Chinese Spareribs with Teryiaki Glaze

Baby Back ribs or Spareribs, about 3-4 lbs

chinese five spice powder

Black pepper

brown sugar

sesame seeds

scallions, cut on bias

Glaze:

3/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup hoisin sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

3 TBS rice vinegar (red wine vinegar would also work)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 garlic cloves, smashed

1 inch piece ginger, peeled and smashed

1 red chili pepper

In a small bowl, mix about 1/4 cup chinese five spice powder, 2 Tbs brown sugar, and pinch of black pepper. Rub spices all over ribs until generously coated, both sides. Place in a single layer of a baking sheet/pan, cover with foil and bake for at least 2 to 2 1/2 hours on 350 degrees. Meanwhile, prepare the glaze.

To make glaze. Place all ingredients in a non stick medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk all ingredients well to combine. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and simmer for about 20-30 minutes or until the glaze is nice and thick. It may take longer than 30 minutes to reduce down.

Once ribs are done, slather all over with glaze, both sides. Be careful, the ribs are super tender and will pull apart. Turn oven heat up tp 425 and place back in over, basting every few minutes until browned and crispy. About 10 mintues...Watch carefully, they will burn if left in too long!! Once they come out of the oven, baste one more time with glaze, cut into pieces, top with sesame seeds and scallions.

Thai Fried Rice

2 Tbs. Peanut Oil

2 chicken breast, sliced on a bias, very thin

1/2 pound shrimp, cleaned

2 gloves garlic, chopped

1/2 onion, sliced thin

1 red pepper, sliced thin

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp. fish sauce

2 -3 cups jasmine rice, cooked

1 Tbs. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. fish sauce
pinch of sugar
1 cup bean sprouts

3 scallions, sliced on a bias

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 pkg oriental fried rice seasonings (optional) (found in asian market or asian section of market)

1 lime, sliced

1 tomato, sliced

First off, cook the Jasmine rice, a little undercooked and cool in refrigerator. This recipe works best when rice is cold.

Heat a wok until nice and hot and pour in 2 TBS peanut oil. Immediately toss in chicken and stir fry until lightly browned. Add shrimp and cook about 1-2 minutes. Add onion, peppers and garlic and stir fry about 1 minute until it softens. Add 1/2 tsp. fish sauce while cooking the veggies. Toss in the cold rice and stir to coat well. Push some of the rice aside so you have bare bottom on one side of the wok. Add beaten egg and scramble, when egg is cooked, stir to combine into the rice. Add bean sprouts. Add soy sauce, fish sauce and pinch of sugar. If using the fried rice seasoning packet, add now. Finish by placing rice in a bowl and garnish with red pepper flakes, scallions, tomatoes and lime.

Ground Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 lbs ground sirloin

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 pkg sliced mushrooms

olive oil

2 TBS butter

salt, pepper

paprika (sprinkle)

1 cup water
1 TBS flour or mushroom gravy packet
2 TBS tomatoe paste
1 TBS worshestire sauce

2 TBS dijon mustard

1 cup sour cream

Eggs noodles

scallions for garnish

Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onions and cook until slightly carmelized, about 10-15 minutes. Add garlic and sliced mushrooms, cook another 5 minutes until mushrooms have softened and has good brown color. Season with salt, pepper and paprika. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Season meat as well. When meat has cooked, add mushroom gravy packet or flour and 1 cup water. Stir to combine and bring to boil, turn heat to med/low and simmer. Add tomato paste, dijon mustard, worchesthire sauce and cook until sauce has become slightly thickened. Turn off heat and stir in sour cream until well combined. Serve over hot buttered egg noddles and sprinkle with scallions.  Enjoy.

Candied Carrots

Another side dish worth noting were these delicious candied carrots we made for Easter. They were so sweet and sticky, you wouldn't believe you were eating a vegetable.

Ingredients:

1 bunch young carrots, with tops
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 orange, zested and halved
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut off all but 1-inch of the carrot tops, leaving a little green. Put the carrots in a large shallow pan, add the oil, and season with salt and pepper. Turn to coat the carrots. Stick them in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, until the carrots are fork-tender.

In the meantime, melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Swirl the pan around and cook until the butter begins to become brown and nutty. Squeeze in the juice from the orange halves, add the zest, brown sugar, cumin and cinnamon and continue to cook for 2 minutes or until syrupy.

Remove the carrots from the oven, drizzle the orange brown butter over the carrots and serve.

Horseradish Mashed Potatoes with Balsamic Carmelized Onions

I'm always looking for new ways to spruce up classic side dishes and I love experimenting by adding different ingredients to mashed potatoes.....nowadays, you can go into any Steak House and find "Blue Cheese Mashed" or "Loaded Mashed" but I wanted something a little more unique. SO, when I went home for Easter dinner and was told we were making mashed potatoes I decided to come up with something new.....they were a huge hit!

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
3 med-large white onions, sliced thinly
3 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. chopped fresh Thyme

3 1/2 lbs. potatoes (yukon gold, russets), peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
6-8 T. milk
6 T. butter
1/4 cup prepared white horseradish

Melt 1/4 cup butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until deep golden, about 30 minutes. Add vinegar and thyme. Reduce heat to low; sauté 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook potatoes in large pot of boiling salted water until very tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. Return to same pot; mash until smooth. Add 6 tablespoons milk, horseradish and 6 tablespoons butter; stir to blend. Thin with 2 tablespoons milk if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer potatoes to serving dish. Spoon onion mixture atop potatoes. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover with foil and refrigerate. Rewarm in 350°F oven about 30 minutes.) Serve hot.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I have such a sweet tooth and my favorite - roll my eyes in the back of my head - dessert is cheesecake. I'm always looking for different flavors to create in a cheesecake and it seemed that white chocolate and raspberry go together perfectly.

Ingredients:

1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

Linguini with Clam Sauce

As the weather starts to warm we tend to want a lighter fare. Linguini with Clam sauce is a perfect way to stay elegant but light. It's perfect for those warm nights when you want to eat a nice meal on the deck by candlelight. Over the years I have made this dish as simple as possible so that it can be perfectly created on a weeknight.....

Ingredients:
2 T. olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
dash red pepper flakes
1/4 white wine
1 can white clam sauce
1 can whole clams, with juice
1 can chopped clams, with juice
6 T. butter
chopped fresh parsley
1 lb. cooked linguini
1 lb. little neck clams (optional)

Heat olive oil in saute pan and add garlic cloves and red pepper flakes to taste. Be careful not to burn, garlic cooks quickly. Add can of clam sauce and clams with juices. Once it begins to boil bring down to simmer. Add wine and 4 T. butter. Cover and simmer until pasta is done. Just before tossing with pasta, add 2 T. butter to round out flavor and chopped fresh parsley. Toss with linguini and serve.

Note: for a more romantic flare, add fresh littleneck clams to sauce 5 minutes before finished. Allow to steam open and toss with pasta.