1 large bunch fresh Asparagus
6 sprigs fresh Rosemary
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 lemon, juiced and zested
1/2 cup Pine Nuts, roasted
8 large slices Prosciutto
1/2 cup Gorgonzola cheese
capers to garnish

Hollandaise Sauce:
4 egg yolks (or equivalent in Egg Beaters)
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 cup butter, melted
dash of Worcestershire Sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a small baking dish filled with 1" boiling water, blanche Asparagus for 3-4 minutes, then drain and 'cold shock' the asparagus under cold water. Drain and allow to dry on kitchen towels. In a medium size lightly oiled baking dish, lay down 1/4 of the Asparagus sprigs onto several flat slices of Prosciutto, constituting a wrap. Generously cover the asparagus with the gorgonzola, pine nuts, garlic, line with the rosemary sprigs, and lemon zest. Roll up and wrap and secure with toothpicks for baking. Sprinkle capers around asparagus. Then place into oven and bake for 20 minutes.

While baking, prepare Hollandaise Sauce:
In a stainless steel bowl over a pot of simmering water (do not allow bowl to touch the simmering water) over medium heat, wisk mixture of egg yolks, lemon juice, water, mustard, butter and other ingredients slowly for 15-20 minutes until pale yellow and thick.

Remove Asparagus from oven and plate, then smother with the Hollandaise sauce. Garnish with the reserve of rosemary sprigs.

4 large 6-8" lobster tails
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 tbsp salted butter, minced, and warm melted*
1 lemon, juiced
1 lemon, sliced for garnish
1/2 tbsp Old Bay Seasoning

Preheat broiler - 500 degrees.

*Heat butter slowly, and add garlic. Allow butter to absorb garlic. Using kitchen shears, or sharp scisors, cut each lobster shell curved side back. Pry sides of shell to expose lobster meat and lay in shallow roasting pan. Douse meat with garlic butter and then dust with Old Bay spice. Squeeze lemon juice over lobster and lay lemon slices alongside lobster tails. Place in oven and broil for 12-15 minutes until meat is opaque.

Serve on bed of Pasta Con Pesto (cooked Linguini, mixed with Basil Pesto, mixed with a generous amount of thickly grated Pecorino Romano cheese)

9" Graham Cracker Prie Crust
14 oz can sweet condensed milk
3 egg yolks (remove whites)
1/2 cup Nelly & Joes Key Lime Juice
1/2 cup crushed cashews
1.5 cups whipped cream (fat free)

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Combine milk, yolks and lime juice, blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust, sprinkle 1/2 of cashews over top. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove and cover with whipped cream, sprinkle the reserve of cashews, place back into oven and bake until whipped cream carmelizes (about 10 minutes). Remove from oven, allow to cool and serve.

photo by d. scott gregory. click on photo to enlarge

Ingredients:
6 medium boneless pork chops, 3/4" thick
3 cups dry mixed bread crumbles (for stuffing)
1/3 stick unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth
3 slices bacon, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup onion, minced
1/3 cup celery, minced
1 tbsp fresh sage, minced
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup whole kernel corn (pre-cooked or canned)

Preparation:
Raisin & Corn Stuffing*:
Bring chicken broth to a boil and add butter to melt (in microwave or on stovetop). In medium saucepan, cook minced bacon until lightly crispy, then add garlic, onions, celery, sage and sautee until translucent.

Turn off heat, then combine into the same saucepan stuffing, dried herbs, and broth/butter mix and lightly mix using a large spoon. Add raisins and corn last, thoroughly mix and set aside to cool.

Pork Chops:
Prepare raisin & corn stuffing in advance (see directions above). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat inside of a medium baking dish with oil and set aside.

Rinse pork chops, pat dry and set flat side down in baking dish. Using a sharp knife, slice lengthwise slit across top and through each chop, and spread with fingers, creating an "O" shaped cavity to be filled with stuffing.

Spoon in even and generous amounts of stuffing. The suffing can be up to an inch rounded over the stuffed cavity.

Cover baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and place into oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until stuffing becomes lightly browned and pork reaches an inside temperature of 165 degrees F.

Plate:
Remove from oven. May be garnished with a sprig of fresh parsley. Pairs well with fresh asparagus with an almond butter.

* Note: Raisin & Corn stuffing mix can also be used to stuff a 'butterflied' pork loin.

Ingredients:
2 cups Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
1/3 cup grated Romano* cheese
1/2 tsp dried basil flakes
1/2 tsp dried thyme flakes
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 egg
2 large chicken breasts, skinned, deboned - prep as follows
2 tbsp. fresh pesto**
toothpicks

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat inside of medium caserole dish with oil, set aside. Beat egg in small bowl with fork, set aside. In wide medium bowl or pie plate, combine panko, Romano cheese, basil, thyme flakes, garlic, onion, chili, and mustard powders, black pepper and set aside.

Slice each chicken breast horizontally in half, as if slicing a bagle; cover with plastic wrap and flatten with a flat tenderizer or rolling pin to about 1/4" thick. Remove plastic wrap, spread a generous layer of pesto on top of each flattened chicken fillet, then roll up chicken fillets (roulades) like a jellyroll, securing with wooden toothpicks.

Dredge the roulades (chicken rolls) through egg mix, coating all sides, then drop in panko mix, turning to coat all sides. Arrange the coated fillets in the prepared baking dish and tightly cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 25 minutes, remove aluminum foil and continue to bake for another 10 minutes or until panko coating is browned and chicken is cooked through. Remove and discard toothpicks.

Serve:
Cut each chicken roulade into 1/2 inch slices and arrange them on an overlapping bias. Garnish with fresh basil.

Yield: 4 servings

* Romano cheese can be substituted with Parmegan cheese
** Homemade [basil] Pesto can be found here (recipe link pops into new window)

Ingredients:
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp butter
3 cloves gari, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1/2 cup sliced shitake mushrooms
3 strips bacon*, cooked, sliced into slim bits
1/4 cup celery, diced
1/4 tsp dry red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
corse salt (to taste)
1 14oz can diced tomatoes, lightly drained
2/3 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 large peppers**, capped + ready to stuff
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (reserved for topping)

Preparation:
Pre-cook quinoa: In medium pot, over high heat, bring 2 cups chicken broth to boil, stir in Quinoa. Cover pot, reduce heat to heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Fluff up quinoa with fork and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large saute pan over medium-high heat, saute the garlic, onion, and mushrooms in butter for 3 minutes. Turn heat down to medium, add quinoa, celery, red pepper flakes, black pepper, bacon and tomatoes and cook for an additional 5 minutes, stirring occassionally. Turn heat off, set aside to cool. When cool, stir in grated cheese.***

Spoon the cooked quinoa mixture into the cored peppers and place stuffed side up into a high rimmed caserole dish. Sprinkle cheese on top of each stuffed pepper. Pour 1 cup water to cover bottom of caserole dish with stuffed peppers, and place into oven to cook for 30 minutes.

* Turkey bacon can be used, slice up first and sautee
** Green, yellow, orange or red peppers can be used.
*** Stuffing mixture can be prepared in advance and/or refrigerated overnight.
Note: Quinoa stuffing can also be used to stuff pork chops or pork loin.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup grated romano cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation:
Move oven rack to highest heating element. Preheat oven 400 degrees F. Combine all cheeses into a bowl and mix. Spoon about 1 tbsp of cheese mix dollops onto cookie sheet (covered with parchment paper of non-stick surfacing) in 1/2 dollar sized glops, roughly 9-12 per cookie sheet.

Place in oven (carefully watch) while cooking for about 3 minutes - or until all cheese is evenly melted with slightly light brown on edges. Immediately remove from oven and transfer the cheese crisps to cooling rack.

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh Brussels Sprouts, rinsed, stalk ends capped
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/4 tsp course salt
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (lightly ground)
1 tbsp zest of lemon peel (reserve 1/2 tsp for garnish)
1 cup dry white wine (pref.: Chardonnay)

Preparation:
Put lemon juice in large mixing bowl, set aside. Slice Brussels into thin slaw-like shreds and place into the bowl with lemon juice. After all Brussels are sliced and in bowl, add salt and pepper and thoroughly mix.

In large saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil and butter. After the butter melts, add minced garlic and Brussels - quickly stir for 3 minutes. Add mustard seeds, lemon zest and wine - reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occassionally. Uncover and turn to medium-high heat, stir quickly until moisture reduces, scraping up pan residue & sprouts become lightly toasted brown. Serve immediately with a garnish of reserved lemon zest.

Ingredients:
3 cups dry mixed bread crumbles (for stuffing)
1/3 stick unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup onion, minced
1/3 cup celery, minced
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1/2 tbsp dried sage
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tbsp dried thyme
salt & pepper to taste

2 lbs fresh Striped Bass fillets, deboned, deskinned*
1 cup chicken broth
salt & pepper to taste
toothpicks for securing filets

Preparation:
Herbed Stuffing:
Bring chicken broth to a boil and add butter to melt (in microwave or on stovetop). In medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients, bread stuffing, celery, garlic and onion to bread stuffing and pour melted butter/broth mixture over top. Thoroughly mix and set aside to cool.

Striped Bass:
Prepare herbed stuffing in advance (see directions above). Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat inside of a medium baking dish with oil and set aside. Bass fillets should be trimmed/filleted to be able to be loosely looped (1-2" diameter loops) and secured with a toothpick. Evenly spoon in stuffing into each fillet 'loop' and place stuffing side up in the oiled baking dish. Pour chicken broth onto bottom of dish, cover tightly with aluminum foil and place into oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook until stuffing becomes lightly browned.

Plate:
Remove from oven & remove toothpicks. May be garnished with a sprig of rosemary or a dollop of Clementine Chutney.

*Striped Bass may be substituted with similar fish, ie.: Snapper, Tilapia.

Ingredients:
6 medium/large Clementine oranges
1 tbsp zest of Clementine peel
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds (ground)
1/2 tsp Coriander Seeds (ground)
1/4 tsp Curry Powder
1 tbsp Honey
1/2 cup sugar Sugar
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1/4 tsp Coarse Salt
1/2 cup Raisins*

Preparation:
Zest Clementine oranges before peeling, set aside. Peel Clementines, discarding the peel and white veiny portions, and dice into small chunks.

In medium saucepan over medium heat, combine Clementines, Ginger, Cinnamon, Mustard, Coriander, Curry, Honey, Sugar and stir until thoroughly mixed and the sugar is dissolved. Stir in vinegar, salt and raisins and lower heat to a simmer - stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Transfer to sealable container (uncovered) to cool.

Serve:
As condiment, relish or garnish warm or cold atop fish, chicken or pork. *Diced apple can be additionally combined.