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Asparagus with Shallots and Pancetta
When I think of spring, asparagus comes to mind. It’s the first thing I start to notice in the fresh markets- I am talking about local asparagus. We do see asparagus from other countries in the winter but somehow it’s not the same- I guess it’s the mindset- the ones in season just taste better to me. Anyway, to round off the Mother’s Day dinner I decided to make asparagus. I also love the salty taste of pancetta and thought it would go really well with the creamy fresh tasting asparagus. Pancetta is an Italian bacon that is cured with spices and not smoked. It gives dishes an underlying depth of saltiness and nuttiness. I decided to use shallots instead of onions or garlic- I wanted the pancetta taste to come through and not be over powered by anything stronger. Well, the marriage of those flavors was a very successful one! The asparagus was perfectly cooked and bright green with little red brown specs of pancetta all over. It was a feast for the eyes as well as the mouth. Overall the steak, potatoes and asparagus made a fabulous meal- now only if someone would cook it for me again!!!
Roasted Potatoes with Thyme and Garlic
I am always looking to come up with new potato recipes- I just love them. I think if I could, I would eat a whole bag of potato chips! I actually used to do that in college- aah, the good old days when weight was not an issue!! Now I am always looking to make them healthy but delicious!
When I came up with the steak dinner for Mother’s Day , potatoes came to mind immediately. Ideally I would want to eat the yummy steak fries one gets with a steak at restaurants, but I want to avoid fried foods as much as possible, so roasted potatoes it is! There is a local steak place where the steak fries are out of this world! They are crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside but most importantly, they are extremely flavorful! I could eat those potatoes three times a day, seven days a week- just writing about it makes me want some…
For these potatoes, I decided to roast them first with some olive oil and lots of salt. I think that is the secret, people forget how much salt it takes to season potatoes. Once they were golden brown, I took them out briefly and rubbed a mixture of fresh thyme, garlic and more salt. The potatoes came out absolutely delicious- crispy and creamy, and most importantly, very flavorful. They are a perfect side dish with any kind of meat preparation but taste especially yummy with a steak!
- 4-5 medium yellow potatoes, peeled and cut in half
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
Preheat oven at 400 degrees.
In a medium pot add the potatoes and water to cover and boil till half done. Dry the potatoes and add to a lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tablespoon salt. Bake for about 30 minutes, or till golden brown and fully cooked. In the meantime, in a small bowl mix 1 tablespoon olive oil, one teaspoon salt, thyme and garlic together. Massage the potatoes with the garlic and thyme mixture and place them back in the oven. Bake for 5-6 minutes until the potatoes are fragrant.
Marinated Steak with Blue Cheese Sauce
I wanted to come up with an easy, quick, reasonably priced but delicious meal idea for Mother’s Day. I am usually not keen on going out for the big day- all restaurants are packed and serve subpar food- oh, and they charge a lot of money. We usually go out the day before for a nice meal and stay in on Sunday. I usually sleep in and get a beautiful home-made card from Sia- my favorite thing in the whole world- I digress! While I was thinking what to make, brunch came to mind- I guess that is the most common meal people go out for Mother’s Day. I wanted to do something different- a steak dinner! I found some tip steaks at Trader Joes. I had never cooked with them before but the steaks looked delicious with lots of marbling and they were very reasonably priced. The balsamic vinegar and worcestershire sauce marinade give the steaks great flavor and color. I grilled the steaks on my grill pan indoors and got great grill marks on them. I LOVE steaks with blue cheese- but usually the sauce is made out of lots of cheese and heavy cream- quite unhealthy! I decided to buy a yummy stilton and pair it with low fat sour cream and fresh thyme. It’s amazing how much flavor it had- a little bit of cheese and fresh thyme and garlic made a fabulous sauce. It really excites me when I can recreate a dish with lots of flavor but not a lot of fat! I made the dinner with some roasted potatoes with thyme and garlic; and asparagus with pancetta and shallots- recipes to come tomorrow and day after just in time for Mother’s Day. The meal was delicious and not very time consuming. I highly recommend it! We opened a bold French Bordeaux- it stood up to the steak and blue cheese sauce really well!
- 1 pound tip steak- about 3-4 strips
Marinade
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Mix all the ingredients and add to a zip lock bag with the steaks. Marinate for 2-3 hours.
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Heat a grill pan on high and add the olive oil. Place the steaks and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side or till they reach the desired doneness.
Blue Cheese Sauce
- 1/3 cup Stilton Blue cheese, crumbled
- ¼ cup light sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Mix the blue cheese and sour cream together in a small bowl. Cook in the microwave for 30 seconds. Mix well and add the thyme and minced garlic. Keep aside for the steaks.
Banana Blueberry Muffins
Here is another recipe for healthy muffins. I am always looking for new ones since my daughter is always eyeing the ones they sell in Whole Foods and other stores. Now, Whole Foods makes their desserts and treats quite healthy but I still prefer to make them at home if I can- I can control all the ingredients that go into whatever I am making- yes, I know what you are thinking- what a control freak!!! Seriously though, there is so much crap out there and I feel unless we teach our kids how to eat healthy, they will get lost in all the middle isles of the grocery stores (that is where all the processed stuff is sold) forever!
I made these in a matter of an hour. A friend was coming over and my daughter was talking about the blueberry muffins at Whole Foods. I had a few over ripe bananas screaming to be used up and I always have frozen wild blueberries. I decided to incorporate both the ingredients in the muffins with my usual whole wheat flour and turbinado sugar. The bananas give the muffins a very soft and creamy texture and the buttermilk adds immense flavor. I prefer using wild blueberries since they are very high in antioxidants and have a wonderful flavor. Speaking of wonder foods- cinnamon is another one. I like using it in everything I can- it gives all sweet and savory dishes wonderful aroma.
Once the muffins came out of the oven, I wasn’t sure what Sia would think. They had a lot of flavor but were not overly sweet- well, she tasted them and loved them! Perfect snack with a cold glass of milk!
- 2 cups white whole-wheat flour
- ½ cup turbinado sugar, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mashed bananas- 3-4 very ripe ones
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup extra light olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup frozen wild blueberries, mixed with 1 tablespoon flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 24 mini muffin pan with mini liners.
In a large bowl, mix the whole-wheat flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the bananas, eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla extract. Mix the banana mixture into the flour mixture until smooth. Fold in the blueberries. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Top each muffin with a sprinkle of turbinado sugar. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or till done.
Citrus Shrimp Tacos and Rice with Pineapple Salsa
I love celebrating Cinco de Mayo! Contrary to popular belief, it is not the Mexican independence day- in fact it is celebration of the Mexicans defeating the French in the battle of 1862.
I love mexican and southwestern flavors including lime, cilantro, avocados and peppers. I guess the bold flavors remind me of Indian food- and that is probably why I love Thai food so much!
In this case, I wanted to make tacos with shrimp- especially since my daughter loves them both! Any meat including chicken, beef or pork can be substituted. The citrus marinade is quite versatile so no matter what you use, the tacos will be delicious! The accompaniments are quite important- you can use your favorites. This dish is great to make for a crowd- everyone can make their own with their favorite accompaniments. I thought of making a regular salsa with tomatoes, etc but decided to do something different and make a pineapple salsa instead. The tangy flavor in a pineapple lends itself to a delicious sweet and sour salsa. It was yummy with the tacos and the spanish rice. Now I took a little help from the store and used a boxed rice mix. It works really well since I modified it to my taste and saved some time. I added fresh peppers, onions,cilantro and lime juice- they all helped with enhancing the flavor- it really doesn’t taste like it’s from a box!
I would serve the meal with a delicious white wine or a frozen margarita or maybe a yummy citrusy mojito! I haven’t had those in a long time. I will post a recipe soon- just as soon as the mint starts to grow in my back yard and my husband gets busy mixing those drinks he does so well! Happy Cinco de Mayo- hope you eat and drink well with your family and friends- nothing better than that!!
Tacos
- 1 pound shrimp
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Marinade
- 3 blood oranges, juiced (substitute with navel oranges)
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
Mix all the ingredients and marinate the shrimp for 3-4 hours.
Take the shrimp out of the marinade (keep the marinade to add to the shrimp later). In a wide frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the shrimp and cook till pink, 3-4 minutes. Take the shrimp out and add the reserved marinade and cook on high till it thickens. Add the shrimp to the sauce and keep aside.
Taco Accompaniments
- 6-8 small tortillas, heated on a non-stick frying pan
- 1 avocado cut into ½ inch wedges- keep aside with 1 teaspoon salt and juice and zest of one lime
- 1 large onion, sliced thin- cook in a frying pan with 1 teaspoon oil. Cook till golden brown. Add salt and keep aside.
- ½ cup queso fresco, crumbled
- ½ cilantro, chopped
Assemble each taco with shrimp and sauce. Top with an avocado slice, slice onion, queso fresco and cilantro. Serve with Spanish rice and pineapple salsa.
Spanish Rice
- One store-bought package of Spanish rice
- Chicken broth, amount according to the package directions
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- ½ cup onion, chopped
- ½ cup any color bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
In a deep heavy pan heat the olive oil. Add the onions and the garlic and the bell pepper.
Saute for a minute and add the spice packet. Saute for another minute and add the rice. Saute for an additional minute and add the amount of broth indicated on the package. Once the rice is cooked, add the cilantro and lime juice.
Pineapple Salsa
- 1 cup fresh pineapple, coarsely chopped
- ½ orange pepper, chopped
- ½ cup green onion, chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ teaspoon adobo sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
In a small bowl mix all the ingredients. Let it sit for 30 minutes and serve with chips, tacos or fish.
Whole Wheat Penne with Tomatoes and Spinach
This is a really healthy and quick dish to make. Everyone has a ‘go to’ ingredient in a pinch and mine is chicken sausage. I was in the mood to make a really healthy pasta- I had just bought some whole wheat penne. I used to be a big skeptic when it came to whole wheat pasta- it tasted like cardboard, but things have really improved over the years. The pasta now tastes really delicious and nutty. The texture has improved as well- soft, just like regular pasta. Now, my husband and daughter cannot tell when I have used whole wheat pasta.
In this dish I used some mushroom and fontina chicken sausages- my daughter, Sia loves them!!! I had also purchased the most fabulous looking grape tomatoes and baby spinach. I decided to incorporate all the items in this dish including some basil- the more the merrier! It took all of 30 minutes to make so it is very quick. While I was putting it together, I noticed I had feta cheese in the fridge- “perfect”, I thought. I took some pasta out for Sia, since she finds feta too salty (and I can’t get enough of the saltiness!!). I added the feta into the rest- the mixture of some left over pasta water and the cheese made the sauce really creamy and light at the same time. Since this was a one pot meal- the only other thing I had to worry about was the wine. I opened the German Pinot Noir!
- ½ pound whole wheat penne, cooked (save ½ cup of the pasta water)
- 5 chicken sausages, casings removed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 pound grape tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 6 ounces fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup basil, chopped
- Salt to taste
In a wide frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the sausages and brown on medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for a minute. Add the tomatoes and salt. Cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes or till the tomatoes soften and begin to burst- push down with the back of the spatula to crush some of them. Add the cooked pasta and the pasta water and mix well. Add the spinach and cook till it has wilted. Add the basil and feta, mix well and adjust seasonings.
Coconut Lemongrass Rice with Spinach
Everyone has rice in their pantry. I have a few different ones in mine. I have the Indian basmati which is my ‘go to’ rice. I also have Jasmine– to use when I am making Asian dishes- it isn’t as aromatic as the previous but has a very nice sticky texture that goes very well with stir-fries, etc. I also keep brown rice– I have started using more of it now. It is so healthy and I personally love the nutty flavor of it. It is not as quick to cook as the others so it requires a little more planning. Lastly I have Arborio rice- for risottos. I love making risottos- all kinds- with shrimp, mushrooms, peas, asparagus- the sky is the limit (I just realized I have not posted any risotto recipes on this blog!- will have to do it very soon!). Anyway, a few other things I always have to make all the different kinds of rice I mentioned, are chicken broth and coconut milk. I used to cook my rice with water but realized a few years ago how much flavor these liquids impart.
I was thinking about the lemongrass rice I had at Ming Tsai’s restaurant, Blue Ginger. It was creamy and buttery with a subtle citrus flavor. I decided to use coconut to cook this rice since it is always on my mind and I thought the mango shrimp would go really well with the creamy rice. If you cannot find lemongrass, lime zest can be easily substituted. I also needed to make a vegetable with the dinner- so I decided to add baby spinach in the rice. It worked well with all the flavors and best of all with the cilantro I added, my daughter didn’t even notice she was having a vegetable!
So, my question to you is- what is your ‘go to’ rice?? Also, what is your family’s favorite rice dish?
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup light coconut milk
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup lemongrass, chopped (just the white part in the center)
- Zest of one lime (If not using lemongrass, add zest of 2 limes)
- Juice of ½ lime (If not using lemongrass, add juice of 1 lime)
- 6 ounces fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
In a wide shallow pan, heat the olive oil. Add the jasmine rice and sauté for a minute on medium heat. Add the coconut milk and broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat once bubbles begin to form on the surface. Once the liquid has evaporated from the top, lower the heat and place the lid on the pan. Cook for 20 minutes. Take the lid off and add the lemongrass, salt, lime zest and baby spinach. Place the lid back and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat off and mix the spinach into the rice well. Add the limejuice and taste for seasonings. Garnish with cilantro.