I know we’ve all been doing more cooking at home. Quick & easy has become a goal. Here’s a delicious, healthy dinner that comes together with 10 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes total cooking time… and clean up is a snap!

INGREDIENTS
5 Yukon Gold Potatoes, sliced thin
2 pieces of Salmon
12 Asparagus Spears
8 Cherry Tomatoes
4 Lemon Slices
Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper
Italian Seasoning
Dill

METHOD
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with olive oil spray.
Slice potatoes and toss in olive oil, salt, pepper and a little Italian Seasoning.
Place potatoes on lined baking sheet, using 1/3 of the area (as shown below).
Place in oven for 15 minutes.
While the potatoes are baking prepare the asparagus, wash and cut off the tough ends.
Slice the lemon.
When the potatoes have cooked for 15 minutes, take the baking sheet out and place the salmon on, season with salt, pepper, dill and lemon slices.
Place the asparagus and cherry tomatoes on the baking sheet.
Put baking sheet back in the oven and continue to bake for another 15 minutes.
Dinner is ready – plate & enjoy!

This soup is simply divine. I love everything about it. From the simplicity of making it, to the rich flavor that is achieved through the cooking process. The sweet flavor of the red bell pepper is intensified when they’re roasted. I have a gas stovetop and begin the cooking process with the bell pepper directly on the burner with the flame on medium. What you’re looking for is a really good char. This can also be achieved on the grill, or under your broiler.

INGREDIENTS
5 Red Peppers, roasted
4 cups Vegetable Broth
½ cup Heavy Cream
3 Tbsp Olive oil
Pinch of Salt
Sour Cream, garnish (optional)
Sprig of Fresh Parsley, garnish (optional)

METHOD
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Wash and roast the red peppers over an open flame.
Place in a baking dish and bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, or until soft.
Remove from oven and allow to cool, before handling.
Once the peppers are cool, remove skin, stem and seeds, and discard. (I actually like to leave the skin on mine, but it’s up to you.)
Place peppers in the food processor or blender, adding broth if needed for processing.
Process until you get the desired consistency (I like mine with a little texture).
Place peppers in a medium size saucepan, add in the broth and heavy cream.
Heat on medium until hot.
Stir in olive oil.
Add salt to taste.
Enjoy!

It’s fun to bake using Fillo Dough! If you’ve never tried it, now’s your chance. You can find it in the freezer section near puff pastry dough and frozen breads.

Fillo is paper thin pastry sheets, and when layered with butter (or olive oil) and baked, you end up with flaky, crispy deliciousness. The most important part of baking with fillo dough is keeping it moist while preparing your recipe, because it’s so thin, it can easily dry out and you end up with flakes. That’s why, in the recipe below, we place all the fillo dough into one stack while preparing the Spanakopita. You can even take a clean, lightly damp kitchen towel to place on the fillo sheets to keep them moist.

You can use fillo by filling the fillo with a mixture of apples, cinnamon and sugar! They also sell fillo pastry cups, which is great for party appetizers. Fill them with a little brie cheese, a few dried cranberries and a pecan, pop them in the oven to melt the cheese and you’ve got a great holiday crowd pleaser… and super easy!

I hope you’ll give my Spanakopita recipe a try. We enjoyed it as a main course, paired with a Greek salad, but you can make these half the size for a perfect party appetizer.

This recipe makes about 11 ~

INGREDIENTS
1/2 small Onion, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 Tbsp fresh Dill, chopped
10 oz frozen chopped Spinach
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese, room temperature
1 cup Feta Cheese, crumbled
8 oz Fillo dough
6 Tbsp Butter, melted

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl mix together the onion, garlic, nutmeg, dill, spinach, ricotta and feta cheese – set aside.
Unroll half the package of a 16 oz box of fillo dough.
Cut the 9” x 14” rectangle in half, lengthwise, so you end up with fillo sheets 4 1/2” x 14”.
Place the cut sheets on top of each other making one stack of fillo dough.
Take 2 of the sheets of fill dough and brush lightly with the melted butter.
Lay another 2 sheets of fill dough on top and again brush lightly with butter.
Place about 2 tablespoons of the filling at one end of the fillo dough, and carefully fold the fillo over, into a triangular shape, you will fold a total of about 3 times, and then brush more butter to seal edges.
Place the triangular shaped fillo on a baking sheet (lined with foil or use a silpat).
Continue until you’ve used all the filling and all of the fillo.
Bake in preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
Enjoy while warm and crispy!
To take a recreational cooking class in Murfreesboro visit www.TheCuriousKitchen.net and also check out their holiday menu… you can order your complete Holiday Meal, all made from scratch, including your appetizers & pie! Call (615) 956-6077 to place your order.

We eat salmon at least once a week! It’s so good for you, touted as one of the healthiest foods on the planet. Loaded with Vitamin B12 (over 200% of the daily recommended value), Vitamin D, Selenium, Vitamin B3, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Protein, Phosphorus, Vitamin B6, Iodine, Choline, Vitamin B5, Biotin and Potassium. Plus, Omega-3s have been proven to kill cancer cells!

Did I mention that it’s delicious…. Here’s one of my favorite ways to prepare it, and there’s easy clean-up if you use tin foil to cover the baking pan.

INGREDIENTS
2 pieces of Salmon (wild caught is best!)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Lemon, zest and juice
Fresh Dill, chopped
Salt and Pepper, to taste

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cover a baking sheet with foil and lightly oil it.
Place your salmon on top.
Drizzle olive oil on top of the salmon.
Evenly coat with lemon zest, lemon juice, dill, salt and pepper.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until just cooked through.
Enjoy!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
Udon Noodles (enough for 2)
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 cups Broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
2 cups Red Cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup Carrots, julienned
3 cloves of Garlic, thinly sliced
2 Scallions, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp fresh Ginger, grated
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar

METHOD
Cook Udon Noodles according to package directions, drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.

In a medium saucepan add the sesame and vegetable oils, over medium heat.
Add the broccoli, red cabbage, carrots and garlic.
Saute veggies for about 7 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the scallions, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl, and set aside.
Once the veggies are done, turn the heat to medium-low and add the Udon Noodles to the pot.
Pour the soy sauce mixture on top of noodles and gently toss together until everything is coated with the sauce.
Allow to warm up for a few minutes before serving.

Options: Add cooked chicken, shrimp, scallops or beef… or the veggies of your choice.

I got my inspiration for this dish from a roasted cauliflower appetizer at Etch Restaurant in Nashville. It was so amazingly delicious! I paid careful attention to every detail, texture and flavor as my daughter and I enjoyed the appetizer… because I knew that soon enough I’d be craving it and want to make it at home.

Here is my rendition of the roasted cauliflower appetizer. The one real difference is that I used a yellow bell pepper instead of a red bell pepper to make the coulis that I put the roasted cauliflower on. The only reason I used a yellow bell is that’s all I had at the time, but it was perfect.

This recipe has several components, but please don’t let that stop you from creating this dish. Each step is super easy and so worth it. That’s what makes this dish so remarkable, the way all these flavors come together and combine! I hope you’ll give it a try!!

INGREDIENTS
1 head of Cauliflower, washed and trimmed into nice size flowerettes
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
dash of Sea Salt

For Bell Pepper Coulis:
1 Yellow or Red Bell Pepper
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
dash of Sea Salt

For the Truffled Pea Dip:
1 cup frozen Peas, thawed and drained
2 drops Natural Liquid Smoke
1 to 2 Tbsp Truffle Oil (depending how strong of a Truffle flavor you like)
dash of Salt

For the Feta Cream:
1/2 cup Feta Cheese
2 Tbsp Sour Cream
1 to 2 Tbsp Heavy Cream
1/4 tsp Lemon Juice
Pinch of Salt

Garnish with Marcona Almonds

METHOD
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place flowerettes in roasting pan and toss in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, coating the cauliflower with the oil.
Sprinkle with a little sea salt.
Roast the cauliflower in the hot oven for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tips begin to get a light golden color.

Meanwhile, you can roast the yellow bell pepper over the gas flame of your oven, on the grill, or you can roast the pepper in the oven on broil, turning it as it gets charred and blacked.
Once the pepper is completely charred, cover and allow it to steam for about 15 minutes.

Now let’s get started on the Truffled Pea Dip.
Place the peas, liquid smoke, truffle oil, and salt in the food processor and process until smooth.
Taste, adjust smoke, truffle oil and/or salt if desired.
Place mixture in the refrigerator until ready to plate.

At this point you’re pepper should be steamed enough, so remove the cover and allow it to cool while you make the Feta Cream.

Place the Feta cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl.
Mash together with a fork until it gets creamy, but still has some feta cheese chunks.
Place mixture in the refrigerator until ready to plate.

Back to that bell pepper… it should be cool enough to handle.
You can easily peel the charred skin off, and discard (I actually like the flavor the skin adds, to I always leave some in).
Carefully remove the stem and seeds.
Put the pepper into the food processor, along with any juice from the pepper.
Pulse until mostly smooth.
Place pepper in a small bowl and mix in the olive oil and salt.

To Assemble:
A nice long or oblong plate is best.
Place the bell pepper coulis in the center of the plate, this will serve as a bed for the roasted cauliflower.
Decoratively place the cauliflower on the bell pepper coulis.
Place an equal portion of the Truffled Pea Dip and the Feta Cream on each side of the cauliflower.
Garnish with Marcona Almonds.
Enjoy!

I love eggplant. I was craving an Asian eggplant dish I would sometimes get for lunch in Los Angeles. I was determined to duplicate it… and here it is. It tasted even better than I remembered! ☺

If you’re on the fence about eggplant, I hope you’ll try this dish or some of my others, like Baba Ganoush, Caponata, Meatless Moussaka or Eggplant Parmesan. It may just bring you to the “eggplant lovers” side!

Stir-Fried Asian Eggplant

INGREDIENTS
5 or 6 Asian Eggplants
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Green Onions, sliced on the diagonal
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh Ginger, grated
½ cup Vegetable or Chicken Broth
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 tsp Cornstarch
1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
Optional: Thai Basil and/or Cilantro

METHOD
In a large sauté pan or your Wok place the vegetable oil and sesame oil.
Heat on medium.
Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and then cut into 1-inch pieces.
Carefully put the eggplant into the hot oil and stir-fry for about 5 to 10 minutes, until the eggplant begins to soften.
Add in the green onions, garlic and ginger.
Continue to stir-fry for another minute or two.
Then add in the broth.
In a small bowl whisk together the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar and cornstarch until smooth.
Add mixture into eggplant and stir until thickened, another minute or so.
Stir in half of the sesame seeds, and save the other half for garnish.
Also garnish with basil and/or cilantro, if desired.
Serve over Jasmine Rice.
Enjoy!