Grilled Fennel-Spiced Pork Chops with Sage-Lemon Vinaigrette

This fabulous recipe is from Bobby Flay's Grilling for Life cookbook. Love fennel and pork and the vinaigrette truly enhances the flavors.

Sage-Lemon Vinaigrette
Ingredients:



3 T chopped fresh sage leaves
1/4 c fresh lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
1/2 shallot, coarsely chopped
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/3 c olive oil

Fennel-Spiced Pork Chops
Ingredients:



2 T fennel seeds
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp whole black peppercorns
4 thick center-cut boneless pork chops (or 1 pork tenderloin, ~ 1 lb)
1 tsp canola oil

Directions

For vinaigrette:
Combine the sage, lemon juice, zest, shallot, honey, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in oil and blend until emulsified. I used an immersion blender.





For Pork:
1. Heat your grill to medium-high. Place the fennel seeds, salt, and peppercorns in a spice mill and process until finely ground. Alternatively, combine the spices ona cutting board and crush them with the bottom of a heavy pot. I used a mortar/pestle.
2. Brush pork with oil and season on both sides with fennel mixture.
3. Grill the pork until slightly charred on both sides and cooked to medium-well, 4-5 min per side.
4. Transfer pork to a place and immediately drizzle each chop with 2 T of the sage-lemon vinaigrette. Let the chops rest for 5 minutes until serving. Serving the remaining vinaigrette on the side if desired.

Grilled Butterflied Leg of Lamb with Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary

This recipe is adapted from the cookbook, Mad Hungry by Lucinda Scala Quinn. The recipe calls for roasting the lamb in the oven and I will provide that recipe. However, I grilled the lamb and we had a 4-lb. boneless piece of meat that took about 30 minutes per side. I let it rest a good 10 minutes prior to slicing at it was perfect. The grill was set at high so it was direct heat.

INGREDIENTS

2 whole lemons, washed, seeded, and chopped
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves removed
5 to 6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 boneless leg of lamb, butterflied, boned, and cut to lay flat (about 5 pounds)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the chopped lemon, rosemary, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a food processor. A blender can also be used, if done in batches. If you have neither, finely chop all ingredients together.




after pulsing:


2. Open up the lamb and lay it flat. Spread and massage the lemon paste evenly over the inside and outside of the lamb. Place in a baking dish and cover, or in a large resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate overnight to marinate or at least for several hours, turning occasionally.



3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the meat from the refrigerator 30 to 60 minutes before cooking. Place the lamb on a rack in a foil-lined roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet. Place the meat in the oven and after 5 minutes, reduce the temperature to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast for 45 minutes, or until medium rare, 140 degrees Fahrenheit on an instant read thermometer. Allow the meat to rest for 10 to 15 minutes before carving and serving.





Serves 6 to 8

New Potato and Green Bean Salad

This is a favorite potato salad for summer barbecues and perfect for a side to our Father's Day dinner today. It's adapted from the July 1994 issue of Bon Appetit magazine. As usual I added an additional garlic clove. I also used the last of some terrific olive oil a dear friend brought me back from Israel and rather than regular balsamic vinegar I used white balsamic vinegar with Madiera just because that is what I grabbed first out of the pantry.

INGREDIENTS

Dressing:



1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:



1 1/2 pounds small red-skinned potatoes
3/4 pound fresh green beans
1 small red onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

DIRECTIONS:

Whisk together all dressing ingredients except oil, then gradually whisk in oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.



Steam potatoes until tender. Cool and cut into quarters.
Cook green beans in boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer beans to a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain. Cut beans in half.
Combine beans, potatoes, onion and basil in a large bowl. Add dressing; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 4 hours ahead; cover and let stand at room temperature.)
Ready to serve:


Serves 6

Strawberry Pie

This wonderful recipe is from a food forum that I follow. Nothing like a fresh strawberry pie when strawberries are in peak season as they are now! Be sure to buy the sweetest berries possible. This pie is not overly sweet so the sweeter the berries, the sweeter the pie!

CRUST INGREDIENTS



1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup melted butter
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Blend ingredients with fork until well incorporated. Press evenly into 9-inch pie pan. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool.

PIE GLAZE:



1 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup water
2 cups mashed strawberries (pastry blender or potato masher works well for mashing - see *Note below)
1/2 tsp. lemon zest (optional)

Enough halved strawberries to place about 2 layers in pie crust (no more since you need room for the glaze).

Optional: Whole berries and mint sprigs for garnish, fresh whipped cream

DIRECTIONS

Combine sugar, corn starch and salt in a saucepan. Stir in water and mix well. Cook over low heat briefly just until sugar dissolves. Add mashed strawberries. Cook over medium-low heat (stirring often) until mixture comes to a low boil, thickens, and "clears." Boil for another minute or two, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, if using. Let mixture cool completely to room temp, stirring occasionally.

Place halved berries in baked pie shell as evenly as possible. Pour glaze over berries and chill for at least 4 hours. Before serving, cover pie with whipped cream or serve dollops on slices. Garnish with whole berries and mint sprigs.

*Note: Depending on how you prefer the glaze, the berries can be mashed until still somewhat chunky or more pureed.

Mixing graham cracker crust:

Smashing berries:

Cooking glaze:

Ready to pour glaze:

Ready to chill in refrigerator:

Sweet as pie:

Forgot about whipping the cream :(:

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've seen this recipe on various blogs and just had to try it. The recipe is the original creation of Jenny from the blog, "Picky Palate." I made these for tomorrow when our dog will have his first birthday party (cookies are treats for the children attending) and also for my youngest son to take on a road trip this weekend. I tried one and they are absolutely fantastic (especially warm and freshly baked).

Ingredients
Oops - photo left out eggs and baking soda but I used them :)!


2 sticks softened unsalted butter
3/4 Cup packed light brown sugar
1 Cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 oz bag chocolate chips
1 bag Oreo Cookies, I used the double stuff

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer cream butter and sugars until well combined. Add in eggs and vanilla until well combined.

2. In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined. Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie. Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo Cookie. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo Cookie is enclosed with dough. Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet and bake cookies 9-13 minutes or until cookies are baked to your liking. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.



Ready to bake:


Baked:


Ready to enjoy:


This made 18 very large cookies.

Hamantaschen

Its been several years since I've made Hamantaschen. I have a slew of Hamantaschen recipes but I don't recall making this particular recipe which is Marcy Goldman's from BetterBaking.com. Once again I was alerted to the recipe from a food forum I am a member of. My grandmother made the best Hamantaschen. Hers were tiny but always looked perfect. She had so much talent with dough......making pastries and this spring treat was one of her specialties. Me.......highly dough challenged and anything I do with dough looks elementary! She only filled them with prune butter AKA Levkar which she made with Italian prune plums in early fall. She would make jars and jars of the stuff. As a child I never was too fond of this dark filling so she would make me some with cherries or apricots. Now I adore that prune butter and found a jar of it calling my name on the shelf at the local grocery store!

INGREDIENTS



1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup unsalted butter or unsalted margarine
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup orange juice or milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
4 cups (approximately) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
egg wash (I use 1 egg yolk and a few drops of milk and whisk)

Filling(s)

I chose Apricot Preserves, Raspberry Preserves, Nutella and Prune Butter:



Sugar (regular or coarse) for dusting (optional)
Egg Wash

DIRECTIONS

Cream the shortening and butter with the sugar. Add eggs and blend until smooth. (If mixture is hard to blend or seems curdled, add a bit of the flour to bind it).

Stir in orange juice or milk and vanilla. I used milk. Fold in flour, salt, and baking powder and mix to make a firm but soft dough. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and pat into a smooth mass. Cover and let rest ten minutes.* Divide dough into two or three flattened disks. Work with one portion at a time. Wrapped in plastic, dough can be refrigerated for 2-3 days. If refrigerating, allow dough to warm up before rolling out. For frozen pastries, bake without defrosting.



Preheat oven to 350 F.

Roll out dough on lightly floured board to a thickness of 1/8th inch. Use a 3 inch cookie cutter and cut into rounds. I used the top of a drinking glass. Brush rounds with egg wash. Fill with a generous teaspoon full of desired filling. Draw three sides together into center. Grasp perimeters of circle with your first, second and third fingers and pull inward. You should now have a three-cornered or triangular pastry. Essentially, fold two sides towards the center to form a triangle top. Fold up the remaining dough towards the center to meet the other edges of the touch. Brush pastries with egg wash. If desired, sprinkle with regular or coarse sugar and bake until golden brown, about 18-25 minutes.
*I refrigerated the dough for about an hour and let it rest at room temperature about 15 minutes before rolling out.


On parchment lined baking sheet ready for oven:



With another favorite......dark chocolate Dove eggs:


Note that the raspberry filled are a darker color as that was the only batch I brushed egg wash on top.

Recipe doubles well.
About 4-6 dozen pastries.

Pollo alla Calabrese (chicken with potatoes, onions and tomatoes)

I saw this recipe posted on an internet food forum I belong to. The recipe is originally from Rosetta Costantino's cookbook,
My Calabria: Rustic Family Cooking from Italy’s Undiscovered South. With just few ingredients and one pan to cook this makes a delicious and simple roasted chicken. I used thighs and drumsticks but if using breasts, the cooking time will be less.

INGREDIENTS


4 chicken legs, divided into thighs and drumsticks
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
1-1/2 lb Yukon gold potatoes
3/4 lb ripe tomatoes
1 large yellow onion
3 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
pinch cayenne

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Sprinkle the chicken generously with salt and pepper and set aside.

2. Cut the potatoes into 2-inch chunks (do not peel). Core the tomatoes and cut them into 1-inch chunks. Halve the onion and slice about 1/2-inch thick. Peel and halve the garlic cloves. In a large bowl, combine the vegetables with the oregano and olive oil. Sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt and several grindings of pepper and mix well. With a slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a baking dish large enough to hold them in one layer, such as a 9x13-inch glass or ceramic dish. Put the chicken in the bowl used for the vegetables and turn chicken to coat it in the oil and herbs left behind (if necessary, drizzle in a little more oil). Place the chicken skin side up on top of the vegetables in the dish and sprinkle with paprika and cayenne.




Bake on bottom rack of the oven until skin is crisp and golden, about 35 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and continue to bake until the chicken juices run clear, potatoes are tender and pan juices are absorbed, 20 to 30 minutes more. Serve immediately.