Kale Chips with Nutritional Yeast

This is just a little twist on the kale chips. We like a little kick to it, so we add some red pepper flakes. They can be omitted if the heat is not desired.

Kale Chips with Nutritional Yeast

Preheat oven to 300F.

5-6 cups kale leaves, centers removed and loosely chopped
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 heaping teaspoon nutritional flakes

On a foil or parchment lined baking sheet, toss kale with olive oil and sea salt (massage in well)!
Sprinkle with red pepper flakes, if desired.

Bake kale about 20-30 minutes until crispy, but not burnt.
Remove from oven and sprinkle nutritional yeast over top.

Roasted Tomato Salsa with Sirloin Tacos

We are in the middle of football playoffs, Go Seahawks!!!  So I was perusing Fine Cooking magazine and came across this recipe. This is perfect as it can be prepared ahead of game time and served at halftime. The salsa is also great with chips on the side.
Salsa
Sirloin Steak
shredded lettuce
12-16 small corn tortillas

Roasted Tomato Salsa with Sirloin Tacos

Roasted Tomato Salsa
1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
juice of 1/2 lime, plus more if needed to taste
6 medium Roma tomatoes
3 fresh jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 clove garlic, peeled
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1-2 teaspoons kosher salt, to taste

In a small bowl, soak the onion in juice of 1/2 a lime for 15 minutes. In a dry, heavy non stick or cast iron skillet over high heat, roast the tomatoes, turning frequently about 15 minutes. Add the pepper and roast about 8-10 minutes and the garlic for 2-5 minutes. Put the roasted vegetables in the blender and pulse, mixture should remain slightly chunky.
Transfer to a serving bowl and add the onion, lime juice, cilantro, and salt. Taste and add more salt or lime juice, if needed.

Rub for Steak
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed with fingers
In a small bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.

Take the dry rub and put if over both sides of 2 pound sirloin steak. Let sit for about half hour at room temperature and then grill until steak is cooked medium rare-medium. Allow steak to sit for 15 minutes before slicing thinly.
In a warm corn tortilla, place some shredded lettuce, steak slices and top with salsa. Serve.

Sun Dried Tomato Basil Butter over Grilled Salmon

In the northwest, we love our fresh caught, wild, Pacific salmon. To tell you the truth, it is great with very little seasoning but today we wanted to dress it up.

Sun Dried Tomato Basil Butter over Grilled Salmon

1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick) at room temp
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil
8 basil leaves, torn
sea salt and fresh pepper, to taste

In a small food processor, blend together butter, tomatoes and basil until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place in fridge until ready to use.
Take salmon off of grill and top with a tablespoon of butter.
Note: I have since used this butter on pasta and also on a sourdough baguette. It would work well on other types of fish and freezes well for future use.

Baked Garlic

There are so many uses for baked garlic, smeared over french bread or as a spread for sandwiches. Baked garlic is great in mashed potatoes, risottos, and pastas or can be mixed into salad dressings or dips. You will find so many uses, it is best to bake several heads to keep on hand. Baked garlic has a milder taste than fresh garlic.

Baked Garlic

1 head of garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
dash of sea salt
sprig of fresh thyme
Preheat oven to 400F.
Cut 1/4-1/2 inch tops off of garlic head.
Place garlic on a sheet of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and thyme and loosely roll up foil around garlic.
Cook in oven 35-40 minutes until garlic is softened.
Cool slightly and squeeze out garlic cloves.

Easy Hollandaise Sauce

Luscious, lemony, creamy, dreamy Hollandaise sauce. My family requires it Christmas morning for their Eggs Benedict. It elevates any dish to festive status. Serve over roasted asparagus, or broccoli. Spooned on top of poached salmon or steak garnished with crab.

Easy Hollandaise Sauce

3 egg yolks
dash of cayenne or hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice + more to taste
pinch of salt and pepper
10 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Place egg, cayenne, mustard, 1 T. of lemon juice, salt and pepper in a blender and mix on low speed until combined.
In a saucepan, heat butter until melted and hot, but not brown.
With the blender running on high, slowly add melted butter in a stream until fully combined. Taste and add more lemon juice if desired.

Tapenade

Tapenade

Tapenade is great on French bread or crackers, the olive paste a staple of sunny Mediterranean countries. Spread over feta cheese for an appetizer, spooned on fish or vegetable soup for a main course.

1 cup pitted Nicoise or Kalamata olives
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 Tablespoon capers
2 anchovy fillets
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
fresh pepper, to taste

Combine olives, garlic, capers, anchovies, and lemon juice in the food processor. Slowly add olive oil.
Can be stored in the fridge up to 5 days.

Parmesan Cheese Crackers

I purchased a nice little cracker recently that we really enjoyed, but at $7.00 for 18 crisps I am hesitant to buy them again. So a little experimenting at home and a new addiction was born.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
1 cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese ( I used a bag from TJs)
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Combine cheese and seasoning and place about a tablespoon on a sil pat (silicone lined baking sheet) and bake for 5-7 minutes, until lightly browned and bubbly. Remove and place crackers on a plate to cool (or paper towel to take off some oil)

These little crackers would be a great addition along side soup or salad or broken up and used as a crouton on Caesar salad. I made some with sprinkled smoked paprika on top and it was great as a dipper for hummus. They can also be used as a base for canapes.

Note: When these are taken out of the oven and still warm, they are pliable. If put over the handle of a wooden spoon or dowel, they form a taco shell shape that could be stuffed with Caesar salad (cute little bite size party idea).
-Warm and draped over small, upside down, muffin tin they make a little cup to hold a filling.
-Made larger and draped over the bottom of a salad bowl, allow to cool and you have created the base to hold a salad.
-The seasonings can be added or omitted to compliment what they are served with.

Chimichurri Sauce

Glistening, emerald, almost pesto like Chimichurri sauce, is originally from Argentina but has been adapted to include other herbs besides parsley. I keep reading about it used on steaks but what else? Tonight we marinated chicken breasts in the Chimichurri,  grilled them on the barbecue, and poured fresh sauce on top. Someday we will try it on a grilled steak, a fresh halibut, roasted vegetables, oh yeah, and since I would like it again sooner, how about a little crostini? Toasted french bread slices with a little melted goat cheese on top and a drizzle of the Argentine pesto?

1 cup lightly packed, Italian parsley
3 large cloves fresh garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
2 Tablespoons fresh Oregano leaves
1 large shallot, diced
2 green onions or chives, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
3 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup olive oil
Lightly pulse all the ingredients in the food processor until combined but still has a course texture.

Alfie's Seasoning

This is the seasoning my Dad used in his restaurants and it is our all purpose seasoning for the grill, meats, fish, and vegetables.

He wrote it on a Radio Cab slip for me about 35 years ago. The only change I made was omitting the msg.

I miss him as he was a wonderful example of grace, joy, love of all people and supremely hospitable. Although I know the recipe by heart, I sometimes pull it out just to look at his handwriting.

• 1 pound of kosher salt
• 3 ounces freshly ground black pepper
• 1 ounce of paprika
• 1 tablespoon onion salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon celery salt

Weigh the first 3 ingredients, add together in a bowl and mix well. Put in a salt shaker.