Ketchup

I’m not going to jump into the fray of what makes a perfect cheeseburger, but what I will say is, don’t overlook the opportunity to jazz up your ketchup.  Last night I topped our open faced caramelized onion bacon cheeseburgers with a dollop of curry ketchup and it made it a whole lot more special without much effort.  I simply stirred in a quarter teaspoon of curry paste into a small bowl of ketchup right out of the bottle.  Think about a squeeze of Sriracha, a spoonful of your favorite barbeque sauce, or a little mayonnaise and relish for a Thousand Island burger.  Then there’s chili and cumin powder for a Mexican twist, or a bit of hoisin and soy sauce if you’re feeling Asian.  And for you purists who aren’t going to mess with it, check out Simply Heinz, it’s the classic recipe minus the high fructose corn syrup.  Happy 4^th!

 

Corn, Cilantro, and Wheat Berry Salad

If you’ve never tried wheat berries you must, it’s a texture like no other and as easy as to prepare as pasta.  You do have to plan a little as they take an hour to cook so best to make more than you need so you can have some leftover for salads or another side dish.  For this corn and cilantro salad simmer your wheat berries in salted water for an hour, strain, and let cool.  Next, husk your corn and slice away the kernels before tossing with the cooked wheat berries, half a bunch of chopped cilantro, a minced garlic clove, the juice of two limes, and coarse salt and pepper to taste.  The longer it sits around before serving the better.  Tomorrow try adding your leftover wheat berries to a spinach salad with a horseradish lemon vinaigrette, or adding to a chicken salad….good stuff.

 



Soft Shell Crabs with Lemon Aioli

Soft shell crabs may look intimidating but as long as your local fishmonger cleans them properly for you they’re actually pretty easy to prepare.  Heat up about an eighth of an inch of vegetable oil in a pan while you prepare a bowl each of flour, stirred eggs, and a half bread crumb half corn meal mixture.  Dredge the crabs individually in each and fry for roughly four minutes per side.  I served them this time with a lemon aioli I concocted by combining a minced garlic clove, lemon juice from half a lemon, and a chopped hardboiled egg in the bottom of a mason jar and stick blending while drizzling in some olive oil.  After chilling for an hour I added salt and ground black pepper to taste. 

Mint and Garlic Infused Lamb Roast

Mint is everywhere and combined with abundant amounts of garlic and salt makes for a very tasty lamb roast.  For maximum flavor you really want to prep the meat the day before and refrigerate overnight.  Hand chop or Cuisinart a bunch of mint, half a head of peeled garlic, black pepper, and at least a couple tablespoons of kosher salt.  Form a paste by adding a little bit of olive oil then apply to all surfaces of your roast, wrap in Saran, and refrigerate until two hours before you plan on cooking.  I like roasting this time of year using indirect heat on the barbeque, but the oven will work too.  If you’re going to serve it with a salad or vegetable a lemon vinaigrette compliments the mint and garlic nicely. 

Orange and Olive Salad

This unlikely combination of navel oranges, olives, and black pepper will leave you wondering why you’ve never had it before.  After peeling, quartering, and thinly slicing my oranges I combined them in a bowl with some pitted Kalamata olives that I halved, my best extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and several grinds of black pepper.  Perfect with a piece of fish or chicken and couldn’t be easier.  And even better with Sicilian blood oranges.

Grilled Shrimp with Scallion Ginger Sauce

I forgot how incredibly tasty a scallion sauce could be until I was inspired to serve this one up with grilled shrimp last week after recently seeing one on a Chinese restaurant menu.  In a Cuisinart after combining one bunch of chopped scallions, a tablespoon each of chopped ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and a half a tablespoon of salt, blend and drizzle about a quarter cup of vegetable or grape seed oil to smooth and thicken.  Salt and pepper your shrimp before cooking then simply toss with the sauce.  Serve hot, warm, or chilled, great either way.  And just as amazing with chicken, pork, or fish. 

Grilled Zucchini with a Balsamic Glaze

You can never have enough condiments at your disposal and I’ve recently found myself going for the ready-made squeeze bottle of Balsamic Glaze more and more these days, it works equally well for chicken, broccoli, pork chops, carrots, and these grilled zucchini .  While the grill was heating I washed, dried, and cut my zucchini into quarter inch slices before tossing with salt, pepper, and a little extra virgin olive oil.  I grilled the zucchini for approximately five to seven minutes on each side so they were soft all the way through but not falling apart…that’s always a bit frustrating.  I immediately tossed them with some fresh mint then garnished with a decorative squeeze of Balsamic glaze.  The glaze is easy enough to make on your own as well by combining two cups of Balsamic Vinegar and a half a cup of brown sugar then reducing on the stove by half.

BBQ Roast Chicken

Spring brings dandelions, daffodils, and rum drinks.  It also brings barbeque weather….so no need to turn on the oven to roast that chicken.  While your barbeque is preheating on high, rinse, pat dry, and cut away the excess fat around the cavity of your chicken before seasoning with salt and pepper, salt and paprika, salt and garlic powder, or whatever mixture of spices you’re in the mood for.  Set the chicken in the back of the grill, drumsticks pointing to the side, and immediately turn off all the burners except for the one furthest from your chicken, leave that one on medium before closing the lid.  If you’re using a charcoal grill the briquettes should all be pushed to one side with your chicken on the other.  If you have a thermostat built in best to keep it between 350 and 400.  From here the hardest part is remembering to turn your bird a quarter turn every twenty minutes, I use a timer.  In approximately an hour and twenty minutes you will have a very moist chicken with the crispiest skin, guaranteed.  In the meantime, enjoy your rum drink.

To carve, lop off the wings, legs, and thighs at the joints in that order.  Then remove the breast whole by sliding your knife from the top between the breast meat and ribs carefully working your way down to separate and get as much meat off of the bone as possible.  It’s a cinch to slice your breast meat thick or thin with the skin intact once it’s removed whole. 

Blackened Tilapia

There are a lot of ways you can go with this blackened tilapia depending on your mood, Mexican, Indian, Asian, Cajun, or in this case, Spanish.  I love the El Rey de la Vera brand of both sweet and hot smoked paprika, it’s the real deal.  And if you can buy it in East Warren, Vermont, I'm sure you can find it all over.  You may have to adjust for the amount of fish you’re preparing but one teaspoon of salt, a half teaspoon of hot, and two teaspoons of sweet paprika should take care of the family dinner.  If you don’t like your food spicy just go heavier with the sweet.  Spread the spice mixture evenly over both sides of your fillets and when your heaviest Teflon pan is super hot cook the fillets approximately five minutes on each side.  They should be good and black and cooked through.  There are no rules for this one so have fun playing around with your spices.  For Mexican try some cumin and chili powder.  Break out the Garam Masala for an Indian twist, or the Five Spice Powder for something Asian…all with salt.  Blackening isn’t just a Cajun thing.

Red Clam Sauce



This dish may be a lot quicker and easier than you would think, and if you use fresh clams it’s sure to become one of your go to favorites.  While bringing your pasta water to a boil finely chop a medium shallot and a clove or two of garlic.  Heat some olive oil in a pot and sauté both along with a sprinkling of red pepper flakes.  Before the shallots and garlic begin to brown add a half a cup of dry white wine if you happen to have a bottle open and reduce on medium heat for several minutes followed by a cup of clam juice.  If you’re not using wine then just use a cup and a half of clam juice, I prefer either the Better than Bullion concentrate or a couple of bottles of the Snow’s clam juice.  Next comes the Marinara sauce, 8 to 12 ounces of your favorite brand is all it takes….and the Rao’s is worth the extra couple of bucks.  When your linguine or spaghetti is nearly ready to drain add a quart of fresh chopped clams and a tablespoon of chopped Italian parsley to your sauce making sure the heat is fairly low so as not to let the clams get rubbery.  Once drained let the noodles bathe in the sauce for a few minutes, stir in some grated parmesan, salt and pepper to taste, and serve with some more parmesan over the top.  Bread is definitely required.

Parsnip "Fettuccine"

Here’s a great twist on parsnips , “Parsnip Fettuccine.”   To start, get some salted water on the stove for blanching and wash your parsnips thoroughly.   Next, hold the top of each parsnip and run a vegetable peeler from one end to the other to create a long ribbon.  Turn and repeat until you’re down to the tough woody core which you can compost or snack on if you’re looking for a quick fiber fix.   Place the parsnip ribbons in the simmering water for 45 seconds, drain into a colander, and rinse with cold water.  Before serving make sure your ribbons are fairly dry, patting with a towel if necessary, then simply toss with extra virgin olive oil, chopped garlic, parsley, and kosher salt.  I’ve also sautéed the ribbons with garlic and thyme instead of blanching, carrots work too.  Try it soon, won’t be long before we have some fresh greens to work with.

Tuna Sashimi

I’ve never attempted to make sushi, too many components to get just right.  But sashimi, that’s another story…as long as you have super fresh fish.  Last Friday I picked up some sushi grade tuna, and while the price per pound sounds like a lot it doesn’t take much to serve up a perfect little appetizer.  This time around I stirred together just enough soy sauce, ginger, and rice vinegar to create a small puddle of sauce on the plate, you don’t want to overwhelm the tuna.  I then topped each piece with the thinnest slice of fresh jalapeno I could manage for the perfect amount of zip.  You could keep it even cleaner and serve simply with your best extra virgin olive oil and dash of coarse salt, or try salmon instead of tuna.  Anyway you do it it’s a real treat.