Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

I love Mexican cuisine, especially since it is full of very strong, bold flavors. I make all sorts of preparations including tacos, enchiladas, salsas, guacamole.. the list goes on. I especially love using tomatillos and all the different Mexican chilies out there. For this preparation I used a poblano pepper- which looks like a large jalapeno pepper closer to a regular green pepper. It sometimes has a bit of heat and once its roasted, the sweetness comes out.

I roasted tomatillos, garlic, green onions and the poblano chili with a drizzle of olive oil and salt. I then made a thick sauce by blending all the roasted vegetables and I had a fabulous start to my chili. I had a pork shoulder with bones cut into small flavors for the dish. Any stew meat can be used as long as it can stand up to 2 to 3 hours of cooking. The house smells wonderful while the delicious chili is on the stove. The result is tender, juicy, falling off the bone meat flavored with the most yummy sauce.

I served the chili with corn bread, guacamole and Spanish rice. It was a big hit with everyone, especially since it wasn’t too spicy.
Click here for the recipe… »

Yum- this was a delicious meal. I bought some tri tip roast from Trader Joes and was thinking of a way to use it up. As usual I was watching or reading something about food and beef stroganoff stood out.

I realized I hadn’t eaten this dish in years. In fact I can’t even remember where I had it- I do recall eating it on top of egg noodles.

In the recipe I read, the beef was served on top of toasted sourdough bread. I decided to do the same but I was able to find a whole wheat sourdough at Trader Joes- I am always trying to make dishes healthier where ever I can.

I started the delicious dish by sauteing the mushrooms with garlic. I used the same pan and sauteed the meat and added lots of flavor including red wine- yes you read correct- I used red wine. Actually I was planning on using white wine but when I opened the fridge, there wasn’t any- but I did have a light pinot noir and it was perfect. In fact I think next time I will use red instead of white wine. It gave the dish a nice color and a deeper flavor. Creme fraiche and dill made this dish unbelievable. I toasted the sour dough slices with some olive oil and rubbed a garlic clove all over the hot bread. I then added the stroganoff on top and served a green salad and the same red wine I used to cook the dish.

Make this beef stroganoff next time you have friends or family over- they will keep coming back for more…
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… »

We love eating pizza at home. I usually buy a pizzeria dough and divide it into 4 pieces to make four individual pizzas. I am always looking to make something new or at least try some new toppings for the pizza.

My daughter likes her usual- tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese and either sauteed mushrooms or black olives. She doesn’t like to mess with perfection and likes to stick to her usual. My husband is very similar- well, he is a bit more adventurous- as long as the pizza has red sauce on it. I love white pizza but am the only one in our family. My favorite is a white pizza with ricotta, spinach and lots of garlic- hmm- that sounds delicious- I could use some right now.

While picking up the pizza dough, I also stopped at the wine store. I couldn’t believe I had run out of wine- completely. As I was running my errands I was thinking what pizza to make for myself. I wanted something white and different. Pasta carbonara came to mind- I love eating it. The problem is that it is full of cream, bacon and eggs- definitely not an option for me these days. I guess once in a while it is okay to eat this stuff- right?. So, I decided to make a pizza carbonara for myself.

I sauteed some pancetta and turned the heat off. I stirred in eggs beaten with half and half (instead of cream). I then poured it all over my already rolled out pizza. Just in a few minutes the pizza crust turned golden brown and the topping rose way high. It looked beautiful. I added a lot of black pepper- that is what comes to mind when I think of carbonara. It was delicious. This would be great for breakfast, lunch or dinner- anytime, really.

Try pizza carbonara next time you want to change it up a bit.
Click here for the recipe… »

I used a Chinese style sausage in this recipe. A friend bought it for me from an Asian store. She makes a delicious Vietnamese style fried rice with this particular sausage.

I first had it back in college- I will not share how long ago that was. She would make it in our small apartment kitchen that we shared with three other girls. It was so hard to keep that kitchen clean- maybe that is where I get my anal cleaning habits… Anyway, the rice was delicious.

I had the sausage in the fridge and it had been there for a while. I decided to use it and make my own version of a fried rice. I usually add a lot of chopped vegetables but for this dish I used protein only. I was using brown rice to make a healthy dish and tamari as the primary flavoring. It is a concentrated soy sauce and packs a punch in any dish.

To make a balanced meal, I stir fried vegetables on the side. Recipe to follow tomorrow…

In the meantime, try this Chinese sausage fried rice- it is delicious.
Click here for the recipe… »