Monday, May 18, 2009

Egg Flowers

Sounds a little strange "Egg Flowers" but check out the photo.
Pretty neat.. right?



What a great way to serve eggs.
Take a slice of ham and place it inside a muffin tin.
Then scramble some eggs and add anything you want.
We added diced red onion, cheese and basil.
Pour the egg mixture into the ham shell.
Add a topping or even a little more cheese.
Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes or until the egg
is the texture like.

There are so many options for this dish which
is why I really like it and of course....it
tastes great and looks good too!!

Jamaican Chicken Curry

If you enjoy eating dishes with Curry this is a very good one.
It is fairly easy to make and turns out to be a great dinner.


Jamaican Chicken Curry
from Everyday Food


2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4-6 skinless chicken breast halves
coarse salt and pepper
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove , minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
4 carrots , thinly sliced
1 can (15 oz) coconut mil
1 package ( 10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed

Cooked white rice for side dish

In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot,
heat oil over medium high heat.
Season chicien with salt and pepper.
Brown chicken for 3-4 minutes each side.

Reduce heat to medium. Add onion,
garlic, cumin, curry, thyme and 1/2 cup
water ( I used broth) and season with salt.
Cook, stiring occasionally, until onion
has softened, 3-5 minutes.

Add carrots, coconut milk, 1/2 cup water
and chicken with any accumulated juices.
Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer,
cover partially, and cook until chicken
is cooked through and carrots are tender,
about 10 minutes. Remove from heat
and stir in peas.
Serve over rice.


Ahh......... wonderful

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Baked Trout

It is nice to have a fisherman in the house
because it means fresh fish. It also nice
that he likes to cook the fish he catches.

He made a wonderful dinner of trout with lemon,
parsley butter and sauted asparagus with almond slices.


Sunday, May 10, 2009

Shrimp Cakes with Sweet Red Pepper Sauce

Amazing Dinner



Yesterday my husband and I made a wonderful dinner together.
Our menu included Shrimp Cakes with Red Pepper Sauce,
Focaccia Bread, and Pear Cobbler.

The recipe for the Shrimp Cakes is from Wolfgang Puck.

Shrimp Cakes with Sweet Red Pepper Sauce

Sweet Red Pepper Sauce
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 of each medium (about 4 ounces) red and yellow pepper, cored,
seeded and finely diced
1/2 (about 4 ounces) red onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1/2teaspoon finely chopped jalapeno chilli
1 teaspoons of each chopped fresh chives, chopped fresh dill, chopped Italian parsley
Leaves from 2 springs of thyme
salt
freshly ground white pepper.






Shrimp Cakes
12-15 shrimp
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup ground almonds
1 egg
1/2 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded
and finely diced.
1/2 medium yellow pepper, cored, seeded
and finely diced.
1/2 red onion, finley diced
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tbp of dill, parsley, chives
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tbs. vegetable oil to cook in


To make the Red Pepper Sauce:
InstructionsIn a 10-inch skillet, heat the olive oil. Sauté the diced red pepper, onion, garlic and jalapeno until the onion is translucent and the peppers are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add herbs and cook a few more minutes. Deglaze with white wine and cook until only 3 tbsp of liquid remain. Pour in the cream and bring to a boil. Pour the contents of the skillet into a blender and puree until smooth.

To make the Shrimp Cakes:
Saute the diced red and yellow peppers and onion until the onion is translucentand the peppers are tender. Transfer peppers and onion to a bowl to cool.

Stir in the chives, dill, Italian parsley, thyme, salt and cayenne pepper.

Stir in the egg and 1/2 cup each of breadcrumbs, and 1/2 finely ground almonds.
Gently fold in the shrimp meat. Mixture will be lumpy. Divide the mixture into 12 and shape into small cakes.

Combine the remaining 1/2 cup each breadcrumbs and ground almonds on a flat plate. Dip both sides of each crabcake into the mixture and coat well. Place on a tray and refrigerate, covered, for 1 to 3 hours.

When ready to serve melt the butter and vegetable oil in a large skillet. Over medium high heat sauté half the cakes until golden brown, about 4 minutes on each side. Transfer to drain on paper towels. Keep warm in oven at 200 degrees F. If necessary use additional oil and cook remaining cakes



Saturday, May 9, 2009

Tomato, Basil, Proscuitto Quiche

Does Georgia have a Spring? Sometimes I feel like Spring in
Georgia is only here for about 3 weeks and if you not really
watching for it you could miss it. I like Summer so I don't
want to complain too much but I would love to have a few
more sunny, 70-75 degree days.

With temperatures already in the 80's I am thinking about
dinners that are easy to make, hassle free and light.
So I begin this theme with Quiche.

Tomato, Basil, Proscuitto Quiche

1 large tomato, diced
2-3 slices Proscuitto, cooked and chopped
7-8 basil leaves, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup mozarella
1 9 inch, unbaked pie crust

Beat eggs in a large bowl and add milk and cream. Cook the proscuitto, then chop it into small pieces. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix well. Then pour the mixture into the pie crust and bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour.



Quiche served with a nice salad makes a wonderful, light meal.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Tilapia with Oranges and Parsley

This is a wonderful summer fish recipe.
It is light and refreshing.


Tilapia with Oranges and Parsley
Ingredients
3 oranges ( all parts of orange will be used in recipe)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 cups hot cooked instant white rice


1. Grate 2 teaspoons orange rind. Peel and section oranges over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons juice. Chop sections. Combine rind, chopped orange, 2 tablespoons parsley, 5 teaspoons oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl; toss well.

2. Preheat oven to 400°.

3. Sprinkle fish evenly with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add a little butter in a skillet and cook for about 7 minutes depending on the thickness of your fish.

4. Combine 2 tablespoons reserved juice, remaining 2 tablespoons parsley, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and rice. Spoon 1/2 cup rice onto each of 4 plates; top each with 1 fillet and 1/4 cup salsa.

Mini Mint Chocolate Pudding Pie

So, as you can see, blogging just didn't happen in April.
Of course we did eat and I am sure I cooked some new recipes
but there never seemed to be time to sit down for a few
minutes and write about it.

No worries though because May is here and I am going to
start blogging today in hopes to do a little better this
month.


If I remember correctly this recipe / photo came from
an evening when we were having J & M over for dinner
on a week night and although I had dinner planned
I needed to come up with something quick for dessert.

Mini chocolate Pudding Pies

mini graham cracker crusts
1 large box of instant chocolate pudding
Andes Candies

* So easy, I just made the pudding according to the
directions on the box. Then I poured pudding into
each of the crusts. I topped some of them with
crushed Andes Candies because I am a huge fan of
mint. I also left two plain just in case there
was someone who was not a mint lover in the crowd.


Here is what the MINI Mint Chocolate Pudding Pies looked like:


Not a real fancy dessert but it was quick and yummy!