Salty, Sweet, Tangy, Creamy Goodness!!

This bacon wrap is one of my favorite appetizers. I’ve used it for years in my catering because it is so versatile and easy. I’m not really sure where I got the idea, but it encompasses every taste I would want into one small bite. Salty, sweet, tangy, creamy goodness! Mostly everyone who I offer it to has never had anything like it before and they always come back for seconds.

I always know when I have a winner recipe when other Chefs/cooks use them. I recently catered my friends birthday party with Jamie Spears (Brittany Spears’ dad) and he told me since the last time I cooked with him last summer he has made these Bacon Wrapped dates at all of his family gatherings and catering jobs and people just love them. So needless to say, it’s pretty cool to think that Brittany has tried and liked them. lol.

Much like raisins or dried Pineapple, a Date is the fruit of a “Date Palm tree” which has gone through a drying process and can be used for a number of purposes. I love snacking on them plain, just remember to take out the seed in the middle!

Sometimes with this recipe I leave the blue cheese out, but I’ll leave that up to your preference. I just like the contrast of all the different flavors going on, so let me know how you like it!!!

 

Bacon Wrapped Blue Cheese Dates

Ingredients

1 pound sliced bacon, cut in half

1 pound pitted dates

4 ounces blue cheese

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Slice dates in half, and open them up. Pinch off pieces of blue cheese, and place them into the center of the dates. Close the halves of the dates, and wrap a half-slice of bacon around the outside. Secure each one with a toothpick. Arrange in a baking dish or on a baking sheet with sides to catch any grease. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the bacon is crisp. Turn dates over after the first 20 minutes for even cooking.

The "Other" Sandwich

I’m always trying to think of new and creative ideas for h’orderves and appetizers. Most of the time people just end up buying some frozen puff pastry style appetizers or just putting out some store bought chips and salsa. I always like turning something that has already been done into something completely different. For example, this h’orderve emulates that of a cheese sandwich, but instead of bread I use potatoes, and instead of a cows milk cheese I use a goats milk cheese. (Which my Lactose intolerant friends love) The only time consuming part of this dish is the boiling of the potatoes. And the rest you can handle pretty easily. If you do not like sour cream or lemon, of course you could substitute with another creamy sauce of your liking, but for me, that tart bite of the lemon cuts through the creamy goat cheese with that little crunch of the peppery Arugula, taking the appetizer “sandwich” to a whole new level!

 

 

 

 

Potato and Goat cheese appetizer  

 

6 yellow Potatoes

4-5 oz goat cheese

1 bunch arugula

4 oz sour cream

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper

 

 

Boil potatoes in a large pot of water until fork tender, about 30 minutes. Be careful to not over cook so potatoes so they will keep there form when cut. Let potatoes cool. Cut potatoes width wise 1 ½ inch think. Season each side with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, mix sour cream, lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

To assemble, crumble a piece of goat cheese on top of 1 slice of potato. Place a couple arugula leaves over top of goat cheese, and then place another slice of potato over arugula. Drizzle lemon sour cream over top, and then place a toothpick into the middle to keep the form of the h’orderve. Repeat until ingredients have been all used.

 

Fresh and Easy!

When you think of grilling, it’s rare that you think of dessert. Especially when it is considered fresh and healthy. I first created this recipe for my show Bikini bbq, (www.bikinibbqs.com) and since have used it many times at daytime bqq’s and everyone has loved it.  Everyone loves dessert, but during the summer, I like something that is light and easy to make. What I like about this recipe is that you can use the ingredients to your discretion, and its very hard to mess up. So I hope you enjoy this simple and healthy classic of mine that will definitely impress your guests!

 

 Sweet peaches with honey walnut sauce

 

Ingredients

4 peaches, halved and cored

2 tbsp. sugar

1-cup yogurt

1/2 cup toasted walnuts

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. orange zest

3 tbsp. honey

 

 

Directions

1) Preheat grill.

2) Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over the peaches, shaking off the excess.

3) Grill peaches until they’re slightly soft.

4) In a bowl, mix together yogurt, walnuts, cinnamon, orange zest and honey.

5) Place peaches grill side up and serve yogurt mixture over top.

Back to Basics!

 

 

Today I am going back to basics! Sometimes we just try to use all store bought ingredients so we can save time on making a meal, but we often forget that it can be so much more delicious and just as easy to make those store bought ingredients yourself.

I was inspired last night by going to meet some friends at Mr. Chow in Beverly Hills. Mr. Chow’s is one of the most famous restaurants in LA! Anyone whose anyone goes there, well accept for me. LOL! Out of my 6 years of living in Los Angeles, never have I been to the celebrity hot spot. Now my life is finally complete. Mr. Chow’s definitely lived up to its hype when I tasted the hand-made, velvety thin Chinese noodles.

So needless to say it got me thinking. Why don’t I make my own pasta more often? Its pretty easy, not very time consuming and it is taste stands out as the center of any dish. I’m going to give you a little bit of culinary school basics. With this very basic pasta recipe, I have included a béchamel sauce, also known as “white sauce” which is one of the “mother sauces” of French cuisine, and is used in many recipes in French and Italian cuisine. With combining the two recipes of pasta and sauce, your result is simple yet complex in flavor and will impress anyone who you serve it to!

 

 

Basic Pasta Dough

 

Ingredients

4 eggs

3 1/2 c. flour

Salt

 

Directions

Beat eggs. Add flour and salt and knead for 15 minutes. If you do not have a pasta machine, then roll out dough flat. Take the dough and roll it up like a jellyroll. Slice thin and unwrap it. It will make long strips of pasta.  OR you can use a pasta maker from a kitchen aid mixer to roll out dough faster.

Boil water with a heavy pinch of salt. Add pasta for about 5 minutes until cooked through. (fresh pasta takes a shorter amount of time to cook than pre-made pasta)

 

 

Basic Béchamel Sauce

 

Ingredients

5 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

 

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted. Add the flour and stir until smooth. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.

Red Wine Dessert

 

There are only a few times when I choose red wine over white wine. Even though red wine is much better for you, I usually go for the white because I feel like its tastes better when you are drinking it by itself. I try to find other ways to use red wine in my recipes so if I’m drinking a glass of red wine it will compliment my dish.

Studies show that 1-2 glasses of red wine a day lowers risk of heart attack for people up to 50 percent!! Red wine also has shown to help prevent blood clots and reduce the blood vessel damage caused by fat deposits. Plus it is rich source of antioxidants, which of course, is good for everything!

This decadent and rich dessert I have come up with can also be called healthy. A reduction of dry red wine paired with a floral, sweet honey and pouched fresh figs is paired beautifully with the same wine you cooked with. For the wine I would suggest the dry red, such as a Chianti. It is less sweet so that it doesn’t over power the honey.

 

 

POACHED FIGS IN RED WINE AND HONEY

SAUCE

 

Ingredients

1 cup dry, red wine, such as Chianti

1-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 cup honey

2 cinnamon sticks

8 fresh figs

4 1oz pieces of dark chocolate (opt.)

 

Directions

Pour wine into a heavy saucepan. Dissolve flour in wine, off the heat, until fully dissolved. Transfer saucepan to stove top and cook over a medium flame.

Add honey (honey that has been warmed to a syrup-like consistency) and cinnamon sticks, and cook, until reduced by about half, approximately 8 minutes.

Reduce flame to low, and add figs so that they are standing up straight. let figs poach for about 10 minutes. 

to plate, place fig on a plate, drizzle with red wine sauce and sprinkle with chocolate pieces. ENJOY!

Blue cheese... Yes Please!!

Blue cheese is a cheese that people either love or hate. I happen to LOVE it and I use it in many of my dishes! I find that blue cheese adds elegance to most dishes, which I have done to simple zucchini in this dish.

Blue cheese can be either made from cow’s milk, sheep’s milk or goat’s milk. All blue cheese is made the same, a timely process of aging in controlled temperature caves and injected with Penicillium cultures for that blue-green veined finish result.  In this dish I am using Gorgonzola; an Italian veined blue cheese. It adds a burst of flavor in a smooth, salty bite.

When I’m catering or doing personal chef work I love to make this dish because I can make it early on so I can focus my attention on my main dish and my guests.

 

Gorgonzola zucchini Gratin

6 medium sized zucchini, chopped ½ inch think

½ onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

EVOO

1 cup Gorgonzola cheese

2 eggs

1-cup milk

 

In a large shallow pan sauté onion and garlic on medium-high heat in 1-2 tbsp of EVOO until opaque. Add zucchini and tomato, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until zucchini is almost cooked through. (About 8 minutes) turn off heat and mix in ¾ cheese until creamy. Pour into an oven save dish.

In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour milk mixture over zucchini and top with remainder of cheese.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown.

 

Tequila! Tequila!!

TEQUILA!  It’s something that screams “Lets party!” I have been a big fan of Tequila, especially in the nightlife. But I feel that out of all the recipes I’ve made with Alcohol few have included Tequila. After doing a little research on it and researching the different types and flavors I’m wondering why I don’t use it in more in my cooking?? From sauces to marinades Tequila is great for adding that kick your dish may need.

I always wondered why Tequila is known as a “Mexican” liquor? It’s because Tequila is made by fermenting juice of Agave plants in Mexico. Traditionally by Mexican standards, Tequila must be distilled in pot stills to 110 proof for hours and can be repeated a number of times to ensure its clarity and pureness. Color in Tequila comes mostly from the addition of caramel; also some distillers add small amounts of natural flavorings such as Sherry, prune concentrate, and coconut to manipulate the tequila’s flavor.  These flavors can be used in a number of dishes depending on the dish. I would recommend doing a little research on the type of Tequila to see how it matches with the dish you want to use it in, or if you don’t have the time just go for a good quality clear or gold agave tequila like I did!

I’m always looking for new and inventive ways to make chicken Exciting and I think that Tequila is a great crowd pleaser for any party, in a recipe or just to drink!

 

Tequila Lime Chicken

Ingredients

1/2 cup gold tequila

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp minced fresh jalapeno pepper (seeded)

1 tbsp minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)

Salt and pepper

6 boneless chicken breasts, skin on

 

 

Directions

Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat a grill and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, and grill them skin-side down for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.