Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

Have the right lipids in your pantry is extremely important. The list below are the ones I have in my kitchen and I use each one for different purposes. I realize not everyone has the space nor the inclination to keep so many different oils but they do all have their own uses.

If you want to have just a few- extra virgin olive oil , extra light olive oil and one really good extra olive oil for drizzling on top.

Have a look at my list and let me know if I am missing anything. One oil I usually have on hand but was out when I was doing this list is walnut oil. I love having it on hand for making salad dressings. Another one I have heard a lot about is avocado oil- it is supposed to be very healthy to cook with. I will definitely buy it and get back to you on it.

Here is my list…

1. Extra light olive oil- I do all my cooking with this oil. Most Indians are very surprised since I use this lipid for cooking Indian food as well. It has no flavor and has the goodness of olive oil. It is great for frying as well.
2. Extra virgin olive oil- What can I say about this oil. I love having it around all the time. It sits right next to my cook top. I use it for Italian dishes and a quick salad dressing.
3. Sesame oil- All my chinese stir fries, etc get a drizzle of this oil while cooking. It provides a great nuttiness to the dish. Store it in the fridge to avoid rancidity.
4. Peanut oil- This oil has a very high cooking point. I don’t fry very often, but when I do, I use peanut oil.
5. Truffle oil- Great to drizzle on top of pastas and other Italian dishes. It has a delicious, earthy flavor. I love having it on hand.
6. Mustard oil- Mustard oil is very popular in Indian cooking. It has a very distinct mustardy flavor.
7. Meyer lemon olive oil- It is nice to have some super fancy olive oil on had for salad dressings or for drizzling on top of pasta dishes.
8. Grapeseed oil- I use this oil for making homemade granola. It is high in antioxidants and vitamin E.
9. Sportoletti extra virgin olive oil- I got this from Spello, Italy this past summer. I have not opened it as yet. I would use it purely for drizzling. It is super fresh and I can’t wait.
10. Altomena extra virgin olive oil- Another fancy oil in my pantry. I love having a variety of these lipids to choose from.

We love eating pizza at home. I usually buy a pizzeria dough and divide it into 4 pieces to make four individual pizzas. I am always looking to make something new or at least try some new toppings for the pizza.

My daughter likes her usual- tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese and either sauteed mushrooms or black olives. She doesn’t like to mess with perfection and likes to stick to her usual. My husband is very similar- well, he is a bit more adventurous- as long as the pizza has red sauce on it. I love white pizza but am the only one in our family. My favorite is a white pizza with ricotta, spinach and lots of garlic- hmm- that sounds delicious- I could use some right now.

While picking up the pizza dough, I also stopped at the wine store. I couldn’t believe I had run out of wine- completely. As I was running my errands I was thinking what pizza to make for myself. I wanted something white and different. Pasta carbonara came to mind- I love eating it. The problem is that it is full of cream, bacon and eggs- definitely not an option for me these days. I guess once in a while it is okay to eat this stuff- right?. So, I decided to make a pizza carbonara for myself.

I sauteed some pancetta and turned the heat off. I stirred in eggs beaten with half and half (instead of cream). I then poured it all over my already rolled out pizza. Just in a few minutes the pizza crust turned golden brown and the topping rose way high. It looked beautiful. I added a lot of black pepper- that is what comes to mind when I think of carbonara. It was delicious. This would be great for breakfast, lunch or dinner- anytime, really.

Try pizza carbonara next time you want to change it up a bit.
Click here for the recipe… »

What do you do with leftover chicken? Well, I usually make chicken salad, stuff quesadillas, make soup or fried rice.
This time I wanted to make something different. I kept looking at the leftover chicken breast I had from the day before- and couldn’t come up with anything.

Somehow, after a few minutes, chicken hash came to mind. I envisioned chopped chicken paired with things that were sitting in my vegetable crisper in the fridge. I had green onions, chilies and a red pepper. I also had potatoes and tomatoes in my pantry. I chopped everything up and started cooking.  As the base flavor, I used my favorite condiment- Trader Joe’s tomato chutney. I love using it for everything including sandwiches and as a topping for eggs and meats. In this case I added a few tablespoons and it gave the dish a tangy, salty and sweet flavor. I finished it with a dusting of feta cheese and chopped cilantro.

It was such a beautiful dish- multi colored and delicious. I had some ‘bake at home’ baguettes. I baked one and served a green salad with the chicken hash. It was a big success. This meal would be a perfect for a brunch party!
Click here for the recipe… »

My daughter was having one of her play dates again and two of her friends were coming over and staying for dinner. My daughter loves having her friends over for dinner- “it is so much fun”, she always says. I usually remind her that I have to make something healthy and usually from scratch so it is quite a lot of work me me- but honestly, I enjoy it too. Especially because I get to try out different kid-friendly dishes and see their reactions.

For this particular dinner I needed to make something in advance since I was not going to be home. Our sitter would be giving them their meal. I had two chicken breast on the bone which I decided to roast with the skin on. I shredded the meat once it was nice and juicy after taking the skin off. I bought bowtie pasta to make things a little interesting. I bought baby spinach since I needed the meal to be made in one pot and it also had to be well balanced.

I cooked the pasta and mixed the shredded chicken and baby spinach in the sauce pan. I added some homemade tomato sauce to give the pasta additional yummy flavor. I transferred the pasta into an oven proof dish and mixed in and topped with some shredded mozzarella cheese.

It was simple and quick. Once I got home I was curious to know their reactions. I was told they were all skeptical at first since everything was mixed in together but once they tried it- they liked it. My daughter who is more used to eating such meals thought it was delicious.

Next time you have a dinner play date for your kids- try the bowtie pasta with spinach and chicken.

Click here for the recipe… »

Here we go again. This is another variation of my husbands favorite vegetable. I paired the cauliflower with it’s perfect mate- potatoes. Not sure why- but in Indian cuisine this pairing is classic- and it is my favorite so I guess I do know why it is so popular.

To change it up a bit, I cut the potatoes in large wedges and cauliflower in large florets.

In terms of the base flavor, I used ajwain which is a seed used extensively in India. The best way to describe the oval shaped seeds is that they are very close to thyme in flavor. Well, thyme is very mild compared to ajwain or carom seeds. This spice is heavier in taste and a lot more pungent. The flavor gets more rounded and a bit milder as they are cooked in oil or an oven. I love the flavor- a little goes a long way so if you do end up using it- be careful.

In case you don’t find the seeds, simply skip them. Use the recipe the same way and only use the cumin seeds. The dish will still be really good and delicious. I made this for a dinner we had with our neighbors. Everyone enjoyed it, especially you know who….

Click here for the recipe… »