Honey Soy Glazed Salmon.

Being Greek and raised with a Mediterranean influenced diet I have an indescribable love for honey. I had ginger root left over from the other night that I wanted to be sure I used before went it bad (I hate wasting food) So I came up with this, combining 2 of my favorite ingredients; ginger+honey.

This is the perfect 'weekday dinner'. It's so simple. Mix ingredients, marinade, bake. After working a LONG day at work I am 'ok' with simple, effortless dinner.


Honey Soy Glazed Salmon.

Ingredients:

• 2 filets of salmon
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon stone-ground mustand or Dijon
• 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger root
• pinch of crushed red pepper if you to give it a kick

Place salmon in a shallow bowl or dish

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl then pour over salmon, reserving about 1/4 cup.

Let marinade for about 30 minutes, meanwhile preheat oven to 400

Remove fish from marinade; set marinade aside. Place fish in a greased baking dish and bake for 15- 20 min, baste a few times with leftover marinade. When done the salmon should be flaky and easy to fork.

Drizzle remaining marinade over salmon and enjoy!

Crispy Orange+Ginger Beef.

I had sirloin in my freezer for awhile now and wanted to try something different. I had all these ingredients except for the fresh ginger root. Luckily, I have a market 1/2 a block from my apartment!

The orange+ginger in this dish really pop. Make sure you use the fresh ginger, if not you're really missing out.

Crispy Orange+Ginger Beef

Ingredients:

•  1 1/2 pounds beef top sirloin cut in thin chunks
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 orange, squeezed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (I use low sodium)
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons orange zest
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 cups of oil for frying ( I used light olive oil)

*Serve with rice of choice and steamed broccoli. I used brown jasmine rice, I am a huge fan of fragrant rice.

Lay beef strips out in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Allow to dry in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

 In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, rice vinegar, orange juice, salt and soy sauce. Set aside.
Meanwhile, prepare rice of choice and broccoli

Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Toss dried beef in cornstarch to coat.

 Fry in the hot oil in small batches until crispy and golden brown; set aside on a paper lined plate. Drain all of the oil from the wok except about 1 tablespoon.

Add orange zest, ginger and garlic to the remaining oil, and cook briefly until fragrant (about 1 minute).

Add the soy sauce mixture to the wok, bring to a boil, and cook until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes.

 Add beef, and heat through, stirring to coat (about 3-5 minutes).

Serve over rice+broccoli

~j

Rosemary Beef Tenderloin with Shallots + Red Wine Glaze.

Ahh the holidays! I really love everything about the holiday season, especially since I moved up north! I don't mean to dis my home state (Florida), but with the brisk air, city decor and the possible chance of snow I find myself doing something 'christmas' everynight!
Over the past 2 years my boyfriend and I started a few Christmas traditions of our own. One being our very own Christmas celebration! This year for the 'Christmas Celebration" I wanted to try and make something new. Everything in this dish I love, so I put it all together and got the best beef tenderloin I have ever tasted, really... promise!

Rosemary Beef Tenderloin with Shallots and Red Wine Glaze

Ingredients:
Serves 4-5

• 1.5 lbs Beef Tenderloin
• 10 springs of rosemary
• 8-10 shallots, trimmed and peeled
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Let tenderloin come to room temperature, about 45 minutes.

 Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in center.

Arrange 4 rosemary sprigs in a medium roasting pan; place tenderloin on top. The place the other 4 rosemary sprigs on top of the tenderloin. Arrange shallots around tenderloin. Rub meat and shallots with oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Roast 25 minutes. Turn shallots for even browning; if roast is dry, baste with more oil or pan juices.

 Cook until shallots are golden about 10 to 15 minutes more

Meat should register 120 degrees with meat thermometer (I like it on the pink side) timing will vary with thickness of meat. Transfer meat and shallots to a medium platter. Let sit 20 minutes at room temperature before carving.

Meanwhile, chop remaining rosemary into small pieces. In a saute pan over high heat, scrape the remains from the roasting pan into the saute pan - add wine,stock and rosemary. Let simmer until liquid has reduced by half, about 6 to 8 minutes. 

Serve over the beef and shallots. I served this dish with grit patties (coming soon)

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!

-J

Spicy Breaded and Baked Pork Chops.

I have vowed to my friend Trish that this winter I would post healthier dishes. Don't get me wrong we love comfort food, I won't neglect that this winter but with the new year coming up I thought I would get a jump start on a healthier habit.

Every time I think 'healthy', chicken comes to mind. Honestly, I get pretty bored with chicken so I like to explore other healthy options. Pork - 'the other white meat' has about a 160 calories and 26 grams of protein while a chicken breast has about 120 calories and 23 grams of protein. Being so similar why not mix it up a bit!


Spicy Breaded and Baked Pork Chops


Ingredients:

•  2 boneless pork chops
• 1/2 cup of skim milk
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced ( I used the Garlic Zoom)
• 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 1/2 breadcrumbs
• 1/4 romano cheese
• salt and pepper TT

Preheat oven to 400

In a medium bowl, combine the milk, garlic, red pepper, paprika, salt, pepper TT. Stir well

Add pork chop and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl add breadcrumbs, romano cheese, chili powder, salt and pepper TT

One pork chop at a time, add into the breadcrumb bowl and coat well

Place on pan, bake for 20-25 min until top is golden brown

~j

Greek Stuffed Bell Peppers.

So it's been awhile..

I have been SO busy I've been neglecting my blog! Between being swamped at work, Christmas shopping, decorating and baby shower planning I haven't posted in over a month. I guess my New Years resolution should be to post a few times a week with NO exceptions.

I've been wanting to blog more about Greek food. So after a long hiatus it only seemed appropriate I start back up with the food that holds a special place in my heart.. Greek.  I grew up eating stuffed bell peppers, naturally my Yiayia makes it best but I'm sure this will her proud

Greek Stuffed Bell Peppers

Ingredients:

• 6 large bell peppers
• Between 1 - 1.5 lbs ground beef
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup rice
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• salt, pepper cinnamon, seasoned breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350

Cut off stem and clean out peppers

Arrange peppers in the pan, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar in the bottom of the peppers

In a large saute' pan with a 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and ground pepper lightly brown chopped onions

Add ground beef to onions and brown

After meat is browned add stewed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and rice, let simmer for about 10 min. If the mixture seems alittle dry add 1/2 cup of wate. Then add parsley and salt&pepper to taste. Stir mixture well

Stuff peppers with the mixture then lightly sprinkle the top with sugar and breadcrumbs

Replace caps on peppers and sprinkle with breadcrumbs

Add a 1/2 of water to the bottom the pan (so the peppers don't dry out). Cover tightly with foil and bake for 1.5 hours, then remove the foil and bake for 30-45 minutes until tops are brown and rice is soft.

opa!

Baby Portobello + Artichoke Chicken.

 Each time I'm at the grocery store I always stock up on chicken. Honestly, I really don't even like chicken all that much, but it's a freezer staple, for whatever reason. I like to try and do different and exciting recipes with chicken, I'm definetly not a fan of simple grilled chicken. So here goes one attempt...

Baby Portobello + Artichoke Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of butter ( I use light)
• 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• Salt & pepper- dash here and there
• 1/4 cup all -purpose flour
• 1 can of low sodium chicken broth
• 1 lemon squeezed
• 1 lb fresh baby portobello mushrooms, sliced
• 1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained
• 1 tablespoon worecestershire sauce
• Dash- crushed red pepper (optional)

In a large skillet melt the butter over medium heat. Add in chicken and season with salt and pepper, brown chicken on both sides- remove from pan and set aside.

Reduce heat to medium-low, add flour and stir in chicken broth slowly- stir constantly for 2 minutes until thickened and smooth.

Stir in lemon juice, mushrooms, artichokes and worecestershire. Add the chicken back in, cover, simmer on low for 20 minutes. For an extra kick sprinkle the crushed red pepper before simmering.

I served this over wheat orzo, delish!

First Post- Simple Ribs.

I think it's only appropriate that my first entry is the meal I made the day I thought of the name of my blog. On Sundays I've been trying to get in the routine of making a big 'Sunday Dinner', have friends over then watch a few favorite shows together, like Dexter! Last night was a success!

I love ribs, they are effortless to make and always a hit. Living in the city I'm sans grill, which can put a damper on nights I'm in the mood for barbeque. Luckily my dad is meat genious and shared this recipe with me.

Simple Ribs

Ingredients:

• Baby back ribs
• Sauce of choice (I use "Sonny's" - My favorite BBQ joint in Florida)

Heat oven to 300. Line an oven pan with foil. place ribs in pan and brush generously with BBQ sauce. Cover the ribs with tightly with foil and bake for 2.5 hours. After an hour brush with sauce. When time is up set oven to High Broil, uncover ribs and broil for about 10 minutes until brown.

I served this delish dish with corn on the cob, brown jasmine rice, and jalapeno cornbread.