Flame Roasted Pepper Salad

This "salad" is best served after it marinates for at least 2 days. So I use it as a topping for sandwiches, or mix it with a little Feta and Grilled chicken for a nice dinner.

5 pounds Assorted colors of Bell Peppers
Flame roast each pepper until blackened (charred) and place in a large bowl and cover with plastic to let them steam the skins off. Remove the skin of the peppers without running them under water the best you can.

Slice the pepper pieces into long strips

Dressing/Marinade
1/2 C Extra Virgin Olive oil
1/2 C fresh Italian Parsley Chopped
1/2 C. Capers (rinsed well)
4 Cloves of Garlic (sliced)
1 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
1/4 C White Balsamic Vinegar (the brown will make this look bad)

Blend all in a bowl and add peppers, mix to coat, cover and refrigerate stirring every few hours to keep everything coated.

This is great all by itself with a nice salami and Italian loaf of bread and a good bottle of wine. What more could you want other than maybe some good Parmesan cheese to snack with this.

Enjoy

Ribollita Soup (Italian bread soup)

This makes a lot of soup I make it for 10 people plus left overs but it freezes very well and it cannot hurt to be able to grab a bowl of this out of the freezer anytime you want a treat

6 cloves of crushed garlic
1 pound diced onion (1/4 to 1/2 inch dice)
1 pound celery (1/4 to 1/2 inch dice)
1 pound diced carrot (1/4 inch dice)
1 #10 can Cannelini Beans (you can find at a Smart and Final type store)
2 gallons chicken stock
6 Bay Leaves
1 #10 can crushed tomatoes
3 - 4 very dry very crusty loaves of Italian bread (crust removed, diced, and toasted)
1 pound Parmesan Cheese (grated)

Saute vegetables and garlic in a little olive oil until soft and fragrant. Add Stock, bay leaves, beans and tomatoes, bring to a soft boil (about 30 minutes) then add bread cubes. Bring back to a boil and let boil until thickened. Remove from heat, add Parmesan cheese and serve. This will look creamy if you stir the bread in enough if not it will seem lumpy I like it either way

Fried Chickpea "popcorn"

This is a little treat I created for some of my Vegetarian friends (you know who you are)

1 can (whatever size you want) Chickpeas aka Garbanzo beans Drained
1/4 C Cornstarch
1/4 C All purpose flour
salt and white pepper to taste
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

Deep pan with light oil for frying at least 2-3 inches deep of oil should do. Heat to 350*

Mix all dry ingredients to combine.
roll chickpeas in flour mixture and shake off excess in a colander.

Deep fry in small batches until deep golden brown and drain on paper. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper if you like and enjoy while still hot.

You will get a nice crunch with these and they are nice and soft inside.

Add whatever heat to them you like I like a little habanero powder in the mix for a lot of kick

Starbucks drinks not on the menu

I got this from a friend of mine and I have asked my local Fry's Starbuck for a couple of these and they knew what I was asking for.

You may or may not have the same experience I did but it is worth a try some of the drinks are great:

Red Eye: shot of Espresso in a regular coffee
Black eye: 2 shots of Espresso in a cup of coffee
Green Eye 3 shots of Espresso in a cup of coffee WOW!
Biscotti Frapp: Buy a biscotti from the counter when you order your frap. and ask them to blend it into the drink.
Crunch Berry Frapp: Order a Strawberry and Cream Frapp with Hazelnut syrup Tastes just like the Captain would make! (Captain Crunch for the uninitiated)

Just have some fun it seems many of the Starbucks Baristas have a specialty that they like that is not on the menu so ask them and see if you can add to this list from your area.

Cooking for fun and profit: Baked Oyster Spanish Style

Cooking for fun and profit: Baked Oyster Spanish Style: I could eat all these by myself if I was allowed to but since we are supposed to share you may want to double the recipe. A great way to get...

Cooking for fun and profit: Baked Oyster Spanish Style

Cooking for fun and profit: Baked Oyster Spanish Style: I could eat all these by myself if I was allowed to but since we are supposed to share you may want to double the recipe. A great way to get...

Baked Oyster Spanish Style

I could eat all these by myself if I was allowed to but since we are supposed to share you may want to double the recipe. A great way to get the oysters on the half shell maybe you could get your local fish guy/girl to shuck them for you just be sure to get them at the last possible minute from the store and I bring a cooler with lots of ice to transport the oysters home in. It will only take one bad oyster experience to prove that care is needed to make this a great meal and not one to regret.  I like a nice iced bottle of Vodka to drink with these but a good Wine of your liking would be fine also.

6 garlic cloves, peeled & root piece removed

¼ cup pecan pieces

¼ cup cilantro leaves

¼ cup parsley leaves

6 Anaheim chile peppers (1 cup roasted & seeded)

½ cup Manchego cheese grated

1 tbsp. chipotles, pureed

1 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. ground pepper

¼ cup lime juice

¾ cup olive oil

3 dozen large oysters on the half shell

1 lb. rock salt

¼ cup chopped parsley/cilantro mixture

lemon or lime wedges for garnish

Roast Anaheim chile peppers over gas flame, charcoal grill or under electric broiler, turning them with metal tongs until just blackened all-over. Or many times through out the year a local Mexican Food restaurant may offer roasted Hatch or other Chilies. I recommend buying them when you can and freezing them in ½ pound packages securely sealed to protect them. Place roasted peppers in a bowl, cover and allow them to steam while cooling. Carefully peel the peppers. Remove the stems, seeds and ribs reserving any juice. Reminder: Always, Always, Always wash hands thoroughly after working with chile peppers and avoid contact with eyes and other body parts. Just trust me on this it is important!

Using a food processor, chop the garlic cloves and then pulse the pecans until coarsely chopped. Add the cilantro and parsley leaves and pulse to chop. Add the cleaned roasted chile peppers and puree. Add the grated Manchego cheese, chipotle pepper puree, salt, pepper and lime juice and pulse to mix, scrape the sides if necessary. With the food processor running, slowly incorporate the olive oil (add any reserved roasted pepper juice). Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. But at least 1 hour to allow flavors to meld.

Preheat oven to 475º. Top each oyster generously with the prepared pesto sauce and sprinkle with extra grated Manchego cheese. Arrange oysters on a baking sheet pan lined with the rock salt so that they are all level. Bake at 475º for 6-8 minutes or until lightly golden. Transfer to serving dishes, sprinkle with the chopped parsley/cilantro mixture and garnish with lemon or lime wedges.

Cooking for fun and profit: Cocoa Brownies

Cooking for fun and profit: Cocoa Brownies: I broke my promise already see how resolutions are! I knew I should have stuck to lose 10 pounds or walk more or maybe even, no never mind. ...

Cocoa Brownies

I broke my promise already see how resolutions are! I knew I should have stuck to lose 10 pounds or walk more or maybe even, no never mind. So here it is my second day of recipes in the new year and I already am trying to fatten my followers up.

Gooey, Decadent, Uber Chocolatey, Rich, or just plain WOW. My friends have many names for these fudge brownies and all could be considered pretty accurate. I created these for a chocoholic I know very well. She even thinks they re nearly over the top but still not quit there yet. Maybe if I dipped them in dark chocolate after they were done then her craving for the dark stuff would be fulfilled...probably not though. I like them in one inch pieces right from the freezer. I have included some ideas for flavorings, additions and frosting though these need none of them. They are just ideas I have tried while perfecting this recipe. I like to add whatever filling and then carry that over to a topping so If I put walnuts in the brownie I will sprinkle toasted walnuts on top of whatever the frosting (cream cheese is my favorite).

Let me know if these bad boys work for your chocolate craving but do not say I did not warn you that they are rich beyond rich.

4 Large Eggs

1 C Granulated sugar

1 C Brown sugar

8 OZ Melted butter

1.25 C Cocoa Powder (favorite brand)

½ Tbsp Vanilla or Mint extract (for mint brownies)

½ C Flour

½ Tsp Salt

¼ C nuts for (whatever flavor brownie)

Mix sugars, cocoa and melted butter over low heat until smooth and incorporated. Set aside to cool slightly.

Place flour and salt in another bowl and mix to combine. Beat eggs and vanilla into cocoa mixture until smooth then add flour and salt mix and stir to combine. Do not over mix. Fold in nuts if using. Place in an 8 x 8 well greased and sugared pan.

Bake 325 for approx. 30 minutes until set.

Glazes/Frostings and fillings

Cream Cheese (walnut)

Chocolate mint (mint extract) top with crushed Andes mints

German Chocolate (pecans)

Peanut Butter frosting (Peanuts)

Chocolate (crushed peanut brittle)

Chocolate (crushed day old cookies of some kind)

White Chocolate (white chocolate chunk and macadamia)

Butter pecan (pecans or broken pralines)

Cooking for fun and profit: New year

Cooking for fun and profit: New year: Here we are in a new year and everyone is thinking about resolutions and losing weight and so on. Her is my goal for the year; to publish at least two recipes per week through all of 2012.

New year

Here we are in a new year and everyone is thinking about resolutions and losing weight and so on. I am here to say that resolutions are over rated. Goals are a superb way to track what you want to accomplish but resolutions last into maybe February if you are real strong but lets get real honest here, is anything you resolve to do going to get done? I have set a goal to publish one to two new recipes here every week. That amounts to about a hundred for the year. I have also decided that Soups will be the theme for the year. I have already given you the recipe for the Award winning and much requested clam chowder I made at my last job. So we will start with something new, or old? Chicken Soup for the bowl! 

to make your own stock (which I recommend you do at least once) 

1 whole roaster chicken Cut into 4 to 8 pieces

2 carrots cut into large 1 to 2 inch pieces

1 whole onion cut into 4 Red or Yellow either one will do

6 Stalks of Celery cut into large pieces

in a piece of cheesecloth place the following

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon Rosemary

15 to 20 peppercorns

any other herbs you enjoy

in a large stock pot (I like a 2 - 3 gallon pot but you can go up to 5 gallons just double the ingredients) heat a few tablespoons of oil over medium high heat and brown the chicken pieces in batches to keep the heat up in the pan. Set the browned chicken aside. Add all the vegetables and the cheesecloth to the stockpot and then add back the chicken and any juice from the plate. Cover with hot water. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer and cover for 2 to 6 hours. The longer this goes the more flavor there will be in the stock. Skim the foam occasionally but do not stir if you can avoid it. Let the stock cool for a short time just to make it easier to strain, and then strain into another stock pot.  I like to reduce this down about 25% before I use it for soup. Reserve the chicken and pull all the meat, try to avoid any bones and refrigerate until you are ready to make the soup. 

For the chicken soup:

1 pound of cooked egg noodles

2 carrots cut into bite sized pieces

4 stalks celery cut into bit sized pieces

1 yellow onion cut into bite sized pieces

all the chicken meat from the stock making process

and your homemade stock

Add more or less of the vegetables or chicken to your taste.

Place all but the noodles in a stockpot and bring to a boil as soon as the soup boils turn down to a simmer and then add the noodles. Stir and wait 5 minutes and then serve. I like mine with some fresh grated Parmesan cheese and some cracked black pepper. Notice I did not have you add salt at any time during this process. Now is the time to add salt if you like. Salting to early can make the whole lot become to salty. So be careful with the salt until you are ready to serve.