Garlic Basil Oil

This oil is super easy to make yet it's packed with flavor. I like to drizzle it over so many foods: lentils, chicken, fish, potatoes, salad, and toast all benefit from the oils fresh flavors.

Fresh Basil - about an ounce
3-5 Garlic cloves - peeled and roughly chopped
EVOO
White Balsamic Vinegar
Salt



Place the basil and garlic in a food processor or blender.

Pour just enough oil in to top the herbs and garlic.



Use the pulse setting, if you have one, to blend the basil and garlic together.

Pasta, Green Bean and Tomato Salad

The al dente pasta in this salad makes it nice and hardy, while the vegetables keep it fresh and light. This salad is great to take to a party, or at the dinner table as a main or side dish.



Large Pot of Water
s/p
handful of Green Beans - ends trimmed, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 pint Cherry Tomatoes - cut in half
1/2-1 Yellow Hot Chili/Hungarian Wax pepper - thinly sliced, seeds removed
Green Onion or Chives - use scissors a sharp knife to cut into thin slices
2 cloves Garlic - pressed or finely chopped
Lemon Zest
Lemon juice from half a lemon
Fresh herbs - chopped (I used Sage. Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, or Thyme would also taste great.)
EVOO
Ziti or any bite size shaped pasta
Fresh Spinach or any hearty leafy green such as romaine lettuce, watercress, endive, young mustard greens, arugula, or a blend of greens



Cover the pot of water and bring it up to a boil over medium-high to high heat. When the water boils remove the lid, heavily salt the water, and add the green beans. Cook the beans for about two minuets, no longer.

In the meantime, put the tomatoes, hot peppers, green onion, garlic, lemon zest and juice in a large bowl.

Tip - How to Roast Garlic

To roast garlic, this one's for you Tim, you take a whole head and cut the top off of it.



Place the garlic on foil cut side up.

Drizzle oil over the garlic.

Roasted Potatoes

This recipe is for Traveling Tina.



small Red Potatoes
pot of Water
EVOO
s/p
Smoked Paprika or your favorite dry seasonings

Pre-heat oven to 400°.

Clean the potatoes and then drop them into the pot of water.

Bring the water up to a boil, then reduce the heat so that the water goes down to a simmer.

As soon as the potatoes are fork tender, but not fully cooked, remove them from the water.

Cut each potato into quarters. Do this carefully, they will be hot.

Place the wedges on a baking sheet.

Drizzle oil on the potatoes. Sprinkle them with s/p and paprika. Use your fingers to evenly spread the oil and seasonings around.



Place the tray in the oven and cook to your desired crispy/brownness. It wont take too long, so keep an eye on the potatoes!



Serve with gluten freeTarragon Dijon Mustard Cream.



-The potatoes don't have to be parboiled before roasting, I just like the texture it produces and they seem to cook a bit quicker that way.

-You can also roast potatoes and vegetables on the grill outside. Follow the above steps, but put the veggies on the grill, away from direct heat and close the lid. Flip once, if desired. Remove them when they are light in some spots, dark in others. If you're roasting vegetables, they should still be a bit crisp when you remove them from the grill (or oven). Tender crisp, as they say.

You can roast many vegetables by rubbing them with oil, salt and pepper and then baking at a high degree. It's a simple technique that yields great flavor and texture!



A 'How to Roast Garlic' tip will be posted tomorrow. Till then, bon appetit!

Rice and Veggie Balls

I used a combination of left over rice and vegetables from the night before to make these little vegetarian rice balls for lunch. The rice was cooked in apple juice, chicken stock and thyme, but you can use any cooked white rice. You can also use any vegetables that you want, I used these because they were in the fridge.



Oil for frying
Onion
Garlic
Parsnips
Apple
Cauliflower
Carrot
Fresh Thyme
Rice - cooked
1 Egg - beaten
1/8 cup Flour
Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs



Heat the oil over medium high heat.

The onion, garlic, parsnips and apple were cooked in a little olive oil just until the onion became clear. They were left over from another meal. The other veggies were used raw.

Dice all of the vegetables into very small pieces.



Stir the vegetables, herb and rice together.



Mix in one egg and just enough flour to bind the mixture.

Pinch some of the mixture out of the bowl and form it into a ball about the size of a racquetball or golf ball.



Spread the bread crumbs on a plate.

Lightly roll the rice ball in the bread crumbs. Then set it aside, on a plate.



After you have formed one ball, rolled it and set it aside, do another. Continue this until all of the mixture is rolled and breaded.

Roasted Sweet Potato, Asparagus & Arugula Salad

I served this salad under roasted chicken when Euro and James came over for dinner. It's gluten free and vegetarian. The peppery leaves of the arugula pair wonderfully with sweet potatoes and the citrus vinaigrette balances the salad out nicely.



Pecan Pieces
Sweet Potatoes - peeled and diced in large chunks
Asparagus
EVOO
s/p
Arugula
Citrus Vinaigrette
Goat Cheese

Preheat oven to 400°.

Toast the nuts by placing them in a heated pan and cook for about a minute. You'll know that they're toasted when you smell them. Set the nuts aside.

Separately, toss the potatoes and asparagus in EVOO. Sprinkle both liberally with s/p.

Place the potatoes in the oven. Cook until tender, stirring once or twice, 40-60 minutes depending on the size and type of potato chunks.



When the potatoes are 10 minutes from being cooked, put the asparagus in the oven. Cook the asparagus turning once until they are tender crisp, 6-10 minutes.

Creamy Garlic Potatoes

These garlicky potatoes are a great side dish. The potatoes are cooked in water and finished in cream and butter with herbs. I know that a lot of people are trying to avoid two of those things, so I have a few suggestions. You can use more EVOO and only a small dab of butter and/or substitute stock for some of the cream. You could also use Greek yogurt instead of cream. This will reduce the amount of fat and calories, and should still make some tasty potatoes, though less rich and creamy.



6-8 medium Red Potatoes
Cold Water
1/2 T EVOO
2 T Butter
Garlic Chili Sauce (or any hot sauce)
2-4 finely chopped Garlic Cloves
1 Green Onion - thinly sliced (green and white parts separated)
Cream ( I didn't measure the cream, I think I splashed about a 1/4 cup into the pot)
Parsley - chopped

Cut the potatoes in half and place them in a pot.



Cover the red potatoes with cold water.



Bring the water up the a boil, then reduce the heat and let them simmer.

Once the potatoes are fork tender, remove them them from the pot and throw the water out.



Place the pot over low heat.

Add your oil, butter, and hot sauce sauce to the pot.



Cook for 30 seconds.

Add the garlic and white onion slices (the bottom half of the onion) to the butter mixture.



Cook the aromatics for one to two minutes. Then, add the potatoes back to the pot.

Gazpacho w/ Crab and Shrimp

Gazpacho is a tomato based Spanish soup prepared with raw fruits and vegetables and is served chilled. It's super lite and refreshing. This soup is a wonderful summer meal from the garden.



Traditionally, gazpacho is made with chunks of bread blended in it. This adds texture to the soup and makes it more hearty. I didn't add bread to this recipe because I wanted a lighter, smoother soup. Instead, I served this gazpacho with silver dollar sized Jalapeño Corn Cakes. This allowed the diners to dip, top, or crumble the bread into their soups individually. I like interactive food, it adds a lot of fun to the dinner table!

Gazpacho

7 Tomatoes
3 Cucumbers - peeled
1 Jalapeño - seeds removed
1 small Onion - grated
1/4 large Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Garlic Clove - minced or pressed
Juice from 1 Lemon
Hot Sauce
Salt
White Pepper

Set two bowls out in your work station, one large and one smaller. Dice all of the fruits and veggies. Place about 1/3 of each in the small bowl and the rest in the large bowl.




Once the veggies are chopped, blend everything that's in the large bowl together until it's smooth. Use a blender of food processor and work in small batches to insure a consistent texture. Once blended, place the soup in a large serving or storing bowl.




Stir your diced fruits and vegetables, from the small bowl, into the blended soup.

Season the gazpacho with lemon juice, hot sauce, salt and pepper. Taste as you're seasoning and adjust as needed.

Now, your soup is done. You just need to chill, garnish, and serve.

At this point, the gazpacho is gluten free and vegetarian. To keep it this way, serve in a chilled glass topped with petite diced veggies and garnish with a lemon wedge and/or cucumber slice.

To make your gazpacho a little more fancy (and fun), top it with seafood!

This seafood topping was inspired by The Sample Room's Gazpacho that we ate last summer.

Thyme for Biscuits

The smell of fresh bread is always a crowd pleaser. Biscuits are quick and easy, but still give you the same satisfaction as freshly baked bread.



1 Egg
2/3 c Cold Milk
2 c Flour
4 t Baking Powder
3 t Sugar
3/4 t Garlic Salt
2 t Fresh Thyme (leaves only)
dash White Pepper
1/4 c Shortening
1/4 c Cold Butter

Preheat oven to 450°.

In a small bowl, beat an egg and the cold milk together. Then place it in the fridge.

Mix the next six ingredients together in a bowl.

Spicy Red Wine and Fire Roasted Tomato Sauce

It snowed another couple of inches last night, so we stayed in. I made this sauce from what was on hand. It turned out to be very tasty! I served it with fettuccine and broccoli, but any pasta and vegetables would work. I think shrimp would be a nice substitute for the chicken too. As always, have fun with it!



1-2 T EVOO
1/2 Onion - diced
1 Celery stalk - dice
s/p
1 Chicken Breast (boneless, skinless) - diced into small pieces and seasoned with s/p (optional)
3 cloves Garlic - diced
1/4 - 1/2 c Red Wine
Garlic Chili Sauce (or other hot sauce)
1/2 28oz can Muir Glen Whole Fire Roasted Tomatoes
fresh Thyme
Fresh Basil - chiffonade
1 T cold Butter
1 1/2 c Broccoli Florets - Blanched, Chilled in an Ice Bath, and Drained (not needed for the sauce, but it adds flavor, color and great texture)

If you're making pasta with the sauce, start to boil a large pot of water. I blanched my broccoli, and then cooked the pasta in the same water. Don't forget to heavily salt the water before cooking anything in it.

Heat EVOO in a skillet over med-low heat. Then, add the onions and celery. Stir occasionally.



When the onions are clear, add the chicken pieces to the pan.



Turn the heat up a little so that the chicken browns, but doesn't burn. You're looking for a golden brown.

Stir in the garlic.

Once the chicken has started to brown, deglaze the pan with your red wine. You want the pan to be hot when the wine is added. If you're scared of the alcohol flaring up, turn the flame off as you add the wine. Then, turn it back on.

Use a spatula to scrape up and incorporate any brown bits from the bottom and sides of the pan into the sauce.