Mashed Cauliflower

I've tricked at least a dozen people with this recipe thinking it's potatoes, most of them admitting they don't like cauliflower. This is one of my husband's favorites. If you are carb sensitive like me, then this is the perfect substitute for starchy side dishes like potatoes and pasta. Hey, I never said it was low fat, just low carb okay?!

1 head cauliflower, cut up into small pieces
4-5 Tablespoons butter
2-3 Tablespoons sour cream
1 Tablespoons cream cheese
Kosher Salt and Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Steam or boil cauliflower florets until very soft (when touched with a fork, it falls apart). If boiling, salt the water. Strain if boiled. Remove saucepan from heat and return cauliflower to warm saucepan. Put butter, sour cream, cream cheese, and about 1-2 tsp kosher salt into saucepan with cauliflower and mash with a potato masher until well mixed and smooth (start out with smaller quantities of the ingredients first) Taste puree, make any adjustments needed. I usually end up adding a little more butter, a little more salt and just a tad more sour cream. That's what my tastebuds fancy. It seems to work well for the general population...

Strawberry and Grapefruit Salad with Vanilla Dressing

These colors are so pretty together and they taste really good too. Strawberries and Grapefruits are both a little tart so this sweet dressing goes well with them. I made this as a side to my Monte Cristos. It was delicious.

1 Grapefruit, cut into slices and seeds and rind cut out
10 ounces (or so, you can eyeball it) strawberries, fresh or thawed

Mix fruit together in large bowl. Then drizzle with Vanilla Dressing (recipe follows).

Vanilla Dressing
adapted from Alton Brown's recipe

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup mayo (sounds weird, but it's good)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp honey
2 tsp powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
pinch of fresh cracked pepper

Combine all ingredients. Let rest for one hour in fridge before serving. Depending on what fruit you are using, you might want to adjust the acidity (lemon juice) and the sweetness (honey and powdered sugar) to suit your tastes (the strawberries and grapefruit are both acidic and a little tart so I added less lemon juice and more sweetness).

Saganaki, Greek Turkey Meatballs and Zucchini with Tzatziki Sauce

I love Greek food and I decided I would do a Greek themed meal that started with Saganaki, which is delicious cheese that is traditionally set to flame and drizzled with fresh squeezed lemon juice right before it is served, and if you go to a Greek restaurant and order this appetizer, they light it up right at your table.

Saganaki:
Kasseri Cheese (about 1/2 inch thick, you might have to cut the block down)
2 TB butter per lb of cheese, melted
1/2 of a lemon

Turn on the Broiler. Place the cheese into a pie dish or Corningware and pour melted butter ontop. Put into broiler until the cheese gets toasted and bubbly ontop. Take cheese out of broiler, squeeze lemon ontop and yell Opa! Serve immediately with bread or with no bread. It's good however you have it!

When we were first married, I started experimenting and these meatballs are one of he products of my experimentation. The meatballs are really simple and healthy and you can add different things to have them take on a different theme. I make these all the time and I will put in parentheses the things I added to make them more Greek. (They will feed about 4 people).

For the Meatballs:
2 lbs ground turkey
1 Tb Montreal Steak Seasoning ( or half Tb Montreal and half Tb Greek Seasoning)
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
4 small shallots, minced
1 Tb fresh herbs ( I used Dill for Greek, but I have used Cilantro, Parsley, Tarragon, Thyme,etc)
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese or Bread Crumbs
1 egg
2 tsp Worstershire Sauce or Soy Sauce
Splash of Balsamic Vinegar (or Lemon Juice)
Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix with your hands until all the ingredients are incorporated thoughout the meat. Roll into small balls. Heat a large frying pan with a small amount of olive oil. Add meatballs to hot oil and cook until the meatball browns, turn and brown on all sides. Make sure they are cooked through.

Tzatziki Sauce
(adapted from Georgette's recipe here)

2 cucumbers,peeled, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves
2 1/2-3 cups Greek Yogurt (you can find this in any Trader Joe's type health store)
1-2 Tb Fresh Dill, chopped
Juice of one lemon (3 Tb)
Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

Cut up the cucumbers and put them in a strainer and add 1 Tb Kosher salt to the cucumbers. Let the cucumbers rest for 20 minutes (this process draws out the moisture from the cucumbers, this is a crucial step and sets this recipe apart and makes it super good). When the cucumbers are done resting, add cucumbers, garlic, lemon juice, dill, and pepper to a food processor and mix until all the ingredients are well blended. Add cucumber mixture to yogurt and mix. Rest mixture in fridge for 2 hours so the flavors can mix (another crucial step).

For the Greek Zucchini and Squash:

Turn on Broiler
Cut up Zucchini and Squash and coat in olive oil. Add Kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper and Greek Seasoning. Broil in oven until transparent. About 5 minutes. Splash some fresh lemon juice ontop when done.

Avocado Chimichurri Bruschetta

My new favorite appetizer...Chimichurri is an Argentine sauce and it is unbelievably delicious.  I am pretty sure I will be bringing this to every dinner party I ever attend again.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
• ¾ tsp. salt
• dash of red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp. dried oregano
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and cubed
• 6 ½-inch-thick slices whole-grain or ciabatta bread, toasted

Directions:

Combine lemon juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, oregano, and black pepper in small bowl. Whisk in oil, then stir in cilantro and parsley. Fold in avocado cubes. Spoon avocado mixture onto toast slices, and serve.

Toasted Pistachio and Manchego Cheese Salad with Chile Lime Vinaigrette

Grant and I were in Scottsdale, Arizona where we ate at True Food (if you are ever in the area, you NEED to eat here). We ordered this salad for an appetizer and it was amazing. I wanted to try and recreate it at home. Luckily the best parts of the salad were no brainers. Toasted pistachios and Manchego cheese. The combination of the two is heavenly. You will want to keep the other ingredients of the salad to a minimum so as to bring out the great flavor of the star ingredients. Start with some shelled pistachios. So good, you will want to snack while you go!

To toast them, add two teaspoons butter to a saute pan and 1 cup of shelled pistachios and cook until the pistachios start to turn a darker color and look toasted. Dry them on a paper towel and sprinkle with just a little kosher salt. ( I use kosher because it has a great salt flavor, but rarely can you "oversalt" whereas with cracked rock salt, it because overwhelming fast.)

Next, you get yourself some Manchego cheese. A little pricey but WELL worth it.

Throw in an heirloom tomato and an avocado.

For the actual greens, I used a mix of spinach and romaine, you can use field greens which I would've used if I had some. I also like to throw in some fresh herbs with the greens. It seems to add freshness to the salad and isn't as overpowering as you might think. Fresh herbs are my secret ingredient to making a great salad. Here, I have flat leaf parsley, but I have added cilantro also. It just depends on the other ingredients you're using. Just about a handful of the leaves and mix them in well with the rest of the greens.

Mix them all together and pour Chile Lime Vinaigrette over them. The dressing is easy.
1/2 jalepeno seeded (and minced if you're making the dressing by hand)
juice of two limes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Combine ingredients in a food processor (or magic bullet) or by hand until mixed well.

This salad is very light and delicious in flavor. It's perfect as an appetizer or accompaniment to a heavier meal. I threw in some edible flowers for presentation. It's good enough to eat!

Sweet Potato Pie- Thanksgiving Style

I made this pie last year for Thanksgiving, and I figured, might as well make it a tradition. Warning: If you make this pie for family or friends, you will become known as the pie lady (or gentleman), even if this is the only pie you've ever made.
Luscious Ingredients:
For the crust:
Preheat oven 400 degrees
1 small box vanilla wafers (or half Ritz, half wafers-very yummy)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1 stick melted butter

In a food processor, finely chop vanilla wafers, add sugar, and pecans. Mix until resembles a coarse texture, but is smooth. Then, add melted butter. Mix until well incoporated. Press into a deep-dish pie pan and bake for 12 minutes.
For Filling:
1 1/2 cups egg nog
2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (NOT yams, sweet potatoes will be light tannish in color)
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 egg whites
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups sweetened whipped cream
fresh mint sprigs (for garnish)
In a saucepan, combine eggnog, sweet potatoes, brown sugar, egg yolks, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and ginger together. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove pan from heat and add whisk in gelatin until particles dissolve. Add vanilla. Cover filling in refrigerator until cool. Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until soft peaks form gradually adding 1/4 cup granulated sugar and continue to beat until peaks are stiff. Fold in egg white mixture into cooled sweet potato filling. Spread filling evenly over the crust and refrigerate 1 hour. Put whipped cream on top and garnish with mint leaves. This recipe is adapted from one of Emeril's. It was a BIG hit at our Thanksgiving, people were even requesting it for Christmas.

Rosemary Chicken with Brussel Sprouts and Chestnuts

This chicken is delicious. It goes well with the Brussels Sprout and Chestnut dish that I made as a side. Of course you don't have to make the same side dish but it's good together.

The first thing you do is marinate the chicken.
Marinade:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons agave nectar (or honey)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

Mix all ingredients together ( I used a magic bullet). Reserve 1 tablespoon of marinade to put on chicken when it's done cooking. Put chicken (I used boneless skinless free range chicken thighs about 1 and 2/3 lb) in a ziplock bag and pour marinade in and coat chicken. Put in fridge for 1 hour (up to 24 hours). You will also need half of an orange or lemon to add to the chicken when it's done cooking.

For the side dish you will need:
2 cups roasted chestnuts
2 lbs boiled brussel sprouts, halved
1 stick of butter
1 cup of thinly sliced shallots
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper

While the chicken is marinating, roast the chestnuts. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut an "x" into the flat part of the chestnut shell (with a very sharp paring knife). Now, the recipe calls for 2 cups, but you might want to make more since they are so fun to eat and are so good. They have a sweet meat inside and you can eat them right out of their shell with a little salt.

Next, spread the chestnuts out on a baking sheet and cook for about 15 minutes.

When you get them out of the oven, pour them into an old towel and squeeze the towel so that you hear the shells crackling. This will make them easier to peel. Let them sit about 10 minutes or until they are cool enough to handle. Peel the shell off and sprinkle them with salt. They should look like this. Cut them in half if they are whole.

Next, make the Brussels sprouts by boiling 4 cups of salted water and add 2 lbs of halved Brussels sprouts to the water. Cook for 10 minutes (this is vital to the sweet flavor you want them to have). After they have cooked for 10 minutes, strain them and rinse thoroughly with cold water to stop them from continuing to cook. They will still be bright green.

Then, after the chicken has marinated an hour, take the chicken out of the fridge. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the chicken on a baking sheet and cook for 10 minutes, then flip over and cook another 10-15 minutes. This will vary on the thickness of meat you have. Just make sure it IS NOT pink in the middle. After they have cooked, remove them from the baking sheet and place them onto some foil. Squeeze half of an orange (or lemon) onto the meat and close the foil and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

While the chicken is resting, make the shallot butter for the Brussels Sprout dish. Melt 1 stick of butter in a sauce pan and add 1 cup of thinly sliced shallots. Cook over medium heat until the shallots are limp and the butter turns a little brown. Then, add 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, fresh cracked pepper and kosher salt.

Combine Brussels sprouts and chestnuts into a large bowl and pour butter mixture over it and mix to coat. You can even add Parmesan cheese if you want.

After the side dish is complete, spoon whatever portion you want onto the middle of the plate. Take the chicken out of the foil and place it on the side dish so that it is draping down. Add a fresh rosemary twig and there you have it!