More good food....

Chocolate covered strawberries

I use 60%-70% chocolate and I temper it by melting about 3-4 oz chocolate over simmering water in a double boiler and then remove it from the heat and add 1-2 oz more chopped chocolate and let that melt in.  This is an easy way of tempering chocolate, by bringing the temperature up then back down.  This ensures that when the chocolate dries it won't have that dull chalky look.

Red and Yellow Beets with Goat Cheese

I roasted these beets by leaving them whole and wrapping each color individually in aluminum foil, tightly and in the oven for about an hour at 400 degrees (these were big ones).  After they cooled slightly just cut off the ends and with a paper towel I just rub off the skins.  Sliced and layered with goat cheese then over some greens and toast on the side.  I also cut up the green tops of the beets (which is basically Swiss chard) and sauteed them in some olive oil and garlic. 

Corn relish with Morbier cheese and crusty bread.

This was a mish-mosh but it worked.  It was an appetizer I made one night just to nibble on with drinks.  I got this fresh looking corn on the cob and wanted to use it.  I just cut the corn off the cob and sauteed it with some butter and sliced shallots.  After just about 1-2 minutes I added a little apple cider vinegar, a tiny bit of sugar to balance the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper (basically make a dressing right in the pan).  Remove it from the heat and add chopped basil, it total it cooked for 5-6 minutes.

Hollandaise-glazed Sea Bass over Shiitaki and Snap Peas

This was goood!  I followed a recipe from "The White Barn Inn" cookbook.  It called for Halibut, but there wasn't any available at the store so I got this fresh looking Bass.  Basically you sear the fish and cook it pretty much all the way and top it with a hollandaise that is flavored with champagne vinegar, white wine, parsley and shallot.  This is spooned over the top of the fish and just finished under the broiler until its browned.  Next time I will use a halibut or even cod and hide some quinoa or brown rice under the fish along with the vegetables (the mushrooms went perfectly with this). 

Baby artichokes with Edemame, shallots and basil

I never make artichokes because it just seems like so much work and waste to get to the heart (I buy the cans), but I saw these baby artichokes that don't have the choke in them so its minimal trimming.  It worked out to be really good and I will buy these again.  Basically I browned the artichokes in olive oil with some leeks, garlic, salt, pepper and edamame then add a splash of water and braised them for 15 minutes until they were tender then finish with some lemon juice and fresh basil.  Left overs went very nicely with some homemade pasta (which I didn't take a picture of ) the next night.

Zucchini spaghetti with Amaranth sprouts and fresh basil

I have been doing this a lot lately, its just julienne strips of zucchini tossed with olive oil in a skillet for no more than 5 minutes, toss in what you like I put in salt, pepper, a squeeze of lemon juice, and the basil and amaranth sprouts

A friend asked me to make some cornbread for a party so I wanted to test this recipe I found to make sure it comes out perfectly.  It did here it is..
I also made some guacamole here.