Kale Quesadillisimo
By Brian Nguyen

2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tsp minced garlic
1 small slivered onion
¼ Lb Lean ground Turkey/Chorizo/TVP
1 Tsp Fajita Seasoning (Any blend of salt, pepper, paprika, chili powder, cayenne, cumin will do)
8 leaves of Kale (Stems removed, coarsely chopped)
¾ cup fat free refried beans
¾ cup diced tomatoes/avacado
1.5 cups grated jack cheese (pepper jack for spice)
4 whole round tortillas

Heat 1 tbs of oil in heavy nonstick skillet.
Sweat onions, garlic in the skillet for a bit.
Add fajita seasoning and the lean ground turkey/chorizo/TVP. Cook until evenly browned.
Add chopped kae and braise for 10 minutes.
Pour kale/protein mixture into separate bowl for holding and later preparation.
In dry skillet (wipe the same skillet off if you’d like), heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
Place one tortilla in the bottom of the skillet.
Top layer with a generous layer of cheese, followed by kale and protein mixture. Leave ½ inch border. Cover with a 2nd tortilla.
Spread 2-3 tablespoons refried beans thinly over top of previous tortilla.
Sprinkle some diced tomatoes/avocado and cheese over the beans. Cover with a 3rd toritlla.
Top layer with kale/protein mixture once again, followed by cheese. Cover with 4th tortilla.
Press the quesadilla down with the back of a spatula or a bacon press. Brown both sides of each quesadilla stack in prepared skillet over medium heat until golden brown and crispy.
If you have extra ingredients… make more! If you’re adventurous, keep stacking. I’ve done 8 layers and it was a feast.

Zesty Sauce

2/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tsp paprika

While quesadilla toasts in the skillet, combine the above ingredients.
Cut quesadilla into 6 wedges, but do not separate them.
Spoon sauce into a pastry bag and squeeze onto quesadilla in a thin spiral.

Pakat’s Hot Curry Shimp
By Sheila Sutton

2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 Tbs of sugar
2 or more Tbs of Pakat’s Hot Curry Paste (according to taste)
¼ cup of Extra Virgin olive oil
2 Tbs of garlic (fresh or jarred)

Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes. I buy the shorter ones, but you may also use the longer ones. If I use the shorter skewers, I serve it on the skewer. I will serve two skewers per person for dinner, with a wedge of lemon. If I have a group of people who like heat, I will serve Raita with it in case someone needs to dip it to cool it off. If you serve Raita, omit the lemon.

Mix all ingredients together. Add shrimp and marinate for 30 minutes or over night in refrigerator. Thread marinated shrimp on skewers and place on tray. Just throw it in zip lock bag.

You may grill the shrimp (preferable) on medium heat, turning after each side turns pink. About 3 minutes each side. You much watch the cook time. You may also broil shrimp, but be very careful to watch. About 2 minutes per side.

I serve it with Moroccan Curry Couscous and an Arugula and goat cheese salad with a dash of olive oil and lemon juice.

Scallop-Fini
By Besty Shea-Taylor

12 small sea scallops, cleaned
1/3 pound Black Forest deli bacon (shave into thick curls with sharp pairing knife)
1 very small Jerusalem artichoke (sunchoke)
1 bunch red grapes (about 20)
1 small fresh pineapple
1 package of fresh basil (four ounces)
1 bottle capers (3 ½ counces)
1 box of five-minute plain couscous
Olive oil

Directions:
Rinse scallops; set aside.
Rinse grapes (20) and basil; set aside.
Clean pineapple; cut 16 (1-inch) chunks. (Place rest in refrigerator for other use).
Scrub, peel sunchoke, pare “meat” into 2-inch “matchsticks” and set aside.
Prepare couscous according to directions; fluff, set aside.
Coat skillet generously with olive oil.
Place on stovetop, at medium. Add bacon, cook two minute, flipping with spatula.
Add scallops. Turn heat to high; sear scallops, bacon for 5 minutes total. Turn to prevent burning and to entirely brown scallop. Shut off heat. Transfer to bowl.
Place pineapple, grapes basil into skillet. Add more olive oil if needed. Turn heat to high. Sear, turning, for 4-5 minutes until fruit is juicy, basil is crispy.
Gently add scallops, bacon to skillet, combining all ingredients by turning once or twice. Turn to high for 2 minutes.
While heating, drain “matchsticks.” Set aside. Fluff couscous.
Spoon couscous into four pretty bowls. Heap on equal portions of scallop, bacon, grapes, pineapple, basil. Drizzle with pan juices. Arrange small garnishes of sunchoke, capers.

Serve immediately with an artisan bread, small spring-green salad, Sauvignon Blanc.

Wendy’s Wedding Fish Dish
By Wendy Nilsson

4 six ounce center cut salmon filets with skin on (about an inch thick)
2 cups fresh bread crumbs (Pain Paisano oir sourdough works well)
1 Tbs fresh chopped thyme
1 cup pecans
2 cups grated Parmesan Reggianno
4 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil & extra for fish
2 Tbs good quality Maple syrup
Salt and peppter to taste

This mixture can be prepared up to two days ahead and refrigerated, or up too a month ahead and frozen.
Use a food processor to make the bread crumbs and roughly chop the nuts, add the remaining ingredients (not the fish) and pulse until just mixed and texture is still coarse. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Put the fish skin side down in 9X13 inch in lightly oiled baking pan.
Lightly oil, then salt and pepper the fish.
Smush the mixture onto the fish, piling it about ¼ inch high, making sure to cover the entire filet (this can be done up to six hours before serving if refrigerated).
When ready to cook, pre-head oven to 425.
Cook for about 25 minutes.
8. Slice fish in pan and use a heavy duty spatula to slide the fish off the skin. The skin should stick to the pan and be discarded.

Pinto Plantain Quesadilla
By Matthew Schutzer

2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Tsp Sugar (cane, brown or raw)
1 dash salt and pepper
2 whole ripe diagonal/oval sliced plantain bananas
1 Tbs lime juice
¾ cup rinsed pinto beans
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
¾ sliced avocado
1 cup shredded mozzarella
4 whole round tortillas

Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a heavy nonstick skillet.
Toss plantains, sugar, salt and lime juice together in a bowl, then add to hot skillet to brown.
Add pinto beans to the skillet and heat together.
Pour plantain/pinto mixture into separate bowl for holding and later preparation.
In dry skillet (wipe the same off if you’d like), heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat.
Place one tortilla in the bottom of skillet.
Sprinkle a THIN layer of mozzarella cheese over half the tortilla.
Top cheese layer with plantain/pinto mixture.
Add some crumbled feta over the top of the plaintain/pinto.
Fold empty half of tortilla over filled half.
Press quesadilla down with back of spatula or a bacon press. Brown both sides of each quesadilla stack in prepared skillet over medium heat until golden brown and crispy.
If you have extra ingredients… make more!
Serve with zesty cilantro/cumin sauce (See above).

Sweet & Hot Ginger Relish Grilled Chicken
By Stephanie Isenberg

4 boneless chicken breasts, split
1 ½ cups peeled and chopped ginger
5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 fresh red chili pepper, chopped
½ - ¾ cup sugar
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Grill chicken breasts either on a gas/charcoal grill or cast-iron pan.
Combine ginger, garlic, chili, sugar and tomatoes in a saucepan with 1 ½ cups water, a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until very thick, 30-45 minutes.
Serve chicken breasts with relish. I use this relish for grilled veal or pork chops as well.