Cooking, Decorating, Entertaining, Photography and More!
Harris & Dave share some of their most popular recipes and show you how to make them!
Here is a video on how to make your own mayonnaise or if you like aioli. We filmed this while visiting our dear friends Richard & Xavi in Barcelona in October 2015. Since Harris and I have not been blogging in so long I almost forgot about posting this video until today. Richard our dear friend is gravely ill so in his honor I wanted to get this video out there into the universe in his honor. Enjoy!
If you love Shrimp Scampi, you must try this recipe. It’s super easy to make and takes very little time from start to finish! Serve this dish up to your family or guest and they will think you’re a professional chef!
What makes it Gluten Free? Simple, we use no flour to thicken the sauce and we serve it on Gluten Free pasta! Our choice is Barilla but there are many options available.
In this short instructional video, Dave demonstrates just how easy this dish is to make!
We hope you enjoy!!!
Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients:
Directions:
Love this recipe? Follow us and share it with your friends! Let us know how it came out and send us some pictures! Questions? Ask The Dads in the comments or e-mail: HarrisandDave@gmail.com
Enjoy!!!
Add this amazing recipe to your repertoire and impress your friends; great for a dinner party!!!
This is very similar to the French version, bouillabaisse, only this doesn’t have saffron and the base is tomato. Staying true to Harris’ Italian roots was his goal when creating this dish.
The star ingredient is the calamari! If you’ve not cooked calamari before now, don’t be afraid. Most fear cooking calamari any way other than breaded and deep-fried but fear not. You will be surprised how tender and flavorful it is in this dish. If you watch our video, you will also see how much liquid is released from the calamari as it simmers. While I do believe in substitutions, we strongly recommend not replacing the star ingredient; you’re going to love it!!!
We recommend serving with garlic rubbed crostinis or a rustic bread as you’ll definitely want something to soak up the delicious broth while eating the shell fish!
Enjoy!!!
(Sorry, there wasn’t a photo of this dish once plated. with everyone sitting at the table waiting to be served we got distracted!!)
Here in the video, Harris demonstrates how to cook our very special Cioppino! See below for the recipe!
Cioppino
(Tomato based Seafood Stew)
This recipe will serve 8 or possibly 10
Ingredients:
The dish requires a very large Dutch oven or clam pot.
Place fresh clams and mussels in a large bowl of very cold water with ice to flush out any sand in the shells. Before adding clams and mussels inspect to be certain all are tightly closed. If any of the shells are open or cracked, discard, as they are dead and not edible. Also trim beard of mussels if needed.
Directions:
Love this recipe? Follow us and share it with your friends! Let us know how it came out and send us some pictures! Questions? Ask The Dads in the comments or e-mail: HarrisandDave@gmail.com
Enjoy!!!
Father’s Day is this Sunday and what better way to show Dad you care than by preparing a family dinner with a traditional Roasted Chicken with a twist. Our Garlic Rosemary Chicken, lovingly stuffed with rosemary and 15 cloves of garlic, is major flavor! It would be heaven with some roasted vegetables and a simple salad. In fact, check out our recipes for sides and dressing!
When our children were growing up, we always insisted that everyone gather around the table for dinner. With teenagers who were busy and sometimes temperamental, this was not the easiest of tasks some days, but we believed it was important to share our meals as a family. These days, our children have grown and left the house, so family meals are precious. This Father’s Day, we will be celebrating by visiting Leah and Sean at their home for dinner. And who knows, maybe Leah will serve us up our own recipes!
So don’t forget to thank the Dads in your life for all of their hard work, and let them know that you love them this Sunday. And serve up some Garlic Rosemary Chicken, because It isn’t always easy being a Dad. And maybe some pie? Because, us Dads, we’re worth it!
Here in the video, Dave demonstrates how to cook our very special Garlic Rosemary Chicken! See below for the recipe!
Ingredients:
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a food processor, combine the olive oil, garlic, rosemary, kosher salt and black pepper. Process to the consistence of a pesto/paste. Rub the garlic mixture under and over the skin of the chicken and in the cavity. Set chicken on rack in roasting pan and roast for 45 minutes.
Remove the rack with the chicken and discard fat from the pan. Add the chicken stock and lemon juice to the pan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Place the rack with the chicken back in pan and roast for 30 to 40 minutes, basting often, until the juices run clear.
Transfer chicken to a carving board and cover lightly with foil to allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before carving.
Love this recipe? Follow us and share it with your friends! Let us know how it came out and send us some pictures! Questions? Ask The Dads in the comments or e-mail: HarrisandDave@gmail.com
One of our favorite followers, Chris from Key West, has asked us to show him how we make our Pasta Carbonara! The thing is… that he actually asked us this a couple of months ago! We feel awful that it took so long to get up here, but truthfully this is not a dish for the diet conscious! So we waited to make it for when we had guests over to share the indulgence!
Here in the video, Harris shows you how to make a perfect Pasta Carbonara! See below for the recipe!
While our recipe calls for Hog Jowl, aka Guanciale at the Italian market, you can use Pancetta or a quality bacon.
Ingredients
(Serves four)
3 – tablespoons Extra-Virgin Olive Oil
8 ounces Guanciale (which is cured pork jowl) or Pancetta or good Bacon
1 pound Spaghetti or pasta of choice
1 ¼ cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
4 – Large Eggs (room temperature)
Freshly ground Black Pepper
2 – tablespoons Kosher Salt
Frozen peas (Optional)
Directions
The Dads Tip: Guanciale is our first choice, but it may be difficult to find. Try your local pork butcher. Also, adding half the olive oil at the end adds that fresh olive oil flavor!
Bring 6 quarts of water to boil in a large pot and add 2 Tablespoons salt to the pasta water. Cook the spaghetti/pasta in the boiling water until just al dente.
Meanwhile, combine half the olive oil and bacon/pancetta in a 12- to 14-inch skillet on medium heat. Cook until the bacon/pancetta has rendered its fat and is crispy and golden. Place cooked pork on paper towels to drain, set aside. Retain about half of the dripping for coating the cooked pasta.
In a bowl, mix together the cheese, eggs, and pepper until smooth. We like to add just a little bit of the hot pasta water to help temper the egg mixture. This will prevent the eggs from cooking when added to the hot pasta.
When the pasta is done, reserve a cup of the pasta water. Drain the pasta and place it in a bowl or back into the pot. While the pasta is still really hot, slowly drizzle in the egg mixture, stirring the pasta the whole time. The sauce will become very creamy as it coats the pasta. If you need to loosen it up a bit, you can add some of the reserved pasta water.
Now add the peas (optional) and crispy bacon to the mixture.
Serve immediately and sprinkle the top with remaining Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese!
Love this recipe? Follow us and share it with your friends! Let us know how it came out and send us some pictures! Questions? Ask The Dads in the comments or e-mail: HarrisandDave@gmail.com
Quinoa: It looks like a grain, it cooks like a grain, it even fills you up like a grain, but this high protein, gluten-free seed is packed with nutrients and amino acids. It can even replace rice in most dishes. So, it makes sense that such a beneficial ingredient is so popular, but we had to know: can it taste good? Yes. Seriously.
Quinoa’t are we talking ’bout?! (Quinoa is pronounced Keen-Wah, in case you were wondering.) Well, here at HarrisandDave.com, we put together a few test recipes. We wanted something healthy that we could eat, but tasty enough for company. We came up with Mushroom Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash & Fennel. It’s our favorite way to enjoy this superfood. Maybe it will be yours too? Give it a try and we promise we won’t make anymore quinoa puns.
Mushroom Quinoa with Roasted Butternut Squash & Fennel
Ingredients:
1 ½ cups quinoa (rinsed)
1 ½ cups chicken stock
1 ½ cups water
1 cup baby portabella mushrooms
1 cup shiitake mushrooms
4 tablespoons butter
3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1 butternut squash cut into chunks
1 fennel cut into chunks
1 red onion cut into chunks
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Rinse your quinoa in a sieve. This is an important step to ensure all of the coating of bitter-tasting saponins have been removed from the quinoa seeds.
Place the rinsed quinoa into your rice cooker or medium saucepan and add the water and chicken stock. If cooking in a rice cooker, press the cook button and wait for quinoa to fully cook. If using the traditional method of a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
Meanwhile, place your chopped butternut squash, fennel and red onion on a roasting pan and lightly coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place into 400 degree oven and roast until tender and caramelized; about 20 minutes. Stir part way through cooking time to ensure even caramelization.
While your vegetables are roasting and the quinoa is cooking, melt butter in large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter is hot, add the mushrooms and sauté. Add Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper to taste. Cook mushrooms until tender; about 5 minutes.
Fluff the quinoa with a fork and combine the mushroom and place onto a large serving platter. Place on top of the mushroom quinoa the roasted vegetables, adjust seasoning (I sometimes like fresh olive oil) and serve.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Opening Day is next Monday, and spring is in the air. Well, it’s supposed to be anyway, but here in Baltimore we just got some snow! But we’re still trying to get in the spring spirit, and nothing says warmer weather like BBQ! We slow cook our ribs for four hours to ensure that the ribs get super tender. We also use a dry rub which encrusts the ribs in a beautiful crust, or bark. So, never be intimidated by ribs again! Don’t believe us? Give it a try!
In this video below, Harris demonstrates how to make one of The Dads’ favorite spicy dishes: Chipotle Lime Chicken!
Harris picked up this recipe from his friend Dale who makes it every year on their annual ski trips. Naturally, The Dads have made a few twists to the dish and here, Harris shows you how.
This dinner dish is paired wonderfully with Quinoa and Roasted Asparagus. Be sure to check out Leah’s video from a previous post on how to roast asparagus!
If you make this dish or have questions for The Dads, be sure to leave a comment or send us an e-mail to harrisanddave@gmail.com! Enjoy!
Chipotle Lime Chicken
Ingredients:
7 ounces Greek Yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Lime Juice
Zest of one lime
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 to 3 chipotle peppers (depending how much heat you want) in adobo sauce- We love La Costeña Adobo Sauce
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 teaspoon butter (for sautéing garlic)
2 pounds boneless chicken thighs
Directions:
Combine first 6 ingredients in large mixing bowl.
Lightly sauté garlic in butter just until fragrant, about 1 minute; don’t let brown.
Add cooked garlic to adobo sauce.
Reserve enough of the marinade for dipping sauce (about ¼ to ½ cup).
Add chicken thighs to the marinade and let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Grill on Medium heat for approximately 8 to 10 minutes on each side.
Serve with dipping sauce. Delicious!!
Last month, Dave showed you how to make Princess Diana’s favorite Poached Pears that we adapted from her former butler, Paul Burrell’s cookbook In the Royal Manner.
Today, we would like to present them to you as an idea for a decadent salad! Slice them up and serve as a delicious lunch treat or as a side salad with your dinner. To view the full recipe and video from Dave, please go click on the “Recipes” and “Video” tabs on the top of our homepage! Enjoy!
Since we just threw our friend a birthday dinner at our home, we wanted to share with you the recipe for Harris’ Yellow Layer Cake!
Yellow Layer Cake
Ingredients
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups sugar
10 tablespoons soften butter
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks, at room temperature
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
Directions
Grease two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottom with wax paper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl whisk together and set aside, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a medium size bowl whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add ¼ cup of sugar and whisk until moderate peaks form and set aside.
Beat in large bowl, using whisk attachment if possible, beat together, 1 ½ cups sugar, butter and oil until lite and fluffy, which usually take 4 minutes. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla.
With mixer set to slow speed add flour mixture alternating with buttermilk and beat until smooth. Fold in egg whites. Pour into cake pans and bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
1 10 oz. Package of Semisweet Chocolate Chips or Squares
¾ Light Cream or Half & Half – Room Temperature
¾ lb. of Unsalted Butter
3 ¼ C Confectioners Sugar
Directions
In saucepan on low heat, melt and combine the butter and chocolate. Add cream and sugar. Whisk until smooth and holds shape.
