Category Archives: Recipes

Kale Chips

Kale Chips are a quick and easy fix for a chip or snack craving. 
Here I used it as a side to Mustard Baked Chicken.
Begin with a washed bunch of kale.
Remove the hard stems from the kale with a knife.
Cut up leaves into bite size pieces and toss in a baking pan.
Drizzle some olive oil and sprinkle some salt on the leaves.
Toss leaves around until completely coated with oil.
 Bake at 350C for 15-20 minutes until crispy.

Crunch and yum. Healthy chips for the family to enjoy.

Crispy Salmon Fish Tacos

Dinner under thirty minutes? Try something that pretty much just needs a few minutes’ cooking and some assembly.
This fish taco contains crispy pan fried salmon fillet, tomatoes, caramelized onions, red cabbage, cilantro, and cheese.
Boneless salmon fillets. Have I told you about the little known fish and seafood section of Fresh Direct? I’ll elaborate soon in another post.

In a small pan, saute one medium yellow onion in olive oil until soft.
Beat one egg in a bowl and set aside. Pour some panko onto a plate.
Dip the fish in egg, making sure to soak all sides.
Dip the fish in panko until completely covered.
Pan fry in olive oil on medium heat for about 3 minutes on each side.
Sear skin on high for one minute to make it crispy.
Here we have two crispy salmon fillets, whole wheat tortillas and
Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam cheese.
I also chopped up some red cabbage and cilantro.
Sauteed onions, chopped tomatoes and lime.
Fillings and wraps, Greek yogurt.
We were going to try this Conchy Joe’s Hot Pepper Sauce from the Bahamas
but sadly lost the battle. I used Frank Red Hot Chili Lime instead.
Smear some yogurt on a tortilla.
Put a piece of salmon, making sure to get some crispy skin!
Break it up into pieces with a fork.
Add your desired fillings.
Squeeze some lime juice and dash some hot sauce.
And you’re done! Light, healthy and a perfect combination of flavor and crunch.
Need I say it’s pretty too? It would be perfect if you have some orange juice from Orangina, visit their website if you want to try some. Delicioso!

Crostini, Tahini and Curry Dinner

 The evening’s main course: Curried chicken with caramelized tomatoes over quinoa polenta and a side kale salad. 
Not a huge sports fan but I like making major games an excuse to have people over for dinner. As preparation for our annual Superbowl dinner, we invited a few friends for drinks and eats to watch 
the NFC Championship Game. 
 
Having guests over is also a good time to practice table setting. Here I used the teak napkin holders I got to match our table, a bunch of daffodils and Riedel stemless wine glasses.  
The first order of business was the homemade chicken liver pate crostini, pictured here with chopped roasted almonds and sage and drizzled with truffle oil. 
A Malbec was the choice for the evening and alongside a sliced baguette we served 
Cowgirl Creamery Mt. Tam Cheese, a crazy soft creamy cheese that is always a crowd pleaser.  
The soup of the evening was the recently discovered Chickpea Tahini Soup.
quinoa polenta and a side of Kale Salad.
The daffodils bloomed by the end of the evening. I love being around for that.
Screaming sports fans, not so much 🙂

Chicken Liver Paté

Today we attempted to make a version of Frankie 457’s chicken liver crostini. I have an aversion to liver but tolerate it in paté and foie gras. I fell hard for Frankie’s chicken paté when we ordered their crostini so we decided to try making it with organic, free-range chicken livers from the Food Coop. This is a great creation with a nice hint of sage, brandy and lemon. Perfect over toasted baguette slices as an appetizer.
Chicken pate sprinkled with crushed roasted almonds.
Wash the liver really well using pretty hands.

They don’t really look very appetizing  right now.
Some ingredients.
Heat up some olive oil in a pan.
Saute garlic and onions.
Add anchovies.
Add chicken livers.
Saute livers until cooked. Add brandy and simmer.
Cut up some sage.
Add sage to pan.
Season with salt.
Mix together and crush cooked liver with a spatula. Cool for 15 minutes.
Blend using a food processor until pureed.
Zest a lemon peel and add to the mix.
Finished product.
Scoop into a ball and garnish with colorful objects. Serve with toasted sliced baguette. Mangia!
Chicken Liver Paté
10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 6 anchovy fillets
  • 3 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 pound chicken livers
  • 1/2 cup brandy
  • 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
  • 4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel


How To Wrap Summer Rolls

Ever since we were served homemade summer rolls by our fellow food-crazy friends, we’ve been hooked on making them at home. I wrote down my recipe in a previous post but never documented how to put everything together. So here goes.  
This summer roll contains vermicelli, red cabbage, cilantro and shrimp. 
I like to wrap it nicely so that all colors come out and it stays intact 
and manageable throughout the eating process 🙂

Red cabbage sliced thinly and cooked drained noodles.
These farm-raised shrimp from Fresh Direct are so yummy. Reminds me of home.
Fresh cilantro leaves.
A bowl of sriracha and hoisin peanut sauce.
Nuoc nam or lime garlic sauce.
Dip the rice wrapper in a bowl of hot water.
Set the wrapper gently on a plate.
Put some noodles on the wrapper.
Add red cabbage over the noodles.
Pretty shrimp over all those colors.
Begin wrapping by folding the edge closest to you over the filling.
Do it gently so as not to tear the paper or mess up your pretty filling.
Fold over the filling and then fold the edges towards the middle.
Fold the other end over.

Roll all the way to the end and admire your roll by facing it pretty side up. 

I like biting off one end of the wrapper and spooning the sauces into the roll before 
I put it in my mouth and die of happiness.
There you have it! Visually appealing, simple, mostly raw, healthy meal with simple ingredients!
What can be better than that?
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