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Poblano Peppers and Raisin Sauce
This was a new sauce I tried after reading about La Esquina’s chef and how easy his signature sauces are to make. The salsa verde was easy with tomatillos, lime juice, cilantro and avocado. It was delicious with shrimp and then yummy used in the fish and rice I made with the leftover sauce. This particular sauce used a particular kind of dried Mexican chilies I couldn’t find at the store… so, I decided to make some substitutions. I am sure the actual sauce is delicious especially since my version was yummy as well.
I recently made my way to the La Esquina brasserie and the food was unbelievable.. by far the best Mexican food I have had in New York. It is hard to get reservations but it is definitely worth it once you are able to get in there.
Anyway, I roasted poblano peppers, tomatoes, garlic, onion and paired it with raisins. It resulted in a well balanced, delicious sauce. I grilled some steak and served the delicious sauce on top- it was a big hit. I had a lot leftover and made a delicious stew.. recipe to follow…
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Pineapple and Apricot Compote
My daughter keeps reminding me how I have not baked any dessert recently. She is right… I feel if I bake something.. then I have to eat it and I really don’t want to … so I don’t end up making anything. It is better not to have anything at home to tempt you through the day or after a meal.
So, when some friends were coming over for a cook out, I started thinking of dessert. I thought about just cutting up some watermelon which is really delicious and healthy but I wanted to do something a little different but keep it healthy at the same time. I decided to cook the fruit and make a compote. I had apricots and pineapple in the fridge.. I added some honey, orange juice and cardamom. I love cardamom with fruit.. it gave a delicious floral undertone to the compote. I chilled it and served it with a dollop of creme fraiche. It was a perfect dessert. It satisfied the sweet craving but definitely did not break the calorie bank. A perfect end to a delicious meal….
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Lime and Cilantro Rice
I made chicken quesadillas served with peach salsa and this delicious lime and cilantro rice. I love Mexican and Latin food. I love the bold flavors of this very vibrant cuisine. It reminds me of Indian food which is the cuisine I grew up with. I have always been attracted to strong flavors and love Thai, Indian, Mexican, Spanish.. I guess so far I have yet to meet a cuisine I haven’t liked.
I like eating salads and tacos at Qdobas. It is one of the few chains that actually has healthy and decent food. I am able to go on their website to inquire about calories and nutrition. They serve a cilantro rice with their burritos that is very delicious.
While making the quesadillas, I thought about making some rice and I immediately thought of the rice they serve at Qdobas. I started with jasmine rice and used a mixture of chicken broth and the juice and zest of a lime…. which is the key flavor to this delicious rice dish. I finished it with chopped cilantro. It complemented the quesadillas really well and completed the meal in a delicious way.
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Tomatillo Sauce with Avocado
I have trying to get reservations at a place called La Esquina in New York. The restaurant is divided into a taqueria, a cafe and a brasserie. It is the brasserie that takes reservation and it is very hard to make them! A few weeks ago I got an email featuring the chef and his signature sauces. One of them was the salsa verde.. it was like a typical green Mexican style sauce but it also included avocado.
I immediately wanted to make the sauce and I decided to serve it on top of grilled shrimp. The recipe was quite easy to follow but tried to tweak it a bit to my taste. I added all the ingredients into a blender including tomatillos, jalapeno, an avocado, lime juice, onion, cilantro and a tad bit of olive oil. This sauce goes amazing with seafood. I grilled some shrimp and we enjoyed it with a salad. It can also be served with tortilla chips and it can be used as a taco topping.
I used the leftover sauce to make a delicious one pot rice dish… recipe to come tomorrow…
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Balsamic Grilled Chicken with Tomato Salad
I would make this dish if you want to impress someone. It looks beautiful with lots of vivid summer colors. It is an overall winner of a recipe. It is super easy to make and best of all it is very healthy, low in carbs.. but the important thing is that you don’t feel that it is low in carbs. My main goal as the cook in the house is to incorporate as many healthy and varied ingredients as I can in any meal I serve.
Tomatoes are in abundance right now and I love buying the grape variety. They are very sweet and burst in the mouth and best of all, delicious! I cut them up and added some salt, garlic, olive oil and basil. I let the juicy tomatoes sit for a while so they can get even juicier. I marinated chicken breasts that I pounded super thin with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. You can buy thin breast cutlets in the store but they are more expensive than the regular breast. I quickly grilled the chicken.. it literally took two minutes on one side on a very hot grill. I also put together an arugula salad with a delicious homemade apricot dressing.
The meal was simply delicious… perfect for a summer barbecue…
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Pork and Kumquat Stir Fry
This is another yummy recipe using kumquats. I had a pack in my fridge needed to be used. I looked around online for a good recipe and found one on Epicurious. It was a Chinese inspired stir fry with pork and used a delicious spice I don’t use very often. It used Chinese five spice powder- which includes a mixture of cloves, fennel, cinnamon, star anise and Szechuan peppers. Szechuan peppers have an interesting numbing effect to the tongue. The five spice powder has the same flavor and effect. It is a delicious way to make stir fries, stews and curries.
I started with center cut pork chops and marinated them in hoisin and oyster sauce. I then made a sauce with orange juice, chicken broth, rice vinegar and the five spice powder. The kumquats need to be halved and deseeded. I sprinkled some sugar on them to sweeten them further.
The stir fry was delicious. I served it brown rice and sauteed bok choy. My daughter ate the dish but didn’t care for the little oranges… so, we kept them aside and went on with the evening….
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Grilled Garlic Potatoes
There was a recent article with some latest research about how it is not the hamburgers that are making Americans fat… it is the potatoes. Hmm, really??? I was very disappointed to read the article. I guess I knew that fried potatoes are not the greatest things to eat but some how a burger seems incomplete with fries. As most of you know, I am all about healthy eating but I can’t refuse fries or potato chips.. so my solution is not to have the bag of chips in the house. Once in a while I buy the low-fat ones which are just as good. A few here or there is okay but it is a problem if you have half a bag!
I love fries as well… but I have been making oven or grilled potatoes at home instead. They give me the same satisfaction as the fried variety without all the calories. Obviously even the grilled potatoes need to be consumed in moderation… oh, well..
Anyway, this version is delicious with some olive oil, salt and lots of minced garlic. I placed them on a grill pan as the burgers were cooking. Try them this weekend with your main entree…
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