Cooking Method: Sautéing

Beef Stew for Two

I love recipes that serve 2. You can scale this Beef Stew for Two up to serve more. I happened to have had a small chuck roast and all the other ingredients. I love when that happens! It's very flavorful and I made it in the Instant Pot, but also have included the stovetop instructions.

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Vegetable Chili

This is one of my all-time favorite chili recipes, which happens to be vegetarian. It's the perfect thing to make for a crowd with a regular chili con carne. It will please your vegetarian guests and the carnivores as well. It's delicious!

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Lemony Shrimp with White Beans and Couscous

This Lemony Shrimp with White Beans and Couscous is super fast to make. I used Israeli Couscous, but you could use orzo or a wide pasta such as a pappardelle. The key is to not overcook the shrimp!

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Butter Roasted Tomatoes, Beans, Kale, and Sausage Gratin

It’s winter and it’s cold. All you want is something hearty and stick-to-your-ribs good. But you’ve also been eating comfort food for the past month...enter this Butter Roasted Tomatoes, Beans, Kale, and Sausage Gratin. Rethink your winter carbo-load with this guiltless (but comforting!) veggie-loaded dish. You can leave out the sausage and make it truly vegetarian.

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Creamy Mushroom Chicken

This Creamy Mushroom Chicken is perfect for a busy work week. It only takes 30 minutes to make. The chicken and mushrooms get pan-seared and are enveloped in a rich cream sauce. No canned cream of mushroom soup is involved!

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Passata Sauce from Pizzeria Mozza

Years ago, I took the last pizza class at Pizzeria Mozza with my good friend Chris, who happens to be one of my mentors. I want to tell you about the sauce. This sauce is so easy, it seems like you’ve forgotten something. There is no garlic, no herbs in this sauce!

For their pizzas – also called Passato. The sauce is not complex, instead showcasing the ingredients.

KEY 
The variety of tomato. Best: San Marzano. You want tomatoes that have more meat—lots of flesh – less water, fewer seeds, and sweeter. “DOP” designation is important. Homegrown tomatoes are often very watery making them less desirable since so much water would have to be cooked off.

TIPS 
Pan you use to cook sauce should be twice the size as amount of product you’re adding. A heavy pan—the heavier the better – should be used because it prevents sticking. Enameled cast iron (like Le Creuset) is perfect. Simmer the sauce gently until you get the taste you want. Taste often. It should not take that long to produce the sauce as it is simple with few ingredients.  Do not cook it to a paste.

Cool down the sauce before putting in on pizza dough.  It's a 2-ounce ladle of sauce per pizza. No more. You can also use this sauce for pasta as well.

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Creamy Lemon-Dill Shrimp

I made this Creamy Lemon-Dill Shrimp using Florida Gulf pink shrimp. Years ago, I was hired to demo Florida pink shrimp at a Whole Foods convention. I made shrimp scampi about 100 times for 2 days! I fell in love with pink shrimp. The combination of cream, lemon and dill is absolutely perfect.

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Instant Pot Olive Garden Pasta e Fagioli

“Pasta e Fagioli” translates to “pasta and beans” in Italian. This recipe is outstanding. I have to admit I have never even been to an Olive Garden and hope I never do (sorry! I know it sounds snooty, but I just can't go there). I have given both the Instant Pot instructions as well as the stovetop version. This is a real crowd-pleaser. I should have added some chopped Italian Parsley to serve.

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Instant Pot Chili

I have many chili recipes, but this is my new favorite. I have given the Instant Pot instructions and also the stovetop instructions. The addition of a small amount of cocoa powder adds a subtle depth of flavor.

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Japanese Vegetable Pancakes

My friend Jessica made these Japanese Vegetable Pancakes, which are known as Okonomiyaki in Japan. They are savory pancakes that have shredded cabbage and a variety of vegetables in a flour-based batter. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "how you like" or "what you like", and yaki meaning "cooked".

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