Foodie Thoughts

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~ Harriet Van Horne

I need your help!

I'm in a Tailgating food competition on www.Food2.com and I need your votes!

http://www.food2.com/challenges/tailgate-tastedown-challenge/black-bean-corn-salsa

I submitted my Black Bean & Corn Salsa (along with a few others) to the competition. I would really appreciate your vote!



Thanks and Happy Eating!

~Nikko

French Salsa - I won the Jalapeno Madness Most Unique/Weirdest Salsa contest

www.JalapenoMadness.com

The contest:

Salsa Cookbook Giveaway: Quick Contest ending at noon November 5th. One Free Salsa eCookbook (or more?) to the most creative response(s) to this question: What is the most unique/weirdest salsa you can think of?

My submission:

The French Salsa -

Pâté de Campagne, diced
Dried sausage, diced
Stilton blue cheese, crumbled
Smoked guda, diced
Chev, crumbled
Tomato, diced
Cucumbers, diced
Radish, diced
French olives, chopped
Peppadew, chopped
Avocado, diced
Jalapeno, minced
Arugula, chopped
pine nuts, toasted
Dijon mustard vinaigrette
Toasted Tumaro's Pesto & Garlic Wraps to eat it with....

In a strange way it was really good. You can use as much or as little of each ingredient as you would like. Try and make all your dices and cubes uniform.

Happy Eating!

~Nikko

Foodie Thoughts

“I cook with wine, sometimes I even add it to the food.” -- W. C. Fields

Twisted Tzatziki

Tzatziki goes well with a myriad of food stuffs. Lamb, beef, chicken, veg, even some fish benefit from it's wonderful flavor. The twist in this version comes in from the feta cheese that I added. It really added a nice zing! It's not something I do with it every time but every once and a while it's a nice change.

1 Cucumber, peeled seeded and diced
1/4 Cup onion, diced
1.5 Cups Greek yogurt
.25 Lb Greek Feta
Mint - 4-5 sprigs will do, minced
Fennel - if you have it, if not no biggie

Start off by peeling your cucumber. You're going to want to take out the seeds as well - you can use a spoon or a knife. Dice the cucumber into small pieces and put them in a good sized bowl (you're going to be mixing stuff in there so use one that will accommodate that). Dice up half of a small onion and add it to the bowl. Mince up some mint and fennel (if you have it - it's not really part of the recipe but it looked good in the garden so I used it and it worked)... Add the herbs, yogurt, feta, a shot of pepper, and mix everything well. It's best to let it sit for a bit so everyone gets happy. Eat & Enjoy...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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To All Who Read My Blog...

First - Thanks. I really appreciate you taking the time to read my crappy writing. I can cook well, but I'll be the first to admit that my writing style is lacking. I hope that you find some of the recipes good enough to try yourself. If you do, please take a minute and leave me a comment - I'd love to know how it worked out for you!

Thanks again,

Nikko

Black Bean & Corn Salsa

I've taken this dish to a few parties now and it is always quickly gobbled up. It's a nice light dish that can be used as a salsa, or even a relish on top of fish or chicken...

2 cans Black beans, rinsed well
1.5 cup Tomatoes, diced
2 cups Corn, off the cob
1/2 cup Red onion, diced
1 Jalapeno, minced
.25 Cup Cilantro, chopped
2 Limes, juiced
2 tsp Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Baked Tortillas or corn chips for serving

Start with a bowl large enough to mix everything in. Add everything, mix well, put in the fridge for an hour so everything can get happy happy - done - Eat & Enjoy... It really is that easy. The hardest part of the dish is prepping all the ingredients. You can serve it with baked tortillas or regular corn chips...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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Thanks

Lord for food in a world where many walk in hunger
For faith in a world where many walk in fear
And for friends in a world where many walk alone
I give you thanks…

Chicken Finger Wraps

Wraps... They are one flexible food group. I've used a wrap to make simple sandwich, hold salads, baked for desserts, breakfast, lasagna, and I've even made a really good chicken wellington. When they are available I always use Tumaro's Tortillas - they're simply the best I've ever had. If your market doesn't have them - ask them to order some in. I did at my local store and they now carry them all the time. Anyhoo, here is a video with two different ways to do a chicken finger wrap.

2 Tumaro's wraps
4 Chicken Fingers
.25 Cup Cilantro
.25 Cup Tomato
.25 Cup Red onion
.25 Cup Lettuce
.25 Cup Cheese
Sour Cream, to taste

You can use as little or as much of the ingredients as you want.

The first part of the video shows putting it all inside the wrap and the second is an outside version - the outside looks better but it's a knife and fork deal...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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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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Mojitos For Steve

So my buddy Steve the Tortilla Guy loves Mojitos - I decided to make this video in honor of him...

To make a Mojito you will need...

4 mint leaves
1 lime, juiced
1 ounce simple syrup
2 ounces white rum
2 ounces club soda
1 sprig of mint, for a garnish if you wish
ice

Juice the lime into your glass, add the mint and simple syrup. Muddle the mixture in the bottom of the glass. If you do it with a piece of ice down there it will really mix up the mint which is nice... Add the rum, top with the soda, garnish with a slice of lime and the mint - Drink & Enjoy!

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

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Cipriani Tagliolini - The best out of the box pasta you will ever eat. I beg you to prove me wrong.

It's my dad's birthday and when I asked him what he wanted to eat he said pasta. I said I would make it from scratch but as always he said don't go to the trouble. There's something very therapeutic to me about making my own pasta. Even though I can make it in my sleep now I'm still mesmerized every time I see my grandmother make pasta (she doesn't even measure anything and it all comes out perfect every time). Anyhow, I was at the market to get some nice bread and cheese for the meal and just happened to look in the pasta isle. The Cipriani pasta box stood right out at me for some reason and after reading the back of the box (see below) I had to try it. Even in the box it looks wonderful.

From this point forward, when I don't have time to make the pasta myself - Cipriani Tagliolini is my go to boxed pasta. It always will be until someone can prove me wrong. Go ahead I challenge you. I triple dog dare you too... I am man enough to say that it is every bit as good as mine is - it's not exactly the same, but it's really close. When it comes to pasta in a box it's freaking amazing!


The box says that it will give you 5 servings - it's not kidding. I had 5 people around the table tonight and I made two boxes just to be sure, we all ate like Kings and Queens and only ate half of the pasta... It only takes a few minutes to cook - You will spend more time bring the water to a boil than you will making the pasta and heating the sauce...


Here's the finished product - I'll admit I was a total slacker tonight - the pasta was out of a box, and I even used sauce out of a jar - If you've never tried Ragu's Organic sauce you're missing out. It's perfect right out of the jar. I had someone once try and doctor it up and to be honest she should have left it well alone - her messing with it made it not as good. Anyway - I'm all for making your own sauce but give the organic version a try and let me know what you think...

Bon Appetit...

~Nikko

From the back of the box!

What makes the Cipriani Pasta Special:
- Seven whole grade A fresh eggs are used for ever kg. of the best durum wheat.
- One hundred times the dough is processed through the press and the cylinders. No other pasta is produced with the same care which makes its thin, delicate but compact texture grow more than any other.
- Sixteen hours the length of time we keep it in a low temperature dryer

In 1931, a long-sought dream became reality. Giuseppe Cipriani opened the doors to Harry's Bar. In a discreet stone building perched along the canal just off Piazza San Marco in Venice, he created a timeless and impeccably appointed establishment. His concept was to serve others like you would want to be served yourself. His vision of luxury in simplicity would touch the soul of people all over the world. At Harry's Bar in Venice, and Italian National Landmark since 2001, all clients are treated like royalty. The secret of Cipriani isn't about what can be seen or touched, but what can be flet and sensed. It's intangible but palpable. It can't be patented, but even after seventy-five years it hasn't been duplicated by others.

I needed a cigarette after I read all that...