Cucumber Bites

These are one of my favorite snacks; low-carb, lots of veggies, and mimics a Greek salad (which I LOVE).  You can make the tomato garnish at any time and use it in so many things, not just for this!

Ingredients:
--1 cucumber, about 1-1.5" in diameter, sliced to 1/3" thick or so (they look better with the peel, but I don't like the peel, so that's up to you!)
--4 oz fat-free feta cheese
--2 large tomatoes
--2 cloves garlic, minced
--Salt/pepper
--Olive oil
--Thyme, basil, oregano (whatever you have)

Tomato Garnish:
1.  Preheat the oven to 450F (you can use broil or bake). 
2.  Slice the tomatoes in half and trim off the junk; place them on a pan.
3.  Drizzle or brush the tomatoes with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4.  Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until they wrinkle and caramelize.
5.  Put the tomatoes, herbs, garlic, and olive oil in a food processor and chop coarsely.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste.

To assemble, place the cucumber slices on a serving tray.  Add a spoonful of the tomato garnish to the slices, and top it off with some feta crumbles.

Grilled Scallops

A quick, easy, healthy, delicious dinner. 

Ingredients:
--1 lb fresh scallops
--8-10 slices of prosciutto
--Olive oil
--Salt/pepper

1.  Preheat the grill with a medium-hot fire.  Spread the coals out to distribute heat evenly.  (If you're on a gas grill, you obviously don't have to do that, but I love the flavor that charcoal imparts.)
2.  Sprinkle both sides of the scallops with a pinch of salt and pepper. 
3.  Take the prosciutto and halve the strip lengthwise with a very sharp knife, leaving you with strips about 1.5" wide and 6-8" long.  (I lay out a whole slice on the cutting board, then roll the knive over it to cut it lengthwise; if you move the knife, it sticks and will bunch up the prosciutto.)
4.  Wrap the scallop with the proscuitto (as seen in picture). 
5.  Drizzle a small amount of olive oil onto each scallop, both sides.
6.  Place the scallops on the grill; cook on one side for 2 minutes or so, then flip them over. The scallops will be done by the time the proscuitto cooks and shrinks around the scallop.

 I served this with a zucchini salad, recipe here:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Shaved-Zucchini-Salad-with-Parmesan-Pine-Nuts-360251

This makes enough scallops for 2-3 people.

Cajun Breakfast Skillet

I've made this a time or two but never committed it to the blog, but it is one of my favorite breakfast splurges. Reminds me of this wonderful place in Denver called Lucile's that serves the best Cajun breakfast you'll ever have. 

Ingredients:
--1 russet potato, in 1/2" cubes
--1 tbsp coconut oil
--2 tbsp Cajun seasoning (Tony Chacheres or Slap Yo Mama)
--8 eggs
--1 med tomato, coarsely chopped
--1 med bell pepper, coarsely chopped
--1 med onion, coarsely chopped
--1 jar pickled jalapenos, coarsely chopped
--6 oz Jimmy Dean reduced fat breakfast sausage (uncooked)
--1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
--1 pkg white gravy, prepared

1. Preheat oven to 350F; arrange potato cubes on a pan in a single layer. Bake until golden brown. (You CAN fry them in the skillet if you want - that's the point of the skillet - but much less healthy.)

While potatoes are cooking:
2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet on the stovetop on medium-high heat. Add coconut oil and heat until melted.
3. Add bell pepper and onion; saute for 1-2 minutes (so they're still firm).
4. Add Jimmy Dean and cook until still slightly pink.
5. Add tomato, jalapeno, and all eggs. Scramble until eggs and sausage are fully cooked. Kill the burner, add cheese and stir well.

When you have about 3 minutes left:
6. Prepare gravy according to package, adding about 1 tbsp of Cajun seasoning to mixture.

To serve, layer potatoes on bottom of a soup bowl, then egg/sausage mixture, and top with gravy. This should serve about 4 people.

You could also use turkey crumbles instead of Jimmy Dean pork, but I can only find those already cooked, so you lose some flavor by not getting the juices in the pan while cooking. And you can make gravy from scratch, but that takes more time. Or you could make sausage gravy and omit the sausage from the skillet...too many options to list.  Enjoy!

Plat du Jour

I modeled this recipe after a shrimp & grits dish I had at this amazing Cajun restaurant recently -- in Seattle of all places. Thankfully my years of waiting tables at Pappadeaux in Texas served me well because this turned out amazing. I was really happy with it. Anyways, here it is, hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Cajun-style Shrimp & Grits

Ingredients

Shrimp Mixture

½ lb gulf shrimp

1 link Cajun andouille sausage (pre-cooked), sliced diagonally

5 garlic cloves, minced finely

1 tbs fresh thyme leaves

½ onion, chopped

Handful of finely chopped fresh parsley

½ cup chopped green onion (white & green parts)

½ cup dry white wine

2 tbs olive oil

juice of 1 lemon  + lemon wedges for garnish

Cajun seasoning

Grits

¾ cup stone-ground grits

2 ½ cups water

½ cup skim milk

1 cup sharp aged cheddar cheese

½ cup parmesan cheese

2 tbs butter

sea salt + fresh ground pepper

Directions

Shrimp Mixture

1.     Throw shrimp in a zip lock bag and squeeze half of lemon’s worth of juice over shrimp. Season with your favorite Cajun seasoning or essence. Store in fridge while you prepare the rest.

2.     Caramelize onions in olive oil in a large skillet (medium heat) for about 20 minutes or until they barely start turning brown. While onions are caramelizing, start grits.

3.     Add thyme, garlic, sausage, and wine to onions and sauté for another 10 min or so, until sausage is heated through/ slightly browned on edges and some of the wine is cooked off. 

4.     Add shrimp, remaining lemon juice (sprinkling with a little more Cajun seasoning) and sauté for 3 min, or until just turned opaque. Take off heat and season with salt & pepper. Sprinkle with green onion.

Grits

1.     Pour milk and water into saucepan and boil. Slowly add grits and stir so they do not clump.

2.     Cook about 15 minutes or until thickened, stirring every now and then.

3.     Add butter, stir until melted. Add cheese and stir until blended. Add salt and pepper to taste. Take off heat and cover until ready to serve.

To serve:

Spoon grits into medium sized bowls and top with shrimp mixture. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley and lemon wedges.

"Smashing, Basil!"

If you didn't enjoy my gratuitous Austin Powers quote then you WILL enjoy this Basil Pesto recipe! I've tried pesto many times and it never turns out quite right but I finally honed it to perfection with my newly acquired food processor. It's fresh-tasting and delicious. And so convenient to whip out as an easy pasta sauce or risotto base. I just freeze what I don't use and then whenever I need a quick pasta sauce I just spoon a tablespoon or two out of the freezer container straight onto the cooked pasta. The pasta is usually hot enough to melt it down. So easy! Almost easy as "Twins, Basil... Twins!"

My Kicked-Up Basil Pesto

Ingredients

2 cups packed fresh basil (one of those big plastic cartons should do it)

1/3 cup dry-toasted pinenuts

5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped (I love that garlic kick so use more like 2 if you want it more subtle)

½ cup olive oil

few pinches Italian seasoning*

pinch of crushed red pepper (or more if you’re feeling bold)

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions

1.    Combine basil, garlic cloves and pinenuts in food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour in olive oil and remaining ingredients. Continue to process until desired pesto consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add more olive oil if needed.

2.    Serve with your favorite pasta and sprinkled Parmesan -- for example, gnocchi as seen in above photo (see gnocchi recipe from March 2011)

*If you don’t have a so-aptly-named jar of dried  “Italian Seasoning” on hand just use a combination of dried rosemary, thyme, basil and oregano.

Mr. Sprouts

My brother Russ has never been able to escape his nickname of Mr. Sprouts, even to this day so this recipe is dedicated to him! (get it... Russell Sprouts...)

Anyhoo, this recipe have very quickly become my favorite veggie side dish. I fell in love with them when I had them at Shane's moms house when she had us over for family dinners. I never liked them growing up but somehow the flash frying of the brussels sprouts creates this amazing char-grilled flavor. Plus this dish is served warm so it's more satisfying than a salad during the winter months. Super easy too. Cheers to you, Mr. Sprouts!

Caramelized Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

12 oz fresh Brussels sprouts

½ of a lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions

1.    Place Brussels sprouts in a large skillet and cover with ½ cup of water. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and heat over medium until most of water is evaporated and sprouts are almost done but not quite. This takes about 8 minutes. Add more water if pan becomes dry before sprouts are ready. I usually have to taste test sprouts for desired crispness.

2.    Uncover, crank up heat to medium high and pour olive oil over sprouts. Do not stir. Cook for another 5-7 min until sprouts are golden brown on underside. Monitor to make sure they don’t overcook.

3.    Remove from heat. And place in serving dish. Season again with salt and pepper and squeeze lemon juice over sprouts. Serve with lemon wedges.

Mushroom Soup

No pictures, nothing fancy here, just a delicious soup recipe.  I was craving this for some reason, and I think this recipe turned out awesome.  You could just substitute whatever mushrooms you could find, but I think a variety of types adds to the flavor (like don't just use all white or all cremini or something).

Creamy Mushroom Soup

1 tbsp coconut oil
1.5 cups chopped onion
1/3 cup dried porcini mushrooms (I could only find a blend of porcini and other types)
1 tsp minced fresh tarragon
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 cup white cooking wine
1/2 cup cooking sherry
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp seasoned black pepper
4.5 cups water
8-oz white mushrooms
8-oz shiitake mushrooms (could sub cremini, bella, etc.)
1 slice whole wheat bread
1 chicken bouillon cube (or equivalent of powder)
2/3 cup skim milk
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives

1.  Heat coconut oil in a large, deep skillet to medium-high.  Add onion, porcini mushrooms, tarragon, bay leaf, and thyme.  Saute until onions are lightly browned and wilted.  Add garlic; cook 2 minutes.  Add wine, scraping browned bits off pan.  Add salt, pepper, and remaining mushrooms.  Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionaly.

2.  Put slice of bread in food processor and pulse until crumbled.  Add breadcrumbs, water, sherry, and chicken bouillon.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3.  Process the soup in either the same food processor or a blender, whatever you have and is easy.  Place the soup back in the pot on medium-low heat, just to warm it back before eating.

4.  Immediately before serving, stir in milk.  Taste it and add any salt/pepper if it needs it.  (Mine didn't.)  Serve with a sprinkling of chopped chives on top.