Soffia Wardy

The Art of Living Well

Dinner

Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos

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Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos are pure perfection…tangy, tasty, fresh and super easy! Fantastic folded into a tortilla or simply served over a green salad for a lighter meal. The tacos can be topped with a variety of fresh herbs and veggies, we added beautiful ingredients from our garden.

Salsa-Verde-Tacos-slider

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear chicken breasts until golden brown, 3–4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, cool to touch and slice or shred.

Add the broth to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Stir in tomatillos, onion, garlic, and jalapeño.

Reduce heat to medium and simmer until tomatillos start to break down, about 10 minutes. Return chicken breasts to pan and continue to simmer until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes longer. Season sauce to taste with salt, pepper, and lime juice.

Just before serving heat tortillas on both sides in a skillet until slightly crispy. Assemble tacos in warm tortillas with tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, sprouts and lime wedges along side for garnish, or serve simply over a green salad.

 

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Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos

For a less spicy dish, remove seeds and membrane from jalapeño.

  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 4 5–6-ounce skinless, boneless chicken breasts
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
  • 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed and cut into 1-inch pieces, or 1 1/2 cups salsa verde
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 medium garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 1 small jalapeño, with seeds, thinly sliced
  • Juice of 1 lime, plus lime wedges for garnish
  • Corn tortillas
  • Grated Mexican, jack or white cheddar cheese
  • 6 cherry tomatoes, cut into eight pieces each
  • 1 cup Mung Beans Sprouts
  • 1 avocado, diced
  • Fresh cilantro leaves

Instructions

  1. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sear chicken breasts until golden brown, 3–4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, cool to touch and slice or shred.
  2. Add the broth to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Stir in tomatillos, onion, garlic, and jalapeño.
  3. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until tomatillos start to break down, about 10 minutes. Return chicken breasts to pan and continue to simmer until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes longer. Season sauce to taste with salt, pepper, and lime juice.
  4. Just before serving heat tortillas on both sides in a skillet until slightly crispy. Assemble tacos in warm tortillas with tomatoes, cilantro, avocado, sprouts and lime wedges along side for garnish, or serve simply over a green salad.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 4-6

Spook-Fest-Tacular

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Hosting a themed party is one of the great pleasures in life, but let’s be honest it is a lot of work. The more you plan and prepare, the more you and your guests will enjoy. Take a look at some of our best tips for hosting a super spooky, super fun Halloween Spook-Fest-Tacular!

Spookeve-intro

Plan your menu, be creative try altering the shape of simple appetizers like, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Tartlets. We used coffin shaped cookie cutters to spook them up. We have many wonderful, delicious and scary Halloween recipes to choose from, including great mini-desserts.

Spookeve-recipes

Print up a menu, it’s a fun way to get people excited about the goodies to come. Keep your menus from one year to the next as a helpful planning tool. Once the menu is done, start planning your table setting. You can go all out and use very theme focused dishes like the pumpkin dishes photographed below or use simple white plates and add themed elements to the table. Just remember building layers creates the awe factor.

Spookeve-menus

We created some fun place card holders by placing a plastic skeleton inside a treat box and printing up some “Here Lies” place cards.

Spookeve-table

Place dishes of fun Halloween candy around to add some sweet color.

Spookeve-candy

Over the years we have amassed a fun collection of sexy skull inspired barware. If you enjoy holiday entertaining, make sure you pickup items you love when you see them. We sold these glassware sets at Amen Wardy, and when they were gone people were very disappointed.

Spookeve-glasses

Now for the drinks…signature cocktails are a must. You can come up with something completely new or re-name one of your favorites and spook it up by adding a cocktail pick with a scary element. We froze, blueberry stuffed lychees that we skewered with skull picks. Once added to our drinks they resembled icy eyeballs. In addition we placed scary labels on wine bottles and used some monster candle sticks to illuminate the bar. Chilled skull shaped bottles of vodka and tequila rounded out the bar.

Spookeve-bar

Decorate your house inside and out. My Dad’s house has a covered bridge leading to the front door. He used the bridge to create a mini-haunted house entrance. He then followed it up with a spooky cast of characters to greet guests as they walked through the door.

Spookeve-outdoor decor

Have a camera or a few disposables on hand to capture peoples reactions as they discover the fright night.

Spookeve-scary

Ask people to dress up, you will be surprised and delighted or not by what shows up at your door, but either way it should be an adventure. Come up with a fun prize for the best dressed.

Spookeve-costumes

Last but not least serve up some inspired adult treats. We presented glass tiers filled with an array of sweet mini desserts, some of which included Pumpkin Mousse Minis, Olive Oil Mini Pumpkin Bundt Cakes, Pumpkin Top Cupcakes and Red Velvet Cupcakes. We even included a creamy adult indulgence, after dinner Halloween Shots.

Spookeve-desserts

Grilled Greek Leg of Lamb

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We spent three days testing recipes for leg of lamb, see some pictures at the end of this post. We roasted, grilled and marinated; with vegetables and without. We even invited ten friends to test two separate versions and in the end the marinated, grilled, butterflied leg of lamb was the clear winner. So next time you buy a leg of lamb that’s all neatly tied in a net, grab a pair of scissor and snip away. Once you’ve freed the leg grab a sharp knife trim away the fat, butterfly the leg into evenly thick pieces, create our epic marinade and fire up your grill and don’t forget to invite your friends! Left overs make great tacos. Serve with Greek Lemon Potatoes and Yogurt Mint Sauce.

Combine oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a seal-able plastic bag. Add lamb and seal bag, pressing out air. Turn bag to coat lamb, then put bag in a shallow baking pan and marinate, chilled, turning bag over occasionally, at least 8 hours or overnight. The lamb will slightly change color as the marinade penetrates the meat.

 

About 1 hour, before grilling, remove lamb from marinade (discard marinade). Bring lamb to room temperature. Salt and Pepper the lamb on both sides.

 

Prepare grill for cooking over direct heat with medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas). Take half an onion and dip it in vegetable or other high-heat oil. Rub the onion over the entire surface of the hot grill. This will oil the grill and also add flavor.

Grill turning over occasionally and, if necessary, moving around on grill to avoid flare-ups, until thermometer registers 125 to 128°F, 10 to 15 minutes total for medium-rare or refer to the guide for desired temperature.

 

Grill lemon wedges during the last few minutes while cooking the lamb, until lightly charred on both sides.

 

Transfer lamb to a cutting board. Let lamb stand, loosely covered with foil, 20 minutes. (Internal temperature will rise to 135°F while meat stands.) Cut across the grain into slices.

 

 

Here are some pictures of the two roasted recipes we tried. Greek with roasted garlic (first vertical row), we created an herb and roasted garlic mixture and roasted with sliced lemons on top, sadly it was bland and lacked flavor. Greek with red wine garlic and potatoes (second vertical row), was marinaded in herbs, garlic, lemon and red wine, overnight. Then rubbed with herbs and roasted with potato wedges. The flavor was deep but the the red wine changed the texture of the lamb and it just lacked something.

 

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Grilled Greek Leg of Lamb

If you are not able to grill the lamb, simply marinate flat, without butterflying, truss/tie and roast.

  • Prep Time: 24 hours
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 24 hours 30 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 8 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 T Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano (Greek or Mediterranean), crumbled to release oils (Greek seasoning containing, oregano, mint and dried onion can be used in place of the oregano alone)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 Onion, peeled and cut in half
  • 1–4 1/2 to 5-lb butterflied boneless leg of lamb, trimmed of fat
  • 2 lemons cut into four wedges each

Instructions

  1. Combine oil, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper in a seal-able plastic bag. Add lamb and seal bag, pressing out air. Turn bag to coat lamb, then put bag in a shallow baking pan and marinate, chilled, turning bag over occasionally, at least 8 hours or overnight. The lamb will slightly change color as the marinade penetrates the meat.
  2. About 1 hour, before grilling, remove lamb from marinade (discard marinade). Bring lamb to room temperature. Salt and Pepper the lamb on both sides.
  3. Prepare grill for cooking over direct heat with medium-hot charcoal (moderate heat for gas). Take half an onion and dip it in vegetable or other high-heat oil. Rub the onion over the entire surface of the hot grill. This will oil the grill and also add flavor.
  4. Grill turning over occasionally and, if necessary, moving around on grill to avoid flare-ups, until thermometer registers 125 to 128°F, 10 to 15 minutes total for medium-rare or refer to the guide for desired temperature.
  5. Grill lemon wedges during the last few minutes while cooking the lamb, until lightly charred on both sides.
  6. Transfer lamb to a cutting board. Let lamb stand, loosely covered with foil, 20 minutes. (Internal temperature will rise to 135°F while meat stands.) Cut across the grain into slices.

Notes

Leg of Lamb Temperature Guide

Medium-rare (130-135°F)

Medium (140-145°F)

Medium Well (150-155°)

Well (160°F)

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 10

Here are some pictures of the two roasted recipes we tried. Greek with roasted garlic (first vertical row), we created an herb and roasted garlic mixture and roasted with sliced lemons on top, sadly it was bland and lacked flavor. Greek with red wine garlic and potatoes (second vertical row),  was marinaded in herbs, garlic, lemon and red wine, overnight. Then rubbed with herbs and roasted with potato wedges. The flavor was deep but the the red wine changed the texture of the lamb and it just lacked something.

 

Veal Medallion Stuffed with Black Olives

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We learned to make this dish in Cortona Italy and found it simple in contrast to the impact it creates when served. The medallions can be made using beef or pork as well as veal and can be stuffed with a variety of vegetables. This is an elegant dish and perfect for a special dinner or anytime during the holidays.

Veal-Medallion-slider

Using a small sharp knife make an incision into each of the cut medallions.

Grate the orange zests and squeeze the juice of each of the three oranges and reserve. Using a food processor combine the garlic, sage, black olives, orange zest, bread and pancetta to make a course mixture, seasoning with salt and pepper.

Using a plastic bag or piping bag to hold the stuffing, squeeze it inside each veal fillet. When the medallions have been stuffed, wrap each one in a slice of bacon.

Insert an herb skewer through the medallion to secure the bacon.

Line an oven proof pan with parchment paper, heat the extra virgin olive oil and one clove of garlic over medium heat. Add to the pan and season with salt, pepper and fennel.

Cook veal medallions until they are well browned on both sides.

Add the wine, orange juice and seasonal veggies to the pan and transfer the pan to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes.

Remove the veal and allow it to rest.

Add the garlic and fresh mint to the pan and continue cooking the vegetables over the stove top until tender.

Serve the medallions with the pan juices and seasonal vegetables.

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Veal Medallion Stuffed with Black Olives

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Ingredients

Veal

  • 3 pound veal tenderloin, cut into 3/4” veal fillets
  • 1/2 C Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 C Dry White Wine
  • 200 g/7.1 oz Pancetta, cut into small pieces
  • 20 Bay Leaf or Rosemary skewers
  • 1 T Fennel Seeds
  • 10 Sage Leaves
  • 2 Garlic Cloves
  • 300 g/10.7 oz, bacon cut in very thin slices
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • 100 g/3.5 oz black olive paste, made by processing black olives
  • 100 g/3.5 oz white bread
  • 3 oranges
  • Seasonal Vegetables, cut into pieces
  • 2 Cloves Garlic, chopped
  • 1–2 T Fresh Mint, chopped

Instructions

Veal

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
  2. Using a small sharp knife make an incision into each of the cut medallions.
  3. Grate the orange zests and squeeze the juice of each of the three oranges and reserve.
  4. Using a food processor combine the garlic, sage, black olives, orange zest, bread and pancetta to make a course mixture, seasoning with salt and pepper.
  5. Using a plastic bag or piping bag to hold the stuffing, squeeze it inside each veal fillet. When the medallions have been stuffed, wrap each one in a slice of bacon.
  6. Insert an herb skewer through the medallion to secure the bacon.
  7. Line an oven proof pan with parchment paper, heat the extra virgin olive oil and one clove of garlic over medium heat. Add to the pan and season with salt, pepper and fennel.
  8. Cook veal medallions until they are well browned on both sides.
  9. Add the wine, orange juice and seasonal veggies to the pan and transfer the pan to the oven and bake for about 15 minutes.
  10. Remove the veal and allow it to rest.
  11. Add the garlic and fresh mint to the pan and continue cooking the vegetables over the stove top until tender.
  12. Serve the medallions with the pan juices and seasonal vegetables.

Notes

Recipe Courtesy of Chef Richard Titi from Il Falconierie

Using the parchment paper at the bottom of the pan will prevent the medallions from sticking but is not necessary.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 8-10

Pork & Butternut Squash Stew

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Fall comfort food at it’s very finest! Deep, rich and wonderful flavors make up this stew. Perfect for a large group when you wish to serve something deeply satisfying with little time spent in the kitchen. We prepped all of the ingredients the day before, making cooking the day of a breeze.

Pork Squash Stew

Season the pork with salt and black pepper. In a 3 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil.

Working in batches, brown the pork on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.

Reduce the heat to medium and warm the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the garlic, ginger, demi-glace, tomato paste, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, cloves and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the vinegar, applesauce, tomatoes with their juices, sage, stock and pork.

Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and transfer the pot to the oven and cook until the 1 hour.

Remove pot from oven, add cubed squash and cook for an additional 1-1/2 hours until pork and squash are fork tender.

Skim any excess fat off the sauce, adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Serve the stew over mashed potatoes and garnish with parsley or sage leaves.

 

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Pork & Butternut Squash Stew

As with everything, use the best ingredients you can find…it will make all the difference in the flavor of your finished dish!

  • Prep Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 2 lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 3 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
  • 1 tsp. minced fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp. chicken demi-glace
  • 2 tsp. tomato paste
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
  • 1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 1/2 Tbs. cider vinegar
  • 3 Tbs. applesauce
  • 9 oz. canned diced tomatoes with juices (San Marzano or Pomi)
  • 1 lb. peeled and diced (3/4-inch dice) butternut squash
  • 2 tsp. chopped fresh sage, plus leaves for garnish
  • 4 tsp. chicken stock concentrate mixed with 2 cups water, or 2 cups chicken stock (use the best quality you can find)

Instructions

  1. Preheat an oven to 325°F.
  2. Season the pork with salt and black pepper. In a 3 1/2-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm 2 Tbs. of the olive oil.
  3. Working in batches, brown the pork on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
  4. Reduce the heat to medium and warm the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
  5. Add the garlic, ginger, demi-glace, tomato paste, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, cloves and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  6. Add the vinegar, applesauce, tomatoes with their juices, sage, stock and pork.
  7. Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and transfer the pot to the oven and cook until the 1 hour.
  8. Remove pot from oven, add cubed squash and cook for an additional 1-1/2 hours until pork and squash are fork tender.
  9. Skim any excess fat off the sauce, adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Serve the stew over mashed potatoes and garnish with parsley or sage leaves.

Notes

Adapted From | William Sonoma

And The Oscars Goes To…

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We love Paperless Post and Evite email invitations!
Visit all three and find your favorite style.

What makes a great Oscar party? We think it’s all in the planning; present a fabulous dinner, some surprises and be creative. With this year’s 91rst Academy Awards quickly approaching we thought we would share our Oscar party ideas to give you some inspiration.

We’ve hosted many, and one of the most memorable was the party at our home on Kauai, “Lotus Ridge.” Due to the warm climate, we decided to keep the party casual. Even though our ten guests arrived in shorts and flip flops, (aka slippers) we made sure to greet them red carpet style.

Every great party starts with a signature cocktail, so we decided to serve Meyer Lemon Mojito’s using Meyer lemons from our tree.

During cocktails, we served a very light appetizer, of Tuna Tartare Poke. We served the Tuna in mini-martini glasses and created a tower using glass tiered serving plates. We placed two glasses near the tower, one with mini-forks and one with chopsticks. Miniature metal fish and kaffir lime leaves adorned the platters. These were a great hit and an excellent way to start the evening. Get The Recipe.

To get everyone in the mood, we decorated the table with mini movie posters, printed on 3″ x 5″ photo paper. We taped two different mini-posters back-to-back onto wood sticks so that different movies would show from either side of the table. We placed several sticks into small flower vases to create arrangements and alternated the mini-movie displays with flower arrangements down the center of the table.

We enclosed place cards in red envelopes at each place, so that guest’s had to open them to see if they were the winner of that seat.

We wanted a delicious, easy dinner that would allow our guest’s and us to enjoy the evening without having to spend time in the kitchen during “Red Carpet” arrivals. We thought it would be fun to have an interactive dinner so; we decided on Slow Roasted Pork Wraps with Thai Rice with Lemongrass, Basil & Mint. The meal requires a fair amount of advance prep, but very little at dinner time. We created a bar filled with fresh and delicious veggie’s and condiments and allowed everyone to assemble their wraps. Dinner was a big hit, and most people went back for seconds and thirds. The wraps and rice are delicious, healthy and full of flavor but not heavy.

After dinner we went to the media room, where we had a table containing additional cocktails, bottles of flat and sparkling water, a popcorn machine, movie candy and of course ballots and swag. We used glass cylinders in different heights to create a Willy Wonka array of candies in mini sizes.

Each guest received an Oscar Swag Basket, containing laminated recipe cards of the evening’s menu, custom made stationary, a brightly colored rubber watch from Amen Wardy of course, homemade flavored lemon, parsley salt, homemade caramels, Lotus Ridge pens and caps and CD’s containing our favorite party tunes.

Then we tuned into watch the speeches, the gowns and the gaffs. Don’t forget to have game prizes on hand.

Ready. Set. Party! Liven up your Oscar Night® with a friendly competition, we had each guest fill out an Oscar ballot before the ceremony began. Click on the image for a printable version.