Kebab'n It Up!

I was told the greatest thing a man can tell his woman today. David told me that I am one of the best cook he’s ever known. Total Heart squeezer! Do you think he means it? I think so. Got to love him! Of course today’s meal inspired his comment because it was an innovative meal where I combined by love for balsamic and honey and our summer favorite beef kebab patties. Since we aren’t doing much BBQing these days, I figured I’d throw in a little twist to some favorites and make this amazingly easy recipe! This will definitely be a crowd pleaser and also something you can play around with. This is much easier if you have a mini chopper or food processor because you can throw in all the herbs and things for the kebabs and they are ready to fry in no time. I am also working really hard on presenting my food better. I’m not sure how to go about it, so I am trying and I hope you all bear with me. You need to have the right plate, the right shaped food and a steady hand. This plate display was okay but I really hope I can get better. It probably also doesn’t help that I am taking these pictures in my horribly lit kitchen and with my cell phone but it’s the best I got for now. I hope you enjoy this meal!
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Mini Beef Kebab Patties

with Onion and Zucchini

Glazed with Balsamic and Honey.

Serves: 3-4
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients:

1 lb. of ground beef (you want it to have fat in it, so look for one with lots of white spots)
2 small red onions
2 eggs
¼ cup of bread crumbs
2 tablespoons of minced garlic (about 8 cloves)
¾ cup of finely chopped cilantro
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of sweet paprika
½ teaspoon of ground cumin
I tablespoon of chicken style consommé instant soup & seasoning mix powder
3 tablespoons of oil
3 medium sized red onions
1 medium sized zucchini
1 stick of butter
1 cup of balsamic vinaigrette and ½ cup extra for glaze
6 tablespoons of honey, eyeball it
A teaspoon of thyme leaves (Dried or two three sticks of fresh thyme)
1 teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of corn starch

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Take the 3 red onions cut off the top off leaving the bottom. The bottom will hold the onion together when you cut them in half. Cut the onions horizontally, straight in the center of the bottom creating halves. Peel off the first layer and place in an oven tray, inside part facing up. Take the zucchini and cut the bottom and top off. Cut the zucchini into 1-2 inch pieces, keeping them round. Place them flat onto the oven tray as well. Pour the cup of balsamic vinaigrette all over the onions and zucchini. Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of honey all over the onions and zucchini. Sprinkle the thyme over the vegetables. If you have a few fresh sticks just break them up and sprinkle them atop. Count how many pieces of zucchini and onion you have and cut that much butter slices. Put a slice on top of each piece. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper. Pop these in the oven for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the eggs, breadcrumbs, onion, garlic, cilantro, cumin, paprika, consommé seasoning mix, and pepper. You are not putting any salt because the consommé seasoning mix is very salty already. Add the ground meat and with your heads mush it all together till everything is well incorporated. Make 20 small round balls out of the kebabs and place them on a plate. You want the balls to be a little more than a teaspoon big. Like small little meat balls that you’d find in spaghetti. Heat a frying pan with the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Once its nice and hot, place as many of the balls in the frying pan. Do not crowd them. Do not move them until you see the sides start to brown a little. About 3 minutes. Flip over the balls and press down a little to flatten the round just a little. Be gentle so the meat doesn’t fall apart. Let it fry for another 3-4 minutes until the bottom is nicely golden brown. Remove and repeat till you finish all of the kebabs.

In a small sauce pan combine the balsamic vinaigrette, honey and 2 tablespoons of corn starch and stir with a wish or fork well. Make sure the corn starch has fully dissolved. Put this on a low flame on the stove top and allow it to simmer till it reduces to about ½ and it becomes nice and syrupy. This will be your glaze.

Plate your kebabs in the center and surround them with two pieces of onions and a few pieces of zucchini. With a spoon, drizzle some glaze all over the kebabs, onions and zucchini.

Delish! Enjoy!

Some Good 'Ol Soup for Lunch!

I have been sick the past two weeks and so I have been craving some really good soup. David was sweet enough to make me some chicken soup last week but it didn’t go so well. I ate it, because I love him. But he didn’t even eat it, so that has to say something about his cooking, ha ha. Today’s vegetable and bean soup was inspired, shockingly by Rachael Ray. I was watching her show, the one where she cooks one day for 5 days and she made this vegetable soup with white wine. I decided to make me some soup for lunch. She used vegetables and dumplings but I didn’t want the dumplings so I substituted some beans instead. I also didn’t have any white wine left so I used some red wine. It came out amazing. In David’s words, “It’s one of the best soups I’ve had.” He says that because he loves me but I sort of believe him, to an extent. It’s good, it’s very hearty and it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Perhaps it’s the warmth of the red wine or perhaps it’s because it’s my recipe and I like to brag.

Bean and Vegetable Soup

Prep Time: 20
Minutes Cook time: 45 Minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 white onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic slice, sliced
1 can of beans (red kidney or mixed Beans)
1 can of chick peas
1 carrot, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 zucchini, diced
A few pieces of basil, left on its branch (I used two full branches)
¼ cup of dill, left on its branch
¼ cup of mint, left on its branch
1 mesh cooking bag OR you can use cooking string to tie the herbs together
½ cup of red wine (I used merlot)
6 cups of chicken stock
Olive oil
2 teaspoons of black pepper
3 teaspoons of salt
Dill, Cilantro and/or green onion (optional, for garnish)

Directions:

In a large pot (enough to hold all the ingredients) heat some olive oil at the bottom of the pan, just 2-3 turns of the pan. Once it’s nice and hot drop the onion and garlic to simmer a little. You just want it to get the onions and garlic soft, but not brown. After about 3 minutes, drop all of the vegetables into the pot and stir. Let it cook for about 15 minutes. Drain and wash the beans and chick peas and then strain out all the excess water. Drop the beans and chick peas into the pot and stir into the vegetables. Let it cook for another 5 minutes. Add the red wine, stir and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and then put the herbs in the bag or tied up in as well. Allow it to simmer on medium heat for about 20 more minutes. Garnish your soup with chopped cilantro, dill or green onion—or mix all three. If you are eating carbs., go for some freshly toasted soup dough or Italian bread. You can even make your own crotons and add them on the top of the soup.

Very simple and easy, and DELICIOUS!

*You can put any types of vegetables in here, tomatoes, squash, parsnips, etc.

OOooPPppAAaaa!

I have had this yogurt in my fridge for over a week now and had no desire to eat it for what it is—plain yogurt. I decided to play with my Greek look-a-like roots and see if I could really be Greek if I wanted too. Not many people would consider marinating chicken in yogurt but amazingly enough it is great and really makes your chicken tender and juicy! One thing I did mess up is putting TOO much ginger. Luckily, ginger is good for the immune system and I definitely needed the boost so I enjoyed it. I cut down the ginger for this recipe because I really didn’t intend for the ginger taste to dominate the flavor so a tablespoon isn’t needed but rather just a teaspoon. This was a very refreshing salad and it was delightfully fulfilling. I enjoyed it and I think that this is a great salad to make ahead and take to work/school! For those of you that are wondering why I started mixing my meats and dairy’s, I have to say that I just gave up. When I have my kosher friends/family over I’ll refrain but for now I really enjoy my yogurt and meats and I’ll eat it at my own discretion, sorry my fellow Jews, I’ll cook Kosher another day. (Well, at least I didn’t use Prosciutto, even though some day’s I wish I could!!!)

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Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Marinating Time: Minimum 1 Hour
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

6 thin cut chicken cutlets
½ cup of fresh dill, finely chopped or marinade
½ cup of fresh dill, finely chopped for dressing
1/8 cup of fresh basil, finely chopped
1/8 cup of fresh mint, finely chopped
Teaspoon of finely chopped fresh ginger
4 cloves of garlic, minced for marinade
4 cloves of garlic, minced for dressing
½ teaspoon of black pepper for marinade
½ teaspoon of black pepper for dressing
1 teaspoon of salt for marinade
½ teaspoon of salt for dressing
1/3 cup of water for marinade
1/3 cup of water for dressing
1 cup of Greek plain yogurt (you can use any %) for marinade
1 cup of Greek plain yogurt for dressing
6 vine ripe tomatoes
3 cucumbers
2 small shallots
1 head of romaine lettuce, washed, air dried and cut into large pieces
½ cup of feta cheese either crumbled or a block cut into small cubes

Directions:

Take the chicken cutlets, wash them and pat them dry and place them in a large bowl. Throw in the dill, basil, mint, garlic, ginger, salt, pepper, water and yogurt. With a tong, toss the chicken thoroughly in the mixture. Make sure both sides of the chicken are fully covered with yogurt. Once it is well mixed, cover and place in the refrigerator to marinade for at least one hour.
In a medium sized bowl, take the remaining cup of yogurt and water and mix will. Then you will put the remaining salt, pepper, minced garlic and dill in the yogurt and mix well. Allow it to sit in the refrigerator till it is time to serve the salad.

When you are ready to cook the chicken cutlets heat up a grill pan and spray non-stick cooking spray on it. Cook each side (with the yogurt on the chicken) for 5 minutes, or until you see fine grill marks and then flip over and repeat. Let the chicken cool for 10 minutes and then you want to cut each piece diagonally . You want to keep the pieces together for when you are placing them on the salad. So you want to cut each piece right before you are ready to place it over your salad.

This part is for individual servings. I will give the directions for 1 serving and then you would repeat it for the 5 others. Take one large plate, place the cut up lettuce in the middle. Take 1 vine tomato and cut into 8 wedges and place around and over the lettuce. Take ½ a cucumber and cut thinly and spread around. Take 1/3 of the shallot and cut very thinly and sprinkle around. Place the 1 piece of thinly cut chicken cutlet in the center over the salad. Take about a tablespoon or more if you like of the feta and sprinkle all over the chicken and salad. For the last step, bring out the dressing from the refrigerator and drizzle it over the salad. I love a lot of dressing but you might want to start with a little for your guests and then serve extra on the table.

If you do not need to make 6 salads, this is a great chicken and dressing to use throughout the week. Every time you are ready for a salad just cut up some veggies, slice up some chicken and drizzle some dressing and you’re ready to go. Enjoy!

It's Yummy To Be French.

I love French onion soup but since we are on a diet I can’t have the toasted bread and cheese all over the soup so I decided to take the delicious soup, condense it and serve it with some beef. David was really hesitant about this dish because he realized the recipe probably doesn’t actually exist—that’s what I loved so much about it. I will make history by creating my own recipe and soon Paula Deen will be using my recipes on her show =) that’s the plan at least! This seems like a long and tedious recipe but it’s really pretty simple once you get the hang of it. Everyone that ate it, LOVED it. The beef was so tender and juicy and a small piece of beef really filled you up, even though you wish you had room to have some more. If you have any questions about the beef preparation please let me know as it might sound a little confusing at first. Also, if you are aren't carb-phobic definitely toast some French bread, rub some garlic on it, and melt some cheese in the oven and serve it side by side--it will really seal the deal on this dish!

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French Onion Beef Tenderloin

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 ½ hours
Serves: 4 People

Ingredients:

1-1 ½ pound of beef tenderloin (if you can’t find this, look for a clean round piece of beef that is almost fat free and a nice bright red color or a flat long piece of beef that you can roll up)
1/3 cup of dried rosemary, plus a little more to sprinkle on
1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil, plus more for frying the garlic and to drizzle over tomatoes
18 cloves of garlic: 12 for beef, 4 for onions, and 2 for tomatoes
2 large white onions thinly sliced.
½ stick of butter
3 cups of beef broth
1 cup of dry white wine
4 vine tomatoes
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cooking string

Directions:

Take the beef and cut it half way down the middle and across to create an opening in the meat. It should look like a flat thinner piece of beef. Drizzle ½ of the 1/3 cup with olive oil, sprinkle ½ of the 1/3 cup with rosemary, and mince 6 garlic cloves and spread into the meat. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt and pepper and rub it in. Roll the meat up and tie the meat with the cooking string. It does not have to be any fancy way just make sure you tie it a few times creating secure knots so it does not roll open. Take the 6 other cloves of garlic and cut in half. Poke holes into the meat and press the half of the garlic into the holes. Do this for all of the remaining pieces in even locations on the meet. Drizzle the meat with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle the reaming rosemary; a few pinches of salt and pepper all over the beef (do not forget the bottom). In a deep skillet, heat some olive oil (a few turns of the pan) till it is very hot. Place the meat and sear it. By searing I mean, leave the meat to brown well so it looks like its burnt. It creates a nice crust. Do not worry about the black bit, that’s a good thing—the entire flavor is packed in these burnt bits. Sear all sides of the meat and the sides. Hold the opening sides in place while they sear. Each side should take 4-5 minutes. Once each piece is nicely seared remove the meat to a plate. The meat will not be fully cooked, that’s okay. It will finish cooking in the onion “soup”.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the top rack all the way to the top and the second rack all the way at the bottom.

Melt the butter in the same pan. With a wooden spoon scrub all the burnt pieces from the bottom of the pan. Add the 4 garlic cloves minced to the butter and cook a little. Do not let them burn (about 2 minutes). Take the sliced onions and put them in the pan. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt and pepper all over the onions. Turn them a few times to coat them with the butter. Cover the pan and let it simmer for about 10 minutes, till the onions have settled and are nice and limp. Add the cup of dry white wine. Let the wine simmer with the onions for about 5 minutes. With a thong constantly toss the onions around making sure they are fully marinating in the wine. Once the liquid comes to a nice simmer, add the beef stock. Allow this to simmer, occasionally stirring. After 10 minutes, place the beef back into mixture. Put the beef into the oven. Every 15-20 minutes, go into the oven and flip the beef to another side. You can also pour the onions over the beef. The beef will most likely not be covered with the onion soup, and that’s okay.

Cook this for at least an hour and a half, but you can cook it up to 3 hours. The more you cook it the softer the meat will come out. However if you are going to cook it longer you should reduce to the heat to about 350 degrees.

Take the tomatoes and slice them in half. Mix the olive oil, minced garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper and a pinch of rosemary together and brush the cut open sides of the tomatoes with them. Bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes, until tender.

Bon Appetite!

Rolling In Cashews

It was one of those days where it took me forever to get out of bed but once I was out of bed I was on a roll. I was highly excited today because I went to see about wedding invitations. I went to this astonishing little print shop in Forest Hills that made some amazingly beautiful invitations and it just got me excited all over again. She was so personable and friendly it made me want to squish her, that’s one heck of a business woman. Although the overall price seemed a bit pricey she really did give me a great deal and I think she won my heart over. I can’t wait to get these things printed.

And since my head was all taken over with this exciting moment in my day, I totally forgot about dinner. Well I knew I had to make dinner but I forgot to thaw some meat or chicken to cook. Luckily, I have a fish market down the block so I walked over there and picked up some salmon. I was inspired to do this fish when watching Paula Deen’s best dishes show. I love that woman. She made this interesting Pistachio crusted salmon with a lemon cream sauce. I of course can’t follow directions so I added some twists and turns and came up with this dish. I would have done pistachios but they didn’t sell them without the shells in the supermarket, so I went for some cashews instead. As for the lemon cream sauce… I had some mascarpone cheese in my fridge for a while now and really needed to use it. Mind you I never even tasted mascarpone cheese but I heard it was good and bought it a few weeks ago not really knowing what I’d do with it. If you don’t have mascarpone or don’t want to shell out for it you could also use some Philly Cream Cheese that comes in a block, it seems to have the same texture like mascarpone.

As for the side dish I just thought, hmmm, what goes good with cream—well corn does… and so doesn’t mushrooms, so I went for it. I had some left over crushed cashews and figured I might as well throw them in the pan as well. It came out so good! This is a really quick dish so you want to cook right before it’s time to eat. You can even make these into little servings (for 8) and serve it as a starting appetizer. It really hits a lot of taste buds. It’s not overly lemony and it’s not very fishy. The fish is light and fluffy and the crunch of the garlic and cashews really give it a great twist! I hope you give this little meal a chance because it’s the first time I ever made it and we both really enjoyed it!

*For the chopped cashews, you can either put into a food processor or the mini chopper and chop it that way or put it into 2 Ziploc bags and beat it with a rolling pin till they are broken down well.
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Cashew Crusted Salmon with Mascarpone Lemon Sauce and A Corn and Mushroom Side Dish

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients:
1 lb. of Salmon Filet, cut into 4 pieces (palm sized)
1 cup of Cashews, finely chopped (2/3 for Salmon and 1/3 for Corn and Mushrooms)
Peanut Oil (about ½ cup)
6 cloves of garlic, chopped (4 for salmon, 2 for corn and mushrooms)
Salt and Pepper for seasoning
1 tablespoon of butter (unsalted)
1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour
½ cup of chicken broth
4 oz. of Mascarpone cheese
¼ cup of heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
The zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 pack of frozen corn (about 1 ½ cups)
1 pack of white mushrooms (remove caps and cut into 4, about 14 mushrooms)

Directions:
This is a 3-part meal. Part one is the salmon: Wash the salmon and pat dry with a paper towel. Season lightly with salt and black pepper on both sides. Drizzle oil on both sides and rub in well. Drench the salmon in the cashews, covering the salmon. The salmon won’t be totally covered because it’s hard to do that, but it should be pretty well covered. Heat the frying pan with about ¼ cup oil (make sure the pan is covered with oil and has a little height to it, but not too much. You are not trying to deep fry the fish). Once the oil is nice and hot, add the 4 chopped cloves of garlic. As they are frying mush the garlic against the pan allowing the garlic juices to expose. Once they are lightly browned (you do not want to burnt he garlic) add the salmon skin down. Fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side. If you can fry the sides do that as well. Do not over cook the fish. Once you see the outside of the fish all change to a cooked salmon color, give it 1 more minute and remove from heat.

Part 2: Mascarpone Lemon sauce. In a small sauce pan. Melt the 1 tablespoon of butter, don’t let it brown. As soon as you see the tiny little piece melt add the flour and stir constantly. Once that is fully incorporated add the chicken broth and whipping cream. Stir till fully incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add the 4 oz. of mascarpone cheese and stir thoroughly till incorporated. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Wisk together constantly. Put it on a very low heat and allot it to get to a simmer. Once it is done (it should all take about 6-8 minutes) Pour a nice spoon full over the salmon to serve.

Part 3: Corn and Mushrooms: In a small frying pan heat a few tablespoons of peanut oil. Once the oil is hot add the 2 chopped cloves of garlic. Let it slightly brown. Add the mushrooms and stir constantly allowing all sides to cook about 2 minutes. Add the frozen corn and a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of black pepper and stir well. Constantly stir so nothing over cooks or gets too watery. Once the corn is full cooked (defrosted) add the 1/3 cup of chopped cashew nuts and stir about 2 minutes. Cover the pot and turn off the flame. Serve this side by side with your Salmon and Mascarpone sauce. I even like to pour the sauce over this side dish as well. It’s so yummy!

A Quickie. If Planned Accordingly.

It’s funny how home cooked meal each day is an odd thing. A friend of ours walked into our house and said, “Every time I come over you’re cooking”. I’m sorry? Ha ha. I guess it is an odd thing. And perhaps I won’t be cooking every day when I’ll have a full time job or children but I guess for now it’s a good thing to make a habit.

Growing up, my mother cooked almost every day. One a week we would order take out or go eat at a restaurant but that was mostly to give her a break and allow her to just relax. Our culture is engulfed in the spirit of eating. Every Friday night and every Saturday afternoon we have a beautiful meal with a variety of salads, dips and 3-4 courses. My mother used to make something different from week to week. We were blessed I guess, to have meat, chicken, fish at our disposal. I guess if you can have it, you might as well make the best of it.

When I used to visit Israel as a child, I remember my grandmother telling me that red meat and chicken was expensive so they wouldn’t eat it every day. They’d eat a lot of rice and macaronis. I never really thought of the meat and chicken as being expensive and a treat, it was always there. Like I said, we were blessed and I didn’t even know it.
Now as a grown up, buying our own meat I realized how pricy it could get, especially buying kosher meat. I could only imagine how it would be if I vowed to eat only organic. I think about the things they do to cows and chickens and realize I probably wouldn’t want to expose my children to such foods. Hopefully, I’ll be economically blessed by the time my children come around and I could offer better quality foods.

Today we had some chicken wings. David wasn’t too excited in the beginning when he realized I didn’t marinate them in the typical sauce I use but I wanted to try something different. When I made the marinade in the morning and tasted it, well, in all honesty, it wasn’t that great. It was just too citrusy. But I figured I’d go with the flow and trust my extinct and figured if it was really bad I’d just debone them and feed them to the dogs. But of course, I’ve been on a roll and the chicken wings were amazing. I guess once they’re cooked the taste of the honey and zest really make an amazing combination.

This is a dish for working mothers/wives. You can make this the night before and when you get home just throw them on the grill and in 30 minutes you have delicious chicken wings. You can also make this marinade and put the chicken wings in a ziplock and put them in the freezer and thaw them on the counter before you go to work and when you come home you can cook them and serve them.

The side dish, Brussels sprouts is one of those dishes that you get funny looks from people at first and then it’s gone in 5 minutes. I made a serving that I thought would serve 3-4 people but it was dissolved by the 2 of us, and we wanted more. Point being, these little sprouts are delicious and they’re so simple to make its amazing! I never ever ate them growing up but after eating them at my friend Efrat’s house I decided to give them a try. Thank you Efrat for exposing me to a new veggie.
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Cilantro-Lime Chicken Wings

with Brussels Sprouts and Tomatoes

Serves: 2-3 People
Prep Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
16 chicken wings, tips cut off
2 limes
1 lemon
4 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon of crushed dried onions (or 1 tablespoons of finely chopped white onion)
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of crushed black pepper
1 bunch of cilantro
¼ cup of olive oil
20 small Brussels sprouts
1 shallot or 1 small white onion
2 vine tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper

Directions:
In a large bowl, zest the two limes and one lemon and then squeeze the juice from all 3 into the bowl. Add the honey, the crushed onions, salt, pepper and garlic powder. In a food processor or the kitchen aid mini chopper, place the thoroughly washed cilantro into it with the olive oil. If it doesn’t fit, put ½ the bunch and ½ the oil, blend and then add the rest to the mixture and blend the rest all together. Blend it till it becomes finely chopped and incorporated. Add the mixture to the bowl.
Wash the chicken wings well and then cut off any excess skin or fat. Pat the wings dry and then add them to the bowl. Allow the chicken wings to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours but more if possible. This is great to prepare a day ahead and make the next day. 3 ways to cook: 1. Turn the oven to broil and broil on each side for about 5-8 minutes. You must watch the broil to make sure the chicken doesn’t burn. 2. You can also do these on a grill pan, grilling each for about 15 minutes until golden brown and flip over to do the same. Poke the chicken with the knife to see that the juices run clear. 3. On the BBQ grill. Grill each side for about 10-15 minutes.
For the side dish, wash the Brussels sprouts and remove any dried layers. Remove the tips and split in half the long way. Season the sprouts with the salt and pepper. Take the 2 tomatoes and cut into 8 wedges. Heat a frying pan with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Fry the finely chopped shallot/white onion and allow it to brown. Finely chop or mince the garlic and put it in the oil. Allow it to simmer for a moment but do not let it get brown. Add the sprouts bottom down and allow it to fry for a 4 minutes. Lay the tomatoes on top and allow it to simmer. Flip everything over and allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes. The sprouts should be tender. Remove to a plate and make sure to pour all of the oil, shallot and garlic left over on to the sprouts.

A Tropical Vacation in My Kitchen

There is this commercial advertising ready-made food and it starts with a myth. It stated something along the lines that it is a myth that chopping and preparing food after a long day at work is therapeutic. It then went to show a bag of freezer food that is supposed to be a better source for therapy. All you need to do is throw it on a plate and pop it into the microwave and your day will turn to tranquility and happiness. In all honesty, that would probably depress me. Who REALLY wants to eat food that was made who knows how, sealed in a freezer pack and frozen for god knows how long before it made it to your microwave? Not to say I have never prepared myself one of those meals in my past, but really… Homemade food is so much better and chopping and preparing really does help heal my soul, especially when the food comes out so good I want to dance with it.

I wasn’t having the greatest day. My fingers began to ache after the 20 or so cover letters I typed up attempting to really be genuine to perspective employers. I’m frustrated and at times even depressed as I begin to doubt if I’ll ever find a job this year doing something I can value and enjoy. Remembering the amount of mush I got in high school about going to college and how it will guarantee a successful career for myself, really doesn’t seem to be owning up to the promise. A lot of people are in my boat, I know… A lot of people are struggling and searching for a job and I am definitely a lot better off because I am not alone in this battle. And even though some might love to be home all day and have an extensive TV schedule to follow (can’t miss my Dr. Phil or Oprah) but it really begins to drown a person when it’s not what you pictured 5 years ago in that college prep class you took in high school. I gave up around 3 p.m., decided to miss Dr. Phil and catch it on a re-run at around 9 p.m. and went to cooking.

Today’s meal is probably the reason for this blog. It is a recipe I invented out of sheer boredom and a sack of mangos I bought at the supermarket because the price was too good to pass. I wanted to see if I could actually make something without a recipe and actually have it turn out to be edible. Indeed it did and it actually began an ultimate favorite of ours. The salad was inspired by Susanna, who was the ultimate pusher for my blog. So this post is for Susachka =) I ate the tropical salsa at Susanna’s house one evening and wanted to make my own. Not asking her how she made it I just put some things together and called it my own.

This is a sweet dish and it does take a little prep time, but it’s delicious, I promise you that much!
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Tropical Chicken and Salsa

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Serves: 6 people (or 3 Hungry ones)

Ingredients

6 chicken breasts (bone in and skin on)
3 mangos
1 can of crushed pineapple
1 can of sliced pineapple
½ can of young coconut meat
2 medium red onions
2 small bunches of cilantro (or 1 large one split in ½)
2 tablespoons of corn starch
Salt and ground black pepper
¼ cup of olive oil
1 tablespoon of Chicken Soup Seasoning or soup mix
1 lime

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Peel all of the mangos with a potato peeler. Cut the sides of two of the mangos and put aside (cut against the seed). The rest of the meat on the mango should be shaven off the seed as much as possible. The other one can also be cut away from the seed (this will be for the chicken).It doesn’t matter how you cut them because no one will really notice.

Salsa: Take the 4 cut sides of the mangoes and slice them the long way into 3 thin layers. Then cut them into strips and dice them as small as possible. If you have the dicer you can use that to create uniform squares. Take 1 red onion and peel, and slice thin and dice as well. Take one bunch of cilantro, wash well, dry on paper towel and then finely chop it. Take the sliced pineapple and cut into strips and then dice into small squares. (I would not recommend putting the pineapples in the dicer, it mashed mine into juice the one time I tried it). Add 2 pinches of black pepper and salt and squeeze one lime into it. Mix well, cover and put into the refrigerator to marinade.

Chicken: In a small pot, chop the pieces of mangos roughly into medium sized pieces and put it in the pot. Take the mashed pineapple with the juice and throw it in the bowl. Take ½ a can of young coconut meat and chop it up roughly and then throw it into the pot. You can pour 1/3 of the juice from the can into the pot as well. Take the 2 tablespoons of corn starch and mix it into the pot. Simmer the pot on a medium flame till the sauce comes to a bubble. Put the pot in the freezer for a quick cool (about 15 minutes). Make sure to put down a towel or heat protector below the pot so it doesn’t burn the freezer.

In a deep dish tray, take the chicken wash it well and pat it dry. Cut any excess skin or fat from the sides of the chicken. Put the chicken top down in the tray. In a little bowl put the oil, chicken seasoning and a teaspoon of black pepper and mix. Brush the chicken thoroughly with the oil mix getting in every creak and even rubbing it underneath the skin. Flip the chicken over and do the same. Take the sauce out of the freezer and lay the sauce around the chicken and lay a little amount on top of each chicken as well.
For the last step, take the second red onion and dice it finely like you did for the salsa. Dice the second bunch of cilantro as well. Top the entire dish with the red onion and cilantro, do not mix it. The onion will caramelize and the cilantro will become crispy.

Throw it in the oven covered for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes uncover the chicken, crank the oven up to 450 degrees and let it sit inside for another 15-20 minutes until the chicken is crispy and golden brown on top. The sauce will have bubbled and become a thick paste. Serve each piece of chicken with a large spoon of the sauce. Each bite of my chicken has to be topped with the sauce it doesn’t work any other way! (Just kidding).

Serve the salsa as a side dish or buy a bag of mixed greens and lay the salsa over it.

Tuna Fiesta with A Whole Lotta Lime!

This is a great side dish, snack, or quick light lunch or midnight snack. This is one of those recipes that made me want to eat tuna salad again. Tuna didn’t excite me as much and it was something I ate when I really had nothing else to eat. However, this side dish is delicious because it has a delicious peppery and limey taste that puckers my lips and makes me want more. I was inspired to make this recipe from Alina who was my teaching mentor when I was a student teacher. She learned the recipe from her boyfriend’s mother and I just stole it, altered it and made it my own =) I had this for lunch today and I felt refreshed. This is not the only way to make this salad. You can add diced celery, extra lime, diced peppers, etc.
If you want to make a sandwich this is great on some toasted sour dough bread with some alfalfa sprouts on top. If you are having a dinner party you can serve this salad, and many others in scooped out peppers or tomatoes or even in scooped out bread rolls. However, make sure you run the salad through a strainer so it doesn’t get the vegetables or bread soggy.

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Tuna Fiesta

Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:
2 cans of tuna in water
1 can of corn
1 large purple onion
2 plum tomatoes
3 tablespoons of low fat mayonnaise
3 limes
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
Strain the tuna and the corn as best as you can and then in a large mixing bowl put the tuna, corn, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, the juice of the limes into a bowl. Using a dicer*, slice the tomatoes and onions thinly and then dice them. If you do not have the dicer just chop the onion and tomatoes and small as possible. Mix this all together and enjoy. Serve this with bread, crackers, or eat alone.

* http://vegetablechopper.org/vegetable-dicer

You Fishy Fish You! >000>

Fish. You either love it or you hate it. The texture at times can be overwhelming and the odor at times can do its job as well. Growing up I loved fish, but something happened recently where I began to dislike fish. I just stopped having my fishy urges. I still love my seafood, mainly shrimps and calamari, but I do not cook it at home since it’s not kosher and we like to keep a kosher kitchen for our family and friends. However, since we are on a diet I realized that eating chicken, lamb and red meat every day is not very healthy; I had to welcome fish back into my kitchen.

One of my favorite restaurants is Jade. It is an Asian fusion restaurant off Austin Street in Kew Gardens, Queens. It has the most amazing appetizers. One of my favorite dishes there is the Basil Jumbo Shrimp. It is a mix of spicy zestfulness, basil aroma and crunchy juicy peppers and onions. No one else does it like them. Spicy Basil sauce is a Thai specialty. But not every Thai restaurant knows how to make it happen just right. Jade does, and that’s why every occasion I get I go there and am proud to say I have converted many into Jade fanatics!

Due to my love for Jade, and my promise to eat more at home I went on a voyage to create the perfect Spicy Thai Basil sauce. I read over 20 recipes online. They all called for a few main ingredients: Basil (duh!), peanut oil, soy sauce and fish sauce. Many called for garlic, some just a few pieces and others an overwhelming amount. The beauty of creating your own recipe is you can add more of what you like and less of what you despise.

One thing I did not find is Spicy Thai Basil Fish. It was mainly chicken, and if you haven’t notice from my recent blog entries, we’ve been eating too much chicken. I’m not a fish know it all. I have no clue what one tastes like or how they are supposed to be cooked and so I experimented and it turned out amazing. I knew I needed a fish that had no small bones in it, so you could eat it straight without picking at it. I knew I wanted a mild tasting, less ocean-sensed soft fish. I went to the fish market down the block from me and had a talk with Julio. Julio told me that the fillet of Sole, which was the least expensive of the boneless fillets, had a mild taste and did its purpose. I listened to Julio and took two large fillets home. It cost me $4.51 and I got 2 long fillets which I cut in half and I can serve 4 with. That’s a cheap meal I must say! I feel like Rachel Ray and her $10.00 meal planner.

Today’s meal can be mildly spicy to extremely spicy, work it in your own discretion. If you are like David and love the spicy but your digestive system doesn’t agree with it- just add a little spice to it with some red pepper flakes. If you are like many of my other Israelites who love their spicy, throw in a few Jalapeños and see the fireworks! Enjoy this recipe. The first time I made it and I am in love! Keep in mind that this is a stir fry so you need to serve it as soon as it is ready because the vegetables will get soggy and it won’t be as crispy as it is intended to be.

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Spicy Thai Basil Fish with Peppers and Onions

Cooking Time: 30 Minutes

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Serves: 4 People

Ingredients:

1 lb (about 4 palm sized pieces) of boneless fish fillet (flounder, tilapia, or Fillet of Sole)
12 pieces of garlic, finely chopped
1 red pepper, cut into 12
1 yellow pepper, cut into 12
1 orange or green pepper, cut into 12
10 small shallots cut in quarters
1 cup of basil not chopped, taken off the stems (use the flower buds as well)
¼ cup of mint leaves, roughly chopped
5 tablespoons of soy sauce
5 tablespoons of peanut oil
¼ cup of water
1 tablespoon of corn starch
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (mild spice) or 2-4 jalapeno peppers thinly sliced with seeds (very spicy)
1 teaspoon of white ground pepper

Directions:

Put about 3 tablespoons of peanut oil in a deep skillet and allow the oil to get very hot. Seer the fish on each side for about 5 minutes, until fully cooked. The fish should get slightly brown on each side. Remove the fish onto a plate and scrap the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

Add 2 more tablespoons of peanut oil and allow it to get very hot. Put the onions, peppers, red pepper flakes (or jalapeno peppers) and garlic in the pan and allow it to stir fry for a few minutes until it becomes a bit tender (about 6 minutes). Add the soy sauce and mix will. Add the ¼ cup of water and allow it to simmer for 3 minutes. Add the tablespoon of corn starch and stir thoroughly. The sauce will thicken. Add the basil and mint leaves and the white ground pepper. Once the basil and mint have limped the sauce is ready. Return the fish to the skillet and allow the fish to warm up about 5 minutes. Do not mix the fish in. Just let the fish sit on top of the sauce.

To serve: Place the fish on the plate and then put two serving spoons of the pepper and basil mixture on top and add more sauce as needed.

Can be served with white rice on the bottom.

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Let's Roll With it!

Today is day 1 of our wedding diet. This all began when David and my father decide to have a bet. David vowed to lose 50 lbs. by June and my father will buy him his entire suit/shoes/socks for our wedding. David loves to bet on things. Every opportunity he gets he bets, hoping to win. Sometimes he wins, sometimes he obviously doesn’t. This bet, however, he is determined to win. And since he is on a diet, I was pulled in as well. The idea now is to cook carb-free meals, eat more fruits and vegetables and make carbs a thing of the past. And so, my days of pasta and bread are pushed to the side for now. The hard part is to make meals that are just as good, but with a lot less calories. I was never much for diets and I am not ready to give up good food. My plan is to try as hard as I can to find recipes, create recipes and alter recipes and to keep enjoying meals—because I live for good job =).

Today’s recipe went through a few trials and tribulations. The first time I made this meal I left the skin on the lemons and it turned out very bitter. The next time I didn’t roll them, and instead cut them into small pieces and created a sort of stem—not that great. The time after, I over cooked it and the chicken was so dry. The issue with this recipe is that it is all white meat and so if you do not give the dish enough moisture you end up eating very dry, unfavorable white chicken meat with loads of spinach. After playing around with the spices and the moisture, I think I’ve met my match.

A few things to consider before making this meal: If you are not much for citrusy lemon flavoring, this is not your meal and if you absolutely despise white chicken meat, this is not your meal.

One thing I would say is—if you are NOT watching your diet you can make this recipe with breadcrumbs. You can cook this chicken for about 30 minutes, and then take them out, dunk them in beaten egg, roll them in bread crumbs and fry them on each side for about 1 minute. It will give the chicken an awesome crunch and intensify the flavoring. However, since I believe we should all watch our diets when possible, try this dish first and then see what works for you best. Enjoy!
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Spinach Chicken Rolls with Lemon and Garlic

with Grilled Plum Tomatoes

Cooking Time: 45 Minutes

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Serves: 4 People

Ingredients:

8 thin cut chicken cutlets
1 pack/bunch of spinach, washed and de-stemmed
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 lemons, peeled
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon of sweet paprika
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
4 plum tomatoes
1 tablespoon of dried dill or 2 tablespoons of fresh dill removed from its stem and finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, take 1 of the peeled lemons and cut out the sections by holding the lemon in one hand cutting as close as you can to the membrane that keeps each section apart from the other. These sections are called “supreme’s”. Make sure to work over the bowl so all the juices stay in the bowl. When you are done squeeze the lemon skin to remove any remaining juices. After awards, with a fork pick out any seeds so all you have is the fruit chunks of the lemon.

Next, add the minced garlic cloves, the dill, a few pinches of salt and pepper, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the pepper flakes and the ground ginger. Mix this all with the fork. Next add the spinach into a bowl and mix with your hand making sure that each spinach leaf is covered with the vinaigrette.

You should have a very nice lemon and garlic aroma in your kitchen now!

Next take the 8 chicken cutlets and wash them and allow them to dry on a paper towel.

In an 8 by 8 inch pan, take the 3 lemons and slice thinly. Layer the lemons on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt and pepper over them.

Take 1 chicken cutlet, take a handful of the spinach mixture and lace it in the center of the cutlet. Roll the chicken cutlet length-wise making sure that one end is securely tucked underneath the other end. Place it in the tray and repeat this for the remaining 7 cutlets.

Your tray should now be neatly packed together, consisting of 4 chicken rolls per row, making it two rows. It is important for the chicken to put close together to insure that they do not roll apart.

If you have any remaining spinach, put them on sides of the chicken, to cook. They won’t go to waste.

Next drizzle the remaining olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle the paprika on top. Sprinkle a few pinches of salt and pepper as well. Rub the paprika into the chicken making sure to rub the sides as well. Make sure that it is covered in red. The Paprika is to ensure that your meat will not come out bland and white, which helps make it more appealing to the eye.

Cook the chicken for 30 minutes covered, and 15 minutes uncovered.

Tomatoes: There are two ways to do this. My favorite way is to do it on a grill pan. Slice the tomatoes, length wise. Take salt and pepper and sprinkle it on the insides of the tomatoes. Take a grill pan and cover it with non-stick spray. Grill the tomatoes for 5 minutes on each side.

If you do not feel like doing that you can cook them in the oven for about 20 minutes. Or you can cook them in the broiler for about 8 minutes. Make sure to keep an eye on the broil because it tends to have its own life, and it could burn your tomatoes in a split second.

Serve the tomatoes (2 pieces, 1 tomato) per serving.

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The Garden of Eden Type of Stuffed Chicken

For my 24th birthday I decided to invite my mother, her husband and my good friend Liz over for dinner. I have not cooked dinner for my mother in a long time and so I was excited. It’s nice to give back to the woman who cooked and fed me for so many years. My mother has always been an exceptional cook and I have learned so many things from her, especially the recipes I now alter and make my own.

This recipe, oddly enough, is not from my mother but rather from my future mother-in-law who visited us in August (from Israel) and cooked her heart out for two weeks straight. This amazing stuffed chicken she made became my new all time favorite. Of course because I am stubborn and can’t stick to originals I made some alterations but it is still sticking to her rules and regulations to meet perfection in stuffed chicken land.

It is a sweet stuffing filled with a huge variety of dried fruits. It is a really simple stuffing to make if you have a food processor or the Kitchen-Aid mini chopper that I so much adore. What’s also awesome is that all of these dried fruits can be frozen for next time. I bought a substantial size of each of the dried fruits and then dropped them into a zip lock bag and put them in the freezer. Every few weeks, when I make this chicken I have the fruits on hand. All I need to get are the fresh greens and I’m ready to go. Enjoy this Garden of Eden tucked in the cavity of a cute little chickadee!
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Dried Fruit Stuffed Chicken

Feeds: 6-8 people
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours

Ingredients:

2 small chickens *(not baby chicken but smaller than the regular sized ones. I found really nice ones at Costco).
½ lb of chicken liver
1 cup of mint leaves (if you cannot find fresh mint, look for the dried version in the spice aisle and use 1/4 cup)
1 cup of cilantro
6-8 cloves of garlic
1 cup of rice, cooked as directed
4-6 pieces of each: dried dates, apricots, figs
2 tablespoons of each: dried pomegranates, cherries, cranberries, or a just get an assortment of dried berries
4 tablespoons of raisins
2 tablespoons of dried thyme for stuffing
2 tablespoons of dried thyme to smear on chicken
¼ cup of olive oil for stuffing
¼ cup of olive oil to smear on chicken (if you mix your dairy and meat, use a stick of butter, using ½ for each to smear).
Salt and pepper as desired
2 tablespoons of pine nuts

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Wash the chicken well, including the cavity of the chicken. If there is any large fat chunks trim them with a knife or kitchen scissor.

In a food processor, put the mint, cilantro and garlic and chop. If you do not have a food processor, chop them as finely as you can.

Next, process all of the dried fruits and raisins.

Take a large bowl and put the cooked rice, pine nuts, thyme, salt and pepper (about two teaspoons of each) and everything you chopped.

Chicken Liver: You must first cook the liver. First wash it well and then pat dry with a paper towel. In a small frying pan put a tiny bit of olive oil (about a teaspoon) and dry the liver till it is fully cooked (it should be a significantly browner color). Chop the liver and finely as you can and place in the bowl with the rest of the ingredients.

Add the olive oil and mix all of the ingredients well and stuff into the cavity of the chickens. Tie the legs of the chicken with cooking string tightly so the stuffing does not fall out. If you have extra stuffing left over, turn the chicken to the bottom and raise the skin from the meat. Stuff the stuffing as evenly as possible in between the skin and meat. (You do not have to do this but I like to have that extra stuffing on reserve!)

Smear the olive oil all over the chicken (top and bottom) sprinkle the thyme on the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper (a few pinches of each).

*Again, if you do not keep kosher, using butter to smear the chicken is also very good and gives the skin a very crispy texture. Just allow the butter to sit at room texture so it is nice and mushy and smear-able. If the butter is already salted do not put MORE salt!

***If you do not want to cook the second chicken you can freeze it for another day. However, allow the chicken to thaw thoroughly before cooking it.

Cover the tray with foil and cook for 1 hour. Take off the cover and cook for another hour or until golden brown. Make sure to stick a knife into the chicken and check that the juices run clear. The clear juice indicates that the chicken is cooked.