• 1/2 pound of fresh (cleaned) calamari tubes
• 4 oz. jar of quartered marinated artichokes
• 2 large tomatoes
• 3 cloves of garlic
• splash of balsamic vinegar
• EVOO
• 1 whole large lemon
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• Salt
• Pepper

• Strain the artichokes (reserving the liquid) and chop them up into bite sized pieces along with the tomatoes.  Set aside.
• Rinse calamari tubes, and with a very sharp knife slice into narrow rings around .5cm wide.  Mix calamari rings in a bowl with one minced garlic clove and a pinch or two of both the salt and the pepper and set aside as well.
• Drizzle the bottom of a medium sized pan with EVOO and set on medium high heat.  Add 2 cloves of minced garlic to EVOO and cook until it begins to brown.
• Toss tomatoes and artichokes into pan with the 1/2 cup of reserved artichoke marinade and cook for two minutes or so.
• Add calamari rings and a splash of balsamic vinegar to the pan and stir 2-3 minutes as the rings pop and cook through.  Be careful not to overcook the squid – it will get too tough very quickly.  Taste test when you think it’s done… but as a general rule with calamari – if you think it might be done… it is.
• With a slotted spoon scoop out the tomatoes, artichokes and calamari and transfer to a bowl.  Add 1/2 cup of feta cheese and the juice of one lemon and toss well.

This recipe will serve 3-4, as a side.  Feel free to change the recipe to accommodate more for a cocktail party.  Also tastes great cold!

Do you ever come home from a long day at work and not know exaaaactly what to cook but you know that you want something that tastes somewhere between white truffle macaroni & cheese and basmati rice?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Alright – so maybe that’s a unique craving… but in any case – this recipe really hits the spot and is a perfect side to almost any dish.  It’s so flavorful that I’ve made it as a meal by itself on many occasions.

• 2 tablespoons EVOO (or just a big drizzle)
• 1 cup dry orzo
• 1.5 – 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 3 cloves of garlic – minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 3 tablespoons goat cheese

• Pour 2 tablespoons of EVOO into the bottom of a medium sized skillet and set to medium heat.  When oil heats up add your minced garlic and let simmer until you can smell that great garlic aroma.
• Add the dry orzo to the skillet and with a soft spatula coat the orzo with the EVOO at the bottom of the skillet.
• Turn heat to low-medium and carefully watch the orzo…. stirring it often so that it browns but doesn’t burn.
• Once orzo has turned a golden color, add the low sodium chicken broth and the white wine.
• Let skillet sit uncovered on low-medium heat for 10-12 minutes and come back to check the consistency.  The orzo should be plump and there shouldn’t be excess liquid in the skillet.  If there is still a lot of liquid, let it sit a bit longer.  If it already reached the right consistency, now is the time to add those three big spoonfuls of goat cheese and mix until completely combined.
• Garnish with parsley or basil for a pop of color and enjoy!!

• 1/2 box of orzo
• EVOO
• 1/2 box of frozen no sauce spinach
• 6oz. jar of marinated and quartered artichokes
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup milk or heavy cream
• splash of white wine
• salt and pepper

• Cook orzo like a pasta in lightly salted water. Be super careful with the orzo because it’s really delicate and easy to overcook. Strain and set to side.
• Drizzle a bit of EVOO in the bottom of a pan and set to medium heat.
• Chop up artichokes into small pieces and add to the pan with tbs of garlic.
• Let simmer until artichokes brown a little and become fragrant.
• Cook spinach in microwave according to directions on box.
• Set aside half of spinach for another recipe….chop up remaining spinach and toss into pan with artichokes.
• Add splash of your favorite white wine and let simmer for a second or two, and then add in the 1/2 cup of milk and turn down the heat to low.
• Add orzo and Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix well and allow to reduce a bit until orzo is desired consistency.

• 2 Haas avocados
• 2 ‘on the vine’ tomatoes
• 1/2 clove of garlic
• Paprika
• Habanero Sauce
• Pepper
• Salt
• Fresh Basil (or cilantro – whichever your prefer)

• Cut the two avocados in half and discard the pits
• Using a spoon – scoop out the good stuff from the avocados and place in bowl
• Add in about 2 tablespoons of lime juice (lemon juice could work here as well) and with the back of a fork – start to mash the avocados into a paste
• On a cutting board, dice up the tomatoes, discarding the pulp (so sad) and only using the solid pieces of the tomato. I love the pulp in most situations – but with guacamole it just makes it runny and unattractive
• Add in the tomatoes and mix well
• Tear up your basil (or cilantro) leaves into tiny bits and add into the bowl. If you don’t have fresh herbs – dried flakes will work
• Add in a dash of paprika and a few shakes of habanero sauce for heat.
• Take about a half of a clove of garlic, minced and add to bowl. If you are using preminced garlic – use around 1/2 teaspoon.
• Finally add pepper and salt to taste. I like my guac to have a bit more salt than I use in most recipes… the best way to figure it out is just to add a bit and taste.
• Mix it all together and serve with tortilla chips or wheat thins.

Feliz cinco de mayo a todos. Disfrutalo!

• 6 hard boiled eggs
• 1/2 small onion
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 3 tbs – yellow mustard
• Medium jar of mayonnaise
• Relish (or pickles)
• Salt/Pepper/favorite seasoning

1. Cut all of the potatoes in half and, in a large pot of water, boil them until they reach the level of tenderness you would like. For potato salad you want the potatoes to be soft but not mushy so that they still hold their shape in the salad.
2. Strain and the potatoes and place in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add 1 cup of mayonnaise to the bowl and mix completely with a soft rubber spatula to coat all of the potatoes. Depending on how large your potatoes were – you may need to use more mayo. Keep adding until the the texture of the potatoes is similar to the picture above.
4. On a cutting board mince the desired amount of red pepper, pickles (or use strained relish) and onions into small pieces and add to the bowl, stirring completely.
5. After the vegetables are taken care of – dice your 6 boiled eggs into pieces and toss them into the bowl as well.
6. The final step is to season the potato salad to your taste using yellow mustard and your favorite combo of multi spices. A favorite of mine is Nature’s Season. I would use around 2-3 tablespoons of yellow mustard for both color and flavor, and Salt, Pepper and Nature’s Season to taste… but season however you would like – adding cayanne powder for heat or a dash of balsamic for a tang!

• 3 lb bag – small red potatoes
• EVOO
• Pepper
• Paprika
• Parsley
• Garlic salt
• Basil
• Crushed red peppers

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Thoroughly clean the baby potatoes in the sink, using a knife of the end of a vegetable peeler to remove any eyes that may have sprouted… or pieces that you’re just not that crazy about eating… haha.
3. Cut up each potato into bite sized pieces… in a 2 in diameter potatoes, I would cut it into around 8 equally sized pieces.
4. Throw all pieces into a large bowl.
5. Add all of your dry ingredients – tossing with your hands to make sure the the spices are all mixed and evenly distributed. Go easy on the paprika and the red pepper flakes as they definitely increase the heat level of the potatoes. A little bit will go a long way in adding both flavor and color.
6. When you are satisfied with the seasoning – slowly begin to pour EVOO into the bowl… stopping every 1/8 cup or so to toss with hands. Stop adding EVOO when potatoes are completely coated.
7. Cover a cookie sheet with tin foil (for easy clean up) and scatter the potato bites across the foil – ensuring that there is no overlap.
8. Set sheet in oven and let bake for around 40 minutes. This may change if you use a different temperature or bigger/smaller potatoes – but a good way to tell if they’re done is when the edges start to brown and get crispy – they’re done! An even better way to find out? Take one out… let it cool… and taste test!

The ingredients that I used are for spicy potatoes – but feel free to change up the spices to get a more Italian version, a Cajun version, whatever you’re in the mood for!

• 3 – Large plum tomatoes
• 1 bag of sweet corn (or for a shortcut – two of those single sized steamers in the freezer section)
• Balsamic Vinegar
• EVOO
• Salt
• Pepper

1. Cook sweet corn, drain, and set aside in fridge or freezer (as long as you don’t forget that it’s in there!)
2. Chop up tomatoes into bite sized pieces and let set with corn until both are cold.
3. Take out of fridge and add enough Balsamic to completely moisten the vegetables and mix around with spoon.
4. Add a splash of EVOO to the mixture, a tablespoon or two, and mix once more.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste, and let sit in fridge to chill until ready to serve.

So Simple – SO Good!

• 1 loaf of fresh FRENCH bread … not Italian or Cuban (no offense to those fine nations – I’m a big fan of your work… )
• 1/2 stick – butter @ room temperature
• 2 tablespoons – your favorite pesto with Basil
• 1/4 cup – Johnny’s Garlic Spread or your favorite italian spices mixed with 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese.
• Dried Basil flakes
• Pepper to taste

1. Set the oven to LOW Broil
2. Cut French bread in slices around 1cm thick, at a slight diagonal angle (you should get around 25 slices)
3. Mix together in small bowl the butter, pesto, basil, pepper, and Johnnys/Garlic Spice mixture
4. With a rubber spatula, lightly coat one side of each piece of bread and set on baking sheet.
5. When baking sheet is full, place in oven and keep a very close eye on it while it’s broiling – these will burn if they’re in there for 15 seconds too long!
6. Once they reach the right level of golden brown, carefully remove from oven and turn over each slice so that the white side is now facing up.
7. Put back in broiler and put in for half as long as the other side went in – we just want it to be a very light brown so that it doesn’t burn.
8. Remove, cool, and pair with whatever appetizer you want!

Crunch – YUM!

• 4 – large plum tomatoes (or whatever kind of tomato you’re in the mood for)
• 1 – sweet onion (shudder)
• Fresh Basil Leaves (produce section of grocery)
• EVOO
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Sugar (or Splenda for the calorie paranoid)
• Johnny’s Garlic Spread (a family secret – we’ve been ordering this online for years… follow the link to order some for yourself – but if you don’t have it on hand, you can use a mixture of two minced garlic cloves, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, and your favorite combination of spices)
• Balsamic Vinegar

1. Chop up the tomatoes into smaller than bite sized pieces and toss into a large mixing bowl.
2. Chop up the onions into small pieces …or big pieces if you plan to avoid them completely . Toss them into the tomato pile.
3. Rip up half of the leaves of your fresh basil and toss into the bowl – we’re going to save the other half for a bit later.
4. Take your EVOO and pour on top of your vegetables. In the words of my mom, “you want it to be wet – but not swimming in EVOO.”
5. Throw in a dash of sugar/splenda – around a half of a tablespoon. You don’t want to clearly taste the sugar in the topping – but it definitely gives the flavor another dimension.
6. Another dimension of flavor is added with just a tiny splash of balsamic vinegar. It gives it a tiny tang that really works with the tomatoes.
7. Throw in 1/4 of a cup of Johnny’s Garlic Spread – or your own mixture (see above).
8. Get your hands in there and mix it all up and give it a taste. Add salt accordingly and use your own judgment to add more of what you think it might need for your taste.
9. Let side in fridge for at least 6 hours (or over night if you made it a day ahead). Before serving, add a few more leaves of ripped up basil leaves for a fresher taste and add a touch more of EVOO if you think it could you a bit more moisture. It should have the consistency of the above picture.

Great when accompanied by Garlic Toast! (next post!)