I submit that side dishes have received a truly bum rap when it comes to their vital place in completing a delicious meal. Y’all should be working harder to imagine something better. Because a BLING meal deserves MORE than mushy mashed ‘taters or overcooked beans. As proof let’s review any common restaurant menu. Entrees receive carefully curated language elevating the main course to enchantment-status. The list of sides? Well, it’s like an afterthought! “Oh, yeah. SLAW . . . $4.95.” Even a place like Ruth’s Chris steakhouse makes you order a side to get one. Otherwise, it’s just the cow on the plate. Yeah, we can do better when nourishing those we love!

I don’t take any side for granted. They receive the same love and care from me as the protein or even the wine pairing. But the trick to elevating side dishes isn’t just preparation or technique. It is using the BEST ingredients and the most interesting FLAVORS. Even salt and pepper are pivotal! Salt is meant to remind you of what you’re eating. But pepper? It pushes against the ingredient. Challenging it and intensifying it! That’s why this month’s BLING meal uses Olive This! MADAGASCAR BLACK PEPPERCORN OIL as the secret to greatness. Do not stop reading. This stuff is extraordinary! 

So why does pepper make such a fabulous difference?

Wikipedia can be counted on for a direct yet lackluster definition of anything. Take pepper for instance:  “Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is drupe, which is about 5 mm in diameter, dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed...”
Yawn . . . wait. What the heck is drupe? See, research can be fascinating. And peppercorns in particular are more than just that blackish grain in the container next to your salt. Ground finely or coarse, they are deep in purpose, romantic in the results they offer, and clearly push the mundane to nobility! 

As you get reach for your carrot peeler and launch your new commitment to side-dish greatness, do not take the combination of these flavors lightly. They are world-class. Cinnamon and pepper and saffron are routinely used together in many parts of the world. The un-boring parts I proffer. And here’s the other fun fact. This recipe is ridiculously easy. I mean peel, cut, toss, roast. And the jalapeño yogurt? Crack in a bowl. I served it with a red pepper meat loaf placed atop red quinoa I tossed with radicchio and spring mix and a little lemon vinaigrette.
​
Recipe for the carrots and meat loaf below. 

INGREDIENTS:
5 large, long, uniform in girth carrots, peeled and halved lengthwise
¼ t fine grade cinnamon (like Vietnamese)
2 T Olive This! Madagascar Peppercorn Oil + a little more to rub on the jalapeños
½ t kosher salt1/8 T pepper
Pinch of saffron
2 T finely chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
3 ounces Greek yogurt
1 large jalepeno halved, roasted, seeded, and finely chopped
1 t honey
 
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 450-degree F. Halve the jalapeño lengthwise. Place on a small baking pan lined with foil and rubbed with a bit of the Olive This! oil. Roast for about 20 minutes or until charred and soft. Remove seeds, stalk, and pith, chop into small pieces, add to the yogurt and add the honey. Mix well and set aside.
 
Reheat oven to 375-degree F. Peel and prep the carrots making sure all the long stalks are cut to relatively the same width and size. Place in a bowl large enough to toss them and add the Olive This! Madagascar Peppercorn Oil, cinnamon, saffron, salt, and pepper. Toss well until everything is covered evenly. Place in a baking dish lined with parchment paper. Drizzle the rest of any remaining oil and spice mixture over the carrots. Roast in oven for 25-28 minutes or until tender. Add the parsley and toss while hot. Serve over the jalapeño honey yogurt sauce.
 
(Serve with red pepper meatloaf and red quinoa and warm spring greens warm salad.)
 
©Photo and Recipes by Copyright, Camine Pappas, 2014 - 2022

INGREDIENTS:
1 ¼ lb 90% lean ground beef
¼ C finely chopped shallot
¼ C finely chopped red pepper
1 large egg
¼ C Progresso Italian Breadcrumbs
1 heaping t Penzey’s Roast Beef Seasoning
1 T cream
¼ C chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
½ t kosher salt + ¼ t black pepper
 
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 375-degree F. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Form into a log and place atop a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 28 minutes.
 
©Photo and Recipes by Copyright, Camine Pappas, 2014 - 2022

One might assume being tasked with recipe development focused on elevating oils and vinegars might be limiting. On the contrary. These ingredients are the cornerstones of every good meal. Without them you’re lost.
​
For instance, vinegars. Why the fuss? Well, most of us grew up thinking in terms of savory and sweet and never the twain shall meet. You put salt and pepper on your steak, and sugar on your cookies. Acidity was something that came into play when mom used her vinegar to clean glass or lemon juice to bleach a stain. Or maybe create a nice salad dressing but by that time we were sure Kraft invented salads. Other than the aforementioned, the complexity of all these flavors being combined and crossed over together was a mystery and probably rule-breaking. But in the world of true cooking, one must be mindful that many different tastes are needed for a satisfying and truly memorable meal. 

There are really 4 main elements to almost every cuisine in the world and they’re beautifully explained by Samin Nosrat in her book SALT, FAT, ACID, HEAT. In it she shares this seminal advice: “Season food with the proper amount of salt at the proper moment; choose the optimal medium of fat to convey the flavor of your ingredients; balance and animate those ingredients with acid; apply the right type and quantity of heat for the proper amount of time—do all this and you will turn out vibrant and beautiful food, with or without a recipe.” 

Yeah, this is my kind of narrative. It talks about food as though it were alive. And in truth, it is. Animate ingredients with acid? Fabulous. Without a recipe? Now you’re cooking with your senses and that is the foundation of what makes Bling Cuisine work. And so it is that I present to you this delicious recipe that combines all these elements. It’s danged gorgeous, too!

My creation began the moment I dribbled a bit of this vinegar on my tongue and listened to it tell me where it wanted to go. Since you most likely are not tasting it while reading this, I will tell you it is sweet but carries a kind of maraschino cherry-ness. A bit of spice that is slightly like licorice hits you at the end. YUMMM. As usual, I describe a recipe as though we’re on a tasting-journey. Then as I took another nibble, the idea came:  I will use the vinegar to pickle some cranberries and oranges perhaps adding a bit of honey at the end. I will use this acidic element to balance the peppery, crunchiness of pistachio and the smooth, creaminess of the lemon-infused goat cheese all rolled inside a chicken breast. And when it came together in real life? Well, each bite was amazing. It was festive and fresh. And as Samin states, vibrant and beautiful!

​#blingcuisine #caminecooks #ifeellikecooking #blingrecipes #holidayrecipes

Pounding out the chicken pieces to just the right thickness will help to showcase a tighter, swirling display of goat cheese and pistachio stuffing. Make this sauce when you need a quick accompaniment to ham, turkey or even with seafood. It goes with everything and looks like a precious set of jewels on your plate.

INGREDIENTS:
PICKLED CRANBERRY SAUCE:

• 6 ounces bagged fresh cranberries
• ½ C water
• 2 T honey
• 1 C Umeboshi Plum White Balsamic Vinegar from Olive This!
• 2 Clementines peeled and sectioned
• ½ t cracked black pepper

CHICKEN:

• 3 large skinless boneless chicken breasts, about 8-10 ounces each
• 2/3 C salted shelled pistachios, divided
• 1/3 C Italian breadcrumbs. I used Progresso brand
• 1, 4 oz. package plain goat cheese (Don’t use the crumbled goat cheese. Need the soft version)
• Zest from one large lemon
• 1 large garlic clove grated
• 1 large egg
• 2 T cream (2% milk with also work)
• 1/3 C chopped Italian leaf parsley reserving some for garnish when serving meal
• 1 ½ t kosher salt + ½ t black pepper
• 2 T olive oil to grease baking dish and a couple T olive oil to drizzle over the top

 
METHOD:
Put cranberries in a small saucepan covered with the ½ C water. Bring to boil, reduce to medium and cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring often, until all the cranberries have popped open. Remove from heat and add the 1 C of Umeboshi Plum White Balsamic Vinegar and the orange sections. Stir into the hot liquid. Cover and set aside until ready to use. Or refrigerate when cooled to room temperature, and then when ready to serve put it back in a small saucepan and heat thoroughly. DO NOT BOIL. Right before serving add 2 T honey and 1/8 t black cracked pepper and blend well.
 
Empty the goat cheese into a small bowl and add the lemon zest, and the grated ginger. Blend well. Take the first 1/3 C of pistachios and chop with a knife into chunky pieces. Try to at least cut them so no large nuts remain. Set that aside. Take the other 1/3 C of pistachios and chop them finely. I used a small food chopper to make them large crumb-size. You could use a coffee grinder; just be careful you don’t chop them too small. These are the nuts that will be used for breading the chicken.
 
For chicken cut each of the three breast sections in half lengthwise. (Note that a normal skinless whole boneless breast is the two halves, making 6 pieces. That’s too much. I used a package that was simply three halves, the usual way they’re packaged in most supermarkets.) Place the cut chicken pieces in a large plastic bag and using a mallet, gently but assertively pound them out to a little more than 1/2” thickness. I worked in two batches and used a gallon sized zip-lock so I could control the thickness more effectively.
 
Preheat your oven to 375° F. Gently oil an oblong glass baking dish.
 
Lay out the pounded breast pieces on a cutting board. Using a small spatula, spread the goat cheese, garlic, and lemon zest mixture over each of the breast keeping the mixture just inside the edges. Now sprinkle with just a bit of chopped parsley leaves. And generously salt and pepper them. I probably used about 1 ½ teaspoon of kosher salt and about ½ t black pepper evenly divided. Sprinkle the large pistachio pieces over the goat cheese dividing them evenly among the 6 chicken pieces. Rolling from the short side, roll them tightly and secure by tying with two pieces of food-grade twine on each end about ¼ of the way in. Tie it firmly but don’t squish the chicken. Cut off the ends of the knotted twine.
 
Crack the egg into a bowl big enough to fit each chicken rollup, add the cream and using a fork blend it until smooth. Empty the finely ground pistachios into another bowl with the Italian breadcrumbs. Blend the crumbs evenly with the nuts. Working quickly so you don’t let them sit in the egg, take a rollup and immerse it in the egg wash, and then roll in the pistachio breadcrumb mixture. Shake off the excess. Place them in the greased glass baking dish evenly spaced. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil in a very thin stream.
 
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes. You can test doneness by gently pressing on it with your index finger. If it doesn’t yield too much they’re done. If they squish in, they may need about 5 more minutes. DO NOT overcook. The chicken is thin so it will bake quickly.
 
Serve chicken over white rice alongside buttered broccoli and top with a ladle of the hot pickled cranberry orange sauce.
 
©Photo and Recipes by Copyright, Camine Pappas, 2014 - 2021

Here’s another confession for all my crazy and loyal followers:  Food is not silent. It has a clear and authentic voice that actually speaks. It is screaming inspiration to you all the time. You’re busy checking with your friends about recipe combinations and culling through cookbooks or blogs for direction. And yet all you need are your taste buds. In the case of this elegantly infused Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar, one need only to close one’s eyes. Press the vinegar thoughtfully between your teeth and tongue. Take it to the back of your mouth and let it coat your tongue. Now pause and breathe. Wow! Intense! Right?

When I tasted this Olive This! Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar, I was transported to a place where soft flowers blend with tart cherries. A place where an herbal hint of berry was almost perfume-like but still sweet like candy with just the right tartness. After I smacked my lips and opened my eyes? Well, all I could think of was making this into a dessert. I could tell that it had qualities like vanilla, but with a depth that was screaming to be featured as a main flavor.

After finding one of my favorite soft sugar cookie recipes, one that I knew would yield a good chew but not crumble, I decided a bit of this balsamic nectar would be just as much at home in the batter as in the lovely icing I was planning to create to sandwich them together. We add other oils to batters like lemon oil, almond oil, and so forth. Surely this elderberry would work as well!

On another note, if you research Elderberry trees you find it has all kinds of health benefits. It has a dark berry fruit that is often used for jam. So right there I knew I was right. My food was blabbering away with genius. If you’re still a little unsure of my logic about adding this to a dessert, remember we add balsamic to strawberries and it’s divine!

So, what makes a balsamic vinegar a balsamic? All of them are derived from a thousand-year-old process developed around the area of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy. Traditional balsamic vinegar is made from "grape must" which is the juice from freshly pressed grapes, aged for a minimum of 12 years in a series of successively smaller wooden barrels, each made from a different type of wood — oak, juniper, mulberry, ash, cherry, and chestnut. Because the wood is porous the vinegar loses moisture over time, and becomes more concentrated, eventually reaching a syrupy consistency. Olive This! balsamics are then infused with plant extracts to produce the lovely flavors you enjoy. 

So back to the cookies. Oh, how gorgeous are they? And the icing with the hint of sophisticated cherry, was really more delicious than I expected. I truly can’t wait for you to try them. The perfect dessert to bring to your Thanksgiving Feast. They will freeze beautifully and perhaps, in the end, you too will believe in the voices of your food calling you to greatness!

INGREDIENTS:
2 T divided, Olive This! Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar
12 Amareno Cherries* (or Luxardo Gourmet Cherries)
2 t of Cherry syrup*
¾ C Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips (optional)
24 Betty Crocker Soft Sugar Cookies BELOW
 
ICING:
2 C powdered sugar
4 T salted butter, softened
2 T Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar
2 t of the cherry syrup
Dash of salt (about 1/8 t)
2 T milk or cream
3-5 drops of red food coloring to keep the frosting a nice color!

METHOD:
Prepare the sugar cookie recipe and add 2 t Elderberry Balsamic to the dough at the point when you add the eggs. Blend as usual and incorporate the balsamic. Finish and form into balls and cook as directed in recipe. Cool. Prepare icing by starting with the liquids and adding the powdered sugar until you have a soft but fairly stiff icing. You want it to stay inside the two cookie halves. Fill with about 2 heaping T of the icing or more if you prefer. Drizzle with melted semi-sweet chocolate or leave it off and use a dot of icing to keep the cherry in place.
 
Melt the semi-sweet chips gently in the microwave heating slowly and stirring often. When fully melted and soft, put into a small baggie and cut of a very small tip at the corner. Pipe the soft chocolate onto the cookies, nest in a cherry. Dust with powdered sugar at the end if desired.

BETTY CROCKER SUGAR COOKIES
This is the recipe showing the ingredients halved as I made it | Makes 24 cookies
INGREDIENTS:
C shortening
1 C white sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
Add 1 T of the Elderberry Balsamic Vinegar
Pinch of t salt
3 egg yolks, halved (Add all 3 yolks to a bowl, whisked them together, and used half the mixture)
¾ C + 1/8 C all-purpose flour
 
METHOD: Preheat oven to 300° F. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
Using a stand mixture with the paddle attachment blend the shortening on high for 30 seconds. Add the sugar and blend well for another 30 seconds. Add the baking soda, cream of tarter, egg yolks, balsamic vinegar, and salt. Blend well. Add the flour a little at a time until it comes together. Form into balls. Cook for about 14 minutes being careful not to let them brown on the edges. Remove from oven, let sit for 2 minutes. Place cookies on a cooling rack and when completely cool, follow instructions above to fill with icing, pipe with chocolate, top with cherry, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

*NOTE: You could substitute Maraschino Cherries and their syrup but this will give a more almond flavor. If you do substitute it, I suggest you add about 1/3 C toasted chopped almonds to the sugar batter just to change it up!
 
©Recipe and Photo Copyright Camine Pappas, 2021. All rights reserved.

I love magic. The kind of magic that happens in nature, and the kind that happens in your oven. Especially when it involves puff pastry and the fantastic flavors of fall. And that means combining apples, sage -- which is easy to grow, hearty, sweet, and peppery with a decidedly organic tang -- and the ever-controversial mushroom. Olive This! is genius in my opinion for carrying an oil with such perfectly balanced flavors. Their Wild Mushroom Sage Olive Oil lends itself to so many meals. But when used to sauté mushrooms and apples that will be baked atop a savory tart, it finds its way into our hearts!

Before I get down to the recipe directions, allow me to segue for a moment. Because you know how much I love to teach, as well as cook.

Mushrooms are, in my opinions, routinely abused by home cooks. Not on purpose, mind you. No one is intentionally cruel to their food. But you need to understand the basic tenets of mushrooms if you’re going to elevate them to BLING status. The remedy? Don’t crowd them in the pan (or they will steam instead of sear, making them rubbery. Blech.). Make sure the pan is super-hot. Don’t be afraid to cook in butter. Salt them at the end, not the beginning. And cook them until they’re brown. They are FULL of water, so it takes patience to cook them down. Oh, also you don’t need to wash them before using unless you pulled them out of the ground yourself.

Mushrooms are fungi. They are commonly thought to be the absolute first and oldest life form on earth. A recent documentary on mushrooms states they are neither plant nor animal. And they come in many varieties that offer a huge choice of flavor profiles. The Baby Bella mushroom I use in this recipe has a nutty, creamy, and mild flavor. It browns nicely, and it one of my go-to ingredients!

Armed with all this geeky knowledge, it is time to put on our aprons. And although easy to assemble, I will walk you through some fool-proof tips for success.

1. Make sure you puff pastry is cold when working with it. As it thaws it gets too pliable and sticky. At least try to roll it out and score it, as well as place it on the baking sheet before it reaches room temperature.
2. Flour is your friend. Be generous with the surface where you roll out the dough.
3. Scoring the edges will keep your pastry from being one big poofy dome. Don’t skip this step.
4. We precook the mushrooms and apples because more oven time doesn’t hurt them. But they will never cook correctly or taste good if you put them on the dough raw.
5. Don’t miss dipping these or drizzling these with the honey mustard sage cream sauce. The cool, tart cream and the savory mushrooms JUST GO TOGETHER!
   ​

See the recipe below!

INGREDIENTS:
12 oz. sliced baby bells mushrooms
1 large, sweet apple like Fuji or Gala, peeled and small diced
4 T OliveThis! Wild Mushroom Sage oil divided
1+ t kosher salt and more for sprinkling before baking (A also used a coarse pink sea salt for garnishing the tart before cooking.)
1 T thinly sliced (julienned) fresh sage leaves
6 large fresh sage leaves
5 T butter divided
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
 
SAUCE – Mix all well with whisk and keep in fridge until ready to serve.
2 T yellow mustard
4 T mayonnaise
1 T OliveThis! Wild Mushroom Sage oil
3 t white wine vinegar
2 t heavy cream
2 T honey
1 heaping T fresh chopped Italian leaf parsley
 
 
METHOD:
Heat a large saucepan to high. Add 2 T butter and 2 T mushroom sage oil. When oil is hot add the mushroom. Let them sit for a bit and sauté and begin to brown. You need a pan large enough that the mushrooms can almost sit in a single layer. Once they start to brown add the apple. Toss and move around in the pan until apples are soft and mushrooms are brown. Remove, put in a bowl, set aside to cool about 20 minutes. You can do this up to 3 hours ahead if you like.
 
Preheat oven to 400° F. Roll out the puff pastry to a large square than can fit on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. About 11” by 11”. Score around the outside of the pastry so there is a ½” border. Don’t cut all the way through. Just enough so that you have a nice crust. This indentation is important for the look of the tart. Arrange apples and mushrooms even over tart but keeping inside edge you just scored. Drizzle with the rest of the sage oil; about 2 T. Top with the sliced sage leaves. Add about one teaspoon of the pink sea salt dusted on top of the tart. While oven is preheating put the tart in the freezer for 5 MINUTES. NO MORE. Then put in preheated oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until edges are very brown. Let the tart edges get brown so the middle pieces aren’t soggy. While tart is cooking melt the rest of the butter, about 3 T butter to a small saucepan. When hot add the sage leaves. Let sizzle on each side in the butter for about 20 seconds. Remove. Set aside. And use to garnish the tart.
 
Serve with honey mustard sage cream sauce on the side or drizzled over the tart pieces!
 
©Recipe and Photo Copyright Camine Pappas, 2020. All rights reserved.

We’re at the jumping off place for entering autumn. It’s that time of year when nature exhales a breath of cool air, painting weary green trees with bold reds and oranges. We begin to crave hot soups, knobby sweaters, bonfires, and early sunsets. And it’s when the apple reaches its apex of availability and flavor.
 
For some the apple is the symbol of man’s beginning, an edible catalyst between innocence and knowledge. Cultivated since the 17th century the Gravenstein Apple, this month’s featured ingredient, is known for its creamy white flesh. Honey-scented with a crisp, smooth texture, they are perfect for cider, or dried fruits. And guess what, they absolutely sing in a sophisticated but VERY easy gazpacho made with roasted broccoli, apples, and fresh ginger. (I also added a bit of honey and fresh nutmeg for excitement.) But although fall’s arrival is imminent, we’re NOT quite there yet. However, I have good news. There is a way to serve your guests a first course that bridges the gap between your love of Indian summer’s sticky nights and fall’s chilly tingle. 

But let’s get to the details! This month’s recipe features a Gravenstein Apple White Balsamic Vinegar from Olive This! It is a recipe easy to master, and one that will make you popular at any fall dinner party. So, why is this balsamic worth trying? Well, when I first tasted it, I wanted to just pour it into an aperitif glass and sip it all day long. There are notes of honey, with an herbal but cinnamoney kind of depth, a sweetness that isn’t too overpowering and the right acidity to be perfect for any vinaigrette or sauce. You could pour it over roasted figs and ice cream, topped with cracked black pepper!  Blend it with honey and yogurt for the perfect fruit dip. Add a bit of it to some jam and slather it over a ham roast. I just can’t say enough about its versatility and beauty.
 
Now, to answer the burning question. Why blend it with broccoli? Well, when roasted, broccoli takes on another identity. It’s bright pops of green blossoms not only look pretty in this soup, but they also lend a fresh vegetal quality you’ll love. Also, I must say you can almost not overdo it with this balsamic. There is a LOT of the Balsamic in the soup. It takes center stage but dances so well with all the other flavors I’m certain I was predestined to make this soup and share the recipe with you.

I encourage you to give this a try. The first bite is unexpectedly yummy! Your first gazpacho is a bit of a milestone you need to experience as a cook, a hostess, and as a human. Sans the fig leaf and the serpent, just take one bite of this soup and you’ll never be the same.

 INGREDIENTS:
​
½ C Olive This! Gravenstein Apple White Balsamic Vinegar divided (it’s added Tablespoons at a time. See method for clarity.)
7 C cut up broccoli florets
2 large Granny Smith apples (4 C) peeled and diced into large chunks
1/3 very large, sweet onion large dice
¼ C olive oil
2 t kosher salt + ½ t black pepper (more at the end before serving if needed. SEE NOTES)
1 heaping T freshly grated gingerroot
3 C Swanson’s Chicken Stock (can use vegetable stock but don’t use sodium free)
½ t grated fresh nutmeg (can use from a bottle if you don’t have nutmeg pods to grate.)
2 T honey
Handful of freshly chopped Italian parsley to serve.
1 – 2 t of heavy cream for each bowl when serving.
 
 
METHOD:
 
Preheat oven to 400° F. Toss the cut apples, onion, and broccoli with the olive oil, 2 t kosher salt and ½ t black pepper. Spread out evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake until soft, about 25-30 minutes. Remove, let cool for about 30 minutes. Working in 2 batches take half of the cooled apple broccoli mixture and place in a blender. Add 1 ½ C of the Chicken Stock. Blend on mix until all incorporated. Remove lid and add ½ of the grated ginger, ¼ t of freshly ground nutmeg, 3 T of the Gravenstein Apple Balsamic Vinegar and 1 T honey. Replace lid. Now puree until smooth, about 20 seconds or so. Pour into a large pitcher. Now blend the other half of the cooked apple broccoli mixture repeating all the steps from adding stock, ginger, nutmeg, vinegar, and honey and then finishing by pureeing mixture. Pour into the container so all the soup is together. Cover, and chill for about 4 hours or overnight or until very cold.
 
NOTE: When ready to serve, remove lid, and stir well. Now add ½ t kosher salt, and 2 T of the balsamic vinegar. Taste to make sure it doesn’t need more salt. Stir well. Understand that as the mixture sits the flavors change. You often need to adjust flavors so don’t skip this step. Now place a serving in bowl, stir in a bit of the parsley and a teaspoon of cream if desired. Serve! GREAT with melted cheddar cheese toasts.

©Recipe and Photo Copyright Camine Pappas, 2021. All rights reserved.

 In the 2001 movie Legally Blonde, the stepdaughter of accused murderer Brooke Windham is a jealous, entitled, frizzy-haired and, in the end, guilty young woman. Her name is Chutney. And we all chuckled when we heard it, since it seemed like the right moniker for someone a little spicy but confused. They couldn’t have been more wrong about assigning that word to her character. The identities of chutneys are certain, bold, confident, and of course DELISH. Let me explain why.  

​According to an article in foodreference.com, the original chutney of India (Hindi: chatni) was usually a relish made from fresh fruits and spices. During the colonial era, the British took it home to their Island, and then on to to their other colonial possessions, including South Africa and the Caribbean Islands.
​
As far as a flavor profile, chutneys vary greatly. They can be fresh or cooked and are made from a wide variety of ingredients. They range in flavor from sweet or sour, spicy, or mild, or any combination of these. The consistencies range from thin to chunky and can be made with fruits or vegetables or both. 

An erroneous notion would be to assume they are meant to be hot, or your idea of a smackingly-sweet and powerful curry flavor. With no offence to Major Gray, I would like to write reams on the misconceptions of curry and chutneys. But that’s for another blog post. In essence, they are the world’s perfect acidic food accompaniment, meant to enhance, brighten, and highlight other flavors. Think of pickles with hot dogs. Sauerkraut with corned beef. Limes with tacos. It just wakes up your mouth.

In my recipe – although some Indian chutneys are simmered for hours – I present a quick version. Only 8 minutes on the stove and you have a condiment that goes with a poultry, seafood, or pork dish. It would even be tasty on sandwiches! You know that packet of sweet and sour that goes with your holiday ham? With that hint of spice that orange sauce officially falls into a chutney-like food.
​
As I’ve always said, the quality of the ingredients used directly affects the quality of the final product. You would do well to use the Olive This! brand Peach White Balsamic Vinegar in this chutney as the peach quality is authentic, and the tang perfect. It’s seems to bind all the flavors into something new and perfect. Along with my addition of a tiny pinch of cloves, the fruit sings and melds perfectly with the rest of the ingredients. If you have a half and hour to chop, slice, and simmer. Make this chutney. No guilt involved!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 large just ripe peaches peeled and diced into ½” pieces
• 1 large Fuji apple, unpeeled, diced into 12” pieces
• 3 T thinly sliced shallots
• 1 t grated fresh ginger
• ¼ C golden raisins
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 3 T Olive This! Peach White Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 t coarse kosher salt
• 1/3 t ground black pepper
• 1 T white sugar

METHOD:
Place the diced peaches and apple in a medium sized saucepan. Add the 1 T sugar and toss. This keeps them from turning brown. Now continue to cut and prep other ingredients. Add the sliced shallots, ginger, raisins, cloves, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Bring all ingredients to a simmer and then cook on a very low bubble for 8 minutes, stirring very often. No need to add any other liquid. The moisture and sugars will be all the liquid you need. Remove from stove, let cool slightly. Serve. Can also be refrigerated and used up to 3 days. ​SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Excellent on any baked fish, chicken, or pork. Here I serve it over pecan crusted Cobi, which is like a Sea Bass, over coconut chili rice. 

INGREDIENTS:

CHUTNEY:

• 2 large just ripe peaches peeled and diced into ½” pieces
• 1 large Fuji apple, unpeeled, diced into 12” pieces
• 3 T thinly sliced shallots
• 1 t grated fresh ginger
• ¼ C golden raisins
• Pinch of ground cloves
• 3 T Olive This! Peach White Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 t coarse kosher salt
• 1/3 t ground black pepper
• 1 T white sugar

 
PECAN CRUSTED COBI:

• 4, 4 oz cobi fish steaks patted dry and coated with a bit of olive oil just enough to coat.
• 1 C toasted pecans, processed to fine pieces ½ t coriander powder
• ½ t kosher salt + ¼ t black pepper
• 3 T finely chopped Italian parsley
• 2 to 4 T olive oil divided

 
COCONUT CHILE RICE:
1 C Jasmine Rice + 2 C water. Cook as directed. When ready add 2 T coconut oil, 1 red Thai chile, ½ T kosher salt. Blend.
 
METHOD:
Chutney: Place the diced peaches and apple in a medium sized saucepan. Add the 1 T sugar and toss. This keeps them from turning brown. Now continue to cut and prep other ingredients. Add the sliced shallots, ginger, raisins, cloves, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Bring all ingredients to a simmer and then cook on a very low bubble for 8 minutes, stirring very often. Remove from stove, let cool slightly. Serve. Can also be refrigerated and used up to 3 days.
 
Fish and Rice: Combine pecan pieces, coriander, salt, and pepper, parsley and oil until a paste. Place Cobi in glass baking dish about ½ inch apart. Place the pecan mixture on top. Be generous. You can never have too many pecans! Bake in a preheated 400-degree F oven for about 12 minutes, or until opaque.
 
Serve over rice mixed as stated above.

This month I was invited by Stephanie Sherrill, one of the owners of Olive This!, to become a recipe collaborator. As we browsed the store, chatting while deciding on a product to feature in the first ‘Bling Cuisine with Olive This!’ recipe series I couldn't help feeling it was such a thrill to be able to meet her in person. I wasn't doing this virtually. I was ACTUALLY strolling through a showroom brimming with recipe-possibility. Although we’re not completely out of the woods with the pandemic, I’m profoundly grateful we’re mostly set free to enjoy the world again. 

​It’s been a year, eh? There are reams of paper filled with stories and anecdotes about what we learned from this loooong lock-down. However, my speculations weren’t all expressed in written form. They were also spread across a cutting board, mixed into sauces, seared on a hot pan, and set before loved ones at mealtime. I’ve always expressed my deepest thoughts through food.

As you read this recipe, you’ll get an immediate sense what my cooking style is like. Flavors, colors, and textures should all wake up the palette. It should be interesting by accessible. Every ingredients should be respected and elevated. -- All those things are inherent in my Mexican Beef Skillet with Apricot Persian Lime Salsa & Turmeric Spiced Rice.

Let me do some teaching first. S L O W L Y simmering beef is mostly a problem solver in addition to a technique. The toughest cuts of beef are rendered luxuriously tender with heat and time. That means you can save money buy only beef chuck for this meal. When combined with a yummy simmering sauce you now have a foundation from which to build so many flavor themes.

Because I wanted to feature the Persian Lime Oil, I went with Mexican and Middle East spices for my focus. But I also wanted some top notes for relief, so stone fruit was blended with traditional salsa ingredients to wake it up. And a bright yellow plate of turmeric rice cradled it all like a spotlight on a soloist.

I know there's a temptation to just dump everything in at once. But I encourage you start with searing the meat and then adding your aromatics like onion and garlic. Layering and building flavor is about steps, not expertise. so don't skip it. Adding a fresh bouquet of herbs is the final secret weapon so that now, all you need is a lid and 90 minutes!

Don’t let yourself believe this is a difficult dish to make. I’ve always insisted adventurous and sensuous cooking is within reach for all cooks. That’s why I’m inviting you to access your culinary imagination whenever you’re in the kitchen (and grab a bottle of something from Olive This!). Please, give this recipe a try!!

I present to you another gorgeous meal with a back story. And then I will provide the recipe for my Vietnamese Turkey Meatballs Platter. Yes, you can scroll down to that section now, but reading what leads up to my recipes is fun, yes?

So, this time last year, my freezer held enough food to get us through 4 months of lock-down. None of us quite knew if the food delivery chain would be compromised, so we really stocked up. I also remember losing power for three days during a spring storm and the one thing we guarded like newborn puppies was the food in our freezer. Thank goodness for generators.

Fast forward a year later and even though we’ve all learned there is no way to be sure of the future, my pantry has shrunk down from a 'Def-Con 5' food supply, to being moderately ready for the arrival of neighbors. All this ruminating is to let you know I found a package of frozen ground turkey at the bottom of one compartment that was nearing its end-life, as well as having a bit of fresh food in the fridge that just needed to be used ... and it was closing in on dinner time.
​
This scenario sets the stage for most of my meals:  I look in the pantry and fridge for what’s on hand and create from there. I pride myself on posting photos and recipes that appear as though they took a ton of time and brain power, but this isn’t the reality in the “I Feel Like Cooking” theater. As you all know I work fairly quickly because I’m just a mad scientist with an apron, with a passion for nourishing, and I love beautiful food. 

Okay. Now it’s time for the recipe. Isn’t this just a gorgeous looking meatball? And it’s super healthy.

So to begin with, ground turkey is not something you serve without adding additional ingredients to improve it. I chose powerful Asian flavors, and accent with heat, and used grated carrots for moisture. Then by adding preserved lemon and chili flakes to low fat plain Greek yogurt, I had a great sauce to serve, and a meal that featured cool, spicy, sweet, crunchy, and salty.

I find that baking my meatballs is just a great time-saver, even though the pan does a beautiful job at browning. Since these meatballs were on the platter with other items, I didn’t need a caramelized exterior. Yay, because I also avoided cleaning my stove top. Win-win. 20+ minutes in the oven and then serve over slathered the yogurt … it just got more beautiful from there when I added fresh jalapenos, garden tomatoes, cucumbers that I scored so that the edges were pretty, and tons of cilantro. I finished with pretty, red onion slices and some mint leaves, and everyone was happy!

Not that I advocate you wait until all your food has been around awhile before using it, but this is further proof that putting bling into your cuisine isn’t complicated or time consuming.
​
Now for a long walk to eliminate the pandemic middle I’ve grown. Ugh. Please pass me the cucumbers again.

Baking is so, so different from cooking. The rules that bind it together are set in stone and predictability is how you measure success. Unlike, say, being a bit generous with the dill weed in a meatloaf -- which will change the flavors without dramatically changing the end result -- adding more baking powder doesn’t just change a cookie, it may flat-out ruin it. Given this locus of discipline many shy away from baking with abandon. Then the other side of the coin is once you build a process of success there is plenty of room for creativity. That’s where I live, actually. And this cookie is proof.

I often approach cooking by looking at something that works; meaning nailing the ratio of flour, to sugar, to fats, to leavening, (see BASIC recipe below in tabs,) and then ask myself about ways to switch out elements of flavor, texture, or color. I also start most recipes by looking in my pantry and taking stock of what I can do with what I already have. For instance, we know that apple sauce is a great addition to muffins and cakes. It adds moisture and sweetness, and a soft texture. Since partnering with Raven’s Originals foods as a recipe developer, I find their apple butter to be extremely well balanced and smooth, superior almost to apple sauce. So, why not try it in a cookie?

The perceptions from others, when I tell them about combinations, is fascinating to me. A friend of mine, when I informed her that I was adding white chocolate chips to the apple cookie recipe, gently grimaced at the combination, and I wondered why. Do we hear the word “chocolate” and think of cocoa and there's a whole taste stuck in our heads? Because white chocolate is NOT CHOCOLATE. There is no cocoa in it. (Click here to read why.)  It is curious to me why we even call it that. It melts differently. It doesn’t really awaken the palate like regular chocolate. It is more of a buttery element. And that’s why I wanted it for my apple butter cookies. (It totally works beyond belief, by the way!)

This is a winner in every way. They are chewy on the first day, more cake-like from then on. They retain their sort of “plopped on the pan” shape even after cooking. So I love how rustic they look. I highly recommend these confections alongside a bowl of vanilla ice cream. And since my creative side once awakened goes on and on, I can literally think of dozens of ways to change and use these. Add toasted walnuts. Use them in place of a vanilla wafer and cover them with custard and whipped cream for sheet pudding. Smooth them flat, add some ground corn flakes, and use as a base for a baked apple tart. You see, once you find processes that work, there is no reason your crazy experimental side can’t take over.
​
I suggest you start here having fun here!

Slaving over a hot stove is usually a reference saved for those bound to tortured servitude; a permanent underclass of kitchen help that rarely sees the light of day:  A statement I disagree with on almost every level. I personally find it incredibly soothing to stand before a steaming pan of food. And I have the gall to do it in front of my guests, wearing blingly bracelets, and sipping an embarrassingly expensive glass of wine. 

So, when there is a creamy, cheesy, classic risotto on my stove in front of me, I’m almost giddy. Yes, it is about 40 minutes from heating the oil to spooning the mixture into your mouth. And it asks patience, but the rest of the technical acumen needed for this classic rice dish includes how to wield a large ladle, and knowing how to say “yum.” That’s about it.

Forty minutes may seem like a long time for you to be vigilant, slowly adding stock to a simmering saucepan of Arborio rice until it bursts into a white cloud of perfection, but the end result is a thick, soft, and beautiful side dish. It is also versatile. If you can follow the process of heating, and add aromatics, toast the rice, deglaze with wine, and then ladle in the liquid, you can add anything to change the theme. I’ve created risottos using mushrooms, apples, raisins, even salami to create an endless series of variations. In this case I added preserved lemons, and fresh ginger along with the cream, parmigiana reggiano cheese, and sweet onion. This gave the finished dish so much depth and mystery that’s it is almost hard to think it needed anything else to go with it. Trust me though. It gets better.

Arctic char is a fish that has the color and sweetness of salmon and the fresh flavor of trout. It is hearty yet luxurious. And so easy to make. When cooked it is turns into a gorgeous saffron orange. The hue is vibrant, sassy, and honest. I needed that kind of sophistication to go along with my risotto.
​
I used heirloom tomatoes for the relish because I wanted the deep red of those whose colors are more like brick than fire engine red. It made a beautiful dish in the end. You can use any tomato but the trick with this relish is to remove all the seeds. After halving and then quartering them, a sharp knife run along the inside to quickly remove the liquid and seeds gives you the result you desire. I added jalapeño for a bit of heat that pushes against the heady ginger and lemon, and makes the earthy sweet fish pop on your palette. The entire dish is balanced, and classy. The best way known to eliminate any underclass or torture from any sector you are a part of.

©Recipe and Photo Copyright Camine Pappas, 2021. All rights reserved.