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!

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.

Roasted Veggie Lasagne

 

Made with Love for all my vegetarian friends.  This this make ahead dish is a show stopper to present, easy to prepare, tastes great and light on the wallet. May I also admit this is healthy eating.  Cooking within a budget is never boring because it does not have to be. TALL Blonde serves 1 roll as an opening appetizer at her famous dinner parties.

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.

Mushroom Ravioli

 

TALL Blonde is experimenting again with ravioli filling. After a successful launch of my Pumpkin Bok Choy Ravioli (recipe link) in the summer of August of 2023 I was ready for a new flavor profile.  My vegan friends who absolutely loved the pumpkin-ravs will hopefully like this new adventure.  Some flavor bomb-ettes (light touch) are unconventional but subtle and add an interesting layering of flavor.  This recipe is written for the advanced cook and measurements are approximate and to your taste.

Fresh Tomato Clam Focaccia

 

TALL blonde has always been a bit intimidated by making Focaccia bread, don't ask me why?   I have baked bread many times but Focaccia just seemed so specialized I feared it would become my personal culinary failure.  Then I saw  ATK (America's Test Kitchen) make their version and this is it.

The bread is an ATK recipe, the flavor packed topping is mine.  The dough is very hydrated with 2 cups of cool water and is so soft it doesn't hold its shape.  This is a no-knead dough.  Once mixed allow it to rise, fall and rise again.  This long proofing method reduces the amount of tight gluten molecules and the finished bread is so tender it melts in your mouth. The fresh tomato-clam topping is very flavorful and you won't miss the cheese. Look at that airy fluffy crumb pictured above. I have to thank ATK for this easy, melt in your mouth recipe. My husband and I are not big eaters but we gobbled up the whole pan in one sitting.

There is one draw back, a stand mixer is preferred.  You can mix it yourself but lifting weights at the gym is an easier workout.

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.

Ramen - EAZZZY

 

TALLblonde makes a quick and packed with flavor ramen for her family once a week.  The entire process is maybe 20 minutes and a healthy option to feed the family, not to mention economical.

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.

Nashville Hot Cauliflower

 

A Nashville Hot is an old Southern staple taking a head of cauliflower and indirectly grilling in a smoky BBQ covered pit.  The overall process is to marinate a whole head of cauliflower in a spicy buttermilk dressing and baste regularly with a sweet spicy sauce of brown sugar, garlic, cayenne and melted butter. This recipe was inspired by Steven Reichlin.

As I do not have access to an outdoor BBQ, this is TALL blonde's oven roasted version and it is mighty tasty.

Party Eggplant Parmesan

 

I named this dish 'Party' Eggplant Parmesan for its elegant personal portion rather than cutting a messy square from a large flat casserole.  This is also a perfect make-ahead dish to pop in the oven for busy home life or dinner party.

The recipe is simple, admittedly we all know the components of a basic eggplant parmesan but this also removes the pre-salting method that so many recipes use to remove water from the eggplant.  Instead these are fried in olive oil after being dipped in an egg wash bath.  Olive oil is a healthy fat and eggs add protein to the dish. Serves 4.

Tacos con Verduras Asadas

To dine out, or not to dine out, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of Covid-19 and indoor dining, or to take arms against a sea of the unvaccinated and host a meal for your favorite friends at home.

It is always my preference to host friends in my home and share a home cooked meal with pleasant drink drenched in raucous laughter. Sometimes the happy compromise is to meet friends at a local eatery that has a menu that can accommodate all palates.

Under the new normal, I will hesitate to meet a friend and sit indoors surrounded by who knows who, and who knows what and if they share with me their viral cooties.  I decided it is for me to up my culinary game and invest time and research towards a very respectable vegetarian meal.  

Recently I prepared a three-course lunch plus dessert for a dyed in the wool vegetarian friend that included Vietnamese Spring Rolls and Peanut Sauce (sans shrimp), Spinach and Cheese Quiche and these roasted veggie tacos with a bounty of complex but complimentary flavors. Recipe in three parts most of which may be prepared the day before, warmed through and quickly assembled.

Sweet Potato Garbanzo Curry - VEGAN

 

To be frank, I am on the hunt for vegan recipes to entertain our vegan friends. It's a culinary exercise for me to sharpen my skills and broaden my repertoire.

Okay now enough of the mumbo-jumbo, vegan cooking is not what it was 30 years ago. No longer do you have thoughts of corrugated wood pulp shipping boxes. Vegan dishes are packed with flavor, fresh ingredients and a smaller impact on the environment over an omnivore diet (but I still like meat).  This recipe is also easy to shop for ingredients and in 35 minutes you have a fragrant tasty meal and your kitchen will smell like heaven.

Pizza Crust & A Dash More

 

Celebrity Chef Bobby Flay has posted his simple and perfect pizza crust recipe. Admittedly I can never resist a tweak so I always add A Dash More.

Using bread flour instead of all-purpose flour will give you a crispy crust and wonderfully filled with air bubbles and has a light chew without being gummy.  I added a link to my NoMato Red Sauce for those who are nightshade-intolerant (potato, tomato, eggplant, peppers, chilies) and craving a pizza but cannot abide the inflammation and indigestion.  NoMato Sauce is perfect for pizza or casseroles such as lasagne, although not recommended for a plate of standalone pasta as it does not adhere well. Happily, you cannot detect the lack of tomatoes.

Makes 2 10-inch pizza crusts.

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!

Champagne Parmesan Leek Pasta

This pasta dish is easy to prepare, cheap on the budget and packed with rich flavor of parmesan and luxurious butter sautéed leeks.  TALL Blonde uses leftover Champagne from New Year's Eve. An economical and excellent morning after dish.

French Mayonnaise

Homemade mayonnaise is fabulous as a summer condiment on cold poached fish or ham, even vegetables. This is a French classic for artichoke leaves or asparagus spears.  This mayo is not only cream but has a nice mildly acidic zing.

Buffalo Wing-Less

Adapted recipe from 'Playa Betty's' in New York City.  I had no idea I was eating cauli and not chicki.

5 Ingredients

TALLblonde plans on giving this out as holiday gifts in 2019. I have tried numerous recipes and they are all EASY to prepare, no special COOKING SKILLS, many dishes prepared in 15 MINUTES. Most recipes are measured to serve 2, so this means dinner for one with leftovers. Many recipes will also feed four servings. This QUICK and EASY cookbook by "The Naked Chef" Brit-born Jamie Oliver is not the quick and easy bland gut bombs of the past.  These recipes actually taste GRRREAT!

Duck Tales

Duck a L'Orange in 50 minutes. Make a quick orange sauce (below), score the fat throughout, salt/pepper both sides and place fat-side down on a dry skillet at medium-high heat to render the fat. Turn over after about 10 minutes and cook until 130-degrees for medium rare. Take off the skillet and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve with Brussel Sprouts sauteed in the rendered duck fat.