Buffalo West Wing (37 page)

Place all dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk to incorporate. Chill. If you’re in a hurry, you can substitute a good store-bought dressing, either ranch or blue cheese. I just like to make my own.

Serves 4

Place all ingredients in a blender container. Blend to incorporate. If you don’t have a blender, whisk together. Chill.

Wash and spin the salad greens dry. Place in a large bowl. Toss with orange slices, berries, and nuts. Serve with dressing on the side.

KID-FRIENDLY RECIPES

This is a traditional Mediterranean meal, with a lovely selection of easy-to-make Greek dips, pita, and bread to scoop them up, traditional chicken kabobs, and a Greek salad to add some veggie crunch. Mediterranean diets have been found to be tremendously heart-healthy, as well as tasty enough for any family, kids included, to enjoy. One favorite feature of this meal is that the whole thing—with the possible exception of the salad—can be eaten as finger food.

Serves 6

Drain chickpeas, reserving liquid for later use. Place chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and salt in a blender. Blend until mixture is smooth and all ingredients are fully incorporated. While blender is running, slowly add juice from chickpea can until the mixture has a soft and easily scoop-able consistency. The amount of liquid you need will vary, depending on how much juice you got from your lemon. Adjust seasonings as needed.

Place in a bowl, use a spoon to smooth the top of the hummus, then create a well in the center of the dip with the bottom of your spoon. Sprinkle dip lightly with paprika, pour a little olive oil in the well, and top with sprigs of fresh parsley. Serve.

Serves 6

Place yogurt, garlic, cucumber, and salt in bowl, stir to combine. Add chopped dill and chives. Stir in. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Garnish with fresh dill. Serve.

Serves 6

Set oven to broil.

Cut eggplants in half. Brush the cut faces with a little olive oil. Place facedown on a cookie sheet and broil, watching carefully, 10-15 minutes, until eggplant darkens and softens. Remove from oven. Let cool until safe to handle.

Peel. Place eggplant in a bowl. Add remaining olive oil, salt, tahini, lemon juice, and yogurt. Whisk. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Chill. Top with herbs to garnish, if using.

Serve these dips accompanied by a platter of sliced warm French or Italian bread, and warmed pita rounds sliced into quarters.

These are traditionally done with lamb, but chicken is far more kid-friendly. If you want to go vegetarian on this menu, simply eliminate these kabobs.

Serves 6

Place all ingredients in a sturdy gallon-sized plastic freezer bag. Shake to mix and coat.

Place sealed bag in refrigerator for 1 hour to marinate, turning halfway through.

Place meat cubes on 6 skewers (more if needed). Discard liquid.

Grill skewers over medium-high heat for 4 minutes per side, either on a stovetop grill, in a grill or skillet pan coated with cooking spray, or over a propane or charcoal fire.

Serve.

Serves 6

In a large bowl, place tomatoes, onions, feta cheese, and olives. Take halved cucumbers, run a spoon firmly along the seeded side to remove the seeds. Discard the seeds. Slice the cucumber halves into C-shaped slices. Add to bowl.

In a smaller bowl, whisk together balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Pour over salad, toss to coat.

Serve.

This is another kid-tested family meal that has the virtue of consisting mostly of finger foods, but it’s surprisingly healthy.

Serves 4

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Crack the 2 eggs into a medium bowl. Whisk until golden and foamy.

Place the cornflakes, garlic, salt, and paprika into a sturdy gallon-sized freezer bag and seal. Smash with a rolling pin, the smooth side of a meat tenderizer, or the bottom of a tumbler, until the cornflakes are turned into crumbs. Shake to mix crumbs and spices together. Dip the chicken strips into egg, then place into bag of cornflake crumb mixture, and shake to coat. Place coated strips onto a cookie sheet. When all strips are coated, place the cookie sheet into the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until chicken is firm and juices run clear.

Whisk ingredients together. Serve.

Serves 4

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Place garlic salt, Mrs. Dash, and cracked pepper to taste into a sturdy gallon-sized plastic bag. Spray the potato wedges with the cooking spray. Drop them into the bag of seasonings. Shake to coat. Lay the potato wedges, peel side down, on a cookie sheet and bake until wedges are cooked through and crispy outside, about 15-25 minutes. Serve with ketchup.

Serves 4

Place a large pan of water on the stove on high. Bring to a boil. Drop the ears of corn gently into the hot water. Boil until cooked to taste, roughly 7-10 minutes. Remove and serve warm.

Place melted butter in a pitcher. Drop in chives and stir. Pour over cooked corn ears. Serve.

Serves 4

Place Bacon Bits, olive oil, and the almonds in the bottom of a heavy skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the bacon is warmed through and the almonds smell toasty, about 2 minutes. Add the beans and toss to coat. Add the water, cover. Cook until beans are bright green and warmed through, but still slightly crisp, about 7-10 minutes. Salt to taste. Serve.

WHITE HOUSE STATE DINNER

This menu is set up to feature American ingredients at their finest. You can always substitute if you have trouble finding the right ingredients. A lot of these recipes call for experienced chefs and unique ingredients, but I’ve provided shortcuts and cheats that make it easy for a home cook to come up with a reasonable approximation.

 

 

 

 

Serves 6

Agnolottis are stuffed pasta squares that look and taste like little square raviolis. They are made from a very rich egg dough pasta. I’ll tell you how to do this the hard way, and then the easy way.

Pile the flour in a mound on a clean and dry kitchen countertop with a lot of room to work with dough. Make a well in the center. Pour the egg mixture into the well, and sprinkle the salt over the eggs. Working with your fingers, mix the eggs gently into the flour, a little at a time. Pull a little flour from the edges of the hill into the liquid; mix. Pull a little more flour into the eggs; mix. Do this until the flour and eggs are formed into a dough. Knead dough for 15 minutes, until it is smooth, golden, elastic, and slightly stretchy. Divide the dough into two parts. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for a few minutes.