• 4 oz smoked salmon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes (canned)
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon pesto
• 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 3/4 pound linguine

Directions:

1. Heat oil and lightly brown onions and garlic for 5 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, wine and pesto and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Add parsley
4. Cut salmon into one inch pieces and add to tomato mixture, stop cooking.
5. Gently add to cooked pasta and salt appropriately.

Preheat the oven to 400 Degrees F.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 chopped cloves of garlic, more if you’re italian
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 14 oz can chopped plum tomatoes
• 2 or 3 chopped cooked sausages
• 2 zucchini, finely sliced
• 3 oz grated parmesan
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

1. Heat a medium capacity ovenproof dish (with a lid) over a medium heat. Add olive oil, onion, garlic and sea salt and stir for 5 minutes, or until the onion is soft and translucent.
2. Add the rice to the dish and stir for another minutes.
3. Add the stock and the chopped tomatoes and bring to simmering point.
4. Stir in the zucchini and sausage, and sprinkle with Parmesan and black pepper.
5. Cover the dish and bake the risotto for 30 minutes, or until the rice is cooked.
6. Top risotto with parsley and Parmesan.

Serves 4.

• 1/3 cup Shaoxing rice wine
• 1/4 cup oyster sauce
• 1/4 cup light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons superfine sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 4×8 oz steaks

To Serve:

• 7 oz snow peas
• steamed rice
• coriander relish

Directions:

1. Place the Shaoxing rice wine, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a large bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Add the steaks and the above marinade in a large plastic bag in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours, turning occasionally. Bring the steaks to room temperature in the last 30 minutes.
3. Pepare the coriander relish while the steaks are marinating.
4. Preheat a frying pan or barbecue until hot. Sear the steaks for 3 minutes each side. Continue cooking over a medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes on each side for medium. Remove the steaks from the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes in a warm place.
5. Lightly blanch the snow peas in boiling water then plunge into cold water and drain well.
6. Slice each steak into 1/2 inch slices, top with a little relish and serve with steamed rice and snow peas.
7. Bring the extra marinade to a boil and serve on the side.

• 1 cup chopped cilantro, including stems
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 large red chilli, seeded and finely minced
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tespoon superfine sugar
• freshly ground black pepper

Chef’s Notes: Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Better Chicken Fajitas – Cook’s Illustrated

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup juice from 2 to 3 limes
• 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 jalepeño, seeds and ribs removed, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro leaves
• salt and ground black pepper
• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/2 inch thick
• 1 large red onion, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds, don’t separate rings
• 1 large red bell pepper, quartered, stemmed, and seeded
• 1 large green bell pepper, quartered, stemmed, and seeded
• flour tortillas

Directions:

1. In medium bowl, whisk together lime juice, 4 tablespoons oil, garlic, Worcestershire, brown sugar, jalapeño, cilantro, 1 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper. Reserve 1/4 cup marinade in small bowl; set aside. Add another teaspoon salt to remaining used marinade. Place chicken in marinade; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 15 minutes. Brush both sides of onion rounds and peppers with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and season with salt and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, heat your grill, with high heat on one side for the chicken and medium heat on the other for the vegetables.
3. Place chicken smooth side down on the hotter side of the grill and discard remaining marinade. Place onion rounds and peppers (skin side down) on cooler side of grill. Cook chicken until well browned, 4 to 5 minutes; flip chicken and continue grilling until chicken is no longer pink in the thickest parts. Cook peppers 8 to 10 minutes, turning once or twice as needed. Cook onions until tender, 10 to 12 minutes, turning every 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Separate onions into rings, slice bell peppers lengthwise into 1/4 inch strips and place in bowl with onions. Add 2 tablespoons reserved unused marinade to vegetables and toss to combine. Slice chicken into thin strips and toss with remaining reserved marinade. Serve with warmed tortillas.

• 1 head of Romaine
• 1/3 cup of olive oil with about 3 cloves of garlic pressed into it (or cut, or whatever)
• 3 tbsp of regular red vinegar
• Lots of Worcester sauce (probably about 5-6 healthy shakes of the bottle)
• 1 lemon, cut in half and squeezed into the salad
• Salt
• Pepper
• Parmasean cheese

Chef’s Notes:
Everything can go in all at once, though I basically put it in in the order I wrote it out for you. I wait and put the cheese on last minute so it doesn’t get super soggy. And yes, it goes very well with lasagna—any Italian food, actually.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onions
• Salt
• Freshly ground white pepper
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 pound (2 cups) Arborio rice
• 1/3 pound assorted exotic mushrooms, such shiitakes, chanterelles, or oysters, de-stemmed, wiped clean and chopped (about 2 cups)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped green onions, green part only
• 2 tablespoons white truffle oil
• Medium black truffle, for shaving (can be skipped to save $50)

Directions:

1. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, heat the oil.
2. Add the onions. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring. Saute until the onions are slightly soft, about 3 minutes.
3. Add the stock and garlic. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for about 6 minutes.
4. Add the rice and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
5. Add the mushrooms and continue to simmer, stirring constantly, until the mixture is creamy and bubbly, about 8 minutes.
6. Stir in the butter, cream, cheese, green onions, and truffle oil. Simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.
7. Spoon the risotto in the center of each shallow bowl.

Garnish with the croutons and shaved truffles.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Dash of hot pepper sauce
• Salt
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon white truffle oil
• 10 slices day-old white bread, crusts removed

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor or blender, blend the egg and lemon juice together for 10 seconds.
3. With the processor running, slowly pour in the vegetable oil through the feed tube. The mixture with thicken.
4. Add the mustard, hot pepper sauce and salt, and pulse one or twice to blend well.
5. Spoon the mixture into a small bowl and add the cheese, pepper, and truffle oil. Mix well.
6. Cut each slice of bread diagonally into two triangles.
7. Spread about 1 tablespoon of the mayonnaise mixture on each triangle.
8. Place the triangles on the baking sheet and bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes.

Serve warm.

The night before making bread, take the sourdough starter from the refrigerator. Put it in a large mixing bowl and mix it with 3 cups of flour (I always use King Arthur white flour…) and 2 cups of lukewarm water. Cover the mixture tightly and set it in a draft-free place for the night. Room temperature is fine.

Next morning, before doing anything else, remove one cup of the mixture in the bowl and return it to your sourdough storage container. Close the container tightly and put it back in the refrigerator. This is your starter for your next batch of bread.

To the starter remaining in the bowl—and there will be quite a bit of it—add:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• scant teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup of sugar*

mix as well as you can and then add gradually:

flour—enough to make a bread dough, about 3-5 cups. Knead thoroughly, until all the flour is absorbed into the dough, and the ball of dough feels resilient and elastic. This takes 3-5 minutes.

Return the dough to the mixing bown and cover tightly. Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 2-3 hours. Then knead again, shape into loaves, cover, and let rise again, another 2 hours or so.

Back at 350º F for 45 minutes.

*Sometimes you can use honey or molasses to vary the flavor.

On the days you make the bread, for the sake of variety, you can use white flour, wheat flour, oatmeal, in various combinations. But it is important always to use plain white flour for the starter.

I usually make this in 2 5×8 greased loaf pans, but it works fine as a round loaf or loaves. It would be fun to try the traditional long sourdough shape, and/or baguettes etc.

I also use this dough for making sticky buns.

I find that making the bread once a week keeps the starter pretty spunky. I have gone as long as six weeks between uses, however. If you haven’t used it for awhile and it seems a little logy, you’ll probably find as I do that using it with renewed frequency revitalizes it. Enjoy.

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Marinade

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup packed cilantro leaves
• 1/2 jalapeno, seeded
• Salt and pepper

Vegetables

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Flatten chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness between two sheets of plastic wrap with a mallet or rolling pin. Even better is to buy the less expensive thinly sliced chicken breasts. Place chicken breasts in glass baking dish.
2. In a blender combine 2 tbsp olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno and salt and pepper. Blend until smooth and pour over chicken. Cover with plastic wrap and let chicken marinate for 30 minutes.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat oil. Add onions and peppers and cook until they are tender and begin to brown. Transfer to serving dish and put it in the oven to keep warm.
4. Toast flour tortillas for about 30 seconds per side and keep warm in an aluminum foil pocket.
5. Grill the chicken on each side for a few minutes.
6. To serve slice chicken into even strips. Serve hot with onions and peppers, grated jack and cheddar cheese, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.