Category: Food

Chicken Burgers with Basil & Dried Tomatoes

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Part 2 of my recipes from Great American Grilling cookbook. Easy and healthy burgers! They can be a bit sticky, I would oil the grill before placing the burgers. The recipe called for flat bread such as focaccia, but I was able to find flat bread for burgers at the market.

 

Chicken Burgers with Basil & Dried Tomatoes

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper
  • 2 pounds lean ground chicken
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 medium red onion finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup minced fresh basil
  • 1/3 cup drained dried tomatoes, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 6 pieces flat bread
  • arugula or other salad greens

 

Directions

  1. Combine vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, set aside.
  2. Ina large bowl, combine the chicken, egg white, onion, basil, tomatoes and garlic. Shape into 6 equal-size patties, about 3/4 -inch thick. Cook, turning once halfway through cooking time 10 to 12 minutes.
  3.   Brush one side of the bread with the oil mixture, place the chicken patties on bread an top with salad greens.

 

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Turkey Rolls with Shiitake-Cheese Filling

2 Comments

Adapted from the Great American Grilling by Weber, a cookbook I’ve had for many years. I’m not really sure but, I think it came with Weber grill.

I’m not a big fan of turkey but, this was delicious and so easy to make!

 

Turkey Rolls with Shiitake-Cheese Filing

  • Servings: 6 to 8
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms
  • 5 teaspoons oil drained from the sun-dried tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons minced, drained sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 8 skinless, boneless turkey breasts or cutlets
  • 8 ounces fontina cheese cut into sticks, about 1/4-inch thick
  • 16 large fresh sage leaves
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme, minced
  • 1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese

 

Directions

  1.  Cut 4 of the mushrooms in half, and coarsely chop the remaining. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushroom halves and cook till lightly brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside. In the same pan heat the remaining chopped mushrooms, tomatoes, and garlic. Cook, stirring often until the mushrooms begin to brown, about 6 to 8 minutes.  Let cool.
  2. Pound the turkey between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, until about about 1/8-inch in thickness.  Place the fontina cheese in the center, spoon over the mushroom mixture, sage, thyme and Asiago. Roll to enclose.
  3. Place on the grill and cook for about 6 minutes, turn over and cook for another 6 minutes. Serve with the mushroom halves.

 

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Summer Kale and Quinoa Salad

3 Comments

Well Dress'd Chef

Happy food Friday all! It’s always a good day here when it’s the start of the weekend and this weekend promises to be super laid back and lazy (my favorite kind). And so in keeping with that, today’s recipe is a super laid back and easy salad that I have been creating and recreating for weeks until it finally dawned on me that you all may enjoy it too.

First thing is first, we need to address something here… Kale. I feel like kale is a pretty polarizing leafy green, ya either love it and throw it in everything or ya hate it and can’t stand the texture/taste. But, I have a major piece of advice for you (especially) if you don’t love it: massage your kale. Yup, massage it. To me kale tastes and feels totally different once it has been massaged with a little EVOO and salt and…

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Panzanella with Shrimp and Fennel

3 Comments

Great summer salad! Adapted from Lidia Bastianich’s Celebrate Like an Italian.

 

Panzanella with Shrimp and Fennel

  • Servings: 4 to 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 1 1-2 day old bread cut into cubes, (about 6 cups)
  • 3 beefsteak tomatoes
  • 1 small fennel bulb, trimmed and slice thinly
  • 1 bunch scallion, white and green parts chopped
  • 1/2 English cucumber, sliced into half-moons
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled ad deveined

 

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet, and toast until crisp but not browned. About 7 minutes. Let cool.
  2. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, fennel, scallions, and cucumber. Sprinkle the vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Toss well.  Add the bread cubes, toss to soak in the vinegar. Drizzle with the 1/2 cup of olive oil. Set aside.
  3. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to large skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp and season with salt. Cook until the shrimp is cooked through for about 3 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes.
  4. Add the shrimp to the salad and toss well.

 

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Fish Cakes with Tomato Sauce

5 Comments

Another dish that will be a staple in our home. I will definitely  make this over and over again.

The recipe called for the cod to be chopped finely, but I thought it was much easier to put it through a food processor. I also found that all three eggs were not needed, it was moist enough to form into cakes. Therefor you may want to add one at a time.

Adapted  from Fresh Fish by Jennifer Trainer Thompson.

 

Fish Cakes with Tomato Sauce

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: moderate
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Ingredients

Tomato Sauce

  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced small
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • salt and freshly ground pepper

Cod Cakes

  • 4 slices white bread
  • 1 1/2 pounds cod, halibut, sole or any other white fish, chopped fine
  • 3 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup yellow onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

 

Directions

  1. To prepare the cakes, toast the bread and chop with a mezzaluna into diced breadcrumbs. Combine with your hands the bread, fish, eggs, onion, garlic, parsley, cilantro, curry powder, and salt in a large bowl. Shape into cakes 3/4 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Should end up with 8 to 10 cakes. Refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat and add the curry powder, cumin and paprika. Stir briefly, and then add the onions. Cook til tender, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minutes more. Then stir in the tomatoes, wine, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.
  3. Heat another 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add half the cakes and sear on each side for about 3 minutes or until golden brown. Repeat with the next batch. Slide the cakes into the tomato sauce, and add enough water to partially cover the cakes. (no more than 1 cup) Cover and let simmer on low heat fr about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and uncover. Let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

 

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Poached Salmon Salad

3 Comments

A fantastic salad for the summer! It would also make a nice presentation on a buffet table.  Adapted from Lidia Bastiniach’s Celebrate Like an Italian cookbook.

 

Poached Salmon Salad

  • Servings: 6 as a main course, 8 as an appetizer
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

Salmon

  • Kosher salt
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 lemon, sliced
  • 1 handful sprigs fresh dill
  • 2 fresh bay leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon back peppercorns
  • 2 pounds center-cut salmon fillets

 

Salad

  • 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for cooking water
  • 2 bunches medium-thick asparagus, trimmed, and peeled (about 2 pounds)
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, yolks and whites separated
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons white wine
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons grated fresh horseradish
  • 1 1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

 

Directions

  1. For the salmon, put 6 cups of water in a straight-sided skillet enough to hold the salmon in one layer. Season the water liberally with salt, and add wine, lemon slices, dill, bay leaves, and peppercorns. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Then slide the salmon into the simmering  water. Simmer gently for about another 10 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside to cool.
  2.   For the salad, bring another large pot of salted water to a boil, and add the asparagus. Simmer till tender, abut 8 minutes. Drain, cool under cold water and pat dry. Spread the asparagus on a serving platter.
  3. In a food processor, combine the egg yolks, mustard, white wine, lemon juice, teaspoon of salt and the horseradish. Combine to thick paste and and drizzle in the olive with the machine is still on for a thick dressing.
  4. Drizzle a few tablespoons of the dressing over the asparagus. Flake the salmon in large chunks  into a large bowl. Chop the egg whites and add to the bowl along with the radishes and dill.  Season with the remaining salt. Drizzle with the rest of the dressing, toss well and serve over the asparagus.

 

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Chickpeas with Chili, Garlic and Thyme

3 Comments

Part 2 of recipes by Nigella Lawson. This serves as a great healthy side dish. The chickpeas do have to be soaked overnight, otherwise it a a quick dish.

 

Chickpeas with Chili, Garlic, and Thyme

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
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Ingredients

  • 18 ounces dried chickpeas
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 onion, halved
  • 6 sprigs of thyme
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • seas salt
  • 1 red chili pepper
  • 1 onion
  • 2 large cloves of garlic
  • leaves from 4-5 sprigs of thyme
  • 1/4 cup of olive oil
  • extra virgin olive oil

 

Directions

  1.  Make a paste with the flour, salt and baking soda with some cold water and add to the dried chickpeas. Add enough cold water to cover generously and let it soak overnight.
  2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas under cold water. Place in a saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Add the halved onion, sprigs of thyme, and olive oil. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and cover. Simmer for an hour and a half or until tender.
  3.  Uncover, salt to taste and reverse about 2 1/4 cup of cooking liquid. Drain the chickpeas and remove the onion and thyme sprigs. Set aside.
  4. Add the roughly chopped and seeded red chili pepper, onion, garlic, and thyme leaves to a food processor. Process to a pulp.
  5. Add oil and the chili pulp to a pan , sprinkle with salt and cook for about 10 minutes or until soft. Add the chickpeas and coat. Add half of the reserved liquid, cover and cook for a few minutes more. If dry add more of the reserved liquid.
  6. Place in a bowl and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and some  thyme leaves.

 

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