Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

Once in a while I come up with a fabulous meal- it is tasty, healthy and very good looking. This is one of them. One of my favorite things to eat is a good hamburger- especially at our local pub. Since watching Food Inc, I have been off hamburgers especially at restaurants.

So, I decided to make turkey burgers but with a twist. I love ground turkey for a lot of things but when I have a regular turkey burger I always compare it to a beef burger and it just doesn’t stand up to it’s competitor. To avoid the comparison I decided to use my seekh kebab mix. It is extremely flavorful loaded with aromatics- perfect for a juicy burger. Now, what about the toppings? I didn’t want to use mayo since it is loaded with calories. I had cilantro chutney in the fridge that I normally serve with seekh kebabs- perfect. I also thought of the delicious tomato chutney from Trader Joes- that would pair up really well with the cilantro chutney. I needed to incorporate vegetables in this meal and so I decided to caramelize onions and saute up some zucchini and use them as toppings for the healthy burgers. Of course, I bought the soft whole-wheat hamburger buns from Trader Joes and while I was there, I also picked up sweet potatoes. They are super healthy and I wanted to incorporate them into the meal as well- I cut them up into wedges and made oven fries- they were delicious- especially paired with garlic powder and smoked paprika. The sweetness in this orange vegetable was wonderful with the savory garlic powder and smoky paprika.

Overall it was a fabulous meal- I did an article about this healthy, delicious meal on the New York Times, The Local.

Try the healthy Indian style hamburgers with the veggies and sweet potatoes next time you want to eat a hamburger.
Click here for the recipe… »

This is a delicious steak dinner. We don’t eat out as much as we used to. Partly because of the economy and mostly because of this blog and all the cooking I end up doing at home.

Also after watching movies like ‘Food Inc‘, I am very leery about eating out. I can’t get the chickens and the cows out of my head. I am now very careful about where I buy and eat beef.

Anyway, I found some really nice looking grass fed rib eye steaks. I love eating a good steak but rarely order it at a restaurant- I don’t want to spend a fortune outside when I can make them at home- and they are fabulous.

I usually make oven fries with the steak- I love potatoes and this is my favorite way of making them. I had very nice looking asparagus- I served them simply sauteed with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Now, for the steaks- again, very simple- olive oil, salt and pepper but I wanted to serve them with a sauce. I love the usual gorgonzola sauce which is made with lots of yummy gorgonzola and cream. It is very delicious but loaded with calories. I had feta in my fridge and decided to use that and make a sauce. It is naturally low in fat so I paired it with some roasted garlic and low fat sour cream. The sauce was delicious! We did not miss the gorgonzola sauce at all!

My daughter loved the meal as well minus the potatoes and the sauce. She loves asparagus and steak. We were all happy and it was a great Sunday meal.

Next time you want to impress someone- make the rib eye steaks with the feta sauce.
Click here for the recipe… »

This is a very versatile side dish. I am always looking for new ways to cook vegetables. My daughter in not a big fan of zucchini. She doesn’t like the texture- well, it really depends how I cook it for her. It it is broiled or stir fried and cooked just a tad- essentially, she doesn’t like it when it goes all limp and I don’t blame her. I think she would love fried zucchini- but since I will not be doing that- I have to come up with other ways of feeding this green vegetable to her.

I usually cook it in a stir fry- with chicken, pork or beef. One of our favorite Chinese restaurant- Hunan Spring serves a chicken zucchini dish. It is one of my favorite dishes there- it is fairly healthy with lots of zucchini and white meat chicken. I ask them to make it extra spicy and it is fabulous. I try to replicate that at home and it comes out quite nice as well.

I already had some lentils made in the fridge and I was planning on making fresh rotis but I needed a veggie. I had a pack of zucchini from Trader Joes. I decided to cook it like a stir fry but with Indian spices. My daughter approved since the texture was not mushy. I finished the dish with a squirt of lemon juice which awoke all the flavors and made it yummy.

Sauteed zucchini will be ideal with roast chicken, pork tenderloin or even fish or shrimp.

• 3 medium zucchini, cut into ½ inch slices
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 10-12 curry leaves
• 2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
• Salt
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Juice of half a lemon

In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the mustard seeds and curry leaves. Saute for 30 seconds on medium high heat or till the seeds begin to sizzle. Add the zucchini slices and sauté on high heat 5-6 minutes, till the slices begin to brown. Add the salt, coriander powder and cayenne pepper. Mix well and turn the heat off. Add the lemon juice and check for seasonings before serving.

I made this on a busy Sunday late morning/early afternoon. I picture this being made the day after a big holiday dinner- especially if you have a big crowd.

I cooked it for the three of us but it can be made for a big crowd.

I had leftover homemade tomato sauce. I have to say, after returning from Italy- I am incapable of opening a can of San Marzano tomatoes to make marinara sauce, instead I have to buy fresh tomatoes and go through the lengthy process of making it at home. The taste difference is unbelievable- anyway, so that is what I had in the fridge. I also had a pack of chicken sausages in the freezer. I thawed them, took the casing out and chopped them up.

I sauteed them and added the tomato sauce. I cracked a few eggs and covered the pan and in a few minutes, brunch was done. I had some bake your own baguettes from Trader Joes. I baked one of them and made a big green salad.

The brunch was delicious! So easy- and the possibilities are endless… You can add all sorts of meats, or shrimp to this- or make it Mexican and serve it with guacamole, etc.

Definitely make this – it’s great!

• 4 chicken sausage links, take the casing out and chop into small pieces
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup homemade tomato sauce
• 3 or 4 eggs
• Salt
• Pepper

In a wide frying pan, heat the olive oil. Add the sausage pieces and sauté on medium heat for 5-6 minutes or till golden brown. Add the tomato sauce and heat for a minute or two. Crack each egg distributing them evenly in the pan. Cook covered for 3-4 minutes depending on how cooked you want the eggs. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper.
Serve with a hot baguette and green salad.

I have used the same recipe for the brownie bites as before. The difference is that I used extra light olive oil instead of butter (I wanted to make it healthier), and I have used a small cupcake container to make these delicious tiny bites for the holiday season.

Peppermint definitely comes to mind when I think of this time of year. One of the things I like to do when I am at the mall is to visit Williams Sonoma. They always have some kind of sample- especially this time of year. I love eating their peppermint bark- it is simply delicious. I have never bought it since it is quite expensive but I do eat lots of samples while I am at the store.

When Trader Joes opened up in Millburn, I was of course ecstatic. During the holiday season they have a variety of treats and chocolates.

While I was thinking about making these treats, I was envisioning icing with crushed peppermint sticks. So, when I went shopping at Trader Joes for my ingredients, and I didn’t find the sticks, I decided to buy the peppermint bark instead. It was much cheaper than the one I sample in Williams Sonoma.

I brought it home and tried it- well, it was delicious as well! I crushed it in a food processor and added it to the icing. These bite sized brownies are delicious and ideal to make for the holidays- enjoy!

• 2 cups evaporated cane juice
• 1 cup extra light olive oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 1½ cups white whole-wheat flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
Line a small 24 cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

In a large bowl, blend the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla extract well. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Slowly add the dry ingredients mixing well in between. Pour the batter evenly into each small cupcake liner. Bake for 12 minutes if you like gooey brownies- a few minutes more if you like them more cake-like.

Peppermint Bark Icing

• ½ cup (4 oz) low fat cream cheese
• 1/8 teaspoon peppermint extract
• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
• ½ cup crushed peppermint bark

In a mixer, add the cream cheese and begin beating until smooth. Sprinkle the powdered sugar and add the peppermint extract. Beat till the icing is smooth. Take out and add the peppermint bark. With a knife cover the top of each brownie bite.