Iron Chef Pembroke Pines: March 2011 - Cilantro-Avocado Potato Salad

Heidi made this yummy potato salad...I was thrilled because i love potato salads and have my fair share of recipes for them...but I don't have this recipe. She adapted it from one by Emeril Lagasse, and it was spicy and cool.

Cilantro-Avocado Potato Salad

• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled, small diced, and cooked in boiling salted water until tender, drained
• 1/3 cup finely minced red onions
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 TBS Extra-Virgin Olive oil
• 4 firm-ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 2 TBS fresh lime juice
• 1 TBS minced jalapeno
• 1 ounce package cilantro, leaves picked and finely chopped

Combine potatoes, onions, and garlic in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 3 turns pepper. Add olive oil, tossing to coat. Add the avocados, lime juice, jalapenos, and cilantro, and toss well to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour before serving.

courtesy Heidi Tyler, adapted from Emeril Lagasse

New Potato Summer Salad

Ahhh...another potato salad recipe...and this one is aptly named for the season in which the salads appearance is the most common.

-

I used red potatoes...not necessarily "new" reds...but very small red's...because that's what I bought at the store and had to use. And this salad is great served chilled OR warm...so you can be pretty flexible if you forgot to make it in the am and have to whip it together real quick before dinner.

-
-

New Potato Summer Salad

-

3 lb. new potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 of a small red onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup of cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup bacon bits (this recipe calls for those bacon bits you buy to top salads with...but you all know my love affair with bacon...so I went ahead and fried up a pound and added it in. It'll make the salad...but perhaps not your waistline... better. Just you try it and see...)

-
-

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup Italian dressing

1/4 Miracle Whip

2 tsp Dijon mustard

-

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water 10 to 12 minutes or until fork tender. Drain. Place in large bowl. Add onions, tomatoes, bacon bits, and basil; mix lightly.

-

2. Mix remaining ingredients. Add to potato mixture; toss to coat. Cover.

-

3. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled OR...

-

...toss ingredients with still warm potatoes and serve WARM.

-

courtesy Kraft foods

Fresh Watermelon Spring Salsa

I haven't made salsa in awhile...and I was all thrilled. I love making specialty salsas...they're just so much fun.

Then, I was seeding jalapenos. And after I was done, my nose itched, so I casually rubbed it.

WOW!!! Now - I know better than that. You're not supposed to work with peppers without gloves...and if you are stupid or lazy enough to skip gloves (like I ALWAYS do), you WASH YOUR HANDS DIRECTLY AFTER CONTACT!!

My mucus membranes are seriously stinging.

Better be damn good salsa.

This salsa is primarily intended for fish entrees...where it makes a delightfully light and juicy topper. Just bake your fish of choice (we used wild-caught perch) with a little lemon and pepper (very light on the pepper), and top with salsa.

Viola!! You have an colorful, visually pleasing dish that is perfect for summer.

I doubled...because I like this salsa later in front of the TV with Pita Chips.

-
Fresh Watermelon Spring Salsa

1-1/2 ups chopped watermelon
1 cup chopped PEELED cucumber
1/2 cup diced red onion
2 TBS chopped cilantro (I LOVE smelling cilantro...)
2 TBS Zesty Italian dressing
2 tsp minced serrano chile (I used jalapenos...cause I'm a big fan of using what you got instead of making special trips to the store...but no matter what chile...USE GLOVES or WASH YOUR HANDS...or suffer the consequences)
1/4 tsp. salt

1. Mix all ingredients until well-blended.

2. Serve spooned over cooked fish.



Please forgive the paper plates...I'm still in the process of moving...

courtesy Kraft foods

Baked Seafood Lasagna and Garden Vegetable Salad Stackers

In most of the U.S. of A, summer is winding down. School is starting. Days are cooling off.

But not in the Jungle. In the Jungle...summer is heating up.

I really miss Autumn. It's my favorite time to cook. I have more recipes suited for Fall than any other season (just think apples and squash...lots and lots and lots of apples and squash).

But here it's still WAY TOO HOT to start my Fall Favorites. So - I am hosting another FABULOUS summer recipe that I hope tantalizes taste buds no matter WHERE you live...yummy Baked Seafood Lasagna with a fresh Garden Vegetable Salad Stacker.

I didn't double the lasagna...it feeds 12. But you'll need to make enough Salad Stackers for everyone at your table. Incidentally, both these recipes are GREAT party recipes. The lasagna can be prepared ahead of time, and bake in the oven while you sit and enjoy your company. And they'll think you slaved away for HOURS...which of course you won't. And the Stackers work well as sides OR appetizers...they are VERY visually appealing...and again your culinary genius will be praised. Oh - and please pardon the paper plates...we are in the middle of moving...it just can't be helped.

But when you think about it...this IS a summer recipe...and who wants to do dishes in the summer, anyway?

Won't you feel good about yourself then?

Baked Seafood Lasagna

3 TBS butter

3 TBS flour

3 cups milk

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (I actually used 1 cup...cause I'm a rebel like that)

1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained

1 cup Cottage Cheese

1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese, divided

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

9 lasagna noodles, cooked, drained

1/2 lb. fresh or thawed frozen cleaned medium shrimp, cooked, w/o tails ( I used more...my kids like shrimp)

2 cans (6 oz. each) crab meat, drained, flaked

1. Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in saucepan on medium heat. add flour, stir with whisk until well blended. Gradually add milk, mixing well after each addition. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan cheese; set aside.

2. Combine spinach, cottage cheese, 2/3 cup Mozzarella, and the nutmeg in a small bowl. Set aside.

3. Spread 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 inch casserole dish. Cover with 3 lasagna noodles and layers of 1/2 EACH of the shrimp, crab meat, and then spinach mixture. Top with another 1/4 of the Parmesan cheese sauce, and start the layers all over again (noodles, shrimp, crab meat, and spinach mixture). Top with remaining 3 lasagna noodles, remaining Parmesan cheese sauce, and the remaining 1/3 cup Mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil.

4. Bake 25 minutes. Uncover, and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until lasagna is heated through and top is browned (after the 20 minutes uncovered cooking time, I moved the lasagna to the bottom rack in the oven and turned on the broiler for a few minutes...just to get the cheese ca little toasty).

5. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into 12 pieces. Serve.

Garden Vegetable Salad Stacker

2 large tomatoes, each cut into 6 slices

6 oz Mozzarella cheese, cut into 6 slices (I buy the pre-sliced stuff at CostCo)

1/3 cup Italian dressing

1 large red onion, cut into 6 slices

1 seedless cucumber, cut into 12 slices

6 fresh basil leaves (I forgot these...but they add to the presentation)

1. Place 6 tomato slices on platter; top each with 1 cheese slice. Drizzle with 1/2 dressing.

2. Top each stack with 1 onion slice, 2 cucumber slices and a second tomato slice.

3. Drizzle with remaining dressing; top with basil.

both of these recipes are courtesy Kraft foods

Summer Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I AM BACK!!!

I have been gone so long...first because I felt sad and silly about posts without pictures, and then because I went on vacation, and THEN because I had surgery. But now I am back...with a NEW camera...and I have made my first meal post-surgery...and I thought I'd share it with you.

I needed something easy that wouldn't keep me on my feet too long and wouldn't upset my still slightly delicate post-surgery stomach. So I turned to a recipe I've been meaning to try, that my dear sister-in-law Tara sent to me way back in June...called Summer Chicken Salad Sandwiches.

Now...I actually didn't double this, as it was just me and 4 of my kids at home...so you do as you feel you need to, okay?

Summer Chicken Salad Sandwiches

1 can (8-1/4 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese (you can use the light stuff if you want), softened

2 cups cooked cubed chicken

1 8 oz. can water chesnuts, drained

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup slivered almonds (toasted or glazed...I bought some of those glazed aalmond-pecan mixes that you get in the pre-packaged salad section of the produce department)

1/4 tsp salt

Dash of pepper

8 pita pocket halves

Shredded romaine

1. Drain 1/4 cup liquid from pineapple into small bowl. Add cream cheese; mix until well blended.

2. Add remaining pineapple and liquid, chicken, drained water chesnuts, celery, 1/4 cup almonds, and salt and pepper. Mix lightly; chill.

3. Layer pitas with shredded romaine, and fill with salad mix. (You can also use crusty rolls, if you prefer). Sprinkle with remaining almonds.

courtesy Tara Bennett

Country Kick"N Potato Salad

I don't remember where I got this recipe...off the back of some product, or perhaps in a magazine...I don't really recall...

But it is one of my FAVORITE potato salad recipes EVER...

It is SPICY...but not so hot that you burn your mouth off...it starts off cool and creamy like any old salad, and then WHAM!!!...you get that addicting heat that makes you grab another spoonful to taste the cool creaminess again.

And so the pattern is born.

And you can see why this potato salad goes so fast at parties.

Anyway - I signed up to provide potato salad for our annual church Fourth of July picnic this year, and instead of going for the traditional Great American Potato Salad, or even my German Potato Salad, I chose to make this one.

I thought it coordinated nicely with the Firecrackers!!

I (of course) doubled this...

Country Kick'N Potato Salad

1-1/4 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro or parsley
1/4 chopped celery
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or red onion
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 tsp Tabasco Pepper Sauce
2 tsp Dijonnaise
1 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
2 lbs. new or red bliss potatoes, cooked and cut in 1/2-inch cubes

1. In large bowl, combine all ingredients except potatoes. Stir in potatoes.

2. Cover and chill to blend flavors.

For a spicier version, add more Tabasco sauce to taste.

Easy-peesey-spicy-pleasey.

Happy Fourth of July!!!

courtesy me!!

Hearty Meatball Spinach Soup

I love to have soup all year round, but find that most people associate soups with the cooler seasons. It's totally understandable...soups are comforting, filling, and warm. They are a perfect fit for Autumn and Winter.

But there are GREAT soups for the Spring and Summer, too. Lighter, more refreshing soups than those generally reserved for colder weather. And they are not all chilled soups, either...so don't get all freaked out about "yet-another-cold-cucumber-soup recipe".

Although the title says "hearty"...this soup is not "heavy"...which makes it PERFECT for summer. It's also a kid-pleaser because of the meatballs, and a mom-pleaser with all that healthy spinach!!

I doubled this and served it with LOTS of Saltine Crackers.

Bon Apatite!

Hearty Meatball Spinach Soup

1/2 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped, divided

3 cloves garlic, minced, divided

2 tsp dried oregano leaves, divided

20 Saltine crackers, finely crushed

1 egg, beaten

1 TBS oil

2 cans beef broth

1 can stewed tomatoes, undrained

1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed, well-drained

1. Combine meat, 1/4 cup onions, 1/3 of garlic, and 1/2 tsp oregano in a large bowl. Add cracker crumbs and egg; mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls.

2. Cook and stir the remaining onions and garlic in hot oil in a Dutch Oven or large stockpot on medium-high heat 3 to 5 minutes or until onions are tender. Add broth, tomatoes, spinach, and remaining oregano; bring to a boil. Add meatballs; cover. Simmer on low 20-25 minutes or until meatballs are done..

3. Serve with additional saltines.

courtesy Kraftfoods.com

Grilled Mediterranean Chicken Salad

The other day I was hanging out with my friend Melodee, and she mentioned that she was going to start her own recipe side-blog, too...which is GREAT. We were discussing dinner, and she mentioned that although she had known about Kraft Food and Family magazine and web-site for years, she had forgotten about it. I CONSTANTLY use recipes from the magazine and web-site, and she got inspired to check it out again. She said: "The thing I love about Kraft is that everything is so easy...and everything comes out tasting GREAT."

It's true. The recipes are simple, call for ingredients that are PROBABLY in your pantry already, and come out delish!!

And here's another one...perfect for summer...

I served this with vegetable kabobs drizzled in the same dressing I used for the chicken...it's called Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan by Kraft...

(oh...and the recipe serves two...so I tripled it)

Grilled Mediterranean Chicken Salad

2 slices Italian bread
1/4 cup Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan
2 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 TBS chopped fresh basil
4 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onions

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Brush bread slices with 1 TBS of the dressing. Brush chicken with 1 TBS of the dressing.

2. Grill chicken 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Meanwhile, grill bread slices 1 minute or until lightly toasted on both sides, turning over after 30 seconds.

3. Mix tomatoes, cheese, and basil; set aside. Toss spinach and onions with remaining 2 TBS dressing; spoon onto serving plate. Top with cooked chicken and the tomato mixture. Serve with bread.

courtesy Kraftfoods.com