No-Bake Peach Ricotta Tarts

This one speaks for itself. It is even more delicious than it looks.

What you'll need:

1/3 almonds

1/2 hazelnuts

6 dried figs

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

3 dried peaches

4 basil leaves

Orange Blossom honey

Magic Tool:

4" forming ring (best $1.99 I ever spent)

You can also use a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter, anything that will help form your crust.

The Crust

In a food processor (I used my mini), combine the almonds, hazelnuts, figs, salt and cinnamon. It will take about a minute. You want a cornmeal-type consistency. It won't completely stick together, but enough of the oils will be released to make it moist.

On a foil-lined cookie sheet, place your ring mold and fill it with 1/4 of the crust mixture. Using your fingers (this is important because the warmth of your hand will help release just the right amount of oil from the nuts), press it firmly into the shape of your ring. It will be about 1/4" thick.

Twist the ring mold slightly while pressing down on your crust and it will release. Place your cookie sheet in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

The Filling

Wipe out your mini food processor and add the ricotta and dried peaches. Mix for 30-60 seconds, until it turns peach color and the chunks of peach are very small. You may need to use a spatula to scrape down the sides a couple of times.

Remove the crusts from the freezer and immediately spoon a quarter of the mixture on each and spread out. You can use the back of a spatula or spoon for this. 

Tip: If the mixture is sticking to your spoon, rather than spreading. Run your utensil under water for a second.

Pop the tarts back in the freezer for 5 minutes.

The Finish

Chiffonade the basil, sprinkle over the tarts, and drizzle with honey.

Fall into French Toast

In the spirit of not being over dramatic, I have to say this may just be the best thing I've ever made.

What You'll Need (per portion)
1 Honeycrisp apple, in 1/2" slices
3" wide slice of Ciabatta, halved
2 Tbsp butter
1 Egg
2 Tbsp Coconut milk (any milk will work)
1/4 cup Mascarpone
4 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup, separated (don't pull a Mrs Butterworth's on this one)
Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon
Nutmeg (preferably whole, grated fresh)
Salt
Pepper


The Apples
The trick here is to caramelize the apples quickly, but not cook them all the way through. You want them to maintain their structure and not get mushy.

Melt 1 tbsp of butter on medium-high heat and add the apples in a single layer, flesh side down. Cook for 30-60 seconds per side-- just long enough to brown. Flip using tongs.


The French Toast
Whisk together the egg, milk, and one tbsp of maple syrup. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon, add a pinch of salt, and a few turns of pepper. (yes, pepper -- it's a trick my mom uses and adds something special).

Soak each piece of ciabatta thoroughly. Ciabatta has a lot of air pockets, which will keep it from absorbing too much of the mixture.

Melt the other tbsp of butter on medium (to medium-low) heat, and add the bread, face side down. Cook for about 3 minutes, until it is golden brown, then cook on the remaining three sides for about 1-2 minutes each.


The Maple Mascarpone Sauce
Sir together the mascarpone, remaining maple syrup, a splash of vanilla, and a generous sprinkle of cinnamon (I love Penzy's Vietnamese Cinnamon for this).


Assemble
Top the french toast with the apples and generously drizzle with the maple mascarpone sauce. Grate whole nutmeg over the top.

Enjoy!

Spicy Kale Chips

Self control is not my strong suit. So when I pass a massive display of Nacho Doritos, I need to know that I have a solid alternative.

Sure, kale chips are delicious and guilt-free, but I was in search of that salty, spicy goodness from my favorite tortilla chip.

Here's my solution.

What You'll Need:

1 bunch kale

1-2 tbps extra virgin olive oil

1 cup almond meal

1 tbsp ground mustard

1 tbsp ground garlic

 tbsp ground onion

2 tsp half-sharp paprika*

1/2 tsp salt (I have used Himalayan pink salt and Kosher salt - both are good)

*There are many kind of paprika: sweet, smokey, sharp, etc. I used half-sharp paprika which has a good spice (heat) to it. If you only have sweet or smokey I would use that and add cayenne pepper, to taste.

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350.

De-stem your kale. I find great satisfaction in this step. Hold a stem of kale upside down and take your knife at a 30-degree angle. Just run your knife along the stem is a gentle hacking motion. (yes, I'm sure the words "gentle" and "hacking aren't usually used together).

Tear the leaves into whatever size you want.

Drizzle with olive oil and use your hands to toss, massaging the oil into the leaves. 

A great benefit to this is that your hands turn out very soft and moisturized.

In a small bowl, mix the almond meal with all of the spices. 

Add the spice mixture to the kale and toss together to evenly coat the kale.

Line a baking sheet with parchment or nonstick foil. Bake the kale in two batches. It's important that there is a single layer so it can crisp.

Bake for 15-17 minutes. They should be crisp, but not brown. 

Presto! Delicious kale chips that satisfy that Dorito craving.

Yin Yang Drunken Shrimp

Sweet and spicy, this is one of my new favorites, and truly a pantry creation.

I had a bit of Malibu Rum left, and I needed to cook the rest of the shrimp and chili I didn't use in another recipe. And, I just bought dried pineapple rings--what goes better together than pineapple and coconut? Nothing, I say!

What You'll Need
1/2 cup Malibu Rum
1/2 Hatch Chili (hot), minced
1/4 cup Brown Onion, minced
1 Dried Pineapple Ring, minced
2 tbsp Coconut Oil
12 Shrimp (25 count)
Juice of 1 Lemon

The Marinade
Combine the rum, chili, onion and pineapple ring.

Salt the shrimp and toss in the marinade for 15 minutes.

Remove the shrimp, set aside.

Note: The amount of chili I use makes for a spicy sauce. It won't kill you, but you'll want a cold drink nearby. Adjust the amount for your tastebuds, and also for the heat factor of the chili you have (there's always a little variation).






The Sauce
In a pan, heat 1 tbsp of the coconut oil on medium heat.

Add lemon juice to the marinade. Pour the mixture into the pan, bring to a low boil.

Pour the mixture into the blender and blend on high until smooth.










The Shrimp
Increase the heat on the pan to medium-high.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil, heat for about 15 seconds--when you add the shrimp, there should be a good sizzle.

Add the shrimp to the pan in a single layer, and cook about a minute on each side.

Plate and serve.

Healthy Harvest Breakfast Cookies

First of all, the notion of a cookie without flour, or sugar, or eggs, or butter BLOWS MY MIND. And the fact that they are delicious, raises these to the illustrious level of "Cuckoo-pants."

The inspiration for this cookie is my super-fantastic mom, who loves Autumn more than anyone on the planet. The day after Labor Day marks the start of Autumn in our family, and is celebrated with the ceremonial harvest wreath on the front door. Obviously.


What You'll Need
2 ripe bananas, smashed
1/2 Granny Smith apple, minced (a large mince, but smaller than a dice... a dince)
1 tsp coconut oil
1 tbsp chopped pecans
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp chinese five spice
pinch of kosher salt

The Cookie
In a small pan, heat the coconut oil on medium heat then add the apples, cinnamon and chinese five spice.

Sauté until softened.

Let cool for just a couple of minutes.






Smash the banana, evenly distribute a pinch of salt, and stir in the cooked apples and pecans.

The warmth of the apples helps loosen up banana, and help bind the oats.

I mix everything on a plate--it makes it easier to smash the banana and combine all of the ingredients.

Mix in the oats, and spoon onto a lined (or greased) baking sheet.

The "dough" will be pretty wet, just spoon it onto the baking sheet, and make sure all of the ingredients are touching.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.

Day 2: Spicy Corn & Andouille Omelette

I was so in love with my Spicy Shrimp dinner last night that I wanted to revisit the flavors this morning.

This couldn't be easier.
PS - Thank you Trader Joe's for your goat cheese medallions. They are genius!

I took some of the leftover spicy sauce with corn and the andouille chicken sausage and gave it a 30-second reheat in the (gasp!) microwave.

Step 1: I whisked together an egg and a tablespoon of milk and poured it into a 9" pan with just a bit of heated olive oil. Salt and pepper (always). And cooked on medium heat.











Step 2: Once the egg mixture no longer giggly (a technical term), slide it onto your plate and crumble on the ounce of goat cheese.

Step 3: Top with the spicy corn and andouille sauce from last night, and sprinkle with a few basil leaves, cut into a chiffonade.













Step 4: Fold over and voila! an uber-delicious omelette. And, guess what! It's 11 am which qualifies this as brunch, which means it's totally acceptable to enjoy another glass of the Benovia 2011 Rose of Pinot Noir with this. It pairs perfectly!

Spicy Shrimp with Grilled Corn

Inspired by: Shrimp & Cheesy Grits
Paired with Benovia 2011 Rose of Pinot Noir.

Food Network

So I was watching Cooking Channel this morning and the host visited Brenda's Soul Food. The image of shrimp swimming in cream sauce on cheesy grits is burned on my brain. (and my tastebuds)

My Love Affair with Whole Foods
I headed to Whole Foods only knowing I wanted to grab some shrimp. They had a huge display of Hatch chilies. I've never worked with them, but the sign said they were "spicy," so I was in. It was interesting to me that a chili this large (5-ish inches) was so spicy. Rule of thumb is that the smaller the chili, the spicier it is.

It was then, only a matter of time until I ended up at the meat counter, discovering the wonders of their chicken sausages. I spotted the Andouille, and my plan was hatched.

This recipe is a lesson in efficiency, but is so delicious and worth it! I just bought everything today at Whole Foods, so it's in season in late August/early September.

What you'll need:

1/2 pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined  (I used 25 count, but you could easily use any size you want)

1 Hatch Chili

1 Corn, on the cob

1 Chicken Andouille Sausage (raw) (I got mine from the meat counter)

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp Sweet Hungarian Style Paprika

1 Yellow Onion, diced

4 cloves of Garlic, diced

9 Campari Tomatos, chopped

1 cup Chicken Stock

10 Basil leaves

2 Lemons

The Shrimp

Salt the raw shrimp and dust them paprika. with Marinate the shrimp in a mixutre of: one diced garlic clove, the juice of a lemon, 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1/4 tsp Paprika and 1/8 tsp Chinese Five Spice. I like to put them in a plastic bag so I can make sure all of the shrimp are coated. Put in the refrigerator for 20 min or so.

Take them out of the marinade and put directly on a medium-heat grill, for about 2 min on the first side and 1 min on the second side. It really depends on the size of the shrimp and the heat of the grill. They will be pink, curl up, and be relatively firm when they are done. But don't overcook. Better to err on the side of too rare--you can always heat them up in the sauce, if needed.

The Grilled Corn
Pull down the husk, remove the silk. Pull the husk back up, and throw it on a 300-ish degree bbq. You'll need to rotate it 90-degrees every 5 minutes. The outside will become very charred and a bit of the kernels too. (yum!)

Let it cool for a few minutes and cut the kernels off the cob. Set aside.


The Fire-Roasted Hatch Chili
Turn your BBQ up to high heat so you can get a good char on the chili. Cook it about 2 min each side. Closing the lid in between so it cooks more evenly, and so you don't melt.

When it's toasty brown (or even a little black) and the skin has started to bubble, take it off. I've always heard that an ice bath is a great way to get the skin off, but a friend of mine, Armando, runs a produce department suggested instead putting the piping hot peppers in a paper bag and folding it over to let the steam separate the skins.

The benefit of this method is that none of the oils are washed off. Brilliant!

Peel off the skins, dice the chili and set aside.


The Spicy Sauce

Heat the olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Remove the chicken sausage from the casing and quickly work it apart, just like you would ground beef. The drippings are going to give the sauce a lot of flavor.

Remove the sausage from the pan and add the onion and garlic. Slightly lower the heat if things are sizzling -- we don't want to brown the onions, just start to soften them. 

Chop the Campari tomatoes, and add to the onion and garlic. Stir. The tomatoes will start to break down as they cook and are stirred.

Now is time to add the diced chili. You'll need to taste a small piece to judge that pepper's heat, and match it with how spicy you like your food. Mine was cuckoo-pants spicy so I only used about 2/3.

Add the chicken stock and let the sauce simmer for five minutes so the flavors meld into perfect harmony. Some of the tomato skins will be pulling away, not to worry.

Put everything in the blender for about 30 seconds. Add the corn and sausage and give it a quick stir. 

The Whole Sha-Bang

You can either serve the shrimp whole on top of the spicy corn and andouille sauce, or chop them up.

I opted for chopping. Mostly because I was a little lazy.

Squeeze a lemon wedge (1/4 of a lemon) on top, and sprinkle with basil chiffonade.