Bar Cookies from Cake Mix

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 egg
• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in water and egg, then stir in cake mix. Finally, mix in nuts and chocolate chips. Spread mixture into pan.
3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Roast Chicken with Grapes

Ingredients

1 roasting chicken, about 4 to 5 pounds
1 lemon, sliced
salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, cut into eight wedges
1 large bunch of seedless grapes
A few sprigs of fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, and or tarragon
1 cup of white wine
Olive oil

Method

1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2 Rub inside of chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle insides with salt and pepper. Remove about a cup's worth of grapes from their vines and cut in half. Insert grapes into cavity. Add a few onion wedges into the cavity, along with a few sprigs of fresh herbs. You do not need to remove the rosemary from the stalk. Add a half of the lemon slices to the cavity. If you still have more space in the cavity, add more grapes.

3 Rub olive oil over the outside of the chicken. Line the bottom of a roasting casserole dish with onion slices and lemon slices. Place the chicken in the roasting pan, on top of the lemon wedges and onion, breast side down. (Or you could use a roasting rack. Using a roasting rack will ensure that the entire chicken is roasted. If you place the chicken directly in the pan, the breast meat may braise in the juices, which is also quite good, but different from roasting.)

Sprinkle outside of chicken with salt and pepper. Place sprigs of herbs and slices of lemon between the wings and the body of the chicken. Arrange any remaining grapes, lemon slices, and herbs around the sides of the chicken.

4 Roast at 350 degrees F in the oven for about 20 minutes per pound. Baste with the juices from the chicken and the white wine several times during the cooking. The chicken is done when the juices run clear (not pink) when a knife tip is inserted into both the chicken breast and thigh, about 165-170°F for the breast and 180-185°F for the thigh.

Serve with rice, and include the cooked grapes and juices.

Reuben Sandwich Recipe

Ingredients

Sandwich ingredients
2 Tbsp butter, softened
8 slices rye bread
8 slices Swiss cheese
3/4 lb corned beef brisket, thinly sliced
1/2 lb sauerkraut
1/4 cup Russian Dressing

Russian Dressing
Combine the following ingredients. Makes one-half cup
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1 Butter one side of four slices of bread, and place the slices buttered-side down on a large piece of wax paper on a flat surface. Top each with a slice of Swiss cheese, and then divide half of the corned beef among them.

2 Using paper towels, squeeze out excess moisture from the sauerkraut. Divide the sauerkraut among the sandwiches, and top each with one tablespoon of Russian dressing. Add another layer of corned beef and a second slice of Swiss cheese to each sandwich. Top with the remaining bread slices; butter the side facing out.

3 Preheat a griddle or frying pan to medium heat. Cook the sandwiches on one side until the bread is golden brown. Use a spatula to carefully flip the sandwiches over and finish cooking on the second side. Cut the sandwiches in half before serving.

Make 4 sandwiches. Serve with a side of coleslaw.

Huevos Rancheros Recipe

The recipe is flexible, sometimes we use canned salsa and just add a few more chopped tomatoes and some chopped pickled jalapenos to make the sauce. Sometimes if we have some leftover refried beans, we'll spread some on the tortillas before topping them with the eggs and salsa. My mother has been known to add a pinch of sugar to the salsa sauce if she feels it's too acidic for her taste.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped (about a half cup)
• 1 15-ounce can whole tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted, if you can get it (or 1 -2 large fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, when in season)
• 1/2 6-ounce can diced green Anaheim chiles
• Chipotle chili powder, adobo sauce, or ground cumin to taste (optional)
• 4 corn tortillas
• Butter
• 4 fresh eggs
• 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Method

1 Make the sauce first by softening the onions in a little olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Once translucent, add the tomatoes and the juice the tomatoes are packed in. Break up the tomatoes with your fingers as you put them in the pan. If you are using fresh tomatoes, chop them first, then add. Note that fresh tomatoes will take longer to cook as canned tomatoes are already cooked to begin with. Add chopped green chilies. Add additional chili to taste, either chipotle chili powder, adobo sauce, regular chili powder, or even ground cumin. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low, and let simmer while you do the rest of the cooking, stirring occasionally. Reduce to warm after it has been simmering for 10 minutes. Add salt to taste if needed.

2 Prepare the tortillas. Heat the oven to a warm 150°F, place serving plates in the oven to keep warm. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large non-stick skillet on medium high, coating the pan with the oil. One by one (or more if your pan is big enough) heat the tortillas in the pan, a minute or two on each side, until they are heated through, softened, and pockets of air bubble up inside of them. Then remove them and stack them on one of the warming plates in the oven to keep warm while you continue cooking the rest of the tortillas and the eggs.

3 Fry the eggs. Using the same skillet as was used for the tortillas, add a little butter to the pan, about two teaspoons for 4 eggs. Heat the pan on medium high heat. Crack 4 eggs into the skillet and cook for 3 to 4 minutes for runny yolks, more for firmer eggs.

To serve, spoon a little of the sauce onto a warmed plate. Top with a tortilla, then a fried egg. Top with more sauce, sprinkle with cilantro if desired.

Serve either one or two eggs/tortillas per plate, depending on how much you want to eat. I'm a 2-egg 2 tortilla person myself.

Makes 2-4 servings, depending on your appetite.

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.