Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

This is an ideal dish for Super bowl. Somehow, thinking of the big game- Mexican and Latin cuisines come to mind. This particular one is cooked in mixture of anaheim and poblano peppers. It also has green onions and cilantro. I cooked the mixture down with roasted cumin- which I find even yummier than regular cumin.

I added large pieces of carrots and potatoes- to make it more substantial. I would definitely make the stew for this Sunday. I would serve it with different breads, Spanish rice, guacamole, salsa and shredded cheese. Lots of beer, wine and maybe sangria.

I love the idea of friends and family getting together and eating delicious food. I am not too keen on the game but I am probably in a minority.
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Recipe number two. I made this dish at a cooking class for a gentleman who wanted to learn vegetarian dishes so he could feed his family healthy food. I suggested a Moroccan dish called Tagine. It is typically made with meat and cooked in ‘Tagine‘, which is a special ceramic cooking pot with a cone like lid. It is nice to have one at home but it isn’t necessary to make a delicious tagine  at home.

We started with a spice mix consisting of cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper. We then sautéed some onions, garlic, tomato paste and harissa- a moroccan hot paste. We added potatoes, turnips, carrots and chickpeas to the mix including some broth.

This is a delicious dish for a crowd, especially with some whole wheat couscous. Try it next time you are entertaining…
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This is a delicious way to make a one pot meal. It all goes into a big roasting pan and you are done! I started with leg quarters- if I am not roasting a whole chicken, I like to cook leg quarters. Dark meat has a lot of flavor and is very forgiving as it doesn’t over cook.

When using very few ingredients, it is important to use very bold flavors. In this case, I used garlic, pancetta and balsamic glaze. I cooked the pancetta and then mixed it with the garlic, thyme and the glaze. I then slathered the chicken with the yummy mixture and roasted it.

To make things more interesting, I lined the roasting pan with slices of delicious sour dough bread and some potatoes. The potatoes and the bread come out deliciously crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I especially love the bread- all the flavors absorb really well.

I served this delicious meal with a green salad and a delicious glass of red wine. I love simple, delicious food with very good quality ingredients!

• 4 leg quarters with skin
• 6 to 8 slices of sour dough bread
• 4 to 5 small potatoes, peeled and cut in half
• Salt

Marinade

• ¼ cup pancetta, chopped
• 5 to 6 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic glaze

Cook the pancetta in a hot frying pan until the fat is rendered on medium heat- it should take about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn heat off and take out in a bowl.

Pound the garlic, salt and thyme in a mortar and pestle till smooth. Add the olive oil and balsamic glaze. Mix well and add to the cooked pancetta. Mix well and keep aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the bread slices in a medium, lined baking sheet (9X13). Smear some of the marinade on the bread. Add the chicken quarters and the potatoes. Rub the marinade all over covering all the surfaces. Sprinkle salt generously all over. Roast in oven for 30 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil and finish roasting till the chicken is done. Serve a piece of the chicken on top of the cooked bread with potatoes on the side.

I was doing an article for the patch for New Years. My editor told me something about a tradition in the South called Hoppin John. I had never heard to the dish or the tradition and decided to do some research.

Turns out it is a dish made with rice and beans. It is to be eaten at midnight, New Year’s eve to bring good luck. The idea is to eat poor that night and eat rich the rest of the year.

Sounded good to me. As I read a bit more, I noticed it is usually made with some pork product and is served with some Southern style greens. I started thinking and decided to make mine with pancetta. I added some onions, garlic and green peppers to that. I also added dried thyme and made it mine by adding- yes, you guessed it- smoked paprika. I sauteed the mixture and added a can of black eyed peas, the rice and chicken broth. Once the rice was almost cooked, I added a lot of baby spinach.

I decided to make this into a one pot meal and healthy. Since traditionally the dish is served with greens, I decided to add mine right into the rice and beans.

The result was a delicious and quick comforting dish. Definitely make this for New Year’s Eve to ensure good luck for the rest of the Year- and Happy New Year to you and your family!
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This pasta came about after my daughter brought a bunch of vegetables home from the farmer’s market at their school. It is a great program to introduce kids to different fruits and vegetables. Kids are more likely to eat the vegetables when they make the choice themselves.

They will also be more interested in maybe helping at home to cook the veggies for dinner.

In my case I had a bunch of lovely swiss chard and some corn. I decided to make a pasta dish. I had a stuffed pasta in the freezer I purchased at Eataly in NYC.

I sauteed some pancetta and added shallots and garlic. I then added the fresh corn, some fresh tomato sauce and the swiss chard. It was super simple and very delicious. I cooked the tiny pasta and added some pasta water into the sauce. A few minutes later I had a delicious, healthy- farm to table food.
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