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This is a quick lunch on the weekend or even a quick dinner through the week. My husband loves turkey sandwiches but I usually don’t end up making too many sandwiches at home and so he end up eating them for lunch at work. I am not sure why- but sandwiches don’t come to mind when I think of lunch- and then I wonder why my daughter doesn’t like them. I never gave her a sandwich while she was a baby- so she never got used to one.

I bought sliced turkey since I had a large loaf of bake at home baguette in the fridge. I planned on making turkey pesto sandwiches for my hubby. My initial thought was to bake the bread first and then assemble the sandwich- but then I thought of assembling it first and then cooking it on a grill pan. I used another heavy pan to press down on the sandwich while all the ingredients melted together. Speaking of melting- I also had mozzarella cheese in the fridge which went perfectly with the pesto and the turkey.

I served a few potato chips and a green salad with the delicious sandwich. It was really good- I had a few bites…

Next time you are in a bind and don’t know what to make for lunch- try a turkey and pesto panini.

• 2 teaspoons extra light olive oil
• One (6 inch) piece of bake at home baguette
• 3 thin sliced herb turkey
• 3 thick slices of mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon basil pesto
• 4 to 5 fresh basil leaves
• Fresh black pepper

Heat a grill pan with the olive oil. Slice the baguette in half. Spread the mayonnaise and pesto evenly on both sides. Spread the cheese and turkey slices. Add the basil leaves and black pepper on top. Place the second slice on top and place it on the grill pan. Press the panini down with another heavy pan or anything heavy. Brown the sandwich on both sides pressing well for 5 minutes each. Cut in half and serve.

Flan is my all time favorite dessert. I grew up eating it and love everything about it. My Mom would serve it to us with a drizzle of fresh cream. It was the most glorious dessert ever.

Over the years I have tried making it- but have not been very successful. The flan usually doesn’t invert well and breaks apart. The reason is not enough eggs- I don’t like the custard dessert too rich so I don’t end up adding too many eggs. So my solution is to have my Mom make it for us every time she comes to visit. She doesn’t have a set recipe for me to follow and I have never watched her make it.

Last year I modified a recipe and tried it- no luck- it broke apart. Finally the other day while I was cooking for some friends, I decided to make flan. I was watching food television and saw someone make coconut rum flan. That is all I needed to get inspired. I tweaked the recipe to my taste and came up with this recipe.

I am thrilled with it. The texture is perfect- soft yet firm. It is not too sweet- exactly the way I like it. Everyone enjoyed it a lot. I also like it because I can make it with low fat milk and although it has quite a few eggs- at least the dessert has protein.

For caramel

• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup water

Bring the sugar and water to a boil in a small heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then wash down any sugar crystals from the side of pan with a pastry brush dipped in cold water. Boil, without stirring, swirling pan occasionally so caramel colors evenly, until dark amber.
Pour into the glass dish and swirl so caramel coats the bottom.

For flan

• 1 cup 1% milk
• 1 (14 ounce) low-fat coconut milk
• ½ cup sugar
• 5 eggs
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
You will need a round 9-inch glass dish and a large roasting pan.

Heat the milk and coconut milk with the sugar until the mixture simmers. Whisk the eggs, add the rum, salt and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Add ½ cup of hot milk mixture to the egg mixture and mix well. Add the tempered egg mixture into the milk mixture mixing well. Strain the entire mixture before pouring it into the glass dish.
Place the glass dish into the roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with hot water- about ½ inch high. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes until just set but still wobbly in center. Refrigerate over night or at least 2-3 hours.
Top with the coconut and serve chilled.

My husband introduced this Chinese dish to me. I had never heard of it. He loves tofu- in any form. Before meeting him, I wasn’t much into tofu- not sure why but I just wasn’t interested.

We usually have this szechuan dish in restaurants. I like it a lot- definitely not a combination that comes to mind easily. I never think of pairing two proteins together. In this dish it works really well.

I was thinking of what to make and Chinese food came to mind. I typically make a broccoli and chicken stir fry but I wanted to make something different and so this dish came to mind. I went shopping for some chili paste, etc. While I was researching the dish- most of the recipes had lots of heat in them. I can’t really do that since neither my husband nor my daughter eat very spicy dishes. I still wanted to have great flavor so I decided on a black bean sauce and a chili paste I picked up in Whole Foods. I prefer tamari to soy sauce- it is more concentrated and has more flavor. The sauce is quite simple to make and so is the dish.

I served roasted broccoli and brown rice with it. My daughter looked at the dish and wasn’t very happy. I have to say- it doesn’t look very appetizing but it is delicious. She thought so too once she tasted it. I keep telling her not to judge a book by it’s cover but somehow it doesn’t register… Anyway, I would highly recommend MaPo Tofu- good for you and easy to make.

• 1 block silken tofu, drained
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• ½ to ¾ pound ground turkey (dark meat)
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 4 green onions, whites and greens separated

Sauce

• 3 tablespoons tamari
• 1 tablespoon black bean sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili bean paste
• 1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce

Mix well and keep aside.

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 teaspoons corn starch

Add the cornstarch to the chicken broth and mix well.

Heat a wok like pan with the olive oil. Add the ground meat and separate it with a wooden spoon and sauté until crispy and golden brown. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and white part of the green onion. Saute 2 to 3 minutes. Add the tamari sauce and sauté for a minute. Add the silken tofu and break it into small pieces with the spoon. Add the cornstarch mixed with the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and check for seasonings. Garnish with the green parts of the green onions. Serve with roasted broccoli.

It was a cold weekend and I was craving Indian food- not just any old Indian food but proper restaurant food. By that I mean, something like chicken tikka masala, some kebabs and dal makhani. We were out for dinner the night before and I don’t feel right going out two nights in a row. So, what should I do. I decided to make it at home.

I ran to Trader Joes and got some chicken thighs and marinated them as soon as possible. The key to very flavor kebabs or tikkas is to marinate over night- ideally. Since I thought this up in the morning, I wanted to marinate quickly to get 3 to 4 hours for the chicken to sit in the yogurt mixture and get happy. For the first time ever I used food coloring- I wanted the authentic look – the tikkas have a red color to them and yes it does come from food coloring. Usually I make my tikkas au naturale and like them the way they are but somehow that day I needed for them to look exactly how they do in a restaurant. The other thing I did different was to use my broiling pan- do you use it?? I usually forget I have it. It is perfect to use when broiling things like chicken that have a lot of moisture. The excess moisture seeps down to the bottom tray and you are left with dry on the outside, juicy on the inside chicken.  To make it easier I used wooden skewers. It makes it a lot quicker to flip the pieces if they are on a skewer.

Well, it resulted in fabulous chicken tikkas- which is a great base for this classic curry available at Indian restaurants everywhere. The sauce is very easy to make. I made mine quite healthy with very little half and half. The one you get outside is laden with heavy cream- that is why it is so yummy. Mine is yummy as well with very little fat. One main flavor is dried fenugreek. It gives the dish a very distinct flavor- it is optional but I would highly recommend it. It is available at any Indian grocery store.

I served mine with dal makhani and homemade tandoori rotis- it was DElicious.

Next time you feel like eating Chicken Tikka Masala- do try my version- you may never eat out again!

• 2 pounds boneless skinless thighs, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 5-6 wooden skewers, soaked in water for at least an hour

• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 inches fresh ginger

Process the garlic and ginger into a paste and add to a medium sized bowl.

• ½ cup non-fat greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons half and half
• 1 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup raw cashews, ground

Preheat broiler on high.

Add the yogurt, half and half, food coloring, lemon juice, coriander powder, salt, garam masala, cilantro and cashews into the bowl with the ginger and garlic. Mix well and add the chicken pieces. Marinate over night or at least two to three hours.
Take out the pieces out of the marinade and place them evenly onto the skewers. Broil on a broiling pan on high for 5 to 6 minutes on both sides or till the chicken is golden brown. Take the chicken out of the skewers and keep aside.

• 3 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 2 cans (14 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup milk
• ¼ cup half and half
• Pinch of sugar
• Salt
• 2 teaspoons coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 3 tablespoons dried fenugreek
• ½ cup cilantro, chopped

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the cumin seeds on medium high heat. Saute for a minute and add the ginger and garlic. Saute for another minute and add the tomato sauce. Add the milk, half and half, sugar, salt, coriander powder and garam masala. Mix well and add half of the chicken pieces (the rest can be used for another recipe). Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Add the fenugreek and fresh coriander. Check for seasonings.

I was in Whole Foods and noticed pink Maine shrimp on sale. I immediately went to the fish counter and asked for a pound. I asked if I could get the shrimp cleaned. The guy informed me very politely he was very busy and apologized. I expressed my concern about the amount of time it will take me to clean the shrimp. He told me this kind only needs to have the shell taken off. I decided to take it home and he was right- it took me all of 15 minutes to take the shells off and I was done.

I got in the mood to make a delicious shrimp curry. I usually make one that has a variety of dry spices including cumin, peppercorns and fenugreek seeds. They are roasted and ground and used as the curry base. Coconut milk is added for the sweet nutty flavor.

We all love that particular dish but I wanted to make something different. I decided to make a paste out of white and green onions, garlic, cilantro and mint. I added mustard seeds and curry leaves- by far, my favorite flavors.

I quickly sauteed the pink shrimp – literally for a minute on each side and took them out. I like to leave the shrimp half done so they can cook up just right once I add them back into the curry. I sauteed the green paste with the mustard seeds, coriander seeds and curry leaves and added the coconut milk.

I made lemon rice with it and dinner was a bit hit. My daughter initially was not happy with the green colored gravy. Once she tasted it, she changed her mind- she had two bowls full with plain rice.

Overall- it was a successful attempt at a green coconut curry… I was very satisfied.

• 1 pound medium sized shrimp, cleaned
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Green Curry

• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• ½ cup mint, chopped
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 serrano chili, chopped
• ¼ cup water

Blend the cilantro, mint, green onions, white onion, garlic, ginger, chili and water till a smooth sauce.

• 3 teaspoons coriander seeds, toasted and ground
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 10 to 15 curry leaves, chopped
• 1 (14 ounces) light coconut milk
• Salt
• Juice of one lemon

Saute the shrimp on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes in a wok like sauce pan with the extra light olive oil. Take the shrimp out on a paper towel lined platter. Keep aside.

Reheat the wok like sauce pan and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Saute for a minute on high heat or till the seeds start to sizzle. Add the sauce and sauté on medium high heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the coriander seeds, salt and coconut milk. Mix well and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on medium heat. Add the shrimp, cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the lemon juice, taste for seasonings. Serve with plain or lemon rice.