John's Babaghanoush

This is not authentic, but close. Due to the lack of tahini (a traditional ingredient) I used what I had...

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, cut lengthwise

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Sprinkle eggplant halves with a little olive oil and salt and pepper and place on a medium-hot grill for about 30-40 minutes until very soft (don't worry if they get a bit dark - that is flavor!).

Once the eggplant has cooled scrape the flesh from the skin and add all other ingredients. Mash with a fork or potato masher until just a bit chunky.

Serve with good bread or homemade pita bread!

Roasted Garlic Potato Salad

Ingredients:

3 pounds new potatoes (I like getting some of the red, white and blue for color)

1 Tablespoon finely chopped dill or tarragon

1 head garlic

1/2 cup mayonaise

1 Tablespoons sour cream or yogurt

Dash tobasco sauce

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Cut the garlic head in half and sprinkle with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes until soft and golden brown. Remove and let cool. Squeeze into a bowl and mash to a paste with the olive oil.

Wash and cut the potatoes into halves or quarters. Boil for 20-30 minutes in well salted water until just fork tender. Drain and set aside in a bowl to cool for 30 minutes.

Mix the mayo, sour cream, herbs, roasted garlic, tobasco and salt and pepper and taste to adjust seasoning. Mix gently into the potatoes so as not to break them up too much. Let cool to room temperature and serve.

Mexican Inspired Marinade

This is a great marinade for pork, flank steak or even chicken. You can add extra peppers for spiciness! Also, the longer the marinate, the spicier the meat.

Marinade:

2 cans of chipotle peppers in adobo

1-2 jalapeno peppers, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 shallot, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

Small bunch parsley and cilantro, coarsely chopped

Salt and pepper

Water if necessary to thin

Directions:

Place all ingredients (except water) into blender and pulse just a few times to blend to a chunky consistency. Place over meat and marinate for at least 2 hours.

Put leftover marinade into a pot and bring to a boil then strain for a nice, spicy sauce.

Mexican Inspired Potato Salad

X pounds potatoes

x cup mayonnaise

x T chopped cilantro

x chipotle peppers (in adobo), ground finely or blended smooth

x shallots, chopped finely

x jalapeno, chopped with or without seeds (depending on heat desired)

John's German Potato Salad

This is a riff on the traditional German potato salad, but with some influence from my Mom's family's recipe as well.

Ingredients:

3 lbs. potatoes, peeled

1 medium onion, fine dice

5 slices good bacon, slided into "lardons"

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1 T mustard seeds

1/3 cup sour cream

2 T extra virgin olive oil

2 T chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Peel and cut potatoes into quarters then slice about 1/4" thick. Place in water and bring to a boil, cooking until just tender (don't overcook them!) about 15 minutes.

Combine vinegars and mustard seeds and set aside.

Cook bacon pieces until crisp. Reserve a little for garnish, then add onion and cook for just a minute or two to soften slightly. Add vinegar and mustard seeds to hot pan and cook for one minute then turn off the heat.

Once the potatoes are done, add the bacon/vinegar mixture, olive oil, parsley, sour cream, salt and pepper and gently fold together. Let cool to room temperature on the counter to let the flavors meld together.

Garnish with hard boiled eggs (sliced), reserved crispy bacon and extra parsley.

Blackened Hake with Cheddar Cauliflower

This is a riff I did on southern shrimp and grits. I knew I wanted to cheddar the cauliflower, but wasn't sure how to do the fish. Then, I thought of a great, spicy shrimp and grits I had in Charleston, and thought a blackening would work well.

Ingredients

Hake filet, about 14 ounces for two servings

Blackening spice (or mix together some paprika, cayenne, onion and garlic powder, salt and black pepper...possibly some dry thyme and parsley ground fine. Make it as hot as you would like!).

One head of cauliflower, ideally cheddar (orange color)

Two cloves garlic

A small handful of shredded cheddar cheese

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Cut cauliflower into relatively small pieces. Peel garlic and leave in clove form. Put a sautee pan over medium heat, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and add cauliflower and garlic to the pan. Roast for about 10-15 minutes until you get a little caramelization and the cauliflower gets tender. Add about a half cup of water to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Put into a food processor, and add the cheddar and process until just a little chunky. Add back to the pan to keep warm.

While the cauliflower is cooking, heat a pan over medium-high heat. Spread the blackening spices onto a board and roll the fish until covered. Add a tablespoon of oil to the pan (it should just start smoking) and add the fish and cook until about 3/4 cooked through and nice and blackened (but not burned) on the bottom. Turn over and finish cooking on medium heat.

Add the cauliflower to a plate, top with the fish and enjoy!

Very Mushroom Risotto

I had a small epiphany when perusing one of Mario Batali's cook books. In it, he grinds dried porcini mushrooms into a powder to coat a steak. That made me think that doing the same thing in the risotto would make a really, really mushroom risotto...I was right!

Ingredients:

1/4 oz dried porcini mushrooms

About a cup mixed mushrooms sliced (crimini, shittake, oyster)

1 medium shallot diced finely

1/2 stalk celery diced finely

1 large clove garlic, sliced finely

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon thyme leaves (or regular thyme)

8 oz risotto or orzo, about a cup

4 cups chicken stock (or about 2-3 if the orzo)

White wine

Olive oil

1/4 cup grated parmigiano reggiano cheese

Directions:

Take the dried porcini and break into smaller pieces so they can fit in a spice grinder (or coffee grinder) and grind until you have a very fine powder. You should have about 1 tablespoon.

Sautee the mushrooms over medium high high heat with some olive oil, until they are browned and cooked. Remove from the pan.

Lower the heat to medium, add a few tablespoons olive oil and add the celery, shallot and garlic and saute until soft, a few minutes. Add back the mushrooms (but save a few to garnish the plate) and then the risotto and thyme and cook a few minutes until the risotto is translucent. Add about a half cup of wine and cook down. Then add the stock about a cup at a time and cook until the rice is al dente.

You should have a slightly soupy mixture to which add a little more olive oil (or a couple of tablespoons of butter) and the parmigiano and stir. This should tighten the mixture, though it should not be too thick or thin.