Baby Bok Choy with Cashews

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped green onions, including green ends
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 pound baby bok choy, rinsed, larger leaves separated from base, base trimmed but still present, holding the smaller leaves together
• 1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• Salt
• 1/2 cup chopped, roasted, salted cashews

Method

1 Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium high heat. Add onions, then garlic, then bok choy. Sprinkle with sesame oil and salt. Cover, and let the baby bok choy cook down for approximately 3 minutes. (Like spinach, when cooked, the bok choy will wilt a bit.)

2 Remove cover. Lower heat to low. Stir and let cook for a minute or two longer, until the bok choy is just cooked.

3 Gently mix in cashews.

Serves 4.

Cioppino Recipe

Actually cioppino, a tasty fish and shellfish stew, is pretty easy to make if you have the ingredients. The trick is using the highest quality seafood. I wouldn't attempt this stew unless I had access to very fresh fish and shellfish, fortunately abundant in the San Francisco Bay Area. Whole Foods usually carries good seafood, but you should always check when they got the item in. Preferably it came in that morning. Asian markets can be a good source of fresh seafood as well, often available at a much lower price than that of Whole Foods. If your fishmonger has some good fish or shellfish stock for sale as well, all the better.

Note that cioppino is typically served with the shellfish still in their shells, making for somewhat messy eating. It's a lot of fun for an informal gathering. Have plenty of napkins available and don't wear white.

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Ingredients

Seafood
3 pounds halibut, sea bass, or other firm white fish, cut into inch-long cubes
1 large (2 lb or more) cooked Dungeness crab (hard shell) or a cooked lobster
1 pound (or more) of large shrimp
2 pounds little neck clams, mussels, or oysters or all three

Sauce
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (1 large onion)
1 cup chopped green bell pepper (1 large green bell pepper)
3 coves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 28 ounce can tomatoes
Broth from the mollusks
2 cups red wine
2 cups tomato juice
2 cups fish or shellfish stock
An herb bouquet of bay leaf, parsley, and basil wrapped in a layer of cheesecloth and secured with kitchen string
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup minced parsley for garnish
Optional seasonings: a dash of Tabasco sauce and or Worcestershire sauce

Method

1 Steam mollusks (clams, mussels, oysters) in a small amount of water (about a cup) until they just open. Set aside. Strain and reserve the cooking broth.

2 If using crab, removed the crab legs from the body and use a nut cracker to crack the shells so that the meat can be easily removed once it is served (leave the meat in the shell). Break the body in half, and then cut each half again into either halves or thirds. Keep the top shell of the crab for making stock.

If you are using lobster, cut the tail in pieces and reserve the body and legs for making stock.

Note you can use prepared fish or shellfish stock, or you can make your own. If you are not making your own stock, you can discard the crab top shell or lobster body. If prepared shellfish stock is not available, I would combine some prepared fish stock (available at many markets, including Trader Joe's) with clam juice.

3 Split the shrimp shells down the back and remove the black vein. (See how to peel and devein shrimp.) I found the easiest way to do this, without removing the shell, is to lay the shrimp on its side and insert a small knife into the large end of the shrimp, with the blade pointing outward from the back (away from the shrimp and your hands). Once you have split the shrimp shells, you can turn the knife toward the shrimp, and cut in a little to find the black vein. Pull out the vein as much as you can. You can probably also use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the backs of the shrimp.

Alternatively, you can shell the shrimps and devein them. Shell-on imparts more flavor; shell-off is easier to eat.

4 In a deep 8-quart covered pot, sauté onions and green pepper on medium heat in olive oil until soft. Add the garlic, sauté 1 minute more. Add tomatoes, broth from the mollusks, red wine, tomato juice, fish or shellfish stock, the herb bouquet, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Remove herb bouquet. Taste and correct seasoning.

5 Add the fish and cook, covered, until the fish is just cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the steamed mollusks, crabmeat, and shrimp. Heat just until shrimp are cooked (just 2-3 minutes, until they are bright pink). Do not overcook.

6 Serve in large bowls, shells included. Sprinkle with minced parsley. Serve with crusty French or Italian bread and a robust red wine. Have plenty of napkins available, a few extra bowls for the shells, and nut crackers and tiny forks for the crab.

Serves 8.

Cheesy Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 1 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 to 1 cup chopped green onion (to taste)
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp sour cream (optional)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup, 4 ounces), softened to the point of being slightly melted

• 1 to 2 loaves of French or Italian bread (I used Ciabatta), depending on the size of the loaves

Method

1 In a large bowl, mix together the cheeses and the green onion. Stir in the mayonnaise and sour cream. In a separate small bowl blend the butter and garlic until smooth. Add the butter mixture to the cheese mixture.

2 Preheat broiler. Slice loaf of bread in half horizontally, lay crust side down. Spread cheese mixture over the bread. Place under the broiler until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.

3 Remove from broiler and let sit for 5 minutes until cool enough to handle. Slice the bread with a bread knife. Serve.

Makes 30 to 40 slices.

Apple Crisp Recipe

Apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, butter and oatmeal? Welcome to the essential ingredients of the apple crisp, one of the most simple and easy of apple desserts.

Ingredients

7 tart apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Method

1 Preheat oven to 375°F. In a mixing bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, and vanilla. Toss to combine.

2 Layer sliced apples in a 9 x 12 inch baking pan.

3 Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and oatmeal in a bowl. Cut in butter. Sprinkle sugar mixture over apples.

4 Bake 45 minutes or until topping looks crunchy and apples are tender.

Serves 8. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Turkey Chili Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped onion
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped fine
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 (35 oz) cans stewed tomatoes, crushed
• 2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans, drained
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 3/4 cup chicken or turkey stock
• 2 Tbsp chili powder (or up to 4 Tbsp if you like it really hot)
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp dried hot red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp salt, plus more if desired to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 to 4 cups of shredded, cooked turkey meat
• Sugar

• Shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, sour cream for optional garnish.

Method

1 In a large, 8-quart, thick-bottom pot, cook the onion and green pepper over medium high heat, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for a minute or two more. Add a bit more olive oil if needed.

2 Add tomatoes, tomato paste, stock. beans, oregano, salt, pepper, and cooked turkey meat. Bring mixture to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, for an hour.

3 Salt to taste. Add 1 to 3 teaspoons of sugar to take the edge of the acidity of the tomatoes if desired.

The chili may be made in advance and chilled for 2 days, or frozen for 2 months.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onion, and or sour cream. Serve alone, over rice, or with corn bread.

Makes about 12 cups. Serves 8.

Coleslaw Recipe

Preparation time: 5 minutes.

Ingredients

• Cabbage, either green or purple or both
• Carrot
• Green onion

For the version with mayonnaise:

• Mayonnaise
• Yellow mustard
• Pepper

For the version without mayonnaise:

• Rice vinegar or white vinegar
• Sugar
• Salt and pepper

Method

1 Starting with a head or half a head of cabbage, thinly slice the cabbage until you have approximately 4 cups (not packed) of sliced cabbage. (Using a mandoline helps in this case.) Julienne a half of a carrot. Thinly slice a couple green onions.

1 For the mayo dressing version, add 3 Tbsp mayo, 1/2 teaspoon of yellow mustard and mix in with the cabbage, carrot, and onions. Add pepper to taste.

3 For the non-mayo version, add a couple tablespoons of rice vinegar. Sprinkle with sugar, salt, and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Recipe

Makes about 18 large chewy oatmeal raisin cookies.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups rolled oats (We use Quaker Quick or Old Fashioned. Do NOT use instant.)
1 1/2 cups raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Method

1 Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper or waxed paper.

2 Either by hand or with electric mixer, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.

3 Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg together in medium bowl. Stir dry ingredients into butter-sugar mixture. Stir in oats, raisins and optional walnuts.

4 Working with generous 2 tablespoons of dough each time, roll dough into 2-inch balls. Place balls on parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving at least 2 inches between each ball.

5 Bake until cookie edges turn golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. Let cool on cooling at least 30 minutes before peeling cookie from parchment.

If you prefer a less sweet cookie, you can reduce the white sugar by one-quarter cup, but you will lose some crispness. Do not overbake these cookies. The edges should be brown, but the rest of the cookie should be very light in color. The trick to making the cookies chewy is to make them large. Smaller cookies tend to get more dried out and crisp, and therefore not as chewy.