Lettuce Wraps

This recipe is great for after the holidays because it's light, fresh and, while low on calories, is actually big on flavor. It's fast and easy to prepare and kids like it because they get to assemble the pieces themselves.

Slice finely 1/2 a seedless cucumber
Julienne finely 1-2 carrots (peeled)

Slice finely 1/2 -1 red onion

Clean a cup or so of bean sprouts (the fat kind that often come in Chinese food)

Clean 1/2 a bunch of fresh mint and 1/2 a bunch of fresh cilantro

Clean and dry a head of lettuce, something like red leaf or Boston, keeping each leaf whole. You need a lettuce that will hold the ingredients like a tortilla.

For the protein you really have a lot of choices. For this batch I seared and sauteed boneless, skinless chicken thighs with a clove of garlic and then sliced them up for serving. For a vegetarian option tofu would work great, particularly the baked ones you can find in health food stores and Whole foods. You could also use skirt steak, sliced across the grain.


Dressing-
Juice of 1 lime
about a teaspoon of sugar
a couple tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
1/2 a cup or so of canola oil (or some other very light flavored oil)
salt and pepper
Whisk ingredients together and adjust to suit your taste. Should be slightly sweet and limey.






This dish works great with this condiment. (Sweet Chili Sauce) ---)













I serve the wraps with white rice. Simply place all fresh ingredients on a plate together. Serve the protein warm-hot seperately and the dressing on the side. The idea being that people create their own lettuce wrap to suit their personal tastes. Just lay down a leaf of lettuce, stack the other ingredients inside, and roll up in a similar fashion to rolling up a burrito. I will warn you that they tend to be messy and fall a part a bit but you can always scoop up the rest with your rice.

Enjoy!

Tarragon Chicken Salad

This is a nice easy lunch idea to serve to guests.
Using boneless chicken breasts poach the meat in either water or chicken stock. If you poach them in chicken stock then save the stock after because now it will be even richer than before and great to make soup or sauces from later. To poach them simply make sure your liquid covers the meat and very slowly simmer them. I’d say it took about 15 minutes but just cut one open and check it for doneness. Then chill the chicken. When the chicken has cooled chop or tear it up. Add ½ a chopped red onion, 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and salt and pepper. Add mayonnaise until it holds together well. Chop up about 2 tablespoons of tarragon and then add it in, tasting as you go, until it seems like enough to you.
You can add in halved grapes. I served ours on croissants and with red grapes on the side.

Arroz con Pollo

Several years ago I travelled to San Juan, PR and had an Arroz con Pollo that I’ve told many a friend “changed my life”. Alright, so that might be a slight exaggeration, but it was remarkably tasty and I came back determined to figure out how to do it at home. I think I’ve come up with a version that’s pretty faithful to the original that inspired it.
Remember that no matter what this is a truly homespun dish and you should feel free to adjust, add or subtract where ever you see fit.

In a Dutch oven brown off 4 chicken thighs and 4 chicken legs (you can use other parts but these stay moist and are more flavorful) in a little olive oil over high heat and set aside. Remember to season (salt and pepper) everything as you go along. If there is an excessive amount of oil left pour some off and then in that same pot lightly brown some chorizo, sliced about 1/4 inch thick(about two handfuls). Put that aside with the chicken. Dice up one medium yellow onion and crush three cloves of garlic and cook in the oils left in the pot (again, pour off some if it’s too much) with a generous pinch of saffron until the onions are soft but not brown. Add in some chopped up red pimentos (roasted red pepper), again, about a handful, and another handful each of green olives and capers. Put in one bay leaf. Chop coarsely a handful of cilantro and dump that in too. Now add three cups of water or chicken stock and two cups of medium grain white rice (this is the one item that I think it’s important to follow exactly. Medium grain rice has a very particular quality to it that works amazing for this dish. Usually the Latino brands will be the one that have this grain (Goya, etc)) Let this come to a boil, stir once, add back in the chorizo and then sink the chicken pieces into the boiling liquid so just the top surface is sticking out being careful not to push rice out of the liquid. Now cover the pot and stick the whole thing in an oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. When you take it out do not open the lid right away. Let in sit for 15-20 minutes or so. Then serve! It’s a one pot meal but adding a fresh green salad to the menu is a nice side.

Man, this stuff is gooooooood!!!

http://www.bonesuckin.com/

I just want to take a moment to make a shout out to this BBQ sauce company. I bought a jar on a whim at Fairway in Brooklyn many months ago and it got shoved to the back of the cabinet. Brought it out the other night when we got ahold of some beautiful spare ribs (small farm, organic, and deelicious!). This is hands down the best jarred BBQ sauce I've ever tasted. It took me right back to some of the real deal BBQ joints I've been to. The kind that make it from scratch, which, having read the ingredient list, is exactly what this stuff is.

Chickpea Salad

This is super easy. There is no cooking involved. This salad makes a great side dish for pork chops or with chicken. It would also be ideal with a hanger or skirt steak.

Open two cans of chickpeas and drain them and then give them a little rinse. Combine the chickpeas in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of finely chopped red onion, one diced tomato, a couple tablespoons of chopped cilantro, one clove of garlic really finely minced or put through a garlic press and somewhere around a cup of frozen corn, defrosted. Make a dressing of one tablespoon of mayonnaise, the juice of one juicy lime and a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil (or canola, etc). Mix the dressing together and pour over the salad and toss together. Salt and pepper to taste.

If you don’t like mayonnaise you can skip it and up the oil a little. This salad works fine without the corn too, if you don’t have any on hand.

Pork Roast with Apples and Onions

This meal turned out amazing, if I do say so myself. The pork roast I used was one from a small organic farm so that makes a big difference in the richness of the meat and especially the fat. Try to find something like that because it really is worth it and better for everyone. Berkshire pigs are always delicious. I’m not really sure the exact cut because it just said roast but I would bet, judging by the meat, that it was part of the shoulder.

Peel and cut up two apples into about inch thick slices. Slice up half of an onion. Season the roast well with salt and pepper. You can use some sage or do what I did and just use a little Bell’s seasoning. I love Bell’s not only for the versatility of it but also it's quaint old fashioned packaging. Sear the roast well. I used the cast iron skillet for this dish, another kitchen item I absolutely adore. After you have a good sear on the meat take it out and put aside. Drain off most of the fat and pour in half a bottle of beer, preferably a lager or ale, something with a little body to it, and scrape the bottom of the pan with a large spoon or a spatula to release the tasty brown bits in the pan. Throw the apples and onions in with some salt and pepper, toss around a little and then place the roast on top. Put in an oven at 375. It’ll probably take around an hour. Check the internal temperature and take out when it reaches between 150 and 160. Let the roast rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting in. Resting meat is an important part of keeping it moist.

I served it with collard greens and sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes I just put in the oven directly on the rack alongside the roast. I used to cover sweet potatoes with foil but recently I was out of it and did it without and found them to be even tastier.

For the collard greens I just chopped them up coarsely and diced an onion finely. I cooked the onion in a little olive oil in a large pot at a low temperature until they were soft and then added the collards to the pot with salt and pepper. Then I added a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and a little water and cooked the collards until they were good and soft.

Seared Sea Scallop with Braised Endive and Buerre Blanc

Note:
"Whoops! I meant to post this earlier, obviously. Sorry, I was internet free for a week, but here it is anyway. Heck, when is it not a good time for a romantic meal?"-

With Valentine's Day approaching I thought this would make a lovely and romantic start to a meal.

Quarter 3 endives. Place them cut side down in a sauté pan with a good size lump of butter (1 tbsp?) salt and pepper (preferably white pepper) pour in a little chicken broth or water, just enough to make it about ¼ inch deep. Bring to a boil reduce heat to simmer and cover pan. Cook like this for around 5 minutes then uncover and turn up heat to let all the water evaporate and the side facing down on the pan to brown. Set aside on stove. This will keep it somewhat warm.

Make buerre blanc.
You can follow these instructions- http://video.about.com/frenchfood/Beurre-Blanc.htm
Set this aside on a back burner to keep warm.

Sear scallops. To do this use a non stick pan. Scallops are close to %100 protein which makes them very sticky. Add a little oil and a little butter to the pan. Get the pan very hot, almost smoking. Salt and pepper the scallops and then gently place in the pan and let them be( you can turn the heat down to med-high if it’s going too fast). Do not move them for several minutes. Once they have a nice brown crust on them turn them over and turn off the heat. They will cook through nicely with just the heat left in the pan.
On a plate fan out three pieces of endive. Arrange scallops. Gently with a spoon pour in buerre blanc around the scallops. Garnish with chives. (You can also place a small spoonful of caviar on the scallops)

Rum Punch

Winter got cha down? Yeah, no kidding. Me too. Here's a little ray of sunshine for you in a glass. Pour yourself one of these, turn the heat up and pretend you're in the tropics. Put one part rum, preferably a dark one like Mt. Gay or our personal favorite Ron del Barralito and two parts tropical juice over ice. Obviously you can adjust this to taste but you should be able to taste the rum. The Dole Paradise Blend works great as the juice for this. Another good one is the Ceres juice I used in the Sparkling Passion drink. Squeeze a wedge of fresh lime in the drink. The lime is key. You can try this with a few drops of bitters too.

Marscapone and Berries

Here an incredibly simple to make dessert that tastes and looks great. The flavor is similar to cheese cake but a little lighter like a mousse. Simply mix together marscapone cheese with a drop of vanilla and some powdered sugar. I leave the amount to you depending on how sweet you like it. When everything is mixed together and the texture is smooth either pipe it or spoon it into a cocktail or wine glass. Top it off with a mix of fresh berries and sift a little bit of powdered sugar over the top. Garnish with a mint leaf.

Guacamole

As requested by my friend over at Chandelier -http://www.chandelierevents.blogspot.com/ a kick ass party planning blog.

The secret to great guacamole is keep it simple and don't over work it. You want it to be fresh, sparkly and for the natural flavors to shine.

Open and scoop out 3 avocados into a bowl. As finely as you can chop up half of an onion and a small garlic clove. Chop in a fine dice one tomato, seeds removed. Chop up, not too finely though, enough fresh cilantro to make somewhere between 1 to 2 tablespoons. Using a fork mash the avocados up a bit, but don't go crazy, you want it to be chunky and not a smooth puree. Add in the other ingredients except the cilantro. Once everything is mixed together squeeze in the juice from a half of a lime. Now add some cilantro and salt and begin tasting and adding more until you think it is properly seasoned. This is a personal thing so the amounts will vary from person to person. I will say that I find it takes a little more salt than you might think, but don't over do it since the chips you serve it with will also likely be salty.
If you like your guacamole spicy then open and remove seeds from a fresh jalapeno. It's a good idea to use gloves when working with spicy peppers because the oils which are the source of the spice are hard to get off your hands. Chop it up really finely and add it last, slowly, tasting and testing until you reach the level of spice you like. Remember that as the gaucamole sits the jalapenos will continue to leech off more spicy oils and make the dip get spicier so best to stop a little before it reaches the level you want if it will be sitting around a while.
Guacamole is something that is best when made, served, and consumed in one sitting, but if you want to make it ahead by a few hours you can save the pits from the avocados and place them in the dip to keep it fresh when in the fridge.

Split Pea and Ham Soup

I'm back in business with a brand new laptop. Sorry for so much delay but I've got several posts ready to go for the coming week. Here's a little start, just right for the cold weather we have right now.

This is so easy and plenty hearty enough for a dinner when served with some good bread.
Chop finely ½ onion, 2 carrots, 1 large stalk of celery. Cook in a pot with a tablespoon or two of olive oil over medium low heat with salt and pepper. You want the vegetables to get soft but not brown. Rub the leaves of one sprig of rosemary into the pot and add 1 to 2 cups of chopped up ham, depending on how ham-y you like it. Pour in about ½ a cup of beer or white wine and let it boil and cook a couple minutes then pour in one package of dry split green peas and enough chicken stock or water to double the volume. It will take at least that much liquid, but probably more so check back on the soup while it’s cooking and simply add more water if it seems too thick. Now just let it simmer. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper toward the end of the cooking time because the ham will add a certain amount of saltiness. I think ours took about an hour and a half to fully cook.
You can skip the ham and stock for a vegetarian version. Do exactly the same with lentils for lentil soup.

Sorry to be gone so long

Sorry for the lag on the posts. My laptop died on me and took with it my photos and a couple recipes I had ready to go. I hope to be up and running again by next week at the latest.