Fresh Curried Tuna Salad

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This simple recipe for Fresh Curried Tuna Salad can be used in several different ways. It is a nice spin on traditional tuna salad.

Choose high quality fresh tuna – fresh really does make a difference.

The first time I tried this recipe, it was immediately taken back and put on my restaurant’s menu. It became a best seller. While I no longer have my restaurant, it is a permanent part of my recipe repertoire.

Yes, it is that good. Try it, you’ll see!

Side note: You can use canned tuna for this salad if you want. While the taste and texture of fresh tuna is amazing, canned tuna also makes a tasty salad.

Squeeze the lime juice into the dressing if you are using canned tuna instead of fresh tuna.

For a complete twist on everything, substitute Salmon for tuna.

Fresh Curried Tuna Salad

1 pound (#) fresh tuna loin
Juice from 1 lime
salt and pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup diced red onion
2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon madras curry powder
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped

Squeeze the lime juice over the fresh tuna, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place the fish in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes – for 1″ thick piece of tuna.

  • Time it more or less, depending upon the thickness of the fish.
  • You want a trace of pink left in the fish so as not to over-cook it and make the fish dry.

While the tuna is cooking, mix all remaining ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Remove the fish from the oven. Cut into medium or small dice and cool.

Add the tuna to the dressing and serve as desired.

Serving Suggestions for Fresh Curried Tuna Salad

Top your favorite sandwich roll

  • With the salad, lettuce and tomato
  • Don’t forget the sweet pickle

Stuff a tomato

  • Cut the top from a tomato
  • Scoop out the insides
  • Turn upside down on a paper towel for 10 minutes to drain
  • Season with salt and pepper
  • Fill with Fresh Curried Tuna Salad
  • Garnish plate with lettuce, chopped eggs, etc.

My most favorite way to serve this:

Fresh Curried Tuna Salad Nicoise Style

Salad Nicoise is a classic French salad. It is presented with tuna, potatoes, green beans, eggs, tomato and a wonderful light vinaigrette seasoned with mustard.

To create this lovely salad, boil some new potatoes in salted water until done.

For this salad, I used tri-colored new potatoes: white, red and blue. It makes an attractive color contrast on the plate.

Once the potatoes are drained, dress them while still warm with Mustard Vinaigrette. Cool.

The recipe for Mustard Vinaigrette is at the end of this post

Steam some green beans until tender; dress these with the Mustard Vinaigrette white still warm. Cool.

Line a plate with lettuce leaves and a small mound of cut salad greens.

Arrange the plate with Fresh Curried Tuna Salad, potatoes and green beans.

Complete the salad presentation with Nicoise or Kalamata olives (pitted of course), tomato wedges, chopped hard-boiled eggs and cucumber and anchovies, if desired.

Salad Nicoise makes a great dinner entrée. This is one of my all time favorite meals.

If you ever find yourself in Paris, or anywhere in France, it is highly recommended you indulge in one there. They vary somewhat from region to region, but are always delicious.

I hope you enjoy making and eating Fresh Curried Tuna Salad.

Salad Nicoise

Mustard Vinaigrette

  • 1 teaspoon minced shallots
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon style mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup white wine vinegar
  • 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Whisk all ingredients, but not the oil, in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the oil until well blended.

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Applesauce Cake with Oatmeal Streusel

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Applesauce Cake

Applesauce Cake

This applesauce cake goes together quickly. The cake is moist and delicious and ever so yummy. A dollop of whipped cream or ice cream makes it irresistible!

  • 1/2 cup soft butter
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup applesauce – smooth or chunky
  • 1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Oatmeal Streusel Topping

  • 1-1/2 cup uncooked old-fashioned oatmeal
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup soft butter
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Thoroughly combine the ingredients in a bowl; the mixture should be crumbly.

Set aside to top the cake batter before baking. Save any left over streusel mix for another use.

To make the cake:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F (175°C)

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

On low-speed, add applesauce and vanilla.

Measure flour and spices into a bowl.

Add nuts and raisins to the flour, stir. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture. Mix until just combined.

Grease and flour an 8 x 8 inch square cake pan. Pour batter into the cake pan.

Top with Oatmeal Streusel Topping.

Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Top with whipped cream or ice cream, serve warm.

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Radishes

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Watermelon Radishes

I am a big fan of radishes. I love all kinds of radishes from daikon to french breakfast radishes, I never tire of crunching on them.

Sometimes they get steamed and called  ‘Baby Pick Turnips‘ so as not to put anyone off by saying ‘cooked radish’.

When I go on a road trip, the typical snack food is some nice crisp radishes and salt right there for snacking as I roll on down the road.

(Far better than junky road food!)

Do YOU like radishes?

French Radishes

Small Snack

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Hand Pies

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We don’t have birthday cakes around here, we have birthday pies because we like pies better than cake. What better way to have pie than to have a hand pie?

NOTE: No innuendo intended with “hand pies”. That’s what we call them. The guys often giggle and I won’t quote a recent comment. Although they did say the hand pie was better. . .

What is a hand pie?

Cherry Hand Pies

Hand pies are small individual pies you can eat in your hand without a knife or fork or even spoon for that matter. It is highly recommended you do have a napkin.

Hand pies are sweet or savory and  filled with anything your heart desires.

If you think of savory ones like mini calzones and sweet ones like small turnovers, you will have lots of ideas on how to fill your lovely hand pies.

I had these cherries left over from another project and thought hand pies would be perfect since there wasn’t enough to make a regular sized pie.

There were several apples in the refrigerator that needed to be used so I diced and sliced them up and created some apple hand pies too.

Warm apple hand pies are a real treat, eating bite by bite, while sipping a hot cup of coffee.

Here are some Savory ideas:

  • Chicken and cheese
  • Broccoli and cheese
  • Your favorite pizza toppings
  • Spicy pork (from BBQ to Cuban style)
  • Tomato and herb
  • Black bean and corn with salsa and cheddar
  • Scrambled eggs with herbs and cheese
  • Cheese steak and grilled onions

Sweet ideas:

Any fruit pie filling from apple, cherry, blueberry and anything you can dream up.

What ever style you make, make sure you have the fillings cold.

You can buy the ready-made pie dough or you can make it. Since it is so ridiculously easy, there is no reason not to make it yourself.

Basic Pie Dough

  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar (optional for sweet pies)
  • 8 tablespoons or 1 stick or 4 ounces of butter cut into 8 pieces
  • up to 1/4 cup ice-cold water

Best method is to use a food processor. It is simple and super fast.

If you don’t have a food processor, you can use an old-fashioned pastry cutter or even two knives to cut the butter into the flour.

Add the flour, salt and sugar if using to the bowl, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal.

Add the water a tablespoon at a time to bring the dough together. You may need all of the water, or just some of it and if the dough feels dry, you may need to add more.

Note: Some people like to sub half of the water with vodka or white vinegar claiming it makes a very flaky crust.

Try it and you be the judge.

As long as you do not overwork the dough by kneading it or over mixing, and you can still see bits of fat in the mix, your dough should turn out flaky. Just mix the ingredients until they come together, and keep the dough cold.

You are not making bread so don’t knead!

After mixing the dough, flatten the dough into a disk, wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.

To make the hand pies, roll the dough, cut desired shapes. I chose to use round cutters to make half-moon shapes. You can use whatever shape you want.

Here are a couple of filling recipes:

Cherry Hand Pie Filling

  • 1 15 oz can sweet canned Big cherries reserve juice
  • 1/2 cup dried tart cherries
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons instant tapioca
  • t teaspoon almond extract
  • pinch of salt

Re-hydrate the dried cherries in cherry juice from the canned cherries. Mix everything together in a bowl and allow to sit for 15-20 minutes for the tapioca to soften a little.

Roll out the dough, cut into shapes, egg wash, fill, fold and pinch the seams closed tightly.

Egg wash the outsides of the pies and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in a 350°F oven for about 20 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.

Apple Hand Pie Filling

  • 1# Granny Smith Apples, peeled and diced into medium dice
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 Tablespoon instant tapioca
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and allow to sit for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally to mix the juices as they develop. Make and bake the hand pies as described above.

The hardest part is keeping them around until they cool; hands come from all directions and these lovely morsels disappear almost instantly!

Cut the shapes and place the filling in the middle

Fold pies in half and pinch to seal; egg wash and sprinkle with sugar

Apple hand pies

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Must Have Mustard

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Mustards

I love to make condiments! I must have mustard in many forms in my pantry. Honey Mustard, sweet, savory, mild, smooth, chunky there are so many ways to make gourmet mustard at home

Mustard is so fun and so diverse from sweet to hot, savory to fruity, there is no limit.

Mustard ingredients

This post will give you a recipe for a grainy dark mustard and an apricot mustard. Both are spectacular and very diverse in how you will find ways to use them.

For both of these recipes we use whole mustard seeds. Yellow mustard seeds for the apricot mustard and brown mustard seeds for the grainy mustard.

So here, are the recipes. The method follows both and is the same for both.

Grainy Brown Mustard

1 cup whole brown mustard seeds

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup white wine

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar or honey

Additional water if needed for processing

Apricot Mustard

1 cup whole yellow mustard seeds

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup white wine

1 cup dried apricots, rehydrated

1/2 tablespoon kosher salt

Additional water if needed for processing from rehydrating the apricots

Soak mustard seeds overnight

Method for both:

Soak the seeds overnight in the water and wine. You need to make sure the seeds are totally covered by liquid. Add more liquid if you need.

It is highly recommended to soak the mustard seeds overnight due to how hard the little seeds are. If you tried processing the recipe without soaking, it would take forever to get those seeds broken and start turning into a paste.

Rehydrate the apricots in hot water for 30 minutes, reserve any excess water for processing.

Place all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend for 3-4 minutes for the apricot mustard to become somewhat smooth and 2-3 minutes for the grainy mustard. If you want more whole seeds in the grainy mustard, do not process as long. Add additional water as needed to make a smooth consistent product.

Store the mustard in a glass, stainless steel or plastic container; not aluminum. The mustard will mellow after about a week. The flavors will develop and become nice and tasty.

I use the apricot mustard for ham, pork or chicken. It makes a nice glaze, marinade or spread.

Use the grainy mustard on sandwiches, in salad dressings or to dip pretzels.

How do you use mustard?

Apricot Mustard

Dark Grainy Mustard

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Chive Blossom Vinegar and Vinaigrette

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Onion chive blossoms

Chive blossom vinegar isn’t a normal thing to be making in January, but my wish for chive blossoms was realized.

This winter had been on the warm side for us. It was just last night the geranium and the jalapeno plants bit the dust to freezing.

While making a salad for dinner the other evening, my thoughts turned to chive flowers and all the yummy things I could do with them.

I thought how nice it would be to have some chive blossoms to add to the salad, or sprinkle some over the baked potatoes.

I was thinking about making more chive blossom vinegar but alas, being January, my desire would have to wait until spring.

Chive blossoms have a delightful onion or garlic flavor, depending upon which type of chive you have. Onion chives have lovely purple flowers that I really like; garlic chives produce white flowers.

But look at what I found!

As I rounded the corner towards my office, right there in front of me was a lovely plot of blooming chives in the schools herb garden.

Yay! Wish granted!

( Now I wish for a million dollars)

I picked as many as I thought I needed and ran home to toss them into the evening salad and make some Chive Blossom Vinegar for salad dressings in about a month.

Chives are quite simple to grow and actually are perennial so they come back year after year. I have both garlic chives and onion chives growing in my garden. They definitely are not flowering now. In fact they look quite pathetic until a bit of warmth cradles them a bit.

Chive Blossom Vinegar

Prepare the blossoms 3 ways: with stem, no stem, single flowers

Use a funnel to fill the bottles

Chive Vinegar

Wash and dry the chive blossoms. Prepare the chive in any of the following ways:

  • Leave as much stem on as you want
  • Use only the tiny flowers
  • use the entire flower heads in tact; no stem
  • leave some stem with the flowers
  • chop some chives to add with the flowers
  • any combination you want

The goal is to make it look pretty and attractive.

  • Place prepared blossoms into an attractive bottle.
  • Boil enough white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar to fill the bottle.
  • Use a funnel to fill the bottle with the hot vinegar.
  • Cork or seal the bottle.
  • Label with the date you made the vinegar.
  • Let steep for 30 days.

After the flavor has developed, open the bottle and experience the fresh aroma of the chive blossom vinegar.

Use it to make a simple vinaigrette.

Chive blossoms on baked potato

Chive Blossom Vinaigrette over Tomato, Onion, Cucumber Salad

  • 1/2  cup chive blossom vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 to 1-1/2 cups of olive oil

Place all the ingredients but the oil into a bowl and whisk to combine.

Whisk in the oil and serve.

This is a temporary emulsion which means you will need to whisk it before using as it will separate.

Tomato, onion, cucumber salad with chive blossoms

Tomato, Onion, Cucumber Salad

Serves 2

  • 1 medium tomato, wedged into 8 wedges
  • 1/2 medium sweet onion, sliced thin
  • 1 scallion, sliced thin
  • 1/2 English cucumber, sliced thin
  • Chive blossoms

Toss the sliced vegetables in a bowl and then arrange attractively on salad plates.

Sprinkle the chive blossoms on top

Drizzle Chive blossom vinaigrette over salad and serve.

To make this go over the top, drizzle a few drops of truffle oil over the salad too.

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Glazed Lemon Shortbread

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Glazed Lemon Shortbread

My son loves these. He is going back to school soon and when he gets there, a box of these sweet treats from home will be waiting.

This twist on traditional shortbread adds fresh lemon zest in the mix and fresh lemon juice in the glaze. One secret is to use a very fine microplane on the fruit so the zest is very fine.

If you like the lemon version, branch out and try making them with orange, or lime or tangerine or grapefruit. Kumquat maybe?

The amazing part of good shortbread is how they just melt in your mouth. Then take a nice sip of tea. Sit back and enjoy.

There are several pictures at the end of the post, so scroll down.

Glazed Lemon Squares

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar (10x)
  • Zest from 1/2 lemon (Use the other half in the glaze)
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2-1/2 cups AP flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Using a mixer on high-speed, cream butter,  10x sugar, zest and vanilla 3-4 minutes; until light and fluffy.

While the butter and sugar are creaming, measure and mix the flour and salt into a bowl.

Scrape down the bowl.

On low-speed, add the flour mixture to the creamed butter and sugar.

Mix only until the mixture comes together and resembles crumbs.

Do not over mix! Over mixing will develop the gluten in the flour and give you a ‘tough cookie’ rather than a tender one.

Transfer the dough to a non-stick 9 x 12 cake pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and pat the dough evenly into the pan.

Place in the refrigerator or freezer until the dough becomes thoroughly chilled.

Traditionally, you can prick the shortbread with a fork for decoration. You can choose not to.

If, for some reason, you get a wild hair on and decide to add baking powder to the mix, I would strongly suggest you do prick the dough to prevent bubbles and warping.

Preheat the oven to 300°F. Clean up the kitchen.

Once the dough is chilled, place it in the oven and bake for 35 minutes or until the edges are just beginning to turn golden brown. The shortbread will remain pale.

Remove from oven and cool on a rack.

Cut the shortbread while still warm. You get a cleaner cut edge.

Once cooled; remove the cut shortbread and put them on a rack which is placed over a clean sheet pan.

Make the glaze just before you are going to pour it over the cookies.

Be sure the cookies are completely cool so the glaze does not run or melt off.

Randomly pour the glaze. You can do it randomly or evenly, which ever you prefer.

DO NOT spread the glaze as the cookies are crumbly and you will not have a smooth glaze. If you make a lot of glaze you can cover them and decorate them like petit fours.

I like to sprinkle a fine touch of finely ground fleur de sel on the top of the shortbread cookies.

Sweet, tart, salty, smooth. . .

To make the Lemon Glaze:

  • Zest from the other half of the lemon used in the mix
  • 2 cups confectioners sugar (10x)
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice

Sift the sugar to ensure no lumps.

Add the zest, stir it in and then add the juice. Mix until smooth with a fork. Whisking will add too many bubbles.

Pour over cooled shortbread cookies.

Allow glaze to dry about an hour longer before storing.

Use a fine Microplane to zest the fruit

Cream butter and sugar. Don't forget to scrape down the bowl sides.

Add flour; mix only until combined

Cover with plastic, pat evenly into pan. Chill.

Cut while still warm for a clean edge.

Place on a rack and glaze

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Black Bean Soup

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A simple and quick recipe for a warm and hearty soup.

I prefer to use Bushes Brand of  canned beans but you can use what you want. You can even soak your beans and make this from dried. But that isn’t so quick.

Quick and Easy Black Bean Soup

  • 2 15-ounce cans seasoned Bushes Brand Black Beans
  • 1-1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup chunky salsa – your desired level of heat
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon dried onions
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried minced garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1 Tablespoon kosher salt

Garnishes:

  • Small diced onion
  • Chopped Cilantro
  • Shredded cheddar cheese
  • Sour cream
  • Chunky salsa
  • Hot Sauce

Open the cans of beans and put them in a sauce pot along with the chicken stock and all remaining ingredients.

Using a immersion blender, slightly puree the soup just enough to break up some of the beans, but not all of them.

If you don’t have an immersion blender, then place a generous cup of beans into a blender or food processor or even mash them by hand. Add the mashed beans back to the soup.

Bring to a boil, stir frequently while preparing the garnishes.

Ladle the soup into soup bowls, garnish with desired garnishes. Serve with tortilla chips and salsa on the side.

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Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

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Ahh! One of my favorite vegetables is Brussels sprouts. These little green cabbage looking things are wonderful as long as they aren’t over cooked.

Truth is you either love them or hate them. I stand firmly in the love category.

They grow on a large stalk and if you can find them on the stalk, buy them that way. The first time I found them on the stalk, I grabbed it, brought it home only to realize the stalk was way too big to fit into my refrigerator. Considering the size of the stalk, I must have been insane at the market when I thought it would definitely fit into the fridge.

Later I realized the stalk can sit on the counter in the kitchen for a few days, while they get eaten up in various dishes.

Brussels sprouts can be steamed, sautéed, baked or roasted, or pickled.  You can use them in soup, as a side dish and in salads. I adore them with Italian dressing and Parmesan cheese.

You can cook them whole, cut them in half or “shave” or shred them into thin slices. There are even Brussels Sprouts with chocolate. And of course, don’t forget, you can always add bacon.

My preference is to use fresh sprouts but if you can’t find fresh one and you absolutely need to have Brussels sprouts, frozen will do in a pinch, although not nearly as wonderful as fresh.

The following recipe is a simple delicious way of serving Brussels Sprouts.

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Pecans

  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts
  • 1 Tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup pecans – halves or pieces
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Trim sprouts and cut in half. Rinse under cool water.

Heat a saute pan, add oil. Place the sprouts cut side down in the pan. Allow the cut sides of the sprouts to become golden brown, not black and not pale green but a nice golden color.

Place the pecans over the sprouts as they are browning. Once the sprouts have  developed the color, stir the pan and add the water to steam the sprouts.

Simmer until the water has evaporated; add butter and stir to glaze the nuts and Brussels sprouts.

Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Trim and wash the sprouts

Place cut side down in a hot saute pan

Put pecans on top

Add water and simmer until water is gone

Serve and enjoy!

Eat More Brussels Sprouts!

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Tabouli, Taboule or Tabbouleh

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Tabouli, Taboule or Tabbouleh, is all the same.

It is time to get to know this terrific and tasty side dish.

Taboule is a middle eastern dish that has become part of the American diet. Just as Chinese foods became Americanized, so have middle eastern foods. So to call a particular taboule recipe an authentic middle eastern dish is not exactly accurate. There are regional differences – some use more parsley, some add cucumber and feta cheese. Then there are the non-traditional taboule salads that can have apples an walnuts in them or made with quinoa rather than bulgur.

My favorite version is simple with bulgur, parsley, tomato, olive oil, mint and lemon juice.

Sometimes I’ll make a batch and sit down and eat an entire bowl. I love how this dish makes you feel like you are really doing something good for your body.

Serve taboule as a cold side dish.  This recipe for taboule has a nice balance of traditional flavors.

  • 1 cup  bulgur wheat
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1/2 cup  fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
  • 1 large tomato, peeled, seeded, and diced small
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced small
  •  1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • pinch of salt
  • fresh ground black pepper

Method:

  • Place bulgur in a bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Soak bulgur in water for 30 minutes.  The wheat should have absorbed all of the water. If there is any water left, drain and squeeze out as much water as possible.
  • Peel, seed, and dice the tomato
  • Dice the onion and finely chop the parsley and mint
  • Mix the bulgur, tomato, onion, parsley, and mint in a large bowl
  • Whisk the olive oil and lemon juice together and pour over the salad
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper

Taste and adjust the various ingredients to your taste. More olive oil? More lemon juice? Just be careful not to make the salad too wet. Instead of adding more salt, consider adding feta cheese crumbles.

  • Refrigerate for an hour or so to allow the flavors to blend

Optional additions:

  • Finely sliced scallions
  • Crumbled Feta cheese
  • Diced cucumber
  • Pitted olives
  • Diced green and/or red pepper

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