Cottage Cheese Dip

I found the recipe for this simple, yet spectacular dip/spread on numerous websites. Onceuponachef.com says that it comes from a restaurant where she used to work – L'Auberge Chez Francois outside of Washington DC. So few ingredients but packed with flavor and absolutely sublime on toasted baguette or crackers!

Recipe

16 oz. 4% small-curd, cream-style cottage cheese
2/3 c. sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. finely minced garlic
1 T. finely minced shallots
1 T. finely minced chives
1 T. finely minced parsley

Mix the cottage cheese and sour cream until well blended, then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Cover and keep in the refrigerator – it gets better the longer it is chilled – if you can wait that long!

Kung Pao Chicken

I love Chinese food but have never attempted any recipes because I thought it would be too difficult with too many ingredients. Happily, I was wrong. This is a surprisingly easy recipe, full of flavor. You can control the heat by adding more or less dried chilies (or substitute chili flakes if you don't happen to have any).

Recipe

3/4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 T. oyster-flavored sauce
1 tsp. cornstarch
8 small dried red chilies, or 1/4 tsp. dried chili flakes
4 tsp. minced garlic
2-1/2 T. cooking oil

SAUCE:
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 c. chicken broth
3 T. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2 T. hoisin sauce
1 T. soy sauce
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
2 tsp. sugar

STIR FRY:
2 celery stalks, diced (cut diagonally)
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
1/2 c. diced bamboo shoots
2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 T. water
1/2 c. roasted cashews (or walnuts)

Combine the oyster sauce and 1 tsp. cornstarch in a bowl. Add chicken and stir to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes. Combine sauce ingredients in another bowl and set aside.

Place a wok over high heat until hot. Add 2 T. oil, swirling to coat sides. Add chilies and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add chicken and stir-fry for about 3 minutes. Remove chicken and chilies from wok and set aside.

Add remaining 1/2 T. oil to wok. Add garlic and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 10 seconds. Add celery, bell pepper, and bamboo shoots and stir-fry for 1-1/2 minutes. Return chicken and chilies to wok and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add sauce and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch solution and cook, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens. Add cashews and toss to coat. Serves 4.

– Martin Yan

Corn Parfait

What a great way to use up all that fresh summer corn – Jacques Pépin's "gratin" of corn parfait recipe. Light, fluffy, the essence of sweet corn flavor – delicious! Goes very nicely with the feta stuffed lamb burger on a bed of greens.

Watch Jacques prepare this recipe here (starts at the 2:22 mark)

Recipe

1/2 T. butter
4 ears corn, husked
3 eggs
2 T. all-purpose flour
1 to 1-1/2 c. half 'n half
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 T. Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375-degrees and butter a 1 quart gratin dish.

Cut the kernels off the ears of corn and put them in a food processor and puree – while it's running, add the eggs and flour. Turn off processor and add the salt and pepper. Turn on again and add the half and half through the feed tube and process for another 5-10 seconds. Pour into the buttered gratin dish and grate fresh parmesan generously over the top of the dish. Place gratin dish on a cookie sheet and put in the oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until just set, puffy, and nicely browned on top.

– Jacques Pépin, "More Fast Food My Way"

Shrimp Potato Salad

This recipe comes from the chef at Kachka restaurant in Portland - an interesting take on a potato salad by adding shrimp, vegetables, and parsley mayonnaise (called "Shrimp Olivier," a Russian retro seafood salad). I had a half pound of shrimp and the other ingredients on hand, including lots of parsley in my garden, so I decided to give it a try. When you want potato salad but with a little something extra, this might do the trick! Their recipe calls for topping the dish with medium cooked shrimp (in addition to the rock shrimp or bay shrimp in the salad). 

Recipe

2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/4" pieces
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4" pieces
1/3 c. fresh or frozen peas
1/2 lb. bay shrimp
2 hard boiled eggs, finely chopped
2 kosher dill pickles, cut into 1/4" pieces
1/2 small sweet (Vidalia) onion, finely chopped
1/4 c. coarsely chopped fresh dill, plus sprigs for serving
3/4 c. Parsley Mayonnaise (see recipe below)

Cook potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender (about 8 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a large bowl; let cool.

Return water to a boil and cook the carrots until tender, about 3 minutes. Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and place in another smaller bowl. Repeat with the peas, cooking for about 1 minute. Add to the bowl with the carrots. Let cool.

Add the carrots, peas, shrimp, eggs, pickles, onion, and chopped dill to the potatoes; toss well. Mix in the parsley mayo. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and/or pepper, if needed. Top with dill sprigs just before serving.

PARSLEY MAYONNAISE:
3/4 c. packed fresh parsley leaves
3/4 c. mayonnaise
1 T. mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Pulse all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

– Kachka Chef Bonnie Morales

Crab Salad

I've been longing to make Ina Garten's crab strudel recipe and even picked up a pound of fresh Dungeness lump crab meat, but the weather is not cooperating. It's been in the 90s for what seems like forever and too hot to turn on the oven. Since I have all this lovely crab, I decided to use it in a salad and it turned out great — cool and refreshing! If you haven't had much experience with fresh tarragon, this is a good recipe to try. It lends such a nice, subtle flavor to the crab mixture. When the weather finally cools down I'll make that strudel.

Recipe

1 pound lump crabmeat, picked over to remove any shells or cartilage
1 stalk celery, peeled, and cut into 1/8" dice
4 tsp. finely sliced fresh chives
1 tsp. minced fresh tarragon
1/3 c. mayonnaise
3 T. sour cream
Juice from half of a freshly squeezed lime
Zest from 1 lime
1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Avocado, sliced (for garnish)
Mixed lettuce
Light vinaigrette

In a bowl lightly toss the crabmeat, celery, chives and tarragon together.

In a small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, lime zest, and mustard. Add to the crab mixture and stir until just coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If not using right away, cover and keep in the refrigerator.

Serve on mixed lettuces with a simple vinaigrette of your choice. For a nicer presentation, pack the crab mixture in a round ring or container and invert onto the salad.

Banana Bread with Sour Cream and Dried Apricots

Moist, cake-like, and baked to a golden brown, this banana bread is sure to please. The apricots add that little something that enhances the banana flavor. Serve warm with lots of butter!

Recipe

2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large overripe bananas, mashed
8 dried apricots, chopped
1/2 c. sour cream

Heat oven to 350-degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5" loaf pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs with sugar, oil and vanilla for a few minutes. Stir in the mashed bananas and sour cream, then add the apricots. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

Cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out the loaf onto a cooling rack. Best cut with a serrated knife, especially when warm.