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Here are some of my favorite recipes. I created most of these recipes by myself. Many of them contain fresh herbs as ingredients. If you have never worked with fresh herbs before, please take a look at the tips below before you start. If you're comfortable using fresh herbs in the kitchen, you can skip right to the recipes. As always you are highly encouraged to actively participate in this page. You are welcome to send me your thoughts on any of these recipes once you've tried them or share one of your recipes.
Preheat oven to 450. If you prefer to use a food processor instead of chopping all the pesto ingredients you can, just process all the ingredients except the olive oil and then add them to the olive oil. In a saucepan over low to medium heat, combine the pine nuts, olive oil, basil, garlic and salt to make the pesto. Stir occassionally. Brush a light coating of olive oil on the bottom of the pizza crust(s). Place the crust(s) on a baking sheet. Crumble the chevre over the pizza crust(s). Sprinkle the mozarella over the pizza(s). Pour the pesto over the pizza(s). Place the pizza(s) in the oven and allow to cook for about 1/2 hour until the mozarella is melted and bubbly. The chevre will not melt. Once the pizza is cooked, you can place under a broiler for just a few minutes to brown the top of the cheese. Slice as desired and serve hot. Serves 4. Meat eaters can easily add some rock or bay shrimp, pepperoni or pre-cooked Italian sausage to the pizza before putting it in the oven.
Prepare the past according to package directions. If you like, blanch and shock the tomatoes to remove the skins. After draining the cooked pasta, and while it is still hot, add all the other ingredients. Mix well. Chill for a couple of hours. Serves 8 as a side dish. To serve as a meal for 4, add garbanzo beans. Meat eaters can add cooked shrimp or chicken.
Scotch Eggs (this is my own version, not the traditional recipe)
Hard boil 6 of the eggs and allow to cool. In a medium bowl thouroughly mix the sausage, the remaining uncooked eggs and all the seasonings using your hands. Divide the sausage mixture into 6 equal amounts. One at a time, pat 1 portion of the sausage mixture around 1 of the cooled, boiled eggs to make a ball. Continue until all the eggs have been covered in sausage. Preheat a large dry skillet on medium. At this point you should make sure you are wearing a full apron and long sleeves as the grease from the sausage will spit as it is being cooked. Place each of the covered eggs in the skillet. Periodically turn the eggs to cook all sides. Do not walk away from the stove once you start cooking the eggs. The sausage will burn rather quickly unless the eggs are continuously turned. Continue turning the eggs until all sides of the sausage is browned. Unless you have pat the sausage on to the eggs in a very uneven fashion, it should be thouroughly cooked at this point. Remove the eggs to a plate covered with paper towels and allow to drain. Once the eggs are cool enough to handle they are ready to eat. For parties, I like to cut the eggs in half and arrange them on a platter. You might offer a bit of good mustard with the eggs. This recipe is meant to serve 12 people in a party situation, but I find that most people want more than one helping.
Cut the tofu into "steaks" (approx 1/4 inch slices). Mix the five spice, peanut oil, soy sauce, garlic and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Coat the tofu steaks thoroughly in the spice mixture and allow to set in the refrigerator for an hour. Soak the banh trang, one at a time, in warm water until soft and transparent. Place softened banh trang on a plate and cover with a moistened towel. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with peanut oil and heat on high. Once peanut oil is hot, place the marinated tofu steaks in the skillet and sear on both sides until slightly browned. Serve cooked tofu and remaining ingredients on a platter to be assembled by your guests. Usually the rolls will be assembled in this order: 1 banh trang, 1 leaf of lettuce, 1 or 2 pieces of tofu, a small amount of rice noodles, peanut sauce, mint, sprouts, cilantro and carrots. Roll like a burrito and eat. Meat eaters can substitute chicken or pork for the tofu. Serves 4.
Preheat oven to 375. Pour 1/4 of the enchilada sauce into an ungreased casserole dish. Add uncooked instant rice and stir to moisten. Cover moistened rice with an even layer of refried beans (if using cheese, add a thin layer over beans at this point). Arrange chicken on top of bean layer. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over entire casserole (if using cheese, add another layer over the sauce at this point). Cover casserole and place in oven for 45 minutes (check for doneness and extend cooking time if necessary). Casserole will be fairly loose, so serving in a bowl is recommended. Top with sour cream if desired. I recommend serving a caeser salad topped with Salad Eatos (tortilla strip salad topper) with this dish. Serves 4.
Heat medium saucepan over medium heat. Add drained beans and 1/2 cup salsa. Leave on medium heat while preparing rest of dish, stirring occassionally. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Remove casing from chorizo and break up, add to skillet. Heat chorizo, stirring frequently and continuing to break up (add small amounts of oil as needed to prevent sticking). When chorizo is thoroughly warmed through, turn heat to low. Arrange lettuce over bottom of large platter or individual plates. Spoon a layer of heated, seasoned beans over lettuce. Top bean layer with chorizo. Add a layer of drained corn. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Alternate tomato and avocado slices around edge of salad. Add desired amount of salsa to center of salad and top with sour cream or Imo. Serves 4-6.
Place avocado flesh in a medium mixing bowl. (The easiest way to get the avocado flesh is to cut the avocado in half lengthwise, all around the pit. Remove the pit with your knife. Hold the halved avocado in the palm of one hand. With the other hand, using a large spoon, scoop the flesh out of the skin. Be careful not to dig the tip of the spoon in, as this will tear the skin and make removal of the flesh more difficult.) Squeeze the lemon juice all over the avocado. (This is just to prevent the avocado from turning brown, not for flavor, so remember to adjust for avocado size.) Using a potato masher, mash the avocado to desired consistency. (I find that leaving the avocado somewhat chunky gives the quacamole a more homemade and appetizing appearance.) Add the mayonnaise and blend with a fork. (Don't forget to adjust for quantity of avocado flesh. After you have blended in the mayonnaise, the guacamole should have a smooth look, and be just 1 shade lighter green than before. Too much mayonnaise will mask the avocado and give your guacamole that store-bought look and taste.) Add the salsa and blend with fork. Add the onions and blend with fork. Add the garlic salt and blend with fork. After all the ingredients are added and blended in, taste the guacamole and add more salsa or garlic salt to taste (Keep in mind that after sitting awhile, the heat of the salsa will usually increases slightly). It is best to prepare the guacamole a little bit in advance (I usually allow 1-2 hours) and place in refrigerator until ready to serve. This will allow the flavors to meld. Leftovers will be slightly brown on top the next day, but will still be fresh. Simply blend with a fork until the color looks uniform again and serve. There will be no change in the taste. Serve with warm pita chips or tortilla chips. Serves 6-10.
Preheat oven to 450. Cut pitas into 8 wedges each. Seperate the top and bottom portions of each wedge, giving you 16 wedges per pita. Lay wedges on a baking sheet, smooth side down. Spray wedges with olive oil or cooking spray. Sprinkle with garlic salt (or no-salt seasoning). Place in oven for approximately 5-10 minutes (or more, depending on the pitas that you are using). It is important to watch the chips since the pita is not usually of uniform thickness, some of the wedges will brown quicker than others. Remove the chips as soon as you notice that some of them are becoming brown. Serve warm, alongside Chunky Guacamole or your favorite dip. Serves 6-10.
In a large stock pot, prepare dried beans according to package directions, replacing 2 cups of water with 2 cups of broth (if using canned beans, simply heat them with 1 cup vegetable broth, just before broth mixture is ready to be added). 1 hour before beans are expected to be done, in a seperate pot, combine carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Saute over medium heat until onions and celery become transluscent. Add remaining broth, bay leaves, thyme, Mrs. Dash and pepper. Simmer over medium heat until beans are done. Stir broth mixture into beans. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add rice and simmer for another 15-20 minutes, or until rice is tender. Chicken or beef broth may be used instead of vegetable. Your favorite meat or cooked sausage may be added. Serve with a good brown bread for a really hearty meal. Serves 8.
Combine lemon juice and garlic in large bowl or marinating dish. Add chicken. Marinade overnight, turning chicken occassionally for even marinating. Grill (or broil) normally. Serves 4 big eaters or 8 light eaters. 2 lbs. steak can be substituted for chicken.
In a large bowl, combine water, sugar and yeast. Let stand until tiny bubbles begin to appear on surface, about 5 minutes. Stir in 3 cups flour and the salt. Beat vigorously with wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Gradually add more remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough begins to hold together and pull away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and flatten slightly. Knead bread until dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes, repleneshing surface with flour as necessary. Put dough into large oiled bowl. Turn to coat entire ball of dough with oil. Cover bowl with a damp kitchen towel or piece of oiled plastic wrap, oiled side facing the dough. Let dough rise in a warm place, 75 to 85 degrees is ideal, until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours. Meanwhile, lightly oil baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Set aside. Punch dough to deflate it, turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead briefly. (At this point a second rising is orptional. It will result in a finer texture and take about half the time of first rising.) Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a smooth ball and place on prepared baking sheet, leaving several inches of space in between. Flatten each ball into 6-inch diameter. Cover loaves with damp towel or oiled plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. With sharp knife, cut 3 or 4 diagonal slashes in loaves, about 1/4-inch ddep and 2 inches apart. Put small pan of water in bottom of oven. Bake loaves about 30 minutes, until golden. To test for doneness, tap bottom of loaf. If it sounds hollow, it is done. For a softer crust, remove bread as soon as it's baked. For a crisper crust, turn off oven after bread has finished baking and leave loaves inside with door closed for 5 to 10 additional minutes. Cool on wire rack. Makes 2 loaves. This recipe is the basis for the pizza dough and the garlic rolls listed below. It will make one pizza crust and 1 dozen rolls, or 2 of either recipe.
Lightly oil 14-inch pizza pan and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal. Flatten dough. With lightly floured rolling pin, roll out dough to 14-inch circle. Slide onto prepared pan. Spread with prepared pizza sauce, and top as desired. I suggest using my Goat Cheese and Pesto pizza recipe above. Let rise for 20 to 30 minutes. Bake at 450 degrees until cheese is melted and crust is crisp and golden, 15 to 20 minutes.
Add garlic to butter and melt over low heat on stove, or in microwave. With lightly floured hands, divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Divide each piece into three pieces and shap into balls. One at a time, dip balls into butter, coating thoroughly. Place balls in a muffin tin, 3 balls per cup. Cover rolls with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, 30 to 60 minutes. Meanwhile, strain garlic from remaining butter (butter can be discarded). After rolls have risen, sprinkle garlic evenly over them. Sprinkle rolls with parmesan cheese to taste. Bake at 400 degrees until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes. Makes 12 rolls.
In food processor or blender, process almonds with garlic until ground, stopping often to avoid overgrinding. Add yeast flakes, mustard, lemon juice, soy sauce, water and oil if desired and process until dressing is smooth. I suggest making the dressing about 1/2 an hour before serving and allowing to chill in refrigerator. Serve over romaine lettuce and your favorite croutons. Make it a meal by adding grilled tuna steaks, grilled chicken or tempeh. Serves 6.
Looking for a specific recipe? Check this out: S.O.A.R. Searchable Online Archive of Recipes. I've ususally been able to find what I was looking for there.
This page has been visited times since July 26, 1999.
