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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Fresh Cranberry Salsa


Tart and sweet, cranberries are a wonderful holiday time berry!  Raw cranberries are high in vitamin C, fiber and antioxidants.  This is a great recipe to show off fresh cranberries for an appetizer or as a potluck dish.   This tart, sweet and spicy salsa is always a hit and good for you too! 

Ingredients:
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 limes, juiced
1-2 jalapeno (depending on how spicy you like it)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 tsp ginger
1 bunch green onions 
salt and pepper to taste


Rinse your cranberries and throw out any old shriveled looking ones.  Cut your green onions into 3 inch pieces and chop up your jalapenos.  Put juice of the two limes, cranberries, cilantro, jalapenos, sugar, ginger and green onions into a food processor and pulse until you reach a good salsa like consistency.  




Add a little salt and pepper to taste.  You can serve this with tortilla chips or over a block of cream cheese with crackers.  Let the salsa sit in the fridge over night and it will taste even better the next day.  Happy Holidays!





Thursday, November 8, 2012

Kale, Mushroom and Cranberry Saute



Kale, kale, kale!!!  I'm on a kale kick.  I am absolutely loving the Farmers Market salad from True Foods.  It is absolutely delicious.  We have been making kale chips at home and they disapear as fast as I make them.  When I saw this recipe in Giada's new cookbook, I had to try it.  Its quick, easy, and oh so yummy.  

Ingredients:
2 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temp
1 TBSP olive oil
1 large or 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
1 medium leek, thinly sliced and rinsed
8 ounces cremini or button mushrooms, sliced
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
12 oz kale, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1/3 cup dried cranberries


This is a leek.  Chop off the root and the dark green parts of the leaves.  Only use the white and very light green part.

Leeks have a mild onion like flavor.
De stem the kale before you give it a rough chop.
In the largest skillet you have heat the butter and olive oil over medium heat.  Add the shallots, leek, mushrooms, 1tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.  
Cook for about 8 minutes until the vegetables are soft.  


Add the kale and cook until it is all wilted.  It looks like a ton of kale but it cooks down to nothing!  Cook for about 6 minutes.   

I think its easier to use tongs to turn the kale.



Add the broth and the cranberries.  Scrape up the brown bits that are sticking to the bottom of the pan.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  That's it!

Pretty colors remind me of the holidays :)

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine


Here is a classic.  Shrimp scampi and noodles.  I love the fresh parsley in this dish it gives great color and fresh flavor.  Never underestimate fresh parsley!  Most of these ingredients you may already have in your pantry and this meal cooks in about 15 minutes.  Perfect for a weeknight meal.


Ingredients:
Vegetable oil
kosher salt
1 1/2 lbs linguine
6 TBS (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
5 TBS good olive oil
3 TBS minced garlic (9 cloves)
2 lbs large shrimp (about 30 shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
grated zest 1 lemon
1/2 freshly squeezed lemon juice (3-4 lemons)
1/2 lemon thinly slices in half-rounds
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes


Cook the linguine in a large pot of salted water for 7-10 minutes until al dente.
In a large skillet add the olive oil and butter over medium low heat.


Add the garlic and continuously stir for about 1 minute.


Add the shrimp 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and saute for about 5 minutes until the shrimp have just turned pink.


Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, lemon slices and red pepper flakes.


Toss everything together.
Serve the shrimp mixture over the linguine noodles.


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Roasted Asparagus



Oven roasted asparagus.  I like the skinny asparagus because the tips get nice and crispy when they are roasted in the oven.  Add a little squeeze of lemon after taking them out of the oven for an extra little kick of flavor. 

Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh asparagus
Olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
lemon (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Wash the asparagus and cut off the ends about 3 inches from the bottom. 


The ends are tough and chewy so we definitely want to cut them off.  Spread the asparagus out on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with about 1-2 tsp of kosher salt and 1 tsp of freshly ground pepper. 


Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes and tips are a little crispy.  Squeeze a little lemon juice over the asparagus if you desire. 

Cucumber Cream Sauce for Crab Cakes

Sometimes a nice cool sauce just goes so well with crab cakes.  

Ingredients:
1 medium cucumber
1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp grated onion
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Peel and seed the cucumber.


Grate enough cucumber to measure 1/2 cup.


Combine grated cucumber, sour cream and the remaining ingredients in a small bowl.  Cover and chill.  Goes great with crab cakes.  


Jumbo Crab Cakes

This recipe is a cross between Southern Living and Thomas Kellers crab cake recipe.  I added the panko bread crumbs for a nice crunchy outer layer.  Its really good.  Add the cool cucumber sauce for another layer of flavor.  You can make the patties earlier in the day and then pull them out later for a quick dinner!

Ingredients:
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped sweet red or green pepper
3 TBSP white wine Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
3/4 tsp ground red pepper
1 lemon, halved
1 lb fresh lump crab meat, drained
1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, divided
1/4 cup butter or margarine
Olive oil
2 cups Panko bread crumbs
Cucumber cream sauce or Tarter Sauce


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix the first 6 ingredients, stir in the juice of half of one lemon, crab meat, and 1 cup bread crumbs.
Shape into 8 (4 inch) patties.  On a small plate coat the crab cakes with the panko bread crumbs.  Heat 2 TBSP oil and 1 TBSP butter in large sauce pan over medium heat.  Cook the crab cakes for about 4 minutes on each side.  Transfer the crab cakes to a baking dish.  Place in oven for an additional 4 minutes.  Arrange on platter and serve with lemon wedges and cucumber cream sauce or tarter sauce.



Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Tomato Basil Bread Side Dish

Well it happened again.  We ate this before I could take a picture of the final product!  Earlier this year I got the new Weeknights with Giada cookbook.  It hasn't let me down yet!  This is a great side dish.  Something different than just bread and butter.  In the cookbook it is called a bread pudding but that is just weird to me.  I think of bread pudding as a dessert.  This is a savory bread dish.  Its really good so try it!!


Ingredients:
1/2 multi grain loaf (8 oz) cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/3 cup olive oil
1 large or 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 packed cup chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
7 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk


Preheat oven to 375 degrees and be sure that the rack is in the center of the oven.  Butter or spray pam into a 9x13 glass baking dish and add the bread cubes.  Set this aside. 


Over medium high heat in a large skillet, heat the olive oil.  Add the shallots and garlic, stir constantly and cook for about 1 minute. 


Add the tomatoes, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Cook for about 2 minutes. 


Remove the pan from the heat and add the basil.

oops a little blurry!
 Pour this tomato mixture into the bread cubes, add the Parmesan cheese and stir together. 

yayy for cheese!
  In a large bowl, beat the eggs, milk, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper until well blended.


 Pour this mixture over the bread and toss gently to coat. 


Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until it is slightly puffy and golden brown.  Cool for 5 minutes then cut into wedges to serve. 

Friday, August 24, 2012

Shredded Brussel Sprouts

Growing up we didn't really eat brussel sprouts.  I think it was when I was on my own I started steaming them and then dousing them with butter.  They were pretty good.  Then I figured out cutting them in half and roasting them with olive oil salt and pepper was better.  I just found this recipe in the New Southern Living cookbook.  Shredded brussel sprouts.  Will said "these are brussel sprouts?!"  Yep they're pretty good. 

2 lb brussel sprouts
2 TBSP butter
2 TBSP olive oil
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 small red onion minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 cup plus 2 TBSP red wine vinegar
1 1/2 TBSP light brown sugar
squeeze of fresh lemon juice, about a teaspoon


Rinse the brussel sprouts, remove any old leaves and thinly slice the brussel sprouts.  A mandolin slicer works great if you have one.
Heat butter and olive oil in a large deep skillet over medium high heat.  Add the brussel sprouts, onion and garlic.  Saute for about 8-10 minutes until the sprouts are tender.  Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a serving bowl.  Add the vinegar and brown sugar to the skillet and simmer for 30 seconds.  Pour over brussel sprouts.



Squeeze a little lemon juice over them and toss together. 


Cold-Brew Iced Coffee Concentrate


Coffee!  It's the first thought in my head when I wake up in the morning.  When its 115 degrees outside I don't want a hot coffee.  I mean its better than nothing.  I've tried making iced coffee with regular brewed coffee and it was just never anything like what I would get from Starbucks or McDonald's or anywhere else.  In Bon Appetit magazine they had this recipe for cold-brewed coffee.  Success!  I made this and its SO good.  Yay for iced coffee in the summer time!!

12 oz good quality coarsely ground fresh coffee beans
water


Place ground coffee in a large container.  Gradually add 7 cups cold water.


Stir gently to make sure all the grounds are moistened.


Cover and let sit over night or at least 15 hours at room temperature.  Place a cheesecloth over a fine mesh sieve and set over a large bowl or pitcher (don't stir or it will become cloudy).  Throw away the cheesecloth with the coffee grounds.  I didn't have cheese cloth but I did have a metal coffee filter so I improvised with that. 




Next place a coffee filter in the large sieve and filter the coffee again into a container.  It can take quite awhile to filter all the coffee so don't do this in the morning when you are really needing some coffee.



Once it is all filtered cover it and place in the fridge.  It will keep for up to two weeks.  To make your iced coffee add equal parts coffee and milk or water and I added a little vanilla flavored coffee creamer for a little sweetness.  Play around with the ingredients and you'll figure out how you like it.