Ceviche

In the past few years middle age has kicked in and the metabolism has pretty much come to a halt.  I have been trying to find recipes that still have the great taste and offer something you truly want to eat.

While in Chicago a few weeks ago, I suggested making Ceviche for my mom.  She had never had it before and I really loved the recipe I found.  I adapted it from a recipe created by chef Rick Bayless for Food and Wine magazine.  She loved it!  Although Kevin doesn't like seafood, the recipe could certainly be adapted to substitute chicken.  Definitely a new staple in our home!

Ceviche

• 1 pound raw shrimp; peeled and deveined
• or 1 pound cooked boneless skinless chicken breast
• 1½ cups fresh squeezed lime juice
• 4 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 sweet white onion; chopped in ½-inch pieces (make sure you use a sweet onion)
• 2 Roma tomatoes; medium sized cut into ½-inch pieces
• or 16-ounce red grape tomatoes
• 1 large Poblano pepper; stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro; leaves only and chopped
• 1/3 cup Manzanillo olives; chopped
• 2 ripe avocados; peeled, pitted, and diced
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• Tostadas, tortilla chips, or you can serve on a bed of lettuce for a low-carb version

1. 1.  In a 1 1/2-quart glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the shrimp, lime juice and onion. Use enough juice to cover the fish and allow it to float freely; too little juice means unevenly "cooked" fish. Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours, until a cube of fish no longer looks raw when broken open. Drain in a colander. Reserve liquid and onion for adding to remaining ingredients.  If you use chicken, simply add the chicken, lime juice, and onion to the remaining ingredients.  
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3. Variation:  You can quickly grill the shrimp until opaque or chicken until cooked through on the grill.

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5. 2.  In a large bowl, mix together the tomatoes, green chiles, cilantro, olives and optional olive oil. Stir in the shrimp or chicken and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon. Add the orange juice. Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately. Just before serving, gently stir in the diced avocado.

Make ahead

Working ahead: The shrimp may be marinated a day in advance; after about 4 hours, when the shrimp is "cooked," drain it so that it won't become too tangy. For the freshest flavor, add the flavorings to the shrimp no more than a couple of hours before serving.

NOTES

There are many ways to serve ceviche. Here are some of our favorites: Place the ceviche in a large bowl and let people spoon it onto individual plates to eat with chips or saltines; spoon the ceviche into small bowls and serve tostadas, chips or saltines alongside; or pile the ceviche onto chips or tostadas and pass around for guests to consume on these edible little plates. Garnish the ceviche with cilantro leaves before serving.  You can also serve on a bed of chopped, green leaf lettuce.

SUGGESTED PAIRING

Chile tends to be known for inexpensive reds, but the real secret is the country's terrific Sauvignon Blancs. The cold winds off the Pacific give Sauvignon Blancs like this one a finely-tuned citrus zestiness, perfect for ceviche (something else they do extremely well in Chile).

Dill Potato Salad

There is nothing better than potato salad when you are making barbecue.  Last night I made barbecue pork chops with grilled zucchini and I thought a potato salad would be a great addition.

If you have ever searched the internet for potato salad recipes there are literally over 2,500 on just one website alone.  I have tried several and this is one that I will definitely keep.   I used Miracle Whip when making this salad.  I have listed the recipe as published on Food.com. This site was the former Recipezaar.com.


Dill Potato Salad
3 1/2     pounds red potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch pieces - leave skin on
1/2 - 1   cup dill pickle juice
3/4        cup mayonnaise/salad dressing
1/3        cup buttermilk
2-3        tablespoons fresh dill, chopped.  (Important:  Use fresh dill)
4           teaspoons dijon mustard, add more to taste
1-1 1/2  teaspoon sugar
1/2 - 1   tablespoon fresh ground pepper
3           hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
1/2        cup red onion, chopped
3           dill pickles, chopped, add more to taste


1.  Cook potatoes in boiling water for approximately 10 minutes.
2.  Drain; transfer to a large bowl.
3.  Drizzle pickle juices over hot potatoes and toss gently.
4.  Cool to room temperature.
5.  Whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, dill, mustard, sugar and pepper in a medium bowl.
6.  Pour over potatoes.
7.  Add eggs, onions and pickles to potato salad and toss to blend.
8.  Refrigerate until serving time.

Cucumber and Pasta Salad

This past weekend we had a 65th birthday party for my dad.  Kevin and I prepared and cooked the food.  I received this recipe from our good friend Linda.  Linda has been a friend to Kevin for over 30 years and my friend for 17 years.

Linda and I have many hobbies in common. She taught me how to can and we exchange recipes regularly.  She has provided me with some of the best recipes I have made.  A person could not ask for a better friend and I am glad she has been in our lives!

She said that one of her coworkers made this salad recently and thought I might like to try it.  My dad's party was the perfect opportunity.  Especially since I have cucumbers that seem never ending.

Cucumber and Pasta Salad

1 pound cooked bow tie noodles
4-6 cucumbers; seeded and cut into pieces
1 ½ cups half and half
½ medium white onion; sliced
1 tbsp dill weed
1 16 ounce jar cole slaw dressing
Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

This salad could not be any simpler to make and the ingredient list is pretty darn short.  This is a definite summer keeper!

Mediterranean Fettuccine

Earlier in the week we had this great pasta salad.  We are planning a trip to Greece next summer so I thought this would be a great fit.  This makes a wonderfully light summer meal.  Makes 2 servings.

Mediterranean Fettuccine

½        cup Vegetable Broth

8          each sun-dried tomatoes (not in oil), halved

6          ounces fettuccine, uncooked

1          each red and yellow bell pepper, chopped

1          cup green onions, chopped

2          cloves garlic, minced

1/4      teaspoon red pepper flake

1          tablespoon olive oil

10        Greek Olives, pitted and coarsely chopped

¼        cup fresh basil, minced

1          tablespoon capers, drained

1          teaspoon dried oregano

1          4 ounce feta cheese, crumbled

1.  In a small saucepan, bring broth to a boil.  Remove from the heat; add tomatoes.  Let stand for 5-7 minutes.  Cut tomatoes into thin slices and return to broth; set aside.

2.  Cook fettuccine according to package directions.  Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray, sauté the peppers, onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in oil for 3-4 minutes or until tender.  Reduce heat.  Stir in the olives, basil, capers, oregano and reserved tomato mixture; heat through.
3.  Toss the fettuccine with the vegetable mixture and add the feta cheese.

Wilted Winter Greens Salad

We had this great salad with the beef roast and gnocchi on Easter Sunday.  This could be a new favorite salad.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy it.  The bourbon soaked apples along with the pecans really made this terrific.  A quick change in the type of greens could transform this from a winter to a summer salad!



Wilted Winter Greens Salad
1 tablespoon bourbon
3 medium apples (McIntosh, if available) washed, cheeks removed and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices
3/4 cup pecan halves
Kosher salt
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
Freshly cracked black pepper
2 heads radicchio, cores removed, leaves removed, torn into bite-size pieces and washed and dried
1 head arugula leaves, washed and dried
1 head escarole leaves, torn into bite-size pieces, washed and dried
2 heads endive, bottoms removed and the leaves halved lengthwise

1.  Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
2.  In a medium bowl, add the bourbon and the apple slices. Season with salt and black pepper and stir to combine. Set aside.
3.  Make the dressing: In a large bowl, or with a mortar and pestle, lightly crush the pecans until they are in small pieces and season with salt. Add the olive oil and whisk with the nuts to make a paste-like mixtue. Stir in the cider vinegar and some black pepper. Set aside.
4.  When ready to serve, add the greens to a large bowl and stir in the dressing. Toss to coat the greens with the dressing. Transfer the salad to a platter (or individual plates). Put the platter in the oven with the door ajar until the greens wilt ever so slightly, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the apple slices.

Cook's Note: if there is any excess bourbon, leave it behind in the bowl as you top the salad with the apples. Serve immediately.

Creamy Coleslaw

Now that the weather is starting to change and the days getting longer, I thought a nice summertime salad would be in order.  Who doesn't love a nice creamy coleslaw to go with anything from hot dogs, burgers, or BBQ?  This easy to put together salad will serve 6. 

One note:  At the time I prepared this salad, I did substitute green cabbage with red cabbage.  I noticed no taste difference.  You may want to adjust the salad dressing and/or vinegar to suit your own tastes.  Mayonnaise can be substituted for the salad dressing.

Creamy Coleslaw

4 cups cabbage; shredded

½ cup carrot; shredded
1 small onion; chopped
¾ cup salad dressing
1/3 cup sour cream
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar
¾ teaspoon seasoned salt
½ teaspoon ground mustard
¼ teaspoon celery seed

1. Mix cabbage and carrots.
2. In a small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients.
3. Pour over cabbage mixture.
4. Mix well and chill for several hours.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

I made this potato salad a few weeks ago.  I only made a few modifications to the recipe as it was written.  The original from Recipezaar.com included dill pickles and for the life of me, I can not figure out why.  The taste that the pickles brought to the salad in no way was representative of a loaded baked potato.

Loaded Baked Potato Salad

5 pounds small unpeeled red potatoes; cubed
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
8 hard-cooked eggs; chopped and crumbled
1 pound sliced bacon; cooked and crumbled
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium Vidalia onion; chopped
1 ½ cups sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2-3 teaspoons mustard

1. Place the potatoes in a greased 15x10x1-inch baking pan; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered, at 425˚ for 40-45 minutes or until tender. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

2. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, bacon, cheese, and onions. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard; pour over the potato mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Part of the Easter Feast....Cherry Cola Salad

First of all, Happy Easter to you all! As with most holidays, ours was filled with family and a whole lot of food.  During the course of the weekend, we were able to have great visits with both members of my family and Kevin's.  Great memories and even better food!

On Saturday, Kevin's sister placed a bid on a house in our subdivision.  Both of her daughters and their children wanted to view the house so we planned a brunch with all of them and the realtor who is handling the transaction.  Pretty lucky realtor (she is a good friend of mine) if you ask me!  All totaled, we had seven adults and four children. 

Brunch started with Deb signing the paperwork and a toast with some fabulous Momosas.  The entrees consisted of a Frittata with Potatoes, Caramelized Leeks and Cheddar Cheese.  I served this with a great sauce made of sour cream and horseradish cream sauce from Stonewall Kitchen.  If you are a horseradish lover, this stuff ROCKS!  We also had Buttermilk Fried Chicken Tenders with Honey Dijon or Ranch Dipping Sauce and a Cherry Cola Salad.

This Cherry Cola Salad was quite tastey and extremely easy to make.  Unfortunately, I thought I would take a picture of the salad in an individual portion after everyone left but THERE WAS NONE LEFT!  I realized that you do not need to have many different items on your brunch but just make sure they are good ones!

Cherry Cola Salad
1   20 ounce can crushed pineapple
½  cup water
2   3 ounce packages (each) cherry gelatin
1   21 ounce can cherry pie filling
¾  cup cola


1. Drain pineapple, reserving juice; set fruit aside. In a saucepan, bring pineapple juice and water to a boil. Add gelatin; stir until dissolved. Stir in pie filling and cola. Pour into serving dish. Refrigerate until slightly thickened. Fold in reserved pineapple. Refrigerate until firm.

Greek Panzanella Salad

One day while planning dinner for the night, I decided to take a trip to Greece.  Kevin and I will be going to Greece next year on vacation.  I saw Ina Garten make this Greek version of an Italian Classic.  The dressing was spot on.  We had a mild lemon chicken breast along with the salad.

Greek Panzanella Salad
Good olive oil

1 small French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)

Kosher salt
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced ¼ -inch thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
½ red onion, sliced in half rounds
½ pound feta cheese, cut in ½ -inch cubes
½ cup calamata olives, pitted

For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup good olive oil

Directions
1. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed.
2. Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.
3. For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

There are three salads from my mom's side of the family that I can vividly recall from childhood.  The first is my grandmother's potato salad (which she NEVER wrote down), and the last two come from my two great aunts.  One is a creamy Harvard Beet Salad and the second is a Creamy Cucumber Salad.

This salad is fast and a great solution to use up that half eaten cucumber before it goes bad.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

3 each cucumbers, medium sized, peeled and thinly sliced

½ teaspoon salt

½ cube green onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon white vinegar

dash white pepper

¼ cup sour cream, light

dash sugar

Sprinkle the cucumbers with salt. Let stand 15 minutes. Drain liquid. Add the onions, vinegar and pepper and sugar. Just before serving, stir in the sour cream.

Simple, tasty, and makes a great side!

Mandarin Beef Salad

We had this salad tonight for dinner. Trying to change our ways slightly and make something that was NOT beige.  They always say beige food is not the best for you.  But, damn, it certainly is good!

That being said this salad is pretty darn good!  I made a few adjustments to the original dressing ingredients and I made it a bit sweeter.  The sugar and the sesame seeds were not in the original recipe.  In my opinion, the dressing was a bit bland.  The other thought I had was to add a bit of toasted walnuts.  I will try that the next time.

½ cup cold water
1 15 ounce can mandarin oranges (save liquid in separate bowl)
1 tablespoon sugar (if mandarin oranges are not in sweetened juice)
1 teaspoon sesame seed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon corn starch
Salt and pepper to taste
1 head romaine lettuce, cleaned and chopped
1 small onion, sliced
¼ head red cabbage, thinly sliced
2 small raw carrots, cut julienne style (Like matchsticks)
1 pound thin sliced cooked roast beef

1. In a small sauce pan, bring the ½ cup water and drained mandarin juice to a boil. Add the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce and again bring to a boil. Add sugar (if the mandarin oranges are not in sweetened juice). Mix the cornstarch in a small amount of water and blend until it dissolves into a smooth liquid. Slowly add to the boiling mixture while stirring until the ingredients in the pan thicken. Add sesame seed, salt and pepper; to taste. Simmer for 3 minutes until the dressing is cooked (translucent). Allow to cool.

To assemble salad:

1. For each salad, on a large dinner plate, arrange chopped lettuce. Place sliced onions, cabbage, and julienned carrots on the bed of lettuce. Arrange thin strips of roast beef on top of the vegetables. Arrange mandarin oranges on top and add dressing.

Cranberry Fruit Coleslaw

This past weekend, I had some friends come over for brunch. I made a Potato, Cheddar and Green Onion Fritatta, Roasted Asparagus with Fried Capers and this Cranberry Fruit Coleslaw. It went over very well. This recipe was pulled off of http://www.blogger.com/www.recipezaar.com .

Please note that the recipe as tested was made with Black Currant Balsamic Vinegar, hence the brownish tone to the dressing. Another idea might be to try Balsamic Vinegar in place of that called for in the recipe.

Cranberry Fruit Coleslaw

6-7 cups green cabbage, finely shredded
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup golden raisin
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup sliced green onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons flaked coconut
1/2 cup red seedless grapes
1/2 cup chopped dried apricot

Dressing:

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar (I substituted Black Currant Balsamic Vinegar)
salt and pepper; to taste

1. Mix all vegetables& fruit in a large bowl.

2. Mix the dressing ingredients& pour over.

3. Chill at least 30 minutes& stir before serving.