Weave a Thousand Flavors

Low Country Shrimp Boil with Spicy Dipping Sauce

What does summer remind your off?

For me, it's about cold suppers, salads, flip flops, ice cream, rolling in the ocean, damp towels and ofcourse the quintessential shimp boil.

Now mind you, this could be a crab boil if you wished but I simply don't have the patience for shelling itty bitty crabs any longer. Snow crab legs, no problem but working for 2 hours to get half a cup of meat?

Thanks but no thanks!

An hence the shrimp boil. A week at the beach just wouldn't be the same with0ut this lovely.  Spread the newspapers on the table on the deck, cold beer, bowls of melted butter and the spicy dipping sauce and we're golden. Just in case you're wondering the term 'low country' refers to regions of Southern US which are low-lying sea lands such as South Carolina.

The simplicity of this dish is astounding but also what makes it a staple. No endless slaving over a hot stove and at the end of the day, a delicious meal thats meant for sharing. Here's family style dining at it's best.

And don't miss the spicy dipping sauce - though it isn't traditional and something I threw together, you're not going to want to give this one a miss.

Let's do this!

Cod & Chickpea Salad from Portugal

First off let me begin by explaining that I have taken a huge liberty with this recipe.

NO. SALTED. COD.

Before you proceed to bite my head off let me be clear that is because of my utmost love for bacalao that I cannot bring myself to purchase the sorry excuse of bacalao that is sold in little wooden markets in the supermarkets near me.

Because I have been ruined.

 
By these beauties in the mercados of Spain and Portugal. These incredible pieces of salted cod are pricy and well worth every cent. They simply melt in your mouth after the soaking in water ritual and are cooked in a variety of ways.

I've never tasted anything like this so it's impossible for me to go from these lovelies to the 'fish leather' sold here in the U.S.

Hence, the fresh cod. It works, it is reminiscent of the texture and flavor of the cod I've lovingly devoured during my travels down the Iberian Peninsula and it allows all of us to enjoy this lovely warm weather salad that will have you pining for more.

There are many variations and like all great recipes passed down from our grandmothers this too has several versions depending on whom you're talking to. But the foundations remain the same - cooked chickpeas, fish, parsley, fresh luscious sweet tomatoes, thinly sliced red onions and a lovely dressing with some sour, some sweet and a pinch of heat.

Let's do this!

xoxo

Devaki

Mooli Baingan Sabzi ~ Indian Style Radish & Eggplant Vegetable

 
We all know the benefits of eating vegetables but finding fun and interesting ways of including these in the dinner menu can be a challenge. I for one, hold to eating whole foods and not ‘faux’ foods and so I tend to cook with the whole vegetable.

Radishes, the long white ones found in the Asian market is not a veggie we easily reach for in produce aisle. But this unassuming, slightly pungent root vegetable packs more health benefits than you may suspect - aiding digestion, fat burning and being low on the glycemic index, it’s a negative calorie food. This means you burn more calories digesting radishes than they actually contain! I wish the same could be said for that lovely crusty bread with a thick slab of butter.

In this recipe, the radishes is paired with long Asian eggplants which also brings a wide range of vitamins, minerals and nutrients to the table. This Indian style recipe with this unique pairing of vegetables is incredibly delicious, using a lovely blend of spices and coming together in a quick 30 minutes.

So if you’re looking for a delicious albeit unique addition to your vegetarian menu, I think you’ll this vegetable fits the bill quite nicely. 

Herb Roasted Lamb Sirloins

I'm getting all geared up for my Thanksgiving culinary class that begins next weekend. It's always great to come up with fun and new ways to dress up old ingredients.

On this particular day, I was working on a beet salad and thought it would be quite nice to serve lamb with the earthy flavors of beet on the side and creamy mashed potatoes to even the playing field.

The beet salad is coming your way soon because I think it's lovely and unexpected way to enjoy beets (no Frisee greens with this one folks!)

But the highlight here is the lamb sirloins. These boneless lean lovelies lend themselves perfectly to a simple marinade with olive oil, rosemary leaves , loads of garlic and some kosher salt. All of this is pulverized to a chunky paste in a Magic Bullet type food processor, rubbed all over the meat on both sides and set aside.

I opted to roast them in the oven but these would be just so good on an outdoor grill too. My. Hubby was just not feeling it that particular evening so oven it was.

For a nice medium (and please folks, if you want to eat you lamb well done akin to leather, I say why bother! Move on to another meat) 20-25 minutes in the oven at 400 deg. F does the trick. On the outdoor grill 10-12 minutes per side will work just fine.

Of course as with any protein, rest it before you cut it.

The flavors are just so refreshing and the simplicity is all that you need. No need to fuss up the lamb!

And did I mention, that it looks so elegant on the plate that it will floor your guests and they'll never guess you weren't slaving in the kitchen to get dinner done. Wait until you see the beet salad to go with and then you'll really have something special to go with this lamb.

Give it a try!

ciao,

Devaki

Basque Style Seared Tuna with Tomato Concasse

Seared tuna is a marvelous thing. If you like tuna that is and especially if you like it rare.

In my home, this is the stuff of dreams even with the kids.

The Basque aren’t big on spices and certainly not on using a ton of ingredients. In fact standard fare in a Basque kitchen will use onions, peppers and garlic as pretty much the basis of most foods and with the exception of a ton on good quality olive oil and the freshest ingredients and produce known to mankind & not much else.

The tuna in this recipe is dressed with a lovely fresh tomato topping that is especially wonderful in the summer when the ripest, sweetest and freshest tomatoes are in season. I love using Campari tomatoes because the skin is thin and I am guaranteed a delicious tomato with not a lot of seeds.

If you are using large tomatoes from your garden, skin and deseed. Concasse which is a French word that means to mince or grind, requires that the tomatoes in this dish are very finely chopped and combined with equally finely chopped Spanish red onions, fresh parsley & lemon juice. I love using a dash of jalapeno pickling juices for a little bit of oomph – but that’s your call.

Like I was saying, less is more with this one but using the finest quality ingredients that money can buy and you can afford are key!

Which brings us to the tuna – use the best Sushi grade tuna. You don’t need to use a lot – 2 nice sized cuts will happily serve a family of 4 as an appetizer.

Salt, pepper and sear in a heavy bottom pan with olive oil for 45 seconds to 1 minute on each side, serve with the tomato concasse and you have an appetizer to gush over!

 As summer as it comes with this one! Enjoy!

Poshto ~ Bengali Style Ridge Gourd & Potato Vegetable from India

You'll be hard pressed to find a more beloved vegetable among Bengalis in India than Poshto. 

Poshto roughly translates to poppy seeds and refers to the singular ingredient that takes an array of vegetables, envelopes it in its creamy paste and turns it into something spectacular.

You've often heard me brag about my mother-in law's excellent culinary skills. So on a recent visit, when she was cooking some wonderful dishes for a dinner party, I stood around handy with a note pad and camera and scribbled and clicked away.

There are many veggies that are used to make poshto though potato seems to be an ever present entity. In this version, ridge gourd a.k.a tori readily found in Indian grocery stores is key.

This is what it looks hanging on its vine,

Like most gourds it holds on a ton of water so you chop up what looks like a massive bowl of veggies only to be left with a teeny tiny bit after cooking.

That said, gourds are my favorite vegetables sue to their delicate flavors.

The poppy seeds are first soaked in boiling water and then ground into a fine paste. You dont want to omit this step or you just end up with a whole bunch of seeds in the veggies and no paste.

Then come the seasonings;

Panch phoron which is particular to Bengali cuisine are whole seeds is equal parts - nigella seeds, fenugreek, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds. If you have these at home, use 1/2 tsp and mix these together in a bowl or buy ready made at the Indian grocery store.

Once you get the grocery store run out of the way and have the ingredients, there is nothing stopping you from enjoying this incredible dish. Shy cooking it of course.

Serve traditionally with a simple dal and fried fish or macher jhaal (mustard fish) and boiled white rice or equally delish with some rice and ghee if you're just not up to thr whole spread.

Dig into this veggie and you'll get why its so beloved by so many. Including moi.

 

Delicious Louisiana Style Cajun Eggs with Crawfish

These delicious eggs are inspired from past travels New Orleans and the great culinary traditions that makes Nola, simply NOLA.

Crawfish, those little suckers that are delish to make and a killer to peel.

I have to be honest, the day I take up knitting is the day I’ll have the patience to peel these. I think Mr. Hubby would have a much easier time of this than I would.

I can see him patiently sitting at table painstakingly peeling these and sharing pieces with all of us at the table while I would be out of there by shell # 3!

So why the heck would I post a recipe with crawfish you ask?

Because a few weeks ago I came across a 1 lb bag of frozen Louisiana crawfish, peeled and all at my grocery store, Wegmans.

 Life changing, if I may say so.

Out came my deep cast iron pan, cutting board, Wusthof knives, onions, peppers and egg and off we go.

These eggs are a 2 part recipe and key to both is the evaporate milk that makes it all just so darn delicious.

Part 1: Onions, peppers, homemade Cajun seasoning and evaporated milk comes together to make a wonderful creamy sauce.

Part 2: Onions, peppers more seasonings, all sautéed with craw fish and folded with eggs to make a soft and silky batch.

Sauce goes over eggs and voilà! You have a batch of the most luscious yummy eggs you can hope to devour.

The weekends around the corner folks! What say you?!

 

Shakshuka from Israel; Delicious & Easy Eggs Over Spicy Tomatoes

I don't know about you, but I never tired of yummy eggs on a Sunday.

And quite honestly, I'm constantly looking for ways to cook those eggs up in a variety of ways. I mean seriously, can we ever get enough of eggs? They're good for us, full of protein and great for cooking on a budget.

Shakshuka is one of those dishes that doesn't sound like much when you scroll down the ingredient list but when you dig into it for your first bite, it comes as a pleasant surprise! 

Now aren't those just the best kind of recipes?!

Onions, peppers and loads of tomatoes sauteed and simmered to make a delicious sauce with just the right blend of seasonings - cumin, paprika and cayenne foe a touch of heat.

Extremely easy to make, I strongly recommend you make a double batch of the sauce. Enjoy and serve one straight away and then freeze or refrigerate a second batch for a quick weeknight dinner.

Fix a salad with and serve with some pita and it's dinner done in a jiffy.

Now what's not to love?

 

Jacques Pépin's Eggs Cocotte with Creamed Mushrooms

There are things we cook that we L.O.V.E.

The kind of dishes you know you will always make forever and ever.

This is one of those. Incredibly simple to make, with just a few ingredients, I promise you once you make this, it will be your next brunch staple.

I hate to admit but sometimes, I'll fix it as a 'snack' after coming home from work. Yup, addictive!

Mushrooms are julienned and sauteed in olive oil. To which cognac & heavy cream is added. Hence the term, 'creamed mushrooms'. The whole thing is simmered until a creamy thick sauce envelops the mushrooms.

Remove to ramekins, top with a just wee bit if Gruyere cheese, top with raw egg and season with salt and pepper. Steam for 5 minutes and voila!

Insanely delicious eggs which when you break into the slightly runny yolk and mixed with the creamed mushrooms will send you straight to culinary heaven.

Hot toasted buttered points please and life just went from good to great!

Give it a go folks & Happy Mother's Day to all us hardworking moms who keep on keeping on, each and every day!

Jhinga Kababs ~ Indian Style Cilantro & Garlic Shrimp Fritters

I remember that early morning years ago, when my mother roused me from my bed, had me dress quickly and carted me along for a long drive to the Mumbai docks.

The sun was still asleep, the fisherman were not. And neither were the true and blue seafood fiends and restauranters who would buy bushels of fresh food and seafood fresh off the boat. The air was palpable with energy, the floors wet, the space awash with the light emnating from dirty flourescent bulbs and the noise so loud with the voices of bargaining people, you could hardy think.

It hardly matters that this memory is from one day three decades ago; it might as well have been yesterday.

My mother's shrimp kababs are from that time. We were at those docks that morning for the freshest shrimp for her kababs.

Like so many wonderful dishes from the world over, these lovely kababs that is a finest example of my Mum's cooking, is a handful of the freshest ingredients coming together to create tiny morsels bursting with freshness and flavor.

My mother used to grind the ingredients on her heavy granite sil-batta; Sil referring to flat stone and Batta referring to a cylindrical grinding stone.

Now, thanks modern technology I fix these 7000 miles away in a food processor. The results are just as good.

These however are made by my Mum in her own kitchen with her wonderful vintage, dented and aged brass kadhais (pots). And just like her pots, her recipe is ageless.

 

Hongos ~ King Mushrooms, Basque Style

Hongos, those fantastic king mushrooms that look like enormous trunks with very little tree top are all the rage in Asian cuisine. And for nearly forever it was the only cuisine under whose umbrella we would occasionally enjoy these lovelies.

That’s until I stumbled upon a wonderful Basque cooking class in San Sebastian taught at a true and authentic 18^th century gastronomic cooking club. It boasts this great Basque culinary tradition where men come together and cook in giant pots and enjoy each others company in romp and flourish. In short, no women.

So it was a great honor when our culinary group was invited for a cooking class at the venue. The only way we could get to the venue was by private invitation…ooh la la!

Any, our Chef who was a darling of a man and who only spoke Basque, cooked up these amazing mushrooms (hongos) and boy were we all hooked!

So easy to make with just some olive oil, garlic and parsley the real trick is the dollop of 1 single raw egg yolk at the end that swirls in the warmth of the mushrooms and mixes with the olive oil to create the most creamy delicious sauce that envelopes these lovely mushrooms. Don't omit this guys, it makes all the difference in the world!

Served in nearly every pinxtos bar, you’ll quickly see why it’s such a crowd favorite.

Ají de gallina ~ A easy and delicious Creamy Chicken from Peru

 

 When most of us think of Peruvian cuisine, it’s usually the POLLO that we get from the lovely Peruvian chicken stores all over town – roasted with yucca fries and those lovely sauces. We made it in our kitchen and you’ll find that here –

But today we’re doing something a little bit different. Ají de gallina (hen)  is a dish that consists of a creamy spicy sauce made of the most interests set of ingredients. Not the usual when you think Peruvian food - Chicken or hen if peviously cooked and then shredded up.

The sauce is lovely with hard aged shredded cheese, walnuts, and bread soacked up in evaporated milk.

The heat however comes from aji Amarillo – this lovely hot and smoky yellow pepper paste.

All of this comes together in a lovely creamy and delicious sauce served up with cooked potatoes, white rice, olives and hard boiled eggs. So yummy and super easy to make for a quick weeknight dinner. 

Stuffed Roasted Pork Tenderloins with Marsala-Prunes Sauce

Easy elegance! I’m all for that.

And with Valentine's day around the corner, look not further.

Now pork and prunes or slightly sweet-tart dry fruits go so well together. The Italians take it up several notches though – This is a marvelous technique of stuffing pork tenderloins with prunes that I learned at a cooking class in Bologna. Now if you know Italy at all, you know that Emilia Romagna is at the heart of great cuisine.

So it comes as no surprise that this fantastic take on the pork and prune classic comes from this region. The additional of Marsala wine which as you know hails from Sicily does exactly what other recipes that use port does – adds yet another layer of sweetness without that cloying after taste.

I do recommend using only sweet Marsala and not the dry variety. I love that this recipe comes to together so quickly for a weeknight meal, no fuss-no muss. Once the tenderloins are stuffed in an oh so clever manner with prunes, its seared and roasted for a few minutes in the oven.

Meanwhile the shallots are sauteed in the pan with thyme and a sauce comes together with prunes that mash up to make a lovely sauce with the Marsala wine and thickened ever so slightly with chilled butter at the end.

Though it is not traditional to add a wee bit of cream at the end, I like to sometime just a tad to smooth out the edges.

What a great meal for when friends are over, on a holiday weekend like this one with a lovely simple salad or roasted vegetables, but why wait for a special occasion when you can make it just as easily at the end of a work day.

Once sliced and plated and drizzled with the sauce, it has all the makings of a 5-star meal.

Here’s what I call champagne taste on a water budget – or should I Marsala taste?!

Indian Style Stewed Mussels with Green Herb Masala

So here's what happened last Saturday, it snowed! A lot.

And that meant, my cooking class was cancelled. And since Adult education classes follow the school county schedule, I was stuck with all 10 lbs of organic mussels.

So I asked the boys, to put on their 'big boy pants' and get ready to eat a whole lot of mussels for the next 3 days straight. So we made them with wine & garlic and then with tomatoes and rosemary and finally I decided to use my mum's delicious cilantro and chili masala paste for the mussels. I've used serrano chillies because I didn't want to make them uber hot with Thai green chillies but feel free to make the switch.

Oh boy! They were good!

And so easy to make - dinner was still done in 30 minutes flat and wait until you try this refreshing and mouthwatering take of good ole' mussels. Serve with white rice for a full meal.

Here goes~

 

Six Steps, One Fabulous Bruschetta ~ Balsamic Strawberries & Ricotta

These are the perfect example of after-a-long-flight eats. So its what I made to greet a dear friend home. A light dinner of sorts with some lovely Chilean red wine to unwind after a long International flight.

These bruschettas couldn't have been more perfect.

The orange infused ricotta and complex flavors from the balsamic and vanilla infused strawberries with the refreshing burst from the occasional bite of basil was absolutely incredible.

So much so that I'm interrupting my hiatus and precious our girl time (or should I say wine time) to bring you this post. Yup they're that good!

And now if you'll excuse me, an excellent bottle of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc and some very valuable friend time and a delicious chilean sea bass tagine awaits.

ciao ciao

Bocadillos ~ Little Crusty Sandwiches with Manchego, Proscuitto, Aioli & Peppers

 

Have you noticed how humble food in any cuisine is many times, the yummiest?

Take these ‘sandwiches’ for example, these iconic little crusty bread rolls in Spain, are eaten in tapas bars, street corners or as little hand held snacks on way the way to work, weekend camping or any other time you want a little something something.

They don’t have a lot, some meat, ham, cheese, omelet or tuna. No onions, lettuce none of that. So though a bocadillo might not sound as appealing as an American sub, it more than makes up with simple ingredients full on flavor.

And it’s because of their simplicity that they’re so darn delicious and easily portable when traveling.

So the one we’re making today begins with some crusty rolls – I like to buy an assortment; onion, rosemary & plain so everyone can get 2 with different bread. Though not traditional, then slap on some aioli on both sides (recipe included), be generous with pepadew peppers thinly sliced. If you’re never had pepadews they’re hot and sweet at the same time – LOVE!

Next some 2-3 scrunched up slices of Serrano Jamon or Proscuitto and finally thin slices of Manchego cheese.

So so good! I started teaching my high school kids culinary camps this week and the kids loved kicking off day one with these bocadillos. I mean seriously, what’s not to love.

A cold one, a couple of these…sigh, life is good!

And speaking of good, I'm taking the month of August off peeps. I'm taking some time off to sharpen my skills and hone my knives.

I'll see you in September, rested, rejuvenated and back in the kitchen!

Until then, happy cooking!

Quick & Delicious ~ Tuna, Olive & Artichoke Skewers

Did you read the title?

Then right there you've got nearly all of the major ingredients! No  recipe needed.

Because once you actually scroll down and read the recipe you'll see I'm truly not kidding.

This week school's out and instead of things getting easier, I feel like the universe has turned the dial to max on my 'Devakimeter'. Now I know exactly how that hamster feels on his wheel except my wheel is connected to a super max generator or one of those energizer bunny batteries that never die.

I begin teaching the kids and teens culinary camps this July as always and I love love love them. Anyone who thinks the future gen is going down the toilet should come into one of my classes and see for themselves just what great kids I end up with each year.  And they work so hard!

But that also means that end of June just when the kids come out of school, I get busier than ever. So out comes the grill. I love grilling foods or I should say I love marinating food and then handing them to Mr. Hubby to put on the grill.

For this, you want to begin with top quality Ahi tuna. The saving grace because the stuff costs an arm and a leg is that a little - just 1 lb will serve 4 dinner sized portions well with a side or make about 16 skewers for appetizers.

The rest is easy - artichokes hearts in quarters out of a can, lemon juice, olive oil and red pepper flakes. That's it.

They do however have to be eaten hot hot hot! Not so sexy next day in my lunch box as I learned the hard way.

Since you've probably already got your dessert covered, give this a go for your 4th of July cookout!

Cozze al forno ~ Italian Style Baked Mussels

If you love mussels and are looking for a delightful refreshing herb and garlic recipe recipe this weekend, look no further.

Mussels are steamed in white wine for a few minutes just until they open their shell revealing the succulent meat within. They are then separated into half shells.

A quick round in the food processor, turn parsley and garlic into a fine chop. Add some fresh breadcrumbs, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (none of the Parmesan thank you very much) and lovely olive oil, pinch of salt and you’ve got a gorgeous fragrant filling for those yummy mussels.

Pop a tablespoon or so and fill up the mussels. In the hot over for 10 minutes and you’ve got one of the easiest meat starters on the planet. While you’re serving the wine to your guests, the oven dings and what a great treat all around!

Tortilla Espanola ~ The quintessential Spanish Omelette from Spain with Aioli Of course!

Weekends are meant for lovely little brunches and finger foods and tapas and coffee with dear friends. You get the drift! Yes it's all about food and wine, I admit.

And I adore having a plate of this lovely on hand for a quick bite. Italy, Spain or Greece, the love for olive oil runs deep and so it should come as no surprise that all great things begin with copious amounts of stuff.

If your trainer is anything like mine (I'm thinking of you - Natalie!) and expects you to eats measured spoons and not cups of the stuff then take heart in the fact that all most all of the olive oil is sieved off and reserved for a future meal Yippee! Though I would reserve this for a cheat day...just saying.

But this story isn't all about the olive oil. It s about sauteed garlic, onions, green bell peppers and potatoes cut up into little cubes and turned a little crispy in olive oil. And most of all its about the eggs.

If it weren't for Pino Rosa from the Canary Islands and a chance friendship that started in a first class compartment of a train on the from Varanasi, 23 years ago, I probably wouldn't have been making this dish for so long.

Having loved it for so long, it was only a matter of time I brought it to you.

There are many many versions of this classic. Some mediocre and some worse. This isn't one of them. I think you'll love this one and with a few added tips in this recipe, you won't have to worry about flipping the pan and all that either.

Give it a go, folks!

Pan con Tomate ~ Toasted Bread with Tomato & Garlic, a staple from Spain

Why over complicate the simple?

Somethings are delicious with just a few ingredients. And don't quite need a recipe - a drizzle of this, a dash of that a good rub of this.

That kind of sums up what we're making today. You'll be hard pressed finding  a tapas or pinxtos bar in Spain that doesn't serve up a version of pan con tomate.

Lovely rustic bread, toasted on a wood fired grill, which sadly but not overly disappointing in my little kitchen, means the broiler. Couple of cloves of garlic, fresh summer vine ripened tomato (a must!) and of course of my favorite Nocellara olive oil from Sicily. I'm down to my last bottle and every drop is precious!

But with so few ingredients, the quality take precedence.

So easy and delicious is this Spanish staple that I'm fixing this when friends are over for dinner tomorrow night. After a busy cooking class during the day, I'm going the easy route for dinner ~ and this will be perfect!

Did I mention, the thin slices of serrano ham are just delicious as a topper! And a good glass of my favorite Oyster Bay Pinot Noir will only add to it all.

Bucatini with Dill & Sardines, from Palermo

The thing traveling to places far and wide is that you carry in your heart a little part of everywhere you’ve ever been.

And just like that, you can relive a moment, a memory, a taste and at that moment you’re back there, transported as you were.

And for our family, Ferro Di Cavallo will always be favorite restaurant in Palermo. It doesn’t matter that it’s a pokey little place, where service is snail pace, once the food arrives that’s it – all vexations melt away.

Even now, a few years later, we often reminisce about the flavors of the Involtini di melanzane (because If you’ve spent any time in Sicily you know how much eggplant is loved) and the sardine meatballs and of course Bucatini with dill & sardines.

Quite simply there’s nothing quite like such a meal. It stays with you. So back home, in our little urban dwelling, it’s nice to recreate as best as I can, some of the dishes based purely on a memory of flavor and texture.

The bucatini with fresh dill and sardines is a celebration of everything I love about Sicilian cuisine. The purity and simplicity of flavors. The feeling that each bites tastes of the terra from which it was born.

This is the way pasta was meant to be eaten – 4 ingredients and no fuss. I admit, for me to get fresh sardines in the market is a rare thing. So I buy the best wide caught, sustainably harvested canned sardines in olive oil I can find in the supermarket. And it works fine.

All this recipes needs is bucatini from Italy made with semolina flour, some good quality olive oil with oomph, a nice bunch of fresh dill, some onions, garlic and of course the sardines.

And dinner comes together in 30 minutes. Rustic, real, delicious resplendent with the magical flavors that are created when fresh aromatic dill meets oily, creamy sardines.

So if you’re a fan of these ingredients and getting on a plain to Palermo doesn’t seem to be on the agenda in the near future, then treat yourself to the next best thing. A taste of Ferro Di Cavallo in your home.

The next best thing, to the real deal!

 

A Bounty of Small Plates ~ Spanish Style Prawns with Romesco Sauce

It's Super Bowl weekend here is the U.S. which means tons of yummy, greasy, carby foods will overtake our tables this Sunday. Before you reach for those prawns packaged up in those containers and serve it with boring old cocktail sauce,  do I have just the thing for you!

And even if you're not into the whole Super Bowl weekend mania, Valentine’s day is also creeping up on us and you’re going to want to know how to make this even if you’re not celebrating Valentine’s and simply need a great recipe for dinner with family, friends or no occasion at all.

Because the Romesco sauce is a Spanish classic!

Versions of this Catalan favorite have with everything from tomato paste to chilly powder and no matter how you want to jazz this up, it remains so good.

A dee-lee-cious addition on everything from turkey sandwiches, roast chicken, roll ups or served traditionally as I’m doing here with sautéed jumbo prawns.

Uber simple to make, it all begins with pulling your small roasting pan and roasting some garlic cloves and plum tomatoes, then add almonds and macadamias or hazel nuts. The whole thing put into the food processor with roasted red peppers from a jar, olive oil and red wine vinegar. The result is a wonderful healthful sauce you will love.

And feel free to add a touch of tomato paste and smoked Spanish Pimenton if you want a richer and more heavily seasoned sauce but I wouldn’t over do it.

This dish does deserve a bit of a splurge with jumbo tiger prawns and will take all of two minutes to put together once your sauce is made.

The whole production is a teensy bit of effort and a whole lot of ooh-la-la!

Brrr...It's Cold Outside! Scottish Cock-a-Leekie Soup

It's been 5 days since Snowmageddon 2016 buried our region in over 30" of snow.

Shoveling and wading through waist high snow is not something any of us are going to forget any time soon. Schools have been closed all week and offices are only just now getting back to kind of normal work schedules. Personally with mountains of snow piled high on road sides, traffic reduced to single lanes and treacherous right and left turns, staying home in my jammies sounds like a really good idea.

The point is, with all this snow around I haven't quite been able to get my head out of a bowl of Soup.

I mean soup sound pretty good right about now. But with all that shoveling, I want something simple, uncomplicated and nutritious.

This traditional soup is simple and lovely and depending on whom you ask you'll get little tweaks - Like oh! I add bacon in mine or I saute my leeks in butter...or not - that sort of thing. The version I love, includes all the high points - leeks sautéed in butter with bacon, simmered with a whole chicken to make a robust delicious stock and finished with just a handful of rice, chopped parsley and..... wait for it - thinly sliced prunes!

The prunes are magic in the soup - a morsel of natural sweetness in every bite, not to mention a lovely golden brown hue it adds to the soup.

Did I mention, this soup wants for a solid 2 hours of simmering affording the opportunity of more snow shoveling (sigh) or reruns of Downton Abbey!

I know what I'd prefer, but whatever your reason I'd put this 5 ingredient soup on my winter must make list!

{Tom Kha Gai} Thai Chicken Coconut Soup

Few things come close to the incensed flavors of Thai Chicken soup on a cold day.

Using a few tricks like using carton chicken stock and fusing it with the aromatic flavors of galangal and lemon grass, this soup puts together in less than 30 minutes but serves as though you've been slaving at the stove for hours.

I kid you not, this is my go to soup when I'm having  busy week night or having returned from the gym have no clue what to throw together with the kids mantra, I'm hungry, I'm hungry ringing in my ears.

I keep lemon grass on stand by and if you don't want to make a store run for galangal, no worries! Substitute with ginger.

The creaminess of the coconut milk with its natural sweetness pairs so beautifully with the umami from the fish sauce, lime juice and spiciness of the sambal olek.  And the fresh flavors of basil refreshes the palette with each slurp.

You really ought to give this a go and I hope you'll tell me how it turned out!

Bounty of Small Plates ~ Spanish Style Clams in Cerveza with Chorizo

 

Sooner or later this day was to arrive. The day I shake the dust off my keyboard and hunker down to write my first post of 2016. 

I hope the New Year is off to a robust start for y'all & will bring you loads of joy, prosperity and fabulous eats!

This year marks the 6th year, I have been putting fingers to keyboard writing this website. I continue to chug along and I am ever so grateful to all of you for showing up, whenever you need a recipe, want a quick read to see how I'm faring or simply for no reason at all.

So without further ado, I'm kicking off with food talk. And what's better than briny clams with spicy smoked Spanish chorizo?

Not much peeps!

Rich, smoky and unbelievably delicious when the gravy is mopped up with crusty bread.

Did I happen to mention the clams are brewed in beer?

Oh yeah, that's how we roll!

 So give it a go and I promise I'll sound a bit more coherent as the year progresses.

Could be that all the gluttony, bourbon and beer over the holidays has turned my brain-box funny.  Oh the holidays!