Bangers and Mash with Guinness Onion Gravy

Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb pork sausages (preferably British bangers, though a good pork sausage would do)
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 8 ounces beef broth
• 1-12 ounce bottle Guinness (only using 8 ounces, but you drink the rest)
• 1 teaspoon each of Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 1-2 cups cooked mashed potatoes

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring one medium-size pot of water to barely a simmer; add the sausages and cook for 20 minutes
2. Meanwhile in a large non-stick pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add onions; cook until nicely caramelized,  5-7 minutes
3. Add flour to onions, stir well and cook for another minute or so
4. Slowly add beef broth and 8 ounces of Guinness, letting the sauce come to a low simmer, stirring occasionally until thickened - season with salt and pepper to taste and keep warm
5. Heat a medium non-stick pan over medium, and a little oil and sear on all sides until nicely golden brown
6. To serve, place a small scoop of mashed potatoes onto a plate, top with sausages and spoon the Guinness gravy over the top
7. Boom!

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Salmon & Fresh Veggies One Sheet Pan Passover Meal

Spend more time this Passover enjoying family and traditions with this easy one sheet pan salmon and fresh vegetables meal.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: Makes four servings

Ingredients

• 6 ounces green beans
• 10 ounces tomatoes
• 12 small-ish carrots, ends trimmed
• 1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 2 leeks, white & light green parts only – cleaned and thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 6 ounces sugar snap peas
• 2 cloves garlic, minced fine 
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• Four 6 – ounce salmon fillets 
• 1 cup basil pesto
• 1/4 cup finely chopped basil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Put green beans, tomatoes, asparagus, baby carrots, leeks, red pepper and sugar snap peas in a large bowl. Add garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes & oil – mix well to combine.
3. Season salmon with salt, pepper and top with pesto. Place salmon among the veggies and put baking sheet into the oven. Cook 15 minutes, then turn to broil and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until salmon is nicely golden.
4. Plate vegetables & salmon and top with chopped basil.

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Rack of Lamb One Sheet Pan Easter Meal

Easter has enough fun family traditions to occupy your time that the last thing you need is to be caught in the kitchen. So here is an easy sheet pan recipe to make your holiday dining simple and still delicious.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: Makes four srvings

Ingredients

• 6 medium tomatoes, cut into 6 wedges each
• 2 Japanese eggplants, each cut into ½ inch semi-circle pieces 
• 1/2 large red onion, diced
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 2 zucchinis, diced 
• 1 pound fingerling potatoes, each sliced lengthwise
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard, plus more for lamb
• Juice of one lemon juice
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons each finely chopped fresh thyme & rosemary
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 1 rack of lamb, excess fat removed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Put tomatoes, eggplant, red onion, red pepper, zucchini & potatoes in a large bowl.Combine olive oil, garlic, Dijon, lemon juice and salt & pepper – mix well and add to veggies, toss and then place everything on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with thyme and rosemary, add lemon slices and put into oven – cook about 10 minutes.
3. While it cooks, brush lamb with Dijon mustard and season with salt & pepper then add to the sheet pan..Continue to bake until vegetables are done and lamb is 140 degrees – about 25 minutes longer.
4. Remove pan from oven, slice rack into individual chops and serve with vegetables.

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Pastrami Egg Rolls with Russian Dressing

No description needed - they are exactly what you think they are. And they’re baked, not fried.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup diced pastrami

• ½ cup diced swiss cheese

• ½ cup sauerkraut, squeeze liquid out

• 5 egg roll skin wrappers

• Grainy mustard

• Oil spray

Russian Dressing

• ¼ cup mayo

• 2 tablespoons ketchup or chili sauce

• ½-1 teaspoon horseradish (to your taste)

• ½ teaspoon Sriracha

• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

• pinch Kosher salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2. In a bowl combine pastrami, cheese and sauerkraut

3. Lay out one egg roll skin with a corner pointed toward you. Place about 2-3 tablespoons of the mixture in the center and spread a little mustard alongside the mixture-fold corner up over the mixture, then fold left and right corners toward the center and continue to roll, brush a little water on the final corner to help seal the egg roll then repeat with remaining wrappers

4. Place egg rolls on a foil lined baking sheet-with the oil spray lightly cover the egg rolls on both sides

5. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown

6. While the egg rolls are cooking make the sauce

7. In separate bowl, mix all dressing ingredients, serve with egg rolls.

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Homemade Hummus

Doesn't get much better than this.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• Juice of 1 small lemon
• ⅓ cup tahini
• 1 - 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained (reserve the liquid)
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ½ tablespoon fresh parsley, rough chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• Paprika
• Pita

DIRECTIONS

1. Using a food processor with the metal ‘S’ blade, add garlic and lemon juice
2. Process about 1 minute, until garlic is minced then scrape down sides of the bowl with a spatula
3. Add tahini, garbanzo beans and cumin
4. Continue to process another 2 to 3 minutes - add reserved liquid until hummus is relatively smooth and scoop into a serving bowl
5. Make it pretty with a little parsley, a good drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of  paprika
6. Serve with pita bread/chips, vegetables...whatever your heart desires

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3 Minute Fried Rice

This is not so much a recipe as it is a genius tip.

Fried rice doesn’t work with fresh warm rice, and is best made with cold rice from the day before. But when you don’t have any, you can use one of those packs of pre-cooked rice that you would normally heat in the microwaveable for 90 seconds.

So when you get to the part where you would add the cold rice - bust open a pack and use the rice in it (without heating first) and then continue as normal to finish the rice.

One 7.5 ounce pack along with a bunch of vegetables, chicken, shrimp or whatever else you like will make enough fried rice for 2.

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Quick Asian Chicken Broth

My go to drink of choice when I’m sick, trying not to snack on shitty, unhealthy stuff or just want something delicious.   

INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 4 green onions cut into 2 inch lengths 
• 10 or so sprigs of cilantro
• Four 1/8 inch slices ginger (skin in is fine)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled & rough smashed
• 15 or so Sichuan pepper corns
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 

DIRECTIONS

1. Put everything in a pot and bring to a low simmer, then cover and leave for 10 - 15 minutes 
2. But check a couple minutes after being covered to make sure it’s not boiling - it does that after it gets covered sometimes
3. To drink, I remove the peppercorns, ginger & garlic but leave in the greens 

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Hawaiian Pizza

Or at least my version - 'cuz after all I am a Canadian and it was invented by a Canadian. 

But really who cares - just make it.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 ready-made flatbreads - I used ones that were approximately 10” x 6”
• ½ cup tomato sauce, see recipe or use jarred (if you don’t care about food)
• ½ - 3/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• ¼-½  teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 3-4 slices deli black forest ham, cut into thin strips
• Approximately ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spread sauce evenly over the flatbreads and then add the pineapple
3. Sprinkle red pepper flakes over all and top with ham and then the cheese
4. Place flatbreads on baking sheet and bake 10-12 minutes or until cheese melts and flatbreads get crispy
5. Garnish with cilantro, slice and enjoy.

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Shoestring Sweet Potato Fries

Not to be a broken record…but these are totally simple & delicious. 

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, rinsed (no need to peel)
• 2 teaspoons neutral oil - like vegetable or avocado
• ½ teaspoon each Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin  and/or curry powder
• 1 teaspoon curry powder, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Spiralize sweet potato using the small noodle blade, then place the spiralized potato in a large mixing bowl
3. Add oil, salt, pepper and cumin and/or curry powder if using (which you should be) to the potatoes and mix well so the seasonings incorporate evenly
4. Place spiralized potatoes on a baking sheet and bake 20-30 minutes (toss fries halfway through) or until nice and golden brown

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Shiitake Spinach Egg Thing

And by thing I mean stupidly delicious.  Don't ask - just make it.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 2 bacon strips, sliced widthwise
• 2 cups shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• ¼ cup chicken broth
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• Pinch each Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 poached eggs, see recipe

Directions

1. In a large pan on medium heat, cook bacon until about halfway done, then add mushrooms and cook until softened - 3 to 4 minutes
2. Add chicken broth - continue to cook another minute
3. Next add spinach - sauté until wilted then season with salt and pepper; remove from heat
4. Serve spinach mixture on serving plate and top with poached egg.

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Baked Brie with Shiitakes

This is one delicious appetizer.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 6 Shitake mushrooms, stems removed & thinly sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• Pinch Kosher salt and pepper to taste
• Pinch garlic powder
• 1 sheet puff pastry, removed from freezer about 30 minutes before using
• Flour
• One 8 ounce wheel of brie, with top rind removed
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Put non-stick pan on high/medium heat, add oil, butter and mushrooms - cook about 5 minutes until nicely softened, add thyme, salt, pepper and garlic powder - stir well to combine then remove from heat and set aside
3. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to make it a little thinner
4. Place cooked mushrooms in the center of the pastry - spread out to approximately the same diameter as the cheese
5. Spoon mustard on top of brie, then place mustard-side down onto the mushrooms
6. Fold the pastry up over the cheese to cover and turn over - trim the excess - and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet and press down to seal. Reserve the pastry scraps for decoration (if you want)
7. Beat the egg and milk to combine in a small bowl with a fork or whisk. Place seam-side down onto a lined (parchment paper) baking sheet. Decorate with the pastry scraps, if desired - brush with the egg wash
8. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown - serve with thinly sliced baguettes or crackers.

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Oven Smoked Beef Ribs

No smoker? No worry, cause these are so delicious and cook just in the oven. 

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Makes approximately 4 ribs

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds beef back ribs
• 3 tablespoons liquid smoke
• 1/3 cup yellow mustard
• Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon five spice powder
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 275
2. Put ribs on a large sheet of foil, and brush with liquid smoke, then liberally with mustard
3. Season well with salt & pepper and wrap tightly with foil - place in oven
4. Bake 3-4 hours, checking after about 3 hours for your perfect level of tenderness - I like them very tender (just don’t tell anyone in Texas)
5. Combine hoisin, honey, soy, 5 spice, sriracha and sesame oil - mix well and set aside
6. When they’re ready, remove from oven and turn to broil
7. Open carefully (there will be steam) and either pour out liquid in the foil and put back on robs, or put ribs on a rack
8. Brush well with sauce and return to oven for until sauce starts to bubble
9. Remove and devour, I mean serve.

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Easy Homemade Cauliflower Fried Rice

So delicious and easy - plus you'll almost have no clue it’s cauliflower (but your waistline will).

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 medium head (about 24 oz) cauliflower, rinsed
• 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• ½ cup red onions, diced small
• ½ cup red bell peppers, diced small
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons Sriracha
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 tablespoons diced green onion

Directions

1. Remove the core of the cauliflower and coarsely chop off just the florets
2. Put the cauliflower in a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower is small and has the texture of rice - shouldn’t take more than 5 or 6 seconds, but if it’s a lot of cauliflower for your processor, do it in 2 batches or it can get mushy.
3. Heat a large saute pan or wok over medium heat with 1 tablespoon oil then add onions, peppers and mushrooms; stir and cook about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in ginger and garlic until fragrant (about 30 seconds) then add the cauliflower rice - drizzle with a little more oil, and stir frequently until all is heated through and beginning to get a bit of color - maybe 3 minutes
5. Then add the soy, sesame oil and Sriracha - mix well
6. Finally add the beaten eggs, and stir until egg is cooked through - about another minute
7. Remove from heat - serve and garnish with green onions.

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Potato Latkes

Makes twenty 3 inch latkes

Crispy, golden little potato pancakes - what's not to like? I serve them topped with sour cream and some finely chopped lox. Now you're talking - make that 'now I'M talking'.

Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes, peeled (Idaho are perfect)

• 1 small onion or 1/2 large - shredded

• 2 eggs

• 3 tablespoons flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 tablespoon fresh chopped dill

• Salt & pepper to taste

• Canola oil for frying

• For serving: sour cream, lox or apple sauce

Directions

1. Either use a grater or processor (with the metal blade attached) to shred the potatoes

2. Put shredded potatoes in a towel, wrap tight and squeeze out the water - put into a bowl

3. Shred onion same way and add to the potatoes with the eggs, flour, baking powder, s & p and dill - mix really well

4. Heat 1/8 - 1/4 inch oil in a large pan over medium until hot but not smoking

5. For each latke, put 2 tablespoons of the potato mixture carefully into the pan and flatten slightly

6. Fry turning the latkes once, until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes

7. Drain on paper towels

8. Remove any loose bits of potato mixture between batches with a slotted spoon

9. Add more oil as necessary

Beef Brisket

Serves 6

As great as brisket is for dinner, it's fantastic and arguably better the next day for sandwiches. You can use either the point or the flat (a whole brisket is made up of both) but the point has more fat which makes it ultimately more delicious.

Ingredients

• 3 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

• 1 tablespoon each kosher salt & coarse ground black pepper

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• 3 tablespoons oil

• One beef brisket (flat cut) 4 - 5 pounds

• 1-12 ounce can tomato paste

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika

• 1 cup beef broth

• 6 ounces beer - whatever kind you want will work

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Season brisket with salt & pepper

3. Mix garlic with oil and rub over brisket

4. Put half the onions in the bottom of a roasting pan and put brisket on top of onions

5. Combine remaining ingredients except broth & beer, mix well and spoon over top of brisket - top with remaining onions

6. Pour broth and beer around the outside of brisket

7. Cover tightly with a lid or foil and bake 3 to 4 hours, or until fork tender

8. Let cool slightly and slice across grain to serve

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French Toast Waffles

INGREDIENTS

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• Pinch of Kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier (optional)
• Two ½ inch thick slices Brioche bread
• Butter
• Syrup (optional)
• Powdered sugar (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat waffle iron
2. In a shallow medium sized bowl beat the eggs with the milk, salt and Grand Marnier (if you choose to)
3. Dip each side of the bread slices into the egg mixture (but don’t soak it too long) and place in the waffle iron
4. Cook waffles until golden brown
5. Top with butter, syrup and powdered sugar

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Bourbon Peach French Toast

Serves 2-4

INGREDIENTS

• 2-3 tablespoons butter
• 1 Peach, diced small
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon fresh lemon zest
• 1 ½  tablespoons bourbon, separated
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
• Two-Four 1 ¼ inch thick slices of bread (any you like, but get a good one)
• Powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat non-stick pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter and add peaches, cooking just to soften
2. Add brown sugar to the peaches, mix until sugar melts and add lemon zest; then stir in 1/2 tablespoon whiskey, cook out the alcohol- about a minute, set aside
3. In a shallow medium sized bowl beat the eggs with the milk, white sugar and 1 tablespoon bourbon
4. Preheat a separate nonstick skillet on medium heat until butter melts and starts to sizzle
5. Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture (be sure cover both sides AND the ends) and place in the skillet
6. Cook until golden brown (about 3 - 4 minutes before turning) on each side and be sure to cook the ends too
7. Put on a plate, top with peach mixture and sprinkle with powdered sugar to serve

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Polenta Bruschetta

Serves 6-8 as an appetizer

Ingredients

• 4 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced small

• 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

• 1 garlic clove, minced

• 1 teaspoon olive oil

• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

• 1 Polenta Chub (makes about 20 rounds)

• 3 tablespoons cooking oil (use what you have but I used avocado oil)

• ½ cup goat cheese, soften

Directions

1. In a small bowl, mix tomatoes, basil, garlic, and olive oil - pinch of salt and pepper to taste; set aside

2. Open Polenta and remove rounded ends

3. Slice polenta into ½ inch slices

4. Brush oil onto polenta slices and season with salt and pepper

5. Grill on each side for 3-5 minutes until they get really good grill marks

6. Remove polenta from the grill

7. On each grilled polenta round, spread a little goat cheese, top with bruschetta mixture and serve.

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Shepherds Pie with Tots

The crunchy deliciousness of tots instead of mashed potatoes on top of this is a most welcome change. Make it.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil
• ½ of yellow onion, diced
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 teaspoon each Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ½ cup beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup cut frozen vegetables (your choice, I used carrots, parsnips and beets)
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 - 16 ounce bag frozen tater tots

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. In an oven proof skillet (cast iron is ideal) heat oil and cook onions until translucent; then add garlic and cook until fragrant about 45 seconds or so
3. Add in the ground beef, cook until almost done and season with salt and pepper
4. Mix in tomato paste then sprinkle in flour, cook out flour about a minute or so then stir in broth and Worcestershire sauce; mix well - add a little more broth if it’s too thick, but you don’t want it runny
5. Add in the frozen vegetables and parsley and mix well
6. Add the frozen tots on top
7. Bake in the oven 30-40 minutes then broil on high towards the last minute of cooking time until tots are a nice crispy golden color

Sopa De Fideo

A super delicious Mexican tomato soup with toasted thin noodles. Oh my...

INGREDIENTS

• 1-2 tablespoons neutral oil
• 8 ounces of uncooked Fideo Cortado, fine dry noodles (can use broken spaghetti)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 medium size onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• One 28 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 3-4 cups chicken broth
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

For serving

• Hot sauce
• Fresh chopped green onions
• Diced avocado

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium-size skillet and add the dry noodles. Cook until noodles are almost brown in color - mix in cumin and chili powder; continue to cook until noodles are toasty, remove from heat and set aside
2. In a stock pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil and cook onion until translucent
3. Add garlic, cook until fragrant about 30 seconds - then add tomatoes and use a hand blender until tomatoes are pureed (if you have one-can transfer tomato mixture in a regular blender at this time and return back to the pot)
4. Next add 3 cups of broth and the toasted noodles to the tomato mixture (add more broth if you like it thinner)  season with salt and pepper -  let simmer about 20 minutes or until noodles have softened
5. Ladle soup in a serving bowl and garnish with hot sauce, green onions and/or avocado if you want, and I highly recommend you do

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