Simple Sangria

Ingredients

Dry rose wine or any wine of your choosing (we used Rose of Malbec from Crios vineyards in Argentina, we also made it with a dry red wine and it was great)

Fresh lemonade (such as Good Flow lemonade or Simply Lemonade)

Sparkling water (such as Topo Chico or San Pelligrino)

To make

Over ice, pour two parts wine to one part lemonade (or to your taste) and add splash or two of sparkling water to make it fizzy (also to your taste).

Garnish with sliced lime or other sliced fruit(s).

You can make this glass-by-glass in individual servings, or you could also make this up in big pitchers and let everyone serve themselves.

 

 

 

 

Easy Artichoke Dip

This is a crazy-easy and delicious dip that is great for any fun occasion. It is a staple with our friends and family.

1 cup Hellman's mayonnaise
1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, then put into a baking dish or gratin.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve with chips, crackers, or sliced bread.

Lovely Jubbly Baked Cod with Avocado, Cream and Cheese

I must thank Jamie Oliver, the Naked Chef, for yet another fantastic, easy recipe. We had this the first week I went back to work and it was pure bliss. It took minutes to prepare and we all loved it.  This is adapted from Happy Days with the Naked Chef. That recipe includes shrimp, but we left it out since we didn't have shrimp on hand. We also substituted orange roughy for cod. It was delicious. Any relatively lean and firm white fish would work. In Jamie's words, "Lovely jubbly."

Serves 4

Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 8-oz cod fillets (or halibut, orange roughy, tilapia, etc.)
2 small handfuls of fresh basil, ripped
2 avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced
3/4 - 1 cup half and half or cream
10 oz good white cheddar cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Rub a baking dish with a little olive oil, season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper, and place in the dish.  Sprinkle the fish with basil and avocado.  Drizzle over the cream and sprinkle on the cheese.

Cook for 15 - 20 minutes until golden and bubbly.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

Simms' Chicken and Rice Soup

Resist the temptation to add carrots or other seasonings, the idea of this soup is that it is so simple and pure.

1 whole small- to medium-sized chicken
4 - 5 stalks of celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
Water to cover
Kosher salt
1 cup uncooked white rice

Wash the chicken and pat dry. Put chicken in a large stockpot and cover with water. Add celery and onion, and a good amount of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat.

Once the water comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for at least one hour, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.

Remove the chicken from the pot and allow to cool a bit while finishing the soup.

Add the rice to the stock and simmer until cooked (about 15 minutes).

Meanwhile, remove all the meat from the bones and shred into bite-sized pieces. Add the chicken back to the pot when the rice is done. 

Adjust seasoning and serve.

Indian Street Food -- Bhel-Puri

From Shef's Kitchen

Shefaly Ravula "Indian Street Foods"

Serves 8 – 10

Prep time: 15 minutes plus time to make chutneys

Assembly: 5 minutes

1 14-oz. package of bhel mix (see notes below)

2 lb. red potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes, placed in a saucepan and covered with water

1 cup finely chopped yellow onion

½ cup unripe raw mango, cut into ½ inch cubes (optional)

½ cup peanuts 

3-4 roma tomatoes, chopped and seeded and drained on a paper towel

¼ cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup extra-fine sev (optional), called bhujia sev or fine sev

½ cup hot garlic chutney (see recipe below)

¾ cup cilantro chutney (see recipe below)

¾ -1 cup tamarind-date chutney (see recipe below)

Method:

1.    Add a little salt to the water and boil potatoes until fork-tender. Drain well. Set aside.

2.    Place bhel-mix in a large mixing bowl.

3.    Before ready to serve, add potatoes, onions, peanuts, and mango, if using

4.    Immediately before serving, add the tomatoes and chutneys, a little at a time.

5.    Mix well with hands and serve onto individual plates.

6.    Garnish with cilantro and extra-fine sev.  

7.    Serve immediately!  Add more hot garlic or tamarind-date chutney to taste.

Notes:

Bhel mix can be found pre-packaged in an Indian grocery store. It will be in the snacks or spice aisle usually. Bhel mix is composed of generally 3 ingredients: mumraa (fried, lightly seasoned puffed rice), sev (thin crispy noodles made of chick-pea flour), and flaky crispy pieces of puri (deep-fried wheat flour chips).  You can make your own bhel mix if you wish and these ingredients can be purchased separately.

I tend to use fried peanuts instead of roasted peanuts; you can deep fry your own raw peanuts or purchase them in the snack aisle of any grocery store.

Bhel-puri was originally a snack dish in the state of Gujarat, along the west coast of India and now it has become a mainstay of Mumbai street food. It’s a type of chaat (literally translates to “lick or taste”). Chaats are usually served as a snack, between lunch and dinner and sometimes served with chai.  For most Indians or anyone else who has had chaat, the mere mention of the word starts the mouth watering and most of this is due to the flavorful chutneys in combination with the various textures within the chaat dish.  Other kinds of chaats include sev-puri, dahi-puri, vada-pav, pav bhaji, ragada-patis, etc…. You can find some of these under the appetizer section on menus in restaurants around town. 

For entertaining purposes, make all chutneys up to 3 days in advance.  Keep all the other ingredients prepped the day of party.  Serve all ingredients in individual bowls and let guests assemble themselves. You can have a chaat party! I would recommend telling guests to put about one teaspoonful of each chutney in the bhel except more of the sweet tamarind-date chutney (most people like about 2 teaspoons of that chutney).

Cilantro Chutney

From Shef's Kitchen

Shefaly Ravula "Indian Street Foods"

Makes 1 cup
Prep time: 10 minutes 

Cook time: 5 minutes

¼ cup raw unsalted peanuts

1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped

½ serrano chili pepper, coarsely chopped, seeds and all

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped peeled gingerroot

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

½ cup water

Method:

1.    Place peanuts in a blender or mini-chopper and grind to a medium-fine powder.

2.    Transfer ground peanuts to a blender if you ground them in the mini-chopper.

3.    Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well, adding more water if necessary.

Notes:

This chutney is very versatile. You can use it as a spread as in a panini sandwich or in a cucumber tea sandwich. You can use it as a dipping sauce for samosas or papadums. You can use it as one of many chutneys/sauces used in traditional Indian street/snack foods such as chaat or bhel-puri.

You can freeze the chutney in small containers or ice cube trays. Just thaw it out in the refrigerator.

The peanuts add flavor and act as a thickener. You can substitute daliya (dry roasted chana dal) if you wish or if you are nut-allergic.  Add fresh mint leaves for a refreshing summer chutney.

Tamarind Date Chutney

From Shef's Kitchen

Shefaly Ravula "Indian Street Foods"

Makes 2 cups
Prep time: 5 minutes 

Cook time: 20 minutes

1 packed cup tamarind pulp (don’t worry if there are seeds)

2 cups water

1 cup chopped pitted dates (approx 20 dates)

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar 

Method:

1.    Heat water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add tamarind pulp to hot water. Lower heat and cook for 10 minutes, breaking pulp with wooden spoon.  Turn off heat.

2.    Strain into a cup and discard pulp and seeds if there are seeds. You will be left with about 1 cup of tamarind water.

3.    Place tamarind water back into saucepan.  Turn heat to medium-low.  Add chopped dates.

4.    Add chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and salt. Stir well, slightly mashing dates with wooden spoon.

5.    Cook 10 minutes. The mixture will slowly reduce and begin to look like a chutney

6.    Turn off heat. Pour mixture into blender or mini food processor and blend, adding water as needed, up to 1 cup.

7.    Add brown sugar to taste.  (The addition of this depends on the sweetness and variety of your dates).  

8.    Serve with roasted papadums, samosas, chaat, or pakoras, or in a peanut-butter sandwich!

Notes:

This chutney is traditionally made with jaggery instead of brown sugar.  Jaggery is a wonderful mellow-tasting raw unrefined sugar made directly from sugarcane.  Dark brown sugar is a good substitution.

Tamarind concentrate could be substituted for the pulp to save time, but the flavor won’t be as fruity and pure as it is with using the pulp.  Tamarind pulp can be purchased at Asian or Indian grocery stores.

For a very short shortcut, you could use 2 tablespoons of tamarind concentrate dissolved in 1 cup warm water. Blend this with a 16 oz. jar of apple butter (yes apple butter!). Add the above listed chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, and salt and you have a fairly good and tasty substitute!

Hot and Spicy Garlic Chutney

From Shef's Kitchen

Shefaly Ravula "Indian Street Foods"

Makes 1 cup
Prep time: 15 minutes 

Cook time: 5 minutes

20-25 peeled garlic cloves

1 small red bell pepper, chopped coarsely

1 tablespoon coarsely chopped peeled gingerroot

¼ cup raw unsalted peanuts

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili powder, such as Kashmiri chili powder

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Method:

Blend all ingredients in a blender or a mini-chopper, adding water as necessary to make it a pourable consistency (about ½ cup).

Notes:

This chutney keeps for a week in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Paprika is added mostly to deepen the red color. 

Any Indian chili powder will do; Kashmiri chili powder is milder and has a brighter red color. You don’t need much in this recipe because the raw garlic provides heat.

Copyright Shefaly Ravula

Glorious Gratin of Root Vegetables

This gratin is a delicious way to serve root vegetables available through the late fall and winter. It is perfect for Thanksgiving or other holiday events and is lovely as a side dish or as a vegetarian main course. Feel free to substitute any root vegetable for the ones listed here.
 
This recipes is adapted from my favorite cookbook, "Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone," by Deborah Madison.

Butter for the dish
Bechamel for Gratins (see recipe below)
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, finely diced
1 Tablespoon butter
12 ounces yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into juilienne
12 ounces turnips, peeled and julienned
8 ounces carrots, peeled and julienned
1 cup fresh bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 2-quart gratin dish.
 
Cook the bechamel sauce (recipe below).
 
While the bechamel is cooking, cook the onions in the butter in a small skillet over medium heat, about 8 minutes.
 
Combine with the rest of the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to gratin dish.
 
Pour the bechamel sauce over the top, cover with bread crumbs and bake until bubbly and golden on top, about 45 minutes.
 

Aromatic Bechamel for Gratins

2 cups milk
2 slices white or yellow onion
Aromatics: a few parsley sprigs, a few thyme sprigs, 2 bay leaves plus 1 garlic clove, crushed -- (tie the aromatics in a cheesecloth or put loose in the pan)
4 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, slowly heat the milk with the onions, aromatics and garlic. When it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and set aside.
 
In another heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook for 1 minute.
 
Whisk in the hot milk at once, including the aromatics.  Cook until thickened, then reduce heat, cover and cook for 25 minutes.  Check from time to time and stir to be sure the sauce does not scorch or cook too quickly. You want this to cook at a slow, easy simmer.
 
Discard the aromatics, season with salt and pepper.  The bechamel is now ready to use!

Healthy Holiday Pumpkin Bread

Makes 2 loaves.

Give the second loaf away, or wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for up to two months. Ground flaxseed and water add moisture to the batter for a smooth-textured bread.

14.6 ounces  all-purpose flour (about 3 1/4 cups)

2  teaspoons  salt

2  teaspoons  baking soda

1  teaspoon  baking powder

1  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

1  teaspoon  pumpkin pie spice

1/2  cup  water

1/3  cup  ground flaxseed (ground in blender or coffee/spice mill)

1  (15-ounce) can pumpkin

2  cups  sugar

2/3  cup  canola oil

2/3  cup  honey beer (at room temperature)

1/2  cup  egg substitute

2  large eggs
 

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.
Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.

Combine flour, salt, and next 4 ingredients (through pumpkin pie spice) in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk.


Combine 1/2 cup water and flaxseed.


Place sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until well blended. Add flaxseed mixture and pumpkin; beat at low speed just until blended. Add flour mixture; beat just until combined.

Divide batter between 2 (9 x 5–inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350° for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine 2008

Roast Pork Tenderloin with Mission Fig Sauce

Serves 4

For Fig Sauce

2 ½ cups port (such as Tawny port)

1 ¼ cups low sodium chicken broth

8 dried black Mission figs, coarsely chopped

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper



In a medium-sized, heavy saucepan, combine the port, chicken broth, figs, rosemary, cinnamon, and honey.

Boil over medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 30 minutes.

Discard the rosemary sprigs and cinnamon sticks.

Transfer the port mixture to a blender and puree until smooth.
Blend in the butter, salt and pepper.

Note: The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Warm over medium heat before using.





For the pork

Two pork tenderloins, roughly 1 ½ to 2 pounds each

Salt and pepper

Olive oil


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Season the pork with salt and pepper.  
Put a small amount of olive oil in a large sauté pan and bring to medium high heat.

Sear the pork tenderloin in the pan, browning the meat quickly on all sides.

Place the pork in a baking dish and roast for 25 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the tenderloin.




Cut the pork crosswise into slices. Drizzle with warm fig sauce and serve.



Adapted from Everyday Italian by Giada De Laurentiis

Baked Halibut with Potatoes, Garlic and Olive Oil -- Genoese Style

Serves 6

From Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cuisine

1½ pounds boiling potatoes (such as Yukon Gold)
A bake and serve dish, approximately 10 by 16 inches, preferably enameled cast iron ware
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
¼ cup chopped parsley
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 halibut fillets, approximately 1 pound each, or the equivalent of other thick, firm fish fillets (such as bluefish, sea bass or sable)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Peel the potatoes and slice them very thin, barely thicker than chips. Wash them in cold water, then pat them thoroughly dry with a cloth kitchen towel.

Put all the potatoes into the baking dish, half of the olive oil, half the garlic, half the parsley, and several liberal pinches of salt and black pepper. Toss the potatoes 2 or 3 times to coat them well, then spread them evenly over the bottom of the dish.

When the oven reaches the preset temperature, put the potatoes in the uppermost third of the oven and roast them for 12 to 15 minutes, until they are about halfway done.

Take out the dish, but do not turn off the oven.  Put the fish fillets over the potatoes (skin side down if you have left the skin on).  Mix the remaining olive oil, garlic and parsley in a small bowl and pour the mixture over the fish, distributing it evenly.  Sprinkle with liberal amounts of salt and pepper.  Return the dish to the oven.

After 10 minutes, take the dish out, but do not turn off the oven.  Use a spoon to scoop up some of the oil at the bottom of the dish and baste the fish with it.  Loosen those potatoes that have become browned and are stuck to the sides of the dish, moving them away. Push into their place slices that are not so brown. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 5 to 8 minutes more depending on the thickness of the fish fillets.

Remove the dish from the oven and allow to settle for a few minutes.  Serve directly from the baking dish, scraping loose all the potatoes stuck to the sides – they are the most delectable bits – and pouring the cooking juices over each portion of fish and potatoes.

Perfect Roast Chicken with Lemons

This roast chicken is so delicious and easy. The meat is moist and juicy with just the faintest hint of lemon. It is earthy and elegant and the perfect main course for a busy weeknight meal.

4- 6 servings

1 whole chicken
2 lemons
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
 
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Rub chicken inside and out with kosher salt and pepper (liberal amounts).

Pierce 2 small lemons 30 - 40 times each and put in cavity of chicken.

Place chicken breast side down on rack inside a large roasting pan and roast at 425 degrees for 30 minutes

Rotate chicken breast side up, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue roasting for 1 hour.

Test for doneness and let rest a few minutes before serving.