I hosted brunch for Mom's birthday today. It was good and all I made from scratch was the yogurt cream and roasted asparagus. Everything else was purchased. If you are local, it mostly came from Nugget. It was surprisingly good.
Honey Baked Ham (Honeybaked Ham Store)
Quiche: Pear & Blue Cheese, Mushroom and Lorianne (Nugget)
Berries & Granola with Yogurt Cream (recipe at www.thepioneerwoman.com)
Melon
Roasted Asparagus (tossed in olive oil, sea salt and pepper. 425 degrees for 15 to 20 mins)
Freshly baked croissants (William Sonoma website)
Apricot and Blueberry Scones (Nugget)
Orange and Cranberry Muffins (Nugget)
Apricot Mustard for the Ham (equal parts prepared apricot preserves and brown mustard)
Basil Garlic Aoli (for the roasted asparagus)
I tell ya what. This was the easiest, as far as prep goes, party I've ever done. And it was yummy and pretty. Mike said regarding the quiche..."if all quiche tasted like that, I would totally eat quiche." He ate five croissants. He just kept going with boysenberry jam. He loves breakfast food.
It's nice to know not all parties have to be tons of work and made from scratch.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Pantry Staple - Pefect Shrimp Scampi
I have been trying a lot of recipes that call for ingredients that I typically have in my pantry or freezer. I am so tired of running to the store for a special herb or a certain kind of vinegar for a specific recipe. I need a handful of recipes that I know I can just make because I know I have the stuff to do it. My bow tie lasagna from a few weeks ago is a classic example.
So was last night's dinner. And it was awesome. One of the best past a dishes I have had in a long time. The girls and Mike totally agreed. Dinner was a silent affair. That's how I knew it was so good. We were all slurping up our food and only making the occasional yummy noise.
Before I give the recipe I need to tell you about a new product I have found that has changed my life. It is by Litehouse and they are freeze dried herbs. I get mine in the produce section. They for your pantry, not your freezer or fridge. But instead of drying the herbs, they have some new way of freeze drying them so when they encounter any form of liquid, they go back to their fresh state. Don't ask me about the science but the taste, color, texture and result is nothing short of a miracle. I used freeze dried parsley and garlic in this recipe and I really did think I was eating and seeing a fresh product.
Ingredients
1 cube of butter
1 TB olive oil
1/2 to 1 cup of white wine
1/2 TB freeze dried garlic
1 to 2 TB freeze dried parsley
3/4 pound linguine
1 bag frozen shrimp/raw with tail on
Maybe one teaspoon of lemon juice (i used the stuff that squeezes out of the plastic shaped lemon container I keep in my fridge) Be careful how much you use. This stuff is strong.
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese - shaved
In a pot of heavily salted water, get your linguine going. Boil until al dente
In a large skillet, heat 1/2 the butter and olive oil. Throw in the garlic but be careful not to burn it. Toss in the shrimp in one layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook until they start to turn opaque. Throw in the wine and lemon juice. Simmer until most of the liquid is reduced and shrimp is cooked. (BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERCOOK YOUR SHRIMP. NOTE: I ACTUALLY TOOK JUST MY SHRIMP OUT THE SKILLET AS SOON AS I THOUGHT IT WAS COOKED AND FINISHED THE REDUCING OF THE LIQUID AND THE REMAINING STEPS JUST TO MAKE SURE I DIDN'T OVERCOOK THE SHRIMP) Take off the heat and melt in the rest of your butter. Stir in parsley. Toss hot linguine into your pan and continue to toss the shrimp, sauce and linguine together. Taste. Adjust seasoning. At this point I had to add a little bit more lemon and salt.
Arrange on four plates and top with shaved Parmesan. I use my vegetable peeler to shave the cheese. I tossed on a little more parsley for looks too.
Decadent, buttery, garlicy, salty, shrimpy, winey goodness.
So was last night's dinner. And it was awesome. One of the best past a dishes I have had in a long time. The girls and Mike totally agreed. Dinner was a silent affair. That's how I knew it was so good. We were all slurping up our food and only making the occasional yummy noise.
Before I give the recipe I need to tell you about a new product I have found that has changed my life. It is by Litehouse and they are freeze dried herbs. I get mine in the produce section. They for your pantry, not your freezer or fridge. But instead of drying the herbs, they have some new way of freeze drying them so when they encounter any form of liquid, they go back to their fresh state. Don't ask me about the science but the taste, color, texture and result is nothing short of a miracle. I used freeze dried parsley and garlic in this recipe and I really did think I was eating and seeing a fresh product.
Ingredients
1 cube of butter
1 TB olive oil
1/2 to 1 cup of white wine
1/2 TB freeze dried garlic
1 to 2 TB freeze dried parsley
3/4 pound linguine
1 bag frozen shrimp/raw with tail on
Maybe one teaspoon of lemon juice (i used the stuff that squeezes out of the plastic shaped lemon container I keep in my fridge) Be careful how much you use. This stuff is strong.
salt and pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese - shaved
In a pot of heavily salted water, get your linguine going. Boil until al dente
In a large skillet, heat 1/2 the butter and olive oil. Throw in the garlic but be careful not to burn it. Toss in the shrimp in one layer and season with salt and pepper. Cook until they start to turn opaque. Throw in the wine and lemon juice. Simmer until most of the liquid is reduced and shrimp is cooked. (BE CAREFUL NOT TO OVERCOOK YOUR SHRIMP. NOTE: I ACTUALLY TOOK JUST MY SHRIMP OUT THE SKILLET AS SOON AS I THOUGHT IT WAS COOKED AND FINISHED THE REDUCING OF THE LIQUID AND THE REMAINING STEPS JUST TO MAKE SURE I DIDN'T OVERCOOK THE SHRIMP) Take off the heat and melt in the rest of your butter. Stir in parsley. Toss hot linguine into your pan and continue to toss the shrimp, sauce and linguine together. Taste. Adjust seasoning. At this point I had to add a little bit more lemon and salt.
Arrange on four plates and top with shaved Parmesan. I use my vegetable peeler to shave the cheese. I tossed on a little more parsley for looks too.
Decadent, buttery, garlicy, salty, shrimpy, winey goodness.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Hell Hath Frozen Over and Pigs Are Flying Out My Arse...
Obviously, something weird is going on. There's some sort of rip in the space time continuum or a full moon or the Pope is no longer Catholic. Side note, every time I would say something obvious growing up my Mom would always say "well is the Pope Catholic?" I can't tell you how many times I heard that growing up. Anyhoo, so basically it's like this. Things around here are ccccrrrraaazzzyyyy!!! I have been...wait for it...wait for it...BAKING. HA! Can you believe it? I've turned on my MIXER today. This never happens.
And I haven't just made one thing. No siree! Here's what has been cookin' in my kitchen today. These are all NEW RECIPES, never before made by me. Obviously, they've been made by other people.
And I haven't just made one thing. No siree! Here's what has been cookin' in my kitchen today. These are all NEW RECIPES, never before made by me. Obviously, they've been made by other people.
- Homemade Chocolate Cake
- The fluffiest, lightest, best frosting I have ever had in my life.
- Pizza Dough
- Onion Tart
- Roasted Cauliflower and Onion Tart
- Banana/Blackberry muffins
- Roasted Chicken Salad with apricots, celery and water chestnuts.
- Roasted Shrimp Cocktail (This wasn't really baking but it did go in the oven.)
Some things we haven't tried yet like the chicken salad, shrimp cocktail (it's cooling) and the pizza dough. The chocolate cake will be for dessert, but I almost did not have enough frosting to cover the cake because it tasted so amazing it sort of caused the girls and I to be whipped up into a frenzy! (no pun intended) I haven't baked either tart yet, those are in my freezer for a future date. The muffins are going to a friend but we tried them and they are delightful. But the frosting takes the cake. Bah da bing!!!!
Here's where you can get the cake and frosting recipes: http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/
Here's where you can get both tart recipes: http://www.smittenkitchen.com/
Here's where you can get the shrimp cocktail recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/ (type in roasted shrimp cocktail and it's from Ina Garten/The Barefoot Contessa)
Here's where you can get the banana and blackberry muffins: http://www.tongue-n-cheeky.com/
You can get my recipe for the chicken salad right here (total prep time 10 mins):
Ingredients
1 rotisserie chicken
1 package dried apricots chopped
1 can water chestnuts diced fine
2 stalks celery
Mayonnaise (to taste)
Dried Colemans Mustard (to taste, I use a teaspoon)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Take all the white meat off the chicken and some dark meat if you like it. Chop it up. Add all the rest of the ingredients. Some people really like a lot of mayonnaise. I do not. I use as little as possible, just enough to hold it all together. I enjoy more black pepper than my husband or kids do. That's why you need to season this slowly and taste it as you go.
This is great on croissants if you are having a party. But it's also good on multi grain bread with lettuce and tomato or crackers or on a big bed of lettuce.
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