Grilled Braised Celery Hearts
   
Serves 4

This is a great item to throw on the grill right along with your entree. Its easy to make, quick and delicious. Look for the tiny, sweet celery hearts that have very few fibers. If using regular celery bunches, pair them down to the light yellow-green portions within.

Ingredients:
6 Young celery hearts, bottom 5 inches only including base, trimmed & halved lengthwise
1/4 C Chicken, beef or rich vegetable stock
1 Tbl Olive oil, extra virgin
To Taste Sea salt, medium ground
To Taste Black pepper, course ground
Pinch Mustard seeds

Directions:
Prepare a wood, charcoal or gas grill. Double over a 1 1/2 foot piece of foil and place celery hearts in center. Draw sides of foil up to surround the celery and drizzle with oil. Pour stock over celery and season with salt, pepper and mustard seeds. Crimp edges together to form a tightly sealed package. Place package directly on the grill, over medium-low heat and cook until tender. You can bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit instead if weather does not permit grilling.
Once you hear liquids beginning to simmer in the packet, cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Check for doneness. Be very careful with escaping steam when opening. Braised celery is excellent with grilled or roasted fish, chicken, beef or veal.

Baby Asparagus In Parmesan Cream
   
Serves 1

Ingredients:
4 tsp Butter, whole
4 Cheese Bread, Brown's, 3/4 in slice
2 oz Prosciutto, cut paper thin, 2 in. strips
1 lb Asparagus, pencil size
8 oz Heavy cream
4 oz Water
To Taste Salt and pepper
4 tsp Chives, fresh, snipped in tiny slivers
4 tsp Olive oil, extra virgin

Directions:
In a saute pan large enough to hold all bread slices flat, melt butter until bubbles disappear. Add bread and brown on both sides. Remove from pan and hold warm until service. In same pan, add prosciutto and fry until crispy. Remove prosciutto, leaving any fat in pan, and keep warm. Cut last 2 inches off of bottoms of asparagus. Wash and dry asparagus well and add to pan. Pan roast briefly in prosciutto fat. Add cream and water, bring to a boil. Grate in fresh parmesan and season with pepper only (parmesan and prosciutto will both lend salt to the dish).
Reduce to a simmer and cook until asparagus is tender and cream is slightly thick. Check if cream mixture needs any salt at this point.

To serve:
Place one slice of bread in center of a wide
rimmed bowl. Carefully place asparagus on top of bread and spoon sauce over and around asparagus. Top asparagus with crispy prosciutto and shaved parmesan. Sprinkle with chives. Drizzle a small amount of olive oil around bread and serve.

Roast Pork Tenderloin
With Butternut, Cabbage and Pomegranates    
Serves 6

The concept of sweet and sour pork is classic. This dish achieves a sweet - sour balance thanks to the vibrant flavor of pomegranates. Along with their beautiful red color and texture, pomegranates pair well with any rich dish like pork or duck.

Ingredients:
1 head Green cabbage, core removed, julienned and blanched
2 Tbl Butter, unsalted
1/2 Onion, Spanish, diced
To tase Salt and pepper

1/4 C Onion, Spanish, diced
1/4 C Carrot, diced
1 1/2 C Butternut squash, peeled and seeded, cut into 1 chunk
1 1/2 C Chicken stock
2 Tbl Butter
Pinch Cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
To Taste Salt and pepper

3 Pork Tenderloins, trimmed of all fat and silver skin, tail portion removed, trimmed into two 5-6 oz. portions each
To Taste Salt and pepper
Pinch Cumin
Pinch Allspice
Pinch Garlic powder
2 Tbl Canola oil

1/2 C Shallots, chopped
1/4 C White Wine
1 Qt Pork Stock
pinch 5 Spice powder
To Taste Salt and pepper
1 Tbl Butter, unsalted

1/4 C Pomegranate seeds
1 Tbl Chives, chopped

Directions:
To prepare the cabbage, blanch by boiling in water until just tender, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat and place in ice cold water to stop the cooking. Saute the onion in butter until tender. Add the blanched cabbage and toss well. Season with salt and pepper. Hold warm until ready to use.

For the Butternut puree, saute the onion, carrot and butternut in butter until beginning to soften. Add the spices and cook for an additional minute. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Simmer until completely tender. Using a blender or food processor, puree until smooth. Add the cream and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper.
Hold warm until ready to serve.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Season the pork pieces with salt, pepper and spices. In a large, pre-heated saut pan, add the oil and sear the pork until browned all over. Place the pan in the oven and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the pork is medium (Roughly 135 degree internal temperature). Remove the pork from the pan and place on a warm platter to rest. Do not remove drippings from pan. Loosely tent with foil to keep warm.

In the same pan used to cook the pork, add the shallots and spices to the leftover drippings and saut to a light golden brown. Do not burn. Remove the pan from the heat and add the wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the pan to release any browned bits and cook until the wine is almost completely evaporated. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the stock down to roughly 1 cup. Remove the pan from the heat and swirl in the butter.

To serve:
Spoon some of the butternut puree into the center of each serving plate. Place a nice mound of the sauted cabbage in the center of the butternut.
Using a sharp knife, slice the pork into 1/4 inch thick slices and lay on top of the cabbage.
Spoon some of the pork gravy around the pork. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Yam Shooters
With Shrimp and Chives    
Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 C Yams
1/4 C Onion
1 C Chicken stock
Pinch Cinnamon
Pinch Nutmeg
Pinch Ginger
Pinch Pepper
To Taste Salt
1 tsp Honey
3/4 C Heavy cream
4 Shrimp, large, peeled and de-veined, grilled and chopped
1 Tbl Chives, chopped

Directions:
For the yam soup, combine yams, onions, stock and spices in a heavy bottomed pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, partially covered, until the yams are completely tender. Carefully transfer the soup into a blender, only filling half way, and blend until smooth. Return the contents to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the 1/4 C heavy cream and honey and taste for seasonings. Season with additional salt and spices if desired. In a separate pot, bring 1/2 C of cream to a boil and reduce by half to thicken.

To serve:
To serve, divide the soup into 12 individual tall shot glasses. Spoon some of the reduced cream on top of the soup. Divide the shrimp among the glasses and sprinkle the top of each with chives.

Cranberry and Goat Cheese Tartlets
   
Serves 6

These tasty little hors doeuvres are easy to make and look absolutely festive for the holidays.

Ingredients:
12 Individual prepared tartlet shells, approx. 1 in. diameter
5 oz. Goat cheese, young and creamy
1/2 C Cranberries
1/4 C Sugar
1/4 C Water
1 Tbl Chives, tips

Directions:
In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water and bring to a boil. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, add the cranberries and bring to a low simmer. Swirl around to coat the cranberries well. Once you see a few pop, remove the cranberries from the heat and allow to cool. Strain the juice off and save for cocktails if desired. Using a spoon or knife, spread the goat cheese into the tartlet shells. Place a few cranberries on top of each tartlet and garnish with the chive spears.