Orange Vinaigrette

so the original recipe was from Giada De Laurentis....my aunt made it at Christmas....such a great dressing...so light and tasty...AND easy! I made a few adjustments. I served this over baby arugula with crumbled blue cheese and honey roasted almonds.

Orange Vinaigrette

zest and juice of two oranges
2 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar (can sub regular Balsamic Vinegar)
1 squirt balsamic glaze
2 Tbsp honey
1 small shallot, chopped
3/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
3/4 C extra virgin olive oil

add all ingredients to a blender (I used the magic bullet) and emulsify...easy as that!

Baked Clam Dip

So I made this for Christmas, and it was such a hit! I used a recipe given to me by someone and improvised a little bit. I forgot to get a picture, so I stole one from the internet. This is pretty much what it looks like. Enjoy! Oh and its pretty garlicky, so don't kiss anyone the day after ;)

Baked Clam Dip

2 (6.5oz) cans minced or chopped clams, with juice
1 and 1/2 C breadcrumbs
1 stick of butter (you read that right)
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 sweet onion, minced
juice and zest of one lemon
2 tsp italian seasoning (or you can use Italian Bread Crumbs)
tsp of sea salt

Melt butter and saute onion til soft, add garlic the last two minutes of cooking. Mix all other indredients together into saute mixture. Put into pyrex pie plate and bake at 350 for 30 min. You can broil for a minute or so at the end to really brown the top. Serve with crackers or toasted bread

Chicken Enchiladas Suizas

Ok, not sure if this authentic, but it IS AWESOME! Had a craving for chicken enchiladas...so i looked at a few recipes and came up with this one...and it was soooo good!

Chicken Enchiladas Suizas

4-5 C shredded rotisserie chicken breast
1 jalepeno, chopped
2 heaping Tbsp sour cream(i used low fat)
1/2 (8oz) jar salsa verde (I used pace, and it was very good)
4 oz pepper jack cheese shredded
6 oz cheddar cheese low fat
7 (8in) flour tortillas
3/4 C heavy cream
1/2 c chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover 9X13 baking dish with non stick foil.

mix chicken breast, jalepeno, sour cream, 1/4 c salsa verde and place chicken mixture in flour tortillas. Top with some cheddar and pepper jack cheese and roll up. Place each rolled up tortilla in 9X13 baking dish. Mix heavy cream and chicken broth together and pour over top of tortillas. Pour additional salsa verde over top and sprinkle with additional cheese. Bake for 30-40 minutes until browned on top.

Mom's Famous Black Bean Soup

My mom has perfected this recipe over the years, and because I always monkey with perfection, I made a couple of minor changes. This recipe has ruined me for Black Bean Soup at restaurants, its that good.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 med. sweet onion, chopped fine
1 shallot, chopped fine
2 stalks of celery, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried cumin
1 tsp dreid oregano
4 (15.5 oz) cans of black beans (I like Goya exclusively), rinsed and drained
3 C water and 2 vegetable boullion cubes
1/4 C dry sherry (NOT cooking sherry)
cooked brown rice for serving.
optional for garnish:
chopped shallots
chopped hard boiled eggs
shredded cheddar
sliced jalepeno
sour cream

Saute onions, celery, cumin and oregano in olive oil for 8 min, until translucent. Add garlic, saute another 1-2 min. Add black beans, water and boullion, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer uncovered for 30 min. Add dry sherry and simmer 5 minutes. Garnish with desired items and a small bit more of dry sherry. Serve over brown rice or quinoa.

Spicy Shrimp over whole wheat orzo with feta

This was inspired by a Giada DeLaurentis recipe. I usually serve this with steamed broccoli or roasted asparagus on the side. Its an excellent dish for two. The sauce is delish and you can do it over whatever pasta or rice you want.


1 C. whole wheat orzo
1 T. unsalted butter
1/2 C. feta cheese

1 T. unsalted butter
1-2 cloves garlic
juice of 1 lemon
2 T. white wine
1 T. hot sauce
14 shrimp, shelled, deveined and tail off
1/4 C. heavy cream

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt it and add whole wheat orzo. Boil about 14 minutes until done to your liking. Drain. Add butter to pan, add back orzo, add feta and stir until combined. For Shrimp, add butter to skillet, and melt over med. Add garlic and saute 1-2 minutes. Add juice of a lemon, wine, hot sauce, and shrimp. Mix well and saute for about 2 min on each side, until pink throughout. Add heavy cream and combine and heat through. Serve shrimp and spicy sauce over orzo with feta.

Creamy Polenta with Mushrooms

So there is a restaurant near me, Sirena, that has a small plate happy hour menu, and one of the items on it is a creamy polenta with mushrooms...it was so great I had to re-create it! I am entering this into the Food Network Magazine's secret ingredient recipe contest! This month the ingredient is mushrooms. Cross your fingers for me!

Creamy Polenta with Mushrooms

1 1/4 C polenta
3 C chicken stock
3/4 C frozen sweet corn kernels
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 c fresh parmesan
2 Tbsp mascarpone cheese

mushrooms:
2 T EVOO
2 clove garlic, minced
2 (4 oz) pkgs. assorted mushrooms (baby bella, oyster, shitake)
1/4 C. dry sherry
2 T. fat free half and half
drizzle truffle oil
salt and pepper to taste
Shaved Parmesan for garnish

Bring chicken stock to a boil, add polenta, cook 10 minutes. Add mascarpone, butter, corn, parmesan and mix til cheeses are melted. While polenta is cooking, saute clove of garlic in evoo for 1 min, add mushrooms (slice any larger ones) and sherry and cook til all liquid is absorbed and mushrooms are tender. Add fat free half and half. Spoon over polenta, garnish with a drizzle of truffle oil, shaved parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste.

Fra Diavolo Sauce

I got this recipe from my co-worker Mike, who obtained it from the owner of a very good Italian restaurant in the area (which will remain nameless). This is a spicy tomato sauce. It is amazing and so easy, you just really need the time to let it slow simmer for two hours. It makes a difference. This makes a whole bunch of sauce....great for freezing and you will have sauce all winter long!

Fra Diavolo Sauce

1 bulb of garlic, crushed or sliced
1/4 C EVOO
3 large cans peeled plum tomatoes (I think the size is 35 oz), crush them with your hands, do not drain them.
1 large (28 oz?) can and 1 small (16 oz?) cans of tomato sauce
1 bunch of basil, chiffonade
sugar, cayenne and red pepper flakes to taste
(I used about two tsp of sugar, a few dashes of cayenne and almost 2 Tbsp of red pepper flakes)

Saute garlic over med. in EVOO for 1-2 min. Add basil and wilt. Add plum tomatoes and juice, tomato sauce, sugar, cayenne red pepper flakes (I added a Tbsp at a time and simmered for 30 min and tasted and added more) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low or med, cover, and slow simmer for two hours.