Friday, October 29, 2010

Buttermilk Soaked Onion Rings




So after ohhh 2 years we have finally opened our deep fryer that we received for our wedding. Sorry to whoever sent it to us… I can’t remember who you are but trust me we’re grateful…  Is it bad that we haven’t put it away since the unveiling a few weeks ago, but seriously if my hubby had his way we would make something in it every night!! He has become the4 official fry cook and has made some yummy eats recently. It was of course Sunday Football, and we love to make fun foods to nibble on so we went with chicken wings and these delicious onion rings. There wasn’t one recipe in particular that I went with, there are different methods and techniques, one is a light crunchy coating and the other a puffy batter type. I also noticed that most of the recipes only called for you to just dip the onions in the buttermilk and then the flour, I let mine marinate in the buttermilk for a few hours in the refrigerator, and you could tell the difference!! We went with the crunchy version slightly tweaked and wow they were better than I’ve had a quite a few restaurants.

Buttermilk Onion Rings

Items Needed
Deep Fryer/Dutch Oven
Cookie sheet


  • 2 large Vidalia Onions
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1-2 tbsp hot Sauce
  • salt/pepper
  • 2 c all purpose flour

  • Peel the onions and slice them crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices. Separate each slice into individual rings and then remove the papery thin membrane covering the inside of each ring. ***Ok so I know this sounds like a weird thing to do but you know when you bite into an onion ring and the whole onion comes out at the same time it is because this step wasn't done.
  • In a Tupperware container add the buttermilk, hot sauce and a liberal amount of salt and pepper toss in the onions and give a good stir with a spoon than pop the top on a give a good shake then place in the fridge for about 2-3 hours, put mine on a plate and flipped it every 1/2 hour or so
  • When ready heat the oil to 375 degrees in a Dutch oven or heavy bottomed stock pot, or a deep fryer like we used, line a cookie sheet with paper towels and set aside also take a shallow dish and pour in the flour
  • You will need to do this next step in batches, take the onions out of the fridge and before dipping in the flour allow the excess to drain off and then dredge the rings in the second dish of flour, making sure to coat the rings evenly. Tap off the excess and transfer the batch of coated rings to the hot oil/basket we put about 5-7 rings in each drop of the basket. Fry the rings until golden brown and tender, about 2 1/2 minutes.
  • Remove each batch to the paper towel lined cookie sheet and salt right away and try to not to eat to many right out of the fryer… Cook the rest of the onions in batches and eat right away!! They are so yummy you will be lucky if they make it to the table…

 
Eat and Enjoy!!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Toasted Ravioli







Sunday football is my favorite day of the week, both me and my hubby have fantasy football teams and are glued to the our TV and computers checking our scores and rooting for our teams. We love to have people over to watch the games and of course eat. I love to make snacks for us to nibble on all day and for some reason I have had a hankering for toasted ravioli, and thought why not… It also happens to be THE food of St Louis, being served at every bar and of course the stadium in St Louis.  I think its fun to make dishes from the different teams! Here is my version of Toasted Ravioli....

Toasted Ravioli

Items Needed:
Frying Pan
Sauce Pan 

  • 1 package of small Cheese Ravioli, I used Buitoni ( the light version)
  • 2-3 cups, seasoned Panko bread crumbs
  • Marinara sauce, I used Rao’s
  • Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
  • 2 eggs
  • water
  • pepper
  • peanut oil

     
  • Place 2 cups bread crumbs in a shallow dish and set aside, in a separate shallow dish mix eggs and a few tsp of water to make an egg wash, season with pepper
  • Heat about a 1/4 inch of peanut oil to medium high heat
  • Dip the ravioli in the egg mixture and then in the bread crumbs making sure to lightly press the bread crumbs to the ravioli 
  • Than carefully add them to the hot oil in batches about 5-7 at a time so that you don’t over crowd the pan, cook about a minute or two on each side until nicely browned keeping a watchful eye on them
  • Meanwhile warm up the marinara in a sauce pan
  • Remove ravioli to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with Parmesan ann serve immediately with the warmed marinara 

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*** Notes: I use skewers to flip the raviolis, they are less cumbersome than a spoon or spatula and do a great job of flipping!  
Eat and Enjoy!!!!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Fabulous Roasted Chicken and an Anniversary



My husband and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary a few weeks ago,wow I can’t believe it two years, seems like just yesterday. I know how cliched that sounds but really it does, and my bff Karen  is getting married in a few days, so all this planning has brought it all back. It was a beautiful fall day in the Berkshires and I would do all over again in a heartbeat!!! Here’s a little peek:

wedding view  
The amazing view overlooking the Berkshires… 

  Me in my mothers 40 year old dress that my grandmother took great lengths to preserve!! 

the cake.
Our amazing cake by Something Sweet by Michelle
We usually go out to dinner to celebrate milestones like birthdays and anniversaries, but I thought instead it would be nice to invite my parents and my hubby’s mom over to our house for a nice family dinner. The only time we could all manage to get together before my parents jetted off to Vegas ( lucky devils) was on a Tuesday and of course I had to work. I thought I was going to get out a bit earlier than I did and so that threw off my whole menu or so I thought. I had my heart set on making “my version” of my mothers Roasted Chicken. I used to be scared to make Roasted chicken, burnt skin, pale skin, undercooked, overcooked the possibilities were endless. If I hadn't watched mom all those years and paid careful attention to her technique I could never do it on my own. Well since I was so crunched for time, when I got to the supermarket I decided to get chicken pieces instead, really a win win situation because some people like dark meat some, people like white meat, some both, and guess what unless you get a ginormous chicken there is never enough of each to go around.  So I grabbed some thighs, legs and some split chicken breasts. I prepared the chicken pieces as I would a whole chicken and holy smokes did it come out good. You know those times when you say why didn’t I make this sooner , yay this was one of those times.

nnew pixs 197

Roasted Chicken
Items Needed:
Large Skillet
2 Baking dishes
Blender 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Bake time: 45 –55 minutes


  • 4 split Chicken Breasts
  • 4 Thighs
  • 4 Legs
  • 12 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 12 fresh sage leaves
  • 6-8 rosemary sprigs, cut each in half
  • butter, 12 tbsp + 2 tbsp
  • medium onion, quartered
  • orange, halved and quartered
  • salt
  • pepper
  • chicken broth
  • maple syrup
  • olive oil

  • Rinse chicken and pat dry, carefully pull up skin than place a small sprig each of rosemary, thyme, and sage than season generously with salt and pepper all over
  • Heat skillet over medium high heat and brown chicken, skin side first in batches until nicely browned removing to the baking dishes
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  • Place 1/2 the onions and oranges around the chicken, and six tbsp butter into each baking dish, and drizzle everything with a little bit of olive oil
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  • At the 30 minutes mark check the chicken to make sure not getting to browned
  • After 45 minutes, check temperature of each piece to make sure cooked thru, remove chicken to platter and tent with foil and let rest while making gravy
  • Squeeze cooked orange wedges into baking dish to get out remaining juice then discard the oranges wedges, pour the remaining onions, juices, and 1/2 c chicken broth into the blender, pour some maple syrup into a measuring cup up to 1/4 c ( use as much or as little as you like ) we used almost all of it, blend everything until smooth, than pour into small sauce pan and bring to a boil adding last 2 tbsp of butter**** Optional, depending on how rich you want the gravy!!
  • Slice up chicken breasts before serving
nnew pixs 167

Look at how juicy the chicken is Yummy!!!

Eat and Enjoy!!!


Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Snickerdoodle Cookies

 
 
chicli 052
When this rainy fall weather arrives I like to bake, I love the smells of fall cooking and baking to fill the kitchen. I ran across this recipe on Allrecipes and it looked like a must do. So before I started some fall cleaning ( Yuck)  I whipped up a batch of Snickerdoodle cookies and stuck them in the oven... What a great way to clean the house with the smell of cookies baking!!  I have a confession to make, ever since I was a little girl I thought Snickerdoodle cookies had snickers in them....Probably because someone told me that so they could have more!! 

How wrong was I !!!! 

Now that I know that they are a cinnamon and sugar delight  they will  become a staple around our house!!
 
chicli 051


SnickerDoodle Cookies
Items Needed:
2 Parchment lined cookie sheets
Cooling racks
Hand Mixer ( or your hands and a good stiff spoon  if you do not have one)
Preheat oven:
400 degrees 

*****The original recipes makes 48 I halved the recipe to make 24 so If you click on the link to the original just keep that in mind!!
  • 1/4 c butter, softened
  • 1/4 c shortening
  • 3/4 c white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 1/3 c plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp salt
  • 1-2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon


  • Cream together butter, shortening, sugar , the egg and the vanilla
  • Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt
  • Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls in balls
  • Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and roll the balls in sugar mixture
  • Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes
  • Remove from sheet onto a cooling rack

chicli 046
                  
  Eat and Enjoy!!!!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese



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I love Hot Sauce! There is said it, I can add it to just about anything, except dessert that is! So when wondering what to make for dinner the other night I thought Buffalo Chicken….but with all this rainy,windy weather we have had I wanted something a little more…. comforting. So Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese it is. I knew that most recipes that I found would be quite fattening so I tried to slim it down a little… Just a little don’t worry! We always drink 1% Milk so that was one way to cut out some fat, and I subbed in Reduced Fat cheese instead of the full fat. And that's about it haha, so just a “little” healthy.

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
Preheat oven 375 degrees
Items Needed:
Baking dish
Skillet
Big Pot

  • 3 Chicken breast, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
  • 1/2 box of elbow pasta
  • 1/2 c blue cheese dressing
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar
  • 1 c milk
  • panko bread crumbs
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1/2- 1 c Franks Red hot sauce

  • Bring large pot of water to a boil, once boiling add pasta and cook following box directions, cooking just under al dente because we are going to bake later
  • Heat skillet to medium high heat and add chicken in batches, salt and pepper chicken and brown for 4-5 minutes, remove each batch to a plate, when all chicken is done return to skillet and add 1/2 c hot sauce and cook until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and set aside
  • Drain pasta and add pasta to baking dish by layering some pasta then some chicken ( makes it easier to mix together ) stir in the blue cheese dressing and mix well
  • Wipe the chicken skillet clean and add the milk, bring to a slow boil adding shredded cheese in batches, once all melted add the cheese sauce to the pasta and chicken and carefully stir to combine all ingredients.
  • Sprinkle top with enough panko breadcrumbs to cover dish and sprinkle a small handful of cheese, bake for about 25 minutes, tasting to make sure it is hot enough, and cheese and breadcrumbs are slightly browned

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Eat and Enjoy!!!!!

What is your favorite add in to Mac and Cheese?

Friday, October 1, 2010

Stuffed Peppers




One of our favorite comfort meals in our house is Sloppy Joes, and one that my hubby loves to make. So last week he made a big ole batch of it for us. We kicked of Sunday football with Sloppy Joe sandwiches.. 
But why is this post titled Stuffed Peppers than, because I have already blogged about Sloppy Joes and this is a great way to use up the leftovers. I have said many a time, that I am a big fan of using leftovers to create a different meal. 

This one was a big hit in our house, I have made stuffed peppers before, just not this way but with the Sloppy Joes it was fab!!! 


Stuffed Peppers

Items Needed:
Baking Dish
Small sauce pot



Preheat oven to 400 degrees


  • 3 Peppers top cut off and deseeded
  • Sloppy Joe Mixture
  • Spaghetti, broken into 1 inch pieces
  • Shredded cheese
  • Bring a pot of water to a boil, toss in spaghetti and cook until just under al dente
  • Mix the spaghetti with the sloppy joe, and stuff the pepper and place in a shallow baking dish
  • Some people boil pepper shell before baking, I do not, I pour water around the pepper in the baking dish about half way up the side of the peppers, this softens them just enough
  • Bake for 25 minutes than sprinkle with some cheese and bake until cheese is melted and slightly browned

Eat and Enjoy!!!! 

** Took picture before water and cheese.. use your wonderful imagination... ; ) 

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

The Big E.. New Englands Great State Fair.. And a Show by Terry Fator



I have never been to a state fair... mainly because I always thought Massachusetts didn't have one... Boy was I wrong... Not only do we have a state fair, we are joined by Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine for a whopping six state fair called The Big E in Western Mass. We first heard about the fair last year and even though it lasts for 3 weeks, we of course never made it. So this year we said that's it we're going, and when my hubby found out Terry Fator winner of America's Got Talent a few years ago, was preforming he got us tickets for my birthday. 

The fair is absolutely huge!! With food vendors everywhere it is dizzying trying to decide what to eat, everywhere you look there is sausage and peppers, fried everything, and I mean everything, from pickles,    (we tried them yum!!) to Oreos'. We decided to bypass all the vendors and go straight to the Avenue of States, which houses you guessed it the six states, each with there own building. Inside these buildings were various things indigenous to that state. We headed straight for Maine to get a Lobster Roll, and boy were they yummy, but of course we needed more food so we headed to Connecticut which claims to be the place where Chocolate Covered Bacon was born. A must try for any bacon and chocolate lover, and it tasted as expected delicious!! Sorry we ate it so fast I couldn't get a picture...

But lets get down to business the two reasons some people come to The Big E... The Big E Cream Puff and The Big E Crazy Burger... 

Lets start with the Cream Puff a fluffy cloud of heaven... 


The Outrageous Craz-E Burger...

 Ok so that my friends is a Bacon Cheeseburger sandwiched between two glazed donuts .... yes it may be a heart attack waiting to happen but worth the try...



And of course the Terry Fator concert was unbelievable, he is so talented and I love Winston the Turtle he is my favorite!! All in all it was a great birthday celebration and we will definitely be going back to the Big E next year!! 

P.S Yes my blog looks different... while trying to change some things up I deleted my template.. Which is why I have been MIA for a while.. UGHHH and now I'm stuck with this while I try to fix it...

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Simple Scambled Eggs with Green and Yellow Zucchini

I am lucky enough to live in an area with a lot of farmers markets and vegetable stands. My next store neighbor even grows fresh blueberries all summer long, very convenient for me. So on an unexpected day off for both me and the hubby we decided to take a drive and get some fried clams down in Newport, Rhode Island.  Along the way we stopped at one of my favorite vegetable stands in Little Compton, RI that has the freshest and prettiest veggies around. I wish I had some pictures of the fabulous stuff they had on display, heirloom tomatoes of all different colors, red, orange, green, yellow, purple but I didn't bring my camera... *sigh*. 

I did however take a picture of what I brought home... and decided to whip up some scrambled eggs with the zucchini I picked up.


Not much of a recipe but here it goes:

Scrambled Eggs with Zucchini
Serves 2 
Items Needed:

Skillet


  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 green zucchini, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 yellow zucchini, thinly sliced
  • 3 slices American Cheese
  • salt
  • pepper

  • Scramble the eggs and set aside
  • Heat skillet to medium high and add the zucchini, salt and pepper to taste,then saute until slightly browned, add eggs and cheese and scramble away.. told ya not much of a recipe... Cook until preferred doneness

Eat and Enjoy!!!!!!!!!

    Thursday, September 2, 2010

    Gotham Steak, Miami

    I just got back from a whirlwind filled weekend getaway in South Beach Miami. We went down for a Bachlorette  celebration, for my best friend Karen. We stayed at the lovely  Eden Roc, right on the beach and had an amazing time!! Our hotel happened to be next to the famed Fountainbleau Hotel, and lucky for us they have fabulous restaurants in the Fountainbleau one of which was Gotham Steak, owned by Alfred Portale of the famed Gotham Bar and Grill in New York City. 

    Gotham Steak, Fountainbleau 


    Let me tell you this place did not disappoint!! You walk into the restaurant and are greeted by a great lounge and extremely friendly staff and then you look over to a gorgeous two story glass enclosed wine tower. We were seated on the lower level with a great big table right in front of the open kitchen. How lucky are we that Miami was offering a pre fix menu for most restaurants during what they were calling Miami Spice, or restaurant month  from Aug 1st until Sept 1st**. So for $35 we were able to order one of each of a choice of three appetizers, entrees and desserts. 


    For the first course I had the Summer Corn and Jumbo Lump Crab Risotto, which was so fresh and delicious that I could have had two servings. 


    For the entree I ordered the Grilled Prime Hanger Steak, with caramelized onions and Bearnaise Sauce. I enjoyed this very much but Liz ordered the Miso Marinated Black Cod which was to die for I should have ordered that.


    For dessert there was a choice of Tiramisu Brownie with Espresso Gelato or Milk Chocolate Candy Bar, with Salted Caramel Sorbet, both were delicious and so worth the extra calories!!! 
    Everything was so great from the atmosphere to the waitstaff, we really enjoyed this meal, even more so that we were able eat at very expensive place for a great deal. **As I finish writing this I just found that out that is has been so popular that they extended Miami Spice until September 30th. Lucky them!!!!!

    Saturday, August 7, 2010

    Grilled Veggies



    One of my favorite side dishes during the summer is grilled veggies. Me and the hubby love going over to the local farmers market which happens to be right down the street. This time around we picked up some peppers, onions and of course zucchini . These go really well with some grilled chicken or steak or really anything that you throw on the grill. We served this with Grilled Shrimp and it was perfect!!  Here it is.. a super easy way to eat your veggies!!



    Grilled Veggies


    Items Needed :
    Grill
    Grill Basket

    • Peppers, seeded, sliced in thick strips****
    • Red Onions, sliced in quarters 
    • Zucchini, sliced lengthwise than in 1 inch pieces 
    • salt
    • pepper
    • garlic powder
    • olive oil

    •  Heat grill per your grill instructions 
    •  Brush sliced veggies with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic powder
    •  Place the veggies in the basket and set on grill shaking every so often so they don't burn but let them get a little char on them. 
    • Cook until desired doneness. 


     Eat and Enjoy!!!
     

    Friday, July 23, 2010

    Baked Scrod...... A New England Staple


    Living so close to Boston and the ocean this is a very popular dish on many restaurant menus around us. The recipe uses cod fish which for some reason we call scrod. I guess they say scrod is a young cod fish... Either way it is a white flaky fish with a slight sweetness to it.  It also happens to be a favorite at our house, sometimes we even stuff it with some crab meat and serve it with a creamy lobster sauce. For this recipe we did a simple cracker crumb topping, with a butter and lemon marinade.


    Baked Scrod



    Items Needed:

    Broil Pan


    • 2 lbs Cod Fillets, sliced in half
    • 2 lemons
    • 1 1/2  sticks butter
    • 1 sleeve Ritz Butter Crackers, crushed to make crumbs
    • salt 
    • pepper


    • Take the butter and melt it in a microwave safe bowl and pour half of it over the fish than salt and pepper fillets 
    • Take the rest of the butter and add the the cracker crumbs, place the fillets on the broil pan, than cover with the cracker crumbs squeezing 1 lemon over the fish
    • Bake for 15-25 minutes*** or until fish flakes nicely 
    • Serve with lemon wedges

    **** If crackers are starting to brown too much than cover loosely with foil and continue to bake


    Eat and Enjoy!!!

      Tuesday, July 13, 2010

      Mango Salsa



      You will continue to hear me say this all summer but I love grilling.. and all the things that go along with it!! So to go along with my Grilled Shrimp I made a little Mango Salsa to spice things up. The sweet and spicy of the salsa goes really well with the shrimp. I have to admit that I still find Mangoes intimidating... I have a hard time picking ripe ones but nonetheless I love the flavor, and sweetness they add. This is a very simple dish and very refreshing... Works great with some tortilla chips too!!!

      Mango Salsa

      Items needed:

      Mango slicer if you have one if not a good knife


      • 2 Mangoes, cut in 1/4 inch pieces
      • 1 lime
      • 1/4 red onion, finely diced
      • 1 tsp chili powder
      • honey, to taste 
      • salt, to taste
      • pepper, to taste

      • Cut up the mango, if you have never done it before take a look at Elsie's how to over at Simply Recipes. 
      • Mix mangoes and red onion, with the chili powder, salt, pepper and honey. Squeeze the juice of one lime over the mixture and give it a few good stirs.   Give it a good taste and add more of the honey or chili powder to taste. Same with the salt and pepper. Place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours then serve with Grilled Shrimp or grilled chicken. YUMMY!!
      Eat and Enjoy!!

        Saturday, July 3, 2010

        Shrimp on the Barbie....



        The one thing I love about summer most is the grilling... Not only does it get me out of my kitchen but the food is oh so yummy!! We had quite the hot and humid spell in New England at the beginning of the week so there was no way I was slaving over the hot stove or oven. Since we are big fans of grilled shrimp at our house, grilled shrimp was on the menu the other night. I served these with some grilled veggies and Mango salsa. Stayed tuned for those recipes....Talk about a quick and easy meal, and great for leftovers.


        Grilled Shrimp


        Items needed:
        Grill or Grill pan
        4 Skewers, metal or wooden*****
        Bowl for marinating( I usually use Tupperware with a cover)

        • 30 Shrimp, peeled and deveined
        • 1-2 tbsp olive oil, separated
        • 1/4 red onion, chopped finely
        • 1 clove garlic,minced
        • 3 tbsp honey
        • lime juice, from one lime
        • 1-2 tsp salt**
        • 1-2 tsp pepper**
        • 4-5 shakes of hot sauce

        • Place shrimp in bowl with the 1 tbsp olive oil, honey,lime juice, salt, onion, garlic, pepper, garlic and stir until well mixed, adding more oil if necessary so that they are nicely coated pop the top on your Tupperware bowl and shake to evenly coat shrimp, then set aside for 30 minutes 
        • Meanwhile heat grill to medium high heat
        • Skewer shrimp, putting 10 shrimp on each one and put on hot grill, grill on each side for 2 minutes until they turn pink

        ** Adjust to taste...
        *** If using wooden skewers, soak in water for  30 minutes to prevent flare up on the grill.



        Eat and Enjoy!!!

          

        Saturday, June 19, 2010

        Chicken Quesadillas


        As I have written before my hubby works most nights and that means I am on my own for dinner. Some times he makes it home at a reasonable hour and I wait others I'm just too hungry so I eat solo. The other night I was really torn wasn't really craving anything until I opened the fridge and saw the leftover roasted chicken from the other night and some cheese....Quesadillas it was!!! I love Mexican food, and this is a quick and easy meal that can be made for one or a whole gaggle of peeps.



        Chicken Quesadillas

        Items needed:
        Non Stick Skillet


        • Chicken, cooked and shredded
        • Shredded cheese, I used a Mild Cheddar, you can use what you have
        • salsa
        • sour cream
        • flour or corn tortillas( 2 tortillas per quesadilla)

        •  I mix the chicken and the salsa together to keep the chicken moist while cooking, so mix them  together and set aside.



        • Over medium heat warm up tortilla, one minute, sprinkle cheese, than layer the chicken and some more cheese, remember I LOVE CHEESE!! cook for 2 minutes to let the chicken heat up and cheese melt


        • Place the 2nd tortilla over the filling and give a little press with your finger so that the top tortilla grabs onto the cheese for the flip. Cook for another minute or so
        • Using a big spatula and being very careful flip the the tortilla over to brown the other side.
        • Slice in quarters and serve with more salsa and sour cream for dipping....Yummy !!!

        Eat and Enjoy!!!

        Wednesday, June 16, 2010

        Now that's what I call Breakfast....Persy's Place

         

        Talk about having a big breakfast to get the day started... They don't mess around over at Persy's Place, which according to the Boston Globe has the Largest Breakfast and Lunch menu in New England. Not only do they have all the usual suspects.. eggs, pancakes, and waffles they also serve hard to find breakfast favorites such as Catfish, Rainbow Trout and Finnan Haddie a Scottish dish with smoked haddock. Ok not really sure whose breakfast favorites those are, not rerally something you find on the usual breakfast menu. Persy's has seven restaurants in South Eastern Massachusetts, personally we have been to two of them, Dartmouth and Hyannis and have never been disappointed.The last time me and the hubby went my husband ordered the Dapper Dan Special, which consisted of 2 eggs, 2 pancakes, corn bread and beans both a staple with each order. The pancakes were light and fluffy and the eggs cooked perfectly. I ordered the Portuguese Benedict, which came with Chourico, peppers and onions under a poached egg on top of grilled English muffins, with a yummy Hollandaise sauce. It was perfect combo of smokey spiciness and sweet tang of the Hollandaise. Almost forgot.....they serve their famous corn bread and beans with every order. Now I know what your thinking beans..... with breakfast? HUH??? It may seem weird but oh so yummy!!!! So if your ever in my neck of the woods try out Persy's for yourself. You won't be disappointed!!!


        Thursday, June 10, 2010

        Shrimp in Tomato Cream Sauce

         
        We love Shrimp at our house, but sometimes I feel like we just go for the same old recipes all the time. So this time I decided to just wing it with things we had on hand and see what I came up with. Oh boy was I glad I did, this dish came out so good!! I can always tell when my hubby is happy because I get the ol' high-five from him when he likes a meal. This meal got two high-fives, so it will definitely be going in the meal rotation. Not only was it quick and easy but it was delicious so enjoy!!


        Shrimp in Tomato Cream Sauce

        Items Needed:
        Skillet

        • Shrimp**,  peeled and tail off , as many as you want
        • 4 oz cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
        • 1/4 c tomato sauce
        • Parmesan cheese  
        • salt 
        • pepper
        • olive oil
        • reserved pasta water**
        • Season shrimp with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil 
        • Saute shrimp in skillet over medium high heat until pink and just cooked thru
        • Remove shrimp from skillet and set aside
        • Add 1/4 c of the reserved pasta water and 1/2 the cream cheese to the skillet, stir constantly until the cheese is melted, than add the rest of the cheese, again stirring constantly so it doesn't burn, you can also add some more of the pasta water as needed to thin out the sauce. 
        • Add 1 tbsp Parmesan and the shrimp to the sauce stir for 1 minute and remove from heat
        • Serve with pasta 

        **** I used about 25 extra large frozen shrimp thawed for this recipe, so that I could I have leftovers of course. I served this with pasta so that's where the pasta water comes in, if you do not serve it with pasta than you can use some water or chicken broth. ****
         

        Eat and Enjoy!!!

        Monday, June 7, 2010

        Hong Kong Chicken Wings



        As you have heard me say before my hubby bought himself a charcoal grill/smoker back in March and has pretty much used it once or twice a week since. So on a trip to the bookstore I decided to check out the grilling cookbooks and pick one or two up for him. I picked up the Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen and he hasn't put it down since. Not that I'm complaining because we have been having some good eats!!! Take these wings for instance, which was a real quick and easy recipe. These wings are sticky gooey and just plain delicious! 


        Hong Kong Chicken Wings 

        adapted from The Barbecue Bible
        by Steven Raichlen

        Items Needed:

        Grill/Grill Pan
        Wooden Skewers, soaked in water or 30 minutes






        • 24 whole Chicken wings, intact
        • 8 cloves garlic, minced
        • 3 tsp salt
        • 3 tsp freshly ground pepper
        • olive oil 
        • 1 c honey, for brushing
        •  
          • Rinse chicken wings and pat dry with paper towels. Make two or three deep slashes to the bone, in the meaty part of the each wing. 
          • Place chicken wings in a big bowl and sprinkle with the garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil mix together
          • Set up the grill for direct grilling and preheat to a medium high. 
          • Thread each chicken wing on a skewer, running the skewer through all three sections of the wings, to hold the wing as open as possible
          • Grill wings, turning with tongs until the thicker sections of the wings are no longer pink near the bone, 12- 16 minutes,  moving them around the grill to accommodate the ones that are cooking faster than others. 
          • Heat the honey in a small saucepan until just warm on low heat. 
          • During the last 4 minutes of grilling, brush the wings with the honey mixture, again moving them around the grill if some are getting to hot.
          • Serve with lots of napkins!!!!! 
          Eat and Enjoy!!!

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