Salami Pretzel Rolls

 

When I traveled through Europe after college, my friends Clare and Courtney and I ate a ton of these salami pretzel roll sandwiches. I've been making them at home ever since. They're my favorite thing to pack for a picnic or day at the beach because everyone loves them. My friend Beth just took it to the next level by adding minced cornichons. So good! I don't know if I'll ever eat one again without them. And never forget the butter!

Perfect Turkey Ragu

 

I stopped eating beef 13 years ago and have always missed a good meat sauce. I recently tried this recipe for Turkey Ragu from GOOP and it definitely hit the spot. It tasted like a rich meat sauce and you didn't even notice it was ground turkey. Delicious!

Caesar "ish" Salad Dressing

Here's another Caesar style dressing recipe. This one is inspired by Pamela Salzman. It's very similar to the other ones I've posted but this one has capers which is a nice touch.

Caesar Dressing

6 T Veganaise (mine was reduced fat because it’s all they had)

2-3 T fresh lemon juice (I like it more tart so might even add more)

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 t Dijon mustard

1 t Worcestershire

1-2 t capers (rinsed) *

2 T olive oil

Salt 

Freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

* Last time I did 1 T capers and it was too much

Seared Salmon w/ Za'atar & Sumac Tzatziki - Plus Sides

My cooking group took several classes from Carol at The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica and one lesson in a private home. Carol is the best! Our group loves her so much. She's a great chef, super knowledgeable and so fun. These are the recipes she taught at the private class. They are really simple recipes but you wouldn't know it by the flavor profiles. They are so delicious!

You can follow Carol on Instagram at carolcotnerthompson.

Seared Salmon

8oz piece of salmon

1/4 cup Za’atar (store bought or recipe below)

salt

Grapeseed or canola oil

Rinse the fillet and dry well. Press the za-atar and salt into the fillet. 

Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat until hot. Add oil. Sear salmon top side down, cooking 10 minutes per inch. 

Serve with Sumac Tzatziki.

Za-atar 

There are a million versions but this is the recipe I used

1 t dried thyme 

1/2 t oregano

1 t toasted sesame seeds

1 t ground cumin

1 t sumac

Small pinch of kosher salt

Sumac Tzatziki

1 clove of garlic, minced and smashed into a paste

1/2 t salt

1 T lemon juice

1 t sumac

1 cup whole milk yogurt (I used less because it’s all I had. Maybe 1/2-3/4 cup.)

Cucumber Tomato Salad

1 Persian cucumber, cut into rounds

1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/4 cup fresh mint

1/4 cup fresh dill

2 T olive oil

1 T red wine vinegar

Pinch of salt

Toss all ingredients in a bowl and serve. 

Jasmine Coconut Rice

3/4 cup jasmine rice

1 cup water

3/4 cup coconut milk

1/2 t salt

Rinse rice. Combine all ingredients in a sauce pot. Heat and cook on low for about 25 minutes. 

Makes about 3 servings

Kouroulakia - Greek Easter Cookies

My friend Maria has been sharing her mom's cookies with me for years. They are so good for breakfast with coffee, or better yet, dipped in coffee. I finally made my own batch and now I bounce out of bed in the morning.

Kouroulakia - Greek Easter Cookies

Helena Christofilis

1 ½ cups butter, softened

1 ¼ cups sugar

4 eggs (separated 2 and 2)

2 T orange juice

3 t vanilla

5 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 ½ t baking powder

¾ t baking soda

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. 

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add 2 eggs and beat well. Beat in orange juice and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until easy to handle. (They said this actually wasn’t necessary.)

Roll dough into 1 ¼ inch balls. Roll each into a 6 inch rope. Fold in half and twist twice. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. (I used parchment paper.)

In a small bowl, beat the remaining 2 eggs to make an egg wash. Brush over formed cookies. Bake at 350 for 7-12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks.

Yeilds about 6 ½ dozen. (I got 4 dozen out of my batch but I made mine too big. Next time I will make them smaller.)

Kimchi Grilled Cheese

I've made a lot of grilled cheese sandwiches during quarantine but this

 recipe for a Kimchi Grilled Cheese by Ali Slagle is my new favorite.

Anne's Benihana Fried Rice & Sauces

My friend Anne and her adorable family nailed it with their recipes for Benihana fried rice, ginger sauce and mustard sauce. All the glory without the stink when you leave the restaurant!

Anne’s Benihana Fried Rice

3 cups Calrose rice (which makes about 8 cups cups cooked rice)

1 onion (diced)

2 large carrots (diced)

3/4  bunch green onions (diced)

4 eggs

2 Large Chicken breast (small cubes)

Kikoman brand soy sauce

Garlic butter (recipe below)

Salt & pepper (might not need salt because of soy sauce)

Sesame seeds

Disclaimer about the ingredients.  I am notorious for never measuring so these are estimates of what I used. Everything is just personal preference.

A day ahead: Make rice (I used Botan Calrose rice) according to package and spread on a sheet pan. Dehydrate overnight on the counter or in the fridge if you have room. If you don’t do this, your fried rice will be wet and clumpy.

Day of: In a wok or large sauce pan, bring oil to heat (avocado, grapeseed or organic canola oil) Sauté the onion and carrots until they caramelize and get golden brown. In the last few minutes of cooking, add the green onion and cook. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add more oil to the pan and sauté chicken breast until outside is seared. Flavor with soy sauce and a big spoonful of the garlic butter and continue to cook until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add more oil to the pan and scramble the eggs. Once cooked, add the veggies, chicken and rice into the pan and mix well. Flavor with soy sauce, pepper, and garlic butter to taste until everything is well combined.

Top with sesame seeds and serve with Ginger Sauce & Mustard Sauce. 

Garlic Butter

1 stick softened butter

3-4 cloves of garlic (through garlic press)

1 1/2 - 2 T soy sauce (until butter is light brown)

1- 2 T lemon

1/4 stick Garlic butter (optional - I did not use)

Roasted Garlic (optional - I did not use)

Ginger Sauce

1 onion (roughly chopped)

2 T ginger (minced)

1/4 cup lemon (1 or 2 lemons)

3/4 cup soy sauce

1 T sugar

Blend all ingredients in a blender. (On live she said to pulse so it’s not too liquidy.)

Mustard Sauce

3 T dry mustard powder

2 T hot water

1 T toasted sesame seeds, crushed 

3/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 clove garlic crushed (I used 1 small clove)

3 T heavy cream (I used 2)

Mix mustard and hot water in a bowl until it forms a paste.  Place in blender with sesame seeds, soy sauce and garlic. Blend all ingredients for 1 minute. 

Caesar Dressing

Caesar Dressing - Inspired by PCC Recipe

3/4 cup reduced fat Veganaise
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 T Worcestershire sauce, plus a splash more
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 T red wine vinegar
2 t Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Place all of the ingredients, except oil, in a blender. With the food processor running, slowly add oil to emulsify. Check and adjust seasoning as necessary.

Homemade Croutons

My favorite croutons are the PCC deli croutons (Seattle grocery store). When I can't get my hands on them, I make my own because I can't find anything at the stores here that I like as much. 

Homemade Croutons

French Baguette, one or two days old and cut into big chunks
3 T olive oil
3 T butter
Garlic powder
Oregano
Salt 
Pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter and oil together in a sauce pan. Add garlic powder and oregano. Stir until butter melts and then pour slowly over the bread chunks, stirring until they are all well-coated. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Toss and bake 10 more minutes. Test one to make sure they are crispy enough. If not, add to oven for 5-10 more minutes. 

Weekly Staples

I make garlic crostinis almost every week because they are good with cheese, pasta, or just on their own. George eats them as fast as I can make them. 

Garlic Crostinis

Baguette - French baguette preferably
Olive oil
Garlic clove 

Preheat oven to broil. Slice the baguette on the diagonal and place on a cookie sheet. Brush with olive oil. Broil until just golden brown. The bake time will depend largely on how long your oven was on. If it's been on broil for awhile then they brown super fast. They can go from golden to burnt in a matter of seconds under the broiler. Watch closely. I set the timer for 30 seconds at a time, until the last few seconds when I just watch them. 

Remove from oven and quickly rub the edge of a garlic clove all over the top.

I love to top with cambozola cheese or Dubliner cheddar and salami. I also include these when I have time on a cheese board or antipasto plate. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Every time I make white rice my kids ask, "Is this Mimi's rice?" and if it's not they protest. I make this almost every week too. 

Mimi's Butter Rice

Cooked white rice
Several tablespoons of butter (more than you would think!)
Chicken bouillon powder

Optional (my kids wouldn't allow it but good for adults)
Toasted pine nuts
Sliced green onion

New Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This recipe for Single. Best. Cookie. Ever is from The Gourmandise School in Santa Monica. Every once in awhile they have a tray of them for students and we all go nuts. Now that we are on quarantine, I've been making them. I'm a sucker for dessert in the morning, instead of after dinner, so I usually have one (or two) for breakfast with my coffee. They are so chewy and delicious.

I have been making with a combo of spelt flour and all purpose flour. Next time I will try with rye flour and all purpose flour. They say that version is delicious too. 

Single Best Cookie Ever

The Gourmandise School

Prep time: 

15 minutes

Cook time:

12 minutes

Ingredients

2 sticks of butter (unsalted preferably and can be straight from the fridge!)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup dark chocolate pieces
1 cup milk chocolate pieces

1 1/2 t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1 t salt (omit if using salted butter)

3 cups whole grain flour (I use 1 cup spelt flour and 2 cups regular all purpose flour)
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Maldon sea salt (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream butter with the brown and white sugar until it looks fluffy with a hand held mixer, a stand up mixer with paddle attachment or a large heavy bowl with a wooden spoon.

Add your eggs and scrape the bowl well. Keep mixing for 1 more minute and add the chocolate pieces and nuts. Mix until well combined.

Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.

Shape your cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Scoop these big - they eat like a meal. Bake at 350 until golden brown on the edges (about 8 minutes for medium cookies and 10-15 minutes for larger ones). 

Let them finish cooking and cooling on the cookie sheet - no need to transfer to a cooling rack. Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt (optional). 

Pork Tenderloin w/ Green Peppercorn Sauce

This is a house favorite. I skip the sauce for the kids but they love the flavor of the pork. 

Pork Tenderloin with Green Peppercorn Sauce

Adapted from Gourmandise Cooking School & Ina Garten

White rice, prepared

1 pork tenderloin

1-2 T good olive oil

1-2 t ground fennel seed (grind fresh fennels seeds in mortar and pestle if possible)

1 t Dijon mustard

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Sauce

¼ cup butter

2 T all-purpose flour

½ cup white wine

3 cups chicken stock

2 t Dijon mustard

2 t whole-grain mustard

¼ cup green peppercorns in brine, drained

Cook white rice to serve with finished pork and sauce. 

Heat oven to 375 degrees. 

Rub pork tenderloin with olive oil and mustard. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and ground fennel seed. Let sit and come to room temp for 20 minutes. 

Heat an oven safe sauté pan over medium-high or high heat and brown the pork on 2-3 sides. 

Put the pan in the oven and finish cooking for 10-20 minutes or until internal temp is 140-145 degrees. Remove from the oven and transfer to a plate. Cover with foil to keep warm. 

Sauce:

For the sauce, if there isn’t 1/4 cup of fat in the pan, add enough butter to the pan to make 1/4 cup total. Over medium heat, whisk the flour into the fat in the pan and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock, 2 teaspoons of each mustard, the green peppercorns, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened. Taste the sauce and add salt, etc if needed. 

Cut the pork on the diagonal and serve over white rice. Pour the sauce over the top. (I like lots of sauce! Be warned the peppercorns can be very peppery but if you can handle it, the flavor is so good.)

Vegan Caesar Dressing

My favorite caesar dressing is the Vegan Caesar from PCC in Seattle. I usually zhuzh it up a bit with extra lemon juice, pepper and whatever else it needs. I found the recipe online and it's pretty darn close to the jars they sell at PCC. Again, it needs a little help but it's delicious and makes a full jar so you have dressing all week. It's equally great on kale with parmesan and croutons. 

PCC Vegan Caesar

1 cup reduced fat Veganaise
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 T vegan Worcestershire sauce
3 t minced garlic
1 T sherry vinegar
1 1/2 t Dijon mustard
1 1/2 t black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

Place all of the ingredients, except oil, in a food processor and blend until combined. With the food processor running, slowly add oil to emulsify.

Best Roast Chicken Ever

The recipe for Buttermilk-Marinated Roast Chicken from Salt Fat Acid Heat is the best roast chicken I have ever made. Even my kids commented on how good it was so now I make it every week or two and everyone loves it. I usually make it for dinner one night, have leftover chicken the next day and then I use the carcass for chicken stock. I highly recommend this chicken but you must marinate it overnight or it won't be as good. And here's my nerdy little cheat sheet so I don't have to reference the recipe. It's all about the rotation so the breast doesn't dry out. It's perfection.  

Peach Chicken with Coconut Rice

photo credit: Jessica Seinfeld

My friend Marly made this recipe last night inspired by Jessica Seinfeld's recipe for Peach & Sriracha Chicken with Coconut Rice. It was so good and so flavorful. 

For the chicken:

4 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs 

4 bone-in, skin on chicken drumsticks 

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (optional)

3/4 cup peach (or apricot) jam or preserves 

3 T grated fresh ginger

2 T Sriracha hot sauce

3 T reduced-sodium soy sauce or Tamari

1 clove garlic, minced

3 green onion (white & green parts, sliced)

1/4 cup peanuts (chopped)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro (chopped)

For the rice:

1 13.5 ounce can whole coconut milk

1 1/2 cups jasmine rice

1/4 t kosher salt

Instructions:

Heat the oven with the rack in the middle to 425 degrees. 

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle with the salt. 

In a large bowl, stir together the jam, ginger, garlic, sriracha, soy and coconut aminos. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Marinate for a few hours if you have time but not required. 

Arrange the chicken on a rimmed sheet pan or large baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over each piece. 

Roast for 35 to 40 minutes total. After 20 to 25 minutes, if the sauce starts to burn, add 1/2 cup of water to the pan. This will simmer away and give you a delicious sauce in the end. Continue to roast the rest of the time until the chicken is cooked through. 

For the rice, in a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, the rice and salt. Place over medium heat and let it come to a boil. Stir a few times and reduce the heat to low. Cover tightly and cook for 18 minutes, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the hear, stir the rice and cover tightly again. Let stand for 5 minutes. 

Serve the chicken over the rice and spoon the sauce on top. Sprinkle with green onion, cilantro and chopped peanuts.