Catering for the LA Galaxy with a Seasonal Salsa Recipe

2012 has started with a bang! Since the first week in January, when we got back from a much-needed, relaxing holiday break, we’ve been busier than ever. Our cooking classes have been full with people fulfilling their New Year’s resolution to learn how to cook. We’ve had lots of team building events on the calendar with corporate groups wanting to kick off the new year with a bonding cooking activity with their team. But most notably, we’ve been busy catering thanks to our exciting new client, the LA Galaxy, Los Angeles’ very own soccer team!! We are now their steady caterer and provide lunch to all the guys every single day. We’ve been having lots of fun giving them our version of nutritious comfort food that will keep them fueled on the field. And boy have they been loving it! Our favorite reoccurring comment has been “Wow. This is REAL food.” We love how much they appreciate getting real, seasonal food. Even David Beckham is a fan!

We’re keeping the food simple and nutritious…..like our Lemon Grilled Chicken over Tomato-Caper Salsa with Fresh Basil.

But we’re also throwing in some comfort food favorites to keep the guys happy……like our Ham & Provolone Italian Subs with Sundried Tomato Spread and Italian Dressing.

And, of course, we’re featuring the best of seasonal produce…like our daily fresh fruit platter that’s been featuring Cara Cara oranges and kiwi lately.

If 2012 keeps up with this pace, it will be over before we know it! In the meantime, here’s our recipe for tomato-caper salsa we served with the grilled chicken. It’s simple and delicious on fish, steak or even tossed with pasta. Sometimes I just make a big dish and eat it like a salad. In the winter in California, it’s best with the baby tomatoes – we can usually get them locally throughout the year when the other tomato varieties are out of season. In Summer this is especially good with some chopped heirloom tomatoes.

Tomato-Caper Salsa Cruda

makes 3 cups

2 1/2 cups diced seeded tomatoes (OR halved baby tomatoes)

1/4 cup finely minced shallot (or spring onion if available)

1 tsp lemon zest

1 garlic clove, grated

1/4 cup chopped capers (rinsed well before chopping)

1 tbl sherry or red wine vinegar

pinch red chili flakes

2 tbl olive oil

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (mint is also a nice option)

salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, shallot, lemon zest, garlic, capers, vinegar and chili flakes. Mash together with the back of a large fork or potato masher until some of the tomatoes have lost some juice. Let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Add olive oil and basil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with grilled meat, chicken, fish OR toss with warm pasta and serve immediately.

Brined Pork Chop with Pear Compote Recipe

We are in the middle of our 5-Part Cooking Fundamentals series – one of the most popular recent additions to our cooking classes. We cover knife skills, soups, stocks, sauces, meat, seafood, vegetables and even some basic baking. Last week the focus was on beef and pork and we got to talk about one of our favorite things: brining. Brining is a sure-fire way to keep your meat moist and simply refers to soaking meat in a saltwater solution. The science it simple: the salt helps break down the protein while penetrating it deeply with seasoning. This means that even the leanest piece of meat (those that are most likely to dry out when cooked) can be moist and flavorful.

For many, brining only happens around Thanksgiving and usually ends before it begins when you’re faced with the fact there’s no way you can fit a 20-lb turkey, submerged in salt water in your fridge. But don’t give up on brining! It’s actually something you can easily do to help improve your quick weeknight dinners. Here’s how it works:

First, it’s important to know which cuts of meat benefit from brining. Typically lean poultry and pork are the answer. Chicken breasts, pork chops and pork loin are all good contenders for brining.

Then there is the brine itself. The basic ratio is 1 tablespoon kosher salt to 1 cup ice water. We also like to add a little sugar and some fresh herbs for flavor. The key to success is to dissolve the salt and sugar in a small amount of warm water and then add it to the ice water. That way the salt and sugar are completely dissolved and begin working their way into the meat immediately.

Lastly, you have to determine how long to brine. For a whole turkey, it’s best to do it overnight. For bone-in chicken or a whole pork loin, give it anywhere from 2 – 6 hours in the brine. But for boneless chicken breasts or pork chops, they only need about 30 minutes – 1 hour to benefit from the salty solution.

One more important note: Once you’ve removed the meat from the brine, it’s critical to rinse it in VERY cold water for about 1 full minute – this rinses off the excess salt so that the finished product isn’t salty. Then be sure to pat the meat very dry before searing or roasting – otherwise you won’t get that golden crust we all know and love.

We brine all sorts of things in our kitchen, but this recipe is one of our favorites. It’s a quick-brined pork chop that is jam-packed with flavor. We top it with a pear-leek compote that is super easy and delicious. Once you’ve tried this recipe, you will never eat a cardboard-dry pork chop again!

Brined Pork Chop with Pear-Leek Compote

serves 4

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 small bunch fresh thyme

4 bone-in pork chops (about 1-inch thick)

1 tbl butter

2 leeks, white part only, cut into thin half-rings

3 bosc pears, cut into 1-inch chunks

1 tbl chopped fresh thyme

3 tbl honey

1/2 cup chicken stock (or water)

salt and pepper

Dissolve the salt and sugar in about 1/2 cup water water. Then combine with 4 cups ice water and the thyme in a large bowl. Place the pork into the water solution, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove pork from the brine, rinse under very cold water for 1 full minute and pat very dry.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the butter. When melted, add the leeks and cook for 10 minutes until soft. Add the pears, thyme and honey. Increase heat to high and cook until beginning to sizzle. Add the chicken stock (or water) and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes – liquid should reduce by half and pear should be soft but not falling apart. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat an oven-safe skillet over high heat. Drizzle pan with olive oil and place the pork into the hot pan. (NOTE: There is no need to season the pork with salt – the brine has given it plenty of flavor.) Cook for 3-5 minutes until golden, turn over and place pan directly into oven. Roast for 10 minutes. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve the pork chop topped with the pear compote. Enjoy!

NOTE ABOUT COOKING PORK:

Pork does not need to be cooked to well-done and, in fact, is far too lean to be tasty when cooked all the way through. We recommend you cook your pork to medium-well – that means just a tiny bit of pink in the center.

Black Bean Super-Food Salad Recipe

It’s that time of year when eating well is on everyone’s mind. For many that means cutting things out of our diets: calories, fat, sugar, carbs. I not only find all of that deprivation depressing, but also ultimately leading to disappointment. Certainly cutting back on excessive calories and fat makes sense after a holiday season that is packed with both and that can be a great way to jump-start the year. But in the interest of sticking to your resolutions past February, I like to focus on what I should be eating MORE of, not less of. This means focusing on nutritionally dense food. So often we look at food as the bad guy, the temptation, the thing that makes us lose our willpower and self-respect at the same time. Yikes! That’s a lot of power to give to a fried potato. What about looking at food as a way of getting all the nutrition we need to be healthy and happy? Looking at various food items not only in terms of taste, but also in terms of all the good stuff they hold is a great step toward letting food back into your life as a friend, not an enemy.

In practical terms, this means looking at a scoop of peanut butter not only as a delicious snack but also as brain-food that’s full of protein. An orange is not only sweet and full of flavor but also supplies a decent portion of your daily dose of vitamin C. With this in mind, I’ve put together a salad that is chock full of protein, vitamins and nutrients…AND it tastes amazing! If you’re someone who thinks salads are boring, this is the salad for you! It’s tangy, spicy, crunchy and satisfying. It’s also full of protein and fiber from the black beans and peanuts, vitamin C from the bell pepper, folate from the cabbage, lycopene from the tomatoes – it’s a super-food power punch. Best of all, it’s easy to make and actually gets better as it sits in the fridge overnight. It will last up to 4-5 days in the fridge, but it never seems to last that long in my house. Maybe this salad will even make you forget about the French fry you “can’t” have.

We’ll be making a lot of this salad over the next few months as part of our cooking demonstrations with Vitality City. We’re also kicking off the new year with a series of Healthy Living Cooking Classes with Health Coach Eugenie Mason on topics that range from detoxing to gluten-free comfort foods to healthy food your kids will love.

Peanut & Black Bean Salad with Spicy Cilantro-Lime Dressing

serves 6 as a side dish

2 15-oz cans black beans, rinsed very well and drained

1/2 cup unsalted, roasted peanuts

2 cups halved baby tomatoes

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and finely diced

3 cups finely shredded cabbage

1 jalapeno

1/2 cup cilantro leaves

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

In a large bowl, toss together the beans, peanuts, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion and cabbage.

Cut the jalapeno in half and scrape out the seeds (OR leave them in if you like it spicy!). Cut the jalapeno into small pieces and place into a blender. Add the cilantro, lime juice, orange juice, a pinch of salt and the olive oil. Blend until smooth. Toss the salad with the dressing. Taste and add more salt and pepper as needed.

Enjoy immediately OR refrigerate for up to 5 days (it gets better as it sits!).

The Perfect Latke Recipe with many toppings

We were recently asked to make latkes for a catered event and we were thrilled!  We made over 160 latkes for this all-appetizer party for 50 people, along with 5 other menu items and the latkes were the first thing to go — they were a smash hit. And no wonder — who doesn’t love a crispy pile of potatoes after all? Latkes are one of those foods that, for many, represent family tradition and holiday celebration — and that means that for every family there is a grandmother-approved way of making them and eating them. For some it’s extra crispy, for some it’s soft in the middle, for some it’s smoked salmon, for some it’s applesauce. While we don’t want to step on grandma’s toes, we decided it would be fun to mix it up and offer a variety of toppings for this particular party. So we did latkes with creamy horseradish sauce, watercress sauce and smoked salmon, creme fraiche and caviar, apple-thyme compote and pomegranate-orange relish. The smoked salmon one went first, but I like the apple-thyme compote the best. At the risk of ruffling the feathers of tradition, here are our tips for making the perfect latke, along with a recipe for the watercress sauce that was such a hit. We did one batch with just potatoes and onions and one with some added carrot. In the end, they all tasted the same and you couldn’t really see the orange of the carrot. I’ve done a version with all butternut squash before that were pretty and delicious — a nice alternative to the original.

1. SHRED WITH SPEED – While there’s nothing wrong with using a traditional box grater, there is nothing like hand grating 10 pounds of potatoes to make you never want to cook again. And we are against anything that makes cooking harder than it needs to be. So may we suggest pulling out those grating disks that came with your Cuisinart (or other food processor) that are on a bottom shelf somewhere collecting dust. This is their time to shine. Remove the standard blade from your food processor and replace with the largest grating blade and the whole grating part of this recipe will take under 5 minutes.

2. MOISTURE IS THE ENEMY – Whenever the goal is making something golden brown, moisture is not your friend. This poses a problem when working with vegetables that have a lot of natural water in them, like potatoes. The key to the perfect latke is drying your potatoes before you continue with the recipe. To do this, we like to use a clean, dust-free kitchen towel. Simply dump the freshly grated potatoes in the towel, bundle together and squeeze over the sink. You’ll be surprised to see about a cup of liquid come out. Do this in batches until all of the potatoes are dry before mixing in the other ingredients.

3. DON’T SKIMP ON THE OIL – Sorry, folks, but this is not a low-fat recipe. It’s fried. That’s what makes it delicious. So don’t try to get away with a few squirts from an olive oil spray bottle. You’ll need a solid 1/4-inch of oil on the bottom of the pan to get these to golden perfection.

4. BE CAREFUL. THIS IS HOT OIL WE’RE TALKING ABOUT – May seem obvious but it just takes one burn from a splatter of hot oil to ruin your day. Our advice is to use tongs to gently turn over the latkes – they allow you much more control than a spatula.

4. SEASON TWICE – If there was one single tip we could give you that could turn your home-cooked food from just OK to fantastic, it’s to learn to season correctly. This means using salt and pepper at multiple times during a recipe. For this one, you’ll add salt into the mix AND sprinkle some salt and pepper on the latkes when they come out of the pan. This ensures the flavors are all balanced. There’s nothing worse than a bland latke.

TRADITIONAL LATKES

makes about 2 dozen

4 large russet potatoes, peeled

1 onion, peeled

1 cup flour

2 eggs

1 tablespoon salt

vegetable oil for cooking

Grate the potatoes and onions using the largest grating blade in your food processor. Use a clean kitchen towel to squeeze the vegetables dry in batches. Dump all of the dry veggies into a large bowl and add the flour, eggs and salt. Use your hands to mix together until well combined.

Add about 1/4-inch of vegetable oil to a large skillet and place over medium-high heat. To see if the oil is hot enough, drop a couple strands of potato into the oil – if it sizzles immediately, you’re ready to go.

Drop about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time into the oil creating little piles (don’t spread the piles too thin or they will fall apart when you try to turn them). Once golden on the first side (about 3 minutes), use tongs to gently turn over and cook until golden on the other side.

Remove and place on a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and immediately sprinkle with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with your favorite topping.

NOTE: Latkes do not hold well overnight. If you want to make them before serving, your best bet is to make them same day and let them sit at room temperature. Before serving, place them in a single layer on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven and cook for 5 minutes until sizzling hot. If you have extra cooked latkes, they freeze nicely. Place them on a baking sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, combine them in a Ziploc bag and keep in the freezer for up to a couple months. To reheat, place directly from freezer on a baking sheet in a 375 degree oven and cook for about 15 minutes or until sizzling hot.

WATERCRESS SAUCE 

makes 1 1/2 cups

1 cup watercress leaves

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup fresh dill

zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

salt and pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Serve latkes with a dollop of this sauce and a small piece of smoked salmon.

Pomegranate Lacquered Acorn Squash with Kale Pesto Recipe

I’m always looking for new and interesting side dishes for the holiday table. There are so many food traditions this time of year, so many family culinary “rules” we are required to follow. Like how to perfectly roast a turkey (is basting really necessary?) or what size marshmallows go on top of the sweet potatoes (how about zero?). With all these traditions to keep, I think the one dish on the table that’s open to yearly interpretation is the vegetable dish. For many, it’s an unimportant side that’s just there to make us feel better about all the white food we’re eating. But for me, it’s a place of endless opportunity and inspiration. My tactic: make it as beautiful as possible so it steals the show from the entrée. This year’s contender: slices of orange squash lacquered with a ruby glaze, topped with a vibrant pesto and a sprinkle of pomegranate jewels.

This dish is not just nice to look at. It’s a delicious blend of sweet, tangy and salty flavors. First, I make a glaze of pomegranate juice, honey and orange. Then I use this glaze to brush onto the acorn squash slices while roasting. Meanwhile, I blanch kale and use it to make a pesto along with fresh mint, salty Parmesan and fruity olive oil. Finally, it all comes together topped with crunchy pomegranate seeds. The best part about it is it’s good hot or room temperature and can be prepped out ahead of time. Another plus: it’s a hearty dish that will delight any vegetarian guests you may have around your holiday table this year.

Note that you can change this recipe around in many ways. Use a different winter squash (butternut or kabocha would be excellent). Use a different green or herb for the pesto (arugula and basil is a fantastic mix of sweet and spicy).

POMEGRANATE LACQUERED SQUASH with KALE PESTO
serves 4-6

for the squash:

1 cup 100% pomegranate juice
1/3 cup honey
1 tbl orange zest
1 garlic clove, (peeled & left whole)
3 tbl butter, cold
4 lbs acorn squash, (2 small-medium)
salt and pepper, as needed
olive oil, as needed

for the pesto:

2 cups roughly chopped kale
1/4 cup mint leaves
1/4 cup walnuts
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup grated parmesan
olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a small pot, combine the pomegranate juice, honey, orange zest, garlic and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Boil about 5 minutes or until reduced by a little more than half (it should just coat the back of a spoon). Remove from heat and whisk in the cold butter. Season with a bit more salt and pepper. Use a large knife to cut the squash open. (NOTE: If this is too hard to do, you can soften the squash slightly by microwaving for 1 minute OR by dropping into boiling water for 1-2 minutes.) Scoop out the insides and cut the squash into 1-inch thick wedges. Toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Brush with the glaze and roast for 10 minutes. Brush with more glaze and continue roasting for 10 more minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven and brush with more glaze. Let cool about 2 minutes before removing from pan and tossing with the rest of the glaze.

Bring a small pot of water to a boil and get a bowl of ice water ready. Drop the kale into the water and cook for just 30 seconds or until bright green. Remove and plunge into the ice bath. Once cold, remove the kale from the bath and pat dry. Place in a food processor with the mint, garlic, walnut and parmesan. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Blend until chunky before beginning to drizzle in olive oil. Add oil until mixture is a thin pesto. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve the squash hot or room temperature topped with the pesto.

Enjoy!!

Gravy 101 for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is around the corner and one of the most important parts of the meal is the gravy. If you’re like me, it ends up covering everything on the plate! But how many times have you been standing over the stove 10 minutes before dinner is meant to be served, whisking like mad over a hot pan trying to get your gravy lump-free and perfect? No more! Here’s everything you need to know about to make the perfect gravy. This is a step-by-step tutorial followed by our Life Changing Cooking Tip video — it’s meant to be a base point recipe that you can adapt and modify with your favorite flavors. Enjoy!

 

The Master Recipe -

This makes 1 cup so for Thanksgiving you’ll want to make this at least 4x. But once you know this master ratio, you can make a small batch or a huge batch of gravy and it will be perfect every time.

1 tablespoon butter (or fat from your roasting pan)

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup liquid (any mixture of wine, stock, juices from your roasting pan, heavy cream, fruit juices)

chopped herbs (like tarragon, thyme, rosemary) or sauteed vegetables (like onions, mushrooms) or meat (crumbled sausage or bacon or pancetta)- optional

 

The Rules -

1. Use a skillet, not a saucepan. This will make whisking easier and will allow the gravy to cook and thicken faster.

2. Start with the butter and flour in the pan and cook, whisking constantly for 1-2 minutes — this helps begin to cook out the flour flavor.

3. Make sure any liquid you’re using is room temperature — if it’s cold it will be more likely to make the gravy lumpy. Add the liquid slowly, whisking as you go. Once you’ve gotten enough liquid in the pan to thin out the flour mixture, add the rest.

4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. This is step most often missed. By cooking for 10-15 minutes, the flour flavor will cook out, the flavors will meld and the gravy will reduce and thicken a bit more.

5. If you’re adding herbs or veggies, add them once the liquid is added.

6. Be sure to taste and season with salt and pepper at the end. Depending on what liquid you use, it may already have salt from the stock or pan juices.

7. A note on thickness: Gravy should be glossy and the thickness of maple syrup — not gloppy and thickness of pudding. Gravy will thicken as it cools. Once it’s cooked for 10-15 minutes, remove from the heat and just allow to sit in the pan for another 10 minuets to cool slightly, whisking often so a skin doesn’t appear. Then your gravy should be the perfect thickness. IF you need your gravy to be thicker at the end of cooking, you have two options: (1) whisk together 1 teaspoon cornstarch with 1 tbl cold water and whisk into boiling gravy – cook for 1 minute OR (2) mash together 1 tablespoon flour with 1 tablespoon butter and whisk it into the bubbling gravy a little at a time – cook for 5 minutes once it’s all been added.

I hope this roadmap leads to a lump-free gravy on your Thanksgiving table this year. We encourage you to get creative with this basic recipe! Our favorite version from our Thanksgiving cooking class this year is flavored with some sauteed pancetta, shallots, marsala wine and a splash of heavy cream. Delicious! Check out our video tutorial and share with us your gravy tips, disasters and flavoring ideas.

 

 

Fall Puree with Sage Browned Butter Recipe

I was making our famous beer braised short ribs the other night for a catering job and wanted to make an interesting side dish that would (A) help soak up all that great braising liquid and (B) add a nice color to the plate. I love a basic mashed potato as much as the next person, but white and brown just seems so sad sometimes. So I decided to do a potato-squash puree. It has the best of both worlds. Its thicker than a squash puree because of the addition of some potatoes and it has the sweetness of the squash.

I started with a mix of butternut squash and yukon gold potatoes (although you can use any combination of potatoes and Winter squash) and a few bay leaves. I always add a few bay leaves into the cooking water for my mashed potatoes — they impart a nice layer of earthy flavor. And because all purees need a good bit of butter to make them luscious and rich, I added browned butter and chopped sage. The result was a gorgeous orange puree that was the perfect place to nestle a pile of lovely braised short ribs. And if cutting up butternut squash is the reason you don’t cook with it, check out our video on Cooking with Winter Squash for a demo on how to easily manage this winter beast.

By the way — if you have any leftovers (which I doubt), you can easily reheat this puree and thin it out a bit with some chicken or vegetable stock and you’ve got a lovely creamy soup.

Fall Puree with Sage Browned Butter

serves about 6

6 cups cubed butternut squash

3 cups cubed yukon gold potatoes (peeled first)

3 bay leaves

6 tablespoons butter

2 tbl chopped fresh sage

salt and pepper

pinch freshly ground nutmeg

Combine the squash, potato and bay leaves in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain (don’t rinse!). Discard bay leaves.

Meanwhile, in a small pan, melt the butter over medium heat and continue to cook until the butter browns. Add the sage and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

In a food processor, combine the cooked veggies, browned butter mixture, some salt, pepper and nutmeg. Blend until smooth. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as needed.

Ginger-Lime Fish with Citrus Salsa Recipe

In our cooking classes we find that many people are intimidated by cooking fish. They are worried they will over cook it, that it will stick to the pan, that it will make the whole house smell like fish. These are valid concerns — any of these things could happen. But the truth is that with a few key tips, you can cook fish simply, quickly and efficiently. In fact, fish is really one of the great weeknight dinner options because it cooks in so little time.

One of our favorite fish dishes is this Ginger-Lime Fish with Citrus Salsa. We serve a version of it at our catered events often and it’s always a hit. There are three things that make this dish such a standout AND a great dish to start with if you are a seafood-cooking-novice.

1. The Cooking Method – Instead of searing the fish in a hot pan (delicious but sure to smoke out the house) or grill the fish (lovely but not always an option) we do use the oven to steam the fish. To do this, we place the fish in a shallow baking dish with a small amount of water, cover tightly with foil and bake until tender. The beauty of this method is that the liquid in the dish keep the fish super moist — there is very little danger of overcooking.

2. The Flavor – I find that many people like “white, flaky fish” because it “doesn’t taste like fish.” Kind of a funny thing that we all want fish that doesn’t taste like anything. But I get it — not many people love a strong fish flavor (if you do, try this fish with salmon or sturgeon). So I find myself cooking flavorless white fish a lot and often use wet rubs to infuse some flavor into the fish. A wet rub is usually a blend of spices with a little oil — I love it because it sticks to the meat or fish and delivers immediate flavor. For this dish, I use fresh grated ginger and lime zest instead of strong spices. That way, the fish still has a “fresh” taste. (NOTE: When buying fish, look for shiny fillets and fish that smells only slightly of the sea — it should never smell fishy before you cook it!)

3. The Salsa – While many people reach for a lemon wedge when served fish, I think lemon can actually be really over-powering. I love using a mix of orange and lime to bring some brightness to the dish without overpowering the fish. This citrus salsa is delicious on just about any grilled meat or seafood. Make a double batch — you won’t be sorry!

I hope you’ll give this dish a try and that it opens up a whole new world of easy fish cooking for you. Let us know how it goes!

Ginger-Lime Fish with Citrus Salsa

serves 4

1 tbl grated ginger

1 tbl lime zest

1 garlic clove, grated

2 tbl olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

4 skinless halibut fillets (or tilapia or any flaky white fish)

2 oranges

1 lime

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

1 avocado

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Mix together the ginger, lime zest, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Rub the fish with this mixture and place in a shallow baking dish. Add 1/4 cup water and cover tightly with foil.

Bake for 15 minutes. To check if the fish is done, gently press a fork into the thickest part of the fish. If there is no resistance, the fish is done! If it feels firm at all inside, cook for another 1-2 minutes at a time until done.

Meanwhile, to cut the oranges, cut off the top and bottom of the orange and then cut away the peel. You’ll end up with a perfectly peeled orange minus the pith. Cut the orange into 1/4-inch rounds and then into small pieces. Toss with the juice of 1 lime, the onion and cilantro. Cut the avocado into big chunks and carefully toss. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.

Serve the fish warm, topped with the salsa.

Green Pina Colada Smoothie Recipe

For me, this smoothie is gorgeous — bright green and luscious. But I know for many people a green drink does not look appetizing or exciting. I think so many of us have been trained to be scared of green foods….they must be bitter and tasteless since they are good for us. What I’ve found over time is that it’s really just a matter of challenging your assumptions about food. Employ the same attitude you demand of your children: “Just try it once and see if you like it” — the key it to KEEP trying new things over the years. You’d be surprised how your tastes may change over time. I’ve also heard it takes doing something new 7-10 times to create a new “habit” — so make this smoothie everyday for a week and you’ll have gotten over the hurdle. And the good news: this smoothie is actually really delicious and you can barely taste the greens.

We came up with this smoothie for a live demonstration we did in partnership with Vitality City and have since make it in many of our cooking classes. We wanted something that was nutritionally dense and not just a sugar-filled beverage. While smoothies from you local smoothie shack can be delicious, they are often filled with sugary juices, conventional (non-organic) fruit and rarely offer the addition of greens. So we set out to make a better smoothie.

First we considered flavor. We are cooks first, after all, and know that nutrition is useless unless it tastes good. We decided to feature a coconut-pineapple theme (pina colada, anyone??) and utilize frozen pineapple (no sugar added — just real pineapple, frozen, so it keeps the smoothie cold and icy). Pineapple is so high in vitamin C that one serving of this smoothie gives you over 100% of your daily recommended dose. We decided on coconut milk for the liquid for many reasons: it’s full of the “good fats,” it’s a non-dairy choice that tastes like milk but is non-GMO, you can get it unsweetened and find it for a great deal at Trader Joes (and many other grocery stores these days). To complete our power-packed smoothie, we added kale because throwing raw kale in a smoothie is one of the easiest ways to get 1-2 servings of dark greens in your daily diet and this means tons of potassium, vegetable protein and antioxidants. Finally, instead of adding some apple juice for sweetness (which is a fine option but increases the overall sugar), we added a cut apple (with the skin for added fiber) and a little water. In the end, we got a gorgeous green smoothie that is packed with vitamins, low in sugar and full of good-for-you calories. Most importantly, it tastes really good!!

While we love this version, there are many variations that would be delicious. Try subbing in mango for pineapple (it will be sweeter and high in beta carotene) or some fresh grapes for added sweetness. If you want more protein, add 1/4 cup of walnut pieces.

GREEN PINA COLADA SMOOTHIE

makes 2 16-oz smoothies

2 cups frozen pineapple (no sugar added)

2 cups chopped fresh kale

1/2 small apples, roughly chopped

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (we like the Trader Joe’s brand and SoDelicious brand)

1/2-1 cup cold water

Place the pineapple, kale, apple, coconut milk and 1/2 cup of water in a blender and blend until smooth, adding more water as needed to get desired consistency.

Drink immediately!

NUTRITIONAL INFO (for 1 16-oz smoothie)

147 calories

30 grams carbs

3 grams fat

4 grams protein

Best-Ever Chili Recipe

First, a confession: chili is one of my all-time favorite foods. For me, it’s all the spices and texture and rich flavor I love in one bowl. Better yet, it’s one of those modern “mother” recipes from which you can make a million different versions. Some of you have watched us make this is one of our cooking classes. But I thought it high-time I share my basic chili recipe broken down so you can see how easy and versatile it really is. Along the way, I’ll share some of my secrets and tips to what I humbly consider the “Best Ever Chili.”

BEST EVER CHILI

makes about 2 1/2 quarts

FIRST – the vegetables

To me, chili is not chili unless you have some actual fresh chilies as the base. However, I know many people do like the heat of chilies or the tang of peppers, so you certainly can leave them out. But you absolutely must have plenty of onion and garlic. If you’re making this into a vegetarian chili OR just want to get a few more servings of vegetables in your day, you can add a cup of finely diced carrots or 2 cups of chopped mushrooms to this list.

2 cups diced onion

1 tbl chopped garlic

1 cup diced red or yellow bell pepper (or poblano chili)

1 finely diced jalapeno or Fresno chili (if you like it hot, add more chili or 1-2 canned chipotle chilies)

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add a small drizzle of olive oil and all of the vegetables. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until all of the vegetables are beginning to soften.

SECOND – the meat and spices

I have my favorite combination of four spices I always use for chili — this is one area I don’t mess with. And when it comes to spices, I love to get mine at Penzy‘s — they have a fantastic selection and everything is ground recently so the dried spices are so flavorful. However, when it comes to the meat, this is where you can really start to make this chili your own. If I’m in the mood for something rich and meaty, I like to use ground buffalo – it tastes like beef but it’s leaner and a better “eco” choice. If I want something lighter, I’ll use ground white-meat turkey or chicken. And if I’m having a vegetarian day, I’ll skip the meat and add more beans in the next step (OR add some crumbled tempeh in this step for some meat-like texture.). The key to this step of the recipe is to allow the meat to brown and then add all the spices and cook for another 5-10 minutes so the spices brown a bit and their flavor really begins to release.

2 lbs ground meat (or 8 oz crumbled tempeh)

1/4 cup ancho chili powder

2 tbl ground cumin

1 tbl ground coriander

1 tbl smoked Spanish paprika

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

Add the ground meat or tempeh to the vegetables and cook for about 15 minutes, breaking it apart as it cooks, until it’s nicely browned.

Add the spices, stir and cook for another 5-10 minuets until the spices are very fragrant.

THIRD – the “bulk” ingredients (and a secret ingredient)

Next up are all the ingredients the create the real bulk of the chili. Canned tomatoes are a must, but here, again, you have choices. My favorite are San Marzano whole plum tomatoes. They are tart and sweet and perfect. I like using whole tomatoes and just squeezing them apart with my hands on their way into the pot. Maybe because that’s the way I think my grandmother would have done it. Or maybe because I like to get messy with my food. Actually, it’s at least in part because I like the ragged texture of the tomatoes when treated that way. Your other options are to add diced tomatoes (if you like big chunks of tomatoes in your chili) or crushed tomatoes (if you want a more “saucy” chili). And then there are the beans. This is where chili purists will look down their nose and insist that real chili never has beans. But I’ve never been a purist, especially when it comes to cooking and making food your own. So my rule of thumb is to add at least two kinds of beans….possibly 3-4 different kinds if this is a vegetarian chili. The more color (and the more fiber!), the better. Lastly, I make one final addition that is my “secret” weapon: cornmeal. I add it at the end to thicken the liquid slightly and create a thick and hearty consistency.

1 15-oz can beans (any kind — my favorite are black and kidney)

1 28-oz can whole tomatoes, with their juices (OR diced OR crushed tomatoes)

4 cups beef stock (OR chicken OR vegetarian OR water)

1/4 cup cornmeal

Rinse the beans very well and drain. Then add them to the pot. Add the whole tomatoes to the pot, squeezing and crushing them as you go (OR you can use a more civilized approach and chop them with a large knife or pulse them in a food processor). Add the stock and stir to combine. There should be about 1-inch of liquid above all of the solids — add water as needed to achieve this. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Slowly sprinkle in the cornmeal, stir and cook for another 15 minutes. Remove from heat, taste, and season with salt as needed.

FOURTH – the garnish

Perhaps  I love  chili the most for all it’s potential garnishes. I’m always the one adding the extra sauces and salsas to my plate when given the chance and chili is no exception. While all of these garnishes are optional, I really must insist on, at the very least, a dollop of yogurt or sour cream (I use Greek yogurt these days exclusively in place of sour cream, but either works) and some chopped cilantro.

sour cream OR Greek yogurt, for garnish

chopped cilantro, for garnish

chopped tomato, for garnish

chopped green or red onion, for garnish

shredded cheddar cheese, for garnish

Fill bowls with steaming chili and top with any combination of the above garnishes. Enjoy!!