Category Archives: Recipes
Fabulous Fondue
Recipes by Nancy Johnson
Wine Commentary by Gary Twining
Fondue is a great excuse for lingering over the holiday table late into the evening. The original slow food, it’s usually accompanied with side dishes for nibbling such as nuts, crudités with dip, shrimp with cocktail sauce or tiny meatballs in sweet and sour or marinara sauce. For…
Read Entire Article...Pork Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce
This is a delicious Greek dish that can be made with chicken as well. Serve with rice that has been cooked in chicken broth and tossed with toasted pine nuts.
2 medium-sized pork tenderloins, cut into 2-inch chunks
1 large yellow zucchini, cut into chunks
1 large green zucchini, cut into chunks
3 cups chicken broth
4 TBSP…
Read Entire Article...Peach-Glazed Chicken Skewers
If the peaches are too ripe, they will fall off the skewers, so choose fruit that is not quite ripe. Although this recipe calls for peaches, you can use nectarines. Change it up by substituting apricot preserves and fresh apricots or orange marmalade and thin-skinned orange wedges. Alternatively, cook the chicken on skewers and grill fresh peach halves…
Read Entire Article...Dinner on a Stick
Recipes by Nancy Johnson
Wine Commentary by Gary Twining
Nothing says summer better than a sizzling kebab from the grill. There is an art to preparing skewered food so that the vegetables cook through and the meat doesn’t turn to charcoal. First, cut the meat into large 2-inch chunks. Then, choose vegetables that will cook at about…
Read Entire Article...Steak Fajitas
A “fajita bar” is an entertaining way to serve a crowd. Set out large warmed flour tortillas, sour cream, lettuce, tomato, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, salsa, guacamole, black beans, pickled jalapeno peppers, sliced olives, corn, hot cooked rice and chopped cilantro. The bigger and more overstuffed the fajita, the better!
3 strip steaks, thinly sliced
2 TBS…
Mexican Flan
Creamy custardy flan with a dark caramel sauce is the perfect ending to a Mexican feast. The individual flans are baked in a baine marie or water bath, which is not as difficult as it sounds. Because the flans should cool completely before serving, this is a good dessert to make the night before.
1-1/4 cups sugar, divided
Guacamole
Buy slightly under-ripe avocados a few days before you need them. The skin of a ripe avocado should slip under your thumb when rubbed. To cut an avocado, run a sharp knife vertically from the stem end all the way around to the bottom and back up to the stem again. Twist to open. Discard the pit. Scoop…
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Chicken Enchiladas Suiza
This rich dish rarely appears on Mexican restaurant menus anymore but it’s worth every indulgent bite. If you can’t find corn tortillas, substitute flour tortillas. The flavor will be different but will be just as delicious. This is a yummy hot and bubbly casserole that can travel to a Cinco de Mayo potluck.
5 boneless chicken fillets, diced
St. Patrick’s Day Feast
Why does St. Patrick’s Day magically make us all Irish? St. Paddy, one of the patron saints of Ireland, wasn’t even a native (he was Welsh), but according to legend left his mark when he illustrated the concept of the Christian Holy Trinity with the three-leafed shamrock.
Read Entire Article...Leek & Potato Soup
Both leeks and potatoes are plentiful in Irish cooking. Leeks tend to trap dirt between their layers. To clean, chop the white part only and then swish for a few minutes in a large bowl of cold water, lifting them carefully out of the water so as not to stir up the dirt at the bottom of the…
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Corned Beef and Cabbage
Many Irish people protest that corned beef and cabbage isn’t a traditional Irish dish. More likely, it became popular with 19th-century Irish immigrants who found plentiful beef in the United States. Although not a traditional Irish dish, corned beef and cabbage has become an American staple on St. Patrick’s Day. In this recipe, the corned beef is simmered…
Read Entire Article...Guinness Beef Stew
This beer-braised stew is even better the second day, so it’s a great make-ahead dish for a St. Paddy’s Day party. Although beef is used in this recipe, for a traditional Irish stew, use lamb.
1 large onion, sliced
2 TBS canola oil
2 1/2 lbs boneless beef chuck or lamb shoulder, cut into cubes
…
Irish Soda Bread
With minimal kneading and no yeast, rustic soda bread is one of the easiest breads you’ll make. A tablespoon of caraway seeds or a handful of raisins can be added to the dough if desired.
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Butter for…
The Big Easy
The cuisine of New Orleans is as rich, fascinating and versatile as the vibrant people who inhabit the Crescent City.
Cajun cuisine originated with the French Acadians of Nova Scotia who settled in the bayous around New Orleans in the 18th century. Taking its cues from Acadian French cuisine, Cajun cooking has evolved over the years, with culinary…
Read Entire Article...Ham, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya
Jambalaya is descended from Spanish paella. Every Louisiana household has a special recipe for this dish but it’s the city of Gonzales that put jambalaya on the map. Known as “The Jambalaya Capital of the World,” this Spanish-influenced Louisiana city hosts an annual jambalaya competition in which the dish is cooked in gigantic iron pots over wood-fueled…
Read Entire Article...Crawfish Etouffee
Crawfish are at the heart of many Cajun dinners but live crawfish can be hard to find in Ohio. Louisiana crawfish tail meat is sold in the freezer section of many stores. If you can’t find crawfish meat, use shrimp. Etouffee means “smothered,” and that’s exactly what happens in this dish – the crawfish are smothered under caramelized…
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