Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

Are you done with your holiday shopping?? Well, if you are not- do consider making something at home for your family and friends.

Every year I bake a treat to give to my neighbors and friends. I love doing it because I love looking at their faces when I go to deliver the goods. It is definitely a very satisfying feeling.

This year I have a lot of family coming and so I am quite busy. I definitely wanted to make something but I needed it to be less time consuming. I thought of baking several cookies but I find them quite labor intensive.

I thought of granola- I have made it in the past several times and it is absolutely delicious. I have tweaked it over the years and have come up with this recipe. This year since I was making it for the holidays, I decided to add chocolate chips- wow it was off the charts.

I bought cellophane bags and fancy ties from Target and off to work I went. I made two batches and made about 12- 15 bags to give away. I loved giving it to people since it is healthy and absolutely delicious.

Please try it this year- it’s a fabulous idea.

• 3 cups old fashioned oats
• ½ cup flaxseed meal
• ½ cup wheat germ
• ½ cup oat bran
• ¾ cup sweetened shredded coconut
• ½ cup sliced raw almonds
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1½ cups mixed dried blueberries, cranberries, cherries, etc
• 8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

• ¾ cup extra light olive oil
• 1 cup honey
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl add the oats, flaxseed meal, wheat germ, oat bran, coconut, almonds, walnuts and the dried fruit.

In a large measuring cup, add the olive oil, honey, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon and vanilla extract. Heat in the microwave for a minute to liquefy the mixture and mix well.
Add the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix well with a wooden spoon.

On a large lined cookie sheet or two small cookie sheets, spread the granola mixture, smoothing the surface evenly.
Bake for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven and separate with a fork while the mixture is still warm. Once the mixture cools off, add the chocolate chips. If you want the chocolate to melt all into the granola, add the chips while the mixture is still warm.
Eat with milk, coffee or on its own.

I made this dish after eating at an Italian restaurant in Chatham-  D’Oro. I reviewed it for the Patch.  I liked the place and we ordered a shrimp and bean dish for an appetizer. It was good but not great and so I decided to replicate and improve it a bit- to my taste.

The white beans in the original dish were tender but without a lot of flavor. I cooked the beans with a bit of pancetta and garlic to give it a lot of flavor. I also added some shallots and rosemary as well. I finished the dish off with my home grown cherry tomatoes and white wine. All the aromatics and wine made a huge difference and added a lot of flavor to the dish.

I marinated the shrimp in lemon juice, olive oil and salt. I quickly grilled it outside and served it with the yummy beans. I served the dish with some yummy bread and red wine.

My daughter ate it with some reservation but enjoyed it once she got over eating something new.

Serve this dish for an appetizer or a meal with a salad. Either way it is delicious.
Click here for the recipe… »

I made these a few weeks ago for a barbecue we were having. I decided to make these seekh kebab to serve as appetizers with some shrimp. I love making seekh kebabs since they are so simple and full of flavor.

I kept it real simple for these particular ones. The two main ingredients I added were ginger and mint. I love the two aromatics together- they make anything taste delicious.

I of course started with ground turkey meat. You can use ground pork or lamb but since turkey meat is healthier- I always use that.

I simply marinated the meat with ginger, mint, cilantro, coriander powder and garam masala. I beat an egg for binding and some salt- thats it. It is great for this mixture to sit for a few hours if not over night (that would be ideal). It is amazing what a difference over night makes- the seekh kebab come out a lot more flavorful.

I have extra long metal skewers which I used to make the seekh kebabs on the grill outside. It doesn’t take very long for the meat to cook and so they were done in no time. I served them with some mint chutney and it was a wonderful appetizer.

You could serve in hot dog or any other kind of buns and make a meal out of them. Drizzle some mint chutney on top and maybe some onions and you have a fabulous sandwich.

Try the ginger and mint seekh kebab for your next barbecue….
Click here for the recipe… »

My daughter was complaining to me the other day about missing chicken nuggets. She claimed not to remember the last time she had them. In my mind- that is a good thing. I explained to her chicken nuggets are for younger kids and especially for those who are a bit picky and don’t like to eat anything else. It didn’t make her feel better and asked me to buy some.

I convinced her to let me make her some instead and she agreed.

I have made chicken cutlets in the past that she has enjoyed. I almost always use panko bread crumbs to add the crunch- plus I always bake them and never fry.

For these- I decided to add an Indian spin to them. I marinated the chicken tenders in garlic, lemon juice, salt and olive oil. All these ingredients gave the chicken super flavor- I was already to a good start.

Next I prepared the breading. I added mustard seeds and curry leaves to the panko breadcrumbs to add great flavor.  I added turmeric, salt and coriander powder to the flour. All in all it was a lot of deliciousness going on with all the spices.

My daughter was watching me as I was putting the cutlets together and was not happy with the way they looked- especially the green curry leaves. As usual, I convinced her to try them and she was thrilled- she loved them. She claimed the chicken reminded her of popcorn! I served the chicken with the tomato rice and it was a delicious meal…
Click here for the recipe… »

I love this recipe I came up with a few weeks ago. I was hosting our book club meeting and I was trying to come up with a menu. I wanted to make few summer dishes and bruschetta came to mind. When we were in Spello, Italy last year, we had a lot of different kinds of bruschetta- not the usual tomato one. I love the original but it is great to come up with something different.

I decided to use nectarines instead of tomatoes. I cut them up, added garlic, basil, salt and extra virgin olive oil. That is all- I mixed everything together and let it sit for a while. The nectarine pieces became a bit soft and married with the rest of the flavors.

I bought olive bread as well as raisin walnut bread. I thought both would go really well with the marinated nectarines. I sliced and toasted the bread.

I placed the nectarine mixture in a bowl. I then placed the sliced bread, a bowl of olives and sliced feta cheese. Everyone assembled their own bruschetta. It was all delicious.

This is a perfect appetizer to serve at a party or for a simple supper…
Click here for the recipe… »