REFRIED BEANS / FRIJOLES

Great when you buy them, but amazing when you make them. My favorite.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups dry pinto beans
• 3 tablespoons bacon fat, or
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 1/2 white onion, cut into a small dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• Kosher salt

DIRECTIONS 

1. Pick through beans and remove anything not bean-like: little stones, gross ones whatever
2. Put beans into a pot and cover well with water – like at least 3 inches
3. Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and let cook until tender and the skins begin to split open - 2 to 2 ½ hours
4. While they simmer, cook onion in bacon fat (or oil)until softened – 3-5 minutes
5. Stir in garlic and cumin to the onion & cook until fragrant, about a minute
6. Then add drained beans – reserving some of the cooking water
7. Using a hand blender, potato masher or even the back of a large spoon (just not a processor) mash the beans to your desired consistency adding as much reserved water as necessary – you’ll likely use 1/3 to ½ a cup
8. Season to taste with salt and serve

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Pesto Pizza

So fricking simple and delicious – a great reason to keep pesto in the fridge. It's super easy and quick, and by quick, I mean in about a minute.

Makes 1 Pizza

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Pizza Dough (store bought or homemade)
• All-purpose flour
• 2-3 tablespoons cornmeal
• One 7 oz container pesto sauce (you'll use about half)
• ¼ -½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 fresh mozzarella cheese ball (broken up in smallish pieces)
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees (unless you are using a pizza oven like Uuni)
2. Sprinkle just enough flour to prevent sticking on dough and working surface. Use your hands or a rolling pin to flatten the dough until it is 1/4-inch thick or less
3. Spread cornmeal on baking sheet and lay the pizza dough on top
4. Spoon a few tablespoons of sauce into the center of the pizza and use the back of a spoon to spread it out to the edges.
5. Next sprinkle red pepper and top with mozzarella
6. Drizzle a little olive oil on top, season with salt and pepper to taste
7. Bake 8 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness, or until the crust is crisp and golden in a regular oven - but in a pizza oven only as long as needed
8. Slice, eat & repeat!

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Cold Asian Noodle Salad

A simple and delicious way of eating without cranking up the oven.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 4 ounces soba noodles
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon white granulated sugar
• ½ tablespoon Sriracha
• ½ cup carrots, julienned (matchstick size)
• ½ cup sugar snap peas sliced diagonally
• ¼ cup radish sliced thin in half circles
• 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced
• ¼ cup English cucumbers sliced thin in half circles
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil (like avocado)
• 10 peeled, deveined tail-on shrimp (I used 16/20’s in this recipe)
• Kosher salt
• Sesame seeds
• Thinly sliced green onions and chopped cilantro for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook noodles according to package directions - do not overcook, drain, rinse well with cold water, drain again and transfer to a bowl
2. While noodles are cooking, in a small bowl combine vinegar, soy, sesame oil, sugar and sriracha - stir well and set aside
3. To the noodles add carrots, peas, radishes, celery and cucumber - mix and add a little sauce (adding more sauce as needed)
4. Heat a pan over medium/high, add oil and justvwhen it’s about to smoke add the shrimp and cook about 1 minute - season with Kosher salt, add splash of ½ tablespoon soy and 1 tablespoon Sriracha; mix well and cook until done, remove shrimp from heat
5. Place the noodles/vegetables on serving plate, top with shrimp and garnish with green onions, cilantro and sesame seeds

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Buffalo Chicken Burger

Makes 3

Who says ground chicken is dry?  This is moist, messy and stupid good.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/3 cup finely diced celery
• 1/3 cup finely diced green onion
• ¼ cup finely chopped curly parsley
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
• Franks Red Hot
• 1/3 cup panko crumbs
• 2 tablespoons each mayo & sour cream
• ¼ cup blue cheese crumbles
• 3 buns – and make good ones like brioche
• Shredded lettuce for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl put chicken, celery, green onion, parsley, salt, pepper, 2 teaspoons Franksand panko – mix well
2. Shape into 3 patties, put on a wax paper or a parchment lined plate and refrigerate at least 30 minutes
3. Meanwhile combine mayo, sour cream & blue cheese – mix really well and set aside
4. Cook burgers any way you like (but a cast iron pan is always a good thought)
5. Once you flip them over, brush the tops with more Franks and cook until done
6. Grill or toast buns
7. Build burgers: bun, sauce, lettuce, burger, bun

WATCH ME MAKE THIS... 

5 Spice Apple Hand Pies

Think light, delicious, crispy little individual apples you can hold in your hands.  

INGREDIENTS

• 2 sheets puff pastry, defrosted
• 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced small
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice powder – go with me on this
• Pinch Kosher salt 
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup caramel sauce
• Turbinado sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Put apples, lemon juice, sugar 5 spice & salt in a bowl – mix well to combine
3. Breathe it in, it smells uhmazing
4. Unfold pastry and roll out until slightly larger all around 
5. Using a cooking cutter or a glass, cut out an even amount of 4 inch circles - you should get 8-10 from each sheet
6. Line a baking tray with parchment or use a silpat and lay down ½ of the circles
7. Top with a some of the apple, being sure to leave a border at the edges
8. Add about a teaspoon of caramel to each pile of apples, and top with remaining pastry
9. Use a fork to seal the edges, brush top with beaten egg and sprinkle with turbinado sugar
10. Bake until gorgeous, golden brown and crispy.

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Watch me make 'em...

Brown Rice Shrimp Pita

So I was just in Israel and want to re-live the flavors…what’s the big deal?

Makes 2 - 3 pitas

INGREDIENTS

• ½ pound peeled and deveined large shrimp, cut into smallish pieces
• 1 teaspoon oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• ⅓ cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• juice of  ¼  lemon
• Kosher salt
• 1 small tomato, seeded and diced small
• 1 Persian cucumber, diced small
• ½ cup cooked brown rice
• 2 -3 small pitas

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl combine shrimp with oil, garlic, turmeric, cumin, red pepper flakes and pinch of salt - mix well and set aside
2. In a separate bowl mix yogurt, curry, lemon and pinch of salt -  set sauce aside
3. Heat a nonstick pan on high, cook shrimp until done (if your pan is hot enough this should be a couple minutes max) remove from heat
4. Spread sauce in the pita pocket, then fill with rice, shrimp, tomatoes and cucumbers

WATCH ME MAKE THIS

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Salmon with Garlic Cream Sauce

I served this delicious sauce over salmon, but you can use it on chicken, shrimp, scallops, shoes (ok not really) - but seriously pretty much on anything!

Sauce:

1 teaspoon neutral oil, like avocado

2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced

1-2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons dry vermouth

2 tablespoons very cold butter

1/3 cup heavy cream

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

• Warm a small pot over medium heat - add oil, onion, garlic and cook until onion has softened, 2-3 minutes

• Slowly add vermouth and simmer until liquid reduces to about half

• Put in butter, whisking in until melted - then add cream and stir through to heat and until sauce slightly thickens

• Mix in lemon juice and dill - season with salt and pepper to taste - set aside

Salmon:

Four 6 - 8 ounce salmon fillets, skin off and out of the fridge at least 20 minutes

Neutral oil

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

• Lightly oil salmon and season with salt & pepper, be generous

• Heat a non-stick pan really well - until almost smoking

• Turn on the fan and carefully add salmon to pan - top side down first

• Cook until about 1/4 of the way done - and you can see this by watching the sides of the salmon change color

• Carefully turn over, cook the same – remove

• Serve with garlic cream sauce and garnish with a touch more dill

WATCH ME MAKE THIS

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Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake

Three ingredients and so damn good.

Makes 1 serving

INGREDIENTS

• 1 slice frozen strawberry cheesecake, broken into chunks
• ⅓ cup vanilla ice cream
• ⅓ cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Put everything into a blender and blend for a couple of minutes, until smooth
2. And this next part should be really, really obvious: put in a glass and drink...unless you want to add a little rum - then you would blend it again and then drink

WATCH ME MAKE THIS

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Double Wrapped Shrimp & Bacon Tacos

Makes about 6

I like the idea of putting everything out in bowls, and letting my guests make their own.  I mean come on – why do I have to do all the work?  

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3/4 lb peeled, uncooked shrimp cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1 lime cut in half, then one half into wedges
• 6 soft corn tortillas
• 3/4 cup refried beans, warmed
• 6 hard taco shells, warmed according to package directions
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• Lettuce, shredded
• 6 slices bacon, cooked, crispy and crumbled
• 3 green onions, finely diced
• Cholula hot sauce

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat pan well then add oil and shrimp - stir-fry quickly as the shrimp will cook fast 
2. When almost done (about 2 minutes) sprinkle shrimp with Old Bay then squeeze juice from the lime half on top 
3. Give them one quick mix and remove to a bowl alongside the tortillas, beans, sour cream and lettuce, bacon and green onions 
4. Now simply let people make their own: put some beans on one side of a soft tortilla, the wrap that around a hard shell tortilla
5. Add some sour cream, some lettuce, the shrimp, some bacon, some green onions and finally a few shakes of hot sauce
6. Eat – as if that wasn’t fricking obvious

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Baby British Sausage Rolls (aka Pigs in Blankets)

Too simple? Perhaps. Not fancy enough? Perhaps. Delicious? You betcha. These little snacks have been pleasing the British for centuries - so who are we to argue?

Ingredients

• 1 package turkey or pork breakfast sausages (not the fully cooked kind)
• 1 package puff pastry sheets
• 1/2 cup steak sauce
• 2 tablespoons apricot jam
• flour

Directions

1. Let pastry defrost on counter about 20 minutes before using
2. Make a lengthwise slice in each sausage and remove casing
3. Cut pastry sheets into 3 sections, and lay one section on a floured work surface
4. Use rolling pin or bottle to make sheet section a little thinner and longer
5. Place 3 sausages (without their casings) end to end on pastry sheet
6. Roll sheet over sausages into a long snug tube, and cut off excess pastry
7. Cut each tube into 8 pieces and place on lightly greased baking sheet (you can use parchment or wax paper instead if you like)
8. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown
9. Mix steak sauce and jam and use as dipping sauce

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WATCH ME MAKE THIS...

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Easy Chicken Adobo

A little sweet, a little sour and all damn delicious - and did I mention tender? This is sure to make a Filipino lola (grandma) very proud :)

Serves 2-4 people (depends how hungry you are...)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds skin on, bone-in, chicken thighs (skinless, boneless work great too)
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 bay leaves

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine soy, vinegar, pepper, brown sugar, garlic and bay leaves in the bottom of a large pot with a well fitting lid pot.
2. Place chicken skin side down in pot and bring to a boil
3. Immediately turn down to a simmer and cover
4. After 30 minutes remove lid, turn chicken over and simmer for another 20 - 30 minutes until super tender
5. Serve with steamed rice.

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WATCH ME MAKE THIS...

Btw, yes – I did forget to add the brown sugar in this video (I hate me sometimes).

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5 Minute Beer Bread

To be honest - it makes in 5 minutes but cooks in about 50. In any case it’s only 3 ingredients and so damn good it won’t matter.

Ingredients

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer - preferably something with a little flavor - room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix flour and sugar and slowly add beer
3. Mix all ingredients well, until smooth
4. Place in greased loaf pan & place pan in center of oven and bake for about 50 minutes
5. Remove from oven and take bread out of pan and allow to cool on a rack or stove grates

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watch how I make this

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