Mexican Egg Rolls

I was going through all the recipes for the cook book and i though this would be fun to post today. I was asked early in the book process that i need a recipe that would go along with my wontons, and like the wonton the filling is not traditional to the egg roll.

Mexican Egg Rolls

Ingredients

1/2 lb of ground pork
1 medium onion diced
4 gloves of garlic diced
1 red pepper diced
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro chopped stems removed
1 jalapeno minced
1 lime, zest and juice
2 table spoons of olive oil
3 sprigs of fresh oregano, leaves removed from stems
8 oz of Queso Fresco cheese diced
1 15oz can of re-fried pinto beans
1 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon cardamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1lbd package of egg roll wrappers

Directions

Bring deep fryer to 350 degrees

In large skillet over medium to high heat add olive oil and onions and cook until tender
Add pork, red pepper and garlic to skillet stir until pork is cooked through and peppers are tender.
Remove from heat and add jalapeno and the dried spices, stir to combined.
In a medium bowl add pinto beans and lime zest and juice, stir to combine
Now add cheese, cilantro and oregano to mixture, stir to combine
Drain pork mixture and add to the beans and cheese, mix well.
On a wooden cutting board place a small prep bowl full of room temp water and have some paper towels handy
Place an egg roll wrapper in front of you on the cutting board in a diamond shape.
Place two table spoons of the filling just below the center of the wrapper towards you. Fold over the point that is closest to to you towards the center tucking in the point under the filling, now fold the side points towards the center over the point you just tucked in. Dab you finger in the water and run it long the remaining point of the wrapper and roll the egg roll towards that point to seal the egg roll.
Repeat until all the filling has been used.
Note: Place the finished uncooked egg rolls on wax paper it will be make it easier to handle when it comes time to fry them.
When frying the egg rolls place only a few in the deep fryer at a time. Leave in the fryer about 2 to 3 minutes or until the egg rolls are a deep golden brown. Like everything the length of time in the fryer can depend on allot of factors so the time will vary on how long the eggs roll are in the fryer.
Once egg roll are removed from fryer place on paper towels.
Serve warm with a nice home made salsa.


A variation on the above egg roll, the Mexican Veggie Roll.

Substitute the pork for 1/2 cups of red cabbage and add 1/2 cup of corn to the ingredients. Cook the corn with the onions, peppers and garlic. And follow the same directions above to make the egg rolls.

Next post on Sunday night

Enjoy cooking

Cookies - 2

I got a number of emails asking for other cookie recipes, so OK here are a few more then back to other recipes.

The Following are Micheal's favorites and I have to say mine too. The First one is a standard cookie with a twist and the other one is great but is not that easy to make but once you get it, its a keeper.

Ginger Snaps

Below is half the recipe i usually make - this will make about 4 dozen cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks of butter, unsalted at room temp (3/4 of a cup)
1/2 cup raw sugar - yes raw no white sugar here
1/2 cup firm packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon all spice

Raw sugar to roll the cookies in (optional)

Directions

In a large bowl stir together the flour, banking soda, salt and spices
Place a large bowl on the stand mixer, cream together the butter and the sugars until light and fluffy.
Add the egg and molasses and mix until smooth.
Slowly add the flour mixture to the cream butter mixture, mix on low until smooth.
Cover and chill until firm, about 2 hours.

During this cool time I usually start the other cookie recipe i will post, since you need the kitchen cool to create the batter. But let me finish the directions of the ginger snaps,

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
Roll chilled dough into about 1 inch balls. Now you can roll the balls in the raw sugar before you place them on the parchment line cookie sheet.
Bake for about 10 minutes or until the edges are lightly brown and the center of the cookie is barely soft. If the cookies get too warm before the enter the oven they will burn before the 10 minutes. I roll enough cookies to fill the trays and put the remaining dough back in the fridge until i am ready to roll more.
Place trays on a cooling rack and once the cookies are set then transfer from the cookie sheets to the racks to finish cooling. If you want the cookies soft, once cooled place in a seal plastic container. If you want them like ginger snaps from the box leave them out over night to harden.


Dark Chocolate Brown Bears

OK like i said before you need a very cool kitchen to make the dough for these cookies, nothing that produces heat can be on, nothing. Trust me, i worked very hard to recreate this cookie we had in Belgium, rich chocolate taste but not too sweet. This is my favorite cookie even though is a pain in the butt to make.

Ingredients

2 table spoons of Greens & Blacks Organic Cocoa powder - do not skimp, this works the best
4 oz of 100% chocolate - yes 100% chocolate, Schaeffen Berger, if you can not find it the 99% will do - rough chop
1 1/2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick of unsalted butter at almost room temp
3/4 cup raw sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon of real vanilla extract - why cheap out now
1 teaspoon of instant coffee dissolved in a tablespoon of hot water - tried using espresso but it did not taste the same.

Directions

Before starting place the large bowl for the stand mixer in the fridge to cool.

In the food processor place the cocoa, chocolate and 1/4 cup of flour - first pulse, then once the chocolate bits get smaller go full speed until the chocolate is finely grounded. Now add the balance of the flour, baking powder and salt, pulse to blend.

Place a large bowl on the stand mixer and cream the butter and the sugars until very light and fluffy. Place mixer on medium and add the egg, vanilla and coffee. Once smooth and the bowl is still cool, lower the speed to low and slowly add the chocolate flour mixture to the butter mixture - do not over mix the dough. Quickly remove the dough from the bowl, form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm at least 3 hours.

While dough is chill-in place a large cutting board in the ridge as well - I usually place two in. You need to work quickly when you roll out the cookies and you need a cool surface.

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees

Divide the dough into quarters, place the other quarters back in the fridge as you work on one. Remove a cutting board from the fridge and lightly flour it. Warm the dough a bit in your hands and then roll it out to about 1/8 inch thick - with the cookie cutter of choice, i use a bear thus the title of the cookie. Cut out the cookies and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet - collect the trimmings and roll into a ball and place in the fridge.

Bake in the oven for about 10 to 12 minutes until firm. Remove place cookie sheet and with a quick move over a cooling rack side parchment and all the cookies from sheet onto cooling rack - It takes a few times to get the hang of it. I found since its hard to tell when the cookies are brown, if you leave them on the hot cookies sheet they keep cooking and sometimes they burn even when out of the oven. I do this same ting with another cookie i will get to in the future. You will know when the cookies are oven done when they break real easily with the slightest movement.

Repeat until all the dough is gone - this recipe makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies. Place the cutting board you just used back in the fridge when you bring out the other one to start cookie batch two and so on.

Enjoy cooking

Cookies -

I received a number of email today for me to post some of my cookie recipes: i thought there are allot of them so i can spread them out over several months.

These recipes do not follow the variations theme but what the hell it is how i got started with the cooking bug and lead me down the road to the cook book project.

The first one I am going to post is my take on the toll house cookie recipe, only i though it needed a new twist.

Sour Cherry, Walnut, Chocolate chip cookie

Below is a quarter of the recipe I usually make; the recipe below will make a little over 2 dozen cookies.

Ingredients

1 stick of unsalted butter at room temp (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup of sugar
1/4 cup firm packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour - i use unbleached
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips - Sometime I find them at Costco or Wholefoods
1 cup dried sour cherries - Costco in the fall, i stock up and freeze them
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper
In a large bowl mix together all the dried ingredients.
Place a large bowl on the stand mixer and cream together the butter and sugars until light and creamy. Now add the vanilla and egg to the butter mixture.
Slow add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until blended - do not over mix.
Remove bowl from stand mixer and with a wooden spoon fold in the cherries, chips and walnuts.
Using a cookie scoop drop dough onto the cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until light brown - cooking time will vary from oven to oven and also depends on how much time your oven is on. When I am in cookie mode for the holidays i need to watch the cookies after 8 minutes due sometimes the are done early or will need to stay in up to 14 minutes.
Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.


Another favorite cookie of mine, well actually its a bar, is mine tangy citrus bar. Some time i make it with lemons, limes or key limes.

Tangy Citrus Bars

Ingredients

Crust

2 cups all purpose flour, unbleached
1/2 powder sugar
2 sticks of butter cubed and chilled (1 cup)

Topping

5 eggs - Its a cookie so forget the calories
2 cups sugar - raw is best but white is fine
6 table spoons of all purpose flour
4 table spoons of citrus zest - lemon, lime or key lime
3/4 cup of juice of what ever citrus you choose

Powder sugar for dusting the finished bars

I did try oranges once with the bars - its OK, blood oranges were good but the tart citrus work best - Ah but not grapefruit, that's just wrong.

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Crust

In the food processor with the dough blade, combined all the ingredients of the crust. I pulse the processor until the dough is crumbly.
Pat dough into a parchment lined 9 x 13 inch baking pan - grease and floor the sides of the pan.
Bake for about 12 to 14 minutes or until the crust is light brown. Let crust cool before adding topping.

Reduce oven to 325 degrees

Topping

In a large bowl mix together all the dry ingredients. In the stand mixer with a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Now add the dry ingredients slowly to the eggs until blended. With the mixer still running on low add the zest and then the juice and mix until smooth.
Pour over crust and return to the oven and bake for 25 to 30 minute or so: the custard needs to set, then you know its done. For some reason the key lime and the blood orange take a little longer.
Transfer to cooling rack. After it has cooled for about 10 minutes dust with the powder sugar.
Let the pan cool completely before you cut it into bars. Remember to remove any parchment that may stick to the bottom of the bars.

Hmm what to post next in regards to my cookie recipes: the dark chocolate brown bears, Spice cookies or Ginger snaps - or something else - come back to find out.

Enjoy cooking

Potato Salad or is it chicken salad

I received an email tonight requesting my Potato and Chicken salad recipes, well the dressings on both is the same. I just change the main ingredients; this came about one summer when i was making the dressing for the chicken salad for our lunches and preparing the potato salad for a weekend party and when i had both recipes up on the cabinets in the kitchen did i realized with one slight change the dressing would be the same. There was egg in one and not the other and i thought why not add it to both.

I never really like potato salad i always thought it was rather bland, too sweet or full of things that just was wrong and it does not help matters that i do not like Mayo, ugh! But Michael loves potato salad, so i set out to make one that we both would like. I did this to many dishes that have mayo in them, i will post those recipes soon to.

OK lets start with the dressing for both recipes;

"The Dressing"

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of Olive oil Mayo
3 table spoons of Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon of whole grain mustard
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of celery seeds
1/2 teaspoon of ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 table spoons of sherry vinegar
4 hard boiled eggs, yolks separated from the whites, dice the whites and set aside

Directions

In a small bowl add the seeds and the vinegar and let steep for at least an hour. I do the step right before i start cutting up the veggies.

In a large bowl add the balance of the ingredients and mix well, make sure that the egg yolks are completely incorporated into the mixture. Chill this part while you are preparing the main part of the recipes. Leave the vinegar and seed mixture out at room temp.

Now it is time for either the Chicken or the Potato salad, lets do the Potato salad first;

Potato Salad

Dressing - see above

Ingredients

2 Lbs of red potatoes, cubed skins left on
4 large celery stalks diced
1 large sweet onion diced
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup of fresh dill, chopped and stems removed
1 cup of green onion, just the tops chopped
1/4 cup of Italian parsley chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot add diced potatoes in enough water to cover by 1/2 inch. Salt the water, bring to a boil and cook potatoes for about 10 to 15 minutes or until tender but still firm. Drain and place in an ice bath the stop the cooking process.

While the potatoes are cooking, in a large bowl place the sweet onions, celery and red pepper and toss in the vinegar seed mixture from the dressing, toss to coat and set aside.

Once potatoes are cool, drain from ice bath, try to get them as dry as posible and add them to the Mayo mixtures from the dressing along with the diced egg whites, the green onions, parsley and dill and mix well. Once all the potatoes are coated add the vinegar seed mixture to the party and and mix well.

Cover bowl and place in the fridge for at least two hours. Remix right before serving


Chicken Salad

Dressing - see above

Ingredients

Chicken prep

1 whole chicken cut up and skinned
1/4 cup olive oil
1 table spoon cumin
1 table spoon dried mustard
1 table spoon paprika
Salt and pepper

Salad

1 cup dried sour cherries
1/2 cup diced dried apricots
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 large sweet onion
4 stalks of celery diced
1 red pepper diced
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and minced
1/4 cup of chopped Italian Parsley


Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a large zip lock bag add all the chicken prep spices, olive oil and the chicken. Seal and shake bag to coat.
Place on a on pan so that all the chicken pieces are a single level, place in oven and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from Oven and let cool. Once cool, remove meat from bones and shred.

In a large bowl place sweet onions, cherries, apricots, celery, red pepper and add the vinegar mixture, toss to coat and set aside.

Next add chicken, egg whites, walnuts, jalapeno, parsley to mayo mixture. toss to coat chicken. Now add the Vinegar mixture, mix well and chill for at least two hours.

Both recipes will keep for a few days.

I do not know what well be next. Maybe some of my seafood recipes or other salads, i will see what comes to mind.

Enjoy cooking

Salsa

Here are a few Salsa I came up with over the years, which are great anytime of year but they are great in the summer since there is no cooking.


Cilantro Salsa

Ingredients

3 bunches of Cilantro, chopped and stems removed
3 large vildalia onions, diced
4 gloves of minced garlic
3 jalapeno, seeded and minced
5 sprigs of fresh oregano, leafed, chopped and stem removed
3/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
zest of one lime

Directions

in a small bowl place lime zest, coriander, cumin, cayenne, olive oil, vinegar, blend well and set aside.
In another bowl mix the balance of the ingredients.
Once the dressing has rested for 15 minutes add to the cilantro mixture and toss.

Now if you reduce the amount of cilantro and add a few more ingredients you have what i was told was a Rancho Salsa

Rancho Salsa

Ingredients

5 tomatoes, chunky chopped
2 Anaheim peppers, seeded and chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
2 limes juiced and zested
5 sprigs of fresh oregano, leafed and chopped stems removed
1 red onion diced
3 cloves of garlic diced
2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of funnel seeds
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped and stems removed
2 table spoons of red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons of tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In small bowl place lime zest and juice, cumin, funnel seeds, vinegar and tomato paste mix and set aside and let rest for 15 minutes.
place the balance of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Once the dressing has set add to large bowl and mix well. Chill salsa for at least an hour before serving


Mango Salsa

Ingredients

2 cups of Pineapple, chopped
2 cups of Mango, chopped
1 red onion chopped
1 red pepper chopped
1 orange pepper chopped
1 lime juiced and zested
1 cup of chopped Cilantro
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
8 oz of pineapple juice
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Really simple - combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, mix well and chill for at least an hour before serving


Now this not really a salsa and it takes a bit of cooking, but it is minor. But its a great addition to all the above.

Tomatillo Verde

Ingredients

6 tomatillos
4 pablano peppers
2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 large red onion cut into large thick sliced
1 red pepper
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 limes zested and juiced
4 sprogs of fresh oregano, leafed and chopped stems removed
bunch of cilantro, chopped and stems removed
1 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 table spoons of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Now this best if you have a grill or BBQ, but if you do not a toaster oven works well too.

The tomatillos, red pepper, pablano and onion all need to be grilled or roasted until they take on a charred appearance. Once charred, set aside to cool.
Place all the ingredients into a food processor but only half the cilantro and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl mix in the remain cilantro and chill for at least an hour before serving

Hummus

Hummus is the prefect dish to have on hand, it is easy to make and stores for over a week in the Fridge. I have three ways I make hummus, the traditional way, a Red Pepper Hummus and a Navy Bean Hummus.

Traditional

Ingredients
3 Cans of Chickpeas
6 to 8 cloves of garlic - we like with a strong garlic taste
1/4 to 1/3 cup Tahini
1 lemon juiced and zest
1/4 cup or less olive oil
1/4 cup of green onions, just the tops
1 teaspoon of Sumac
Dash of Paprika
Salt to taste

Directions

Place everything in the food processor except the olive oil and lemon juice. When adding the Tahini start with a 1/4 cup, if when you taste it when you are adding the lemon juice and it's a bit dull add the balance of the Tahini to make a 1/3 of a cup. Pulse to combined. Next turn on the food processor and slow drizzle in the olive oil, stop once the mixture is smooth. Add a dash of the lemon juice at a time, stop the processor and taste. You want the Hummus to have a hint of lemon taste. If its prefect stop, if not keep adding a dash until it has the right taste.

Place in seal-able bowl and chill.

Place an amount in a serving bowl, make a swirl in the top, add a bit of olive oil and a dash of Paprika and serve.


Red Pepper Hummus

Ingredients

Same as above only reduce the chickpeas by one can and add a cup of roasted red peppers drained. I pat them dry with a paper towel prior to adding them into the food processor.

Directions

Follow the Directions for the traditional Hummus


Navy bean Hummus

Ingredients

The same as the traditional hummus only swap out the chickpeas for three cans of navy beans drained.

Directions

Follow the directions for the traditional Hummus.


Tomorrow I will post more summer recipes.

Enjoy cooking

Summer Recipes

Last year we took a trip Jordan and Syria, we loved it. The sights were breath taking, the people were friendly and the food was great and good for you - lots of fresh veggies and herbs. I asked every cafe owner and chef how they made the dishes and they were all willing to share their recipes; and the ingredients tasted much better than here due to they were picked that mourning and still farmed the traditional way they have done for years. I am all for local produce or growing your own.

The staples you need for almost every recipe are:

Italian Parsley
Tomatoes
Lemon
Cucumbers
radishes
pomegranate
onions
garlic
Sorrel
lettuce
red peppers
mint or spearmint
Sumac

Now take a basic Salad:

Salata Khadra

Ingredients
6 small cucumbers, diced
4 tomatoes, diced
1 bunch of Italian parsley, rough chopped stems removed
1 small onion pureed and excess liquid removed
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/4 olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Place all ingredients in a large below with the exception of the lemon and the olive oil. In a small bowl whisk the lemon juice, zest, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Combined dressing with salad and toss to combine - done simple

Now if you add a few more ingredients you will have another salad,

Fattoush

Ingredients
all the above plus
2 cups shredded romaine
1/2 cup of chopped fresh mint or spearmint - we had the mint in Jordan and the spearmint in Syria
1 medium red pepper, diced
1 cup of grated radishes
1 bunch of green onions, just the tops diced
1 teaspoon of Sumac
4 cloves of garlic, diced

Directions
Dressing
In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and zest, olive oil, garlic, sumac, salt and pepper.
Add all the remaining ingredients into a large bowl mix in dressing and toss to combine.

In some places in Syria we also had Fattoush with Pomegranate seeds mixed in

Variation on the Fattoush,

Add 1 teaspoon of pomegranate syrup to the dressing before whisking, it makes the dressing less tart. And 1/2 cup of chopped Sorrel to the salad.

Change a few of the ingredients in the above Fattaush and you will get Tabbouli

Tabbouli
Ingredients
Remove the following from the above:

Mint or Spearmint
Radishes
Green Onions

Now add
1 cup of Bulgar wheat
Juice of 1 lime (my addition)
1/2 cup of chopped Sorrel (also my addition)

Directions
Pour the Bulgar wheat into a bowl and cover with enough hot tap water to cover the wheat plus two inches, let stand for 1 hour.
Mix all the salad ingredients in a large bowl, by now you should know what those ingredients are, hold back the romaine lettuce.
Once the wheat has taken up all the water transfer to another bowl and add to it all the dressing ingredients and mix well to combine.
Pour dressing over salad ingredients and chill up to an hour but now more than 24 hours.
When ready to serve, place a bed of romaine at the bottom of each bowl and add the salad to the top. I do not add the romaine to the salad since it wilts when being dressed and chilled.

Now there is one other combination that is just great. We had it while in the Bedouin village in Syria, i do not know the name and i have switched out some of the ingredients that are hard to find.

Ingredients

6 tomatoes diced
2 cucumbers diced
1 cup of Sorrel ribbon chop
1 teaspoon of Sumac
1 cup of pomegranate seeds
1/2 cup of spicy middle eastern red pepper, diced
2 lemons juiced and zest
2 table spoons of the liquid from a grated onion
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions
In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice and zest, olive oil, paprika, sumac and onion juice.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and add dressing and mix well.
set aside at room temp for one hour before serving. I though of this as a middle eastern Salsa.



Serve all the above salads with warm Pita and Hummus. Variations on Hummus on my next post in a few days.

Enjoy cooking

Bolognese

OK so i am not posting my variations on middle eastern summer recipes, that will be tomorrow. I got a request for my Bolognese recipes - i had posted this on Face book a while back but since then i have made a few variations on it. The one i posted on Face book was meatless but here i give you a two variations that i have served to my guests and they had several helpings.

When i was first trying out making a pasta gravy as i was told by many of my first and second generation Italian friends, "everyone thinks its takes cans and cans of tomatoes and pints and pints of fresh tomatoes and actually its a few table spoons of tomato paste and a very good red wine". What i found out that you can go the route of lots of tomatoes stewing for days and get a great gravy (sauce) or for the quick way and get the same great taste use paste and red wine.

Here is the Veggie Bolognese first:

Ingredients
8 oz of bag carrots
1 medium red onion
1 medium red pepper, yellow or orange is fine BUT no green
1 cup of dried mushrooms, i use Costco Dried Mushroom blend
6 to 8 cloves of garlic
6 stems of fresh Oregano & Thyme
2 hand fulls of fresh Italian parsley
little more then half an 8 oz tub of the coffee mascarpone cheese, yes the coffee one
5 oz tub of Asiago cheese
8 table spoons of Tomato paste: its about 1 1/2 6 oz cans
2 cups of hot veggie stock - low salt
1 1/2 cups of a good red wine, if you would not drink it do not cook with it
1/4 cup of olive oil
salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste - i like my sauces to have a kick to them
1 pound of your favorite dried pasta
1 cup of each, Shitake, Cremini and mini portabella mushrooms
1 large zucchini

Directions
Place the dried Mushroom mix into the hot veggie stock and set aside
Remove the leaves from the Oregano and thyme stems and set aside, you can rough chop them if you want but why bother
Rough chop the parsley removing the stems and set aside
Rough chop the Onion and pepper and like before set aside
Place the baby carrots into a food processor and pulse until the carrots are the size of rice, then remove from the food processor.
Next add the onion and the pepper to the food processor and pulse into diced, do not puree them.
The idea is that you want the carrots, onion and pepper to have the texture of ground meat.
Now clean and rough chop the three mushrooms, you want them chunky.
Now rough chop the zucchini.
if you have not guested i like to get all the prep done first before I start cooking. I do this when we have our dinner parties; i tape all the recipes to the cabinets review all the items that need to be chopped and do that all first. Also I tried to use recipes that have similar ingredients so I do not end up with mountains of little bowls every where.
In a large skillet and i do mean large, that has been heated to medium high place the olive oil and then quickly add the carrots, cook until they start to soften about 5 minutes. Add the onion and pepper and cook until all three are soften and their water content has reduced by almost half.
Start boiling the water for the pasta.
Now add the garlic and the oregano and thyme and heat for about 30 seconds: while this is heating drain the dried mushrooms but retain the liquid.
Add them to the veggie mix, stir. reduce heat to medium.
Now add the tomato paste and stir until melted into the mixture.
Next add the rough chopped 3 mushrooms and the zucchini and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until the newly added veggies are now soft.
Pour in the reserved veggie stock and red wine, raise heat to high and bring to a boil: now you understand why i said a really large skillet. Once it was been brought to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer uncovered until the liquid has reduced by a 3rd. about 10 minutes
In this time i would start cooking the pasta
After this point is where i add the salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper, remember to taste first before you add the salt. The tomato pasta and stock have salt in them.
Once reduced stir in the mascarpone cheese and about half of the asiago cheese and the parsley. Keep stirring until the cheese have melted into the sauce.
Drain pasta after it has be been cooked as instructed on the package and in a really big bowl combine pasta and sauce and toss.
Serve and add the balance of the asiago cheese.


Now the meat sauce, its about the same only i remove the carrots, switch out some stuff and add a few other items.

Bolognese

Ingredients
4 Shallots
1 1/2 pounds of lean ground beef or Lamb: if using lamb increase the shallots by 2
1 medium red pepper
1 cup of dried Mushroom mix
12 to 16 cloves of garlic, rough chopped - yes its allot but you'll see why
6 stems of fresh Oregano and Thyme
2 hand fulls of fresh Italian parsley
Little more than half of an 8oz coffee mascarpone cheese
5 oz tub of Asiago cheese
8 table spoons of tomato paste
2 cups of hot beef stock - low salt
1 1/2 cups of red wine
6 table spoons of olive oil
Salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste.
1 pound of your favorite dried pasta
1 cup of cherry tomatoes

Directions

In a large skillet, remember a very large skillet, add two table spoons of olive oil and the ground meat, over medium high high cook meat until a light brown and still slightly pink, trust me about this you do not want to cook the meat until its all brown.
Remove from heat and add 6 to 8 cloves of garlic and stir set aside.
Prep all the items as instructed above in the veggie version, minus the carrots, three mushrooms and zucchini.
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Drain the cook meat and set aside.
Using the same skillet, do not clean it, a big no no.
Add Shallots, peppers and two table spoons of olive oil, over medium high heat and cook until soft, reduce heat to medium
stir in fresh oregano, thyme and 6 to 8 cloves of garlic and heat for 30 seconds at this point drain mushroom mix a retain liquid.
Add mushroom mix to skillet, cook for 2 minutes.
Start water for pasta
Next add the tomato paste and mix until melted.
Stir in cooked meat.
Add beef stock and red wine, raise heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until liquid as reduced by a 3rd.
While sauce is simmering place cherry tomatoes in a zip lock bag with the remain two table spoons of Olive oil and shake until tomatoes are coated. Dump tomatoes onto a cookie sheet and place in oven. Roast tomatoes until the burst the remove from oven and sprinkle with some of the fresh chopped parsley and set aside on a cooling rack.
When the tomatoes are in the oven start the pasta.
Once sauce has reduced i salt and pepper to taste, next add the mascarpone cheese and half the asiago cheese and the remaining parsley and stir until cheeses have melted.
Drain pasta once cook as instructed on the package and add to a very large bowl, add sauce and toss. Now add the cherry tomatoes and remaining asiago cheese and serve.


I am also working on a variation of the above with sea food and i hope to post that variation in the coming weeks.

Note: i know that there is a real term for some of these variations other then bolognese but hey I am not an Italian Chef, i am just a cook from New York City that loves cooking.

Enjoy cooking

Pesto

Pesto was the first i explored without using a recipe. I started with basic pesto listed below and explored from there. Now of course there weer several combination's that did not work and there are a few I am still trying to prefect.

Traditional Pest

Ingredients:
3 bunches of Basil - leaves taken from the stems
4 cloves garlic - rough chopped
1 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2 to 3/4 cups of parmesan cheese (fresh)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place basil in a food processor and pulse to chop. Next add the garlic, salt and pepper and pulse to mix. Add the pine nuts and with the olive oil in hand turn on the food processor and slowly stream the olive oil into the mixture until smooth. Sometimes it takes the full half cup, sometimes a little less and sometime a bit more. When you get comfortable making the pesto just stream for the bottle until it gets the way you like it.

Now I do not add the cheese into the pesto like most recipes direct. I found that if you add the cheese later when you are mixing the pasta and the pesto it has a better taste.

Make you favorite pasta as per the directions on the package but before the pasta is done, take about 1/3 to 1/4 cup of the hot pasta water and place it in a large bowl. Now add the pesto and mix with a large wood spoon (do not use metal it gives a metallic taste to the pesto). Now add the hot pasta and the cheese and mix well and serve.

This is your basic pesto. My basic pesto is all the above but i add a bunch of Chives to the mix. Place the chives in the food processor at the same time as the basil, i just like the flavor the chives add to the Pesto.

Time to mix it up. Here are three Variations on "Pesto" that i have come up with;

Tarragon Pesto

Ingredients
2 bunches of Tarragon, leaves taken from the stems
2 bunches of Chives
4 cloves of Garlic - rough chopped
1 cup of Hazel Nuts
1/2 cup of Olive oil
1/2 to 3/4 cup Assiago Cheese, Fresh
Salt and pepper to taste

Follow the Directions above

Parsley
3 bunches of Italian Parsley - stems removed
1 bunch of Chives
2 cloves of Garlic
2 Shallots - rough chopped
1 cup Pistachio nuts, un-salted
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 to 3/4 cup of Goat cheese
Salt & pepper to taste

Follow directions above

Cilantro
3 bunches of Cilantro - stems removed
1 bunch of chives
4 Shallots - rough chopped
1 cup Almonds
3/4 cup Assiago Cheese
1/2 olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Follow directions above


Now i do have a mint, chervill, sage and sorrel pesto's but i am still adjusting the recipes since they are not as straight forward as the above: and there is my Avocado one but that is my secret recipe that wows everyone i serve it to so I will keep it to myself for awhile.


My next entry will be the are the wonderful, perfect for summer salads I learned when in Jordan and Syria and the Variations that I came up.

Have fun cooking

Day two - learning to blog

well I hope to get to cooking and recipes soon but learning my way around the dash board and how to up load pictures has taken most of my evening, but its a learning curve and it seams pretty simple.

At work today i was asked how did i get into cooking; this came up a lunch as we all sat around looking at the wide assortment of "lunches from home" everyone brought in. I said "we liked to entertain and I started buying cook book", pausing to watch my co-worker build their sandwich buy opening all of these very neat little packages of tin foil all holding one ingredient for what look like a very interesting sandwich. "why not build the sandwich at home and bring in the completed master piece?' i asked. "I do not like when the bread get moist and the way all the parts of the sandwich muddle together as the sit for hours in the fridge", she replied. I understand the moist bread but the melding of the flavors i did not.

But i digress ...

One of my peers asked "how and why did you start your own cookbook?"

It started when I was looking for a pesto recipe and thought this seams simple and if keep the building blocks the same - a green, a fat, a nut and an alliaceae the combinations are endless; and that is what started me on the love of cooking and 600 plus recipes later i am still having fun.

Off to the cabin tomorrow but my next post will be all the variations I came up for Pesto's

Day one of the journey

Day one of my Blog on The Variations on Cooking; my current agent told i need to start a Blog in order for publishing houses to take my book seriously, thus day one.

This has been a long process, i have gone through 6 rewrites of my book and 5 refocusing of the concept and currently my book is parked with a publisher who told me i need to start a Blog, "All cook book authors have one, and though your creations have a fresh spin, we need to see what the public thinks".

For anyone who finds this Blog stick with me as i go through the learning process of posting a Blog. I hope to have my first picture up with my first set of recipes within the nest few days.

"What is my cooking all about - or its style", i was asked by a publisher last year. I have no real style, it is a blend of all styles of cooking, from Mexican to French, and how to take a simple recipe and by just change one or two ingredients you have a whole new meal.