Boo... Happy Halloween...

Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

I had my first roasted pumpkin seed at John Warner's house when I was in grade school. I can remember they were buttery, garlicky, and a bit salty... I was in the mood for something cuminy, chili powdery, and a bit salty.

1 Cup Pumpkin seeds, cleaned
.5 tsp Sweet Paprika
.5 tsp Chili Powder
.5 tsp Cumin
.25 tsp Garlic Powder
.50 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the spices and oil in a bowl. Pour the mixture over the pumpkin seeds and mix well. Put a sheet of foil over a sheet pan. Spread out the pumpkin seeds in a single layer. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool - Eat & Enjoy...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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Happy Birthday Tortilla Guy...

Well it's my buddy Steve The Tortilla Guy's birthday today. I can't bake a cake to save my life so I'm just making a happy b-day blog post for him... Happy birthday buddy...

The Hummus Wrap

First things first - Start with a good wrap - I've said it before and I'll say it again, until I'm proven wrong the best wraps I've used come from Tumaro's Tortillas. This is one of my favorite wraps to do and it's the very first wrap in my upcoming book 101 Things To Do With A Tortilla!







Tumaro's Spinach wrap
Shredded lettuce
Red Onion
Cucumber, seeded
Tomato
Feta Cheese
Hummus
Salt
Pepper

To build - Lay down your wrap and slather on some hummus. Top that with the lettuce, cucumber, tomato, feta, and salt and pepper (given the feta is salty watch how much salt you use). Fold in the sides of the wrap and start rolling from the back. Eat & Enjoy!

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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Foodie Thoughts...

"Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good." ~ Alice May Brock

Sesame Seed Seared Tuna - So easy to make you won't believe it.

I've been wanting to make my own sesame seed seared tuna for about 10 years now. No kidding it really has been that long. I'm not sure why it has taken me so long to make it but now that I have to admit I'm almost upset at how easy it was to do. Really my 9 year old sister could pull this one off...

The first thing you need for this dish is some fresh Ahi Tuna - Fresh is the key here. Since you're not cooking it all the way through you want it as fresh as possible. I got this Ahi tuna at Costco. It was so dang good it almost hurt.

.5 Lbs Ahi Tuna
Black & white sesame seeds
Salt
Pepper

Salad stuff:
Lettuce mix of your choice
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Avocado

Ginger-Soy Dressing (I got mine from the store)
Wasabi (it's ok to say it like the Bud commercials)

The hardest part of this dish is cutting up the veg for the salad. I'd start by preparing the salad first - wash and dry the greens - arrange them on a plate. Chop the veg to your liking and arrange them on the salad. In a dish add a healthy amount of sesame seeds - black and white if they are available (but just white will do). Salt and pepper the tuna on both sides. Coat both sides of the tuna with the seeds. Heat a skillet to medium high and add a few tablespoons of olive oil (or any type of oil you like). Add the tuna to the skillet and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side. When the tuna is cooked, remove it to a cutting board and cut on the bias. Place on the salads - Eat & Enjoy!

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko
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Lasagna For Scott...

It's nice to have some loyal fans - I don't have many, but I don't do this for fame and fortune I do it because I love it... Anyhow a little over a year ago I got an email from a viewer telling me how to make better videos - "hey Nikko i love food vids so i'm going to help you make 5 star shows ! have all your veg cut and ready, and cans open other wise we have to sit through you opening cans and going to the garbage can etc. this way we dont lose our mind and get board plus you can make 1 vid instead of 3 or 4 for 1 dish. ps i love the food you make keep them coming a big fan. Scott" Yes I kept the email - I took the advice and it has helped! Even I get bored watching some of the old videos... Although the blog doesn't get a heap of traffic (yet) the videos on YouTube and Vimeo get quite the hits.

Well I asked Scott what he wanted a video of, and he chose Lasagna. I have made lasagna in the past but none of them were much to talk about. I brought in a ringer and I have to say Lisa put the smack down on this lasagna. It was amazing! This is just a cheese lasagna, but you can certainly stuff it with meat if you want. We're going to do another version that is loaded with meat - so check back...

1 Large tub Ricotta cheese
3 Tbsp parsley, chopped fine
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Lasagna noodles
4 Cups mozzarella cheese
1 Cup Parmesan cheese
2 Large eggs, beaten
1 Jar Ragu Organic Sauce (it's the best I've ever tried)
salt
pepper
13x9x2 baking dish
Large bowl to make your cheese mixture

Start by making your cheese mixture - in a large bowl combine the ricotta, 2 cups of the mozzarella, half a cup of the Parmesan cheese, the parsley, pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper, and the beaten eggs (make sure you beat the eggs before you add them to the mixture). Mix everything together well and store in the fridge until ready for use. Cook your lasagna noodles as directed by the package. After you have drained off your noodles, rinse them with cold water. Now it's time to build some goodness! Lay down a thin layer of the sauce in your baking dish - this will help with no sticking. Put down strips of the noodles to cover the bottom of the dish - top evenly with a third of the cheese mixture. Lay down another layer of the pasta however this time lay them the opposite direction - you will need to cut them to fit. You do this to keep the structure sound when you cut the lasagna later it will stay up and not slide all over the place. Put down another layer of sauce then another third of the cheese. Top this layer of the cheese mixture with a little sprinkling of the mozzarella. Add another layer of the pasta and sauce then the remaining cheese mixture. Add your last layer of pasta, a final layer of sauce then the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Cover with tin foil and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Cut, plate - Eat & Enjoy...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko
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Bouchon...

A bouchon is a type of restaurant found in Lyon, France, that serves traditional Lyonnaise cuisine...

Frank's Red Hot Popcorn

This is quite easy... Kinda like a buffalo popcorn...

1 bag of popcorn - pick a non buttered one if you can find it...
2Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Melt the butter and add the Frank's and mix together well. Pop the popcorn and put in a bowl. Pour over the butter/Frank's mixture and mix. Eat & Enjoy!

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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