Mixed berries with dreamy cream is a really easy yet super delicious way to end any meal! This homemade white fluffy fruit dip is made from melting and whisking Marshmallow Fluff with Philadelphia cream cheese. Believe it or not this mixture is a perfect combination. You might think at first that it may be wicked sweet but the tang from the cream cheese mellows that right out and brings it all together in a very nice balance.
You can add a half of teaspoon of vanilla extract to this recipe but I feel like it just gets lost anyways and I like to keep this fluffy dip a bright white making for a wonderful color contrast with the berries. This dreamy cream fruit dip is pretty rich so all you really need is a small dollop in between fruit layers.
Now you may think this Marshmallow Fluff and Philadelphia cream cheese is the perfect compliment to the berries but wait until you invite fresh mint to the party! The flavor of the mint with the mixed berries and dreamy cream is an absolute MUST. I happen to have “peppermint” mint growing around my yard and I use it for so many things like my roasted beets and feta salad. Once you start to grow mint it just takes off and the is no need to ever fuss over it again.
With all the effort we put into entertaining I’m so happy to be able show you a recipe that can be made in a matter of minutes and get the oohs and aah’s that it does! Hope you enjoy the show and the mixed berries and dreamy cream recipe as much as we do.
Ingredients:
12 martini glasses, parfait or plastic drink cups
1 16 oz. container of Marshmallow Fluff
1 8 oz. pkg. Philadelphia cream cheese
1 pint of blue berries
2 lbs fresh strawberries sliced
1 pkg black berries
1 pkg raspberries
fresh mint leaves
Directions:
Place room temperature Philadelphia cream cheese and Marshmallow Fluff in a medium size pan on medium heat
Begin to melt this combination all awhile whisking the whole time
This process will only take 1 minute
Let this mixture fully come to room temperature before layering with the fruit
Begin to layer berries into glass with a small dollop of dreamy cream in between each layer
Barbara’s homemade chocolate pecan pie is like nothing you’ve had before. Not only do you get that gooey texture with a hint of nutty caramel because it’s a pecan pie but a chocolaty finish slides right on in and makes you say wow! Gooey, nutty, caramel, chocolate …need I say MORE? In fact, it is plenty chocolaty so if you wanted to nibble on those “special dark” Hershey’s chocolate chips while you are making the pie feel free it wouldn’t make the pie any less delicious.
When Barbara first delivered her scrumptious homemade pecan pie to my house I was beside myself. I just couldn’t believe my eyes and with an invitation to her Christmas Eve party to top it off which she also cooks for. I later found out that she makes seventy pies that get hand delivered with the invite to her party. It all began fifteen years ago at a surprise party her husband Peter threw for her where stories evolved of first meetings with Barbara and her gifts of homemade chocolate pecan pie. From that point on the pie numbers grew and it now totals out at around 72 pies.
This gourmet chocolate pecan pie of Barbara’s has become a tradition for many of the families on her pie list that wait in anticipation of her delivery in order to take the pie to their relatives on Christmas Day. This pie freezes extremely well and slicing it before freezing making for easy removal without having to thaw the whole pie is ideal. I must say though eating my slice right out of the freezer before it thaws is my new favorite way…wait til you try it!
Barbara is very busy in the month of December when all the pies get baked and delivered. She does get things going back in September though putting in an order for a twenty-two pound box of pecans from Georgia which arrive around Thanksgiving time. Then the whole process takes off from the chopping of the pecans in the food processor, measuring exact amounts placed into baggies and stored in the frig , to purchasing large bottles of Karo syrup that are shelved until needed and so on until December is upon her and the baking begins.
This truly is a labor of love for Barbara and I’m very grateful to have become a part of this amazing tradition and see first hand how inspirational she is. You can see for yourself and hear some of the extremely funny stories that go along with Barbara’s pie making in my “Homemade Chocolate Pecan Pie Show” above. I hope you enjoy the show and now you too can make this homemade chocolate pecan pie part of your family tradition. If you have the time and are only making a pie or two you can check out my “Perfect Pie Crust In 5 Minutes Recipe” or even my “Best Blueberry Pie!” recipe if you are looking to have a second pie 😉
Ingredients – Pre-Heat oven to 375º:
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (on the finer side but NOT a powder)
handful pecan halves for decoration
6 oz. HERSHEY’S Special Dark chocolate chips (full bag for 2 pies)
1 cup light Karo corn syrup -NOTE: Spraying the inside of measuring cup with Pam vegetable or coconut oil will help the Karo syrup ease out (full bottle of Karo for 2 pies)
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup melted butter and cooled to ROOM TEMPERATURE or LUKE WARM
1 1/2 Tsp pure vanilla
4 lg eggs lightly beaten (WITHOUT any frothiness occurring)
Place out rolled out pie crust in the deep dish pie plate
Form edges like a scallop shell as shown in show above, then put into the refrigerator until its needed
In a large bowl mix cooled-melted butter & sugar with a spatula, you are NOT CREAMING the two just stir to combine
Add in Karo Syrup and stir
Then add in vanilla and whisked eggs, don’t want froth so just stir to combine
Mix in chocolate chips, stir
Then add in ground pecans, mix with a spatula
Pour into pie shell
Decorate the top of the pie with pecan halves
Add rim covering on top of pie so crust does not burn if using A Prepared Pie Crust from the store
NOTE: No need to cover my HOMEMADE PIE CRUST with rim covering because it won’t burn
In a 375º pre-heated oven, place the chocolate pecan pie on the lowest rack so the top doesn’t burn and if the top begins to get too dark towards the end place a piece of foil over the pie for the duration
Let cool slightly, slice and serve with bourbon, scotch, wine, coffee or milk…oh and also great with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream 😉
Freezes incredibly well- make sure to cut into slices before you freeze for easy removal. In fact, I love the texture of having the chocolate pecan pie right out of the freezer without thawing! – you should try it this way 🙂
This easy gourmet pesto will definitely put a smile on your face when you see how quickly you can make it! You may never go out and buy the jar stuff again when you taste your own homemade either. There’s just no comparison when you make your own pesto. Now that I show you in my new show how to make it simply in a food processor you have no excuse but to get going and create some incredibly delicious dishes with my homemade pesto recipe.
There’s making pesto by means of mortar and pestle and I admit I have spent many a day making it this way, but there’s another way which I will show you here that saves you time and energy which we all seem to run low on by the end of the day. If it’s the weekend and you have some time on your hands then be my guest and knock yourself out with the mortar and pestle. It is truly is a lovely way to make this paste, and useful in so many other ways like grinding spices for instance not to mention being therapeutic.
Back to reality, being able to use my food processor to make my homemade gourmet pesto is a wonderful thing! The pesto tastes the same and you still put all the love into it using good ingredients. You can play with this recipe also when it comes to amounts like adding a little more Parmesan if it’s too thin or drizzling in a tad more olive oil if it’s too thick. Making pesto is a very forgiving process…. just trust yourself and be sure to taste as you go along to see if you need to add a sprinkle more of salt and or pepper.
Ingredients for Pesto:
1 pkg. 2-3 cups of fresh basil leaves
1/2-3/4 cup grated Reggiano Parmesan
1 lg. garlic clove put thru garlic press
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper
dash of Siracha
Directions for Pesto:
Take the basil leaves off of the stems and place them into the food processor with the pressed garlic.
Begin to pulse while drizzling in all of the olive oil thru the top opening of the food processor.
Once you finish adding the oil you may need to stop and scrape the sides with a spatula if you see large pieces of basil leaves.
Pulse once more, then add the parmesan.
Pulse a couple more times to blend, taste and add salt and pepper and tabasco if you want a little kick to it.
Pulse once more to combine.
The pesto is ready to use.
If you want to save the pesto put it into a plastic container and drizzle about 1 Tbsp of olive oil right on top, lay a piece of Saran wrap right on top of the new layer of olive oil so there isn’t any air touching (This will keep the basil from oxidizing and turning brown).
At this point you can either keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or put it into the freezer.
When you are ready to use the frozen pesto take it out the night before and let it thaw in the refrigerator.
Wow, this gourmet yogurt marinated chicken kabob recipe is the most scrumptious marinade I have ever had on chicken. It will be my new favorite marinade for summer grilling! There is really nothing to putting together this marinade and the results are outstanding. The grilling goes really quickly here too because you cube up the chicken into small pieces so it only takes about 7-8 minutes for each side on high heat. I know I will be baking my chicken with this marinade over the winter months. Maria got this yogurt-marinated chicken kabob recipe from epicurious.com and of course making a couple of adjustments as I go through my own test kitchen adding in the fresh ground coriander and the “smoked” Spanish paprika giving it that hint of something extra that I was looking for.
The combination of these three gourmet recipes together are packed full of flavor! My favorite is actually having this dynamic combo on some warmed or toasted naan adding in a chewy soft texture to this heavenly dish. Using the toum, the garlic Lebanese sauce as a baster for the breads and vegetables when you are grilling in a no brainer.
This homemade gourmet sauce called toum is such an unusual sauce because it’s hard to initially imagine how such a thick and creamy texture can come about from peeled garlic cloves and vegetable oil! You must be patient with this recipe as the slow drizzling of the vegetable oil is crucial in the emulsification of this garlic-oil combo but the efforts are well worth it. Watching the show to see how I get the sauce thick and foamy I hope will help clarify the “how to’s” of it. This toum sauce will last up to 2-3 weeks in your frig and who’s better than you with this little hidden gem just waiting to put a flavor punch of silky garlic on your sauteed veggies, garlic breads, meats, fish, chicken… the options are really endless.
Maria’s homemade tzatziki sauce is a recipe I’m sure you will love and want to add to your go to recipes for summer. The way she has you drain the whole fat Greek Yogurt makes this sauce even creamier and gives your mouth a smooth silky texture yet refreshing at the same time with the grated cucumber, and vinegars and fresh lemon juice. This sauce can easily be used as an amazing dip with pita chips. It’s similar to my cucumber & Vadalia onion saladbut definitely different. So nice to have a couple different styles to choose from.
This Mediterranean night of exotic spices and flavorful recipes will not be easily forgotten. You just may start to crave these homemade dishes sooner than you think. I hope you enjoy the show and the gourmet yogurt marinated chicken kaobs, tzatziki and toum recipes.
INGREDIENTS for Yogurt Chicken Kabobs:
1 tsp ground red pepper flakes
1 tsp (Spanish) smoked paprika
1 tsp (Hungarian) sweet paprika
2 tsp coarse kosher salt
1 tsp fine ground black pepper
2 tbsp tomato paste
6 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
2 whole lemons thinly sliced
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup whole milk Greek Yogurt
2 1/2 lbs. chicken thighs
1 package extra-long wooden skewers
1 package cherry or grape tomatoes
1 or Vadalia sweet onion sliced into 1″ pieces
Mediterranean Yogurt Chicken Kabobs DIRECTIONS:
Take first 11 ingredients in above list and add to large mixing bowl
Mix everything with a spatula then add in chicken pieces and toss to coat
Cover with saran and pop into the frig for 24 hours
Cover 2 cookie tray with foil and begin to place pieces of marinated chicken
Place chicken thigh pieces on BROIL for 10 nminutes, then flip & broil 10 minutes more
Be sure to keep an eye on them so as not to burn
Remove tray and let cool to touch while broiling other tray of chicken thigh pieces
When all chicken can be handled place 3 cooked pieces onto each wooden skewer
OR you can grill…
OPTIONAL: Skewer cherry tomatoes and onion alternating pieces
You can also alternate chicken, tomato, onion, chicken and repeat
Grill on high for 7-8 minutes on each side (even with veggies in the mix)
Serve grilled chicken and tomato/onion on naan or pita bread with tzatziki, and hummus or rice ….YUM!
INGREDIENTS for Tzatziki Sauce:
1 16 oz. container of whole fat Greek yogurt
1 English cucumber
1 garlic clove put thru garlic press
1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
juice from 1/2 fresh lemon
2 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil in sauce and some to drizzle on top at the end
DIRECTIONS for Tzatziki:
Slice cucumber in half-length wise, then in half crosswise
Scoop out middle seeds and discard
Grate cucumber halves into a large bowl
Put cucumber gratings into a Ziploc baggie and add 1/2 tsp salt, let sit for 1 hour or over night
Unseal a small corner of the Ziploc & drain water from baggie squeezing the grated cucumber
Add grated cucumber to a medium bowl, and pat dry with paper towels to remove any excess water
Add fresh dill, garlic, s&p, cumin, lemon juice and Greek yogurt to grated cucumber, mix til creamy texture
Drizzle 2 tbsp good extra virgin olive oil on top and voilà you have tzatziki
INGREDIENTS for TOUM – Lebanese Garlic Sauce:
1 cup peeled white garlic
2 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
DIRECTIONS for Toum: Approx Time 12 minutes
Add 1 cup peeled garlic and salt to food processor and pulse 3 times
Scrape down sides
Begin the garlic-vegetable oil emulsion by SLOWLY beginning to drizzle in the oil – This will take about 12 minutes to slowly drizzle in all of the oil
When you have reached adding in 1/2 cup of oil you will need to stop and scrap sides one last time then start up processor again and resume adding in oil, at about 1 cup of oil mark begin to add 2 tsp of lemon juice – KEEP food processor going the WHOLE TIME
Go back and forth from oil to lemon juice until it’s finished (I begin to add 3 tbsp of lemon juice at a time after about 1 1/2 cup of oil mark)
You should see the volume doubling then quadrupling
At this point the toum will be thick and foamy
Since the food processor has been running for a while now you will need to let it COOL and put into a container but DO NOT seal at this point because any condensation will ruin the texture of the toum and all your hard work
Just loosely cover with a paper towel til COMPLETELY COOLED
At this point you can seal with a top
It will last in the frig for a couple of weeks
Serve with the yogurt marinated chicken kabobs, sauté vegetables, brush on grill items, naan, pita bread, ciabatta for garlic bread … the options are endless ENJOY 🙂
Bloody Mary Shrimp & Mango-Curry Shrimp At Nancy’s
Bloody Mary Shrimp & Mango-Curry Shrimp in Wonton Cups
These two homemade shrimp appetizer’s are fun and delicious! Bloody Mary Shrimp and Mango-Curry Shrimp in wonton cups will soon be on your go to list for summer appetizers! My good friend Nancy passed these wonderful recipes on to me which she found at epicurious.com. They certainly have a an enormous assortment of recipes there to choose from and sometimes it can be overwhelming finding the ones you like so I feel fortunate to have a fellow foodie pass these on.
These two shrimp appetizer’s just might be the easiest and most delicious recipes you’ll have this summer. The Bloody Mary shrimp is so flavorful with all the same condiments that make up “the” cocktail including the vodka but in little nibble sizes. Serving up this appetizer on a spoon makes for a lovely presentation too. You can find these spoons at party stores and sometimes even at Stop & Shop.
The Mango-Curry Shrimp in wonton cups is another winner with a variety of fresh flavors from the green curry sauce to the mango chutney which both come prepared from the specialty section of the grocery store totally saving you time in the prep department …Hallelujah! You know me with the mayo thing … as much as I love my Hellman’s Mayo I do like to cut the mayo with some plain Greek yogurt to give it a little tang and a wonderful fresh texture so I give you that option in the list of ingredients for this appetizer.
It was an enjoyable day shooting this show and having my good friend Nancy share with us a couple of her favorite appetizer’s that she frequently entertains with. We will definitely be back cooking with Nancy this summer and visiting her garden to pick heirloom tomatoes for that scrumptious homemade Tomato Tartan! Hope you enjoy the show and let me know how you like the Bloody Mary Shrimp & Mango-Curry Shrimp appetizer’s.
Ingredients For THE BLOODY MARY SHRIMP:
1 pound medium shrimp in shell, peeled and de-veined
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced celery (2 -3 ribs)
1 cup thinly sliced scallions (about 6)
Directions For THE BLOODY MARY SHRIMP:
Bring a large saucepan of salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 2 quarts water) to a boil.
Add shrimp, then remove from heat and let stand in water until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Drain in a colander and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
Cut shrimp into thirds and transfer to a large bowl with celery and scallions.
Ingredients For THE SAUCE:
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup vodka (preferably Absolut Peppar)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons bottled horseradish (not drained), or to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Tabasco OR Siracha (also found where the tabasco is shelved at the store)
S&P to taste
Directions For THE SAUCE:
Whisk together all sauce ingredients
Just before serving, stir sauce into shrimp mixture.
Spoon 2 shrimp pieces with vegetables and sauce into each soup spoon and arrange spoons on a platter.
NOTE: Shrimp can be cooked and tossed with vegetables 4 hours ahead, then chilled in a sealed bag. Sauce can be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Mix the sauce and shrimp right before serving.
Ingredients For THE MANGO-CURRY SHRIMP:
12 wonton wrappers (from one 12-ounce package), each cut into squares
Vegetable oil
1/3 cup mayonnaise OR split the 1/3 cup mayo in half with Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
5 teaspoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons mango chutney
1 teaspoon Thai green curry paste (Thai green curry paste is available at Asian markets and in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets)
12 ounces peeled cooked medium shrimp, coarsely chopped
1 cup Fresh cilantro leaves coarsely chopped
Directions For THE MANGO-CURRY SHRIMP IN WONTON CUPS – Pre-Heat oven to 325º:
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Place wonton squares on work surface and brush lightly with oil
Press each into miniature muffin cup, oiled side down
Bake until wonton cups are golden brown, about 10 minutes
Cool completely in tins -Can be made 3 days ahead
Remove cups from tins and store airtight at room temperature
Whisk mayonnaise, chopped fresh cilantro, lime juice, chutney, and curry paste in medium bowl to blend
Stir in shrimp. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper. (Salad can be prepared up to 1 day ahead – Cover and refrigerate
Talk about a perfect sauce, well this homemade Alfredo sauce is right on the money! Not only can you make this Alfredo sauce in 5 minutes but it’s a delicate sauce, cheesy, but not too heavy, nutty, sweet and tangy all at the same time. Granted this sauce will come out good no matter which reggiano cheese you end up with but we go to The Madison Cheese Shop to get a three year old aged Reggiano Parmigiano which just takes the Alfredo sauce to another level, where it should be.
You can really taste the difference from a generic grocery store cheese to a specialty cheese shop cheese like this incredible Reggiano Parmigiano that I got from Fawn at The Madison Cheese Shop. With knowledgeable people like Fawn and Henry, Fawn’s assistant at Madison cheese, you just can’t go wrong making this one of your routine stops building on your own knowledge of cheeses and inventory!`
You can keep this fettuccine alfredo vegetarian or add in chicken and asparagus as I did in the show. A nice combination for this alfredo sauce is to add in peas and crispy bacon and you have yourself some fettuccine carbonara. Have fun with this one by adding in your favorites or just changing up the pasta shape because you have the perfect Alfredo sauce base already figured out for you!
INGREDIENTS:
3 cups heavy cream (1 1/2 cups heavy cream, 1 1/2 cups half & half)
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups fresh grated Reggiano Parmigiano
1/2 tsp salt
6 strips of Boars Head smoked bacon, cooked til crispy and then crumbled or sliced into 1/2″ strips (which ever you prefer)
1 bunch fresh asparagus blanched for 4 minutes, then throw on grill for 3 minutes if grilling chicken just for extra flavor, then slice into 1″ pieces putting aside several tips for garnish
1 lb. egg fettuccine pasta OR your favorite pasta
2 grilled chicken breasts or sautéed chicken breasts ( click this link for sautéed chicken recipe)
DIRECTIONS:
Cook up bacon slices, cool and slice or crumble
Grill up or sauté your 2 chicken breasts and dice up into 1″ pieces
Blanch your asparagus and if grilling, throw onto grill just briefly for grill flavor, remove and slice into 1″ pieces
Cook fettuccine according to directions on box
Add heavy cream to a large sauce pan with wine and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes
If chicken has cooled add in diced chicken and asparagus and simmer for 5 minutes
Turn off the heat to sauce pan and whisk in 1 1/2 cup Reggiano cheese
Place cooked pasta into a large serving bowl, pour over the Alfredo sauce and toss
Serve and garnish with bacon and more grated Reggiano
What a treat it is to have homemade salmon gravlax. It’s an even bigger delight to be able to make it yourself at home and have left overs the next day that are just as incredible as the first day they finished curing. Not to mention the money you will save from the astronomical price tag usually attached to those salmon gravlax or Nova lox if you were to buy them at a specialty shop!
You won’t believe how easy it is until you make these gourmet salmon gravlax for yourself. It is very important that when you do decide to make my homemade salmon gravlax to buy wild salmon and NOT farm raised. The wild salmon is definitely going to be pricier then the farm raised but you will still be saving a ton from having a specialty shop cure and sell them to you.
Now there is a little difference between salmon gravlax and Nova lox. Nova lox come from Nova Scotia and are cold smoked after the curing or brining process using some kind of brandy, gin or lemon vodka. Gravlax is the Scandinavian preparation of lox with just the curing or brining using dill and other spices like juniper berries, pepper corns as well as a liquid like an aquavit or vodka. Gravlax actually originated a lot like how sushi evolved in Asia where they buried the fish in rice to preserve and ferment. Gravlax was made by fishmen who salted and fermented it by burying it in the sand …hence the Scandinavian word “grava” meaning to dig.
This homemade salmon gravlax recipe of mine came from a good friend, Jim, who is a saucier himself and always has an endless assortment of great recipes up his sleeve. His wife Jen and him are also big foodies and a lot of fun has been had with them in our own “kitchen cook-offs”! Needless to say I have been making these homemade salmon gravlax for over fifteen years and the results are always amazing. They are for sure “easy gourmet”.
With all the graduations and summer parties around the corner I think you better get busy and invest in some Coho wild salmon or do a little fishing yourself. I actually bought my Coho wild salmon that’s in the cooking show at Whole Foods Market. Their Coho wild caught salmon is packaged and flash frozen by the fisherman to a certain degree required by FDA law to kill any parasites and is ready for distribution. You may never buy store bought salmon gravlax or Nova lox at specialty shops again after eating this incredible delicacy! I hope you Enjoy the “Homemade Salmon Gravlax” show!
INGREDIENTS for Salmon GRAVLAX:
1 1/2 -2 lbs. fresh Wild Coho Salmon (flash frozen or right out of the ocean!)
3-4 tbsp sea salt ( USE 2 tbsp PER POUND of salmon)
3-4 tbsp sugar (USE 2 tbsp PER POUND of salmon)
2 tbsp vodka or aquavit
1 lg bunch of fresh dill
2 tbsp pepper corns -OPTIONAL -for a little spice (Use pepper corns not ground pepper)
DIRECTIONS for Salmon GRAVLAX:
Cut 2 lb salmon filet in 1/2 so we can sandwich the halves together with salmon flesh facing the inside
Whisk dry ingredients together salt, sugar and peppercorns
Sprinkle about 1 tsp of vodka on the flesh sides of each of the salmon halves
Rub all of the dry mixture onto the flesh sides and skin sides of the salmon halves…most of the rub should be on the flesh side though
Lay fresh dill bunch onto one the the salmon fillets, on the flesh side
Sandwich the other salmon fillet on top so that the flesh sides are facing each other
Place into a Ziploc baggie and place in a glass baking dish
Top the salmon fillets with cast iron pans and large cans – YOU NEED TO WEIGHT THE SALMON DOWN (tomato or vegetable cans work great)
Place into the frig and cure for 3 days (2-3 days preferably 3)
Flip the curing salmon every 24 hours making sure to out the weights back on
On day 3 remove the salmon from the baggie and pick off all of the toppings (dill, pepper corns) and give a QUICK rinse or rub off toppings with a damp paper towel (you don’t want to run water over your cured salmon … it’s a QIUCK rinse)
Pat completely dry and sliced salmon on a bias as shown in the show
Serve with mustard sauce or cream cheese-caper mixture and bagels or rye bread rounds and a sprig of fresh dill on top
Mangia mangia
INGREDIENTS for CREAM CHEESE SPREAD:
6 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese
2 tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp small capers
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon
2 tbsp chopped fresh dil
Bring cream cheese to room temperature, add remaining ingredients and mix to combine
INGREDIENTS for MUSTARD SAUCE:
2 tbsp Dijon
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp finely chopped red onion
2 tbsp finely chopped dill
3 tbsp “seasoned” rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp good olive oil
Put first 4 ingredients in a medium size bowl, add in vinegar and begin to whisk in olive oil
Turkey Stuffed Peppers & Nick Fradiani Day Recipe/VIDEO
Homemade turkey stuffed peppers and a peek at Nick Fradiani’s home town concert celebration made for quite an exciting time for my kids, Reilly and Bella. Probably more so with Nick’s concert than the peppers with them lol. I have to say though that these turkey stuffed peppers are one of my favorites!
Originally, my intentions with this post were to emphasis how important it is to support your local butcher and to introduce you to one of my favorites. With all this in mind, it also happened to be Nick Fradiani Day here in Guildford, CT when I shot my visit at their Food Center. So you now get to see how a small New England town supports their own Nick Fradiani, one of the American Idol finalists!
I used to make these stuffed peppers with beef but a good friend has turned me on to turkey and I am really loving it. After making these homemade gourmet stuffed peppers with the ground turkey I have no desire to go back to beef. The turkey based stuffing really hold its own! These peppers are juicy, tender and sweet made with ground turkey, sautéed mushrooms and onions, fresh chopped parsley, rice, grated Reggiano Parmesan, pinot noir or cabernet (your favorite red) and baked in a porcini red wine sauce.
My porcini sauce gives this recipe a really nice flavor but if you don’t have time for it you shouldn’t let that stop you from making these savory stuffed peppers. You can buy a favorite store sauce for convenience or use one of your own. I have you slice the mushrooms paper thin here and then cut those in 1/2 and that keeps the flavor delicate and the mushrooms very tender not chewy …. they almost melt into the stuffing when baking. The onions are finely chopped so I love to use my vegetable hand chopperbecause it saves a ton of time when you are doing all this prep work unless you have a sous chef that is.
Now you of course can use any color pepper you like. I like using the green ones because I like the strong flavor they render. Peppers are milder in flavor and sweeter with the reds, oranges, and yellows. I don’t believe in using “instant rice” ever because it doesn’t have a great texture. Making rice is a simple process …see “TIP” below. These stuffed peppers are a few step process so it’s a good idea to get some of the work done the day before like making the porcini red sauce and the rice. This dish is so worth the effort …. It just may become your go to Sunday dinner and you can even end this delicious dinner with a bang making a quick and easyGerman pancake recipe or chocolate-avocado mousse!
Ingredients: For Porcini Red Sauce:
1 large can whole peeled tomatoes (I use Sclafani)
4 large garlic cloves
1/4 -1/3 cup dried broken up porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup warm water for the porcini mushrooms
1/4 cup pinot noir wine
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
Directions:
Put the dried porcini mushrooms in 1/4 cup water and let sit for 1/2 hour.
Sauté 4 large garlic cloves in 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium sauce pan until golden.
Add whole tomatoes and golden garlic cloves to food processor and purée for 1 minute.
Add this back to the pan.
Take the soaked, softened porcini’s out of the water and coarsely chop.
Add the porcini’s and their juice to the sauce pan along with 1/4 cup pinot, salt, pepper and sugar.
Bring to a simmer, lower heat and keep simmering for 20-30 minutes.
Remove from the stove and cool.
Ingredients – For Stuffed Peppers – Serves 6-8 people:
1 lb. ground turkey
6 -8 large bell peppers, 2 red, 2 orange, 2 yellow, 2 green (USE 6-8 peppers)
2 1/4 cups porcini red sauce (1 c. in the stuffing, 2 1/4 c. in the bottom of baking dish)
1 1/2 cup cooked Basmati or Jasmine long grain rice
1 cup grated Reggiano Parmesano
1/3 cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
8oz. pkg of baby bella brown mushrooms (finely sliced) and then a little chop
1 large spanish onion FINELY chopped about 2 1/2 -3 cups
1 cup pinot noir or cabernet (1/4 c. for mushroom/onion mixture, 3/4 c. for baking dish)
1/2 cup boiling water
2 1/4 Tsp salt (2 tsp in bowl with stuffing ingredients and 1/4 when sauteing the mushrooms and onions)
1/4 Tsp pepper
2 Tbsp live oil (for sautéing)
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350º.
Cut 1″ off of the top of the peppers, pull out the centers with your hands and clean out the inside white part of the pepper.
Place into baking dish.
Clean your mushrooms with either a damp paper towel or a mushroom brush … you should NEVER wash your mushrooms or submerse them in water because mushrooms are porous.
Pop out the mushroom stem and finely slice them and then slice that pile in 1/2…don’t need to be neat about it.
Finely chop a large spanish onion…I’m all for using one of those choppers for this!
Add onion and mushrooms and 1/4 tsp salt to 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté on medium/high heat for 10 minutes til soft and then on medium heat to caramelize for anther 10 minutes
De-glaze with 1/4 cup pinot let evaporate about another 5 min.
Remove from the stove and let cool.
Add Turkey, grated cheese, 1 cup cooled sauce, 1/3 cup parsley, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper and all of cooled mushroom/onion mixture to a large bowl and gently mix.
Fill the peppers gently with the stuffing, don’t pack it down.
Add the rest of the porcini sauce (approx. 2 cups), 3/4 cup pinot, and 1/2 cup boiling water to the bottom of the baking dish.
NOTE: If the porcini sauce was refrigerated you should warm it a little to room temperature so it doesn’t prolong the cooking process of the stuffed peppers.
Sprinkle with a little Parmesan, cover with foil and bake at 350º for 1 hr.
Remove the foil after 1 hour
Then up the heat to 400º for another 30 minutes uncovered
Keep an eye on it at this point so the tops don’t blacken too much (everyone’s oven is a little different)
Total cooking time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes
Take the peppers out of the oven, cover back up with foil and let them sit for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle with more parmesan and serve with porcini sauce from bottom of bake dish
TIP: RICE- To make Basmati or Jasmine rice measure 1 cup rice and put into medium pan. Run cold water over rice and drain using your hand to hold back the rice. Then add 1 1/2 cups water (water level is 1 knuckle over rice), cover and bring to a boil, turn down heat IMMEDIATELY to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and keep covered letting it sit for another 10 minutes and voilà. Fluff with a fork
This Asian Shrimp & Noodle Salad is best when you make it the night before so all these wonderful herbs and oils can marinate the rice noodles and shrimp. Granted, sometimes it just can’t be helped because the flavors are so bright and delicious no one can wait for the next day. This recipe originated from my good friend Karen who is a true foodie! I of course have tweaked the ingredients as I do with most recipes. I used rice noodles making it gluten friendly instead of pasta which you can use as well…I love it with pasta also but I feel that using the rice noodles makes this a lighter dish. I have also added in carrots using a lemon zester which makes spaghetti like strands and I love what the color does for the dish not to mention orange is my favorite color…can you tell? When you buy the carrots be sure to buy the loose carrots with the greens still intact because they are so much sweeter then the packaged ones especially for something like this where they play one of the main characters to the story.
You can pretty much buy rice noodles anywhere but I have to tell you one of my favorite Asian markets is Hong Kong Grocery at 71 Whitney Ave., New Haven, CT. It’s on the corner of Trumble St. & Whitney Ave. and they have a Dim Sum Restaurant next door. You can get all your rice noodles, rice paper, rice wine vinegar, soy’s, a good size bag of sesame seeds and much more at the street level. Down stairs you will find the freshest, juiciest ginger you will ever have and the same for their daikon radish and garlic bulbs. I also buy some very durable and adorable Asian bowls there. It’s a great find and you should really try to stop in when you get the chance. This Asian shrimp and noodle salad would go great with some chocolate-avocado mousse, or Pavlova with fresh pineapple & berries for dessert!
Ingredients – Serves 6-8 lunch or dinners:
1 lb. rice noodles (linguine fini or fettuccine…I used a fettuccine size width in the pictures)
1 1/2 lb. medium size peeled and deveined shrimp or cooked shrimp
3/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup “seasoned” rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup oilve oil
juice from 1/2 lime
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 bunch sliced scallions (save 1/4 cup for garnish)
5 medium-small size loose carrots (don’t use the packaged ones)
1 cup cilantro (2/3 for dressing, 1/3 for garnish)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 Tsp pepper
3 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 Tsp Tabacsco or Siracha (a hot chili sauce sold right next to the Tabasco at the store) this of course if optional
Directions:
If you have uncooked shrimp bring small pot of water to a boil, then add uncooked shrimp, turn down heat and simmer for 1 minute
Drain the shrimp and run cold water over them or put into an ice bath, dry with paper towels and set aside
Toast sesame seeds on medium heat in a small pan shaking the pan periodically back and forth
This happens quickly once they heat up…it will only take about 3-4 minutes so it’s best not to leave the pan or the stove
Once the sesame seeds are golden remove from the pan, place in a ramekin and set aside
Peel and grate the carrots with a lemon zester and set aside
Follow package directions to cook rice noodles (or Pasta)
Rinse Rice noodles with cold water til cooled so they don’t stick together, set aside
In a large bowl add soy, toasted sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, lime juice, olive oil, ginger, scallions, cilantro, salt & pepper, Tabasco, 2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds, shrimp, rice noodles and carrots and toss…so basically add everything together and toss till blended
Put into the frig for at least 2 hours, preferably over night
Serve in bowls and top with cilantro, scallion slices and a sprinkle of sesame seeds..YUM!
NOTE: You can CHANGE this up using grilled shrimp, steak or scallops!
These gourmet crispy oven fries are super easy and delicious. Now that’s a combination we can all live with. I’m not into fussing around with rinsing, soaking, pre-boiling, semi-nuking, and then baking or doing a double frying. What, we don’t have anything else to do with our time! There aren’t enough hours in a day as it is so why waste our valuable time with unnecessary steps when it can be done so easily.
My gourmet crispy oven fries recipe is so easy you will think you are missing a step! I have been making these oven fries for years and I am still getting wonderful results. Granted, everyone’s oven runs a little differently so that’s why I have you check the fries at the 30 minute mark to make sure they are not getting too dark. Keeping them all the same size is key to having great fries so they all finish browning at the same time. I have also never stopped using olive oil to make these fries. Of course, I have done trial runs testing with other oils like vegetable or canola oil but the fries are always stuck to the cookie sheet in the end and that for me seems to happen because they are a thinner oil. I really like the ease of using olive oil and they get that pretty golden color that I want. You still have to use a spatula to remove the golden fries from the tray but it’s an easy release.
Having a homemade dipping sauce as tasty as my remoulade sauce made with greek yogurt is pretty much a no brainer for me. This sauce has the tang from the yogurt, a little sweet from the ketchup and a nice spice from the fresh garlic and Siracha…..yum. You need to try this sauce with mycrab cakes ,bacon wrapped sea scallops or mybaked coconut shrimprecipe. It’s such a nice combination and a change up from plain ketchup! This gourmet remoulade sauce is outrageous on sandwiches too especially turkey burgers or even beef for that matter!
INGREDIENTS FOR GREEK YOGURT REMOULADE SAUCE:
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup Hellman’s mayo
3 tbsp. ketchup
1 dash Siracha – OPTIONAL (Siracha is a hot chili sauce sold next to the Tabasco at the store or what ever your favorite hot sauce is!)
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 lg. garlic clove (put thru press )
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar (I use “seasoned” rice wine vinegar)
Freshly chopped chives to sprinkle on top of finished remoulade
DIRECTIONS FOR REMOULADE:
Whisk all of the ingredients except the chives in a mixing bowl, then top with chopped chives
Ingredients FOR GOURMET OVEN CRISPY FRIES:
4 Med. size Russet potatoes OR Yukon potatoes sliced into sticks and pat dry with paper towels
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp onion granules
FOR GARLIC FRIES: 4 cloves fresh chopped garlic and 1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley with 1 tbsp butter heated for 5-8 minutes in oven while it’s pre-heating for fries to take the bite out of the garlic or heat in a small pan on the stove on low for 10 minutes
Directions FOR GOURMET OVEN CRISPY FRIES:
Pre-heat the oven to 450º.
Slice potatoes in 1/4″ sticks or wedges – NOTE: if you cut into wedges you need to keep an eye on them because the thin pointy edges might burn before they are done
Dab with paper towels to dry excess potato moisture (starch) IMMEDIATELY or they will turn brown and layer cut up potato fries in between layers of paper towels while you are cutting
NOTE: if any of the fries do turn brown just quickly rinse and blot dry
Toss all the cut up fries onto a cookie sheet
Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp garlic, onion and salt
Mixed with hands and then spread out into even layer on cookie sheet
Bake for 35 minutes BUT check at 30 minutes…No need to flip because the bottom gets cripsy….just leave them alone til the end
Barbara’s homemade chocolate pecan pie is like nothing you’ve had before. Not only do you get that gooey texture with a hint of nutty caramel because it’s a pecan pie but a chocolaty finish slides right on in and makes you say wow! Gooey, nutty, caramel, chocolate …need I say MORE? In fact, it is plenty chocolaty so if you wanted to nibble on those “special dark” Hershey’s chocolate chips while you are making the pie feel free it wouldn’t make the pie any less delicious.
This truly is a labor of love for Barbara and I’m very grateful to have become a part of this amazing tradition and see first hand how inspirational she is. You can see for yourself and hear some of the extremely funny stories that go along with Barbara’s pie making in my “Homemade Chocolate Pecan Pie Show” above. I hope you enjoy the show and now you too can make this 
homemade chocolate pecan pie part of your family tradition. If you have the time and are only making a pie or two you can check out my 
