Cocktail Parties

Caramelized Sweet Potato Slices w/cinnamon pecan crumble and warm and spicy chunky apple reduction

Working on Thanksgiving meal plans and need something fun and new? Maybe you have some guests coming who follow a healthier lifestyle and you are freaking out because your Mom only taught you how to make sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top? Sorry if you love the marshmallow sweet potato casserole, but I can’t stand it! Why on earth anyone would ruin a perfectly delicious sweet potato with a crazy amount of sweetener then top it with marshmallows is beyond me. But hey it’s our differences that make life fun, it wouldn’t be the same if everyone agreed with me!

While I was putting together a menu for a paleo Thanksgiving class, I became super frustrated with the gratin I was trying to make. So I scrapped it and moved on to this using the exact same ingredients and I am so happy I did!

Don’t let the layering and steps throw you off, this is a super fast dish to make! While your sweet potatoes roast, the other parts come together and will be ready and waiting.

So let’s get to it shall we?

When I made my sweet potato slices the first time I had a nice fat sweet potato so my slices were nice and round.

The second time I used smaller sweet potatoes and just cut them on the bias (diaganolly) to make a plank that was somewhat oval. Both of them turned out beautifully so work with what you have. (see topping step, aren’t they pretty)

You will want your slices to be about 1/2” thick so they can hold all the yummy toppings. It’s now as simple as rubbing them on both sides with melted oil, coconut sugar, salt and pepper. Place them in a preheated oven and roast for about 20 minutes. Now if they need more time, carefully flip them over and roast another 5-10 minutes. When I used my home oven they took close to 30 minutes, but when I used a commercial oven they were perfectly brown and softened in 20.

While the sweet potatoes are getting their caramelization on, prepare you apples by placing all ingredients in small sauté pan. Bring them to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer until they are soft and the liquid has reduced to a thick consistency.

Also while you are waiting for the sweet potatoes to roast and apples to cook, make the cinnamon pecan crumble by tossing the pecans in spices then drizzling with melted oil, tossing to coat.

When your sweet potatoes are done, pile the pecans on the sweet potatoes. Don’t worry if they fall off, you can straighten them up later, or use the ones that fall onto sheet pan as a garnish. See no worries, this is totally stress free…

Pop the sweet potatoes back into the oven, with the pecan topping and roast for an additional 5-10 minutes or until pecans are golden. Don’t go too far or they will burn.

Finally top the whole works with apples, and any pecans that may have snuck off the top of the sweet potato slices. Arrange on a platter for a pretty presentation. These can be served warm or room temperature. Feel free to make them ahead and reheat. Reheating works best if they are not assembled, but they will still be delicious if time only allows you to build them ahead of time.

I recommend these as a side dish or appetizer, but you could absolutely top them with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and serve as a delicious fun dessert.

However you serve them, enjoy!

Halibut with Ginger and Scallion en pappilote (in paper)

I thought I should write this post today just for the “halibut”…

Sorry I can’t help it, the bad jokes just run in my blood. Have you ever wrapped fish in paper and baked it in the oven? If you haven’t tried it yet, you absolutely should!

There was a day back before I was married that I made Sea Bass topped with green onions and ginger baked en pappilote, then finish seared with oil for a handsome young man. Almost one year later we walked down the aisle. Coincidence? Maybe…

En pappilote is the French term for wrapped in paper. Of course your dinner guests won’t care what it’s called after they taste this! The presentation alone is amazing and the the prep time is perfect. You can put this beauty together in under 10 minutes, pop it in the oven and serve in under 30.

To get started slice your green onions, carrots and bok choy thin. Your green onions and carrots need to be very thin as you will be only cooking them for 15 minutes. To achieve a pretty and thin cut turn your carrots and onions at a slight angle before you begin to cut (this is called a bias cut).

After reserving a couple of the green onions for the top of the fish, mix the balance of the onions, carrots, bok choy, garlic, vinegar and honey along with some fresh cracked black pepper to taste and divide among 4 pieces of parchement paper. The paper should be about 3-4x the size of your fish.

Season your fish with black pepper and a touch of salt, and place on top of your bok choy/veggie pile.

Divide grated ginger and reserved green onions among your halibut filets.

Now to seal your bags, bring two ends together and fold over several times. Doing each side seperately fold the two remaining sides. You will need to fold the paper over itself A LOT of times moving a millimeter each time (seriously for your packet to stay together you must keep the folds super tight!) You are basically crimping the ends. Side note, if you don’t have parchment paper but do have clean brown paper lunch bags, you can rub them with oil and use them in place of the parchement. Just please keep an eye on your oven, obviously all paper is flammable including parchment!

Once you have the packets of fish/veggies sealed place them all on a sheet pan and bake them in your 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes.

While your fish is baking heat the oil on the stove until barely smoking.

Place a package in front of each guest cutting the bag open in front of them pausing to let them enjoy the delicious smell, then sprinkle the filets with sesame seeds. Using a ladle carefully drizzle the hot oil over the entire surface of the fish. It will sizzle! Be careful not to burn anyone!

Enjoy with rice or roasted potatoes and a nice fresh salad. Your friends will think you are now a master chef and you did it in 30 minutes!

Now it’s time to sit back, relax and enjoy the compliments! Cheers!

When you make this snap a pic and share!! We love to see pics of your dishes!

Crunchy Korean BBQ Chicken Wings Instapot

I know what you are thinking, crispy chicken wings from a pressure cooker? Lady you are nuts! But hey don’t stop reading I promise you will be impressed. My husband was blown away thinking I fried them.
It’s super easy too…and fast too!

If your wings aren’t split, cut them apart. Also now would be a great time to trim off any excess fat that may be hanging off your wings.

Place the metal trivet that came with your pressure cooker (if you don’t have a trivet you can grab yours here) and place it in the pot. Salt and pepper your wings and place them on the trivet in layers.

Add one cup of chicken stock, or just water if you don’t have the stock, but the stock adds some great flavor so it’s worth it! Seal the lid on your Instapot and set to manual cook 9 minutes.

Preheat your oven to broil.

While you wait for the wings to cook prepare the sauce. Heat a small saucepan over medium high heat. Drop the coconut oil in and once melted add the garlic and allow to sauté for a minute or two. Be careful garlic burns super fast. Now add the balance of ingredients and allow to simmer while your wings are becoming amazingly juicy.

Once the pressure cooker is done, do a quick release by flipping the top to vent.

Drop your wings in the sauce tossing to coat.
Place wings on a sheet pan prepared with foil and allow to broil for about 6 minutes. Flip over and broil another 2-3 minutes. Be careful, after the first 6 minutes you may need to lower your rack as the sugars in the sauce can get a bit smokey.

Remove from oven, give them another toss in the sauce and serve with celery sticks and blue cheese if you wish. I had to make a second batch right away as they disappeared pretty quickly after I made them…
Cheers!

Albondigas–Spanish Meatballs (kefta style)

We love visiting my family in Marbella, Spain. Not only do we get to spend a lot of time catching up with my favorite Uncle and family, we also enjoy plenty of sun, sand and amazing food. Generally I am all about the fresh fish and eat as much of it as I can while I am so close to the Mediterranean. I also love the Kefta served at Gurrola, a little cantina in Marbella where my Uncle and his buddies can be found most days around noon. The Kefta at Gurrola is a version of the delicious albondigas or Spanish meatball, cooked in a delicious tomato sauce containing several Moroccan style spices, think cumin, cinnamon, etc. Clearly not fresh fish related at all, but so amazing!

Now I am not going to claim these are exactly the same as the deliciously spicy albondigas at Gurrola, nor can I somehow cook up the atmosphere you would enjoy there, but these are as close as my tastebud memories can take me. And when I take a bite of one of these delicious spicy meatballs and close my eyes I can almost smell the Mediterranean Sea and hear my Uncle chatting it up with his buddies.

These come together rather fast and can absolutely be made up a day or two ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator, or frozen for a couple of months, properly stored.

To make these meatballs I have used grassfed ground beef and/or venison or lamb. The slightly earthier flavor of the grassfed beef (or venison or lamb) add to the authentic flavor of the meatballs, not to mention grassfed beef has so many great health benefits compared to commercial beef.

Step one prepare your sauce so it has time to simmer while you assemble your meatballs. Begin by heating a pan over medium high heat. When your pan is hot drizzle in a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil (Spanish if you have it). Sauté onion in oil for 5-7 minutes until softened and fragrant. Add garlic and continue to cook for another minute. Now season your onion and garlic with the paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stirring rather constantly cook for an additional couple of minutes giving the spices time to develop. Lastly add tomatoes to pan along with cayenne, cilantro, parsley and bay leaf. Allow to simmer while you prepare your meatballs. If you made your meatballs in advance, allow sauce to simmer for about 15-20 minutes before adding them to the sauce to cook.

For the meatballs, mix all meatball ingredients together with the exception of the water, using your hands. Take care not to overwork the meatballs as this can make them tough. Once the ingredients are well incorporated, roll them into balls about the size of half a golf ball. Place all the meatballs along with the water into the pan and cover. Lower heat to a simmer and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes.

Top with additional fresh cilantro and parsley. Serve warm with lots of crusty bread for sopping up all of that delicious sauce.

Cheers!

Roasted Rack of Lamb with rosemary and garlic

Roasted Rack of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic

Half way through March already! Please send Spring! I wish I could have grilled this but the weather was so not cooperating…so oven roasted rack of lamb it is.

We were lucky enough to enjoy a trip to Ireland several years ago for business. We decided to take advantage of the fact that we were there and stayed some extra time to really appreciate the sights and people of Ireland. As for the food, yummy! In the beautiful coastal town of Kinsale we enjoyed some amazing sea food, but the balance of the trip I seemed to be eating more than my share of roasted lamb shank with root veggies and brown bread. Yes, lamb. It was so delicious I just couldn’t stop! Back in the US the only lamb I can really appreciate is Australian lamb or sometimes lamb raised by responsible local farmers who allow them to graze freely on grass, etc.

As much as I enjoyed their beautiful lamb shanks my family prefers rack of lamb, so when we are lucky enough to enjoy a nice lamb dinner I usually grab racks. Lucky for me Costco has a decent price on Australian racks and they are super delicious!

Lamb may sound like a kitchen challenge, but I will say fear not! It is a very easy meat to prepare as there is plenty of fat, so if you accidentally cook it a few minutes too long it isn’t a huge deal. I much prefer to use my grill for lamb, but let’s face it sometimes that just doesn’t work out. So today, we are going for a beautiful oven roasted rack.

Step one, prepare your meat by rubbing it with olive oil, rosemary, crushed garlic, course salt and fresh ground pepper. Let it rest for about an hour on the counter, taking the chill off of it so it can be properly seared.

Heat a large roasting pan on high. Drizzle in a bit of olive oil and swirl it around to coat the pan. To avoid smoking too much I pull the pan off the heat for a moment when I add the oil. Returning the hot oiled pan to the stove place your lamb meat/fat side down and sear for about 4 mins per side, or until you have a nice sear on each side. Carefully (the bones will be hot) stand the racks up, meat on the bottom, rib bones on up, interlocking the ribs with other rack. Roast in 400 degree oven or an additional 10-15 minutes or until meat reaches desired doneness, remove from oven.

Let rest 5-7 minutes. It looks pretty amazing to set this on a pretty serving platter, but feel free to take it up a notch cutting the ribs apart by slicing in between bones to make a bone in chop and dipping it in some black and white sea salt. Serve with some sautéed green beans and roasted garlic potatoes and you have yourself a gourmet meal, with your active cooking time around 30 minutes. Enjoy, Cheers!

Roasted Rack of Lamb with Rosemary and Garlic Pan seared and roasted lamb rubbed with crushed garlic and rosemary make a simple elegant meal with less than an hour of active time. Sit back relax and enjoy with a great glass of wine. Cheers!

Pan Seared Wild Salmon

Sometimes we just need a super quick meal that is healthy and easy to clean up! I love to hear about other peoples go to quick meals, but for some reason when people ask me what my favorite is they are surprised when I say fish. For some making fish seems like a tricky task, but I am here to clear that up for your right now. Yes you can make a much more labor intensive fancy dish with a nice piece of fish, but this fancy and quick dish is no slacker in the taste department, I promise. It is also very flexible, so please feel free to play with the herbs and seasonings you use, this is not set in stone!

Note the abstract design of my rosemary. I just tossed my leaves on after I rubbed the fillets with a little salt and pepper, crushed garlic and extra virgin olive oil. Violà dinner into the pan and on the table 15 minutes later. Please forgive the varying sizes of the fish fillets in my picture, they were getting dangerously low in supply of wild salmon at the fish counter today and I had to have it! If you have the same predicament as me, just pull the smaller fillets from the pan a minute or two sooner than the larger ones.

I usually make close to 2lbs at a time as I have a 3 year old who thinks that he has to eat at least an 8 oz portion or larger when fish is served. I am shaking at the thought of my grocery bill 10 years from now! As this recipe is flexible, you can make an 8 oz portion or 4lbs or more at a time just reduce the amount of oil and herbs.

Now for the cooking part, heat your pan on medium high to high heat for a few minutes to get a nice hot cooking surface. Drizzle in a couple tablespoons of olive oil, and place fillets in pan skin side down for about 6 minutes or until the skin is crispy and has released from the pan. Do not touch the fish during this time. If you try to move it once it is in the pan, before it is done, it will stick and tear.

Once your skin is crispy flip your fillets and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes, depending on thickness. Your goal is to have the salmon slightly undercooked in the center, think a medium to medium well steak. You can go well done, your fish will just be a bit dryer.

Serve on a bed of fresh greens, sliced tomato, cucumber and goat cheese with a drizzle of oil and vinegar, or with your side of choice, and enjoy!

Cheers!

Meet the Author

Connect With Me