lamb shoulder steak.... pan seared.......at kitchen! kitchen!



Pan Seared Lamb
Nestled on a bed of shredded carrots and daikon with
mayo and the wonderful peppery baby arugula.

Simple yet tasty......

1 Pkg. of lamb shoulder steak - seasoned with my "Amazing dry rub"
1-2 tablespoon of olive oil
2 med. size carrots shredded
1 large daikon shredded
1 tablespoon cider vinegar (diluted with a little water)
1 - 2 teaspoons sugar (or honey)
A pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon mayo
2 cups of baby arugula

In a bowl mix the shredded carrots, daikon, mayo, sugar, cider vinegar, and salt. Taste and correct seasoning. Set aside.
On a hot pan sear the seasoned lamb on all sides to desired doneness.

Prepare a serving platter with the arugula and the shredded carrots/daikon salad. Nestle the seared lamb pieces on top and garnish with tomato slices and serve with your favorite side dish
of roasted potatoes or pilaf.

hummus.... homemade .....at kitchen! kitchen!

HUMMUS
Serve as an appetizer dip scopped up with
a pita or flatbread is a sure delight.
Great for crudities, chips or as a spread for sandwiches! 
Don't limit yourself on what this dish
can do for your meal.

Chickpeas is normally used, or a combination of chickpeas and garbanzos.
For recipe....go to foodnetwork or google HUMMUS. So easy to make and very rewarding.

Curry - the exotic & simply fabulous spice......at kitchen! kitchen!



Couscous Salad with Curry
What you can do with the exotic & fabulous curry are just endless.




Chicken Scaloppini with Curry Sauce & A Side Dish of
Couscous Salad. Fabulously delicious!

 Simply fabulous curry......

Couscous Curry Salad
1 cup of couscous (follow cooking instruction on the box)
(Add a tablespoon of mild curry to the water for the couscous)
1/4 cup of dried cranberries
1/4 cup of white raisins
1/4 cup of diced cucumber (seeds removed)
Some chopped cilantro
1/4 cup of diced carrots (par-boil the carrots for a few minutes before dicing)
A squeezed of half a lemon
A tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
Fluff the couscous after the water has been absorbed and add the dried fruits, keep covered and set aside (this is to give those lovely dried fruits time to plump up and get prettied up for the dish).
In a large deep bowl mix everything and add the lemon juice and olive oil. Correct seasoning with salt and pepper and finally add the cilantro. Note: Giada @ Foodnetwork has a similar dish, you may want to goggle her version.

For the chicken scallopine follow recipe on previous posting dated 11/9/10 "My Chicken Schnitzel" and replace PANKO with corn meal.
On your corn meal add....
1 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 teaspon hot paprika
A pinch of salt
Place the chicken pieces on a greased baking sheet and sprinkle some olive oil over the pieces and bake at 425  F preheated oven for 20 minutes.
For the Curry Sauce - see recipe on previous posting dated 12/3/10 "Curried Turkey".

turkey sausage & chipotle mayonnaise...at kitchen! kitchen!

Turkey Sausage
Nestled on  lettuce leaf with sweet red pepper
salad spread and topped with spicy
chipotle mayonnaise.
This simple dish is just screaming of yumminess.

This is great to have on your pantry.
Adds another dimension to any dishes .
(Available in most supermarkets).

I cook a lot of chicken and turkey, unless I have some friends over for lunch or dinner, then I will make something different and special.
We prefer chicken, turkey, and fish to red meat, although red meat is not completely eliminated. We still immensely enjoy red meat every now and then.
So, I have quite mastered the art of repeating recipes and bringing it to a different level each time.
I will add or change some herbs, introduce some other spices or add some new toppings and sauce. I certainly don't want to hear something like, "that again mom"!!?

The recipes on this blog has been posted before- "turkey sausage" and "sweet red pepper salad". Please refer to previous postings.
Chipotle Mayonnaise:
2 tablespoon chipotle in adobo sauce- finely chopped
3/4 cup mayonnaise
Mix everything in a bowl.....very simple and a great spread for just about anything.
*Adjust the chipotle adobo according to taste*. Transfer the rest in a small plastic container and store in the refrigerator*.

apple almond tart.....at kitchen! kitchen!...

An Apple Almond Tart
by Tarts & Quiches at kitchen! kitchen!
Insanely delicious with toasted almonds -  another perfect dessert!
SPECIAL ORDER ONLY at TARTS & QUICHES
email: jaenwitt@aol.com
*No shipping please*

pork ribs barbecue -asian style....at kitchen! kitchen!



Pork Ribs Barbecue - Asian Style
With Cucumber Tomato Salsa
A summertime treat in winter - your friends
and family will surely enjoy.

8 pork ribs
Amazing dry rub
For the Marinade:
8 cloves of minced garlic
1/4 cup of orange juice
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
Barbecue GLAZE:
2 cups of Kraft regular barbecue sauce
Juice of 1/2 an orange (freshly squeezed)
1 tablespoon of honey (or if you have some leftover of the orange honey dressing add about 1/4 cup of it to the kraft barbecue sauce for glazing).

Season the ribs generously with the amazing dry rub (see previous posting) and pour over the marinade and let it soak in for 20 minutes or so.
Preheat oven to 350 F and bake the ribs in a pan completely covered with aluminum foil for 1 to 1 hr. and 15 minutes.
Remove the foil and all the liquids from the pan
Brush all sides of the ribs with the barbecue glaze and put back in the middle rack of the oven and broil. Continue glazing with gusto every 2-3 minutes or so on both sides alternately turning the ribs over. Continue doing so for another 10 minutes until the ribs show some carmelization and you could see little burn marks in some areas. Take them out of the oven and transfer to a serving platter; sprinkle the1/4 cup of diced red onion and jalopeno (remove the seeds and membrane if you don't want it too spicy). Note: if you have toasted sesame seeds use them to sprinkle over the ribs.
Serve with the cucumber tomato salsa (see previous posting "Turkey Wings"-for salsa recipe)

homemade veal pate......at kitchen! kitchen!

Homemade Veal Pate
Delicious and easy to make, great for sandwiches,
 snacks, or served with a salad, or just to nibble
on a cracker and a glass of wine
would be divine.



A veal pate sandwich with baby lettuce, and cucumbers
on a toasted whole grain bread buttered with mayo
and your favorite fruit spread.

 For Recipe - see previous posting of "pate wrapped in pastry". You can use any ground meat that you may have. kitchen! kitchen! tips: save and freeze the innards from the whole chicken; duck or turkey - they're great for added flavour and texture to pates.
This is what I did with the innards from the duck that I saved........
Roughly chopped innards, bacon cubes, and diced onions --With a pinch of salt sautee in olive oil for a few minutes just until the bacon starts to carmelize. Drain some of the oil and let cool before adding to the ground meat mixture.

vegetable spread- great to have!......at kitchen! kitchen!





A Vegetable Spread
A truly glorious spread on a crusty bread, for tacos or
serve as a sauce for fish, chicken, steak, pork, for pasta, and
just about anything.

This is what you need....
2 sweet red peppers-(or a combination of yellow and orange pepper)
4 cubanels
1 large poblano pepper
2 Japanese egg plants (or 1 medium Italian egg plant)
4 cloves of garlic with skin on
1/2 red onion quartered
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 F
On a large baking sheet - spread all the vegetables; sprinkle some salt and black pepper. Coat completely with olive oil and roast for about 40-50 minutes and let cool and save the juices in the pan.
Removel the seeds and skin off the vegetables and cut roughly. Then combine everything in the food processor add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil including the juices from the pan and pulse until roughly blended. I prefer to have some texture on the spread. Taste to correct seasoning. This will keep in the refrigerator for a week.
It is delicious and just great to have!

turkey wings- your appetite teaser with cucumber tomato salsa........at kitchen! kitchen!

Slow Roasted Turkey Wings Teaser
With Orange Honey dressing...spiced up with minced
jalopeno. A sure appetite teaser!



A Cucumber Tomato Salsa
Served with the turkey wings.

 Ever wondered what to do with that large package of "TURKEY WINGS"?  It cost next to nothing that I have to blink twice to make sure the $ amount is what it says. Your first thought would be to make a good stock out of it. Well, I had an idea--- what if I slow roast it as a wonderful appetite teaser for dinner?!...so goes my "aha moment"....... so here we are......

3 cut up turkey wings (there are 4 humongous turkey wings in the package -bones were already broken to make it easier to cut up).
The Marinade for the Turkey
Amazing dry rub - see previous posting - you must have a mixture of this in the jar by now - that is if you follow my blog regularly.
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup of buttermilk
Rub each piece with olive oil and season generously with the amazing dry rub.
Preheat oven to 300 F
Place each piece on a roasting rack and slowly roast for 2 to 2-1/2 hrs. until tender and golden.
Set aside and make the dressing.

ORANGE HONEY DRESSING:
A juice of one fresh orange
A zest of one orange
3-4 tablespoons of good honey (according to desired sweetness)
1-2 drops of cider vinegar - and I mean a "drop".
2 teaspoons of dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 minced jalopeno (seeds and membrane removed) I just removed the seeds and left the membranes intact for a little kick.
Mix thoroughly in a bowl and drizzle over the turkey wings.
Simply, simply delicious!

CUCUMBER TOMATO SALSA:
1 medium size cuke (English cucumber) -if you are using the regular cucumber, remove the seeds and cut into small cubes.
1/2 quart of grape tomatoes cut in half
1 cup of chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons of minced red onion
Kosher salt and pepper
1 minced jalopeno
1 teaspoon of cider vinegar
1 tablspoon of olive oil
Mix thoroughly in a bowl and serve with the turky wings.

black rice with grilled chicken & all the trimmings at....kitchen! kitchen!

Black rice with grilled chicken and all the trimmings of sweet yams,
and grilled sweet vegetable spread is light and yet full of flavor.

My ingredients are always what I have on hand - I don't go crazy running to the supermarket to buy the stuff I need. Think of what you can do with what you have and don't be too absorbed with certain ingredients that you don't have.
So....these are what I have lying around waiting for me to notice them....
1 medium size yam (sweet potato) -baked for 20-30 minutes completely wrapped in foil or microwaved for 3-4 minutes completely covered in a very moist paper towel. Let cool and cubed; then brown in the same pan as the chicken with a little olive oil just until it gets some color.
6 pieces of chicken scaloppine (thinly sliced - or pork chops) - seasoned with my "amazing dry rub" and a tablespoon of buttermilk - See recipe on previous posting Oct.2 for "grilled chicken tenders".
1 cup of black rice and 1/4 cup of brown rice combined (see Nov.1 posting of "black rice pilaf" for recipe).
Scallion and cherry tomato for garnish- grill on the same pan as the chicken for a few minutes.
Sweet red pepper spread - this is a regular "resident" in my kitchen - my son just loves this (recipe to follow at a later date), but you can use home made salsa or store bought to put on the black rice as your sauce.
Now, wasn't that easy?! I was hoping this will serve 2- but, alas, my son finished off the whole serving......so be warned ....this recipe is for 1.....you wouldn't want to hear, "I'm still hungy"!

potatoes! potatoes!.....at kitchen! kitchen!

Roasted potatoes on a bed of carmelized sweet onions.




  Barefoot Contessa made a similar kind of potato salad as inspired during her trip to London.
You may goggle her at foodnetwork for the exact recipe. My inspiration with this recipe was the way the potatoes were sliced - like an accordion. My way is very simple........

6-8 yukon gold potatoes washed and scrubbed thoroughy
Make several diagonal slits on each potato without slicing through - just about 3/4 of the way.
Season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle some extra virgin olive oil and roast for 50-60 minutes at 350 F on a preheated oven until fork tender.
Halfway through the roasting turn the potatoes over for even browning.
For carmelized onions..... sliced 1 large sweet onions and saute in a pan with olive oil and butter on medium heat until carmelized about 10 minutes. Make sure you sprinkle a pinch of salt.
A wonderful side dish for our "after christmas day dinner".
I did the same roasted potatoes without the carmelized onions but just a drizzling of pomegranate dressing for my new year's eve dinner. See posting "my way of ringing in 2011".

sweet red peppers salad......at kitchen! kitchen!

Grilled sweet peppers  and carmelized sweert onions
with a scattering of big chunks of goat cheese.
It's just  a complete joy to your palate!

What you need.......
2-3 red sweet peppers
2-3 sweet yellow peppers
4 cubanels
2 large sweet onions
Exra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt

In a preheated 350 F oven - season with a pinch of salt and sprinkle some olive oil on the all peppers and roast on a baking sheet for about 40-50 minutes. Let cool and  cover with foil.
Peel the skin and  remove the seeds then sliced into strips and drain in a colander of all the liquid for about an hour or more.
In the meantime.....
Sliced the onions and saute on a large pan with olive oil and a pinch of salt on a medium heat until carmelized; about 15 minutes or so.
Combine the drained peppers with the carmelized onions in a large platter and add a scattering of excellent goat cheese and some chopped flat leaf parsley to garnish. (option: you may add a little balsamic vinegar to this dish).
You will be doing this dish over and over - and will soon become a part of your repertoire. Even the children will love this! And great for sandwich toppings too!

my way of ringing in 2011.....a no fuss dinner but simply delicious! at kitchen! kitchen!

A no fuss dinner of sweet red peppers; curried shrimps with apples
and grapes; roasted potatoes and the uber satisfying and simply
delicious stuffed roasted long island duck that
your palate refuses to let go.
My way of ringing in the NEW YEAR!

Roasted potatoes drizzled with pomegranate dressing
is a feast to the eyes and to the palate.

Sweet, delicate red peppers and carmelized sweet onions
with chunks of good goat cheese.



My way of ringing in 2011 was sharing a quite and a no fuss
dinner with good freinds - the Bugges, Boots, and the Gorskis.