Avocado Lovin’

I hate to say it, but summertime is quickly passing.  This summer I have taken full advantage of the deliciously ripe avocados that we are blessed with in California, and have been putting them on just about everything.  Tonight I bought a few avocados and had a little fun with a couple delicious recipes.  When I get home from work I’m not usually ready for dinner, but I’m always hungry for a little something.  The first dish I made was a little avocado bruschetta – so simple and easily one of my new favorite snacks.  Then for dinner I made a steak with an avocado sauce recipe that I’ve wanted to test for a while.  All I can say it that I’m bummed I didn’t make this recipe before tonight, but from here on out this will be an easy go-to dinner.  The third and final recipe that I have here is my guacamole.  I can’t even count the times I have made guac this summer – there’s something about chips, guacamole, and a margarita on a hot summer day that really puts me in my happy place. J

Tomato Avocado Bruschetta

(Makes a good appetizer for 4-6 people)

Ingredients:

Baguette

Olive oil

2 ripe avocados

About 1 cup cherry tomatoes

Good balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions:
Cut the baguette at an angle in ½ in slices. Lay the slices onto a cooking sheet, brush with a little bit of olive oil and place under a low/medium broil for a few minutes – or until they are golden brown.  This way is faster than baking the bread, but it can burn fast so make sure to watch your bread.  Turn the pieces over and broil on the other side for another minute or so.

Slice the avocado into half-moons and quarter each of the tomatoes.   Lay the avocados on the toasted bread and sprinkle with a tiny bit of kosher salt.  Place the tomatoes on top of the avocado and drip a few drops of good balsamic vinegar over each of the pieces.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and enjoy!
 

Pan Seared Rib Eye and Avocado Sauce

(2 servings)

Ingredients:

2 Boneless Rib Eye Steaks – each about 1 – 1½ inches thick
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Onion powder, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
Chili powder, to taste
Cumin, to taste
Dried oregano, to taste
Canola oil

Directions:
Allow the steaks to come to room temperature – this ensures an even cooking time.  Place a skillet (either a good stainless steel skillet or a cast iron skillet) in the over and pre heat to 450 degrees.  When the oven reaches temperature, carefully remove the skillet and place on the range over high heat. 

Sprinkle each side of the steaks with the seasonings, to taste.  Brush a little bit of the oil on each side of the steaks, to coat. 

Immediately place the steaks in the hot, dry skillet.  Cook 30 seconds without moving.  Turn with tongs and cook another 30 seconds, then put the pan straight into the oven for 2 minutes.  Flip the steaks and cook for another 2 minutes.  (This time is for medium-rare steaks, if you prefer medium, add a minute to both of the oven turns.)

Remove the steaks from the skillet, cover loosely with foil and rest for 5-10 minutes.

Avocado Sauce

Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado
1/3 cup fresh cilantro

2 gloves of garlic

Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

1 ½ Tbsp olive oil

½ Tbsp red wine vinegar

Juice from 1 large lime

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.  Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. 

After the steaks have rested, cut into thin strips and serve with the avocado sauce.  Enjoy!

KK’s Guac

Makes a batch big enough for sharing J

Ingredients:

5 large, ripe avocados
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 minced garlic cloves
½ finely chopped red onion
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 lime, juiced
Kosher salt, to taste
Crumbled cotija cheese

Directions:
Scoop the flesh of the avocados out of their shells and into a large bowl.  Add the lime juice, tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, red onion, jalapeno and salt and toss well.  I use my fork to mix the guacamole and to break up the avocados.  Taste the guac and add more salt or lime juice if needed.  Sprinkle the cotija cheese over the top and serve with tortilla chips.  Add some good company, an ice cold marg, the summertime sun and enjoy!

Parmesan and Herb Risotto Cakes with a Quick Marinara

As promised in the last post here is my recipe for risotto cakes. Serve these with my quick little marinara and voila you have the perfect appetizer for any dinner party - or just whenever! Day old risotto is best to use, or just make risotto and spread it out on a cookie sheet and stick in the refrigerator until it becomes chilled and firm. 

Risotto Cakes
(Makes around 12-15 cakes)

Ingredients:
2 cups of chilled leftover parmesan and herb risotto (recipe can be found in my last blog post)
2 large eggs, beaten to blend
3/4 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup panko
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive Oil

Quick Marinara - This makes a smaller batch as I am only using it as a dipping sauce, but feel free to make a bigger batch and use the leftover for pasta - fresh sauce is always the best =]

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 yellow onion grated or finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper
2 garlic cloves minced
1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil


Directions:
To make sauce: Heat 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat.  Add grated onion, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is softened and lightly browned, about 7 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Stir in tomatoes and sugar, bring to a simmer and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes (make risotto cakes while sauce is simmering).  Off heat, stir in basil and oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.

While sauce is cooking, stir together the chilled risotto, eggs, and parmesan.  Form balls with the risotto and then pat the balls into patties about 3 inches in diameter.  Mix the panko with the tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley and a little salt and pepper.  Spread the panko in a shallow dish and heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the patties in the panko mixture turning once to coat.  When the oil is hot place the patties in the pan and cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side until the risotto cakes are crisp and nicely browned.  Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep warm in a 200 degree oven for up to 30 minutes.  Continue cooking in batches, adding oil as necessary, until all the cakes are fried.  Serve hot with a side of marinara.  Enjoy!!!

Parmesan and Herb Risotto with Pan Seared Scallops and a Lemon Browned Butter Sauce

This was an awesome meal that I’ve made a couple times now.  The lemon browned butter sauce was probably the hardest part of this meal.  I actually burned my browned butter the first time because I was making a smaller portion and it burns VERY quickly so don’t stop swirling the pan!  I got the recipe for the pan seared scallops from my favorite cookbook, Cooks Illustrated, and they explain their reasoning behind this particular method of cooking and basting the scallops…

            “We found that waiting to add the scallops to the skillet until the oil was beginning to smoke, cooking the scallops in two batches instead of one, and switching to a nonstick skillet were all steps in the right direction.  But it wasn’t until we tried a common restaurant technique – butter basting- that our scallops really improved.  We seared the scallops in oil on one side and added butter to the pan after flipping them.  We then used a large spoon to ladle the foaming butter over the scallops.  Waiting to add the butter ensured that it had just enough time to work its browning magic on the scallops, but not enough time to burn…”

So there ya go!  I suggest that you serve this beautiful meal with some roasted asparagus – my recipe is posted on this blog!Also I'm going to post a recipe for Fried Risotto Balls or Arancini - if you wanna be fancy =]  Bon Appetite!

Parmesan and Herb Risotto with Pan Seared Scallops and a Lemon Browned Butter Sauce

(Yields 4 servings)

Ingredients:

(Risotto)

1 can (49 ounces) low sodium chicken broth

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cups Arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine

¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

3 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian parsley

3 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

Zest from a whole lemon

Juice from half a lemon

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

Scallops and Sauce:

12-16 about 1 ½ lbs large sea scallops (enough for 3-4 per person), tendons removed

Salt and Pepper

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small shallot, minced

1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme

2 teaspoons lemon juice

Salt and pepper

Directions:

For the risotto: bring the broth just to a simmer in a saucepan.  Reduce the heat to very low to keep the broth hot. 

In a deep, wide saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter.  Add the onion and cook stirring frequently until translucent, about 5 minutes.  Add the rice and stir until the rice kernels are covered with the butter and the rice feels heavy in the spoon (do not toast the rice) about 2 minutes.  Add the wine and cook stirring constantly until the wine has almost evaporated. 

Add ½ cup of the hot broth to the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice has almost completely absorbed the liquid.  Adjust the heat to medium-low to keep the risotto at a steady slow simmer.  Continue adding the broth, ½ cup at a time, stirring until the broth is almost completely absorbed before adding the next addition.  After about 15 minutes start tasting your rice to ensure that you don’t overcook it, one too many ladles can take your rice from al dente to overdone.  When your rice is al dente take it off the heat and stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter and Parmesan.  Finally, add the lemon juice, zest, and herbs.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

For the scallops: place scallops in between a few paper towels and press gently to blot liquid.  Let scallops sit at room temperature 10 minutes while towels absorb moisture. 

Sprinkle scallops on both sides with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking.  Add half of scallops in single layer, flat-side down, and cook, without moving, until well browned, 1 ½ to 2 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to skillet.  Using tongs, flip scallops and continue to cook, using large spoon to baste scallops with melted butter (tilt skillet so butter runs to one side) until side of scallops are firm and centers are opaque, 30-90 seconds longer (remove smaller scallops as they finish cooking).  Transfer scallops to a large plate and tent loosely with aluminum foil.  Wipe out skillet with wad of paper towels and repeat cooking with remaining oil, scallops and butter.  Serve immediately with the following lemon browned butter sauce.

For the lemon browned butter sauce: (makes about ¼ cup)

Heat 4 tablespoons butter in small saucepan over medium heat and cook, swirling pan constantly, until butter turns dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma, 4 to 5 minutes.  Add shallot and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Remove pan from heat and stir in parsley, thyme and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve risotto with scallops and lemon browned butter drizzled over the top of the scallops. 

Enjoy!

Chicken Saltimbocca

This is definitely my new favorite chicken dish.  I found this recipe in a cookbook that I got for Christmas which I absolutely love, it's the Cooks Illustrated cookbook and I think it literally has every recipe you could possibly want.  Normally this dish is made with veal, but chicken was readily available so I went with that.  When I made this I was planning on just making it for my dad and I, but he called me last minute informing me we were having company over and luckily it's easy enough that the extra servings were no problem to make. 

Chicken Saltimbocca
Yields 4 servings

Ingredients:
4 (6-8 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, tenderloins removed, trimmed
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp minced fresh sage
8 thin slices prosciutto
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cups dry vermouth or dry white wine
2 tsp lemon juice
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and chilled
1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley

Directions:
Halve the chicken horizontally (as if you were butterflying it open, but cut all the way through) then cover the chicken with plastic wrap and pound to an even 1/4-inch thickness with meat pounder or saute pan.  Combine flour and 1 tsp pepper in a shallow dish. 
Pat chicken dry with paper towels.  Working with 1 cutlet at a time, dredge in flour mixture, shaking off excess and transfer to work surface.  Sprinkle cutlets evenly with minced sage.  Place 1 prosciutto slice on top of each cutlet, covering sage, and press lightly to help it adhere.
Heat 2 Tbsp oil in 12-inch skillet over medium high heat until shimmering.  Place 4 cutlets, prosciutto side down, and cook over medium high heat until golden brown on first side, about 3 minutes.  (By placing the chicken prosciutto side down, the fat from the ham is released which helps it stick to the chicken - this is why we don't use toothpicks in this recipe).  Flip cutlets, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook until no longer pink and slightly browned on second side, about 2 minutes longer.  Transfer cutlets to large platter and cover with foil to keep warm.  Wipe out skillet with paper towels.  Repeat with remaining 2 Tbsp oil and remaining four cutlets, and transfer to platter. 
For the Sauce: Pour off all fat left in the skillet.  Add vermouth, scraping up any browned bits.  Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced to about 1/3 cup, 5-7 minutes.  Stir in lemon juice.  Reduce heat to low and whisk in butter, 1 Tbsp at a time.  Off heat, stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Pour sauce over chicken and serve immediately. 

Bon Appetit!

Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna

I've made this recipe a couple times and it's probably one of my favorite ways to make tuna.  The most important part of the recipe is making sure you have good fresh ahi tuna.  The other day I was in Newport and I decided to wander over to Bear Flag Fish Company to check out their seafood selection and they had awesome tuna available so that made my dinner decision quite easy that night.  One of the best things about cooking tuna is that it literally takes 30-40 seconds per side to cook so this dinner comes together very quickly.  The dish works great over a salad or with some fried rice and a veggie. (Stay tuned for my homemade fried rice recipe =] )

Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna
Yields 3 servings

Ingredients:
3 Tuna steaks about 6 ounces each
Marinade/Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 lime - juiced
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger (or you can mince it but grating the ginger helps to get rid of its tiny hairs)
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp sesame oil

Directions:
To make the marinade add all the marinade ingredients and mix well.  Reserve some of the sauce in a separate container to use as a dipping sauce.  Get a glass baking dish or other non-reactive container to marinade the tuna in.  You can also pour the marinade into a large zip lock bag, add the tuna and then squeeze out the air.  Make sure that the tuna is completely covered by the marinade and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour, turning the tuna about half way through. 
Remove tuna from fridge and let stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes or so - you do this because you don't want the tuna to be cold when you sear it. 
Remove the tuna from marinade, shaking off any excess marinade and dry on paper towels. 
Heat a saute pan over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp of sesame oil.  The oil should be hot but not smoking.
Add the tuna to the hot saute pan and shake it a bit to make sure the tuna does not stick.  Sear for 30-40 seconds on both sides. 
Sprinkle with some toasted sesame seeds and enjoy!

Red Wine-Balsamic Sauce

I was sifting through some of my old recipes the other day and came across this gem.  It can literally be used for almost any type of meat.  The original recipe was used over salmon which I found a bit strange as I would normally pair a sauce like this with red meat, but feel free to chose your protein. 

Red Wine- Balsamic Reduction Sauce
Yields - about 1/4 cup which is enough for 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small shallot minced
1 thyme sprig
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 cups dry red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
4 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil.  Add the shallot and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 4 minutes.  Add the thyme sprig, black pepper, red wine, and balsamic vinegar and boil over high heat until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 12-15 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the cream, then whisk in the butter, 1 Tbsp at a time.  Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.  Strain into a bowl and serve over a protein of your choosing.  Enjoy!

The Perfect Holiday Pumpkin Meringue Pie

Happy Holidays!!!
Once again I am sorry for the absence, I really need to get better about blogging on a more regular basis.  I have dedicated the next hour or so to putting recipes up so hopefully that will make up for my recent absence.  This first recipe was my first attempt at making meringue and after some coaching from my mom and grandma I figured it out and it was delicious! Meringue can be a bit intimidating, but if you give it the time it deserves you will not be disappointed.  With this pie you can be adventurous and make your own pastry dough, but honestly both of my grandmothers used the frozen Pillsbury pie crusts when I was growing up so I decided to follow in their footsteps. Also be sure to make your pie in the morning before getting the turkey or roast in, because it does take about 4 hours to cool completely, so you're going to want to get it out of the way. 

Ingredients:
1 frozen pie crusts
Filling:
1 15oz can solid pack pumpkin (about 2 cups)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Meringue
4 large egg whites AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
Pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Roll out your pie crust onto a 9-inch glass pie plate.  Prick the bottom of the dough several times.  Bake the pie crust for about 15-20 minutes or just until the dough begins to turn a very light golden brown.  Take the crust out and let it cool.

Meanwhile, make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt.  Whisk in the eggs 1 at a time.  Whisk in the cream and vanilla.
Lower the oven to 350 degrees.  Pour the filling into the crust.  Bake for 45 minutes, or until the custard is firm around the rim and slightly jiggly in the center.  Transfer the pie to a baking sheet.

Make the meringue: In a bowl, beat the egg whites (which are at room temperature) at medium speed until frothy - about 3 minutes.  Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form.  Slowly beat in the superfine sugar - about a tablespoon at a time.  Add the vanilla.  Increase the speed to medium high and beat until the meringue becomes stiff and glossy, about 2 minutes longer. 
Scoop the meringue onto the warm pie, spreading and swirling it decoratively, be sure the meringue touches the crust all around because as it cools it will shrink up a little bit.  Bake the pie on the middle rack of the oven for about 10 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned.  Transfer the pie to a wire rack to cool completely - at least 4 hours.