It probably comes as no surprise that my job as a personal chef requires that I do A LOT of grocery shopping. I generally don't mind the shopping but I do get tired of going to the same grocery store every single day. I tend to mix it up - even it if means that I have to travel further - to shop at different grocery stores just for a change in scenery. So when my friends wanted to organize a lunch date followed by a trip to Whole Foods - I didn't even hesitate. Grocery shopping with friends is WAY more fun than grocery shopping alone. I always find new things when I grocery shop with friends. They find things in the store that I never even knew they had. A trip to Whole Foods would not be complete without a stop by the fresh fish counter either. This week, I ran across a recipe for Roasted Cod in my Cooking Light magazine and they just happened to have some beautiful cod loin filets at Whole Foods this week. That is what I call - dinner destiny. Roasted Cod 1 multigrain English muffin 1/4 cup sliced almonds 1 teaspoon fresh thyme 4 teaspoons olive oil 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper 4 fresh cod filets 2 teaspoons light mayonnaise
Bake fish 10-15 minutes at 400. Serve. Roasted cod is simple and easy to prepare. A perfect summer meal. Ciao!
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Well, it's official - I am an eggplant farmer. This was the first summer that I'd tried my hand at eggplant farming and to be honest - I had low expectations. But, turns out - eggplant is surprisingly easy to grow. I was so excited when I walked out to my garden one afternoon to find these beautiful plants. And it didn't take long for these 2 delicious looking eggplants to grow either. So the big question was --- "What in the world do I make with my prized eggplant?" The answer - eggplant rollatini. I can think of no better way to highlight my very first home grown eggplant. Eggplant Rollatini 1 recipe homemade marinara (I used my lasagna sauce recipe) 2 beautifully home grown eggplant (or store bought) 8 ounces ricotta 4 ounces cream cheese 5 ounces frozen spinach (thawed) 4 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese 1/2 teaspoon basil 1/2 teaspoon oregano dash of salt
Roll eggplant up tightly and place in baking dish over sauce. Top with another layer of sauce and sprinkle with a little extra Parmesan cheese. Bake 20 minutes at 350. Serve and enjoy. While I was making my eggplant rollatini, the kids were whipping up some traditional lasagna and we baked them together in the oven. I have to admit - I sampled both and I liked the eggplant rollatini soooo much better. It really is good and I'm pretty sure that's not just because I grew my own eggplant. I love being an eggplant farmer.
Ciao! In my humble opinion, summer meals should be quick and easy. Even though I love to cook, it is absolute torture for me to spend a beautiful summer day in the kitchen. I would much rather spend my time outside than in a hot kitchen. Summer for me is all about spending every minute than I can in my garden or relaxing by the pool or hanging out with my family - not alone in the kitchen. I still want to feed my family great meals this summer - I just don't want to spend a long time preparing them. One thing that helps keep me from lonely dinner prep is to have Ryan and Courtney help me with at least one dinner a week. (They help on separate nights - learned that the hard way.) I also choose recipes that are super easy and quick to prepare. (I save the complicated and fussy recipes for the winter months when I'm stuck inside the house anyway.) These grilled pork chops are the perfect summer meal - quick, easy, delicious. The trifecta of a perfect summer dinner. I threw the pork chops in the brine solution in the morning and let them soak all afternoon while I spent the day hanging out with the kids. When it was time to eat, my thin sliced pork chops were ready in minutes. Combine brine ingredients and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add pork chops and refrigerate 8-12 hours. Grilled Pork Chops Brine 1/4 cup kosher salt 1/4 cup sugar 4 cups water 4 center cut pork chops Rub 3 Tablespoons paprika 1 teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, ground mustard and pepper Remove pork chops from brine and pat dry with paper towels. Combine rub ingredients. Sprinkle over both sides of pork chops. Grill chops until thermometer reads 145 degrees. Add a few simple sides and dinner is served. These grilled pork chops are delicious and they're so quick to prepare that you'll still have plenty of time left in your day to linger on the front porch swing. Ciao! I am doing my best to soak in every single minute of this summer. Lingering by the pool, sitting outside listening to summer storms, playing corn hole in the front yard - all of my usual summer traditions. I am sure not going to miss out on any of my favorite summer eats this year either - corn on the cob, barbequed chicken, watermelon, summer salads. We had every one of those summer treats on our dinner table last night and it was DELICIOUS. Summer on a plate. I found this recipe for Barbequed Chicken in Cook's Country magazine. This recipe just screamed summer and it was the perfect recipe for my summer dinner menu. Barbequed Chicken 2 Tablespoons brown sugar 1 Tablespoon salt 1 Tablespoon paprika 1 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon white pepper 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder 4 pounds chicken thighs 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons barbeque sauce 1/2 cup chicken broth 7 cloves garlic (6 sliced thin, 1 minced) 3 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 2 Tablespoons hot sauce 2 Tablespoons apple jelly
Transfer chicken to a disposable pan. Pour broth sauce over chicken and place on grill for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from sauce and place directly on grill grates. Brush with jelly sauce and continue to grill until cooked through. Toss in a few summer classics like corn on the cob, watermelon and a fresh green salad and voila - you've got yourself a perfect summer meal. All that was missing was a giant slice of strawberry shortcake to finish off this fabulous meal.
Ciao! I can come up with more excuses to eat cake than anyone else I know. There are the usual cake occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, baby showers and weddings and then there are the less popular cake worthy celebrations like first day of summer, no cavity dental appointments, because it's a Monday... you get the idea. Let's face it - I can make any day into a cake worthy day. Sometimes I have to get creative when I'm trying to come up with reasons to make a cake but lately - I've had plenty of cake orders to satisfy my need for cake baking without any crazy excuses. And for me - it's all about the baking and not so much the eating. I'm perfectly content to bake cakes and then pass them off to other people to enjoy. It makes me even happier to know that someone else is enjoying one of my cakes than it does if I were to eat it all myself. Even though I don't eat all of the cake that I bake (because I would weigh 500 pounds) I still make it my goal to make them as delicious as I possibly can. One of the most popular flavors that I get asked to make is a classic yellow cake. I came across a new recipe for yellow cake on Browneyedbaker.com and decided to give it a try. It was so good that it has now become my go-to yellow cake recipe. So good in fact that I used them in my two latest graduation cakes. Yellow Cake 2 1/2 cups cake flour , plus extra for dusting pans 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon table salt 1 3/4 cups sugar (12 1/4 ounces) 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly 1 cup buttermilk , room temperature 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 6 large egg yolks , room temperature 3 large egg whites , room temperature Separate egg whites from yolks. Add egg whites to a mixing bowl and whisk 30 seconds. Add 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Transfer whipped egg whites to a separate bowl.
Pour batter into a parchment paper lined, greased cake pan. (One recipe will fill 2 - 9" cake pans.) Bake 23 - 28 minutes at 350. Cool cakes on wire racks. By the way - I made 4 recipes of this delicious cake batter and filled 5 ten inch cake pans. Just in case you're more of a cupcake person than a cake person, these also translate really well into cupcakes. You can turn this yellow cake recipe into anything that you like. Let your imagination run wild. Just be sure and send me the pictures of your beautiful cupcake and cake creations when you're finished. Ciao! |
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