Seared Scallops with Sriracha Butter

Serves 2 or 3 as an appetizer

Beautifully seared scallops are simple and the sriracha butter makes them amazing.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• Olive oil
• One bunch green onions, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 6 sea scallops (they're the big guys)

Directions

1. Mix butter with sriracha - set aside
2. Heat non stick pan over medium heat, add oil and green onions
3. Cook green onions until just tender
4. Add garlic and stir into onions until fragrant - set onions and garlic aside
5. Return pan to stove and turn up to medium/high
6. Put in a little more oil and then scallops
7. Sear 2-3 minutes until golden brown, then turn over
8. While searing second side, add green onions and sriracha butter
9. As the butter melts, baste the scallops with it
10. Finish cooking second side and plate scallops

Roast Turkey Breast

Serves 4-6

Much less fuss than all the fanfare required for a whole turkey - but still super delicious.

Ingredients

• One fresh turkey breast with bone
• 2 tablespoons softened butter
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 2 celery stalks, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 2 small carrot, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 small onions, peeled and quartered

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Rub turkey with the butter, inside & out
3. Season well with salt and pepper
4. Put vegetables on the bottom of a roasting pan and set turkey on top
5. Turn heat down to 325 and roast until an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the roast reads 160 degrees
6. Transfer turkey to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil for about 20 minutes
7. While turkey rests, make pan gravy
8. Carve the breast and serve with the gravy :)

Chipotle Sloppy Joes

Makes 6 slider-sized Joes

Ahhhh yes, the amazing Sloppy Joe - what's not to like? Especially ones made with chipotle.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 1/2 onion, diced small

• 1 green bell pepper, diced small

• 1 pound ground beef

• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire

• 1 large clove garlic, minced

• 6 ounces tomato paste

• 1 cup really good beer, and something a little bitter wouldn't be a bad thing here

• 3-4 chipotle peppers, minced well

• Hawaiian rolls, or something equally as delicious for serving

• French's Fried Onions

Directions

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan, add onion and green pepper and cook about 3 minutes, then add beef

2. Continue cooking until beef is just cooked through, add garlic and cook 1 more minute

3. Season with S&P and add Worcestershire, tomato paste, beer and chipotles - mix everything well then simmer a few minutes on medium/low until slightly thickened

4. Serve on Hawaiian rolls and top with the crispy onions

Crispy Veal Cutlet & Garlicy Spinach Sandwich

Makes 3 sandwiches

Crispy thin veal with amazingly beautiful garlic spinach - I have only 2 words: Boo-ya!!!

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 2 cups Panko bread crumbs

• Salt & pepper

• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

• 1 pound thinly sliced veal

• Fresh mozzarella, sliced thin

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 small bag fresh spinach

• 1 large clove garlic, minced

• 3 Ciabatta rolls

Directions

1. In 3 wide bowls put flour in one, beaten eggs in one and Panko in one

2. Season Panko with salt, pepper & Parmesan

3. In a large pan, add butter & olive oil over medium heat

4. Dredge veal slices in flour, then dip in egg, then in Panko

5. Cook in butter/oil about 2 1/2 minutes - flip and top with cheese - cook 2 minutes more

6. While it cooks, sautee spinach in oil until wilted - then stir in garlic - cook one minute

7. Slice rolls, drizzle with a little oil and cook in a non-stick pan until slightly golden brown

8. Serve by putting spinach on a roll and adding veal

9. Boom!

Hot Chicken Sandwich

Makes one sandwich

Not 'hot chicken' as in hot chicken. But 'hot chicken' as in hot chicken...sandwich. Think open faced turkey sandwich but with chicken instead of turkey, not open faced and topped with peas. Not all that sophisticated, but just good, comfort food.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup peas, thawed
• 1/3 cup chicken gravy, warmed
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup cooked chicken, shredded or diced - and
• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Warm peas in microwave or small pot
2. Put chicken on one slice of bread, add second slice, top with warm peas and then gravy
3. Add salt & pepper to taste

South African Gatsby

Makes one sandwich

It's a bit odd, but good. Think hoagie, hero, sub - whatever but with the addition of fries and pretty much any kind of meat you'd like. In this version I use boloney because that's how I first saw it in Capetown.

Ingredients

• 4-5 slices of boloney
• 1 sub, hoagie or hero roll
• 1/3 - 1/2 cup shredded iceberg lettuce
• 1 handful oven baked French fries, cooked, hot & crispy
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce

Directions

1. Grill boloney a couple minutes a side in a medium hot pan until beginning to brown
2. Slice roll lengthwise, leaving a hinge and add lettuce, cooked bologna, fries, ketchup and hot sauce - that's it :)

Baked Fish Sticks

Serves 3-4

Ah yes...fish sticks. Always crispy and oh so delicious. And deep fried - but not this time. We lighten everything up by baking them and using non-fat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

Ingredients

• One pound cod (or your favorite white fish)
• 1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup flour
• Kosher salt & pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 2 fat dill pickles, diced small
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Slice fish into finger-size pieces
3. Put flour, eggs and Panko crumbs into 3 separate wide, flat bowls
4. Season Panko with salt, pepper and dill
5. Put fish into flour bowl being sure it covers well and shake off any excess
6. Then into egg and finally into Panko (again covering well)
7. Place on lightly greased baking sheet and bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown
8. While they bake, combine yogurt, pickles, Worcestershire and lemon juice - mix well and set aside
9. Serve fish with tartar sauce

Classic Patty Melt

Makes 2 Sandwiches

Call it a burger...call it a sandwich...call it whatever you want, but the classic Patty Melt is an amazingly simple combination of deliciousness. Learn how to make it and save yourself a trip to Denny's.

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 5 tablespoons butter
• Olive oil
• 1 lb of ground beef
• Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
• 4 tbsp of soft butter
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 slices Swiss cheese
• 4 slices rye bread

Directions

1. Cook sliced onions in 1 tablespoon each butter and olive oil until caramelized and soft - about 10 minutes
2. Stir in Worcestershire, remove from heat
3. In a large bowl, mix ground beef with garlic powder and season with salt & pepper
4. Shape into 2 patties, each a little larger than the rye bread
5. Heat a pan on medium high heat, and cook patties in a little oil about 5 minutes
6. Flip and add 2 slices of cheese to each patty add cook an additional 3-4 minutes for medium rare
7. Meanwhile, butter one side of 2 pieces of the bread and place butter-side down in a non-stick pan
8. Place one patty on each slice of bread, then a generous layer of onions and top with remaining bread
9. Cook on medium until golden brown - then butter the top, flip and repeat
10. Remove, slice and eat

Crab Cakes

Makes 16 small cakes

I heart crab cakes - and especially when they're little guys...

Ingredients

• 1 pound crab meat
• 1/4 cup green onion, diced small
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/3 cup panko crumbs, Japanese bread crumbs available at most supermarkets
• 2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400
2. Mix crab, onion, soy, panko and chili sauce well in a bowl and shape into 16 tight little patties and place on greased baking sheet
3. Bake cakes until crispy brown then carefully flip, should be about 10-15 minutes each side

Spinach & Ricotta Won Tons

Makes about 2 dozen won tons

Won ton wrappers are essentially a blank canvas for whatever you put in them. And in this case it's ricotta, cream cheese and spinach - simple and delicious. To make life easier, you can mix the filling up to the day before then just fill & bake them before eating.

Ingredients

• Preheat oven to 400
• 12oz bag frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
• 4oz cream cheese,softened
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Round Won Ton Papers
• Small bowl of water

Directions

1. Put spinach in the center of kitchen towel, fold up sides and squeeze like a crazy person until all liquid is squeezed out of spinach
2. Put spinach in a bowl and add cream cheese, ricotta, salt, pepper and red pepper - mix well
3. Put about 2 teaspoons of the mix in the center of each wrapper
4. Dip your finger into a little water, then lightly moisten the edges of each wrapper, fold in half
5. Seal tightly trying to remove as much air as possible and place won tons on baking sheet
6. Bake until they start to brown, about 20 minutes and and remove from oven
7. Serve

Tamale Hash Baked Eggs

Serves 2-3

If you don't count the salt, pepper & oil - there are only 4 ingredients, and it's soooo damn good.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 beef tamales
• 3 eggs
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Heat oven proof skillet on medium/high, add oil and cook onion until softened
3. Cut tamales into 1/2 inch size pieces and add to onions in pan
4. Mix together until heated through
5. Make 3 shallow indentations into the hash and crack an egg into each
6. Season the top of each egg with salt and pepper, then lightly scatter grated mozzarella over everything
7. Put the skillet and bake until whites are firm but the yolk still runny - about 10ish minutes max

French Toast Popeye

Make 2

Egg-in-a-hole, Popeye, Egg-in-a-basket...whatever you call it this is a French toastified version. And if you thought the regular version was good...holy moly, ur gonna love this one.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 slices bread, use something interesting
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. In a flat bowl, beat 2 of the eggs then stir in milk and sugar - mix well
2. Using a cookie cutter or slim glass, cut a hole out of the center of each piece of bread
3. Dip the bread (and circles) in the egg mix
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a non-stick pan and add the bread, including circles
5. Crack one egg into each hole in the bread
6. Season with salt and pepper, cook about 2 minutes and flip over, cook another minute or until whites & yolks are where you like them
7. Flip back over onto a plate and serve

Cap'n Crunch French Toast

Makes 4 pieces

A stupidly great version of original French toast. Kids will love it, but why waste it on them? Btw, you know I'm right.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup Cap'n Crunch cereal
• Butter

Directions

1. Beat eggs in a bowl and add milk and sugar - stir well
2. Put Cap'n Crunch in a ziplock bag, seal and crush the hell out of it - you want it really crushed up
3. Heat non-stick pan over medium heat and add butter
4. Put bread into egg mixture - both sides, then into Cap'n Crunch making sure each side is coated well
5. Place coated bread in the buttered hot pan and cook until golden brown on each side
6. Remove, plate and if you're so inclined (and why wouldn't you be?) brush each piece with a little more butter
7. Serve

Simple Grilled Chicken

Makes one breast

A chicken breast can be tricky to cook cuz it's fat on one side and thin on the other. I like to flatten out the chicken so it cooks evenly - and then it has a million uses.

Ingredients

• One boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 lime or lemon

Directions

1. Put the chicken breast in a Ziploc bag and add about a tablespoon of olive oil
2. Remove air, seal bag and flatten by pounding with something heavy (like a bottle of wine) until it's an even thickness
3. Heat a grill pan or skillet really well then season the chicken with Kosher salt & pepper
4. Put the chicken in the pan and cook until well marked and cooked - about 3 minutes
5. Flip and cook on second side for an additional 2-3 minutes or so (not too long so it stays juicy)
6. Remove from pan, give it a squeeze of lime or lemon juice, slice into strips across the grain and serve

Caesar Dressing

Makes little more than a cup

So delicious, just make it and use for everything. Don't freak out by fish sauce - it doesn't make this fishy, it just makes it good. You can get fish sauce from most supermarkets in the Asian aisle.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sour cream or non-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon anchovy paste or 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• Up to 1/3 cup milk

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, whisking in as much milk as necessary to make it as thick or thin as you like

Chicken & Bacon Pot Pie

Serves 10

Just like grandma's but it has bacon and is made in just about 10 minutes because of the jarred gravy, deli-roasted chicken and ready-made piecrust you already had. The shortcut is using sour cream and jarred gravy instead of making your own roux (a mix of butter and flour used to thicken sauces).

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon, diced
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1 small yellow onion diced
• 3 cups cubed or shredded cooked chicken (from precooked deli roasted chicken)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup chicken gravy
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Heat a pan over medium heat and cook bacon until just getting crispy - remove from pan and drain on paper towels
3. Keep 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease in pan and add the mushrooms and onions
4. Cook, stirring, until both are softened
5. Add the chicken, sour cream, gravy, Worcestershire sauce and thyme and mix well
6. Pour everything into a 9 x 9 inch baking dish and cover with the pie crust
7. Poke 6 small slits into the crust and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes

Over Easy Fried Egg

Makes 1 egg

An over easy egg is one of the great joys in life - and learning how to make one without breaking the yolk is important. That being said, you might need to break a few yolks to master this. But once you do - put them everywhere: on some rice, a burger, a benedict, pancakes...the possibilities are endless.

Ingredients

• One egg
• Butter

Directions

1. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat and add a little butter
2. When the butter stops foaming, crack egg into the pan and season with salt and pepper
3. As the white part is starting to set, make sure to lightly loosen the edges with a spatula - you don’t want any sticking
4. If any white part tries to escape, herd it back into the oval-ish egg shape
5. NOTE: The key is to not flip too early
6. Once the whites are mostly set - which is anywhere from about 45 seconds to a minute - take your spatula and in one quick move, slide it completely under the egg and then gently flip it over
7. Now it’s only a matter of about 20-30 seconds on that side until it’s done
8. Use the quick motion with the spatula, slide under the egg and put wherever it's meant to go.

Tofu & Edamame Fried Rice

Serves 4

I could eat this all day long...and if you’re not a tofu fan, this is the time to become one.

Ingredients

• 1 pack Extra Firm Tofu
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 inch piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 2 green onions, white & light green parts, finely chopped
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 cup frozen edamame beans
• 2 cups pre-cooked cold rice - fresh rice will make it mushy and gross, and you don't want that do you?
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame chili oil

Directions

1. Slice tofu horizontally into 2 pieces (so you now have 2 square blocks)
2. Place tofu blocks side by side on a triple layer of paper towels, with a triple layer on top
3. Place something heavy like a pot or pan on top and leave about 10 minutes to drain, then cut tofu into 1 inch cubes
4. Heat wok on high until almost smoking and add 1 tablespoon oil then tofu
5. Cook until browned evenly all around - about 5 minutes and remove
6. Add a little more oil and the garlic, ginger, green onions, red pepper and edamame
7. Cook, stirring often about 5 minutes until everything has softened
8. Add the rice, breaking it up with your fingers as it goes in
9. Add soy and sesame chili oil - mix well
10. Add tofu back in and mix gently so you don't bust up the tofu
11. Serve

Salmon with Yogurt & Dill

Makes 4 servings

What doesn't Greek yogurt make better?

Ingredients

• 4 salmon fillets
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1 cup non fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
• Juice of ½ lemon

Directions

1. Lightly drizzle salmon with oil and season with salt & pepper
2. Cook in a hot non-stick pan on both sides until done, about 3-4 minutes on the first side and 2-3 on the second
3. While salmon cooks, combine remaining ingredients, season with salt & pepper and mix well and set aside
4. Serve salmon with yogurt sauce

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Posole with Kale

Serves 4ish

Think vegetable soup - but better I think. Hominy is just giant softened kernels of corn. And don't forget the lime juice at the end - it makes it.

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bacon, sliced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• One 29 ounce can hominy, drained
• 15 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 7 ounce can diced green chilies
• 1/2 teaspoon each Mexican oregano & cumin
• Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cups chopped kale
• Limes for garnish

Directions

1. Cook bacon until about 1/2 way done, remove most of the grease (leaving about 1 tablespoon) and add onion
2. Cook until softened, add garlic and cook another minute
3. Add everything else except salt, pepper & the lime and simmer over medium heat about 20 minutes
4. Season to taste with salt & pepper, ladle into a bowl and serve with lime squeezed on top