This past weekend, I did a small catering event that required a lot of finger food. Below is a recipe for mushroom pâté, a vegan friendly recipe. It looked like real pâté, but tasted even better. My apologies for the lack of a photo; the guests began eating it before I could document my work.
Ingredients:
1 lb sliced portabella mushrooms
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
½ cup pine nuts
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cup water
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme
Pinch of fresh rosemary, minced
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
Sea salt to taste
Begin heating a pan on medium heat. Add the olive oil, garlic, shallots, and pine nuts and begin to sauté. After about two minutes, add the thyme, rosemary, black and cayenne pepper and continue to sauté for 2 more minutes. While stirring, add the mushrooms. Keep stirring so that everything is covered in oil and will not stick to the pan. Add 1 cup of water and cover the pan and continue to let it cook.
The goal is to let the mushrooms cook down a bit so that they are soft. If the water is evaporating too quickly, add more water. When the mushrooms are soft, drain off most of the extra water and place the cooked mushrooms and spices in a food processor or mortar and pestle and begin to mix and pulverize the cooked ingredients. Place the mixture into a mold and refrigerate for two hours until firm. Place the mold upside down, onto a plate and release it from the mold. The pâté is ready to serve. It is best served with roasted garlic or caramelized shallots on toasted bread or crackers.
(Serves 1-2)
2 medium red potatoes, baked
Pinch of salt
Pinch of black pepper
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 green onions, diced
Pinch of dried red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp of olive oil or margarine
1 rib of celery, minced
Take two baked red potatoes and cut them up and place them into a bowl. Ideally, these should be baked in the oven rather than microwaved so that the skin is not soggy.
Add the oil or margarine and the garlic and use a fork to mash them together. Add the Dijon mustard, green onions (and optional celery), black pepper, red pepper flakes and salt. Stir together and serve hot or cold.
I try to find time to cook healthy meals. Mixing my sense of historical cooking, my love of ethnic foods, and the need and want to eat healthier, I challenge myself to create new recipes. Some will have a historical slant and others will have more international flair; this particular recipe is Asian influenced. It is low carb and low-fat and has plenty of protein, fruit and vegetable servings. I hope you like it as much as I do.
Asian Style Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 lb of ground chicken1/2 cup of pineapple, minced2 tbsp fresh ginger, grated1 egg1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder2 tbsp of soy sauceCombine all off the ingredients in a non-metal bowl and blend well.Grab a heaping tablespoon of mixture and place on a greased cookie sheet. Continue until mixture is gone. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.While the meatballs are cooking gather the rest
of the ingredients:
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 cups snap pea pods
Optional: 1 cup red peppers, sliced thin or more pineapple in 1/2 inch cubes
Once the meatballs are done, heat up a skillet and add the oil. Once hot, add the meatballs and vegetables together and continue cooking until the vegetables are el dente (bright green, not overcooked).
Enjoy!
On a whim, I cooked this dish up. It is very reminiscent of a French dish I’ve enjoyed on the coast of France. I hope you enjoy it.
Lobster with Caramelized Brussel Sprouts
Ingredients:
2 raw lobster tails, shells removed and cut into 1” cubes
2 tbsp olive oil
8-10 fresh Brussel sprouts, cored and quartered (do not use frozen)
2 shallots, sliced
1 clove of garlic minced
1 pinch of dried red pepper
1 tsp of dried thyme
½ tsp of fresh lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
Begin by heating up a large fry pan to medium to medium – high heat and then add the oil. Begin by Brussel sprouts and keep stirring and shaking the pan, so that the oil completely covers the sprouts and they begin to cook evenly. The goal is to have them cook quickly at a hot temperature as we do not want to overcook them, but to caramelize them.
After about 2 minutes, add the shallots, garlic, and dried red pepper. Continue to stir or toss the ingredients and add the thyme, salt and pepper. After about 4 minutes, the vegetables are starting to caramelize (the edges are browning). Add the cut up lobster tail to the dish.
The lobster tail will cook very quickly (2 minutes). Once the lobster is done, remove the pan from the heat and serve, garnishing with the fresh lemon zest.
Ingredients
Caramelized Shallots
2.25 lbs of shallots, peeled and cut into half and large ones in quarters6 cloves of garlic3 sprigs or fresh rosemary3 sprigs of fresh thyme1 tbsp of raw sugar6 tbsp of olive oil2 tbsp of balsamic vinegarSalt and black pepper to tastePreheat the oven to 400 degrees.In a large bowl toss together the shallots, garlic, rosemary, thyme, raw sugar, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar. Season with the salt and pepper and toss (mix well).Place items in an oven proof dish with cover. Cover the items and bake for 20 minutes. Pull it out, stir well and place back in the oven uncovered for another 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, most of the liquids should have reduced to a nice glaze.Transfer the items into a serving dish. When served hot, it makes an excellent relish for steak or chicken. When served cold, it complements cheese and crackers.I’ve also added it to scrambled eggs and fried potatoes as well. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.
