Orange Herb Vinaigrette

 

This is the new rage in vineger-based dressings in food magazines. Some recipes call for an entire orange to be chopped and placed in a food processor, TALLblonde says pits and pith are bitter and would rather not include them.  This takes a ordinary child's brown bag school lunch fruit into a luxurious and versatile  punch of mouth-watering head turner for your mouth. A bushelful of fresh herbs modifies the sweetness of the orange presents a salty-sweet refreshing concoction that not only makes an excellent salad dressing over a variety mix of salad greens but the perfect robe over fresh fish or grilled summer vegetables.  Try my recipe first before you waste your time on theirs, HA!

Caesar On Steroids

A truly great Caesar dressing is one of the most crave-worthy creations in the kitchen—rich with parmesan, bold garlic, savory anchovy, and the unmistakable depth of Worcestershire sauce. These timeless ingredients come together as pure flavor magic, creating a dressing so irresistible you may never look at bottled condiments the same way again. One taste, and even your French fries will be dumping ketchup begging for a drizzle.

But this version takes the classic to an entirely new level. It’s bold, creamy, intentionally salty, and finished with the slow-building heat of your favorite hot sauce that lingers pleasantly on the tongue. The result is a dressing so addictive it transforms everything it touches—from crispy fries to a humble cheese sandwich tucked inside a crusty sourdough roll. It has even been known to be the dip of choice for Buffalo Wings. Once you make it, you’ll start finding excuses to put it on everything.

Italian Gravy

Back to my childhood when to stretch the dinner budget mom would whip up a quick pan tomato sauce using fresh sweet tomatoes, a little garlic, a few anchovy filets for a savory punch and a few sprigs of fresh sweet basil from the yard.  This thick unctuous satisfying sauce was poured over a steaming  mound of corn polenta.  I am decended from a "Polentone". My mother Luigia, is from the far reaches of the North Eastern Italian region known as Friuli Giulia Venezia. A collection of farm villages near Udine in a hamlet named Campo Lessi that survived from what they raised and grew on their land. By the way, their excellent wine, cheese and salami made from their own pigs is a favorite meal of my lifetime.

I am proud of my family and lucky to have visited the family farm twice.

This tomato gravy recipe is also wonderful on potatoes, pan fried eggs, shrimp, roasted chicken and in a documented case over a bean burrito topped with fresh ricotta cheese.

Mushrooms Reign Supreme

As a mushroom lover like TALL Blonde's husband is you will easily agree with him after tasting this mushroom sauce is so good that you can make a meal pouring this rich, decadent and unctuous sauce over a couple slices of toasted and buttered slices of sourdough bread slices and imagine you are eating as a King or Queen. This is not for the faint hearted, butter and heavy cream provide the velvety texture and the finishing "cherry on top" is Port. So get ready to present a 5 Michelin Star quality dish that even makes your kitchen smell luxurious. Add an additional 1 cup of protein such as cooked lump crab meat or cooked shredded duck breast and make it a meal.

Green Goddess

Once I discovered Green Goddess Dressing, I look for it every chance I get. It is a collection of fresh herbs of your choice, The base is mayonnaise or you can use yogurt has a fresher and healthier option and some savory flavor punches.  The process is simple as you dump all ingredients in a blender and in 10 seconds you have a flavorful concoction that is great on salads, grilled fish or roasted potato, vegetables and an excellent dip.. The original recipe was invented at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco in 1923 and was very simple, parsley was the only herb used. Do not skimp on the tarragon as this is the backbone of Green Goddess flavor. TALL Blonde recipe below was created on using what I had available in the fridge and it turned out to be a perfect flavor profile.

Ginger Orange Glaze - Salmon - Duck - Veggies

I created this recipe out of boredom. We eat sautéed salmon in our household about once a week and on one particular evening I was in the mood for a sweet and tangy flavor profile to glaze the weeknight dinner doldrums.

After sautéing the salmon I removed it from the pan and poured into the remaining fish juices ingredients readily available in my pantry creating this spicy orange sesame glaze and then sliding the cooked salmon in the thickened glaze. It was truly a spectacular flavor. This is restaurant quality flavor at its finest.

Pumpkin-Bok Choy Ravioli & Lemon Cream Sauce

Let me go off topic regarding this recipe for just a moment. When I share my home cooking experiences to my kitchen-curious friends I always end my conversation with the following: "If you learn to prepare your favorite dishes at home you can reward yourself with the title of Best Cook on the Planet. Why? Because your food will always taste the way you like it.".

This recipe was inspired during a recent luncheon with a friend at a classy Italian restaurant. Eating a plate of ricotta/spinach ravioli that was totally uninspired and lackluster, served with a lemon sauce that swam at the bottom of the plate in a sloshing liquid pool I decided to create something much more original and exciting for the taste buds. The ingredients and preparation began to take shape in my mind during the hour long drive home. Serves 6.

Pork - Sweet Sour Sauce

 

Classic Sweet and Sour Pork recipe will bring you back in time.  This is the flavor you remember and crave. This recipe has simplified steps from other recipes TALLBlonde has researched and tested.  The deep frying method of cooking the pork morsels coated in corn starch has been changed to dry frying in a skillet making this recipe a bit more heart smart. This recipe also uses well trimmed pork tenderloin instead of a traditional fattier cut of pork shoulder.  Dice all ingredients to same size pieces to your liking, anywhere between 1/2-inch to 1'inch in size. Serves 6

California Hummus

Avocado Sauce is prominent in Central Mexico but not limited to this region.  This is not Guacamole for chip dipping or sandwich spread as a replacement to mayonnaise. This glorious sauce is a thick but pourable consistency and used liberally on grilled fish or grilled sliced meats. I had a version of this at a Mexican hotel located in a little fishing village Los Barriles in Baja Sur.  It forever changed my culinary grilling-life. 

The common avocado sauce recipe uses crème fraiche, sour cream or yogurt as a base with fresh avocado.  TALL Blonde has revamped this recipe to eliminate dairy while adding nutritional value in the form of protein with white beans. Upping your protein game seems to be all over the news today in a concerted effort to look for healthy options. All of this and I have to mention the HDL good fats that comes from avocado. Serves 4.

With this recipe you won't miss that creamy texture either.

Seafood Cocktail Sauce

I have the honor and humility to share with you that after trying this cocktail sauce friends have told me this is the best they have ever eaten. Traditionally served with cooked shrimp or crab. May also be added to a classic Thousand Island dressing to give it an extra zing.

The long list of ingredients may look daunting but the bold savory flavor of this cocktail sauce you can never go back to the others, they will taste like ketchup by comparison  We are a small family so this recipe is perfect for the two of us. I would highly recommend doubling it as it will also make the shopping more worth while for a big batch. After all, this lasts in my fridge for up to one month.

All of the ingredients should be very finely diced, No one likes a lumpy cocktail sauce so using a blender is perfectly fine for ease and time saving with one exception; *do not add the parsley to the blender as it will give an off color. Serves 6.

Nomato Sauce

 

Okay America, I am just going to say it, this Nightshade-Free NoMato sauce is "effing" amazing.

I must admit, I could not believe that a rich and flavorful Marinara Sauce could be made without tomatoes. I am cooking for a family member that can no longer eat nightshade veggies (tomato, potato, eggplant, all peppers).  The inflammation from the naturally occurring enzymes create great havoc with their immune system.  If you suffer from arthritis, you may want to try eliminating nightshades for a few weeks and see how your joints feel with less inflammation and pain. I have reviewed numerous recipes and have developed this recipe that is 95% the closest to the real thing, a classic Marinara sauce without tomatoes. It can be done.

Some recipes require an expensive InstaPot, which I do not own, nor do I want to dish out for one.  TallBlonde's recipe requires only a crockpot and a classic blender. And may I say this is healthier than the stuff you purchase in a glass jar at your local grocer. I highly recommend sharing this with your friends that are suffering the ravages of nightshade terror.

They can eat pasta and pizza again, that alone make this worth it even if you are not nightshade intolerant because it is fresher!

Pita & Harissa - ISRAEL

 

TALLBlonde's newest food obsession is Israeli food, first in a three part series. Not that there is an actual cuisine of Israel.  It is an amalgam of local bordering nations and diverse ancient cultures on the same land.  Also did you know that the people of Israel have the highest rate of vegetarian and vegan diet in the world?

Thank you "196Flavors" and "Epicurious" for these two recipes.

Simply Ketchup

TALLBlonde has been experimenting with making scratch foods recently. The ingredient labels on food packages are reading more like a chemistry set and not real food. I thought making ketchup from scratch would be an easy experiment and perhaps finding not only a healthy option but a much more flavorful one.  This recipe is easy, has tons of flavor, wonderfully tangy, a bit of heat and you will never go back to the bottle where you have to damage the palm of your hand to get it to pour out.  You will have to cook the mix on very low heat on the stove so that it does not burn, or a safer alternative is to use a crock pot on medium-high heat. You will also need a traditional jar blender, or immersion blender.

Asparagus Cheese Prosciutto

This is a very special asparagus dish served chilled with home-made mayonnaise on a hot summer night. It is light, tangy, refreshing and super easy to make.

Never made mayonnaise from scratch?  My quick YouTube video below will show you how in only 4 minutes.

Peanut Sauce, THAI

You will never eat beef any other way again.

Chimichurri Sauce

Brazilian and so internationally used today.  Excellent on grilled red meats, chicken breast, oily fish, roasted lamb or roasted potatoes. The main starter ingredients are olive oil, red wine vinegar, fresh parsley, garlic and oregano.  TALL blonde gives you many flavor bomb options to match your own flavor palate or whatever happens to be in your pantry at any given moment. It amplifies anything savory. Hide your leather work boots...

Gravy-MAKE AHEAD

Yum Diggety Tartar Sauce

You will never buy jar sauce again - UPDATED 2023