Author: collardgreensandscaviar

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Making mayo your way

I love mayonnaise.

I have never done a deep dive into its origins, but I do recall from my culinary school days that both France and Spain claim its origins.

But no matter who created it first, this creamy, dreamy emulsion is a staple condiment in my life and I use it not just on sandwiches, but in salad dressings, casseroles, as a coating for panko fish, in dips, baked goods and much more.

I have had one too many occasions where I needed to use mayo in a recipe and found that the jar was almost empty or found that the jar that had taken up an extended stay in my fridge and didn’t quite pass the smell and visual inspection test, if you know what I mean.

So, what do you do when this happens? You run to the grocery store of course, right?

Not so fast. You could make your own.

Make your own?

Oh forget about what you’ve seen on those videos of acclaimed French Chef Jacques Pépin whisking up a batch of mayo in a bowl.

Click on this picture to get the kitchen gadget to make your mayo.

Making your mayonnaise is such a cinch, when you employ this easy kitchen tool hack.  And you can make mayo your way by changing the oil.

If you want a more traditional mayo use vegetable or canola oil.

If you want it rich and full of depth, use extra virgin olive oil.

If you want it light and bright, use avocado oil.

You can also favor by adding adobo sauce, lemon zest, pesto, you get the idea.

Yup, it’s mayo your way any time you want it.  

The easy recipe is below.

Mayo your way

Ingredients

You will need an immersion stick blender which you can get by clicking here.

1 whole egg

½ tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1 cup oil (canola, vegetable avocado, or light-flavored olive oil)

Directions

Add the egg, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, and salt to the jar that came with your immersion blender. Slowly pour the oil on top and let it settle for a minute.

Place your emersion stick blender in the jar and press it firmly to the bottom, making sure it’s covering the egg yolk. Turn it on and keep it pressed against the bottom of the jar for at least 10 to 15 seconds, without moving it.

Once the mayonnaise starts to emulsify and thicken, slowly move the stick blender up and down to fully combine the ingredients.

Stir the mayonnaise and place in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator. Will keep up to 7 days.


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Enchilada Manicotti to the dilemma rescue

Italian food? Mexican food?

Mexican food? Italian food?

I am torn too often between the two cuisines because I love them both.

When faced with this dilemma, what do I do?

How about a mashup of both?

Does the thought of this raise your eyebrows and titillate your taste buds?

My Enchilada Manicotti recipe is really the perfect solution for me when I can’t decide.

It satisfies my craving for enchiladas and pasta and with every bite.

It has a delicious seasoned meat and refried filling that is piped into al dente manicotti shells.

Next, it is covered with smoky fire roasted tomatoes and enchilada sauce.

Top it off with a combination of cheddar, jack and mozzarella cheese, a few garnishes of your choice, and you have a meal that is hearty, delightful, family friendly and company worthy to be sure.

The recipe comes together pretty quickly and has a list of ingredients that are familiar and unfussy. If you mise en place – as we say in the culinary world – or gather all of your ingredients before you start, you will wiz through this recipe.

If you need a suggestion on what to serve with your Enchilada Manicotti, I got ya.

I love to serve them with a simple Spanish rice and some Mediterranean string beans (fresh, frozen or canned green beans that are drained) which are seasoned with garlic and diced onions that are sautéed in olive oil, then add dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

The next time you want Mexican food or Italian food, give this mashup a try. It is double delicioso and delizioso!

Enchilada Manicotti

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: Moderate
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A mashup you will never forget.

Ingredients

1 ½ pound ground meat (I used a combination 85% Lean Ground turkey and Italian turkey sausage)
1 teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon dehydrated chopped onion (has great, intense flavor)
¼ teaspoon granulated garlic powder
4-ounce can diced green chilies
15-ounce can refried black beans
28-ounce can mild enchilada sauce
15-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups shredded cheese (I used cheddar and jack blend and mozzarella)
8-ounce box Manicotti pasta (should contain 14 shells)
Optional – chopped olives, chopped green or red onion, chopped herbs (parsley, cilantro or basil

Directions

Gather all of your ingredients and cooking equipment before you begin.

Add ground meat to a heated non-stick skillet and cook until done, chopping to separate meat into small pieces. Cook meat completely until it is no longer pink. Drain off oil released from the meat.

To the cooked meat, add cumin, salt, dehydrated chopped onion, garlic powder, diced green chilies, black beans and ¾ cup enchilada sauce.

Mix well until all the ingredients are well blended. Set aside.

Cook manicotti pasta shells according to directions for al dente. When pasta is done, drain, cool with cold water then remove pasta shells from pot and drain on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper.

Spray a large, rectangular baking dish (at least 13 x 9 inches) with non-stick cooking spray. Pour 1 cup of enchilada sauce into the baking dish and spread it over the surface of the dish.

Spoon about a quarter of the meat and bean mixture into a quart size plastic zipper storage bag. Seal the bag and clip off the tip of one of the corners.

Pick up a cooked manicotti shell and squeeze the bag to fill each shell with the bean and meat mixture.   

Place each filled manicotti shell into baking dish. Continue to refill the plastic zipper bag with the meat and bean filling until all the shells are filled.  If your baking dish is not large enough to lay them all flat, just stack them on top of each other.

Note: If you have any leftover meat and bean filling, just go back and pipe a little bit of it into all the pasta shells until you have used it all.

Pour the entire can of fire roasted tomatoes over top of the filled shells. Next pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the filled shells.

Top with shredded cheese. Add chopped onion and black olives if desired.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove cover and bake for another 10 minutes.

Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and serve with sour cream if desired.

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Let’s Celebrate with a Festive Red Cabbage Slaw

Festive Red Cabbage Slaw is a perfect side dish.

So many people are getting together, finally.

Family reunions, picnics, backyard barbeques are back and so are the smiles, kisses, hugs and laughter.

It’s a beautiful time to be sure.

But if you are gathering and need a quick side dish, this Festive Red Cabbage Slaw recipe won’t disappoint and it is family and figure friendly too.

No mayo here my friends, just a cabbage slaw that is not your usual suspect and amped up with a delightful olive oil and rice vinegar-based dressing that is tasty and is easy to make.

Festive Red Cabbage Slaw is great on seafood tacos!

It’s a perfect side dish and condiment for seafood tacos.

Take it to your next gathering. Make it for your family.  It will certainly impress the crowd and those you love. Enjoy!

An easy recipe you will make over and over again.

Ingredients

3 to 4 cups thinly sliced red cabbage (if small head use half of it)
2 medium carrots, peeled and grated
3 scallions, sliced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 ear of fresh corn, cooked and shaved from cob

Dressing
¼ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon garlic, peeled and chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon Dijon Mustard (Trader Joe’s is my preference)
½ teaspoon sesame seed oil
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions

  1. To a large mixing bowl add thinly sliced cabbage, grated carrots, sliced scallions, chopped cilantro and corn.
  2. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of salt and mix with a large spoon or spatula.
  3. To a small mixing bowl add olive oil, chopped garlic, salt, Dijon Mustard, sesame seed oil and sugar, and whisk with a wire whisk or fork until the mixture is emulsified or comes together.
  4. Pour half of the dressing over salad in the bowl and mix well. Taste and add more salt or pepper to taste. If desired, add more dressing to your taste.
  5. Fresh ear of corn cooking hack
  6. Take a fresh ear of corn with the hulk on and cut the top and bottom off.
  7. Place it in the microwave for 3 minutes.
  8. Let cook, remove husk and shave off kernels with a sharp knife.

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Turned-up Tomato Soup

  • A classic tomato soup gets a turned-up remake.

Grilled cheese and tomato soup are classic combinations.

Some would say they are inextricably bound.

While my Turned-up Tomato Soup is a wonderful accompaniment to your favorite grilled cheese sandwich, it can be consciously upcoupled (a wink and nod to Gwyneth Paltrow) and stand firmly on its own.

Using fire roasted tomatoes gives the soup a tasty smokiness. I’ve added my beloved sweet potato to this soup to create more depth of flavor while adding a subtle, sweet middle note. The splash of tequila gives it roundness, and the ground chili paste turns it up with and infuses a lovely finish and pop of spice!

  • Turned-up Tomato Soup up close and personal.

Not only is this a delicious soup, try it over chicken, fish and pasta or serve cold like gazpacho garnished with fresh chopped cilantro. Or get jiggy with it and charge it up with some cooked black beans and corn. Or how about adding chopped chicken or cocktail shrimp?

Oh boy! Are you ready to get turned up?

The recipe is below. Enjoy!

Turned-up Tomato Soup

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: Easy
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A turned-up version of tomato soup with a little tequila.

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Ingredients

1  14.5 ounce can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes

½ pound or 1 cup, peeled sweet potatoes, medium dice

½ medium white or yellow onion, chopped small dice

2 cloves garlic, chopped small dice

4 cups low sodium chicken stock or good vegetable broth (see my back burner vegetable broth recipe here)

1 tablespoon butter, clarified is my favorite

½ teaspoon sugar, white granulated

½ teaspoon fresh oregano, finely chopped

½ teaspoon salt

1 to 2 teaspoons ground fresh chili paste (to your liking)

2 tablespoons gold tequila (I used Cazadores Reposado Tequila)

Cracked pepper, to your taste

Directions

  1. To a stock pan or Dutch oven set on medium heat, add butter.  Once melted, add diced sweet potatoes and cook for about three minutes, stirring constantly, until lightly browned.
  2. Add onions and cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly.
  3. Add garlic and chopped oregano and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  4. Stir in tequila and next add fire roasted tomatoes, chicken or vegetable stock/broth, salt, ground chili paste, sugar and some cracked pepper.
  5. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes on low heat.
  6. When done, remove from heat and carefully pour soup into a blender.
  7. Remove the center piece from the blender. Make sure the lid is secure.
  8. Place a clean towel over the opening to avoid splattering and blend mixture until smooth, about 15 to 20 seconds.
  9. Return to the pot or Dutch oven. Let stand for 5 minutes and serve with croutons and fresh grated parmesan cheese.