What to make, what to make...

Tomorrow night I'll be making dinner for my grandmother and aunt. My aunt is visiting from Idaho so, needless to say, I don't get to see her that often. They apparently want scallops and shrimp, which is good. I like scallops and shrimp. But what to do with them?

We have some really nice green beans and beets from the garden so I think the menu will be as follows:

Seared scallops and shrimp (olive oil, salt, pepper and maybe a little butter if I'm feeling naughty)

Sauteed green beans (olive oil, garlic, shallots, salt, pepper)

Beet salad (purple, candycane and yellow beets, vidalia onion and a home-made vinaigrette)


So, here's the question. Do I need a starch? I don't want to do potatoes. Not only does that not fit the meal but my aunt is from frickin IDAHO. Potato land of America. Not going to happen. So, my father suggested rice. Personally, I don't think we need a starch but I'd like other opinions.


--Sarah

Family Favorites

Tonight I'm having dinner with my grandmother and mother. No one else, just the three ladies. We're going to have an old-school, tried and true dinner. Tuna noodle casserole. This was a family favorite in our house when I was growing up and is insanely easy to make. One can of tuna, one can of cream of mushroom soup (and a little milk if you like), peas, noodles (any kind will do) and bread crumbs. Mix the tuna, soup, peas and cooked noodles together (add a little salt and pepper to taste). Dump in a casserole dish and spread bread crumbs on top. Bake until browned. Makes me feel like I'm 8 again.

Radish Dressing

Radishes
Creme freche/natural yogurt/ philedelphia
olive oil



robo cop



making this up as we go along but it will be great!

1.fire up the robo cop ( robo coup) (blender)
2. mash many radish in it
3 add creme shit to it while blades still spinning
4. use oil to make it dressing while still whisking


use it on bitter salad leaves. (endive,radicio, cos etc)


tell me all about it, it sounds salavating .




next time its your turn and its sweet tattie :P

Dumplings!

I was on a mission today, and that mission was dumplings! I thought my plans were thwarted early on when the nice butcher at the market informed me that they were out of ground pork. So, instead I chose a mixture of pork, veal and beef. I also bought shrimp to make yummy pork and shrimp (er, pork/veal/beef and shrimp) shu mai. Here's how it went down...

1/2 lb. shrimp
1/4 lb. ground pork
1 1/2 cloves of garlic
Tablespoon of ginger (fresh)
One green onion, chopped finely
Tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 Tablespoon sesame oil
Lemon juice, about a teaspoon
About a tablespoon of cornstarch
A little salt
A little freshly ground pepper

Pre-packaged round dumpling wrappers (Or make your own. Personally, I don't have the patience.) Napa cabbage.

Ground that all in a food processor. (There should still be small chunks of shrimp)
Spoon about a tablespoon of the mixture into the middle of each wrapper. Make an "ok" sign with your fingers and start pinching the wrapper. The top of the dumpling should be open.

Line a bamboo steamer with leaves of Napa cabbage and place the dumplings on top of the leaves. Steam for about 12 minutes. Eat!

*Most of the ones I made were shu mai shaped but I got bored of that after a while and made several in a different, half-moon shape, more like gyoza. The picture above shows a couple shu mai shaped dumplings and some of those half-moon ones. They were awesome.

baileys chocolate mousse

This is a heavy, but delicious mousse, almost opposite to what it should be, best served with something that cleanses the pallette.


2 egg yolks
1 dessert spn honey
1/2 lb chocolate
2oz (125g) butter
375ml double cream
50 mls baileys


melt the chocolate and butter in a bain marie.
whisk the yolks and honey as light as they will go
semi-whisk the cream until soft peaks, add the baileys, make it a bit stiffer
add the chocolate to the eggs, thouroughly mix
slowly fold in mixtures, I suggest chocolate to cream

when fully folded , set in fridge.

serving suggestion ..
1 scoop mousse, 1 scoop vanilla icecream, 1 scoop sticky berries

Wild Mushroom Tagliatelle

I saw this recipe while watching Gordon Ramsay's F Word on BBCAmerica. It is exactly the type of thing I want to make for dinner.


Ingredients
8-10 large black field, parasol or portabella mushrooms
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1/2 tsp salt
500g fresh egg tagliatelle
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
2 tbsp butter
50g freshly grated vegetarian Parmesan
Fresh tarragon leaves, to garnish


1. Put a large saucepan of water on to boil, ready for the pasta. Clean the mushrooms (with kitchen towel or a pastry brush, not under the tap) and slice as finely as possible.
2. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the garlic and fry gently. As soon as it starts to become transparent and tender – about 1 minute – add the mushrooms and salt. Stir gently once, then cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.
3. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes or until al dente. Drain briefly and quickly return to the saucepan. Fold the lemon zest and juice into the pasta with the butter, mushrooms and their juices. Check the seasoning. Fold in the Parmesan, garnish with tarragon and serve immediately.


Now, I don’t see why you have to use vegetarian Parmesan. What is vegetarian Parmesan anyway? I’ll be using regular Parmesan for this one. Unfortunately, our pasta roller is back in Ontario so I’ll be using dried pasta, unless I can find better at a specialty shop.

These are the recipes I love. The making of the pasta notwithstanding, the speed at which you can make this thing is great.

cullen skink

This is a soup I learned in my last job, at first I felt sick even thinking about it, but not only does it work, it was the staple of my existance for 11 months.

"Cullen" is the village/town on the east coast, "skink" is a scots/gaelic/old word for soup.

for house ....
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 block of butter(4oz,125g or thereabouts)
4 large potatoes
3 pieces of smoked haddock
1 litre of milk
parsley
seasoning.

cube potatoes-not too big, not to small (the body of this soup is milk, and they have to be cooked,too big will curdle the milk and too small will turn them to mush)I recommened 1cm3 for house recipe

sweat onions off in butter on a low heat, its important not to cook/colour the butter

add potatoes,sautee- slowly! butter is a big part of this dish and Beurre noisette would not only make it look disgusting but make it taste even more so.

In the mean time sort out the smoked haddock, remove the bone down the middle of the fillets(keep them for stock if you dont mind the soup only lasting a day), chop the fillets into cubes, 2cm at an estimate.

by now the potatoes should be softend a bit, add the milk and simmer until potatoes are soft but still have bite.

add smoked haddock and pepper,leave one minute, turn off heat,leave a few mins.

Add a good pinch of fresh chopped parsley to a bowl and serve, making sure everyone has equal amounts of substance and fluid lol

Dandelion update

Well, I finally managed to try out the dandelion greens I bought ages ago. I sauteed them in a little olive oil with garlic. And the verdict? Disgusting. Far too bitter for my delicate little taste buds. I think I'll have to blanch them first and then saute to cut the bitterness a bit. I still have some left so expect a dandelion update update in the near future.

Just say "Ho!"

Lunch today was spent at Dynamite Sushi in Hudson, NH. The owner and sushi chef, Ho, makes some really great sushi, but that's not the only reason we like Dynamite (or as we call it, "Ho's"). The owner is just so damn aware of what's going on in his restaurant. The husband and I were waiting for just a liiitle bit longer than usual for our lunch to arrive, so Ho had a waitress send over a complimentary bowl of edamame. He is the kind of guy that will often just throw you something he's trying out or a complimentary dessert, just because he appreciates you.

Today at Dynamite we had salmon, yellowtail, scallop, salmon roe (me), spicy tuna (the husband) and "Ho's maki #1", which is shrimp tempura, avocado and some other yummy things wrapped up in an inside out roll with broiled eel on top. It was, as always, completely delicious.

One time Ho, after having deemed us worthy no doubt, handed us two pieces of sushi at the end of our meal. He had a weird smile on his face and when we looked at our treat, we understood why. It was sweet sushi. The raw fish was there, the rice was there...but so was a sweet lemon sauce drizzled over the top of each piece. Without thinking too much about it, and with weird smiles on our faces, we each popped a piece in our mouths. Now, to this day I can't say for sure whether I liked it or not. But, what I did like was knowing that Ho was always thinking and trying new things. Its what makes Dynamite the best.

What's For Dinner?

The husband and I found ourselves in Boston for dinner last night and decided on a good Thai place, called The King and I, on Charles St. in Beacon Hill. It was laid back and affordable (which is somewhat rare on Charles St.).

For us, Pad Thai is a requirement to eating at a Thai restaurant. You can tell a lot about a place by how they do this classic dish. We also thought the menu item called "Dancing Squid" sounded nummy so we ordered that as well.

Before our meal arrived, we started with a cold mango salad. I had never had this before and was a little hesitant since when it arrived I realized the mango was green. I shouldn't have felt that way because it was delicious! The green mango gave this lovely tartness to the salad and I could have eaten that all night.

Pad Thai was fantastic, although I could have used a couple slices of lime to squeeze over the plate. The Dancing squid was perfectly cooked. Cooking squid can be tricky. If you cook it for literally just a minute it will be fine. Two minutes? Overcooked and rubbery. To get it perfectly tender again, you have to cook it for an hour. I remember telling the husband that I wanted to go back to the kitchen and give the cook a hug. It was probably the most perfectly cooked squid I have ever had. The squid was in a light green curry sauce with peppers, mushrooms and onions. Delicious.

Pad Thai Recipe:

(This one comes from the food network know-it-all Alton Brown)

**This often has chicken in it as well and for all the vegetarians out there, it can also be made with tofu - just make sure its firm**

Ingredients

* 1-ounce tamarind paste
* 3/4 cup boiling water
* 2 tablespoons fish sauce
* 2 tablespoons palm sugar
* 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
* 4 ounces rice stick noodles
* 1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil
* 1 cup chopped scallions, divided
* 2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 2 whole eggs, beaten
* 2 teaspoons salted cabbage
* 1 tablespoon dried shrimp
* 3 ounces bean sprouts, divided
* 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped, divided
* Freshly ground dried red chile peppers, to taste
* 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

Place the tamarind paste in the boiling water and set aside while preparing the other ingredients.

Combine the fish sauce, palm sugar, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.

Place the rice stick noodles in a mixing bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Once the other ingredients are measured out into separate bowls, drain the water from the noodles and set them aside. Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch wide strips, similar to French fries.

Press the tamarind paste through a fine mesh strainer and add to the sauce. Stir to combine.

Place a wok over high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon of the peanut oil. Heat until it shimmers, then add the tofu.

If necessary, add some more peanut oil to the pan and heat until shimmering. Add 2/3 of the scallions and then the garlic, cook for 10 to 15 seconds. Add the eggs to the pan; once the eggs begin to set up, about 15 to 20 seconds, stir to scramble. Add the remaining ingredients in the following order and toss after each addition: noodles, sauce, cabbage, shrimp, and 2/3 of the bean sprouts and peanuts. Toss everything until heated through, but no longer than 1 to 2 minutes total. Transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with the remaining scallions, bean sprouts, and peanuts. Serve immediately with the ground chile peppers and lime wedges.

Roasted Marrow Bones

The husband attempted roasted marrow bones a while back and helpfully sent me the pictures he took of his experiment. I had tried marrow bones before him and it was an epic fail. His attempt, however, was quite successful. Behold:



The ingredients



The marrow bones.



Parsley salad and some bread. We didn't have any crusty bread, so some toasted whole wheat slices would have to do.



Roasted marrowy goodness.



Tada! All put together and ready for eating.

The husband found the recipe at the New York Times online. Here it is:

Adapted from Fergus Henderson

Time: 20 minutes

8 to 12 center-cut beef or veal marrow bones, 3 inches long, 3 to 4 pounds total

1 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley

2 shallots, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons capers

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Coarse sea salt to taste

At least 4 1/2-inch-thick slices of crusty bread, toasted.

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put bones, cut side up, on foil-lined baking sheet or in ovenproof skillet. Cook until marrow is soft and has begun to separate from the bone, about 15 minutes. (Stop before marrow begins to drizzle out.)

2. Meanwhile, combine parsley, shallots and capers in small bowl. Just before bones are ready, whisk together olive oil and lemon juice and drizzle dressing over parsley mixture until leaves are just coated. Put roasted bones, parsley salad, salt and toast on a large plate. To serve, scoop out marrow, spread on toast, sprinkle with salt and top with parsley salad.

Yield: 4 servings.

Friends help friends roast veggies

Rather than post about my adventures with dandelion greens, I’ll be talking about something a little more familiar. My friend Lynda told me she was disappointed that I had not posted any recipes that she could use. She then proceeded to ask me what to do with potatoes and veggies. Here’s what I came up with:

Depending on size, either halve or cube the potatoes, cut carrots and onion as well and dump them all into a large roasting pan. Toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper and some rosemary.

Set oven to 400 degrees and roast those suckers until brown and tender, which takes me about 45 minutes. If you want, toss them around a bit mid-way through to brown more than one side. If you want to add other veggies, like peppers, put them in about halfway through the roasting process since they will soften much faster than potatoes or carrots.

Next, I was asked what to do with the chicken breasts she had. She wanted to cut the chicken up into bite-size pieces. I recommended cutting the pieces and putting some olive oil in a pan. Season the chicken with a little salt and pepper and toss them in to cook. Towards the end of cooking, throw a little lemon juice on the chicken.

Simple and nummy, no?

Lynda, you’ll have to tell me how it turns out.

Getting Started

Well, I'm just beginning here with Nummy but have an idea for tomorrow's post. I picked up some dandelion greens at the local grocery store and have been dying to try them out. I'm becoming more and more interested in greens due to their health benefits. My plan for tomorrow (or possibly the day after tomorrow) is to blanch them briefly in salted water and then saute in olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. Now granted, olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes aren't terribly adventurous ingredients but I figure that dandelion greens are adventurous enough.

Stay tuned.