Adapted from Jim’s Kitchen

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup butter, unsalted
3 cups half and half
6 large eggs
1 quart turnip, peeled, cooked and pureed
¼ cup roasted garlic
2/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups leek, sliced (white part only)
Parmesan cheese, grated for lining cups
Butter
Fresh chopped parsley (for garnish)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 6 custard cups and dust with finely grated parmesan.

2. Melt butter in heavy bottom skillet. Sauté leeks until very tender and just beginning to color, about 10 minutes.

3. Peel and dice turnips. Boil in water until tender. Drain.

4. Transfer leeks, garlic and turnips to food processor. Process until smooth paste is formed. Add half and half and blend well. Mixture does not have to be perfectly smooth.

5. Add eggs, cheese, salt, pepper and nutmeg and blend until combined.

6. Divide equally between prepared cups, place cups in a baking pan and pour enough hot water into pan to come up halfway on the sides of the cups.

8. Bake until custards are set in center, about 40-50 minutes. Remove from water and let cool for 15 minutes. Turn out onto plate to serve. Garnish with fresh, chopped parsley.

Serves 12

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Adapted from Bon Appetite

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup ricotta cheese, part skim
½ cup whole milk
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup polenta, fine ground
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ cup green onions, chopped
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
½ bunch Swiss chard, deveined, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees; oil an 8x8x2 inch glass baking dish.

2. Wisk ricotta and milk in a large bowl. Mix in parmesan, polenta, salt and pepper.

3. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in heavy skillet or pot over medium-heat. Add onion and fennel seeds. Cover and cook until the onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add the chard, cover and cook until wilted, about 1 minute.

4. Stir chard mixture into the polenta. Transfer to prepared dish. Brush top lightly with olive oil. Bake until brown around the edges and firm in the center, about 35 minutes.

5. Cut into squares and serves.

Serves 4

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This recipe for corn and potato salad is light, delicious, and different from your traditional potato salad. There’s no mayonnaise. Instead there’s just a little olive oil and fresh lime juice. The corn gives the dish some added sweetness and nice texture. Our cousins from France just arrived a few days ago for the summer. For their first dinner in the States, we served this side dish with steak frites. Mmm…

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb baby red potatoes, cut into quarters
1 pint grape tomatoes
5 ears of corn, shucked
1 medium red onion, chopped
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 handful of fresh basil
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot cover potatoes with salted cold water by 1 inch and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Remove from potatoes from pot and allow them to cool for 15 minutes.

3. Combine potatoes, grape tomatoes, corn, and red onions into a large bowl.

4. Add olive oil, lime juice, and fresh basil leaves. Mix thoroughly.

5. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Serves 4

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I love any dish made with potatoes! Potatoes au gratin, mashed potatoes, potato skins, baked potato soup, stuffed potatoes, potato ragout, potato salad, French fries… you get the picture. The recipe below is one for potato salad. I like using Dijon mustard and sweet relish in mine. I also added a little mayonnaise in this version, but the recipe tastes just fine without it.

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 Idaho potatoes
½ red bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1 tablespoon chopped scallions
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon sweet relish
¼ cup mayonnaise
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a large pot, cover potatoes with salted water. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat.

2. Allow to simmer for about 30 minutes, until tender.

3. Remove from pot, and allow potatoes to cool.

4. Remove potato skins, and cut into small cubes.

5. Place cut potatoes in to a large bowl, and add mayonnaise, relish, and Dijon mustard. Mix thoroughly.

6. Mix in red bell pepper, chives, scallions, and boiled egg.

7. Add kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Makes about 4 servings

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The key ingredient in this corn and bean side dish is sofrito. The flavor base is sautéed and then combined with baby lima beans and corn – the Caribbean meets Native American!

INGREDIENTS:
Salted water
8 ears fresh corn
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon achiote seeds
1 cup sofrito
¼ cup alcaparrado
½ teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1 cup frozen baby lima beans
2 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and medium diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly chopped cilantro

DIRECTIONS:
1. In a large stock pot, bring salted water to a boil.
2. Lower heat to simmer, add corn, and cook 5 minutes.
3. Drain and set aside to cool.
4. In small frying pan gently heat olive oil; add achiote seeds until the color of a sunset.
5. Strain oil into large sauté pan; discard seeds.
6. In large saucepan heat achiote oil over medium low heat, and add sofrito, alcaparrado, cumin and bay leaves (you can also add a little brine from the alcaparrado).
7. While water cooks out, scrap kernels off cobs and into bowl, separating kernels with fingers.
8. Add corn to pan, along with baby lima beans and diced tomatoes.
9. Season with salt and black pepper.
10. Lower heat to simmer, cook and cover 13-15 minutes, until lima beans are tender and cooked through.
11. Sprinkle finished dish with cilantro, stir and serve.

Notes:
** Alcaparrado: a mixture of green olives, capers, and pimientos
** Achiote seeds: a slightly musky-flavored seed of the annatto tree; available whole or ground, and can be found in East Indian, Spanish and Latin American markets
** Sofrito: A tomato based sauce for cooking beans, rice dishes, soups and other Caribbean and Latin dishes; made with tomato paste, peppers, spices, coriander and onion

Serves 8
Adapted from LATINA 2005

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Cassava bread is a flat unleavened bread made from yuca. Longaniza is a pork sausage often used in Mexico and Caribbean countries, and is generally seasoned with paprika, cinnamon, aniseed, garlic, and vinegar.

INGREDIENTS:
½ lb. longaniza, removed from casing
1 large Spanish onion, medium chopped
4 carrots, trimmed, peeled and medium-chopped
5 stalks celery, medium-chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
8 oz. cassava bread, broken into nit sized pieces
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter, divided
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a large pan, sauté longaniza, breaking up with wooden spoon; stir until lightly browned.
3. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onions and celery are wilted and transparent.
4. Crumble cassava bread into sauté pan and stir to mix completely.
5. Pour chicken broth over contents of pan and stir so bread soaks up broth.
6. Butter baking dish and transfer contents of pan to prepared dish.
7. Dot mixture with remaining butter.
8. Add a little salt and pepper. (You wont need much because longaniza is highly seasoned).
9. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.
10. Uncover and bake another 15-20 minutes , until golden and crisp on top.

** You can substitute longaniza for Italian sausage heavily seasoned with garlic and pepper, and for cassava bread, you can stale tortillas or tortilla chips.

Serves 8
Adapted from LATINA 2005

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My cousin Janine claims to have no cooking skills whatsoever, so therefore she was a little hesitant when I suggested that she cook her boyfriend a romantic dinner for his birthday. Being the wonderful person that I am, I offered to break down some of my favorite simple recipes for her to make.

- CAPRESE (Tomato Mozzarella Salad)
- STUFFED MUSHROOMS
- PASTA PRIMAVERA
- BROCCOLI WITH LEMON CRUMBS
- CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES


CAPRESE (Tomato and Mozzarella Salad)
INGREDIENTS:
4 medium tomatoes
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 fresh basil leaves
Fresh Mozzarella
Salt and Pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Slice the 4 medium tomatoes into thin, quarter inch slices.
2. Strain the mozzarella, and then slice it into thin slices. I like to slice mine into third inch slices. I love mozzarella!
3. Alternate tomatoes and mozzarella on a serving plate.
4. Sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper.
5. Add the basil leaves as a garnish.

* I like this dish much better with some balsamic vinegar . . . you can drizzle it over the tomato and mozzarella stack, or you can add around the stack or even underneath the stack.


STUFFED MUSHROOMS
INGREDIENTS:
12 whole fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
3. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel.
4. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
5. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
6. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet.
7. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic.
8. Set aside to cool.
9. When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper.
10. Mixture should be very thick.
11. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing.
12. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
13 Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.


BROCCOLI WITH LEMON CRUMBS
INDGREDIENTS:
2 slices whole-wheat bread
2 tablespoons butter
1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 12-ounce bags broccoli florets OR 1 large bunch broccoli, cut into florets

DIRECTIONS:
1. Whirl the bread in a food processor or blender to make bread crumbs. (Unless you have store bought crumbs) Sometimes I like to use crumbled croutons. You can buy the flavored kinds … like garlic herb or something.
2. Melt the butter in a small skillet.
3. Add the bread crumbs and sauté over medium heat until toasted.
4. Grate the zest from the lemon.
5. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice from one half into the pan.
6. Add the salt and several grinds of black pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until dry. (The Lemon Crumbs can be made to this point up to 2 days ahead. Spoon into a plastic bag and set aside at room temperature.)
7. Cooking the broccoli:
This recipe tells you to cook it in the microwave (it’s easier and it saves time). If you want, you can boil or steam the broccoli on the stove, which is what I like to do. It’s your call on this one.
Microwave the broccoli according to the package directions. (If using fresh broccoli, pile the florets on a microwave-safe plate and sprinkle with a few tablespoons of water. Cover with plastic wrap and microwave 3 to 5 minutes or until crisp-tender.)
8. Remove and sprinkle with the Lemon Crumbs.


PASTA PRIMAVERA
INGREDIENTS:
6 qt. water
2 tablespoons salt
6 asparagus (Cut the tough ends off of the asparagus off, and finely dice them. Keep the tips of the asparagus whole, and in one piece.)
½ pound of broccoli florets
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 large sweet onion, chopped up finely
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
¾ cup fresh peas OR frozen peas
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper
1 lb. fresh fettuccine OR 12 oz. dried fettuccine
1 cup heavy cream OR half & half light cream
12 fresh basil leaves
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1. Chop up all the vegetables; be sure that everything is the same size so that it looks pretty
2. Bring the water and the salt to a rolling boil.
3. Add the asparagus and broccoli and cook for one minute; remove them and then plunge into cold water to stopping cooking.
4. Save the water that you used to boil the vegetables. You are going to use that same water to boil the pasta in a minute.
Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
5. Add onions and carrots. Cook by stirring over heat until soft. Add blanched asparagus and broccoli along with the frozen peas and salt and pepper to taste. Cook till all vegetables are tender.
6. Now, re-boil the pot of water (the same water used for the asparagus and broccoli).
7. Add in fettuccine and cook until tender. While the pasta is cooking, add cream to vegetables and stir while simmering.
8. When the pasta is tender, drain out the water.
9. Then add the pasta to the vegetables, along with the basil leaves and cheese.
10. Serve very hot!


CHOCLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES
INGREDIENTS:
16 ounces milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening (hydrogenated vegetable oil, such as Crisco)
1 pound fresh strawberries with leaves

DIRECTIONS:
1. Insert toothpicks into the tops of the strawberries.
2. In a double boiler, (this is a small pot placed above a larger pot that contains boiling water) melt the chocolate and shortening, stirring occasionally until smooth.
3. Holding them by the toothpicks, dip the strawberries into the chocolate mixture.
4. Turn the strawberries upside down and insert the toothpick into Styrofoam for the chocolate to cool.

* I usually just lay them neatly on wax paper.

* If you don’t want to go through the trouble of melting the chocolate, you can buy chocolate at the grocery store that is made specifically for dipping fruit. I used something similar when I was making dinner for Nick a while back, and it worked out great!! It’s much more convenient. I found it in the baking aisle, and all I had to do was microwave the chocolate and then dip my strawberries into them. I refrigerated them for about 20 minutes, and they cam out perfect!


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- Katherine's Mini Crab Cakes
- Katherine's Green Beans
- Madi's Empanadas
- Mrs. Jefferson's Brownies


Katherine's Mini Crab Cakes
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/3 cup of bread crumbs
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup finely minced celery
1/3 cup minced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 pound fresh lump crabmeat, shells picked out
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
6 teaspoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Whisk mayonnaise, egg, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and salt in bowl. Stir in 3/4 cup of the bread crumbs, celery, bell pepper and onion. Gently stir in crab. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours.
2. Transfer remaining bread crumbs to a large shallow dish and toss with parsley. Place a 25-inch-long piece of waxed paper on flat surface. Pack a level measuring tablespoon with crab mixture and drop onto breadcrumbs; gently turn to coat and shape into 1 1/2-inch cake. Place on waxed paper. Repeat.
3. Heat oven to 350 degree F. Lightly coat a large cookie sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add about 8 to 10 crab cakes to skillet and cook 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side, until golden. Transfer to prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining oil and crab cakes.
4. Bake crab cakes 10 minutes, until heated through. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices and serve. Makes about 36 cakes.


Katherine's Green Beans

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound frsh green beans with the ends pinched off
5 tbs balsalmic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp oregano

DIRECTIONS:
1. Saute green beans with olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add balsamic vinegar and oregano, while stirring ocassionally until tender as desired.


Madi's Empanadas

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef
sofrito
Goya Sazon
1 handful of spanish olives
1/2 cup tomato sauce
empanada shells or pastry sheets
cooking oil

DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix the ground beef, 4 tablespoons of sofrito, 1 packet of Goya Sazon, a handful of chopped spanish olives, and half a cup of tomato sauce in a mixing bowl.
2. Heat cooking oil in pan.
3. Cook meat in pan until meat is no longer pink (20 minutes or so).
4. Microwave empanada shells for 30 seconds (unless using pastry sheets).
5. Fill empanada shell with meat, fold over shell, and pinch with a fork.


Mrs. Jefferson's Brownies

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 squares unsweetened Ghirardelli chocolate, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chooped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly grease and 8-by-8-by-2-inch baking pan.
2. Sift flour with baking powder and salt.
3. In small bowl of electric mixer, at high speed, beat butter with sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs, one at a time, until very light. Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla.
4. At low speed, blend in flour mixture just until combined. Stir in nuts.
5. Turn into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake 30 minutes.
6. Cool 10 minutes. With sharp knife, cut into squares. Let cool completely in pan.
Makes 16.


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