Category Archives: Recipes

08

Aug. ’13

Vegeterian Retreat Menu

Blueberry Tart

I have been hired as the chef for a ten-day Conscious Social Change Retreat near Hanover, NH. The weather has been glorious – intense blue skies with soft summer breezes and most of the meals have been served outside overlooking the pond. The menu is vegetarian, and luckily I have not been challenged by any dietary restrictions. (During a previous retreat, I had one woman who did not eat soy or garlic, one who was gluten intolerant & one who was vegan! Creating a menu that met everyone’s needs was interesting.) Here is what I have served the first few days of this retreat:

Day 1
Dinner
Pasta Primavera
Massaged Kale Salad with Sesame Oil
Brownies with Raspberries & Whipped Cream

Day 2Lunch
Veggie Bacon BLTs
Potato Leek Soup
Carrot Sticks
Apples

Dinner
Fried Rice with Peas, Water Chestnuts, Mushrooms & Scallions
Pot Stickers with Ginger Dipping Sauce
Stir Fried Snow Peas, Mushrooms & Carrots
Fortune Cookies

Day 3Lunch
Veggie Patties on Rolls with Lettuce & Tomatoes
Blue Corn Chips
Carrot Sticks
Apples

Dinner
Spinach & Mushroom Quiche
Tossed Salad
Sour Cream Cake with Berries & Whipped Cream

Day 4
Lunch
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on Multi-Grain Baguettes
Tomato Soup
Oranges

Dinner
Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos with Avocado, Tomatoes, Scallions, Cheddar & Sour Cream
Blueberry Lemon Curd Tart

Day 5
Lunch
Curried Tempeh Salad Sandwiches
Pasta Salad
Blue Corn Chips
Carrot Sticks

Dinner
Grilled Vegetables in Pita Pockets with Tzatziki Sauce
Corn in the Cob
Watermelon
Veggies on the grill

Day 6Lunch
Vegetarian Chili
Jalapeño Corn Bread
Oranges

Dinner
Mushroom Risotto
Green Bean, Mozzarella & Tomato Salad
Frosted Brownies and Sliced Strawberries

My recipe for the Blueberry Lemon Curd Tart:

Crust
1 1/2 c. flour
3 T. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable shortening

Lemon Curd
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
4 large egg yolks
5 T. butter, cut into pieces

Blueberry Topping
2 quarts blueberries
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. cornstarch

Directions:
Crust – Blend flour and sugar in bowl. Cut in vegetable shortening until it is crumbly and looks like small peas. Add 7 T. ice water and mix with a fork until it forms a ball. Turn out on floured surface and roll until 1/4 inch thick. Fold in half and fold in half again. Set it gently in a greased tart pan or pie plate and unfold. Crimp the edges. Place a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper in the bottom on the pie shell. Fill with rice or dry beans and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven and discard paper and rice or beans. Prick the bottom of the pie shell with a fork and return to oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove from oven.
Lemon Curd- Whisk sugar and lemon juice in a heavy medium saucepan to blend. Whisk in egg yolks and then. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken (about 8 minutes). Remove from heat and spread on prepared pie shell.
Blueberry Topping – Measure out 1 c. of he blueberries and place in a medium saucepan together with sugar and 1/2 c. water. Bring to boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 2 T. water. When water and blueberries have come to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, stirring constantly for 3 to 4 minutes or until the blueberries start to burst. Stirring constantly, add the cornstarch mixture and simmer for a minute until the mixture becomes translucent. Immediately remove from heat and add remaining blueberries. Carefully spoon the mixture over the lemon curd in the pie shell. Let cool to room temperature and refrigerate.

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11

Jul. ’13

Brandied Cherries with Yogurt

CherriesIngredients:

2 ½ c. pitted sour cherries

1 t. fresh lemon juice

¼ c. honey

¼ c. brandy or dark rum

1 t. cinnamon

½  c. plain, nonfat Greek-style yogurt

Directions:

Mix lemon juice, honey, brandy & cinnamon in a glass mixing cup and heat in microwave for 30 seconds.  Stir to blend.  Pour over cherries and marinate in refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.

To serve, spoon cherries into individual serving bowls and garnish with yogurt.

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23

Jun. ’13

Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Truffle Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

8 oz. fresh wild mushroom agnolotti

1/2 c. heavy cream

2 T. white truffle oil

Salt & pepper to taste

1/4 c. shredded Pecorino Romano cheese

 

Directions:

Cook pasta in boiling, salted water according to package directions.

While pasta cooks, heat butter in a large skillet. Stir in heavy cream and truffle oil. Bring sauce to a low simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste; add additional heavy cream or truffle oil, if desired. Drain pasta and toss with sauce. Garnish with shredded cheese.

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18

Jun. ’13

Bouillabaisse

Ingredients:

4 lobster tails or 3 whole lobsters, steamed

2 dozen cherrystone clams in shells

1 dozen mussels in shells

1 pound white fish fillet (cod, haddock or halibut)

2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 ½ pounds large sea scallops

½ cup olive oil

1 cup onion, diced

½ cup celery, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 -1 lb 12 oz cans of diced tomatoes with juice

1 bay leaf

¼ t. saffron threads

1 ½ t salt

1 t pepper

2 quarts of store-bought fish or chicken stock

Directions:

Prepare seafood. Remove cooked lobster meat from shells and cut into 2-inch pieces and set aside.  Scrub shells of clams and mussels to remove any dirt. Cut fish fillet into 2-inch pieces and set aside. Peel and devein shrimp.  Rinse scallops. Sauté the onion, celery and garlic in olive oil in a large stock pot over medium high heat.  Add tomatoes, bay leaf, saffron and salt and pepper.  Add stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes or until some of the liquid is reduced to concentrate the flavor.  Add seafood, cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes until fish and scallops are opaque, shrimp is pink, and the mussels and clams are opened wide. Serve with crusty garlic toast, Caesar salad and a crisp white wine, like Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay. Serves 6.

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11

Jun. ’13

Shrimp and Artichoke Hearts

shrimp-artichoke-hearts1

Ingredients:

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

½ t. cayenne

1 pint half & half

3 T. catsup

2 T. Worcestershire

5 T. lemon juice

5 T. sherry

3 jars marinated artichoke hearts, well drained

½ lb. Fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 ½ lbs. Jumbo shrimp, cooked, peeled & deveined

2 c. grated cheddar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400o. Melt butter over low heat in a medium saucepan.  Add flour & cayenne pepper.  Mix well.  Whisk in half & half and cook over low heat until thick and well blended.  Add catsup, Worchester, lemon juice & sherry.  Blend well.  In baking dish, combine artichoke hearts, shrimp & mushrooms.  Pour sauce over and top with cheese.  Bake about 30 minutes in 400o oven.  This is best served with a crisp green salad, rice and a crunchy loaf of bread. Serves 6-8.

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04

Jun. ’13

Grilled Crab and Swiss Sandwich on Rye

Today is National Cheese Day! Celebrate with this fantastic sandwich.

Ingredients:

1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat, cleaned

1 stalk celery, diced

1 t. Old Bay seasoning

1/4 c. mayonnaise

6 slices Swiss cheese

12 slices of marble rye bread

Butter, softened

Directions:

Prepare crab salad by combining crabmeat, celery, Old Bay seasoning and mayonnaise in a bowl. Divide among 6 slices of bread.  Top each with one slice of Swiss cheese.  Top each one with another slice of bread which has been spread with a small amount of mayonnaise.  Spread softened butter on the outside of the sandwiches and grill on medium heat until golden brown.

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03

Jun. ’13

Greek Baklava

Baklava

Ingredients:

2 c. finely chopped almonds and walnuts

¾ c. sugar

3 T. cinnamon

1 lb. frozen phyllo pastry sheets

1 ½ c. plain bread crumbs

1 c. melted butter

2 c. water

4 c. sugar

1 cinnamon stick

Juice of one lemon

 

Directions:

Spread one sheet of phyllo in a buttered baking dish and brush with butter.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs.  Repeat with 7 more layers.  Add ½ of nut mixture.  Add 5 more layers brushing butter after each sheet of phyllo.  Add remaining nut mixture.  Add 7-8 more layers.  Brush top with melted butter and cut in long strips.  Then cut diagonally across the strips to make diamond shapes.  Bake at 350oF for 45 minutes.  Make syrup with butter, water, sugar, cinnamon stick and one lemon.  Remove baklava from oven and spoon syrup over while warm.  Serve at room temperature.

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19

May. ’13

Cinnamon Mocha Gelato

 

image
Ingredients:

 

2 cups whole milk

 

1 cup heavy cream

 

2/3 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

 

2 T. Instant espresso powder

 

1 T. Cinnamon

 

2 large eggs

 

2 large egg  yolks

 

3/4 cup sugar

 

 

Directions:

 

In a heavy-bottom saucepan, combine the milk and cream. Place over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches a temperature of 170°F. Turn off the heat and whisk in the cocoa powder, espresso powder and cinnamon. Set aside.

 

Meanwhile whisk the egg yolks until smooth. Gradually whisk in the sugar until it is well blended and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Very slowly pour some of the hot cocoa mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, to warm and temper them (if you do this too fast, the eggs will cook & form “curds” in the bottom of the pan).  When they are lightly warm, combine the egg mixture with the rest of the hot cocoa mixture in the saucepan, creating a chocolate custard gelato base. Cook and stir the custard over medium low heat, until it reaches a temperature of 185°F. Do not allow to boil.
Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean bowl. To cool the custard quickly, make an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice and water and placing the bowl with the custard in the bowl of ice. Stir every few minutes to prevent a skin from forming. Once it is completely cooled, cover and refrigerate until very cold, at least 4 hours or overnight the custard into the container of an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving. Makes one quart.

 

 

 

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18

May. ’13

Mediterranean Broccoli Salad

broccoli salad

Ingredients:

4 c. broccoli florets

1/2 c. garbanzo beans

1/2 c. pitted kalamata olives

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 c. crumbled feta cheese

1/4 c. olive oil

Directions:

Steam broccoli florets for 2 minutes and rinse with cold water. Slice bell pepper into thin strips and then cut the strips into thirds. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, add olive oil and toss lightly.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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09

May. ’13

Hawaiian Coconut Shrimp with Rum Sauce

 

 

Coconut shrimpIngredients:

Sauce

2 c chicken stock

¼ c. soy sauce

2 T. dark rum

4 t. sugar

Shrimp

2 pounds large shrimp, uncooked

1 ½ c flour

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

Water

12 oz. shredded coconut

Oil for frying

Directions:

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to boil over medium heat.  Stir to dissolve sugar.  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.  While sauce is cooling, prepare shrimp. Peel shells from shrimp, leaving tail shell on.  With a sharp knife, make a shallow incision lengthwise along the center back.  Rinse under cold water, drain and lay flat on paper towels. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.  Gradually add water and stir until smooth.  Batter will be thick.  Place coconut in a shallow pan. Holding each shrimp by the tail, dip in batter, then lightly in coconut.  With tongs, place in hot oil and cook a few at a time until golden, about 2-3 minutes. Keep warm in oven until ready to serve. Serves 8.

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