Coconut-Lime Chicken Wraps

Serves 4

No description

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 14 ounce can coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons curry
• 2 tablespoons chili paste
• zest of one lime plus the juice
• cilantro
• green bib lettuce leaves
• tortillas

Directions

1. Pound breasts to about 1/2 inch thick
2. Combine coconut milk, soy, cumin, curry, chili paste, lime zest and juice in a bowl and mix well
3. Reserve about 1/3 of the sauce for after, but add chicken to the rest
4. Mix well, cover and marinate about an hour
5. Warm extra sauce in small pot
6. Grill chicken until cooked then slice into thin strips
7. On a warm tortilla, place a couple of lettuce leaves, a bunch of cilantro and the beautifully grilled chicken
8. Add a little more sauce, and a squeeze of fresh lime

(Spicy) BBQ Chicken Pizza

Makes one 12 inch pizza

Make this with a deli roasted chicken. I mean you can cook your own, but why would you? The spicy chili sauce is optional - but shouldn't be.

Ingredients

• 2 cups (about 8oz) cooked shredded chicken
• 1/3 cup BBQ sauce, approximately
• 1 pre baked pizza crust
• 1 cup - shredded mozzarella
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoons Asian chili sauce, optional
• fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425
2. Mix cooked chicken with the BBQ and chili sauces
3. Spread chicken over crust and top with red onion and then the mozzarella
4. Bake 10-12 minutes until top starts to brown and get bubbly. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Strawberry Mojito

Makes 1 - but a really delicious one.

This drink requires you to perform the ancient bartender art of 'muddling' which just means mashing some of the ingredients at the bottom of the glass to bring out the flavors & oils. You can even buy special equipment just for this task. Or you could use the handle of a wooden spoon or stick or hammer handle if you had to.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces white rum
• 10 fresh mint leaves
• 2 strawberries, halved
• 1/2 lime, quartered
• club soda
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Directions

1. Put lime, sugar, strawberries & mint in the bottom of a tall glass and muddle
2. Add ice, rum and fill to the top with soda and stir

Pesto Garlic Bread

Makes 1 baguette

Does this really need an introduction?

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup pesto, store bought
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 long sour dough baguette

Directions

1. Heat broiler
2. Mix butter with pesto
3. Slice baguette lengthwise and spread with pesto butter then sprinkle with parmesan
4. Place under broiler until brown and bubbly but watch to keep from burning
5. Remove from oven, slice and serve - or remove from oven and run like hell to another room and eat it all by yourself

Bruschetta Pasta

Serves 6

My friend Sara reminds me that technically, bruschetta means 'grilled bread' and NOT the tomato, basil garlic deal that you put on top. Happy Sara? That having been said, this recipe is bruschetta pasta - pasta with tomatoes, basil and garlic - as apposed to pasta with grilled bread.

Ingredients

• 1 pound pasta, spaghetti works nice here
• 2 large tomatoes
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 dozen large basil leaves, torn into smallish pieces
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to package directions
2. Remove seeds from tomatoes and chop roughly
3. Put tomatoes in a bowl with the garlic, basil and olive oil - season with salt & pepper
4. Drain pasta, add to bowl and toss well with tomato mixture
5. Serve with shredded parmesan cheese - and maybe some grilled bread just to make Sara happy

Chocolate Brownie Surprise

Makes 6

The surprise here is the addition of ground chicken to the brownies. It just adds something 'special'. Just kidding - the real surprise is the raspberry jam you hide between the brownie and ice cream that no one will be expecting. Ground Chicken...man, am I funny or what?

Ingredients

• 1 pack Brownie Mix
• 1 pint vanilla ice cream
• 1/4 cup raspberry jam
• Hersheys chocolate syrup
• 1/4 cup Kahlua
• Slivered almonds
• Powdered sugar

Directions

1. Cut out 6 sheets of wax paper approximately 6 inches square and fit into the bottom and up the sides of 6 small ramekin dishes
2. Fill each dish about 1/4 inch full with ice cream and pat down smooth - put in freezer for at least one hour
3. Make brownies according to package directions, allow to cool - cut out into 3" circles
4. For each dessert: drizzle some chocolate decoratively on a plate, soak bottom of brownie in Kahlua and place on top of plate
5. Top brownie with some of the jam
6. Place frozen ice cream disk on top of jam
7. Drizzle more chocolate over top and sprinkle with almonds and powdered sugar

Tuna Tacos with Mango

Makes 6

I'll be the first to admit that tuna tacos don't really sound very good - but they are. In fact, they're deeelicious.

Ingredients

• 1 ripe mango, diced small
• 2 tablespoons red onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 fresh lime, squeezed
• 3/4 pound yellow fin tuna, uncooked and diced medium
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
• corn tortillas
• 1 tablespoon oil

Directions

1. Mix first 4 Ingredients and set aside
2. Heat oil to almost high
3. In medium pan and add tuna
4. Saute quickly & when almost done stir in seasoning
5. Put in a warmed tortilla and add mango salsa
6. That's all - ok, so it wouldn't kill you to add a little extra squeeze of fresh lime

Tuna Pasta

Serves 6

Pasta with canned tuna sounds bizarre, but there are plenty of fancy shmancy Italian restaurants that have a version of this on the menu. The cool part is that almost all of this can come right out of the cupboard.

Ingredients

• 1/2 yellow onion, diced medium
• 1 can tuna (in water) drained
• 1 14 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
• 1 5 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 pound pasta, you choose
• parmesan cheese
• parsley, chopped

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add pasta
2. In large pan, saute onion in olive oil until softened
3. Add tomatoes and tuna, heat well
4. Add tomato sauce and fresh ground pepper, heat through
5. Drain pasta and add to sauce in pan - mix well and serve with parmesan cheese and parsley

Jordan

He's 13 and on the run with sports, girls, school, girls, friends and girls - so he doesn't have a ton of time for details. This is basic, but totally works.

Ingredients

• 1 can Albacore tuna in water, drained
• 2-3 tablespoons shredded cheddar
• Sour dough bread

Directions

1. Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat and add tuna
2. Heat through while breaking apart with a fork
3. Add cheese and allow to melt through
4. Toast bread, and put on the tuna
5. OK, so you could always add some mayo, or a little spice or potato chips - but if you don't... no biggy.

Grilled Tuna Burger

Makes 4

There are cheeseburgers, chicken burgers and even tofu burgers - so why not a fresh tuna burger?

Ingredients

• Four 6 ounce tuna fillets
• 4 burger buns, maybe something interesting like a good wheat or multi-grain
• Red leaf lettuce
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• 1/4 cup mayo
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 2 tablespoons red onion, diced
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Directions

1. Lightly drizzle tuna with oil and season with salt & pepper
2. Combine mayo, capers, onion and lemon juice - mix well and set aside
3. Heat grill to medium high and cook tuna until both sides are well marked, but tuna is still rare in the middle
4. Toast buns, spread on some sauce and top with lettuce
5. Place finished tuna fillet on top and have at it

Breakfast Wrap

Makes 4

You can call it a wrap, a burrito or even a breakfast roll-up. Whatever you call it - just make it. I use the diced ready potatoes.

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup diced ready potatoes
• 8 strips ready bacon
• 1/4 cup grated cheese
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 4 large wraps

Directions

1. Heat oil in non-stick pan and add potatoes
2. Cook until beginning to brown, add bacon and saute
3. Beat eggs with salt & pepper and add to potatoes and stir until cooked
4. Heat wrap and add 1/4 of the eggs and sprinkle with 1/4 of the cheese - roll up

Mediterranean Chicken Wrap

Makes 4

All the flavors of the Meditteranean in your hand - wait...that doesn't sound quite right.

Ingredients

• 1/2 bag of the ready to go Caesar Salad
• 1/2 small cucumber, diced large
• 4 ounces crumbled feta
• 1 1/2 cups shredded deli roasted chicken
• roasted red pepper strips
• 4 wraps, try the spinach ones

Directions

1. Dress approximately 2 cups of the salad greens
2. Warm wraps slightly in non-stick pan and put on flat surface
3. Spread salad among the wraps and add to each: some chicken, some feta, some cucumber and some of the red pepper strips
4. Roll up and serve

Hot Pastrami Wrap

Serves 6

This was an instant classic in my house and has become the Sunday afternoon crowd snack of choice for sporting events or Tivo'd showings of Martha Stewart's Apprentice. Ok so maybe the crowd is a lot smaller for the Martha showings. Fine then, it's just me - you happy now?

Ingredients

• 1 pound pastrami, thinly sliced
• 6 large flour wraps or tortillas
• 2 1/2 cups cole slaw, premade - the kind with the carrot, etc.
• 1 1/2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipotle chilis
• 12 thin slices Muenster cheese

Directions

1. Mix cole slaw and adobo sauce, set aside
2. Heat non-stick pan and add pastrami - the goal is to lightly grill it to bring out the flavor
3. I like to try to grill a wraps worth of pastrami at a time so I can melt cheese individually
4. Once grilled, add 2 slices of cheese to each pile
5. Warm wraps in non-stick pan slightly and add pastrami/cheese
6. Place some cole slaw on top, and roll up - or should I say wrap up?

Sticky Sweet Ribs

Serves 4

Basic bbq sauce with only brown sugar and pancake syrup will make you king or queen o' the grill.

Ingredients

• 2 racks pork back ribs, about 4 pounds

• 1 1/2 cups barbeque sauce, plain

• 1/4 cup pancake syrup

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 4 tablespoons white vinegar

• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle peppers (optional)

Directions

1. Mix sauce, syrup and brown sugar, (and chipotle, if you want) set aside

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3. Place ribs in their racks (I just mean do not cut them) in a large baking/casserole dish

4. Pour vinegar into dish with ribs and cover tightly with aluminum foil

5. Bake about 75 minutes or until very tender

6. Remove from oven and carefully lift off tin foil - watch out for steam

7. The ribs are now fully cooked and just need to be 'sauced' finished' and you have 2 options:

8. 1.  Heat bbq to medium and place ribs meat side down without sauce - but you can baste the back with the sauce

9. Cook until they start to develop grill marks, and turn over - now baste the top

10. 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 - that's what I do

11. 2.  Heat broiler to high and place ribs on a baking sheet about 4 inches from the heat source

12. Brush top of the ribs well with the sauce and cook until they start getting a bit brown - then flip to the back, sauce and cook some more

13. Flip back to the top (sauce again) and cook until they get that beautiful rib look

14. Then, no matter how you cooked them, give 'em one extra baste them after they've been removed and just before you serve them.

WATCH ME MAKE THIS

Mexican Stew

Serves 6

Sarah wrote: Hi Sam, I learned this recipe from my Mom (who was born and raised in England so who knows where she figured it out) but it's really good. My measurements and descriptions may seem funky but I make it from memory and never really thought about the exact recipe for someone else to make. It's easy and fast to throw together after work so I think others may appreciate it.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3 large russet potatoes, cubed 1
• 28 ounces peeled whole tomatoes
• 1 White Onion, cubed
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small can (4 oz) Diced Green Chilies
• 1 small can (4 oz) Jalapeno (diced) - I don't add until I take the kids portions out
• 1 cup water
• Chopped cilantro
• Fresh lime wedges

Directions

1. In a large pot, saute onions until soft and translucent
2. Salt and pepper pork cubes and add to the pot
3. Cook the pork until brown on all sides
4. Add potatoes, tomatoes, and water - it just needs to cover the stew ingredients
5. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 45 minutes (or until potatoes are very soft)
6. With the back of a wooden spoon, mash a bunch of the potatoes against the sides of the pot and stir in well
7. If serving to kids, take some out before adding the chilies and jalapenos
8. Simmer another 10 minutes and serve with cilantro, limes & flour tortillas

"Whatever" Spring Rolls

Makes 10

Once you know how easy it is to use the supermarket readily available spring roll wrappers, you can make them with whatever you want - chicken, crab, lobster or just more vegetables. You're totally in the driver's seat.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces whatever - cooked chicken that's been shredded, crab meat, chili - it's up to you (ok, maybe not chili)
• 4 ounces bag-ready mixed coleslaw, the tri-colored kind without the dressing
• 4 tablespoons 'your favorite' spicy Asian stir fry sauce
• 10 large spring roll wrappers
• White and Black sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil

Directions

1. Heat wok until almost smoking, then add 1 tablespoon oil
2. Add coleslaw & 'whatever' and stir fry until coleslaw is slightly wilted - about 1 minute
3. Stir in sauce and remove from heat - let cool slightly
4. Place one wrapper on the counter, with a corner pointing at you
5. Put approximately 2 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the wrapper
6. Fold the nearest corner of the wrapper up covering the filling
7. Fold in the two sides and finish by rolling away from you and moisten the very end with a dab of water to help stick
8. Brush tops very lightly with oil, sprinkle with the sesame seeds and bake at 375 until lightly brown
9. Cut on diagonal and serve with extra sauce for dipping.

Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato Pizza

Makes 1-10" Pizza

You can use a pre-made pizza crust for this - but 'ready to use' dough is a better way. Lots of places now sell the dough all ready in a bag - all you do is take it out and shape it - and it's killer.

Ingredients

• 1/2 ball pizza dough, or 1 pre-made pizza crust
• 8 slices ready bacon, diced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1 cup lettuce, shredded
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat grill to medium and shape dough into circle
2. Brush lightly with olive oil
3. Place oiled side down on grill, and cook until lightly browned
4. Lightly oil top and flip over
5. Add 1/2 the cheese, tomatoes, bacon and then remaining cheese to top and close lid
6. Allow bottom to brown lighlty and for cheese to melt a little
7. Top with lettuce, cut & serve

Ginger Pork

Serves 4

Classic Japanese comfort food. Plus its simple and way, way good. Serve in a bowl over rice.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless pork loin chops, sliced very thin
• 2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and chopped fine
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin (Japanese cooking sake) or sake, or dry sherry
• 1 tablespoon oil
• Steamed rice for serving

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients except oil and let stand about 15 minutes
2. Heat oil in large pan until almost smokingAdd pork mixture, saving the marinade
3. Stir fry quickly until cooked through and remove - it wont take long
4. Add marinade to pan and boil quickly to thicken
5. Spoon sauce over pork on rice

Smokey Asparagus Sticks

Makes 24

If you're looking for something great to stir up the 'blue hairs' at a snotty society event - this could be it. Finger food at it's finest...

Ingredients

• 24 Asparagus
• 12 large slice Black Forest Ham, cut in half
• Fresh ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

Directions

1. Cut off the top 4 inches of each stalk to use (keep the rest for something else, just don't ask me for what
2. Wrap each stalk tightly with a piece of ham and line up side by side in two rows of twelve
3. Spear each set of 12 stalks with 2 long wooden skewers
4. Lightly oil flat grill or spray bbq and heat to medium
5. Grill skewered stalks until nicely browned on each side and remove
6. Carefully pull out sticks, hit with a little fresh ground pepper and serve with horseradish

Ginger Scallops

Makes 12

The key to scallops is NOT to overcook them. The easiest way is to make sure your pan is HOT and turn them once they're nicely browned.

Ingredients

• 1 pound large fresh scallops, about 12
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons ginger, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons green onion, finely chopped
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Mix butter, ginger and green onion together in a small bowl - set aside
2. Put non-stick pan on medium/high heat
3. Lightly oil scallops and season with salt & pepper
4. When the pan is almost smoking, put half the scallops in the pan and sear until golden, 1 to 2 minutes
5. Flip over, put half the ginger butter in the pan and as it melts spoon it over the scallops
6. Remove when bottom is golden
7. Cook remaining scallops the same way, dig?