French Martini

Makes 1

Chambord is raspberry liquer and a great addition to your bar - or cupboard, too - as it's great even just on ice cream.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces Vodka
• 1 ounce pineapple juice
• 1/2 ounce Chambord
• 1 lemon twist

Directions

1. Put ice in cocktail shaker
2. Add all ingredients and shake well
3. Pour into glass, add lemon twist and drink

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Raspberry Gin & Tonic

Makes 1

Summer in a glass. Ok, 'raspberry' summer in a glass. Fine then, rasberry summer 'that you have to be 21 to drink' in a glass.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces gin - and please use decent gin because cheap gin is maybe the worst of the cheap alcohols to drink
• Tonic
• 1 ounce Chambord (raspberry liquer)
• Ice

Directions

1. Put ice in glass and add gin
2. Fill 3/4 of the way with tonic
3. Add Chambord and serve

Matzo Brei

Serves 1 - maybe 2

Whether you're Jewish or not, this is a great breakfast thing. And I agree that crackers and eggs sounds a bit bizarre - ok a lot bizarre, but it's still great.

Ingredients

• 3 sheets matzo
• 3 eggs
• Kosher salt, duh
• Fresh ground pepper
• Grape or raspberry jelly, seriously
• Butter

Directions

1. Break matzo sheets into quarters and cover with very hot water for about 30 seconds then drain well
2. Beat eggs with salt & pepper and add softened sheets, and break sheets into smaller pieces
3. Melt butter and small amount of oil in large pan and add egg mixture
4. Cook over low heat until lightly golden on one side, then flip and cook the other side
5. Remove to a plate and serve with a little jelly on the side

Blintz Souffle

A classic at many Jewish holidays and one I'm very happy to see, over and over and over.

Ingredients

• 1 dozen frozen blintzes, I like to use half cheese and half blueberry
• 1/4 pound of butter
• 2 cups sour cream
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 3 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Melt the butter into the bottom of a large baking dish, top with single layer of blintzes
3. Combine sour cream, beaten eggs, vanilla, sugar and Grand Marnier mix well and pour over blintzes
4. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until top starts to brown

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Stinky Gym Shoes

Serves 1

Got ya. Clearly this is not a recipe, but I had to put something here in case you checked. And see? You did.

Ingredients

• 1 old pair gym shoes
• 1 locker

Directions

1. Put the shoes in the locker and leave them - for a long time

Grilled Cheesy Meatloaf - Best Ever!

Fine, you don’t have to grill this but you sure as hell need to make it cuz it’s so damn good - and with red pepper sauce inside it’s moist as.

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced small

• 2 stalks of celery, diced small

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil

• 1.5 pounds ground beef

• 1/2 pound Italian sausage

• 2 eggs, beaten

• 1 cup bread crumbs - panko or Italian would be fine but I actually used dry stuffing mix and it was great

• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

• 2 tablespoons Mediterranean or Italian seasoning

• 1 teaspoon each Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

• 1 cup roasted red pepper sauce (or marinara or spaghetti or ?)

• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
  
  

Directions

1. Cook onion, celery & garlic with oil until softened, about 5 minutes then let cool slightly

2. Meanwhile in a large bowl combine ground beef & pork, eggs, breadcrumbs, Worcestershire, Med seasoning, 1/4 cup of the red pepper sauce and Parmesan

3. Mix well, shape into a loaf and top with remaining red pepper sauce then mozzarella

4. At this point you could put it on a baking sheet and bake at 350 until it reaches 155 degrees (approximately 40 minutes) or place on foil and cook indirectly on your grill until done

Recipe

BBQ Shrimp PO Boy

Serves 3 - maybe 4, but probably 3

A classic New Orleans-type of sandwich. But instead of deep-fried, it's done on the grill or on a grill pan...

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound shrimp, 21/25's raw shell off and de-veined
• Kosher salt
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne/li>
• 4 French Rolls
• Shredded Iceberg lettuce
• Sliced tomatoes
• Olive oil
• SAUCE
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon prepared
• horseradish
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce

Directions

1. Heat grill or pan to medium
2. Combine mayo, onion, chili sauce, horseradish and hot sauce - mix well and set aside
3. Mix shrimp with cayenne, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt & pepper
4. Slice rolls lengthwise and drizzle lightly with olive oil
5. Grill shrimp until done
6. Place rolls on grill or gil pan and brown slightly
7. Build PO Boy with shrimp, sauce, lettuce & tomato
8. Eat it quick and then make another one...

Cucumber, Mint & Yogurt Soup

Serves 4

Every so often a little cold soup is a beautiful thing - especially this one.

Ingredients

• 2 cucumbers, peeled & seeded
• 1/2 cup mint leaves
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Olive oil, optional

Directions

1. Add cucumber, mint, milk and garlic to blender
2. Blend until smooth then pour into large bowl
3. Stir in yogurt, lemon juice and season with salt & pepper
4. Drizzle lightly with a really good extra virgin olive oil before serving

Chicken Salad

Makes 4 sandwiches

Simple chicken salad is the best, but try toasting or grilling the bread first.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked and shredded or diced chicken
• 3 tablespoons red bell pepper, diced small
• 2 tablespoons jicama, diced small
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped fine
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well - there, wasn't that simple?
2. Make into a sandwich using a good bread - I'd go with sour dough

Shrimp & Scallop Ceviche

How great is a little pre-dinner ceviche? Really great.

1/2 pound scallops, cut into a small dice

1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled & de-veined & cut into a small dice

Juice of 6 limes

3-6 serrano chiles (depending on your heat tolerance), seeds/membrane removed and cut into a tiny dice

2 vine ripe tomatoes, de-seeded and diced small

3 avocados, diced small

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup diced green onions

1/4 cup finely diced English or Persian cucumber

3 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Kosher salt to taste

Potato/tortilla chips for serving

• Put scallops, shimp and lime juice in a medium bowl

• Mix well anmd pat it down so the lime juice covering the shrimp & scallops - cover and refrigerate overnight

• The next day, add all remaining ingredients, mix well and season to taste with salt & pepper

• Serve with some kind of crunchy chip to spoon the ceviche onto

Lamb (with no bun) Burgers

Serves 4

No 'bun' intended, get it? Quick, easy and borderline sophisticated in taste. You'll love these and if there was ever a time to go without a bun, this is it.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 pounds ground lamb
• 2 tablesppons freshly chopped oregano leaves
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped mint
• 1/4 cup onion, diced small
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Heat grill
2. Mix all ingredients except feta
3. Grill until desired doneness - do not dry them out
4. Serve with crumbled feta over the top

Maple Salmon

Serves 4

If this takes more than 10 minutes start to finish - you've done something wrong.

Ingredients

• 4 salmon filets
• 1 tablespoon chili oil
• 1 bunch green onions - bottom 3 inches sliced matchstick thin
• 1 small red pepper, sliced matchstick thin
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Directions

1. Heat non-stick pan and add oil when very hot
2. Place salmon skin side up in pan and sear until nicely brown & crusted about 3 minutes
3. Flip and cook skin side down a couple more minutes - remove to plates and keep warm
4. Add green onions and red peppers to the hot pan and stir fry about 30 seconds, remove and place on salmon
5. Mix soy & syrup - add to pan, allow to thicken about 30 seconds and drizzle over salmon

Wasabi Cole Slaw

Serves 4-6

I love this - do I have to say anything else? And it's a nice change from a mayo-based cole slaw. There - I've said enough.

Ingredients

• 1-10 ounce bag ready-made cole slaw - I like the kind without carrot for this
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon wasabi paste
• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar (regular vinegar's fine if you don't have rice)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• couple dashes sesame oil
• green onion thinly sliced and sesame seeds as garnish

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients in small bowl well until sugar is disolved and wasabi paste is fully mixed in
2. Mix with cole slaw just before serving
3. If you want, you could garnish the the top with a little thinly sliced green onion and a few sesame seeds...

Roasted Asparagus and Mushrooms

Serves 4

This is a piece of cake to make, so to speak. In a hurry you may want to just have the asparagus by themselves-they're so great.

Ingredients

• 1 lb medium asparagus with tough ends cut off
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
• 1 lb shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
• 2 tablespoons dry vermouth
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450
2. Drizzle asparagus with olive oil, season well with Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper and place on baking sheet
3. Roast until just tender, about 10 minutes
4. While that's cooking, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok or heavy saute pan over medium high heat, stir in the garlic
5. Saute until just fragrant, about a minute and add mushrooms
6. Saute shrooms until soft about 5 minutes
7. Add the vermouth (off the heat - you don't want a flare up) stir until evaporated then add soy
8. Add in butter at the last minute and serve the whole mushroom mixture on top of the asparagus

Katherine's Meatballs

While Katherine may not be your stereotypical Italian Grandmother (too young looking, too hip) her meatballs taste as if she's been cooking for a hundred years.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef

• 2 eggs

• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley

• 3/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

• 1/2 cup Romano cheese, grated

• 2 cloves garlic

• 3/4 cup bread crumbs

• 1/4 cup red wine

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and shape mixture into balls

2. Cook meatballs in small amount of olive oil in large skillet over medium heat until just golden brown

3. Remove from pan, and place meatballs in a pot

4. Add Katherine's Spaghetti Sauce to the pot - you'll have to make that too... but it's easy.

5. Let simmer for 2 hours

Katherine's Spaghetti Sauce

If you're making this, you better also be making Katherine's Meatballs. Cuz if you're not, you're making a giant mistake. Believe me.

Ingredients

• 2-28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes

• 6 oz can tomato paste

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 handful fresh basil leaves

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• Olive oil

Directions

1. In a large pot, heat 4 tablespoons olive oil

2. Add garlic and onion and cook until golden brown

3. Add crushed tomatoes and tomato paste

4. Fill tomato paste can with water (3 times) and add to sauce - 4 if it's really thick

5. Simmer for about 3 minutes, then add meatballs and sugar

6. Simmer for 1 to 2 hours and stir often (or sauce will burn) being careful not to break meatballs - no one wants a busted meatball

7. At about an hour, check thickness and flavor - then add basil and salt & pepper if necessary.

8. Cook until meatballs are fully cooked - but not dry.

Maple Chops

Serves 4

If you don't have maple syrup - you can use pancake syrup. If you don't have pancake syrup - what? You don't have pancake syrup? What's going on in your house?

Ingredients

• 4 pork chops - bone in or out (I like it in)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 clove garlic, minced

Directions

1. Pre-heat BBQ
2. Combine syrup, soy and garlic - mix well
3. Marinate chops in 3/4 of the mixture as long as you have - 15 minutes or up to overnight
4. Grill until done - baste with reserved sauce during cooking - but save a little extra to drizzle on top when they come off the grill

Tuna Cristo

Makes 2 sandwiches

This is the less sophisticated cousin of the classic "Monte Cristo", but easily as good.

Ingredients

• 1 can tuna
• 2 tablespoons red pepper, diced fine
• 2 tablespoons jicama, diced fine
• 4 slices bread
• 2 slices cheese, the type is up to you, but I kinda like muenster or Havarti
• 2 tablespoons mayo
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons milk
• butter

Directions

1. Combine tuna, red pepper, jicama, mayo and salt & pepper - mix well
2. Spread mixture evenly on 2 of the bread slices and add cheese to each then top with second slice of bread
3. Beat eggs with milk in a shallow bowl & dip both sides of sandwiches in mixture
4. Melt butter in non-stick pan and cook sandwiches until golden on both sides and cheese is melted
5. Slice in half and serve warm

Turkey Pie

Serves 6

My favorite - sage scented turkey with mushrooms, onions and bacon all under a golden crust, and all steamy and warm when you bust it open. Yahoooo.

Ingredients

• 1 ready to bake refrigerated pie crust
• 2 cups diced cooked turkey
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 8 slices cooked bacon, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon sage
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450
2. Saute onions, mushrooms, sage and bacon in 1 tablespoon of the butter until softened
3. Add turkey to mixture and put into pie plate
4. In same pan, melt remaining butter while stirring in flour - it will make a gritty paste
5. Stir in broth slowly to make a thick sauce and add Worcestershire
6. Pour over turkey mixture
7. Top with crust and brush top with milk
8. Bake until top is golden brown - about 20 minutes - and serve

Champagne Cocktail

Makes 1

A classic that's perfect for New Year's - and way simple. Bitters are just a vegetable extract that's used in making a bunch of cocktails - you can find it at the supermarket. You know sparkling wine is essentilly the same as champagne - you just can 't call it champagne unless it comes from the champagn region of France.

Ingredients

• Champagne or Sparkling Wine
• 1 sugar cube
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Directions

1. Shake 2 dashes bitters on sugar cube and drop in champagne glass
2. Fill with champagne

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