Chocolate Hummus Bundt Cake

Yes, I said Chocolate Hummus Bundt Cake!

When I was in Richmond, VA as Sabra;s guest, Executive Research Chef MaryDawn Wright made our group a hummus cake & it was amazing! I've never had anything like it. So tasty and moist. I asked her how she did it and like a true chef, she said she really didn't have a recipe but that she had substituted Sabra Classic Hummus for butter. I knew right then that I was on a quest to recreate this amazing dessert!

Once I returned to Philly I got ahold of a chocolate cake recipe from my grandmother's handwritten cookbook. The first two times I tried to make a hummus cake, I was unsuccessful with the cake dry and heavy, more like a pound cake.

Determined, I marched on & like they say, the third time's a charm. Today's cake was just what I was shooting for. Moist, light & flavorful with a hint of nuttiness imparted by the hummus, this cake was off the hook! I'm overjoyed with the result.

Below is the recipe if you'd like to give it a try.

Ingredients: 
3 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/2 cup shortening, 3 cups white sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 5 eggs, 1 cup milk, I cup Sabra Classic Hummus plus one tablespoon.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream hummus, shortening, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Add flour mixture alternately with the milk. Mix well.
Pour into 10 inch Bundt pan. Bake at 325 F for 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a wire rack, lightly ice cake while still warm so icing runs down the cake and cool completely.

Once out of the oven you'll have a delicious dessert that looks like this:

Roast Chicken w/ Brandy-Vanilla Butter

Roast Chicken w/ Brandy-Vanilla Butter

Ingredients:

4 tbsp unsalted butter, very soft

1 tbsp brandy (Christian Brothers works well)

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 3 1/2 to 4 lb chicken, patted dry with paper towels

Directions:
preheat oven to 400 degrees (or metric equivalent)

In a medium sized bowl whisk together butter, brandy, vanilla extract, sugar, 1/2 tsp sea salt, & 1/2 tsp black pepper until you form a smooth, supple compound butter. In the beginning it will seem like the butter mix is curdling but keep whisking until the ingredients submit to your whisking and form a well mixed compound butter.

Season the inside of the cavity with the remaining salt and pepper. Loosen the skin at the neck and carefully slide your fingers underneath, slowly lifting the skin from the meat. Divide the butter into fourths and take 1/4 of the compound butter and reach under the skin smearing the butter all over the meat. Be generous and reach down as far as you can, trying to get all the way down to the thighs.

Take another fourth of the butter and repeat the process on the outside of the skin, top and bottom, repeating until your fourth of butter is gone. (Think hot oil massage!)

Grab another section of butter and rub all over the inside of the cavity until the butter is gone. Work it into every section of the cavity, including the front and rear entrances. Lube it up good! 

Take remaining butter and roll in parchment paper or plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator.

Place the chicken on a baking or roasting rack set over a baking dish or roasting pan. Roast for one hour. Remove from oven and rub the outside of the chicken with the remaining butter until the butter is gone and the bird is dripping. Return to oven for fifteen minutes.

Remove from oven and set on a cutting board for ten minutes to allow the juices to return to the chicken then carve and enjoy.

Chocolate BBQ Sauce

This past weekend I was in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Before coming home I made a side trip to Hershey, PA to visit Hershey's Chocolate World. This small place, just outside of Hershey Park is a chocolate lover's utopia! All things chocolate and all things Hershey exist in this little slice of heaven. After doing a little chocolate shopping, I decided to grab a bite to eat before hitting the road for the 90 mile drive home. I got a simple chicken sandwich but what made that sandwich pop was CHOCOLATE BBQ SAUCE! It was amazing, delicious, and like nothing I've ever had before. Yesterday, I fooled around with a bbq sauce recipe a little bit and came up with this concoction and it's pretty close to what I tasted when I was in Hershey.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp prepared mustard
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce 

Directions

In a sauce pan saute onions and garlic in olive oil, cooking until tender. Stir in lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika and hot sauce. Simmer for 5 to 6 minutes and reduce heat. Stir in ketchup, vinegar and Hershey’s Syrup. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. This is great on chicken or pork as a marinade and I may even give it a try on a turkey burger. This is easy to make and has a great chocolate flavor.

If you like things a little less sweet then try melting down 1/2 cups worth of Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate. The dark chocolate has a less sugary taste.

Holiday Appetizers

Well, the holiday season is upon us. Holiday work gatherings, family get together's, & neighborhood pot lucks will be soon popping up. I'm going to list a few quick appetizers that will dazzle the crowd, no matter what type of gathering you attend. 

Hummus Deviled Eggs

Mix 6 yolks from 12 hard boiled eggs with 1 1/4 cups Sabra Classic Hummus. Pipe into eggs, sprinkle with smoked paprika, & garnish with fresh parsley.

Spicy Devil Shrimp Cocktail Sauce

Jazz up your cocktail sauce by mixing in one container of Sabra Homestyle Salsa and adding a tsp of Srirachi Sauce and mix until well blended. Serve with pick and peel shrimp.This kicked up cocktail sauce will be the hit of the party and everyone will be asking you for the recipe.

Bacon & Pear Bites

Cut just ripe pears into 1/2 inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt, sugar, and cayenne pepper. spear on a toothpick with crispy bacon.

Spicy Maple Nuts

Mix 2 cups each of pecans, almonds, and walnuts with 1/4 cup maple syrup, 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsp chopped herbs (your choice), & 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. Bake @ 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

White Chocolate Grapes

Melt white chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Spear grapes with toothpicks. Dip grapes in white chocolate then roll in sprinkles or holiday colored sugar. Refrigerate until set.

Enjoy these appetizers and please feel free to share them with as many folks as you like. 

Pre Thanksgiving Prep Work

It's 2:45 and I am at work running through all the prep work I need to do for Thanksgiving dinner. (Remind me why I agreed to work midnight to 7:00 am?) I've got peppers to chop, turnips to peel and cut, ground turkey sausage to cook for the stuffing, chestnuts to roast; The list goes on and on. It certainly is going to be a busy day but....my sister's Kim and Megan are taking care of ALL of the desserts so that is a BIG load out of the way & my brother Bob is coming over on Turkey day to help in the kitchen. He's also a good cook but doesn't take direction very well so we will just stay on opposite sides of the kitchen and get done what needs to be finished.

Anyhow, back to the matters at hand. Wednesday's prep work. I'm making two soups for Thanksgiving dinner. Butternut Squash (recipe in previous post) and Spicy Tomato Bisque. Both of these soups need to be made the day before because there just isn't the time to do them on Thursday and I need to do the other things I listed above too.

A couple interesting things I am making are the Spicy Tomato Bisque Soup and Nutty Green Beans w/ Bacon & Blue Cheese (Not my recipe. Credit goes to Claire Robinson of TV's The Food Network). Below I am going to post both recipes and I hope you enjoy them.

Spicy Tomato Bisque Soup

Ingredients:

4 oz. brie cheese

4 slices of rye bread

1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree

1 teaspooon red pepper flakes 

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon white sugar

1/4 cup whole milk

4 ounces cream cheese, cubed

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves 

Sriracha sauce, to taste.

Directions:

Preheat the oven or a toaster oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Spread the Brie cheese onto two slices of bread, and top with remaining slices. Place on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 8 minutes, turning once halfway through. Cut in half, and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together the tomato puree, red pepper flakes, black pepper, basil, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes.

Whisk in the cream cheese until well blended, then stir in the milk. Heat through without bringing to a boil. Stir in the fresh basil, and remove from the heat. Taste for heat quotient. If more heat is needed, add Srirachi sauce a little at a time and whisk well into soup until you get the heat you desire.

To serve, place each sandwich half into a separate bowl. Ladle soup over each sandwich.

Nutty Greens with Bacon and Blue Cheese

Ingredients:

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound haricots verts, trimmed
• 3 slices bacon
• 4 ounces blue cheese, cut into small chunks
• 1 1/2 cups toasted whole pecans, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the haricots verts and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove the beans from the water and immediately place in a bowl of ice water. Remove the haricots verts from the ice water and set aside in a medium bowl.

In a large saute pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and place on paper towels. Add the beans to the bacon drippings and cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the blue cheese and toss just until it starts to melt. Break the cooked bacon into bite-size pieces and add to pan. Finish by stirring in the toasted chopped pecans. Season with the freshly ground black pepper and just a tiny pinch of kosher salt. When you make this it should be the last item on your menu that you prepare because it's best served hot, right out of the pan. This is an amazing side dish that will knock the socks off of your guests. If you want to impress someone, this is your dish!

Earlier I was speaking of all the prep work I am doing today for Thanksgiving. Good kitchen tools are a must and you don't have to get killed on price to have good stuff. I check reviews before buying and have gotten some really good deals.

My cutting board is a 11 1/4" x 11 1/4" end grain bamboo cutting board. I've had it for two years and with a little care it still looks as good as the day I first used it.

Here's a link to the cutting board I have:

MIU France Bamboo Cutting Board 11.25" x 11.25

Good knives are also important so that you can work precisely, effortlessly, and without injury. Again, you don't have to spend a fortune to get good knives. You can pick up a decent set for under $75.00 easily. I have a pretty basic set I use at home that is made by Master Cutlery and endorsed by (don't laugh) Top Chef, the TV series. These knives are incredibly balanced and I haven't had to sharpen them more than twice in the 18 months I have had them & these are my everyday around the house knives.

You can take a look at my knives here:

Top Chef 5-Piece Knife Set by Master Cutlery

Last but not least, may each of my American friends have a Happy Thanksgiving & remember the reason for the day off (Hint: It's not to stuff your face until you explode or so that you can go get in line for the Black Friday deals). Give thanks for the important things in your life, especially the ones we take for granted on a daily basis. Peace out!

Upping My Game

Things have been busy in the firehouse lately with our call volume increasing, fire prevention duties, community service stuff, residential smoke detector installations, and a new lieutenant working on our shift. Our crew works our tails off. We are probably the most active platoon in the station and now that the cold weather is here it's just going to get busier.

Before the really busy season starts I wanted to treat the crew and the new lieutenant to a really good dinner (I know how to suck up to a new boss too!). Something over the top. A wowza meal. Something they would remember. This was going to take some planning. The biggest issue is time management because as everyone knows, at a moments notice we go from 0 to 60 and are on our way to answer a call.

After careful planning this is what I came up with:

Spring Salad

Baked Salmon over Truffled Cauliflower Puree

Razzberry Turnovers

Well, unbelievably the meal went off with out a hitch and it was well received by all. In the interest of sharing my love of food and cooking, the recipes and pictures are below.

Spring Salad

Ingredients:

4 cups baby arugula leaves, washed 

2 cups babay spinach, washed
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup Italian parsley leaves
1 small bunch fresh chives, chopped
1 cup thinly sliced radishes
1 cup shelled peas, blanched *

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan Cheese 

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

* To blanch peas: Drop it in boiling water for one minute, then place in an ice bath for one minute & drain

Directions:

Combine arugula, baby spinach, 

mint, parsley, chives, radishes and peas in a large bowl.  Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper together in a small bowl.  Pour 2/3 of the dressing over greens and toss to combine.  Arrange on plates.  Top with shaved Parmesan and lemon zest. Drizzle with remaining dressing. 

Baked Salmon over Truffled Cauliflower Puree

Ingredients: Truffled Cauliflower Puree   

                                                                                

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 shallot, chopped

1 pound cauliflower, cored and cut into small florets

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

1 tablespoon white truffle oil

Directions:

Heat butter in a large stockpot over medium heat.

Sauté shallot until translucent, then add cauliflower florets, cream, salt and pepper.

Stir to combine.

Cover pot and bring mixture to a boil.

Reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until the cauliflower is soft, about 10 minutes.

Add salt and white pepper; stir in truffle oil.

Transfer mixture to a blender.

Blend until smooth and creamy.

Ingredients: Sauteed Swiss Chard

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 small onion

2 cloves garlic

1 1/2 pounds Swiss chard (about 1 large bunch), cut into strips

 (baby spinach works if you can't find swiss chard)

1/2 cup dry white wine (such as Chardonnay)

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground white pepper

Directions: 

Heat oil in a large skillet.

Add onion and garlic, and sauté until fragrant.

Add the Swiss chard and sauté until slightly wilted, about 4 minutes.

Add the wine, salt and pepper; simmer until wine is reduced and Swiss chard is tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.

Ingredients: Baked Salmon

1 cup breadcrumbs (I use Panko breadcrumbs)

1/3 pound smoked salmon, very finely chopped

1/3 cup prepared horseradish

1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

4 (6-ounce) filets salmon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 280°F.

Combine panko, smoked salmon, horseradish, 1/3 cup olive oil, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

Stir until breadcrumbs absorb oil and mixture is combined.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Sear salmon on both sides, about 2 minutes per side.

Cool to room temperature. Evenly distribute panko mixture among the tops of the salmon filets.

Bake salmon for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crust is golden and salmon is just cooked through.

Razzberry Turnovers

(Ok. So I cheated on dessert)

Well, that's it. from prep time to plating took me about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

I hope you enjoy!

Salsa Sunday

Tonight I am catering a small party for twenty people. It's a drop off job where I just set up the event, drop off the food and pick up the equipment the next day. These are my favorite types of catering jobs because they are pure profit after the cost of the food.

This is a Mexican food themed party. I am making a couple of different types of salsa for this party and I thought I would share them here since my cooking philosophy is that "cooking is love" and I love sharing my passion for cooking with as many people as I can.

Mango Salsa

Ingredients

1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and diced (should be 1 1/2 cup)

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1 Jalapeno chile pepper, minced (include seeds and membrane for hotter taste)

1 small cucumber, peeled and diced

3 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 red bell pepper, diced (seeds and membrane removed)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 diced avocado (optional)

Directions

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If the salsa ends up being a little too hot or acidic for your taste, you can temper it by adding some diced avocado.

Corn Salsa

Ingredients

2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed

1/3 cup chopped purple onion

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 avocado, diced

1 1/2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours. Remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Serve corn salsa with grilled meat, poultry, or tortilla chips .
Makes about 5 cups.

Tomato Salsa

Ingredients3 Roma tomatoes 
¼ head of red cabbage
¼  cucumber
1 small red chili
1 small green chili
Extra virgin olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
1 lemon
1 lime
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp chopped mint
2 tsp chopped coriander

Directions

Chop all salad vegetables to chunky pieces and mix in a bowl. Finely chop garlic and add to mixture along with mint and coriander. Squeeze in the juice of lemon and lime and stir well. Drizzle 1 dessert spoon of extra virgin oil and finish with balsamic vinegar.

There you go. Three simple, yet tasty salsa recipes that are sure to be a hit. I hope you enjoy making these salsa's as much as I enjoyed sharing them with you.

Apple-less Apple Pie

Back in the day, during World War II, there was a shortage of apples. I'm not sure of the correlation between war and apples but it happened. So says my grandmother. Anyway, being the creative sort that they were, the people of her time improvised and made due with what they had. Below is my grandmothers recipe for apple-less apple pie. Give this a try. It's pretty darned good.

Ingredients:

Pastry dough for a two crust 9 inch pie. (You can use a pre made crust if you wish)
1 3/4 cups of Ritz crackers, coarsely crumbled (about 36 crackers)
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of one lemon
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Roll out half the pastry dough and line a 9 inch pie plate/tin. Put the cracker crumbs in the prepared crust and set aside. Heat water, sugar, and cream of tartar to a boil over high heat. Simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice & zest. Let cool. Pour the cooled mixture over the cracker crumbs. Dot it with butter or margarine. Roll out remaining pastry dough & arrange over pie, cutting slits in the top to vent the steam. Egg wash the pie crust to enhance the golden color of the crust. Bake at 425 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until pie crust is golden and crisp. Allow to cool before serving.

Got Chickpeas? Got Sweet Potatoes?

It's recipe Friday and as you may (or may not) know, I am the world's biggest hummus fan. I eat it, make it, cook with it & once used it to glue my mirror back on. Well, no not really on the mirror thing but I LOVE HUMMUS!

I have recently been embraced the science of flavor blending. I have been trying some seriously off the charts hummus flavors like lemon (tastes like a dessert), scallion, buffalo wing, and crabby but I've got to tell you that Sweet Potato Hummus might be my gift to the masses! This stuff rocks. I never tout my own food or my cooking but this stuff is that good! You can serve this warm or cold with the cracker or pita of your choice but if you are alone and want to be decadent, put a few dollops in a bowl and just eat it with a spoon. The recipe is below and I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Sweet Potato Hummus

Ingredients:

2 medium sweet potatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups cooked chickpeas (or one can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained)

3 tablespoons tahini

3 cloves garlic, peeled

juice of 1 lemon

zest of 1/2 lemon

ground sea salt, to taste

1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon cumin
pinch of cinnamon

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the sweet potatoes on the middle oven rack or in a baking dish for 45 minutes to an hour. They should yield to a gentle squeeze when they’re done baking.

While the sweet potatoes are cooling, toss all of the other ingredients into a food processor (if you’re sensitive to spice, you may want to save the spices for last and add them to taste). Once the sweet potatoes have cooled enough to handle, use a knife or your fingers to peel the skin off of them. Add the sweet potatoes to the food processor.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve.

Crown Pork Roast

Lately, I have been trying to get away from eating a lot of meat. I'm trying to achieve a better balance in my diet and add more variety also. Today is the first time this week I've eaten a four legged animal. Since my breathing has gotten better, I decided to roll the dice and go for the grand daddy of all pork related meals and cook a Crown Pork Roast for my coworkers tonight. It was amazing. I've made this before but each time it gets a little better as I adjust seasonings and cooking times. I cooked this at home today and let it finish at the oven in work while I made the stuffing, carrots and gravy. Here are the directions I use if you would like to try this. It looks more intimidating than it really is, especially if you have the butcher french the bones and tie the roast himself.

Cook the stuffing separately from the roast. Cooking with the stuffing in the center or cavity of the roast takes longer and may dry-out the meat.

Cook the roast in a pre-heated oven at 350°. General cooking time is 1 ¼ hours to 1 ¾ hours depending on the number of ribs and thickness of the meat.

Place a tin foil ball or a firm fitting tin can (label removed and washed) in the center of the roast. Both methods will help in retaining the shape of the roast and help it cook more evenly. If using a can it will create a chimney effect that can help the meat cook more quickly and circulate the hot air in the oven.

Season the roast to your liking. I use a combo of dried lemon peel, granulated garlic, fresh ground pepper, meat tenderizer, Spanish paprika, minced onion and sea salt. These are all one tablespoon measurements except for the lemon peel and sea salt which are 1/2 teaspoon measurements. Combine all seasonings in a zip top bag and shake until well mixed. Place a small piece of tin foil as a cap over the tip of each of the bones. Allow the roast to rest on the kitchen counter for twenty minutes before cooking.

Use a meat thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches 140° to 145° the roast can be removed from the oven. Keep in mind that when the roast is removed from the oven and is resting before carving, it will continue to cook a little more and allow the juices to come back to the center of the roast.

After cooking remove the roast from the oven and allow it to rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Slice the roast between the ribs allowing approximately one rib per serving or more if serving real hungry firefighters.

Chicken Whacked

Chicken Whacked                       Ingredients:

2 boneless chicken breasts,
breadcrumbs
4 eggs
pesto sauce
fresh shaved sharp provolone cheese
vegetable oil
4 long sandwich rolls
lettuce
tomato
red onion

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a skillet or non stick pan. Butterfly cut the chicken breasts, then cut in half, creating four pieces, set aside. Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl. Place breadcrumbs on a plate. Dip each piece of chicken in the egg, letting the excess drip off. Coat chicken with breadcrumbs and fry for two minutes on each side. Remove from oil and pat away excess oil with a paper towel. Place chicken on an ungreased baking sheet and place in oven for twelve minutes. Remove chicken from oven and brush with pesto sauce and layer the provolone cheese on top. Return chicken to oven for five minutes to melt cheese. Remove from oven and place on sandwich roll with lettuce, tomato, and onion.

Avocado Turkey Burgers

Avocado Turkey Burgers

1 ripe, Fresh  Avocado

1 ½ tsp. lemon juice, plus extra as needed

2 Tbsp. diced green chili peppers

1egg, lightly beaten

2 tsp.chopped green onion

1clove garlic, minced or pressed

½ tsp. salt

1 lb. ground turkey

4 slices of cheese (your choice)

4hamburger buns, split and toasted

 lettuce leaves (your choice)

4 thin slices tomato

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

Halve avocado lengthwise and remove seed; then peel. Slice the avocado and coat pieces with lemon juice; set aside.

In a bowl, mash remaining avocado half. Stir in chile peppers, egg, onion, the remaining lemon juice, garlic and salt.

Add beef and combine thoroughly (mixture will be moist).

With your hands, shape meat into 4 patties, each about 3/4 inch thick.

Grill patties for 4-5 minutes on each side. Patties are done when juices run clear. Place cheese slice on patties, close grill lid and cook until cheese begins to melt 45 - 60 seconds.

Arrange patties on bottoms of buns and top each patty with lettuce leaves, tomato slice, and a few avocado slices. Place bun tops on patties and serve. 

Red Velvet Pancakes

This is just a "feel good" breakfast item combining two of my favorite things; pancakes and red velvet cake. I hope you enjoy it.

Red Velvet Pancakes

1 1/2 cups prepared pancake batter

2 eggs

3 tbsp melted salted butter

2 tbsp oil (I used tangerine infused olive oil)

1/2 cup water

2 cups red velvet cake mix

confectioners sugar

Pam or similar non stick spray

Combine eggs, butter, oil and water. Beat with a whisk until liquid is well combined and foamy. Add red velvet mix and pancake batter. Mix with a whisk until combined. Do not over beat (batter should be lumpy). Set batter aside for 30 minutes before cooking. Spray non stick spray on a hot griddle.  Drop about 2 oz. of batter on a hot, greased griddle. Cook until bubbly, a little dry around the edges, and lightly browned on the bottom; turn and brown the other side. Do not pat down pancakes or they will flatten. Plate pancakes and sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Broiled Scallops, Pesto Pasta, & Roasted Asparagus

Hi Folks,

Here is a very easy broiled scallops recipe that will knock your socks off. It will get you rave reviews reviews because the flavor just jumps out at you. I've served this over angel hair pasta with pesto sauce (recipe below) and roasted asparagus (recipe below).

 

Broiled Scallops

2 lb. sea or bay scallops

4 tbsp. melted butter

1/4 tbsp. garlic salt

4 tbsp. lemon juice

1/4 tsp. oregano

4 tbsp. orange juice

Combine melted butter, salt, garlic, lemon juice and oregano; pour over scallops. Let stand 10 minutes. Drain and save marinade. Arrange scallops in a shallow metal broiling  pan. Broil 4 inches from broiler for 10 minutes until lightly brown. Add juice  to marinade - spoon over scallops. Broil 1-2 minutes longer.

Basil Pesto Sauce

Ingredients

3 cups packed fresh basil leaves

4 cloves garlic

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Combine basil, garlic, Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Blend to a smooth paste. Add parsley if desired.

 Oven Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients

1 bunch thin asparagus spears, trimmed

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat an oven to 425 degrees. Place the asparagus into a mixing bowl, and drizzle with the olive oil. Toss to coat the spears, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper. Arrange the asparagus onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake in the preheated oven until just tender, 12 to 15 minutes depending on thickness. Sprinkle with lemon juice just before serving.