Thousand Oaks

In the past two months I have thought long and hard to try to create some kind of tribute to honor our lovely friends in T.O. Instead, they created one for us, which should come as no surprise.

We moved to Thousand Oaks not knowing a single soul. We were welcomed....no, embraced so fully that when the time to move back to Seattle came the leaving was more that a single pang of loss. But no time to think! Upon arriving in Seattle we had boxes and boxes (over 250) to unpack. So imagine the feeling as we unpacked a box and discovered a key. This key had a note attached from our friends Barry and Kay! I gasped with surprise, laughed and cried at the same time. I thought it was an anomaly and that somehow they had snuck into the house and slipped it into the box. Then we found another...and another! It seems Arlene and Kim had organized this surprise for us and put the keys in the boxes one day when they helped me pack. The notes varied in content...some humorous, some sad, but all included love. It made the unpacking easier and harder at the same time. The town that had embraced us from the beginning continued to love us from afar. A mutual feeling to be sure.

So here's to you, dear residents of Thousand Oaks! That which sets you apart brings comfort to Denise and I. You love fully and loyally, and we are grateful recipients.

Distance brings its challenges, but it also serves as a reminder to live and love in the moment. And that is the greatest tribute of all.

Monday Monday...

Is there anything less fun than a Monday after a great weekend? The let-down of it all. Sigh. Well, here is a sure-fired way to put a little punch in your otherwise typical Monday dinner. Two great recipes that meld perfectly. The grilled 5 spice chicken recipe is something I found years ago and it continues to be one of my favorites. Most of the time I don't make the dipping sauce that goes with it. The marinade is so flavorful and the chicken really only has to soak in it for a short time, so if you have 30 minutes you are good to go! (I use boneless chicken breasts instead of whole chicken)

The chickpea salad is a new recipe for me. I was looking for something to take the place of my usual couscous I serve with this chicken recipe, when low and behold, Bon Appetit arrived in my mail box. It is amazingly simple, but ifyou use great ingredients you will be wowed by the freshness of it! Good and good for you! Enjoy!

Grilled 5 Spice Chicken

1 whole chicken (about 2 1/2 pounds), preferably free range, rinsed

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons minced ginger

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

1/2 tablespoon sea salt

4 whole star anise, lightly toasted in a dry pan for 3 minutes, pounded or ground into a fine powder

1/2 cupSoy-Lime Dipping Sauce

1. Cut the chicken into 6 pieces and make 1 or 2 slashes in each piece for faster cooking. Trim and discard any excess fat. Pat the chicken dry.

2. In a bowl, combine the oil, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sugar, turmeric, five-spice powder and salt. Stir well to blend. Add the chicken pieces and turn several times to coat them evenly. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

3. Start a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to moderate heat. (You can also use a broiler.) Thirty minutes before cooking, add the freshly toasted star anise powder to the marinated chicken, turning so the meat is coated evenly.

4. Place the chicken, skin side up, on the grill. Cook 10 minutes, then turn over and grill until the chicken is cooked and the juices run clear, another 10 minutes, depending on the thickness. While grilling, move the chicken pieces around so that they cook evenly. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve with the dipping sauce.

Chickpea Salad with Lemon, Parmesan, and Fresh Herbs

The beauty of this basic recipe is that it can be tweaked in numerous ways. For a spicy version, add some sriracha sauce. Try swapping out the lemon juice for lime juice and use feta cheese instead of Parmesan and mix in some chopped fresh cilantro and chopped red onion or shallot. For a curried chickpea salad, leave out the Parmesan and add curry powder to taste, dried currants, sliced green onions, and shredded carrots.

2 servings

• PREP TIME: 10 minutes
• TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 15- to 15 1/2-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small garlic clove, pressed
• 1/3 cup (packed) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Coarse kosher salt

Preparation

• Combine rinsed and drained chickpeas, chopped fresh basil, chopped Italian parsley, fresh lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and pressed garlic clove in medium bowl. Add grated Parmesan cheese and toss gently to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Season chickpea salad to taste with coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. DO AHEAD Chickpea salad can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Serve salad chilled or at room temperature.

The great PNW and it's food

Having been born and raised in Seattle it's kind of surprising that nothing remotely related to fish touched my lips until I hit college. My mother hated the smell, look and thought of anything seafood related. I vaguely remember eating fish sticks on Friday at my friend Julie Brown's house, but I really don't think that counts, do you? I was reeled in, hook, line and sinker by Tom Douglas and his salmon. Mr. Douglas owns a number of prominent restaurants in Seattle, and he has a line of rubs for chicken, seafood and (oh sweet angels singing) salmon.This gem of a jar has provided many glorious moments when fork hits mouth.

Rub With Love Salmon

Start with a foil boat big enough to hold your salmon, edges turned up. Slice an onion into rings and place them on the foil so your salmon is not sitting directly on the foil. Place salmon on the onion rings and coat with olive oil. Crack the precious jar of Rub With Love and coat the salmon with the rub. Place the foil boat on the grill (or in the oven) and add some wine to the boat. Grill until done. Don't overcook...if you stick a butter knife in the salmon for 10 seconds and pull it out, it should be warm. About 20 minutes per inch of thickness.

I love to serve this with Couscous with curry powder, raisins, pine nuts and green onions.

Enjoy!

Oh, and please excuse my lame pictures. Got a little work to do there!

Just for the Halibut

I think I have eaten more red meat in the last 2 weeks than maybe my entire life put together. So off I go to Costco to stock up on some lighter fare...salmon, talapia and Halibut...the King! Here is an awesome recipe that you can put together in a very short period of time. Enjoy!

Serrano/Proscuitto Wrapped Halibut - serves 4

4 ea 6-8 oz Halibut fillets

4 thin slices of proscuitto (or Serrano) ham

2 Tbs olive oil

2 C Rice cooked with turmeric or saffron (or you can be ambitious and serve risotto)

2 C mixed wild greens

1/4 C shaved parmesan

1/3 C sherry vinaigrette - recipe follows

1/4 C sherry vinegar

2 tsp minced shallots

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 C olive oil

1 tsp chopped fresh basil

pinch of kosher salt

Combine vinegar, shallots and garlic. Slowly whisk olive oil to emulsify. Stir in salt and basil.

Preheat oven to 450. Season halibut with Johnny's or Old Bay. Choose your favorite.

Wrap with ham. Heat olive oil in a medium hot saute' pan that can go in the oven. Place presentation side down in the pan to sear. After 30 seconds flip the fillets and place the pan in the oven. Use a small pocket thermometer to test. 130 degrees in the magic temp. for medium doneness.

Serve fish on the bed of rice topped with the greens and shaved parmesan. Drizzle the vinaigrette and viola!

HELPFUL QUICK HINTS:

If you are serving this to company then I recommend the you substitute risotto. If not, and you are trying to save time use the Trader Joes frozen rice you microwave for 4 min. I also use a favorite vinaigrette that I buy at the store. It cuts down on time.

Food, glorious food!

I don't really consider myself a great cook. That would be Denise, and you all know that. But I do have the time to try to be creative about what I am serving for dinner. So while Denise toils away at her job, I decided to blog my dinner ideas. I am not promising great meals every day, or even a level of consistency with posts, but if you make the meal I am posting today I can guarantee a fabulous dinner with many compliments! Bon appetit!

Barbecue Shrimp (this is done New Orleans style)

Thaw out a big bags of frozen prawns (raw, with tails on). Rinse them and spread out in a shallow baking pan.

Combine the following ingredients in a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes:

1 1/2 sticks butter (I didn't say it was diet food)

1/2 C olive oil

2 bay leaves

4 Tbs fresh lemon juice

2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce

4 cloves garlic minced

1 Tbs fresh parsley minced

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp oregano

2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp hot pepper sauce (tabasco)

2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup chili sauce (I use Heinz)

Pour this mixture over the prawns and refrigerate for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 300 and bake for 20-30 minutes.

It's a messy, delicious dish. Serve with a green salad (there's your diet food), and some crusty bread for soaking up the sauce.

Truly delicious. Amazingly easy!