potato-crusted tilapia with chives and rosemary

I used this recipe from Giada De Laurentiis.
(the recipe calls for purple potatoes, but I just used regular yukon gold)

chorizo & fried bananas

the chorizo: sliced & sautéed in a little oil, until edges are crispy.

the banana: sliced, dipped in egg wash (1 egg + 1 TBSP water), dredged in panko, seasoned with a little salt, and sautéed in oil until crispy.

soft pretzels

I used this recipe from Bobby Flay.

amaretto-cherry ice cream

A bowl of cherries splashed with amaretto liqueur makes a fine dessert. But it's even better when served over vanilla ice cream. In this case, it's nice to transform the amaretto into a syrup. Just boil the amaretto in a saucepan on the stove, until it reduces to a syrup-y consistency (cool for a few minutes so it doesn't melt the ice cream upon impact).

paris revisited

Feeling wistful for my incredible Paris trip in May '07, so I pulled some photos from the archives...

les escargots (very garlicky)...


a wonderful steak, saignant (cooked very rare)...


croque-monsieur (toasted ham & cheese with melted cheese on top)...


and one of my favorite meals: picking up various food items from the markets, and assembling them into a meal in the hotel room, looking out the terrace...

bacon

natural beauty

stuffed mushroom

The filling: equal parts seasoned bread crumbs & parmesan, plus chopped parsley and minced garlic. Add just enough olive oil to bind everything together.

Clean mushrooms, remove stems, and spoon filling into the hollow part. Arrange on an oiled baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes (until breadcrumbs are golden).

crêpes, part deux

I did a crêpe post a while back, but after a lot of photography practice (and brand new lighting!), I thought I'd try again...




I also reshot my strawberry-balsamic-basil crêpe cups, in a slightly more dainty presentation:

garlic burger

Lean, ground angus beef, with a minced garlic clove mixed in, and seasoned with salt & pepper. Cooked in a very lightly oiled pan on the stove, until the outside has a nice crust, and the inside is slightly on the rare side of medium. The bun is a toasted potato roll—each side has a light coating of mayo, and a dusting of freshly ground black pepper—and the burger is topped with a paper-thin slice of tomato.

yummm

rhubarb crumb cake

Recipe from Everyday Food magazine.

braised chicken with orange & scallions

Recipe from Everyday Food magazine.

jell-o study

mediterranean chicken

If you've never tried "packet" cooking, I highly recommend it. (This is where you seal a bunch of stuff in parchment or foil, and bake it)

Here, I put together a bunch of stuff that I like:
-chicken breast (seasoned with salt, pepper & oregano)
-tomato
-kalamata olives
-capers
-artichokes
-roasted red peppers
-feta cheese

Pile it all on a piece of foil (12" x 12" should do), give it a splash of olive oil and white wine, seal the edges of the foil (make sure the seal is tight, but tent the foil a little so it has some breathing room), and bake at 375 for about 22 minutes.

Cooking it this way, the chicken stayed unbelievably moist. You could use whatever ingredients you like, and it's a good way to use things up (the sad little remnants of jars of capers, artichokes, and roasted red peppers I had cluttering up my fridge turned into a great meal!)

open-face shrimp tortillas with guac

On the bottom: flour tortillas with melted cheese (brush tortillas with a little olive oil, top with shredded cheese, and stick in a 450 degree oven for a few minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and the tortillas are crisp).

Add a layer of tomatillo guacamole (click here for that recipe).

Top with shrimp, however you like to cook them (here, I tossed them with a crushed garlic clove, and stuck them under the broiler—just a couple of minutes per side)

Garnish with cilantro and sour cream, and some mango on the side.