Fusilli with rainbow chard, leeks and portabella mushrooms

This is one of those dishes that usually surprises everyone. It is Vegan, full of Healthy Greens....and yet it is one of the most flavorful pasta  dishes I have ever had....and trust me, I've had my share!It is really easy to prepare as well and won't take you longer than 15 Minutes...which will leave you with plenty more time to enjoy it.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt to it and cook the pasta of your choice following the cooking times given on the box.( I'd chose fusilli or penne rigate, pastas with twists or ridges hold the sauce better making each bite more flavorful.)

In the meantime melt 2 TBS of Vegan Butter spread. Add the white and light green part of a leek stem, minced,1 portabella cap, cut in small dices and the stem pieces of 3 rainbow chard leaves.Cover with the lid and cook for 5 minutes. Then add 3 minced garlic cloves, 1/3 cup of veggie broth, 1/4 TSP of red pepper flakes and cook for 5 more minutes occasionally stirring.Add 1/2 TBS of Walnut oil and 2/3 cup of vegan cooking cream and the sliced chard leaves. Cook uncovered until the sauce get thicker, but not longer than 5 minutes not to over cook the greens. Once ready serve over the hot pasta and garnish with fresh sage and a few halved walnut pieces.

rasberry/penut butter and chipotle pepper duck served with oyster musrooms and white truffle oil risotto

I was at work and Max from Max's chilli sauces came in and gave me a bottle of this sauce he had been working on. He explained how this was his first trial, so the sauce was a little thicker than he had originally wanted. I  was obviously very curious, I mean, once you hear rasberry, penut butter and chipotle peppers...wouldn't your curiosity be tickled as well?
So i tried the sauce and immediately loved the combination of the sweetness of the rasberry with the nuttiness of the penut butter and the smoky heat of the chipotle peppers.....
At first i though of using it as a glazed over a nice steak, mostly because of its thickness...but then i decided to go with duck. i felt the sweetness and smoky flavors of the sauce would compliment its  gamy richness of flavors....
I decided to order a whole duck and I asked the butcher to cut it into 4 pieces just so that I wouldn't have to do any extra work at home. while in the store i also purchased some nice oyster mushroom and a box of carnaroli rice. I though a truffle oil and oyster mushroom would compliment the sweetness of the sause without over - powering it.
Once i got home i spread the duck p[ieces on a plate and i seasoned them with salt and pepper. I minced 3 garlic cloves and sliced a brown onion and put them in a duch oven pot with a table spoon of extra vergin olive oil and cook them until shiny, about 4 minutes. In the meantime I browned the duck pieces in an oiled pan and then transferred them in the duch oven pot with a cup of chicken stock and a cup of chardonnay.I placed the lid on the pot and turned the heat on medium.....and cooked the meat for about 2 hours untill it started to separate from the bones.Then I removed the meat from the pot, and continued to cook the liquid down till reduced to half and then added 3 TBS of the rasperry penut and chipotle sauce to the liquids and i cooked it for about 5 minuted untill its consiatency was creamy. Then i placed the meat back in the pot and cooked it a couple of minutes with the sauce to add both heath and flavor....then i placed the pieces of duck on a baking sheet and placed them in the oven with a little bit of sauce over them to glazed them, this took about another 5 minutes with the oven pre heated to 500.....
I have to say this dish turned out great....it's probably one of my favourite dishes to this day!



easy going appetizers

Here are some super easy but ver pretty appetizers sure to catch your guests attention.

Bite Size Insalata Caprese

Simply slice off the top part of each cherry tomato, leaving enough of the tomato to fill. With a melon baller, hollow each tomato creating edible miniature cups. Fill each of the tomatoes with diced mozzarella and sprinkle with minced fresh basil. Arrange the filled tomatoes on a serving platter and drizzle a little extra vergine olive ioil over them. 

Pear and Brie plate

Slice up a pear, I chose Bartlett because of their beautiful golden tones and their sweetness of course. Don't make the slices too thin, you want to be able to lift them as if they were crackers. Place the slices overlapping one other on a serving platter. Spred over them your choice of BLUE CHEESE or BRIE. Add a few crumbled walnuts and drizzle honey over them. Add a little pinch of black pepper.

Grilled Zucchini Rolls

Slice and grill a few italian zucchine. Grill the slices on both sides untill the grill marks are visible and the slices get soft enough to roll. Allow all the slices to cool down. Spread a little cream cheese and a thin piece of roasted bell peppers and roll up. Use small pieces of chives to decorate. Stand the rolls on a platter and drizzle some rosemary olive oil over them.

Prosciutto Wrapped Grilled Asparagus

This is another super easy appetizer that's sure to make everyone of your guests happy.

Turn on your grill on a medium - high heat.  Place all of the Asparagus stalks on a dish after trimming about 1/2 an inch of their bottom. Brush them with a little of olive oil and sprinkle some pepper over them.

Mince one or two cloves of garlic depending on the amount of asparagus you are preparing and add them to a TBS of olive oil and add a drizzle of fresh lemon juice.

Place the stalks on the grill and cook for about 2 minutes per side. Remove from het and once cooled down enough to touch, wrap each stalk of asparagus with a slice of prosciutto. Then place all of the stalks back on the grill for an additional 2 minutes per side.Once you're reday to serve it place the asparagus on a dish and drizzle with the olive oil /minced garlic and lemon sauce prepared. For a more smokey flavor substitute the prosciutto with SPECK..

Guinness soaked bratwurts with green grapes and sweet souerkrauts

Things you will need :

1 pkg of bratwursts

2 bottles og guinness beer

1 cup of chicken broth

1 1/2 sweet yellow onion, sliced

10 to 15 pieces of green grapes cut in halves

1 green apple ( pulp only)

1 tbs agave

1 1/2 cup of souerkrauts, drained

1tbs olive oil

Cooking instructions:

Let the bratwursts marinate in the beer for about 1 hour in the refrigerator and 30 minutes at room temperature.

Heat the olive oil in a skillett and add the bratwurts when it sizzles. Keep turning them untill they are evenly browned on all sides. slowly add the guinnes that you used to marinate the meat and let it cook down a little bit, about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper if desired.

Turn the heat down to MD - Low and add the chicken broth, the onions and the grapes. Cover and cook with the lid on for about 40 minutes.uncover and cook for an additional 15 minutes untill some of the juices are evaporated.

In a mixing bowl combine the sauerkrauts, agave and the grated apple pulp and serve over the brats using some of the juices left in the pan.

Enjoy :)

Spicy apple jam glazed tilapia tacos with mango and chipotle pepper salsa

Things you will need:
4 Tilapia filets
White corn tortillas
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 mango
1 to 2 cups of shredded napa cabbage
1/4 large brown onion
1 leek
1/2 navel orange
1 lemon
cilantro
extra vergin olive oil
1tbs MAX's Chipotle peppers in oil
1 tbs sriracha chili/garlic sauce
4 tbs spicy apple jam
Black Lava Salt  and pepper
...For the salsa, cube the mango and cut the orange in pieces of equal size. Add a pinch of salt, the juice of 1 lemon, the chili/chiopotle peppers and the sriracha chili/garlic sauce. Add the minced garlicand the leek. Add  1 tsp of extra vergin olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper, a few leaves of chopped cilantro mix well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

For the tilapia, preheat the oven to 425. Heat up a tbs of olive oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot enough that you can hear it sizzle, add the tilapia filets and brown them on both sides, about 2 minutes per size. When done transfer all the filets to a greased baking sheet. Coat the top side of the tilapia with the spicy apple jam and bake in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle black lava salt on it according to tastye.
Heat the corn tortillas directly on the oven rack for about 4 minutes per side. Place the heated tortillas on a plate and fill with the shredded cabbage, mango salsa, tilapia and a little more salsa and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Apples, Apples and more Apples!

Granny smith apple and Moscato wine Risotto paired with apple italian sausages.



For the Risotto you will need :

6 handfulls of Arborio rice

1 cup of moscato wine

1/2 cup to 1 cup of chicken broth or stock

1/2 diced granny smith apple

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 small yellow onion,inced

1 1/2 TBS of extra vergin olive oil

In a saucepan combine the olive oil, rice,garlic, onion, apple and cook on MD heat for a couple of minute while stirring until  they are all evenly coated. Add about 1/2 cup of broth and 1/2 cup of the moscato wine and cover. Let a few minutes go by and check to make sure the rice stays in liquid untill cooked. Slowly add the remaining liquids, little at the time. Occasionally stir to make sure the rice doesn't stick to the pan. it should take about 20 minutes for t he rice to be fully cooked .Do not overcook,you don't want the rice to be a mushy mess, and a little liquid should still be in the pan to create a creamier dish. Garnish with a few leaves of fresh mint.

For the italian sausages you will need :
1 pkg of ground turkey
1 pkg of ground pork
1clove of garlic minced
2 tbs of  minced onion
1apple sliced thick
2 to 3 tbs fennel
salt and pepper to taste
agave to coat the patties
balsamic reduction to garnish the patties.
in a large mixing bowl combine the pork, turkey,the galrlic, onion , the fennel, salt and pepper and mix until all the ingredients are evenly combined. mince a couple of the apple slices and add to the mixture.
by hand form circular sausage patties about the size of the apple slices.
Pre heat the oven to 425
in a skillet heat 2 tbs of olive oil and brown each side of the patties ( about 2 minutes per side)
Place the apple slices on a baking sheet and coat them with a little agave and some pepper, place each patty on an apple ring and coat with a little more agave.
bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. Garnish the top with a little balsamic reduction if desired.

Lazy Day Fish tacos

there's always a night when we're in the mood for something delicious but also do not feel like cooking for hours and hours....well that's when you pop open a nice bottle of wine and poke around in the pantry and freezer for some inspiration. This recipe is for that kinda night. Main ingredient...FROZEN FISH STICKS, we all should have those handy!
Other INGREDIENTS:
Corn tortillas
1/2 Mango, diced
1 bunch fresh spring garlic

fresh cilantro

1/2 stick of butter
1 lime
2 lemons
2 cloves of fresh garlic
1 roma tomato

1TBS sriracha chili/garlic paste and 1 TBS of MAX'S chili sauce (Chipotle or medium hot )

1/2 lb cooked shrimp

7 kumquats(cut in halves)

ok so this is super easy:

while your oven is defrosting the fish sticks grab a sauce pan and add 1tbs of extra vergin olive oil.Turn the heat on MD, add the 2 cloves of minced garlic, let is simmer for about a minute.add the 7 kumquats,the juice of 1/2lime and 1/2lemon and 1/2 stick of butter.Turn the heat on low and cook for about 10 minutes untill the sauce thickens.

turn off heat and add the shrimp and cilantro, satl and pepper to taste.

In a mixing bowl, combine the diced mango, spring garlic(thinly sliced), chili and garlic sauce, the remaining lime and lemon juice, cilantro, salt and pepper to taste.

heat up in the oven the corn tortillas, 2 per tacos, about 2 minutes per side.
fill them with 3 fish sticks, some shrimps,1 or 2 TBS of the kumquat/citrus reduction and some of the spicy mango salsa....ENJOY :)