Cooking with Joni

Well 2024 was another year dealing with a few health issues. However it’s 2025 and I’m up and running once again.

We have had a few classes that have enjoyed a few of my new menus one being the Taste of New Orleans! I’ve created a special Valentine menu to be released soon.

Please note currently I am only offering private group and corporate team building cooking experiences for groups of 6-12 people.

Sorry I have been so busy with private cooking experiences I have had no time to share my recipes/information. My work cools down after the 17th. I will be able to share new recipes and delightful stories. Thanks for your patience. It’s been a crazy year. Bob and I have entered the body replacement part time of our lives…. Total shoulder,2 knee replacements….next a hip! The activities of competitive sports of our youth

BLT Deviled Eggs
Ingredients
1 dozen hard-boiled eggs peeled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon honey mustard
4 strips candied bacon diced small
2 handfuls small cherry tomatoes cut into small pieces
1 handful basil leaves chopped
1/4 tsp black pepper
Chili powder to dust
¼ C brown sugar
¼ c maple syrup

Instructions
Boil eggs to a hard boil. Place eggs in water and bring to a boil. Once it comes to a boil continue for another 4 minutes then take off heat and let the eggs rest in the water until it is room temp then peel the eggs
Slice each egg in half lengthwise and remove the yolk. Put all the yolks in a small mixing bowl and all the whites on a platter.
Add mayo and honey mustard to the yolks and mix until well combined and sort of fluffy.
Fold in the diced bacon, tomatoes, and basil (reserving a little of the basil for a garnish)
Spoon filling into the centers of the whites. Garnish with basil and dust with chili powder.
Candied bacon: Place parchment paper on to a cookie sheet pre heat over to 325 F. In a bowl add 1/4 C brown sugar, ¼ C maple syrup then mix the raw bacon into bowl to coat all sides. Lay the sugared bacon onto the cookie sheet and add black pepper to the slices. Bake for about 20-30 minutes. At the 20 minute mark look to see if the bacon is crisp if not continue to cook. The bacon will crisp a bit once it is out of the oven

Easy smoked salmon

Ingredients
1 salmon fillet (about 2 pounds)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
Optional: Capers and lemon slices
Directions
Place salmon, skin side down, in an 11x7-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with brown sugar, salt and pepper. Drizzle with liquid smoke. Cover and refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
Drain salmon, discarding liquid. Bake, uncovered, at 350° until fish flakes easily with a fork, 35-45 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. If desired, serve with capers and lemon slices.

Smoky Marinated Feta
Ingredients
10 cloves garlic peeled
1 lemon skin peeled into 6 strips
4 bay leaves
2 ½ tsp chipotle chili flakes
1 cups of olive oil
1 tsp flaky sea salt
1 ¼ tsp paprika
2 blocks of Greek feta cut into ½” cubes

Directions
Place a small sauté pan over medium- high heat. Once the pan is very hot, add the
garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, turning halfway, until cloves are charred.
Add the lemon strips and bay leaves, and cook for about 90 seconds until lightly
charred.
Add the chipotle chili flakes and cook, stirring continuously, until well-toasted and
fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove the pan from the heat, then add the oil, salt, and
paprika. Stir for about 30 seconds to combine.
Add the feta to the oil and stir gently so that each piece of cheese is coated in
oil, then transfer the cheese and liquid to a shallow container.
Allow the feta to marinate at room temperature if you’ll be eating it within a few hours. Otherwise, refrigerate it in an airtight container. (If using later, take the feta out of the refrigera- tor about an hour or so before you want to serve it to allow the oil to come back up to room temperature and de-solidify.) Smoky Marinated Feta keeps in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

This past month has been challenging. Bob had a knee replacement we continue with PT 3x per week and life has just been life with all its crazy ups and downs. I will be getting back to posting recipes next week.

Cheese Olives
Ingredients
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons butter, softened
½ cup all-purpose flour
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicer)
20 stuffed green olives

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small mixing bowl, combine cheese and butter or margarine. Stir flour and cayenne pepper into the cheese and butter mixture. Blend well. Wrap dough around each green olive. Arrange the wrapped olives on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

I like to have them on hand so I will place them on a baking sheet and place olives in the freezer until frozen then place in a zip lock bag and take out as needed.

Baked Vegetable Bird's Nests 8-10 nests
Ingredients
2 medium-size carrots - peeled
1 medium-size zucchini
1/2 of a medium onion
1/4 cup baby spinach
1 whole egg, plus 1 egg white- lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour or rice flour for a lighter texture
2 Tbsp. panko bread crumbs
1/4 tsp. salt
black pepper, to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper
Julienne both the carrots and zucchini in a large bowl with a hand spiralizer if you have one otherwise use a peeler and cut really thin. Then thinly slice the onion and baby spinach and toss into the same bowl, along with the eggs, Parmesan cheese, flour, panko bread crumbs, salt, and pepper.
Toss all the ingredients together and fully coated. Scoop a small amount of vegetable mixture, onto the baking sheet. Try to swirl and shape the vegetables into a small bird's nest., They should be about a 3-inch diameter in size.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom and crispy around the edges. Keep in mind, if you undercook them, the nests will fall apart. Remove from the oven and use a spatula to transfer to a serving plate.
Dipping Sauce
3½ Tablespoons Soy Sauce
¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
1½ Teaspoons Corn Starch
1½ Tablespoons Mirin
7 Tablespoons Water
Directions
Add 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
¼ Cup Granulated Sugar
7 Tablespoons Water
1½ Teaspoon corn starch and 1½ Tablespoons Mirin into a sauce pan, bring to a boil, then simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool.

Cold Lemon Capellini Salad
Ingredients
Pasta Salad
1/2 lb capellini (angel hair pasta)
¼ lbs or so of cooked shrimp
1 cup arugula (you can substitute basil if your not a fan of arugula)
1/4 cup capers
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
2 lemons
1 tsp lemon zest
Lemon Dressing
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Heat a sauce pan on medium add 2 tbsp of butter to the pan and ¼ c dry white wine, salt and pepper. Place the shrimp into the pan and cook for about 2.5 minutes total. The shrimp will continue to cook when taken off the heat. You don’t want your shrimp to be over cooked and chewy. Take out of pan place in a shallow bowl to allow them to cool before placing into the salad
Cook the capellini according to the package. Drain and place under cold running to allow it to cool. While the pasta is cooking, begin making the dressing by combining all of the dressing ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mixing until the ingredients are combined.
To the mixing bowl, add the cooled cooked capellini, capers, parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes, arugula and lemon zest and a big squeeze of lemon juice then mix until all ingredients until they are coated in the dressing. Top with cooked shrimp and lemon slices

Easy Hummus
Ingredients
2 cans (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, or 2 cups cooked chickpeas
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup lemon juice (from 1 ½ to 2 lemons), more to taste
1 medium-to-large clove garlic, roughly chopped
½ teaspoon fine sea salt, to taste
½ cup tahini
2 to 4 tablespoons ice water, more as needed
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Any of the following garnishes: drizzle of olive oil or sprinkle of ground sumac or paprika, chopped fresh parsley
Directions
Place the chickpeas in a medium saucepan and add the baking soda. Cover the chickpeas by several inches of water, then bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Continue boiling, reducing heat if necessary to prevent overflow, for about 20 minutes, or until the chickpeas look bloated, their skins are falling off, and they’re quite soft. In a fine-mesh strainer, drain the chickpeas and run cool water over them for about 30 seconds. Set aside (no need to peel the chickpeas for this recipe!).
Meanwhile, in a food processor or high-powered blender, combine the lemon juice, garlic and salt. Process until the garlic is very finely chopped, then let the mixture rest so the garlic flavor can mellow, ideally 10 minutes or longer. Add the tahini to the food processor and blend until the mixture is thick and creamy, stopping to scrape down any tahini stuck to the sides and bottom of the processor as necessary.
While running the food processor, drizzle in 2 tablespoons ice water. Scrape down the food processor, and blend until the mixture is ultra smooth, pale and creamy. (If your tahini was extra-thick to begin with, you might need to add 1 to 2 tablespoons more ice water.)
Add the cumin and the drained, over-cooked chickpeas to the food processor. While blending, drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until the mixture is super smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor as necessary, about 2 minutes. Add more ice water by the tablespoon if necessary to achieve a super creamy texture.
Leftover hummus keeps well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week.

This is a simple yet delicious broccoli recipe even your children will love it

Thai style broccoli with garlic
Ingredients
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 pound broccoli florets
2 tbsp oil
4 large cloves garlic, chopped

Directions
Stir the fish sauce with the sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Set aside
Drop broccoli into boiling water, cover and boil 2/3 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to keep the broccoli crisp and green.
Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and fry until golden but not burnt. Drain on a paper towel. Add the fish sauce mixture to the oil remaining in pan. Add the broccoli and stir until blended with the seasons and heated through. Place on a platter and top with fried garlic