recipes

Chef House’s Herby Greek Yogurt Feta Dressing

August 11, 2017 By Lee Anne House

Chef House here, sharing what’s become my go to summer sauce. It is great with fresh tomatoes, as a salad dressing or as a dip for grilled chicken skewers, asparagus and flatbread.

Here I drizzled it on a salad with avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, spinach and chicken chorizo.

The next photo is chorizo (my seasoning) spiced chicken skewers with grilled asparagus and flatbread. I will be making this dish on Living Dayton next Friday.

Herby Greek Yogurt Feta Dressing

1 1/2 cups non fat greek yogurt

1/2 cup low-fat olive oil mayo

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

I small garlic clove, smashed

2 teaspoons granulated dried onion

1/4 cup each chopped fresh mint and dill

1/3 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

1/2 cup feta

Puree all ingredients in a food processor till smooth.

Food Adventure Recipe of the Month: Zucchini Ribbon Skewers

June 13, 2017 By The Food Adventures Crew Leave a Comment

Thinly sliced grilled zucchini, the beginnings of a recipe

Attention Dayton Cooks and Foodies !

You know the Food Adventure Crew from their weekly articles and food photos shared on this site, or maybe their dinner events.

With all of this original content, there is more …. Did you know they also have a nice collection of recipes? Some have been shared in various cooking classes at Dorothy Lane Market, Living Dayton TV, Spicy Olive, or through Foremost Seafood’s site. Some recipes will make their debut here.

It is all in a NEW monthly feature now cooking on Dayton Most Metro: “Your Food Adventure Recipe of the Month.”

June starts out featuring our culinary crew hero Chef LeeAnne House and a summer favorite that will wow your friends.

Chef House getting ready for a cooking class !

Chef House has always been known for her love of veggies and her philosophy of using local vendors for that fresh, “farm to table” dimension. The results are Dayton’s seasonal flavors, bursting on your plate and leaving your tastebuds happy.

Without further delay let’s dive into one of those fresh recipes.

ZUCCHINI RIBBON SKEWERS with PEPPER SPIKED MOZZARELLA & ARUGULA PESTO

Ingredients:

2 zucchini

2 teaspoons olive oil

½ teaspoon kosher salt

Lemon juice

ZUCCHINI RIBBON SKEWERS with PEPPER SPIKED MOZZARELLA & ARUGULA PESTO

Directions:
Pick the straightest zucchini, these will be easier to cut on the mandolin. Slice them lengthwise ¼ inch thick. Toss with olive oil and salt.

Grill on high heat quickly, get grill marks on both sides and off the grill. Toss with a pinch more salt and a little lemon juice.

PESTO:

1 clove garlic, smashed

4 ounces basil

2 cups arugula, packed

1/3 cup roasted salted pistachios

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated parmesan

Directions:
Puree all of the above ingredients in a food processor till smooth. Slowly drizzle in ¼ cup and 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Now we add and assemble with:
-Fresh mozzarella
-Hot pepper flakes or even better use HouseMade Sriracha Toasted Sriracha Powder

Assembly Directions:
Roll the zucchini ribbons up and skewer 2 to a small skewer. The mozzarella goes on the end. Season it with kosher salt and spiced pepper. Serve with the pesto.

Pesto in the processor

Try this for a summer picnic, or a party on the patio. Your next cookout is a great chance to skewer some of these bites.

More about Chef House. In addition to being a member of the Food Adventure Crew, she has her own line of locally made, all-natural sauces, spices and rubs called Housemade. Her Thai Chili Sriracha sauce and Hot Honey sauce have won National competitions. She also teaches many local cooking classes. In the past, she has helped with catering companies and has been a chef at some top notch local restaurants. You will be able to catch her in a FREE COOKING DEMO on Saturday July 22nd at Garlic Fest at the Sons of Italy Bella Villa Hall on County Line Rd. Chef House will be giving out free tastes of her garlic dish to those in attendance. Come join the party at Garlic Fest !

See you next month with another fun recipe.

Follow Chef House, the Big Ragu and Hungry Jax on Facebook by clicking HERE.

We are not food critics, we are just 3 passionate foodies that love to feature local foods!

ZUCCHINI RIBBON SKEWERS with PEPPER SPIKED MOZZARELLA & ARUGULA PESTO

Just Stuff It, Will Ya ?

November 23, 2016 By The Food Adventures Crew Leave a Comment

Green Sriracha Bread Pudding by Chef House

Everybody is talking turkey, turkey turkey… giving pointers on grilling a turkey, baking one, deep frying one, etc, etc and so on.

Well, the Food Adventures crew says .. STUFF IT ! Literally. We want to share our secret or not so secret tips for stuffing, which is just as important as the turkey!

*** CHEF HOUSE’S TAKE ON STUFFING: Try Bread Pudding as an alternative. Always use quality ingredients.

—Stuffing vs. Bread Pudding by Chef House: I love both equally. My step dad makes an insanely good oyster stuffing every year for Christmas. It is loaded up with stock, butter and of course lots of oysters. I think gizzards are in there too.

Chef House in the Living Dayton TV Kitchen

—Bread pudding is a pretty cool alternative in that it can be sweet or savory! I like how versatile it is. I, of course, slightly spice mine up, add veggies (duh!) and you can’t beat the cheese, eggs and cream 🙂

—My only tips for these two would be “use quality ingredients.” Make your own stock for the stuffing, or use a really good one, I love Trader Joe’s veggie stock, actually more than i like their chicken broth! It has way more flavor. Use good bread! This year I am adding spicy sausage and caramelized onions to my Green Sriracha and zucchini bread pudding.

Jax with a plate of freshly carved Turkey

Wow, are you drooling yet? We are just getting started on this Food Adventure Holiday edition….

HUNGRY JAX’S TAKE ON STUFFING: Don’t Stuff it ! Tweak it !

Hey fellow foodies… here are my tips on getting the most of your stuffing experience….

— I don’t ever put stuffing inside my turkey, I just cook it in a separate dish! Why? Because there is a slight risk of salmonella if the turkey is under cooked. By placing stuffing inside the turkey you’re creating longer and unreliable cooking times. Don’t risk turning a holiday into a sick day.

Jackie never puts stuffing in her turkeys. Maybe a few herbs…

—Here are some tweaks I have done with test recipes!

1. Stuffing muffins: basically take your favorite stuffing recipe and cook it in a well greased muffin cups instead. baking time will be shorter so keep an eye on them. But now you have individual servings!

2. Hollow out a pumpkin or any other favorite squash (acorn would be fun too!) and bake the stuffing in the squash! This is a great pairing with stuffing that has the flavors of sage, maple or even apples!

Jax added some cranberrys to this stuffing

3. Add ins: Doctor up a simple stuffing by adding apples, pears, maple sausage, bacon or pancetta! Raisins, crasins and water chestnuts are also great too!

Finally, we have the last crew member giving some tips:

THE BIG RAGU’S TAKE ON STUFFING: Go Italian with it.

Big Ragu chopping garlic in the DLM Culinary Center

The Big Ragu says “here is my super duper, top secret, family recipe for Italian style stuffing that is versatile, quick and easy.”

This recipe, developed by my mom, is used regularly by our family for turkey stuffing, stuffed artichokes, stuffed mushrooms and even stuffed clams. I have tweaked it in my own special way, but basically it comes down to …. the “butter drizzle” at the end.

ITALIAN STYLE STUFFING RECIPE:

Oyster Stuffing, Ready for the Oven at Big Ragu’s home

Ingredients: 1 Loaf of Bread, 2 Eggs, 2 TBS Minced Garlic, 3 dashes of garlic powder, 3 dashes black pepper, 1 can of chicken broth (14oz), 2 TBS dried Oregano, 2 TBS Basil (dried or fresh), and a stick of melted butter or 2.

Directions: Whirl a loaf of bread in a food processor (Ragu normally uses Wonder Bread) or chip a loaf of bread by hand into silver dollar size pieces. Place bread into a big mixing bowl. Add eggs and spices and mix by hand, no.. really, using your hand and fingers. All the time slowly adding chicken broth until stuffing is mixed and slightly wet. The stuffing is best cooked in a casserole dish at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown. *** The final and maybe most important step: Right before serving, drizzle some hot, melted butter over the top of the dressing.

Ragu’s Turkey Stuffed with Lemon Halves and Quartered Onions

Want Oyster Suffing (Dressing)? Use the above recipe and add a pint or quart of raw oysters, depending on how much of a seafood lover you are.

But Ragu, you say… “You didn’t put the stuffing in the turkey?”

NOPE.. I always cook it in a separate dish.

Here is what I stuff all turkeys with: Equal amounts of lemon halves and quartered onions. I stuff them in until they are bursting out. But I never eat the onions or lemons.

We hope this helps make your Thanksgiving plate complete

So there you have it…

The Food Adventure Crew of Chef House, Hungry Jax and The Big Ragu want to thank you for checking out our tips, and wish each and every one of you a Happy Thanksgiving.

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Feel free to browse some of our Holiday and party photos below.