Featured Favorite

You know those days?  The ones where you have good intentions but get derailed by either how busy you are, how good your book and the couch are working for you, or the lack of what you need at the store?  Here's one of my favorites for those situations...

Dorots.  Frozen chopped herbs (and there is also garlic and ginger which I haven't used) in 1 tsp. servings. Lifesavers when you don't have the fresh stuff available for whatever reason (and no judgement from me if the reason is the book and the couch!).  

They're not perfect-won't work for caprese salad for example (but I have something that works there which I'll share another time).  And I wish the ingredient list didn't include dextrose and corn starch, but I'm guessing the small amounts are needed for longevity and freezability?  

Anyway, they work SOOOO very well for things like stirring in to soups, casseroles, or in this instance, spaghetti sauce I had made a few weeks ago and put up in the freezer.  I had good intentions of going to the store for some fresh basil and a bunch of other stuff we needed after getting home from our Thanksgiving trip.  Didn't make it.  However, a last minute stir in of two little Dorot cubes of basil took the sauce from good to great.

Look in the freezer section at your grocery store...fresh is (almost) always best, but these are a great tool to have on hand.  (This post in not sponsored by Dorot).

Happy Cooking!

Hope you are going to have a great Turkey Day!  Just a few teaser photos from prep day in the kitchen.
Above...all the fixin's for our dressing-good bread, onion, celery, apple, chestnuts, herbs, salt and pepper, stock; ready to be baked tomorrow.

And I hope we can stay out of this until tomorrow...

Chef Dennis's amethyst topping bubbling away-cranberries, blueberries, sugar, lemon, cornstarch.  Topping for cheesecake tomorrow.

The green beans are washed and prepped; the butternut squash is peeled and cubed; and the potatoes are washed and cubed-soaking in water until tomorrow.  Oh, and of course, Tom the turkey is all ready to go!

And finally, maybe most importantly to ensure a well rested and energetic cook tomorrow...reservations at the local tapas place for dinner tonight!  What are you prepping today?  Happy times in the kitchen!

Recipe for Herbed Pizza Dough-Secret Recipe Club

It's been a while since I made homemade dough of any kind.  I was making fresh bread every week for a while but events this year have had me away from home a lot, so no dough making for me recently.  It was therefore easy to pick the recipe from my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month!

Dee from On The Move is from Seattle but she and her hubby spend half the year cruising on their Motor Vessel Rhapsody.  Dee shares her activities in the galley on her food blog On The Move-In The Galley and this is where I found her pizza dough recipe, adapted from a Bonita Atkins recipe.

I had never made dough with semolina flour before.  It gave a nice structure and color to the dough.  I loved adding in the herbs to the dough for more flavor.  I did find the dough a bit persnickety when it came to shaping, but persistence paid off and we really enjoyed this new dough recipe.  I made one pizza that night and put the other dough ball in the freezer.  

Turkey pepperoni, mushroom, mozzarella, red pepper with some sprinkled Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh basil; the raw crust brushed with a little olive oil and a little store bought red pizza sauce.

As per my usual routine, I made the pizza on a peel sprinkled with cornmeal, and then cooked on a preheated pizza stone at 500 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.

LOL, Mr. ELEB just walked by as I am typing this and said "That pizza was really good!" as he looked at the pictures.  And there you go.  What better endorsement?

Yield: 2 medium pizza crusts
Time: 65 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 pkgs dry yeast (each 1/4 oz)
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (115 degrees)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups AP flour plus more for shaping
• 1 1/2 cups semolina flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 TBSP EVOO (plus more for brushing dough before adding toppings)
• 2 TBSP mixed Italian dry herbs
• Cornmeal for sprinkling on pizza peel if using
• Pizza toppings of your choice

Method:

• Dissolve yeast in warm water in a mixing bowl (I used my stand mixer).
• Add the sugar and AP flour and beat vigorously for 1 minute (The dough is like cake batter at this point).
• Heat oven to 150 degrees and place mixing bowl on shelf partially pulled out, with oven door open. Leave to rise uncovered for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, stir the dough down and add semolina flour, salt, EVOO and herbs.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone inside.
• Using dough hook on mixer, knead for 8 minutes, adding more AP flour as needed to prevent sticking and so a dough ball forms (I had to add about 1/3 cup).
• Turn dough out on floured surface and divide and shape into 2 balls.
• Wrap one ball in oiled plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag in freezer.
• Shape other ball into about a 13 inch crust, place on cornmeal dusted peel, brush with EVOO then add sauce and toppings.
• Cook on pizza stone for 12-15 minutes until crust is nicely browned and toppings are cooked to your liking.

Thanks Dee for sharing the recipe and happy cruising!

Printable recipe

Recipe for Shrimp and Veggie Curry

Here's a recipe for a tasty, quick meal.  I always keep some frozen shrimp in the freezer.  They can be defrosted quickly in a bowl of room temperature water.  Of course, if you have access to freshly caught shrimp, use those. This quick to prepare curry is a little crunchy, a little creamy, with lots of intense flavor, but mild heat.  You can up the heat factor if you're a "hottie".  
Other than making the rice, if serving with the curry, this can be on the table in about 20 minutes. 


Yield: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes (plus rice)
Ingredients:

• ½ cup diced red bell pepper
• ½ cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes (could use canned)
• 1 TBSP canola oil
• 2 TBSP mild curry paste (or 3-4 TBSP curry powder)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 20 medium frozen shrimp, peeled, deveined, (defrosted in room temp water rinse or overnight in fridge)
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 2 TBSP coarsely shredded basil plus handful finely diced for serving
• Juice from ½ a lime plus wedges for serving
• Salt and pepper if needed
• Naan or rice for serving

Method:

• Heat the oil over medium to medium high heat.
• Add diced pepper, onion, and curry paste (or powder).
• Cook until veggies are softening, about 5 minutes (turn heat down if browning too much).
• Add tomatoes, shredded basil, and coconut milk.  Turn heat down to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Turn heat up to medium.  Add shrimp and peas and cook just until shrimp turn from translucent to pink, 5 minutes or less.
• Stir in lime juice and taste.  Add salt/pepper if needed (I didn't but it depends on your curry paste/powder and your taste buds).
• Serve over rice or with naan, garnished with lime wedge and diced basil.

I served this with brown basmati rice that I made earlier in the day and kept warm in the rice cooker. Enjoy!

Printable recipe

Recipe for Butternut Squash and Chicken Apple Sausage Pasta

Well, we're back from a long vacation and visits to see family.  After weeks of very little cooking, it's hard to get back in to the groove but I'm trying!  I thought I had misplaced my mojo for looking at what's in the pantry/fridge and throwing something together but I was pleased with how this turned out. Even though we don't have a real "Fall" here on Maui, cooking with butternut squash always makes me feel like we do. 

I did think, after the first bite, "this would be even better with some bacon in it."  That sort of reflects where my taste buds are right now!  Actually, it was just fine without bacon.  I mean, it has the chicken apple sausage in it!  I might try next time subbing some bacon, maybe turkey bacon, for the sausage.   

Servings: 4-6

Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut in to small cubes, about 7 cups
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• ½ pound whole grain rotini pasta
• 2 chicken apple sausages, cut in to small cubes
• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• ½ cup chopped pecans
• ½ cup finely diced shallots
• Cooking spray
• 3 TBSP cumin (more or less to your taste)

Method:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss squash in enough olive oil to lightly coat, season with salt, pepper, and 1 ½ TBSP cumin; spread on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until browning, stirring 2-3 times.
• Meanwhile, apply a light coat of olive oil to a sauté pan over med/med-high heat.
• Add pecans, shallots and sausages and remaining cumin.
• Cook, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes until browned.
• Cook pasta according to package directions.
• While pasta cooks, let squash cool briefly then put 2/3 of the squash in a food processor.
• Process squash until smooth.
• Mix together the pureed squash, drained pasta, sausage mixture, and remaining cooked squash.
• Spray a baking dish with cooking spray and fill with mixture.
• Top with cheese and place under a broiler for 4 minutes until cheese is melting and beginning to brown. 

This was filling without being a heavy pasta dish.  It's good to be back home for a while and I hope my mojo is really with me!

Printable recipe

Recipe for Green Goddess Asparagus

This is a versatile, easy recipe my brother and I put together for a picnic this summer.  I've done something similar with green beans too, but I think I slightly prefer the asparagus.  The secret to keeping the veggies nice and green is to sprinkle about a TBSP of baking soda in the water while cooking.  Cook just a few minutes until still slightly crispy and then quickly shock in an iced water bath to stop the cooking.  Marinate in dressing, add some seasonings (if needed) and chopped tomatoes and enjoy!


Yield: 6 servings
Time: 15 minutes, plus chilling time in the fridge

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of asparagus (or try green beans)
• 1 TBSP baking soda in cooking water
• 1/2 cup organic Green Goddess salad dressing
• 2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
• Salt and pepper as needed
• Ice and water 

Method:

• Bring water to a boil and add baking soda.
• Add asparagus and cook gently until just tender but retaining some crunch, probably no more than 3-4 minutes depending on thickness of asparagus stems.
• Drain and immediately place in iced water bath (submersed) for 3-4 minutes.
• Drain well and stir in salad dressing.
• Chill in fridge for at least an hour.
• Just prior to serving, remove from marinade, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and top with tomatoes.

Another nice alternative is to marinate in Italian dressing and top with toasted pine nuts.  Enjoy!

Printable recipe

Recipe for Cilantro Lime Pesto Roasted Chicken

I love all the fun pesto concoctions you can find these days!  Different nuts, different herbs...  I have my standby pesto recipe that I adore but I found a locally produced cilantro, lime, macadamia nut pesto here on Maui and wow is it good!  I had a nice organic free range chicken in the fridge and tried the pesto out in my usual roasted chicken recipe.  This was a flavorful, easy dish. 

This roasted chicken technique turns out perfect every time.  I did, however, almost drop this one transferring it from the pan to the cutting board.  Hence the torn up skin where I clamped down with the tongs!  Never fear, the chicken made it to the table just fine!



Here is the basic recipe and technique for the chicken.  Use your favorite pesto under the skin and rubbed all on the outside and in the cavity.

This roasting technique always turns out juicy and tender chicken, no matter how you season it.

Do a search in the upper right column for chicken and see some other ways I've made this.  Enjoy!