Lemon Sole En Papillote with Fennel-Apple-Citrus Slaw

This fast and no mess fish recipe takes only 20 minutes and works great every time. Lemon sole is a bit larger and, in my opinion, tastier then dover sole, plus its half the price. This complete dish take 40 minutes, costs $15 and feeds two people.

Lemon Sole En Papillote

2 6oz filets of lemon sole

1 bunch fennel frawns (or dill)

1/2 orange, sliced

1/2 cup chopped fennel stalks

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 shallots, thin sliced

salt and white pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375. Layout a large piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper (dont use wax paper!). Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. Lay fennel frawns on one side and roll the fish starting at the thick side. Place rlled fish on the foil and mix in chopped fennel, celery, shallot, olive oil and orange. Seal the foil making sure its 100% sealed. Place on a backing sheet in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. Remove and open carefully, there is hot steam inside. Reserve the liquid inside the foil as a sauce.

Fennel Apple Citrus Slaw

1/2 head of cabbage, shredded

1 fennel bulb, shredded

2 gala apples, julienne on a mandolin

2 bartlett pears, julienne on a mandolin

4 celery stalks, peeled and julienne on a mandolin

2 shallots, julienne on a mandolin

2 carrots, shredded

handful of celery leaves, left whole

1/4 cup fresh squeezed navel orange juice

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 cup guava juice

2 tablespoons truffle honey (or regular honey)

2 tablespoons dijon mustard

3 teaspoons celery salt

3 teaspoons dry dill

4 teaspoons kosher salt

4 teaspoons white pepper

Use a box grater to shred and a mandolin to julienne all the items. Mix together and let stand 30 minutes. Mix again and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Buon Apetito!

Maple Soy Duck Breast with Parsnip Puree, Golden Beets and Broccolini

This quick duck dish looks a lot harder than it actually is to prepare. This costs about $12, feeds one and takes about 40 minutes.

Maple Soy Duck Breast

1 duck breast, thawed and scored

4 tablespoons nama shoyu (organic unflitered soy sauce) or soy sauce

4 tablespoons real maple syrup

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Start a medium sautee pan over medium heat and let get hot for 5 minutes. In a small sauce pan add soy and maple and put over low heat to reduce. Season the skin side of the duck liberally with salt and pepper. Place skin side down in a pan. Let cook about 12 minutes or until the skin is very golden and crispy. Remove from the heat and flip the breast, then brush the soy maple mixture over the top and place the whole pan in the oven. Let cook 10 minutes and remove and let rest. Slice long ways for a better presentation.

Parsnip Puree

1 large organic parsnip, diced

1/2 organic white onion, diced

3 cloves organic garlic

1/16 cup of EV olive oil

salt and white pepper

Start onion, parsnip and garlic in cold water in a medium sauce pan over high heat and bring toa boil. Reduce to medium high until parsnip is fork tender. Drain and add to food processor or a blender. Add olive oil while you are pureeing. If its too thick add some warm water a few tablespoons at a time. Season with salt and pepper.

Roasted Organic Golden Beet

2 small organic golden beets

Halve them and place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until tender.

Broccolini

1 bunch broccolini

Blanch the broccolini in boiling water and then plunge in a water and ice bath. Sautee with butter and oil for 5 minutes.

Use the remaining maple-soy glaze for a sauce and there you have it. Simple elegance. Buon Appetito!!

Chilean Seabass with Mashed Potatoes and Swiss Chard

Chilean Seabass has gotten very expensive due to high demand but when its fresh there are few fish that rival its buttery flavor and texture. This dish costs $50 ($35 for the fish) takes about 45 minutes and feeds two.

Pan Roasted Chilean Seabass

2 6oz pieces of chilean seabass

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of olive oil

salt and white pepper

2 tablespoons fresh parsley

2 tablespoons of apricot juice

Preheat the oven to 350. Get a medium non stick sautee pan on medium high heat. Add oil and butter. Season the fish and place in the pan for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden and then flip. Using a spoon baste the excess butter and oil onto the fish while its cooking. Do the for 3 to 4 minutes. Place the whole pan in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes and remove. Remove the fish from the pan and let rest. Add the parsley and apricot juice to the same pan and let heat up for 3 minutes. Spoon the sauce over the fish.

Mashed Potatoes with Green Chard

2 large white potatoes, peeled and diced

2 bunch green chard, de-stemmed and sliced into ribbons

4 cloves of garlic

1/4 white onion

2 tablespoons of butter

Start a medium stock pot with cold water and potatoes, garlic and onion and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium and let cook until potatoes are fork tender. In a separate sautee pan cook the chard with some butter and olive oil for 7 to 10 minutes or until tender. Mix butter, green chard and drained potato, onion, garlic mixture together and mash well.

This is still my favorite fish of all time. Be careful not to overcook it and Im sure you will agree. Buon Apetito!!

Broiled Chicken with Sweet Potato Mash and Roasted Crimini Mushrooms

This is another fast and easy dish that requires only use of the oven and has virtually no clean up. It takes about 45 minutes, costs $10 and feeds two people.

Sweet Potato Mash

2 medium organic sweet potatoes

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoon butter

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon coriander

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Start oven a 375. Wrap sweet potatoes in foil and place on the middle oven rack. Let cook for 40 minutes or until tender to the touch. Remove skins and mix all the ingredients together.

Broiled Chicken

2 organic chicken breasts

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

salt and pepper

olive oil

Season chicken with olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Place the chicken breasts on a foil lined baking sheet and place in the oven for 15 minutes. Turn the broiler on high and place the chicken two racks down. Let it cook for about 5 minutes or until a nice char starts to occur. Watch closely as it goes from brown to black very quickly. Remove from oven and let stand for 4 minutes. Slice and shape.

Roasted Crimini Mushrooms

2 cups organic crimini mushrooms (baby portabello)

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

salt and pepper

Wash and slice mushrooms in half. toss with olive oil, red pepper, salt and pepper. Place cut side down on a foil baking sheet. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes, put them in at the same time as the chicken.

The sauce is the leftover sauce I made for the rabbit but a simple reduction of chicken stock and onions with some sherry vinegar would be an easy substitute.

Simple, fast, easy, almost no cutting or dishes to do...Buon Apetito!!

Braised Rabbit with Almond Puree and Sauteed Swiss Chard

This somewhat complex dish is a traditional northern Italian preparation of rabbit. I added a few ingredients to customize the dish and add some earthy and delicious flavors. It costs about $30, takes 1.5 hours and fed two very hungry men.

Braised Rabbit

1/2 a farm raised rabbit, cut to three pieces

1/2 organic white onion, chopped,

2 large organic carrots, peeled and chopped

1 organic leek, chopped

1 organic jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped

2 organic celery stalks, chopped

8 cloves organic garlic, chopped

1/2 cup orange juice

2 tangerines, juiced and zested (optional, oranges are a good sub)

1 bunch fresh thyme, whole

1 cup chicken stock

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

1/2 cup flour

Remove rabbit from the package and clean. In a small pyrex bowl place the rabbit with 1/8 cup of olive oil, crushed red pepper, one tangerine juiced and zested, salt and 3 cloves of garlic and let sit for at least an hour. Start the oven at 350. Start a large dutch oven or LeCrusset on medium heat and add olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Remove rabbit from marinade and pat dry. Dust the rabbit in the flour and shake off excess. Sear the rabbit till golden on each side, about 5 minutes. Remove and let rest on a baking rack. In the same pan add a bit more olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter. Add onions, carrots, peppers, leeks, celery and garlic and cook for 7 minutes or until onions become translucent. Deglaze the pan with some white wine or clear alcohol, I used cointreau to stick to the orange theme. Now add orange juice, tangerine juice, tangerine zest, chicken stock and thyme. Bring this mixture to a lite booil and then add the rabbit pieces. Cover the pot and place the whole thing in the oven for 45 minutes.

Remove the rabbit pieces and set aside. Strain the remaining liquid and place the strained liquid in a small saucepan. Place on low to reduce, add salt and pepper to taste. Spoon braising liquid sauce over the rabbit.

Almond Puree

1/2 cup blanched and peeled almond (you can buy them like this)

2 organic bartlet pears, halved and cored

2 organic gala apples, halved and cored

1/4 organic leek, thin sliced

1 tablespoon truffle honey

1/8 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons of water

salt and white pepper

Place the almonds and leeks along withe the pears and apples cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 or until pears and apples are soft. Peel skins from apples and pears and place all the cooked items plus the truffle honey in a blender or food processor. Start pureeing and slowly add the olive oil. Then add the water to get a smooth even consistency. Season to taste.

Sauteed Swiss Chard

2 bunches organic swiss chard, stemmed and chopped

6 cloves organic garlic, medium chop

1/2 organic red onion, medium dice

3 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoon olive oil

Start a large saute pan on medium low heat. Add olive oil and butter then onions and garlic. Let cook for 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally until the onions and garlic are soft and lightly golden. Add chard and toss, let cook 7 to 10 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

Plate it all up and get to grubbing! Buon Apetito!!

Panzanella Salad

This simple, classic salad is refreshing and easy to make. The main components of panzanella are dry or semi stale bread soaked in water or vinaigrette and fresh tomatoes. This salad cost $15, feeds two and takes 20 minutes or less.

Panzanella Salad

1/4 piece of italian or french bread, toasted to dry or semi stale, large chunks

1 organic garden tomato

1 package organic arugula

1 piece fresh buffala mozzarella

Sherry Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh herb (thyme, oregano, basil or whatever)

salt and pepper

Start by making the vinaigrette. Then add the tomatoes and the bread to the vinaigrette and toss. Let sit 5 minutes. Chop the mozzarella into small cubes and then toss the mozzarella and arugula into the tomatoes and bread. Season with salt and pepper. Buon Apetito!!