Hello 2011!

Wow.  A total of 5 blog posts since my husband came home in August.  It will be a miracle if anyone is still reading. :)  There's really no excuse for that, but of course I'm going to make some!  Between hubby coming home from deployment, getting my birth doula certification, opening my photography business, and taking TWO lengthy car journeys over the holidays (NC to TX and three weeks later NC to Disney World, FL) I have been running low on time and energy!  Have I been faithfully photographing all of our meals? Absolutely.  Do I remember how the heck I made them?  Not so much.

Hopefully I will have a lot of posts to share in the coming months as winter melts away.  Yesterday we got our first egg of the season from one of our Easter Egger hens.  A large, blue beauty, and that means Spring is nigh!

On our way back from our whirlwind Disney weekend we stopped at a Florida citrus stand and picked up three itty-bitty citrus trees (orange, lemon, and lime).  These little cuties are gracing my kitchen table in 6" pots until they grow up.  I wanted to do something a little fun with them, especially since I am in the process of envisioning/realizing a kitchen re-design.  I painted the terracotta pots with blackboard paint so I could label the pots with chalk.  I think they turned out pretty darn cute and it only took all of 15 minutes!

If you've read this entire rant then you deserve a recipe, how about Fish Tacos with Tempura Battered Mahi-Mahi and Curried Yogurt in Warm Home-made Naan Bread?  Or a less length description would be: crazy delicious.

For the Naan Bread (from ManjulasKitchen.com):
2 cups of All Purpose flour (Plain flour or maida)
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of baking soda
2 tablespoons of oil
2 1/2 tablespoons yogurt (curd or dahi)
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon of clear butter or ghee to butter the Naan
1/4 cup All Purpose flour for rolling

Dissolve active dry yeast in lukewarm water and let it sit for 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes frothy.  Add sugar, salt and baking soda to the flour and mix well.  Add the oil and yogurt mix, this will become crumbly dough.  Add the water/yeast mixture and make into soft dough. Note: after dough rise will become little softer.  Knead until the dough is smooth. Cover the dough and keep in a warm place for 3-4 hours. The dough should almost be double in volume.   

Heat the oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone for at least thirty minutes so stone is hot. Using a pizza stone will help to give naan close to same kind of heat as clay tandoor.

Next turn the oven to high broil.  Knead the dough for about two to three minutes and divide the dough into six equal parts.  Take each piece of dough, one at a time, and roll into 8-inch oval shape. Dust lightly with dry flour to help with the rolling.  Before putting the Naan in oven, lightly wet your hands and take the rolled Naan, and flipp them between your palms and place onto your baking/pizza stone into the oven.  You can place about 2 Naan on the baking/pizza stone at a time.

The Naan will take about 2 to 3 minutes to cook, depending upon your oven. After the Naan is baked(Naan should be golden brown color on top).  Take naan out of the oven and brush lightly with clear butter or ghee.   wait 2 to 3 minutes before baking the next batch of naan, it gives oven the chance to get heated again to max.


For the Mahi-Mahi:
4 Mahi-Mahi filets cut into "sticks"
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup ice-cold carbonated water (fizzy)
Oil for frying

Heat about 3 inches of oil in a frying pan.  While the oil heats mix flour and cornstarch together.  Slowly blend in the iced carbonated water until batter is the consistency of heavy cream (will be lumpy).

Salt your Mahi-Mahi sticks and dip in batter.  Fry until batter is golden on all sides, turning once, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

For the Curried Yogurt Sauce:
Whisk together:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. chipotle chili powder
Pinch salt
(You can adjust the seasonings in this to your taste, more chipotle chili powder=spicier, etc.)

To assemble the Fish Tacos:
Place Tempura-battered Mahi-Mahi in the center of warm Naan bread.  Top with shredded lettuce or cabbage, chopped tomatoes, and drizzle with curried yogurt sauce.  Roll and devour.

Other ideas:  Add corn kernels, red onion, cilantro, and/or a squeeze of lime juice.

iheartfaces Photo Challenge-Orange

This is a picture I took a couple weeks ago of my little man.  I love the color in this photo and I feel it captured him and the season so well.  I am entering it in this week's photo contest on iheartfaces.  The theme this week is "orange."  Click the link below to head over to iheartfaces and see more!

Saturday 11/13/10: I wanted to amend this post today to include the original, unedited version of the above photo.  My husband likes the unedited picture better and I like them both.  I like the dramatic effect of the edit, but I also like the softer features and colors of the original.  The photo below is SOOC.  :)

Grilled To Perfection

 Hail storm last week aside, it is still in the mid-70's and mid-80's here, which means it's still grilling weather.  This weekend my husband and I have plans to co-create some gourmet burgers, but until then I thought I'd go ahead and share some of the recipes off the grill that I promised back in August!

To the left is a succulent rib-eye steak with accompanying skewered shrimp and grilled asparagus.  Below, tasty lamb riblets with Panko-breaded Brussels sprouts and mashed potatoes.  The key to both of the meat portions of these meals (aside from my husband's grill-master skills) is my mom's famous Teriyaki Marinade.  I honestly pondered whether I should even share this amazing family secret or just horde it all to myself.  Heck, maybe I could bottle the stuff and become a millionaire someday (I'd give you a cut mom :))  But here goes:

Mom's Teriyaki Marinade:

Olive Oil
Soy Sauce
Ketchup
Garlic
Worchestershire Sauce
Pepper
Fresh Rosemary (optional)

I do not know the measurements for these ingredients, so you'll have to figure that one out on your own!  I use approximately equal parts olive oil and soy sauce, a nice amount of fresh chopped or minced garlic, or garlic powder in a pinch.  Enough ketchup to get the right consistency and maybe a couple tablespoons of Worchestershire Sauce.  I just keep adding things until it smells right to me. :)

This marinade is excellent on steaks, ribs, lamb, shrimp, pork...pretty much anything.

For the sides:

Asparagus was simply oiled, salted, peppered and grilled.   

Brussels sprouts I shake up in a bag with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Panko bread crumbs.  Then I throw them on a baking sheet and toss them with chopped bacon.  I roast these in the over at 425 until they are starting to brown and the bacon is crispy.

When I make mashed potatoes I always leave the skins on-I know this is freaky for some people but all the nutrients are in the skin!  Plus I think it adds that homemade charm, so do a few lumps so I never go to as much trouble as to put potatoes through a ricer or anything like that.  I do add a lot of not-so-healthy fatty goodness to my taters, but everyone needs a little fat in their diet!

Halve 6-8 red potatoes. Add to pot of salted water and bring to a boil.  Boil approximately 20 minutes or until soft.  Add 2 tbsp. cream cheese, 2 tbsp. butter, 1/4 cup sour cream, salt and pepper to taste, and a couple tablespoons of milk (enough to get the right consistency).  Whip together in your stand mixer, done!

With garlic:  If I have time I will roast a bulb of garlic in the oven and squeeze the roasted cloves into the mixer with the potatoes.  If I'm in a pinch for time a little garlic powder will do the trick as well (though not as yummy or fancy as the roasted garlic)!

Smoky Chipotle Cheeseburgers with Avacado and Tomatillo

Another Gourmet Magazine recipe winner: Smoky Chipotle Pork Cheeseburgers with Avacado and Tomatillo....yum.  I have to admit, I'm a newbie to ground pork.  A few weeks ago a friend's husband shared a delicious ground pork/turkey combination burger with me and I said "Ground pork?  Really?  Where did you find that?"  Honestly, I'd never even looked for it before.  Then I came across this recipe in Gourmet and I found that ground pork is surprisingly easy to find, wouldn't ya' know, tastes amazing, and has plenty of nutritional value (although ground pork is admittedly fattier than a lot of other lean cuts, but what the hay).

Here's the recipe:

• 1 lb ground pork (not lean)
• 2 teaspoons minced chipotle in adobo plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce (Oops! Forgot this at the store!  used ground chipotle chili pepper instead)
• 2 garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press
• 4 slices Muenster cheese
• 4 hamburger buns, toasted
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 large tomatillo (1/4 lb), husked and rinsed, then sliced
• 1/2 small avocado, sliced
• 1/2 cup cilantro sprigs (we omitted because hubby doesn't like but kinda wished I'd bought some just for myself!) 

We grilled these babies over charcoal on our Weber Performer, melted the Muenster on top and served on a whole wheat bun spread with mayo and topped with avocado slices and tomatillo.  This was also our first experience with tomatillos and we gave them the thumbs up all around (including the kids).

Wild North Carolina Shrimp with Capellini & Creamy Tomato Sauce

I have a confession...I have never peeled or de-veined shrimp...until now.  I know, it's crazy, but I always buy shrimp that has already been prepped for me.  However, this week on a trip to the Fresh Market in Wilmington, some wild North Carolina shrimp caught my eye and I decided it was time to learn the art of preparing shrimp myself.  No, they didn't have their heads still attached so I don't feel like I really got my hands dirty enough, but here's what I learned:

Place to shrimp in an ice bath to keep them fresh while you peel them.  Grab the legs and detach the shell, it comes off quite easily.  Use a paring knife to make a small slit in the top of the shrimp, locate the larger vein (which is actually the intestinal tract of the shrimp) and gently pull, it should come right out.  There is a smaller, more visible vein on the underside, which also pops out pretty easy with a little help from your knife.

The recipe that I purchased these shrimp for was from this month's Gourmet Magazine.  I made a few adjustments of my own....

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb peeled large shrimp
• 3 large garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 cup sweet (red) vermouth (I substituted Sherry for Vermouth)
• 1 (14- to 15-oz) can diced tomatoes, drained (I used crushed San Marzano tomatoes, see my footnotes for why you should try to find jarred tomatoes instead of tinned tomatoes!)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (I forgot to buy a lemon, but it was still good without!!)
• 1/2 lb capellini (angel-hair pasta)

• Heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add shrimp, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Saute, turning once, for about 2 minutes.  Stir in sherry and crushed tomatoes.  Add cream and simmer 1 minute.  This is where you are supposed to add the lemon juice that I didn't have, so add it if you do!  Remove from heat so you don't overcook your shrimp.
• Add Capellini to boiling water and cook 6 minutes until "al dente."
• Serve pasta topped with shrimp and sauce 
•  For our salad we grilled cremini mushrooms and tossed them with arugula and shaved pecorino romano, the dressing and marinade for the mushrooms was: red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, and chopped shallots. 
Wow, those wild shrimpies were delicious and fresh!  Shrimp are very high in nutrients and a mere 4 ounces can provide almost 50% of your daily protein needs for only 112 calories.  They are rich in selenium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12.  You'll also get iron, those all important Omega 3's, and a few other vitamins and minerals.  Of course you'll also reap the health benefits of the tomatoes in this sauce, although there is a lot of controversy cropping up about tinned tomatoes containing bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen, which comes from the linings of the tin cans and is linked to numerous ailments including reproductive problems, heart disease, and diabetes.  So, try to look for crushed tomatoes in glass jars instead of tins, or even better, preserve your own this fall!  I have my fingers crossed we can get some tomatoes going here and try our hand at canning (in jars) before winter.  This recipe is definitely one of my new favorite ways to eat shrimp (and pasta), it was tastier than any shrimp and pasta dish I've ordered at a restaurant.  The salad was really an afterthought, but turned out really well.  I was inspired by another Gourmet Mag recipe for the salad, but had to make do with what I had in my fridge, still very tasty! 

 

Posted on: www.asimmeringpotandamom.com