Nutty Chocolate Chip/Chunk Cookies

My wife, Renee, has a passion for chocolate chip cookies. She has used the same recipe for many years. In honor of her, I decided to see if I could come up with my own recipe that could possibly rival hers. I came up with Richard's Ultimate Chocolate Chip Chunk Cookies and my wife LOVES them. With these cookies, you get the slightly bittersweet taste from the dark chocolate chips and silky decadence from the chunks of white chocolate.

For this recipe, you'll need the following:

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 bar of white chocolate, broken into pieces
• 11/2 - 2 cups walnuts, toasted and chopped
• 1 (12-ounce) bag dark chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Line 2 heavy large baking sheets with parchment paper. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in the walnuts, white chocolate, chocolate chips and oats.

For each cookie, drop 1 rounded tablespoonful of dough onto sheet, spacing 1-inch apart (do not flatten dough). 

Bake until the cookies are golden (cookies will flatten slightly), about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely. (The cookies can be prepared 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.) 

 Enjoy!

 

Tropical Fish Tacos

These tacos are made with Cajun seared tilapia topped with a tropical cole slaw and served in a crispy (not greasy) tortilla shell with pepper jack cheese. One bit of these tacos and you'll be picturing yourself on a white sand beach somewhere in the tropics with an ice cold beverage!

For this recipe, you'll need the following:

• 2 tilapia filets
• Your favorite Cajun seasoning
• 2 TBS vegetable oil 
• 4 lime wedges (additional wedges for garnish if so desired)
• Tropical Cole Slaw
• 4 corn tortillas
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup grated pepper-jack cheese
• Thinly sliced green onions (white and light green parts only)
• Avocado slices (optional)

Begin be generously seasoning both sides of the tilapia with the Cajun seasoning. 

Place the oil in a hot non-stick pan. Sear the tilapia for about 2 minutes on both sides until it begins to flake apart. Break the fish into small chunks, squeeze the 4 lime wedges over the fish and set aside.

If you have a griddle, preheat it to about 350 degrees. If you don't have a griddle, you can us a non-stick frying pan. Spray one side of a tortilla with cooking spray and place it sprayed side down onto the griddle or frying pan. Repeat with the other 3 tortillas.

As soon as the tortillas begin to brown (small brown spots on the underside), sprinkle 1/4 cup of pepper-jack cheese over each tortilla. Once the cheese is melted, remove from heat.

Place a tortilla shell on a plate. Top it with 1/4 of the tilapia and then some of the Tropical Cole Slaw. Finally, sprinkle the taco with the thinly sliced green onions. Optionally, you can also top them with a slice of avocado.

Grab a cold beverage, get out in the sun and enjoy!

Grilled Radicchio Salad

Radicchio is often overlooked as a salad base. Lightly grilling it adds another dimension of flavor which is complimented by the basil and capers.This salad is finished with a balsamic vinaigrette, feta and warm toasted pine nuts. 

For this recipe, you will need the following:

• 1 head of traviso radicchio
• 1 dozen basil leaves
• ½ cup feta
• ¼ cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
• 2 T capers, rinsed
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 T balsamic vinegar

 

Whisk together 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside. Cut the radicchio in half and brush the cut side with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Grill the radicchio, cut side down, on a hot grill for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove it from the grill, chop it and place it in a large bowl. Tear the basil leaves and add them to the radicchio. Add the capers, toasted pine nuts and feta to the salad. Toss with the olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixture.

Enjoy!

Tropical Cole Slaw

This dish takes your standard cole slaw and whisks it away to the tropics. The mango, cilantro and sliced almonds put this dish above the rest. Its best made a day ahead of time but can still be served on the fly if needed.

For this recipe, you will need the following: 

Cole Slaw Ingredients

½ small head of cabbage, cored and shredded

3-4 carrots, peeled and julienned

5 green onions, thinly sliced on the bias

½ cup chopped cilantro

½ cup sliced almonds toasted

½ cup golden raisins

1 mango, peeled and diced to ¼ inch

Dressing Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise

¼ cup apple cider vinegar

½ cup honey

1 tsp kosher or sea salt

1 tsp pepper

Place the raisins in a sauce pan adding just enough water to cover them. Bring them to a boil, then remove from heat. Allow them to sit at least 5 minutes to plump up then drain the water off. In a large bowl, combine the raisins with the rest of the cole slaw ingredients.

In a small bowl, add the dressing ingredients and whisk to blend. Pour over the cole slaw ingredients and mix thoroughly to evenly distribute the dressing.

Enjoy!

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a quick and simple dish that anyone can make. It is a chilled vegetable soup of Spanish origin and perfect on a hot Summer day when you don't feel like cooking. Its refreshing and light, overflowing with vegetables from the garden or your local farmers market.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

• 1 hothouse cucumber (these are the cucumbers you see in the grocery store wrapped in plastic)
• 1 yellow bell pepper (you can substitute red or orange if you like)
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 cups of tomato juice
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• 1 cup chopped cooked shrimp or cooked bay shrimp (optional)

Chop the cucumber, bell pepper, tomatoes and onion into 1/4 pieces. Mince the garlic.

Combine the vegetables, garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Add the shrimp (if you choose to do so). Mix well before serving. The longer Gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

Enjoy!

Tomato Cheese Herb Tart with Artichokes

This is a great dish for an appetizer or, paired with a simple green salad, makes a delicious light lunch. The herbs really bring out the flavor of the roasted tomatoes and artichokes. If you have access to home grown tomatoes, its even better. I used red beefsteak tomatoes but you can also experiment with heirloom tomatoes or use a mix of red, yellow and orange tomatoes for a fancier presentation.

For this recipe, you will need the following:

• 1 ready-made pie crust or your own, about 12" in diameter.
• 5 medium tomatoes
• 9 oz. sliced Swiss cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 6 oz marinated artichoke hearts
• ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Begin by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. Next, slice your tomatoes into ¼ inch slices. Discard the ends (or save them for a sandwich or other dish). Cut each slice in half.

Arrange the slices on paper towels. This will draw out the excess moisture from the tomatoes so that your tart doesn’t end up soggy. Allow the tomatoes to drain on the paper towels for 45 minutes.

Apply a light coat of cooking spray to the tart pan to ensure easy removal after its baked. Using a ready-made pie crust or your own, press it into an 11 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. If you do not have a tart pan, you can use a baking sheet. It'll work fine. You just won't have the fluted sides when its finished.

 We are going to blind bake this first. Blind baking means to pre-bake the crust with weights to prevent it from puffing up. Lay a piece of aluminum foil or parchment paper on top of your crust. Cover it with pie weights. If you don’t have pie weights, you can use glass beads purchased at any craft store (as I did) or dried beans.

 Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and bake for a couple more minutes until the crust is a pale golden color. Don’t worry if your crust cracks a little. The cheese will act as glue, holding everything together.

Now we are ready to assemble the tart.

Begin by layering the Swiss cheese slices on your cooled crust.  

Next, add the tomato slices, overlapping slightly, in a circular pattern.

Now its time to add the herbs. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons each of dried basil, oregano and thyme. I used dry herbs to keep it simple but if you choose to use fresh herbs, make sure to double the amount.

 

Season the tart with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Sprinkle the tart with the artichoke hearts followed by the Parmesan cheese.

 Bake it until the cheese melts and the tomatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Once the tart pan has cooled enough to where you can touch it, remove it from the pan by sliding the sides down. The tart should slide right off the bottom.

Enjoy!