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If you love the silky texture of mayonnaise, but cholesterol is not your friend, try this cholesterol free substitute. Avocados are a good source of potassium, magnesium, omega 3 and 6, vitamins K, E, B6, and C. Although this mayo is not as flavor neutral as egg based mayo, with a little thought it should work well in many applications.
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Here is my version of this fairly ubiquitous eggplant dish. It can be anything from sublime to downright nasty. The trick is to use good olive oil-not too much, fresh eggplant so the dish is not bitter, and grill the eggplant to get a nice charred, smokey flavor in there. If you can’t grill, use the broiler, but lower the rack so the eggplant has time to take on flavor before carbonizing. Also, be sure the tahini you use is fresh. This is the main culprit for nasty babaganoush. There is nothing like oxidized, rancid tahini to destroy a dish.
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INGREDIENTS:
16 baby artichokes ¼ cup olive oil 4 half chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cut into chunksContinue reading »
A classic dressing for Frisee au Lardons (Curly Endive with Bacon and Poached Egg), a bistro classic. Here the dressing is lightened up a bit using more oil than bacon fat. This dressing is also good on spinach, especially if warmed up a little bit.
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Baja Marinade
This recipe just sort of happened one afternoon in summer long ago. It is still a favorite. Originally used on top sirloin steaks, this marinade is very versatile. This makes for great tacos, so make extra of whatever protein you choose. It also works on tofu, but it is best if you press the tofu overnight and then marinate it all day before grilling. Add 2 more tablespoons of oil for one block of pressed tofu to keep it from sticking to the grill.
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Mix 4 tablespoons softened butter with 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, 2 teaspoons sugar, and salt and pepper to taste; use some of the mixture to grease a baking dish. Rub 4 cored apples inside and out with the remaining butter mixture. Place 4 thick onion rounds in the dish and top with the buttered apples. Add a quartered fennel bulb to the dish. Bake at 425 degrees until the apples are soft, 1 hour.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch kale 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon seasoned saltContinue reading »
Use this dressing for the Spinach, Tomato, and Strawberry Salad if you have the oil and nuts. This dressing will go well with many things. Anything with spinach, and especially arugula, match well with this dressing, as do crisped porcini mushrooms. Use this dressing for a salad if arugula and cress to top thin pan seared pork chops nut crusted swordfish. For nut oils, I like the Tourangelle line of oils. I find them to be full flavored, fresh, and relatively inexpensive for the quality, which I find to be consistent. If you wish, you can substitute almond oil for different salads.
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INGREDIENTS:
1½ pounds button mushrooms, cleaned with a towel or paper towel, sliced 1/8th inch
1-2 cups Balsamic Vinaigrette
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This is a favorite dressing, and has been for years. Use good quality vinegar, but save your best stuff for other uses. This dressing is good on any salad, and goes well with fruit salad, too. You can also heat it up and pour it over sliced mushrooms. This will cook the mushrooms and give them a “pickled” flavor, and they keep well for several days in the refrigerator. They are good in salad and make a nice topping for grilled meat or poultry.
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Although you can buy things called balsamic reductions, or balsamic condiment or glaze, all over the place now, a good many of them are made with inferior, or downright lousy, balsamic vinegar, or not even true balsamic vinegar. A lot of them have caramel, sugar, or other things added to them. Some of these things are for flavoring, others are to thicken.
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This is a basic recipe for cooking up “Braising Mix”, which is typically a mixture of things like curly kale, lacinato kale, collards, chard and sometimes I see mustard greens in the mixes as well. Many people just sauté these greens, but I prefer them cooked longer. This method softens the greens themselves, and helps add nuance of flavor and mitigates the earthiness greens have.
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Baby artichokes aren’t “baby” really; it just refers to size, which is a result of where they grow on the plant. These come from lower down the stem inside the vegetation. For this recipe, the “chokes should be smaller, but this recipe will work just as well with medium sized artichokes.
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This is your basic method for cooking shelling beans (or “shellys” as some people call them) such as cranberry, borlotti, or Tongues of Fire. This recipe is a great jumping-off point. You can eat these beans “as-is”, and if you have leftovers they go great with grains or into a soup such as a minestrone. You can use this recipe and add in sausages and cooked rapini for a one dish meal, or you can use a nice vegetable stock with some carrots and celery and add some long cooked farro, and puree for a wonderful soup. If you have pesto, it is a wonderful seasoning for these beans. Just stir in a dollop and enjoy an end of summer treat. Enjoy shelling beans while you can, as the season is fairly short, and then these will all be dried beans.
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This is a basic celery root salad I use for many things. I combine it with young lettuces, or with sharper greens such as rocket and pepper cress, and it is great with microgreens added in. It makes a nice accompaniment to roast chicken or a foil for firmer fish such as halibut, tuna, salmon, or swordfish. I also like it as part of a hearty “salad” made of grains like wheat berries tossed with mizuna, rocket, frisee, and nuts. This is one of those dishes where I prefer my Ben-Riner slicer (use the medium comb), but a food processor with a medium grater plate or a box grater (use the large holes) will work also.
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Roasting broccoli is a great way to prepare this vegetable. It enhances the sweetness of broccoli and provides appealing textures. Depending on your preference, you can make it crispier or chewier as you choose by adjusting the size of the pieces and the cooking temperature and time. Another nice thing about roasting broccoli is the method mitigates the swampy smell broccoli sometimes gives off when wet cooked. This method will work really well for romanesco or cauliflower as well.
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Farro is an ancient, unhybridized form of wheat that is also known as emmer wheat. It has recently become popular, as has spelt. Although some recipes say they are the same, they are not. Spelt (Triticum aestivum spelta) is a grain that takes longer to cook, and can use a soaking before cooking, where farro (Triticum dicoccum) cooks quicker. Farro is also sweeter tasting that spelt.
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Here is a basic “recipe” I use a lot, especially in the summer; this is for “roasted” onions. It is more of a technique than a recipe, as it only calls for onions and flame, really. These onions are a key ingredient to my dark vegetable stock as they lend a depth of flavor, deep color, and the pectin helps to produce a density or viscosity to the stock that is usually derived from animal products. I use these onions in braises, soups, and salsas. Tossed with a little vinegar (red-wine or balsamic) then placed on toasts they make a nice quick appetizer. They elevate roasted peppers. These onions find their way into eggs, pastas, and sandwiches. Good for pizza, too. Grill a few and keep them in a sealed box in the refrigerator. They last 4-5 days.
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This is not so much a recipe as it is a technique. Use just enough oil to lightly coat the peppers. Some recipes tell you to put the peppers into a plastic bag, but I am not sold on that idea, so I use a steel bowl and a pot lid, or find a plate or other bowl to fit. These peppers, once roasted, store well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days, or freeze beautifully for months. Use these as is for garnishing things, or use them as a base for other dishes. I have cooked these over an open gas burner (can be messy!), under the broiler, even in the sink with a propane torch, but my favorite way is on a grill.
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This is the basic method for cooking winter squash either to eat as is, or to prep it for something else, like soup or as a ravioli or tortellini filling. This works for most winter squash, with the only variation being the times, which will change based on thickness of the squash.
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This is the basic method for sautéing mustard greens. You can add to it as you will. Blanch, then sauté in aromatics flavored with some sort of fat (I tend to go with bacon, ham, or prosciutto because I love the flavor, but good olive oil works fine as a base.) Finish with a dash of acid and serve. For the acid, I vary it based on what the dish is being served with. White wine, cider, red wine, or white balsamic vinegars, or lemon juice, all can come into play-just think of what the dish will be served with to aid your choice.
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