Mom's Summer Sauce for Pasta

I was a bit of a weird kid - I did not really like ketchup, I hated most pizza sauce and I was not a fan of red sauce on spaghetti.  This should translate to the fact that I did not like tomatoes but for whatever kid-combobulated reason, I would eat fresh tomatoes (with mayo and S&P).

My Mom came up with a great and light summer sauce for pasta that did not offend my red sauce sensibilities and has been a favorite recipe for me to bring into adulthood and make over and over with great success for guests and family.  Enjoy!

1.5 pds tomatoes (canned or fresh)
4 cloves of chopped garlic
1 pd linguine (or whatever you like)
6 TB butter
2 TB fresh basil minced or 2 tsp dry basil

3/4 cup of parmesan cheese


Put tomato and garlic in pan and bring to a boil.  Watch your liquid and you can add some EVOO if it is drying out.  Simmer about 20 min or until you have 1 1/4 cup.
Cook pasta.
Melt butter with basil and toss with pasta.
Add tomato sauce and toss.
Add parmesan cheese and toss.
Add light S&P.

 

Lamb Pita Pizzas

This recipe was a big repeat dinner when I lived in London - the lamb there is to die for and the beef - well ... mad cow is not really on my menu.  Since I have been in Utah, I have only found ground lamb one time.  If anyone local knows where to get it near Provo, let me know!  Substitute freely!

Pitas
EVOO
Ground lamb
Pine Nuts
Feta
Tomatoes - chopped
Cucumbers -chopped
Onions - chopped
lemon
fresh coriander - chopped
garlic - minced

cook ground lamb the same as you would ground beef - I like to add garlic, oregano & some fresh chopped coriander. 
place the pitas on a baking tray.  brush them with olive oil.
place a scoop of lamb on each pita.
sprinkle pine nuts, feta and chopped tomatoes on top of lamb.   
stick in oven at about 375 til cheese warms and pitas get toasty.

I like to make a greek salad complete with balsamic vinagrette and then I add that to the top when they come out of the oven.  You can also serve with tzatziki and hummus.

Pizza Pitas come in as many combinations as you can think of!  and the kids really like making their own "pizza" with toppings.

The Mellow Mushroom - Delray Beach, Florida

I had occasion to go to the Mellow Mushroom with a large group (about 25) after our Worldwide Photowalk in Delray Beach. It is a true place for a Foodies Unite experience!

Our entire visit was outstanding and I have since taken my family back for a great time as well.

The staff is accommodating and everyone smiles!  Even with a large group, they were ready for us - the wait-staff was organized and the food practically flew out of the kitchen.

We munched on pizzas (House Special and Kosmic Karma being two faves), and pretzels (crunchy and soft and awesome!), and calzones stuffed with all manner of high quality ingredients.  One of the girls even ordered more of the stuffed portobellos to take home!

The atmosphere is entertaining with huge murals of the Beatles and other 60's & 70's icons.  Colorful, delightful, a taste bud treat and with a beer selection to make a connoisseur weep – the Mellow Mushroom is a hit!

Mellow Mushroom Site & Menu

Calypso - Pompano Beach, Florida

Calypso Menu

Caribbean style food is in abundance in South Florida but few places do it as well as Calypso in Pompano Beach.

Tucked away in a little strip shopping center, Calypso is cheerful and busy and the service always comes with a smile. The menu is family friendly (so are the prices) and the food is all cooked fresh.

We love the steaming plates of jamaican jerk or curry wings.and  have also  done takeout and wing orders for large parties.

For me, the favorite is the conch – conch fritters, grilled and cracked conch, conch chowder - I have had it every way at Calypso and loved it every way -  Excellent quality, tender and well-seasoned and consistently wonderful.

The kids like the fish and chips or fresh fish sandwiches but I also recommend the cutters and anything seasoned in the jerk.

Calypso is a great favorite to add to your regular restaurants!

Jaxson's Ice Cream - Dania Beach, Florida

Jaxson's has been in South Florida for over 50 years defining the ice cream experience.  They make their ice cream homemade on the premises every day as was explained to my son who was treated to a tour when he asked some questions!

No matter where we have lived in South Florida, we have made the drive to indulge in all of our Jaxson flavor favorites: bubble-gum, black raspberry, double chocolate chip, black cherry, banana – we have yet to find one that was not amazing!

If you are feeling very adventurous, try the Kitchen Sink served in a...kitchen sink!



If you can get past the ice cream, Jaxson's has good sandwiches, burgers and salads and an extensive menu.

The food is delivered with cheerful smiles and the restaurant is an explosion of vintage memorabilia, old-fashioned candy and nostalgia.

All in all – this is one of the best family dining out destinations in South Florida!

Jaxson's Ice Cream & Menu

Anthony Bourdain - 13 Places to Eat Before You Die

13 Places to Eat Before You Die

Anthony Bourdain



Any seasoned traveler can tell you that the "best" meals on the planet are the result of an ephemeral confluence of circumstances. A table at the most expensive restaurant in the world does not guarantee a truly great meal. That said, if you're planning on dying in the near future and want to knock off a list of final, glorious dining experiences, these places would make a very respectable binge. Start with one.

Make a reservation today. Go on an empty stomach. Trust me: This is livin'.




1)  St. John (London) If I had to die with half a bite of anything hanging out of my mouth, it would probably be the roast bone marrow in Fergus Henderson's plain-white dining room at St. John. Scooped out and slathered onto a crust of toasted bread and sprinkled with sea salt, it's simple yet luxurious. The menu is proudly English, a rebuke to anyone still laboring under the impression that English food sucks. Famously pork-centric and focused on traditional offal and game dishes, St. John is as wonderful for what it does as for what it doesn't do: compromise. It specializes in good ingredients from "happy" animals that are treated with love and respect. Henderson has become a reluctant spiritual leader to a whole generation of chefs--and even the old-guard guys love to stop by for crispy pig tails, ham in hay, or a properly roasted bird. This is one of the truly bullshit-free zones on the culinary landscape.

2)  elBulli (Girona, Spain) It's the hardest reservation in the world. And everything they say is true: It's an adventure, a challenge, a delicious and always fun acid trip to the farthest reaches of creativity. Brothers Ferran and Albert Adrià and their team are the most influential and creative people working in food--and this surprisingly casual restaurant on a sleepy cove on Spain's Costa Brava is probably the most important restaurant of our time. Love it or hate it, if you have the opportunity to wangle a reservation, do it. It's like seeing Jimi Hendrix's first show. Forget any preconceptions you might have. Is it good? Yes. More important--is it fun? Yes. Yes. Yes.

3)  The French Laundry (Napa Valley, California)

4  Per Se (New York City) The best sit-down, multicourse, white-tablecloth meal of my life was at the French Laundry. And subsequent meals at Per Se, also run by chef Thomas Keller, were no less wonderful. There's no better way to go than the full-on tasting menu, a once-in-a-lifetime marriage of the best ingredients, creative thinking, and high standards, along with the personal imprint of the most respected chef in the world. How can Keller be at both restaurants at once? It doesn't matter. Pick one. Fast for 2 days, stretch your stomach with water the day of, and then see how they do it at the very top. It's a level of perfection in food and service that few even try to approach.

5)  Sin Huat Eating House (Singapore) It's grimy looking, the service can be less than warm, the beer is served in a bottle (often with ice), and the tables sit halfway into the streets of Geylang, Singapore's red-light district. But the crab bee hoon--giant Sri Lankan beasts cooked with a spicy mystery sauce and noodles--is pure messy indulgence. The whelks, steamed spotted cod, prawns, scallops (in fact, any seafood available that day) are all worth having. Warning: It looks cheap, but it's not.

6)  Le Bernardin (New York City) This is the best fish joint . . . anywhere. And it's relevant and fun, despite its formal service and fine-dining ambience. The grand tasting menu is a stripped-down thing of relatively austere beauty. And whatever they're doing this year or this month is always, always interesting.

7)  Salumi (Seattle) It's a sandwich shop with a couple of tables, and a true mom-and-pop--even if they're the mom and pop of famous chef Mario Batali. Anything cured, anything braised, any of the limited hot specials . . . in fact, anything the Batalis make is worth grabbing with both hands.

8)  Russ & Daughters (New York City)

9)  Katz's Delicatessen (New York City) Russ & Daughters started as a pushcart nearly a century ago, and it now serves some of the last traditional Eastern European Jewish-style herring and smoked belly lox, sable, and sturgeon. And since you're close, walk down a few doors to Katz's to remind yourself how pastrami is done right. This is what New Yorkers do better than anybody else. And here's where they do it.

10)  Etxebarri (Axpe, Spain) Victor Arguinzoniz grills unlikely ingredients over homemade charcoal: baby eels, imperial beluga caviar, oysters. (The fresh chorizo and prawns work, too.) Theoretically you can't grill a lot of this stuff, but a handcrafted series of pulleys that raise and lower each item makes it possible. Eat here, and no one is eating better.

11)  Sukiyabashi Jiro (Tokyo) The best sushi on earth? Maybe. Jiro Ono is more than 80 years old, and he's been doing old-school Edo-style sushi his whole life. Every piece of fish is served at precisely the right temperature and the rice and seaweed alone are blackout good. Ono will ruin sushi for you from anywhere else.

12)  Hot Doug's (Chicago) This place convinced me the Chicago red hot is, in fact, superior to the New York hot dog. And it's home to two great innovations in American gastronomy: the "foie gras dog" and the weekends-only practice of cooking French fries in duck fat. It's proof that food doesn't have to be expensive to be great.

13)  Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue (Kansas City, Kansas) People may disagree on who has the best BBQ. Here, the brisket (particularly the burnt ends), pulled pork, and ribs are all of a quality that meet the high standards even of Kansas City natives. It's the best BBQ in Kansas City, which makes it the best BBQ in the world.

Anthony Bourdain is the host of the Travel Channel's No Reservations.

There is a Goblin in my Fridge!

Although it is not Halloween, I came across this recipe and had to post it!

Halloween is a great holiday to have a blast with food - we can give our food creepy names and dress it up too!

We do a family Halloween party and one of my Halloween Favorites is the Cheeseball Goblin - not only does he LOOK adorable but he tastes good!

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature, plus 2 (8-ounce) packages whipped cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 cups shredded mixed cheeses, such as cheeses for tacos
• Green food coloring
• 2 large tortilla chips
• 1 whole pepperoncini pepper
• 2 pimiento-stuffed olives
• 1 bell pepper, cut 2 thin strips and 6 small triangles
• 6 pitted green olives
• 20 small carrot sticks
• 3 cups shredded red cabbage
• Toothpicks

Directions

Place 2 packages of cream cheese, butter, and milk in a mixing bowl, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and combined. Add the shredded cheese and mix until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.

Remove the chilled cheese mixture from the refrigerator. Place the mixture on a piece of waxed paper and form the cheese ball into a head-like shape. Place 3 pieces of waxed paper around the edges of a serving plate, leaving open space in the center. Place the cheese in the center of the platter so some of it is right on the platter, but the edges are on the waxed paper. This will ensure that the platter does not get dirty while you make your goblin.

In a medium bowl, stir the remaining softened cream cheese until totally smooth. With a spatula, spread the whipped cream cheese over the head. It's O.K. if it's not totally smooth - this will give your goblin spooky skin.

Place a few drops of green food coloring in a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of water and mix well. With a pastry brush, paint the tortilla chips with the food coloring until they are the desired color. Set aside to dry for a few minutes.

Once the chips are dry, press them into the sides of the cheese ball to form ears. Skewer the pepperoncini with a toothpick and then attach it to the center of the head to make a nose. Press the pimiento-stuffed olives into the head to form eyes. Use the 2 red bell pepper strips to make eyebrows. Take the pepper triangles and insert them into the holes in the pitted green olives. The green olives will serve as toes, and the red pepper strips will be scary toenails. Once the olives are assembled, press them into the bottom of the head to form the toes.

Press the carrot sticks into the head to form teeth. Leave them sticking out a bit to make scary teeth. It's O.K. if your carrot sticks are different lengths and thicknesses. Hold the head onto the platter with a spatula and gently pull away the waxed paper. Finally, press the cabbage into the top of the head to make hair.

Serve with crackers and assorted vegetables.

Original Recipe from Paula Deen

Simple Mashed Veg - Get Creative!

I love my mashed potatoes but it was not until I was living in London that I began adding more to create a mashed veg instead of just mashed potatoes.

Simple easy and something a bit different and healthy too...if you watch the butter and salt :)...

Potatoes - try some new potatoes with skin on!
Swede - my absolute favorite - called Swede (aka Swedish Turnip) in the UK and Rutebegas in the US
Carrot - just for some color!
Jerusalem Artichoke - these are not your average artichoke



Boil and then mash ALL together with some liberal butter and salt and a little EVOO if needed...Personally, I use a hand masher so that it stays chunky and presents with great texture!

Pumpkin Mushroom Soup

Inspired by the Back Burner in Hockessin, Delaware - my Mom adopted this recipe about 25 years ago and it has quickly become become a family tradition, especially in October and November months.

• 2 TB butter
• 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms (or more if you would like )
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 TB flour
• 3 cup chicken broth
• 2 cup pumpkin (canned pumpkin can be substituted!)
• 1 cup cream (half and half works well too!)
• 1 TB honey
• 1 TB curry (or more to taste)
• S&P
• Sour Cream
• Croutons (NOT package - make your own!!)

In soup pot, saute mushrooms in butter and then remove.
In same soup pot, saute onions and then stir in broth, flour and pumpkin and bring to a boil.
Add honey, curry, S&P.
Return mushrooms.
Add cream and then heat on low to medium heat.
Serve with spoonful of sour cream in center and croutons.

Re-Thing Barbecue - Any Good Sauces?

Yesterday, as we watched football, we decided to do some beef ribs and pork chops on a nice slow cook.  Add coleslaw and homemade oven baked steak fries and yummmmm!





Here is my issue - I never liked barbecue.  I love grilled anything but barbecue always turned me off because I never liked the sauces.  I am not a huge ketchup person and the sweet of most sauces just turned me off.

I picked up a bottle of the Bull's Eye Guinness barbecue sauce to try and it was ... ok.  the sauce - the ribs were great but we just used a regular spice rub with light sauce, more to be added by each person.



Now, I really thought Guinness anything would be good and it was better than most sauces but still SWEET SWEET SWEET.

I love ribs - I love the slow cook and I make a brisket to weep over and now I want to do the same for ribs ...

Who has a good recipe?  I will test it and feature it here on www.foodiesunite.com ...

Let me know what you have!!

Most Googled Recipes of 2009

2010 is here and it is a whole new world of food and drink!  But what were we googling in 2009?

According to Restaurants & Institutions,  the top 10 most-Googled recipes of last year were:

1. Chili
2. Meatloaf
3. Cheesecake
4. Banana bread
5. Pancake
6. Salsa
7. Hummus
8. Lasagna
9. Apple pie
10. Meatball

Read more: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/01/the-top-10-most-googled-recipes-of-2009.html#ixzz0oa6TGtZS

Skillet Apples

This is one of my favorite ways to eat apples ... who can resist butter and apples AND sugar?!

Personally, I love to make this recipe from October through the holidays - it serves alot and makes a lovely addition to holiday dinners!  For an excellent dessert, serve it over some good old fashioned vanilla ice cream.

1/3 cup butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar depending on how sweet vs tart your apples are
2 TB of cornstarch (flour may be substituted)
1 1/2 cup water1/4 - 1/2 tsp cinnamon to your taste
4 medium apples peeled and sliced








Melt butter & stir in your cornstarch to make a consistency similar to a roux.



Add remaining ingredients.


Simmer & Stir.

Cook 15 min over low heat until apples are tender and thick sauce.


Serve and Enjoy!