Category: Dinner Recipes
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Sous Vide Fried Chicken and Waffles!
The consistency of using a Sous Vide machine will result in perfectly fried chicken every time! We all want that bite. You know the one—that succulent, juicy, tender center with that traditional crunch—golden crispy and perfectly brown every time! Sometimes, it’s hard for home cooks to achieve the same results,…
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Japanese Grilled Tacos with Momiki Black Garlic and Spicy Yuzu Scallion Salsa
Crafted in Miyazaki, Japan, Momiki Inc is famous for their black garlic and has a new line of healthy sauces containing Japanese staple condiments. Soy sauce, mirin, and sake with hand-crafted kombu-shiitake mushroom broth. The mature taste, of black garlic and the citris addition makes it incredibly versatile for all…
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Crispy Pan Fried Snapper with Strawberry Tomato Salsa
Chef Gigi’s Pan Fried Fish with Strawberry, Tomatos Salsa
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Creamy Tuscan Salmon
Picture this pan-seared salmon drowning in a creamy Parmesan sauce with garlic, olives, tomatoes, spinach, and fresh basil. This sexy recipe is the perfect date night dinner – and it’s ready in 30 minutes! What’s not to love? Present to the table in its cooking vessel. Ladle into bowls and…
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Grilled Steak Tacos with Serrano-Blueberry Salsa
Celebrating? Check out my Recipe for Fancy Grilled Steak Tacos with a Serrano-Blueberry Salsa! Taco Tuesday is up
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Candy Cap Roasted Butternut Mash
The haunting maple flavor of Candy Cap Mushrooms makes this so much more than a great side dish. This wintry squash can also become the base of a magnificent butternut squash soup if you have leftovers. You’ll Need: 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into medium-sized dice 1 cup…
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Charred Beef Tip with Chinese Five Spice and Grilled Cara Cara Oranges
Chinese five-spice is pungent and encompasses all five tastes—sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami—and uses five different spices. This dynamic Asian seasoning is a mixture of star anise, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, Szechuan peppercorns, and fennel seeds. It’s easy to make at home, but it’s ok to purchase it premade too.…
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The Ultimate Thanksgiving #Leftovers! Hot, Open-Faced Turkey and Gravy Sammies!
Nothing like a Good ol’ Fashion Open Turkey and Gravy Sandwich the Day after Thanksgiving! You’ll Need: 1 1/2 lb leftover turkey meat, sliced 1/2- 1 cup leftover turkey gravy Stock or water (to thin the gravy if needed) 4 large slices of rustic Italian bread Butter Crushed fresh garlic…
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Southwestern, Turkey Tamale Pie!
Got leftovers? Dont worry- they will disappear in a second with this recipe! Tamale pie is a casserole dish found in the cuisine of the Southwestern portion of the US. Typically prepared with a cornmeal crust and ingredients used in delicious recipes indigenous to the region. A typical comfort food…
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Drunken Squash with Forbidden Black Rice and Dried Fruit!
Once Reserved Only for the Noble. The health benefits of black rice are so powerful, this ingredient earned its name. Highly prized by noblemen and once forbidden amongst the common in ancient China. Black rice, was first introduced to the United States just recently, in 1995. Today it’s gaining popularity.…
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Green Beans with Brown Buttered Walnuts and Caramelized Shallots
I love to cook green beans, especially Haricots Verts, pronounced { herəkō ˈver } they are delicious and so tender. They are the French variety typically slimmer and longer than the common green bean we see here in America. You can use any fresh green bean for this recipe. You’ll…
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Carrot Salad with Roasted Cashew & Spicy Honey Vinaigrette
You’ll Need 1 cup unsalted cashews, roasted 2 cloves garlic, peeled1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes1/8 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup rice vinegar 1/4 cup local honey1/2 cup olive oilKosher salt and fresh ground pepper1 pound carrots, peeled, julienned Here’s HowPreheat oven to 350’F Degrees. Toast cashews on a…
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Grilled Pizza! Get Your Pie Out-of-the-Oven and onto the Grill!
The trick to a perfect grilled pizza is all the preparations. Roast, sauté, cook, slice, and grate whatever toppings you like before you begin your grilled pizza journey. Adding those pre-cooked toppings to the pizza as it is grilling is the trick. The dough will only require a 3-5 minutes…
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Stromboli- Dinner in 30!
Unlike a calzone, a stromboli does not contain sauce. Invented in the 1950’s on the east coast in Pennsylvania. An Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria claims to be the first to have used the name, Stromboli. Rumor has it the pizzeria owner had experimented with “pizza imbottito”, or “stuffed pizza”, and…
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Empanadas- Savory Hand Pies
So many cultures have a recipe for meat wrapped in pastry. – I just love bold flavored, slow cooked juicy meats and veggies wrapped up in flakey pie crust served piping hot. Mmmmmm. Comfort food. I also love pasta sauce and Italian sausage or yellow curry and potatoes, but that’s…
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Ropa Vieja Stew, Non-Traditional
( ROH-pah VYAY-hah) translates something like, “old clothes” in Spanish, but don’t be fooled. This traditional warm weather dish will wrap around you like a nice cozy brand new shawl. You’ll even wanna eat this on a spring or summer evening when the night breeze picks up. I serve my…
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30 Minutes to Fancy! Halibut, En Paupiette!
In the culinary arts, the term en papillote refers to a moist-heat cooking method where the food is enclosed in a packet of parchment paper or foil – and then cooked in the oven. Seriously though- cooking anything in a pouch will create a delicious infused meal. In this case,…
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Authentic Fried Israeli Falafel
Here I am, an Italian-American trying to grasp the depths of an authentic Israeli Falafel recipe. Here is how I did it. I’ve turn to my favorite Falafel expert, and adapted from Joan Nathan’s book The Foods of Israel Today. Amazing book ! Read what Joan has to say about…
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Spicy Turkey Zucchini Boats! Like a Taco without a Shell. Whatever Floats Your Boat, Right?
Ingredients: 8 medium zucchini 1 cup chicken stick 1 pound ground turkey, chicken, beef or Italian sausage 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 onion, peeled and chopped small dice 1 cup mushrooms, quartered ( optional) 2-3 cloves garlic, minced fine 3 cups pasta sauce 1 Tablespoon oregano, minced fine 1 Tablespoon…
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30 Minute Creamy Homemade Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons!
You’ll Need: 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large yellow onion, sliced 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped in 1/2 inch pieces 1-2 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves 1/2 cup fresh flat leaf Italian parsley leaves 4 garlic cloves, minced 2 (28 oz ) cans good quality peeled and chopped organic tomatoes…
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Fresh Basil and Kale Pesto Zoodles
Some think I’ve lost my noodle, because I put kale in my zoodles. I’ll let you be the judge. This recipe is a variation of the classic basil pesto. It’s fresh, flavorful, easy and healthy. Kale is really good for you. Contains a high concentration of vitamins K, A, C, and…
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Zoodles with Spicy Lemon-Garlic Shrimp
I love, love, love shrimp scampi over pasta with lots of lemon and garlic, but I need a fast alternative from pasta. Here’s my swing on the ol’ classic! Ingredients: 2-3 teaspoons olive oil or extra virgin coconut oil 1/2 medium sized yellow onion, cleaned and Julianne sliced 1…
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Making Fresh Pasta at Home
Sixteen years ago I designed a cooking school for kids with my then, 6 and 8-year-old daughters. They named it: Kids Culinary Adventures- where math, reading, science and art mix with kids. Although I’ve retired from teaching hands-on to children- and both my kids grew up and onto college. I do continue…
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Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Fried Sage and a Chestnut Cream. Oh yeah!
‘Tis the season! Old world Gnocchi made from sweet potatoes, paired with the crunchness of fried chestnut and sage. Delicious. I’ve also bumped up the flavor profile by serving it in a pool of brown butter chestnut cream sauce made with wholesome nut milk — this recipe is heartwarming belly…
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Pumpkin Spiced FlapJacks with Bacon Maple Butter
This recipe is best when made with fresh pumpkin puree. Pancakes won’t be so orange and the batter will result in a lighter, fluffier pancake. If pumpkins are not in season, or you are rushed for time– it’s fine to use canned pumpkin. Ingredients: 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour…
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Boeuf Bourguignon. A must have cold-weather food classic. My adaption from Julia Child’s recipe in, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”
A wonderful dish, raising simple “old world ” peasants stew- to a complex, full body depth; capable of transcending you to your comfortable warm happy place! A bit time consuming– but worth every moment and hopefully, it won’t take you as long to cook it, as long as it took…
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French Onion Soup, from an Italian Nona’s Kitchen!
Ingredients: 4-6 Tablespoons unsalted cold butter, divided 12 yellow onions. Peeled and sliced in 1/4 inch rings 1 Tablespoons good quality olive oil 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 -1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper 6-8 cups the best quality, low-sodium beef broth 1 large bay leave 4 sprigs of fresh thyme…
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Individual Creamy Rotisserie Chicken Pot Pies, topped with Buttery Puff Pastry! Perfect Cold Weather Comfort Food!
Ingredients: 2 -3 Tablespoons flour, plus more for surface 1 pack frozen puff pastry, preferably all-butter, thawed 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter 1/2 onion, diced 1 small carrot, peeled and thinly sliced into 1/4 inch pieces 1 large celery stalk, peeled and thinly sliced into 1/4 inch pieces 4 small Yukon…
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Coq au Vin – French Comfort Food- A Rich and Historical Culinary Masterpiece!!
This dish though! < Big Sigh,> Chicken cooked in a rich, velvety sauce, framed with smoky bacon & earthy flavors! Various legends trace coq au vin to ancient Julius Caesar, but the recipe was not documented until the early 20th century when Julia Child featured coq au vin 1961- on…
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Plain and Simple. Chicken Udon Noodle Soup. (If you have a noodle eater in your family, this is a recipe must have! )
This recipe is an adaption from Chef Gigi’s signature cooking class; for kids, “Have you Lost your Noodle”? A pasta & noodle making series. You can really add just about anything to your soup. It’s YOUR Soup! Experiment. Ingredients: 1/2-1 rotisserie chicken, deboned and skin removed- meat cut or torn…
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Meatballs are all the rage! Here is one of my fun recipes you can make at home. Sunday Italian Meatballs- in a Spicy Red Sauce with Basil and Burrata!
Burrata [boor-RAH-tuh] The name ‘burrata’ means ‘buttered’ in Italian. A delicious, rich, glossy-white, unripened cheese made by combining mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella – while the inside contains creamy texture! For the meatballs: 1 pound ground pork 1 pound ground beef or veal 2 large eggs …
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Yay, Slow Cooking Season has Arrived! Try my Families Favorite, Slow Sunday Chicken Chile Verde!
There’s a bit of prep up front- but this makes the final flavors all worth the extra effort! Ingredients: 2 lbs. tomatillos, husked (paper skins, removed) and cut in half 4 lg. poblano or anaheim peppers, cut in have seeds and stem removed 1-2 jalapeños, (depending on your spice preference)…
Chef Gigi Gaggero 