In A Nutshell

This salad is simply delicious and is a good foil for grilled steak. You could add leftover grilled chicken or steak and make a hearty lunch salad as well. It comes from the Food Network website (Sunny Anderson). arugula strawberries shaved Parmesan cheese For the dressing : 1 T Dijon mustard 1 T sugar 2 T fresh lime or lemon juice 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil salt and pepper Energetically whisk all the ingredients except the EVOO; slowly add the EVOO in a thin stream while continuing to whisk like a maniac. It helps if you put a heavier bowl on a towel to keep it from spinning right off the counter. Dress the salad to your liking and garnish with strawberries and Parmesan.

This dish is super yummy-- it is adapted from Food and Wine magazine. 2 lbs asparagus, tough ends trimmed 2 T plus 2 T extra-virgin olive oil 3 anchovy filets in oil 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 cup panko crumbs 2 t lemon zest juice from one lemon Preheat oven to 425º; on a large rimmed baking sheet drizzle the asparagus with 2 T EVOO and season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes. In a small skillet, heat the remaining 2 T EVOO along with the anchovies over medium heat; cook, smushing them with a fork, until they are dissolved (a couple of minutes). Add the garlic and a pinch of crushed red pepper (optional) and cook until garlic is fragrant. Add the panko and cook for about 5 minutes or until brown and crispy, stirring constantly; be careful here, bread crumbs burn quickly.  Stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the asparagus to a plate and squeeze the lemon juice over it; top with the breadcrumbs.

This is a great way to use leftover grilled rosemary chicken ; the arugula salad is also great on its own. You can use any remaining bacon-scallion cream cheese as a bagel spread. This recipe comes from the Rachel Ray magazine. 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled 1- 8oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temp. 1/4 cup toasted, chopped walnuts 3 scallions, chopped 2 pieces of leftover grilled chicken, split horizontally 4 bagels 4 T EVOO juice of 1/2 lemon 1 T white wine vinegar 2 t Dijon 2 t honey 1/2 honeycrisp apple sliced thinly 1 rib of celery, sliced thinly 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced 1- 5 oz. package of arugula Gently mix the bacon, cream cheese, walnuts and scallions. Mix all the dressing ingredients together and lightly toss the arugula, apple, celery and onion with dressing to taste. Spread the bagels with cream cheese mixture and top with the salad mixture. Arrange the chicken on top of that and enjoy!

I love a theme and this week was the glorious and beloved "sandwich week". This sandwich comes from Fine Cooking magazine and was supremely delicious. I used the Kerrygold Red Leicester which has a super nice creamy texture and melts well. I am not going to put specific measurements so that you can adjust your ingredients to however many sandwiches you want to make. I always have this tendency to think that if a little of something is good, a lot is even better, but in this case you don't want to overload the sandwich. 1/2" thick sliced Italian or sourdough bread (I used the huge Turano loaf that I would normally never buy but it held up really well to all the ingredients and tasted good grilled) apple butter Dijon mustard shredded cheddar cheese pastrami (I used Vienna all-beef pastrami from the deli) very thinly sliced honeycrisp apples (mandoline at 1/8" or 1/16" setting) softened butter Spread the outside of 2 pieces of bread with butter. Fl...

I can't begin to describe how delicious this chicken burger was... I ate myself silly! It's slathered with  Gorgonzola butter and has a crisp piece of prosciutto in there as an added little bonus. I love that it's served on ciabatta rolls rather than those spongy hamburger buns. This is another Rachel Ray magazine recipe. 4 oz. Gorgonzola 4 T butter, softened 2 lbs ground chicken 2 cloves garlic, pressed 1/2 t dried sage 1 t salt pepper to taste 4 slices prosciutto 4 ciabatta rolls fresh spinach 1. Mix Gorgonzola and butter; leave out at room temp. 2. Mix meat, garlic, sage, salt and pepper and form into 4 patties (this makes giant burgers- you could do 5 instead if you want them smaller) 3. In a large skillet that is lightly oiled, wilt the spinach slightly; set aside and then cook the prosciutto until crisp; set this aside as well 4. Cook the burgers for a total of 10 to 12 minutes over med.-high heat 5. Toast the buns under the broiler and spread a th...

I've pilfered this cake from the Smitten Kitchen website and shamelessly re-named it, adding a slightly boozy glaze of my own creation. The cake recipe is absolutely delicious and can be found here ; I made only two small changes: I used the zest of 2 limes rather than 1 to give it a more intense lime flavor and swapped out the blackberries for strawberries. For the Glaze : 1 cup powdered sugar 1 T lime juice 1 T white tequila zest of 1 lime Top the cake after it has cooled and serve with the strawberry sauce.

It's empanada season again! These were adapted from Food & Wine magazine. Crazy good! We made both small ones and large and doubled the recipe; there was a bit of filling left over (which we just ate). Serve with Malbec or beer. Dough : 2 eggs, beaten lightly 1 t white vinegar 1/4 cup dry white wine 2 cups flour 1 t salt 1 T sugar 1 stick cold, unsalted butter, diced  In a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, salt and butter until it looks like coarse meal. Combine the eggs, vinegar and wine and drizzle over the flour mixture; pulse until just combined; knead the dough a couple of times just to get it to come together- don't manhandle it!  Form dough into a disc, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. Filling : 1/2 lb ground beef 1 T veg oil 1/2 onion, diced 1 garlic clove, minced 1/2 red pepper, small diced 1 medium plum tomato, diced 1 T tomato paste 2 T white wine 1 t ground annatto (achiote) 1 packet Goya Sazón con Cilantro y Achiote (i...

We like calling this sandwich a Sloppy José because we think we're real clever... nonetheless, it is quite delicious and should in theory be served on Mexican telera rolls (they were out at the store so I had to use ciabatta rolls). The sandwich idea comes from Rick Bayless with some modifications made by yours truly. I used the recipe for his easy refried beans out of his book Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen , a wonderful book BTW. BTW I never say BTW. Easy Refried Beans : 1 small onion, small chopped 4 cloves of garlic, chopped pinch of crushed red pepper (I used crushed chipotle pepper) 1 heaping tablespoon of bacon fat (don't balk! it's the secret to these delicious beans!!) 2 cans beans (black or pinto), partly drained leaving some liquid in the can Heat the bacon fat over medium heat and fry the onion until lightly browned and softened. Add the garlic and the CRP, and stir for about a minute. Add 1 can of the beans and mash with a potato masher as they ...

This salad was soooooooooo good--it makes eating broccoli fun! I think that roasting the broccoli brings out the best flavor rather than blanching. The recipe comes from the Neeley's (you know, that couple that has a show on the Food Channel) with some modifications. I know I'm stating the obvious here, but you can leave out the bacon if you have a vegetarian in your midst whose mission it is to ruin all the fun by making you leave out the bacon..... 8 cups broccoli florets plus some EVOO for drizzling 1 T honey 1 1/2 T red wine vinegar 1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 t salt freshly ground pepper 2 1/2 T extra-virgin olive oil 2 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled 1/4 cup chopped red onion 1/4 c slivered, toasted almonds 2 T dried cranberries Preheat oven to 425º; put the broccoli on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer and drizzle with some EVOO--not too much and not too little. Season with kosher salt and pepper and roast on the top rack for 25 minute...

I made the cupcakes in these cute little cups in honor of the Sochi Olympics but then forgot to actually post the recipe until now. Chocolate cupcakes 1 cup cherry preserves (I like Bon Maman for this recipe) 2 T bourbon pitted sour cherries from a jar, drained Use any chocolate cupcake recipe you like; the  Hershey chocolate cake recipe is a good one for this recipe but you can use your favorite. Using a paring knife or a cupcake corer (who knew such a thing existed???), cut a hole about an inch deep and round. Go ahead and eat these little morsels of cake- they don't really count because they're so small... fill the center with the cherry jam mixture and top with a sour cherry. Dust with powdered sugar.

This definitely does not fall into the category of quick & easy, but it's so mind-blowingly good that it's worth the effort once in a blue moon. The butter-basted beef would be delicious on its own so if you opt out of doing the sandwich, at least try the beef prepared this way. This is adapted from Food & Wine magazine. For the aioli : I use the recipe for  The Creamiest Aioli from Bon Appetit but make the following changes: I press the garlic clove instead of grating; I use 1 t of Dijon mustard; 1 T lemon juice and when it's all done, I stir in 1 t horseradish. I can only successfully make aioli in my mini-cuisinart food processor and have never ever ever had any luck whisking slowly or any other method. If you don't want to bother with this step, you can just add a little horseradish to some purchased mayo or use a mixture of Dijon and horseradish. For the beef : 2 T canola oil 2 lbs beef tenderloin, at room temp. kosher salt and pepper 4 T unsal...

This margarita and I have a long and glorious history together; it is probably my all-time favorite margarita ever and is a great way to use up all that extra watermelon you tend to have in the summer. I like to make little margarita freezer packages that consist of enough watermelon and strawberries per ziplock freezer bag for exactly one blender full of margarita. The great thing about this particular recipe is that the frozen fruit replaces the ice thus no watering down of your drink! Clever! Originally from Gourmet (R.I.P-- I miss you) magazine. 3 cups frozen cubed watermelon 1 cup frozen, quartered strawberries 3/4 c tequila 1/3 c triple sec 1/3 c freshly squeezed lime juice (I also freeze this in 1/3 cup increments so that I can bust out this delightful drink any ole time I want) 2 T sugar pinch of salt Puree in blender and enjoy your grown-up slushie.

My mom made up this recipe- she often just improvises with what she has on hand and it turns out delicious! The pan sauce is absolutely awesome- mop it up with some good, hearty bread and you will be in for a treat. The roasted lemon can and should be eaten (peel and all). I made her creation last night and also threw in a handful of peeled garlic cloves and the beet greens. 2 bone-in, skin on, whole chicken breasts 3 beets, peeled and sliced into thin wedges 1 lemon, quartered (try to take out the seeds if you can; they don't taste good) a handful of peeled garlic cloves garlic powder onion powder spanish paprika salt lemon pepper (any seasoning you like can be added) Preheat oven to 350º Season the chicken breasts with everything except the lemon pepper; brown them in a cast iron pan in about 2 T extra-virgin olive oil, turning them on their sides as well to get them browned all over (this took maybe 7 or 8 minutes). Off the heat, add the beets, greens and garlic;...

This is a nice hearty salad adapted from Food & Wine magazine. I think it would be even easier to grill the meat and then slice it. Marinade : 2 lbs skirt steak, sliced into strips (or left whole if you are planning to grill) 6 garlic cloves, minced 3 T sherry 3 T soy sauce 1 t Vietnamese seasoning (optional) 1 T sugar 1/4 t Chinese 5-spice powder 1 T veg oil plus more for cooking the meat Combine marinade ingredients and marinade meat for 5 hours or overnight. Vinaigrette : 2 T soy sauce 2 T veg oil 1 T sherry vinegar 1 T red wine vinegar 2 t minced fresh ginger (or 1/2 t ginger powder) 2 t sugar 1 garlic clove pressed 1 lemongrass stalk, lower third Whisk all the ingredients together except the lemongrass. I added that in large pieces to flavor the dressing and later removed it (because I was too lazy to chop it up nice and fine). Salad : spring lettuce, arugula or watercress (or a combo of all) sliced red pepper sliced red onion Saute the meat in...

These gorgeous little desserts couldn't be any easier! They would actually make a great Christmas dessert-- they look festive and are light (despite the cream) I was first introduced to the Eton Mess when we traveled to Ireland last summer with our extended family. Ireland has never been associated with good cuisine, but we had the best food of any of our travels there. I became obsessed with having the Eton Mess anywhere and everywhere I could. Meringue desserts seemed to be popular generally speaking. You can do this dessert with ice cream as well in which case it's called a Knickerbocker Glory. I will give rough proportions because you can adjust it easily enough based on how many you want to make. I had a lot of raspberry sauce in the freezer that I had made last summer so it was especially easy to assemble this dessert. If you don't feel like making your own raspberry sauce, you can buy the raspberries in sugar syrup (in the freezer section right by the strawberri...