Fresh Cherry Chutney

(adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2005)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped shallot or onions
2 cups fresh cherries, pitted
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp cayenne
salt

Heat oil in large skillet over high heat, add onion/shallots sauté 1 minute. add cherries, cayenne, vinegar. Boil chutney until thick, stirring often, about 8 minutes. Season with salt.

Serve warm (or cold) with grilled pork or chicken.
This kind of tastes like red wine vinegar-cabbage but with
cherries. it is a great recipe to use up cherries that are beyond snacking on.

Noodles with Chicken and Cucumber

Marinate chicken breast in black bean paste (found near soy sauce)
Grill and cut into small pieces and set aside.

Cook up 2 packages ramen noodles (or soba) with one packet of seasoning
and add 1/2 cup shelled soy beans (edamame)

In a separate small bowl combine:
small cucumber sliced into 1/4 inch chunks
1-2 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tsp rice vinegar

Serve noodles with chicken and cucumber on top and top with cilantro and a lime wedge.
I also like to add chili sauce and a spoonful of hoisin sauce.

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

1 cup cauliflower, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped
¼ cup raisins
3 tsp red onion, diced
2 tsp bacon bits (optional)
¼ cup sunflower seeds

Dressing
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon milk
2 tsp white wine vinegar
¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Waldorf Salad

(and yes, the trip was fabulous)
OK, Ken and I didn't actually order the waldorf salad from room service but it was very tempting...

see the link below for the famous (and updated) recipe:
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/salads/fruit/astoria_waldorf_salad.html

Mango Chutney / Cream Cheese Appetizer

8 oz cream cheese
2 tsp curry powder (I used salt free Ginger Curry from Nile Spice)
¾ cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
6 green onions chopped
8 oz Bengal hot mango chutney
(I found Patak’s Original at Tatsuda’s in the oriental section)

Blend cream cheese, curry powder, green onion and chopped nuts together and chill overnight (or at least 6 hours)

Top with mango chutney and serve with Melba toast or crackers.

swiss chard

We received our first installment from our CSA (community supported agriculture) yesterday and have a bunch gorgeous swiss chard! any good recipes?

Sun Dried Tomato Risotto

This is a recipe that our friend Alex made for us last month. We loved it, and when I saw that he had posted the recipe on his web site I thought it would be a good recipe to start with (photos of recipe on: alexandcati.com, Alex and Cati's site devoted to food. Our good friend Esti is often a star...) enjoy.

Alex's Sun Dried Tomato Risotto

• 2 med size onion 3 large cloves garlic
• 2 TBSP butter (1/4 stick)
• 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup risotto rice
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (sliced into strips)
• 1 cup frozen corn

Heat the olive oil and butter in a frying pan on med heat. Sautee the finely chopped onion and garlic until the onion starts to soften. Add the rice to the frying pan and coat the rice evenly with the oil/onion mix. Add one cup chicken broth and bring the mix to a gentle simmer. Be careful not to have this too hot as you want the rice to soak up the broth, and you don’t want to drive it off as steam. After the rice has absorbed the broth, add the next cup, let the rice absorb that, then the last. When the risotto is just about done add the frozen corn and the sun-dried tomatoes.

I like to serve this with seafood; like scallops. Scallops are pretty easy, I drag them through a 5:1 flour and adobo mixture, then sautee in olive oil. Chop some fresh cilantro to sprinkle on top, open the white wine, and you are done.