Posts from — August 2008

Tomatoes are ripe and ready to go this time of year.  Whether you are growing them in your backyard, on your deck, your window cill or they are on sale at the store, I have endless ideas for you as to what you can do with your tomatoes.  If you are uninterested in my recipes below, which by the way are super easy to make, just shoot me an email or post a comment on what you would like to see!

Bruschetta
1 loaf of day old bread
8-10 tomatoes, Roma preferred, but any fresh tomato will work, diced
6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher or sea salt to taste
Fresh cracked pepper to taste

2 large cloves of garlic

Cut bread into ½ in slices and place on baking sheet.  Toast bread in oven at 350 degrees until lightly brown.  Immediately after bread comes out of the oven, rub the bread with the cloves of garlic.  A light rub will do.  Set to the side

In a medium sized bowl, place all other ingredients into bowl.  Season to taste. Let tomato mixture sit in the fridge for at least 15-20 minutes before serving.

If you want to kick your bruschetta up, mix a half of cup of ricotta cheese, with about 4 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and 1 tablespoon of fresh parsley; season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve this along side the tomato mixture for spreading on the bread.

                                                           

1-cup rice- cook according to package directions

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add shallots and garlic and cook for 2 minutes stirring with a spoon. Add chicken, along with the salt and pepper and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until golden brown on both sides. Add thyme and bay leaves and cook for about 2 minutes. The herbs will become very fragrant. Add heavy cream and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Add Parmesan cheese and simmer until sauce has thickened. Remove bay leaves and stir in chives. Salt and pepper if necessary, or add more Parmesan is desired thickness is not reached.  Serve immediately over rice.  I would serve this with asparagus, peas or broccoli as my veggie. This is a meal that is guaranteed to impress! 

So when I make herb butter, I like to use unsalted butter.  What I do is melt it down at a low temp so it doesn’t burn.  I then skim the top to get all of the by products that float to the top.  I usually have to go in a few times.  Now you technically have clarified butter.  I turn the heat off then add my herbs.  I then put the melted butter and herbs in to a container that has a lid, but at this time, we will not put the lid on.  I stick it into the fridge and wait for it to get almost solid again, and then mix it so all of the herbs are not settled at the bottom.  Now you can put the top on anstore in fridge for up to a week. Below are some combinations of herb butters that you can make with some of the seasonal herbs.

Cilantro Herb Butter:

1 stick of unsalted butter

¼ cup cilantro, minced

¼ teaspoon lemon or lime zest

¼ teaspoon garlic, minced

This butter would be great on fish!

Garlic Herb Butter:

1 stick unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 tablespoons minced Italian parsley leaves
½ tablespoon minced tarragon leaves
1 tablespoons minced basil leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
¼ freshly ground pepper

This butter would be great on some crusty toasted bread, or on corn on the cob, or over any sort of pasta.  Be creative! 

Chive Butter:

1 stick unsalted butter

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

This combo is great on potatoes, or a steak, or on some crusty bread!  Mmmm…