Greek lamb sliders with tzatziki, feta and grilled onions.

I think lamb beats out beef by a whisker…or maybe a hoof, flavor-wise, in my book. I had a  Greek lamb burger last week and had to re-create it at home. Instead of a burger, I decided to try sliders instead. I just started working part-time for a catering company, and since I’ve been reviewing menus and tasting bite sized  foods, I’m thinking “small” lately. I prefer my lamb on the medium rare side for the best flavor. I topped each slider with homemade Tzatziki, grilled onions and feta cheese. I hand-cut some potatoes, tossed them with olive oil and Greek seasoning and baked them for Greek oven fries.

The post Greek Lamb Sliders appeared first on What A Girl Eats.

Hazelnut ice cream torte with candied hazelnuts and salted caramel sauce.

I’ve dreamt about this dessert for 30 years. Well, not every night, but it was one of my favorite desserts to make during cooking school. I wasn’t much of a pastry girl, but I rocked when it came to making sorbets and ice cream. We made this lovely hazelnut frozen ice cream with a layer of hazelnut brittle. I’ve had the recipe, that I had carefully typed out in my notebook vowing to make it one day…except not enough to serve 30!. Dozens of eggs and a gallon of heavy cream went in to the original recipe. Just a few weeks ago, I went hunting the original recipe and could not find it. Oh, well, I wanted to make a simpler version of the ice cream anyway. I used a good quality, full-fat French Vanilla ice cream, instead of making the ice cream from scratch. I also added a layer of salted caramel sauce. The hardest part of the whole dessert was waiting for it to harden over-night. This would be an elegant dessert for a summer dinner party or celebration.

The post Hazelnut Ice Cream Torte appeared first on What A Girl Eats.

Rosemary shrimp with rice pilaf.

I think that a chef “hears” the notes of herbs in the same way that a musician hears the notes of music. And just as a musician creates either a simple etude or a complex symphony, a chef  can create a simple one-note dish or  a crescendo of flavors. Certain herbs and spices overlap cuisines, cilantro is equally at home in Mexico as it is in China, cardamom travels from Scandinavia to India and mint makes both Greek and Thai food sing. I love rosemary, lemon and garlic for a simple marinade. The acid of the lemon balances nicely with the strong resiny rosemary. I use this marinade on chicken, beef and lamb. Shrimp requires just a fraction of time to marinate, making a perfect, quick mid-week meal. While the shrimp is marinating, I start the pilaf and have dinner on the table in under 45 minutes. Using turmeric in place of saffron gives the pilaf a nice golden color at a fraction of the price.

Rosemary Shrimp

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined.

Juice of one large lemon

1/3 cup olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoons finely chopped rosemary

3 cloves minced garlic

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Add shrimp and stir  until shrimp is coated with marinade. Set aside, about 20-30 minutes.

Discard marinade. Grill shrimp over medium heat, about 2-3 minutes per side or until just done and pink.

Rice Pilaf

1 cup long grain white rice

1 medium onion, diced

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon butter

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper, more to taste

1. Heat oil and butter in a sauce pan over a medium heat. onions, and sauté 2-3 minutes, add rice and turmeric and continue stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic, stirring 1 or 2 minutes until fragrant.
   
2. Add broth and bring to a boil, turn down heat to low, cover and cook rice until tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in toasted almonds and adjust seasoning to taste.

The post The Rhythm Of Herbs appeared first on What A Girl Eats.

Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Pesto Pasta

I used to make all-in-one pasta dishes with chicken and lots of veggies and cheese. Everyone loves that sort of dish. There usually isn’t a recipe, just sauté a bunch of whatever veggies I have on hand with a bit of cooked protein and a light sauce. I was still in my comfort food mode last week and wanted a creamy, cheesy dish. Since I rarely make pasta any more, the kids get excited. Even if it is gluten free, brown rice pasta. Pesto makes just about anything taste great, so I decided to make this with a creamy pesto sauce…using, yes, cream! This is also a great way to use up left overs. I scoured my fridge for a little of this and a little of that. You could add whatever you have on hand. I sautéed some broccoli, tossed in some chicken and cheese and baked it all just until the cheese melted. Family happy.

The post Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Pesto Penne appeared first on What A Girl Eats.

Greek Spring Soup

I’ve been absent. This is the longest I’ve gone, since I started my blog nearly 2 years ago, without posting. Those who follow me on Facebook, know that just 2 weeks ago I lost a student of mine in a tragic accident. He was hit by a car while crossing the street with his father.

It knocked the wind out of me. More than I thought it would. I cannot imagine how parents who lose their children cope on a daily basis. He was “my” boy for 6 hours a day, for 120 days. I shouldn’t say this, because teachers aren’t meant to have favorites, but he was my favorite. He was a quiet, gentle soul, with big, dark, sparkling eyes. He was patient, more patient than any five year old I’ve ever known. You might miss him in a crowd, because he didn’t have a ‘big’ personality, he was bright, yet shy and modest. But I gravitated towards him…I wanted to make sure he was heard, over all the loud and impatient students, who usually get noticed first. I know he liked me to…I could see his eyes shine when he looked at me, and his mom told me he was thrilled when I shortened his name, “Ernesto”, first to Ernie, then just to “Ern”. I was connected to the family as well. Of the three families, and five cousins at my school, I taught four kids. Ernie’s aunt asked me to sit with the family at the funeral, and to speak about him. “Please tell everyone, no black! Dodger blue!” And So I wore Dodger Blue, and spoke about Ernie. It was all at once, the easiest and most difficult eulogy I’ve ever had to deliver.
I didn’t cook much that week. I’d come home from school and crawl into bed, and sleep. My husband and kids still wanted to eat. I left them to forage. I wasn’t hungry. There were left-overs…In-N-Out Burgers right down the street. They’d survive. They did. Last weekend I started cooking again. But all I wanted was comfort food. Creamy and cheesy or soupy and warm. One of Sophie’s favorite soups is Greek Avgolemono Soup, Chicken Soup with Egg and Lemon from our local Greek restaurant. The weather was over-cast and matched how I was feeling inside. So I decided we needed soup…Soup and tea cures just about everything! Real Avgolemono Soup is just rich, homemade chicken broth, chicken, lemon, egg and dill. I always tweak and add more vegetables to just about anything I make, and this soup was no exception. I had a big bunch of asparagus, my favorite vegetable, which I threw in the pot with carrots and onions. So, I call this Greek Spring Soup, because that what it feels and tastes like.

Greek Spring Soup

8 cups chicken broth, homemade or canned

3 cups diced or shredded cooked chicken

Olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 bay leaf

2/3 cup arborio rice

2 large eggs

Juice of one lemon

2 cups finely chopped asparagus

2 cups diced carrots

1 cup of fresh chopped dill, divided

Kosher salt and fresh pepper to taste
Fresh minced chives for garnish

1. In a large stock pot, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onions until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup dill, sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add chicken broth, bay leaf and bring to a boil.
2. Add rice and simmer on low about 10 minutes. Add carrots and asparagus and cook an addition 5-10 minutes or until rice and vegetables are tender. Remove bay leaf.
3. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine eggs, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl, whisk to combine. Slowly whisk about half of the hot stock into the egg mixture, stirring constantly, to keep eggs from curdling. Return mixture to stock pot, stirring to combine.
4. Add remaining fresh dill, and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

The post Soup Cures Almost Anything appeared first on What A Girl Eats.

Quick Chicken Tacos with Pickled Onion and Cilantro Slaw.

Maybe it’s the Californian in me, but I love Mexican food. Sophie could live on tacos, quesadillas and burritos, so we always have corn tortillas and salsa in the fridge and beans in the pantry for quick meals. Tacos in Mexico, or at a taco truck here in L.A., tend to be much more simple than the extravaganzas you often see in Mexican restaurants, loaded with ground meat, orange shredded cheese, lettuce and heaps of guacamole. We often serve our tacos with cabbage instead of lettuce. The Pickled Onion and Cilantro Slaw is a tangy compliment to the slightly spicy chicken, salty cheese and creamy avocado. These tacos taste best when your bite has a little bit of everything!

Quick 30 Minute Tacos with Pickled Onion and Cilantro Slaw

1 1/4 pounds chicken thighs or breast, fat removed and sliced into strips

1 teaspoon chili powder, or more if you like it spicier.

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix seasonings together in a medium sized bowl. Toss chicken strips. Set aside while preparing the slaw.

1. Heat a skillet over a medium high heat and quickly stir-fry chicken strips until cooked through and browned, about 5 minutes.

Serve in warm corn tortillas with Pickled Onion and Cilantro Slaw , Cojito or other fresh Mexican cheese and avocado. Serves 4, 2 tacos each. Serve with Black Beans and Cilantro Rice

Pickled Onion and Cilantro Slaw

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 head medium sized green cabbage, shredded or thinly sliced, about 4 cups

2 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup chopped cilantro, (a handful)

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

1/4 cups fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons cumin seeds, lightly toasted

1. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil with a pinch of salt. Drop sliced onions into water. Boil for 1 minute. Drain and immediately plunge drained onions into ice cold water to stop them from cooking.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together, juices, oil, sugar, salt and pepper.
3. Toss cabbage, green and red onions and cilantro with dressing to coat. Refrigerate.

The post Chicken Tacos with Pickled Onion and Cilantro Slaw appeared first on What A Girl Eats.

Gluten Free Carrot Cupcakes

For many years, we’ve been spending Easter Sunday with our friends, the Haights, and for just as long, I’ve been baking this carrot cake recipe. I want to say carrot cake is my favorite cake, but I think it’s because of the frosting. I usually scrape off the frosting from cupcakes or cake, ’cause I’m just not a buttercream fan…but cream cheese frosting?..that’s a whole different story! Maybe that’s why my favorite pie, is CHEESECAKE…it’s all about the cream cheese! This recipe comes from Deli Lane’s in South Miami. I found the recipe in my local newspaper.  It’s loaded with pineapple, coconuts and nuts for a tropical twist.

This year, I  adapted the recipe to be gluten free using Jeanne’s Gluten Free Baking Mix, which I keep in my refrigerator. What I like about Jeanne’s philosophy is, that she wants her baked goods to taste like the real thing, so she doesn’t cut corners by using sugar or egg substitutes or low-fat ingredients. Cookies, cakes and cupcakes are meant to be treats, not every day snacks, so why not splurge once in a while with all real ingredients? The recipe is meant to be a layer cake, but this year, I decided to make them in cupcake form. I added 2 cups of grated carrots, instead of the 1 cup the recipe called for, decreased the pineapple and added an extra teaspoon of vanilla. I really don’t like “fussy” food. The “cake-pop” trend was completely lost on me, for so many reasons. My 12 year old, however, thinks cake pops are the “bomb”. Dan H., loves marzipan as much as I do, so I make little marzipan carrots for each slice, or in this case, each cupcake, for him. Marzipan carrots are about as “cute” as I  care to get. For more gluten free recipes, check out Jeanne’s website, The Art of Gluten Free Baking.

Deli Lane’s Carrot Cake (adapted)

2 cups  Jeanne’s Gluten Free Baking Mix, (or all purpose flour)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon slat

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup crushed pineapple, well drained

2 cups medium grated carrots

1 cup finely grated coconut ( I used sweetened)

1 cup chopped walnuts

To make the cake:

1. Place flour mixture, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and mix with a wire whisk.
2. Beat sugar, eggs buttermilk, oil and vanilla into the flour mixture. Fold in carrots, pineapple, coconut and walnuts to the batter.

Here are the directions for the layer cake. Grease and flour a 10″ springform pan. Add batter to the pan. Place on a cookie sheet in a preheated 250 degree F. oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack before removing from pan. Then slice cake horizontally to make 2 layers, rather than baking two thinner layers. (Note* I made 24 cupcakes, using about 1/4 cup batter for each cupcake liner. I baked them at the same, lower temperature, of 250 F. for  60 minutes.)

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick, (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until creamy and fluffy. Add vanilla and confectioner’s sugar. Start mixer slowly and mix until well blended.

The post Carrot Cake Cupcakes appeared first on What A Girl Eats.

Spring and lamb go together perfectly. Lamb is my favorite red meat, and if it weren’t so expensive, I’d probably serve it more than a few times a year. But with Easter coming, I couldn’t resist. I generally buy the leg, bone in, but couldn’t find one that hadn’t been boned and tied already. When I cook a large roast, whether beef or lamb, I like to spike it with slivers of garlic, in addition to a spice rub, for extra flavor. The Fresh Mint Sauce is a must to accompany lamb. If you’ve ever had that cloying, electric green stuff called mint jelly, try this instead. It’s tangy, slightly sweet and simply made using very little sugar and malt vinegar. I’m always torn between serving carrots with fresh dill or fresh mint, or roasted asparagus and roasted potatoes with fresh rosemary or boiled new potatoes with fresh mint. It’s a minty fresh meal! In the end, I chose Rosemary Roasted Baby Potatoes and Roasted Asparagus with a squeeze of lemon. The recipe for Mint Sauce comes from the old Time/Life Series, Foods of the World, The Cooking of the British Isles. My mom collected the whole set in the ’60′s and has given me the entire hard back collection and some of the spiral bound recipes books. It’s also fun to see how “food photography” has changed over the last 40 plus years.

Roast Leg of Lamb  (adapted from Foods of the World, The Cooking of the British Isle)

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees F.

5-6 pound leg of lamb, trimmed of excess fat. (Mine was boned, so it weighed 4.25 pounds)

3 tablespoons kosher salt

2-3 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped (about 3 tablespoons)

2 teaspoons black pepper

3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled, and sliced into thin slivers

For faster cooking, bring meat to room temperature. Mix salt, rosemary and pepper in a small bowl.

With a long, thin knife, make several deep cuts into the roast. Put a sliver of garlic into each cut. Coat all sides of meat with rosemary/salt rub.

Rosemary rub, slivers of garlic inserted into lamb.

Roast lamb, fat side up, at 500 degrees for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to 375 degrees and continue roasting until internal temperature reaches the proper temperature to your liking. We prefer ours medium rare, so I pulled mine at 138 degrees F. and it rose another 15 degrees after I took it out and wrapped it in foil for 20 minutes.

If you prefer yours rare, pull at 130*, medium, pull at 145* and well-done, 150*. I like to error on the side of ‘too rare’, because you can’t go back once you’ve over-cooked.

Fresh Mint Sauce  (from Foods of the World, The Cooking of the British Isles) Make ahead of time. It will be thin and have the consistency of an au jus.

1/4 cup water

1-2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup (or so) finely chopped fresh mint leaves

1/2 cup malt vinegar (use malt vinegar, wine or cider vinegar  won’t give the same flavor)

pinch of kosher salt

Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely. Remove pan from heat and stir int the mint leave and vinegar. Taste and add more sugar if you prefer a sweeter sauce. Set aside at room temperature for 2-3 hours.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

Potatoes should all be uniform in size. So cut larger potatoes if necessary. Toss in olive oil an finely chopped rosemary, 1 clove of minced garlic and kosher salt. Roast with lamb until golden brown.

Roasted Asparagus with Fresh Lemon

Preheat oven to broil. Trim ends of asparagus, on a baking sheet, roll in olive oil and kosher salt. Roast 5-7 minutes on middle rack of oven. Squeeze with fresh lemon juice.

The post Classic Leg Of Lamb appeared first on What A Girl Eats.