I have had a few shrimp recipes waiting to be tried so I thought I would try both in one weekend. A little shrimp cook off shall we?

The first was from Cooking Light and featured a Jalapeno Lime Marinade. This one is easy. Marinade for a half hour and off to the grill. This one is light but spicy and tart. These would make great appetizers served on a skewer on a summer evening.

The other was Matthew Kenney’s Grilled Shrimp with Tomato Jam. The jam is sweet and spicy, based on a Moroccan condiment. In this recipe the jam is used as a marinade, thought I topped the shrimp with it as the very end of cooking. I served this with some grilled vegetables over brown rice. It made for a nice one dish meal. You can use the tomato jam

It probably isn’t fair to compare these two but they both have a place in my recipe book! My favorite would be the Kenney recipe because the Tomato Jam adds more depth and flavor to the dish.

If you have your own cookoff let me know what you think…

[click to continue...]

Who doesn’t enjoy a good chocolate chip cookie? While visiting Joy the Baker last week she was testing out chocolate chip cookies based on an article in the New York Times. The author was advocating for refrigerating the dough 24 hours before cooking for the best cookie.

Looking at the site I saw they had added sea salt to the top of the cookies. I could barely contain my excitement… salty and chocolate. I was in the kitchen whipping up a batch minutes later.

I decided to try the recipe that went along with the article. It was by
Jacque Torres. I used regular chocolate chips, though I did try a small batch with cut up Valhrona chocolate. I also used white flour as opposed to bread flour.

I made a small batch after mixing and another 24 hours later. I will say the ones refrigerated 24 hours produced a more uniform cookie. I am thinking this would apply to most cookie dough. You can see Joy’s test of time here.

The hint of salt on top of the cookies makes for a flavorful bite! [click to continue...]

My aunt gave me this book called My Last Supper by Melanie Dunea. It features 50 top chefs and what they would chose for their last meal. It is a fun read and features recipes from each of the meals. Some of quite fancy and some are down to earth.

I am more on the down to earth side. My last meal would most likely be Italian and shared with family and friends. One of the chefs featured is Jamie Oliver and he chooses Spaghetti All’Arrabiata.

This is my favorite dish at Italian restaurants. I love a spicy tomato sauce. It is simple but flavorful. It is also extremely easy to make.

I had a friend coming over and had most of the ingredients on hand so I decided to give it a try. I did not have bread crumbs to make the pangrattato (bread crumb) topping he adds to his so that is left off. Also, I substituted penne for spaghetti.

Here is a little tip for the tomatoes- I take a pair of kitchen scissors and cut up the tomatoes while they are in the can still. It makes a more rustic sauce.

[click to continue...]

Summer makes me crave tasty salads. With an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables it is easy to put together a light summer salad. When it is hot out the last thing you want to do is heat up your kitchen or cook over a hot stove.

One of my favorite salads is one from a cooking class I took with my friend Tracy many years ago at a Williams Sonoma. I do not know the author, so I apologize. We both fell in love with this salad and have served it many times over the years.

I love mango and the tangy dressing that goes with it. You could add some grilled chicken to it if you wanted a more substantial meal. I have been known to use the precut mango from Trader Joe’s for convenience.

Mixed Baby Greens with Honey Basil Dressing

Serves 4
8 cups mixed greens
1 large mango, peeled and sliced
1 large red onion peeled and thinly sliced, soak in a bowl of water so that there will not be a strong taste

Place the mixed greens on a plate, top with onions and finish with the mango.

Honey Basil Dressing

3/4 cup Champagne Vinegar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp honey
Freshly ground pepper
Pinch of Kosher Salt
2 tbsp fresh sweet basil, chopped

In a blender, add all ingredients except the basil. Process until smooth. Add sweet basil and pulse only until basil is blended into dressing. Pour into a jar or a bowl and cover. Refrigerate until ready to use.

This morning I realized I had these wild blueberries that needed to be used. I searched my pantry for what I had and started looking for a recipe to match. The result was a moist Blueberry Coffee Cake.

It is easy to throw together, bake, pour yourself a cup of hot coffee and indulge!

[click to continue...]

So I have the best new recipe for you! I was in Puerto Vallerta a few weeks ago and we went to Daiquiri Dick’s for dinner. It is located on Los Muertos beach and is a beautiful location.

Both my aunt and I had the Grilled Lemon and Garlic Chicken. It was so delicious. The chicken seemed like it had been cooked under a brick because it was moist inside but super crispy on the outside. The sauce was bursting with lemon and garlic. The chicken was served over mashed potatoes.

When I came home I started my search to recreate the dish…it was that good. I remembered seeing a Mustards Grill cookbook in their window so I googled. Mustards Grill is a tasy restaurant in Napa Valley. It turns out that is one of their signature dishes and had been featured on Martha Stewart’s show.

[click to continue...]

Summer means BBQ’s with friends and family. I am getting ready to host a BBQ for my friend Deanna and her husband, who is visiting from Texas. We share a love of cooking and great restaurants. I am searching through my recipes to put together the perfect meal and came across an old favorite.

I thought I would start with these Brie with Grape Salsa served on a toasted slice of French bread.

Back when I was a personal chef I would serve these in little tartlets. People would gobble these ups. A little brie, a little grape and a crunchy finish…sort of hard to resist. Now I serve it up on toasted sliced baguettes.
[click to continue...]

Happy Fourth of July! Not only am I celebrating the 4th but also the beginning of a nice long weekend. I know, your thinking you just had a vacation! What can I say…

So here is an easy way to dress up your watermelon. The syrup is a mix of fresh lime juice, honey and fresh ginger. Cut up your melon and drizzle the syrup over the top. It’s that easy.

It adds a crisp sweet and tart kick to the cold watermelon. Go ahead..try some today! It is the perfect thing for a hot summer day!

[click to continue...]

At my local farmers market almost every booth has white peaches. I love the flavor of them and try to incorporate them into many dishes over the summer. There is nothing like going to the market, supporting local growers and coming home to create new dishes.

Last year I discovered a great recipe by Bobby Flay, Grilled Chicken with Peaches. The recipe has a flavor packed sauce to baste both the chicken and peaches with. I had a few leftover peaches and used them in a salad.

So this morning I made up a batch of the sauce, grilled a few peaches and made a tasty salad for lunch. You could make the sauce and peaches earlier in the day and put the salad together at the last minutes.

[click to continue...]