Curry Chicken Salad....

I may be a little late for the Summer Season menu...but a fresh eclectic spin on chicken salad had to be entered before September made it. Yes chicken salad! And not that icky, wet calorie pile, over priced at the deli, stuff your grandma used to make.

Curry Chicken Salad

Broiled or Grilled Cooked chicken breast
Small Box of Raisins (2 to 3 tablespoons)
Light Mayo or Regular
Whole Grain Sliced Bread
Honey
Curry Powder
Chicken Seasoning

Lettuce/Tomato for garnish.

Chop Chicken breast in 1 or 2 inch cubes. Mix chicken, 1/4 cup of honey, raisins, curry powder, and 1 teaspoon or season to taste with chicken seasoning....hell you can even add 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Now here's the decision you have to make: whether to mayo your bread or just mix it in the darn chicken salad. It's your choice...either way...it'll work.

Remember good cooking is about improvising. That's the fun....

Oh yeah...chill the chicken salad mix for at least two hours...then slap it on the good for you "whole grain" bread with the
L &T and you have a winner.

Ten Minute Meals....

This is a Rachel Ray Recipe. And we loves Rachel Ray at Dalish!
She's our inspiration.

Use 1 lb.lean ground turkey. Season with Kosher salt, McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak seasoning, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and anything else you want to toss in. Microwave some frozen chopped spinach (as much as you like) and squeeze out the water. Mix chopped spinach and feta cheese crumbles into ground turkey meat. Fry or grill burgers until desired level of rare or cooked completely. Add a bag salad and dinner is ready.

Greens...

There are many mean ways to cook greens. This recipe is a classic version of this soul food favorite.

A dash of Liquid Smoke
1 Smoke Turkey Tail or wing
4 pound of collards
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoon Onion Powder
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon of Salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp crush red pepper flakes

Wash and rinse greens thoroughly.
Cut greens by removing stems and stacking them cutting into 1 inch ribbons.
Add clean greens to large point of at least 2 quarts of water. Add all ingredients
Bring to boil; then immediately lower to simmer.
Cover and cook for 2 and 1/2 hours.
Serves 6-8.

Who needs Jiffy?

Golden-Yellow Banana Cornbread

Butter for pan
2 overripe bananas
1 cup of yellow cornmeal
1 cup of sifted whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup raw sugar, such as turbinado
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup of vegetable shortening
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure almond extract

Pre-heat oven to 375 Degrees. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan. Peel bananas, mash in large bowl; set aside.

In medium bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add the shortening, eggs, milk, and cream to the mashed bananas and combine. Add the dry ingredients with a few swift strokes.

Add the cinnamon and almond extract to the mixture with a few more strokes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 1/2 hour. Serves 6-8 people.

It's a lot of damn work....but who needs Jiffy?!!!

Summer Salad

Summer's here so it's time to go a little light on the greasy. Salad's are a wonderful way to expand your veggies palate and helps keep the waistline and digestive system in check. Here's one of my favorites!

Organic Salad Mix (Try Olivia's Organics Spring Mix)
Dried Cranberries
Blue Cheese Crumbles
Sliced Pear
Toasted Pecans

Mix All Ingredients. To Add protein component...grilled tofu or chicken goes great with this salad. Dalish!

For dressing you could make a simple Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinagrete or if you want store bought there's nothing better than Brianna's Homestyle Blush Wine Vinagrette.

Delux

If you're ever in New York City's Morningside Heights neighborhood, check out DELUX. This Upper West Side eatery has classic American flava comfort food that isn't ho hum. From Skirt Steak and Burgers to Cobb Salads and Quesadilla, the menu skips the frou frou and challenges the palette. They serve large portions so you won't feel like your'e being snob jacked by the neighborhood; and the food is just damn good.

You can eat here everyday of the week and still be interested. Best off they're super affordable. And you can people watch with your sunshades on; they have a great sidewalk cafe that makes you look like your'e important...Hey...no one has to know that your'e barely scraping by.

M.

Meatballs

Meatballs appetizers are so 1970's, but they work. They're simple and easy to make and can be make a zillion thousand ways. Here's a recipe I got from a friend for an instant party hit:

1lb of Ground Turkey
1/4 cup of oil to brown meatballs
1/4 Teaspoon of salt
1/2 Teaspoon of pepper
1 Table Spoon of Tarragon
1 Jar of Honey Barbecue Sauce
1/2 Cup of Ketchup.

Brown the meatball combination of the ground turkey, tarragon, salt and pepper. In the meantime mix the barbecue sauce and ketchup. Transfer thoroughly cooked meatballs to sauce combination.

Voila!

Tuna Casserole for Days...

There are simply those days when you don't even want to see the likes of a kitchen. Whenever I know I'm going to be too busy to even think about creating in the kitchen every day, I go for the stretch out meals.. You know the type where a meal can languish in the refrigerator for a couple of days without your partner sniffing it to see if its still good....

One of those stretch out meals is Tuna Casserole. It's healthy comfort food and this meal is satisfying and filling. It will never let you down.

Ingredients

1 Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/4 lb of Cheddar Cheese
1 Bag of Whole Wheat Egg Noodles
2 Tablespoons of Heavy Cream
1 Whole Head of Fresh Steamed Broccoli
1/2 Cup of Chopped Onion
2Tablespoons of Butter
1 Carton of Pre-Sliced Mushrooms
2 Cans of Tuna

Boil Noodles according to direction and drain. Shred Cheddar Cheese and rest aside. Break Broccoli into flowerets and Steam for 3-5 Minutes. In large saucepan melt butter and cooked chopped onion and pre-sliced mushrooms until moist and fragrant.

Combine all the above ingredients and the remaining.

Bake for 20 Minutes under 400 Degree Oven. Voila. Hearty Meal that can be combined with a green salad and garlic bread.

Dalish!

Food Rules

We have an macrocosmic unhealthy relationship with food.

Somehow our country has created a polarizing nueroticism around the very thing that we need to do every day to function: eat. We're encouraged to drink beer and snack during The SuperBowl, devour holiday feasts; eat packaged high sodium foods on the run, desperately follow diet crazes, while at the same time measuring and comparing ourselves to chopstick thin supermodels, rock stars and Hollywood starlets as the recommend standard of beauty. We drive ourselves crazy counting calories, drinking diet sodas, eating low fat chips, and blaming ourselves for our perceived failure.

At Dalish we worship foods with life force and know that without them our body, mind and spirits would be severly undernourshed and depleated. Arugula, Kale, Shallots, Garlic, Broccoli Rabe, Spinach, Mushrooms, Olive Oil, Fresh Fish, Butternut Squash, Peppers, Edamame, Almonds, Pecans, Walnuts, Fresh Fruits and all the good stuff that the good earth provides.

Categorically, we're omnivores, but at Dalish we will not deny ourselves pastrami, freshly baked bread, beef burgers, chocolate cake, rack of lamb, Thanksgiving feasts, or the decadence of the best chocolate chip cookie in the world. No butter or milk substitutes, just real food in real moderation. So yes, you can have cake but your'e going to have to check yourself if you want to eat the entire cake.

It's about creating your own personal system of checks and balances. There are no rules to good food; just life philosophies. And you must ask yourself what's yours. And yes food can be enjoyed without using it as a vice or crutch for emotional distress. Dalish is about balance, moderation and sustainability. Here we will present to you recipes and philosophies on eating and living well. Cause the two go hand in hand.

You can't live well without eating well. Good food is that important. We're proud to be a part of the food movement that brings us back to balanced living. Because frankly, how we eat is not separate from who we are.


Dalish Philosophy
Eating with friends and family; Eating simple uncomplicated food. And living life without the crazy.

Samon Cakes

In 2007, we know that fish is a must eat protein staple. The advantages of making it an essential part of your diet are it's high lean protein content, low cholesterol and saturated fat, and the screamingly limitless amount of fish varieties, tastes, and textures. Salmon is a fish that you just can't go wrong with; it's delectable and can be prepared a thousand ways from Sunday.

I've been making salmon cakes ever since I've had them at a Harlem brunch ten years ago. Although the following recipe is created from canned salmon, salmon fillet may be substituted for fresher quality. But why make your life complicated? This simple recipe allows for a basic reintroduction into the world of fish, and can be served with breakfast, lunch or dinner. They are many versions of this recipe floating around but I found that this recipe does the job without all the bells and whistles.

Samon Cakes

Reciped Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
1 Egg
1/2 Teaspoon Celery Seed
1/4 Cup of Hellmann's Regular or Low Fat Mayo
1 Tablespoon of Deli Mustard
1/4 Cup of Plain or Italian Bread Crumbs
1 Teaspoon of Fresh Chopped Dill or Dry

1 -14.75 Ounce Canned Pink Salmon

1 Teaspoon of Lemon Pepper Seasoning (Optional)
Oil for Frying -Try Canola, Olive or Vegetable.

Open can of salmon and drain. In bowl, mix all ingredients thoroughly. Form patties according to the size you prefer. Heat oil for frying. Brown on each side for a total of 4-6 minutes. Place patties on paper towel to absorb excess oil. Serve Warm.

Take Five or Six

A sandwhich is one of the most inventive, gratifying, and quickests way to calm an appetite. This sandwich recipe is so dalish because of the textures and salt sweet combination. This sandwich is great for bag lunches and appeals to all ages.

1. Veggie/Turkey/Beef or Pork Bacon
2. One Tablespoon of Deli Mustard
3. Granny Smith Apple
4. Multi-Grain Bread Toasted
5. Reduced Fat or Regular Shredded Cheddar Cheese
6. 2 Teaspoons of Low Fat Mayo.

Cook Bacon. Toast Bread. Create Sandwich using all ingredients. Voila! Dalish.