Caribbean Dinner

Blackened Halibut & Mango Papaya Salsa with Pineapple Black Bean Rice, Fried Plantains & Cinnamon Yams.Blackened Seasoning

2 TB ground paprika

2 TB dried thyme

1 Tb oregano

2 Tb onion powder

1 TB garlic powder

1 TB sugar

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cayene pepper

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cumin

OR

buy a good blackened seasoning at the market.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Pat the fish dry so it's not wet, it won't sear properly if wet. Sprinkle the seasoning liberally on the fish. Get a pan hot and pour about 2-3 Tb of oil and sear seasoned Halibut on high, both sides until a nice crust has formed. I fisnish the fish in a 375 convection oven for about 7-10 minutes or until fish is done... depending on size of filtet and thickness.

Mango Papaya Salsa

1/4 of red bell pepper

1 mango, peeled, diced, about 1 cup

1 papaya, diced, about 1 cup

2 TB fresh chopped cilantro

1 Tb fine diced red onion

1 tsp minced garlic * can be omited but I find the Christopher Ranch jarred garlic adds flavor

2 TB fresh lime juice

1 TB honey

1 pineapple juice

1 TB orange juice

1 tsp Kosher salt

pinch of cayenne * more if you want it hot.

Mix all the ingredients together, Chill.

Pineapple Black Bean Rice

2 cups of cooked, cooled, long grain white rice.

3 TB Canola oil

1/2 red onion

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 green bell pepper

3 TB lime juice

2 TB minced garlic

Kosher salt and pepper

1 cup black beans * fresh cooked or can black beans

3/4 cup of pineapple, chopped up, pea size

Optional * 1 TB jerk seasoning or the blackened seasoning (you will probably have some left over from the blackened Halibut)

2 Tb Cilantro - more if you love it like me.

2 green onion, chopped

In a pan, heat oil. Add onions, peppers and garlic. Saute for about 3 minutes.

Add the rice and fry it, breaking up any clumps of rice. Add seasoning, salt and pepper.

Add the pineapple and black beans. Incorporate into the rice.

Add cilantro and lime juice. Adjust both to your taste buds.

Ready to serve.

Plantains

2 plantains, slice about 1/4 " thick

sprinkle with garlic salt and onion powder - lightly.

Fry in oil until golden on each side. Some people crush them flat, I didn't.

Cinnamon Yams
2 yams, diced, boiled until done, not over cooked

1 tsp cinnamon

2 Tb melted butter

Plate it & Serve. Enjoy every bite !

Jamaican Beef Patties

I moved to Ontario when I was 22 and was introduced to many different types of Ethinc food and different food in general. This was a whole new world for me because I grew up eating potatoes, a veggie and a meat at almost every meal. Moving away from my hometown was when I began to love food and cooking. I remember I would go to this one particular place for lunch at work and have a Jamaican Patty. I fell in love with this little patty stuffed with spicy meat. Then a few years later I moved back to my hometown and that was the end of my Jamaican patties and basically anything else excpet for Chinese food ( I think almost every small town has a Chinese food restuarant) and a really good Lebansese restauarnt in my provinces capital ( Cedar's Eatery) What was a girl to do without being able to buy Jamaican patties? I learned to make them and even got a few people to start liking them as well. I really didn't know how to make the filling but tried to go on taste memory. When I read some recipes for the patties, the ingredients seems so simple... basically thyme and a hot pepper. I like them with a little more flavor and this is how I have been making them for the pass thirteen years. I love making them but really do not like making the pastry dough part... but worth the teeth grinding pain in the end.

Dough recipe :

2 cups of flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp tumeric (for color)

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup cold water

How to :

In a bowl put all dry ingredients. Add the shortnening and rub into the flour mixture until the flour mixture is crumbly.

Add the cold water and mix with a fork until combined.

With your hands, knead the dough just until it forms a ball. Put on floured flat surface and roll out dough until about 1/4" thick. With a small bowl (4"), lay the bowl upside down and cut out a circles.

Place about 4-6 tablespoon of meat filling on half of the cirlce, fold over and press edges with fork to seal.

Beef Filling

1 lb ground beef

1/2 small onion, diced fine

1/4 green pepper, diced fine

2 TB Curry

1 tsp Thyme

2 tsp Cinnamon

2 tsp Garlic powder

2 tsp Onion Powder

1/2 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

1 TB beef Bouillon powder (try to use salt free)

1 cup Beef broth

1/4 cup Breadcrumbs

How To :

In a pan with a little bit of oil, add ground beef. Cooked until done, crumbling it as much as you can while it cooks. Drain off excess fat.

Add onions and green pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add all the spices. "Not the breadcrumbs yet"

Let the beef cook with the spices for about 5 minutes.

Add cup of beef broth, mix. Then add the breadcrumbs. This will thicken the mixture. Think of it as thick oatmeal.

Adjust the spices to your palette. I added a little more curry because I like curry.

Let the mixture cool in a pan.

Make patties.

Bake in 350 oven for about 10-12 mins.

Serve & Enjoy Every Bite.

Smoked Salmon with Sundried Tomatoes, Lemon and Pasta

When in New Mexico last Thanksgiving, my friend Michelle made us an aswesome lunch. I asked for the recipe because I wanted to definitely have this again. I changed it a bit but still awesome. If you love smoked salmon... you are going to love this recipe ! Took about 10 minites to make.

Here's here recipe :

4 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 TB minced garlic
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, julienned
zest of 2 lemons
1/3 cup butter....tossed in hot pasta
2 TB chopped fresh parsley
1 3oz smoked salmon, bite size (about 3/4 cup)
3 Tb pine nuts

3 Tb fresh parmesan cheese

pasta of choice - I am using pappradelle - enough for two people, I like more ingredients rather than more pasta

Cooked pasta and toss the butter in the warm pasta.

In a bowl, break up smoked salmon and add remaining ingredients... toss ingredients with pasta.

** adjust olive oil and butter to how saucy you like it... I added a little more olive oil.

Serve and enjoy every bite !

Salmon in Lemon Brodo w/ Mint Pea Puree

This is a Giada De Laurentis recipe, tweaked a little.

INGREDIENTS :

Lemon Brodetto:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, diced
2 lemons, juiced
1 lemon, zested
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Pea Puree:
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
1 clove garlic, mince
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Salmon:

1/4 cup olive oil
4 (4 to 6-ounce) pieces salmon
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

HOW TO :

Prepare and cook salmon first.

To make the Lemon Brodetto, warm the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until tender, about 2 minutes.

Add the lemon juice, zest, and broth.

Bring to a simmer, and keep warm, covered, over low heat.

Pea Puree : Place all the ingredients in a food processor ( I used my Bullet) and process untl smooth. ** I added a little more parmesan cheese after without processing to make it a little thicker.

Salmon : drizzle the salmon fillets with olive oil and season with kosher salt and cracked black pepper. bake about 7-10 minutes in a 375 degree oven, oven varies , so cook until done.

To assemble the dish :

Spoon some of the Lemon Brodetto into two deep plate, (there will be extra broth and pea puree)

Place a large spoonful of Pea Puree into the center of each bowl.

Place a salmon piece on top of each mound of Pea Puree.

*** I put too much broth on the plates.. I would use less next time.

Serve and enjoy every bite !

Halibut with Fennel, Tomatoes, Capers & Lemon Zest. healthy, light & delicious.

Mmmmm...one of our favorite dishes, we make it often. Quick to make..everything goes into one pan. This dish bursts with tanginess of my two favorite things - lemons and capers. Giada De Laurantis made it with Pork loin chops but I prefer fish because it's light. In this recipe I used Halibut but I have also used Tilapia, another great tasting fish.

INGREDIENTS :

2- 6-8oz pieces of Haibut or other thick white fish (Tilapia, Cod, Sea Bass)

kosher salt ) cracked fresh pepper.

2-3 Tb olive oil.

1 fennel (also called Anise), using the bulb part only, cut in half, slice thinly

1 lg shallot, chopped

1 can of diced tomatoes, slightly drained

2 TB capers, no need to rinse - the briny flavor is good

1/2 cup white wine, may need to add more if a lot of it evaporates, no more than a cup usually.

zest of one lemon use a lemon peeper

1 cup Israeli Couscous (pearl like) or plain couscous but Israeli is better - or, if you want a lighter healthier dish, skip the Israeili couscous all together.

HOW TO:

Prepare Israeli Couscous according to directions on the package. When done, add a little olive oil so it doesn't stick together. Cover.

In a pan, add some olive oil. Season the fish with cracked pepper and kosher salt. Sometimes I lightly sprinkle with Italian bread crumbs.

I do the fish two diffrent ways. Sometimes I sear it on both sides and let it finish in 375 oven - escpecially if the fish is thicker. Another way I do it, is finish frying it in a pan - especially when using Tialpia, a thinner fish.

When fish is done cooking, set aside.

In same pan, add more olive oil and the chopped shallot. Sauteeing them until transluecnt.

Add the sliced fennel, saute for about 5-7 minutes, don't brown them.

Add the white wine, the the diced tomatoes. Cook 2-3 minutes.

Add the capers and then zest of a lemon.

Put the fish back into the pan, on top of the fennel mixture and let cook for about 3-5 minutes - to heat fish through and let the sauce reduced somewhat.

PLATE IT :

On a plate, make a bed of the couscous, top with some of the fennel, tomato mixture. Place the fish on top of the fennel mixture.

ENJOY EVERY BITE !

Pear, Proscuitto & Gorgonzola salad

I love this salad !!! Proscuitto, pears, and balsamic vinegar and gorgonzola.... this flavors will stay in your taste bud memory ! The nice satly parmesan crisp is a wonderful addition. I serve the salad in the Parmesan crisp ( called frico in Italian) but you can serve it on the side.

THE INGREDIENTS :

For two people

Mixed greens - no rules on how much to use

1 Bosc pear( yellowish0brownish in color)

about 6 slices of proscuitto

2-4 Tb of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

2 Tb pine nuts, toasted lightly in pan

about 4-6 TB of shredded parmesan cheese

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tb brown sugar

HOW TO :

To make the parmesan crisp, on a non stick pan, sprinkle the parmesan cheese to form a circle, about 2" Leave space between circles, it's melts and spreads. Place pan in a 400 degree oven and cook for about 3-4 minutes... depending on your oven. You want it too look golden and lightly browned. When they are done, take pan out of oven, let sit a minutes and lift the crisp and put on another plate to cool OR if you are going to use it as a bowl for the salad.... turn a soup bowl over on flat counter and drape the still sift, flexible cheese over the bowl to form it's shape.

Next, in a small pot put the balsamic and brown sugar and heat in on med-low heat and let it reduce. Vinegar will become thicker but you will not notice so much when it's still hot. This will take about 15 mins... time varies. Let cool.

In a small pan, add pine nuts... and lightly toast the nuts until they are lightly browned. take about a minute on high heat.. they toast quickly.

Cut the pear in half, scoop out the core with a melon baller. Cut pear into thin slices.

Assemble the salad :

In a plate, place the parmesan crisp, add some mixed green (about a handful), place three pieces of the proscuitto on top of greens, fan out the pear on top, sprinkle pine nuts, drizzle with some balsamic dinner and the sprinkle with gorgonzola.

Serve & enjoy every bite !

Ginger Shrimp & Vegetable - Simple, light & good for you too !

When I make Chinese food I always try to include one shrimp dish... this one is delish ! This would even be food on it's own without all the other dishes. Serve with some white or brown rice.

INGREDIENTS :

1 lb raw, jumbo shrimp, steamed about 3-4 mins or buy cooked but I find there is a difference in taste

1 lg carrot, sliced diagonally

1 cup broccoli florets, steamed with little water in a pot covered, only takes a few minutes, don't overcook

1 cup snow peas

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 onion sliced

1- 1/2 cup Vegetable broth

1 Tb ginger minced - I use the minced ginger in the tube that you find in the produce section

1Tb garlic

1 Tb of cornstarch

HOW TO :

Steam the shrimp unless you are buying already cooked shrimp * use jumbo shrimp and not the small one.

In a wok or large pan, add some canola oil, about 2 TB, add sliced carrot and onions... saute for about 3-4 minutes. Then add mushrooms. Saute 2-3 minutes. Then add snow peas and cooked broccoli.

Add the vegetable broth, ginger, garlic to the pan.

In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with about 2 Tb of the broth and mix together. Add to the pan and let the sauce thicken.

* you may need more cornstarch if you want it thicker or if too thick add more broth.

Add shrimp and let the shrimp heat through, 2-3 minutes.

Serve with or without rice.

Serve & enjoy every bite !

Creamy Chicken and Mango with Linguine

This is a quick awesome pasta dish. When I lived in Ontario in the mid 90's I visited a tea house... I forget the name of the tea house but it is in the picturesque town of Elora. I had a pasta dish with chicken, mango, mint, cream, parmesan cheese. It was accompanied with a tomato basil bread that was sooo good that I couldn't possibly create myself. I remember the next day, after returning from this tea house I tried to recreate this pasta dish... it turned out tasting just like it. Here's my version of the recipe, I have been making it for about 15 years. This is a favorite of my Mom's, she makes it a lot as well.

2 persons.

Enough linguine for two people, salted water, cook al dente

Two boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size slices

2-3 TB olive oil

1 TB mince garlic

1 large mango or two smaller ones, skin removed and chopped into pieces

2 Tb butter

shaved fresh parmesan cheese, about 1/4 cup (or as much or little as you like)

about 1/2 cup or cream or more if needed (you can use half n'half...just not milk, too watery)

fresh chopped mint

Prepare pasta according to box.

In a pan, medium heat, saute chicken pieces in olive oil and when chicken is almost cooked, add garlic. About 7 minutes...when chicken in no longer pink.

To the same pan, add mango and cook 3-4 minutes until mango break down somewhat and the juices from the mango come out. I mash it with a fork if the mango isn't ripe enough.

Add the butter and cream. Sprinkle the cheese over the mango cream sauce and blend until cheese melts into the sauce making the sauce thicker.

Add the well drain pasta in the chicken mango mixture and coat the pasta well.

Plate it :

Place the Chicken mango pasta on the plate, sprinkle more shaved Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with the chopped mint. The mint adds a wonderful flavor to this dish... try not to omit it.

Serve and Enjoy !

Osso Bucco

Ingredients :
2 veal shanks
1 small onion, diced
1/2 c diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1 Tb minced garlic
2 Tb butter
2 Tb olive oil
1 cup Marsala wine
2 cups (1 can) beef broth
1 TB tomato paste


Lightly flour, salt, and pepper the lamb shanks



How to:


In a Dutch oven or pan ( you can transfer to a casserole dish after preparation) add the butter and olive oil. Brown the veal on both sides, approximately 2-3 mintues per side.


Remove the shanks from pan. In the same pan, add oinions, carrots, celery. Saute the veggies for 3-4 mintues, until coated.


Add the bay leaf, rosemary and garlic. Then add the Marsala, beef broth and tomato paste.


Blend all ingredients thoroughly.

Two options here :


you can finish this on top of stove, simmer for about 1 1/2 -2 hours


OR


put in a Dutch oven/ casserole dish , cover and cook on 340 convection oven for about 1 1/2 hours. This is the option I chose. The veal was very tender!

I removed the bay leaves before it went into oven.


Plate it:
I made mashes potatoes with it... pasta is also good of course.

Enjoy every Bite !

Smoked Salmon & Scallop Fishcakes

We spent the Summer in Alaska and brought home Scallops with us and I wanted to try some different things instead of just bacon wrapped scallops or seared scallops. Here are some the dishes I came up with. I have always made crabcakes but thought, "Hey , why not scallop cakes!", that combined with smoked salmon also brought back from Kodiak, Alaska makes a delicious fish cake. A new version of bacon wrapped scallops combined with another appetizer that I enjoy - stuffed mushrooms. The Last recipe is seared scallops with a Moroccan sauce called Chermoula.... my favorite.

Smoked Salmon & Scallop Fishcakes

Ingredients:

1 lb scallops,
1/2 lb smoked salmon
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 of yellow bell pepper , fine dice
1/4 of a red bell pepper , fine dice
1/4 of a red onion, fine dice
2 Tb fresh chives, chopped
2 Tb fresh parsley, chopped
1 TB ground mustard,
zest of one lemon
few turns of fresh ground pepper
Olive oil and butter, for frying

** Make Remoulade sauce first, you

will need a little for the fishcakes.

How To :

-Coarsley chop scallops and smoked salmon and put in a bowl, add remaining ingredients.

-Add about 3 TB of the Remoulade sauce to act as a binder and mix until ingredients are just combined, not over mixed. Form into patties.

- In a pan add about 2 Tb of Butter and 2 TB of olive oil.

- Cook patties for about 2-3 minutes each side. They won't take long. Scallops cook fast.

- Take care when turning the patties over, they can crumble easily.

Remoulade Sauce :
1 cup of mayo
2 Tb dijon mustard
1 TB Chardonnay Vinegar / other white wine vinegar
2 TB lemon juice
1/2 tsp anchovy paste
2 TB caper, finely chopped
zest of one lemon
1 TB Tarragon, finely chopped
1 TB Parsley, finely chopped

- In a bowl, add all the ingredients and mix.

Plate It :

On a plate, lay some salad greens of your choice, a fishcake at the end and drizzle with some the of the remoulade sauce. Garnish with a couple of sprigs of Chives.

This can be served as an appetizer with the patties made smaller or as a main course. I served this as an appetizer.

Serve & Enjoy Every Bite !

Scallop Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients :

9-12 mushrooms, stems removed

8-10 scallops, fine chopped, almost a mince

3 slices of bacon, chopped up fine, save the fat from the pan

1/4 bread crumbs

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic , minced

2 Tb butter, melted

1 TB parsley







-In a pan, saute the bacon until brown and crisp. Reserve the fat from the pan.

-In a bowl, add the minced scallops, the bread crumbs, garlic, butter, parsley, the bacon and the fat from the pan..not more than 1 TB...the bacon will over power the flavor of the scallop.

-Combine all the ingredients.

-Stuff about a Tb of the mixture into the mushroom caps.

- Bake in a 350 oven until the mixture becomes golden brown, approx 15 minutes, depending on your oven.






Note*

You don't have to do this but before I stuff the mushrooms caps, I melt butter and dip the caps into butter.





Seared Moroccan Scallops with Chermoula





Serve 2 persons



8 Large Scallops

1 TB Cumin

1 TB Smoked Paprika

crack black pepper



Butter and Olive oil, for searing


Sprinkle all sides of the scallops with cumin, paprika and cracked pepper.

In a pan add butter and olive oil.

Sear the scallop about 2 minutes each side. Scallops do not take long to cook and become tough and rubbery if over cooked.



Chermoula Sauce:

1 Bunch of cilanto

1/2 bunch of parsley

4 garlic cloves, mince or 1-2 TB of jarred garlic ( I used 2 TB, because I love garlic)

1 Tb Paprika

1 TB Cumin

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp red pepper powder(the hot stuff, not red bell peppers)

3-4 TB of Oilve oil

juice of one Lemon



In a blender, add all ingredients and blend until smooth,



Note* if too thick add a little more olive oil AND lemon juice to thin out some.



Plate It:


Spread some of the Chermoula on a plate and nestle the scallop on top of the sauce. 3-4 to a plate.

Crab Mac n' Cheese with Black Truffle Cheese Sauce

Ah comfort food. It's been cold and windy here in Las Vegas (yes, it does get cold) so I wanted to make something to comfort the soul. What better thing to warm the soul than a consoling bowl of macaroni and cheese ! This isn't your everyday Mac n' Cheese I know, but the King Crab and Truffle butter was screaming out to do something with them. I did... here it is.

Ingredients :

2 cups dried large elbow pasta

2 TB sea salt, for boiling water

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk, (don't use skim or lowfat.we want fat!)

1 cup cream, half n half

1 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded ( I used Emmi Swiss Imported)

1 cup aged cheddar, ( I used Kerrigold Ireland Imported)

1-2 cups King Crab, cut into chunks.

2 Tb Black Truffle Butter ( Whole Foods has a great one)

Breadcrumb Topping :

1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

1 TB of bacon, cooked and crumbled fine (1-2 slices of bacon)

1 TB Butter

1 Tsp Truffle oil (a treat brought back from Provence - France, find in most gourmet stores)

How To :

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a generous amount of sea salt to water...this will flavor the pasta.

Make roux , melt butter in pot until butter clarifies... see through it and milk solids have disolved. Add flour to melted butter. Allow to cook for about 3 mins then there will not be a pasty flour taste to the sauce.

Add milk and cream and stir until the sauce thickens. If too thick..add a little more cream.

Add the two cheeses. Incorporated until creamy and smooth.

Add Crab

To the sauce, add the Black Truffle butter.

Add the cook pasta.

Put pasta in a casserole dish.

Prepare Breadcrumb topping and sprinkle over mac n' cheese.

This has a short cooking time, long enough to brown the breadcrumb topping and heat pasta throughout.

350 convection oven for 15-20 minutes.

Serve and Enjoy Every Bite.

Thai Me Up !! Shrimp and Rice with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

2 TB garlic, chopped ( I use Christopher Ranch)

1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 TB brown sugar

2 tsp ginger, minced ( I use ginger in tube in produce section)

2 TB rice vinegar

2 TB Lime juice

1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp chili oil - more if you like heat

2 tsp sambal oelek (chili paste)- more if you like heat

1/2 cup coconut milk ( and more to thin out if too think)

1 lb shrimp, cooked, deveined, peeled

2 cups cooked short grain sushi rice, it's what I had in the pantry (and I like it)

1 carrot, shredded

bunch of cilantro leaves

1 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup of peanuts, crushed

How To:

In a pan over medium heat, add first eleven ingredients, mix all together until well combined and smooth. I had to use a whisk to incorporate ingredients quicker because peanut butter will scorch quickly. That's it for the sauce. If you find the sauce too thick, thin out with some coconut milk.

Plate it :

Put rice in a small bowl and invert onto a plate. Pour some of the peanut sauce over the rice, top with some shrimp, bean sprouts, carrots and cilantro. Sprinkle some peanuts over top and drizzle with more peanut sauce.

Enjoy Every Bite !

Serves 2 persons

Lemon Raspberry Trifle

This is really great dessert...simple to put together and the flavors are awesome. I always have the ingredients in my pantry to whip this up for when company comes. A crowd pleaser everytime.

Ingredients :

One angel food cake loaf

1 container of mascarpone cheese

2- 473ml of heavy whipping cream

1 Tb vanilla

3 TB sugar

1 can lemon pie filling

1 lemon flavor pudding

Lemoncello liquer

1 small container of fresh raspberries

-In one large bowl, whip up heavy cream, fold in the mascarpone cheese, chill.

- In another bowl,whip up the other heavy cream, add sugar and vanilla

- In another bowl, mix up the lemon pudding according the directions on the box

- Cut up angel food cake into cube, spread out on a plate and drizzle the cake liberally with lemoncello.

The ingredients will be layered in the bowls.

In a large trifle bowl, large clear glass bowl or individual trifle dishes.

Place some of the lemon pudding on the bottom of the dishes, place a few pieces of the angel food cake, dot with a few raspberries, then mascarpone cream, lemon pie filling and whipped cream.

Repeat in layers until you reach the top of the bowls.

Finish the top layer with the whipping cream. top with raspberries.

Chill and Enjoy Every Bite !

Classic French Onion Soup

This is the first time I have made French Onion Soup. I really haven't been a big fan of this soup or maybe I just took it for granted that it would be a soup I would try to make someday, kind of like Chicken Noodle Soup.

Again, I read over several different recipes of Onion soup and choose things I liked about a couple of them. The taste was amazing and I was now impressed with this classic soup. Will definitely make it again.

Ingredients :

1 sweet onion, cut in half, slice thinly

1 red onion, cut in half, slice thinly

4 TB Butter

3 Tb Olive Oil

1 TB brown sugar

1 TB flour

2 cup beef broth, (I used Wolfgang Puck Beef broth)

1/2 cup White Wine

1/4 tsp Thyme

1 Tsp Garlic

1 tsp Kosher salt, season according to taste

1tsp cracked black pepper

1 cup Gruyere Cheese

4 slices of baguette

In a pan, melt butter and add olive oil. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until onions become translucent.

Spinkle with Brown sugar and tsp of salt and pepper, cook until onions become golden.

Sprinkle with flour and combine well, cook over medium-low heat until flour becomes brown.

Pour in Beef broth and wine, raise the heat and bring to a boil.

Add Thyme and garlic

Cover with a lid and reduce heat to low let the liquid reduce and become slightly thicken.

** I haven't had many onions soups but the ones I have had were really watery. I let the liquid boil off some until it thickened.

While that is cooking, cut four slices of baguette and brush both sides with olive oil, bake in over until the bread is golden and crisp.

Pour the soup into two ramekins or onion soup bowls.

Place two slices of bread on top of the soup and top with shredded Gruyere.

Broil in over until the cheese has melted.

Serve and Enjoy Every Bite !

Italian Dinner...for one !

When the Hubby is away, the wife will play..... in the kitchen! One of my favorite things to do when I have the house to myself is to cook. In the past when I am alone for several days, I have cooked 3-5 course meals for myself, I know, it seems like a lot of work for one person but I love it! I don't have to rush to get food on the table at any particular time and I can cook over several hours... enjoy each course, drink some wine...sit a bit and then cook the next course. For this sojourn in the kitchen I have chosen to do a simple Italian dinner. I find most Italian food tastes best when it's simply prepared.
These are some of my favorite Italian dishes. A starter bruschetta of Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Capers, a thick, hearty Pesto Potato Pasta Soup, a classic Veal Marsala with Rosemary Fingerling potatoes.

Oven Roasted Tomatoes with Capers

5 plum tomatoes, cut in half, seeded

1 TB chopped garlic, jarred Christopher Ranch is best

3 Tb olive oil, plus 1 Tb for later

1 Tb balsamic vinegar

2 TB capers

kosher salt & cracked pepper

One French Baguette loaf

How To :

Slice plum tomatoes in half, take out seeds.

In a bowl, combine half slice of tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

Spread out the tomatoes on a cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for approximately 30-40 minutes. Time will vary depending on your oven. Mine is a convection oven and I'm still not use to it ! You don't want them dried out completely but still a little plump and juicy.

When done, slice the tomatoes into strips and toss in a bowl with olive oil and capers. Let that sit while you prepare the baguette bread or other nice crusty small bread. Cut into 1/2 inch slices.

Heat a pan and brush both sides of bread with olive oil. Fry in pan on both sides until the bread it golden and crisp.

Top each piece of baguette with the tomato mixture and enjoy ! This is a tasty snack.. enjoy with some nice Italian red wine.

Pesto Potato Pasta Soup

Ingredients:

2 - 1/4" pieces of pancetta, or two strips of bacon fine dice.

2 can chicken broth

2 large potatoes, peel and dice

1/2 cup dried orecchiette or small shell pasta

1/3 cup prepared store bought pesto

1/3 cup Romano cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

kosher salt and cracked black pepper

How To :

-In a pot, saute pancetta/bacon until crisp and done. Drain off fat.

-To the pot, add the two cans of chicken broth.

Add the diced potatoes and the pasta.- When the potatoes are done, take a potato mashes and roughly mask the potatoes in the pot. This is thichen the soup.

-Add the cream, the pesto and the cheese.

- Add kosher salt to taste and cracked black pepper.

-Thin out some pesto sauce with some olive oil. Pour some soup into bowl and drizzle with pesto sauce.

Veal Marsala

Ingredients

2 Veal cutlets

2 Tb flour2 Tb Butter

2 Tb Olive Oil1 large shallot, fine dice

1 TB garlic, chopped

1 package of mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup Marsala wine

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 tsp Thyme

sprinkle of flour to thicken, I like a thicker sauce

Fingerling Potatoes :

3 Tb Olive Oil

1/2 beef broth

Two Sprigs of fresh rosemary

Kosher salt and Fresh cracked pepper

In a heavy sauce pan, place fingerling potatoes, beef broth, olive oil abd rosemary. Cover and let simmer approximately 30 minutes or until potaoes are tender. * Adding a little more broth if evaproate and pan scorches. It didn't happen for me but you can do this.

Veal Marsala How To :

-Lightly coat the veal in flour.

-In a pan, add butter and olive oil. saute veal on both sides until cooked and brown. About 3 minutes on each side. The veal cutlets are thin, they won't take long to cook. Remove from heat and set aside on plate.

-In the same pan, add the butter. Add the shallots and saute until translucent, add sliced mushrooms, add more olive oil if you need to. Cook over medium high heat and saute until mushrooms are golden. Don't let overcook.

-Add the chicken broth, the Marsala, garlic and Thyme. Stir. -Sprinkle about a tablespoon of flour to the pan of liquid, incorporate until the flour is disolved into the liquid and there are no lumps.

-Return the veal cutlets to the pan and simmer until the sauce thickens a bit. About 10 minutes.

Season with Salt and pepper. I added a little more Marsala, I thought it needed a couple of splashes more.

Buon Appetito & Enjoy Every Bite !

Wine Choice : La Velona , Brunello Di Montalcino

Confession : I didn't eat of all this :)

Baklava - A Taste of Heaven

I love desserts and sweets ! I have three favorite desserts - Creme Brulee, Tiramisu and Baklava ! This evening I was craving for Baklava but the place I usally buy it from closes at 6pm. What's a girl to do ? why make it of course. I haven't tried to make Baklava before because it always seemed simplier to buy it. Since it's one of my favorite sweets, I thought I better learn in case I am ever somewhere it wouldn't be available. There are so many different recipes out there for this aromatic piece of Heaven. Which type of nut should I use... Walnuts? Pistachios? Almonds? After reading many different versions of the recipe.... I combined all the ingredients that I know I would like best. Here it is ! Oh, one note... if you haven't tried Bakalava before, you don't know what you've been missing. Join the Bak-love-a club!

THE INGREDIENTS:

1 Package of Phyllo Dough

1/2 cup butter

2 cups pistachio, crushed fine

1 tsp cinnamon

Combine crushed pistachio nuts and cinnamon.

**This makes enough to fit a 6x9 pan.

Brush the bottom of a 6x9 brownie sheet with butter, lay two sheets of phyllo down , brush them with butter, repeat the process until you have six sheets down brushing each layer with melted butter. Sprinkle a layer of pistachio over the six layers of phyllo dough. Lay two sheets of phyllo and brush with butter, add another layer of pistachio nuts, repeat the process until no pistachio nuts remain. The last layer of phyllo should be about 6 layers of phyllo dough. Sprinkle the top layer with water so the edges don't curl up while baking. Brush with butter and sprinkle with some of the remaining crushed pistachios. Cut into squares and then diagonally cut to form triangles. Bake in a 350 oven for appromimately 30-40 minutes..depends on your oven. The pastry will be golden when ready.

While the pastry is baking, prepare the syrup.

The Syrup :

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp lemon juice

1 TB rosewater - add this after you take the syrup off the heat Plese Don't omit !

Put all ingredients in a pot and cook over medium heat until the sugar disolves.

When the pastry is done baking, remove from oven and drizzle the syrup over the pastry dough. There is about 1 1/4 cup of syrup... I didn't use all it. Just enough to absorb into the pastry. It may look like you have poured too much but it absorbs. Let cool

Enjoy Every Bite - I did !

Lebanese Stuffed Peppers

I loved things stuffed ! Who doesn't right. I have made stuffed peppers a few times over the years but I wanted something a little different from the the good old stand by of ground beef, onions and tomatoes. Stuffed peppers are known over the world ...in Mexico it's a chile relleno, in Tunisia they are Felfel Mehchi, in Turkey they are Biber Dolmasi, in India - Bharwan Mirch. I like Middle Eastern flavors and thought I would try some peppers from that region.

Ingredients :

4 Red Bell Peppers

1 lb ground lamb

2 cups cooked couscous
4 TB Olive Oil

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp allspice

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp crack black pepper

3 TB pine nuts

1/4 cup chopped golden raisins

3 TB fresh mint leaves, chopped

2 TB fresh parsley, chopped

2 Tb garlic, chopped (I used jarred Christoper Ranch chooped garlic - best)

3 TB Lemon juice

HOW TO :

-Cut off the tops of the bell peppers, remove seeds.

-In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients and incorporate well.

- Evenly distribute the lamb mixture into the four peppers.

- Drizzle some olive oil over top of the peppers and place the peppers in a shallow baking dish.

-Bake in a 350 oven for approximately 35-45

minutes... as usual, time will vary depending on

the oven.

-For the first 25 minutes, I covered the peppers in

foil and also added some vegetable broth in the bottom of the baking dish. Took the foil off in the last 10 minutes to have a golden crust on top.

Not being able to decide which sauce I would like to accompany the peppers, I decided to make two different ones.

The first one is a tomato sauce and the second one a yogurt sauce. Both were really good but I liked the yogurt one best.

Tomato Sauce :

1 - 15oz can tomato sauce

2 Tb Lemon juice

1 TB Cinnamon

1 tsp Nutmeg

1 TB fresh parsley, chooped

3-4 Tb olive oil

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp crack black pepper

In a pot, place all ingredients and simmer over med-low heat for about 20 minutes.

Yogurt Mint Sauce :

1/2 cup Greek Style plain yogurt

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumled

1 TB fresh mint leaves chopped

2 TB lemon juice

In a bowl, mix all ingredients together.

Orange Panna Cotta with Rhubarb Port Sauce

I love Panna Cotta ! It's one of my favorite desserts and I like to experiment with different flavors and sauces. I had bought some rhubard the day before to stew with sugar to go over vanilla ice cream. I thought the rhubard would make a good sauce and while the was getting the sugar out, I saw a bottle of Port that a friend had given us. This is what I made

INGREDIENTS :

1/4 c warm water

1 packet of gelatin , unflavored

2 cup heavy cream

1/3 c sugar

1TB orange extract

HOW TO :

-In a small bowl, add warm water and sprinkle the gelatin into the water and wait 5 minutes for it to disolve.

- In a pot, heat the cream and sugar over medium heat until the sugar disolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the gelatin to the cream and stir until the gelatin is disolved into the cream.

- Add the orange extract

- Pour the cream mixture into four well oiled metal molds almost to the top. I use vegetable oil, this makes the panna cotta slide out easily.

- Chill for about 2 hours for it to set.

While the panna cotta is chilling, prepare the rhubard sauce.

Rhubard Port Sauce

- Dice up rhubard to equal 3 cups, put into a medium pot

- add 1 cup of sugar - I know, it's a lot, but it's suppose to be, it's dessert !

- add 1/3 cup of water

-cook over medium heat until the rhubard starts to break up, I cooked it about 20-25 minutes

- when ready to take off the heat, add 1/4 cup of Port

- Put a strainer over a large bowl and pour in the rhubard and let the liquid collect in the bowl below

- Chill the Rhubarb sauce.

** save the rhubard pulp for another treat with ice cream.

PLATE IT :

- After two hours, invert the mold onto a plate, the panna cotta should slide out easily. If not, help it by running the tip of a knife around to loosen sides.

- Pour the Rhubard sauce over the top of panna cotta. Serve.

Enjoy Every Bite

Canadian Butter Tart ... Pie

In Canada, on the east coast anyway, you can always find a good butter tart but I have not seen one in the USA. I am not much of a baker, results from baking usually are poor , especially if it involves flour as the main ingredient. Can you say brick ! My Mom would send me butter tarts in the mail so I could have my fix but they don't travel well. Von's grocery store use to carry really good already prepared tart shells but they stopped... argh !! I hate when that happens. What could I do then ... start making pastry dough? No, turn it into a pie... after all, the shell is made for me. You don't have a big slice of this pie, it's very sweet.

INGREDIENTS :

1 good quality pie shell crust, or if you are a baker, homemade would be better.
1 ½ cup of golden raisins
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup light corn syrup
½ tsp salt 3 eggs, beat lightly
2 tsp of good vanilla

HOW TO :
- In a pot, combine raisins, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Heat over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar is disolved - Don't boil.

- Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla, then eggs a little at a time and stir vigorously after each addition so the eggs don't cook.

- I bake in a 325°F convection oven for about 45-55 mintues. I just keep my eye on it . Times have varied for me in the past. How I can tell it's done is when it foams and when I move the pie it jiggles like jello, not liquid... sounds silly but thats the non-baker in me.

Keep chilled !

I serve homemade whipped cream with it.

Beef Stew alla Kim ! (recipe)

I have made boeuf bourguignon many times... even made Julia Child's recipe from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" once but I wanted to make another type of stew. When I make a beef stew I sometimes add pearl onions, mushrooms or baby carrots but tonight I did something different again. I like the addition of the balsamic vinegar and the orange zest.


Ingredients
3 lbs of beef, cut into 2" chunks, stewing beef or chuck roast
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 Tb Butter
10 whole garlic cloves (a lot I know, but I love garlic)
4 Tb spoons of tomato paste
1/4 cup balsaminc vinegar
1 cup of red wine, I used pinot noir (It was open becasue I was having a glass already)
1 can beef broth
zest from one orange


The Side : Buttermilk Blue Cheese Mashes Potataoes


4 medium red skinned potatoes
1/2 cup butter
2-3 Big TB sour cream
2 Tb of whipping cream
4 Tb of Buttermilk Blue Cheese
kosher salt

HOW TO :

- lightly dust beef chunks with flour and pepper
- drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a cast iron casserole dish
- saute beef chunks on both side until brown
- into the casserole dish, add the butter, garlic, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, red wine and beef broth

*** I didn't add the zest of the orange until the stew was almost cooked, in the last half hour.

I cooked in a 325°F convection oven for about 2 1/2 hours. From my experience, the time will vary for when the meat will be tender. Keep an eye on it. Also, I find the stew always taste best the next day.

Potatoes :
Boil potatoes. When done, keep skins on, mash, add butter, sour cream, whipping cream and blue cheese. The tang of the blue cheese compliments the beef dish nicely.

Plate It :

Place some of the stew on a plate and a nice big dollop of the mashed potatoes.

ENJOY EVERY BITE !