Backtracking.

Time to backtrack a bit. Please bear with me, as I won't remember everything. There will be several meals/marinades/random dishes covered here:
-Red salad
-Roasted red pepper tapenade (to be used in a listed meal)
-Snapper Vera Cruz (courtesy of Central Market)
-Chicken & various marinades
-Butterfly pork chops & various marinades

RED SALAD
No, this is not my subliminal tribute to communism. This is an original recipe including some of my favorite fresh foods.

Ingredients:
1/2 head of red cabbage, 1 bunch of red radishes, approximately 20 cherry tomatoes, 1 scoop of red pepper aioli, 2 spoonfuls of whipped cream cheese, olive oil to consistency

Directions:
Chop 1/2 head of red cabbage into thin pieces. Tear the pieces apart so the individual slices of red cabbage are separate. Clean radishes and remove heads. Slice radishes into halves, and then halve them again. Combine chopped red cabbage, radishes, and cherry tomatoes in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine red pepper aioli (I like to use the deli stuff from Central Market; "one scoop" is how I measure buying and using it.) and cream cheese. Pour olive oil (a little bit at a time) in with the red pepper aioli and cream cheese and stir. Keep adding olive oil in small doses until the dressing has a very liquid consistency. Pour the dressing in with the vegetables and mix well. Chill in the refrigerator for a few minutes before serving.

ROASTED RED PEPPER TAPENADE
This tapenade is to be used in the Snapper Vera Cruz. It was created based on recipe suggestions from several sources, and it was the first time I had ever made tapenade. It is a very basic thing that no one seems to know a) what it is or b) how to make it. Here is a link to a short description of what it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapenade

Ingredients:
20 black olives, 4 anchovies, 1 tablespoon of rinsed capers, 1 inch-long piece of a roasted red bell pepper, olive oil, 1-2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 of a fresh lemon or lime.

Directions:
Chop the black olives into smallish pieces. Chop the garlic (1 clove if you're not a big, big garlic fan like me; 2 cloves if you are) into pieces about the same size as the olives. Put the olives, anchovies, pepper, capers, and garlic into a mixer or blender. I sauteed the garlic in a pan and then added the tapenade, because the tapenade I was making was for the Snapper Vera Cruz, but you can also blend the garlic into the tapenade. Pour enough olive oil in to cover everything that you're blending. Squeeze the juice from the lemon or lime into the mix. Mix or blend until it is a smooth, not lumpy, spread. I used the "Puree" button on my KitchenAid blender, and I had to let it go for a few minutes, but you be the judge of how smooth you want your tapenade. When it's done, you will want to strain any excess olive oil. Serve on bread or use in a recipe.

SNAPPER VERA CRUZ
This recipe is courtesy of Central Market. If you are from an area that does not have Central Market, first off, I'm really sorry. Second, Central Market is a place with a wide variety of fresh, delicious, sometimes organic foods available. Great tastes come from there. They regularly hand out recipe cards for free. It's kind of like Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, but bigger, better, cleaner, friendlier, and with a wider variety of products and free recipe cards.

Ingredients:
Red snapper (1-2 filets), 1 20-oz. can of crushed tomatoes, 1 lime, 1 lemon, 2 cloves of garlic, roasted red pepper tapenade (see above), salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:
Start by marinating the snapper. Squeeze juice from the fresh lime onto the fish, then add some salt and pepper, amounts based on how much you like each. I lightly covered the fish in pepper, then added a few shakes of salt. Place the fish into a Ziploc bag and put it in the refrigerator. Preheat your oven to 350-375 degrees (honestly, I don't remember what temperature I used, and the recipe card I had has gone missing, but standard fish cooking guidelines state 400 degrees for 10 minutes for each inch of thickness; since red snapper is not very thick and you're cooking this for 15, I would suggest 350-375). Meanwhile, get started on your tapenade, following the recipe above. After the fish has been marinating for 10-15 minutes, remove it from the refrigerator and place it in a pan. If your oven is done preheating, put the fish in, and cook it for 15 minutes. I personally prefer to turn the fish around about halfway through the cooking time so each side is evenly cooked.

Chop up your garlic. Add a little olive oil to a frying pan, and begin sauteeing the garlic with the burner turned to high. After a few minutes, add your tapenade and crushed tomatoes, and turn the heat down a bit. Let this mixture simmer, stirring regularly, for a few minutes. Take it off the burner until the fish is done in the oven. When you remove the fish from the oven, put your your mixture back on the burner at medium heat, and add the fish. Flip the fish a few times through the next five minutes. After five minutes with the fish in the pan, you're done. Serve with some fresh lemon juice squeezed on top. This is delicious with white rice, black beans, or both.

CHICKEN + MARINADES
These are just basic instructions on how to cook chicken, plus a few marinades I've tried that have been good.

Ingredients:
Chicken! I recommend using air-chilled, vegetarian-fed chicken, if you can get it, as this makes for a MUCH fresher-tasting, more tender chicken breast. It's 50 cents/lb. more expensive than regularly-chilled chicken at Central Market, which is about a 10% increase over the price of regular chicken (worth it to me).

Directions:
Marinate NO MORE than 12 hours. To bake chicken, cook at 325-350 degrees until the chicken responds softly when you press on it with a fork. Betty Crocker says this time should be about 15 to 20 minutes. I think. If you want to check, cut into the center of a breast. If the meat is at all pink, they are not done yet.

Marinade 1:
In a Ziploc bag or plastic container, combine your chicken breast(s), red wine (enough to cover all of the chicken; I recommend using a pinot noir or grigio), a little rosemary, and some sliced fresh radishes. I would not recommend marinating chicken breast(s) for more than all day (ie, start the marinade in the morning before work or whatever you're doing that day; use it before bed). However, you should marinate chicken for at least a few hours.

Marinade 2:
In a Ziploc bag or plastic container, combine a few fresh basil leaves, your chicken breast(s), and some red wine.

That's all I can remember for now.

PORK CHOPS + MARINADES
More basic instructions on cooking, this time for pork, plus a few good marinades.

Ingredients:
Pork! I recommend using Berkshire pork, if you can find it. This is a higher quality meat with a more flavorful taste. Usually, it is slightly more expensive. I also love to use butterfly chops.

Directions:
Pork can be cooked in many different ways - frying, baking, broiling, grilling, etc. My personal favorite is broiling. To do this, preheat your oven to "broil", place the pork chops on a broiling pan, and when the oven is done preheating, put them in. You should flip the pork chops every 3-4 minutes until they respond softly when pressed with a fork, or a total of 4-5 flips. If you want to check if they are cooked enough, cut into the center of one piece, and if the meat is really really pink still, they're not done.

Marinades: In a Ziploc bag or plastic container, combine your pork chops, soy sauce, red wine, and sage. Or oregano. Or no red wine, but Chipotle Tabasco sauce. Or anything you find in your spice cabinet. Truth is, I'm having trouble remembering what combinations I used. I'll let you guys know as I go along. The darker and thicker the meat, the longer you need to marinate it; I would not marinate pork chops for more than 24 hours. Then again, I'm a HUGE stickler for freshness.

Alright, stay tuned for more, but that's it for this post. Coming up next: lobster tail six-cheese omelettes, and a big blooper.