More than a few years ago, Michael and I rented a convertible and drove up the California coast. One of our favorite spots was La Jolla, where we stumbled upon a restaurant called George’s at the Cove – a well-known place with great food and a rooftoop terrace overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I don’t know if it was the scenery, the mojitos, or the fact that we were on vacation, but the shrimp tacos we ordered were out of this world. I’ve tried to recreate them many times at home to no avail, but finally came up a version of my own that’s just as good (if not better!). The shrimp are seasoned with chili powder and grilled, then wrapped in warm corn tortillas with smooth and spicy avocado salsa, crunchy red cabbage and dollops of cool sour cream. They taste remarkably authentic, and always remind of that beautiful lunch looking out on La Jolla Cove.

This is one of those recipes with a long list of ingredients but please don’t let that discourage you — it’s very quick and easy to make. As with all of my shrimp recipes, I recommend buying frozen shrimp labeled “shell split and deveined.” Most shrimp are cleaned and flash frozen shortly after being caught, so the “fresh” shrimp you see in the seafood case at the supermarket is typically thawed frozen shrimp. Who knows how long it’s been sitting there, so you’re better off buying frozen and defrosting it yourself. Come dinnertime, all you have to do is run it under warm water to defrost, then peel.

Begin by making the avocado salsa. Combine the garlic, shallot and jalapeño pepper in a food processor and process until finely minced. For the jalapeño pepper, I like to cut the flesh off the seeds and stem, leaving the spiciest part of the pepper behind.  Of course, if you like more heat, throw in some of the seeds. (If you touch the seeds, just be sure to wash your hands well and avoid touching your eyes.)

Next, seed and chop the tomato and add it to the jalapeño mixture.

Cut a grid into the avocado, then use a soup spoon to scoop out the chunks.

Add the avocado to the jalapeño mixture, along with the salt, fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro. Stir to combine. When you taste it, you might worry it’s too spicy but, rest assured, it’ll be perfect combined with the shrimp and fixins in the tortilla. It’s not intended to be eaten on its own like guacamole.

Next, toss the shrimp with olive oil, chili powder, salt and a hint of cayenne pepper.

Grill the shrimp over medium heat. The reason I use large shrimp for this recipe is so that they don’t fall through the grates. If you’re worried your shrimp will slip through, you can always thread them on skewers or just cook them indoors in a saute pan. Either way, be careful not to overcook them — they only need a minute or two per side.

Finally, heat the tortillas on the grill or in the microwave, and assemble the tacos with all the fixins. Serve with Margaritas and enjoy!

Hi All,

If you watch Food Network, I’m sure you’ve noticed the famous Boos block cutting boards on most of your favorite shows. Bobby, Giada, Paula, Tyler — the list goes on and on. Just last night, I noticed four Boos blocks on Chopped.

Well, thanks to the kind folks at John Boos, I’m giving one away this week! The Deluxe Cutting Board measures 20x15x2-1/4” and is made of hard rock maple, which is naturally anti-bacterial. It’s reversible, so you can use one side for meat and poultry (notice the juice groove) and the other for cutting fruits and veggies.  I have the very same one in my kitchen and love that it’s super functional yet also looks great on the countertop.

For a chance to win, simply review any recipe on the site (in the comment section beneath the recipe) between now and midnight on May 22nd. You may review up to five recipes for five separate entries. A winner will be chosen on May 23rd by a random number generator and notified via email.

You must be a resident of the contiguous U.S. and Once Upon a Chef email or feed subscriber to participate. Click here to subscribe.

Good luck!

Chai is the actual word for tea in many countries but when we say chai in the States, we’re usually referring to Masala chai, which is a smooth and calming beverage made of black tea, milk and fragrant Indian spices. Its flavor goes beautifully with banana bread, so here I’ve taken one of my favorite banana bread recipes and subtly infused it with warm chai spices like cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and allspice. It’s wonderfully moist and aromatic — a sophisticated twist on basic banana bread.

As with all banana bread recipes, use very ripe bananas (the browner and spottier, the better) for the most intense banana flavor and a texture that mashes easily.

Begin by creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Be sure they aren’t too cold, or they’ll cause the butter mixture to curdle.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix to blend.

Beat in the mashed bananas, sour cream and vanilla until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.

Transfer the batter to a greased 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan, and bake for 60-70 minutes.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.

Then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Enjoy! Or if chai’s not your thing, you might like these recipes:

Banana Honey Nut Muffins
Banana Coconut Bread
Basic Banana Bread
Chocolate Banana Bread

This is my new favorite salad dressing. It’s zesty, easy to make, and goes beautifully with so many family dinners — particularly chicken or burgers on the grill or any Italian dish.  My kids love it so I keep it in the fridge and serve it almost every night tossed with romaine, chopped red bell peppers, tomatoes, shaved carrots and olives.

It’s a classic oil and vinegar dressing. What makes it over-the-top is the addition of Worcestershire sauce, lots of garlic and a bit of maple syrup. I know the syrup sounds odd but it doesn’t make the dressing even the slightest bit sweet — it just rounds out the acidity.

To make it, simply combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake to emulsify. That’s all there is to it. Enjoy!

*When dressing salads, be sure greens are completely dry so the dressing doesn’t get watered down.

My first attempt at homemade cinnamon buns was a bit of a flop. I wanted to make a traditional recipe – the kind with a yeast dough that rises and produces a wonderfully tender and buttery roll laced with cinnamon — so I found this blue ribbon recipe on Epicurious, originally published in Bon Appetit. After reading over 150 favorable reviews, I had high hopes. I followed the recipe to a tee and the buns came out good, but not great. They also took me forever to make — way longer than the recipe indicated. My dough was painfully slow to rise, despite my best efforts to baby it and keep it warm. (Such is yeast, and why I typically avoid recipes that call for it.) So, much as I enjoyed these little rolls, in my opinion, they were not worth the time and effort involved.

Bon Appetit buns right out of the oven

Back at square one, I went to my trusty resource, Cooks Illustrated, and found a recipe called “Quick Cinnamon Buns.” The rolls were indeed easy to make and, although they lacked the subtle tang that only comes from yeast, they were still very good. My only issue was that they were tooth-achingly sweet and a bit too rich, so the next time I made them I cut back on the sugar and butter. After a few more modifications, I had the perfect cinnamon bun: light and tender on the inside, golden and caramelized on the outside and, best of all, quick to make. My family actually preferred the taste and texture to the more complicated yeast rolls.

Begin by making the filling, which is a combination of brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, cloves, salt and butter.

In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the dough. Note that it’s very important to measure the flour using the spoon and level method: spoon it into a measuring cup and level it off with the back edge of a knife. If you scoop it into the measuring cup, you will have too much flour and dry buns.

Add the liquid ingredients — buttermilk and melted butter — and stir with a wooden spoon until the liquid is absorbed and the dough looks shabby.

Transfer the dough to a work surface dusted with flour. Dust the dough lightly with flour and knead until the dough is smooth.

It will look like this.

Pat the dough into a small rectangle, then roll into a larger 12-inch x 9-inch rectangle.

Brush the dough with melted butter, then sprinkle the brown sugar topping evenly over top.

Press the filling into the dough, then roll into a log.

Pinch the seam.

Then, cut the log into 9 pieces.

Lightly flatten the rolls with your hand to pack the filling in place, then arrange them in a 9-inch cake pan lined with buttered aluminum foil. Brush the rolls lightly with melted butter.

Then bake for about 25 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown. Use the foil overhang to transfer the rolls to a cooling rack. Let them sit about 5 minutes, then pull them apart.

Make the buttermilk glaze by mixing the buttermilk, cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar, then drizzle liberally over the buns.

These buns are best served warm out of the oven, but they can also be stored in an air tight container and reheated with excellent results. Enjoy!

Smooth, mild and gently flavored with lemon and Parmesan, this asparagus soup tastes wonderfully luxurious. No heavy cream is added for a change — just vegetables, broth and a hint of cheese puréed to silky perfection.  I like to serve it with a crusty bread for lunch or a light dinner, especially right now while asparagus is in peak season and there’s still a chill in the air.

Begin by cooking the onions and garlic in butter until soft.

While that’s going, prep the asparagus. Trim off the tips (you’ll use them for a garnish), then cut the remaining spears into 1/2-inch pieces.

Add the chopped asparagus to the pot, along with the chicken broth, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for about 30 minutes until the vegetables are very tender.

Purée the soup with a hand held immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Alternatively, you can blend the soup in batches in a blender.

I like to pass the soup through a fine sieve because asparagus is very fibrous. If you use a standard blender to purée the soup, this may not be necessary, but my immersion blender leaves too many fibers behind. It only takes a few minutes and makes a big difference in the end result. The most efficient way is to use a ladle to push the soup in circular motions through a strainer into a large bowl.

Return the soup to the pot and stir in the fresh lemon juice and grated Parmesan cheese.

Finally, cook the asparagus tips in boiling water until tender-crisp.

The best way to preserve the bright green color of the tips and keep them crisp is to shock them in an ice bath, but this is probably only worth it if you’re entertaining. Otherwise, just refresh the tips under cold water.

Finally, ladle the soup into bowls and top with the asparagus tips, fresh herbs, more Parmesan cheese, and freshly ground black pepper if desired.

I worked in a fine dining steakhouse for six years, so I’m very picky when it comes to my burgers. If they’re not tender, juicy and flavorful, they’re just not worth it. Problem is, it’s difficult to replicate steakhouse burgers at home because most steakhouses use closely-guarded recipes and custom ground beef mixes, both of which are hard to find. After many trials, I discovered the solution to making great steakhouse burgers at home is to use readily available 85% lean ground beef, a panade — a mixture of bread and milk that keeps meat tender and juicy even when cooked to medium-well — and lots of seasoning, such as garlic, scallions, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce.

Begin by making the panade and flavoring. Simply mash the bread and milk together with a fork until it forms a chunky paste, then stir in the garlic, salt, pepper, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Next, add the ground beef and scallions and break the meat up with your hands. Gently mix everything together until just combined. Try not to overmix or your burgers may be tough.

Divide the mixture into 10 equal portions and shape into loose balls. Gently flatten each ball into a 3/4-inch-thick patty that’s about 4-1/2 inches around. (Keeping the burgers thick ensures a nice char on the outside without overcooking the inside.) To prevent the burgers from forming a domed shape on the grill, create a slight depression in the center of each patty.

Grill the burgers 2-4 minutes on the first side until nicely browned. Flip and cook on the second side a few minutes more, until desired doneness is reached.

Enjoy!

A few months ago, my son was at Grandma’s house and found a jar of homemade pickles in the fridge from my mom’s dear friend, Joanne Biltekoff. He loved them and has been begging me to make them ever since. Joanne sent me her recipe and he and I finally made them together over the weekend. Such fun!

They’re refrigerator pickles, which means quick and easy — no sterilizing jars or special canning equipment required. All you do is slice the cucumbers into spears and cover them with a brine, tuck them in the fridge and they’re ready to eat in in 24 hours. Of course, they don’t last as long as canned pickles but it doesn’t matter much because they disappear so quickly.

The most important part of the recipe is to start with Kirby or pickling cucumbers. They’re short, squat and full of warts but they make deliciously crisp pickles. Surprisingly, I can never find them at my regular grocery store but Whole Foods always carries them. Don’t be tempted to substitute another kind of cucumber or you’ll end up with soggy pickles.

Begin by making the brine. Combine the vinegar, salt and sugar in a small non-reactive saucepan (such as stainless steel, glass, ceramic or teflon). Heat and stir until the salt and sugar are completely dissolved. (Alternatively, Joanne says you can shake the vinegar, salt and sugar in a jar until the salt and sugar dissolve.) Whisk in the cold water, then chill until ready to use.

Next, stuff the cucumbers into two 1-quart jars. Add the coriander and mustard seeds, garlic, red pepper flakes, dill sprigs and chilled brine to the jars, dividing evenly.

Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for about 24 hours, then serve. The pickles will keep in the fridge for up to one month.

Hi Everyone, We just got back from a wonderful vacation with friends in Long Boat Key, Florida. I barely opened my laptop, and it was such a nice break! We beached, pooled, played putt-putt, kayaked, fished, dined out, drank lots of sangria and indulged in way too many ice cream cones.

The only meal I cooked all week was breakfast — mostly, this steel cut oatmeal with maple syrup, currants and coconut. My friend Sabrina was crazy for it. The two of us enjoyed it every morning on the balcony with a big pot of coffee (and a beautiful view!).

Steel cut oats have a wonderfully hearty and chewy texture. They’re less processed than rolled or instant oats (which are steamed and rolled into flakes) so they take a bit longer to cook…perfect for vacation or lazy weekend mornings. In this recipe, I simmer them in a lot of liquid so they get super creamy – almost like a breakfast risotto. Enjoy!

No flour, no butter and yet these are delicious chocolate cookies — delicate and crisp on the exterior and rich and fudgy on the interior. The recipe is adapted from Alice Medrich’s cookie book, Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy, and they’re hands down the best chocolate meringues I’ve ever tried. Unlike most similar recipes, which call for cocoa powder and melted chocolate, Medrich’s version uses only melted chocolate, which results in intensely chocolate, melt-in-your-mouth cookies. They also happen to be gluten free — no strange substitutions, just naturally that way.

It’s important to use a good quality chocolate in these cookies because, with so few ingredients, the flavor of the chocolate really shines through. I like Ghirardelli. (If you are following a gluten free diet, be sure your chocolate is gluten free.)

Begin by finely chopping the chocolate.

Gently melt it in the microwave by blasting in 20-second intervals, stirring in between. This method keeps the chocolate from scorching.

Next, separate the egg yolks from the egg whites. My method is to crack the egg in half, and then pour the egg from one broken shell into the other, letting the white fall into the bowl below while keeping the yolk intact in the shells as I pour. Be sure that not even a trace of egg yolk gets into the egg whites, as even a tiny bit of fat will prevent them from stiffening. (Additionally, be sure your bowl and beaters are squeaky clean, and avoid plastic bowls which always hold a trace of residue.) Discard the yolks or save for something else.

Combine the egg whites with salt, cream of tartar and vanilla and beat until soft peaks form.

Soft peaks will barely hold their shape (see below).

Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. As you can see below, stiff peaks hold their shape when you lift the beaters out of the bowl.

Add the melted chocolate and chocolate chips.

And gently fold…

Until the mixture is uniform in color.

Drop tablespoons of batter on parchment lined baking sheets.

And bake for 8-10 minutes, until the tops are crisp but the insides are gooey and soft when you press on them.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Alice Medrich’s Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy. My only changes were to add a pinch of salt and swap out the walnuts for milk chocolate chips to make them kid-friendly.