Sunday, August 30, 2009

Back from Vacation...

I am finally back from vacation and able to post, I was silly in thinking that there would be internet access down at the beach, but I did. We spent a great week down in Cape Cod, Ma at the beach with family and had a great time. It has been a family tradition to go there for the past 26 years with my parents. This year was first year that just the siblings went. We did some chillin and grillin and also some eating out, gotta love the clam shacks every 1/4 mile. But no internet access so I will have to catch up on my cooking this week and post some recipes.

While we were there Senator Edward Kennedy died, not far from where we vacation. My husband and I decided to go to the Kennedy Museum in Hyannis to pay our respects. I didn't think his death would affect me as much as it did, but being from Massachusetts almost my whole life, and Teddy being the only Kennedy I have known, I am too young for JFK or RFK to have an effect on me. On our way home this weekend, all along the highway were signs and people on the sides of the roads trying to get a glimpse of him as he traveled from Cape Cod to Boston and then on to his final resting place Arlington National Cemetery. It was a rough weekend in terms of weather, we were hit with the tail end of Tropical Storm Danny, but that did not deter people form lining the streets yesterday it was amazing!! He was a great asset to Massachusetts and will be greatly missed.

I am actually off to a Fantasy Football Draft so no recipe but I promise one soon.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Cod in Parchment Paper


My husband and I are heading out of town for a week long vacation, so deciding what to make for dinner was tough. I don't want to make anything that leave leftovers, and I didn't want take out, I wanted something light. Thanks to Silvia from www.citronetvanille.com and her recipe for Suffocated Cod I got the idea to make Cod which is a plenty in South eastern Mass where I live. I of course didn't have all the ingredients on hand so I had to change things up quite a bit. My hubby doesn't like curry and I didn't have coconut milk. I also served the zucchini on the side simply steamed. Even with the changes it was delicious!!

Link to original recipe: http://www.citronetvanille.com/blog/?s=cod





Cod in Parchment Paper

Makes 2 servings

  • 1 lb cod filet, sliced into 4 equal portions
  • 2 lemons, sliced thin
  • 1 red onion, sliced thin
  • 2 tbsp butter, seperated
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • parchment paper
Preheat oven to 475 Cut two squares of parchment paper big enough to fit your fish on one side and fold it over to fold together to seal.
  • Alternate layers of red onion and lemon 4-6 slices depending on size of fish
  • Lay 2 pieces of fish over onion/lemons sprinkle fish with salt and pepper
  • Repeat with another layer of onion and lemon
  • Sprinkle with olive oil and 1 tbsp of butter on each packet
  • Fold over parchment paper and fold up edges to seal like a package
  • Put in oven for 12-15 minutes
  • Slice open packet and serve
Enjoy!!!


Monday, August 17, 2009

They like me!! They like me!! Or at least my clams....

Ahh Monday mornings how I dread it! But yesterday was different, I woke up and carried on as usual getting ready for work but had some extra time, so I thought I would check my emails. Once that was done I thought eh, I'll go check out FoodBuzz and see whats going on there, and to my surprise when I checked the Top 9 there was my photo from my Steamed Clams recipe. Wow they like me , the really like me, or at least my clams that is. I am somewhat new to this, not the cooking thing or the baking thing but to the picture thing. In the short time that I starting blogging again, I realized how much a picture speaks to the reader about the dish. I mean lets be honest no ones running into the kitchen to make an ugly one.

After checking out various food photo sites, it seemed quite apparent that a picture truly is worth a thousand words. You are more likely to want to cook something that looks amazing, so you can't just point and shoot, you have to take your time. Now I have what I think is a very nice camera, it served me and my husband very nicely on our three week honeymoon road trip but is it top banana? No way. So since getting a new camera is out of the question I must deal with what I have!!! I guess it worked, since they picked my picture of Steamed Clams.


Now on to the matter at hand....food. I know I promised Part Duex of the Clams,Clams, Clams recipes, but my camera, yes the one I spoke so highly of above is behaving ( battery issues) badly. So I only have pictures of my Chorizo and Peppers Sandwich for now and will have to continue the suspense of the Clams...... Until tomorrow.



Chorizo and Pepper Sandwiches




  • Chorizo links, sliced
  • 3 green peppers, diced
  • 1/2 red onion , diced
  • 1 c red wine
  • 1/2 11 oz. can tomato paste
  • 1/2 15 oz. can tomato sauce
  • Portuguese Rolls


Place all ingredients in slow cooker , and turn on low ( 8 hours ) or high (4 Hours). Remove lid from slow cooker 30 minutes to allow steam to escape and thicken sauce. Serve with Portuguese rolls, or bulky roll.

ENJOY!!!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Clams, Clams, Clams....


My brother in law called me up yesterday to say that he had a bag of fresh clams and didn't know what to do with them...Could he bring them over and maybe I would know what to do with them.... Are you kidding bring it on!!!Oh boy the possibilities...

I was going back and forth trying to decide what to make.. Being from New England, south eastern Massachusetts to be exact, the first thing that came to mind was Steamed Clams with Chorizco. But really the possibilities are endless... Clam Cakes, Clam Chowder, Clams Casino, Stuffies.... Oh my!

I decided with so many clams to split them up and do two dishes. So this will be a two parter...

Part One~ Steamed Clams with Chorizco

We live in the South Coast area of Massachusetts, about halfway between Providence, RI and Cape Cod. What some refer to as Little Portugal, with half of the population in the area being of Portuguese decent, there is no shortage of great dishes to choose from. Portuguese Chorizco is a staple around here, with its dried smokey red pepper flavor and subtle spiciness it is a perfect combination with the sweetness of the Clams
.




Steamed Clams with Chorizco

  • 20 littlenecks (what we call Clams)
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 1/2 c red onion, diced
  • 1/4 c red bell pepper, diced
  • 6 thin chorizco links, sliced
  • 4 cloves, garlic whole
  • 1 beer
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 stick butter


Thoroughly wash clams scrub with a brush to get any bacteria and dirt off. Put clams in a strainer and rinse in cold running water for 5-10 minutes. In a steamer insert of pot, place quartered onion , and clams, in bottom layer of steamer pot put garlic, beer and red pepper flakes to make the broth. Steam until all clams are opened, discard any unopened clams. Reserve broth.



In separate pan, saute red onion and red pepper in 2 tsp olive oil, cook until translucent, add sliced chorizco and cook until slightly browned. Add 2 cups of reserved broth to deglaze pan, cook 2 minutes, add butter and cook 1-2 more minutes. Serve over Clams with a big ole piece of bread to sop up the broth!!

ENJOY!!

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part Two.
.......

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

So what do you want for dinner?



I love food, to eat it, read about it, cook it. So naturally I love to talk about it. My husband on the other hand does not feel the need to talk about it like I do . It has become somewhat of an inside joke between us, because we will wake up make coffee still no breakfast and I want to know What do you want for dinner?? My hubby looks at me like I am crazy! Dinner he says, we haven't even discussed breakfast let alone lunch. See breakfast and lunch are usually on the go or at work so dinner is our time to sit and enjoy together. I get to dream up recipes all day based on what we are in the mood for. So really I'm planning ahead, so that I can get all the things I need on my way home. Since he wouldn't give me an answer I decided for us. I had read a recipe on Simply Recipes Blog for Chicken wrapped in Prosciutto and thought it would be perfect with of course my little touches. , simple and delicious Here is the original and then what I made


http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_prosciutto/


Here's what I came up with:

2 thin chicken breasts
1/2 thinly sliced shallots
2 slices prosciutto
2 slices fontina cheese
1/2 c - 1 c white wine
1 stick butter,divided in half
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 c maple syrup

Set oven to Broil

Lightly beat egg, set aside. Wrap chicken with the prosciutto and then dip in egg, make sure to let it drain off or it will be too eggy.

Heat 1/2 butter in pan and saute chicken, cook 3-4 minutes each side, until prosciutto is a little crispy. Transfer to a shallow baking dish. Add slice of fontina and broil until cheese is melted.

In same pan, add wine and deglaze then pan, then add the shallots and cook down for about 4-5 minutes, add remaining butter and cook until incorporated.This is an add in from the original Finish with the maple syrup, to add a nice sweetness to the sauce. My secret ingredient!!

Serve and Enjoy!!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Dinner with my Hubby

Hubby's getting out of work early so I thought I'd make a nice dinner for him..Then I remembered that the whole family is coming over tomorrow for my brother-in-laws birthday so I needed to make something easy yet delicious.. Here's what I came out with...

STEAK TIPS WITH PEPPERS AND ONIONS

1 lb steak tips, cubed
1/4 c chili sauce
1/4 c BBQ sauce, your choice I used Sweet Baby Ray's
1/4 soy sauce
1/4 honey
2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 c shallots, sliced
1/2 c vidalia onion,sliced
1/2 c red onion,sliced
1/2 orange bell pepper,sliced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1/2 c Chicken Broth
1/2 c red wine, optional
1 1/2 tbs sugar

salt and pepper to taste

Mix first six ingredients together and marinate for 1-24 hrs.
Set oven to broil, LOW to start then switch to HIGH right before you put the steak in. Arrange steak on a broil pan or shallow baking dish if broil pan not available. Cook for 8 minutes then flip steak and cook another 6-8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a saute pan heat up some olive oil, and put in shallots, cook for 1-2 minutes then add vidalia and red onion, season with salt and pepper. Cook for 4-6 minutes until translucent. Sprinkle mixture with half of sugar, and cook 1-2 minutes then add chicken broth let some evaporate then add red wine and additional sugar. Simmer until reduced slightly.

Serve steak with onion mixture on top, and a baked potato to finish it off.

Enjoy!!


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