels (or clams), Chorizo & prawns (one pot party)

1 ½ lbs mussels (or littleneck clams)
½ lb of chorizo cut into small pieces(or however much of a link of chorizo you would like. You could also use any hot sausage for this. Whole foods makes incredible spicy sausages)
8-10 prawns or you could use shrimp (cleaned and deveined. Have the guy at the fish counter do it for you)
1 jalapeno pepper
1 large can of good quality whole tomatoes (you'll need about 5-7 canned tomatoes)
½ red onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp good chili powder
1 Cup of Vegetable or Seafood broth (your pick)
½ cup dry white wine
½ tablespoon salt
½ cup chopped scallions
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 lime cut into wedges
1 loaf of crusty bread
1 wedge of Manchego cheese

In a large Pot:

Drizzle a bit of canola or veg oil into the bottom of the pot over medium high heat. Add Garlic, Onion and Jalapeno pepper to the oil and cook until tender. Add chorizo to the mix and cook until caramelized a little. Once chorizo is browned, lower the heat to medium low and add the chili powder and cook for about 1 minute to bring out its flavors. It’s ok if the powder sticks to the pan. You will deglaze the pan with the tomatoes and wine next. Take the tomatoes out of the can and just pull them apart with your fingers over the pot. Whatever juice is inside will add to the flavor of the sauce so don't rinse them or cut them. You should end up with large chunks of the tomato in your sauce (nothing fancy. The more rustic the better). Pour your wine into a measuring cup and then add to the pan and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to deglaze (this adds amazing flavor to the dish). Add the 1 cup of Vegetable or Seafood broth and Bump your heat back up to high to bring the broth to a boil. Taste the broth and add salt to your liking. If you want a thicker sauce, add less broth. Once the broth is boiling, Lower the heat a little to a simmer and let reduce for about 10 minutes (uncovered)

While the broth is simmering wash the mussels (or clams).

For mussels: Make sure the ‘beard’ is removed. Here is a great link with directions for this: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cleaning-Mussels/Detail.aspx

And for clams: http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Cleaning-Clams/Detail.aspx

IMPORTANT NOTE: This step is VITAL to a delicious tasting dish. Throwing mussels or clams into the dish that aren’t properly and carefully cleaned will result in a broth that tastes like ocean water (SAND included). I’m speaking from experience. Take the time to do it right.

So after clams are cleaned bump your broth back up to a boil and carefully (and quickly) add the mussels/clams and the prawns to the broth and give a stir so they have the broth on them. Cover tightly and cook for 5-7 minutes. If you over cook this dish the seafood will be rubbery and impossible to chew. You want to cook it until the mussels & clams have opened completely and the prawns are opaque.

Once the dish is cooked, add the cilantro and scallions and stir again. Slice your crusty bread and place on a platter with the manchego cheese and lime wedges for each to add to the dish. (I just break off pieces of the cheese with a knife on the same platter with the bread. Place the covered seafood pot in the center of your dining table and a large bowl for shells. This is a very rustic meal and fun to eat. Have each person ladle the dish (make sure they get broth to dip their bread into!) into a bowl . Everyone can discard their shells into the large bowl in the center of the table. The cheese and bread is phenomenal with the broth. I prefer to the share this meal right out the pot with loved ones (no double dipping of course ;) But it’s always good to make sure everyone is ok with this beforehand.

ENJOY!!!

p.s. serve this with my Sangria! (recipe next)

Chicken. Argentina.

Argentina Chicken

6 boneless thighs
1 red pepper
½ red onion
1 clove garlic
1 cup whole wheat couscous

Chimichurri:

1 small bunch oregano
1 small bunch flat parsley
1 garlic clove
1 serrano pepper (or ½ if you want a milder dish..or none if you want no heat)
1 pablano pepper
¼ cup red wine vinegar
½ cup olive oil
½ cup vegetable or any other light tasting oil
1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

in food processor:
Put in herbs, garlic, chili peppers and salt and pepper and pulse until chopped. Add vinegar and juice of ½ the lime and pulse again. Finally slowly add the oil bit by bit until the chimichurri comes together. Taste to make sure it’s seasoned well. It should have a tang to it from the vinegar and lime. If it’s not tangy enough for your taste, add more!

In a slow cooker:

Put chicken & chopped onion and red pepper.in the slow cooker and season with salt and pepper. Pour about ¼ cup of the chimichurri over the chicken & vegetables and cook on low heat for about 4 hours until chicken falls apart very easily.

Before serving, boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan seasoned with ½ tablespoon of salt and pepper and a tablespoon of butter. Once the water comes to a rapid boil, add the couscous and quickly stir, cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes then add 1/3 cup of chimichurri to the couscous and fluff with a fork.

Serve the chicken and vegetables on a platter over the couscous. (make sure you pour some of the juice from the slow cooker over the dish too!)

hiatus OVER

COLORADO

OK. MUCH has happened since I last posted. I apologize for dropping from the face of the planet but moving is a pretty huge distraction from blogging about food (especially when ones kitchen is packed away in a box). I now live in Denver and I was pretty scared about the food choices I would have here but it turns out that CO has some pretty incredible produce (NOT jersey tomatoes, but they will do) and the fish comes form the west coast. And fresh fish from the west coast is DIVINE. So full speed ahead. I'm going to post a few recipes that I've made and loved during my hiatus to catch up on lost time. I apologize for no photos but use your imagination and let your mouth water.

Thanks for your patience and I'll make sure to not to disappear again.

Acorn Squash & Red Chili soup with Salt Cured Pork & Cranberry Walnut Croutons

OH. MY. LORD. This soup is BANGIN' (as we would say here in Philly)!

Brace yourself.

Serves a group (4-6 people)

2 Acorn Squash
4 Shallots (diced)
1 red hot chili (diced)
1 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock (I used chicken)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup diced salt cured pork (You can use bacon, pancetta or whatever you prefer. I bought a small piece of salt cured pork from Whole Foods and it was fantastic!)
1 loaf of cranberry walnut bread (or any other delicious fruit/nut bread you can get your paws on) Again, Whole Foods carries the bread I used.

Olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

You will need a very sharp knife to prep the squash (please keep your fingers in tact).

Half each squash and thoroughly clean the seeds out of the center (you can reserve the seeds and toast them in the oven with a bit of olive oil and spices for snacking if you want). After you've cleaned the inside, I sliced mine in moon shapes before I removed the skin. You want to remove the skin with a very sharp vegetable peeler or a paring knife.

Place the slices of squash on a baking sheet and drizzle olive oil, and season with plenty of salt and pepper and toss with your hands. Bake for about 25-30 minutes until fork tender and then remove.

In the bottom of a soup pot heat a small bit of olive oil (only about 1/2 tablespoon) get the pan nice and hot and then add your diced meat and brown. I love to cook these until they are really nice and brown on medium high. After the meat is browned, remove from pot and place aside on a paper towel to drain.

In the same pot but with the heat reduced to medium low, add your chopped shallots and 1/2 of your hot chili pepper and cook until tender but don't brown. Burned shallots will ruin this soup.

after your squash is finished roasting, cut it into smaller pieces (around an inch) and place in pot with the shallots and chili. Add the brown sugar and stir for a few seconds. Then add your chicken stock to the until it barely covers the squash! You don't want too much liquid in the pot. This soup is nice and thick. Raise the heat and cover for a few minutes to bring the soup to a boil. Once it's at boiling point, lower the soup to a gentle simmer and cook for about 30 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, make the croutons. Dice the bread into large crouton sized pieces and place a tablespoon of butter and 1/2 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet on medium high heat. You'll want about 4-5 croutons per guest so you do the math. (Although I usually make a lot more for the week to use on my salads). Place your croutons in your pan (a single layer only, you want them to toast evenly) and sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper over them and toast them until they are golden brown on all sides. Remove from heat and place aside.

Back to the soup.

So your soup has now been cooking for 30 minutes. First taste it to see if it needs salt or pepper. Add to your taste and stir.

Remove from the heat and let cool for about 15-20 minutes. I use my immersion blender for this next part but you can certainly use a blender too. JUST MAKE SURE THE SOUP HAS COOLED or you could really burn yourself. IN THE POT, let the immersion blender do the work. Its hand held and so easy. For more info on this device just go to Wikipedia and type in Immersion Blender. ;)

If you are going to use a blender, just put the soup in blender (only half full at a time) and blend until smooth.

After the soup is a creamy consistency, in the pot add the heavy cream and stir to blend. put the soup back on the stove on very low heat to bring it back to temperature and serve in a bowl with the croutons, some diced chili and a spoonful of the crispy pork.

ENJOY.

Potato & Olive tapenade crusted tilapia with escarole, cherry tomato & white beans

This is my own rendition of a dish I've eaten quite a few times and grew to love for how it sits so well and doesn't feel heavy (a good spring dish). It's a little more complicated than just throwing a bunch of ingredients in the pot but I really enjoy preparing this. It's got the 'wow' factor too if you're looking to impress. ;)

4 portions (I usually prepare this for friends)

4 filets fresh tilapia
1 head escarole
6 cherry tomatoes halved
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 can white beans or chick peas
salt & pepper to taste
1 lemon
1 medium red potato (sliced VERY thin. I slice it with a vegetable peeler)

Olive Tapenade:

1/2 cup kalamata olives (pitted)
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tsp olive oil
**usually tapenade contains anchovy paste HOWEVER I did not have this on hand so I did not use it. If you want to add it, put in about a 1/4 teaspoon

drizzle of simple pesto.

Make the Tapenade first. I use my small food processor. If you don't have one, get ready to chop the hell out of those olives. The tapenade needs to be like a paste almost.

Add olives (PITTED), pepper flakes, olive oil and anchovy paste (if you use it) in the food processor and simply process until paste-like.

in a large skillet saute chopped garlic in 1/2 tbsn olive oil for one minute on medium high heat. Add escarole and beans to the mix and sprinkle salt & pepper to taste and juice from 1/2 of the lemon. Once the escarole has wilted (and still looks pretty green) turn the heat to low to keep warm in the pan.

Pat your tilapia filets dry on a cutting board and spoon about 1/2 tablespoon of the tapenade mixture onto each filet. Spread the mixture over your fish with your fingers until covered. Place potato slices on top of the tapenade and press down gently to bind the potato to the fish. Overlap the potato slices over the fish so that they can bind together while cooking. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper on the potatoes.

Place any remaining tapenade that you did not use on the fish in your vegetable mixture and stir. This adds great flavor! If the beans seem to be on the dry side, you should add a bit of vegetable stock or even a little bit of water or white wine. (about 1/4 cup) Add the cherry tomatoes to the vegetables at this time and raise the heat back up to medium so the flavors can marry.

**IN A NON STICK PAN (this WILL NOT WORK in a regular pan)

heat olive oil for a few minutes at medium and place the fish potato side down in the oil raise the heat to medium high so the potato starts to sizzle. Let the fish cook for about 7 minutes on that side (you want the potato crust to become crispy and golden so that you can flip it easily. After you see that the potato crust is golden on the edges, GENTLY turn the fish. I use both hands for this. One holding spatula and the other actually touching the fish so it gently flips without splattering oil. cook for another 2 minutes and remove from heat.

I like to serve the fish over the vegetables and I drizzle some of my pesto on top of the fish and on the plate with a lemon wedge. My pesto is simply Olive oil, fresh parsley, chopped garlic, salt & pepper. Se delicious on so many things. I make a bowl every few weeks and put it on my eggs, meat and pasta.

I'll try to get a video demo of how to cook this fish up here eventually.

Broccoli rabe, sweet pepper and cherry tomato linguini with homemade alfredo

When I make pasta recipes I usually make a little more than 2 portions because the leftovers are divine. Hope you enjoy.

1/2 box (1/2 lb) linguini pasta
1 cup frozen or fresh broccoli rabe (broccolini) chopped
1 red pepper (sliced thin)
1 orange or yellow pepper (sliced thin)
1/2 cup cherry tomato (halved)
1 garlic clove (chopped)
1 tsp red pepper flakes
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Sauce
1/2 tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 tbsp flour (thickening agent)
1 garlic clove (chopped)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (shredded)
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese (shredded)
salt
pepper
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

Put a large pot of water on to cook the pasta. While waiting for it to boil:

make the sauce first. Heat the oil in the bottom of a sauce pan and add garlic and lemon zest and cook for just a moment. Add the flour and give a stir. Let it cook for about 30 seconds on medium heat. Add the cream and cheese to the flour/oil mixture and whisk until thickened. Last add the cheeses and salt and pepper to taste. Once blended together, remove from heat and set aside.

Put your pasta in the boiling water and cook to your desired texture. I like a little bite to my pasta (al dente)

In a large pan heat the oil and add red pepper flakes to the hot oil and cook for about 30 seconds. Then add your garlic, peppers and brocolli rabe and saute on medium high until tender. Salt and pepper to taste. Add cherry tomatoes once the other vegetables are tender. You just want to warm them. Cooking them will make them mushy.

add 1 ladle full of pasta water to the sauce if it's too thick and whisk the sauce. Drain the pasta in colander and add pasta to the vegetables and then pour sauce over pasta and toss everything together.

Garnish with lemon wedges and shaved parmesan cheese.

**important**
Do not add any lemon juice to the sauce itself as it will cause the sauce to curdle (gross). Wait until everything is tossed together and squeeze a bit of juice over your dish if you prefer.