Kitchen Guy’s Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients

1 14.5 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups salsa
8 large eggs
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 tsp. salt
8 corn tortillas (6-inch)
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup sour cream
fresh cilantro, chopped

Method:

Heat the beans and the salsa in separate pots over low heat. Whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, and salt. Melt the butter in a nonstick pan, and scramble the eggs over low heat until soft and creamy.

Soften the tortillas by heating them in a dry pan. Place a tortilla on each plate. Divide the black beans evenly on the tortillas. Spoon the eggs onto the beans, then top with salsa. Garnish with cheese, sour cream and cilantro and serve immediately.

An alternate way to cook this dish is to heat the beans and salsa together and break eggs on top, cover the pan and steam the eggs until they are cooked through. Then slide the whole mixture onto tortillas.

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Chef JoAnna was recently interviewed at the TechCrunch/PopSugar event in LA by Christine Perkett. She talks about her business, ChefsLine, and the importance of social media and networking to her success.

PerkettPR Interviews JoAnna from ChefJoAnna.com.

Sausage, Artichoke and Tomato Pizza

Ingredients
Olive or vegetable oil cooking spray
4 ounces bulk sweet Italian sausage
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/3 cup crème fraiche or light sour cream
1 whole-wheat pizza crust (12 inches)
1 cup artichoke hearts, halved (if using canned, rinse and drain)
2 large plum tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan-Reggiano, or Grana cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped

Method
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly dust back of baking pan with cornmeal or flour. In sauté pan, brown sausage and cook thoroughly. Drain extra fat and set aside. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to sauté pan, add sliced garlic and cook over low-medium heat until translucent. Spread crème fraiche or sour cream in thin layer on pizza crust and sprinkle with garlic. Top with sausage, artichokes, and tomatoes; sprinkle with cheeses. Bake until cheeses are melted and slightly golden, Sprinkle with fresh oregano and serve.

Warm Artichoke Potato Salad

Ingredients
1 pound baby Yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4″ slices
1/2 pound artichoke hearts, halved (or use 8 ounce bag frozen hearts, thawed)
4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
salt & pepper
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Method
In a large pot of boiling water, cook potatoes until tender. Add artichokes to boiling water with potatoes for 1 minute then drain both. In a large bowl whisk together the vinegar and the mustard. Whisk in the olive oil slowly until incorporated. Add the warm, drained potatoes and artichokes and toss to coat. Let the potatoes sit for 10 minutes or longer to absorb the flavor of the dressing. Add parsley and toss. Season well with salt & pepper.

We have been assisting one of our members in making ravioli - start to finish. But now let’s address this common ravioli problem: They break open leaking all of their luscious contents into your pot of water. So how do you prevent ravioli from falling apart?

There are two tricks. First while making the ravioli take care to not have any excess air in the pockets.  The air expands in the hot water and will cause the ravioli to burst. So carefully seal the dough to fit the filling as exactly as possible.

Second, cook the ravioli in moderately - not vigorously - boiling water. Vigorously boiling water beats up what are essentailly fragile dough packets and they’re more inclined to break open.

Earth Day will be celebrated next Tuesday, April 22. I thought it would be a good time to ask some of the other ChefsLine team to suggest some steps we could take in our home kitchens to have a positive impact on the environment… or at least to tread a little lighter. WOW, they came up with some really great ideas! The cool thing is that these adjustments are simple enough that you can put them into action immediately.

ChefsLine’s Suggestions for Earth Day (…and every day!)

• Chef Richard: Prepare a One-Pot meal. You’ll conserve energy by using only one burner on the stove, and save water because you have to wash only one pot that night.
• Chef Robyn: Treat yourself and support healthier cows with a milkshake or smoothie made with organic milk, or even better, yogurt and local fruit! Your body and taste buds will feel like a million bucks.
• Chef Adrienne: Be certain that your used plastic bags from the grocery store are in a place where you can grab and go so you can reuse them. Even better, bring your own bag to the market.
• Melissa: If you wash dishes by hand, do it right away and you’ll use less water. If you use the dishwasher, make sure that it’s completely filled up before running it, and use an environmentally friendly detergent.

And here are a few ideas that I’d like to contribute:

• Buy fresh, local produce. Not only does it taste better, but you might not realize that frozen food requires a lot of energy to keep it frozen, and usually travels futher, which uses gasoline and creates carbon emissions.
• Consider purchasing your staples in bulk. (rice, beans, flour, etc.) buying food in packages requires the use of paper, cardboard and plastic and other materials that need to be recycled. Recycling’s great but it still takes energy!
• If you eat meat, you don’t have to go vegetarian to be environmentally friendly. Just eat less of it. It takes about 4 pounds of grain to raise 1 pound of beef, plus something like 2500 gallons of water! So if you’re used to eating an 8 oz portion, eat 4 oz instead, and eat more vegetables. A good book you can read about this is The Omnivore’s Delimma.

Sometimes it just takes looking at an idea from someone else’s perspective to see how easy it is to make a few small changes to your day-to-day life, and it’s empowering to see how subtle adjustments to how you get things done can make an impact on being “green”.

~ Chef JoAnna

As a Jewish chef who is also a vegetarian, I must share my Passover Seder menus and their inspiration with our readers. For years, come spring, my train of thought was this: “Cooking for Passover is a drag. I guess I’m doing brisket again. I’ll just make the kugel, etc.” I was in a rut, and maybe you are too.

Like many moms, I have always looked forward to religious and secular holidays as a time to share with family and create memories. Passover Seder is the ultimate expression of this incredible opportunity for Jews—a religious festival uniquely focused on the ritual of the meal. But for me, well, I’ve always wanted to celebrate with something a little more exciting and personal—and less meaty! Even though my friends and family always expect me to create really remarkable meals, I just did not have the courage to break from the dishes that were tried, true and easy during Passover.

Passover Seder 2008
Cream of Root Vegetable Soup
Roasted Salmon with Marinated Fennel and Thyme
Potato Kugel
Lemon Cake with Lemon Topping and Berries
Pecan Meringue Cookies

Fortunately, my daughter invited me to attend a meeting and I had the opportunity to meet an incredible chef, cookbook author, and activist – Phyllis Glazer, the author of The Essential Book of Jewish Festival Cooking. Her excitement about her recipes and the process of cooking for the holidays was just what I needed to not only embrace cooking for Passover again, but to really help me find my own creative chef voice in these important meals.

ChefsLine’s Passover Menu Collection and Live Cooking Help
I’d be thrilled to inspire you to mix it up with some new recipes this next week. The ChefsLine Passover Menu collection includes Quick and Easy Seder, Passover Do-Ahead, “small plate” recipes to serve with leftovers, lunch recipes featuring dishes such as Tarragon Scented Goat Cheesecake and Walnut and Herb Stuffed Eggplant Rolls. As you will see, most of my menus feature recipes by Phyllis Glazer because almost all of her dishes are so exciting—with great combinations of fruits, vegetables and herbs and spices that are irresistible. And if for any reason you take a look at your box of matzoh and think, “what now?” you must call ChefsLine at 1-800-977-1224. As I can attest, everyone needs inspiration in the kitchen sometimes.

~ Chef Paulette

Kitchen Guy’s Matzoh Ball Soup

Ingredients

1 cup matzoh meal (available in ethnic of Kosher food aisle)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup seltzer water (club soda can be substituted)

4 large eggs, whisked until frothy
3 quarts chicken bouillon
1 tsp. salt

Method

Mix together the matzoh meal, canola oil and seltzer. Add the frothy eggs to the matzoh meal mixture and add the salt. Mix well and refrigerate for a minimum of one hour.

Bring the chicken bouillon to a simmer. Shape the matzoh meal mixture into small balls (or using two spoons form quenelles). Place the dumplings into the simmering soup and cook for 35 minutes. The matzoh balls will expand by about 3 times.

For me, Earth Day truly is a great holiday! I’m deeply interested in our environment and especially the food it produces so I always celebrate Earth Day with a special meal. I take advantage of what I can find locally, and I try to make the best possible use of everything. Here’s what I’ll be having this year and I’d love to help you prepare this or your own menu on ChefsLine.

Earth Day Menu by Chef Kevin Weeks
Chilled Asparagus Soup
This year I’m beginning with a chilled asparagus soup. The cool thing about it is as I eat asparagus I break off and save the tough woody ends of each stalk and freeze them. Then I combine them with a chicken stock to make as asparagus broth, thus coaxing the last bit of goodness from previous meals.

Rack of Lamb
Although lamb is available year-round, it’s only seasonal in the spring so enjoying it now avoids the environmental costs of freezing it for nine months or shipping it from New Zealand. I buy organic lamb from a local producer.

Leeks with Anchovy Butter
Leeks are a spring vegetable and although I haven’t yet found a local source for leeks, I have found a grocery store that buys them regionally. Wash off the inedible green part of the leeks and, instead of using an onion, toss them into the asparagus soup broth to avoid wasting anything. Then start a compost pile using the asparagus ends and leek greens to feed your roses — or tomatoes.

Baby Potatoes Parmigiano
It’s amazing how simultaneously sweet and earthy real new potatoes taste. Enjoy them dressed with a great olive oil, some fresh herbs, and Parmigiano Reggiano just because they’re so good.

Rhubarb Mousse
We’ve all had Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, but this recipe celebrates the rhubarb alone and is astonishingly delicious — a perfect spring storm of flavor.

Join us at ChefsLine in celebrating our connections to the earth that feeds us. And give us a call if we can help you figure out the best way to celebrate.

Kitchen Guy’s Pasta Frittata Recipe

Ingredients

8 ounces pasta — leftover
2 cups tomato-based pasta sauce — divided
5 large eggs — beaten
1/2 cup Italian parsley — chopped, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Ingredients

Preheat broiler. Toss pasta and 1 cup pasta sauce in a medium bowl to blend. Comine eggs, 1/4 cup parsley, salt, pepper and cayenne in a small bowl, and whisk to blend.

Heat oil in large broiler-proof nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add pasta and toss until warmed through, about 4 minutes. Pour egg mixture over, but do not stir. Reduce heat to medium low. Cook until eggs start to firm up and bottom begins to brown, lifting sides occasionally to let uncooked egg run underneath, about 8 minutes. Remove skillet from heat. Sprinkle frittata with cheese.

Broil until cheese melts, about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat remaining sauce over low heat. Using a flexible spatula, loosen edges and bottom of frittata. Slide out onto plate, sprinkle remaining parsley and cut into wedges.

Serve wedges with sauce.

Kitchen Guy’s Honey Flan

Ingredients

3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup honey, divided
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Method

Combine eggs, milk, 1/4 cup honey and vanilla. Beat until mixed but not foamy. Combine remaining 1/4 cup honey and cinnamon in small bowl and mix well.

Place 4 custard cups or ramekins in a baking dish. Spoon 1 Tbsp. honey-cinnamon mixture into each cup. Divide egg mixture into each cup. Place baking dish on middle rack of oven. Pour boiling water into baking dish around cups to 1 -inch depth. Bake at 325 for 30 to 45 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Serve warm or cold. Loosen edges of individual custards with spatula or knife. Invert onto dessert plates.