Grilled Fish With Citrus-Fennel Sauce

This was a fairly light, healthy, and delicious meal that we enjoyed alfresco in our back yard.  I served the fish with a very simple salad (Bibb lettuce + White Belgian Endive + garlic-infused vinaigrette) and some basmati rice.  Enjoy!

Grilled Fish with Citrus-Fennel Sauce
Ingredients

• 3 naval oranges
• 1 pink grapefruit
• 1 fennel bulb (cut off and discard stalks, wash bulb under cold water, thinly slide fennel using a mandoline or similar food slicer)
• 4 tablespoons of dijon mustard
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• filets of white fish (such as tilapia)
• herbes de Provence
• Optional: Smoked Spanish Paprika

Method
Place thinly-sliced fennel into a bowl.  Use a sharp knife to cut away the peel of an orange and then cut out segments over the bowl of fennel (to catch juices).  Place segments into the bowl as they are cut.  Repeat for remaining oranges and grapefruit.  Add dijon mustard, olive oil, some gray sea salt, and some fresh cracked black pepper to the bowl and stir vigorously until everything is well mixed. Set aside.

Preheat grill (it is important for the grill to be well heated and the grate oiled to help prevent the fish from sticking).  Rinse fish filets under cold water and pat dry.  Drizzle fish with extra virgin olive oil and rub over fish to coat.  Sprinkle gray sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, herbes de Provence, and optionally smoked Spanish Paprika over each side of fish.

Grill fish over medium high grill heat.  About 4+ minutes each side depending on grill heat and fish filet thickness until the fish is cooked (no more translucent flesh).  It is important to not touch the fish except to flip and then to remove (the more you mess with the fish while cooking, the more likely it will break apart).

Spoon citrus-fennel sauce over fish just before serving.

Delicious Basmati Rice
Ingredients

• 1 cup Basmati Rice
• 1 - 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large clove of garlic (peeled and chopped)
• 2 tablespoons mustard seeds
• 1 dry bay leaf
• 2 cups water

Method
Melt butter in small pot over medium high heat. Once butter is melted, add chopped garlic and mustard seed to the pot. Cook for about 1 - 2 minutes stirring occasionally until garlic and mustard seed are fragrant.  Add rice, water, bay leaf, and a large pinch of gray sea salt.  Bring rice mixture to a low boil, stir well, cover with a tight-fitting lid and reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand for another five minutes.  Open pot to remove bay leaf and fluff rice before serving.

Photos of Additional Meals (Recipes Not Included)

As you may have noticed, I have been delinquent in updating the site with additional recipes.  I have taken photos of meals, but never got around to posting the recipe.  So for those who mostly come for the photos ("food porn"), I am posting photos only (no recipe) from several meals.

Linguine with Scallops, Broccoli, and Shrimp; Mixed Greens Salad with Small Heirloom Tomatoes and Fennel

Grilled Watermelon and Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Salad with a Spicy Vinaigrette

Grilled Cedar-Plank Salmon with Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus, Corn on the Cob, and Salad

Homemade Bagels!!

"Spanish Style" Spaghetti and Meatballs

"Spanish Style" simply means I added some typical Spanish flavors to this variation of spaghetti and meatballs (chorizo sausage and roasted sweet red peppers).  For a standard Italian version, you can skip the roasted red peppers and substitute more italian sweet (or hot) sausage for the chorizo.

I may have said this before, but chorizo is my favorite sausage.  The meatballs were incredibly delicious. In fact you could turn this into a party or game watching dish by skipping the spaghetti and making the meatballs and sauce only ("gravy" for our Italian readers).

I generally avoid ground beef when making meatballs.  For me, ground pork (whether plain or with sweet Italian sausage seasoning) is much more flavorful and ground veal adds great flavor and a nice tenderness.  Ground pork (or Italian sausage) and ground veal are also my preferred meat combination when making regular meat sauce for pasta (i.e., non-meatballs).  If you are used to ground beef based meat sauces and meatballs, you will be amazed in the incredible flavor afforded by using pork and veal instead.

While it is more steps/complicated than simply adding store-bought breadcrumbs, roasting bread until brown and soaking in milk packs much more flavor and takes your meatballs to a higher level of pleasure with every bite.

Wine: A nice full-bodied red from Italy, Spain, Portugal or South America -- Antiyal from Chile is an excellent wine for this meal.  Antiyal is produced using biodynamic methods and has been rated 90+ for every vintage by Wine Spectator.  Let it breathe for 30 minutes before drinking for maximum experience.

"Spanish Style" Spaghetti and Meatballs

Ingredients

• 2 links of raw pork chorizo sausage (be sure to use the raw variation as some chorizo is available pre-cooked, which will not work in this recipe.  Remove and discard the casings)
• 1/2 lb of bulk sweet italian sausage
• 1/2 lb of ground veal
• 2 thick slices of Italian bread (Cubed. Roughly 2 unpacked cups worth when cubed)
• 1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk
• 7 cloves of garlic (peeled with top ends removed. Divide into 3 cloves for the meatballs, minced, and 4 cloves for the sauce, thinly sliced) 
• 1 egg (cracked into a small bowl and beaten to a smooth consistency)
• small handful of flat-leaf Italian parsley (rinse under cold water and shake dry. Pick leaves from stems, discarding stems. Finely chop.  Should produce about 1/2 cup of unpacked finely chopped parsley)
• 2 Ancient Sweets, or substitute 2 red marconi peppers, or substitute 2 red bell peppers (Ancient Sweets are increasingly available at the grocery store and offer a wonderful sweet flavor when roasted)
• 28oz can of fire-roasted crushed tomatoes (you can substitute regular crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce)
• 6oz can of tomato paste
• 1/2 cup worth of fresh basil (rinse under cold water and shake dry. Pick leaves from stems, discarding stems. Chop)
• Optional: 1/2 cup of the full-bodied red wine you are drinking
• Optional: 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes for spiciness 
• 1 box of your favorite spaghetti
• Grated Italian hard cheese for topping (Parmigiana Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, or similar)

Method
Prepare Meatballs:  Preheat oven to 365 degrees (F).  Place bread cubes on a dry pan and roast in the oven until hard and brown coloring is achieved (15 - 20 minutes typically).  This adds a depth of flavor to the bread, which will add depth to the meatballs.  Remove bread from oven and place in a medium sized bowl.  Crush or break down bread to smaller bits (to the point of removing gaps between previously larger pieces such that it packs smaller into the bottom of the bowl).  Pour milk over bread until just covered.  Let it soak for at least 5 minutes until bread is soft again and most of the milk has been absorbed.

Have a cookie sheet or other large flat surface covered with wax paper prepared to stage your meatballs before cooking.  In a large mixing bowl, combine chorizo, italian sausage, ground veal, minced garlic, egg, parsley, prepared bread mixture, a healthy pinch of gray sea salt, and some fresh cracked black pepper.  Use your clean hands to thoroughly mix the ingredients until the mixture in consistent throughout (the best tool for the job).  The meatball mixture may be a little wetter than you are used to -- this is a good thing as it will translate into super tender meatballs. Grab enough meatball mixture into your hands and roll between palms to form a ball slightly larger than a golf ball (again, it will be slightly wet and sticky), and place on your wax paper staging area.  Repeat forming meatballs until all of the meat mixture is used.

Roast Peppers: Wash peppers under cold water.  Place on an aluminum-foil lined baking pan that has edges so any juice produced does not run off. Place oven rack near top and turn oven onto broil.  Place peppers under broiler (a few inches of clearance) and broil, turning peppers when the side facing the broiler turns mostly black and blistered.  Continue until both peppers are blistered and black on all sides.  Removed peppers from oven.  Carefully lift the aluminum foil with peppers out of the baking pan and place in a freezer to cool down to be handled.  After 10 - 15 minutes, remove peppers from freezer.  The peppers should be shriveled at this point.  Using your hands, pull blistered skins off the peppers.  The flesh of the pepper should not be black, instead a nice roasted variation of the original pepper color.  Tear open (they typically fall apart some) and remove the top stem part and all seeds.  It takes patience, but it is better to hand remove all of the skin and seeds without rinsing under water (which washes away the great flavored natural oils).  Tear cleaned, roasted pepper flesh into bite size pieces.

Start Sauce:  Heat a large pot (large enough to fit meatballs and sauce) over medium heat.  Once warm, add some olive oil to prevent sticking.  Add sliced garlic and optionally add crushed red pepper flake and saute for 1 minute, stirring to prevent sticking.  Optionally add red wine to the pot and cook for 1 minute to get a head start on cooking out alcohol.  Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, roasted red peppers, basil and a pinch or gray sea salt.  Turn up heat to medium high a bring to a light boil before reducing heat to low.  Place a lid on the pot but leave slightly ajar so some steam can escape.  Continue to cook on low.

Cook Meatballs:  Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Once warm, add some olive oil to the skillet.  Place as many meatballs in the skillet that will comfortably fit in a single layer with some room in between to allow you to turn meatballs.  Cook meatballs occasionally gently shaking skillet to prevent sticking.  If meatballs do not roll over via moving the skillet on their own, use a spoon to carefully roll over meatballs to cook each side until the entire outside is cooked.  Place completed meatballs into pot with tomato sauce and repeat cooking meatballs until all are cooked and in the sauce pot.  The meatballs should continue to cook in the tomato sauce over low for 20 minutes to ensure they are cooked throughout.

Cook Pasta:  Use the intro in the Linguine and Clams recipe to properly cook the pasta.

Assemble and Finish: Place the cooked and drained pasta back in the large pasta cooking pot.  Carefully pour the tomato sauce and meatballs over the pasta and carefully stir to combine (careful not to break up the meatballs).  Serve with grated cheese and enjoy!

NOTE: The photos below are from a doubling of the recipe as we had another family over as guests for the meal.

Tilapia in Simple Artichoke and Caper Sauce with Roasted Potatoes

This is a relatively simple dish to prepare on a week night.  The roasting of the potatoes is what takes the longest.  So if you are in more of a hurry, substitute a rice that cooks in 20 minutes total and the whole meal could be made in less than 30 minutes.

Given the amount of artichoke hearts, the best option is to buy a bag of frozen artichoke hearts.  It saves a lot of time and prep versus starting with fresh whole artichokes, and is much less expensive than the marinated artichoke hearts that are sold in jars.

Tilapia in Simple Artichoke and Caper Sauce
Ingredients

• 5 - 6 fillets of Tilapia (rinsed under cold water and patted dry)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup of white wine
• 1 bag of frozen artichoke hearts (defrost artichoke hearts under running water)
• 1 handful of capers (rinsed and drained)
• 1 large handful of flat-leaf Italian parsley (rinse parsley under cold water and shake off excess water. pick leaves off of stems--discard stems; rough chop parsley)
• 1 lemon (cut in half to squeeze lemon juice)
• 1 cup of flour (for coating fish)

Method
Sprinkle gray sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper on both sides of each Tilapia filet.  Lightly coat both sides of filet with flour, shaking off any excess flour.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large, non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Once butter starts to bubble and turn a little brown, place as many filets as will comfortably fit in a single layer in the skillet.  Saute each side of the filets until golden brown and flesh is no longer translucent (work in batches setting aside cooked filets on a clean plate; squeeze fresh lemon juice from one half of the lemon on the filets as you set them aside).  After all the fish is cooked and no longer in the skillet, add the artichoke hearts, capers, and wine to the skillet.  Bring the mixture to a boil (may need to turn heat up some) and boil for 1 to 2 minutes to cook out alcohol and reduce liquid some; use a wooden spoon to scrap up any brown bits and mix into the liquid while it's cooking.  Turn off heat and stir in parsley, fresh squeezed juice from the remaining lemon half, and 1 tablespoon of butter.  Serve fish on plate and spoon artichoke and caper sauce of each serving.

Roasted Potatoes in Dill Sauce
Ingredients

• Fingerling or Yukon Gold potatoes (clean and cut off any impurities; cut into bite-size chunks; get enough potatoes to produce about 1 cup per person to be served)
• 3/4 cup of greek yogurt
• 3 tablespoons of dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup worth of fresh dill (rinse under cold water; pick fronds from stems, discarding stems; roughly chop)

Method
Preheat oven to 365 degrees (F). Sprinkle gray sea salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and about 1/3 of the prepared dill over potatoes.  Place potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with a silpat (silicon baking mat) or a lightly oiled piece of aluminum foil.  Roast in oven for 40 - 50 minutes until potatoes achieve some golden coloring and appear completely cooked.  In a mixing bowl, combine yogurt, mustard, and remaining dill.  Spread mixture over potatoes and toss well until potatoes are well coated.

Valentine's Surf and Turf

A special meal for a special event.  Here are some tips for cooking the perfect filet or other prime cut of meat:

• Allow meat to sit out for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking.  Allowing the meat to get closer to room temperature will enable it to cook more properly between the outside and the inside.
• Generously salt and pepper the steak before cooking using gray sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper (in general this is all you need--a good sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.  Do not use table salt)
• Use a heavy bottom skillet/pan that is oven safe.  Proper pans that are thick (heavy bottom) distribute heat much more evenly and make a big difference in cooking (In my opinion, the pans make a bigger difference than whether you have a top commercial grade gas range or an old fashion electric coil stovetop, like me).  Thin pans tend to burn food more easily as the heat tends to be very uneven.  I use All-Clad, but there are many quality heavy bottom pans available.
• Do not use non-stick pans when cooking a steak.  You want to have a good sear and high temperatures which tends to be incompatible with non-stick pans
• Use a "high heat" oil, such as canola, safflower (a favorite high heat oil of mine), or vegetable oil instead of olive oil (again you want to go to high heat to properly sear the meat)
• Start on a medium high stovetop with a hot skillet, finish in the oven (400 degrees)
• Do not use thin cuts for steaks (unless you prefer well done; which, I'm sorry, is not the proper way to eat a steak)
• After pulling the finished steak out of the oven, allow it to rest 15 to 20 minutes in the pan before serving or cutting.  This is a cardinal rule for juicy and tender steaks (and most meats).  Cutting the meat too early or placing the hot steak on a cold plate will cause all of the natural juices to run out and leave behind a tough, dry steak.  Allowing the steak to rest and slowly come down from the high heat will redistribute the juices throughout the meat leaving a juicy and tender meat you will love.
• Generally, you can tell to what "temperature" a steak is done by the amount of give when poking or touching the meat (via kitchen tongs or directly with finger).  You can simulate the doneness of steak by touching the tip of your thumb to the tip of each finger on the same hand and pressing/poking the fleshing portion of your palm at the base of your thumb.  Thumb to forefinger is rare to medium rare. Thumb to middle finger is medium rare to medium. Thumb to little finger is well done, aka dead.

I served this meal with Caesar salad. The recipe is included in Linguine and Clams with Caesar Salad

Valentine's Surf and Turf
Ingredients

• 2 lobster tails (if frozen, defrost under running water)
• 2 filet mignons
• large bag of crimini mushrooms (use a damp paper towel to brush dirt off the mushrooms, do not clean mushrooms under running water as the mushrooms are like sponges and the water will wash out some of the flavor)
• 1 shallot (peeled and minced)
• 1 clove of garlic (peeled and minced)
• 1/4 cup of dry sherry wine
• 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• unsalted butter (set out to allow it to soften some)
• 1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• 3 tablespoons worth of chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 lemon
• blue cheese (enough to top two filets)

Method
Prepare Lobster Tails: Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add a small handful of kosher salt and half of a squeezed lemon (add the fresh squeezed juice and the lemon half itself to the water).  Add the lobster tails and cook for about 5 minutes (a good portion of the shells should turn red).  Remove the lobster tails from the water with tongs and place in a prepared ice water bath to stop the cooking process.  Once cold, remove the lobsters and use a large, heavy knife to split the tails down the middle length wise (cut from the top of the tail down the middle length wise; you made need to hit the back of the knife with the flat of your hand to break through the shell).  Examine the split lobster tails and remove any central vein so there is only meat and the outer shell. It is okay, even preferred, if the center of the flesh is still translucent and not completely cooked (it will be finished in the oven under the broiler).  Over cooking shell fish makes the meat rubbery.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh tarragon, and 2 tablespoons of butter.  Mix well.  Spread the cheese mixture over the exposed flesh of the lobster tails.  Place the lobster tails on an aluminum foil lined baking pan and place under the broiler in the oven until the cheese has melted and developed a little brown coloring (about 3 - 4 minutes).  Once removed from the oven, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the lobster tails before serving.  Optionally, you can melt some butter in a small bowl or ramekin for dipping the lobster meat in.  Add a pinch of good sea salt and some fresh squeezed lemon juice to the butter.

Prepare Mushrooms:  I prepared the mushroom side in a parchment paper packet ("en papillote"), however I am simplifying the recipe here.  Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add shallot and saute for 2 minutes.  Add garlic, whole mushrooms, and a good pinch of gray sea salt and saute for another 2 minutes.  Add rosemary and sherry and increase heat to bring liquid to a boil.  Allow sherry liquid to boil for about 2 minutes to cook out the alcohol and for the liquid to reduce some.  Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to saute for 5 to 10 minutes to complete cooking (do not cook the liquid completely out).

Prepare Filets:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Heat a heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat on the stovetop.  Once hot, add a few tablespoons of high heat oil to the skillet to prevent sticking.  Place filets that have been salted, peppered, and allowed to get closer to room temperature (see tips in intro) in hot skillet.  Sear each side for about 2 to 3 minutes, turning meat over once the first side is properly seared with kitchen tongs.  You want to get a good crust on the outsides.  Place the oven-safe skillet with filets in the oven to finish cooking.  5 minutes before being done to your liking (judged based on give to touch -- generally about 10 minutes in), carefully remove skillet from oven using oven mitts.  Place a thin layer of blue cheese on both of the filets, and place back in the oven.  Continue to roast until the cheese is melted.  Remove from the oven and allow the filets to rest in the pan for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Speck and Brie Whole-wheat Flatbread

This flatbread (aka thin-crust pizza) turned out delicious.  I am thinking of making it again as an appetizer for an upcoming party at the neighbors.  Next time I may try blending whole-wheat and unbleached bread flour 50/50.  The actual flatbread part of this recipe is a basic recipe for Indian naan bread (at least how I make it) using whole wheat instead of unbleached bread flour, and some olive oil instead of melted butter.

This speck and brie flatbread is crazy good with a good pinot noir to drink.  Pinot noir really pairs well with the flavors of the speck, which is a sort of smoked prosciutto (how can that be bad?), and the brie cheese.

Speck and Brie Whole-wheat Flatbread
Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of whole-wheat bread flour (or try a 50/50 mix with unbleached bread flour)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup of low-fat or zero-fat greek yogurt (I'm a big fan of the FAGE yogurt.. an amazing and amazingly good for you product)
• 4 tablespoons olive oil (if making naan, use 4 tablespoons of melted butter instead)
• 2 cups worth of fontina cheese (shredded)
• 1 package of speck (if not in packages, be sure to ask for very thin slices; about 10 slices)
• 1 wedge of brie cheese (amount will vary depending on number and sizes of pizzas)
• 1/4 cup of blanched almond slivers (toast until a light brown color in a dry non-stick skillet over medium heat)
• fresh basil

Method

Prepare Flatbread Dough: Sift (you can pour the dry ingredients through a fine mesh strainer into the mixing bowl) the flour, baking powder, and sea salt into a large mixing bowl.  Add the yogurt and olive oil.  Stir all of the ingredients with a large wooden spoon until mostly mixed and becoming difficult to stir. Use your hands to continue to mix and begin to knead the dough. Knead the dough either in the bowl or on a floured surface for a good 5 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic or place a damp, clean, kitchen towel completely over the mixing bowl with the dough inside.  Let the dough rest for 2 hours.  The dough will not rise like a yeast based dough (it will stay the same size).

Make the Pizzas: Preheat pizza stone in a 400 degree (F) oven.  If you don't have a pizza stone, preheat oven and then preheat a dry, rimmed metal baking sheet.  On a floured surface, roll out flatbread dough to a thin layer and of the desired pizza size.  Cook flatbread on hot pizza stone or baking sheet for 3 minutes (the dough may inflate into a large pillow while in the oven).  Carefully remove flatbread from oven on a pizza peel (if using a pizza stone) or by removing the baking sheet from the oven.  Sprinkle shredded fontina cheese to make a thin layer across flatbread (the flatbread should have deflated after being removed from the oven). Place a layer of speck slices across top of fontina cheese layer.  Hand-tear fresh basil and place over speck such that there will be some basil with each slice of cooked flatbread.  First thinly slice brie (about 1 mm thick) and cut into bite-size pieces (about 1 inch square).  Place brie on the next layer of the flatbread with about 2 inches of separation between brie pieces (the brie will melt and spread).  Sprinkle toasted almond slivers over top of assembled flatbread.  Place flatbread back in the oven (either on the pizza stone or still on the baking sheet) and bake until the cheese is melted and starting to show some brown color, and crust is crisp. Repeat until all of the dough is used.

Rustic Chicken Cacciatore and Thyme-infused Cheese Polenta

This meal was inspired by basically the same dish made by Chef Fabio on a recent episode of Top Chef Masters.  I couldn't find Fabio's recipe for chicken cacciatore online, so I created my own adaptation.  This is a slow cooked meal and great to serve family style.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients

• Cut up chicken (2 chicken breasts, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks all with skin and bones intact.  Rinse chicken under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel)
• flour for lightly covering chicken
• 1 red bell pepper and 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 medium to large sweet onion (peeled, quartered and thinly sliced)
• 4 cloves of garlic (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 1 large can and 1 small can of peeled whole plum tomatoes (drained)
• 2 cups of white wine (such as pinot grigio/gris)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup worth of fresh oregano (washed, leaves picked off of stems, roughly chopped)

Method

Roast Peppers: Wash peppers under cold water.  Place on an aluminum-foil lined baking pan that has edges so any juice produced does not run off. Place oven rack near top and turn oven onto broil.  Place peppers under broiler (a few inches of clearance) and broil, turning peppers when the side facing the broiler turns mostly black and blistered.  Continue until both peppers are blistered and black on all sides.  Removed peppers from oven.  Carefully lift the aluminum foil with peppers out of the baking pan and place in a freezer to cool down to be handled.  After 10 - 15 minutes, remove peppers from freezer.  The peppers should be shriveled at this point.  Using your hands, pull blistered skins off the peppers.  The flesh of the pepper should not be black, instead a nice roasted variation of the original pepper color.  Tear open (they typically fall apart some) and remove the top stem part and all seeds.  It takes patience, but it is better to hand remove all of the skin and seeds without rinsing under water (which washes away the great flavored natural oils).  Tear cleaned, roasted pepper flesh into bite size pieces.

Make Cacciatore: Place some flour in a large, shallow bowl. Salt (using gray sea salt) and pepper (fresh cracked black pepper) the chicken pieces, then roll/dredge each one in the flour and shake off any excess flour.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large heavy saute pot (large enough to comfortable hold all of the chicken at once).  Once melted, add about 3 tablespoons of olive oil.  Working in batches, place as many floured chicken pieces in the pot as will comfortably fit in a single layer (typically about 3 pieces at a time).  Saute each side over medium high heat until the skin is browned (around 3 - 5 minutes each side).  Remove browned chicken from pot to make room for next batch.  Set aside browned chicken on a plate once all pieces are browned.

Add onion to the pot the chicken was browned in and saute, stirring regularly, until onions caramelize (around 5 - 6 minutes).  Add sliced garlic to pot and peeled tomatoes one tomato at a time, crushing or tearing over the pot into bite-sized chunks.  Add wine, roasted bell pepper pieces, bay leaf, and a good pinch of gray sea salt to the pot. Turn up heat and bring mixture to a low boil.  Continue on low boil for another 2 - 3 minutes to accelerate cooking the alcohol out, stirring regularly to prevent burning on the bottom.  Reduce heat to medium low, add browned chicken and fresh oregano to the pot and stir to mix contents.  Place lid on pot slightly ajar (to allow steam to escape and mixture to reduce while cooking).  Cook on medium low (about 25% heat) for about 45 minutes, occasionally lifting lid to stir the contents.

Thyme-infused Cheese Polenta

Ingredients

• 1 cup of instant polenta
• 4 cups of chicken stock
• About 3 heaping tablespoons worth of fresh thyme leaves (wash thyme under cold water; pick leaves off of stems; discard stems)
• 1 cup of grated Italian hard cheese (choose Parmigiano Reggiano, Pecorino Romano, or Grana Padano)
• optional: 2 – 3 tablespoons of truffle-infused olive oil (use less amount if using pure white truffle oil)

Method

In medium saute pan, bring the chicken stock to a boil over medium high heat.  Once boiling, reduce heat to lowest setting and slowly stream in polenta while stirring.  Once all of the polenta has been added to the pot, add the thyme and continue to stir until polenta reaches desired consistency (about 5 minutes).  Turn off heat and stir in cheese, mixing until well incorporated.  Optionally stir in truffle oil.

Spanish-style Mussels

Mussels are delicious and relatively inexpensive seafood. There are many variations to cooking "mussels" (that is mussels as a main dish, versus as part of a stew, pasta, or other dish), some of the basic foundations include:

• White wine or even a beer (like a white Belgium ale)
• Shallots and garlic
• Fresh squeezed lemon juice
• A little butter to finish the sauce
• Good bread of dipping and soaking up the sauce
• And of course, properly prepped, quality mussels

Other than those foundations, you can experiment with different fresh or dry herbs (such as dried bay leaves which I am found of, or saffron), various sausages (chorizo or italian) or cured pork products (such as pancetta or proscuitto), heavy creams, chili peppers or chili pepper flakes, or just the basic foundation elements which is delicious.

Spanish-style Mussels

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of mussels (here is a link to detailed instructions for proper handling and cleaning of mussels: Cleaning Mussels)
• 4 - 5 vine-ripened tomatoes (try to select very ripe tomatoes.  wash under cold water and cut in half across the middle)
• 3 cloves of garlic (peeled and cut length-wise into shards)
• 2 links of uncooked chorizo sausage (casing removed)
• 5 shallots (peeled and sliced thinly)
• 3 more cloves of garlic (peeled and sliced thinly)
• 2 cups of white wine (such as a pinot grigio/gris)
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 lemon (cut in half for squeezing the juice)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 loaf of sliced Ciabatta bread
• quality extra virgin olive oil

Method

Grill Dipping Bread:  Brush olive oil onto one side of each bread slice.  Preheat a grill pan over medium high heat.  Working in batches, add a single layer of bread slices to the hot grill pan.  Grill each side until some grill markings are achieved and the outside is slightly crunchy to the touch.  About 1 minute per side for a properly heated grill pan.

Prepare Roasted Tomato Broth:  Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Place tomato halves in an aluminum foil lined baking pan, cut sides up. Lightly coat tomatoes with extra virgin olive oil.  Press garlic shards into tomato flesh (it is okay for top of garlic shard to stick out) to even distribute across all of the tomato halves.  Sprinkle some gray sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper over top of tomatoes.  Roast tomatoes in oven for 30 minutes.  

Place roasted tomato halves with garlic shards in metal chinois over a bowl or large measuring cup.  Using a heavy wooden spoon press roasted tomatoes into the bottom and bottom-sides of the chinois until most of the liquid and fine pulp is strained into the catching bowl and only the skins, seeds, and garlic pieces are left in the chinois.

Cook Mussels:  Heat a large cooking pot (such as a pot for boiling pasta) over medium high heat.  Once warm, add a little olive oil to prevent sticking.  Break chorizo sausages into small bite-sized pieces into the pot.  Saute chorizo for about 1 minute.  Add shallots and continue to saute until shallots become slightly translucent and chorizo is just cooked through, about 2 more minutes.  Add sliced garlic and cleaned mussels.  Saute for 1 minute and then add white wine, roasted tomato broth, and bay leaves to pot. Continue to cook until you can no longer smell alcohol in the steam coming off the pot and all (or most) of the mussels have fully opened (turn up the heat if necessary to achieve a light boil).  Be careful to not over cook the mussels as they become rubbery when over cooked (cooking time should be in the 4 to 5 minute range).  Discard mussels that refuse to open.  Turn off heat and add butter and fresh squeezed lemon juice to the pot.  Mix until incorporated and the butter is melted.  Optionally drizzle some quality extra virgin olive oil.  Serve the mussels rustic style right in the pot they were cooked in!

Crab Cakes

Old Bay Seasoning and of course large pieces of jumbo lump crabmeat are the keys to a great crab cake.  I offer one simple tarter-style sauce in the recipe below, but you can easily experiment with different sauces (e.g., spicy, tropical).

Crab Cakes
Ingredients

• 1 can of jumbo lump crabmeat (rinse under cold water and drain; picking out and discarding any shell fragments)
• 1/2 red bell pepper (wash pepper under cold water, cut in half removing stem, seeds, and any seed connective tissue or white ribs. Cut half of the bell pepper into a small dice; the other half can be saved for another use)
• 1 stalk of celery (wash under cold water, trim top and cut off large white bottom area. cut length wise into 3 to 4 strips, and then cut strips across width to produce a small dice cut of the celery)
• 1 shallot (peeled and minced into small dice)
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup of light mayonnaise
• 1 egg (cracked into small bowl to prevent shell fragments and beaten)
• 4 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning (adjust amount to taste)
• 1/2 fresh lemon (for the fresh squeezed juice)
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (use fresh parsley and not curly parsley)
• 1 - 2 cups of plain bread crumbs (amount will vary)
• 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil

Method

Make Crab Cake Mixture: In a large bowl, add red bell pepper, celery, shallot, mustard, mayonnaise, egg, Old Bay Seasoning, lemon juice, and parsley. Mix ingredients together well.  Everything is mixed well before adding the crabmeat so it can be folded in more gently to prevent from breaking the jumbo pieces too much. Gently fold crabmeat into mix. Start with about 1/4 cup of bread crumbs gently folded into the crab cake mixture.  Using clean hands, pick up about 3/4 a cup of crab cake mixture and gently squeeze and form into a small baseball size ball.  If the mixture will not stick together and seems too wet, add some more bread crumbs to the mixture and reattempt.  Continue to add small amounts of additional bread crumbs until the formed ball just holds together. (Note: no salt is added separately to the crab cake mixture as the Old Bay Seasoning brings sufficient salt)

Form Crab Cakes: Cover the bottom of a separate shallow bowl with bread crumbs (for coating the outside of the crab cakes).  Line a baking sheet pan or other flat surface with wax paper (for a staging area for the crab cakes before cooking).  Form a small ball (about 3/4 cup) of crabmeat between your hands, roll the ball in the bowl with bread crumbs to lightly coat the outside.  Place the coated crab cake ball on the wax paper and press down the top with the flat of your hand while pressing in the expanding edges with your other hand to form a thick patty shape (the crab cake shape).  Repeat until all of the crab cake mixture is used.

Cook the Crab Cakes: Place a large, preferably non-stick skillet on medium heat. Once the skillet is warm, add 1/4 cup of vegetable or canola oil.  Place three crab cakes (or however many will comfortably fit in a single layer with room between to easily flip the cakes) in the skillet.  Cook for about 2 minutes before carefully flipping the crab cakes over (the cooked side should be a golden brown).  Cook for another 2 minutes before carefully removing the crab cakes and placing them on paper towels to drain any excess oil. Repeat in batches until all of the crab cakes are cooked.

Simple Tartar Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup light mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons capers (rinsed and roughly chopped)
• 1/3 cup worth of small diced pickle (avoid bread and butter or other overly sweet pickles, but you can choose between dill, garlic, kosher, or gherkin pickles)
• 1/2 fresh lemon (for the fresh squeezed juice)
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (use fresh parsley and not curly parsley)

Method

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Add a small pinch of gray sea salt (not too much as the capers are often salty) and some fresh cracked pepper.  Stir well to incorporate.

Chicken and Mushroom Enchiladas with Beer-braised Black Beans

Here is a delicious family meal for you Mexican / Tex-Mex food lovers.  The majority of the alcohol cooks out of the beans leaving only the flavor, so it is kid safe.

Chicken and Mushroom Enchiladas
Ingredients

• 1 red bell pepper and 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 sweet onion (peeled, quartered and thinly sliced)
• 1 package of skinless boneless chicken breasts (typically three breasts in a package. Trim and discard any excess fat or gristle. Cut into bite size pieces)
• 4 cloves of garlic (peeled and minced)
• 1 package of fresh wild mushroom blend (typically contains crimini, shitake, and oyster mushrooms. coarsely chop into bite size chunks)
• small handful of fresh cilantro (rinsed, pick leaves off of stems discarding stems, and coarsely chop leaves)
• 1 fresh lime (cut in half to squeeze out juice)
• 1 package of medium flour tortillas (about 8' in diameter)
• 1/4 cup of ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon of ground chipotle pepper or 1 chipotle pepper in adobe sauce minced (increase or decrease amount based on spice preference)
• 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups of shredded Mexican cheese blend (or substitute shredded cheddar)

Method

Roast Peppers: Wash peppers under cold water.  Place on an aluminum-foil lined baking pan that has edges so any juice produced does not run off. Place oven rack near top and turn oven onto broil.  Place peppers under broiler (a few inches of clearance) and broil, turning peppers when the side facing the broiler turns mostly black and blistered.  Continue until both peppers are blistered and black on all sides.  Removed peppers from oven.  Carefully lift the aluminum foil with peppers out of the baking pan and place in a freezer to cool down to be handled.  After 10 - 15 minutes, remove peppers from freezer.  The peppers should be shriveled at this point.  Using your hands, pull blistered skins off the peppers.  The flesh of the pepper should not be black, instead a nice roasted variation of the original pepper color.  Tear open (they typically fall apart some) and remove the top stem part and all seeds.  It takes patience, but it is better to hand remove all of the skin and seeds without rinsing under water (which washes away the great flavored natural oils).  Tear cleaned, roasted pepper flesh into bite size pieces.

Prepare Sauce: Heat small sauce pan over medium high heat. Once warm, add a little oil to the pan to prevent sticking.  Add half of minced garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add ground cumin and chipotle pepper and saute for half a minute.  Add crushed tomatoes and a healthy pinch of gray sea salt.  Stir well and reduce heat to medium low.  Cook, stirring occasionally for another 5 minutes to incorporate flavors.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare Filling: Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Once the skillet is warmed up, add a little oil to the skillet to prevent sticking. Add onions and saute for 2 minutes.  Add chicken and sprinkle gray sea salt and fresh cracked pepper over chicken in skillet.  Cook chicken and onions stirring occasionally for another 5 minutes.  Add mushrooms and other half of minced garlic to skillet and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is just cooked through (another 5 minutes or so). Turn off heat.   Drain and discard any liquid produced in the skillet. Add roasted pepper pieces, chopped cilantro, and fresh squeezed lime juice from both halves of the lime to the skillet.  Stir together.

Assemble and Bake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Spread enough of the sauce onto the bottom of a rectangular 9x13 baking dish (such as pyrex) to barely cover the bottom (to prevent sticking).  Using 1 flour tortilla at a time, fill about a 1 1/4 inch diameter line of filling across the center of the tortilla (from one side to the other). Roll the tortilla around the filling to make a cylindrical shaped enchilada and place in the baking dish where the enchilada is going across the short width of the dish.  Repeat until a single layer of enchiladas cover the dish (7 enchiladas total in my experience).  Spread the remaining sauce across the top of the enchiladas in the baking dish such that it is completely covered with sauce.  Spread the shredded cheese all over the top of the sauce.  Place dish in oven and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and let it rest for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.

Beer-braised Black Beans

Beer, at least interesting tasting beer, adds a great depth of flavor to food.  Pilsners, lagers, or ales could all be used (avoid stouts or porters for this).  I tend to use Sam Adams Light Lager and it has great flavor and I typically have it stocked.  Beer is great in chili recipes as well.

Adding the chopped red onion uncooked at the end add a great texture in addition to the flavor.  Adding the uncooked, cold tomato also adds an interesting and delicious dimension to this dish. I surprised myself with how delicious this turned out.

Ingredients

• 2 cans of black beans (drained)
• 2 cloves of garlic (peeled and minced)
• 1 beer
• 1/4 cup of small chopped red onion
• 1 large ripe tomato (diced)
• small handful of fresh cilantro (rinsed, pick leaves off of stems discarding stems, and coarsely chop leaves)
• 1 fresh lime (cut in half to squeeze out juice)
• 1 lb pepper jack cheese (shred)

Method

Heat medium sauce pot over medium high heat.  Once warm, add a small amount of oil to prevent sticking. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.  Add black beans, a healthy pinch of gray sea salt, and enough beer to barely fill to the top of the beans.  Turn heat to 75% and cook, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes or until beer is mostly reduced to a very small amount of liquid in the pot. Turn off heat and mix in chopped red onion, diced tomatoes, chopped cilantro, and fresh squeezed lime juice.  To serve, spoon braised black beans on plate and sprinkle shredded pepper jack cheese on top.

Linguine and Clams with Caesar Salad

I love, love a good linguine and clams.  The pasta must be al dente with the perfect bite to it ("toothsome" quality).  This is a pasta dish that I always use a quality pasta and skip the healthier variations (whole grain, etc.).  It just is not the same without a great standard pasta (my favorite widely available brand is Barilla) -- the healthier variations of pasta do not yield the same level of al dente bite as the standard white pasta.  There are several keys to cooking a great pasta:

• Start with a quality pasta -- not all pastas have the same resulting al dente quality when properly cooked; some have no bite no matter how well prepared.  I suggest you try different brands until you find the one the works for you.  As I stated above, of the widely available brands, Barilla seems to perform the best on this front in my experience.
• First heat your large pasta pot full of water to a full boil
• Once boiling, add a large handful of kosher salt -- another key to success is the pasta water should have the same saltiness as sea water.  A large handful is around 3/4 cup, give or take.  It may seem like a lot of salt, but remember the water is discarded once the pasta is cooked -- and you will notice the improvement in pasta flavor.  Keep a box of kosher salt in the pantry for salting water.  Adding the salt after the water is boiling helps it dissolve better.
• Never add the pasta to the cooking water until it is at full boil and well salted. The salt should be fully dissolved in the boiling water first before adding the pasta.
• Never add oil to the pasta water -- it will prevent any sauces from properly coating the pasta
• When the pasta is cooking, stir regularly to prevent the pasta from sticking together
• It is imperative that you do not overcook the pasta and lose the al dente quality (becomes mushy).  Generally cook until a minute before the suggested cooking time based on the pasta type.  At this point, start checking the pasta regularly for doneness.  I pull out one pasta strand or shell and tear it in half.  You want the center white part to just have disappeared (meaning fully cooked) as an indicator it is done.
• When just done, strain the pasta immediately.  Do not allow it to sit in the water any longer.
• Never rinse the pasta 

These suggestions may seem trivial, but you will be delighted in the improvement in taste and texture of a properly cooked pasta.

Linguine and Clams

Ingredients

• A box of quality linguine pasta
• 4 shallots (peeled and sliced)
• 1/2 cup of diced pancetta (pancetta is italian bacon. Unlike standard bacon, pancetta is not smoked.  Smoked bacon is a strong enough flavor that it can overtake the flavor of the clams.  Pancetta is often found sliced thinly as round discs.  If you can find it, this recipe works better with pancetta that is in small cubes)
• 3 cloves of garlic (peeled and sliced thinly)
• 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flake (adjust amount to personal taste)
• 24 littleneck clams (discard any clams that are open before cooking.  Using your thumbs, scrub each clam well under running cold water)
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups of white wine (use an inexpensive Italian pinot grigio)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 small handful bunch of Italian flat-leaf parsley (curly parsley is for decoration only; flat-leaf parsley has much better flavor.  Rinse the parsley under cold water.  Pick leaves and discard any large stems--small stems are okay.  Coarsely chop parsley)
• 1 lemon (cut in half -- the fresh lemon juice will be used)
• 1/4 cup of quality extra virgin olive oil (there is a big differences in the taste of extra virgin olive oils.  Try tasting different brands until you find one you really like.  Cooking/heating olive oil dulls the flavor, so taste them uncooked)

Method

Cook the Pasta: Use the method described in the intro above to properly cook the pasta.

Cook the Clam Sauce:  Heat 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in a large skillet with an available lid over medium plus heat (60%).  Once butter is melted, add shallots and pancetta to skillet.  Saute, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes.  Add garlic, red pepper flakes, and clams to skillet.  Saute for another 2 minutes, carefully stirring contents.  Add wine and bay leaves to skillet and turn heat up to medium high (75%).  The wine should come to a light boil and begin to cook off the alcohol.  Continue to cook, carefully stirring the contents (careful to not break the clam shells) to allow clams to take turns cooking in the center where it is typically hottest.  Cook until all clams have opened (or most clams; clams that refuse to open should also be discarded as they were dead before cooking).  During this process, after the strong alcohol smell has dissipated from the steam coming off the skillet (meaning the alcohol is mostly cooked out), cover with a lid to accelerate the process of the clams opening.  Once all the clams have opened, immediately turn off the heat (over cooking clams will make them rubbery).  Remove the bay leaves and stir in the parsley, 1 tablespoon of butter, and fresh lemon juice from half of the lemon.

Assemble:  Using empty pasta pot, add cooked pasta and clam sauce.  Carefully mix together.  Add fresh  lemon juice from other half of lemon and the extra virgin olive oil.  Stir and serve (depending on preference, fresh cracked black pepper goes well with non-tomato based pasta dishes).

Caesar Salad

Ingredients

• 1 head of romaine lettuce or 2 - 3 heads of bibb lettuce or a mix (washed and spun dry -- lettuce that is not dry will not allow the dressing to properly coat--do not crush or bruise the lettuce when drying; torn or cut into bite sized pieces)
• About 2 - 3 cups worth of cubed bread for making croutons (pick any loaf bread that seems interesting to you.  Cut into bite sized cubes)
• 1 small clove of garlic (peeled and minced)
• 1 heaping tablespoon of dijon mustard
• 1 half lemon
• 5 anchovies (the amount can be adjusted up or down depending on preference.  These are incorporated in the dressing and add a great flavor.  People who typically do not like anchovies do not detect/taste them in the dressing as it is a standard component of caesar dressing.  Mince anchovies)
• 1 egg yolk or 1 heaping tablespoon of light mayonnaise (the egg yolk is the traditional method, as mayonnaise is made from egg yolk, oil and lemon juice--you can substitute mayonnaise if you are uneasy of the raw egg yolk or want a lighter variation.  The citric acid in the fresh lemon juice chemically cooks the egg yolk)
• 1 - 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
• About 1/4 cup of quality extra virgin olive oil
• Shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (use a vegetable peeler to peel a block of Parmigiano Reggiano)

Method

Make Croutons:  Place bread cubes on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet and place in a 350 degree (F) oven.  Bake until bread is just hard on the outer crusts.  For me, perfect croutons have a crunch outside, but a soft inside (instead of hard all the way through).  You can check by carefully touching the bread with you finger to see if the outside feels hard, but not solid through.  Generally should take 10 - 15 minutes in the oven.  Allow croutons to cool before adding to the salad bowl.

Make Caesar Dressing:  Use a mortar and pestle when making salad dressing with garlic (or with fresh herbs).  Smashing garlic develops greater flavor than a blender or simply stirring together.  A real caesar salad traditionalist would have a large wooden salad bowl that is reserved for making caesar salads only. The garlic would be smashed against the inside of the bowl using the back of a spoon (over repeated making of caesar salads, the wood would become "seasoned" with the garlic and enhance the flavor of caesar salads made in the bowl).  This wooden caesar salad bowl becomes sacred (hand wash only) and it is a real treat to make authentic caesar salad for your family and friends with a well seasoned bowl.

Add garlic, dijon mustard, lemon juice, anchovies, egg yolk (or mayonnaise), balsamic vinegar and some fresh cracked pepper (fresh cracking pepper directly into the other ingredients will allow the natural oils from the black pepper to incorporate into the dressing) into the mortar (if using the traditional wooden salad bowl, smash the garlic around the insides of the bowl first before adding the other ingredients).  Using the pestle (or heavy wooden spoon if using a wooden bowl), smash and grind the ingredients until well incorporated.  While rapidly mixing the contents with the pestle or wooden spoon, slowly add the olive oil.  Continue to mix until the dressing is fully incorporated and emulsified.  

Assemble:  In a large salad bowl (or the same wooden salad bowl if used to make the dressing), add the lettuce, croutons, and dressing.  Using your clean hands (the best mixers for this job) carefully mix the salad until the dressing is well incorporated and coating the lettuce (do not crush or bruise the lettuce when mixing).  Add the shaved Parmigiano Reggiano and mix some more.  Crack fresh pepper over the top and serve.

Side Variation: Broccolini with Fontina

The broccolini from my prior post Fish With Broccolini, Forbidden Rice, and a Salad With Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette was such a hit with the kids ("trees") that I decided to make it again.  However, using what I had on hand, I made a new variation that was delicious.  It is essentially the same recipe except with Fontina cheese instead of the pine nuts.

Broccolini with Fontina
Ingredients

• 1-2 bunch(es) of broccolini (amount depending on how many are being served. Wash broccolini under cold water, trim off very ends of stocks, and remove any leaves)
• 1 large shallot (peeling and sliced into thin slices)
• 1 large clove of garlic (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 1 small lemon (cut in half and remove any loose seeds visible on the cut halves)
• 1 cup of shredded Fontina cheese

Method
Blanch Broccolini: This blanching step makes a big difference in the tenderness, color, and flavor of the vegetable (you will be amazed at how vibrant green, green vegetables become when properly blanched).  Bring a large pot (like a pot for cooking pasta) of water to full boil (much more water than broccolini as it is important that the addition of the broccolini to the water does not lower the temperature too much), add a large handful of kosher salt and bring back to a full boil. Add broccolini to boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While the broccolini is cooking in the boiling water, separately in a large bowl add 1 - 2 cups worth of ice and fill most of the way with cold water (the "ice bath").  After the 2 minutes, turn off the heat and pull the broccolini out of the water with tongs or a slotted spoon, shaking off excess hot water; place broccolini in the prepared ice bath (this will arrest the cooking process and "set" the vibrant green color).  After a few minutes when the broccolini feel completely cold to the touch, remove broccolini from the ice bath and set aside on top of paper towels to drain.

Cook Broccolini: Heat medium to large skillet (depending on amount of broccolini) over medium heat.  Once the skillet is warm, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, the shallots, and place the two lemon halves cut side down in the skillet (sauteing lemon changes the flavor).  Saute the shallots for a few minutes until they become slightly translucent.  Add the broccolini, garlic, a pinch of gray sea salt and some freshly cracked black pepper to the skillet.  Continue to saute.  Carefully lift up the lemons to check if the cut side is slightly caramelized (colored from cooking); once slightly caramelized, remove from skillet and side aside to cool.  Saute broccolini for about 4 minutes total.  Turn off heat and add shredded Fontina to the mix.  Mix broccolini and cheese until cheese melts (from the residual heat) and coats mixture.  Carefully squeeze one lemon half over hand or strainer over skillet to catch any seeds while the juice goes into the skillet on the broccolini mix.  Mix broccolini side and serve.

Fish With Broccolini, Forbidden Rice, and a Salad With Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette

A delicious and fairly healthy meal (save for the blue cheese in the salad and a little bit of butter to make the dishes).  The kids called the broccolini "trees" which made it fun for them to eat, even the very picky six-year old.  The forbidden rice (sometimes called black rice) may be difficult to find as it is a specialty rice.  You can substitute another rice such as brown basmati, or other.  Be sure to follow the instructions that come with the rice in terms of cooking time.  But definitely try the forbidden rice if you can find it (Whole Foods has it, Giant Eagle occasionally carries it).

Forbidden rice is a treat. Black "forbidden rice" is so named because originally it was considered the Emperor's (of China) rice and was literally forbidden for anyone else to eat it. This heirloom rice is high in nutritional value including iron. It is a deep black color and turns deep purple when cooked. According to a study presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), "one spoonful of black rice bran contains more anthocyanin antioxidants than a spoonful of blueberries and better yet, black rice offers more fiber and vitamin E antioxidants, but less sugar." Perhaps more importantly, it has a delicious, nutty flavor. Truly a superfood.

I must thank Chef Hartmut Handke for the inspiration for the Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette. Dining at his fine restaurant (before sadly closing in 2009) also turned me on to the deliciousness of using fresh chives and more use of onions (of all types) in dishes.  I also "borrowed" (reverse engineered) his delicious chive potato mousselini (a delicious variation that elevates mashed potatoes to a celestial level; but that is for a future blog posting).

Forbidden Rice side
Ingredients

• 1 cup Forbidden ("Black") Rice (see above for more info)
• 1 3/4 cups chicken stock (I generally prefer buying stock over broth; broth is reconstituted with water whereas stock is in the same form it was made to)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 large clove of garlic (peeled and minced)
• 1 bay leaf

Method
Place butter in small cooking pot (that has a tight fitting lid available) and place on medium heat.  Once the butter has mostly melted, add garlic and saute for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add rice, stock, the bay leaf, and a healthy pinch of gray sea salt.  Stir pot contents and turn heat up to medium high.  Once a small boil starts, stir once more, cover with lid, and turn heat down to low.  Simmer for 30 minutes and then remove from heat.  Let it sit, covered, for another 10 minutes before discarding bay leaf, fluffing with fork and serving.

Fish With Broccolini
Ingredients

• 1-2 bunch(es) of broccolini (amount depending on how many are being served. Wash broccolini under cold water, trim off very ends of stocks, and remove any leaves)
• 1/4 cup of pine nuts (place nuts in a dry non-stick skillet on medium heat; allow to toast, shaking skillet occasionally to turn pine nuts.  Once the pine nuts have slightly browned and have a toasted smell, immediately remove from heat and set aside.  Be careful as pine nuts can burn easily.  This extra toasting step is well worth it for the flavor boost it provides)
• 1 shallot (peeling and sliced into thin slices)
• 1 large clove of garlic (peeled and thinly sliced)
• 1 small lemon (cut in half and remove any loose seeds visible on the cut halves)
• fillets of Tilapia or other fish of choice (I often use Tilapia because it is inexpensive, easy to prepare--no bones or skin, mild in flavor for the less adventurous seafood eaters among us, and sustainable if from America or Central America -- avoid Tilapia from China or Taiwan.  Get as many fillets as people being served--the recipe is assuming no more than 8 fillets.  Rinse fillets under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle each side of fillets with gray sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper)
• unsalted butter (amount depends on amount of fish to cook)

Method
Blanch Broccolini: This blanching step makes a big difference in the tenderness, color, and flavor of the vegetable (you will be amazed at how vibrant green, green vegetables become when properly blanched).  Bring a large pot (like a pot for cooking pasta) of water to full boil (much more water than broccolini as it is important that the addition of the broccolini to the water does not lower the temperature too much), add a large handful of kosher salt and bring back to a full boil. Add broccolini to boiling water and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  While the broccolini is cooking in the boiling water, separately in a large bowl add 1 - 2 cups worth of ice and fill most of the way with cold water (the "ice bath").  After the 2 minutes, turn off the heat and pull the broccolini out of the water with tongs or a slotted spoon, shaking off excess hot water; place broccolini in the prepared ice bath (this will arrest the cooking process and "set" the vibrant green color).  After a few minutes when the broccolini feel completely cold to the touch, remove broccolini from the ice bath and set aside on top of paper towels to drain.

Cook and Assemble Broccolini Side: Heat medium to large skillet (depending on amount of broccolini) over medium heat.  Once the skillet is warm, add a few tablespoons of olive oil, the shallots, and place the two lemon halves cut side down in the skillet (sauteing lemon changes the flavor).  Saute the shallots for a few minutes until they become slightly translucent.  Add the broccolini, garlic, a pinch of gray sea salt and some freshly cracked black pepper to the skillet.  Continue to saute.  Carefully lift up the lemons to check if the cut side is slightly caramelized (colored from cooking); once slightly caramelized, remove from skillet and side aside to cool.  Saute broccolini for about 4 minutes total.  Turn off heat and add toasted pine nuts to the mix.  Carefully squeeze one lemon half over hand or strainer over skillet to catch any seeds while the juice goes into the skillet on the broccolini mix.  Mix broccolini side and set aside.


Prepare fish:  This is a standard method for preparing delicious white fish (such as tilapia).  In a non-stick skillet, melt 4 tablespoons of butter until it begins to turn brown (a "brown butter" sauce).  Add fish and cook until the flesh is opaque half way up the side of the flesh; flip the fish and cook the other side until completely opaque (roughly 3 minutes per side depending on thickness of fish).

Final Assembly: Place a fish fillet on a plate, top with broccolini side and squeeze a little lemon juice on top from the other lemon half.

Salad With Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 2 heads of butter or boston lettuce (I prefer the red over the all green but either will work great.  Hand tear lettuce into bite sized pieces discarding thick center ribs.  Wash under cold water and spin dry -- it is important for lettuce to dry as much as possible for the dressing to properly coat it)
• 1 large or 2 medium shallots (peeled and sliced; slices pulled apart into rings)
• 1 heaping tablespoon of dijon mustard (the secret weapon for tasty salad dressings)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup of finely chopped fresh chives
• 1/2 cup plus of shelled walnuts
• a small amount of broken up blue cheese (amount depending on personal preference; gorgonzola or other blues can be used)

Method
In small skillet, add olive oil and shallots and saute ("roast") over medium heat.  Once shallots are starting to brown, turn off heat.  Stir in mustard, vinegar, and chives.  Stir vigorously until dressing is consistent ("emulsified").  In salad bowl, add lettuce, walnuts, and blue cheese chunks.  Once the dressing is completely cool, dress salad well and crack fresh black pepper over before serving.

Delicious Healthy Lasagna

This lasagna offers a healthier variation than the standard lasagna, but is balanced to offer great flavor.  Options to make it even more healthy:

• substitute turkey-based italian sausage for the normal pork italian sausage (or skip the sausage all together and substitute additional mushroom types and/or diced eggplant.  If skipping the sausage, add a tablespoon of fennel seed and a 1/4 cup of finely chopped flat-leaf italian parsley to the mixture while cooking in the skillet)
• skip the Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and use less of the low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella (low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella is about 70% of the calories and fat of Parmigiano Reggiano, the "undisputed king of cheeses", but doesn't come close from a flavor perspective)
• (for the real adventurous) use large, thin, roasted slices of zucchini or eggplant instead of the pasta sheets (roasted to remove the natural liquid in the zucchini/eggplant that would otherwise make the lasagna watery)
• substitute low-fat, 1% milkfat cottage cheese for the low-fat ricotta (48% the calories, 12% the fat of the ricotta)
• skip the egg
• skip the white wine
• try to eat smaller portions ;-)

Wine recommendation: a nice Italian red of course

Delicious Healthy Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1 lb or 2 - 3 links of sweet italian sausage (it using links, remove and discard the outer casing)
• 2 large portabella mushroom caps or 6 oz package of sliced portabella mushrooms (small dice)
• 1 medium sweet onion (small dice that should equate to 1 to 1 1/2 cups of diced onion)
• 4 cloves of garlic (peeled and minced)
• 1/2 cup of dry white wine (such as pinot gris)
• 14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes
• 28 oz can of peeled whole plum tomatoes (drain and discard surrounding liquid)
• 6 oz can of tomato paste
• 1 bunch of fresh basil (discard stems, chop into small pieces)
• 15 oz container of low-fat ricotta cheese
• 1 egg (crack into bowl removing any shell; beat to a smooth consistency)
• 1 package of frozen chopped spinach (remove spinach from bag/box and place in small mesh strainer;  run under hot water to completely thaw; shake as much liquid out of spinach as possible while in strainer; fold three large paper towel sheets onto themselves, place thawed spinach in center, close paper towel around spinach and carefully squeeze over sink to move most of the liquid; repeat with another dry set of paper towels to completely remove liquid from thawed spinach)
• box of whole grain lasagna pasta sheets (pasta should be brown if whole grain)
• 16 oz bag of shredded, low-moisture, part-skim mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (parmesan cheese is really no comparison to Parmigiano Reggiano in terms of flavor; no matter what, do not use the stuff in the large green tube)

Method

Prepare "meat" mixture: In a large, non-stick skillet begin to brown italian sausage on medium high (6 on a 10 position heat scale) (non-stick allows us to avoid adding any oil).  As sausage is browning, chop into very small pieces (using wooden or plastic tool; do not use metal on your non-stick cookware). After about 4 minutes, add mushrooms, onion, and a small dash of gray sea salt to skillet and continue to cook. After about 3 minutes when the mushrooms are looking partially cooked (become darker in color and slightly smaller in size as they give off liquid), temporarily remove skillet from heat in order to carefully drain and discard any sausage grease and mushroom liquid from skillet. Return skillet to heat and stir in garlic. After 1 minute of cooking, add white wine to skillet and cook until the wine is almost completely evaporated (the wine will add a depth of flavor to the mushrooms).  Add the crushed tomatoes, the plum tomatoes (add one tomato to skillet at a time, using hands to pull apart the tomato over the skillet into small pieces), the tomato paste, the basil, and another dash of gray sea salt.  Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and then turn off heat.

Prepare ricotta mixture:  In a medium to small bowl, mix ricotta, egg, spinach and a small dash of gray sea salt until well mixed.

Assemble and bake:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).  In a 13 x 9 pyrex or similar bakeware, spread a thin layer of the meat mixture to barely cover the bottom (should be about a cup of mixture or so), add a single layer of uncooked pasta sheets (you may need to break off some corners to neatly fit corners of bakeware; do not precook the pasta sheets--they will be cooked in the oven).  Spread half of the remaining meat mixture on top of the first pasta layer.  Spread half of the ricotta spinach mixture on top of the meat layer.  Spread half of the mozzarella and Parmigiano Reggiano on top of the ricotta spinach layer.  Add the second layer of uncooked pasta sheets to cover the first cheese layer. Spread the remaining meat mixture over the second pasta layer, followed by the remaining ricotta spinach mixture, followed by the remaining cheeses.  Use the flat of your open hands, gently press down lasagna in bakeware to pack and make level.  Tightly cover with aluminum foil and make in the oven for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake for another 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes before serving.  Enjoy!