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Greek chicken kabobs
Serves: 4 Prep & Cook Time: 40 minutes plus 3 hours to marinate
These are just plain yummy and because of the feta and yogurt, they have a very unique flavor. If you’re looking for a good side with these, try Greek Spaghetti . You’ll love the combo!
Just a note: if you are using bamboo skewers, don’t forget to soak them in water for about 20 – 30 minutes before you add the chicken and veggies.
Marinade
1 c plain yogurt
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
3 T olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 T dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves – cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
Preparation
In a large shallow baking dish (think Pyrex), mix the yogurt, oil, feta cheese, lemon zest, lemon juice, oregano, salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place the chicken in the dish, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate at least 3 hours in the refrigerator.
I like to make these heavy on the chicken and use the veggies as end caps on the kabob with an extra veggie in the middle. Discard remaining yogurt mixture.
These are great on the grill or you can bake them in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries
Serves: 6 Prep time: 20 minutes but needs to refrigerate overnight.
What is panna cotta? In Italian, panna cotta translates as cooked cream. So, picture pudding that is so beautifully rich and creamy that only Italian angels could have made it. And in this recipe, it also has that wonderfully rich flavor that you find in cheesecake.
Get out.
You might notice that I start every recipe with a proclamation that it is ridiculously easy or you will want to pull the chair up to the table and eat it all yourself.
Well, this recipe is super easy and you will want to eat it all yourself. If you do decide to share, people will think you slaved.
These are my favorite things to make!
This dessert is perfect for spring/summer when the strawberries are at their sweetest.
Ingredients
Panna cotta
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
2 cups whipping cream
1 1/4 cups plain full fat Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
Strawberries
2 1-pint baskets strawberries, hulled, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I know, but trust me)
For panna cotta
Pour 2 tablespoons water into small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over water. Let stand until softened, about 15 minutes. Whisk 1 cup cream, yogurt, and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Set aside. Heat remaining 1 cup cream and 1/2 cup sugar in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves and cream comes to simmer. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture, stirring to dissolve gelatin. Mix hot cream-gelatin mixture into yogurt mixture in bowl.
I usually put all of the panna cotta in on bowl to refrigerate but you can also divide the panna cotta among six ramekins, using about 1/2 cup for each.
Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate overnight.
For strawberries
Make the strawberry mixture about 45 minutes before serving. This allows the flavors to come together while still maintaining their distinctiveness.
Toss strawberries, vinegar, sugar, and pepper in large bowl to combine. Let stand 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Spoon strawberries over panna cotta and serve.
It is so pretty!
Enjoy!
Baked Feta Appetizer 
First of all, I’m sorry. You are going to want to sit down and eat this all by yourself and that will make your ass so big. And, you’re welcome—because if you can actually find it in your gluttonous soul to share this with other people, they are going to think you did some kind of crazy cheese magic in the kitchen. And you so didn’t. This is easy breezy Pekinese-y.
Do not tell them how easy this is or you are out of the club.
12 or 16 ounce block of feta—go rectangular, if possible
2 T olive oil
2 t dried oregano
½ c kalamata olives, pitted
¾ c roasted red peppers—from the jar is perfect
Juice from ½ lemon
Pita bread, heated and cut into triangles
Preheat oven to 450. Cut the block of feta in half—but the LONG way. Put the oil in an oven proof pan—think Pyrex—place the feta in the dish and pop it into the oven.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until you see the edges start to brown. You want it to stay in the oven long enough so that the center will warm up.
Remove from the oven and place the cheese on a room temperature plate—no reason to give your guests 3rd degree burns with the crazy hot Pyrex dish that’s been in the oven. Pour the olive oil that the cheese has been cooking in over the feta. Squeeze the lemon juice over the feta and sprinkle the oregano on the feta/dish. Arrange the roasted red peppers and olive on the dish and serve with warm pita bread.
I don’t know why it tastes so good either.
Enjoy!
Inexpensive Chardonnays for Lovely Summer Evenings
A couple of months ago, I was in the Florida Keys, lounging around a pool in the beautiful sunshine surrounded by palm trees, loveliness and wonderful friends and we felt the need to sample many Chardonnays. Did I mention it was beautiful and sunny? condescending laugh
It was.
head tilt
It was. annoyingly big smile
The goal was to identify some lovely sippers at a low price. Some were finds and some were stinkers. But we didn’t care. We were having so much fun.
Woodbridge Chardonnay, 2008, CA $12.99 for 1.5 Liters—yep, it’s the BIG bottle
Very drinkable, hint of grapefruit, little oak in a summer way
Simple and elegantly straightforward
Medium to light color
This one is much better when served a little warmer –it really opens up nicely
Snap Dragon Chardonnay, 2007, CA, $7.99
Deeper color, medium body
More oaky, a lot of crème brume
Crowd favorite—feels like a step above from the Woodbridge
Nice long finish
Taste a bit like La Crema which goes for closer to $20 (but we’d been drinking in the sun when we’d come to this conclusion…)
Would go well with pasta, cheeses and seafood
Oxford Landing, South Australian Chardonnay, 2009, $8.99
And we hated it.
Extremely light nose and color, slight effervescence that is not very pleasant—as if perhaps it had gone bad
Would not serve, in fact, we would pour down the drain if given the chance—flat flavor, hard tannins on the finish
Kind of bites on the end
Tasting this wine, made us feel like we’d died a little death
Young and rough—the juvenile delinquent of Aussie wines
Chill and enjoy –except for that last one!
Red Quinoa and Cucumber Salad
This salad is fresh, easy and ridiculously good for you—don’t hold that last part against me.
It’s said that eating one vegan meal a day has incredible health benefits. It’s not hard to believe that dropping the meat and dairy… and the animal fat that goes with it…is good for you. When was the last time you said—My jeans are so tight! It must have been all those tomatoes I ate! Not so much.
Now, here’s my deal—I don’t feel full unless there’s protein involved. So I searched out the star ingredient—quinoa. Quinoa has the best of everything: it’s a complete protein and a plant food, low in lysine and has some nice amino acids. It’s high in fiber and iron—and for those who have celiac disease, it’s also gluten free.
Win, win, win, win, win!
That is so great, you might be saying…and I do what with it?
It’s always a great rice substitute. Think of dishes you make when you need a starch filler—how could it replace potatoes or beef up veggie dishes—I made a fabulous veggie tostada with quinoa. Unexpected and more filling that just a veggie tostada. Also, think of quinoa as providing you with a platform to spotlight other flavors—it’s really that adaptable. This recipe is a dish I used to make with bulgur but it’s so much lighter and nuttier with quinoa.
This dish is simple and versatile—make it a side or the star!
1 1/2 cups cooked Red Quinoa, cooled
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
½ onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
And the totally non vegan ingredient (shame)… 4 T Ranch dressing
Mix all ingredients together and you are done. This is quite tasty with a lovely glass of Chardonnay.
Enjoy!
Grapefruit Avocado Salad
Prep time: 15 minutes
Serves 4 (with extra dressing left over)
Boy, do I hate grapefruit—almost as much as I hate avocados. But, put these two contrasting textures and flavors together and I’m all about it. The velvety texture of the avocados combined with the sharpness of the grapefruit is a whole new flavor. It’s also dressed with some heat, just to keep things interesting. This is a copycat recipe from Cantinetta—they put olives on their version but I can’t possibly put that combo in my mouth and chew…
Tomato vinaigrette
1/3 c white vinegar
3 T balsamic vinegar
2/3 c olive oil
1 T shallot, minced
3 T peach salsa
1 T lime juice
1 small tomato, seeded and peeled
2 t chili paste (I like the Sambal Oelek brand–the label reads *ground fresh chili paste* if this helps you track it down!)
Salt and Pepper to taste
I usually put everything in a jar and shake it. Its highly technical… Refrigerate vinaigrette after using.
Salad
3 large avocados, ripe and sliced
1 large grapefruit, sectioned with pith removed
Prepare your vinaigrette first. The more time you allow it to sit, the more opportunity the flavors have to come together. Section your grapefruit—remove all the pith so you are left with beautiful pink chunks. Don’t worry about keeping your grapefruit in complete sections—it’s a better user experience if you break it into smaller, bite sized pieces. Set aside.
Gently peel and slice your avocados, fanning ½ an avocado onto each salad plate. (You have to plate this—this salad will not work family style because of the delicacy of the avocados).
Place approximately ¼ of grapefruit on top of the avocados.
Dress lightly with vinaigrette—about 2 T on the salad and about a 2 t *arc* on the plate that surrounds the salad.
Super easy. Beautiful flavors.
Enjoy!
 This dip makes any party fun! Smoked Salmon Dip
This is not for the lactose intolerant.
Do you know how there’s always that bit of smoked salmon left over and you never know what to do with it? You don’t want to throw it away but…This is a great recipe for an appetizer that’s perfect with raw veggies or crackers.
In this recipe, I like to use the smoked salmon that is firm versus the smoked salmon that is softer, like lox. But either one will work.
This is super easy and a favorite!
Ingredients:
2 block cream cheese, room temperate
1 egg
2 Tbs sour cream (if you want a thinner consistency, just add more sour cream)
1 tsp dill
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 green onions, minced
1 red pepper, minced
½ c shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 c smoked salmon, minced
Do not even unwrap the cream cheese unless it is room temperature or your egg will not combine. And if you are squeemy about using raw eggs, just substitute 2 additional Tsp of sour cream.
Mix cream cheese with egg. Add sour cream, dill and Worcestershire sauce. Combine well. Add onions and red pepper. Mix well and as you do you’ll notice the red peppers beginning to stain the dairy—pretty! This gives your dip a pale pink color that it wouldn’t normally get from the salmon but makes us all think of salmon.
Fold in the cheese and salmon. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour so that the smokiness in the salmon permeates the dip.
Serve with crackers or veggies. If you want to go crazy, don’t add the sour cream and put this in a small mold—say, in the shape of a fish! Yes, I have one…
Enjoy!
Cardamom-Ginger Shortbread
If I could be spice, it would be cardamom, so strangely exotic and hard to place, both spicy and earthy, it smells like something ancient that was borne in a foreign country.
If shortbread were a disease I would have it.
So imagine the Lucky Bastard disease I caught when I picked up this month’s issue of Saveur (April 2010) and noticed this little gem: an ENTIRE SECTION on Cardamom.
Shut up!
I beg you, before you make this, go to a spice store—not a spice SECTION—and get freshly ground cardamom and freshly ground ginger. It will be cheaper than the grocery and make a huge difference in your recipes because of the freshness. My favorite is World Spice Merchants on Western by Pike Place Market—for those of you out of town, you can order things online, too.
I instantly made this and tweaked it for your perfection. Now go make yourself sick on it.
NOTE: it also calls for the magic ingredient Golden Syrup, found in Australia/New Zealand, which is a very common ingredient in Anzac Cookies, the last recipe I posted. Irony.
Ingredients
2 c unsalted butter, softened
1 c sugar
3 c flour, sifted
11 tsp ground ginger
3 ½ tsp cardamom
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp kosher salt
1 ½ c powdered sugar
3 Tbs golden syrup OR 1 Tbs dark corn syrup with 1 Tbs of molasses
Preheat your oven to 375.
In a large bowl, mix 2 stick + 2 T of the butter and the sugar. Cream until fluffy with a mixer. Add the flour, 3tsp of ginger, 1 tsp of cardamom, baking powder and 1 tsp salt. Mix until everything is incorporated.
On a parchment covered 9 x 13 cookie sheet with sides, flatten out the shortbread. Bake about 20 minutes until the shortbread is golden. Let cool.
In a saucepan, combine the rest of the butter, ginger, cardamom and salt and the powdered sugar and syrup. Bring to a boil and pour over the shortbread.
Let it cool a bit and then cut. I personally like triangles.
Enjoy!
 Let them eat soup. French Onion Soup
Prep and cook time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Cheese, onions, thyme—-I don’t know what else has to happen for me to say YES loudly. Hope about quick and easy and tastes like it’s been cooking for hours the flavors come together so well? It’s all here.
Before we start, I want to talk to you about the importance of your onions and cheese selection. So many wonderful onions to choose from out there…but I chose sweet onions that actually had a bit of a bite to them. Because you’ll cook the onions for a long time, the flavors really mellow especially if you have an onion with a lot of snap. If you’re having a hard time finding sweet onions where you live, just add a big handful of white sugar to the onions after you sweat them. Sugar is an important ingredient in carmelization so help those onions out if they need it!
I can’t stress how the right cheese makes all the difference in this soup. Gruyere has a buttery flavor that’s hard to find in other cheeses. It will probably be a little more expensive but will make this soup.
Vinegar: it’s really important to use sherry vinegar and not substitute another if you don’t have it on hand. Trust me, you will begin to find a use for sherry vinegar as you cook. I use it to finish most soups.
Ingredients:
3 large sweet onions, sliced, then cut in thirds
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
Fresh cracked pepper
3/4 cup dry white wine
1/3 c big red wine
4 cups beef stock
1/2 cup water
2 T sherry vinegar
1 baguette, slice (or bread of your choice)
½ stick unsalted butter
2 cups grated Swiss Gruyère cheese
Melt the butter in your pot over medium heat. Add onions and salt and cook about 5 minutes to soften, stirring occasionally. Add your pepper, bay and thyme. Cook your onions for about 25 minutes—you want them to start to brown.
When the onions have browned, add your white wine and cook that down for about 5 minutes. Add stock and water. Let this come to a boil and then reduce heat to low/medium.
I like to use a narrow baguette for my bread—usually 3 slices because that almost covers the surface of the soup with the bowls I use. This provides a nice solid platform for all the cheese. Also using smaller pieces of bread instead of one giant piece of bread can make for a more ladylike eating experience.
While the soup is simmering, toast your baguette. Just slice what you need, give it a spray with olive oil and broil for about 3-4 minutes. You really want toasty, golden bread so that it has a bit more substance as it soaks up the soup.
Return to the soup, add the red wine and give it a couple of minutes. TASTE. How’s your salt and pepper? Add if necessary. Add the vinegar and let everything come together another 5-10 minutes on top of the stop. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaves at this point.
Ladle your soup into OVEN PROOF BOWLS allowing room at the top for bread and a lot of cheese. Add bread slices and cover with ½ cup of shredded Gruyere per bowl. Place bowls on a cookie sheet to make your life easier and place under your broiler until cheese is bubbly, maybe 3 minutes. Remind your guests that the bowls are hot as you serve!
Enjoy!
 So very Italian... My version of Assaggio Restaurant’s (Seattle) Fusilli Zafferano
Cooking and Prep Time: 45 minutes Serves: 6
First of all, mine’s better.
I love pasta and especially when the flavors are slightly off the beaten track. This dish has spicy Italian sausage, currants, mushrooms—and nary a tomato nor a cream sauce in site.
The star ingredient in this dish is the Italian sausage. If it’s challenging to find a flavorful sausage where you live, doctor up an Italian sausage by adding the following to each pound of sausage:
½ cup Fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
3 cloves Fresh garlic, minced
½ large White onion, chopped
1 tsp Fennel seeds (anise seeds, to some)
Ingredients
1 ½ lbs Italian sausage (bulk not links)
1 1/2 large white onions, chopped
12 oz crimini mushrooms, rough chop
1 1/2 cup currants
1/3 cup brandy or sherry or whiskey
1/2 cup white wine
1 lb fusilli bucati corti (it’s the fusilli that looks like a telephone cord…from the olden days)
Up to ½ cup pasta water
¾ c grated parmesan reggianno
Salt and pepper to taste
Before you begin doing anything, get a small bowl and put your currants in it. Cover the currants with hot water and add the liquor. Because we’re plumping the currants, they won’t soak up the liquids from the sausage and mushrooms. They will remain distinct and sweet—a wonderful contrast to the garlic and spicy sausage.
Set a large pot of water to boil for the pasta. Do not salt the water until it boils—and when you salt it, make it like the sea. (Say that with an Italian accent.)
Brown the sausage in a skillet with large sides—eventually all the pasta will be in this pan.
When the sausage is browned, remove it and set aside. Keep the fat in the pan because we are going to cook with it. On a medium heat, add your onions to the pan. Salt them and cook till softened. We’re going to build our flavor base so it’s important not to throw everything in the pan together. Now add your mushrooms. If you find that your pan is getting dry, toss in a little white wine. After the mushrooms have cooked for about 5 minutes, add the garlic. Add salt and pepper. Let that come together for a few minutes and give it a gentle stir.
Drain the remaining liquid from the currants and add the currants to the mixture in the pan. Add the sausage and the wine. Turn the heat to low and leave it alone while the pasta is cooking.
Now put your pasta in the water. Cook it until al dente because we’re going to finish it in the pan with the sausage. Reserve a bit of pasta water as you drain the pasta just in case the dish seems a little dry. That wonderful salty, starchy pasta water will bring things together if you need it.
With the sausage mixture on low, add the pasta to the sausage mixture slowly—you may not need all of the pasta and there’s nothing worse than being over pasta-d… Toss gently until everything is coated.
Remove pasta from heat and put in a large bowl, add cheese and gently toss. TASTE—need salt or pepper? Add now and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
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