Blood Orange Tapenade Citronette � Cheating and proud of it!

Sometimes you just have to cheat. I was planning to serve a beautiful seared Ahi tuna loin. I wanted to slice it and serve it on an olive Tapenade. This is a classic combination in the Mediterranean, but I had one problem, I didn�t have the hour it was going to take to shop for, and mince the 12 ingredients that go into my Tapenade recipe. Lucky, I live near a Trader Joes (a CostPlus World Market, or Whole Foods would have also worked), so I went in and bought a jar of prepared green olive Tapenade. Before it went into the basket I carefully checked the ingredients� nothing but vegetables and spices! It was incredibly close to the one I make from scratch, and so I decided to use it guilt-free.

When I got home a quick taste-test confirmed my belief I had made a great decision. It tasted great and I was ready to move on to the tuna. So the point is, if you�re going to �cheat� and use prepared foods, make sure they�re high-quality and all natural. Now, this Tapenade would have made a great accompaniment for my seared tuna all by itself, but I decided to dress it up with some blood orange juice and olive oil as you�ll see in this demo. Bye the way, this mixture is fantastic on almost anything from grilled fish to roasted vegetables. It�s low-carb (as in almost no-carb) and since a small amount goes a long way, it�s also fairly low-cal.

4 tbl green olive Tapenade
1 small blood orange (or half a regular juice orange)
2 tbl olive oil
salt to taste
cayenne to taste

Read More

Spicy Mediterranean Chicken with Sausage Stuffed Cherry Peppers

A culinary tour of the Mediterranean! Succulent Chicken thighs, artichoke hearts, olive, pepperoncini, and sausage stuffed cherry peppers! WARNING: This is an intense food experience, not for the bland palettes of the world.

As I mention in the clip, if you want this dish to be less spicy and intense, drain the pepperoncini before adding. This is great on top of rice or pasta. By the way, I got the inspiration for this dish from my Uncle Bill, who stuffs the �Peppadews� (a great brand of jarred cherry peppers from South Africa) with sausage and grills them as an appetizer.

Ingredients:
6 Chicken Thighs
1 Onion
1 Cup Sliced Pepperoncini
18 Cherry Peppers (Pepperdew if possible)
6-8 Oz. Italian Sausage
Herb De Provence
Salt And Pepper
Cumin
14 Oz Can Artichoke Hearts
1/2 Cup Greek Olives, Pitted
Olive Oil
Chicken Stock
Fresh Herbs to Garnish

Read More

Portuguese Kale and Sausage Soup

This is a wonderful and easy soup that will really hit the spot on a chilly fall night. You can use any spicy sausage in this, but the Portuguese Linguisa is traditional. Here I used a Spanish Chorizo, which was very nice.

As I mention in the clip, be careful not to add too much potato. This is mainly a Kale soup flavored with the spicy sausage. The potato is only there to slightly thicken, and give the soup its silky texture.

I stole this recipe from an after-hours diner in San Francisco called Grubstake. It is traditionally enjoyed at 3AM, while gazing at a wild assortment late night characters. Hey, is that a dude? By the way, its hangover preventing goodness is legendary!

Read More

Almond and Parsley �Salsa Verde� � It�s easy being green!

As you watch me make this delicious and versatile condiment, you might be thinking to yourself, wait a minute, that�s a pesto. Well, it basically is. The reason I�m calling it a �salsa verde� and not a pesto, is because whenever you say �pesto� people instantly think of the traditional (and DONE TO DEATH) version with the pinenuts and basil. Now, I have no problem with a nice, properly made pesto. But, I was in the mood for something completely different. By the way, there�s nothing I hate more than Chefs arguing terms and names� �That�s NOT a Confit, it�s a Compote!!� or �That�s not a marinade you idiot, it�s a wet rub!� �Every professional chef or cook reading this knows exactly what I�m talking about. You�ve heard my rule before; if you make it, you get to name it! For example, my Salmon Mango Bango, ridiculous name, but no one can do a damn thing about it.

So, I�m using the term �Salsa Verde� the way it�s used around Northern California. It�s a very generic term for any fresh green sauce, usually starring some type of herb, but also can be made with spinach, arugula, etc. If you are a regular to this site you�ll see me do many versions of salsa verde, especially when the weather gets a bit warmer. (to combat Christmas shopping stress I want you all to close your eyes and for one minute picture a warm, sunny meadow, lush with fresh herbs) ahhhh, that�s better.

This is a great sauce to experiment with by switching out the nuts, herbs and oils used. Hopefully you saw the Piquillo Pepper video, which this sauce was amazing on. I also had the left-overs on a piece of seared salmon which was sublime.

Read More

Piquillo Peppers stuffed with Orange and Cumin Scented Goat Cheese - Welcome to the Wonderful World of �Tapas!�

I LOVE tapas! Here is the Wikipedia definition: Tapas (pronunciation: TAH-pas) are a variety of Spanish appetizers, such as mixed olives, cheeses, or an elaborate creation like battered and fried baby squid. In Spain, tapas are usually given for free to accompany a drink before dinner. In the United States and the United Kingdom, tapas have evolved into an entire cuisine where patrons order many different small Spanish dishes and combine them for a full meal.

Well, this clip you�re about to watch is my favorite all-time tapas plate. The amazing Piquillo pepper stuffed with cumin and orange scented goat cheese. Words really don�t do it justice. By the way, these just aren�t any roasted red peppers. They are the world famous piquillo peppers!

They�re sweet, slightly piquant, and unlike anything you�ve had before. They come from the Ebro River Valley, in Northern Spain. They are slow roasted over charcoal, where they lose almost 60% of their weight in water, which results in their legendary intense flavor. Find these! And eat these! These are very common in any decent gourmet store or of course online.

By the way, I�m going to show you how to make the Almond and Parsley Salsa Verde that I top these with in another post.

Read More