This cocktail is so refreshing and delicious. It’s a beautiful color and perfect for a summertime drink by the pool.
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Strawberry Basil Cocktail
Sweet and sour, light and refreshing, the perfect summertime cocktail.
Instructions
Muddle the strawberries and basil in the bottom of a shaker. Add the gin, sour mix and ice and shake. Strain mixture into a glass of ice. Garnish with lemon zest, strawberry and basil leaves.
Recipe Notes
Add a splash of soda water for an additional refreshing kick. You can also switch it up by using a few fresh mint leafs or a sprig of fresh rosemary instead of the basil. © Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
This is the perfect pie crust. It’s light, buttery, and flaky. The sweet strawberries come together with the tangy rhubarb for the perfect bite.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Sweet and tart with a buttery flaky crust.
Instructions
In the bowl of a food processor add the flour, salt, sugar and butter and pulse until butter is the size of a pea. Add the cold water 1 tablespoon at a time while pulsing until mixture comes together and forms a ball. Divide in half and wrap in saran wrap and refrigerate.
Mix all the filling ingredients in a large bowl Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Roll the dough out on a floured surface with a rolling pin. Place it on the bottom of a pie pan. After rolling the 2nd dough out, slice it into 1/2 strips to make the lattice work for the top of the pie. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 50 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Feel free to use all strawberries or all rhubarb when making this pie. If you use all rhubarb, you might want to add a little extra sugar to sweeten it up. © Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
This dish feeds a crowd and holds up well in the heat.
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BLT Couscous
BLT fans - Here's a great recipe for you. Smoky bacon flavored couscous with lettuce and tomato.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the bacon on a cookie sheet and and bake for 10 minutes then turn baconover and cook another 5 minutes or until crisp. Drain reserving 2 Tablespoons of bacon fat. Add the bacon fat to a large sauce pan with 2 Cups of water. Bring to a boil. Add couscous, put the lid on it and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, crumble the bacon into a large bowl and add the lettuce, tomato, onion, and cucumbers. In a small bowl, mix, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Toss everything together. This salad holds up well in the heat.
Line cocktail glasses with slices of lemon and serve the couscous in the glasses.
Recipe Notes
© Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
Fernand Petiot claimed to have invented Bloody Mary’s in 1921, while working at the New York Bar in Paris, which later became , a frequent Paris hangout for Ernest Hemingway. They are fabulous made with vodka or gin, although my favorite is the gin. Gin adds a little more depth of flavor. People add a myriad of garnished to bloody mary’s. You can put anything in them from pickled asparagus to sushi. In this recipe, I use a slider with an olive and a carrot.
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Bloody Mary's, The Best Ever
This delicious cocktail is perfect for any brunch.
Instructions
Stir everything together in a pitcher except the liquor. Pour 2 ounces of vodka or gin in a glass filled with ice and top with tomato juice mixture. Garnish with your choice of celery stalk, cucumber spears, carrot sticks, olives, miniature sliders or a combination of all of the above.
Recipe Notes
I have found that the type of tomato juice used in this recipe is the key to a really thick and delicious Bloody Mary. Don't use V-8 juice or Clamato juice as it changes the consistency and makes it too watery. The name "Bloody Mary" is associated with a number of historical figures — particularly Queen Mary I of England, who was nicknamed as such in Foxe's Book of Martyrs for attempting to re-establish the Catholic Church in Britain — and fictional women from folklore. Some cocktail aficionados believe the inspiration for the name was Hollywood star Mary Pickford. Others trace the name to a waitress named Mary who worked at a Chicago bar called the Bucket of Blood. However, another argument for the origin of “Bloody Mary”, that the name in English simply arose from “a failure to pronounce the Slav syllables of a drink called Vladimir” gains some credibility from the observation that the customer at Harry’s Bar in Paris for whom Fernand Petiot prepared the drink in 1920 was Vladimir Smirnov, of the Smirnoff vodka family. © Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
There’s no comfort food that brings back childhood memories like stuffed cabbage rolls. These Italian style stuffed cabbage rolls are moist, tender and packed with flavor!
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Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Italian Style
These Italian style stuffed cabbage rolls are moist, tender and packed with flavor!
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil and season with Salt to taste like the sea. Blanch the Cabbage until tender and bright green, about 5 minutes. Shock in ice water and set aside to dry. Remove leaves.
For the sauce
In a large sauté pan, add a few tablespoons of Olive Oil over medium-high heat. Add Pancetta and cook until the fat renders out and the Pancetta Crisps. Add the Onion, Garlic, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes and cook until fragrant. Add a teaspoon of Dried Thyme and Dried Basil. Add the Tomatoes and a generous pinch of Salt. Simmer until it comes together, about 5 minutes, and then set aside.
For the filling
In a large bowl, combine the Ground Beef, Sausage, Pecorino, Parsley, Currants, a teaspoon of Dried Basil and Thyme, Breadcrumbs, and Egg. Season generously with Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper. Using your hands, mix until just combined.
In a baking dish lightly greased with Olive Oil, ladle a thin layer of sauce. Spoon some of the filling into each of the leaves of Cabbage, and roll up. Arrange over the Arrabiata sauce in the baking dish. Once full, ladle more of the Arrabiata sauce over the stuffed Cabbage and sprinkle with more Pecorino-Romano. Transfer to oven and bake for an hour to an hour and a half, until the filling is completely cooked through. Serve.
Recipe Notes
For big dinner parties, prepare these a day in advance and simply pop them in the oven an hour before ready to serve. © Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
Tiramisù, meaning “pick me up” or “lift me up”) is one of Italy’s most famous desserts. This coffee-flavoured dessert goes great with a cup of coffee or espresso. Its origins are often disputed between Italian regions such as Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Piemonte and others. Original versions of the recipe used raw egg yolks, egg whites, sugar, mascarpone cheese and biscuits. This version has a sabayon-like mixture composed of cooked egg yolks making it safer to consume and giving it more longevity.
The best tiramisu I've ever had!
Instructions
Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. This is your sabayon, remove from the heat and whip yolks until thick and lemon colored.Add Mascarpone to whipped yolks, beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold the whipped cream in the mascarpone sabayon mixture and set aside.
Mix the cold espresso with the coffee liquor and dip the lady fingers into the mixture just long enough to get them wet, do not soak them! Arrange the lady fingers in the bottom of a 8 inch square baking dish (or 6×9)
Spoon half the mascarpone cream filling over the lady fingers. Repeat process with another layer. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Dust with cocoa before serving
Recipe Notes
The ingredients can also be layered into individual serving glass serving dishes such as martini glasses for a festive and fun presentation. © Galley Chef All Rights Reserved
This is the traditional Italian recipe for basil pesto made with lots of fresh basil. *Secret chef’s technique: Sprinkle fresh parmigiano reggiano on your pasta first, after the pasta is cooked, then add the pesto. The cheese will stick the pesto to the pasta and create the perfect texture.
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Basil Pesto (Traditional)
This pesto packs a flavor punch that will not be forgotten!
Instructions
Toast the pine nuts in a 300 degree oven for 5 minutes. Watch them closely. They will burn.
Put all the ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor and blend streaming in the olive oil slowly until everything is mixed. Add extra oil if needed.
Recipe Notes
This recipe will make enough pesto for 1 pound of dried pasta. Store in the refrigerator for up to one month. The best technique to use it is to sprinkle fresh parmigiano reggiano on your pasta first, after the pasta is cooked, then add the pesto. The cheese will stick the pesto to the pasta and create the perfect texture.
