Instructions

• Pull the pork chops from the fridge, unwrap them and let them sit at room temperature while you prep everything below.
• Heat the oven to 425F
• Peel and slice the apples.
• Pick off the sage leaves and wash well and dry. Save the prettiest to press into one side of the pork chops. Roll the other leaves up into a cigar and slice into very thin strips.
• Heat a 10″ non-stick pan over medium heat.
• Melt 2 Tablespoons of the butter in the pan.
• When the butter stops foaming, add the apples and season them with fresh black pepper.
• Cook over medium high heat for 2 to 3 minutes without stirring.
• Add the sage and toss the apples and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. The apples should be lightly browned and starting to turn translucent and soft. Set aside.
• Heat a 12″ stainless steel pan (or non-stick), that is oven proof, over medium high heat.
• While the pan is getting hot, season the pork chops well with salt and pepper and press a pretty pattern of sage leaves into the meat. Rub well with olive or canola oil.
• Note: if you have a thick fat layer on your pork chops you can either trim it of or score it deeply in a cross-hatch pattern so the pork chop won’t curl.
• When the 12″ pan is hot, drop in two small 1 tsp chunks of butter and quickly lay the pork chops on the melting butter sage leaves down. The butter will brown and that is fine. But don’t let it burn.
• Cook the pork chops without moving or turning for 3 minutes.
• Flip the pork chops and add the apples to the pan on either side of the chops. Put the pan with the apples and the pork chops into the oven for 5 minutes.
• Check the pork chops for an internal temperature of 135F. They may need another 2 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and remember that it is hot including the handles.
• Pull the pork chops from the pan and push the apples to one side.
• Add the wine and deglaze the pan. Reduce the wine to 1/4 of its original volume. It will begin to get thick and syrupy.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the last 1 Tablespoon of butter in little bits and stir in quickly.
• Plate the pork chops, drizzle with the pan sauce and serve the apples on the side.

Instructions

• Heat a good bed of charcoal. I use a full charcoal chimney. Once the coals are hot spread them on 1/2 the grate to make a very hot bed under half the grill.
• Husk and wash the tomatillos. Wash the Poblano and Jalapeño peppers.
• Place the peppers and tomatillos over the hottest part of the grill. Grill for three minutes and then turn. The peppers should be blackened all over but the flesh should still be firm (about 3 minutes per side)
• Cook and turn the tomatillos until the have some char marks and have turned soft. They will turn from bright fresh green to a more yellow-green and they will soften. (about 10 minutes total depending on the size of the tomatillos).
• When the chiles are blackened, place them in a paper bag for 10 minutes to cools some and steam the skin off.
• Pull the tomatillos off the grill and pulse in a food processor until chopped. They turn to liquid pretty quick so don’t over pulse them. You would like a little texture left.
• Grate the garlic into a large bowl using a microplane grater.
• Grate the lime zest into the bowl. Juice the lime and add the lime juice to the bowl.
• Add the pulsed tomatillos.
• Peel and seed the poblano peppers and dice into 1/4″ pieces and add to the bowl.
• Peel and seed the jalapeño and mince finely and add to the bowl.
• Give everything a good stir and taste. Add salt and pepper as needed.
• If the salsa is very tart, add 1tsp of sugar and stir in. Taste and add more if it is needed. It shouldn’t be sweet but the sugar will bring the lime and citrus flavors to the front.

instructions

• Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels. Note: I use “air chilled” chicken. It has much less water than cheaper chicken breasts.
• Salt and pepper the breasts well on both sides.
• Mix the lime zest, chile powder, grated garlic and oregano in a small bowl.
• Add enough canola oil to the bowl to make a loose paste, thick oil.
• Spread the flavored oil on the chicken breasts evenly.
• Move to the fridge and cover while you heat the grill and make the salsa.
• Once the salsa is made, grill the chicken over the hottest part of the grill for 2 to 3 minutes a side. Cover the grill between flips.
• You will cook them on each side twice. If you turn them on the grate, you can make fancy cross-hatch grill marks.
• Cook for about 10 minutes until cooked through in the thickest part.
• If the breasts are very thick, you might need to finish them on the cooler side of the grill for a few minutes.

Instructions

Make the filling – this can be done the day before.  It actually freezes pretty well too.

1. Rinse and drain the quinoa and combine with the stock or broth in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil then cover the pot, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.  If all the moisture isn’t absorbed, remove the lid and turn the heat up to medium and stir gently until most of the liquid is gone.
2. If you are using fresh sweet corn:  While the quinoa cooks, shave the corn off of one or two ears of corn.  Add to the quinoa and cook over medium heat for one to two minutes to cook the corn.
3. Add the currents, jalapeño and enchilada sauce to the cooked quinoa and cool in an ice bath if you are not stuffing the chiles right away.
4. Add the tomato once the filling is cool or just before you stuff the chiles.

Instructions

1. Saute the onion in the 2 Tbls of canola oil over medium heat until lightly caramelized and translucent (about 15 minutes).
2. Add the garlic and jalapeño and cook until fragrant.  Add the tomatoes and cook over medium high heat, squashing the tomatoes until hot and the tomatoes are starting to fall apart (10 minutes).
3. Puree with a stick blender or in a food processor or blender and return to the pan.
4. Add everything else and bring to a simmer.  Simmer stirring occasionally for 30 minutes or so until the sauce thickens some and looses its raw flavor.
5. Season with salt and ground pepper.

Instructions

1. Pick over the lentils and rinse them well
2. Dice all of the vegetables into 1/4 inch dice. You can put them all in the same bowl. Finely mince the garlic.
3. Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add all the root vegetables (not the garlic yet) and season with a pinch of salt.
4. Stir and cook until the vegetables are soft and just start to caramelize (about 10 minutes)
5. Add the garlic and herbs and stir until fragrant (1 minute).
6. Add the lentils and enough stock to cover by 1 inch. Bring to boil then reduce to a simmer and cover tightly.
7. Stirring occasionally, simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the lentils are soft. You may need to add more stock or water as they cook. The lentils should be a little soupy when you are done. There should be liquid to serve with them (see the photo below).
8. Season with salt and a healthy grind of black pepper.

Instructions

1. Pull turkey off the bones. Make it a mix of light and dark meat. Shred it coarsely with your hands then run a knife through it to chop it up some. Don’t mince it fine, just cut it into 1/2″ long pieces. Add it to a bowl.
2. Add about 1 cup of enchilada sauce and give a taste. It should be wet but not soupy.
3. Put the corn into a dry non-stick pan and cook over medium high heat until the moisture is evaporated and the corn just begins to brown. The sweet corn that you froze this Summer is perfect for this. Once corn starts to brown, add a tablespoon or two of water to deglaze the pan (get all the cooked on brown caramelized bits off). Add the corn to the turkey.
4. Return the pan to the heat and add 1 tablespoon of Canola Oil. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add to the turkey mixture.
5. Roast the hot peppers over a direct flame or under the broiler until the skin is blackened and has bubbled up all over the pepper. The hotter and faster you do this, the better. Add the peppers to a paper bag to steam and cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, pull the skins off and remove the seeds. Finely mince and add to the turkey mixture. (see the note below).
6. Assemble the enchiladas:
   1. Set up an assembly line layout for putting together the enchiladas: first cook the tortillas briefly in a little oil to soften, then add the filling (turkey, beans, some cheese) and roll, then into the pan
   2. Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13 baking dish.
   3. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a 8″ non-stick pan over medium high heat. Cook 1 tortilla at a time in oil until softened transfer to a work surface.  You will need to keep adding oil to the pan as you go along.  Try to make the tortillas soft but not too oily.
   4. Add a line of turkey (about 1/3 of a cup) to the center of the tortilla. Add some beans (1/4 cup) and some cheese.
   5. Roll the enchilada and place in the pan.
   6. Repeat and tuck the next enchilada close to the first. Repeat until you have rolled all 12 enchiladas.
   7. Top the enchiladas with a little sauce and some cheese.
   8. The enchiladas will hold like this for several hours. Remove from the fridge and bring to room temperature before baking.
   9. To bake, heat the oven to 350F. Put the pan in the middle of the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown and everything is hot and bubbly.

Instructions

1. Saute onion over medium heat in canola oil until lightly caramelized and translucent (about 10 minutes). Add garlic and jalapeno and cook until fragrant (about 1 minute).
2. Add tomatoes and smash with the back of a spoon or squish with your hands before you put them in. You want the juice and the tomatoes in the pot. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened.
3. Transfer to a blender and puree. Transfer back to the pot.  You can use an emersion blender just be sure to make everything very smooth.
4. Add everything else to the pot and mix in well especially the cocoa powder.
5. Simmer, stirring frequently, for 30 minutes or so. The sauce will be thick. You can thin it with stock or broth or water if you want.
6. Taste for salt and spice levels and adjust. It will be quite strong.
7. You can easily double this and freeze in portions.

Instructions

1. Shred the turkey by hand onto a cutting board. Run a knife through it to make it coarsely chopped pieces. You want it to still have texture. Don’t over chop it into cat food.
2. Mix the chevre with buttermilk using a fork until it is softened and it will be and easy to incorporate into the turkey. Add it to the turkey and mix with your hands.
3. Put the sweet corn (still frozen is fine) into a dry non-stick saute pan and roast over medium heat until the water is evaporated and the kernels begin to toast lightly. Shake the pan occasionally. You will have browned on corn goodness in the pan. Add a little water (2 tablespoons) to deglaze the cooked on bits. Add the corn to the turkey.
4. Add the olive oil to the pan and heat over medium high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and saute until the onion is translucent. Add to the turkey and mix in with your hands.
5. Taste the mix and add salt and pepper as needed.
6. Add the panko flakes and mix in. Don’t over mix. The hash should hold together in a patty but be moist. Add more panko if it is needed or a little more buttermilk.
7. Brush a griddle with olive oil and heat over medium hight heat. Make 2 to 4 patties with the hash about 1 inch thick. Once the griddle is hot, cook the patties for about 3 minutes a side or until lightly browned. Flip carefully and cook the other side. Turn once more to each side for a minute or two to crisp them up and get the center hot.
8. Serve with salad or over greens (like kale).

Instructions

1. Put the onion and garlic in a 3 quart pot with 2 Tbl of olive oil. Stir to coat. Put pot over low heat and cook until tender (10 minutes)
2. Add the tomato, beans and pepper and season with salt. Bring to a simmer and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook until the beans are tender and soft. Check after 10 minutes and add boiling water if needed. You want to over cook the beans until they are quite soft (20 to 40 minute).
3. Add the basil and cook until fragrant. Remove from heat and add the rest of the olive oil and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.

Serve over soft polenta as a main course or light lunch or as a base under white fleshed fish (like halibut or tilapia)

Instructions

1. Mix the ground pork and sherry and let sit for 15 min at room temperature.
2. Rehydrate shrimp in warm water, 15 min, then drain and chop.
3. Heat a wok over high heat, add 1 Tbl canola oil and beans. Fry, stirring occasionally until blackened and blistered.
4. At this point, you can remove the beans from the wok or just push them up the sides, making an opening in the center.
5. Add another dollop of oil and pork. Stir fry, mixing to separate meat particles. Let moisture boil off at high heat, and brown a little.
6. Turn down flame to medium. Add garlic and pepper flakes and fry until no longer raw. Add back beans, if you removed them and heat. Check doneness of beans. Add some water to finish cooking if needed. Add hoisin and sri racha and mix and heat thoroughly. The dish should be mostly dry at the end.
7. Add sesame seeds and sesame oil and serve with rice.

Instructions

1. Mix the minced herbs, lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil to make a dressing. Taste for balance and add more sugar if needed. The dressing should not be sweet but the lemony.
2. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over the bean mixture and toss to coat. You will not use all of the dressing. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving.

Instructions

1. First prep the tomatoes. This is fussy and messy. It is easier if you have a food mill. If you have a Food Mill
   1. Cut Roma (paste) tomatoes into quarters length-wise. Use your fingers to strip the seeds out and into a strainer over a bowl (we will get the juice off them and use it in the soup but we don’t want seeds in the soup).
   2. Cut field tomatoes in half across their middles and then in half length wise. Use your fingers to get the seeds out and into the strainer. It is okay to break the tomato open while doing this.
   3. Chop the tomato flesh into chunks and process in your food mill to get the skins off. You will end up with a big bowl of tomato pulp (see my picture below).
2. If you don’t have a food mill:
   1. Make a small “x” in the bottom of each tomato.
   2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and prep an ice bath in your sink.
   3. Drop the tomatoes in the boiling water in small batches an cook until the skins start to split. Move them to the ice bath to cool.
   4. Once they have all been par-boiled, peel the skins off and proceed by seeding and chopping as above.
3. One note: If you have a food mill, you can buy the “scratch-and-dent” tomatoes. If you don’t, imperfections in the skin make it harder to peel the tomatoes.
4. Use your fingers to push the juice off the seeds and into the bowl.  Keep working the seeds until they form a slick mass and mose of the juice is removed.  Throw away the seeds or dry them for your garden next year. Transfer the juice to a sauce pan and boil over medium high heat until it is reduced to a quarter of the original volume (about 15 to 20 minutes). It will suddenly smell and look a lot like Cambell’s Tomato Soup (see the pictures below).
5. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium heat until the butter stops foaming.
6. Add the onions and a good pinch of kosher salt and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent and just starting to turn light golden brown (about 15 minutes). Do not brown.
7. Add the red peppers and stir. Cook until the peppers are soft and the onions a deeper golden brown (about 10 more minutes).
8. Add the garlic, lemon zest, a really healthy grind of fresh black pepper and a large stalk of basil (you will remove the basil at the end of cooking). Stir and cook for 1 minute and everything smells wonderful.
9. Turn the heat up to high and add the Marsala. Cook stirring frequently until the Marsala is reduce to one quarter of its initial volume.
10. Add the tomato pulp and the reduced seed juice to the pot, cover and bring to a simmer. Once it comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium and keep at a simmer. Simmer for 90 minutes to 2 hours or until it is thick and no longer tastes raw. The color will darken and it will be reduced by about 1/3. Stir occasionally to prevent scorching.
11. You can taste the soup along the way. It will be light on salt and pepper and basil but you will boost those flavors at the end. Scoop up a some soup in a soup spoon and add a few grains of salt to get a taste as it goes along.
12. Once the soup is reduce by a quarter to a third, fish out the basil sprig and use an emersion blender to puree the soup (or use a food processor or blender). If you use an emersion blender, don’t wear white or anything you don’t want soup on. We call our emersion blender “the flinger”. You are warned.
13. Add the 2 tablespoons of finely minced basil, more black pepper and adjust the salt. Let the soup simmer gently for 10 minutes to balance the flavors then remove from the heat. Let cool for 10 minutes then whisk in the 1/2 Cup of Sour Cream.
14. Taste and adjust seasonings one last time. Sometimes I add lemon juice now or a little sugar. It depends on the tomatoes.
15. To serve: ladle into bowls, add a dollop of sour cream and some the basil chiffonade. Add a touch of coarsely ground black pepper and serve.

Instructions

1. 1. Preheat the oven to 375F
   2. Heat the olive oil in a 12″ saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and fennel bulb and a good pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions and fennel are soft and translucent and just starting to caramelize. About 15 minutes.
   3. In an 8″ saute pan, heat the pine nuts over medium heat until they are lightly toasted and fragrant (about 10 minutes). Transfer to a bowl to cool. Add the fennel seeds and the cardamon seeds (not pods, just the black seeds from inside the pods) to the pan and return to the heat. Toast the seeds until they are fragrant and just start to brown slightly (about 1 minute). Transfer to the bowl with the pine nuts. Add the currents to the pan and 1/4 water and bring to a boil. Cook until the water is evaporated and the currents softened – about 2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl too.
   4. Once the onion mixture is done, add the pine nuts and spices and currents and the zucchini and stir to combine. Add the red pepper flakes and good grind of black pepper. Taste for salt and spices and adjust. Once you are happy, mix in the two eggs.
   5. Roll out the galette dough into a 16″ circle. Do this on top of a piece of parchment that you will use to cook the galette. Your life will be much easier if you do this. This is a very soft dough so be ready to patch and fix as you go along.
   6. Once you have the dough rolled out, fold it up just enough to transfer it to a baking sheet.
   7. Spread the filling evenly on the dough leaving a 2 inch margin. Fold the edges up and over the filling and shape the galette (see the Fine Cooking article below for instructions).
   8. Bake the galette for 35 minutes. When the crust starts to brown, sprinkle the feta over the galette and back for another 10 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing.
   9. Serve with fresh tomatoes and melon for a light Summer dinner.