Ratatouille

This is my recipe for ratatouille... THAT ratatouille. The layered version used in the famous cartoon-movie-thing. This is a very healthy vegetarian dish that can be served with rice, couscous, or even by itself.

1/2 shallot, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 cup tomato puree or sauce (such as Pomi)
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
3 Red Potatoes
1 Zucchini
1 Yellow Squash or Butternut Squash
2 Red Bell Pepper
Few sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
Few tablespoons soft goat cheese or mozzarella

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

1: Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish, approximately 10 inches across the long way. Drop the sliced garlic cloves and chopped shallot into the sauce, stir in one tablespoon of the olive oil and season the sauce generously with salt and pepper.

2: Trim the ends off the zucchini and yellow squash. As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the red peppers and remove the core, leaving the edges intact, like a tube.

3: On a mandoline, adjustable-blade slicer or with a very sharp knife, cut the potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper into very thin slices, approximately 1/16-inch thick.

4: Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a smidgen of each flat surface is visible, alternating vegetables. You may have a handful leftover that do not fit.

5: Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips, running them down the stem. Sprinkle the fresh thyme over the dish.

6: Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside. (Tricky, I know, but the hardest thing about this.) Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but with some structure left so they are not totally limp. They should not be brown at the edges, and you should see that the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them.

7: Serve with a dab of soft goat cheese on top, alone, or with some crusty French bread, atop polenta, couscous, or your choice of grain.

This is a delicious, and surprisingly healthy dish for anyone on a diet, vegetarian, or just looking for a fresh new item to make in the kitchen. I serve this over couscous with some sliced andouille sausage and use shredded mozzarella cheese to top it. This is a very easy dish to modify and change to your own personal liking. Use thick-sliced pepperoni instead of the zucchini, or change the olive oil for bacon grease, it's completely up to you how you want to customize this dish. So feel free to take this, change it, share it, make it your own, and let me know how it turns out.

~Bon Appétit~

Slow Cooker Chicken with Stuffing

This recipe was given to me by a very dear friend last year, and it quickly became one of my favorites. I've modified it a couple times to suit my taste, so I will share my version of the recipe, and I will also share the original.

Original Version:

4-6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 cans of Cambell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 soup can of water
ground sage
1 package of Pepperidge Farm Granulated Herbal Stuffing
1 Cup of butter

My Version:

4-6 Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Thighs
1 can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 can of Cream of Broccoli Soup
1 soup can of water
ground thyme
ground sage
black pepper
1 package of Stove Top Cornbread Stuffing Mix
1 Cup of Butter

1: Mix, but do not heat soup and water together. If using my version, mix in 1 teaspoon of black pepper as well. Set aside. Lightly dust each piece of chicken with sage (and thyme in my version).

2: Spray the inside of your Crock Pot, or whatever brand of slow cooker you are using, with non-stick cooking spray. I prefer to use butter flavored spray, to add a little extra flavor to the finished product. Set cooking temperature to high.

3: Starting with the soup mixture, create layers of soup and chicken until you are out of both.

4: Fill slow cooker to the top with the stuffing mix. Drizzle melted butter over top and cover the dish.

5: Allow to cook for 4-5 hours, without mixing or stirring. Once it is done cooking, shut off slow cooker and serve immediately.

I like to make a side of steamed white rice or mashed potatoes to serve this on top of. I make this at least once or twice a month, is how much I love this simple dish. It allows me to toss it together and forget about it, which is the glory of cooking with a slow cooker.

~Bon Appétit~

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Shrimp Scampi a'la Buonavia

This dish was sent to be from my friend Belle. She was gracious enough to send me this and the recipe for the Braised Seabass. I would like to thank her, despite not having had the chance to try these recipes yet. I will once I have the ability.

In this dish, high heat and speed are essential.  Make sure the pan is good and hot when you add the shrimp and that it is wide enough to hold all the shrimp pieces in a single layer so that the pan doesn't cool down as the shrimp go in.  Be sure to have all the ingredients prepped and near the stove – once the shrimp go into the pan it’s full speed ahead!

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil plus more to finish dish

4-5 cloves garlic, chopped

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 lb. large shrimp (25/lb.), completely shelled, deveined, and cut crosswise into 3 bite-size pieces

1 Tbsp. chopped chives

½ cup dry white wine

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter cut into 4-5 pieces (to melt fast in pan)

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Salt & pepper

6 slices Italian bread, grilled or toasted and kept warm

Lemon wedges and additional chopped parsley and/or chives to garnish

Heat 3 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and pepper flakes and cook, shaking the pan, until garlic is light golden, about 2 minutes.  Raise the heat to high, add the shrimp, and toss till they are bright pink and seared on all sides, about 2 more minutes.  Stir in the chopped chives, then add the wine, butter, and lemon juice.  Bring to a boil and cook until the shrimp are barely opaque in the center and sauce is reduced by half, about 2 minutes.  Stir in the chopped parsley, season to taste.

Place a slice of the warm toast in the center of each of 6 warm plates.  Spoon the shrimp and sauce over the toast, drizzle more of the sauce around the toast, and drizzle a little more olive oil over if desired.  Sprinkle with parsley/chives and serve immediately with lemon wedges.

~Bon Appétit~

Braised Seabass with Pancetta

This comes to me from a close friend, so it is not a recipe I have tested yet, but I will be testing it within the next few days. From what I have read, it sounds absolutely delicious. It is not often I eat seabass, but I do love catfish, so I may test it with either tuna or catfish, which is easier to get a hold of here. 

Olive oil to fry

2 lbs. Chilean seabass fillets (or any other firm fish)

Salt and pepper

½ cup chopped onions

¼ lb. pancetta or bacon, finely chopped

1/8 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

The pulp from 5 heads of roasted garlic:

Recipe: Cut off blossom end of each head of garlic enough to expose inside of all cloves.  Brush with olive oil.  Place in baking dish which is just large enough to fit all 5 heads into, cut side up.  Add about 4 tablespoons chicken broth to bottom of baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 1 hour.  Squeeze whole head from sides to extract pulp from all cloves.  Set aside.

½ cup white wine

½ tsp. dried thyme

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 cup cream

2 cups chicken broth

4 Tbsp. (or more) green peas, steamed

4 Tbsp. chopped tomatoes marinated in a small amount of olive oil

4 thick slices pancetta or bacon, cut in thick pieces, diced, and browned to crisp

Additional chopped fresh parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet.  Season the fish with salt and pepper and brown it over medium-high heat.  Fillets will be about half cooked when done.  Remove fish from pan and keep warm.

Add more olive oil to skillet as needed to sauté.  Add chopped onions, chopped pancetta, red pepper flakes, and roasted garlic to pan.  Cook and stir for a few minutes, mashing garlic with back of a wooden spoon.  Add wine and cook for another minute.  Add thyme, 2 Tbsp. parsley, and tomato paste, stirring to combine.  Add cream and chicken broth.  Bring to a gentle boil and reduce to sauce consistency. 

Re-add fish fillets to pan.  Simmer until fish is done, basting occasionally.

Plate the fish and spoon sauce over.  Garnish with steamed peas, chopped tomatoes, crisped bacon, and chopped parsley.

If someone gets to try this before I do, let me know how it turns out. I'm very interested. It looks and sounds delicious. And if you or a friend have a recipe you would like to share with the world, just let me know. I'm always glad and eager to help budding chefs share their own talent with the world.

~Bon Appetit~

The New Blog!

Greetings, fellow food lovers. I just wanted to take some time and say welcome to my new food blog. Actually, my first food blog, but it's still new. I wanted to sit down and just write a little without everything being about recipes. Take some time and introduce myself and the blog.

What brings me here?

Food, and good recipes. I'm not a trained professional chef, but I do know good food and tasty recipes when I see them. It doesn't take a college degree to learn what pairs well with what, and what you should avoid doing at all costs. This is what brings me here. The chance to share my experiences and discoveries with the rest of the world.

Why post these recipes here?

Because, I want you to know what I have found, what I have experienced, and what I have failed at attempting to do. Of course you are more than welcome to share these recipes, make them into your own, and pass them around as you wish. That is what cooking is about, sharing and being a community.

What does cooking mean to me?

I like cooking, and writing. I also like art. To me, I see cooking to be a lot like forming a piece of art. The plate is just a canvas, the ingredients are the paints, and your tools are brushes used to bring it all together into one synchronized masterpiece. Cooking is about bringing people together to share among themselves the stories and hopes of our past, our present, and our future. Cooking to me isn't about just putting a good meal on the table, it's about forming a community and bettering the world one plate at a time.

Why do I put cocktails here?

Because I am always thinking, always creating, always figuring tasty combinations. This includes drinks and cocktails as well. I was a bartender for a while, and I learned that mixing drinks is much the same as cooking. It's a beautiful form of art. Instead of steaks, you are using vodka, to replace the gravy, you use sweet vermouth, and you trade the side of mashed potatoes for three wine-soaked olives. For me, it's the same thing as making a delicious plate of food, but your ingredients are liquid instead.

Can you ask me for help?

Of course! I'd love to help you figure something out. Just keep in mind this is a blog about food and drinks, not about putting together a bike for little Timmy. If you need a suggestion, or even a question answered about cooking, baking, or pairing foods with drinks, throw me a line. There are several ways to reach me. Right here on the blog, or come visit me on Facebook. I'm going to set up a few other ways to get in touch soon, so keep checking back.

What about exotic foods?

Awesome, let's go for it! I've had everything from elk, bear, and alligator, to bison, pheasant, and duck. If you want me to post some recipes using less-conventional ingredients, just ask. As long as I can get a hold of the item you are asking about, I will do my best to come up with something to please your curiosity and make you hungry for more.

~Bon Appétit~

Couscous with Pork

This started from an experiment with last night's dinner. I had initially planned on doing some nice stuffed pork chops, but one thing led to another, and A: the pork chops were to thin to slice and stuff, B: for some reason the only rice I had was long grain brown rice, which takes FOREVER to cook, and I didn't have time for it.

So, let's get down to business, shall we?

4-6 Pork chops with bones, roughly 1/2-3/4 inch in thickness
1 Cup of couscous
2 Cups of water
1 TBSP of butter
1 Cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1 Cup of sliced black olives
1/4 Cup of juice from the can of olives
2 TSP garlic powder
1 TSP parsley
1 TSP salt
1 TSP black pepper
1 TSP creole seasoning

1: Bring the water, butter, creole seasoning, and 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder to a boil, add the couscous, remove from heat, and stir until water is absorbed. Stir in the olives and set aside.

2: Find your favorite shallow metal baking dish, such as a cookie sheet, and line this with aluminum foil, shiny side down. Dump the couscous onto the foil and spread to roughly 1/2 inch thick upon the pan.

3: Season the raw pork chops with remaining garlic powder, parsley, salt, and black pepper, and arrange these carefully on top of the couscous so that as much couscous as possible is covered, without overlapping the meat.

4: Sprinkle the chopped onion around the dish, and then gently pour the juice from the olive can over the pork chops.

5: Place in the middle of a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, or until pork chops are cooked through.

6: Remove from oven, use a spatula to serve couscous and pork as one dish, and enjoy!

This gives you a nice savory bed of moist, fluffy couscous, and delicious pork chops in one dish. Thinking back on it now, I wish I had done some mushroom or pork-flavored gravy to drizzle over top of the finished product, but it was tasty regardless. Lately I have found lots of uses for couscous, usually as a substitute for rice when I need a slightly different flavor or texture in the dish that rice doesn't have. Make sure the test the couscous in this recipe before putting it on the cookie sheet, if it is underdone (IE: not enough water was used, or too much couscous was used) it will taste like you are eating wet sand, which is never appreciated.

And yes, when I get some thicker pork chops, I will definitely do a recipe for stuffed pork chops with my rice and sausage stuffing. Nothing says delicious like stuffing meat with meat.

~bon appétit~

Chicken Parmesan Ravioli Filling

People have been after me for years for this recipe, especially a few close friends of mine who crave good Italian food. Now, this doesn't include the recipe for the pasta itself, but just the filling. This isn't hard to make at all. So, sit back, read, make some notes, and let me tell you how it's done.

4-6 Chicken Breasts
1 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 Cup Shredded Asiago Cheese
1/2 Cup Ricotta Cheese
1 1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Spinach
1 TBSP Finely Chopped Garlic
1 TBSP Minced Onion
2 TBSP Mushroom Juice (Obtained from canned mushrooms)
2 TBSP Heavy Cream
1 TBSP Butter
1 TSP Basil
1 TBSP Olive Oil

1: Cook your chicken breasts, garlic, and onions in the olive oil until done, and shred the chicken into small 1-inch strips once they are cooled enough to touch. Place the shredded chicken into a mixing bowl and set aside for now. Allow the onions and garlic to remain in the pan, as you will be using the same pan for later.

2: In the same pan you cooked the chicken, add the mushroom juice, heavy cream, butter, and basil. Heat until the butter is melted and the mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat.

3: Add the mixture from the pan to the shredded chicken breasts in the mixing bowl while the liquid is still hot. Toss in the spinach, parmesan, and asiago cheeses. Using a wooden spoon, combine the ingredients carefully.

4: Once the ingredients are well mixed, add in the ricotta cheese and stir it into the filling mixture.

5: Use a small spoon to form balls with the filling. Place each ball onto a sheet of prepared ravioli pasta dough, and shape the ravioli as desired.

6: With ravioli filled and formed, cook, serve, and enjoy.

I would pair this meal with your favorite red wine, or in my case, a nice glass of spiced mead. This is a recipe that is frustrating at first, but I can promise you, once you have done this a few times, it will become natural. I have yet to try this as baked or fried ravioli, so if you wish to give it a spin, let me know how it turns out. If you are wondering, when I make this I take the mushrooms from the can and add them into the sauce, or I seal them up and use them for a sauté later.

With future additions to this blog, I will add the pasta recipe, and even the red wine-based sauce recipe I use, but a good cook never gives out all his secrets at once.

~bon appétit~

Mango Passion

Hello everyone. I said this was a food blog, but why not post about the things that go well with food too, like a good cool drink to enjoy after trying one of those other delicious recipes. So I've decided to also post recipes to drinks and cocktails along with food.

This is my recipe for a drink I came up with a number of years ago. I knew this gal online who had the nickname Mango^Passion, and I made a cocktail based upon her nickname (and yes she knows about this). It's a nice fruity drink that goes perfect with a cool summer evening on the beach.

1 oz White Rum (Oronoco)
1 oz Dark Rum (Captain Morgan Black)
1 oz Peach Schnapps
2 oz Mango Juice
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/4 oz Grenadine
Twist of Lime Peel and/or Lime Wedge

Combine liquors and juices in a shaker with a handful of ice. Shake vigorously, pour into you favorite glass or mug. Gently layer the grenadine on the top, and garnish with either a twist of lime peel, or a thinly sliced lime wedge, or heck, do both!

Do you have a favorite drink recipe? I'd love to talk about it.

~bon appétit~

Layered Mexican Bake

This is a recipe I came up with a few years ago. It's all the flavors of a delicious plate of tacos, rice, and beans in one dish. So far, every time I have made this, there have been no leftovers. The only problem with this dish, is it is quite time consuming, and requires a bit of effort to get to the end result. But trust me, the effort pays off in the end.

2 Cups of rice
1lb of ground beef or turkey, or 3-4 chopped up chicken breasts
1lb chorizo (I get the chorizo that doesn't come in a sausage skin, so it cooks 'loose' like ground beef)
14-16 oz of refried black or pinto beans
1 clove of garlic, finely diced
1/2 a yellow onion, chopped
4 diced Roma tomatoes
1 finely chopped jalapeno
2 cups of shredded mild cheddar cheese
2 cups of shredded monterey jack cheese
1 tsp of dried oregano
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tbsp of olive oil
1/4 tsp of cumin powder
1/4 tsp of dried parsley
Package of small corn or flour tortillas (Your choice)
Sour Cream
Guacamole
Salsa

1: Spray a very deep baking dish, either 9x9 square, or 9-inch round pan, with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. Blend together the cheeses in a bowl, and also set aside.

2: Prepare the 2 cups of rice according to the directions of your favorite rice. To the boiling water and rice, you will add the diced tomatoes, jalapeno, oregano, garlic powder, olive oil, and cumin. Cook until most the liquid is absorbed and the rice is soft.

3: Cook the chorizo and your chosen other meat (ground beef, ground turkey, or chicken breasts) together with the finely diced garlic and chopped onion. Be careful to not overcook the meat, sprinkling the parsley over the top of the meat mixture once you remove it from heat.

4: Heat the refried beans until it is warm and easy to spread. Salt and pepper to taste. Again, be careful to not overcook this ingredient.

5: Pour the rice mixture into the bottom of the baking dish, and sprinkle 1 1/4 cup of cheese over top. Place a single layer of tortillas on top of this. Spread the heated refried beans over the tortillas, and then another layer of tortillas. Spoon the mixture of meat into the pan next, straining away as much grease and fat as possible. Spread another 1 1/4 cup of cheese over the meat, and another single layer of tortillas on top.

6: Cover the dish with aluminum foil (shiny side down), and place into a 350 degree oven. Bake on the center rack for 30 minutes. Remove the foil carefully, sprinkle remaining cheese over top of the dish, and bake for another 15 minutes at 350 degrees to brown and crisp the top layer of tortillas.

7: Once the dish is cooked and removed from the oven, let stand for 5-10 minutes. Serve and place sour cream, guacamole, and salsa on top or on the side.

8: Enjoy.

As I mentioned above, this is a time-consuming recipe, and requires a healthy bit of effort to put it all together. But the end flavor is well worth the work and wait. I've pondered replacing the inner layers of tortillas with Doritos Nacho Cheese chips, but I have yet to try it. If someone out there wants to attempt it, feel free and let me know how it turns out.

This goes well with a margarita... Which I will share the recipe for later.

~bon appétit~

Pork Chops with Gravy

This is a rather simple recipe, and though I would normally do things from scratch, this one... I cheated on... But it turned out well, so I felt it deserved to be mentioned here as one of the recipes.

3-4 Boneless Pork Chops
1 3/4 Cups of water
1 Package of your favorite dry gravy mix (I used McCormick Pork Gravy Mix)
2 TBSP Butter or Margarine
1 TSP black pepper
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
1 clove of finely diced garlic
1/4 TSP Parsley
1 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce

1: Set aside pork chops. Place a deep skillet on the stove, and add all ingredients except the pork chops and Worcestershire Sauce. Mix well and heat to just barely boiling.

2: Gently place the pork chops into the boiling gravy mixture. Cover and reduce heat slightly, and allow the chops to simmer in the boiling mixture for roughly 20 minutes, flipping the meat every 4-6 minutes.

3: With 5 minutes left in the cooking time, coat the top of the pork chops with the Worcestershire Sauce. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer, but remain covered.

4: Remove pork chops from the skillet, and drizzle the remaining gravy mixture over the boneless chops. Serve and enjoy.

Now, I would suggest serving this with mashed potatoes or even on a bed of rice, but that is up to you. This allows you to use the gravy as a way to bring the entire dish together as one.

~bon appétit~