Happy New Year Everyone!

Everyone has their preferred way of ringing in the New Year. I enjoyed a nice quiet night at home with my hubby. We enjoyed an arrangement of appetizers accompanied by glasses of chilled bubbly. The menu consisted of an antipasto platter (with several types of peppers, prosciutto, tomato and bocconcini salad and olives), tostones (fried plantains), cilantro-lime shrimp and honey-sesame wings. I thought it would be nice to share a few pics with you. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a good shot of the shrimp. Darn it!


Honey-Sesame Chicken Wings

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2lb chicken wings (w/tips removed and cut apart at joints)
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp hoisin sauce
toasted sesame seeds
1 green onion chopped
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 425
Pat dry wings after cleaning and season with salt and pepper. Place wings on a lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. While wings are cooking mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Remove wings from oven and reduce oven temp to 400 degrees. Turn wings over and baste wings with half of mixture. Return to oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven again turn wings and baste with remaining mixture and bake for 8 more minutes. Remove from oven, garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. Enjoy!


Cilantro-Lime Shrimp

1 lb jump shrimp (shelled and deveined leaving tails on)
salt
pepper
1 lime
tbsp chopped cilantro
extra virgin olive oil
tbsp butter

Season shrimp with salt and pepper lightly and toss with a drizzle of olive oil. Preheat saute pan on medium-high heat and apply a drizzle of olive oil. Place shrimp in pan and cook 1 1/2 - 2 minutes per side. Squeeze juice of lime and add butter. After butter melts place shrimp in a serving dish and sprinkle with cilantro. Enjoy!

Blueberry Lemon Scones with Lemon Glaze

I posted a recipe for Orange-Cranberry Scones last week but why stop there. Through trial and error, I created this recipe for Blueberry Lemon Scones with a Lemon Glaze. I have found that frozen blueberries work the best because there is less bruising of the fruit. Do Not defrost blueberries at all. Take them from the freezer and add to batter making sure not to over mix. The lemon zest adds a clean taste and enhances the flavor of the blueberries.
It was funny watching my husband pacing in and out of the kitchen to see if they were ready. Thank God they only take twenty minutes. After they were done baking I told him they have to cool, that was another dilemma LOL. I told him to make a pot of coffee and they should be cool by then. That seemed to satisfy him a little bit. For those of you who know my husband, know that he loves my cooking and is my best critic.
I don't think I will stop at the Blueberry Lemon Scones, I am looking into other flavors. To all my fans be on the look out for others.


4 cups flour
1/4 cup and 1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp baking powder
3 sticks cold cubed butter
4 large eggs (lightly beaten)
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to mixing bowl. Add lemon zest, with paddle attachment mix on low. Add cold cubed butter and mix on low until butter pieces reach the size of peas. Combine eggs and heavy cream together and add with mixer on low speed to butter and flour mixture slowly. Mix until just blended. DO NOT OVER MIX! Fold in blueberries making sure not to bruise blueberries. Now dump on a floured surface and knead slightly. Gently roll out dough to 3/4 inch thick. Using a 3 inch floured round cutter, cut out scones and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or use a Silpat liner (I love them). Place in oven and back for 20 minutes (do not over bake). Makes 14-16 scones. Once cooled drizzle with lemon glaze (recipe below) Enjoy these moist and flaky scones with a cup of coffee or tea if you prefer. Be sure to store in a airtight container, that's if they last that long.



Lemon Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar
4 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice together until smooth. Add to a squeeze bottle and drizzle over scones using a side to motion. If you don't have a squeeze bottle just drizzle with a small spoon.

Sausage and Potato Soup

Soups and Stews has to be the easiest dish to make. It is basically ingredients thrown together. As I have mentioned before nothing is better than a hot bowl of soup on a cold night served with some kind of crusty bread. I like a chunky soup with lot of vegetables. When my father would make soup he would cook it until the vegetables were mush, ok what's the point?


lb polish sausage (cubed)
2 tsp sofrito (if you don't have use garlic but sofrito is so much better)
4 large potatoes (cut in large cubes)
2 large onions (chopped)
2 large carrots (chopped)
2 large celery stalks (chopped)
1 1/2 qt chicken or vegetable broth
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp Italian seasoning
salt
pepper
2 tbsp butter (soften)
1 tbsp flour

Chop all vegetables and set aside. Keep potatoes in water because they will turn brown. Preheat large pot to medium heat and add extra virgin olive oil. Add onions, carrots, celery, salt, pepper, sofrito and italian seasoning. Cook vegetables until onions are translucent. Now add potatoes and sausage. Saute for 10 minutes. Add broth bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for an hour until potatoes are fork tender. Mix flour and butter to form a paste and add to soup and mix. You may see small pieces of the paste but this will dissolve quickly. The paste will thicken the broth slightly and broth will no longer be clear. It also adds a richer taste to the soup. Now serve with your favorite crusty bread and Enjoy!

Orange-Cranberry Scones

I adapted this recipe from one of my favorite chef's Ina Garten. I remember watching her make this recipe and I was determined to try it myself. Well the opportunity presented itself. I had cranberries and oranges and the other ingredients I always have on hand. But you know me I to tweak the recipe just a little bit by adding orange zest to the glaze and soaking the cranberries in Grand Marnier (orange liqueur). I also cut this recipe in half.


2 cups of flour
2 1/4 tbsp sugar
tbsp baking powder
tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp orange zest
1 1/2 sticks of cold unsalted butter (cubed)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (soaked in 2 tsp of Grand Marnier)
1 egg beaten with 2 tbsp water (for egg wash)
1/2 cup powder sugar plus 2 tbsp
2 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice


Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment and flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and 2 tsp orange zest to mixing bowl and mix on low. Add butter and mix until butter reaches the size of peas. Combine eggs and cream then slowly add to flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. Now add cranberries.
Turn dough out onto well floured surface and knead dough into a ball (dough will be fluffy). Flour rolling pin and hands and roll dough out to 3/4 inch think. Flour biscuit cutter and cut out 8-10 scones and place on baking sheet. I used a Silpat (silicone baking sheet liner) but you can use parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool on baking rack. When cool drizzle with orange glaze. Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee. YUM!

For orange glaze- mix powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp orange zest and orange juice to form a cream orange flavored glaze.

Citrus Tilapia and Sauteed Curry Cauliflower

Citrus really adds an amazing flavor and compliments fish. It's so common for people to put lemon on their fish, I prefer lime instead. I baked Tilapia fillets with a group of spices and lime. We enjoyed the dish and I am sure you will too.

6 Tilapia fillets
tsp cumin
2 tsp Spanish paprika
tsp ground chipotle pepper
tsp garlic powder
salt
pepper
2 limes
extra virgin olive oil
butter

Preheat to 400 degrees
Combine all spices in a small bowl and set aside. Line a baking sheet with foil and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (enough to coat foil so fish will not stick) Place fish in pan and sprinkle combined spices on top of fish making sure each fillet is seasoned. Put a pea size of butter on each fillet then squeeze juice of one lime on each fillet. Bake for 30-35 minutes then squeeze juice of second lime as soon as it comes out of the oven. Serve with Curry Cauliflower and rice Enjoy! (see recipe for Sauteed Curry Cauliflower below)



Sauteed Curry Cauliflower

2 lbs fresh or frozen cauliflower florets
2 tbsp Indian curry powder (if you don't have, any will do)
tsp crushed pepper flakes
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh wheat bread crumbs

In a small saute pan on medium heat, add 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and add bread crumbs. Saute until golden and set aside. In a large saute pan on medium heat add the rest of the extra virgin olive oil, curry powder, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Saute until curry powder becomes really fragrant be sure not to burn. Add cauliflower and increase heat to medium-high and saute until they become tender. Pour into a serving dish and sprinkle bread crumbs on top and serve. YUM!!!

Braised Lamb Chops

Well the summer has come to and end and it's time to start thinking about those comfort meals as the the days become cooler. Fall is around the corner and I can't wait. I love the changing of the leaves and the crisp cool days. I found a great deal on lamb chops, we all know how expensive they can be so I couldn't pass them up. Today I decided to sear the lamp chops and then slow cook them in a tomato based broth, which reduced to a rich gravy and served it over a lightly seasoned rice. I must say the gravy was so full of flavor and the meat was so tender that it melted in my mouth and left me wanting more.


Braised Lamb Chops

8 Center Cut Lamb Chops
2 large onions (sliced)
tbsp tomato paste
1 packet sazon
salt
pepper
4 cups beef broth or water
2 tbsp sofrito
Extra virgin olive oil
juice of lime

Marinate lamb chops in lime juice and 1 tbsp of sofrito for an hour. Heat a large deep pot like a dutch oven to medium high heat. Add olive oil and add lamb chops. Sear chops on both sides about 3 minutes on each side so they reach a deep golden brown. Be sure not to crowd pot so work in batches. Once chops are down reduce heat to medium and add chops back to pot and add onions, tomato paste, remaining sofrito, broth, salt and pepper. Cover and cook for an hour but this time liquid will be reduce to a rich and flavorful gravy. Serve with your favorite rice and a vegetable of your choice. Enjoy!

Green Beans and Carrots

Yesterday while shopping with my mom we witnessed a rather overweight child riding in the shopping cart but not in the area where children normally sit. In the other shopping cart pushed by the father was a variety of junk food. Too many young children are developing medical problems before the age of 10. Some schools are trying to practice healthier eating and increase physical activities. With parents working two and three jobs these days it is easier to pick up fast food rather than preparing a home cooked meal because it's readily available. Proper eating habits begin at home. Now a days there are so many teaching food shows and websites showing you how to make quick and healthy meals for your family. If you include your children in this learning process it will be easier on you and your wallet.

Adding vegetables and fruits to meals without your children knowing it is a sneaky trick. Example when I make spaghetti and meatballs for my niece I add finely chopped spinach in the ground beef or turkey and she will never know. "Thank God she doesn't read auntie's blog LOL!" Most children are more likely to eat raw vegetables served with a healthy dip. How ever you do it remember their health is important.

Here is a vegetable dish you can add to your recipes. You may enjoy the sweetness that the carrots add to the string beans.

Green Beans and Carrots

1lb bag frozen green beans (thawed)
2 cups shredded carrots
medium red onion (thinly sliced)
tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
salt
pepper
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Heat saute pan using a med-high heat. Add extra virgin olive oil to saute pan. Add red pepper flakes when they begin to pop add onions and cook until translucent. Add green beans, carrots, salt and pepper. Toss and cook until completely heated. Enjoy the sweet carrots and crunchy green beans.