Dans Gourmet Restoration

Made this the other night – it was simple, tasty and quick!  My kind of dinner.  Plus, it had BACON in it – how can you go wrong with that?  We experimented with a Pillsbury pizza crust – comes in one of those tubes that explode when you whack them against the counter.  The pro’s: easily stored, long shelf life (we constantly buy fresh dough, then end up tossing it when we don’t make pizza for a few days.  Pizza is always a last minute thing, so I don’t normally make my own dough, even though it’s easy enough to do), quick and easy.  Cons: tastes like croissants…. I think they use the same dough.  Kind of a strange flavor for pizza, and it comes in a square shape, so it can be used in a cookie sheet.  My stone is round, so I had to ball it up and re roll it.   No big deal, just noting it. Anyway – here is the recipe: Ingredients: 2 heads of garlic 1 pizza dough ball 5 slices bacon, cooked and chopped fine 1 pkg frozen spinach – thawed an...

I made these the other night in my new Le Creuset cast iron braiser, and they were amazing – a bit better than when I did them in the pressure cooker, because they browned better.  This is a simple recipe, and a definite weeknight favorite in our house. The warm slaw is awesome, and we usually serve with some parsleyed new potatoes.  This can be be served with a regular slaw in the summer for sure!  Here is the recipe : Love my new Le Creuset Braiser! Chicken Thighs 2 TBS cider or rice vinegar 1 Tbsp garlic hot pepper sauce ( Chilolo is best, I think) 4 Chicken Thighs, trimmed of visible fat ( bone in or out your choice) ½ Cup seasoned bread crumbs ½ tsp garlic powder 1 Tbs chopped fresh Thyme (or 1 tsp dried) ½ tsp Kosher Salt ½ tsp fresh ground pepper 2 Tbs Dijon Mustard 2 Tbs light olive oil Directions:   1)         Mix vinegar and hot sauce in a one gallon zip lock bag, and add the chicken.   Seal the back, and make sure chicken...

This was a really tasty week night quickie -  Total time was about 10 minutes with almost no prep at all.  I just served it over some left over cous cous I had with some steamed veggies, but some rice would have been a better choice.  The cous cous was a little too fine for the sauce, but tasted good! Ingredients: 1 tsp olive oil 1 onion, cut into thin wedges 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, with the juice 1 cup sliced mushrooms 1 cup Calamata olives ( preferably pitted) 1/2 tsp oregano Fresh ground pepper and salt to taste 1 pound of tilapia fillets. Season the fish with salt and pepper. In a large skillet with a cover, heat olive oil, then add onions and garlic.  Cook till translucent - about 4 or 5 minutes.  Add mushrooms, and brown for a minute or two.  Add tomatoes, juice, olives, oregano, salt and pepper.  Mix well and bring to a boil. Gently place fillets on top of sauce, spooning some sauce over the fish.  Co...

This is one of Lynne's and my favorite ways to do scallops - very easy, and it only takes about 15 minutes to make.  I have a little mini food processor that attaches to my immersion blender that I use to make the sauce, but even a simple mortar pestle will work.  I only use about 1/2 the pepper, because it can get a  little too hot for my wife.  I have also made this with red pepper flakes, but that is very hard to regulate the heat!  We served this over simple whole grain brown rice, just steamed.  I like to deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine, let it reduce, and add it to the sauce, but that is just me..... Ingredients: 2 small garlic cloves, minced 1 small fresh hot chile - about 2 inches long, minced fine with the seeds.  You can mitigate the heat a bit by scraping out some of the seeds here. 2 1/4 tsp sugar 2 tbs seasoned rice vinegar 1 tbs Asian fish sauce 1 1/2 tbs water Juice from one fresh lime ( about 1 tbs) zest the lime first and r...

This soup is too good, and too simple NOT to make! lWe roasted a chicken last week, and of course, I couldn't wait to make stock!  My freezer is getting full of large ziplock bags, laid flat,  full of carefully dated stocks.... I just can't help myself!  Fresh, homemade chicken stock is just too easy to make to NOT do it!  Once you taste it compared to store bought, well, it's just not in the same universe! I made this soup with leftover meat from the roasted chicken, and wild rice for some crunch.  I added some fresh baby spinach at the end for color and just a bit of herbal flavor.  Total time on the stock was about 4 hours - but most of that unattended on the stove simmering - maybe 10 minutes hands on time.  Same for the soup - really no time at all - and boy did the house smell AMAZING!!!  I brought most of it up to my daughter on the Cape, but saved enough for two lunches for Lynne and I.  Had it today, in front of the fire, w...

My daughter made this for us during our visit to the Cape this weekend....it was really fast and easy, and incredibly tasty. She is truly a chip off the old block!  I think the only thing I enjoy more than cooking is watching my daughter cook.... Anyway, here is the recipe - simply cook the linguine to the box instructions.  This recipe served 4 comfortably.  Can I say though, that the seafood market by my daughter on Cape Cod is totally amazing!  We got 3 lbs of little necks and a pound and a quarter of absolutely gorgeous tuna for only $27 bucks!  The Tuna was only $9.95 a lb, and in that day!  gonna pan sear it in Sesame Oil tonight....yum.. Ingredients: 3 lbs fresh little neck clams 1 pkg Campari Tomato's quartered (Slightly larger than Cherry Tomatoes, which can be used if you can't find Campari) 1 onion, diced fine 6 slices bacon, cooked till crisp 1 cup white wine 6 cloves garlic, crushed and diced 1/4 cup, packed, chopped flat leaf parsely 2 la...

Made this yummy pizza the other night - fast, simple and really good!  I use an Emile Henry pizza stone that you can build the pie right on without pre-heating it, which is VERY handy! Anyway, here it is: Ingredients: 1 bag whole wheat pizza dough 1 tbs olive oil 1 pkg shitaki mushrooms 1 pkg sliced baby bella mushrooms 8 cloves of garlic, rough chopped 3 tbs butter 1 cup pre cooked diced chicken 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan or other hard cheese 1/2 cup mozzarella Salt and Pepper to taste Directions: Pre heat oven to 475 degrees In a medium sized skillet, saute garlic in butter, till butter and garlic begin to brown.  Scoop out garlic, and set aside.  Add mushrooms to butter, and saute until just beginning to soften.  Add chicken to warm, then remove and set aside to cool. Roll out dough on stone till entire stone covered. Brush crust with olive oil, and pre bake for 5 - 7 minutes, till just starting to brown, remove...