Spicy Red Salsa

~Based on a recipe from one of my favorite cookbook authors, Diane Rossen Worthington. The salsa was made fresh Father's Day morning by my son, Daryl, in "Bruce's Kitchen."

"This spicy salsa is wonderful to have around for use as a condiment. The hotness may be controlled by the number of chiles included. For a spicier salsa, increase the amount of chiles to 2 tablespoons. Cilantro gives this salsa a delightful contrast in color and taste."

Ingredients

• 4 large fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped (I did not peel them.)
• 1 tablespoon seeded, finely chopped fresh jalapeno chiles
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 small Vidalia onion, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped
• 1 large celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 medium clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Taste for seasoning. Cover and refrigerate.

May be kept up to 3 days in refrigerator. Remove from refrigerator ½ hour before serving.

Linquine Baked in Paper

Simple to prepare. Stunning presentation. Scrumptious!

"The paper packages keep in all the lovely juices and the flavor of the herbs, wine, tomatoes, and garlic, which infuse the pasta during baking. There's no need to removed the paper after cooking, as it add to the stylish presentation."

~From New Vegetarian Kitchen, which I highly recommend to you.

Ingredients*

13 1/2 ounces linguine (I used fresh linguine.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 long red chili, seeded and finely chopped (I used a jalapeno.)
1 cup dry white wine
1 pound cherry tomatoes
3 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese shavings, to serve
*(Be creative and add other vegetables. I added a large handful of chopped asparagus.)

Directions

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water. Drain. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cooking water.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet and fry the garlic and chili 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add the wine and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat slightly and cook 3 to 5 minutes until the wine reduces by about one-third and the alcohol evaporates.
3. Preheat the oven to 350. Add the tomatoes and capers (and other veggies, i.e. the asparagus) to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes or until slightly soft. Add the pasta, reserved cooking water, and parsley. Remove the pan from the heat and stir until the pasta is coated in the sauce.
4. Put a large sheet of parchment paper in each of four bowls and divide the pasta into them. Gather up the edges of the paper and tie with kitchen string. Put the packages of the paper on a baking sheet and bake 15 minutes. To serve, return the packages to the bowls and open carefully. Sprinkle with Parmesan, season with salt fresh black pepper, and serve.

I served this with  a salad, no-knead bread (dill and scallion) and red wine.

YUM!!!

Picadillo

My son came home for the summer from graduate school at The University of Texas in Austin a few days ago.

Last night he came over for dinner. I made Picadillo and Susan made Sage Corn Muffins.

From Food & Wine One Dish Meals:

"Our version of this Cuban classic mixes ground beef with a highly seasoned tomato sauce, fried potatoes, raisins, and green olives. Picadillo, which should be only slightly saucy, often fills empanadas or soft tacos. We like it with corn bread or warm flour tortillas."

1. 1 1/4 pounds ground beef*
2. 1 large onion, chopped
3. 1 green bell pepper, chopped (I used an orange pepper.)
4. 2 cloves garlic, minced
5. 1/2 cup beer
6. 1 1/3 cups drained canned chopped tomatoes (one 15-ounce can)
7. 2 tablespoons tomato paste
8. 2 teaspoons ground cumin
9. 1 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander
10. 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
11. 1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
12. 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (I added a bit more.)
13. 2 tablespoons cooking oil
14. 1 pound baking potatoes (about 2), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces*
15. 1/2 cup raisins
16. 1/2 cup quartered and pitted green olives 

1. In a large stainless-steel frying pan, cook the ground beef until it is no longer pink. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 3 minutes.
2. Stir in the beer, tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper, and Tabasco sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick frying pan,heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. (See note*)
4. Add the potatoes, raisins, and olives to the meat mixture. Cook, covered, until the potatoes are just done, about 10 minutes longer.

Suggested Pairing:

Northern Rhône reds need robust culinary foils, and this sturdy picadillo is up to the task. Look for a St-Joseph or Crozes-Hermitage—or, if you want to splurge, a Hermitage or Côte Rôtie. If you don't, a beer will be just fine.

*I added one hot sausage, broken into small pieces, to the ground meat. And I par-boiled the potatoes and then roasted with olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper, red pepper flakes for about one hour in a 400 degree oven; I then cut into small pieces and added to mixture.

 Recipe found in Great Good Food, by Julee Rosso.

Sweet & Spicy Salmon

A favorite recipe from a favorite cookbook!

Sauce:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 medium shallots, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 pound Sockeye Salmon

1. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until softened.
2. Add the remaining ingredients except the cilantro until well combined. Remove from heat and add cilantro.
3. Prepare grill.
4. Baste salmon liberally with the sauce on both sides. Baste frequently. Grill for 10-15 minutes.

Recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, The Taste of Summer by Diane Rossen Worthington.

Turkish Lentil Soup

Another great recipe.......

~From One World Vegetarian Cookbook; a great cookbook! Great recipes. Great photos. All printed a beautiful paper stock.

Rich. Filling. Inexpensive. Easy to make.

Ingredients

1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 cups red lentils
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 cups water
1 bouillon/stock cube
salt and pepper

Directions

1. Cook the onion in a little oil in a large pan/pot until soft but not brown.
2. Add the garlic, lentils, tomato paste, cumin and chili. Stir to mix.
3. Dissolve the bouillon in water and add this to the pan. Stir well. (I used 3 1/2 cups of my own stock)
4. Simmer the soup until the lentils are fluffy.

Top with cilantro.

Serves 4.

Latin Lasagna

I saw this Lasagna being made on the Cooking Channel last weekend. I got so excited I ran from the TV room to the Office where Susan was working on the computer to say "I just saw the most amazing dish on Cooking. I got to make it!"

And I did. On Sunday March 4, 2012. Kind of a early birthday celebration with Susan, my daughter and her husband--and their dog, Bella. (My birthday is March 7.)

Here I am getting started (Notice Sock Monkey the Chef in the background; He just refused to face the camera!):

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used homemade.)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups shredded pepper-jack cheese, divided
• 6 ounces raw Mexican chorizo, casing removed removed, chopped
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 to 6 ripe black-skinned plantains, peeled, halved horizontally and thinly sliced lengthwise
• Paprika to taste
• Chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for serving

Here I am whisking the Pepper-Jack White Sauce (I heard Susan in the other room say, "Sounds like you are taking alot of self-portraits!"):

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 13 by 9-inchkaing dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Stir in the flour and cumin and cook for 1 minute to remove the raw starchy taste of the flour. Gradually add the broth, stirring to prevent lumps. Once all of the broth is added, stir in the milk. Continue to stir constantly until the sauce thickens, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add half of the grated cheese and stir the sauce until the cheese has melted. Turn off the heat and transfer the sauce to a bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the sauce to prevent a skin from forming.


Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the chorizo. Cook and stir until it starts to brown, about 4 minutes, using a wooden spoon to break up any large pieces while it cooks. Add the turkey and continue to cook until both meats are browned 8 to 10 minutes. Drain out excess oil from the pan, if needed. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, oregano; season with salt and pepper.


Line the bottom of the prepared baking dish with 1 layer of plantains (about 1/3 of the plantain slices), making sure that they don't overlap. Top the plantains with half of the meat mixture, spreading it out into an even layer so it covers the plantains. Top with half of the cheese sauce, spreading evenly with a spatula. Add another single layer of plantain slices side by side and cover with the remaining meat mixture and the remaining sauce. Add the final layer of plantains and sprinkle with the remaining cheese and a dusting of paprika over the top. Bake until the sauce is bubbly, about 45 to 60 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Here is a photo of the Latin Lasagna cooling on our kitchen counter:

 And about 10 minutes later, we're about to eat, but first I have to take one more photograph!

 "Good God. Good Food. Good Gosh. Let's eat!"

Each of us (Except Bella!) had seconds. I highly recommend making this Latin Lasagna. We served it with a fruit salad, which Susan made:

~Recipe courtesy of Ingrid Hoffman.

Black Beans and Butternut Casserole

I do not think our home ever smelled as wonderful as it did the night I made this meal.

Ingredients

2 onions, chopped
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp paprika (I used smoked paprika)
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp thyme
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 pound butternut, cut into bite-sized chunks (or pumpkin)
1 red, green, or orange pepper, chopped
3 tomatoes chopped
2 carrots, sliced
1 can black beans, drained (or black-eyed)
stock
salt

Directions

1. In a lightly oiled pan, fry the onions until they soften, and then add the cinnamon, curry powder, paprika, nutmeg, thyme and garlic and fry for about 5 minutes.

2. Then put in the remaining ingredients, except the beans. Pour in about one cup stock, cover, bring to a boil and then reduce heat and cook gently until the butternut and carrots are soft, but not breaking up.

3. Add the beans, season and allow to heat through, uncovered. Serve with rice, couscous, or quinoa.

~Serves 4. From South Africa.
~From One World Vegetarian Cookbook; a great cookbook! Great recipes. Great photos. All printed a beautiful paper stock.