EASY ON THE BELT LINE EGGPLANT PARMESAN
Eggplant Parmesan. 
Just the mention of this tender, aromatic dish sends Italian-food lovers into spasms of joy, and often, jags of wonderful (or dreadful, I’m afraid) childhood memories. If your Grandma made this dish, you either loved it or hated it, but there’s no getting around the fact that most adults can’t get enough of this one. Having grown up in a (mostly) kosher home–some of you know about the time Dad came home, a smoked ham in one hand and a box of gifts from his favorite customers in Chester, PA in the other, and demanded the end to this craziness (his words), and kosher in our house was no more–there was no eggplant Parmesan in our house. Mom occasionally made spaghetti sauce, but it was about as far from authentic Italian red gravy as salt-water taffy.
I learned my sauce-making skills from the skilled chefs at the Epicure Market in South Beach, and refined them to a honed edge at the feet of an employer named Bud Bruno (the finest Italian chef I ever met) in his little kitchen in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. What I learned from Bud was the magic of fresh ingredients, really good olive oil, and little else–an authentic red sauce was at the same time simple and complex, with flavors that were meant to go together. And this one is light as a feather. Not much oil, no battering and frying of the eggplant, and you can eat as much as you want–it won’t weigh you down.
This recipe doesn’t, however rely on one of those long-simmered, tradition-babied, fussed-over red sauces, but rather all the elements of a perfect red sauce, blended together with love but not with much time or effort. Just toss the ingredients together in a bowl and let ’em marry in the bowl for a while. Then go.
Here’s the recipe, and be gentle. Don’t over think this one. It can’t really be much simpler.
EASY ON THE BELT LINE EGGPLANT PARMESAN
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon good extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cups fresh, coarsely chopped plum tomatoes (San Marzano, if you can find them) with their juice
2 tablespoons dry red table wine
2 tablespoons dark balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Olive oil spray
2 egg whites
2 1/2 lbs eggplant, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2″-thick slices
1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs or 1 cup Panko
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 4 oz)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preparation:
About three hours before serving, sauté the onions and garlic with the good olive oil until tender and transparent, 8-10 minutes at medium heat. In a medium bowl, stir together tomatoes and their juice, basil, parsley, wine, vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and onions (from here on I’ll call this the sauce). Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
An hour later, preheat the oven to 400°F. Line two or three baking sheets with foil. Spray the foil with olive-oil cooking spray.
In a shallow dish, beat the egg whites and 2 tbsp of water until foamy, and prepare another shallow dish with Panko. Dip eggplant into the egg whites, then into the bread crumbs, pressing crumbs into the eggplant.
Place the eggplant slices on the prepared baking sheets and spray oil lightly over the slices. Bake 30 minutes, turning over after 20 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
Spoon 4 tbsp of sauce into bottom of 9″ square glass baking dish that has been sprayed with olive oil. Place half the eggplant over the sauce; spoon half of remaining sauce over the eggplant; and sprinkle half of mozzarella on top. Repeat with remaining eggplant, sauce, and mozzarella.
Sprinkle Parmesan on top and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until eggplant is piping hot, the sauce is bubbly, and the cheese has to lightly brown.
This dish will serve 4 generously, and leave you with a couple of pieces leftover for lunches the next day.
Or not.
Fresh Fig and Almond Breakfast Cake
So what do you do with fresh figs? The Lancaster Central Market was literally bursting with fresh fruit, and the figs at Meck’s produce stand were big and beautiful, and hard to resist.
A while back I made a wonderful chicken dish topped with a beautiful braised fig sauce, and it was as good as it sounds, but this time, E. was craving something sweet. So to the Internet we cruised and read through numerous cake, pudding, and tart recipes until we stumbled upon one that tickled both our fancies. And considering that it was a rainy Saturday afternoon with nothing (incredibly!) on the schedule, E. went into a frenzy of baking, making desserts, desserts, desserts! Out to the garden for a large bunch of rhubarb (her rhubarb crisp is the stuff of legend!), and away she went. The result, among other things, was this excellent breakfast coffee cake, which dazzled and didn’t make it past nine on Sunday morning. She made it in a spring form pan, but the original recipe was shown in a cast-iron skillet. I think the next time we make it I will try it that way. It took longer than recommended to firm up in the springform pan, so I think the skillet is probably the way to go. Try this one yourself–do it both ways and see which way you like it better–and report back. Can’t think of a better way to kill a fig.
Fresh Fig and Almond Breakfast Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
tsp baking soda
tsp salt
tsp ground cardamom
cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cups buttermilk
cup unsalted butter (melted and slightly cooled)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
tsp almond extract (pure)
10 figs (fresh, depending on the size, sliced in half)
cup sliced almonds
3 tbsps turbinado (or granulated sugar for topping)
Preparation:
Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10-inch cast iron skillet. You can also use a 10-inch cake pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cardamom, and sugar. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and butter. Whisk in the vanilla and almond extract.
Add the buttermilk mixture all at once to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined and no lumps remain. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Top batter with fresh figs, gently pressing the figs part-way into the batter. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and then sprinkle generously with sugar.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow cake to cool to room temperature before slicing to serve.
Cake will last, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days
From Joy Wilson, JoytheBaker.com
Israeli Couscous with Lemon, Cucumber, and Cilantro
I didn’t know what to make for supper, and I had only a half hour before it had to be ready. 
Life on the run, you know. I work, E works, L is at the theater all day, M is either swimming, hockeying, iPhoning, entertaining, being entertained—it’s all just overwhelming, and making dinner becomes a chore.
But you know that.
You deal with the same issues, or similar ones, just the names and the names of the activities are different.
And we just can’t bring ourselves to open a box or a can or face another plate of ho-hum chicken breasts. Sure we like to cook ahead, and we have on several occasions, most recently a couple of Sundays ago, when we whipped up bowls full of chicken Marsala, baked ziti, salmon cakes, a couple of meat loafs, and E’s most popular white-bean and turkey-sausage stew.
It’s 4:45, all the make-ahead packages are frozen solid, there’s one chicken breast in the fridge (left over from another recipe), and the pressure is on.
What’s in the cupboard?
What I found was a box of Trader Joe’s Israeli couscous, a carton of plain yogurt and lots of produce in the fridge, and the clock is ticking. I’m feeling a little bit like Ted Allen is hiding around the corner.
I’m likely to fail. Chopped.
I looked for and found a recipe for a cold couscous salad that looked promising, but it surely needed a jolt of pizzazz, and then I found a small container of grilled chicken souvlaki I made a while back—that will defrost in a hurry. I can pull this off?
The feature for me will be the couscous salad, because I can spice it up and make it sing. So here’s what I made:
Israeli Couscous Salad with Cucumber, Lemon and Cilantro
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 ½ cups Israeli Couscous
1 ½ cups boiling water
1 large cucumber, peeled and seeded
¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped coarsely
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
1 medium lemon
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white Balsamic or cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
12 grape tomatoes, halved
Preparation:
1. Preheat a saucepan over medium heat with 1 teaspoon olive oil; when the oil is hot add the couscous and toast, stirring constantly, until it is lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Carefully add the boiling water, reduce the heat to low, cover and steam for 12 minutes, or until the water is completely absorbed. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
2. Cut the seeded cucumber into quarters and then into ½-inch slices; place in a large bowl. Add the cilantro and parsley. With a fine-hole grater, zest the lemon peel into the cucumber. Set aside.
3. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into a small bowl, add the vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Whisk to combine the dressing and add it to the cucumber. Toss to coat well.
4. Add the cooled couscous, the feta, and the tomatoes, and toss gently to combine the ingredients. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately or chill until ready to eat.
You can substitute mint, all parsley, or all cilantro to the salad as you wish.
Serve with chicken or lamb souvlaki. Here’s the recipe for that: Feel free to substitute lamb for the chicken, and try the tzatziki, too. It’s the bomb!
Souvlaki (Lamb or Chicken)
Ingredients:
½ cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
2 lemons, juiced
2 pounds lamb shoulder meat, trimmed of most (but not all) the fat, cut into 1-inch cubes
or
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (similarly prepared)
Preparation:
Place all the ingredients in a zipper-close food-storage bag, mix well, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, and preferably overnight. Place the meat on soaked wood or steel skewers, and grill over direct heat, turning several times, until done, 15-20 minutes.
Serve over rice or couscous, and with this fabulous yogurt dipping sauce:
Greek Tzatziki
Ingredients:
32 ounces plain yogurt or 16 ounces plain Greek yogurt
1 large peeled, seeded and shredded English cucumber (or two regular ones)
5-8 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced (you decide how many)
3 tablespoons white vinegar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Preparation:
Place the plain yogurt in cheese cloth over a large bowl and strain in the refrigerator overnight (not necessary if you use Greek yogurt, but use half the amount of yogurt). Mix the cucumber and garlic with the salt and drain over a bowl for a half hour (this will remove moisture from the cucumber). Blend all the ingredients well in a large bowl.
Serve with the grilled souvlaki and a Greek salad.
Have a Seduction Meal at the Ready
Selina Man, owner of Café Chocolate, calls it “the seduction meal.” Your signature dish. The one
you make when you want to impress that special someone. The one you serve the first time you meet your future in-laws. The one you bring out for the dinner party with your best friends. She says everyone should have one.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The seduction meal doesn’t have to be complicated; it just needs to look like it is. Great flavor and presentation are really simple, especially if you start with high-quality fresh meats and produce, the kind grown here in Lancaster County.
Here’s my seduction meal. It was originally veal Marsala, an Italian restaurant favorite. But good veal is expensive and, for some, ethically questionable, so I make it with boneless chicken breasts. It is quick, simple, delicious and virtually foolproof. For a beautiful, tasty presentation, serve the dish with green bean bundles and a rice or whole-grain pilaf.
This whole meal takes about 45 minutes start to finish. The beans and the pilaf can be made while the chicken is simmering in the pan.
Pure Gold Chicken Marsala
3 heaping tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground ginger
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, sliced in half into flats
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
One medium onion, chopped
2-4 garlic cloves, to taste, minced fine
1/2 pound white mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup dry Marsala wine
2/3 cup stock (2/3 cup water and one whole chicken or vegetable bouillon cube)
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
Kosher salt to taste
Place the flour, salt, pepper and ginger in a large food-storage bag. Shake to mix well. Place two chicken halves in the plastic bag. Close the bag and shake until the chicken is well-coated with the flour mixture.
Preheat a large skillet to medium-high, then add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Immediately place two chicken pieces in the pan and cook until lightly browned, about three minutes a side. Remove and place on a plate in a warm oven (about 200 degrees). Repeat the procedure with the other chicken halves.
Add the onion and garlic to the same pan and sauté until the onion is tender, about three minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are lightly browned, about three to five minutes.
Add the wine and the stock to the pan and stir to loosen the cooking bits from the bottom of the pan, then place the chicken pieces back in the pan, spooning the vegetables over the chicken. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the liquid reduces by one-third to one-half. Whisk in the remaining butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle with a bit of chopped parsley and serve.
To make the green bean bundles, simply thread whole green beans through yellow squash slices with the centers removed (as if the squash slices were napkin rings), sprinkle with chopped fresh thyme and cook them in a steamer basket over an inch of water for about four minutes until they are crisp-tender.
To make the pilaf, sauté 1/2 cup chopped onion and a finely chopped carrot in 2 tablespoons light olive oil in a heavy pot until tender. Add the rice or grain and sauté until it begins to brown. Add 3 cups chicken stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. The pilaf and the chicken should be done about the same time.
Incredible Shrinking Seafood Lasagna
It’s Ellen’s birthday tomorrow (Monday, July 28). It’s also Jen Groff’s birthday (Friday, July 25). It’s a celebration. This auspicious occasion calls for something special. I need to produce a masterpiece. On several occasions E has suggested that her dream meal would be a seafood lasagna, and I have yet to produce such a dish.
Tonight’s the night.
Jen’s here, and the rents (E’s parents) are here, the girls are here, and something special is required, and I’ve got just the ticket.
I found this recipe at Cooking Light. As I am wont to do, I can’t leave well enough alone, because I think I know better. In this case, I think I’ve improved the on the original without upsetting the karma produced by it. It’s still light, following the dictum of Cooking light, but it tastes rich and creamy WITHOUT THE ADDITION OF BUTTER!
That’s right…no butter in this dish, and if you follow the ingredients list carefully you will find that it is all that it ought to be without the butter. I’ve got to say, it looks incredible, and we will be tasting it in about an hour. I expect that I have hit the mark. I can usually tell if I’ve got it right, and I think I did so here.
Try this recipe for yourself. Even though there will be several pots and bowls to wash, it’s relatively simple, and the aroma in the kitchen right now is absolutely off hook. Can’t wait to try this. I’d be interested to hear if any of you try this one, and how it came out for you. Mine looks like a home run. And as to the “shrinking” moniker? Just wait until you see how it shrinks in the pan as your guests ask for seconds.
Guaranteed.
Here’s the rundown:
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 5 cups finely chopped mushrooms (about 1 pound)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 12-16 ounces lump crabmeat (how much crabmeat do you wish?)
- 1 pound uncooked large shrimp
- 1 8-0z bottle clam juice
- 1 cup water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons celery salt
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) crumbled goat or feta cheese
- 1 cup 2% reduced-fat cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup 1% low-fat milk
- 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 1 (8-ounce) package precooked lasagna noodles
- 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- Old Bay or other seafood seasoning, to taste.
- Spanish paprika to sprinkle
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375°.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, thyme, and 2 garlic cloves and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add wine, bring to a boil; cook over low heat until the liquid almost evaporates. Remove from heat; stir in the crabmeat, and set aside.
Peel and devein the shrimp, reserving shells. Cut each shrimp in half lengthwise; cover and refrigerate. Combine reserved shrimp shells, the clam juice and water, celery salt, and fennel seeds in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook until reduced to 1 1/2 cups shrimp stock (about 15 minutes). Strain stock through a sieve into a bowl; discard solids and set aside.
Combine the feta or goat cheese, cottage cheese, basil, lemon juice, and 1 garlic clove; set aside.
Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Place flour in a small saucepan; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk. Stir in shrimp stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer 5 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese.
Spread 1/2 cup sauce in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 4 noodles, slightly overlapping, over sauce; top with one-third goat cheese mixture, one-third crab mixture, one-third shrimp, 2/3 cup sauce, and 2/3 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers twice, ending with mozzarella. Sprinkle the top with as much seafood seasoning as you like and a light dusting of paprika. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.
Butterflied Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary
I recently finished reading a wonderful book, one I recommend for anyone and everyone who cooks, thinks they can cook, wants to cook, wants to learn how to cook, or just enjoys eating. As far as I can tell, that includes 
most everyone–certainly most everyone who reads my columns or my blogs. The book is titled Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and The Reinvention of American Taste, and it catalogs that summer, when the named principals and others of the gourmet industry glitterati of the time all found themselves in the Provence region of France at the same time. The book is abstracted from the daily journal of Ms. Fisher, one of the most most respected food writers in the world at the moment. It describes literally the moment when gourmet American cuisine stood up and broke free of the traditions and disciplines of classical French cooking and took its place as a separate and exciting style of cooking and life.
I’m not particularly a huge fan of traditional French cooking; I find it fussy and regimented, and I prefer to experiment with ingredients that I like–to mix and match flavors to see what the outcome might be. I’m not always successful, but I pride myself on technique and on my ability to repeat a recipe exactly time and time again if I find one I like. I’m also adept at duplicating a recipe I’ve tasted elsewhere and identify the flavors within. That’s not a skill I was able to hone; it is a particular and peculiar talent I was born with, so all the credit for this ability rests with my mother, who patiently explained every thing she was doing in the kitchen as she proceeded through a recipe. I then learned the rest of my cooking from my mentor, Martin Bettonio, executive chef at my family’s Epicure Gourmet Market in Miami Beach, after a stellar career as the executive chef at The Fontainbleau hotel, also in Miami Beach.
That said, following a reading of Provence, 1970, and at the request of my beloved life partner, Ellen, I decided to make a supper dish on a Sunday evening that reflected the influences of French cooking on American cuisine and took advantage of my strengths as a cook.
And thus was born my most recent personal dish creation, the butterflied grilled chicken with lemon and rosemary. It is a model of simplicity, using only a few carefully selected ingredients. It takes advantage of the wonderful bounty of local products–the chicken is fresh from a local farm courtesy of Stoltzfus Poultry at Central Market, fresh rosemary from our very own garden, and an amazing rosemary-infused extra-virgin olive oil obtained from my new friends at Seasons Lancaster on the first block of West King Street, a wonderful new source of olive oils, balsamic vinegars, chutneys, and other condiments most interesting.
But this recipe starts with the chicken. Fresh and not so large as the hormone-laden grocery-store poultry, just over four pounds and beautifully pale–no evidence of marigold petals in Stoltzfus chickens. First I butterfly the chicken, which is my preferred way to cook a chicken on a grill; it makes for more even cooking and a greatly reduced cooking time. To butterfly a chicken, take a sturdy chef’s knife in one hand and the chicken in the other. Stand the bird up straight, resting on its wings and neck cavity. Place the tip of the knife firmly on the chicken just aside the tail piece (an Irish friend of mine used to call this “the Pope’s nose). Holding the chicken firmly upright, quickly run the knife down alongside the backbone, all the way to the cutting board. Turn the chicken and repeat on the other side of the backbone. Tear the whole backbone away from the chicken and set it aside. Lay the chicken on the cutting board, breast side down, and run the tip of the knife the length of the breastbone and the breast cartilage to sever the skin layer. Pick the chicken up and quickly and firmly fold it like a book bringing the outsides of the breast together, inside out, breaking the rib bones away from the breast bone. Then firmly pull the breastbone away from the chicken–both the bone and cartilage pieces. Salt and pepper the inside, flip the chicken to breast side up and lay it on the cutting board. Cut away the wing tips and set them aside with the backbone. Your chicken is now ready.
Butterflied Grilled Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken, 4 to 4.5 pounds, butterflied
1 whole lemon, sliced very thin
1 whole shallot, minced fine
2 whole sprigs fresh rosemary
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Koshersalt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Place the minced shallot in the olive oil in a small bowl and allow to sit while doing the rest of the preparation.
Butterfly the chicken as described above. Preheat the outdoor grill of your choice to 350 degrees F., so that the chicken can be placed on the grates away from direct flame.
Run hands and/or fingers between the chicken meat and the skin, including the thigh and leg, if possible, to separate the skin from the meat. Rub minced shallot and olive oil over the whole chicken under the skin. Then place three slices of lemon and a whole sprig of rosemary under the skin on each side of the breast. Rub the remaining olive oil over the chicken skin and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.
Place the chicken, breast side down, on the grill away from the flame, and close the top. Grill 14-16 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken, flip and grill 15 minutes more. The chicken is done when the juices from the thigh run clear when pierced with a knife. Remove the chicken from the grill, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.
Garnish with a lemon slice and a sprig of rosemary.
April 2014 YMCA VIP Dinner Party
We’re doing a dinner party for special friends of the Lancaster Family YMCA, and by popular demand, here is the menu and the recipes. I won’t repeat the recipes that are already on this blog, but rather I will simply add the link or the search parameter.
The menu:
Roasted Red Pepper Terrine
Baby Spinach and Spring Mix Salad with 18th-Century Dressing
Roasted Salmon with Shallots and Whole-Grain Mustard
Caramelized Leek Risotto
Roasted Broccoli
Almond-Strawberry Shortcakes
Here’s the plan:
Roasted Red Pepper Terrine
Ingredients:
4 large red bell peppers, roasted, peeled, sliced & diced
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1 cup goat-cheese chevre (thank you, LindenDale Farms at Central market), or part-skim ricotta
1 tsp fresh or 1 pinch dried oregano
1 tsp fresh or 1 pinch dried basil
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
2. Pulse peppers in a food processor until thick paste; add remaining ingredients and process until well blended
3. Pour batter into 6 ramekins; place ramekins into a roasting pan, fill the roasting pan with hot water halfway up the sides of the ramekins
4. Bake for 60 minutes and test; the terrine is done when a toothpick comes out clean and dry. If the tops begin to brown, cover loosely with foil. Allow terrine to cool completely, then refrigerate until serving.
5. Unmold terrines from ramekins and serve with fresh-made crostini and a side of basil pesto.
Crostini: Slice a whole-wheat baguette to 1/2-inch slices; brush lightly with melted butter infused with garlic and lemon juice, then broil or grill until lightly toasted on both sides. Serve immediately.
Young Spinach and Spring Mix Salad with 18th-Century Dressing
Toss spinach, spring mix, and dressing; top with crumbled crisp bacon (or turkey bacon), a crumbled hard-cooked egg, and thinly sliced red onion rings.
Dressing:
Ingredients:
1 cup canola oil
1/3 cup tarragon vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/4 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp celery seed
Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a large screw-top jar and shake well to blend.
You can substitute cider vinegar and 1/2 tsp tarragon for the tarragon vinegar
BAKED MUSTARD-CRUSTED SALMON
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons chopped shallots
4 6-ounce center-cut salmon fillets
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon white wine
1 tablespoon coarse-ground mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees.
Preparation:
Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish – use either a glass or enamel-coated baking dish, not a metal dish – with the butter, making sure to coat at least an inch of the sides of the pan. Add the shallots, salt and pepper to the baking dish and toss to mix. Arrange the salmon fillets on top of the shallots and pour 1/2 cup of the wine over the fish.
In a small bowl, mix the remaining tablespoon of wine and the mustard until they are completely blended. Brush the mixture evenly over the salmon, then sprinkle the bread crumbs on top. Bake on the center rack in the oven for 6-8 minutes.
To finish, place the baking dish under the broiler, about 6 inches from the heat and remove the fillets when the bread crumbs begin to slightly brown. Sprinkle the salmon fillets with the parsley and serve immediately with a lemon wedge.
Caramelized Leek Risotto
(2-4 servings)
1. Trim off the dark green part and root of leek, reserve for a future use. Cut remaining leek in half lengthwise then into 1/3″ half moons, and wash thoroughly, then dry on paper towels.
2. In a heavy bottomed pot melt butter over medium heat, add leeks and stir to coat. Cook leeks stirring every five minutes or so until they start to brown. Let the leeks lightly brown evenly, turning the heat down a bit if you like as you don’t want them to burn. It should take about 25-45 minutes; patience here is the key.
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and then add rice. Stir to coat and cook, stirring regularly for 2 minutes. Add wine and continue stirring until two thirds of the wine has evaporated. Start adding chicken stock in 1/2-cup ladelfuls, stirring often. Reduce the temperature to a very light simmer. Continue adding stock until rice is tender and just a little bit al dente, 25-30 minutes.
4. Turn off heat and stir in cheese and chives. Taste and correct for seasoning.
Roasted Broccoli and Garlic
Ingredients:
1 head broccoli
2 -3 garlic cloves, peeled & coarsely minced
Juice of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Cut broccoli into florets and put in a large mixing bowl; add garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss in bowl to coat well.
3. Place broccoli in a 9×13 casserole dish; roast, uncovered, for 15-25 minutes, until the tops are lightly brown; broccoli should be tender but slightly crispy.
4. Remove from oven and sprinkle generously with shredded Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Almond Cornmeal Strawberry Shortcakes
Ingredients:
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, plus a little more to grease the muffin tins
1/2 cup all-purpose flour, plus a little more for the tins
3/4 cup sliced almonds
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 pound strawberries
1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
Preparation:
Shortcakes
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Butter and flour 6 jumbo muffin tins (1 cup capacity size), set aside
3. In food processor, blend 1/2 cup almonds with sugar until finely ground.
4. Add butter, eggs, vanilla and salt, process until combined, scraping sides of bowl as necessary
5. Add flour and cornmeal; pulse just until moistened.
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin tins; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup sliced almonds.
7. Bake until golden (20-25 minutes), until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool five minutes in tins, then remove and cool completely on a baker’s rack.
Filling:
1. Hull and quarter strawberries. Combine with 1/3 cup sugar.
2. Let stand until syrupy, tossing occasionally (at least a half hour, and up to 6 hours, covered and refrigerated)
3. In a mixing bowl, whip cream with 1 Tbsp sugar until soft peaks form.
To serve:
1. With a serrated knife, split shortcakes horizontally in half.
2. Place bottom half on serving plates.
3. Top with sweetened strawberries, then whipped cream, and cover with shortcake tops.
For a slight variation, add 1 Tbsp Amaretto DiSaronno (did you make your own? See below) to the strawberries along with the sugar.
Serve immediately. Makes 6.
Salmon Cakes Like You’ve NEVER Tasted!
I can’t believe I’m actually saying this:
I’ve just had the absolute best salmon cake I’ve ever eaten in my life.
“Salmon cake?” you say.
Salmon cake, I say.
But wait…this isn’t just any salmon cake. I’ll compare this to any crab cake I’ve ever had (I lived in Crabcake County, Maryland and vacation near the Chesapeake every summer), and I’ll stack this up against the best crab cake anyone has to offer.
I’m telling you, put this baby between pieces of crusty Kaiser roll with fresh Boston Bibb, a thick slab of Jersey tomato, (maybe a thin slice of red onion?) and your favorite sauce (Tartar? Remoulade? Cocktail? Tzatziki?, take your pick—this time I went with a real horseradishy cocktail sauce, but I can’t wait to try it with a good Remoulade), and you may never go back to that pricey jumbo-lump again. It’s spicy, tangy, and wonderful, extremely accessible, and gluten-free to boot. It works almost as well with a good can of salmon as it would with a piece of poached salmon from Costco.
As Ken Hoffman would boringly say, “Here’s the blueprint…
South-Beach-Friendly Salmon Cakes
Ingredients:
12 ounces fresh salmon, poached 10 minutes in water, white wine, black pepper corns, and a bay leaf
Or
1 good 14-oz can of salmon
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon almond meal (almonds crushed to the consistency of corn meal—available at health-food stores, better grocery stores, or do it yourself with a food processor)
4 finely chopped green onions
1 tablespoon drained capers, finely chopped
Lemon-fennel sea salt (recipe to follow)
Freshly ground pepper to taste (I used a lot!)
2 eggs
4 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons butter
Preparation:
Place the poached salmon or the drained canned salmon in a large bowl. Stir in green onions, capers, almond meal, Lemon-fennel sea salt, and black pepper; toss to mix well, breaking up the salmon into small pieces. Beat two eggs in a separate bowl, then add to the salmon and toss well.
Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil and 1 teaspoon butter in a large heavy skillet. When the oil/butter is hot, shape the salmon into flat patties about 4 inches in diameter and ¾ inches thick, and place in the hot oil. Cook 7 minutes on the first side over medium heat without touching the patties, until they are lightly browned and starting to get firm.
Add the remaining olive oil and butter, then turn the patties and cook on the second side until they are firm and browned on the second side, about 6 minutes untouched.
Turn off the heat, prepare your roll with lettuce, tomato, and the sauce of your choice, and place the hot salmon cake on top. Cap the salmon cake with a bit more sauce, complete the sandwich, and serve with your favorite slaw and a cold beer. Or a cold glass of white.
Full Disclosure: this recipe was adapted from one on the South-Beach recipe site Kalyn’s Kitchen (www.kalynskitchen.com), but it is better than that, but just as “South Beachy,” and I know South Beach just about as well as anyone.
Lemon-Fennel Salt
Combine ¼ cup coarse sea salt with 2 tablespoons toasted fennel seeds and 1 tablespoon dried lemon zest (Penzey’s, Spice Islands, or make your own). Keep in a pretty, airtight jar in your spice cupboard and use liberally on seafood or chicken.
Kalyn’s Kitchen Mini Greek Meatballs
This recipe comes from Kalyn’s Kitchen (kalynskitchen.com), one of the best recipe sites for anyone on the South Beach diet plan. The South Beach plan is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate plan that utilizes three stages of the plan: Stage One is a strict regimen of high-protein eating; Stage Two adds a small amount of carbs, and Stage Three is maintenance. It avows fruits almost completely, which is why I won’t get anywhere near it—I follow the Weight Watchers’ program. But it is a good plan for losing significant weight fast. I find that it is a harder diet to maintain for long periods, and doesn’t set up a life-long eating plan, which I need to maintain weight. I find that the best way to maintain a good healthy weight is to adopt a lifestyle that includes lots of different foods in moderation.
That said, the recipes in Kalyn’s Kitchen are wonderful as standalone recipes, and can be made and served anytime. On their own, they are healthy and tasty, and ought not be disregarded because they come from a certain diet plan. Check out Kalyn’s kitchen when you have time, and enjoy her recipes.
Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey)
½ small red onion, minced
½ cup very finely crumbled feta cheese (measure cheese after crumbling)
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 large egg
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil plus more for baking dish
1 Tablespoon dried Greek oregano
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Greek seasoning (optional; but use, and get it from Penzey’s: http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeysgreekseas.html)
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Use a food processor to chop the onion very finely, then drain if there is a lot of liquid.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl, then mix with your hands (Is there really any other way to mix meatballs?).
Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish; shape meatballs into 1-tablespoon-size meatballs and place in the baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, after which you will see some liquid oozing out. Turn the meatballs and bake 10 more minutes. Turn again and bake another 5-10 minutes, until they are well browned and cooked through.
Serve with warm pitas and Tzatziki sauce.
Mexican Chocolate Slice-and-Bake Cookies Recipe
Ellen found this recipe online. We made the cookies to pack in kids’ lunches. The recipe is extraordinary, and simple, too. Follow the instructions to the letter; they’re perfect. And so are the cookies!
What sets Mexican chocolate apart is the addition of cinnamon and sometimes other spices. It can be difficult to find, though, so we made our own custom blend of cocoa powder, cinnamon, and a touch of cayenne to add to this cookie dough. Form the dough into logs, refrigerate, and then slice-and-bake whenever you’re in the mood for a cookie with a deep, chocolaty flavor and a little kick of spiciness at the end.
Game plan: The dough logs can be frozen for up to a month—just wrap the plastic-covered logs tightly in aluminum foil before freezing. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before slicing and baking.
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt in a medium bowl to break up any lumps; set aside.
- Place the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until lightened in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with a rubber spatula.
- Return the mixer to medium speed, add the egg and vanilla, and beat until just incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle with the rubber spatula.
- Turn the mixer to low speed and slowly add the reserved flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide it in half. Roll each portion into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each log tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.
- When ready to bake the cookies, heat the oven to 350°F and arrange the racks to divide the oven into thirds.
- Remove the dough logs from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and slice the dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place the rounds about 1/2 inch apart on 2 baking sheets (about 20 cookies per sheet).
- Bake both sheets for 6 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom and bake until the edges of the cookies are firm but the tops are still soft, about 6 to 7 minutes more.
- Place the baking sheets on wire racks and let cool for 5 minutes. Using a flat spatula, transfer the cookies to the wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
SOURCE: http://www.chow.com/recipes/30524-mexican-chocolate-slice-and-bake-cookies
Cheffzilla’s Kitchen 