ContentsShrimp cocktail with Mary-Jean Sauce

Baby-back spare ripsBarbecued pork tenderloin

Romas bouillabaisseSeafood casserole

Spinach-avocado-garlic soupPersian chicken kebobs

Cucumber dill saladMiddle Eastern roasted lamb

Crab-stuffed salmon with hollandaiseSeafood curryFish chowder

Beer-baked chickenMuslim burgers

Grandmas vegetable soupMexican chicken soup xochitl

Mustard roasted fishRomiebutz chicken

Seared Ahi tuna AC/DCGrandmas city chicken

Romas bizarre chicken KievEasy & delicious chili

PaellaThai Satay chicken

GazpachoChicken TangineBuffalo Wings

Garlic-parmesan oysters & shrimpStuffed mushrooms

World famous Detroit Coney Island hotdogTurkey Lula Kebabs

The best soup of my lifeChar-broiled rack of lamb

Coq au vin made with white wineMichigan almost perfect fried chicken

Roma-Rockefeller oystersMiddle Eastern festival: shashlik & afghan chicken

Braised lamb shanks

My developing cookbook

SHRIMP COCKTAIL WITH MARY-JEAN SAUCE

This is a shrimp cocktail recipe with an intoxicating sauce, which Igot from our friend, Mary Jean, and then I kicked it up a notch onmy own.

Ingredients:

1 pound peeled freshshrimpDillKetchupCreamed horseradishLemonMayonnaise

Cooking the shrimpinvolves just a bit of art.You get boiling water,but on the side you have a pot of ice water (with ice cubes)standing by. You dump the peeled shrimp into the boiling waterfor 30-45 seconds. Just when you see they are no longer opaque inthe center but are starting to appear just-barely-cooked, removethem immediately and dump them into ice cold water. This stopsthe cooking process and the shrimp become incredibly juicy andtender (but cooked!).

Now for the sauce. You take Ketchup, creamed horseradish andmix it together. Add some mayo to make it creamier and then the alittle lemon juice. You need to taste this as you are making it. Addmore mayo, or more lemon, or more horseradish or more ketchupuntil you find the taste a perfect blend. It has to knock your socksoff.

Now I would season the shrimp too with perhaps a bit of salt,pepper, sprinkles of dill and perhaps chives. Decorate your plate,refrigerate, and serve when you are ready.

GRANDMAS VEGETABLE SOUP

My mother was a great cook. She lived til she was 99.5 years ofage. I have tried to recreate at least one recipe, her incrediblydelicious vegetable soup (served with boiled beef andhorseradish). Here it is:

Ingredients3/4 lb Stewing beef ( with bonecontaining marrow)1/3 cup barleybeef bouilliononions (one, white)garlic (4 cloves)celery (3 stalkscarrot (2)tomatoes (2)Salt & pepper

Brown the stewing beef in olive oil and remove from pan. Addcelery, carrots (chopped), onion and garlic and saut in the beef fat.Put the beef back into the pot. Add enough water to cover the beefand mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, thensimmer for 1 hour. Then add chopped tomatoes and simmer

another 1 hour. Add water or beef bouillon occasionally. Tasteyour broth as you near the end of cooking. Add salt & pepper. Inthe last half hour add washed barley. Keep simmering, tasting andseasoning. When finished, remove some of the beef and servewith creamed horseradish. Or , alternatively, let your guests havetheir soup and remove the cubes of beef themselves to add withhorseradish. A meal in itself.

BABY-BACK SPARE RIBS

I got this incredibly simple recipe from a chef in Puerto Vallarta.Always a favorite.

Ingredients:

One slab (or two) of baby back pork spareribsOne jar of Bone suckin barbecue sauce (a bit moreexpensive than most, but worth it. They have hotter varieties,but just stick with the original recipe).Salt, pepperWhite onion6 cloves of garlicOlive oil

Preparation: First you must remove the membrane from the backof the ribs. Take a knife and try to get under the white membrane.Pull it up a bit and then get some paper towels. You want to grabthe membrane and thenpull across the ribs.Sometimes it will peeloff easily; at other timesyou have to keeppulling, using yourknife and try to get it all

off the back of the ribs. If you dont the ribs will not be as tenderas youd like.

Next you cut your ribs into say five or six rib sections and dropthem in boiling water. You season the water with half a choppedwhite onion, pepper (or pepper corns), and 6 cloves of choppedgarlic. Boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 1.5-2 hours. Youwant to check on these ribs for tenderness. The purpose of theboiling is to make them tender. Too tender, and they will fall offthe bone. Not yet fork-tender, then keep simmering.

When ready, pull them out, let them cool.

Later, when you are ready to have dinner, rub the ribs with oliveoil, season with salt and cracked pepper, and then put on abarbecue grill. They will start to sizzle, and when they do, turnthem over. You are not cooking them. They have already beencooked. This should not take more than a couple minutes. Afteryou see them sizzling, then add the Bone Suckin sauce generously.Dont let it burn too much. Just coat the ribs with it, flip themwhile still on the barbecue, and coat the other side.

Then serve and enjoy. Youll be surprised!

BARBECUED PORK TENDERLOIN

As long as we are into meat here, let us do incredibly succulentbarbecued pork tenderloin. Simple by anyones standards!

1-2 pork tenderloins depending on how many people you have fordinner. (Trader Joes : $6.50)olive oilgarlic slivers

special mixture (kosher salt 2 parts, ground black pepper 1 part,garlic salt or power 1part).

You rub the porktenderloin with olive oil,slit it and insert garlicslivers, and then put onyour special mixture.Let it sit for 15 minutesto get happy.

You put it on your coals and turn it so that it doesnt burn. Sear it,and cover it. Open up the cover, check on it, turn it, put the coverdown and keep doing this until you feel the pork is done. It can bea tiny bit pink. DO NOT OVERCOOK. You can use athermometer, or cut into it while cooking to see its doneness. Verylightly pink, pull it out. You will be surprised how incredible thisis.

(Serve with something!) I liked garlic mashed cauliflower a lot asa substitute for mashed potatoes. You do the cauliflower as youwould mashed potatoes. Boil it, drain, add salt, butter, a tiny bit ofhalf and half, some parmesan cheese, and then mash it with yourwand mixer & serve).

I also like to serve it with barbecued sliced tomatoes like you seein this picture. (Add olive oil to the tomatoes, salt, pepper, Italianseasoning and barbecue with your tenderloin).

BOUILLIBASE

My name is Jerome, and my wife got in the habit of calling meRoma, so now many of our friends know me as Roma ratherthan Jerry or Jerome. So here is Romas bouillabaisse.

Ingredients

12 shrimp10-20 scallops (20 if small,10 if medium to large in size)12 mussels1 cod filet10 champignon mushrooms4 cloves of garlic12 miniature carrots4 scallionsgreen onions, chives, basil,marjoram, oregano1 lemon1 cup white wine, Chenin Blanc12-15 snow peas4 cups of fish stock3-4 tablespoons half and half (or Soy Creamer)

This is a delightful recipe, which takes about an hour to prepare. Itis easy to mess up, so this recipe is the more conservative approachto this soup so youll have a good result. It begins with fish stock.Im no expert on making fish stock, so if you cant buy any, thisrecipe isnt really for you. Sometime it is called Seafood stock

or fish stock and you need to have it either in a can or, lessfrequently, in a package. Whatever the case, it cannot smell ortaste fishy, otherwise youre lost. Sometimes better markets likeWhole Foods carry fish stock. This is your major beginningingredient. If you cant get it, dont proceed.

You will be cooking some things separately and then adding themto the soup. First, let us put 4 cups of stock and 1 cup of whitewine in a pot. Set aside.

Cut up 3-4 scallions, chopped, 1 clove of garlic, and all yourmushrooms. First saut the mushrooms in butter and olive oil untilthey start wilting, then add shallots, and finally garlic. Dontovercook. Dont brown. Add these ingredients to the pot, and thenadd a bit of water (3-4 tablespoons) to the saut pan, turn up theheat, scrape the pan and dump this liquid into the soup stock.(Deglaze).

Take your carrots and cook them in a small separate pot, bring to aboil and boil for a few minutes. They should come out notoverdone or soggy, nor too underdone and crunch. Add thesecarrots (not the water) to your soup stock.

To cook the mussels, clean them, then put them in a pan, add somebutter, enough white wine to cover the bottom of the pan, 1 cloveof chopped garlic and cover. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 3-4minutes. When mussels are done, they will be open. Discard thosethat havent opened. Toss the mussel into the soup stock. Taste thebutter/garlic/wine mixture at the bottom of the mussel pan. If ittastes good, add it to the soup stock.

Gently saut shrimp in butter, a bit of lemon, and 1 clove ofchopped garlic. Do not overcook. Then add the shrimp and itsresidue sauce to the soup stock.

Toss the scallops into the soup stock near the end. They cookquickly and you dont want them to be overdone.

Slice the cod filet into bite size pieces (perhaps 1 cubic inch insize?)

Toss them into the soup stock.Add freshly ground pepper to taste.

Now youre ready. Bring soup and all its elements to a boil, thenimmediately reduce to simmer for about 3-4 minutes. You dontwant to overcook the cod nor the scallops. Taste the soup stock. Ifit needs salt, pepper, lemon juice, add them until you get the tastejust right.

When all that is completed, it is time to add the last dash of spices:chopped green onions, chives, 3 finely chopped cloves of garlic,oregano-basil-marjoram (to suit you), add to the mixture and taste.Keep tasting until you like it,

Serve with fresh sweet French bread.A meal in itself.

THAI SEAFOOD CURRY or SEAFOOD CASSEROLE

A delightful seafood-shellfish dish made with Thai Red CurrySauce. This is a very tasty and very quick dish you can make in 20-30 minutes.

Ingredients

Thai Red Curry Sauce (Trader Joes?)1 pound scallops1 pound large shrimp

1 bag of saffron rice box of champignon mushrooms1 bunch of green onionscoconut milk

Cook the scallops lightly in olive oil

Now you are going to make areally easy and groovy sauce.Get a large soup bowl and putin 3-4 tablespoons of Thai RedCurry Sauce. Then mix in 3-4tablespoons of coconut milk.The mixture should turn a paleorange or a creamy orange.Taste it cold. See if you like it.If not, add more spice (thesauce) or add more coconutmilk.

Now add your sauce to your fish mixture and gently simmer til theflavors unite (a minute or two).

Next you have to make your rice, so make some rice. To make itlook pretty, add in a teaspoon or two of Turmeric. It will makeyour rice turn yellowish. Do the rice the way you do any rice.

Saut mushrooms in olive oil, and add chopped green onions whencomplete. Add mushrooms to the shrimp and scallop mixture.

Now what you do is this. You take your seafood-mushroom-concoction and put it hot in the bottom of a large soup bowl fillingit up about half way. Then you take your rice and put it on top ofthe seafood mixture and pat it down so that it is level with the top

of the soup bowl. Then you get your serving plates and TURNTHE SOUP BOWL UPSIDE DOWN. This puts the seafood ontop and the rice on the bottom.

Serve and enjoy. [See the photo too].

AVOCADO SPINACH SOUP WITH GARLIC

This is a recipe from the Gilroy garlic festivalIngredients:

Half and Half 1 cupChicken bouillon 1 cup2 avocados2 bunches of spinach5 cloves of garlic1 tsp of butter1 tsp of salt

Also called Avocadobisque, this recipeappeared at the GilroyGarlic Festival. Take twobunches of fresh spinach and cut off the stems. Put the leaves in apan and gently warm until wilted. Do not cook the spinach, justwilt it. Put the leaves in a blender. Add 1 can of good qualitychicken bouillon (or vegetable bouillon if you are a vegetarian).Add 1 cup of half and half, two sliced avocados and 5 cloves ofgarlic chopped very finely. Puree all the ingredients in the blenderuntil you have a smooth mixture. Then cook ever so gently so thatit does not boil but merely shows a few bubbles popping up. Trycooking it like this for a minute maybe two so that the garlic getsabsorbed a bit more. If you boil, it will change color and theavocado will ruin it. Serve hot. A knock-your-socks-off recipe.

Add the butter while cooking. It is important to get the salt right aswell. Too little and it tastes flat. Too much and you ruin it. Addsalt gently until you achieve the proper intoxicating flavor. Servewith a sprinkle of chopped chives and paprika if you like. [P.S.The food is a lot better than my photos!]

PERSIAN CHICKEN KEBOBS

Ingredients 1 cup of yogurtJuice of one lemon4 cloves of garlicHalf of a white onion2 tablespoons olive oilSaffron1-2 lbs of chicken thighs and afew chicken drummets.

Slice up the chicken thighs intosmaller pieces, about an inch-and-a-half square and set aside.

The marinade makes the chickenjuicy, tender, plump and flavorful.So to make the marinade, take theyogurt, add chopped garlic, chopup half an onion, add the olive oil,and put into a food processor. Now take some ground saffron andadd a teaspoon of water to it to make a reddish juice. Add that tothe marinade. Put it into the food processor until it comes out likea sauce. Pour the sauce over the Slice the chicken into cubes andthen make the marinade. Yogurt, lime juice, onion, olive oil andsaffron . Take the saffron threads and put them into two

Photo not too great, but this was totallydelicious. Barbecued asparagus: boil

till almost tender, dry, then season witholive oil, salt, pepper &Italian spices.Barbecue just to give it a little char.

tablespoons of hot water. Let it turn yellow and then add to theingredients, and put all in a food processor.

Marinate the chicken for 48 hours (refrigerated).

Cook the chicken on your barbecue (coals). Dont let them burn.You could make some saffron butter while it is cooking (to makethe butter, dissolve some ground saffron into melted butter andbaste the chicken while it is cooking).

Serve with a sprinkle of lemon juice on the chicken with somebasmati rice.

An equally delightful variant is to make the marinade, then wash itoff and sprinkle with Sadaf Chicken kebob seasoning mix and noother spices.

CUCUMBER-DILL SALAD

Peel cucumbers and slicethinly. Coat with a coupleteaspoons of rice vinegar andserve with chopped dill. Addsalt to taste if needed.

MIDDLE EASTERN LAMB

This is probably the best lamb I ever ate in my life. I have beenworking on lamb for years, but this recipe is totally awesome. Ihope it works for you. Not that difficult.

Basically, you marinate the lamb for two days, then barbecue. Thatsimple.

IngredientsOlive oilYogurtLemon juiceChopped white onionItalian seasoningGarlicSpecial mixture of kosher salt, cracked pepper, & garlic salt.4 lbs of boneless leg of lamb

Mix one cup of yogurt with two or three tablespoons of olive oil, 5cloves of garlic, half a chopped white onion, and the juice of onelemon. Put into a food processor and smash together until it is likea sauce.

Take your lamb. Add sliced garlic into the lamb (slivers). Pour themarinade over the lamb and refrigerate for 2 days.

When you are ready to eat, wash off the lamb. Pat dry. Rub insome olive oil. Season with Italian spices and THEN add themagic ingredient. In this case the magic ingredient is the koshersalt-pepper-garlic salt mixture. It should be roughly 3/5ths salt,1/5th pepper and 1/5th garlic salt. Taste it to make sure it is not toosalty.

Now rub some of that mixture over the lamb. Not too much. Nottoo little.

Now prepare your coals. You want to barbecue the lamb so itsears the juices in but does not burn. Perhaps 2 minutes per sideuntil you have browned it, but not burned it. Close the hatch on

the barbecue and have your thermometer in the meat. Come backand keep checking your meat to see that it is getting close to beingdone, but that it is not burning. This requires care and attention,turning and fussing for 10-15 minutes. The fire cant be too hot ortoo old. Your lamb is done at about 140 degrees. It continues tocook after you remove it from the grill. Cut off a slice to see whatit looks like inside.

If done right it comes out tender, juicy, medium rare, andmysteriously succulent.

CRAB-STUFFED SALMON WITH HOLLANDAISE

This is a delightful and tasty recipe. We start with crab cakespurchased from Trader Joes. Next we get salmon fillets (no skin)and cut them. Thaw the crab cakes and put portions into thesalmon fillets. Season bothwith salt and pepper and Italianseasoning. Then bake for 20-25 minutes at 350. Check tosee it is not too rare orovercooked. In the meantimemake a wonderful and easyhollandaise sauce from Knorrs(make with butter, milk, lemonjuice). You can buy this inmost markets. It comes in abag not a jar. When the salmonis done, pour the hollandaise over the salmon-crab fillets, and youwill delight at what you have discovered. Make sure you taste thehollandaise to make sure it is has enough lemon juice to a just akick.

SEAFOOD CURRY

A delicate and tasty curry with coconut seafood dish.

Ingredients3/4 chopped white onion8 button mushrooms sliced2 teaspoons curry powder1 can unsweetened coconut milk6 large shrimp5 medium sizedscallops2 small chicken legs1 filet of sole1-2 cups diced cannedchopped tomatoesdrained1 cup frozen peas1 carrot sliced andsteamed until tender1 box of flavorful rice

Take two tablespoons of vegetable oil and add the chopped onionand saut. Add the curry powder salt and pepper stirring, then addhalf a cup of coconut milk and cook stirring for about 2 minutesuntil mixture thickens. Add half a cup of tomatoes and stew thismixture. At this time, taste it. You may want to add more coconutmilk or more tomatoes, or both. Taste, season, taste, season add,taste, season until this sauce becomes just exactly what you want.This is what makes this dish mysteriously delicious.

In a separate cooking pan, fry the scallops until done and seasonwith salt and pepper, set aside. Cook your fish filet, seasoned, then

cut in slices (bite sized pieces) and set aside. Now, peas andcarrots and heat vegetables through, add all seafood includingshrimp. You might add sliced green, red, or orange peppers forcolor. When shrimp are fully cooked, serve over rice. Sprinklechopped chives over the dish.

Serves 4-6

GREAT NEW FIVE MINUTE SOUP: FISH CHOWDER

Ingredients1 can Wolfgang Pucks thick country vegetable soup1-2 tablespoons of Blue cheese dressingHalf and halfTrader Joes Thai red curry sauce (perhaps 1-2 tablespoons)PeasSix shrimpOne filet of fish

Cook fish and shrimpseparately and gently inItalian spices and 3 cloves ofchopped garlic. Add to soup.When using soup, fill up theempty can with 1/3rd half andhalf, 2 tablespoons of bluecheese dressing, and 1.5tablespoons of red curry sauce. Bring to boil. When finishedsimmering and fish is entirely cooked, add chopped chives, &peas. Could add clams in shells if you wish. Surprisinglydelicious.

BEER-BAKED CHICKEN

This recipe is so easy and so delicious, I cant tell you.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken1 can of beerseasoning (Italian/garlic powder, salt, pepper, perhaps lemonpepper).

You take half a can of been. The can should be a normal 8 oz can.Or if you dont want to buy a six-pack, buy a can of sparklingwater, dump it out and fill it up half full with beer. Then stand theentire chicken over the beer can. Thats right. The chicken isupright, vertical, and the beer can goes inside the cavity. You haveto balance the chickencarefully on the beer.You dont want it tospill. Place the legs ina place so you can getthe chicken standingup in the baking panover the can of beer.

Before you do all this,wash the chicken, patdry, rub olive oil on the entire outside and season well with salt,pepper, Italian spices, or lemon pepper, or whatever chicken rubyou wish .

Bake until it is done (check Google for when you should removethe chicken and at what temperature you should bake it. I did my3.5 lb chicken at 350 for 1.5 hours. Double check the temperatureyou need to achieve to remove it from the oven. Respect that temp!

Chicken standing up on a can of beer before cooking

Make sure you baste it with the juices at the bottom of the panonce or twice while baking. This willgive the skin a very nice crusty textureand flavor.

The chicken does not taste of beer atall. The beer simply provides aconstant supply of steam internallyduring baking and the chicken comesout tender, incredibly juicy, anddelightful. If you spill the chicken orit turns over, then you will have a beertaste.

MUSLIM BURGERS

I got this from a New York Times cookbook and was amazed athow delightful it was.

IngredientsYogurtGround lambChopped white onionLemon juice3 cloves of finelychopped garlicFresh curry powder.Salt and pepper

Take 1 pound of groundlamb and mix finelychopped onions, garlic,salt and pepper (not toomuch) into it. Thenadd 2 tablespoons of

yogurt and 1 tablespoon of curry powder into the mixture. Smushtogether and mix. Let stand for about 15 minutes, then form intomeatballs or kebab-like formations. Broil on coals. You might tryto sprinkle some lemon juice on them after cooking. Youll besurprised! [Note: too much or too little curry can make this a dud].

Another variant on this which is just as incredible, is to take finelychopped onions, garlic plus either Gorchin ground meat kebabseasoning or Sadaf ground meat seasoning. You use the seasoningmixed with a few teaspoons of water, then mix into the groundlamb, let sit for 15 minutes, then form into meat balls and broil oncoals. You can buy these seasonings in Middle Eastern or Hallalmarkets.

MEXICAN CHICKEN SOUP: XOCHITL

Chicken xochitl pronounced(sochil) is basic chicken soup withrice. Add pieces of sauted chickenand shrimp. Then add choppedavocado, chopped cilantro, choppedwhite onion, lemon juice (1 tsp), anda good Mexican salsa. Great soup.

MUSTARD ROASTED FISH

This is a totally simple and delicious recipe of baked fish coveredwith a mustard sauce.

Ingredients:

1 cup of crme fraiche1.5 tablespoons of finely chopped shallots1.5 tablespoons of Dijon mustard1 tablespoon capers

Take the ingredients aboveand mix them into a paste.You might consideradding half a teaspoon ofregular mustart to theabove mix. Then take anyold fish filet (cod, redsnapper, etc), and seasonwith salt and pepper. Thencoat one side of the fishwith the mustard (slather iton), and bake for 10-15minutes at 350 degrees. Make sure you baking pan is oiled beforeyou put the fish on it. When done you might consider sprinklingthis with chopped chives. Delicious with white wine.

Romiebutz chicken

Ingredients:Assorted cut pieces of chicken (skins on)FlourEmerils original essence seasoning or cayenne seasoningBaking powderButtermilkVegetable oilSalt and pepper

This is a cool and easy recipe which is like fried chicken exceptthat it is baked. Here is how it goes.Take your pieces of chicken andmarinate them in buttermilk for a fewyears. Prepare flour mixture. Taketwo cups of flour, 1.5 teaspoons ofbaking powder (it makes the crustcrustier), salt and pepper (coupleteaspoons each) and an ample supplyof Emerils seasoning (or, alternately, poultry seasoning and anample supply of cayenne pepper). Take out the chicken from thebuttermilk, dip and roll in your flour mixture, and then deep fry invegetable oil. Make sure the oil is at a high temperature.

Now the secret is not to let the chicken completely cook in the oil.No, as soon as you see the chicken is a pretty golden brown (justlooking the way you like it), remove it and set it aside. Fry all thechicken this way and then put it all on a baking sheet and bake thechicken at 350 in the oven until your thermometer says its done. Sothis way by frying it you get the crisp crunchiness, but by baking ityou get the juicy inside! Best of both worlds! Probably takes nomore than 30-40 minutes. Make sure your chicken is actually donewhen you are ready to serve.

SEARED AHI TUNA AC/DC

This is a very simple recipe that goes two ways. Seared Ahi tuna in a salador seared Ahi tuna as an appetizer with creamed horseradish.

First you buy fresh tuna ($10/pound) and have it cut into steaks a bit thickerthan 1 inch.

You are going to cook this the same way you might cook filet mignon. Rubolive oil over the tuna steaks. Crack some pepper with a tad of salt andspread it on a plate. Thinly!!! Then rollthe tuna steaks in this cracked pepper sothat the sides of the tuna steaks arepeppered, but the rest of the tuna steakisnt. Then cover your tuna steaks (top andbottoms) with sesame seeds. Now if youroll your tuna steaks in very dense crackedpepper, it is going to be too peppery. Roleyour tuna steaks in less densely laid outcracked pepper.

Start your charcoal grill. When the coals are white hot, add some chippedhickory wood chips to it. When they start to flame, put your tuna steaks onthe grill. Let your tuna steaks hit the flames but watch carefully. After all,you are searing. However, you only want the outsides to sear and you wantthe insides to be red and rare. Take them off the grill.

Now dont eat them hot. Put slices of your tuna on a salad (AC) or put slicesof your tuna on a plate and serve with creamed horseradish (DC)..COLD!

Unforgettable!

GRANDMAS CITY CHICKEN

This is a traditional favorite in thefamily. My mother never taught it tome, but one can get it off the net. Cutveal and pork into about 1 inch cubes.Season with salt, pepper, perhapsgarlic powder. Roll in bread crumbs,and then roll in beaten egg, then roll inthe bread crumbs again (on skewers ofcourse). The fry for a short time in oilto make them brown (not too brown).Once they look good, bake for an hourat 350.

ROMAS BIZARRE CHICKEN KIEV

This is a very strange and unconventional recipe which will knockyour socks off.

Take a single, skinlessplump chicken breast andtry to cut it almost in half.Be careful. You want tocut it so that it will foldback over itself.

Now that you haveflattened your chickenbreast, season it with salt(very little ) and pepper on both sides.

Prepare a special butter. This butter is made from butter (wow!)which is at room temperature. Then to this butter you add veryfinely chopped garlic (one clove), chives, green onions, very finelychopped rosemary, and basil. Mix together into a prepared butter.

Okay, now coat the entire chicken breast ( on one side only) withthis seasoned butter. Then sprinkle Asiago cheese (shredded) onthe breast as well. Now fold the breast up and fasten with skewers.

Next, take an egg, beat it, then soak the breasts in the egg and thencover with any kind of breading. I used flour. Try flour.

Fry the chicken breast in butter only just so it browns on all sides.

Then bake this baby at 400 degrees for 24 minutes.Remove from the oven.

Prepare some butter and parmesan cheese, melted, and pour it overthe breast and then serve. You will be more than delighted.

EASY AND DELICIOUS CHILI

Ingredients

1lb of ground beef1 lb sweet Italian sausage (taken out of its casing)1-2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes1 small can of tomato sauceChili seasoning to taste1 large Spanish onion chopped1 medium red pepper chopped1 medium green pepper chopped1 jalapeno pepper chopped fine(remove all insides and seeds first)1 can of red kidney beans (do notuse the fluid)1 can of dark red kidney beans (donot use the fluid)1/4 cup of red wineOregano, chopped garlic (twocloves),Cumin to tasteBasil to tasteTwo teaspoons of lemon juice1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard

Lots of ingredients, but quite easy. Saute the beef and sausage until done.Spoon off the fat. Then add all the ingredients and cook on medium heat for30 minutes. Stir, taste, add a few more spices.

Then cook on very low heat for 2-3 hrs, tasting as you go and adding thisand that as you go. When you serve, I think sprinkling it with shreddedAssiago cheese adds a lot.

Great taste!

(This recipe is a combination from Cooks.com and Sid Goodmans uniquechili).

PAELLA

This is a delightful dish which only takes 1-1.5 hours to prepare. Itis done differently from most Paellas: my own style!

Ingredients:

1 box of rice1 dozen scallops2 chicken sausages3 chicken thighs1 dozen peeled shrimp12 mussels1 bag frozen peas2 sweet peppers (orangeand red)1 bottle of clam juice1 can of chicken stock

So what we do in makingthis Paella is to cook allthe ingredients separatelyand then add them in atthe last moment. This is NOT how most Paella is prepared. I justnoticed when I did it that way, things did not get mushy, and Iliked it that way.

I make the rice differently, so let us start with that. Make the ricenot with water but with clam juice and chicken stock (same

proportions as you would with water, but use these ingredientsinstead). Season chicken thigh pieces with your favoriteseasonings, saut and set aside (save the juice; deglaze the pan andset aside with the chicken). Cook the shrimp in garlic and butter,salt and pepper, deglaze pan, and set aside the shrimp with itsjuice). Same with sliced filets of fish. Now cook sliced chickensausage and set that aside. After all is said and done, add frozenpeas to your rice, pieces of sliced red, yellow and green peppers,and then add all your ingredients back into the mix. Dont cook fortwo long. Let the flavors unite for a few minutes of slow cooking,but dont let the effort turn mushy or soggy. Taste, season, thensprinkle with chopped chives or green onions and paprika. Serve.

THAI CHICKEN SATAY

Ive been trying to find a great peanutsauce for Thai Satay chicken, buteverything was unsuccessful. I triedmaking it myself from tworecipes.total failure. I bought italready prepared; same story. Then Ifound a vegan peanut sauce at NobHill. It can be purchased online at chefjerrawan.com Itsincredible.

I took three tablespoons of the mixture and added one tablespoonof half and half. Then I barbecued sliced chicken thighs and thensimply coated it (after removing from the BBQ) and served.Incredible! In this recipe (pictured) I served it with mashedbroccoli & cauliflower (made the same way one makes mashedpotatoes).

GAZPACHO

This is a delightful soup served cold. Took a few times to get itright.

Ingredients:

3 lg. tomatoes, chopped1 cucumber, peeled, chopped1 green pepper, cored, chopped2 celery stalks, chopped1 green onions, chopped1 Zuchini peeled and chopped1.5 avocados, chopped (optional)1 tsp. salt1/4 tsp. pepper2 tbsp. vegetable oil (or olive oil)2 Tablespoons malt vinegarWorcestershire sauce to tasteCayenne pepper to taste1 cans Clamato Juice (about 10 oz) or V8Two table spoons. sour cream or yogurt for garnishChopped chives for garnish

Before you follow these directions, take all your vegetables, slicedand chopped, plus all the ingredients, but go lightly on spices(Worcester, cayenne, and malt vinegar). Put everything in a foodprocessor and then taste. Gradually build up the cayenne,Worcestershire and vinegar until it tickles your taste buds.

Serve cold with a garnish of chives and maybe chopped basil.

CHICKEN TAGINE

This is a lovely recipe, easy to make, and really quite delicious. Imade it three times, and this last time was just perfect. It does nottaste Indian, or Pakistani, but genuinely Moroccan.

Ingredients2 tablespoons of ground cumin1.5 tablespoons of smokedpaprika (or regular)8 skinless, boneless chickenthighs3/4 of a chopped medium redonion3 sliced tomatoes6 garlic cloves chopped1/3rd cup of pitted black olives1/2 cup of chicken stock2 tablespoon of red wine vinegar1 tablespoon of choppedtarragonsalt and pepper

First you mix your cumin and paprika together, wash and pat dryyour chicken, cut the chicken pieces in half, and then roll thechicken in this mixture coating both sides. Heat 1 tablespoon ofolive oil and brown the chicken (not too much or the paprika willturn black). Just make it look juicy red and remove to a plate.

Add the chopped onions and sear until browned. Remove theonions.

Then lower the heat and add 2 tablespoons more of oil, garlic andolives, stock and vinegar. Bring to a simmer.

In another fry pan, add olive oil (small amount) and place thechopped and browned onions on the bottom. Place the chickenpieces on top of that. Place the sliced tomatoes on top of thechicken, and then pour the mixture of oil, garlic, and stock over thewhole thing. Season with salt and pepper and then sprinkletarragon on top and cook on medium low heat for 40 minutes (orbake like I did at 350). Superb. Serve with rice, couscous orwhatever.

BUFFALO WINGS

I tried making Buffalo wings following the Barefoot Contessa andit was a disaster. After 4 tries, I found the secret. Here it is:

IngredientsWings enough for 2-3 peopleWing Sauce called Wing Time (medium) from Whole FoodsRanch or Blue Cheese dressing

So you have Ranch or Blue Cheese dressingset aside for dipping and then you take yourwings.

Cut up the wings into three parts: thedrumettes, the wing, and the tip of the wing. Discard the tips. Washand dry the wings, then season with kosher salt and pepper. Nowyou FRY the wings very slowly in olive oil and butter probablyclose to 30 minutes until you are sure they are done and you aresure they have a golden brown covering to them. They should notburn. Take about 30% of your bottle of medium hot wing sauceand add 1/3 of a cube of butter and 3 cloves of finely choppedgarlic. Heat the sauce. When the wings have been fried, then pourthe sauce into the wings and keep turning them and heating themuntil they are exactly the color you want. And then serve with yourRanch dressing. Incredible!

GARLIC PARMESAN BREADED OYSTERS ANDSHRIMP

This is either an entre or an appetizer. The idea is to deep fat fryoysters and breaded shrimp and serve.

Ingredients:Oysters (two glass jars)Shrimp (eight)FlourItalian seasoningRed pepper seasoningEggFinely shredded parmesancheeseFinely chopped garlicChopped green onions

Take the oysters andslowly boil them in white wine until they are 3/4th cooked. Perhaps4 minutes. Let them cool. Season the oysters and shrimp with saltand cracked pepper.

Put the flour in a separate bowl, take an egg or two and whisk it ina second bowl, and then mix the Italian seasoning and parmesan ina third bowl (about equal parts of Italian seasoning and parmesan,plus a hint of red pepper seasoning then add the finely choppedgarlic).

Take the oyster and dip it in the flour, then dip it in the egg, andfinally in the Italian seasoning mixture and set aside. Do the samewith the shrimp. Heat olive oil, or any kind of oil, and then addoysters. Let them turn golden brown and remove. Do the same forall the remaining oysters and shrimp, a little at a time. Cool andserve. Fantastic!

Stuffed Mushrooms

I worked on these forsome time. Inspired byour friend Devora,these are small whitemushrooms. Well,here are theingredients:

White mushroomsChivesCream CheeseMascarponeBacon

Fry up some bacon, remove the fat, dry it, then chop it up into finefine pieces.

Remove the center stems gently from the mushrooms, then oil themushrooms (olive oil), and use pepper and a slight bit of garlicpowder on them.

The the chives, cream cheese (one tablespoon) mascarpone,(twotablespoons), and bacon bits and mash them into a paste. Stuff thepaste in the mushrooms, and bake for 25 minutes at 300 degrees.Try adding one clove of very fine minced garlic to the paste too.Wonderful appetizer.

Detroits world famous Lafayette Coney Island hotdog.

The Food Network said this was the best hot dog in the country.The program The best thing I ever ate, also featured theLafeyette Coney Island hotdog. Every Detroiter knows it. I havedriven 4 hours just to have one, or two, or three. Never thought Idfind the secret recipe, but I found it on the internet. Tried it threetimes, and finally got itright. The secret is in thechili sauce which takes 3hours to make. So here itis.

Ingredients:

Saags Classic GermanFranks (half pork halfveal)Regular hot dog bunsDiluted yellow mustardChopped white onions

The Chili Sauce

1 pound of extra lean beef1/2 quart of water2 small onions (minced)2.5 teaspoons of chili powder1 small red pepper minced1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon of pepper3/4 teaspoon of ground allspice1 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce3 cloves of garlic minced

3/4/ teasponn of cinnamon2 teaspoons of cumin3 bayleaves3/4 teaspoon of vinegar8 ounce can of tomato sauce

To make the chili sauce add the hamburger to the boiling water andgently separate it. Then mince your ingredients (onions, redpeppers, garlic) in a food processor and add all the otheringredients. Simmer for about 3 hours. If you simmer too long, itwill get too thick. If you simmer to little, it will be too soupy. Soget the consistency right, and taste it. Add more cinnamon,allspice or vinegar.

You are not done.

Gently fry the sausages.Take the buns and steam them so they are ultra softChop some white onions quite fine (see the picture above)Now take some yellow mustard and add a bit of water to it to makeit less thick. The mustard in Detroits Lafayette St. Coney place isquite liquid, so try it. Not too soupy. Not too thick.

So put the sausage on the soft bun, spoon the chili sauce across thetop, sprinkle chopped onions, and then add a bit of mustard theneat.

Thinks also of adding celery salt and smoked paprika (I haventtried that yet).It is said that part of the secret recipe is also to use some choppedbeef hearts in addition to the hamburger, but I never tried thatvariation.

Enjoy! Incredible! Cant stop!

TURKEY LULA KEBABS

This is an accidental recipe that turned out great and takes verylittle time.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey (darkmeat if possible)1 eggpoultry seasoningjerk seasoningpanko bread crumbswhite onion,5 garlic cloves5 green onionsgoat cheese (prefer Chevre)

Mince the onion and garlic glovs along with the green onions(green parts only). Add to the turkey, add seasoning, salt, pepper,and perhaps a bit of jerk seasoning. Add a whole egg, perhaps1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs and about 6 tablespoons of goatcheese. Mix with your hands until well mixed. Let stand 20minutes. Form into balls, and slowly fry until done.

I like to make a turkey, mushroom, garlic gravy to serve on thesebabies and all on a plate of mashed cauliflower.

THE BEST SOUP OF MY LIFE

In 1971 Anya and I went to Malaga. We wanted to see the Rock ofGibraltar, and they told us you have to climb this mountain. Wellthere were stairs going left, then right, then left, then right, untilfinally we got to the top of the mountain. We couldnt see the Rockof Gibraltar, and we were exhausted. There was a five star hotelthere, and we didnt have much money, so we went out on theirbalcony, exhausted, and ordered a bowl of soup and a glass ofwhite wine.

It was the best tasting soup of my life, but I didnt know if that wasbecause I was exhausted, or that the soup was so good. It was acream, sherry, shellfish soup.

42 years later, my daughter, Maya went to Malaga on a Fullbright.She called and said where was that hotel with the fabulous soup?I said I didnt know, just that there were stairs going left, thenright, then left.She found the hotel. It is still there. And so is thesoup. It has a special name, but she got me the recipe. I had ittranslated from Google Translate.

Here is is

Ingredients:White onionOne large carrotOne potatoGood mayonnaiseFish filetsClamsShrimpGarlic

Paprika

First you are going to make a stock. Take half a pot full of waterand add the chopped carrots, half an onion, three tablespoons ofpeas, and a potato cut into 1.5 inch cubes. Let it come to a boiluntil the carrots are half done.Then add fish (cut into chunks), and clams. Let that boil for a fewminutes. Add one full glass of nice sherry.

Strain out all of the ingredients and put the stock into a separatepot. Let the stock cool.

Get a bowl full of mayonaisseprobably half a jar. Add thecooled stock to the mayonaisse. Dont let it curdle. Once the stockand mayonaisse are proper, add in the fish,

shrimp, potato, clams, peas, and a bit of pepper. Also add in about2 tablespoons of finely chopped prosciutto. I also decided to addsome finely chopped parmesan cheese too. Sprinkle with paprika

Stir and heat at low heat.

Serve and blow your mind.

Char-broiled rack of lamb

This is the best lamb I have evercooked in my life, so get ready forthis simple recipe.

Ingredients:YogurtGarlic 4 clovesWhite onionLemon juiceOlive oilSalt, pepper, Italian seasoningHollandaise sauce (Knorr)

Marinate the lamb for 24 hours in 1 cup of yogurt, 3 cloves ofgarlic, 3/4ths of a white onion, lemon juice, & olive oil. Keeprefrigerated.

Remove rack of lamb from marinade; wash off. Season it withlight salt, much more pepper, Italian seasoning, and then rub oliveoil on both sides.

Prepare your grill by getting the coals in a pile at one section of thebarbecue. When cooking your rack, pay close attention. Here iswhere your skill is involved. Sear it so that it looks like this pictureon both sides (or is even a little less black). Then move the rack tothe other side of the grill, cover it, and let it cook. [Alternatively,you could even take it out and then bake it til done]. If on the grill,cut a chop open and see how red it is. When it is a darker pinkcolor, its done.

Make some Knorr hollandaise sauce according to directions. Servethe chops with a dribble of hollandaise around the bottom of theplate. Totally incredible!

Coq au vin made with white wine

I saw a recipe in Bon Appetite called Chicken with mushroomsand dumplings. I tried it without the dumplings and loved it. Iserved it again last night to 6 people and they all raved about it(and much more importantly, their plates had nothing left onthem.)

Ingredients

Chicken thighs and legs (about 4 each)White wine 1/3rd cupCrimini mushrooms (about 1 pound)Chicken stock (8 oz)White onion (medium size chopped finely)6 cloves of garlic6 oz of baconThyme (to season)

Fry the bacon in a large pan until crispy. Remove and pour offMost of the grease. Take the chicken, add salt and pepper, thendredge in flower and fry in the bacon fat. You can add some oliveoil and remove some of the bacon fat to make this less of a fattydish. Remove the chicken when it is golden brown. Only fry it oneone side for 5-10 minutes until it is golden brown and then remove.

Throw in themushrooms and fryuntil done and nicelybrown. Set aside forlater. Then toss inthe chopped onionsand garlic and sautuntil transparent.Then add the wineand reduce to abouthalf. Then add thechicken again plus the bacon, plus thmye for seasoning. Also addsalt and pepper (not too much thyme). You could also experimentwith a bit of rosemary.

Simmer for 2.5 hours covered but not entirely covered. Youshould have a nice gravy with this chicken. Add in the mushroomsand let it simmer another 10 minutes then serve. I tried puttingchopped green onions on it as a garnish. The recipe recommendsyou serve it with dumplings, but I used cous cous and the gravywent over it very nicely. Very easy and very fancy recipe.

MICHIGAN ALMOST PERFECT FRIED CHICKEN

I saw this recipe on a TV program called Diners, Drive-ins, andDives, and I was intrigued. The chef of this little diner in theupper peninsula of Michigan boiled his chicken, then dredged it inspicy flour and deep fried it. The advantage was that boiling it gotrid of the fat. Also, if you haveever deep-fried chicken,you want it to be cookedthrough, but when you tryto make sure it is cookedthrough, it gets dark in

your deep fryer, and when it is finally done, it doesnt look so goodNot so here.

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken thighs and legs with skins onVegetable oilSeasonings (Cajun spice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powderpaprika)

Take your chicken thighs and legs and simply boil them in waterthat has a bit of garlic, chopped onion and a bit of lemon juice.Boil untiil they are like 98% done! Remove. Salt and pepper themgenerously, especially with salt BEFORE you dredge them withflour.

Then dredge them in the flour mixture where you have added allyour spices. Prepare your hot hot hot vegetable oil, and then addone or two pieces of chicken. If it doesnt bubble up, the oil is nothot enough. Important! So cook your chicken until it is just theright color for you (1-2 minute maybe more. Be careful. Watch.Choose the chicken when it is just the right color for you.Remember, it is already cooked. No worries!).

Remove and eat with salad or whatever else you are serving. Lessfatty than KFC. Experiment with spices. A true discovery! Andyou can use the water you boiled the chicken in for soup. I triedthis about 4 times until I got it right. The secret is seasoning thechicken with salt and pepper after it has been boiled, but beforeyou dredge it with flour. Cool recipe.

ROMA ROCKEFELLER OYSTERS

This is a delightful dish served either as an appetizer or a fulldinner entry.

Ingredients:OystersWhite wineChopped white onionKnorrs hollandaise sauce mixButterChopped SpinachParmesan cheeseWorchestershire sauce.Oyster shells or regular seafood shells for cooking

Take the oysters and boil them in their own juice with some whitewine. They should be 95% cooked and puffed up. Remove and letCool.

Slice up the oysters and season them with salt, pepper, garlicpowder.Make Knorr hollandaise sauce exactly as it say on the mix,including using lemonjuice.

Saute some garlic andchopped white onion. Thenadd the oyster pieces andsprinkle with a bit ofworchestershire sauce.

Make chopped spinach from a bag and season with salt, butter andperhaps a bit of ranch or blue cheese dressing. Make sure you tastethe spinach to see that it is not too salty or too bland.

First put the spinach into the shell (not too much, not too little).Then put the oyster mixture on top. Then put a tablespoon or twoof hollandaise sauce. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top, and thenput in broiler until the parmesan cheese becomes bubbly andbrown.

Serve and enjoy.

Middle Eastern Festival: Shashlik & Afghan chicken

Ingredients:leg of lamb,chicken thighssaffronriceyogurtwhite onionlemonsolive oil6 cloves of garlicItalian seasoningSalt/ cracked pepper/soy sauceYellow & Redpeppers & smalltomatoes

Create the marinade: cup of yogurt, garlic, chopped white onion,Lemon juice (two lemons), & olive oil (1/4 cup), add saffron too.Put in food processor and blend.

Chop up lamb into 1. 5 inch cubes. Try to remove grisle and sinewwhen you can. Marinate lamb chunks in marinade for 2 days.

Do the same with the chicken (only in a separate container) usingthe same marinade.

Remove meat from marinade. Wash off marinade and dry meat.Add olive oil and all spices (Italian seasoning, soy sauce (notmuch), salt and pepper. Mix meat thoroughly in spices.

Cook over hot coals. Serve over rice. Add peas, chopped chivesand green onions. Grill chopped yellow and red peppers and smalltomatoes over coals too and add to your rice.

BRAISED LAMB SHANKS

IngredientsLamb shanks with bone inMiripoisBottle of red wine (good)GarlicSalt, pepper, bay leavesTomato pasteRosemary, thyme, Italian seasoningBeef bouillon

This recipe blew me away. Incredible.Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.Coat a large Dutch oven generously with olive oil and bring to ahigh heat. Season the shanks generously with salt and add them tothe pan. Brown well on all sides. This is an incredibly importantstep; do not rush it.Remove the shanks from the pan to a sheet tray. Discard the excessfat from the pan. Add a little more oil to coat the bottom of the pan

and add the miripoix. Season with salt, to taste. Saute until theyare translucent and aromatic, about 10 minutes.Add the tomato paste andbrown for 5 minutes. Stir inthe wine, chopped rosemaryand thyme Stir frequentlyand cook until the wine hasreduced by about a third.Add the shanks back to thepot and pour in 3 to 4 cups ofbeef bouillion The shanksshould be submersed, if theyare not, add more water. Addthe bay leaves to the pan, cover and put in the preheated oven. Thecooking time will be about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Turn the shanks overabout halfway through the cooking time. Check the shanks every45 minutes or so. If the liquid has reduced too much add morewater. Defat as you go.Remove the lid during the last 30 minutes of cooking time formaximum browning. When the shanks are done the meat should beincredibly tender and flavorful. Transfer to serving plates and serveover mashed potatoes flavored with a bit of horseradish