Mint Chimichurri

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/mint_chimichurri/

We served this with lamb for Easter dinner, but would be great with any grilled meat (or up the oil & vinegar and serve as a salad dressing)

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1 cup fresh mint (spearmint) leaves, packed
• 1 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves, packed
• 1 Tbs honey
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 6 Tbsp olive oil

Method

1 Place garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until chopped. Add the mint and parsley leaves and pulse until finely chopped. (Alternatively chop everything finely by hand.) Remove to a medium bowl.

2 Add the vinegar, salt, and red pepper flakes to the mint parsley mixture and stir until the salt has dissolved. Stir in the olive oil.

Read more: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/mint_chimichurri/#ixzz4eXNwLi8G

Horseradish Sauce

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/horseradish_sauce/

Horseradish Sauce Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 3 Tbsp prepared horseradish (here's how to make prepared horseradish)
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp chopped chives or the greens of a green onion

METHOD

Mix ingredients together. Serve as a sauce for steak or pork.

Makes about 1/2 a cup.

Great Steak Marinade

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/condiments/firehall-steak-marinade-works-on-chicken-too/

½ cups Olive Oil
½ cups Teriyaki Sauce
¼ cups Brown Sugar
4 cloves Garlic, Peeled And Halved
3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
3 teaspoons Montreal Steak Spice
1 teaspoon Dried Mustard
1 teaspoon Fresh Ginger, Grated
Preparation Instructions
Combine ingredients in a large Ziploc bag (don’t be like me—make sure there are no holes in the bag ), close bag and squeeze to mix the ingredients.
Add 4 medium striploin steaks (or your choice of beef steak) to the bag and seal. Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour or even overnight to marinate and then grill the steaks.
Steaks can be frozen in the marinade as well, just defrost them in the refrigerator and grill. Recipe can also be doubled to increase the amount of marinade. Enjoy!

Katie's Salmon Glaze

Easy salmon glaze: marinade in maple syrup, soy sauce (just enough to make the syrup runny), and crushed red pepper (we used chile powder since the beach house didn't have crushed red pepper). Keep basting the fish with the marinade as it grills (makes a yummy shell on it) ~ Keith did a great job. Enjoy! :)

Creamy Cucumber Salad Dressing

1/2 cup cucumber, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon dill
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno pepper
1 large garlic clove
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup yogurt (or, combine yogurt & sour cream)
1 -2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Combine all of these ingredients in a blender, process for a few seconds and it’s done

Lemongrass Dressing

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=671463

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onions
• 2 tablespoons chile paste with garlic
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped peeled fresh lemongrass

Sorrel Pesto

http://www.god-dess.com/services_recipesMay05.html

Also good with same amount of arugula or a mix of both

• 2 c sorrel
• 1 T garlic, finely minced (2-3 cloves)
• 2 T lemon or orange juice
• ¼ c extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ c toasted pine nuts
• ¼ c grated hard cheese (parmesan, pecorino, asiago, or your favorite)
• ½ t salt
• 1 t crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• up to 1 t sugar if tastes bitter
  

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a blender; blend until smooth, stopping the blender often and using a spoon to force the leaves into the blender blades. To facilitate blending, it may be necessary to add up to ¼ c cold water.

Cranberry Sauce

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1860119

Yield

10 servings (serving size: 1/4 cup)

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup cabernet sauvignon or other dry red wine
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients except cranberries in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Add cranberries; simmer 12 minutes or until cranberries pop and mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature. Cover and chill (mixture will thicken as it chills).

Pork and Shrimp Spring Roll (Goi Cuon) with Peanut Sauce (Nuoc Leo)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/pork-and-shrimp-spring-roll-goi-cuon-with-peanut-sauce-nuoc-leo-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

• 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Peanut or olive oil, optional
• 1/2 pound fine rice vermicelli (bun)
• 12 (10-inch) rice paper wrappers (banh trang)
• 1 pound boiled shrimp, sliced in 1/2 lengthwise
• 1 medium cucumber, halved lengthwise and then thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 1/2 cups thinly shredded romaine lettuce
• 48 mint leaves
• 24 cilantro sprigs
• 48 Thai basil leaves
• 1 carrot, cut into julienne
• Peanut Sauce, (Nuoc Leo), recipe follows

Directions

Place the pork tenderloin in a bowl with the shallot, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, black pepper, and oil, if using, and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate, turning occasionally, at least 1 hour and up to overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat a grill to high. Grill the tenderloin, turning occasionally, until just cooked through and an instant-read thermometer registers an internal temperature of 145 degrees F. Transfer tenderloin to a plate and set aside to cool to room temperature before proceeding. Once cooled, slice tenderloin into 1/8-inch thick slices and set aside, covered and refrigerated, until you are ready to assemble the spring rolls.

Prepare the rice vermicelli according to package directions and strain in a colander. Run under cold running water until cool and set aside to drain.

Assemble the rolls 1 at a time: Dip 1 spring roll wrapper into lukewarm water and quickly transfer to a clean kitchen towel. (Wrapper will soften within seconds.) Lay 4 shrimp halves in a horizontal line across the center of each wrapper and top with a few tablespoons of cooked (well-drained) vermicelli. Top the vermicelli with 1 or 2 slices of cucumber, 2 tablespoons or so of the shredded romaine, 4 mint leaves, 2 sprigs of cilantro, and 4 basil leaves. Place a few sticks of carrot julienne along the top of the filling ingredients and top with 2 slices of pork. Carefully pull the lower edge of the wrapper up and over the filling. Fold the 2 sides inward over the filling and press to seal. Work carefully so as not to tear the wrapper. Once both sides are folded inward over the filling, roll the spring roll upwards so that the filling is tightly contained and roll up to seal. Set the spring roll aside on a plate, covered with a damp paper towel or damp clean kitchen towel. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Once you have assembled all of the spring rolls, serve them immediately – either at room temperature or slightly chilled, with the Peanut Sauce on the side for dipping.

Peanut Sauce (Nuoc Leo):

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon chili paste
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chicken stock or water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/4 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, finely chopped
• 1 fresh red Thai chile pepper, seeded and thinly sliced, optional
• Sriracha sauce, for garnishing, optional

Heat the oil in a small saucepan and, when hot, add the garlic, chile paste, and tomato paste, and cook until garlic is golden, about 30 seconds. Add the broth, sugar, peanut butter and hoisin sauce and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and cool slightly before serving. Serve in small bowls, garnished with the peanuts, sliced chiles and optional hot sauce.

May be served warm or at room temperature.

Yield: about 1 1/4 cups

Garlic Scape Pesto

http://blog.washingtonpost.com/mighty-appetite/2006/06/my_friend_the_garlic_scape_1.html

Ingredients:
1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Method:
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated.

Lemon Swirled Cheesecake with Blackberry Sauce

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=223026

Lemon Curd

Yield

1 1/3 cups (serving size: 1 tablespoon)

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 large lemons)
• 2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine

Preparation

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a whisk. Cook until sugar dissolves and mixture is light in color (about 3 minutes). Stir in lemon juice and butter; cook for 5 minutes or until mixture thinly coats the back of a spoon, stirring constantly with a whisk. Cool. Cover and chill (the mixture will thicken as it cools).

Note: Lemon Curd can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can easily double the recipe and freeze half of it in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag. Thaw in the refrigerator, and use within 1 week of thawing.

Cheesecake

Yield

16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons chilled butter or stick margarine, cut into small pieces
• 1 tablespoon ice water
• Cooking spray
• 
  Filling:
• 3 (8-ounce) blocks fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs
• 1 cup Lemon Curd

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare the crust, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup, and level with a knife. Place 2/3 cup flour and 2 tablespoons sugar in a food processor; pulse 2 times or until combined. Add chilled butter; pulse 6 times or until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor on, slowly pour ice water through food chute, processing just until blended (do not allow dough to form a ball). Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

To prepare the filling, beat cheeses at high speed of a mixer until smooth. Add 1 3/4 cups sugar and the next 4 ingredients (1 3/4 cups sugar through salt); beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Pour the cheese mixture into prepared pan. Spoon mounds of Lemon Curd over filling, and swirl together using the tip of a knife. Bake at 325° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cheesecake is almost set. Remove cheesecake from oven, and cool to room temperature. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours.

Blackberry Sauce

Yield

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 pt. fresh blackberries, halved
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger