Spicy garlic shrimp canapes

These little hors d'oeuvres are really quick to make and look really nice.  They are super flavorful and you can add the just the right amount of red pepper to get the level of heat that you like.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb 50-70 ct raw P&D shrimp (peeled and deveined) thawed

3 garlic cloves minced finely

1/2 a large shallot minced finely

1 tsp dry red pepper flake

2 packages of phyllo cups (made especially for hors d'oeuvres) Trader Joe's

1/2 bag of spinach chopped

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

olive oil

juice of 1 lemon

1/3 white wine

1.  In 1 pan heat a generous amount of olive oil and then add the garlic, shallot and red pepper.  Saute a couple mins.

2.  Season shrimp with S&P and add to pan.  Saute a min and stir and cook 1 more min.

3.  Add white wine and lemon juice and a little S&P.  Cook another 2 mins.

4.  Remove from heat and set aside.

5.  In a separate pan saute the chopped spinach for a couple mins. until wilted.

6.  Squeeze all the excess liquid out of spinach and stir into a bowl with the Parmesan.  Mix until combined.

7.  Place a small amount of spinach in each phyllo cup.

8.  Place 1 shrimp on each cup and then spoon a small amount of the pan juice directly onto the shrimp.

Done!



Diver Scallops with Parmesan and Romaine

This is a very simple dish.  It takes about 10 mins. to make.

Ingredients:

U10 Scallops (Diver/Sea Scallops) - 3-4 per person

Hearts of romaine

Grape tomatoes

Shaved Parmesan cheese

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

1.  Lay out 2 layers of paper towels on a plate and put scallops on it.  Blot another layer of paper towel on the top of the scallops.

2. Sprinkle scallops generously on both sides with salt and pepper.

3. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a large saute pan.

4. While that is heating, cut the end off the heart of romaine and wash the leaves.

5. Spray or toss leaves with olive oil and salt and pepper.

6.  Cook scallops on med high heat about 4 mins. on each side until nicely browned.  Remove to new paper towels.

7. Arrange romaine leaves on plate and top with halved grape tomatoes and parmesan.  Sprinkle all with S&P.

8. Place scallops on the plate and serve.

Salmon Cake with Spicy Yogurt and Mache'

This dish is really simple and fast, so it is great if you need to make something quickly.  I used canned salmon in this but I think it would be better if you used some leftover salmon that you had cooked  from the day before. 

Ingredients for salmon cakes:

Salmon 8oz or so

2 Tb mayo

1/2 tsp prepared horseradish

1tsp chives

1 Tb lemon juice

1/2 cup finely diced celery

1/2 cup to 1 cup breadcrumbs/panko

Mix all together.

For garnish:

Olive oil and mache' (lamb's lettuce)

Toss mache' with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

Ingredients for sauce:

1 Tb Plain yogurt

1 Tb Siracha Hot Sauce

Mix together

Heat a little vegetable oil in a large saute pan.  While that is heating up to med high, press the salmon mix into ring molds.

Fry about 6 mins on each side.  Remove cakes onto paper towels to blot oil.

Spoon sauce onto the plate.  Lay cake in the center of sauce and top with dressed mache'.



Chicken Schniztle with Lemon and Buttermilk Potatoes

This dish brings me back to my years in Germany.  Of course it would most likely be served with great french fries and a salad of shredded carrots, radish, thin sliced cucumbers and butter lettuce.  I get homesick just thinking about it.

I made this one with buttermilk mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts

Broccoli

Russets Potatoes

Buttermilk

Butter

Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

Flour

2 Eggs

1 Lemon

1. First peel potatoes and cut into chunks and put into a pot of cold salted water.  Boil until tender.

2. While the potatoes are boiling, lay plastic wrap on the counter and put the chicken breast on it.

3.  Lay plastic wrap over chicken and pound with the smooth side of a meat mallet gently until its about 1/4" to 1/2" thick.

4. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper.

5.  Put some flour on a plate and lay each piece of chicken on the flour front and back.  Shake off the excess.

6.  Beat the 2 eggs and put into a vessel that is big enough to accommodate the pieces of chicken.  Coat the chicken with egg and shake off excess.

7.  Put the panko in the same kind of container and lay chicken in it and coat front and back with the panko.

8.  Fry chicken in 1/4" of vegetable oil until golden brown.

10.  While chicken is cooking, drain potatoes and put back into the same pan over med heat and "dry them out" a little before mashing.  When mashing add a little buttermilk, butter and salt and pepper.  Put a lid back on the pan and keep warm.  Or cover with plastic and keep in warm oven.

11. Steam or boil broccoli.
12.  When chicken is golden brown remove from pan and blot on a plate covered with 2 layers of paper towels.
13.  Plate all and garnish with a lemon wedge.  Squeeze lemon over chicken before eating.

Heirloom Tomato Terrine

OK, get ready for a lot of work!

Line a loaf pan or Tupperware with plastic and spray with olive oil.  Cut small slits on the bottoms of 4lbs of heirloom tomatoes.  Blanch and shock tomatoes for 20 sec two times.

Peel tomatoes, quarter them and remove seeds and guts.  Save guts and put in a sieve over a bowl.

Lay out on paper towels and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Let sit while making the vegetable stock.  Pat with paper towels to remove liquid. 

Put all seeds and guts from tomatoes into a fine sieve and push out all liquid into bowl.  Add 1 and 1/2 Tsp of gelatin.  Whisk til dissolved.  Let sit.

Chop 2 carrots, 2 celery stocks, 1 leek, and add to about 3cups of water.  Add 1/2 a shallots, 10 parsley stalks, 10 peppercorns, 3 bay leaves, and boil for about 15 mins. til reduced to about 1 and 1/2 cup.  Strain liquid and to tomato water and gelatin.  Add stock and 2 tsp red wine vinegar and 2 Tbs of chopped chives.  Whisk all together.

Pour about 1/2 cup into pan.  Let sit in fridge for about 40 mins until set.  Layer tomatoes on top of gelatin and add a Tsp of liquid to each layer. 

Squeeze down and lay plastic over tomatoes.  Place a lid or another pan on top of that.  Press down and place can goods on top of that to weigh it down.  This was too much weight in the picture.  Only press down a little so that some of the gelatin mixture remains.  Put into a larger container to catch any spills.  Refrigerate for a day or two.  Mine didn't have enough gelatin mix to hold it together because to much of it had been displaced by pressing it down.

This is what it looked like after unmolding it.  Cut into slices and serve with some dressed greens and pesto.  I tossed some Mache (lamb's lettuce) in olive oil and salt and pepper and served with it.

Makes a refreshing summer appetizer.

Overall, not for the beginning cook.  This was quite a bit of work even for me.  Its very pretty and tastes great but be prepared for a few hours of prep.

Sockeye Salmon with Orange Kale Cous Cous and Sweet Potato Mash

Ingredients:

Sockeye salmon filets

1 Sweet potato per person - baked

Half a heart of romaine per person

Kale

2 cloves garlic minced

1 Minneola or Orange

A few green onions

Chicken stock

Isreali Cous Cous - cooked and kept warm

Do the sweet potatoes first because they can be held warm in a pot with cling wrap pressed down on top of it and covered with a lid.  Peel sweet potatoes and cut into1 1/2" cubes and boil in water til soft.  Drain water and mash with salt and 1 Tbs of butter.



For the kale, chop the garlic and kale and saute over med heat in a little olive oil for a few mins.  Then add a 1/4 cup of chix stock and reduce til liquid is almost gone.  Add orange zest and squeeze the juice into the pan.  Cook another few mins and add cooked couscous and sliced scallions to it and heat another minute.  Remove from heat and keep warm.



Cut romaine heart long way down the middle and spray with olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Grill for a minute on each side if you can.  Otherwise heat a pan to med high or high heat and brown on each side briefly.

Season the salmon filet with S&P and any of your favorite seasonings.  Saute in olive oil flesh side down for 3 mins on Med high heat.  Turn over and turn heat down to just below med and cover partially.  Cook another 4 mins or so.

Italian Summer

Fresh basil pesto, bruschetta, Italian herb marinated chicken breast, and grilled romaine.  I was inspired today by the ripe tomatoes and basil. 

These are the ingredients for my basil pesto.  I leave the Parmesan out because you really don't miss it and if you want you can sprinkle it on top.

These are the ingredients for the bruschetta topping.  Fresh tomatoes, white onion, garlic, and fresh basil.  Don't forget the salt and pepper.  I like to leave out most of the tomato guts so it doesn't get too watery.

Play around with the toppings and make it your own.

I also marinated the chicken breasts before I grilled them.  Olive oil, garlic cloves, Tuscan herbs, S&P, and lemon juice.  Try to keep them in the marinade at least 30 mins.

I find a zip lock bag works the best because you don't have to use so much oil or ingredients for it to be effective.

Spray the bread (use a nice artisan or french loaf) with olive oil.  If you don't have a mister, just brush with olive oil.  Grind a little salt and pepper on both sides.  Bake at 350 turning once til golden brown.  I also grilled some since I was going to grill the chicken.  When you take the bread out of the oven or off the grill, cut the bottom off a garlic clove and rub both sides of the bread with it while its still warm.

Spread the pesto on the bread first, lay slices of mozzarella on top of the pesto, and then top with the 

bruschetta mixture.  I grilled the chicken breasts and the romaine.  The romaine was sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper.  Serve with a nice Torrontes or a Malbec.  They are both light enough for this summer meal.

Tiki Cocktail Cake

I saw a cake like this in Food Network Magazine and had to try making it.  It turned out to be a lot of fun but definitely a challenge.  I would need to make it a couple more times to perfect it.  It really helped to put a crumb layer on it before frosting it for real. (that's when you freeze it for a little while and apply a very thin layer of frosting all over and freeze again before applying the final layer.) 

I made this just like the coconut halves cake.  I used dried pineapple and papaya, a maraschino cherry, and fresh mint for the garnish.  I used two ice cream bowls to bake the cake in and put the two halves together with frosting.  After you finish frosting i,t press the toasted coconut onto the outside of it.  I think adding the coconut extract to the cake mix and the frosting really made a difference.  Everyone at work thought it tasted really good and were begging for a second piece. 

Coconut Chocolate Cake

Coconut halves are made with German chocolate cake mix.  I added coconut extract to the mix as well as the icing I made.  I made chocolate icing for the sides and white for the top.  I toasted coconut in the oven and then pressed it onto the sides. 

Slow Cook Pork Sirloin Salad

This is one of the things I do when I make pulled pork.  Its perfect over a salad because you won't need any dressing.  Its also great over rice or in a wrap/burrito.  Some times I'll serve it on toasted Pulgese bread with a good coleslaw.

Ingredients

For pork:

Whole pork sirloin

1 Onion sliced lengthwise

Chicken stock

Paprika

Fennel Seed

Spike seasoning and S&P

For Salad:

Romaine lettuce chopped

Spinach chopped

1 Tomato diced

1 Roasted red pepper (jar) diced

Jalepenos (jar) sliced/chopped

Sprouts

Heat dry sauce pan add fennel seed and toast a few mins. until you really smell the fennel.

Make sure as much fat is trimmed from the meat as possible.  Season pork with paprika and spike and S&P

Slice onion lengthwise.

Sear meat on all sides at med high heat and then add onion and saute til sightly translucent.

Add chicken stock until it comes half way up the meat.  Reduce to mid low heat and simmer.

Simmer a couple hours, adding a little stock now and then to keep liquid at about the same level.  Turn meat about every half hour.  When its fork tender and almost falling apart, turn off heat.  Take 2 forks and shred meat with them.  Keep meat in liquid.  Its easier to shred while its still warm.  I do it right in the sauce pan.  Serve pork on toasted buns or by it's self with some mashed potatoes or like I did below on a salad.

Combine the above listed salad ingredients or choose your own, top with pulled pork, and enjoy. 

Herb and Garlic Roasted Turkey Legs

This meal took me back to my days in Germany.  Roasted turkey legs, red potatoes with fresh dill, and an apple and fennel salad.  A crisp white wine. All I needed was an umpa band playing in the background.  There were turkey legs on sale at my local grocery store so this was a great choice. 

Ingredients

1 turkey leg per person

3 cloves of garlic

3 red potatoes per person

1 green apple

1 fennel bulb

1 orange

Fresh or dried herbs (dill, thyme, sage and rosemary)

red wine vinegar

olive oil

dry mustard

Worcesteshire sauce

Spike seasoning

S & P



 I put the legs in a big zip lock bag with olive oil, chopped garlic, pepper, dry mustard, Worcestershire, and chopped thyme, rosemary, and sage.  (you can also use any dried herbs you prefer) The picture shows horseradish but I ended up not using it.

Put it all in the zip lock and refrigerate overnight.

Before you cook these, rinse them off and pat dry with a paper towel. Spray with a little olive oil and sprinkle Spike seasoning on them.  Set in a pan with a rack and use a thermometer set to 180 degrees.  When done take out of oven and let rest 5 mins before serving. 

 

While legs are cooking, slice fennel bulb very thin lengthwise. 

Quarter apple and slice very thin.  Combine in a large bowl and grate orange zest into it.  Then squeeze all the juice from the orange into bowl and add 1 Tbs of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar and S&P.  The picture shows shallot too, but after trying it, it would be better without the shallot.

Chop some of the fennel tops and add them too.

While legs are cooking, clean red potatoes and quarter them or if they are small half them.  Boil them til a fork goes through them easily.  Drain and then toss in @ 2 Tbs of butter, salt, and chopped fresh dill.

Serve with a crisp white wine.  Total time for this meal was about 30 - 40 mins.