ON THE TENTH DAY OF HANUKKAH, MY TRUE LOVE MADE FOR ME……

Okay, we know that Hanukkah is only eight days long, but this was a special occasion.  We had driven down to Tampa to visit with Marilyn and Jerry, who were staying with Jamie for New Year’s.  Jamie loves brisket and latkes, so Sherry brought all the proper cooking materials to make the meal.  Cooking in a strange kitchen is always a challenge, and although the kitchen was new and modern, having familiar surroundings helps.  Also helps that brisket is a staple of Southern cooking, so it's always available in the markets.   

The brisket took longer than usual, but slow cooking made it come out sweet, tender and with a very rich gravy.

BRISKET

1 6 lb flat beef brisket

2 onions, chopped

3 heads of garlic, peeled and separated into cloves (or a jar of pre-peeled garlic cloves)

4 jars Heinz Chili Sauce

24 oz RC Cola

1-2 Tbsp. paprika

1 lb. baby carrots

In a large ceramic baking dish with cover, add the onions, garlic, brisket, Chili Sauce, paprika and RC Cola.  Bake at 325 degrees for 2 hours, then add the carrots and continue to cook 1 additional hour, or until the brisket is tender (may take longer). 

Take out the brisket, and slice into pieces against the grain.  Reduce the heat to 250 degrees, add the brisket back to the baking dish, and leave in oven for 30-45 minutes.  Then remove and serve.

LATKES

The recipe can be found in an earlier post.

THE BEST LATKES - BECAUSE SHERRY MADE THEM!

Ahh, latkes, the Hanukkah gift that keeps on giving!  We celebrated the holiday with Sherry’s Best of the Best latkes last night.  Easy to make, delicious to eat.  What a combination.

INGREDIENTS

8-10 russet potatoes, washed and cut into 2 inch chunks (unpeeled)

2-3 onions, roughly chopped into quarters

2 eggs

Kosher salt

Flour, to thicken

Canola oil, for frying

In a food processor, add the onions and potatoes in batches, then add the eggs, and run the processor until everything is fairly chopped, not pureed.  Once you are done, pour the mixture into a colander set over a large bowl, and let drain.

Once drained, in a bowl add the potato/onion/egg mixture, some kosher salt and flour, and mix until you have moist but thickened batter.  Heat the oil in the pan until hot, then add the batter in 2-3 inch spoonfuls, flattening down.  Fry until browned on one side, then turn over and cook until browned. Place latkes on 4-10 layers of paper towels to soak up any excess oil (of which there will be plenty).

Serve with applesauce and sour cream, or with sour cream and applesauce.

If you have an electric frying pan, that seems to make the latkes come out evenly cooked.  Otherwise, use a large frying pan.

CHICKEN IN GREEN SAUCE AND SPANISH-MEXICAN RICE

GREEN SAUCE AND SPANISH-MEXICAN RICE

Years ago, Sherry and I had dinner at Sol Azteca in Boston, and had the Shrimp in Green Sauce, which we loved.  Later, I would make up the sauce at home, so that we could eat it more regularly.  Some time later, we went back to the restaurant to have the Shrimp dish, and it tasted bland compared to our home-made version!

We hadn’t made the sauce for a while, and decided to have it over thinly sliced and grilled boneless chicken breast.  Sherry made up a Spanish-Mexican rice accompaniment, using peppers and caramelized onions.  Simply put, a yummy dish, with one caveat:  the garlic in the sauce will last twenty-four hours after eating!!  This is not necessarily a bad thing.

RICE

1 cup brown rice

2 cups water

1/2 onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1/2 Tsp. each cumin, oregano and paprika

Bring water and rice to a boil in saucepan, then reduce to simmer and cook, 30 minutes, or until all water is absorbed.

Meanwhile, sauté onion in olive oil until well browned, about 15-20 minutes.  Add pepper and cook until pepper is soft.  Mix in spices, then add mixture to cooked rice and stir well.

GREEN SAUCE

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

4 tomatillos, washed and quartered

4 garlic cloves, peeled and quartered

1 jalapeno, seeded and sliced

2 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix all in blender.  Let stand for 1 hour to allow flavors to develop.

Pour sauce over grilled chicken, shrimp or meat (we used chicken).  Breath Mints optional.

PIZZA PIZZA

We had a nice day on Sunday, hiking at the Latta Plantation Nature Preserve and Equestrian Center.  Because the Panthers were playing at home, no one except for a few horsepeople were out on the trails.  The trails meander through woods and by the river, and other than having to look down while walking most of the time, it’s a lovely place to explore.  They offer places to kayak, or to fish for large-mouthed bass, so we will probably go back and fish one day. 

After the hike, we decided to FINALLY make pizza at home.  We hadn’t had the chance to use our pizza stones before, but time was short so we cheated on the crust and purchased a whole wheat crust from Trader Joe’s.  It rolled out very nicely, and Sherry came up, as usual, with some creative toppings.

RECIPE

Whole wheat crust from Trader Joe’s

Tomato sauce on the crust

First Half

12 large shrimp, sautéed in olive oil with chopped garlic, then chopped

½ onion, grilled and cut into 1 inch pieces

Feta cheese, crumbled

Second Half

4 pieces grilled eggplant

Pesto

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

4 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Rub a light layer of olive oil over the stone.  Sprinkle with corn meal.
3. Roll out the crust per instructions, to fit the pizza stone.
4. Spread a layer of tomato sauce over the crust.
5. Add the toppings.

Bake 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Serve hot.

Ess Ess Mein Kindt!

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There are only a few perfect dishes, that once you’ve tried them, you can’t ever have another one made by anyone else.  Sherry’s version of her mother’s Mundel Bread is one of those dishes.  This Holy Grail is given each year as a Hanukkah present to the deserving, and it’s a special gift.  When you make this dish, follow your heart, not the measurements.

ROSE WEINER’S MUNDEL BREAD

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs

1 cup Spry

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. baking powder

Flour, enough to thicken (about 2 cups), more or less

Raisins

Chopped walnuts

Bake at 350 degrees until done.  

CREATIVE LEFTOVERS

What do you do when you have lots of leftovers and you are going away for Thanksgiving?  You combine all the different ingredients to make one wonderful meal. ALL THESE RECIPES WERE SHERRY'S IDEA.  I'm just the poster!!!

We had two mini pumpkins left over from our Pumpkin Risotto adventure, two chicken breasts from the Chicken Soup, and a lot of the roasted garlic from Sherry’s Brisket (prepared when Marilyn and Jerry had visited last week).  We decided to make a Pumpkin Polenta (rather than Pumpkin Gnocchi, which we will try another time) and Chicken with Roasted Garlic and Caramelized Onions.  I found a recipe that called for rendering bacon, and then cooking the ingredients in the bacon fat.  Instead, I poured out the fat and used olive oil instead.  The smoky taste still remained, and with smoked paprika added, the result was “tasty”.

Creamy Pumpkin Polenta

4 strips thick cut bacon, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup pumpkin puree (or the juice of two mini pumpkins)

1 cup whole milk

2 1/2 cups chicken broth (I used the broth from the soup I made)

1 cup polenta (yellow corn meal)

1 cup shredded cheese, any kind (I used Italian 4-chees blend, because it was in the refrigerator)

Creamy Pumpkin Polenta

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat cook the bacon until it is crisp.  Remove the bacon from the pan, and drain the fat.

Still over medium heat add the olive oil.  Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened, about 2 minutes.  Add the paprika, red pepper flakes, and nutmeg and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.    Add the pumpkin puree and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly darker in color, about 2 minutes.

Whisk in the milk to the corn meal.  Add chicken broth to the pot and once it comes to a boil slowly whisk in the polenta.  Cook, stirring constantly, for 8-10 minutes, or until the polenta thickens.  If the polenta seems stiff add a little more milk. Reduce the heat to medium low.

Stir in the shredded cheese until thoroughly melted.  Pour the polenta into a serving dish and garnish with the crisp bacon.  Serve hot.

SHERRY'S CHICKEN BREASTS WITH CARAMELIZED ONIONS AND ROASTED GARLIC

This recipe used pre-cooked chicken breasts.  You can bake chicken breasts, and then follow this recipe.

In a saucepan, sauté ½ chopped red onion and ½ chopped yellow onion (or 1 chopped yellow onion) in olive oil until caramelized, about 5-10 minutes.  Add 10 cloves of roasted garlic, ½ tsp each of paprika, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne, and stir until combined.  Add ¼ cup chicken broth, and cook until reduced by half. 

Pour over chicken breasts and serve.

SOUP SOUP, BEAUTIFUL SOUP!!

It was a rainy day, and everyone seems to be fighting the sniffles, so it became Chicken Soup day.  Sherry's recipe is simple and superb.  If only all recipes were this talented!!!

Ingredients
1 whole chicken, giblets removed, rinsed
1 large onion, peeled
1/2 package baby carrots
water to cover chicken
1-2 Tbsp. Sherry's Secret Bouillon

1.  Salt the chicken with Kosher salt for 5 minutes, then rinse off.
2.  Put chicken, onion and carrots in large pot.  Add water to cover.  Add Sherry's Secret Bouillon.
3.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to rolling boil.  Cover and cook for 1 hour.
4.  Remove chicken.  Can be added to the soup or used for another meal.
5.  Serve with small pasta for adding to the soup (Pastina, Orzo, Bubbela)

Doesn't get much better than this!

THE RAIN IN SPAIN FALLS MAINLY ON THE PLAIN (SHOUT OUT TO HILLARY)

Our friends Mary and Kevin recently took a trip to Spain (Andalucía, Granada, Valencia, Barcelona), partially tracing our route from May.  To celebrate their return, Sherry and I planned to make a Spanish dinner, highlighting the best memories of the meals we had during our trip, as well as my own version of Paella.  We have a 16 inch paella pan, and have always had difficulty just making a small meal with it, so this was the opportunity to bring it out for guests. I had also purchased some Bomba rice in Spain (the recommended rice for paella) and was anxious to see how it came out.

We began with two tapas:  Champiñones Al Ajillo and Patatas Bravas.  These were two of Hillary’s favorite tapas from Barcelona, and started the meal off on the right foot.  The mushrooms are garlicky and sherried, and the potatoes are crunchy with a tomatoe-y aioli sauce.

Champiñones al ajillo (garlic mushrooms)

There are not many tapas recipes more Spanish than this. Gorgeous mushrooms infused with the exotic flavours of spices, olive oil, garlic and Spanish Sherry.

3 Tbsp. olive oil

250g (8 oz) mushrooms, sliced or quartered

6 cloves garlic, sliced, chopped or minced to taste

¼ cup dry sherry

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp pimenton (paprika)

Salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a frying pan or skillet and fry the mushrooms over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic, lemon juice, sherry, paprika, smoked paprika, chili flakes (optional), salt and pepper.

Cook for another 5 minutes or so until the garlic and mushrooms have softened then remove from the heat, and divide up into pre-heated 'little dishes'.

Serve with plenty of fresh, crusty bread to mop up those seriously-garlicky juices.

PATATAS BRAVAS

Ingredients:

3 large baking potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges lengthwise
2 tsp. kosher salt (twice)
1/4 c. cooking oil

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Cover the potatoes with water in a pan. Add the 2 tsp. of salt and boil for 5 minutes. Drain. Heat up the cooking oil in a pan. Tip in all of the potatoes. Stir to coat with oil and additional salt. Transfer to a non stick baking tray or tray with a non-stick liner and bake for 30 minutes or until browned and crisp.  Pour sauce over potatoes and serve.

Bravas sauce:

1/2 c. light mayonnaise
1/4 c. ketchup
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. paprika (or to taste)
1 tsp. sugar
10 drops hot sauce (or to taste)

The tapas were followed by a course of Spanish meats, cheeses, olives and grilled eggplants and peppers.  Salchichon, chorizo, and Jamon Iberico were our usual lunch/snacks while traveling – available everywhere, wide variety of choices, and incredibly tasty.  Manchego cheese, both aged and semi-hard, was the cheese of choice, and green and black olives were fresh and delicious.  In Madrid, we found the Museo del Jamon, which carried a huge variety of hams, salamis and cheeses.

The main course was Paella, with chicken, chorizo, mussels, shrimp, calamari and scallops.  It has a great balance of spice and flavor, but I like the facts that the only spices used in the entire dish are paprika, smoked paprika and saffron (which could be optional if you don’t have any).

The key to making this paella is a lot of advanced preparation.  Saturday or Sunday have always been the days to make paella, so that you are not rushed; you can chop up the ingredients, cook the meats and shellfish before the rice, and assemble the dish just-in-time for dinner.

Turned out that the Calasparra Bomba rice was the perfect rice for paella.  It’s a very small-grained rice, that expands in the middle to absorb the stock, rather than lengthening.  I’ve used short-grained rice before, which works fine, but is more sticky than Bomba.

Paella Nadworniana

Ingredients:

1 green pepper, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 red onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 can diced, tomatoes, drained

1 tsp. paprika (or more to taste)

1 tsp. smoked paprika (or more to taste)

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 lb. calamari rings

1 lb scallops

(alternatively, buy a 1 lb package of Seafood Blend at Trader Joes)

1 lb. mussels, scrubbed

1 chicken breast, cut into small pieces

2 package chorizo, cut into small pieces

1 ½ cups Calasparra Bomba rice (or other short-grained rice

6 cups chicken stock

Directions

1.  Chop the vegetables

Finely chop 1 red onion and 4 cloves of garlic. Place garlic and red onion in one bowl.

Dice 1 red and 1 green pepper.  Place peppers in another bowl.

Place tomatoes in a bowl.  Add paprikas and stir to mix.

2. Prepare the seafood

Peel and devein 16 large raw shrimp (prawns), cut 2 squid tubes into rings, and scrub and debeard 12 fresh mussels. Cover and refrigerate.

3. Make the sofrito        

Sofrito is a Spanish tomato and onion sauce which is used as a flavor base for a variety of dishes, including paella. To make the sofrito, heat 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the paella pan over a medium heat and cook the chopped red onion and garlic for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the pureed tomatoes and paprikas and cook until all the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated and the sofrito has the consistency of jam. Transfer the sofrito to a small bowl and wipe clean the paella pan. 

4.  Cook the mussels

While the sofrito is cooking, place the mussels in a saucepan with half a cup of simmering water. Cover and steam on a low heat for 5 minutes. Remove mussels and set aside, discarding any that haven't opened.

5. Cook the meats

Heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a separate skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken and chorizo and cook, stirring, until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove from heat, place in a bowl and cover.

6. Cook the shrimp, scallops and squid

Heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in the same skillet as the meat over a medium-high heat. Add the scallops, and shrimp and cook for 1½ minutes, tossing continuously. Add the squid rings and cook for a further 1½ minutes. Remove the shrimp and squid from the pan. Place in a bowl, cover and set aside.            

Make the paella:

7. Heat stock and saffron in a saucepot until hot

8. Cook the diced red and green peppers

Heat 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in the paella pan over a medium heat and cook the diced red and green peppers for 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

9. Add the sofrito and rice

Add the sofrito to the pan along with 1½ cups of Spanish Calasparra or Bomba rice (regular medium-grain rice makes a good substitute) and cook for a minute, stirring to coat the grains.       

10.  Add hot stock and saffron

Add heated chicken stock with a pinch of saffron threads. Stir to combine, and bring to a rolling simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, uncovered without stirring. (To make sure the rice cooks evenly you may need to regularly move the paella pan around the heat source, or you can straddle the paella pan over two burners.)

11. Lower the heat and continue cooking           

Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for a further 15-20 minutes without stirring, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.  (If the rice is not fully soft, you may need to add another cup of stock or water to the pan.) After 15 minutes, turn the heat up to medium-high for a minute or so until you can smell the rice toasting at the bottom, then remove the paella pan from the heat. (The toasted rice bottom of paella is called socorrat and is highly prized.)          

12.  Add seafood and meats

Push the meats, shrimp, scallops, mussels and squid into the cooked rice, and stir. Cover the pan with foil or a clean cloth, and let the paella rest for 5 minutes before serving.

13.  Serve paella. Eat happy.

FALL FOLIAGE AND GNOCCHI HARVEST

The weather turned cooler this week.  Saturday was such a nice day that we decided to drive up to Moses Cone State Park, near Blowing Rock, to see the foliage.

It's right off the Blue Ridge Parkway, and while some of the leaves had been blown away by the wind and the change of seasons, there were wonderful walking paths to follow.  Many of them are lined with rhododendrons, and will be beautiful to see in the spring. We walked to Bass Lake and back, around 5 miles.

After such a delightful day, we decided to make Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Gnocchi (with Sage Brown Butter sauce) for dinner, along with Skate in an herb-white wine sauce (which I've posted before).  Very easy and yummy dinner!

WHOLE WHEAT SWEET POTATO GNOCCHI

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, peeled

1 – 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour (or use white flour)

1 egg, slightly beaten (or ¼ cup fake eggs)

Pinch of salt

Making the gnocchi. 

Start by peeling your sweet potatoes and cut them into large 2 inch cubes.  Also, get a large pot of salted water boiling (use about 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt per gallon of water). Drop these chunks of potatoes straight into the water and let them cook until they are very tender, about 20 minutes.

After cooking and draining, move the potatoes to a bowl lined with paper towels which will soak up a lot of water.  Let them rest for a few minutes. The key to making these gnocchi light is to ultimately add as little flour as possible to the dough.  That means that you need to draw out as much water as possible from the cooked potatoes. 

Then add your dried potatoes to a much larger bowl and mush them up with a fork or potato masher. The potatoes need to cool completely

Once your sweet potatoes have cooled, add the one egg and mix it well.  Then slowly add your flour, 1/4 of a cup at a time, until the dough starts to come together.

Ultimately, you want something that is very soft, but manageable.  Something like loose Play-Doh.  I ended up adding about 1.5 Cups flour.  Knowing how much flour to add is where experience comes in.  If you just follow the recipe you might end up with gnocchi that don’t hold together or are as hard as a rock.

Just work slowly.  Eventually, your dough should look something like this.

Forming the gnocchi.  To form the gnocchi, take about 1/4 of the dough and add it to a well floured surface.  Turn it around to coat it completely in flour and then start slowly rolling it into a long snake.  Try to get it as even a thickness as possible.  You’re going for about the thickness of your thumb. 

Once you get the rope of gnocchi to the right width, chop it into 1/2 inch sections!

Optional (I didn't).  You can just cook these as is, but if you want them to have a more traditional feel, you need to add the gnocchi ridges.  Take each little gnocchi nugget and roll it gently over the tines of a fork.  The dough should be very soft and it won’t take much pressure to leave the impressions of the fork on the gnocchi. Once you make the ridges, set the gnocchi on a very lightly floured baking sheet while you do the others.

Cooking the gnocchi.  Add as many as you need to a pot of simmering, water.  A rolling boil will destroy your work!  When they float (like Matzo Balls), they are done!

Storing the gnocchi. Gnocchi that you don’t eat immediately can be frozen for later (and this recipe makes a LOT of gnocchi).  Just freeze them on a baking sheet and when they are completely frozen you can store them in a plastic bag for weeks without a problem.  No need to thaw before cooking.  Just add them straight to the boiling water.

SAGE BROWN BUTTER SAUCE

Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until butter solids are brown and have toasty aroma, swirling pan occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Add chopped sage (mixture will bubble up). Turn off heat. Season sage butter generously with salt and pepper.

You can taste them from the picture alone!

We Are The 99 Percent

Last weekend, we engaged in Sherry's passion of the current season, Occupy Charlotte.  While avoiding the NY Yankee hats (the 1%), we marched to the Bank of America headquarters along with several hundred others.  It was not catered, and we developed a great appetite from the constant chanting.

After our exertions, there was only one way to celebrate the activity - with legumes!!!!!

SPICY RED LENTIL SOUP

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

¼ lb regular or turkey bacon, chopped

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. cayenne

2 cups red lentils (or brown)

6 cups chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes

2 Tbsp. lime juice

In large Dutch oven or skillet, heat oil, add onions and bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until bacon is cooked. Add garlic and cook 3 minutes.  Add spices, lentils, tomatoes and broth, increase heat to high until boiling, then reduce to low, cover and simmer until lentils are fully split apart and tender, 30-45 minutes.  Add lime juice, stir to mix, and adjust with salt and pepper to taste.  Soup can be chilled and reheated.

CUBANA BE CUBANA BOP

The weather warmed up considerably this weekend, and we were stimulated to try and cook a Cuban-themed dinner.  Perhaps it was our participation in the Occupy Charlotte activities (channeling Che?), or perhaps it just seemed to fit the warmth.  Sherry recommended that we use pork chops and black beans, and she made a wonderful Peach Chipotle Salsa for the meal.  The pork was marinated in a traditional Cuban mixture of flavors, and served with spicy black bean cakes.

PUERCO CUBANA WITH BLACK BEAN CAKES

2 Pork Chops

Cuban Marinade

8 Cloves of garlic
Juice of 3 large lemons
1 tsp. ground oregano
1 cup sour orange juice, or 1 Cup of Orange Juice with the juice of 1 large lime
5 tsp of salt

1 tsp. cumin
2 teaspoon of olive oil

Smash the garlic cloves in a mortar or garlic press.

Mix the sour orange juice, lime juice, oregano, garlic, olive oil and 1/ 2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside about 1/2 cup of this mix (the marinating sauce) to be used when serving. Place meat in a large non-metal container and pour the rest of mix over the meat. Rub the remaining salt thoroughly on all surfaces of the meat. Place in the refrigerator and let stand for 2 to 3 hours.

Grill over barbecue grill.  Top with Spicy Peach Salsa (chopped peaches, diced red onion, chopped chipotle in adobo, lime juice, olive oil)

Black Bean Cakes

Ingredients

•        7 tablespoons olive oil

•        1 small onion (5 to 6 ounces), cut into small dice

•        2 teaspoons minced garlic

•        3/4 cup cornmeal or all-purpose flour

•        2 tablespoons Emeril's Original Essence

•        Two 15.5-ounce cans black beans, drained and quickly rinsed

•        2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish

•        1 egg, lightly beaten (or ¼ cup Eggbeaters)

•        1 teaspoon ground cumin

•        1 teaspoon ground coriander

•        2 teaspoons hot sauce

•        2 Tbsp. rice winegar

Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. When it is hot, add the onion and cook until soft and lightly caramelized, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Place the flour in a shallow bowl or plate, and stir in the Essence. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl (or in a food processor/blender), mash the black beans well with the back of a fork -- the mixture should be relatively smooth, with no whole beans remaining. Stir in the cooled onion mixture, cilantro, egg, cumin, coriander, and hot sauce and mix well. Add the corn meal mixture and mix well. 

Divide the mixture into 8 evenly sized patties (about 1/3 cup each).

Heat the remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the patties (the cakes will be delicate). Cook the cakes until golden brown on both sides and heated through, about 2 minutes per side.


SPICY PEACH SALSA


Sherry's notes:  I had some peaches that were too mealy to eat, so I chopped them up and added red onion, chipotle in adobo, minced jalapeno, olive oil and honey and fresh lime juice. Mixed together, it adds the flavor of Havana Gila to the dish!

If necessary, season with salt. Garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

GRILLED WHOLE SNAPPER WITH SALSA AND CASSOULET

We have not been regular customers of cooked whole fish, other than trout.  We love the Szechuan Whole Crispy Fish when we eat out, but for some reason, we have stayed away from buying and cooking whole fish.  That changed over this past weekend, when we saw some beautiful whole Red Snapper at the fish counter, and decided to give it a try. Cleaned and gutted, it was an easy preparation to grill, and came out just wonderfully.  I just rubbed olive oil, garlic, rosemary and salt over the fish and grilled it.  Sherry made a tomato-olive salsa to accompany it, along with Cassoulet (the Nadworny version of the classic Gascony dish).  We plan to try a variety of other ways to cook the fish in the future - perhaps Thai or Greek-style marinade or sauce on the fish.  Here's the Mediterranean version we made.

Ingredients

·         1 1/4- to 1 1/2-pound whole red snapper, cleaned and scaled

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crumbled

·         3 tablespoons olive oil

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

Directions

1. Light the grill. Rinse the fish; dry the surfaces and cavities thoroughly. Cut shallow incisions in a crisscross pattern, about 1 inch apart, in each side of fish. Rub the surface and inside of the fish using the oil, the garlic, the chopped dried rosemary, and the teaspoon salt.
2. Put the fish in a grill basket or onto a very clean grill rack. Cook over moderately high heat for 7 minutes. Turn and grill until golden and just done, about 7 minutes longer. Remove the fish carefully so it doesn't stick.
3. Serve the fish on a platter. Run a knife between the flesh and the bones and lift off the fillet. Turn the fish over and repeat. Repeat with the other fish.

SALSA

2 diced plum tomatoes

½ diced red onion

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

½ cup chopped pitted kalamata oilives

1 Tbsp capers

½ squeezed lime juice, or 2 Tbsp. lime juice

3 Tbsp. olive oil

 

Mix well together.

CASSOULET

·         Olive oil, to coat skillet

·         1/4 pound turkey or regular bacon, cut into small pieces

·         2 shallots, minced (you can also use red onion instead)

·         3 Tbsp. minced garlic (from jar)

·         2-3 cans (15 oz) cannellini (white) beans, drained

·         1 bunch swiss chard (any type, although Bright Lights looks prettier), washed 3 times and chopped

In large skillet, add olive oil.  Over low-medium heat, add bacon, and cook until rendered (fairly well cooked), stirring frequently.  Add chopped shallots and garlic, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.

Add chopped chard and drained beans.  Stir to mix well.  Cover for 3-4 minutes, until chard has wilted.  Remove cover, and cook, stirring, until most liquid is evaporated (and when some beans stick to the bottom of the pan).

Serve.