Ahi Tuna Salad

Finally a night to myself to cook dinner and veg out on the couch! I stopped by the butcher and picked up some yellowfin tuna and decided to make a nice salad. I used some mache and red leaf lettuce, thinly sliced cucumbers and tomatoes and tossed it with some sesame seeds in a miso vinaigrette cut with some fresh lemon juice.

I seared the tuna on all sides rare and sliced it thin. I topped the salad with the tuna, the most amazing $3 avocado I have ever had and some additional sesame seeds. It was refreshing and delicious!

Pasta Night!

That's right folks - Kaitie and I have done it again, this time pasta style! We had plans to cook a light healthy dinner together, as we often do, and decided to squander up items from our pantries to save a little cash.

The result was whole wheat spaghetti with soy italian sausage, collard greens, mushrooms and garlic in a shallot-fresh tomato sauce. The sauce was enhanced with olive oil, garlic and freshly grated parmesan.

We also had a lovely butter lettuce salad with radishes, cotija cheese, avocado and cherry tomatoes in a red onion vinaigrette.

Look at that team work!

FIESTA FRIDAY

This is my first time posting, so i really hope i'm even doing this right, but here goes nothing...
okay, so when i was giving Joe options on what we should make for dinner and we chose chicken tostadas, he came up with the name. i blame the dorkiness all on him.
ANYWAY,
it turned out pretty great!
Started with a rotisserie chicken that we shredded and put in a warm salsa made out of tomatoes onions and Serrano chillies that were roasted under the broiler then blended.

We also made some guacamole (obviously), but since we had Mexican crema for the tostadas i decided to add it to the guacamole this time and i'd highly recommend it. it was delicious!

We also made veggie beans with tons of garlic, cumin, jalapeno, lime, chicken broth (guess they weren't really veggie), and cilantro... they really don't photograph well. plus i was at joe's and didn't have a real camera, only my phone, so don't judge too harshly.

I ALWAYS make salads as you know...and though this one was pretty simple the Mexican queso made it super tasty. just butter lettuce, some cabbage, tomatoes, queso and cilantro in a shallot and white wine vinaigrette

We fried up some corn tortillas, put on some refried beans, added our chicken, layered on the veggies we mixed (lettuce, cabbage, cilantro, onions, and raddishes), added some crema and queso and ate like pigs (as usual...me not joe that is)

engagement bbq

First of all - love the new layout design, Chels.

Now onto the food. I decided to post about my recent BBQ engagement party. The theme was southern and the food was exquisite. We made jerk chicken that Ethan marinated in various spices, such as Chinese 5 spice, brown sugar and cumin as well as olive oil. We braised it in the marinade for 3 hours and then finished it on the grill the next day.

The chicken was paired with collared greens - fresh from the farmer's market - slow boiled with a ham hock and finished with chilis & vinegar.

Some friends brought coleslaw and my sister made a to-die-for mac and cheese with cheddar, Gruyere and panko bread crumbs. Needless to say, there were no leftovers of the mac.

To munch on, I made fresh guacamole to serve with chips and salsa. The meal was quite the success, in fact people are still talking about how good it was.

We served it with fresh sangria made by Ethan's sister that had blood oranges, white raspberries, blueberries and cherries all fresh from the farmer's market as well.
Such a fun day with good food - what more could you ask for?

White Pizza With Arugala

I don't know what has been going on but I have been craving pizza lately!!  Not the greasy, cheesy mess that makes you break out, but pizza alternatives that make you feel good instead of sick and ready to pass out.  I made this white pizza the other day and it was a big hit!  Homemade honey dough, rosemary garlic oil, fontina, goat cheese, and mozzarella.  All topped off with fresh arugula (my favorite) tossed in pepper and fresh lemon.

Rosemary garlic oil                                                     Pizza ready to go in the oven

IT'S MOJITO TIME!!!!

Well, summer is finally here.  Over in Boston the humidity has skyrocketed to 85% on a 90 degree day....gorgeous?  Maybe not, but something that will help cure your heat lethargy is a cold Mojito that's for sure.
First cut a lime in half, then in thirds, and squeeze two of the pieces into a glass.  Add 3-5 pieces of mint, depending on how minty you like it, and half an oz of simple syrup (equal parts sugar and hot water dissolved)  Muddle muddle muddle those ingredients before adding 2 oz of rum (whatever kind you like as long as it isn't spicy) Fill your glass with ice and toss back and forth between glass and shaker tin about 2 times.  Top off with soda water, garnish with mint, and try not to drink it too fast! 

Pesto Pasta-New and Improved!

I absolutely love Pesto.  Recently I have made different variations of it, using mint, sometimes broccoli, and trying out different nut combinations.  There is nothing as tasty though as the good old basil/pine nut combo.  The other day we were in the mood for a light refreshing dinner and decided upon just that!  This time I decided to more or less "pump up the volume."
First in a food processor add:
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 pine nuts
4-5 garlic cloves (I had really large cloves so only used 3)

Then add 5 cups, yes, 5 WHOLE cups of basil lightly packed, followed by 1tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper
After the basil has broken down just a bit
start slowly adding 1 1/2 cups good olive oil.
Finally add 1 cup of grated parmesan.

Best part about this recipe, aside from being delicious, is that it makes enough to keep around for awhile.  Add a thin layer of olive oil on top and refrigerate or freeze!