Archive for the 'Recipes' Category
January 21st, 2009
One of my favorite new shows is Ted Allen?s Chopped, which debuted last week. I think it is really interesting to watch what different chefs can do with the same ingredients.
On the first episode, in the appetizer round, one of the ingredients that the inspiring chefs had to use in the dish was octopus. This is a very difficult ingredient to cook. I have been cooking octopus for a few years now because my husband loves cold Italian seafood salad. I am going to offer my tips for dealing with this unusual ingredient.
I typically boil the octopus for about 20-25 minutes. Then, I like to cut off all of the tentacles and purple skin because it is rather tough. On Chopped, the octopus looked smaller than the pieces I normally use for my recipe. So, just make sure to boil it until it is tender if you buy larger pieces. When making the seafood salad, however, I find that the octopus holds the flavor of the marinade better and becomes more tender without the purple skin.
My cold Italian seafood recipe is as follows:
pound octopus cut into pieces
pound shrimp
pound calamari
3 celery stalks
Juice of 2 lemons
Olive oil
1 tbsp. black peppercorns
5 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley
Fill a pot with water and add salt, peppercorns, 3 garlic cloves, and celery. Bring to a boil.
When water is boiling, add shrimp. Boil for about 3 minutes. Remove shrimp and put into a large bowl to cool.
Add calamari and boil for about 3-4 minutes. Remove and add to the bowl with the shrimp.
Last, add the octopus and boil for 20-25 minutes until tender. Remove and clean the purple outer later and tentacles as described above. Add to the bowl with the rest of the seafood.
Next I like to drain the water and remove the celery because I like to add it to the seafood salad.
Once the seafood has cooled, add juicy of 2 lemons, cup olive oil, salt and chopped fresh parsley.
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours, preferably 24 hours. The longer the better.
This salad is really delicious and healthy. This is may favorite way to make it, but there are many different versions and you can add any seafood that you like and any other herbs you like.
Enjoy!
June 19th, 2008
This is my recipe for Cashew Shrimp and Vegetable Pad Thai.
1 tbsp. Peanut butter
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp. rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp. soy sauce
? medium onion, chopped
1 tsp. garlic, finely chopped
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
? cup cashew nuts, chopped
? cup frozen peas, thawed
? cup broccoli
1 lb. shrimp
1 lb. angel hair pasta
1 tsp. sesame oil
Mix 1 tbsp. of peanut oil with the peanut butter, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce in a bowl until well blended and set aside.
Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta.
Heat the remaining tablespoon of peanut oil in a wok or large saute pan. Add the onions, garlic and ginger. Saute about 3 minutes until soft and fragrant.
While onions, garlic and ginger are cooking, bring the water to a boil for the pasta.
Then, add the broccoli and peas and cook for about 3-4 minutes. The add the shrimp and cook about the whole mixture for about 5 minutes or until shrimp is opaque.
When water comes to a boil, add some salt and then the pasta. Cook until al dente.
At this point, when I add the shrimp, I add a little more soy sauce. When shrimp is cooked, drain noodles and add to the wok. Take the wok off the heat and pour prepared sauce over the hot noodles and toss until thoroughly mixed. Then add the sesame oil over the top, along with the cashew nuts and it is ready to eat!
My tips: I use angel hair pasta, but you can use Chinese rice noodles if you like. Whatever type of thin noodle you have on hand would work well. I love the smell and flavor of fresh ginger, but if you do not have this at home, you can use a teaspoon of jarred ginger. But, I think it is worth it to buy fresh ginger. You can buy a large gingerroot and freeze what you do not use. It will keep in the freezer forever, so you can use it whenever you need it.
This is a great dish to use any veggies that you have left over. It can also be made with chicken or meat.
This is a delicious and healthy meal that is very easy to make. It is much better than take-out so enjoying!
April 6th, 2008
This past weekend, I made fresh pasta. It is the first time I have used the Imperia pasta machine that I bought at Williams Sonoma several months ago. It is not electric; it is the real Italian-grandmother-hand-crank machine!
I used a basic pasta dough recipe:
3 ½ cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading
5 Large eggs
I mixed the egg yolks and flour together on the kitchen counter (I did not use a bowl, I was really trying to be authentic here) It did take me two attempts to actually mix the eggs and flour together on the counter. The first time, I forgot to beat the eggs before pouring them into the center of the flour. They were impossible to mix and spilled out over the flour all over the counter and onto the floor. The second time, I mixed the eggs in a bowl and then poured them into the middle of the flour mixture and gradually worked the eggs into the flour with a fork. Slowly, the dough came together.
After kneading it and letting it rest, (yes, you could use a mixer, but I was doing it the old-fashioned way), I started to put the dough through the pasta machine. I have to be honest: it was hard work! You have to roll it through the machine numerous times to get the right texture. After a few batches, I got the feel for when it was ready to be cut into shape. (Just follow the directions included with the pasta machine on how many times to roll the dough and at what setting.)
I made fettuccine and it is important to flour each piece as it comes out of the past machine. The hardest part was to prevent the pasta from sticking together. After cutting it into fettuccini, I let it rest on a floured baking sheet for a few minutes before cooking.
The pasta itself only needs to cook for a few minutes. Make sure you do not overcook it. After all the hard work, the pasta must be cooked perfectly. I made a simple marinara sauce because I really wanted to taste the pasta. Was it worth the time and effort? Definitely. The pasta was delicious! It had a completely different texture and taste than dried pasta. Would I do it every week?……. No. It is very time consuming, but if you love Italian food, like I do, this is a special meal that I would highly recommend.
July 8th, 2007
Last night I made a delicious zuppa di pesce. My inspiration came from a recipe in the Rao’s cookbook. (Even though I grew up in NJ, I have never been to the restaurant in New York. It is next to impossible to get a reservation because there are only ten tables, so I have to make their recipes myself!) Rao’s is also now open in Caesar’s Palace Las Vegas.
¼ cup olive oil
5 or 6 garlic cloves
½ cup diced onion
½ cup white wine
1 cup clam juice or fish stock
2 (28oz cans) imported Italian plum tomatoes (crush tomatoes by hand and reserve the juice)
½ tsp dried oregano
5 or 6 fresh bail leaves
1 pound spaghetti
3 dozen clams
1 pound shrimp
1 pound scallops
Salt and pepper
I usually add a pound of mussels but my local italian market only had very large mussels and I prefer the smaller size.
Also, I like to put my zuppa di pesce over pasta, but most recipes leave it, as the name suggests, as a fish soup.
Heat olive oil in the large sauce pot and add the garlic and onions. Add white wine, clam juice, clams, shrimp, scallops (and mussels, if using) to the pot. Cook until mussels and clams open and then remove all seafood and set aside. Be sure to discard any that do not open.
Add the crushed tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, bring salted water to a boil for the pasta. Make sure to cook the spaghetti al dente.
Return the seafood to the sauce and heat through. Add the oregano and basil.
Drain spaghetti and put into a large serving bowl. Pour sauce over the top and serve with a loaf of crusty Italian bread.
The best thing about zuppa di pesce is that you can really make it your own recipe. You can add any seafood that you like and you can use different herbs in the sauce that you prefer. I hope this inspires someone to go off their diet and cook! Buon Appetito!
June 13th, 2007
Tonight I made a great vegetarian recipe that I have to share. I am not a vegetarian, but my husband loves beef tacos and I make this veggie and bean quesadilla when I do not feel like eating meat.
I use a can of mixed sweet corn and bell pepper. I usually do not like canned veggies, but this blend is delicious. It is all natural and does not have a lot of sodium. I put this in a sauce pot and add a can of black beans. I heat this up over medium-low heat for about 10 mins. Then add the juice of ½ lime.
While this mixture is heating up, I pre-heat an indoor grill on the stovetop. Then I take 4 whole wheat tortillas (you can use white flour if you like.)
Put tortilla on a flat work surface and put about 2 tbs. of Monterrey Jack cheese, then 2-3 tbs. of the corn/bean mixture. On top of that, add 2 tbs. Colby cheese.
Then brush top with olive oil and put the oiled side on the grill. Remember to then oil the other side before flipping.
Do the same with the rest of the tortillas.
This is a great recipe for entertaining or for a quick and healthy lunch. I often make more of the corn/beam mixture and the next day put it over salad for lunch.
Garnish with sour cream, cilantro and guacamole. Enjoy!
June 7th, 2007
I made this delicious pizza for dinner and I have to share the receipe. I created this by using the ingredients of one of my favorite appetizers at an Italian restuarant my husband and I frequent.
Pizza dough
1 ball fresh smoked mozzarella cheese
2 tbs heavy cream
1/2 cup sundried tomatoes in oilve oil
1/2 cup sliced and sauteed portobello mushrooms
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
handful of fresh basil
Preheat oven to 450 D. Start with a good home made pizza dough (or you can buy dough from a local pizzaria). This is a white pizza so spread about 2 tbs of heavy cream on the dough. Then add the fresh ground pepper and dried oregano to taste. On top of that place slices of the fresh smoked mozzarella cheese and then add the sundried tomatoes and sauteed portobello mushrooms. I like to add some fresh basil on top and then bake 15-20 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and crust is nice and brown. You can use any mushrooms you like but make sure you use smoked mozzarella. The combination of the sundried tomatoes with the mushrooms with the smoky flavor of the cheese is absolutly delicious!
This is a great receipe that can turn a regular pizza into a gourmet meal. It is easy to make and looks elegant enough for a dinner party. Try it and enjoy!
