Chinese BBQ Ribs

Serves 4

So good...and a little different you'll love them. If you're a beer person (and who isn't with ribs?) pick up a some Chinese beer, Tsing Tao to go along with these.

Ingredients

• 2 racks pork back ribs, about 4 pounds
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup Hoisin Sauce
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons 5 spice powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Place ribs and vinegar in a large baking or casserole dish - cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake 75-90 minutes or until very tender
3. Mix soy, honey, hoisin, garlic and 5 spice powder - set asideRemove from oven and carefully lift off foil - watch out for steam
4. Heat bbq to medium and place ribs meat side down without sauce - but you can baste the back with the sauce
5. Cook until they start to develop grill marks, and turn over - now baste the top
6. You could stop here after they grill a bit on this side, or you could baste them a bit more and then give them a couple more minutes meat side down
7. Give them one extra basting after they've been removed, and just before you serve them

Asian Burgers

Makes 4

Beef, Asiany and crunchy from the slaw. There's no bad here.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 bunch green onions, white & light green parts only, chopped fine
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon Asian chili sauce
• 1 bag broccoli slaw
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup mayo
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 4 buns, and make them kinda interesting ok?

Directions

1. Mix beef, garlic, ginger, green onions and salt & pepper well - shape into patties
2. Preheat grill to medium high
3. Combine hoisin & chili sauce, set aside
4. Mix broccoli slaw with mayo and sesame oil - set aside
5. Cook burgers to desired doneness, basting each side with the sauce once that side has been cooked, and then again when you take them off
6. Grill buns until light brown
7. Serve burgers on toasted bun with slaw

SEARED TUNA with GRILLED MANGO SALSA

Serves 4

Simple grilled tuna with a delicious salsa. You could eat of ton of this, be really happy and hardly gain a pound...

Ingredients

• Four 6 ounce tuna fillets
• 2 mangos - peeled, pitted and the flesh from each removed side in one piece
• 1 small red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh peeled ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime peel
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Heat grill to medium high
2. Lightly rub tuna with olive oil and season with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. Also lightly oil red onion - then put tuna, red onion and mango on the grill
3. Cook until tuna is just done (still rare) and remove
4. Continue cooking red onion and mango until they get good grill marks, then remove and diced both
5. Combine all ingredients except tuna in medium bowl and toss to blend
6. Serve salsa on tuna with a little extra sprinkle of cilantro

Kaplan Special Breakfast

Serves 4

My mom's old school breakfast - it's perfection on a plate. And if you don't like it, you'd basically be saying you don't like my mom - and I don't think you want to say that.

Ingredients

• 1 small yellow onion, sliced
• 2 medium tomatoes, cut into small wedges
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 4 eggs
• 4 pieces toast (sourdough is excellent for this)
• 8 slices bacon, cooked & crispy

Directions

1. Cook onions in a medium hot non-stick pan with a little olive oil until quite soft, then add tomatoes
2. Season with salt & pepper
3. When both have softened nicely, add Worcestershire and mix well
4. Cook eggs, over easy or sunny-side up - but whatever you do just keep the yolk runny
5. Serve it like this: toast on the bottom, then some onion mix, then the egg and then top with the bacon

Herbed Honey Dijon Burger

Makes 4

Honey & Dijon, not just on - but IN the burger mix with a ton of herbs. Fanfrickingtastic.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1 pound ground beef

• 1/2 cup fresh herbs chopped fine - any combo of thyme, parsley, basil, cilantro etc

• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

• One big handful arugula or something leafy & green

• 2 large tomatoes

• 4 good buns

Directions

1. Combine honey & Dijon, mix well and set aside

2. Mix beef with half of the honey mix, all the herbs and salt & pepper - combine well and shape into 4 patties

3. Heat grill or cast iron pan well and cook burgers about 4 minutes a side for medium rare, remove and keep warm

4. Lightly grill buns and then top with some of the reserved honey mustard, tomato slices, extra sauce and bun top

5. Enjoy

Tomato Basil Soup

Serves 4

You can bust this out in about 3 minutes. And it's excellent cold or hot.

Ingredients

• One 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 6 large basil leaves
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Sour cream for serving

Directions

1. Put everything in the blender
2. Blend until smooth and a touch chunky
3. Top with a little sour cream and some fresh chopped basil - eat

Vodka & Pomegranate Cooler

Makes 1

Great.

Ingredients

• 2 parts vodka
• Splash pomegranate juice
• Splash Grand Marnier
• Soda
• Lime wedge

Directions

1. Add ice to a short glass
2. Put in vodka, pom juice & Grand Marnier
3. Top off with soda
4. Squeeze and drop in lime wedge

Crab Manicotti

makes about 12

Crab, cheese & spinach - all crabby, warm and bubbly. Could it get any better?

Ingredients

• 12 Manicotti Shells
• 16 ounces crab meat, lump if possible
• One 10oz box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and moisture squeezed out
• 8 ounces Ricotta Cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded or grated
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 cup pasta sauce, tomato sauce, red pepper sauce - just something red and good
• 1 cup whipping cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Boil shells according to package directions
3. Put crab, spinach, ricotta, egg, 1/2 cup of the parmesan in a large bowl
4. Mix well and season to taste with salt and pepper
5. Drain shells and rinse with cool water
6. Pour red sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 pan
7. Stuff shells with crab mixture and set on top of sauce
8. Top shells with whipping cream and remaining Parmesan cheese
9. Bake 20-30 minutes, or until brown and bubbly

Blue Cheese Bacon Mushrooms

Makes about 12

These you can easily make the day before - just don't cook until you're going to eat them. And let them come to room temperature first.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces baby Portobello mushrooms
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 ounces soft Blue Cheese
• 1 ounce 'ready' bacon, chopped fine
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat broiler
2. Remove stems from mushrooms, put caps on a baking sheet
3. Chop stems fine and cook with olive oil in a non-stick pan until softened
4. Add bacon and continue to cook until bacon just starts to get crispy
5. Put mushrooms and bacon in a bowl and add cheese, parsley and pepper - mix well
6. Put mixture into mushroom caps and broil about 10 minutes or until beginning to get brown and bubblyBroil for about 5 minutes until melted and brown

Artichoke & Chicken Stuffed Pizza

Makes one 9inch pizza

Two crusts make this a crazy 'deep dish wonderland of chicken and artichokes' - it's great.

Ingredients

• One Pillsbury 11 Oz Thin Pizza Crust or enough pizza dough for approximately two 10" circles
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
• 14 ounces marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce
• 1/3 cup spaghetti or pizza sauce
• 1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Grease a 9" cake tin or pie plate
3. Roll pizza dough into two 10 inch circles and lay one circle on the bottom and up the sides of the tin
4. Sprinkle crust with Parmesan cheese then add chicken & artichokes and top with Alfredo sauce
5. Add second crust on top and pinch both crusts together around the edge
6. Spread pizza sauce on top of the crust, and sprinkle with mozzarella
7. Bake about 35 minutes - or until golden brown

Grandma Ruby's 7-Up Pound Cake

Serves 6 or so

This pound cake is an awesome dessert... but don't take my word for it, bake it and see for yourself.

Ingredients

• 3 cups flour, sifted
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 teaspoons lemon extract
• 3 sticks butter, softened
• 3/4 to 1 cup 7-Up
• LEMON GLAZE INGREDIENTS (optional)
• 2 - 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
• Lemon juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. With a mixer beat the butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy.
3. Add the vanilla and lemon extracts.
4. Work in the flour and continue beating until well mixed.
5. Slowly add the lemon lime soda and beat until light and fluffy.
6. Completely coat the inside of a bundt pan with vegetable oil spray with flour in it.
7. Pour batter into pan and bake for approximately 1 hour.
8. Test with a fork or wooden skewer. When it comes out clean with no batter sticking to it, it's done.
9. Let cake cool and serve with glaze drizzled over the top.
10. LEMON GLAZE DIRECTIONS (optional)
11. In a bowl, slowly add a bit of the lemon juice to the sugar and butter and begin whisking by hand.
12. Add more juice as needed and mix until glaze is thick, but not too thick to pour.

Blue Cheese Shrimp Toasts

Makes 20 pieces

Warm...shrimpy...and blue cheesey. Damn.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked small shrimp
• 3 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
• 1 bunch green onion (white & light green parts only) chopped fine
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1 tablespoon cholula - or your favorite hot sauce
• 20 sour dough bread slices (cocktail size, about 3.5 inches square) lightly toasted
• Five slices deli muenster cheese, each slice cut into quarters

Directions

1. Turn broiler to high
2. Combine shrimp, blue cheese, green onion, mayo & cholula in a bowl - mix well to combine
3. Top each bread slice with some of the shrimp mix, and then one quarter of a cheese slice
4. Broil until lightly golden and cheese begins to melt

Warm Butternut Squash & Crispy Bacon Salad

Serves 4

The title kinda says it all doesn't it?

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups butternut squash, cut into a 3/4 inch dice
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1/2 pound bacon, diced
• One 4-5 ounce bag salad greens

Directions

1. Combine syrup, vinegar and oil - whisk well, season with salt and pepper and set aside
2. Put squash in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of water, cover with plastic wrap (making a couple small knife slits in the plastic) and microwave until softened but not mushy, approximately 4 minutes
3. Cook bacon in a non-stick pan until just getting crispy, remove excess oil and add squash -  cook until squash just begins to brown, remove from heat
4. Put greens in a bowl, add squash & bacon and toss with some of the dressing - plate

Brisket Grilled Cheese

Makes one

How do you spell comfort food? I spell it: B-r-i-s-k-e-t G-r-i-l-l-e-d C-h-e-e-s-e.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Finlandia butter*
• 1 clove garlic, minced, crushed or chopped fine
• 2 slices sour dough bread
• enough thinly sliced & heated brisket to cover one piece of the bread - don't skimp but you also don't want too much
• 2 slices Finlandia* cheddar cheese
• 2 slices Finlandia* jack cheese
• 1 tablespoon horseradish sauce - the mayo kind, not the grainy 'prepared' kind

Directions

1. Put butter and garlic in a small bowl - mix well
2. On one slice of bread, spread the horseradish sauce, add 2 slices of cheese, then the heated brisket, then the other slices of cheese, then top with last slice of bread
3. Spread half the butter/garlic mixture on the bread and cook in a hot non-stick pan until golden brown
4. Butter top side, flip and continue cooking until the bottom is golden as well
5. Eat - but not too quickly even though you'll want to

*Finlandia butter is available at select COSTCO locations and other fine retailers.

View fullsize

---

WATCH ME MAKE THIS

No Mayo Tuna Sandwich

Makes one

One small change makes this the perfect sandwich - really.

Ingredients

• 1 small can tuna
• About 2 tablespoons mustard, your choice - reg, dijon, grainy, spicy etc
• 2 slices whole wheat bread - it tastes better and is better for you
• Thinly sliced tomato - enough to cover a piece of bread
• Thinly sliced cucumber - enough to cover a piece of bread
• Alfalfa sprouts - enough to cover a piece of bread, and don't skip this part, they really add to the flavor
• Fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. This should all be pretty obvious, but...mix tuna with mustard - add more or less mustard depending on how moist you like it
2. Toast bread, then add the tuna, tomato, lots of fresh ground pepper, cucumber, sprouts and top with last piece of bread

Grilled Mashed Potato & Bacon Pizza

Makes one pizza

An amazingly stupid sounding, but fantastic combo. I like using the raw dough you can buy - but it works well with a store-bought crust like a Boboli (see #10 in directions if you do).

Ingredients

• 1 ball pizza dough, or
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups cooked mashed potatoes
• 2 ounces Ready Bacon, diced and cooked until crispy
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

1. Lightly oil a baking sheet and spread out dough until it's about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick - it doesn't need to be a perfect circle (in fact it rarely is)
2. Warm potatoes in a small pot on stove
3. Combine garlic & oil in a small bowl and set aside
4. Heat grill to medium
5. Lightly brush top of dough with oil and put oiled side down on the grill
6. Once bottom of dough has good grill marks - 5 to 7 minutes, lower heat and flip dough over
7. Brush top with garlic oil, then spread with the mashed potatoes, bacon and then sprinkle with the cheese
8. Close grill lid and let cook until cheese melts, about 3 or 4 more minutes
9. Remove, slice and eat - but that was obvious, right?
10. For a store bought ready crust, brush the top with garlic oil, then add the potatoes, bacon and cheese and bake in a 425 oven about 12 minutes

Open Face Hot Crab Sandwich

Makes 2

I have 3 words for this recipe: hol-y-crap!

Ingredients

• 8 ounces lump crab meat

• 1/3 cup diced green onion - white & light green parts only

• 3 tablespoons mayo

• juice of 1/2 a lemon

• 1 teaspoon Cholula hot sauce

• 1 Kaiser roll

• 4 slices Pepper Jack cheese

• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Mix crab, green onion, mayo, lemon juice and Cholula well - season with salt & pepper

2. Preheat broiler

3. Split bun across the middle making a top and bottom and broil until light brown

4. Top each roll with crab mixture then cheese

5. Broil until cheese is melty

6. Garnish with cilantro

Grilled Meatloaf Sandwich

Makes two (crazy good) sandwiches

When we shoot a show, the crew (Michelle and Shannon) eat whatever it is I've made. And this sandwich went into their top 5...immediately.

You can use a store-bought meatloaf for this - or try the Mexican Meatloaf recipe on the site - it's way good.

Ingredients

• Enough 3/4 thick slices of meatloaf to cover 2 slices of the bread you'll use, which should be:
• 4 slices of something really good, ie sourdough, a hearty rye, whatever
• if you made the Mexican Meatloaf (see recipe) use the sauce from that, if not combine:
• 1/4 cup mayo, 1 Chipotle pepper, minced and a tablespoon of apricot jam
• 4 slices Muenster, Provolone or Havarti cheese

Directions

1. On a grill or in a non-stick pan, cook the meatloaf slices until heated through and starting to get crispy
2. When you flip the slices, add the cheese to the top
3. Toast or grill bread
4. Spread chipotle mayo on the bread and add arugula, the meatloaf and the final slice of bread

View fullsize

WATCH ME MAKE IT...

---

Grilled Catfish Sandwich

Serves 2 to 4

Pickled mayonnaise and grilled catfish...it's like a bit of the South right where you are. Unless you're already there, then it's like...oh never mind.

Ingredients

• 2 - 8oz catfish fillets
• 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 Ciabatta buns, long enough to hold the fillets
• 2 Dill pickles
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tomato, sliced

Directions

1. Drizzle Catfish with olive oil and season with Old Bay
2. Heat a non-stick over medium high heat and add butter
3. Once butter has melted, put in catfish and cook about 5 minutes on each side
4. While it cooks, dice pickles and mix with Mayonnaise
5. Slice bun in half and toast or broil until golden brown
6. Spread pickle/mayo on bread, top with tomato slices and then catfish

Hoisin Chicken Lettuce Cups!

Makes about 6-8 lettuce cups

Think Asian chicken tacos served in lettuce cups.

1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce

1 tablespoon Asian chili sauce, like Sambal

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Neutral oil

1/4 cup finely diced white or yellow onion

1/4 cup diced red pepper

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in very small pieces

2 large garlic cloves, chopped fine

1/2 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine

1 head butter lettuce, separated into individual 'leaf cups'

Chopped peanuts & chopped green onions for garnish

• Combine hoisin, chili sauce, soy & sesame oil - mix well and set aside

• Heat wok or pan until almost smoking, add about a tablespoon of the oil , then the onion and red pepper - cook about a minute

• Add the chicken and stir fry until just about cooked through - about 3 minutes, then add ginger & garlic - cook another minute or 2 until chicken is done

• Add the hoisin combo and stir through well to coat

• Serve chicken in the leaf cups and garnish with peanut & green onion