Classic Waldorf Salad Recipe

The original Waldorf Salad was created in 1896 by maitre d'hotel Oscar Tschirky (not the hotel chef) at New York's landmark Waldorf-Astoria hotel, and became an instant success. Although nowadays there are many variations on the original, the classic Waldorf Salad recipe contained only apples, celery and mayonnaise. Walnuts and fruit were later added as integral ingredients in this world famous recipe. For great visual presentation the Waldorf Salad is usually served on a bed of lettuce.

In the modern day versions, the ingredients for Waldorf Salad often include shrimp, chicken or tuna (we've even found a hawaiian Waldorf Salad recipe!), but at the Amateur Chef we think some things don't need to be 'modernized,' therefore we present to you:

Classic Waldorf Salad Recipe

4 apples, cored & coarsely chopped
2 pears, cored & coarsely chopped
1 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tblsp fresh lemon juice
1 tblsp cider vinegar
1 cup salted walnuts

Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine apples, pears & celery. In a small bowl, combine remaining ingredients except nuts. Pour over fruit mixture and toss well. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Gently toss in the walnuts just before serving.
Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!!

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Vietnamese Grilled Flank Steak Marinade

Flank steak is a lean cut of meat made popular in recent years by its use in Mexican cuisine, (namely fajitas) but we still prefer some of the more traditional ways to cook flank steak using an Asian or citrus based marinade.

Flank steak tends to be tougher than other cuts of beef such as loin or rib steak, therefore using marinades for preparing flank steak will tenderize the meat and add a great flavor.

A few years ago a good friend sent us this amazing flank steak marinade recipe that does take a bit of prep time, but once you try it we are certain you will agree was well worth the effort.

Vietnamese Grilled Flank Steak

Ingredients:

Vietnamese Marinade
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 tblsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp whole cloves
1/2 tblsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
1/4 tsp whole allspice berries
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 1/2 tblsp fish sauce
juice of one lime
grated zest of 1/2 lime
1/2 tblsp Hoisin sauce
1/2 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/2 tblsp brown sugar
3 sprigs Thai basil, torn into pieces and chopped for garnish (Thai basil can be found in Asian grocery stores, but you can use regular basil as a substitute)
3 sprigs fresh coriander, chopped for garnish
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Steak
1 x 24 oz flank steak

Mayonnaise
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tblsp chopped fresh coriander
pinch grated fresh ginger
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Vietnamese Marinade
1. Combine marinade ingredients in a shallow baking dish or a large resealable plastic bag.
2. Place flank steak into marinade.
3. Seal bag and refrigerate for 24 hours before grilling.

Steak
1. Remove steak from marinade.
2. Just before serving, preheat grill on high.
3. Season flank steak with salt and pepper and some chopped Thai basil and coriander.
4. Grill on high heat for about 8 minutes per side for medium rare, or cook to desired doneness.
using an instant read thermometer.
5. Remove and cover with foil for 5 minutes before slicing against the grain into 1/8-inch thick slices (should make about 36 slices)

Mayonnaise
1. Mix all mayonnaise ingredients together.
2. Serve the slices of flank steak with mayonnaise drizzled on top.

Enjoy!

For more great recipes, visit www.amateur-chef.net

Pina Colada Smoothie Recipe for a Healthy Breakfast Alternative

It is a well documented fact that those who eat a healthy breakfast every morning perform much better at work and school, and are better able to maintain a healthy weight. Unfortunately many of us skip this most important meal of the day because we are in a hurry, or we make the unhealthy choice of grabbing a doughnut or fast food breakfast alternative full of calories and transfat.

But with just a few minutes of your time, a blender and a few fresh ingredients , you can quickly make this healthy Pina Colada Smoothie recipe to kick start your day:

Pina Colada Smoothie Recipe

Ingredients
1 cup fresh pineapple
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (or 1 cup 2% milk if you don't have coconut milk on hand)
1 banana
1/4 cup ice cubes
2 teaspoons honey
Pineapple wedges, for garnish, if desired

Directions
In a blender, combine the pineapple chunks, coconut milk or milk, banana, ice and honey. Puree until smooth. Pour into 2 large glasses. Garnish each serving with a pineapple wedge.

For more great smoothie recipes visit http://www.amateur-chef.net

Chef's Tools - Wooden Toaster Tongs

One of the chef's tools we absolutely would not live without at the Amateur Chef' are bamboo or wooden toaster tongs. In fact at any given time, we probably have 3 or 4 sets in our utensil drawer.

These inexpensive but versatile tongs are perfect for use with any nonstick pan, unlike metal tongs which will scratch your nonstick surface. Not only that, wooden tongs make it easy to flip bacon slices, thin pieces of meat, or any food that you do not want to pierce with a fork and risk losing those tenderizing juices.

The good news is your investment in wooden toaster tongs won't break the bank. A good set of tongs will cost you $6.00 - $8.00, and if properly maintained will last you for years. But even if you break a pair they are inexpensive to replace!!

So stock up today and buy yourself a few sets of good wooden toaster tongs.

For more great chef's tools and tips visit http://www.amateur-chef.net/.

Chambord Drink Recipes - Chambord & Champagne and Chambord Martini

Chambord liqueur was inspired by a unique raspberry liqueur produced in the Loire Valley for France during the late 17th Century. It is believed that Chambord Liqueur was introduced to King Louis XIV during one of his visits to the Chateau de Chambord. Today, Chambord is still crafted from the world's finest raspberries and blackberries, Madagascar vanilla, Moroccan citrus peel , honey and cognac to make one of the world's most versatile liqueurs for creating elegant and stylish cocktails.

Chambord can be enjoyed in a variety of ways - Chambord neat on the rocks, Chambord mixed drinks, or Chambord with champagne. At the Amateur Chef, we are pleased to bring you two of our favorite Chambord drink recipes for your entertaining pleasure:

Chambord & Champagne
1/4 oz Chambord
Champagne
Add Chambord to bottom of flute glass. Top with champagne and serve.

Chabord French Martini
1 1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz Chambord
1/2 oz pineapple juice
Shake ingredients with ice and strain into martini glass.

Enjoy!!

For more great recipes, visit our website at www.amateur-chef.net

Victoria's Cracker Barrel Potato Casserole

Many years ago we were invited to a potluck retirement party for a co-worker and one of her friends brought this cheesy potato casserole with cornflakes that she named Victoria's Cracker Barrel Potato Casserole. At the Amateur Chef we are not normally advocates of packaged or prepared foods, but this delicious hash brown potato casserole caught our eye (and our tastebuds)!

Over the years we have 'modified' and 'perfected' this recipe to meet our high standards (actually, we changed nothing about this recipe!!), and when short of prep time (or new potato ideas) have served it to guests to rave reviews.

Victoria's Cracker Barrel Potato Casserole

Ingredients:
1 16 oz (500 ml) container sour cream
1 2.2 lb (1 kg) bag frozen hash browns
1 10 oz (284 ml) can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup (250 ml) Cracker Barrel cheddar cheese, shredded
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup (125 ml) melted margarine or butter
1 cup (250 ml) crushed cornflakes or Special K
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Thaw potatos. Mix sour cream, soup, salt, pepper, onion, cheese, butter and potatos. Sprinkle crushed cornflakes or Special K on top.
Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

For more great recipes, visit http://www.amateur-chef.net/.

Dulce de Leche Cheescake Recipe

Technically speaking, Dulce de leche is Spanish for a milk based sauce which is created by slowly heating sweetened milk until it produces a sauce vaguely similar to caramel in taste. Often found as a syrup or a hard candy made from dulce de leche, it is also the base for many elaborate desserts traditionally found in Argentine and Urugayan cuisine.

Now that we have all the technical 'stuff' out of the way, here is a great Dulce de Leche cheesecake recipe to try. It takes some time to prepare and you need to be careful that your sauce doesn't burn but if you are looking for a delicious finish to an amazing gourmet meal, the end result is well worth it!

Dulce De Leche Cheesecake Recipe

Dulce de leche:
1 quart whole milk
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch cinnamon

Cheesecake:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup dulce de leche

SAUCE:
Combine ingredients in a large heavy saucepan. Place over medium heat and cook without stirring until mixture boils, 15 to 20 minutes. Briefly remove from heat. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, 45 minutes to 1 hour. When the mixture becomes a caramel color and is think enough that you can see the bottom of the pan as you stir, remove it from heat. Use at room temperature or cover and refrigerate.
Yield: 2 cups

CHEESECAKE: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place cream cheese in a food processor and process until soft. With the machine running, drop in eggs, followed by heavy cream, vanilla then dulce de leche. Place the mixture in 9 inch pie dish. Put the dish in a large pan and add hot water until it comes halfway up the side of pie dish. Place in the oven and bake about an hour or until cake tester comes out clean and top is fairly firm. Let rest one hour, then serve at once, or refrigerate, but remove from refrigerator one half- hour before serving.

This recipe brought to you courtesy of Divine Recipes.

For more great recipes visit http://www.amateur-chef.net/

Red Lobster Garlic Shrimp Scampi Recipe

We receive numerous requests every week for easy and tasty shrimp appetizer recipes, but over the years the most requested one has been for the Red Lobster Garlic Shrimp Scampi Recipe.

We truly must agree with all of you that this is one of the best shrimp appetizers that we have tried, and it is also an easy appetizer recipe to turn into a full gourmet meal simply by serving accompanied by fresh pasta. Although this is not one of our easiest appetizer recipes, it is simple enough for even the Amateur Chef in you. So without further ado, courtesy of the Red Lobster Chef's Blog we present to you:

Red Lobster Garlic Shrimp Scampi Recipe

Shrimp Scampi
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 Pound Medium Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 Tbsp Pure Olive Oil (not extra virgin)
2 Tbsp Finely Chopped Garlic (you may used pre-chopped from the produce section of your grocery store)
1½ Cups White Wine (a nice Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay will work well)
½ Fresh Lemon (juice only)
1 Tsp Italian Seasoning Blend
½ Cup Butter (softened)
1 Tbsp Fresh Parsley (chopped fine)
To taste Salt and Pepper
½ Cup Fresh Grated Parmesan Cheese (if desired as garnish)

Method:
1. Heat heavy bottom skillet and add olive oil, do not allow oil to smoke. Add shrimp and cook until tender and no longer translucent
2. Remove shrimp from pan and reduce heat slightly. Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to brown garlic as this will produce a slightly bitter flavor. When garlic is cooked, add white wine.
3. Squeeze juice from lemon in pan, and reduce wine by half. After it is reduced, add Italian seasoning blend
4. Reduce heat to low, and slowly add butter, 1 Tbsp at a time. The butter should slowly melt into the sauce and create a nice creamy texture. If the pan is too hot the butter will separate
5. Once butter is fully incorporated, add shrimp back into sauce, add parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
6. Serve with garnish of fresh cheese if desired. (Scampi is great accompanied by fresh pasta if serving as a meal instead of an appetizer)

For more shrimp appetizer recipes, visit http://www.appetizersunlimited.com/

Coffee, Tea or Brie - Baked Brie Appetizer

Coffee, Tea or Brie - as far as party appetizers go, our Baked Brie Appetizer is always one of our most popular appetizers. You can buy your brie pre-done, but this is such an easy appetizer to make, why not make it yourself. If you have a brie baker, perfect, but if you don't just find a small caserole with a lid or small oven proof dish and cover with foil. Preheat your oven to 350F, top the brie with pecans, sliced figs and about 1/4-1/2 cup of maple syrup, bake for approximately 15 munites until heated through. Serve in your brie baker or remove to a platter, and surrounded with an assortment of crackers or bread.

Other topping variations for our Baked Brie Appetizer include: a mix of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries topped with maple syrup; a mix of nuts such as pine nuts, hazelnuts or sliced almonds and finely chopped shallots topped with maple syrup.

As you can see, the options for this easy appetizer recipe are endless. Just check out what you have in your cupboard, add a little bit of creativity, and get ready to accept endless compliments about your scrumptious Baked Brie Appetizer!!

For more great recipes, visit http://www.amateur-chef.net.

Apple with Caramel Dip

One of our goals at the Amateur Chef is to provide you with some easy appetizer recipes that taste great and are healthy for you as well. This Apple with Carmel Dip recipe my sister made a number of years ago fits that bill.

I had forgotten how easy this recipe was to put together, especially considering how great it tastes. This is one of the best appetizers we have found to make for a large group of people as it appeals to adults and children alike, and can easily be used as a light dessert instead of an appetizer.

Make certain you use tart green apples (granny smith apples) as the tartness of the apples compliments the sweetness of the caramel.

Apple with Caramel Dip

Green Granny Smith Apples cut into wedges (toss in lemon juice to prevent apples from turning brown)

Blend together:
1 8oz package cream cheese
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
Spread onto a plate or small platter

Heat:
1 container carmel spread in the microwave for 15 seconds and spread over the cream cheese base.

Top with skor bits, cool and serve with wedges of green apples.

Enjoy!

For more great recipes, visit www.amateur-chef.net or for more appetizer ideas visit www.appetizersunlimited.com.

Fast and Easy BBQ Salmon - Vitamin D and Omega 3 rich!

One of our goals at the Amateur Chef is to provide great tasting food ideas that also provide exceptional health benefits, and this recipe for BBQ salmon certainly achieves that.

Our fast and easy BBQ Salmon is not only rich in Omega 3 fatty acids which are proven to be heart-healthy but also Vitamin D, often referred to as the sunshine vitamin.

Many studies have been conducted substantiating the health benefits of both Omega 3 and Vitamin D to the human body. We are all aware that salmon is high in Omega 3 (more on Omega 3 in future blogs) but not many of us know that salmon is also high in Vitamin D. The Canadian Cancer Society recommends Canadians consume 1,000 IU of vitamin D every day (1 glass of milk contains 100 IU whereas 3.5 oz or 100 gm of cooked salmon contains 360 IU of vitamin D).

What is vitamin D and why do you need it? Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium, thereby making bones stronger. A Vitamin D deficiency in children can cause rickets, a bone disease that causes skeletal deformities and soft bones. In adults a vitamin D deficiency can cause osteoporosis which leads to decreased bone mass and tissue and increased risk of bone fractures and breaks, especially as we get older. Although vitamin D is absorbed naturally by the human body through exposure to the sun's rays, long winters in northern climates make it difficult to maintain adequate levels naturally as the sun's rays are not strong enough through the winter months (however we must be careful as increased sun exposure also leads to other critical health issues such as melanoma and other skin cancers). Certain foods such as cow's milk which are fortified with vitamin D, fatty fish such as salmon and herring, and multivitamins can help boost the body's vitamin D levels.

So try this fast and easy, great tasting BBQ Salmon Recipe and do something wonderful for your body and your taste buds!!



BBQ Salmon

4-6 oz portions of Salmon, skin on (120-180 gm portions)
5-6 sprigs fresh dill
1 whole lemon, sliced
freshly ground pepper, to taste
Heavy duty foil

With an olive oil sprayer, grease a piece of foil large enough to make a foil packet. Place the salmon pieces, skin side down, on the foil. Season with pepper to taste. Place 5 or 6 sprigs of fresh dill (depending on the size of your salmon) and cover with lemon slices. Lightly seal packet. BBQ on medium heat 8 minutes or until salmon reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees F (salmon will continue to cook and meat temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees after you remove it from the grill). Carefully open the foil packet and remove the salmon with a lifter (the skin will stick to the foil, making it much easier to lift the salmon off the skin).

Serve immediately with salad and rice.

For more great recipes, visit http://www.amateur-chef.net/


Enjoy!!