Tag: free recipe

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Grilled Radicchio, Romaine & Chicken Salad #FoodieFriday

Yes, you are reading that correctly. It’s not just the chicken that’s grilled, but also the radicchio and romaine! You’ll think it’s crazy, but that slight little char on the green stuff creates an amazing flavor. It takes a little longer to make your salad, but it’s worth the effort. This recipe is for two, so double the greens and/or chicken as necessary.

Ingredients

2 Chicken Breasts – Halved lengthwise
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 lemons
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic
radicchio head – halved
romaine head – halved
Salt
Shaved parmesan curls (As much as you want)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Marinate the chicken breast in the mustard and juice from one lemon. If you can, do this for about an hour.

Oil your grill and pre-heat it.

Rub 1/4 cup olive oil on all sides of the radicchio and romaine heads. Salt, but not too much since the parmesan has a lot of salt. Put a skewer through the 3 garlic cloves.

Place both the radicchio, romaine and skewered garlic on your grill. You want to leave them on there until you get a little bit of char on the leaves and cloves. Maybe 5-10 minutes depending on your grill. Once the first side is grilled, flip on the other side until you get the first bit of char, then remove from heat.

Place the marinated chicken breasts on the grill. I halve them so they will cook faster, but they could dry out, so watch them while you prep the rest of the salad.

Chop the radicchio and romaine and place in bowl. Chop the garlic and add to greens. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts and parmesan curls over the greens. You can make parmesan curls by running your vegetable peeler across a nice chunk of parmesan. Drizzle the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and the juice of the remaining lemon over the greens.

Once cooked, slice the chicken breasts lengthwise and place over the salad. Voila! A very different salad for you. To change it up, try using blue cheese instead of parmesan and/or add craisins or other fruit. You’ll love it!

grilledsalad

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Picadillo #Cuban #Recipe

We’re expecting a big snowstorm tomorrow, so it’s time to think about hunkering down and having something hearty and tasty, but also easy-to-make. After all, you’ve spent time shoveling so you don’t want to slave over the stove to fill your belly.

This dish was always a staple in my house and it still is because it’s easy to make and delicious. Think of it as Cuban-Style Sloppy Joe’s.

My favorite way to serve picadillo is over white rice and topped with a fried egg. Yummy!!

Cuban-style Picadillo

1 cup chopped onions
1 cup green peppers (although I prefer red peppers)
3 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 cup chopped green olives with pimentos (These are your regular olives in a jar!)
1 pound chopped meat
1 small can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tsps cumin
salt and pepper to taste

The above recipe serves 2, so you can double accordingly.

Heat olive oil and then add peppers. Cook until starting to get soft. Then add the onions and saute until starting to get soft. Add the olives, garlic and chopped meat. Cook until chopped meat is starting to get brown. Add cumin, salt, pepper and tomato sauce.

Simmer for about half an hour.

Serve over white rice (or brown if you’re trying to be healthier).

Again, I like to top mine with a fried egg. In TORI GOT LUCKY, two of the friends own a restaurant and I have not doubt they’d have some snazzy version of picadillo on the menu. Maybe they’d add some raisins or capers as some people do. Or possibly serve it over a saffron-flavored rice or ripe plantain nests! This dish is so versatile, it allows you to really experiment with things to add.

cuban picadillo recipe

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Rum Runner Punch from GHOST OF A CHANCE

GHOST OF A CHANCEWhen I was creating the backstories for the vampires and angel in my vampire Christmas novella, WHEN HERALD ANGELS SING, it seemed only natural that someone who chose a pirate’s life in the 1800s might decide to become a rum runner during Prohibition.

It was so much fun exploring that period of time, that when the opportunity presented itself to write a novella, GHOST OF A CHANCE, I decided to do some more research and created a story with a mystery that had occurred along the Jersey Shore during the height of Prohibition.

Those were exciting and dangerous times along the shore then. Bootleggers ran rum from the Caribbean and whiskey from Canada in various forms and a great deal of the liquor that was sent throughout the country made its way through Newark at one time.

Anyway, I thought it would therefore be appropriate this morning to offer up a recipe for a Rum Runner’s punch for you! If you don’t drink alcohol, feel free to leave out the rum or substitute some rum flavoring in the recipe.

Rum Runner’s Punch

2 cups rum (light or dark. Dark is sweeter)
1 bottle sparkling apple cider (about 25 ounces)
2 cups orange juice
2 cups pineapple juice
1 quart fruit punch (feel free to use a sugar free product)
Shot of grenadine for color
Ice

Mix all of the above in a punch bowl or large container. Slice up some oranges, pineapples and maraschino cherries as a garnish. Serve over ice.

You can also substitute a sparkling wine or ginger ale for the sparkling apple cider. Also feel free to go with a spiced or coconut-flavored rum for some variety.

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Barley & Leek Risotto #Recipe

In my family, we ate rice almost every night in one way or another. Whether as a side dish, combined with beans, in chicken and rice, or in a comfort food of fried eggs over rice, it was there every day.

In my husband’s Italian family, it was pasta every day. Even their family dog ate it every day.

Which makes adopting a low carb diet quite a challenge. But I will say this: I’ve lost nearly 23 pounds in about two months, so it’s definitely working!

One challenge has been having a side dish that’s got the mouth feel and taste of rice, but is healthier. I’ve mentioned quinoa and you could probably substitute that in this recipe. But why not try another healthy whole grain: Barley?

Barley’s dietary fiber gives your intestinal health a boost and can also help to lower cholesterol. Plus it’s a good source of niacin, a B vitamin and has been known to help people with Type 2 Diabetes with their glucose and insulin responses. For more information on all this, you can click here.

Today I’m giving you a recipe I’ve adapted after watching Mary Ann Esposito and her Ciao Italia show. Did you know that Mary Ann has been on the air for 23 years, making her show the longest running cooking series in America?

Thanks, Mary Ann! I love your recipes and advice on great Italian food.

But for now, here is my version of a barley and leek risotto.

Barley and Leek Risotto

1 cup barley (be sure to rinse it first; you can also soak it for an hour to reduce cooking time)
2 cups vegetable and/or chicken broth (keep this heated)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup diced mushrooms
1 cup sliced leeks (Be sure to thoroughly rinse. Leeks can have lots of dirt between the leaves)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/8 cup fresh parsley minced

Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in a stockpot and heat on high. Add the mushrooms and brown them. Then add the leeks and sweat them down for about a minute. Add another tablespoon of the olive oil and once it’s hot, add the barley and toast it a bit. Coating the grains in oil will help keep them from clumping.

Add the hot broth, a cup at a time. Stir until the broth is almost absorbed, then add the second cup of broth and cook down at a low simmer. Keep stirring and checking to see if the barley is al dente.

Once the barley is al dente, add the tablespoon of butter and cook it a bit more. Finally, stir in the parmesan cheese and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste here. I say hold up on the salt since the broth and/or parmesan have enough, but that’s up to you.

Serve as soon as you can. You don’t want to let it clump as it sits.

Also have additional parmesan on the table to add to the top of the barley! Voila. A simple and tasty risotto dish.

If you don’t have leeks, you can substitute shallots, scallions and/or regular onions. It’s just that leeks have a milder, almost asparagus taste. They’re actually known as the “poor man’s asparagus.”

Also, keep those heavier, bigger leek greens. Next time you’re making a soup, clean them, tie them together with butcher’s twine and toss them in. They impart wonderful flavor to any broth!

Hope you enjoyed today’s recipe!

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Apricot and Almond Rice Pilaf from the Prince and a #FreeRead

Two of my fav romantic suspense books are THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE and TO CATCH A PRINCESS. I love stories with siblings like Prince Alexander and Princess Tatiana. Mix in action, romance, arranged marriages, a royal jewel heist, money laundering, and secret identities and you’ve got two fun stories!

There is a scene in THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE where Prince Alexander decides to show FBI Agent Kathleen Martinez just how liberated a man he can be by making her dinner. I guess he hoped to woo his way into her heart by way of her stomach!

Today I’m going to share the recipe for the apricot and almost rice pilaf he made! You can download THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE at https://books2read.com/PrincesGamble.

Apricot and Almond Rice Pilaf

Ingredients:

2 cups rice (you can use brown rice. I also wash the rice several times but that is a matter of choice)
4 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
1-2 onions (medium to small. You can substitute shallots here!)
1/2 cup diced apricots
1/3 toasted slivered almonds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions:

Heat the butter and olive oil in a pot. Add onions and sauté until onions are translucent, but not brown. Add the rice and cook until just turning golden. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce to a low simmer and add the diced apricots. Once all the liquid is absorbed, fluff with a fork and add the toasted almonds. You don’t want to add them too early because they will get mushy!

Serve with the sour cream chicken or any kind of chicken. You can also use brown rice or quinoa in the recipe. Possibly even check out using couscous.

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General Tso’s Chicken Low Fat & Radio Show #Giveaway

My daughter and I picked another healthy version recipe from our Pinterest boards: General Tso’s chicken. I actually cut back even more on the calories by eliminating the oil in the sauce and just relying on reducing it with a slow boil. Just one word of warning, use less red pepper if you do it this way unless you like spicy! Also, make sure to only add the red pepper toward the end of the sauce reduction to avoid the spiciness. Also, I didn’t have apricot jam, but had some orange marmalade to use. Worked out great with that and not too sweet.

The “breading” comes out fabulously crispy and tasty. I set some aside some of the chicken for my daughter to eat as nuggets during the week.

You can find the recipe for this fabulous dish by clicking here!

Maybe make some tonight and pull up a chair and join me at my upcoming radio show with the fabulous Bab from Bab’s Book Bistro! Join me there at 7:30 EST as we chat about the sexy royals from THE PRINCE’S GAMBLE, my exploits along the Jersey Shore, and lots of other fun things. I’ll also be giving away five collectible print copies of my paranormal novella, GHOST OF A CHANCE. Listen in to find out how you can win one of these!

To come and hear the show, chat with us, etc., you can click here or use this link:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/broadcast-from-the-bistro/2013/01/30/entangled-suspense-author-caridad-pieiro

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Manicotti recipe plus a new look for the REBORN series!

The REBORN Vampire Novels

Working on a new look for THE CALLING vampire novels as you can hopefully see above. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve gone to contract with Entangled Publishing to relaunch the series as THE REBORN vampire novels starting in early 2013. I’m already hard at work on the first Diana and Ryder book and having a blast with this series of my heart.

Look for updates at THE CALLING/BE REBORN site over the next few months. Also look for some free reads as we catch up with Diana and Ryder as well as the rest of the Scooby Gang as we approach the release of the last two books in THE CALLING and the launch of the new REBORN series!

The overhaul of the site as well as work have been keeping me busy, but this weekend I somehow found time to make an old favorite – manicotti! I just love those delicate little pasta crepes filled with ricotta and baked to delicious goodness.

They are relatively easy. The clue is to have a nicely seasoned 6″ cast iron skillet, a small ladle, spatula and just the right mix for the crepes. You don’t want them to be too thick or pancakey so getting them right is the key. If the batter seems too thick, thin with more water. So here goes!

Manicotti

Manicotti Crepes:

1/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup water
1 cup milk
1 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs

Beat the eggs in a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. The mix should be like a runny pancake batter.

Oil the cast iron skillet with just a little oil smeared around the skillet with a paper towel. Non-stick works well, but to keep the crepes a uniform size, make sure there is an edge to the pan. In other words, not an omelet pan so much.

Heat the skillet until a drop of water dances on the surface. Then kick it down a notch and ladle in the batter. Give the skillet a twirl until the bottom is coated with the batter. It should be about 1/4 inch thick and not much more. I use two small ladle-fulls of batter, but make sure you use the same amount of batter for each crepe to keep them uniform.

Lay the cooked crepes on a paper plate. It’s okay to stack them up until you are done. The oil in the batter keeps them from sticking to the skillet and to each other.

You will get about 12 crepes from the above mix.

Ricotta Filling for the Manicotti

2 eggs
2 pounds Ricotta (Drain it for a few hours to get rid of the excess liquid)
1 pound shredded mozzarella cheese
Chopped fresh parsley if you have it, if not a little dried (but it’s not an essential)
1/4 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Beat the eggs and then add everything else (but leave a handful or two of mozzarella for a topping). Mix it all up and put about 1.5 to 2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture toward one end of the crepe. Roll the crepe to cover the cheese mixture. Lay the crepe with the rolled edge down on a greased pan with a little bit of red sauce.

Roll all the crepes and lay them side by side. A 9×13 pan should allow for all twelve crepes to go there side by side. Cover with a little red sauce and top with mozzarella. Bake at 350 for about 35-40 minutes and then serve!

For a change of pace, cook up some spinach, squeeze out the extra liquid, chop and mix it into the cheese mixture. It’s quite tasty that way also.

This is a good recipe if you need a Thanksgiving side dish for those who don’t like turkey. Me, I love all the traditional Thanksgiving foods and can’t wait to be with family for the holiday!

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