Quick Tuna Caper Pasta

Just made this for a quick summer lunch -- very tasty and you can put it together from things in your pantry while the pasta is boiling. Serves 2.

1/4 lb of pasta -- I used ziti

1/4 cup of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tblsp lemon juice
1 can tuna, drained
2 tblsp capers
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes
1/4 c fresh Italian parsley, chopped
parmesan cheese to taste
salt and pepper to taste

While pasta is cooking, mix other ingredients except salt pepper and cheese in a bowl. when pasta is done, mix with tuna mixture. add salt, pepper, and cheese to taste. that's it!

Tahira's keema

This recipe is from Tahira Sami, a gifted chef who makes mouth-watering Pakistani food every Friday night at The Pelican in downtown Lake Worth, FL (or breakfast any day). It can be made with ground chicken or lamb - she says she adds a bit of water and more chilis when she makes it with lamb. At The Pelican, she serves it in an omelette with a little crumbled feta, served with naan. It's even better the second day.

4-5 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 tblsp ginger
1 tblsp garlic
2 tblsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tsp cayenne
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
2 tblsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
8-10 whole dried red chilis
2 lb ground chicken breast (or lamb)

Purée tomato,garlic, and ginger together in a blender and reserve. Sauté onion in the oil gently until golden. Add all the spices and cook gently for a minute or two. Add the tomato purée and the chilis and sauté gently for about 5 minutes, until the juices come up on top a little. Add the ground chicken and sauté until cooked.

Note: Tahira's recipe calls for adding the meat raw -- I'm sure this is fine with chicken breast, which is quite lean, but I tried this with the lamb and it was a little greasy. I would try browning the lamb first and pouring off some of the fat before adding it to the puree-spice mixture. Or add it raw and wait until the next day to eat it, skimming first) I served with sauteed zucchini -- eggplant would also be good.

ATK Blueberry Scones

I know there's a lot of technique in this recipe from Cooks Illustrated, but it's not as onerous as it might look and it produces a perfect blueberry scone -- rich and light and tangy and aromatic. Personally I find that a little lemon zest goes a long way -- easy for it to overwhelm the other flavors.

It is important to work the dough as little as possible—work quickly and knead and fold the dough only the number of times called for. The butter should be frozen solid before grating. In hot or humid environments, chill the flour mixture and workbowls before use. While the recipe calls for 2 whole sticks of butter, only 10 tablespoons are actually used (see step 1). If fresh berries are unavailable, an equal amount of frozen berries (do not defrost) can be substituted. An equal amount of raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries can be used in place of the blueberries. Cut larger berries into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces before incorporating. Refrigerate or freeze leftover scones, wrapped in foil, in an airtight container. To serve, remove foil and place scones on a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven. Heat until warmed through and recrisped, 8 to 10 minutes if refrigerated, 16 to 20 minutes if frozen. See final step for information on making the scone dough in advance.

Makes 8
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), frozen whole (see note above)
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (about 7 1/2 ounces), picked over (see note)
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces), plus additional for work surface
1/2 cup sugar (3 1/2 ounces), plus 1 tablespoon for sprinkling
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Score and remove half of wrapper from each stick of frozen butter. Following photo at left, grate unwrapped ends on large holes of box grater (you should grate total of 8 tablespoons). Place grated butter in freezer until needed. Melt 2 tablespoons of remaining ungrated butter and set aside. Save remaining 6 tablespoons butter for another use. Place blueberries in freezer until needed.

2. Whisk together milk and sour cream in medium bowl; refrigerate until needed. Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in medium bowl. Add frozen butter to flour mixture and toss with fingers until thoroughly coated.

3. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; fold with spatula until just combined. With rubber spatula, transfer dough to liberally floured work surface. Dust surface of dough with flour; with floured hands, knead dough 6 to 8 times, until it just holds together in ragged ball, adding flour as needed to prevent sticking.

4. Roll dough into approximate 12-inch square. Following illustrations, fold dough into thirds like a business letter, using bench scraper or metal spatula to release dough if it sticks to countertop. Lift short ends of dough and fold into thirds again to form approximate 4-inch square. Transfer dough to plate lightly dusted with flour and chill in freezer 5 minutes.

5. Transfer dough to floured work surface and roll into approximate 12-inch square again. Sprinkle blueberries evenly over surface of dough, then press down so they are slightly embedded in dough. Using bench scraper or thin metal spatula, loosen dough from work surface. Roll dough, pressing to form tight log. Lay seam-side down and press log into 12 by 4-inch rectangle. Using sharp, floured knife, cut rectangle crosswise into 4 equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle diagonally to form 2 triangles and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet.

6. Brush tops with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 18 to 25 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

To Make Ahead:
After placing the scones on the baking sheet, either refrigerate them overnight or freeze. When ready to bake, for refrigerated scones, heat oven to 425 degrees and follow directions in step 6. For frozen scones, heat oven to 375 degrees, follow directions in step 6, and extend cooking time to 25 to 30 minutes.

Chicken on the Grill

It's April! Time to start grilling!

This chicken is very quick to put together -- you start it in the oven (and can do this the day ahead if you like) and then finish on the grill.

Paste for slathering chicken:

1 onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

6 cloves of garlic, peeled

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 tblspn jerk powder

2 tblspn soy sauce

2 tblspn cider vinegar

1/4 c olive oil

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp salt

Put all of the above in a blender and blend until it's a chunky paste. Cut a chicken into pieces and put in a baking dish big enough to hold the pieces packed closely together. Slather the pieces with the paste. (Note: you can put it like this in the fridge to marinate for up to a day if you want to) Bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour. (At this point you can also refrigerate if you are not ready to grill it. ) Grill for about 10 minutes, basting with the juices in the pan.

Mole Poblano

This makes enough mole for about a 10-12 pound turkey, or two chickens. It's a great use of leftover thanksgiving turkey. Play around with the chilies and the spices until you find something you like. The mole can be made ahead and frozen or stored in the fridge.

Serving: You can slice up cooked turkey/chicken and ladle the mole over it, or cut turkey/chicken into pieces and submerge it directly in the mole – whatever works best for how you’re serving it. Mole poblano is traditionally served with tamales on the side, but we did little corn tortillas and rice and beans.

Dried chilies:
6 New Mexican Chilies, or pasillas or guajillos (New Mexican are a little hotter)
8 Ancho Chilis
3 Chipotle Chilies
2 Tblsp corn oil

Spices:
¼ tsp Coriander Seed
¼ tsp Anise Seed
1 Tblsp Chili Seeds
7 Tblsp Sesame Seeds
4 Whole Cloves
10 Peppercorns
½ inch Cinnamon Stick (or ½ tsp ground cinnamon)

2 Tblsp corn oil
2 Tblsp raisins
20 raw almonds
¼ cup shelled Pumpkin Seeds
1 corn tortilla or a handful of tortilla chips, shredded coarsely
1 slice stale bread, shredded coarsely

6 tomatillos, de-husked and minced coarsely
3 cloves of garlic
2 Tblsp corn oil
1.5 oz Mexican chocolate
5-6 cups of chicken or turkey broth

One cooked 10-12 pound turkey or 2 chickens

1. Break the chilies into large flat pieces and shake out the stems and seeds. Keep the seeds but discard cores and stems. Heat oil fairly hot and fry the chilies a few pieces at a time on both sides until aromatic. This should take about 30 seconds – don’t overcook or the chilies will get bitter. Soak in about a cup or two of water to cover for at least 3 hours, or overnight. Drain and puree in a blender with as little of the soaking water as you can get away with. Pour from blender into a bowl or other container and reserve.

2. Dry toast coriander, anise, chili seeds, and sesame seeds in a large heavy pot until they become aromatic and darken just slightly, as you would to make curry. Cool them and grind them all together in a spice mill or blender along with cloves, peppercorns, and cinnamon stick. Leave in the blender.

3. Heat 2 Tblsp of oil in your large heavy pot and sauté raisins, almonds, pumpkin seeds, tortilla, and bread until raisins puff up a little and the almonds and bread brown – about 3 minutes. Add this mixture to the spice mixture in the blender, add the tomatillos and garlic, and blend until smooth.

4. Heat 2 Tblsp of oil in your large heavy pot. Add chili mixture and spice/seed/bread mixture, and sauté gently for about 5 minutes. Add the chocolate and stir in until it melts. Stir in broth until it gets to the consistency you want – I like it sort of porridge-like. Continue to cook gently until it bubbles (it's more like a burp).

Turkey Baste A La Lefty

Combine:
1 stick of butter, melted
1/2 cup of orange juice
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of bourbon

Makes a very dark skin and tasty gravy.

Thanksgiving leftover turkey pot pie

This recipe assumes that you've got not only leftover turkey after Thanksgiving, but also leftover green beans, which we always seem to have. If you don't, snap fresh some green beans in half and blanche in boiling water for 4-5 minutes. This is a great way to use up those dried up carrots and potatoes and other nameless root vegetables that have been rattling around in the bottom of your crisper.

Crust:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4-1 cup ice water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in butter until pea-sized pieces. Stir in water enough to hold dough to together. Wrap in waxed paper and refrigerate until ready to cover the filling.

Filling:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 cups carrot, 1/4" dice

1 cup onion, diced

2 cups mushrooms, diced

1 tsp crumbled sage

1 tsp thyme

salt and pepper to taste (~ 1 tsp each)

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup white wine

1 tablespoon lemon juice

4 cups chicken broth

3 cups cooked turkey, diced

2 cups potatoes, peeled and 1/4 dice

2 cups cooked green beans

Saute carrot, onion, mushrooms and herbs in the butter until softened, about 15 minutes. Stir in flour and stir to coat, about 1 minute. Deglaze with wine and lemon juice. Add broth, stir, and add turkey and remaining vegetables. Simmer about 10-15 minutes, until thickened. Pour into a casserole that will hold at least 2 quarts (I like the filling to be somewhat shallow, to have a bigger crust-to-filling ratio.)

Roll out the crust and cover filling with it, allowing it to rest on top of the filling. Trim and crimp the edges around the edge of the casserole, and poke a couple of air vents into the top of the crust. Bake at 425 for 20-30 minutes, will begin to bubble so you probably want to put a piece of tin foil under the pan to keep the bottom of your oven clean.

Note: if you are afraid of making pastry crust (you know who you are), this is also good covered with biscuit dough.