Gourmet Cooking For Two

The press release for my book finally came out! Thanks for your support! Gourmet Cooking for Two A romantic gourmet adventure that will satisfy your appetite and spice up your love life. SPRINGVILLE, Utah - August 19, 2014 - Author Chrisiti Silbaugh and Cedar Fort Publishing and Media announce the release of "Gourmet Cooking for Two," acookbook that gives credence to the statement: "The way to man's heart is through his stomach," and then some. Loaded with delectable delicacies and tantalizing treats, every soul-satisfying recipe has been created with love in mind.     Not only do the beautiful photographs of each dish seduce you to want to partake, but every recipe is accompanied by a romantic tip that is sure to fan the flame of your love or reignite the embers of a waning romance.      Whether its an appetizer, salad, soup, main dish, side dish, or dessert, Christi Silbaugh infuses romantic fun and wisdom into over 120 recipes. With unique romantic tips to accompany recipes such as Refreshing Shrimp Bites, Hot and Sour Soup, Chicken Cordon Bleu, and Orange Dreamsicle, "Gourmet Cooking for Two" will satiate your appetite while spicing up your love life. Maybe the way to your lover's heart really is through the stomach! Get your copy HERE About the Author: CHRISTI SILBAUGH is the self-educated chef and author of three cooking blogsincluding: Mom, What's For Dinner, Gourmet Cooking For Two andZero Calorie Life. She writes for foodie media giants Glam Media and Federated Media and works for Fast Forward Events, covering food and wine events in San Diego. Since 2009, she has created and posted over 1,000 gluten-free recipes. She lives with her family in California.

Cedar Fort Inc. 2014

Scallop Carpaccio Salad

Traditional Italian food is my absolute favorite food. Not the American version of Italian food, but the real Italian food that is made in Italy. Finding authentic recipes can sometimes be hard. That is why I was super excited to read The Al Tiramisu Restaurant Cookbook.

Discover the Beauty of Basilicata and the taste of Southern Italy, in this book. This book is complete with history, tips, recipes, and Italian cooking primer for home cooks, and wine pairing recommendations. 

"This unique collection of more than 100 mouthwatering recipes reveal [reveals] the history of Al Tiramisu, Washington, D.C.'s "most authentic" Italian restaurant, as well as the life story of its Chef/Owner Luigi Diotaiuti. The book welcomes readers to Al Tiramisu - sharing memories and favorite dishes of both celebrity diners and cherished clients. Chef Luigi then leads a culinary tour back to his homeland of Basilicata, Italy and shares secrets from some of the finest dining establishments around the globe where he began his career. The final chapter outlines Chef Luigi's life in America and includes recipes that he served at the James Beard Foundation and in cross-cultural culinary venues on both sides of the Atlantic. Each beloved recipe represents Al Tiramisu's "elevated" Italian cooking style and features an Italian cooking tip and a wine pairing." -source Create Space

Get yours here: http://www.altiramisu.com/

In the book I found a delightful classic scallop carpaccio dish that I knew my husband would be happy to come home to. It was so easy to make.  I was right, my husband loved the dish. Enjoy!

Scallop Carpaccio Salad

adapted from: The Al Tiramisu Restaurant Cookbook

serves 2

4 sea scallops

salt

1/2 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp slivered almonds, toasted

1/2 Tbsp capers

1/2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

1/2 tsp fleur de sel

micro greens

Place the scallops on a baking sheet lined with wax or parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for one hour. (I know you don't want to freeze amazing scallops, but this is only done so you can cut them super thin, do it, you won't be sorry. )

When the scallops are almost hard, remove them from the freezer, and with a sharp filleting knife, carefully cut the scallops width-wise into paper thin slices. Divide them between 2 plates. 

In a medium bowl whisk together a pinch of salt, the orange juice, and the lemon juice. Slowly add the olive oil, a bit at a time, and continue to whisk until you have an emulsified vinaigrette. 

Place micro greens on the plates with the scallops. top with almonds, capers, chives, and fleur de sel. Drizzle the vinaigrette over and serve. 

Steak with Onion Peppercorn Sauce

I know my posts have only been about once a week right now. That is because I have been finishing my second book! I have good news! I finished the manuscript! Gourmet Cooking For Two will be coming to stores near you August of 2014. Cedar Fort publishing has picked up my contract and we are all things go! This has been quite the venture. There will be 75% new recipes and 25% of the favorites from this site. Each recipe comes with a romantic tip as well. Thank you guys for all your support!

Because I just finished my book, I thought it was time to review one. I recently had the chance to review "Great Meat".

Some people might be surprised, because I am not a meat lover, but my husband is. I was excited because having a good understanding of how to select, cut, and cook meat makes all of the difference in the final taste of a recipe, and this book gave me a chance to learn much more about meat. This book offers valuable information to meat lovers and serious home cooks who want to learn new and different preparation techniques. Learn how to identify and use different cuts, why and when free-range and grass-fed is better, the basics of home butchery, and much more with this informative book. You can get yours here: Great Meat.

I enjoyed learning about all the different cuts of meat and I really enjoyed going through all of the great recipes in this book. Here is one I adapted from the book. Enjoy! 

Steak with Onion Peppercorn Sauce
adapted from Great Meat

2 8 ounce portions of tri-tip or your favorite steak cut (hangar is recommended in the book but my butcher didn't have any)
1/8 cup grapeseed oil, or any other high heat oil
1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 Tbsp pink peppercorns, coarsely cracked
1 Tbsp black peppercorns, coarsely cracked
1/4 cup red wine
1/8 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup chicken stock

Gently tenderize your meat with a meat mallet and set aside. (ignore the 3rd fillet, I had to make 3 so I could get pictures).

Heat half the oil in a pan. Add the onion and garlic, and fry gently until softened. add the pink peppercorns, black pepper, and wine. 

Simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the cream, stock, and salt to taste. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Brush the steaks with the remaining oil and season with salt. When the pan is smoking, add the steak and fry for 1 1/2 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Fry the steak in batches if they cover more than half of the pan's surface. Remove the steak and allow to rest, covered, for 3 minutes.

Add the sauce to the meat pan and stir to deglaze the juices. Stir in any juices from the rested steak. Serve the steak with the sauce on top.

Scallops with Leek Grenobloise

For those of you just tuning in, I have exciting news! I was just offered a book deal. I am writing Gourmet Cooking for two, the cookbook! 

So things are getting a little hectic for me. I write for a lot of publications, have just finished up writing my other book "Gluten-free made easy" that will be available June of 2014, and now this book that will be available to purchase at costco, barnes and noble, amazon and so many more places August of 2014! Exciting!

Bear with me during this time. Since I plan on bringing you 100 recipes that you have not seen before, I will be busy busy busy and not able to post here as often as I would like. 

Now on to today's food. 

My husband absolutely loves seared scallops. I am not a big fan. I can handle one. After that it is just far to rich for me. I still try to make them for him often. This version was nice and light and full of citrus flavor. 

Scallops with Leek Grenobloise

slightly adapted from Food and Wine

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound sea scallops

sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium leek—trimmed, halved and thinly sliced

2 tablespoons drained capers

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil. Season the scallops with salt and pepper and cook over moderately high heat until golden brown on the bottom 4 minutes. 

Now you are going to do what I like to call the "flip and tap". Turn the scallops over and cook for about 30 seconds just enough to make the scallops opaque throughout. Transfer to a platter and keep warm.

Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the sliced leek and capers and cook over high heat, stirring, until the leek is crisp-tender, 2 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the leek around the scallops and garnish with lemon.

Apples On Piggyback

When is the last time you stopped and reflected on the things you love about your partner? Putting all negative traits behind,  you should really write down what you absolutely love. An example for me is I love how hard working my husband is. He is not lazy and does his best each day to provide for us. 

I think it is so important to focus on the positive, and having it written down as a reminder is a very uplifting thing for both of you.

Romantic Tip: Make a list of the top 10 things you love about your partner.

Now on to today's recipe. Apples on Piggyback are a great combination of sweet, tart and savory. They are simple, delicious hors d’oeuvres that you can make in no time to impress your love. Or take them to a party, but make sure to double the recipe, because these go fast!

Apples On Piggyback

adapted from Food and Wine Magazine

4 thin slices of bacon, cut in half.

1 Green Apple—peeled and cut into 8 wedges

2 ounces Manchego cheese, sliced 1/4 inch thick and cut into 2-by-1/2-inch sticks

8 toothpicks, for skewers

Preheat a grill pan.

 I cooked mine in the oven on a grill pan, so I preheated the oven to high broil. You can make them in the oven, or on the grill.  

Arrange the bacon slices on a work surface and place an apple wedge and a cheese stick in the center of each slice. 

Wrap the bacon around the filling and secure with a toothpick.

Cook skewers until the bacon is golden and crispy and the cheese is melted, 5 to 6 minutes.

 Serve hot.

Lemon Dill Shrimp and Corn

When is the last time you took a romantic trip together? When I ask that of others, I usually get excuses that always include the "we can't afford to" line. Here is today's romantic tip:

Go on a camping trip together. 

Why camping? It doesn't cost much. There is no tv, computers, and other distractions. You have just the two of you and nature. I admit I am a bit of a snob. I don't like to camp on the dirt. So we camp on the water. Staying over night on a boat under the stars is magical. If you don't have that, get a tent. Time spent camping is magically romantic. 

Now on to today's fabulous recipe. 

I love my fish market. Fresh and wild caught makes a huge difference. Yes it costs more, but you are not putting a previously frozen mushy shrimp in your mouth. Instead you get firm, rich shrimp. If you can find a local fish store that serves fresh caught fish. Do it! I got these extra large wild caught Mexican Shrimp at my local fish market and they were so firm and wonderful!

This dish is tangy and sweet. The perfect summertime dish. Don't remove the shells! It holds in the marinade and also adds a lot of flavor. Wait to remove them until you eat them.

Lemon Dill Shrimp and Corn
adapted from Andrew Zimmern

For the shrimp:
1 pound medium-sized, Pink, Mexican or Ecuadorean shrimp
1 bay leaf
1/2 tbsp. lightly crushed black peppercorns
1 lemon, cut in quarters
2 ears sweet corn kernels, cut from the cob
1/2 cup very thinly sliced green onions
1 fresh hot serrano
2 sprigs fresh marjoram
For the vinaigrette :
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp. minced dill
2 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar -or- stevia
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

First make the vinaigrette. Add all ingredients to a bowl or measuring cup and stir until combined.

I think it is really important you use fresh non-gmo corn for this recipe. 80% of all corn out there is full of pesticides and is pretty much tasteless compared to good old organic corn. Know your source!

Cutting the corn off the cob is easy. Just use a really sharp knife like so...

Then you end up with this...

Butterfly the shrimp using a small serrated knife, make a shallow cut, just enough to remove the vein in the shrimp. Keep shells on. Rinse with cold water.

In a large sauce pan, place the shrimp in just enough water to cover.

Add the bay leaf, peppercorns, and the quartered lemon, squeezed.

Bring to a boil over moderately high heat.

The second it starts boiling, add the corn, marjoram, chile and stir once, stir again and remove from heat.

Drain immediately, discarding hot water/bay leaf and spill remaining contents into a serving bowl.

Fold in the green onions.

Pour the vinaigrette over the corn/shrimp.

Let stand for 10 to 12 minutes at room temperature, tossing occasionally.

Remove the marjoram sprigs, season and serve 

Here is what it looks like once the shells are removed.

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Szechuan Peppercorn Salmon

The hubby and I are eating healthy. That means several things; 

Fish three times a week.

Participating in Meatless Monday.

Eating only local non-gmo produce.

No processed foods, instead more fruits and nuts. 
Whole grains only.

Exercise.

It is working really well for both of us. He is lucky to have a personal chef of course. I am so very blessed to have a Man that is always willing to help, even when weightloss and health are involved. Most of the time, the people in your life are the ones that sabotage you. My tip today: Help your significant other be the best person they can be. If it is exercising together, eating right together, skipping dessert together, or whatever it may be.

I am blessed to live very close to a fresh fish market. It is about 8 blocks away, the perfect walk. If I go there and back it is about 2 miles. They have fresh local caught fish as well as imported fresh fish. Always wild caught and never full of dies or chemicals. If you are in San Diego, I recommend stopping by The Fish Market. 

Today's recipe was so good. If you like heat, this is for you! We love heat. You can adjust the chili sauce up or down depending on your tolerance for heat. I served this over my zucchini confetti salad. It worked perfectly. The cool crisp veggies were a great contrast to the heat. 

Szechuan Peppercorn Salmon

adapted from Nicole's Nutrition

2 8 ounce filets of Salmon

Juice of 1 lemon 

1 tsp szechuan peppercorns, ground 

2 Tbsp. greek yogurt 

4 Tbsp. roasted red chili paste 

pinch of salt
Optinal chopped chives for garnish.

Preheat the oven to 425 F. 

Mix your marinade. I used my mini food processor to grind the peppercorns. 

Place your salmon in a baking dish and coat with marinade. 

Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until cooked medium-well.

Serve with your favorite veggies.

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