Ingredients

1 cup – cooked quinoa

1 cup – cooked other grain like wheatberry, barley, brown rice, farro, etc.

2 cups – shredded red cabbage

2 cups – washed baby spinach

2 Tbs – agave nectar or honey

¼ cup – golden raisins

¼ cup – pecan pieces

3 Tbs – pickled red onions (recipe to follow)

½ cup – creamy cinnamon dressing (recipe to follow)

Salt, to taste

Pickled Red Onions

½ each – red onion, sliced

1 cup – seasoned rice vinegar

¼ cup – granulated sugar

Creamy Cinnamon Dressing

¼ cup – orange juice

1 Tbs – apple cider vinegar

2 tsp – minced shallot or 1 smashed garlic clove

2 cups – vegenaise or mayonnaise

1/8 tsp – ground cinnamon

Pinch black pepper and allspice

Procedures

Pickled Red Onions: Combine ingredients and let sit for at least 1 hour, overnight if possible.

Creamy Cinnamon Dressing:  Whisk all ingredients except vegenaise or mayonnaise together and let sit for 30 minutes.  If using the garlic, remove garlic.  Slowly whisk into vegenaise or mayonnaise until it becomes a thick dressing.

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together including the pickled red onions.  Adjust flavor with agave nectar and salt.  Toss with Creamy Cinnamon Dressing.



2 each – large Fuji apples, cored and cut into cubes

2 stalks – celery, sliced

¼ cup – dried cranberries

¼ cup – walnuts

2 cups – seedless black or red grapes

½ cup – vegenaise

Procedure

In a bowl, combine all salad ingredients squeeze of lemon to taste.

2 slices – Artisan bread like buckwheat, rustic white, etc.

3 slices – heirloom , cored and cut 1 inch thick

4 slices – applewood smoked bacon, thick cut, cooked

1 Tbs – basil pesto vinaigrette

1 oz – baby arugula

pinch – salt and pepper

Fine Herb Cream Cheese

8 oz – whipped cream cheese or vegan cream cheese

2 tsp – chopped fine herbs, like chives, parsley, tarragon, chervil, cilantro, etc.

1/2 tsp – honey or agave nectar

pinch – salt

Procedures

Fine Herb Cream Cheese: Mix the cream cheese with the rest of the ingredients.  Adjust seasoning.

Slice bread, spread fine herb cream cheese on both sides of the bread.  Place heirloom tomato slices and bacon on the bread.

Sprinkle basil pesto vinaigrette on the tomato and a touch of salt and pepper.  Garnish with baby arugula and serve.

1 pound – rotini, cooked

1 bunch – cilantro, washed

8 oz – spinach, washed, plus more for garnish

1 large clove – garlic

2 oz – basil leaves, washed

1 Tbs – lemon juice

6 oz – olive oil

6 oz – sour cream

pinch – salt and pepper

1/2 pint – cherry tomatoes

1 cup – parmesan cheese

1 cup – mozzarella

Procedures

In a robocoupe put in cilantro, spinach, garlic, basil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.  Blend while slowly adding the oil.  Pulse in sour cream.  Adjust seasoning. Add remaining ingredients in a bowl and add half of the cilantro pesto to the ingredients.  Adjust seasoning and creaminess to desired flavor.

1 head – butter lettuce, washed and hand torn

6 oz – baby arugula, cleaned

1 each – cucumbers, preferably Persian or Japanese, washed and sliced

1/2 pint – cherry tomatoes

1/2 lb – feta, crumbled

2 Tbs – mint leaves, picked

2 Tbs – Italian parsley leaves, picked

1/2 cups – pita chips, coarsely chopped

2 Tbs – pickled red onions

Pickled Red Onions

1/2 each – red onion

1/2 cups – seasoned rice vinegar

4 Tbs – sugar

Lemon Vinaigrette

4 Tbs – lemon juice and zest

1 tsp – prepared mustard like Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, etc.

1 clove – garlic, smashed

1 tsp – honey or agave nectar

4 Tbs – olive oil

4 Tbs – canola oil

pinch – salt and pepper

Procedures

Pickled Red Onions: Peel red onion and slice lengthwise very thin.  Put in a container and cover with sugar and rice vinegar.  Shake well and let sit for at least 1 hour, up to 1 week.

Lemon Vinaigrette: Put lemon juice, garlic, mustard, honey, and salt and pepper in a bowl.  Slowly whisk in oil until emulsified.  Adjust seasoning.

In a bowl, combine all the salad ingredients including the pickled red onions.  Toss with lemon vinaigrette.  Garnish with extra pita chips, cheese, and fresh herbs.

8 oz – baby spinach, cleaned

8 oz – baby arugula, cleaned

1 pint – strawberries, de-stemmed and sliced

1/2 lb – feta cheese, crumbled

1/4 cups – almonds, rough chopped

Citrus Vinaigrette

4 Tbs – orange juice, fresh squeezed

1 Tbs – lemon juice, fresh squeezed

1 Tbs – champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

1 clove – garlic, smashed

1 tsp – honey or agave nectar

3 Tbs – olive oil

3 Tbs – canola oil

pinch – salt and pepper

Procedures

Vinaigrette: Put a smashed garlic in a bowl with the orance juice, lemon juice, champagne vinegar, and salt and pepper.  Slowly whisk in the oils until emulsified.  Adjust seasoning.

Put the remaining ingredients in a bowl.  Toss with vinaigrette and a little salt and pepper.  Garnish with extra strawberries, feta, and almonds.

What You Will Need:
Dime Sized Goat Cheese Balls
Spinach
Honey Roasted Almonds
Dried Cranberries
Fuji Apples
Acidulated Water (water with fresh lemon or lime juice)
Frill Picks (use Red & Green for a more Festive Presentation)

How to Make and Assemble:
1.Roll out the Goat Cheese into dime sized balls, place in the refrigerator to chill
2.Cut the Fuji Apples into slightly larger than 1” cubes, and dip in acidulated (lime/lemon) water
3.Finely crush or chop the Honey Roasted Almonds so they’ll stick onto the cheese better
4.Finely chop the Dried Cranberries
5.Cut the spinach into a fine julienne about ½ cm long (you can roll up the spinach leaf and cut to make longer ribbons)
6.Roll the Goat Cheese Balls into the Honey Roasted Almonds, Dried Cranberries or the Spinach
7.Place each finished Goat Cheese Ball onto a cube of Fuji Apple and pierce with Frill Picks
8.Place a light layer of greens on the bottom of the platter
9.Place each finished pop on the platter in a pattern

Tips:
Make sure the Spinach is cut fresh and does not turn color
Make sure the Fuji Apples are soaked in acidulated (lemon/lime) water, to prevent it from turning brown

What you’ll need

During your weekend shopping purchase a pre-made pizza dough – varieties at Trader Joe’s make for a good crust.

1 Lb. Monterey Jack Cheese or Mozzarella  - I prefer to shred the cheese myself as it tastes fresher and is more gooey when you melt it

1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce of spaghetti sauce

4 oz. of thinly sliced prosciutto

Fresh arugula

How To

Bring the dough to room temperature – take out or fridge at let sit on floured surface for about 10 minutes

Set your oven rack to the bottom most setting and preheat oven to 450°

Take out a sheet pan and dust with polenta or corn meal (don’t worry – you can substitute flour)

Dust the dough with flour – stretch, don’t knead the dough, to fit your sheet pan

Gently brush the dough with olive oil

Spread out about 3-4 tablespoons of tomato sauce on the dough

Sprinkle with shredded cheese

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, rotating once about halfway through, until dough is golden and crispy, and cheese is bubbly

Remove from oven and quickly layer thin prosciutto over pizza

Finish with a sprinkling of fresh arugula

Cut and serve with your favorite salad

Enjoy!

People often ask me how I manage feeding my family every night while juggling a very demanding chef’s job.  Although at times it can be quite hectic, with a little planning, it is possible to have dinner on the table in no time.  The key is to go to do all the grocery shopping and major prep duties during the weekend so that you are set up to make dinner quickly during the week.

This week, for example, we are having chicken.  I bought some already cooked rotisserie chicken and fabricated them out into pieces.  I then took the carcass, covered it in cold water and simmered it for 3-4 hours to create a simple chicken stock.

The first night we had rotisserie chicken for dinner, served with some roasted potatoes and a simple pasta.

The second night I chopped some vegetables I had in my refrigerator, like carrots, onions, celery, zucchini, and cabbage and threw it into the pot with the chicken stock I made the night before.  I enhanced the flavor of the chicken stock by adding some chimicchurri, which is a simple blend of garlic, parsley, cilantro and lemon zest, immediately before serving.

On the third night, I shredded some of the left over dark meat of the chicken and mixed it with some barbecue sauce.  I made a quick coleslaw with shredded cabbage, shredded carrots, some picked herbs like cilantro or parsley, and a Dijon vinaigrette.  I served it open faced on a piece of naan that I warmed up in the toaster with some cheese.

On my final night I shredded the remaining chicken meat and tossed it in some citrus vinaigrette.  I then added some arugula, greens, julienned apples, and kohlrabi and made a simple but healthy salad for dinner.

It’s all really basic cooking, but even for a busy chef, it’s more a matter of getting healthy, nutritious, and delicious food on the table as quickly as possible to feed a hungry family.