Small bites with big Greek flavors

Did a lot of cooking at the restaurant today, so cooking a big meal at home was not a option. Here is a quick saute of spinach and diced garlic in a touch of olive oil, then its topped with slices of good quality Greek feta cheese, fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and fresh cracked pepper. A delicious light bite in five minutes. Great warm or at room temperature as a first course.

Bulgar Wheat Tabbouleh

A favorite grain of mine that I eat a lot is Bulgar. It is a wheat kernel that have been steamed, dried and then crushed. Its a popular staple in middle eastern cooking. Its very easy to prepare since it has already been cooked, just add one part Bulgar to one part boiling salted water, turn off heat and cover, after about ten minutes its done. It can be as a side or in salads. For the classic Greek tabbouleh salad just add fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil and lot of chopped parsley to the cooked grains. I like to add toasted almonds also for there texture and nutty flavor.

San Diego Dining

Just back from a weekend of sailing in San Diego. Great city with a casual beach attitude, its not known as a food city but with any US-Mexico border town its all about eating Mexican food as much as possible. Now you can always find good Mexican food all over California, but In San Diego its a way of life along with the sun and the beach. The popular fish taco has become the signature item in San Diego, maybe due to its origins in Baja California. I like going to the local taco shops, which many are open 24 hours.
At restaurants you first choose your meat, beef carne asada, grilled chicken, pork carnitas, etc. Then how do you want to eat it? in a taco? will it be soft, crispy or rolled. Maybe in a burritos dry or "wet" with a spicy chili sauce. There are many options on the menus, just don't forget your hot sauce before you walk down to the beach and watch the sunset.

Carrot Salad, Moroccan Style

Its getting hot now and a good time for a salad. I had everything in house for this, so it was easy. Shave peeled carrots, mix with a little lemon juice, Cinnamon, dash of honey, cumin, chopped cilantro, kosher salt, pepper and a light olive oil.Mix well and serve, toasted almonds would be nice in this salad also.

Crispy Pacific Seared Salmon

I am just back from a beautiful sail out to sea today and I was inspired by the many fishing boats I saw off of San Francisco. tonight I will cook seafood, I naturally choose to cook the local favorite, wild king salmon. Next to the dungeness crab, when the wild local salmon hits the market, its the thing to cook. I like to do it as simple as possible with just a few ingredients, I belive that when you have perfect ingredents that you should be able to taste them. Tonight I will do a sweet pea risotto to serve along side the salmon. There is a lot of nice flavors and textures as well as the bright colors of the ingredients. Few ingredients means fast preparation and cooking, for the salmon just a little kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to season. Then place into a smoking hot pan with just a touch of olive oil, cook till flesh is a crispy brown then flip over to finish, place fish fillet on plate with risotto then if you wish maybe a squeeze of fresh lemon, a glass of Napa Chardonnay will help complete the meal, enjoy.