Goat Cheese Dressing

This recipe was developed in my kitchen by a dear friend.  It's amazing what a little inspiration and good wine can do for you...

3 tbs Goat cheese

2 tbs Plain yogurt

1 tsp Honey

2 tbs Olive oil

3 tbs Rice vinegar

1tsp fresh lemon juice (Meyer lemons, if available)

2 tbs Chopped scallion

freshly ground pepper

Whisk ingredients together until smooth & serve

Moroccan Root Vegetable Stew

This wonderful stew is perfect heart and body warmer for those often unappreciated winter root vegetables.  It is one of those recipes that just came to me -- inspired by much of the good food I've eaten over the last few years.  Serve with a great salad, nice crusty bread and a robust red wine.

INGREDIENTS
extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
1T garlic, minced
1T fresh ginger, minced
1lemon, zest and juice 
1 1/2 T tagine spices 
1 1/2 T hot madras curry powder
1 to 1 1/2 quarts vegetable broth
1 14-oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
1/4 sauerkraut, chopped
1 T cider vinegar
1 large yam, peeled and diced
1 rutabaga, peeled and diced
1 large celery root, peeled and diced
3-4 whole cloves
2" piece of cinnamon

(optional) 3/4 - 1 lb firm tofu, pressed and diced (or salmon is delicious in this recipe; please remove the skin before dicing)
salt and pepper to taste


RECIPE
Chop the root vegetables and set aside in a large bowl.  In a large soup pan, heat 1-2T of olive oil over low heat.  Add onion and a small pinch of salt saute until the onions thoroughly softened.  The salt will help the onions weep rather than burn.  Drop in the garlic, ginger and lemon zest and stir.  Allow the mixture to cook for 1-2 minutes before adding the dry spices.  Mix the tangine spices  and curry powder through onions, and then add the chopped root vegetables.  Add just enough broth to enable you to coat the vegetables with the spice and then raise the heat to medium high.  Add more broth, covering the vegetables by about 1/4 inch and bring to a simmer.   Once simmering, add the remainder of your first quart of broth, the tomatoes (and one can of water), sauerkraut, lemon juice and vinegar.  If the mixture doesn't have enough broth for the amount of vegetables, add more broth.  


Reduce the heat back down to medium and allow the stew to simmer gently for at least 30 minutes.  After about 10 minutes, add the cinnamon and cloves.  In the last 5 minutes add the diced tofu. Salmon is very good in this recipe in place of tofu, as is shrimp.  Serve topped with fresh flat leaf parsley and a freshly cracked pepper.

Easy, Chick Pea and Artichoke Pasta

This I make often at the end of a work day.  It takes about 1/2 hour to cook and I've always got left overs for lunch later in the week.

INGREDIENTS
1T extra virgin olive oil
3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 14-oz can diced roasted tomatoes
1 t dried oregano
1 t fennel seed, crushed
zest of 1 lemon
1 14-oz can artichoke hearts in water, drained
1 14-oz can garbanzo beans
1 small can chopped clams (optional)
1 t crushed red pepper

Pasta of your choice.  I love whole wheat linguine with this one.

RECIPE
Heat oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic.  Almost immediately, add tomato; then spices; then other ingredients. Cook pasta to near el dente.  Drain pasta and add it and 1 ladle full of pasta water (as necessary) to sauce/vegetables to simmer to desired thickness. Simmer for 1-2 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Top with gremolata (a blend of finely minced garlic, parsley and lemon zest) and/or a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Holiday Cocktail Sauce

While picking up fresh oysters at the seafood counter, my partner asked, "Would you hand me a jar of cocktail sauce?"   I responded, "I can make that.  I have the ingredients."  "Do you have horseradish?"  "Of course," I told him.

INGREDIENTS
juice from half lemon
1T horseradish
1/2-2/3 cup crushed tomatoes
2T tomato paste
1T vodka
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce (or pickapepper for vegetarians)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
sprinkle of grey salt

RECIPE

Squeeze 1/2 lemon into a bowl.  Add 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes (I like to use fire roasted, but any will do).  Add the remaining ingredients aside from the salt.  Check for desired thickness.  You may wish to add more crushed tomato until you the cocktail sauce is the thickness you prefer.  Sprinkle a touch grey salt (or any course salt you have on hand) over the top, right before serving. Those who are lucky enough to get a crunch with their bite will be delighted.

Serve with crudite, fresh oysters, grilled shrimp, calamari, smelts, hard boiled eggs, or with a savory omelet.  You can also use this as a base for a wonderful Bloody (or Virgin) Mary.

pasta with artichoke-walnut pesto

This pasta was served with a variation of a wedge salad: very crisp iceberg lettuce cut into large chunks, 1 cup of flat leaf parsely, coarsely chopped tomato, a sprinkling of gorgonzola all tossed with your favorite viniagrette dressing.

(note: cheese can be left out of each step, making a great vegan dish)

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A fun holiday meal for two:

THE PESTO (this will give you left-overs)
1 jar or can of artichoke hearts, packed in water and drained well (it's 1 1/2 cups if you are so lucky to find frozen)
1/4 - 1/3 cup parsley
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, skinned
salt, pepper (to taste)
juice of 1 1/2 lemons
1/3 cup sherry vinegar
1/2 - 3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated asiago cheese

If you haven't made fresh pesto before, it is generally rather thick.  It is best tossed through hot pasta or spread with a knife. Place the artichoke hearts, parsley, walnuts, garlic, salt and freshly ground pepper in a food processor or blender until well mixed.  Add lemon juice and vinegar and blend further.  Stream in olive oil until preferred consistency and add asiago, blending well.  The sauce should have a thickness of a heavy salad dressing.  If it is too thick, add a little more of both lemon juice or vinegar and olive oil and blend. Set aside at room temperature.

THE PROTEIN
1/2 cup cannelli beans (1 cup if you don't include shrimp)
1/2 cup edamame (1 cup if you don't include shrimp)
16 50-count shrimp, peeled and deveined (optional)
3-4 sliced garlic cloves
pinch salt; pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil

Mix ingredients together. Set aside to marinate.  Refrigerate if you include shrimp.

THE PASTA
A nice flavored fresh pasta is great with this.   We made homemade pasta with lemon zest and parsley, but any kind would do.  This recipe calls for about 2 cups of fresh pasta.

THE DISH
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.  Add a hefty pinch of salt to bring the water to an even higher temperature.  Allow to return to a boil.  Add pasta.  If you are using fresh pasta, you know it's done when it floats.  If you are using dried pasta, cook according to package instructions.  Once done, remove from heat, drain, and mix with enough pesto to lightly cover the pasta.

Bring a sautee pan to heat with a tiny bit of olive oil in it (medium high; allow the oil just to begin to smoke).  Add the shrimp (if you are using it).  Once shrimp is seared on one side (about 2 minutes), turn it and add the rest of the beans and garlic, cooking another two minutes.

Plate the pesto covered pasta and place the beans and shrimp on top.  This recipe is terrific topped with a gremolata of finely chopped garlic, parsley and parmesan.

Serve immediately and enjoy!