In A Nutshell

I apologize in advance because this is a recipe of approximates-  the roasted red peppers are a food I've been eating all my life and are a staple in Yugoslav cuisine; we have never had exact measurements for this recipe.  For the crostini, I like to use a substantial bread like a French baguette or Italian loaf (I used Trader Joe's sliced Italian loaf for these in the photo but will use any hardy bread that is handy).  If you can't find buffalo mozzarella (I buy mine at Costco), you can use regular fresh mozzarella. For the roasted peppers: red peppers (however many you want to make) plain white vinegar chopped garlic- lots of it extra-virgin olive oil  First you roast the red peppers over the grill until they are charred everywhere.  Put them in a glass bowl and cover them with a plate or foil and let them steam until they are cool enough to handle- this can be as little as 30 minutes if you have tough fingertips from perpetual kitchen burns like I do... Pee

I implore you to REALLY thoroughly wash the parsley for this salad because only a very inexperienced numskull would just give it a cursory rinse and then crunch on grit during dinner... This recipe is loosely adapted from Jerusalem . For the dressing: 4 T freshly squeezed lemon juice 4 T extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 t honey 1/2 t ground coriander 1/2 t cumin 1/2 t salt 1/2 t za'atar 2 cloves garlic, pressed Mix everything with a little whisk For the salad: 3/4 cup uncooked Israeli couscous (I used Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend which has Israeli couscous, orzo, red quinoa, and baby garbanzo beans for a little variety) 2 bunches Italian flat leaf parsley, very well washed and very finely chopped crumbled feta (maybe 1/4 cup or so- whatever you like) Cook the couscous kind-of according to package directions- you don't have to put the oil in it or use broth; just make sure to salt the water first.  I actually just cooked it in a pan full of water for the

This steak is crazy good- I will never have use for another steak marinade recipe as long as I live (well, maybe...).  The key ingredient to the marinade is the Maggi Sauce which is really indispensable to the recipe; I have no idea what is in it, but it is pure deliciousness. It's not difficult to find and I buy an industrial sized bottle from our local ethnic store. This is adapted from Mexican Made Easy . 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice 4 T Maggi seasoning sauce 5-6 garlic cloves, minced 1 serrano chili, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped pepper 1/2 cup olive oil 3 lbs skirt steak (outer skirt steak is preferable) Mix all the marinade ingredients and marinade steak for at least 6 hours and preferably overnight. Take it out of the fridge about 1 hour before you want to grill. I grilled this for 5 minutes and then 4 minutes on the other side but I think that was too long- it should probably be more like 4 min. per side (or even 3 1/2 minutes per side). Sorr

This is one of my favorite salads; it is as beautiful to look at as it is to eat and is very versatile.  You can use the ingredients you have on hand.  I always make a little extra  Grilled Rosemary Chicken and use the leftovers for this salad. For the dressing: 1/2 small package of blackberries (about a handful) 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 1 T plus 1 t sugar 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 t Dijon mustard 1/4 t salt freshly ground pepper a small amount of finely diced shallots or red onion Place all the ingredients (except the onion) in a small food processor or blender and puree until smooth. For the salad: spring greens grilled chicken cut into strips sliced pears or apples blackberries gorgonzola, blue or feta cheese, crumbled toasted walnuts sliced avocado anything else you might fancy that would look and taste nice

This shrimp is excellent as an appetizer, in tacos or as a main course. You can make it with any chili powder you like or use tandoori or curry spice to make it have a more Indian flavor.  My favorite way to serve this is in taco form (no tails) with refried beans on the side. This is another delightful recipe from my friends Mike and Jackie- For the shrimp: 1 T chili powder (I use 1/2 T ancho chili powder and 1/2 T McCormick chili powder) 1/2 t oregano 1/4 t cumin 1/8 t cinnamon 1/8 t allspice 1/4 t salt 2 garlic cloves, pressed 1 T lime juice 1 T vegetable oil 1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined Combine all marinade ingredients in a medium bowl; add shrimp and marinate in the refrigerator for 1-6 hours. Let shrimp come to room temperature before cooking for about 30 minutes. Grill shrimp over med. high heat using a grill pan for 4-5 minutes, turning once.  Alternatively, you can put the shrimp on a lightly oiled rimmed baking sheet and bake at 500º for 3-5 min

This recipe came from my friends (and excellent cooks) Mike and Jackie; it is a staple in our house and we never get tired of it.  I can't tell you how many people who claim to hate rosemary wind up loving this chicken; I always make extra because it is great in salads, panini sandwiches and just cold the next day. Be sure to use fresh rosemary because the dried stuff will make you feel like you're choking on pine needles! 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves trimmed of any fat and/or gross stuff 5-6 garlic cloves, minced 1 T minced fresh rosemary 1 T Dijon mustard 3-4 T lemon juice (I like it extra-lemony so I use 4 T) 1 t salt freshly ground pepper 2 T extra-virgin olive oil Mix all marinade ingredients with a whisk, poke lots of holes in the chicken with a fork and add them to the mixture.  You can marinade this for as little as 1 hour but it's better if you leave it all day or overnight.  I sometimes make a batch, put the chicken in it and then fre

Ahhh... piecrust.  It's the bane of my existence!  There was something written on the Smitten Kitchen blog about how piecrust smells your fear and I'm pretty sure that's true-- it has an almost predatory quality. It senses your weakness, culls the herd and tries to ruin any effort to conquer it.  It has brought my sister-in-law to tears. Having said that, once in a while, inexplicably it turns out great (which often has an inverse proportion to how it looks).  I have found that when I care too much, the piecrust turns out awful. When I'm sort of winging it, kind of loosy goosy, it turns out pretty well. This is adapted from Food and Wine. Crust: 2 1/2 cups flour 2 1/2 sticks salted butter roughly 1/3 to 1/2 cup ice water I use the food processor or a pastry blender tool to cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal.  If you use the food processor, dump the mixture into a bowl before proceeding and add a little more than 1/3 cup of

This recipe is adapted from Ottolenghi's Jerusalem - an absolutely gorgeous cookbook!  Don't expect these to be the kind of burgers you can throw on the grill; they have to be cooked in a pan and handled gently and lovingly.  They go nicely with a parsley salad and if you can get (or make) some nice naan or pita bread, then you've entered into food nirvana. A pretty rosé complements this meal. Burgers: 1 lb ground turkey 1 large zucchini, coarsely shredded and drained in a colander for about 30 min. 3 green onions, chopped 1 egg, beaten 2 T cilantro, chopped finely 2 cloves of garlic, pressed 1/2 t cumin 1/2 t turmeric 1 t kosher salt freshly ground pepper 1/4 t cayenne pepper (or more if you want it spicier) Sumac Sauce: 1/2 cup sour cream 2/3 cup Greek yogurt 1 t lemon zest 1 T lemon juice (freshly squeezed, goes without saying right??) 1 clove of garlic, pressed 1 T sumac (available at ethnic-type stores) 1 1/2 T extra-virgin olive oil 1/2

“Even when it was not the season for asparagus, it had to be found regardless of cost so that he could take pleasure in the vapors of his own fragrant urine.” This is one of my favorite quotes from Love In The Time of Cholera ; luckily, 'tis the season to enjoy those vapors. This is adapted from Nancy Silverton's Sandwich Book . Grilled Asparagus (toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and grill- or roast in 400º oven for about 15-20 min.) Fontina cheese, shredded (or your favorite, perhaps something hanging around the fridge) Sliced Bread- something substantial like a sliced Trader Joe's Italian for paninis or sourdough Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Eggs First brush the bread slices with EVOO (or if you are feeling particularly decadent, you can spread them with garlic butter) and either grill them on both sides or brown them using a panini maker.  I used the panini maker because every time I try to grill bread I end up burning it.  Lay some asparagus stalks on each sl

This is super easy to make and can be made a couple hours ahead of time. 1 bunch asparagus (try to get spears that aren't too thin) thinly sliced serrano ham extra-virgin olive oil Lightly coat a rimmed baking sheet pan with olive oil (I used olive oil spray). Cut each piece of serrano ham in half and wrap around the center of the asparagus.  Set the asparagus on the pan and drizzle very lightly with olive oil (no more than 1 or 2 T) and sprinkle with kosher or coarse salt and freshly ground pepper.  Bake in a preheated 400º oven for about 10-12 minutes.  You want it to be cooked but firm enough to hold with your fingers.  Easy peasy. This pairs well with Verdejo as well.

This is adapted from Food and Wine magazine; it is the ultimate in comfort food and very easy to make.  I especially love that it all gets cooked up in one pot.  This is best made right before eating when it's almost kind of soupy. 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 small white onion, chopped 12 oz. chicken chorizo, sliced thin (I bought Amy's at Whole Foods) 2 T extra-virgin olive oil Fry the onion in the olive oil until lightly browned, then add the garlic and chorizo and sautée until chorizo is browned (about 5 minutes or so).  Remove the mixture to a bowl. Add the following to the pot: 2 T EVOO (heat this up first in the pot) 12 oz. fideo noodles (these are thin, broken-up pieces of angel hair or spaghetti pasta, available in the Hispanic section of the grocery store) Sautée the noodles over medium high heat, stirring constantly for a few minutes until they are browned. Return the onion, chorizo mixture to the pot and add: 1/2 cup dry white wine.  Cook until t