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.

Citrus and Curry Baked Mahi

WOW. Just one word to describe the incredibly delicious smells emitting from the oven as the mahi mahi baked to perfection. Curry powder... lemon and lime zest.... chopped shallots.... and olive oil... all working in harmony to create a dish that was fantastic. The curry fragrance that filled the house during the baking made me so hungry, I just couldn't wait to sit down and eat. Eating more fish for health is easy to do with a recipe like this one. Try it, and you'll be saying wow too :)

Citrus and Curry Baked Mahi-Mahi (serves 4)
1 cup olive oil
zest from 1 lemon and 1 lime
squeeze of lemon and lime
1 med-large shallot, minced
1/4 of a fennel bulb, minced (yes, my new favorite ingredient!)
salt, pepper to taste
1 T. curry powder
4 mahimahi fish fillets (or any white fish your prefer)

Put all ingredients into a gallon sized ziplock baggie and let marinate in the refrigerator at least 12 hours but not more than 24 hours.
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place fish fillets onto a baking rack over a sheet pan. Make sure all your marinade is scooped on the fish fillets. Bake for 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Enjoy!

(serving suggestion: serve with rice, quinoa or other favorite grain)

Panna Cotta

In my ultimate dessert land, way up there, somewhere right next to Fresh Fruit Tart is a space reserved just for Panna Cotta. I love everything about Panna Cotta- the silky smooth texture, the creamy taste, the coolness as it touches your mouth, the way it looks so inviting on the plate contrasted with the berries it's usually paired with. Panna Cotta is an Italian jello of sorts. It's made by simmering together cream, milk and sugar, mixing that with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. If you've never tasted Panna Cotta, ordered it from a menu, or made it yourself, I suggest you try the following recipe and see for yourself how delicious this dessert is and how simple it is to make.

Panna Cotta (makes 4-5 1/2 c. ramekins)
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons cold water
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half and half
1/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a very small saucepan sprinkle gelatin over water and let stand about 1 minute to soften. Heat gelatin mixture over low heat until gelatin is dissolved and remove pan from heat.
In a large saucepan bring cream, half and half, and sugar just to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring. Remove pan from heat and stir in gelatin mixture and vanilla. Divide cream mixture among eight 1/2-cup ramekins and cool to room temperature. Chill ramekins, covered, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Dip ramekins, 1 at a time, into a bowl of hot water 3 seconds. Run a thin knife around edge of each ramekin and invert ramekin onto center of a small plate.

(serving suggestion: in a small bowl, combine berries (or fruits) of your choice 1/8 cup of granulated sugar. Stir and let sit for at least 30 minutes. When serving panna cotta, spoon some of the berries over and around it.)

Maple Grilled Salmon with Cirtus Salsa

Let's get one thing straight here. Other than Ahi I don't care much for fish. I never order it in the restaurants (unless it's raw Ahi or blackened Ahi or Ahi prepared in a similar fashion), and I rarely prepare it at home. I love other types of seafood- crabs, lobster, shrimp, mussels, calamari, octopus... but fish, not so much.
That is, until recently. More specifically, January 1, 2010. I've been trying to cook and eat more fish. Why? Simply because of it's many health benefits- mainly the Omega 3 fatty acids and low fat, high protein content of fish.
Well, today I found another winner. A 9 out of 10 scoring. A two thumbs-up, please make this again sometime soon vote. A this is so good I'm going for seconds and thirds recipe. Really. The subtle sweetness of the pure maple syrup with the citrus-y zing from the oranges and grapefruit, the salty bite of capers, the fresh mint and slight spice from the red pepper flakes.... what can I say other than simply delicious. Please try it and tell me what you think.

Maple Grilled Salmon with Citrus Salsa (serves 4)
4 salmon fillets
4 T. pure maple syrup
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. capers, roughly chopped
2 T. fresh mint leaves, chiffonade
sprinkle of red pepper flakes
1 T. chopped parsley
2 green onions, finely sliced
segments only of 1 orange and 1/2 grapefruit
2 T. olive oil
zest of 1/2 lemon, and 1/2 orange
1/8 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Prepare the citrus salsa: Mix together capers, mint, red pepper flakes, parsley, green onions, orange and grapefruit segments, olive oil, orange zest, lemon zest and lemon juice together in a bowl. Set aside.
In the meantime, heat a large grill pan on med-high heat, oiling with olive oil so fish won't stick. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste on salmon. Brush with pure maple syrup. Repeat with other side of fish.
Cook fish for 4 minutes on each side (or until done), flipping once. Serve immediately with citrus salsa spooned over the top of the salmon.