Caprese

Homemade Caprese

A simple to make salad that will just knock the socks off of just about anyone. If you plan on having some Italian themed meal, try this starter out. Its made very easily with some mozzarella, tomatoes, basil and salt.


Needs:
1 lb Mozzarella
3-4 vine ripen Tomatoes
10-20 fresh Basil leaves
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Balsamic Vinegar (optional)


Directions:

1. Slice the Mozzarella and Tomatoes into 1/4" slices.
2. Place the Mozzarella and Tomatoes down alternating between the two with a basil leaf in between them.
3. Add some Salt and pepper to taste and drizzle some Extra Virgin Olive Oil on top and serve. If you like, you can also add the Balsamic Vinegar on top as well.

Easy to make, and you'll look like a pro in the kitchen...

Pesto for Two

One of my favorite things is Pesto. You can always by it in the markets, but I find that making it fresh always tastes best. Now I'm going to share a couple of recipes here, but they all fit in the same theme, Pesto.


If you search the web for pesto recipe, you're going to get a bunch of hits, but the basic recipe is generally the same, with a few changes here and there.


Basic Pesto Sauce

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
3 cloves garlic
2 cups fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons pine nuts
1 dash salt and pepper


Food Processor
Add the garlic to the food processor and mince. Next, add the basil leaves, pine nuts, and a dash of salt and pepper to the bowl of the processor. While the processor is running, slowly drizzle in olive oil through the feed tube until all the ingredients are pureed.


You may need to stop the processor at this point and scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula to get every mixed together. Now add Parmesan cheese and mix it into the rest of the mixture. If the pesto is too thick, add a tablespoon of water.

Blender
Add all the ingredients (except salt and pepper) into a blender in the order above. Start the blender off at a slower setting then increase to the second to the fastest speed. Blend for about a minute.


You should have enough sauce to cover about 1 pound of pasta. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to use it. This should keep for 2 - 3 days in the fridge but freezes well if you want to keep it longer.


Now that you have the pesto, you can make the meal, which consists of two three parts, the Pasta, the Veggies, and the Salmon.


Pasta is the simplest part...just cook it according to the directions on the package. Veggies as simple as well. I recommend a squash medley of some sort.


The salmon is what would/could take the most time to prep.


Pesto Salmon


1 Salmon Filet
1/4 cup of Pesto Sauce (just made)
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

1 stick of butter

1 Lemon (or Lime)
Fresh Dill
salt and pepper


Pesto Butter
Take the butter and pesto and put it into a mixer. Mix until pesto and butter is thoroughly mixed. Set aside in the refrigerator.


Once you have made the Pesto Butter you can finish this dish. Take your salmon filet and place in a bake safe dish. For those that don't bake on a regular basis, the disposable trays. Pre-heat the over to 350º. While the oven is heating, sprinkle the salmon with the parsley flakes, salt and pepper. Place a lemon slice on the the filet along with the dill.


Cook covered with foil for about 20 minutes (or until cooked to desired).


Sever the salmon with the pasta and veggies on the side. Enjoy.

Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is a very interesting dish. I can best describe this as a Cabbage Pancake. Yes, that right, a cabbage pancake. It is very easy to make, and can be very filling. For those that have friends that don't eat meat, but are ok with eggs, this is great also. Now this particular recipe I came across while shopping at Marukai in Little Tokyo. Like the pancakes that we make at home or go to Denny's or IHOP for, you can be very creative in what you decide to do with this. You can go to www.otafukufoods.com to see a few variations of what I give you here. So, what do you need?

Needs (for 3 servings of 6" pancakes):

• Okonomiyaki flour
• 1 Green Onions (I like to add more)
• Half a Cabbage
• 3 Eggs
• 3/4 cup of Water
• Okonomiyaki Sauce
• Sliced Meat (Pork, Beef, Chicken, even Shrimp!), optional

Directions:

1. Cut/Shred cabbage into thin strips. Slice green onions. Set this aside.
2. Mix water and Okonomiyaki flour in a mixing bowl. (Hint: use a bowl big enough to put all the ingredients in so you don't have to wash as many dishes). Mix until the flour has completely dissolved.
3. Mix all the other ingredients in with the batter, cabbage, green onions, eggs. Mix all the ingredients together, but don't "over mix" as the directions say. You, in essence, want everything coated in the batter (Photo 1)
4. Spread the batter in a skillet to about 6", top with your choice of meat and let that cook for 3 minutes (Hint: don't press down on the pancake) (Photo 2).
5. Flip the pancake, turning the meat side down. Cook for another 4 minutes.
6. Flip it one last time (meat side back up), and cook it for another 3 minutes (Photo 3).
7. Plate the Okonomiyaki on a plate and serve it with Okonomiyaki sauce. You can add weaweed, katsuo bushi, or anything else you like on top...now enjoy.

Photo 1: Okonomiyaki Mix

Photo 2: Sliced Meat

Photo 3: Cooking it up