Spaghetti with Savory Breadcrumbs

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(2 servings)

This simple and delicious spaghetti uses very few ingredients, yet it's bursting with flavour.  I usually prepare this dish with no cheese so I'll sometimes pair it up with a nice tomato and mozzarella salad.

This recipe is pretty flexible. On occasion I'll had add red pepper flakes, minced lemon zest, chopped olives or even a bit of grated Parmesan. If you really dislike anchovies in any form then just leave those out and use salt instead.

I have loved anchovies ever since my grandfather introduced me to them when I was 6 years old. My long love affair began when he opened up a tin of anchovy rolled capers; I couldn't get enough of them.

5 oz dried spaghetti
2 tsp butter
1 tbps olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tsp anchovy paste
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to the directions on the package; about 5-8 minutes.

In the mean time heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Add the minced garlic and saute for about a minute or until it just begins to brown lightly. Stir in the anchovy paste, and when that's well combined, stir in the breadcrumbs. Lower the heat if necessary, and stirring from time to time saute them until they are an even brown.

Drain the pasta when it's done and add that to the breadcrumbs. Toss until the spaghetti is evenly coated with the breadcrumb mixture.

Divide between two plates. Sprinkle with the parsley and dust with freshly ground black pepper.

Serve.

Southwestern Shrimp Cocktail

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(2-3 servings)

This cocktail can be found at various restaurants here in Dallas. One of the more popular versions comes from "Big Shucks", and this recipe is fairly close to that. This fresh and delicious cocktail is very easy to prepare.

1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup water
up to 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice, to taste
1 tsp horseradish
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce, to taste
1 small avocado, diced
1 small plum tomato, diced
1 tbsp red onion, finely diced
1 tbsp jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
2 cups salad shrimp, cooked

lime wedges for garnishing


Combine everything except the shrimp in a bowl.

Add the shrimp when you are ready to serve them and toss to combine well.

Serve immediately. Garnish with lime wedges.

Canada Cornstarch Shortbread with Chocolate

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(about 16 cookies)

The very first time I made shortbread it was from a recipe off the back of a Canada Cornstarch Box. This is one of the best recipes I have ever come across. It produces a rich, buttery shortbread which melts in your mouth.

Occasionally, I'll wrap the shortbread around pieces of chocolate for a delightful, but decadent treat.

adapted from Canada Cornstarch
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2sticks), cut up
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz baking chocolate bar, broken into 16 pieces*


Place the cornstarch, icing sugar, salt and flour into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.  Add the butter and sprinkle the vanilla extract evenly over the top. Run the motor until a soft dough begins to form.

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Encase a piece of chocolate inside each piece of dough.

Place the cookies about an inch (or more) apart of an ungreased cookie sheet. Come hell or high water, I was determined to get all of these cookies onto my small baking sheet for my counter top oven. This shortbread will spread a bit as you can see from my photo. Bake for about 25-35  minutes or until the edges begin to brown.

Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet for a minute or two, then remove shortbread onto a wire rack.

*I have always used baking chocolate for this, so I have no idea how regular chocolate might behave, but I would probably give that a try if that's all I had on hand. I like using milk chocolate for this, but all I had was bittersweet which turned out rather nice.

Mediterranean Salad with Quinoa

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(4 servings)

Throughout the week I've been eating a lot of green leafy salads. I made this tasty salad a couple of days ago to change things up a bit. I decided to give rainbow quinoa a try and although the package directed me to cook this 5 minutes longer (than the conventional white quinoa), it was done in about 15 minutes.

This salad held up quite well for about three days in my refrigerator.

3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 english cucumber, diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2-4 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
2-4 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
freshly squeezed juice from up to a whole lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper

Rinse the quinoa in cold water. Place into a pot with 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook until the water has absorbed into the quinoa; about 15 minutes. Cool.

Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, green onion, parsley, mint and olive oil with the quinoa in a non reactive bowl (if you plan on keeping it longer than a day).

Keep adding small amounts of lemon juice, salt and pepper while tossing until you like how your salad is seasoned.

Serve. This salad will keep for a couple of days refrigerated.

Chicken with Orange Sauce

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(about 3 servings)

I didn't have any Chinese chili sauce when I made this, but I did have a tube of harissa which I used in it's place. The result was an unexpected kick in the heat department (I added almost 2 tsp at once) but quite bearable for me. I'm pretty much a wimp when it comes to very hot dishes and in this case the heat was quite pronounced (more so then when I've used chili sauce) yet I could still make out the other flavours. If you decide to give harissa a try, then add it in small amounts, tasting as you go, until you find a balance which agrees with you.

I have never prepared this dish with anything other than chicken thighs. They turn out incredibly tender. I keep meaning to give chicken breasts a try, I imagine they might turn out tender as well.

Beets with Arborio Rice

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(2-3 servings)

It doesn't seem right to call this a risotto, although that's what I had in mind when I made this, but when I was done, beets with rice seemed more appropriate. The rice became almost an afterthought, giving these sweet and earthy beets just enough substance to turn this into a meal.


2 - 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp butter
3/4 cup arborio rice
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
6 small beets
1/2 tsp fresh lemon zest, minced
freshly squeezed juice from 1/2 lemon, or to taste
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
1/4 - 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled


Heat the chicken broth, then keep it warm over a low burner.

Melt the butter in a deep skillet and add the rice. Cook for a minute or two, stirring to coat the rice evenly with the butter. Stir in the onion and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the onion is translucent and has begun to brown lightly. You will have to keep stirring the mixture to keep it from burning.

Scrub the beets and remove the tops. It's not necessary to peel them completely. Grate them, then add them to the rice and onion mixture. Cook them for about 5 minutes.

Add the warm chicken broth 1/2 a cup at a time, stirring until the rice has absorbed the liquid. When you have used up about three quarters of the chicken broth, stir in the lemon zest and the lemon juice. Check for seasoning and add the salt and pepper as needed.

Continue adding the chicken broth in small amounts until the rice is al dente. Cover the pot and let it sit for about 3 minutes.

Divide among bowls and garnish with the chopped dill and goat cheese.

Flädlesuppe; Soup with Crepes

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(4 servings)

This simple German soup is a great way to use up leftover crepes from breakfast. I love recipes like this because more and more I'm reluctant to toss out food.

Palak Paneer; Indian Spinach & Cheese

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(4 servings)

With the holidays behind us, I'm leaning towards lighter fare this week. In some respects this dish is a bit like Matar Paneer. The main difference of course is using spinach instead of peas. I decided not to fry the paneer in ghee this time, but added it as is, instead.

The paneer is easy to make and a nice introduction to cheese making if you can't find it at the store. All you need to make it (aside from milk and vinegar)  is a cheesecloth or a piece of loose woven muslin cloth.

This is one of those dishes which reheats really well and seems to taste even better the next day.