The best, easiest Guac recipe there is!
4 ripe avocados, sliced in half, pitted and peeled
1/3 cup finely diced red onion
1 tomato, seeds removed and diced
1 cup loosely packed cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Tortilla chips, to serve
1. Mash avocados in a large bowl with a fork. Mix with red onions, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Serve with tortilla chips.
Here’s a perfect meal for a summery dinner, festive lunch, and it even works for those New-Years-resolution low-fat, low carb diets! Plus, if your kids are like mine (kinda fussy), they’ll eat it! Mine loved wrapping up their chicken in the crunchy lettuce leaves.
1 lb ground chicken
juice of 1 lime
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1″ piece of lemon grass, chopped (or if you find it frozen, 2 tsp)
1″ piece of ginger, chopped or grated
2 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 c chopped cilantro
4-6 mint leaves, chopped
1-2 chopped thai chilis (optional)
For the garnish:
lime wedges
large leaf lettuce, like boston, or leaf lettuce
diced or sliced cucumber (1/2)
diced or sliced red peppers
sliced chili peppers
hoisin sauce
sriracha
mint leaves
coriander leaves
chopped peanuts (optional)
Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok. Don’t let it smoke. Add ginger, garlic and lemon grass, and cook 2 minutes, stirring so it doesn’t brown. Add chicken and brown (about 7-10 minutes). Add fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and soy sauce. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes to make sure chicken is cooked throughout. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and mint.
To serve, arrange leaves and vegetables on a platter. Use one large leaf, add sauces (hoisin and sriracha), 1 large scoop of chicken, top with cucumber, peppers, herbs and chopped peanuts. Roll as best you can, and enjoy!
With Rosh Hashanah coming up, I turned to our friend Norene Gilletz from Gourmania.com for a great holiday recipe. She suggested her Apple Honey cake from “The NEW Food Processor Bible” (whitecap books). You won’t be disappointed by this recipe – it’s a moist and delicious treat that’s perfect any time!
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
2 medium apples, peeled and cut in chunks
3 eggs plus 2 egg whites (or 4 eggs)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup liquid honey
3/4 cup cold tea
1/4 cup brandy
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Steel Blade: Process flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger for 10 seconds, until blended. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Process apples until finely minced, 8 to 10 seconds. Measure 1 cup firmly packed and set aside.
Process eggs and egg whites, sugar, oil and honey for 2 to 3 minutes, until light. Do not insert pusher in feed tube. Add dry ingredients to batter alternately with tea and brandy. Process with quick on/off pulses, just until blended. Do not over-process. Add apples and process with quick on/off pulses, just until mixed.
Pour batter into sprayed 12-cup fluted tube pan (Bundt pan). Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, until cake tests done. A wooden skewer inserted into the center should come out dry. If necessary, cover top of cake with foil to prevent over-browning. Let cake cool in pan for 20 minutes. Carefully loosen with a flexible spatula; invert cake onto a serving plate.
Yield: 15 servings. Freezes well.
Note: If you don’t have a large processor, add beaten egg mixture to dry ingredients in mixing bowl alternately with tea and brandy. Mix with a wooden spoon until blended, about 45 seconds. Stir in apples.
Additional Comments: If you don’t have brandy on hand, you can substitute Grand Marnier, orange juice or peach brandy. Apple juice can replace half of the tea for a delicious taste.
This is a crowd-pleaser, and not just for cinco de mayo! I made it for my sisters birthday this past week-end and it was a big hit. The margarita’s helped….
1 pork shoulder – 5-6 lbs
1 onion, peeled
1 orange, washed, and quartered
1 lime, washed, halved
1 tblsp cumin
1 bay leaf
1 tsp peppercorns
3 cups water
Place all ingredients in a slow cooked on high, or in a dutch oven, covered, at 325. Cook 4-5 hours, or until meat is tender and falls apart.
Pull meat apart with a fork, and add 1/2 cup cooking liquid and salt to taste.
Serve with corn or flour tortillas, and your fave toppings- guacamole, grated cheese, fresh salsa, coriander, sour cream and cholula hot sauce.
Black bean, corn and coriander salad makes a great side dish.
I’ve seen variations of this recipe in several people’s book, and have always been skeptical. If you’re up for something new, then like me, be ready to have your world rocked: Norene Gilletz’s recipe from Gourmania.com will make you a believer.
3 onions, sliced
4 1/2 to 5 lb. beef brisket, well-trimmed
4 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tbsp. paprika
1/4 cup apricot jam
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 cup diet cola (use regular cola if you can’t find diet)
1. Spray a large roasting pan with non-stick spray. Place onions in pan; place brisket on top of onions. Rub meat on all sides with garlic, seasonings, jam and lemon juice. Pour cola over and around brisket. Marinate for an hour at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat oven to 325°F. Cook covered. Allow 45 minutes per lb. as the cooking time, until meat is fork tender. Uncover meat for the last hour and baste it occasionally. Remove from oven and cool completely. Refrigerate overnight, if possible. Discard hardened fat which congeals on the surface. Slice brisket thinly across the grain, trimming away any fat. Reheat slices in the defatted pan juices.
Yield: 12 servings. Reheats and/or freezes well.
The recipe comes from Healthy Helpings by Norene Gilletz (formerly published as MealLeaniYumm!)
With Passover fast approaching, we thought we should ask our friend Norene Gilletz of Gourmania.com for some traditional recipes. She suggested this apple Kugel and I’m glad to report that it’s simply delicious. 
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 c sugar
6 apples, peeled and grated
1/4 cup matzo meal
juice of 1 lemon
1 c dried apricots, cut up
2 tbsp sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs with sugar, mix well. Add apples, matzo meal and lemon juice. Mix until smooth. Soak apricots in hot water for 5 minutes, then drain.
Spray a 7×11 pyrex casserole dish (Virginie’s note: I used individual ramekins, baked them for 45 minutes) with non-stick spray. Spread half of the mixture on the pan. Add the apricots in a single layer over the batter. Top with remaining apple mixture. Spread evenly. Sprinkle cinnamon with sugar mixture. Bake for about an hour, until golden.
This recipe comes from Healthy Helpings by Norene Gilletz (formerly published as MealLeaniYumm!)
. If you are not making this for passover, or are not jewish and can mix dairy with your meal, try it with a vanilla custard sauce. It’s divine!
This is one of those recipes that I often make, but never with an actual recipe! It’s a no-fail favorite with friends and family!
8 oz (1 package) sliced mushrooms- cremini works best!
50g pancetta- diced
10 pearl onions
1 tsp butter
1 tsp fresh thyme
2 tbsp butter
9 chicken thighs
1/4 cup flour
1 bottle red wine
Melt 1 tsp butter in a heavy bottom pan. Brown mushrooms, pancetta and pearl onions. Remove from heat. Dredge chicken in flour. Brown in additional butter. Add fresh thyme. Return mushrooms, pancetta and onion to the pan. Add wine. Turn heat down and simmer 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked through and soft.
Although it’s not the traditional way to serve it, I love serving Coq-au-vin on cheesy egg noodles. I find Gruyere or Emmenthal cheese has the best flavor to accompany the sauce, but swiss cheese works just as well!
My french grandmother made the very best “couscous” in the world. She would work for days preparing everything, slowly steaming the semolina before rubbing it with butter between her fingers. I’m not sure she would approve of my slow cooker adaptation of her recipe! But why spent 10 hours doing something when you can get it done in 30 minutes with equally delicious results?!
1 chicken, cut up into pieces, or two breasts, two legs, bone in
2 lamb shoulder chops
2 tblsp olive oil
1 leek, whites only, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 carrot, peeled cut into large chunks
2 turnips, peeled and cut into quarters
2 zucchini, cut into large chunks
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 small can of chick peas
1 tblsp and 2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cloves
salt and pepper to taste
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet. Brown chicken and lamb and then place in slow cooker.
In the same skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the leeks, garlic, carrots and turnips. Fry for about five minutes. Add spices, continue to cook while stirring 5 minutes.
Add broth, stir, and pour contents into slow cooker.
Set slow cooker on high for 4 hours. After 2 hours, open slow cooker and add zucchini and chick peas.
Serve on a bed of cousous (I prepare it by placing it in a shallow bowl and pouring hot water over top, letting it sit then fluffing it with a fork. A dash of with “Harrissa” spice (if you can find it, otherwise chili powder would work) on top is delicious!
I added red wine and black olives to this stew-like pasta sauce to crank up the fullness of the flavor, but my kids loved it too!
2 large beef or veal shanks
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup red wine
2 sprigs fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 tsp dried
32 oz or 1 quart of canned crushed tomates (I used the home-made sauce I made this summer in this video!)
salt and pepper to taste
Roughly chop the onion and garlic. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet. Brown the onion and garlic, about 3-5 minutes, until translucent. Add the shanks and brown on both sides (about 3 minutes a side). Add red wine and cook 5 minutes. Add tomato sauce and seasoning. Transfer to slow cooker. Cook on high heat for 6 hours. Remove the shanks and shred the meat. Return to sauce.
(I ended up refrigerating the sauce for a couple of days, and it only got more delicious!).
These decadent treats have a chewy gingery crust, a creamy layer of pumpkin cheesecake and crunchy spiced pecans on top. And they’re surprisingly easy to make!
1 1/2 cups crushed ginger snaps (about 30 cookies)
1/2 can sweetened condensed mil
1 brick of cream cheese
2/3 cup of pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 sour cream
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cayenne pepper
100 gr (small bag) chopped pecans
Preheat over to 350.
Line a 9″ square baking pan with parchment paper.
Place crushed cookies into bottom of pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk over top. Place in over for 5 minutes. Remove from over and mix until combined.
Mix cream cheese with pumpkin and brown sugar. Beat until smooth. Gradually add eggs one at a time, and beat each time until smooth. Pour over cookie base.
Bake 35-40 minutes, until set. Cool completely.
Prepare spiced nuts: (you could just as easily add store bought pralines here!)
In a frying pan, add sugar, spices and butter. Heat until melted. Pour pecans in. Cook until sugar is dissolved, about 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour out onto parchment paper to cool.
Before serving, top squares with cream cheese and pralines. Cut and serve immediately.