BAKED EGG CUPS

BAKED EGG CUPS

1 tablespoon Butter
Sliced White Bread
Large Eggs
Shredded Cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a muffin tin.

Slice each piece of bread in half on a diagonal making triangles.
Press one triangle into each muffin cup. Crack an egg into each muffin cup.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Serving size is two each.

You can serve plain or top with shredded cheese, or you can scramble the eggs and add any thing you may like in an omelet diced very small so they cook. Spoon into the muffin cups.

Bake the same as above.

THE BEST YOGURT EVER

THE BEST YOGURT EVER

12 oz Greek Style Yogurt 0% fat
¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 drops of Orange Extract
12 Mandarin Orange Segments (canned in pear juice ) drained
2 teaspoons of Splenda or any sugar substitute

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix. This makes 2- 6 oz. servings. You can enjoy both and still not equal the bad nutrition in one serving of the American version.

The Greek style yogurt is much thicker and creamier than the American style. You can serve plain or with vanilla extract and Splenda, or you can load it up with fresh or frozen (thawed) berries.

Toasted Almond Brittle

Toasted Almond Brittle

2 cups Chopped Toasted Almonds
2 cups granulated Sugar
¼ cup water

You can toast and chop the almonds yourself of purchase them already done. Spread them out on a cookie sheet/pan lined with buttered parchment paper or a sil pat mat.
In a small sauce pan add sugar and water. Over medium heat slowly boil the sugar without stirring, till the sugar turns golden brown. Pour the melted sugar over the almonds, let it cool and get hard. Crack it into pieces and enjoy. Store in and air tight container in a cool dry area.

MAC AND CHEESE

MIKE B.’S MAC AND CHEESE

1 lb. Large Shell Macaroni (Cooked )
½ cup Milk
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
2 cups Ricotta Cheese
¼ cup Fresh Italian Parsley ( chopped )
¼ cup Fresh Grated Romano Cheese

In a medium pot bring milk, garlic powder and black pepper to a simmer.
Wisk in ricotta cheese, stirring often until it is hot.
Remove from heat and stir in the parsley and Romano cheese.
Toss the pasta with the sauce, and then pour into a buttered casserole dish.
Top with a bit more Romano cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Poached Salmon in the Microwave

Poached Salmon in the Microwave

Ingredients:

1 cup White Wine (Chardonnay is nice)
2 cups Fish Stock
1 cup Water
1 Apple (sliced)
¼ small White Onion (sliced)
1 teaspoon Salt
8 Black Peppercorns
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 Bay leaf
2- 8 ounces filets of Salmon

Directions:
In a 6 quart microwave safe deep dish, place all ingredients. Stir and add the salmon. The salmon should be just covered by the liquid, you can add more water to the dish so to just cover the salmon.
Place in a microwave oven, cook on high power for 4 minutes at a time. Carefully stirring each time the microwave stops. Depending on you microwave this could take about 12 – 16 minutes. Check the salmon for doneness with an internal thermometer. The safe temperature for fish is 140 degrees. When the salmon is done, carefully remove the dish from the microwave oven. Then transfer the salmon from the liquid to a plate with a large slotted spoon or spatula. Let it rest for 5 minutes and serve with spoonful of the liquid and some fresh slice apples. Enjoy !

Ambrosia Salad

Ambrosia Salad

½ lb. Green grapes cut in half
½ cup Walnuts chopped
1 lb. bag Mini Marshmallows
½ cup Coconut shredded sweetened
1 cup Mixed Fruit Cocktail (drained)
½ cup Mandarin orange segments (drained)
1 ½ cups Greek Style Yogurt

In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients and mix. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Serve chilled and enjoy.

Souper Simple Pumpkin Soup

Souper Simple Pumpkin Soup

For an amazing rich flavored soup you can use fresh pumpkin. Just peel, seed and cut 1 medium pumpkin into chunks, season with salt and pepper then roast until caramelized and tender then puree it.

2 tablespoons Butter
½ cup Onion (small dice)
½ cup Celery (small dice)
2 cups of Chicken Broth
2 cups canned or roasted Pumpkin Puree
¼teaspoon Allspice
¼ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
½ teaspoon Salt
¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 cup Heavy Cream
Chopped parsley (optional)

In a large pot over medium heat, sweat the onion and celery in butter until very soft and translucent. Add the chicken broth, pumpkin puree, seasonings, and heavy cream, simmer for 20 minutes. Ladle into serving bowls and top with chopped parsley if desired

New Restaurant in Town

Just had dinner an the Hyde Park Steak House here in Buffalo. Wow, Everything was perfect. Except the server did not know the difference between bordelaise and béarnaise sauces. Oh yeah there was the not so relaxing view of the parking lot from the center of the dinning room. The executive chef is Bobby Anderson from the Hells Kitchen TV show. As for the food, very very very good. Great quality and perfectly cooked. My wife and I shared the crispy calamari with a sweet spicy Thai sauce. We each had a salad, hers was mixed greens, roasted beets, goat cheese and pancetta with a citrus vinaigrette. Mine was the Hyde Park chopped salad, basic but satisfying. The 7oz Filet was seared in an 1800 degree broiler and finished to a perfect medium rare. My Prime Prime Rib was indeed Prime! Perfect marbling, done to perfect medium and flavor. Both served with crispy fried onions and we added roasted wild mushrooms, just awesome.. We passed on dessert and were sorry after seeing a piece of the colossal cake that went by our table as we were getting up to leave. It is a gigantic 1/8Th of a cake about 8 inches high. Dark chocolate cake with a rich chocolate frosting and sprinkled with nuts on the outside. WOW, great job to Bobby and the whole team. We will be back!

I am here to help with anything food.

Hello, I am Chef Mike, I have been a chef for more than 12 years. I have a culinary degree from the Culinary Institute of America and looking to help any one who wants to learn what I paid a lot of money to learn. Maybe you want to become a chef or just find tips to help make you an amazing cook. Ask me anything, I should reply to your questions every day.