Poor Man's Hash

Is that on oxymoron? Is there a 'Rich Man's Hash'? Oh well...I made this recipe up in my head and the results were pretty delicious and healthy. This is a vegetarian dish with tons of flavor and potential to go just about anywhere you dare to take it with other ingredients. My approach was quite simple. I had 30 minutes to get 'er done before dinner had to be on the table.

So here she goes!

1 bunch of fresh escarole (chopped and rinsed well)
2 cloves garlic
a handful of large green olives sliced
about 12-15 fingerling potatoes sliced
1 8 oz can of stewed tomatoes
a few pinches of red pepper flake
salt and pepper
a bit of lemon juice



Boil the sliced potatoes in some salted boiling water until they are tender. Once tender, drain and set aside to dry a little.

In a large saucepan with the heat on medium high, drizzle some olive oil and add the garlic and chopped olives. Let the garlic cook for about 10-15 seconds and then toss in the potatoes and stir them into the garlic (so the garlic doesn't burn). Turn the heat up to high so the potatoes get a little bit of a crispy texture and after a few minutes toss them and crisp them a little more.




Once the potatoes have a little color, add the escarole and turn the potatoes over onto the escarole and sprinkle a generous amount of salt over everything as is cooks down (a few good pinches) and a small amount of pepper. Once the escarole has wilted, add the stewed tomatoes (be sure to drain the juices from them so the dish isn't too wet). Squeeze a little lemon juice over the hash to brighten everything up and sprinkle some hot pepper flake on top to give it some good heat.

Simple and really good for you! Bon Appetit!

Seared Scallops with grapefruit, sweet onions, mint and truffle oil

I think scallops scare people sometimes. They are slimy, strange and really complicated looking but the truth is, they are easy to cook and delicious when done right. This is a SUPER simple way to serve up scallops and to impress whom you are serving them to. My hubs and I ate at a fantastic little restaurant in Manhattan a few years ago and we ordered this incredible grapefruit salad and I like to recreate it when I can but make it my own by adding a few different ingredients. I tend to make this dish a few times a year but I'm not going to lie, I think this is the FIRST time I actually really NAILED it. It was perfect. The scallops were PERFECT and my belly was happy. Its not a meal. Its an appetizer...or serve it in place of a salad. Would be amazing as a starter followed by a delicious, juicy steak dinner (I'll post those goods later)!

I'll give you the recipe for 4.


12 large diver scallops (3 per person)
3 red or golden grapefruits (segmented and juices reserved for vinaigrette. Here's how (love her accent :): http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3320000526185938826#)
1 sweet vidalia onion (cut into very thin slices)
a bunch of chopped mint
Salt and Pepper
White or Black truffle oil (I used white. Truffle oil is one of those things. Either you LOVE it or HATE it. If you HATE it, leave it out of the recipe...it will be just as yummy)

Directions:

Segment your grapefruit and reserve the juices in a small bowl
slice your onion very thin and add to the grapefruit in a larger bowl
chop the mint and put half in the bowl with the grapefruit and the other half in the grapefruit juices.
Add a few pinches of salt to the juice as well as white or black pepper and stir. Taste to make sure the balance of salty and sweet is right. Add the seasoned juice to the grapefruit and onions and gently stir together. Drizzle the salad with 1/2 tablespoon of truffle oil, stir once more and then place in fridge.

Set your scallops on a few paper towels and thoroughly dry both sides (very important! If they're too wet, they will not sear correctly and won't be pretty or tasty!). Lightly season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a non stick pan to medium high and drizzle with a little bit of olive oil. Add the scallops to the pan (don't overcrowd! Do a few at a time) and sear for 2-3 minutes on each side (they should be golden and crispy but not overcooked). When the scallops are done, you will put together a serving for each of your guests.

Spoon the salad into a salad bowl and top with 3 scallops and garnish with a pretty mint leaf.

Bon Appetite!

Salad Season: Bibb lettuce salad with pears, candied pecans & gorgonzola

It's time to start eating light! I served this beautiful salad tonight and it was so yummy!

Ingredients for salad:

1 head of bibb lettuce (sometimes called 'butter' lettuce-washed and leaves cut in half)
1 small wedge of gorgonzola cheese (crumbled)
2 pears (your favorite kind)
a handful or so of pre-made candied pecans (or walnuts-I get these @ whole foods)

Raspberry Walnut vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon of raspberry preserves
1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon of walnut oil
2 tablespoons of peanut oil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
a few of the candied nuts
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Make the vinaigrette:
Combine all ingredients for the vinaigrette in food processor. Let flavors meld while preparing salad.

Salad prep:

Simply wash and cut the lettuce and slice pears and crumble the cheese. Toss the lettuce greens in a large bowl with the vinaigrette. After tossing lettuce in the dressing, plate with other ingredients.

Enjoy!

Lamb Ravioli with Mushroom Cream

I'm a corner cutter when it comes to cooking most of the time. One thing you will NEVER see me making in my kitchen is pastry dough or pasta. When I want fresh pasta, I'll go to the Italian market to buy it. For this ravioli, I used wonton wrappers (not THAT bad...even Martha suggested using these for ravioli :)

This time of year I find myself craving lamb. Don't know why but I do know that this recipe satisfied my craving and I high fived myself after eating it. It's good enough to share.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko crumbs)
1/2 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
3 eggs (2 for filling and 1 to seal the ravioli)
2 large cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 yellow onion (or white) chopped finely
handful of chopped fresh mint
wonton wrappers (you can find these in the refrigerated section of most groceries)
1 package of baby bella mushrooms (sliced)
3 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup of your favorite cheese (I used Parmesan)
1 cup milk (room temp)
Salt and pepper to taste
olive oil














Instructions:
In a large saute pan, heat up a drizzle of olive oil over medium high heat. Cook the chopped onion and 1 large clove of garlic minced. When onions are soft, add the lamb and salt and pepper generously. Break the lamb up with a spatula so that it cooks evenly. When the meat is finished cooking, put it in a large bowl and allow to cool for a few minutes while you prepare other ingredients.

Go ahead and start the sauce while the meat cools. In the same pan that you cooked the meat in, add 2 tablespoons of butter and the other minced garlic clove. Chop your mushrooms and place them in the pan and cook on medium low until soft. Once soft, reduce the heat to low so they don't burn while you are assembling the ravioli.




To the meat, add bread crumbs, ricotta cheese, 2 eggs, salt and pepper (a good few pinches of both) 2/3 of the chopped mint.



I used a fork to combine all ingredients but I think next time I'll use a food processor to grind the cooked meat smaller. It just depends on how fine you want your filling to be. It will be heartier if you just mix with a fork and fill the ravioli with the meat straight from the pan.

Once all ingredients are well mixed, open your wonton wrappers but only remove a few from the package as you need them (they tend to dry out). Lay a piece of wax paper on a baking sheet and place how ever many wrappers will fit. Break an egg into a bowl and whisk together the egg and a few splashes of cold water (this is called an egg wash). This will be used to seal the top wrapper to the bottom wrapper. WIth a brush, paint the egg wash around the edges of your bottom wrapper and then put about a tablespoon of filling into each wrapper. Seal the ravioli by placing another wrapper on top and squeeze the edges shut (very important! This step seals the ravioli so it won't break open in your boiling water).



before you finish your cream sauce, put on a large pot of boiling salted water. While you are waiting on the water to come to a boil, bring the mushroom pan up to medium high heat and add another tablespoon of butter. When it melts, add the flour to the butter and brown. Slowly whisk in milk so there are no clumps in the sauce. You can choose to make this sauce really thick (like I did) or add a little more milk or stock to thin it out. Once the sauce simmers (not boils! the milk will scald...YUCK) and thickens, add the cheese and taste to see if it needs more salt/pepper. Once the sauce is at your desired consistency, reduce to low just to keep warm.





Your water should be boiling now...so drop about 3-4 ravioli in the water at a time and cook for about 4-5 minutes each. When finished, take out with a slotted spoon and put on a platter and place somewhere to keep warm and cover with plastic wrap until all ravioli's are cooked. You can put them all on a pretty flat platter or you can make individual plates as you go along (that's what I did). Place 4-5 on each plate and spoon mushroom sauce on top and sprinkle with some pretty chopped mint. Devour.




***SIDE NOTE!! You can pre-make these, lay them on a cookie sheet and between layers, separate with wax paper and freeze individually on the sheet (so they don't stick together!). Once frozen, place them in a freezer ziplock baggie and you have a quick and easy dinner in the future. (these would be great with even store bought red sauce or alfredo sauce)

ummmmm LIFE CHANGING. Short Ribs.

These short ribs are STUPID. Just plain STUPID. And they are easy to make and *Almost* impossible to screw up (if you have a difficult time making mac n cheese then I would suggest you keep trying to make THAT and NOT these short ribs). If you are entertaining friends or family, make a bunch and they will worship you. They will kiss your ring. OK seriously, I'm done. Here's the recipe.

for the short ribs:
4 short ribs bone-in (if you don't know what they are, ask your butcher)
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon grated ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon brown sugar
juice of 1/2 of a lime
2 and 1/2 cups of apple juice
1 teaspoon siracha (or any hot sauce will do. Add more if you want it spicier)
3 scallions
salt and pepper

for the sides:
1 cup of jasmine rice
1 small can of light coconut milk
juice from 1/2 of a lime
a small handful of cilantro chopped

2 baby bok choy chopped and rinsed really well
1 red pepper (diced)
1 clove garlic (minced)
1 teaspoon ginger
red pepper flakes (how hot? you decide)

Short ribs take time, And the only way you will get them right is if you cook them in the oven for a few hours. They need lots of love so I generally cook them on the weekend when I can give them the attention they deserve (because I know that they will make me a very happy woman if I treat them right). Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

While your oven is heating, get a large pan that has a lid *Important* this pan needs to be able to transfer into the oven! A small dutch oven will do beautifully. I use my wok sized Calphalon with it's tight fitting lid for this recipe.

put a little canola oil in your pan and put on stovetop burner over medium high heat. Salt and pepper all sides of your short ribs and pan sear them on each side to achieve a gorgeous crust. once they are browned you will add your braising liquid. (I assemble my braising liquid while the short ribs are searing)

For the braising liquid, in a bowl stir together your 2 cloves of garlic, applesauce, soy sauce, ginger, 1/2 of a lime juiced, brown sugar, 1.5 cups of apple juice (reserve the rest for later) & siracha sauce. lower the heat of the pan that the short ribs are searing in (you don't want the liquid to jump out at you when it hits a pan that's too hot!) Add your awesome braising liquid to the pan and bring it up to a LOW simmer. (its ok if the short ribs aren't completely covered. you'll be turning them every 30 minutes while they cook in the oven).



Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and transfer to your oven. Cook the ribs at 350 degrees for about 2-2.5 hours.

You need to turn them with tongs in the liquid every 30 minutes. As you cook them, your liquid is going to reduce to basically the best stinking korean style bbq sauce you've ever had. Mine reduced really fast (too fast) and I added the rest of my apple juice to the pan at about an hour so my short ribs wouldn't dry out. just feel it out. If you're ribs aren't fork tender yet and the liquid is looking like it's going down to nothing, add more juice and stir it together. It's important to do this BEFORE your bbq sauce reduces so much that it burns. No good. No good at all. At the 1.5 hour mark, I knew my ribs would be finished soon so I started my sides. Things tend to cook very differently in Denver though so it may take you longer to cook them. *IMPORTANT* You know they are done when they are so tender that they are falling apart! Your liquid needs to be at a thick consistency and your meat needs to be SUPER tender!



For the rice:

The golden rule for rice: 1 part rice. 2 parts liquid. Not Just Water. ANY liquid will do. For this dish, I use coconut milk and water as my liquid to cook my jasmine rice and it is phenomenal. In a saucepan, put a pat of butter on medium high heat along with 1 cup of rice (more if you are cooking for a crowd). And then I added 2 cups of a coconut milk/water combo. Bring rice to a boil. Give a stir. Drop the heat to a LOW simmer. Cover TIGHT and LEAVE IT ALONE. Shake the pan every 5 or 10 minutes to make sure your rice doesn't stick. Follow time instructions on the package of rice that you bought. My rice takes about 20 minutes.

After it's tender, turn off the heat and add some lime juice and chopped cilantro. Fluff with a fork.



For Veggies:

In a pan on medium heat, cook a clove of garlic in a bit of canola oil along with the grated ginger and chili flake. Add your chopped vegetables and salt them to taste. Cook until just tender.



ASSEMBLY!!

about 10 minutes before you pull the short ribs from the oven, give them one last turn and throw in some chopped scallions. Re-cover and wait a few minutes.

I always serve this family style. Heap your rice on a platter and throw the veggies on either side of the rice. And THEN Nestle those perfect little short ribs on the bed of rice and spoon extra bbq sauce from the pan onto each one (Don't drool on the food). Eat them and thank ME for blessing you with such greatness.

Chicken chili

I LOVE chili with a passion. Maybe its because my mother would make it almost once a week and it now reminds me of my childhood. The only problem is that I almost always regret eating red chili. My stomach just can't handle its greatness. So...I make different variations of white chili. Chili is one of those 'whatever you've got in your pantry' recipes. Mix it up. If you've got a bunch of veggies in your house that need to be eaten, throw em in. Here is the most recent version that i made (with great success, btw)! The kid HATES beans (surprising, no?!) so i snuck them in by pureeing them in my food processor (she still asked if they were there because she could taste it BUT she still ate 2 helpings because i may have told her a little lie). So here goes nothing (As usual, serves about 3-4 people. Double the recipe if you are cooking for a crowd):

1 boneless skinless chicken breast (or whatever the heck you like)
2 heaping tablespoons of a good quality chili rub (whole foods market sells awesome variations)
2 cloves of garlic (minced or crushed)
1 poblano pepper
1 cup frozen sweet corn
1 jalapeno pepper (if you want more heat. This is optional)
1 carrot (diced)
1 small yellow onion
1 can of white beans (i used cannelini)
2-3 cups of chicken broth (you can control the thickness of your chili by adding more or less)
1/4 cup heavy cream
Cilantro chopped
Salt & pepper taste

Directions:

Rub 1 tablespoon of the chili powder and some salt and pepper on the chicken and pan sear on both sides on medium high in your soup pot with a little canola oil until cooked through enough to shred (its ok if its slightly undercooked. It will finish cooking when you shred it and put it back in pot). Chop your veggies while your chicken is cooking and when it's done, place the chicken aside on a plate and let cool while you move onto the next step.

Lower the heat of the SAME POT to medium and place your chopped garlic and veggies (including corn) and stir around to get all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan that the chicken left behind. Add the additional 1 tablespoon of chili powder and a little salt and pepper to the veggies. While your veggies are softening, drain and rinse your can of beans and puree until smooth. Shred your chicken and add both the chicken (and it's juices) and the pureed beans to the pot. Then add your chicken broth, give it all a good stir and bring to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover. It will be ready in about 20 minutes. Just before you serve it, stir in the heavy cream and some chopped cilantro. Bring back to a simmer and then it's ready!

I like to set up a little 'station' for condiments/toppings when I make chili so that everyone can personalize what they like. Some people hate cilantro so you can opt to chop some and let them decide if they want it or not (but I throw it in. They don't have a choice with me). I also put some shredded cheddar Jack, lime wedges, sour cream, chopped red onion, hot sauce, YOU NAME IT. Anything is great! If you're entertaining, it would be good to make some good ol' fashioned Jiffy cornbread (you can add jalapenos and cheese cubes to the batter before you bake it. Holy Crap).

Hope you like this as much as I did!

(Sorry I didn't take any photos of this one...the chili didn't last long enough to photograph but here's a picture of Lou Dog to fill the void!)

Ohh la la!

After a few months of playing with makeup at a department store and NOT HAVING A LIFE, I am back on the map (and not LIVING at said department store any longer) with plenty of time to cook in my beloved kitchen for my beloved family. I apologize that I have not been around. Now lets get to it.

I've said it before and I will say it again. I LOVE french food. Specifically provencal style cooking. Light, fresh and perfect for summer/spring. I made this very easy dish a few days ago for a dear friend who after a hard day of work (she is a Doula) she deserved a huge glass of white wine and a perfect piece of fish.

I will make this dish again very soon and will post photos. The camera was with the hubs in San Fran so I couldn't capture it's beauty for you. Just use your imagination.

If you're cooking for a crowd (and this is a great dish for a crowd) just use your noggin and double up the ingredients!

Turbot with roasted vegetables and sauteed spinach

1 large fliet of Turbot (this is hands down, THE MOST delicious fish I have EVER cooked/consumed. Cod or any other buttery white fish would work also in this dish but I'm telling you, if you can find Turbot, you will NOT be disappointed!)

A tablespoon of homemade pesto (recipe below)
2-3 tablespoons white wine (dry-like a sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio)
1/2 tablespoon of butter
2 russet potatoes (Peeled and sliced into 1/4 in-1/2 rounds)
2 shallots (roughly cut)
1 bulb of fennel (cut into pieces - http://www.bonappetit.com/tipstools/tips/2009/06/how_to_chop_fennel_list )
1/2 cup whole pitted kalamata olives
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
2-3 large handfulls of fresh spinach
1 tablespoon of dried herbs de provence (you can find this amazing mixture of dried herbs at any supermarket. It's DIVINE!)

Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Pesto recipe:

a handful of fresh basil
a handful of fresh parsley
1 clove of garlic
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/2-3/4 cup good olive oil

Put everything in a food processor (or chop everything finely and add olive oil in a bowl) and shop until smooth and pretty. Make a day ahead for flavors to marry but its delicious right after you make it too!

Now get cookin:

Preheat oven 400 degrees

prep the vegetables except for the spinach (potatoes, fennel, shallots, olives, onion and 2 cloves of garlic chopped) and put on a non stick baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and generous amount of salt and pepper (about 1/2 tablespoon of each) then rub the herbs de provence in the palm of your hand to release the aromas and sprinkle evenly onto vegetables. Mix with clean fingers so everything is coated evenly and place in Oven. Set timer to 35-40 minutes (You will need to stir the vegetables once at around the 15-20 minute mark so they cook evenly and don't burn).

While veggies are cooking, prepare the fish.

I used a large piece of tin foil (double it up to prevent leaking) to create a pouch to cook my fish in so it would be perfectly moist. place fish on the foil, season with a little salt and pepper, drizzle with a few tablespoons of pesto and make sure it is nicely seasoned with pesto. I also squeezed a bit of fresh lemon juice on top. create a pouch for the fish and lastly pour the wine into the pouch before crimping it sealed.

Put the fish in the oven with the veggies and cook the fish for 20 minutes.

Lastly, to add a little green to the mix, I did a quick saute of garlic and spinach in a pan on the stovetop. Drizzle a little Olive oil on med-high heat, cook garlic in oil for just a few seconds and then add the spinach, season with salt and pepper and cook until it starts to wilt. Remove from heat and place on large platter along with the roasted veggies (they should be slightly crispy on the outside and golden) and put the filet of fish on top of everything and pour the liquid from the pouch over the fish. I love this dish family style because people can just dig in.


**IMPORTANT**
Please remind your guests to be careful eating the fish because it can contain pin bones (very sharp and dangerous if swallowed) and I broke the fish into tiny pieces for my daughter to make sure she wouldn't have any bones.

Serve with crusty bread and pesto and a dry white wine or cotes du rhone! You'll be in heaven!