Welcome back!  Today, we have a fiery Habanero Salsa! Salsa is deceptively easy to make - just chop up a few ingredients and put it through a food processor - and if you do it yourself, you're able to get it to exactly the right consistency and flavor that you want. In this case, we were able to concoct a devilishly spicy salsa with a fresh habanero. Plus, this is so much fresher than the store-bought variety of salsa! Habanero Salsa Ingredients: 3 medium tomatoes (or Roma tomatoes), deseeded 1/4 small red onion 1 jalapeno 1 habanero Cilantro 1 tablespoon lime juice Pinch of salt Directions: Chop the tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, and habanero into rough chunks - not diced. Cut the cilantro so that there aren't any long stems. Add the chopped ingredients into a food processor along with the lime juice and salt. Pulse until the desired consistency is reached. This salsa is great by itself but it also is an amazing way to add an extra kick to guacamole or some Brisket Queso, and of ...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a variation on the beloved breakfast dish: Lemon Ricotta Pancake! This recipe adds a little bit of extra flavor to your typical pancake with the lemon, and the ricotta helps to fluff up the texture of the final product. The combination of these two special ingredients is also a well-known pairing - we even made an Italian Lemon Ricotta Cake  that used them in a similar fashion to elevate a standard dish. However, this is not a drastic transformation of a normal pancake - you can still enjoy it with the classic syrup or serve it with some fresh berries - and it's just as delicious! Lemon Ricotta Pancake Makes 10-12 medium pancakes Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup flour (210 grams) flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 50 grams sugar 1 cup milk 2 eggs 3/4 cup ricotta cheese 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Juice from one lemon (about 2-4 tablespoons) Zest from one lemon Directions: In a bowl, pour in the milk and crack the eggs in...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a recipe for one of the most classic American breakfast dishes: Pancakes! Pancakes come in all shapes and sizes across different cultures, but the American pancake is iconic for its thin-but-slightly-fluffy texture that's conducive to all sorts of variations, including pancake art, and being topped with a small slab of butter and/or maple syrup. Plus, they're a quick and fun dish to make (something that the kids will love!) and you can experiment with all sorts of different fillings. Pancakes Makes about 8 medium-sized pancakes Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons sugar 1 egg 1 1/4 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons melted butter (optional) Directions: Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add in the salt and sugar and mix. Beat an egg and pour it into the dry mixture. Pour in the milk, vanilla extract, and butter (if you want to use it). Mix until the ingr...

Welcome back!  Today, we have an fresh and easy Italian dish: Caprese Salad! Caprese salad is possibly the most iconic Italian dish that isn't also loaded with carbs: it's really just cheese, tomatoes, and basil. These are also the three colors that make up the Italian flag, as well as the three ingredients that you find on the classic margherita pizza. There's just something refreshing about eating the juicy tomato with the creamy mozzarella together; plus, it's super healthy! Caprese Salad Ingredients: Fresh mozzarella cheese Tomato Basil leaves Extra virgin olive oil Balsamic vinegar Directions: Slice the mozzarella and tomato into similar sized slices. Aim for about a quarter of an inch. Pick and wash some basil leaves. Arrange the ingredients in the pattern of tomato, cheese, and then basil. Drizzle some olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top. Balsamic vinegar isn't always a necessary addition, but we found it to be a nice flavor contrast with the rest of the in...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious recipe for a Northeastern classic: the Lobster Roll! These sandwiches are a great way to enjoy lobster by putting it in a convenient-to-eat dish that really highlights the flavor of the star ingredient. There are actually two main types of lobster rolls: one from Maine and one from Connecticut, featuring two types of lobster preparation. The Maine variation dresses the lobster in just mayo while the Connecticut one uses melted butter; we, on the other hand, decided to incorporate both into our recipe - and it tastes great! Lobster Roll Makes about 4 lobster rolls Ingredients: 1 pound lobster tails 2 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup mayo 1/4 cup celery, chopped 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon chives, chopped A pinch salt A pinch ground black pepper 4 brioche hot dog buns Directions: In a bowl, mix the mayo, celery, lemon juice, chives, salt, and black pepper. Cook the lobster tails by steaming. You want to cook about one minute per ounce; ea...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a delicious fish dish! This one is nice and lemon-y, and it's not too strong, so it makes for a light meal. The Dover sole is also sometimes called the common or black sole; there is a Pacific variety of sole that is rather different and not the kind used here. This fish is said to have naturally a light, buttery taste, so that makes sense in the context of this recipe. Oven Baked Lemon Butter Dover Sole Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 2 pounds sole filet Juice from one lemon 2-3 tablespoons butter, melted, or olive oil 1 tablespoon chopped parsley Lemon slices Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Take a baking pan to put the sole in and grease it. Layer the sole in the pan. Try to get it as even as possible. If your sole is thicker, you may only need to do one layer. Add the salt and pepper, lemon juice, and butter/olive oil. Garnish with parsley and some lemon slices. Bake it in the oven at 375°F for 20 minutes if you have multiple layers of sole or it...

Welcome back!  Today, we have a refreshing summer dish: ceviche. This dish features raw fish or shrimp, but it is just as enjoyable with cooked seafood. It originates from Peru, where it's actually the national dish, though the roots of the technique in which the fish is cooked still comes from Spain. This technique is really interesting; it involves bathing the seafood in citrus juice so the acids make the fish look like it's cooked when it's really not. Different regions across Latin America use their different regional ingredients to prepare this recipe in different ways; this version that we have is just our own and you can edit it to add some other things that you want.  Shrimp Ceviche Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 12 ounces raw shrimp, peeled and deveined Juice from about 3 lemons/limes 1/2 cup tomatoes 1/4 cup red onion 1 avocado A little jalapeno Cilantro Salt and pepper to taste Optional: cucumber, jicama, etc. Directions: If you do not want to eat the shrimp raw: ...

Welcome back!  Today, we have another fish recipe! It also combines with the sweet mango chutney for a exquisite combination of flavors. A fun fact about salmon: most Atlantic salmon is farm-raised, with Norway being a major producer, while most Pacific salmon is wild-caught. Our servings of salmon reflect just that, as we had farm-raised Norwegian salmon and wild Alaskan salmon. Both are delicious, though they do have some differences. Oven Baked Salmon with Mango Chutney Makes 4 servings Ingredients: Salmon 4 4-6 ounce salmon filets Salt and pepper to taste Paprika and/or cayenne Any herbs/pepper flakes/other seasonings Mango Chutney: 2 golden mangoes Cilantro Lime juice Red onion Directions: Dry the salmon with a paper towel. Shake some salt and pepper, along with any herbs/pepper flakes if you want. Bake in the oven at 425° for 15 minutes. On our Breville Smart Oven Air on the airfry setting, you only need to bake at 400°. If your piece of salmon is thinner/smaller, you can bak...

Welcome back!  Today, we have kind of a follow up on the Chicken Piccata . This is a side dish consisting pretty much of just vegetables that we served alongside the chicken, and I'm sure it would go well with other things, including meats or bases like rice. Although it's called a stew, it's more like ratatouille (which comes in more than just the circular variety ) in that the ingredients are softened. With the help of the potato and the whipping cream, it's creamy and smooth too. Creamy Veggie Stew Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 1/4 onion 1 small zucchini 1/4 each of red and yellow sweet bell pepper 1 carrot 1 medium potato 1/2 cup chicken broth 1/2 cup whipping cream Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Chop everything up! Everything should be diced into relatively equal size. After chopping them up, steam the carrot and potato a little bit and put it aside. This makes later steps a little easier. Put a little bit of olive oil in a pan. Saute the onion in the pan for...

Welcome back!  Following up on the couscous , we have catfish, since every time we made couscous, we also made catfish! It's a good pairing because they're both light and the flavors are nice and subtle. If you look back at the couscous recipe, the last catfish is the type that's we're making today. All you need is some catfish and some spices and herbs! Oven Baked Herb Catfish Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 4 pieces of catfish Garlic powder Paprika Salt and pepper Fresh parsley, finely chopped Thyme Oregano Juice from half a lemon Directions: Spray oil on a pan. Put the catfish on the pan and sprinkle the herbs, spices, and lemon juice on top. Spray some more oil on top of the catfish. Bake in the oven at 375° for 15 minutes. The ingredients didn't have measurements today because it's really all to taste. You could add a little or a lot depending on what you like. Just be reasonable and the result will taste great! In this one, we added some basil to give it som...

Welcome back to Chez Chefpo!  Today we have a recipe that hails from a different part of the world: couscous! Couscous itself originated from North Africa, specifically the Maghreb region, and spread to Europe through immigrants to France. It is traditionally served with vegetables and/or beans, so it makes for a good vegetarian dish or as a base for some meat like chicken or fish. Couscous Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 1 cup pearl couscous 1 tablespoon oil 1 1/2 cup water or broth Various vegetables: onion, zucchini, squash, spinach, etc. Directions: In a pan, saute the couscous along with the oil on medium heat until light brown, or about 5 minutes. Add the water/broth, put it on low heat, and cover (for about 12 minutes), stirring occasionally until the liquid is absorbed by the couscous. Saute some vegetables to go along with the couscous, and mix it together. We served this dish with some Seasoned Catfish , and altogether, it makes for a nice, light meal. With some herb coated...

Welcome back!  Today, we have something a little different. This is a light, fruity, and refreshing salsa that can be added into your tacos, used as dip, or just eaten straight! This goes great with seafood to make a really tropical pairing; in fact, we used it in some shrimp tacos, and it creates a wonderful balance. Plus, this is super healthy since it's really just fruits and vegetables. Mango Salsa Makes about 4 servings Ingredients: 3 ripe mangoes, diced 2 Roma tomatoes, cored and diced 1 jalapeno, finely chopped (optional but recommended) 1/4 cup red onions, chopped 1 avocado, chopped 1/2 lemon/lime, juiced (around 2 tablespoons of juice) About 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped Salt to taste Directions: Chop everything up. Mix it together thoroughly. This one's really easy to prepare and tastes great! Served with shrimp skewers... ...but actually shrimp tacos! Salsas like these tend to be like that - we've made things like corn/bean salsa, pico de gallo , etc., and they...

Welcome back!  Today, we got a refreshing kale salad! This is different from the other types of salad that we usually eat, and although it was different, it was actually really nice. It's very cool and relaxing to eat, which is a little strange, but it's healthy and you feel good after eating it. Once again, this is recipe where you can pretty much add anything in your pantry or fridge, just as long as there's kale. Kale Salad Makes about 4 servings Ingredients: Salad: 1 bunch kale 1/4 small onion 1/4 cup corn 1 avocado 1/4 cup raisins 2 mangos Dressing: 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons dijon mustard Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Prepare the kale: Wash it thoroughly, remove the stems, then drain. Chop the kale into small pieces Spray with some olive oil Massage the leaves for a couple minutes to soften the kale Prepare your toppings, just chop everything into chunks of similar size to t...