Homemade Lite Caesar Dressing

It’s another quick and oh-so-easy recipe to eat well and stay healthy! Here is a salad dressing that is much better for you than the off-the-shelf (what-the-heck-is-in-it) fare you find at the grocery store.

ingredients

• 1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 small clove garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon Nan’s Honey Roasted Garlic Mustard Blend (a good Dijon will also work)
• 2 good quality anchovy fillets
• 1 tablespoon Nan's California Meyer Lemon Olive Oil
• 1/3 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt

In a small bowl of a food processor add the cheese, lemon juice, chopped garlic, mustard and the anchovies. Pulse the machine until well combined, 15 to 20 seconds. Add the oil and yogurt and let the machine run for another 15 seconds.

Makes 3/4 cup.

Slow Cooker Balsamic Shredded Pork

This is an easy recipe for those of us who love the convenience of a crock pot or slow cooker.  A pork sirloin roast can be used instead of the shoulder roast.  This shredded pork makes for one heckova slider!

ingredients

• 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast
• Kosher salt, to taste
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/3 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/3 cup Nan's Barrel-Aged Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Nan's Barrel-Aged Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey

Season pork all over with salt, garlic powder and red pepper flakes and place in the slow cooker.  Mix together the broth, vinegar & Worcestershire and pour it over the pork,  Finally drizzle the honey over the pork and set the timer for 4 hours on 'high' or 6-8 hours on 'low'.

Once the pork is cooked and tender (it should fall apart easily with a fork), remove from slow cooker onto a serving dish.  Shred lightly with two forks.  Drizzle ½ cup of the remaining sauce over the shredded pork and keep warm until ready to eat.  As Nan says, “super easy…”!

Pasta Serving Suggestion #4

This is another in our series of ‘mix & match’ ideas for making great and fun meals with your flavored pasta.  As always, remember the mix and match concept: you can change any aspect of this to your liking or even to what you have in your fridge at the time.  Obviously other seafood combos will work: clams, mussels, scallops, tilapia, etc.  We went with a 50/50 ratio of Meyer Lemon Oil to regular olive oil as we did not want the lemon flavor to overpower, but you may find a different proportion to work better.

While this combo will work great with most of our flavored pasta, for this we chose our Artichoke Lemon Tagliatelle, which pairs well with seafood.  Here are a few others which we recommend highly:

• Meyer Lemon Trenette
• Garlic Chive Pappardelle
• Lemon Pepper Linguini
• Garlic Toasted Onion Fettuccine

ingredients

• 6 ounces cooked shrimp
• 6 ounce imitation crab, ‘chunk’ style
• 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tablespoon Pastamoré Meyer Lemon Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• package of Artichoke Lemon Tagliatelle
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese, to taste

Combine shrimp, crab, tomato and garlic in a small bowl.  Drizzle both oils over the mixture along with the salt & pepper.  Mix thoroughly and refrigerate for at least one hour to meld flavors.  Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Cook pasta to al dente according to instructions on package and strain.  Divide pasta into pre-heated individual pasta bowls.  Spoon seafood/tomato mixture evenly over each pasta dish.  Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Serves four to six as an entrée.

Basil Oven-Grilled Flatbread

Here is a simple idea to be used as a snack or as a side to soup or salad.  Prepared flatbreads are more common these days in higher end grocery stores, and you can also use pitas or 'naan' for this recipe.

This recipe demonstrates the use of our Basil Pesto Olive Oil, but any of our oils will do, especially our Herbes de Provence Olive Oil or our  Meyer Lemon Olive Oil. 

 ingredients

• one package flatbread
• a leafy herb such as Italian parsley or basil, chopped & to taste
• Nan's Basil Pesto Olive Oil
• course sea salt, to taste
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350°. Using a purchased flatbread or ‘naan’ (pictured is a Safeway brand), drizzle/brush a small amount of Basil Pesto Oil over the surface. If you have a leftover herb in the fridge, chopped and sprinkle on top (we used Italian parsley here). 

For more richness add a generous sprinkle of Parmesan. Last, add a pinch of course salt for texture and flavor, and a grind of black pepper. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden. Cut into random triangles and serve.

Honey Ricotta Mousse with Balsamic Black Pepper Marinated Cherries

Our philosophy with food at Nan’s is to create ‘simple but elegant’ dishes. The following is a great example: we have taken a sophisticated dessert and made it very easy to make. The intention is for you to make something magical for your loved one in very little time.

Please do not let the black pepper/balsamic vinegar/fruit combo scare you. Believe it or not, it is a common dessert combination in Italy. The next time you have some extra fresh strawberries, slice and place them in a bowl. Drizzle with a small amount of a high quality aged balsamic vinegar like our Nan's Barrel-Aged Balsamic Vinegar, grind some fresh pepper on the top and serve. It is a delightful and surprising taste sensation – special, grown-up and not too sweet.

We used frozen cherries for this, but strawberries, raspberries or even blackberries will work just as well. Pair with our other flavored balsamic vinegars, like our Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar. Normally we are advocates of fresh ingredients, but as you know Valentine’s Day falls in winter, not summer, so frozen will do just fine.

ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) fresh ricotta
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1 1/2 cups whole frozen sweet cherries, thawed and halved
• 1 tablespoon Nan's Barrel-Aged Balsamic Vinegar
• freshly ground black peppercorns
• fresh mint leaves (optional as garnish)
  

For the mousse, place the ricotta, honey, and vanilla bean scrapings in the small bowl of a food processor and process/pulse until smooth. Cover and refrigerate minimum 1 hour to meld flavors.

Place the cherries in a small bowl with the balsamic vinegar and add a small amount of ground pepper. Stir to combine. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

To serve, divide the cherry mixture between two glasses (we recommend martini glasses) or bowls and top with a scoop of ricotta mousse. Garnish with mint and a light dusting of black pepper, if desired.

Serves 2.