Good Bye Winter Shrimp and Beer Curry

This simple shrimp curry will warm you up on early Spring nights when it's normal for the temperatures to dip but you’d prefer it to be a few degrees hotter. 

Look for a curry blend with some cinnamon, cardamom and coriander.  These spices go well with coconut milk-based curries.  You can add a few pinches of any of these ground spices to your favorite curry powder to approximate the flavor.

This is a mild curry and slightly sweet. If you like your curry with some extra heat, add dried red chili peppers or a tablespoon of sambal.

Give this curry plenty of time to cook and thicken.  At least 15 minutes on simmer in an uncovered pot is recommended (stir frequently). 

Good Bye Winter Shrimp and Beer Curry over Rice
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
2-4 tablespoons curry powder – look for a so-called Malaysian curry with cardamom and cinnamon
1 cup light coconut milk
1 cup beer
½ cup unsweetened applesauce (or 1 medium apple, peeled and chopped)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons ketchup
1 tablespoon mango chutney or 2 teaspoons honey
½ teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 red pepper (or ½ red pepper + 1 jalepeño or Serrano pepper)
1 cup steamed green beans (briefly steam ahead of time or use any leftover green vegetable)
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ teaspoon salt
Garnish: ¼ cup chopped cashews, chopped peanuts or sliced almonds

Method

1. Prepare curry sauce by melting butter in a medium, heavy bottomed pot (2-quart pot recommended).  Add flour and cook over low heat for 2 minutes, until flour-butter mixture is light brown.  
2. Add curry powder and continue to stir and cook another minute to release the oils in the spice blend. If using dried hot chilies or cayenne powder, add at this stage.
3. Continue to stir and slowly add chicken broth, a few ounces at a time to create a smooth paste.  Now stir in reamining broth, beer, applesauce, ginger, ketchup and chutney (or honey).  If using a liquid hot sauce or hot chili paste like sambal or siracha, add at this stage.  
4. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes while preparing shrimp and vegetables.  Heat oil in a large skillet and sauté peppers and green beans over medium-low heat.  Add vegetables to curry sauce. Taste and add salt if needed.  
5. Continue to cook sauce until vegetables are tender.  Add raw shrimp and cream.  Lower heat and cook about 4 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through. Taste for salt.  Serve over hot rice.  Garnish with nuts.

Tip: Use the remaining coconut milk for the 14 ounce can to make coconut rice.   For 2 cups of cooked rice, use 2 cups of liquid, leftover coconut milk plus enough water to make up the 2 cups. 

City Artichokes with Potatoes and Carrots

This old Greek recipe for Anginares Politi (politi means city) can be traced back to Constatinople.  This vegeatble mixture bridges the transition into spring using small frozen artichokes, small potatoes and sliced carrots.  Dill, parsley and lemon are the traditional flavorings. 

Here, we used simple parsley and white wine mixed with chicken broth to stew the vegetables.  Serve over a bed of white navy beans and brown rice for a hearty early spring repast or as a new side dish that compliments chicken or fish. 

We love that this can be made in one skillet for easy clean up.

Anginares Politi
Serves 4 as a side dish, 2 as a vegetarian entrée

Ingredients
1 package frozen artichokes
½ pound small potatoes (about 12) or cut 2-3 larger potatoes in chunks
5 carrots, thickly sliced
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup water
2 tablespoons white wine (or lemon juice)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons fresh herbs including parsley, dill, tarragon

Method

1. Defrost artichoke hearts.  You can use a microwave on half power for this.  
2. Place potatoes and carrots in a deep skillet.  Add chicken broth, water and wine or lemon juice.  
3. Cover loosely and boil until vegetables are tender and most of the liquid is evaporated, about 8 minutes.  You may need to remove the cover during the last few minutes to ensure most of the liquid boils out.  
4. Add olive oil, butter and artichokes to skillet and cook on medium heat until vegetables begin to brown.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Serve at once garnished with fresh herbs. 

Lemons would be a nice garnish.  

Ice Cream Sandwich Sliders

Fill these small, dark chocolate, gluten-free cookies with a tablespoon of mint or pistachio ice cream to create a little bite to get your green in for St. Patrick's Day.

It is rare that I share a recipe using a mix but now that many manufacturers offer gluten free mixes that have only a few simple ingredients, its worth storing a few boxes in the pantry for last minute baking.   The "cakey" quality of these cookies makes them perfect for ice cream sandwiches.  You can bite into them right out of the freezer. 

Gluten Free Dark Chocolate Cookies
Yields about 60 cookies (enough for 30 ice cream sandwich sliders)

Ingredients
1 package gluten free chocolate cake mix (about 15 ounces)- we used Betty Crocker mix
1/3 cup vegetable shortening and/or unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.  
2. Mix all ingredients in a medium or large mixing bowl using a fork to incorporate all ingredients well.  
3. Divide dough in half and roll out logs in plastic wrap.  Make your rolls about 1 ½ inches in diameter.  
4. Refrigerate ½ hour for a firm, sliceable dough.  
5. Slice cookie dough into 1/3 inch discs.  
6. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart, and bake at 350˚F for eight minutes.  
7. Let cookies rest on cookie sheet 1-2 minutes before removing to a cooling rack with a spatula.

Enjoy the cookies plain or sandwich ice cream between them.  Peanut butter mixed with equal parts cream cheese is another nice cookie sandwich filling. 

Tips
Let dough rest 1/2 hour to fully moisten gluten free flour—for a great texture
It's okey to refrigerate uncooked dough 2 days or freeze for up to one month

Cod Quarter Pounders

Here’s an upscale fish’wich for Fridays.

Thanks to being baked rather than fried, these fish burgers are light but pack a full quarter pound of fish into a serving.  We flavor them with a little dill and oregano and encourage you to try the herbs you like best with cod.  Notice that the amount of extra ingredients in these fish patties is minimal including less than one tablespoon of mayonaise for a whole pound of fish.  That's the secret to a cod burger that tastes like cod.

Make the regular size for burgers or small ones to serve over salad or as an appetizer.

Cod Quarter Pounders
Yield: 4 burgers, 16 sliders or mini-cod cakes

Ingredients
1 pound cod, haddock, pollack (previously frozen is OK)
2 teaspoons mayonnaise (or 1 each mayonnaise and cream)
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
good pinch each of salt, pepper, dill, oregano
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
spray oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.  
2. Chop cod into large chunks.  Place in a food processor and pulse, just a few times to break up fish.  Remove and throw away any skin pieces then pulse one or two more times.  You are looking for a chunky chopped fish rather than pureed fish texture.  
3. Transfer chopped fish to a medium sized bowl.  
4. Add mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper and herbs.  Use a fork to mix these ingredients together.   
5. Stir in most of the bread crumbs.  Fish burgers should be easily formed without sticking to your hands.  Add more bread crumbs if fish is sticking.  
6. Form four patties and place on a lightly oiled sheet pan.  If you have extra bread crumbs you can press the onto the tops of the patties.  
7. Spray a little more oil on top of each patty.  
8. Bake 10-12 minutes until fish is cooked through.  Fish patties are delicate so carefully use a wide spatula to place them on toasted rolls or on top of a green salad. 

Cod burger toppers: avocado, hot sauce mixed with mayonnaise or tartar sauce, pickled jalepeños, dill pickles, lettuce, tomato slices, etc

What’s on the cod in our photo? Spicy Sambal Sauce.  To make your own, mix together 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, 1-2 teaspoon Sambal (or siracha) , ½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard and 1 tablespoon diced celery.

Cooked cod burgers can be kept covered and refrigerated for up to two days.  Reheat on low power in a micorwave.  Cod burgers can also be frozen.  Use within one month for best flavor.  Defrost before gently reheating. 

Tacos al Pastor for Sarah

Chili-marinated pork tacos with pineapple are known as Tacos al Pastor in Mexico.   They are a satisfying cold weather dinner that will assure you that the warmer months are on their way.  We made them recently with our friend Sarah- recently back from working in Mexico-- and her sisters.  

With the cold snap most of the country has endured, a brightly flavored new taco recipe is the right distraction.  Most supermarkets carry whole chilis and if you have been wondering how to use them, this recipe is an easy introduction.  If you cannot envision yourself stemming and seeding 4 chili peppers, substitute one small can chipotle chilis in adobo and one small can green chili peppers. 

Most recipes also call for achiote paste made with annatto seeds in the marinade.  If you have achiote paste at your local market, it’s a nice authentic ingredient. If not, add a clove or two of crushed garlic instead. 

Tacos al Pastor can be found at most Mexico City restaurants where thin slices of pork are carved off a spit (trompo in Spanish) and served on corn tortillas with grilled onions and pineapple chunks.  A half pineapple tops the spit so that its juices can run down during the cooking to tenderize and baste the meat.  The marriage of sweet pineapple juices and the savory – but not too spicy—chili marinade give this taco a fresh twist. 

Tacos al Pastor
Makes 6 servings (Recipe can be halved or cooked pork can be frozen in individual portions)

Ingredients
For the Pork Marinade:
4 dried peppers—2 ancho, 2 gaulijjo
½ - 2/3 cup water
6-8 ounces pineapple juice  (small can)
Juice of one lime
½ teaspoon cumin
½  teaspoon oregano
½  teaspoon salt
optional: 1 Tablespoons achiote paste

2 pounds pork—loin, pork shoulder or butt*
12 corn tortillas
1 fresh pineapple, sliced or cubed
2 medium onions, sliced or quartered
Serve with: cilantro, salsa, avocado, extra lime, etc

*if you are grilling, use pork loin, tenderloin or pork chops.  If you are slow cooking the pork on low in the oven, use the other cuts of pork.  They are less expensive and come out really well when slow cooked.  You can also substitute chicken in this recipe.

Method(s)

1. Prepare the chilis and marinade.  Preheat oven to 325˚F.  Place whole chilies on a metal sheet or pan and bake 3-5 minutes until skin gets crisp.  Watch carefully to prevent scorching.  (Gaujillos may puff up- they are ready when they do.) Remove chilies and allow to cool.  
2. Next you will break open the chilies to remove seeds, stem, any veins that are easily pulled away.  Wear gloves or carefully wash hands and under fingernails before touching anything else, especially eyes, and going on to the next step.  
3. In a blender, combine the chili skins and water.  Puree to a thick consistency.  
4. Add achiote paste, pineapple juice, lime juice and seasoning. 
5. Prepare pork.  Cut into thin strips or, if grilling, ½ inch slices (that will be sliced into strips once off the grill).  
6. Place pork in marinade (use a large bowl or a ziplock bag).  Marinate at least 1 hour or as long as overnight. 

Three ways to cook the meat:
Grill— pork loin, tenderloin or pork chops

1. Preheat grill.  You want a medium temperature.  
2. Wipe some oil on the onion slices and grill, turning until softened and crisping.  Set aside.  
3. Wipe excess marinade from pork chops or pork slices.  Grill each piece 3 minutes per side.  Look for an internal temperature of 145˚F.  (Bonus flavor: If you have extra pineapple juice baste pork with it while it is grilling or brush it on after it comes off the grill.)  
4. Let cooked meat rest on a serving plate while you grill the pineapple slices.  Grill pineapple slices 2-3 minutes preside on medium, until grill marks are just starting to show.  
5. Wrap tortillas in foil and place on grill to warm or cook them directly over the fire using long tongs to hold your tortillas.  Keep them warm in a foil pocket or covered platter.  
6. Each taco gets pork, pineapple, onion and toppings.

Serve with: cilantro, salsa, avocado, extra lime, etc

Oven--- pork loin, tenderloin or pork chops

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F.  
2. Remove pork from marinade but do not wipe off excess marinade.  
3. Place pork in a foil-lined baking pan and bake for 10-12 minutes until pork is just cooked through.  (Pork chops will take a little longer if on the bone.) 
4. When pork reaches 140˚F, remove and set aside to rest, covered.  
5. Wrap tortillas in foil and place in oven to warm while you stir fry sliced onion and pineapple in a hot skillet. 
6. Each taco gets pork, pineapple, onion and toppings.

Serve with: cilantro, salsa, avocado, extra lime, etc

Oven--- pork shoulder or butt.   Cook this cut of pork slow and low!  This will be the most like the pork served in Mexico. 

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F.  
2. Place pork strips and most of marinade in a baking dish or heavy, oven-proof casserole dish.  Cover dish with foil for its top.  
3. Bake pork 1 ½ to 2 hours until pork is cooked through and very tender.  When pork is ready, remove form oven to rest.  NOTE: You can also use a slow cooker for this cut of pork.  Cook on Low 5-6 hours or High 3-4 hours. 
4. Wrap tortillas in foil and place in oven to warm while you stir fry sliced onion and pineapple in a hot skillet.  
5. Each taco gets pork, pineapple, onion and toppings.

Serve with: cilantro, salsa, avocado, extra lime, etc 

Sarah expertly garnishes her taco.

What goes around comes around….
The dish is an authentic Mexican meal adapted from the Lebanese dish with lamb “in the shepard style.” The original dish used lamb, slow-cooked on a spit and served the cooked meat on flatbread.  Mexico uses pork and tortillas but still honors its “pastor” namesake though in some parts of Mexico, you’ll find it known as Tacos de Trompo.

In a return loop to the Middle East, there is a recently popular dish called shawarma mexici that is made with chicken and wrapped in flatbread.  A dish that started off as lamb, was transformed to match local Mexican ingredients returns to its homeland as a chicken dish. 

Baked Maple French Toast for a Crowd

This method of baking french toast yields a platterful of breakfast that is delicate and moist on the inside and, thanks to the maple-butter bottom, crsip with caramalization on the outside.

The key to great french toast, whether cooked on the griddle or in the oven is to allow the bread enough time to soak up the tasty custard.   By pricking the bread with a fork and letting it sit an hour before baking, you will get a fully soaked bread that will puff up to a perfect french toast in the oven. It pays to use day old bread as well.

Baked Maple French Toast for a Crowd

Serves 6, recipe doubles easily

Ingredients
½ loaf challah bread, cut in ¾ inch slices
4oz (½ stick) salted butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
4 eggs
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt

Method

1. Use the largest baking pan you have with sides.  Fit as many slices of bread as possible in one layer in pan—cut bread as needed to fit any open spaces.  Remove bread and set aside.  
2. Melt butter and mix in maple syrup.  Pour into bottom of baking pan and spread with a spoon to cover into the corners.  
3. Lay bread slices back into pan.  Fill in any gaps with small pieces of remaining bread. Use fork tines to prick bread so that it will absorb custard quickly and completely. 
4. Make custard: Mix eggs with remaining ingredients.   Pour over bread.  Tilt pan to ensure all the bread is soaked.  Add more milk if more liquid is needed to cover bread.  
5. Set aside 1 hour to allow bread to become completely soaked (or leave overnight). 
6. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 400˚F.   Bake 20-25 minutes until toast begins to puff and top is starting to brown.  Allow French toast to cool a few minutes before cutting into to serve.  Bread slices will also pull apart.  

You may cool the French toast completely then pull apart or cut in squares and freeze to reheat individual servings.  To reheat, microwave a frozen piece for 30 seconds then heat in a 325˚F oven for 10 minutes on a small baking sheet to recrisp.

Chocolate Soufflé for Two

If you are contemplating a romantic dinner for two this month, a chocolate soufflé is a classic finish that is easier than you might think. If this is your first soufflé, I think a small one that serves two is the most manageable. And a chocolate soufflé is the soufflé recipe to know for two.  It even fits well into the preparation of the rest of the meal. 

There are a few things you can do ahead of time to make the process even easier.

• Wrap a parchment or foil collar around the top soufflé dish to extend its height 2 inches.  This will help hold the puff.   This is not absolutely necessary but add a little more baking time (5 minutes) if using a foil collar.
• Take the eggs out of the refrigerator and separate them into yolks and whites a half hour ahead to make it easier to whip the eggs.  (You can return the egg yolks to the fridge if you’d like.)  
• If you have never ‘folded’ whipped egg whites into another ingredient, take a minute to watch this simple demo that uses a wide spatula to cut into the egg whites and fold them over into the heavier batter.  Hint: It is hard to mess this up.  Just use a gentle touch and know that less is more.  Do not worry if you still see a few streaks of egg white in the mixture.  This means you have not overdone it.

Chocolate Soufflé for Two
Serves two generously, four with some ice cream on the side.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon unsalted butter plus 2+ teaspoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons granulate sugar, divided 1 T and 3T
1 tablespoon flour
3 ounces milk
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate
2 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch salt

Serve with any of the following: whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, strawberries, etc

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375˚F.
2. Butter baking dish.  Use a one-quart strait-sided baking dish, two 2-cup ramekins or 4 smaller ones.  Butter dish and coat with sugar by lifting and turning dish to cover inside.  For each baking dish, butter a strip of foil and cover butter with some sugar.  Wrap foil around dish, buttered side in, to create a collar that raises the rim 2-3 inches.  This will help the soufflé hold its puff but is not absolutely necessary.  
3. In a small pot, combine 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 tablespoon flour. Slowly add 3 ounces milk, stirring to make sure flour and sugar are dissolved.  Place pot over medium heat and stir until milk mixture is thickened.  The consistency should be almost as thick as a pancake batter.  Remove pan from heat.  
4. Add unsweetened chocolate and stir until melted.  Add 2 egg yolks and beat until mixture is smooth.  Set aside to cool.  
5. In a large mixing bowl, beat 2 egg whites until foamy.  Add salt and vanilla and continue beating while slowly adding 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.   Egg whites should hold a stiff peak.  
6. Use a spatula to scoop a small amount of whipped egg white into the chocolate mixture.  Stir together.  This will lighten the chocolate mixture and make it easier to keep the egg whites inflated when you combine to the two mixtures.  
7. Now fold the chocolate mixture into egg whites by scraping the chocolate mixture down the inside of the egg white bowl.  Then use your spatula to fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.  Take your time and stop before the mixture is completely homogeneous.  
8. Pour batter into prepared dish and bake at 375˚F for 20-25 minutes.  If using smaller vessels, check your soufflés after 15 minutes.  
9. When cooked, the soufflé will be puffed up and almost as high as the top of the foil collar.  It it jiggles, it is not yet done. Bake for another 3-4 minutes.  Then, carefully remove the soufflé from the oven and peel away the foil collar.  Serve at once using two large spoons-- backs facing each other-- to dig into the center of the soufflé and pull out soft clouds of soufflé.  Top with sauces of your choice.  

Hint:  Ice cream is a great with this dessert and will melt into a nice "sauce."  I like vanilla or caramel ice cream with a chocolate soufflé.

Leftovers!  You may not have any but it is good to know that a deflated soufflé tastes a lot like a flourless chocolate cake the next day (depsite this one having a tablespoon of flour).  If you are interupted just as your soufflé comes out of the oven all is not lost.

Here is a great time management tip that will ensure a leisurely dinner topped off with your perfect soufflé:
You can make the chocolate base earlier in the day and store it covered and cold up to a day ahead.  Store the un-whipped egg whites alongside, covered and in a small bowl.  You can also prep the baking dishes ahead of time.  Take the chocolate base and egg whites out of the refrigerator an hour before you plan to whip the egg whites and finish the soufflé batter.  As you are putting the main meal on the table, turn the oven to 375˚F so it will be properly preheated. After your main meal, finish the soufflés and put them into the preheated oven. The baking time gives you a nice window to visit at the table, clear the dishes or even take a little walk around your porch before the dessert finale.


Variations:
Orange Chocolate Soufflé
Add zest of one orange to chocolate mixture once cooled. You can also add a 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier liqueur to the egg white rather than the vanilla extract.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Soufflé
Use only ½ ounce unsweetened chocolate and before adding egg yolks to milk mixture, divide the mixture in tow.  Add chocolate to one and 1tablespoon creamy peanut butter to the other.  Add one egg yolk to each mixture.  Proceed with recipe until it is time to fold in egg whites.  Divide egg white into two bowls, fold each flavor into the divided egg whites.  Spoon batters into prepared dish, alternating chocolate with peanut butter.  Bake as directed.  Recommended toppings include sliced banana, crushed peanuts, caramel sauce (or cajeta).

Comments
It is not that easy to find a one-quart soufflé dish but worth the search if you often cook for two or one.  Alternatives include a strait sided oven proof dish or pot (provided it has an oven proof handle), about 4-5 inches deep.  Ramekins, custard cups or even a large muffin pan can work in a pinch.  Fill only halfway to allow room for the soufflés to rise.  Add water to any empty muffin cups to prevent scorching the pan. 

The Light Big Breakfast: Ground Turkey and Egg Tostada

Can breakfast be substantial and still feel light?  If you have an important morning ahead of you or want to serve something a little more exciting for a Sunday breakfast, a tostada is an easy option that doesn't take much more talent or effort than scrabbled eggs.

That's because the recipe is made with eggs stirred into cooked ground turkey.  The turkeu is lightly seasoned but you can up the heat easily with extra jalepeños and hot sauce.  To mimic the flavor of chorizo sausage, add a pinch of smoked parpika with the other spices. 

The recipe is flexible and invites variation based on what you have in your kitchen.  The lightness come from ricotta cheese folde into the eggs and ground turkey but if you don’t have ricotta in the house, you can use another soft fresh cheese like cream cheese, goat cheese, queso fresco or even cottage cheese. 

I like corn tortillas but if flour ones are your favorite, that’s fine too.  This dish is even good without the tortilla for those cutting back on carbs.  Use the recipe as a launching off point and you won't go hungry.

Ground Turkey & Egg Tostada

Ingredients for one:
¼ lb. lean ground turkey
¼ jalapeño, diced (seeds removed)
1 egg
2 T ricotta cheese (or other fresh soft cheese like farmers cheese)
Pinch cumin, coriander, marjoram
Salt & pepper to taste
1 corn tortilla (toasted or fried)
Toppings: extra cheese (grated cheddar, jack), sliced avocado, fresh cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce or salsa

Ingredients to serve four:
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 jalapeño, diced (seeds removed)
4 eggs
½ cup ricotta cheese
½ teaspoon each cumin, coriander, marjoram
Salt & pepper to taste
4 corn tortillas (toasted or fried)
Toppings: extra cheese (grated cheddar, jack), sliced avocado, fresh cilantro, sour cream, hot sauce or salsa

Method

1. Brown the turkey over medium heat.  Whne cooked thoroughly, drain any fat.  
2. Add diced jalapeños and spices. Cook for a minute more.  
3. Meanwhile crack egg/s into a small bowl and scramble with a fork.  Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Pour eggs over hot turkey in sauté pan.  Lower heat and stir to start cooking eggs.  Top with ricotta cheese by small spoonfuls.  
5. Use a spatula as the eggs begin to solidify to turn the egg-turkey mixture and incorporate the cheese.  Do not mix the cheese in completely.  When eggs are set but still soft, cut portions with a spatula and slide onto warm tortillas.  
6. Top with your favorite add-ons.

Good enough-- and fast enough- to be dinner too.

Small Batch Hot Sauce for Super Bowl

If you have ever thought about making your own hot sauce, Super Bowl Sunday gives you the perfect occasion.  Serve it alongside your best chili or hot wings or bring it solo to your neighborhood party.  It will go with almost everything on the buffet spread.

I've been trying to buy a bottle of the habanero-grapefruit hot sauce I had at a Mexican restaurant in SoHo, famous for its wall of bottled hot sauces for diners to choose from.  Without success finding that little bottle of citrus-sy heat in any store, I decided it was time to make my own.

There were no habanero peppers at the market on hot sauce making day so I experimented with Scotch Bonnet peppers.  The result is not quite as hot as the original but in its way, more versatile. The citrus (grapefruit and orange juice) provide acid to the sauce and serve as a great match to morning eggs.  The savory base of carrot and tomato cook down with the hot peppers to give body and substance to the sauce.  Once you have made one hot sauce, use this recipe as a guide to create your own variation. 

Scotch Bonnet Grapefruit Hot Sauce
Makes about 10 ounces

Ingredients
1 carrot
3 plum tomatoes
4-5 Scotch Bonnet peppers, seeded & de-veined
½ to 1 cup water
zest and juice of one grapefruit
juice of one orange
salt
Not hot enough? You can add cayenne pepper to taste.

Method

1. In a cast iron pan, cook carrots, tomatoes, hot peppers and water until carrot is very soft (about 15 minutes. Start with 1/2 cup water and add more as it cooks down.
2. Cool and puree to very smooth.  This is a key step so take the time to get a nice puree with no lumps.
3. Add half of the citrus juices and salt.  Puree again until very smooth.  Taste and add more citrus juice to get a pourable consistency.  More grapefruit juice will bring up hot pepper flavor.  Salt will also seek heat out. If you need more heat, add a little cayenne pepper.  
4. Store refrigerated in a sealed, non-corrosive container and serve over everything!

Beet Salads

Winter salads are refreshing.  But without summer tomatoes, they can seem bland and pale.  Enter the roasted beet, a nutrient packed solution to bring color and intense flavor to winter salads.

Beets are good companions to several salad ingredient favorites.  Thinly sliced beets and carrots create a nest of color with sliced apples over chopped greens.  Roasted salted pepitas add a little crunch and replace croutons.

Beets love goat cheese, whether the standard rolled and sliceable variety or an elegant goat brie (pictured above). Sprinkle in the zest of an orange to layer in a bright note that brings vinaigrettes alive in your salad.  Try a honey based salad dressing for this one.  Magic.

Finally, toss roasted beets with dill, salt and pepper.  Pile the mixture over torn lettuce like romaine.  Pour on any sour cream- or mustard-based dressing (think homemade ranch or dijon mustard vinarigrette) for a salad that plays up beets' affinity with herbs.  In addition to dill, try chives, coriander or even the often forgotten fresh parsley. 

Snow-Capped Stuffed Mushrooms for Ski Weekends

Make-aheads meals are the skiing cook's best friend.  These hearty sausage-stuffed mushrooms satisfy big appetites after a day on the slopes and can be made using smaller mushrooms for excellent apres ski hors d'ourvres.  The "snow" cap is a sour cream-roux that creates a lush sauce for each mushroom.  Diced jalepeño or freshly chopped herbs contribute a touch of greenery. 

Serve 2-3 medium large mushroom to each diner as a main course with a side of pasta or pair the mushrooms with green beans and mashed turnips.  Make smaller ones to put out a bountiful platterful to sample with a limited edition, specialty winter beer shared with friends.

You can make Snow-Capped Stuffed Mushrooms ahead and store them uncooked or cooked for 2-3 days. Either way, the sausage filling is cooked before it is goes into the mushroom so you have a safe, easily transported dish.  Keep the dish cold if traveling (to a ski house, for example) and refrigerate until ready to bake and serve piping hot.

Snow Capped Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
Serves 4 (or 12 as hot hors d'ouvres)

Ingredients
12 medium mushroom (1 1/2 to 2 inch diameter) or 1 pound small Bella mushrooms
1 pound breakfast sausage
4 ounces cheddar cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon marjoram or oregano

Sour Cream 'Snow' Topping
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sour cream
1 jalepeño, seeded and diced or fresh herbs (marjoram, chives, parsley)

Method

1. If baking mushrooms now, preheat oven to 400˚F. 
2. Saute breakfast sausage in a wide skillet over medium heat.  Drain any fat.  Place drained, cooked sausage meat in a medium sized bowl and allow to cool slightly.
3. While sausage cooks, prepare mushroom caps.  Wipe away any dirt on the mushrooms.  remove stem and if using larger mushrooms, use a spoon to scrape out the gills.  Place mushroom caps in a lightly oiled foil-covered baking pan and set aside.
4. Grate cheddar cheese.  When meat is cool enough to touch it without burning yourself but it is still warm, add cheeses and oregano.  Stir with a wide spoon or spatula to mix thoroughly. 
5. Fill mushrooms caps generously using a spoon and/or your hands to form round tops. Place on prepared baking pan.  If making ahead, stop at this point and cover dish with aluminum foil.  refrigerate until ready to bake, up to 2 days.
6. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400˚F.
7. Bake mushrooms for 10-15 minutes, longer if mushrooms have been refrigerated.  
8. While mushrooms bake, make sour cream 'snow' topping.  Mix sour cream and flour.  Add jalepeños or herbs.  Top each mushroom with a dollop of 'snow' and return to oven for another 6-8 minutes.  Let cool a minute before removing from baking dish to serve.
 

How to Make Three Real Foods This Week

It only takes cooking three foods this week to kick-start eating real foods all year.  They say habits take a few weeks to take hold and this is an easy one to incorporate into your routine.  Here is how to have more home cooked, real food ready when you need it. Pictured above, Potato-Corn Chowder with pre-cooked chicken breasts and bacon.

The key is to use passive cooking methods and to cook these pure, real extras while you are already in the kitchen doing something else.  Measuring coffee and bringing water to a boil or waiting for the coffee maker to do its thing?  Measure out some rice or a whole grain and slip it into boiling water to simmer on low.  Most grains cook within 30 minutes and can be stored in the refrigerator for tonight's healthier dinner.  Reheat in the microwave while you steam or stir fry some veggies.

Is the oven being used for dinner tonight?  Use the energy and space wisely-- add some chicken breasts or a fruit crisp to the oven and enjoy real food for dinner tomorrow night too.

Pick easy recipes that require a minimum number of ingredients and a passive cooking technique like steaming, roasting or baking.  Match the recipe's cooking temperature or cooking time to what you are already making, eg use the same oven temperature for several items.   Avoid recipes that ask you to stir, add ingredients midway through the cooking process or transfer from one cooking method to another (steaming then stir-frying). 

Make a big batch, one that can be used in different ways during the whole week.  Make eight half-cup servings of grains, four 6- to 8-ounce portions of protein or one pork tenderloin, even a whole chicken can be roasted alongside tonight's dinner and used in any recipe calling for rotisserie chicken (for half the price!). 

I. Cook a Grain
Rice, whole wheat pasta, barley, bulgur (cracked wheat), buckwheat, oats and more can be made ahead and served at dinner or form the basis of whole grain lunch bowls with steamed spinach, leftover veggies, beans and pre-cooked proteins. 
Hint: if you own a rice cooker it will also cook other grains, even oatmeal.

II. Cook a Protein
Chicken, pork tenderloin and fish can bake alongside tonight's meal in a low or medium oven.  If you are not sure how to prepare, place the protein in a shallow lightly oiled dish, season with salt, pepper and herbs and spices you like and cover with aluminum foil.  Check on fish after 8-12 minutes, chicken and pork 20-30 minutes.  Use a thermometer to make sure the food is thoroughly cooked.
Cooked proteins can be reheated gently by steaming or microwave on low power.  Or make paninis, main dish salads and quick pastas using these pre-cooked proteins.  

III. Cook a Fruit-based Dessert
Fresh or frozen berries, plums, peaches and cherries or fresh apples and pears can each be baked up in a buttered pie plate with a little honey or cinnamon sugar and topped with a combination of quick cooking oats and almond flour that's been tossed with equal parts vegetable oil and maple syrup.  Eat this for dessert or in a breakfast yogurt parfait.

Bonus Round:
Make a pot of soup the way cooks in past centuries did-- on the back burner while you are doing something else.  Simmer broth, vegetables, grains and beans into a pure, homemade soup flavored with herbs, salt and pepper.   The soup pictured above was made with extra boiled potatoes mixed with chicken broth and last summer's frozen corn.  Some chicken added protein and chopped avocado, jalepeño, cilantro and precooked bacon made it a meal.