Oct 11

Inspiration from Frozen Leftovers…Seafood Pasta

For better or worse, when there are leftovers from a meal that was eaten and if not eaten in the next day or two, they are bagged or place in containers and frozen for later use. In the past I was terrible at marking the contents of the bags but in the past few months I have become much better writing down the contents. No more am I wondering the mystery contents of the frozen package.

Frozen Red Clam Sauce in a Bag

Leftover Frozen Red Clam Sauce in a Bag

In the freezer, I had leftover red clam sauce and the liquid from a can of diced tomatoes that I had drained for a meal of Pasta Fazool. There was not enough leftover clam sauce for an entire meal, but combined with the frozen drained tomato liquid, an onion, garlic and some frozen peeled shrimp, I knew that I could make enough for another meal of pasta.

Frozen Tomato Liquid from a Can of Diced Tomatoes

Frozen Tomato Liquid from a Can of Diced Tomatoes in a Bag

In a medium size sauce pan I added olive oil, half of an onion diced, a few whole peeled garlic cloves and sea salt and sautéed the onions until they were tender.

Sauteed Onions & Garlic in a Sauce Pan

Sauteed Onions & Garlic

The frozen tomato liquid was added and allowed to completely melt into the sautéed onions and garlic.

Frozen Tomato Liquid Melting in Sauteed Onions & Garlic

Frozen Tomato Liquid Melting in Sauteed Onions & Garlic

The frozen clam sauce was then added and thoroughly mixed with the sautéed onions, garlic and tomato liquid. The sauce simmered for about 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce had achieved the desired thickness / consistency.

While the sauce was simmering, I brought a large pot of water to boil. When the sauce had achieve the correct thickness, the pasta was added to the boiling water and cooked until it was al dente in about 9 minutes.

Frozen Peeled and Deveined Shrimp

Frozen Shrimp in a Bowl

A few minutes prior to the pasta being finished cooking, I added about a dozen frozen shrimp to the sauce that had been simmering, knowing that in the remaining time needed to cook the pasta, the shrimp would be perfectly cooked in the sauce.

Red Seafood Pasta Sauce Simmering

Red Seafood Pasta Sauce in Sauce Pan

Once the pasta was cooked al dente, the water was drained, with the sauce being added to finish off the spaghetti. The pasta with the clam and shrimp tomato sauce was then served for the meal. I never had any doubt that the meal was going to be good, but as I was eating the meal I was thinking of a few questions. How often does that remaining amount of food go to waste because we do not find a way to repurpose the leftovers into a meal that is different and enough to serve everyone eating? What is the correct amount of food to prepare so that there are no leftovers? If there are to be leftovers, i.e. with a sauce or soup, then was is considered the correct portion, size or amount to make another meal?

Red Seafood (Clams and Shrimp) Sauce with Spaghetti

Red Seafood (Clams and Shrimp) Sauce with Spaghetti

 

Oct 10

Antipasto ideas

Sometimes on restaurant menus the appetizers look more exciting than the main courses, and it is tempting to just order a few of them instead, sort of like tapas or meze. Though antipasto is Italian for ‘before food’, i.e. an appetizer or hors d’oeuvre, they are often served together on a large platter and can could easily replace a meal.

Antipasti Platter

Antipasti Platter

Antipasto can be as simple as cold meats and salami, breads, olives, cheeses, marinated and freshly cooked vegetables to bruschetta, fritters, crostini, frittata and many other dishes either served individually or on a mixed platter which would then be called antipasti, i.e. plural of antipasto.

Antipasto Dishes

Antipasto Dishes

Here are some antipasto ideas that could be served by themselves as an appetizer or combined on a platter for lots of people to share or even as a whole meal in itself.

  • Insalata Caprese is a simple salad dish of fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes.
  • Crostini and Bruschetta are toasts of bread topping with simple, but tasty toppings.
  • Italian Breads such as Focaccia, Ciabatta, or Grissini (breadsticks) by themselves and a little olive oil for dipping would make an excellent antipasto.
  • Caponata alla Siciliana is a Cooked Eggplant Salad that can be eaten hot or cold.
  • Marinated Olives, Stuffed Oilves, Peppers, Artichokes, sun dried tomatoes or mushrooms.
  • Tapenade is a dish made from olives, anchovies, capers and olive oil. Though it is from  Provence in France, it would be equally at home as an antipasto.
  • Cold meats such as Parma Ham, Pancetta, Proscuitto, Salami Milano, Sopressata, Pepperoni, chorizo, etc.
  • Cheeses such as Mozzarella, Ricotta, Asiago, Pecorino, etc.
  • Cooked vegetables such as grilled eggplant (aubergine), grilled zucchini (courgette), roasted pepper, stuffed mushrooms, asparagus, etc
  • Seafood such as sardines, anchovies, fish roe, octopus, squid, seared tuna or any grilled fresh fish that is in season, drizzled with olive oil.
  • Frittata – An Italian egg dish somewhere similar to an omelette but with more fillings.
Antipasto Ideas

Antipasto Ideas

Oct 09

Las Chabela’s Chilis Gueritos con Camarone

Google Translate provides the following translation from Spanish to English of “gueritos” to mean “little white boy”. Personally I think this is humorous. The dish that I have been recently ordering at Las Chabelas in Brawley, CA is Chilis Gueritos con Camarone (White Chiles with Shrimp).

White Chilis Stuffed with Shrimp and Cheese

Chilis Gueritos con Camarone (White Chilis with Shrimp)

Guerito Chilis, also known as Guero or Santa Fe Grande Chili Peppers which were used in the recipe Bite Sized Mini Stuffed Peppers are a nice change from the more commonly known chilis (Jalapeno, Poblano, Anaheim and Hatch) in Houston. Guerito Chilis range between 500 – 700 scovilles. The peppers contain just enough heat to provide additional flavor, but are not even close to overpowering the subtly of the shrimp and melted cheese.

The dish is served with six peppers stuffed with diced shrimp blended with a shredded white soft Mexican cheese and then broiled / baked (but not so much that the peppers are completely wilted). The stuffed peppers are placed on a bed of Spanish rice with additional cheese sprinkled on top and with what appeared a light drizzle of mole sauce. The plate was then broiled for a few more minutes and then served.

Chilis Gueritos con Camarone is a surprisingly simple dish that packs some intense flavor and contrasting textures in each bite. What is most surprising is that the peppers are served with a container of soy sauce. Initially I thought that this was pure blasphemy and heresy, but the soy sauce goes well with the stuffed peppers. The soy sauce is intended to be poured lightly on top of the pepper. The entire combination is well made. The crunchiness and slight heat of the peppers, the tender sweetness of the diced shrimp mixed with the melted cheese all brought together with the savory saltiness of the soy sauce makes for a very enjoyable dish. For me, it is a meal that I have not experienced anywhere else in my travels.

In addition to enjoying Chilis Gueritos con Camarone as it is listed on the menu, you can also order the dish with each stuffed pepper wrapped in bacon. I have never met a dish with bacon that I did not enjoy. In lieu of the soy sauce, the bacon provides the intended saltiness and adds an additional element of textured from the broiled bacon wrapped around the peppers. The simple addition of the bacon provides a completely different dish that is just as enjoyable.

White Chilis Stuffed with Shrimp and Cheese, Wrapped in Bacon

Chilis Gueritos con Camarone y Bacon (White Chilis Stuffed with Shrimp and Cheese, Wrapped in Bacon)

I am confident that this dish can be replicated at home and I intend to try and make Chilis Gueritos con Camarone one of these weekends. I have thoroughly enjoyed eating these stuffed white peppers with shrimp and will do my best to replicate the dish when I get the chance in my own kitchen.

 

Oct 08

A Puppy Treat – Dog Birthday Cake

This recipe won’t appeal to everyone, and I’m sure I’ll get some stick from Bill for this, but it was my furry friend’s 5th birthday recently and I though she deserved a treat. But since this is a food website, I though I would have a go at making a dog birthday cake, that was suitable for humans as well as dogs. Given that dogs, shouldn’t eat chocolate, sugar, salt and a list of other things, this would have to be quite a savoury cake.

Dog Birthday Cake

Dog Birthday Cake

This cake apart for the addition of chicken, is a little like carrot cake, without the sugar, so I’m sure it’s very healthy. It tasted a little bland for humans, but nothing that a little sprinkling of salt won’t fix, but to dogs, you’ll have to stop them guzzling it all down in one go.

Dog Birthday Cake Recipe

Total time: 1 hour 15 min
Ingredients

  • 1.5 cups (190g) whole wheat flour
  • 0.5 tbsp of baking powder
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 4 tbsp of margarine, softened
  • 0.25 cups (60ml) of vegetable oil
  • 1 cup (235ml) of carrots, shredded
  • 4oz (115g) of cooked chicken, chopped
  • Plain yoghurt and some cooked bacon sprinkle for the topping

Instructions

  1. First beat the margarine until smooth, then beat in the eggs and oil. Add the chicken and carrots and mix to combine.

    Mixing the carrots and chicken into the egg mixture

    Mixing the carrots and chicken into the egg mixture

  2. Mix together the flour and baking powder, add to the rest of the mixture and mix thoroughly together.

    Adding the flour to the cake mixture

    Adding the flour to the cake mixture

  3. Pour the cake mixture into a greased 8″ (20cm) cake pan.

    Cake mixture ready for the oven

    Cake mixture ready for the oven

  4. Bake the cake in 325F (160F) for 60 minutes.

    Cake cooked

    Cake cooked

  5. Let the cake cool and then decorate with a layer of plain yoghurt and sprinkle with the bacon bits.

    Dog Cake Decorated

    Dog Cake Decorated

 

Oct 07

Reuben Sandwich Review – Blue Hereford Restaurant (Ford, KS)

Among the fields and pastures of southwest Kansas, there are small towns distanced 10 to 20 miles from one another. It is these towns that remind of a time when things were simpler, slower and less complicated that you find local restaurant that serve as a local focal point for the community and may even be the only restaurant for 10 to 20 miles in any direction.

Farm with grain silos on US Route 400 in Kansas

Farm on US Rte 400 in southwest Kansas

The Blue Hereford in Ford, Kansas is one of these places. Ford, Kansas is about 18 miles east of Dodge City on US Rte. 400. There is not much to the town, but there is the Blue Hereford diner / restaurant with attached gas station. It is nothing more than a simple diner in a small town that serves good simple diner food in southwest Kansas.

U.S. Route 400 Roag Sign

US Rte 400 Road Sign in southwest Kansas

I stopped at the Blue Hereford not knowing what was on the menu, but secretly hoping that they offered a Reuben Sandwich. I opened the menu, found the sandwich section and quickly found the Reuben Sandwich on the menu. Life is easy when there is a Reuben Sandwich to select from the menu. I ordered the Reuben with Tater Tots and because it looked interesting, Kansas Shrimp which were cauliflower pieces dipped in cheese, breaded and deep fried.

Blue Hereford Restaurant Road Sign in Ford Kansas

Blue Hereford Restaurant

The waitress first brought out the Kansas Shrimp which were surprisingly good. Then the Reuben Sandwich and the Tater Tots were brought to the table. The Reuben Sandwich was marbled rye that appeared to be toasted and then lightly grilled. The corned beef had been chopped, topped with the sauerkraut and cheese on the grill with the Thousand Island dressing spread on the marbled rye bread. Unfortunately, the cheese did not taste like Swiss cheese. It appears that this is becoming more and more prevalent in diners and restaurants. Overall it was an okay sandwich, but without the Swiss cheese, I have to give it the sandwich In A Pinch rating on my Reuben Sandwich Reviews.

Blue Hereford Reuben Sandwich

Reuben Sandwich at the Blue Hereford in Ford, Kansas

Despite the Reuben Sandwich not being outstanding at the Blue Hereford, I am confident that overall the quality of the food will not leave you disappointed.