This Dish Is A Treat For Your Tastebuds!

This is a wonderful dish that I concocted and cooked for my daughter Randi and her husband Dan last summer.  They are both huge aficionados of Greek food and they were getting ready to go on a trip to Greece.  They wanted to get into the spirit of things, so I cooked them a shrimp dish with a distinctive Greek flavor.  They both went crazy for this dish!  

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 5-6 garlic cloves minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved if you are using larger cherry tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 pound of raw extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1/2 cup of fresh Italian parsley, chopped and divided 1/4 cup and 1/4 cup
• 4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 pound of spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (use a little of the grated rind if you like a more intense lemony flavor) 
• a few grinds of freshly cracked pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet.  Add the red pepper flakes and the minced garlic.  Saute 1 minute over low flame.  Add the tomatoes.  Sprinkle the tomatoes with the salt and 1/4 cup of the parsley.  Saute over medium flame until the tomatoes start to look soft or cracked- about 3-4 minutes.  Add the shrimp, and cook for about 3-4 minutes just until the shrimp are starting to not look raw.  Take off stove.  Put into casserole dish.  Sprinkle crumbled feta on top and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Take out of oven and sprinkle shrimp with reserved 1/4 cup chopped parsley and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and a little freshly cracked black pepper.   

Cook spaghetti while shrimp is in the oven.   When you are ready to serve, put a portion of spaghetti on each dinner plate, and then a portion of the shrimp on top of the spaghetti.

Notes: 

1.  You can serve over rice instead of over spaghetti.

2.  You can prepare the dish ahead up until the point where you put the shrimp in the casserole dish, cover it and then refrigerate it.  About a half hour before you put it in the 400 degree oven, take it out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature.  Then bake in the 400 degree oven for 10 minutes.

THIS IS A VERSATILE, AUTHENTIC ITALIAN MARINARA SAUCE YOU CAN MAKE IN 30 MINUTES AND YOU CAN USE WITH CHICKEN PARMESAN, BAKED ZITI, LASAGNA, PIZZA, OR TO GO WITH YOUR FAVORITE PASTA!

Recently, I developed a new recipe for marinara sauce, and it was so rich and delicious, and so so easy to make.  This marinara sauce is as good as any I have eaten in any Italian restaurant!  I have used it to make my chicken Parmesan, my baked ziti,and for pasta with marinara, and it is superb!  You just have to try it!

• 1/4 cup of olive oil (I use light)
• 3 large garlic cloves, grated (Use a micro-plane and grate garlic right into the pot)
• about 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 medium onion, diced 
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• about 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, or 1/4 teaspoon dried herbes de Provence
• 2  28 oz. cans good crushed tomatoes (the quality of the tomatoes makes a huge difference.  I love the brand, Sclafani- the tomatoes are incredible)

Over low flame, pour oil into pot.  Sprinkle in red pepper flakes.  Saute for a minute.  Then cook onions about 3 min.  until translucent.  Add garlic, salt, and pepper.  Saute for one minute more.  Pour tomatoes in.  Put thyme in.  Cover and simmer over low flame about 20 -30 min.  Taste and re-season.  If sauce seems too thick, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water.  

Note:  I got the idea from watching Rachel Ray to use the micro-plane to grate the garlic, and it’s a great idea!

This Is The Best Recipe For Passover Spinach Pie Or Passover Spanikopita!

Last year, our wonderful friends, the Slotnicks, invited us over for a Passover Seder.  I wanted to bring a main course dish that my daughter and her husband, who are both vegetarians, would enjoy.  My daughter loves the Greek dish called spanikopita or spinach pie, so I decided to create my own Passover version of it.  It turned out delicious!  And it only took about 30 minutes to prepare.  We’re getting very close to Passover, and I definitely plan to make this Passover spanikopita for Seder or just for a light dinner this year!

• about 6 matza boards
• 5 extra large or jumbo eggs (3 for filling, 2 for pouring over the top)
• 1-10 ounce box of frozen spinach, defrosted and drained well
• 8 ounces of feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 of a medium onion, chopped finely
• about 1/2 teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon of dried dill or 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped dill
• about 2-3 tablespoons of butter or margarine, plus extra for greasing the pan

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease sides and bottom of  a 9 x 13 pyrex or ceramic baking dish well with butter or margarine.

In a medium mixing bowl, gently mix the drained spinach with the crumbled feta, the chopped raw onion, 3 eggs the pepper, and the dill; set aside.

Soak about 3 matzas in warm water in another 9 x 13 baking dish.  When the matza starts to soften, gently squeeze the water out, very carefully, so that you don’t crumble the matza.  Then place the matzas in the bottom of the pan to cover it.  Do not overlap the matza; just lay it side by side covering the bottom of the pan the way you would if you were making lasagna.

Spread the entire spinach mixture evenly over the matza, covering the matza completely.  Then soak another 3 matzas in warm water, gently squeeze out excess water, and place the matza over the top of the spinach, covering the spinach completely.  Beat the remaining 2 eggs and pour over the matza.  Dot with butter or margarine.  Bake covered for about 30 minutes till hot and bubbly.

Note #1:  You can prepare this in advance and refrigerate this up until the step where you pour the 2 beaten eggs over the matza.  Then when you wish to bake it, let it come to room temperature for about 30 minutes, pour the 2 beaten eggs over it, dot it with butter or margarine and bake covered, for about 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Note #2:  You may substitute 1 pound of fresh spinach for the frozen, but you will need to saute it (very briefly) in a little oil, butter or margarine, just until it wilts and turns a dark green before you mix it with the feta, egg, onion, pepper, and dill. I like to use the frozen spinach, because 1-16 ounce box of frozen spinach is equivalent to much more than 1 pound of fresh spinach.

My cousin Debbie e-mailed me a recipe for fish that her husband Philip made for her a few days ago that sounded really delicious to me.  I made it last night for my son Danny and me.  It was as good as Debbie said it would be.  When Danny ate it, he said it looked and tasted as good as food from a fancy restaurant in New York City!  The great thing was that because I bought the fish on sale, the whole dish cost less than $10.00, and if we ate this out in a nice restaurant in New York City, it would have cost about $27.00 per person, or $54.00 for the two of us!  I made 1 pound of fish, which really was too much for only two people, but of course we ate it all, because it was just so delicious!

• 1 pound of fish fillet (I used pollack which is similar to cod, but Philip used mahi mahi, so I recommend any mild fish that is a little thicker than flounder)
• 1 box of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 medium onion, cut into a small to medium dice
• about 3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped 
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• a few tablespoons of olive oil (I used light olive oil, but you could use extra virgin)
• 1 tablespoon of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
• fresh lemon slices for serving (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a cast iron or other oven proof skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil over a medium flame.  Put the diced onions in, and sprinkle with a little salt and a few grinds of black pepper.  Cook for a minute or two, and then add all the tomatoes and the garlic.  Continue to cook over a medium flame.  Mix every so often.  Cook for about 10 minutes or so, just until the onions and tomatoes start to get a little carmelized.  When that happens, transfer the vegetable mixture to a bowl and set aside (You may mix in the chopped parsley at this point if you happen to have it). 

In the same skillet,  add about 1 tablespoon of oil, and put the heat on medium.  Sprinkle the fish on one side with kosher salt and about 10 grinds of black pepper.  Put the fish in the skillet seasoned side down.  Then season the tops of the fish with some more grinds of pepper.  Cook no more than 1 minute on each side.  The fish cooks really fast, especially in a cast iron skillet.  Then spoon the tomatoes, onions, and garlic over the fish, and place the skillet in the preheated oven to finish the cooking.  The cooking time at this point will depend on the thickness of the fish.  I kept the fish in the oven for about 5 minutes.  Bring to the table and serve right from the cast iron skillet.

Note:  You could substitute shallots or red onion for the onion, and you could add a few fresh sliced mushrooms too, when you saute the vegetables.  You could also eliminate the salt, and just use the pepper.

My son Danny had a pasta dish in a restaurant in New York City that he really loved.  He described the dish to me and begged me to recreate it.  When I was on my way home from work yesterday,  Danny called me and asked me if I’d make it for him when I got home.  I stopped in the supermarket, picked up a few ingredients, and I made this after a really tough day at work.  So that tells you that it was really easy to make!  We loved it!  The sauce is sort of a combination of an alfredo and carbonara sauce. This pasta dish is light, and slightly rich.  It makes a great main course served with only a salad.  

• 1 pound pasta (recommended are penne, bowties, or campagnelle)
• 1 cup light cream (may substitute half and half)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons light olive oil
• 1 box (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
• 2 shallots, halved and sliced thinly
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup freshly grated romano or parmesan cheese
• 4 slices bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces (optional) 
• crushed red pepper flakes to taste
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Set a large pot of salted water to a boil.  In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium flame until crisp.  With slotted spoon, take bacon out and drain on paper towels; set aside.  Pour bacon grease out. 

Put butter in skillet with olive oil over a low flame.  Saute the shallots.  Use a wooden spoon to get all those browned bits off the bottom of the pan.  When the shallots are transluscent and softened, add the peas to the pan along with the light cream.   Add about 10 grinds of black pepper, a light sprinkling of kosher salt, and about 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes.  Stir for about 1 minute, and add the freshly grated romano cheese.  Stir until slightly thickened, about 1 more minute.  Turn flame off if your pasta isn’t ready at this point. 

Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions.  Reserve 1 cup of pasta water.  Drain pasta, and pour into skillet with sauce, over low flame.  Gently mix noodles with the sauce.  Then add the 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water.  Mix.  If you think the sauce is a little too dry, add a little more of the reserved pasta water.  Pour into a serving bowl, and grate a little more romano cheese over the top.  Serve immediately.

If You Want A Recipe For Easy To Make, Authentic Maryland Style Crab Cakes, This Recipe Is A Winner!

When I got married, I loved going with my husband, Joe to visit his Aunt Francine and Uncle Richard Shure and their two children, Andi and Kenny in their home in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland.  Aunt Frannie and Uncle Richard were the warmest, most loving, and most fun people to be with.  But on top of that, Francine was an incredible cook, so of course I loved being invited over to their house, because I knew there would be some sort of delicious food there to eat!  Everybody in that family loved crabs and they especially loved Aunt Frannie’s  crab cakes.  Her recipe for crab cakes is so easy to make and so delicious, even a beginner cook can make them!  

• 1 pound of lump crabmeat (picked over to remove any bits of shell)
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 extra large or jumbo egg
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon  dry mustard or 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup seasoned or plain bread crumbs

Preheat oven to broil.  Cover a half sheet pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, and spray it with Pam or grease it with butter, margarine, or oil.

In large mixing bowl, mix bread crumbs, egg, mayonnaise, worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, mustard, and Old Bay.  Add the crabmeat.  Gently fold the crabmeat in with a rubber spatula to avoid breaking the nice, big pieces of lump crabmeat. If the mixture seems too dry, add another tablespoon of mayonnaise.  Shape the mixture into 6 cakes, the way you would would make hamburger patties.  You want the crabcakes to be about 1 inch thick and about 3 inches in diameter. 

Place the crabcakes on the prepared pan.  Broil about 5 minutes on each side. 

Note:  Francine’s original recipe calls for using Italian seasoned bread crumbs, but if you want to cut down on salt, I suggest using plain bread crumbs because there are plenty of tasty spices already going on in this recipe. 

Learn How To Make This Versatile Recipe For Chicken Cutlets That Can Be Used In Many Chicken Dishes!

I make these chicken cutlets all the time. They are so easy to make, and they are so delicious! I always have a few packages of thin sliced Purdue cutlets on hand in my freezer. When I get home from work, I take a package out out of the freezer and put it in a pan of cold water. In about 1/2 hour, the chicken cutlets are ready to use. What’s really great about this recipe is that it is so versatile. You can serve the cutlets plain, or you can turn the recipe into chicken parmesan or chicken marsala or chicken with lemon sauce. I usually serve the cutlets plain with some homemade marinara sauce on the side. That way, I’m not adding too many extra calories.

• 1 pound of thin sliced chicken cutlets (I use Purdue)
• plain breadcrumbs or Italian bread crumbs
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 extra large egg
• oil for frying, such as light olive oil

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix 1 egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Set aside. On a large plate, put some breadcrumbs. If they are plain breadcrumbs, season with salt and pepper. If they are seasoned breadcrumbs, you will not need to add any salt, but I still recommend adding a little pepper. Set aside. Put all the cutlets in the egg mixture. Smoosh them around really well so they are coated all over with the egg. Then one at a time, take cutlets out, place on top of the breadcrumbs, turn a few times and really use your fingers to get the chicken coated with the breadcrumbs. Then place the breaded cutlets one at a time on a cookie sheet or half sheet pan.

Take out a large non-stick frying pan (I use a really good, but inexpensive, industrial one that I bought at Costco). Heat the pan before you put the oil in. After about 4 minutes, pour some oil in - about 1/8 inch high, to coat the pan well. Let it sit for another minute over a medium-high flame. It will heat up really quickly because the pan has been heated first. Place the cutlets in one at a time. If you can’t fit them all, just fry them in 2 batches. Let the cutlets fry for about 4 minutes. Let them get beautifully browned before turning over. Then, when they are browned on the underside, flip them, and cook them until they are beautifully browned on the bottom. Drain them on paper towels to soak up any extra oil. Serve.

HINT: Most recipes tell you to dip the chicken first into flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. You absolutely can skip the step of dredging the cutlets into flour before you dip them into your egg. I never do that. It is unnecessary!

Chicken Parmesan Variation: Place the fried cutlets on a half sheet pan covered with aluminum foil. Spoon some homemade or store bought marinara sauce over each cutlet. Sprinkle some grated mozzarella cheese over the sauce, and then place into a 375 degree preheated oven for about 5 minutes. Then what I do at that point is change the oven setting to broil, and then I make sure that my oven rack is in the middle of the oven, and I watch the cutlets carefully. The cheese will get bubbly and browned, and then I take the cutlets out after only another 2 or 3 minutes. If you do turn your oven to broil, you must watch the cutlets to make sure they don’t start to burn. You can leave the oven door open while you are watching the cutlets. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese and some extra marinara sauce on the side.

Delicious, Broiled Flounder In 30 Minutes!

When I was growing up, this was one of my mother’s standard dinners.  It was healthy and delicious, and I loved it.  Even though I have some really good recipes for making flounder, this old standby is still my favorite recipe for flounder.  My kids like it too which is great, because it is really healthy.  This flounder has plenty of good flavor, without using any salt!  You can serve this with a baked potato, spinach, and a salad.  Another great side that goes with this is homemade macaroni and cheese casserole, or in a pinch, some Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. 

Four 2 people:

• 1 pound fresh flounder fillets
• about 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• paprika
• juice of 1 lemon or 1-2 tablespoons Minute Maid pure lemon juice from concentrate

For 4 people:   use 2 pounds of flounder fillets, 4 tablespoons of butter or margarine, lemon juice, and paprika.

Preheat your oven to broil, and place oven rack about 4-6 inches from the heating element or the flame.  Cover a half sheet pan with aluminum foil, or use a disposable aluminum pan.  Place flounder fillets on foil.  Sprinkle a little fresh lemon juice over the flounder fillets.  Then sprinkle the flounder with paprika; don’t be skimpy with the paprika!  Dot the flounder fillets with butter or margarine.  Broil for about 7-10 minutes until browned and cooked through.  Cooking time will depend upon the thickness of the flounder.

Serve with additional wedges of fresh lemon, some tartar sauce or cocktail sauce.

Warning:  Anytime you broil, be sure to keep an eye on the food to make sure nothing catches on fire.

paprika

Stay Young And Healthy By Eating Salmon!

I wanted to come up with another quick and healthy recipe for salmon. I am always looking for very tasty ways to make salmon, because I don’t know if you’ve noticed yet, but most my recipes are slightly on the high calorie side. I need to throw in an occasional healthy dinner, don’t I? When I think of healthy eating, I think of my Aunt Sally and my Uncle Nat.  They are in their mid 80’s. If you saw them, you would NEVER believe that. I am not kidding, both of them look and act no older than 65 years old. Just to give you one example of their youthfulness, My Aunt Sally still regularly goes skiing with her grandchildren up in Vermont.  My Uncle Nat doesn’t ski anymore, but he does a pretty good job of trying to keep up with my aunt.  He works out on his gym equipment every day, and I think he still plays some tennis.   I have asked my uncle many times about the secret to their good health and youthful appearance.  My uncle has told me flat out, “It’s our diet.”  And they have maintained a really healthy diet for probably the last 40 years.   One of the main components of their diet is salmon. My aunt cooks salmon for dinner probably 3 times a week. So, I have this little voice in the back of my head that is always saying, “You should be eating more like your Aunt Sally and Uncle Nat. You should be eating salmon 3 times a week like they do.” Unfortunately, I usually don’t pay enough attention to that little voice. But, I did make salmon two nights ago for my son Danny and myself. Danny really likes this recipe. What makes this recipe for salmon even healthier is that there is no salt in it at all. Yet, it is still very tasty. It takes less than five minutes to get this dish ready to cook and about 10 minutes to cook it. So between prep time and cooking time, you will be ready to eat in less than 20 minutes. Enjoy!

For 2 people:

• 1 pound of salmon filet
• good chile powder, such as McKormick or Master Choice
• light olive oil

Spread a little oil over the top and bottom surfaces of the salmon fillet using your hands or a spoon.  Then sprinkle both sides of the salmon pretty heavily with good chile powder. Heat up a cast iron skillet or a nonstick pan for about 3-5 minutes.  Then place the salmon in the pan.  Let it sit (medium to high flame) and cook without you touching it.  After about 2-3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon, it should be quite browned on the bottom.  Flip the salmon, and cook it on the other side another 2-3 minutes.  You’re done! 

Alternate method of cooking:

Preheat oven using the broil setting.  Place oven rack about 6 inches from heating element.  Cover an aluminum baking dish with aluminum foil (or use a disposable aluminum baking sheet).  Prepare the salmon the same as described above.   Broil for about 3 minutes till browned on top.  Take out and turn salmon.  Broil for another 3-4 minutes until really browned on top.  Serve.

Note:  Double the ingredients to serve 4-5 people.

This Salmon Is Tasty and Healthy!

It is obvious that most of my recipes are on the fattening side. I am trying to make some dishes that are healthier. Last night, I made salmon for my son Danny and me, and it was delicious. Besides being so tasty, it looks beautiful too. And the prep time and cooking time combined was 15 minutes!

For 2 people:

1 pound salmon fillets, cut into 2 pieces (Ask the seafood monger to take the skin off.)

1 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoons of soy sauce

For 4 people:

2 pounds of salmon fillet

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Preheat the oven to broil, and put the rack in the oven as close as you can to the broiler element- about 6 inches below (It is essential for the salmon to cook close to the flame or heating element in order for the salmon to get a good glaze. Then cover a baking sheet with sides with aluminum foil.

Whisk the honey, and the soy sauce in a small bowl. Place salmon on prepared baking sheet. Brush with sauce on top of salmon. Broil until salmon is browned and glazed on top, about 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. (I like the salmon when it no longer is rare in the center) 

Warning:  Watch the salmon carefully while it is cooking, because any time you cook food close to the broiler element or the flame, your food could catch fire! 

Note: You may add ½ teaspoon of fresh grated ginger to the sauce or a very light sprinkling of ground ginger, if you like the taste of ginger. I added the fresh ginger, and it does give the recipe a distictive Asian flavor.