Grapefruit Salsa

  This will be the first of several fun salsa recipes I have. It is quick and easy to make and once you've tried it, see what variations you can create.

• 2 plum tomatoes, medium diced
• 1/2 a grapefruit, peeled, sectioned, and medium diced
• 1/2 cup medium diced sweet onion (or scallions, or a mixture of the two)
• 1/2 a red bell pepper, medium diced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced (I'll leave it up to you how much, if any, of the ribs and seeds you keep for heat. I usually clean out the seeds and leave some of the ribs.)
• 1/2 cup loosely packed, chopped cilantro
• 1tbsp light Agave syrup (you can substitute honey, but do yourself a favor and get some Agave syrup -- it's fantastic!)
• 1 tsp salt

 Place all ingredients in a mixing bowl and lightly toss to blend. Cover and refrigerate for several hours before using. It's great with chips, or as a topping for hot nachos, or as a side with a main course. We used it the other night as a side for blackened tuna steaks -- a super combination!
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Stuffed Pork Loin

  In my first post back in January, I mentioned that recipes may include a specific list of instructions or be more casual. Well, this is one of the more casual ones. I wasn't planning ahead for this -- it was a spur-of-the-moment dish that came out well, so I thought I'd share.
  We love Plantains, usually as an appetizer. We were fortunate to find some nice ripe ones in a market the other day -- yellow skinned with back spots and purchased a couple. Trying to think of something new to do with them and having to cook dinner for four the other night, things just fell together.
  I butterflied open a 4 pound boneless pork loin roast (you can get your butcher to do this for you) and seasoned the inside with a 1/2 tsp of Chipotle powder. Next, I  peeled and sliced one Plantain into sticks roughly 3 inches long by 1/2 inch wide and fried them golden brown in a little oil. The Plantain sticks were then scattered over the pork loin. On top of that was scattered baby spinach leaves, and on top of that was scattered a shredded cheese mix (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Asiago, I believe).
  The loin was rolled up, tied up with butcher's twine, and the outside was seasoned with salt, pepper, and thyme. Placed in a roasting tin (no rack), the top dotted with butter, and cooked for just over 1 hour at about 400⁰.

  Took the roast of of the roasting tin and let it rest under some tented foil. I put the tin on the stovetop over high heat, let the pan juices reduce a bit. added a small amount of cornstarch/water slurry, bought it back to a boil to thicken, and we had a nice sauce for the stuffed roast. Along with the pork, we served Rainbow Chard sauteed with garlic, and cheese tortellini in a balsamic cream sauce. A nice Zinfandel complemented the meal (a real, red Zinfandel -- not that white zin stuff!). I hope you try and enjoy!

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Orange-Cranberry Breakfast Bread

  Back in early March, I posted a recipe for a Honey-Lemon breakfast bread. At the end of the post, I suggested that a variation using orange zest and juice and lightly sweetened cranberries might be a nice variation. Well, I finally got around to trying it and I have to say, I like it better than the lemon bread! That being said, here's the recipe. I hope you enjoy!

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened plus 1/2 tbsp butter, kept separate
• 1/2 cup honey (I like to use Grade A Clover honey)
• 2 eggs
• 1 orange (when possible, I like to use a Navel orange as they are usually larger, but a good-size Valencia will work, too)
• 1 cup whole cranberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 2 cups basic white flour
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

  Preheat oven to 350⁰. In a mixing bowl, cream together the stick of softened butter with the 1/2 cup of honey. Add the eggs one at at time, mixing well. Zest 1/2 of the orange rind and add that to the mix, along with all the juice from the orange (you should have about 1/2 cup of juice), mixing well. Put the cup of cranberries in a food processor along with the tbsp of sugar and run for 20 seconds. Add the processed cranberries to the mix and blend. Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend these dry ingredients into the wet mix in 2 or 3 portions. Stir til all the dry ingredients are just incorporated - try not to overwork it.

  Use the extra 1/2 tbsp of butter to coat the inside of a bread tin (roughly 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/4).Add the bread dough into the tin and place in oven. Bake 45 minutes or til toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in tin on a rack for 30 minutes then remove from tin and let cool completely. As with lemon bread, it is better if you wrap the cooled bread and let sit overnight til the next morning, if you can!
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Grilled Leg of Lamb with Roasted Red Onion-Yogurt Sauce

  I love grilled leg of lamb and am always tinkering with ways to cook and serve it. This variation was a big hit and everyone at the dinner table suggested I add the recipe to my blog, so here it is!

Roasted Red Onion-Yogurt Sauce

• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• t tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp each salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 sprigs fresh mint

  Preheat oven to 375⁰. Add red onion, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and olive oil to a baking/roasting pan and mix well. Pan should be large enough that onions are in a single layer, but not spread too thinly. Place in  oven and cook 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature.Once at room temperature, add onion mixture and yogurt to a food processor and blend 10 to 20 seconds (there will still be visible pieces of onion. You don't want to blend it to a smooth puree). Remove to a a mixing bowl. Strip mint leaves from sprigs and finely chop the leaves. Add to the yogurt sauce and mix well. Cover and place in refrigerator. The sauce should be at least several hours before the lamb is cooked, or even one day ahead of time.

Grilled Leg of Lamb

• 1 boneless, butterflied Leg of Lamb, 4-5 lbs
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped off
• 3 fresh, peeled cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper

  Place rosemary leaves, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper in a small food processor. Blend for 20 to 30 seconds. Place lamb in a nonreactive dish large enough to hold it comfortably. With a small paring knife, make several small slits in the lamb. Massage the rosemary blend into both sides of the lamb, making sure to work some into the slits. Cover the dish and place in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to 6 hours.

 Remove both  the lamb and the yogurt sauce from the refrigerator prior to preparing your grill for cooking the lamb. Whether using charcoal or a gas grill, you want to reach a medium-high heat for grilling. Once your grill has reached optimum temperature, cook the lamb for 8 minutes per side. Keep an eye on it in case you have a flare-up from the olive oil in the marinade. Let the lamb rest for 5 to 10 minutes on a cutting board before slicing Most butterflied lamb legs will have thicker and thinner sections and I find that 8 minutes per side with a lamb in the 4 to 5 pound range typically will provide slices from rare to medium. Serve the lamb with a healthy portion of the yogurt sauce on the side. Along with our lamb and yogurt sauce were flageolet beans, a tomato salad with gorgonzola cheese, and a nice Nero D'Avola Sicilian red wine.Enjoy!
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Clams Oreganata

  My apologies for being absent these past several weeks, but now I'm back and I've got lots of recipes to share with you in the coming weeks!
  This time of year we are blessed here on Block Island with an abundance of freshly dug littleneck clams to enjoy. While it is difficult to improve on a fresh, raw littleneck on the halfshell, occasionally we do like to cook them, and occasionally we do not cook them with bacon - i.e. clams casino.
  The following recipe for making an Oreganata spread is easy, tasty, and if made in a large volume, can be kept in the refrigerator for several weeks. In addition to its use on clams, it also can be used as a final topping when grilling steak or fish - a very versatile spread indeed!

• 24 littleneck clams, scrubbed and opened on the halfshell
• 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup butter, softened or, you can use a butter-substitute. I like to use an olive-oil based spread because I like the flavor and it comes out of the refrigerator already soft enough to work.
• 1 tbsp dried oregano leaves, or 3 tbsp fresh oregano leaves coarsely chopped.
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1-2 finely chopped fresh garlic cloves (you want 1 heaping tsp of garlic)
•  1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
• fresh lemon wedges

  Preheat oven to 400⁰. In a mixing bowl, blend bread crumbs, butter, oregano, lemon juice, garlic, and salt and pepper. Spread approximately on teaspoon of the mix on each clam (as the size of the clams will vary slightly, so will the amount of spread to you use to cover each one). Place clams on a baking sheet, place in oven, and cook 10 to 15 minutes until the topping is golden brown (I don't recommend putting them under the broiler as the topping can burn before the clams are heated through). Serve with a lemon wedge and enjoy!
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