Roasted Cod With Summer Veggies

I was looking to make a light summer dish on a very humid evening and I came up with this from some veggies I got from my local farm. I made a one bowl salsa with tomatoes, black olives, capers, red onion, olive oil, lemon juice and zest, fresh parsley, salt and pepper. I placed the cod loins on a parchment lined sheet pan, seasoned them with salt and pepper, topped with the salsa and roasted it in the oven at 375 for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile I made a simple salad with baby spinach, sliced raw zucchini and grated carrot. I tossed the salad with olive oil, salt and pepper and arranged it on a platter. After the cod was cooked I placed it on the salad and dinner was served in less than an hour. 

I didn't really measure anything, I just winged it for the 2 pounds of cod I got at the fish market. It was so light, refreshing and delicious enough to serve to company. I looked beautiful too!!
*garlic bread and a nice white wine makes a perfect summer deck meal
**don't forget a nice fruit salad for dessert

Naranjini... Mexican Style Rice Balls

I had some leftover yellow cilantro rice in the fridge so I decided to put a "MexItalian" spin on arancini. It was a nice change of pace and now everyone wants the recipe so here it is.

For the rice:
1 cup of jasmine rice
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of Goya Adobo
1 teaspoon of Goya Sazon
3 tablespoons of butter
salt and pepper 
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
3 green onions sliced
I added the adobo, sazon, salt, pepper and butter to the water and brought it to a boil. I added the rice and simmered it until it was soft and all the liquid was absorbed. Off the heat I added the cilantro and green onion and fluffed it with a fork.

For the Naranjini:

3 eggs

1-2 tablespoons of maseca (what you use to make corn tortillas).

a pinch of cayanne pepper 

chunks of american cheese, or a melting cheese of your choice

Mix well, roll into balls while tucking a chunk if cheese in the middle.

With wet hand moisten the balls and coat them with panko bread crumbs.

Set them in the fridge to set, about 1/2 hour. Fry on medium heat until golden brown.

*These are a delicious starter, side dish or snack

*Be careful when adding the salt because there is already salt in the adobo and sazon

Shrimp and Bacon Paella with Peas and Carrots

Today I decided to put together a paella from what I had in my pantry and freezer and it turned out really good! I learned that making a paella is very forgiving because I didn't measure the rice and liquid to the 2 to 1 normal rice cooking method. I just kept tasting the rice and I added more liquid until the rice was tender and the liquid was absorbed. These are the approximate measure of ingredients I used:
4 slices of bacon cut up
3 tablespoons of butter
1 large shallot diced
1 large carrot peeled and diced
2-3 cups of Jasmine rice
1 teaspoon of Sazon with saffron
1/4 cup of champagne (it's what I had opened but you can use white wine)
a little chili paste (optional)
1 32oz box of chicken stock
3/4 cup of frozen peas
1 pound of shrimp 
sliced scallions
chopped flat leaf parsley
salt and pepper to taste

I crisped the bacon right in the paella pan and removed it. Next I added the butter to the pan and sauteed the shallots and carrots until soft, then I added the rice, salt, pepper, chili paste and sazon and coated the rice with the butter and slightly toasted. Now I added the champagne and cooked it off, added the whole box of chicken stock and a pinch of the parsley and I simmered it until the rice was tender and all the liquid was absorbed, make sure you taste and re season if needed,you might need to add more liquid. Next I sprinkle the peas over the top and arranged the shrimp in a pretty pattern, cover and steam until the shrimp turned pink and were cooked through. I garnished with the scallions, bacon and parsley. I hope you try this one it was de-lish!!
*a simple one pan dinner
**play around with the ingredients according to what you have on hand
***you can definitely serve this to company with a nice salad and a glass of wine

Chili Lime Chicken Thighs

I have been in a Mexican/Asian vibe this week. Stealing flavors on both sides. I had some chicken thighs in the fridge and this is what I came up with, pulling things willy nilly from my pantry and fridge. I love chili, I love lime, I love soy sauce, I love, love, love Tajin, I love ginger garlic sesame......
I made a marinade, let the chicken thighs bathe in it at room temp for a couple hours, and oven baked it at 350 for 1 1/2 hours, until shiny and golden red. Then I dressed it with sesame seeds, cilantro and lime wedges. See photo for full ingredients list. It was delicious!! I love cooking this way, with no particular recipe in mind, just pulling ingredients out of my kitchen as I go along. This is when the meal always comes out best!! Get into the kitchen and let your freak flag fly!!!

*make sure you let the marinade reduce to a syrup and baste as the chicken roasts
**I served it with an Asian slaw and rice

Baked Halibut With Jumbo Lump Crab And Gremolata

I was so full of turkey after Thanksgiving, I wanted something light for dinner, so off to the fish market I went. I was looking in the case and I spotted halibut, I never had it before so I asked if it was mild because my husband isn't crazy about fish and he said yes, so I went for it. Contemplating all day I came up with this, it took all of 5 minutes to put together and is absolutely delicious!! I simply placed the whole loin on top of pats of butter, then I seasoned it with salt and pepper, added more pats of butter and on top of that I topped the whole loin with 1/2 pound of jumbo lump crab meat. Next I made a simple gremolata by mixing about 2 cups of panko, 3 tablespoons of chopped parsley, the zest of 1 large lemon, salt and pepper and enough olive oil to make it moist enough to hold together 1/2-3/4 of a cup. I pressed that firmly on top of the fish, added some white wine into the bottom of the baking dish and baked it at 425 for about 30 minutes.

I served it on top of a bed of baby arugula simply dressed with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. What a simple and easy dish that will impress!!

*I think this would be good with just about any fish
**perfect for a dinner party without being stuck in the kitchen served with a side of rice

Bacon Meatballs Over Rigatoni

Today we had a little snow storm and I didn't feel like going out to the grocery store. I looked in my fridge and pantry and this is what I came up with from what I had on hand and it turned out amazing! 
For the meatballs:
5-6 slices of bacon
1/2 of a large shallot
1 large clove of garlic
1-2 tablespoons of parsley
I put all this in a chopper until finely diced then mixed it with:
1 1/2 pound of ground beef
1 large egg
1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs
1 cup diced italian bread moistened and squeezed dry
1/2 cup of grated cheese (I use a 50/50 blend of romano and parmesan)
salt and pepper to taste

I fried them up in a large skillet, removed them when golden and poured off all the the oil except 2 tablespoons. Next I added 4-5 cloves of fresh garlic, I just smash them a bit and add them whole so they can be removed if someone doesn't want to eat it. I deglazed the pan with 1/2 cup of red wine, cooked it down a bit and then added 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes in juice that I pureed in the blender. I added some salt, pepper and fresh basil to the tomatoes, brought it to a boil, added the meatballs back to the pot and simmered it for an hour. I served it over rigatoni but I think it would be delicious over cheesy polenta too!! 

 This would work perfectly for company with a nice antipasto or salad and a nice crusty loaf of bread or garlic bread. A nice bottle of wine make the perfect meal!! I hope you try this, enjoy!

Panko and Parmesan Crusted Chicken Caprese

Tonight I tried something new, I took one of my go to recipes for parmesan and panko crusted chicken and gave it a little caprese twist. First I melted a stick of butter with a large clove of smashed garlic. Next I made a dredge with panko bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, a 2-1 ratio the panko being the larger and added a tiny pinch of salt and some fresh cracked black pepper. Now to prep the chicken breast I made 4 slits on each one not going all the way through, now dip the chicken in the butter and coat well with the panko mixture pressing it in good. Now add a slice of tomato and a basil leaf into each slit.

 They looks so pretty at this point.

Now bake them at 350 for about a 30 minutes depending on how large your chicken breast are, I added some shredded mozzarella to melt over the top right before I removed them from the oven. I served them with a side of pearl couscous and a garnish of basil. This was quick, easy and delicious!! 

*great prep ahead dinner for guests

*a nice glass pf prosecco would pair perfectly 

*the addition of a slice of prosciutto would dress it up nicely

*I didn't really measure anything 

*I hope you try this and enjoy it