My 100th Post!

At first, I thought I needed to wait until something spectacularly culinary happened to me before writing this post. After some more pondering, I decided that each of my posts was inspired by something special, and so why should this one be any different. But Blogger was under construction...thus my 2-day absence from the blogosphere. For that, dear readers, I am sorry! I want to thank each and every one of you for your continued support, your comments and your readership. Everytime I check my stats, I'm astounded at the collection of countries that are showing up there. I've spread across the world, and that is so cool! When I started this blog, I wasn't sure where it would go, or what I would find, but I now know that I truly enjoy writing, I love cooking more every day, and I want to keep doing this for a long time. So, I'm here to stay, guys and dolls, so get comfy, and read on for yet another culinary adventure.

I decided to dedicate my 100th post to the readers by cooking a reader's suggestion from my current menu. Laurie had requested a Portuguese dish, but wasn't sure of the name of it. She mentioned that it had shrimp, pasta and lots of tomatoes...and so I did a little research, and came up with what I think is a good representation of her request. I ended up with Emeril's Portuguese Shrimp and Pasta. This recipe called for quite the process so I set to work in the kitchen, gathering my mise en place.

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined

2 teaspoons Essence

1/4 chorizo, thinly sliced (I used turkey pepperoni because I was out of chorizo)

1/4 cup minced shallots

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1 1/2 cups peeled, seeded, and finely chopped tomatoes (I didn't peel them)

1 cup dry white wine

3 cups Fennel Tomato Broth (ingredients to follow)

1/2 pound kale, blanced and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 pound homemade, or dry pasta, cooked al dente

1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

1/4 cup piri piri (ingredients to follow

Fennel Tomato Broth:

1 quart shrimp or seafood stock

2 cups roughly chopped tomatoes

1/2 bulb fennel, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Piri Piri:

1 cup olive oil

2 fresh poblano peppers, stemmed and seeded

3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup fresh kale

Yes, that was a lot of prep, I agree! Now, the first thing you've all probably noticed and questioned is that there's boxed pasta on my counter. I know, and you know, that I usually shun boxed pasta in exchange for fresh. However, I had to buy and open a box of thick spaghetti to put noodles in the Spring Minestrone that I made a few weeks ago. Rather than wasting the almost full box of spaghetti, I decided to save myself a little bit of time and use it for this recipe. I'm very happy that I did because the rest of this meal was quite labor intensive, and if I had made pasta on top of it, I'd still be in the kitchen!

First things first, get your Tomato Fennel Broth on the stove since it needs to simmer for about an hour. I'm not sure I actually let mine simmer that long, because I was pretty hungry and impatient tonight, but I just left it to cook the whole time I was preparing everything else. Place the seafood stock, chopped tomatoes, sliced fennel, tomato paste and fennel seeds in a saucepan and bring it all to a boil...and then reduce it to a simmer for about an hour. Once it's done, you'll need to strain it through a fine mesh sieve...according to the instructions. However, I didn't do this. Originally, it was an accident, but it was a good one, because I've always preferred a chunky sauce!

Next, I made my piri piri, since it was able to be set aside once completed. I gathered the olive oil, poblano peppers, red bell pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic, salt and kale. I put everything but the kale into a smaller saucepan and brought it to a boil, and allowed it to cook for the next 15 minutes.

At this point, I poured the mixture into a small food processor and blended it with the fresh kale. The Piri Piri was then set aside to wait for plating.

Okay, and now, on to the main event! In a large pot, I added a few tablespoons of olive oil and my jumbo shrimp, which I had dusted in the Emeril's essence.

Look how big those shrimp are! Gorgeous! After about a minute of tossing those around, I removed them from the pot and added the chorizo (I used turkey pepperoni - not the same, at all, but still a little bite, and...it was in my fridge!)

Once the chorizo (or turkey pepperoni) had cooked and heated through for about 5 minutes, I added the garlic and shallots and allowed those to cook for another minute.

After the minute or so is up, add the diced tomatoes to the mix and turn the heat to high.

Once the sizzle has died down a bit, pour in your white wine and deglaze the pan, allowing the wine to almost completely evaporate.

Next, pour in your Tomato Fennel Broth. I, by accident, poured it in without first straining it, but that was actually a nice mistake to have made. I enjoyed the large chunks of fennel and tomato in my sauce. If you prefer a soupier consistency, remember to strain the broth before adding it to the main pot. At this point, also throw in that blanched, chopped kale. Leave this to cook for about 7 or 8 minutes, allowing it to reduce by half.

Add the salt and the butter and kind of swirl it around until it all melts into the liquid.

Once the butter has been incorporated, add the shrimp, pasta and chopped parsley, and allow to cook for another minute or two. Be sure that the shrimp are cooked through.

It's finally time to plate. Get some nice shallow pasta bowls and scoop some pasta into each one. Top with a few of the jumbo shrimp and a few ladlefuls of sauce, chorizo and tomatoes. Drizzle the piri piri on top for a little kick!

Bom Apetite! (Portuguese for Bon appetit!)

Another call for requests: The current menu only has one more thing to make, so I'm getting ready to make a new list. If anyone has requests, comment on the post, or send me an email and I'll be sure to incorporate it into an upcoming menu!

Thanks again, readers - I'm really enjoying this, and I hope you are too! Happy 100th post to all of us!

Mexican "Bistros"

Recently, I've noticed that there are new Mexican restaurants popping up all over the place. These little "bistros" are really exciting for me, because it seems that REAL Mexican food is making its presence known in the New England area. I used to travel to Arizona for work and got the pleasure of frequenting many Southwestern restaurants in the area. Real Mexican food is very different than what you might find at Taco Bell, thank goodness.

from Flickr - by D'Contreras

What I find most enjoyable about good Mexican food is that it doesn't weigh you down the way the greasy, Americanized fast-food varieties usually do. In the past, I wrote a review for a new place down the street from my office, Papagayo. That's a great example of fresh, delicious Mexican cuisine.

Tonight, we stopped by another new bistro in the Arlington area, an adorable little storefront called La Posada. We found the menu on the iPhone Safari browser and called in an order. The menu was quite extensive, and it was difficult to pick just one thing. I didn't get pictures of the things we ordered, but I'll assure you that everything looked, smelled and tasted delicious!

from Flickr - by planetoftheweb

The point of this post, however, is not that we found another delicious little Mexican restaurant to frequent. I wanted to touch on my excitement at a cuisine that hasn't yet made its presence fully known in this area. There's a sushi place on every corner, a Chinese restaurant at each turn, and Thai food abounds, but what about the tableside guacamole carts, and the make your own fajitas? It's about time they make an appearance in our neighborhoods, and our menu drawers. I'm happy to see more quality Mexican food in personable, family-run bistros, with the option of takeout! Gone are the days of giant combo platters of tacos, enchiladas, beans, rice, etc...Goodbye greasy dishes with too much cheese! Welcome to the real Mexican cuisine, and a whole new set of spices and flavors.

Crabcakes Benedict with Mango Cream Sauce

There are few things my husband likes more than crabcakes, so I thought it would be a special treat to add Crabcakes Benedict to the menu this time around. Crabcakes and Benedict...in the same sentence!? Could it get any better than that?

Yes it can ... because mango cream sauce is delicious!

This was a late night to start cooking because we had to take Oia (the puppy) to the vet for her shots...and breakfast for dinner is usually a quicker process than other recipes so this worked out well. I gathered my mise en place: 

Mango Cream Sauce:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup heavy cream, warmed to room temperature

1 large mango, peeled, pitted, and diced

1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro (I used parsley because "the man" doesn't like cilantro)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crabcakes Benedict:

12 large eggs (I used 6, and made the portions appropriate for two)

12 crabcakes (I made 4, using this recipe: click here.)

One 9-ounce bag corn tortilla chips, finely crushed

Olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 English Muffins (I used 2)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

That came together quicker than you'd think. The first thing I did was make the mango cream sauce. In a saucepan, I melted my butter over medium heat. 

Once the butter has melted completely, whisk in the 2 tablespoons of flour, until the mixture is smooth and fragrant...but does not change color. You don't want it to start browning.

At this point, add the cream and whisk until the mixture is well combined.

Add half of the mango, as well as the red pepper, cilantro (or parsley), salt and pepper to taste, and then bring the mixture to a simmer. You want the sauce to become thick, yet smooth. The recipe says to simmer for 8-10 minutes but mine was ready much sooner than that, in fact, I'll go far as saying that it was a little too thick. I'd maybe add a little less flour next time.

Okay, let's keep the sauce warm while we do the rest of the work. I promise the rest goes pretty quickly. Whisk two eggs in a bowl with a little bit of water, and then brush both sides of each crabcake with the mixture. Coat each cake with the crushed up tortilla chips.

Heat some oil or butter in a large skillet over medium heat, and once it's heated, add the cakes to the pan. If you decide to make a lot of them, you might need to do this in batches. Because I only made 4 crabcakes, it was fine to do them all at once. Cook them until golden brown on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. I placed them on a paper towel after removing them from the pan to absorb any excess grease that might be sitting on them.

Once the crabcakes are done, whisk up your eggs (in my case, I used 6) and season them with salt and pepper. Wipe your skillet clean with a paper towel and add some new butter to the pan. Once it's melted, pour in your eggs and scramble them.

Once all of your working pieces are finished, it's time to plate. Toast your English Muffins and put them on the plate. I gave us each two halves as a serving since it's dinner and not just an appetizer, and I topped each half with a crabcake. Pile some scrambled eggs on top of each crabcake and spoon some of the mango cream sauce on top. Sprinkle each half with the reserved diced mango, as well as some chopped parsley. 

Dinner fit for the beach! Welcome, Spring, we've been looking forward to your visit!

Risotto Another Way

The other night, I finally got around to taking a trip to H-Mart, my favorite place to buy seafood and fish. I got the ingredients for the sausage I made the other night, as well as the rest of the items on my current menu! Among those ingredients was some nice, fresh snow crab meat. When I got home from work tonight, I was greeted by a happy puppy and a hungry husband, so I got to work in the kitchen! My mise en place came together pretty quickly for this recipe: Crab, Asparagus and Lemon Risotto, from the Stonewall Kitchen Favorites cookbook.

I gathered 3 cups of seafood stock, a bunch of asparagus, olive oil, a leek, salt, freshly ground black pepper, a garlic clove, chopped fresh chives, a cup of Arborio rice, some dry white wine, fresh crabmeat, lemon zest, lemon juice and unsalted butter.

In a small saucepan, I brought my seafood stock to a simmer, and threw in the ends from my asparagus. I let that cook for about 10 minutes before fishing the stalks out of the stock and tossing them in my garbage bowl.

In a heavy pot, I heated 1 tablespoon of olive oil until hot, and then added my sliced leek to the pot. For 5 minutes, I allowed the leeks to cook, stirring frequently.

Once the 5 minutes was up, I seasoned the leeks with salt and pepper, and added the minced garlic clove, as well as the chopped chives and allowed it to cook for 30 more seconds. Then, I added the Arborio rice, and allowed the mixture to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Does this all look familiar? It should, because we've made risotto before. You guys should be pros by now! :) Once the 3 minutes were up, I added half of the wine, stirring until the liquid was fully absorbed. At that point, I added the other half of the wine and allowed it to do the same thing. Continue this way with the seafood stock until the risotto is almost done and you have about 1/2 a cup of stock in reserve.

Add the last 1/2 cup of stock along with the asparagus pieces, and allow it to cook for 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir in 3/4 of the crabmeat, the lemon zest and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper again. Allow everything to warm through.

Be sure not to leave this on the heat TOO long and over cook the already cooked crab, but definitely give it time to heat through. Meanwhile, take a small saute pan and add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon of unsalted butter. Once that has melted and heated together, add the rest of the crab meat and allow to heat through, stirring to coat. Season this as well, with salt and pepper.

To plate, spoon a nice helping of the risotto onto each plate or bowl and then top with the extra buttered crabmeat. Sprinkle with the rest of the chopped chives and serve. This is a really fresh, spring dish that really showcases asparagus during their season. The addition of crab is a bonus...you could do this recipe without the crab as well, should you have trouble finding the ingredient, or want to cut back on the cost of this dish!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

In honor of the fifth of May, I will leave you with a recipe for a classic Cinco de Mayo staple: the Margarita!

from Flickr - by Drunken Monkey

A recipe for REAL margaritas, from the food network:

1 lime, halved

Kosher salt

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 5 limes)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

1 cup Triple Sec

3 cups ice

1 cup white tequila

If you like margaritas served in a glass with salt, rub the outside rims of 6 glasses with a cut lime and dip each glass lightly into a plate of kosher salt.

Combine the lime juice, lemon juice, Triple Sec, and ice in a blender and puree until completely blended. Add the tequila and puree for 2 seconds more. Serve over ice.

If you prefer frozen margaritas, halve each of the ingredients, double the ice and blend in two batches. Serve with a cut lime.

Salud!

Disaster Ensues!

I took tonight's recipe from the Top Chef Cookbook. I had been looking forward to Sea Bass, Scallop and Shrimp Sausage with Jicama Slaw, Sweet Chili Glaze and Asian Chimichurri all day. Things did not turn out the way I had planned, unfortunately! Let's take a look at where things went wrong!

Warning: Once things went downhill, the camera got pushed to the side, so I apologize!


The dinner started out like any other...with a mise en place. The link for the recipe can be found above so I'll give you a run down of the exact ingredient measurements:

For the Sausage:

1 pound Corvina or any other sea bass fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces (I used cod, actually)

1/2 pound of black tiger shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 pound scallops

1 garlic clove, minced

One 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced

4 scallions, finely chopped

1 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed and chopped (I used parsley because Matt hates cilantro)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

I put the fish, shrimp and scallops into my food processor and pulsed until it was a smooth mixture. Adding the rest of the ingredients in the above list, I continued to pulse until well combined. 

At this point, I cut a small corner off of a zip lock bag and started to spoon the mixture into the bag. I would be using it like a piping bag. For each sausage, I laid out a 12-inch piece of plastic wrap on my work service, and piped a 1-inch in diameter, 6-inch in length line down the center. I then rolled it up to create my sausages.

So far so good, right!? Okay, I put a pot of water on to boil and started in on my Sweet Chili Glaze. You'll need:

1/2 cup sambal chili paste, or more to taste (I used Korean red pepper paste)

1/2 cup honey, or more to taste

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

In a small saucepan, combine the chili paste, honey and red wine vinegar and bring it to a boil. In a separate cup, stir together the cornstarch and 2 teaspoons of water, stirring until smooth. Once your mixture is boiling, add the water and cornstarch and boil for 3 minutes. If the glaze is too spicy, you can add more honey to it, and if the glaze isn't spicy enough for ya, you can always add more chili paste. Here's the beginning and end images of this process:

Now that my water is boiling, I can add my sausages to the water. They should be in there for 6-8 minutes, until they are firm to the touch. Because mine didn't really seem firm to the touch after 8 minutes, I left them in a little longer. 

So, I let them cook for a few more minutes, and then spooned them into the ice bath as the recipe describes. The sausages seemed to be a bit broken apart within their plastic wrap casings but I allowed them to rest in there for a few minutes while I prepared the jicama slaw and dressing. For that I needed:

1 small jicama, peeled

1 small red bell pepper, cored and seeded

1 carrot

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed and chopped (I left that out again)

Dressing:

1/2 shallot

1/2 cup peeled chopped fresh ginger

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed (left out)

1/4 cup sriacha hot sauce

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

I julienned the carrot, jicama and red bell pepper and put them in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, I added all of the ingredients for the dressing and whisked them up. I just realized I was supposed to actually blend them all together in a food processor, but I thought it was really good with the chunkier version. Mixing it into the julienned veggies, I was relieved to see how quickly this slaw came together! 

Here's where things went terribly wrong! I heated up my grill pan in anticipation of grilling my sausages.  I went to the bowl of ice water to unwrap my sausages but alas, it seems they had either burst through in parts of the plastic, or opened so that the water had seeped inside of the plastic. So what I had were a bunch of PIECES of soggy sausage, crumbling all over my grill pan! As I moped around the kitchen, trying my hardest to piece together the sausages enough to resemble their form, they started to brown in the grill pan. They smelled delicious, they just didn't really LOOK very appetizing. I'm sorry that I have no photos - this was no time for a camera!

When I had deduced that the sausages were warmed through and browned to my satisfaction, I plated the slaw and placed the "sausages" on top and to the side. I drizzled it with the Sweet Chili Glaze, and voila...a poor representation of a delicious meal! I'm trying this one again, I swear it!

Sharing is Caring!

When I get a new cookbook, I love to tell my friends, co-workers, family...well, everyone I know, about the wonderful recipes found within! And I'm definitely one to share my recipes! Very often, I will trek into my office with an extra bag holding an over-sized, hardcover cookbook that I just had to share with my co-workers.

from Flickr - not quite vintage

Recipe exchanges are a great way to try new things, make new friends, and expand your culinary horizons. Start conversations at the coffee maker or the water cooler, and tell people about that last great recipe you tried. It's a guaranteed icebreaker!

Another fun way to learn about new recipes is to trade your cookbooks. There is a site, called Swap.com, where you can trade your books and other media for new-to-you items. All you pay is the shipping, and you can even print the shipping label from the site. Make a list of items you have, and then make a list of items you want...as fair trades become available, you'll receive emails about those trades. It's a great way to get a new cookbook when you are done with an old one. I have my favorites that I will never get rid of, but sometimes I find myself tiring of a certain book, and then I'll trade it for another one!

from Flickr - by passepart0ut

Spread the love, share the wealth and exchange your recipes with friends, co-workers and family. It's a great way to make new friends, bond on another level with old friends and family, and expand your culinary knowledge exponentially.