My Favorite Recipes

Bobby Flay calls this the Mesa Grill Steak Sauce. I call this the best sauce to serve with a grilled steak. The nice thing is it doesn’t require any cooking, just mix and serve.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4  cup prepared horseradish, drained
• 1 1/2 Tbl honey
• 1 Tbl dijon mustard
• 1 Tbl pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbl ancho Chile powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure

Whisk all the item together and refrigerate for an hour or so. Bring to room temperature before serving.

This is such a wonderful and simple sauce from Bobby Flay. It is simple and keeps fairly well. Use this sauce with almost any fish or chicken. I know the habanero is a very hot pepper, but it also has a very floral character to it. It adds so much to the sauce. Substituting another pepper just wont do. The only substitution I would use is some chipotle puree. The heat and smokiness would compliment the sweetness, but you will have a different sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 Cups Orange Juice
• 1 Tbl Honey
• 1 Habanero, or a tsp of Chipotle puree
• 1/4 tsp Salt

Procedure

Put the orange juice and honey in a small sauce pan and place over medium high heat. If you want a hotter sauce, cut a slit into the habanero and place the pepper in the orange juice. Boil the OJ, honey and habanero until its reduced to about 1/2 cup. If the habanero is starting to hit the bottom of the pan, go ahead and remove it, as its done its job. Once reduced to your desired consistency, add the salt and enjoy.

Uses

This sauce has the classic Bobby Flay combination of fruit and hot chile. Spoon a small amount on a plate and place a piece of fish such as a sauteed tilapia, baked halibut, or broiled salmon. Serve with a vegetable side such as sauteed spinich or broccoli and enjoy.

This is a soup that I got from Giada DeLaurentis and has become a staple for fall and winter nights. It has great flavor, fairly healthy and easy to modify. Don’t have chard? Use kale or any other dark green leaf vegetable. Don’t have potato? Use zucchini. No Pancetta? Use bacon. Soup to thick? Add some water. You get the idea. Look in your refrigerator and find what works.  Double the recipe and use the leftovers in the recipes that follow.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
  
• 2 carrots, peeled, chopped
  
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 ounces thinly sliced pancetta, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 Tbl of tomato paste
• 1/4 cup white wine (optional)
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound Swiss chard, stems trimmed, leaves coarsely chopped
• 1 russet potato, peeled, cubed
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
• 2 (14-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 ounce piece Parmesan cheese rind
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves
• Salt and pepper

Procedure

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, pancetta, and garlic. Saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and tomato paste and stir into vegetable mixtue and cook for one minute.  Add wine and reduce to a glaze, about 2 minutes.  Add the Swiss chard and potato; saute for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and rosemary sprig. Simmer until the chard is wilted and the tomatoes break down, about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, blend 3/4 cup of the beans with 1/4 cup of the broth in a processor (or just mash them up) until almost smooth. Add the pureed bean mixture, remaining broth, and Parmesan cheese rind to the vegetable mixture. Simmer until the potato pieces are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Stir in the whole beans and parsley. Simmer until the beans are heated through and the soup is thick, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Discard Parmesan rind and rosemary sprig (the leaves will have fallen off of the stem.)

Things to do with the soup

• Don’t have enough to feed a crowd? Toast some bread and put a slice in the bottom of each bowl, prior to filling the bowl with soup.
• Got leftovers? Toast some bread and line a bottom of a baking dish with the toasted bread. Pour the leftover soup over the bread. Heat in an oven at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly, and serve as a side dish.
• Got leftover side dish? Put into a sauce pan and heat, add some water to thin if necessary and now you have Ribolita. Serve and enjoy.