South West Chicken, and a few other tantalizing tidbits!

My husband Jerry made this recipe up a few years ago. I entered it in one of those national recipe contests, but didn't hear from them. If they actually tried this recipe I think the outcome would've been different. I do not mean to sound boastful, but this one is so easy and so delicious; extremely moist and the bacon lends a beautiful smokey flavor to the chicken thighs and avocado. Here goes...

SOUTHWEST CHICKEN

Chicken Thighs with Avocado, Pepper Jack and Bacon

 

Ingredients:

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 big cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil plus more for drizzling
Salt/Pepper
2 large avocados
8 oz. Pepper Jack cheese, sliced into 8 pieces
8 strips Bacon
Cilantro, chopped, optional

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut fat and gristle off chicken thighs. If you cannot find boneless/skinless thighs, it is not that much work to bone and skin yourself; just takes a bit of time. Thigh skin and bones make wonderful chicken stock.

Rinse trimmed thighs. Pat dry. Place in a shallow baking dish with Olive Oil, generous salt/pepper, and 2 cloves coarsely chopped garlic. Let marinate at least a couple hours, but if you left all day it won't hurt them. Peel, seed and slice avocado. There are many ways to skin an avocado, but what I do is cut in half and then hit the seed or pit with the knife and pop it out. Make 4 slices in the avocado while it is still in its skin. Take a teaspoon and run between the flesh and skin and the avocado will come out whole, but pre-sliced!  After they have marinated, lay the chicken thighs flat; inside up. Divide the avocado slices between the 8 thighs. Add 1 oz. of Pepper Jack to each thigh. Because the chicken has been marinating in olive oil, they will be slippery. Roll up and wrap with one strip of bacon pulled tight to go around the thigh like a belt. Drizzle with a little more Olive Oil and bake for about 1 hour or until bacon is crisp. Baste every 20 minutes or so with pan juices.  Let sit for 15 minutes. Top with with chopped cilantro and serve.  These South West Chicken Thighs are excellent with black beans and Mexican rice.

Here is a simple idea for a quick lunch that looks attractive enough to serve to guests. You can use either real crabmeat (always better, but expensive) or the immitation crab, which is actually made from pollock. I like the immitation stuff, although I don't think it really tastes like crabmeat.

 

TOMATO STUFFED

                                     WITH CRABMEAT

This does not really need a recipe.  If you are using fake crab, just chop it into a fine dice, add a bit of finely diced celery, salt, pepper and mayo. Mix it well.  Slice a tomato into eighths being careful not to cut all the way through so the tomato keeps its shape.  Salt the inside of the tomato.  Place about 1/2 cup crab salad into the sliced tomato. You may have to push the crab salad down into the tomato. Top with freshly chopped chives and a sprig of parsley and you have a nice little lunch that takes about 10 minutes to make. If serving to guests add a chilled glass of Sauvignon Blanc and a hard roll and you have a perfectly balanced meal. In fact, even if you don't have guests that sounds pretty good!

 

Another quick and easy lunch idea...

 

LETTUCE WRAPS

This also takes only minutes to prepare, is super healthy, delicious and different. You can add any ingredient you like or may have on hand.  This is especially fast if you have leftovers, but even if you don't, it takes no time at all to prepare. This time I used salmon and sauted veg.

 

 

My husband filling his leaves!

This does not need a recipe either. Chop/dice whatever vegetable you choose. I used tomato, celery, carrot, leeks, garlic, avocado and coho salmon. Saute the celery, garlic, leek, carrot, salt/pepper in a little olive oil until tender. Toss in the chopped tomato and diced salmon. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the salmon turns opaque. Take off heat and add chopped avocado. You can use any type of lettuce, but iceburg makes a nice wide surface. Lay out a few leaves of lettuce on each serving plate. Place the cooked veg and salmon in a serving bowl and let each guest fill and roll their own leaves. Most people like to be involved with their food and this easy luncheon dish gives them the whole experience.

Lettuce wraps can be messy, but they are worth it!

Doesn't he look a bit like a Rabbitt?? Chicken or shrimp and sauted vegetable also work well in a lettuce wrap. Or you can do an all vegie wrap with lots of fresh herbs. The choices are endless...

TIP:  This relates to nothing, but I just tried it recently and it is really yummy. We like to make popcorn at night as a snack. Next time you're popping, add a couple Tbsp. of truffle oil to the oil you are popping in. It makes the popcorn taste like it is dredged in butter. I like to use a combination of olive oil and grapeseed oil. The grapeseed oil has a higher smoke point (the point at which the oil begins to break down and starts to smoke just before burning) so pops the corn quickly making it very light. I know there are those who say you should never cook with grapeseed oil because it is mainly a polyunsaturated oil which releases lots of free radicals, when heated, but I choose to cook with it anyway because I love the taste. The addition of truffle oil elevates popcorn to a very decadent treat.

On to another different entre idea...

 

SPAGHETTI SQUASH

This is the strangest squash and really does turn into spaghetti once it is cooked. Use it as you would spaghetti and top with red sauce and meatballs or olive oil and veg which is what I made for dinner the other night.

This squash is very hard, similar to a Blue Hubbard so be careful when you are slicing.

Scoop out the seeds and other fibrous stuff inside. I cooked the squash as two separate halves which took a lot of time, but I wasn's sure if I cut it up if I would still get the long spaghetti strings. Next time I would cut it at least in long quarters. Boil in salted water until tender.

Using a fork, scrape out the squash by running the fork through the flesh of the squash. Plate it up just as you would spaghetti and add your topping. I used a very simple sauted mushroom, lots of garlic, chopped tomato and a splash of white wine. Garnish with basil. Again, the combinations for spaghetti squash are limited only by our imaginations. If you close your eyes while eating this, you really do think you are eating spaghetti!

THE QUESTION OF FAT:  This also has nothing to do with anything, but as you may know I am a big fan of Dr. Andrew Weil and read his health and cooking tips daily. This week he came out with a story on LARD. Yes, the solid, white pig fat that for years has been considered horrible for you. I happen to like fat of all kinds, pig included (pork rinds anyone?) and although I do not bake with lard it does add a flavor and flakiness to pastry that is unmatched. Dr. Weil claims the latest studies show that lard and other saturated fats formerly believed to cause coronary heart disease, high cholesterol, heart attacks, etc. are not really bad for you after all. Of course, he recommends you use lard from organic, grass-fed pigs. BRING ON THE LARD! 

What next?!? I am of the belief that "they" do not really know what is good or bad for us and you should pretty much eat, drink, DO whatever you like as long as it makes you happy and doesn't hurt anyone else. If eating something makes you feel good, it is probably good for you.


THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR...

JELLO

 

I have started experimenting with unflavored Knox gelatin by making home-made jello. It is so much better than the stuff we ate as kids that is filled with artificial colors and flavors, and it is very easy to make. Mix 1 packet unflavored gelain and 4-6 packets of Stevia or sugar. Heat 2 cups of fruit juice. Add to the gelatin/sugar and stir until dissolved. You can either pour the gelatin in individual serving bowls or use 1 large mold. The first time I used V-8 Light  Fruit Fusion--Blueberry Pomegranate. It was fabulous. Next I tried Light Tropical Punch Fuze. I did not realize until after I made the jello that this particular Fuze has pineapple juice in it which impedes the thickening of the jello. If you used all pineapple juise it would not jell at all. I topped the tropical punch jello with alcohol infused whipped cream making it a little more grown-up. This whipped cream comes in different flavors. The vanilla worked well in this case. 

 

I think unexpected flavors like grapefruit or pear nectar will be fun to try. 

 

Remember tomato aspic? That will be the next one I try.

I have had a ball this afternoon thinking about food and hope you enjoyed reading as much as I did writing!  Now, let's get cooking!  Until next time...

Be bold in the kitchen. Try new flavors.

Get your creative juices flowing. Have fun!

There are no mistakes when it comes to cooking!

 

Tune in again soon for another episode of:

 

www.cookwithcindy.com

 

Fee, Fi, PHO, Fum...



My oldest stepson, Mike, just began his 37th beautiful year on earth. Every year for his birthday I make a "request" meal as my gift to him. Sometimes he will request a theme or country, like last year he said Mexican so we had spicy guacamole with chips to start, lobster enchilladas with avocado corn relish and salsa verde, black beans with red pepper topped with queso fresca, big salad, and for dessert tres leches. This year he said he wanted SEAFOOD PHO. I have to confess I have never eaten Pho so was at a bit of a loss, but had a blast researching ingredients and different points of view on Pho.

Mike about to dig into Seafood Pho

Apparently some believe Pho should be made only with beef, although I found recipes for chicken, pork and seafood. The important aspect of making Pho is the stock so I began making the stock the day before Mike's big dinner.

But let's start at the beginning...

We began the birthday feast with spring rolls and 2 different dipping sauces.

A friend of mine who is Vietnamese told me about an Asian market in Quincy, MA called the Kam Man. I found everything I needed at this fabulous and huge supermarket. In addition to fresh and wonderful produce, they had meats, fishes, whole ducks, spices, sauces, 2 aisles dedicated to different types of seaweed...you name it; they have it! Kam Man is very similar to my favorite market in Tucson that my friend Robb introduced me to a couple years ago. Lee Lee's carries foods from all over the world, plus has a fantastic Vietnamese restaurant next door. Back to Mike's dinner...

SHRIMP SPRING ROLLS

Ingredients:
2 ounces rice vermicelli noodles
8 rice wrappers (8.5 in. diameter)
8 large cooked shrimp
1 1/3 Tbsp. chopped fresh Thai basil (or regular basil if you can't find Thai)
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint leaves
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
2 leaves lettuce, chopped
1 thinly sliced cucumber (slice the long way; use a peeler to get slices super thin)
4 thinly sliced scallions, green and white parts

Sauce #1:
8 tsp. fish sauce
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1 lime
1 clove minced garlic
1 small hot chili, de-seeded and finely diced
3 tsp. white sugar
1/2 tsp. garlic chili sauce
Mix all ingredients. Let sit for an hour to ripen.

Sauce #2:
3 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce
1 tsp. finely chopped peanuts
Mix same as above.

In Arizona we used to have a neighbor who is Vietnamese. Way (I have not spelled her name correctly, but this is how she pronounced it.) made the most unbelievable spring rolls and she made it look easy. This was my first attempt at making spring rolls. They did not look as pretty as Way's, but they sure were delicious!


Here I am beginning to roll the spring rolls

Preparation:
Pour near boiling water into a bowl. Drop in the rice vermicelli for 3-5 minutes or until al dente. Drain. Fill another large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for a second to soften. Lay wrapper flat on a damp linen dish towel (do not use terry cloth). In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, a couple slices cuke, 2 or 3 pieces of thinly sliced scallion, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce. Do not put the filling all the way to the edges so you have room to wrap and roll. Fold in both edges and gently, but tightly roll up the wrapper to form a log. The rice wrappers tear quite easily so if you rip a hole you can add a second wrapper to enclose. As you can see in the above photo, I had all ingredients sliced and chopped and then as I made each spring roll I placed under another damp linen towel to keep moist until time to serve.

I think you could add any veg you like or thinly sliced pork or other seafood. Since the entree for Mike's birthday was simply soup, I thought we should have a second appetizer so I made...

CHICKEN SATAY WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Ingredients:

1 cup plain yogurt (I used 0 fat Chobani Greek style)

1 tsp. freshly grated ginger root

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. curry powder

1 Tbsp. tumeric

1 tsp. salt

Wooden skewers soaked for grilling or I used long metal skewers since I planned to take the chicken off the skewers to serve.

PAM or other vegetable oil for grilling

1 1/2 pound chicken breasts, slightly flattening (see previous blog for suggestions on pounding chicken) and cut into strips about 1 1/2 inches wide

Butter lettuce

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Peanut Sauce

Preparation:

Combine yogurt, ginger, garlic, curry, and tumeric in a shallow bowl. Stir to combine. Place the chicken strips in the yogurt marinade and gently toss to coat thoroughly. Cover and let the chicken marinate in the fridge for a couple hours.

Thread the chicken (this is a goopy job!) onto the skewers. Place on medium hot grill, spray with a little cooking oil to prevent sticking (it still will stick a little). Grill for 3-4 minutes per side until nicely seared and cooked through. Serve on a platter with lettuce leaves, cilantro and a big bowl of peanut sauce.

Peanut Sauce:

1 cup either chunky or smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup Ponzu citrus seasoned soy sauce (found this at the Kam Man's...fabulous!)

2 tsp. chili paste (I used Sambal Oelik)

2 tsp. dark brown sugar

Juice of 2 limes

1 Tbsp. Hoisin sauce

1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt

1/2 cup hot water

1/4 cup chopped peanuts for garnish.

Preparation:

Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, chilli paste, brown sugar and lime juice in blender or food processor. Puree to combine. While the motor is running, drizzle in the hot water to thin out the sauce (you may not need all of it). Pour the sauce into a nice serving bowl and garnish with the chopped peanuts.

SEAFOOD PHO

I like to keep various soup stocks on hand in the freezer and I just happened to have a lobster broth which is what I used as a base to begin the Pho stock. To this stock I added another couple lobster bodies, shrimp shells, skin of striped bass and simmered for about 2 hours to rich up the original lobster stock. Drain. Add mirepoix (carrot, celery, onion) back into the drained lobster broth and simmer for another couple of hours. Drain. Now the stock is ready for its final simmer with spices braised onion, ginger and garlic.

Ingredients:

2 onions

Ginger root, about a 3 inch piece

5 cloves garlic

Spice blend: 2 large black cardamom pods, 2 cinnamon sticks, 6 star anise, 1 Tbsp. sea salt, 2 Tbsp. fennel seed, about 12 whole cloves

1/3 cup fish sauce

Dash of oyster sauce

Dash of Sriacha sauce

Shitake Mushrooms, about 1 cup

Mung Bean sprouts, about 1 cup

Garnish: chopped cilantro, fresh basil, mint, and limes.

Pea Shoots (optional garnish)

1 lb. scallops

1/2 lb. shrimp

1 lb. squid

1 striper filet (striped bass)

Rice noodles

My other son, Justin caught the striper.

Halve the onions, ginger and garlic. Brush with olive oil and roast them for 30-40 minutes at 450 degrees. Add these and the spice blend to the stock and simmer for another hour. Drain.

Add 1/3 cup fish sauce, a dash of oyster sauce, dash of Sriacha sauce and a pinch of sugar, and simmer for another 1-2 hours. Finally add mushrooms, bean sprouts, uncooked rice noodles, and fish and simmer until it is cooked. Serve with chopped cilantro, fresh basil, mint, limes and extra Sriacha for those who like it hot!

I sliced the squid into rings before adding to the Pho.

Extremely large shrimp and fresh sea scallops ready to drop in.



Time to eat--An ngnon nhe!

For the final course I made Mike a very non-Vietnamese cake using one of his favorite ingredients...and I do not mean Chocolate!

CHOCOLATE GUINNESS CAKE

This cake is ridiculously rich and delicious. This also was a first for me so I had no idea it would be so big. When all frosted it stood an impressive 18 inches high! This recipe came from the Barrington Brewery in Great Barrington, MA

I used pansies to decorate the cake!



Ingredients:

4 cups white flour

1 Tbsp. baking soda

1 pound good quality semisweet chocolate

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups Guinness or other stout

4 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

4 large eggs

1 1/3 cup sour cream

4 sticks unsalted butter (Yikes!...that's a lot of butter!)

2 cups whipping cream

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter three 8 inch round cake pans. Line with parchment paper. Butter paper. Bring 2 cups Guinness and 2 cups butter to a simmer in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and 1 1/2 tsp. salt in large bowl. Using electric mixer beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl. Add the stout/chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among prepared pans. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Cool cakes on rack for about 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely on the rack.

I frosted the cakes with 2 cups whipping cream, a tsp. of sugar and 1 tsp. of vanilla. I actually could've used more whipped cream as the cakes were so gigantic.

Before adornment...

After...

Justin's birthday is in November so we will do this all over again with his choice of menu. I honestly think sometimes they come up with these things just to see if they can stump me. So far they have not!

We concluded the festivities with the mile-high cake, a wee glass of Guinness and a spectacular fireworks display shot off our back deck. It certainly was a birthday to remember. Happy Birthday all over again Mike!!

Here's a quick technical note before I sign off for today. If you are interested in searching for a certain recipe or tip, go to: www.cookwithcindy.com and enter the word you are searching for in the SEARCH BOX at top left of the first page of my website. If it is something I have blogged, it will take you to it. For example, Teriyaki Chicken wings will take you to the tribute to my dear friend Aggie. These wings were her favorite! Let me know if you have trouble finding something and I will help you out.

Thank you once again for tuning in and sharing 

Mike's festive birthday celebration!

As they say in Vietnamese...VO! or CHEERS!

www.cookwithcindy.com

3 Luscious Chickens, 2 Flavorful Canapes...and a Perfect Pear Treat!

My brother loves to cook as much as I do and I just had the pleasure of a visit from he and his wife, which gave us the chance to cook together!  We made Skip's famous Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken.  We did so much eating this weekend that by the time we came to the Lemon Garlic Chicken we served it simply with grilled zuchinni and summer squash (from my own little garden!) and a few grilled jumbo shrimp creating a surf and barnyard.  Here is Skip's recipe...

SKIP'S LEMON GARLIC GRILLED CHICKEN

Ingredients:

4 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut in thirds

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 Lemons, juice and a little zest

4 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt/Pepper

A pinch of red hot pepper

3 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients and place in a zip lock bag to marinate for a few hours in the refrigerator. Every once in awhile, give the bag a shake to make sure all pieces benefit equally from the marinade.

Get your grill hot, spray with cooking oil and gently grill the chicken pieces for about 4 minutes per side. I like to spin the pieces 2 minutes into the cooking to give them a nice cross hatch, but it is really not necessary.

This dish is so easy and the fresh basil and lemon really pop the flavor.  After the fact I was thinking it might be nice to serve with a lemon garlic alioli. I am going to try that next time!

Here's another chicken dish I made recently for my sister-in-law, Chickie.  She also likes to cook and brought a fabulous pasta Greek salad which was the perfect accompaniment for:

GREEK STYLE CHICKEN BREASTS

Chickie getting ready to dig in!

We completed this meal with zuchinni halves grilled under the broiler with a little feta cheese, salt/pepper and fresh oregano.

I like to stuff and roll chicken breasts with different ingredients and I love Greek food so this idea came together easily and was moist and delicious!

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, flattened*
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves very finely chopped garlic
2 cups baby spinach leaves, stemmed
2 Roasted Red Peppers (see previous blog for 'how to roast')
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
4 Tbsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
4 Tbsp. prepared or homemade basil pesto
Salt/Pepper/Red pepper flakes

Chicken Breasts ready to bake.

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pound the breasts. Put 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a shallow casserole dish. Coat the chicken breasts in the oil and place in dish with inside of breast up. Sprinkle with the garlic.  Divide the spinach leaves among the 4 breasts. Lay the roasted red pepper on top of the spinach and add the feta cheese and the oregano. Gently roll the chicken breasts tucking in the ingredients (the peppers are a little slippery).  Rub about 1 Tbsp. of basil pesto over each chicken breast and finish with a sprinkle of hot red pepper. You don't need to tie these breasts because they stay together quite well without trussing.


Bake for about 25 minutes (depending on how big your breats are). Let rest for 5 minutes and slice and serve.

* To flatten the chicken breasts, place between a sheet of plastic wrap and pound with any heavy object (bread board, frying pan, meat pounder, rolling pin, etc.) until the breast is an even thickness of about 3/8 inch.

Left-over Queen strikes again!  We did not eat all the Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken so tonight I made a Chicken Alfredo and served over whole grain spaghetti. A sliced tomato was all that we needed to complete this meal. So yummy and a great way to use the left-over chicken.

LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN ALFREDO

Ingredients:
Left-over Lemon/Garlic Chicken, cut into small pieces
3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/2 cup grated parmesan
3/4 cup mozzarella
Fresh chopped basil for the chicken
Fresh chopped chives for the tomatoes

Alfredo Sauce: Heat 3 Tbsp. butter, 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a frying pan. Add 2 cups heavy cream, 1/4 tsp. white pepper, minced garlic and bring to a brisk simmer. Stir and cook on low heat for about 10 minutes.  Add cheeses and stir frequently for another 8-10 minutes until the sauce is thick, smooth and creamy.

Because this was a "left-over" meal that I had not planned in advance, I did not have all the proper ingredients for an Alfredo so I had to make some substitutions.

Alternative Alfredo Sauce:
3 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/4 cup Half and Half
3/4 cup Almond Milk (All I had was the sweetened almond milk, which presented a challenge!)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
Salt/Black Pepper
1/3 pound cream cheese
1/2 cup parmesan

Prepare as above. The cream cheese and ground ginger took the edge of the sweet. This sauce turned out to be fantastic and although not as rich or creamy as a traditional Alfredo Sauce, it was pretty darn good!

Cook your pasta (8 minutes for aldente); toss the chopped chicken and serve mix thoroughly.  Garnish the Lemon Garlic Chicken Alfredo with chopped basil and the tomato with chopped chives.  This is a simple, fast way to use any type of left-over chicken!

The first canape (aka hors d'oeuvres!) I want to share is one of my all-time favorites...

OYSTERS ROCKEFELLER

This dish was created in the late 1800's in New Orleans by Jules Alciatore of Antoine's Restaurant. He named it after John D. Rockefeller as this classic appetizer is likewise rich!

In New England, in the summer, we eat a lot of fresh seafood and shellfish. Oysters any way are wonderful, but almost everyone likes them cooked!  This is a recipe that can also be altered in so many different ways (add fresh chopped watercress, minced garlic,celery, top with a little mozzarello, splash of white wine, chmpagne, orange zest, tarragon, USE YOUR IMAGINATION!).  This is a classic, but there is no rule stating that you cannot embellish Chef Alciatore's original!  Here is the basic recipe for Oysters Rockefeller.

Ingredients:
2 dozen Oysters (I use the local Cape Cod oyster which is a Wellfleet.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs (day-old baguette or whole grain or use Panko)
2 cups baby spinach leaves, finely chopped
3 Tbsp. chopped scallions, both white and green parts
1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh parsley
3 plus 1 additional Tbsp. unsalted butter
Pinch of cayenne
Salt/Pepper
1/4 cup Pernod or other anise flavored liquor (this is where the white wine or champagne could be used)
3 bacon slices
Preparation:
Toss together spinach, scallion, parsley, 1 1/2 Tbsp. breadcrumbs in a bowl.  Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in a heavy skillet over moderate heat; add garlic and cook for a couple minutes, add spinach mixture and cook until spinach is just wilted-1 to 2 minutes. Stir in Pernod, cayenne, and salt/pepper. Transfer mixture to a bowl and chill, covered until cold-about 1 hour. (This also falls into my make-ahead category making the big dinner party much easier to prepare!) Melt the remaining 1 Tbsp. butter; add the last of the bread crumbs and set aside. While the spinach mixture is chilling, fry the bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels and finely crumble.

Open the oysters; easier said than done! An oyster knife really helps, but it still took me a lot of practice to get these things opened and I am by no means fast at it. Insert the point of the knife in the little opening that presents at the oyster hinge. Drive it in, twist and run the knife along the edge of the oyster. The oyster SHOULD pop open. Run the knife under the oyster to loosen so when you serve the Rockefeller your guests are not fighting to get the oyster off the shell.  Remove any broken shell pieces and clean bottom of shell if necessary.  Do not rinse or drain off the oyster liquor.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Traditionally Oysters Rockefeller are baked on a bed (approximately 10 cups) of coarse kosher salt. I do not do this as I think it is wasteful and not necessary, although the thinking is that the salt helps distribute the heat quickly and evenly.  I just place the oysters in a large, shallow casserole (9x13 works well), and spoon the chilled spinach mixture evenly on top of each oyster. Top with crumbled bacon and finish with the last of the buttered bread crumbs. Bake until the edges of the oysters begin to curl and bread crumbs are golden-about 10-12 minutes. Serve warm in the shells.

WHEN NOT TO EAT OYSTERS...there is an old myth that you should NOT eat oysters in a month that does not have an "R"-May through August. In warmer months oysters, and other shellfish, contain a higher level of marine bacteria, called Vibrio, which can cause an upset stomach. Durng the cooler months-September through April, the bacteria is still present, but not in as great a quantity. Cooking kills the bacteria so it really is OK to eat cooked shellfish in any month. Some medical conditions warrant that you never eat raw shellfish, no matter what month, and should always eat it cooked thoroughly.

Since I am feeling Greek tonight, I want to share a recipe for healthy stuffed grape leaves from Dr. Andrew Weil. I subscribe to Dr. Weil's free online recipes. Although I believe in cooking and eating anything you want, within reason, I do try to make a vegetarian meal at least once a week and I often turn to Dr. Weil's recipes for a low-fat choice. Here is the link to his healthy cooking and recipe site:
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/PAG00318/Dr-Weils-Healthy-Kitchen.html

These stuffed grape leaves are easy to make, can be made ahead of time, and will disappear once you serve them.

DR. ANDREW WEIL'S STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES

Ingredients:
FILLING
2 cups vegetable stock (I use home-made chicken stock which I always like to keep on hand in the freezer.)
1 cup brown rice
1 tsp. salt
1/3 cup grated radish
1/3 cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)
1/2 cup minced celery
3/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. white wine vinegar (Rice vinegar or champagne vinegar also work well.)
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup currants or yellow raisons
1/4 cup pinenuts
Salt/Black Pepper
1 Tbsp. capers

36 grape leaves*
Bunch of chives
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring the stock to a boil. Add the rice and salt. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 45 minutes or until rice is tender. Water should be absorbed. Fluff up the rice.

Mix together the rice and all other ingredients; toss thoroughly.

Rinse grape leaves. Gently pat them dry. Spread the leaves out and spoon 1-2 Tbsp. of the filling on the end of each leaf. Some of the leaves may be torn so you may have to patch to create a solid base for rolling. Roll up, folding the outer edges in to form a pocket.
(I did not do this next step, but it sounds like fun! Instead I served with lemon slices.) Take three 5" long chives and dip briefly in boiling water to make them more pliable. Tie them around each stuffed grap leaf.

Place the leaves in a small casserole dish and drizzle 1 tsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice over them. (I used a little more olive oil.) Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm or cold. I served them cold which allowed the flavors to meld.

*Canned or bottled grape leaves can be found in the International section of your grocery store.

ON TO DESSERT...

POACHED PEARS

I make a lot of different poached pears: Stuffed with Roquefort and Walnuts in Pastry; Poached in Port with Cranberries; Roasted Pears with Balsamic Creme Anglaise, Caramel Sauce, and this wonderful recipe...

POACHED PEARS WITH GINGER AND PORT

Ingredients:
a 1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger root
2 firm Bartlett, Anjou, or Comice pears with stem intact*
3 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup Tawny Port
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
Peel ginger root and slice thin. Cut slices into thin strips. In a saucepan just large enough to hold the pears lying on their sides bring 3 to 4 cups water to boil with ginger root, sugar, port and lemon juice, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

Peel pears, leaving stems intact, and cut a thin slice from the bottom of each if necessary to enable pears to stand upright when served.  Arrange pears on their sides in poaching liquid adding enough water to cover if they are not already submerged. Simmer pears, turning them occasionally, until tender; 20 to 40 minutes, depending on their ripeness. Carefully transfer pears with a slotted spoon to a bowl and boil poaching liquid until reduced to about 1/4 cup and slightly syrupy.  Pour sauce over pears.  You can make pears a day ahead of time and cool in sauce before being chilled, covered. Serve pears warm or chilled.

You do not need a recipe to poach pears. Use any combination of spices (cinnamon is great); herbs (tarragon, basil or mint work well); red wine; port wine; brandy, etc., etc.  Once they are poached they are fabulous wrapped in puff pastry and baked, served with cinnamon whipped cream or creme anglaise or brandy cream sauce.

*When I lived in Jamaica Plain in the 1980's, one of Boston's neighborhoods, I had the most fantastic old and prolific pear tree in my back yard.  I have never had pears so good before or after. Unfortunately I was not able to identify their heritage, but they were sweet with perfect texture.  I made pear everything during the late summer months into the fall.  Poaching ripe, freshly picked pears, by far, make the nicest and most flavorful poached pears.


I am closing today with the debut of my new cooks coat.  I cannot wait to christen my new costume!

Thank you again many times over for sharing my love of cooking and creating in the kitchen.

Happy meals to you until next time with:

www.cookwithcindy.com

Summer Grillin'-Fish, Veggies and a Cocktail or Two!

Sometimes there is nothing better than a big, beautiful juicy hamburger, grilled to rare perfection and topped with a generous amount of salty blue cheese, but more times than not I choose to grill fish.  To me summer grilling in New England means fish paired with an interesting salad or placing the grilled fish on a bed of rice or wilted greens.  Here are a few dinners I have made recently on hot summer nights.

TRI-FISH KABOB

SWORDFISH-SCALLOP-SHRIMP

Swordfish is not cheap, but if you cut into medallions and mix with other fish or shellfish, add some veg you can stretch the fish to make a delicious meal that does not cost a fortune. This time I used a couple large shrimp, 2 plump scallops and 2 pieces of swordfish. The veggie skewer was simply zuchinni and cherry tomatoes drizzled with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

Marinate your swordfish in olive oil, mayonaise, a couple cloves of finely chopped garlic, salt, pepper. 1 lb. of sword should feed 4 with 2 pieces of swordfish per person.  Use 3-4 Tbsp. mayo, the same of olive oil, and liberal salt and pepper. You can add other seasonings or herbs, but I like to let the true taste shine so do not usually add anything else.

Start by cutting your swordfish in 2" chunks (aka medallions), mix the aforementioned ingredients together and drop the swordfish in and mix thoroughly with your hands. Make sure every side of the sword has a liberal amount of marinade.  Let marinate at least 3-4 hours; sitting overnight is even better.  If it sits overnight roll it around every once in awhile so all sides continue to get coated evenly.

Scallops are so delicate I do nothing to them except add a tiny bit of salt and olive oil.  They do not need to marinate.  Same with the shrimp, but you do need to clean the shrimp.  Hold the shrimp and cut through the backside to reveal the dark intestine (yes, that is a poop shoot).  Scrape it out with your knife and rinse the shrimp.  To me wild shrimp is always preferable--better flavor and texture. The wild shrimp usually have more to clean than the farm raised shrimp; not sure why that is; maybe they eat better!

Now we're ready to grill.  Skewer the fish alternating shrimp, scallop, and swordfish.  Get your grill hot and spray with cooking oil and then place the skewers on and cook about 2 minutes and then rotate the skewer and cook another 2 minutes. This gives the fish nice grill marks. Turn the skewer over and cook for about 3 minutes for a total of 7 minutes of cooking.

I served the fish kabobs on a bed of brown and wild rice. When I make rice I like to mix rice types.  Here I used 2/3 cup brown with 1/3 cup wild.  The wild rice gives a nutty flavor and texture.  Start by heating a couple tablespoons of olive oil and a bit of butter in a saucepan until bubbling hot. Add rice mixture, salt, pepper, 1 clove chopped garlic, a little chopped onion and stir the rice until it is coated thorougly with the butter and olive oil.  Add 2 cups chicken stock, cover, bring to a boil and then turn heat to low and let cook until the chicken stock is absorbed; about 45 minutes.

HEALTHY APPETIZER

LEMON GARLIC HUMMUS

Before beginning your outdoor dining, here is a GREAT appeitzer, easy to make and can be done ahead of time.  Lemon Garlic Hummus is the perfect prelude to grilled srimp, fish, or even a burger!

I served this with whole grain pita pockets cut into eighths, sprayed with PAM and then topped with a Garlic and Onion Spice Blend made by The Gourmet Collection. I bought this spice at Home Goods and it has become my 'go-to' spice for many dishes. In addition to the garlic and onion it has a touch of salt, hot pepper, and other herbs and spices. Pop these under the broiler until they are a little crispy.

Ingredients:
1 15.5 oz. can Garbanzo beans (chickpeas). I use Goya.
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Zest (yellow part only) of 1/2 lemon
1 clove finely minced garlic
5 Tbsp. olive oil
Coarse Sea Salt/Pepper

Preparation:
Rinse and drain garbanzo beans. Place beans, and all other ingredients in a blender or mini-max and blend completely. When you begin to blend, the beans will be coarse and thick, but keep blending until you get the desired consistency. If it is not coming together, add 1 Tbsp. water to loosen things up. Let it sit for a few hours so flavors comingle. You can top the Lemon Garlic Hummus with a drizzle of olive oil and an additional sprinkle of lemon zest. Yummy!

Outside with friends on a warm summer evening...how about a cocktail to go with your appetizer?

Here is my friend Francine enjoying a new drink which I call... 

TROPICAL MARTINI
I started out calling this a Midori Martini, but Francine's husband, Joe said that had already been created so I decided to call mine the Tropical Martini. Wow! These were fabulous!
First you need to make the special ice cubes. Start these in the morning and they will be frozen by early evening.
You may read lots of stuff about how hard it is to make granita or fruit ice cubes or fruit pops, but in my experience is is very easy.  Watermelon gave this martini a bright burst of color and flavor.


WATERMELON ICE CUBES
Use 1/2 of a small seedless watermelon which will make about 2 cups of  fruit. Remove rind and cut into chunks. Blend in a blender, mini-max or whatever processer you prefer until it is completely smooth. Pour into ice cube trays and freeze.

To make the Tropical Martini, fill cocktail shaker half full with ice cubes, add 2 1/2 ounces (a good 5-count) melon vodka, 1 ounce Midori Melon Liquer, and a splash of pineapple juice. Shake and strain into martini glass. Serve with one Watermelon ice Cube.


On to more fish...

HADDOCK ON THE GRILL

This haddock is ready to go on the grill. Place the filet skin side down on a piece of foil. Top with salt, pepper, once again I used the Garlic/Onion Spice Blend, tumeric (that is what gives the yellow color), salt/pepper, drizzle of olive oil and fresh oregano from my herb garden.

Get the grill quite hot and place the foil right on the flames. Cover grill and cook for about 5 minutes depending on how thick your fish is. Take off grill and let sit for a couple minutes covered loosely with foil. It will keep cooking.  When you remove the haddock from the foil, the skin will peel off and stay stuck to the foil. Nice trick, huh?!?

I served the Haddock with quinoa cooked with chicken broth, spinach, garlic, and orange cherry tomatoes. Now I am looking at this picture, I see I needed a splash of color to make this plate look more attractive, but it sure was delicious!

GRILLED COD WRAPPED IN BACON

I think this dish looks pretty snazzy and it was as simple to make as the others. For two cod medallions, which is one serving, cut one strip of thick-cut bacon in half the long way and slightly fry it to get out some of the fat, but keep it pliable. Cool. Wrap around each medallion of cod and place on a hot grill for about 3 minutes per side, again depends on the thickness of your cod. The bacon infuses the fish with a smokey flavor, but because you have only used a half slice it is not overpowering.

SALAD WITH LOTS OF GRILLED VEG AND BROWN/WILD RICE

Ingredient options are endless, but here I started with a bed of Romaine, shaved carrot, thick chunks of juicy tomato, lots of fresh herbs and topped with grilled mushroom and zuchinni. Usually when I make brown rice, I make enough for several meals so this rice is the same as mentioned above.

I like to assemble my ingredients before I start preparing to cook. It helps me stay organized...OK, so I am a little compulsive!

I am going to end today with another cocktail. I have had Mojitos before, but never really liked them; way too sweet for my savory palate, so I decided to make one myself to see if I could improve the drink and I believe I have!  To make the drink more special, I decided to make mint ice cubes with mint simple syrup. You need the simple syrup to make the mojitos anyway.

To make traditional simple syrup just remember 2 to 1, sugar to water.
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Preparation:
Bring sugar and water to a simmer in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then simmer 5 minutes. Cool syrup completely. Syrup keeps covered and chilled for months. It is nice to have on-hand to sweeten ice tea or lemonade.
Here is the twist...
Chop about 1 cup of fresh mint leaves in a food processor. Add the chopped mint to the saucepan as the simple syrup simmers.  Simmer for an extra 5 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth. This is the Mint Simple Syrup I used to make the Mojitos.  I also poured the syrup into an ice cube tray and added one small mint leaf per cube before freezing.

Cindy's Mint Mojitos (this makes 3 generous drinks)
Ingredients:
Juice of 3 limes
Juice of 1 lemon
About 6 sprigs of fresh mint
6 ounces rum plus a little more for muddling
2 ounces Mint Simple Syrup
Club Soda
Method:
Muddle the fresh mint leaves with a bit of rum. I have a deep mortar and pestle, but you can use the back of a spoon and a bowl and just rub firmly to crush the mint leaves releasing their flavor.  Add the muddled mint leaves to a cocktail shaker half filled with ice.  Add juice of limes, lemon and simple syrup and shake vigorously.  Add the rum and shake again.  Strain and pour into a stemmed glass, top with club soda or plain seltzer and stir.  Drop in a Mint Ice Cube and serve. You can adjust sweetness by adding more Mint Simple Syrup, but we all liked them like this.  We were so excited to drink these drinks, that I forgot to take a picture...next time!

Grilling is fun, easy, keeps the kitchen cool and means less clean-up. You know my moto...have fun with cooking, mix it up, try different combos and please do play with your food.

THAT'S ALL FOR TODAY.

SALUD, AMOR Y DINERO Y TIEMPO DISFRUTARLO!

Thank you for sharing my food ramblings.

I look forward to talking with you again soon!
Much love to you and yours!

www.cookwithcindy.com

Wild Thing(s)...I think I LOVE you!

It was fun last time to talk a little about my Mom. She was such a big influence on my life in general and of course my love of cooking. July 3rd would've been her 86th birthday and also my folks 65th wedding anniversary. I miss her very much, but have so many happy thoughts and memories, especially when I am in the kitchen!

I grew up eating wild game and fish; mainly fresh water fish as we lived in a small, rural dairy farming community in NH. Every weekend the entire family--all 5 of us!--went fishing and we ALWAYS caught our limit. 50 fish every week. We ate lots of trout, perch, pickerel, bass, pike, and even walleye, which was a real treat to catch. One of my favorite memories of fishing was going to my grandparents house, only a short distance, visiting for a bit and then heading out to fish for brook trout. I would usually go with my Dad down the brook one way and my Mom would go with my sister in the oppositie direction. My brother, being 4 years older, was able to fish in between us and we would all meet up and compare catches. Little brook trout are the best; not the stocked type, but the real thing that is born right in the brook. Sweet tender and delicious...as are the memories.
Now on to some cooking!  I now live half the year south of Boston on Cape Cod Bay; the other half of the year in Arizona, so am blessed with ocean and desert. When in New England we eat a lot of seafood--lobster, scallops, clams, mussels, oysters...you name it, I love to cook it and my husband and I LOVE to eat it. I feel like anything you can get in the wild, whether it be land, sea, pond or stream is better than what we can buy in the grocery store. Commercially grown fruit, veg, meats, poultry have reached an all-time low (in my opinion) in terms of health and quality and our treatment of commercially raised animals: cows, chickens, pigs, in most cases is deplorable.

I want to start today with something that is plentiful in these parts...So let's begin with...

During the summer, we eat lobster at least once a week. Usually I just boil it and the trick here is not to overcook.  A small lobster, called a chick, is 1 to 1 1/4 lb. They are usually the cheapest (right now selling for $4.99/lb.) and are the best buy for your money. The step down below a chick is a cull which has only 1 claw...what's the point!...since the claws are some of the nicest meat. The price, in New England anyway, goes up about $1 per additional pound, so 2 lb. lobsters are going for $5.99 and so on up to lobsters as large as 5 lbs. I bought my husband a 5 pounder for his birthday one year and it was a big disappointment. Sometimes the meat does not fill out the claw so you are paying for a lot of shell.  Also the meat on the larger lobsters can be a bit tougher.  Below you will see an exception...This lobster was caught by my husband's brother-in-law, Chris, who is a lobster/fisherman on the Cape.

Not sure how much this one weighed, but as you can see the claw is larger than my friend Diana's hand!  And this lobster was tender and delicious.

How to Cook a Lobster
Get a large pot--lobster pot or I use a large canning pot that I bought at a yard sale; any large pot will do, but has to be big enough to get the water boiling hard and fit a couple lobsters in under the boiling water.
FOR SMALLER LOBSTERS
The chix only need about 10 minutes to cook. Once the water is boiling, say a brief prayer to the lobster who is about to give up their life; thank them for this gift of food; and then drop the lobster into the boiling water. Cover immediately. Wait a couple seconds for the water to get boiling again, and then drop lobster #2 in after saying a similar prayer. Cover. Keep heat high so water boils continually, but does not boil over for 10 minutes. Turn off heat. Pour off water and let lobsters sit for about 5 minutes. They keep cooking even after being out of the water.

My husband, Jerry is a Lobster Whisperer. He believes if you turn the lobster upside down and balance on their heads before boiling them, they get hypnotized and are much calmer about their fate. He thinks the lobster meat stays more tender if you go through the process. Not sure he is accurate about this, but it sure is fun to watch him do it!

Below is a plain boiled lobster ready to eat. I do not prefer to dredge my boiled lobster in butter as most restaurants do. It masks the true beautiful flavor of the lobster and makes it much too rich so I eat it right from the shell, plain and simple.

HOW TO EAT A LOBSTER
Tear off the claws first. Then separate the body from the tail. Use nut/lobster crackers to break the claws and lobster picks to pull out the meat. The knuckles are my favorite. To remove the tail meat...break off the tail fin and push your finger right up the tail until the meat is released/pushed out. If there is any green goopey stuff called tamale or tomali or red stuff called coral, which are lobster eggs/row, you may either eat or remove. I like the red row in small doses (It is super rich!), but do not care for the green at all.

Keep all the shells in the fridge and next day boil the "bones" for soup stock which can be used for boiling spaghetti if you are making lobster spaghetti or is nice in clam chowder or linguine with clams. Of course if there is any leftover lobster meat (which there usually is not), it makes a great lobster roll  or lobster cake (similar to crab cake, but better!) for lunch the next day!

Let's move into the Maine woods for some...

MOOSE

My Dad often receives gifts of moose, venison and other game and shares with me. Moose is a very mild (ungamey) tasting meat. As with beef, the steaks are the best, but I am happy with any cut and recently got some Mooseburger meat, which was yummy! You cook a mooseburger in the same way you would hamburger. I panfried our burgers in a little butter/olive oil with salt and pepper only as flavorings. Here are the burgers ready to cook. As with beef I like my mooseburgers rare so cook for about 4 minutes per side. As you can see I made the patties fairly thick.  When you butcher either moose or venison and grind the meat into burgers, you need to add fat because the meat is so lean, but the burgers are still much less fatty than hamburger in the store.

I served our mooseburgers with sliced tomato, sauted spinach, garlic and red pepper and a potato pancake topped with fresh chive.

Last night I grilled a VENISON burger and served with a Spinach and Mushroom Timbale, sort of like a little souffle. I also grilled a few onions to add to the venison and as it was grilling (again about 4 minutes per side) added a sprig of fresh rosemary along with liberal salt and pepper.

SPINACH AND MUSHROOM TIMBALES
These are so easy to make and you can vary the ingredients endlessly. This is what I used last night to serve two:
Ingredients:
4 mushrooms, cut into small pieces
2 handfuls fresh baby spinach, chopped
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 cup grated Cheddar
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Salt/Pepper/Spices
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To start, lightly saute the veg you choose in olive oil, salt, pepper and seasonings. I used a couple dashes of onion salt and about 1/4 tsp. of garlic and onion spice blend.

Add chopped spinach and cook just until wilted. Beat eggs. Add 1/2 cup grated cheese (parmesan is also good in timbales), mix in veg and place in greased custard cups. Cook for 20 minutes until the timbales puff up (they will sink down like a soufle as they cool). Let them cool a bit. Take a knife and run along sides and bottom to lift out the timbales.

FRESH WATER FISH

Recently Dad also gave me some perch and rainbow trout. Occasionally you can buy rainbow trout in the supermarket. Rainbows are different from brook trout (brookies) in both look and taste. Brookies are spotted, but their skin is more brown and their flesh is white; whereas rainbows are spotted and colorful (hence, the name!) with reddish flesh. They also taste a bit stronger than brookies, but are still delicious and very fast and easy to cook.

After you have cleaned your fish (they come cleaned in the store!), dredge in finely ground yellow or white corn meal, salt and pepper. Get a pan hot with butter and olive oil and drop fish in and fry for 3-5 minutes per side depending on how big your fish are. As you can see these perch are fairly small, but both fish were very sweet and tender. The bones in the perch were so small you could eat them and when the trout is cooked through the meat pulls off the bones easily.

I served with peas, sauted mushroom and cherry tomatoes, and creamy Yukon gold potatoes boiled with 1 carrot and a small onion, then mashed with butter and topped with fresh chives. It tasted like "home" and brought back great memories of Mom in the kitchen!

Another taste of "home" and memory from my childhood is eating game birds: pheasant, partridge, ducks of all kinds and on rare occasion a goose. My Dad had a partridge visiting him in his yard recently and really enjoyed watching him, but unfortunately something spooked this bird and he flew hard into Dad's bathroom window and broke his neck. Dad held the bird gently as he took his last breath. We learned growing up never to waste and if you kill something to eat every part of it. In this case Dad did not kill his "pet" partridge, but since the bird did himself in, Dad was kind enough to gut it out for me. My husband had never eaten or cooked partridge so he decided to cook the bird himself. There is very little meat on a a partridge so this breast made a nice appetizer for us. Jerry parboiled the breast in a steamer pan on a bed of onion, carrot and celery, salt and pepper for about 15 minutes. He then took the breast out of the steamer basket and sauted briefly in olive oil until the skin was browned. He made a roux with butter and flour, cut it with a little cream and white wine and then served the breast in this rich, beautiful sauce with some of the veg from the mirepoix,

 This picture does not do the partridge or Jerry's lovely appetizer justice, but you have to believe me if you are lucky enough to eat partridge it is truly a wonderful treat!

When I was a kid growing up I thought everyone ate game and fresh caught fish. I did not realize just how fortunate I was until years later!

Thanks again for joining me for another episode of:

COOKWITHCINDY.COM

HAPPY HUNTING AND FISHING!

ENJOY THE WILD AND WONDERFUL GIFTS 

OF NATURE GOD PROVIDES!