My Menu Blog

RECIPE:
Serves 4

1 x 15 oz bag dried Cannellini Beans, cooked per instructions on the packet*
2 carrots – peeled, ¼” dice
1 white onion – finely diced
¼ cup fresh tarragon – stalks removed, leaves chopped
5 cups organic vegetable broth
1 large bunch kale – stalks removed & finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped. All rinsed in cold water, drained.
2 tbsp olive oil
S&P to taste

*NOTE: You can use any dried white beans or even canned beans if you prefer. My favourite choice for canned foods is Eden Organic. Not only do they support the Non-GMO Project they are GEO free and their cans are BPA free, all of which are better for your health.

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat soup pot on medium heat for 2 minutes. Drizzle olive oil in pot. Add onions and sauté for 3 minutes stirring occasionally. Do not brown. After 3 minutes add in carrots. Continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes with the lid on, stirring occasionally. This will create steam to cook the carrots faster.

Once the carrots begin to soften add in the tarragon, stir.
Add in cooked beans, quick stir then add broth, mix well. Bring to a boil and once boiling reduce heat to a simmer. Once simmering add in the kale stalks, which will soften in the broth. Continue cooking with lid on for about 15 minutes or until the carrots are soft, stirring occasionally.
Next add the chopped kale leaves, simmer for another 5 or 10 minutes max.

Taste and season with S&P.

• Olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups coconut milk
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bunch medium asparagus
• 2 cups cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in 1/2

In a small saucepan over medium heat put 2 tablespoons oil, then add onions, ginger, curry powder, and sugar, and saute for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, and bring to a simmer. Cook the sauce for about 10 minutes over low heat. Season the sauce with salt, and pepper. Heat a saute pan over medium heat. Put 2 tablespoons oil in the pan, add the asparagus and cauliflower, and saute for 2 minutes. Add a splash of water to steam the veggies, then add 1/2 a cup of the curry sauce to coat the veggies, and cook 1 minute more. Add the tomatoes to the pan, just to warm, and season, to taste.

For the potatoes:

• 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 2 ounces unsalted butter
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 egg yolk

For the meat filling:

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced small
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves
• 1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas

Directions

Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds. Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.

Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.

• 1 bottle (1 liter) plus 1 cup (225 ml) of red wine
• 1 onion, cut into a 1-inch (2.5-cm) dice
• 1 carrot, cut into ¼-inch (6-mm) slices
• 1 celery rib, cut into ½-inch (1-cm) slices
• 4 whole cloves
• 1 tbsp (14 g) whole black peppercorns
• 1 bouquet garni
• 1 whole chicken, about 3.5 lb (1.35 kg) “trimmed”–meaning guts, wing tips, and neckbone removed
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 tbsp (28 ml) olive oil
• 6 tbsp (75 g) butter, softened
• 1 tbsp (14 g) flour
• ¼ lb (112 g) slab or country bacon, cut into small oblongs (lardons) about ¼ by 1 inch (6 mm by 2.5 cm)
• ½ Ib/225 g small, white button mushrooms, stems removed
• 12 pearl onions, peeled pinch of sugar

DAY ONE

The day before you even begin to cook, combine the bottle of red wine, the diced onion (that’s the big onion, not the pearl onions), sliced carrot, celery, cloves, peppercorns, and bouquet garni in a large, deep bowl. Add the chicken and submerge it in the liquid so that all of it is covered. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

DAY TWO

Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat it dry. Put it aside. Strain the marinade through the fine strainer, reserving the liquids and solids separately. Season the chicken with salt and pepper inside and out. In the large Dutch oven, heat the oil and 2 tablespoons/28 g of the butter until almost smoking, and then sear the chicken, turning with the tongs to evenly brown the skin. Once browned, remove it from the pot and set it aside again. Add the reserved onions, celery, and carrot to the pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and golden brown. That should take you about 10 minutes.

Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and mix well with the wooden spoon so that the vegetables are coated. Now stir in the reserved strained marinade. Put the chicken back in the pot, along with the bouquet garni. Cook this for about 1 hour and 15 minutes over low heat.

Have a drink. You’re almost there …

While your chicken stews slowly in the pot, cook the bacon lardons in the small sauté pan over medium heat until golden brown. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain it on paper towels, making sure to keep about 1 tablespoon/14 g of fat in the pan. Sauté the mushroom tops in the bacon fat until golden brown. Set them aside.

Now, in the small saucepan, combine the pearl onions, the pinch of sugar, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons/28 g of the butter. Add just enough water to just cover the onions, then cover the pan with the parchment paper trimmed to the same size as your pan. (I suppose you can use foil if you must.) Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the water has evaporated. Keep a close eye on it. Remove the paper cover and continue to cook until the onions are golden brown. Set the onions aside and add the remaining cup/225 ml of red wine to the hot pan, scraping up all the fond on the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper and reduce over medium-high heat until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.

Your work is pretty much done here. One more thing and then it’s wine and kudos …

When the chicken is cooked through—meaning tender, the juice from the thigh running clear when pricked—carefully remove from the liquid, cut into quarters, and arrange on the deep serving platter. Strain the cooking liquid (again) into the reduced red wine. Now just add the bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, and swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons/28 g of butter. Now pour that sauce over the chicken and dazzle your friends with your brilliance. Serve with buttered noodles and a Bourgogne Rouge.

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 cup uncooked long grain white rice
• 1 cup water
• 6 green bell peppers
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 lb. cod, haddock, or orange roughy fillet
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. dried basil, crushed
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Dash salt
2 plum tomatoes, cored and cut crosswise into thin slices
2 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese

1. Pat fish dry and cut into 2 serving pieces.
2. Combine oil and lemon juice in a baking dish. Add fish and turn to coat both sides. Sprinkle with basil, pepper and salt.
3. Overlap tomatoes in even layer on fish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
4. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees, about 10 to 15 minutes or until fish just begins to flake when tested with a fork.

1 qt. water
2 orange pekoe tea bags
2 tbs. Kosher salt
1 tbs. molasses
½ small onion, thinly sliced
2 tsp. whole coriander seeds
2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
6 whole allspice berries
6 whole cloves
4 cloves garlic, mashed flat with the back of a knife
4 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
1 bay leaf
2 cups ice
4 (10-12 oz.) bone-in pork loin chops

1. In a large pot over med.-high heat, combine the water, tea bags, salt, molasses, onion, coriander, peppercorns, allspice, cloves, garlic, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Transfer to a sealable container. Add ice and let cool to room temp.
2. Remove tea bags. Add pork chops, seal and refrigerate for 24 hrs. Remove the pork chops from the brine. Pat dry with paperp towels; set aside at room temp. while pre-heating the grill.
3. Prepare a charcoal  fire using about 6 lbs. of charcoal and burn until the coals are completely covered with a thin coating of light gray ash, 20-30 min. Spread the coals evenly over the grill bottom, position the grill rack above the coals, and heat until med-hot (when you can hold you hand 5 in. above the grill surface for no longer than 3-4 seconds). Or for a gas grill, turn all the burners to high, close the lid and heat until very hot, 10-15 min.
4. Place the pork chops in the prepared rill and cook until an instant read thermometer reaches 145°F, 5-7 min. per side.

1 tbs. EVOO
1 lb. ground chicken
1/3 cup sliced green olives (drained)
1½ cups low-sodium tomato sauce
1/3 cup pre-diced onions
¼ cup raisins
1 tbs. minced garlic
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
4 med. tortillas

1. Preheat large sauté pan on med-high 2-3 min.
2. Place oil in pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken; cook 5-7 min., stirring to crumble meat, or until meat is brown and no pink remains. Meanwhile, chop olives coarsely.
3. Stir in remaining ingredients; cook 6-8 min., stirring occasionally, or until flavors are blended and mixture is thoroughly heated.
4. Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in paper towel and microwave on high 30-45 seconds or until warm. Spoon meat into tortillas and serve.

4 salmon steaks

Marinade:
1/8 cup honey
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic
¼ onion
1 pinch salt
½ mango pitted and peeled
½ cup sliced peaches canned or fresh

Mango Salsa:

½  cup diced peaches (fresh or canned)
1 mango pitted, peeled and diced
½ red pepper diced
3 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. fresh ground ginger
¼ cup chopped parlsey
1 jalapeño pepper seeded and chopped (optional)
2 tbs. lime juice

Salmon:

1. Place all marinade ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.
2. Immerse salmon in marinade and refrigerate for 1 hr. Make salsa during this time.

Mango Salsa:

1. Toss all ingredients together. Refrigerate 1 hr.

Grill salmon approximately 5 min. per side, plate and spoon salsa over fish.

2 lbs. ground chicken
2 tbs. chopped parsley
4 cloves chopped garlic
1 tsp. chopped shallot
1 stalk diced fennel
Salt and pepper to taste
4 large bell peppers

1. In a large bowl combine chicken and parsley, garlic, shallot, fennel, salt and pepper until just blended.
2. Remove tops from peppers and clean out the seeds. Fill each pepper with chicken mixture.
3. Bake at 350°F for 1 hr. or until juices run clear.