La Joie De Vivre

Dinner on the grill

On a busy week night, grilling is by far the best way to cook. At home, I use my grill on a daily basis.

Grilled scallops and asparagus are very easy to do. Wash your scallops, and make sure that you dry them well. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Place on a bamboo skewer that has soaked in water for 30 minutes or so. Add a small amount of olive oil. Grill 3 minutes on one side, 2-3 on the other. As for the asparagus, some people like to salt, pepper and oil the asparagus before they put them on the grill. I have tried it this way, and I think that it tastes pretty good. Lately though, I have just been putting them directly on the grill for 5 minutes. I prefer this method. It cuts down on the caloric intake. 

 

 

Minted Lamb Stir-Fry

One of my favorite things to do, is cook Thai food. This recipe is one of my favorites. The trick to it, is to prepare all your ingredients in advance as I am about to show you. After that, once you start cooking, it all goes very fast. Here we go.......

The ingredients:

1 lb of lamb, thinly sliced

2 tbsp Sunflower oil

2tsp Sesame oil

1 Onion, roughly chopped

2 Garlic cloves, crushed

1 Red Chili, seeded and finely chopped

3 oz green beans, cut in ½

8 oz fresh Spinach, shredded

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp nam pla

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

3 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Jasmine rice

Heat the sunflower oil. Add the lamb and cook briefly. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the onion, garlic and chili and cook for 2 minutes, then add the beans and stir fry for 3 minutes. Stir in the shredded spinach. Return the lamb meat to the wok, add the oyster sauce, nam pla, lemon juice and sugar. Stir- fry for another 3 minutes, stirring constantly until the lamb is cooked through. Sprinkle the chopped mint and toss lightly. Serve over jasmine rice. 

 

 

Butternut Squash Bisque

I was so cold yesterday, that I decided that soup would be the perfect dinner menu. As it turned out, it was. I love this recipe because it is quick and easy, requires very little ingredients and yet, tastes so great. 

The ingredients:

2 tbs butter or margarine

2 small onions, minced

3 cups peeled, seeded, and cubed butternut squash

1 ¼ quart chicken stock 

1½ cups cubed potatoes

1 tsp paprika

½ cup whipping cream

1½ tbs snipped fresh chives

Salt & pepper

Melt the butter in the pan. Add the onions and cook until soft (3 minutes). Add the squash, stock, potatoes, and paprika and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pan, and simmer for about 35 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender. Season with salt and pepper. Add the whipping cream and stir in the chopped chives. Optional: Add a small amount of goat cheese. 

This soup is absolutely devine!

Try it, you'll love it.

Bon Appétit!

Roast Chicken with fingerling potatoes, leeks, and bacon.

My new Fine Cooking magazine showed up in the mail last weekend. The weather was not really condusive to being outside, so I decided to pull one of my favorite tricks. Cook all my meals for the week. It was non stop hard labor, but the end results were totally outstanding and well worth it. 

This roast chicken recipe is a must try. If you watch your caloric intake during the week, try this  on your "cheat" day. 

Getting ready to celebrate Valentine's day

With lots of fresh flowers 

and homemade food

Yesterday, as I was running my usual errands, I decided that this year, Valentine's day was going to be a four day celebration. In a very short amount of time, I was able to figure out what I was going to prepare for dinner and what type of dessert would be great to have. My first stop was at Pottery Barn. I needed a cake platter. One thing led to another, as it often does whenever I go there. I came out with new place mats, light beige napkins, a set of orange plates, a set of cream colored plates, terra cotta pots( to be used for chicken pot pie, or Mac & cheese). Everything was on sale, and even though, I did not want to spend the money, it turned out to be  money well spent. There was a hint of Spring in the air and I was eager to assemble my new items. 

 
I am very happy with the results. I find it amazing, how sometimes, the smallest things can make such a difference in the way a house looks. 

This morning for breakfast, we decided to make poached eggs over sprouted grain muffins. It is one of my favorite recipes. 

Then the work began. It was time for me to get going on the Red velvet chocolate cake, with rapsberry filling and homemade cream cheese frosting. 

 

I had a rough time with the frosting.  I did not wait for my cakes to be completely cooled before spreading the frosting. The cakes started sliding to the side and ended up having a couple of skewers poked through. It was not very picture worthy. Now that the cake is nicely chilled, it looks pretty good and all will be fine. 

I have all kinds of meals that I plan on making in the next few days. I have a lot of fun doing this. Cooking is a passion.  As I am taking a little break to work on my blog, I am marinating  two chickens in a citrus, garlic, soy sauce and honey mixture. Come dinner time, all I will have to do, is place the roasting pan in the oven and bake for 50 minutes. Planning and preparing meals ahead takes some work, but it also comes with it's own advantages. Eating food made from scratch is healthy, cheap, and it is always nice to know what you are eating at any given time. I grew up this way, and I like it. How do you plan your meals ?

Oven baked spareribs

I only make this recipe once a year, and there is a very good reason for it.......

Regardless of the great taste, it is extremely fattening. If you would like the recipe, please send an email. 

 

Chicken cutlets with bell pepper ragout

Voila!

Dinner is served!

Quick, easy and full of flavors

Five-spice-glazed salmon with sesame green beans

This recipe is quick and easy, which makes it a perfect healthy dish for a week night meal. 

White roses and vanilla ice cream

I got home from work the other day, with a bouquet of white roses, and for one reason or another, fell in the mood to make a fresh batch of vanilla ice cream. I love homemade ice cream. It tastes so much better than store bought, and there is really nothing to it. The best part of it, is to lick the spoon as the ice cream is being made. So yummy!

 

Citrus-marinated roasted chicken

Hi friends! I know it has been awhile since I last updated my blog. As usual, I have been busy working on my business, exercising, and working at my regular job. This recipe came courtesy of my latest Fine cooking magazine. I strongly encourage you to check out the Feb/March 2012. No 115 issue. This dish is absolutely fantastic. I made it the other day for the first time, and we had a lot of leftovers. There is a lot of prep into it, but in the end, it's all worth it. Following are a few pics to entice your appetite. 

If you are like me, concerned about calorie intake, then do what I do. Serve your food in a dessert plate. It will look like a lot of food to the eye, it will satisfy your mind, but will not stick to your body. PS: The last picture was Jeff's plate. He does not have to watch what he eats. The man has this metabolism that I would LOVE to have!