Tabbouleh My Way

Recently I made a tabbouleh salad on the fly; mine used cooked couscous, finely diced red pepper, salt, pepper, grated carrot, olive oil, chopped curly Italian parsley and lots of fresh lemon juice squeezed on top.

I'm going to skip the carrot next time and try cilantro instead of parsley.  I might add some diced red onion; it's a Mediterranean dish you can adjust to your liking!

Simple Rice and Beans

I made a simple dish of rice and beans using some leftover, out-of-the-box Spanish rice I had.  I used some pinto beans from a can, shredded Chihuahua cheese, and some slightly sauteed green and serrano peppers.  I tossed some chopped cilantro on top and it was a great use of leftovers!
I'm not sure if this resembles anything Mexican, Tex-Mex, Cuban, or Southwestern but it worked out well enough.

Southwestern Corn Salad & Fish

Summer is here!  After spotting fresh Florida corn at Whole Foods, I was inspired to create this dish using Southwestern style flavors.  Here's what I did:

Corn & Black Bean Salad

3 ears fresh corn--boiled with kernals sliced off then chilled
1/4 to 1/3 red onion chopped fine
1/3 to 1/2 cup cilantro leaves chopped fine
1 lime
1 tsp salt
1 15 oz. can black beans--drained and rinsed

Boil the corn ears then slice off the kernals and place in fridge for chilling.  After 20 minutes or so mix all ingredients, adjusting flavors as needed!  Serve as a side.

In the photo, you can see I used this as a side for some sauteed Pacific Snapper.  The snapper was simply marinated with Louisiana hot sauce and olive oil and sauteed quickly.  I sprinkled cilantro leaves on top as shown.  My goal was to serve something hot and spicy with the chilled corn salad to counter it.  Next time I will probably add chopped red pepper to the dish.  Great summertime chow!!

Spinach, Tomato, Artichoke, and Goat Cheese Dip!!

After dining recently at English Pub in Chicago, I wanted to make something like their tasty Spinach, Artichoke, and Goat Cheese Dip.

I chopped two cloves of garlic, a small local ripe tomato (from Mayneland Farm in Naperville, IL), and a jar of artichoke hearts. I sauteed them lightly in olive oil and then added 1/3 bag of baby spinach leaves. I added a few shakes of red pepper flakes to add a bit of fire (not much, just a bit).

After about 10 minutes of cooking, I added a container of grocery-size crumbled goat cheese and let the mix blend a few minutes longer. To top it off, I sprinkled on just a bit of parmesan cheese.

I served the mix atop grilled French bread. The dish holds up well with a Pinto Grigio or a Sauvignon Blanc. Don't be fooled by looks, this tastes wonderful!!

White Beans in Tomato Sauce with Fresh Herbs

I modified a simple side dish recipe in last months' Food and Wine.

It turned out quite well and tasted great with a simple red table wine.

*Saute 1 can of cannellini beans (white northern beans) in 1 TBSP olive oil for a few minutes
*add half to 2/3 of an 8 oz. can tomato sauce
*add some cheddar or other cheese crumbles to taste
*before serving, tear up fresh basil and rosemary leaves to taste
*add fresh black pepper to taste

Pan Fried Onions

These sauteed onions make an excellent burger topping. I learned to fry up many buckets of sliced white onion on the big ripple grill at Murphy's Pub in Champaign, IL around 1992-1993.

Just thinly slice up 1-2 yellow or sweet onions and saute on high heat with a generous amount of olive oil. Turn occasionally, letting the onion caramelize pretty well. They are done when slightly fried and rubbery and work very well on top of burgers with cheddar!

Greek Spinach Side Dish

1) saute pine nuts in olive oil
2) add a full bag of spinach, saute gently
3) drizzle lemon juice to taste, sprinkle with garlic salt (optional)
4) sprinkle red pepper flakes (optional)
5) saute until well cooked
6) top with feta crumbles and serve