Watermelon Summer Salad

This salad was inspired by something that was served at Amber's baby shower.

Mix:
Lettuce of Choice: Spinach, Romaine, etc
Watermelon (chopped)
Cucumber (chopped)
Grape Tomatoes (halved)

Add Croutons:
Chop bread into small squares, drizzle with EVOO, Season with Salt, Pepper, Italian Seasonings. Bake at 400 for about 15 mins.  

Mix Dressing:
EVOO
A splash of Lemon Juice
A bit of Honey

Toss all together. Enjoy.

Fruity Serrano Ham

This isn't so much a recipe, but it is pretty to look at.
Cut a sweet melon into slices and wrap in Serrano or Prosciutto ham. Decorate with grapes and starfruit and eat on a hot day.
Refreshing and delicious!

Caprese Kabobs

Steph! You have been blogging away! Sorry, I have been so busy. So many things to post!

This is a fun appetizer or side dish to a Carnivorous plate. And, as always, easy!

Ingredients:

Tooth Pick or Short Skewers

Fresh Small Mozzarella Balls -bocconcini- (halved)

Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

Fresh Basil

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Assemble the skewers: Mozz Ball, Tomato, Basil Leaf

2. Arrange on Platter: Drizzle EVOO, Season with S&P. Cover, Refrigerate. Serve. =)

Fried Red (Breaded) Tomatoes

This was supposed to be a side to the Basil Chicken (recipe which didn't originally call for garlic or canned whole tomatoes, but chopped olives) instead of the pasta, but as you know, I am unable to strictly follow a recipe. This was a fun side dish for a steak or pork chops or whatever. Since it's breaded, I'm sure kids might eat it, too (but what do I know?)
Ingredients:
2 tomatoes sliced into 4-5 slices each
salt/fresh ground pepper
8-10 leaves fresh basil
1 egg, beaten
some EVOO
some flour for sprinkling
bread crumbs for breading (sorry about the preciseness of the quantities)
Directions:
1. Remove the "goo" from the tomato slices. Season with salt and pepper, then lay 1 basil leaf on each slice.
2. Sprinkle some flour on each side of each slice.
3. Dip each slice in egg, then in bread crumbs.
4. Fry the slices approximately 2 minutes on each side in some EVOO

There. That's it. Pretty tasty!

Tomato Basil Chicken

I got this recipe out of a book, and totally changed it. Why do I always do that? Anyway, since I had lovely fresh basil, this used it up in a nice way.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 chicken legs+thighs
1 can whole peeled tomatoes
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups broth
1 bunch basil
1/4 cup EVOO
1 Tbsp butter
6 cloves garlic, grated
salt/fresh ground pepper
juice from 1 lemon
Some cooked pasta of choice
grated parmesan and shredded swiss
Directions:
1. Skin the chicken legs and make some large cuts on each side. Pour the lemon juice on and rub in some salt. Set aside.
2. Put the 2 cups broth to boil and place the chicken legs 6-7 minutes on each side. When they are cooked through, remove them and set aside.
3. Pour in the tomatoes, garlic, butter, and EVOO with the sauce and let reduce to 2/3. Add salt and pepper to taste
4. In a blender, take about 1/4 cup of the mixture and blend with the fresh basil and heavy cream. Stir in with the hot pasta. Place the chicken legs in the remaining sauce and heat through.

Serve with grated parmesan and shredded swiss...bliss

Stuffed Veggies..mmmmm

Made this again, but with my new market's delicious "sausage stuffing" (chair à saucisse) and fresh vine tomatoes and bells.
This time I poured a drizzle of beer over everything before popping them into the oven, and I used shallots instead of onions.
This is how Eric likes to eat his: with fries (surprised?)
And this is how I like it: with rice and shredded swiss

Bulgogi - Korean BBQ

We recently met a Korean-French couple who invited us to dinner at their place. They made the most delicious Korean BBQ and Kimchi I'd ever had (see pics below)This brought back UCSD memories of weekly Korean BBQ for $5 a plate.. ah the good ol days! Anyhow, it was sooo good, that I decided to try it out. This came out really good, but minus the barbecue, wasn't as great as if made by a REAL Korean. Plus, I'm sure I'm missing a secret ingredient. BUT, this was very very good.
Ingredients:
1 lb beef, sliced into very thin steaks (mine looked more like stir fy)
Marinade:
2 Tbsp soy sauce (or GF alternative)
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp rice wine
1 asian pear, peeled and grated
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
for the wraps:
Leaves of lettuce or some sort of greens
Sesame leaves (I did not have, so I used basil.. good choice. You can use mint, too)
Seaweed wrappers.. for crunchiness (not pictured)
chili paste or other "salsa" of your choice
Directions:
1. In a deep dish, mix all the marinade ingredients together, then mix in the meat, rubbing each piece with your fingers to get the marinade into the grooves. Let sit for at least 1 hour in the fridge.
2. Light your bbq and grill the pieces of steak. If you don't have one and/or your slices fall through the grill, use a stove and frying pan.
3. When all this is done, serve as you wish, but the tastiest way to eat this is in a lettuce wrap with a little rice, sesame leaf, and hot sauce... with a side of kimchi, of course (but I didn't have any either)

I think I will do this again. I did like it, but I need a REAL Korean to give me a family recipe because I'm sure the ones you find on the internet are all missing something. Maybe it's because I miss the college days too much...

Quiche-za

I couldn't decide between making a quiche or a pizza, so I made a quiche-za! My new grocery store is more like a local farmer's market in that everything is extra fresh, juicy, tasty, heavenly.. and for the same price (or less) than tasteless traditional supermarket produce. Their fresh basil is of a quality I'd never experienced before.
Serves 2 as a meal or 4 as an appetizer
Ingredients:
1 pie crust, uncooked
1 ball fresh mozzarella, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 eggs
squirt of tomato sauce
drizzle basalmic vinegar
2 tbsp heavy cream
3-4 large fresh basil leaves, chopped
salt/fresh pepper
grated parmesan
Directions:
1. Unroll your pie crust and attack it with a fork. Put it in your mold and pop it in the oven at 400°F for 5-10 minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and tomato sauce.
3. Once your pie crust is lightly colored, lay the tomatoes at the bottom, followed by the bell pepper and mozzarella slices.
4. Drizzle a bit of basalmic vinegar and sprinkle some salt and pepper over everything. Pour in the egg mixture and sprinkle with basil and parmesan.
5. Cook for approx 30 minutes in the oven. (I didn't really time it.. I just kept checking to see if it was no longer liquid.

Serve with a salad and make it a light lunch or appetizer.. or be a pig like we are and eat half of it for dinner.

Shrimp Quesadillas

I know making a quesadilla is pretty standard, but for me - here in France- it's a real treat. I had 1 for lunch and it filled me up. Mexicans! More of you need to move to France!

Ingredients:
1 XL burrito size flour tortilla
3 large shrimp, cooked and peeled and chopped
1 generous handful of shredded swiss cheese
1 green onion, chopped
sour cream
REAL Mexican Salsa (I jumped up and down when I found this at Auchan)
squeeze from a small lemon wedge
Directions:
1. Heat a pan on high heat and heat your tortilla on one side only until it is of desired color.
2. Take the tortilla off heat and put on a plate, hot side up.
3. Spread the cheese and shrimp along 1/2 of the tortilla. Squeeze the lemon wedge over this. Add some of the green onions, 1 tbsp sour cream, and as much salsa as you like.
4. Fold the tortilla in half and put back into the pan. Heat evenly, flipping, until the cheese is melty.
Serve with sour cream and salsa. If I had cilantro and/or avocados, I would have added guacamole.
This made me happy, indeed. It made Eric very happy as well.
That brand makes a bunch of different salsas and they are ALL good! It is the most authentic salsa I've ever had in a bottle.

Thai Masman Curry

This is good stuff. Very very good stuff. Relatively easy, too, considering you have the right curry paste. My dad brought me back various Mae Ploy brand Thai curry pastes (from the US). This is the Masman-Matsman-Massaman flavor. I just followed the directions on the back plus added a few ingredients of my own.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp Masman Curry Paste

2 chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp soybean oil (I used EVOO)
1 cup water
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 potato, cubed
some peanut (which I didn't have)
1/2 zucchini, sliced
1 tsp fresh ginger
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp tamarind extract (HA, find that!)
Directions:
1. Stir fry the curry paste in the oil, then add half the coconut milk.
2. Add the meat and the rest of the coconut milk and heat until boiling.
3. Add the vegetables and 1/2 cup water and cook until vegetables soften.
4. Add the ginger, lemon, sugar and tamarind extract. Taste and add more water if needed. Adjust the seasoning.

Serve with boiled thai rice (or basmati)
Just delicious!

* this is fight food without the sugar

Fried Zucchini

This didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to. I got a brand new deep fryer as a going away to a different city present from my work and now I just want to deep fry everything! The original recipe called for panko breadcrumbs, which I didn't have, so I mashed up some pizza crackers in my mortar and pestle... but it gooped instead of being evenly breaded..wtf. It was very good though! An alternative to fries that I really enjoyed along with my filet mignon.
Serves 2 as a side dish
Ingredients:
2 zucchinis, cut into fries and patted dry
1 egg, beaten
some panko bread crumbs (please use these)
a deep fryer...or... a frying pan with olive oil
Directions:
1. Dip your zucchini in the egg mixture, then in the panko mixture. Set to dry on a baking sheet. Please do this because if you just throw all your goopy eggy zucchini pieces into the panko mixture and shake, chances are the egg will make the panko stick to itself instead of your zucchini and make you extremely irritated and ready to throw everything into your hub's face even if he has nothing to do with this issue.
2. Fry in batches until golden. I didn't time and I've been drinking too much champagne to correctly remember. Must have been around 5 minutes in the deep fryer, maybe 10 in a frying pan. Stay nearby. Sorry, I suck with timing instructions.

This was awesome, but it will be better when I actually do it right!