Paneer Jalfrezi

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp powdered fenugreek

1 large Vidalia onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch fresh ginger, minced
1 small red medium-hot chili pepper, sliced

1 green pepper, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced

1 14-oz pkg paneer, cubed
2 Tbsp butter
2 plum tomatoes, cubed

Toss the cumin, fennel and coriander seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat.  Toast the seeds while shaking constantly, just until they emit their fragrance.  Tip seeds into a spice grinder (I use a dedicated coffee grinder for this purpose so as not to contaminate my coffee with strong spice!).

Heat a glug of canola oil in a large skillet.  Toss in the onions and cook down for at least 10 minutes to soften and caramelize well.  Add the garlic, ginger, chili pepper, ground spices and fenugreek.  Fry for another 2-3 minutes, adding. Bit more canola oil if mixture becomes too dry.  Then transfer onions to a bowl.  Add the peppers and a bit more canola oil as needed, to the pan and sauté lightly, cooking peppers only just a bit, to crisp-tender. Transfer peppers to the bowl with the onions.  Now turn the skillet to high, add a dash more canola oil, and toss in the tomatoes.  Let them sizzle and hiss, shaking the pan as they brown and caramelize and melt down.  As they lose their form, stir them together well. 

Meanwhile, melt the butter in another large non-stick skillet and brown the paneer in the butter on both sides.  This will take about 10 minutes.

Return the onions and peppers to the skillet with the tomatoes and add a tablespoon or two of water.  Toss in the paneer and gently fold mixture together.  Heat through and then plate the paneer on top of hot cooked Basmati rice.

Serves 4.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

Its no news that eating vegetarian-based food reduces your carbon footprint on the planet.  I've set a goal of >50% of our meals to be from plant sources.  I'm not there yet, but well on my way.  Here is one that will never have you looking back.

1 onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño pepper, diced
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds

2 15-oz cans black beans, undrained
1 10-oz can Rotelle diced tomatoes and chilies
1 quart stock (chicken or vegetable)

In a soup pot, sauté the onion, celery and carrot for about 10-12 minutes, until they soften and begin to caramelize.  Add the garlic, jalapeño and spice seeds and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Tip in the beans and tomatoes and add the broth.  Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and cook for about 20 minutes to allow flavors to meld.  Stir occasionally.

Serves 4.  Serve with rice or sour cream or plain yogurt on top.

Cook's note:  You can use a regular 15-oz can petite diced tomatoes if you don't have Rotelle tomatoes.  Some of my friends SWEAR by Rotelle and I have to admit they are tasty.  But you are just fine with regular diced tomatoes, especially if you augment with a small 4-oz can of diced green chilies.

Thai Chicken Curry

Thank you, Thailand, for your red curry paste!  It makes so many dishes, worth it.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts or 6 thighs, cubed
1 red pepper, diced
1 yellow pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
handful green beans, or broccoli chopped
4 cloves garlic
½ inch fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 can coconut milk
2 Tbsp red Thai curry paste

In a large non-stick skillet, brown chicken in a bit of canola oil until well browned. Set aside in a bowl. In same skillet, sauté the peppers, onions and broccoli (or green beans) until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add the garlic, ginger and red pepper and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes, until very fragrant.

Return the chicken to the vegetables and add the coconut milk and curry paste. Stir to mix and cook until heated through.

Serve this curry over rice.  Serves 4.  

Chicken Roasted in Applesauce

When "Baby its cold outside" and you only want to "...listen to the fireplace roar" stick this in the oven and let it cook itself.  Nothing like easy comfort food in the dead of winter.
6 chicken thighs
1 24-oz jar chunky apple sauce (I love Trader Joe's)
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 leek, cleaned and diced
8-10 cloves garlic, sliced

Preheat oven to 375F.  Sauté the carrot and leak for about 10 minutes, until beginning to soften and caramelize a bit.  Add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Oil a 9x13-inch casserole and pour in the applesauce.  Top with the veggies.  Nestle the chicken thighs into the sauce.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Bake chicken for about 30 minutes, until fully cooked through.  Thighs when cooked will release clear liquid when pokes slightly with the tip of a knife, and will measure 165F with an instant-read thermometer.

Serves 4.

Cook's note:  This may seem like a lot of garlic, but it really is not too strong.  It cooks down  in the liquid of the sauce, very much toning down the flavor.  

Mahi-Mahi Gumbo

What better way to close the Mardi Gras week than with a steaming bowl of gumbo?

You can tune it and tweak it - make it your own.  Swap shrimp for langoustines; Mahi-Mahi for halibut - whatever you've got.  Here, I use Trader Joe's frozen Mahi-Mahi, which I think freezes well and works in a rich dish like this.  I also like their cod or tuna chunks; catfish would work great here as well, and many fishmongers have catfish chunks just waiting to be gumbo'd.

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup canola oil

1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 jalapeño (or red chili) pepper, minced
4 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano

5-inches Andouille sausage, diced
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained well, liquid reserved
1 qt chicken broth
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb Mahi-Mahi fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces

Cook a roux by frying the flour in the oil in a small pot.  Whisk the roux regularly so as not to burn.  You are looking to achieve a nutty aroma and a peanut-butter brown color.  Some cooks go to a dark chocolate-colored roux but I think you risk loosing the nutty flavor, getting more bitter, and losing thickening power.  I'd say stop at the peanut-butter  or maybe milk chocolate-color stage. This may take up to 15 minutes.  Turn heat off when the roux is ready. 

 Meanwhile, sauté the 'trinity' of onion, pepper and celery in a large skillet with a glug of canola oil, until softened and a bit caramelized, at least 8-10 minutes.  Add the jalapeño, garlic, cumin, thyme and oregano and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Season with both white and black peppers for added flavor depth.  Add the sausage and drained tomatoes and cook another 5 minutes, to let the tomatoes caramelize a bit.  You are frying, not boiling, so be sure the heat is high enough to get rid of any excess water from the tomatoes,  and there is enough oil to brown the veggies.

Transfer the roux to the veggies, and turn up the heat.  Add the reserved tomato liquid, Worcestershire sauce, and the chicken broth, and bring just to a boil to start thickening the gumbo.  Turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.  Add the shrimp and Mahi-Mahi and heat through just to cook the seafood, about 5 minutes.  Salt to taste.  Serve gumbo with hot sauce on the side.  Serves four.

Cook's note: For the classic presentation, pack hot cooked white rice in a ramekin and invert into the middle of a wide bowl.  Spoon gumbo evenly around rice puck.

Pan Seared Halibut over Orange Ginger Pesto

On Valentine's  day you need something quick - no toiling over a hot stove.  There's plenty else to tend your handiwork to. 

Fresh fish is delicious and quick, but the best can be pricey.  On this occasion, no expense should be spared, especially if you are eating in - which is going to be less expensive than eating out, no matter what.  So if you're eating in, go for really nice fresh, thick fillets like halibut, or sea bass, or even tuna. You'll see how delicious and simply elegant, good fish on a bed of pesto can be.

3/4 to 1 lb fresh thick fish fillets, like halibut, cut into two portions
1/4 cup orange ginger pesto
1 Tbsp canola oil

Heat oil in a non-stick skillet until just smoking. Salt the fillets lightly on both sides.   Slip the fish fillets, skin-side up into the pan.  Let fillets set for 2-3 minutes without moving.  Gently nudge the fillets to see if they budge.  Do not force them if they remain sticking to the skillet.  When they are well browned, thook's not:ey will lift off, coaxed by a spatula. When they release, flip the filets and cook the other side another 5 minutes or so, just until cooked through.

Distribute the pesto evenly among four plates, swirling the pesto into a bed for the fish.  Place a fillet on each pesto bed, skin-side down.  Serve with lemon and/or orange slices.  Serves two.

And don't forget the roses .

Cook's note: Orange ginger pesto is a really nice, but any pesto you have will work just fine, so don't fret - use whatever pesto you've got.  

This is a really quick dish to pull together, so pair it with something fast - like Cauliflower Jalfrezi, which can be made earlier or even the day before, and reheated.  If reheating, just keep the cauliflower on the crunchy side so it still has a crunch once reheated.  This type of Indian dish is a perfect pair because it only gets better the day after.

Cauliflower Jalfrezi

Jalfrezi is a style of Indian stir-fry cooking that tends to result in a drier, rather than saucy dish. Apparently, this technique originated at the time of the British Raj, and today is still a fine way to prepare Indian style dishes quickly.  Just as in the time of the Raj, Jalfrezi is a great way to pull together veggies hangin' out needing to be eaten, or even leftovers, into a great Indian dish.  And Jal means spicy hot - so don't forget the chili peppers.
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon canola oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 shallot, minced
1/2 red pepper diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced
5 red radishes, coarsely sliced

Heat a large skillet and toss in the cumin, fennel and mustard seeds.  Toast the seeds dry, shaking the pan often for about a minute.  Only let the seeds just release their flavors, watching not to burn them.  Add the oil and butter, and stir in the shallots and red chili flakes. Soften the shallots for 3-5 minutes.  Add the cauliflower, peppers and radishes and stir well.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and cook over low for 5 minutes.  Uncover skillet and continue cooking another 5 minutes or until the cauliflower is just crisp-tender.

Cook's Note:  I used an orange cauliflower for this presentation - if you want an orange look, with white cauliflower, you can add a quarter teaspoon turmeric, which should do the job and would taste great as well.

Grouper with Zucchini Crustini and Sage Crisps

I suspect this could only happen in Italy.  
As we sit here in the Mid-Atlantics, just having dodged the bullet of the largest snowstorm perhaps of the century, I look outside to bare streets and deep blue sky.  But still cold.  And my thoughts go back to summer in Italy. 

Over three days in beautiful Riva del Garda, we enjoyed wonderful meals -  breakfast, lunch and dinner.  What a treat it is to have business in Italy.

When it came time to leave, I drove the famous James Bond road hugging the lake, shooting through tunnels, and weaved my way back to Milan.  Unfortunately, only to stay at an airport hotel before my flight back stateside in the morning.

It was getting late and looking at the functional airport hotel lobby, I was cringing at what the dinner options might have to be - if there even were dinner options.

But this was Italy.  And I was pleased to see a little courtyard out back, where I could sit down for a meal.  The menu looked wonderful but I remained skeptical - that is until I took my first bite of my Sea Bream with Zucchini Crustini.

Fresh, light fish fillets, bedded under zucchini ribbons and broiled breadcrumbs, melted in my mouth with each simple, fresh bite. Served among sautéed cherry tomatoes with Balsamic vinegar and a simple backdrop of boiled potatoes, this was the freshest, most enjoyable meal I had had in quite some time, including my previous three days in Italy.

Get this - my best meal in Italy was at the airport hotel. 

But that's Italy.  It's really hard to find a bad meal, and you'll find a fantastic meal at the most surprising, unexpected places.

1 rounded tbsp pistachio nuts, about 15
2 large cloves garlic
1/2 inch fresh ginger
1 Tbsp golden raisins
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 lb fish fillets such as Grouper, Snapper, Halibut
4 ribbons of zucchini (see cook's note)
Zest of 1 lemon
8 fresh sage leaves
crumbled Feta cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F.  In a small food processor, pulse together the nuts, garlic, ginger and raisins, just until grainy.  Toss in the bread crumbs and pulse together just to mix.

Lay the fish fillets on an oiled baking pan.  Lay two to three zucchini ribbons on each fillet, folding ends under on one end to fit the fish.  Top each fillet with one quarter of the bread crumbs. Spray crumbs with oil, just to moisten.

Bake fish 10-12 minutes, or until just cooked through and crumbs browned.  Meanwhile, fry the sage leaves in a few tablespoons of canola oil to crisp them up, flipping once with tongs.  Plate fillets, top with zest and sage, and Feta if using.  Serve with lemon.  Serves 4.

Cook's note: Zucchini ribbons are easy to make using a vegetable peeler on a medium zucchini.  You can use many white fish fillets in this recipe.  I've used Grouper, Tilapia and Cod.

Asian Pork Noodles

1 lb boneless pork, sliced into thin 1-inch tabs (I used boneless country ribs)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 inch ginger minced
2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp Worcestershire
1 Tbsp black vinegar

8 oz noodles

1 carrots sliced
3 stalks celery sliced
1 orange pepper sliced
1 onion sliced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

6 cups water plus 2 tsp salt
Fish sauce and chili sauce to taste
Palmful fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat a tablespoon canola oil in a skillet and cook the pork until beginning to brown. Add the garlic and ginger, and cook another 2-3 minutes until fragrant.  Add the sesame oil, Worcestershire sauce and vinegar, and stir fry until the liquids evaporate and the pork dries with a nice sheen.  Set pork aside in a bowl.

Sauté the veggies together in a bit of canola oil in a large skillet.  Let them soften and begin to caramelize, about 10-12 minutes, then add the red pepper flakes.  Cook another 2-3 minutes and set aside.

Meanwhile bring the water to a boil and add salt.  Cook the noodles until just al dente.  Drain and distribute into individual bowls.  Add a cup or so of the cooking water and then top with some pork and some of the sautéed veggies and then some cilantro.  Pass the fish sauce and the chili sauce for flavoring to individual tastes.  Serves 4-6.

Fish Tostada with Cucumber Avocado Crema

Food on Superbowl Sunday should be finger food - freeing up the hands for throwing wildly into the air yelling "Score!"  Or for high-fives.  They might need to be available to wipe the tears or hide the yawns, depending on how the game goes for your team.

So if you feel like fish tacos, go for fish tostadas instead. 

2-3 tilapia or swai fillets
2 tsp chili powder of Cajun spice mix

1 orange pepper, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced

1 15-oz can refrained beans
8 corn tostada shells

1 cup pickled or shredded cabbage
1 recipe cucumber crema
2 green onions, sliced
palmful cilantro, chopped

Sauté the onion and pepper in a skillet with a bit of canola oil.  Cook for about 10-12 minutes, until nicely softened and beginning to be caramelized.  Meanwhile, heat a non-stick grill pan.  Coat fish fillets with chili or Cajun spice, and spray with canola oil.  Sear fish on grill pan, about 3-5 minutes per side.  Remove fish to a platter, cover and keep warm.

Heat refrained beans in a small soup pot with just enough water to make creamy and spreadable.  Spread a few tablespoons on each of the corn tostadas.  Divide the onions and peppers about each of the tostadas. 

Slice the fish into thin slices and divide among the tostadas.  Top each tostada with a bit of cabbage, a dollop or crema, some onions and some cilantro.  Makes 8 tostadas  to serve 4.

Cucumber Avocado Crema

1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1 cucumber, cored and finely diced
1 ripe avocado, seeded, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
dash salt and pepper to taste

Toss cucumber with about 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt.  Set aside in a strainer and let rest about 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, whisk together the avocado with the remaining ingredients.  Rinse the cucumbers quickly, and toss onto a towel and dry.  Fold together with the avocado. 

Yeungling Hoisin Beef Short Ribs

3 lb meaty beef short ribs on the bone, about 2-3 inch pieces
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1-2 tsp Sriracha or Tabasco sauce, to taste
1 Tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
1 can Yeungling beer

Preheat oven to 375F.  In a 4-quart Dutch Oven, brown the ribs in two batches in a bit of vegetable oil, browning all meaty sides of each rib.  Set ribs aside in a bowl. 

In same pot, brown the onions and carrots for 10 minutes.  Add the garlic and ginger and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Remove veggies to meat in bowl.  Add the tomato paste to the pot and heat through for a few minutes to brown a bit.  Add the remaining ingredients and return the meat and veggies to the pot.  Add a bit of water if necessary, just to almost emerge the ribs in liquid.

Bake ribs for an hour. Stir, and adjust liquid level if necessary. Bake another half hour, or until meat is tender and just about to fall off bone.

Serves six.