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.