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Manchego Smoked Paprika Mashed Potatoes

   

  • 4 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small squares
  • Salt
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • ¾ to 1 cup half and half
  • 2 cups shredded Manchego cheese, grated
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • Pepper
  • ½ cup green onion, chopped
  • ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Add the cut potatoes to a deep pot and cover with water. Add at least 2 tablespoons salt and the garlic cloves. Place a lid on the potatoes and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain potatoes and garlic and put them through a food mill and add back to the hot pot. Add butter, half and half and smoked paprika. Check for seasonings, add pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and let cool all the way. Add the grated cheese and mix well. At this point, the potatoes can be refrigerated and made at least a day in advance. Once ready to bake, take out of fridge at least 30 minutes in advance.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or till heated through. Garnish with green onions and cilantro.

Mexican Style Turkey Breast with Ancho Chili

   

Compound Butter

  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • Zest of one orange
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 3 garlic cloves, grated
  • 2 teaspoons salt

Mix the butter with orange and lemon zest, garlic and salt.

 

 

Spice Rub

  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon acho chili powder

Mix all the spices together and set aside.

  • ½ cup chili barbecue sauce
  • 1 7 to 10 pound turkey breast
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • 1 orange, cut into eight pieces
  • 1 lemon, cut into eight pieces
  • 2 cups turkey or chicken broth
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Have your gravy ready either the day before or the morning of. Transfer it to a large saucepan and keep aside.

Preheat convection oven to 325 degreed F.

Place the turkey onto a rack in a roasting pan. Turn the turkey over and place the cut up orange and lemon inside the cavity. Sprinkle salt and pepper liberally and turn it breast side facing up. Loosen the skin and carefully spread half the compound butter. Spread the rest all over the skin. Sprinkle the spice rub all over the top. Pour the broth to the bottom of the roasting pan. Keep aside.

With a brush add the chili barbecue sauce (recipe below) all over the turkey. Roast the turkey glazing every 15 minutes. Roast till internal temperature reaches 158 to 160 degrees F. Take out of the oven and place onto a platter and cover with foil to rest for at least 20 minutes. While the turkey is resting, take the drippings from the bottom of the pan and pour them into a small glass bowl. Let the fat separate, remove from top and pour the liquid into the prepared gravy and bring to a boil. Check for seasonings and heat the gravy through. Serve with the turkey.

Chili Barbecue Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 dried ancho chilies, stems and seeds discarded and cut into ½ inch pieces
  • 1 14 ounces can diced tomatoes with chilies
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • Juice and zest of 3 clementines
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons salt

Heat a medium saucepan with the olive oil. Add the shallot and garlic. Saute on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the ancho chilies, tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, zest, juice and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer on a low flame for about 20 minutes. Take off heat and transfer to a blender and blend till a smooth sauce is formed. Check for seasonings and take out into a small bowl.

 

 

Crispy Tofu with Lemon Grass and Snow Peas

   

Crispy Tofu with Lemongrass

  • 1 (12 to 16 ounce) block firm tofu, drained and cut into 1 inch
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Add the cornstarch and salt into a zip lock bag. Add the tofu and shake the bag until well coated.

  • 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil

Heat a non-stick frying pan. Saute the tofu till all sides are golden brown, about a minute or two on each side. Place the tofu on to a lined plate.

  • 4 stalks fresh lemon grass, tender part only, minced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large yellow onion, cut into 1 inch pieces

Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons tamari
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoons chili paste
  • 2 tablespoons palm sugar (or 1 tablespoon honey)
  • Juice of one navel orange
  • 1 teaspoon corn starch

Mix the tamari, fish sauce, chili paste, palm sugar, orange juice and corn starch in a small bowl. Keep aside.

  • 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
  • 2 cups snow peas
  • Juice of a lemon

Heat a wok like saucepan and add the oil. Add the lemon grass and garlic. Saute on high heat for a minute. Add the onion and sauté for another minute.
Add the snow peas and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sauce and bring to a boil. Add the tofu and mix well – gently, making sure not to break the tofu.
Sprinkle the lemon juice and serve.

Chicken Korma

   

Chicken Korma

  • 1½ skinless chicken thighs, cut into ½ inch pieces

Marinade

  • 1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
  • ½ cup low-fat sour cream
  • ¼ cup half and half
  • ½ medium yellow onion, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 2 inch ginger, grated
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix the yogurt, sour cream, half and half, onion, garlic, ginger, salt and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. Add the chicken pieces and marinate for at least 2 to 3 hours if not over night.

  • ½ cup cashews soaked over night in ½ cup hot water

Blend the cashews with the water into a paste. Keep aside.

  • 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon black cumin seeds (shaahi zeera)
  • 2 green cardamoms, crushed
  • 1 ½ inch cinnamon stick
  • 3 to 4 cloves, crushed
  • 1 large or 2 small yellow onions, minced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Heat a deep saucepan with the oil. Add the cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Cook on medium heat for about 30 seconds. Add the onions, garlic, cashew paste and cook medium heat for at least 20 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the chicken with the marinade and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Check every 10 minutes, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Take the lid off and turn the heat up to medium high and let the excess moisture evaporate- another 10 minutes stirring constantly. Check for seasonings and garnish with cilantro.

Apple Galette

   

I baked this delicious dessert using the Food and Wine recipe by Jacques Pepin. It’s an incredible recipe and everyone loved it. I did tweak it a bit- I added the heavy cream and turbinado sugar. I also used an amazing apple pie spice from raw spice bar. This apple pie spice mix is delicious, it included green cardamom, grains of paradise and rosemary. The flavor was incredible- I would highly recommend this spice store online.

Pastry

  • 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 1/3 cup ice water

In a food processor, combine the flour with the sugar, salt and butter and process for 5 seconds. Sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture and process until pastry just begins to come together and forms a ball- about 15 to 20 seconds. Transfer the pastry to a work surface, form into a disk and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled.

 

  • 3 large golden delicious apples
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoons apple pie spices
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 2 tablespoons heavy cream
  • 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar

Peel, halve and core the apples and slice them crosswise ¼ inch thick. Set aside the larger center slices and coarsely chop the end slices and any broken ones- about half of the slices should be chopped. In a small bowl, combine the sugar and apple pie spices.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  On a lightly floured work surface roll out the pastry to a 12-inch round circle and transfer to a large lined rimmed baking sheet. Spread the chopped apples over the pastry to within 1 inch of the edge. Drizzle the honey over the chopped apples. Decoratively arrange the apples slices on top in concentric circles or in slightly overlapping rows. Sprinkle the spiced sugar evenly over the apples and dot with pieces of butter. Fold the pastry edge up and over the apples to create a 1-inch border. Spread the heavy cream over the folded pastry with a pastry brush evenly. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar over the cream.

Bake the galette for about 50 minutes or till the pastry is nice browned and crisp and the apples are tender. Transfer the pan to a rack and let the galette cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Mascarpone Whipped Cream

  • 2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese
  • ½ cup whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whip the mascarpone cheese, whipping cream, sugar and vanilla extract till stiff peaks are formed. Refrigerate till serving with the galette.

Apple Cranberry Salad

   

Apple Cranberry Salad

Starting to think about Thanksgiving recipes..my favorite time of year. This is a great, simple salad to start off the big meal…

  • 4 cups mixed greens
  • 1 large honey crisp apple, sliced thin
  • ½ cup dried cranberries

Dressing

  • 1 large navel orange, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper

In a small bow, add the orange juice, vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Whisk well and slowly drizzle the olive oil until thick and incorporated.

In a large bowl, add the greens, apples and cranberries. Add half of the dressing and mix well right before serving.