Walker's Wood Shrimp...more from my Hop's Favorites

  This will be my final post on my Hop's Restaurant favorites. Looking over them, it really is too difficult to pick a favorite out of the three. Michael did some searching and found the secret spice blend for  Walker's Wood Spice Mix , which has been conveniently left out of the previously posted recipes for Walker's Wood Shrimp like Hop's .

Assemble your ingredients. The sauce comes together quickly.

Over medium high heat, combine wine, lemon juice, sugar, pepper, salt, thyme, and jerk seasoning.

Bring to a boil and reduce by half.

Reduce heat to medium, add cream and cook, stirring until thickened.

Remove pan from heat and slowly whisk in butter until melted.

Cover pan and set aside. Lightly coat shrimp with garlic pepper salt.

Saute shrimp in a small amount of olive oil over medium high heat until pink.

Or you may grill your shrimp.

Do not overcook shrimp. Toss shrimp in sauce. To serve, toast your choice of a small loaf of bread.

Place shrimp along 1/2 slice of toasted bread with the tails up and drizzle with Walker's Wood Sauce. Place small ramekin on plate and fill with additional sauce for dunking.

This recipe can be served as an appetizer or an entree. The spice "heat" can be adjusted by the amount of the Jamaican Spice Mix you add to the recipe. It makes a great lunch accompanied by a salad.  It is certainly one that I could eat everyday. Try this, and I guarantee you too will never tire of it.

Walker's Wood Shrimp

Courtesy Recipe Secrets

Corrected by Michael Callahan

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Walker's Wood Traditional Jamaican Seasoning

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch dried thyme
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup real butter – sliced, room temperature
1 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp, #20-25's
garlic pepper salt blend – as needed
olive oil OR vegetable oil – as needed

Directions

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine wine, lemon juice, sugar, pepper, salt, and thyme. Bring to a boil and reduce by half.
Reduce heat to medium, add cream to pan, and cook, stirring often, until thick.
Remove pan from heat and slowly whisk in butter until melted.
Cover pan, set aside, and keep warm.
Lightly coat shrimp with garlic pepper salt.
Sauté shrimp in a small amount of olive oil a skillet over medium-high heat until pink. Do not overcook.
Pour prepared sauce over shrimp.







Michael and Carla

Jamaican Brewmaster Steaks...and Another Hop's Favorite

  I have professed our (my) love of certain restaurant favorites that we can no longer indulge in because a) they've either closed up shop, or b) they are not found here in the Carolina's. So we are reliving them through Michael's recreations.

  Last week I had the good fortune of Michael making 3 of my favorites from Hop's Restaurant , first was the Seared Ahi Tuna, next was this delicious Jamaican Brewmaster Steak , and lastly was the Walker's Wood Shrimp and Salmon (which I'll post next).

  Let me tell you that this recipe is a fail-proof melt in your mouth marinade for top sirloin steaks. The most dificult part of the recipe you ask? Waiting for 3 days for it to marinate!

So these are your 8 ingredients. See below.

Whisk together ingredients for the marinade. Place top sirloins into ziplock bag and cover with the marinade. Set into the refrigerator and flip and massage steaks periodically for the next 3 days. These must be cooked by the third day, however they should definately be marinaded for the 3 full days for the best flavor. You can increase the amounts of the marinade and save some in a seperate container to brush steaks with while grilling or to serve on the side for dipping.

Remove steaks from the marinade and discard the marinade liquid.

Grill to your desired doneness.

My mouth is now watering all over again. You get a bite of the flavor of each and every ingredient in the marinade. The pineapple, ginger, soy, they all pair beautifully with each other. This steak will definately melt in your mouth like butter.

Jamaican Brewmaster Steak

Recipe courtesy Chef Rick Brames of Hops Restaurant

Jamaican Marinade Recipe

46 oz. pineapple juice
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups soy sauce
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup cider vinegar
1 tabelspoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated


Day 1: Select or have your butcher hand cut 4-12 oz. top sirloin steaks.
Place 4 cups of well-stirred marinade into a container. (Marinade must be at a temperature of 34 to 40 degrees before adding steaks. This will prohibit bacteria growth and possible food borne illnesses.)
Note: Pour marinade into container first before adding steaks so steaks can float throughout marinade. Drop 4 top sirloin steaks into marinade.

Day 2: Take lid off steaks and stir very well with gloved hands from bottom to top.

Day 3: Take lid off steaks and stir very well with gloved hands from bottom to top.

Day 4 & 5: Steaks are finished marinating. Steaks must marinate a minimum of 72 hours before being used. Keep steaks in its original container and marinate until you are ready to grill.

Day 6: Steaks must be used this day. Discard after this day. (Shelf life: 5 days marinated.)



Brush gill with oil swab.
Place steak on scrubbed/cleaned/oiled grill flat grates.
Cook steak half-way to desired doneness, flip and finish cooking.
Place steak on dinner plate, hot side up.
Brush with steak butter.
Sprinkle with parsley.

Put aside extra UNUSED marinade to be used as a dipping sauce during presentation. Do NOT use marinade that marinated the meat.
Serves 4

Michael and Carla

Seared Ahi Tuna - A Hop's Restaurant Favorite

   I would have to say that I have never been to a restaurant where I liked so many of their dishes.  Walker's Wood Shrimp, Jamaican Brewmaster Chicken or Steak, Pork Chops Marsala, Thai Chicken Salad and this Seared Ahi Tuna are but a few of our favorites. Check out Hop's Menu's and Hops Online for more information and inspiration.

  When Michael worked at Hop's years ago, I would go in for lunch or dinner often and he would spoil me.  He is often requested by me to reproduce at home, many of the dishes from the various restaurants he has worked at over the years.

  This is a favorite of ours, blackened, seasoned and seared ahi tuna topped with szechuan sauce. It is very quick and simple, served on top of an asian style cole slaw, accompanied by wasabi sauce, pickled ginger and a soy dipping sauce. You only need make certain that you use a ahi/sushi grade tuna as explained here by  Beyond Salmon  , with her permission.

Spray tuna with non stick cooking spray and then coat with blackening spice.

In very hot cast iron skillet or grill pan,

sear tuna on both sides. This should

only take about 2 minutes.

Drizzle with szechuan sauce.

The tuna should still be pink in the middle.

This is not a fish that you want cooked

well done.

Ingredients

Tuna Steaks

2  8 ounce ahi tuna steaks

non stick cooking spray, preferred Pam with Canola

blackening spice to coat

szechuan sauce for topping

Asian Cole Slaw

bagged cole slaw mix

sesame ginger dressing, preferred Paul Newman's

Wasabi Cream Sauce

1 tablespoon wasabi powder

1 tablespoon water

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

Soy Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons hot chili sauce, preferred Sriracha

2 scallions, minced

Garnishes

pickled ginger

wasabi cream sauce

soy dipping sauce

Directions

Tuna Steaks

Lightly coat tuna with a non stick cooking spray. Sprinkle (dust) blackening spice over both sides of tuna. Heat an iron skillet (preferred) or a grill pan over high heat. When smoking hot, sear tuna on first side until you can see the bottom starting to turn white. Flip and repeat on the other side, cooking approximately 2 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of steaks. Remove from skillet to cutting board and drizzle with szechuan sauce. Slice into thin strips.

Cole Slaw

In a large bowl, mix bagged cole slaw mix with a drizzle of sesame ginger dressing. Toss to coat.

Wasabi Cream Sauce

Stir wasabi powder and water together. Let sit for a minute for powder to absorb water and turn to a paste.  In a small bowl stir sour cream, mayonnaise and wasabi paste together to combine.

Soy Dipping Sauce

In a small bowl combine all ingredients together.

Serve with sliced pickled ginger, wasabi cream sauce and soy dipping sauce.

Serves 2.

Note: Cole slaw, wasabi cream sauce and soy dipping sauce should all be made before starting the tuna. Keep cole slaw and wasabi cream sauce in refrigerator. Soy dipping sauce can sit at room temperature.

This dish is very light. We added a bit of Kim Chee on the side as well. I could have this every other day for lunch if Michael would be so obliged. I don't think I could persuade him though.

Michael and Carla

St. Patrick's Day Dinner...is always Corned Beef and Cabbage for us.

  We are sticklers for tradition. So with that being said I make this every year on St. Patrick's Day. One - because it is a tradition for us and Two - because it is the one time a year I can get Michael to have it. Don't ask me why. He has a few favorites that he will only eat once, and sometimes, MAYBE, twice a year. 

  Some years this dish has turned out wonderful and other's terrible. Not that its been terrible in the taste department, just not tender and juicy. I usually just throw the corned beef into a pot of water with the seasoning packet that it comes with and let it cook away, adding the vegetables towards the end (obviously). This year I decided to search the web. This, is what I found. Corned Beef and Cabbage as explained by Wikipedia is also known as New England Boiled Dinner also explained by Wikipedia  , which I already knew. So I decided to try a search for "Traditional Irish recipes" and I came across this recipe from  IrishAbroad for Corned Beef and Cabbage. I was intrigued by the addition of cloves, bay leaves, garlic and more black peppercorns. I thought everything you needed was already in that little packet. Was I wrong. I followed the recipe to the tee. When it was time to eat, I received a resounding "I think this is the best Corned Beef I have ever had", from the man who is not a big fan of it. It really was fabulous. Great flavor, a boost from the addition of more seasoning I'm sure. I don't know what I could have been doing wrong in the past to make the meat tough. Maybe I was letting the boil go too long? Or maybe it was just the brand or cut of meat. I'd like to think the later, haha.

  I am going to have to try the Beef and Guinness recipes down the road. I have been wanting to try the pie, casserole and stew versions. However, Michael is a traditionalist when it comes to any holiday. I have seen many posts on these and will definately be trying them soon.

  In any event, if you have ever had a questionable Corned Beef experience, or maybe you're just not a fan, I think you should give this one a try. I will make this again using a smaller cut , without all of the vegetables just to use for sandwiches. You will truly love it, I am sure of that.

I didn't think we needed step by step pictures as this is simply a

 boil and simmer dish.

The pictures speak for themselves I think.

Oh, and by the way, can you guess what I am having for lunch? I can tell you it will be on seedless rye bread.

Michael and Carla

Jacket Potatoes with Bacon, Mushroom and Peppercorn Sauce

  I have to start out by telling you that even though we seem to eat a varied diet, we are set in our old stand bys in some areas. Notice the steamed broccoli in many of our pictures? Mike is set on his few choices of vegetables that he will eat. Most definately no brussels sprouts or okra, ever! Only sometimes (once in a blue moon, and you know how often that is) will he have yellow squash, zucchini or eggplant, those of which have to be cooked casserole style and smothered in cheese for him to eat. I on the other hand will eat any vegetables, even if only served with a little salt, pepper and butter. I too have become stuck though, stuck in my choice of baked potato toppings. Never varying from the same old choices of butter, sour cream, salt and pepper, shredded cheese, bacon and green onions. I have never been sure if I could eat a baked potato that was not fully loaded. Well all that has changed thanks to this recipe from Paula Deen . I am in love with the idea of trying new toppings for my taters now.

  This sauce takes only 15 minutes to assemble, much less time than it will take your potato to cook. The logest time you'll spend for this recipe, aside from waiting on the potato to bake is slicing your mushrooms if you didn't buy them already sliced ; ) !

Simple ingredients.

Comes together in a flash.

Ingredients

4 medium-sized russet or other baking potatoes, well scrubbed

12 ounces bacon, chopped
8 ounces sliced button mushrooms
1/4 cup brandy
1 tablespoon green peppercorns, drenched in cold water-I used my three color grinder instead set for large grind
1 cup cream
Salt and pepper
Butter, for topping
 
 
 
Directions
 
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Scrub potatoes and bake in your prefered method until soft, about 1 hour.

Saute bacon, add button mushrooms and cook until golden brown. Pour brandy first into a measuring cup (for safety) and then into the pan and carefully ignite with a long match. After the alcohol burns off and the flame has died, stir in the peppercorns. Stir in the cream and heat through, without boiling. Salt and pepper, to taste.
Cut open baked potatoes. Top each with a spoonful of butter, then cover generously with sauce


  The reviews are varied. Some say she used cornstarch to thicken and added chives. I didn't think it really needed the cornstarch (and I am not a big fan either, although next time I might try thickening with my potato starch) and I didn't have any fresh chives on hand. None the less I was sold!





  Also, a little tidbit. Drumroll please! I have mastered the art of grilling on our new gas grill thank you very much Mr. Michael. That is a steak that was cooked by yours truly. Although I do have to use our digital themometer if you don't eat your steak medium rare or for meats other than steaks, at least until I get a feel for textures. Still, I am very proud of myself as I have been intimidated by the gas grill in the past. And yes, just in case you wanted to know, I am also intimidated by the pressure cooker! Baby steps folks, one step at a time.

Michael and Carla

Breakfast Phyllo Cups and Jury Duty, AAGGHH

  Well, in waking up this morning remembering the fact that I had been summoned for jury duty for this Monday, I figured I was not going to have enough time to cook our usual breakfast. Which for us usually consists of eggs over easy on toast with bacon or sausages. So lately I have been seeing alot of phyllo cup recipes on the cooking shows that I watch each week and knowing I had some stashed in the freezer decided to embark on a breakfast version. Am I glad I did. These can be frozen and reheated in the toaster oven for a quick on the go breakfast. Which I am going to need in the morning since I am unaccustomed to being out the door at the crack of dawn lately.

Assemble your ingredients and layer 6 sheets of phyllo dough with a spritz of canola cooking spray in between each layer. The next time I make these I will use the melted butter method instead of the cooking oil spray (I saw Sandra Lee use the cooking oil spray and Giada used the butter method).

Form cups by creating 6 squares from the phyllo dough and push into 6 of the muffin tins. Bake as directed on the package.

In the meantime, while your phyllo is baking, brown some breakfast sausage in a skillet. Set aside.

Fill the baked phyllo cups by layering the sausage and or smokod salmon, green onion and cheese.

Next, add your scambled egg mixture to the cups. Bake at 350 degrees until eggs set and cheese melts.

              

Salmon and Feta

Sausage and Cheddar

                                     

Breakfast for the week. Lets just hope I don't have to be juror on a high profile case ; D .

This is definately a make again recipe. It can be made with a large variety of ingredients to suit your individual taste. They can be frozen and simply warmed through in the oven or a toaster oven for a quick and ready to go breakfast.

Ingredients

6 sheets phyllo dough
butter or cooking spray
6 eggs
2 green onions, sliced thinly
1/2 cup feta cheese
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup ground sausage
3 slices smoked salmon
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt
pepper


Directions

Layer phyllo dough by laying out 1 sheet at a time and spraying each sheet with cooking spray in between each layer. Cut in half lengthwise and then cut each half into thirds. Mold into 6 large muffin tins. Bake for approximately 15 minuted or until golden brown. Set aside. Slice green onions. Set aside.

Brown sausage. set aside. Scramble eggs with the heavy crean, cayenne, salt and pepper. Layer 3 of the cups with the sausage and 3 with the smoked salmon. Top with the green onion and the cheeses. Feta for the salmon and cheddar for the sausage. Pour the egg mixture over the top to fill cups and top with more of the cheeses. Bake again for approximately 20-25 minutes or until the eggs have set.

Makes 6 servings.

Michael and Carla

Homemade Pizza...From the Bottom Up

  Okay, so we were in the mood for pizza. A really good pizza. In this city we do not have a "GOOD" Pizza Restaurant. Nope, we haven't found one yet. Sooo, Michael decided he was going to make one. Yes, from scratch. Hey there's a first time for everything. He's done fettuccine from scratch, but never pizza. Can I just tell you it was so "GOOD", that I never want another cardboard pizza again. He has truly turned me off of pizza in the box. He found a recipe he liked for Jamie Oliver's Pizza Dough and figured he'd give it a try. It sure sounded simple enough and you know what? It was and here's how he did it.

Assemble your ingredients.

Sift your flours and salt together

and make a well in the middle. In a large measuring cup, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and let it sit for a few minutes.

Then pour it into the well. Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. Keep mixing and when it starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean, flour dusted hands (and yes, this is the "messy" part of it).

Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough. Place the ball of dough in a large flour dusted bowl and flour the top of it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set in a warm room for about an hour until it doubles in size. When your hour is up remove the dough and knead it again (punching the dough down) to push the air out.

Rested and ready to shape.

We divided the dough into two pieces and wrapped one and stuck it in the freezer to use another time.

Press out to your desired shape. We made a standard round as we have a pizza stone and didn't need to use a sheet pan to cook it in.

Add your desired toppings.

Perfecto!

Pizza Dough

Excerpted from Jamie at Home

from Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

7 cups strong white bread flour or Tipo "00" flour or 5 cups strong white bread flour or Tipo "00" flour, plus 2 cups finely ground semolina flour
1 level tablespoon fine sea salt
2 (1/4-ounce) packets active dried yeast
1 tablespoon raw sugar
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 cups lukewarm water

Sift the flours and salt onto a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a large measuring cup, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. Using a fork, bring the flour in gradually from the sides and swirl it into the liquid. Keep mixing, drawing larger amounts of flour in, and when it all starts to come together, work the rest of the flour in with your clean, flour-dusted hands. Knead until you have a smooth, springy dough.

Place the ball of dough in a large flour-dusted bowl and flour the top of it. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and place in a warm room for about 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Now remove the dough to a flour-dusted surface and knead it around a bit to push the air out with your hands - this is called punching down the dough. You can either use it immediately, or keep it, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the fridge (or freezer) until required. If using straightaway, divide the dough up into as many little balls as you want to make pizzas - this amount of dough is enough to make about six to eight medium pizzas.

Timing-wise, it's a good idea to roll the pizzas out about 15 to 20 minutes before you want to cook them. Don't roll them out and leave them hanging around for a few hours, though - if you are working in advance like this it's better to leave your dough, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator. However, if you want to get them rolled out so there's 1 less thing to do when your guests are round, simply roll the dough out into rough circles, about 1/4-inch thick, and place them on slightly larger pieces of olive-oil-rubbed and flour-dusted aluminum foil. You can then stack the pizzas, cover them with plastic wrap, and pop them into the refrigerator.

This recipe was cut in half to make two large pizzas.


Toppings
1/3 cup Colavita Garden Style Sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces cooked italian sausage, casing removed
4 ounces cooked chorizo, casing removed
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach
1/3 cup button mushrooms, sliced
20 slices pepperoni
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded


Assemble your toppings onto the dough and bake for 10 - 15 minutes, in a 450 degree preheated oven.





By keeping this ready made dough in the freezer, we will never order another lousy take out pizza again. The taste was over the top delicious. The most time spent is letting the dough rest for the hour at which point you can be browning off the sausage and chorizo. Or if you choose other toppings that do not require cooking beforehand, you can browse around your favorite foodie blog posts, or whatever you choose to do in that time. So if you are looking for an easy dough for pizza and calzones this is one for you to try. I know we will be making this often and keeping it on hand from now on.
Michael and Carla