Max's Grilled Sandwich with Artichoke, Red Pepper, and Smoked Mozzarella

This is something that Max thought up and cooks. Its a quick lunch/dinner since its basically a grilled cheese sandwich with canned artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. He really likes using green chile cheese bread--we are in New Mexico after all. The salad with raisins and slivered almonds is my contribution--got to have green vegetables.


Ingredients
1 quarted artichoke heart (from a can)
1 roasted sweet red pepper (from a can)
smoked mozzarella
2 slices of bread
stone ground mustard
butter

Butter one side of each slice of bread. Pat the artichoke and red pepper dry with a paper towel. Assemble the rest of the ingredients into a sandwich. Pan fry the assembled sandwich, as you would for a grilled cheese sandwich on medium low to medium. Covering the pan will help to melt the cheese and heat the entire sandwich.

Chicken with Pepperoni and Olives in Red Wine Tomato Sauce

This needs to go on polenta or pasta. Rice that is not short grain might work okay if its risotto or the Creole type. But whatever you do, don't put it on short grain Asian rice!

Recipe originally from White Dog Cafe. See my version of the recipe.

Bruschetta

A quick tomato topping for French bread. I add a tiny touch of sesame oil (as in 1/4-1/2 tsp) because I don't actually like raw tomatoes and it helps get rid of the "raw" flavor, and add a bit of nuttiness. Just be careful to not add to much sesame oil, because you want it to be just barely there.

1 minced de-seeded tomato or a few handfuls of halved cherry tomatoes
1 minced shallot or some minced red onion
basil chiffonade or minced parsley
salt
pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp sesame oil

Mix all ingredients together. Serve immediately or let sit for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to combine.

Blueberry Smoothie

I prefer my smoothies to be simple and to have only a few identifiable fruit flavors. You can use this same technique for almost any kind of fruit. I've also done strawberry & banana, mango, mixed berries, etc. Or you could switch the yogurt for ice cream or frozen yogurt and use orange juice instead of milk. There are lots of possibilities. I've never tried chocolate ice cream and coffee, but I'm sure that would also taste wonderful.

I blend my smoothies twice. The first time is to puree the fruit and to mix in the honey since honey does not incorporate well into frozen mixtures. I like to use honey because its natural, convenient, and I always have some around. Sugar needs to be dissolved into a simple syrup before being added. If you have a simple syrup or another type of sweetener (such as Equal) that will mix easily into the smoothie then you can use it instead of the honey. This recipe makes 1 or 2 servings, depending on how much ice you add. Normally I just eyeball my measurements, but I've measured out for you what I'm putting in my smoothies below. By the way, never turn on your blender at full speed (especially with frozen items) and never blend completely dry ingredients or you could potentially break off a blade. Always start at the lowest speed and increase in increments up to the highest speed.


1 or 2 large handfuls of frozen or fresh blueberries
4 oz yogurt (vanilla, strawberry, raspberry, etc)
1 Tbsp honey (or more if desired)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 or 2 handfuls of ice
milk (optional)

Blend blueberries, yogurt, honey, and vanilla. If the mixture does not have enough liquid in it to blend smoothly, add a dash of some milk. Sometimes I throw in a spoonful of Cointreau. Add ice and blend until smooth.

Tuna Nicoise Salad

Recipe from Julia and Jacques Cooking At Home

Frozen Bananas Dipped in Warm Chocolate Sauce

Its not necessarily the prettiest snack, but it tastes good.

Ramen

Ramen with udon noodles, spinach, fish balls. Its what happens to the chicken stock made from the remains of the roast chicken.

Dumplings

Filling ingredients: ground pork, spinach (blanch. squeeze. mince.) or nappa cabbage (salt. let sit for 30 minutes. rinse. squeeze. mince.), shitake mushrooms, shallots, garlic, ginger, white pepper, sesame oil, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Chinese 5 spices, gelled chicken stock (if you have it). Shallots and garlic should be sauted briefly. In this batch I've also added the unusual ingredients, enoki mushrooms and parsley. Everything must be minced.

I make the dumpling skins from a hot water blanched dough. The flour is blanched to prevent the skin from hardening and affecting the texture when the dumplings are cooked. The best way to form the skins is to use a Chinese rolling pin, which is a cyndrical wooden rod about 1 cm in diameter. As each skin is individually rolled out, the edges are rolled thinner, so that the folded dumpling has a consistent width, even on the edges. But to make this process easier, I use my pasta roller and cut out circles. Use lots of flour so the dough does not stick.





A friend asked about how to fold dumplings. I've been folding these ever since I was little, and over the years I've figured out how to make them into nice crescent shapes. It is easier to make the dumplings look pretty if you make your own dough because its more pliable. But if you want to shorten the preparation time, then premade dough wrappers are available at Asian food stores. Until I get my own pictures, here is a link that I just found that uses a technique similar to mine.

Sunday Dinner: Roast Chicken

Herbed Roast Chicken and Gravy

Warm Spinach Salad with Oranges and Slivered Almonds

Roasted Potatoes, Onions, Paprika and Parsley






The roast chicken recipe is from my favorite cookbook, Julia and Jacques Cooking At Home. And, yes, the bird gets Julia's famous butter massage--because she says it likes it.

"Not everything I do with my roast chicken is necessarily scientific . . . For instance, I always give my bird a generous butter massage before I put it in the oven. Why? Because I think the chicken likes it--and, more important, I like to give it." - Julia Child

Warm Spinach Salad with Oranges and Almonds

baby spinach or fresh bunched spinach, washed and dried well
watercress, roots removed, cleaned and washed (optional)
Approx 1 tbsp of Dijon-Balsamic dressing
1 squirt (approx 1 tsp) of soy lime syrup (optional)
1 handful of whole almonds (preferably de-skinned) or sliced almonds
1 peeled seedless orange or tangerine

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix the spinach and watercress with the salad dressing in a separate bowl. Salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the leaves on heat proof plates. Sprinkle the almonds on top of the leaves.

The soy lime syrup is optional and can be varied in the amount depending on if a slightly Asian touch is wanted. Use a ketchup bottle to squirt the soy-lime syrup on top of the salad (if the liquid is to viscous, warm it up slightly in the microwave).

Arrange the orange slices on top.

The salad can be eaten cold or warmed. If you want the spinach wilted then just before serving, heat the prepared oven-proof plates in the oven for 3-4 minutes at 400 degrees until the spinach is slightly melted and the orange pieces are warm. Serve immediately.

Note: An alternate version of this salad can be made using:
juice of 1/4 to 1/2 lime or lemon
zest from lime or lemon
raisins
1 sliced kumquat
candied / sugared walnuts
spinach
same dressing as above (Dijon-balsamic + soy lime syrup)
same preparation as above

Chocolate Souffle

I poured warm chocolate sauce into the middle of the souffle after this was taken. It's not perfect yet (I'd like it to rise more), but it tastes good.

My new fondness for souffle is from Cafe Jacqueline where I had prosciutto, mushroom, and Gruyere souffle and lime souffle for dessert. The idea for chocolate sauce in my chocolate souffle is from Roys @ Spanish Bay Pebble Beach. Frascati served their chocolate souffle with ice cream instead (cinamon ice cream?). But I think I prefer the warm chocolate sauce. Ming Tsai suggests cardamon and chocolate souffle.

Recipe from Cordon Bleu

Mussels & Halibut with Spicy Red Wine Saffron Sauce on Linguine

Mussels & Halibut with Spicy Red Wine Saffron Sauce on Linguine

Mixed Greens with Balsamic Vinaigrette, Croutons, and Slivered Almonds