Cooking with Coley

As I said earlier this week, I’m in total veggie mode.  I’ve been dying for some grilled portobellos, so I decided to try something new last night with what I had in my fridge.

I don’t know about you all, but I love mushrooms in general, and when they’re on the grill – pure deliciousness!

This is another healthy and super simple dish to create — it can be served as an appetizer, dinner or side.  Last night I had one as a side, but since it was so yummy, I had two tonight for dinner!

As I’ve been getting more and more engaged and involved with the foodie community, sometimes I stop and wonder  – “what in the world am I doing?”  I don’t have the refined skills that others have.  I have never made homemade pasta or my own grilled calamari.  But then I try and remind myself what it is I’m here for – sharing simple and healthy recipes to inspire home cooks to think outside the box, as well as keeping a diary of my adventures in the kitchen.  Heck, one of these days maybe I will even try to make my own pasta!  The fact that all these other foodies and culinary experts are finding interest in me and my recipes, is really quite flattering!  I’m glad I’m bringing something to the table.  Pun intended

So back to the recipe – here’s one for everyone from foodies to chefs, to mushroom lovers to non-experienced cooks!  Give it a whirl next time you’re in the mood for something new.

What you’ll need:

• 2 large portobello caps, cleaned and stem scraped out
• 1/2 cup frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
• 1/8 cup part skim shredded mozzarella cheese (only adds 40 cals)
• 1 tbsp chopped vidalia onion
• 1 portuguese red finger pepper, chopped (note: you can substitute this for pepperoncinis or red bell pepper if you don’t want to add any heat – the red just adds a nice flair and look to the presentation)
• 1 1/2 tbsps grated Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmesan (only adds 30 cals)
• 1/2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• Salt and Pepper

Procedure:

• Lightly dust the outside of the portobello caps with EVOO and salt and pepper
• Combine spinach, pepper, onion, and 1 tbsp Romano in a bowl – stuff cap
• Grill until stuffing is warm and outside is cooked through
• Sprinkle remaining 1/2 tbsp onto portobello and enjoy!

Easy right?  How do you make your stuffed mushrooms?

With spring and the arrival of good weather often comes more drinking and in turn more snacking.  It’s hard to not want to grab a drink after work and have some beers and nachos when you’re at a Fenway or a bar watching a Sox game.   With summer right around the corner and a trip to LA this weekend, I’m in particular health-conscious mode and am trying to increase my veggie intake.

Last night I decided to experiment with a veggie trio that I haven’t tried in the past.  It was simple and quick and a good alternative to the usual cucumber and tomato salad.  I really love asparagus, so I’m looking for new ways to serve it outside of just grilling it (although that is one of my favorite preparations of it!). Give it a try and let me know what you think!

What you’ll need:

• 1 head of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1″ pieces
• A handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
• 1/2 vidalia onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure:

• Saute asparagus pieces, garlic and 1/2 of the onion portion (so this would be 1/4 of the full onion) in 1 tbsp EVOO
• Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until asparagus is bright green and slightly tender; remove and place in a bowl
• Heat remaining EVOO and balsamic, add salt and pepper and cook on med-low heat until it starts to reduce
• Toss asparagus in balsamic reduction
• After asparagus cools, add tomatoes and the remaining onions; toss
• Refrigerate for 20 minutes and serve!

Do you like asparagus?  If so, please share with me some of your favorite asparagus recipes!

Have you ever heard of Famous Dave’s BBQ? I hadn’t until my PR firm helped with a store opening for them a couple of years ago.  Although they have restaurants in 36 states, I haven’t had the opportunity to eat at one and therefore was previously unfamiliar with the restaurant, menu or product offerings.

Anyways, thanks to some folks in my office assisting with the store launch, a few extra bottles of this stuff popped up for us to try out.  I took a bottle home without any expectations.  I don’t particularly like ribs nor do I make them, so the opportunities of using this seemed limited.  That is, until one day I was feeling a little uninspired and uncreative in the kitchen and decided to rub it onto a set of boneless pork chops.  Despite its name “Rib Rub,” the fine print says it’s actually great on pork chops and steak.  Wish I saw that sooner!

So here’s where the “recipe” part comes in – All you have to do with it is pat the chop dry and rub in a little seasoning.  You don’t need much because this stuff is bursting with flavor (I know it sounds cliché, but it’s so true)!

It’s such a simple, yet delicious option to spice up a lean piece of meat.  It adds this salty flavorful kick with a hint of sweetness that Ryan and I cannot get enough of.

Since that first trial, we’ve used it nearly every time we make pork chops on the grill and have even extended it to chicken breasts and chicken tenderloins.   Lately we’ve been preparing a ton of chicken at the beginning of the week and using it for wraps and salads for lunch the next couple days.   After that first bottle ran out, I’ve already made two online orders to ensure we always have a bottle on hand.  We’ve even bought some for our friends who also were so impressed with it!

Hey Famous Dave’s BBQ, can you please open a store a bit closer to Boston and save me some dough on shipping?

How do you prepare chops and chicken on the grill?  What’s your favorite rub?  Even though we love Famous Daves, we’re open to trying something new… maybe

Note: Famous Dave’s was never my client, and this is a total unbiased, “un-PR-related” post.

Hi Everyone!  Unfortunately, this has been an insanely busy week, and I haven’t been able to get a lot of posts up. Headed home to Syracuse tonight to celebrate Mom’s birthday, but I’ll try to make up for it this weekend/next week.  However, in the mean time, check out my guest post over at Travel Eat Love!  I was able to contribute to the Foodie Friday Feature, and it was so fun!

Hungry for Japanese? You should also check out Basho Japanese Brasserie in Fenway.  It just opened, and we went this week and it was delicious! I recommend the spicy garlic edamame! Mmmmm!

The day I read Marla’s recipe for Crispy Crunchy Roasted Chickpeas, I knew I had to make them.  I have always liked chickpeas, or garbanzo beans as they’re also called, but it had never crossed my mind to eat them any other way then out of a can in a salad. And you thought I was creative.

After buying a can (I started with only one in case I somehow messed them up), I came right home and turned on the oven.  After some quick prep and approximately 40 minutes of cooking, they were ready, and they were exactly as I had hoped – crispy, crunchy and delicious.

You can get Marla’s recipe here.  I followed the steps pretty closely, just tossed them a bit more often because I was paranoid they might burn (you can never trust these apartment oven temps).    For spices, I chose to use garlic powder, Lawry’s seasoning salt and crushed red pepper.  Next time I am going to add the Portuguese crushed red pepper as well because I love everything extra spicy.

I know I call  a lot of recipes easy, but it doesn’t get much easier then this.  It’s also an incredibly healthy snack option.  If you’re like me, you’re probably always looking for a new snack idea to bring to the office or take on the go.  Thank you, Marla, for opening my eyes to this new treat!

Check out Marla’s Family Fresh Cooking blog for other healthy and fresh snack ideas.

Lately we’ve been making pork quite a bit.  We really enjoy it, and it’s a nice alternative to chicken, heck it’s “the other white meat” right?

This recipe can apply to either pork or chicken, so feel free to use whatever you prefer.  Once again, this is an easy recipe and very healthy as well.  It pairs nicely with a potato or rice.  We used a brown pilaf to get in more fiber and keep it a bit more nutritious.

What you’ll need:

• Boneless pork chops
• Spinach
• Light cheese (feta or mozzarella)
• Roasted red peppers
• Salt & Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• EVOO (Extra virgin olive oil)

Procedure:

• Pat each pork chop dry
• Cut a slit in each pork chop in the middle
• Fill slit with spinach, cheese and pepper mixture
• Season pork chops with salt, pepper and garlic powder (or any other seasoning you prefer)
• Heat frying pan, add EVOO and place pork chops in pan — note you don’t want an overly large pan.  You want them to fittighly with not a lot of extra surface area in the pan
• After pork is lightly browned, remove and put in a baking cover, cover
• Put in preheated oven at 400 degrees and cook for approximately 10 minutes (pork should be cooked until it has an internal temperature of 160)

And that’s it!  If you want to get creative and make a pan sauce using the juices of the pork, that’s another great option but definitely for the more ambitious.  I’ll save that for another post.

Do you eat pork or chicken more often?  Try this with either one and please let me know what you think.

Hey All!  My full recap of The Boston Shaker is posted on The Food Passport site.  Anyone want to sign up to attend an upcoming class with me?!

The weather has been just beautiful in the Northeast – it feels like exactly what I think of when I think of Spring – sunshine, happiness and energy and life everywhere you look.  Whether it’s runners and bikers working up a sweat, the smokey smell of a grill or the crowded streets in our Fenway neighborhood this week, Spring has taken over Boston and I LOVE it.

In the spirit of Spring, I made a delicious and healthy veggie side dish for Easter dinner.  When flipping through this month’s Every Day with Rachel Ray magazine, this beautiful presentation of vivid colors caught my eye, and I knew I had to make it on Easter.  I modified the recipe a bit, and when I make it next time there are some things I still plan to do differently, but I’ll take you through it and let you decide what sounds the most yummy to you!

What you’ll need:

• 1 bunch of asparagus; trimmed and cut into angled 1″ pieces
• 1 head of endive ( Note: this is very bitter; I will leave it out next time around, but some of you may be endive fans)
• 1 head of radicchio, halved and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup pine nuts – toasted
• 3 tbsps pepperoncini (the recipe called for one, but I like to add a little more kick)
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
• 4 tbsps balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper

Procedure:

• First heat  1   1/2 teaspoons EVOO, add pine nuts and cook stirring regularly until golden brown - note they can burn fast, so keep a close eye on them.  It will take about 5 minutes; remove pine nuts when finished
• Heat another 1  1/2 teaspoons  EVOO and then add cut asparagus,  cook for 3-4 minutes until bright green but still crisp; season with salt and pepper in pan; remove when finished and add to a bowl with pepperoncini, radicchio and endive (again, endive is optional!)
• Heat another 3 tbsps  EVOO; add garlic and stir in vinegar; cook until slightly reduced and add over mixed veggies in bowl; toss and add more salt and pepper to taste
• Pour veggies on the platter/serving dish and sprinkle pine nuts on top

It’s really quote easy folks and I highly recommend giving it a try!

Anyways, back to endive… I think it might be an acquired taste.  Do you like it?  If so, what dishes do you like to include it in?   Feel free to sell me on it because I swear I’ve enjoyed it in the past, but this weekend it was a bit too bitter for me.

So I know I talk a healthy lifestyle, but it doesn’t mean I don’t like to enjoy a glass of wine and a cocktail or two.   However, despite a Beer and Wine Appreciation class I took my senior year at Syracuse University, I can’t claim to know much about the subject matter – nothing like my pal Kevin from Cocktail Enthusiast.

Thanks to my awesome gig writing for The Food Passport Website, I got to attend a cocktail making class at The Boston Shaker in Somerville and beef up my knowledge just a bit.

First, let me tell you that The Boston Shaker is a little gem tucked away into the outskirts of Boston.   I actually wish Kevin still lived in the area, so I could take him there to relish in its array of offerings.   The Boston Shaker is owned and run by Adam – a true connoisseur of the art of making cocktails.    As the current cocktail movement continues to build momentum, Adam is helping to lead the way in Boston by offering an array of excellent specialty cocktail products like unique bitters, sophisticated barware and imported garnishes while also teaching Bostonians how to make specialty cocktails at home.  Although still undiscovered by many of the average cocktail people like myself, the best bartenders in Boston (from Drink and Eastern Standard among others), head to The Boston Shaker to get their supplies.

So anyways, back to my night… I joined Adam and Flea Foster, wine buyer of Dave’s Fresh Pasta Bar, along with another 10 local residents to learn some tricks of the trade.  For only $45 each, the attendees (and myself) enjoyed an hour and a half of fun, drinks and cocktail education.

The focus of the night was “wine based cocktails” incorporating port, sherry and vermouth.  Before the recipe and real ”learning” began, guests started with a flute of Prosecco with a hibiscus flower (yes – it’s edible!).  The drink was both delicious and dapper.  In fact it looked so chic, I had to invest in two jars of the wild hibiscus in syrup before leaving that night.  We’ll be enjoying some of these delectable treats today for Easter!

So if you’re like me and wondering where the heck the idea of a flower in sparkling wine came from, I am happy to tell you.  According to Adam, this ingenious idea came from an Australian couple who decided to add the flowers to “add a little flash.”   Apparently Australians love it, so much that some residing in Boston have actually gone into The Boston Shaker looking to buy a jar.

More details on The Boston Shaker will be posted soon on The Food Passport.  In the meantime, line up some friends or find a date and sign up for an evening of fun, learning and cocktail tasting at The Boston Shaker.

Happy Easter everyone!  Time for some mimosas!