Another Favorite...We Both Love

     HAPPY HALLOWEEN

 

This really isn't much of a recipe. It's more of a canvas for whatever seafood you have available to you in your area. It is definately one of my favorites, but then Seafood? yeah, I am so going to go there: "Seafood Diet = I seafood I eat it". SORRY! Just couldn't help it. Though one would think I should be 400 pounds the way I eat, not 120. Mike always says I can eat more than he does but I don't think so.

I think our love of seafood comes from living on the east coast of Florida for so long. We never had to worry if the seafood was fresh, it was always available in abundance. Miami and Fort Lauderdale have some of the best seafood restaurants. Since moving here (like I stated in a previous post) it is very hard to come by fresh.

So, for a seafood boil  you will need either that famous Old Bay Seasoning or as I prefer, Zatarain's Liquid Seafood Seasoning-Concentrated Crab and Shrimp Boil. I have also used Zatarain's Dry Seafood Seasoning Packets too. I like them both equally well as I think Zatarain's has more of a punch.

Place as large of a stockpot that you can get your hands on, full of water on the stove to boil. When boiling stir in all of your seasonings, the lemons and the onions. Return to a boil and add potatoes next and let them cook for about 10 minutes, as these take the longest to cook through. Then add the corn and the sausage. After the potatoes and corn are tender about another 15-20 minutes, then add your lobster or crab legs and cook about 5 minutes. If using oysters, clams or mussels they would go in now. Lastly, add the shrimp and cook another 5 minutes until pink (the final cooking time for your seafood will depend on how large your seafood actually is, ie... King Crab will take a little longer than Snow Crab etc...). Remove all ingredients and serve with bowls full of melted butter and lemon wedges. And lots of paper towels too.

Ingredients

kosher salt

seafood seasoning

whole garlic cloves

fennel seeds

bay leaves

corriander seeds

black peppercorns

red pepper flakes

lemons

crustaceans, of your choice

mollusks, also your choice

spicey sausage

new potatoes

whole corn on the cob, cut into halves or thirds

onions

Additional Ingredients (I have used in the past)

dry white wine

artichokes

carrots

celery

Last year I had made this version of a seafood boil dinner for my dad's birthday and now my mother has to make it for him every couple of weeks. It's my all time favorite. I didn't have any mollusks or artichokes on this particular day though. This recipe is very easy to play around with. It can simly be made with lots of shrimp, or shrimp and sausage. Try this, play around with it and adjust it to your liking. At least try this seasoning mixture in this version above from Michael Chiarello. You will certainly not be disappointed. I guarantee it.   

Michael and Carla

Michael Cooks his Favorites

I warned you all! Do you see any vegetables? Noooo? Me either. I think this calls for a salad don't you? And no, that is parsley. It does not constitute a vegetable or a salad!

I think this is really all about the potatoes. They were as simple as the fillets, but so full of rich flavor. Of course anything with garlic, butter and cream can't be all that bad. Well not for your tastebuds, just watch out waistline!

It's not as if you can't tell that these are...double thick cut fillets.

Well, simple, simple, simple - you just cut a teensy weensy slit in the side of your fillet and stuff with bleu cheese crumbles of your choice.

We could only find Danish Bleu Cheese on this particular day.

Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

And grill to your desired temperature.

We both prefer Medium Rare steaks.

Now for those little baby potatoes.

Slice in half or into thirds and pre boil until tender.

Drain and set aside. They will go back into the sauce to warm through.

In a saucepan heat olive oil and butter. Saute garlic until lightly golden. Add fresh minced dill and let this perfume the oil and butter for just a minute or two. Slowly add heavy cream stirring constantly to combine.

Let this reduce until it thickens. It should be the color of peanut butter (this picture does not show the true color, see above). Taste for seasonings and add salt and pepper if neccesary. Return potatoes to the sauce and warm through.

Bleu Cheese Stuffed Fillets and Cream Dill Potatoes

Ingredients

2- 3" thick beef fillets

1/2 cup crumbled Bleu Cheese

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

salt and pepper

For the potatoes:

6-8 baby Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced in

halves or thirds

1 tablebspoon olive oil

2 tablebspoons butter

1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced

2 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped finely

1/3 cup heavy cream

And there you have it. Like I've been telling you, Michael would have Steak and Potatoes every night if he could. Almost half of the pictures we have stored to post are steaks , I kid you not.
Michael and Carla

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas with Refried Beans, and Homemade Chicken Stock too

  After searching through my 40+ selection of cookbooks, my file boxes of stored magazines and my written recipe indexes for recipes to try (whew), I couldn't pin down a recipe I liked for these creamy enchiladas. Unbelievable huh? Well I decided to just combine a few of the ones I did come across and go with my own instinct. Glad I did! These were just what I wanted in an enchilada. The first thing I did was to boil my chicken breasts in a large stock pot. For this I quartered 1 large onion, coarsely chopped 2 carrots and 2 celery stalks. I tossed in the chicken breasts and vegetables and covered them with 8 cups of water. Next I tossed in about 8 whole peppercorns, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. of ground thyme (our thyme plant is trying real hard to die on us), a handfull of fresh parsley, and a heaping Tblsp. of kosher salt. This I brought to a boil and then reduced to simmer for approximately 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Removed chicken to platter and let stock cool a bit. Then strained the stock into the 2 cup sized plastic take out containers (like you get at the chinese restaurants for your take out soups, you know the ones; (round, opaque-perfect for holding 2 or 4 cups of stock?) to freeze for later use. Then here's what I did to finish the enchiladas.

Shred the chicken when cool enough to handle.

Saute some onion and garlic until tender.The amount of these are up to you. More if you like or leave out if you don't like either.

I then added the chicken and 1/2 cup of the chicken stock, 2 heaping Tblsp. of chopped green jalepeno chiles, 4 oz. of softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Added a 1/2 tsp. cumin and 1/2 tsp. chipotle chili pepper powder and a pinch of kosher salt. I also added a tsp. of cilantro paste (no fresh on hand). Stirred to combine and let simmer about 15 minutes over low heat.

Then microwaved my 12" tortilla shells so they would be pliable (you can also heat up the enchilada sauce and dip your tortillas in the warm sauce to make them pliable) and filled with chicken mixture, rolled into enchiladas and put in a 9 x 13 baking dish lightly sprayed with canola oil. Poured my can of Enchilada Sauce (next time will try a homemade version) over top and drown, I mean cover, in shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses.

Cover with foil and bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, uncovering for the last 10 minutes. Let cool a little and top with sour cream and diced scallions.

I also made my own refried beans to go with the enchiladas.

I used one cup of  mayo coba beans , (they go by many names) and covered them with water about 3" above the beans. I also added 2 Tblsp. of rendered bacon fat, a bay leaf, a good pinch of salt (always cook with Kosher) and a smashed garlic clove. Brought to a boil and then simmered for an hour while the chicken was doing its simmering. When tender, drain and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid and put beans into a pan large enough to mash the beans with your potato masher adding reserved cooking liquid as needed to moisten to desired consistency. Turn heat on to medium low and add .. yup, you guessed it - Cheese. Cover pan and let cheese melt.

The final results: SCRUMPTEEDEELICIOUS.

And a bonus too boot, My homemade Chicken Stock. We are now set for some wonderful soups this fall/winter. However, I am sure I will need to make more of this stock before winter actually sets in here. We hope you enjoy.

Michael and Carla

Latin Flavors

I LOVE ETHNIC FOODS! There I said it. I love any food really, with the exception of any kind of liver. But give me Italian, Latin, Greek, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Thai well you get the idea, I can't seem to get enough variety. Since I was born and raised in Hialeah, Florida in the Miami-Dade County area, I have had a great many friends that are of latin descent. I have also had my fair share of cafe con leche and meat pies. There are a great many restaurants to choose from. Oh how I miss them. One of my favorite dishes is Ropa Vieja , which translates to "old clothes" or "rags" if you will for the shredded texture of the beef, which resembles torn fabric or clothes. Another one of my favorites is Pollo Guisado a braised chicken stew or Caldo Gallego which is a wonderful soup, but I'll save those for another post.

  These are some of the basic ingredients, however I obviously got started before taking a photo of the beef, and cans of Spanish-style tomato sauce. I used a skirt steak this time as it was what I had on hand but you can use a flank steak or even a chuck roast as well. The ziplock bag contains homemade sofrito (made in large quantities and frozen), which is indispensable to latin cooking as is trinity and mirepoix in America.

  In any event it is very easy to prepare. Brown the meat on both sides and remove to a platter.

Make your sauce and return meat to the sauce.

Bring to a boil, cover and into the oven for about 2 1/2 hours until the meat shreds easily. Watch your liquid and add water or broth (preferable) as needed, to cover.

When tender and shreds easily to the touch of a fork, remove from sauce. Let cool and shred.

Return to sauce, add final ingredients and simmer 10-30 minutes. Again adding water or broth if needed.

  There are a great many variations of this recipe. Some add celery and carrots to the final sauce and others leave it out. I chose the latter as this is the way I have always had it. Some recipes add red wine and others add broth. I added additional beef broth to the sauce as needed. This dish can be served with any number of sides, mostly with rice or potatoes. I have always had it with mashed potatoes. Give this dish a try and you won't be disappointed. You also won't have a lot of dishes to clean as it is a "one pot wonder" ; )
Michael and Carla

Fall; Our favorite season...

 Since moving to North Carolina yes, fall is now our favorite season. When in Florida it has to be the summer on the beaches. Though for the past week our overnight temps have been in the high 30's. I'm afraid winter will be upon us before we can truly enjoy the fall scenery.

  So we just had to share some of the beautiful fall foilage here in N.C. These are the views we are enjoying right outside our front door right now. Absolutely breathtaking!

We'll leave you with these visions for now and will be back all too soon with fall themed recipes to fill your belly full of warmth.

Michael and Carla

What can you do with Frozen Cooked Shrimp?

  First of all, let me start out by saying that our grocery stores here in N.C. seem to always have "frozen bags of shrimp" on sale as a buy one get one free. Sometimes it's raw frozen and other times it's cooked frozen. I guess that is because we are not on the coastal side. I have only one store here that has a reputable seafood department, and that would be Harris Teeter which is somewhat comparable to Whole Foods. I wish I had  a Whole Foods Market close by or a Trader Joe's! My only other options are Food Lion, Super WalMart and Carly C's. I put them in order of preference here with Carly C's being my least favorite!

  That being said, I had two bags of frozen cooked shrimp sitting in the freezer. I was craving seafood and I didn't feel like running out to the store. So in my quest for a recipe, I found a tasty sounding dish in my cookbook collection: Pol Martin's Supreme Cuisine 1993. Tasty Pepper Shrimp. *(More on him later). I figured it sounded so spicy that the shrimp didn't really have to be raw to absorb all of that heat and flavor. Alas, I was right! This is a very different type of intense heat. And I am a moderate heat girl. Let me just suffice it to say that my lips were tingly and on fire. Now without further ado, I will move on.

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves, pureed
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
2 tbsp butter
3/4 lb fresh mushrooms, cleaned and cut in 3 sections (I was out and omitted them)
2 green onions, chopped
1 1/2 lbs fresh shrimp, shelled and deveined
1/3 shrimp stock (recipe to follow); or, you could purchase some really good organic shrimp stock.
2 tbsp beurre manie' (recipe to follow)
salt to taste


Shrimp stock recipe:

2 cups water
shells from shrimp, salt and pepper to taste.
Pour water into saucepan. Add shells from shrimp and season. Boil 15 minutes then strain liquid to use in this recipe.


Beurre Manie' (Kneaded Butter)

5 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
Blend butter with flour to make beurre manie' then set aside to use in this recipe.

"Beurre manié (French "kneaded butter") By kneading the flour and butter together, the flour particles are coated in butter. When the beurre manié is whisked into a hot or warm liquid, the butter melts, releasing the flour particles without creating lumps."

Directions

1.Grind the garlic, peppers, thyme and oregano together in a mortar; or if you don't have a mortar, you can use a coffee grinder or even the back of a wooden spoon.

2.Heat butter in a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add spice mixture and cook 1 minute. (This will allow the oils of the spices to be released which will enhance the depth of flavor in the dish.)

3.Add mushrooms and green onions. Season with salt, stir and cook 4 minutes.

4.Add shrimp and cook 3 minutes. Stir once during cooking. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.

5.Increase heat to high and pour in shrimp stock. Bring to boil and cook 2 minutes. Wisk in buerre manie'.

6.Return shrimp to pan and cook 1 minute over low heat. Serve over your choice of rice, pasta or even garlic mashed potatoes. Also, french bread toasted with garlic butter and a green salad goes nicely with this dish as well.

The only changes, sustitutions and eliminations to mine was:

1) Cooked instead of raw fresh shrimp-although fresh would be best

2) Elimination of mushrooms-didn't have any on hand, will use next time

3) Seafood stock out of a box-no shells on cooked shrimp

  All in all this was still a very tasty dish and Michael just LOVED it as there are no foods hot or spicy enough for him. I guess that comes from being in the restaurant business.

*Chef POl Martin was born in France and was the host of the show "The Art of Cooking" produced by Champlain Productions out of Montreal. Airing locally, before airing nationally on CTV for one season. Original airdates were 1974-1978. Among his many cookbooks are: Chef Pol Martin's Favorite Recipes 1985, Easy Cooking for Today 1988, Outdoor Cooking and Grilling Fish 1989, Love at First Bite 1990, Easy Cooking II 1990,A Guide to Modern American Cooking 1993, and Supreme Cuisine 1993. There are far too many to list here. I found my copy at a used bookstore and fell in love with the many, beautifully illustrated pictures and the step by step instructions. Also the fact that all of the ingredients are fresh and nothing comes out of a tin can. You will find no condensed canned soups here!

Michael and Carla

Another Way to Use Leftover Chicken

  I love a succulent baked chicken as much as the next person. However, as I had said in a previous post; I always have a hard time cooking for two. So I always have leftovers and have learned to make good use of them. Besides the fact that this country that has the largest amount of "food" waste. Which really bothers me (don't even get me started there!).

  When we lived in the Clearwater/Tampa area of Florida we had a favorite little Mexican restaurant that we liked to go to on a regular basis on our days off together. As a result of one of our favorite entrees that we used to order there, this is one of my favorite ways to use up the remaining chicken from a roaster. Chicken Flautas . Really quite simple to make and a lot of bang for your taste buds.

  It is as easy as preparing your filling, rolling your filling in tortilla shells and deep frying them. I only deviated from this recipe by adding a bit of tomato paste into the onions and garlic before adding the remaining ingredients to make the sauce a bit richer and thicker.

  A few condiments required on the side: salsa, sour cream and guacamole. I sprinkled the flautas with thinly sliced scallions (green onion) and sliced black olives. And EXTRA cheese! (I LOVE cheese)!

 Round out your meal with some cheesy mexican style rice and re-fried beans. Note all the CHEESE (; 0 ) yum.

  Perfecto. While writing up this blog Michael happened in to tell me something, saw the pictures and asked me when we could have these again. He left saying "soon I hope".

  These can also be made into an appetizer plate by using the smallest sized tortilla shells. Your guests will certainly enjoy them, and you will enjoy how simple they are to make.

Michael and Carla

I have NO Idea

  Ok I really do have a lot of ideas. Just not for these extremely thin pork chops we had bought. We try to always buy our meats in bulk, divide and freeze. Well we had bought a large package of center cut pork chops, divided them into portions and tossed them into the freezer. I did not realize just how thin they really were until I pulled out a pack yesterday to thaw. They were barely a 1/2 inch thick. Great I thought,what am I going to do with these??? I pondered this for most of the afternoon. I went through my cookbooks and all the recipes called for real normal sized chops. I went through the list I keep of all the recipes I log from my monthly magazines, same results; big chops on the bone. ON THE BONE? I barely had meat here! So I got to thinking, hey I pound out chicken breasts and pork chops for schnitzel, milanese and scaloppini, etc... You get the idea too, don't you? These babies don't need to be pounded since they're already thin. Then I remembered seeing a recipe for Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Sage Butter Sauce in  Cuisine At Home. Perfect, sage pairs well with pork. My sage is in need of a haicut anyway. Ok so Milanese style (panko crusted) pork chops it is!

  Get your breading station set up with flour, egg and panko bread crumbs. Panko are a type of Japanese bread crumbs that are much more coarse than regular bread crumbs, but I suppose you could use regular bread crumbs or even make your own. Make sure to season your flour. I even throw seasonings into my bread crumbs, here I used Emeril's Essence . Or you can even find the recipe for it here on Food Network. Set your oven to "warm' or 200 degrees. You'll see why later. Next dip your pork chop in the flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs in that order. By flouring first the egg will have something to soak into which makes for more crunch.

  A little oil into the skillet and fry on medium heat for 3 - 5 minutes per side. Depending on how thin your pork chops are. When they are done put in a low 200 degree oven to stay warm while you make the sauce.

  Sage Butter Sauce

Makes about 1 cup 

Total tine: 20 minutes

3 Tbsp. minced shallot

1 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup heavy cream (I only had half and half)

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth (I forgot to pull out and photo)

1 tsp. lemon juice (didn't have any fresh lemons on hand)

4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 - 2 tsp. minced fresh sage

 salt, white pepper, and cayenne to taste

Saute shallot in 1 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium heat just until soft, 2 - 3 minutes.

Add wine, cream, broth and lemon juice. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half, 8 - 10 minutes.

Whisk in remaining 4 Tbsp. butter, 1 Tbsp. at a time, stirring constantly. Do not add more butter until previous addition has melted completely.

Stir sage, salt, white pepper and cayenne into sauce.

This can be kept warm in a warm water bath (by pouring into glass measuring cup and sit that into a bowl of warm water).

  These were so wonderful I can not wait to try the Sage Butter Sauce on the Parmesan Crusted Chicken. My DH told me I could make this recipe once a month. He absolutely loved these and said "they were without a doubt the BSET pork chops he has ever had". He who usually never covers anything with gravy, not even his rice or potatoes. I almost hit the floor when he poured the sauce over his chops! We had ours with Jasmine rice (no that is not plain old white rice) and beautiful Broccoli tops. I will keep this recipe close by. If you have any other ideas for using this sauce, please let me know.

  Oh yea, and now I have no idea again, as to how am I going to follow up a delicious meal like this. I have pulled out cube steaks to thaw, but I don't see those as being as spectacular.

Michael and Carla