Classic Martini
Here’s an idea, why not have a martini party?
INGREDIENTS
2 Ounces Gin
1/2 Ounce Dry Vermouth
3 Green Olives
Lemon Peel
Thread 3 green olives on a cocktail pick and set aside. In a cocktail shaker combine the gin and vermouth. Add ice cubes. Cover and shake until VERY cold. Strain the liquid into a martini glass. Garnish with the olives and lemon twist. Makes 1 serving.
Cosmopolitan
Ever wondered how to make a Cosmopolitan? Perfect for backyard barbeques, holiday or dinner parties.
INGREDIENTS
2 Ounces Vodka
1 Ounce Orange Liqueur
1 Ounce Cranberry Juice
1/2 Ounce Lime Juice
Lime Slice For Garnish
In a cocktail shaker combine the vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry juice and lime juice. Add ice cubes. Cover and shake until very cold. Strain the liquid into a chilled glass. Garnish with a slice of lime. Makes 1.
Salsa Verde
Salsa Verde or green tomatillo salsa is bright and fruity and is the perfect complement to grilled meats and cheese dishes. Not bad with just tortilla chips either.
INGREDIENTS
4 Ounces Husked & Rinsed Tomatillos
5 Garlic Cloves
2 Quartered White Or Yellow Onions
2 Stemmed Jalapenos
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
1 Bunch Stemmed Cilantro
In a medium size saucepan fill with 2 cups of water. Put the tomatillos, garlic, onions and jalapenos in the saucepan. Boil for 5 minutes. You will want the contents to be slightly soft. Drain, but save 1 cup of the cooking water. Put the ingredients into a blender or food processor along with the cooking liquid that you saved. Add the salt, pepper, sugar and cilantro. Pulse until chunky. Pour into a serving bowl and serve at room temperature. Makes 4 cups.
Raspberries, Peaches & Plums OH MY
Stone fruits are now at their juiciest and most fragrant. And who can resist raspberries?! Celebrate them in this sweet and delicious cake.
INGREDIENTS
5 Large Peeled & Sliced Peaches
4 Sliced Plums
1 Cup Raspberries
2 Cups Unbleached Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 Cup Softened Butter
1 1/2 Cup Sugar
3 Eggs
3/4 Cup Milk
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
Preheat your oven to 350° F. In a large bowl combine the sliced peaches and plums. Keep the raspberries separate. In a medium size bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate large bowl combine the softened butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Begin by beating in half of the flour mixture. Alternate with beating in half of the milk. Add the rest of the flour and beat for 20 seconds. Finish with beating in the rest of the milk and beat for 30 seconds. Scrap the sides of the bowl to incorporate any remaining flour. Prepare a large glass or ceramic baking pan by greasing. Pour the batter into the baking pan. Scatter the peaches, plums and raspberries on top of the batter. The fruit will sink in a bit. Bake on the middle oven rack for 50 minutes. Check to see if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick. If you need to bake a bit longer go ahead, but make sure not to overcook this cake. Remove from the oven and let cool. You can frost this cake if you wish, but I think that it can stand on its own. Slice and serve. Serves 10
Artichoke & White Bean Dip
Quick, easy and healthy! Use my Artichoke & White Bean Dip as a dip or as a substitute for mayonnaise on sandwiches. The white beans and yogurt make a creamy dip without adding much fat.
INGREDIENTS
12 Ounces Marinated Artichokes (Drained)
15 Ounces White Beans (Drained)
2/3 Cup Non-Fat Plain Yogurt
1 Tablespoon Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
Place the artichokes, garlic, white beans, kosher salt and pepper into a blender or food processor. Process until smooth. Add the yogurt, olive oil, lime juice and red pepper flakes and blend. Scoop onto a serving plate or bowl. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Use in place of mayonnaise or serve with pita chips or vegetable sticks. Serves 4
French Jam Jar Salad
Here is a great idea for either a picnic or taking your lunch to work. Put your salad in a French Jam Jar for easy storage and carry. You can layer mixed green salads, fruit salads or any kind of salad you want. Here I layered a simple vegetable salad.
INGREDIENTS
Mache
Peeled Cucumbers
Sliced Tomatoes
Chopped Belgium Endive
Chopped Carrots
French Jam Jars
Peel the cucumbers, slice the tomatoes, and chop the carrots and endive. Layer up the vegetables into as many French jam jars that you need. Put the salad dressing into a separate container. Seal up the jars and pack up for your picnic or work. Enjoy!
I always stock up on French jam jars. They are versatile and quite handy in a pinch. I also use them to store left-over food in the refrigerator. Trust me; left-overs won’t look so pathetic.
Chopped Fiesta Salad
Sometimes you just need a good salad. I came up with this simple, yet tasty, fiesta salad that is a meal by itself or paired with a main course. I served it with roasted chicken breasts. Serve with salsa dressing.
INGREDIENTS
2 Cups Chopped Spinach
2 Cups Chopped Romaine
1 Chopped Ripe Tomato
1 Medium Chopped Red Bell Pepper
1 Medium Chopped Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Cup Corn
1 Large Chopped Cucumber
5 Chopped Radishes
1 Small Chopped Zucchini
Tortilla Chips
Salsa Dressing
Chop the spinach and romaine lettuce and place in a large bowl. Chop the tomato, red & yellow bell pepper, cucumber, radishes and zucchini. Add to the spinach and romaine. Add the corn. Toss the salad. Arrange tortilla chips around the edges of the bowl and crumble a few on top. Serve immediately as the tortilla chips tend to get a big soggy if left to sit long. Serves 4
To make the salsa dressing all you need to do is to combine 1 cup of ranch dressing to 2 cups of salsa in a food processor or blender. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Victoria's Iced Coffee
It’s going to be another scorching hot day today. Forget going to an overpriced coffee place and cool off by making yourself a tall glass of iced coffee.
INGREDIENTS
8 Ounces Brewed Coffee
4 Coffee Ice Cubes (Optional)
Milk
Sugar
To make iced coffee it is a good idea to use twice the usual amount of ground coffee, when brewing, because the coffee will get diluted by the melting ice cubes. Or to avoid diluting you could make your own coffee ice cubes by pouring cooled coffee into your ice cube trays and freezing. If you do use the coffee ice cubes then you could regular strength brewed coffee. Pour the coffee into a tall glass. As you would with your regular hot coffee add milk and sugar. Stir and sip until your heart’s content. Stay cool today. Serves 1
Peach Crisp
I came across a beautiful stack of organic peaches and ended up buying way too many. They were so juicy and flavorful, but I just couldn’t eat them all so I decided to make a peach crisp. The secret to my peach crisp is crystallized ginger. It just adds a nice little something with each bite.
INGREDIENTS
8 Large Sliced Peaches
1/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar
4 Tablespoons Unbleached Flour
1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1/4 Cup Crystallized Ginger
Topping
1/2 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
1/2 Cup Unbleached Flour
1/2 Cup Light Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
12 Tablespoons Cold Butter
Preheat your oven to 350° F. Pour the peaches into a large glass baking dish. In a medium size bowl combine 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 4 tablespoons unbleached flour, crystallized ginger and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon. Pour the mixture over the peaches and gently mix. For the topping combine 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1/2 cup unbleached flour, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 12 tablespoons gold butter in a medium size bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. You can achieve this by using either a pastry blender or two forks. Sprinkle the topping over the peaches and bake in the oven for 50 minutes until your crisp is bubbly around the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Serves 6
Stuffed Zucchini
As the summer marches on I find myself buried in zucchini and out of cooking ideas. Stuffed Zucchini is a nice side dish or can be served as a main course. If you are buying zucchini make sure to buy firm zucchini with tiny prickly hairs around the stem end. The hairs are a sign of freshness. Seeding the zucchini allows excess moisture to evaporate during cooking. Be sure to rinse the cannellini beans before using.
INGREDIENTS
6 Tablespoons Olive Oil
4 Medium to Large Zucchini (Halved & Seeded)
1/4 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
2/3 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
2 Minced Shallots
6 Minced Garlic Cloves
1 3/4 Cup Rinsed Cannellini Beans
2 Large Chopped Tomatoes
6 Ounces Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1/2 Cup Chopped Fresh Basil
Preheat your oven to 400° F and move the oven rack to the upper middle position. Put a baking sheet on the rack and heat while preparing the zucchini. Wash and cut the zucchini lengthwise. Remove the seeds by running a small spoon inside each zucchini half to scoop out the seeds. Brush 2 tablespoons of olive oil over the cut sides of the zucchini and sprinkle with the 1/8 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Put the zucchini halves, cut side down, on the hot baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until the zucchini is slightly softened and the skins are wrinkled. Turn the zucchini halves over and set aside on the baking sheet. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the bread crumbs, remaining salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Stir often. The bread crumbs should be golden brown. Transfer the bread crumbs to a bowl and set aside. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet. Add the shallots and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the cannellini beans and the chopped tomatoes. Cook for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in 1 cup of the Monterey Jack cheese and the basil. Divide the filling evenly among the zucchini halves. Pack lightly. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on the zucchini and then sprinkle the toasted bread crumbs. Bake the stuffed zucchini for 7 minutes until heated through. Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving platter. Serves 4
