Green Lentils

This is a traditional dish that we eat on New Years Eve. These green lentils are wonderful, they take a little longer to cook than the regular but are worth it for the taste. My niece gave me lion head bowls for xmas and I immediately had to do something. I really love these bowls.

Ingredients:

1 onion minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp cumin

extra virgin olive oil as needed, maybe 2 tablespoons or so

4 tomatoes cut up

1 jalapeno cut up (this is optional)

1 cup French green lentils

1 liter of stock

salt & pepper to taste

In a saucepan combine, the olive oil, onions, garlic, cumin and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for a few minutes, add tomatoes, jalapeno, stock, lentils.

Simmer for about 35 to 40 minutes till lentils are tender.

pizzelle

Just finished making pizzelle's for xmas, big job done! Yeah.... I have been making these since I was very young with my Mom and now carrying on the tradition. Love doing them it reminds me of her.

Sorry, can't give out the recipe.

Lime soy flavored flank steak

This is a really easy and fun appetizer, great for the holidays:

Ingredients:

Juice of 4 limes, zest of 2 limes

4 tablespoons of light brown sugar

6 tablespoons of soy sauce

3 to 4 tablespoons of sriracha chili sauce(this is an asian hot sauce, you can find it in asian supermarkets and sometimes your local market), you can add more or less

500 g / 1 lb flank steak

Whisk together the juice of the limes, sugar, soy sauce and sriracha.

Slice the flank think, this will make a difference when you roll them.

Marinate the flank in a glass container for at 1 hour in the refrigerator.

When ready, remove the flank from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature.

Remove the meat from the marinade and save.....

Place the marinade into a pan and reduce to a glaze. Meanwhile cook the steak.

When done, roll the steak and secure with a toothpick and place onto a thin slice of lime and drizzle with the glaze.

chicken pot pie

Perfect night for some great comfort food, so I had left over chicken and decided to do individual chicken pot pies. I didn't feel like going out, so looked into my fridge and decided to make individual chicken pot pies. Had left over chicken, peas, corn and bacon.

I cut up the chicken into bite size pieces, and seasoned it with salt & pepper and wondra flour (this chicken was already cooked). Once the bacon was cooked and I strained off the excess fat, I added the chicken to the bacon, the roux and the peas and corn, and heated through so the roux would thicken. Added this to individual ramekins, rolled out the puff pastry and egg washed the top of the ramekin then cut out the puff pastry and put it onto the ramekin. The puff pastry received a nice brushing of egg wash and place into a 190C /375F oven for about 35 minutes. My puff pastry had been in the freezer for a while so it didn't puff up like I wanted it to. Remember it was cold and I really did not want to go out. Not happy with fotos.....whatever....

Pan Seared Skirt Steak w/ Parsley Salsa

This was a great quick dish and yummy also. I made a Parsley Salsa and pan seared the skirt steak (which has so much flavor, and inexpensive also).

For the Salsa:

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 shallot, minced

1 anchovy, minced (don't tell anyone and they won't even know)

1 tablespoon of capers, minced

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 seranno chili (remove seeds if you don't like the heat)

1 lemon zest and also the juice

about 1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped up

black pepper to taste

about 1/2 cup or so of extra virgin olive oil

sea salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together and let them meld together, sometimes it's best to let this sit for a few hours or even overnight.

For the Steak:

The skirt steak about 500 g / 1 lb usually comes in a cryovac package, I used one and this used be enough for two people. Sometimes the steaks are a little larger but that's OK.

Season with salt, pepper and olive oil.

Heat the pan and when hot, add the meat, when browned on one side turn over, be sure the pan is hot. This meat cooks fast, so stay with it.

When the meat is done, let it sit for about 10 minutes, then slice and put the salsa on top.

Serves 2

Let me know how you like it.

Pan Seared Haddock with Broccoli puree (Merluzzo con pure di broccoli)

Here is a great weeknight dinner, pan seared haddock with a broccoli puree, easy and fast.

For the fish:
2 fillets of haddock 110 g (4 oz)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
Heat a heavy bottom pan with the butter and olive oil, season the fish with salt & pepper. When the butter starts to melt add the fish and cook about 4 minutes per side. The fish will cook quickly. When the fish is cooked remove to a plate.

For the broccoli:
1 head of broccoli
1/2 leek
salt & peper
lemon & zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
Cut up the broccoli and leek and heat a pan of water and bring to a boil, add the salt and broccoli and leek and cook till tender. Drain the broccoli and with a blender or imersion blender puree the broccoli and leek, add a pat of butter and season with salt and pepper.
I added a serrano pepper because I love the heat.

Chicken, Sausages and Potatoes

This is real easy, just put everything into a pan and into the oven for 90 minutes and it's done, great for a Sunday watching football.
8 or so chicken thighs
4 sausage links
500g (1/2 lb) fingerling potatoes
1 red onion
fresh rosemary about 4 good sprigs, more if you want
zest of lemon and juice of one lemon
olive oil
salt & pepper
4 carrots, cut in half

Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Put the oil in the bottom of a roasting pan. Put the chicken into the pan and rub it with the olive oil, add salt and pepper. Add the sausages and the potatoes, and carrots into the pan, sprinkle the rosemary. Add the zest and juice of one lemon.
Cook for about 90 minutes, halfway through turn chicken pieces over.
Enjoy!

Mustard seed Salmon with broccoli rabe

A perfect weekday dinner and healthy also. I love salmon and the skin crispy is also yummy. This is very easy and almost does not need a recipe.
Ingredints:
Salmon filets
Mustard Seeds
Broccoli rabe
red onion (I usually use garlic, but didn't have any, so I used red onion
olive oil
Method:
Salmon:
Make a crust of mustard seeds on top of the salmon fillet. Heat a heavy bottom pan and add the salmon flesh side (the side that has the mustard seeds) down and cook for about 4 minutes, when browned slightly turn over and cook for another 5 minutes.
Broccoli rabe:
Clean and blanch the broccoli rabe for just a minute or two, drain the rabe. In a heavy bottom pan, add the red onion and olive and saute till soft. Add the rabe and cook for a few minutes, salt to taste and your done.

Tomato, Arugula & Fresh Mozzarella Salad

I know it looks like any salad, but this is from my garden, at least the arugula and tomato are:
So, it is very simple, arugula, italian tuna in olive oil, fresh mozzarella, garden tomatoes cut up and extra virgin olive oil. You know the rest. Oh, one more thing some great bread goes perfect with this. Once you tomatoes from your garden it is so difficult to eat them in the winter months.

Grilled Potato Rosemary Pizza

I love grilling pizza and do it often. I use a natural hardwood charcoal and the pizza is so delicous. You can do this with a gas grill also.
1 pizza dough (you can get this at your supermarket, oh and it freezes great)
olive oil
fresh rosemary cut up
new potatoes cut into rounds, blanch the potato rounds in water, remember to put the potatoes into cold water and once it comes to a boil remove them
asiago cheese grated
Heat your grill to medium high, I do it so that when I put my hand over the grill I can only hold it there for about 3 seconds.
Roll out the dough, put it on a pizza peel that has either flour or cornmeal and make sure that the dough moves on the peel.
Roll it onto the grill and let it sit for a few minutes, it will begin to bubble, peak and when it is getting grill marks you can flip it. Once flipped, brush off the excess flour, pour olive oil over not too much, then add your potatoes, asiago cheese and rosemary, close the cover to your grill and let it cook, you will see the cheese starting to melt, check the bottom of the pizza so that it does not get too dark.
Remove and serve immediately. Any questions contact me

Grilled Mussels with Mango Salsa

Great and easy and delicious. I grilled New Zealand green mussels and served them with a spicy mango salsa.

Chorizo, Cannellini Bean Pasta

My sister was on vacation and brought back this delicious Chorizo, instead of having it with crackers, I made it with fusilli, beans, it was delicious. All I did was saute onion with the chorizo, added a can of beans, then added it to the cooked pasta, that I topped with a tomato sauce and grated parmigiano cheese. This was different but really yummy!

Grilled Pork Chops w/ Compond Butter

I love grilling and do so as much as I can weather permitting, even in the winter. Today, I made brined pork chops with a wonderfull compond butter. I use natural charcoal which make the food taste wonderful (don't use that chemical stuff). Anyway the recipe is easy, you can adjust as you wish with seasoning, but here is a recipe for those that wish.

I used:

4 center cut pork chops with bone in

2 scallions, chopped

1 garlic, minced

1/2 cup of cilantro, minced

salt & pepper

100 grams (3 oz) unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon corainder seeds

1/3 teaspoon of chili flakes, more if you like the heat

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

olive oil

1. I used a pestel and mortar to combine the scallions, garlic, cilantro sat & pepper, butter, corriander seeds, chili flakes and paprika, you can use a food processor. Mash it all up

2.I brined the pork chops overnight. Take the pork chops and dry them off, salt & pepper them and rub a little olive oil on both sides of the chops.

3. Get the grill hot, I use charcoal and grill the chops, when finished, spread the butter mixture over the chops. These are moist and really delicious!

Really easy and delicious! I served grilled eggplant and grilled poatatoes

Fava Bean Pesto on Crostini with Mozzarella

I just love fava beans and pesto, so here is my version of fava bean pesto on crostini with mozzarella and arugula. The arugula and mint are from my garden. This is very easy to make, I love my pestel and mortar but you could use a food processor (try the pestel and mortar, you will love it). Taste as you go with salt and pepper. I used:

2 cups of cooked and shelled fava beans

1/2 cup of freshly grated romano cheese, you may need more, it's to your taste

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, you want the consistency to be smooth like a basil pesto

salt and pepper to taste

4 fresh mint leaves

1 garlic clove cut in half

french ficele bread, cut about 4 or however many you want and toast the bread and rub the garlic while it is hot
In you mortar put the fava beans and begin to mash the beans with the pestel, this takes a few minutes, it will begin to mash quickly, add some of the grated cheese and mix that in, then salt & pepper and some olive oil. Adjust to your taste, but be sure to make it so that it is smooth.

Toast the crostini and while hot rub the garlic over the bread

Take the crostini and place about a large teaspoon or more to cover the bread, break up the mozzarella and add that on top, and finish with a nice topping of arugula.

Remember that it's all about taste so taste as you go.....enjoy!

4th of July

What a great weekend in NH, with the family. Weather was awesome. My dad always made these Shitake mushrooms with serrano and scotch bonnet peppers, and of course I had to make my home made rustic Italian bread. We all love this dish and eat the bread with the shitakes, you will love it also

For the Mushrooms:

1 1/2 lb ( 680 g) shitake mushrooms, remove the stems

6 serrano (you can also use habanero peppers if you wish), split the peppers in half

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil to begin with, you will use more

salt & pepper to taste

Serves 4

In a heavy bottom pan, add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the shitake and peppers. Stir and add salt & pepper. You will have to had some more olive oil, so about another 2 tablespoons (you can add what you want); cover and let cook over medium heat for a few minutes. When the mushrooms are tender remove to a nice dish and add some more olive oil. Have the bread with this dish to absorb the wonderful oil.

PS, the bread recipe is on my blog, if you need it please let me know and I will get it to you.

Chicken Piccata with capers and lemon

A really quick and easy dish for those who are on the run. Pounded out chicken breasts dredged in seasoned Wondra flour,pan seared and deglazed with chicken stock, lemon zest and juice and capers.
let me know if you want the recipe

Stuffed Boneless Pork Roast with Chipolte Mustard

I haven't posted anything in a while, but have been cooking a lot. Anyway, last night made a stuffed pork roast with chevre cheese, rosemary & bacon. It was yummy. I used a Chipole Mustard for a sauce.
Ingredients:
1 small log of chevre
Rosemary, minced
Bacon, 0.5 lb (230 g), cooked and cut into small pieces
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
Twine
1. Combine the chevre, rosemary, bacon. Butterfly the pork roast and season with salt & pepper, and add the chevre mixture.
2. Roll the pork and tie with the twine, rub the meat with the crushed rosemary, salt & pepper and olive. Place on a rack and don't forget to add water to the bottom of the pan and add a few bay leaves.
3. Place into a 375 F (190 C) oven and remove when the internal temperature of the meat is 145 F( 63 C). Let it rest for a about 5 minutes.
Enjoy, it's moist and delicious

Delicata Squash with quinoa

A friend of mine just became a vegetarian and asked me to find some recipes for her. While looking through the March 2010 issue of Food & Wine, I saw this recipe and thought what a great idea. It has quinoa, raisins, honey, mint, parsley, arugula and apple. I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was and will make it again. And it's good for you.

1 delicata squash

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup quinoa

1 tablespoon raisins

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 granny smith, cut into small pieces

1/2 shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon chopped mint

1 tablespoon parsley

2 oz (60 g) arugula

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (175 C). Cut the squash lengthwise and remove the seeds. Brush the inside of the squash with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place the squash cut side down and bake for about 45 min or until tender.

2. In a sauce pan, bring 2 cups (500 ml ) water to a boil. Add the quinoa, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the raisins and simmer covered until the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl.

3. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, honey and olive oil, season with salt & pepper. Add the dressing to the quinoa along with the apple, shallot, garlic, mint and parsely and toss well. Add the arugula and toss gently.

4. Set the squash halves on a plate and fill with the quinoa and serve.

This serves two

Roasted Turbot with asparagus & capers

Went to the store to get sea bass, but they didn't have any so I got Turbot instead. It was delicious. I roasted the potatoes, asparagus and fish with capers.
Ingredients:
400 g (14 oz ) baby potatoes sliced (you can use larger ones if you cannot find baby
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch asparagus
1 tablespoons capers
1 tablespoon chives for garnish
sea salt
Preheat oven to 200 C (400F). Slice the potatoes and mix with the olive oil and sea salt and place into the roasting pan. Roast for about 25 minutes. Add the fish, asparagus & capers to the roasting pan on top of the potatoes and roast for another 15 - 20 minutes or until the fish is done and the potatoes are golden. When done, plate and garnish with chives.
Serves 2

Boeuf Bourguignon

Superbowl Sunday and I made a Boeuf Bourguignon, the classic one over a bed of gemelli pasta that had grated parmigiano and butter. Yummy!!!!

Go Saints!

Brined Pork Chops

Brining is awesome and really adds flavor, I brine pork, chicken & turkey, you can do salmon also. There are many brining recipes so whatever you do will be good.

It was too cold to cook outside, so I used my inside grill.

Here is my brine for Pork Chops:

• 4 pork chops



• 2 litres (2 quarts) water



• 1/2 cup sea salt (you can use Kosher if you like)



• 1/4 cup sugar (or you could use honey)



• black peppercorns



• 1 bay leaf



• lemon peel from one lemon (this is optional)



• extra virgin olive oil



• juice of half a lemon

1. Mix the water, sea salt, sugar, peppercorns, bay leaf and lemon peel, when sugar is dissolved add the pork, cover and refrigerate for 5 hours of overnight.

2. Preheat a charcoal grill or you could do this inside in the broiler.

3. Get the pork chops and rinse off and pat dry. I brush a little olive onto the pork and grill on both sides. When the pork is done, drizzle some extra virgin olive onto the pork and squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the pork.

I love broccoli rabe and often serve it with this dish.

Fallen choclate cake

Here is what it looks like when you cut into it.....yummy!

fallen chocolate cake

Fallen chocolate cake this is one of my favorite desserts and there are several variations, I have been making it so long I forget where it came from. It is quick and easy and you can make prepare it several hours before you serve it by putting it into the refrigerator. Take it out of the fridge about an hour before you cook it (make sure it is at room temperature).

Ingredients:

1 stick of unsalted butter (100 g)

4 ounces (100 g)of bittersweet chocolate, I use Valrhona

2 eggs plus 2 egg yolks

1/4 cup of sugar

2 teaspoons of all purpose flour, plus some for dusting

4 (4 oz) ramekins

1. In a double boiler set over simmering water. heat the butter and chocolate together until it is almost completed melted. Meanwhile beat the eggs and sugar together until thick.

2. Beat the melted chocolate & butter . Pour this into the egg mixture and immediately add the flour and mix.

3. Butter and flour the ramekins repeat this twice. Add the mixture to the ramekins and you can now refrigerate for several hours, but bring to room temperature before baking.

4. Preheat oven to 450F (230 C0. Bake the molds on a tray for 6 to 7 minutes. The cakes will be soft in the middle but the sides will be set.

5. Invert the molds onto a plate for about 10 seconds , unmold and enjoy.

Risotto

Last evening we had risotto with asparagus & crimini mushrooms, soy ginger flank steak & fallen chocolate cake.....yummy!

Here it is being cooked.

Ingredients:

300 grams of cannaroli rice (this is better than aborio for risotto)

2 litres of chicken stock, and I put the rind of parmigiano cheese into the stock (adds lots of flavors)

1 bunch asparagus cut into small pieces and these were blanched in boiling water.

crimini mushrooms about 5 chopped up, you can add more if you wish.

parmigiano cheese 1/4 cup or so

1. Place the stock and rind of parmigiano into a heavy bottom pan and bring to a simmer.

2. Heat a heavy bottom pan and add olive oil to the bottom, chopped onions and let them sweat; then add the rice and coat with the oil and onions.

3. Start by adding two ladles of stock and stir your rice and keep on stirring and adding stock as needed, it takes about 20 minutes or so, add the mushrooms and asparagus and continue on.

4. Taste the rice as you go and add the parmigiano rice and keep on stirring.

5. When finished, serve IMMEDIATELY (you wait for risotto, risotto does not wait for you), grate some parmigiano and enjoy.

Well, it's been two weeks since my last blog. I have cooked and photographed all the items, but some I was not happy with the fotos. Anyway, tonight I made a favorite of mine, cod loin wrapped in prosciutto. It's rather simple to make.

Heat your oven to 400F (200C). Wrap the cod in prosciutto and pan sear on one side, flip over and place in the oven for about 6 minutes.

If anyone has any questions please let me know. I sometimes serve this with kale, but today, I used savoy cabbage.

It started to snow and is a little cold outside, so I decided to make my Mom's eggplant, doesn't take long at all and can save time by doing it before dinner.

It is a very easy thing to do:

You will need:

eggplant

wondra flour

eggs x 2

breadcrumbs

parsley

fresh basil

vegetable oil for the frying

salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the eggplant into rounds and salt the them, let them sit for a couple of hours, when done, pat off the salt.

2. Have three bowls ready, one for wondra flour, one for eggs and one for breadcrumbs.

3. Place eggplant into the flour first, then egg, then breadcrumbs.

4. Have a heavy bottom pan heating with vegetable oil in it and when ready put the eggplant in, when brown turn over to the other side.

5. Place the cooked eggplant onto paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

6. Grate some parmigiano over and sprinkle some parsley and cut up basil. You can serve these at room temperature.

Enjoy!

It was Sunday and really cold, great day for comfort food and watching the football games. So, soup is always good and roasted chicken, and I made a my bread.

Cannellini Bean Soup:

I used what I had in the house because I didn't want to go out.

Ingredients:

-1 can of cannellini beans or you could you any other bean (500 g)

- about 2 tablespoons olive oil

-1 shallot, minced

-1 litre chicken stock, I use the low sodium

-about 4 shitake mushrooms

-1 celery stalk, cut up small

-small bunch of kale or spinach ( I remove the stems from the greens) and cut it up

-1 red potato cut into small

-1 red pepper, cut up into small pieces

-cumin, about a teaspoon or so

-salt & pepper

-grated romano or parm cheese

-garlic, 2 0r 3, minced

In a heavy bottom stock pot, heat the pan over medium heat, add the oil, shallot and saute for about 3 minutes. Add the pepper, celery garlic and continue sauteing. Add the spinach till it wilts, then add the potato, broth, cumin. Bring to a boil . Reduce the heat to low and and let it simmer for about another 15 minutes or so, when the potatoes are soft the soup should be done. Garnish with the grated cheese and if you like some crushed red pepper.

Roasted Chicken with vinegar (Pollo con aceto)

-8 chicken thighs or you can use other parts of the chicken

-olive oil

-salt & papper

-2 tablespoon unsalted butter (30 g)

-8 - 10 cloves of garlic

-thyme, about a spring or so

-1/2 cup (120 ml) of vinegar white wine or sherry vinegar

-1 lemon

1. Preheat your oven to 500 F (260C) and place the rack in the lower part of the oven. Season the chicken with salt & pepper and heat about a tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in the pan, then add the chicken skin side down and cook for about 4 minutes until you can lift up and the skin is nicely browned, turn the chicken over and place into the preheated oven.

2. This will take about 25 to 30 minutes.

3. When chicken is cooked, remove and put onto a warm plate and put the pan on the stove over medium heat, add the vinegar and scape the bottom of the pan with a rubber spatular (get all that good stuff on the bottom of the pan, it's call "fond".

4. When this is reduced by half, add a little water and bring back to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter, taste for seasoning. Put the chicken back into the pan and turn it oven in the sauce.

5. Remove the chicken to a platter and pour the sauce over chicken, grate the lemon skin (using a raster) over the chicken and squeeze 1/2 of the lemon over the chicken and serve immediately.

Let me know what you think.

Soy ginger flank steak

A good friend came for dinner, still cold outside and knowing that he loves beef, I cooked flank steak. Would have preferred to cook the steak on my charcoal grill, but it was dark and cold. So, it was pan seared and finished in the oven. We also had eggplant and pizza with soppresatta. Here is the recipe for the flank steak.

1 flank steak about 2.5 lbs (1 kg)

1/4 cup (80 ml) soy sauce

5 tablespoons (75 ml) vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

1. Mix soy sauce, ginger, vegetable oil and garlic in a zip lock bag. Add flank and seal the back, mixing the meat into the marinade, let this marinade for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 400 F (200 C).

3. Remove flank from marinade and in a heavy bottom hot pan add the steak, sear for about 4 minutes on one side, turn over and place into the oven for about 5 to 6 minutes.

5. When done, remove, slice and serve.

I love Artichokes and two weeks ago I was looking for the baby artichokes, well couldn't find them. Yesterday I did find them and decided that today would be great day to cook them. I usually grill them but since it's cold outside I sauteed them. They are really easy to do, and nutrious also. Can't go wrong with this way of cooking them.

You will need:

-Small artichokes, they usualy come 8 in a package

-Garlic cloves, about 3 or so, you can use more

-Rosemary or fresh Thyme

-Extra virgin olive oil

-Black olives, I like gaeta, but you can also use calamata (you might want to pit them)

-1 pint of grape tomatoes, cut in half

-Brined capers, about 1 to 2 tablespoons

1. Heat a heavy bottom skillet heating up and add the oil and garlic over low heat with a pinch of salt.

2. Meanwhile, remove the hard leaves then cut off a bit off the top and trim the stem, then cut the artichoke in half.

3. Add the artichokes to the pan cut side down, once you have all the artichokes in the pan raise the heat to high to brown them.

4. Once they are browned, add the tomatoes with water(about a 1/2 cup), olives, capers and turn the artichokes over,cover the pan and let them simmer for about 20 minutes. You might want to check the pan to be sure the the water has not evaporated.

5. Once they are soft, remove and place into a platter and enjoy hot.