There’s only one way to duplicate this amazing and unique gremolata. You must begin with Olive This! Cilantro and Roasted Onion Olive Oil which pulls it all together into a balanced bite of excitement. If you close your eyes, you swear you are eating true roasted onion sprinkled with cilantro. Just get to chopping and combine the short list of ingredients, and serve ladled over pork, chicken, or even a hearty fish like cod. I served over roasted pulled chicken on a bed of tri-color quinoa, but the possibilities are endless.
Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To discover more of her recipes and read all about Bling Cuisine, click here to visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.
INGREDIENTS
2 6-inch celery stalks, diced very small
1 English cucumber 4 ½ inch in length, seeded and diced very small
¼ cup golden raisins (dark raisins will NOT work in this)
1 very large clove of garlic chopped very finely (don’t grate this in. Just chop well.)
Mix all ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Serve over warm roasted chicken pieces and tri-color quinoa. Or serve over pork, a hearty fish like cod, or even spoon over mashed potatoes, or mix into rice or even orzo, to create a fantastic side dish with steak or hamburger! – Will keep in fridge for about a week.
Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
In less than an hour you can assemble this dessert that shortcuts the long process of making custardy cream by using healthy Greek yogurt as the base for the crema. No one guesses they’re not eating something sinful. Use a tall parfait glass and watch the peanut butter crema and the simmered blackberries intertwine in color and texture. Top with one of your favorite sweet cookies or biscuits and wink when you present it to your guests or sweetheart.
Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To discover more of her recipes and read all about Bling Cuisine, click here to visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.
Place chopped blackberries, sugar, chocolate balsamic, and vanilla in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer lightly for 3-4 minutes, stirring often so it doesn’t boil over. Set aside to cool for about an hour.
In a large mixing bowl add the yogurt, peanut butter, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well. Set aside and let the sugars dissolve. Keep in fridge until ready to assemble.
In 4 tall parfait glasses, add a couple of generous amounts of the berry mixture. Then top with peanut butter crema. Top with an extra, whole blackberry and sweet cookie, biscuit, or biscotti of your choice. (There will be more simmered berries than you need for 4 servings, so you can control ratios. Or save some for the next time!)
Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
Soup is always a good idea this time of year. Especially with this colorful recipe that showcases wild mushroom and sage flavors. You can find pre-cut butternut squash in the supermarket to save time. This will allow you more time to enjoy the beautiful aromas as the soup simmers into perfection. It’s a great way to bring winter flavors into your kitchen with not much fuss.
Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To discover more of her recipes and read all about Bling Cuisine, click here to visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.
1 15-oz can corn, no salt added (or 1 cup frozen corn and 1/3 cup water)
½ cup jasmine rice/wild rice medley*
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1/3 cup white wine (optional)
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
Salt and pepper, per taste
¾ cup fresh parsley
Finish with zest from 1 lemon
DIRECTIONS
In a large Dutch oven pan, heat the butter and wild mushroom & sage olive oil. Add the baby bella mushrooms and onions and cook on high until browned, about 3 minutes. Season with a little salt and pepper. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant. Add the can of corn, the stock, the wine, the seasonings, and stir until bubbling. Add the squash, lemon, and rice. Lower heat, cover and let lightly bubble for 20 minutes, or until rice is done and squash is soft. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed. (I ended up using probably 1 teaspoon at least of kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper.) Stir in the parsley, lemon zest and generously garnish with a drizzle of Wild Mushroom & Sage Oil, serve!
*I used a jasmine and wild rice medley that said 20 minutes cooking time. But I find that some wild rice medleys take MUCH longer. If your rice package says it takes longer, start the rice and don’t add the squash until you are about 20 minutes away from the soup being ready to serve.
Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
Grab your friends and blow their minds with this appetizer. This elevated lychee scented salsa, which can also amp up desserts or main courses (think chicken or pork) is perfect stuffed inside roasted jalapenos, and served over a minty parsley pesto, shown here. The mint echoes the floral notes of the lychee, but also creates the perfect one-bite sensation.
Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To read more about how Camine created this recipe and her the entire blog post on this subject, click here to visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.
Wash jalapeños. Laying sideways, cut off the top of the jalapeño, like you’re cutting a lid off and reserve the cut pieces to use in another recipe. Scrape out the sinews and seeds until they’re hollow. Rub with oil. Place in a parchment lined glass dish and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Set aside to cool. Do not remove from baking dish. (You’ll be melting cheese in the peppers later.)
In a small food processor, add the mint, parsley, garlic, salt & pepper, olive oil, and cheese. Pulse to blend well into a semi-fine puree, stopping and scraping sides and adding more oil as needed. Set aside and keep in fridge until time to serve.
In a large glass bowl, add all the salsa ingredients except, the olive oil and balsamic. Keep the salsa refrigerated until are almost ready to serve.
About 30 minutes before serving, go back to the jalapeños that you’ve left in the baking dish, add grated mozzarella cheese to each hollowed out pepper, and broil under a low broiler setting until the cheese begins to bubble and slightly brown. Remove.
Remove the salsa from the refrigerator and add the olive oil and vinegar, mixing well.
To plate, smear the mint pesto on the serving dish of choice. Arrange the cheese-stuffed peppers over the pesto. Then using a small spoon, ladle in a generous portion of the shrimp, strawberry and lychee salsa piling it high. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve.
Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
How can chicken soup transcend our assumptions about flavor and recipe building? We tend to look at ingredients in a recipe as though they all have an equal job, lining up ingredients like dominoes. The fact of the matter is recipes are built by chemistry, not a checklist. Each element plays a role in building another element depending upon their role. And few things are more important than an oil because it binds by emulsifying and creates a seamless introduction to a set of flavors. Resulting in flavors that feel curated, not thrown together.
How did it come together? I started with a really generous glug of the oil. At the end I added another huge drizzle of it and served it in a deep bowl with a nice large spoon, and another flourish of parsley.
So danged sophisticated. So danged simple. So immensely unique. And the process so vital to your journey to becoming an intuitive and masterful cook!
Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To read more about Camine and view all her recipes, click here to visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.
3 cup shredded white meat from a rotisserie chicken
DIRECTIONS
In a large stockpot heat 5 tablespoons of Single Varietal Olive Oil until shimmering. Add the onion, celery, and carrot. Stir and cook until onions are transparent. Add the 4 cups of stock, the seasonings, and the salt and pepper. Reduce heat and keep on a low bubbling simmer, cover and cook for 25 minutes.
Remove lid, add the 2 cans of white beans, with all the liquid in the can. Add about 3 tablespoons of the chopped parsley. Cook until the beans are as hot as the rest of the soup. Add the chicken and stir until hot. Do not boil it after you put in the chicken. Drizzle with a little more oil and serve.
To serve, place a serving in the bowl, add a bit of cracked pepper, a flourish of parsley, and a dotting of the oil. You don’t have to use all the oil, but don’t be afraid to be generous! It is so vegetal, clean, fresh, and balanced. It will galvanize the purpose of the entire dish!
Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
I’m obsessed with how easy and gorgeous this meal is. Buy the best Naan bread you can find, and ALDI offers an exceptionally delicious pre-cooked pulled pork to make it fast. It is just so dang fun to layer the ingredients, and to smell your kitchen as the onions begin to become fragrant and the bread begins to toast. But the best part is that this BBQ sauce is something you will want to put on everything. Try it as an accompaniment to pork. Let it class up a bit of shrimp on a plate. Or drizzle it on a tomato salad. Honestly. I’m licking the spoon.
Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To read more about Camine and view all her recipes, click here to visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.
1 cup pulled pork (I bought the pork pre-cooked from ALDI. Delicious!)
¼ cup chopped scallion, using the dark green parts
1 teaspoon chili flakes
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 ounces goat cheese, softened
DIRECTIONS
Combine the onions, white sugar, and apple cider vinegar. Let sit for 2 hours. Drain. Set aside.
Combine the balsamic, brown sugar, ketchup, and nutmeg in a very small saucepan. Bring to a soft boil and let simmer for 3-4 minutes reducing heat so it doesn’t boil over. Remove from heat and let cool. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place both of the Naan breads on the parchment. Brush generously with olive oil. Sprinkle each with 1/3 cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese. Arrange ½ cup of the cooked pulled pork on that. Arrange the pickled onion on each one. Sprinkle with the scallion, the chili flakes and the cilantro.
Bake for 7 – 8 minutes. Remove from oven. Add the goat cheese, drizzle with a bit more oil, garnish with more cilantro and finish with a VERY generous drizzle of the beautiful blackberry ginger balsamic BBQ sauce!
Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
Over a Green Salad with Thai Chilis, and then topped with Basil Scented Fried Apricots
A summer day in August can still be a scorcher, but thin, tender chicken pieces over salad makes everything okay. This recipe will help you go from okay to exquisite with the addition of Blenheim Apricot White Balsamic Vinegar when made into a silky velouté that gently embraces the flavors of pecan, hot chilis, cool onion and memorable basil. A lovely Pinot Grigio and the party starts now!
Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To read more about Camine and view all her recipes, click here to visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.
INGREDIENTS
2 large boneless chicken breasts cut lengthwise into thin paillards (Should be 8-10 Paillards)
1 Knorr ‘Tomate’ Bouillon cube, dissolved in 2 cups of boiling water (You will only use 1 cup)
4 cups green leaf lettuce
1 large Thai chili, deseeded and cut into thin strips
½ red onion, sliced thinly
2 large apricots, 1 sliced into 4 large slices, the other diced for the salad
1 ¾ cup ground pecans (use food processor for best results)
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour + 3 tablespoons for the roux
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
4 small bunches of basil leaves
Salt & pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
“Paillard” is a French term for meat that has been pounded thin into tender pieces. Prepare the chicken by butterflying the chicken breasts, pound them thinly and then slice into thin paillards (about 8-10). Set aside or refrigerate. Boil water, add tomate bouillon cube. Let it dissolve and set aside. Note that although there are 2 cups of stock, you will only use 1 cup.
Assemble salad by tossing together the lettuce, red onion, diced apricot, and chilis. When ready to serve simply pour 2 tablespoons single varietal olive oil over the mixture and the 2 tablespoons of blenheim apricot balsamic. Season with about ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper. Toss. Set aside.
Prepare the veloute. In a small saucepan on high, melt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter with 3 tablespoons flour. Whisk together. When melted whisk for an additional 30 seconds. Remove from heat and add about 1/3 cup of the ‘tomate’ stock. Whisk to combine. This step helps to create a smooth sauce before you add the rest of the 2/3 cup of the liquid tomate boullion. Blend well until slightly thickened. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and 3 tablespoons of the blenheim apricot balsamic. Once incorporated, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Whisk till smooth. Set aside.
Measure out the ground pecans and the flour each respectively and place each in their own wide and shallow bowl. In a third wide and shallow bowl add the two eggs and heavy cream. Be sure and whisk the cream and egg very well. You are now set up to begin preparing the chicken. Dredge each piece of chicken first in the flour, shaking off excess, then into the egg to cover, then into the pecans. Press the nut mixture into the breading so that it sticks. Repeat for all chicken pieces. Set on a plate next to the sauté pan to cook.
With everything prepped and ready, pour the ¼ C single varietal olive oil into a very large hot sauté pan set to high. Place each of the chicken pieces in the hot oil. Sear until a little browned on one side, about 1 minute or so. Thin pieces of chicken cook FAST so don’t overcook. Then turn and cook on the other side. You may have to do it in two batches. Don’t overcrowd the pan. Remove cooked pieces and drain on paper towel.
While the oil is still hot place the apricot slices in the oil and let cook for about 30 seconds. Turn over carefully and top each with a basil bouquet. Let fry for about another 30 seconds which will melt the basil and perfume the fruit. Turn off heat. Leave it in the pan.
To plate, place a mound of the dressed greens on the plate, Top with a couple of the paillards, top that with a basil topped apricot slice. Then drizzle with the beautiful apricot velouté!
Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
Pears are a secret weapon as they can be both savory and sweet, making this pairing with the butter fried sage a dessert that will literally make you lick the plate. Slowly roasted, they are served with a quick lemon curd vanilla crema, candied pecans, and fried sage leaves for an elegant dessert.
Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To read more about Camine and view all her recipes, click here to visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
LEMON CREMA:
15 ounces plain 2% fat Greek yogurt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
5 teaspoons lemon curd
5 heaping tablespoons white sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
PEARS:
4 slightly unripe Asian Pears, washed and cut exactly in half (try to preserve the stem)
16 large fresh sage leaves (8 for roasting, 8 for frying)
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper to top pears
PECANS:
1 ½ cups pecan halves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3-4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
DIRECTIONS
For pecans, bring a small sauté pan to high heat. Add the butter. When just about melted add the brown sugar. Stir to dissolve for a minute. Then add the pecans to the pan. Lower heat and let them bubble, stirring almost constantly, until the sugar and butter are clear and are beginning to thicken.
Dump all onto a parchment sheet. Sprinkle with the kosher salt. When cooled a bit chop into smaller pieces. Set aside.
Stir all the crema ingredients together. Cover and let sit for about 30 minutes to give the granulated sugar time to dissolve, making the custard smooth. Will keep a week in the fridge. Can make in advance.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Core the pears. Rub gently with the olive oil. Place in a glass baking dish lined with parchment paper.
Stir together the honey and 4 tablespoons of butter. Then melt in microwave just until melted. Only about 10 seconds. Add the balsamic and warm again so you can incorporate the butter, honey, and balsamic into a syrup. Drizzle the pears with the glaze making a special effort to fill the hole where the seeds were. Top each with a large sage leaf. Sprinkle with the cracked pepper. Bake for about 30 minutes. Check at 25 minutes. If a sharp knife pierces all the way through without any resistance, they are baked. If not, keep checking them every 5 minutes. A harder pear will take longer.
In a small sauté pan melt the 2 tablespoons butter over high heat. Add the sage leaves and fry until crispy watching constantly and turning after you see the leaf begin to shrink. This only takes a minute or so on each side. Make sure you do get them crisp.
Serve over a slurry of the Lemon Curd Vanilla Crema and a dusting of candied pecans. Garnish with the sage leaf and a bit of the lemon zest.
Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
Almost any white fish will work in this dish, but the meaty texture of halibut stands up to the grand flavors of maple making a beautiful white background for the intense amber color of this one dish supper. I served them on a bed of romaine, but you can serve atop rice and a few summer peas, or maybe some steamed broccoli. Remember, fish cooks quickly so make sure you stay close by and serve immediately with a glass of delicious Rosé of pinot noir.
INGREDIENTS
1 ½ lb halibut filet, cut into 4 steaks
½ to ¾ of a plum, pit removed and cut into thin wedges
Prepare halibut steaks by cutting them into serving size and patting dry with a paper towel. Don’t forget to bring to room temperature.
Zest the orange, prepare the slices, and squeeze the juice. Slice the plum into small wedges. No need to peel.
Bring a large sauté pan to high heat and add the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When very hot add the shallots and sauté for a minute. Then add the gingerroot, orange slices, and the plum slices and stir until fragrant, or about 30 seconds. Then lower heat slightly and add the orange juice, maple balsamic, and the bourbon. Lower heat to medium low and let it all bubble for about 30-45 seconds. Nest the halibut steaks into the liquid and salt and pepper them well. Cover, reduce heat so it is barely bubbling and let the fish poach for about 6 minutes or until opaque. It doesn’t take long!
To plate, place a romaine leaf on the plate. Then using a spatula, place a halibut steak on top and then ladle with some of the sauce and the fruit. Garnish with parsley. Serve.
Recipe Credit: Camine Pappas. To read more about how Camine created this recipe and her the entire blog post on this subject, click here to visit her website: IFeelLikeCooking.com.
Have a comment? We’d love to hear from you. Have you tried this dish? Do you have a variation that you think others will enjoy? Leave us a comment below.
