Greek Style Couscous Pearls

I'm pretty sure most people have seen and tried couscous- you know those tiny granules of semolina that are steamed. But have you tried Israeli couscous? They are also made of semolina pasta but resemble pearls or white peas. Israeli couscous are larger than traditional couscous and has a much creamier texture. I recently tried it for the first time and absolutely love it!! You need to toast the couscous with a little bit of olive oil (much like you do for risotto) until it is nicely golden brown. This is a critical step and shouldn't be skipped because it's this toasting that gives the Israeli couscous such a wonderfully nutty flavor.
After I bought the couscous, I went looking for the perfect flavors to go with it. I had a recipe for Greek salad and since Greek salad is sometimes paired with pasta, I thought the two would go together nicely. I was in for a big surprise. This dish was so tasty and all the varied textures were amazing together.
Chris asked to bring the leftovers back to work with him after he came home and ate a big bowl of it for lunch! Two hours later, I receive a text from him that said one word: yummy

Greek Style Couscous Pearls (serves 4)
1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous
1 Tbsp. of olive oil
1 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. water, broth or stock
for salad:
1 cucumber, seeded and diced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 red bell pepper, diced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 red onion, diced small
1/3 c. feta cheese, crumbled
1/3 c. kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
for vinaigrette:
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
salt, pepper to taste
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil

Drizzle 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add couscous, stir until evenly coated with oil. Toast until lightly brown (about 5 minutes). Slowly add the liquid (water, stock or broth) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med. low and cover. Simmer for 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove cover and take off the heat.
Meanwhile, make vinaigrette and then pour over warm couscous.
Place all remaining salad ingredients into a large bowl. When couscous is cooled, add to bowl and toss all together. Set aside for 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature and enjoy! :)

Ruby Port Sparklers

Who doesn't enjoy cocktail time every now and then? A nice glass of wine is perfect with dinner most nights, but for those times when I'm having a night in with girlfriends or want something special before or after a meal, cocktails are perfect. They're festive, generate lots of excitement and range in taste from a citrus-y zing to smooth and mellow.
I recently came across this recipe in Sunset Magazine. It was featured in an article titled A Bite Size Chocolate Party. Now I don't know about you, but I am a chocoholic. I absolutely adore dark and semi-sweet chocolate. I also enjoy a nice glass of port wine after dinner and this recipe combined both flavors. Perfect! I had a bottle of port and also the bottle of Godiva chocolate liqueur on hand, so all I needed to get was the sparkling wine.
This drink is sublime. I've made it for a recent book club gathering last weekend and I'm having a glass tonight. Try this recipe and I think you'll agree, sometimes it's nice to drink your dessert ;)

Ruby Port Sparklers (serves 1)
For each cocktail, pour 2 Tbsp. each Godiva Chocolate liqueur and ruby port into a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon or blood orange zest strip. Cheers!

Buttermilk Pancakes with Maple Syrup Apples

This weekend I decided to make something special for breakfast. I looked in the refrigerator and saw some buttermilk I had left from another recipe and that gave me the idea for buttermilk pancakes. I came to the computer for some inspiration and came across two separate recipes that sounded interesting. One was for cakey buttermilk pancakes on food network and the other was for pancakes with maple syrup apples on epicurious. The match was brilliant. The pancakes were soft and slightly tangy and the apple topping was sweet, spicy and oh so delicious! The girls and I ate our fill of pancakes, then froze the rest for a quick breakfast on school mornings.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Maple Syrup Apples (4-5 servings)
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 1/4 c. well shaken buttermilk
1/2 c. melted unsalted butter, plus 2 Tbsp for cooking
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp each of baking soda, baking powder and salt

2 Tbsp. butter
3 large apples- cored and diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 Tbsp. plus 1/2 C. pure maple syrup (Don't skimp! Has to be pure maple!)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
dash of nutmeg

Maple syrup apples: Melt butter in pan over med. heat. add apples and 1 Tbsp of the syrup; saute until apples are tender, about 4-6 minutes. Mix in remaining 1/2 c. maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg. Remove from heat.


Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together all ingredients except 2 Tbsp of butter until evenly combined and moistened thoroughly (some small lumps will remain). Set mixture aside to rest while griddle heats.
Heat a large pan or griddle. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in pan. When it foams, ladle approx. 1/4 c. batter for each pancake and cook until bubbles cover the top and edges look set. Flip and cook until golden brown, another minute. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately with maple syrup apples and enjoy! :)

Baked Shrimp Scampi

We've all had shrimp scampi that's been cooked on the stove. I'm a big fan of easy to make, delicious dishes and I came across this recipe in Ina Garten's new cookbook Back To Basics. The lemony and garlic flavor really shines through with the delicate shrimp and is complemented by the crunchy panko crust. It's so good. It's going back for seconds, so good. Super simple because you don't have to babysit it on the stove, you just assemble everything, pop it in the oven and finish off with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice just before serving. We served our scampi over a bed of couscous, but you could always serve it with the traditional pasta.

Baked Shrimp Scampi (serves 4)
1 1/2 lbs raw shrimp *
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. white wine
salt and pepper to taste
1 stick butter, softened at room temperature
4-6 garlic cloves
1/8 c. minced shallots
2 Tbsp. parsley
1 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (plus more for a finishing squeeze)
1 extra large egg yolk
2/3 c. panko

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Peel, devein and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on (*I used a smaller count shrimp since thats what we had on hand, so I didn't butterfly it). Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, salt and pepper. Allow to sit at room tempaerature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.
In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, salt and pepper until combined.
Place shrimp in a single layer inside a 14 inch oval gratin dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Place under the broiler for a minute or so, to brown the top. Squeeze a fresh lemon over the finished dish and serve.