I make tomato sauce a bunch of different ways. I’m calling this one Winter Tomato Sauce because most of the year I use real peeled tomatoes to make sauce. In the winter I used nothing fresh. This is a very basic tomato sauce recipe that differs from marinara. Tomato sauce is more complex than the quicker cooked marinara sauce. Today I used canned tomatoes and dried herbs. This sauce came out slightly spicy after I reduced it ( I usually don’t measure but today I did)……If you are very sensitive to heat you should cut the amount of black pepper and cherry peppers slightly…..you can always add back more pepper at the end. This recipe makes a really BIG GIANT BATCH of sauce and you will have to freeze it in portions. My regular tomato sauce is very similar. For that I use fresh tomatoes with skins removed and I concentrate the tomatoes in a low oven all day (8 hours or so) before I make sauce. I use some dried herbs and at the end I add some fresh herbs.

Ingredients for about 20 portions

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8 hot/sweet jarred cherry pepper – chopped fine

1 medium sweet onion – chopped fine

1 Tablespoon ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons course sea salt

1 cup dry white wine

5 bay leaves

6 oz tomato paste

6 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

6lb 6oz (one #10 can) ground tomatoes in puree

6 cups water

2 Tablespoons dried basil

Directions

Put a BIG sauce pot in medium high heat with the olive oil. When oil is hot add the cherry peppers, onion, salt and black pepper. When the onions look soft add the wine and bay leaves. Let it cook a couple minutes and add the tomato paste. Stir the tomato paste all around and when it looks slightly thickened add the garlic. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir that around and when you can smell it then add the can of tomatoes the water and the basil. Stir occasionally. In a while the sauce will boil but you want it to slowly simmer so you will be turning down the heat to around medium low….and eventually to low. Cover the pot half way with foil so the sauce doesn’t jump out on the wall. Let it simmer 3-4 hours. Tomorrow the sauce will taste sweeter so resist adding sugar. For best results use the next day. Freeze and portion whatever you aren’t using.

I had spinach and extra white wine hanging around so I thought I should make some spinach risotto. Risotto is very easy to prepare but you do have to keep stirring it vigorously for about 20 minutes straight. If you are ok with that then you can make risotto. Risotto is the one of the foods that doesn’t freeze well and one of the few foods where as a leftover it’s not as good as the original unless you re-purpose the risotto into fried risotto balls………so you try to make what you need…….Anyways this is probably the best tasting risotto you ever had…I know this because when we go out to eat most other risotto isn’t as layered with flavors as mine is….I usually make mushroom risotto with mushroom stock because that’s my favorite but this Spinach Risotto is also very good.

Ingredients for around 5 servings

1/2 large sweet onion – finely chopped – ideally rice sized

1 cup risotto rice ( I used arborio)

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup dry white wine

2 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

5 cups hot vegetable stock (actually you need 4-5 cups…this you have to eye ball for yourself at the end of cooking. If I only used 4 cups the risotto will turn dry for my leftovers so I use 5 cups so the leftovers are better)

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

pinch saffron

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground black peppet

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

a few grates fresh nutmeg

8 oz fresh spinach leaves

Directions

In a pot on medium high (towards high) heat add the oil and butter and when they are hot add the rice and onions….stir…stir…stir. Fry them up but don’t brown till onions are soft and clear.stir…stir …stir. Add garlic..stir..stir..stir…when you can smell the garlic add the wine.stir.stir.stir. After the wine absorbs add about a cup of hot stock and stir. stir. stir till it absorbs and repeat till you get 4 cups of stock in. At this point you can add the basil, thyme, saffron, peppers, and cheese….stir. stir. stir. Now stir in the spinach. The rice should be soft….ideally you want the rice slightly al dente…The risotto might start tightening up. Decide NOW if you need to add a little more stock……Most likely you will add some if not all of the cup.

I don’t think you will need any spice adjustments. Some people might want to serve with grated cheese but I don’t think anymore is needed.

Enjoy!

I went to the Asiana Market in Glendale and after shopping I got inspired to create something Asian Style. I came across these beautiful Korean leeks. They were big bright and fresh looking. The Korean leeks aren’t tough like regular leeks and are more like giant scallions. Some of the other things I picked up were Seafood Mushrooms and Shiso Meshi Seasoning…..I think Seafood Mushrooms are a lot of BANG for the buck….They coast only a little over a dollar a package and are tender delicate small mushrooms with stems that have a very unique seafood flavor….I love them! Another thing I picked up was Shiso Meshi Seasoning….(while I was looking for bonito flakes) The Shiso Meshi Seasoning is made of red Shiso leaves (from the mint family…..sort of mint-ish, basil-lee-ish), dried plum and lime. I thought all of these things together would make a delicious pancake and they FORKING DID! Asian Pancakes do differ from American Pancakes and are more about the filling than the pancake so they should be more filling than pancake. I embellished the pancakes with a few other things and also came up with a dipping sauce. This is not an authentic Asian recipe…….but it makes Forking SUMPTUOUS Asian Style Leek Pancakes. I made two giant pancakes that were about 12 servings….You can either make several smaller pancakes or two giant pancakes that you split up. My photo doesn’t show all the vegetables packed into the pancake. Down below is a photo that better shows how the pancake taste. The dipping sauce is also delicious and you can use it for a variety of other things.

Ingredients for about 12 servings

2 bunches Korean leeks (they come bundled in twos) – sliced thin like scallions, use all the white and most of the green. Super dirty parts I toss and soak the rest in a bowl for dirt to come out like regular leeks. I rinse twice and drain.

1 5.3oz (150g package) seafood mushrooms – cut root ball off and the mushrooms into thirds

2 cups flour

1 Tablespoon Shiso Meshi seasoning (or substitute furikake)

1 teaspoon course sea salt

1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 cup water

2 eggs – slightly beaten

1 Tablespoon black sesame seeds

1 Tablespoon Korean Red pepper threads (or a small amount (1/4-1/2 teaspoon) of ground red pepper preferably Korean)

canola oil to fry pancakes

1/4 cup soy sauce – (dipping sauce)

1 Tablespoon toasted sesame oil – (dipping sauce)

1 teaspoon (heaping) Korean chili paste – (dipping sauce)

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar – (dipping sauce)

1 Tablespoon hoisin – (dipping sauce)

2 garlic cloves – either ground to paste or microplane – (dipping sauce)

1 Tablespoon pure honey – (dipping sauce)

2 Tablespoons scallions – (dipping sauce)

optional – to serve – top the pancakes with a little extra Korean Pepper Threads and sliced scallions

Directions

In a large mixing bowl combine leeks, mushrooms, flour, Shiso seasoning, salt, white pepper, water, eggs, sesame seeds, Korean pepper threads. Mix well and set to the side.

Either make the dipping sauce now or while cooking the pancakes. In a small bowl combine soy sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, rice wine vinegar, hoisin, garlic, honey and scallions.

Get a big fry pan on medium high heat with about a 1/4 inch of oil….When the oil is hot add either half the pancake mixture (if you want two big pancakes) or what is easier to do is to make several smaller pancakes. Turn down the heat to medium high and don’t flip over until the bottom is nicely browned. Turn to brown other side when ready and repeat till done….

These are FORKING SCRUMPTIOUS!

OMG these potatoes are da BOMB and are so easy to prepare. Usually Potatoes Anna is done in a screaming hot cast iron skillet and finished under the broiler and is made from just potatoes and clarified butter. I sort of invented my own easy way to prepare Potatoes Anna Style. I’m calling these Potatoes Anna Style because I didn’t use a cast iron pan or clarify the butter and I added some seasoning so they are Anna Style. These potatoes just melt in your mouth and are seasoned just so. The butter in the potatoes gets slightly browned and makes the potatoes super delicious. You do need to make the potato slices very thin for the potatoes to work out. I used a mandolin. Very easy to prepare. The hardest part is slicing the potatoes.

Ingredients for about 10 servings

3 lbs red potatoes peeled and sitting in a large bowl of cold water

non stick spray

3oz unsalted butter – melted

1 Tablespoon course sea salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions

Set oven to 425 degrees F and spray a casserole bowl with non stick spray and set the bowl to the side.

To your dish of melted butter add the salt, peppers, thyme and paprika and mix well. Set to the side.

Using a mandolin or whatever devise you normally use to slice potatoes like potato chip thin use it. Shake the water off the potato, blot dry and slice up one potato at a time. Use Line the sprayed bowl with potato slices by starting in the center and work your way around but stop when you finished one layer.

Each layer gets brushed with the seasoned butter….but make sure you try to get the butter from the bottom of the dish because the seasonings settle there. Next time I think I’ll let the butter get to room temperature and mix in the seasonings and just squirt the butter out around the potatoes with a parchment bag.

Repeat till you are done.

This gets covered and goes in the 425 degree F oven for an hour. After an hour remove the lid and it goes back in the oven 15-20 minutes to brown.

This is a #CrowdPleaser EVERYONE out there will FORKING LOVE these potatoes!

Confit shallots are slow cooked at 200 degrees for 8-12 hours basically in butter and wine. You can create very similar style shallots by cooking them covered at 325 degrees F for four hours so I do it that way. I play around with the fats, wines or vinegar for different flavors and today I’m using shallots instead of onions that I normally do. These shallots are so delicious and jammy. They are perfect for steak or a gourmet burger. They also freeze well so you can use them when you need them.

Ingredients for around 10 servings

1 1/2 pound shallots (I used Echalion French Banana Shallots but any shallot is fine) – peeled

7 medium – small bay leaves

1 teaspoon tellicherry peppercorns

1/2 teaspoon thyme

5 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

6 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup red wine (this gets added 2 hours into cooking when you turn the shallots over)

Directions

Set oven to 325 degrees F.

To your baking dish or pan add bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme and vinegar. Top with peeled shallots. Sprinkle shallots with olive oil. Cover with foil and place in heated oven for two hours. After two hours remove foil and flip the shallots on the other side. Now add the red wine and cover up again with foil and place in the oven another two hours.

People will love these shallots!

This recipe is based on Peruvian Roasted Chicken with Spicy Cilantro Sauce by Melissa Clark that was published in The New York Times. I modified the recipe to chicken breast because they were on sale at Safeway for 99 cents a pound so I stocked up on them and that’s what I had. Peruvian Chicken should be made with whole bird or chicken parts with skin……….But…….. WOW!….. This recipe makes SUPER FORKING DELICIOUS Spicy CHICKEN AND FORKING DELICIOUS SPICY SAUCE! I like Melissa Clark’s recipe very much because it’s a very good recipe and she also gives you a lot of freedom with the recipe…such as the recipe should be made with aji amarillo paste and aji panca. Melissa suggest substitutes of to use sriracha or sambal and pasilla Chile powder since most people don’t have Aji Amarillo or aji panca paste in their pantry. She does explain you don’t get the same taste but it’s still delicious (and it is). This recipe does indeed come out SPICY…..but is delicious to people who can handle spicy. The original recipe is pretty much the same except whole chicken or parts with bone and skin, marinated 2-12 hours, oven roasted at 450 degrees F 25-35 minutes for split breasts and 35-45 other chicken. If I was doing this recipe again I’d say to get or order bottled Sweetie Drop Peppers. I would have chopped some up and spread them on top of the chicken over the sauce with some on the side if I knew in advance HOW FORKING AMAZING they are on this dish…… The Sweetie Drop Peppers are the small jarred Peruvian peppers I have in photos. The taste of them really makes the dish POP…Sweetie Drop Peppers are a little pickled and sort of sweet and bring the dish up another level. I saw Sweetie Drop at Whole Foods this week but never noticed them there before.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

2 large chicken breast – cut into 8 servings that are lightly pounded

6 cloves garlic – microplane (for marinade)

3 Tablespoons soy sauce (for marinade)

1 Tablespoon Aji Amarillo paste – suggested substitutions are sriracha or sambal (I used Korean Chili Paste) (for marinade)

1 Tablespoon lime juice (for marinade)

1 teaspoon aji panca paste – suggested substitution is 1 teaspoon pasilla Chile powder (for marinade)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (for marinade)

1 teaspoon ground cumin (for marinade)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper (for marinade)

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt (for marinade)

1 cup flour – to coat dried off marinated chicken – (I used brown rice flour but any flour is fine…the flour is not to bread but seals in the juice from the chicken)

canola oil as needed to pan fry chicken

1 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems (sauce)

3–4 jalapeño peppers – seeded and diced (sauce)

1/4 cup 1 oz crumbled feta cheese (I didn’t have any so I substituted soy milk) (sauce)

1 garlic clove – minced (sauce)

1 1/2 Tablespoons lime juice – more to taste – (sauce)

2 teaspoons fresh oregano or basil – (sauce)

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt – more to taste – (sauce)

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard – (sauce)

1/2 Tablespoon Aji Amarillo or other suggested chili paste such as sriracha or sambal (I used Korean Pepper paste) – sauce

1/2 teaspoon honey – (sauce)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin – ( sauce)

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil – (sauce)

lime wedges for garnish

optional – but I HIGHLY RECOMMEND to order some Peruvian Sweetie Drop Peppers for this dish as they REALLY bring the dish up another level and make the dish POP!

Directions

Put chicken pieces in a ziplock bag.

In a medium bowl add the 6 micro-planed garlic cloves, soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon Aji Amarillo paste, 1 Tablespoon lime juice, aji panca paste, 1 teaspoon dijon, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt. Mix well.

Pour the marinade into the ziplock bag with the chicken. Try to push most of the air out of the bag and zip it shut. Push the marinade around the chicken and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or about three and a half hours but no longer than four hours. (This timing is for boneless breasts)

After 3 1/2 hours take the chicken out of the marinade and blot each piece dry.

Get another ziplock bag and add a cup of flour to it. Put the chicken in it and give the chicken some good shakes. Set to the side.

Put a good size fry pan on medium high heat and add about a 1/4 inch of canola oil. When the oil is hot add the chicken. Depending on the thickness of chicken and temperature of the oil …the timing will differ……You should need about 5 minutes a side…but that can differ. Place cooked chicken on a cooling rack or a sheet pan that’s lined with paper towels.

While your cooking up the chicken you can make the sauce. In either a blender or with a blender stick and container add cilantro, jalapeños, feta cheese, garlic, lime juice, oregano or basil, sea salt, dijon, Aji Amarillo, honey, cumin and olive oil and blend till emulsified.

Serve chicken with sauce and lime wedges and I recommend Peruvian Sweetie Drop Peppers. I also recommend to heat the lime wedges up…….It makes a big difference.

It’s delicious, moist, very flavorful and spicy! A special thanks to The New York Times for sharing Melissa Clark’s Wonderful Recipe!

This is a delicious potato salad that’s very easy to prepare. This one is best warmed or at room temperature. I got the idea for this potato salad after reading a Bon Appetit recipe for potato salad. This isn’t that recipe but is similar….The Bon Appetit recipe is for baby potatoes in a slightly sweetened vinaigrette. This No Mayo Dijon Tarragon Potato Salad is a Chunky, less sweet, sort of creamy cousin of the Bon Appetit Recipe. I also noticed that Epicurious also published the same exact potato salad recipe that Bon Appetit published for potato salad. Bon Appetit & Epicurious inspired this recipe for No Mayonnaise Dijon Tarragon Potato Salad. This potato salad came out perfect…..I mean really perfect…It didn’t get drippy, or dry or change flavors a few days latter.

Ingredients for about 10 servings

3 lbs red potatoes – peeled and cut into large potato salad type chunks (you want a little larger than you want because potato chunks get smaller when you mix)

1 Tablespoon sea salt (heaping or small palm full) – for boiling the potatoes

1/2 red bell pepper – chopped – somewhat small

1 celery rib – chopped small

2 1/2 oz shallots – sliced very thin on mandolin

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup white vinegar

6 Tablespoons dijon mustard – preferably Amora Brand from France (I do warn you that recipe adjustments might be needed when you use a different brand of dijon…..Amora is unique and not over-powering)

2 Tablespoons hot sauce – preferably Frank’s Red Hot

1/4 oz. package of fresh tarragon leaves – chopped

Directions

In a sauce pot add potatoes, add water to cover potatoes well and add salt. Bring the pot to a slow boil and cook till the potatoes are tender. (about 10 minutes)

While the potatoes are cooking chop and slice vegetables (shallots, bell pepper and celery) if you didn’t already and put them in a big mixing bowl and set to the side.

In a bowl add the dijon….slowly add the oil and mix till it’s coming together or emulsified then slowly add the hot sauce and slowly add the vinegar while mixing and set to the side.

By now your potatoes should be done. Either remove them with a slotted spoon and try to shake all the liquid out and add the potatoes to the bowl with vegetables or just use a colander but you risk breaking down the potatoes more. After the potatoes are in the bowl add the dressing while the potatoes are hot so they can absorb flavors and carefully mix trying not to break the potatoes much. Just before it’s almost mixed add the tarragon. I think it’s well seasoned but if you used different mustard or hot sauce than I did you might need to make some adjustments to this recipe…………….

It’s delicious everyone should enjoy….#CrowdPleaser

A special Thanks is needed to Thank Bon Appetit and Epicurious for Inspiring this delicious recipe.