Closet Cooking

Jerked Chicken with Mango and Avocado Salad

2008-07-06T23:35:00.000-04:00

When I made the jerk chicken a while ago I ended up with a lot of extra jerk marinade. I have been enjoying having the extra marinade around because it has made for some quick and tasty meals. I was looking for a light meal and I thought; What better than a salad with some jerked chicken? Juicy ripe mangoes were the next thing to come to mind for the salad. Lately I have been enjoying avocados and I thought that they would add a nice bit of relief to the heat of the jerk chicken. I have also been experimenting using beans in salads lately and this time I went with some kidney beans, though black beans also crossed my mind. The salad ended up being quite good. The avocados and sweet mangoes complemented the heat of the spicy chicken nicely.

Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1/4 cup jerk marinade
1 tablespoon oil
1 lemon (juice and zest)
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon honey
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
2 handfuls romaine lettuce (chopped)
1 mango (peeled, pitted, and cut into bite sized pieces)
1 avocado (peeled, pitted, and cut into bite sized pieces)
1 handful kidney beans (rinsed and drained)

Direction:
1. Marinate the chicken in the jerk marinade for 20 minutes to overnight.
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Add the chicken and saute until golden brown on both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side.
4. Mix the lemon juice, lemon zest, oil, honey, dijon mustard, salt and pepper.
5. Assemble salad and pour on dressing.
5. Top with sliced jerked chicken.

Similar Recipes:
Jerk Chicken
Chicken and Mango Guacamole Wrap

Cod with Strawberry Salsa

2008-07-05T14:37:00.004-04:00

I got a few too many strawberries and I needed to use them. I was thinking that a white fish with a strawberry salsa would be nice. At first I was going to go with a more standard salsa with jalapeno, cumin and cilantro but then I thought that balsamic vinegar goes well with strawberries. I ended up with a strawberry and balsamic vinegar salsa to go with the fish which turned out to be cod. There is still a lot of fresh local asparagus so I finished the meal off with some of that. Nothing says Spring like asparagus and strawberries! It turned out to be a really nice light and fresh lunch.

Ingredients:
1 fillet cod (or any white fish)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon mint (chopped)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup strawberries (trimmed and chopped)

Directions:
1. Season the cod with salt and pepper.
2. Broil the cod until cooked and flaky, about 6-9 minutes.
3. Mix the mint, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, honey and black pepper.
4. Toss with the strawberries with the dressing to coat.
5. Serve the cod with the strawberry salsa.

Similar Recipes:
Sea Bass with Mango and Black Bean Salsa

Take a look at the Waiter there's something in my... berries roundup at Cook sister!.

Mango and Rhubarb Crumble

2008-07-04T19:46:00.003-04:00

When I was younger I did not care for mangoes but I recently discovered that I like them... a lot. I have really been enjoying the mangoes lately, especially the mango crumble that I made a while ago. It was so good that I wanted to make it again. I had also been thinking about a strawberry and rhubarb crumble. After thinking for a while I decided to try combining mangoes and rhubarb in a mango and rhubarb crumble. I figured that the sweet mangoes would go well with the tart rhubarb. I went with a pretty basic recipe and added some grated ginger and coconut to make it a bit more exotic. The mango and rhubarb crisp turned out really well! The sweet mango and tart rhubarb and the hint of coconut was a really tasty flavour combination. Of course melting vanilla ice went really well with it!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups mango (diced)
2 cups rhubarb (cut into 1 inch pieces)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup coconut (unsweetened)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter (melted)

Directions:
1. Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl.
2. Add the mango, rhubarb, lemon juice and ginger and toss to coat.
3. Mix the flour, rolled oats, coconut, brown sugar and butter in a large bowl.
4. Place the mango and rhubarb mixture into an 8x8 inch baking dish and pour the topping on.
5. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until it is bubbling and the top is golden brown, about 45 minutes.

Similar Recipes:
Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble
Rhubarb Crumble
Mango Macadamia Nut Crumble

Take a look at the Mango Mania roundup at What's for lunch, Honey?.

Coconut Shrimp with Apricot Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

2008-07-03T16:58:00.004-04:00

I came across coconut shrimp a while ago and I really liked the sound of them but I was not too sure about deep frying so I bookmarked them to try later. I recently came across them again and now that I am more comfortable with deep frying it was time to try them. The coconut shrimp were really easy to make. They follow the standard frying steps of dredging in flour, dipping in egg and bread crumbs and of course, in this case, the coconut. The coconut shrimp were really good! They were nice and crispy on the outside and warm and succulent on the inside with a hint of coconut. I served the coconut prawns with a sweet chili sauce with some apricot preserves mixed in for a bit of a sweet and spicy kick.

Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients:
1 pound shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 cup flour
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 cup shredded coconut
oil for frying

Directions:
1. Dredge the shrimp in the flour.
2. Dip the shrimp into the egg.
3. Dip the shrimp into the panko and coconut mixture.
4. Fry the shrimp in the oil until golden brown, no more than 2 minutes.

Dipping Sauce

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
1 tablespoon apricot preserves

Directions:
1. Mix the sweet chili sauce and apricot preserves.

Similar Recipes:
Thai Lemon Shrimp

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2008-07-02T18:01:00.004-04:00

You may have noticed, based on the number of posts, that I really like strawberries. I had been looking forward to strawberry season for a while and I built up a rather long list of things that I wanted to try. Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts and I had been thinking that a strawberry cheesecake ice cream would be good. The idea was pretty simple, a custard based ice cream with chunks of strawberries, cream cheese and graham cracker crust. Of course, if you happen to have a slice of cheesecake lying around you could just crumble it into the ice cream. For the crust I just made a simple graham cracker crust and crumbled it. I was a bit worried that the graham cracker crust crumbs would get crushed in the ice cream maker so I added them half way through the freezing process hoping that they would stick together better. The strawberry cheesecake ice cream turned out really well! You could taste and feel the difference in texture of the chunks of strawberries, cream cheese and the graham cracker crust.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
1/4 cups sugar
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries (cut into small pieces)
2 ounces cream cheese (chopped into small cubes)
1/4 cup graham cracker crust (crumbed)

Directions:
1. Heat the cream, milk and sugar in a sauce pan until it almost boils, about 5 minutes.
2. Reduce the heat to low.
3. Add one tablespoon of the cream mixture to the eggs to temper them.
4. Add the egg mixture to the sauce pan.
5. Cook at low heat until it thickens and can coat the back of a spoon.
6. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
7. Chill the mixture in the fridge.
8. Start freezing according to the instructions for your ice cream machine.
9. About half way through add the strawberries, cream cheese and graham cracker crust crumbs.

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients:
1/4 cup graham wafer crumbs
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon butter

Directions:
1. Mix everything in a bowl.
2. Press the mixture onto the bottom of a baking pan.
3. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.
4. Let cool completely.

Similar Recipes:
Strawberry Cheesecake Crepes
Strawberry and Cream Cheese Danish Braid
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

Take a look at the You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream for Frozen Desserts roundup at Mike's Table.

Teriyaki Black Cod Burger

2008-07-01T17:24:00.002-04:00

Sandwiches and burgers have been on my mind more often as of late. I had seen a few recipes for salmon burgers that sounded tasty but there was one problem; they called for grinding the salmon to form a patty. I didn't really want to grind up a perfectly good piece of salmon so I decided to just use the salmon as it comes. I could just imagine a warm and juicy salmon burger dripping with tasty teriyaki sauce! But the burger needed something more. The easy ones were the lettuce, and tomato and I though that salty bacon would go well with the teriyaki sauce. A while ago I made some teriyaki shiitake mushrooms and I thought that they would go perfectly in the burger. I thought that my sandwich was complete and then another idea struck; tangy blue cheese melting into the warm teriyaki mushrooms would be perfect! Of course I had to go with my favorite bun, a ciabatta bun. When I was at the fish monger I saw some black cod which I had been meaning to try and I changed plans and went with a black cod teriyaki burger. The burger was a bit of effort to put together but it was well worth it. The teriyaki black cod burger with sauteed teriyaki shiitake mushrooms and blue cheese was amazing. All of the flavours combined well, contrasting and complementing each other. The black cod was excellent. It had a texture that was similar to that of salmon and it was really tasty done up in the teriyaki sauce.

Ingredients:
1/4 pound black cod
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 teaspoon oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 handful shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 strips bacon
1 bun
lettuce
tomato
blue cheese

Directions:
1. Marinate the black cod in the teriyaki sauce up to over night.
2. Heat the oil in a pan.
3. Saute the black cod in the oil until just crispy.
4. Melt the butter in a pan.
5. Saute the mushrooms in the butter until golden brown.
6. Add the teriyaki sauce and sesame oil and saute until evaporated.
7. Fry the bacon until crispy.
8. Assemble sandwich.

Similar Recipes:
Teriyaki Salmon
Teriyaki Mushroom Salad
Teriyaki Salmon and Asparagus Spinach Salad

Take a look at the Original Recipes roundup at Culinarty.

Strawberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars

2008-06-30T16:52:00.008-04:00

I had seen a few recipes for berry oatmeal bars such as this recipe for strawberry oatmeal bars that looked really good. The strawberry and rhubarb jam was calling to me and I could not resist using it along with some fresh strawberries in some oatmeal bars. The strawberry and rhubarb oatmeal crumble bars were really easy to make and taste great! The only problem that I had was that the bars crumbled easily and did not come out of the pan looking much like bars. Though I did not realize it before making it, the oatmeal crumble recipe was really similar to the topping that I often use on my crumbles and crisps. In fact the strawberry and rhubarb oatmeal crumble bars tasted almost exactly like a strawberry and rhubarb crumble only with a higher ratio of crumble to filling. I think I might have to try one warm with some vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter (melted)
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup pecans (chopped)
1/4 cup of strawberry rhubarb jam or strawberry jam
1/2 pound strawberries (sliced)

Directions:
1. Mix the butter into the brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, rolled oats and pecans until it resembles a coarse meal.
2. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 inch baking pan.
3. Spread the jam on top.
4. Place the strawberries on the jam.
5. Crumble the remaining oat mixture on top.
6. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Similar Recipes:
Strawberry and Rhubarb Crumble

Strawberry Danish Braid

2008-06-29T06:36:00.006-04:00

This months Daring Bakers challenge was a Danish braid and I was really looking forward to making it. The Danish braid is made with Danish pastry dough which is made by folding dough with butter into many layers. The Danish dough should bake up nice and light and buttery and flaky. I had been wanting to try making a multi-layer dough that puffed up when cooked for a while. As coincidence would have it I had also recently bookmarked a cheese danish recipe that I had wanted to try.

One thing that I really liked about this challenge was that we were allowed to choose the filling. Since strawberries were in the peak of their season I could not pass up on the chance to use some fresh strawberries. I had just made some strawberry and rhubarb jam and I though that it would go well in the braid as well. Since I still had the cheese danish on my mind I also decided to add some cream cheese. In the end it turned out to be a strawberry Danish braid with cream cheese and strawberry and rhubarb jam.

As with most Daring Bakers challenges the Danish braid was no walk in the park. There are a lot of steps and it took a lot of time. I was hoping to get the whole thing done on one day of the weekend but I ran out of time and had to finish it the next day. Overall each step was pretty easy though. The only problem that I had with the recipe was that it said that while folding the dough that you roll it out to a particular size each time but then after letting it sit in the fridge over night you were supposed to be able to roll out the same dough to over double the size that you were rolling it to the day before. My dough rolled out to the same size as it did the day before and I rolled it a bit thinned so that I could have some extra to make some cheese danish. Maybe the yeast was supposed to have more than doubled the size of the dough while it was in the fridge? Maybe my yeast was not as active as it could be? The dough did expand while proofing before baking... The Danish braid baked up well, though I could have pulled it out of the oven a minute sooner.

Danish Braid

Ingredients
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/2 cup whole milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 orange (zest)
3/4 teaspoon cardamom (ground)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 vanilla bean (split and scraped)
2 eggs (chilled)
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg (lightly beaten)

Directions:
1. Whisk the yeast into the milk in a bowl.
2. Add sugar, orange zest, cardamom, vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds, eggs, and orange juice and mix.
3. Sift the flour and salt onto your working surface and form a bowl.
4. Pour the liquid into the middle of the bowl.
5. With your hands, mix the flour into the liquid starting from the inside and working out until combined.
6. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth and easy to work with, about 5-7 minutes.
7. Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
8. Pulse the butter and flour in a food processor until combined.
9. Let the butter sit at room temperature until the dough is ready.
10. Roll the dough out to about 18x13 inches and about 1/4 inch thick.
11. Spread the butter over the right and center thirds of the dough.
12. Fold the left third of the dough over the center followed by the right third and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
14. Place the dough on the work surface lengthwise with the open ends on your left and right.
15. Roll the dough out to about 18x13 inches and about 1/4 inch thick.
16. Repeat steps 12-13 until for a total of five times.
17. Chill in the fridge overnight or for a minimum of five hours.
18. Roll the dough out to about 18x13 inches and about 1/4 inch thick.
19. Slice the left and right thirds of the dough at an angle and parallel to the other side into 1 inch wide slices.
20. Spread the filling on the middle of the dough.
21. Fold the slices of dough from the left and right sides of the middle, alternating and forming a braid.
22. Fold the top and bottom flaps over to hold in the filling.
23. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
24. Brush the egg onto the top of the dough.
25. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes.

In the end I was really pleased with both the Danish braid and the cheese Danish! They were both really good! The Danish pastry was nice and light and flaky and buttery and good. In the pictures you can see the layers and that it puffed up nicely. The pastry itself was full of flavour from the vanilla and the cardamom. The cream cheese and strawberry and rhubarb jam and fresh strawberry filling was perfect. I enjoyed both the Danish braid and the cheese Danish for breakfast last week and they both disappeared quite quickly! I am really glad that I got to make the Danish pastry and I look forward to making it again.

Take a look at the other Daring Bakers danish braid creations.

Strawberry and Rhubarb Jam

2008-06-28T14:51:00.004-04:00

Last year I made some strawberry jam that I really enjoyed. With all of the fresh strawberries around I wanted to make some more but I still had some left from last year. Since I really like the strawberry and rhubarb combination I decided to make some strawberry and rhubarb jam this year. The jam was easy to make, I just followed the instructions in the pectin crystal package. One thing to remember when making jam on the stove is to use a really large pot. The jam expands when it reaches a hard boil and you don't want if spilling over the sides. Of course I could not help myself and I opened up a jar of the jam right away to try. The strawberry and rhubarb jam turned out really good! The tartness of the rhubarb balanced out the sweetness of what otherwise would have been a sweet strawberry jam.

Ingredients:
2 cups strawberries (hulled and crushed)
2 cups rhubarb (chopped)
1 box Certo pectin crystals
5 1/2 cups sugar

Directions:
1. Bring the strawberries, rhubarb and pectin crystals to a boil with high heat in a large pot.
2. Add the sugar.
3. Bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Stir and skim foam for 5 minutes.
6. Pour into sterilized jars.

To sterilize the jars:
1. Wash in hot soapy water.
2. Keep the lids in boiling water until ready to use.
3. Place jars in 225F oven for 10 minutes and keep warm until ready to use.

Similar Recipes:
Strawberry Jam
Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Jamaican Red Beans and Rice

2008-06-27T21:50:00.003-04:00

While I was searching for jerk chicken recipes I came across the a Jamaican red beans and rice side dish that sounded interesting. I though that having a bean and rice side dish with the jerk chicken would be a nice way to cool off the tongue in between bites of the spicy jerk chicken. The red beans and rice were also cooked in coconut milk which I really enjoy. The most interesting part of this recipe is that you cook the rice with a whole scotch bonnet pepper in it to give it the flavour of the scotch bonnet without too much of the heat. Rice is pretty easy to cook on the stove top or I would think that this would work well in a rice cooker. I decided to use brown rice to make it a bit healthier. The red beans and rice turned out pretty good. It was nice and tasty and even though it was spicy, compared to the chicken it was nice and cool and refreshing.

Ingredients:
2 cup uncooked rice
1 can red kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 scotch bonnet pepper (whole)
3 green onions (sliced)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 can coconut milk
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Bring every thing to a boil reduce the heat and simmer until the rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.
2. Remove the pepper and serve.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

2008-06-26T21:04:00.009-04:00

I had been wanting to try exploring Jamaican cuisine for a while and a jerk spice was the first thing on my to try list. A jerk spice is spicy marinade for meats that primarily consists of allspice and scotch bonnet peppers. I had heard a lot of good things abut the scotch bonnet pepper, mainly being that it was nice and hot, and I had been wanting to try it. The remaining ingredients in the jerk mix can pretty varied. I found a bunch of recipes and picked and chose what I liked from them and I came up with this one. Because the scotch bonnet peppers were supposed to be really hot I started the marinade with just one and tasted it. It was pretty mild so in went a second followed by a third. I was thinking that the spice level would go up as the marinade sat and did its job so I stopped at three. Although the final result was nice and spicy I think I will go with five the next time that I make this.

For the first use of the jerk marinade I decided to do a jerk chicken dinner. I Marinated some chicken thighs in the jerk marinade overnight and roasted it in the oven. A nice and simple dish. The jerked chicken was nice and tasty. I really enjoyed the combination of flavours in the jerk spice mix. The jerk seasoning was spicy but not as hot as I would have liked. I served the jerked chicken with a simple mango and red pepper salsa to cool things down a bit and some Jamaican red beans and rice. Overall it was a really tasty meal!

Jerk Marinade

Ingredients:
1-3 scotch bonnet peppers
1 onion (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
3 green onions (chopped)
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup orange juice
1 lime (juice and zest)

Directions:
1. Puree everything.

Jerk Chicken

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken (skin on)
jerk marinate

Directions:
1. Marinate the chicken in the jerk marinade for a day turning a few times.
2. Bake in a preheated 400F oven for 40-50 minutes turning once in the middle.

Similar Recipes:
Jerked Chicken with Mango and Avocado Salad

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

2008-06-25T18:38:00.004-04:00

It has been almost a year since I picked up an ice cream maker and I have been enjoying home made frozen treats since. So far I've made a few ice creams and a sorbet and I now wanted to try something different. I realized that I have not tried making one of my favorite frozen dishes, a frozen yogurt. I had to fix that immediately. Strawberries were the obvious choice since they are in season and looking so good. One of the things that I like most about making my own ice cream is the simplicity of the recipes. There are only a few ingredients and you can pronounce all of them. This recipe is a perfect example with only four simple ingredients. One thing that you may want to watch out for in this recipe is the sweetness. Plain yogurt can be a bit tart so you will want to test the mixture for sweetness before freezing it. The strawberry frozen yogurt was good! I really enjoyed the texture of the frozen yogurt and the strawberry flavour. Next time I think I will leave some bigger chunks of strawberries in.

Ingredients:
3 cups strawberries (sliced)
1 lemon (juice)
1 cup sugar
2 cups yogurt

Directions:
1. Heat the strawberries, lemon juice and sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Remove from the heat and mash the strawberries.
3. Let cool then mix in the yogurt and test for sweetness.
4. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.
5. Freeze according to the instructions for your ice cream machine.

Similar Recipes:
Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Take a look at the Frozen Yogurt roundup on Siri's Corner.

Steak with Chimichurri Sauce

2008-06-24T17:31:00.007-04:00

Chimichurri is a parsley based sauce from Argentina that is commonly used to season steak and other grilled meats. Over the last while I have been seeing some mouth watering posts about steak with chimichurri sauce and I had to try it. Though parsley may not be my favorite herb, it is probably the herb that I use most often and I liked the sound of a steak dressed simply with a tasty parsley sauce. I could not get the thought of a medium rare steak out of my mind so I decided to make steak with the chimichurri sauce. I seasoned the steak simply with just salt and pepper to allow the chimichurri sauce to be the star of the show. Ideally you would grill the steak but I do not have access to a grill so I pan seared the steak in a bit of oil until just medium rare. The steak with chimichurri sauce was good! The chimichurri sauce was nice and cool and refreshing and at the same time it had a touch of heat.

Chimichurri Sauce

Ingredients:
1 bunch parsley
6 cloves garlic (peeled)
2 tablespoons onion (chopped)
1 small carrot (grated)
1 lime (juice)
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 jalapeno pepper (chopped)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Chop the parsley and garlic in a food processor.
2. Add the onion, carrot, vinegar, water, oregano, chili pepper flakes, salt and pepper and process some more.
3. Stream in the olive oil and process.

Similar Recipes:
Parsley Pesto
Ribeye Steak in Red Wine Sauce

Take a look at the Weekend Herb Blogging roundup at Kalyn's Kitchen.

Arancini di Riso (Rice Balls)

2008-06-23T18:57:00.003-04:00

I had been wanting to try making arancini di riso for a while now. Arancini di riso are fried balls of rice. The balls of rice commonly contain things like ragu, mozzarella, peas, etc. You can make the rice from scratch for the arancini but it is a great way to breath some fresh life into your leftover risotto. Normally risotto disappears before I think about making arancini but this time I made sure to leave enough of the pea barley risotto to make the "rice" balls. I decided to keep it simple and just add a cube of mozzarella cheese since my risotto already had peas in it. I had some leftover marinara sauce in the freezer and I though that it would be a good idea to serve the rice balls on some of it. The rice balls are fairly easy to make. It is pretty much the same as any other breaded fried food; You dip the rice balls into the egg, then the bread crumbs, and then you fry them. I used the risotto directly from the fridge so it was cold, easy to work with and it held together. The arancini on marinara sauce were really tasty! They were nice and crispy on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. Both the mozzarella and the parmigiano reggiano in the risotto had melted.

Ingredients:
* leftover risotto
* mozzarella cheese cut into cubes
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
1 cup bread crumbs
vegetable oil for frying
* leftover marinara sauce

Directions:
1. Form the rice into balls and press the cheese into the middle.
2. Roll the rice balls in the egg to coat.
3. Roll the rice balls into a mixture of the the parmigiano reggiano and the bread crumbs to coat.
4. Heat the oil in a pan.
5. Fry the rice balls in the oil until golden brown on all sides.

Similar Recipes:
Pea Barley Risotto
Marinara Sauce on Spaghetti

Strawberry Cheesecake Crepes

2008-06-22T16:36:00.006-04:00

The farmers market was flooded with fresh local strawberries this weekend and I picked up a bunch of them. I just couldn't pass up on making a decadent strawberry breakfast and I thought that strawberry crepes would be great. Cheesecake had been on my mind and I was thinking that using a cheesecake like filling would be a great idea. For the cheesecake like filling I folded cream cheese into whipped cream. I still had some of the strawberry jam that I made last year and I decided to add some of that for even more strawberry flavour. The strawberry cheesecake crepes were really good. They were nice and fresh and cool and sweet and full of strawberry flavour. I enjoyed the taste and texture of the cream cheese and whipped cream filling. The crepes were a perfect Sunday breakfast.

Ingredients:
1 (4 ounce) package cream cheese (softened)
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy cream (whipped)
1 batch crepes
4 tablespoons strawberry jam
2 cups strawberries (sliced)

Directions:
1. Mix the cream cheese, icing sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla in a bowl.
2. Fold in the whipped cream.
3. Spread 1 table spoon strawberry jam onto a crepe.
4. Add 1/4 cup of the cream cheese mixture and some strawberries in the crepe, roll and serve.

Similar Recipes:
Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry Pavlova

Take a look at the Pancakes on Parade roundup on The Well Seasoned Cook.

Pea Barley Risotto

2008-06-21T14:27:00.004-04:00

It had been a while since I last made risotto and I had been wanting to try making one of the classic risottos, a simple pea risotto. Now that the fresh peas are out it was the perfect time. I could not resist playing with the risotto a bit and I decided to try making it with barley. Normally risotto is made with a medium grain rice like arborio rice but it also works with barley. Risotto takes a bit of time and effort but it is well worth it. A lot of creaminess of the risotto come from constant stirring over a period of time. Given that most risotto recipes call for some wine you can at least enjoy a glass while doing all of that stirring. The barley risotto turned out pretty good. It was nice and creamy and the barley was al dente and had a nice chewiness to it. The sweet fresh peas went really well in the cheesy risotto.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion (chopped)
1 clove garlic (chopped)
1 cup pearled barley
1/2 cup wine
2 cups stock (vegetable or chicken or...)
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano
1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in large sauce pan.
2. Add onions and saute until softened, about 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
4. Add barley toss to coat with the butter.
5. Add wine and stir until evaporated.
6. Add 1/2 cup of stock at a time and stir until evaporated, adding the peas with the last 1/2 cup of stock.
7. Add parmigiano reggiano, butter salt and pepper and stir.

Strawberry and Feta Salad

2008-06-20T17:25:00.003-04:00

Fresh local strawberries started showing up at the farmers market recently and on the weekend I picked up a bunch of them. I was wondering what to do with them when I came across this recipe for a strawberry and feta salad that sounded nice and simple and good. What better way to start off enjoying the strawberries than a fresh strawberry salad? One of the reasons that I liked this salad was its use of the raspberry vinegar. I had never bought a flavoured vinegar before and I had been wanting to try one. This salad was the perfect excuse to pick some up. I really enjoyed the strawberry and feta salad and it was super quick and easy to throw together. The salty feta went really well with the sweet and juicy strawberries and the almonds added a nice crunchy texture. I liked the way the raspberry vinegar went in the salad and of course the balsamic vinegar is a classic companion to strawberries. I am looking forward to more strawberries and using the raspberry vinegar again.

Ingredients:
1 clove garlic (grated)
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon raspberry vinegar
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 serving romaine lettuce (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 handful strawberries (sliced)
1 handful feta cheese (crumbled)
1 handful slivered almonds (toasted)

Directions:
1. Mix the garlic, honey, mustard, vinegar and oil.
2. Toss the lettuce, almonds, strawberries and almonds with the dressing to coat.

Similar Recipes:
Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Butter Toasted Almonds
Melon Salad with Prosciutto and Goats Cheese
Blackberry Salad with Blackberry Vinaigrette
Pear and Maple Pecan Salad

Thai Lemon Shrimp

2008-06-19T18:18:00.005-04:00

In my never ending search for tasty shrimp recipes I came across this recipe for Goong Maa Now or Thai lemon shrimp. Like many Thai dishes this one is a perfect melding of sweet, sour, hot and salty. This recipe calls for kaffir lime leaves which were a bit difficult to find. Luckily they keep really well in the freezer and the bag that I picked up has lasted a long time. This is another super quick shrimp dish that takes almost no time to make. The lemon and coconut milk added an amazing flavour and aroma and of course this dish would not be complete without my favorite herb, cilantro. These lemon shrimp could easily be served as an appetizer or as a meal along with some rice or pasta.

Ingredients:
1 pound shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1/3 cup sweet chili sauce
1 lemon (juice and zest)
3 kaffir lime leaves (sliced, substitute lime zest)
1 teaspoon chili sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 teaspoon palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

Directions:
1. Marinate the shrimp in the sweet chili sauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, kaffir lime leaves, chili sauce, fish sauce, garlic and sugar for 10 or more minutes.
2. Heat a pan.
3. Add the shrimp, the marinade and the coconut milk and simmer (not boil) until the shrimp are cooked, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and mix in the cilantro.

Similar Recipes:
Tequila Lime Shrimp
Orange Chipotle Shrimp
Amaretto Shrimp
Coconut Shrimp with Apricot Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

Take a look at the Weekend Herb Blogging roundup at Joanna's Food.

Mango and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

2008-06-18T18:18:00.005-04:00

I have been trying to eat more whole grains and lately I have really been enjoying quinoa in particular. One of my favorite ways to enjoy quinoa is as the base for a salad. With summer just around the corner the markets have been full of fresh fruits and vegetables. Recently I have been experimenting with using fruits in my salads and my current favorite, the mango, had to make an appearance in a quinoa salad. I have also been adding beans to my salads lately and I though that if I went with black beans I could start a texmex theme for the salad and continue it by adding some peppers, cumin, lime and cilantro. Quinoa can be cooked in a rice cooker and that makes a quinoa salad as easy as throwing everything together. The mango and black bean quinoa salad worked out well. The sweet and cool mango tempered the heat of the jalapeños and the beans rounded the salad out with a nice creaminess. The quinoa salad was good when it was still warm from cooking the quinoa and the leftovers were good straight out of the fridge.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1 large mango (stoned, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces)
1 red bell pepper (cut into bit sized pieces)
1 cup black beans (rinsed)
1 jalapeño pepper (chopped)
1 green onion (sliced)
1 handful cilantro (chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime (juice and zest)
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cook the quinoa as directed on the package.
2. Mix the quinoa, mango, red bell pepper, black beans, jalapeño, green onion, and cilantro in a bowl.
3. Mix the olive oil, lime juice and zest, cumin, salt and pepper in another bowl.
4. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.

Similar Recipes:
Roasted Asparagus and Red Pepper Farro Salad
Aztec Quinoa Salad

Take a look at the No Croutons Require roundup at Lisa's Kitchen.

Tilapia with Pesto and Roasted Tomatoes

2008-06-17T17:47:00.003-04:00

I came across this recipe for tilapia with pesto and oven roasted tomatoes a while ago and I thought that it sounded nice and fresh and summery. I have made pesto many times but I have pretty much only used it with pasta. I really liked the idea of using it in a new way. Adding the lemon to the pesto sounded like a good way to brighten it up. To top it all off, some roasted tomatoes which are one of my favorites! I really liked Elly's choice to serve the tilapia with quinoa and asparagus and I went the same way. I cooked the quinoa in chicken stock and lemon juice to add a bit of flavour to it. The meal came together easily and it was really good! The fish was super moist and along with the lemon, pesto and roasted tomatoes it was really tasty. The quinoa helped soak up the extra juices from the fish and roasted tomatoes infusing it with flavour. I enjoyed using the pesto in this dish and I can't wait to try using pesto in other new ways.

Ingredients:
2 handfuls grape tomatoes
4 cloves garlic (peeled and smashed)
2 teaspoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1 lemon (juice and zest)
2 tablespoons pesto
2 tilapia fillets (or any white fish)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Toss the tomatoes and garlic in the olive oil, salt and pepper.
2. Roast in a preheated 425F oven for 10 minutes.
3. Mix the lemon juice into the pesto.
4. Season the fish with salt and pepper.
5. Spread the pesto onto the fish.
6. Chop the lemon rind into slices.
7. Add the lemon slices to the tomatoes in the pan and set the fish on top.
8. Bake the chicken until it is white and flaky, about 10 minutes.

Similar Recipes:
Tilapia alla Puttanesca
Tilapia Baked in Salsa Verde

Shrimp Scampi Pizza

2008-06-16T17:27:00.004-04:00

It had been a long time since I had last had pizza and I was craving it. A while ago I made some shrimp scampi and I remembered thinking that it would go well on pizza. My idea was that the sauce of the pizza would be the garlic and butter sauce of the shrimp scampi and of course some cheese would be required to top everything off. The shrimp scampi pizza was easy to make and tasted great! I really enjoyed having shrimp on a pizza. The garlic and butter sauce went well on the pizza and I did not miss the tomato sauce at all. I had planned on brightening the pizza up a bit with some fresh chopped parsley after it came out of the oven but I completely forgot.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 pound shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1/4 cup white wine
1 lemon (juice and zest)
1 tablespoon butter
1 pizza dough
1 cup mozzarella (grated)
1 tablespoon parsley (chopped, optional)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil and melt the butter in a pan.
2. Add the chili flakes and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add the shrimp and saute until just cooked, about 1-3 minutes per side.
4. Remove the shrimp from the pan.
5. Add the wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil.
6. Simmer the liquid until reduced by about half, about 3-5 minutes.
7. Add the butter, wait for it to melt and turn off the heat.
8. Pour the mixture onto the pizza crust, add the shrimp and top with the mozzarella cheese.
9. Bake in a preheated 550F oven until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
10. Sprinkle with parsley and let cool.

Similar Recipes:
Shrimp Scampi
Pizza with Grilled Chicken, Roasted Red Peppers, and Asiago Cheese

Baklava French Toast

2008-06-14T14:46:00.002-04:00

I recently came across the concept of baklava french toast by Elly on elly says opa!. It is basically french toast stuffed with a baklava like filling and then drenched in a honey syrup just like baklava. Baklava is one of my favorite treats and I just had to try the frech toast version. Making the baklava french toast is a bit of work but it is well worth it. The aromas of cinnamon, citrus and honey make the baklava french toast and experience before you even take a bite. When you do take a bite the toast is slightly crisp on the outside and warm and soft and moist on the inside. Then you hit the crunchy nut mixture and are hit with a blast of cinnamon. Covering all of this is a sweet and gooey honey, cinnamon and citrus syrup...mmm... I really enjoyed the baklava french toast! Since it takes a lot less effort to make than baklava it is perfect for when that baklava craving hits and you just don't have time to make baklava.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons water
* lemon (rind)
* orange (rind)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (or a cinnamon stick)
1 handful nuts (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon honey
2 slices of bread
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
garnish with extra nut filling, zest & cinnamon

Directions:
1. Simmer the honey, water, lemon rind, orange rind and cinnamon in a small pan until it thickens to a syrupy consistency.
2. Remove from heat and remove the rinds and cinnamon stick if used.
3. Mix the nuts, cinnamon and honey in a bowl.
4. Place the nut mixture between 2 slices of bread.
5. Mix the egg, milk, lemon juice, orange juice, vanilla extract and salt in a shallow dish.
6. Dip the sandwich into the egg mixture to cover both sides.
7. Melt some butter in a pan and fry the French toast until golden brown on both sides.
8. Serve the French toast with the syrup on top

Similar Recipes:
Baklava
French Toast Stuffed with Blueberries and Cream Cheese

Presto Pasta Nights Roundup #67

2008-06-13T17:01:00.001-04:00

I am very pleased and excited to be guest hosting this weeks Presto Pasta Nights! Pasta dishes are among my favorites dishes and Presto Pasta Nights is one of my favorite Food Blogging events. I have really been looking forward to hosting the roundup this week. Enough of the small talk, lets get straight to the pasta:

Nilmandra of Soy and Pepper brings us our first pasta dish, a simple spaghetti aglio e olio with sundried tomatoes. This dish is a perfect example of the saying "simple is best"!

Orzo is such a versatile pasta as is demonstrated its use in this stew like orzo with linguiça and clams dish brought to us by Heather from Gild of the Voodoolily. I am drooling over this dish even though I have not tried clams yet. Excuse me while I run off to get some clams and sausage and some crusty bread...

Anne from Morsels and Musings brings us one of my favorite pasta dishes, spaghetti alla puttanesca. With garlic, capers, olives, anchovies and chili you just can't go wrong!

This spring pasta has it all, a tasty sounding farfalle pasta with cannellini beans and asparagus in a white mushroom yogurt sauce by Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen. Now I am really curious about adding some creamy beans to pasta now!

Using store bought tortellini is a good way to make a quick and tasty pasta. This week The Budding Cook shares with us a quick Tortelloni in Creamy Tomato Sauce with some spicy chipotle peppers.

I like using peanut butter in savoury dishes and this week Elle from Elle's New England Kitchen brings us Sesame Chicken and Noodles with a spicy peanut butter sauce.

This week Mike from Mike's Table is sharing a Creamy Mustard Pasta dish with us. It is not your average tomato or cream based pasta and it just screams try me.

It's hard to beat pasta with a good simple tomato sauce! Darron from The Teacher Learns to Cook bring us such a Simple Tomato Sauce. It is always nice to have some extra sauce for soaking up with some crusty bread.

Prawns/shrimp go really well with pasta and dhanggit from dhanggit's kitchen brings us a tasty sounding Spicy Fettucine Curry with Prawns and Mushrooms.

Baked pastas with gooey melted cheese are a great way to enjoy pasta and Gretchen from Canela & Comino brings us what has to be the most famous of the baked pastas, a Lasagna.

There are so many different types of pasta out there and today I learned about a new one, Paccheri. Judith from Think on it! shares with us a Paccheri dish with an nice vertical presentation.

I really like to be able to use fresh seasonal ingredients in pasta dishes. This week Sara of Cupcake Muffin shares with us a great way with her Creamy Goat Cheese Pasta with Zucchini and Sausage.

Fresh peas are in season right now and they go well in pasta dishes like this Tagliatelle with Peas, Pancetta, and Parmesan brought to us by Lauren from I'll Eat You.

Sometimes you want the sauce to be the star of the show and sometimes you want the pasta to be the star. This can be the case when you find an interesting flavoured pasta like Ruth from Once Upon A Feast did this week and she shares her Cracked Black Pepper Fettuccine with Herbs & Grilled Vegetables with us.

Rita from Mochachocolata-Rita brings us a Creamy Fusili with Sausages, Mushrooms & Baby Corn with a nice twist of using a coconut milk based cream sauce.

Where store bought ravioli may be good for a quick meal, but nothing beats made from scratch homemade ravioli! Ivy from Kopiaste.... to Greek Hospitality shares with us her homemade Beef Ravioli where the marinara sauce is optional.

Pasta can also be used to to make a pasta salad. Katie from Thyme For Cooking shares with us a hearty Pasta Salad with Sausage and Chickpeas.

Ham and peas are a classic combo and ham and pineapple is a classic combo. Tiffany from Lattes and Life shares with us My Mom's Pasta Salad that combines all three.

Pasta comes in so many different shapes and forms and Maxine from Chew on That introduces us to bucatini with her Chicken Pasta with Tomato Sauce.

Sharon from Culinary Adventures of a New Wife shows us that no meat is required for a tasty pasta with her Spinach Black Bean Lasagna.

One of the things that I like best about pasta is that you can quickly put together a tasty one. All you need is some pasta and a few tasty ingredients like this Pappardelle with Arugula and Bacon by Pam from Sidewalk Shoes.

Pestos also go really well with pasta as Sue from Coffee & Cornbread shows us with her Campanelle Salad.

Maybelle's Mom from feeding maybelle shares with us a really interesting twist on a caprese salad meets pasta with this Strawberry Tomato Caprese Fusili.

On a hot summer day a nice cool pasta salad can be the perfect light meal. Avra from I've got food on the brain shares with us a nice Red, White and Green Pasta Salad. Avra's post includes a question about pasta salad dressings; please help her out if you can.

Pumpkin is one of the things that I look forward to in Fall and Tara from Should You Eat That? shows us a really quick and easy Pumpkin Pasta.

Ulrike from Küchenlatein shares with us an amazing looking and sounding Homemade Mushroom Ravioli.

Another type of pasta that is great for stuffing are pasta shells. Bobby from Blog Chef brings us some vibrant meat Stuffed Shells.

Using home grown vegetables in your pasta always feels good, especially when it is super healthy, like kale. Marye from Baking Delights shares with us a quick and easy Macaroni, Kale and Beef Casserole.

I bet that lasagna with large sheets of freshly homemade pasta would taste even better that normal. Chriesi from Almond Corner made her own lasagne noodles and without a pasta machine, for her Lasagne al Forno

Grocery stores are starting to carry more healthy pastas that include things like whole grains. Foodie Tots uses a pasta with flax in her Ginger Soy Shrimp Fusili.

Becke from Columbus Foodie shares with us a Greek-Style Lamb and Eggplant Lasagne which is billed as a cross between a pastitsio and moussaka. Pastitsio and moussaka are both really good and this lasagne promises to be great.

You just can't go wrong with a simple pasta that includes bacon or in this case, pancetta. Serena from Rock Cakes shares with us a tasty sounding Pancetta and Bean Pasta.

Wiffy at Noob Cook brings us one of my favorite quick and tasty pastas, Aglio Olio with Prawns.

If you are tired of making spaghetti with marinara sauce the try Eliza's Spaghetti, Mushroom and Tomato Bake at Notes from My Food Diary for a nice change.

Kittie from Kittens in the Kitchen shares with us Balsamic-Caramelised Echalion Pasta with Meatballs. Those balsamic caramelized onions sound like a tasty addition to a tomato sauce.

Couscous is perhaps the quickest pasta around and Sher from What Did You Eat brings us a colourful Couscous Salad With Spinach And Lemon Thyme Dressing.

And finally, my contribution to this weeks Presto Pasta Nights, an Asparagus Carbonara.

What a tasty week of pasta! If you are still looking for more pasta you can try the archives here and here.

Presto Pasta Night's creator Ruth at Once Upon a Feast will be hosting next weeks Presto Pasta Nights. Please send your submissions to her at ruth AT 4everykitchen DOT com before Friday June the 19th. You can find out who is hosting Presto Pasta Nights any time by going here. If you are interested in hosting Presto Pasta Nights you can find the info that you need here.