Curried Mussel Chowder

There's a couple inches of snow outside.  It's cold.  And I hate it.

I've never been a fan of this type of weather.  Even growing up in upstate New York.  I hated it.  Andy even says I have a permanent scowl on my face when the temperature drops below 32 F.  I guess I just like my sunshine and warm weather.  Can you blame me?

One thing I do like during this time, though, is curling up to a nice warm bowl of chowder.  There's just something so comforting about it.  I decided to switch up the normal clam for some mussels and a healthy dash of curry powder.  The result?  Andy thinks it's the best bowl of soup I've made to date.  Right on!

Ingredients:

3 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut into thin strips
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 shallot, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 lb. new potatoes, diced
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup white wine
3 parsley stems
1 bay leaf
pinch of dried thyme
pinch of black pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon curry powder
pinch of dried fennel
3 garlic cloves, smashed
pinch of saffron
5 cups of milk
1 cup of heavy cream
1 cup frozen corn
1 lb. shucked mussels (I bought them this way because it was easier, but you could certainly steam them and take them out of the shell on your own)
salt, to taste
chopped parsley, for garnish
baked naan, for serving

I love this because it's also a one pot meal.  Most soups are, right?  Right.  The less dishes I/Andy have to wash, the better.

Heat a large stockpot under medium high heat.  Add bacon strips and render until all of the fat is released and bacon is crispy.  With a slotted spoon, remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate.  Reserve for garnish.

Add carrot, shallot, celery, and potatoes to the bacon fat.  Coat well and sweat for about 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle vegetables with flour and cook for another minute.  Add wine and bring to a boil, stirring constantly to prevent lumps.  When mixture is thick, add in parsley stems, bay leaf, thyme, black pepper, butter, curry powder, fennel, garlic, saffron, milk, and heavy cream.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

About 2-3 minutes before serving, add your mussels (if they're already shucked, they should already be cooked, so you're only warming them) and your frozen corn.  Cook until warmed through.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with reserved bacon and chopped parsley.  Serve with naan bread.

This seriously hit the spot!  We've got leftovers and I don't foresee them lasting much longer than 48 hours!  Hope you guys are staying warm =)

Boiled Lobster Tails w/ Herbed Wine Cream Sauce, Corn, & Roasted New Potatoes

Lobster is one of those deals that come about on a whim in our house.  It's something we have on occasion when we're feeling like treating ourselves. 

And why not treat ourselves in an end of the year celebration?  I mean, the world didn't end, so why not celebrate with lobster, right?!

Ingredients:

Boiling Liquid:

2 cups white wine
1 cup seafood stock
2 cups water
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, roughly chopped
4-5 parsley stems
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
4 lobster tails
salt and pepper, to taste
2-4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Herbed Cream Sauce:

1 cup reduced lobster stock (reserved boiling liquid)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped

2 cups frozen or fresh corn, cooked

1 lb. new or red potatoes, quartered
salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Combine the the potatoes, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are a nice golden brown.

In a medium stockpot, combine the wine, seafood stock, water, onion, carrot, celery, parsley stems, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, and tarragon.  Bring mixture to a boil and add lobster tails.  Cook for about 6-8 minutes, or until shells are a bright red color and flesh is just cooked through.  Remove the tails and transfer to a cutting board.  Carefully cut each lobster tail in half and transfer to a bowl with 2-4 tablespoons unsalted butter.  Toss in the butter until well coated, then set aside.

Strain the cooking liquid and reserve about 2 cups.  Reduce liquid to about 1 cup. 

In a small bowl, combine the flour and the 1 tablespoon of butter to form a paste.  Whisk into the reduced stock and bring to a boil.  Let mixture slightly thicken, then add heavy whipping cream.  Reduce mixture until it is at desired sauce consistency.  Stir in parsley and chives and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

To plate, mound the potatoes and corn in the center of the plate.  Top with a couple of lobster tail halves.  Then top lobster with sauce.

This was definitely delicious!  The lobster was naturally buttery and the sauce complimented it very well!  Andy has been in the mood for corn lately, so I included that with the simply roasted potatoes and it was both a filling and satisfying weeknight meal! 

How do you like to have your lobster?

How to make a Bisque

 

I've always been a lover of seafood.  Shellfish is definitely one of my favorite things to eat.  Andy and I do a seafood boil every now and then.  We boil all of the seafood in a pot and then lay everything out on a sheet pan.  Then we go at it like some ravage beasts.  It's a messy sight.  But in my opinion, the ONLY way to eat a seafood boil is with your hands and to get messy.

From these seafood boils, we usually end up with a bunch of shrimp shells.  Most people might throw them away, but they're like seafood gold.  And one of my favorite things to make with them is a good old fashioned bisque.

A bisque is traditionally a shellfish soup thickened up with cooked rice.  However, in today's sense, most bisques are thickened with a roux for better stability and consistency.  Follow the following steps and you'll have the perfect bisque every time.

#1. Caramelize your mirepoix (carrots, onion, celery) and shellfish shells (you can use any shellfish, but I find shrimp the most practical and inexpensive).

 

#2. Add a tomato product (usually paste) and deglaze the pan with wine (usually white).

 

#3. Add fish/seafood stock or a fish veloute (remember veloute is just a fancy word for gravy!) - it's also a good time to add a sachet of herbs too (mine had thyme, peppercorns, and bay leaves).

 

#4. Incorporate a roux (equal parts flour and fat, by weight) if needed - you can easily make a beurre manie by combining equal part soft butter with flour and forming small balls, then stirring them into the mixture

 

#5. Simmer, skimming occasionally.
#6. Puree the mixture (shells and all) and return to a simmer.
#7. When you've achieved your desired flavor, strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or chinois.
#8. Return the soup back to the heat and bring to a simmer.  Finish with cream, if desired.

As amateur as it may be... I kind of like my reflection in the spoon =)

And now you've got yourself a bisque!  Garnish with whatever shellfish you used in the broth and some fresh herbs.  Soups don't get any better than this!

Scallops with Honeydew-Avocado Salsa

Lately I've been overwhelmed with emotions.  I mean, in exactly one week, I'll be an official student in Sullivan University's Culinary Arts program.  I'm scared.  Scared that I won't be good enough.  Excited. Excited that I'm taking a leap of faith.  And ready.  Ready for anything that's thrown at me. 

It will be a big change.  One of the biggest decisions I've made in my life to just jump into something new.  Something that I'm passionate about.  Something that won't make me a lot of money.  But you know what.  I don't care about money, never did.  As long as I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, and my bills are paid - I'm content.  I want to do something that will truly make me happy at the end of the day.  And I feel that taking this leap of faith and starting into a career that I truly feel that I can succeed in - will keep me happy at the end of every day.

So I wanted to let you know that starting next week, I may not be as present in the blogosphere.  I'm going to see how my new schedule affects my day-to-day and then revamp my blogging schedule accordingly.  Maybe I'll even do a new post series of "what-I've-learned-in-culinary-school-this-week".  Who knows.  But bear with me.  Stay with me.  I promise I won't disappear.  And hell, who knows - maybe I'll still be able to post daily like I try to do now.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Food & Wine's recipe

Zest of 1 lime
juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small honeydew melon, rind removed and diced
1 avocado, diced
salt and pepper, to taste
16 sea scallops
Black beans, optional

In a medium bowl, combine the lime zest, lime juice, and olive oil.  Toss in the melon and avocado and coat well with lime-olive oil mixture.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Brush the scallops with olive and season with salt and pepper.  Heat a large skillet under medium high heat.  Sear scallops for about 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. 

Serve the scallops with the honeydew salsa and black beans.

This dish was simple and made us feel real good after eating it.  And not to mention it's just darn pretty to look at!

Speaking of pretty to look at, we recently had one of Andy's friends over for dinner.  His girlfriend happens to be the pastry chef for the restaurant Proof On Main, here in Louisville.  She brought dessert - a corn gelato (Oh. my. god. was it good!) and chocolate cake.  Just look at how awesome this looks!

And talking with her really excited me for the upcoming weeks.  They both loved the dinner I cooked them, which I was nervous about because I've never had a true culinary professional eat something I've made.  And she told me about her journey to becoming the pastry chef she is today which was definitely inspiring, as well.  She's even trying to start her own business - Sugar Monster Sweets
I mean, just checking out those cakes makes me jealous of her mad skills!  Anybody in Louisville or the surrounding areas in need of a cake or sweet treat of any kind should definitely look into her!

Hope you guys have a great Tuesday!

Seared Scallops w/ Creamed Corn & Asparagus

Happy Wednesday everybody!  I just got home from picking up our first CSA of the year!  The rain really did a number on the farms because we didn't get as big of a share as they had hoped for us to get - but hey, I'm happy with anything!  We ended up with a bunch of mixed greens, scallions, lettuce, and a few strawberries.  They also subbed in some canned stuff due to the lack of actual produce - pumpkin butter (can we say yum?!), garden salsa, and soy sauce - all locally made of course!

What's also great about today is the sun is shining!  No rain (with the exception of a few sprinkles this morning) all day!  Hallelujah!

Anyway, this past Sunday was slim pickins in the house.  Well, I wanted to experiment and test my abilities with what we already had, anyway.  We had just went to the grocery on Saturday and I picked up some scallops from Whole Foods, not really knowing what I wanted to do with them yet.  Andy just so happened to get some corn and asparagus, so the dish just came together naturally.  After checking my handy dandy Flavor Bible (best resource ever!), all of those components were a go!  Don't you just love when a meal comes together like that?

Ingredients:

6 sea scallops 
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large corn on the cob
1 to 2 tablespoons of whole milk
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf
about 10 stalks of asparagus
1 tablespoon butter
4 strips of bacon

Preheat oven to 400 F. 

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Place bacon atop foil and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until browned and crisp.  Place on paper towel-lined plate to dry, then chop into small pieces.

Heat a small saucepan under medium high heat and add butter and bay leaf.

Cut corn from the cob and place in saucepan.  Cook for about 10 minutes or so, until corn has slightly softened.  Season with cayenne pepper and salt.  Add in milk and heat for about 2-3 minutes.

Remove bay leaf and puree corn with an immersion blender, adding more milk if needed, until you reach your desired consistency.  I like my creamed corn slightly chunky, but smooth at the same time.  Heat on low to keep warm while you make the asparagus and scallops.

Heat a large skillet under medium high heat and add olive oil.  Add asparagus spears and saute for about 5 minutes, or until bright green and still slightly crisp.  Remove from pan with tongs and set aside.

In same skillet, add more olive oil, if needed and bring heat up just a tad.  Season scallops with salt and pepper and add to skillet.  Cook for about 2 & 1/2 minutes per side, or until nicely browned.  You don't want to overcook them because they'll still continue to cook after you take them out of the pan. 

To plate, add a good amount of creamed corn to form a base.  Then place about 5 asparagus spears on each plate.  Arrange scallops on or around asparagus and garnish with bacon (not a crucial step, but definitely one I wouldn't want to skip, hehe). 

I loved how so many different textures were going on here.  The smoothness of the corn, the crunch of the asparagus, the delicate scallop.  It was perfect!  This was definitely something I could see myself eating at an elegant restaurant (hey, maybe it'll be a dish in my restaurant one day??? - a girl can dream, right?).  It was fresh, flavorful, and definitely hit the spot in a hurry! 

Well, I'm off to go play some volleyball (can we say undefeated for the season so far?  Hopefully I didn't just jinx us!)  Have a great rest of your Wednesday guys!  And stay tuned tomorrow for some pics of our first CSA pick-up!

Shrimp Naan Pizzas

 Happy Monday guys!  How was everyone's weekend?!

We got a TON of work done, let me tell you.  I practically rearranged our bedroom this weekend, and I'm still not complete.  I got a couple of things to spice up the room (some artwork, flowers, etc.), so it looks like an actual bedroom, instead of a bare prison cell.  Will definitely have to post some before/after pictures tomorrow.

We're also preparing for some garden work!  We went to Lowe's (which was a madhouse!), and Andy did some mulching and yard work.  I'm planting my seeds indoors this week, and tilling up the rest of my garden bed outside, so hopefully everything will be ready for the end of this week or next.  It's so exciting having a garden!  And the spring weather is absolutely amazing too - although it's raining a tad today.

Oh, and yeah, I'm on VACATION!  It's amazing, and kind of sad having to still go to class this week, but at least that's only 2 hours out of the day for 3 days.  I can live with that.

So on to today's recipe.  Last week's naan was a big hit with you guys and I'm glad!  And the whole reason I made the naan, was so that I could make these pizzas, from the same blog (Food For My Family) that I got the naan recipe from.  If you haven't checked out Food For My Family, I highly suggest you do!  It's full of awesome goodies, definitely kid friendly too!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Food For My Family's recipe

2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 pieces of naan bread
about 12 pieces of rock shrimp, cleaned
1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese, grated
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
1 teaspoon dried parsley

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a small bowl, combine olive oil and garlic.  Mix well and let sit for about 10 minutes, in order to let the flavors infuse in the oil.

Lay out naan on a baking sheet and spread about a tablespoon of the olive oil mixture on each piece.  Top each piece of naan with about 6-7 rock shrimps.  Sprinkle about 1/4 cup each of pecorino romano and parmesan on each piece, as well.  Divide the dried parsley among the two pieces of naan, also.

Bake pizzas for about 10 minutes, or until shrimp is cooked through and cheese is melted.  Let sit for about 5 minutes, to cool, and then slice into pieces.

This is a perfect appetizer for dinner parties, or if you don't want to share, you can easily eat the whole thing for a light lunch - which is what I did.  Yes, I'm selfish.  And I'm proud. =)  But I'm sharing with you... so now we're even, right?

Enjoy your Monday guys!  I know I'll be doing some homework (which I should have done this weekend!) and some more cleaning/gardening!

Seafood Medley

I don't watch much television anymore. It's not that I dislike television, it's just I'm too busy or would rather do a variety of other things than loaf on the couch and watch some tube. However, I do have my indulgences that I MUST watch religiously. I'm mainly talking about Top Chef. Of course it's over now, but you bet your ass when Season 7 comes around, I will MAKE time for this amazing show. I love it mainly because it doesn't have that "reality factor"... you know the fake acting, the predictable dialogue, the just downright tackyness. And I don't mean to offend anyone who is a fan of that type of reality tv... but it's not my cup of tea. But Top Chef always provides entertainment, quick wit, and most of all, they showcase the food. The food is the star and that's why I pay attention! Anyway, my segue way here is that for Christmas this year Andy got me the Top Chef Quickfire Cookbook and I've only made 2 things out of it, a dessert, and this seafood dish. It turned out okay, but I somewhat improvised on it, to account for my amateur cooking skills (in comparison to the Top Chef crew) and so I don't think it turned out quite as well as it could have.


Ingredients:
Adapted from Top Chef Quickfire Cookbook - "Brian M.'s Tres Rios"

1 lb. mixed shellfish (I used 10 mussels, 10 clams, and 1/2 lb. rockshrimp)
2 cups chardonnay
2 red bell peppers, seeded and sliced into thin strips
juice from 1 lemon
2 tablespoons shallots, diced
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons Pernod (licorice flavored liquor)
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a dutch oven on the stove under medium high heat. Add the shellfish mixture, wine, bell peppers, shallots, lemon juice, butter, Pernod, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.

Cover and steam until the clams and mussels open. About 10 minutes or so. Discard any of the unopened shells.

Serve with crispy baguette slices and jasmine rice.


Like I said, this was an okay dish. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great. It was definitely one of those dishes that smelled completely different than it actually tasted. The Pernod was overpowering when you whiffed the pot, but when you tasted the broth it was delicious and didn't really have an overpowering taste of licorice or liquor. More like a lemony, buttery taste with a hint of possible licorice as an afterthought. And I definitely wouldn't recommend the rock shrimp. My clams were the last to open so the whole mixture was steaming for a long time and the shrimp seemed to get overdone. They were really "rock" shrimp after all was said and done. And if the rock shrimp was used again, I'd probably put it in last minute because they cook so fast. All in all, it's worth a shot and it's quite versatile of a dish. Most of all, it's colorful and take a nice picture, if anything. Enjoy!

Seafood Sandwich

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope everyone had a great holiday with whatever holiday you are celebrating this season! I know it was a great time for me. Everything I got this year is something I've wanted and will use. Even my parents got me things that I actually liked this year! You'll notice a lot more color and flare with the food pictures to come also! Thanks to Andy, I got many new fabrics and dishes to accentuate my food! Hopefully it'll make it all more appealing! Cheers!


Ingredients:
Adapted from Stellar Recipes' blog

5-10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Small handful of parsley leaves, chopped
Juice from 1 lime
3/4 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup flour
2 flounder fillets
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
4 slices rustic italian bread
mixed greens
1/2 lb. frozen cooked shrimp

In a small bowl, combine the basil, parsley, lime juice, and sour cream. Mix everything together well and salt and pepper to taste. Place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Combine the flour with some salt and pepper and dredge each flounder fillet with flour.

Heat a large skillet under medium high heat and melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Place flounder in skillet and cook both fillets until browned on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.

In another skillet, melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and add shrimp. Cook until shrimp is heated through and nice and juicy.

Assemble sandwiches by placing handful of mixed greens on slice of italian bread. Then place flounder fillet on top of greens. Then top flounder with a few pieces of shrimp (I did 6 per sandwich). Then on top slice of bread, spread some of the basil/sour cream mixture on top and cover sandwich with bread.

This is not your normal, everyday fish sandwich. This is something special. Definitely is well deserving of a "seafood sandwich" title. Enjoy!