This recipe was created as a result of brown rice and taco meat from earlier this week as well as my purchase of those beautiful tri-color mini-peppers. It was easy and absolutely delicious.
1 can Rotel Tomatoes with green chilies – drained, reserve liquid
1/2 c finely shredded cheese
16-20 mini-peppers, stemmed, seeded, cut in half
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the meat, rice, parsley and tomatoes together.
Load each half pepper with about a tablespoon of filling and place into a large casserole dish. It’s fine if the filling spills over the sides a bit. If there is extra filling after you’ve wedged all the peppers in the casserole simply spoon it over the top. Pour the reserved liquid over the peppers. Top with cheese.
Bake for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.
Taco Meat
1 lb ground beef
minced jalapeno
minced garlic
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
cumin
chili powder
red pepper flakes
salt & pepper
Brown the ground beef with the items above – to your taste. Drain and blot any excess grease with a paper towel. This meat is what I prefer for the recipe above as well as tacos, quesadillas, burritos, enchiladas or taco salad.
Though I featured this post one year ago, it remains one of my signature recipes and one that we are having again tonight while ringing in 2016. It’s a tradition but also, it’s an amazing and delicious dish and so here it is once again! I hope you’ll try it!
Happy New Year!
Spence and I have spent 24 New Year’s Eves together. At some point I came across this recipe that sounded decadent, festive and delicious. The first few New Year’s Eves I made this as an appetizer/first course, then onto lobster tails and maybe even fondue as the night progressed. Too much food, too rich and the star here was the Scallops Chambord. Fast forward, our holiday routine now firmly established, Scallops Chambord is the whole meal! This year I prepped 4 skewers but decided to prepare two of them first, then about an hour later, two more. This was brilliant as we savored them over the evening with a fire blazing, Prosecco and later a special bottle of Champagne. I use most cookbooks as a “guide” so this represents my version which is better than the original in my humble opinion (patting myself on the back now).
Scallops Chambord
20-24 sea scallops
5-6 slices of bacon (not thick cut)
Rinse the scallops and rest on paper towels, blot the top. Stretch the 5-6 pieces of bacon, just pulling gently to lengthen. Cut each slice in half. Prepare a broiler pan and four skewers. Wrap the bacon around each scallop so that there is a complete wrap with a little overlap. Thread onto skewers, keeping space in between them. Set aside.
Ingredients for the sauce
Regular Cut Bacon
Sea Scallops prepped
Chambord Sauce
1 c seedless black raspberry preserves
1/4 c honey
1/4 c Chambord liqueur
In a small saucepan, add the preserves, honey and Chambord liqueur. Stir together on a very low heat to melt the preserves and honey together and incorporate the Chambord. You’ll want it to reduce sufficiently to coat a spoon. I usually make the sauce earlier in the day to assure the consistency is right.
Set oven to broil. Place the broiler pan with skewers in on an upper rack. Set your timer for 10 minutes but watch the scallops during the process – your oven may be hotter than mine. Remove, flip the skewers and return to the broiler for 3-5 minutes – again, you want the bacon cooked but not burned.
While the scallops are broiling, ladle your sauce onto the plate as shown above. When the scallops emerge from the oven, remove them and set onto the plate. At this point, I pour Spence and I a glass of Prosecco which we enjoy with our plated Scallops Chambord.
Chef’s Note: If you can’t find black raspberry preserves, a perfectly good substitute is seedless red raspberry preserves.
From my travels to Switzerland, when my cousin Kristin took Spence and I to an “underground” fondue restaurant. “Underground” in the sense that this is a place that locals know of but not “tourists” (as we learned from our tablemates later that evening). Kristin and her husband had lived in neighboring Versoix for a number of years and so she quickly established her credibility. In reality the restaurant sat on a pier, a long stroll out onto Lake Geneva. Kristin placed our order at a walk-up station outside the restaurant. We carried our drinks inside and found seats at one of the long communal dining tables, very rustic. When your number was called you needed to react immediately as the servers were moving rapidly with vats of molten fondue. The fondue was served with bread and a side dish of fruit cocktail. The two men seated next to us (locals) began engaging us in a spirited discussion after dinner including an explanation about Traditional Swiss Fondue and what does (and doesn’t) go into it. There is so much more to the story of that evening and memories of that trip. But since this blog is meant to feature a recipe, I’ll save those stories for another blog or my novel…….
Kristin and I waiting on the fondue to arrive.
Spence also waiting.
Traditional Cheese Fondue
1 lb of Gruyère
1 lb Emmentaler
1-2 cloves garlic
2 t grated nutmeg
Dry white wine
Kirschwasser liqueur
Shred the Gruyère and Emmentaler cheeses, I do so in my food processor. This will yield 8 cups of shredded cheese. Using a microplane, grate two teaspoons of nutmeg, set aside. Using a garlic press, pulverize the garlic cloves, set aside.
I use an electric fondue pot but have also made this on the stovetop, transferring into an old-school fondue pot with a little can of sterno blazing beneath it. That said, when you are ready to assemble, heat the pot – better low and slow than to risk burning this fabulous cheese mix. Start by pouring in 1/2 cup of wine and the garlic into the fondue pot. As soon as it starts bubbling put in the first two big handfuls of cheese and stir with a fondue fork. Now stir in the nutmeg. By handfuls add the cheese, stirring the unmelted into the melted. Add more wine if needed. At this point add the Kirschwasser. How much is up to you – I use a healthy shotglass full. Stir it in. Serve with wine or beer of your choosing, ready your fondue fork and start dipping, relax and talk with your tablemates.
I’ve been growing herbs for almost 30 years. For a self-taught “gourmet”, it’s thrilling for me to go into my backyard and pick lush flat leaf parsley, flavorful chives, fragrant rosemary and thyme. With our recent freezing temps and heavy snowfall, I was certain that I wouldn’t be harvesting herbs for this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. Then we had a thaw and under the weather damaged herbs, I was able to find an ample supply – hooray!
Fresh-Picked Herb Compound Butter
Fresh picked herbs & butter (not pictured crack black pepper)Start with 2 sticks of very soft butter (I use salted butter), add 1 generous tablespoon each of chopped flat-leaf parsley, thyme & rosemary, 1 teaspoon of chopped garlic chives and 1-2 teaspoons of cracked black pepper. Stir together with a dinner fork. Cover and store in a cool (not cold place) until ready for use.
Butter, herbs and cracked black pepper.
When the butter is soft, the herbs & pepper blend easily
The finished product!
As we speak, it’s the Monday before Thanksgiving and I just prepared mine. Making ahead allows the herbs to really flavor the butter. While there are many uses for compound butters, I’ll use this one after gently loosening the skin of the turkey breast then taking gobs of it, massaging and slathering it between the skin and the turkey. As it roasts in the oven, the herb butter self-bastes the turkey. Enjoy!
Here’s the ingredients, prepped and ready to go, plus a glass of wine for the cook!
I know, I know. It’s stuffing if it goes inside the turkey and dressing if not. Whatever you call it, mine is seriously without equal. Here you see the ingredients of what goes into it. It’s just Spence and I on Thanksgiving and what looks like overkill on the quantity that I make, I call smart. At least half of what I make I freeze – unbaked in air-tight freezer bags and some in large size muffin tins (once frozen popping them into freezer bags as well). I make rotisserie and baked chicken throughout the year and this makes the best side dish, lovely to have on hand – simply thaw and bake!
This recipe is flexible. I’m going to list the ingredients and you can make as much or as little as you need:
Cubed leftover bread (I always have a lot in the freezer) I use a mixture some artisan, bakery & grocery store “regular” bread – even cubing up leftover cornbread if I have it on hand. Place all cubed bread on a sheet pan in the oven overnight with the oven light on to let it dry out. (turn oven on lowest setting for 30-60 minutes the day of assembly if it’s still too soft)
Additionally I use both the Pepperidge Farm seasoned Classic Stuffing & Country Style cubed stuffing
1 lb cooked sage breakfast sausage, use your spatula to crumble it while it’s browning, drain off any grease and blot with a paper towel
Apples – I generally use two kinds and don’t peel them, just chop into bite size chunks
Lightly saute chopped onion and celery (about 6-8 minutes), in several tablespoons of butter, add some poultry seasoning during the saute. I use equal quantities of onion and celery.
Chestnuts – I roast my own (check my blog for how-to roast chestnuts, link is below)if you want substitute toasted pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts. (But the chestnuts are what make this special in my humble opinion)
Fresh herbs – flat leaf parsley, thyme, rosemary – adds both a pop of color but also lots of flavor, chop them. I use a mezzaluna (pictured above).
Poultry seasoning
Lots of chicken stock – have more on hand than you think you’ll need, trust me on this.
I assemble this using two very large mixing bowls and put half of the ingredients (except chicken stock) into each, little by little – and adding chicken stock and poultry seasoning along the way, stirring and then building more ingredients, seasoning and stock (you get it) until the prep station is cleared.
I fill a large oval baker and refrigerate this overnight – really packing it in (and fill a second one to refrigerate and bake later with leftovers. Freeze the rest). I take the oval baker (or casserole dish) out of the fridge on Thanksgiving morning to take the chill off. It will have absorbed a lot of stock overnight so drizzle an ample amount over the top. Bake this at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes, uncovered, until it’s browning a bit and there’s some crunch happening on top. If you’re making this and have your oven set at another temp when this goes in it’s not a problem – just watch the top and feel for the crunch.
Bon appetit!
Assembled and ready to be baked tomorrow!
As promised, here’s the link on how-to roast chestnuts:
The ritual of roasting chestnuts for my annual Thanksgiving Day stuffing is a labor of love. And as with any labor, there is pain. But the payoff in flavor and texture make it all worthwhile. So for those who might want to try this, I’ve created a pictorial “recipe” for roasting chestnuts – no roaring fire required.
1. Purchase chestnuts. I always get two bags since one of the first years Spence and I did this we lost half of one bag that were bad nuts – moldy, dried up, unusable. Once roasted and chopped, any surplus can be frozen for months in a ziploc bag.
I buy them like this.
In my area, chestnuts seem to always come from Italy
2. Score each nut using a small, very sharp knife in the pattern of a large X.
See the X? This is important as the nuts roast, then are steamed as they cool. This makes peeling easier and that’s a good thing!
All scored and ready to roast
3. Set your oven at 450 degrees. Lay the chestnuts in a single layer on a pan. Set your timer for 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and wrap them in a towel lined pan or bowl (I use two dishtowels) and cover for one hour to steam them.
Steam baby, steam
4. Get two bowls, one for shells and one for the peeled nuts. And start peeling – yes with your fingers (and that small knife – in case you need help). Make sure and check the nuts over to remove any hard membranes. Your thumbs will be sore at the end of this, no sense in sugar coating it. But these little beauties are so worth it! When you’re ready to build your stuffing, just give these a coarse chop!
Roasted & steamed, let the peeling begin….
The end product. And it’s ok to sample a few!
Want to know how to make my famous Chestnut Stuffing?
I love Gnocchi and when I saw this recipe being prepared on Cooking Channel’s Extra Virgin, by actress Debi Mazar and her husband, talented Italian chef Gabriele Corcos, I went out immediately bought the ingredients and made it for Mom and Spence. It was a huge hit – the fried fresh sage leaves from my garden made it extra delicious.
Fast forward to last night. My lifelong BFF were attending a Harvest Meal, all plant based, locally sourced and delicious. She has been a longtime advocate of meat free Mondays (and primarily eats vegetarian/vegan meals). It so happens that we are spending the next three days at her beautiful second home in the gorgeous Traverse City Michigan. Over dinner we discussed what we’d like to do while there and I suggested that I prepare dinner for Monday night. I’d told her about this meal and she readily agreed.
I’ve kept the recipe very close to the original with only a few modifications.
Spinach & Ricotta Gnocchi – serves 2 as an entree, 4 as a sidedish
1 lb fresh spinach
8 oz ricotta cheese (not low fat)
fresh grated Parmesan
2 egg yolks – beaten
4 T butter
sea salt & fresh ground black pepper
fresh grated nutmeg
fresh lemon zest
fresh sage leaves
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (I use a huge pasta pot with a strainer.
Add the spinach to the boiling water, pushing it down over the next minute to wilt it.
The pot is brimming with spinach
Looks like so much
Push spinach down into the boiling water
Wilting
Pull the basket, drain the spinach
Pull the basket and drain the spinach immediately, plunging it into an ice water bath to halt the cooking. Drain the spinach and squeeze out the water completely. (I wrap it in several paper towels, then place that bundle inside a clean kitchen towel and squeeze it)
Squeezed out, it looks much smaller
Chop the spinach very fine.
Chopped
Place the spinach in a large bowl, add the ricotta, 4 T of parmesan, eggs yolks, salt, pepper, nutmeg and lemon zest.
I love to grate my parmesan with a microplane
I also use the microplane for my fresh nutmeg & lemon zest
Stir to combine. Shape the mixture into balls about the size of large walnuts.
Butter a casserole dish and lay the gnocchi in it, dressing it with a few thin slices of buttter and more parmesan (I use a generous amount of parmesan).
Bake the gnocchi for 20 minutes then set under broiler for 5 minutes to brown the top.
In a medium skillet, melt 1 1/2 T of butter and saute the sage until it starts to brown. Serve the gnocchi, dressed with the sage and butter sauce, sprinkle on more of the parmesan.
Prepare to fall in love….so yummy.
Chef’s note: You could use frozen chopped spinach in this recipe. If I weren’t retired, I think I might do that as the blanching step is time consuming (but worth it). I added the nutmeg and lemon zest which really puts this into the “over the top” amazing category, in my humble opinion.
1 package ramen noodles – broken up, (discard the flavoring package – not needed)
1/2 c slivered almonds
1/4 c sesame seeds
1 stick butter
Melt butter in a large frying pan. Add noodles, almonds and sesame seeds, lightly brown them. Set aside to cool.
The topping is pure crunchy, buttery goodness!
For the dressing:
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c champagne vinegar
1/2 c canola oil
1 T soy sauce
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t red pepper flakes
Mix together well and set aside. (I put it in a jar and shake it to dissolve the sugar and emulsify) You’ll dress the salad just prior to serving.
The dressing in a jar!
For the salad:
1 head Napa Cabbage – shredded (I don’t use the last two inches of the base and eliminate some of the stalk like center of the larger leaves)
1 bunch green onions – chopped
1/2 c finely chopped sweet red pepper
1/4 c finely chopped carrot
1/4 c finely minced parsley
Toss all salad ingredients together and refrigerate until ready to serve.
IMPORTANT: Do not dress the salad until just before serving.
The salad, assembled but not yet dressed.
When ready to serve, pour dressing over the salad mix (you will not need all the dressing – you can always add more) to lightly coat and toss together. Top generously with the crunchy ramen topping and serve. Enjoy!
Tonight I’m having a couple of dear friends (former co-workers) over for dinner and a long overdue girl’s night. I’ve had my eye on a recipe for sometime whose title The World’s Best Chicken was a claim that I decided is worth testing. I love a recipe that doesn’t require me to miss out on cocktail hour with my guests by simply baking in the oven – easy right?
The simplicity of this recipe with a few select but flavorful ingredients including fresh herbs from my garden made this the right choice for tonight. Here’s how easy it is:
INGREDIENTS
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts – cut into 2 tenders each
½ cup Dijon mustard
¼ cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt & pepper
Fresh rosemary
Fresh chopped flat leaf parsley and rosemary to garnish before serving. INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, syrup, and vinegar plus some chopped fresh rosemary and pepper.
OMG! This is so tasty…
Place chicken breasts into 9×13 lined baking dish (I doubled lined it with foil for easy clean up).
Season with salt & lots of pepper. Pour mustard mixture over chicken. Make sure each breast is coated.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.
Season with fresh rosemary and chopped flat leaf parsley just before serving.
