Archive | July, 2012

Greek Chicken Meatballs

31 Jul

My mom and step dad were visiting over the weekend and requested that I make my Mediterranean Quinoa Stuffed Peppers for dinner while they were here. I love those stuffed peppers, but wanted to add something to the meal to make it a little more substantial for the manly men that would be at the dinner table. I thought a Greek style meatball would be an nice pair with the peppers. My Asian Chicken Meatballs were such a hit with the family that I decided to do another chicken meatball and just change the flavor profile. These are loaded with a really flavorful mix of herbs that include mint, dill, oregano and parsley. Finely chopped onion and garlic add great flavor and I added lemon zest for a little zip.

I served the meatballs with a tzatziki sauce. It was cool and creamy and really made the dish! The tzatziki is also great on the peppers. I bought my tzatziki at Trader Joes, but it is really simple to make your own. I basically follow this recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook that I have (and LOVE).  I don’t even strain the yogurt when I make it. Most of the Greek yogurts you buy are already so thick and yummy. I was hoping to have some of these meatballs leftover because I thought they would be great sliced in half in some pita bread with some tzatziki…but no such luck. My family gobbled up every last one.

Greek Chicken Meatballs

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 1/3 cup of whole milk
  • 2 pounds ground chicken (preferably organic)
  • 1 small onion, chopped very small
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 bunch of fresh Italian parsley, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves (about a handful of leaves)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • zest of one lemon
  • 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • a few turns of fresh ground pepper

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Pour the milk over the panko bread crumbs in a large bowl and stir until liquid is absorbed. Add ground chicken, chopped onion, minced garlic, all of the herbs, the beaten eggs,  olive oil, lemon zest & juice, and salt & pepper. Mix well until all of the ingredients are combined.  Shape about 3 tablespoons of the chicken into a balls (this is a messy process – a little water on your hands helps the chicken from sticking) and put on a baking sheet lined with foil and coated with non-stick cooking spray.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes, turning them over half way through (test at 20 min to see if they are done on the inside). A minute under the broiler gives them a little more golden color…just don’t walk away! Serve with tzatziki sauce.

Makes about 2 dozen meatballs

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Heirloom Tomato Pizza

26 Jul

Funny thing about growing tomatoes…you get a lot of them. Then…you gotta use them up! Even when I don’t feel like cooking dinner and I am thinking about picking up take-out from somewhere, I look at the pile of tomatoes in the kitchen and think…I gotta make something with those tomatoes. So for tonight, I figured a pizza would be quick and easy and good for using up a few tomatoes. And there is the fact that I can eat pizza any old time and be pretty darn happy. This dinner is so simple…you don’t even need a recipe!

The tomato that we have the most of right now is “Green Zebra”. Check these beauties out! I used a combo of these and the “Druzba” variety that we grew.

Plump, red, sweet & juicy “Druzba” heirloom tomatoes

I started with a pre-made crust (I wanted a super quick, effortless dinner!). Next I put a clove of garlic through my trusty garlic press and mixed it with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. I spread the garlicky-olive oil goodness on the crust, followed by some freshly chopped basil. I topped that with a little shredded mozzarella, prosciutto that I tore into pieces, my sliced heirloom tomatoes, a sprinkle of kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, some dollops of creamy goat cheese, and a sprinkle of grated parmesan. Super simple and OH SO DELICIOUS!!

After it came out of the oven, I added a little more freshly torn basil on top. With a fairly large glass of wine, this was a perfect meal!

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Coconut Butter and My New Fave Smoothie

21 Jul

If there were only one butter allowed in heaven…this would it!

How could I have not discovered this stuff sooner? I love coconut, I cook and bake with coconut oil (and use if for a moisturizer sometimes), I love coconut milk, I drink coconut water and use it in my smoothies…BUT where has this coconut butter been all of my life? I guess since I’m a real butter loving kind of girl, I have never sought out a substitute for it. I’m sure all of you raw, vegan, Paleo, and non-dairy eating peeps out there already know about this stuff. Anyway…I’m glad I know about it now because it seriously is a heavenly treat and an unbelievably Juicy Bite!

I discovered it when I bought a smoothie from a local juice bar and it was one of the ingredients in the smoothie. I was puzzled by what “coconut butter” was and did a little research on line since I was determined to duplicate the smoothie at home. Turns out it is just dried, unsweetened coconut pureed to the point that it turns into creamy, buttery goodness. It is processed in a blender (like a Vitamix) or a food processor until the fat from the coconut is extracted and it becomes smooth. I found simple directions to make it on a blog called Color Wheel Meals. Samantha, a fellow WordPress blogger, gives step by step instructions for coconut butter and a delicious recipe to use it in here.  You can use it baked goods, smoothies (like the one below), or simply spread it on your toast like my 8 year old loves to do. Not knowing how simple coconut butter is to make, I bought mine from my local Whole Foods Market. You can also buy it here on Amazon. I will definately make my own batch once I get through my first jar…which probably won’t be long.

Now…for the smoothie! I’s a green smoothie, but it’s lighter than my Kale Cashew Shake. The coconut butter adds delicious coconut flavor and just a little creaminess to the smoothie. I have added spoonfuls of coconut to my smoothies before, but it’s not the same as the coconut butter. You can adjust the “green-ness” of your smoothie by adding more or less of the kale and spinach. I love the greens, so I add a bunch. For my boys I go a little easier on the greens so their version tastes like a green piña colada. They love it!

Tropical Green Smoothie

Makes 1 smoothie

Ingredients:

1 cup loosely packed spinach leaves

1 heaping cup of loosely packed pieces of kale (thick stems removed)

1/2 cup frozen pineapple chunks

1/2 banana (or whole if it’s small)

1 heaping tablespoon coconut butter

1 cup coconut water

6 ice cubes

Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.

 

 

 

 

 

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Garden Tomatoes & My Heirloom Tomato Pasta

19 Jul

Serious Tomato Heaven!!

After many trials and tribulations, my husband has successfully grown some heirloom tomatoes. It was way more work (blood, sweat, tears and a few choice words), than he thought it would be…but WELL worth it! If you haven’t had a home-grown tomato, whether it be from your garden, a friend’s, or the farmer’s market, you really don’t know what at tomato is supposed to taste like. These little wonders are the JUICIEST of Bites!

We have a nice variety and they are all so delicious. We ordered our plants from Laurel’s Heirloom Tomato Plants in Lomita, CA. She has an amazing selection of organic heirloom tomatoes and they came shipped to us carefully nested in a box in perfect condition at the beginning of Spring. She has also helped my husband with a lot of his questions on what to do about pests and other issues that can be a problem when you grow tomatoes. He found the biggest caterpillar I have ever seen munching on his leaves. We lovingly named him Phatapilla, and found him a home far away from the tomato plants. Here is a run down of what we are growing…

Paul Robeson…Laurel’s favorite (from Laurel’s Heirloom Tomatoes)

Green Zebra…sweet and tangy. My son Max’s favorite.

These little guys are to die for. So sweet!

Our backyard garden. I take NO credit for this…It’s all my hubby. I’m so proud of his first crop!

These tomatoes are so tasty sliced up with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt & pepper. I made a pasta dinner with them last night and they were definitely the star of the dish. Heirlooms aren’t the tomato you would want to make a sauce with. I think their flavor shines the most when they are left uncooked. For this super simple summer dinner all I did was chop up a few of the tomatoes (cut the little cherries in half) and “marinate” them in some really good olive oil with a little minced garlic, chopped basil and Italian parsley, kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper. The tomatoes give off some of their juices and create the most delicious sauce to toss your warm pasta in. Top that with some shaved aged Parmigiano-Reggiano…absolute heaven. I seriously could eat that pasta every day. Amazing flavor and so simple.

Heirloom Tomato Spaghetti

Serves 4 (with a little left over if you are lucky)

Ingredients:

  • combination of heirloom tomatoes – about 4 medium-large tomatoes mixed with some cherry tomatoes (I ended up with about 4 cups of chopped tomatoes)
  • 1/2 cup of good olive oil
  • 1/2 cup of chopped basil
  • 1/4 cup of chopped parsley
  • 2-3 minced garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • fresh cracked pepper
  • 1 pound thin spaghetti
  • Parmesan or Romano for serving

Roughly chop the bigger heirlooms and cut small tomatoes in half. Be careful to save any juice that they give off onto the cutting board. Combine the tomatoes, olive oil, basil, parsley, garlic and salt & pepper in a large bowl. Mix well and cover with plastic wrap for at least 30 minutes (mine sat for about 45 min). In a large pot of well salted boiling water, cook your spaghetti until al-dente. Before you drain, reserve a little of the pasta water. Drain and toss with the tomatoes. If it is a little dry, you can add some of your reserved pasta water. Taste for seasoning…you may need more salt and pepper. 

Serve with freshly shaved cheese and extra chopped basil.

Do you have a favorite heirloom tomato? Or how about a recipe that uses them? Would love to hear from you!

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Summer Mediterranean Feast!

16 Jul

Yesterday I was lucky enough to spend a fabulous afternoon at the home of some good friends enjoying some beautiful California sunshine. The occasion was a 40th birthday celebration for another good friend and I had the privilege of planning the menu for the day. We settled on a Mediterranean theme and it truly was a feast. It was a group effort and all of the dishes were so good. So good, in fact…that I decided I must do a blog post so that I can remember how simple and delicious this menu was. So much of this menu can be done ahead of time that is perfect for entertaining!

Not only was the food good, but the company was even better. Great friends that I don’t get to see enough. All of this on a beautiful deck in Laguna Beach with a ridiculous view of the ocean. Not a bad way to spend your Sunday afternoon. Thanks Ilana & Mike!

I will give you the run down…try not to drool on your keyboard (or whatever device you happen to be reading this on).

From the grill we had an assortment of gourmet sausages from Whole Food’s Market. They were delicious and cook up so quick and easy. We also had some grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers that we served with Tzatziki Sauce. The chicken is a simple recipe that I love from Ina Garten (AKA: The Barefoot Contessa, and one of my cooking idols). Her recipe is served with a satay dip, which is also delicious.

On the side we had an Orzo Salad with cucumber, roasted red pepper, green olives, artichoke hearts, and lots of fresh herbs in a lemony dressing. (see recipe below)…

A Green and Yellow Bean Salad with a Chunky Tomato Dressing…

And these fabulous little Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Ricotta, Pancetta, and Spinach (see recipe below). These little buggers are serious Juicy Bites!

Everything was delicious and we got to enjoy it all on a deck overlooking the ocean. Here are a few more pictures from my fun afternoon…

The Birthday Girl and her hubby. I know…she doesn’t look like she could POSSIBLY be 40 :)

The hostess with the mostess!

Nibbling on a stuffed pepper

Yep…that’s the ocean in the background.

My awesome girl friends :)

Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound orzo pasta – cooked to al dente
  • 1 can artichoke hearts – drained and quartered
  • 1 red bell pepper – roasted (jarred roasted red pepper is fine too)
  • 1 cup of sliced green olives
  • 1 hot house cucumber – seeded and chopped
  • half of a red onion – chopped small
  • 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese
  • lemon vinaigrette – see recipe below
  • 1/2 cup of fresh chopped parsley
  • 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped oregano
  • 3 tablespoons fresh chopped mint
  • kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. This salad gets better after a couple of hours in the fridge, and can be made one day in advance.

Lemon Vinaigrette:

  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 2 minced garlic cloves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup good olive oil

Whisk the lemon juice, mustard, salt and garlic together. Add the olive oil slowly while whisking to blend and emulsify.

Mini Sweet Peppers Stuffed with Ricotta, Spinach, and Pancetta

Ingredients:

  • Non-Stick cooking spray
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
  • 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 10 ounces of frozen spinach – thawed and excess water squeezed out
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 24 (2 to 3-inch long) sweet baby peppers

Directions

Place an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray and set aside. *See tip below.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring frequently, until brown and crispy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and drain on paper towels. Add the onion to the pan and cook until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine the onion, pancetta, cheeses, and spinach. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Using a paring knife, cut 1/2-inch from the stem-end of the peppers. Remove the seeds and veins. Using a small spoon, fill each pepper with the ricotta mixture. Place the filled peppers on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the peppers begin to soften. Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes.

Arrange the peppers on a platter and serve.

*Tip: If you have mini muffin tins, they work even better than a baking sheet. They keep the peppers propped up so there is less of a chance for filling to escape.

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Summer Salmon Supper

10 Jul IMG_2132

Balsamic-Soy Glazed Salmon with Corn and Tomato Salad over Arugula

I warned you that there would be some serious blogging this week. I’m just not a happy girl if I don’t get to do this. Putting a post together with pictures of food that my family has enjoyed while drinking a glass of wine is like therapy for me ;)

Max, my 8 year old food critic, declared this dinner as “The best dinner you have ever made me”. As for myself, I would not say it is the best thing I have ever made…but it was darn good. I think that any time you cook with ingredients that are in season and at their prime, your food will just taste really good. Wild salmon is readily available right now and summer corn is delicious and sweet. California avocados are at the market and seem to be ripe whenever you need them. As for tomatoes…well…that’s sort of a sore subject around here. My husband has been working really hard on his tomato garden and so far we have only had a few available to eat. Any day now…I’m sure there will be a windfall of tomatoes and I will be scrambling for recipe ideas. For right now, I had a small handful of these amazingly sweet cherry tomatoes that came from our garden, and the rest came from the grocery store.

The hubby is usually in charge of grilling salmon around here, but with him at work I decided to go with the oven. I’m not much of a griller. You could definitely go that route though if you are good with the grill. The glaze I put on was really delicious. Maybe that’s why my boys loved it so much.

For as many steps as there are to this dinner, I found that it came together pretty quickly and easily. You could do some of it ahead of time too, which would come in handy if you were cooking for company…and this is definitely company-worthy!  The glaze for the salmon and the dressing for the salad could be done in advance as well as prepping the corn.

Balsamic-Soy Glazed Salmon

For the Glaze:

  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1 minced garlic clove

In a small sauce pan, whisk together the vinegar, maple syrup, mustard and garlic over medium heat. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until thick, about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool while you cook the salmon.

For the Salmon:

  • 1 two pound salmon filet or 4 individual salmon filets
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil
  • kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Put your oven rack in the center of the oven and pre-heat to 425. Cover  a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Rinse and pat salmon dry. Lay skin side down on the parchment and coat with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 10-15 minutes. Mine took 15 and was cooked perfectly.

Remove from the oven and drizzle some of the glaze over the salmon. Cover with foil and rest for 5 minutes.

Corn and Tomato Salad with Basil

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
  • handful of basil leaves
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 ears of cooked corn (I rub a little olive oil on mine and put them in the oven at 425 for about 10 min)
  • 1/4 cup of chopped sweet onion or red onion
  • 2 cups of small grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • salt and pepper
  • thinly sliced basil to garnish

Directions

Combine the vinegar, basil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and oil in a blender or small food processor and blend until smooth. Can be made in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.

Cut the corn from the cob and combine with the onion, tomatoes and avocado in a large bowl. Add 1/2 of the dressing and toss to coat, season with a little more salt and pepper. This can sit at room temp for up to 30 minutes before serving. The flavors get even better as it sits.

To serve this Salmon Supper…

Toss the remaining basil dressing with 4 cups of arugula. Divide the arugula onto plates and top with some of the corn salad, garnishing with the sliced basil. Cut the salmon into 4 filets and put next to the salad. Drizzle more of the Balsamic-Soy Glaze over the salmon. Serve immediately.

Now that’s a Juicy Bite!

 

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Super Simple Raspberry Syrup

10 Jul

Sweet, tart, and berry-licious!

This is one of those simple things that can make you look like you are some sort of culinary fancy-pants when you serve it to your guests (or in my case, my 2 boys). It really is simple to make and you don’t even need fresh berries in the house (I used frozen). It’s also lower in sugar than anything you will find at the store and much tastier.

I love to use it to dress up a store bought dessert. Drizzle it over coconut gelato and garnish toasted coconut and a fancy cookie and wala…a dessert to impress! You can put it in a plastic squeeze bottle and decorate a plate for a fudgy brownie or pound cake. The possibilities are endless! My boys love it on their pancakes…I used it on my oatmeal.

Simmer, strain, and your done!

I love these plastic squeeze bottles!

Raspberry Syrup

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of frozen raspberries, or 3 cups of fresh
  • 1/3 cup of sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons of water

Directions:

In a pan, combine the raspberries, sugar, and water (3 tablespoons if using fresh raspberries, 2 if using frozen) and cook over medium heat stirring occasionally to disolve sugar.

Bring to a simmer, lower the heat, and cook for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing berries with the back of your spoon.

Remove berry mixture from heat, and allow it to cool for a few minutes.

Strain mixture through a mesh sieve, pressing down on the solids with the backside of a spoon to extract the syrup.

Keep refrigerated until ready to use. This will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge…but it probably won’t last that long!

Makes about 1 cup.

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Sunday Dinner

9 Jul

Spaghetti Bolognese

Long time no post! Sorry for neglecting my blogging duties, I have been having a little too much summer fun. I plan on catching up this week, so sorry in advance if you get a lot of Juicy Bites in your in box. We had a fun and busy weekend and I wanted to finish it off with a nice family dinner yesterday. The kind where we actually eat at the dining room table and I light the candles. It was a really nice mellow end to a fun summer weekend.

To me, a Sunday dinner is all about comfort food. One of my family’s favorite comfort foods is spaghetti with a good meat sauce. For this Sunday dinner, I decided to go with a bolognese sauce instead of my usual meat sauce. Bolognese is thicker, meatier, and richer than a basic meat sauce. It’s usually a combo of beef, veal, and pork and is finished with milk or cream. It’s more of an Italian “stew” than a sauce. I searched around and settled on this recipe from Emeril Lagasse. I stuck pretty close to his, with just a couple of changes.

With any Italian dish that calls for tomatoes, you want to make sure that you use a good brand. This is one that I like…

This recipe starts with some diced pancetta or bacon. I used bacon because it’s what I had on hand. After you crisp up the bacon, you saute a mix of onions, carrots, and celery in the rendered bacon fat (YUM!).

This dish does have a lot of steps, but once they are done you can just let it simmer and smell your whole house up with deliciousness.

Don’t forget crusty bread…or good wine. In this case, a fabulous Zinfandel from Orin Swift called “The Prisoner”.

Spaghetti Bolognese

This recipe serves 8 (with 2 pounds of pasta) or 4-6 with one pound and left over sauce to save/freeze.

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 ounces bacon or  pancetta, diced
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions (one medium onion)
  • 3/4 cup diced carrots
  • 3/4 cup diced celery
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (fresh if you have it)
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 pound ground pork
  • 1/2 pound ground veal
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 cup red wine
  • 1  28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 cup beef  broth
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 cup half and half or whole milk
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 pound spaghetti
  • freshly grated Parmesan for serving

Directions

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the bacon or pancetta and cook, stirring, until browned and the fat is rendered, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the beef, pork, and veal, and cook, stirring, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring, to deglaze the pan and remove any browned bits sticking to the bottom of the pan, and until half of the liquid is evaporated, about 2 minutes.

Add the can of crushed tomatoes, beef broth, and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer (uncovered), stirring occasionally, to keep the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the sauce is thickened and flavorful, about 1 1/2 hours. Add the half and half or milk, stir well and simmer for a couple more minutes. Discard the bay leaves and taste for seasoning, you may need a little more salt depending on the type of broth that you use. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and return the water to a low boil. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the noodles from sticking, until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes, then drain put back in the pot or in a serving bowl.

Add a cup or 2 of the sauce to the pasta, tossing to coat. Top with chopped parsley and serve with extra sauce and cheese.

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