Creamy Chicken and Mango with Linguine

This is a quick awesome pasta dish. When I lived in Ontario in the mid 90's I visited a tea house... I forget the name of the tea house but it is in the picturesque town of Elora. I had a pasta dish with chicken, mango, mint, cream, parmesan cheese. It was accompanied with a tomato basil bread that was sooo good that I couldn't possibly create myself. I remember the next day, after returning from this tea house I tried to recreate this pasta dish... it turned out tasting just like it. Here's my version of the recipe, I have been making it for about 15 years. This is a favorite of my Mom's, she makes it a lot as well.

2 persons.

Enough linguine for two people, salted water, cook al dente

Two boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size slices

2-3 TB olive oil

1 TB mince garlic

1 large mango or two smaller ones, skin removed and chopped into pieces

2 Tb butter

shaved fresh parmesan cheese, about 1/4 cup (or as much or little as you like)

about 1/2 cup or cream or more if needed (you can use half n'half...just not milk, too watery)

fresh chopped mint

Prepare pasta according to box.

In a pan, medium heat, saute chicken pieces in olive oil and when chicken is almost cooked, add garlic. About 7 minutes...when chicken in no longer pink.

To the same pan, add mango and cook 3-4 minutes until mango break down somewhat and the juices from the mango come out. I mash it with a fork if the mango isn't ripe enough.

Add the butter and cream. Sprinkle the cheese over the mango cream sauce and blend until cheese melts into the sauce making the sauce thicker.

Add the well drain pasta in the chicken mango mixture and coat the pasta well.

Plate it :

Place the Chicken mango pasta on the plate, sprinkle more shaved Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with the chopped mint. The mint adds a wonderful flavor to this dish... try not to omit it.

Serve and Enjoy !

Osso Bucco

Ingredients :
2 veal shanks
1 small onion, diced
1/2 c diced carrots
1/2 cup diced celery
1 Tb minced garlic
2 Tb butter
2 Tb olive oil
1 cup Marsala wine
2 cups (1 can) beef broth
1 TB tomato paste


Lightly flour, salt, and pepper the lamb shanks



How to:


In a Dutch oven or pan ( you can transfer to a casserole dish after preparation) add the butter and olive oil. Brown the veal on both sides, approximately 2-3 mintues per side.


Remove the shanks from pan. In the same pan, add oinions, carrots, celery. Saute the veggies for 3-4 mintues, until coated.


Add the bay leaf, rosemary and garlic. Then add the Marsala, beef broth and tomato paste.


Blend all ingredients thoroughly.

Two options here :


you can finish this on top of stove, simmer for about 1 1/2 -2 hours


OR


put in a Dutch oven/ casserole dish , cover and cook on 340 convection oven for about 1 1/2 hours. This is the option I chose. The veal was very tender!

I removed the bay leaves before it went into oven.


Plate it:
I made mashes potatoes with it... pasta is also good of course.

Enjoy every Bite !

Smoked Salmon & Scallop Fishcakes

We spent the Summer in Alaska and brought home Scallops with us and I wanted to try some different things instead of just bacon wrapped scallops or seared scallops. Here are some the dishes I came up with. I have always made crabcakes but thought, "Hey , why not scallop cakes!", that combined with smoked salmon also brought back from Kodiak, Alaska makes a delicious fish cake. A new version of bacon wrapped scallops combined with another appetizer that I enjoy - stuffed mushrooms. The Last recipe is seared scallops with a Moroccan sauce called Chermoula.... my favorite.

Smoked Salmon & Scallop Fishcakes

Ingredients:

1 lb scallops,
1/2 lb smoked salmon
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 of yellow bell pepper , fine dice
1/4 of a red bell pepper , fine dice
1/4 of a red onion, fine dice
2 Tb fresh chives, chopped
2 Tb fresh parsley, chopped
1 TB ground mustard,
zest of one lemon
few turns of fresh ground pepper
Olive oil and butter, for frying

** Make Remoulade sauce first, you

will need a little for the fishcakes.

How To :

-Coarsley chop scallops and smoked salmon and put in a bowl, add remaining ingredients.

-Add about 3 TB of the Remoulade sauce to act as a binder and mix until ingredients are just combined, not over mixed. Form into patties.

- In a pan add about 2 Tb of Butter and 2 TB of olive oil.

- Cook patties for about 2-3 minutes each side. They won't take long. Scallops cook fast.

- Take care when turning the patties over, they can crumble easily.

Remoulade Sauce :
1 cup of mayo
2 Tb dijon mustard
1 TB Chardonnay Vinegar / other white wine vinegar
2 TB lemon juice
1/2 tsp anchovy paste
2 TB caper, finely chopped
zest of one lemon
1 TB Tarragon, finely chopped
1 TB Parsley, finely chopped

- In a bowl, add all the ingredients and mix.

Plate It :

On a plate, lay some salad greens of your choice, a fishcake at the end and drizzle with some the of the remoulade sauce. Garnish with a couple of sprigs of Chives.

This can be served as an appetizer with the patties made smaller or as a main course. I served this as an appetizer.

Serve & Enjoy Every Bite !

Scallop Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients :

9-12 mushrooms, stems removed

8-10 scallops, fine chopped, almost a mince

3 slices of bacon, chopped up fine, save the fat from the pan

1/4 bread crumbs

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic , minced

2 Tb butter, melted

1 TB parsley







-In a pan, saute the bacon until brown and crisp. Reserve the fat from the pan.

-In a bowl, add the minced scallops, the bread crumbs, garlic, butter, parsley, the bacon and the fat from the pan..not more than 1 TB...the bacon will over power the flavor of the scallop.

-Combine all the ingredients.

-Stuff about a Tb of the mixture into the mushroom caps.

- Bake in a 350 oven until the mixture becomes golden brown, approx 15 minutes, depending on your oven.






Note*

You don't have to do this but before I stuff the mushrooms caps, I melt butter and dip the caps into butter.





Seared Moroccan Scallops with Chermoula





Serve 2 persons



8 Large Scallops

1 TB Cumin

1 TB Smoked Paprika

crack black pepper



Butter and Olive oil, for searing


Sprinkle all sides of the scallops with cumin, paprika and cracked pepper.

In a pan add butter and olive oil.

Sear the scallop about 2 minutes each side. Scallops do not take long to cook and become tough and rubbery if over cooked.



Chermoula Sauce:

1 Bunch of cilanto

1/2 bunch of parsley

4 garlic cloves, mince or 1-2 TB of jarred garlic ( I used 2 TB, because I love garlic)

1 Tb Paprika

1 TB Cumin

1 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp red pepper powder(the hot stuff, not red bell peppers)

3-4 TB of Oilve oil

juice of one Lemon



In a blender, add all ingredients and blend until smooth,



Note* if too thick add a little more olive oil AND lemon juice to thin out some.



Plate It:


Spread some of the Chermoula on a plate and nestle the scallop on top of the sauce. 3-4 to a plate.

Crab Mac n' Cheese with Black Truffle Cheese Sauce

Ah comfort food. It's been cold and windy here in Las Vegas (yes, it does get cold) so I wanted to make something to comfort the soul. What better thing to warm the soul than a consoling bowl of macaroni and cheese ! This isn't your everyday Mac n' Cheese I know, but the King Crab and Truffle butter was screaming out to do something with them. I did... here it is.

Ingredients :

2 cups dried large elbow pasta

2 TB sea salt, for boiling water

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk, (don't use skim or lowfat.we want fat!)

1 cup cream, half n half

1 1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, shredded ( I used Emmi Swiss Imported)

1 cup aged cheddar, ( I used Kerrigold Ireland Imported)

1-2 cups King Crab, cut into chunks.

2 Tb Black Truffle Butter ( Whole Foods has a great one)

Breadcrumb Topping :

1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs

1 TB of bacon, cooked and crumbled fine (1-2 slices of bacon)

1 TB Butter

1 Tsp Truffle oil (a treat brought back from Provence - France, find in most gourmet stores)

How To :

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add a generous amount of sea salt to water...this will flavor the pasta.

Make roux , melt butter in pot until butter clarifies... see through it and milk solids have disolved. Add flour to melted butter. Allow to cook for about 3 mins then there will not be a pasty flour taste to the sauce.

Add milk and cream and stir until the sauce thickens. If too thick..add a little more cream.

Add the two cheeses. Incorporated until creamy and smooth.

Add Crab

To the sauce, add the Black Truffle butter.

Add the cook pasta.

Put pasta in a casserole dish.

Prepare Breadcrumb topping and sprinkle over mac n' cheese.

This has a short cooking time, long enough to brown the breadcrumb topping and heat pasta throughout.

350 convection oven for 15-20 minutes.

Serve and Enjoy Every Bite.

Thai Me Up !! Shrimp and Rice with Peanut Sauce

Ingredients:

2 TB garlic, chopped ( I use Christopher Ranch)

1/2 cup peanut butter, smooth

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 TB brown sugar

2 tsp ginger, minced ( I use ginger in tube in produce section)

2 TB rice vinegar

2 TB Lime juice

1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp chili oil - more if you like heat

2 tsp sambal oelek (chili paste)- more if you like heat

1/2 cup coconut milk ( and more to thin out if too think)

1 lb shrimp, cooked, deveined, peeled

2 cups cooked short grain sushi rice, it's what I had in the pantry (and I like it)

1 carrot, shredded

bunch of cilantro leaves

1 cup bean sprouts

1/4 cup of peanuts, crushed

How To:

In a pan over medium heat, add first eleven ingredients, mix all together until well combined and smooth. I had to use a whisk to incorporate ingredients quicker because peanut butter will scorch quickly. That's it for the sauce. If you find the sauce too thick, thin out with some coconut milk.

Plate it :

Put rice in a small bowl and invert onto a plate. Pour some of the peanut sauce over the rice, top with some shrimp, bean sprouts, carrots and cilantro. Sprinkle some peanuts over top and drizzle with more peanut sauce.

Enjoy Every Bite !

Serves 2 persons

Lemon Raspberry Trifle

This is really great dessert...simple to put together and the flavors are awesome. I always have the ingredients in my pantry to whip this up for when company comes. A crowd pleaser everytime.

Ingredients :

One angel food cake loaf

1 container of mascarpone cheese

2- 473ml of heavy whipping cream

1 Tb vanilla

3 TB sugar

1 can lemon pie filling

1 lemon flavor pudding

Lemoncello liquer

1 small container of fresh raspberries

-In one large bowl, whip up heavy cream, fold in the mascarpone cheese, chill.

- In another bowl,whip up the other heavy cream, add sugar and vanilla

- In another bowl, mix up the lemon pudding according the directions on the box

- Cut up angel food cake into cube, spread out on a plate and drizzle the cake liberally with lemoncello.

The ingredients will be layered in the bowls.

In a large trifle bowl, large clear glass bowl or individual trifle dishes.

Place some of the lemon pudding on the bottom of the dishes, place a few pieces of the angel food cake, dot with a few raspberries, then mascarpone cream, lemon pie filling and whipped cream.

Repeat in layers until you reach the top of the bowls.

Finish the top layer with the whipping cream. top with raspberries.

Chill and Enjoy Every Bite !

Classic French Onion Soup

This is the first time I have made French Onion Soup. I really haven't been a big fan of this soup or maybe I just took it for granted that it would be a soup I would try to make someday, kind of like Chicken Noodle Soup.

Again, I read over several different recipes of Onion soup and choose things I liked about a couple of them. The taste was amazing and I was now impressed with this classic soup. Will definitely make it again.

Ingredients :

1 sweet onion, cut in half, slice thinly

1 red onion, cut in half, slice thinly

4 TB Butter

3 Tb Olive Oil

1 TB brown sugar

1 TB flour

2 cup beef broth, (I used Wolfgang Puck Beef broth)

1/2 cup White Wine

1/4 tsp Thyme

1 Tsp Garlic

1 tsp Kosher salt, season according to taste

1tsp cracked black pepper

1 cup Gruyere Cheese

4 slices of baguette

In a pan, melt butter and add olive oil. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until onions become translucent.

Spinkle with Brown sugar and tsp of salt and pepper, cook until onions become golden.

Sprinkle with flour and combine well, cook over medium-low heat until flour becomes brown.

Pour in Beef broth and wine, raise the heat and bring to a boil.

Add Thyme and garlic

Cover with a lid and reduce heat to low let the liquid reduce and become slightly thicken.

** I haven't had many onions soups but the ones I have had were really watery. I let the liquid boil off some until it thickened.

While that is cooking, cut four slices of baguette and brush both sides with olive oil, bake in over until the bread is golden and crisp.

Pour the soup into two ramekins or onion soup bowls.

Place two slices of bread on top of the soup and top with shredded Gruyere.

Broil in over until the cheese has melted.

Serve and Enjoy Every Bite !

Italian Dinner...for one !

When the Hubby is away, the wife will play..... in the kitchen! One of my favorite things to do when I have the house to myself is to cook. In the past when I am alone for several days, I have cooked 3-5 course meals for myself, I know, it seems like a lot of work for one person but I love it! I don't have to rush to get food on the table at any particular time and I can cook over several hours... enjoy each course, drink some wine...sit a bit and then cook the next course. For this sojourn in the kitchen I have chosen to do a simple Italian dinner. I find most Italian food tastes best when it's simply prepared.
These are some of my favorite Italian dishes. A starter bruschetta of Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Capers, a thick, hearty Pesto Potato Pasta Soup, a classic Veal Marsala with Rosemary Fingerling potatoes.

Oven Roasted Tomatoes with Capers

5 plum tomatoes, cut in half, seeded

1 TB chopped garlic, jarred Christopher Ranch is best

3 Tb olive oil, plus 1 Tb for later

1 Tb balsamic vinegar

2 TB capers

kosher salt & cracked pepper

One French Baguette loaf

How To :

Slice plum tomatoes in half, take out seeds.

In a bowl, combine half slice of tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

Spread out the tomatoes on a cookie sheet. Bake at 325 for approximately 30-40 minutes. Time will vary depending on your oven. Mine is a convection oven and I'm still not use to it ! You don't want them dried out completely but still a little plump and juicy.

When done, slice the tomatoes into strips and toss in a bowl with olive oil and capers. Let that sit while you prepare the baguette bread or other nice crusty small bread. Cut into 1/2 inch slices.

Heat a pan and brush both sides of bread with olive oil. Fry in pan on both sides until the bread it golden and crisp.

Top each piece of baguette with the tomato mixture and enjoy ! This is a tasty snack.. enjoy with some nice Italian red wine.

Pesto Potato Pasta Soup

Ingredients:

2 - 1/4" pieces of pancetta, or two strips of bacon fine dice.

2 can chicken broth

2 large potatoes, peel and dice

1/2 cup dried orecchiette or small shell pasta

1/3 cup prepared store bought pesto

1/3 cup Romano cheese

1/2 cup heavy cream

kosher salt and cracked black pepper

How To :

-In a pot, saute pancetta/bacon until crisp and done. Drain off fat.

-To the pot, add the two cans of chicken broth.

Add the diced potatoes and the pasta.- When the potatoes are done, take a potato mashes and roughly mask the potatoes in the pot. This is thichen the soup.

-Add the cream, the pesto and the cheese.

- Add kosher salt to taste and cracked black pepper.

-Thin out some pesto sauce with some olive oil. Pour some soup into bowl and drizzle with pesto sauce.

Veal Marsala

Ingredients

2 Veal cutlets

2 Tb flour2 Tb Butter

2 Tb Olive Oil1 large shallot, fine dice

1 TB garlic, chopped

1 package of mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup Marsala wine

3/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 tsp Thyme

sprinkle of flour to thicken, I like a thicker sauce

Fingerling Potatoes :

3 Tb Olive Oil

1/2 beef broth

Two Sprigs of fresh rosemary

Kosher salt and Fresh cracked pepper

In a heavy sauce pan, place fingerling potatoes, beef broth, olive oil abd rosemary. Cover and let simmer approximately 30 minutes or until potaoes are tender. * Adding a little more broth if evaproate and pan scorches. It didn't happen for me but you can do this.

Veal Marsala How To :

-Lightly coat the veal in flour.

-In a pan, add butter and olive oil. saute veal on both sides until cooked and brown. About 3 minutes on each side. The veal cutlets are thin, they won't take long to cook. Remove from heat and set aside on plate.

-In the same pan, add the butter. Add the shallots and saute until translucent, add sliced mushrooms, add more olive oil if you need to. Cook over medium high heat and saute until mushrooms are golden. Don't let overcook.

-Add the chicken broth, the Marsala, garlic and Thyme. Stir. -Sprinkle about a tablespoon of flour to the pan of liquid, incorporate until the flour is disolved into the liquid and there are no lumps.

-Return the veal cutlets to the pan and simmer until the sauce thickens a bit. About 10 minutes.

Season with Salt and pepper. I added a little more Marsala, I thought it needed a couple of splashes more.

Buon Appetito & Enjoy Every Bite !

Wine Choice : La Velona , Brunello Di Montalcino

Confession : I didn't eat of all this :)

Baklava - A Taste of Heaven

I love desserts and sweets ! I have three favorite desserts - Creme Brulee, Tiramisu and Baklava ! This evening I was craving for Baklava but the place I usally buy it from closes at 6pm. What's a girl to do ? why make it of course. I haven't tried to make Baklava before because it always seemed simplier to buy it. Since it's one of my favorite sweets, I thought I better learn in case I am ever somewhere it wouldn't be available. There are so many different recipes out there for this aromatic piece of Heaven. Which type of nut should I use... Walnuts? Pistachios? Almonds? After reading many different versions of the recipe.... I combined all the ingredients that I know I would like best. Here it is ! Oh, one note... if you haven't tried Bakalava before, you don't know what you've been missing. Join the Bak-love-a club!

THE INGREDIENTS:

1 Package of Phyllo Dough

1/2 cup butter

2 cups pistachio, crushed fine

1 tsp cinnamon

Combine crushed pistachio nuts and cinnamon.

**This makes enough to fit a 6x9 pan.

Brush the bottom of a 6x9 brownie sheet with butter, lay two sheets of phyllo down , brush them with butter, repeat the process until you have six sheets down brushing each layer with melted butter. Sprinkle a layer of pistachio over the six layers of phyllo dough. Lay two sheets of phyllo and brush with butter, add another layer of pistachio nuts, repeat the process until no pistachio nuts remain. The last layer of phyllo should be about 6 layers of phyllo dough. Sprinkle the top layer with water so the edges don't curl up while baking. Brush with butter and sprinkle with some of the remaining crushed pistachios. Cut into squares and then diagonally cut to form triangles. Bake in a 350 oven for appromimately 30-40 minutes..depends on your oven. The pastry will be golden when ready.

While the pastry is baking, prepare the syrup.

The Syrup :

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp lemon juice

1 TB rosewater - add this after you take the syrup off the heat Plese Don't omit !

Put all ingredients in a pot and cook over medium heat until the sugar disolves.

When the pastry is done baking, remove from oven and drizzle the syrup over the pastry dough. There is about 1 1/4 cup of syrup... I didn't use all it. Just enough to absorb into the pastry. It may look like you have poured too much but it absorbs. Let cool

Enjoy Every Bite - I did !

Lebanese Stuffed Peppers

I loved things stuffed ! Who doesn't right. I have made stuffed peppers a few times over the years but I wanted something a little different from the the good old stand by of ground beef, onions and tomatoes. Stuffed peppers are known over the world ...in Mexico it's a chile relleno, in Tunisia they are Felfel Mehchi, in Turkey they are Biber Dolmasi, in India - Bharwan Mirch. I like Middle Eastern flavors and thought I would try some peppers from that region.

Ingredients :

4 Red Bell Peppers

1 lb ground lamb

2 cups cooked couscous
4 TB Olive Oil

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp allspice

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp crack black pepper

3 TB pine nuts

1/4 cup chopped golden raisins

3 TB fresh mint leaves, chopped

2 TB fresh parsley, chopped

2 Tb garlic, chopped (I used jarred Christoper Ranch chooped garlic - best)

3 TB Lemon juice

HOW TO :

-Cut off the tops of the bell peppers, remove seeds.

-In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients and incorporate well.

- Evenly distribute the lamb mixture into the four peppers.

- Drizzle some olive oil over top of the peppers and place the peppers in a shallow baking dish.

-Bake in a 350 oven for approximately 35-45

minutes... as usual, time will vary depending on

the oven.

-For the first 25 minutes, I covered the peppers in

foil and also added some vegetable broth in the bottom of the baking dish. Took the foil off in the last 10 minutes to have a golden crust on top.

Not being able to decide which sauce I would like to accompany the peppers, I decided to make two different ones.

The first one is a tomato sauce and the second one a yogurt sauce. Both were really good but I liked the yogurt one best.

Tomato Sauce :

1 - 15oz can tomato sauce

2 Tb Lemon juice

1 TB Cinnamon

1 tsp Nutmeg

1 TB fresh parsley, chooped

3-4 Tb olive oil

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp crack black pepper

In a pot, place all ingredients and simmer over med-low heat for about 20 minutes.

Yogurt Mint Sauce :

1/2 cup Greek Style plain yogurt

1/4 cup feta cheese, crumled

1 TB fresh mint leaves chopped

2 TB lemon juice

In a bowl, mix all ingredients together.

Orange Panna Cotta with Rhubarb Port Sauce

I love Panna Cotta ! It's one of my favorite desserts and I like to experiment with different flavors and sauces. I had bought some rhubard the day before to stew with sugar to go over vanilla ice cream. I thought the rhubard would make a good sauce and while the was getting the sugar out, I saw a bottle of Port that a friend had given us. This is what I made

INGREDIENTS :

1/4 c warm water

1 packet of gelatin , unflavored

2 cup heavy cream

1/3 c sugar

1TB orange extract

HOW TO :

-In a small bowl, add warm water and sprinkle the gelatin into the water and wait 5 minutes for it to disolve.

- In a pot, heat the cream and sugar over medium heat until the sugar disolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the gelatin to the cream and stir until the gelatin is disolved into the cream.

- Add the orange extract

- Pour the cream mixture into four well oiled metal molds almost to the top. I use vegetable oil, this makes the panna cotta slide out easily.

- Chill for about 2 hours for it to set.

While the panna cotta is chilling, prepare the rhubard sauce.

Rhubard Port Sauce

- Dice up rhubard to equal 3 cups, put into a medium pot

- add 1 cup of sugar - I know, it's a lot, but it's suppose to be, it's dessert !

- add 1/3 cup of water

-cook over medium heat until the rhubard starts to break up, I cooked it about 20-25 minutes

- when ready to take off the heat, add 1/4 cup of Port

- Put a strainer over a large bowl and pour in the rhubard and let the liquid collect in the bowl below

- Chill the Rhubarb sauce.

** save the rhubard pulp for another treat with ice cream.

PLATE IT :

- After two hours, invert the mold onto a plate, the panna cotta should slide out easily. If not, help it by running the tip of a knife around to loosen sides.

- Pour the Rhubard sauce over the top of panna cotta. Serve.

Enjoy Every Bite

Canadian Butter Tart ... Pie

In Canada, on the east coast anyway, you can always find a good butter tart but I have not seen one in the USA. I am not much of a baker, results from baking usually are poor , especially if it involves flour as the main ingredient. Can you say brick ! My Mom would send me butter tarts in the mail so I could have my fix but they don't travel well. Von's grocery store use to carry really good already prepared tart shells but they stopped... argh !! I hate when that happens. What could I do then ... start making pastry dough? No, turn it into a pie... after all, the shell is made for me. You don't have a big slice of this pie, it's very sweet.

INGREDIENTS :

1 good quality pie shell crust, or if you are a baker, homemade would be better.
1 ½ cup of golden raisins
½ cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 cup light corn syrup
½ tsp salt 3 eggs, beat lightly
2 tsp of good vanilla

HOW TO :
- In a pot, combine raisins, butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Heat over medium heat until the butter melts and the sugar is disolved - Don't boil.

- Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla, then eggs a little at a time and stir vigorously after each addition so the eggs don't cook.

- I bake in a 325°F convection oven for about 45-55 mintues. I just keep my eye on it . Times have varied for me in the past. How I can tell it's done is when it foams and when I move the pie it jiggles like jello, not liquid... sounds silly but thats the non-baker in me.

Keep chilled !

I serve homemade whipped cream with it.

Beef Stew alla Kim ! (recipe)

I have made boeuf bourguignon many times... even made Julia Child's recipe from "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" once but I wanted to make another type of stew. When I make a beef stew I sometimes add pearl onions, mushrooms or baby carrots but tonight I did something different again. I like the addition of the balsamic vinegar and the orange zest.


Ingredients
3 lbs of beef, cut into 2" chunks, stewing beef or chuck roast
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 Tb Butter
10 whole garlic cloves (a lot I know, but I love garlic)
4 Tb spoons of tomato paste
1/4 cup balsaminc vinegar
1 cup of red wine, I used pinot noir (It was open becasue I was having a glass already)
1 can beef broth
zest from one orange


The Side : Buttermilk Blue Cheese Mashes Potataoes


4 medium red skinned potatoes
1/2 cup butter
2-3 Big TB sour cream
2 Tb of whipping cream
4 Tb of Buttermilk Blue Cheese
kosher salt

HOW TO :

- lightly dust beef chunks with flour and pepper
- drizzle olive oil over the bottom of a cast iron casserole dish
- saute beef chunks on both side until brown
- into the casserole dish, add the butter, garlic, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, red wine and beef broth

*** I didn't add the zest of the orange until the stew was almost cooked, in the last half hour.

I cooked in a 325°F convection oven for about 2 1/2 hours. From my experience, the time will vary for when the meat will be tender. Keep an eye on it. Also, I find the stew always taste best the next day.

Potatoes :
Boil potatoes. When done, keep skins on, mash, add butter, sour cream, whipping cream and blue cheese. The tang of the blue cheese compliments the beef dish nicely.

Plate It :

Place some of the stew on a plate and a nice big dollop of the mashed potatoes.

ENJOY EVERY BITE !

Burger Time (recipe)

A few years ago I was tired of eating the same burger - ketchup, mustard, dill relish , onions and cheese. A good classic burger I know but it gets boring after awhile. I needed to step it up a bit so this is what I came up with and I have been dedicated to this burger since. Sometimes I grill it and sometimes I cook it stove top in a pan. I just made it an hour ago for my lunch and I only had half of it, it's a big burger with big taste.

What's it called... Pesto & Roasted Red Pepper Burger

** Makes two burgers for two people... unless you're really hungry.

Ingredients

½ lb ground beef 85/15 ... fat is good., form into two patties , grill or pan fry
1 TB of Montreal Steak Seasoning
½ cup mayonnaise
4 Tb of prepared pesto
roasted red pepper, cut into strips
4 slices of Basil Havarti cheese ( I buy it at Albertsons, haven't seen it anywhere else)
Sesame or Poppyseed bun

How To :

- Mix mayo and pesto sauce
- Form beef into patties and sprinkle with Montreal Steak Seasoning, cook until medium doneness
- Spread pesto mayo on bottom and underside of top, place slice of Basil Havarti on bottom bun, then beef patty, another slice of the cheese, and top with slices of red pepper.



Enjoy every bite !

Confession: I have roasted the red pepper in the past and you can certainly do this, as well as the pesto... knock yourself out with doing it homemade style. But when I crave this burger, it's an impulse to make it and the quicker the better so I buy a jar of roasted red peppers.

Alaska Summer Fish Soup (recipe)

July 17-2009

It's raining , it's pouring, my old man is snoring (the Hubs)...so I'm going to make a fish soup while he sleeps.

We are on Kodiak Island, Alaska for the Summer and wanted to start cooking seafood dishes right away. I feel good when I am cooking and in my element when I'm in the kitchen. Off to the market - I bought some shrimp, scallops , crab and tilapia. I also check out the stock and broth aisle to see if there is anything interesting and I find a wine and herb stock...impressive for a small city such as Kodiak, I buy it !

This is my fish soup!

Ingredients & How To

3 cups of the wine and herb stock
1 cup water
1 cup white wine
3 red potatoes, diced
Cook potatoes until tender.
Add :
1 cup small shrimp
1 cup chopped crab meat
2 cups of chopped tilapia
2 cup of chopped scallops
Add :
2 carrots, shredded
2 large can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 small can tomato paste
1 small onion, diced
1-2 Tb of garlic, minced
pinch of saffron
zest of an orange
1 TB of Herb de Provence
4 Tb of olive oil
1 Tb kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper to my tasting.

These are guessed estimates... I don't have a recipe that I go by.... adjust to your own taste as you go along.
The soup was delicious and I have to say the best soup I think I have made or a close second. I'll share the first favorite with you another time. I love the saffron flavor and the burst of orange zest. I tasted the wine and herb stock beforehand and it was a rich stock full of flavor.... probably played a role in the taste as well. I served this with a warm crusty sourdough baguette. I ate slowly...savoring every bite. Simple to make, oh so easy to eat !

Enjoy every bite !

Awesome Sushi in Kodiak Island, Alaska !

Kodiak Island is located on the South coast of Alaska . It is separated from the mainland of Alaska by the Shelikof Strait. It is approximately 100 miles long and the width about 10-60 miles. It's beautiful here and I keep telling everyone that it is the best place to see Mother Nature present to us all of her beauty.


You might associate Kodiak with the Kodiak bear or King crab but growing up, I associated Kodiak with Kodiak boots. Not made in Kodiak or American made as far as that goes . I wanted a pair when I was fourteen years old and envied everyone who had a pair. Now, when I think of Kodiak, I think of sushi...Ok, and Kodiak Bears !


The Old Powerhouse Restaurant is an unassuming and modest food establishment where you wouldn't think to find a gem like this. No fancy signage or facades, the Powerhouse once housed diesel generators that powered the whole city of Kodiak. The interior is simple but has a great view of the Near Island channel where all the boats come into either St. Paul or St. Hermans harbor.



We were seated in the back room, away from the main dining room but then asked if we could be seated at the counter. Great! I can watch them make the sushi and also get some photos. Like last year, we let our friends choose their favorite sushi plates and again we weren't disappointed with what they chose this year. We started the meal off with a scallop and halibut chowder. A thick, creamy and smooth texture with a hint of smoked bacon with tender and juicy chunks of scallop and halibut. After the chowder, the plates of sushi kept coming !



First Up, the Powerhouse Chirashi. Chirashi basically means scattered sushi in Japanese. As food is also art to the eyes, this bowl of Chirashi is beautifully presented with sushi rice drizzled with teriyaki sauce, shredded nori and topped with pieces of Shrimp, King Crab, Salmon, smoked eel, tofu, two types of Tuna, two types of white fish – I think Halibut and not quite sure what the other was, I didn't have any. Topped off with a dollop mixture of avocado, crab and fish roe.



Second plate...The Kodiak Roll a soy wrap filled with Tempura flakes, tempura fried salmon, crab stick, cucumber, smelt roe, lettuce, mayo, avocado and Tobiko. Served with a delicious and slightly spicy mayonnaise. A fantastic combination of flavors which makes it one of my favorites.





The Coastie Roll, a popular one for obvious reasons. This roll is visualy appealing and bursting with flavors of tempura flakes, fried king crab tail, mayonnaise, asparagus, avocado, lettuce and rolled in wasabi and tobiko and smelt roe. Also accompanied with a spicy mayonnsaise.








The Midnight Roll, maybe named for is black roe is a combination of fried salmon, pollock, spicy tuna, almonds, avocado, asparagus, lettuce, wasabi tobiko and rolled in black flying fish roll. Also, served with a nice, spicy mayonnaise.




The next two plates were four different types of maki sushi rolls. The Dynamite roll consisted of steamed shrimp, crab and scallop mixed with fish roe in a sweet creamy sauce and toasted. The Soft Shell Crab roll, very simple and yet so tasty included fried soft shell crab and avocado.
The Spicy Tuna roll had minced red tuna and a spicy red sauce..this one made the tongue tingle ! The last roll was the Dynamite Tuna roll, spicy tuna, tempura flakes and avocado wrapped in a soy wrap. The creamy avocado with spiced tuna made this a mouthful of satisfaction!



With bellies full, expectations exceeded and fish roe still popping between my teeth I am left with memories of the most outstanding sushi I have ever encountered in my life. I remembered, this was one of the other reasons I wanted to come back to Kodiak Island. If you have no reason to come to Kodiak Island - let this be your only reason to.