Watercress & Fennel Salad with Dried Cherries, Pecans and Feta Cheese

November 20, 2024 No comments

Did you know that watercress, a cousin of beloved kale, is considered to be one of 41 powerhouse fruits and veggies? A superfood to the max, these peppery leaves are considered some of the healthiest greens you can consume, and have even been proven to prevent chronic diseases according to the CDC.  For these reasons and because I adore their versatility and peppery flavor, I use them all the time in my kitchen.  Stirred into a soup, raw in salads like this one, tossed into a pan of scrambled eggs or as the highlight of a quiche or omelet, and even as the green addition to a sandwich at lunch.

This salad combines lovely watercress leaves with sliced, fresh fennel, sweet dried cherries, crunchy pecans and creamy feta cheese. A light lemon vinaigrette drizzled over top makes for, in my opinion, a top-notch salad idea. A lovely side salad indeed, but this salad would also be wonderful when topped with a grilled chicken breast or even a grilled salmon fillet.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

‘Halibut with Meyer Lemon Relish’

November 19, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of COOK Real Food Every Day, Premiere Issue

Cooking proteins en papillote is a sure fire way to ensure that they stay perfectly moist.  And what does this French phrase mean exactly?  It translates to in parchment and is a method of cooking where food is cooked in a parchment parcel in the oven. This way it steams with whatever other aromatics, vegetables or spices are in the parchment parcel, making a very healthy dish time and time again.

This lovely halibut dish is cooked this way, and is finished off with a fresh relish made with the season’s juiciest Meyer lemons. The zest and juice of the lemons are combined with green olives, shallots, red onion, green onions and toasted walnuts. A unique relish that would work with just about any fish fillet you like.  I chose to cook grouper en papillote for this recipe, but halibut, snapper, salmon or even shrimp would work beautifully as well.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

‘Roasted Tomato Walnut Chicken’

November 18, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of www.walnuts.org

I love the California walnut ads in food and lifestyle magazines—they always have a lovely spread of photos and recipe ideas for buttery, crunchy walnuts.  This simple roast chicken breast recipe starts with seasoning the chicken with dried Italian herbs and garlic powder, then roasting them with a touch of oil, salt and pepper until cooked through.  Cherry tomatoes coated in white balsamic vinegar are roasted alongside the chicken breasts for a flavorful and colorful topping.  A topping that of course also includes walnuts and snipped, fresh basil.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://walnuts.org/recipe/roasted-tomato-walnut-chicken/ )

Pomegranate-Glazed Turkey

November 17, 2024 No comments

Pomegranate molasses is something I highly recommend keeping in your pantry.  A thick, syrupy reduction of sweet yet tart pomegranate juice very often seen in Middle Eastern cuisine, is really gaining traction in everyday recipes like this one.  Juicy turkey tenderloins are seasoned with salt, pepper and a touch of garlic powder before being coated in a simple combination of pomegranate molasses and Dijon mustard. Baked until glazed and cooked through, I like serving the sliced turkey on a bed of greens with some pomegranate seeds to complement its underlying ingredients.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

Crispy Chicken Marsala with Tomatoes

November 16, 2024 No comments

Traditional Chicken Marsala is an Italian dish of pan-seared chicken cutlets served in a flavorful sauce made with dry Marsala wine from Sicily, sliced mushrooms, and fresh herbs. Delicioso indeed.

But this version mixes things up a bit with crispy chicken cutlets that are served in a tomato-based sauce flavored with the sliced mushrooms, herbs and Marsala wine. The wine gives a distinct depth of flavor to the tasty tomato sauce and each-and-every bite of the crispy chicken dipped in that rich sauce is simply remarkable.  Serve this over a simple bowl of olive oil and Parmesan-coated short pasta and a small green salad.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

Eggplant Parmesan Pizza

November 15, 2024 Comments: 2

With some lovely Japanese eggplant on hand from our CSA this week, my mind immediately went to an Italian classic: Eggplant Parmigiana. Layers of tender eggplant, marinara sauce, fresh basil, mozzarella cheese and of course, Parmesan cheese.

But instead of the traditional version, I decided to deconstruct the dish and reinvent it as a pizza.  Same ingredients hold true for the pizza, except they are all topped on your favorite store-bought or homemade pizza crust. Baked to golden, cheesy and bubbly, this creative pizza is sure to become a household classic, just like its traditional entrée version.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

Collard Greens Agrodolce

November 14, 2024 No comments

When you see the phrase agrodolce in a recipe, it refers to the Italian words ‘agro’ for sour, and ‘dolce’ for sweet.  So basically you know whatever is involved is going to have sweet yet sour flavor components. Most often times a combination of vinegar and sugar, I have taken this idea and applied it to hearty collard greens for an Italian-inspired side dish.

Shredded collard greens are cooked down with an anchovy fillet, sliced garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and a touch of both sherry vinegar and cane sugar.  For added sweetness, I like to finished a dish like this off with plump raisins and for crunch, some sliced almonds.  Collard greens work very well here, but feel free to use chard, kale, spinach or even turnip greens.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

‘Maple-Bacon-Tarragon Dressing’

November 13, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light Magazine

 In a back issue of Cooking Light magazine I saw a page of homemade dressing ideas that would work on a number of proteins as well as salads. This specific dressing made with bacon, tarragon, maple syrup, vinegar and mustard really caught my eye.  Similar in taste to a warm bacon vinaigrette you might find on a spinach salad with sliced mushrooms, this savory dressing works beautifully on pork chops, roasted chicken breasts, your favorite grilled fish– or as mentioned, a lovely spinach salad topper.

Orange-Basil Butter Salmon

November 12, 2024 Comments: 2

I adore this orange-infused sauce—a quick saute of shallots, sliced garlic and orange zest flavored with some fresh orange juice and white wine, all cooked in a pat of butter.  Freshly chopped basil pairs so nicely with both the orange flavor of the sauce, but if you prefer, tarragon would work nicely as well.  You can either pan-sear or bake the skin-on salmon fillets, but I recommend baking the fillets and serving with the warm sauce for a more hands-off cooking technique.

(To view this recipe, click on the blue title of the blog post above*)

‘Sour Cream Pound Cake’

November 11, 2024 No comments

Recipe Courtesy of www.TasteofHome.com

Just like your favorite cookbook that you seem to always find yourself pulling off the shelf for inspiration, a trustworthy recipe website is just as valuable.  One of my go-to websites for baked goods is Taste of Home (www.TasteofHome.com).  The recipes are tested very well it seems because every dessert I have made from the site quickly becomes a favorite of ours or my clients!

With extra sour cream on hand, I gravitated towards this easy-to-bake sour cream pound cake recipe. A perfect recipe to make and share with friends this Holiday season, the ingredients couldn’t be more basic, with results that are moist and oh-so-scrumptious. Basically, you cream unsalted butter with sugar, and then add in your dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda) while alternating in sour cream and vanilla. I decided to stir in some chopped pecans into the batter as well, but I think this cake could easily be flavored with almond extract, rose water, orange blossom water or even a touch of lemon extract.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/sour-cream-pound-cake )

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