julienned-veggie-stir-fry and wasabi-mashed-potatoes

hello fellow foodies,

i hope you all had a great weekend full of delicious foods, i certainly did.  friday night we had tapas at forte including bacon wrapped chorizo stuffed dates, shrimp cocktail, pizza, crab cakes and the mediterranean tapas- i enjoyed everything except the pizza which had roasted pork on it that somehow acquired a gamey taste.  saturday i was pleasantly surprised by the succulent burger with grilled onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard that i had at five guys and sunday we dined at zingermans- my food mecca (i acquired some tasty peppercorn cow’s milk cheese that i plan on incorporating into a recipe this week-stay tuned) and slow’s bbq-some of the best pulled pork and mac n’ cheese i’ve ever had. 

i had full intentions of posting a mahi mahi recipe for you today that i’ve been working on and made saturday night, but it still is not blog-worthy so i shall continue working on it and will post later.  to hold you over, i have posted recipes for the 2 sides that i served with the mahi- enjoy.

julienned veggie stir fry

 serves 4 as a side or 2 as an entree

ingredients:

1 carrot

1 zuchini

1 yellow onion

1 yellow pepper

ginger

garlic

sesame oil

salt

pepper

cayenne pepper

chili powder

directions:

julienne the carrot, zucchini, yellow onion and yellow pepper and set aside, then mince about 1 tablespoon of ginger and mix with 2 cloves of minced garlic. in a medium fry pan, heat 2 teaspoons of sesame oil and then add the minced garlic and ginger and sauté over medium for 2-3 minutes.  then add the julienned vegetables and toss to coat in the oil and ginger/garlic mix, cook over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes and season with salt, pepper and a pinch of cayenne pepper and chili powder.  you could easily add tofu, shrimp or chicken to this dish and serve it as a main entree. i used it as a bed for my mahi.

wasabi mashed potatoes

serves 4

ingredients:  

3 pounds of yukon gold potatoes peeled

1.5 sticks of butter

¼ - ½ cup of milk

1-2 tablespoons wasabi powder

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

directions:

peel and quarter the potatoes and place them in a pot of boiling water with a pinch of salt, heat until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes.  then, mash with the butter and wasabi powder- add 1 tablespoon of wasabi powder at a time and then test for the level of spiciness that you desire, then slowly add the milk and be cautions not to over-liquify the potatoes.  then add 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. 

p.s- it’s restaurant week in birmingham this week- so it’s quite possible that i may be spending more time out acquiring inspiration than in the kitchen:)

vodka-cream-pasta and baby-greens with lemon-dijon-dressing and goat-cheese-cakes

  

vodka-cream-pasta and baby-greens with lemon-dijon-dressing and warm-goat-cheese cakes

so i got home a bit late last night and decided to make one of my favorite go-to meals, vodka cream pasta- i have tried several variations of this meal and racheal ray’s recipe is still my all time favorite, the only deviation i make is a reduction in the heavy whipping cream, i use 1/3 cup instead of ½ cup. i’ve also found that the brand of crushed tomatoes used can make a huge difference in taste- i only use dei fratelli’s.  when i first made this recipe 3 years ago, i followed it exactly and found out that i did not wait long enough to reduce the vodka by half and ended up with some very alcoholic pasta sauce, luckily i gave it another chance and have been enjoying it ever since…

i usually serve this meal with my bruschetta or a salad and i went with salad last night with my all time favorite - fried goat cheese cakes. i first tried goat cheese cakes in hawaii and i craved it for about a year before trying to replicate it – which i found was actually quite easy to do.  i posted my recipe for the salad dressing and goat cheese cake below- enjoy!

lemon-dijon-dressing:

ingredients:

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

5 tablespoons EVOO

1 shallot, minced

salt/pepper to taste

juice of half of one lemon

directions:

first mince the shallot and place in a bowl, then mix with the juice of ½- ¾ of the lemon, 5 tablespoons of EVOO and add salt and pepper to taste, i probably use about a teaspoon of each.  toss the dressing with baby greens immediately before serving.

goat cheese cakes:

ingredients:

1 goat cheese log

2 cups panko

1 egg white

EVOO

directions:

first slice the goat cheese log into 1/8 inch sections using dental floss (it doesn’t matter if all you have is flavored floss- fortunately it doesn’t usually flavor the goat cheese). then whip the egg white in a bowl and place the panko in a separate bowl, dip the goat cheese slices first in the egg white and then in the panko making sure to coat all sides of the goat cheese in the panko. then, put on a plate and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you are ready for dinner.

once you are ready to prepare your salad, heat a small frying pan over medium/high heat with enough EVOO to fully cover the bottom of the pan.  once the oil is hot enough, slowly add the goat cheese cakes using a spatula (the oil will be hot enough when it causes water to splatter when added to it- be cautious if trying this as it can splatter a lot and could  burn you). fry the cakes until the outer edges look light brown, this usually takes about 1-2 minutes and then flip and toast the other side, about 1 minute before removing and placing on top of an already-dressed salad.  serve warm. 

artichoke-mushroom-asparagus risotto

artichoke-mushroom-asparagus risotto

risotto is one of my favorite foods and works well as a main course or a side dish. it has a very creamy texture but the parmiggiano reggiano offers a subtle sharpness in each bite. when using as a side dish i often serve it with chicken picatta or fish with a mustard sauce, but you can really serve it with anything your heart desires.  

serves 2 as a main course or 4 if used as a side dish

ingredients:

1 cup arborio rice

1 shallot

½ cup chardonnay

3 cups chicken stock

6 mushrooms

14 asparagus stems

14 oz can artichokes

1 ½  tbsp butter

¼  cup grated parmigiano reggiano

shaved parmigiano reggiano

4 thin slices proscuitto

salt

pepper

EVOO

directions:

preheat the oven to 450 F and place the proscuitto on a foil lined baking sheet. drizzle the proscuitto with olive oil and bake for 4- 6 minutes or until the proscuitto gets crispy (i learned this trick form giada), turn the oven down to 400 after you remove the proscuitto and let the proscuitto sit while preparing the risotto.  cut the asparagus on a diagonal into one inch pieces and clean the mushrooms with a damp towel and then cut each mushroom into 4 pieces and remove the stems. place the vegetables on a foiled lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, bake until the mushrooms turn a light brown from roasting, about 15 minutes.

next, heat the chicken stock in a pan over medium high heat.  in a separate pan, heat ½  tablespoon butter and 1 swirl of  EVOO over medium heat , once melted sauté  the chopped shallot for 3-5 minutes. then toast the arborio rice with the chopped shallot for 2 minutes before adding the chardonnay. once the chardonnay has been added, turn the heat up a little past medium and stir constantly as the arborio absorbs the chardonnay. once fully absorbed add ½ cup of chicken stock at a time to the arborio continuing to stir constantly and replenishing with another ½ cup once the stock has been absorbed, continue to do this until you have used all the stock and the risotto is fully cooked, about 30 minutes.  once you are down to about your last 1 ½ cups of chicken stock, warm the drained artichokes in a separate shallow pan over medium to low heat.

once the stock is used up and the risotto is fully cooked, turn the heat down to low and add 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/4 cup of grated parmigiano reggiano and salt and pepper to taste (keep in mind both the proscuittio and parmigiano will add salt to the dish). then carefully stir in the mushrooms, drained artichoke hearts and asparagus stems to the dish. top with the proscuitto and shaved parmesan.

 

cioppino

cioppino:

cioppino is a fish stew that originated in san francisco and was created by the italian- american fisherman.  cioppino originates from the phrase “chip- in” as the stew was originally made from combining all the fish that were “chipped-in” to one stewing pot for all to share.   you can use whatever fish you like for the stew but i decided to use scallops, shrimp, and littleneck clams.  the recipe is below:

cioppino:

(*serves 4 or 2 if your husband enjoys 3 bowls)

ingredients:

6 peeled and deveined shrimp (tails intact)

6 scallops

6 littleneck clams

1 ¾  cups of fish stock

½ cup of a dry chardonnay

.00425 oz crushed saffron threads

2-3 large shallots

3 cloves garlic chopped

½  fennel bulb thinly sliced

dash of tabasco

28 oz dei fratelli chopped italian tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

pinch onion powder

2 bay leaves

fresh parsley

directions:

first scrub the clams and place in a bowl with cold water and two pinches of salt, let sit while preparing the stew.  in a large dutch oven, swirl EVOO twice around the pan and heat over medium.  add the chopped shallots and fennel to the dutch oven and sauté until translucent (7-8 minutes). then, add the chopped garlic cloves, saffron, salt and pepper and sauté for 3-5 more minutes being cautious not to be burn the garlic (adjust the heat if necessary).  then, pour ½ of the chopped tomatoes into the pan and puree the other half in a food processor before adding to the pan.  add the fish stock, chardonnay, the bay leaves, 2 shakes of tabasco, one pinch of onion powder and salt and pepper to taste and bring the pot to a boil.  then, add the clams and cover the pot until the clams have started to open (about 5 -7 minutes).  then add the scallops and shrimp and continue heating for 5 minutes until the shrimp and scallops are fully cooked (the shrimp will turn pink) and the clams will fully open. once plated, sprinkle each bowl with chopped fresh parsley.   serve with a sourdough crostini (recipe listed below)

sourdough crostini

serves 4

 

ingredients:

4 slices sourdough bread

5 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon italian seasoning

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

directions:

first pre-heat the oven to 415 degrees and cut the slices of bread in half.  drizzle the bread with some EVOO and then rub it with the garlic clove. toast until just brown on the outsides, about 10 minutes.  while the bread is toasting, mix 2 tablespoons EVOO with a pinch of italian seasoning and 3 chopped cloves of garlic.  after the edges are slightly browned, flip the slices of toast over and top with the garlic/EVOO mix and return to the oven for 3 minutes. serve with cioppino.