Friday, August 29, 2008

Herb Potato Salad


More wonderful gluten and dairy free food! Yum, these potatoes turned out way better than I thought! I just thought the idea up tonight, and made it up as I went along. Enjoy with some grilled chicken and a fresh salad.


1 lb. red potatoes, quarterd, then boiled until soft

2 tlbs. olive oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tlbs. Red Wine vinegar

2 cloves garlic

1 tlbs. fresh chopped rosemary

1 tlbs. fresh chopped thyme

sea salt and cracked pepper to taste


Saute the in 1 tlbs. of the olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper. The onion needs to carmelize a little bit, so resist the urge to stir too soon. (about 7-10 minutes over med-high heat) Add 1 tlbs. Red wine vinegar, and toss onions to coat. Add minced garlic and herbs and reduce heat to cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. (be careful not to burn garlic)


Top potatoes with 1 tlbs. fresh olive oil, and add the onion mixture. Toss to coat, and finish with salt and pepper to taste.


So simple, but they were really delicious! At least we thought so, I hope you enjoy!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Coconut Chicken Curry



I found out last week that I am supposedly allergic to wheat and dairy. So, for the next 3-4 months, I am on a detox diet, meaning none of the following things:

wheat, oat, barley, bran, corn, no grains except for rice. (brown, white, wild, whatever.)
no dairy, no eggs, no beef, no shellfish, no tuna, no table salt, (only small amounts of sea salt.) no sugar, no peanuts, no peanut butter, let me think...there is a whole bunch more, but basically i can only have some fish, chicken, Lamb(what???) and turkey. preferably organic. Ditto veg and fruits, and rice. I can have some brown rice syrup and maple syrup or stevia. So why am i telling you all of this? Because i love to cook, and I am Italian, so for my entire life my diet has revolved around dairy. Admittadely, I have layed off carbs for a while in an effort to tame my waistline, but apparently it was doing me no good because their is gluten in everything, and it causes my body to bloat and retain water like mad. What a world! So, I am experimenting with different dish ideas in order to satisfy my palate but also tame my tummy. Who knew? Here is my recipe for Coconut Chicken Curry, I made it up on the fly, it was delicious! My husband thought it was pretty awesome too.
I also have to apologize for my pictures, apparently i am camera challeged, as you might notice from previous pics. However, I am going to be getting a new camera for my birthday, so hopefully things will get better soon!

2 chicken boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 an onion chopped
1 jalepeno seeded and halved lengthwise
2 plum tomatoes, quartered.
1 tlbs. Olive Oil

Sauce:
1 can light coconut milk
2 tlbs. yellow curry powder
1 tsp siracha
1 tlbs. ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick
1 tlbs. fish sauce (ok, i broke my rules on this, but it serves 4 people, a girl has to live a little)
2 tlbs. rice syrup (you can use honey if you don't have to buy this expensive commodity)
1/4 cup golden raisin's.

prepare 2 cups of brown jasmine rice
1/2 cup flaked or shredded coconut, unsweetned

heat oil in large skillet, saute onion, tomatoes and jalepeno for a few minutes until golden brown. Add chicken and saute for about 5 minutes more. Cover chicken mixture with sauce, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, and simmer for 10-15 minutes more until the sauce reduces.



Just before serving, add 1 tlbs. freshly chopped cilantro and the juice of 1/2-1 lime.

To prepare the rice, cook according to package directions. In the last 10 minutes, add the coconut to the rice and cook together.

Serve in bowls with lime wedges for each person.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Ok, so I am baking today....


I don't particularly love to bake. When I finally get into it, I usually enjoy it. But, I don't really look forward to it. There are a couple of reasons for this:




1. I don't like things to be messy, and for some reason when I bake, I feel like my kitchen gets destroyed!


2. I don't like that with baking experimentation is limited. I like to cook by how I feel- to take a recipe and tweak it with what I think will make it more accomodating to my palate. That being said, I tried this recipe from The Barefoot Contessa on Food Network, and OMG! So good...I keep calling them my little sugar bombs...because they are sweet, but they are soooooooo good. I did change something- but not on purpose, I accidentally put too much butter in them, but who cares? They came out great, and so I am giving you the recipe with my mistake included.






preheat oven to 350!


3 cups flour


1 tsp baking soda


1 tsp sea salt


1/2 cup corn starch




sift dry ingredients together and set aside.

Lasagna!



My neighbor just had a baby about 2 weeks ago, so as soon as her family from out of town left, I decided to take her some lasagna. The sauce in this recipe is the recipe my grandmother supposedly taught my mom when she married my dad, so it is a family hand down. I have made come changes over the years, but it is basically her sauce!



Homemade Lasagna!



Marinara Sauce:

1 small can tomato paste

1 15 oz. can crushed tomato's

1 15 oz can tomato puree

2 tlbs. olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced

2 shallots, finely diced

1 tlbs. dried whole leaf oregano

1 tlbs. dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

2 tlbs. butter



heat oil over medium heat and saute garlic and shallots until tender. Take care not to burn the garlic! Reduce heat to low, and add the rest of the ingredients besides the butter. Cover and simmer for at least 2 hours or longer over low heat, stirring occasionally. If the sauce is a little acidic, add a little butter to taste until the acidity is reduced.



Bechamel Sauce

4 cups whole milk

1/2 cup flour

5 tlbs. butter

1/2 cup fontina cheese

1/2 cup mozz

1 1/2 cups marinara sauce

pinch nutmeg



melt the butter over medium heat, and whisk in flour. Slowly add milk, whisking the entire time so that there are no lumps. When sauce is bubbly and thick, add cheese and stir until smooth and creamy. Remove from heat, and add sauce and pinch of nutmeg. Cover to keep warm and set aside.



Lasagna!


1 lb. extra lean ground beef
2 tlbs. olive oil
2 10 oz. pkg. frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed.
2 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
3 whole eggs
salt and pepper to taste

1 pkg. no cook lasagna noodles, such as Barilla

1 cup shredded mozz

1 cup shredded fontina

1/4 cup grated parmesean (mix these three cheeses together in mixing bowl and set aside)


preheat oven to 375. Heat oil in skillet and cook meat until brown. Drain, and set aside to cool. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, eggs, salt and pepper until creamy and smooth. Set aside. To assemble lasagna, pour 1/3 of the bechamel sauce in the bottom of a greased 9x13x2 glass baking dish. layer noodles, slightly overlapping. (this should take about 4 noodles). Spread entire ricotta mixture over noodles, and then top with the spinach. Top with another layer of noodles. Spread the entire ground beef mixture over the fresh layer of noodles, and then spread 1 cup of the cheese mixture over the ground beef. Spread another 1/3 of the sauce over the cheese. Place the final layer of lasagna noodles over the cheese, and then top with the remaining sauce and then cheese. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes covered with aluminum foil, and then bake 15 minutes without the foil. Enjoy! I hope you like this recipe. It is totally time consuming but so worth the effort!



Thursday, April 24, 2008

More Enchilada's....


Tonight, I whipped up my husband's favorite Green Chili Chicken Enchilada's. I was originally inspired to make this dish from a recipe that my mom used to make. However, when I set out to make it the first time, I did not have her original recipe. I improvised! The result was a fresh tasting enchilada. Normally, I use corn tortilla's and just stack it up, but since my last recipe used whole wheat tortilla's and it came out so well, I thought I would use those again.


2 green chili's

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and diced or shredded

3 green onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

1 big handful of fresh cilantro leaves chopped

1 jalepeno pepper finely diced

1 roma tomato diced

2 tlbs. softned cream cheese

3 tlbs. sour cream

1 cup jack cheese shredded

1 tlbs. oregano

1 tsp. chili powder

1 can green enchilada sauce (15 oz)

sea salt and pepper


8 whole wheat tortilla's

1 cup jack cheese


Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 13x9x2 inch pan with non stick spray, and spread about half a cup of green enchilada sauce over the bottom of the pan.


Roast chili peppers until charred, and place immediatly in a plastic bag in the refrigerator.


Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, combine shredded chicken, and the next 10 ingredients. Remove peppers from fridge, and peel and dice. Add to the chicken mixture and stir all ingredients until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.


One at a time, spread a couple of spoonfuls of enchilada sauce on each tortilla, and then top with about 1/2 cup chicken mixture on each tortilla. Carefully roll each tortilla, and place in 13x9x2 pan. Once all enchilada's have been assembled, pour remaining enchilada sauce over entire contents of pan. Top with remaining 1 cup of jack cheese.


Cover with foil sprayed with non stick spray, and bake in oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for another 5 minutes. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Mediterranean Chicken Gyro's

I love Greek and Middle Eastern inspired food. So, I thought it would be fun to mix up some flavors and instead of making a traditional Greek Gyro, combine some different spices from the general region and make a Mediterranean Gyro, with spice influences from all over the region. The marinade is especially important, so make sure you let your meat marinade for at least 8 hours, if not overnight.

Marinade:
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Juice and zest of 1 whole lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tlbs. whole leaf oregano, dried.
sea salt and pepper to taste
1 lbs. white meat chicken breast

Mix all ingredients except Chicken in a food processor until smooth and thick. Pour marinade into container with chicken, seal tightly and marinade for at least 8 hours or overnight.

To make Cucumber sauce:

1 cup of whole fat plain yogurt
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cucumber, shredded (squeeze dry between paper towels)
1 tsp. fresh mint, finely diced
1 tsp. fresh dill weed, finely diced
juice and zest of 1 lemon
salt to taste
fresh cracked pepper to garnish

To make chicken, heat out door gril to medium heat. Grill both sides of chicken until done, about 6 minutes per side. Remove chicken and allow to sit. Meanwhile, prepare fixing for gyro's. Finely slice red onion, tomato, lettuce. lightly grill pita, and serve with chicken, cucumber sauce, lettuce, onion and tomato and crumbled feta cheese. You can also add your favorite olives if you like. I also spread some store bought hummus over the pita before my chicken and fixings.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Mexican Food Night...







I have been obsessed with avocado's lately, putting them on top of just about everything and making guacamole toppings to go with just about everything. I thought, since I am making mexican food tonight, I would share my recipe for guac topping. I get a lot of compliments on it, but one word of warning, it is heavy on the garlic, so if you don't like garlic that much, I would definitely cut back.

Guac Topping: (for food or for dipping chips!)

2 avocado's, pits and skins removed
2 tlbs. Lite Sour Cream
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. Lime zest
Juice from 1 lime (You should get about 2 tlbs. juice. If not, use another lime)
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
1 JalapeƱo pepper, seeds removed and chopped
Sea Salt to taste
Fresh cracked pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in small food processor and pulse until well blended but not entirely smooth. Serve immediately.

**if you like your guac topping spicier, leave the seeds in the mixture from the Jalapeno! You can also mix everything up by hand using the back of a fork if you prefer a chunkier texture. Just make sure you dice everything up before mixing it all together.

Enjoy. This goes great with any dish that you think needs a little Southwestern kick. I served it with yummy Black Bean and Pineapple enchilada's, a recipe I got from my sister.

Dinner Last Night...




Over the past few weeks, my sister has been sharing other blog's of people who share their love of food. So, after reading some of the exciting recipes out there, I decided that I should share my recipes and love of cooking as well.

Last week, I picked up some Sea Bass, and decided I would make it for dinner on Friday night. I was searching through recipes, and (this happens to me a lot) I came across a recipe that sounded interesting, but I did not have all the correct ingredients. I know typically when I get creative with an idea, it goes one of two ways- either not so great, or it becomes something I am very proud of. Well, this particular experiment was a winner. I was so proud of the outcome, that I even took some pictures that I am going to share with you. I hope you all like the recipe! It isn't terribly healthy, but at least it is low carb, and it is fairly easy for a fancy dinner.

Chilean Sea Bass with Saffron-Cream sauce and blanched Asparagus

1 tlbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 tlbs. Butter
Sea Salt and fresh cracked pepper
4 4-6 oz. fillets of Sea Bass (or Cod, Halibut, or any other mild flavored white fish)

1/3 cup good quality Sauvignon Blanc
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 good pinch of saffron threads (depends on your taste, I personally love Saffron, so I use a big pinch!)
3 sprigs of Thyme
1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 pound fresh Asparagus

Fresh Basil, julienne for garnish

Trim aspargus, and add to pan filled with boiling, salted water. Cook for about 1 minute, depending on thickness of spears, and remove from water. Set aside.

Rinse fish fillets, pat dry, and season both sides with salt and pepper.
Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat. When pan is hot, add Olive Oil and 1 tlbs. of the butter. Cook the fish for about 5 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add the wine to deglaze the pan, and then add the garlic, tomatoes, saffron, thyme and simmer until sauce is reduced by half. Bring heat on the pan down to low, add the next Tablespoon of butter and whisk into sauce until melted. Add cream to sauce.

Place aspargus and fish on plate, and spoon generous serving of sauce over fish and aspargus. Garnish with fresh basil and fresh cracked pepper.

I also decided to add some pasta to this dish, because my husband has to have carbs with each meal. So, i just cooked up some pasta barilla, tossed it with a touch of Olive Oil and chopped garlic, and just topped it with some of the sauce. It was fantastic! We loved it, and we drank the rest of the Sauvignon Blanc that we used in the recipe. Even my two year old son loved the Sea Bass. Enjoy!