Category: Vegetarian

Jilly’s Chili (2014 Malibu West Chili Cook-Off Winner!)

Every Halloween, we get a LOT of trick or treaters at our house. Like 500. Kind of crazy. We always have hot dogs, hot links, cole slaw, and chili for any of our friends who want to take a short break. They can get some food and a beverage while thier kids count and/or trade their loot. Jilly’s Chili is the star of the show. People know it’s no ordinary chili. She won the Malibu West Chili Cookoff, and Jilly’s name is perpetually engraved on the Malibu West Chili Cook Off plaque. Yes – That is big. Really big. She deserves it. Jilly’s Chili is vegetarian, it’s real, and it’s spectacular.

Ingredients

1 Can Kidney Beans, drained
1 Can Black Beans, drained
1 Can Pinto Beans, drained
1 Can Garbanzo Beans, drained
1 cup Corn, Frozen or Fresh
1 Red Pepper, diced
1 Green Pepper, diced
2 Carrots, peeled and diced
1 Red Onion, diced
28 oz Crushed Tomatoes
1 cup Vegetable Broth
5 Garlic Cloves, minced
1.50 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Corriander
1 tsp Cocoa Powder, unsweetened (Ghirardelli is great stuff)
½ tsp Garlic Powder
⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper
½ tsp Salt
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
3 tbsp Butter
Optional Toppings: Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Sour Cream, Chives,

Directions

Chop the garlic, onion, and bell peppers. Sauté lightly in a large pot over medium high heat in 1-2 tsp olive oil.

Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the toppings of course! Sauté for at least one hour. It’s even better on day 2.

Tomato Bread Soup

The first time I had Tomato Bread Soup (Pappa al Pomodoro) was with my friend John at Drago restaurant (it is now closed) in Santa Monica.  I’m a fan of tomato soup (but not a fan of Campbell’s Tomato Soup as a kid), but this was something special.  This is thick and rich, and a perfect lunch on a cool day.  I brought Jill there later and she endorsed the soup and said that we had to learn how to make it.  Well, it took me a few years, but I found and adapted a recipe from Ina Garten (who always gets it right), combined it with what I remembered from Drago, and we love it.

Ingredients

The Soup
2 Sweet Onions, chopped
1 Fennel Bulb, cored, peeled, and chopped
3 Carrots, chopped
6 Garlic Cloves, peeled and minced
2 28-oz cans of tomatoes, crushed*
4 Stock, chicken or vegetable
1 French Baguette, (Rustic is great)
1 cup Fresh Basil Leaves, chopped
½ cup Olive Oil
½ cup Red Wine
The Cauliflower Croutons
1 Head of Cauliflower, broken into small individual pieces
2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper

Directions

OK, what do you do with Fennel? My friend and chef Antonio says, “You can’t go wrong with Fennel.” He forages for it, then peels and eats it like a carrot all the time. Well, for this recipe, you cut off the furry stalks, then core, peel and chop the bulb.*

Dice the carrots, fennel,and onions, and put it all in olive oil, along with 6 cloves of minced garlic. Let it saute for 10 minutes. Add 3 cups of diced french bread. Saute and let it soak up flavored oil.

Add tomatoes, stock, garlic-onion-fennel-bread mixture, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper (optional), basil, and red wine. Simmer for at least 30 minutes.

The Croutons

We are making Roasted Cauliflower Croutons. Take one or two heads of cauliflower and chop into small pieces. Think about the size of pieces you would want on top of your soup. Coat lightly with olive oil and bake at 450 degrees, for 20-30 minutes, turning over a few times, until brown and a little crispy. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese and the cauliflower pieces on top of the soup when you are ready to serve!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

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“OK, OK. Quit wrinkling your nose. This is good stuff.” That’s what I wrote when I first published this recipe. Then, restaurants everywhere started serving really awesome brussels sprouts. They saw what I saw. They are a fantastic dish, royalty in fact, worthy of the Thanksgiving table and great for any meal. This is how we make them. We love them!

Ingredients

2 lbs Brussels Sprouts, washed, ends cut off, and split
2 tbsp Olive Oil
½ tsp Salt, Pepper, Herbes de Provence (1/2 tsp of each)Don't be shy with salt. It is underrated.

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. (375 Convection)

Place washed, cut, and split sprouts in large bowl. Add Olive Oil, toss, and coat.

Spread on baking sheet. Sprinkle spices over them.

Bake for 20 minutes or until browned. Turn at least once while baking. Taste for salt to see if you need more. (I treat the sprouts like french fries – they’re pretty darn good with a good dose of salt).

If you want to increase taste while reducing healthiness, take your perfectly cooked brussels sprouts, and sauté them in a butter/garlic/capers sauce. 4 ounces of butter, 4 garlic cloves (crushed), and 1 Tbsp of capers. I recommend it!

Roasted Cauliflower, Broccoli, and/or Onion

This is an alternative to the grilled veggie recipe on this site.  They crisp up and it’s a great side dish.  Tip: The cauliflower is especially good as a low-carb crouton to top a salad or a soup.  Try it!

Ingredients

As much cauliflower, broccoli, and onion as you want.
Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper, Herbes de Provence

Directions

Wash veggies. Chop into pieces, but don’t go too small, since it will reduce during cooking.

In a bowl, add enough Olive Oil to lightly coat all veggies. Spread on a baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 350.

Season with Salt, Pepper, and Herbes de Provence. You can substitute Italian Seasoning for Herbes de Provence.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then as much more time as needed until they are perfectly crisp. Turn with a spatula once or twice during that time. It should brown and crisp. You may need one more shake of salt before you serve. 30 Minutes

Pineapple Salsa

This is a fresh and wonderful addition to fish, turkey, or chicken. It’s great with grilled food. Very simple to do, but it’s better if you make it ahead of time and let it marinate in its own juices.

Ingredients

1 tbsp Rice Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar (Rice Vinegar is much cleaner)
½ tsp Salt
½ tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Pineapple, Cored and Chopped into small pieces.(If you are in a pinch, 2 cans of sliced pineapple will do.)
½ Red Onion, minced
1 cup Cilantro, washed and chopped

Directions

Chop and drain pineapple. Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least one hour.

Pasta Primavera

This is a favorite in our house.  It’s one of Jill’s favorite vegetarian dishes and I love it too.  I was inspired by a favorite restaurant in Santa Monica called Il Forno Trattoria. They key is chopping the vegetables in small chunks where several of them can be on your fork. It’s cheesy, light, fresh, and wonderful!

Ingredients

1 Onion, chopped
⅔ cup Carrots, chopped into pea-sized pieces
⅔ cup Broccoli, chopped into pea-sized pieces
⅔ cup Cauliflower, chopped into pea-sized pieces
⅔ cup Yellow or Green Squash*, chopped into pea-sized pieces
16 oz Penne or other pasta
1 cup Pasta WaterTake from the pasta just before you drain it.
8 Garlic Cloves, chopped or crushedThis won't shock those who know me. I usually double the garlic in this recipe.
Olive Oil
½ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
3 Roma Tomatoes, chopped (These will be used as a topping after the dish is complete
Optional: Fresh Basil for a tasty garnish topping

Directions

Wash, peel, and chop all vegetables into small pieces.

Start boiiling water for pasta. Add 1 tsp salt.

Add a little Olive Oil to Skillet or Large Pot. Saute all vegetables (except tomatoes and basil) until al dente. Add half of the garlic towards the end of cooking.

Cook pasta to directions. Important: Save 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain.

When you are ready to serve, Add 1/4 cup Olive Oil to pot. Heat, add the rest of the garlic (chopped or crushed), and add pasta. Turn and coat with garlic and oil. Add a few red pepper flakes if you would like some heat!

Lower the heat on the stove. Add the parmesan cheese, and mix in. Then, add 1/2 cup of pasta water, and stir in. This should loosen the pasta, make it not stick together, and create a sauce like consistency. Continue adding pasta water until you like what you see.

Turn off the heat. Add, sauted vegetables and toss.

Serve in bowls, sprinkling chopped tomatoes and basil on top.

Serve with a little black pepper and extra parmesan cheese on top.

Ranch Dressing

We don’t use Ranch dressing much, but sometimes you need it. It’s great with the fish tacos topping if you add some zing to it with cayenne or Tabasco or spicy salsa. We are not big mayo people, so Jill has reduced the Mayo in this one.

Ingredients

⅛ cup Mayo
2 Garlic Cloves. Pressed or Minced
½ cup Buttermilk*
½ cup Sour Cream
½ tsp Black Pepper
½ tsp Kosher Salt
½ tsp Dried Parsley(Or 2 tsp fresh chopped parsley)
1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Directions

Mix it all together in a blender. That’s it!

Green Goddess Dressing

Homemade dressings are a huge part of our eating at home experience. The two dressing we do actually purchase in a bottle, because they is easy and super tasty, is the Balsamic Fig Dressing from Stonewall Kitchen, and the Feast from the East Sesame dressing. Other than that, it’s all homemade.

This Green Goddess dressing is not only a spectacular dressing. It’s also a phenomenal dip for fresh cut veggies.  It’s adapted from Ina Garten’s The Barefoot Contessa at Home. It just feels healthy, even as you’re making it.

Ingredients

¾ cup Mayonnaise
2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Black Pepper
4 Cloves Garlic, Pressed
1 Bunch Green Onions, Chopped
1 cup Basil Leaves, washed
¼ cup Lemon Juice (2 Lemons)
2.75 cups Sour Cream

Directions

Place the mayonnaise, scallions, basil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.

Add the sour cream and process just until blended. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Jilly’s Balsamic Dressing

This is the stand-by dressing in our house.  It’s quick to prepare, and you can vary it by using different olive oils,  balsamic vinegars, and mustards.  It gets raves when guests have it, and it goes with almost all foods.  Don’t be afraid to adjust ingredients to your tastes. We don’t make it ahead – it’s so easy we make it on the spot. You get to a point where you can eyeball the ingredients and make it even faster.

Ingredients

½ cup Good Balsamic Vinegar
¼ cup Olive Oil
1 tsp Honey
1 tsp Dijon MustardI add more mustard than this, but most like this amount.
Salt and Pepper

Directions

Mix Ingredients Together!

Italian Veggies

My Sicilian friend and neighbor Antonio, who for years ran a great Italian restaurant here in Malibu, Tra di Noi, showed me such a simple way to cook vegetables.  He told me that most people overdo it by putting way too many spices in there, or they cook it too much.   His way is so simple and I love it. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, salt is underrated. These sautéd veggies are flavorful and always a big hit.

Ingredients

4 cups Italian Veggies of your choice (Zucchini, Summer Squash, Onions, Green Beans, Broccoli, Cauliflower)You don't want to have many more veggies than your skillet can handle in one layer
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions

Clean and chop veggies to the size you want to serve them.

Heat up Olive Oil, Saute Veggies, adding salt and pepper along the way (more than you think of both); remove when they are the consistency you want. 10 to 12 minutes is a good amount of time.

With green beans, I will add some hot red pepper flakes. Having large chunks of onion (not diced) is also very good. And if you want more flavor, fresh minced garlic or dried minced garlic area always a nice addition.

Cheese Grits

grits-sprouts-dressing

Growing up in the South, you didn’t ask for grits at a breakfast restaurant. They just came with the bacon and eggs. They are a cheap and filling food, and have just been part of southern menus for a long time. I do not crave grits. But cheese grits, that’s a different story. My mom always made cheese grits. They’re way better than just grits, far beyond ordinary, and deserving of a special place at the table.

Using non-instant grits is critical. If you are an oatmeal fan, then you should not be a fan of instant oatmeal. Instant oatmeal is a bunch of nothing. Steel cut or the whole grain oatmeal, the stuff that takes at least 10 minutes to cook, is the way to go. Same thing with grits. Get yourself some good stone ground grits (my favorite brand is Bob’s Red Mill), and you are ready to go. We serve this for dinners, pot lucks, and it’s even a staple on our Thanksgiving table.

Ingredients

1.50 cups Stone Ground Grits*We love Bob's Red Mill brand for all of our grains. See amount note in the directions. You want the right amount of grits to mix into six cups of water.
6 cups Boiling Water with 1 tsp saltYou can use a vegetable or chicken stock if you want more flavor.
4 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated
3 Eggs, beaten
8 tbsp Butter (1 stick)
2 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Pepper, Black
1 tbsp Chili Garlic Sauce (Optional)

Directions

Cook the grits in boiling water until they reach a consistency where they won’t run off your plate and turn off heat.

Note: different grits have different measurements. Choose the right amount of grits to cook in 6 cups of water. Use some Common Core math skills here!

Add butter, and stir in until it is melted and blended.

Beat eggs in a small bowl, then spoon in some of the hot grits into the eggs and mix together (this keeps the eggs from cooking into scrambled eggs). Add back to grits and stir.

Mix in all but one cup of the shredded cheese.

Stir in salt, pepper, and if you want some spice (and you should!), the chili-garlic Sauce or your favorite hot sauce.

Prepare a nice casserole dish. A 13″ x 9″ size (3 quarts) is right. If you are using a deeper dish, you will need to bake a little longer. Use some butter or cooking spray and you’re set.

Pour the grits into the dish. You can refrigerate overnight at this point, or just go right to the next step.

When you are ready to bake, sprinkle cheese on the top. Bake at 350 degrees (325 convection) for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until just barely browned and the grits are set. 75 Minutes