Mini Indulgence desserts at Seasons 52. Located at South Coast Plaza, near Bloomingdales. (714) 437-5252.

Rocky Road, Mocha Macchiato, Raspberry Cheesecake, Pecan Pie, Key Lime Pie, Carrot Cake, or Fresh Seasonal Fruit – which indulgence are you?

Here on She’s Cookin’ I specialize in quick and easy recipes that fit the busy lifestyle of families and professionals. I’m always mindful of creating nutritious dishes that take advantage of the freshest seasonal produce. With that said, I know that quality, gourmet sauces and marinades that transform a dish from ordinary to extraordinary with the twist of a cap can be your best friend Which is why I opted to try an assortment of sauces from Barhyte Specialty Foods and enter their cooking contest.

Barhyte is a family owned company that began sharing their  homemade specialty mustards, made from recipes passed down through generations of both sides of the family, at a local deli in the  1970s. Mustard sales grew so quickly that it became a business in 1984 and now has expanded to include many tasty condiments, sauces, and marinades. I zeroed in on the Cracked Pepper marinade first, but I’ll be having fun with the Hot Wing, Sweet Onion, and Lime Chipotle marinades and the Chipotle mustard in the coming weeks.

Using Barhyte’s Cracked Pepper marinade for steak seemed so predictable.  I wanted to create a spectacular dish that was at once easy and elegant. Inspired by the classic French preparation for Steak au Poivre, I marinated tuna steaks in the Cracked Pepper marinade, quickly seared them on the grill, served atop a bed of arugula and baked potato – it made for a dazzling anniversary dinner!

Tuna Steak au Poivre

4 – 6 to 8 oz. Ahi tuna steaks, 1 inch thick

1 cup Barhyte Cracked pepper marinade, divided use

3 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced crosswise

Serves 4

Rinse tuna steaks in cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and place in a glass baking dish. Pour ½ cup marinade over the steaks and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat grill to medium high heat. Brush, spray, or – a tip I learned from a grill master – use balled up aluminum foil to oil the grill rack.

Remove fish from marinade and place on grill. Close lid and sear for 4 minutes. Turn and cook for 4 more minutes.

Arrange arugula on plates. Put a tablespoon of butter inside each split baked potato and place on top of arugula.   Drizzle with additional marinade and sprinkle with scallions. Violá!

Cooks Notes: Shown served with baked potatoes which were also cooked on the grill. Wrap potatoes in heavy duty aluminum foil and place on grill over med-high heat for 40 minutes. Remove the potatoes which will stay warm while you cook the fish.

Ahi tuna, also known as yellow fin or big eye tuna, is a meaty fish best served rare to medium-rare like a premium beef steak. For medium-rare, cook the steak for 4 minutes on each side. Just as with a beef steak the high temperature cooks the outside quickly and forms a crust (searing) while leaving the interior rare to medium rare.

Enjoy

I’ve recovered enough from the food frenzy which can now be referred to as the inaugural OC Foodie Fest, to give you a short recap. As with any inaugural event that is a huge success, it involved long lines, traffic gridlock, some disgruntled attendees, and thousands clamoring for more! A huge shout out to Taco Dawg (@TacoDawg), Ashley Elliott (@AshleyEliott), Justin Moore-Brown (@BigHeadAsian), and Anthony Xavier (@AnythingAnthony) for their tireless efforts in pulling off this mega event.

I think this video by the talented Jonathan Nafarette (@Johnathon360) sums up the energetic vibe emanating from this eating extravaganza held at the Honda Center this past Saturday. You can be sure that this will not be the last OC Foodie Fest!

Congrats to The Lime Truck, Chunk n Chip, and Great Balls on Tires for capturing the hearts, tummies, and votes of the hungry masses to win Yelp’s Best of the Fest’s awards. AND, it really wasn’t ALL about the food, these types of street festivals also give local artists, local musicians, crafters, business and charitable organizations a venue and a way to get the word out. OC Foodie Fest raised over $10,000 for Child Share, Pretend City, and Cart for a Cause. So take a minute to check out what these organizations are all about.

For more about the gourmet food trucks, photos, videos, and information on future events visit OC Foodie Fest’s website or their Fan page on Facebook or keep up on what’s happening by following OCFoodieFest on Twitter. This is @She’s Cookin’ signing off for now.

You might want to read my friend Holly’s Survival Guide to food truck festivals, I wish I had …

Filled with layers of texture and flavor, the outside is crunchy, the inside soft and savory. This toothsome biscuit is from The Cornbread Gospels, a cookbook filled with wisdom and downright delicious recipes compiled by the passionate author Crescent Dragonwagon. Schooled in Southern cornbread for 33 years, Ms. Dragonwagon delighted travelers from near and far at the Dairy Hollow House in my home town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Savory Almond Herb Biscuits

from The Cornbread Gospels, by Crescent Dragonwagon

½ cup sliced or slivered almonds

1 tablespoon plus1/3 cup cold butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, pressed or finely chopped

1 cup unbleached white flour

½ cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1¼ cups buttermilk

2 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley

1 tablespoon assorted fresh finely minced herbs

(I used thyme, rosemary & parsley from my kitchen garden)

Makes 12 large biscuits.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Spray a baking sheet with oil.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Lower the heat to medium and add the almonds, stirring constantly, toast until golden brown and fragrant. Transfer almonds to a cutting board to cool, then coarsely chop.

Add one tablespoon butter to the skillet, when the butter melts, add the onions and sauté, stirring frequently, until onions are golden brown – about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the garlic.

While the onion and garlic mixture cools, combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in the remaining 1/3 cup butter using a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture has the consistency of fine crumbs.

Pour the buttermilk into the skillet, stir gently, scraping up any flavorsome bits of onion or garlic that may be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Pour this into the cornmeal and flour mixture, stirring with as few strokes as possible to blend the wet and dry ingredients, stopping while there are still some dry clumps. Add the reserved almonds and the herbs and stir a few more times.

Drop the batter by rounded tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden, 10-15 minutes. Serve with additional butter if desired.

Enjoy

You’ll be tempted to eat them all, but save a few for breakfast!

Not to mention, delicious alongside a cool gazpacho on a warm summer’s eve or a tummy-warming minestrone for a cozy autumn supper.

I’ll be having a few of these this weekend! What’s your favorite margarita or summertime beverage?

P.S. Only two more weekends to enjoy some of these refreshing margaritas and Blues and BBQ at the Hyatt Regency Resort in Huntington Beach!!

The garden gods were good to me last week when an afternoon movie netted a bounty of fresh, organic veggies and I became the lucky recipient of three huge, meaty, gorgeous Elbe heirloom tomatoes. Named after the Elbe River in Germany, these award-winning beefsteak-like tomatoes have been an heirloom favorite since 1889.

One of the golden orbs satisfied our primal craving for a good ole BLT – aaahh, summer and succulent tomatoes!

Inspired by our recent “heat wave”, the other two became the perfect base for this unique gazpacho. They were overripe which meant all I had to do was plop them into the blender with the cooked onions and zucchini, add the buttermilk, and give them a whirl!

Golden Gazpacho

(adapted from Crescent Dragonwagon’s The Cornbread Gospels)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion chopped

1 ½ cups mild vegetable stock

2 large yellow heirloom tomatoes, such as Elbe

2 medium zucchini squash (about 1 lb.), chopped

1 ½ cups buttermilk

1 large wedge day-old corn bread, crumbled*

Salt

Finely diced red bell pepper for garnish

Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, sauté, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, about 4 minutes. Lower heat to medium and continue cooking until the onions are golden brown, another 5-6 minutes.

Add the vegetable stock and zucchini to the skillet. Bring to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the squash is soft, 12-15 minutes. Stir in the crumbled corn bread. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Spoon half of the squash and onion mixture into a blender or food processor, add half of the buttermilk and one of the tomatoes (cut in fourths if they’re not really soft) and blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat with the remaining vegetable mixture, buttermilk, and tomato. Add salt to taste. Cover and refrigerate for several hours until very cold. Serve chilled in bowls, stir in red pepper as garnish, it also adds a pleasant crunch to the creamy texture.

Enjoy  :-)

* No cornbread?  ½ cup of homemade bread crumbs can be substituted.

Eyeing those rustic drop biscuits alongside the gazpacho?  Come visit on Monday for the recipe.

When interviewing Claire Robinson, host of Food Network’s 5 Ingredient Fix, I discovered that she and I have several things in common: she doesn’t like grocery shopping, she thinks most people look for quick recipes that don’t require four pans and tools such as the mandoline  in my garage that I’ve always been afraid to use, she focuses on seasonal produce and not using processed foods AND she believes that you can make an amazing dish with just a few ingredients.  This may sound a lot like you, too. Oh, and she proves that you can create many  seemingly complicated dishes by using five ingredients or less on 5 Ingredient Fix.

Although Claire graduated from the French Culinary Institute, her style is more straightforward, what I call down-home, than haute cuisine –  and why she’s the perfect fit for today’s busy parents and professionals. If you’re not familiar with 5 Ingredient Fix, check her out – the show airs ot  9:30 a.m. and 12:30 (FoodHD) on Saturdays. Set your DVR. I’ve watched her make “Low & Slow” wine-braised short ribs, cheesy grits, sinfully delicious French toast with strawberries and cream, a savory Lobster Corn crème brulee – that’s right LOBSTER crème brulee! You can get all these recipes at Food Network/5Ingredient Fix but it’s more fun to watch the show where Claire demonstrates and explains techniques like braising, poaching, and how to use a kitchen torch

One of her favorite go-to products is Arnold/Oroweat Sandwich Thins, which I’ve been buying because I love that one tasty “bun” has 5 grams of fiber and only 100 calories. They’re great when you want a light sandwich with not so much bread. The wonderful people at Arnold/Oroweat sent me packages of two flavors: Whole Grain White and 100% Whole Wheat with Claire’s recipes for Three Layer Turkey Reuben, Mushroom & Spinach Mini Pizzas, and Grape Tomato Bruschetta which shows you how versatile these Sandwich Thins are.

I experimented on my own and made these sweet and savory Pizzettas:

During our interview I asked Claire questions that I thought would be of interest to the busy parents and professionals that are She’s Cookin’ readers:

What 5 ways to use Arnold/Oroweat Sandwich thins besides sandwiches?
1. thicken soups
2. make bread crumbs
3. use the bread crumbs with a bit of dijon mustard to coat chicken to make homemade chicken tenders
4. make toast points which are spread with different infused oils and baked, an alternative to tortilla or pita chips
5. dessert – grill and topped with grilled fruit (see my Pizzettas)

What are your 5 favorite healthy snacks?
1. frozen popsicles made from Greek yogurt and fruit
2. freeze fruit such as grapes and banana chunks
3. stove top popcorn sprinkled with infused olive oil (examples rosemary, cayenne, raw sugar)
4. homemade bruschetta topped with nut butters and fruit
5. baked chick peas (garbanzo beans) tossed with olive oil and a curry or BBQ spice blend and baked (substitute for corn nuts)

What are the 5 foods/condiments that are always in your fridge?
1. fat free Greek yogurt which adds creaminess and tang and is packed with protein – she uses it to thicken sauces, salad dressings, smoothies made with the frozen bananas
2. eggs
3. bacon – just a little bit adds a flavor punch and Claire uses it in stocks and stews, too.
4. dijon mustard – adds a ton of flavor to a lot of dishes and it can also be used as an emulsifier and to thicken sauces.
5. fresh herbs – how you buy them is how they should be stored, so if they came fresh from the farmers market – don’t put them in the fridge.

What are 5 essential pantry items?
1. balsamic vinegar – doesn’t have to be expensive, reduce it down for sauces, balsamic crema is a favorite
2. olive oil (which is counted as an ingredient on her show) – making your own infused olive oils is super easy, adds so much flavor
3. bread – can be used to thicken soups, make croutons, bread crumbs
4. honey or agave nectar or maple syrup – use instead of processed sugar
5. onions and garlic – besides adding to nearly every savory dish, you can make your own infused olive oils

She also added a GOOD salt and pepper (S&P are not counted as one of the 5 ingredients, and both are essential for flavoring).

I’m celebrating my 21st anniversary (that is not a typo)  this week and am planning on sipping some champagne and whipping up Claire’s sinfully rich and delicious French Toast with Strawberries and Whipped Cream. Thought you might enjoy a leisurely weekend brunch with your loved one (s) too Here’s the video:

Disclosure: I am a consumer of Oroweat Sandwich Thins and was happy to receive two packages of Sandwich Thins and a gift card to interview Claire and promote their product. My opinions are my own and I only review what I like and benefits my readers.

Thanks to my friend Diane, I went to see a movie and came home with a cornocopia of fresh, organic produce. Diane, a Master Gardener who specializes in edible gardens, had been to a garden swap and brought two huge baskets full of veggies, including some unique varieties of heirloom tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, etc. with names I don’t remember, and encouraged us to take whatever we wanted. It was a veritable farmers market in the Regal Cinema’s parking lot!

Now, with a huge bowl of veggies from Diane and my garden on my kitchen counter, I set to thumbing through my cookbooks and the gorgeous two-page photo spread of the mise-en-place for Summer Vegetable Gratin in Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc At Home caught my eye. Here tomatoes, squash, and eggplant are layered on a cooked onions and baked with a cheese and bread crumb topping. I actually sliced  an eggplant but didn’t use it because my baking dish was smaller than the 9×13 suggested.

The recipe states that this is a good dish to assemble ahead and then bake before serving.  But I ended up hurrying to slice everything up and get it in the oven as soon as the Young Baker was finished making the cookies she was taking to a sleepover. I made fresh bread crumbs, but in my hurry forgot to sprinkle them on top! Not to worry, this didn’t stop us from devouring every bit of this gratin down to the delicious juices in the bottom of the baking dish.

Summer Vegetable Gratin

(adapted from Ad Hoc at Home)

1 medium yellow squash

1 medium zucchini

1 medium tomato

Canola oil

1 c. onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely grated with a Microplane

sea salt

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

¼ c. extra virgin olive oil

freshly ground pepper

½ c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Serves 4

Thinly slice (¼ inch) the yellow squash, zucchini, and tomato as close in size as possible.

Heat some canola oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Reduce to med-low, add the onions and garlic and cook without browning, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 15 minutes.  Remove from burner. Stir in the thyme.

Combine the yellow squash and zucchini in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, and season with salt. Drizzle the slices of tomato with olive oil and season with salt.

Combine the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and thyme.

Spread the onion mixture in the bottom of an 8½ inch round shallow baking dish. Layer the vegetables in the dish overlapping the slices in a circle beginning with the zucchini. Then a circle of yellow squash overlapping the zucchini and ending up with a center of overlapping tomato slices. Sprinkle with half the cheese mixture and continue making overlapping rows with the remaining vegetables, and sprinkle with remaining cheese mixture.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (depending on the depth of your pan) until the vegetables are tender (can be pierced easily with a knife). Remove from the oven and allow the gratin to rest for 10 minutes. If desired, turn on the broiler and place the gratin under the broiler to brown the top just before serving.

Enjoy

Patio dining in southern California doesn’t get much better than this – unless you’re at the beach!
Two of the best items on the menu: silky Edamame Dumplings and Caramelized Onion Tart with Figs and Gorgonzola.

True Food Kitchen, newly opened in Fashion Island next to Roy’s.

451 Newport Center Drive

Newport Beach, CA

(949) 644-2400

P.S.  Bring your sunscreen – the stylish awnings have gaps and, since June gloom has finally disappeared, the  sun was intense! The photos were taken under the shade of the awning, where alas, I was not.

Check it out!!! The adorable Owl Cupcakes (posted on Tuesday) are in the #1 spot on Today’s Top 9 at Foodbuzz! Woohoo!